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Machine Learning at ai: Our Approach to Fraud Detection
Machine learning has been repeatedly proven as a technology and has seen huge success stories across the payments industry.
The ai Corporation makes it simple to choose a solution that utilises state of art technology in an easy to use package. Using our tools, fraud managers can quickly deploy fraud detection and prevention intelligence that outperforms manually designed rules, in a fraction of the time.
Our fraud tools focus on our self-service approach to ensure Machine Learning can help you to simply stop fraud and to take control of spiralling operational costs and false declines.
What is Machine Learning?
Machine Learning refers to a set of tools and techniques to extract and exploit patterns in data which can then be used to create models whose behaviour changes after training with historical data. These changes result in an improvement in the performance of a specific task.
For example, a Machine Learning model with the task of predicting whether or not a payment is fraudulent will improve its predictions after exposure to historical examples of both fraudulent and genuine payments.
It does this by using algorithms to automatically identify patterns and relationships in the data, which are more likely to be associated with fraud.
Machine Learning offers tangible benefits to businesses in the payments industry:
The patterns in the data identified by Machine Learning algorithms are often more complicated than what can be identified by a human. Today's technology can quickly process high-dimensional datasets from diverse sources and identify patterns across multiple dimensions, which humans cannot see. This means that machines outperform humans on tasks such as fraud detection. Machines can find fraud that humans cannot.
As well as increasing the amount of fraud detected (thereby increasing a measure known as recall), Machine Learning also improves the reliability of a prediction: alerted transactions are more likely to be fraud than those identified by human analysts (thereby increasing a measure known as precision). Increased precision leads to a reduction in false positive alerts, a decrease in false declines and prevents insulting customers.
Machine Learning can generate powerful and high performing models in a fraction of the time that human analysts would need to build equivalent business rules. This frees up analyst time, which can be spent on more pressing business needs.
How ai uses machine learning to detect fraud – Our process
Problem Understanding
Machine Learning is best suited to specific problems for which relevant, accurate and timely data is available, and where any predictions or insight can be easily acted on. However, the most valuable part of the puzzle is a thorough understanding of the problem to be solved.
This starts with a well-defined objective. We work with our clients to, amongst other things, reduce false positive rates; increase the amount of fraud detected; respond more quickly to new and emerging fraud; and reduce analyst time spent designing, implementing and managing business rules. The first step to successfully deploying Machine Learning is to help our clients understand their primary (and also often secondary) goal(s).
Having identified the objective, the next challenge is to understand the available data. First, we examine the context under which the data has been generated (and how it will continue to be generated). This enables us to identify any biases that need to be accounted for when building models. Next, we build a semantic structure that can expose the clearest signals to our machine learning algorithms. This involves defining and linking entities that are encoded within the data and enables high performing features to be engineered.
Finally, it's important to understand the environment into which the Machine Learning system will be deployed. Such technology can only make a significant impact if it is placed within an environment where processes are in place that can leverage its intelligence. For example, ensuring accurate and timely fraud reporting leads to the best performing models. How do these processes work within your organisation and is there anything that can be done to improve them to maximise impact?
Investing the time to understand all aspects of the problem faced by our clients makes the rest of our process straightforward and invariably leads to the best results.
Enriching the Data: Feature Engineering
Machine Learning for fraud detection fails without a well-designed set of features engineered from raw payment data. We use our extensive experience in developing features that work well for fraud detection to tailor our Machine Learning to your incoming data feeds. This involves identifying novel sources of data that might be incorporated as well as reviewing the importance of any existing features via our automated machine learning configuration process. Undertaking an initial configuration to engineer such features means that fast results can be repeatedly obtained in the future.
However, data enrichment does not end once our models or solutions have been deployed. Our data science team is constantly on the lookout for new features. This feedback process means we are continuously improving model performance and striving to increase detection rates as we respond to new types of fraud.
Optimising Machine Learning for Fraud Detection
Different algorithms have characteristics that may perform better or worse for a particular problem. Our suite of machine learning tools provides the most appropriate tool for the problem at hand.
Our optimisation process for making sure the very best models are in production uses hyper-parameter tuning; transfer learning in low fraud environments to catch fraud without historic data; and continuous monitoring for problems such as concept drift.
It is essential to ensure Machine Learning models provide sustained predictive performance against new incoming data. We test our models before deployment using out of sample test data to simulate production performance and generate a variety of performance metrics. Our metrics include raw model performance (mean squared error, f-scores, etc.) and real-world KPIs (money saved, number of alerts generated, number of customers insulted, etc.). These metrics inform our clients of the expected performance of the model and, depending on their risk appetite, leads to model deployment at a particular risk threshold. We then continuously monitor model performance once a model has been deployed and automatically generate recommendations for model retirement, re-training, or new data features to be included.
We also make extensive use of our bespoke fraud strategy tools. Our Automated EDA tool assists with the model creation process by ensuring that models are put in place to capture new and emerging fraud trends. Meanwhile, Impact Analysis provides operational insight into the combined performance of multiple Machine Learning models by simulating production KPIs for review by fraud managers.
Machine Learning as a component of a comprehensive fraud prevention strategy
In some cases, Machine Learning cannot wholly substitute the knowledge and understanding of a problem that comes from being there day in day out. Our approach to an overall fraud prevention strategy is to utilise the benefits of Machine Learning in close collaboration with the expertise of human analysts. Our solutions work alongside these analysts, saving them time to focus on the emergence of new fraud trends and ensuring that models are quickly put in place to mitigate any losses. We firmly believe in the role of human expertise. Our approach is 'man plus machine', rather than 'man versus machine'.
Our Data Science Services
Can't tell your hyper-parameters from your f-scores? We're here to help. We offer our data science capability as a service. If you need insight from your data—from descriptive to predictive and prescriptive—and think that we might be able to help, then please get in touch.
Our Self-Service Machine Learning Solutions
No one knows their industry better than our clients. That's why SmartScore and SmartRule are entirely self-service solutions, providing the power of machine learning with an intuitive, easy to use interface that automates the entire process. Following an initial configuration period, we hand over all our proven Machine Learning tools to you.
We've worked hard to identify just the right level of automation while retaining transparency. Providing key performance metrics and KPIs through every step of the modelling process means that you are always in control.
Our solutions are also likely to be already compatible with your existing fraud prevention systems, which means you can add them to your existing practices and very quickly see cost savings and enhanced detection.
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We continue to enhance our leadership across Australia and New Zealand in the payments market, offering world class payment solutions that are both simple and secure.
The AI platform is proven technology that will give our customers more choice and will further help MYOB to protect our customers from cyber-attacks.
Andrew Birch, Chief Operating Officer
I first worked with Rob at aiGateway in 2010 and built a base of 30,000 customers in just over 3 years. So when it came to working on another project, I had no hesitation in picking up the phone and getting aiGateway involved again. We trust the folk at ai, that's really what it's all about in this industry. The product is so simple to use and it looks great. The aiGateway guys really do know what they are talking about and we are looking forward to expanding into the broader ai product set in the near future.
Rupert Lowery, Chief Commercial Officer
Payzone
We are a leading payments processor who use RiskNet as part of our service to our customers. The quality and reliability over the last two years has been excellent. Recently some prepaid cards issues in this region have heightened the awareness of fraud prevention with our clients, so having RiskNet available to protect all card types and channels makes us well equipped and to meet our client's urgent needs in these regards.
Neil Pavis, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Arab Financial Services
I recognise improvements in communication and engagement from ai over the last 12 months and we would like to leverage their expertise and experience for our next phase of development. As the payments world gets more complex we need to benchmark our performance and understand what ai can do for us in the future.
Paul Garside, Credit Risk Officer
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Discussion in 'A Question to the community!' started by cyberwasp, Oct 4, 2016.
Is there any trackball manufacturers out there that make a decent one.
I've used Kensington over the years and they still have the same, "lame," problem. They insist on using "Booger glue," also called credit card glue to attached the rubber feet. within two weeks or less I find myself using super glue to reattach them. Also being so thin the trackball slides around.
I have seen this question asked several times over the last couple years and there has never been a good, acceptable answer.
Bing shows there are several out there, but those responding to that question all say they just aren't the same as those made years ago.
That said, a trackball is a HID (human interface device), like a mouse or a keyboard, that is an extension to our hands. They are very personal devices. As such, what feels great in my hand may feel totally awkward, even painful in your hand. So you really do need to find a store that has them on display and go play touchy feely for yourself to see (feel) what fits your hand best.


