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Results 41 to 45 of 45
Georgia considering HOV lane use for Hybrids
Resending w/typos corrected:
As noted above, this web site link has a good summary of where things stand officially: http://www.dot.state.ga.us/specialsu.../hov-afv.shtml
The Georgia Code sections are Section 32-9-4 (allowing use of Georgias HOV lanes by certain hybrids if such use of HOV lanes is permitted by Federal law), and Section 40-2-76 (specifying the issuance of license plates for hybrid vehicles for such use).
DNR has taken the position that they must wait for the U.S. E.P.A. to conduct a rule making and issue a list of vehicles. However, this position is belied by the fact that other states have already proceeded to enable HOV access. Florida is one example right next door. A year ago already Florida issued its list of approved vehicles and implemented their program (using vehicle stickers). You can view it at http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/html/titlinf.html I brought this to the attention of William Cook, who is in charge of this issue at Georgia DNRs EPD (404- 363-7028), almost a year ago. Yet as I understand it they have NOT followed Floridas example and moved this thing forward.
Why Florida has moved forward smoothly on this issue, while Georgias state agencies are frozen on this and flouting Georgia law?
Call Mr. Cook and complain. Also contact Judy Reynolds at the Governor's office (who handles DNR matters) and complain -- 404-656-1776.
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Georgia considering HOV lane use for Hybrids
Here is today's e-mail from EPA:
"...this is to respond to your recent email to EPA regarding the
use of hybrids on HOV lanes. The 2005 Transportation Act directed EPA
to put in place regulations that HOV areas could use to provide HOV
occupancy exemptions for energy efficient vehicles, including hybrids.
EPA must undertake a full rulemaking process for this action. This
means we must first issue a proposal, take comment on the proposal, and
then issue a final rule. A draft of the proposed rule is currently
undergoing Agency review and we hope to issue the proposal soon. EPA
will then need to finalize the regulations, which will take several
months after that to complete, so it's likely that it will be early next
year before the final regulation is issued.
I hope this information has been helpful. If you have any further
questions, please let me know.
Holly Pugliese
Wow. A whole year later and
Wow. A whole year later and still nothing's been done. No one in GA government gives a r*ts *ss. Typical.
Its true.. The problem with
Its true.. The problem with Ga is nobody wants to take responsability and do the right thing. I have talked to the dept. of Natural Resources: James Udi and William Cook. Tel 404-363-7031 and 404-3363-7028. I keep getting nothing from these people. I tried to contact Doug Hooper from the tag office. He never returned my call. 404-362-2650. It seems that they are not going to do anything until lawyers get involved and that is ashame. Contact you local representitive or even better the Govenor. The current law, passed by the GA. General Assembly is in the GA code. 32.9.4 and 40.2.76. HR-14-passed and signed by the govenor on 2/09/05. California has started to issue the stickers at $8.00 a pop and we are still sitting on our hands looking like fools. But thats just my opinion.
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Theatre at the Center presents Plaid Tidings
Oct 10, 2012
The hilarious holiday musical sequel to the record-breaking FOREVER PLAID, PLAID TIDINGS, entertains Theatre at the Center audiences November 15 through December 23 at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster. The press performance will be November 18 at 7 p.m. Stuffed with such "Plaid-erized" Christmas standards as "Mr. Santa," "Let It Snow" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," PLAID TIDINGS is one holiday treat that is truly heaven-sent. Theatre at the Center Artistic Director William Pullinsi will direct the production starring Rod Thomas as "Francis", Scott Stratton as "Smudge", Frank J. Paul as "Jinx" and Jonathan Wagner as "Sparky". CBS Chicago's own Bill Kurtis also lends his celebrity voice for a special part in the production.PLAID TIDINGS continues the story of the singing group whose lives were lost in an accident involving a busload of teens en route to see "The Ed Sullivan Show." Encouraged by a heavenly phone call from Rosemary Clooney, the high-spirited boys of FOREVER PLAID are transported from the ethereal cosmos to stage a nostalgic holiday extravaganza for world-weary mortals on Earth.A show for the whole family, PLAID TIDINGS combines familiar tunes from the '50s and '60s with traditional holiday songs and carols. Sprinkled among the Christmas offerings are audience favorites like the riotous three minute and eleven second version of "The Ed Sullivan Show" - this time featuring the Rockettes, the Chipmunks and The Vienna Boys Choir, and a Plaid Caribbean Christmas which puts the "Day-O" in Excelsis! The Artistic Team, led by Artistic Director William Pullinsi, features Musical Direction and Orchestrations by William Underwood and choreography by Nicole Miller. The design team includes Scenic Designer Ann Davis, Lighting Designer Shelley Strasser Holland, Sound Designer Barry G. Funderburg, Props and Costume Designer Brenda Winstead. The Stage Manager is Rebecca Green, the Production Manager/Technical Director is Ann Davis and TATC's General Manager is Richard Friedman. Founded in 1991, Theatre at the Center is a year-round professional theater at its home, The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. Theatre at the Center is Located off I-80/94, just 35 minutes from downtown Chicago, and has free parking.
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Activists report new strikes near Syrian capital
Syrian troops and rebels fought in embattled suburbs of the capital Damascus Tuesday, as government air raids and shelling in the other regions killed several dozen people, activists said.
The violence came a day after Syria's deputy foreign minister said President Bashar Assad will not step down before scheduled presidential elections in mid-2014. Faisal Mekdad said Assad will be running again for the post next year - a declaration which lowers already diminished expectations that a political settlement can be reached.
Since Syria's crisis began in March 2011, the opposition has said it will not accept anything less than Assad's departure.
Mekdad's comments appear to contradict a plan proposed by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. Since starting his job in the summer, Brahimi has sought to advance an international plan that calls for an open-ended cease-fire between rebels and government troops and the formation of a transitional government to run the country until elections can be held.
Brahimi has not mentioned Assad by name in the plan, but he has said the transitional government would have "full executive powers," meaning "all the authority of the state should be possessed by that government" - a description that would seem to exclude the incumbent Assad from a role.
Asked by a BBC interviewer if the president says he wants to run in 2014, Mekdad answered, "What's wrong with that?"
"The president and many other candidates who may run will go to the people put their programs and to be elected by the people," Mekdad said in English. "The ballot box will be the place where the future of the leadership of Syria will be decided."
"It is a coup d'etat if the if we listen to what the armed groups and those enemies of Syria are proposing," Mekdad said, referring to the opposition and countries that support it.
Earlier this month, Assad dismissed calls from the U.S. and others that he step down and vowed to keep fighting until the country is free of "terrorists" - his government's shorthand for rebels.
Last year, a new constitution drafted in Syria imposed a limit of two seven-year terms on the president, but the limit would not count the nearly 13 years that he has already held the office. It means Assad could remain legally in power through 2028.
Assad came to power in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez Assad, who ruled Syria since 1970.
Mekdad said it is undemocratic to tell Assad not to run for the post again.
"In a democracy you don't tell somebody not to run," Mekdad said. "So why to exclude x and y from such a democratic process? This is absolutely not democracy. This is pseudo-democracy."
Meanwhile, activists reported clashes in the southern Damascus suburbs of Beit Saham and Daraya as well as the Eastern Ghouta region and the southern neighborhood of Mleiha. The government is trying to drive rebels from their bases around Damascus from which they can threaten key facilities.
Away from Damascus, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees activist groups said troops bombarded the Houla region in the central province of Homs, killing at least 10 people including five women and two children. The LCC said 17 people were killed in Homs, most of them in Houla.
Both groups also reported deaths in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, the southern region of Daraa and the central province of Hama.
In Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported that a bomb went off on the roof of a home used by two Syrian families that fled the violence in Syria. The agency said the house in a village in the northern Akkar region was damaged, but there were no casualties.
It added that authorities are investigating the incident. There are some 180,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.
The U.N. says at least 60,000 people have been killed in the war and millions have fled their homes.


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Recipe from Candy McMenamin of Lexington, S.C.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
1/2 cup peanut oil (can sub vegetable oil or Canola)
10 pods okra, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon dried pesto seasoning (found on the spice aisle)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. In a small bowl, combine egg and milk. In another small bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, seasoning, salt, and pepper.
3. Dip okra slices in egg mixture and dredge through flour mixture.
4. Place in hot oil and fry, stirring continuously, until okra is golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Yield: 4 servings
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in or provided through this site section is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be and is not a substitute for professional advice. Use of this site section and any information contained on or provided through this site section is at your own risk and any information contained on or provided through this site section is provided on an "as is" basis without any representations or warranties.


