text:
Q: Variational Autoencoder (VAE) Shows Inconsistent Output On the basis of this example in keras, I've build an autoencoder and trained it on the MNIST dataset, but depending on how I reconstruct the input, the output is different.
Row 1 = the original MNIST test_data
Row 2 = decoder(encoder(test_data))
Row 3 = full_vae_model(test_data)

If you look close, you'll see that the digits in row 2 and 3 look different. Can someone explain why this is the case? To my understanding, it shouldn't make any difference by which of the two paths I reconstruct the original data.
Here's the structure of a variational autoencoder (image taken from this article). Now when I take the input and pass it thorugh the whole network, why isn't it the same as passing it through to the latent vector, and then this intermediate result again through to the output? What happens in between?

Here is the code, slightly modified from the keras example (but no changes made in the architecture)
'''Example of VAE on MNIST dataset using MLP
The VAE has a modular design. The encoder, decoder and VAE
are 3 models that share weights. After training the VAE model,
the encoder can be used to  generate latent vectors.
The decoder can be used to generate MNIST digits by sampling the
latent vector from a Gaussian distribution with mean=0 and std=1.
# Reference
[1] Kingma, Diederik P., and Max Welling.
"Auto-encoding variational bayes."
https://arxiv.org/abs/1312.6114
'''

from __future__ import absolute_import
from __future__ import division
from __future__ import print_function

from keras.layers import Lambda, Input, Dense
from keras.models import Model
from keras.datasets import mnist
from keras.losses import mse, binary_crossentropy
from keras.utils import plot_model
from keras import backend as K

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import os

# reparameterization trick
# instead of sampling from Q(z|X), sample eps = N(0,I)
# z = z_mean + sqrt(var)*eps
def sampling(args):
    """Reparameterization trick by sampling fr an isotropic unit Gaussian.
    # Arguments:
        args (tensor): mean and log of variance of Q(z|X)
    # Returns:
        z (tensor): sampled latent vector
    """

    z_mean, z_log_var = args
    batch = K.shape(z_mean)[0]
    dim = K.int_shape(z_mean)[1]
    # by default, random_normal has mean=0 and std=1.0
    epsilon = K.random_normal(shape=(batch, dim))
    return z_mean + K.exp(0.5 * z_log_var) * epsilon

# MNIST dataset
(x_train, y_train), (x_test, y_test) = mnist.load_data()

image_size = x_train.shape[1]
original_dim = image_size * image_size
x_train = np.reshape(x_train, [-1, original_dim])
x_test = np.reshape(x_test, [-1, original_dim])
x_train = x_train.astype('float32') / 255
x_test = x_test.astype('float32') / 255

# network parameters
input_shape = (original_dim, )
intermediate_dim = 512
batch_size = 128
latent_dim = 32
epochs = 50

# VAE model = encoder + decoder
# build encoder model
inputs = Input(shape=input_shape, name='encoder_input')
x = Dense(intermediate_dim, activation='relu')(inputs)
z_mean = Dense(latent_dim, name='z_mean')(x)
z_log_var = Dense(latent_dim, name='z_log_var')(x)

# use reparameterization trick to push the sampling out as input
# note that "output_shape" isn't necessary with the TensorFlow backend
z = Lambda(sampling, output_shape=(latent_dim,), name='z')([z_mean, z_log_var])

# instantiate encoder model
encoder = Model(inputs, [z_mean, z_log_var, z], name='encoder')
encoder.summary()
#plot_model(encoder, to_file='vae_mlp_encoder.png', show_shapes=True)

# build decoder model
latent_inputs = Input(shape=(latent_dim,), name='z_sampling')
x = Dense(intermediate_dim, activation='relu')(latent_inputs)
outputs = Dense(original_dim, activation='sigmoid')(x)

# instantiate decoder model
decoder = Model(latent_inputs, outputs, name='decoder')
decoder.summary()
#plot_model(decoder, to_file='vae_mlp_decoder.png', show_shapes=True)

# instantiate VAE model
outputs = decoder(encoder(inputs)[2])
vae = Model(inputs, outputs, name='vae_mlp')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    models = (encoder, decoder)
    data = (x_test, y_test)

    # VAE loss = mse_loss or xent_loss + kl_loss
    #reconstruction_loss = mse(inputs, outputs)
    reconstruction_loss = binary_crossentropy(inputs, outputs)

    reconstruction_loss *= original_dim
    kl_loss = 1 + z_log_var - K.square(z_mean) - K.exp(z_log_var)
    kl_loss = K.sum(kl_loss, axis=-1)
    kl_loss *= -0.5
    vae_loss = K.mean(reconstruction_loss + kl_loss)
    vae.add_loss(vae_loss)
    vae.compile(optimizer='adam')
    vae.summary()

    # train the autoencoder
    vae.fit(x_train,
            epochs=epochs,
            batch_size=batch_size,
            validation_data=(x_test, None))
    #vae.save_weights('vae_mlp_mnist.h5')

    z_mean, z_log_var, z = encoder.predict(x_test)
    decoded_imgs = decoder.predict(z_mean)
    Y_img = vae.predict(x_test)

    n = 10  # how many digits we will display
    plt.figure(figsize=(20, 4))
    for i in range(n):
        # display original
        ax = plt.subplot(3, n, i + 1)
        plt.imshow(x_test[i].reshape(28, 28))
        plt.gray()
        ax.get_xaxis().set_visible(False)
        ax.get_yaxis().set_visible(False)

        # display reconstruction
        ax = plt.subplot(3, n, i + 1 + n)
        plt.imshow(decoded_imgs[i].reshape(28, 28))
        plt.gray()
        ax.get_xaxis().set_visible(False)
        ax.get_yaxis().set_visible(False)

        # display reconstruction 2
        ax = plt.subplot(3, n, i + 1 + 2 * n)
        plt.imshow(Y_img[i].reshape(28, 28))
        plt.gray()
        ax.get_xaxis().set_visible(False)
        ax.get_yaxis().set_visible(False)
    plt.show()

A: I think if you even run decoder(encoder(test_data)) twice with the same test_data, you should get different output and that is the correct behavior.
If you can refer to "Tutorial on Variational Autoencoders", see Figure 4 (right) which is about "A training-time variational autoencoder implemented as a feed-forward neural network". It is sampling epsilon from the normal distribution so epsilon is a random variable and its realization is different whenever you call the function in your code.


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A Navy petty officer faces a manslaughter charge after prosecutors say he drunkenly drove a government vehicle off base in East Africa and fatally struck a man.
Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Victor M. Green is accused of "wrongfully leaving" Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, on June 17, 2017, with four other service members before striking Ali Hadi Galab with a Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle on National Route 1, according to military officials and charge sheets provided to Navy Times.
Prosecutors allege that Green drove the Pathfinder "while drunk," which caused him to hit and "unlawfully kill" Galab, a man from Djibouti.
Green faces another charge for damaging the Pathfinder when he hit "another motorist on a motor scooter" and caused "the vehicle to rollover," according to the charge sheets, which estimate $24,700 in damages.
The records do no not specify if Galab was driving the motor scooter or if another person was behind the wheel.
Green's civilian attorney, Robert Capovilla, did not respond to requests for comment.
The operations focus on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations against both ISIS and al-Qaida.
The four other U.S. service members involved in the incident had their cases adjudicated through non-judicial punishment, according to Lt. Timothy Pietrack, a spokesman for Navy forces in Africa.
Officials generally do not provide details to the public regarding NJP cases.
Pietrack told Navy Times that the service made payments to the deceased man's two wives but was awaiting a final figure for the dollars disbursed.
"The victims were offered assistance, which includes compensation from the U.S. government and we are working to right this problem through the military justice system," Pietrack said in an email.
Green also stands accused of conspiring with others to leave the base by obtaining a government vehicle, presenting an exit pass to base guards and falsely telling investigators that the purpose for leaving was to conduct training, charge sheets state.
He faces additional charges for drinking more than two alcoholic beverages in a 24-hour period — a general order violation — and for driving less than eight hours after drinking, according to charge sheets.
A Maryland native, Green is assigned to Naval Support Activity Naples in Italy, according to his service record.
He enlisted in 2006 and was advanced to his current rating in 2015.
Charges were referred against Green in September but no trial date has been announced.
Located in the Horn of Africa, Lemonnier is the largest U.S. base on the continent and supports about 4,000 U.S. and allied personnel.
The country is considered a key partner in U.S. security and stability efforts in the region.


