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Health issues putting Steven Clark's career in jeopardy
This is more than football.
By Ari Gilberg@arigilberg Mar 2, 2017, 4:30pm EST
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Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Syracuse Orange football defensive tackle Steven Clark's career is in jeopardy after it was discovered the sophomore is suffering from blood clots and a genetic disorder, he revealed to Syracuse.com reporter Stephen Bailey on Thursday.
Doctors made the diagnosis after evaluating Clark during his rehabilitation process from a sprained MCL and slight meniscus tear. Clark suffered the injury during practice on Nov. 8 after a teammate fell on the outside of Clark's knee.
Clark is currently taking blood thinners to combat the blood clots and hopes his last remaining blood clot, located in his calf, will dissolve by his next Doppler ultrasound test in mid-May, Bailey reports.
"If (the clot is) there, then I'll probably be on blood thinners for the rest of my life unless it goes away," Clark told Bailey on Thursday. "And if I'm on blood thinners, obviously no contact sports.
"But there's maybe a 10 percent chance of that happening. It's coming along really well now. I'm running better and stuff like that. I think it's not really a big chance of being DQ'd."
Playing contact sports while suffering from blood clots, or taking blood thinners, is extremely dangerous for a multitude of reasons, including potentially life-threatening. Several high profile professional athletes have had their careers derailed in recent years as a result of suffering from blood clots, including 11-time NBA All-Star Chris Bosh.
Clark, a 6'2", 295-pound defensive tackle started nine games at nose tackle as a sophomore last season for the Orange, totaling 16 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. If able to play, he would be one of Syracuse's most experienced defensive linemen next season.
Clark first discovered he was suffering from blood clots just days after his initial injury, he told Bailey. After complaining to then-head football athletic trainer Denny Kellington about discomfort near his knee brace, Clark was taken to the emergency room where he had a Doppler ultrasound test done. The test revealed four clots around where the brace had been -- one in his groin, one in his thigh, one behind his knee and one in his calf.
However, that wasn't the only medical issue discovered. Blood tests also showed Clark was suffering from Factor V Leiden, a genetic disorder he inherited from his mother which makes him more susceptible than the average person to blood clotting, in one of two genes.
Clark has participated in the majority of Syracuse's offseason workouts, but will be limited to non-contact drills during spring practice once it begins on March 21, he told Bailey.


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Widelo (auch Witelo, Wylo) († 28. Dezember 1119) war von 1097 bis 1105 (Gegen-)Bischof von Minden. Zwischenzeitlich abgesetzt, amtierte er erneut 1113 bis zu seinem Tod.

Er soll ein geborener Herr von Panen und vor seiner Bischofswahl Geistlicher in Köln gewesen sein. Er wurde zur Zeit des Streits zwischen Anhängern von Papst Gregor und denen von König Heinrich IV. (Vgl. Investiturstreit) im Bistum Minden ("Mindener Schisma") Bischof. Er wurde von Heinrich 1097 ernannt, da zum einen der aus kaiserlicher Sicht legitime Vorgänger Bischof Volkmar ermordet war und das Amt somit aus kaiserlicher Sicht wieder zu besetzen war, zum anderen sich durch den Tod des von päpstlicher Seite eingesetzten Bischof Ulrich von Minden, der bis 1097 de facto über das Bistum herrschte, eine Chance auftat, den Bischofsposten mit einem dem Kaiser genehmen Kandidaten neu zu besetzen. Widelo gelang es zunächst auch über Minden zu regieren und die Nachfolge des Gregorianer Ulrichs (von Minden) anzutreten, der 1096 bis 1097 in Minden regierte. Der Konstanzer Bischof und päpstliche Legat Gebhard III. von Zähringen hat Widelo bei einem Treffen des Königs mit sächsischen Großen zu Ostern 1105 in Goslar abgesetzt. An seiner Stelle wurde Gottschalk von Minden, den die Anhänger Gregors ebenfalls schon 1097 zuvor zum Bischof erwählt hatten, der aber zunächst keine Macht über das Bistum erlangen konnte, in diesem Amt bestätigt. Widelo lebte in der folgenden Zeit am königlichen Hof. Nach dem Tod Gottschalks im Jahre 1113 hat Widelo bis zu seinem Tod am 28. Dezember 1119 erneut als Bischof in Minden amtiert. Widelo war der letzte Bischof von Minden, der sich gegen einen Gegenbischof behaupten musste. Sein Nachfolger Siegward von Minden regierte, wie bereits Gottschalk, in seiner zweiten Amtszeit unangefochten.

Literatur
 Heinrich Leo: Vorlesungen über die Geschichte des deutschen Volkes und Reiches. Bd. 5. Halle 1867, S. 696f.
 Wolfram Ziegler: König Konrad III. (1138-1152) Hof, Urkunden und Politik. Wien 2008 S. 720.

Einzelnachweise

Quellen
 Lothar III. (RI IV, 1, 1) n. 23 (1113 – vor 1119 Dezember 28) Linden RI-online

Römisch-katholischer Bischof (11. Jahrhundert)
Römisch-katholischer Bischof (12. Jahrhundert)
Bischof von Minden
Gegenbischof
Deutscher
Geboren im 11. Jahrhundert
Gestorben 1119
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Hatha Yoga brings balance and wellbeing to the mind, body and spirit through stretching and strengthening practices (asana). It also releases stress, anxiety and tension and increases energy levels through breathing practices (pranayama) and relaxation and meditation techniques.
By connecting thought, breath and posture Yoga aligns the mental physical and emotional bodies. Yoga practice brings us back to the present moment to still the mind, expand the heart and return to self.
Pilates works several muscle groups simultaneously through smooth, continuous motion with a particular focus on strengthening the core or "power house" (abdominal, back and pelvic areas).
Quality of movement rather than quantity is the focus, combining breathing techniques, precision of movement and concentration to enable the body to work as an efficient, holistic system in sport and daily activity.
These courses introduce the fundamentals of Pilates training and are a prerequisite to attending the Pilates intermediate classes (on the group fitness timetable). First class is compulsory.


"Dad? What's happening?" the young prince of the Kaibutsu or Monster Kingdom asks his father. But before he knows it, the king has thrust him into the human world. Prince Taro (Satoshi Ono), also known as Kaibutsu-kun must live among people for a while as part of a grooming process before taking over the kingdom. So begins the sometimes scary, sometimes touching and often very funny adventures of Kaibutsu-kun and his three affable attendants Dracula (Norito Yashima), Wolfman (Ryuhei Ueshima) and Franken (Choi Hong-Man).
ajeng Jul 24 2011 8:49 am i love this drama ohchan won "best actor" from this drama..why it's not written??


A PSA is the lifeblood for how an efficient MSP runs their business and the fundamental nature of the PSA determines how fast one grows and what level of profits are achieved.
A leading edge PSA helps MSPs optimize the delivery of services, and spend less time doing non-revenue generating tasks such as billing and project management.
Once installed, BMS went to work aligning business goals and processes and boosting the efficiency and the quality of delivered services. "In many cases, we were able to streamline most processes by more than 40% especially within our sales teams. I anticipate further improvements as we continue to identify then optimize how the team uses the BMS," Flores said.
John Morris is CEO of Spark Alliance, an MSP based in Central California. Morris was a ConnectWise customer before adopting Kaseya BMS. The cloud is key. "Being "in the cloud" meant having the ability to not have any dependencies from the customer or consumer or an endpoint technology standpoint, and this is pretty significant. Obviously, there are other competitors out there that are doing the same thing, but they are not quite as evolved. They started with other solutions and have now migrated a lot of their code and a lot of their platforms," Morris explained.
Morris appreciates being on a modern platform. "Why is BMS second-generation or modern day? You can use the system anywhere on any platform. It really supports the cloud model ― just the nature of this thing ― trying to streamline every process and every system and basically be a full-blown web-based ERP. Where you do not have to have four, five, six disparate systems that you have to try to blend, hook, or whatever. The price point, the subscription-based model, and all the components that support the concept of cloud- and service-based technology just sells itself. And there really is not any CAPEX. You are just using the system and you pay for the usage. That is the next-generation of all service-based technologies," Morris detailed.
PSA is not only used by admins with deep expertise. The next-generation PSA solutions should be easy enough for less technical business users and managers to master and exploit. On the tech side, a leading edge PSA helps techs do tasks straightforwardly, quickly and with a minimum of training. Essential tasks such as entering employees into HR folders or adding roles to employee records should not involve screen hopping.
A solid RMM tool makes your techs more efficient, while a PSA turns the overall MSP into a well-oiled machine – thus increasing profit. With a proper PSA, work is done faster, and more work is accomplished in the same amount of time. With BMS, techs switch quickly between functions such as trouble ticketing, billing, project management, CRM, and inventory tracking. With a modern PSA, these functions are all tied closely together. This integration between components means an item entered in one part of the suite automatically triggers corresponding actions in other applications — without the hassle of re-entering data, which creates errors, or switching screens.
Your service desk is key to client uptime and satisfaction. Nothing makes a client happier than a problem solved quickly and completely. To get there, creating tickets and launching projects must be fast, automated, and efficient. Tickets should immediately capture a customer issue and assign a task to the appropriate employees for resolution.
Kaseya BMS has been designed and engineered keeping the upcoming needs of MSPs in mind. With it, you can free staffs to focus more attention on strategically selling new services, scoping and deploying these service, then running them in a profitable way. At the same time, you will spend far less time dealing with non-revenue-generating work such as project management and billing.
With Kaseya BMS, everything is built from the project out. BMS also schedules all resources for the MSP. At the same time, you can track and manage inventory as well as people, contracts, and billing all tied to projects (and all dependencies). Finally, BMS takes into account scheduling activities that are not project activities.
To learn more details about how to choose the right solution for your business, download our PSA Buyers Guide.


