text:
"The" Trademarks and Tribulations
September 2022 by Rachel Schneider
Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed by the interviewee are the interviewee's own thoughts and opinions. They are not legal advice and they do not represent the thoughts and opinions of Brient IP Law, LLC.
A brand is what the public uses to identify a company, but the trademark protects specific aspects of that brand. Trademarks create a mental leap. It's where marketing meets the law.
To better explain the process of how trademarks are registered, and how conflicts can arise, AccessU spoke with Tara Branscom-Holmes, Esq. With more than 20 years of experience, she focuses her practice on representing large and mid-sized companies and well-funded startups in a broad range of trademark, copyright, and licensing.
She tells us the bulk of her time is spent trying to prevent disputes in IP law. Marks should be a source identifier, but sometimes people submit weak marks.
"There are two aspects; applying to register your trademark and using your trademark," explains Branscom-Holmes. "If you apply to register your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, they may object to your application. That is a little different from somebody else objecting to your trademark.
"With third parties, the things I see that start to create problems are when your mark is too close to somebody else's in a way that creates confusion. If you select a mark that is too close to somebody else's, the patent and trademark office may not let you register the mark, and if a third party becomes aware of your efforts, you may receive a cease-and-desist letter."
When it comes to choosing a trademark for your brand, do your due diligence and plenty of research.
The best-case scenario for success, as described by Branscom-Holmes, is when a client selects a mark that is original and not too similar to someone else's. If someone meets with her to discuss a mark, the mark is searched, and problems are found, this is the first step to improving their mark for their business needs.
"People get very wedded to the marks they come up with, but if you can keep an open mind, you can come up with something stronger, better, and something that passes muster," says Branscom-Holmes. "You can get registration. You're not getting cease and desist letters. It sounds minor, but compared to the alternative, it's terrific. That's what you want to have happen is an application to the patent and trademark office that sails through nicely.
Brands who file for a mark themselves can run into many complications if they didn't do their due diligence.
"Suddenly they've pulled all these objections and they feel overwhelmed. With those, sometimes we can help, sometimes we can't, and you have to start all over again," says Branscom-Holmes. "By that time, you've lost time, and to rejig your business to a brand-new mark can be costly. It defeats the person a bit, but sometimes it has to be done. In terms of product, you might have to start pulling product off the shelves, so I don't recommend it. So, try to do your homework before selecting a mark."
Use it or Lose It
If your business has applied for a trademark, Branscom-Holmes warns not to get sloppy, and to use the mark consistently and use it as you applied for it. When businesses start changing the look of their mark, that's when they may run into problems.
If marks are not in use, they may be taken away. This can be helpful to some hoping to obtain the mark.
"Marks will sometimes just sit on the register for an age. They're not in use, they're just blocking everybody else," tells Branscom-Holmes. "So, we will apply for a mark, and we'll get these citations against us, and if they're not in use, we will seek to cancel them. Hard on the person who has the registration, but it's great for our clients."
This means no one is infringing on anyone else's current intellectual property or must make changes to the mark they want to use.
In the world of higher ed, we recently saw that Ohio State was successfully able to trademark the word "the" and they are now being referred to as "The Ohio State University."
Branscom-Holmes' reaction was that this is not your typical case.
"The first thing I say to people is do not worry that you will not be able to use the word "the" in your business or trademarks. The word "the" does not create a mental leap, it doesn't really function as a trademark," explains Branscom-Holmes.
In this case, Ohio State produced a lot of specific evidence that the word "the" is a source identifier for them. They were able to support this claim in their narrow exception and only for collegiate clothing.
"I'm not super concerned that other colleges can't apply with the word "the" in their title," adds Branscom-Holmes.
Mark Jacobs had filed for the word "the" ahead of time, but the companies came to terms in the end, coming to an arrangement where Mark Jacobs has the word "the" for fashion and Ohio State has it for collegiate wear.
"The key is to avoid confusion. Marks can co-exist as long as consumers aren't confused," says Branscom-Holmes.
Listen to this episode on The Access Success Podcast and subscribe for new content every week.
Rachel Schneider
Rachel's passion for storytelling began at a young age by performing in theatre productions, studying professionally at the Purple Rose Theatre Company. She later earned her bachelor's in media communication and legal specialties at the University of Toledo. Prior to joining Access, Rachel worked in broadcast journalism as a television...
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Eaton to stage an Oil & Gas Technology Day in October
Eaton will be holding an Oil & Gas Technology Day at Mercedes Benz World in Surrey on Thursday October 13 2011. At the event, companies active in the oil and gas industry will have an opportunity to find out about Eaton's latest developments in hydraulic and electrical power distribution, automation and control. Focussed on themes of safety, reliability and efficiency, the Technology Day will include a presentation by former NATO Secretary General, Lord George Robertson.
Currently a board member of TNK-BP, Russia's third largest oil producer, Lord Robertson will be drawing on his experience of the industry at a global level to provide an insight into opportunities for the oil and gas sector in the 21st century. He will also be providing a 'view from the inside' of today's oil and gas industry in Russia.
Other keynote speakers at the event include senior representatives from Eaton: Gardiner Henderson, Global Director, Oil & Gas, Eaton Corporation; Frank Campbell, President Electrical Sector EMEA, Eaton Corporation; and Astrid Mozes, President Hydraulics Group EMEA, Eaton Corporation
Mercedes-Benz World is built on the site of the historic Brooklands motor racing circuit in Surrey. The event will run from 09:45 to 15:00, with lunch and refreshments provided. Anyone interested in attending can get further information from Mary Ravenscroft at Eaton on +44 (0) 121 685 2161 or by email: MaryRavenscroft@Eaton.com.
Elesa launches high-performance Misati pneumatic clamps for automation & robotics applications(13/01/2021)
Infotech develops a 3D printing system for multi-material designs in cooperation with DELO(07/01/2021)
Arduino-compatible shields available from RS help to accelerate KNX-compliant implementations(07/01/2021)
Omron exhibits new technologies in a virtual interactive platform(11/12/2020)
Watch a man eat cake with mind-controlled robot arms
First hydrogen-powered buses enter service in Belfast
Ford is the first European car manufacturer using Formlabs' large format 3D printer
A 'hole' lot of trouble for loco rebuild fixed
North East of England to be home to Britain's first battery Gigafactory
Optimising time in the design cycle
On the way to I4.0 with the digital twin
The triflex swivel arm: Perfect for your robot
Robolink in splash water applications
© 2021 IML Group PLC. All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Animatronics – Walking with Dinosaurs
By Bre Pettis
Bre Pettis
View more articles by Bre Pettis
February 3rd, 2007 12
Animatronics are tricky You want your puppet to look natural, when it is really a robot. When you need them big, you've got to use hydraulics, which are powerful enough to wreck you. Check out this video that shows the making of some giant animatronic dinosaurs. Keep an eye out for the controls which look like they've been made pretty intuitive, which makes sense since it's a live animatronics show. Animatronics are fussy, I'd love to hear the stories from the puppeteers and engineers who have to become puppet hospital on a regular basis for this show. [via] – Link
12 thoughts on "Animatronics – Walking with Dinosaurs"
bgraham111 says:
February 3rd, 2007 at 6:14 pm
That is amazing! I'd love to make a simple one of those…
TheDailySpank says:
I wonder if they'd make me one of those Heavy Lifters that Ripley used in Aliens…
aolshove says:
February 5th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Now THAT's "Art Meets Science"! Amazing.
screaminscott says:
I love the Raptor suit. I wonder if it is powered or just well-balanced.
Prozacgod says:
February 8th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I was wondering about the weight thing with the raptor suit too. So where can I order one of these things, I've love to go running through crouded streets, or rampaging in the middle of the night wearing that raptor suit. Esp with some good sounds.
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 am
Wow, that's incredibly awesome!


Every student admitted to LSU has the potential to obtain academic success, and we use science-based techniques to help students achieve optimal academic performance. As your student's champion, you are a valuable resource.
College academics involve more than basic memorization. Students must apply, analyze and evaluate new concepts and processes in less time, so they must study effectively.
Class lectures may highlight subject concepts, but students must spend extra time studying additional sources (textbook etc.) and assessing their own level of material mastery, so time management becomes crucial for student success.
Class tests tend to have higher stakes, as many have only two or three grading opportunities per semester. Students must learn strategies on how to move information to long-term memory.
To help students make a successful transition to college academics, CAS recommends students use The Study Cycle to learn efficiently and at the college level. Professional Academic Coaches are also available to help students with time management and study/learning strategies, including, but not limited to note-taking, reading, test-taking, learning styles, and test-anxiety.
Check in. You may think that no news is good news, but that may not be the case with your student. Checking in with them to see how they are doing, will open the lines of communication to help them get the help they need. Ask questions about your tiger's semester, classes and professors.
Praise. Celebrating small achievements can go a long way and help your tiger push through to the bigger accomplishments.
Encourage. Encouragement goes a long way with students who are navigating a new terrain or facing obstacles. Your role is as important as professors, academic advisors, and educational mentors and your student may need you to regularly help them work through their challenges.
Support. In addition to being your student's champion, you are probably their support as well. Providing comfort and support when students meet the challenges of college life can be extremely powerful. And, we can help. If your student is experiencing trouble in their academics, encourage them to visit us or speak with their academic counselor.
Use CAS resources early and often such as SI, Tutoring and Academic Coaching.
Plan study time and limit interruptions by avoiding cellphones and errands during this period.
Use only positive self-talk to avoid undue pressure.
Sleep, exercise and eat healthy foods.
Practice deep breathing to reduce stress and clear the mind.
Check out other academic and support resources.


