text:
const unsigned SELUserLoansWidget::ITEMS_PER_PAGE = 15;

SELUserLoansWidget::SELUserLoansWidget(SELController & controller, QWidget * parent) :
    QWidget(parent), controller(controller), loanIds(0), requestIds(0)
{
    QHBoxLayout * mainLayout = new QHBoxLayout(this);
    QVBoxLayout * loansLayout = new QVBoxLayout();
    QVBoxLayout * requestsLayout = new QVBoxLayout();
    QHBoxLayout * loansButtonLayout = new QHBoxLayout();
    QHBoxLayout * requestsButtonLayout = new QHBoxLayout();

    mainLayout->addLayout(loansLayout);
    mainLayout->addLayout(requestsLayout);

    loansLabel = new QLabel("Loans:");
    loansLayout->addWidget(loansLabel);

    loansListWidget = new QListWidget();
    loanIds = new unsigned long long[ITEMS_PER_PAGE];
    for (unsigned i = 0; i < ITEMS_PER_PAGE; i++) {
        loanIds[i] = 0;
    }
    loansLayout->addWidget(loansListWidget);

    loansLayout->addLayout(loansButtonLayout);

    loansPrevButton = new QPushButton("Previous");
    loansButtonLayout->addWidget(loansPrevButton);

    curLoanPageLabel = new QLabel();
    curLoanPageLabel->setNum(1);
    curLoanPageLabel->setAlignment(Qt::AlignCenter);
    loansButtonLayout->addWidget(curLoanPageLabel);

    loansNextButton = new QPushButton("Next");
    loansButtonLayout->addWidget(loansNextButton);

    requestsLabel = new QLabel("Requests:");
    requestsLayout->addWidget(requestsLabel);

    requestsListWidget = new QListWidget();
    requestIds = new unsigned long long[ITEMS_PER_PAGE];
    for (unsigned i = 0; i < ITEMS_PER_PAGE; i++) {
        requestIds[i] = 0;
    }
    requestsLayout->addWidget(requestsListWidget);

    requestsLayout->addLayout(requestsButtonLayout);

    requestsPrevButton = new QPushButton("Previous");
    requestsButtonLayout->addWidget(requestsPrevButton);

    curRequestPageLabel = new QLabel();
    curRequestPageLabel->setNum(1);
    curRequestPageLabel->setAlignment(Qt::AlignCenter);
    requestsButtonLayout->addWidget(curRequestPageLabel);

    requestsNextButton = new QPushButton("Next");
    requestsButtonLayout->addWidget(requestsNextButton);

    /// Signals needed...
    /// Click previous loan button, load previous loans page.
    connect(loansPrevButton, SIGNAL(clicked()),
            this, SLOT(updateLoansPagePrev()));
    /// Click next loan button, load next loan page.
    connect(loansNextButton, SIGNAL(clicked()),
            this, SLOT(updateLoansPageNext()));
    /// Click previous request button, load previous requests page.
    connect(requestsPrevButton, SIGNAL(clicked()),
            this, SLOT(updateRequestsPagePrev()));
    /// Click next request button, load next requests page.
    connect(requestsNextButton, SIGNAL(clicked()),
            this, SLOT(updateRequestsPageNext()));
}

SELUserLoansWidget::~SELUserLoansWidget()
{
    if (loanIds != 0) {
        delete [] loanIds;
    }
    if (requestIds != 0) {
        delete [] requestIds;
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::loadFirstLoanPage()
{
    Loan * loans = 0;
    int numLoans = 0;

    loans = controller.retrieveLoanPage(1, numLoans);
    if (loans != 0) {
        updateLoansPage(loans, (unsigned)numLoans);
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::reloadLoanPage()
{
    Loan * loans = 0;
    int numLoans = 0;
    int curPage;

    curPage = curLoanPageLabel->text().toInt();
    loans = controller.retrieveLoanPage(curPage, numLoans);
    if (loans != 0) {
        updateLoansPage(loans, (unsigned)numLoans);
    } else {
        Error::raiseError(Error::ERROR_PAGE_RELOAD_FAIL);
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::loadFirstRequestPage()
{
    LoanRequest * requests = 0;
    int numRequests;

    requests = controller.retrieveRequestPage(1, numRequests);
    if (requests != 0) {
        updateRequestsPage(requests, (unsigned)numRequests);
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::reloadRequestPage()
{
    LoanRequest * requests = 0;
    int numRequests = 0;
    int curPage;

    curPage = curLoanPageLabel->text().toInt();
    requests = controller.retrieveRequestPage(curPage, numRequests);
    if (requests != 0) {
        updateRequestsPage(requests, (unsigned)numRequests);
    } else {
        Error::raiseError(Error::ERROR_PAGE_RELOAD_FAIL);
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::updateLoansPage(Loan * loans, unsigned numLoans)
{
    QList<QListWidgetItem *> listItems = loansListWidget->findItems("*", Qt::MatchWildcard);
    QListWidgetItem * removedItem = 0;
    unsigned i, size = listItems.size(), indexOffset;

    for (i = 0; i < numLoans; i++) {
        if (i >= size) {
            loansListWidget->addItem(new QListWidgetItem());
        }
        loansListWidget->item(i)->setText(loans[i].toString().c_str());
        loanIds[i] = loans[i].getId();
    }

    /// If less loans were obtained than there previously were:
    indexOffset = 0;
    while (i < size) {
        removedItem = loansListWidget->takeItem(i - indexOffset);
        if (removedItem != 0) {
            delete removedItem;
            removedItem = 0;
        }
        loanIds[i] = 0;
        i++;
        indexOffset++;
    }

    delete [] loans;
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::updateRequestsPage(LoanRequest * requests, unsigned numRequests)
{
    QList<QListWidgetItem *> listItems = requestsListWidget->findItems("*", Qt::MatchWildcard);
    QListWidgetItem * removedItem = 0;
    unsigned i, size = listItems.size(), indexOffset;

    for (i = 0; i < numRequests; i++) {
        if (i >= size) {
            requestsListWidget->addItem(new QListWidgetItem());
        }
        requestsListWidget->item(i)->setText(requests[i].toString().c_str());
        requestIds[i] = requests[i].getId();
    }

    /// If less requests were obtained than there previously were:
    indexOffset = 0;
    while (i < size) {
        removedItem = requestsListWidget->takeItem(i - indexOffset);
        if (removedItem != 0) {
            delete removedItem;
            removedItem = 0;
        }
        requestIds[i] = 0;
        i++;
        indexOffset++;
    }

    delete [] requests;
}

/////////////
// Private //
/////////////

void SELUserLoansWidget::updateLoansPageNext()
{
    Loan * loans = 0;
    int pageToGet;
    int numLoans = 0;
    bool ok;

    pageToGet = curLoanPageLabel->text().toInt(&ok);

    if (ok) {
        pageToGet++;
        loans = controller.retrieveLoanPage(pageToGet, numLoans);
        if ((loans != 0) && (numLoans > 0)) {
            curLoanPageLabel->setNum(pageToGet);
            updateLoansPage(loans, (unsigned)numLoans);
        }
    } else {
        Error::raiseError(Error::ERROR_NO_SUCH_PAGE_LOAN);
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::updateLoansPagePrev()
{
    Loan * loans = 0;
    int numLoans = 0;
    int pageToGet;
    bool ok;

    pageToGet = curLoanPageLabel->text().toInt(&ok);

    if (ok) {
        pageToGet--;
        if (pageToGet > 0) {
            loans = controller.retrieveLoanPage(pageToGet, numLoans);
            if ((loans != 0) && (numLoans > 0)) {
                curLoanPageLabel->setNum(pageToGet);
                updateLoansPage(loans, (unsigned)numLoans);
            }
        }
    } else {
        Error::raiseError(Error::ERROR_NO_SUCH_PAGE_LOAN);
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::updateRequestsPageNext()
{
    LoanRequest * requests = 0;
    int pageToGet;
    int numRequests = 0;
    bool ok;

    pageToGet = curRequestPageLabel->text().toInt(&ok);

    if (ok) {
        pageToGet++;
        requests = controller.retrieveRequestPage(pageToGet, numRequests);
        if ((requests != 0) && (numRequests > 0)) {
            curRequestPageLabel->setNum(pageToGet);
            updateRequestsPage(requests, (unsigned)numRequests);
        }
    } else {
        Error::raiseError(Error::ERROR_NO_SUCH_PAGE_REQ);
    }
}

void SELUserLoansWidget::updateRequestsPagePrev()
{
    LoanRequest * requests = 0;
    int numRequests = 0;
    int pageToGet;
    bool ok;

    pageToGet = curRequestPageLabel->text().toInt(&ok);

    if (ok) {
        pageToGet--;
        if (pageToGet > 0) {
            requests = controller.retrieveRequestPage(pageToGet, numRequests);
            if ((requests != 0) && (numRequests > 0)) {
                curRequestPageLabel->setNum(pageToGet);
                updateRequestsPage(requests, (unsigned)numRequests);
            }
        }
    } else {
        Error::raiseError(Error::ERROR_NO_SUCH_PAGE_REQ);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Live Abundant Founder Doug Andrew appeared appeared on today's Season 5 episode of C-Suite Book Club's Best Seller TV talking about how to eliminate the recent proliferation of entitlement in the workplace and at home.
Best Seller TV interviews the authors of the world's leading business books to understand what makes their books stand out from the crowd. Andrew, who has 40-plus years of experience in the financial planning world, focused his latest book on helping people recognize the signs and symptoms of entitlement, as well as tools and skills to combat it both in the workplace and at home. He also covers the pitfalls of putting wealth before health, family and happiness.
To see the full interview on C-Suite TV click here.
C-Suite Book Club is a repository of the best selling books in marketing, leadership, sales, business, finance, customer service, branding and social media. C-Suite Book Club features premium content from top thought leaders, like Arianna Huffington, Sheryl Sandberg, Jim Collins, Tony Robbins, Daymond John, Gary Vaynerchuk, Shep Hyken, Scott McKain and many more.