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Riverside County is the place to be on Saturday, with one festival dedicated to craft beer and another celebrating tamales, both taking place that day.
Several Inland Empire breweries (along with many more from outside the region) are getting together for the third Taste of Brews Inland Empire.
After two years at Riverside's downtown White Park, the festival has moved to Eastvale's Crossroads Riverview Park, home of the Koroneburg Old World Renaissance Festival and California's only permanent Renaissance village.
The event will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Inland Empire is being represented by Chino's I & I Brewing, Yucaipa's Brew Rebellion, Redlands' Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Upland's Dale Bros. Brewery, Moreno Valley's Kat Daddy Brewery, Norco's Sons of Liberty Aleworks, and Riverside's Heroes Restaurant and Brewery, Inland Empire Brewing Company, Packinghouse Brewing Company, Thompson Brewing Co., and Wicks Brewing Co., among others.
Tickets start at $30 (plus $2.64 service fee) for general admission (entrance at 1 p.m.), with a discount offered for groups of six or more.
A portion of proceeds will go to the Loyal Order of Re-enactment Enthusiasts.
All tickets include craft beer tasting, free water, live music and access to food trucks, including Slammin' Sliders, Dogzilla, Porko Rico BBQ and Garlicscapes.
Crossroads Riverview Park is at 14600 Baron Drive.
Head to the Dine 909 blog (www.insidesocal.com/dine909) for links to ticket purchases and more information.
Taking place at the former site of Taste of Brews is the Riverside Tamale Festival.
The event will take run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at White Park, 3936 Chestnut St., in downtown Riverside.
The festival returns for a second year of entertainment, family fun, contests, and of course, tamales.
Contests include tamale eating and "best tamale" for both vendors and home tamale makers.
Judges include Santana lead singer Andy Vargas and actress and singer Christina "T Lopez."
There's also a kids' zone, sponsored by John's Incredible Pizza.
Admission is just $1.
The event is a fundraiser for the formation of the Trujillo Adobe Foundation for the restoration of the adobe and the revitalization of La Placita del los Trujillos.
Head to the Dine 909 blog for more information.
This is also your final reminder about the Redlands Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry, which takes place beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at Ed Hales Park, Fifth and State streets.
If you have baked something to sell, you can drop it off today at Cakewalk Cake and Candy Supply, 2083 Orange Tree Lane.
There also will be a prize wheel with dozens of prizes to win, including gift certificates to local restaurants and more.
If you are unable to make it to the bake sale, donations can be made online by visiting http://join.nokidhungry.org/goto/IECookieMonsters2014.
Proceeds will benefit No Kid Hungry, an organization whose goal is to end childhood hunger in America.
John Plessel is Systems Editor for the San Bernardino Sun and also blogs for Dine 909. Visit the blog at www.insidesocal.com/dine909 or email Dine 909 at email@example.com.