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text:
Outflow of profits, dividends on foreign investment falls 16.5% in July-October
Writer Syeda Sadia Shahid
The outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investment in Pakistan has declined by 16.5 percent to $566 million in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
The financial experts of Pakistan are of the opinion that the macroeconomic indicators of the country show the optimistic picture but according to the report, issued by the State Bank of Pakistan show a different picture. Although, some of the sectors of the economy played well yet the outflow of some sectors went down.
As a whole, the outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investment in the country declined by 16.5 percent during the period from July to October, this year. The report says that the outflow came down to $566.6 million during this period as compared to $678.6 million as compared to these four months, last year.
The performance of the banking sector has been outstanding as about all the banks earned profits. The profit outflow of the banks during the first four months of the current fiscal year was $125 million as compared to $91 million during this period, last year.
Read more: Foreign direct investment falls 12% to $662 million during first four months
The profit outflow of the power sector increased to $72.8 million during the period from July to October, this year which was just $9.3 million during the same period, last year.
The outflow of profit of the thermal power sector earned $69.2 million as compared to a mere $8.5 million during the first four months of the previous fiscal year. The profit outflow of the food sector came down tremendously.
During the period under consideration, the outflow profits of this sector decreased to $84.2 million which was $161 million during this period, last year.
The outflow of profit from the communication sector was $118.7 million during the first four months of the previous financial year which fell to $89.3 million from July to October, this year.
The outflow of profit from transport was $69 million last year which came down to $42 million during the first four months of this year.
The profit outflow from Tobacco and cigarettes decreased to $22 million which was $50 million during the period from July to October, last year.
The outflow of profit from the chemical sector also came down to $30.5 million from July to October, this year as compared to $56.7 million during the same period last year.
Related Items:Investment, Profit, State Bank of Pakistan
Foreign investors can now get Pakistani citizenship
Growing economic activities as private sector borrowing surges fivefold to Rs 715.7 billion
Oman invites Pakistanis to invest in its core five sectors
PIA becomes first international airline to fly directly to Fujairah
Punjab becomes Pakistan's first polio-free province

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Success is a term that by general human nature, has a common definition among people of being the most powerful and wealthy figure they can be. It doesn't occur to a lot of people that there's so much more to success that just money and power.
People scream this to you all the time but many just choose to ignore it because they only want the money.
Recently, I've just started reading Arianna Huffington's book called 'Thrive' which is all about the third metric to success, and to explain to people why they should redefine their definition of success. And so it inspired me to write this post.
For many aspiring millionaires to be, when they look at their role models in business, they often think that the reason they're so happy is because they have so much money, and so much fame.
This isn't true for the most part. In fact, it's often the case that people who work incredibly hard day and night just to become wealthy, suffer from high stress levels, depression and exhaustion. This was partially the case for Arianna as well as famous blogger Michael Arrington.
And all you have to do before continuing to read this, is ask yourself, is that really your definition of success? Would you rather have a tonne of money, but end in a state of depression and exhaustion that you can't control?
Here's how to redefine your definition of success, to still include wealth, but not neglect your well being, your friendships or your natural generosity that should arise from being a kind human being.
Just because you're working into the early hours of the morning and then only getting a few hours of sleep, doesn't mean you're being incredibly productive. It just means you're working until your mind's burnt out and that's neither good in the short term or long term.
You're quality of work will be much lower when you're extremely tired, so you still need good sleep to keep your brain refreshed and ready to crack on with some more work.
6 hours of solid sleep is great, because it means that you're getting the minimum amount that your mind and body needs, and you're also giving yourself a couple of extra hours in your day, instead of laying in.
I often find that a workout after a long day's work actually calms me down and relaxes me. I hear a lot of people say that they're too tired to workout when they come home from work, but I think they're just too lazy.
You will feel much more refreshed after you've alleviated all your stress by getting some decent exercise.
It also helps keep you healthy, especially if your job requires you to be sitting down for most of the time. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch said that during the first 5 years of starting the blog, he gained 50 pounds. Is that what you want?
There is such a thing as overworking, don't get too carried away by the fact that you have to work hard to get where you want to be. This is true, but it's all about being productive with your time. And not just that, but also actually being happy!
No amount of money in the world can redeem the years you wasted doing something you hated.
If you're working until you pass out, then you need to take a step back and drop it down a notch. You can't do everything in one day, that's just not how things work.
When we have this ultimate goal of earning as much money as possible, it's pretty easy to forget that so many people out there have it so much worse than you. Would it kill you to help out others who are less fortunate than you?
Giving to others makes you feel good, it makes you realize just how grateful you should be for what you have, and helping another human being out is the best gesture of all. So next time you're out and about, do something good for someone less fortunate.
Anybody who's a workaholic will find the easiest thing possible, the hardest to do. Relaxation is a great way of actually helping you bring any inspiration and brilliant ideas to the front of your mind.
Whenever you're trying so hard to think of something; you know what I'm talking about when you're staring at a blank page racking your brain to get something, anything, to spill out. But it just won't, whereas if you actually stop trying to think so hard and relax, something creative may just hit you like a light bulb.
Are your overall goals really about money and fame? Or did you just start out with those goals? Now you find yourself tiring, struggling and becoming pretty stressed out, so maybe it's time to have a rethink.
Shouldn't the overall goal be happiness? Isn't that what we all want in life? It's just that ways of becoming happy can be misconceived and now would be a good time to re-evaluate what makes you happy.
Go outdoors and actually let some light hit your face for once! You've been too busy working like crazy looking at a screen that you've probably forgotten what daylight looks like. Go outside, get some fresh air, check out some of the scenery that you might not have seen before and let yourself recharge.
You may be too busy working on making yourself a tonne of money, that you forget about the people that care about you, the people that support you. Come on, you shouldn't be neglecting people that care about you a great deal. I learnt this the hard way.
Make some plans to see friends, family, or perhaps just some quiet time alone with your partner, away from the laptops, the cell phones and so on.
Thanks for reading this article on redefining your definition of success. Hopefully it's been able to help you do just that.


We're excited to announce that we're curating 10 talks at Greenbelt Festival next week.
Now in its 40th year, the festival is where faith, justice and the arts collide. This year's speakers include Clare Balding, Rev Richard Coles, Jim Wallis, Milton Jones, Francis Spufford, Lucy Winkett and the London Community Gospel Choir.
The talks will take a subversive look at all those things society says we're supposed to have achieved by the time we're 40.
If you're at Greenbelt, do come and say hello – below are the times and days for our talks, which take place in GTV: The Treehouse. If you're not, then whyever not? After the festival, we'll also be posting the videos on our website, so you don't miss out.


