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AXIS & ALLIES MINIATURES
Fall 2005 Free Reports GA Reports January 31, 2016
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Reviewed by Herb Levy
(Avalon Hill/Wizards of the Coast, 2 players, ages 12 and up, 30-90 minutes; Starter set – $24.99; Booster Packs – $14.99 each)
Back in the 1970s, Milton Bradley produced a few mass market wargames. (Anyone here remember Chopper Strike? Or Tank Battle?) Without a doubt, they are best remembered for their nicely molded plastic pieces. With the success of Memoir 44 (Summer 2004 GA REPORT) undoubtedly stirring up some of those old memories, Hasbro (who now owns Milton Bradley) has used its Avalon Hill/Wizards of the Coast imprint to launch a new entry in their Axis & Allies series: Axis & Allies Miniatures.
The strong selling point of the game is the nicely detailed miniatures of tanks and soldiers, available in two player Starter Sets and booster packs. The complete Axis & Allies Miniatures Base Set consists of 48 miniatures: 25 Allied units and 23 Axis units. Each Starter Set contains 2 tanks, 2 anti-tank guns, 1 commander and 5 infantry units plus 1 randomly selected "rare" piece. Also included are four double-sided battle maps, 8 six-sided dice, stat cards, a "Quick Start Guide" as well as an Advanced Rulebook.
World War II is the setting and the miniatures reflect that time with forces from all of the major combatants represented. All units have a matching stat card containing pertinent information about the piece including its speed, offensive and defensive ratings and cost (in "points"). Each player constructs a force equal to 100 points. A die is rolled and the 8 battle maps are arranged in the matching configuration (found in the Rulebook). After deciding who will go first (a coin flip is suggested), the first player deploys his units followed by the second player arranging his forces on the opposite side of the battle area. Now, the battle begins!
A die is rolled with any bonus received from a commander in play added. High total gives that player initiative, giving him the option to go first or second for that turn.
Any or all of your units may be moved during each movement phase. A unit may move a number of hexes equal to its speed subject to terrain modifications. (There are eight terrain types: clear, forests, hills, marshes, roads, towns, streams and ponds.) There can be no more than two friendly units in a hex or no more than four units (enemy and friendly) in a hex. In either case, only ONE of those units may be a vehicle. Units may pass through hexes even if the hex is at its limit but, of course, may not stop there. Once all movement is finished, the assault phase begins. During the assault phase, you may activate any or all of your units. Activated units may either MOVE (as they did in the movement phase) OR attack.
Attacks are dependent on several factors including range, defensive fire, type of unit under attack and line of sight. Range is the number of hexes between the aggressor and the target. Defensive fire happens when enemy tanks move into or adjacent to an occupied hex. (Soldiers can move around enemy tanks without triggering defensive fire.) You can only make one defensive fire action per turn so it may be to your advantage to wait until a juicier target approaches your sights.
The number of dice rolled is figured by the type of target (soldier or vehicle) referenced with the range of the target. As might be expected, the attacking unit must be able to SEE the target. If its Line of Sight is blocked (by terrain, for example), no attack is possible. If multiple targets are in a hex, the attacker may choose which one to blast. Both attacker and defender roll the appropriate number of dice. A die roll of 4 or higher is a "success" but you compare the successes of both sides in scoring hits. If the attacker has fewer successes than the defender, you MISS! Equal number of successes results in ONE hit on the enemy. More successes results in TWO hits. Roll successes equal to or greater than double the successes of the enemy and you are rewarded with THREE hits!
The first hit will "disrupt" a unit. (Defensive fire attacks can only cause disruption.) Disrupted units suffer -1 penalties to each attack die and in defense. They also are unable to move and cannot make defensive fire attacks. A second hit will destroy a soldier unit and damage a vehicle. Damaged vehicles are -1 on each attack die, -1 on defense and -1 on speed. It takes a third hit to destroy an enemy Vehicle. As hits are sustained, hit counters are used to keep track of the damage. Once the smoke clears (during the casualty phase), destroyed forces are removed while hit counters keep track of the status of active units. And now we do it all over again.
When the seventh turn is completed, the player who has achieved the objective (as denoted by the scenario chosen) wins. If no winner at that point, play continues until turn 10. If still tied, the player with the most unit points on the board wins. If STILL tied, the battle rages on. Keep playing until someone meets the objective (or has the most points) at the end of a turn.
While the game is heavily dice-oriented, Axis & Allies Miniatures is fairly simple and straightforward in play aided by a well written rulebook filled with many helpful charts and stat cards with all necessary information readily on hand. This, coupled with the nicely detailed miniatures, will make the game appealing to the teenage market (which is probably its main targeted audience). Which is not to say that the game does not have strategic appeal for more serious gamers. Basic wargaming concepts of terrain effects, line of sight, defensive fire and the like are present and capture a nice "wargaming flavor". Two scenarios are provided but, of course, you are encouraged to provide your own. Customizing your armies (with the addition of booster packs containing 9 additional miniatures) add another layer to planning. Of course, the downside to this for many is the "collector" aspect of the game. You are, essentially, buying "blind" when you buy booster packs and can only purchase desired specific pieces on a secondary market or trade for them. Not necessarily an appealing prospect for a gamer who prefers a "complete package" with his purchase.
Axis & Allies Miniatures is not a hardcore entry in the wargaming field. But, then again, it doesn't try to be. As designed by a whole team (with Richard Baker credited as "design lead"), this is the sort of game that will appeal to gamers who enjoy a good looking, light, wargame with a significant amount of luck to modify armchair general planning. As such, it scores a hit! – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Herb Levy
Have feedback? We'd love to hear from you.
