Evolve IP, a provider of services including virtual servers, virtual desktops, disaster recovery, IP phone systems/unified communications, and more, has been included in the 2016 Gartner Market Guide for Desktop as a Service (DaaS).
The Gartner Market Guide, which lists 10 DaaS providers in North America, is intended to provide more understanding of the DaaS market and its offerings.
As part of its broad portfolio of cloud services, Evolve IP DaaS provides desktop users with a virtual workspace, customized with their unique applications and files, that is accessible from virtually any internet connected tablet, phone or computing device.
According to the Gartner report, by 2019, 50% of new virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) users will be deployed on DaaS platforms. Evolve IP's DaaS offering is part of its wider desktop services offerings that also includes Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Mobile Device Management (MDM) and helpdesk.
Evolve IP provides cloud services in virtually every industry including: healthcare, veterinary medicine, legal, insurance, banking, technology, travel and retail to some of the world's most recognizable brands. The company's Evolve IP OneCloud solution would allow organizations to migrate multiple cloud computing and cloud communications services onto a single, unified platform.


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When the Clintons decided to leak this 'controversial' photograph of Barack Obama to the American press, my first thought was 'So what's the big deal – Barack once spent a summer as a trolly dolly for Swissair?'
By the way, can I refer you all back to Dispatch no 8 of February 13th of last year when I endorsed Obama for Taoiseach? I don't think he'd even declared his run for the Presidency. Check it out for yourselves.
In a south eastern County, a citizen (probably, in truth, wrongly in that he didn't first contact the local authority in advance) decided to 'rebuild' a small, existing structure on a farm in a very rural area. The first building stood without the benefit of a foundation so, after he demolished it, our correspondent poured a new strip foundation for the replacement which was supposed to be identical to the first. Then he got a letter from the local authority insisting that the new foundations be completely removed… and the original structure rebuilt.
Another correspondent writes about a planning application made for 4 houses on a site right beside his house. Through no fault of his own, he missed the newspaper ad and only found out about the proposed development when the site notice was posted. However, the site notice went up long after the period for observations had elapsed.
When our correspondent – who had hoped to make some observations about the proposed development – wrote to the Council to explain how circumstances had conspired to deny him his right to comment, he had his letter returned 'because it had not been submitted within the two weeks of the newspaper ad'.
Am I hearing correctly that the new Clare County Offices in Ennis are already too small and that the planners are now in the basement where the archives were supposed to be, meaning that requests for archival material are taking as long as ever?
A few weeks ago, I had a piece in the Trib about the lack of public transport in Dublin. At the time I hadn't heard about The Dargan Project: a comprehensive plan, privately drawn up, which is the most sensible thing I've read to date on how the situation in Dublin could be improved.
http://www.darganproject.com/
When you have a blog, you get this piece of software which tells you how many people are reading it, how often, for how long, and so on. You also see how people came upon your site in the first place. So, for example, if someone types 'Planning Dispatch' or 'who the !*!*! is Garry Miley' into the Google bar and then clicks on your site, their enquiry shows up on a list. Here are some of the Google search terms folks have recently used which led them to the Dispatch
Pat Kenny is cool
Norman Foster and the Illuminati
Where is Ennis Co Clare
Pat Dolan's hair
Where can I get codeine
Irish planning secrets revealed
Maleface speye (I have no idea either)
Colm Cantillon (this happens a lot, Colm)
Is Garry Miley Irish?
Miley on the radio talking about Jesus
Cure for car boss syndrome
But apart from obvious search phrases which make direct reference to me or to the Dispatch, the phrase most often used to link to the page, and by a long shot, is
Ultraviolet tattoo:
Speaking of which, despite all your best efforts on my behalf in getting me onto the various blog award list of nominees, I didn't make it to the short list in any category. We did our best and I won't trouble you with the matter again.
Ciaran Cuffe reminds me a lot of that other Trojan of Irish public life, Hugh Murray, who, despite his business partner, Sean, being elected the new president of the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (now, Hugh, that had to hurt a little bit) which would give him (Sean) the right to be anybody's Car Boss, Hugh drives around town without a care in the world in that Fruit Gum coloured Lexus (not the model that almost has cred) which depreciates so quickly it costs more to buy used than it does new.
(Incidentally, Ciaran, as you're new to my world of 'what email contributions should have said, not what they actually in fact said' please don't take offence at me making your contribution more interesting than it actually was. I wouldn't say I'm a fabulist, I just lose patience with reality and tend to alter it to suit my needs. You'll get used to it.)
Did I hear somewhere that Fidel Castro turned Cuba's golf courses into military training academies and such because he felt so sore a losing a round to Che? Shortly before Che was sent to Bolivia?
All of which for some reason reminds me that Ray D'Arcy may soon find himself the next victim of my Walter Mitty type imagination. This is after his people called me up last week (I'd sent them an email looking for a mention for the TV show) and grilled me like an Al Queda suspect at JFK airport to see 'if I'd make a good radio guest' ('When you were on Tubridy, did he, like, say he might have you back? Oh really? Wow! Cool! Did he, you know – this is going to sound really weird! - send you an email or some kind of follow up that, you know, would make it look like he'd be happy to, you know, have you back? Oh, fanTAStic! Is that something you could forward on to me? And I could pass on to Ray? FanTAStic – don't want to promise anything, but, you know, you sound just perfect for the show…). Then, they call up to say that they've decided to have me on and they'll get back to me with a firm date. But then, next thing I know, they've DIS-invited me! That's right. Someone from his organisation sent a message straight through to my voice mail to say thanks for talking to them, but having thought about it a bit, 'Ray thought the piece might be [I swear to God, this is what they said] 'too visual''.
Well Ray, no hard feelings.
Except… you being the sock-puppet interacter par excellence I was so looking forward to seeing you work with Dustin on the National Song Contest last Saturday. Well Ray, you're losing your touch.
Vintage Ray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eOyRcen2wA&feature=related
Here's some Pat Kenny and Des Cahill stuff I thought was funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzXxjWeMS2g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3xFxaVucmE&feature=related
This gives me flashbacks to my days in the Council
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgTMmSegQGc&feature=related
Where Russia is coming from and we're headed if we're not careful
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/1882/
A woman, while playing golf, hits her ball into the woods. As she's retrieving it, she finds a frog in a trap.
I'm a magic frog,' says the frog 'If you free me from this trap, I'll grant you a wish.'
The woman frees the frog, but the frog says 'I'm sorry, I should have told you that the grant of the wish comes with a qualification: whatever you wish for, your husband will get the same wish tenfold.'
The woman thinks about it for a while and answers: 'I'll have a heart attack please.'


As someone who's navigated the IT Service Provider waters, eFolder CEO Matt Nachtrab has seen MSP partnerships from every angle. Here's the course to success.
This is the time of year when we straddle reviewing a slew of history, while also looking into the future with the approaching New Year. We explore what worked, and research the reasons of "Why?" something didn't, and oftentimes a popular theme presents itself… poor partnerships.
Much of what we do throughout the year relies on the Partnerships which create the foundation for our effectiveness. In the IT services landscape, these Partnerships just seem to matter more. Whether Peer Groups; a product that feels less "Pro" and more "duct(tape)"; or even failed marriages – an unstable partnership is usually one of the main culprits to those things needing better success.
Managed Service Providers have multiple ways to look at Partnerships, especially in the context of growing the business. The relationships they have with their Clients is a form of partnership which needs to be both healthy and profitable. And when I think about it, relationships with vendors exist in exactly the same fashion. An MSP needs a vendor partner who's willing to truly work together, focused on success of the MSP, and understands the challenges as they strive to climb the ranks of operational maturity.
The variables of a vendor Partner directly impacts major decisions of an MSP business model. An IT Service Provider should have their own vendor partner standards, especially as standardization of the solution-stack becomes more of the norm. Vendors who have multiple solutions which can be utilized by MSP's clients are critical to standardizing in the most profitable fashion possible. These types of partnerships allow for flexibility, uniqueness, and growth as the MSP business matures.
As someone who's navigated a unique path through the IT Service Provider waters, I've seen partnerships built from every angle. Beginning when I founded my own MSP in Toledo, OH in 1999, to creating Labtech, through my time at ConnectWise, and now as CEO at eFolder – I've grown as a professional with each step, analyzed results from every endeavor, and created partnerships with only the best intentions. However, I've experienced most every type of partnership possible, and cataloged them all from the good, to the bad, to the downright regrettable. The latter of which I'm sure we've all experienced, and hope to never do so again.
Here at eFolder, we understand the critical nature of these partnerships with MSPs, as many of our own colleagues have been previous MSP owners. These unique perspectives, along with seasoned channel veterans, will be used as the compass for 2018. I've challenged our team to bring even more to the table next year in the form of an enhanced Customer Experience. Deliverables will center around Customer Service, Best Practices, and Content intended to help the MSP close business at an increased rate.
Partnerships ARE the foundation of everything we as business people do. And I encourage us all to build upon a foundation designed to exceed goals, and increase the positive impact we have on both our internal and external relationships.
Matt Nachtrab is CEO of eFolder. Read all eFolder guest blogs here.


