text:
Dr David Audley Books In Order
Publication Order of Dr David Audley & Colonel Jack Butler Books
The Labyrinth Makers (1970) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The Alamut Ambush (1971) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Colonel Butler's Wolf (1972) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
October Men (1973) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Other Paths to Glory (1974) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Our Man in Camelot (1975) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
War Game (1976) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The '44 Vintage (1978) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Tomorrow's Ghost (1979) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The Hour Of The Donkey (1980) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Soldier No More (1981) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The Old Vengeful (1982) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Gunner Kelly (1983) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Sion Crossing (1984) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Here Be Monsters (1985) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
For the Good of the State (1986) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
A New Kind of War (1987) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
A Prospect Of Vengeance (1988) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The Memory Trap (1989) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The Dr David Audley series is a famous novel series of espionage thriller novels written by the well known British novelist named Anthony Price. It is comprised of 19 books in total, which were released between the year 1970 and 1989. The series is also known by the name Dr David Audley and Colonel Jack Butler, based on the names of its two main characters. Each and every novel of this thriller series focuses on a working of a counterintelligence team of agents, who are part of an organization similar to MI5. The agents are shown as referring obscurely to their employer as the Defense Ministry. In the later parts of the series, it becomes absolutely clear that the specific department of the counter intelligence group is like MI5. It is also learned with the progress of the novel series that the budget of the secret agency is kept hidden under the tab of Research & Development. The first head of the agency is depicted as Sir Frederick Clinton, who is replaced midway of the suspense series by Col. Jack Butler. The agency has its best agent in the role of David Audley. He is a former historian and currently working as a spy. David is well known for making use of unorthodox tactics, his historical interests, and his liking for the quotes of Kipling. Each of the novels feature David Audley as the main lead. However, the author has not regarded him as the point of view characters for all the books. In the debut novel, David comes across his future wife and is seen as the central character. But, several other operatives get introduced in the later books and have a central plot of their own. They include Jack Butler, Hugh Roskill, Paul Mitchell, etc. Enmities and rivalries do exist within the agents of the department.
Author Price has gone one step ahead from the typical espionage thrillers by describing the stories through the viewpoint of the ones who dislike or oppose David Audley. The spy service described by Price appears to be belonging to the recent Britain, unlike the other spy thrillers. The stories also feature female agents in active roles. A couple of them include Elizabeth Loftus and Frances Fitzgibbon. The series also features repeated appearances from the Russian opponent of David Audley, named Professor Panin. The novels mostly traverse in real time. The characters are shown changing and evolving with each book. And between the debut novel and the last one, it is depicted that a period of 20 years has passed. Several titled are also shown cutting away from the timeline by depicting the exploits from the youths of Butler and Audley around the World War II. An important feature of all the plots is that all of them are connected with a few important historical military events somehow. Most of them typically contain strong elements of archaeology. A television series adapted from the first 3 books of the series was Broadcast on the British television in 1983. This series is called Chessgame, which was a 6 part television show. The TV series was shown again in 1986 in the form of 3 different TV movies. In the TV series, the characters of Roskill and Audley are given the main roles, while Butler's character has been renamed and replaced to suit the plots of the television movies. The first and fifth books of the book series have been adapted as one-off dramas by the BBC Radio. Martin Jarvis starred in the lead role of Paul Mitchell in one of the dramas.
An initial book written in the series by author Price is entitled 'Our Man in Camelot'. It was released by the Gollancz publication in the year 1975. At the start of the book, an Air Force aircraft of the United States is shown getting vanished mysteriously just after its take off from a Britain base. Following the disappearance, the CIA starts investigating and finds some odd information about the pilot. Then the search of the cottage of Major Davies reveals his strong interest in Kin Arthur literature. It is then found that the research of the Arthurian literature and a few important documents from Russian libraries have important links. Soon, a few rumors start making rounds that KGB is involved in investigating the Arthurian Badon Battle site. The investigating authorities begin wondering what concern did the secret police of the Soviet Union have with the 6th century battle site. Also, why did they feel the need to kill Major Davies. On top of that, the concern of the CIA for all this also seems suspicious. But, before David Audley could get the answers to all the questions, he realizes that he has been deeply involved. Later, he learns that he has been conned brilliantly. And as the novel reaches its conclusion, the readers come to know that they were deeply engrossed in the Arthurian legends in an exciting battle of intelligence and wits, involving sophisticated players.
Another exciting book published in the series is called 'The '44 Vintage'. The Mysterious Press released it in 1988. The primary characters described in this plot include Major O'Conor, Jack Butler, and David Audley. At the beginning of this book, the German army is shown retreating after the D-day, while the Americans and British on their pursuit. On the other hand, Major O'Conor is fighting a private war of his own. He is a former liason officer who was friends with Yugoslav Partisans. He heads a team of hand picked ruthless fighters behind the deep woods of the German boundary. It seems quite clear that Major O'Conor considers the agents of British Intelligence and the units of French Resistance as far dangerous than the German counterparts for his mission. And to his bad luck, the task force assigned against him includes a couple interpreters, Corporal Butler and Second Lieutenant David Audley. They are known to be the best in their work as they have already revealed the resourcefulness and cunning in their previous missions. The book turns out to be very intriguing as author Price did not reveal the startling objective of Major O'Conor until the last pages. Price has even kept a shattering surprise for the readers in the climax sequence. Similar to all the previous books of this mystery series, this book too was highly appreciated. The critics liked it for its likeable characters and interesting setup. The readers from all over the world enjoyed the book a lot and this helped it in becoming extremely successful. The success boosted the confidence of author Price and also motivated him to produce many more exciting books in the future.
Book Series In Order » Characters » Dr David Audley


