Here's how the typical Christmas morning unfolded when I was a little girl. I'd wake up well before the sun even dreamed of rising and would roll over and nudge my older sister, my voice shaking with excitement. "Wake up. It's Christmas!"
She'd mumble something about it being too early and go back to sleep.
I'd wriggle out of bed and hug my flannel PJs close to my skin. A teenage sister couldn't dampen my Christmas spirit. I'd tiptoe out into the hall and find my older brother peeking out of his room.
We'd meet somewhere in the middle and glance toward the stairs. "We should try to go down there," he'd whisper.
I'd look at the black stairway then at my parents' bedroom door and chew on my lip. "I don't know. We'd get in big trouble if they found us."
He'd take a few daring steps down, only to return back to my side and plop down next to me on the top stair, where we'd follow the family tradition of waiting for Dad to get up and lead the procession downstairs.
Minute after agonizing minute, we'd stare at Mom and Dad's closed door, as if our eyeballs could open it by sheer willpower. Eventually my sister would wake up and join us, the excitement building as we speculated about what could be waiting under the tree.
Then the moment would arrive. The big door would open and my dad would emerge. But instead of walking straight to the stairs, he'd get a little grin on his face and say, "I need to take a shower first."
We'd all sigh and slump down while we waited for him to take the longest shower in recorded history. He'd open the bathroom door and then, as if to taunt us, would draw out his razor and do a thorough shave. Didn't he know Santa went with the beard look?
Finally, he'd meander down the hall and say, "Okay kids, you ready yet?" To which we'd all roll our eyes and say, "Daaaad!"
Then he'd lead us down the stairs and we'd open our presents and revel in the joy of Christmas.
So what does that nice little tradition have to do with my life as a writer? It taught me to wait...and wait...and wait. I'm pretty sure Dad didn't know how much patience he was developing in me.
How do you handle the waiting that comes with your life as a writer? Who taught you the value of patience?
I'm still learning all about that value. ;) How funny your dad did that.
I love that he even took the time to shave.
This post made me smile. Who taught me to wait? God. He has an uncanny way of throwing me on paths I don't want to be on...an forcing me to navigate them. I don't have the patience for it. I get angry and rile and scream. But...I'm getting there. Slowly.
Wendy - I think he got pleasure out of torturing us. :) And yes, a man can't start Christmas morning without a shave.
LOL, I remember waiting forever for my Dad. We weren't allowed to wake him up until 7:00 which I now realize was entirely reasonable...but seemed like an eternity. I enjoyed this post and the memories it brought back for me, Sarah. Thanks!
Julia - Ah yes, 7:00 is the new "sleeping in" when you have kids. I once read a quote that said, "An alarm clock is a device for people without small children." So true!


Join our team, as a Geotechnical Engineer at Hart Crowser in Honolulu, Hawaii. As a geotechnical engineer you will bring your expertise and unique solutions to highly visible and challenging projects. Our staff of engineers provide a wide range of geotechnical services, from site investigations and construction observations to state of the art designs.
Registered Hawaii PE, or ability to obtain licensing through comity.


text:
Home Business US aviation system is starting to show strains from shutdown
US aviation system is starting to show strains from shutdown
By David Koenig
(AP) – The US partial government shutdown is starting to strain the national aviation system, with unpaid security screeners staying home, air-traffic controllers suing the government and safety inspectors off the job.
Miami International Airport is providing the most visible evidence yet that the shutdown is at least making air travel less convenient.
Facing double the usual number of absences among unpaid TSA screeners, the Miami airport closed one of its concourses for most of last Saturday, Sunday and Monday to make sure TSA can adequately staff the remaining security checkpoints.
Meanwhile, the national union representing air traffic controllers – who are also working without pay during the shutdown – sued the government, claiming they are illegally being denied pay.
And aviation-safety inspectors are still off the job, deemed not to be essential enough to keep working during the shutdown.
Here is a roundup of recent developments in the partial government shutdown's impact on air travel.
AWOL screeners
The Transportation Security Administration said that 5.1 percent of screeners were absent on Thursday, up from 3.3 percent on the same date last year. The TSA has 51,000 transportation-security officers, who have continued to work because they are deemed essential employees.
Screeners represent just 6 percent of government workers who didn't get paychecks Friday because of the shutdown. Airline-industry officials worry that they are particularly likely to stop showing up because their relatively low pay means they could quickly struggle to pay bills without money coming in.
Screeners start around $24,000 a year, and most earn between $26,000 and $35,000, according to TSA.
The agency has very few tools to deal with a severe shortage. It has a team of non-essential employees who are trained to screen air travelers, but that is only a stopgap designed to cover for shortages at one or two airports during a natural disaster.
January is a relatively light travel period, but industry officials worry what will happen if the shutdown lingers and more TSA employees leave for jobs that include a paycheck.
"TSA only has what it has," said Christopher Bidwell, the vice president for security at the trade group Airports Council International-North America, "and although they have advised us that they are continuing to hire and train, we are very concerned about a prolonged government shutdown."
About 10,000 air traffic controllers under the Federal Aviation Administration continue to work without pay. On Friday, their union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington and asked for an order that its members get paid.
Union President Paul Rinaldi said there is already a shortage of controllers, and if current controllers decide to retire – about 1,900 are eligible – the government could be forced to restrict air traffic, creating flight delays. There is no indication that is happening yet.
Safety inspectors
About 3,300 aviation safety inspectors under the FAA are not working – since 2013, they have not been considered essential employees who must stay on the job during government shutdowns. They oversee and certify inspections done by employees of airlines and aircraft-repair shops.
"Our inspectors are the oversight, they are the regulatory side of the house for the FAA," said Mike Perrone, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union. Their work is not getting done, he said.
An FAA spokesman said earlier this week that the agency is recalling inspectors and focusing resources on overseeing airline operations. He declined to say how many inspectors are working, but union officials believe it's about 100.
"A hundred out of 3,300 is probably not real good odds," said Stephen Carl, an FAA inspector in Florida. "Please put us back on the job right now. Aviation is not being overseen."
Carl said ongoing investigations have been put on hold by the shutdown.
Jeffrey Price, an aviation-security consultant and a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, expects more TSA agents will fail to show up, creating longer lines and creating a potential target for terrorists at airports.
"As the lines slow down and the crowds grow larger, it puts more and more passengers at risk from an attack," Price said. He added, "The screeners who do come to work will be forced to make up the slack, which erodes their effectiveness even more."
TSA officials said despite fewer numbers, screeners aren't getting lax about their work.
"Security standards have NOT and will NOT be compromised," tweeted TSA spokesman Michael Bilello.
Some airports are trying to help the unpaid federal employees.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport organized an event with credit unions, utilities and nonprofit organizations that can help federal employees obtain short-term loans and assistance, said spokesman Perry Cooper.
Tampa International Airport is working with different agencies to set up a food pantry, get bus passes and work with utilities to help hundreds of federal employees who may be struggling to pay bills.
Pittsburgh International Airport delivered lunches to TSA workers and air traffic controllers on Friday and plans to do it every Friday until the shutdown ends.
Previous articleAwaiting rediscovery
Next articleNavy welcomes HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej
New Piano Teacher for Royal Bangkok Symphony Music School
AP Interview: Airbus is ready for pilotless jets – are you?
Thailand Travel Mart buyers party at Grand Mirage
Exports expected to grow by 5% in 2014
Business January 9, 2014
THAI Signs MOU with Royal Thai Navy to Develop Aircraft Maintenance...
Business April 14, 2017

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Georg Breunig, seit 1907 Ritter von Breunig, (* 1. August 1855 in Dettelbach; † 6. Januar 1933 in München) war ein bayerischer Finanzbeamter und Politiker. Unter anderem war er Staatsminister der Finanzen.

Leben
Georg Breunig wurde am 1. August 1855 in der zur unterfränkischen Stadt Dettelbach gehörenden Lamprechtsmühle geboren.

Breunig studierte Jura in Würzburg, Berlin und Leipzig. Während seines Studiums wurde er Mitglied des Akademischen Gesangvereins Würzburg im Sondershäuser Verband. Nach dem Examen trat er in den bayerischen Staatsdienst ein und arbeitet bei den Regierungen in Augsburg und Würzburg. 1903 wurde er Ministerialrat und Kronanwalt im Finanzministerium, 1909 Staatsrat. Er war vom 12. Februar 1912 bis zum 8. November 1918 bayerischer Staatsminister der Finanzen in den Kabinetten Hertling und Dandl, der letzte des Königreichs Bayern. 1913 war er an der Durchsetzung der Erhebung des Prinzregenten Ludwig zum König Ludwig III. von Bayern beteiligt. 1918 erreichte er die Errichtung des Reichsfinanzhofs in München, an dem er von 1920 bis zu seinem Ruhestand 1923 als Senatspräsident tätig war.

1907 war Breunig durch Prinzregent Luitpold mit dem Ritterkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bayerischen Krone beliehen worden. Damit verbunden war die Erhebung in den persönlichen Adelsstand und er durfte sich nach der Eintragung in die Adelsmatrikel Ritter von Breunig nennen.

Werke
 Die bayerischen Staats- und Gemeindesteuergesetze vom 14. August 1910 / erl. und mit den Vollzugsvorschriften. München 1911.
 Kommentar zum Gesetz über das Reichsnotopfer vom 31. Dezember 1919/30. April 1920, zum Gesetz, betr. die beschleunigte Veranlagung und Erhebung des Reichsnotopfers vom 22. Dezember 1920 und zu den einschlägigen Bestimmungen der Reichsabgabenordnung nebst allen Ausführungsbestimmungen und dem Ausgleichsbesteuerungsgesetz. Berlin 1921 (zusammen mit Karl von Lewinski).

