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Can Gaming become an Addiction
Carve and Devour with the Void Sword in Lords of Shadow...
Titanfall Delayed on Xbox 360
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Contact G3AR
Posted by Ronald Clarke | Jan 24, 2018 | Community, Gaming Addiction | 0 |
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4)
Posted by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | PS4 | 0 |
Posted by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | XBOX | 0 |
Carve and Devour with the Void Sword in Lords of S...
Transformers Universe gets a Debut Trailer
Posted by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | G3AR | 0 |
by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | G3AR | 0 |
Jagex, developers of Runescape, have a new MMO to show off today, welcome to Transformers...
Carve and Devour with the Void Sword in Lords of Shadow 2
by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | XBOX | 0 |
by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | PS4 | 0 |
by Ronald Clarke | Jan 24, 2018 | Community, Gaming Addiction | 0 |
There are many types of games online. Some games available are puzzle games, adventure games and...
by Ronald Clarke | Jan 24, 2018 | Community, Gaming Addiction | 0 Comments
There are many types of games online. Some games available are puzzle games, adventure games and world building games. I would like to bring more focus on the war, combat and action games, games that contain violence, for example the Call of Duty franchise. There have been studies that have proven a link between aggression and high exposure to violent media. Television and movies in themselves are violent, but what about the video and online games out there? Are these computer games more harmful than simply watching a movie?
Learning happens more easily when a person is actively involved in a situation. In gaming the person plays an active role in the whole process. Be this as it may, there hasn't actually been a connection made with gaming and criminal behaviour and violence. There are quite a lot of opinions whether violent gaming inspires crimes in 'real life'. Playing of violent game for an hour or two is not going to make you go out afterwards and commit some kind of crime. But making gaming an addiction or obsession, and exposing yourself to violent games will surely have some kind of an effect. There are in fact specialized clinics and rehabs in Cape Town and other parts of South Africa that admit people that have been diagnosed with an addiction to computer gaming.
Sometimes when playing a game the person chooses the character they want to be. Many of the characters are violent in nature and the gamer then sees and actively participates in everything the game requires. I have seen many games where the gamer is a shooter and is basically killing everything that comes around the corner. Graphics nowadays has also improved, so visually everything is in detail, and so shooting somebody is very vivid. Never mind the weird and awful sound effects that go with it. At least with a movie you can distance yourself from any of the violence, in a game you are fully immersed.
Games also reward you for your behaviour. Points are given or you reach the next level. By hearing verbal praise from the game it only aids in increasing the enjoyment and behaviour. Violent games can increase aggressive thoughts, pronounce angry feelings and can cause other physical reactions. Things like increased heart rate and blood pressure while playing. Thoughts also linger on graphic violence, which is why there are parental guidance warnings on movies. Violent gaming can also desensitize a person, decreasing good behaviour such as empathy for others.
Many times even though there is parental guidance warnings for things, some kids can still get access to the movie or game. Exposure to such violent games at a young age, while the brain is still in a developing stage, is surely not a good thing. What will such games teach them, surely nothing good? Liberty Home is a Cape Town rehab centre that not only offers a place of refuge and treatment for those suffering from substance addiction, but also online gambling and gaming addiction
What you read, listen to and watch is important, because everything that goes in will come back out as something good or bad. In other words your Input equals your output. There are many other factors that contribute to aggression, but violent video gaming definitely has a significant effect. More research should be directed towards this issue; sometimes some things are not taken seriously until it is too late. An event has to happen before anybody takes notice and something is done about an issue.
You have to form your own judgment on the matter, does violent gaming influence behaviours? There seems to be many different opinions. I personally after having watched something violent or played a game that is violent, felt different afterwards and not a good feeling. Images keep replaying in your thoughts of the most gruesome parts you saw. From my own perspective I think computer gaming like anything else should be done in moderation. Discretion should be used when it comes to the type of game being played. If it has become an addiction, the problem should be dealt with if not by you then by a professional.
by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | PS4 | 0 Comments
I remember gasping at the E3 2011 demo two years ago. It was a sign of a new beginning for our modern gaming icon. Boys (and men) around the world rejoiced as this polygon beauty promised a whole new direction for the Tomb Raider series. Gone are the fair-skin, plaited hair and big boobs that characterised the First Lady of gaming. In its place you have a younger, more rugged Lara that's not scared to mix it up with anything Mother Nature can throw at her.
Things start off with Lara joining a film documentary crew on an adventure to find an island based on a myth. As they (unbeknownst to them) near the shores of Yamatai Island the ship gets struck by a sudden storm and splits into two. Lara and the crew are separated and washed to shore and before our heroine knows what's happened she's hanging upside-down in something that looks like a torture chamber. Adult Lara would be horrified. Crystal Dynamics did not fool around with the gruesome bits either.
Nathan Drake occasionally reaches out to touch a wall in passing. Batman's suit gets more tattered the further into Arkham City you venture, but nowhere have I ever seen such reckless physicality as in this Tomb Raider reboot. Hearing Lara scream in agony each time she puts a foot wrong is a common occurrence. I'm a strong supporter of this new hard-hitting direction that Crystal Dynamics is taking with Lara. It's not just her looks or the blood-splattered edge of her design that warrants attention. After being ship-wrecked on an island with psycho killers, Lara has to push deeper inland to find her friends. To keep the latest Ms. Croft outing relevant in the modern age Crystal has adopted an entirely fresh approach with a welcome emphasis on both physical 'oomph' and a more tactical use of surrounding environments.