text:
Bitcoin Stagnates as Ether Races Higher
Big Bounceback Ahead?
There are some looming threats for Bitcoin. One is the continued strength of the U.S. dollar index. Meanwhile, Thanksgiving weekend could result in dramatically lower trading volumes.
Bitcoin is stagnating as a number of smaller cryptocurrencies start to show strength.
While BTC is down 0.43% over the past 24 hours, ETH has raced up by 2.65%.
Other notable performers include Crypto.com Coin, which has risen by 18% over the same timeframe. With a current price of $0.94, CRO has almost doubled in value in the past week.
According to Michaël van de Poppe's crypto consultancy Eight Global, BTC is getting primed for a bullish breakout.
On Twitter, the company said a pennant has formed where lower highs and higher lows are made — and such activity is "typically followed by a further continuation to the upside."
There are some looming threats for Bitcoin. One is the continued strength of the U.S. dollar index. Meanwhile, Thanksgiving weekend could result in dramatically lower trading volumes for the next few days. On top of all this, we're also approaching the all-important monthly close.
A number of influencers on Crypto Twitter are also arguing that Bitcoin looks "seriously cheap" at $56,000.
Overall, the world's biggest cryptocurrency is starting to stabilize — and although the current correction has rumbled on for a couple of weeks, BTC has failed to dip below $55,500.
This indicates that there is strong support around this level, and it could pose a big challenge to bears who hope to push prices lower.
Aside from the U.S. dollar index, some analysts have linked BTC's tepid performance to the looming prospect of payouts to victims of the Mt. Gox hack.
There are fears that many of these victims may choose to cash out as soon as they receive compensation.
However, these payouts aren't expected to take place until next year.
CoinMarketCap Daily, June 17: McAfee Has No Hidden C...
Today, CoinMarketCap shares the top news and stories from the crypto space.
By CoinMarketCap
Blockchain Will Avoid Counterfeit Digital Euros, Pub...
In the consultation, privacy topped the list of the most important features that the central bank digital currency should have.
Bitcoin is a Key Trend for Twitter's Future, Jack Do...
He says investing in the space is "hugely important to Twitter and to Twitter's shareholders."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This article has resulted from an extensive urban study on weaving, "weaving, programmatic elasticity". Anne Mie Depuydt has done a year of research in Rome on the subject of weaving, not only on a description of the notion of weaving, which was lacking up to now, but also more in particular on how weaving can be used as a project strategy. She has elaborated the result of her study in the form of a dialogue with her colleague Erik Van Daele. The study started from a theoretical reflection on context. Within the current discussions, context usually gets a one-sided interpretation. We believe that to obtain a full understanding of context, one needs to approach and analyse it on all levels. Therefore the classic, conventional methods of analysis are in themselves not adequate. They need support. In Rome, we made a study of an area of 2000 ha. (Cinecitta Est, Romanina II, Tor Vergata, Gregna, Carcarilcolla and Gardinetti) using "a programmatic approach".
Our interest in a programmatic approach to the environment stems from our aim to understand the social environment in which planners work. The constant and increasing changes in our dynamic society, reverse the dimensions of our experiences and especially those of time and space. It is therefore unacceptable to continue using a classic, explicit relation between urban form and urban life. Increasing dynamics and constant acceleration obliges us to exchange the classical concept of the urban form as a direct expression of urban life for an interest in possible confrontations between static, urban forms on the one hand, and the hyperdynamic character of urban life on the other. There is no causal relation between urban form and urban life. They coexist. While urban forms manipulate urban life, at the same time urban life conquers urban form. These confrontations are positive. The diverse relations between form and program offer an enormous number of potential from which both programs and architecture can profit. Thus, a programmatic approach does not only oppose the typological and morphological one, it forms a necessary complement.
In our Roman study, it became clear to us that confrontations between city and urban life manifest themselves in very different ways and that each confrontation is specific. In order to understand these confrontations better, we were obliged to develop another armamentarium. This research resulted in a working procedure which helped us to discover the characteristics, the potentials and the uniqueness of a certain area. Despite the system within this procedure, it can never be used in an identical way to approach other sites. It is important to understand that we are talking about an approach and not about a prescribed formula. Therefore the study in Rome will never result in the definition of general conclusions. Every periphery is different.
The research starts with a maximum of very precise analyses of the site. The most extensive inventory possible will be made of the context, taking into account all its layers : physical, social, cultural, programmatic, economic, political... First all the information, every layer will be noted on maps or aerial photographs and later worked out in very specific drawings. These representations are very large interpretations of a certain characteristic of the site, for instance penetration, or the status of public spaces.... For this we use new spatial or non-spatial representations because not every layer of the context can receive an adequate description by the traditional 2-dimensional drawings or classical maps. Photographs and videos can for instance show the use of public spaces like parks, car parks, fallow spaces... at different times of the day and the week. They can show the resemblance's and differences. It is necessary to continue to develop new mappings.
The results of the mappings of every layer will be compared. In their function in comparison with other layers of the site, some of the layers will seem meaningless and not relevant. In the Rome-study for instance we did not continue to elaborate all the economical and statistic data. Other layers can at the first sight seem to be irrelevant but can prove to be decisive for the characterisation of the area. In Rome, the spontaneous programs such as the little mobile shops selling melons or the black sellers peddling goods in car parks, or the sliproad of the ringway becoming a pedestrian bridge, became decisive in describing the structure of the area. We admit that this working procedure results in a not entirely objective interpretation, but it is a reading started from a naive point of view, without any presumptions, without any pre-established theories. A reading that, starting from a maximum quantity of material, takes into consideration a maximum number of possible scenarios. Here, scientific completeness will never be the central issue but rather the diverse character of the most unexpected scenarios. Our interpretation of the site is influenced by the extra attention to the structural potential of the trivial, the everyday life and the evident. Example: In Rome, during the inventory we did not only notice the official functions, our attention was also focused on discovering programs introduced by the inhabitants themselves in unexpected places. It was important to understand how certain of these spaces, mainly public spaces were inhabited and used and why this does not correspond with the planned utilisation. A certain layer of the unplanned action can only reach the surface by introducing a very extensive and very concrete study. It is a systematic study realised on site and during a certain time. Whatever time it takes, only by use of this kind of interest in an area, can one make such a kind of interpretation - which would be impossible if we were only to make use of the conventional methods. Only considering the site through a morphological approach would give the interpretation that Rome corresponds with the image of an archipel. Indeed, the periphery of Rome seems to be a large conglomeration of islands without any interaction between them and with a sea of meaningless, in between, fallow spaces. But by studying the daily life on the site it becomes clear that this spatial structure is interrupted in very specific places, for instance by a pedestrian connection crossing the fields between Cinecitta Est, an area of 45 000 people, and the Terminus Anagnina metrostation or connections under the ringway becoming exclusive shadow-and meeting places... The interpretation of Rome as an archipel is incomplete.
By use of diagrams, the complex information resulting from the different mappings will be synthesised and interpreted. Themes, potentials and/or the needs of the area can now be formulated. Whenever it is necessary, these will be completed with the issues described by public institutions, investors, inhabitants... By use of the diagrams, different project strategies will be developed. In other words, we are writing very diverse scenarios resulting from the themes and needs described in the analysis. Independently of each other, these strategies will be elaborated on different scales. Scenarios will be implemented on the smallest scale, this means considering the minimal amount of information necessary, or they can embrace more areas and different programs. Small scale strategies are not necessarily derived from large scale strategies. It is important that regardless of its scale, every strategy will create a maximum of potentials, possibilities that through time can be re-evaluated according to the specific needs at that moment in time. In Rome we noticed traffic jams in different places on the ringway - the "General Raccordo Annulare". The traffic jam is related to the quick succession of slip roads and exit-ways and in some areas happens on very specific places that are cut through by the ringway. Example: In one part the GRA seems to operate like an urban boulevard. The ringway is caught between big commercial buildings selling electrical equipment, furniture, clothes... This "furniture-boulevard" ends at a very chaotic and complex interchange regulating the traffic between the GRA and 2 important access-roads to the centre of Rome (Via Tiburtina and Via Anagnina). This interchange is limited by on the one side an impenetrable fallow site and on the other side a completely isolated metro and "park and ride" station, Anagnina Terminus. At this particular spot, the "Communa di Roma" wishes to enlarge the GRA. As it seems there is no place, they did not propose a solution to this date. We propose to split the ringway into 2 parts, each with a different status. The continuous traffic is diverted behind the commercial buildings and the part of the way in between them becomes a real "furniture-boulevard". This manipulation of the road will continue with the creation of a less complex and much larger interchange. Thus, the fallow site next to it becomes integrated and accessible and the connection with the Terminus metro station becomes easy. The introduction of a new hierarchy within the system of the infrastructure ensures not only that this part of the GRA becomes much more understandable, the function of the surrounding areas is completely changed and at the same time their potential use is increased. This very concrete approach to Rome allowed us not only to give a description of "weaving" on a theoretical level, we also studied different project strategies on different scales and we made a description of the Roman periphery within its most diverse relationships. We became aware of the poverty and hollowness of the Roman approach and how the "Communa di Roma" still continue to apply their very systematic and abstract urbanism. Rome is a metropolis of 129 000 ha. and 2,7 million inhabitants with a periphery covering 82 000 ha or 64%. Since 1883, the city has a "Piano Regulatore Generale". This PRG is a master plan, a very abstract plan, established somewhere behind an office desk without any notion of the concrete situation. This year, the plan was adapted for the first time since 1965. The PRG gives an unambiguous image of how the metropolis should be, how it should be organised throughout the years. The plan relies essentially on the realisation of a very intricate network. On this basis, different areas and their destinations are determined. The consequences of this very abstract and official planning is that some destinations will be or are already realised according to an infrastructure, which is itself completely or partly absent. At the same time, over a number of years, Rome has battled with the illegal constructions. Complete neighbourhoods are built without building permission and without taking into account the actual infrastructure or services. This "savage urbanism" of housings, industrial and commercial buildings got its apogee during the 50s and 60s. At that time, the cost price of 1 m2 of legal construction was one the highest in Europe. The city is not only confined to a very abstract image, made from a distance and completely obsolete today, somehow there is a deficit of "legal urbanism" because every illegal intervention makes the legal ones impossible. The consequence is that time and again the PRG needs to be corrected to be able to adapt itself to the spontaneously growed constructions. This juxtaposition of a legal and an illegal organisation results in a far less intricate network wherein one can find "islands". This is also the reason why one can find programs, functions in very absurd situations. Example : Cinecitta Est is an area with 45 000 inhabitants a long the GRA. Its boulevard, the backbone of the operation, finds itself as an isolated piece of unfinished infrastructure in the landscape. The Roman system also works like a tree-structure because the different islands are essentially impenetrable. Therefore parasite connections between the islands are created by their inhabitants themselves. Instead of a fine-mesh network structure, we distinguish 3 structures : a coarse-mesh network or as much as could be realised of it, a tree-structure of islands and a hybrid or spontaneously created structure. Strangely enough, Rome continues its planning with island-structures. Consequently, the official Rome does not work as a metropolitan system. All the urban factors are present, but there is no interaction between them. This interaction is after all impossible, because the island-structure becomes stronger with time. Following our approach, it would be much more interesting to make some of the areas in between denser and to restructure them instead of building more bastions, even within the existing ones. This abstract, systematic planning is planning from a distance, "society-strange planning" that only legitimises itself. "Concrete planning" focuses its attention on a programmatic approach of a site, on the structural potential of the trivial, the everyday life and the evident. This approach provides a range of possibilities and unexpected results responding to the actual needs of a site.


A one-way journey in the midst of the profound desolation.
The deep desert. A man is stranded in the middle of nowhere as his car runs out of oil. A lonely traveler is there too, waiting for help, and so has been for seven years. The man is about to surrender to the oblivion of the desolated wasteland when an unusual encounter changes his life forever.


text:
namespace tangle::nav {
	doc_impl::doc_impl(uri const& location, navigator* nav)
	    : location_{location}, nav_{nav} {}

	void doc_impl::on_library_error(int code, char const* msg) {
		conn_status_ = code;
		conn_status_text_ = msg;
	}

	size_t doc_impl::on_data(const void* data, size_t count) {
		text_.append(static_cast<char const*>(data), count);
		return count;
	}

	void doc_impl::on_final_location(const std::string& location) {
		location_ = location;
	}

	void doc_impl::on_headers(std::string const& status_text,
	                          int status,
	                          msg::http_response::dict_t const& headers) {
		status_ = status;
		status_text_ = status_text;
		auto it = headers.find("set-cookie");
		if (it != headers.end()) {
			auto& jar = nav_->cookies();
			auto created = cookie::chrono::clock::now();
			for (auto& header : it->second) {
				jar.append(location_, header, created);
			}
		}

		headers_.clear();

		for (auto const& [hdr, values] : headers) {
			auto header = header_key::make(hdr.str());
			for (auto const& value : values) {
				headers_.add(header, value);
			}
		}
	}

	document doc_impl::open(request const& req) {
		if (!exists()) return {};
		if (req.referrer().empty()) {
			auto copy = req;
			copy.referrer(location_);
			return nav_->open(copy);
		}
		return nav_->open(req);
	}

	uri const& doc_impl::location() const noexcept { return location_; }

	std::string const& doc_impl::text() const noexcept { return text_; }

	std::string&& doc_impl::moveable_text() noexcept {
		return std::move(text_);
	}

	int doc_impl::status() const noexcept { return status_; }

	std::string const& doc_impl::status_text() const noexcept {
		return status_text_;
	}

	int doc_impl::conn_status() const noexcept { return conn_status_; }

	std::string const& doc_impl::conn_status_text() const noexcept {
		return conn_status_text_;
	}

	bool doc_impl::exists() const noexcept { return (status_ / 100) == 2; }

	bool doc_impl::is_link() const noexcept { return is_redirect(status_); }

	nav::headers const& doc_impl::headers() const noexcept { return headers_; }
}  // namespace tangle::nav

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Evaluate the `foo' definition, then M-x foo.
A new frame is created with the same content (good).
1. There is no minibuffer shown.
2. The frame is not maximized.
will not see the minibuffer (but Isearch will work OK).
holds if you specify `fullboth' instead of `maximized'.
But `make-frame' seems quite broken.