Literatur

 Herrmann A. L. Degener: Wer ist's?  Unsere Zeitgenossen, 9. Ausgabe 1928.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Finanzminister (Bayern)
Richter (Reichsfinanzhof)
Jurist in der Finanzverwaltung
Träger des Verdienstordens der Bayerischen Krone (Ritter)
Politiker (München)
Korporierter im SV
Person (Dettelbach)
Deutscher
Geboren 1855
Gestorben 1933
Mann
Nobilitierter (Bayern)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


For more than 20 years we've talked about multi-touch, multi-media, multi-cycle processes that multiply results. At least one software company literally took PointClear's playbook, which includes details about the multi, multi, multi approach, and turned it into a red-hot piece of software. Wish I had thought of that.
Multi, multi, multi (which is multiple dials, voicemails, emails and in some cases direct mail across several sales cycles) has been re-termed "Cadence." We think that's great, because it's a lot easier to say than what we used to call it.
Some people ask if voicemail and email should be part of the sales lead generation cadence. And my answer is, absolutely. Many of the leads we generate for clients are the result of a call back or email reply. In fact, some years ago a client closed a $1 billion deal when the prospect called us back after the 42nd touch and became a lead. So, I know voicemail and email as a part of the contact cadence works. Like a friend of mine says, how many returned calls do you get if you don't leave a message?
Others wonder what else should be part of the cadence that is not usually addressed. I have an answer for that is well: Non-lead outcomes. Many companies leave 65% or more of the leads they could have generated on the table by ignoring these non-lead outcomes (often called dispositions). The table below summarizes what I'm saying—simply that your cadence should encompass longer-term opportunities and must include sales lead generation nurturing, as well as short-term opportunities.
The top of this table summarizes the results of standard lead generation—I call these one and done campaigns. The way this usually works is: send a third party a list, send them a script, send them some money and they will throw some so-called leads over the fence to sales.
Sales will ignore these leads because they are conditioned to expect poor quality marketing leads. One division of one of the largest software companies in the world wastes over $200,000 per year generating 9,000 leads, sends them directly to sales and sales refuses to work them. They continue this practice year after year because marketing just cannot find a cheaper source of leads—and that is their only measure—price, not quality.
The bottom of the table summarizes how companies can take advantage of lead and non-lead outcomes to optimize the return on marketing investments.
On the first pass through a list the same 50 SQLs (sales qualified leads) are identified as with the standard lead generation approach.
At the same time leads are being generated there are outcomes we call "pipelines." These are qualified contacts at qualified companies—but there is an action item to accomplish at some point in the future (days, weeks or months) to convert these pipelines to SQLs—our metrics show that 20% of the pipeline outcomes will convert to SQLs on the next touch cycle.
About 25% of the outcomes will become true nurture dispositions. If effectively nurtured, over two contact cycles, 27% will become SQLs. Note that contact cycles vary by solution but typically a contact cycle is six weeks to three months.
Another 35% of the outcomes are contacts at companies that we did not have a conversation with. We did not reach them and they did not reply to a voicemail or email. Invariably, we will learn something about the contacts at these companies that will warm-up subsequent touches. Our experience is that 7.5% of these outcomes will convert too SQLs over the next two touch cycles.
In addition to designing and managing the cadence, you must also design and manage the process of nurturing all outcomes. Instead of starting over with a fresh list of 1,000 suspects and generating another 50 leads, you can contact 820 Pipeline + Nurture + No Response prospects and generate an additional 104 leads. I wrote another blog on this subject, if you'd like to learn more.
This process saves money, increases revenue and helps build a valuable prospect database. What else do you recommend?


text:
ABB Expands Installation Products Plant in Canada
ABB is investing CA$16 million in its Installation Products Division manufacturing facility in Pointe-Claire, Canada. This enables expanded production capacity to meet the growing needs of customers from coast to coast.
"ABB's investment is part of a five-year strategy to integrate new digital processes and automation across our operations," says Matthias Heilmann, President, ABB Installation Products Division. "With our customer-first approach, this enables us to further innovate our products and manufacturing capabilities to meet the specific needs of the Canadian market."
The expansion will create over 60 full-time jobs in the upgraded 75,000 square foot facility to deliver the legacy Canadian brands produced by ABB's Pointe-Claire facility. These include Marrette® wire connectors, the NuTek® series of non-metallic thermoplastic boxes, and Snap-it® plastic fittings. The site also produces Carlon® PVC products and other components used in a range of Canadian product lines.
"The additional team members will enable the site to operate multiple product lines and shifts to meet increasing demand for safe, smart and sustainable electrical solutions across industrial, commercial and residential applications," says Alain Quintal, Vice President and General Manager, ABB Installation Products Division in Canada. "Having operated in this community for nearly a century, ABB is committed to continuing its strong heritage as a trusted industry partner and employer of choice."
In Canada, ABB has a strong history of excellence stretching back more than 100 years. With its Canadian corporate headquarters in Montreal, ABB's success is driven by 3,000 talented employees in 32 locations from coast to coast.
Part of its Electrification Business Area, ABB Installation Products Division, formerly Thomas & Betts, is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of products used to manage the connection, protection and distribution of electrical power in industrial, construction and utility applications. With more than 200,000 products under more than 38 premium brand names, ABB Installation Products solutions can be found wherever electricity is used.
Piezo Motion Continues Expanding U.S. Partner Network
Piezo Motion, a Brain Scientific company, and Advanced Motion Systems recently announced a distribution partnership. Piezo Motion is a developer and leading manufacturer of precision motor technology. Advanced Motion Systems, based in central New York, specializes in industrial automation products and services. Through the partnership, Advanced Motion will expand its market by offering piezoelectric motors to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across New York.
Read More Piezo Motion Continues Expanding U.S. Partner NetworkContinue
Magna Develops and Pilots Autonomous, On-Road Last-Mile Delivery Solution
Recently, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., Magna revealed how it is leveraging its expertise in automotive electrification and autonomy to develop new mobility business opportunities. The company has successfully developed and is piloting a novel "last mile" delivery solution for urban environments.
Read More Magna Develops and Pilots Autonomous, On-Road Last-Mile Delivery SolutionContinue
Digi-Key Celebrates Ribbon Cutting of Product Distribution Centre Expansion
Digi-Key Electronics, which offers some of the world's largest selection of electronic components and automation products in stock for immediate shipment, celebrated the ribbon cutting of its Product Distribution Center expansion (PDCe) recently, expanding the company's headquarters' footprint by 2.2 million square feet for a combined total of more than 3 million square feet. The new facility allows Digi-Key to pick, pack and ship nearly three times the previous daily average of 27,000 packages to customers in more than 180 countries around the world.
Read More Digi-Key Celebrates Ribbon Cutting of Product Distribution Centre ExpansionContinue
Canada's First All-Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Facility Opens in Ontario
Recently, the Ontario government is celebrating the opening of General Motors of Canada's (GM Canada) first full-scale electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant in Ingersoll and the first BrightDrop Zevo 600s to be made at the facility. With support from the province, GM Canada has transformed its CAMI manufacturing plant into an all-EV manufacturing facility, the first of its kind in Canada.
Read More Canada's First All-Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Facility Opens in OntarioContinue
Magna and Cartken to Collaborate on Autonomous Delivery Robots
Global mobility technology company, Magna, and San Francisco-based autonomous robotics company, Cartken, recently announced an agreement for Magna to manufacture Cartken's autonomous delivery robot fleet to meet growing demand for last mile delivery. Manufacturing of Cartken's Model C has begun in a Magna facility in Michigan.
Read More Magna and Cartken to Collaborate on Autonomous Delivery RobotsContinue
ABB Opens a Global Innovation and Training Campus for Machine & Factory Automation at B&R in Austria
ABB's global innovation hub in Eggelsberg, Austria has expanded significantly to host machine builders, manufacturers, start-ups, research and educational institutions.
Read More ABB Opens a Global Innovation and Training Campus for Machine & Factory Automation at B&R in AustriaContinue


A breezy June day with a fairly big swell rolling in from the Atlantic into Saligo Bay. At the end of a mostly cloudy day the sun broke through for a short time, providing some nice light.
This entry was posted in Beaches, Cloudy Weather, Landscape, New Post, Sunny Weather and tagged Islay, Saligo Bay by Armin Grewe. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Architecture Film Festivals
In the autumn I discovered the world of architecture film festivals, after screening "The Land of Many Palaces" at Beijing Design Week, the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, the Architecture and Design Film Festival in New York, Urban Eye in Bucharest, and at Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam. The circuit of architecture film festivals is a great network made up of people passionate about sharing films on architecture and urbanism's profound influence on us all. I'm looking forward to screening the film at more architecture and design film festivals, organisations and biennales in 2016.
From top left to right: the film in the AFFR catalogue, Ting and I at AFFR, Ting taking questions in New York, ADFF poster, Urban Eye poster, audience during the Q&A at Urban Eye,
audience at Pakhuis de Zwijger, Beijing Design Week.
IAFOR Prize for "The Land of Many Palaces"
I'm thrilled "The Land of Many Palaces" won "Best Newcomer Feature Documentary" at the IAFOR conference in Kobe, Japan last year. The film will go on tour around the IAFOR conferences around the world in 2016.