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American Journal of Operations Research
Vol.4 No.5(2014), Article ID:48996,12 pages DOI:10.4236/ajor.2014.45027
Novel Analytical Approach of Non Conventional Mapping Scheme with Discrete Hartley Transform in OFDM System
Shilpi Gupta1, Upena Dalal1, Vishnu Narayan Mishra2,3
1Electronics Engineering Department, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, India
2Applied Mathematics & Humanities Department, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, India
3L. 1627 Awadh Puri Colony Beniganj, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Email: shilpi_ec@yahoo.com, udd@eced.svnit.ac.in, vishnu_narayanmishra@yahoo.co.in, vishnunarayanmishra@gmail.com
Received N samples in the ith OFDM symbol are
The system performance has been analyzed for π/4 DQPSK mapping scheme, which is differential in nature and hence adding additional advantage. Performance evaluation with random data as well as some images has been taken. Channel modeling has been performed in multipath fading environment. For elaboration of the concept mathematical modeling has been implemented using computer simulation. In this paper, an attempt is made to know the capabilities of DHT-OFDM with non conventional mapping technique π/4 DQPSK.
Keywords:DHT-OFDM, FFT-OFDM, Rayleigh, π/4 DQPSK, BER
The ultimate requirement of the 4th generation communication system is efficient implementation of wireless system with high signal dynamics, which is highly expected to be provided by OFDM. OFDM is a multicarrier modulation technique being considered for many wireless applications [1] . High spectrum utilization and robustness against multipath fading are attractive features of OFDM system for high rate wireless communication [2] . Many applications like Digital Subscriber Loops (ADSL, VDSL), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Wireless LAN, Wireless Broadband (WiBro), LTE, LTE-Advanced, and WiMAX are based on OFDM technique. Despite of its number of features there are some challenging issues like sensitivity to frequency and phase offset and peak to average power ratio (PAPR) on which a lot of research work is going on for more & more improvements [3] -[6] .
In OFDM system the modulated data are mapped on subcarrier and summed up by means of inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), and then transmitted. At the receiver end carriers are separated out and data are retrieved back using fast fourier transform (FFT) [7] . IDFT/DFT has complex exponential basis function so involving complex multiplications. Each complex multiplication requires four real multiplications and two real additions. Such a great complexity can be reduced if transform based on complex basis function could be replaced by real transforms. At the same time fast algorithms like FFT can still be applied [8] .
For multicarrier modulation orthogonal basis functions are the prime requirement. DFT is one of such functions used in OFDM because complex exponential functions are orthogonal. Besides that co-sinusoidal functions can also be the choice for orthogonal basis. Hence discrete cosine transform (DCT) and discrete sine transform (DST) both can be incorporated in OFDM [9] . A lot of research work has been done by considering DCT as a transform scheme in OFDM due to its high spectral efficiency and less complex arithmetic [10] -[12] . Discrete Hartley Transform (DHT) can also synthesize sinusoidal/co-sinusoidal orthogonal functions to be an OFDM signal [13] . DHT and its inverse can be one of the good choices for replacing its pre-existing counterpart-FFT/ IFFT, in OFDM. Mathematically, DHT and its inverse are represented in the same way, reducing its implementation cost. FFT/IFFT coefficients and DHT/IDHT coefficients can be derived from each other while knowing about the one. DHT has been established as a potential tool for signal processing applications. It has a real valued and symmetric transform kernel [14] .
Although there is a similarity between DHT and DFT but some DHT characteristics are different from DFT as no tracking of imaginary terms is required and only real arithmetic operation is involved, which makes it free form managing separate storage for real and imaginary part [15] [16] . The Fast Hartley Transform (FHT) requires only real arithmetic computations as compared to complex arithmetic operations in any standard FFT. Performance improvement in terms of speed is twice than FFT [17] . Various algorithms have been developed for optimization of the simulation timings.
A very useful performance measurement in digital communication is bit error rate. Precise symbol error rate analysis of an OFDM system with various modulation formats in presence of frequency offsets has been reported in [18] -[20] .
Gaussian approximation analysis for calculation of BER in OFDM system with BPSK over frequency selective channel and its improved analysis using QPSK & QAM have been done in [21] and [22] respectively. In all above analysis channel has been considered constant over one OFDM symbol. Frequency non-selective fast Rayleigh fading channel was considered for BPSK-OFDM system in [23] . All modulation techniques discussed till that were non-differential in nature. Differential technique can be an alternative option due to its low cost designing because of no requirement of channel estimation at the receiver side. Along with that due to non-zero crossing characteristic envelope of this modulation has less variation than that of QPSK.
Bit error rate analysis for π/4 DQPSK has been done in [24] . Precise bit error rate analysis has been done for π/4 DQPSK OFDM with carrier frequency offset over frequency selective fast fading channels in reference [25] .
In this paper the performance comparison of FFT with DHT has been presented with differential modulation technique. In comparison with QPSK, π/4 DQPSK can be detected coherently and non-coherently. Differential detection (one type of non-coherent detection) technique has been used for implementation. Channel modelings selected are AWGN and Rayleigh fading.
This paper has been organized as follows: Mathematical model of OFDM system has been represented using π/4 DQPSK mapping scheme in Section 2. In Section 3, performance comparisons among all the described schemes have been reported. Finally, conclusion has been drawn in Section 4.
2. System Model
Figure 1 shows the basic block diagram of OFDM System. OFDM is a multi carrier system which allows parallel processing and transmission of data on closely spaced sub-carriers, which are orthogonal to each other. The IFFT/IDHT is used at the transmission end to multiplex the data and encode it before transmission. The FFT/ DHT is used at the receiving end to decode and demultiplex the received data.