Posted by Robert McIntyre on Friday, March 2nd, 2018 at 11:45am.
Mahogany residents enjoy swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking and pedal-boating throughout the summer, and miles of winter ice for skating and old-time shinny in winter. With so much to enjoy, every day feels like a vacation in Mahogany.
In a well-planned lake community, it's not just about the lake. You absolutely want inviting beaches, splash parks, a Beach Club and playgrounds, but you also want to extend that four-season lifestyle throughout the rest of the community. That's why in award-winning Mahogany, there are also wetlands, bike paths, parks and shopping to enjoy. For residents, it's all about living somewhere that's totally one-of-a-kind.
In a lake community, a connection between residents is noticeable. You feel an immediate sense of community, simply because there's so many people out and about any time of the year. On any given day, you'll find residents getting together and enjoying the lake lifestyle.
Mahogany has plenty of inspiring public spaces, starting with the 22,000-square-foot Beach Club that features a skate room, full-sized gym, meeting rooms and showers.
Residents also congregate along Mahogany's 22 kilometres of pathways, at the beach, at the splash park with their kids or over at the fishing pier and the marina.
Grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and restaurants are also at the very doorstep of Mahogany. For residents, moving to a new community with established amenities is a big plus.
Location is important to homebuyers, so a lake community can't just be well-planned and inviting. It also has to be well-situated. For example, Mahogany is just off 52nd St. S.E. and Stoney Trail, on the future Green Line LRT. It's a quick trip to Deerfoot Trail, minutes to Macleod Trail and very close to the South Health Campus hospital.
Lake living doesn't always mean luxury living. In fact, homebuyers today can find everything from condos to estate homes — it's all about what they need. Homes in Mahogany range from the $190,000s to $1 million plus, with every price point in between. And, with more than 35 show homes, you really get a sense of what your lifestyle will be like.
First-time buyers, families with teens and mature buyers all love the local lake lifestyle.
Lake living is so coveted in Calgary, it's an amazing lifestyle choice that appeals to everyone!
This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia's commercial content division, on behalf of Hopewell Residential.


text:
require 'pedant/rspec/knife_util'

describe 'knife', knife: true, skip: !open_source? do
  context 'role' do
    context 'delete [ROLE]' do
      include Pedant::RSpec::KnifeUtil
      include Pedant::RSpec::KnifeUtil::Role

      let(:command) { "knife role delete #{role_name} -c #{knife_config} --yes" }
      after(:each) { knife "role delete #{role_name} -c #{knife_config} --yes" }

      context 'without existing role' do
        context 'as an admin' do
          let(:requestor) { knife_admin }

          it 'should fail' do
            should have_outcome :status => 100,
              :stdout => /Cannot load role #{role_name}/,
              :stderr => /The object you are looking for could not be found/
          end
        end
      end

      context 'with existing role' do
        context 'as an admin' do
          let(:requestor) { knife_admin }

          it 'should succeed' do
            # Create a role with the same name
            knife "role create #{role_name} -c #{knife_config} -d #{role_description}"

            # Run knife a second time
            should have_outcome :status => 0, :stdout => /Deleted role\[#{role_name}\]/
          end
        end
      end

    end
  end
end


"This is what I always imagined our family would look like!"
Will it always be like that? No, and that's just fine.
even though we are each doing our own thing.
-Alyia slept through the night for the first time, has gone 2 nights without a mid-night time feeding, and 2 nights without falling asleep with a bottle.
-Renee is figuring out how to handle 3 kids by herself while Josh is at school.


text:
Home NEWS BUSINESS & JOBS Elissa to headline World Travel Awards
Elissa to headline World Travel Awards
Source: www.tradearabia.com
Lebanese pop sensation Elissa is to headline the World Travel Awards 2011 Middle East Ceremony.
The movers and shakers of Arabian travel and tourism sector are expected to attend the glittering gala show, which takes place on May 2 at the Armani Hotel Dubai.
Hailed as "The Oscars of the Travel Industry", World Travel Awards is acknowledged worldwide as the ultimate travel accolade, and celebrates those brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence.
Elissa, who has taken a break from recording her eighth studio album to perform at the ceremony, is one of Arabia's hottest musical exports. Her glittering achievements include seven best-selling albums, three World Music Awards, and collaborations with Ragheb Alama, Cheb Mami, Fadl Shaker, Chris de Burgh and Gypsy Kings. She follows in the steps of fellow countrywoman, the platinum-selling singer Nancy Ajram, who headlined last year's World Travel Awards Middle East Ceremony.
After months of intense voting, the Middle East will find out who will win the prestigious World Travel Awards. Nominees include some of the most respected and successful names in the business including Etihad Airways, Jumeirah, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Six Senses and Royal Caribbean.
More than 462 companies across the Middle East, spanning more than 125 categories, including airlines, cruise companies, destinations, hotels and resorts will battle it out for the coveted trophies.
The Middle East Ceremony is the first heat of World Travel Awards 2011 Grand Tour, with other regional legs set to follow in Antalya, Turkey; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; Bangkok, Thailand and Montego Bay, Jamaica. These winners will progress to the grand final at the end of the year.
The Armani Hotel Dubai will offer guests the opportunity to sample the ultimate in hospitality lifestyle. Designed by Giorgio Armani, it is the first Armani hotel in the world and is located in Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world.
Event partners are Emaar Hotels & Resorts and Armani Hotel Dubai, and media partners include CNBC Arabiya, Al Hilal Group, Khaleej Times and Breaking Travel News.
Armani Prive Nightclub
Emaar Hotels + Resorts
World Travel Awards 2011 Grand Tour
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Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Burj Khalifa named among the world's best landmarks
Who Is Trump's New Year's Eve Guest And Billionaire Pal From Dubai?
You chose gold bar – please insert $11,350
Dubai records Dh218b property deals in 2014
No owners' association yet in Burj Khalifa: Emaar


text:
Home / Jets News / 30 Years of Imperfection
30 Years of Imperfection
By Jeff Stevenson on February 23, 2012@WWoJeff
Today I celebrate 30 years of life and imperfection and I want to share with you how the Jets have helped shaped my life. I know what you are saying already, "how can a team that was absent from my life at 14 have shaped my life?" Well let's start at the beginning.
Some of my earliest memories are of Dale Hawerchuk, Thomas Steen, Doug Smail, Pokey Reddick and Daniel Berthuime. I was raised by a gym teacher who enjoyed hockey but I was exposed to many sports. From volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball, curling and many more. It was hockey that drew most of my attention and my love was for the home team.
I grew up pretending to be the Jets finally defeating the evil Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. I felt proud when Dale Hawerchuk was part of team Canada and shared in his excitement of being on the ice for "Super Mario's" game winning goal.
My biggest joys were game nights when it was my turn to go down to the Winnipeg Arena and cheer on my Jets. The playoffs were my favorite as I loved the whiteout and was proud to be part of the loudest fans in the NHL. It helped to define me as a proud and passionate child and that transferred over to every sport or task I took on.
But then at 14 the unthinkable happened and the Jets were no more. This was my first real introduction to loss and heartbreak and I learnt how to grieve. I cried, I yelled, I ranted and I raved and eventually I accepted.
Mock me all you want, I know how to deal with it thanks to the Jets
Then I believed again. I believed that one day the Jets would fly in Winnipeg again because I knew the passion. I was raised in the passion and knew how powerful it was. I was there in '99 when the World Juniors came to town and the passion of Winnipeg was on display for the world to see. Talk started about an NHL return but it was a hushed whisper in small circles and pockets of hope and belief. For me I was learning how to deal with ridicule and mockery as I would boldly claim the Jets would be back.
Five years later the lock out happened and once again the World Juniors gave Winnipegers a chance to show their passion. Fargo, North Dakota or as it came to be known over those two weeks as "Winnipeg South" would play host to Sidney Crosby's Team Canada against Alexander Ovechkin's Team Russia for the gold. I learnt about luck and fortune as I was able to acquire tickets and travel with some friends to see this game in person.
It was these next seven years that I learnt that patience and perseverance could pay off. Each year the whispers grew louder and the mocking became quieter. By 2010 the return of the NHL to Winnipeg wasn't such a joke anymore. The passion and fans were there. An arena was in place and willing and wanting owners had Bettman's ear.
In May of 2011 it was made official and I felt such pride in my home town for getting their team back. Once the schedule and team name was announced the plan quickly came to shape for JET FUEL and the adventure of a life time took shape.
Despite their absence my life continued to revolve around the Jets. I live the values of team work and hard work, of perseverance and belief, of love and loss. The memories of the Jets helped shaped the person I am. Hockey is in our blood as Canadians and as Winnipegers the Jets are part of our identity and part of heritage. Their return will allow me to pass that heritage on to my children (when I have them) not through talk but through experience.
The Jets will teach my children about the values I learnt and for that I am thankful. Because as a Canadian, lessons learnt through hockey hit deeper and last longer than lessons learnt at school or any other aspect of life.
My thirty years have not been perfect, but the return of my Jets was the best present I could have ever asked for and
I look forward to thirty more years of yelling "Go Jets Go!" at every opportunity.
Become an MVP
Become an MVP with Winnipeg Whiteout and never miss a thing.
Jeff Stevenson is a co-founder of winnipegwhiteout.com and co-host of the popular Jets Hockey Podcast. He grew up in Winnipeg, MB and became very passionate about sports, hockey and the Jets. Now Jeff is proud and honored to help bring news and information about the Winnipeg Jets to fans around the world.
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text:
Fenggang bezeichnet:

 Fenggang (凤冈县), Kreis in der chinesischen Provinz Guizhou
 Fenggang (Dongguan) (凤岗镇), Großgemeinde der Stadt Dongguan in der chinesischen Provinz Guangdong
 Fenggang (Huaiji) (凤岗镇), Großgemeinde im Kreis Huaiji in der chinesischen Provinz Guangdong
 Fenggang (Nankang) (凤岗镇), Großgemeinde im Stadtbezirk Nankang in der chinesischen Provinz Jiangxi
 Fenggang (Yihuang) (凤冈镇), Großgemeinde im Kreis Yihuang in der chinesischen Provinz Jiangxi
 Fenggang (Youyi) (凤岗镇), Großgemeinde im Kreis Youyi in der chinesischen Provinz Heilongjiang
 Fenggang (Gushi) (丰港乡), Gemeinde im Kreis Gushi in der chinesischen Provinz Henan
 Fenggang (Nangong) (凤岗街道), Straßenviertel der Stadt Nangong in der chinesischen Provinz Hebei
 Fenggang (Sha) (凤岗街道), Straßenviertel im Kreis Sha in der chinesischen Provinz Fujian

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Want to know how family friendly the 2015 A3 is? Ever wondered if you can fit three child seats in the rear? How does it compare to the Camry, Fusion and Accord? All those questions and more are covered in this video.


text:
The task at hand
Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States of America, begins the tough work of governing in the midst of unprecedented challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty and deep partisan divisions. "Few people in our nation's history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we're in now," Biden warned.
The speech echoed the urging from John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address: "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."
Like Kennedy, Biden reminded citizens of their responsibilities: "As we look ahead in our uniquely American way, restless, bold, optimistic, and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be" – that all have a part in repairing, restoring, healing, building and contributing to the nation's unity.
Biden promised to devote his "whole soul" is in uniting the country: "And I ask every American to join me in this cause. Uniting to fight the foes we face, anger, resentment and hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness and hopelessness." He urged Americans to "see each other, not as adversaries, but as neighbors" and he asked Americans not to dismiss unity as a "foolish fantasy," even though "the forces that divide us are deep and they are real."
The work of uniting and improving the nation for all is never done, and each American has an opportunity to participate.
The task requires listening to one another, showing respect, seeing one another, defending democracy and the Constitution: "And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated, and even manufactured." He urges all citizens to work towards common goals including "opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor and, yes, the truth."
Biden called on Americans to "end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal" by opening souls rather than hardening hearts. If all step up, "master this rare and difficult hour," America will be stronger for it and "pass along a new and better world on to our children." And he quoted from the song "American Anthem," written by Gene Scheer and performed by many artists:
"Let me know in my heart
When my days are through
I gave my best to you.
"Democracy has prevailed," he said. But that is true only if Americans are vigilant about protecting democracy. Americans have another opportunity to draft a chapter of American history together: "...together, we shall write an American story of hope, not fear," Biden concluded. "Of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. A story of decency and dignity, love and healing, greatness and goodness."
And the poem by Amanda Gorman, the country's first youth poet laureate, concluded by emphasizing that each individual can choose to be a beacon of democracy and light:
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it
If only we're brave enough to be it
That is the task at hand.
Read the transcript of President Joe Biden's Inaugural Address. Read the poem "The Hill We Climb" by Amanda Gorman.
Review: The Calligrapher's Daughter
The Calligrapher's Daughter is set in early 20th century Korea, but the exploration of culture, women's rights, the desire for education and war recalls the themes of Fear of Beauty. A woman grows up in a family with Confucian values, prioritizing the status of men and and tradition. But the family is also Christian - and the author points out in a historical note at the book's end that "Korea is the only nation in the world where Christianity first took root without the presence of priests or missionaries, but exclusively as a result of the written world - Bibles, translated into Chinese by Jesuits, that a Korean scholar-official brought home from diplomatic trip to Beijing in 1631."
Author Eugenia Kim weaves the girl's story with Korean history from 1915 through the end of World War II. The child's father is disappointed by political change underway since her birth in 1910, due to Japanese control, and the fact that his first child is a girl, so he does not give her name and blames her for a long list of woes. Such humble beginnings do not dampen the girl's spirit or determination to pursue education and a career, partly due to her mother's deep and unconditional love. Those denied an education can become the most motivated students, as I explored in Fear of Beauty. Students can also benefit from a slow start that forces them to develop their own motivation. As the main character's husband recalls from his early childhood: "I read a chapter from Pilgrim's Progress and can still hear the murmurs of surprise. My father says this is the reason I was such a lazy student - too much pride, too early."
The mother encourages her daughter, remembering her own childhood experiences, sitting outside her brothers' classrooms to learn on her own: "She had longed to study the history of the Bible, the history of its writing, to see how... mere words had come to mean so much to so many." As I have written and taught in Sunday school classes, knowledge of the Bible is essential for literary studies
Of course true learning requires critical thinking, and that includes questions and doubt in addition to faith. The protagonists in both books share such doubts and the ability to pose questions.
Korean society requires men and women to hide their emotions and the protagonist in The Calligrapher's Daughter struggles after her marriage, arranged hastily before her husband's travel to the United States for studies. The Japanese occupiers deny the protagonist's visa application, and the couple is separated until the war's end in 1945.
Some other readers describe this book slow, but I found it especially suspenseful throughout knowing that the family lived in Gaeseong with the turmoil of occupation politics. That city was part of US-occupied South Korea in 1945, but was then transferred to North Korea in 1953 with the signing of the Armistice. Today, the city so close to the north-south border is a place for many exchanges between the two Koreas. In the book, the family is distraught when the Japanese take their home, relocating them to Seoul, but in the end, that can be viewed as a major blessing.
I am grateful for this historical novel that provides context to WWII and the Korean War because my uncle Willliam Froetschel served in the latter:
"Private Froetschel, a Medical Aidman, volunteered to accompany a raiding party into enemy territory. As they moved out from friendly positions and up a valley into hostile territory, the enemy suddenly opened fire with automatic weapons, seriously wounding one man and temporarily halting the rest of the patrol. Private Froetschel, with complete disregard for personal safety, ran through the heavy machine gun and mortar fire to reach the wounded man. After stopping the profuse bleeding from the wounded man's leg, and helping him to the comparative safety of a draw, Private Froetschel returned to the fire swept area and attended to the wounds of another man who had been seriously wounded, and required his personal attention all the way back to the aid station. Private Froetschel was directly responsible for saving the lives of these two men and his heroic actions were an inspiration to all who observed him."
I hope the author considers writing a sequel.