Stanisław Konarski (actuaw name: Hieronim Konarski; 30 September 1700 – 3 August 1773) was a Powish pedagogue, educationaw reformer, powiticaw writer, poet, dramatist, Piarist priest and precursor of de Enwightenment in de Powish–Liduanian Commonweawf.
Konarski was born in Żarczyce Duże, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. He studied from 1725 to 1727 at de Cowwegium Nazarenum in Rome, where he became a teacher of rhetoric. After dat he travewwed drough France, Germany and Austria and Powand to broaden his education, uh-hah-hah-hah.
In 1730 he returned to Powand and began work on a new edition of Powish waw, de Vowumina wegum.
From 1736 he taught at de Cowwegium Resoviense in Rzeszów. In 1740 he founded de Cowwegium Nobiwium, an ewite Warsaw schoow for sons of de gentry (szwachta). He founded de first pubwic-reference wibrary on de European mainwand in 1747 in Warsaw. Thereafter he reformed Piarist education in Powand, in accordance wif his educationaw program, de Ordinationes Visitationis Apostowicae... (1755). His reforms became a wandmark in de 18f-century struggwe to modernize de Powish education system.
Earwy on, Konarski was associated powiticawwy wif King Stanisław Leszczyński; water, wif de Czartoryski "Famiwia" and King Stanisław August Poniatowski. He participated in de watter's famous "Thursday dinners." Stanisław August caused a medaw to be struck in Konarski's honour, wif his wikeness and de motto, from Horace, Sapere auso ("Dare to know!"). Konarski argued very strongwy dat de right of veto dat had traditionawwy been exercised by de Powish Nobiwity was not waw but a custom.
In his most important work, de four-part O skutecznym rad sposobie awbo o utrzymywaniu ordynaryinych seymów (On an effective way of counciws or on de conduct of ordinary sejms, 1760-1763), he unveiwed a far-reaching reform program for de Powish parwiamentary system and powiticaw reorganization of de Commonweawf's centraw government, which incwuded aiding de monarch wif a permanent governing counciw.
Konarski died, aged 72, in Warsaw, Powand. His heart is buried in an urn in de Piarist church in Cracow. His bust can be seen at de entrance to de crypt of dis church pwaced on uwica Świętego Jana.
Wikimedia Commons has media rewated to Stanisław Konarski.
^ Herbermann, Charwes, ed. (1913). "Staniswaus Konarski" . Cadowic Encycwopedia. New York: Robert Appweton Company.
This page was wast edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:49 (UTC).


text:
B E A C O N S F I E L D P I C K L E B A L L C L U B
Origin and Rules
Pickleball is a racquet sport which combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis.
It was devised by two friends at a private home in Washington State, USA, in 1965. Being without racquets to play badminton, they improvised with some table tennis bats and a perforated tennis ball.
Explanations for the name vary but it is widely thought to have been named after the family dog; another explanation is that it was thought reminiscent of a pickle boat, where oarsmen are chosen from the 'leftovers' of other boats.
During the last ten years the popularity of pickleball has grown stratospherically and it is now the fastest growing racquet sport in both the UK and North America
Basic Rules - Overview
Pickleball is almost always played in doubles, although singles is also popular. The same size playing area and rules are used for both singles and doubles
Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court: 20' x 44.' The ball is served diagonally (starting with the right-hand service-square), and points can only be scored by the side that serves.
Players on each side must let the ball bounce once before volleys are allowed, and there is a seven-foot zone on each side of the net within which volleying is not permitted.
Service is normally determined by the toss of a coin: the winner may elect to serve or pass to the opposing side.
Serves are made diagonally, starting from the right-hand service-square and then alternating each time. The serve must clear the seven-foot non-volley-zone in front of the net and land in the diagonal service court.
Serves should always be made underhand with the paddle below the waist, and the server must keep both feet behind the back line when serving. The ball should be hit into the air without being bounced. The serving side continue to serve until the there is a fault on the service, at which point the service will pass to the opposing side.
Only one serve attempt is allowed, except in the event of a let (the ball touches the net on the serve and lands on the proper service court; let serves are replayed).
Double-Bounce Rule
The ball must bounce on either side of the net following a serve; thus the receiving team must let the serve bounce and the serving team must let the return of the serve bounce, before playing it. Once these two bounces have occurred, the ball can either be volleyed or played off the bounce.
A fault is committed when the ball:
• Touches any part of the non-volley zone on the serve (including the line).
• Is hit out of bounds
• Does not clear the net
• Is volleyed from the non-volley zone
• Is volleyed before a bounce has occurred on each side
Points are scored only by the serving team.
Games are normally played to 11 points. If the score reaches 11:11, it is necessary to win by two clear points
Tournament games may be to 15 or 21; win by 2.
Check: when the serving team's score is even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) the player who was the first server in the game for that team will be in the right-side court when serving or receiving; when odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) that player will be in the left-side court when serving or receiving.
Non-Volley Zone
• The non-volley zone is the court area within 7 feet on both sides of the net.
• Volleying is prohibited within the non-volley zone. This rule prevents players from executing smashes from a position within the zone.
• It is a fault if, when volleying a ball, the player steps on the non-volley zone, including the line and/or when the player's momentum causes them, or anything they are wearing or carrying, to touch the non-volley zone including the associated lines.
• It is a fault if, after volleying, a player is carried by momentum into or touches the non-volley zone, even if the volleyed ball is declared dead before this happens.
• A player may legally be in the non-volley zone any time other than when volleying a ball.
• The non-volley zone is commonly referred to as "the kitchen."
Line Calls
• A ball contacting any line, except the non-volley zone line on a serve, is considered to be "in."
• A serve contacting the non-volley zone line is short and a fault.
An abbreviated summary of the rules can be found at
http://www.usapa.org/rules-summary/
A more detailed version, issued by the world governing body for the sport - International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) - can be found at http://www.usapa.org/ifp-official-rules/
IFP Member Organisations
https://www.pickleballengland.org/
All India Pickleball Association (AIPA)
Pickleball France (assoc. member)
Pickleball Canada Organization
Pickleball Spain Organization
USA Pickleball Association (USAPA)


Welcome to the Free Version of the Economic Value Proposition Matrix (R) model. Please feel free to use it to solve your challenging valuation problems.
Addition supporting materials include our EVPM QuickStart Guide and video, Making the Complex Sale: Selling to Industrial/Enterprise Customers in which the EVPM is featured.
For additional information or to license the Standard EVPM version, please Contact Us.


text:
Microsoft, Google Yield to Pressure to Improve Phone Security
By Joey Naddeo | Jun 20, 2014
CHANNEL: Customer Experience
Microsoft and Google will incorporate a kill switch into the next version of Windows-based and Android smartphones. The feature, which is already featured on Apple's iPhone 5, allows users to remotely wipe all data and information on the device in the event of theft.
At a press conference yesterday, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced they had reached agreements with both companies to include the feature in the next iteration of their respective operating systems.
Protecting the US Market
Google's operating system, Android, runs on more than half of all smartphones used in the United States. Microsoft's operating system is on all Nokia smartphones. Once the feature is deployed, about 97 percent of all smartphones in the US, including iPhones, will have kill switches.
Of course, that statistic could change based on adoption of Amazon's new Fire Phone, which includes several remote features, including:
Remote Alarm —sounds an alarm for 2 min to help you find your phone if it's nearby
Find Your Phone — pulls up a map with the approximate location of the device on Amazon.com
Remote Lock — lets you put your device into sleep mode, set a PIN and display a message on the lock screen of your device
Remote Factory Reset — wipes all your info off of the device and performs a full factory reset
De-register — signs you out of all Amazon apps
Amazon customer service can also blacklist the device so it cannot be registered to another Amazon account without your consent, the company told CMSWire.
Curtailing Theft
The main goal is to deter criminal activity and decrease the incidence of smart phone theft, an issue which many law enforcement officials feel is insufficiently addressed by existing security measures.Smart phone theft nearly doubled in 2013 over 2012 levels, with 3.1 million incidents being reported.
Could this have implications for the growing bring your own device (BYOD) trend, which appears to have tremendous fears over the theft and loss of mobile devices containing valuable information? It's questionable, seeing as current litigation, especially in California, provides an exemption for similar features on tablets.
There's also the continued threat of losing personal laptops. Until safeguards exist for all such potentialities, it's likely that companies getting on board with the BYOD trend will have to make do with available measures.
The announcement coincides with a new report by the Secure Our Smartphones ("S.O.S.") Initiative, an international partnership of law-enforcement agencies, elected officials and consumer advocates, which marks its first year today.
The report also revealed new crime statistics showing that, after Apple added a "kill switch," robberies and grand larcenies involving iPhones plummeted. Simultaneously, violent crimes against people carrying phones without a kill switch surged.
Mental Strain of Delivering Excellent Service
Top 10 Reasons to Join a Customer Advisory Board
Are We Developing the Dickens of Customer Experiences?
Top Tasks Shortlisting
Net Promoter Score Metrics Are Not Enough
Tags amazon, android, apple, byod, customer experience, cxm, digital, google, microsoft, mobile, web experience, wem, windows phone


text:
Q: Cloning a private Repo hangs for new 2.32.0.windows.1 version of git Question:
Why does git-bash hang when cloning a non-public repo when installed with defaults?
Context:
I ran into this issue when trying to clone a private GitHub repo on my co-workers Windows 10 machine.
Steps to reproduce:

*

*Installed the newest version of git bash for Windows (for at the time of writing this post for me was 2.32.0.windows.1). Choosing all of the defaults.

*Run git clone [http-link-to-private-repo]

Expected:

*

*A popup to enter username and password information.

My Hack Solution:

*

*When installing 2.32.0. for windows check the "Enable experimental support for pseudo consoles.".

This allows the bash console to present you an option to authenticate via a web browser or a personal access token.

Unrelated Note:
I originally was looking to post this on the Github Issues page for Git but they don't have one so here I am. Not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this but I wanted it somewhere so another person doesn't run into the same trouble.

A: Many thanks this was the solution after everything else failed including setting up a new installation, a new access token, and trying to find faulty config files.
After updating my personal access token this behavior also occurred with git 2.28.0.
So i did an update to the newest git version and afterwards the above mentioned steps.
(Sorry, i can not make any comments directly.)