Not long into your journey Lara will discover a bow. Your first victim? That would be a deer or rabbit. Press and hold the left trigger to ready your bow and press the right trigger to inject an arrow into anything that moves. Unlike Tomb Raider titles in the past you always feel in complete control with your weapons. Salvage the animal and you receive points for upgrading Lara's survival abilities as well as weapons. No, you can't just upgrade these as you please. To do that you have to find a Base Camp which consists of a bonfire. Here you can improve your damage stats of your shotgun, increase the magazine size of your handgun or attach a scope to your machine gun. Don't sneeze at your bow. You can add napalm and explosive rounds to the tip for that 'Rambo' effect. You can also use the opportunity to travel between various campsites, acting as waypoints to help you find all the notes left by other people who have since succumbed to the island's mysterious happenings and relics. To help you locate these along with mission objectives you simply press the LB button to highlight everything of importance within your immediate surroundings.
Comparisons between Tomb Raider and Uncharted come naturally, given that both franchises are third person, action adventure titles with treasure hunting at their cores. In the mid stages you'll encounter a good dose of bullet spraying (as seen in Uncharted) along with the odd quick time event. Other similarities come in the form of detail. Lara automatically ducks under anything that is waist-high. There is no need to press a button to crouch and it has to be said that the graphical detail matches most of what Uncharted could throw at the PS3. Forget for a minute that this is one island. The various scenes are vastly different in atmosphere and style. One moment Lara will be stealthily treading through the forest and in an hour or two she'll be walking over a bridge towards a hidden temple. Other than using the waypoints there is no backtracking.
Ironically Tomb Raider falters in one aspect and that's the tombs. There are only a few tombs scattered about the island and, unless you're a very unobservant player, chances are good that you won't miss it. These tombs act as mini puzzle chambers, with each one taking about five to ten minutes at most to complete. It's a little disappointing as the game generally lacks in material that challenges the mind. It's also best that you steer clear of the online multiplayer. It's a bugfest that does not deserve to be on the same disc as the single player campaign.
Gamers that are craving for some adventure and platforming won't be let down. If she's not scaling mountainsides with relative ease using a climbing axe (which attaches to specified surfaces by pressing the X button) she's shooting a rope arrow to make it from one side of a cliff to the next. Yes, expect different types of baddies and a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of your journey. Yes, headshots and stealthy kills will reward you with more points to upgrade quicker. Yes, this is the best Rambo 'movie' since First Blood: Part 2. Yes, you really should stop reading this and go buy one of the best games of 2013… like now!
by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | XBOX | 0 Comments
Titanfall will be dropping on gamers worldwide on March 11th, which is just over a month away. Well at least that will be the case for PC and Xbox One owners as the Xbox 360 version has been delayed by two weeks. EA annouced the delay on Twitter and said that the reason for the two week delay is that Bluepoint, who are the external developers handling the Xbox 360 version, can put final touches on the game. This is what else EA's Patrick Soderland had to say about the 360 version:
"To give [developers Bluepoint] the time they need to put the finishing touches on the current-gen version of the game, we are moving the Xbox 360 ship date to March 25 in North America and March 28 in Europe. The extra two weeks will ensure the full world of Xbox gamers has an awesome experience."
The fact that the Xbox 360 version is being handled by an external studio and no gameplay footage has been released is a little concerning. Although, Bluepoint are responsible for the HD ports of The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, God of War Collection and the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, all of which were well polished and produced ports, even great in some cases. Regardless of the game being delayed, it's release isn't too far off, and since there are only a handful of Xbox Ones in the country, it leaves South African's with either the PC or Xbox 360 version. Which will you be getting?
If we've learnt one thing from popular culture, especially the Castlevania series, it's that Dracula is nothing short of beastly and very likely needs little to no help in his forthcoming adventure; he's an immensely strong character and is ready to throw down with whatever he may encounter in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. That said, it wouldn't hurt if the interminable lord had a little assistance along the way. To that effect, Dracula has taken up the Void Sword.
The void sword is an apparently hugely effective weapon that is capable of both damaging Dracula's enemies while restoring his health with each strike of the blue blade. We know you want more, so we've scored this video demonstrating what the blade with the blue hue can do; see what we did there.
Expect Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 to hit our shores on February 28th for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. There's a lot about Dracula's latest journey that's worth getting excited for. Heck, even the bosses, like the Toy Maker, look pretty enjoyable.
by Ronald Clarke | Aug 5, 2017 | G3AR | 0 Comments
Jagex, developers of Runescape, have a new MMO to show off today, welcome to Transformers Universe. Set to launch this year, Transformers Universe is a multiplayer online tactical game (or MOTA) that will put you in command of your very own squad of a "unique collection of Transformers" in order to do battle with and against others online.
We've built a massively online, tactical action game, or MOTA as I like to call it! Transformers Universe offers fast-paced, battle centric, tactical action with a selection of game modes for core gamers, casual gamers and Transformers enthusiasts alike.
It sounds like it has definite potential, especially considering that we're suckers for a good strategy-centric game, and the fact that Transformers pose the possibility for a lot of customisation, well colour us intrigued.
What's the goal of Transformers Universe, you might ask? Well, according to Jagex:
Autobots versus Decepticons, you'll team up to play with and against other Commanders around the world in tactical and strategic online battles, competing for supremacy in the global faction war. Legendary Transformers characters will make special appearances – but more on that another time!
We don't have much more than that at the moment. A trailer demonstrating some gameplay is promised to go public soon, but until then, we have this for you:
G3AR