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text:
in: Work, Pages with broken file links, Pages with Examples Needing Context,
Science Fiction Video Games
Platform Game
IBM Personal Computer
Commander Keen
File:Keen4title.gif
Let's see here... if I manage to complete my epic planet-spanning mission in four hours or so, I'll be back home just in time for supper.
A series of video games developed at the turn of the 90s, one of the first to be successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of the NES Super Mario Bros. games in MS-DOS (more on that down below). The cartoon-style platformers are notable for their pioneering use of EGA graphics and shareware distribution, and because they were some of the first games by Id Software (which went on to develop blockbusters like Doom and Quake). Although developed by id, most of the Commander Keen games were published by Apogee Software, an already established MS-DOS shareware game publisher.
Billy Blaze is an 8-year-old boy genius who has constructed a spaceship in his backyard from old soup cans and other household objects, called The Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket. When his parents are out and the babysitter falls asleep, he dons his brother's Packers helmet and becomes Commander Keen, Defender of Earth.
The games' development began while the team that would become id Software worked at Softdisk, creating small, rushed games as a special division called Gamer's Edge. John Carmack had perfected a technique for displaying smooth scrolling graphics on the PC, once thought to be possible only on consoles. Using this code, Carmack and Tom Hall took the protagonist from one of coworker John Romero's games, Dangerous Dave, stuck the character in a recreation of the first level of Super Mario Bros. 3, and called it Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement. The demo was put on a disk labeled "Run Me" and left on Romero's desk as a practical joke. He was glued to the "prank" for hours, and knew they could make a game of their own with Carmack's code. Tom Hall suggested a game about an 8-year-old kid who saves the universe, shareware publisher Apogee told them they would distribute it, and the rest is history.
The series comprises several installments:
Marooned On Mars (1990): The first part of the Invasion of the Vorticons trilogy. While exploring Mars, Keen discovers that the Vorticon have stolen four key components from his ship, and must journey across the landscape to several cities to retrieve his equipment. Featured the first appearance of Keen's signature pogo stick.
The Earth Explodes (1990): Keen makes it back to Earth, only to discover that the Vorticon mothership is in orbit, and is planning to fire on eight key cities across the planet. Keen must board the ship to disable each of the eight X-14 Tantalus Ray cannons before they fire. The game featured a Darker and Edgier aesthetic; everything attacked Keen immediately, and there were many more pitfalls and dangerous objects to avoid.
Keen Must Die!! (1990): The final part of the Vorticon trilogy. After disabling the Vorticon mothership, Keen travels to their home planet in search of the mysterious force that had directed them to Earth. The game featured various Vorticon cities and establishments, and allowed players to learn the Vorticon alphabet (a heavily-advertised feature that allowed players to go back to the previous installments and decipher various signs in the levels).
Keen Dreams (1991): A Gaiden Game published by Softdisk, where Keen has a dream in which he sets out to fight Boobus Tuber, the vegetable king. The game's canon status is unknown - most fans consider it to have taken place between episodes 3 and 4. The game featured several features unique to the series, including a lack of Keen's pogo stick, and vegetables being thrown as weapons.
Secret of the Oracle (1991): The first part of the Goodbye, Galaxy! two-parter. After finishing a new sublight radio, Keen discovers a plot by a new alien race, the Shikadi, to take over the galaxy. He travels to the planet Gnosticus IV to consult the Keepers of the Oracle (an ancient alien race), but discovers they have been captured, and sets out to rescue them. The game featured much larger levels and a wide assortment of enemies, as well as new game mechanics and minigames.
The Armageddon Machine (1991): The final part of Goodbye, Galaxy! Keen lands on a massive space station called the Omegamatic, manned by the Shikadi, and sets out to deactivate the machine and save the galaxy.
Aliens Ate My Babysitter! (1992): Keen's babysitter Molly is kidnapped by an alien race named the Bloogs, and he must rescue her by fighting his way through the planet Fribbulus Xax. The game was published by FormGen and distributed by Apogee.
Commander Keen (2001): A Game Boy Color title published by Activision.
Though Aliens Ate My Babysitter! claimed that a third trilogy titled The Universe Is Toast! would be released in Christmas of 1992 (via its ending credits), it never saw the light of day. Id moved on to bigger and better things, and eventually declared the series dead. However, Tom Hall (no longer with id) has promised to continue Keen's story if he can acquire the rights. Additionally, a Fan Sequel The Universe Is Toast! trilogy has been released, made from heavily modded versions of episodes 4-6. Fan reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Unlike the recently announced Keen game from Bethesda Softworks.[context?]
Tropes used in Commander Keen include:
Acme Products: Acme blueprints in The Earth Explodes and Secret of the Oracle.
Amazing Technicolor Population: Due to EGA graphic limitations, all humans are completely white-skinned. As in WHITE-white. Princess Lindsey is also black (a realistic dark-skinned shade, as opposed to #000000), if human-featured fairies can be considered human.
Apocalypse How: The Earth Explodes has the villains of the first episode position a planetary destruction ship in orbit over Earth. If you screw up, you get to activate it. Guess what happens.
If you get a game over in Secret of the Oracle, you are rewarded with a scene of the galaxy blowing up as happy music plays in the background.
Badass Grandpa/Badass Family: According to the Wolfenstein 3D hint manual, William Blazkowicz has a grandson by the name of B. Blaze. Furthermore, the Cyberdemon encountered at the end of Doom is missing an arm and a leg. The same ones that William cut off. You know, the demon who vowed revenge on William's descendants? Might Doomguy be Billy's descendant? In any case, even without Doomguy, Billy Blaze has a pretty badass family.
Batman Can Breathe in Space: Commander Keen and the Vorticon Guards have no problem breathing on the surface of Mars.
Big Eater: Nearly all of the items are candy, food or soda. Keen sure loves his junk food.
Bilingual Bonus: Though in this case, the language is a "space cypher" used throughout the games.
Bond Villain Stupidity: Lampshaded. Keen is surprised that the Gnostic Elders weren't killed instead of just being kidnapped. The council page immediately handwaves this by telling him that the elders are immortal (which also excuses for preventing the player accidentally - or not so accidentally - killing them).
Bonus Dungeon: Most games have several levels that are not required to be completed. For some, the means of accessing the level are secret and the difficulty level is significantly higher.
Bound and Gagged: Molly.
Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: The reason Keen doesn't like Mortimer McMire one bit is because the latter (a) taunted him, (b) gave him a wedgie, and (c) tried to destroy the Earth.
Brutal Bonus Level: All of the secret levels are on the difficult side, as are most of the optional levels in The Earth Explodes.
The Bully: Mortimer, who enjoyed giving Billy swirlies.
Continuity Nod: Billy Blaze's full name is William Joseph Blazkowicz II, after his grandfather, who you probably know better as "B.J.".
Cool Starship: The Bean-With-Bacon Megarocket. It's made of soup cans and runs on vodkaEverclear. Admit it, you want one.
Cypher Language: The Standard Galactic Alphabet.
Damsel in Distress: Molly in Aliens Ate My Babysitter.
Doppelganger: Mortimer McMire. In the jungle level from Secret of the Oracle, if Keen looks down at a certain point, you can see his face rotating on a computer monitor. It looks just like Keen's sprite, only with a black helmet and shirt.
Earthshattering Kaboom: The threat in just about all the games.
And in The Earth Explodes, you can activate it yourself. Which ends your game, obviously.
Easter Egg:
While not one in the Commander Keen series, the Dopefish in Secret of the Oracle has since evolved into this, making secret cameos in unrelated games, from 1994's Wacky Wheels to 2011's Deus Ex Human Revolution.
Other Keen-related items have shown up in other games as well:
The teddy bear from Marooned on Mars is a point item (exact same sprite, even) in Secret Agent.
Keen's helmet in a couple of slime pools in Crystal Caves. The story mentions "Yorp herding" and the name "B. Blaze" appears in the high scores as well.
Keen is mentioned in one level of the original Duke Nukem.
"Keen Commander" is a rank in Guild Wars.
Several hanged Keens appear at the exit of the super-secret level of Doom II. You have to kill them to exit the level.
Keen is a hostage in episode 2 of Bio Menace. A later level features a giant Yorp in the background and has a hidden developer's room with several items from Keen and other Apogee games.
A message in Epic's early game Jill of the Jungle states that "B. Blaze" is retiring from computer games because he "can't compete with those cool Epic heros [sic]".
Commander Keen's name is in the high score list for Monuments of Mars, which also features a Garg-like enemy.
A secret in the second episode of Paganitzu features a Yorp wearing Al's hat. Al is meanwhile talking about a strange dream he had about Commander Keen which sounds suspiciously like an ad for the game...
In one level of Secret of the Oracle, some pipework forms a swastika (a reference to the then-forthcoming Wolfenstein 3D, although the swastika is actually the mirror-image of a Nazi swastika) and other pipework below it spells out the name of John Romero. In another level, pipework spells out the name of Tom Hall.
Every Ten Thousand Points: Or, rather, every 20000 points (in games 1-3) or every 10000* 2n points (in games 4-6).
Evil Counterpart: Mortimer McMire, Keen's arch-nemesis, who constantly taunts Keen for having an IQ that's 1 point lower.
Fan Sequel: While there have been several fan-made games and mods, one specific trilogy has been really well received and adopted as the unofficial "The Universe is Toast!" trilogy: The Keys of Krodacia, Dead in the Desert and Battle of the Brains, three mods of Keen 4-6 with new maps, enemies, and items.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: In the Paris Tantalus level in The Earth Explodes, there is a section with colored platforms that spell out - in SGA letters - a certain expletive. However, it's actually misspelled "fucl" (whether this misspelling is intentional or not is still unknown). This has become something of a Memetic Mutation in the Keen community, with "fucl" (rhymes with "buckle") being a popular swear word on the forums. It's actually intentional, as explained by Tom Hall on his blog.
The Goomba: Yorps in Marooned on Mars, which can't damage you themselves. The only way they can kill you is to push you into something dangerous. A similarly harmless enemy in The Earth Explodes, the Scrubs, can actually be helpful as they can be ridden upon to access areas you otherwise couldn't. (they can climb up walls). And the Bounders in Keen Dreams serve a similar purpose.
Hint System: In the Game Boy version, arrows appear in the background to give players hints about the surroundings (because the screen is otherwise too small to see whether or not you can make a Leap of Faith).
Idle Animation: Keen takes out a book to read and, in one level, moons the audience.
Improbably High IQ: And how, exactly, do you measure an IQ as high as 315. And how does anyone on Earth have an IQ of 314?
Because Keen's IQ is a reference to pi, and McMire's is one higher to show he's an elitist jerk.
Infinite 1-Ups: The Earth Explodes has a rather Egregious example in the Paris Tantalus level, where if you know how, you can get enough points to get more than one life each try, which can theoretically lead to infinite lives, not to mention infinite points. At least one level in Keen Must Die! allows for the same abuse.
In Marooned on Mars, not only does the secret level allow this, but, since getting to it involves using a teleporter inside another level, you can loot the latter level, teleport out, make your way back on the world map, and repeat, allowing you to gain infinite lives (and ammo) without having to suicide
The secret level in The Armageddon Machine contains enough Vitalin to gain two lives at the very start. Die, repeat...
Interchangeable Antimatter Keys: Only in Keen Dreams. In all the others, only ONE key will unlock a specific door.
Invincible Minor Minion: Every game had at least one. And some of them had invincible major minions as well.
Jump Physics: Mostly played straight, but Subverted in Keen Dreams, where you could jump into the edge of a platform, grab on, and pull yourself up.
Kid Hero
Law of One Hundred: Rain Drops in Keen Dreams, Vitalin in Secret of the Oracle, and Viva in The Armageddon Machine.
Lightning Bruiser: The Gargs once they start chasing you. Seeing them jump chasms can be extremely disconcerting.
Meaningless Lives: At least in 4-6, where the game save feature is essentially a built-in save-state system, and death sends you back to the start of the levels - meaning that Save Scumming is a way of life, which makes the lives useless.
Mobile Shrubbery: Secret of the Oracle has enemies that hide under boulders (much like the Toy Story 2 traffic cones). They're harmless (and well camouflaged) when stationary, but deadly when moving. And they can jump at you as if they're riding pogo sticks!
Mooks but No Bosses: Only three levels in the entire series have bosses: The final level in Keen Must Die! (Mortimer McMire on his Mangling Machine), Secret of the Oracle (Shikadi Master) and Keen Dreams (Boobus Tubber).
Nintendo Hard: The military installation levels in Keen Must Die! (Fort Cavort, Fort Vorticon, Fort Vorta Bella, Fort Vox and Cape Canavorta) are among the most difficult levels in the entire series. They're all optional, however.
No Ending: Beating The Armageddon Machine gives you a message saying "See you Christmas '92 when Commander Keen returns to battle for the universe! It'll be the biggest Keen ever!". Sadly, this grand finale was never made, and aside from a few fan-made Game Mods, the series still ends on a cliffhanger.
Not Quite Dead: The Arachnut and Blue Birds from Keen Dreams can be temporarily stunned if you shoot them with your ray gun, but never permanently killed (or permanently stunned; after all, the way other enemies "die" in games 4-6 leaves them with stars going around their heads). The first time you see them suddenly spring back to life is disconcerting, to say the least.
The same goes for the Volte-face from The Armageddon Machine.
Also, in Keen Dreams, none of the enemies, except for Boobus Tuber, can be permanently killed. Keen can only temporarily turn them into flowers with the help of special bombs. On the other hand, if you flower-ize them when they're right next to a bottomless pit, they may fall off...
Omnicidal Maniac: Mortimer McMire.
One-Hit-Point Wonder: Commander Keen takes hits just as well as you'd expect an 8-year old kid to take.
Ranked by IQ: Mortimer McMire brags that his IQ is 315, one point higher than our hero.
Sequel Escalation: The Invasion of the Vorticons trilogy had Keen fighting to save the Earth. In Goodbye, Galaxy, he saved the galaxy. The third trilogy, had it ever been made, would have had him up against a plot to destroy the entire universe.
Shareware: To be specific, games 1 and 4 were given away for free; the others were sold.
Shout-Out: Several, the most notable ones being To Serve Man, Wolfenstein 3D (which still had to be produced) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the Dopefish is the second dumbest creature in the universe, after all...).
Social Darwinist: Mortimer McMire.
Spikes of Doom: Very common in Secret of the Oracle, especially in the mountain and pyramid levels.
Stealth Pun: In order to get to a secret level in Keen Dreams, one must collect 12 worms together. This creates a giant foot that transports you. The fact that these must be "inch" worms is mentioned only in the help file, which even goes so far to say "Watch where you step or they'll be afoot!".
Also the level-entry texts in the same episode; "Keen disappears into Miragia", "Keen backs into the Pyramid of the Moons", etc.
Strange Secret Entrance: The aptly-named "Pyramid of the Forbidden" in Keen Dreams, reached by going into the basement of the "Pyramid of the Moons" and coercing twelve inch-worms to come together, at which point they form a giant foot which transports Keen.
Stun Gun: Your weapon in games 4 through 6. Most enemies stay "stunned" forever though.
Super Drowning Skills: In Keen Dreams, you can't swim on the world map until you get the scuba gear (even though you stay above water). And in Keen Must Die!, pools of plain water kill you on contact.
Temporary Platform: In Keen Dreams, clear "mirage" platforms fade in and out of interactable state. In Secret of the Oracle, there are platforms that periodically flip their orientation 90 degrees so that they can't be used to stand on.
To Serve Man: Given a coded Shout-Out in The Armageddon Machine.
Unreliable Narrator: If you read the story from the help file, you can come to the conclusion that the whole "adventure" is just in Billy's head... he's just playing in the garage and backyard.
Unwinnable by Design: Subverted in Keen Must Die!. The "Impossible Maze of the Caves of Oblivion" before the final level is just that; if you face the challenge head-on and collect all the keycards hidden in the maze cave, you'll find that the level exit is right behind a gate of spikes with no way to get through them. What you're supposed to do instead is pogo up and over the mountain to a secret exit that's out in the open with no instant-death traps barring your way.
It's possible to make Keen Dreams unwinnable if you complete every level in the game, but don't collect at least 12 Boobus Bombs (the minimum number required to defeat Boobus Tuber). The game won't even let you enter the final level. Hope you have an earlier save...
Unwinnable By Mistake:
Due to level design goofs or glitches, in some cases it's possible to leave a level without having achieved the objective. For instance, in the "Cave of the Descendants" in Keen Dreams, there's a door with no floor on the other side, so you fall if you walk through. Due to a glitch, you can, if you're fast enough, go back through the door before you fall, whereupon you instantly win the level. But now you can't rescue the elder from that level. In another level, you have to make sure you reach the key gem needed to exit the level before the item-stealing monster does.[1]
If you play Secret of the Oracle on Easy difficulty, it's impossible to break the fuse in the secret level, and hence get the alternate ending; depending on which edition of the game you have, either it crashes as soon as you enter the secret level, or the fuse is simply unbreakable.
Visual Pun: If Keen stands on one of the crescent moon symbols in the Pyramid of the Moons, and left idle, his first Idle Animation is to moon the viewer. In games 4-6, the doors are opened by using the matching color gemstone... key stones.[2]
Your Princess Is in Another Castle: The janitor at the end of the Pyramid of the Forbidden.
The Walls Have Eyes: The Armageddon Machine has a few eyes on the background of some stages, and the final stage involves a part where you have to use giant eyes hanging from the roof by their optic nerves as platforms.
Who Forgot the Lights?: In The Earth Explodes, Keen can switch off (and back on) the lights in some levels. This is helpful; "A wise Vorticon never jumps in the dark. In fact, even unwise Vorticons will not jump in darkness."
Wingdinglish: The Standard Galactic Alphabet. A standard substitution cypher, you can look at the conversion table here.
↑ Although in the latter case, if you have any lives left, you can suicide and thereby reset the level.
↑ Is this what's known as "arch" humor?
Pages with Examples Needing Context


