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You Are Here Home Dedicated Server Why I'm ready to ditch my dedicated server and move to the cloud
Why I'm ready to ditch my dedicated server and move to the cloud
Felix - February 10, 2022 at 3:45
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Why would anybody run their very own server in the event that they didn't have to?
Servers are large containers of stuff simply ready to break and make their directors' lives depressing. If I pays a good value to have another person arrange, keep, safe, and assist a web based service for me that eliminates the want for me to personal my personal {hardware} and handle my personal server software program, I'll take that supply each time.
Consumers figured that out way back, which is why the large three of free web-based mail companies, Hotmail and Gmail and Yahoo, collectively have greater than a billion mailboxes in use. Many of these mailboxes are offered by means of ISPs, who have been blissful to get out of the POP and SMTP enterprise.
But companies nonetheless run on e-mail. One recent report from the Radicati Group estimates there are 929 million enterprise mailboxes in use, and most of them are nonetheless operating on in-house servers.
The world's most generally used resolution for enterprise e-mail is Microsoft Exchange, with 51 % of the market and roughly 473 million mailboxes in use, in accordance to that report. Microsoft and its companions have been providing hosted Exchange for years, however greater than 400 million of these Exchange mailboxes are nonetheless related to on-premises Exchange servers.
I've no need to run my personal Exchange server, which is why I used to be thrilled to let someone else do it for me. I've been operating my work-related e-mail on a hosted Exchange account at Intermedia for the previous three years, and I'm about to improve that account to Exchange 2013. I'll be evaluating Intermedia's providing to Office 365, which I've been utilizing for the previous six months or so, in addition to Google Apps for Business. Moving e-mail to the cloud is a large progress alternative for each Microsoft (and its companions) and Google. (Is there anybody in third place?) Other important enterprise companies, like your PBX, are additionally ripe for alternative.
Last month I shut down my final POP mail account. Every mailbox I handle, private and skilled, is operating in the cloud, utilizing both Microsoft or Google software program. I now not have to handle or troubleshoot POP, IMAP, and SMTP servers of my personal.
And after this previous weekend I'm about ready to hand over accountability for another servers as nicely.
Quite a lot of the causes I would like a robust dedicated server have vanished over the previous decade.
I've a dedicated, Linux-based server at a internet hosting firm that I've labored with for years. They're in the strategy of transitioning my server to a brand new vary of IP addresses this week. As a consequence, I've spent the previous few days working in server consoles, modifying DNS information, and manually tweaking obscure Linux configuration recordsdata in order that every thing works the approach it's supposed to. It hasn't been painless. Nothing that includes the phrases DNS propagation ever is.
I solely have to play community engineer just a few instances a yr, and it's often for one thing easy. This degree of mucking about with servers solely comes alongside each few years, fortunately. But it's painful sufficient that I've been taking a look at the options. Can I hand the complete factor over to another person?
As I discussed earlier, I've already eradicated the want to run e-mail servers on these containers. I nonetheless have to arrange accounts and sometimes reset a password, however that's all carried out by means of a dashboard on a service managed by Google, Microsoft, or Intermedia.
My co-authors and I used to use FTP commonly to share recordsdata. These days we use on-line companies. In 2009 and 2010, for 2 editions of Windows 7 Inside Out, we used Dropbox, which was handy and dependable sufficient. For Office 2013 Inside Out, which simply went to the printer, we used SkyDrive, which labored exceptionally nicely. The vary of business-class storage companies is spectacular
Back once I began running a blog, I used Movable Type and then switched to WordPress. These days most of what I publish on-line is right here on ZDNet, the place the servers are maintained by an engineering workers, thank goodness. So my reasonably costly, sometimes high-maintenance dedicated server runs a handful of non-public blogs. WordPress now runs its own hosted service, which appears to be like mighty tempting.
For our books, we created a customized URL-shortening service that enables us to present brief hyperlinks to lengthy URLs. So we will use the hyperlink http://w7io.com/10285 as a substitute of http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc178982.aspx. And if a web site proprietor strikes a web page with out redirecting it, we will change the goal of our brief hyperlink on the fly. (Services like bit.ly received't allow you to do this.) That permits us to keep away from the drawback of hyperlink rot, but it surely additionally means sustaining a legacy app.
I'd love to move my private blogs to a hosted service. In the center of the final decade I managed a pair blogs on Google's Blogger service, however today it seems like a type of uncared for merchandise that's on the verge of being discontinued. (Take Google's announcement of its choice to kill Google Reader, search and substitute with "Blogger," and you've just about acquired a preview of the press launch.) Tumblr and different free platforms are advantageous for those who simply need a spot to dump concepts and photos
For $99 a year I might get each bell and whistle that WordPress.com presents in its Premium plan. Unfortunately, the phrases of service prohibit most forms of advertising and e-commerce, which is a possible roadblock for me as knowledgeable writer. I might most likely work inside these restrictions, although.
In reality, it appears to be like like I might simply move nearly every thing that requires a dedicated server over to a hosted service. I'd love to discover a approach to completely dangle up my community supervisor's hat. Now all I've to do is locate the time to analysis the choices and truly make the move.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-im-ready-to-ditch-my-dedicated-server-and-move-to-the-cloud/
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Alabama Football Recruiting
Mark Fletcher Jr. offered by Florida State
'Noles stay active at American Heritage.
By Josh Pick Aug 27, 2020, 11:32am EDT
Share All sharing options for: Mark Fletcher Jr. offered by Florida State
https://twitter.com/fletcherjr_mark
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Mark Fletcher Jr. is a 6'1 185 pound running back from Fort Lauderdale, FL.
The Class of 2023 prospect attends American Heritage High School and has a 90 rating (4-star) from 247 Sports. They consider him the 83rd best player in his class (7th best RB and 18th best player in Florida).
Fletcher Jr. already has offers from Alabama Crimson Tide, Arizona State Sun Devils, Arkansas Razorbacks, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami-Florida Hurricanes, Minnesota Golden Gophers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, and West Virginia Mountaineers, among others.
Thursday morning, he was offered by Florida State:
Extremely blessed to have Earned an offer from Florida State University #stayhumble #godfirst
— MarkFletcherjr (@fletcherjr_mark) August 27, 2020
Fletcher, Jr. isn't the only American Heritage player to have an outstanding offer from Florida State. The Seminoles have also extended scholarships to two of the top players in the Class of 2022, Marvin Jones, Jr., and Earl Little, Jr., who also happen to be best friends.
Marvin Jones Jr. calls Florida State "dream school"
Earl Little Jr. calls Florida State his "childhood dream school"
Florida State football: OFFICIAL Tribe 21 Recruiting Thread #10

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
A monster calls on Conor just after midnight in the shape of a yew tree looming over his bedroom window. But Conor is not afraid. "I've seen worse," he says. And he has – his waking life is filled with helping care for his mother during another round of cancer treatments, a father who has largely disappeared to be with his new family in America, a gang of bullies at school, and losing faith in his one true friend. Amid all this turmoil, it is almost a relief to be visited by the yew tree at night. Or at least it's a nice change of pace from the monster in his other nightmare – the one that truly frightens him.
The idea for this book came from a Young Adult author named Siobhan Dowd, who unfortunately passed away from breast cancer in 2007. (I am not familiar with Dowd's work, but will certainly be looking it up now.) Patrick Ness was called in to shape the idea into book form, along with illustrator Jim Kay, and the result is something special. The language is simple but haunting, and Conor's pain and uncertainty show in stark and heartrending ways. The illustrations are dark, textured, and expressive, and add immeasurably to the overall atmosphere of the book. Simply put, this is a beautiful volume in terms of story, prose, and presentation.
Posted by Recidivist Reader on October 25, 2011 in Book Reviews, Must Read, Recommendations, Young Adult / Teen
Tags: a monster calls, book review, cancer, jim kay, monsters, must read, nightmares, patrick ness, siobhan dowd, young adult
Guest Review: The Long Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke
Today we are excited to be joined by our first guest reviewer, fellow bookseller-in-exile Jamie Yates. Not only does Jamie run his own review blog, Chicago Ex-Patriate, he is also associate editor and contributor to the newly-launched Instafiction.org, which features a new short story each weekday. Plus, he's fun to be around.
If you are a bookseller (past or present) or book blogger who would like to contribute a guest review, please contact us!
Le.Review: The Long Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke (published April 2011)
by Jamie Yates
In my career as a bookseller, I had a tendency to disdain memoirs. Let me make a distinction—I'm not lumping biographies into this category, but rather clarifying a much needed division between the two. I generally enjoy biographies, even though supposedly "journalistic" accounts are sometimes revisionist histories, but that's another topic altogether. Memoirs, however, are sometimes unabashedly biased or skewed towards an almost pornographic/voyeuristic look into private lives. Are you a long forgotten 1980s/1990s television co-star with a former co-dependency? Are you a non-famous person who endured unspeakable personal atrocities? If so, then your chances of selling a memoir to a publishing house are probably pretty high. I'm not trying to sound cold or unfeeling towards these sub-genres, but after awhile, there are only so many (likely ghostwritten) accounts that one can handle. The troubling subjects are explored with the stated goal of continuing the healing process, or reaching out to others with the same afflictions. Noble, yes, but after awhile, readers can become desensitized when so many similar titles have been released.
However, in my last days of corporate book selling, I excitedly came across a galley of The Long Goodbye, a memoir by poet/critic Meghan O'Rourke, a former editor with The New Yorker and The Paris Review, and a current contributor to Slate magazine. My admiration for her writing stems back to 2010. When everyone in the literary community (myself included) was eagerly reading Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, O'Rourke wrote a stunning essay exploring the role of female authors in the goal of writing "The Great American Novel." She wondered whether Freedom would have been as highly received had it been written by a woman, and almost immediately after, she was the recipient of several critiques herself, as well as a briefly altered Wikipedia page ("Despite her Yale education and privileged life, she believes she is at a great disadvantage as a writer because she is a not a (yawn) white male"). These attacks were utterly unfounded, and that single example of her writing hooked me. Her arguments were precise, but not attacking; rather, the overall atmosphere was that of someone seeking an honest, open discussion about an aspect of the literary community that needed to be out in the open. Plus, while I'm still a huge fan of Mr. Franzen, I agreed with her statements, and was bewildered that people would take her words as personal attacks. I made immediate mental notes to read more of her bibliography. While my hope was to catch up on her poetry, I found myself beginning to read more of her work with The Long Goodbye, an account of her mother's cancer and imminent death, and their many personal implications.
Posted by Booksellers Without Borders on July 12, 2011 in Book Reviews, Guest Reviews, Memoir / Biography
Tags: book review, cancer, chicago ex-patriate, freedom by jonathan franzen, grieving, guest review, instafiction.org, jamie yates, meghan o'rourke, memoir, non-fiction, poetry, slate magazine, the long goodbye, the new yorker, the paris review