Scent Chips are random sized, intended for use in tart burners. They come in 1/4 lb. cellophane wrapped bags.
Warm Glow Scent chips are a wonderfully fragrant as well as a flameless product that will liven up your room without the concern of burning a candle. Suitable for homes as well as offices, scent chips are a great alternative to burning candles. Melt chips in your burner.
These pieces are random sized, intended for use in tart burners. They come in 1/4 lb. cellophane wrapped bags.


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package com.daveoxley.cbus;

import org.junit.After;
import org.junit.AfterClass;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.BeforeClass;
import org.junit.Test;
import static org.junit.Assert.*;

/**
 *
 * @author Dave Oxley <dave@daveoxley.co.uk>
 */
public class UnitTest {

    public UnitTest() {
    }

    @BeforeClass
    public static void setUpClass() throws Exception {
    }

    @AfterClass
    public static void tearDownClass() throws Exception {
    }

    private CGateSession session;

    @Before
    public void setUp() throws CGateConnectException {
        session = CGateInterface.connect(CGateConfig.SERVER, CGateConfig.COMMAND_PORT,
                CGateConfig.EVENT_PORT, CGateConfig.STATUS_CHANGE_PORT);
        session.connect();
    }

    @After
    public void tearDown() throws CGateException {
        session.close();
    }

    /**
     * Test of getApplicationType method, of class Unit.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetApplicationType() throws CGateException {
        System.out.println("getApplicationType");

        String example_tree_resp1 = "320-//HOME/254/p/14 ($e) type=KEY2 app=56($38),255($ff) state=ok groups=22,23";
        String example_tree_resp2 = "320-  //HOME/254/56/10 ($a) level=0 state=sync units=1,29,31";

        Project project = Project.getProject(session, "HOME");
        Network network = project.getNetwork(254);

        assertEquals("p", Network.getApplicationType(network, example_tree_resp1));
        assertEquals("56", Network.getApplicationType(network, example_tree_resp2));
    }

    /**
     * Test of getUnitID method, of class Unit.
     */
    @Test
    public void testGetUnitID() throws CGateException {
        System.out.println("getUnitID");

        String example_tree_resp1 = "320-//HOME/254/p/14 ($e) type=KEY2 app=56($38),255($ff) state=ok groups=22,23";
        String example_tree_resp2 = "320-  //HOME/254/56/10 ($a) level=0 state=sync units=1,29,31";

        Project project = Project.getProject(session, "HOME");
        Network network = project.getNetwork(254);

        assertEquals(14, Unit.getUnitID(network, example_tree_resp1));
        assertEquals(10, Unit.getUnitID(network, example_tree_resp2));
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
19-1011 Animal Scientists
Conduct research in the genetics, nutrition, reproduction, growth, and development of domestic farm animals.
Annual Wage (2) $36,270 $45,350 $58,380 $78,230 $113,430
Support Activities for Animal Production 520 1.71 $30.74 $63,940
Scientific Research and Development Services 260 0.04 $41.00 $85,270
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services 130 0.01 $28.97 $60,270
Animal Food Manufacturing 120 0.20 $50.67 $105,380
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 90 (7) $55.36 $115,160
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4241, 4247, and 4249 only) 70 0.01 $54.13 $112,580
Management of Companies and Enterprises 40 (7) $45.39 $94,410
Texas 290 0.02 1.37 $25.18 $52,360
Wisconsin 280 0.10 5.58 $33.67 $70,030
Minnesota 210 0.07 4.28 $33.59 $69,860
Michigan 140 0.03 1.84 $34.25 $71,230
North Carolina 140 0.03 1.79 $29.34 $61,030
South Dakota 60 0.15 8.40 $28.83 $59,960
Maryland 80 0.03 1.68 $61.88 $128,700
Nebraska 40 0.04 2.55 $44.78 $93,140
Kansas 30 0.03 1.44 $39.09 $81,310
Ohio 80 0.02 0.88 $36.65 $76,240
College Station-Bryan, TX 220 1.91 108.92 $23.79 $49,480
Ithaca, NY 120 2.37 135.46 $29.99 $62,380
Lansing-East Lansing, MI 100 0.45 25.79 $22.17 $46,120
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 50 0.02 0.92 $30.76 $63,980
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 40 0.01 0.74 $58.18 $121,020
Kansas City, MO-KS 40 0.04 2.00 $30.34 $63,100
Athens-Clarke County, GA 40 0.40 23.04 $27.02 $56,200
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 30 0.01 0.42 $30.68 $63,810
Madison, WI (8) (8) (8) $34.83 $72,450
East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 50 0.38 21.98 $26.28 $54,660


The Annual Meeting of the New Champions is fast approaching, and with it comes one of the greatest celebrations of technological innovation, for which information and communication technology (ICT) is the backbone.
However, against all expectations, ICT as deployed today has been shown to exacerbate age-old inequalities, giving rise to the term "digital divide". This refers to disparities between different demographics with regards to ICT access and use.
To measure this phenomenon, the most widely used type of metrics focus on measuring access to ICT: ownership of mobile phones, access to the internet, etc. With the percentage of people who own mobile phones surpassing the percentage with access to clean water, and the number of internet users having tripled to 3.2 billion between 2005 and 2015, you could be forgiven for believing that the digital divide is disappearing.
Yet, as ICT access reaches saturation point in developed countries, a new digital divide is becoming discernible: a gulf based on digital skills, on security concerns, and on motivation. This has been defined as a "second-level" digital divide – where the impact ICT has on one's life is influenced by "soft" inequalities rather than physical access alone.
This can be seen when data is disaggregated based on factors such as education, age and household income. Analysis of such data shows that not only is this second-level digital divide persisting, it is worsening.
The information indicates that, if ICT is left uncontrolled, its effect on society is likely to be "more regressive than redistributive due to current or prior socio-economic inequalities". Planned interventions may well be required to address this, which in turn depend highly on effective measurement tools.
The Network Readiness Index (NRI) is a good example of this new kind of framework. Created by the World Economic Forum, in partnership with INSEAD and Cornell University, the NRI assesses a country's capacity to "leverage ICTs for increased competitiveness and wellbeing". Although the NRI has a well-rounded approach, the authors of the NRI acknowledge that their measurement of impact is still a work in progress as the NRI does not account for areas that do not "directly translate into commercial activities", such as e-health.
In response, the Centre for Future Infrastructure at the University of Edinburgh has developed the ICT Performance Index (IPI) to provide a more holistic assessment of the digital divide. We build on Amartya Sen's capability approach, which measures development by assessing the freedoms one acquires to live the life one wishes to. Following this paradigm, the impact of ICT should not be related to the promotion of the technology (i.e. increase in access or usage), but rather on what freedom is enabled by the technology. For example, one should not measure the number of computers available in a school but rather what these computers enable the students to achieve. These achievements will tend to be the fulfilment of a need – for instance, to provide better employment prospects, or greater financial stability.
However, needs – being highly subjective – are constantly changing and extremely diverse, so how can one develop a national ICT strategy to tackle this growing inequality? And equally importantly, how can one measure the effectiveness of such a strategy? We attempted to answer these questions by identifying common themes across highly successful ICT policy strategies from a number of countries.
First, they had a holistic approach. The digital divide affects all facets of society, and as such, a solution must have an equally holistic approach. Yet frameworks that measure the effectiveness of digital policy solutions do not encourage such an approach. This is in part due to the notion of compensability, whereby poor performance in one dimension can be offset by high performance in another dimension. Hence, policymakers are not encouraged to fix the problem, as they can simply enhance or even maintain their strong performance in their area of expertise. Compensability is a by-product of the most popular aggregation method: the arithmetic mean. This is a major stumbling block of many existing assessments of the digital divide, including the NRI.
In contrast, geometric aggregation minimizes compensability by taking the root of all the components multiplied with each other. Due to the multiplication, weaknesses are highlighted, as any poor performance will undermine the whole index, which is exactly what is needed to bridge the digital divide. Policymakers would need to target every area where digital technology permeates society, rather than focusing on a select few.
The second common theme of successful digital policy strategies is their ever-evolving nature. The countries analysed had on average a new strategy every five years to reflect the highly dynamic ICT sector. However, performance measurement tools are much slower to evolve. We have identified new facets of the digital divide that are not being measured by the major indices such as digital security. As societies become increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure, the importance of digital security, both at an individual and institutional level, becomes increasingly important.
These new principles have been applied to the IPI, which resulted in the shuffling of ICT performance rankings. Countries with well-rounded e-societies, such as Estonia, have risen to the top, while previously well-performing countries, such as the UK, have plunged in the rankings due to their poor performance in specific areas.
Such areas include the low percentage of ICT enrolment in tertiary education – 4.14%, compared with 8.35% for Estonia – hinting towards a potential lack of future homegrown talent to maintain Britain's e-society. The comparison with Estonia offered potential solutions to this UK problem, including ICT-related apprenticeships that would especially benefit individuals from more deprived socio-economic backgrounds, which tends to be a demographic left out of the information society.
As the world hears about the latest groundbreaking technologies at the meeting in Tianjin, we should each be asking: how will we ensure that this excitement translates to a more egalitarian society? Without a more holistic approach to measuring and thus tackling the digital divide, the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will only reach the privileged, resulting in an ever more unequal society.