A: I also ran into this problem setting up my dev environment for a new work laptop... Thankfully I had an older Windows GitBash installer (2.31.1) so I ended up downgrading to the older version. Worked like a charm, for me but understand it may not be an option for everyone.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The Estée Lauder Companies' sustainability leader on racial justice, 'sector-agnostic' solutions
July 31, 2020 cc admin
Heather Clancy
Mon, 07/27/2020 – 01:30
In the four years since Nancy Mahon assumed responsibility for CSR and sustainability strategy at The Estée Lauder Companies — she's currently senior vice president of corporate citizenship and sustainability — her team has launched a series of new initiatives that are a "first" among her organization's sector.
The list includes the company's first virtual power purchase agreement for 22 megawatts, a move made in pursuit of its 2020 net-zero carbon emission goal. More recently, it energized on-site two solar arrays — one at its Melville, New York, campus that will produce 1,800 megawatt-hours of power annually, and a smaller one at the Aveda brand's campus in Minnesota.
The New York installation will provide 100 percent of the electricity required for its Joseph H. Lauder office facility, while the Minnesota one will contribute up to 50 percent — the remainder of its power will come from utility-sourced wind power.
Moreover, Estée Lauder Companies also has declared its intention to make 75 percent to 100 percent of its packaging recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable by 2025 — the strategy will depend on the needs of individual brands.
As with many companies heavily dependent on nature for product ingredients, Estée Lauder Companies is developing biodiversity action plans and becoming far more attuned to its role in deforestation, afforestation and reforestation. And befitting its heavily female clientele, the company also funds initiatives focused on raising up girls and women, such as HERProject, a BSR initiative aimed at supporting low-income women in global supply chains.
I recently checked in with Mahon, one of this year's 25 Badass Women in Sustainability, to get an update on how her priorities have shifted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corporate awakening about systemic racism.
In mid-June, the company issued a series of sweeping new racial equity policies, including reaching "U.S. population parity" for Black employees at all levels of the company within five years, doubling the amount spent on sourcing ingredients, packaging materials and supplies from Black-owned businesses over the next three years, and committing $10 million over the next three years to support racial and social justice initiatives.
"Moving forward, I think where we are energized as a division — it's become super clear — [is] on how core the work we do is to the business, not only the environmental side, but also the social side," Mahon told me.
Following are excerpts from our conversations, edited for clarity and length.
Heather Clancy: How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the focus of the Estée Lauder sustainability team, if at all?
Nancy Mahon: The clear disparate impacts of COVID-19 across countries and communities has really highlighted, and I think really illustrated, the intersection … of gender justice and social injustice, essentially, and racial injustice.
While before that intersectionality might have been a little obtuse for folks, it's much clearer now that if you come from a community where there's high rates of pollution, there's a huge intersection between high rates of pollution, access to healthcare and health outcomes and COVID-19 outcomes.
The speed, the velocity and the ferocity of COVID-19 really highlighted that in a way that both unearthed that underlying reality and threw a spotlight on it. And also for consumers, [it] really allowed an opportunity to focus on what was most important in their lives around healthcare, around their families, and put an emphasis — really, I would say it hasn't changed it, but it has really accelerated consumer interest, particularly — on supply chains, which is super interesting …
Similar to HIV, there is a question of what [we will] make of this moment and how will we as stewards of funds or stewards of companies or stewards of our families make a difference.
Internally, what it's allowed us to do in a very agile, very energizing way is move very quickly across different functions to stand up programs that we were planning on setting up. For instance, we created an employee relief fund, and we had targeted that we were going to do it basically this fall. When [COVID-19} happened, we thought, "You know what? We have to do this right away." We had incredible partnership from [human resources] and [information technology] and legal, and we started up right away, then globalized it.
We also created [an accelerated racial and social justice grants campaign] in a matter of a couple of weeks. In that way, we've had opportunities, which hopefully we've seized upon. Moving forward, I think where we are energized as a division — it's become super clear — on how core the work we do is to the business, not only the environmental side, but also the social side.
Clancy: In a previous role, you were very closely involved with addressing the AIDS crisis, which is a humanitarian but also an economic crisis as well. How are you layering that perspective into the strategy as you're mobilizing around COVID-19?
Mahon: If there is a positive to all of this, it's that in terms of HIV, it took us well over two decades to have a deep discussion around structural racism or classism or the ways in which structures like a criminal justice system or a healthcare system basically disadvantage certain communities. It was always very hard to get at that discussion. It was much easier to fund street outreach or various research pieces or services than it was to really say, "We have to look at the way we act — either as consumers or as companies — and we might need to give something up, in addition to actually giving." …
What also then is a big emphasis, understandably, is the movement around action, whether it be FDA approval of drugs or the acceleration of accessibility of healthcare or integration of HIV into other healthcare systems. And we're seeing that very quickly now, the fact that out of the gate we're funding a group like Equal Justice Initiative around structural racism and the criminal justice system is exciting.
There has been one difference: The acceleration of funding in the field. I was on a call [recently] and Darren Walker from Ford Foundation, who's so eloquent, basically said that there is roughly a half a billion dollars now in the field of racial and social justice, whereas last year there was only 10 percent of that.
Clancy: Wow.
Mahon: Similar to HIV, there is a question of what [we will] make of this moment and how will we as stewards of funds or stewards of companies or stewards of our families make a difference. How will we change our behavior? The exciting moment that we have. The complexity, of course, is that it's up against enormous economic loss, a lot of fear — which we always had in HIV, but we didn't have the economic backdrop that we currently have overall to COVID-19. But there's a lot of great people who are rowing in the same direction now. The question is how do we integrate ourselves? How do we sit in on committees that are focusing on office reopenings or how we're doing with COVID? How do we integrate social impact and environmental impact into the way we do business every day, and how we as a luxury company show up in our communities?
One of our strongest brands, Aveda, is in Blaine, Minnesota, and we've had town halls and will continue to have town halls with our employees there, and how are they engaging … [and] thinking about how they can help? We spent a lot of time thinking about, well, what are virtual volunteering opportunities? What are the ways that we can basically help our employees channel their passion? We decided that we were going to allow, in our year one [of our response], our employees to give away most of the money.
We created [an internal] five-times matching campaign, and the groups we selected were Black Lives Matter Global Foundation Network, Equal Justice Initiative, Race Forward, NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Educational Fund. And we basically said to our employees: Every dollar that you give, [the company] will match it five times. We saw literally over 4,000 employee [donations]. We had a higher engagement rate than we've ever seen. People were posting on their social channels. We'll be giving away [more than] $2.3 million through [company matches].
Clancy: Putting the long-term lens on, have there been any adjustments to your long-term corporate sustainability plans in this period? Have your priorities changed?
Mahon: I don't think they changed. We have been fortunate in that our overall performance over the last I'd say two years in particular has really accelerated. We're getting recognized by CDP or MSCI or ISS for that, which we find very gratifying. It feels like directionally we're headed in the right way. And we certainly see in our brands, our consumers and our employees are basically saying, "We want more of this."
While it hasn't changed the direction, it's definitely accelerated. For instance, our climate work. We hit [RE100] early [in the United States and Canada]. We're looking to hit our science-based target early…
We are leaning in on our social impact work, which we're historically very well-known for. We have integration with social justice. That was an area in our social impact work which we hadn't done in the past. Many of us had done somewhat similar work. We leaned in and spoke with allies and the Ford Foundation and some of the great foundations that are doing this work. We are looking forward to being part of a broader community and trying to leverage our corporate microphone and our company values to play an even bigger role.
So I'd say [we're moving] faster, perhaps more dimensionalized, and definitely [have a] better understanding not only how do we fund racial and social justice, but how do we as a business take concrete action around hiring and what our creative marketing looks like. So that's very exciting, because what you don't want as somebody in my job is to kind of be the nice people that aren't really integrated into the business.
Clancy: Much of the work on renewable energy has really focused on electricity. Obviously, one of the toughest areas and processes to decarbonize is manufacturing. What solutions are you exploring for your production facilities?
Mahon: Waste and water and energy are all linked together. Within each facility, we have an incredible team that's been focusing on this for quite some time, which is looking at how efficient is our water use? Is there a way to reduce water use? Have we maxed out solar? And are there internal solutions before we move to offsets that we can buy to reduce our energy use? And the answer there is yes.
It does vary somewhat by country, and by the state of the green energy and green finance in those countries. Also, as you know, the government plays an important role, and of course, being in the U.S., we've seen a real rollback in terms of incentivizing green practices …
What you don't want as somebody in my job is to kind of be the nice people that aren't really integrated into the business.
The best thing that we can do is help the market grow so there are more alternatives for companies like ours. We don't have to do any convincing at this point. It's really about the level of sophistication of what we can invest in, and also kind of a deeper discussion about offsets, the quality of offsets, and where do offsets get us.
Clancy: Can you share your vision for sustainable packaging? How do things like reuse or refillable containers fit into that?
Mahon: What we're trying to do, really, is to give the brand [presidents] the most flexibility they can to get to sustainable packaging, and while at the same time reducing plastics and reducing carbon footprint. And that's kind of a juggling act, frankly, because in many instances it involves added cost. We have a five-year glide path for every single brand. The ability to shift from plastic to glass is easier in skincare. Makeup innovation and sustainable packaging is a new frontier, and we're really active in that. As you likely know, the size of makeup packaging, particularly samples, is too small — it falls through the filters in the MRFs — so it's one of the areas that we're really focusing on now, and really inviting innovation.
Clancy: You're very excited about forestry and forest options as a means of carbon removal. Are there any particular things you're looking at that you can mention? Can you elaborate?
Mahon: There's been some companies that have basically supported, through grant funds, the creation and preservation of forests. And so we are looking at that. More directly, though, we would love to have direct investment in forestry as part of our climate portfolio, and an ability to create green energy. It gets somewhat complex, but obviously, we're a beauty company, and we don't want to be in the business of running forests …
Those are the discussions that we're having now, and we've been looking at various things over the last couple of years. We don't have anything specific. We're basically in the due diligence phase on a couple of things. But because this moves so quickly, it doesn't really make any sense to name names. But we would love, as a result of the article, to certainly invite both other companies who are looking at this [to talk about this and also have] a larger discussion about private/public partnerships around encouraging investment in forest preservation. We recently published a no deforestation policy, as many companies have, so there's a nice intersectionality there between no deforestation and improving our climate component.
Clancy: I have two more questions. One is just a thread I hear often. What role will collaboration play in The Estée Lauder Companies' strategy? What sorts of partnerships are you prioritizing?
Mahon: One of the exciting aspects of our company and our board … is we have folks who've worked in all different sectors. We have a lot of folks who've worked in government, like myself. We've worked in nonprofits. We've worked in for profits. So really, in order to move the ball down the field in a meaningful way, whether in social impact form or another form of impact, we have to basically look at this in a sector-agnostic way in which we really have company discussions about what we're doing in climate.
What does the government bring to the table? OK, there's tax incentives. They can give various breaks in various laws, regulatory, both the carrot and the stick. What does business bring? Well, business brings enormous amounts of business discipline of understanding markets, understanding consumer needs, understanding how to scale a solution, understanding how to, candidly, abandon a solution if it's not selling. And then NGOs clearly bring a lot to the table in terms of advocacy.
As we've moved so rapidly in the for-profit sector being in favor of green energy and of strong climate solutions, the role I believe of NGOs will be more to be a bridge between government and I would say also private foundations [to come up with solutions].
For instance, in our VPPA, we will have excess green energy. Do we want to be in a position as a beauty company of selling energy, green energy? Or would we rather donate it? We're having some conversations with the Rockefeller Foundation about, "Well, could we figure out a way where we could just donate it?" That's where we really do need these cross-sector solutions.
Clancy: My last question is what do you feel is your most important priority as a chief sustainability officer in this moment?
Mahon: At the end of the day, the great pleasure and complexity and entrepreneurism of CSO jobs is that we don't own the P&Ls generally of the issues we need to influence. So, I would say the biggest priority really is continuing to listen to our key stakeholders with empathy, and be as responsive as we can, to try to run alongside the train of the business …
A lot of what we do is obviously bring a substantive area of expertise, but also integrate as best as we can empathically to the business, and to drive value. At the end of the day, if we drive value for communities and our shareholders and our consumers, then we drive value for the business, and that is I think the great challenge … How do you sit at the table as a business person and understand and have empathy for the great demands being placed for instance on our retail team, and at the same time build climate solutions that help those retail teams, and don't seem sort of pie in the sky and divorced from the rest of the business?
Ultimately, how do we leverage the passions and the interests of our employees and our consumers and now our investors, which is great. Because that creates an unlimited path.
This article was updated on July 27, 2020, at the request of The Estée Lauder Companies to correct Mahon's tenure in her current role, and provide more detail about some of the included commitments discussed during the interview. Where changes have been made to her verbatim comments, they are noted with brackets.
Collective Insight
The GreenBiz Interview
Featured in featured block (1 article with image touted on the front page or elsewhere)
Posted in: Popular
← Morgan Stanley will measure CO2 impact of loans and investments
Remembering Flex exec Bruce Klafter →