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Muslim Community Holds Special Juma'at for Dr. Salisu
Members of the University Muslim Community recently held a special valedictory Juma'at service in honour of the University's Pioneer Amir, Dr. Taofiq Salisu, for his meritorious service to the University.
In his sermon at the occasion, the University Imam, Dr. Idris Ayinde, extolled the outstanding qualities and exemplary leadership traits of the outgone Amir, which he said had made the Muslim community to grow from "a handful of members" to a large family.
Responding, Dr. Salisu prayed for continued increase in the population of worshipers, as he charged the incoming executives and the congregation to emulate Prophet Muhammed.
Meanwhile, a new Amir, Professor Kehinde Okeleye, alongside other executive members have been inaugurated. They are: Dr Abdul-Akeem Agboola, Noibul-Amir;. Abdul-Rasak Adebowale, General Secretary; Alhaji Ismaila Ewedairo, Financial Secretary; and Dr. Idris Ayinde, Chief Imam.
Professor Okeleye, on behalf of the new officers promised to serve the Muslim community diligently.
«FUNAAB Microfinance Bank Gets New Manager
FUNAAB, Brightsword Technologies Poised for Collaboration»


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Dr. Jing Liu
CEU Seminar December2012
Tourette's Assoc. September 2012
Dr. Jing Liu, L.Ac., OMD., Ph.D. China
"Dr. Liu is the Best" said Lonnie Ali at the Celebrity Fight Night. Mrs. Ali introduced Dr. Jing Liu as one of the team doctors for Muhammad Ali. Dr. Jing Liu, OMD, LA., PhD, has nearly 20 years of experience in both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine. Born and raised in China, Dr. Liu attended Beijing Medical School of PLA and Ph.D. program in Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, she also holds a Ph.D. degree in Natural Health Science. Dr. Liu is also Nationally Certified and Board Licensed in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in California and Arizona.
As a recognized expert in acupuncture, Dr. Liu has worked alongside high-ranking Chinese government officials and top Western doctors. Dr. Liu was influential in the research of Dr. Shi Xue Min's stroke rehabilitation method Xing Nao Kai Qiao. Dr. Shi or "The Father of Acupuncture" acts as a mentor to Dr. Liu and has nicknamed her "The Master of the Masters."
Dr. Liu makes yearly visits to China to further her acupuncture education and bring back the latest research in the field. Through her connection to China, Dr. Liu champions for the legitimacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the U.S. and standardizing acupuncture for many disorders.
For over a decade, Dr. Liu and her Eastern Medicine Center has offered the Scottsdale community her unique talents using a seamless blend of Traditional Chinese and Western medicine. The Center has been featured in 3TV's Your Life A to Z and Dr. Liu has contributed to the nation's leading acupuncture news source Acupuncture Today. Miss Arizona 2014, Jennifer Smestad was Dr. Liu's patient when she was a little girl who suffered with Tourette's and ADD/ADHD. Dr. Liu called her a little duckling who became into a beautiful swan.
Dr. Liu's knowledge is well-rounded and encompasses the treatment of common illnesses, pain management, cancer support, neuropathy, and men and women's health issues. Dr. Liu's latest research looks into the cause and treatment of male and female infertility. Dr. Liu's dominance of infertility treatments has led to full-term pregnancies for many of her patients.
Dr. Jing Liu not only treats patients in her office, but she has dedicated her time to start her own nonprofit The Arizona Research Institute of Acupuncture to prove the clinical effectiveness of TCM by treating both symptoms and illness by setting up research, educate and support the community.
She has visited elementary schools around the Scottsdale area to educate the parents and staff how acupuncture and Chinese medicine help kids who suffer from ADD/ADHD. Dr. Liu and her mentor were invited to Tucson medical school to introduce the advance research methods and its effect on the comprehensive evaluation system, and advanced clinical evidence. They both have been invited to numerous acupuncture schools across the U.S. to continue to educate students because the widespread use to Traditional Chinese Medicine in China and its use in the West, rigorous scientific evidence of its effectiveness is limited.
Dr. Liu is also invested in shaping the next generation of practitioners at EMC and ensuring that Chinese medicine continues to thrive. To learn more about Traditional Chinese Medicine or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Liu and her team, call (480) 451-8880 today.
Read more on Dr. Jing Liu at Acupuncture Today:
Dr. Liu with Muhammad Ali after a treatment with Dr.Liu, Ali was always happy and relieved
"She is the best." Lonnie Ali said of Dr. Jing Liu
Dr. Liu Successful Story helping Miss Arizona when she was younger battling Tourette's
Guest Speaker Mayo Clinic Stroke Association July 2014
3TV Infertility Interview Your Life A to Z December 2011
Dr. Liu work with Dr. Shi in Teaching Hospital in Tianjin China
It was an honor when Dr. Shi offers a chair to sit next to him to work on patients together
Lecture and Demonstration Tucson Acupuncture School
Yearly Visits from
"The Father of Acupuncture"
Dr. Shi Xue Min, the most respected TCM doctor in the world and a Chinese medicine treasure makes yearly...
Merging with
Western Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is based on the pulse and tongue diagnosis. To improve on making diagno...
Keep Up with
Would you like to stay informed about Eastern Medicine Center? Click here to read up on our latest news...
"Jing works incredibly hard. She said 'We are going to fix it' and she has done just that"
Dawn K, Phoenix, AZ
Are you a client or a practitioner?
Eastern Medicine Center 8422 E Shea Blvd, Suite 104, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. Tel: 480.451.8880
Copyright © 2022 All Rights Reserved. Website by Vuria


You probably have a list of things to do around your house. You might be very handy, or in a relationship with someone who is very handy.
I am single, and not very handy. The solution?
I found a MacGyver that can come in and do "the list." I have a great guy- a retired engineer …he is neat, and an excellent guy to work with. Doors have been hung, things have been fixed.
You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. In a poll by Gallop called the Strengthfinder Survey of 1.2 Million professionals in 60 countries, only 17% knew their specific strengths & weaknesses.
When you know your strengths and are secure in that reality, your world is a much better place to be in.
My weaknesses are Harley's strengths.
… And my dry basement thanks me.
Looking for a career MacGyver to help you "fix" your career, team or organization?
Improving, along the road with you!
P.S. Want a career that fits your strengths & weaknesses? Who's your career coach? Need help with a transition, job search, or just getting on the right track ? Invest in yourself, get the edge in this competitive market. Book here to get started.