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Home | Medical | Iranian-American Sentenced To 18 Years For Espionage Released On Bail
Iranian-American Sentenced To 18 Years For Espionage Released On Bail
A dual Iranian-American citizen sentenced to 18 years in prison for insulting the Islamic republic and engaging in espionage for the United States has been released on bail, two U.S. human rights groups said.
Robin Shahini was freed from prison in recent days on bail of 2 billion rials ($62,000), according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran and the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Both groups said it was not immediately clear if Shahini could leave the country.
Shahini has been jailed in Iran since July and was sentenced by the country's judiciary in October.
Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, told AP that Shaini "is an innocent man who appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and his detention and prosecution was motivated by his dual nationality more than anything else."
Shahini, a graduate student in the United States, was detained by security forces while visiting his sick mother in northern Iran.
He left Iran in 1998, went on to gain U.S. citizenship, and has lived in San Diego for 16 years.
Iran does not recognize dual citizenship, and considers all Iranian nationals to be solely Iranian citizens.
The country's human rights record has been condemned by the United Nations and international rights groups.
Cardtek and Emcredit Introduce First National Mobile Wallet Solution, emPAY
تعيين شركة Alpin Limited (مدينة مصدر) لتكون مسؤول التشغيل التجريبي لمرحلة التصميم لمعرض دبي إكسبو 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Imagine a working environment that encourages creativity and innovation, where employees can take time off what are supposed to be their ongoing projects to develop their own ideas, where there are open and comfortable physical spaces for employees to interact informally, and private cosy places to relax or focus, a games room, a gym – are you thinking Silicon Valley? Google?
This might sound like what we know about "creative companies", such as Google and Apple, but it is actually what we have seen in the China-based offshore delivery centre (ODC) of a US IT service provider.
But the working environment is just part of the story. The most remarkable aspect of the centre is several teams working around long oval tables, with a huge screen at the far end of each table showing another team in another country, sometimes working independently and sometimes "getting together" with the team at the office we were visiting.
Apparently, the teams on the screens (each local team had a counterpart team with which they could interact virtually) are client teams, all based across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Each team at the ODC in China collaborates closely with a corresponding client's team developing technologies that address the client's core business and strategic objectives.
We were told that interactions between the teams in the office and those on the screens are regular "stand-up" sessions that are part of the agile methodology.
As we learnt, such close interactions between the ODC and its clients is the norm. The ODC has had a collaborative relationship with this particular client for more than six years, during which time several inventions have been "born" and many innovations introduced to the client's business model. To achieve its aims, the ODC recruits people who have a passion for technology, and are a perfect fit with the company culture.
We have visited several client-dedicated ODCs of major Chinese service providers, where the typical scenario would be outside lockers where employees are required to leave all their personal belongings, cubicles for working, and interactions with the client typically limited to team leader/manager level. The difference we saw at this ODC was astonishing.
Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate China's image and reassess its outsourcing potential?
Despite the growing number of research and development (R&D) centres in China, such ODCs are perceived as having a limited ability to exercise creativity and freedom to invent. Offshore R&D centres are usually seen as an "extension" of a parent company that taps into China's extensive pool of resources. The notion of "made in China" is a common stereotype associated with low-cost, assembly-line work for large western companies.
What we have seen in this ODC challenges this stereotype and demonstrates that truly creative and collaborative technology development work can be done from China and, more specifically, that truly collaborative work arrangements are possible between ODCs in China and overseas clients.
Does this mean that other western technology companies should consider bringing their creative work to China? And could Chinese technology service providers learn how to engage more closely with their overseas clients to move up the value chain?
Answering these questions could help Western as well as Chinese companies to embrace China's true potential in helping to gain a competitive advantage.
What is this introduction about. It sounds advocating Chinese model business. How safely a company can able to function, disregard normal government immigration intervention, patents and proprietary invasion as well as theft is known. Most startup companies exhaust their capital on R&D. I don't believe china is safe on this regard. Most western companies are blinded by the vast profit making today but once China exceed the economic superiority, which appeared on that direction, the military advancement will reach to a challenging position to the west. Because their global dominance intent was perceived on many accessions. In a very near future their dominance will be immanent. The consequence of greed eventually have regrettable price.
The cost of investment on any new product is R&D plus row materials plus labor. If I'm able to duplicate a product that I've put no investment on the R&D obviously can imagine how the absence of R&D leverage my profit. That is why the Chinese dump products on a cheap price. I noticed this on a third world country that has close relation with china.
Thanks for your concern. Actually this is a Chicago-headquartered company. We have provided the company name in our initial article. The editor deleted the name of the company for some reason.
This US multinational company impressed us in many aspects. A real global company in the era of global economy.