text:
IFComp 2015 review: Taghairm by Chandler Groover
All the mini-reviews of the Twine game Taghairm have been like this: 'Taghairm – it's the game for people who don't like cats!'
Well, I hadn't played Taghairm yet, I hadn't even met it, but I was starting to develop a manic pissed-off response to this repeated consumer advice. Don't tell me I can't enter into some fiction, presumably about maiming cats, just because I like cats!
After the teenaged part of my brain stuck its middle finger up at all those reviews, I went off to play Taghairm.
An all-spoiler review follows, and incidentally, it contains no user help about what a 'Taghairm' even is. I'm guessing enough other reviewers will have covered that by now.
Posted by Wade at 13:39 6 comments:
Work in progress: CYOA Framework for Glulx
I've broken off my IFComp game-reviewing streak to take advantage of time and motivation opportunities to work on a new extension for Inform 7. It's called 'CYOA Framework for Glulx' and its goal is to help folks produce hyperlink/keypress-driven CYOAs in Inform. I want the results to be author and player-friendly, flexible and easy to publish online.
By coming off the back of Inform the extension also supports a lot of cool things that aren't always handled well by other CYOA producing systems: Proper UNDO, transcripting, game-saving (by named files with a save dialogue, or by a single-keypress quicksave slot; the author can decide which) and, if you want it, the full world model. But I'm also putting in a switch so you can turn the world model OFF. This way you can just connect nodes of prose to each other with choices if that's what you need.
With previously available tools, it's been difficult to stop Inform 7 running everything through its 'press RETURN' parser. As an author, that's exactly the thing I don't want it doing when I'm trying to collect and react to discrete keypresses or clicked choices. My way to get around this in the past worked okay, but was super-hacky, and certainly couldn't support the world model, genuine UNDOs, genuine time management or non-manually managed game saves. I should point out I have nothing against super-hackiness per se if it gets the job done for an individual, but if you're making a tool for other people to use, super-hackiness is neither portable nor user-friendly.
The background on why I'm making this extension now:
Before knuckling down to work on my planned big parser game set in the Andromeda universe (click this for my blog post about that) I felt I wanted to get another smaller IF out. I decided it would be a CYOA, because even a small parser IF takes me ages.
As I discussed my super-hack approach to making an Inform 7 CYOA over on intfiction.org, Andrew Plotkin mentioned that he'd made an experimental extension called 'Unified Glulx Input' which might be able to help with this project. I tried it and it really did. Then climbingstars chimed in with some extra UNDO help I needed.
After programming away at my extension for the past week, I've just shared a minor tech demo of the work in progress on intfiction. I have a thread open to get feedback on it (the first post has links to the demo). I'll report back on future progress with the extension in this blog.
* I've only released one thing with my previous super-hacky method, an Apple II CYOA game I ported to Inform 7 and put inside Leadlight Gamma as an easter egg. What's interesting about that one is that it also fakes some BASIC line numbers. Each node is identified by its original BASIC program line number from Applesoft.
Labels: cyoa framework for glulx, I7 extensions
IFComp 2015 review: The Insect Massacre by Tom Delanoy
The Insect Massacre is a Twine hyperlinks game about which it's possible to expose little more than the blurb does if one is to avoid specific spoilerdom. That blurb is:
"A short murder mystery set aboard a space station."
The title is explained in a neat way which I will also not explain here. Actually, this review will be only non-significant-spoiler by my standards, so there is no text hidden behind a cut.
I found the game's mystery intriguing. The events of the story are concrete enough to provoke speculation, but blurry enough around the edges so as to ward off absolute explanation. Multiple plays are required to investigate multiple angles. Each session requires little time.
The game's aesthetic delivery was beguiling on the first playthrough, if a bit confusing in terms of indicating who was speaking in each scene. The speech is effected with colour-coded names matched to coloured lines of text. My proper gripe is that on the second and subsequent plays, the unskippable Twine delays, pauses and fade-ins that were enforced on material I'd already read felt pointless and tedious. Text is basically not a temporal delivery vehicle like music or film, especially text in a branching story. I don't know if Twine provides capabilities for authors to set options for this kind of thing (eg author-enforced pacing the first time material is encountered, material skippable with a mouseclick the second+ times?) but if it hasn't, it should. If it has, I hope more authors will start using it when it is appropriate to do so.
Fortunately, The Insect Massacre is short enough, even on replays, that it isn't too hurt by its eternally slowly-fading-in text. It is particularly good at making the player guess at the implications of the choices it presents, and not because the choices are at all vague, but because of carefully deployed elements of the game once again not discussed in this spoiler-minimised review. I continued to think about The Insect Massacre afterwards.
IFComp 2015 review: Pit of the Condemned by Matthew Holland
Pit of the Condemned is an Evade-The-Wumpus-like game in which you play a convict sentenced to die at the hands of The Beast. The site for your intended death is an abandoned city that's now used only to host deadly spectacles. A bloodthirsty public watches your struggles from innaccessible locations overhead.
In the paragraph above, I just summarised a mixture of information from the game's blurb and from its opening scene. And the blurb component of that info is not even fully present in the game, meaning if you didn't read the blurb, you'd never know it. Unfortunately, the above summary is about all there is to the aesthetic of Pit. None of the implications of the game's setting or vaguely Hunger Games-sounding society come up during play. It's purely about the mechanic of moving through a large network of empty rooms and searching for a weapon or escape route while the beast chases you.
Pit is a short game to play, and in its simplicity it again ('again' in the context of my reviews of this year's IFComp entries) reminds me of the BASIC games David Ahl collated in books for the then new microcomputers of the 1970s. Unlike War of the Willows, the game I made this comment about the first time around, Pit doesn't have enough additional adornment or flair to sell its universe, to make its chase vivid or exciting like it needs to be.
Further reviewage with spoilers below.
Labels: game reviews, ifcomp 2015, parser games
IFComp 2015 review: Pilgrimage by VÌctor Ojuel
Pilgrimage is an atypically macro-scaled parser adventure which somewhat dazzled me with one brief-prose-vivid, new and geographically far-flung location after another. It's also a game whose finishability, as in the player's ability to complete it without being severely gated by a walkthrough, I would rate as close to zero percent. But then even with the walkthrough, I wasn't able to clear the game. Pilgrimage does list several testers, so I'm going to assume that I ran into some kind of circumstantial bug rather than that the game is literally unfinishable.
Pilgrimage's PC is a Roman woman (ancient Rome) of significant alchemical learning who leaves her hometown seeking further knowledge of an existential entity known as The Great Work. She is like Carmen Sandiego in that each move she makes in one of the traditional IF compass directions tends to take her to an entirely different country.
I was very interested in Pilgrimage's play up to a point, but its macroscopic strengths also turn out to be the source of its gameplay weaknesses. Aesthetically, it's an appealing game which seems to have a lot of erudition of research behind it, and one which keeps throwing surprises in the content and in the PC's behaviour.
What feels most novel about Pilgrimage is the way it scales the world it creates. I've hardly played any parser games that place a series of huge environments (cities, countries, et al.) in a series of single locations like this one does, and when I have, those games were more interested in the map connections between the locations rather than the locations themselves. So whether by not knowing conventions or by ignoring them, Pilgrimage sports a novel style. One I'd like to steal from at some point. In this regard I'd have to recommend the game to anyone who has a history with parser games. But have the walkthrough handy.
For full reviewage with spoilers, read on.
IFComp 2015 review: Ether by Brian Rushton (but not THAT Brian Rushton)
The 'not THAT Brian Rushton' quip is a minor joke you'll get once after you've typed CREDITS in this game.
Ether is a charming parser adventure in which you play a flying nautilus that must collect and manipulate objects in a world of pristine X-Y-Z elemental axes. Air pressure varies along one axis, weather virulence along another and temperature along the third. You can move up, down, west, east, north or south, or in combinations of these directions, to fly around within the virtual cube of the gameworld.
The nautilus has positively-tinged existential concerns and enjoys doing the things it does. The game's puzzles are uncomplicated and almost arcade-gamey in some ways. Also arcade-gamey is the manner in which the nautilus can acquire various power ups as it goes along.
Considering Ether's technical polish, its environment assembled from graceful, procedurally generated prose, its general ease of play and short playtime, I find it easy to recommend it to any compgoers – except perhaps those who find themselves boggled by spatial relationship problems. Nautilus's challenges are light by the standards of such problems, and there aren't even that many of them, but I suspect that some people simply can't handle this kind of 3D thing in prose.
Further review with spoilers beyond the cut.
IFComp Thought Splatter: How/why I review
I'm writing this piece in a Mac program called Typed. It's one of those simple word processors whose goal is to minimise distractions. It has only a handful of features and no user interface; the window is just a faintly transparent square into which you type words. The program also comes with some zen ambient soundtracks, a cute feature but not one I ever use or which personally interests me.
When you open an empty Typed document, a random quote about writing from a famous writer sits on the screen until you start typing. For instance, today's quote was, "Writing is its own reward," by Henry Miller.
I'm about to write something about why and how I review things, for instance these IFComp games. (If you're an IFComp entrant and nobody's reviewed your game yet, you're probably thinking, 'Quit stalling, review boy, and get back to the bloody reviewing.')
I'm doing this because a network of blog mirrors is beginning to reflect some community conversation about the nature of IFComp and the nature of IFComp reviews.
Carolyn VanEseltine has written a good summary of why IFComp presents crossed purposes for numerous parties. And then Juhana Leinonen, or 'Junana' as I call him (* I called him that once. Twice now) chimed in on the history of criticism in the modern IF culture. I think what Carolyn wrote is all correct. If anything, I think it's even more complicated than what she wrote. However, I think only entrants need concern themselves with the complexities, and only if they're finding feedback on their game – or lack thereof – strange or annoying, or the reviewing culture weird or harsh or just confusing.
In the same way that there's a tradition of movie reviewers descending upon Cannes each year for that film festival, there's a tradition of IF fans/folks/reviewers/hangers-on descending upon their blogs to write about IFComp entries each year. For some of these folk, this will be all they put in that blog for the whole year. Then they'll pack up and go back to their rainy hometowns until the next competition. For others, this will just part of a continuum of stuff they write about IF.
Amongst both campers and yearly visitors, some just write down their gut reactions to games in the order the reactions occur. These can be all subjective and all disorganised, with no real judgements formed or passed. Just 'I like A', 'I hated B', etc. That's a valid way to come up with your scores for games in the competition, but without process or insight, it doesn't make for written criticism of any quality.
Further along the spectrum, you've got people with lots of reviewing practice, or experience, or educated critical skills, or some mix of any or all three. (I HAVE ALL THREE. YOU HEARD ME.) And still, all of these people have different personal interests and motives for reviewing. These motives are rarely or infrequently stated because everyone, most of the time, is just getting on with following their agenda, not constantly (or sometimes - ever) explaining that agenda. Hopefully the agenda will come through in the writing itself over time.
Agenda mismatch is one of the greate sources of reviewer outrage at some game, and/or entrant outrage at some reviewer's review of their game. To put my shoe back on my author's foot, the worst review I ever got was one in IFComp 2010 for Leadlight. It was written with what felt like ill-informed malice. While blowing off steam, I read more of the reviewer's reviews. I came to the conclusion that this reviewer and I were living in almost entirely different universes of concern. In turn I realised that such a person was never going to be a valid barometer of my game.
It's hard to remember such stuff when members of 'the press' seem to be befouling your work. But I did discover that if you go to the pub and read a terrible review aloud to friends over a drink, it may suddenly become high entertainment. This is a good perspective-restorer. (If you don't drink, you probably don't even need the drink, either.)
Because I'm here and talking about the subject, I will attempt to describe my IFComp reviewing agenda.
First, I like playing IF. Reviewing it doubles as a way of ordering what I think about it and recording my memories of it. I enjoy writing per se and I enjoy crafting reviews. I think I transmit a mix of personal observation, writing/programming craft and a degree of encouragement.
I definitely don't review these games with a primary goal of improving the state of all IF so that it can meet some sort of high bar that is constantly travelling away from everyone. I may do that in other contexts, but definitely not in IFComp.
This is partly because I'm aware of the zillion conflicting IFComp agendas already described. In IFComp reviews, I skew encouraging, but not with bland sugar-coating, I hope. And inevitably, as with any individual, there will be games I don't like at all.
It's also partly because of empathy for creators. I identify more with creating than criticism, though I claim to do both capably. In my case, it means I can rarely fully transform into 'the hanging judge', even at times when I would like to.
It's partly because I'm a positivist when it comes to story art. I have extremely highly tolerance for minor variations and I am attracted sometimes just to the part of something that gives it its taste, even if other elements are conventional or just not working. For instance, as a big horror fan, I've seen about 850 horror films, and I have soft spot for almost every one of them at some level. That doesn't mean I give them all 10s on IMDB – far from it. I can still score them in a ranking / semi-objective sense amongst all else I've seen while storing positive memories about elements of them. I am addicted to collecting the experience of watching horror films and films per se, and a related motivation goes into me playing a range of IF games.
The final 'it's partly because' is that it's partly because I'm aware that I have a knack for helping people to get where they're going with a creative project. I don't encourage people to make something the way I'd make it, but I concentrate on helping them to get it working along the axes that are of interest to them, or along axes I expect the creator's audience will benefit from. My IFComp reviews don't have time or interest for doing this at length (that's what playtesters are for) but I do touch on these subjects. Since this behaviour is an element of my nature, I don't go around fighting my nature in terms of the overall outlook of my IFComp reviews.
One other weird factor is that this community is sufficiently small that if you both make games and review them, other people who both make games and review games, and whose games you've reviewed, will be reviewing your games at some point. This is hardly ideal given the frequency with which it has to happen. Some people can review as if they're in a tower on the hill, and of them, some review like they live in the tower full-time, others as if they can at least move into the tower for the duration of the review. I'm crap at either in this close context. The more I interact with someone one-on-one, the less useful I am at reviewing their games for an audience. That's not a tragedy – I just don't review stuff for the outside world in any case where I don't think I can do a sufficiently objectivity-infused job for any reason. Other folk will step in to review such things.
So, I've taken a shot here at summing up here the interests, strengths and motivations of mine which describe how and why I write the kinds of reviews I write.
As you'll have seen, I'm also trying to write a non-spoilered intro blob for each IFComp entry. I do this for people who want a bit of a lead on a game and more info about it than the blurb gives, but without signficant spoilers. I stole this schtick off Emily Short as I like its goal, though sometimes I gnash my teeth with it because I tend to write better pieces overall if I can just spoil all I want. Sometimes I find the writing balance clunky, like when 75% of the review is the intro and 25% is the 'spoilery' bit. I just do what I can with it.
Obviously you'll encounter reviews completely unlike mine, and it's good that we have a range of styles and concerns and positions on various spectrums available. Somewhere inbetween all the output must lie some truths.
Note for authors – Just remember the pub trick if some review gives you the shits, and remember that this thing goes for six weeks and we're barely anywhere yet. Though if that causes you to reach for a straitjacket, maybe don't.
Labels: ifcomp 2015, opinion
IFComp 2015 review: War of the Willows by Adam Bredenberg
War of the Willows is a combat game, requiring a Python interpreter to run, in which you must put down a giant, killer willow tree that's menacing your kingdom. Put it down mano a mano.
I doubt that anyone would have guessed this about the game based on the blurb –
"Did you see the clean air of the hilltops? Wind waves tumbled down through the trees, tore the drift of lavender smoke... Did you see then, in the cinder that glowed in the pewter cup, did you see how Death would wrap its roots around our throats?"
– except perhaps for the presence of that subtle pun about the roots wrapping around our throats. It's like that moment in the original Resident Evil when Chris Redfield, having polished off a building-sized carnivorous plant, says, "I think we got to the ROOT of the problem." (His emphasis, not mine.)
War of the Willows wraps a randomised combat game of obscure mechanics – one that at heart is not entirely unlike the kind of thing that appeared in David Ahl's 1978 book BASIC Computer Games – with a poetic and sometimes heavy-leaning text delivery. When a game starts by quoting a chunk of Edicts from the Bible, that's heavy. The original prose that follows flows in a similar, stansa'd vein. Poetry + combat = a highly novel entity, and once you get stuck in, you'll probably be hooked on trying to win at least once. But the game throws up tons of very obvious design issues. Primary amongst them: requiring the player to deal with way too much repetition of prose and key-mashing.
I discuss the game in more detail below the cut, but first I'll comment on Python installation after the asterisk.
* I chose Willows next in my playing because it looked like it required the most 'extreme' format (Python) relative to the other games. Well, Alan's never been a picnic either, admittedly. I relate to this situation, having asked players to tackle Leadlight on an Apple II emulator in 2010, but I did throw a lot more helpful setup material at players than this author has.
I'm playing comp games on OS X, so I'll share some setup info here for people who are also on OS X and want help running Willows. For PC and other formats, someone else will have to talk about that.
Apparently Macs with OS X 10.8 or later came with Python 2.7 preinstalled (the version Willows was written in) HOWEVER this statement may not apply if you reached 10.8 or later by upgrading from earlier OSes, as I did.
If you've got an app in your applications folder called 'IDLE', you've already got an installation of Python on your Mac. If not, you can go to this Mac Python page and get Python 2.7. It's only 22 MB. Just download the version applicable for your Mac and doubleclick to install it.
With Python on your Mac:
Right-click the War of the Willows game file you've downloaded (PLAY.py) and choose to open it with the app called IDLE
Two windows will appear, a shell and PLAY.py
Click on the PLAY.py window to make it active, then choose Run Module from the Run menu at the top of the screen (shortcut F5)
To restart the game, make PLAY.py the active window and choose Run Module again
IFComp 2015 review: The Sueño by Marshal Tenner Winter
For IFComp 2015, Marshal Tenner Winter (MTW) brings us his 656th game, The Sueño – or Here's Goo In Your Eye! as I like to think of it after considering the cover art by Gwen C Katz:
The Sueño (quoth the game: it's Spanish for dream) is a parser adventure in the mystery/thriller/Inception genres in which you play a broke uni student who hits up a sleep study for some cash, gets into lucid dreaming and finds disturbing stuff in there.
The game's slowish start feels necessary in retrospect in that it establishes a game environment in which the PC is able to bring some subtle dreaming tricks to bear on puzzles. Interest and mystery increase significantly in the game's latter half set in a deserted town, but the end text felt disappointingly rushed to me. There's a fair bit of low level tech/grammar polish wanting throughout, but by the same token MTW again demonstrates that it can be OK to let Inform's default messages blot up a lot of obligatory crap that most players won't be deeply interested in. I'm too anal retentive as an IF author to try to live out this idea, but I'd say it's one of the reasons MTW's been able to produce at least 13 parser-powered IF games in just a few years. He's been in almost every kind of IF comp that's going (Ectocomp, IFComp, Introcomp, Shufflecomp, Spring Thing) plus he's got a series featuring a coarse, nameless hardboiled detective, which kicks off with The Surprising Case of Brian Timmons.
The Sueño's oneiric game mechanics feel open-ended enough that if anything, I think the whole could benefit from going bigger to exploit more of their possibilities, at which point it might get too big for IFComp. But one knows what is commonly said to one: Better to leave 'em wanting more than less. I certainly recommend this game to parser mystery/thriller/Inception interestees.
It took me about 80 minutes to complete The Sueño. I used the nifty and diegetic (meaning 'present in the game's reality') hint device a fair bit, and I turned to the non-diegetic walkthrough file about 2-3 times.
For extended reviewage with full spoilers you can
Posted by Wade at 17:11 1 comment:
IFComp 2015 review: Darkiss Chapter I: The Awakening by Marco Vallarino
This is how I like my vampires: Solitary, dangerous and with vile motivations. As opposed to ubiquitous, shiny and Mormonesque (Twilight).
Admittedly the anti-hero of Darkiss isn't as powerful as a vampire usually would be, but that's because the good guys previously killed him, leaving him with the inconvenient side-effect of weakness. The player's job in this classically styled parser adventure is to get vampire Martin Voigt back into fighting, biting shape.
I think this might be the first time a game has ticked the IFComp rule that a previously released game is OK to enter if it's been translated into a new language. Darkiss was originally released in Italian in 2011. That word 'Darkiss' did stir recognition in my brain when it showed up in this year's game list, and that's because I've previously trawled IFDB for all games tagged or labelled as 'horror'. There, I'd seen in passing the listings for Darkiss, its sequel and its spinoff.
With some help from the location-sensitive hint system, I completed Darkiss in about an hour. It's puzzly, solidly implemented and relishes the protagonist's intent of evil vengeance. As might be expected, it's also just slightly off in some of the translation, but the core translation is resilient. The off notes don't affect game mechanics or player understanding, just the ideal reading of the prose. I only had one comprehension problem in one room, and it doesn't seem impossible that that problem was present in the Italian original.
Darkiss may skew a bit traditional for some. I enjoyed it a lot.
One word of advice: This is a game in which you have to be extremely thorough in searching and re-searching everything you see. However, you don't have to guess at the basic presence of stuff. Just peruse the room descriptions carefully.
For a few more details on the game's trajectory and how it plays – more specific than what I wrote above, but still pretty free from specific spoilers in Darkiss's case – you can dare to
IFComp 2015 review: Paradise by Devine Lu Linvega
UPDATE: Paradise has been withdrawn from IFComp. I am surprised (and mildly embarrassed) that even as I noted it had been online in public for so long, I simultaneously didn't recall that this was against the entry rules. As a player-judge I'm not disturbed by its loss, as it simply wasn't a very scoreable entity in the context of this competition. But I tried it and I think a lot of IF folk will find it worth looking into as a creative tool:
Paradise is a text-based online world/system for any number of players/users in which anyone can create, walk around in and inject simple programming into textual objects. The objects aren't modelled to be anything in particular, but typical uses for them include making locations and putting choices and objects into those locations. Interaction is via a mixture of parser-like typing and clicking on hotlinked words.
In my first session in Paradise, I created Cafe De Los Muertos, placed it in a location recommended by the implementors and put something inside it. If you get into Paradise and want to visit the cafe, use the command WARP TO 8020
As an open-ended project which began four years ago, and one which may not contain any goal-oriented adventures that are easy to find, Paradise was likely to have scored poorly in IFComp. However I think that whether you like parser IF or clicky IF, or both, Paradise might appeal to you as a creative tool. There's nothing to stop you building a game or experience in Paradise and then linking others to it. Another big plus is that neither creators nor players (and technically, the two aren't distinguished from each other) require accounts or passwords to log in or to protect their creations. You can just visit the website and start doing stuff.
Text objects in Paradise are called vessels and operate on a concept of enclosure. Such basic concepts are explained in tutorial vessels you'll encounter soon after logging in. Basically, every vessel is inside another vessel. So you could make a location (one vessel) by typing 'create grassy meadow', then put an object inside it (a vessel in a vessel) by typing 'enter grassy meadow' then 'create chest'. If the object has compartments, they could be vessels in the object vessel. But there are no actual programming rules about the nature of vessels. You could stick a whole new world inside an object if you like – after all, it's just another vessel. You can also pick up editable vessels and put them elsewhere, or embody them, the latter being the means by which you create an avatar. You wouldn't want to be driving a default object like the teapot forever.
The most basic kind of programming lets you attach any useable Paradise command to a vessel through a 'use' link, which can also be activated by typing 'use such-and-such'. You can then repaint the word 'use' as something else – read, press, etc. – whatever word you want the player to type to use (enter) the vessel. You can nut this stuff out by following tutorial topics which consist of locations and dialogue, not boring old instruction files, or by just typing 'help'. More advanced programming is available, but it would be possible to put together an adventurous structure or CYOA adventure with the basics alone.
I suppose what's annoying about the interface is the fact that you can't get away from having to keep switching between clicking links and typing things. Or clicking a link and then having to hit return to execute it. My other gripe is that allowed punctuation in creator content is quite limited. No apostrophes take, no capital letters take in some circumstances, no exclamation marks take (actually, maybe that last one is a plus), etc. For the more literate-leaning, these things might bug.
I still think Paradise is pretty cool. I'm personally interested in exploring more focused material than what I saw here thus far, but I don't even know how big the place is or what's already in there. I could easily have missed tons of stuff.
IFComp 2015 review: Arcane Intern (Unpaid) by Astrid Dalmady
Arcane Intern (Unpaid) is a clickable Twine CYOA about a young woman (I think? Sex not definitely specified that I saw) who loves the magicky Rebecca Butler books and who gets an internship with Praecantatio Publishers, the publishers of those books. The internship is curiously boring... OR IS IT? (actually not boring.)
With its dues to Harry Potter and some commentary on young adults' possible relationship to Harry Potter books, the game is probably a must play for people who are, uh, interested in Harry Potter. It also has something to say to people who look at non-child people who like Harry Potter and think: 'What are they thinking?' It's got clean presentation, some suitable writing and sports lightly modelled adventure gaming in its middle stretch.
Having said all that, I didn't like it for a fair while, then suddenly I did. My full review of this game explicitly talks about an ending. My non-spoilery summary is: it's a fantasy narrative that folks who like young adult fantasy material will likely dig. There are a few swear words in there, otherwise it would merit a G rating.
IFComp 2015 review: 5 Minutes to Burn Something! by Alex Butterfield
5 Minutes to Burn Something! is an incarnation of the most staple of staples of the IF Competition: A parser game in which you have to solve an impractical physical problem in a closed environment using a disparate bunch of props before a time limit runs out. Other staple factors include the environment being the player's apartment, a wack approach to humour and the prose's fixation on the PC's crummy ex.
IFComp 2015: Wade's overspiel
The Interactive Fiction Competition of 2015 has begun. There are 55 entries. I want to congratulate the entrants for entering and I want to thank Jason McIntosh for organising.
The purpose of my overspiel is to say that I will be reviewing some of the entries this year. I will be doing it here in this blog. I will be reviewing titles which specifically appeal to me from the outset or which serendipitously take my fancy. Learn more by continuing to read this post.
* The cut below this line is a test to test whether Blogger's Jump Break feature prevents information from appearing on the Planet IF blog feed. If you've enjoyed this post so far, please click 'Read More' to continue to enjoy further informational reading on the topic of my overspiel –
IFComp 2015 review: The Insect Massacre by Tom Del...
IFComp 2015 review: Pit of the Condemned by Matthe...
IFComp 2015 review: Ether by Brian Rushton (but no...
IFComp 2015 review: War of the Willows by Adam Bre...
IFComp 2015 review: The Sueño by Marshal Tenner Wi...
IFComp 2015 review: Darkiss Chapter I: The Awakeni...
IFComp 2015 review: Arcane Intern (Unpaid) by Astr...
IFComp 2015 review: 5 Minutes to Burn Something! b...