text:
PQShield Launches Post-Quantum Cryptography Solutions
Credit: VIN JD from Pixabay
Concept: British startup PQShield has launched post-quantum cryptography solutions for hardware and software applications. It can provide secure cryptography solutions for messaging platforms, apps, and mobile technologies, as well as smart cards and embedded security chips to protect sensitive data from quantum computers.
Nature of Disruption: PQShield offers ready-made and tailored IP (Internet Protocol) for secure elements, IoT firmware, PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) and server technologies, and end-user applications to help customers transition their product lines from legacy RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) encryption and Elliptic Curve cryptography to quantum-secure standards. Its products are available in three different versions. The first is a system on a chip (SoC), which is designed to be used with hardware such as smartcards or processors. It offers software solutions in the form of a cryptographic SDK that can be integrated into mobile and server apps and technologies for data processing and security operations. And a toolset targeted at communications providers that are built specifically to secure messaging services. PQSoC is a post-quantum SoC crypto co-processor toolkit designed for embedded devices. Its standard programming tools and full system emulation make it simple to use. It's available as a modular IP or a self-contained solution, and it's FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) 140-3 compliant and immune to side-channel assaults. The PQSDK, the cryptographic SDK for mobile and server technologies enables modern, agile, and safe implementations of post-quantum and classical cryptographic primitives for use with PKI, TLS (transport layer security), and VPN (virtual private network) applications. Its 'PQE2E' Encryption solution for messaging platforms and apps is a software development toolkit for allowing end-to-end encrypted messaging solutions based on post-quantum methods and a new, secure signal-derived protocol.
Outlook: As quantum computers advance, post-quantum cryptography would be required to prevent these systems from being able to decrypt encrypted applications arbitrarily. PQShield's post-quantum cryptography security solutions can provide technological decision-makers and organizations with future-proof encryption that quantum computers couldn't readily penetrate. Governments, automobile OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), industrial IoT, and technology consultancy are among the startup's customers. Its clients include both private and public entities including Bosch. In January 2022, PQShield raised $20M in a Series A fundraising round led by American investment firm Addition, with participation from Oxford Science Enterprises and Crane. It intends to use the funds for product development and international expansion.
Cryptococcosis Drugs in Development by Stages, Target, MoA, RoA, Molecule Type and Key Players, 2022 Update
Cryptosporidiosis Drugs in Development by Stages, Target, MoA, RoA, Molecule Type and Key Players, 2021 Update
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Digital Phantoms
Cryptococcal Meningitis Drugs in Development by Stages, Target, MoA, RoA, Molecule Type and Key Players
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Drug Delivery Device Security
Bosch Ltd
Crane AB
Oxford Science Enterprises
PQShield Ltd


The public telephone service started to be introduced in the UK in 1880, but the telephone initially received a mixed reception, often meeting opposition from local councils. Local authorities eventually won the right to operate their own services in competition with the Post Office and the National Telephone Company.
In Hull, various telephone exchanges were attempted by the Post Office and National Telephone Company from the early 1880s onwards. However, by the end of the 1880s the Hull Chamber of Trades was lobbying for a municipally owned service. In 1899 the City Council passed a resolution for the Corporation to consider providing a telephone service. After some delay, Hull Corporation was granted a license to operate a municipal telephone system in August 1902 and the first telephone exchange was opened in 1904 on Trippett Street.
At the time, there were a number of such municipal telephone companies around the UK, but Hull's is the only one to have survived without being absorbed into the Post Office Telephone department, which subsequently became British Telecom (BT).
In 1914, Hull's bid to renew its licence was made conditional on it purchasing the National Telephone network infrastructure for £192,423 (the equivalent to over £15m in today's prices). This was approved, which secured the future of the service.
Following privatisation in 1999 Kingston Communications remains the only locally operated telephone company in the UK, hence the distinctive cream coloured phone boxes in the city (they also don't feature the crown like their red counterparts).
In many ways telephone directories are similar to trade directories. The first phone books were a simple listing by name that didn't always supply a full address, but did sometimes include details of a person's trade. From 1947 they also contain a classified business directory. From 1993 onwards a separate Yellow Pages was produced by Kingston Communications, which became known as the Colour Pages from 1999.
Historical telephone directories are available on open access in the Searchroom. Hull phone books include Hull as well as parts of the East Riding including Cottingham, Hedon, Elloughton and Beverley.
British phone books (1880-1984) are also held at the BT Archives and are available through the Ancestry website which can be accessed for free at the History Centre. Coverage is selective and often doesn't include Hull. Current issues of telephone directories for other areas can be found at Hull Reference Library.
Additional material can be searched on our online catalogue.
Hull Corporation was granted a license to operate a telephone service in 1902.
Kingston Communications is the only locally operated telephone company in the UK which is why the phone boxes are cream and not red.


text:
Bark and you will be heard!
Woof Woof !!
BEING RULED IN A FREE STATE
The ongoing year has been saddening and have arisen this fear of living in a country I always appreciated for the fundamental rights we as a citizens have been given under the Constitution of this so called great country. I have always been one of the foremost promoter of India knowing that what we have as a citizen of this nation is ahead of any other country in the world. The freedom of speech of all has been the most important right I have always been proud of and relished so far. Its this right that has so far made me express myself and not feel strangled in a free nation. Being an active member of the system as a lawyer I have always believed our laws are made in such a way that doesn't just makes us free people but also gives us the sense and feel of freedom and not feel feared and scared.
When we chose non violence it was the resilience and freedom of speech that brought us the independence. The fundamental right of freedom of speech is not something they inculcated today in our constitution but it has been from the very first day. Back in the 50's also it was thought that it is the freedom of speech which will make us a nation of above others and make us strong to accept criticism and evolve from it.
I got a message today from Nabeel (@softykid) saying that he was scared he might be also a victim one day as he is on the more. This got me to introspect the past year and its shocking to rewind back to incidents when a businessman is arrested for a tweet on a politician's son or a man being arrested for taking a picture of a minister and young girls being arrested for expressing their views. Where are we heading to??? Is this acceptable?
Most of these recent incidents had been contentious for the reason of an amendment to the IT Act wherein Section 66A was inserted. On a plain reading of Section 66A it sounds strangely drafted. Things have been left for the interpretation of the complainant and weirdly our enforcement agencies are not competent enough to interpret it in consonance with Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution. So if things are taken on the wordings of the Section 66A which says a mail message sent for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience to a person can lead to an imprisonment of upto 3 years with fine, how is the annoyance and inconvenience to be measured? If someone calls me a liar as I am a lawyer, it can be annoying for me, but then does my annoyance means a person be sent behind bars and ripped off his liberty and freedom? The interpretation of a Section has to be in consonance with the Constitution and nowhere violative of the basic rights and freedom provided to us under the Constitution.
I believe if the interpretation of a Section cant be done accurately and in the spirit, it is for our legislature to bring clarity to it. For me Section 66A is beyond the spirit of the Constitution and it will be a fit case for the courts to struck it down. I was reading the letter written by Justice Katju to the CM of Maharashtra and I totally agree with him that we are living in an arbitrary State where the entire system, be it the government or the opponent are hand in hand. I, at the end feel helpless that we are reaching a state of anarchy and justified violence and power. As always I still believe that we are the biggest fools living in this paradise who actually give power to these people who try to rule us in a free country. This way the time isn't far when I will feel weak to call myself an Indian.
The Bhaunkta Kutta
constitution of india
IT Act
Section 66A
Life changing moment in Nepal
My World, my way !!
So Kashmir is that room? twitter.com/PTI_News/statu… 1 day ago
At a popular restaurant last night the singer, a young Delhi government employee who performs post work hours, anno… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 day ago
RT @udaykotak: In 30 years, China has built 66% of the world's high speed rail network, 70% of its electric cars, self made nuclear reactor… 1 day ago
#JamaMasjid last night #CAA_NRC_Protests https://t.co/zqB5IiRdL1 1 day ago
@Pun_Starr @TajinderBagga They are yet to declare their candidate against Kejriwal. I think it will be Bagga. 4 days ago