Each subcarrier can be modulated independently by a complex modulation symbol Dn,k, where subscript n & k represents time interval and no. of subcarriers respectively in the considered OFDM block. This complex value
Figure 1. Basic block diagram of OFDM system.
is generated by mapping a sequence of m bits to one out of M = 2m points in the constellation diagram of applied modulation scheme. So, within symbol duration, the following signal of the nth OFDM block is formed [26] :
Total continuous time signal consisting all OFDM blocks is given by
In the case of differential modulation the data bits to be transmitted are mapped to the quotient Bn,k of two successively transmitted modulation symbols instead of direct mapping on modulation symbols Dn,k. The operation of differential encoding in time domain can be described as below:
Here it is important that coherence time of channel be large compared to symbol duration to ensure that the channel transfer function Hn‒1,k and Hn,k are approximately equal.
In π/4 DQPSK one of four differential phases Δθn to be added to carrier phase are selected on the basis of each two successive bits of data {cn, dn}, here Δθn = ±π/4, ±3π/4, for every symbol period Ts [24] . The carrier phase is updated using following relation for signal when its power (prior to any signal processing) is P
where , . The selection of differential phase values is made according to convention below: , . Data bits cn and dn take values ±1.
The possible changes in the carrier phase of Δθn is {±π/4, ±3π/4}, means offset by 45˚ from that of previous bit pair. That is the reason that π/4 DQPSK can be looked as superposition of two QPSK signal constellation offset by 45˚ relative to each other. The signal ready for transmission is given by:
The received power will be different from transmitted power. The received signal is,
In non-coherent demodulation method of π/4 DQPSK, two cross correlators are used to extract estimates of & using In-phase & Quadrature correlation. The bit values cn and dn has been obtained by comparing these estimates to zero threshold.
Let the B.W. of an OFDM system is W, here , then signals must be sampled with sampling time . The samples of the signals are written as sn,k, , symbols are mapped onto the subcarrier and then summed up which makes one OFDM symbol. In each OFDM symbol cyclic prefix of duration Tc is included. T is the useful period. FFT based OFDM has been discussed in literatures. Here we will do mathematical analysis for DHT based OFDM system.
2.1. DHT Based OFDM System
Just like the IFFT/FFT, OFDM can be implemented using real valued arithmetic's by means of DHT/IDHT. It is interesting to note that N real values of the DHT can substitute for the N complex values of the DFT, a total of 2N real numbers. It is justified on the basis of Hermitian property of the DFT that is redundancy by a factor of 2. N/2 real numbers that suffice to specify the cosine transform combine with N/2 needed for the sine transform to form a total of N DHT coefficients containing no degeneracy that is due to symmetry. The function cas(θ), can be considered as a sine wave shifted by 45˚ which automatically responds to cosine and sine components equally.
Mathematical analysis—OFDM will be done as follows. The basis function used in DHT is cas(θ). Where cas(θ) = cos(θ) + sin(θ).
For frequency domain differential modulation π/4 DQPSK, the complex symbol can be written as
where is the average energy per bit, is the phase of symbol modulated on the (k ‒ 1)th subcarrier of the nth OFDM symbol, and {±π/4, ±3π/4} is the differential phase carrying information bits. The differential encoding is performed in frequency domain subcarrier by subcarrier. The data modulated on the nth OFDM symbol can be written as vector
where in each OFDM symbol is always assumed to be as reference for differential detection at receiver side. Although the channel variations can be within one OFDM symbol or adjacent OFDM symbols, the differential detection of DQPSK is effective provided there are no significant variations between two neighbouring subcarriers for frequency domain differential modulation.
This signal is transmitted over a channel and at the receiver side reverse process will occur. FFT- & DHTOFDM systems differ in the inverse transform process. In the case of FFT-OFDM forward and inverse transform are represented by different basis function while in DHT-OFDM both forward and inverse transform are same. This feature of DHT makes it more favorable in comparison to FFT by reducing its complexity and cost.
The channel impulse response of the time varying L-path fading channel is given by
where is complex amplitude and is propagation delay of the lth path. Time varying transfer function of channel is
Cyclic prefix is much larger than the maximum channel delay. For simplicity it has been assumed that there is no carrier frequency offset. Hence the received signal is then represented by
where is a zero mean, complex Gaussian noise process with variance per dimension.
It is assumed here that the receiver is synchronized to the 0th path with delay and sampled at the instants
where is a zero mean, complex Gaussian random variables with variance per dimension. The channel response at different times and frequencies are zero mean jointly complex Gaussian random variables and correlation of these variables are given by
E[H] is the mean of random variable. is Bessel function of first kind & order 0. is normalized maximum Doppler spread.
A DHT is performed on which gives data sequence in the ith OFDM symbol rd[i], as
where is represented as
where is a zero mean, complex Gaussian random variables with variance per dimension. By defining the 1 ´ N vector
rd[i] can be written as
where denotes the hermitian of the vector .
2.2. BER Analysis for Frequency Domain Differential Modulation
BER will be derived for the frequency domain differential modulation. The decision statistics can be written as
For π/4 DQPSK demodulation, the two bits can be decided independently by the real part and the imaginary part of . For frequency domain differential detection only operations for neighbouring subcarriers of the same OFDM symbol are performed, so symbol index [i] can be omitted for simplicity.