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War, What is it Good For? Learning from Wargaming
"To a wargamer," writes Greg Costikyan in the just published collection Tabletop: Analog Game Design, "wargames are not abstract, time-wasting pastimes, like other games, but representative of the real. . . . You can learn something from wargames; indeed, in some ways you can learn more from wargames than from reading history" (180). I take the theatrical curl of the lip at "abstract, time-wasting pastimes" to be spoken in character, but that aside, what can we learn from wargames? Which is to say, what can wargames teach, or do, that other game design traditions—including serious games, independent games, and art games—cannot? Is brute simulationism—some sort of interactive history textbook, presumably—really the answer?
My investment in this question goes deep, since as an academic and a good left/progressive at that I often find myself wondering about—and occasionally asked to outright explain—my passion for these martial pastimes. A wargamer, especially one who follows military history and current military affairs, looks suspiciously like a closet warmonger, complete with Mission Accomplished banners furled in back behind the winter coats. (It goes the other way too: announcing "I'm an English professor" isn't exactly a conversation-starter when the person sitting next to you is dressed in ACUPAT fatigues.) I've written about some of the appeal and interest of these games before on Play the Past, but the other week I had an opportunity to see how wargaming is presented amid the formal trappings of Powerpoints and plenaries. Connections is an annual conference designed to fit the niche at the intersection of professional and recreational wargaming, with active duty military personnel, hobbyists, academics, designers, industry representatives, and policy wonks all rubbing shoulders. I'd never been to one of its meetings before, but as an academic I'm no stranger to conferences—I have literally hundreds of keepsake badges adorning my office. So, on a sticky August morning I hied me down to the Washington, DC campus of National Defense University at Fort McNair, just across the river from National Airport. There I found lots of people talking about what wargames can and can't do, but very few talking about "representing the real."
But more about that in a moment. Wargaming, as I suggested or at least implied above, is a distinct game design tradition. Indeed, the Connections conference advertised itself as being held on the 200th anniversary of the "invention" of wargaming. What can this mean, with games like Chess and Go dating back to antiquity? In the early 1800s, the Prussian staff officer Georg von Reisswitz formally introduced his Kriegsspiel, a game played by laying metal bars across maps to mark troop dispositions (derived from a set his father had made up) to his fellow officers. "This is not a game! This is training for war!" one general is said to have exclaimed. (The authoritative account of the origins and development of Kriegsspiel is to be found in Peter Perla's excellent The Art of Wargaming.)
The game used dice to resolve random events like combat within a spectrum of probabilistic outcomes, and featured formal rules and procedures. It was quickly adopted and became the foundation for the German use of wargaming (Kriegsspiel) which persisted through World War II (these are the very "sand table exercises" of which Friedrich Kittler gnomically writes in his preface to Grammaphone, Film, Typewriter). By the end of the 19th century, the game had evolved two major variants, so-called "rigid" and "free" Kriegsspiel. The latter attempted to replace the elaborate rules and calculations of the von Reisswitz game with a human umpire who made decisions about combat, intelligence, and other aspects of the battlefield.
This design fork between rigid and free Kriegsspiel was to find itself echoed in the 20th century's evolution of tabletop RPGs from historical miniatures wargaming, as chronicled by fellow Play the Past contributor Rob MacDougall. Likewise, the same basic schism governs wargame design today. While the hobbyist fascination with recreating Gettysburg and Waterloo with rules and charts and hexes and counters persists in the best tradition of rigid Kriegsspiel, professional wargames are often, by contrast, collaborative and team-based, with a premium on verbal interaction and problem solving. They are umpired. Players do not have complete information about the scenario, and scenarios can be abruptly modified by "injects," developments introduced in mid-play by the game master. Most of the action seems to involve sitting around a table and talking (sometimes colloquially referred to as BOGSAT, "Bunch of Guys [and Girls] Sitting Around a Table" by those in the know). Such games, which are staged not only by the Pentagon but also by corporate consulting firms like Booz Allen Hamilton, can be about response to a global pandemic or an interruption in the supply chain for a manufacturing process as well as military operations and contingencies. Wargaming, increasingly, is a term as likely to be encountered in a business leadership seminar as inside a Beltway think tank.
And indeed, at Connections, the emphasis was consistently placed on expanding wargame design methodology to new subject spaces and domains. NDU President Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondau who opened the conference asked, "What happens when Yemen runs out of water? How do you game that?" Indeed, over and over again, wargaming was presented as a tool not for learning or simulating history, but for teaching critical decision-making; on this there was near complete consensus.
The combination of mathematical descriptions of events (specifically the strain of quantitative modeling known as operations research) coupled with a heavy emphasis on the behavioralist tradition in political and social science was the chief epistemological axis in play at Connections, while games topics under discussion ranged from terrorism and counter-insurgency to the global energy crisis. Neither Jane McGonigal's World Without Oil nor Mary Flanagan's POX would have been greatly out of place there. The gathering at NDU stands in marked contrast to Costikyan's insistence on hawkish simulationism as the hallmark of wargame design versus other game design traditions. The Connections presenters focused not on a given game's predictive value, but on its potential as a vehicle for its participants, either through role-playing or the arbitrary rule-based constraints of the game world, to critically examine their own assumptions and decision-making processes. The best games, concluded one speaker (Roger Mason, who designs game for law enforcement and emergency responders), were those that could be learned in under ten minutes and played in under two hours, and which sought to engage participants through a combination of competitive play, social interaction, and suspense or uncertainty regarding the eventual outcome.
Nor can we simply ascribe the disconnect between the Connections crowd and Costikyan to a schism between the world of professional game research and the hobbyist community of which the latter was speaking. One internet discussion group which I frequent was recently the site of vociferous debate over how history is modeled in various game designs about the Napoleonic era. The epitome of the simulationist tradition, a venerable game system known as La Bataille which dates back to the 1970s and whose hex-grids have overlain many a grognard's table, was challenged for its obsession with the minutiae of battlefield phenomena such as formations, the dispositions of individual battalions and gun batteries, and even the accuracy of the uniform depictions which grace its distinctive unit counters. By contrast, the more desirable and historically rewarding games, it was suggested, were those that aspired to a gestalt view, manifested (in the words of Charles Vasey) in a "belief that the individual actions of sub-units (a Brownian motion of battalions) can be swept up into much larger outcomes without the need to determine the individual actions individually." Most of the more successful Napoleonic game designs of the last twenty years or so hew to the latter model (dubbed "dynamicist" on the forum) as opposed to the La Bataille drill-book formula. This discussion is not unrepresentative of hobbyist trends in general, where an obsession with rivet-counting (as it is sometimes called) is far less fashionable than shorter, quick-playing games which seek to model an overall commander's decision-making amid the chaos and uncertainty of the battlefield. Richard Borg's very popular Command and Colors series of designs is emblematic of this trend, as is the emergence of the CDG (Card-Driven Game) school, epitomized by cross-over games like Hannibal and Twilight Struggle.
By any measure, wargaming is in an interesting place right now. On the one hand there is a documentable design tradition that goes back at least decades (to Charles S. Roberts and the founding of Avalon Hill in the early 1950s) or centuries (to von Reisswitz), or, if you like, even further back than that, to the clay figurines discovered in Egyptian tombs. But as wargaming seeks to expand the purview of its design space beyond only martial topics and themes, its relationship to other areas of game design becomes more nebulous. What does a "war" game about the water supply in Yemen or influenza teach us that a newsgame on the same subject might miss? If wargaming is indeed applicable to any contemporary situation that seeks to examine decision-making amid an atmosphere of crisis, uncertainty, and conflict or competition, then it seems important to be able to discriminate its capabilities vis-à-vis other game design movements.
Jim Dunnigan, who founded the legendary SPI in 1969 (where he was also Costikyan's first boss) gives us some starting points in his own contribution to the new Tabletop anthology, in which he lays out primitives that–while forged amid hex and counter belligerence–are applicable to any game design situation. These include such variables as scale, environment, "intensity," basic and special aspects to be modeled, and unknowns ("fog of war"); the primitives also include game design objectives, which might be analytical or exploratory or pedagogical; interface and physical systems; basic research; the sequence of play; resolution of conflict ("combat") and adjudication of victory; and so on. These underlying precepts, which have been honed through hundreds of hobbyist designs, might be used to recapitulate the Battle of Kursk, but they might also be used to teach wilderness navigation, as in Dunnigan's own Outdoor Survival, or to model the tensions and dynamics behind the 1999 WTO protests, as in Brian Train's Battle of Seattle.
It's worth noting that Dunnigan cultivated an extremely strong internal design culture at SPI, with core sets of rules and procedures codified and underlying games on a wide variety of topics at varying levels of complexity. The sheer output of SPI—dozens of games a year at its heyday—makes it an important study in the leveraging of a centralized game design process.
If Dunnigan gives us methodological primitives, Rex Brynen, Professor of Political Science at McGill and proprietor of the excellent PaxSims blog, offers additional essential insight. In his own coverage of Connections, Brynen suggests that "[W]argaming is much more policy- and planning- oriented than most other gaming. It also has much more rigorous traditions of design, validation, adjudication, instrumentation/reporting, and analysis." This seems fundamentally right to me, and an excellent start. Wargame design, if not "realistic" in a mimetically simple or brute simulationist sense, does have a responsibility to "storyboard" its products, that is map a game's findings to known or historically plausible outcomes. This storyboarding injects an element of ground truth into the design process that is very different from the obligations of, say, a Eurostyle game, which, regardless of theme (trading, settling, railroading, etc.) is not meshing its mechanics with any external measures of validation, at least not beyond those of the marketplace.
Likewise, as Brynen notes, wargames have also developed precedents and formats for the dissemination of game sessions and their outcomes, in the form of after action reports and debriefings. These might assume greater or lesser degrees of formality in their presentation, but conflict and resolution is, as any narratologist will tell you, the essence of story-telling, and so just as the competition and contest inherent in warfare lends itself to game situations, so too does war (and games about war) make for compelling narrative experience. (So, storyboarding and storytelling: maybe that's why I keep getting drawn back into my bellicose little cardboard worlds. I am, after all, an English professor, and that makes me something like a professional connoisseur of stories, wherever we may find them.)
Finally, let's remember that wargaming was the first real laboratory for independent games in the commercial marketplace. Charles S. Roberts at Avalon Hill had no desire to compete with Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley. Today outfits like GMT and Victory Point Games are able to survive, even thrive, on thin market margins because they produce and print games either on subscription or on demand. This means that designers can work on marginal topics without any immediate economic peril.
Likewise, Philip Sabin, who uses wargames in his military history courses as King's College, London is able to turn each student into his or her own independent game designer, partly as a result of the dissemination of the design tradition to which I refer above (from which students can borrow and steal ideas) and partly because of the DIY access to basic tools and physical systems, be they cardboard and glue or computer platforms such as VASSAL and Cyberboard.
So what can we learn from wargames? Where Costikyan sees realism and historical fidelity and validity in simulation, I see a contemporary player and design community (both hobbyist and professional) that values attention to process in the procedural or quantitative representation of complex, often literally contested phenomena. Where Costikyan sees a focus on outcomes, I see a focus on the in-game experience, and the after the fact analysis and discussion of what happened and why.
Perhaps most importantly I see a game design tradition with a remarkable amount of open source material (collected in magazines, some books (like SPI's 1983 Wargame Design), and today on the internet) that engages with its own practice and craft, one which is the scene of often sharp disagreements and ongoing critical self-reflection. Designer's notes are commonplace in wargame rulebooks, rare in computer game manuals and Eurostyle rulebooks. The impulse that's at work here seems fundamentally pedagogical to me, and perhaps that's also why I respond to it so deeply.
Wargaming must do a better job of outreach to neighboring design communities, and to vetting and evaluating its own contributions. There is, at present, no peer-reviewed journal to serve the professional wargame design community; the closest is a SAGE publication, Simulation and Gaming. Connections, as a well-established conference (its been meeting for almost twenty years now) would do well to make deeper inroads into both the serious games movement and academic ludology—there was precious little awareness in the discussions I heard of the outpouring of game scholarship in the last fifteen years or so. Blogs like Play the Past and PaxSims should recognize their kindred interests and audiences. Most of all, though, we need to engage wargaming as a living tradition of game design, one has responded to changes in the games industry and the world around it, one that is no longer simply about hexes and zones of control, and one that has preserved a space for critical, independent game design addressing a broad spectrum of contemporary issues and topics. War, it turns out, is good for lots of things—just so long as no one is actually fighting one.
25 Comments
That's McGill, not McMaster–but great piece, Matt!
"There is, at present, no peer-reviewed journal to serve the professional wargame design community"
Stay tuned… 🙂
I'm not so sure a peer-reviewed professional wargaming journal is the best place to focus efforts: http://wargamingcommunity.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/does-the-field-need-a-professional-wargaming-journal/
Matthew, my feedback is that your writing is superb and your overview of war games is invaluable for a novice like myself.
You state that "wargaming was presented [at Connections] as a tool not for learning or simulating history, but for teaching critical decision-making." This theme – ably explained over the course of the essay – is seminal not only for war games but all serious games and heuristic learning. Bravo Matthew
Great post. Having played Avalon Hill and SPI games since the 1970s (but no face-to-face gaming in at least 10 years), I really enjoyed reading this. I'll have to direct my old ftf gaming friends here for a read!
A well argued post, Matt. I do feel I've been set up a bit as a straw man; note that my purpose in characterizing wargames as "about the real" was to contrast them with other schools of boardgame design (abstract strategy, Eurogame, and Ameritrash); the simulationist impulse is indeed core to wargaming in a way that it is not to those others. Nor is this belied by your otherwise valid point that the trend in wargame design is away from picayune detail; the extreme of that style would be Richard Berg's Campaign for North Africa, in which you do such things as keep track of the amount of water available to individual battalions. This is intensely simulationist in a sense, but in another sense, that level of detail sabotages the game's depiction of reality; Rommel and Montgomery surely did not concern themselves with something so picayune, any more than, say, Bob Iger, Disney's CEO and my ultimate boss at present, reads my game design specs. Simulation fidelity is often improved by simplicity, since this allows players to focus on the actual issues and concerns of the situation.
Great article! It is particularly interesting to distinguish wargaming from boardgaming. Perhaps the closer analogy to wargaming (worldgaming?) would be better found in the world of LARPs (Live Action Role-Playing games) and jeepform(?) (Greg C. is often on about this).
There does seem to be a core distinction between games as systems or rule-drive (rigid) and games as story-making enterprises (free). The games that NDU seems to be more interested in are in the latter category which have much more to do with (real) role-playing and story exploring than any of the SPI games we all grew up with.
Great review and great points! I'm glad that you posted a link to this on the Game For Change list serve. I strongly agree that both of these communities can benefit by looking at what the other has to offer.
Good stuff.
Let me pick up one of your themes. For me at least, a wargame has value if it passes the test, "Does it impart something worth knowing about its subject?" This is a pretty low bar, though, and indeed it might even be lower than it looks. As Rex Brynen has pointed out, for example in his review of GMT's Labyrinth game, even occasional weaknesses in a game's model can by exploited by a skilled teacher, so long as the basic structure is sound.
The more interesting test is I think, "Does it add something to the sum of our knowledge on its topic?" In this regard, though apparently lacking somewhat in rigour, the attempt by John Prados to "prove" hypotheses using multiple plays of the SPI Cobra game is a heroic recent effort. (In "Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped WW II in Europe.")
Even should a game fail to meet the stringent conditions of Test 2 in their entirety, I do not believe that its value would be necessarily limited solely to the classroom. La Bataille can possibly provide an example of what I mean. The precise meaning and nuance of the language in Napoleonic military history source material has eroded over the years, to the point where even an informed reader must spend much time scratching his head in frustration. When does the apparently ubiquitous phrase "column" mean one of a number of specific formations, and when does it mean a body of troops, to pick one obvious example of many.
By providing the tools to test alternate interpretations of the source language in a virtual cardboard model, a La Bataille game (or more properly, fragments of the game) may provide clarity, or even insight, not easily obtainable through other means. Whether La Bataille is acting as a "game" in such an endeavour is a question on which I would defer to the more qualified voices in this forum.
Excellent post Matt, and thank you for the hat-tip for Battle of Seattle. I designed that game just a couple of weeks after the actual events, to try and teach a couple of simple points about how it wasn't so much what you were doing, but where and who saw it – for good or ill; and the easy availability but ultimately counterproductive nature of violence in mob-confrontation situations. The game is still available from my website for free but it has popped up on some places on the left side of the Net. I don't mind as long as I still get the name-check….
Great article: There is educational value in designing and playing games. There seems to be a current move away from pure military subjects to representing society and economy. The common thread seems to be enabling interactive decision making by the players.
There are many types of game. The Wargame Developments (WD) website (attached) has a handbook-
Tabletop, map-figures, committee, cardboard simulator and live role play all feature. Subjects covered include the intrigues of the contemporaries of Tutankhamun, history current events and the shapes of things to come. The conference that WD runs each July in England is unique as a forum for multiple play tests of these. A well tested system of interactions is the key of a successful game.
To be honest very little of this struck a chord.
I see a wargame as a means to test ones ability to say, command a company. One of the issues is I am not a military man. A company commander that knows intimately how a platoon will deploy and can to some significant extent ignore this aspesct. I have seen enough of real platoon commnders to know that I could not easily replace him with a few chosen words in a rule book. Therfore games need to be played at a set of diffrent levels, very simply, as real commanders have a much broader scope. This leads to understanding of the basics of command and deployment.
Learning to be a Platoon commander takes more than ten minutes to understand and learn, more like years in the real world, particularly as certainly the command is backed up by an experienced NCO who may have vastly more experiencxe than a new platoon commander.
So a professional "wrgame" taking 10 miniutes to learn and 3 hrs to play is patently a different animal, wargame but "Not as we Know it Jim".
A airline pilot can learn to fly with a preponderance of time spent on a simulator. It does not really impact the overall "flying time" needed to qualify.
Wargames are to some extent a poor mans "Miles simulator" where guns are replaced by lazer beams. The US even use 3D VR to do similar. Wargames can be a mixture of this and basic l;earning of how to deploy in time and space. This is wildly diffrent to a set of folk siting roiund chatting. This is more like a risk assessment we do in engineering where we look at potential routes and hazards for a particular proiject. All experts looking at some basics but it is in no way a simulation of the enginnering taks or even basic planning. Therfore not I submit anything in co0mmon wih at least some tabletop games.
On that basis the whole of the article is somewhat flawed in not covering all aspects of wargame simulation at all and then covering only a some aspects in detail.
Avlon hills Advanced Squad leader, though perhaps too detailed and too low level, is a commecially succcessful type of game that is not realy represented well in this papaer. It CANNOT SHOULD NOT BE ten Minutes to learn and 3 hrs to play. That would be ridiculus as the real world is not like that and the plaer would learn nothing of the basics of understanding the tactical issues.
: Here I like strategic or operational level games. I want to learn history. I am looking for wargames (or history games) with clear easy rules (don't want to spend my time reading the rulebook), that have fast turns (so I can see history unfolding)and that simulate the war accurately. I play reasonably fast, not doing factor counting. I don't identify with one side or the other. I am a neutral observer. Every once in a while I will stop moving counters and study the situation for one side or the other, and try to understand the strategic decisions that were made historically. Then I play a couple of turns fast to see what unfolds. I expect a good solo wargame to be able to recreate the historical result effortlessly (without special rules to guide the game). This gives me confidence in the game's ability to predict the result of "what if" decisions that deviate from history.
- Does the field need a professional wargaming journal? | Wargaming Connection - [...] a blog post over at Play the Past, Matt Kirschenbaum asks the question what can be learned from wargaming?…
- Connections 11 AARs | Wargaming Connection - [...] Brynen: http://paxsims.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/connections-2011-aar/ Matthew Kirschenbaum: http://www.playthepast.org/?p=1819 Brian Train: [...]
- Infovore » Links for August 22nd - [...] War, What is it Good For? Learning from Wargaming | Play The Past Super-good article about wargames, through the…
- Educational Games Research » Kriegsspiel: Powerful Lesson from War Games - [...] Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) over at University of Maryland, has a most excellent article on…
- ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education - [...] their own games throughout the conference. The event will include BootCamps on topics ranging from boardgames to ARGs, from building…
- ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education - [...] and often include complex simulations. Physical games cover a wide range of concepts, from tabletop war games to pandemic…
- War, What is it Good For? Learning from Wargaming - TheNewTopical.com - current events, politics, culture, ethics, economics discussion forum - [...] [...]
- THATCamp Games Retrospective | Play The Past - [...] for my workshop on wargames and conflict simulation, which was inspired by my PtP post on "War, What is…
- Making the Connection | Play The Past - [...] while back I wrote a post here called "War, What is it Good For?" based on my experience at…