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sitting there, writing those poems?
Someone I wanted? Someone you like?
Someone you'd follow, someone you'd share?
graded mercy, tiers of trust.
all based on some stranger's picture.


text:
package org.flagz.testclasses;

/**
 * Test enum. Used in testing of Flagz.
 */
public enum SomeEnum {
  CRAZY,
  WACKY,
  NORMAL,
  CHILLED,
}

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One of the magnitudes of reasons why I love horror is that in no other genre would make a film like Samurai Zombie.
Mixing the reanimated undead with the ancient warrior class of feudal Japan is a genius idea and adding in gore, gangsters and a creepy cursed village makes it all the more marvelous.
A happy husband and wife and their two kids taking a pleasant day trip out to the country are hijacked by a psychotic couple of criminals. They're on the run and force the family to aide their escape. The Japanese Mickey and Mallory lead the fearful group into what appears to be an abandoned village in the woods, unaware that this is the domain of Yoroi – an undead samurai who lives only to murder anyone unlucky enough to cross his path and his katana.
Joined by a pair of pathetic policemen and the unhinged killer the thieving lovers double crossed, the scene is set as the zombie yojimbo stalks and slashes with seemingly no regard for good or evil. Armed to the teeth and forced to work together, the horror hamlet becomes the only hiding place for all involved. But will anyone survive the unstoppable wrath of the samurai zombie?
Samurai Zombie's tone and style is summed up in the opening scene where a meaningful monologue on fate is delivered straight to camera by one of the characters, culminating in his gruesome decapitation. With musings on whether we have control over our own fate on one side and flying limbs, bile belching corpses and mad old witch women on the other, the movie spends most of its time trying to find the perfect balance between serious scares and hilarious hammy horror.
Thankfully for the audience although it may not always succeed, while watching you will find yourself laughing one minute and panicking the next. Never really that scary the film is always entertaining and the zombie samurai is a brilliant creation, with his full armor and helmet under which we see his rotting face.
Yoroi looks like something from an 80's gorefest and his fellow undead accomplices, one wielding a massive barbed club the other an archer, are equally ludicrous but excellent.
If anything the only failing of the film is its focus on the gangsters and its under-use of the undead. However all the characters are well realized by the actors involved and the story is well crafted leading up nicely to an unexpectedly dramatic ending.
Credit must be paid to script writer Ryûhei Kitamura better known for writing and directing Versus and the amazing Godzilla: Final Wars, also, more importantly helming the brilliant brutal adaptation of Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train.
Director Tak Sakaguchi – who also stars in the film – does a competent job helming throwing in some interesting shots drenched in gray's and blue's with lurid red blood, although he is not helped by the bad transfer and dodgy subtitles that have ended up on the Region 2 DVD.
Veering between crazy ridiculous guts and gore and a more Eastern existential exploration on fate, Samurai Zombie is an odd blend that somehow works.
It's definitely 'a cut above' the schlocky horror that it could easily have been.


text:
#ifndef __PVRUSB2_HDW_H
#define __PVRUSB2_HDW_H

#include <linux/usb.h>
#include <linux/videodev2.h>
#include "pvrusb2-io.h"
#include "pvrusb2-ctrl.h"

/* Private internal control ids, look these up with
   pvr2_hdw_get_ctrl_by_id() - these are NOT visible in V4L */
#define PVR2_CID_STDCUR 2
#define PVR2_CID_STDAVAIL 3
#define PVR2_CID_INPUT 4
#define PVR2_CID_AUDIOMODE 5
#define PVR2_CID_FREQUENCY 6
#define PVR2_CID_HRES 7
#define PVR2_CID_VRES 8
#define PVR2_CID_CROPL 9
#define PVR2_CID_CROPT 10
#define PVR2_CID_CROPW 11
#define PVR2_CID_CROPH 12
#define PVR2_CID_CROPCAPPAN 13
#define PVR2_CID_CROPCAPPAD 14
#define PVR2_CID_CROPCAPBL 15
#define PVR2_CID_CROPCAPBT 16
#define PVR2_CID_CROPCAPBW 17
#define PVR2_CID_CROPCAPBH 18
#define PVR2_CID_STDDETECT 19

/* Legal values for the INPUT state variable */
#define PVR2_CVAL_INPUT_TV 0
#define PVR2_CVAL_INPUT_DTV 1
#define PVR2_CVAL_INPUT_COMPOSITE 2
#define PVR2_CVAL_INPUT_SVIDEO 3
#define PVR2_CVAL_INPUT_RADIO 4

enum pvr2_config {
	pvr2_config_empty,    /* No configuration */
	pvr2_config_mpeg,     /* Encoded / compressed video */
	pvr2_config_vbi,      /* Standard vbi info */
	pvr2_config_pcm,      /* Audio raw pcm stream */
	pvr2_config_rawvideo, /* Video raw frames */
};

enum pvr2_v4l_type {
	pvr2_v4l_type_video,
	pvr2_v4l_type_vbi,
	pvr2_v4l_type_radio,
};

/* Major states that we can be in:
 *
 *  DEAD - Device is in an unusable state and cannot be recovered.  This
 *  can happen if we completely lose the ability to communicate with it
 *  (but it might still on the bus).  In this state there's nothing we can
 *  do; it must be replugged in order to recover.
 *
 *  COLD - Device is in an unusable state, needs microcontroller firmware.
 *
 *  WARM - We can communicate with the device and the proper
 *  microcontroller firmware is running, but other device initialization is
 *  still needed (e.g. encoder firmware).
 *
 *  ERROR - A problem prevents capture operation (e.g. encoder firmware
 *  missing).
 *
 *  READY - Device is operational, but not streaming.
 *
 *  RUN - Device is streaming.
 *
 */
#define PVR2_STATE_NONE 0
#define PVR2_STATE_DEAD 1
#define PVR2_STATE_COLD 2
#define PVR2_STATE_WARM 3
#define PVR2_STATE_ERROR 4
#define PVR2_STATE_READY 5
#define PVR2_STATE_RUN 6

/* Translate configuration enum to a string label */
const char *pvr2_config_get_name(enum pvr2_config);

struct pvr2_hdw;

/* Create and return a structure for interacting with the underlying
   hardware */
struct pvr2_hdw *pvr2_hdw_create(struct usb_interface *intf,
				 const struct usb_device_id *devid);

/* Perform second stage initialization, passing in a notification callback
   for when the master state changes. */
int pvr2_hdw_initialize(struct pvr2_hdw *,
			void (*callback_func)(void *),
			void *callback_data);

/* Destroy hardware interaction structure */
void pvr2_hdw_destroy(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Return true if in the ready (normal) state */
int pvr2_hdw_dev_ok(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Return small integer number [1..N] for logical instance number of this
   device.  This is useful for indexing array-valued module parameters. */
int pvr2_hdw_get_unit_number(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Get pointer to underlying USB device */
struct usb_device *pvr2_hdw_get_dev(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Retrieve serial number of device */
unsigned long pvr2_hdw_get_sn(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Retrieve bus location info of device */
const char *pvr2_hdw_get_bus_info(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Retrieve per-instance string identifier for this specific device */
const char *pvr2_hdw_get_device_identifier(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Called when hardware has been unplugged */
void pvr2_hdw_disconnect(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Get the number of defined controls */
unsigned int pvr2_hdw_get_ctrl_count(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Retrieve a control handle given its index (0..count-1) */
struct pvr2_ctrl *pvr2_hdw_get_ctrl_by_index(struct pvr2_hdw *,unsigned int);