We are promoting a project called Disraeli , related to knowledge management in the organization. It was a pleasant surprise your date and why we inform you of this project. It is that people say they admire what other people can do to detect the hidden knowledge within the organization.


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Kościół Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Kiełbasinie – rzymskokatolicki kościół parafialny należący do parafii pod tym samym wezwaniem (dekanat Chełmża diecezji toruńskiej).

Jest to świątynia gotycka wzniesiona z 1. połowie XIV wieku, następnie była kilkakrotnie przebudowywana, m.in. w XVII wieku i 1887 roku. Wnętrze jest nakryte pozornym sklepieniem kolebkowym; wyposażenie w stylu  barokowym pochodzi głównie z połowy XVIII wieku, należą do niego m.in. ołtarz główny z około 1730 roku. Do II wojny światowej zawieszony był na wieży świątyni późnogotycki dzwon z 1592 roku odlany "z bożą pomocą" przez Mertena Schmidta z Torunia. Kościół jest jedną z najpiękniejszych wiejskich świątyń Ziemi Chełmińskiej. W 2001 roku wzorowo wyremontowana budowla otrzymała od generalnego konserwatora zabytków tytuł Zabytek Roku 2001.

Przypisy

Kościoły w diecezji toruńskiej
Świątynie pod wezwaniem Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny
Zabytkowe kościoły w powiecie toruńskim
Budynki w Polsce oddane do użytku w XIV wieku
Obiekty sakralne w gminie wiejskiej Chełmża
Kiełbasin
Architektura gotyku w województwie kujawsko-pomorskim


My Antique Collection was created in 2015 to provide antique collectors with an online mall uniquely designed for them to showcase and sell select pieces from their individual antique collections.
Kevin Cravedi, Co-creator, My Antique Collection, and Founder and CEO of New Age Imagination LLC.
Kathleen Cravedi, Co-creator, My Antique Collection, and Co-owner of Gardner Burke Antiques.
In May 2015, My Antique Collection online store was created. The templated website was created by Kevin Cravedi, Founder and CEO of New Age Imagination LLC.