text:
package com.vmware.vim25;

/**
* @author Steve Jin (http://www.doublecloud.org)
* @version 5.1
*/

@SuppressWarnings("all")
public class ConfigTarget extends DynamicData {
  public int numCpus;
  public int numCpuCores;
  public int numNumaNodes;
  public Boolean smcPresent;
  public VirtualMachineDatastoreInfo[] datastore;
  public VirtualMachineNetworkInfo[] network;
  public DistributedVirtualPortgroupInfo[] distributedVirtualPortgroup;
  public DistributedVirtualSwitchInfo[] distributedVirtualSwitch;
  public VirtualMachineCdromInfo[] cdRom;
  public VirtualMachineSerialInfo[] serial;
  public VirtualMachineParallelInfo[] parallel;
  public VirtualMachineSoundInfo[] sound;
  public VirtualMachineUsbInfo[] usb;
  public VirtualMachineFloppyInfo[] floppy;
  public VirtualMachineLegacyNetworkSwitchInfo[] legacyNetworkInfo;
  public VirtualMachineScsiPassthroughInfo[] scsiPassthrough;
  public VirtualMachineScsiDiskDeviceInfo[] scsiDisk;
  public VirtualMachineIdeDiskDeviceInfo[] ideDisk;
  public int maxMemMBOptimalPerf;
  public ResourcePoolRuntimeInfo resourcePool;
  public Boolean autoVmotion;
  public VirtualMachinePciPassthroughInfo[] pciPassthrough;

  public int getNumCpus() {
    return this.numCpus;
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  public int getNumCpuCores() {
    return this.numCpuCores;
  }

  public int getNumNumaNodes() {
    return this.numNumaNodes;
  }

  public Boolean getSmcPresent() {
    return this.smcPresent;
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  public VirtualMachineDatastoreInfo[] getDatastore() {
    return this.datastore;
  }

  public VirtualMachineNetworkInfo[] getNetwork() {
    return this.network;
  }

  public DistributedVirtualPortgroupInfo[] getDistributedVirtualPortgroup() {
    return this.distributedVirtualPortgroup;
  }

  public DistributedVirtualSwitchInfo[] getDistributedVirtualSwitch() {
    return this.distributedVirtualSwitch;
  }

  public VirtualMachineCdromInfo[] getCdRom() {
    return this.cdRom;
  }

  public VirtualMachineSerialInfo[] getSerial() {
    return this.serial;
  }

  public VirtualMachineParallelInfo[] getParallel() {
    return this.parallel;
  }

  public VirtualMachineSoundInfo[] getSound() {
    return this.sound;
  }

  public VirtualMachineUsbInfo[] getUsb() {
    return this.usb;
  }

  public VirtualMachineFloppyInfo[] getFloppy() {
    return this.floppy;
  }

  public VirtualMachineLegacyNetworkSwitchInfo[] getLegacyNetworkInfo() {
    return this.legacyNetworkInfo;
  }

  public VirtualMachineScsiPassthroughInfo[] getScsiPassthrough() {
    return this.scsiPassthrough;
  }

  public VirtualMachineScsiDiskDeviceInfo[] getScsiDisk() {
    return this.scsiDisk;
  }

  public VirtualMachineIdeDiskDeviceInfo[] getIdeDisk() {
    return this.ideDisk;
  }

  public int getMaxMemMBOptimalPerf() {
    return this.maxMemMBOptimalPerf;
  }

  public ResourcePoolRuntimeInfo getResourcePool() {
    return this.resourcePool;
  }

  public Boolean getAutoVmotion() {
    return this.autoVmotion;
  }

  public VirtualMachinePciPassthroughInfo[] getPciPassthrough() {
    return this.pciPassthrough;
  }

  public void setNumCpus(int numCpus) {
    this.numCpus=numCpus;
  }

  public void setNumCpuCores(int numCpuCores) {
    this.numCpuCores=numCpuCores;
  }

  public void setNumNumaNodes(int numNumaNodes) {
    this.numNumaNodes=numNumaNodes;
  }

  public void setSmcPresent(Boolean smcPresent) {
    this.smcPresent=smcPresent;
  }

  public void setDatastore(VirtualMachineDatastoreInfo[] datastore) {
    this.datastore=datastore;
  }

  public void setNetwork(VirtualMachineNetworkInfo[] network) {
    this.network=network;
  }

  public void setDistributedVirtualPortgroup(DistributedVirtualPortgroupInfo[] distributedVirtualPortgroup) {
    this.distributedVirtualPortgroup=distributedVirtualPortgroup;
  }

  public void setDistributedVirtualSwitch(DistributedVirtualSwitchInfo[] distributedVirtualSwitch) {
    this.distributedVirtualSwitch=distributedVirtualSwitch;
  }

  public void setCdRom(VirtualMachineCdromInfo[] cdRom) {
    this.cdRom=cdRom;
  }

  public void setSerial(VirtualMachineSerialInfo[] serial) {
    this.serial=serial;
  }

  public void setParallel(VirtualMachineParallelInfo[] parallel) {
    this.parallel=parallel;
  }

  public void setSound(VirtualMachineSoundInfo[] sound) {
    this.sound=sound;
  }

  public void setUsb(VirtualMachineUsbInfo[] usb) {
    this.usb=usb;
  }

  public void setFloppy(VirtualMachineFloppyInfo[] floppy) {
    this.floppy=floppy;
  }

  public void setLegacyNetworkInfo(VirtualMachineLegacyNetworkSwitchInfo[] legacyNetworkInfo) {
    this.legacyNetworkInfo=legacyNetworkInfo;
  }

  public void setScsiPassthrough(VirtualMachineScsiPassthroughInfo[] scsiPassthrough) {
    this.scsiPassthrough=scsiPassthrough;
  }

  public void setScsiDisk(VirtualMachineScsiDiskDeviceInfo[] scsiDisk) {
    this.scsiDisk=scsiDisk;
  }

  public void setIdeDisk(VirtualMachineIdeDiskDeviceInfo[] ideDisk) {
    this.ideDisk=ideDisk;
  }

  public void setMaxMemMBOptimalPerf(int maxMemMBOptimalPerf) {
    this.maxMemMBOptimalPerf=maxMemMBOptimalPerf;
  }

  public void setResourcePool(ResourcePoolRuntimeInfo resourcePool) {
    this.resourcePool=resourcePool;
  }

  public void setAutoVmotion(Boolean autoVmotion) {
    this.autoVmotion=autoVmotion;
  }