text:
← Let's All Rag on the DCEU Some More!
UN-Forgotten Characters: Rhapsody Has Returned →
6 Thoughts on the First Season of M.O.D.O.K.
As has been the case for some time now, we are living in a golden age of superhero entertainment. So much so that geeky fans like me can pick and choose which superhero stuff they watch and still enjoy a lot of it. And so much so that there now exists an animated cartoon comedy about M.O.D.O.K. This show exists. It's real. And I watched it all in a weekend and loved it!
TV Rating: 9/10 – Great.
Announced only two years ago as part of some insane lineup of Marvel cartoons, M.O.D.O.K. is the only one that made it to air. No one will ever known exactly what the Tigra/Dazzler show was going to be like, but we can now safely say that M.O.D.O.K. is awesome! Driven by the wit and voice talents of comedian Patton Oswalt, M.O.D.O.K. is a darn fun show and can easily hold its giant head high in today's wild TV landscape. This is a quality show.
Join me after the jump for my review and thoughts on the M.O.D.O.K. TV show, now available for streaming on Hulu. Expect FULL SPOILERS for the show. And feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments.
6. I loved this show
It all makes sense in context
M.O.D.O.K. is a super fun show. It's inventive, it's creative, it's got some wild story ideas and its really darn funny. It's starkly comic book accurate, while adding its own fun twists. This is definitely the M.O.D.O.K. from the comics, albeit twisted here and there for comedic affect. He's the leader of A.I.M., he's a mad scientist, but he's also a husband and father who is losing his family. It's a great added wrinkle to the very idea of M.O.D.O.K. as a character, and it's a great addition to making a TV show about him work. There's a lot of humor in the idea of this crazy, floating head mad scientist also being a deadbeat husband and a father. The two sides of M.O.D.O.K.'s character work wonderfully together, and I love how the show just forges ahead like it's no big deal. There's no explanation for how or why his wife, Jodie, fell in love with him and had children with him. It just is.
The show does a great job of leaning into the absurdist humor that does so well these days. M.O.D.O.K. is no Harley Quinn, but the two shows are in the same wheelhouse. They're both hilarious in their own right with interesting main characters and a smorgasbord of references to their greater comic universes. And the stop-motion animation in M.O.D.O.K. is gorgeous. It's smooth, it's highly detailed and it's really fun.
5. Exactly my kind of comedy
Classic 8-bit video game tie-in, perhaps?
Humor is subjective and M.O.D.O.K. is exactly my kind of humor. It's all character and dialogue-based. It's snappy, its referential, it's a bunch of thrown-off one-liners and funny commentary. I can't exactly reproduce the gags or jokes in this prose setting. My delivery would be atrocious. I just wanted to point out that this is exactly my style of wit. And I loved the wanton creativity. The mad scientist duel between M.O.D.O.K. and Monica Rappaccini is so inventive and so much fun. Clearly they put a lot of thought into that one. I liked the twists in the time travel episode. A lot of really creative and funny stuff throughout the season. My favorite episode was probably the one where M.O.D.O.K. gathers a team of C and D-list bad guys to raid Avengers Tower but they end up instead of a long, dark journey of the soul as they tool around in a van.
May we never learn the name of The Melter's dream grilled cheese food truck.
4. Great use of Marvel Easter Eggs
Remember MODOK's 11?
The creators clearly had cart blanche to have fun with references and Easter Eggs to the Marvel Universe. There are overt references, like Iron Man as a major character, or the Bar With No Name and its band of villains. But there are tons of minor references as well, like a cereal advertised by Wolverine and the Thing. It's all casual and it's all fun. And every time I saw one of the Easter Eggs, I got giddy at the very idea that this is a readily available show that can casually namedrop the likes of Balder the Brave or Armadillo. M.O.D.O.K. has a ton of fun with the Marvel references and I am here for that.
3. Patton Oswalt led a great cast
MCU live action casting, perhaps?
I'm a longtime fan of Patton Oswalt, as most people are, and he does a great job with the show. He's perfectly cast as M.O.D.O.K., easily capturing the character's evil nature and his puppy dog sadness. So he's great as the creative drive of the show and as the lead character. And he's got a really solid cast around him. Aimee Garcia is phenomenal as his estranged wife, Jodie, who really holds her own throughout the season. Melissa Fumero is solid as his daughter, Melissa. Sam Richardson, who is in everything these days, is great as henchperson Gary. The guest voices are wonderful, like Jon Hamm as Iron Man, Nathan Fillion as Wonder Man and Bill Hader as Angar the Screamer.
There's really only one actor I didn't care for…
2. I thought Ben Schwartz was a little too much…until there were two of him
This porridge was just right
So I love Ben Schwartz as much as the next person, but his performance as the son, Lou, is a little too much at times. Schwartz gives Lou his entire schtick, going full Schwartz all of the time. And that much Ben Schwartz can be a bit too much…at first. The character of Lou really came into his own for me when he got a robot twin partway through the series. Then I loved him! The story had the M.O.D.O.K. family fall victim to Arcade, who created robot doubles to trick the family…only for the family members to brutally murder their robot duplicates. But in the end, the family couldn't decide which Lou was real and which was the robot double…so they just kept both of them. And the two-man act really elevated Lou's character and Schwartz's performance.
As a singular Lou, he was a bit much. But spread out between two identical versions of himself, he was just right.
1. Let's hope we get a second season
Mental Organism Designed Only for Komeback
As far as I know, there has not yet been a renewal for a second season of M.O.D.O.K. Heck, we should all consider ourselves lucky for getting this first season. I have to imagine a lot of strings were pulled to keep this show in production when everything else about Marvel TV went down the tubes in favor of Marvel Studios and Disney+. I haven't even watched Hellstrom. Can you believe that's an actual thing?! But M.O.D.O.K. is damn good. It's damn funny. And it's worthy of more seasons! Give us more M.O.D.O.K.!
Posted on June 2, 2021, in Comics, Lists of Six!, Marvel, Reviews, Television and tagged Hulu, MODOK. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
Martin | June 11, 2021 at 2:16 pm
So far, that second season seems unlikely. I agree with you, though, it's a fun show!
Pingback: They Went and Made That Hit-Monkey Cartoon | Henchman-4-Hire


text:
Hurricane Camille
Home World History Accidents & Disasters
tropical cyclone, southern and eastern United States [1969]
https://www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Camille
USGS - Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille, hurricane (tropical cyclone), one of the strongest of the 20th century, that hit the United States in August 1969. After entering the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane struck the Mississippi River basin. As the storm moved inland across much of the southeastern United States and Appalachia, it caused severe flash flooding.
Camille, Hurricane
The aftermath of Hurricane Camille in Biloxi, Miss., 1969.
National Weather Service Collection/NOAA Photo Library (Image ID: wea00592)
Hurricane Camille started as a tropical storm on Aug. 14, 1969, west of the Cayman Islands and rapidly gained strength as it moved toward Cuba. On August 16 the storm was a category 5 hurricane, the highest classification on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Late on the night of August 17, the storm hit Bay Saint Louis in Mississippi. Camille's gusts were powerful enough to knock out all wind-recording instruments, leaving some experts estimating wind speed at more than 200 miles (320 km) per hour. Parts of the Gulf of Mexico coast experienced tides more than 24 feet (7 metres) high. As the storm moved northeast through the Ohio Valley and into Virginia, it weakened to a tropical depression. Before it entered the Atlantic Ocean on August 20, Camille dumped 12–20 inches (300–500 mm) of rain in parts of West Virginia and Virginia, which experienced devastating floods and landslides.
Before the hurricane made landfall, projections of the path of the storm varied. More than 150,000 people were instructed to evacuate their homes. Most left the affected areas in time, but ultimately, more than 250 people were killed. In addition to the loss of life, there were major economic losses resulting from storm damage as well as the relief and recovery efforts that followed.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.
In 1969 Hurricane Camille devastated Gulfport's beachfront and port, but the area was subsequently rebuilt. The city again suffered extensive storm damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.…
The city was devastated by Hurricane Camille in 1969 but subsequently recovered. It was again destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, which displaced all its residents.…
Tropical cyclone, an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. Drawing energy from the sea surface and maintaining its strength as long as it remains over warm water, a tropical cyclone…


When you work for a company, you get a paycheck. Sometimes it's hourly. Sometimes you get a salary. Sometimes you do contract work. But there is some regular wage that you get for doing a job. Beyond this though, there is a realm of financial compensation in the business world that deals with extraneous situations.


text:
Throughout its history, St. Edward School has relied on the generosity of its parents, friends, alumni, and the general community to support the important work of the school. Our graduates continue to make a mark on the world through leadership, achievement and service – skills learned as part of the St. Edward experience. We are deeply grateful to all who give so generously, at every level, to make St. Edward School the very special place that it is.
The mission of St. Edward School is to "educate children in the Catholic faith, and nurture their minds, bodies, and souls, inspiring them to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, achieve their highest academic and creative potential, and actively serve and enrich the community." It is vital that education and service must be accessible to all. We need your support to help us continue to make tuition affordable, and to bridge the gap between that tuition and the true cost of educating our students.