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fl, vlc
2-8 instr
B4, 14 pages
Lately we've unfortunately been having issues with payments using certain card types. If you are unable to complete a credit card payment through our webshop, please contact us at email@example.com. We will then set up an alternative way of paying as quickly as possible.
EU customers are required to pay a general sales tax / VAT of 25%. However, you are eligible for VAT exemption if you have a valid VAT number in the country where you reside. In order for us to validate your VAT number, you need to create a user profile or simply sign in if your VAT number has already been validated.


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Must like holidays, no experience necessary …
Lastminute.com is looking for a 'spontaneity champion' to spend an entire year trying out the different holidays they offer, but it's not the first time a job that good has been advertised
Travel around the world, and get paid to do it. As jobs go, it sounds too good to be true. But for those holding out for employment that meets these criteria, things are looking up; recruitment opportunities for the "best jobs in the world" are definitely on the rise.
Today, lastminute.com became the latest travel company to offer one lucky individual the chance to become a professional holidayer. The site is the on the hunt for a "Spontaneity Champion", who will be given £50,000 worth of travel and experiences to "road test" over the course of 2014. The winner will get do something different every weekend of the year – from long haul breaks to luxury hotel stays in London – and by sharing what they get up to will become the online face of the brand.
The ideal candidate will "have a spontaneous approach to life which will inspire others," which we assume translates as, "is very good at persuading people to drop everything and book a holiday."
Indeed, it is not just the winner that wins here – for a very modest outlay holiday companies are boosting their social media presence, and there have been a string of such opportunities offered by savvy travel operators.
In August, online travel agents Jauntaroo launched a campaign to find a "Chief World Explorer", who will be paid $100,000 to fly to destinations across the globe. Among the desired attributes for the job is being "partial to naps and/or massages on pristine beaches", however they are also expected to blog about their travels, sharing photos, videos and other content through the site's social media channels along the way.
Earlier this year, UK company First Choice advertised for a "slide tester" to spend six months riding and rating the water slides at its SplashWorld resorts around the world, while enjoying free accommodation and an ample £20,000 salary.
Back in 2009, Tourism Queensland advertised for someone to live on the great barrier reef for six months and "house sit" the tropical islands there. The stunt, which is where the "best job in the world" moniker originates, received 34,000 applicants from 200 countries. From a $1m investment, Tourism Queensland generated more than $110m of global publicity.
The idea was then adopted by Tourism Australia, who now run an annual competition for six jobs, with increasingly daft titles, such as "chief funster" and "wildlife caretaker".
This year Virgin Australia also jumped on the concept, collaborating with Tourism Australia to offer the role of "high flyer" as a seventh "best job". The position involves flying around the country "experiencing the heights of Australian hospitality".
And since 2007, STA Travel have run a "World Traveler Internship", which invites young people to enjoy a paid for holiday, producing videos and taking photos in each country they visit.
It seems that when it comes to bagging the "best job in the world", you've got a better chance than you think.
Link to article: feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663875/s/3351175a/sc/10/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Ctravel0C20A130Cnov0C0A50Choliday0Espontaneity0Echampion0Elastminute0Ecom/story01.htm


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WSDOT's count is part of the National Documentation Project, an annual bicycle and pedestrian count and survey effort that is sponsored by the Institute of Transportation Engineers Pedestrian and Bicycle Council. The results also measure progress toward WSDOT's goal of increasing non-motorized trips.
Cascade Bicycle Club is using its network of members and other volunteers to perform the counts in these cities: Bellevue, Bellingham, Bothell, Bremerton, Duvall, Ellensburg, Everett, Issaquah, Kelso, Kent, Kirkland, Longview, Mercer Island, Mountlake Terrace, Olympia, Redmond, Richland, Seattle, Shoreline, Spokane, Tacoma, Tukwila, Vancouver, Walla Walla, Wenatchee and Yakima. Volunteers interested in helping can learn more by visiting WSDOT's website, www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/Count.htm, or by contacting Cascade Bicycle Club at [email protected] or calling 206-204-0913.
Previous reports are posted online and a follow-up trends report will be available in January 2011. For more information go to: www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/Count.htm.