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Tag: 20th Century Historical Romance
A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan – An #Audiobook Review
A sweeping historical saga that traces five generations of fiercely powerful mothers and daughters — witches whose magical inheritance is both a dangerous threat and an extraordinary gift.
Brittany, 1821. After Grand-mère Ursule gives her life to save her family, their magic seems to die with her.
Even so, the Orchires fight to keep the old ways alive, practicing half-remembered spells and arcane rites in hopes of a revival. And when their youngest daughter comes of age, magic flows anew.
The lineage continues, though new generations struggle not only to master their power, but also to keep it hidden.
But when World War II looms on the horizon, magic is needed more urgently than ever – not for simple potions or visions, but to change the entire course of history.
Swept up in Nanettte's story, the first of the Orchiére line to relate her story of the traveller or gypsy family of Romani, the tale then progresses through successive daughters and their stories. It is a gift that manifests more in some than others of the line, and while each gift may vary, the necessity of keeping the gift secret does not.
The novel divides into five sections from Nanette to Ursule, Irene, Morwen, and lastly Veronica during WWII.
There is a grimoire and scrying stone handed down to each generation, diligently kept hidden and their secrets only revealed at the time of puberty and sometimes in surprising fashion. There is a marked difference between how a couple of the witches received her powers and how she handled the gift.
Some of the witches were well-developed enough to either earn empathy or apathy. They weren't bad or wicked, just not as benign as the others merely trying to exist without exposure. It was the story to be told, rather than the description or fleshing of the woman. But, of course, each was to find a mate (whether or not for love), and each of the women was strong-willed and shrewd. Their men either loved and supported them, knew of their powers, or not and several of the male support characters were fleshed sympathetically.
I enjoyed getting to know each of the witches in turn, their time and story in history and the evolution of the line. I was following the fantasy well until it became necessary to push back some hefty disbelief in the final story–that of Veronica during WWII. The storyline, of course, does not disclose a secret history of witchcraft in general, rather than of this particular line.
The conclusion came at a juncture I felt made sense, although left a few issues unresolved and seemed the obvious step into a successive book. I suspect the narrator of this very long audiobook made it a great deal shorter than if I'd read it. She rolled the language beautifully off her tongue and made the whole story dance in the minds' eye as if it were a kaleidoscope. (I heartily recommend the audiobook version!)
I received this audiobook through my favorite local library and greatly appreciated the opportunity to get to know the author's style of writing and look forward to delving into another. (I picked this one up specifically because I also requested and received The Age of Witches from NetGalley.) Now I just have to figure out if I've ever had a "familiar" but I don't think so. At least I don't have to worry about being burned at the stake.
Genre: Historical Italian Fiction, Alternate History Science Fiction, 20th Century Historical Romance, World War II Historical Fiction
Publisher: Hackette Audio
ASIN: B0758FWQKW
Listening Length: 17 hrs 33 mins
Narrator: Polly Lee
Source: Local (Audiobook Selections) Library
Title Link: A Secret History of Witches
The Author: Louisa Morgan lives and writes and rambles with her familiar, Oscar the Border Terrier, on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. A musician and a yogini, she finds inspiration in the artistic environment where she makes her home.
Under the name Louise Marley, she has written a number of other historical fiction novels, as well as fantasy and science fiction. Please visit http://www.louisemarley.com for more information, and to learn more about Oscar!
Author Rosepoint PublishingPosted on January 23, 2020 January 22, 2020 Categories audiobookTags #blogger, #bookblog, #bookblogger, #bookpost, #bookreader, #bookrecommendation, #bookreviewer, #bookreviewers, #familiar, #recommendedreading, #travellers, 20th Century Historical Romance, Alternate History Science Fiction, audiobook, book review, GoodReads, Hackette Audio, Historical Italian Fiction, Louisa Morgan, Macmillan Audio, Polly Lee, The Secret History of Witches, witches, witches in the 19th centuryLeave a comment on A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan – An #Audiobook Review
Christmas on the Home Front (Land Girls #3) by Roland Moore – a #BookReview #historicalfiction
Another that my associate reviewer and I enjoyed, particularly as we binged on the Netflix series.
It's the last Christmas of the war but will things ever be the same again?
Despite the food rationing and the bitterly cold weather, the land girls of Pasture Farm, Connie Carter, Joyce Fisher and Esther Reeves, are determined to celebrate this Christmas in style. The fighting might still be raging, but they all hope this could be the last Christmas of this dreaded war.
But as the day approaches, word spreads in sleepy Helmstead that two German Airmen are on the run. With everyone on high alert, the mood is tense and the women take no chances. Until the German airmen find them…
Trapped at Pasture Farm with the enemy, the women are determined to find a way to freedom and overpower the airmen. But it means risking everything…including their lives.
In checking out this book as my next possible read, I discovered that the storyline was actually a successful BBC series, The Land Girls. We were able to view on Netflix and were hooked. The novel doesn't disappoint, and happily, though the series and author were new to me, #3 read just fine as a standalone. And, BONUS, it was fun to put a face (that of the actors in the series) to the characters in the book, Joyce, Connie, Esther, Iris, and Finch.
While the main character is Joyce Fisher, there are a number of well-developed support characters that comprise the Woman's Land Army stationed at Pasture Farm. It doesn't take long before you get to know each, their strengths and weaknesses, and the particular position they hold at the farm. The Land Girls have been created to supplement the loss of farm support and help provide food supplies. They have learned to manage with shortages and been creative in continuing the work necessary to aid in the war effort.
This entry to the series has the reader looking at Christmas 1944 and the witness of a German plane shot down not far from the farm. Too close, in fact. Joyce and Esther have been left at the farm during the Christmas countdown, the others scattered, and find themselves face-to-face with two desperate German airmen. The tension ramps up quickly as the men try to connect with sympathizers to collect and get them back home.
The farm is near Lady Hoxley's Estate, where she is housing an American Army unit and an interim hospital in a branch of her mansion. I believe the farm is on her land, with perhaps Finch providing management, but not completely clear if he doesn't own the farm. Still, Lady Hoxley keeps tab on the girls and lends support where she can.
The story jumps timelines, backtracking to an appropriately revealing scene with that point of view and then skips back, perhaps with a different character and replaying the scene to bring the two back to the same point in time. It can be just a bit confusing at first but serves to provide a full picture.
I was given this digital download by the publisher through NetGalley and was totally thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review. I thoroughly enjoyed the book (as well as the TV series) and heartily recommend to all who enjoy historical fiction. Whether it's fiction or not, there is still so much to be learned from the "greatest generation."
The scene is World War II and Britain is in its' darkest hours. Everyone in the country pitches in for the war effort. City girls retreat to the farms to replace young men and boys sent off to war and assist in planting and harvesting.
Mr. Moore develops the characters as delightful, energetic and hard-working farm hands. Add to that the always present small-town gossips and busy-bodies and you have a very entertaining mix. Enemy aviators downed in the English countryside add danger and flavor to this tale.
Collaborators during WW II were present in France as the French underground. English helping the Germans were quite unusual and unexpected. Add foreign troops assisting the British from many different countries and you have a complete montage of love, heartbreak, intrigue and despair wrapped up in a daily struggle.
The young women are very naïve and vulnerable. Mix in lonesome foreign troops and escaping foreign airmen and you have a very volatile mix. Moore continually weaves humanity into his story. One almost had sympathy for the downed enemy airmen. However, their duty to escape and get back to their units made them less than sympathetic characters.
These books have been made into a TV series and I enjoyed them. But reading the book gives one a much broader appreciation for the trials suffered by all those involved in the WWII conflict. Set aside time, you will not want to put the book down. 5/5 CE Williams
Genre: 20th Century Historical Romance, Small Town & Rural Fiction, War Fiction, TV Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction, Family Saga
Publisher: One More Chapter
ASIN: B07S47KQNV
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Christmas on the Home Front
The Author: Roland Moore is an award-winning series creator and scriptwriter working in a wide range of genres for film and television in the UK, America, and China.
He created the BBC1 returning period drama series, LAND GIRLS and he was recently the Head Writer on HUMANS for Endemol Shine China and Croton Media. HUMANS is the first sci-fi drama for Chinese television. Roland storylined the series (based on the AMC/C4 series), wrote six episodes and managed a team of UK writers through various drafts.
His children's feature film 2:HRS recently received its theatrical premiere in the UK. He has also been commissioned to write a wartime spy drama for Jack Huston and his dystopian police series, THE LAST COP, has been optioned by Black Box Media.
He has written extensively for Big Finish writing original audio dramas for their DOCTOR WHO and SURVIVORS ranges. Other credits include SUMMER CAN WAIT (feature), RASTAMOUSE, SMACK THE PONY, DOCTORS, MAN STROKE WOMAN and PETER RABBIT. Find Roland Moore at the following links:
Twitter: @RolandMooreTV
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/landgirlstvbook
http://www.rolandmoore.tv
The Land Girls photo attribute: Netflix
Author Rosepoint PublishingPosted on December 13, 2019 December 12, 2019 Categories 2019 ReviewsTags #blogger, #bookblog, #bookblogger, #bookpost, #bookreaders, #bookrecommendation, #bookreviewer, #bookreviewers, #christmasonthehomefront, #greatreads, #NetGalleyreads, #NewBooks, #NGEW2019, #recommendedreading, 20th Century Historical Romance, BBC TV series, book review, ebooks, family saga, GoodReads, Land Girls #3, Netflix, NetGalley, PBS British Series, Roland Moore, Small Town & Rural Fiction, TV series Tie-in Fiction, WWII Fiction6 Comments on Christmas on the Home Front (Land Girls #3) by Roland Moore – a #BookReview #historicalfiction
Trials and Tribulations – The Robinswood Story Book 3 by Jean Grainger – a #BookReview
This is me–a blubbering mess–and you know I don't easily admit to tears from reading a book.
Five of Five Stars
Robinswood Estate, County Waterford, 1950
Three sisters, the three men that love them, and a house that could consume them all.
Assuming their roles as the new Lord and Lady Kenefick and returning to Robinswood with the plan to drag it back from the brink of dereliction, is taking its toll on Kate and Sam. With a young family to raise, a very limited budget and only Kate's parents to help, the task seems insurmountable.
Kate's eldest sister Eve and her husband Bartley have found happiness in each other after some dark years, but when a face from the past appears, it seems that everything they have worked so hard to create is threatened.
Aisling, the middle sister, is being evasive and the family suspect something is very wrong. On the face of it, she has it all, a lovely husband, a comfortable house and a supportive family, but she is in deep trouble, and nobody can even guess at the real reason why.
Meanwhile Lady Lillian, Sam's sister, is useless and arrogant, refusing to accept that things have changed and that her title is not going to get her what she wants, least of all from her husband Beau.
In the midst of it all Dermot and Isabella Murphy try their best to maintain a life and a home for their family, but the trials and tribulations of life at Robinswood might just tear them all apart. .
Ms. Grainger has exceeded herself as the supreme storyteller of the Irish, whether or not she's ever kissed the Blarney Stone, which btw, as I understand it, is not all that far from Cork, from whence she hails. This book grabs you from the beginning and takes you through highs and lows ending in a thrilling conclusion containing not one but two twists that take your breath away.
It's easy to love these characters, all hard-working, driven, and pulling together to make a success of Robinswood. What's not to love? The writing style is easy, descriptive, and sensitive, wrenching from even the hardened reviewer emotive sighs. The continuation of the story of the Kenefick and Murphy families (and their reversal of roles) drives this well-plotted domestic drama.
There is a lot going on in this one and I wish I could skim without spoilers, but this is one you have to read for yourself to appreciate. Kate (the wife of Sam), while the youngest of the three (Murphy) sisters, seem to have taken on the job of coordinating the management and has fallen severely short of manpower with the illness of her mother that also affects her dad. She is at her wits end, needs help, and sending up distress signals hasn't seemed to work. Lady Lillian (and the former lady of the manor), is still more liability than asset. "Lillian was as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike…"
There are guests to attend, meals to prepare, fields, animals, and outhouses to convert to much-needed labor housing. (In America we use that term for a structure meant to describe a relief station with no plumbing.) Eve's husband Bartley, who is a seventh son of a seventh son and a former traveller (or tinker) is working with Beau (Lillian's husband), and Mark (Aisley's husband). There is a complex layer of little side dramas, pregnancies, and conflicts. One of the conflicts becomes deadly and leads to another whole drama affecting the entire tribe.
Character and locale driven, this storyline is immersive, including engaging characters you come to care about, whether empathetic or annoying. You might well wish to begin with the first in this series to fully understand where this book begins. The narrative can function fine as a standalone with simple references to a previous relationship. Grainger invokes some fine Irish humor and the dialogue is natural. The evolution of Lillian was one I didn't expect, and I LOVED the conclusion. While I had a suspicion of the final twist, it was the journey to that moment that had you holding your breath in disbelief. Okay, Ms. Grainger, you put one over on us and I know you are very busy snickering about it. I loved the new character Hannah, my heart ached for Bartley, and soared with Beau.
I was given this digital download as an advance to those special few in hopes of a review and these are my own opinions. This is the best one yet; could also have been titled tragedy and triumph. Highly recommended. You can't go wrong here, folks. Trust me.
Genre: 20th Century Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Irish Fiction
ASIN: B07XGFMB15
Publication Date: To be released October 1, 2019
Source: Author Request
Title Link: Trials and Tribulations
The Author: JEAN GRAINGER, USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.
WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR'S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE
Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you're wondering what you're getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have 'The Talking Spoon', only the person holding the spoon could talk!
I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 150 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world's smallest dog, a chi-chon called Scrappy-Do.
My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, 'The Tour'. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose…The fourth Conor O'Shea book is called The Homecoming of Bubbles O'Leary and features a group of friends taking their friend Bubbles home to Ireland from New York, on last time.
My first World War 2 novel, 'So Much Owed' is a family saga based in Ireland following the Buckley family of Dunderrig House. The story opens in the trenches of WW1 at the end of the war and moves to tranquil West Cork. As the next generation of the Buckley family find themselves embroiled once again in war, the action moves from Ireland to wartime Belfast, from occupied France to the inner sanctum of German society in neutral Dublin. The history of the period was my academic specialty so I'm delighted to be able to use it in a work of fiction.
I released a second WW2 book, called 'What Once Was True' earlier this year and so far people seem to really like it. Its set in a big old house, and based on the lives of the two families that live there, The Keneficks that own it and the Murphys that work for them.
Shadow of a Century, is set in New York in 2015 as well as in Dublin during the events of Easter Week 1916, where Irish men and women fought valiantly to rid our island of British Imperialism. While not my academic specialty, I loved researching this book. My husband, most fortunately for me is an expert on this era and so I didn't have to go too far for assistance. The story features three very strong women, united through a battered old flag. Its essentially a love story, but with a bit of intrigue thrown in for good measure.
Under Heaven's Shining Stars, was published in 2016 and is set in my home city of Cork. My next book, What Once Was True, tells the story of a big old house in Co Waterford during WW2. Two families live there, the impoverished Keneficks who own it and the hard-working Murphys who work for them. Life has remained unchanged for centuries but when war comes, it means everything changes and people have to question what once was true. This book was selected by Bookbub readers as in the top 19 Historical Fiction books of 2018. The sequel to this, Return to Robinswood, continues the story. (See my review here.)
My latest book, The Star and the Shamrock is about two little German Jewish children who find themselves on the Kindertransport out of Berlin. They end up in Northern Ireland and it was a real labour of love. The research was harrowing at times, but I hope I've done justice to the stories of so many children who escaped the Nazi terror, often never again to see their parents. This is a book of hope in dark times, of the enduring power of love and the incredible resilience of the human spirit.
Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that's wonderful for me to hear because that's how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I'm very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don't, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.
***Truncated in the interest of space–please see her entire bio here.
Cartoon outhouse attribution: clipartmag.com (Thank you)
Author Rosepoint PublishingPosted on September 29, 2019 Categories 2019 Reviews, Publishers CommentsTags #blogger, #bookblog, #bookblogger, #BookConnectors, #booklaunch, #bookpost, #bookpromo, #bookrecommendation, #bookreviewer, #ebookreader, #greatreads, 20th Century Historical Romance, ebooks, five star review, GoodReads, grand Irish estate, historical fiction, historical Irish fiction, Jean Grainger, rags to riches, Return to Robinswood, The Robinswood Story Book 3, Trials and Tribulations, USA Today bestselling author4 Comments on Trials and Tribulations – The Robinswood Story Book 3 by Jean Grainger – a #BookReview


