title: Daddy (Psy song)

text:
"Daddy" is a song by South Korean musician Psy, featuring CL of 2NE1. It was originally slated for release in 2014; however, the release of the song was pushed back to November 30, 2015, in order to make further improvements. It was made available to digital outlets through YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album Chiljip Psy-da (2015). It samples hooks derived from will.i.am's 2007 song "I Got It from My Mama". An accompanying music video for "Daddy" was posted to his YouTube channel in conjunction with the single's release, and became his third music video to surpass 500 million views on the platform in June 2020.

The song was commercially successful in South Korea, it became his third song to reach number one on the Gaon Digital Chart since its establishment in 2010, following "Gangnam Style" (2012) and "Gentleman" (2013). It additionally topped the World Digital Song Sales and entered the charts in six other territories. It was ranked the best-performing song in the country in December 2015, and received the Song of the Year – December award at the 5th Gaon Chart Music Awards. As of September 2016, the song has garnered over 1,100,000 digital downloads.

History and release
"Daddy" was initially slated to be released in August 2014, as a follow-up to his Snoop Dogg collaboration "Hangover". On August 8, Psy reportedly recently began shooting a music video for his upcoming single in Seoul and Busan with director Cho Soo-hyun, who had previously worked with him on the videos for "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman". Several residents in Busan posted to their social media accounts upon seeing Psy "making monkey-like dance moves for an hour" with an electric sign prop that read "Psy in the sky" with a slew of skyscrapers in the background. After no news regarding its release in August, some fans expected that Psy would unveil his upcoming track at YG's Power World Tour concert in Beijing on October 19, 2014; however, he did not perform any new songs. On December 1, an official from YG Entertainment told media outlets that the release of "Daddy" was not overturned as some had thought, rather Psy would release the single along with a new album when it is in a more "satisfactory state".

In July 2015, Psy's agency announced that new music was to be released "very soon", following series of delays due to Psy wanting to obtain "a new direction that attracts wider audiences and to find his own style." It was not until November 25 where YG confirmed that Psy's 7th studio-album Chiljip Psy-da, along with its lead single "Daddy", would be released on December 1, 2015 at midnight local time. Both "Daddy" and the album was released at the same time as planned, and the song was made available for digital download and streaming on platforms in several different countries.

Critical reception
"Daddy" received mostly unfavorable reviews from music critics. The Huffington Post said "The mildly disturbing imagery subsides as the main character gets older, but the video doesn't get any less weird," referring to the "creepy shots of Psy's face." Rolling Stone described the single as "another slab of brash synth-heavy K-pop and a video filled with outlandish costume changes and dance moves" and with other adjectives such as "ridiculous" and "silly." Jess Denham from The Independent called it dreadful and the dancing terrible, with bizarrely catchy lyrics "about owing your body to your dad". Mike Fenn of Forbes felt that the song seemed to garner less attention than the video, rather people tune in to see the video's "bizarre imagery" instead of the song itself. On a less critical note, Newsweeks Dipo Faloyin wrote that "To suggest the video has a specific theme would be to limit the unique world in which Psy's genius exists."

Commercial performance
In South Korea, "Daddy" debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart in the chart issue dated November 29 – December 5, 2015, selling 296,737 digital units and was the week's best-selling song. The following week, "Daddy" fell one place to number 2 on the digital chart, and sold an additional 133,257 digital downloads. The song was the top-selling and second most-streamed song in December, accumulating 580,551 units in digital downloads in addition to receiving 22,247,939 streams. As of September 2016, the song has garnered 1,109,395 units in digital downloads in the country.

In the United States, "Daddy" peaked at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his fourth single to enter the chart and the fifth K-pop song to do so overall. It sold 4,000 digital downloads in the country and received 3 million streams in its first week of release. On the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart, the song debuted at number six, making it Psy's fourth top-ten entry. It was ranked the fifth best-selling international song on the 2016 year-end issue of the US World Digital Song Sales chart. In Canada, the song peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. The song additionally peaked at number 20 in Finland and number 103 in Australia.

Music video and other usage
The music video for "Daddy" was uploaded to Psy's official YouTube channel in conjunction with the release of the single. In the video, Psy debuts a new dance move, which involves flinging his legs and arms in alternate directions. He appears in multiple guises, including a baby, student, dancer, and a balding middle-aged man. Forbes Mike Fenn highlighted the video for its strange and bizarre imagery, where he wrote it "consists of everything from adults' faces superimposed onto dancing infants to elderly men screaming through town while riding on motor scooters." Within 24 hours of its release, the video received nearly 6 million views on YouTube. The music video surpassed 200 million views in October 2016, and became his third video to surpass 500 million views on the platform in June 2020.

The song was also featured in the episode "The Unincludeds" in the thirteenth season of American Dad!, which was broadcast on April 11, 2016. In June of the same year, Ubisoft announced that "Daddy" would be one of the 40 new tracks that will be added to the soundtrack of the video game Just Dance 2017.

Accolades
Due to its success on digital platforms, "Daddy" received the Song of the Year – December award at the 5th Gaon Chart Music Awards on February 17, 2016. The song also achieved a triple crown (three wins) on the South Korean music programs Inkigayo and M Countdown.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

2015 songs
Psy songs
South Korean dance
Korean-language songs
Songs written by Teddy Park
Songs written by will.i.am
Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles
2015 YouTube videos
Songs written by Psy


title: Neumünster–Heide railway

text:
The Neumünster–Heide railway is a single-track, non-electrified railway line the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, connecting the city of Neumünster in central Holstein and Heide, the seat of the district of Dithmarschen.

Geography

The line leaves the Hamburg-Altona–Kiel railway north of Neumünster station. From then on, it runs west through the Geest landscape. In addition to Neumünster, it passed through the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde and Dithmarschen. The most important station on the line is Hohenwestedt. Near Beldorf the line crosses the Grünental high bridge (Grünentaler Hochbrücke) over the Kiel Canal. It runs to the eastern side of Heide station and continues as the Heide–Büsum railway under the Hamburg–Husum–Westerland railway.

History

The Neumünster–Heide–Weddinghusen–Karolinenkoog line was opened on 22 August 1877 by the Westholsteinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (West Holstein Railway Company). In Karolinenkoog a steam ferry connected to the port of Tönning in Eiderstedt (see Heide–Karolinenkoog railway). In 1878, the company built a branch line was built from Weddinghusen to Wesselburen. This line was extended to Büsum in 1883. The Western Holstein railway company was taken over by the Prussian state railways on 1 July 1890.

In 1892, the Grünental high bridge was built over the Kiel Canal, which was under construction. It was a road bridge with the railway track running down the centre. When rail traffic needed to run over the bridge, it was closed to road traffic by barriers at short notice.

In Hohenwestedt, there were connections to the Rendsburg District Railway (Rendsburger Kreisbahn) until 1954 (towards Schenefeld) and until 1956 (towards Rendsburg).

In the late 1950s, passenger services included, in addition to stopping trains, a pair of express services on the route from Büsum via Heide and Neumünster to Eutin.

1970s until today

Passenger services in the 1970s and 1980s were operated with class 515 railcars and then with less comfortable railbuses because the bridge over the Kiel Canal did not allow for higher axle loads.

In 1986, the old Grünental high bridge was demolished and replaced to its north with a new bridge with the road separated from the rail track.

Passenger services on the line were closed around 1990. The line was one of two remaining east–west lines in Schleswig-Holstein. In particular, the line was a possible detour route of military strategic importance.

After peripheral rationalisation, the operator of the Hamburg-Altona–Neumünster railway (AKN Eisenbahn) took over both the operation of rail traffic and the management of the track infrastructure in 1993 from Deutsche Bahn, initially on a trial basis with a ten-year lease. This brought significant upgrades for the wayside stations. Passenger services were operated by AKN with modernised VT A railcars.

Current operations

Since the timetable change in December 2011, the line has been operated by NBE Nordbahn Eisenbahngesellschaft mbh & Co. KG, a joint subsidiary of AKN Eisenbahn AG and BeNEX GmbH. In 2003, AKN took over the operations of Schleswig-Holstein-Bahn GmbH. Since then, almost all trains have run to Büsum. This is reflected in the common timetable route number of 132. The number of trains has been increased on the weekends.  Services are operated with LINT 41 railcars.

At the time of the acquisition of the SHB by the AKN, it also terminated the lease of the Neumünster–Heide line. DB Netz also took over the line’s maintenance  again and straightened the line to remove numerous speed restrictions, which had significantly lengthened travel times. Due to the extended travel times, the scheduled meeting of trains at Heide and Neumünster stations under the regular interval timetable could not be fully achieved.

Freight traffic is no longer carried out on the line. The last freight customers were Lego and some other firms in Hohenwestedt and the Bundeswehr in Albersdorf.

Trains run every hour between Hohenwestedt and Neumünster. The total line is, however, served only every two hours. There are numerous stops along the line. In the course of the modernisation of the line, however, the old station building in Wasbek, Aukrug, Osterstedt, Gokels and Nordhastedt were demolished. Hohenwestedt is the only station on the line with a crossing loop. After a short stop in Heide, trains continue to Büsum.

Notes

References

  (reprint of Deutsche Reichsbahn presentation of 1935)

External links

Railway lines in Schleswig-Holstein
Railway lines opened in 1877
1877 establishments in Germany
Neumünster
Rendsburg-Eckernförde
Dithmarschen


title: Blackbush scrub

text:
Blackbush scrub, or blackbrush scrub, is a vegetation type of the Western United States deserts characterized by low growing, dark gray blackbush (Coleogyne ramosissima) as the dominant species. Blackbush often occurs in pure stands, giving a uniform dark gray appearance to the landscape.