Size:L---Bust:124cm/48.8"---Sleeve Length:56cm/22.0"---Length:105cm/41.3" Size:XL---Bust:130cm/51.2"---Sleeve Length:57cm/22.4"---Length:106cm/41.7" Size:XXL---Bust:136cm/53.5"---Sleeve Length:58cm/22.8"---Length:107cm/42.1" Size:XXXL---Bust:142cm/55.9"---Sleeve Length:59cm/23.2"---Length:108cm/42.5"
Welcome to "Willsa" shop If you have any problems after receiving the item please feel free to contact us.We have a good after-sales service team we will actively deal with your after-sales issues.We will reply you within 24 hours.Thank you for your understanding and support!
Tip! Chinese size, We generally provide American size.For reference only, according to your actual size comparison size chart for reducing your unnecessary trouble and satisfy your shopping experience. Thank you for your support!
We also have a lot of different styles women Tops, you can click on the blue willsa above to enter the store to pick your own.
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Sealed Tange integrated headset equipped with both 1.5 fork race and 1-1/8 conversion fork race. So the frame will accept standard 1-1/8 forks or tapered steer tube forks.
The Night Tramp from Eastern Bikes gives riders features typically seen on more expensive frames for a great price.
From top tube to 3-D dropouts, everything about the SE Racing Floval Flyer 24" BMX Frame lives and breathes to battle it out on the track. SE has been sending BMX racers to the podium for 40 years, and there's no sign of their letting up. The all-new 24" Floval Flyer Frame continues to rule the roost. The geometry is perfect for the cruiser class and with this year's new bi-oval downtube, it's the stiffest Floval Flyer ever. A super light 6066 aluminum frame for 2014 features an integrated headset for unreal response, floval tubing for reduced resistance, and 3D forged dropouts for added durability.
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text:
Alekseevskaja () è una stazione della Metropolitana di Mosca, situata sulla Linea Kalužsko-Rižskaja. Fu disegnata da S. M. Kravets, Yu. A. Kolesnikova e G. E. Golubev e fu inaugurata il 1º maggio 1958.

In origine la stazione doveva essere decorata come le altre stazioni precedenti, ma il design fu poi modificato dall'opposizione di Nikita Chruščëv agli elementi decorativi non necessari. Di conseguenza, Alekseevskaja presenta linee sorprendentemente pulite per una stazione costruita negli anni cinquanta. I suoi pilastri ottagonali sono in marmo bianco con strisce versi, e gli archi, il soffitto e le griglie di ventilazione sono dipinte di bianco. La luce proviene da eleganti lampadari.

L'ingresso della stazione è situato sul lato est di Prospekt Mira, tra le vie Staroaleksejevskaja (Vecchia Alekseevskaja) e Novoaleksejevskaja (Nuova Alekseevskaja).

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

  KartaMetro.info — Posizione della stazione

Stazioni della metropolitana di Mosca

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Member "TextTrimming" is not recognized in Expression Blend? So I am using Silverlight 4.0 I have the following code but its giving me the following error: "The member "TextTrimming" is not recognized or is not accessible", but it works fine when I run in Visual Studio 2010.
<TextBlock Margin="0,30,28.789,50.455" TextWrapping="Wrap" TextTrimming="WordEllipsis" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Width="117" RenderTransformOrigin="0.5,0.5" UseLayoutRounding="False" d:LayoutRounding="Auto" Text="This is some text in a sticky note for the sake of making sure that the text will fit and that the user can see all the necessary details that are going to be available and stuff" LineHeight="-1" FontWeight="Normal">
<TextBlock.RenderTransform>
    <TransformGroup>
        <ScaleTransform/>
        <SkewTransform AngleX="8"/>
        <RotateTransform/>
        <TranslateTransform/>
    </TransformGroup>
</TextBlock.RenderTransform>

A: Which version of Expression Blend? Only Expression Blend 4 targets Silverlight 4 as far as I know.

A: The answer to this is to use this: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=88484825-1b3c-4e8c-8b14-b05d025e1541