Pages tagged "media press releases"
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.— Today, environmental champions brought a new perspective to the climate conversation during Green For All (GFA) and Sierra Club Environmental Justice campaign's Climate Justice Now: Community Forum.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the White House will release the third National Climate Assessment (NCA), a federal analysis that documents the damage climate change is causing to communities and businesses across the country as well as ways to mitigate or adapt to it. The assessment is expected to guide President Obama's environmental agenda.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— This Earth Day, Green For All's new Executive Director Nikki Silvestri is revealing strategies that will help communities of color thrive in the face of climate change, strengthening their ability to leap forward economically and environmentally.
OAKLAND, Calif. – As President Obama prepares to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, green leaders call on the president to take further steps toward achieving his commitment to smart climate response strategies that simultaneously address America's growing economic divide through creating opportunities for all.
OAKLAND – Today, Green For All released a new music video, "Ima Push" by Pocono, Pennsylvania-based hip-hop artist Gallo. The song is about resilience, and the video is dedicated to the survivors of recent disasters like the tornadoes in Oklahoma, storms in the Midwest, Superstorm Sandy, and wildfires in California and Colorado. "Ima Push" is the winner of Green For All's 2013 Dream Reborn Song Competition.
OAKLAND, CA – As we mark the 50th Anniversary of National Small Business Week, Green For All is celebrating the gains of small green businesses—especially those owned by historically underrepresented Americans.
Gardena, Calif., May 3, 2013 – Today, Green For All and University of Phoenix's Los Angeles Green Business Academy (#LAGreenBizAcademy) brought skilled business professionals and green entrepreneurs together to help Los Angeles-area small businesses thrive.
Oakland, CA – Today, Green For All and American Rivers released a new report, titled Staying Green and Growing Jobs: Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance as Career Pathway Stepping Stones.
OAKLAND, Calif. – To fulfill President Obama's inaugural address call to combat climate change by transitioning to technology that will power new jobs and new industries, Green For All will continue its thriving partnerships to host the 2013 Business Mentoring and Coaching Program for Green Entrepreneurs.


My wonderful husband made this beautiful display unit for my jewelry at the Artists' Undertaking Gallery in Occoquan, VA. My contribution was the design and paining.
I'm going to get the lighting adjusted to better highlight my work; but in the meantime I think it shows off my work nicely.
The amethyst is extremely beautiful and is believed to protect against evil spirits. It extends from a pale lilac to a deep, bright violet colour and is said to bring good luck. This stone has healing properties and is effective for conditions connected to withdrawal symptoms of any addiction. It is found in Brazil, Uruguay and Zambia.
Aquamarine occurs in different shades of blue ranging from pale yellowish blue to deep shades of blue. It signifies compassion, trust, harmony and friendship. It is successful for throat complications and illnesses brought on by stress. It is located in Brazil, Nigeria and Zambia.
Diamond is the most valuable and most expensive gemstone. It is extremely scarce and brilliant. It is effective for brain disorders and to draw out toxins. Diamonds represent true love, passion and commitment. It is found in Australia, Ghana and Zaire.
Emerald is green and represents loyalty, faith, love and friendship. It is effective for disorders linked to the eyes, fertility, the spine and headaches. It is also used to boost mental capabilities. Emeralds are found in Colombia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Brazil.
A pearl symbolizes beauty, happiness, love and wealth. It is used to boost personal integrity and also for health complications in connection with the stomach, heart, spleen, intestines and also ulcer complications. It is the only gemstone created as a result of the biological activities of living organisms. Some places where pearls can be found are the Gulf or Mexico, Europe, Japan and Australia.
The ruby is well-known for its brilliant red colour which signifies blood, love, romance and passion. It is effective for health problems linked to the blood and infection. It is also used to boost energy and bring about success. The ruby can be found in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Kenya and India.
The peridot signifies power and influence. In olden days it was taken internally for asthma. It is effective for health problems relating to the lungs, breasts and sinuses. Peridots can be found in the United States, China and Burma.
Sapphires are accessible in a variety colours. They symbolize clear thinking and wisdom. They can be found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya and Tanzania among other countries.
Opal is available in nearly every shade, from milky white to dark black. It imparts hope and harmony. It is effective for eye complications and can be found in Australia, Mexico and the United States.
Topaz are available in shades of brown and yellow. It is considered to bring long life and fidelity and represents beauty, splendor and happiness. It is effective for asthma, blood diseases and sanity. Topaz is found in countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and China.
Turquoise is clear blue and is really expensive. It is said to bring good health, fortune and peace. It is successful for throat, teeth and depression problems. Turquoise can be found in countries such as Iran, United Sates and Africa.
On May 1st I became this month's featured artist of the international Metal Clay Yahoo Group which has over 6,000 members. I am truly humbled to be honored in this way by the wonderful artists of this group.


If you obtain non-AAA roadside assistance without first requesting service from AAA, your reimbursement will be up to the contract rate paid to AAA service providers for similar services.
Go to the AAA.com website, click on Contact AAA in the top right corner of any page. Click on Roadside Assistance Reimbursement Form under Download A Reimbursement Form. You can also call to request a copy of the form at 800.222.6424 or pick up a copy at a nearby branch. To find a branch near you, click here.
Complete the form and mail it with the original paid receipt to AAA. Receipt must be fully paid in the member's name receiving service.
Requests for reimbursement must be submitted to AAA within 60 days of the date the service was provided.


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Q: How to personalize a switch checkbox in Bootstrap 5 I try to change a switch checkbox in Bootstrap 5.2

<!DOCTYPE html>

    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.2.2/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" integrity="sha384-Zenh87qX5JnK2Jl0vWa8Ck2rdkQ2Bzep5IDxbcnCeuOxjzrPF/et3URy9Bv1WTRi" crossorigin="anonymous">

    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
    <title>switch</title>

        <input class="form-check-input" type="checkbox" role="switch" id="flexSwitchCheckDefault">
        Default switch checkbox input

The most difficult thing is to change the circle inside.