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Orlando, Florida is a great place to seek memory care. In addition to the numerous organizations and research institutions devoted to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Dementia, it is more cost-effective to receive memory care in Orlando than in the rest of the country. The national average for a memory care facility is $5,745 per month for a private room, however, in Orlando, the average is only $3,945 per month.
This is surprising considering the number of high-quality memory care centers and organizations in Orlando. This makes it an excellent choice for anyone who wants to receive the best memory care at the most reasonable price.
We found the monthly cost of memory care in Orlando ranged from $1,700 for a shared room to $5,805 a month for a luxury private room in a popular memory care facility.
We evaluated 11 memory care facilities and detailed our findings below. We also provided the contact information for local organizations that help with Alzheimer's and dementia patients in the Orlando area.
Just a 15-minute drive from Orlando, Legacy Point has a unique affiliation with research at the University of Central Florida. UCF provides programming to enhance Legacy Point resident development, entertain and educate, and residents benefit from interacting with young interns and students.
Spring Hills Hunter Creek memory care facility in Orlando recently received a deficiency-free rating for the second year in a row, with all services meeting or exceeding state standards. Resident concierges coordinate care and keep communication open with residents and family.
The Guardian Care Nursing & Rehabilitation Center helps seniors with common health conditions by providing specialized and long-term care. It offers specialized care plans for clients with Alzheimer's and Dementia, as well as long-term care options.
Seniors at Harmony Retirement Living, Inc. live in communal groups that emphasize the importance of staying social and active. Seniors receive daily care support from nurses to help them address a variety of different care needs.
HarborChase of Dr. Phillips is designed to feel more like a resort than an assisted living facility. Its focus on hospitality, fine dining, and active lifestyles can make seniors feel like they are on vacation while getting the care that they need.
Grand Palms Assisted Living & Memory Care is focused on providing seniors with the care options that they need in a homelike environment. The facility provides help with daily tasks such as housekeeping and transportation.
At Brookdale Dr. Phillips AL, seniors gain access to a team of specialists that have extensive training in treating memory disorders. Seniors receive personalized care as well as participate in a busy calendar of social events.
Gentry Park Orlando provides memory care services focusing on Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia. The care team has extensive experience working with clients who have memory disorders and can help clients maintain a higher level of independence.
Alzheimer's Association — Central and North Florida Chapter: The Central and North Florida Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association provides services to those with Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia, as well as community education. Contact the Alzheimer's Association by calling 800-272-3900.
Alzheimer's & Dementia Resource Center: The Alzheimer's & Dementia Resource Center manages the Florida State Brain Bank Research Program, education, and support for those with Alzheimer's and Dementia. Contact the center by calling 407-843-1910.
Florida Hospital Center for Aging and Wellness: This center focuses on geriatric medicine, with comprehensive assessments, consultations, and home visits. Call 407-599-6060 to learn more about the program.
Orlando Health Memory Disorder Clinic: The Orlando Health Memory Disorder Clinic is a state-funded memory disorder clinic providing assessments, support, and education for those with memory loss. Call 321-841-9700 for an appointment if you live in Orange, Seminole, Pole, Lake, Sumter, or Hernando County.
Easter Seals Day Break: Easter Seals offers adult day services for seniors and those with special needs, including those with Dementia. Call 407-629-4565 for information about the state-funded program.