/* Retrieve a control handle given its internal ID (if any) */
struct pvr2_ctrl *pvr2_hdw_get_ctrl_by_id(struct pvr2_hdw *,unsigned int);

/* Retrieve a control handle given its V4L ID (if any) */
struct pvr2_ctrl *pvr2_hdw_get_ctrl_v4l(struct pvr2_hdw *,unsigned int ctl_id);

/* Retrieve a control handle given its immediate predecessor V4L ID (if any) */
struct pvr2_ctrl *pvr2_hdw_get_ctrl_nextv4l(struct pvr2_hdw *,
					    unsigned int ctl_id);

/* Commit all control changes made up to this point */
int pvr2_hdw_commit_ctl(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Return a bit mask of valid input selections for this device.  Mask bits
 * will be according to PVR_CVAL_INPUT_xxxx definitions. */
unsigned int pvr2_hdw_get_input_available(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Return a bit mask of allowed input selections for this device.  Mask bits
 * will be according to PVR_CVAL_INPUT_xxxx definitions. */
unsigned int pvr2_hdw_get_input_allowed(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Change the set of allowed input selections for this device.  Both
   change_mask and change_valu are mask bits according to
   PVR_CVAL_INPUT_xxxx definitions.  The change_mask parameter indicate
   which settings are being changed and the change_val parameter indicates
   whether corresponding settings are being set or cleared. */
int pvr2_hdw_set_input_allowed(struct pvr2_hdw *,
			       unsigned int change_mask,
			       unsigned int change_val);

/* Return name for this driver instance */
const char *pvr2_hdw_get_driver_name(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Mark tuner status stale so that it will be re-fetched */
void pvr2_hdw_execute_tuner_poll(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Return information about the tuner */
int pvr2_hdw_get_tuner_status(struct pvr2_hdw *,struct v4l2_tuner *);

/* Return information about cropping capabilities */
int pvr2_hdw_get_cropcap(struct pvr2_hdw *, struct v4l2_cropcap *);

/* Query device and see if it thinks it is on a high-speed USB link */
int pvr2_hdw_is_hsm(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Return a string token representative of the hardware type */
const char *pvr2_hdw_get_type(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Return a single line description of the hardware type */
const char *pvr2_hdw_get_desc(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Turn streaming on/off */
int pvr2_hdw_set_streaming(struct pvr2_hdw *,int);

/* Find out if streaming is on */
int pvr2_hdw_get_streaming(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Retrieve driver overall state */
int pvr2_hdw_get_state(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Configure the type of stream to generate */
int pvr2_hdw_set_stream_type(struct pvr2_hdw *, enum pvr2_config);

/* Get handle to video output stream */
struct pvr2_stream *pvr2_hdw_get_video_stream(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Enable / disable retrieval of CPU firmware or prom contents.  This must
   be enabled before pvr2_hdw_cpufw_get() will function.  Note that doing
   this may prevent the device from running (and leaving this mode may
   imply a device reset). */
void pvr2_hdw_cpufw_set_enabled(struct pvr2_hdw *,
				int mode, /* 0=8KB FX2, 1=16KB FX2, 2=PROM */
				int enable_flag);

/* Return true if we're in a mode for retrieval CPU firmware */
int pvr2_hdw_cpufw_get_enabled(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Retrieve a piece of the CPU's firmware at the given offset.  Return
   value is the number of bytes retrieved or zero if we're past the end or
   an error otherwise (e.g. if firmware retrieval is not enabled). */
int pvr2_hdw_cpufw_get(struct pvr2_hdw *,unsigned int offs,
		       char *buf,unsigned int cnt);

/* Retrieve a previously stored v4l minor device number */
int pvr2_hdw_v4l_get_minor_number(struct pvr2_hdw *,enum pvr2_v4l_type index);

/* Store a v4l minor device number */
void pvr2_hdw_v4l_store_minor_number(struct pvr2_hdw *,
				     enum pvr2_v4l_type index,int);

/* Direct read/write access to chip's registers:
   match - specify criteria to identify target chip (this is a v4l dbg struct)
   reg_id  - register number to access
   setFl   - true to set the register, false to read it
   val_ptr - storage location for source / result. */
int pvr2_hdw_register_access(struct pvr2_hdw *,
			     const struct v4l2_dbg_match *match, u64 reg_id,
			     int setFl, u64 *val_ptr);

/* The following entry points are all lower level things you normally don't
   want to worry about. */

/* Issue a command and get a response from the device.  LOTS of higher
   level stuff is built on this. */
int pvr2_send_request(struct pvr2_hdw *,
		      void *write_ptr,unsigned int write_len,
		      void *read_ptr,unsigned int read_len);

/* Slightly higher level device communication functions. */
int pvr2_write_register(struct pvr2_hdw *, u16, u32);

/* Call if for any reason we can't talk to the hardware anymore - this will
   cause the driver to stop flailing on the device. */
void pvr2_hdw_render_useless(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Set / clear 8051's reset bit */
void pvr2_hdw_cpureset_assert(struct pvr2_hdw *,int);

/* Execute a USB-commanded device reset */
void pvr2_hdw_device_reset(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Reset worker's error trapping circuit breaker */
int pvr2_hdw_untrip(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Execute hard reset command (after this point it's likely that the
   encoder will have to be reconfigured).  This also clears the "useless"
   state. */
int pvr2_hdw_cmd_deep_reset(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Execute simple reset command */
int pvr2_hdw_cmd_powerup(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* suspend */
int pvr2_hdw_cmd_powerdown(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Order decoder to reset */
int pvr2_hdw_cmd_decoder_reset(struct pvr2_hdw *);

/* Direct manipulation of GPIO bits */
int pvr2_hdw_gpio_get_dir(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,u32 *);
int pvr2_hdw_gpio_get_out(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,u32 *);
int pvr2_hdw_gpio_get_in(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,u32 *);
int pvr2_hdw_gpio_chg_dir(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,u32 msk,u32 val);
int pvr2_hdw_gpio_chg_out(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,u32 msk,u32 val);

/* This data structure is specifically for the next function... */
struct pvr2_hdw_debug_info {
	int big_lock_held;
	int ctl_lock_held;
	int flag_disconnected;
	int flag_init_ok;
	int flag_ok;
	int fw1_state;
	int flag_decoder_missed;
	int flag_tripped;
	int state_encoder_ok;
	int state_encoder_run;
	int state_decoder_run;
	int state_decoder_ready;
	int state_usbstream_run;
	int state_decoder_quiescent;
	int state_pipeline_config;
	int state_pipeline_req;
	int state_pipeline_pause;
	int state_pipeline_idle;
	int cmd_debug_state;
	int cmd_debug_write_len;
	int cmd_debug_read_len;
	int cmd_debug_write_pend;
	int cmd_debug_read_pend;
	int cmd_debug_timeout;
	int cmd_debug_rstatus;
	int cmd_debug_wstatus;
	unsigned char cmd_code;
};