  public void setPciPassthrough(VirtualMachinePciPassthroughInfo[] pciPassthrough) {
    this.pciPassthrough=pciPassthrough;
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Ahh, we have to try this, what a cool way to test different types of posts!
In reality Google weighs content that has a strong social interaction heavier than content that does not have any social presence.
Pro tip: Always post new content on Google+ this will make sure it's indexed immediately.
Some more good Google+/SEO links.
Finally, no shocker: The largely unemployed slice of teens legally required to attend high school do not spend much time polishing their Linkedin Profiles (2 percent daily use) — this in spite of LinkedIn'sefforts to court college applicants.
This post has some good tips in it!
I love learning about SEO and this is a good, basic article for a "dummie" like me!
We've all heard it over and over again. "Content is king" when it comes to blogging.
However, in business we don't just blog for fun; we blog for other reasons, including content marketing, to drive Web traffic, to show off your business expertise, and to generate leads.
Blog posts don't only have to engage your audience; they also have to be SEO friendly. Did you know that 97 percent of people use search engines to find blog posts? That's a lot of people who could stumble onto your blog through organic Internet searches, so you must make sure search engines can find your work.
1. Use a clear title. One of the most important factors in content marketing is SEO within a blog post title. It is the first thing that someone sees when scrolling through links during an Internet search, and it's also the first thing search engines analyze at when evaluating your content. The key to a great SEO-friendly title is to keep it simple. For example, if someone is searching for a recipe to make apple pie, they may search for, "how to make an apple pie," or "apple pie recipes." The important keywords in that search are "apple pie," so when writing about the subject you want to make sure "apple pie" is in the blog post title.
2. Don't stuff keywords. Though keywords are very important for any content marketing strategy, it's important not to stuff a ton of keywords into blog posts just for the sake of SEO. Instead, focus on no more than three keywords for each post. This way, it helps keep you focused on writing the blog post instead of focusing on keywords. It's also important to note that if you stuff your blog posts with too many different keywords, search engines are programmed to penalize your posts.
3. Include keywords in the body, but write in a readable way. Once you have your keywords, make sure you mention them at a normal pace throughout the blog post. This means you should include your keywords in a reader-friendly way throughout the content.
Tip: Stay away from repeating your keywords too many times throughout the post. Experts suggest mentioning keywords five times throughout the post for the best search engine optimization.
4. Write a comprehensive meta description. Another thing many people forget about when writing blog posts is to fill out the meta description. The meta description is meant to give search engines and your readers information about your blog post's content. This is a great place to use keywords so that search engines are able to find your blog posts more easily.
For more information on SEO, check out Google's SEO section in Webmaster Tools. This page can provide you with answers to a number of questions you may have about the best ways to optimize your website.
Finally, remember for content marketing to work it's not only about having an SEO-friendly blog post. It is also extremely important to write a blog post that is engaging to your audience.


Mrs. Hammad's Eighth grade Social Studies students enthusiastically presented their final research summative projects to ISG staff and students. Students exhibited stellar knowledge on topics that they had conducted research on using the "Just War Theory" as the lens to examine their chosen conflict. Aside from verbal informational presentations, they also had visual presentations in the form of 3D models, videos and tri-fold posters. Great job student historians and thanks for the history lessons!
← Happy International Peace Day and Saudi National Day!


text:
Frisinské zlomky neboli Frisinské památky (slovinsky Brižinski spomeniki, latinsky Monumenta Frisingensia, psáno také Frizinské) jsou nejstarším dochovaným slovanským textem psaným latinkou.

Historie
Bohoslužebné texty byly napsány patrně kolem roku 1000 slovinským (panonským) typem staroslověnštiny, která je v podstatě už starou slovinštinou, a pojmenování nesou podle frisinského kláštera, kde byly roku 1803 nalezeny.

Odkazy

Reference

Literatura

Související články
 Počátky české literatury
 Starší česká literatura

Externí odkazy

 Brižinski spomeniki – Monumenta Frisingensia. Digitální kritická edice s faksimilemi, transkripcí, překladem, konkordantním glosářem, bibliografií a shrnutím. Lublaň, 2007.
 Popis Frisinských památek se zvukovou ukázkou
 Kompletní rukopis Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Clm 6426

Rukopisy
Slavistika
Slovinština
Staroslověnské literární památky
Knihy z 11. století

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Owning the perfect idea of a thing.
Tim Gordon's seventh poetry/fiction collection, FROM FALLING, will be published Spring, 2016 (Spirit-of-the-Ram P). Work appears in AGNI, KANSAS Q, LOUISVILLE R, MISSISSIPPI R, NEW YORK Q, SONORA R, BASEBALL BARD, among other juried journals. He divides personal and professional lives between Asia and the Desert/Mountain Southwest.
Start your morning with a nourishing poem. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Google+. and enjoy a new poem every morning straight to your feed.