The decision statistics for the I-bit and the Q-bit of symbol are
where real & imaginary part of are denoted by and respectively. The received signal is a conditional complex Gaussian random variable, which is conditioned on a given data sequence xl or a given phase sequence . For a given data sequence or differential phase sequence, is sum of several jointly complex Gaussian random variables with zero mean and variance
is N ´ N correlation matrix.
Unconditional PDF of the received signal can be written as the sum of several conditional PDFs, i.e.
where u is complex variable. K is the no. of all possible data sequences or phase sequences.
Rewriting the and
where, and
Characteristic function of conditioned on and Δθd is given by
C is the covariance matrix and I2 is 2 ´ 2 identity matrix.
where,
Similarly, characteristic function can be find for . The decision rules for both I & Q bit can be written as
I-bit error probability of dth subcarrier conditioned on a phase sequence
By doing extensive calculation of bit error probability for I-bit the I-bit error probability conditioned on
where, , , , .
In a similar manner Q-bit error probability is obtained as
averaging over N ‒ 1 subcarriers except subcarrier 0 (since used as a reference) the conditional BER is:
As for the case of π/4 DQPSK, total possibilities for phase sequence are four. While averaging overall possible sequences, average BER is represented as [25] .
where is the phase sequence as described above.
3. Simulation Results
In this section, we have compared the bit error rate vs. SNR performances of DFT-OFDM system and DHTOFDM system using analytical approach. Results have been obtained in previous section by considering π/4 DQPSK as a mapping scheme, which has been calculated numerically. As a reference, for differentially encoding of other subcarriers, the amplitude and phase of the π/4 DQPSK data symbols at the 0th subcarriers of each OFDM symbol is fixed to (Eb)1/2 and 0, respectively. Simulation parameters are summarized in Table1
Constellation diagram for FFT & DHT-OFDM using π/4-DQPSK has been given in Figure 2. It can be observed that for the same SNR (=20 dB) DHT-OFDM gives better constellation than FFT-OFDM.
Table 1. OFDM system parameters.
Figure 2. Constellation of π/4-DQPSK using (a) FFT, (b) DHT.
Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the bit error rate performance (BER) of a FFT-OFDM system and DHT-OFDM system both with BPSK, QPSK and π/4 DQPSK modulations in AWGN environment. These results clearly show that DHT-OFDM outperforms FFT-OFDM. From the results it can be observed that for FFT with BPSK scheme, at a bit error rate of 10−2 SNR value is 22 dB while for DHT it is 7 db keeping bit error rate constant i.e. 15 dB improvements can be achieved by using DHT-OFDM.
Similar analysis has been done by applying QPSK modulation in FFT and DHT. Here also, the same 15 dB improvement has been noticed at the bit error rate of 10−2. Further, for DHT-OFDM it can also be observed that up to 15 dB SNR bit error rate is gradually decreasing but after that it remains constant so this scheme may be
Figure 3. BER performances of FFT-OFDM with BPSK, QPSK, and π/4 DQPSK modulation over AWGN channel.
Figure 4. BER performances of DHT-OFDM with BPSK, QPSK, and π/4 DQPSK modulation over AWGN channel.
good where the requirement of SNR is up to 15 dB. π/4 DQPSK is a differential technique in which subsequent results are based on difference between current and just previous information. Since final output is the result of cumulative process, hence noise will also be cumulative which may lead to less bit error improvement in comparison to BPSK & QPSK.
BER performance comparison for DHT-OFDM & FFT-OFDM with π/4 DQPSK for AWGN & rayleigh channel has been shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 respectively. It is clearly shown in Figure 6 that bit error rate is approaching up to 10−1 at SNR = 30 dB while for FFT-OFDM at same SNR bit error rate is 10−0.5.
Simulation result has also been generated by taking an image into consideration. Figure 7 shows the transmitted and received image of FFT- & DHT-OFDM using π/4 DQPSK modulation. It is observed that DHTOFDM provide better resolution of image in comparison of FFT-OFDM.
Figure 5. BER performances of DHT-OFDM & FFT-OFDM with π/4 DQPSK modulation over AWGN channel.
Figure 6. BER performances of DHT-OFDM & FFT-OFDM with π/4 DQPSK modulation over Rayleigh channel.
Figure 7. Transmitted & received images for FFT & DHT-OFDM using π/4 DQPSK over Rayleigh channel.
In conclusion, an analytical approach with lower BER of DHT-OFDM with π/4 DQPSK mapping scheme has been achieved in comparison to conventional technique. It has been found that DHT based OFDM system outperforms FFT based OFDM system while observing over AWGN channel. Even for π/4 DQPSK modulation it gives the improved result in combination with DHT. However this technique can be used for the conditions where signal SNR requirement is up to 15 dB, because after that error rate becomes constant. It can be considered as a great achievement because implementation complexity will be greatly reduced due to two factors— one is similar hardware required for forward & reverse basis function of DHT and another is no channel estimation required due to differential modulation technique applied. One more advantage of using π/4 DQPSK is that its data bit rate is increased in comparison to BPSK & QPSK modulation, hence spectral efficiency increases.
Furthermore, analysis has also been done for Rayleigh fading channel. Here again DHT-OFDM gives better results in comparison to FFT-OFDM with π/4 DQPSK modulation. In the entire scenario no channel coding has been applied, more favorable results can be found if such techniques would be applied. Same analysis has been done on image over Rayleigh channel which is also in agreement of the above conclusion by showing much better resolution in comparison of FFT-OFDM.
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Mandai, T., Oka, I., Fossorier, M.P.C., Ata, S. and Fujiwara, C. (2004) A Practical Approach for Coded OFDM with Partial Transmit Sequence. IEICE Transactions on Communications, E87-B, 1273-1275.