/* Non-intrusively retrieve internal state info - this is useful for
   diagnosing lockups.  Note that this operation is completed without any
   kind of locking and so it is not atomic and may yield inconsistent
   results.  This is *purely* a debugging aid. */
void pvr2_hdw_get_debug_info_unlocked(const struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,
				      struct pvr2_hdw_debug_info *);

/* Intrusively retrieve internal state info - this is useful for
   diagnosing overall driver state.  This operation synchronizes against
   the overall driver mutex - so if there are locking problems this will
   likely hang!  This is *purely* a debugging aid. */
void pvr2_hdw_get_debug_info_locked(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,
				    struct pvr2_hdw_debug_info *);

/* Report out several lines of text that describes driver internal state.
   Results are written into the passed-in buffer. */
unsigned int pvr2_hdw_state_report(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw,
				   char *buf_ptr,unsigned int buf_size);

/* Cause modules to log their state once */
void pvr2_hdw_trigger_module_log(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw);

/* Cause encoder firmware to be uploaded into the device.  This is normally
   done autonomously, but the interface is exported here because it is also
   a debugging aid. */
int pvr2_upload_firmware2(struct pvr2_hdw *hdw);

#endif /* __PVRUSB2_HDW_H */

/*
  Stuff for Emacs to see, in order to encourage consistent editing style:
  *** Local Variables: ***
  *** mode: c ***
  *** fill-column: 75 ***
  *** tab-width: 8 ***
  *** c-basic-offset: 8 ***
  *** End: ***
  */


The integrated clean energy solution you seek is here!
The typical installation process of solar systems usually takes 2 to 3 months to be completed depending on the complexity of the project. Sunseap takes your business schedule into consideration, ensuring your business operations go on smoothly with non-penetrating mounting methods that are able to withstand all types of weather conditions.
In addition, we work closely with clients to assist them to attain the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) Green Mark certification that recognises a business's efforts in sustainability and create a competitive advantage .


text:
Watching "Spider-Man" May Reduce Arachnophobia
Written by Mae Rice
We already knew that Spider-Man could shoot super-strong webbing out of his wrists, kiss upside down (even in the rain!), and rake in hundreds of billions at the box office. Turns out, he may have another superpower, too: alleviating arachnophobia.
Seven Seconds of Spider
For a paper recently accepted for publication in Frontiers in Psychiatry, two Israeli scientists (and superhero fans) recruited a sample of 424 adults on social media and showed them each a seven-second video.
The participants didn't all watch the same thing, however; they were randomly assigned to watch one of four videos. One clip came from "Spider-Man," and another from "Ant-Man." Both of these were chosen to test the concept of Marvel movies as phobia treatments. The other two videos were controls: a nature scene, and a fast-paced Marvel movie opening sequence.
In the seven-second Ant-Man clip, a swarm of chittering fire ants — "known for their bite," a voiceover tells us — form a bridge that helps Ant-Man cross a mysterious gulf. In the seven-second Spider-Man clip, the camera, initially shooting an office scene from above, shifts focus to show a spiderweb in the foreground, with a spider lurking in its strands.
Before and after watching their designated videos, participants took various tests that gauged their familiarity with and enjoyment of Marvel movies and the scope of their fear of insects. For instance: Did insects (ants in the case of the Ant-Man group and spiders in the case of the Spider-Man group) prompt "sudden terror, fear, or fright" for them?
Superhero Exposure Therapy?
So, did Spider-Man and Ant-Man decrease participants' self-reported phobia levels? The researchers thought the films might because it's already fairly mainstream to treat phobias with exposure therapy. This involves directly and neutrally exposing someone with a phobia to the thing they fear, whether it's a high ledge, a friendly clown, or a spider.
The theory of the therapy goes that steady exposure helps a person get used to the thing they fear and view it as normal rather than terrifying. For instance, spending some time with a sleeping tarantula in a terrarium might teach a person that spiders are less threatening (and more sleepy!) than they seem.
But what if people with phobias were exposed to the thing they feared in a not just neutral, but positive context?
This study suggests that this works too. The Spider-Man and Ant-Man clips did reduce study participants' self-evaluated phobia levels significantly — by about 20 percent, to be exact. The people who watched the control videos didn't experience a similar therapeutic effect, which means that it wasn't a phenomenon of the Marvel cinematic universe or of videos in general.
The study results are especially noteworthy because the videos were so short — the branded Marvel clip at the beginning of the movie is more than four times that long! — and because the exposure took place "in vitro," as opposed to "in vivo." In other words, participants were confronted with bugs in a controlled and simulated setting, not in their real attic. But still, the effect was significant!
Research still remains to be done on what precisely causes this phobia-reduction effect, and how long it lasts. The effect the researchers measured was short-term — but do the benefits linger for a month? A year? What's more important: the superhero element, or showing bugs on-screen? Another potential direction for research: Does the phobia reduction last longer if people watch longer chunks of superhero movies?
For now, it's unclear — but it seems like superheroes have even more powers than we previously knew, and they deserve our respect. Who knows — next, we could find out the Hulk cures cancer.
Get more comic-book science in "The Physics of Superheroes: More Heroes! More Villains! More Science! Spectacular Second Edition" by James Kakalios. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase, Curiosity will get a share of the sale.
Written by Mae Rice May 20, 2019
Defend Your Brain With Yoga
Film Phobia


I downloaded an otf version of the font. The same goes for Source Han Serif as well.
I tried the same fonts on LibreOffice and it worked well.
I was also able to use the same fonts for Firefox. I had no issue at all.
What do you think could cause this trouble?


text:
__author__      = "Ricardo Ribeiro"
__credits__     = ["Ricardo Ribeiro"]
__license__     = "MIT"
__version__     = "0.0"
__maintainer__  = "Ricardo Ribeiro"
__email__       = "ricardojvr@gmail.com"
__status__      = "Development"

from __init__ import *

class SimpleExample(BaseWidget):

	def __init__(self):
		super(SimpleExample,self).__init__('Simple example')

		#Definition of the forms fields
		self._control 	= ControlToolBox('Select a file')

		self._formset = [' ',(' ', '_control', ' '),' ']

		self._control.value = [ControlButton('Click me'), ControlText('Text')]

##################################################################################################################
##################################################################################################################
##################################################################################################################

#Execute the application
if __name__ == "__main__":	 pyforms.startApp( SimpleExample )