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Retro Game Guy
It's the 1980's again!
Tag Archives: game
by mmervine	Leave a comment
Mappy is a video game designed by Namco and released in 1983. Mappy is a side scrolling platform game featuring 'Mappy' the police mouse. In Mappy, cat burglars have hidden stolen loot in their mansion and Mappy must maneuver around and recover the stolen items, while avoiding contact with the cats.
Mappy will score points for each item recovered as follows:
Tape player-100 points
Television-200 points
Computer-300 points
Painting-400 points
Safe-500 points
Mappy can also score points when bouncing on the trampolines, hitting a cat with a door, microwaving a cat, and retrieving a stolen item when Goro (the boss cat) is hiding behind it. One some levels, bells will appear that can be dropped on cats for more bonus points. Mappy can't be harmed by the cats when bouncing on the trampoline or in the shafts of the mansion. If Mappy jumps on a trampoline when it is red (unless there is a lower level to catch Mappy), or is touched by a cat on any of the mansion floors, he will lose a life.
Levels 3, 7, 11, and 15 are bonus rounds where Mappy must pop balloons for bonus points. After round 15, the game loops back to the beginning.
Based on the NAMCO Super Pac-man board, the arcade unit used two Motorola 6809 CPUs with a Namco 8 channel PSG for sound. In the U.S., Mappy was distributed by Bally-Midway and came in both upright and cocktail cabinet versions.
Mappy was ported to the Famicon (NES) in Japan, but not to any Atari systems until now.
Mappy Arcade Version
Mappy for the Atari 2600…
Mappy is the latest release from Champ Games, released by AtariAge at the 2018 Portland Retro Game Expo (PRGE). Programmed by John Champeau, with sprites by Nathan Strum, and music by Michael Haas, Mappy is an amazing game for the Atari 2600. John also credits Darrell Spice, Jr. for the music driver and Thomas Jentzsch for code optimization and improving the logo.
Taking full advantage of CDF (the latest incarnation of DPC/DPC+) and the Melody board (designed by Fred Quimby), Mappy delivers a near arcade level experience on the Atari 2600. Comparing John's 2600 port to the arcade version, shows an amazing level of fidelity to the original. Just like the original, the music is almost constant. Only a few Atari games like Pitfall II, Stay Frosty 2, and, now, Mappy have this much music in them.
In addition to offering three levels of difficultly (that can be selected from the main menu), John takes advantage of the difficulty switches to offer random locations of loot and reduced object flicker. He also uses the color/BW switch to allow for pause/resume of the game. Finally, Mappy can take advantage of the Atarivox to save high scores.
Mappy comes from AtariAge with a full color box, manual, and poster. The box and cartridge art are the work of Nathan Strum who also did a fantastic job on the manual. The twelve page manual is printed on glossy paper and includes four pages of a Mappy comic book.
It probably seems like I am usually positive about the things I write about on this blog. That's probably a fair point as I have a tendency to write about things that I like. This time it is a little different as I was not at all familiar with Mappy.
In fact, until last week, I hadn't even played Mappy. A friend showed me how the game was played on the AtariAge demo unit at PRGE and I bought a copy from AtariAge. Turns out that I have one of the Jack's Pacific Namco 'Plug 'n' Play' units that has Mappy on it. In the past week, I have played Mappy on both my Atari 2600 and on my Namco unit. Sometimes you don't know what you are missing; Mappy is a great game and a lot of fun to play!
At PRGE, I had the opportunity to talk with John and his brother Paul. Although John is rightfully proud of his work on Mappy, he made it a point to talk about the team effort by Mike, Nathan, Thomas, and others that was needed to make Mappy for the Atari 2600 a reality.
Like many of John's recent releases, you have to keep reminding yourself that you are playing a 2600 game. Mappy should be available for purchase in the AtariAge store next month. This is one game that should be on every Atari 2600 owner's wish list!
Wild for Mappy!
@Atarigame guy
P.S. Mappy plays great on Atari 7800 units as well!
Categories: 2600, 7800, Atari, Game Reviews, Uncategorized | Tags: 2600, 7800, Atari, game, Game Reviews, Homebrew, Mappy, Namco, retro, VCS | Permalink.
Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2018…
Last weekend I was able to attend the Portland Retro Gaming Expo (PRGE) in Portland Oregon. For those of you who are not aware of this show, it has grown to be one of the largest shows in the country. As they normally do, they had a large Retrocade area set up where you could play any number of arcade games or games on home consoles. This year, the Retrocade area opened on Friday at noon and was extremely popular.
The largest area of the show is reserved for exhibitors. These varied from vendors selling all kinds of retro game items to vendors selling new games for retro systems to vendors with announcements for new retro game systems.
Exhibitor Area at PRGE 2018
I had a change to support AtariAge with show preparations and I worked the booth for a few hours on Saturday.
AtariAge Booth at PRGE 2018 (with Al, Fred, & Matt in the background)
One of best things at the PRGE is the panels and speakers that they are able to attract. I was able to attend a session with Atari and Activision developers.
Dan and Gary Kitchen, David Crane, and John Champeau discuss the development of Mappy
A couple of new retro game systems were announced. CollectorVision announced a Kickstarter Campaign for their new FPGA based ColecoVision compatible system.
CollectorVision Phoenix
Also, Intellivision Entertainment announced plans to release a new console that will have 'Re-imagined' Intellivision games built in.
Intellivision Amico due 10-10-20
One of the best things about PRGE for me is the release of new games for retro systems. AtariAge had several new 2600, 5200, 7800 and Jaguar games released at PRGE this year.
New Atari games from AtariAge
AtariAge had a number of Atari systems set up to demonstrate existing, new, and work in progress games.
7800 Demo Games
The absolute highlight of PRGE for me was the chance to meet and talk with legacy programmers like David Crane and Dan and Gary Kitchen as wells as folks that make new Atari games possible like Al Yaruso of AtariAge and Fred Quimby who designed the Melody board. It was also a blast to talk with John Champeau and his brother Paul about the development of Mappy and Champ Games upcoming game Wizard of War Arcade for the Atari 2600.
John and Paul Champeau with Champ Games upcoming Wizard of War Arcade
If you ever get the chance to be in Portland in late October, make sure that you carve out some time to attend the PRGE!
@Atarigameguy
Categories: 2600, 5200, 7800, Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision, Uncategorized | Tags: Atari, Colecovision, game, Intellivision, retro | Permalink.
Tank Games for the Atari 2600…
Tank games for the Atari 2600 are based on Battlezone, a 1980 arcade game developed by Ed Rotberg for Atari. Battlezone uses vector graphics and a monochrome display with green and red overlays. It is driven by a 6502 CPU, a POKEY chip for sound, and came with a 19" CRT. In Battlezone, the player controls a tank via an innovative periscope, first person view. The object of the game is to shoot as many enemy tanks, super tanks, UFO's, and missiles while avoiding getting your own tank shot. Each of these enemies are worth different point values:
Tanks-1,000 points
Super Tanks-3,000 points
Missiles-2,000 points
UFO's-5,000 points
A radar screen and status board tell you when an enemy is in range and in which direction you need to turn your tank to engage or avoid attack. The status board also shows your score and the number of tanks (lives) remaining. When your tank is 'killed', a simulation of your periscope screen cracking is displayed.
Battlezone was ported to several computer systems of the day and an Atari 2600 version, using raster graphics, was released in 1983. An Atari 5200 version that uses a combination of vector and raster graphics was in development, but never released. A copy of a playable prototype is available and seems to be about 90% complete. Activision also developed their own tank game for the Atari 2600 called Robot Tank.
Atari 2600 Battlezone…
Released by Atari in 1983, the Atari 2600 port of Battlezone uses raster graphics versus the vector graphics of the arcade. Instead of a periscope view, the game features a pseudo 3D view of the front of the players tank. The game includes enemies from the arcade; tanks, super tanks, and UFO's (saucers), but substitutes the missiles for fighters. The 2600 version plays like the arcade version and the graphics are nicely done; even the radar and status displays are included. The one thing missing, which does detract from the game, however, is the battlefield obstacles. Use of the obstacles by both the player's and enemy tanks is an important part of the strategy of the game. Extra lives are rewarded at 50K and 100K points.
Battlezone for the Atari 2600
Activision Robot Tank…
Designed by Alan Miller, Robot Tank was also released in 1983. Robot Tank is similar to Battlezone but adds several new twists. First, no points are awarded; instead, the number of enemy tank kills are tracked. Extra lives are awarded after an entire enemy squadron of tanks are destroyed. In Robot Tank, damage to the player's tank is possible which can cause the screen view to black out, the radar can be lost, cannons to be damaged and fire erratically, and, finally, tank treads can be damaged, making it difficult to maneuver.
Additionally, a full day period is modeled, causing visibility to be limited at dusk and at night. Alan also modeled fog, rain, & snow which also limits visibility and forces the player to rely on the radar screen. If radar is lost at night or in the fog, you will be driving blind!
One weakness of Robot Tank is that, if the player turns the his/her tank so that an incoming round is no longer in view, it will miss the player's tank. This is, of course not realistic and is, honestly, a flaw in the game.
Robot Tank for the Atari 2600
Both Battlezone and Robot tank are great games for the Atari 2600. The graphics in both are outstanding and they are both fun to play. One note of caution for Atari 7800 owners is that Robot Tank is one of a handful of games that does not work on most 7800's. I was able to pick up boxed copies of Battlezone and Robot Tank for around ten dollars each. At that price, why not get both of these great games?
Wild for Atari 2600 Tank Games!
Categories: 2600, 5200, 7800, Atari, Game Reviews, Uncategorized | Tags: 2600, 7800, Atari, Battlezone, game, Game Reviews, Robot Tank, VCS | Permalink.
by mmervine	2 Comments
Refurbishing Old Carts…
When I got back into gaming a few years ago, I started with the Atari 7800 and collected mostly 7800 carts. Lately, I have had the desire to re-build my Atari 2600 collection. Back in the early eighties, I had a number of Activision games and always enjoyed their colorful boxes and cartridges. Unfortunately, the labels on Activision carts typically develop 'anti-plaque' and most haven't held up well. In fact, even if you can find a 'new in the box' Activision game, the cart label will typically not look very good.
Not so wild for an old Activision label!
With multiple multi-carts available for the 2600, collecting carts is more about having something cool to look at, more so than any kind of necessity. Given the condition of most Activision cart labels, this really wasn't all that appealing…until recently. Last week, I obtained some replacement Activision labels from Phil Boland (pboland on AtariAge) and replaced the labels on several of my carts.
This is a great project, even for someone new to the hobby. I started by using a hair dryer to slightly warm up the glue and loosen the cart label, being careful not to get the cart too warm. With a little heat, most labels will come off easily, but I did have one come off in small pieces. I then used a wet wipe and a paper towel with a little rubbing alcohol to remove the remaining glue residue from the cart shell.
An open Activision cart
While the label was off, I carefully opened the cart and cleaned the circuit board and the inside of the cart shell. To clean the inside of the cart, I used a Q-tip and a little more rubbing alcohol. Then I reassembled the cart, being careful not to tighten the screws too much. Remembering that the 35+ year old plastic could be brittle, I didn't want damage the cart shell. Now all that was left to do, was apply the new label. I took my time to make sure that the label was aligned correctly and started from one end and bent it around the corner of the shell.
Phil's labels stick really well and look great. Now my Activision carts look awesome and as colorful as they were back in the eighties. They should be good for another twenty years!!!
Wild for new cart labels!
P.S. Please note that Phil's labels are perfect, just poor lighting in the last photo
Categories: 2600, Atari, Uncategorized | Tags: 2600, Atari, cartridge, game, retro, VCS | Permalink.
by mmervine	1 Comment
Tempest is a 1981 arcade game developed by Atari. Dave Theurer, a senior programmer at Atari, was trying to develop a 3D game similar to Space Invaders, but ran into a whole host of problems. Supposedly, Dave had a dream about monsters coming out of a hole in the ground, which gave him the idea for what became Tempest. The technology used in the Tempest arcade systems included Atari's (then new) QuadraScan color vector generator, a 6502 CPU, and two Pokey chips for sound and I/O.
The QuadraScan technology allowed Dave to generate 3D 'tubes' that form the 'playing field' for Tempest. The goal of the game is to use your 'Zapper' to shoot as many enemies and last as long as possible. The enemies, which appear at different levels, include:
Flippers-the most common, appear at level one
Flipper tankers-which split into two flippers when hit, appear at level three
Spikers-they built green spike that can kill you when you warp to a new level, appear at level four
Fuseballs-who zip up and down the channels, appear at level eleven
Fuseball tankers- which split into two fuseballs when hit, appear at level thirty-three
Pulsars-who electrify the channels, appear at level seventeen
Pulsar tankers- which split into two pulsars when hit, appear at level forty-one
There are a total of 99 levels in Tempest, with the first sixteen having unique geometric shapes. They then repeat, with varied color schemes and increasing difficulty, as the game advances. In additional to an unlimited supply of ammunition for your 'Zapper', you also get a 'Super Zapper' which can be used twice in each level. The first time that the Super Zapper is used, it will destroy all enemies on the playing field. The second time, it only destroys one, random, enemy. When all enemies are destroyed, you will 'warp' through to the next level. Tempest is also one of the first arcade games to let your pick your starting level.
Tempest was a monster hit for the Atari coin-op division and it was ported to many platforms of the day including the BBC Micro, the ZX Spectrum, and the Atari ST. Ports were also planned and partially developed for the Atari 2600 and 5200 game consoles, but, until recently, were never released.
Tempest at Funspot
2600 Version…
Carla Meninsky developed the 2600 version which was planned to be released in 1983, but was never finished. The 2600 version plays with a similar concept to the arcade version, but the graphics are crude and the playing field is two dimensional. In her 2600 port, Carla did manage to include four enemies: Flippers, Flipper Tankers, Pulsars, and Fuseballs. Tempest was included as one of the games on the Flashback 4 (November 2012), so now it has been 'officially' released. I wanted to like the 2600 version of Tempest, but, honestly, it is pretty horrible. Graphics and 2D playing field aside, the control and collision detection are terrible. In fairness to Carla (who also programmed Warlords…an awesome 2600 game), she never had the chance to finish Tempest for 2600 and I am not sure why AtGames included it on the FB4. You can read more about the 2600 version of Tempest here.
Another Tempest like game, 3D Genesis, was developed for the 2600 by Videosoft. Although practically complete, it too was not released until recently. Videosoft managed to create a better, if not perfect, 3D effect on the 2600. If you have a 2600 and like Tempest, you should take a look at 3D Genesis here.
Keithen Hayenga, who programmed RealSports Baseball for the 5200, volunteered to develop the 5200 version of Tempest. Keithen worked closely with Dave Theurer and was able to use some of the same code as Dave had used on the arcade version. This was possible, since the 5200 also has a 6502 CPU and a Pokey chip for sound and I/O. This would make the sound and play of the 5200 version nearly the same as the arcade. Since the arcade units used vector graphics, there was only so much of the code that Keithen could use as the 5200 needed bit mapped graphics. Like the 2600 version, the 5200 version of Tempest was planned for release in 1983 and is featured as 'coming soon' in most of Atari's advertising and catalogs in 1983. A 5200 (and 2600) Tempest box was shown in the 1984 movie 'Cloak and Dagger'. Like most software projects, the development of Tempest ran behind schedule and came to a stop when Warner sold Atari in 1984 and let go most of the game programmers.
For years, there was speculation, but no copy or prototype of Tempest for the 5200 surfaced until 1999. That copy was a version that was approximately fifty percent complete and attempts were made to finish the game, but with only limited success. Ken Van Mersbergen made the effort to track down Keithen in 2002 and they located a more advanced copy of the Tempest source code. Ken and Dennis Debro worked on the game, but never quite had the time to finish it. George Reese is credited with somehow sparking Keithen to contact Ken about finishing Tempest. With the efforts of Ken, Dennis, and Keithen, after nearly thirty years, a finished version of Tempest for the Atari 5200 SuperSystem was made available for sale by AtariAge at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in September 2012. Of course the story doesn't end there. Shortly after the expo, bugs were discovered in the Trak-ball control of the game, so back went the programmers to fix the bugs. Finally, in the past week, Tempest has been released with a beautiful reproduction box, a twelve page manual (in full color), and a cool cart label. The manual (which has had a life of its own), includes three pages on the history of the game.
Tempest for the 5200 does not disappoint. Other than not being able to render vector graphics, the SuperSystem demonstrates its ability to be a 'personal arcade system' and Tempest rocks on the 5200. Since the sounds and game tables are the same as the arcade version, it is hard to imagine how it could get any better. Control with the 5200's analog joystick is solid and, although I prefer the joystick, it also plays well with the Trak-ball. I did find that in later rounds, you have really work to avoid the spikes when using the joystick. This is definitely easier to do with the Trak-ball. All of the arcade levels and features are present, including the ability to pick your starting level. There is really not much else that can be said other than it is nearly arcade perfect!
A huge thank you needs to go out to Keithen, Ken, and Dennis for their programming work to finally bring this arcade classic home. Thanks also to Michael Kosaka for his graphics work and to George Reese and David Exton for their work on the box, manual, and label for this game. Finally, a big thanks to Al Yarusso for all that he does at AtariAge and for his work to program, solder, and assemble all of the Tempest carts. At best, a few hundred (or maybe a thousand) copies of Tempest will be sold, so there is no big money being made here. In an era of overpaid celebrities and sports stars, it is really nice to see people do something to make other people's lives more enjoyable.
If you have a 5200, get over to AtariAge and order yourself a copy of this classic game. It may have taken thirty years to be completed, but you should not wait another minute to get your copy!
Wild for Tempest!
Categories: 2600, 5200, Atari, Game Reviews | Tags: 2600, 5200, Atari, game, retro, Tempest, VCS | Permalink.
Atari Flashback 1, a review…
It may seem kind of silly to review a system from 2004 that is no longer being produced, but I think it is worthwhile as a base of comparison to the newer units.
I was able to purchase my Flashback 1 for less than $10 and it came complete with the base unit, power supply, two controllers, box, and a manual. Having only seen pictures of these until this unit arrived, I was surprised at how small it is. The Flashback 1 looks like a miniature Atari 7800 and is about half the size of the subsequent Flashback units.
The Flashback concept was developed by Curt Vendel of Syzygy (formally Legacy Engineering). Atari agreed to produce the unit, but wanted to have it ready for the 2004 holiday season. This only gave Curt about ten weeks to design the unit and he went with a design that is based on a 'NES on a chip'. Since the system is based on a NES chip, all games had to be 'ported' and a mixture of 2600 and 7800 games are included:
2600: Adventure, Air-Sea Battle, Battlezone, Breakout, Canyon Bomber, Crystal Castles, Gravitar, Haunted House, Millipede, Saboteur, Skydiver, Solaris, Sprintmaster, Warlords, and Yars' Revenge
7800: Asteroids, Centipede, Desert Falcon, Food Fight, and Planet Smashers
At first I thought it would be cool to see how the five 7800 games translated, but I was soon disappointed. Centipede isn't too bad but Asteroids didn't make the transition well at all. Also, I find the 7800 game selection puzzling…Asteroids, Centipede, and Food Fight are popular titles, but Desert Falcon and Planet Smashers are less well known. In fact, Planet Smashers is one of the rarer 7800 titles and, also, one of the poorest rated. Given the quality of the 7800 ports, I am not sure that it would have mattered, but Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-man, or Pole Position II would have been better choices.
I am happy to say that the 2600 ports are much better. Of course, more effort has been put in over the years to port and emulate the 2600, so I guess that this should have been expected. The exception is Battlezone…this port is horrible and hardly worth playing. Millipede, on the other hand, is a blast to play on the Flashback. Also, the Flashback 1 introduced the concept of releasing prototype games and included the previously unreleased Saboteur.
Breakout and Warlords had to be modified to use the Flashback joysticks and I wasn't expecting much. These were a pleasant surprise and are very playable.
It should be noted that the Flashback 1 joysticks are not usable with standard Atari (or other Flashback units) as they are wired differently.
Given that we know that the Flashback 1 was a 'rushed' effort, I guess it would be a cliche to say that it seems half polished. Unless you are an Atari collector and need to have one of these, I would recommend skipping the Flashback 1 in favor of a Flashback 2, 2+, or the newer Flashback 4.
The Flashback 1 is an important piece of Atari history in that it marked the return of Atari to the console market. It also sold well enough to convince Atari to proceed with the Flashback 2. As I will discuss in a future post, the Flashback 2 is the system that Curt really wanted to build in the first place.
Speaking of Curt, he is going to have a significant surgery this week and I want to wish him the best of luck and a speedy recovery!
Atari Flashback 1
Categories: 2600, 7800, Atari, System Reviews | Tags: 2600, 7800, Atari, Flashback, game, retro, VCS | Permalink.
Atari Flashback the series…
To date, there have been five Atari Flashback models. In this post, I will give the general background on these units and go into more detail in future posts.
Flashback 1:
The Flashback concept originated with Curt Vendel of Syzygy (formally Legacy Engineering). Curt pitched the idea of a Flashback unit to Atari who agreed to produce the unit, but wanted to have it ready for the 2004 holiday season. This only gave Curt about ten weeks to design the unit and Curt went with a design that is based on a 'NES on a chip'. Outwardly, the system looks like a small Atari 7800 and includes twenty games. Since the system is based on a NES chip, all games run in emulation and a mixture of 2600 and 7800 games are included:
The Atari Flashback 1 met with mixed reviews, primarily due to the emulation. Also, Breakout and Warlords had to be modified to use the Flashback joysticks. The system was however, successful enough to convince Atari to proceed to with the Flashback 2.
In 2005, Atari again turned to Curt to develop the Flashback 2. This time around, the system would include 2600 games only. With more time for development, Curt designed a custom chip to produce an 'Atari 2600 on a chip'. Curt also included provisions on the motherboard for adding a cartridge slot. A modified Flashback 2 can play most games designed for the 2600. Taking a page from the Atari playbook, the name for the Flashback 2 project was 'Michelle' for Curt's wife. Her name is printed on the Flashback 2 motherboards.
The Flashback 2 looks like a small Atari 2600 and has two joysticks that are compatible with the original 2600 and, also, supports the use of original Atari paddle controllers.
Forty two games are included on the Flashback 2:
Arcade Favorites: Arcade Asteroids, Arcade Pong, Asteroids Deluxe, Battlezone, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Millipede, Missile Command, and Space Dual.
Adventure Territory: Adventure, Adventure II, Haunted House, Return to Haunted House, Secret Quest Wizard
Space Station: Caverns of Mars, Quadrun, Saboteur, Space War, Yars' Return, Yars' Revenge
Skill and Action: 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Aquaventure, Atari Climber, Combat, Combat 2, Dodge 'Em, Fatal Run, Frog Pond, Hangman, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Off the Wall, Outlaw, Pitfall!, Radar Lock, River Raid, Save Mary, Video Checkers, and Video Chess
Paddle Games: Super Breakout and Warlords (hidden from main menu)
The Flashback 2 broke new ground as it included homebrews, hacks, unreleased prototypes, and two Activision games. With a great game selection, new 2600 hardware, and the ability to add a cartridge slot, the Flashback 2 was popular with both the general public and the Atari community and sold almost one million units.
Flashback 2+:
Released by Atari in 2010, the Flashback 2+ is, essentially, the same as the Flashback 2. Atari Climber, Caverns of Mars, Pitfall!, River Raid, and Wizard were removed from the game selection and a sports section was added that included: Realsports Boxing, Realsports Soccer, Super Baseball, Super Football, and Double Dunk. Also, Circus Atari was added to the 'hidden' section for a total of forty three games.
For 2011, Atari licensed out the Flashback concept to AtGames. AtGames developed the Flashback 3 around an ARM processor and included sixty games. They originally did not include Curt in the design, but ended up bringing him in as a consultant when they ran into some technical issues. The Flashback 3 included two joysticks that are compatible with original Atari systems.
Games included on the Flashback 3: 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Adventure, Adventure II, Air-Sea Battle, Aquaventure, Asteroids, Backgammon, Basketball, Battlezone, Bowling, Canyon Bomber, Centipede, Championship, Soccer, Circus Atari, Combat, Combat 2, Demons to Diamonds, Desert Falcon, Dodge 'Em, Double Dunk, Fatal Run, Flag Capture, Frog Pond, Fun with Numbers, Golf, Gravitar, Hangman, Home Run, Haunted House, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Minature Golf, Missile Command, Night Driver, Off the Wall, Outlaw, Realsports Baseball, Realsports Basketball, Realsports Soccer, Realsports Volleyball, Saboteur, Save Mary, Secret Quest, Sky Diver, Space War, Sprintmaster, Star Ship, Steeplechase, Submarine Commander, Super Baseball, Super Breakout, Super Football, Surround, Swordquest: Earthworld, Swordquest: Fireworld, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Video Pinball, Wizard, and Yars' Revenge.
AtGames released the Flashback 4 in late 2012 with several improvements over the previous model. It features new wireless controllers, support for paddles, and improved emulation. It also includes seventy five games. Secret Quest was removed from the game selection and sixteen games that were added. The added games over the Flashback 3 are: Black Jack, Breakout, Crystal Castles, Football, Front Line, Jungle Hunt, Polaris, Pong (Video Olympics), Return to Haunted House, Slot Machine, Slot Racers, Stellar Track, Street Racer, Space Invaders (special FB 4 edition, not 2600 version), Tempest, and Warlords. Read more about the Flashback 4 in my previous posts.
Categories: 2600, 7800, Atari | Tags: 2600, Atari, Flashback, game, retro, VCS | Permalink.
The National Video Game Museum…
Draconian for the Atari 2600…
Atari Times
Freelancer Games