Mojave Desert
Blackbrush scrub occurs over a wide elevation range in the Mojave Desert. It may occur as an understory in Joshua tree woodland or pinyon-juniper woodland. Associates in the Mojave Desert include ephedra (Ephedra nevadensis, Ephedra viridis), hop-sage Grayia spinosa, turpentine broom (Thamnosma montana), horsebrush (Tedradymia spp.), cheesebush (Ambrosia salsola), and winter fat (Krascheninnikovia lanata).

Colorado Plateau
In the Colorado Plateau, it occurs across uniformly thin soils.

References

Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Plant communities of California
Plant communities of the Western United States
Flora of the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region


title: Butterworth Cover

text:
A Butterworth cover (also Butterworth hatch and Butterworth plate) is a hatch on the deck of a cargo vessel that is used to seal a small opening that admits to the space below.

In oil tankers and other marine vessels used for transporting fluid products, there are small service openings though the deck into each tank to allow access for miscellaneous reasons such as sampling, inspection, gauging and cleaning. When the service opening is not in use, it is sealed by a removable cover plate, commonly referred to as a Butterworth cover. Butterworth hatches are not the main access hatches, but are the servicing hatches, and are generally closed with a metal cover plate with a gasket that is fastened to the deck by a number of bolts which stick up from the deck. Holes on the edges of the plate fit over these bolts and the cover is fastened down with nuts or dogs.

Vapor accidents can occur when pressure builds up in the tank below and the Butterworth cover is carelessly removed. Butterworth hatches have been responsible for a number of marine losses. In the United States, regulations prescribe requirements for Butterworth hatches and covers.

References

Marine engineering
Naval architecture


title: Thomas Peploe Wood

text:
Thomas Peploe Wood (1 January 1817 – 4 April 1845) was an English landscape painter.  A number of his pictures are at the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Staffordshire County Museum and the William Salt Library, Stafford.

Biography
Thomas Peploe Wood was born in Great Haywood, Staffordshire the son of Joseph and Alethea Wood. Joseph Wood was a toll gate keeper and shoemaker. He was largely self-taught, but was encouraged by local architect Thomas Trubshaw (1801–1842).  In 1836 Trubshaw took Wood to London and introduced him to the print dealer and connoisseur, Dominic Charles Colnaghi, and the sculptor, Sir Francis Chantrey.  Wood spent most of his life in his native Staffordshire, but made further visits to London in 1839, 1840 and 1843, and undertook a tour of England, Ireland and Scotland in 1838.

In 1844 Wood exhibited a painting of Manley Hall at the Royal Academy.  He also exhibited one picture at the British Institution and 19 at the Birmingham Society of Arts.  Wood specialised in watercolour sketches and oil paintings of landscape, buildings and animals.  His chief patron was William Salt, banker and antiquary, who commissioned Wood to paint landscapes and buildings for his collections for a history of Staffordshire.

Wood suffered from ill health throughout his life, and succumbed to tuberculosis aged 28.  His youngest brother was the sculptor and painter Samuel Peploe Wood (1827–1873).

A large and elaborate memorial cross to Thomas and other members of the family, carved by Samuel in 1866, still stands in the churchyard of St. Michael and All Angels Church, Colwich.

References

External links

British landscape painters
1817 births
1845 deaths
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
People from the Borough of Stafford
19th-century British painters
Tuberculosis deaths in the United Kingdom


title: Oriol Bohigas Martí

text:
Oriol Bohigas i Martí (22 December 1937 – 22 October 2013) was a Spanish and French physicist.

Bohigas was born in Barcelona, where he studied physics at the university.  In 1966 he became researcher at France's CNRS, where he would stay until the end of his career, becoming Director of Research Emeritus at the LPTMS laboratory (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modèles Statistiques), of which he was one of the founders, at Université de Paris-Sud in Orsay. Before that, he had been head of the Division of Theoretical Physics of the Institute of Nuclear Physics (IPN), on the campus of the same university.  He died in Orsay.

His fundamental contributions to the theory of quantum chaos and its applications, particularly in nuclear physics, granted him the Gay-Lussac-Humboldt Prize (1991), the Holweck Medal (1999), and an honoris causa doctorate by the Technische Universität Darmstadt, among other recognitions.

Publications

References

External links
 Oriol Bohigas at Scholarpedia

1937 births
2013 deaths
Theoretical physicists
Chaos theorists
Nuclear physicists
Spanish physicists


title: Larry Uttal

text:
Lawrence Uttal (December 2, 1921 – November 25, 1993) was an American music business executive who led the Madison Records, Bell and Private Stock record labels in the 1960s and 1970s.

He was born in New York City. He joined Bill Buchanan in the publishing firm Monument Music in 1955, taking sole control the following year and launching Madison Records soon afterwards. In 1961, he closed the Madison label and took over Bell Records, which had previously largely issued children's records, together with its associated labels Mala and Amy. The labels had success in the early 1960s with records by Joey Powers, Ronny & the Daytonas, Del Shannon and Lee Dorsey, before moving into the soul and R&B market in the late 1960s with distribution deals for such leading producers as Papa Don Schroeder, Allen Toussaint, and Thom Bell.  He issued records by rock and pop musicians such as The Box Tops, The 5th Dimension, David Cassidy, The Partridge Family and Tony Orlando, and set up several subsidiary labels including Philly Groove.

The Bell, Amy and Mala labels were bought by Columbia-Screen Gems in 1969, but Uttal remained as part-owner and president until leaving in 1974 when Clive Davis merged all the Columbia Pictures Records labels into one and created Arista Records. He then set up the Private Stock label, releasing records by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, David Soul, Starbuck and others.

In 1978, Uttal closed Private Stock and moved to London, England, where he worked in the film industry. After returning to New York, he worked in the travel business. He also became active in the Gay Men's Health Crisis organization and the National Gay and Lesbian Caucus.

He died in New York in 1993, aged 71, from AIDS. The musician Jai Uttal is his son and his daughter Jody Uttal (also known as Jody Uttal-Gold) was a cofounder of Rock the Vote and director of corporate videos.

References

1921 births
1993 deaths
AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)
American music industry executives
Businesspeople from New York City
20th-century American businesspeople


title: Stonewash Ltd.

text:
Stonewash Ltd. was a digital magazine distribution company with offices in London and New York. The company built iOS, Android and Windows 8 apps for magazine and newspaper publishers, as well as catalogs.

Company
The company was founded in 2009 by Daniel Sharp and Robert Grainger as a spin-off from DD&AG Ltd, a specialist London-based digital agency. Their product allows publishers to take existing PDFs and convert these to digital editions within native apps, and Stonewash were one of the first businesses within this field.

Initially the product was made available for iPhone, but was expanded to iPad in May 2010. In January 2012 Stonewash were invited by Microsoft to build the first magazine app framework for Windows 8 and were the first developers to release magazines to the consumer preview version of Windows 8 in April 2012.

Stonewash was acquired by Paperlit in early 2016.

Readership data
Stonewash is best known for its pioneering work around tracking behavioural data for magazine readers and have made elements of this data widely available to the publishing industry. The company was the first in its field to build an in-house analytics package offering detailed data on trends and reading habits on tablets and smartphones.

Publications
Publications powered by Stonewash software included Aston Martin, PC Pro, Boat International, Lusso, Fine Cooking, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Burgess Yachts, The Art Newspaper, Health & Fitness, Farmers Guardian, Pulse Today, Fine Woodworking, Threads, Travel Retail Business, The Elevator, The Irish Garden and Air-Britain, among others.

References

Mobile software development
Software companies established in 2009
2009 establishments in England
Defunct software companies of the United Kingdom
Software companies disestablished in 2016
2016 disestablishments in England
2016 mergers and acquisitions


title: Oriol Bohigas (disambiguation)

text:
Oriol Bohigas] (1925–2021) was a Spanish architect and urban planner.

Oriol Bohigas may also refer to:

Oriol Bohigas Martí (1937–2013), Spanish and French theoretical physicist


title: Liberate (Eric Prydz song)

text:
"Liberate" is a single by Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz. The song was released as a digital download on 21 March 2014 as the second single from his debut studio album Opus (2016). The song was written by Eric Prydz and Tom Cane. It peaked at number 71 on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video
A music video to accompany the release of "Liberate" was first released onto YouTube on 12 June 2014 at a total length of three minutes and three seconds. As of April 2016, it has received over three million views.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

2014 songs
Eric Prydz songs
Songs written by Eric Prydz


title: Rock Island Arsenal Museum

text:
The Rock Island Arsenal Museum in Rock Island County, Illinois is based around the history of Rock Island Arsenal. It is the second oldest museum of the United States Army, the oldest being the Museum at West Point.

History
There have been two museum locations. It was first founded in 1905 as the Ordnance Museum, later shutting down during World War I and reopening a few years later. It was renamed in 1919 to the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. The now renamed museum moved to a different location in 1948.

Collection
The original museum was opened with donations from the 1904 World's Fair and the American Civil War ordnance warehouse. The exhibits are about the people in Arsenal Island's history, its manufacturing processes, and the equipment it has produced. There is a large display of more than 1,100 firearms that were used by the military, both from overseas or within the United States. Five of these weapons were used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Twenty-five percent of the collection's small firearms are not on display, including three rare rifles. Jodean Murdock, education curator, says that the firearms get the most attention from visitors.

The museum has a research center located in its basement, containing books, maps, manuals, and magazines, among others. A Children's Discovery Room was created with uniforms and hats for children to try on. Hygrothermographs and a thermostat are used to control the temperature and humidity in the collection rooms so that the items contained within them are not damaged.

The museum collections were reduced in 2016, with almost 3,200 pieces being moved to a warehouse operated by the Army. There was also a large reduction in staff. The museum's gift shop went out of business as well due to falling sales.

References

External links
Official website

Tourist attractions in Rock Island, Illinois
United States Army museums
Museums in Rock Island County, Illinois
Museums established in 1905
1905 establishments in Illinois


title: Savages (Theory of a Deadman album)

text:
Savages is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Theory of a Deadman. It was released on July 29, 2014.