text:
« Prepping for David Fincher's 'Dragon Tattoo'
8 Awesome Songs from Non Musical Movies »
Banana Unpeeled DVD Review: Bridesmaids
October 5, 2011 by Patrick
Hollywood has described this as summer's biggest sleeper hit. R rated comedies don't normally do well compared to their competition due to their fairly closely targeted audience, but good word of mouth has recently allowed R rated comedies like The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and the Hangover to do well. The thing that sets Bridesmaid's apart from its fellow R rated box office hits lies in its leads. The all female cast, which normally would've targeted only female audiences, was able to set itself apart from 'chick flick' status to appeal to a broader demographic, something not commonly seen. With clever writing, chemistry between it's leads, and a cast of outrageous supporting characters, it's these aspects of this movie that saves itself from falling to formula and instead becoming potentially summer's best comedy.
Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) are childhood best friends that seem inseparable. When Lillian gets engaged, Annie gets put in the position as maid of honor, where means she has to plan parties and dinners for her best friend. It's at this moment when Annie's personal life turns for the worse when she loses her job, gets kicked out of her apartment, moves in with her mom, and has to compete for her best friend status with Lillian's other friend, Helen (Rose Byrne), who clearly does a better job as being a maid of honor.
It's easy to tell they're actually friends, the acting is so natural
The story follows a typical pre-wedding story-line, cycling through bridal showers, bachelorette parties, etc. but the accompanying slapstick is far more clever and humorous than the slapstick involved with other wedding movies like Maid of Honor or Bride Wars. Much thanks to the Kristen Wiig's humorously awkward Annie and her supporting players, most notably, Melissa McCarthy's raw and unrestrained Megan, who plays the brother of the groom, the film is filled moments that will have your slide splitting no matter what gender you may be. Their antics are cleverly written and the clearly improvised dialogue make each moment that should be cliche, actually enjoyable. And while the ending itself is fairly cliche and predictable, it's such an enjoyable romp getting to that point, it doesn't actually matter.
This is a clever gal
The reason it's okay to forsake the cliche plot is because this movie isn't story driven, it's character driven. The characters are so much more memorable that the story itself and that's where Bridesmaids shines the most. Even the movie's 'antagonists: Byrne's Helen and Wiig's on-again-off-again f*** buddy (Jon Hamm) are delightfully hilarious in their own way. But like I stated earlier, the focus here is the main cast. Normally giving off the aura of a chick flick, Wiig's dynamite [Oscar worthy? Oh heavens, if only, but no way the Academy will recognize…] performance and the support of her fellow cast mates are able to create something that goes beyond a normal wedding movie and which contributes to something the Rottentomatoes called 'genuine'. When a movie is able to produce characters so relatable, the term genuine is a good word to describe a strong connection between the movie characters and the audience, which in this case is impressive, because the entire main cast is female. This genuinity is easily tranlsated to both genders, and while I'd imagine the first demographic of this film was likely females, good word of mouth expanded it to the box office hit it is today.
It's easy to tell the actors themselves had a good time improvising with each, trying to find the funniest line or wait for the best timing and you can feel the 'genuinity' in the chemistry between the characters. I highly recommend you pick this one up and watch it. You absolutely won't regret it. And while you're at it, watch Melissa McCarthy's job as hosting SNL, because she's been the most memorable SNL host in a long time.
4.5/5 Stars
Posted in Movies, Reviews | Tagged Bridesmaids, funny, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa Mccarthy, Movie, Movie Review | 1 Comment
on October 5, 2011 at 6:25 pm | Reply themovieblog8
I have hope that McCarthy will be nominated for an Oscar. I'm probably just deluding myself, though.
Discuss with the Community! Cancel reply


text:
Belka is een plaatsje in de regio Wheatbelt in West-Australië. Het ligt 261 kilometer ten oosten van Perth, 35 kilometer ten zuiden van Merredin en 16 kilometer ten noorden van Bruce Rock. Belka maakt deel uit van het landbouwdistrict Shire of Bruce Rock.

Geschiedenis
Ten tijde van de Europese kolonisatie leefden de Njakinjaki Nyungah Aborigines in de streek.

Belka werd in 1914 gesticht langs de spoorweg tussen Bruce Rock en Merredin. De naam zou zijn afgeleid van het Aborigineswoord voor "enkel". De overheid bouwde er een dam voor watervoorziening, die diende tot Belka in 1923 op C.Y. O'Connors waterpijpleiding werd aangesloten. De dam werd vervolgens een picknick-plaats en zwemgelegenheid.

In 1916 werd er een postkantoor geopend. Het bleef tot 1957 in dienst. De landbouwers uit de streek richtten in 1917 een coöperatieve op en in 1920 opende deze een winkel. In de jaren 1920 opende een hoefsmid de deuren maar door de crisis van de jaren 30 werd de zaak gesloten. In 1921 werd een school opgestart. Er werd onderwezen tot 1942. De school opende nog twee keer voor een korte periode maar daarna werden de leerlingen met de bus naar de school in Bruce Rock gevoerd.

Transport
De Great Eastern Highway kan via de Bruce Rock-Merredin Road bereikt worden.

Belka ligt langs de spoorweg tussen Bruce Rock en Merredin waarover enkel nog graantreinen van CBH Group rijden.

Klimaat
De streek kent een koud steppeklimaat, BSk volgens de klimaatclassificatie van Köppen.

Externe links
 Shire of Bruce Rock
 Central Wheatbelt Visitors Centre
 Australia's Golden Outback

Plaats in West-Australië

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Historical Tale' is one of the most beautiful moonstone rings for women. Everything about this ring can bring out any woman's femininity.
The moonstone is known to help every woman during the difficult times when their body goes through hormonal changes. It is a time when a moonstone can relieve the pain and give the woman willpower to get through it.
There is no better gemstone for holistic healing, especially for women because moonstone exhibits moon's qualities that are nurturing like that of a mother.


Pay Scale: Rs.23,000/- p.m. plus HRA and medical reimbursement for self as per rules of the Association.
Educational Requirements: Candidates should have Ph.D Degree in Chemistry with first or high second class M.Sc degree with minimum average of 55% marks in B.Sc and M.Sc examinations.
Experience Requirements: Research experience in the area of coordination chemistry, coordination polymers, supramolecular gels. Experience in X-ray diffraction is desirable.
How To Apply: Applications should reach HOD, Department of Organic Chemistry, IACS, Jadavpur, Kolkata-700032 by 23rd Nov. 20012, positively.


DAMN IT! I just want to kill anyone around me. Earlier today, I tried posting the longest blog post ever on Aki's Blog, just to get the answer that the server didn't respond. Aki's Blog was currently down. Therefore, the entire message was destroyed. -.- I'm really upset right now.


This Saint brake lever (right hand only) is ergonomic, very powerful and compact. The body is lightweight, strong and durable (and one-piece), whilst the lever is anti-slip for better grip and reliability. Also 2nd generation I-spec B compatible.
Shimano's advanced Saint ICE Technologies brake levers feature shorter more ergonomic levers that feature tool free lever adjustment and adjustable free stroke for the ultimate in customisation.
Is this the LH or RH lever??
This is a right hand lever, I'm sorry for any confusion.