text:
Q: About symmetry constraints in momentum space When people study symmetry protected topological phases, certain symmetry constraints are enforced on the Hamiltonian. Specifically, for non-interacting fermionic systems, we could focus on the symmetry properties of the single particle Hamiltonians instead.
For example, a free fermion system could be written as:
$$ \hat{H} = \sum_{\alpha,\beta} c_\alpha ^\dagger \mathcal{H}_{\alpha,\beta} c_\beta$$

*

*possibily respecting time reversal symmetry: $\mathcal{T} \mathcal{H} \mathcal{T}^{-1} = \mathcal{H} $

*particle hole symmetry: $\mathcal{P} \mathcal{H} \mathcal{P}^{-1} = -\mathcal{H}$

*and chiral symmetry: $\mathcal{C} \mathcal{H} \mathcal{C}^{-1} = -\mathcal{H}$
where $\mathcal{T}$ and $\mathcal{P}$ are anti-unitary while $\mathcal{C}$ is unitary.
Transforming to momentum basis, the constraints above can be written as
\begin{align}
\mathcal{T} h(k) \mathcal{T}^{-1} & = h(-k),\\
\mathcal{P} h(k) \mathcal{P}^{-1} & = -h(-k),\\
\mathcal{C} h(k)\mathcal{C}^{-1} & = -h(k)
.
\end{align}
It is usually the case that these unitary operators in momentum basis are independent of the momentum. For example, $\mathcal{C}$ could be chosen as $\sigma_z$ while $\mathcal{P}$ could be chosen as $\sigma_x \mathcal{K}$.
My question is, is there any case where these symmetry operators are momentum dependent? Would there be physical relevance for such systems?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Is the Pope purging conservatives?
By Phil Lawler (bio - articles - email) | Nov 05, 2014
"Does Pope Francis have an enemies list?" That's the eye-catching headline on John Allen's column for the Crux site. Allen notes that three bishops have recently placed under scrutiny by the Vatican: Bishops Rogelio Livieres Plano in Paraguay, Mario Oliveri in Italy, and Robert Finn in Kansas City. (He might have added Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, who was denounced as the "bishop of bling" and hurried into resignation in Germany.) Is it a coincidence that the bishops who are under the gun are all distinctly conservative?
Add the disciplinary crackdown on the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, and the unmistakable loss of influence by two prominent prelates in the Roman Curia (Cardinals Mauro Piacenza and Raymond Burke), and an overall trend seems clear.
There are two logical explanations for this trend, Allen remarks. One is that the Vatican under Pope Francis is conducting a sort of purge of conservative bishops. The other is that the Pope is determined to carry out a program of reform, and "is responding to reported breakdowns as they occur without really paying attention to the politics of the people involved." But if it's the latter, Allen writes, the Holy Father might want to explain, and in the process reassure conservatives who now feel nervous about the Pope's intentions.
The short essay on the Crux site concludes with a point that may remind readers of Ross Douthat's challenging "Pope and the Precipice" column. But even without that comparison, Allen's final sentence is striking enough by itself:
Otherwise, the risk is that a good chunk of the Church may conclude that if the pope sees them as the enemy, there's no good reason they shouldn't see him the same way.
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
Posted by: Flavian - Nov. 06, 2014 7:49 PM ET USA
John Allen certainly deserves the respect of all Catholics for his careful and thoughtful reporting. When he writes about ideological issues as reflected in the opinions of various "liberal" and "conservative" bishops, I wonder if he is influenced by the ideology of his formter employer, The National Catholic Reporter? He seems to quote that publication much more frequently than First Things or The National Catholic Register.