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Multimedia / Films
ESI in the media
Drucker's lesson – Why the EU relocation scheme from Greece should be abandoned
In search of EU effectiveness
A policy proposal that is good for Greece, the EU and refugees
Presented in The Hague
Also available in Turkish: Drucker'in Dersi – Avrupa Birliği'nin Mültecileri Yunanistan'dan Alarak Üye Ülkeler Arasında Paylaştırıp Yeni Yerleşim Yerlerine Gönderme Planı Neden Terk Edilmeli
Plodding and success
The inventor of management studies, Peter Drucker, noted once that, while high intelligence and imagination are far from rare in executive jobs, "high effectiveness" is often conspicuously absent. Many brilliant minds are strikingly ineffectual.
"While others rush around in the frenzy and busyness which very bright people so often confuse with 'creativity', the plodder puts one foot in front of the other and gets there first like the tortoise in the old fable."
The European Union and its institutions are famous plodders. They have excelled at stitching a continent together by putting one foot in front of the other. Take Schengen: invented by a small "coalition of the willing" in 1985, it took until 1995 before France trusted its Benelux neighbours enough to implement the Schengen rules it had itself crafted. Soon Schengen turned out to be so popular and effective that it attracted many other countries to join, even non- EU members like Switzerland and Norway. It became part of EU rules, one of the most popular European projects, transforming lives for citizens and businesses. It has often been challenged, but never replaced, based on many compromises and interests slowly reconciled in endless meetings.
The plodding progress of the European Union institutions in Brussels can, given enough time, change the geopolitics of a whole continent. Yet things often look different when it comes to an unexpected crisis.
Frenzy and failure
In recent months, the European Commission and the European Council have been gripped by frenzy, even panic, as they sought to devise credible policies to deal with the sudden inflow of a million people into the Schengen area. One busy summit and extraordinary meeting followed another. As EU staff rushed through the corridors, many a speech and policy idea was presented that – upon a little reflection – should never have been tabled. But once announced, even obviously unworkable schemes had to be explored, tested and defended, with frantic attempts to stave off their eventual, inevitable failure.
This has certainly been the case for one of the supposed flagship projects in the recent crisis: the idea to set up an internal "relocation mechanism" – a scheme whereby those who arrive to claim asylum in Greece or Italy are relocated to other EU member states according to a key designed by the European Commission, with every country showing "European solidarity" by accepting a number of immigrants and asylum seekers.
This scheme has turned into a humiliating experience for the EU. It was adopted in September in a rare majority decision, outvoting countries who claimed that the scheme was both unworkable and wrong on principle. This led to serious tensions among EU members.
A few months on, even the most Europhile of observers have to admit that the doubters had a point: designed to relocate 160,000 people in two years, it has so far led to the relocation of no more than 500 people. It has failed altogether where it mattered most – in both Italy and Greece. These are embarrassing, even laughable numbers, and they make the EU look strikingly ineffective. Meanwhile the Commission has tried to shame member states into offering more places, while Greece and Italy are under pressure to set up "hotspots" whose precise purpose even EU ambassadors in the same country seem unclear about (Are they registration offices? Refugee camps? Detention centres?). In the meantime, the refugees move on, through Greece and the Balkans into the heart of the European Union, apparently unaware that somebody had other destinations in mind for them.
The search for culprits for this failure has led some in the EU to focus their ire at Greece: If only Greece would register everyone, if only Greece would have set up enough hotspots to accommodate and hold (by force?) its new arrivals, if only it would keep track of people, then the relocation idea would be viable.
Blaming Greek administrative ineptitude is convenient and comes easy to other Europeans, but in this case is completely off the mark. Obviously so, because Italy has had no greater success with the relocation/hotspot approach. In fact, the relocation scheme is profoundly flawed in conception, and could not work, no matter who was responsible for its administration. More than that, in a time of crisis when European ideals are at stake, it is actively harmful.
The current relocation scheme has already eaten up a huge amount of time and political capital, at a moment when both are in short supply. It has spawned many meetings and papers, but the number of people who arrive in Greece from Turkey has not been affected, nor the number moving on from Greece into the rest of Europe. It has increased the sense of distrust and acrimony inside the EU. It has given the EU's critics a tool to beat European institutions with. It has made the EU look feckless, bumbling and, above all else, ineffective, while exposing it to populist attacks from those opposed even to this very abstract idea of burden sharing.
So what is to be done? A simple reflection makes clear why the relocation scheme from Greece should be scraped and replaced immediately by a voluntary effort based on moral pressure to instead resettle refugees directly from Turkey, ideally already at next week's EU Council meeting.
Who is relocated? And why?
Many well-intentioned people continue to place their hopes in the relocation scheme as a solution to the refugee crisis. So let us pause for moment to examine what would happen over the next six months if the scheme were implemented as foreseen by its architects. Here is one possible best-case scenario.
Let's imagine that 100,000 people were to arrive in Greece between 15 February and end of April.
Let's assume that Greece manages to register every single one of them; that hotspots are set up that not only register but also host these refugees, becoming a string of refugee camps throughout Greece.
Let's assume that the people who arrive believe in the relocation scheme and patiently wait to be assigned a place in any of the countries where they are supposed to go; and then go. They will not try to cross any borders as they have in the past year, and will not rebel against being held in hotspot/camps until their turn comes
Let's finally assume that all states that are supposed to take part in this relocation scheme make all places available right away. All administrations involved work smoothly.
Then, at the end of April, the Commission and the EU presidency call a press conference to declare that relocation has been a big European success. A huge mobilisation of resources and total focus by all parties across the EU have made the scheme work as envisaged. And then one journalist asks, like the child wondering about the Emperor's clothes, what the point of all this was? After all, this scheme will not lead to even one fewer refugee arriving in the EU.
It is much more likely to have the contrary effect. If potential asylum seekers would see this scheme as the only way to get into the EU in 2016, they might – in panic to get of these limited 100,000 places – rush to Greece in the coming months in ever larger numbers. Note that the vast majority of the people who would be relocated from Greece after 15 February are currently in Turkey! The scheme would give people an even bigger incentive to cross the Aegean, to risk their lives and to enrich smugglers.
What would happen once all 100,000 places are taken? It is unlikely that a new relocation quota would pass the Council. Even if it did – for another 100,000 people to be distributed from Greece – the same problem would be posed two months after that at the latest. In the meantime, far-right, anti-immigration, anti-Muslim, anti-refugee parties, boosted by constant press reporting on the progress of the relocations, would get even stronger.
If effective action requires working on the right things, then the relocation scheme fails disastrously because it diverts attention from the only things that really ought to matter now:
How to prevent more people drowning in the Aegean Sea
How to disrupt the operations of people smugglers
How to restore control over the EU and Schengen borders
How to help substantial numbers of recognised refugees find a safe way to the EU, so the EU can share responsibility for the refugees with Turkey
How to improve conditions for the many displaced persons who will remain in Turkey.
The relocation scheme achieves none of these things. In fact, it would be actively harmful. In the extremely unlikely best case scenario of full implementation, it would leave the EU facing a worsening refugee crisis with its ability to forge any future consensus compromised, perhaps irreparably.
If the relocation scheme is abandoned next week: what then?
If this scheme – poorly conceived, impractical, and unhelpful even if implemented – were abandoned, what should replace it?
Let us return to the basic fact that the 100,000 people to be relocated from Greece to EU member states in the next few months are not currently in Greece. They are in Turkey.
Imagine if the relocation scheme were not to require these 100,000 people first to cross to Greece (irregularly, in the hands of people smugglers, resulting in many more deaths), but instead could be implemented in a safe and orderly fashion in Turkey.
In recent days, leaders in the Netherlands and Germany have spoken out about the need to take contingents of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey within weeks – in return for Turkish willingness to take back anyone who crosses to Greece from that point onwards.
This is no simple matter: it would require serious preparation and the full attention of already overstretched administrations. It would take some time for the numbers attempting the Aegean crossing to fall away; in the meantime, Greece would need the administrative capacity to process those who reach the islands. The states in the coalition of the willing need to find ways to work with Turkey on an orderly resettlement process, sending a clear signal to these refugees not to get on boats. This would be a serious test of national capacities and European cooperation. It would need to be the main focus on European summits and technical meetings for the coming months. It can be done, but only if it is taken very seriously indeed.