Greetings friend! I just returned home from DragonCon 2014 where we officially announced video game projects that you are going to love! WARNING: This post contains Brutalcorn thumb-wrestling, baby teleportation stories, and semi-spoilers about the new storyline in AdventureQuest Worlds!
I posted a gallery of 80+ DragonCon Photos on my Facebook page. Check it out and be sure to Like the post to recieve updates when I add more. As team members return home and send me their photos I will upload them there.
Post by Artix von Krieger.
The best DragonCon panel yet! I would like to thank everyone who attended giving us so much support. I would like to thank everyone who was unable to go (both staff and players) for being a part of our community and sending so us so much love. We hope for the chance to meet you and all of our other fellow gamers at future conventions. So here we go... STORY TIME!
Originally, I was not scheduled to be at DragonCon due to having... a baby. But the little fella came 2-weeks early and when a few other staff members had to cancel at the last minute, I got permission to go! Cysero and I came up with a funny skit. We kept my presence at DragonCon a secret. Then, at the panel, Cysero showed a video... which showed me at home, holding the baby... talking about how I wish I was there with everyone. Then, I was suddenly given permission! But how would I get to the panel (8+ hours away) in time? Fortunely once every 100 years a portal opens from my house to DragonCon! The players chanted a count down and when they reached 1... I bust through the door in the video, and then through the door into the panel room at DragonCon. They were so surprised! (Except the clever 20 of you that "busted me" finding me in the halls the day before.) To take the joke further.. I ran back through the door and appeared with a baby swaddled in a blanket. I smiled and whispered, "Shhh... the baby is sleeping" Then after a dramatic pause I non-chalantly tossed the baby through the air at someone-- it was a just a doll. Everyone gasped, then started to laugh. The energy in the room started building.
Brutalcorn invaded the panel and was challenged to "Thumb Wrestle to the Death" three awesome players. Fortunately for them, Brutualcorn is a terrible thumb wrestler!
WOAH! The player Brutalcorn is battling is cosplaying as Cysero!
Stryche actually had Cysero's joke shirt created... they were given to the winners.
George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, also crashed the panel. We made him read the insanely long MechQuest plan revealing a bunch of new content... but George Lowe has never played MechQuest and had no idea how to prounounce most of the things on the page! At some point he just started making stuff up.
We told our most embarasing and inappropriate stories from the lab... we are really open on the design notes. But we are REALLY open in person. I apologize for any therapy bills resulting from the panel.
We got the entire panel up on their feet to dance along to the BattleGems Dance Dance video!
Also we got a special request from a player who's friend was a huge fan and unable to come... and very politely asked if we could just say "Hi!". We said we could do one better than that :-) We got everyone there involved... we made a video and the entire staff then the ENTIRE ROOM said hello-- you guys are so awesome. Furthermore we sent her a signed copy of the new poster and an action figure.
13 Lords of Chaos Poster launches this Tuesday!
AdventureQuest Worlds' NEW STORY is here!
AdventureQuest Worlds players were thrilled at the seemless transition into the game's new overarching main storyline... "ANCIENT EVIL." A cataclysmic like event has returned the Elemental Titans to our world. Those blank areas on the map are about to start opening up. Also, a cast of never before villains have escaped from the underworld do to the... um... death of Death. It is hard to make the rest of this post without spoilers. So if you have not completed it yet, then SPOILER ALERT!!! Stop reading right now and skip down to the next post. Seriouly. Ok, so you are caught up with the current release? Then you know that the Hero is in fact the reincarnation of the Eternal Dragon of Time... the "god" of our multiverse. Before you actualized your powers, you also became the 13th Lord of Chaos. Following the tragic series of events that we witnessed King Alteon undergo... you went on to do what no other Chaos Lord had done before you-- conquer the world. Then... FURTHERMORE... to escape the underworld, you assassinated Death himself. Which, technically makes you Death too! The final battle with Drakath was the most epic series of fights and cutscenes in the games history. My Twitter feed was full of awe as it exceeded the hype. However, a fixed point in time... Drakath, in a depserate attempt to flee you, enters the Chaos Gate. Defeating him was the only way to stop the end of the world... but doing so would strip you of all of your powers. Just like it did Drakath. The decision of a true Hero... good or evil... is to sacrifice everything for your cause. You know what happens next O_O. The Chaos Gate was closed... but the Queen of all Monsters escaped into our world. Time happens differently in the Chaos Realm... so when you return a long while later, you find the world has been devastated by the re-awakened Ancient Elemental Titans and the villains that escaped Death's underworld. The Queen of all Monsters. the one who created Drakath, has returned to our world... to defeat her you will have to face the Titans and regain your powers. AdventureQuest World's true storyline has finally begun!
DRAGONS - A new "Idle Game" for your Apple, Android, and/or Web browser!
When I first talked to Orteil about the project and he said "yes"... I told him that I was going to make a video in my armor of how excited I was telling everyone. He probably thought I had forgot. He probably was not expecting this video, LOL!
This project is pretty far along... and the Dragons you will be raising in this game play an important role in the game we announced next!
Everyone who strives to reach the stars eventually hits a wall... ironically, the wall in this video is not a metaphor. I showed this personal video at the panel before we announced the next game project... it says a lot. It says alot about what it takes to accomplish something hard. Failure is only a temporary situation. Never giving up... battling on... persistance... is the path to acheiving your dreams! No matter what your dreams are. And you know what I REALLY want to make. Watch the video then please read the next game announcement post.
Serious face time.... here we go!
Behold, our ambitious 3-stage game project, officially declared! Long live AQ2D & AQ3D!
For the past two months we have been posting ambigious art samples on Twitter and Facebook to get your feedback on different NPC and art styles. We have been asking you random questions and listening to your feedback. These images are prototype characters for our biggest and most ambitious project... a bold step to not only to age up our games, not only to future proof the games against rapidly changing technology, not only to bring our games to new platforms & devices... but start a snowball effect that will avalache right into a new AdventureQuest 3D!
"Hey! These characters look awesome and.. wait, is that back arm art!?!?!"
THIS WAS THE PLAN OF "PROJECT OMNI" FROM THE START... and it gets better.
3D models of the character armors are being created at the same time the 2D ones are! 3D stuff take a lot longer to create, so building the assets in the background while making the 2D game will give it time to all come together. It is vital that we do it in this order to succeed. AQ3D is "The Wall" -- and the steps needed to climb up it are listed below.
Also... give the technology that we are building to the DragonFable, MechQuest, Oversoul, etc teams so that they can upgrade the games. We already have a working prototype of the Mobile 2D engine (It is a lot like DragonFable and AQ Classic mixed.) We also have a single player run around of the 3D characters (Cysero showed a video of it) where you can battle a few of the monsters. Do not get the wrong idea... this is a big project and will take quite some time. We want you to be with us every step of the way from 2D to 3D. You probably have a gazillion questions... to which I would like to say... AWESOME! Because, LOL, we probably do not have answers to them yet! ...but that means we get to answer them together.
DRAGONS! AdventureQuest 2D! AdventureQuest 3D!
Kenamo: Long live adventure quest 3D! I am so excited to watch these games develop into the amazing projects I know they'll become, so excited and ready to support them in anyway I can.
Artix: O_O I know.... sooooo much!
YamiKakyuu: Since I can never go to D*C I always enjoy the write ups and pictures. ONE DAY Ill open a time portal big enough to make it. I was excited for AQDragons but Im over the moon for AQ2D and AQ3D!!
The Extraordinary Mr. E: Wasn't looking forward to AQ: Dragons, but I am certainly looking forward to the new AQ2D. Hopefully we can get our hands on an early build "soon".
Wazikamawata: So, perhaps a silly question Artix, but do you mean that a mobile version of AdventureQuest: Worlds is an idea that has been at the very least tabled?
Clergy: So how similar will the 2D and 3D games be? Will they be the same thing (but in different dimensions), or completely different games?
Naronyx: This is most promising :) ~ although i would like you to please stick to MMO games, gaming is more fun when playing as a team, and yeah REAL TIME PVP is the best :) BATTLEON!
roborhino: DRAGONS! AdventureQuest 2D! AdventureQuest 3D!
Laura: A thousand hugs to you guys! I almost died of happiness when my friend sent me the video of you all saying hi to me.
Zion: I thought Omni was a play on Unity because that is the game engine AE switched to... Does this mean Alpha Knights are back in business? ... Very excited - my Nexus 7 can be devoted to alpha testing the Android versions... Keep up the great work!
SpellFyre: Sorry to ask what may have been answered already but AQ 2D & AQ 3D are these remakes of the classic AQ I know or is it a new story taking off?
DerpSonic: WHOOOOO!!! What a massive post! It's all so... massive! Project Omni is going to change EVERYTHING!! I must say, though, I noticed the shorter part of The Wall. You could have easily scaled it... but no. You went for the big one. You aimed higher, and challenged yourself and by doing so, getting a far greater reward. Well played Artix, well played. And LONG LIVE ADVENTUREQUEST THREE DEEEEEEEEE!!!1!
Voodoo: I'm really excited for all the new games! But I do have a gazillion question, about AQ2D specifically. Don't we already have a 2D AQ? Why do you want to make another one? Why is it an essential step in your plan to make the 3D game? And will it keep getting new content and attention even after the 3D game is out?
phlynch: DRAGONS! AdventureQuest 2D! AdventureQuest 3D!
Withered: I didn't exactly understand this... why do we need a new 2D Adventure Quest? I'm sorry I just didn't understand as we have AQ Classic already.
Ai No Miko: Hahaha @ my faces!
Battlechan: Im so Excited about the AQ3D please work hard guys im giving all my support.
Necrosis: Awesome! So if this works out when mite be the earliest time we will see work on aq3d again? 1 Year? 2 years? 10 years? maybe tomorrow? some time yesterday maybe?
Cysero: If I had to venture a guess, I'd say at LEAST 2 years away in some form or another unrecognizable from the first attempt.
Crawler3333: I like all the projects you're making, but AdventureQuest 2D is the one I'll be waiting most. The classic AQ is the game that made start playing browser games two years ago, and I'm very glad to see that it will be (somehow) re-vamped and updated to the actual technology.
Kylestien: Kylestien: Hey, I don't know who reads these comments (And I would like to get a reply saying who does if possible) but do you mind if I ask a question? I was thinking of ways to promote OS and I recall a official AE tournament was made. The important thing is that (As far as I know)the code to make official tournaments is still in game and would not require coders to make work. (Feel free to correct me on this though if that is not the case) So I was wondering if it would be possible to make a OS Tournament, publicize it on some of the other game's DN's, and hold it with a grand prize, maybe some currency in a game of their choice or a NPC in the games or something. Heck, in fact, since most of the forgotten games have some sort of PVP system, why not make it a inter game thing with a catagory winner, second and third place for each forgotten game? Aside from prize money, it does not require cost to promote or run, it does not require valuable coder time (Far as I know), it gets people into these games some of who may say, and in short is a good way to promote them without having to do much work on them. The only thing I could see being a issue is organisation and the issue of high vs low levels. In OS you could end up with level 20's vs level 1's and that may turn people off, so it might be good to suggest people use lower leveled guys to encourage more players, though I'm not sure how this would be enforced. Anyway, thank you for your time and I would love to hear your thoughts on it since i am given to understand staff run these comments sections. Also, I love the idea of this, but I do have to wonder what what you mean by upgrading the games. Do you intend to just make them playable on mobile and whatnot or give forgotten games a update? Also, I still remember you posting on Twitter about that project to do with the server (I won't say what it was here in case you are not ready but it involves me being a good detective)is that still happening because I'd love to (do stuff involving said thing) for OS and others. Also, I do worry that I will need a FB aaccont or whatever to play games in future on my comp. Would it be possible to make it so anyone with or without one can log in? It killed me when I heard you needed a FB accont to play Battlgems. Also, more payment methods please since I use Ukash.
Glerax: Oh...my gosh...OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! DRAGONFABLE UPGRADE! DRAGONFABLE UPGRADE!
Glerax: If there are Doomknights in the 3d games....oh dear.
Swordsman of Worlds : This news is fantastic. I'm so excited that AQ3D has been revived from its limbo. I'm eager to see how things go this time around. I knew I was right to not leave your side, Artix. :D Long live AQ3D! Long live AE! Long live the glory of online gaming communities!!
NiGHtsBeta09: Needless to say, you guys have been a huge inspiration to me, and you all have changed the way I view a lot in life and in gaming. I just wanted to let you know how much your team and your games mean to me. I only hope that one day I at least get the chance to shake your hands and say "Thank you."
gijoe528: So glad to hear about this, can't wait. LONG LIVE ADVENTUREQUEST 3D.
LVXYZx: Seeing this gives me faith.
LVXYZx: (*Forgot that shift+enter doesn't wrap to the next line) Anyway, it gives me much more faith in my gaming to come, as AE will likely reach the tippity top tier at this rate! Also, another wall that I hope that can be overcome is being able to have back-arm and leg art for AQW and have the servers be able to handle it!
Asterisk: Hooray! Also, a minimal amount of my horrifically unphotogenic self. Yay!
MorlockDarccastle: Can't wait to go to DCon with the crew in a couple of years!
MetalSonic: Opposition Omni, Battle Omni?
Fallen_Shadow: Also , after drakath defeat,Would the Poison in Seplechure wont be longer a poison ? , and will he revive ? and takes gravelyn Placement ?
I UnderLord I: Amazing! Best of luck with Project Omni, and know that we're with you at least in spirit every step of the way. :) DRAGONS! AdventureQuest 2D! AdventureQuest 3D! [x3] LONG LIVE ADVENTUREQUEST 3D!!! *LONG LIVE ARTIX ENTERTAINMENT!!!* *Ahem.* I'm certainly excited, and it is nice to see each game will have be revamped in some capacity.
I UnderLord I: My deepest apologies; it would appear that my computer is attempting to sabotage me. :P Please approve only this comment, excluding this addendum.