text:
Boy of Summer
Travis Nelson's Baseball Blog: Baseball Trade Rumors, News, Commentary, Trivia, Statistical Analysis, and Book Reviews from Major League & Fantasy Baseball
Marlins' Super Prospect Mike Stanton Not So Super
Hey, remember Mike Stanton?
No, not that one. He's retired now.
I mean Mike Stanton 2.0, or, wait, 3.0.
Mike Stanton extreme.
I mentioned him in my blog post about Baseball America's top 20 prospects:
Unlike his long-lived but largely un-exciting namesake pitcher, the hitter Mike Stanton is extreme in almost every respect. He's extremely young, having just turned 19 in November. He's extremely tall, 6'5" to be precise, with 210 lbs of muscle on his frame. He swings extremely hard, it seems, as evidenced by his 153 whiffs in 125 games, and also his having led the Sally League in homers (39), slugging (.611) and total bases (286). He also got hit by 11 pitches, not far off the league lead of 17, which suggests that he positions himself extremely close to the plate.
But lest you think he's just a hacker, he also walked 58 times in 468 at-bats for a respectable .389 OBP, very impressive for an 18-year old in his first long look in pro ball. His defense seems a little sketchy at first glance (five errors and only six assists in 107 games last season at Greensboro), but he'll probably be fine in left or right field.
The Marlins may skip High A ball and move him all the way up to AA to start the 2009 season, though it may be worth it to send him to the pitcher-friendly Florida State League (High A ball) first, to see how he does. The main thing will be trying to keep the strikeouts in check. Right now his stats look an awful lot like those of Russell Branyan at this age, so if he can't tone down the extreme nature of his game just a bit, he'll never last in the big leagues.
To be fair, Branyan has managed to "last in the big leagues" in some respect, for a dozen seasons, even if he has hit only .234 in them. The real irony here is that I wrote those words in early March, just before Russel Branyan started having the best season of his career. It's also worth noting that though Branyan hit .322/.424/.621 through the mariners' first 50 games, he hit just .201/.293/.449 in the next 66 games, a performance much closer to his career numbers.
Back pain landed Branyan on the DL a month ago and he probably won't play in the Mariners' handful of remaining games. In any case it remains to be seen whether those 50 games were a fluke or an indicator of Branyan's real talent level, but the preponderance of evidence is with the former.
I stand by my Branyan/Stanton analogy, and here's why:
Name  Year  Age  Lvl    G  AVG    OBP   SLG   OPS
Russ  1995   19   A    76  .256  .326  .534   860
Russ  1996   20   A   130  .268  .355  .575   930
Mike  2008   18   A   125  .293  .381  .611   992
Russ  1997   21   A+   83  .290  .398  .663  1061
Mike  2009   19   A+   50  .294  .390  .578   968
Russ  1997   21   AA   41  .234  .369  .526   895
Mike  2009   19   AA   79  .231  .311  .455   766
I omitted their rookie league numbers because Stanton only played eight games there, compared to 55 for Branyan, but the rate stats were very similar there as well.
Branyan repeated AA, but played only 44 games there, presumably because of an injury, and he hit .294/.417/.693. I assume that Stanton will start next year at AA as well, as he does not yet seem to have mastered the level, despite the accolades of American League scouts and Baseball America beat writers:
He's going to be a franchise player," said an American League scout. "I think he has a chance to be a five-tool guy who hits 40 home runs in the big leagues."
It's 80 power on the 20-80 scouting scale, a rarity for any player, even moreso for a 19-year-old. And there are few players with 80 power who can match Stanton's athletic ability. Even at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he has a tick above-average speed.
Personally, I have my doubts about Stanton as a major leaguer, at least as a great one. He's surely no 5-tool prospect. The facts that he hasn't stolen many bases (7-for-12 in his minor league career) or hit many triples (8 of them in over 1000 minor league at-bats) suggest that describing his speed as, "a tick above average" may be overly generous. The fact that he only attempts a steal about once every 23 games suggests that even Stanton does not think much of Stanton's speed.
Stanton's defense is questionable as well. He made 10 errors in 125 games in right field this year, suggesting that the fielding tool may be lacking as well. In the majors, only Justin Upton made more than 10 errors in right field, and Upton's got the wheels to compensate for the occasional miscue.
Stanton did make 10 assists, which might mean he's got a good arm, but if he can't get to anything, what difference will that make? Generally guys who end up being 5-tool players in the majors are 5-tool players in the minors, and so far, Stanton has shown perhaps two of those: hitting for power and (maybe) a strong arm. Scouts have a tendency to fall in love with athletic-looking prospects, regardless of their real skills. Just ask Billy Beane.
Hitting for average? Well, not so much. He hit .231 in over 300 plate appearances in the Southern League. I'll grant that he was one of the youngest players in that league, but .231 is not good. Nor is striking out 144 times in 129 games. He had reduced his strikeout rate a bit early in the season, facing high-A level pitching, but then reverted to form upon his promotion to AA. this years one strikout per 3.02 at-bats at AA is almost exactly the same as his one-per-3.05 at-bats at A-ball last year.
The whiffs don't necessarily kill you. Heck, Mark Reynolds misses the mark more often than a blind meteorologist, and he's still employed. But even Reynolds struck out about 25% less than Stanton does when he was in the bushes. Scouts and coaches chalk it up to youthful exuberance, lack of experience, which might or might not be the case. My guess is that this is how Stanton has always hit, and he'll need ot adjust if he wants to hit major league breaking pitches. At 19, he's got time, but Marlins fans should be happy if they ever see him display three tools in the big leagues, let alone five.
Posted by Travis M. Nelson at 10/02/2009
youre an ignorant.. i hope you know that.. when stanton whoops that ass.. you'll be deleting this... jokes
Mike Stanton was recruited by USC as a wide out, so I think 'a tick above average' is an understatement. So is Mike. Mike doesn't blow his own horn, he studies the pitcher diligently from the dugout between at-bats and always hustles.
The strikeouts are a concern, but in Greensboro they were a result of a constant diet of off-speed stuff- the kind of slop an 18-year-old meat-eater isn't primed for. When he did connect, there wasn't a safe place to stand in the city. MAMMOTH shots. We started calling them Stantonian blasts.
He knows he has a lot to learn. As he does learn, he'll develop and I think he'll be the real deal. Just an opinion from the bleachers.
This guy is a yankee fan. Of course he is doubtful of any player a team brings up through their system. I mean, how good could they be if the yankees didn't buy them, right?
haha. The kid is 20 and he already has 20 HR and 50 RBI's going into June. Beast.
Travis M. Nelson said...
It's got nothing to do with the Yankees, and you obviously haven't read anything else I've written or you'd know that. I'm doubtful of the future success of any kid who strikes out nearly once every three at bats in the minor leagues. He's improved that number significantly this year, but then he did that last year too, before struggling upon promotion to AA. Perhaps he'll struggle again at AAA, but then master the level next year. He'll still only be 22 by the end of next season, and that would impress me.
His numbers this year are impressive too, but 49 games isn't that big a sample size. Raul Ibanez hit .333 with 17 homers in his first 49 games last year, but only .234 with 17 homers in the last 85 games. I don't think Stanton is that kind of fluke, but I'd still like to seem him dominate a higher level for a full year, or at least not falter upon a promotion.
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The Vancouver Art Gallery has just appointed local writer and grunt gallery curator Tarah Hogue as its first senior curatorial fellow focusing on indigenous art.
Hogue, who is of Métis/French Canadian and Dutch ancestry, is set to start the new job in September.
The VAG launched the new fellowship to bring more diverse perspectives to its curatorial team, and to "examine and re-contextualize the colonial legacy of the institution", it said in the press announcement today.
Hogue was born in Red Deer and holds a bachelor of art history degree from Queen's University as well as a master of art history degree in critical curatorial studies from UBC. She's been curator at the grunt since 2014.
Some of her recent curatorial projects have included #callresponse, a series of locally responsive art commissions centering on indigenous women and artists accompanied by a touring exhibition; last year's Unsettled Sites, a group exhibition at SFU Gallery; and Cutting Copper: Indigenous Resurgent Practice, a collaboration between grunt gallery and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery.
Hogue also served as 2016's a co-organizer of Intertextual: Art in Dialogue, a roving reading group series, and What's at Stake? Intertextual Indigenous Knowledges, talks, panels, and a spoken-word performances that examined knowledge, power, authority and sovereignty in the construction of artistic practices.
Tarah Hogue was the 2016 Audain Aboriginal Curatorial Fellow at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and she was a cofounder of the Gam Gallery. As a writer, she has also contributed to several publications, including BlackFlash Magazine, Canadian Art, Decoy Magazine, Inuit Art Quarterly and MICE Magazine.