A: The circle inside is an SVG so to change it I need to use a new SVG
This is a basic switch checkbox Bootstrap code:

        <input class="form-check-input" type="checkbox" role="switch" id="flexSwitchCheckDefault">
        Default switch checkbox input

I downloaded an image to the local repository

And I replaced a circle inside a switch checkbox with CSS:
I changed url of a background image
.form-switch .form-check-input {
  background-image: url(/ball-147676_640.png);
  background-color: yellow;
}

.form-switch .form-check-input:checked {
  background-image: url(/ball-147676_640.png);
  background-color: red;
  border-color: red;
}

.form-switch .form-check-input:focus {
  background-image: url(/ball-147676_640.png);
  box-shadow: 0 0 4px 4px red;
  border-color: red;
}

so switch checkbox now is like this:

focused:

and active:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Improved cookstoves: An untapped market in DRC's Kisangani
Orbagen improved stove production company in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo CIFOR/Axel Fassio
In sub-Saharan Africa, where access to electricity is limited for millions of people, firewood and charcoal are the main sources of energy for cooking. Together they account for three-quarters of total energy demand.
In response, in some countries, a wide range of private-sector initiatives have emerged, offering alternatives that are both efficient and environmentally friendly. In Kenya and Uganda, for example, improved cookstoves are widely available, but in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) options remain extremely limited, even though 90 percent of households use wood fuel – one of the highest rates on the continent.
In Kisangani, the third-largest city in the DRC, only 16 percent of households use an improved cookstove, according to a recent report published by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), in partnership with the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), the Congolese Organization of Ecologists and Friends of Nature (OCEAN). The remaining households use traditional, simple brazier-type cookstoves, which are not very sustainable.
The city's residents consume more than 2.7 million cubic meters of wood fuel a year, according to the report. Eight out of 10 households use mostly charcoal (or "makala," as it is locally known) for cooking, making it the most widely used fuel in terms of number of users.
Charcoal is sold at 452 Congolese francs (USD 0.23) a kilogram, making it a significant expenditure for households. Energy for cooking accounts for about 14 percent of the average monthly budget.
As a result, 76 percent of households reported that they would be interested in purchasing an improved cookstove, with a locally produced clay-and-metal model, enabling them to use 36 percent less charcoal than with a traditional stove. "This represents significant savings, making it a very attractive option," said the study's lead author, Gerard Imani.
Orbagen improved stove company in Kisangani, Democratic Republic in Congo. CIFOR/Axel Fassio
Training manufacturers to increase supply
To convert consumer interest into purchases, affordable and high quality improved cookstoves must be commercially available in Kisangani, according to Elisha Moore-Delate, co-author of the study. One of the big obstacles is poor performance. "Users mention flaws such as fragility, heaviness, small size and difficult handling," she says. According to the report, of the 15 manufacturers specialized in making such equipment in Kisangani, only four produce quality improved cookstoves. In total, only 450 quality improved cookstoves are produced each month in Kisangani, but most of them are not energy efficient.
To increase production capacity and the cookstove supply in Kisangani, the project "Technologies, Renewable Energy, Academy" (TERA), which is coordinated by UNDP and UNCDF, plans to support training for cook stove makers on design, improvement of heat transfer, safety, ease of use and quality control. "We have to increase the lifespan of the improved cookstoves and make them easier to use," said Imami.
Toward a sustainable wood fuel value chain
Support for a comprehensive strategy is needed if improved cookstoves are to have a significant impact on reducing charcoal use, according to CIFOR research associate Jolien Schure: "This means making environmentally friendly charcoal available and seeing to it that producers have established sustainable management options."
Through the European Union-funded project "Governance of multifunctional landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa," CIFOR is working in the production areas around Kisangani to increase charcoal-making efficiency and reduce wood harvesting. It is also supporting tree planting to ensure a sustainable supply of wood resources.
"Ultimately, a combination of these measures is needed to meet the city's energy demand without jeopardizing the surrounding forests," Schure said.
This research was supported by the European Union.
Lynn Miller, Former Deputy General Counsel at Tesla, Joins Executive Team of Autonomous Trucking Technology Company Plus
MetLife to Originate $500 Million in Social and Environmental Impact Investments By 2030


Form wills simplify do-it-yourself will drafting. A good form will, prepared or approved by your state bar association, eliminates the need to research probate procedures and will requirements in your jurisdiction. Statutory wills -- state-approved form wills included in state probate statutes -- are best. Large or complicated estates may require legal assistance, but form wills serve well for many simple estates. Consider that the simple will an attorney prepares is likely a form-will template adjusted to your particular situation.
Read your form will. It contains three parts, a section identifying the testator, a section incorporating bequests and appointments, and a signature section for executing the will. Fill in the opening blanks by identifying yourself using your full name, date of birth and current place of residence. The residence address determines the appropriate probate court, as wills enter probate in the county in which the testator resided. The introductory will language affirms that you meet the requirements to draw a last testament in your state, including age and mental competence. Check jurisdictional age restrictions if you are under 18 years old.
Determine who you want to inherit property at your death. Consider your blood relations, your friends, anyone financially dependent upon you and any associations you support. States generally impose few restrictions on heirs. Fill in the inheritance information in the bequest section of the form will. Name your children in this section, devising each at least a nominal amount to prevent an inquiry into whether you forgot a child, which may entitle that child to a statutory share. If you make individual bequests of specific property, describe it accurately and unambiguously.
Consider your minor children. If your spouse survives you, she usually becomes the caretaker, but name a guardian just in case. Select a trusted friend and check with him before you execute the will to ascertain his willingness to serve. Name a separate financial guardian -- a bank or trust company, for example -- to care for your children's assets until they reach majority. Fill in this section of the will with complete identifying information, including phone numbers. Do the same with the will section appointing an executor -- the person who administers the will through probate.
Sign your will. An improperly executed will is a void will, so take this requirement seriously. Most states require a testator's signature in a form will to be witnessed by at least two adults. Choose witnesses who are neither heirs under your will nor named in the document in any other capacity. Advise the witnesses that the document is your last will and testament. It is not necessary that you describe your bequests nor that the witnesses read the document. Sign it in their presence; they sign in the witness blanks beneath. Notarization cannot take the place of witnesses.
Store your will in a safe place. Some jurisdictions permit testators to file sealed wills with the court. They remain private and revocable during your lifetime. Alternatively, give the original to your attorney or executor for safekeeping, or use your own safety deposit box. Rewrite your will after a marriage, divorce or birth of a child. Some states invalidate a will made before a marriage or divorce, and most give later-born children a statutory share of the estate.


Norwegian actor Jakob Oftebro hung out alone in some of Copenhagen's roughest bars to develop his menacing character for The Bridge, the Swedish-Danish police series, he has told Aftenposten.
Oftebro plays Mads, the menacing leader of the gang of environmental activists who are the most obvious suspected villains in the third series, the first episode of which was watched by 2.6 million people across Scandinavia at the end of last month.
"I listened to heavy, aggressive music, watched violent movies and hung out alone in pretty tough bars in Copenhagen," he told Aftenposten. "I sought out conflict and aggression. But without going so far as to fight."
Oftebro, who has featured in some of Norway's biggest recent films, such as Kon-Tiki, Max Manus and Victoria, was last year voted Norway's sexiest man by Elle Norway magazine.
He has now moved to Copenhagen where he is simultaneously filming for two major Danish feature films.


Two exercises about the Eiffel Tower (Passive and Reporting verbs). I've uploaded the ppt version with the keys to use it on the board.
This downloadable printable is a great resource for high school students and adults at Pre-intermediate (A2) level. It is a useful material for practising Passive voice or active voice in English, and was designed for improving your students' Reading skills.


Cologne/Hamburg, January 14, 2019 Optimise-it, the live chat expert from Hamburg, and the ARAG Group are jointly expanding digital customer service for Germany's largest family-owned insurance company. In the future, ARAG will focus on a combination of live chat, messenger and high value customer support. Customers will thus have an additional opportunity to contact ARAG quickly and easily in the event of a claim or need for advice.
The technically flexible "Realperson® Chat Suite" from Optimise-it is used. The communication platform is individually tailored to the highly complex requirements and corporate design of major brands through integration with CRM and other third-party systems. Conversations between customers and companies are optimized for a better user experience and effective staff deployment. In addition, it is possible to integrate, manage and optimize media such as images and videos as well as chatbots and voice technologies into the flexible platform. By using the "Talent & Technology" principle, response times to customer inquiries can be shortened and a consistently high-quality customer experience can be created.
"The optimise-it solution convinced us with its flexibility and modularity as well as with its comprehensive set of key figures and the implementation of the highest data protection requirements," says Dr. Ina Nadja Baumann, Senior Vice President Central IT-Steering at ARAG. "We offer our customers an effective and up-to-date opportunity to get in touch with us and can guarantee them fast response times. We are pleased to be able to strengthen our service offering in the long term".
Customers have been able to use the new live chat system on arag.de since the end of November.
The ARAG Group is the largest family-owned company in the German insurance industry and one of the world's three leading providers of legal insurance. For more than 80 years now, the ARAG Group has been successful and over 50 years also internationally. Today, the company is active in 17 countries - including the USA and Canada.
optimise-it GmbH is one of the leading providers of live chat and messaging services in Europe and has been part of the Ströer Dialog Group since July 2018. The core of the digital communication concepts are sales- and service-independent SaaS products as well as tailored industry solutions for bot and messenger integration, video chat, co-browsing, screen sharing and mobile messaging.
The Realperson® Chat Suite enables companies to maintain a direct relationship with their customers across all customer journey touchpoints, increasing conversion rates and customer satisfaction while reducing costs. Leading industry leaders such as AIDA Cruises, ERGO Direkt Versicherungen, BASF, s.Oliver, Eurowings and VERIVOX rely on the chat services of the Hamburg-based company.
The Ströer Dialog Group is part of the Ströer Group and a specialist in dialogue and direct marketing. With its brands, the Ströer Dialog Group is active in the areas of multi-channel and telemarketing as well as sales-oriented field sales and develops integrated complete solutions for its customers along the marketing and sales value chain.
DisclaimerThis press release contains "forward looking statements" regarding Ströer SE & Co. KGaA ("Ströer") or the Ströer Group, including opinions, estimates and projections regarding Ströer's or the Ströer Group's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management and future operations. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Ströer or the Ströer Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on numerous assumptions which may or may not prove to be correct. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Ströer with respect to the fairness, completeness, correctness, reasonableness or accuracy of any information and opinions contained herein. The information in this press release is subject to change without notice, it may be incomplete or condensed, and it may not contain all material information concerning Ströer or the Ströer Group. Ströer undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or other information stated herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