Track listing

Personnel
Theory of a Deadman
 Tyler Connolly - vocals, guitar, mandolin, talk-box on "Drown"
 Dave Brenner - guitar, backing vocals
 Dean Back - bass, backing vocals
 Joey Dandeneau - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Guest musicians
 Alice Cooper - guest vocals on "Savages"
 Joe Don Rooney - guest vocals/additional guitar on "Livin' My Life Like a Country Song"

Production
Howard Benson - producer
Mike Plotnikoff - recording
Chris Lord-Alge - mixing
Ted Jensen - mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

References

2014 albums
Theory of a Deadman albums
Roadrunner Records albums
19 Recordings albums


title: George Naylor

text:
George Naylor (21 October 1670 – 29 January 1730), of Hurstmonceaux, Sussex,  was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1706 and 1722.

Naylor was the eldest son of Francis Naylor of Staple Inn and his wife Bethia Beadnall, daughter of George Beadnall of Newcastle upon Tyne. His father was a Chancery lawyer.  He matriculated at St. John's College, Oxford on 5 June 1684 and entered Lincoln's Inn on 30 April 1685. In 1694, he was called to the bar. He married Grace Pelham, daughter of Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham on 4 July 1704. He purchased the estate at Hurstmonceaux Castle in 1708.

Naylor was returned unopposed as Whig Member of Parliament (MP) for Seaford in the interest of his father-in-law Lord Pelham at a by-election on 12 December 1706. He was returned unopposed at the 1708 general election, and though not a very active member, supported the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He was defeated at Seaford in a contest at the 1710 general election. His father-in-law, Lord Pelham died in February 1712, and Naylor became  an executor and guardian of Pelham's two sons, Thomas, the new Lord Pelham, and Henry. He was returned without opposition as MP for Seaford in 1713 and voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele on 18 March 1714.

Naylor was re-elected MP for Seaford in 1715 and was appointed a Commissioner for building 50 new churches. His brother-in-law Lord Pelham came of age in 1714, and was created Duke of Newcastle in 1715. When the Whigs split in 1717 Naylor, unlike his brother-in-law, followed Walpole. There was apparently little contact between Naylor and Newcastle, and Naylor was not put up for Seaford at the 1722 general election. He was appointed an Usher of the Exchequer by Walpole in 1722 but surrendered the post by August 1727.

Naylor died on 29 January 1730. His wife had died in 1710 and their daughter died without issue. He left his estate at Hurstmonceaux to a nephew Francis Hare, who adopted the surname Naylor.

References

1670 births
1730 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Members of Lincoln's Inn
English MPs 1705–1707
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1707–1708
British MPs 1708–1710
British MPs 1713–1715
British MPs 1715–1722


title: Monsterz

text:
Monsterz is a 2014 Japanese fantasy horror thriller film directed by Hideo Nakata. It is a remake of the 2010 South Korean film Haunters.

Cast
Tatsuya Fujiwara
Takayuki Yamada
Satomi Ishihara
Tae Kimura
Yutaka Matsushige
Mina Fujii

Reception
The film has grossed ¥697 million in Japan.

In Film Business Asia, Derek Elley gave the film a rating of 3 out of 10, calling it a "feeble Japanese remake" with "no atmosphere".

References

External links

2014 fantasy films
2014 horror thriller films
2014 horror films
Films directed by Hideo Nakata
Nippon TV films
Horror film remakes
Japanese remakes of South Korean films
Japanese fantasy films
Japanese horror films
Japanese thriller films
2014 films
Films scored by Kenji Kawai
2010s Japanese films
2010s Japanese-language films


title: Holditch

text:
Holditch may refer to:

 Holditch, a hamlet in Thorncombe, Dorset (formerly Devon), England
Holditch (ward), in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Hamnet Holditch (1800-1867), English mathematician
Philip Holditch (died ), English merchant and politician, MP for Totnes in 1601

See also
 Holditch Colliery disaster, of 1937 in Staffordshire, England
Holditch's theorem in plane geometry, named after Hamnet Holditch


title: Thomas Linard

text:
Thomas Linard (born 24 March 1988) is a French professional golfer.

In 2013 Linard finished 7th in the Alps Tour Order of Merit to earn promotion to the Challenge Tour.

He picked up his first Challenge Tour win in June 2014 at the D+D Real Czech Challenge.

Professional wins (1)

Challenge Tour wins (1)

See also
2015 Challenge Tour graduates

References

External links

French male golfers
European Tour golfers
Golfers from Paris
Sportspeople from Bourges
1988 births
Living people
21st-century French people


title: Erasmia

text:
Erasmia is a suburb in the northern outskirts of Centurion in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Originally a whites-only area under apartheid, increasing numbers of Indians from neighbouring Laudium moved in, following the abolition of segregation in the early 1990s, and the construction of a direct link road between the two areas. Erasmia lies west of the R55 route. In 2001, 65.72% of the population was Indian, and by 2011, Indians made up 77.03% of the population. The area called Christoburg is for census  and other purposes usually treated as part of Erasmia.

History
It became a suburb on 4 September 1946 and was named after WFE Erasmus. It was created out of the farms Mooiplaas No. 69 and Zwartkop No. 476.

References

Suburbs of Centurion, Gauteng


title: Bob Abrahamian

text:
Bob Abrahamian (September 25, 1978 – June 5, 2014) was a soul music deejay, historian, archivist, and record collector.
 In addition to hosting a long-running radio show, "Sitting in the Park" on WHPK, he built a personal collection of significant soul music records, with a focus on the Chicago vocal style known as "sweet soul." He conducted recorded interviews with dozens of musicians, many of whom had fallen into obscurity. Abrahamian contributed liner notes to archival soul reissues, as well as providing materials and assistance for releases on the Chicago-based Numero Group record label. He graduated from Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge, Illinois and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago in computer science and media studies. Abrahamian's 2009 interview with Larry Blasingaine resulted in the discovery of the Jackson 5's previously unknown first recording session at Chicago's One-derful Records.

Bob Abrahamian had a long history of clinical depression and committed suicide on June 5, 2014.

References

External links
 , archive of Abrahamian's radio show and interviews with musicians

1978 births
2014 deaths
2014 suicides
American soul musicians
21st-century American male musicians
Suicides in Illinois


title: Harley-Davidson (Bally pinball)

text:
Harley-Davidson was a pinball machine arcade game manufactured by Midway and released under the Bally label in February 1991. Barry Oursler and Mark Sprenger designed the pinball game utilizing the Williams Pinball Controller (Williams WPC) arcade system board platform. This was the first pinball game sold under the Bally label to use the Williams WPC system and their last to use an Alphanumeric Display.

Rules
Harley-Davidson (Bally pinball) features various gameplay elements that allow players to accumulate points and bonuses. Completing the U-S-A lanes, representing the colors of the American flag (red, white, and blue), with a single-direction lane change, advances the bonus multiplier, which can reach a maximum of 6x and remains unchanged on factory difficulty. Clearing the lanes at 6x triggers the 'lights out lane extra ball' feature. Subsequently, each completion of 'USA' grants players a 'USA bonus,' starting at 100,000 points and increasing by 100,000 points with each collection, without any upper limit.

The game includes two sets of drop targets: one on the far left spelling 'H-A-R' and one in the center spelling 'L-E-Y.' Completing 'HAR' lights up the left spinner, while completing 'LEY' lights up the right spinner, and both award 3,000 points per spin. When players complete both sets, they advance through the HARLEY bonus levels (50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 300,000, and 500,000 points).

The 'DAVIDSON' stand-ups are located around the playfield. Completing 'DAVIDSON' lights up the speed bonus at the right eject, a 'hurry-up' feature that starts at 1 million points and increases by 1 million points with each collection. If players complete 'DAVIDSON' twice during one ball, the extra ball at the right eject becomes available. Additionally, the jackpot can be lit during play while players travel across America.

Hitting the left eject awards 25,000 points at the start of the game. Successive hits on this eject increase its value (10,000, 25,000, 50,000, 100,000, and 150,000, with an additional ball lock). Locking a ball activates the right eject for multi-ball initiation. During multi-ball, completing Harley and 'DAVIDSON' awards 5 million points and lights the orbit shots, which score 1 million points each for the remainder of multi-ball. It's important to note that the jackpot is not directly related to multi-ball. After the first multi-ball, the eject hole value resets to 10,000, with no lights.

Sega/Stern version
Sega Pinball produced an unrelated Harley-Davidson pinball machine in 1999. It was designed by Jon Borg and Lonnie D. Ropp. The game went through three different production runs. The first was made by Sega and continued by Stern Pinball in 1999 after they bought Sega's pinball division in the same year; the second was produced by Stern Pinball in 2002; and the third, with an artwork change also by Stern was released in 2004. The third version can be played on The Pinball Arcade.

References

External links

1991 pinball machines
Bally pinball machines
Harley-Davidson


title: Richard Northern

text:
Richard James Northern MBE (born 2 November 1954) is a former British diplomat.

Biography

Born on 2 November 1954, Richard Northern was educated at Bedford School and at Jesus College, Cambridge.  He joined the British Diplomatic Service in 1976 and, following diplomatic postings in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Canada, he served as British Ambassador to Libya between 2010 and 2011, when the British Embassy in Tripoli was closed due to the Libyan Civil War.

In March 2011, A conversation purportedly between Richard Northern and a spokesman for Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the former Libyan Justice Minister who subsequently became Chairman of the rebel National Transitional Council in Benghazi, was intercepted and broadcast on Libyan state television.

Since December 2011 Richard Northern has been a Consultant, advising clients on business in the Middle East and Africa. He contributed a chapter to the book 'The 2011 Libyan Uprisings and the Struggle for the Post-Qadhafi Future' published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2013.