Russian tourist flow to Turkey in January-February 2019 grew by 34% in annual terms, while almost 40% of Russian tourists visited Antalya, and about 60% of the flow came from Istanbul.
Despite the decline in the number of arrivals from a number of countries, Turkey has announced a new upcoming record on the inbound market, the main drivers of which are Russia and Germany. The number of tourists from these two countries increased for the first 2 months of 2019 by 33.7% and 19.9%, respectively, compared with January-February 2018.
According to the results of the first two months of 2019, the TOP-5 incoming markets of Turkey are headed by Bulgaria with a share of 8,55% of all arrivals (274 thousand people), followed by Germany (7,34% of the market, 235 thousand tourists), Georgia (7,25%, 233 thousand), Iran (6.44%, 206 thousand people) and Russia (5,59% of the total tourist flow). The TOP-5 gets over one third of the total tourist flow to Turkey.
According to Turkish statistics, in January-February over 179 thousand citizens of the Russian Federation visited Turkey. Almost 38% of this tourist flow came to Antalya (68.4 thousand people). Mostly Russian tourists traveled to Istanbul during the winter months. Recall that the Russian tour operators have expanded the excursion range in Istanbul this season.
For comparison: the Russian tourist flow to Turkey in January-February in quantitative terms is comparable to the official data of the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation for tourist flow of the Russians to Hungary for the whole 2018 (almost 177 thousand people), and also surpasses the direct tourist flow to Norway (133 thousand) and to Cuba (114 thousand).
In February alone, almost 88 thousand Russians visited Turkey (+ 33.2% by February 2018).
The beginning of the year shows that Turkey is restoring the flow of tourists from Europe (+ 12.5%). The number of tourists from the Netherlands grew by 12%, Belgium - by 23%, Austria by 16% and Poland - by almost 68%.
The largest losses were recorded in the markets of Iran and Saudi Arabia minus 40% and 37.5% respectively.
Istanbul is still the most popular tourist destination in Turkey. In January-February, almost 985 thousand foreigners have been here (59% of the total tourist flow).


text:
Q: How to save the increment/decrement state? So my question is how do I save the state for the increment and decrement state for example I set a number to 10 then I decrement the number to 9. So let's say I exit the application, I want the number to save to 9 even after I exit the application. So how do I do that? Here's an example of my code.
import 'dart:async';

import 'package:cloud_firestore/cloud_firestore.dart';
import 'package:firebase_auth/firebase_auth.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:fluttertoast/fluttertoast.dart';
import 'package:uuid/uuid.dart';
import 'homepage.dart';

class AddParking extends StatelessWidget {
  const AddParking({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final appTitle = 'Add Parking';

    return MaterialApp(
      title: appTitle,
      home: Scaffold(
        drawer: NavigationDrawer(),
        appBar: AppBar(
          title: Text(appTitle),
        ),
        body: addParkingForm(),
      ),
    );
  }
}

class addParkingForm extends StatefulWidget{
  @override

  addParkingFormState createState() {

    return addParkingFormState();
  }
}

class addParkingFormState extends State <addParkingForm> {
  String userID = FirebaseAuth.instance.currentUser!.uid;

  final TextEditingController parkingname= TextEditingController();
  final TextEditingController parkinglevel= TextEditingController();
  final TextEditingController parkingsection= TextEditingController();
  final myUuid = const Uuid().v4();
  final GlobalKey<FormState> _formKey=GlobalKey ();
  int number = 10;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {

    return Form(
      key: _formKey,
      child: Column(
        crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
        children: <Widget>[
          Text('Total Spots Left : ' + number.toString() ) ,
          TextFormField(
            controller: parkinglevel,
            decoration: const InputDecoration(
              icon: Icon(Icons.phone),
              hintText: 'Parking Level ',
              labelText: 'Parking Level',
            ),
            validator: (String? text){
              if (text == null || text.isEmpty){
                return 'Please enter parking level';
              }
              return null;
            },
          ),
          TextFormField(
            controller: parkingsection,
            decoration: const InputDecoration(
              icon: Icon(Icons.phone),
              hintText: 'Parking Section ',
              labelText: 'Parking Section',
            ),
            validator: (String? text){
              if (text == null || text.isEmpty){
                return 'Please enter a parking section place';
              }
              return null;
            },
          ),
          TextFormField(
            controller: parkingname,
            decoration: const InputDecoration(
              icon: Icon(Icons.phone),
              hintText: 'Enter parking number',
              labelText: 'Parking number',
            ),
            validator: (String? text){
              if (text == null || text.isEmpty){
                return 'Please enter parking number';
              }
              return null;
            },
          ),

          Container (
            padding: const EdgeInsets.only(left: 40.0, top: 40.0),
            child:
            ElevatedButton(
                child: const Text('Submit'),

                onPressed: ()
                async {
                  setState(() {
                    number--;
                  });
                  if (_formKey.currentState!.validate()) {
                    int total = 1;
                    String message;
                    try {

                      final collection =
                      FirebaseFirestore.instance.collection('Parking');
                      await collection.doc().set({
                        'timestamp': FieldValue.serverTimestamp(),
                        'parking' : parkingname.text,
                        'level' : parkinglevel.text,
                        'section' : parkingsection.text,
                        'parkID' : myUuid,
                      });
                      total -= 1;

                      message = 'Success';

                  } catch (_) {
                      message = 'Error when sending feedback';
                    }
                    ScaffoldMessenger.of(context)
                        .showSnackBar(SnackBar(content: Text(message)));
                  }
                }
            ),
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }

}

A: you should use this package https://pub.dev/packages/shared_preferences
you can save any type of primitive type in device shared preferences, but be careful it's not secure.
// Obtain shared preferences.
final prefs = await SharedPreferences.getInstance();

// Save an integer value to 'counter' key.
await prefs.setInt('counter', counterValue);

// Get value of counter
prefs.getInt('counter');

steps to solve your problem:

*

*every time you changed the value of the counter you should save it in the device shared preferences.

*first time when you open the app you should fetch the value of counter from the shared preferencs.

here is example with flutter counter app.
class _MyHomePageState extends State<MyHomePage> {
  static const String _counterKey = 'COUNTER';
  int _counter = 0;
  late final SharedPreferences sp;
  late bool isFetchingCounterValue;
 @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
      WidgetsBinding.instance!.addPostFrameCallback((_) async { //make sure that build function is finished then setState
      setState(() {
      isFetchingCounterValue = true;
      });
      sp = await  SharedPreferences.getInstance();
       setState(() {
        isFetchingCounterValue = false;
        _counter = sp.getInt(_counterKey) ?? 0; //0 if it's first time you are opening the app
      });
    });

  }

  Future<void> _incrementCounter() async {
    _counter++;
    await sp.setInt(_counterKey, _counter);
    setState(() {});
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {

    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(

        title: Text(widget.title),
      ),
      body: Center(
        child: isFetchingCounterValue ? const CircularProgressIndicator() : Column(
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
          children: <Widget>[
            Text(
              'You have pushed the button this many times:',
            ),
            Text(
              '$_counter',
              style: TextStyle(fontSize: 25),
            ),
          ],
        ),
      ),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: _incrementCounter,
        tooltip: 'Increment',
        child: Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}

of course if you want save modeling and more than just Integer, and String, to create local database. consider this package https://pub.dev/packages/sqflite