Published 04/19/2019 06:46:33 pm at 04/19/2019 06:46:33 pm in Removing Mold From Wall.
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text:
Q: Only assignment, call, increment, decrement, and new object expressions can be used as a statement : Messagebox This what i am trying to achieved
  if( this.BeginInvoke((Action)(
        () => MessageBox.Show("Test",
                              MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.No)))

The above gives error. I try seperating the delegate to an outside method like
delegate void test(string text);
private void SetTest(string text)
{
 if(MessageBox.Show(text,"", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.No)

}

But it breach the very reason why i need the delegate. I found out the first works for me but i don't know how to put it in an if/else statement. Pls any help in a better way i can achieve some thing like below would be appreciated.
  if(this.BeginInvoke((Action)(
      () => MessageBox.Show("Test",
                            MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.No)))

A: It seems like you need an Invoke() method, not BeginInvoke():
var messageBoxResult = (DialogResult)Invoke(new Func<DialogResult>(
    () => MessageBox.Show("Test", "Test", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo)));
if(messageBoxResult == DialogResult.No)
{
}

BeginInvoke executes delegate asynchronously, meaning that the result is not immediately available on the thread which calls BeginInvoke.

A: Another variation....man this is ugly:
if ((bool)this.Invoke((Func<bool>)delegate
  {
  return MessageBox.Show("Test Message",
                         "Test Title",
                         MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.No;
  }))
{
    Console.WriteLine("No was indeed selected.");
}

This should work on any version of C#:
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    System.Threading.Thread T = new System.Threading.Thread(Foo);
    T.Start();
}

delegate bool SetTestDelegate(string text);
private bool SetTest(string text)
{
    return (MessageBox.Show(text, "", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.No);
}

private void Foo()
{
    if ((bool)this.Invoke(new SetTestDelegate(SetTest), new object[] {"test"}))
    {
        Console.WriteLine("No was indeed selected.");
    }
}

EDIT: You could refactor that code into something more useful...
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    System.Threading.Thread T = new System.Threading.Thread(Foo);
    T.Start();
}

private void Foo()
{
    if (Response("test") == System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.No)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("No was indeed selected.");
    }
}

delegate DialogResult ResponseDelegate(string text);
private DialogResult Response(string text)
{
    if (this.InvokeRequired)
    {
        return (DialogResult)this.Invoke(new ResponseDelegate(Response), new object[] { "test" });
    }
    else
    {
        return MessageBox.Show(text, "", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo);
    }
}

A: Why not make your (and your fellow coders) life easier, and do something like:
var user_said_no = this.BeginInvoke((Action)(
   () => MessageBox.Show("Test", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.No));

And then have:
if (user_said_no)
   cancel_nuclear_attack() ; // Or whichever things you need to do.


Christie®, a leader in creating and delivering the world's best visual and audio experiences, is delivering leading-edge cinema solutions for the best movie-viewing experience at CineAsia 2017, taking place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, December 12-14.
The prestigious event, which brings together professionals from across the film industry, including cinema owners, suppliers, film buyers and distributors, is the only Pan-Asian convention dedicated to the cinema exhibition and distribution communities in the region. At booth #B201, Christie is presenting a broad lineup of its latest offerings, including the introduction of its new direct-coupled RGB pure laser projector using our latest CineLife™ image processing technology, as well as innovative audio and lobby solutions that offer the best and the most complete cinematic experience to movie-goers.
The main highlight is the official launch of the Christie CP4325-RGB pure laser cinema projector, which delivers a premium movie-going experience to mainstream theatres. Featuring CineLife™ electronics and RealLaser™ illumination, this compact, all-in-one DCI-compliant projector excels in image quality and operational lifetime, while providing a low cost of ownership.
Boasting a much higher efficiency than RGB lasers used in current cinemas, the CP4325-RGB does not require sub-ambient cooling (i.e., no 'chillers' required) and has a compact form factor, all-in-one design. Providing superior color, higher contrast, a future-proof design and low maintenance, it offers the most authentic and immersive cinema experience for the mainstream market and is an ideal replacement product for exhibitors wishing to upgrade existing installations, as well as for new-build cinemas and retrofits.
Visitors can partake in live demonstrations of the CP4325-RGB in a custom-built internal theater at the booth, and experience how Christie's fully integrated RealLaser illumination technology can accurately and efficiently produce light for mainstream cinema applications, which outperforms any cinema projector in its class with far superior image quality, over 20,000 lumens and more than three times the contrast ratio of existing systems.
Christie's new CineLife™ Series 3 cinema electronics will be showcased at the booth with a static display of a Christie CP2308 digital cinema projector – the first cinema solution equipped with this new platform. Featuring a streamlined UX-designed interface that simplifies the playback, scheduling and management of cinema content, Christie CineLife is manufactured, designed and integrated into Christie's range of DCI-compliant projectors.
When equipped with the optional Christie IMB-S3, Christie CineLife offers a tightly integrated Screen Management System (SMS), enabling seamless content and booth management with its built-in automation controller. CineLife electronics-equipped projectors also have an expansion card slot to support various add-on cards while providing a future-proofed solution.
Another highlight at the booth is Christie Vive Audio, the world's first audio system featuring Christie's advanced wall and ceiling surround speakers, which are powered by unique, ribbon-driver technology in a parabolic line array design, purposely built for the cinema environment. Products showcased include the LS1 line source loudspeakers, LS2S surround speakers and S218 subwoofer, which are set up for audio demonstrations that complement the stunning visuals projected by the new CP4325-RGB pure laser projector.
The Christie Vive Audio system provides a hyper-accurate audio experience and unlocks the full dynamic range of the DCI digital cinema audio and supports leading formats such as Dolby® Atmos™, 7.1 and 5.1 surround sound. Featuring planar ribbon driver technology with its low distortion and superior transient response characteristics, the LS Series screen channels at the booth are single-enclosure designs ideal for most 5.1 and 7.1 distributed sound applications. Christie Vive Audio system continues to establish its reputation worldwide as the next standard in immersive sound for cinema.
Guests can also check out the inventive "Christie Corridor" – a full-sized immersive cinema passageway similar to those found in contemporary theater complexes. Designed to enhance customers' pre-show experience, it comprises large extended screens displaying an array of cinema-related contents using three Christie Captiva DHD400S ultra short throw projectors, Christie Pandoras Box media players and the new Christie Terra SDVoE technology solution. This is the first time that the Christie Terra – which represents an all-new AV solution enabling the transport, processing and control of audiovisual content, including 4K@60Hz video formats, over 10G Ethernet networks – is showcased at CineAsia.


Fresh produce exporters in Spain have been unable to find an alternative market with the same level of demand as Russia since the latter blocked fruit and vegetable imports from the EU in August 2014, according to José Maria Posancos, general director of Spanish trade association Fepex.
Speaking in an interview with Sputnik News, Posancos indicated that research into new potential markets like Brazil and Canada had resulted in some success, but nothing to fully replace the approximately 600,000 tonnes of fresh produce previously shipped to Russia.
"The impact was very serious and the consequences are still observed because Russia is the natural market for Spanish fruit and vegetable production," he commented.
According to data from the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX), the sanctions affected an estimated €188m in fruit exports from Spain to Russia during the first year of the blockade, while figures from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture reportedly put losses to date in the Spanish citrus indusrty at around €340m.
Sputnik also cited separate data from the Russian embassy in Spain which indicated losses of €700m to the Mediterranean country's stonefruit, citrus and tomato sectors.


text:
Q: Julia: calling Array() with an array of dimensions Suppose I want to create a multidimensional array whose dimensions / size per dimension are specified in an array. I want to do something like this:
dims = [2,5,6] # random example, the idea is I don't know dims ahead of time
arr = Array(Float64, dims)

That is not allowed. In the above case one should use:
arr = Array(Float64, dims[1], dims[2], dims[3] )

I don't know the length of dims ahead of time, so the above solution doesn't work for me.
Is there a clean workaround outside of using some nasty sprintfs and eval?
Thanks!

A: A really useful operator to remember in Julia is the "splat", .... In this case you simply want:
arr = Array(Float64, dims...)


text:
Stefan Mitrović (Servisch: Стефан Митровић) (Belgrado, 22 mei 1990) is een Servische voetballer, die centraal in de verdediging speelt. In 2018 verruilde hij KAA Gent voor de Franse eersteklasser RC Strasbourg. Mitrović debuteerde in 2014 in het Servisch voetbalelftal.