References

1954 births
People educated at Bedford School
Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Libya
Members of HM Diplomatic Service
Living people
Members of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century British diplomats


title: Open-access monograph

text:
An open-access monograph is a scholarly monograph which is made openly available online with open license.

Concept
Open access is when academic research is made freely available online for anyone to read and re-use. As with open access journals, there are different business models for funding open-access books, including publication charges, institutional support, library publishing, and consortium models. Some publishers, like OECD Publishing, uses a freemium model where the ebook version is made available for free, but readers have the option to purchase a print copy. Sales of the print version subsidise the cost of producing the book. There is some evidence that making electronic editions of books open access can increase sales of the print edition.

History
While open access to journal articles has become very common, with 50% of articles published in 2011 available as open access, open access to books has not yet seen as much uptake. However, there are dedicated open-access book publishers such as Open Book Publishers, punctum books, and others who publish both books and journals, such as Open Humanities Press. A report released in 2015 by the UK's main funding body for research, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, states the importance of open access monographs: "Monographs are a vitally important and distinctive vehicle for research communication, and must be sustained in any moves to open access."

The OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) online library and publication platform provides access to thousands of peer-reviewed academic books, mainly in the humanities and social sciences. The OAPEN Foundation also provides a directory of open access works via Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB).

See also
Open content
Openness
Open Educational Resources
re.press
Open Library of Humanities
COPIM

References

Further reading
 "Monographs", p. 112 in Martin Paul Eve, Open Access and the Humanities, Cambridge University Press, 2014.
 "Open-access monographs", p. 419 in Peggy Johnson, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, American Library Association, 2014.

External links
OAPEN Online library and publication platform
Directory of Open Access Books
 Open Access Directory - List of publishers of OA books.
 Open Access Directory - List of OA book business models
Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook - Open Access Monographs

Monograph
Book publishing


title: Network Rail Certification Body

text:
Network Rail Certification Body Limited (commonly known as Network Certification Body or NCB) is a private limited company providing conformity assessment and consulting services to the rail industry. The company is headquartered in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom and was founded in 2012 as a subsidiary of Network Rail.

History

Established in April 2012, NCB was formed to provide conformity assessment services to the rail industry. The organisation has extensive long-standing experience of working alongside rail industry projects from wagon alterations through to piecemeal infrastructure upgrades to new pieces of rail infrastructure such as High Speed 1. Shortly after its creation, three Network Rail teams were transferred to MCB, consisting of an existing UKAS accredited Notified Body and Rail Safety and Standards Board accredited vehicle acceptance body, an infrastructure conformance team delivering independent competent person safety verification under the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS), and a private wagons registration agreement team providing support to owners and operators of private wagons for use on the railway.

While NCB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd, it is intentionally operated as an independent agency of its parent organization as to avoid any conflict of interests occurring. This independence is routinely reviewed by external auditors. NCB offers its services to any organization carrying out works on railway infrastructure and vehicles that need to comply with UK rail safety legislation.

In 2021, NCB was reportedly achieving a turnover of just under £7 million per annum. At the time, the organisation was reportedly focused on, in addition to performing its traditional activities on behalf of Network Rail, increasing its third party financed portfolio both within Britain and internationally.

Corporate leadership

James Collinson was appointed Director, NCB in April 2012 having been involved in establishing the new company. In December 2013 he became managing director on the appointment of Mark Thickbroom to the new role of Finance and Commercial Director for NCB.

Board of directors

As of June 2021, the current NCB board members are:

Neil Hannah, Chairman
Sam Brunker, Managing Director
Mark Thickbroom, Finance and Commercial Director
Sally Rose, Shareholders Representative
George Bearfield, Non-executive Director

Projects and undertakings
Shortly following its creation, NCB became involved in various domestic railway projects. One was the Thameslink Programme, for which NCB has provided safety verification and Assessment Body services. Separately, as part of the Northern Hub project, specifically Phase 1 of the North West Electrification was for the Manchester to West Coast Main Line and Newton-le-Willows electrification scheme, NCB was selected as the Notified Body (NoBo), Designated Body (DeBo) and to provide safety verification. The organisation has also been overseeing the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) at several locations in the UK, such as the East Coast Main Line. NCB has also been involved in the authorisation of automatic train operation (ATO) deployments. During March 2018, it was announced that, in partnership with Certifer SA, NCB has been awarded a ten year contract, valued at £20 million, to provide independent assessment services for High Speed 2, specifically the design and construction of Phase 1 and Phase 2a.

NCB has undertaken the assessment and approval of several different forms of rolling stock, from passenger multiple units to infrastructure maintenance vehicles. During the 2010s, to better accommodate changes to both regulations and standards pertaining to the assessment of rail vehicles, certification practices that had traditionally involved acceptance being performed by an accredited Vehicle Acceptance Body (VAB) have slowly shifted towards this role being undertaken by accredited Notified Bodies, such as NCB, instead.

NCB has also been involved in various international projects. During July 2020, it was announced that, following a competitive tender process, the partnership of NCB and Certifer SA had awarded a long term contract to provide Notified Body services to the Rail Baltica project, ensuring all infrastructure involved has full conformity with the European Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI).

References

External links

 NCB

Rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom
Railway companies of the United Kingdom
British companies established in 2012
Companies based in Milton Keynes


title: Draft survey

text:
A draft survey is a calculation of the weight of cargo loaded or unloaded to or from a ship from measurents of changes in its displacement. The technique is based on Archimedes' principle. The procedure is standardized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for the measurement of coal cargoes.

Procedure
The draft survey is performed by reading the ship's draft on the draft markings at six standard points on the hull: forward, midships and aft on both port and starboard sides. Corrections for factors such as trim, water density and non-cargo weight changes are made before calculating the cargo weight change.

References

Measurement
Nautical terminology


title: Mark Winzenried

text:
Mark Winzenried (born October 13, 1949) is an American former middle-distance runner. The 1971 NCAA champion at 880 yards, Winzenried narrowly missed qualifying for the American Olympic team in 1968 and was favored to qualify in 1972 until an injured Achilles tendon spoiled his chances. He held the indoor world best at the unusual distance of 1000 yards from 1972 to 1981, and still holds the world junior best in another non-standard event, 600 meters.

Career

1968
Winzenried became a top half-miler in 1968 while a freshman at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He placed second to Oregon Track Club's Wade Bell at the 1968 national championships in Sacramento, California, running 1:46.5, then his personal best. The United States Olympic Trials in 1968 were divided in two parts, with a semi-final meet in Los Angeles in late June and the final Trials at altitude in Echo Summit two and a half months later. Winzenried placed third behind Bell and Felix Johnson in the June meet, clocking 1:46.9; he had led at the bell in 51.5, but faded toward the end.

The unusual distance of 600 m was contested in a warm-up meet two weeks before the final Olympic Trials, and Winzenried took part. He placed third to quarter-milers Lee Evans and Larry James, with Evans setting a new world best of 1:14.3; James was second in 1:14.6, and Winzenried's time of 1:14.8 was also well below the previous world best. , his time still remains the junior (under-20) world best for the distance. Like the Trials themselves, the warm-up meet was held at altitude in Echo Summit.

At the final Trials, Winzenried narrowly missed out on making the team. He again led after the first lap (52.8), but was overtaken first by Tom Farrell (who would go on to win bronze at the Olympics) and then by Bell; again fading, he battled for the third and final Olympic spot with Ron Kutschinski down the final straight and eventually lost by a tenth of a second, 1:47.8 to 1:47.9.

1969–1971
Winzenried placed fifth at 880 yards at the 1969 NCAA championships in Knoxville; his time of 1:46.6 was equivalent to 1:45.9 or 1:46.0 for 800 meters and his personal best. He won his first NCAA title in 1970, winning the indoor 880 yards in 1:51.7. He placed fourth at that year's NCAA outdoor championships, won by Ken Swenson of Kansas State University. At the national (AAU) championships he finished a close second to Swenson, with both clocking the same time and Swenson winning by "an eyelash", in the words of The Sheboygan Press

Winzenried's second place qualified him to represent the United States in a series of dual meets in Europe in July 1970, including one against West Germany in Stuttgart. In the Stuttgart race he set the pace for most of the way; although he eventually only placed fourth, his time of 1:45.6 was his personal best and would remain so. The winner, Swenson, was clocked in 1:44.8, an American record for the metric distance, although Jim Ryun had run an intrinsically superior 1:44.9 for the longer 880-yard run. Track & Field News ranked Winzenried the fifth-best 800 m runner in the world in 1970, and second only to Swenson among Americans.

Winzenried repeated as NCAA indoor champion in 1971, clocking 1:50.9 for 880 yards. He also won his first and only outdoor NCAA title, triumphing in the final in 1:48.8 after running conservatively in the earlier rounds; he was the only senior in the final, and Wisconsin's only winner. However, he only placed fifth at that year's national championships; Track & Field News ranked him tenth in the world and second (to Juris Luzins) in the United States in its 1971 rankings.

Later career and injuries
Winzenried's good form continued in 1972, and he broke the indoor world best at the unusual distance of 1000 yards at the Mason-Dixon Games in Louisville, Kentucky on February 12, his time of 2:05.1 beating Ralph Doubell's 1970 record of 2:05.5 by four-tenths of a second. Winzenried's record lasted for almost nine years until Don Paige ran 2:04.9 in February 1981.

Winzenried ran his first four-minute mile (3:59.5) in Los Angeles on March 4. Entering the 1972 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, he had the fastest time of any American at 800 meters that year (1:46.6) and was considered likely to make the team. However, he injured his Achilles tendon at the national championships two weeks before the Trials; he attempted to run at the Trials despite the injury, but only placed fifth in his heat and failed to make the semi-finals. He considered making another attempt at qualifying at his second-best distance, 1500 meters, but eventually scratched from that race.

Although Winzenried continued competing after 1972, he was never world-ranked again. He made another push at the Olympics four years later, but re-injured his Achilles tendon in late March 1976 and, unable to train properly, had to abandon his attempt.