text:
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Home / Reviews / Video Game Reviews / REVIEW: Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
REVIEW: Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
MarcTheCyborg | Jan 12, 2021 | 1
The most anticipated game in recent memory has finally launched, and, sadly, it was a rough launch indeed. I'm not going to sugarcoat it; Cyberpunk 2077 launched before it was ready, and not just the horrendous console ports – even the PC version has a fair amount of problems, which likely could have been fixed with more time in the oven. Some of these issues include odd omissions, like the inability to map certain key commands; I use the E key as my action button in nearly every game, so it took my brain a lot of time to get used to hitting F. Other issues are more severe and won't easily be fixed by patches or mods, like the generally terrible NPC AI.
I am a PC gamer, and I primarily use CD Projekt's storefront GOG. I am also an actual cyborg. I lost my right leg in 2017 and now have an assortment of real-life cyberware which let me walk, so I've got a personal connection to the subject matter. I've spent a fair amount of time reading lore, immersing myself in Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk universe through the World of Cyberpunk book and the Trauma Team comic, both of which were released by Dark Horse and are well worth your time. And, most importantly, I played Cyberpunk 2077 on a high-end PC, which I built for video editing as well as gaming. So my experience was not only worlds better than what you'd be getting on a base-level PS4 but also above what the majority of other PC players would experience.
All of those factors should be considered when I say that I loved Cyberpunk 2077.
That statement is highly subjective, arguably a hot take, and certainly influenced by my bias toward CD Projekt, my connection to the material, my knowledge of the lore, and the quality of my hardware. However, I am going to be as objective and honest as I can. If you're on a base-level console, don't spend your money and don't waste your time; wait for some patches at the very least, or better yet, wait until you upgrade to next-gen hardware. However, if you're on PS5, Xbox Series, or a decent PC, that question is much more complicated, and I'm here to help you find your answer.
Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest game from Witcher developer CD Projekt Red and is their most ambitious title to date. It takes place in the world of Mike Pondsmith's pen and paper roleplaying game Cyberpunk 2020, but unlike the way games like Baldur's Gate adapt Dungeons & Dragons to the video game format with a degree of mechanical accuracy, Cyberpunk 2077 is a real-time action RPG, not a digital interpretation of 2020. The result is somewhere between a Deus Ex game, a Fallout game, and a Grand Theft Auto game, and this is where some people might get disoriented.
Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't have the same amount of interactivity that a Fallout game might, where you can kill a shopkeeper because they looked at you funny, but it does have much better shooting mechanics, and you can move around the world in a variety of vehicles. However, the driving and city systems don't stack up to games like Grand Theft Auto, and the combat is mediated by the RPG statistics much more than the GTA games are.
The result is a game that might leave people expecting a world-is-your-oyster RPG disappointed that you can't even aim your weapon at many NPCs, and people expecting Cyberpunk GTA wondering why it takes so many shots to take enemies down and what all those silly numbers mean. Knowing what you're getting into with Cyberpunk 2077 is important, as it is certainly a bit of a Jack of all trades, master of none. But it also manages to become more than just the sum of its parts.
Character Build
You start Cyberpunk 2077 by creating your character, the Mercenary known as V, and while the genital customization options are heads and tails above anything else in AAA gaming, the rest of the creation options are a bit limited. You can't choose things like height or physique at all, and the number of options you have for things like hairstyles and tattoos is definitely on the low side. The former is somewhat understandable, as a character model with drastically different dimensions would likely have gameplay implications; the latter could have used more choices.
Once you're satisfied with your V's appearance, you choose some base attribute stats and begin your prologue chapter. There are three choices – the Corpo, the Street Kid, and the Nomad; and while these do create drastically different opening moments, they have minimal impact afterwards. You are then given life-path-specific dialogue options at certain points through the rest of the game. But they don't seem to have any major impact beyond adding some depth to V's personality, which isn't nothing, but it's not exactly game-changing.
After the life path prologue, which lasts approximately twenty minutes, there is a six-month time jump, which begins Act 1, which is effectively another prologue. This one is around 5-7 hours long, and it introduces you to the world and sets up the main story of the game. It's only after this segment that the meat of the game and the main story begins. Act 2 is by far the longest, and it's also where you'll have the most flexibility. You can run through the main jobs if you like, which progress the story, but you're also free to acquire and complete side jobs, gigs, random world events, and car collecting. The naming conventions may be a bit confusing, but the side jobs and gigs are not equivalent. Side Jobs, the side quest of Cyberpunk 2077, are meaty, story-heavy, multiphase quest lines, while gigs are, for the most part, one-off money-making opportunities.
The gigs are fine for the most part and great to pursue if you want some extra experience points or money, but the side jobs are arguably the best content in the game. I completed most of the side jobs and finished the main story on hard difficulty in 45 hours – I didn't 100% the gigs or buy all the cars and cyberware, but I'm confident in calling my playthrough thorough, so that's probably the approximate game time you can expect if you approach the game similarly. I've seen a few people surprised that 45 hours was all it took to get through the follow-up to Witcher 3, but honestly, I think the pacing was pretty spot on. There was never a time where I felt like the story was treading water or that I felt myself struggling to remember what was going on in any of the stories.
This is smartly mediated by quests, which require a character calling you back after a day or so to resume the quest line. It makes it organic to bounce between different plot threads without forgetting what's going on in any of them. Like if, in real life, you went for coffee with someone at lunch, then made plans with that same person for the next day, and then went to hang out with some other friends that evening. It's one of the aspects that made Night City feel like the place where V lives, rather than just an open-world map with quest icons that need to be cleared.
The game's structure is ultimately pretty similar to Witcher 3; it's just a bit more streamlined and works quite well. However, I did not like how the quest level recommendations worked at all. In Witcher 3, you were given specific recommended levels for each quest, so you knew which quests were out of your league, as well as which ones you'd out-leveled and could knock out easily. In Cyberpunk 2077, you're just given a danger level which changes for each mission as you get more powerful. I felt this to be much more vague and confusing, particularly considering I'd do some high-danger quests which weren't a problem and some moderate-danger quests which seemed flat-out impossible. This seems like the kind of thing which could be fixed by a mod. For example, my buddy Fonz threw a mod on Witcher 3 that showed multiple quest objectives on the map at once, so he could multitask – but it appears CDPR has not learned much about quest menu organization.
The open-world mechanics themselves are also a bit of a mixed bag. CD Projekt touted a world where NPCs go about their lives on behavioral patterns and that Night City would feel truly alive, and this is true, if not for one very important X factor: the player. It seems like V interacting with NPCs breaks them out of AI patterns, which would be fine if they reacted in a believable manner, such as fighting back when V is ripping them out of their vehicle or driving around V if the player decides to stop their car in the middle of the road. But the NPCs in night city seem just to break unless they are possible hostiles, in which case they'll immediately start fighting. This doesn't destroy the game, as the non-hostile NPCs don't factor into the gameplay beyond the vendors, but it certainly breaks immersion.
Worse still is if you commit a crime, accidentally or otherwise, because the crime and police system is, at most, half-baked. If you kill a civilian, be it with your car or a stray bullet, you will acquire a wanted star, not unlike GTA. However, unlike GTA, the police do not pull up in vehicles and chase you; they just sort of teleport in. This is flat-out cheating on the part of the game and is balanced out by the fact that cops and your wanted level seem to vanish if you run or drive 20 meters down the block. It makes it seem like the only reason there are police at all is so you can't just go on ruthless killing sprees without the world reacting. I am happy they landed on a system that is, ultimately, not very intrusive, as it didn't derail missions and force restarts because of a bad turn in your car or a stray bullet. But it is, at most, a tick in the box feature. It's enough that if anyone asks, "do the cops show up if you commit a crime?" the answer is technically "yes," but it isn't any deeper than that.
Night City feels a whole lot more populated and alive than the Wastelands of the Bethesda Fallout games, The Outer Worlds, or, honestly, any other comparable RPG, but it's not up to the standard of the Grand Theft Auto games. Cyberpunk 2077 is closer in genre to the former overall, but there is something about driving around a cityscape that makes you instinctively think the world will behave like a GTA; sadly, that's not the case here.
It doesn't help that the driving physics are also on the wonky side. The most important thing to learn are that you need to slow down when going into sharp turns, which involves braking in advance because all of the cars are quite heavy. This is exacerbated by the physics on handbrake turning feeling strange, the mini-map being zoomed in too tightly, and the camera not following the car the way you'd expect. The mini-map creates a problem because, if you're in a fast vehicle, you'll see the next turn you have to make too late for you to slow down sufficiently. The result is that you'll often brake too late and have to come to a sudden stop, which breaks the feel of a carefree drive through an aesthetically gorgeous Cyberpunk city, or you'll blow right past your turn, forcing your GPS to do a recalculation of shame.
The strange auto camera makes it difficult to track your car around sharp turns too, to the point that I eventually found driving with a keyboard and being able to free-control the camera with my mouse preferable at times. That is weird for me because I generally prefer driving with a controller. The good news is that the motorcycles control better than the cars do, so cruising around in the Kusanagi feels awesome. Yes, it's almost exactly Kaneda's bike from Akira, and it's named after Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, so if you're an early 90s weeb, it's well worth the 22,000 Eddies.
Surprisingly enough, moving around on foot feels pretty damn good. The sprint gives you a decent boost of speed, mediated by a stamina bar, and the ledge mantle works far better than I expected. It's pretty forgiving, so if you're anywhere close to the ledge you want to grab onto, V will grab it and pull you up, which makes doing things like navigating around fences a lot less frustrating than in other RPGs. It's not up to the standard of something like Dying Light, but it's about on par with the recent Far Cry games. Things get even better when you save up the scratch for the double jump ability, which willchange a lot about how you approach the traversal and the combat. The double jump is so good that, had they gotten the wall run working properly and left it in the game, Cyberpunk 2077's movement could've been downright incredible. Sadly, 'twas not meant to be.