ESI suggests that the February Council meeting in Brussels declares first that the relocation program is scrapped, or at least suspended. At the same time, it calls upon all countries to voluntarily take at least the number of people they would have been required to take from Greece directly from Turkey.
There would be no coercion. In fact, this step would remove a major argument of those who use this scheme to attack the EU.
There would now be strong moral pressure. After all, this voluntary resettlement scheme is not only designed to help refugees – whose fingerprints will be checked against databases of known terrorists – but also to help Turkey, at a moment when it is under immense pressure from Russian military operations in Syria. How could Turkey's NATO allies refuse to participate in a voluntary burden-sharing scheme, if it supports Turkey, helps refugees and restores control over Europe's borders?
The European Union needs trust to work. The relocation debate and its subsequent failure have eroded that trust. A voluntary burden-sharing scheme, as part of the Merkel-Samsom plan, could restore it.
This is not a defeat – but the best way forward for European ideals
Some will argue that this would be a defeat. If the EU cannot make even a modest relocation program work, how can it ever have a shared, centrally administered asylum system?
But this argument is based on denial. Unpalatable and unworkable schemes, like building a wall across Macedonia (a non-EU member) with EU support, so as to trap refugees in Greece (an EU and Schengen member) shows the damage that flawed and muddled thinking is doing to European ideals. Clinging to a poorly designed scheme only adds to the damage already done.
The EU will not get a central asylum system without first resolving this crisis. If anti-EU, illiberal parties gain strength on the back of public fear that mainstream parties and the EU have lost control, the political space for collaboration in this critical area may disappear.
Perhaps a centralised EU asylum system is not an appropriate goal. Coping with refugees in large numbers is perhaps possible for strong and democratically legitimized governments, like Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The EU as a political entity may never be strong enough to do so. Ironically, if the authority for refugee policy is moved to Brussels, the likely outcome is a less liberal EU stance, with reduced access for refugees.
The debate on future EU asylum policy is a serious one, of course, and arguments can be made on both sides. But anyone who cares about "European ideals" should admit that this moment of crisis is not conducive to a serious debate. The EU has been revealed as strikingly ineffective. The relocation scheme is an abject failure, and could not have been otherwise.
The EU needs to be effective in its response; not in the distant future but in the coming weeks and months. The best way forward is to scrap the relocation scheme at the EU Council next week and to replace it with a voluntary scheme based on the Merkel-Samsom plan. The time to get serious about how to allocate precious focus and resources is now.
Drucker on effectiveness
Austrian writer Peter Drucker, In Search of Effectiveness
Peter Drucker defined the characteristics of effective action as follows: it is action defined by concrete results. It requires working on the right things. It requires clear criteria that enable work on the truly important. Effective executives do not start out with the things they cannot do. Effective executives know that their time is the most crucial limiting factor. To be effective requires eliminating time-wasting activities – reports and monitoring that lead to no results; recurrent meetings that are not focused on what truly matters. An effective executive also takes care not to waste the time of others he or she needs. He or she is always aware that bringing too many people into coordination mechanisms is usually a time waster. As Drucker noted:
"My first-grade arithmetic primer asked: 'If it takes two ditch-diggers two days to dig a ditch, how long will it take four ditch-diggers?' In first grade, the correct answer is, of course, 'one day.' In the kind of work, however, with which executives are concerned, the right answer is probably 'four days' if not 'forever'."
Filed under: Europe,Migration,Refugees — Gerald @ 8:23 am
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Interview in NOVA TV, "Кнаус за НОВА: Европска економска зона е подобро од овa статус кво" ("Knaus in conversation with NOVA: The European Economic Area is better than the status quo")
John Dalhuisen: A second Brexit referendum – a constructive proposal
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View from Constance – Hysteria, refugees and the theatrics of Salvini
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Der Spiegel Title story on "the right refugee policy for Europe"
The right refugee policy for Europe – ESI proposal (Sanchez Plan)
We cave dwellers – some reactions to most recent ESI proposal for Spain
Gesine Schwan und Gerald Knaus: Vorschlag für eine "europäische Antwort" auf die Flüchtlingsfrage, die sofort umgesetzt werden kann
"European tragedy" – strong mobilisation in Poland continues
The collapse of Poland's Rule of law: Statement by Lech Walesa concerning the Supreme Court
Resign! An uprising in Strasbourg
Sawicki proposal & the battle for transparency in the Council of Europe
Turkey Deal and Malta Plan (interview in Trouw)
Two steps – towards a humane and effective EU asylum policy in the Central Mediterranean (I)
A popular antisemite – why much of what seems new today is not
Blind in den Sturm – wie die Europäische Kommission in Griechenland versagt (in German)
Fragility – autumn in a garden in Moscow (one year later)
Spiegel Interview on Turkey (in German) – Gerald Knaus September 2016
Resettling "Syrian academics"? A second look at an absurd debate
Volkskrant – The Dutch side of the Deal – Reconstruction
My Oslo refugee presentation – "On the Edge" – 22 April
Dejan Anastasijevic: Who put bombs on my windowsill? (Vreme, October 2007)
Stefan Apfl: Der Wachhund und seine Mörder (Falter, August 2007)
Mark Mazower on ethnicity and war in the Balkans (updated 1997)
Charles Ingrao and 10 untaught lessons from Central Europe (1996)
The writings of Mark Mazower
ERSTE Foundation
The European Council on Foreign Relations
Azerbaijan (17)
Balkans (41)
Border revolution (11)
Council of Europe (12)
Enlargement (40)
How ESI works (8)
Liberal Imperialism (2)
Refugees (27)
Return to Europe – the film (5)
Sectarianism (1)
Southern Caucasus (4)
Stickiness (3)
The Raj (2)
US soft power (1)
Writing well (3)
This Post's Comments
7th Serbian Economic Summit Alina Mungiu-Pippidi Arigona Balkans Barcelona Beirut Belgrade Berlin Bosnia Bosporus Bulgarian lesson Carl Bildt Coweb deep state Dejan Anastasijevic ECFR EPC Ergenekon EU enlargement European Union German debate about Turkey Gladwell Greece Hertie School of Governance Jacques Rupnik Judy Batt Kosovo Lebanon Mazower Novi Sad OHR Pristina Radical Party Serbia Serbian paradox Slovenia Sweden the work of a think tank Tirana Turkey Turkish democracy Vienna Visa Who put bombs on my windowsill? women's rights
© European Stability Initiative 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Timber mouldings are now an essential in giving that perfect finish to buildings, it helps in the room frame, softens and covers up sharp edges and joins where walls meet the floors and ceilings. While offering visual decorations, thus it is a very simple way to add aesthetic finish to interiors.
Timbers are generally referred to finished sawn wood product used in construction and as timber beams for house building and as decorative mouldings that add beautiful finished touches to buildings and homes.
Timber mouldings are formed out from these commercially available timber species like jarrah, Tasmanian oak, American oak, hoop pine, brusbox, western red cedar and the MDF. Typically mouldings are created according to desired specification and sizes.
Skirting- skirting board timber mouldings has that unique feature to change and enhance the look of a room effortlessly, and covers the lowest part of an interior wall. It is easy to paint and varnish and comes in various styles like the chamferd, pencil round, reed, torus and ogee.
Timber quadrant- this is usually used as a decorative mould to highlight the beauty in a room and used as a covering for expansion gaps that usually appear on laminate and wood floors. They can be vanished, painted or stained to fit in with previous decorations. The various types of timber quadrants are red hardwood, pine, oak, light hardwood.
Scotia – this is a timber moulding that is used as a finishing to wooden floors. Also used to cover rough joins or gap to appear as beautiful designs.
Covings – these are perfect in concealing edges of chipboard and are in various shapes and pattern for a robust finish such as the hockey stick, round one edge, twice round, half round and D mould. Usually fitted at the lower and highest part of the wall.
Dado rails- these are mouldings that run along the perimeter lines of a room space, usually the middle of the walls. Dado is the bottom half of an interior wall and dado rails are directly above the dado. Dado rails give that traditional decorative finish to hallways, bathrooms, paneling and walls and come in variety of shapes and sizes. They are easy to fix using screws, wall plugs or adhesives. In times past dado are usually covered with paneling.
Crown moulding- these go way up the top of a wall, and are most often used in capping cabinets, this is different from skirts as they are not flat, instead shoot towards the roof. These are easy ways to add class and beauty on wall surfaces.
Architraves- these are mouldings designed to complement skirting boards; they could be combined with decorative capping and corner blocks for a more beautifully enhanced doorway. They come in different styles, width and wood including ash, oak and pine.
Cornices- usually designed to give the builder a variety of sizes and shape to fit in all applications from hallways, lounges, bathrooms and kitchen. These timber moulding works perfectly well in any room and is suitable for painting, staining or polishing. Available in Oak, Ash and Pine.