Facebook is not sharing their roadmap of the Rift but still investing towards PC version.
Stormland is an open-world VR title coming to Oculus Rift.
Pump your arms to victory in the latest VR title release, Sprint Vector.
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text:
Bombus wangae (saknar svenskt namn) är en insekt i överfamiljen bin (Apoidea) och släktet humlor (Bombus) som lever i ett begränsat område i Kina.

Utseende
Färgteckningen hos honor (drottning och arbetare) samt hanar skiljer sig påtagligt åt. Hos honorna är huvudet gult med iblandade svarta och orange hår. Mellankroppen är även den gul med ett svart band mellan vingfästena; speciellt hos arbetarna kan den bakre gula delen ha många iblandade svarta hår. De två främsta bakkroppssegmenten är gula, även om det andra kan ha iblandade svarta hår i bakkanten. Segment 3 och ibland även 4 är svarta; det fjärde segmentet kan dock vara orange, precis som resten av bakkroppen. Hos arbetarna kan å andra sidan inte bara segment 3 och 4, utan även 5 vara svart. Hanarna är gula eller orange över större delen av kroppen, inklusive undersidan; dock kan de ha iblandade svarta hår på huvudet, på mellankroppen mellan vingfästena (utan att de bildar något tydligt band som hos honorna) och på bakkroppssegment 3 till 7. På bakkroppen ersätts de gula håren ofta av orange. Humlan är liten och korttungad; drottningen blir mellan 12 och 14 mm lång, arbetarna 8 till 12 mm och hanarna 9 till 12 mm.

Taxonomi
Humlan är mycket ny som art. Tidigare ansågs den tillhöra den nordasiatiska arten B. modestus.

Vanor
Humlan är en ovanlig bergsart som finns på höjder mellan 2 600 och 4 300 m. Den samlar nektar och pollen från växter likt tistlar, tryar, Halenia elliptica (en art ur familjen gentianaväxter), mjölke och spiror. Flygtiden varar från början av juni till mitten av september.

Utbredning
Utbredningsområdet är snävt; Bombus wangae finns endast i de kinesiska provinserna Sichuan och Gansu.

Källor

Referenser

Humlor
Bombus


text:
Tinfoil Hat Linux (THL) was a compact security-focused Linux distribution designed for high security developed by The Shmoo Group. The first version (1.000) was released in February 2002. By 2013, it had become a low-priority project. Its image files and source are available in gzip format. THL can be used on almost any modern PC, as it requires an Intel 80386 or better, with at least 8 MB of RAM. The distribution fits on a single HD floppy disk. The small footprint provides additional benefits beyond making the system easy to understand and verify- the computer need not even have a hard drive, making it easier to "sanitize" the computer after use.

The logo of Tinfoil Hat is Tux, the Linux mascot, wearing a tinfoil hat.

The Shmoo Group Web site says "It started as a secure, single floppy, bootable Linux distribution for storing PGP keys and then encrypting, signing and wiping files. At some point it became an exercise in over-engineering."