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Corner Furniture for Living Room Elegantly » Excellent Manual When It Comes To Interior Decorating, Corner Furniture For Living Room Decor is merely as challenging as you let it get. In case you are ready to understand and take time to allow refreshing suggestions sink in, you will quickly visit your good results. The information from the article earlier mentioned have been all well tested by many people prior to, and will effortlessly operate in your favor way too.
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this is my first solo release in 3 years and i'm a bit proud of it because i recorded this ep during one night. :3 it's a tribute to the video game undertale which i love so much! you can download and/or stream the ep here or on bandcamp.
this is my new solo project since january 2012. i self-released two eps on bandcamp since i started 'see the train, it's yours' and the third ep came out in august on the sweet diy label 'clown park'. i got the idea for this bandname when i went through berlin, looking at the trains with pieces and tags on them. i also watched lots of documentaries about street art and graffiti, especially in the us during the 80s.
the title of my second ep is inspired by the series 'the x-files' – i was quite obsessed with it, watching seven seasons in two months… (david duchovny dropped out after the seventh season, so i refused to watch season 8 and 9) but i loved that time, it was very intense. 'well-manicured men' was released on 18th february 2012.
you can download both eps for free.
tyynyliina was my first music project. i started it in january 2009 when peter broderick (i was a huge fan) looked for contributors for his now released album "it starts hear". i bought a little microphone which was my fellow until the beginning of 2012 and recorded the lyrics he wrote. i appear on the track "asleep" and (sadly) i'm credited with my deadname – because 'tyynyliina' first started until march.
well, that's the story behind 'tyynyliina'. i did one album and two eps, published on http://www.truecall.de. i don't know, if this project will ever be reactivated tho.
every release is available for free download.
this was my second collaboration shortly after. tautvydas bajarkevicius, a lithuanian curator and sound artist, was a myspace friend of mine whose music i liked very much. one day he wrote an e-mail: he did a cover version of my track 'mais le papillon est vrai' and i had the idea to do an ep together. so we did it! we called the ep 'places where changes grow' and it came out in august 2010 on my home label true call. you can download it for free here: http://truecall.de/software014.php.
zimmer asked me to do a remix for his mind-blowing track 'in dreams' which brought us together. it was a lot of fun to record sounds and i even wrote lyrics for it. 'the longest ep ever' (sic! zimmer) came out in july 2010 on true call. you can download it there for free, too: http://www.truecall.de/software013.php.
this is also a bit longer ago, i don't know when i recorded the keyboard sounds for ekca liena… but i know, how we got friends on myspace! some day i discovered a wonderful artist named elisa luu. she makes magical soundscapes and had her debut onthe label phantom channel where i discovered ekca liena shortly after. (phantom channel doesn't exist anymore. makes me sad.) anyway, he asked me to record a short piece of 20 seconds which i did. they can be heard on the track "return written arrange (anneterlude)" . the album 'return written arrange' came out in december 2011 on the label running on air and as i just found out isn't available online any longer.
he always keeps an eye on the tapes.
we did 5 releases by 4 berlin-based artists: zimmer>, maura rougieux, sredni vashtar (alias ernst markus stein) and tyyny+zimmer.
there are still copies left. they are 5 euros each plus shipping, if you don't live in berlin. you get a little handmade something with every package. it can be a sun, a snowflake, a postcard, a bag… you can always choose. contact me or go here: https://tyynytapes.bandcamp.com/.
the last tape came out in april 2011. i had some issues finding a place to live and then i had to work so much, that there was no time for tyyny tapes. there's still almost none. i would say, tyyny tapes is in hibernation right now (yes, it's summer, who cares), but it is supposed to wake up someday. maybe.