Ready or not, the Holiday season is upon us! Can you believe it? Every time that November rolls around it hits me just how fast the year has gone by.
Realizing that my children are a little older, my business has inevitably changed and grown, and reflecting on all the lessons of the year is always bittersweet.
However, what always stays consistent for me is my love of getting families into their dream homes.
Although you likely have a lot on your plate these next few months, now is really the perfect time to add, "buy a home" to your list.
In 2014, Vera Gibbons of ZIllow posted this great article highlighting why the holiday season is historically the best time to buy, and it still rings true for my clients today!
(This blog post was originally posted on Zillow.com on December 2nd, 2014 and was written by Vera Gibbons).
Did you know that, historically, home prices are lower in December than in any other month?
As for the overall housing picture, if you're not yet in the market, you'll like this news: While home prices are continuing to rise, it's happening at a much slower pace.
According to a recent report from Zillow, U.S. home values are currently up 6.4 percent year-over-year and have been slowing for nearly two years. Next year home values are expected to grow at 3 percent — roughly half their current pace. These changing dynamics, and a shift toward healthy stabilization, put more power in the hands of buyers.
What's driving affordability? Low mortgage rates. Currently hovering in the 4 percent range, rates are projected to edge up to 5 percent by the end of 2015, according to Zillow Chief Economist, Stan Humphries.
To put this in perspective, did you know that if rates go up by just one percentage point, your purchasing power is reduced by a whopping 11 percent? Find out how much waiting to buy could cost you.
If sellers are listing their home for sale this time of year, this likely means they're serious about shedding the weight of their residences.
Regardless of why that is – perhaps they've recently gotten divorced, have to relocate for a new job opportunity, or are under some other personal pressure – this puts you, the buyer, in a much better position to negotiate and ultimately cut a deal, particularly since competition is minimal this time of year.
At the end of the year, everyone is looking for ways to lower their tax bill. And closing on your new home before Dec. 31st is one way to get some breaks.
After all, you can deduct home purchase costs, including mortgage interest, property taxes and points — while you build equity and save yourself a significant amount of money.
If you have been on the fence about wanting to buy, or would like to see what is available in your price range, call me at 916-303-6375 and let's talk about your options.