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"Engagement" is a word that is getting a lot of attention in email marketing circles these days. If you haven't heard it before, let's clarify: It does not refer to making a lifetime commitment to open, read and cherish your emails, forever and ever, 'til browser incompatibilities or a particularly compelling YouTube video do you part. Rather, engagement in email marketing refers to whether email recipients are opening, clicking, and forwarding your messages.
The root of engagement is the verb engage, and these definitions from thefreedictionary.com encapsulate the feelings we want to engender in our contacts when they receive our emails:
- To attract and hold the attention of; engross: Her hobby engaged her for hours at a time.
- To win over or attract: His smile engages everyone he meets.
- To draw into; involve: Try to engage a shy person in conversation.
What email marketer doesn't want engaged readers? Can you imagine what your sales and tracking results would be if your readers were so engrossed and drawn into your emails that they opened your messages as soon as they hit the inbox, clicked on the links, and shared the messages?
Obviously, the desire for interested, active readers is not a new thing. Everyone wants engaged recipients who open and click on links. So why has "engagement" become such a recent buzzword in email marketing circles?
The Perils of Low Engagement
The emphasis on engagement in email marketing has come about because of the ways email providers—particularly Gmail—have changed their engagement metrics to determine whether emails are wanted by their recipients. With these metrics, senders whose messages result in high engagement —i.e., opens, clicks, and forwards—from their readers earn a better sender reputation. The better your sender reputation, the more likely you are to get your emails into those inboxes in the first place.
Conversely, senders whose emails generate low engagement—i.e., low open rates, delayed opens, deletion of messages, or lack of action—earn a worse sender reputation. As a recent Huffington Post blog entry noted, "Major email providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and AOL have implemented new algorithms for email deliverability based on 'engagement.' If your emails are not triggering sufficient interaction, they are likely not to be delivered." That's right—poor engagement now leads to poor deliverability.
Some Tips to Improve Engagement
Sending good content is obviously key in engaging your subscribers, but it is not the only thing you can do to drive up those critical engagement rates. Here are five tips:
- Follow basic best practices for obtaining leads. People who don't want your emails won't read them. Review your opt-in process to ensure you're doing the right things and not the wrong things.
- Send targeted emails. Too many marketers send a blast to their entire lists, reducing the effectiveness of their messaging. Segmenting your contacts according to their interests and sending them targeted information improves engagement.
- Practice regular list hygiene by re-engaging disengaged subscribers. Win back disengaged email subscribers by following the tips outlined here. I recommend performing ongoing maintenance by sending re-engagement emails to subscribers who subscribed to your list over six months ago and have not opened a single message in those six months. Email marketers with higher send frequencies may want to perform this task more often—perhaps every three months.
- Eliminate disengaged contacts from your list. If you have contacts whom you've already attempted to re-engage but who still do not open your messages or click your links, it is probably best to permanently remove them from your list. I recommend removing any contacts added over 12 months ago who have not opened a single message in the past year. If you are an iContact managed account customer, your Strategic Advisor can assist you with this.
- Hire an email marketing analyst. iContact offers Strategic Advisors who will look at your sending content, sending patterns, tracking histories, and lists to help you devise a marketing strategy to improve your engagement.
Do you have any additional tips to share on how to re-engage disengaged contacts? Can you offer other insights on this topic? We'd love to hear from you below!


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Romulo Yanes
Classic salad, meet the open-face sandwich. Our version includes garlic-scented toast and a versatile, new-school egg salad made with cottage cheese, parsley, and capers.
- Yield
- Makes 4 servings
- Active Time
- 20 minutes
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- 4 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley plus 1 cup leaves
- 2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice, divided
- 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped capers
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup quartered pitted mixed olives
- 4 ounces tuna packed in olive oil (preferably pole-caught), drained, broken into pieces
- 4 1/2-inch-thick slices rustic bread
- 1 garlic clove, halved
- Combine eggs, cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, capers, and scallion in a medium bowl. Using a potato masher or large fork, mash until a coarse paste forms. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss 2 tablespoons oil, 1 cup parsley leaves, 1 tablespoons lemon juice, tomatoes, and olives in a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Gently fold in tuna (don't overmix; keep it chunky).
- Toast bread; rub 1 side with cut end of garlic. Spread egg salad on top of each slice, dividing equally. Top with tuna mixture.
Per serving: 390 calories, 21g fat, 2g fiber


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Boobie Cake decorating contest was a success!Monday, October 26th, 2009
For all those who don't know – I sell Pampered Chef products. This past weekend I held a Breast Cancer fundraiser where I had Boobie cakes for people to decorate. It was alot of fun – and the winner got a Medium Bar Pan – part of our stoneware collection Thanks everyone who helped!! Cat


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We're looking for collaborators, innovators, and leaders who can help keep us at the forefront of the nuclear energy industry. Think you have what it takes?
Find Out More
We've been advancing the nuclear industry since it's inception more than 50 years ago. Find out what drives us to develop products and services that keep us at the helm of nuclear technology leadership.
Westinghouse is committed to operating with integrity, safety, and with the highest of ethical standards.
Westinghouse is committed to giving back to the communities where we work and live.
The Westinghouse legacy is one of determination, innovation and progress. We're proud of our corporate heritage, and honored to carry on the name Westinghouse.
Learn more about the in-depth experience and leadership responsibilities of the Westinghouse executive staff.
Get the latest information on what's new at Westinghouse.
With more than 11,000 employees in 20 countries, we're truly a global company with a local presence. Find the location to best serve your needs.


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Series 1700 light
Application area
Internal transport of small materials as well as use for assembly machines or packaging machines. Suitable for implementing gravity roller conveyors.
The use of precision ball bearings, Technopolymer bearing housings and seals result in very quiet running.
Lateral loading
The tube ends are rounded, thereby allowing materials to be easily moved on from the side. Axial forces are removed through ball bearings and seals.
Small roller pitches
Small roller pitches can be implemented by using rollers with a diameter of 20 or 30 mm.
Robust construction
To achieve a high axial load capacity, particularly of bearing housings, ball bearings and seal, the bearing housing is not only pressed into the tube for the versions with metal tube, but also flanged. The bearing assemblies of the PVC tubes with a diameter of 30 mm are secured not only with a press fit, but also with an internal press-in edge.


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Borland Software has announced TeamDefine, a simulation tool that lets business stakeholders translate initial software project concepts into working models through storyboards and interactive simulations. Team members can then try these simulations to gain an understanding of the features and functions before development begins. According to Borland, TeamDefine can render an interactive simulation that "shows" a requirement in a way that word-processing documents can't. This leads to dynamic conversations, valuable feedback, and faster consensus between business and development teams.
"Numerous studies conducted over the years on software project waste and failures have traced the roots to requirements," said Borland's David Wilby. "I say this makes requirements the greatest opportunity for improvement -- a big fix here will yield exponential returns. We've all known this for a long time, but we continue to use ineffective ways to elicit, verify and manage requirements. TeamDefine offers a major leap forward, a way to build customer satisfaction, shortened time-to-value, and innovation into every project."
Once a simulation has been created, TeamDefine makes it possible for groups to share and collaborate. Anyone with a Web browser can experience and comment on simulations from anywhere.
For companies adopting more Agile delivery approaches to increase responsiveness and improve quality, TeamDefine can help facilitate requirements collaboration in a rapid, iterative way. For the past two years, Borland's own development organization has been undergoing an Agile transformation. As part of this effort, Borland has also transformed its processes for gathering and managing requirements.
"Requirements definition is definitely a team sport here at Borland," said Michael Klobe, development director at Borland. "Everyone -- customers, marketing, product management, engineering, QA -- participates, collaborating to share ideas and break down problems. However, with all these perspectives come opportunities for misinterpretation and confusion. We use TeamDefine in our meetings to show a working simulation of the feature or user story we are discussing. This enables us to quickly get everyone on the same page, and once we have consensus, our estimations and prioritizations are much more effective."


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Jury: Church Should Pay $3.6M to Woman Sexually Assaulted by Pastor
Jury: Church Should Pay $3.6M to Woman Sexually Assaulted by Pastor
A jury says an Ohio church should pay $3.6 million to a woman who was sexually assaulted as a teenager by her then pastor.
The Delaware County jury on Monday found that one or more employees of Grace Brethren Church of Delaware, Ohio, was negligent in supporting Brian L. Williams' hiring and retention as senior pastor of Sunbury Grace Brethren Church, where he sexually assaulted the woman in 2008, according to court documents. Delaware Grace failed to properly investigate and document earlier incidents of sexually inappropriate behavior allegedly committed by Williams, the jury concluded, which allowed him to be "empowered to a greater responsibility" as senior pastor of Sunbury Grace.
"Brian Williams employment at Delaware Grace Brethren Church ended in 2004," wrote Delaware Grace's pastor, Gary Underwood, in a statement. "We were shocked when we heard of his criminal actions in March of 2008. However, we could never have foreseen Brian's crimes, and our church had nothing to do with his crimes.
"We accept the jury's verdict, but respectfully disagree with their decision. We will continue to pray for [the victim] and her family."
The lawsuit says Williams was a youth and associate pastor at Delaware Grace from 1988 through 2004. Prior to his becoming the senior pastor of Sunbury Grace around September 2004, the complaint states, Delaware Grace was aware of at least two incidents in which he had "engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior with females" while serving as youth pastor.
After becoming a senior pastor, the document says, he continued to receive financial support, guidance and supervision from Delaware Grace.
Then, during a counseling session in 2008, Williams sexually assaulted the woman. He later pled guilty to two counts of sexual battery in Delaware County Common Pleas Court, and was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison.
In addition to the amount awarded to the woman, the jury also said the defendant should pay her father damages in the amount of $75,000.
"I think the decision was entirely appropriate and warranted by the evidence," the plaintiff's attorney, John K. Fitch, told The Christian Post. "Our case was largely based on admissions from church officials, the defendant church officials, about what had taken place."
But W. Charles Curley, attorney for the church, says the damages awarded by the jury are "shockingly high and not consistent with the evidence presented at trial."
Curley says he will challenge the amount awarded to the woman under a state statute that allows for a maximum of only $250,000 in "noneconomic damages" to be awarded per plaintiff. If the judge decides the statute applies in this case, Fitch says he intends to challenge the constitutionality of the damages cap.