text:
White Knuckle Driving: Take a Ride on Canon City's Skyline Drive
Matt Sparx
Matt Sparx Published: September 19, 2022
Abom Adventures Youtube
Not a fan of heights? One road in Colorado may not be for you. However, if you can muster up the courage, you will be in for quite the treat on Skyline Drive in Canon City, Colorado.
The History of Skyline Drive in Canon City
According to Wikipedia, Skyline Drive was built by inmates in 1905. The three-mile road ascends 800 feet in elevation. You won't have to worry about oncoming traffic as Skyline Road is one way.
Only the most attentive of drivers should take on Skyline Drive as there are no guardrails to protect you from the steep terrain and cliffs. While you are on Skyline Drive, you will come across the Dinosaur Trackway. This area is fenced in and is home to the footprints of a dinosaur named the Ankylosaurus. The footprints were set in stone millions of years ago by the dinosaurs from the Middle Jurrasic era.
Skyline Drive seems like it would be one for the books on a road trip. See the video from Abom Adventures of their ride on Skyline Drive.
How do you get to Skyline Drive in Canon City, Colorado
From Highway 50, near Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, take Skyline Drive into Canon City, Colorado for approximately three miles.
This is one of those drives in Colorado I believe is a must-do for everyone. It doesn't matter if you are the driver or the passenger.
Source: Youtube - Wikipedia
A Black House with a Yellow Door is for Sale in Fort Collins for $619K
This Fort Collins home has a trendy black exterior along with a bright yellow door listed for $619K
LOOK: The 10 Most Affordable Places To Live In Colorado
People often choose to move to a particular area in order to live a certain way.
Colorado is unique in that, residents here have the ability to live different kinds of lifestyles (depending on what part of the state you choose to reside) - from small-town to big-city living, you can make up almost any life you desire here... but can you afford it?
Keep scrolling to find out where the most affordable places to live in Colorado in 2022 are, according to HomeSnacks:
A Border War: The Least Expensive Homes In Colorado And Wyoming
Source: White Knuckle Driving: Take a Ride on Canon City's Skyline Drive
Filed Under: Colorado Attractions, Colorado Roads + Highways
What's Really Going on with Colorado's Biggest Theme Park?
Did You Know There Is A Stairway To Heaven In Colorado?
See Inside Colorado's $177 Million College Football Facility
PHOTOS: Look at Dangerous Road Conditions All Over Colorado
Colorado Has a Unique Jamaican Brewery, But Not for Long
Get a Rare Look Inside Colorado's Cherokee Ranch and Castle
See the Inside of Colorado's Dunafon Castle
All the Reasons Why You Need to Visit St. George Utah