text:
Q: ModelInstance rotation animation I have a model that i need to animate, i need to rotate it from 0 to 45 degrees on an axis in duration of 2 seconds, is there a easier way to do it, now i just create a timer with a boolean to switch the animation off
Timer.schedule(new Task() {
     @Override
     public void run() {
     stopAnim = true;
     }
     }, 2);

and in the render method
if (stopAnim = false){
        bodyModelInstance.transform.rotate(Vector3.Y, 40 * delta);
    }

A: I guess the perfect thing for you would be Universal Tween Engine.
It's easy, and you can create complex animations easily with less code and in less time.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.


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Home » Blogs » Whitney Damron's blog » 12/3/2018 Legislative & Political Update
On November 6, 2018, State Senator Laura Kelly (D-Topeka) was elected to be the next Governor of the State of Kansas. She will be sworn into office on Monday, January 14, 2019, which is the date in which all constitutional officers are sworn in along with members of the Kansas House.
Within a week of her election, Governor-elect Kelly announced her transition team to help her review state government agencies and programs in advance of naming her own cabinet members and senior agency officials.
The formal Transition Team is composed of the following individuals:
Joyce Allegrucci, former chief of staff to Governor Kathleen Sebelius (2003-2009);
Duane Goossen, former Republican state legislator and former budget director under both Republican and Democrat administrations (Graves and Sebelius/Parkinson);
Natalie Haag, former chief counsel to former Republican Governor Bill Graves (1995-2003); and,
Jordanna "Jordy" Zeigler, Laura Kelly for Governor campaign manager.
In addition, there are a handful of unnamed quasi-members of the transition team who have been advising the governor-elect on transition matters. In the coming weeks before the session begins, and Laura Kelly is sworn in as governor, announcements will be made as to who cabinet officials and leading policy appointees will be under her administration. Until then, it is something akin to parlor game of speculation on who is under consideration for what job… and some of that speculation being promulgated by individuals essentially campaigning for a position, but that's the way all transitions are, particularly when the change in power involves the other political party.
At this writing, various members of the transition team and others are meeting with the leadership of state agencies to get familiarity with the status of programs, review budgets, evaluate personnel and related intelligence gathering in order to bring recommendations for change back to the core transition team recommendations.
The Kelly Transition Team has a website for information and a way to submit applications for positions in the Kelly Administration:
www.kellytransitionteam.com
Kansas Legislature.
Kansas Senate.
Only one of forty Senate seats were up for election this year, as the Senate is not scheduled to stand for election until 2020. Republicans control the Senate by a 31-9 margin and that did not change with the race for the 13th Senate District which saw Richard Hilderbrand (R-Galena) successfully stand for election for the final two years of the term originally won by Jake LaTurner (R-Pittsburg). LaTurner was appointed State Treasurer in 2017.
There will be four new members in the Senate next year from the 2018 roster due to the victory by Kelly and her running mate, Senator Lynn Rogers (D-Wichita) as well as the victory by Senator Vicki Schmidt (R-Topeka) in her race for Commissioner of Insurance. In addition, Senator Steve Fitzgerald lost a primary race for the 2nd Congressional District and opted to resign from the Kansas Senate rather than return for the final two years of his term.
As of today, replacements for Fitzgerald, Kelly and Rogers have been selected through the precinct committee process with the selection for the Schmidt seat yet to come. We expect to see committee chair and membership assignments rearranged a bit before 2019 in the Senate, but most likely not wholesale change, as the Senate leadership elected following the 2016 elections serve four-year terms coinciding with their Senate terms. The Senate President has absolute control over committee chair positions and committee membership assignments.
Senate leaders are:
Susan Wagle R-Wichita Senate President
Jim Denning R-Overland Park Senate Majority Leader
Jeff Longbine R-Emporia Senate Vice President
Anthony Hensley D-Topeka Senate Minority Leader
Kansas House.
Interestingly enough, the split between Republicans and Democrats didn't change even though all 125 seats were up for election. Republicans maintain an 85-40 majority, which is the same numbers for R's and D's for the past two years. Conservatives appear to have picked up 6-8 seats in the Primary and General elections, which will make the House more conservative than it has been for the past two years.
House leaders are elected for two-year terms and both Republicans and Democrats caucused today to select their leaders for the next term.
Speaker of the House Ron Ryckman (R-Olathe) was reelected to a second two-year term as Speaker, the top leadership position in the House. Speakers of the House, by tradition, do not serve more than two terms, but it is not unprecedented for a Speaker to be defeated when standing for reelection or leave public office for other reasons. Ryckman was challenged by a former Representative Owen Donahoe (R-Shawnee) who returns to the House after being out for a number of years. Ryckman won by a vote of 80-4. Like the Senate President, the Speaker of the House has absolute control over committee chair positions and committee membership assignments.
Given retirements, legislative defeats and changes in both Republican and Democrat leadership positions, we can expect to see significant changes in House chair and membership assignments before the session begins.
The Number Two leader in the House the past two years was Don Hineman (R-Dighton). He was challenged by a more conservative member of the Republican caucus and lost his reelection bid. Rep. Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita) defeated Hineman by a vote of 48-35, which some might suggest gives a pretty good idea of the split between conservative and moderate Republicans in the House. I am unsure moderates have 35 votes in the House. Time will tell.
Hawkins chairs the House Public Health and Welfare Committee and has been an outspoken opponent of the expansion of Medicaid coverage in Kansas. He will be in a strong position to continue his opposition to any Medicaid expansion bill or one germane to amendment, but his replacement as committee chair will also be critical to how this issue is considered next year (or not considered).
The Number Three position in the House was vacated when Rep. Scott Schwab (R-Olathe) chose to run (successfully) for the office of Secretary of State. Two candidates emerged as players for the Speaker Pro Tem position, which was won by Blaine Finch, R-Ottawa on a vote of 56-28.
Finch has held two major roles in the House for the past two years and likely has to vacate both: Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and Rules Chair for the House. The latter role is important to Leadership as the initial arbiter of rules for floor debates, including questions of germaneness.
For the Democrats, Minority Leader Jim Ward (D-Wichita) sought reelection to the top Democrat post but was defeated by Tom Sawyer (D-Wichita) a former Minority Leader himself. Ward defeated Tom Burroughs (D-Kansas City) two years ago when Burroughs sought election to a second term as Minority Leader. Sawyer won by a vote of 24-16.
Assistant Minority Leader Stan Frownfelter (D-Kansas City) sought another two-year term as well but was defeated by Valdenia Winn (D-Kansas City) on a vote of 21-19.
There are a handful of other leadership positions in the House, such as Whip, Agenda Chair, Caucus Chair, Assistant Majority Leader, etc. However, as one legislator told me, "the ones that really count are those with staff, an office and leadership pay."
When the Legislature is not in session, the business of the legislative branch is governed by a House/Senate Leadership Committee called the Legislative Coordinating Council. The LCC is composed of the Senate President, Majority Leader, Minority Leader and House Speaker, Majority Leader, Speaker Pro Tem and Minority Leader. These seven leaders plus the Senate Vice President compose the nucleus of leaders of the Kansas Legislature. That's not to say key committee chair legislators and a handful of other legislators do not have power within the legislative process, but they are not considered "in leadership."
2019 Legislative Session.
The 2019 session will begin on Monday, January 14. Most likely an inaugural celebration will be held that evening and later that week, Governor Kelly will deliver her first State of the State address where she will outline her agenda and give some details on her budget.
Typically, the actual budget of the governor is formally delivered to the Legislature the day after the State of the State address and pieces are profiled by key budget staff members from the administration to key legislative committees (e.g., Senate Ways and Means/House Appropriations).
Governor Kelly has the good fortune to be coming into office when state revenues are consistently beating monthly estimates. October revenues were $6.8 million above estimates and November numbers came in $2.7 over estimates. The cumulative number over and above estimates this fiscal year is approximately $109 million (July 1, 2018 to November 30, 2018). Revenues are $221 million (8.9%) over FY 2018 revenues at for this time period.
Major issues of the 2019 legislative session are likely to include:
Consideration of additional funds for K-12 education. The State remains in a lawsuit still held by the Kansas Supreme Court even after adding an additional $500 million into schools over the next two years. The most recent decision by the Court suggests an additional $100 million or so, plus an annual increase to account for inflation could get the suit settled. In the past year we have seen suggestions and even legislation to amend the Kansas Constitution to grant the Legislature the authority to determine "adequacy" of K-12 funding and take that authority away from the Kansas Supreme Court to determine, but there has not been the required 2/3 majority in the House and Senate to advance a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to the voters. It is doubtful there is either the votes or the will to successfully consider that issue in 2019.
Expansion of Medicaid. For years there have been efforts to expand the funding of Medicaid services to an additional 150,000 people (based upon estimates of who would be eligible). A bill made it to the governor's desk in 2017 but was vetoed. An attempt to override the veto failed. With the House being significantly more conservative and the Senate likely to be slightly more conservative given Senator Schmidt's absence, a Medicaid bill will be difficult to pass. That said, Governor-elect Kelly said she plans to convene a bipartisan group to consider some kind of alternative Medicaid expansion bill that can broaden its appeal in the legislative process. Of note, a conservative legislative organization called The Truth Caucus plans to solicit legislators to sign a "No Expansion of Medicaid" pledge similar to a "No Tax" pledge made famous by Grover Norquist with his "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and his Americans for Tax Reform organization.
State Government Reform. There will naturally be a number of changes in state policy due to the change in administrations. Most likely to see attention is the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which oversees the privatization of Medicaid services called KanCare. Three entities were awarded contracts in 2012 to administer the State's $3.4 billion Medicaid program. Contracts came up for renewal this year and one vendor lost out on renewal and another came in. Many in the Legislature have criticized this outsourcing contract and given the size and scope, we expect to see considerable attention paid to this program. Other agencies likely to garner attention include the Kansas Department of Children and Families and the Department for Aging and Disability Services.
Key Appointments. In addition to cabinet positions and key staff, Governor-elect Kelly has the opportunity to fill a Kansas Court of Appeals judge in the near future and likely will have several more during her term as well as members of the Kansas Supreme Court. Appellate judges are selected by the Governor with Senate confirmation, a process that was put in place through legislation at the request of former Governor Sam Brownback. Appointees to the Kansas Supreme Court are vetted through the Supreme Court Nominating Commission composed of five attorneys and four nonlawyer citizens, with three names forwarded to the Governor for selection or rejection. In addition, during the next four years all three members of the Kansas Corporation Commission will see their terms expire, the first in March 2019. The KCC is the regulator of public utilities in Kansas, with certain exceptions (e.g., cooperatives, municipals, etc.).
Transportation Plan. Kansas has made major investments in its highway and transportation infrastructure for at least thirty years. Ten-year comprehensive transportation plans were adopted by the Legislature in 1989, 1999 and 2010. During the 2018 legislative session, a thirty-five-member task force was created to develop recommendations to the 2019 Legislature to consider a new transportation plan once the current plan known as T-WORKS expires. The Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force met throughout the state with final recommendations being discussed in Topeka on November 28-29. We expect to see a final report approved in January and then considered by various legislative committees (e.g., House and Senate Transportation and likely House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means). There are twenty projects from the 2010 plan that were shelved when transportation funding was diverted to State General Fund expenditures and those projects are considered a priority, as well as increasing the State's investment in preservation. New projects likely take a backseat for a few years as the supporters of transportation work within the budget process to just try to keep more transportation funds in KDOT instead of being diverted for non-transportation expenditures. Some task force members advocated for increased motor fuels taxes, registration, title and big truck fees to fund new transportation projects, while others suggest stabilizing the state's budget, so funds earmarked for transportation and KDOT stay with KDOT would be a major improvement over current policy. Additional taxes and fees for transportation are not likely to be seriously considered next session.
Mega Tax Bill of 2018. A major tax bill was killed on the final day of the 2018 legislative session is likely to return early in 2019. The fiscal note of the so-called "mega tax bill" was unknown and some legislators (e.g., Moderate Republicans and Democrats) were unwilling to pass a tax bill with an undetermined fiscal note. Estimates ranged from $100 million to $135 million or more. Large corporations represented by the Kansas Chamber and others were pressing hard for passage but came up a few votes short. They should now have the votes to pass the bill to the governor, but it is unclear whether Governor Kelly would sign the bill. Major components of the package included the following:
Allow Kansans to itemize deductions even if they do not on Federal return;
Acceleration of certain deductions being phased in over the next two years;
Sales tax exemption for certain hospices, gold bullion & coins and other exemptions; and,
Tax treatment of "deferred foreign income" related to Federal tax bill of 2017.
Other Taxes. Given the sound footing the state finds itself in now, it is unlikely we will see any serious efforts to increase taxes in the next two years. Governor-elect Kelly and others in the Legislature would like to see the State begin to buy down the sales tax on food. When the state sales tax rate of 6.5% is combined with local sales taxes, the total can approach ten percent or more, placing the Kansas sales tax on food among the highest tax rates in the U.S.
Electric Rates. During the 2018 legislative session there was quite a bit of discussion on Kansas electric rates as compared to surrounding states. The state's two major investor-owned utilities merged earlier this year (Westar and KCP&L), making this issue primarily about them with a combined service territory of more than 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. Their combined company is called Evergy. Other electric utilities were drawn into the discussion of electric rates, including municipal providers, electric cooperatives and related entities, such as transmission line companies, wind energy developers and more. Proponents of downward pressure on rates included American's for Prosperity, the Kansas Chamber, Climate & Energy (a green energy coalition) and an association of industrial customers. Electric rates is a complex matter and is not easily explained in the statehouse. Rates are generally under the purview of the Kansas Corporation Commission.
Expanded Gaming. For more than a decade, the owner of failed pari-mutuel tracks has unsuccessfully sought legislation to increase the percentage of gaming revenues a track owner would receive from slot machine revenues. Although we could see yet another effort in 2019, as of this writing, the support for "slots-at-tracks" appears to have subsided. Since all three pari-mutuel tracks are owned by the same person – former Wichita billionaire Phil Ruffin – if he folds his proverbial cards on slots at tracks, the debate is all but over. The next major gaming debate before the Kansas Legislature is likely to be sports wagering. In 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on a New Jersey case that effectively allows states to allow and regulate intrastate sports wagering. Several sports wagering bills were introduced during the 2018 session and an interim committee will hold hearings on the subject matter later this week with legislation likely to be seriously considered in 2019.
As stated before, "elections have consequences" and 2018 is no exception. Kansas stayed with tradition in that no party has successfully succeeded itself from a four or eight-year term in the governor's office dating back more than 50 years and with a change in the executive branch come changes in the direction of the state. Democrat Governor Laura Kelly is adept at working within the legislative branch and that experience will serve her well in dealing with a conservative-led House and Senate. With Kelly, we will see steady and deliberate change from eight years of Brownback/Colyer leadership, which is a sharp contrast to what most expected we would see had Secretary of State Kris Kobach been elected governor. That said, there will be differences between the Legislative and Executive branches of Government over major policy matters and it is anyone's guess how the most controversial matters will be handled.
2019 will be an interesting year and I look forward to seeing what it has to offer in the legislative process. If you have questions over matters of interest highlighted in this report or what lies ahead, please do not hesitate to contact me.
WBD