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|April, 2010
|Park et al.
|Encoding adjustments for animation content
|October, 2008
|Zuo et al.
|Electronic lock box using a biometric identification device
|May, 2007
|Semi-automatic plane extrusion for 3D modeling
|April, 2009
|Chen et al.
|Image synthesis system for a vehicle and the manufacturing method thereof
|July, 2009
|Chen et al.
|Remote diagnostic device for medical testing
|January, 2007
|Patton et al.
|Six-Code-Element Method of Numerically Encoding Chinese Characters And Its Keyboard
|August, 2005
|Wang et al.
|Hierarchical optimization method and system for pattern recognition and edge detection
|January, 2006
|January, 2009
|Floeder et al.
|August, 2008
|Kitamura et al.
|Multimedia query system using non-uniform bin quantization of histogram
|February, 2002
|Lee et al.
[0001] This application is a divisional of copending application
[0002] The present application relates to digital watermarking, and particularly relates to digital watermarking techniques employing both frail and robust watermarks.
[0003] For expository convenience, the following discussion focuses on an exemplary application of the disclosed technology—encoding the images printed on banknotes with both frail and robust watermarks. As noted later, however, the technology also finds application beyond image watermarking, including in video and audio watermarking.
[0004] The problem of casual counterfeiting of banknotes first arose two decades ago, with the introduction of color photocopiers. A number of techniques were proposed to address the problem.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,628 (assigned to Ricoh) is one of several patents noting that photocopiers can be equipped to recognize banknotes and prevent their photocopying. The Ricoh patent particularly proposed that the red seal printed on Japanese yen notes is a pattern well-suited for machine recognition. U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,008 (assigned to Omron), and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,724,154 and 5,731,880 (both assigned to Canon) show other photocopiers that sense the presence of the seal emblem on banknotes, and disable a photocopier in response.
[0006] Other technologies proposed that counterfeiting might be deterred by uniquely marking the printed output from each color photocopier, so that copies could be traced back to the originating machine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,268, for example, discloses the addition of essentially-imperceptible patterns of yellow dots to printed output; the pattern is unique to the machine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,742 discloses a related arrangement in which the photocopier's serial number is printed on output documents, again in essentially-imperceptible form (small yellow lettering). U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,574 shows an arrangement in which bits comprising the photocopier's serial number are represented in the photocopier's printed output by incrementing, or decrementing, pixel values (e.g. yellow pixels) at known locations by fixed amounts (e.g. +/−30), depending on whether the corresponding serial number bit is a "
[0007] Recent advances in color printing technology have greatly increased the level of casual counterfeiting. High quality scanners are now readily available to many computer users, with 300 dpi scanners available for under $100, and 600 dpi scanners available for marginally more. Similarly, photographic quality color ink-jet printers are commonly available from Hewlett-Packard Co., Epson, etc. for under $300.
[0008] These tools pose new threats. For example, a banknote can be doctored (e.g. by white-out, scissors, or less crude techniques) to remove/obliterate the visible patterns on which prior art banknote detection techniques relied to prevent counterfeiting. Such a doctored document can then be freely scanned or copied, even on photocopiers designed to prevent processing of banknote images. The removed pattern(s) can then be added back in, e.g. by use of digital image editing tools, permitting free reproduction of the banknote.
[0009] In accordance with aspects of the present invention, these and other current threats are addressed by digitally watermarking banknotes, and equipping devices to sense such watermarks and respond accordingly. (Watermarking is a quickly growing field of endeavor, with several different approaches. The present assignee's work is reflected in the earlier-cited related applications, as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,841,978, 5,748,783, 5,710,834, 5,636,292, 5,721,788, and laid-open PCT application WO97/43736. Other work is illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,734,752, 5,646,997, 5,659,726, 5,664,018, 5,671,277, 5,687,191, 5,687,236, 5,689,587, 5,568,570, 5,572,247, 5,574,962, 5,579,124, 5,581,500, 5,613,004, 5,629,770, 5,461,426, 5,743,631, 5,488,664, 5,530,759,5,539,735, 4,943,973, 5,337,361, 5,404,160, 5,404,377, 5,315,098, 5,319,735, 5,337,362, 4,972,471, 5,161,210, 5,243,423, 5,091,966, 5,113,437, 4,939,515, 5,374,976, 4,855,827, 4,876,617, 4,939,515, 4,963,998, 4,969,041, and published foreign applications WO 98/02864, EP 822,550, WO 97/39410, WO 96/36163, GB 2,196,167, EP 777,197, EP 736,860, EP 705,025, EP 766,468, EP 782,322, WO 95/20291, WO 96/26494, WO 96/36935, WO 96/42151, WO 97/22206, WO 97/26733. Some of the foregoing patents relate to visible watermarking techniques. Other visible watermarking techniques (e.g. data glyphs) are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,706,364, 5,689,620, 5,684,885, 5,680,223, 5,668,636, 5,640,647, 5,594,809.
[0010] Most of the work in watermarking, however, is not in the patent literature but rather in published research. In addition to the patentees of the foregoing patents, some of the other workers in this field (whose watermark-related writings can by found by an author search in the INSPEC database) include I. Pitas, Eckhard Koch, Jian Zhao, Norishige Morimoto, Laurence Boney, Kineo Matsui, A. Z. Tirkel, Fred Mintzer, B. Macq, Ahmed H. Tewfik, Frederic Jordan, Naohisa Komatsu, and Lawrence O'Gorman.
[0011] The artisan is assumed to be familiar with the foregoing prior art.
[0012] In the present disclosure it should be understood that references to watermarking encompass not only the assignee's watermarking technology, but can likewise be practiced with any other watermarking technology, such as those indicated above.
[0013] The physical manifestation of watermarked information most commonly takes the form of altered signal values, such as slightly changed pixel values, picture luminance, picture colors, DCT coefficients, instantaneous audio amplitudes, etc. However, a watermark can also be manifested in other ways, such as changes in the surface microtopology of a medium, localized chemical changes (e.g. in photographic emulsions), localized variations in optical density, localized changes in luminescence, etc. Watermarks can also be optically implemented in holograms and conventional paper watermarks.)
[0014] In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an object-such as a banknote image -is encoded with two watermarks. One is relatively robust, and withstands various types of corruption, and is detectable in the object even after multiple generations of intervening distortion. The other is relatively frail, so that it fails with the first distortion. If a version of the object is encountered having the robust watermark but not the frail watermark, the object can be inferred to have been processed, and thus not an original.
[0015] The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following Detailed Description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0019] Watermarks in banknotes and other security documents (passports, stock certificates, checks, etc.—all collectively referred to as banknotes herein) offer great promise to reduce such counterfeiting, as discussed more fully below. Additionally, watermarks provide a high-confidence technique for banknote authentication.
[0020] By way of example, consider an automatic teller machine that uses watermark data to provide high confidence authentication of banknotes, permitting it to accept—as well as dispense—cash. Referring to
[0021] As noted, banknotes presently include certain visible structures, or markings (e.g., the seal emblem noted in the earlier-cited patents), which can be used as aids to note authentication (either by visual inspection or by machine detection). Desirably, a note is examined by an integrated detection system (
[0022] The visible structures can be sensed using known pattern recognition techniques. Examples of such techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,321,773, 5,390,259, 5,533,144, 5,539,841, 5,583,614, 5,633,952, 4,723,149 and 5,424,807 and laid-open foreign application EP 766,449. The embedded watermark data can be recovered using the scanning/analysis techniques disclosed in the cited patents and publications.
[0023] To reduce counterfeiting, it is desirable that document-reproducing technologies recognize banknotes and refuse to reproduce same. Referring to
[0024] The watermark detection criteria provides an important advantage not otherwise available. As noted, an original bill can be doctored (e.g. by white-out, scissors, or less crude techniques) to remove/obliterate the visible structures. Such a document can then be freely copied on either a visible structure-sensing photocopier or scanner/printer installation. The removed visible structure can then be added in via a second printing/photocopying operation. If the printer is not equipped with banknote-disabling capabilities, image-editing tools can be used to insert visible structures back into image data sets scanned from such doctored bills, and the complete bill freely printed. By additionally including embedded watermark data in the banknote, and sensing same, such ruses will not succeed.
[0025] (A similar ruse is to scan a banknote image on a non-banknote-sensing scanner. The resulting image set can then be edited by conventional image editing tools to remove/obliterate the visible structures. Such a data set can then be printed—even on a printer/photocopier that examines such data for the presence of visible structures. Again, the missing visible structures can be inserted by a subsequent printing/photocopying operation.)
[0026] Desirably, the visible structure detector and the watermark detector are integrated together as a single hardware and/or software tool. This arrangement provides various economies, e.g., in interfacing with the scanner, manipulating pixel data sets for pattern recognition and watermark extraction, electronically re-registering the image to facilitate pattern recognition/watermark extraction, issuing control signals (e.g. disabling) signals to the photocopier/scanner, etc.
[0027] A related principle (
[0028] While the foregoing applications disabled potential counterfeiting operations upon the detection of either a visible structure or watermarked data, in other applications, both criteria must be met before a banknote is recognized as genuine. Such applications typically involve the receipt or acceptance of banknotes, e.g. by ATMs as discussed above and illustrated in
[0029] The foregoing principles (employing just watermark data, or in conjunction with visible indicia) can likewise be used to prevent counterfeiting of tags and labels (e.g. the fake labels and tags commonly used in pirating Levis brand jeans, branded software, etc.)
[0030] The reader may first assume that banknote watermarking is effected by slight alterations to the ink color/density/distribution, etc. on the paper. This is one approach. Another is to watermark the underlying medium (whether paper, polymer, etc.) with a watermark. This can be done by changing the microtopology of the medium (a la mini-Braille) to manifest the watermark data. Another option is to employ a laminate on or within the banknote, where the laminate has the watermarking manifested thereon/therein. The laminate can be textured (as above), or its optical transmissivity can vary in accordance with a noise-like pattern that is the watermark, or a chemical property can similarly vary.
[0031] Another option is to print at least part of a watermark using photoluminescent ink. This allows, e.g., a merchant presented with a banknote, to quickly verify the presence of *some* watermark-like indicia in/on the bill even without resort to a scanner and computer analysis (e.g. by examining under a black light). Such photoluminescent ink can also print human-readable indicia on the bill, such as the denomination of a banknote. (Since ink-jet printers and other common mass-printing technologies employ cyan/magenta/yellow/black to form colors, they can produce only a limited spectrum of colors. Photoluminescent colors are outside their capabilities. Fluorescent colors—such as the yellow, pink and green dyes used in highlighting markers—can similarly be used and have the advantage of being visible without a black light.)
[0032] An improvement to existing encoding techniques is to add an iterative assessment of the robustness of the mark, with a corresponding adjustment in a re-watermarking operation. Especially when encoding multiple bit watermarks, the characteristics of the underlying content may result in some bits being more robustly (e.g. strongly) encoded than others. In an illustrative technique employing this improvement, a watermark is first embedded in an object. Next, a trial decoding operation is performed. A confidence measure (e.g. signal-to-noise ratio) associated with each bit detected in the decoding operation is then assessed. The bits that appear weakly encoded are identified, and corresponding changes are made to the watermarking parameters to bring up the relative strengths of these bits. The object is then watermarked anew, with the changed parameters. This process can be repeated, as needed, until all of the bits comprising the encoded data are approximately equally detectable from the encoded object, or meet some predetermined signal-to-noise ratio threshold.
[0033] The foregoing applications, and others, can generally benefit by multiple watermarks. For example, an object (physical or data) can be marked once in the spatial domain, and a second time in the spatial frequency domain. (It should be understood that any change in one domain has repercussions in the other. Here we reference the domain in which the change is directly effected.)
[0034] Another option is to mark an object with watermarks of two different levels of robustness, or strength. The more robust watermark withstands various types of corruption, and is detectable in the object even after multiple generations of intervening distortion. The less robust watermark can be made frail enough to fail with the first distortion of the object. In a banknote, for example, the less robust watermark serves as an authentication mark. Any scanning and reprinting operation will cause it to become unreadable. Both the robust and the frail watermarks should be present in an authentic banknote; only the former watermark will be present in a counterfeit.
[0035] Still another form of multiple-watermarking is with content that is compressed. The content can be watermarked once (or more) in an uncompressed state. Then, after compression, a further watermark (or watermarks) can be applied.
[0036] Still another advantage from multiple watermarks is protection against sleuthing. If one of the watermarks is found and cracked, the other watermark(s) will still be present and serve to identify the object.
[0037] The foregoing discussion has addressed various technological fixes to many different problems. Exemplary solutions have been detailed above. Others will be apparent to the artisan by applying common knowledge to extrapolate from the solutions provided above.
[0038] For example, the technology and solutions disclosed herein have made use of elements and techniques known from the cited references. Other elements and techniques from the cited references can similarly be combined to yield further implementations within the scope of the present invention. Thus, for example, holograms with watermark data can be employed in banknotes, single-bit watermarking can commonly be substituted for multi-bit watermarking, technology described as using imperceptible watermarks can alternatively be practiced using visible watermarks (glyphs, etc.), techniques described as applied to images can likewise be applied to video and audio, local scaling of watermark energy can be provided to enhance watermark signal-to-noise ratio without increasing human perceptibility, various filtering operations can be employed to serve the functions explained in the prior art, watermarks can include subliminal graticules to aid in image re-registration, encoding may proceed at the granularity of a single pixel (or DCT coefficient), or may similarly treat adjoining groups of pixels (or DCT coefficients), the encoding can be optimized to withstand expected forms of content corruption. Etc., etc., etc. Thus, the exemplary embodiments are only selected samples of the solutions available by combining the teachings referenced above. The other solutions necessarily are not exhaustively described herein, but are fairly within the understanding of an artisan given the foregoing disclosure and familiarity with the cited art.