Dr. Prudon is an internationally renowned architect, preservation expert, architectural engineer, author, and educator. He has a deep building and architecture experience which spans hundreds of significant award winning projects over his 40 year career.
As founding partner of the SC COLLECTIVE and his practice of Prudon & Partners, he provides management and architecture leadership to which he brings a depth of specialist knowledge. Dr. Prudon is well-versed in all aspects of the design and construction process and he is renowned for his work in architectural preservation and restoration. His extensive merchandising experience, collaborative leadership style and operational expertise, augments his depth of technical know-how essential to his deep reputation as leading expert for the preservation of Modern architecture. His previous leadership as Principal at Ehrenkrantz Group & Eckstut and Swanke Hayden Connell Architects brought distinguish to both those firms.
Many of his projects from across the United States and Canada as well as in Europe, have involved all stages of the design and construction process. Examples of complete projects include: the Woolworth and Chrysler Buildings in New York City; the New York State Capitol Building in Albany; the City and County Building in Salt Lake City; the New York Public Library in New York City; the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, both in New York City; the Missouri Pacific Building in St. Louis, MO, and the US District Court and Court of Appeals in Washington DC. In Scotland, work includes projects for the Edinburgh College of Art, Inverhouse Distilleries and Dumfries and Galloway College.
With his passion and respect for higher education, Dr. Prudon thrives on cultivating knowledge for continued development of the profession. In his formal teaching capacity, he splits his time as Associate Professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, with his role as Professor at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Graduate Program for Historic Preservation.
Dr. Prudon is active in various professional, charitable and civic organizations. At present he chairs the Cultural Committee of The Netherland-America Foundation and is a member of its Executive Committee. He is on the board of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Trust, and serves as the president of the US chapter of DOCOMOMO (DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement), which is dedicated to the preservation of modern heritage. He is a member of the international board of directors of this global organization, which is currently headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. Dr. Prudon serves as a National Peer for the US General Services Administration.
He has lectured extensively both in the United States and abroad and has contributed well over 100 articles to both domestic and international scholarly, professional and trade journals. He is the author of his seminal and award winning book, Preservation of Modern Architecture published by John Wiley & Sons (April 2008). This has been translated into both the Japanese and Chinese languages.
Dr. Theodore Prudon was trained as an architect in the United States (MSArch and PhD from Columbia University) and The Netherlands (MSArchEng from the University of Delft), and holds professional licenses in seven states as well as in The Netherlands and an NCARB certificate. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), the Association for Preservation Technology (FAPT) and the International Federation of Interior Architects/ Designers (FoIFI). He has also been recognized by the Royal Institute of Architects, The Netherlands.


27-year-old Bayley finally made her main roster debut last night at the Battleground pay-per-view as Sasha Banks' mystery partner.
Bayley was the last one to be introduced and received a massive pop from the Washington crowd as Banks stood in the ring with a big smile on her face as one of her best friends made her way out.
Bayley has been signed with the WWE since December 2012 and she's been a major part of NXT over the past few years, winning the NXT Women's title from Banks at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in one of the most highly-rated women's wrestling matches ever. She lost the title to Asuka at the NXT Takeover: Dallas event in April.
She was expected to be part of the NXT 6 that were part of the WWE Draft last week but was not drafted to keep the surprise factor. She is one of the most popular WWE Superstars and connects big time with the kids with many comparing her to John Cena in terms of popularity with the younger audience.
It's not known at this point if Bayley will permanently move to the main roster or if it was just a one-off appearance for now but she's once again involved in the NXT Women's title picture.


Alegría Fresh designs and builds zero-waste, solar-powered regenerative microfarms employing high-yield soil-based growing systems featuring our SoxxBoxx system. Our high performance urban farms repurpose unused spaces and can be deployed over man-made surfaces close to where people live and work. We call it "tractorless" farming. AlegriaLivingSoil results in superior nutrient dense vegetables, salad greens, fruit, flowers and medicinal herbs. Our superior soil biology guarantees that your locally grown produce is of the highest quality and requires no toxic pesticides. At Alegría's Green Farmacy, we grow more than 80 heart healthy cultivars using the most resource-efficient processes - up to 90% less water, 50% less fertilizer, 90% less energy and 70% less land than conventional farming. To maximize healing properties and provide immune support, our systems give you access to heart healthy produce that can be harvested and consumed within one hour, assuring you receive optimum flavor, texture and nutrition while reducing the environmental impact from inferior produce transported across continents.
Find out today how you can boost your energy and improve your health by eating the cleanest, just-picked greens and vegetables from your own personal green farmacy!
Click here to watch "Alegria Farms - Farm to Table in Minutes" video.


text:
Fostering community cohesion through visual arts: An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls
D. de Mousumi, Alan Hunter, Andree Woodcock
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
British society is faced with the challenge of bridging the disparity between the British-Muslim and British-non-Muslim communities, which were further, severed after the London bombings (2005). There is a damaging lack of understanding of Islam in the West and various initiatives have been undertaken to promote better understanding between the two communities and foster the growth of a cohesive society. This paper describes an art project involving young British-Muslim girls, that sought to make a small contribution towards understanding Islam as a peaceful religion, and to initiate dialogue between the two communities. It also raises issues about how to engage Muslim communities with visual arts and utilize the potential of arts and peace education to facilitate the growth of a creative and a cohesive community.
International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art
Teresa Eca, Rachel Mason
Intellect Ltd.
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Fostering community cohesion through visual arts: An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
British Muslims Arts & Humanities
Peace Arts & Humanities
Cohesion Arts & Humanities
Peace Education Arts & Humanities
Islam Arts & Humanities
Art Projects Arts & Humanities
Art Education Arts & Humanities
de Mousumi, D., Hunter, A., & Woodcock, A. (2008). Fostering community cohesion through visual arts: An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls. In T. Eca, & R. Mason (Eds.), International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art (pp. 231-242). Intellect Ltd..
Fostering community cohesion through visual arts : An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls. / de Mousumi, D.; Hunter, Alan; Woodcock, Andree.
International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art. ed. / Teresa Eca; Rachel Mason. Intellect Ltd., 2008. p. 231-242.
de Mousumi, D, Hunter, A & Woodcock, A 2008, Fostering community cohesion through visual arts: An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls. in T Eca & R Mason (eds), International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art. Intellect Ltd., pp. 231-242.
de Mousumi D, Hunter A, Woodcock A. Fostering community cohesion through visual arts: An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls. In Eca T, Mason R, editors, International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art. Intellect Ltd. 2008. p. 231-242
de Mousumi, D. ; Hunter, Alan ; Woodcock, Andree. / Fostering community cohesion through visual arts : An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls. International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art. editor / Teresa Eca ; Rachel Mason. Intellect Ltd., 2008. pp. 231-242
@inbook{dd1c814069bd4614b3b60c40278521e7,
title = "Fostering community cohesion through visual arts: An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls",
abstract = "British society is faced with the challenge of bridging the disparity between the British-Muslim and British-non-Muslim communities, which were further, severed after the London bombings (2005). There is a damaging lack of understanding of Islam in the West and various initiatives have been undertaken to promote better understanding between the two communities and foster the growth of a cohesive society. This paper describes an art project involving young British-Muslim girls, that sought to make a small contribution towards understanding Islam as a peaceful religion, and to initiate dialogue between the two communities. It also raises issues about how to engage Muslim communities with visual arts and utilize the potential of arts and peace education to facilitate the growth of a creative and a cohesive community.",
keywords = "Cohesion, Community, Peace, Visual Arts",
author = "{de Mousumi}, D. and Alan Hunter and Andree Woodcock",
editor = "Eca, {Teresa } and Rachel Mason",
booktitle = "International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art",
publisher = "Intellect Ltd.",
T1 - Fostering community cohesion through visual arts
T2 - An 'art for peace' project with young British-Muslim Girls
AU - de Mousumi, D.
AU - Hunter, Alan
AU - Woodcock, Andree
N2 - British society is faced with the challenge of bridging the disparity between the British-Muslim and British-non-Muslim communities, which were further, severed after the London bombings (2005). There is a damaging lack of understanding of Islam in the West and various initiatives have been undertaken to promote better understanding between the two communities and foster the growth of a cohesive society. This paper describes an art project involving young British-Muslim girls, that sought to make a small contribution towards understanding Islam as a peaceful religion, and to initiate dialogue between the two communities. It also raises issues about how to engage Muslim communities with visual arts and utilize the potential of arts and peace education to facilitate the growth of a creative and a cohesive community.
AB - British society is faced with the challenge of bridging the disparity between the British-Muslim and British-non-Muslim communities, which were further, severed after the London bombings (2005). There is a damaging lack of understanding of Islam in the West and various initiatives have been undertaken to promote better understanding between the two communities and foster the growth of a cohesive society. This paper describes an art project involving young British-Muslim girls, that sought to make a small contribution towards understanding Islam as a peaceful religion, and to initiate dialogue between the two communities. It also raises issues about how to engage Muslim communities with visual arts and utilize the potential of arts and peace education to facilitate the growth of a creative and a cohesive community.
KW - Cohesion
KW - Community
KW - Peace
KW - Visual Arts
BT - International Dialogues About Visual Culture, Education and Art
A2 - Eca, Teresa
A2 - Mason, Rachel
PB - Intellect Ltd.