Clubcarrière
In zijn jeugdjaren speelde Mitrović bij FK Rad. Hij startte zijn officiële carrière bij het Slowaakse FC Petrzalka, in de Corgoň Liga. Hij debuteerde op zijn negentiende en speelde dat seizoen acht duels, voornamelijk als middenvelder.

Na een jaar Slowakije vertrok Mitrović richting de Tsjechische competitie, de Gambrinus liga, waar hij uitkwam voor FC Brno. Hij speelde acht duels voor de club, waarmee hij als vijftiende eindigde en degradeerde. Mitrović ging terug naar zijn thuisland. Hij speelde in 2011-2012 bij FC Metalac, waar hij 21 keer in de ploeg stond. De ploeg eindigde als laatste in de Superliga. Daarna tekende Mitrović voor drie seizoenen bij KV Kortrijk. Hij maakte zijn debuut voor de Belgische club op 4 augustus 2012. Hij verving Brecht Dejaegere in de 81ste minuut tegen Cercle Brugge. Mitrović speelde voor de eerste keer vanaf de aftrap op 25 augustus tegen Waasland-Beveren. Hij maakte zijn eerste doelpunt voor de club, maar kreeg ook rood in die wedstrijd. Na één seizoen bij Kortrijk, maakte hij tijdens de zomer van 2013 de overstap naar SL Benfica. Dat verhuurde hem in het seizoen 2013/14 aan Real Valladolid. Na afloop van dat seizoen werd hij verkocht aan het Duitse SC Freiburg. Het seizoen 2014/15 eindigde voor Freiburg met degradatie en het bestuur van de club kwam met Mitrović overeen dat hij mocht vertrekken.

Kort daarop werd bekend dat Belgisch landskampioen KAA Gent Mitrović gedurende het seizoen 2015/16 van Freiburg zou huren met aankoopoptie. Bij Gent werd Mitrović herenigd met coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck, met wie hij al samenwerkte tijdens zijn periode bij Kortrijk. De verdediger debuteerde bij Gent op 12 september 2015 met een invalbeurt in de competitiewedstrijd Zulte Waregem - Gent (eindstand 1-1). Vier dagen later stond hij in de basis in de Champions League-wedstrijd Gent - Lyon (eindstand 1-1). Mitrović bleef de rest van het seizoen een vaste basisspeler. In maart 2016 werd de aankoopoptie door Gent gelicht. De transfersom bedroeg 1,5 miljoen euro.

Ook in het seizoen 2016/17 en 2017/18 bleef hij een belangrijke basisspeler bij de Buffalo's. In januari 2018 sprong een transfer naar de Franse eersteklasser Saint-Étienne (voor een bedrag van 3,7 miljoen euro) af omwille van een probleem met zijn enkel. Toen dat probleem werd vastgesteld tijdens zijn medische testen, veranderde Saint-Étienne de contractvoorwaarden, maar Mitrović kon zich daarin niet vinden en de transfer ging niet door. Omdat zijn enkelproblemen bleven aanhouden, onderging hij eind februari 2018 een kijkoperatie. Daaruit bleek dat een nieuwe operatie noodzakelijk was, waardoor hij naar verwachting vier tot zes maanden out zou zijn en dus de rest van het seizoen zou missen.

Na afloop van het seizoen 2017/18 tekende hij een contract voor vier seizoenen bij de Franse eersteklasser RC Strasbourg. Tijdens zijn eerste seizoen bij Strasbourg won hij de Coupe de la Ligue.

Statistieken

Bijgewerkt t.e.m. 31 maart 2019.

Interlandcarrière
Onder leiding van bondscoach Ljubinko Drulović maakte Mitrović zijn debuut voor de nationale ploeg van Servië op 31 mei 2014 in de vriendschappelijke wedstrijd tegen Panama (1-1). Hij speelde de volledige wedstrijd mee.

EK-kwalificatie 2016
Op 14 oktober 2014 was Mitrović het middelpunt van een internationale voetbalrel, toen Servië en Albanië elkaar troffen in Belgrado. Het betrof een politiek erg beladen duel vanwege de spanningen over Kosovo. Deze voormalige Servische provincie is door de Albanese meerderheid van de bevolking in 2008 eenzijdig uitgeroepen tot onafhankelijke republiek, die daarna door veel landen is erkend. Servië beschouwt deze prille Balkanstaat nog altijd als een autonome provincie. Ondanks deze spanningen had de UEFA besloten om Albanië en Servië niet uit elkaar te houden bij de loting. Supporters uit Albanië werden vanwege de explosieve situatie op voorhand geweerd bij het duel.

De wedstrijd werd in minuut 41 van de eerste helft, bij de stand 0-0, stilgelegd nadat een drone het stadion van FK Partizan was binnengevlogen met een omstreden Albanese vlag eraan. De Engelse scheidsrechter Martin Atkinson legde het duel stil toen Mitrović de vlag uit de lucht plukte. Mitrović' ingreep leidde tot schermutselingen tussen spelers. Supporters bestormden het veld en belaagden de Albanese internationals, die werden bekogeld met voorwerpen en daarop naar de kleedkamer vluchtten.

De tuchtcommissie van de Europese voetbalbond kende Servië een reglementaire zege (3-0) toe omdat Albanië had geweigerd het duel te hervatten. Servië kreeg echter ook drie punten aftrek als straf voor de rellen, en het moest de komende twee thuisduels in de EK-kwalificatie zonder publiek spelen. De voetbalbonden van Servië en Albanië kregen beide tevens een boete van 100.000 euro. Beide voetbalbonden gingen in beroep tegen de uitspraak, waarop de 0-3 zege werd toegekend aan Albanië, maar de boetes, de drie strafpunten voor Servië en de twee wedstrijden zonder publiek bleven behouden.

Uiteindelijk eindigde Servië op de vierde plaats in zijn groep en was daardoor niet gekwalificeerd voor het EK 2016.

Bijgewerkt t/m 15 november 2016.

Palmares

Zie ook
 Lijst van spelers van KAA Gent

Servisch voetballer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Custom manufacturer of electric overhead cranes, gantry cranes, semi-gantry cranes, coil carts and below the hook lifting devices. Cranes are customed manufactured, designed and engineered to meet specific material handling requirements for each application. Crane components are made on the latest high-tech CNC, milling, horizontal boring and lathe equipment.
In addition to the custom manufacturing, Zenar part's department has the capabilities to remanufacture older and out of stock parts and reproduce parts for overhead cranes. The service department is experienced and certified to perform crane installations, startups, inspections, field surveys, and troubleshoot crane-related problems.