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StonePoint Trading Company was founded by outdoorsmen who understand the need to keep tradition alive in a time where technology is king. Here you will find that the appreciation of a quality hand-crafted product and time spent afield in the wild is not just a hobby, but a lifestyle.
This Lifestyle is one rich with heritage and dates back to the origin of mankind. The simple pursuit of an animal with stick and string in hand is one of our oldest traditions and is one shared by all men and women. This instinctive chase stirs the hearts of many hunters and reminds us of simpler times and wilder places.
Our mission is to keep that tradition alive while also supplying you with all your traditional archery needs. StonePoint Trading Company will continue to grow and be stocked with new RER Bows weekly as well as new products, eventually being a supplier for not only traditional archery gear but for any and all traditional outdoor supplies.


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Features Mainpage
Our features section is loaded with opinions, views, artwork, and information. Our editorials section alone contains over 50 articles, and our Gallery mainpage is extensive, and growing larger. A surprizing amount of information can be found here. Listed below include: Editorials, Gallery, adn Site info (staff/hosting etc).
One of the larger sections in GameSurge, here people express their opinion on a wide range of topics. You may not agree with them, but that's why it's called free speech.
Our latest editorial:
Generation X and Pinball - By Agent 86
" Being a member of "Generation-X" myself - I'm 20 - its rather heart wrenching to be a member of a group that is considered partly responsible for "killing" something I enjoy - pinball. All over the news you hear things rumblings of how pinball is dying off, how kids have lost interest, how its a game for the older generation but after this past Friday I can't help but start to question all of that."
Netcode Rebuttal - by Mannon
" The new netcode uses Lag Compensation. Lag Compensation (not "control") is not client side prediction of hits. Hits and kills are not awarded this way. The server still retains authority. (Thus the references to Diablo are also erroneous.) What happens is that the sound effects, weapon animation, ammo depletion, bullet hole decals, ect... are handled by the client. Blood can also be switched to client side prediction, but defaults to server control. All of these are essentially cosmetic. As are all the other client side implementations. Those are all just sideshows compared to the main event, though... Lag Compensation."
GameSpy Arcade - by Sim
" GameSpy has released it's latest creation. No, it's not another Planet, it's GameSpy Arcade. This beta version is a user friendly program that "matches people with each other and the PC games they want to play. It supports everything from the hardcore action classics -- like Quake or Half-Life -- to classic, board, sports, or strategy games." It's a big program that not only includes server hookups (as in GameSpy3D), but also tons of chat rooms, instant messaging, and a mini web browser to boot."
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Netcode Crack and Debacle. - by Crepidus [WT]
"Valve made a very bold move with their latest implementation of netcode for half-life 1.1.0.0. This is a giant step backwards with respect to technological trends. What a debacle, and here is why: *I've tested both as a modem and DSL client. The hit scoring and position prediction are weighted towards the highest common denominator of ping, leaving a Low Ping client with a completely unrealistic experience.* In an attempt to reduce lag and even the playing field for Clients with High Pings, Valve simply �Castrated� the playability of Low Ping Clients."
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For a special look at what's new for all our main Gallery sections, check out the main Gallery page. GameSurge has support for all systems, whether it's Arcade, console, or computer games. The main page keeps you up to date on the newest images, screenshots, wallpapers, and artwork for your favorite games.
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Perhaps you've heard of the Hawaiian ritual of Ho'oponopono; after all, the concept has been gaining in popularity in recent times.
In fact, it's such a brilliant concept that personal development guru extraordinaire Joe Vitale practices it and has co-authored a book on it (one of many on the subject that are worth checking out).
The beauty of this practice is in its simplicity: basically, it is a conscious ritual of reconciliation and forgiveness.
When taking part in this practice, you are helping to put in order what has been misaligned and hurt in some fashion.
In Hawaiian culture, it's believed that illness and stress are the result of misconduct that hasn't been reconciled.
For example, if you initiated a fight with someone and you both left on poor terms, and there was never proper closure, the negativity of that action may manifest in you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
Ho'oponopono is a practice that allows you to release the negativity being held within you, sending the sincere desire for reconciliation out into the universe, to the spirit of the one you have wronged, in order to correct the situation.
Why is this is an effective means of healing yourself? Well, by owning and taking responsibility for our thoughts and emotions, we recognize their impact on everything else around us.
Think about how often people blame others for what they think or feel… or conversely, how often we abdicate responsibility for our behavior toward others, and their resulting emotional upheaval.
Acknowledging our responsibility in both our own reactions, and in causing those in others, is a huge step toward reconciliation.
The most important aspect of Ho'oponopono is the idea that there is no "us" as individuals, isolated from the rest of the universe.
Everything we think or feel is manifested in everything we encounter around us.
It's a concept that many who don't have an animistic lean may have difficulty relating to, but it centers around the idea that we are co-creators of the universe in which we live.
As such, our negative actions, emotions, and thoughts affect everything from other people to storms.
Total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life – simply because it is in your life – is your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world is your creation.
When another person hurts you, they are hurting themselves. When we upset another, we are upset ourselves.
Every single thing in creation is a mirror of our own souls, and so by healing and loving ourselves, we heal and love everything else.
This may be a difficult concept for the average person to wrap their heads around, but that says a lot about how disconnected we all are from the rest of the world.
We isolate ourselves in our self-absorbed little bubbles, taking great offense when we are wronged in some way, and holding on to emotional pain.
Even more so, very few of us know what it means to love and accept ourselves unconditionally, especially if it means taking full responsibility for that love and acceptance.
Most of us have been programmed with the idea that only by being accepted and adored by others are we worthy human beings, and that we can only gain that acceptance and adoration by looking a certain way, wearing specific clothes, behaving in a particular manner, etc.
If you want to see a dramatic positive change in your life, the first step – the absolute first step – is to love, accept, and forgive yourself. To heal the wounds in the world, the first step is to embrace, love, and heal the wounded parts deep within ourselves.
Love is the most powerful force in the universe, and by directing it toward yourself, along with sincere forgiveness, extraordinary change can take place. First of all within you, and next, in everyone else.
The next time someone trolls you on social media, or one of your family members tries to push your buttons, take some time to yourself and repeat those four simple phrases.
Wait, and watch what happens.