Han, S.H., et al. (2005) Modulation, Coding and Signal Processing for Wireless Communications—An Overview of Peak-to-Average Power Ratio Reduction Techniques for Multicarrier Transmission. IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, 12, 56-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MWC.2005.1421929
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Elhaded, M., El-Dolil, S.A. and Albagory, Y.A. (2009) Application of Trigonometric Transforms in Discretemultitone Systems. International Conference on Computer Engineering & Systems, 171-176.
Peng, T. and Beaulieu, N.C. (2005) Precise Bit Error Probability Analysis of DCT OFDM in the Presence of Carrier Frequency Offset on AWGN Channels. Proceeding on IEEE GLOBECOM, 1429-1434.
Tan, J. and Stiiber, G.L. (2002) Constant Envelope Multi-Carrier Modulation. Proceedings of 2002 IEEE MILCOM, 1, 607-611.
Soliman, N.F., Shaalan, A.A., et al. (2009) Peak Power Reduction of OFDM Signals Using Trigonometric Transforms. International Conference on Computer Engineering & Systems, Cario, 14-16 December 2009, 333-337.
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Rugini, L. and Banelli, P. (2005) BER of OFDM Systems Impaired by Carrier Frequency Offset in Multipath Fading Channels. IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, 4, 2279-2288.http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TWC.2005.853884
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Molisch, A.F. (2000) Wideband Wireless Digital Communications. Prentice Hall PTR, Upper Saddle River.
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text:
Late Night Fox EP [Album Release]
by Jade Wood
in Album Reviews
We've decided to take a different approach to portraying newly-released local albums. Instead of reviewing and interviewing, we thought it'd be a good idea to get the artists to tell you about the album themselves… and let YOU DECIDE whether you like what you're hearing or not, rather than being told that you should or shouldn't.
We are honoured to have Late Night Fox as our first feature. Below you will find words, as written by the band. EnJOY.
WHY WE DID IT
June 2, 2016. Pretoria.
It's taken about 4 years to drop our first official EP – or short album – because it's taken us equally as long to go "that sounds like it". 'It' is what we've been searching for incessantly. What is 'it'? We don't really know yet. But it feels good when you get closer. You feel it deep in your gut. It may even take us another 4 years to get that much closer, and that's okay with us. We ask you, the listener, to be patient and understand that Late Night Fox has no formula to aid you toward a finer appreciation, nor an accurate categorization of 'it'.
Like A Child may (or may not) have been the first of a few tunes to come close to something we felt really good about, and was therefore naturally the opener for the EP. It seemed to bring across all our major influences in one track. From the afrobeat inspired rhythm and classic blues structure, to Dani's 90's-house-inspired vocal licks. Heck, we even kicked off the jam with a sample from a heavily underrated 90's banger, How Gee by Black Machine. Originally stomped out on the foot pedals of a Hammond organ, Townsound was written in a townhouse somewhere between Pretoria's botanical gardens and McDonald's in Silverton. Its retro sound however, is further akin to a juke joint tavern somewhere between Tembisa and The Deep South. Since this is about the EP, we need not say much about our self-coordinated Townsound events or the fact that we now describe the Late Night Fox sound as 'Townsound' – fact is, we should be calling it the 'Like A Child Sound' but no one likes the sound of that. Although this may seem calculated and slightly formulaic, there are rare moments in which our rehearsal space is hijacked by unseen forces. When this happens, we cannot take full responsibility for the outcomes. An intervention of this kind happened during the first moments of Hugh Masekela. Hugh may have embodied Sun Ra who landed in his ocularistic time machine, but the more likely interpretation of events is that, when all else fails, bash out one note and hurl one-liners on endless repeat.
We owe a great deal to the people we worked with on this EP. To Ludwig Bouwer who worked on Like A Child, and LeRoy Croft who worked on the rest of the EP. We also owe a great deal to those people who have influenced us. We cannot deny the influence of Radiohead's The King of Limbs on the final track, Move Your Arms, and we will continue to be inspired by such great artists. We shall endeavor to seek and discover that which is unusual, fresh, and culturally astute. We, Late Night Fox, pledge allegiance to the beat.
Want to get your hands on the album? You can do that HERE.
For more late Night Fox:
Like: https://www.facebook.com/LateNightFox/
Listen: https://soundcloud.com/late-night-fox
Look: https://www.instagram.com/late_night_fox/
CAPITAL CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL – The George INTERVIEW
THE LASSO – YOUR WEEKLY MUSIC ROUNDUP – JUNE WEEK 4
Wildernessking – Mystical Future
Twin Atlantic – GLA review
Mieliepop Festival 2016
afrobeatAlbum reviewbandEPIndielate night foxludwig bouwerMusicradioheadReviewtownsound
Jade Wood
Zombies Ate My Girlfriend – Shun the Reptile Interview
Oooth – 'Who Cares What You Think' Release Date
Pretoria Halloween – Boargazm Interview


In 1946, fifty beavers were taken to Tierra del Fuego, the extreme southern edges of South America, in order to develop a fur industry. Unfortunately today they have become a plague; the population of these semi-aquatic rodents originating in North America has extended across the whole island. They fell the beech forests and construct dams that transform the ecosystem of the area.
They are a good plague. Let trhem be.


The Elite Impression Purple and Black Bowling Bag is another example of Elite's top notch bowling gear. This bowling ball bag can contain a bowling ball, bowling shoes, and any bowling accessories you may need to triumph on the lanes. Its 600 Denier durable construction and steel hardware makes it very tough; it's even backed by a one year complete warranty. The purple and black color combo also makes this bag look great.