He was inducted in the Wisconsin Badgers Hall of Fame in 2005.

Notes

References

1949 births
Living people
American male middle-distance runners
Wisconsin Badgers men's track and field athletes
American masters athletes


title: Jorra, Tibet

text:
Jorra () is a township in Tsona County (Cona County) in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

See also
List of township-level divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region

References

Populated places in Shannan, Tibet


title: Leron Black

text:
Leron "Boogie" Black (born January 31, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Soles de Mexicali of the LNBP. He played college basketball for the University of Illinois. He also played for Argentino de Junín from LNB before moving to the Brazilian League (NBB).

High school career
In September 2012, Black verbally committed to Baylor University to play basketball, only to de-commit in January 2013. At the time in 2012, Black was actually the first top 25 recruit to announce his verbal commitment. Black explained that he committed to Baylor too early before exploring all of his options available. In talking about schools he was considering, Black listed UConn, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Memphis, and Ohio State.

After his official visit to Illinois, Black verbally committed to the program and coach John Groce on September 1, 2013. On November 15, 2013, Black then signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Illinois starting in the 2014–15 season. During his senior season, Black averaged 20.2 points and 12.9 rebounds and lead White Station to a 30–3 record. Black was named Class AAA Tennessee Mr. Basketball for 2014, the Gatorade Tennessee Boys Basketball Player of the Year for 2014 and was named First team All-State by USA Today.

College career
In his first career start on January 21, 2015, Black posted a double-double in a win against Purdue with 15 points and a career high 13 rebounds, becoming the first Illinois player since Lowell Hamilton to post a double-double in his first career start.

On October 8, 2015, it was announced that Black would miss 4–6 weeks after having surgery to repair a Meniscus tear in his knee. He returned to the lineup during the win against North Dakota State on November 15, 2015.

Following the 2017–18 season, Black was named to the honorable mention All Big-10 team by both the coaches and media.

College statistics

|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15
| style="text-align:left;"| Illinois
| 33 || 10 || 14.8 || .475 || .000 || .682 || 4.3 || .1 || .3 || .2 || 5.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16
| style="text-align:left;"| Illinois
| 7 || 3 || 14.3 || .417 || .000 || .500 || 4.4 || .6 || .3 || .3 || 4.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17
| style="text-align:left;"| Illinois
| 31 || 27 || 20.2 || .453 || .297 || .722 || 6.3 || .4 || .5 || .1 || 8.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18
| style="text-align:left;"| Illinois
| 31 || 30 || 25.5 || .547 || .512 || .800 || 5.2 || .8 || .3 || .3 || 15.3
|-
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 102 || 70 || 19.6 || .499 || .398 || .749 || 5.2 || .5 || .4 || .2 || 9.0
|-

Professional career
On March 15, 2018, Black announced he would forego his final season of eligibility at Illinois to pursue a professional basketball career. He was not selected in the 2018 NBA draft.

On August 5, 2018, Black signed a one-year deal with the Israeli team Elitzur Yavne of the Liga Leumit. However, on October 8, 2018, Black parted ways with Yavne before appearing in a game for them.

On October 20, 2018, Black was selected with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2018 NBA G League Draft by the Raptors 905. On November 1, 2018, the Raptors 905 announced that they had waived him from training camp.

On November 30, 2018, Black signed with Argentino de Junín of the Liga Nacional de Básquet in Argentina.

On July 3, 2019, Black signed with Flamengo to play the 2019–20 NBB season in Brazil. In 11 games he averaged 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Black joined Minas for the remainder of the season and averaged 4.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. On August 8, 2020, Black signed with Abejas de León of the LNBP.

The Basketball Tournament
Black joined House of 'Paign, a team composed primarily of Illinois alumni in The Basketball Tournament 2020. He scored two points in a 76–53 win over War Tampa in the first round.

International play
In May 2014, Black was among the 24 players who earned an invitation to the training camp for USA Basketball FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

References

External links
Illinois Fighting Illini bio
Career Statistics

1995 births
Living people
Abejas de León players
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Argentina
American expatriate basketball people in Brazil
American expatriate basketball people in Mexico
American men's basketball players
Argentino de Junín basketball players
Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee
Flamengo basketball players
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players
Novo Basquete Brasil players
Small forwards
21st-century African-American sportspeople


title: Lyle Rowe

text:
Lyle Rowe (born 13 June 1987) is a South African professional golfer.

Rowe plays on the Sunshine Tour and won his first tournament in June 2014 at the inaugural Zambia Sugar Open.

Professional wins (5)

Sunshine Tour wins (3)

Sunshine Tour playoff record (0–1)

Big Easy Tour wins (1)

Jamega Pro Golf Tour wins (1)

References

External links

South African male golfers
Sunshine Tour golfers
Sportspeople from Port Elizabeth
White South African people
1987 births
Living people


title: Samsonia

text:
Samsonia is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria in the family Yersiniaceae. Species within this genus were originally found in the bark of diseased Erythrina trees. Among bacterial plant pathogens within the Enterobacterales, Samsonia species may be most closely related to Pectobacterium species. Until now, only one species of this genus has been described (S. erythrinae).

References

Gram-negative bacteria
Monotypic bacteria genera
Bacteria genera


title: 2013–14 OK Liga

text:
The 2013–14 season of the OK Liga was the 45th season of top-tier rink hockey in Spain.

FC Barcelona returned to win the championship after a one-year hiatus. It was the twenty-fifth title of its history.

Teams

Standings

Top goal scorers

Copa del Rey

The 2014 Copa del Rey was the 71st edition of the Spanish men's roller hockey cup. It was played in Lleida between the seven first qualified teams after the first half of the season and ICG Software Lleida as host team.

Moritz Vendrell repeated as champion and achieved its second trophy.

Quarter-finals

Semifinals

Final

References

External links
Real Federación Española de Patinaje

OK Liga seasons
2013 in roller hockey
2014 in roller hockey
2013 in Spanish sport
2014 in Spanish sport


title: Khurja Junction railway station

text:
Khurja Junction railway station is a railway station at Khurja in Bulandshahr district on the North Central Railway network. It is an important station on the New Delhi–Aligarh–Kanpur main line.

Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC)
Dadri railway station on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (Western DFC) will be connected with Khurja railway station on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (Eastern DFC) via a 46 km long branch line, for movement of freight trains only. Both DFCs are under-construction.

Routes
The Delhi–Meerut–Saharanpur line passes through here. The following NCR's dedicated freight corridor will pass through here:
 Panipat–Rohtak line, via Panipat–Gohana–Rohtak, existing
 Rewari–Rohtak line, via Rohtak–Jhajjar–Rewari, existing
 Rewari–Khurja line, via Rewari–Palwal–Bhiwadi–Khurja, new rail line, survey completed
 Khurja–Meerut line, via Khurja–Bulandshahr–Hapur–Meerut, existing
 Meerut–Panipat line, new rail line, survey completed

References

Railway stations in Bulandshahr district
Railway junction stations in Uttar Pradesh
Prayagraj railway division
Khurja


title: Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014

text:
The Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014 () is a bill that would allow United States veterans to receive their healthcare from non-VA facilities under certain conditions. The bill is a response to the Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014, in which it was discovered that there was systematic lying about the wait times veterans experienced waiting to be seen by doctors. By June 5, 2014, Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified a total of 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system. Another audit determined that "more than 57,000 veterans waited at least 90 days to see a doctor, while another 63,000 over the last decade never received an initial appointment."

The bill was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress.

Background

CNN reported on April 30, 2014, that at least 40 United States Armed Forces veterans died while waiting for care at the Phoenix, Arizona, Veterans Health Administration facilities. By June 5, 2014, Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified a total of 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system. An investigation of delays in treatment throughout the Veterans Health Administration system is being conducted by the Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General, and the House has passed legislation to fund a $1 million criminal investigation by the Justice Department. On May 16, 2014, the Veterans Health Administration's top health official, Dr. Robert Petzel, retired early at the request of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. On May 30, 2014, Secretary Shinseki, himself, resigned from office amid the fallout from the controversy.  As of early June 2014, several other VA medical centers around the nation have been identified with the same problems as the Phoenix facility, and the investigations by the VA Inspector General, the Congress and others are widening.

Provisions of the bill
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.

The Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014 would, in section 2, direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into contracts with such non-VA facilities as may be necessary to furnish hospital care and medical services to veterans who:

have waited longer than the wait-time goals of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) (as of June 1, 2014) for an appointment for hospital care or medical services in a VA facility;
have been notified by a VA facility that an appointment for hospital care or medical services is not available within such wait-time goals; or
reside more than 40 miles from the VA medical facility, including a community-based outpatient clinic, that is closest to their residence.

The bill would allow eligible veterans who opt for hospital care or medical services in a non-VA facility to receive such care or services through the completion of the episode of care, but for no longer than 60 days.

The bill would direct the Secretary to submit a quarterly report to Congress on the provision of such hospital care and medical services through contracts with non-VA facilities.

The bill would terminate the Secretary's authority to contract with non-VA facilities for the provision of such care and services two years after this Act's enactment.

Section 3 would direct the Secretary, to the extent that appropriations are available to the VHA for medical services, to reimburse non-VA facilities with which the VA does not have such a contract for providing hospital care and medical services to such veterans, if such care and services cannot be provided within the VHA's wait-time goals in a facility with which the VA has a contract. Sets the reimbursement rate for such care or services at the greatest of the VA, Medicare, or TRICARE (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed care program) payment rate for such care or services.

The bill would terminate the Secretary's authority to reimburse non-VA facilities for the provision of such care and services two years after this Act's enactment.

Section 4 would direct the Secretary, within 120 days of this Act's enactment, to enter into a contract or contracts with a private entity or entities with experience in VHA and private delivery systems and in health care management to conduct an independent assessment of the hospital care and medical services furnished in VA facilities.