text:
Transformers Helicopter Week: Armada Cyclonus with Crumplezone by Hasbro
Back when the Armada toyline was first coming out, I was positively apeshit for Transformers. I was literally going out two or three times a week to look for the new toys. I was particularly keen on getting Thrust and Cyclonus and after a couple of weeks of fruitless hunting, I finally broke down and bought them on Ebay. That very next day I ducked into a Walgreens for some cold medicine and there they were hanging on the pegs. Not a Target, Walmart, Kmart or Toys R Us withing 50 miles had them, but Walgreens did! I bought them anyway and wound up keeping the others in the package to hang on the wall. Ok, story time is over, let's look at the figure.
The real point of telling my little story was to explain why I actually have an in-package shot of this older figure. I really liked the Armada cards. The horizontal orientation was pretty cool, the package had the ingenius gimmick of using a collector card to customize the package artwork. The instructions were balled up under the figure and the back panel showed off the toy in both forms and the other figures available in that wave. The only thing I didn't like about these packages was the tri-lingual text.
Cyclonus' vehicular mode is an attack chopper and his Minicon, Crumplezone, is a tank. Cyclonus is a bit too chunky to be based on a real helicopter, but I still love this mode. There's a ton of sculpted detail all throughout the figure and the color scheme works really well. With giant guns underneath and wing mounted missile launchers, he's pretty well armed too. The chopper mode also has a cool action feature with a trigger placed under the tail boom that spins the rotors when you pull it. The front of the chopper looks a little stubby, but we can fix that by flipping up the cockpit and plugging his Minicon into the front to form a much better looking extended cockpit.
Naturally, all the Minicons could combine with the bigger robots in vehicle mode, but Cyclonus is one of the few Armada figures that had such a cool and beneficial union like this, which actually enhanced his alt form.
Transforming Cyclonus is pretty easy and obvious, but I like the results. In fact, the only thing I don't like about this figure is his oompa-loompa face. The head sculpt, like a lot of Armada Decepticon figures, is kind of strange and the orange paint doesn't help. Still, Cyclonus' robot form is very unique and works well. You can choose to leave his rotors on his back or, as I prefer, you can plug them onto his arm as a weapon. He has Minicon ports on each of his arms, which fire his missiles when activated. And speaking of his Minicon, Crumplezone transforms into a cool little robot too.
Cyclonus' articulation is pretty decent for an Armada figure, although it is pretty lacking by contemporary standards. His head can only bob up and down, which is part of his transformation. The arms rotate at the shoulders and have hinged elbows. You can get a little lateral movement at the shoulders too. The legs will rotate back a bit and bend back at the knees, but both of these points of articulation are part of his transformation. Ah, but this look at Armada Cyclonus wouldn't be complete without taking a peek at the two repaints of the toy.
First, he was repainted as Powerlinx Cyclonus with a green paint job. Were they going for a Springer homage here? Maybe. It looks mighty nice, though, and Hasbro even gave him a wash over the paint that really enhances the appearance in my eyes. Cyclonus was again available as a KayBee Toys Exclusive with a black and grey camo deco, which was also a pretty cool look for the figure. Naturally, both figures got repaints of the Minicon, Crumplezone, as well. Too bad all of these Cyclonus repaints shared the same orange Oompa Loompa face.
But Hasbro still wasn't done with the mold, as they re-released it yet again, this time with a bit of retooling, as Buzzsaw in the Cybertron lineup. Buzzsaw featured a new cockpit and worked with a Cyberkey instead of a Minicon. He also had a crazy yellow, white and purple paint job. Buzzsaw also got a brand new headsculpt, which was a big improvement over Cyclonus' mug.
Like many Armada toys, Cyclonus goes for a more toyish and less realistic approach. Some newer fans who are used to the likes of Classicsand the Bayformers may not take to it all that well, but I still love these guys. Cyclonus is a really well designed and very fun figure. I think the Powerlinx version remains my favorite of the re-decos, but they're all still pretty cool.
By figurefanzero • Tagged armada, hasbro, minicons, transformers
Transformers Helicopter Week Begins: The Hunt for the Decepticons: Tomahawk by Hasbro
Yes, folks, not only am I taking a look at the new(ish) HftD Deluxe figure, Tomahawk, but I'm using the occasion to kick off helicopter week. Let's face it, helicopters are cool, and when they turn into gi-normous robots, well, that's just like smothering them with an extra heaping of awesome sauce. So all week, I'll be featuring Transformers that get their kicks beating their rotors and spewing death from above. -FF
Lately, I've been buying up a hell of a lot of Animated and Generations figures, but today I'm going to throw a bit of loving behind The Hunt for the Decepticons line with the new Autobot attack helicopter, Tomahawk. I'm a big helicopter buff, so Transformers that turn into helicopters usually get extra points from me, but they still need to work well in their robot forms, which I don't think is as easy to do as a car or a jet or a tank. So I always have a lot of appreciation for the figures that can get it right.
Yep, we've seen this packaging before. It's not my favorite deco, but it's cool. I'm used to it now. But I think Hasbro can cram a few more stickers on the bubble schilling their websites. I mean, I can still see the figure.
I loooove Tomahawk's attack chopper mode. Between the black coloring and the heavy armaments, he looks almost too vicious to be an Autobot, which makes me wonder whether we'll see Tomahawk repainted as a 'Con one of these days. So, how about them armaments? He's got two firing rocket launchers mounted on his wing, along with two clusters of bombs and miniguns mounted on the tips. There's also a small sensor package under the cockpit that pivots from side to side. Yeah, I usually imagine Autobot choppers as rescue helicopters, but this guy is out to seriously slag some Decepticons. The cockpit screen is tinted yellow, and he's got some gold and gray in the mix, along with silver Autobot emblems on his wings. Tomahawk holds together really well and features folding landing gear and spinning rotor blades. This is one seriously awesome helicopter mode with a heck of a lot of detail for a Deluxe Class toy.
Tomahawk's chopper mode is so good, naturally his robot mode has got to suck big time, right? Not this time. Tomahawk has a nice, clean humanoid robot form with the cockpit forming his chest, similar to the design often used with jet Transformers, and the intakes forming his shoulders. The blades and wings position nicely on his back with his miniguns and bombs facing forward for added firepower. You actually have some leeway with how you want to position these wings. His missile launchers are removed from the wings and attached to hardpoints on his arms, using the same type of clips seen on Generations Darkmount. Overall, he still looks very much like a Decepticon in robot form, although his head sculpt definitely says Autobot to me. It's just rather reminsicent of a flight helmet with a visor. Aesthetically, Tomahawk is one of those figures that feels like a hybrid between the Bayformers and the Generations, but why try to pigeon hole the guy when he looks so awesome!
The articulation on thsi figure is fantastic. Tomahawk has a ball jointed neck. His arms feature ball joints in the shoulders and hinges with swivels in the elbows. His legs are ball jointed in the hips and feature two sets of hinged knees, giving him those bird-like legs that appear in many of the Bayformer toy designs. He stands very well on his own and you can pose him in a lot of cool ways.
For me, the HftD figures have been the least interesting Transformers toys on the pegs right now, but Tomahawk has definitely made me sit up and take a second look at this line. He's an outstanding figure in just about every way and he's loads of fun to play with. Don't hesitate to pick him up when you find him, and you won't be disappointed.
By figurefanzero • Tagged hasbro, hunt for the decepticons, transformers
Transformers Animated: Rodimus Minor by Hasbro
Transformers Animated is all but dead in the US now, but Hasbro is still tossing collectors a few bones by way of some Toys R Us Exclusives. So far, the retailer has brought us Cybertronian Ratchet and Ironhide, Arcee and now Rodimus Minor. Primus knows, I'm not the biggest Rodimus fan around, but I usually like the figures and homages to the character so when this figure turned up on the TRU website, I decided to grab him, rather than regret not getting him and having to go after him on Ebay later like I'll probably be doing with Arcee.
Rodimus comes on the standard Animated style card. He's packaged in his vehicular mode and he has his bow-weapon mounted next to him on the card. The only thing separating the packaging from the wide release figures is an "Only At TRU" sticker on the bubble. The back panel shows off photos of the toy in both modes and has a short bio blurb. I haven't seen any of the episodes of the show with Rodimus in it, so I'll just have to take the biography at its word.
Roddy's vehicle mode is a futuristic (Cybertronian?) speedster. Or a Hot Rod, perhaps? The design and color scheme is very reminiscent of past incarnations of the character. The body is mostly a deep crimson with gold flames on the hood and a gold, exaggerated spoiler on the back. He's got a grey exposed engine poking through the hood and grey exhaust pipes flanking the rear quarter panels on each side. The wraparound windshield is translucent blue and looks really nice. I just have a couple of quibbles here, one pertaining to the design and one the quality. The big vacant hole in the back of the car irks me a bit. It feels like something should go in there, like Classics Rodimus' weapon did, but nope. That's not the case here. The other issue are the scratches on my figure's hood. I haven't had the best of luck with QC on my Animated figures and Rodimus here is yet another unfortunate example of that. There's some faded areas in the glittery paint that makes up his flames and there's some scratching and rubbing on the plastic. It's not terrible, but if I hadn't removed this figure from a sealed package, I would swear that it had been played with. None of this shows up all that well in the photos, but take my word for it, it's there.
Transforming Rodimus is fairly simple, although there are a few steps that require a bit of precision. I found getting him back into vehicle mode a lot more difficult, particularly when trying to get the arms and hands positioned just right so that the car would lock together. There's some nifty stuff here, like the way his lower legs snap are ever so slightly hinged to straighten out in robot mode. Or the way the engine flips to reveal his Autobot symbol… that's just brilliant.
In robot mode, Roddy is a perfect super-stylized homage to his G1 self, from the spoiler angled up behind his head, right down to the exhaust pipes on the backs of his arms. In addition to his base crimson plastic, he shows off some lighter orange parts in his legs and arms, which fits the original toy very well. Even from the back he's very clean looking. It seems like there should be a way to store his bow on his back, but I haven't been able to figure it out. Either I'm missing something or it's just a huge missed opportunity in the design.