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Coconut Sugar is extracted from the flower buds of coconut palm trees, therefore the coconut sugar is an unrefined brown sugar with a delicately sweet caramel flavour. Due to minimal processing it retains many of its vitamins and minerals including potassium, zinc, iron and B vitamins.


text:
The Last Temptation (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series #3)
by Val McDermidVal McDermid
Paperback(Mass Market Paperback - First Edition)
Mapping the minds of murderers is what Dr. Tony Hill does better than anyone. So when a twisted killer starts targeting psychologists across Northern Europe, Hill is the obvious choice to track the executioner's mental and physical journey.
Except that Tony, still bearing the scars of past cases, doesn't want to do this anymore.
But the killer is about to strike uncomfortably close to home. The next victim is a friend and colleague. And Tony's former partner, Detective Carol Jordan, is directly in the murderer's path, working undercover in a world where human life means less than the smallest drug deal. She needs Tony's help as much as the beleaguered European police officials do.
Now the danger is closing in. Confronting the worst of modern crime and struggling to unravel roots that lie deep in the tormented past of Nazi atrocities and Stasi abuses, Tony and Carol are forced to battle for survival against overwhelming odds. In this morass of double-cross and double-dealing, they have no one to trust but each other. Deftly merging the dark terrain of forensic psychology with the brooding, crime-streaked world of post-Cold War Europe, Val McDermid's The Last Temptation is an unrivaled tour de force that takes Tony Hill further into the mind of a killer than he's ever dared to go before.
Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series , #3
Val McDermid was a journalist for sixteen years and is now a full-time writer living in South Manchester. In 1995, she won the Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year for The Mermaids Singing. Her novel A Place of Execution won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, and named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
Relentless, electric and absorbing, this is a thriller not to miss." —Los Angeles Times Book Review, A Best Book of 2002
"[McDermid is] the best we've got." —The New York Times Book Review
"A tense thriller...a chain of events that brings a frenetic conclusion followed by a smart-well-concealed twist." —Boston Globe
"A psychologically chilling and multifaceted thriller...With consummate skill and pacing, [McDermid] braids together the complex story lines through surprising revelations, heart-stopping suspense and cruel double-crosses...creating even more tension. McDermid's writing and her understanding of the criminal mind get better with each novel. With its European locales, depiction of Nazi-mind experiments and hints at another Jordan/Hill novel, this may well be her breakout book." —Publishers Weekly
"McDermid's Dr. Tony Hill is so tortured he makes Thomas Harris's troubled heroes seem like lighthearted game-show hosts. McDermid has become a whiz at generating breathless, crosscutting suspense." —GQ
"This well-executed novel has it all: a complex, suspenseful plot, a full cast of interesting characters, and two budding romances." —Library Journal
"Exciting and compassionate." —Salon.com
"White-knuckle suspense, hot action, and graphic chills. Sure to be a hit with thriller fans." —Booklist
"Irresistible...McDermid skillfully controls her cast...This is a hugely ambitious novel, involving three police forces, [and] the settings in Berlin are vividly evoked." —The Daily Express (UK)
"More than just a serial killer novel, [The Last Temptation is] a masterful examination of evil and the relics of Nazi and Stasi years in Germany." —The Guardian (UK)
"Val McDermid is one of the few crime authors who can be convincing when it comes to writing tough, yet retain a powerful emotional insight." —Scotland on Sunday (UK)
"A scary, disturbing, exciting, and atmospheric white-knuckle read." —The London Times (UK)
The third Dr. Tony Hill mystery pits the deliberative psychological profiler against a devious and demented serial killer. If Hill seems to be taking this case personally, he has good reason: The gruesome mass murderer is preying on psychologists!
bn.com
British author McDermid brings back DCI Carol Jordan and psychological profiler Dr. Tony Hill from The Mermaids Singing (1995) and The Wire in the Blood (1997) and thrusts them into a psychologically chilling and multifaceted thriller. Jordan goes undercover in Germany as part of a dangerous operation to capture Tadeusz Radecki, an international smuggler of drugs and illegal aliens. Meanwhile, her contact in Berlin, Criminal Intelligence Officer Petra Becker, is helping her Internet lover, Dutch Brigadier Marijke van Hasselt, on a grisly case whose victims, psychological researchers, are sexually tortured and murdered. Jordan suggests that Dr. Hill work with them in Berlin. The suspense builds as scenes alternate among the two English crime fighters, Becker, van Hasselt, Radecki and his henchman, Darko Krasic, and the anonymous serial killer, whose grisly tactics echo Nazi psychological experiments. McDermid gives depth and individuality to all seven characters and each city. With consummate skill and pacing, she braids together the complex story lines through surprising revelations, heartstopping suspense and cruel double-crosses. The two major plots don't mesh, but they crisscross, creating even more tension. McDermid's writing and her understanding of the criminal mind get better with each novel. With its European locales, depiction of Nazi mind experiments and hints at another Jordan/Hill novel, this may well be her breakout book. She certainly deserves it. (Sept. 30) Forecast: The release this summer of the two previous novels featuring Jordan and Hill in mass-market, in conjunction with a seven-city author tour, should make McDermid's name a lot better known to American readers. She has won Anthony and Gold Dagger awards and been a finalist for an Edgar. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