The bill would list the factors that must be addressed in assessing veterans access to, and the quality of, hospital care and medical services in VA facilities.

The bill would direct the Secretary to submit reports to the congressional veterans committees regarding: (1) the findings and recommendations of the independent assessment; and (2) the Secretary's response to those findings, including an action plan for fully implementing such recommendations.

Section 5 would prohibit the Secretary from paying awards and bonuses to VA employees for FY2014-FY2016.

Section 6 would require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), within 30 days of this Act's enactment, to transmit to Congress:

an estimate of the budgetary effects of this Act's coverage of hospital care and medical services for veterans in non-VA facilities;
any transfer authority needed to utilize the savings from denying VA awards and bonuses to satisfy such budgetary effects; and
a request, if necessary, for additional funding, or the transfer or reprogramming of existing funding, for this Act's coverage of the hospital care and medical services provided to veterans in non-VA facilities.

Congressional Budget Office report
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, a public domain source.

H.R. 4810 would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the provision of health care by contracting out to non-VA providers. For that purpose, the Secretary would be able to use available appropriations. Thus, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) anticipates that this bill would make available some appropriated funds that would otherwise lapse - an estimated $620 million over the 2014-2016 period. In addition to those direct spending costs shown above, the bill would also substantially increase spending for veterans' health care, if sufficient appropriations were provided for that purpose. The CBO has not completed an estimate of the discretionary costs.

Procedural history
The Choice Act proposal was introduced to the late senator John McCain on April 18, 2014 by disabled veteran Ricky C. Barnes of Phoenix, Arizona https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/494376/ricky-c-barnes-has-been-inducted-into-the-prestigious-marquis-whos-who-biographical-registry.  Mr. Barnes aspiration for non-VA care for all veterans began 1999 and was finally introduced to the United States House of Representatives in 2014. He was also instrumental in the uncovering of the 2014 Phoenix VA Scandal. The Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014 was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on June 9, 2014, by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL). The bill was referred to the United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. On June 20, 2014, the House voted to pass the bill in Roll Call Vote 287 by a vote of 426–0. This was actually the second vote the House made on the bill because some members who missed the first vote asked for a re-vote so that they could be on the record in support of the bill. One of the Representatives who missed the vote did so because he was recovering from brain surgery.

The Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014 was received in the United States Senate on June 11, 2014, and was referred to the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. On June 11, 2014, the Senate passed its own VA reform bill, the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014. Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Jeff Miller said that "many of the provisions included in today's Senate-passed bill are based on ideas that have already cleared the House, so I'm hopeful both chambers of Congress can soon agree on a final package to send to the president's desk."

Debate and discussion
Rep. Jeff Miller, who sponsored the bill, said that the wait times veterans were forced to face was "a national disgrace."

Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME) argued that the care veterans receive at the VA is not the problem, but the wait times were. Michaud stated that "we often hear that the care veterans receive at the VA facilities is second to none. That is, if you can get in... Tens of thousands of veterans are not getting in."

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) argued that the legislation should consider time as well as distance when it came to allowing veterans to visit non-VA medical centers. Brownley argued that "those of us who represent urban areas like Southern California we all know that 40 miles can take the better part of a day to traverse back and forth."

See also
List of bills in the 113th United States Congress
List of Veterans Affairs medical facilities
Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014

References

External links

Library of Congress - Thomas H.R. 4810
beta.congress.gov H.R. 4810
GovTrack.us H.R. 4810
OpenCongress.org H.R. 4810
WashingtonWatch.com H.R. 4810
House Republican Conference's legislative digest on H.R. 4810

Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress


title: Friends of the Los Angeles River

text:
Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in California in 1986, whose mission is to protect and restore the natural and historic heritage of the Los Angeles River and its riparian habitat. The group was initially founded by area performance artist Lewis MacAdams in conjunction with other artists and architects, following a foot tour of the "latter day urban hell" of the river.

References

External links

Environmental organizations based in California
Los Angeles River
Water organizations in the United States
1986 establishments in California
Think tanks established in 1986


title: Sangam Express

text:
The 14163 / 64 Prayagraj Junction–Meerut City Sangam Express is an Express train belonging to Indian Railways – North Central Railway zone that runs between Prayagraj Junction and  in India.

It operates as train number 14163 from Prayagraj Junction to Meerut City and as train number 14164 in the reverse direction, serving the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Coaches

The 14163 / 64 Prayagraj Junction–Meerut City Sangam Express has 1 AC 2 tier, 1 AC 3 tier, 4 Sleeper Class, 4 General Unreserved and 1 SLR (Seating cum Luggage Rake) coaches. It does not carry a pantry car.

As is customary with most train services in India, coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways depending on demand.

Service

The 14163 Prayagraj Junction–Meerut City Sangam Express covers the distance of 639 kilometres in 12 hours 55 mins (49.47 km/h) and in 13 hours 10 mins as 14164 Meerut City–Prayagraj Junction Sangam Express (48.53 km/h).

As the average speed of the train is below , as per Indian Railways rules, its fare does not include a superfast surcharge.

Routeing

The 14163 / 64 Prayagraj Junction–Meerut City Sangam Express runs from Allahabad Junction via , , , , , Bulandshahr to Meerut City}.

Traction

Prior October 2014, due to the route not being fully electrified, a Kanpur-based WAP4 hauls the train from Prayagraj Junction to  handing over to a Tughlakabad-based WDM-3A which powers the train for the remainder of the journey.

With progressive electrification of the route, it is now powered by a Kanpur-based WAP-4 for its entire journey.

Timings

14163 Prayagraj Junction–Meerut City Sangam Express leaves Prayagraj Junction on a daily basis at 17:45 hrs IST and reaches Meerut City at 06:40 hrs IST the next day.

14164 Meerut City–Prayagraj Junction Sangam Express leaves Meerut City on a daily basis at 19:00 hrs IST and reaches Prayagraj Junction at 08:10 hrs IST the next day.

References

 http://www.news18.com/news/uttar-pradesh/4-grp-personnel-hide-in-sangam-express-trains-toilet-as-robbers-loot-kill-passengers-413959.html
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wgVuqhcdeo
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/50628848@N07/6173261286/
 http://www.bhaskar.com/article/UP-KAN-three-robbers-arrested-sangam-express-robbery-latest-hindi-news-4629272-PHO.html

External links

Trains from Prayagraj
Transport in Meerut
Railway services introduced in 1976
Named passenger trains of India
Express trains in India
Rail transport in Uttar Pradesh


title: Gustaf Brunkman

text:
Gustaf Otto Brunkman (2 September 1888 – 26 November 1959) was a Swedish rower. He competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics alongside his elder brother Conrad, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the men's eight tournament.

References

1888 births
1959 deaths
Swedish male rowers
Olympic rowers for Sweden
Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Karlskrona


title: Early 2000 Madagascar floods

text:
In early 2000, severe flooding occurred in the African nation of Madagascar after Cyclone Leon–Eline and Severe Tropical Storm Gloria struck the nation within a two-week period. The first storm, Eline, formed on February 1, and took an extended track across the Indian Ocean, eventually making landfall near Mahanoro on February 17. On March 1, Gloria struck northeastern Madagascar, and like Eline, moved southwestward across the country.

Meteorological history
Ahead of the primary flooding in February 2000, a tropical disturbance persisted off the west coast of Madagascar in January. Rains from the system helped end previous drought conditions, while also causing flooding and damage. In Morombe, precipitation from the system reached the equivalence of the annual rainfall in just 36 hours.

On February 1, a low-pressure area formed within the monsoon trough to the south of Indonesia, which would eventually become Tropical Cyclone Leon. The storm tracked westward across much of the Indian Ocean, fluctuating in strength due to changes in the atmosphere. After crossing 90° E, the Météo-France (MFR)  began tracking the system as Tropical Storm Eline. The storm continued westward across the Indian Ocean and intensified greatly as it approached the east coast of Madagascar. Late on February 17, Eline made landfall near Mahanoro, with 10 minute maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) according to the MFR. The storm rapidly weakened over land, but eventually restrengthened in the Mozambique Channel to make another damaging landfall in Mozambique. Eline dropped heavy rainfall in Madagascar, with a 24‑hour total of  at Ivato International Airport near the capital Antananarivo. The rains also caused flooding along Madagascar's west coast, which is usually spared from precipitation by mountains. Eline struck while Madagascar was in the midst of a cholera epidemic that had killed over 1,000 people.

While Eline was dissipating over southern Africa, another area of disturbed weather formed to the northeast of Madagascar, becoming a tropical disturbance on February 27. Moving generally westward toward the country, it intensified into Tropical Storm Gloria on March 1. Later that day, the MFR estimated that the storm reached peak 10 minute winds of 95 km/h (60 mph), before Gloria made landfall about 10 km (6 mi) north of Sambava. The storm moved southwestward across the country, gradually weakening and eventually moving into the Mozambique Channel. Gloria brought additional heavy rainfall to Madagascar, with Mananjary reporting a two-day total of . Nosy Be along the northwest coast recorded a 24‑hour rainfall total of , which is over half the average monthly precipitation. Mananjary reported a two-day total of . Later, Gloria produced sporadic rainfall in southern Madagascar, in part due to increased humidity.

Impact
The rains from Gloria occurred less than two weeks after Cyclone Leon–Eline struck the country, bringing additional flooding, landslides, and damage. In the area where Gloria moved ashore, several communities were temporarily isolated due to the flooding. In Sambava, near where Gloria moved ashore, the storm killed 18 people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and damaged a road connecting the area to the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo. Across the region, the floods destroyed at least 30 bridges, many of them wooden, and damaged 100 km (60 mi) of roads. In the region around Vatomandry, where Eline made landfall, 65% of houses were damaged, 90% of crops were lost, and 75% of health facilities were wrecked; about 10,000 people there were left homeless. The floods also affected the west coast of Madagascar. In Morombe along the southwest coast, about one-third of buildings were destroyed and many others were damaged, with 1,600 people left homeless in that area. The west coast is usually unaffected by cyclones striking from the east coast, which left several communities unprepared.