text:
Tracking Transportation/ Transportation
T made little progress reducing absenteeism in 2016
Officials hope get-tough policy will lead to improvement in 2017
By Bruce Mohl and Steve Koczela	MBTA	2 Comments Jan 27, 2017
MBTA OFFICIALS MADE ALMOST NO PROGRESS last year in curbing employee absenteeism, in part because success in reducing one type of absence was offset by a surge in another area. T officials likened the situation to the whack-a-mole game, where you pound one area down and another pops up.
Brian Shortsleeve, the T's chief administrative officer and acting general manager, said the unscheduled absence rate among transportation operators was 10.6 percent in 2016, down only slightly from 11 percent in 2015. In fiscal year 2014, which ran from July 2013 through June 2014, the rate was 10.9 percent. The rate for all T employees was 7.8 percent in 2016, barely changed from recent years. The figures showing absenteeism as basically flat contrast sharply with the assessments offered during the first half of 2016, which described absenteeism as declining sharply.
Shortsleeve said he is optimistic the situation will improve in 2017 because procedures are now fully in place to limit unscheduled absences and officials are aggressively dealing with repeat offenders. For example, T officials said 872 employees, representing roughly 13 percent of the T's workforce, are currently on some level of a five-step disciplinary track for attendance violations. They said 27 workers are scheduled to be terminated in the first quarter of this year for violations of the attendance policy, three more than were terminated all of last year.
The T is also analyzing workplace data to identify patterns in unscheduled absences that need to be addressed. For example, unscheduled absences for sick time and under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) declined last year, but the decline was offset by a 60 percent increase in approved accommodation leaves under the American Disability Act.
The T has also analyzed when employees take FMLA absences and discovered a surge in July and August, particularly on Fridays during those two months. The data show transportation operators used a daily average of 100 FMLA days on Fridays in July and 108 on Fridays in August, well above the daily average of 68 the rest of the year.
"I think when you see usage of a leave of FMLA 50 percent higher on Fridays in July and August, it tells you we continue to have patterns here and abuse of the system," Shortsleeve said.
James O'Brien, president of the Boston Carmen's Union, couldn't be reached for an interview but his office issued a statement supporting efforts to decreased unwarranted absences. "We have always agreed that these issues need to be addressed in order to improve service for our riders and we are pleased to see that there has been a significant decrease of FMLA use by Carmen's Union members," he said.
In April 2015, a special MBTA panel appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker highlighted excessive absenteeism as "a prominent example of weak management." Although many of the numbers cited by the panel were later debunked, T management kept the problem in their sights and repeatedly claimed to be making progress.
Shortsleeve, at several briefings during 2016 before the T Fiscal and Management Control Board, cited progress. In June 2016, for example, he said unscheduled absences among transportation operators were down 33 percent through May compared to the year before. In July, Baker held a press conference where he noted absenteeism among transportation operators was down 23 percent through the first six months of the year compared to all of fiscal 2015 (July 2014 through June 2015).
T officials continued to cite progress on absenteeism through the fall of 2016 even though the improving numbers used as a baseline 2015, when records levels of snow brought the transit authority to a standstill and skewed absenteeism rates.
On Thursday, Shortsleeve released numbers for all of 2016 indicating absenteeism remains a problem of roughly the same magnitude as when the Fiscal and Management Control Board assumed oversight of the agency.
Unscheduled absences under FMLA did fall, largely because the number of employees with FMLA certification declined. In September 2015, 45 percent of Carmen's Union employees had FMLA certification; by the end of 2016 that number had fallen to 27 percent. The 27 percent figure is still higher than the overall MBTA number (18 percent) and the number for the state Department of Transportation (7 percent).
Even as FMLA declined, however, there was a surge in unscheduled absences for approved accommodation leaves under the American Disability Act. Janice Brochu, the T's chief human resources officer, said her office is investigating the cause of the increase, and has made no determination about whether the absences are warranted.
But Brochu did agree that the T's efforts to combat absenteeism have been a lot like the whack-a-mole game, where just as soon as one issue is addressed another pops up. "I've actually explained it that way," she said. "When we get control of the ADA situation, I don't think there's anywhere else for these issues to go. It's hard to go elsewhere."
Vincent Reina, director of employee availability at the T, said the MBTA's struggle with unscheduled absences is not unique among the nation's transportation agencies, contradicting one of the conclusions of the governor's special panel on the T. "There is a problem in transit as a whole nationwide with FMLA usage," he said. "It is not unique to the MBTA."
T officials are optimistic that 2017 will bring greater improvement on absenteeism, in part because policies and practices begun in 2016 will be fully implemented in 2017. The T has a new human resources management team in place, headed by Brochu, who was hired in August. A company called WorkPartners is now handling calls from employees who are taking unscheduled absences, easing the burden on supervisors and allowing the agency to gather detailed information about the absence. The T also negotiated an agreement with the Carmen's Union that ended a grievance against the T's absenteeism policies and limited access to overtime in any week in which a worker takes an unscheduled absence.
Bruce Mohl
Editor, CommonWealth
E-mail @BruceMohl
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe's State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe's Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state's pension system. He served as the Globe's political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine's website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
Steve Koczela
President, MassINC Polling Group
E-mail @skoczela
About Steve Koczela
Steve Koczela is the President of The MassINC Polling Group, where he has grown the organization from its infancy to a nationally known and respected polling provider. During the 2014 election cycle, MPG conducted election polling for WBUR, the continuation of a three-year partnership. Koczela again led the endeavor, producing polls which came within one point of the margin in both the Massachusetts gubernatorial and U.S. Senate Elections. He was also lead writer for Poll Vault, WBUR's political reporting section during the 2014 Election Cycle.
He has led survey research programs for the U.S. Department of State in Iraq, in key states for President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, and has conducted surveys and polls on behalf of many private corporations. Koczela brings a deep understanding of the foundations of public opinion and a wide ranging methodological expertise. He earned U.S. Department of State recognition for his leading edge work on sample evaluation in post conflict areas using geospatial systems.
Koczela is frequent guest on WBUR as well as many other news and talk programs in Massachusetts and elsewhere. His polling analysis is often cited in local, state, and national media outlets. He currently serves as President of the New England Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR). Koczela holds a Master's degree in Marketing Research from the University of Wisconsin and is a veteran of the war in Iraq.
Brochu said she believes the absenteeism numbers can be brought down, which would help limit the number of dropped bus trips and reduce the need for overtime. "I really feel as though this can be reduced with active management," she said.
Shortsleeve declined to name a target for the T's absenteeism rate, but said he wanted to see continuous improvement quarter by quarter. "It's important for the organization," he said. "We want to create an environment where attendance is valued."
Tagged in: MBTA
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Keeping track of transportation
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Senate leaders 'getting close' on transportation bill
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T notes: Control board calls for fewer meetings
T $25m behind on contract pledge to union
Straus says TCI is getting in the way


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Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, today passed only one of four controversial proposals that local media groups had criticised as a potential threat to freedom of expression in the country.
The parliament passed draft bill 1317, which "establishes general criteria for determining audiovisual products which can be a threat to national security of Ukraine, particularly those products that praise armed groups of the country-occupant, prohibiting public use of such products and imposing sanctions on economic entities which will ignore such a prohibition", according to the Verkhovna Rada web portal.
According to Media Group Ukraine, which had opposed the legislation, the law prohibits the distribution in Ukraine of films produced in Russia, as well as films that promote the police, armed forces, military or other force authorities of Russian Federation.
The three other bills, which have attracted intense criticism in Ukraine, failed to secure approval.
Ahead of the debate Ukrainian broadcasters had publicly condemned plans by the governing coalition to introduce the bills, which they say would seriously endanger freedom of expression in the country.
Media Group Ukraine CEO Yevgen Lyaschenko published an open letter to president Petro Poroshenko, prime minister Arseniy Yatseniuk, Verkhovna Rada chairman Volodymyr Groisman and others expressing "deep concern" with legislation that he says is contradictory to international law and European standards.
The legislation would give have given the regulator, the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting, wide-ranging powers to suspend channels' licences without a court judgement for reasons that include the presence of foreign citizens among their owners, channels airing content from non-EU countries as well as to exclude from the airwaves anyone who has expressed support for Russia.
"Whatever are the [content of the] bills or wording to cover the intent behind them, we deem it unacceptable that the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine be authorised to temporarily (pending a relevant court ruling) revoke a licence of any TV channel in the country. It is only the court ruling guided by serious and well-proven grounds that might decide on the broadcast suspension. We also deem it impossible for the state authorities to introduce any extrajudicial restraint on media content when such a restraint is based on extremely vague criteria," said Lyashenko in the letter.
Rival broadcaster Inter has published a similar letter by chairman Yegor Benkendorf.
"Under the guise of a ban on anti-Ukrainian propaganda, the draft laws pending their hearing grant unlimited powers and authorities to the governmental regulator of the media sector – the National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting, they effectively introduce censorship over the TV broadcasting, enable the regulator's arbitrary – without obtaining a court ruling – termination of broadcasting of media outlets independent of the government. These bills introduce unjustified restrictions upon TV content and put in place a legislative prohibition on the future operation of a considerable number of TV channels and radio stations co-founded by foreign citizens," Benkendorf said in the letter.
Benkendorf criticized planned measures against foreign ownership as being similar to Russian legislation.
"Peculiarly, the bill talking about a ban for non-residents' equity partly replicates legislation of the Russian Federation so commonly referred to by the same MPs when disparaging the Russian media regulation regime. However, the Ukrainian language of the law is a lot stiffer as it disallows any transitional periods for Ukraine's TV broadcasters and does not distinguish between majority and minority shareholders," he said.
Inter attracted the wrath of National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov in January after broadcasting a New Year concert that featured two Russian performers that had publicly supported pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and were known for their pro-Kremlin views.
This week's letters were published ahead of the planned Verkhovna Rada debate on the legislation on Tuesday, which was then postponed until today.
Inter Group also this week saw a change in its ownership structure with a stake owned by Russia's Channel One reportedly being bought out by GDF Media and Inter Media Group for US$100 million, giving the pair 100% control in a move seen as intended to remove the immediate threat of sanctions under the foreign ownership rules.
The Ukrainian broadcasters' protest comes a week after Russian security operatives raided the offices of ATR, the only channel in Crimea broadcasting in the minority Tatar language, in a move seen as part of a wider crackdown on the Tatar minority in the peninsula, which was annexed by Russia from Ukraine last year.


text:
'Pillowcase bandits' suspected in more than 140 crimes; police returning property to victims
By Jeff McAdam:
BOUNTIFUL, Utah -- It's been more than three months since Bountiful Police arrested three men in connection with a home burglary spree.
Investigators say Joe Hernandez and his two sons, Jeremy and Isaac, are linked to more than 140 home burglaries--all with the same theme. Charges were dropped against a fourth individual, Thomas Dillon Blymiller.
"These three men would break into homes and steal pillowcases off of pillows and then stuff them with valuables," said Sgt.Troy Killian of the Bountiful Police Department.
Killian said homes from multiple cities and counties across Salt Lake have reported similar incidents of pillowcases being used to round up jewelry.
The suspects became known as the, "Pillowcase Bandits," Killian explains.
On Wednesday, Police offered an update and stated that over the course of their three-month investigation, 140 victims had come forward, but since that announcement, Sgt. Killian says their phone has been ringing off the hook with even more alleged victims reporting in.
"We didn't expect this," Sgt. Killian said. "We thought this was all wrapped up, and then the calls just started rolling in. We had at least two dozen calls today."
Anne Marie Jensen said her home was robbed last May, but only this week were police able to confirm items they recovered belonged to her.
"I was so surprised, and thankful," Jensen said.
She said the pillowcase bandits broke in through a window in her laundry room, stole the pillow off her guest-bedroom bed and then filled it with expensive jewelry from around the house. She estimates the loss at about $10,000.
"But most of it wasn't valuable," Jensen said. "It was valuable to us. Our treasures."
Jensen said she had hoped the investigation would turn up her stolen property, and when she got the call earlier in the week she learned police had recovered most of her property.
"I saw tables full of our stuff at the station," she explains. "I was so happy."
Sgt. Killian says they've been reuniting a number of victims with their property. That's the part of the investigation he's thankful to be a part of.
"There have been a lot of tears, a lot of hugs," he said. "When you're able to return something to someone, it's great."


text:
Енгельс () — авіабаза Повітряно-космічних сил Росії поблизу міста Енгельс Саратовської області Росії. Офіційна назва аеродрому — «Енгельс-2» (). Це основна база бомбардувальників і єдине в РФ місце базування стратегічних бомбардувальників Ту-160.