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The real Indiana Jones: Intrepid British don Tudor Parfitt's mission to find the Lord Ark
By ZOE BRENNAN
Last updated at 19:14 22 February 2008
Seeking adventure: Tudor Parfitt
As he entered the sacred cave, a deafening roar filled the air. It was the dead of night in deepest Zimbabwe. The lone explorer reached for his gun, the beam of his torch wavering as he battled his nerves.
This was Dumghe mountain, the spiritual home of the mighty Lemba people. In this cave lay the secrets of their ancestors. A real-life Indiana Jones was determined to reach into its closely-guarded depths.
The renowned Welsh academic Tudor Parfitt had been told of a previous hapless researcher who had wandered too far down forbidden paths leading to this den of treasures. He had been brutally circumcised by the tribe. Village elders spoke of two-headed snakes which resided in the cave.
Tonight was Parfitt's opportunity to put ancient questions to rest once and for all.
He had left the Lemba drinking chibuku - home-brewed maize beer the consistency of porridge - at their chief's hut, their naked women ululating and dancing to encourage the gods to bring rain.
Later, they would collapse into an alcohol-induced slumber, leaving the cave momentarily unguarded. The treasures they hid were reputedly no ordinary tribal spoils of gold and riches. Legend had it that deep within the mountain lay the Ark of the Lost Covenant - the subject of the Steven Spielberg film Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
While conducting his research, Parfitt had found that the Lemba's stories told of a 'ngoma' - a wooden drum used to store sacred objects, which they claimed to have carried on poles from their homeland in Israel, where it had resided in "the great temple in Jerusalem". It had guided them on their long trek from Israel to Africa and was too sacred to be touched by their bare hands.
This was eerily similar to the tales surrounding the biblical Ark of the Covenant, the famous lost Ark thought to contain the Ten Commandments which had been sought without success throughout the ages.
A lecturer in Hebrew at the University of London, Parfitt had studied the biblical description of the Ark. It was near identical to the object the Lemba revered.
So, could it be true? Were the African Lemba of Jewish descent? Was their wooden shrine and the biblical Ark one and the same? And was it in the cave?
That evening, back in 1987, Parfitt did not have time to find out. Greeted by that frightening roar of an animal inside the cave, he turned heel and fled.
But this night was to change Tudor Parfitt's life. He decided then and there to establish whether the Lemba's myth was true. So began a 20-year quest to hunt down one of the most elusive treasures known to mankind.
Scroll down for more...
Treasure-seeker: Tudor Parfitt sought the Ark of the Covenant, as in the film Raiders Of The Lost Ark
In the course of his epic search, which he has just completed, Parfitt became entangled in a modern-day religious saga.
His extraordinary detective story would take him from Zimbabwe to Papua New Guinea, Israel, Egypt and Ethiopia - via the dusty Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.
It would take him on a tour of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Tutankhamun treasures, the land of the Pharaohs and the Queen of Sheba, and into a complex world of codes, theories and mythical adventures.
His eventual find could rewrite the history of the world as we know it.
So, what exactly is the Ark of the Covenant? To understand Parfitt's epic journey, we have to go back some 3,000 years.
The Bible relates that the Ark was made at God's command shortly after the Exodus of the Jews across the Red Sea from Egypt, around 1200 BC. A pure gold coffer, it contained the Ten Commandments, the Law God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.
The Israelites believed the Ark had great powers and at the time of King Solomon it was placed in a magnificent new temple. Some time around 587BC, when the Babylonians seized Jerusalem, the fabulous artefact disappeared. Ever since, mankind has searched for this lost treasure.
The Templar Knights excavated Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Crusades, and, according to rumour, took the Ark back to the Languedoc, in France.
However, despite years of determined searching there has been no evidence of the Ark in the Languedoc. The twists and turns of the Ark's journey become increasingly murky from this point in history.
Parfitt decided to begin his search in Israel. From his home in Wales, he travelled to Jerusalem, where he discovered that he was one of many modern adventurers and bounty-seekers hunting for the Ark. He was met by the Professor of Hebrew at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Chaim Rabin, with the words: "Oh, not another treasure-seeker!"
The skies the limit: Tudor Parfitt was prepared to travel to the ends of the earth
Parfitt also talked to a Jewish diamond merchant who believed the Ark could bring Muslims and Jews together - he had discovered a passage in the Islamic holy book, the Koran, to that effect.
Next, the academic discovered the existence of an extremist Jewish organisation who had been searching for the Ark to accelerate the coming of the Messiah. They had reputedly secretly excavated under the Muslims' sacred Islamic Dome on Temple Mount, into a system of ancient tunnels.
In the Spielberg film, it was even suggested that Adolf Hitler tried to get the Ark in order to rule the world. Gradually, Parfitt began to appreciate how contentious the Ark could be.
Professor Rabin believed the Ark had been moved from Temple Mount, and told Parfitt of his belief that it was "somewhere in the Middle East or Africa, I suppose. There is an outside chance it was taken to Egypt in the ninth century BC by a pharaoh called Shishak."
He added: "If I were looking for it, I would always start with texts. There's more to be found in dusty old tomes than people imagine."
So, Parfitt turned to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Vast travels: Parfitt visited Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, Egypt, Israel and Ethiopia on his quest
These remarkable documents were discovered on a rugged Palestinian hillside in 1947 by a Bedouin goat-herd searching for a lost animal. More than 800 documents were hidden in terracotta jars concealed in 11 caves.
One of them, known as the Copper Scroll, records a list of 64 hiding places of valuable items and is believed to have been written by Jerusalem priests.
Rabin also advised Parfitt to "follow the priests". Many had fled to the North African coast after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
Parfitt decided to make his way to Egypt. Arriving in Cairo in 1994, he set to work examining artefacts from ancient Egypt, including the treasures of Tutankhamun, discovered by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.
Next, his research took him to the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, which houses a research project into the Dead Sea Scrolls.
There, Dr David Patterson, founder and president of the centre, cautioned him: "For heaven's sake, the Ark disappeared from history two-and-a-half thousand years ago. I doubt it will ever turn up. And would it be desirable? Some things are better left unfound."
Parfitt was too involved in his search to heed Patterson as he continued his examinations into the Copper Scroll, which contains references such as: "In the cave that is next to the fountain belonging to the House of Hakkoz, dig six cubits. There are six bars of gold."
Parfitt confesses: "I was obsessed by the task of finding an object of immense historical importance which had eluded men for millennia.
"I read and re-read the Hebrew text of the Copper Scroll. If it was a code, it was a code I didn't understand. Finally, I came to the conclusion that it was simply a straightforward description of hiding places in a world which had disappeared."
He turned to study the routes the Ark could have taken if borne by fleeing Jewish priests.
In 1994, he tracked it to Ethiopia, where a Jewish sect, the Falashas, claimed to have transported the Ark of the Covenant from Israel at the time of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. In the tradition of early archaeologists, he trekked through Ethiopian villages, asking about their Ark traditions - to no avail.
On Parfitt travelled, to Yemen, bordering the Arabian Sea. There, in 1995, he had a breakthrough, finding some old Arabic texts which described how the Ark was sealed in a cave somewhere not far from Mecca.
The stories came from Jews of the Arabian oases whose knowledge of the world was enriched by merchants criss-crossing the trade routes. They gave an alternative history of the Ark right up to the eighth century.
So, Parfitt searched the desert, climbing cliffs and exploring caves and crevices. One particular cave, sealed with a great boulder, looked promising - but contained signs only of the passage of goats and shepherds. Eventually, Parfitt fled, warned that an armed Muslim gang had heard of his interest in the Ark and was approaching.
After all this, Parfitt still remained fascinated by the Lemba tribe he had visited in Africa. Could they have travelled from Palestine across Ethiopia to Zimbabwe as they claimed?
In 1996, Parfitt was handed proof of his theory from an unforeseen quarter. Genetic research into the tribe's DNA showed they were indeed of Israeli descent. Their legend was historically accurate.
Did this mean their fable of the Ark was also true? Parfitt continued to pursue his theory.
In 2001, he returned to the Dumghe cave from which he had originally fled, and faced his fear. He says: 'I forced myself to go into the first aperture through a small hole at the back into a second. There was nothing there. No two-headed snakes. Piles of bat dung, a few bleached bones and that was all.'
Nevertheless, he was convinced he was on the right track, and combed through Lemba enclaves in remote villages, searching for clues.
Next, he was contacted by a Professor of Semitics at the University of Sydney in Australia, who asked him to study a tribe from Papua New Guinea who claimed to be from Israel - bringing with them holy relics, including, they said, the Ark.
By 2003, Parfitt had put together an expedition to Papua New Guinea.
After an exhaustive search which took him through leech-infested lagoons, he concluded defeat.
He says: "For five years, the trail went from cold to colder. I was almost certain that the Ark was somewhere in Africa. But where?"
One ray of hope remained. Parfitt had discovered that 60 years ago, a drum-like object called the ngoma had been photographed in the Museum of Southern Rhodesia in Bulawayo. It appeared in a scholarly book, and had been discovered by the Swedish missionary Harald Von Sicard in the 1940s near the Limpopo river, buried in a cave. Lemba elders laid claim to it. Some time after 1949, however, the ngoma disappeared.
Parfitt discovered that some of the museum's collection had been moved to the Victoria Museum in Harare, Zimbabwe.
He visited the museum curator in March 2007 and was led into a shabby, poorly lit store room. There, catalogued under the number 5218, he found the ngoma - the Lemba Ark.
He says: "I felt a shiver down my spine. Without a shadow of a doubt this was the Von Sicard ngoma. Everything in the room suddenly took on a hard-edged radiance.
"A strange sanctity seemed to shine from it. The ngoma was not covered in sheets of fine gold. There were shattered remnants of rings on each corner, through which carrying poles would once have been thrust. There is no better description of the object that stood before me than in the biblical passage from the book of Exodus."
The passage that Parfitt is referring to describes the biblical Ark of the Covenant as being made of acacia wood and covered in pure gold. It says: "And thou shalt cast four rings in gold for it and put them in the four corners thereof," which would have enabled the Ark to be bourne by two wooden poles. This ngoma was certainly the Ark the Lemba people had described. But was it the Ark of the Covenant? Was this the end of Tudor Parfitt's quest? Only radiocarbon testing could answer that question.
In October 2007, archaeologists at the University of Oxford carried out tests on a sample of the wood. The results did not come back exactly as Parfitt would have desired. The ngoma did not date from the time of Moses. According to the radiocarbon dating, it was built in 1350.
Still, Parfitt was pleased: "The results were remarkable. It is almost certainly the oldest wooden artefact ever found in sub-Saharan Africa.
"The Lemba people had preserved it for 700 years. I believe this was a smaller ark, referred to in Lemba tradition, which had been constructed by the Buba priests to replace the original Ark, which was probably destroyed around 1350."
A small hole in the bottom indicates it might have been constructed around a piece of the original artefact - unfortunately, due to its age, Parfitt believes, this original piece of the Ark has since rotted away.
Undeterred, Parfitt remains convinced his theory - of all the thousands that exist on the Ark - is the right one: "There can be little doubt that what I found in Harare is the last thing on Earth in direct descent from the Ark of the Covenant.
"For more than 3,000 years the Ark of the Covenant has been a symbol of the presence and terrifying power of God on Earth. Its fate is still a matter of passionate interest to millions of people worldwide.
"For the past 50 years we know that it has languished, unrecognised, in a shabby African museum. Now that it has been discovered it will no doubt be invested with much of the influence and authority its ancestors once enjoyed. One can only hope that its influence will be benign."
Having painstakingly searched across the globe for more than 20 years, meeting man, beast and myth in a heroic adventure, Parfitt at last felt that he had completed his life's work and discovered the true secret of the Ark.
For a man who was so determined to discover the answer to the world's most opaque mystery, it is perhaps understandable that, whatever the final result, he had to believe it was all worthwhile.
• Extracted from THE LOST ARK OF THE COVENANT by Tudor Parfitt, published by HarperCollins on March 3 at £18.99. © Tudor Parfitt 2008. To order a copy at £17.10 (p&p free), call 0845 606 4206.
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Welcome to West Monroe Self Storage, your source for quality storage units in Monroe, West Monroe, and all of Ouachita Parish. When it comes to providing self storage rooms with customer service that you can count on, we go above and beyond to provide the best storage solutions in town! Our West Monroe mini storage facility has many features to make your experience with us here both easy and efficient – 24/7 access, all ground-level storage units, and a whole lot more.
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1. SoftLips is something I carry in my purse and use a lot during the day. I buy mine at Walmart.
2. Flat Wallets are fabulous. I can carry it as a stand alone purse but usually carry in my bag. I love that they are hinged. Ashley has several and in different colors!
3. Ticonderoga Pencils are my all time favorite pencils. I love the black! They used to be called Black Widows or something like that.
4. Moisturizer is so important to me, especially at this age! I love the yellow stuff from Clinique. Not too heavy and my skin absorbs it so well!
5. FACEBOOK! Just like Kristen, I had a hard time thinking I would be a good candidate for Facebook. However, I have reconnected with so many of my HS friends and lately, some of the students I have taught over the years! I love it!
6.Panera Bagels are my favorite Saturday treat!
If you decide to play, let me know, so I can come and see!
Hmmm, I may just have to play, too, sometime next week. Would you believe that there are a whole lot of these that I'll have to research having not a clue what you are talking about? Ha!
I have to agree about the hinged wallet. I bought mine one year ago and can't imagine life without it. Only now I want a red one. Moisturizer is a MUST too!! Fun post!!
I was tagged some time ago to do this and I haven't. I need to "get er done".
My son, DIL and daughter all are involved with Facebook. My son set up an account for me, but I haven't done much with it. So many folks are reconnecting through it--I know it's a lot of fun. So glad you're enjoying it, too!
I was so glad that Walmart decided to carry softlips!
ANd thumbs up on loving special pencils!!!
Well, I'm not familiar with most of your favs - I need to get out more! Hoping you have a fun weekend.