Fields were inundated for over a week, causing severe losses to coffee and banana crops. Thousands of hectares of rice paddy fields were flooded. The flooding destroyed many cash crops, thus depriving a poor region with a source of income, as well as threatening food supply. Floods from the two storm inundated 70% of homes and wrecked 70% of the crops in the districts of Andapa, Sambava, Antalaha, and Vohemar. Up to half of the rice harvest in the country was lost during the floods. About 12,000 people were isolated by floods in 114 villages. Overall, about 700,000 people were directly impacted by the floods. Collectively, 12,230 people were left without access to clean water.

The government of Madagascar reported that cyclones Eline and Gloria killed 64 and 66 people, respectively, although the exact toll was initially unknown due to disrupted communications. Cyclone Gloria alone killed 40 people at Andapa. Overall, at least 205 people were killed. Damage from Eline alone was estimated at $9 million (USD).

Aftermath
Immediately after Eline struck Madagascar, the government began distributing relief items, such as rice, tents, and sheets. On February 21, survey flights helped indicate the extent of damage across the nation. Supplies were distributed by road from Antananarivo to the worst affected areas, with helicopters dropping off aid to isolated communities. However, poor road infrastructure, residual flooding, and landslides caused difficulties in distributing aid. In addition, many of the affected residents were in remote regions of the country, further complicating relief efforts. By the middle of March 2000, flooding had largely receded, leaving behind mud and dead animals along roads and fields. However, about 60,000 people in northeastern Madagascar remained isolated as of March 17. Road access was gradually restored to the hardest hit areas, allowing relief distribution to shift from air to land more. The Fianarantsoa-Côte Est railway, damaged during the storm, took three months to be reopened. The lack of road or rail prevented farmers from selling crops that hadn't been destroyed during the storms. By March 21, the situation was no longer life-threatening, although food distribution was still required due to the ruined rice harvest. Costs for rice in some parts of the country doubled due to the flooding. In addition, houses were gradually rebuilt. On April 2, around a month after Gloria struck Madagascar, Cyclone Hudah also struck the country, causing an additional 111 deaths and heavy damage.

The floods caused outbreaks of malaria and cholera while also decreasing food supplies. In the month after Eline struck, 384 people died due to cholera, representing a 39% increase in the death toll in that time period, after there were 22,000 new cases of the disease. However, officials in the country stated the increase was not due to the storms' flooding, but rather from poor hygiene conditions and the start of the rainy season. In addition, the Malagasy government prevented foreign non-governmental organizations from treating cholera patients, causing Médecins Sans Frontières to leave the country in late February.

Due to the combined impacts of Eline and Gloria, the government of Madagascar requested for international assistance on March 7, which was coordinated through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The government believed that the flooding in Mozambique, also caused by Eline, was receiving more international attention, and sought more assistance. On March 12, then-Prime Minister Tantely Andrianarivo flew over the northeast portion of the country to survey the damage, as well as hold a religious ceremony for the storm victims.

After receiving request from the Malagasy government, UNICEF flew 15 tons of supplies from Copenhagen, such as medicine, 10.5 tons of food, and equipment to help coordinate relief work. The agency also transported thousands of blankets and water purification tablets from Antananarivo. However, UNICEF faced difficulties in distributing the supplies. The government of the United Kingdom donated £1.3 million to Madagascar. The World Food Programme flew about 400 tons of food to affected residents across the country, and Médecins Sans Frontières sent about 35 tons of supplies, such as medicine, water purifying devices, and food. The Organisation of African Unity donated $200,000 to Madagascar on March 10, and five days later, the African Development Bank approved a $500,000 grant to the country. Beginning on March 13, the French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc (R97) began sending six helicopters to drop off 27 tons' worth of aid. The Netherlands Red Cross donated 40 tons of supplies, including medical kits, blankets, and plastic sheets. For the 2001 fiscal year, the United States Agency for International Development provided $14 million (USD) to Madagascar, mostly toward rebuilding damaged roads and ports.

See also

Tropical Cyclone Josie - weak tropical storm that struck northern Madagascar about two weeks after another powerful cyclone – Gretelle – struck the nation

Notes

References

2000 floods
2000s floods in Africa
1999–2000 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
Cyclones in Madagascar
2000 in Madagascar
2000 disasters in Madagascar
South-West Indian Ocean severe tropical storms
2000 Early


title: Pseudopeltoceras

text:
Pseudopeltoceras is a genus of perisphinctoid ammonites belonging to the family Perisphinctidae.

These fast-moving nektonic carnivores lived during the Middle Jurassic, upper Callovian stage.

Distribution
Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the Jurassic of Argentina, France and Germany.

References

External links
 Ammonites.fr

Ammonitida genera
Perisphinctidae
Jurassic ammonites
Fossils of Argentina
Jurassic Argentina


title: Ngelawang

text:
Ngelawang is a preparatory ritual performed by Hindus in Bali, Indonesia.

Ngelawang performed by a group of children with Barong Bangkung paraded around the village and accompanied by Gamelan

Ngelawang is a tradition in the celebration of the feast Galungan and Hari Raya Kuningan in Bali.

Ngelawang derived from the gates (doors) which means ngelawang is staging conducted from house to house and from village to village using bangkung barong (a barong pig figure). This tradition aims to drive out evil spirits and protect the population from outbreaks or diseases caused by spirits (bhuta kala). At the time lasted ngelawang, the homeowner will provide the money as haturan.

History
Ngelawang derived from the mythological goddess Ulun Danu who turns into a giant who helps the villagers with evil spirits. Once this ritual was a sacred rite, and if barong scattered feathers, the people would pick them up and make them as auspicious objects. Now, Ngelawang is an art show presented for the children.

See also
Balinese calendar

Notes

Balinese mythology
Balinese folklore
Hinduism in Bali


title: Amiibo

text:
(, ; stylized as amiibo; plural: Amiibo) is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch video game consoles. These figurines are similar in form and functionality to that of the Skylanders, Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions series of toys-to-life platforms. The Amiibo platform was preannounced to potentially accommodate any form of toy, specifically including general plans for future card games. amiibo use near field communication (NFC) to interact with supported video game software, potentially allowing data to be transferred in and out of games and across multiple platforms.

Amiibo functionality can be used directly with the Nintendo Switch, Wii U, and New Nintendo 3DS consoles by using built-in NFC readers. In addition, the rest of the 3DS hardware line can use an official NFC adapter. By September 2016, Nintendo reported that 39 million amiibo figures had been sold, along with more than 30 million amiibo cards.
By September 2022, total sales reached 77 million toys.

History

Development

Toys for Bob and its parent company Activision had offered an opportunity for Nintendo to be a partner in a new video game franchise known as Skylanders, which would use RFID-equipped character figurines and a special reader component to interact with the game itself, and could store data on the figurine itself such as the corresponding character's statistics. While Nintendo passed on the exclusivity deal, the franchise itself quickly became one of Activision's most successful franchises upon its launch as a spin-off of the Spyro the Dragon series, and also resulted in competition from Disney Interactive Studios, who released a game with a similar concept known as Disney Infinity in 2013.

In March 2013, Nintendo unveiled Pokémon Rumble U, the first game for the Wii U to use the Wii U GamePad's near-field communications support to enable the use of its own interactive figurines. During an investors' meeting in May 2014, Nintendo presented a prototype of a more comprehensive figurine platform for its 3DS and Wii U consoles, which was designed so that the figurines could be used across multiple games. The new system was codenamed NFP, standing for either "Nintendo Figurine Platform" or "NFC Featured Platform", and was slated to be officially unveiled during E3.

On June 10, 2014, during E3 2014, Nintendo officially announced the Amiibo platform, and that Super Smash Bros. for Wii U would be among the first games to provide features integrating with Amiibo figurines.

In a corporate policy event after the launch of the Amiibo platform, Nintendo executive Shigeru Miyamoto addressed the platform's future by stating that the company was "now moving forward with projects that make use of NFC in a variety of unique ways. Nintendo is known as a video game company, but in fact, it is also a toy company."

Release

Super Smash Bros. Amiibo toys were first released in North America on November 21, 2014, in Europe on November 28, 2014, and in Japan on December 6, 2014, along with the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

The Super Mario series, featuring Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, and Toad, arrived on March 20, 2015, for both regions.

In 2015, Nintendo began to extend the Amiibo line into new form factors; on February 27, 2015, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed that the company had plans to release Amiibo-enabled trading cards. On April 1, 2015, Nintendo unveiled Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, a spin-off in the Animal Crossing series that utilizes cards. Nintendo also unveiled Amiibo yarn plushies as a tie-in for Yoshi's Woolly World.

During the E3 2015 Nintendo Direct on June 16, 2015, Activision revealed Bowser and Donkey Kong Amiibo (Hammer Slam Bowser and Turbo Charge Donkey Kong) and vehicles for use in Skylanders: SuperChargers. These toys are compatible with either the Skylanders games or Amiibo-compatible games by means of a mode switch on their bases. They will work across all Nintendo platform versions of Skylanders: SuperChargers. The Amiibo are also compatible with all Nintendo platform versions of Skylanders: Imaginators.

On August 27, 2015, an Amiibo toy of the titular character from the indie video game Shovel Knight was unveiled, which unlocks content exclusive to the 3DS and Wii U versions of the game and its future installments. It is the first Amiibo toy of a non-Nintendo character that is not associated with a first-party title; previous Amiibo toys of third-party characters were associated with Super Smash Bros. Additionally, production and distribution of the figurine was overseen by the game's publisher, Yacht Club Games, rather than Nintendo (except in Japan where the latter is the publisher), although it is still officially marketed by Nintendo as part of the Amiibo line as a form of brand licensing. Explaining the arrangement, a Nintendo representative stated that "we were like, what's one thing that Nintendo could do that nobody [else] could ever do?"