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RETAIL SALES ASSOCIATE (Escondido, CA, Oceanside, CA)
At Cox, we connect people to the things they love. Now we'd like to connect with you. Cox Communications is looking for sharp talent to join our team and be the voice of our brand. As a Retail Sales Associate, you will play a pivotal role in the continued stability and growth of our organization, by serving as a front-line ambassador of the Cox brand. Working in a Cox Solutions Store, you will guide customers through the purchase decision, installation process and education of Cox product and accessory offerings while providing an exceptional customer experience.
This is the perfect career opportunity for sales-driven individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit. Unleash your potential with Cox Communications as a Retail Sales Associate. Keep reading to learn more and apply today!
The Cox Communications Difference Cox Communications is more than just a place to work. We strive to create an environment that nurtures personal development and the opportunity to build on your talents. Our employees are our most important resource. To demonstrate the value we place in our employees, Cox offers competitive salaries, an excellent benefits package and a best-in-class working environment. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We embrace and foster an environment that builds on the unique talents that come from a variety of people and perspectives. Primary Responsibilities and Essential Functions
Ensures individual sales, retention, and customer experience targets are met Explains, illustrates, demonstrates product and accessory capabilities and offers suggestions based on customers' wants and needs Provides best-in-class customer service skills and aids customers in completing purchases and resolving issues; maintains polished and professional presence Executes promotions and campaigns designed to increase brand equity and achieve sales objectives Assists with store opening and closing duties, maintaining proper cash handling metrics Participates in inventory cycle counts Ensures sales floor remains well merchandised, clean, and visually appealing at all times Participates in workshops, special events, and product demonstrations to drive customer loyalty Continuously expands knowledge of current Cox products as well as competitor product offerings by participating in regular training classes inside and outside of the store May be required to work in other locations that are in proximity to 'home store' to meet the needs of the business Provides support for other sales agents as needed to ensure optimal customer service. Assists with other duties as requested
Minimum HS diploma, GED or relevant work experience 1 or more year of experience preferred in related field (i.e. Sales, Retail Sales, etc.) Ability to meet established sales, retention, and customer experience targets Willingness to work a flexible schedule which includes weekends, evenings, and holidays Must have reliable, consistent transportation and ability to work at a variety of retail location Track record of high individual performance with demonstrated financial result in sales and retention Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively sell products using a solutions-based approach Ability to multi-task and prioritize in a service-oriented, fast-paced team environment Computer literacy with an aptitude for learning communication products, services, and accessories Ability to lift 25-50 pounds to help manage stock room inventory Ability to be mobile within the store for long periods of time to greet customers and demonstrate products and services
Preferred AS/AA or Technical Certification in related discipline desired Previous experience with store operational duties Cash handling and previous billing system experience Fluency in the Spanish language both written and spoken
About Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a broadband communications and entertainment company, providing advanced digital video, Internet, telephone and home security and automation services over its own nationwide IP network. The third-largest U.S. cable company, Cox serves approximately 6 million residences and businesses. Cox Business is a facilities-based provider of voice, video and data solutions for commercial customers, and Cox Media is a full-service provider of national and local cable spot and digital media advertising. Cox is known for its pioneering efforts in broadband, voice and commercial services, industry-leading customer care and its outstanding workplaces. For nine years, Cox has been recognized as the top operator for women by Women in Cable Telecommunications; Cox has ranked among DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity 11 times. More information about Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com and www.coxmedia.com.
Organization: Cox Communications, Inc.
Primary Location: US-CA-Escondido-1264A Auto Park Way
Other Locations: 461 College Blvd,US,CA,Oceanside,92057-5443
Employee Status: Regular
Job Level: Individual Contributor
Shift: Day Job
Travel: Yes, 5 % of the Time
Schedule: Full-time
To apply online, click the orange "FIND OUT MORE" button below.


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|Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
Archdiocesan Organisations
|Educational Institutions
|St. Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College
|Philanthropic Institutions
|St. Basil's Homes | Estia Foundation | ProviCare Foundation
|St. Andrew's Orthodox Press
|Phronema | TO VEMA | The Voice of Orthodoxy
|Byzantine Music School | Australian Byzantine Choir | Saint John of Damascus


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Here is the text of Exercise:
2 a) Let $X$ be an ordered set. Show that the set of intervals
$\left[x, \rightarrow\right[$ (resp. $\left]\leftarrow, x\right]$)
is a base of topology on $X$; this topology is called the right (resp. left) topology of $X$. In the right topology, any intersection of open sets is an open set, and the closure of $\{x\}$ is the interval $\left]\leftarrow, x\right] $.
The above one was from English edition. I translated French edition and found the same text.
Should not be $X$ a totally ordered set ? And is not that the set of intervals should be $\left]x, \rightarrow\right[$ in place of $\left[x, \rightarrow\right[$ ?
Is this an errata ?