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What should be next to Trayvon Martin's hoodie in the Smithsonian?
By Thomas Lifson
I have a suggestion. How about an exhibit on Tawana Brawley? If the purpose of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian is to remember racial controversies, as the proposed Trayvon exhibit seems to confirm, then how about an honest look at the phenomenon of hate crime hoaxes? Particular attention should be paid to the role of the media in both the Trayvon and Tawana materials. Unquestionably, the media stirred up racial animus, and these incidents both contributed to raising racial tensions.
One exhibit should be a copy of Tawana Brawley's first paycheck with hundreds of dollars garnisheed from it, to pay off a lawsuit for having defamed prosecutor Steven Pagones. After delivering 10 checks to him for $3,764.61, she still owes him 430 grand, according to Michael Gartland writing in the New York Post.
Brawley's advisers in the infamous race-baiting case - the Rev. Al Sharpton, and attorneys C. Vernon Mason and Alton Maddox - have already paid, or are paying, their defamation debt. But Brawley, 41, had eluded punishment.
She's now forced to pay Pagones $627 each month, possibly for the rest of her life. Under Virginia law, she can appeal the wage garnishment every six months.
"Finally, she's paying something," said Pagones' attorney, Gary Bolnick. "Symbolically, I think it's very important - you can't just do this stuff without consequences."
Pagones filed for the garnishment with the circuit court in Surry County, Va., in January, a few weeks after The Post tracked down Brawley to tiny Hopewell, Va.
The Smithsonian is funded by all taxpayers for all Americans. The new Museum of African American History and Culture must serve all Americans and be devoted to the truth, not to special interest advocacy. We should pay close attention to the way the Museum decides to display the famous hoodie, and demand that it present the truth about the controversy, including the many systematic media distortions, and the role of the Justice Department in ginning up protests.