text:
Home » Blog » Unmaze review: Our Android/iOS game of the month for June
Unmaze review: Our Android/iOS game of the month for June
Before kicking off the review, I'd like to point out that you can download Unmaze for free from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and play the entire first chapter (which consists of 1 hour of gameplay time). After that, you'll have to upgrade to the paid version in order to continue. The game does not contain any in-app purchases or ads.
My brief opinion about Unmaze
Unmaze is both an adventure game and an interactive graphic novel by Nicolas Pelloille-Oudart and Frédéric Jamain, developed by Ubian and HiverProd studios and published by Arte. The story was written by Thomas Cadène and illustrated by Florent Fortin.
The game itself was inspired by the myth of the Minotaur, where you play the role of Ariadne and must guide her boyfriend Theseus as well as his brother Asterion through a parallel and labyrinthine world. This sort of purgatory experience is home to a fallen civilization of Titans, antropomorphic monsters who practice macabre rites in the midst of extremely complex architecture.
The main attraction of the game is the very clever use of light and shadows in real life, which would rely on your smartphone's light sensor. This will definitely affect as well as spice up the gameplay. We alternate between very linear exploration phases in an isometric 3D universe that uses a very marked graphic style as well as dialogue phases that range from geeky references to Star Wars to the most serious of moral dilemmas.
While I found the plot a bit too immature for my liking, not to mention the rhythm of the dialogues that are boring at times, I loved the visual universe of Unmaze as well as the twist in the gameplay that relies on the use of the smartphone's light sensor – it is brilliant as it is original. This is not a new idea though, as the Game Boy Advance's 2003 title, Boktai:The Sun Is In Your Hand, comes with a photometric light sensor that will charge the game's solar weapons.
This is a mobile game that fully deserves the $3.99 price tag on the Play Store or the App Store.
Story (spoiler-free): Between teen drama and horror thriller
In Unmaze, which is literally translated "de-labyrinther", you play the role of Ariadne and must help Theseus, your boyfriend, and Asterion, your brother, to escape from the Labyrinth in which they seem to be stuck.
The two men in Ariadne's life, while they seem to be in the same world, are not in the same phase in life. Theseus, a young man in the very prime of life, handsome, self-confident, and hails from a very bourgeois family, is stuck on the bright side of the labyrinth. Asterion, an introverted and jealous teenager who is having trouble coming to terms with childhood trauma, is stuck on the dark side.
This image alone illustrates the plot of Unmaze / © NextPit
Everyone is trapped in the labyrinth for a reason: for a sin they committed, so it's up to you to find out what they're hiding from you in order to shed light on the tragic events that connect all of you.
The scenario is clearly oriented towards a younger audience, with a plot that is ultimately quite teenage-centric with emphasis on unhappiness, self-esteem, depression, lovers' quarrels, or a toxic relationship with one's parents. But it also touches on more serious themes such as murder, blood rituals, and the value of a soul.
Without wishing to be judgemental, I sometimes gritted my teeth as I listened to Theseus complain about the golden prison in which he grew up, 'torturing' our dear Ariadne with his 'troubles'. Ariadne can empathize with the rich kid who remains disturbed because he felt he was mistreated by his daddy, which is a theme that we normally find in many teen movies or series.
But the developers have also understood their audience without going overboard with 'teensploitation'. For example, there are geeky references to Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars slipped in while sounding credible and in a non-annoying manner.
The entire plot of the game revolves around the balance that Ariadne tries to maintain between Theseus and Asterion, between the light side and the dark side. They both seem to be gradually absorbed by the labyrinth and it's up to you to keep them on the right path so that they do not go astray. But the more you help one, the more the other gets lost and vice versa.
The plot of Unmaze is a balancing act, so be careful not to let one of your companions down or you'll lose him / © NextPit
It all sounds good, except that it sometimes feels as though there's a big gap between the entire stake of the story, i.e. the life or potential death of Theseus and/or Asterion, and the sometimes too childish and immature reactions from the protagonists. This feeling was reinforced by the multiple choice answers that were submitted to Ariadne which will affect the outcome of the story.
We then find ourselves in game universes such as Fallout, The Witcher, or any other RPG to be able to give a "bad" or "wrong" answer, an answer that does not fit in with the idea that we have of Ariadne. While trying to skip a dialogue, I found myself advising Asterion to pick up the hand that a Titan had just sliced off and wave it at monsters at the first signs of trouble.
Anyway, I wouldn't say that the writing is cumbersome. On the contrary, I find that for the intended audience, the dialogue is completely relatable. The stakes of the story as well as the liabilities that each character possesses, connect them together in an effective manner, with just the right amount of seriousness. But it's a little too "Riverdale" at times for my taste.
Gameplay: A clever twist but at a flat pace
In Unmaze, Ariadne is just an observer as you play her. You see Theseus and Asterion in the third person through a crystal that allows you to guide them through the labyrinth. This labyrinth is shown in the form of a 3D isometric map.
To move, simply tap the location of your choice along the maze, your character will advance by himself to the designated point. This ultra simplistic point-and-click mechanic is however enriched by the alternating of light and dark phases.
This is what the light side looks like with Theseus / © NextPit
As explained above, the game is based on the duality between light and shadow, good and evil, Man and Minotaur. This duality is not only a gameplay element but also the most interesting aspect of the game.
The game relies heavily on the light sensor in front of almost every modern smartphone. After calibrating it to detect bright and dark phases, you'll automatically switch to the dark side to help Asterion or the bright side with Theseus as shown below.
The system worked well during my review, but when you play at night or in low light conditions, you will have to recalibrate your phases. The game will automatically prompt you to do so anyway.
You can also 'cheat' by covering the top edge of your smartphone with your hand. The game offers a switch to block a certain phase without having to worry about the brightness of its environment, just so you know.
You can temporarily block the automatic switch between bright and dark phases / © NextPit
One of the only two drawbacks I noticed when it comes to gameplay is the feeling of boredom that occurs from time to time. The exploration phase where you control Theseus or Asterion, is extremely linear with no wiggle room for deviation. You point and click while searching the map in order to locate to find points of interest that unlock new dialogue branches in order to progress through all 6 levels, with each of them being depicted as a portal.
Let's talk about these dialogue branches, as they are the second gameplay flaw of this game. Designed to be played on a mobile device, Unmaze logically tries to emulate the gestures that we are used to making on a smartphone, which is then applied to the interface.
For example, the written dialogues appear as a WhatsApp conversation. So far, there is nothing unusual about that. But discussions between Ariadne and her two companions can be particularly lengthy. I found myself more than once tapping my screen frantically to skip lines of unnecessary dialogue.
If I had to illustrate this gripe further, I would compare this feeling to times when one of your colleagues spams you with dozens of messages, using just one word per message, instead of writing a single sentence in one go. This flaw quickly becomes annoying and also ruins the flow of the plot, which makes you want to cut it short.
Graphics: Dystopian SF atmosphere inspired by manga
You won't need a flagship device to run Unmaze smoothly. The first inspiration drawn by the Unamze team was Tekkon Kinkreet, a manga by Taiyou Matsumoto. In it, the author talks about the shortcomings of Japanese society, and is often viewed through the eyes of a child.
Another manga, Blame!, which is written and drawn by Tsutomu Nihei, proved to be a strong inspiration to the team. Since the duality of good and evil is also at the heart of the experience, the entire universe is reduced to a black and white cameo with shades of blue echoing the crystals, a central element of the game.
Unmaze's art direction is simply sublime / © NextPit
Personally, if I had to summarize the graphical elements of Unmaze, I would say that you would find yourself immersed in a partly alive and gigantic megastructure, whose scale is almost impossible to define. The dominant architectural features undoubtedly evoke a certain sense of modernity, a somewhat industrial and urban science fiction feel, complete with graffiti.
But we are also confronted with megalithic structures, ancient statues with Hellenistic columns that make you feel as though you were transported into an abandoned Acropolis, and, finally, more natural elements with an animal or organic connotation. The isometric 3D perspective and the variety of environments really make you want to explore every corner of the labyrinth and lose yourself in it.
Unmaze's universe has a real feel to it, a personality, and is very well adapted to its various influences. I regret that the animation elements were not more numerous or more frequent. The few that the game does offer add to the immersion considerably.
Visually, Unmaze is a very successful and neat graphic novel. The universe makes you want to dive into it, learn about the different influences that inspired the illustrations, and strive for perfection in your culture.
The soundtrack, although playing softly in the background, is perfectly consistent with the atmosphere that the game wants to convey and I would even say that the silence of the music reinforces the vastness of the labyrinth and the loneliness of the characters who wander in there.
As for the gameplay, I can only salute the brilliant idea of playing with light and making it an integral part of the game experience, mixing in-game and real-life elements. I can therefore forgive the relatively slow pace imposed by the SMS-like dialogues which irritated me somewhat.
Finally, I would say that the narration as well as the characters and their interactions are believable, if not natural. I didn't like feeling like a boomer with these teenagers and their emotional baggage. I also found it strange how lightly the final twist was handled. Ariadne sometimes made me feel like she was disconnected from the gravity of the situation.
Overall, Unmaze is a game that I would recommend without any hesitation. With nearly 4-5 hours of gameplay to unlock one of the 8 possible endings, I feel it is well worth its $3.99 price tag.
Looking for the Best Pancake Lens? We Really Liked These 3
Windows 11 Home Vs Pro: What Are The Differences?