I really dig the head sculpt too, I think it's among the better ones featured in this line and the light piping gimmick looks great. It even looks like he's got irises in there. It's just beautiful!
Roddy's articulation includes a ball jointed neck, arms with ball joints in the shoulders, elbows with a hinge and ball joint and ball jointed wrists; and legs with ball joints in the hips, hinged elbows and ball jointed ankles. His joints are nice and tight and you can get him into a lot of cool poses.
Rodimus includes a double-barreled bow type weapon, which he can hold in either hand and fires off two missiles. It looks cool, but sadly it doesn't store anywhere in his vehicle mode, and while it's hard to complain about getting a cool weapon, extra parts are something I'm not really down with when it comes to Transformers.
Besides being an exclusive, TRU jacked the price on Rodimus Minor, bringing him up to $14.99, as opposed to the rest of the Animated Deluxe figures, which retailed closer to $10. I will concede that he is more complex a figure than most of the other Animated Deluxes that I own, and when you factor in the bigger weapon, I suppose you are getting something a little extra for the extra money. I would definitely recommend him to TFA collectors, or even anyone who is just a fan of Rodimus. He ranks up there as one of my absolute favorites in this line.
By figurefanzero • Tagged hasbro, transformers animated
Doctor Who: Regenerating Weeping Angel by Character Options
I was going to take a pass on this figure, but when the Dalek Strategist came out, I wanted to order at least one more figure to make the cost of shipping worthwhile. I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of the Weeping Angels. Maybe it's because they were introduced in one of those lame Doctor-Lite stories. Either way, I'll give credit where credit is due, The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone were pretty enjoyable episodes, albeit with an ultimately anti-climactic story.
Anyway… the Angels have been released in figure form before, but this time we get them all beaten up and regenerating as they absorb the radiation from the engines of the crashed starcruiser, Byzantium. I'm told this figure comes in two variants, one with a calm head, and the one we're going to look at today, which has a screaming head. I think swappable heads would have been nice, especially since we've had to choke down a lot of mediocre figures in Series 5 this year. But I digress…
Yep, it's the same packaging we saw last time with the Dalek Strategist. I don't have much to add here.
If you like your figures to look like statues, Series 5 was a good year for you. We got a stone Dalek, a stone Roman Auton and now one of these guys. Steven Moffat seems to have some kind of masonry fetish when it comes to Doctor Who adversaries. The only difference is that the Angel is sculpted to be made out of stone from the get-go, whereas the Dalek and the Roman were just repaints with some texture added. The detailing here is very nice and the overall effect of weathering and cracking and general wear comes across strong. Still, the face is my favorite part of the sculpt, mainly because it's downright scary and captures the countenance of its screen counterpart perfectly.
The Angel has pretty good articulation, although the molded skirt does inhibit quite a bit of its leg movement. At least you can still make use of the hinged knees and swivels in the ankles. The arms rotate at the shoulders, have swivels in the biceps and wrists, and hinged elbows. The head also rotates. I was surprised to see that the wings can flap a little bit too and can also be removed completely, if you want to depict your Angel in a further state of decay.
I think CO did a pretty nice job on this figure and it's probably worth your money even if you have one of the original Angel figures. It's an impressive sculpt and I'm glad I picked this one up, even though I had my doubts beforehand. Of course, if you have a real Weeping Angel fetish, you can also pick up the Looping Angel, which is supposed to be the one projected out of the security vid that tried to possess Amy. I'm told that one is available in two variants as well. Happy hunting… just don't blink!
Tags: character options, doctor who, series 5, weeping angels
By figurefanzero • Tagged character options, doctor who
Doctor Who: Dalek Strategist by Character Options
Folks, I really didn't expect to get anything posted today. Black Friday was a bitch and I just got off working a ten hour shift this morning at 7am. I slept for a few hours, ate some pizza, and now I'm just trying to stay up a little longer before getting myself back to sleep, hopefully for the night, so I can get up and do it all over again tomorrow at 6am… yeah. Nonetheless, the postman dropped off this Doctor Who figure today and since it's only a recolor of a figure I've already reviewed (twice now), I just thought I'd throw it out there.
So, slowly but surely CO is shelling out the New Paradigm Daleks in figure form. The red Drone Dalek has been available on a single carded release or as part of the Underhenge figure set, and now the blue Strategist has found its way to the pegs in a single carded version. Right now the yellow (Eternal) and the orange (Scientist) Daleks have also been available as limited exclusives, although word is that CO will be making all of the new Daleks available as single carded releases in the near future.
The Dalek Strategist comes in the Series 5 packaging. Again, I like the card and while mint-on-card collectors may bemoan CO's dropping of the clamshell format, frankly I love the fact that I can now get at my figure without needing a blowtorch. The back panel shows this wave of figures, which is I guess what we would call a revision rather than a full wave. We've seen all of these figures before, with the exception of the Looping Angel, which is just the same mold recast in translucent plastic and Professor Bracewell with his hand painted to be wearing a glove like he was seen for a few seconds in The Pandorica Opens. Seriously, CO? No Rory, no Liz Ten and no River Song, but you had to rerelease a new version of Bracewell by painting one of his hands? Alrighty then…
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love this mold. I'm still not convinced that I want this design to be the Daleks used from now on in the show, but it sure makes for a great action figure. Once again, the paint used for this figure is amazing. It's high gloss with very little slop or bleed and it looks absolutely fantastic when flanked by my two Drone Daleks. I still don't like the organic eyeball at the end of the stalk, though, it just seems silly.
The articulation remains the same. You have three ball joints: One for the weapon, one for the sucker, and one for the eyestalk. He also rolls around on three wheels.
And, yeah, that's all I really have to say about this guy. If you own the mold in one of the other colors, you know exactly what to expect here. He looks great and he's tons of fun. E-tailers seem to be selling him for an average of $14.99, give or take a buck, which is not too bad seeing as it's an import and considering how much some of the first wave of Series 5 figures retailed for. So, go get him!
By figurefanzero • Tagged character options, daleks, doctor who
Transformers Generations: Red Alert by Hasbro
Happy Turkey Day, everybody. I'm off spending Thanksgiving with family but I wanted to drop in with an update before heading off to the festivities. I grappled with the idea of posting some long winded and sappy prose about all the things I'm thankful for, and believe me there's a lot, but then I realized I'm always thankful for a new Transformer, so here's a look at the Autobot's Security Chief from the Generations line. -FF.
You may have noticed that when I did my Transformers Classics week I left out the Lambor Brothers, better known as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. While this exclusion had a lot to do with me running out of time, it was also influenced by the fact that I knew I had a new figure based on this mold coming my way. Back in the day, Red Alert was a repaint of Sideswipe, so it's only natural he gets the same treatment now.
Red Alert comes packaged in his vehicle mode on the standard Generations style card. While Red Alert's gun stores under his vehicle mode, Hasbro chose to mount it in the bubble beside the vehicle. You can also see that Red Alert has the clear windshields from the Sunstreaker mold, rather than the painted windshields from Sideswipe. I know some folks don't like to see their robot's kibble through clear windshields, but I prefer this style to Sideswipe's painted windshield. The back of the card has the usual biographic blurb, which is cool since it comes pretty close to admitting that Red Alert is paranoid and borderline crazy, which is always what I remembered about the character the most.
Hasbro did a fine job on Red Alert's repaint. He's sculpted in white with a red deco on his underside and clear plastic headlights. The only real structural difference with the toy is the added lightbar on the roof. Yep, he's still got the removable engine component that both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have. I really dig the Fire Rescue lettering on the doors and the hood deco is fantastic too. It's not a perfect recreation of the original toy, but the inspiration is definitely there and I like it. Red Alert's also got a new license plate that reads 05 Alert. As already mentioned, the windshield and windows are now clear and I love the way the Autobot insignia shows through from the top of the dash.
In robot mode, Red Alert's new deco still looks awesome. The limbs are now red and grey and the red inserts on his thighs look really nice. The head sculpt is exactly the same as Sideswipe's, which is accurate to the original toy. I'm going to be a real nitpicker and say that I would have preferred if Hasbro went ahead and colored his helmet red like the cartoon version of the character, but the black still looks nice. The only real downside here is that Red Alert's engine piece won't clip on his back in robot mode because of his lightbar.
Red Alert's articulation is excellent. His head is ball jointed. His arms have ball joints on the shoulders, double hinged elbows and swivels in the biceps and wrists. His legs are ball jointed at the hips and ankles and hinged at the elbows. Like the Lambor brother's he's a fun action figure to play around with when he's in bot form.
The only reason I can see to not pick up Red Alert is if you really are dead set against repaints or just don't have any fondness or nostalgia for the character. Red wasn't exactly one of my favorite Autobots in the G1 continuity, but he became fairly prominant in the cartoon and I still have fond memories of owning the original figure as a kid. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's based on one of the better molds in the Universe 2.0lineup, and that's saying quite a lot. As Generations continues the heritage of updated figures for G1 characters, Red Alert here is a homerun.
By figurefanzero • Tagged hasbro, transformers, transformers generations
Transformers Animated: Grimlock by Hasbro