Tarah Wheeler (MS, CSM, CSD, CISSP) is an information security professional and the lead author of the 2016 best selling Women In Tech: Take Your Career to The Next Level With Practical Advice And Inspiring Stories. She has been Senior Director of Engineering and Principal Security Advocate at Symantec Website Security. She She founded and now sits on the board of Fizzmint, an end-to-end employee management company. She has led projects at Microsoft Game Studios (Halo and Lips) and architected systems at encrypted mobile communications firm Silent Circle.She founded Red Queen Technologies, LLC (web development), Infosec Unlocked (initiative to add diversity in infosec conference speakers), and Hack The People Foundation (nonprofit mentorship initiative focused on underprivileged people in technology). She acquired her startup funds by cleaning out poker rooms in the Northwest and Las Vegas. Reach her at @tarah.


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Steam Deck Review Compilation: Is It Worth It?
Does the hype surrounding Steam Deck translate to good experience? Here are what the critics say
Arguably one of the most anticipated gaming devices of 2022, Steam Deck officially started shipping to customers last week. Gabe Newell even got a chance to hand-deliver some himself, and overall, it really shows how hyped up the gaming community is towards the Steam Deck.
The big question remains, though: How does that hype translate to the experience? Is Steam Deck really that good and worth getting despite its awfully long waiting time? Now that the reviews are in, we can finally gauge how the critics feel about Valve's first handheld gaming PC.
Spoiler: It's good, but it also has its flaws.
Great controls and good ergonomics
One area where Steam Deck gets most of its praise is controls. Except for its programmable grip buttons on the back, almost everything feels great, especially its pair of thumbsticks. When talking about this particular aspect, Ars Technica describes it being absolutely robust, and it is "up there with the Xbox Elite Gamepad in terms of travel, tension, and sensitivity."
It's far from perfect, though, and GamesRadar says that "the layout of the controls takes a little getting used to if you've gotten comfortable with an Xbox controller or a PS5 DualSense, but your thumbs quickly adjust to the higher, wider position of the thumbsticks and buttons."
Meanwhile, the grip buttons don't really quite cut it. IGN says, "The placement is difficult for me to grasp with my larger-than-normal hands and I have to contort my fingers into an uncomfortable claw-shape to press them. On top of placement, they just feel bad: the response is soft and the clickiness is weak. Even if the placement were improved, the tactile feel is off-putting." Thankfully, these four buttons are entirely optional.
At 298 mm wide, 117 mm tall and 49 mm deep, Steam Deck is a chunky device. It's both longer and thicker than Nintendo Switch, yet surprisingly, many find it quite comfortable to hold. Still, the fact that it weighs 68% more than the Switch makes it not really suitable for long gaming sessions.
In its review, PC Gamer says, "Holding the Steam Deck high enough to keep my neck happy, I started feeling a twinge in my forearms after 20 minutes of Resident Evil 2 Remake and definitely needed a break before an hour was up. Playing the Steam Deck for long stretches requires more deliberate positioning than with the Switch, which has never given me arm fatigue. Resting the Steam Deck on a pillow quickly became my preferred way to play."
So-so screen, awesome audio
Steam Deck has a 7 inch LCD screen with 1280 x 800 of resolution. Most of the reviews criticize the screen for being a bit disappointing, especially regarding color reproduction. Ars Technica is certain that Steam Deck's screen "isn't up to the color reproduction on the default Switch configuration", and concludes that this is probably one area where Valve was cutting corners in order to keep the price low.
In its review, Rock Paper Shotgun says that the Deck's screen lacks vibrancy, as it "only covers 63.7% of the sRGB colour gamut, about what you'd see on an entry-level gaming laptop." Thankfully, the screen is bright and contrasty enough to keep the Deck usable in direct sunlight.
While the screen feels so-so, the audio is top-notch. Tom's Hardware says that Steam Deck's speakers surprisingly work better than many laptops, and that "dialogue in games is clear and music is decent enough." GameSpot is also surprised that the Deck's front-facing speakers "can get incredibly loud without losing much of their detail."
This clearly shows how Valve is really good at applying audio trickery in various devices. For context, Valve's virtual reality headset, the Index, is also praised by many for its excellent audio performance.
Best-in-class performance
At $399 for its base model with 64 GB of storage, Steam Deck is just $100 more expensive than Nintendo Switch. Yet, Steam Deck is far more superior in terms of performance. Thanks to the use of AMD's custom chip with RDNA 2 graphics, it can run some of the newest, big budget games quite well. Games like Dying Light 2 and Elden Ring can run fine on the Steam Deck to some extent.
But that kind of performance also comes with a cost, especially in the battery department. In its test, Ars Technica shows that while playing Dying Light 2 at 40 percent brightness and low-to-medium settings, the game "hovers in the area of 35 - 50 fps", but "the battery lasts only 105 minutes". Officially, Valve claims the battery can last for 2 - 8 hours of gameplay, which makes it a tad more optimistic than what the critics find.
In fairness, Valve actually suggests that players should limit the frame rate at 30 fps in order to get stable performance and practical battery life. In a game like God of War, PC Gamer shows that Steam Deck can run out of juice in just 83 minutes while running it "at an average 51 fps and 50% brightness", but "with a 30 fps lock, that time jumped to around 200 minutes". Another test from PC Gamer shows that Steam Deck can actually run GTA 5 "at 60 fps with high settings and squeeze out two hours of battery life." But when the 30 fps lock was applied, it "nearly doubled the battery estimate to 214 minutes".
So, if you plan on playing for a longer session with the Steam Deck, you should really consider Valve's advice.
Another great insight from PC Gamer is that "the Steam Deck is a great fit for moderately demanding indies like Death's Door and Hades that can't run at 60 fps on the Switch (really any game that the Switch can't run well, which is a long list)." Hades is one of the most controller-friendly games available on Steam, and Steam Deck really excels at this type of game.
In addition to offering good performance, Steam Deck also promises good thermals. The Verge says that the Deck never throttles, and that the grips and controls also never get hot. However, the trade off that players must get used to is the fan noise. As per IGN, Steam Deck's fans most of time "are running at their highest setting", and that the noise is measured to be at about 49 decibel, which is even louder than a PS5. "It's not so loud you can't hear over it, but it's impossible to ignore the high-pitched whine," IGN adds.
Bad compatibility and software that needs more polish
Steam Deck runs Linux-based SteamOS, which means that it relies on a compatibility layer called Proton to run games in the Steam library that are mostly developed for Windows. That also means not every game will run well on Steam Deck; some can be played with slight hiccups, some might not even run at all, like Cyberpunk 2077 with its newest major patch.
In general, Steam Deck will run into problems when it tries to run games that have an anti-cheat solution, such as PUBG, Apex Legends, Fortnite, or Destiny 2. As of now, these popular games can't be played on the Deck at all, and the same applies for every VR game, obviously. Your best bet would be playing games that have been certified as "Deck Verified" by Valve, and thankfully, SteamOS on the Deck features a filter that lets you view only those.
Steam Deck has a dock, but it's not yet available to purchase / Valve
A simple solution to this compatibility issue would be installing Windows on the Steam Deck, which Valve makes it really easy to do. Sadly, however, the essential drivers are not ready yet. In its review, Ars Technica says, "While I had the option to dual-boot Windows 10 and Linux during the review period, it didn't feel fair to do so without full OS-level support for things like the CPU, the GPU, and audio playback."
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As with most new devices, Steam Deck is rife with bugs. The Verge even calls the software "unfinished", and that using it at this state feels like an 'early access' device. Trusted Reviews also notes something similar, with irritating bugs such as "the on-screen keyboard failing to input words into a search bar and cloud save files failing to sync up with my desktop PC," but thankfully Valve continues to show that it's very good at software support, and that the Deck receives patches almost daily.
To sum up, Valve has been considerably successful in creating a new gaming device category. With its low price point, it's difficult to recommend other similar yet more expensive devices over it. Compared to Nintendo Switch, the Deck is able to run almost all games that are available in both platforms better.
As to who this device is for, GameSpot says that this is a device "purpose-built for a selection of people that already have established Steam libraries and simply want the most convenient and performant way to continue those games away from a desktop."
It's not a replacement for a desktop gaming PC, nor is it appropriate to replace Nintendo Switch given that it's way less portable. According to PC Gamer, the Deck sits somewhere in the middle: "It's the turbo-charged Switch Pro that Nintendo will never make, and there are now some games I can't imagine myself playing on any other system."
So, should you buy it? PCGamesN says, "At the very least, there's no harm in joining the queue given that Valve's backed up with half a year's worth of pre-orders. You can always review how far the Steam Deck has come before you submit your payment, and I'll admit that even with the current pitfalls, it might be too competitively priced to pass up the opportunity."
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Social Upheaval: Bachelet Elected President in Chile!
Bachelet Elected President in Chile!
Hurrah! As I previously reported, Socialist Party candidate Michelle Bachelet won the first round of presidential elections in Chile and yesterday she won the final round, making her Chile's first female president! Yay! (To review: according to Chilean law, a presidential candidate must receive over 50% of the votes to win the office; since Bachelet had two major opponents in the first round, she got 46% of the vote. In the second round, she received 53%, while her opponent billionaire Conservative Sebastian Piñera received 46%.
Bachelet appealed to people's desire to acknowledge the terrible dictatorship of Pinochet (who killed her father and tortured Bachelet and her mother before allowing them to flee into exile), while moving forward into a new era. Bachelet is a pediatrician. Later in life, she studied strategic studies at the national war college and the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, DC. After her strategic studies, she became politically active and was named Minister of Health. Two years later, she was named Minister of Defense, the first woman to hold that position. I am impressed with all aspects of her life, especially her belief that you must fully understand the military in order to change its place in society.
"You know that I have not had an easy life, but who has had an easy life?" Bachelet told supporters Sunday night during a victory speech in downtown Santiago. "Violence entered my life, destroying what I loved. Because I was a victim of hate, I have dedicated my life to turn that hate into understanding, into tolerance and, why not say it, into love."
I am impressed that a Catholic, traditional country (where only 36% of women have paid employment) accepted an agnostic, single mother as their president. This level of cultural acceptance is just as profound as the political shift taking place elsewhere in South America. Bachelet trusts the USG and free trade much more than other South American leaders; but she tempers that trust with a desire to directly help the Chilean poor.
I am excited by her victory and look forward to her presidency.