The slide is a weak link. I would trigger one every so often, but it didn't feel nearly as snappy as it should, which is a shame because it would've helped out in situations where you are trying to get to cover quickly. The other weak link is the dodge ability, which is inherently tied to another issue: the lack of control customization options. The vast majority of PC first-person shooters, or even PC games in general, allow you to map any and all controls to whichever key or button you choose. It's strange that Cyberpunk 2077, a PC lead platform game made by a primarily PC developer, leaves a bunch of keybind options off the table for no apparent reason. You simply cannot bind the action button to any key other than F. I use E as my action key in games; I only use F to pay respects. Luckily, you can map reload because reloading with my rear mouse thumb button is a way of life for me at this point.
Getting back to the dodge, it functions similarly to the dash in Doom Eternal or Shadow Warrior 2, but instead of just being mapped to a dash key, which throws you in the direction you're traveling, you have to double-tap the direction key, front, back, left, or right. This not only works poorly when you want it to, it sometimes activates when you don't want it to, causing you to occasionally fly into tactically disadvantageous positions against your will. This problem could be completely fixed by a simple key mapping option. The other weird one is walking with a keyboard. You sometimes have to follow characters during story segments, and all of them walk far slower than V's base movement speed. If you look at the character you're following, you will match their speed, but this seems to stop working when you move up stairs or if your reticle moves off the leading character's back. This is remedied by picking up a controller and using the left analog stick to slowly move in these segments, but CDPR let me hit a key to toggle on walking, then let me break it by sprinting if I needed. Again, a small problem that isn't game-breaking, but it is immersion-breaking and has a seemingly simple solution.
Combat in Cyberpunk 2077 is made up of a few methods you can combine – hacking, melee, and shooting. Shooting is the one that clicked with me the most, which shouldn't be a total shock, as FPS games are sort of my thing. Cyberpunk 2077 is no Doom Eternal or even Call of Duty in this respect, but I found it better than the Borderlands games and worlds better than Fallout or The Outer Worlds. At least on hard mode, the enemy AI is a lot better than the rest of the AI in the game, as they put up a pretty sufficient fight. More importantly, the keyboard-mouse controls feel accurate, and the guns feel awesome to fire. The animations for recoil and reloading are aesthetically satisfying, and the sound effects make the guns feel weighty and powerful, even if shooting a low-level gun at a high-level enemy then makes you realize you're using a water gun on a rhino. I would challenge even first-person shooter purists to say the shooting in this game feels bad when you get a chance to use the Malorian pistol. I mean, just look at this thing; it might have the sexiest reload animation ever, and it sounds like the gods clapping. Also, honorable mention to my pink pistol Lizzie; I used her for most of the game, and admitting that doesn't make me any less manly. Pink is the new black.
The guns come in three varieties – power, tech, and smart. Power guns are basically standard firearms; you can bounce bullets off walls with them, but I never found this mechanic effective. They are also, however, the highest raw damage weapons. Tech guns really change the game early on, as they let you see through walls if you're close enough to them; if an enemy is on the other side of that wall, they will glow red, and you can then shoot them through the wall. Smart guns can't be used to their fullest until later in the game, when you get a cyberware tattoo, which unlocks their potential. But when you get them, the run and gun game starts to get crazy. Smart guns give you a large box reticle, and bullets will automatically home in on any targets within that box in a very satisfying manner. It's even more satisfying when you're double-jumping around and sending bullets directly to their mark while bouncing around like a popcorn kernel. It's kind of like the Smart Pistol in Titanfall, but you can find them in several varieties. Once again, I sort of wish CDPR got that wall running worked out… the possibilities.
If you don't feel like running around and double-jumping while sending a rain of bullets directly to your enemies, there is also a cover, which works well when it works, but is sadly not as reliable as it could be. It's an auto-stick system that only appears to work when you're crouching. When you're in cover, hitting the aim button will pop you out. It functions well, and you can even take a perk that will increase your weapon damage from cover, but the auto-stick system is a tad too loose. Once again, the simple solution would be a button mapped for cover-mounting, which would make it possible to more reliably stack on walls while standing, but, sadly, it's another promising system that ended up half-cooked. It does take a fair amount of shots to take all but under-leveled enemies down, but I didn't find it excessive, at least in the context of other hybrid RPG shooters like Destiny or The Division. But if you're accustomed to games like Call of Duty, the time-to-kill pace might throw you off. That's not the shooting mechanics being bad; it's you not liking RPG damage systems, which is fine – you don't have to like RPGs. But that's the type of game this is, so the combat might just not click with you if that's the case. However, even the bullet sponge aspect improves as you level up your character, gain perks, get better guns, and learn how to use your resources more effectively.
Melee, on the other hand, is not nearly as good. I got kind of hopeful for it in the VR tutorial at the beginning of the game. The sword slashes felt weighty, the parries were easy enough to nail and throw the game into a slick slow motion, and the blood effects are satisfying. The problem is the enemy behaviors during melee vs. melee combat, and I honestly didn't really notice until I started working on the street boxing missions. The enemies appear to magnetize you in the middle of their attacks, which is weird, but might have been okay if you had similar leeway. But it appears that you need to land your attacks quite specifically. You also can't block or parry if you're out of stamina, so if you run out, you're forced to run or dash away and let it recover. Considering the opponents in the boxing matches have insane health and do a lot of damage, the result is that you find yourself chipping away at an enemy's health, needing to land approximately 100 hits to win, and if you miss one parry or dodge into a corner as an enemy is locking on with their bullshit magnet attack, it's game over. It was frustrating to the point that I gave up on the street boxing missions after two opponents, hoping to come back when I'd over-leveled the others… but then the game ended.
Blade combat is quite a bit better. There is one challenging boss fight in the middle of the game, which, from what I could tell, forces you to swap between sword and gun combat, and it was quite memorable. Once you acquire the Mantis Blade cyberware, things get a lot more interesting, too, as you have a permanent blade weapon equipped and can do cool executions with it. It was so much fun that my last few perk points were all spent on buffing the blade bleeding damage, even though I avoided melee combat for most of the game.
I didn't invest much into hacking until later in the game, when I thought having some more options at my disposal would help. While it is possible to hack some environmental elements like cameras, turrets, or mundane electronics that will simply react, the meat of the hacking system is the combat quick hacks. Quick hacks work the way magic spells might in other role playing games. You have mana in the form of RAM and can pause the game, select a hack, and apply it to an enemy to blind them, short-circuit their cybernetics to cause damage, use them as a radar ping to reveal other enemy positions, or, at higher levels, force them to commit suicide. Hacking was fun, and on my next playthrough, I plan to invest in it more heavily. As of now, I don't have a thorough understanding of the system depth, so I can't speak on it in too much detail. Reboot Optics certainly came in handy both during stealth and to buy me a bit of time during some of the more intense gun battles, though.
Sadly, the stealth itself is bad. It's not ineffective, and sometimes it's the best effective way to get through a mission, but the gameplay systems are, at most, half-cooked. The biggest offender is that, once an alert phase hits, there doesn't even seem to be a small grace window in which you can stop it. If you're sneaking up on an enemy, they turn around at the last second and spot you. You can't grab them. You can't quickly kill them. You're just spotted, and the enemies at the other part of the building know it. They're a hive mind, like the Borg, which isn't explained in the lore either. The stealth AI is just very simplistic.
This favors the player and somewhat balances out the terrible alert phase system because the detection takes a while. You can walk in full view of an enemy and a vision meter will fill. If you break line of sight, the meter goes back down. There are even perks you can take to make the meter fill more slowly, so stealth is a viable option; it just feels super video game-y and isn't very immersive. That being said, I hardly put any points into the cool stat and only ever used stealth when it appeared to be the only option. Perhaps if I created a stealth build, I'd have a better time with it, but from what I played, it was very rudimentary stealth.
There's also a system for hiding bodies, which seems underdeveloped as well. If you successfully stealth grab an enemy, you can kill or choke them out and either leave them in the open or stash them in a crate. I couldn't tell if dragging an enemy to a discreet location had affected body discovery, and that isn't communicated clearly. The result is that it feels like you can either find a body box or not; there isn't a lot of nuance or subtlety to it. You also have the option of throwing an enemy directly into the body boxes, but that removes your ability to loot the body.
Loot/Economy
Speaking of loot, there is a lot of it in Cyberpunk 2077, to the point that I think the groundwork might be being laid for Cyberpunk's planned multiplayer mode to compete with games like Destiny or The Division. All the looter shooter staples are here – gun models with unique stats, rarity tiers, the ability to add mods, pretty much everything you'd be expecting from The Division 3. There are also unique weapons that you gain from quests, like the aforementioned Malorian or my girl Lizzie. These felt special, so I tended to stick to the unique items and upgrade them instead of constantly swapping to new guns with higher damage values.
And that's the aspect which seemed strange to me. There is a solid crafting/upgrade system, but I only found it necessary to use in two situations. The first is when I wanted to make the Malorian even more badass than it started by using components to upgrade its stats across the board. The second is when I was running low on healing items and found I could just burn common crafting components to make them myself. I'm certain at some point there will be quests in which you need to track down legendary weapon blueprints and will then need to craft them, similar to the Witcher armor in Witcher 3, but I couldn't seem to find anything like that in the game right now, so the weapon crafting didn't feel very worthwhile.