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Why the era of solar specialization is over: part I
In this two-part series, Tier-1 solar company Q CELLS takes an in-depth look at how the foundations of the world's energy infrastructure are being methodically dismantled and upgraded with greener, cleaner and more intelligent solutions, and examines solar's role – and that of traditional module cell and module manufacturers – in this fascinating transition.
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Image: Q CELLS
Germany's famous Solar Valley was always a misnomer from the get-go. The birthplace of the nation's photovoltaic industry is actually more of a vast plain; as flat as a pancake and part of the wider drainage area of the mighty Elbe River, which winds a leisurely path through the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg.
Geographical inaccuracies aside, the name 'Solar Valley' was adopted by the Q CELLS founders back in 1999 to pay homage to California's Silicon Valley, which to this day continues to serve as the globe's epicenter of digital innovation. Hopes were high two decades ago that Germany's Solar Valley could perform a similar role for PV: to act as a shining hub of photovoltaic excellence, and fuel an economic miracle in a corner of the country that had been somewhat left behind since reunification in 1990; all with the power of the sun.
For many years, solar exceeded those high hopes. By the turn of the millennium, Germany had cemented its reputation as a powerhouse in photovoltaic innovation and production. Yet in the decade that followed, the lower-cost locations of China and Southeast Asia gradually began to tease away the bulk of module manufacturing until there was very little capacity left in Europe, let alone Germany (although the recent announcement by Meyer Burger that it will return module manufacturing to Germany – and indeed, Solar Valley – could well reverse this trend). Such globalization of the solar industry was always going to be disruptive, but was arguably necessary in order to properly commoditize PV technology and make it an affordable source of energy capable of drawing sustained government, commercial and private investor interest.
Today, solar power is one of the key technologies that underpins the rapid energy transformation currently underway. In 2019, approximately €320 billion was invested into renewable energy, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and despite falling costs and the ongoing impact of COVID-19 (more on which later), that figure is expected to rise even higher year-on-year.
When taking stock of solar's bright future, its growing global prominence, and the energizing role it plays in an increasingly diverse and innovative energy mix, it can prove enlightening to peer back at one of PV's birthplaces to see just how much has changed over these past two decades.
Solar Valley – so incongruously named from the beginning – remains a thriving hub of innovation, expertise and energy, yet it's now also the 'solar' part of its name that seems a little wide of the mark. Given how the incumbent Q CELLS has evolved into a total energy solutions provider with a solar DNA, Solar Valley is now shaping up to be the epicenter of a diverse energy industry supporting an assortment of technologies and services.
Expertise the cornerstone of opportunity
In July, Q CELLS announced that it was to inject €125 million investment into its R&D Center in Solar Valley over the next three years, with €20 million being spent on machinery and equipment to support the company's ongoing pursuit of mastering and commercializing the next generation of high-efficiency, high performance photovoltaic technology.
Q CELLS CTO Dr. Daniel Jeong said: "With the investments that the company has made, we are laying the foundations for the next groundbreaking innovation that Q CELLS will develop in Germany and commercialize for the global solar markets."
Photovoltaic technology has already proven its worth, and then some, as a key pillar in the energy transition that is helping to wean the world off its reliance on fossil fuels towards something altogether more sustainable, environmentally friendly, flexible and affordable. Q CELLS' confidence in pouring such vast sums into PV research is underpinned by its unwavering trust in strong intellectual property (IP) laws, in Germany and worldwide.
Q CELLS says it will invest €125 million into its R&D Center in Solar Valley over the next three years.
A fair and competitive environment is crucial if photovoltaic technology is to continue taking the fight to the fossil fuel industry, because renewable energy derives, primarily, from good technology. With clean energy, there are no pipelines to secure, palms to grease or finite resources to squabble over; the battlefield instead is a rather more congenial one of IP and innovation, played out in laboratories and research institutes across the world. Recruit, train and employ the best experts and technologists, and secure for them a nurturing and protected R&D environment, and opportunity and success can follow. This approach has long served Q CELLS well, and enabled the company to set its sights beyond solar technology and towards becoming a vital component of a diverse energy mix.
Today, Q CELLS remains a top 10 producer of solar modules and a top-five producer of solar cells, with global manufacturing capacity of 11.3 GW and 9.6 GW respectively. Photovoltaic technology will remain the core tenet of both Q CELLS' business and the glue that binds much of the world's green energy mix, but emergent and complementary technologies are now so enmeshed in this great leap forward that to overlook the opportunities that exist in these fields would be short-sighted.
There are undoubtedly some negative connotations to the phrase 'follow the money,' but it can also be shorthand for positive market disruption. Like a canary in a coalmine, early-movers in high-tech industries can often precipitate a sea-change in perception, acceptance and – eventually – funding and governmental backing. Proponents of the energy status quo have long recognized the growing support for clean energy, and fought hard to derail it. Now, however, we have reached a tipping point. To 'follow the money' means to close coal plants en masse, to support the electrification of transportation, and to invest long term in renewables.