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The Other Side of Risk in Franchising
Published: Dec 9, 2010 Last Updated: Jul 16, 2014 by Joel Libava In Franchise 11
It's a risky proposition to make the move from corporate America to small business ownership. Not everyone has the courage to actually do it. Lots of people look into becoming franchise owners as a way to mitigate their risk. As you'll soon see, there's plenty of risk to go around.
Lots of people who are interested in exploring opportunities in franchise ownership do so because they think that it's a lot less risky to invest in a franchise business as opposed to an independent business.
In some cases, it may be a lot less risky to become the owner of a franchise business, but lots of things have to really line up correctly for that to be the case. Things like:
The prospective franchise owner's skills align perfectly with the role they'll be taking on as a franchisee.
The prospective franchise owner's financial situation leaves lots of room for ramp-up time.
The franchise concept itself won't quickly become a fad.
The prospective franchisee's geographical area can easily support the franchise concept.
When I started in my current role in franchising (2001), rather aggressive franchise success rates were being thrown around. They were so aggressive that our industry's main association had to jump in to temper things a bit, in May 2005.
Matthew Shay (who at that time was the International Franchise Association's President) wrote this letter to the International Franchise Association's membership about franchise failure rates:
It has come to our attention that some IFA-member companies may be providing information about franchising that is long out of date and no longer presents an accurate picture of the sector.
Of particular concern is information claiming that the success rate of franchised establishments is much greater than that of independent small businesses.
Many years ago, the U.S. Department of Commerce conducted studies about franchising which presented such statistics. That information is no longer valid. The agency stopped conducting such studies in 1987.
We strongly urge you to remove any information from your Web site and published materials that make such a claim. The use of such data, in the absence of current research, could mislead prospective franchisees who are attempting to conduct responsible investigations.
As I stated earlier, I feel that starting a franchise business as opposed to starting an independent business can be a lower-risk proposition if everything really lines up. But I was only talking about your risk. What about the franchisor's risk?
Believe it or not, it's a pretty risky proposition to invent and then set up a brand new franchise concept. In addition to the financial investment needed to do it right (well over $100,000), there's an operations manual to write (and perfect), the right technology (software and computer systems) to be purchased and customized, all the legal requirements to be met, and the new concept has to be marketed. Last, but not least, it then has to be sold, one franchise at a time.
Now, I don't expect you to feel sorry for franchisors; they can create some pretty terrific wealth for themselves. What I am trying to tell you is that franchisors are taking a major risk every time they award someone a franchise.
Think about it: The potential royalty stream from one franchisee over the life of the franchise contract (typically 10 years) can be $200,000 (on the low end) to over $1 million. (Franchisors don't really make a lot of profit on the upfront franchise fees; they make it from the ongoing royalties.)
For instance, what if a franchisor awards a franchise to someone who turns out to be a horrible franchisee? A horrible franchisee may be one that fights the franchise system on every turn, pays franchise royalty payments late (if at all) and just doesn't represent the brand very well.
As a franchisor, you may want this franchisee out of your system. To terminate this franchisee's agreement, you'll probably have to spend a bundle on legal costs, plus you'll be taking time away from more important tasks, like finding new franchise owners and taking care of your current ones. That can't be very enjoyable.
As you can see, there's another side of risk in the franchise equation. I'll bet you didn't know that.
Can you see how important it is for there to be a great match between the would-be franchise owner and the franchisor?
Can you see how a great match can reduce risk, on both sides?
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Joel Libava
Joel Libava is the Franchise Expert for Small Business Trends. Joel, The Franchise King®, equips today's prospective franchise owners with time-tested, proven techniques designed to increase odds of success. He does this through one-on-one coaching, and gobs of useful content that can be found on places like Small Business Trends, SBA.Gov, and his award-winning franchise blog, The Franchise King Blog . He's been featured in Entrepreneur® magazine, and is frequently called upon by national media outlets and publications for his no-spin insights into the world of franchising.
Thanks for presenting the franchisor side of the coin. Developing a franchise sounds like a lot of work and I'm sure that they want every franchisee to run their location well. As for the risk, it's always there, you just have to decide how to manage it.
You're welcome. There's always two sides to a story.
The Franchise King
Good perspective. I've been following a franchise story in my region that's grown rather painful – a number of the franchisees are suing the franchisor, etc. From what I can read about the situation, it appears that the franchisor made a number of significant changes that a number of franchisees disagreed with. A lack of communication about what was driving the change was probably a key issue.
Thanks for commenting.
Yes..part of being part of a franchise "system," means rolling with the changes, even if you disagree.
I wonder if the changes in the system you're talking about made any positive strides for the franchisees? $$
Andrew Rogerson
Probably the number one benefit to buying the rights to a local franchise is that before the Buyer makes that final decision, by law they are allowed to speak with any current franchisees. This means the franchise buyer can get up to date and real time opinions to know if this franchise opportunity is right for them.
If they buy an existing privately held business this is not an option as the buyer signs a confidentiality agreement that prevents them from saying the business is for sale and asking customers their opinion about the business.
It's critical to ask the right questions the right way and to also expect the franchise will have franchisees that are unhappy. Nobody is yet to build the perfect franchise.
In both cases, (an existing business and a start-up franchise business) there's never a perfect scenario.
When one looks at an existing business, franchise or non-franchise, the questions that need to be asked, sometimes aren't.
Both types of business models carry risk. Correct research lowers that risk.
By the way, do you work with Greg Roquet? Great guy.


Having previously looked at Mambo today I found myself looking at Joomla which is so similar it might almost be the same but somehow in the end tastes slightly different. I can think of only one word to describe the difference based on a very quick look at each – Joomla felt cleaner. Which has to be just about the worst product review I'll ever give. One thing that is starting to annoy me with open source projects is web sites without a simple, accurate feature list for the project. I'd write more but Heroes is about to start.


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Rockport, Maine
Artist: Theodoros Stamos (American, 1922 - 1997)
Medium: Pastel on paper
Overall: 17 3/4 x 23 3/4in. (45.1 x 60.3cm)
Signed: l.l.:'T.Stamos '43'
Credit Line: Gift of Mary L. Allison and Elinor L. Price
Object number: 91.14
The Museum of Art owns several paintings by Theodoros Stamos, thanks to benefactor Edward W. Root, who collected a great deal of Stamos's work. In 1991 a collector who had known Stamos in the 194os offered this pastel, Rockport, Maine, to the Museum. The Museum accepted the gift enthusiastically, because the early phase of the artist's career was not previously represented in the collection.
Stamos drew this seaside scene in an intentionally naive manner, to emphasize the formal properties of color and shape. When he drew this pastel, Stamos was influenced by another American artist, Milton Avery, whose paintings can be seen on the second floor of the Museum of Art.
© Estate of Theodoros Stamos / Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York, NY.


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Fort Lewis College men's basketball stuns Costa Rica national team
FLC told it was double-digit underdog
By John Livingston Regional sports editor
Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 10:04 PM
Updated: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 10:35 PM
Follow @jlivi2
The Skyhawks won from the opening tip Tuesday against the Costa Rica national team inside BN Arena in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Courtesy of Fort Lewis College men's basketball
After the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team opened its international trip to Costa Rica with two wins, the company in charge of competition for the trip asked if the Skyhawks were up for an even bigger challenge to end their trip. Bob Pietrack and the Skyhawks obliged.
Worn down from seven days that included two games, practices and numerous team activities that involved full days of travel and adventure in the heat of Central America, FLC answered the bell Tuesday against Costa Rica's national team.
After going down 16-10 early, FLC answered quick and claimed a 33-31 halftime lead. The Skyhawks kept up the momentum and built a 57-41 advantage late in the third quarter and then rolled to a 65-54 victory inside BN Arena in the Costa Rican capital city of San José. The game was called off with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter, as a referee and Costa Rican player got into a scuffle, and the referee walked off the floor after he ejected the player.
Despite the bizarre finish, nothing could steal the thunder from the Skyhawks and their undefeated trip.
"We didn't play great, but we were really competing," said FLC head coach Pietrack. "I think they got really frustrated. I think when they see Division II teams, they think they are just going to win the games, and that's not what happened. Our coaches and players kept their cool the whole game and let them get frustrated. Then their star player erupted. At that point, it was not safe to keep going. They were so mad at the refs, and it got weird."
The Skyhawks had already beaten the San José All Stars 77-74 last Wednesday. That team featured four Costa Rica national team starters. The next night, FLC knocked off Escazu SJ 98-60 in a dominant performance against a pro team in Costa Rica's top league that finished second last season. FLC rode the performances of Riley Farris and Danny Garrick in those games.
@akhoops22 getting it done on offense too! 27-23 Skyhawks lead with 5 to go in the 2nd qtr! Make that 29-23 after a tip in from Will Whitman - Skyhawks upping the tempo! #goskyhawks #wingsout #puravida pic.twitter.com/tF6D0u28lm
— FLC MEN'S BASKETBALL (@FLCBASKETBALL) August 28, 2019
Tuesday, it was Garrick and Farris once more paired with the sensational play of freshman point guard Akuel Kot. Official stats were not available, but Pietrack said Farris scored more than 20 points and Garrick and Kot were both around 15.
"The game was never in jeopardy the second half," Pietrack said. "We really love our entire team and the way they all stuck together. It was an epically long trip, and they were so tired, but they gave great effort. We didn't play beautiful basketball by any means, but we played together with heart."
Skyhawks flying and pushing the tempo @LoganhoKanson feeding @DannyGarrick11 for the triple - his 5th of the game! #goskyhawks leading 65-54 with 8 mins to go. #puravida pic.twitter.com/uVDJbSOmx0
With Garrick as the only senior on the Skyhawks roster, this is the youngest FLC team in the last 20 years, Pietrack said. Getting a chance to bond for eight days on the international trip will be key moving forward, as the coaching staff and players have high aspirations building into the next few seasons.
After this trip, the Skyhawks see their potential to once again compete for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Championship as soon as this season.
"This group is full of really good people," Pietrack said. "I'm really impressed with the guys on the team and how much they meshed. That was the whole goal was bringing a new team, let them be together here, and now when we get back, we have already bonded and are ready to start getting going for the new season to start.
"We need to use the preseason to get in really good shape. We aren't close to the shape we need to be in yet, but we are light years ahead of most D-II teams at this point."
jlivingston@durangoherald.com