The biggest way the looting factored into my playthrough, particularly once I had a solid set of weapons I wanted to stick with, was to fuel the in-game economy. I would do my best to pick up every weapon and item an enemy would drop, up to the point of over-encumbrance, so I could bring them to a vendor and sell them, or break them down for crafting components. Getting creative with the economy was necessary because things in Night City are expensive. I'm back and forth on whether or not this was a good idea, as it certainly made it feel earned when I made the money to buy my double jump, my Kusinagi bike, or my Avenger, but in the case of the cyberware specifically, it locked gameplay-improving mechanics behind extremely high price tags. I think this could've been improved by having more side jobs or gigs tied into cyberware upgrades, the way the Smart Gun link tattoo was, but that criticism might be down to taste more than being an objective issue. The traversal got a lot more fun when I acquired the double-jump, to the point that I would strongly recommend grinding it out by doing gigs early on. I wish I had, as I got it pretty late.
Alright, now that we've gone over the combat mechanics, structure, and gameplay systems, it's time to tackle the role-playing aspects of Cyberpunk 2077. Once again, being an adaptation of a pen and paper RPG, many might expect these aspects to be well-developed and flexible, as CD Projekt's prerelease marketing seemed to indicate nearly limitless possibilities. I'm sad to say that this isn't exactly the case. You can't do things like create a charisma build and talk your way around situations, nor can you go full Netrunner and just hack everything without firing a shot or throwing a punch. V being a mercenary is inherent to the story. You can't just decide to leave the Afterlife club, not take mercenary work, join a gang, open a shop, or just live your life in Night City. It's not nearly that flexible.
As much as you can shade and flavor V to become your V, the character is not YOU; it's V – similar to how Geralt of Rivia was a set character, despite the fact that you could choose to make him more or less of a dick through your dialogue choices. I know this isn't what a lot of people, or even I, was expecting, but it works pretty well in that it helps the storytelling feel more focused. It would've been nice if the effect your Life Path choice and your build had on skill checks made a bigger difference, as they don't seem to do a whole lot beyond letting you save a bit of money or open a door more easily, but the storytelling does manage to make up for this shortcoming.
That being said, if you want a flexible RPG where your choices have major impact on how events play out, Wasteland 3 or even the early access version of Baldur's Gate 3 would probably be better places to look than Cyberpunk 2077. During conversations, you have yellow options and blue options. The yellow options push the conversation forward and represent actual choices, and the blue options help you get more information and are optional. One thing I do really like is that it's never clear if you're making "the good choice, the bad choice, or the neutral choice," and you often won't know if you've made the choice that supports your desired outcome until later on. This forces you to make the choice you think will be the best one, based on what you know AROUND this issue at hand, instead of acting as a hand of God pushing the story toward a specific outcome. It's a subtle feature, but one that makes the dialogue choices feel more engaging than "I'm just going to pick the good guy option every time."
Story/Choice
The real strength of Cyberpunk 2077 is the storytelling. I say the storytelling specifically, not simply the story, because it's not just the main story that is strong. I would argue the main story IS strong, but it is relatively straightforward and probably won't knock your socks off. But there are several other stories that happen in tandem with the main plot. They weave in and out, and I think that – due to the data CDPR got on people falling off Witcher 3 before finishing the main story – they decided to segment a lot of this content into dedicated side job quest lines.
Do not skip these quest lines.
I'm going to veer into spoiler territory here, but I will not discuss the endings to any quest lines, and you may choose different things than I did, so "spoilers" has an asterisk in this case.
*POTENTIAL SPOILERS*
The main quest, which begins at the end of act 1, involves the consciousness engram, which is basically a digital ghost of Keanu Reeves' Johnny Silverhand character, stuck in V's head. Johnny is overwriting V's mind against his will, so the main premise is that the two of them are teaming up to save V's life. I loved how simple this premise was. It's not the fate of the world or the fate of Night City you're fighting for; just the fight for your own mind. Over the course of this story, you cross paths with characters like Johnny's old guitar player Kerry, detective River Ward, street-racing bartender Claire, the prerelease fan-favorite Waifu Judy, and the actual Best Girl of the game Panam Palmer. Each of them also has a detailed, multi-phase quest line, so you'll find yourself taking time from pursuing a main objective to, say, help River Ward rescue his kidnapped nephew. I felt invested in each of these storylines and was gladly prioritizing them over the main story at times – not just for the purpose of a thorough review playthrough. The writing of these stories was top-tier, and I was compelled to finish them before moving the main story along. All of them have the secondary effect of teaching you more about the lore of Night City, with you encountering several different factions and gangs, learning bits and pieces of what their goals and philosophies are.
This storytelling is reinforced by some phenomenal performances. My V was male, and I liked his snarky tone; he kind of reminded me of ItsAGundam… if Papa Gundam we're a badass cyborg mercenary with a slightly deeper voice. Keanu Reeves absolutely nails Johnny Silverhand, even if that isn't immediately apparent. Reeves sounds a bit monotone and dry, but that has a purpose and a solid benefit, in that it gives Johnny a very specific and noticeable way of speaking. There are moments in the game where Johnny takes over and V "hands him the wheel," and during these moments, V speaks the way Johnny speaks. Because of how distinct Johnny's way of speaking is, it becomes apparent that V's voice actor is playing Johnny in these moments. It's also pretty cool to see Johnny as a vicous asshole for the first few sequences he's in, only for him to eventually warm to and sympathize with V, which turns it into something of a buddy cop relationship.
Reeves may be the biggest name, but he's far from the only good performance. In fact, the standard is so high across the board that I can't identify a weak link. I was a bit worried about the Jali technology, which procedurally generates facial performances and lip-syncing. I thought it might make everything look weird and the performances seem robotic. But it works very well the vast majority of the time. The story content and performances are the highlights of the game, and whatever other issues Cyberpunk 2077 has, CD Projekt nailed the thing that made Witcher 3 incredible and which so many other AAA devs drop the ball on: the writing is actually good.
From a technical standpoint, Cyberpunk 2077 is all over the map. I'll get it out of the way and just say that the music is fantastic. They contracted a whole bunch of original songs, and the score is just awesome. The sound design is solid too. As far as the visuals go, core design – from art direction, to polygon counts, ray tracing features, and DLSS integration – are incredible, but the optimization leaves a bit to be desired. I was getting an average of 80-120fps on mixed high-ultra settings at 1440p, with ray-traced lighting and reflections on, ray-traced shadows off, and DLSS on performance mode. But my editing rig is running an RTX 3090, so I don't imagine my experience is common. Even then, areas like Jig Jig Street would inexplicably dip to below 60fps. Xray Girl is playing in 1080p, on medium settings with ray-tracing off on a GTX 1080ti, and her experience has been quite solid at 100fps, so you don't need a rig as high-end as mine to have the game run well, but you may have to be mindful of Icarus choices. You might not want to knock the settings down, but to have a smooth experience you may have to.
The good news is, over time, the optimization will improve, and, similar to Witcher 3, the settings will have room to climb over the next several years as new technology comes out. Also, I fired it up on my HDR TV for a test and, while I hardly ever play in HDR because it makes the footage capture look washed-out and horrible, the lights of Night City, or even things like the sunset, look stunning. I felt like Roy from Blade Runner, knowing that the technology doesn't exist for me to share what I was seeing with you-,and that all I'd have to accompany the sentiment is a terrible-looking, washed-out, grey image.
Being on a console is a different story. I fired the game up on my Xbox One X, and, at first, I found it disorienting and almost headache-inducing. Part of it may have been the jump to 30fps from my much better frame rates on PC, but I found that once I turned the motion blur off in the settings menu, things improved quite a bit. I do not have a base-level Xbox to test it on, but from what I have researched and seen, you should absolutely not buy this game on the base level platforms. But if you're okay with 30fps, the Xbox One X version is playable, if not ideal. I would personally recommend waiting on this game until you have access to the new consoles, though, even if that's a year or two from now when the prices drop. The game will be cheaper at that time, and many patches will have arrived.
Bugs/Conclusion
And now… the bugs.
There are currently a lot of bugs in Cyberpunk 2077. Most of the ones I encountered ranged from minor to funny, though on the first night, I did have a series of program crashes when reloading save files after death. Since that first night, I have not had any crashes, but CDPR launching the game in the state they did is still not acceptable. Not even factoring in the catastrophic console launches, it's undeniable that CDPR had one chance to make a first impression with this game and totally botched it. This was likely done in an effort to push the game out before Christmas or to mitigate the backlash they'd be getting for another delay, but it was the wrong move. I hope that in the new year, CDPR continues to fix the problems and maybe even double down on their consumer-friendly elements because they went from being the chosen one to a company that is fast growing a reputation for being liars.
I still think anyone saying "they're no different than any other game company" is inaccurate, as their DRM free store, GOG, is the only service in the industry that sells you digital games that you actually own, but they need to make some moves to get that reputation back. And if the return policies of PlayStation Network and the Xbox Store are causing you issues, the GOG return policy is 30 days, with no restriction on playtime. So even if you were burned by CDPR and want a refund, it's worth noting that the only store they have control over has a fantastic refund policy and should still be used as the example other companies should be held to. I'm not excusing the bad things CDPR has done, but ignoring the good things they do is a disingenuous, emotional reaction, not an honest assessment of what kind of company they are. The first order of business for them will be fixing the bugs, glitches, and optimization issues across all versions of Cyberpunk 2077.
Verdict: Good
It's a real shame because, despite all those issues, there is a phenomenal game under there. Yet, despite my love for the incredible content, I would not recommend buying Cyberpunk 2077 at this time. You will probably have a great time if you've got a capable PC or a next-gen console, but you'll undoubtedly have a better time in a few months when some updates have been applied and problems have been fixed. And CDPR, if any of you are reading this right now, all is not lost. You CAN fix this situation, but it's going to take a lot of work. I believe in you, but a lot of others do not. And it's not me who you have to convince; it's them.
action CD Projekt cyberpunk 2077 First person shooter Keanu Reeves PC gaming PS4 PS5 RPG sci-fi video games xbox one x
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