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The South American rainforest katydid is not a human. In fact, it is so very unlike a human, it seems ridiculous to belabor the point with specifics. Six legs, wings, an exoskeleton. You get the picture. Its ears are on its hind legs, for crying out loud.
But oh, those ears will surprise you. Research published in today's issue of Science reveals that the anatomical and functional features of this insect's ears have developed over time to be remarkably similar to yours, mine, your dog's, and those of countless other mammalian species. How's that for evolutionary weirdness?
In humans, hearing is made possible by three functionally distinct anatomical structures. The first is your eardrum, which picks up sound waves from your environment. The second is your middle ear, where the waves of pressure generated by your quivering ear drum are converted into mechanical vibrations by a trio of tiny bones called ossicles. These vibrations generate waves through the fluid housed within your cochlea, where sensory hair cells (the third component in the ear's three-part structure) convert them into the electrical impulses that tell your brain you've heard something.
The linchpin components in mammalian hearing are the bones of the middle ear (named malleus, incus and stapes, you'll find them in the deliciously retro Encyclopedia Britannic figure featured above). Your ossicles bridge the gap between your ear drum and your cochlea by not only relaying the information packaged in incoming soundwaves, but amplifying it in the traveling waves of your cochlear fluid.
In today's issue of Science, a team of researchers led by Fernando Motealegre-Zapata (who, awesomely, specializes in the "biophysics of unconventional ears") describes a feature of the rainforest katydid auditory system that is functionally analogous to the mammalian middle ear. Cornell neurobiologist Ronald Hoy provides a tidy summary of the team's findings in a perspective piece, also published in today's issue of Science:
[The researchers] show that in the [rainforest katydid], outer-ear tympanal membranes [analogous to our eardrums] are coupled to a stiff, leverlike middle ear–like structure, which is in turn coupled to an elongated, fluid-filled chamber of the inner ear that contains a linear array of sensory receptors (see the figure). The key finding is the impedance matching and amplification step by a leverlike, middle ear–like component, the tympanal plate, which acts in concert with the tympanal membranes that heretofore had not been known to exist. This TM-TP "middle ear" efficiently transfers airborne vibrations into vibrations of the fluid-filled acoustic vesicle.
The upshot: the ears on this insect's hind legs — despite being described by Motealegre-Zapata and his colleagues as "among the smallest in all organisms" — mirror the three canonical processing stages of mammalian hearing. That makes them a beautiful example of something biologists call convergent evolution (when anatomically and functionally similar traits arise in unrelated species). Convergent evolution is pretty wild to begin with (just think about it: wings evolved independently in insects, bats and pterosaurs); that katydids have evolved a series of structures similar to those found in mammals to comprise a functionally analogous auditory system — and that these structures reside on the insects' legs — is almost too much awesome for me to handle.


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Dream Houses by Genevieve Valentine
A Novella by Genevieve Valentine
It takes a certain type to crew a ship that drops you seven years at a time into the Deep. Kite-class cargo ships like Menkalinan get burned-out veterans, techs who've been warned off-planet, medics who weren't much good on the ground. The Gliese-D run isn't quite the end of the line, but it's getting there. No cachet, no rewards, no future; their trading posts get Kites full of cargo that the crew never ask questions about, because if it's headed for Gliese-D, it's probably something nobody wanted.
A year into the Deep, Amadis Reyes wakes up. Menkalinan is sounding the alarm; something's wrong. The rest of the crew are dead.
That's not even what's wrong.
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Genworth Financial Wealth Management announced Thursday that it has hired Resource America veteran Daniel Courtney to serve in the newly created role of president for Genworth Financial Asset Management.
Headquartered in Pleasant Hill, Calif., Genworth Financial Wealth Management is a subsidiary of Genworth Financial (GNW). Genworth Financial Asset Management is the wealth unit's affiliate investment arm.
As a member of the Genworth Wealth Management Senior Leadership Team, Courtney (left) will manage and execute the business plan and growth strategy, including product development and target markets, for the investment arm's $6 billion business. Genworth Financial Wealth Management has approximately $20 billion in assets on its platform and helps more than 6,000 advisors meet their clients' wealth management and investment needs.
Courtney has more than 15 years of sales and marketing leadership experience in investment management and intermediary firms. For the past seven years, he held senior executive roles at specialized asset management firm Resource America, located in Philadelphia, where he drove sales of specialized products and oversaw product development.
He will report to Mike Abelson, Genworth Financial Wealth Management's senior vice president of investments and product development.
"Dan is a great example of our focus on building the Genworth Financial Asset Management value proposition," Abelson said in a statement. "In his role, he'll have broad authority to enhance the ways financial advisors support their investors' risk management needs by incorporating GFAM's innovative investment solutions."
Courtney will also lead efforts to support training and education of financial advisors about the benefits and characteristics of the investment solutions offered by GFAM on the Genworth Wealth Management platform.
Courtney will work closely with GFAM Chief Investment Officer Tim Knepp.
Read Genworth CEO Gurinder Ahluwalia's thoughts about outsourcing at AdvisorOne.


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Choosing the right vacation is an important decision. Choosing the right agent is an even bigger decision. Don't leave your vacation to chance. Insist on the best... Powhatan Travel Service.
Whether business or pleasure, Powhatan Travel Service delivers. Internet Travel sites list hotels and destinations, but offer little else. My years of experience in the industry will help you design the perfect traveling experience. From romantic getaways to large events I will handle all the details. Traveling does not need to be stressful. You can count on me for great value and dependable service.
Leave the planning to us!
We arrange travel air, land and sea. We can arrange the perfect destination package including, resorts, conference rooms and meeting locations, special events, and attractions.


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Saints-Jets next up in Ryan twins' sibling rivalry
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. >> Rex Ryan held off on wearing a wig or stuffing his sweatshirt this time around.
The Ryan twins' sibling rivalry is still alive and well, though.
The New York Jets' coach took a playful jab at twin brother Rob, the New Orleans Saints' defensive coordinator, during his news conference Wednesday.
After opening by saying he was pleased with his players' performance during practice, Rex held up a placard, the back of which he pretended the Jets' injury report was printed on. With a straight face the whole way through, he read off the injuries without acknowledging what was on the front.
Well, there was a picture of each brother: One of Rob's agonizing pout after New England beat the Saints three weeks ago on a touchdown with 5 seconds left. Under it were the words: "Sorry About That Jets." The other photo was of a smiling Rex with the words: "I Wish I Could Look As Good As My Twin."
Laughs, of course, all around.
But, which of the brothers wishes they could look as good as the other, Rex?
"Oh, please," he said with a big grin. "It's pretty obvious. The Lap-Band worked for me. I'm just going to say that, putting it out there."
Rex had Lap-Band surgery in March 2010, and is down over 115 pounds since the procedure. He encouraged Rob to have it done, too, and he did but hasn't lost nearly the weight his twin brother has.
Sunday's game marks the third time since Rex has been the Jets' coach that he'll face a Rob-coached defense, and he has won the previous two meetings. A few days before the first showdown in 2010, when Rob was with Cleveland, Rex showed up for his news conference wearing a blond wig and a pillow stuffed inside a makeshift Browns sweatshirt.
During a conference call with Saints reporters, Rex was told that dressing up as Rob for Halloween is one of the top costumes this year in New Orleans. Rex thought that was pretty funny, but was then asked if he was worried at all about his brother living in New Orleans.
"Why? How big he could get?" Rex said. "I think he probably fits right in."
Including college teams they've coached on, Rex holds a 6-3 advantage. That includes the first meeting back in 1987 when Eastern Kentucky, with Rex as the defensive ends coach, beat Western Kentucky, where Rob was a graduate assistant, 20-10.
Despite the rivalry and the jokes, each of the brothers has a tremendous amount of respect for each other. Rex declared that Rob and Kansas City's Bob Sutton, a former member of his Jets staff, are probably doing the best jobs of any defensive coordinators in the league.
"There are a lot of great coaches that are coaching football and, yet, here are two of us, twin brothers," Rex said. "I don't know how many twin brother combinations there have been in the league, but certainly to make it this far and have the success that we've had throughout our careers and things (is special)."


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Institution Librarian is very similar to another occupation for which we have
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Administer libraries and perform related library services. Work in a variety of settings, including public libraries, schools, colleges and universities, museums, corporations, government agencies, law firms, non-profit organizations, and healthcare providers. Tasks may include selecting, acquiring, cataloguing, classifying, circulating, and maintaining library materials; and furnishing reference, bibliographical, and readers' advisory services. May perform in-depth, strategic research, and synthesize, analyze, edit, and filter information. May set up or work with databases and information systems to catalogue and access information.
Access Services Librarian
Acquisitions Librarian
Audio-Visual Librarian
Bookmobile Librarian
Catalog Librarian
Catalogue Librarian
Chemical Librarian
Chief Librarian, Branch or Department
Chief, Library Circulation Department
Children's Librarian
Collection Development Librarian
College Librarian
Coordinator of Learning Resources
Coordinator of Library Services
Digital Librarian
Director of Visual Education
Document Manager
Electronic Resources Librarian
Elementary Librarian
Elementary Library Media Specialist
Film Librarian
Government Documents Librarian
Head of Acquisitions
Head of Circulation Department
Head of Reference Services
High School Librarian
High School Library Media Specialist
Hospital Librarian
Information Services Librarian
Institution Librarian
Instruction Librarian
Interlibrary Loan Services Librarian
Law Librarian
Librarian, Special Collections
Librarian, Special Library
Library Director
Library Manager
Library Media Specialist
Manager, Circulation
Media Librarian
Media Specialist, School Library
Medical Librarian
Medical Record Librarian
Music Librarian
Music Librarian, International Broadcast
News Librarian
Outreach Librarian
Periodicals Librarian
Prison Librarian
Public Services Librarian
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Reference Librarian
Research Librarian
School Librarian
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Supervisor, Library
Systems Librarian
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Technician, Medical Library
University Librarian
Visual Education Director
Young Adult Librarian
Youth Services Librarian