In the third book of McDermid's popular series (after The Wire in the Blood and The Mermaids), Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan and psychologist Tony Hill return. Carol has agreed to go undercover in Berlin in a sting operation against the handsome and charming but ruthless trafficker in illegal immigrants, Tadeusz Radecki. Meanwhile, intelligence officer Petra Becker, the German liaison in Carol's undercover operation, has begun an online relationship with Marijke van Hasselt, a policewoman from the Netherlands. When Marijke mentions a grizzly murder that she is investigating in Leiden, Petra remembers reading of a similar murder in Germany. Carol persuades Tony to come to Berlin to help Petra and Marijke find the killer who is targeting experimental psychologists. This well-executed novel has it all: a complex, suspenseful plot, a full cast of interesting characters, and two budding romances. Tony's persistent angst becomes rather tiresome, but even he grows more tolerable as the novel progresses. Recommended for most mystery collections. Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., ND Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Whoever he is, Geronimo-the code name psychological profiler Dr. Tony Hill uses for the latest serial killer in his sights-doesn't have much use for psychologists. Beginning with Dr. Walter Neumann of the University of Heidelberg, he's been knocking them out, tying them to their own desks, stripping them, drowning them, and shaving their privates. Geronimo's macabre ritual is so distinctive, in fact, that it's not long before cops in two European countries sense that their victims are only part of a larger pattern and start sharing their information through Europol. As luck would have it, their investigation is gathering steam just as Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan, long in love with unresponsive Tony, arrives in Germany on her first assignment as Europol Liaison Officer: to capitalize on her uncanny resemblance to Katerina Basler, late mistress of mobster Tadeusz Radecki, to go undercover as a partner in Tadzio's operation smuggling illegal Chinese in order to make him an offer he'll be too entranced to refuse-an offer that will smash his whole immigration ring. As Carol worms her way into Tadzio's confidence, Tony is building up a portrait of Geronimo from the evidence the police have painstakingly amassed. Then suddenly, on page 338, both Carol and Tony begin to act accountably reckless, setting the stage for a melodramatic third act that undercuts the considerable ambitions McDermid (Killing the Shadows, 2001, etc.) has for this dark tale. A successor to The Mermaids Singing (1996) so densely packed that the poor serial killer almost gets dropped between the cracks. Author tour
Last Temptation (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series #3) 4.1 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 18 reviews.
Darrol on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Interesting look at post-unification Germany and EU Europe. For the most part, without excess plot twists.
wispywillow on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
I seem to have a singular knack for grabbing an interesting book only to realize, near the end, that I've read the middle of a series. *le sigh* On a happy note, that means there are more of these to read!This was a very interesting book. The characters were fun if maybe a wee bit flat. Lots of suspense. I don't get to read many books about the police processes in the EU, so I found this very interesting. Now time for me to start over with the first book.
judithrs on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
The Last Temptation. Val McDermid. 2003. Profiler Tony Hill becomes involved with a serial murderer who is killing experimental psychologists in Holland and Germany. His former partner is undercover trying trap a notorious criminal who deals in drugs and illegal aliens in Germany. The cases collide in an exciting climax. This is the second Tony Hill novel I have read and I found it suspenseful and interesting. McDermid is a good writer and I plan to read the other Tony Hill novels.
wyvernfriend on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Not quite as satisfying as previous instalments this is the story of Carol Jordan working undercover and Tony Hill trying to work out who killed some women close by. The two of them are a little too caught up in themselves to be believable as a working team and not as a pair of people bent on self-destruction.I didn't get as caught by the story as by previous I think the two parallel stories fell a little flat occasionally.
Carol Jordan goes undercover in an elaborate sting operation to catch a human trafficker... and then does something totally stupid to blow her cover. Most of the novel was good, but that incident made me shake my head in disbelief. Carol is supposed to be a seasoned, smart cop, but despite having a gteat cover identity created for her, and being repeatedly told how dangerous this man is, she breaks cover in a really dumb way. It really threw me out of the story. I still like the rest of the series, though...
miss_dobie More than 1 year ago
As always, once you start reading a Val McDermid story, everything else in life gets neglected. Another brilliantly captivating read.
This series gets better and better with each book.
Yankees_1_Fan More than 1 year ago
Well written and interesting
I read this, the first I've ever read by the author, on a vacation in the Carribean. It was a fantastic beach book. A gripping page-turner! Will read more books by Val McDermid, for sure.
I was skeptical of this book because I'd never heard of the author, but it was an excellent read. Very suspenseful. It also dives deep into the mind of the serial killer, very interesting stuff.
book by margaret millar
book by stuart macbride
book by val mcdermid
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B Is for Burglar (Kinsey Millhone Series #2)
B is for Burglar, Sue Grafton's #1 New York Times bestselling series reissued for a whole ...
B is for Burglar, Sue Grafton's #1 New York Times bestselling series reissued for a whole new generation of readers!Beverly Danziger looked like an expensive, carefully wrapped package from a good but conservative shop. Only her compulsive chatter hinted at the ...
Broken Ground (Karen Pirie Series #4)
Internationally bestselling author Val McDermid is one of our finest crime writers, and her gripping, ...
Internationally bestselling author Val McDermid is one of our finest crime writers, and her gripping, masterfully plotted novels have garnered millions of readers from around the globe. In Broken Ground, cold case detective Karen Pirie faces her hardest challenge yet. ...
Buried Secrets (Nick Heller Series #2)
Joseph Finder introduced Nick Heller, a private spy who finds out things powerful people want ...
Joseph Finder introduced Nick Heller, a private spy who finds out things powerful people want to keep hidden, to widespread acclaim from the critics and wild enthusiasm from the readers, in the New York Times bestselling novel Vanished. Now, in ...
Clearing the Bases: The Greatest Baseball Debates of
Who was better, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays? At their peak, who was more valuable, ...