Swedish quality and styling helps to keep Baltic Lifejackets as the forerunner in this Market Place. Using softer and more pliable products for more comfort with or without clothing on. Built-in detachable crotch strap, whistle, lifting becket and retro refective tape come as standard.


Noise In Cabin You could hear a good deal of noise, it was mostly tolerable NOISE when seas were little rough.....noisy when cleaning halls during early morning hrs. i hear people, thought it was passengers, so got up to go get coffee/breakfast.....only to FINALLY see a clock on deck.....4:15 am........ ROOMS NEED CLOCKS, ALSO CLOCKS IN HALLWAY, ETC.
Cabin Odor A slight odor, but, you go used to it. very narrow.....folded wheelchair even hard to pass thru.
Your Comments & Observations (OPTIONAL QUESTION) very poor accessiblity in doorway.....had to fold wheelchair to get thru door. (had a fall, sprained ankle....after cruised booked). when got to room 4022....wow....so small....3 adults.....3rd adult sleeping was a bunk, not for 68 45 or 47 yr old. sofa small and did not open.... requested another room immediately, had to wait 3 days for move to 1508.....no difference in size. had balcony and was told to store wheelchair there.....RIGHT....TO GET ALL DAMP......sofa DID open, but touched desk area and people in bed had to step on sofa bed to access bathroom.....TERRIBLE.....REQUESTED ANOTHER ROOM ONLY TO BE TOLD NONE AVAILABLE. Funny, cause 413 rooms which were affected by incident were fixed and cleaned and AT LEAST ONE OF THESE ROOM SH/HAVE BEEN MORE ACCOMMODATING FOR 3 GROWN ADULTS. NOT SATISFIED AT ALL.......... IN ORDER TO WALK, ONE PERSON HAD TO MOVE ASIDE.......VERY SMALL AND DEFINATELY NOT FOR 3 GROWN ADULTS FOUND FAKE FINGERNAIL AND HAIR PIN ON FLOOR,,,,,,ASKED TO RE CLEAN......NOT SATISFIED W/ ENTIRE CRUISE FROM THE GET GO. WOULD LIKE COMPENSATION FOR THE DELAY, CANCELLATION OF COCO CAY........AND NOT GETTING HELP W/ANOTHER ROOM. VERY DISSATISFIED W/OVERALL EXPERIENCE.......WOULD LIKE SOMEONE TO CONTACT ME BY EMAIL OR PHONE.......985-209-2037 RE:: REFUND/COMPENSATION FOR DELAY, ROOM CONDITION, OVERALL CRUISE EXPERIENCE.
Is cabin 1000 in a noisy part of the ship – under/above a kitchen, disco, high traffic area? What else should you know about cabin 1000 before you book? Get a free analysis of Serenade of the Seas cabin 1000.


text:
Q: Dos formularios con dos botones independientes (HTML) Estoy implementando un formulario que casi lo tengo acabado, pero tengo problemas con la parte final. Primeramente el formulario consta de dos "radio buttons" siendo Solicitud y Nuevo miembro respectivamente.
Cuando se selecciona una opción u otra, más abajo se carga unos campos u otros del formulario para que el usuario los rellene y luego pulse en el botón de 'Enviar'. Por otro lado, tengo dos archivos: solicitud.php y miembro.php, en que cada uno debería recoger de forma independiente los datos introducidos en el formulario. Cada .php crea un documento pdf distinto con la librería mPDF y lo envía a un correo como documento adjunto.
Cada instancia, de forma independiente, funciona correctamente, se genera bien el PDF y se envía por correo como documento adjunto. El problema que tengo es a la hora de unificar el formulario en un mismo HTML con la conmutación de los radio buttons.
Una manera que se me ha ocurrido es hacerlo así:
HTML

<form>
    <input value="1" type="radio" name="formselector" onClick="displayForm(this)"></input>Solicitud
    <input value="2" type="radio" name="formselector" onClick="displayForm(this)"></input>Miembro

            <form id="request" action="formulari.php" method="POST">
            Reserva :
            <input type="text" id="reserva" name="reserva" value="$reserva">

Horario :
                <input type="text" id="horario" name="horario" value="$horario">

Participantes :
                <input type="text" id="participantes" name="participantes" value="$participantes">

            <input type="submit" name="submit1" value="Enviar">
        </form>

            <form id="member" action="formulari2.php" method="POST">

Nombre y apellidos
            <input type="text" id="name" name="name" value="$name">

            E-mail :
            <input type="text" id="mail" name="mail" value="$mail">

            <input type="submit" name="submit2" value="Enviar">
            </form>

</form>

Pero sólo se me ejecuta el segundo radio button correctamente. También había pensado en unificar ambos .php, pero busco la manera en que estén separados ya que así no debería tocar tanto código y quedaría más 'limpio'.
¿Alguien puede indicarme?
Un saludo

A: Ambos formularios están bien, pues dentro del form action son diferentes, la razón por la que debe estar fallando y quizá NO notaste es en value="Enviar" pues ambos formularios tienen la misma :/ ¿Podrías probar cambiándolas? value="Enviar" y value="Enviar2" por ejemplo?