The Amiibo line for The Legend of Zelda initially began solely with the Wolf Link figurine, which is mainly used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and later Breath of the Wild. It expanded with the 30th Anniversary collection (8-bit Link, Ocarina of Time Link, The Wind Waker Link, and The Wind Waker Zelda), and the Breath of the Wild collection (Archer Link, Rider Link, Zelda, Bokoblin, Mipha, Daruk, Revali, Urbosa and the Guardian figurine). At E3 2017, Nintendo unveiled several new Amiibo figurines, including wedding-themed Mario, Peach and Bowser figurines which coincided with the launch of the Nintendo Switch game Super Mario Odyssey, as well as figurines of Chrom and Tiki from the Fire Emblem series to tie in with the release of Fire Emblem Warriors on Switch and New 3DS systems. Two Metroid-themed Amiibo figures released alongside the 3DS remake of Metroid II, Metroid: Samus Returns, and figurines released later based around the four Champions in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Third-party software developer Bethesda Softworks announced that existing Zelda figurines would be compatible with the Nintendo Switch port of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, allowing players to obtain select Zelda items and clothing for their Dragonborn, including the Master Sword, Hylian Shield and the Champion's Tunic from Breath of the Wild.

Collectibility and supply issues

Upon initial launch, the Amiibo line quickly spiked in popularity, with preorders selling out before the products became available to the public. While Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata stated that Amiibo will be kept in stock, he also explained that some will be "limited-time offers which will cede their positions to new ones once they are sold out". The rarity of certain Amiibo figurines influenced the prices held by online retailers and auctions, of which most can be seen offering select items at prices above the retail price. In Nintendo's 3rd Quarter Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ending March 2015, Satoru Iwata expressed surprise at such online auctions that offered "premium prices" of sold out Amiibo toys. A number of first-wave Amiibo toys with manufacturing defects were discovered and sold for notably high prices, such as a Samus figurine with cannons on both arms instead of one arm being sold on eBay for , and a defect of Princess Peach with missing legs being sold for .

On April 2, 2015, when preorders were being taken for the May 29 release of the Super Smash Bros. series Wave 4 and the Splatoon series, the US preorder process crashed both GameStop's website and in-store register system. Nintendo acknowledged these issues in early May 2015. Amazon forwent the entire preorder process for those waves; it instead blocked out specific time intervals on their release date during which the non-retailer exclusive Amiibo and the Super Mario series Silver Mario Amiibo were available. The retailer continued this practice with its exclusive release of the Palutena Amiibo as well as those released on September 11, 2015.

In May 2015 in the UK, a truck was stolen that contained preorders of the special edition of Splatoon, which included a rare Squid Inkling Amiibo as a preorder bonus: the only way to obtain the figure in the UK. As a result, Nintendo lacked the stock to supply the Squid Inkling Amiibo to those who preordered, and offered Inkling Girl or Inkling Boy Amiibo instead alongside a standard edition with a £10 refund, or full refunds.

In response to the lack of certain Amiibo toys in the United States, Satoru Iwata explained on February 17, 2015, that "an ongoing labor dispute on the west coast" has delayed the "discharge of cargo over the past six months", and was the cause of the absences of certain Amiibo toys intended to be delivered before its launch in November. Following this announcement, rarer Amiibo toys such as Wii Fit Trainer, Meta Knight, and Ike have been receiving limited re-releases in North America. For the US, the exclusive Best Buy release of the Dark Pit figurine, the retailer announced it would not take any preorders or online orders and the item would be limited to one per customer. While some news sources such as Kotaku came out in favour of Best Buy's practice, alternatively in response to this (and the difficulty of acquiring previous retailer-exclusives), others, such as Brian Altano, Jose Otero, and Peer Schneider of IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, have encouraged American collectors to import these hard-to-find items.

Hardware support
The Wii U, New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 2DS XL, and Nintendo Switch contain integrated NFC support, and are Amiibo-compatible. On Wii U, toys are scanned using an NFC reader contained within the Wii U GamePad. Amiibo support was formally introduced to the consoles' firmware between November and December 2014; these updates added an Amiibo menu to the system settings area, allowing users to scan, register, and erase data from toys. The Nintendo Switch similarly features an NFC reader in both the Joy-Con R and Pro Controller.

A separate NFC reader accessory allows use of Amiibo on the original Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS models; in Japan, released in "Summer 2015", and released alongside Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer in North America. The New Nintendo 3DS, New 3DS XL, and New 2DS XL contain an integrated NFC reader utilizing the touch (bottom) screen.

Amiibo data communication
Supported games offer one of two kinds of Amiibo compatibility; the ability to access an Amiibo toy's NFC tag and store data, and read-only recognition. Each Amiibo toy largely corresponds to a specific game that can access its storage space, though some may have multiple games that can use it. However, each Amiibo toy can only store data from one compatible game at a time, meaning data must be deleted to use it with a different title. For example, a Mario Amiibo figurine containing data from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U must have the data for that game deleted to store data from Mario Party 10. Many games offer compatibility with specific Amiibo toys on a read-only basis, allowing for additional content to be unlocked in that game. For example, using certain figurines with Mario Kart 8 or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe unlocks Mii costumes based on the corresponding character. Multiple variations of the same character offer the same compatibility, although special variations can unlock unique content with specific games. Existing Wii U and 3DS games can receive updates for Amiibo functionality. Due to their co-development effort on Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Bandai Namco Entertainment were the first third-party publishers to embrace the Amiibo concept in some of their own games.

List of Amiibo

The following list features all known NFC items branded under Amiibo, originally produced in the form of character figurines as of 2014, then cards as of 2015, and other types in the future. Nintendo designed all Amiibo characters to be cross-compatible with all games that support specific Amiibo characters, regardless of whichever model line these characters belong to; for example, Mario figurines from both the Super Smash Bros. and Super Mario series have the same functionality. Yoshi line are soft dolls instead of hard plastic figurines.

There are currently  Amiibo figurines, 3 Amiibo card series, and {{#expr:
1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+2
+1
+1

+1
+3
+3}} noted variants on this list.

List of Animal Crossing Amiibo cards
The following is a list of all confirmed Amiibo cards for the Animal Crossing series of games. Series 1, 2, 3 and 4 consist of 100 cards each, while Series 5 consists of 48 cards. Additionally, there are five cards which aren't part of any series. After the announcement that New Leaf would receive an Amiibo update a new series of 50 Animal Crossing RV cards was announced plus an additional series of 6 cards based around characters by Sanrio. Later, after a Nintendo Direct on September 23, 2021, Nintendo confirmed on the official Animal Crossing Twitter account that a Series 5 of Amiibo cards was being produced and implied it may feature villagers introduced in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as returning villagers. Series 5 was released on November 5, 2021.

Exclusives
In North America, Australia, and New Zealand, at launch some Amiibo were only available in selected retailers. In Australia and New Zealand, this practice is limited to Mario (Silver Edition), Dark Hammer Slam Bowser, and Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong being limited to EB Games, Mario (Gold Edition) being limited to Target in Australia and Mighty Ape in New Zealand, Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome Amiibo Sanrio Collaboration Pack and Qbby Amiibo being limited to the Official Nintendo AU/NZ eBay Store; however, in North America it is much more widespread. Some characters, such as Villager, were originally non-exclusives, but later became exclusive to retailers during restocks.

See also

 Nintendo e-Reader
 GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable
 Transfer Pak
 VMU

Notes

References

External links

Toy figurines
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo accessories
Nintendo Switch accessories
Nintendo toys
Wii U
Toys-to-life games
Products introduced in 2014


title: Brampton College

text:
Brampton College, London is a co-educational private day school for students aged between 15 and 19 years, specialising in A levels. Founded in 1989 in Golders Green, it has been located in a period building in Hendon since 1998. In 2012, the college had 263 students.

College buildings
The college is based in a period building on Lodge Road, Hendon, and a separate building known as 'the annex', It comprises 32 classrooms, including three science laboratories, and a library, study hall, art studio and offices. The college makes use of the indoor and outdoor sports facilities of a nearby school and sports centre.

Academics
Brampton College offers the following subjects at A Level – Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Computer Science, Art, Photography, English, Religious Studies, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Classics, Economics, Business Studies, Psychology, Government & Politics, Sociology, Law, and Geography. A particular characteristic of the curriculum is flexibility: students are allowed to take a mixture of one-year, two-year and GCSE courses.

Results from the Department of Education results for Brampton College indicate the percentage of students receiving 3 A Levels at grades AAB or higher (in 2 subjects) was 28%, much higher than the average in England of 15%.

A large number of pupils at Brampton attended top schools in the UK, including, Harrow School, Highgate School, University College School, The Haberdashers' Boys' School, The Haberdashers' School for Girls', Merchant Taylors' School for Boys', St Albans Boys School, Aldenham School, Jewish Free School, Immanuel College, North London Collegiate School, and Mill Hill School.

School fees

The total cost of attending the college (Years 11-13) in 2018/19 is £23,935 (£7,845.00 per term). Scholarships are available to a select number of students.

Awards and recognition
In the School and College Performance Tables published by The Department for Education in January 2013, Brampton College has an Average Points Score per Examination Entry of 248.4, above the National Average of 215.6, and above the Independent Schools Average of 242.2.

The Department of Education figures for 2013 indicate that the percentage of students at the college receiving 3 A Levels at grades AAB or higher was 28%. The average for England is 15%.

The cirriculum encompasses GCSE and intensive one-year A levels as well as traditional A level courses. The college has been inspected by Ofsted in 2009 and judged to be in the category, "Outstanding". It was also inspected in 2012 by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, who described it as "excellent".

References

External links

1989 establishments in England
Private co-educational schools in London
Private schools in the London Borough of Barnet
Educational institutions established in 1989