Security features
Tinfoil Hat uses a number of measures to defeat hardware and software surveillance methods like keystroke logging, video camera, and TEMPEST:

Encryption — GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) public key cryptography software is included in THL.
Data retrieval — All temporary files are created on an encrypted ramdisk that is destroyed on shutdown. Even the GPG keyfile information can be stored encrypted on the floppy.
Keystroke monitoring — THL has gpggrid, a wrapper for GPG that lets you use a video game style character entry system instead of typing in your passphrase. Keystroke loggers get a set of grid points, instead of a passphrase.
Power usage and other side channel attacks — Under the Paranoid options, a copy of GPG runs in the background generating keys and encrypting random documents. This makes it harder to determine when real encryption is taking place.
Even reading the screen over the user's shoulder is very hard when Tinfoil Hat is switched to paranoid mode,  which sets the screen to a very low contrast.

Applications
An advantage of THL is that it can be used on virtually any modern PC using the x86 processor architecture. For example, one might install it on a computer that is kept in a locked room, not connected to any network, and used only for cryptographically signing keys.  It is fairly easy to create the Tinfoil Hat booting floppy with Microsoft Windows. Verifying the checksum can be more tricky. The text of the documentation is salted with just a few jokes, which reinforces their humor by the stark contrast with the serious and paranoiac tone of the surrounding text- the very name pokes fun at itself, as Tinfoil Hats are commonly ascribed to paranoiacs as a method of protecting oneself from mind-control waves.

Tinfoil Hat Linux requires one to work in a text-only environment in Linux, i.e. starting straight off with a Bourne shell and the editor vi, not a graphical user interface. It uses BusyBox instead of the normal util-linux, the GNU coreutils (formerly known as fileutils, shellutils and textutils) and other common Unix tools. Tinfoil Hat also offers the GNU nano text editor.

See also

List of LiveDistros
Damn Small Linux
Security-focused operating system
OpenBSD

References

External links
 Official website
 Evilmutant.com article about Tinfoil Hat Linux, with screenshots
 Another evilmutant.com article giving links to other media which picked up the previous article

Cryptographic software
Floppy-based Linux distributions
Floppy disk-based operating systems
RPM-based Linux distributions
Linux distributions


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Reagan Revolution
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Defining the Reagan Revolution
Key Reagan Speeches
Reagan Bookshelf
American Energy Independence
Congressional and Government Reform
Constitutional Supremacy and American Exceptionalism
9/11 and the War on Terror
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Missile Defense and New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty START
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Brexit: Britain Votes to Leave European Union
Immigration and Border Security
Assimilation not Multiculturalism
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Ukraine: Operation Wave
President Vladimir Putin, in his infamous interview, railed that the snipers had been agent provocateurs. Really? Russia's boss may be right. Military intelligence of one of our old NATO allies ran an analysis of the snipers via facial recognition software and concluded that the sharpshooters belonged to the FSB Special Forces in Moscow. That is something that needs to be investigated fully.
By Marek Jan Chodakiewicz | March 19, 2014
Russian FSB Special Forces SharpshootersMaidan, Kyiv, UkraineSnipers Firing into Maidan in February
During three long months of increasingly violent demonstrations in Ukraine some observers asked themselves a question about an allegedly imminent crack down. When? And how? One assumed that the government of Viktor Yanukovych, to maintain itself in power and to preserve its credibility, had to act. And since political concessions, such as rescinding the super powers of the presidency the chief executive had usurped for himself, granting an amnesty to the demonstrators and rioters, and promises to reopen negotiations with the European Union, failed to calm the population down, the only option left was to crush the protest violently: first in Kyiv on Maidan, and then elsewhere. This was seemingly obvious. But apparently nothing happened, or nothing extraordinarily violent. Why?
For three months Poland's foreign minister Radek Sikorski played a crucial role of liaison among the European Union, Germany in particular, and the Ukrainian government and the opposition. He was also involved because stabilizing Ukraine was in the Polish neighbor's own interest. Sikorski badgered the opponents of post-Communism to compromise with the post-Communists in power. On February 20, the eve of what appeared like a "historic" accord, Sikorski compelled the opposition to sign an agreement with the Yanukovich regime because, if you don't, warned the Pole, "you will all die." Nary two days later, the erstwhile Ukrainian president escaped from the capital into exile in Russia. The opposition set up a new coalition government, some, in particular in the streets, grumbling bitterly that the Pole had forced their hand prematurely and nearly robbed "the Ukrainian people" of their victory over Yanukovich and his pro-Muscovite, Russophone orientation.
It was widely assumed that the Polish foreign minister deduced the sordid scenario by analogy with Poland's martial law introduced in December 1981 to crush "Solidarity" which Sikorski observed from exile in Great Britain. Or, he had good intelligence. There was good reason to worry.
According to secret documents released by a Ukrainian parliamentarian, the Yanukovych regime was allegedly set to unleash Operation Wave. The idea was to launch a coordinated attack against the media and the demonstrators. About 22,000 troops and policemen were selected for the assignment set to commence on February 21. First, assault squads would descend upon radio and TV stations, shutting them down. Next, the bulk of the armed contingent would be deployed against the demonstrators. A special forces squads would target specifically the ultranationalist radicals of the Pravy Sektor (Right Sector), who had proven themselves to be ferocious fighters in medieval-like, hand to hand combat throughout the demonstrations. The soldiers and policemen would then push the demonstrators away from the Maidan into "a trap," thus neutralizing them. It is still unclear what "neutralizing" entailed. It could be that Yanukovych's enforcerers planned to kill, beat, and chase the demonstrators and their supporters into a cul de sac, where a selection would take place: some would be arrested and interned in camps. There was no sufficient prison space in Kyiv to accommodate the activists. At any rate, the former president bet on violence but he lost the gamble and fled despite the fact that Operation Wave was put in motion but it failed to swamp the Maidan. Why?
First, the troops and the brass refused to obey for the most part. A standard answer is that they did not want to fire on the people. Perhaps. The armed forces remained neutral for the most part during the demonstrations and riots. But when the alleged order for Operation Wave was issued, the army did not join the people. Instead, the brass conducted an Italian strike. It sabotaged the order by failing to deploy. It is unclear whether this was because the Soviet-style military lacked initiative; or because the generals were craven cowards who did not want to get involved; or because the military leadership was sagacious and realized that staying out of the fray would expedite the fall of Yanukovych, de-escalate the situation in the country, and offer exciting opportunities for advancement and service under a new government, while making sure that the armed forces remain as they had been: Sovietized, Communized, and paralyzed by the power of the Kremlin as far as mentality and top personnel.
Second, Operation Wave failed to work because of the resolve of the people. In one instance at least, the demonstrators outside of Kyiv sat down on railroad tracks to bar a military transport train with reinforcements from reaching the capital. The same occurred at a variety of road blocks manned by the opponents of Yanukovych, who prevented troops and police from entering Kyiv. This was largely non violent resistance.
Third, Operation Wave missed its objectives because, apparently, its crucial undercover component part failed to bear positive fruit. Namely, the snipers, who were deployed around the Maidan in Kiyv, missed their mark strategically. They managed to kill scores of people (at least 100 died violently, perhaps 80 shot) but that only enraged the demonstrators and strengthened their resolve to resist. Had the snipers killed a thousand that would have probably dispersed the crowd. Why kill so few? Footage of the demonstrations show that the killings were both tactical and random, with the latter predominating. Western snipers are trained to kill leaders of the rioters; however, most on Maidan were masked. The leaders would be hard to recognize. Further, since the demonstrators fought in ancient and medieval formations (including the phalanx with interlocking shields), they appeared equal and, hence, leaderless. Nonetheless, the snipers fired to kill. One must assume this was done randomly. And they killed not only the demonstrators, but also the policemen. Firing at both sides makes sense for it creates more chaos which demands the intervention by the forces of law and order, and, hence, the Operation Wave. Thus, the snipers were the key in this provocation. Brilliant!
Who were the snipers? The Estonian and EU foreign ministers shared a theory, which the Russian secret services eves dropped on and leaked promptly, that the snipers were really deployed by the opposition to stage a provocation. The objective was to enrage the crowd even more against the post-Communists of Yanukovych. The alleged proof was that the same bullets were found in fallen demonstrators as in killed policemen. Standard bullets are common. Ballistic tests have not been conducted. Also, no Ukrainian snipers have been identified so far as having participated in the operation. They are very few and far between. Certainly their comrades, families, neighbors, and friends would notice them missing from their usual garrisons. It would be hard to conceal their trip to Kyiv.
Yet, President Vladimir Putin, in his infamous interview, railed that the snipers had been agent provocateurs. Really? Russia's boss may be right. Military intelligence of one of our old NATO allies ran an analysis of the snipers via facial recognition software and concluded that the sharpshooters belonged to the FSB Special Forces in Moscow. That is something that needs to be investigated fully.
At any rate, the Operation Wave failed to roll. And it is a good thing, too.
Marek Jan Chodakiewicz is a Professor of History at the Institute of World Politics, A Graduate School of National Security and International Affairs in Washington, DC, where he also holds the Kościuszko Chair in Polish Studies. Professor Chodakiewicz is author of Intermarium: The Land between the Black and Baltic Seas. He is also a contributor to SFPPR News & Analysis.
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text:
The Woman and the Snowman
Mari Velonaki
2 May - 16 June 2013
The Woman and the Snowman, a moving image and machinic installation, joins a humanoid robot (Ishiguro, 2007) created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University and a projection depicting a snowman to present two differing allegories of reality.
The Woman and the Snowman is presented in association with ISEA 2013.
The Woman and the Snowman, a moving image and machinic installation, joins a humanoid robot (Ishiguro, 2007) created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University and a projection depicting a snowman to present two differing allegories of reality. Functioning as an 'honest' representation of a fictional being, the snowman becomes seemingly more real than the humanoid woman robot as the artwork unfolds. As an investigation into the boundaries of reality, The Woman and the Snowman comments on the influence technological advancements have had upon mediating relationships.
Mari Velonaki is Associate Professor and Director of the recently established Creative Robotics Lab at the National Institute of Experimental Arts, University of NSW. She formerly co-founded the Centre for Social Robotics within the Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney. She was awarded an Australia Council Visual Arts Fellowship in 2007 and an ARC Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship 2009 – 2013.
Mari Velonaki, 'The Woman and the Snowman', 2013, installation view, Artspace, Sydney
Concrete Playground, Three Projects at Artspace, 10 May 2013
The Guardian, Resistance is futile as ISEA2013 celebrates digital art in Sydney, 11 June 2013
RealTime, ISEA 2013, 12 June 2013
Column 11, The Sleepy Robot and Other Stories for Children, 2013