A: Al final encontré la solución, y era un detalle estúpido pero que no lo vi... El error fue que añadí sin darme cuenta los dos forms dentro de un form genérico. Al quitarlos de ese form global, funcionó!
Saludos,

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
12/22/02 - SILENCING IRAQ'S POPULATION - 2002-12-23
In 1979, after coming to power, Saddam Hussein silenced all political opposition in Iraq. Over the more than twenty years since then, the Iraqi regime has systematically executed, tortured, imprisoned, raped, terrorized, and repressed the Iraqi people.
For more than two decades, Iraq has been a "Republic of Fear," the term suggested by Kanan Makiya(PRON.: Ka-nan Ma-key-ah), an Iraqi scholar. The Saddam Hussein regime preyed on the Iraqi people in order to maintain power, get rich, and acquire land.
A recently released U.S. State Department report, entitled "Iraq: A Population Silenced," says that "Saddam Hussein has given the Iraqi people a terrible choice -- to remain silent –- or face the consequences." Iraqi dissidents are tortured, killed, or made to disappear in order to deter other Iraqi citizens from speaking out against the government or demanding change.
In July 1999, al-Shaikh Yahya (PRON.: al-Shake HA-ha), an Iraqi theology student, found out that his father and two brothers had been detained and initially tortured as substitute prisoners until Saddam's police could arrest him. Al-Shaikh Yayha was suspected of being a supporter of a prominent Shi'a cleric whose murder had set off protests six months earlier.
The protests were repressed by the Iraqi regime. But the crackdown continued. The student turned himself in and was tortured. For two months, al-Shaikh Yahya slept on the floor with his hands tied behind his back and his face on the floor. The theology student was detained without charge or trial until April 14th, 2000, when he was released.
His experience, says the State Department report, "was not an isolated event, but just one example of how Saddam Hussein and his regime have systematically abused Iraqis in order to silence their beliefs."
As Max van der Stoel, United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights in Iraq, put it, "[T]he political-legal order in Iraq is not compatible with respect for human rights and, rather, entails systematic and systemic violations throughout the country, affecting virtually the whole population."


One of Castle Braid apartment creative spot, only at Bushwick.
So says a wanderer from Indonesia.
A perfect portrait indeed, cleverly depicting the hype and hip and the entire mush of absurdities collectively creating that unique CastleBraid vibe.


text:
package actor

import "fmt"

type Path interface {
	fmt.Stringer
	Name() string

	join(name string) Path
}

type path struct {
	path string
	name string
}

func (p *path) String() string {
	return p.path
}

func (p *path) Name() string {
	return p.name
}

func (p *path) join(name string) Path {
	return &path{
		path: p.path + "/" + name,
		name: name,
	}
}

var rootPath = &path{
	path: "",
	name: "",
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Lead QA/QI Regulatory Analyst - Remote
La Jolla, California
Location: La Jolla, California
UCSD Layoff from Career Appointment: Apply by 11/22/22 for consideration with preference for rehire. All layoff applicants should contact their Employment Advisor.
Special Selection Applicants: Apply by 12/02/2022. Eligible Special Selection clients should contact their Disability Counselor for assistance.
Candidates hired into this position will have the ability to work remotely.
The Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute (ACTRI) an organized research unit at UCSD, was established to provide education, training and infrastructure for clinical research in the San Diego area. It encompasses four hospital systems, two universities and four biomedical research organizations. It receives partial funding from a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the NIH, National Center for Advancing Translational Science. The ACTRI functions under the direction of Gary S. Firestein, M.D., Director, and Senior Associate Vice Chancellor Health Sciences at UC San Diego.
This position will lead broad efforts to support our continuous quality improvement efforts in clinical & translational research. The incumbent will initially focus on IRB and human research policies and practices in Health Sciences, but will transition to the broader scope relatively quickly. Focus areas include national best practices in IRB operations, policies, and procedures, GCP in research, FDA procedures, and process improvement.
Uses advanced research compliance concepts to interpret highly complex and broad regulations, policies and guidelines. Regularly works on highly complex research compliance issues where analysis requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors. Exercises judgment in selecting methods, techniques and evaluation criteria to anticipate and identify problems and develop and implement the appropriate response and / or action. Serves as a technical expert and advisor to department head.
Nine (9) years or more of related experience, education/training, OR a Bachelor's degree in related area plus five (5) or more years of related experience/training.
Demonstrated self-discipline and independent judgment completing highly complex, broadly defined assignments. Proven experience with successfully developing a QA program, or equivalent; interpreting regulations and developing and implementing policies and procedures.
Advanced knowledge and ability to apply all relevant Federal, state, and university regulations policies, and federal guidance documents. Demonstrated expert knowledge of research and compliance policies, regulations and guidelines, including but not limited to FDA, OHRP, IRB and NIH.
Strong proficiency in public speaking, and writing. Demonstrated success at creating whitepapers, presentations, or equivalent, for broad dissemination to a wide audience.
Advanced knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research design, scientific research concepts and terminology.
Relevant compliance certification (if applicable) preferred.
Employment is subject to a criminal background check.
Pay Transparency Act Full Salary Range: $63,400 - $142,800 Annually
The University of California, San Diego is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience. The full salary range for this position is defined as the Full Pay Range. The budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position defined as the Expected Pay Scale. Placement within the Expected Pay Scale is determined by internal equity, relevant qualifications, and collective bargaining agreements (when applicable).
About University of California San Diego
UC San Diego is an academic powerhouse and economic engine, recognized as one of the top 8 public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Innovation is central to who we are and what we do. Here, students learn that knowledge isn't just acquired in the classroom - life is their laboratory. UC San Diego's rich academic portfolio includes six undergraduate colleges, five academic divisions and five graduate and professional schools. The university's award-winning scholars are experts at the forefront of their fields with an impressive track record for achieving scientific, medical and technological breakthroughs.
Connections working at University of California San Diego
https://careers.chpa.org/jobs/17806294/lead-qa-qi-regulatory-analyst-remote


What a jolly pretty room this is! These artists took it upon themselves to recycle plenty of old furniture. It seems to be a regular pattern of life that some people soar and succeed while others get left by the wayside: the same could be said of the furniture world. So someone has gone out and helped these forgotten pieces of furniture and brought them back into the fold. And they've done them proud: what a delighful collection of objets d'art we have before us! Each piece divulges its own character. A bedside table with a chess-style chequered design. A square table with a fluffy zebra pattern. You can only conjecture what was going through the creator's mind. My personal favourite; a foldable table with baby blue inlay, blue beads, napkins and check curtain behind to complete the homogenous display. And don't overlook the chest of drawers that comes with a mysterious colour code. Each drawer a different lacquered hue, even the instep showing off detailed prints.