There are unresolved questions about exactly what it means to do the/an Ecosystem Approach, and what it may achieve.
This project explored existing examples of the Ecosystem Approach, to identify implications for future equitable and holistic natural resource management.
We understand the Ecosystem Approach as an holistic and inclusive approach to natural resource management, to be implemented via 12 'Malawi Principles' as first described by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) over 10 years ago. The concept is mentioned in several international and UK policy documents (including, for example, the Scottish Land Use Strategy). However, there are unresolved questions about exactly what it means to do the/an Ecosystem Approach, what it may achieve, and why. What does it mean to support, implement and evaluate the Ecosystem Approach? Better understanding existing examples of the Ecosystem Approach is of broad relevance to academics, policy groups and practitioners in Scotland, the UK and beyond.
This project was based on a qualitative analysis of past experiences with the "Ecosystem Approach" in the UK. We searched for examples of projects for natural resource management in the UK that had been labelled an "ecosystem approach, and then reviewed and compiled publically-available information about these. We carried out semi-structured interviews with contacts (typically a project officer) associated with each project, and subsequently sent a short questionnaire to each interviewee, to complement the interviews. Our analysis of this data used a mixed inductive and deductive qualitative approach, aided by Nvivo (9 & 10). Our analysis was informed by and contributes to various literatures including on environmental governance and project evaluation.
This research has now been completed. Our initial synthesis and findings are presented in our main project report "Exploring experiences of the Ecosystem Approach" from the list below. Further analysis supported the development of outputs oriented to specific audiences, including academic papers - all outputs are listed below. In September 2015 we were invited to host an dialogue event on the Ecosystem Approach for the UK Natural Capital Initiative - the report below focuses on how we could respond to the challenges to better implement the Approach. Our last portion of this work also focused on the implications for monitoring and evaluation of environmental management projects, discussed in our third academic paper listed below. Finally, in 2016 we were invited to speak about the Ecosystem Approach at the 13th Convention of the Parties for the Convention on Biological Diversity, in Mexico: that presentation is also listed below.
We now work on new projects that relate to and build on this research, such as the challenges of delivering multiple benefits, and of integrating policy goals: to find out more you can also visit our personal staff pages, via the links on the side of this page.
Turnpenny, J., Russel, D., Waylen K.A. and Blackstock K.L. (2016). Embedding the value of the natural environment in decision-making - overcoming barriers and encouraging enablers. This 6-page briefing reviews the 'sticking points' that tend to oppose consideration of environmental issues in decision-making, together with tips for how to overcome these. This briefing is relevant to decision-makers across sectors, and draws on work from the NEAFO at the University of East Anglia, University of Exeter together with insights from this project.
Waylen K.A and Blackstock K.L (2016) Concepts: 'Eco' terminology. In: Ecosystem Services (eds) Brooker R, Hester A and Pakeman R, the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen 28pp.
Blackstock K.L and Waylen K.A (2016) Delivering ecosystem services at a national scale: institutions and governance. In: Ecosystem Services (eds) Brooker R, Hester A and Pakeman R, the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen 28pp.
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L. 2014. Eco-what?! The need for clarity and consistency in communication using ecosystem terminology. This short briefing is available as a KnowledgeScotland webpage, is the basis of a Viewpoint piece on the Ecosystems Knowledge Network and can also be downloaded as 2-page document (pdf file: 200KB). It summarises some of the key concepts underlying different ecosystem terms currently in use, and provides some suggestions to avoid confusion.
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L. 2015. Sticking points: Implications for environmental management. This short 2-page document (pdf file: 309KB) also available as a KnowledgeScotland webpage explains why it is important to consider how legacy effects can give rise to sticking points that affect new attempts to manage the environment. More detail on this subject is provided by the Ecology & Society paper below.
Blackstock, K.A.; Waylen, K.A.; Holstead, K.L. 2014. Experiences of implementing an Ecosystem Approach: Policy implications. This short 2-page document (pdf file: 131KB) briefly summarises the project findings and explores some policy implications.
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L.; Holstead, K.L. 2014. Research summary: experiences of applying the Ecosystem Approach. This 5-page report (pdf file; 152KB) summarises the findings explained in our main project report below.
Waylen, K.A.; Hastings, E.; Banks, E.; Holstead, KL; Irvine, R.J.; Blackstock, K. L. 2014. The need to disentangle key concepts from "Ecosystem Approach" jargon, Conservation Biology 28(5): 1215-1224. Open Access paper available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12331.
Blackstock K.L, Waylen K.A and Kyle C (2015) "Putting the Ecosystem Approach into practice – what can it do for you?" Report of Natural Capital Dialogue Event, 28th September 2015, Edinburgh.
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L.; Irvine, R.J. 2014. Starting points for evaluating implementation of the "Ecosystem Approach". This is a 7-page research briefing available for download via this link (pdf file: 465KB).
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L.; Holstead, K. 2013. Exploring experiences of the Ecosystem Approach. This is the main project report and is available for download via this link (pdf file: 1.41MB).
Waylen, K.A. 2018. Attempting to implement the Ecosystem Approach in the UK: Innovative change or hopelessly constrained? Invited presentation for the EcoGov Conference, 4-5 October 2018, Bordeaux, France.
Waylen, K.A. 2016. Experiences of the Ecosystem Approach – what can we learn? Invited presentation for the 3rd Science Forum at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1-2 December 2016, Cancun, Mexico.
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L.; Holstead, K. 2016. What does studying the 'Ecosystem Approach' tell us about transformative approaches? Presentation in session "Transformative Perspectives and Practices: Toward a Policy Analysis for Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability" at Interpretive Policy Analysis, 5-7th July 2016, Hull, UK.
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L. 2014. What insights are offered by experiences of the "Ecosystem Approach"? Exploring the critical effects of institutional inertia and evolution. Presentation given at the Third International Science and policy Conference on the resilience of social & ecological systems: Resilience and Development, mobilising for transformation, Montpellier, France, 4-8 May 2014.
Waylen, K.A.; Blackstock, K.L. 2014. Jargon-busting: Understanding Ecosystem Approaches, Ecosystem Service Assessments and their mutual interdependence. The powerpoint presentation is available via this link to the ESCom website, and was given at the Launch Event of ESCom (Ecosystem Services Community) Scotland, Edinburgh, 29 April -1 May 2014.
Banks, E.A.; Waylen, K.A.; Hastings, E.J.; Holstead, K.L.; Irvine, J. 2012. Implementing the `Ecosystem Approach?: distilling insights from experience to date. 18th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference, People, Progress and Environmental Protection, University of Hull, 24-26 June 2012.
Holstead, K.L.; Banks, E.A.; Waylen, K.A.; Hastings, E.J.; Irvine, J. 2012. Reviewing implementation of the CBD ecosystem approach: empty label or useful guide? Presentation given at the Third European Congress of Conservation Biology, SECC, Glasgow, 28 August - 1 September 2012.