One of my early bookbinding instructors repeatedly drilled into us the instruction, "Don't throw away your paper scraps, no matter how small." She took unwanted scraps from class with her to use for creating collaged covers when she taught bookbinding to children. I am not very good at the "no matter how small" part, but I do save any scraps that seem large enough to be useful for something, someday.
Last weekend, in my drive to use up existing supplies before purchasing new ones, I went through some of my boxes to see what I had around. I found a large pile of decorative paper scraps, and a number of pieces of card stock and watercolor paper that I had apparently precut in anticipation of making ATCs and postcards. I decided to see what I could make out of it all.
I'm not very imaginative when it comes to this kind of thing, so massive collages and multi-media pieces were unlikely. I did, however, come up with some simply decorated items that I might actually use. So, here is my list of things to do with paper scraps.
I had some origami paper that I purchased from Kate's Paperie during a visit to New York last year. I made a crane from one sheet and hadn't touched the rest. Each sheet was about the right size to make a small envelope with enough left over to decorate a matching gift card.
The cards are each 3 1/4″ by 2 1/4″, and the envelopes are 3 3/8″ by 2 3/8″.
Speaking of envelopes, Paper Source also sells an envelope liner template kit for cutting liners for all their envelope sizes. Martha Stewart has instructions for making your own templates.
I often end up with long, narrow strips of decorative paper due to trimming. So I made more gift cards. The nice thing about these is I can match them to the books when I give them away. These cards are also 2 1/4″ by 3 1/4″. I also made a few note cards the same way using A2 flat cards.
With a scrap at least 3 1/2″ by 2 1/2″ glued to the front of a piece of folded card stock, I made gift cards large enough for a quick note.
These are some A2 flat cards (4 1/4″ by 5 1/2″) from Paper Source, with a 1 1/2″ by 3 3/4″ piece of decorative paper glued a quarter-inch from the top, bottom and left-hand sides.
I think the bunny ones would be cute as birth announcements or invitations for a baby shower.
If I have strips of paper at least 1 1/2″ wide and 7″ long, I'll make bookmarks by gluing paper to the front and back of a piece of card stock, and then rounding or angling the corners at the top.
I used this pillow box tutorial from Craftster, but used a piece of card stock covered with Chiyogami paper instead of a card.
In the end I had a mostly mindless, somewhat therapeutic few hours of playing with PVA and my corner rounder, and I made a few things that I actually liked and a few things that had potential for future projects. Best of all, I used up most of my small scraps.
I can't believe that the phrase "I'm not very imaginative when it comes to this kind of thing" even exists in this post! This stuff is great!
I guess when I think "imaginative" I think of the kind of things my younger sister does: she's the artist, I'm the engineer. Funny how we fall into these roles as kids and never outgrow them.
thanks for your share. what a great way to recycle paper. very inspiring. okay. i do need a little help. what's a pva? how do i get myself a corner rounder, i love the look. is a punch?
PVA is polyvinyl acetate, an adhesive commonly used in bookbinding. You could use any white glue, or even a glue stick for most of these.
My corner rounder is a Lassco CR 20 with a 1/4″ die. It's a desktop punch that will do a couple dozen sheets or even book board. I bought it from eBay from FineGrafics; I also bought my Kutrimmer paper cutter from them a couple years ago and have been very satisfied with their service.
The Lassco corner rounders are pricey for the casual user, but some scrapbooking suppliers also sell hand-held tools that will do one sheet of paper at a time. Here's one by Creative Memories. I haven't tried one, but it's much less of a commitment if you decide you're never going to use it.


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Getting Started with ARGs
Tag: extended reality
ARG Netcast, Episode 10
January 29, 2007 / Jonathan Waite / 1 Comment
It's our tenth netcast, and as is the tradition, the roundtable discussion is both light-hearted and full of important game information. This week's panel is made up of regular guests Jackie Kerr, Brooke Thompson, Sean C. Stacey and Jonathan Waite. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through FeedBurner or via iTunes.
The Vanishing Point game is over, and Sean was there in the flesh for the festivities. Get the skinny on the behind-the-scenes action!
Township Heights comes to a sudden and unexpected end. Was this a cash-grab or is the game still going, with the apparent endgame being part of the game?
Gumshoe is billing itself as an interactive radio play. It launches on Valentine's Day, and we'll be listening.
Meigeist kicks it old-school with enough content, puzzles and interaction to satisfy a multitude of players.
The Sector Seven/Transformers ARG viral campaign stalls. Fanboys and fangirls around the world really want this to be more than what it currently is.
Odina Nova will relaunch in March after a short hiatus. Our very own Jessica Price has the details on ARGNet.
The Heroes 360 experience launches for the hit NBC television series. Save the cheerleader, play the ARG?
The Library of Babel site for the Perplex City game holds what could be the final clue for finding the Receda Cube, after an article/advertisement in the London Sunday Times. Find it soon, please.
Monster Hunters goes live, a tie-in with the North American release of a South Korean movie called The Host. Did you get your Yeti in the mail?
Regenesis Extended Reality Wins Gemini Award
October 24, 2006 / Jonathan Waite / Comments Off on Regenesis Extended Reality Wins Gemini Award
Congratulations are in order for Canadian production Xenophile Media as they captured the 2006 Gemini Award for Best Cross Platform Project at last week's ceremonies in Toronto, Canada. Their ARG, the ReGenesis Extended Reality, won for the first time in the prize category, awarded to the "interactive project that best "enhances the users' enjoyment of the television program/series through such platforms as mobile, the Web and other portable devices"," according to a press release. ReGenesis is a Canadian bio-lab drama available in Canada and in syndication worldwide.
Shaftesbury Films, who produce the television series, has been forward-thinking in its attempts to connect to its audience, partnering with Xenophile to manage the alternate reality gaming model which has delivered real-time content that is directly related to the weekly series for both of the show's seasons. In the second season's Extended Reality, players were treated to hours of video clips which broadened the overall storyline of the show, and the show reciprocated (in a fine bit of pre-filmed trickery) by acknowledging the efforts of the players as they attempted to aid the scientists working at NorBAC labs in Ontario.
You can watch the Gemini awards gala will be broadcast on Canadian network Global on November 4th at 6:30 pm PST / 9:30 pm EST. The Gemini Industry Awards, which were awarded over a three night span, will be broadcast on Rogers Television in the Toronto area, so if you want to see the Xenophile folks accepting their awards, you'll want to tune in on for the second of the three nights, dubbed the "Gemini Lifestyle, Children's and Youth," which will be shown at 6:00 pm EST on November 17th.
ReGenesis – Season Two to Debut
March 19, 2006 / Jonathan Waite / Comments Off on ReGenesis – Season Two to Debut
When ReGenesis hit the airwaves last year, people were not sure what to expect with the "extended reality" that was built for the show. After all, this was the first time that a Canadian-made television series had attempted to try anything as large in scale as an Internet-based companion adventure. The end result, to the delight of many fans, was an interesting and immersive experience that showcased the talents of the team at Xenophile Media, creators of the game. Tonight, season two of ReGenesis will debut on The Movie Network/Movie Central, and with it comes a new extended reality game. This season, the game will hit the ground running, starting with tonight's episode. Players will be able to participate on many different levels, and the worldwide audience will have greater access to key game elements, making it more accessible to people who are unable to view the series on television.
ReGenesis: Relaunch and Award Nomination!
September 12, 2005 / Jonathan Waite / Comments Off on ReGenesis: Relaunch and Award Nomination!
Two bits of exciting information coming out of the ReGenesis camp this week, one concerning the relaunch of the series on public television, and the other regarding the nomination of the ReGenesis website for a major Canadian award.
We last reported on ReGenesis back in October of 2004 when the series was first aired on Movie Central and The Movie Network, both subscription-based cable networks in Canada. The series included an ARG element, or "extended reality" to it. Now, almost a year later, ReGenesis is enjoying a resurgence in popularity with the broadcast of Season One on Canadian public television channel Global. (Unfortunately, there is no current syndication deal for any networks outside of Canada.) With the re-airing of the series on Global comes the relaunch of the web-based ARG. This is the first instance of an "replayed" ARG — that is, the reset and replay of an ARG that had previously run its course.
Still Life Extended Reality Game Announced
February 10, 2005 / Steve Peters / Comments Off on Still Life Extended Reality Game Announced
Adventure Gamers reports that Microids is creating an online Alternate Reality Game to promote their upcoming murder-mystery adventure Still Life, which is due to be released on April 14, 2005.
Microids is calling their game an Extended Reality Experience, and it will encompass multiple websites, centering around the characters from Still Life, along with some created specifically for the ARG. The story will evolve through various media as players follow hints provided by the alternate reality itself, and the marketing materials surrounding the game.
Clues are to begin appearing on the network of ingame websites soon. Keep an eye on the Still Life website (and ARGN) for further developments.
[EDIT: An apparent trailhead has been found. Check out Lombartech.com.]
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Double glazed double hung sashless insulating window system with aluminium and timber frames. Windows are suitable for domestic and commercial applications.
Double glazed glass window insulation system installed into anodized or powdercoated aluminium or timber frames.
Available in a variety of smart glass and low-e options.


This adorable Dachshund has a fully loaded palette and looks ready to begin. The ornament was created from an antique Christmas card image using archival inks on hand-cut hardwood. It measures 4"x2" and has a pretty holiday pattern on the reverse side. As with most vintage ornaments, it is enhanced with light glitter.


Mission Viejo is a city in Orange County, California, United States in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size. Its population as of 2014 was estimated at 96,346.
Mission Viejo is suburban in nature and culture. The city is mainly residential, although there are a number of offices and businesses within its city limits. The city is known for its picturesque tree-lined neighborhoods, receiving recognition from the National Arbor Day Foundation. The city's name is a reference to Rancho Mission Viejo, a large Spanish land grant from which the community was founded.
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of Apr 19, 2019 6:38:am. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.


Bruno Movie: Loved it or hated it?
There is a lot to like about actor Sacha Baron Cohen, the man behind the Bruno movie. He is fearless and relentless when it comes to pursuing his brand of guerilla comedy, and some would also add tasteless to that list. I for one love the way Sacha uses the Bruno character to expose the vacuous Hollywood elite, and the media who cover it. Some of his other shenanigans, however, like his appearance at the California Prop 8 rally leave me with mixed emotions.
Are you a fan of Bruno?
« Know any queer nerds?


Lou Williams has once again been one of the best bench players in the NBA, a crucial cog in Doc Rivers' plan to make the Los Angeles Clippers relevant.
On Sunday night, Williams put an exclamation point on an already great season by hitting a game-winning shot as time expired to beat the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn had previously tied things up with a Jarrett Allen dunk with just 5.3 seconds to go. That allowed the Nets to defend on a final possession, and to their credit they pushed Williams halfway between the 3-point arc and the logo at midcourt.
But Williams just couldn't be denied.
"Strong case is an understatement."
LA and Brooklyn are two of the more darling stories in the NBA this year, with each achieving higher than even their own diehards could imagine.
The win, 119-116, gives the Clippers a chance to fight for a higher playoff seed in the West. Los Angeles won't be caught by the Sacramento Kings at this point, and they're now just 1.5 games back of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fifth seed.