Asus B250 Mining Expert 19x PCIe Slots, Cryptocurrency ATX Mining Motherboard Local Stocks n Warranty.
Speedy pickup. But, do not forget to check the all the items when you bundle it with CPU.
Received product in good condition. Delivery was fast too.
ok la..ok la..ok la..ok la..ok la..ok la..ok la..ok la..ok la..
Hi, Is there any warranty for the above item? if yes how long is the warranty?
this mainboad have 3years warranty. under Avertek support.
sorry wat you mean i cant get.
63417839 avrtek service you try to call they.
May I know has a refund been issued? I have not received the product and it is more than 2 months already? Can a refund be processed?
your order we are mail out on 29-12-2017.
this one you need to check with Qxpress.
What? They asked me to check with you instead?
this one tmr i will double check with Qoo10 see how, because items we are mail out ready, and than same date same items them make lost 2order also.
dont worry i will help you to check.
Sorry, I just want a refund. because I have already bought another model from your page.
Hello, any updates on the refund process? Or any news in general?
Hello? I am anxious. Any news?
I've contacted Qxpress myself. This is the message I got.
Apologise for the inconvenience caused.
SGP125995200 under compensation for lost parcel and have refunded to Seller Q-account on 23/01/18.
So I guess you can refund the money to me.
I quote post from Qxpress SGP125995200 under compensation for lost parcel and have refunded to Seller Q-account on 23/01/18.


text:
Dobson hails 'Flipside of Feminism' book
Published June 13, 2011 at 10:21pm
A new book that explains how American feminists for decades have fed the public their agenda about marriage, children, sex, education, politics and gender roles today earned high praise from James Dobson, the psychologist who founded Focus on the Family and now runs a new radio outreach called FamilyTalk.
"Certain moments happen in all our lives that seem to be of incredible import. I would venture to say this could be one of those moments," Dobson said as the authors of "The Flipside of Feminism" Suzanne Venker and Phyllis Schlafly, joined him on his program, FamilyTalk.
Get the book that's driving the feminists wild – "The Flipside of Feminism" – autographed exclusively by the authors, Suzanne Venker and the legendary Phyllis Schlafly, exclusively in the WND Superstore.
Schlafly has been a national leader of the conservative movement since the publication of her best-selling 1964 book, "A Choice Not an Echo," and she has been fighting for families since 1972 when she started her national volunteer organization, Eagle Forum.
Her niece is Suzanne Venker, an established author, blogger and featured writer at David Horowitz's NewsReal.
Schlafly told Dobson, "Our position is that American women are the most fortunate class of people who ever lived on the face of the earth. … We have every opportunity and they were not created by feminists."
Hear the interview:
Schlafly said the feminism movement wasn't about helping women and families.
"If you read what the feminists wrote, they were not trying to get the women out of the home for a higher education standard … They really disdained the role of a fulltime homemaker, 'wasting her life' by taking care of children," she said.
She said feminism at its core is "anti-male, anti-masculine, anti-marriage, anti-motherhood and anti-morality."
The book explains since the 1960s, American feminists have set themselves up as the arbiters of all things female. Their policies have dominated the social and political landscape. The "spin sisters" in the media and their cohorts in academia are committed feminists. Consequently, everything Americans know – or think they know – about marriage, kids, sex, education, politics, gender roles, and work/family balance, has been filtered through a left-wing lens.
But it suggests that it is conservative women who actually are "in the best position to empower American women."
In a review, Ann Coulter said, "A gutsy and profound book. Those who crave the truth will inhale 'The Flipside of Feminism,' while those beholden to feminism will resist it. For both, 'Flipside' is a must-read. Schlafly and Venker show how insidious the feminist movement is – and what is its real motive."
From Mark Levin came, "'The Flipside of Feminism' exposes the lies at the core of the feminist agenda: there is no difference between men and women, the hook-up culture is liberating, women are oppressed victims in the home and office, and children are fine when left all day in daycare. Those who consider themselves 'socially liberal but fiscally conservative' will re-examine their attitudes after reading this book."
Schlafly also has a syndicated column appearing in 100 newspapers and her radio commentaries daily are on more than 600 stations. She was named one of the 100 most important women of the 20th century by the "Ladies' Home Journal."
She's written 20 books and served as a member of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, 1985-1991, appointed by President Reagan.
Venker previously wrote "7 Myths of Working Mothers" and has appeared on ABC, CNN, FOX, C-Span, PAX, EWTN — as well as hundreds of radio shows throughout the country.
In "Flipside," Venker and Schlafly examine the bias, contradictions and elitism in so-called women's studies taught at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Venker and Schlafly believe that the feminist dogma has been used to "brainwash" women – especially young women – since the 1960s.


On our travels we speak to a lot of people about underwriting manual developments. One topic which comes up time and again is calculators: great invention or the work of The Devil?
Cancer Risks: Are We Getting Them Right?
Researching cancer mortality over the past few months has proved to be a bit of an eye-opener, and in three ways: firstly the level of excess mortality seen in a number of cancers, secondly the duration over which an extra risk persists, and thirdly that excess mortality may extend over a considerable period.
Can Big Data Spell the End of Uncertainty?
Big data applications are increasingly shaping our everyday lives, making trends more transparent and patterns more predictable. Like insurance, science, notably medicine, is equally subject to the novel possibilities and demands resulting from big data. Will risks gradually decline as trends and patterns become more predictable in healthcare and for behavior? Are the days of insurance and science as we know them numbered?
Big Data, Big Insight – What Does It Offer to Life Insurers?
In an earlier Risk Insights article, we examined the bold claim for big data that the abundance and speed of information would make knowledge redundant. We concluded that if knowledge is understood as the body of causal explanations for observed statistical correlations, there could indeed be a grain of truth in such a claim, especially in the field of commercial applications.


text:
Working with Technology to Build a "Smart City"
Capalino Attends Smart Cities World Expo
Written by Tom Gray, Senior Vice President of Capalino, who attended Smart Cities World Expo
Government must work alongside new innovation and technology firms to ensure a positive economic outcome. To understand today's economic scope, one-fifth of the S&P 500 is comprised of technology companies. City, State, and national legislators must react quickly to the incredibly dynamic landscape of new technologies, and work closely with firms to establish regulation for these emerging technologies. If they don't, we could fall behind those who do. Some cities, regions and countries are taking a more proactive approach.
While at the Smart Cities World Expo this year, one of the keynote speakers was Sr. Jordi Puigneró, General Director of Telecommunications and Information Society at Government of Catalonia, who discussed their new smart region plan. The Government of Catalonia recently approved Catalonia's Smart Strategy (SmartCATalonia) to deploy smart initiatives throughout the region. SmartCATalonia aims to transform Catalonia into a smart region that uses technology and digital information to innovate the provision of public services, boost economic growth and promote a more intelligent, sustainable and cohesive society. Watch the full panel here.
Here are three examples of technology outpacing regulations:
1) E-hail
Companies have been connecting independent drivers with passengers across the U.S. for over five years now, and some state and local governments still are unsure about how to respond. Take, for instance, the recent ban of Uber in the Hamptons, a community where carless New Yorkers flock during the summer months. Read more here: http://fortune.com/2015/06/05/uber-banned-hamptons/
2) Commercial Drones
Recently, the New York City Council will look at banning drones in the City. The legislation they are considering would ban all drones in the City, except for those manned by police with a warrant. According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's study of the economic impact of unmanned aircraft systems in the United States, there is the potential for tremendous economic benefit with UAS integration. AUVSI's findings show that in the first three years of integration more than 70,000 jobs will be created in the United States, with an economic impact of more than $13.6 billion. This benefit will grow through 2025 when AUVSI foresees more than 100,000 jobs created and an economic impact of $82 billion. See full report here: http://www.auvsi.org/auvsiresources/economicreport
3) Driverless Vehicles
Google's LiDAR-equipped driverless vehicles have been safely navigating U.S. roads since 2012. The company is now in talks with several major companies including Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Continental Automotive Systems, Nissan, Toyota, Audi, and Volvo to expand the technology. Yet testing for driverless vehicles is open in just three states: Nevada, Florida, and California. Google's driverless vehicles have driven over 700,000 miles without getting into a single accident not caused by a human driver. Crowded subways, congestion, pollution, and Vizon Zero are all reasons to look at bringing this technology to our city in a real way. Take a driverless bus lately?
At Capalino, we often work with individual technology companies and associations to have this conversation with Government sooner, before the pace of innovation creates tension between these new technologies and government. To learn how other cities and countries are tackling technology regulation, check out the video from the Smart Cities Conference. Or, maybe I will see you in Spain in 2016!
Tom Gray, Senior Vice President
Tom uses his experience in city government to assist clients in land use matters, business development, and community relations.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter here to keep up with the latest news in New York.
Coro New York is Now Accepting Applications for Leadership New York Program
Tom Gray of Capalino Receives "Above and Beyond Award" for Veterans
Capalino's Steve Figueiredo Named City & State 40 Under 40 Rising Star