text:
Q: Android custom dialog not fill the entire dialog layout I build a custom dialog to pop up an image with close button like this:

As you can see the dialog is not fitting the dialog layout and there's this white borer on the top and on the right, so how can i get rid the white border thing and make my custom dialog fit?
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_gravity="center_vertical"
    android:gravity="center"
    android:orientation="vertical" >

<FrameLayout
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_centerInParent="true" >

    <LinearLayout
        android:id="@+id/linearMain"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
        android:gravity="center"
        android:orientation="vertical"
        android:paddingBottom="-50dp" >
        <ImageView
            android:id="@+id/imgMain"
            android:layout_width="300dp"
            android:layout_height="350dp"
            android:gravity="center"
            android:background="@drawable/eairh_dialog"
            />

        <!---add your views here-->
    </LinearLayout>
    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/imgClose"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_gravity="top|right"
        android:clickable="true"
        android:src="@drawable/close_button" />
</FrameLayout>

</LinearLayout>

A: getWindow().setBackgroundDrawable(new ColorDrawable(Color.TRANSPARENT));

Use Above Code in your Dialog class to make Dialog TransParent

A: Remove margin Top and right on LinearLayout:
android:layout_marginRight="5dp"
android:layout_marginTop="10dp"

A: To make the Dialog bigger, you can set those parameters to MATCH_PARENT.
int screenWidth = 0, screenHeight = 0 ;
 Display display = thid.getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay();
        screenWidth = display.getWidth();
        screenHeight = display.getHeight();

        Dialog dialog = new Dialog(getActivity(), android.R.style.Theme_DeviceDefault);
        dialog.requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
        dialog.setContentView(R.layout.cart_empty);

           WindowManager.LayoutParams lp = new WindowManager.LayoutParams();
        lp.copyFrom(dialog.getWindow().getAttributes());
        lp.width = screenWidth;
        lp.height = screenHeight;
        dialog.getWindow().setAttributes(lp);
        dialog.show();

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What diet pills are there? What's the difference between them? Which diet pills work? Are there any diet pills that may work for me?
These types of diet pills increase the metabolism, ensuring that your body burns more calories than normal. This is often achieved by ingesting substances that activate the sympathetic nervous system, which means that the body enters "fight or fligh" mode. Body temperature is increased, appetite is reduced and the metabolism in general increases. Assuming that you eat as you are used to, the body will need to take the extra energy needed from somewhere – ideally from the body's fat reserves, and you will lose weight. This is the reason why these pills are often said to be "fat burners", or "metabolism boosters".
These fat burning diet pills can in turn be divided into three categories: those that are Gentle (without synephrine), those that are Super strong (containing synephrine) and finally Long-term diet pills, which permanently increase the metabolic rate of your body.
Gentle diet pills increase the body's fat burning processes moderately, using herbs such as black pepper, chilli, green tea and ginseng. They have few side effects. Examples of these pills are Lepigen X-strong and H.O.P.E.
The Super strong fat burners are more potent but also have more side effects. They contain substances such as ephedrine (ephedra) or synephrine, a substance that affects the body in a way similar to adrenaline. Pills with Ephedrine are illegal in most countries. Synephrine is not as potent as Ephedrine, has fewer side effects and is legal in most countries. Synephrine can be found in for example Lepigen Superstrong.
Long-term fat burners contain Wakame, a Japanese sea-weed that has proven to induce permanent long-term changes in the metabolism. Wakame can increase the metabolism by up to 20%. Diet pills with Wakame are for example Termoloss and Zenjaki (not sold in the UK at the moment).
To eat food that is low in carbohydrates or to choose carbs with a low Glycemic Index are two effective ways to lose weight. Several diet pills work on the same principles, usually by reducing the GI level of the food you ate. These pills are sometimes called "Carb blockers"; check out for example DEcarb.
To reduce the amount of calories you eat is a proven way to lose weight. Fat contains a lot of calories, so ensuring your body gets less fat is a good way of achieving this. There are diet pills that can help you by creating a jelly in the stomach which absorbs the fat and then passes through your body untouched. If you want to cut down on fat then these pills are very effective, as almost a third of the fat you eat gets "blocked". Example of these pills are Proactol, Lipobind and H.O.P.E.
When trying to lose weight, Hunger can be your worst enemy. Hunger is a very strong motivator and survival mechanism, which means that it can easily win over your attempts to lose weight by eating less. However, by tricking your body into thinking that you've just eaten you can reduce your appetite, eating smaller portions and less often, and in the long run lose weight. There are few substances that can fool the brain in this fashion, but one that has a clinically proven effect is the African cactus Hoodia Gordonii. Hoodia can be found in for example Hoodia Patch (Evolution).
The last few years there has been a hype promoting "detox pills" and "colon cleansers", claiming incredible results using this or that product. The truth is that losing weight through Detox is more a welcome side-effect than the main goal. It works like this: At the same time that your body is cleansed from waste products and toxins it also gets rid of fat, especially around the belly. A few weeks of detoxing will most likely help you lose a few pounds, not much more than that. There are many detox products on the market, for example 30 days.
Some substances send signals to the body to reduce body fat and instead build muscles. In recent years some of these are used in diet pills, but the truth is that although it will trim an already slim body it won't make much difference for people that are truly overweight. The most well known substance is CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), a natural fatty acid often eaten by body builders. CLA can be found in diet pills such as Evolution CLA.
Non prescription diet pills are not held up to as strict standards as prescription drugs, and most of them are in fact harmless to your health. However, you should avoid diet pills if you have or have had mental problems, eating disorders, are under the age of 18, suspect that you are pregnant or are breast-feeding. If you have or have had kidney problems, cardiovascular problems or if you are currently taking prescription drugs you should make sure that a specific diet pill is in fact not harmful for you, preferably by asking your doctor.
Missing a question? Please let us know!


The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County is working with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) to permanently close one of three lanes on Matley Lane between Villanova Drive and Plumb Lane.
RTC has had two recent car crashes into their facility and wants to close the lane for safety.
It will be the southbound lane closest to the RTC Facility on Matley Lane and the closure will begin on Wednesday, November 21.
Drivers exiting I-580 southbound using the Villanova Drive/Plumb Lane exit should expect a new traffic pattern. Intersections along the corridor will not be affected.
On Saturday, November 10, two separate car crashes happened, and both vehicles entered the RTC's maintenance facility. No RTC staff or the passengers of the cars were injured, but RTC is taking action to improve safety and prevent potential future crashes from impacting RTC employees and their facility.
(RTC contributed to this report).