Who was better, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays? At their peak, who was more valuable, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams? If Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, and Roger Clemens had pitched at the same time against the same hitters, who would ...
Collected Millar: The Master at Her Zenith: Vanish
Five acclaimed novels from the Golden Age of Suspense, including the Edgar Award-Winning Novel Beast in ...
Five acclaimed novels from the Golden Age of Suspense, including the Edgar Award-Winning Novel Beast in ViewIntroduction by Tom Nolan In 1950s America the men are back to work and the women are home raising a new generation. The war is ...
Flesh House (Logan McRae Series #4)
The 4th thriller in the Number One bestselling crime series from the award-winning Stuart MacBride. ...
The 4th thriller in the Number One bestselling crime series from the award-winning Stuart MacBride. Panic grips The Granite City as DS Logan McRae heads up a manhunt for 'The Flesher' – one of the UK's most notorious serial killers.Panic ...
Her Last Breath (Kate Burkholder Series #5)
A hit-and-run accident tears an amish community apart in THIS NOVEL OF BREATHLESS SUSPENSE FROM ...
A hit-and-run accident tears an amish community apart in THIS NOVEL OF BREATHLESS SUSPENSE FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR LINDA CASTILLO. It's a rainy night in Painter's Mill when, from out of nowhere, a speeding car comes hurtling toward ...
K Is for Killer (Kinsey Millhone Series #11)
K IS FOR KILLER, the next installment in Sue Grafton's New York Times bestselling alphabet seriesJanice Kepler is ...
K IS FOR KILLER, the next installment in Sue Grafton's New York Times bestselling alphabet seriesJanice Kepler is on the way home from the support group she joined after the death of her beloved daughter, Lorna. When she sees a light on in ...


SEATTLE, Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) -- Sales of new homes in all four major U.S. regions dropped in the last two months of 2018, according to a report released by Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. The year-over-year trend was especially drastic in the Northeast, where new-home sales fell by 16.1 percent in December.
Of all four regions, sales of new homes has been in negative territory the longest in the Northeast. That region hasn't experienced growth since January 2017, according to Redfin data.
"All around the country homebuyers were backing off at the end of last year due to high prices and high mortgage interest rates, and 2018 tax reform made it even more expensive to buy high-priced homes in high-tax states like Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. New homes tend to be pricier than existing homes, which is one reason sales of new homes dropped off so much in the Northeast," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather.
Sales of new homes could pick up in the coming months. Builder confidence is up two points to 58 this month, thanks in part to the recent decline in mortgage rates and continued job growth. Another factor that could contribute to an increase in new-home sales is a decline in the cost of building materials. The price of materials came down 1.8 percent in December.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in conjunction with the Census, typically reports monthly data on new-home sales. Due to the partial shutdown of the federal government, the data for the end of 2018 hasn't been released. To bridge this gap, Redfin released its November and December 2018 numbers on single-family new-home sales, garnered from multiple listing services (MLSs) and county records across the markets that Redfin serves.
The median sale price for new homes in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $371,200, essentially unchanged from the same period in 2017. Compare that with existing homes, which had a median sale price of $287,000, up 3.1 percent from the year before.
Supply of new homes was up 7.4 percent annually in the fourth quarter, while supply of existing homes was up 5 percent.
The typical new home was on the market for 91 days, five days less than the year before. Existing homes spent a median of 43 days on market, two days less than the year before.
Visit the Redfin Data Center for downloadable sets of monthly data on new construction prices, sales, inventory and other new residential market statistics: https://www.redfin.com/blog/data-center.
For the full report on new-home sales, visit: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2019/01/nov-dec-new-home-sales.html.


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It's called the Tori lamp and it's perfect. I took the photo with the light off so it wouldn't blow out in the picture. Love this lamp. It takes a nice, bright, 150 watt bulb, the shade and light can swivel to be pointed in the most optimal direction. I'm really happy!
So, if you're thinking about getting some awesome furniture, now's the time! They have amazing reviews and are well-known for their custom furniture. And did I mention FREE SHIPPING (both ways if you need to return) and 365-day returns?!
All opinions and research are my own. Links included may be referral links.
Any opinions written by me are 100% honest.


How About Making Your Holiday $eason More About Presence (Rather Than Presents)?
Have we turned these "tidings of cheer" into mere expectations that can only be fulfilled by a swipe of your credit card? Have we taken the spirit out of the celebration, regardless of the religious or non-religious context your beliefs fall under? Do we simply go along to get along because Hallmark has taken over yet another day on the Gregorian calendar, and to feel connected and a part of something, we must then conform to make it all about the presents and less about the presence?
Neurogenesis is necessary to improve mood, increase memory formation and prevent the decline associated with agingIn this Ted Talk, Neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret says we can, and offers research and practical advice on how we can help our brains better perform neurogenesis to improve mood, increase memory formation and prevent the decline associated with aging as well. as well.
Sensory Deprivation Science: Learn what "floating" is and its health benefits.
What are some of the methods you use when dealing with stress?
Does Happiness Really Help You Live Longer?
Decades of studies have suggested that happy people live longer, which makes the cultivation of subjective well-being seem like a matter of life and death. But a new analysis of data from the UK Million Women Study concludes that happiness has no bearing on mortality.
Use These 5 Effective Antidotes to Worry — and Be Happy!
Here are a handful of ways you can turn around from anxiety and experience more joy.
Incorporate these practices into your life to eliminate the majority of your stress.
Take a look at why relaxing is important and how you can enjoy these benefits. Without relaxation you can remain tired, stressed, unhealthy and get sick more often.