text:
OCRA-0006 - Chrono Trigger: Chrono Symphonic
By Claado Shou,
January 4, 2006 in Album Comments/Reviews
Ice Dragon
The idea is nice, to make a movie score, but it falls down when listened to for the sake of music. For instance, Lord of the Rings had great music and it did a masterful job of conveying emotions to the audience, but the soundtrack falls down when it comes to sitting at my computer and listening to it. Since the intended purpose was to make a movie score, then I can see why you and others made their songs the way they did, but it seems to me that this project would have had the worst of both worlds if it would have had more music like yours (this sounds bad, but let me finish).
A movie score with no movie is missing the part that makes the music make any sense. With no movie I don't get to watch any characters' mono/dialogues, and I don't get to see facial expressions or other body language.
A movie score with no movie doesn't give me 'stand-alone' songs that convey emotion and tell a story without words. It's like a soul with no body, almost lifeless. EDIT: Actually, there is one exception. Musicals do give stand-alone music Maybe the Chrono Symphonic movie is a musical?
Look for the
Bear necessities...
In fact, a movie score doesn't even try to tell a story, only convey the emotion of the setting or the characters in the story. Most of the time the music in movies is in the background, giving subtle hints to the audience about what is going on.
So in fact the criticism of your song(s) isn't so much a criticism of them but of the basic premise of this project. You might have done a spectacular job of making a movie score, but I'll never know with no movie
Compyfox 16 posts
DarkeSword 16 posts
sephfire 8 posts
Jillian Aversa 10 posts
DarkeSword
You can always read the script while listening.
Mouser X
I noticed that none of the files in the torrent contain track numbers in the tags (MP3s or FLACs). Any particular reason for this? I was going to request that they include the track numbers when they release the "Special Edition" when I remembered that it would only be released in ISO format, and track numbers in the tags aren't really going to work in that regard... So, I was just wondering if some clarification on that could be provieded.
As for the album itself, I think it turned out great! Thanks a lot. Definatly "professional release" (like you'd see in a store and such) quality. However, an "Extended Mix Edition" would be awesome! Forget the restraints on track time made by the script! Remake (or extend, or whatever) the tracks to the length that the ReMixer feels is appropriate for the song. Of course, stick to the general idea of the whole project, but give each individual track the time/attention it deserves.
In saying that, what I mean is that I think the album turned out great. I'd just like to see some of the songs and themes expanded on, sort of like what has been mentioned in some of the earlier reviews.
Again, thanks for the great music. And, thanks in advance for clarification on the track numbers instance. Mouser X over and out.
OmegaMe
Hey ho! Just thought I'd say I love the project... and I don't mind the soundtrack thing, 'cause I listen to movie soundtracks all the time. This makes really good music for doing homework while listening. Hehe, the singing caught me off guard though...
I love all the tracks on this, unlike in other past projects where I've just picked out the best songs. I'm not even that familiar with Chrono Trigger, but this is a great project. (Although I can't wait for project chaos either...)
Rockin' Awesome.
Red Omen
Red Omen – Hymn of Valor 3:36
It just feels like it ends too abruptly. I was just getting into the horns and bam, they're gone.
I feel the same way. The reason why it's like that is because I was approaching deadline - and the deadline was the day I moved into college.
shh don't tell anyone
lokoluis15
I registered on OCRemix just to encourage the makers of this projects and tell them that they did a great job. I enjoy the soundtrack very much and I have been following it for a couple months now, very excited about it.
I believe that all of the songs in this collection do justice to the CT songs that are remixed, and all proivide a range of interpretations from different mixers.
Although I enjoyed every track on this collection, I stand by some criticisms that some tracks are too short. Confronting the Mystic is one of my favorite tracks on this album, but it's short length makes the enjoyment quick and over with. A pseudo correction for this is to just put it twice in a row on my tracklist, . I highly encourage the mixers to do stand-alone versions of their songs. They sound great together and in the "movie" context, but some enhanced versions surely couldn't hurt.
Finally I must say that I absolutely loved the last song, To Far Away Times. Pixietricks has such a great voice and the piano arrangement is stunning. I don't know if it is allowed or not, but I would love to have a copy of the sheet music for the piano in that song. I cannot stop listening to it, you guys did an awesome job.
Congratulations to all the remixers and everyone involved, you all worked very hard and it is evident in the quality of the final product. Good Job!
Chocolate Supra
I wish I were more musically inclined, I'd give a review that'd do the project some justice, but alas, film is more my passion and focus. Therefore, as a hopeful filmmaker who has always wanted to adapt CT into a movie, constantly dreaming of how the themes and music and images will all come together, let me say that this finished product is everything I'd ever hoped it would be and then some. I was afraid I'd be distracted by artistic liberties and synth-that-doesn't-sound-like-orchestra, but thank God, neither happened.
I purposely listened without reading the script or looking at track names, just hit "select all" and "enter." I can say the whole thing flows quite well- anyone who is familliar with Chrono Trigger can see the story unfolding as they listen, even with some of the rearrangements Claado made to the story (dude, having Magus finish Zeal- I can't believe I didn't think of that when trying to come up with my own version for a movie. brilliance). Fantastic stuff. Heck, I joined OCR for the sole purpose of patting everyone on the back.
Big thanks to all who contributed and worked. SO much that is part of my life was influenced by other people, but Chrono Trigger and the love of its story, characters, and music has always been one of the few things that was entirely me. CT means a lot to me, and I may go as far as to say this was as much a realization of a dream to me as it was to y'all. I'll be listening to this for a very, very long time.
BTW, to Reuben Kee and pixietricks- "To Far Away Times" made me cry. Made me feel like I was saying goodbye to a best friend. Hope you're happy, you two.
Eon_Blue
Why is there written "Well, it's my turn to go on a journey!" at the bottom right hand corner of the album art?
Hah, someone found it. I didn't expect too many people to examine it that closely. Just a little bit of trivia for the project. You can't see it at all on a printed copy - or at least I couldn't...
You put that there? That's awesome!
See, in the "speedy" ending, you get to meet all the developers. When you talk to Yasunori Mitsuda, who looks like Toma, that's what he says. Then he walks out the door and disappears.
Yeah, more of a tribute to Mitsuda than anything else. Not like the album already isn't...
Looking at it now, it's pretty easy to spot... should have made it dimmer.
JhJ
I was here from the early beginnings of this project, I just chose not to post around the forums...I must say it's a great accomplishment. Beautiful pieces are in this project. Bravo to all of the remixers who took part in it.
Zeality
Okay, it looks like "Zonk" isn't going to post my news at Slashdot. He's running the game section like a blog, posting everything himself.
son of a bitch bastard-dick cockblasting shitcock asser of a fuckcrack lovestick fagraper
How do we proceed?
Compyfox
Well... leave it be, Zeality. Leave it be. It'll get on there eventually... As did the Doom project. We have a Wiki, we were posted on Digg.com, some other random torrent trackers, hell even on joystix. What else do you want?
Any reason why I should have inserted tracknumbers? Arent't the tags already enough? I tagged those files (mp3) with a tool called UltraTracker. If I had done this by hand, it would have taken me hours. The FLACs were done with FLAC frontend and tagged by hand in Winamp. Took me a while already.
And I don't see the "need" for using tracknumbers if the filenames already have this already, too.
There won't be "extended tracks" of this album. The music was written over a year ago and doing something like this would take another half year to push out a "Special Edition". Sorry to say that.
sephfire
OCReMix has an enormous Chrono Trigger section. Well over 60 tracks have been composed remixing the music from this game (and there's a lot of quality music to be found in there, let me assure you). This project has a more defined purpose than to just "make 25 more remixes but all orchestral." The "film score" organization and arrangment of this album is what makes it so unique.
And you don't have to see the movie to appreciate the dynamics of this album. Listen to it all the way through. If you know the game's story, you can follow the storyline placement just by hearing the music. The dynamics of the album as a whole reflect the dynamics of the Chrono Trigger story itself. So long as you know the game, you can follow the soundtrack.
Chrono Symphonic is a single united composition, not just a collection of many tracks. This is reflected in Claado's script and in Compy's hard production work to make each individual track flow together. This was the goal from the very beginning.
I played through Chrono Trigger a few times and can remember much of the storyline, and I would agree that the music in this album does flow well. Thanks to the stand-alone remixes.
I liked The Rising and think it had a distinctly different feel compared to Crono's Dream. If this were a 'true' movie soundtrack than I imagine that the album would be rather boring, with only a handful of 'stand-alone' songs to grab my attention. The rest would be background music like Crono's Dream. Same with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
So long as you know the game, you can follow the soundtrack.
This is important. If there were less 'stand-alone' songs in this album and people didn't have a game to visualize the story, then I imagine this album would have gotten fewer positive reviews. People don't mind background music (I certainly don't), but it certainly doesn't get the kind of attention 'foreground' music gets. And background music certainly can't tell a story.
I beg to differ on your point about Chrono Symphonic not being 'just a collection of many tracks'. I find that many of the songs could easily stand alone and get good reviews by themselves. How many of the songs weren't made specifically for this album? I can pick out at least 3 that I know of. Two weren't all the different from the originals. I'd dare to describe Chrono Symphonic as a collection of very well done, stand-alone songs that also flow well together to form a story, with some background music as lead-ins to other stand-alone songs. I'd say that Relics of the Chozo more closely follows your description of CS (but not completely) in being a single united composition, even if artificially in some parts, by the fade-in to each successive track in the album. Sure, RotC also had its share of background music as well, but I enjoyed (some of) it as well.
I'd say that a truely single united composition would have had one source of sound fonts/samples and more coordination between the composers to plan volume levels, bass levels, etc. to truely unite the album (and subsequently make Compy Fox's life a bit easier). For instance, you would have agreed to a set amount of violinists, pianists, trumpet players, etc. and utilised them accordingly in a more united fashion. I suppose this is a bit anal retentive, but it would be quite united.
I believe at first we were being limited to using the same free soundfonts like squidfont, cadenzza, etc. Then we all realized that only Bliz and Unknown can make free orchestral soundfonts sound like the shit. So we got to use whatever OMG$$$ samples we wanted. I am still confused about Unknowns use of guitar in his track, I think that might have been overboard or something.
I'm not saying that the tracks can't stand alone independent from the whole. That's obviously untrue. As you said, several of the tracks were composed before the project began. I'm saying that Chrono Symphonic (by design) meshes into a single composition in a way that no other project has until now (though others come very close).
I agree with that. However, with everyone using different software and resources, it would be incredibly difficult to have EVERYONE use the same samples/etc and master settings without resorting to freeware. Granted, Unknown has proven that free stuff can work wonders, but not all of us have mastered this technique. There are lots of other ways that such unity and coordination could have been accomplished, but most of them would have involved money or an incredible sacrifice of time to achieve. I think things were organized efficiently given our resources.
Also, the entertainment value of film soundtracks is rather objective. I've been listening to the soundtracks from "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Island" ever since I bought them without succumbing to boredom. Film soundtracks don't necessarily have to limit themselves to simple "background music."
aarolye
Great job! I bet everyone's said this so many times, but I wanted to say it too.
I have been going to this site ever since 6 years ago when I accidently discovered it. Luckily, I finally remembered the name of the site and found it again.
I was so awed when I heard the Symphonic music because everyone's styles are so diverse yet they made this orchestra-like. I felt the same intensity as Lord of the Rings music made me feel and the unpredictable heart-stopping emotions I got from playing Clock Tower for the first time (since I am the typical girl and stopped playing after 5 minutes of it ^^).
Overall, the music highly surpasses the average Square RPG. I wish this CD was used as the music of FF Advent Children.
Well, I'll stop babbling now! Thanks for great compositions and broadening my music horizon~
I believe at first we were being limited to using the same free soundfonts like squidfont, cadenzza, etc. Then we all realized that only Bliz and Unknown can make free orchestral soundfonts sound like the shit. So we got to use whatever OMG$$$ samples we wanted.
Yeah. I envy those guys' ability in that area. They take the free stuff and work miracles. I have the ability to consistently make Reason's decent orkester library sound like crap spewing from a marching band tuba at haltime.
Unknown needs to create a tutorial or something explaining how he does that. I'd pay money. Seriously.
DragonAvenger
You can't imagine what the movie would be like by reading the script? I think doing that acheives an even greater level to CS since while there is a basic plot, you can think of the details as you listen, and make it fit your style. Basically, you can make the movie perfect for you.
I actually have yet to read the script, but I can still feel the ideas for the scenes and how they would play out.
It's not that difficult; just use the right amounts of reverb and stereo separation, and pay attention to velocities. Write realistic rhythms, and know the limitations of your sounds. You need to treat a violin sample as a violin sample, not a real violin, and understand its limitations. That's how I approach sequencing any 'real' instrument, and it's what I did when I wrote my tracks for this project.
That makes sense. I'll keep that approach in mind for the future.
PLBenjaminZ
As far as I'm concerned.... *hides* >_> ...everything I used was free But then again I guess my stuff isn't the shit lol... I wish I had some of the samples some of you guys used. That would've greatly reduced my limitations, I don't know how many times I told myself "damnit I can't get the right sound!" I say we all should've used only Edirol Orchestral because that's the only thing I used ;) ;) ;) jk
I thought the music in FF Advent Children was great(well at least the last battle song, that had me in tears how incredibly cool it was)!
...and to the people suggesting we should've taken off the time restrictions to the music because there's no actual movie, I already tried this argument about a year ago (it's somewhere in this thread) and I was brought down horribly by a counter argument (something along the lines of making it funner because it was more of a challenge to make those restrictions). Now that I look back, I think it's better this way anyway; I don't think I'd want to listen to 4 CD's of really long orchestral arrangements... just my opinion The only downside is that some of the content feels too short now.
I like smiley's. It says so in my sig.
u maen rych ppl gib mee moneh soo i ken goh bai beter sampels nau~ jk
...or maybe i need a job
Sleepy Emp
I used free samples, too. Spend an hour rummaging through Hammersound and SF2Midi and you'd be surprised what you will find.
Yeah uhh "The New Beginning" is freaking sweet. Kudos man.