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text:
Team of destiny or just the better team? Giants finish off Rangers, win 2010 World Series
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/02/2010 @ 8:30 am)
Following their 3-1 win in Game 5 of the World Series on Monday night, somewhere in this country someone started writing about how the 2010 San Francisco Giants were a team of destiny this postseason.
But their status as 2010 World Series Champions has nothing to do with destiny. They were just the better team.
In the NLCS, people expected the Giants to lose to the Phillies, who had the better offense, the better pitching, more experience, etc. But when the Giants knocked off the defending NL champs to reach the World Series, people expected them to succumb to the mighty Rangers, who had the better offense, a pitcher in Cliff Lee who never loses in the postseason, etc.
But it was the Giants who came up with the clutch hits. It was the Giants' Bruce Bochy who outmanaged the Rangers' Ron Washington. It was the Giants' pitching staff that turned in one of the most dazzling performances that we'll ever seen in a Fall Classic.
A team of destiny? The Giants were just flat out better. The Rangers, with all their power and with all their Cliff Lee, were absolutely dominated in four of five games. And that's a good Rangers team, mind you. They didn't get to the World Series by accident and something tells me that this won't be this group's last crack at a championship. They're also a classy bunch from their manager (who heaped tons of praise on the Giants in his post-game presser), down to the grounds crew that let San Francisco fans celebrate on the field hours after the game.
But back to the Giants. It was rather humorous to listen to people use the term "lucky" when it came to this club in the postseason. Do you know what they had to do in order to get to this point? First off, they had to beat Mat Latos and the Padres on the final day of the regular season to clinch a playoff berth. There's nothing lucky about winning 92 games, I don't care if San Diego choked over the final two months or not.
There's also nothing lucky about beating Derek Lowe (twice), Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, C.J. Wilson and Cliff Lee not once, but twice, including once with the series on the line.
Think about that for a second. The Giants, with their cast of misfits, went through some of the best pitchers from this decade in order to win a World Series. Luck had nothing to do with that. Luck also had nothing to do with this team being able to clinch every series on the road (Game 4 at Atlanta, Game 6 at Philadelphia, Game 5 at Texas).
Tags: 2010 World Series, Andres Torres, Anthony Stalter, Aubrey Huff, Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, Cliff Lee, Cody Ross, Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Tim Lincecum, World Series Game 5
Bumgarner dominates Rangers, Giants now one win away from championship
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/01/2010 @ 12:05 am)
Here's a six-pack of observations from the Giants' 4-0 win over the Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series. San Fran is now just one win away from becoming World Champions.
1. It's hard to oversell how good Bumgarner was.
Had Giants' starter Madison Bumgarner walked onto the field in Game 4 and proceeded to give up five runs on eight hits to the Rangers in their home ballpark, people would have shrugged and said, "What did you expect from a rookie pitching in the World Series?" But the fact that he went eight innings without giving up a run and limited the Rangers to just three hits was unbelievable. The Rangers had only been shutout once at home this year. Once. Bumgarner faced the league's top hitting team and completely dominated them for eight innings. He needed just 106 pitches to record 24 outs and struck out six while holding Texas without an extra-base hit. Think about that for a second: Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Vlad Guerrero, the seemingly unstoppable Mitch Moreland – zero extra-base hits. Unreal. Madison Bumgarner was unreal in the biggest start of his young career.
2. Bochy continues to make all the right decisions this postseason.
Every move that Giants' manager Bruce Bochy has made this postseason – from changes to his lineup to handling the pitching staff to defensive adjustments in the later innings – has paid off. He made two underrated moves before Game 4 that will certainly be overlooked in the Giants' victory. One was benching a highly ineffective Pat Burrell and replacing him with Nate Schierholtz, which forced Cody Ross to move to left field. The move gave the Giants a major lift defensively, as Ross made at least one great catch that would have surely fallen in front of Burrell for a base hit. And who knows, there may have been others that would have led to Rangers' runs. Schierholtz wasn't any better than Burrell at the plate, but it didn't matter. Moving Ross over to left and getting Burrell out of the lineup was the key. The other move Bochy made was replacing Aubrey Huff with Travis Ishikawa, which gave the Giants a better defensive first baseman and allowed Huff to concentrate solely on his offense. The end result was that Huff hit a two-run homer in the third, which was really all the offense San Fran needed with how well Bumgarner was pitching. (Of course, the double Andres Torres hit to score Edgar Renteria in the seventh and the homer Buster Posey hit in the eighth certainly helped ease the tension for Bumgarner and the rest of the club.)
3. The Giants continue to get all the breaks, but…
From calls on the base paths to near home runs to balls that bounce off the top of the wall instead of into the stands (or over the wall for home runs), the Giants have gotten all the breaks in this series. That said, they've also made their own breaks too. Their starters have been better, their bullpen has been better, their offense has been more clutch and Bruce Bochy has outmanaged Ron Washington. So when it's time for one team to catch breaks, it's been the Giants who have been most deserving. That may be salt in the wounds of Rangers fans, but it's true. The Giants have just been better.
4. Rangers need way more production out of the heart of their order.
The Giants' pitching is outstanding – maybe even the best in baseball now. But there's simply no excuse for this Texas team to have gotten shut out in two of the first four games in this series. Vladimir Guerrero's at-bats on Sunday were putrid. Josh Hamilton has been nearly non-existent since his play in the ALCS. Nelson Cruz's power…well, what power? The heart of the Rangers' order has turned to mush since the start of the World Series and if it doesn't come alive in less than 24 hours, then Texas will be watching the Giants celebrate on their home field Monday night. No offense to Mitch Moreland, but he can't be your best hitter in a lineup that consists of guys like Hamilton, Guerrero, Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young.
5. The umpiring has been brutal thus far.
I can't even begin to describe the zone that home plate umpire Mike Winters had on Sunday night. He was calling strikes high, low, inside, outside – it didn't matter. Then he called balls that were high, low, inside and outside. He was all over the place and the fact that Madison Bumgarner went eight innings while only giving up three hits is a freaking miracle. It was bad on both sides and it only got worse as the game went on. Pitches that were called balls in the first three innings were called strikes in the last three innings. Winters' performance was bad and unfortunately, it only fell in line with the rest of the home plate umpires this series. And the guys on the base paths weren't any better, as replays showed that the Rangers got screwed on two bang-bang plays at first base. Major League Baseball can't be too happy with these umpiring crew this series. This is the best the game has to offer?
6. It's redemption time, Cliff Lee.
The Rangers are in a bad spot down 3-1 in the series, but they still have plenty of life left. First and foremost, they need to take it one game at a time because if they get caught looking ahead, they won't make it past Monday night. They have their ace on the mound in Game 5, but unfortunately for them their ace was shelled in Game 1 and they're also facing the Giants' best pitcher in Tim Lincecum. That said, it's highly unlikely that Lee has two bad games in a row and Lincecum doesn't like pitching in warm climates (San Francisco hardly constitutes as a warm climate – especially at night), so if the Rangers' bats come alive then there's no doubt they can force a Game 6. Their backs are up against it, but they have the advantage in Game 5 and they need to keep that in mind.
Tags: 2010 World Series, Andres Torres, Anthony Stalter, Aubrey Huff, Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, Cliff Lee, Cody Ross, Josh Hamilton, Madison Bumgarner, Mitch MOreland, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Tim Lincecum, Vladimir Guerrero, World Series Game 5
Do the Rays have a small edge if the weather continues to delay Series?
Game 5 of the World Series is supposed to continue tonight…maybe.
"While obviously we want to finish Game 5 as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening," he said. "We are closely monitoring tomorrow's forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow's schedule."
The forecast for today calls for clearing skies by the early afternoon, with temperatures in the upper 30s by (partial) game time.
"We get to bat four times, they get to bat three. We get 12 outs, they get nine," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We are definitely coming with the mind-set that we are going to win that game."
This situation has to benefit the Rays slightly. The Phillies had all of the momentum when they went up 3-1, but the longer the series draws out, the more Tampa probably settles in and relaxes. This is one of the craziest situations facing a Series in some time.
Tags: 2008 MLB Playoffs, 2008 World Series, Philadelphia Phillies, World Series Game 5
Phillies fans react to winning the World Series
World Series Morning After
Take Five: Phillies win 2008 World Series
Vegas says Phillies World Series Champions…kind of.
Baseball tainted by Game 5 of Series