The evidence for this transformation is all around us. The European Union has pledged to boost the budget for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development to €15 billion per year, stating the pivotal role that farmers in Europe will play in the "green transition." Germany has pledged more than €2 billion extra funding for a CO2-focused building renovation plan to improve energy efficiency. In the UK, a similar €2-5 billion 'green homes grant' voucher scheme is being introduced in 2021, while in South Korea – where the global headquarters of Q CELLS is located – more than €4 billion (5.8 trillion won) is to be spent by 2022 on the nation's 'green transformation of living infrastructure' program. This government plan will create 89,000 jobs and transition all state-run facilities into zero-emission entities.
That is just a snapshot of some regions' financial support for measures to improve energy efficiency as one strand in the energy transition. Elsewhere, and in other industry sectors, various national hydrogen strategies and proposed investments in renewable energy development are attracting billions of dollars of support, while tendering schemes for energy storage technologies, carbon capture and circular-economy initiatives have been rolled out in an encouraging number of countries.
The electric vehicle (EV) sectors of many European nations, for example, are now receiving unprecedented levels of financial support from government and industry. In Germany, consumers can receive between €3,000 and €6,000 as a grant from the government when purchasing an EV up to the value of €40,000, with the nation also pledging to spend €500 million to boost the EV charging infrastructure. China, meanwhile, has vowed to expand its charging network by 50% this year at a cost of more than $1.4 billion. This investment will support the build-out of 48,000 EV charging stations.
Driving the structural decline of emissions
The direction of travel is clear. Sustainability is no longer a negotiable add-on for governments. Renewable energy shook off its 'alternative' label years ago. Solar and wind have graduated from intermittent interlopers in centralized energy grids dominated by coal and gas, to become key ingredients in the mix. Solar and wind no longer complement the baseload; they are becoming the baseload. Energy production is becoming more intelligently connected, flexible, and low- (or increasingly zero) carbon. Consumer habits – once gently nudged in the direction of cleaner and greener – are now forcing policy to become bolder in its attempts to become more environmentally conscious. Buildings are increasingly constructed in the most energy-efficient, low-impact manner possible. The decentralization of the energy grid is continuing apace. Countries are looking not only at ways of weaning themselves off fossil fuels, but also their dependence and reliance on neighboring – sometimes hostile or unpredictable – nation states.
The convergence of these trends underline why companies such as Q CELLS are accelerating their efforts to not only meet, but also shape demand for a lower-carbon future. The COVID-19 global pandemic offers an unprecedented chance to "build back better." There has never been a better time to seize this opportunity. As the director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, wrote in a blog post during the height of this year's pandemic: "Although CO2 emissions declined by 400 million tonnes in 2009, they rebounded by 1.7 billion tonnes in 2010 […] a pandemic-driven drop in emissions is almost certain this year, but would be nothing to celebrate. We need to learn from what happened in 2009 and 2010 and make smart policy decision that can put emissions into structural decline this decade."
Globally, Bloomberg has calculated that $12 trillion in government recovery funds has been pledged to tackle the financial hit of the pandemic. However, these analysts calculate that only $18 billion of that is specifically earmarked for the green economy. As a figure, $18 billion sounds like a lot, but it's only 0.2% of the overall global stimulus package. Over a decade ago, as governments surveyed the smoking husks of their post-2008-crash economies, the almost universal response was to pour money into industries that were carbon- and brown-energy intensive – harming at a stroke tentative progress made during the recession to limit emissions growth.
Back then, the industries that are currently leading the fight against climate change were very different beasts. Cumulative global solar capacity was just over 40 GW in 2010 (according to the IEA); last year, nearly three times that amount (115 GW) was deployed in just 12 months. This is just solar. Factor in wind power's tremendous growth, advances in storage technology, cost reduction and adoption, as well as the decentralizing impact of Internet of Things (IoT) and general intelligence in software and monitoring capabilities, and it is immediately clear that the world now has an uplifting array of tools at its disposal to properly "build back better".
Companies such as Q CELLS have a vital role to play in this next chapter; to help ensure that the money earmarked for recovery measures is wisely invested in technology that cleanly serves the needs of the consumer in the most economical, efficient and reliable manner, and to ensure that carbon emissions do not rebound to historic highs – as seen in the post-recession recovery a decade ago.
In Part II, we will examine the new technologies and innovative business models that will lead this fight, and showcase some of the specific ways in which Q CELLS is adapting its portfolio to remain a competitive and influential player in the green energy transition.
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