text:
package org.conqat.engine.model_clones.metrics;

import java.util.List;

import org.conqat.engine.core.core.AConQATKey;
import org.conqat.engine.core.core.AConQATProcessor;
import org.conqat.engine.model_clones.model.IDirectedEdge;
import org.conqat.engine.model_clones.model.INode;

/**
 * {@ConQAT.Doc}
 *
 * @author hummelb
 * @author $Author: steidl $
 * @version $Rev: 43636 $
 * @ConQAT.Rating GREEN Hash: 69F1F375CBDC110E2991F666ED06570A
 */
@AConQATProcessor(description = "Calculates the maximal interface size to weight ratio over all instances "
		+ "of the clone group. The interface size is defined as the number of edges from the clones to its "
		+ "surroundings. If the weight of a clone is 0 it is assumed to be at least one. ")
public class InterfaceToWeightModelCloneMetric extends
		ModelCloneMetricProcessorBase {

	/**
	 * We use the key annotation here, so the key becomes visible in ConQATDoc
	 * and cq.edit.
	 */
	@AConQATKey(description = "The key used for storing the metric.", type = "java.lang.Double")
	public static final String KEY = "ifs/weight";

	/** The maximal ratio encountered so far. */
	private double maxRatio = 0;

	/** {@inheritDoc} */
	@Override
	protected void resetCounters() {
		maxRatio = 0;
	}

	/** {@inheritDoc} */
	@Override
	public void addCloneInstance(List<INode> nodes, List<IDirectedEdge> edges) {
		double ratio = (double)graph.getInterfaceSize(nodes)
				/ (double)Math.max(1, getNodesWeight(nodes));
		maxRatio = Math.max(maxRatio, ratio);
	}

	/** {@inheritDoc} */
	@Override
	public double calculateMetricValue() {
		return maxRatio;
	}

	/** {@inheritDoc} */
	@Override
	public String getName() {
		return KEY;
	}
}