На авіабазі раніше дислокувалися 121-й гвардійський Севастопольський та 184-й важкі бомбардувальні авіаційні полки, які мають на озброєнні стратегічні бомбардувальники Ту-160 та Ту-95МС відповідно. Обидва авіаполки входили до складу .

У 2009 році дивізія переформована в 6950 Гвардійську авіаційну базу (1 розряду).

Станом на 1 грудня 2010 року до складу 6950 авіаційної бази входили:
 управління авіабази (військова частина 06987, авіабаза Енгельс)
 авіаційна група (4 авіаційні ескадрильї) (авіабаза Енгельс) — 16 літаків Ту-160, 18 літаків Ту-95МС
 авіаційна група (3 авіаційні ескадрильї) (Калузька область, авіабаза Шайківка)
 авіаційна комендатура (Новгородська область, )

Із початком російського вторгнення в Україну авіабаза Енегльс стала одним із російських аеродромів, що використовується для нанесення ракетних ударів по території України.

Історія

Енгельс-1

У 1930 році за 1,5 км від міста Енгельса на пустирі почалося будівництво військової школи льотчиків. Близько 10 тисяч людей працювали на будівництві. 16 лютого 1932 року піднявся з аеродрому у повітря перший літак У-2 конструкції Миколи Полікарпова.

Навчання курсантів Енгельської військової авіаційної школи проходило на літаках типу У-2,  та УСБ. До початку Німецько-радянської війни школа випустила кілька тисяч льотчиків. Багато хто з них воював в Іспанії, брали участь у боях на річці Халхин-Голі, а також у радянсько-фінській війні 1939—1940. За участь у бойових діях семи її випускникам було присуджено звання Героя Радянського Союзу.

На початку Німецько-радянської війни на озброєнні школи перебували літаки По-2, СБ, Пе-2 та інші. У воєнні роки Енгельська авіашкола відправила на фронт 14 авіаполків. Серед них були три жіночі авіаполки, які сформувала майор Марина Раскова. 190 випускників школи отримали звання Героя Радянського Союзу.

Після закінчення війни Енгельська військова школа льотчиків була перейменована на училище, яке продовжувало готувати кадри для ВПС Радянського союзу.

До 1951 року польоти відбувалися на поршневих літаках, а пізніше — на реактивних бомбардувальниках Іл-28.

Енгельс-2
На початку 1950-х років почалося будівництво нового аеродрому «Енгельс-2» з бетонною злітно-посадковою смугою довжиною понад 3 км та шириною 100 м, у зв'язку з чим до вересня 1954 року училище з Енгельса було перенесене до міста Тамбов. 15 грудня 1954 року була створена авіаційна частина — 201-та важка бомбардувальна авіаційна дивізія (201тбад). До її складу увійшли 1096-й та 1230-й важкі бомбардувальні авіаційні полки (тбап від ). Комплектування частин з'єднання особовим складом було здійснено за рахунок фахівців частин Далекої авіації, випускників військових училищ і академій. Нова бетонна злітно-посадкова смуга була введена в експлуатацію у 1955 році.

Перший бомбардувальник М-4 конструкції Мясіщєва прибув в Енгельс 28 лютого 1955 року. У травні 1957 року отримано перші модернізовані бомбардувальники 3М.

У 1957 році 10 бомбардувальників М-4 разом з екіпажами та обслуговуючим персоналом були перебазовані на аеродром Українка і склали основу 79тбап у складі 73тбад.

Поступово бомбардувальники М-4 та 3М були переобладнані на літаки-заправники. Дозаправка у повітрі значно збільшувала дальність польоту бомбардувальників, що розширює можливості завдання ударів по об'єктах ймовірного противника. На початку 1970-х років 1230-й важкий бомбардувальний авіаційний полк (1230тбап) був перейменований на 1230-й авіаційний полк літаків-заправників (1230апсз).

12 квітня 1961 року з аеродрому Енгельс вилетів гелікоптер Мі-4, завданням екіпажу якого було знайти і підібрати першого космонавта Юрія Гагаріна.

У 1985 році проведено реконструкцію злітно-посадкової смуги аеродрому.

Бомбардувальники 3М стояли на озброєнні Далекої авіації до 1985 року, після чого були знищені відповідно до Договору про скорочення і обмеження стратегічних наступальних озброєнь між СРСР і США. Переобладнані в заправники 3МС-2 та 3МН-2 перебували на озброєнні значно довше — до кінця 1993 року, після чого їх замінили на новіші Іл-78.

Після розпаду Радянського Союзу 201тбад була перетворена на 22-ю гвардійську Червонопрапорну Донбаську важку бомбардувальну авіаційну дивізію.

На початок 1992 року Далека авіація Росії не мала у своєму складі жодного Ту-160 — усі 19 збудованих ракетоносців базувалися на українській авіабазі Прилуки. У Казані на Казанському авіаційному заводі імені Горбунова в цей момент перебували в процесі будівництва 13 літаків. У лютому-травні 1992 року три були передані до складу 1096тбап, ще два — у 1993 році, а ще один — на початку 1994 року. На цьому передача літаків у війського зупинилася через відсутність фінансування. У 1995-му було вирішено 4 літаки розібрати як так, що мають низький ступінь готовності, а решта три — доробити, але довгий час плани з добудови не реалізовувалися. Із авіабази Прилуки почали переводитися пілоти, технічні фахівці, які раніше обслуговували Ту-160.

1994 року з Білорусі (аеродром Барановичі) до Енгельса було переведено . 2000 року авіаполк перебазувався в Рязань, на аеродром Дягілєво. Після цього полк перейшов у підпорядкування 37-ї повітряної армії ВГК (СН) та отримав назву 203-й окремий гвардійський авіаційний Орловський полк (літаків-заправників).

У 1995 році на аеродромі базувалися літаки 3МД (121тбап), літаки-заправники 3МС-2 (1230апсз), ескадрилья Ту-160, що налічувала 6 літаків (1096гв.тбап). Однак у тому року 1096гв.тбап було розформовано. Його наступником став 121гв.тбап, який отримав усі літаки Ту-160.

Починаючи з 1993 року Росія вела з Україною переговори щодо купівлі стратегічних бомбардувальників, які стали тягарем для економіки України і не вписувалися в оборонну воєнну доктрину України. Такої домовленості було досягнуто лише 1999 року. 20 жовтня 1999 року для приймання 8 літаків Ту-160 і 3 Ту-95 до Прилуки прибула група фахівців 37-ї повітряної армії (37ВА) на чолі із заступником командувача Дальньої авіації генерал-майором Петром Казазаєвим. Інші 11 літаків Ту-160 були знищені українською стороною.

До 1 вересня 2000 року було сформовано 184тбап (з моменту створення входить до складу 22тбад). Цей полк став наступником того 184гв.тбап, який після розвалу СРСР залишився в Україні в Прилуках, оскільки прапор та регалії полку від України не передавалися (незважаючи на те, що український авіаполк уже був розформований), і тому отримав бойовий прапор указом президента Росії 17 жовтня 2005 року. Авіаполк оснащений стратегічними ракетоносцями Ту-95МС.

Сучасний стан

На 2021 рік авіабаза Енгельс — єдина, де базуються стратегічні бомбардувальники Ту-160. Шість літаків було збудовано Росією після розпаду Радянського Союзу, ще вісім було перегнано своїм ходом у листопаді 1999 — січні 2000 року з української бази в Прилуках в рамках погашення боргу України за газ. Ще два бомбардувальники були побудовані та передані ВПС у 2000 та 2008 роках; вони отримали назви «Александр Молодчий» та «Виталий Копылов».

На 2021 рік загальна кількість стратегічних ракетоносців Ту-160, які стоять на озброєнні в Далекій авіації, становить 16 одиниць. Обговорюється питання щодо продовження будівництва літаків.

Кількість стратегічних бомбардувальників Ту-95 складає приблизно 20 одиниць.

На авіабазі підтримується постійна бойова готовність. 17 серпня 2007 року, після заяви Володимира Путіна, стало відомо, що стратегічні бомбардувальники нестимуть постійне бойове чергування у віддалених районах. Однак 27 серпня 2007 року командувач 37-ї повітряної армії  заявив, що літаки Дальньої авіації несуть чергування без ядерної зброї на борту. Крім цього, генерал-майор Андросов повідомив, що маршрути патрулювання не змінилися з 1960—1980-х років — патрулюються північна та північно-західна частини Атлантичного океану, узбережжя Канади, Аляски та Алеутських островів, а також інші стратегічні напрямки.