The idea for Happy Maki was born after owner Anna returned from working on an organic black Tahitian pearl farm in French Polynesia. Inspired by the beautiful oceans she'd spent months working on, upon returning to the UK she researched marine issues further and came up with The Happy Maki concept. She aims to raise awareness of these issues and improve the appeal of veganism.
But these vegan loving sushi addicts are helping save the world in more ways than one. For every sushi wrap bought from Happy Maki they donate 7p to Mary's Meals, they provide life changing meals to some of the world's poorest children, in turn helping them to gain an education and improve their own lives as well as their communities. So far they have provided 111,590 meals to hungry children.
Anna and her partner Ali are also doing their bit to tackle the destruction of forests in Haiti, Madagascar and Nepal by donating 8p to Eden - A reforestation project that helps to employ local villagers to plant millions of trees every year. There are surplus negative effects of deforestation including destruction of animals natural habitat, reduced water purification and minimised flooding defense which leads to erosion. Farmers can't grow on unhealthy land and often have to leave their homes in search of alternative work, or resort to dangerous trades just to survive. The Eden Project provides the farmers with a decent income so they can provide for their families, and start to rebuild healthy forests once again. Happy Maki have so far helped to plant 66,466 trees.
Having built up a great following doing the UK festival circuit, the Happy Maki team have decided to make Brighton their first home (and we're chuffed they did). Based just off East Street, in Pool Valley, they're making a name for themselves in the tastiest of ways. With delicious vegan sushi wraps and delectable sides, Happy Maki is already loved by all. Even the hardy meat eaters!
We're big fans over at Wriggle and we've got an exclusive Happy Maki Experience for you and a mate, get involved and do your bit to save the world one tasty sushi wrap at a time.
We devoured the burgers in Brighton and - eventually - picked our absolute favourites that you must try.
Brighton is made for Brunch and there are tempting options all over Brighton and Hove, so here are just a few favourites and why we love them.
Sometimes in life, you just can't be bothered to sit in a restaurant and eat in; we hear ya. Check out our guide to Brighton's best takeaway Wriggles, perfect for for when you just want to grab and go.
If you're looking to banish bread, give wheat a wide birth (or merely forego flatulence) here's our pick of the best coeliac-friendly eateries in Brighton.
Whether you're so hungry a regular meal just won't do, or a glory-seeker looking for a new wall to affix your (albeit stuffed) face to, these food challenges will test you.
The Best Veggie & Vegan Deals on the app this week!
We're pretty spoilt for choice living in the vegetarian capital of the UK, so why don't you go green for a week and get in on these unbelievably good meat free deals.
Whether you're a mushy romantic or adverse to the yucky love stuff, we've got some hot mate or date nights in store this Feb.
You've done the hard part. You found the hottie, got their number, and they're up for seeing you again. Now it's your job to lay on a damn good time.
Ignore that saintly inner voice that tells you to avoid carbs and indulge, because we have some killer vegan junk food options for you in Brighton.
Say goodbye to bland, dry pies and hello to some mighty fine plant based Sunday roast options with these choice picks.
The Best Vegan Deals on the app this week!
We really want to let you in on how many unbelievably good meat-free dishes there are out there!
We've traversed Brighton's mammoth food scene to dig out the tastiest plant based burgers in town. So all you need to do is choose one (or five), eat, and prepare to enter vegan burger euphoria.


Hydrology Research (1978) 9 (2): 105-120.
The seasonal stratification in lakes is examined by a qualitative evaluation of important physical processes and with the aid of a mathematical model. From the description of the physical processes it is realized that the observed vertical temperature distribution is the synthesis of a number of complicated and inter-dependent phenomena. The mathematical model is employed for a quantitative estimate of the importance of lake morphometry and transparency. It is found that the vertical variation of horizontal area and variations in transparency strongly influence the thermal structure of a lake. Measurements of the temperature distribution in Lake Velen are compared to predictions obtained by the mathematical model. The agreement is found to be satisfactory and it is concluded that the mathematical model provides a realistic way of studying and predicting the summer stratification.


text:
Why we love to hate the Fighting Irish but love Notre Dame Women's Basketball
Emily Iannaconi
The reality that is hating the Fighting Irish yet loving the Notre Dame Women's Basketball program is a stark reminder of sports irony.
When Notre Dame football lost to Clemson in the College Football Playoff this past season, people talked about how the Fighting Irish are overrated and didn't deserve to be there. When the Notre Dame women's basketball team lost to Baylor on Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament though, people felt differently. People actually felt sad.
Why are Note Dame football and Notre Dame women's basketball so far apart on the public appeal spectrum? One name …
Muffet McGraw.
McGraw has just completed her 32nd season as the head coach of Notre Dame women's basketball. In her time at the helm, she has led the Fighting Irish to nine Final Fours, six title games and two championships. In December, McGraw won the 900th game of her career. More recently, McGraw is receiving national attention not just for her winning ways, but due to her rabid use of her platform to champion women.
Wayne Drehs's recent ESPN.com article describes McGraw as a constant competitor and perfectionist. She hates losing and is overcome with anxiety before every game. But she takes that energy and passion off the court in a way that other high-profile Notre Dame coaches rarely do. In the wake of Pat Summitt's passing in 2016, McGraw has assumed the no-nonsense voice in women's basketball. The result? McGraw has created a team that is likable—a word not often associated with Notre Dame teams, particularly football.
Brian Kelly has been the head football coach at Notre Dame since 2009. And when non-Irish fans think of Kelly, they might recall the expletives he used when Notre Dame lost to the South Florida Bulls, 23-20, during the 2011 season. Or how purple his face can get during games. And no one can forget the headlines when 20-year-old videographer Declan Sullivan died when the scissor lift blew over on a very windy day at practice.
Fans stick with Kelly and his team, even after the beating they took from Clemson this year in the semifinal round of the CFP, because of something Notre Dame both prides itself on and relies on—tradition.
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People who are not part of this tradition enjoy rooting against Notre Dame. Bleacher Report and BuzzFeed actually spent time writing articles listing reasons why people do not like the Fighting Irish.
When the Notre Dame women's basketball team took the floor in the national championship game for the second straight year, though, people wanted the Irish to repeat. People wanted Arike Ogunbowale to hit both free throws. People wanted to see McGraw's all-female coaching staff come up with another win because somehow, this time, a win for Notre Dame felt like a win for women.
"I'm getting tired of the novelty of the first female governor of this state, the first female African American mayor of this city," McGraw said at a press conference last Thursday. "When is it going to become the norm instead of the exception? We don't have enough female role models. We don't have enough visible women leaders. We don't have enough women in power."
McGraw's athletes are grateful to have a coach who encourages them to make their voices heard, such as when she allowed them to wear black shirts that read, "I Can't Breathe" during their warmups in a 2014 game against Michigan to support the family of Eric Garner who died after a New York police officer placed him in a chokehold while attempting arrest. Notre Dame was the first women's team to wear the shirts, according to Sporting News.
McGraw and her staff dressed in black in unity.
"I was really proud of our team to publicly stand for something you believe in," McGraw said after the game. "I think one of the things I try to teach them is you've got to fight."
Now, recently, McGraw has transformed into a sort of Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the women's sports world, becoming a rock star on and off the basketball court in her cheetah-print skirts, silk blouses and chunky necklaces.
Sure, the comment she made about her all-female staff struck a chord with some. Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma told reporters at the Albany Regional, "I hope she sends a thank you to all those guys that used to be on her staff that got her all those good players that won a championship. I look at some of the top programs in America, and they seem to have pretty good coaches who happen to be men."
But at least the doubters are listening to this voice out of South Bend, Indiana—a place that hasn't had many role models, male or women, for a long time.
NEXT: The Patricia Traina Giants Beat Advantage


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text:
Le jeu des latroncules est un jeu de stratégie romain datant du , variante de la petteia grecque et du senet égyptien.

Origine
Le jeu des latroncules serait une variante d'un jeu grec connu sous le nom de petteia. Il serait inspiré d'un exercice de tactique militaire élaboré par le roi d'Épire Pyrrhus pour former ses officiers. ,  signifie « vil brigand ». Le nom pourrait également venir de  qui signifiait « mercenaires » sous la République romaine. Le gagnant se proclame . Les jetons sont appelés .

Toutes les règles sont extrapolées à partir des rares traces écrites (surtout des citations d'Ovide). Cette version est la plus classique mais il en existe d'autres qui ressemblent plus au jeu de dames.

Une règle simple

Le matériel
 1 plateau à damier de 64 cases ()
 8 cavaliers (ou latroncules) blancs et noirs
 8 fantassins blancs et noirs ()

Les déplacements des fantassins
Ils ne se déplacent que d'une case à la fois, vers l'avant et ne peuvent ni reculer, ni se déplacer vers les côtés. Un fantassin arrivé à la dernière rangée devient un cavalier.

Les déplacements des cavaliers
Ils peuvent se déplacer d'une case dans tous les sens (même en diagonale) mais doivent respecter les indications s'ils se trouvent sur les cases noires.

La préparation du jeu
Les joueurs doivent placer le plateau de façon que les cases aux angles droits du plateau soient blanches. Les joueurs prennent les pions de leur couleur et les placent sur les deux premières lignes du plateau, les cavaliers sur les cases noires et les fantassins sur les cases blanches.

Le déroulement du jeu
 Le joueur qui a les pions blancs commence.
 Les joueurs jouent un coup à la fois à tour de rôle.

Le but du jeu
Le but du jeu est de capturer tous les pions de l'adversaire. Un pion est capturé quand il se trouve entre deux pions adverses. Un joueur ne peut pas se mettre en situation d'être capturé.

Les cas particuliers
 Si un joueur ne peut pas se déplacer autrement qu'en se mettant en situation d'être capturé, la partie est déclarée nulle.
 Si aucun des joueurs ne parvient à capturer tous les pions adverses (cela arrive quand il ne reste à chacun qu'un très petit nombre de pions), la partie est déclarée nulle.
 Dans certains cas, deux pions peuvent être capturés d'un seul coup : ce sont des prises en diagonale, jamais en ligne, et qui impliquent trois jetons de la même couleur.
 Dans un angle, le pion est capturé lorsque les deux cases latérales sont occupées par l'adversaire.

Notes et références

Annexes

Bibliographie
 Der Kleine Pauly Lexikon Der Antike, Dritter Bande, 1969, 516, Latrunculorum ludus.

Jeu de stratégie
Jeu de société
Vie quotidienne sous la Rome antique
Jeu à intrigue policière

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