Регулярно з'являється інформація про випадки супроводження винищувачами НАТО російських бомбардувальників над акваторіями Північного Льодовитого та Атлантичного океанів, а також поблизу узбережжя Аляски. 2007 року винищувачі протиповітряної оборони іноземних держав понад 70 разів вилітали на перехоплення російських бомбардувальників.

За підсумками 2007 року авіабазу відвідало понад 200 представників іноземних ЗМІ та понад 1500 представників російських ЗМІ.

2008 року планові польоти з авіабази Енгельс продовжилися.

29 квітня 2008 року на Казанському авіаційному виробничому промисловому об'єднанні імені С. П. Горбунова відбулася церемонія передачі нового літака на озброєння Військово-повітряних сил Росії. Новий літак отримав ім'я «Виталий Копылов» (на честь колишнього директора КАВО ) та включений до складу 121-го гвардійського тбапу. У 2008 році планувалася модернізація трьох стройових Ту-160.

10 вересня 2008 року два бомбардувальники Ту-160 здійснили переліт з місця базування на аеродром Лібертадор у Венесуелі, використовуючи як аеродром підскоку аеродром Оленегорськ у Мурманській області. На частині шляху територією Росії бомбардувальники-ракетоносці супроводжувалися (з метою прикриття) винищувачами Су-27 Санкт-Петербурзького об'єднання ВПС і ППО, під час польоту над Норвезьким морем російські бомбардувальники супроводжували два винищувачі F-16 ВПС Норвегії, поблизу Ісландії — два винищувачі F-15 ВПС США. Політ від місця проміжної посадки в Оленегорську до Венесуели зайняв 13 годин. На борту літаків не було ядерної зброї, але були учбові ракети, які відпрацювали бойове застосування.

Це перший в історії Росії випадок використання літаками  аеродрому, розташованого на території іноземної держави. У Венесуелі літаки здійснили навчально-тренувальні польоти над нейтральними водами в акваторіях Атлантичного океану та Карибського моря. Обидва бомбардувальники повернулися на авіабазу Енгельс 19 вересня 2008 року.

Командир 6950 авіаційної бази із червня 2011 по травень 2012 — полковник Костюнін Дмитро Леонідович; з травня 2012 — генерал-майор Попов Володимир Олександрович.

У 2012 році розпочалася реконструкція аеродрому. Були реконструйовані такі об'єкти 1-го пускового комплексу:
 нова злітно-посадкова смуга (3500 м довжина х 60 м ширина);
 мережа сполучних руліжних доріжок;
 водно-дренажна мережа;
 очисні споруди зливових стоків;
 встановлення засобів навігації та управління рухом.

Станом на вересень 2015 року побудовано штучну злітно-посадкову смугу № 2 (розмірами 3500×60 м, бетон), мережу з'єднувальних руліжних доріжок, кабельні переходи, радіотехнічне та світлосигнальне обладнання, периметрову огорожу (загальною довжиною 21 км), виконаний монтаж технічних засобів охорони периметра та систем відеоспостереження. Роботи 2 та 3 етапів реконструкції планувалося закінчити у грудні 2015 року.

Із листопада 2015 року екіпажі авіабази беруть участь у інтервенції Росії в Сирію.

У лютому 2016 року нову злітно-почадкову смугу 04П/22Л введено в експлуатацію.

Російсько-українська війна

Із початком російського вторгнення в Україну авіабаза Енегльс стала одним із російських аеродромів, що використовується для нанесення ракетних ударів по території України.

У березні 2022 року, після початку російського вторгнення в Україну, ГУР МО України опублікувала список льотного складу стратегічної авіації Росії, який планувалося перемістити на територію Білорусі для нанесення ракетно-бомбових ударів по українських містах.

13 березня 2022 року російські війська атакували Яворівський військовий полігон із літаків статегічної авіації, що для нанесення ракетного удару були підняті із авіабази Енгельс-2. Вналідок атаки загинуло 35 осіб.

8 жовтня 2022 року, перед масованим ракетним обстрілом України 10 жовтня 2022, із авіабази Енегльс здійснено перебазування семи стратегічних бомбардувальників Ту-160 на аеродром «Оленья» та споряджено їх крилатими ракетами Х-101.

5 грудня 2022 року на авіабазі пролунали вибухи. Імовірно, невідомий безпілотник ушкодив два стратегічних бомбардувальника Ту-95МС. На оприлюднених наступного дня супутникових знімках було видно один Ту-95МС під яким була розлита пожежна піна. Тобто, в бойових умовах було втрачено (пошкоджено або знищено) перший літак цього типу.

Вночі 26 грудня 2022 року на авіабазі пролунали два вибухи. За словами речника Повітряних сил ЗСУ Юрія Ігната, це було наслідком російської збройної агресії. Російське МО заявило про загибель трьох та поранення чотирьох осіб. 29 грудня на аеродромі повторно пролунали вибухи, спрацювала ППО.

Літаки
Станом на 2007 рік на авіабазі розташовувалися:
 14 Ту-160 (121-й гвардійський важкий бомбардувальний авіаційний полк)
 20 Ту-95 (184-й гвардійський важкий бомбардувальний авіаційний полк)
 Невідома кількість Ту-22М-3 (6950 авіаційна база)
 1 Іл-62

Продовжуючи традиції, започатковані у радянській авіації наприкінці 20-х — початку 30-х років XX століття, деяким літакам присвоюються власні імена. Ту-160 називають на честь Героїв Радянського Союзу та людей, безпосередньо пов'язаних з Далекою авіацією, Ту-95МС — на честь міст.

Ту-160

Ту-95МС

Музей Дальньої авіації

На авіабазі Енгельс розташований Музей Далекої авіації. Музей просто неба був відкритий 6 вересня 2000 року. Щорічно його відвідують понад 5000 людей.

В експозиції музею є:
 літаки: Іл-62, 3МС-2, Ан-2, Ан-12, Ан-24, Ту-95, Ту-22, Ту-134, Л-29, Л-39, Ту-22М3;
 крилаті ракети: Х-55, Х-22НА, Х-20М, ;
 авіабомби: ФАБ-9000М, ФАБ-5000М, ФАБ-3000М, ФАБ-1500М, ФАБ-500М, ФАБ-250М, ФАБ-250ТС, САБ-250Т, ОФАБ-250, НОСАБ-100ТК, ДОСАБ-100ТК;
 історично предмети: атрибутика Дальньої авіації Росії, пам'ятні фотографії, уламки рідкісних літаків.

Аварії та катастрофи
22 серпня 1955 року сталася катастрофа бомбардувальника М-4. Відразу після зльоту на висоті 25-40 метрів літак упав на крило і вибухнув, зіткнувшись із землею. Загинули усі 8 членів екіпажу.

26 червня 1956 року відразу після відриву від злітно-посадкової смуги упав на землю бомбардувальник М-4. Загинув екіпаж у складі 6 осіб.

13 травня 1975 року зазнав аварії стратегічний бомбардувальник 3М. На висоті 5000 метрів почалося задимлення літака, після чого стався вибух. Загинули 6 осіб.

8 серпня 1984 року розбився ще один 3М. У режимі набору висоти спалахнув двигун, літак втратив стійкість і зіткнувся із землею. Загинули п'ятеро осіб.

16 травня 1992 року при перельоті до Семипалатинська на висоті 8 100 метрів за 220 км на схід від Саратова над населеним пунктом Октябрський зіткнулися два літаки 3МС-2. 11 осіб загинуло. Загалом екіпаж 2-х літаків складав 14 осіб. Один із заправників розвалився у повітрі, ніхто з членів екіпажу не врятувався. Четверо льотчиків іншого борту катапультувалися. Троє, осіб вижили, у четвертого капітана Олександра Мостового, не спрацювало відділення від крісла. Ці літаки напередодні, 9 травня, брали участь у параді в Москві, де виконали маневр «зміна ведучого та веденого». Саме під час цього маневру 16 травня 1992 року і сталося зіткнення.

18 вересня 2003 року об 11:04 за московським часом стратегічний бомбардувальник Ту-160 «Михаил Громов» з бортовим номером «01» розбився в Совєтському районі Саратовської області, за сорок кілометрів від аеродрому. Літак здійснював плановий обліт після заміни одного із чотирьох двигунів. Катастрофа сталася через пожежу на борту Ту-160 — спалахнув один із двигунів під правим крилом. На борту літака перебували четверо членів екіпажу, які загинули.

Примітки

Див. також
 4-та повітряна армія (СРСР)
 Список військових аеродромів Росії

Посилання

 Авіабаза Енгельс на сайті Globalsecurity.org
 Репортаж из гвардейской тяжелой бомбардировочной авиадивизии
 От «Ильи Муромца» до Ту-160 (история российской Дальней авиации)
 Сайт 121 ТБАП
 Стратегические бомбардировщики России: и Ту-160 и Ту-95

Авіабази ВПС Росії
Енгельс (місто)


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The issue happens when user's device does not have sufficient memory on disk to complete the copy.
I do check for available space prior, however Android OS itself will use virtual memory/page file when low on Ram so # of free MB's is not constant.
I would like to find a way to check if file itself is complete, any way to accomplish this?
Is there anything inherently bad about mixing paradigms in an application?
What is the android drag event priority for overlapping views?