Ok, so yesterday I figured out that Animated Shockwave wasn't exactly awesome, today let's give it a go with another Animated Voyager Class figure I picked up on clearance at Marshall's last week. It's everyone's favorite Dinobot, Grimlock. Yes, he is your favorite… don't lie to me!!! Apart from giving him the show's super stylized treatment, Grimlock's design doesn't change all that much from G1 to the Animated series, and I'm happy to say Hasbro managed to clearly convey that through this figure's simple, but elegant design.
Grimlock comes packaged in his T-Rex mode in the typical Animated Voyager Class box. I don't have much new to add about the packaging, but I will say that I'm glad that they made him a Voyager. If there's one thing that Classics Grimlock proved to me is that he doesn't work well as a Deluxe Class toy. He should be large, hulking, and bigger, or at least as big, as Optimus Prime.
The T-Rex mode is the spitting image of the new Animated style. It's very angular in the body and features some contours in the legs. I really like the strong mechanical look to his giant hinged jaw, which features that massive under-bite that makes him look like he's related to a backhoe.There's also a lot of play value in this mode. There's a button on the back of his neck that gives him chomping action, and his legs have a satisfying amount of articulation, including two hinged "knees," hinged toes, a swivel above the ankle and universal movement in the "shoulders." He can balance pretty well too. The only downside about this mode is that his belly has a hollow look to it, but unless you're turning him over, you probably won't see this much.
The coloring here is damn nice too. Grimlock gets by with a lot of gray plastic, mixed with some maroon and gold accents. The gold paint has a great metallic finish to it. He also features a silver Autobot insignia on his upper left leg and he has bright blue eyes.
Transforming Grimlock should feel like Deja Vous to anyone who has owned or still owns the original G1 toy. He's a very easy figure to convert and the resulting robot mode is both pleasing and familiar. I particularly like the way the legs pack together to form heels and the tips of the tail tab in to the sides of his legs. The production photos I'd seen of the the toy made him look really squat, but in hand he is far better proportioned and he really doesn't suffer from Lugnut's tiny legs syndrome as I had feared he would.
The head sculpt is pretty awesome, and I love how he retains that heavy mechanical jaw look even on his robot head, as it gives him a ton of personality. He also sports some mighty impressive light piping in his blue visor. The colors in robot mode are pretty close to his dinosaur mode, only with a little more of that lovely gold paint on display. His chest features a sculpted transparent plate with some cool circuitry patterns sculpted in behind it and a silver Autobot emblem centered proudly on his chest.
Grimlock's articulation in robot mode is decent enough, and look… he can do the hurt RoboCop pose! I love that! His arms are exactly the same here as his legs are in T-Rex mode, so all of that articulation carries forward. His legs feature ball joints in the hips and hinges in the ankles, and his head is also ball jointed.
Grimlock comes with a huge flaming sword with a play feature of its own. If you put it in his hand and turn the hand, spring-loaded flames will pop out of the edges. I didn't say it was a great play feature. Truth be told, it's not all that noticeable, but the sword still looks great. It's got a molten lava motif going on and features some very pretty translucent orange plastic.
If you read my look at Classics Grimlock from last week, you may remember I had issues with the way Hasbro over complicated his transformation. It was like they were intentionally trying to just be different. Animated Grimlock takes the wiser and simpler route and maintains almost the same conversion process as the G1 toy, with just a few added tweaks and bobs. What we got is a toy that is surprisingly more faithful and ultimately a lot of fun. Granted, this toy is riding on a fondness for the Animated design, but if you count yourself among the fans, than this guy should satisfy. It's quite simply a beautiful rendering of that quirky Animated style in plastic form.
*This Feature was Updated with new Photos on 6/11/15.
By figurefanzero • Tagged dinobots, hasbro, transformers animated
Transformers Animated: Shockwave by Hasbro
Thanks to some great deals at Ross and Marshalls, I'm continuing to delve into the Transformers Animated figures. I picked up two new Voyagers this week so today we're going to take a look at Shockwave. I haven't finished muscling my way through watching the TFAseries. I'm almost done with Season 2, but I still haven't met Shockwave yet. I'm guessing he's got a Sideways/Punch-Counterpunch vibe going on what with him being a faction-changing spy, but I don't really need to know anything about this incarnation of the character to check out the toy.
Shockwave comes in the typical TFA Voyager box. And hey, Hasbro finally got the rights to the name Shockwave back. Yay, no more Shockblasts! Overall, I enjoy the style of this packaging. It's bright and eyecatching, and I suppose if you were really careful, you could preserve it and return the figure to the box for display. I am growing weary of the angled edges on the Transformers boxes. It just makes them more of a pain to open and it can't be good for collectors who like to keep the package in good shape. Anyway, Shockwave comes packaged in his tank mode and the front of the box exclaims "4 Modes!" and oh, that can't be good, can it? It almost never is. The back of the package shows off the toy in it's various alt modes and has some info about the character. Oh yeah, notice the package declares Shockwave is a Level 3 Advanced Conversion. Really, Hasbro? I think not.
Ok, so Shockwave does indeed have four modes. The good news is that the two robot modes and two vehicle modes are just slight variations on each other, so we aren't dealing with a figure that totally sucks because of the multi-changer gimmick. On the other hand, apart from the heads, the differences between the Autobot and Decepticon robot forms is pretty arbitrary, so without consulting the box or the instructions, it's hard to know what to do for each mode. Personally, I plan on forgetting the Autobot mode exists, but we'll look at it here for the purpose of the review.
But before we get to that, let's start out with the mode that Shockwave is packaged in… the tank! The tank mode is ok, but it's pretty obvious that it's just the robot lying face down with some adjustments made to his arms and legs. I am a little surprised at how well everything pegs together and he does hold this mode pretty well. It's sort of reminiscent of Armada Megatron/Galvatron, only not nearly as cool or fun. I do like the design of the cannon, though, and the nice Decepticon insignia on the barrel.
Converting him to his crane mode is ridiculously easy. You just bend the treads to make stubby little legs and fold the cannon barrel into the crane. That's it. It's about on par with some of the hidden fan modes people come up with for regular figures. It's also not a very fun or exciting mode because the boom doesn't extend very far and the hook doesn't raise or lower.
Moving on to the bot modes… We'll start with the Autobot. First off, the faction emblem on his chest is supposed to flip between the Autobot and Decepticon emblems. It is so hard to do this, I needed to push it with a screwdriver with all my might just to get it to change once. I am not changing it again for this review, so just imagine him with an Autobot insignia, mm'kay? I don't think there are a lot of surprises in this mode. Again, it's vaguely reminscent of Armada Megatron/Galvatron. His articulation is decent and his cannon/crane stores on his back.
Converting him from Autobot to Decepticon is simple. Flipping his head is the most clever thing about this conversion. You can make his Con head have white eyes, but I prefer to leave it black and make him a cyclops like his G1 namesake. You flip the panels on his shoulder, you turn his lower legs around, and you flip his claws out. Oh yeah, don't forget to change his faction insignia… good luck. This robot form is basically the same with just a few tweaks. Again, he can wear his cannon on his back or he can hold it as a huge weapon.
In case you haven't guessed I'm really not all that impressed with this figure. He doesn't have the complexity that I've come to expect from a Voyager Class, even with all four of his modes. He's not terrible, I don't hate him, but if I hadn't found him on sale he would have been an easy pass for me. He doesn't do the character justice at all and just falls flat. He's definitely not worth hunting down, but if you're a big collector of the Animated figures and you can find him on clearance, I suppose you could do worse.
Transformers Generations: War For Cybertron Soundwave by Hasbro
If you aren't a Transformers fan and you still managed to muscle through the last week here, I'm afraid I don't have any good news for you. While I'm going to specify another theme for this week, it's still going to be mostly about Transformers. I've still got a few on my shelf that I need to get to and through the course of this week I'm going to have a whole bunch more rolling in. I'll try to break things up midweek with something different, but I won't make any promises. -FF
So, I got sick and tired of waiting for Soundwave to show up on the pegs so I broke down and ordered him online. I seriously had a nightmare that I missed him at retail and the only way he could be had was on Ebay for $50. No joke. These are the things I have angst about. I actually got him quite a few days ago, but every time I sit down to start writing up a post on him I wind up staring slackjawed in wonder at what an amazingly gorgeous figure he is. And just when I think I can't love him any more, I stand him up next to Universe 2.0 Ravage or some of the Seekers or Galvatron and Cyclonus, and I just fall in love all over again. If you don't feel like reading a lot of sappy gushing over a little piece of plastic, you can quit now, because that's all you're going to get here today.
Awww yeah, War For Cybetron Soundwave even makes the mediocre Generations card look awesome. Amazingly, this is one of the few times I've ordered a carded Transformer from Walmart's website and it didn't arrive with the card all beat to hell. He comes packaged in robot mode, so you can see him in all his Soundwave glory. If ever I was going to buy an extra Transformer to keep carded, this would be that figure. The reverse panel shows off photos of the toy in both forms and has a little blurb about the character, but he's Soundwave, what more do you need to know about him?
Even though he comes in robot form, I'm going to start with Soundwave's vehicle mode. Yep, if you haven't played War For Cybertron yet, you may be surprised to see that Soundwave now transforms into a vehicle even though his robot form is pretty close to the original G1 version. I don't know what you would compare his vehicle form to on Earth, because it sort of looks like an angular blob on wheels. I guess it's like a little van, but with huge ramming teeth on the front and weapons mounted on the sides. The "tape door" has been reworked into his front windscreen, which can be opened and used to store his two weapons. And yep, they still look like a pair of batteries. The alt mode works beautifully. It's more fun than a tape deck and it sure beats that stupid Cybertron "tower" mode shown in the More than Meets the Eye miniseries.
Moving on to Soundwave's robot mode. Ahhh. Let me take a minute. Mmmm. Oh yeah. That's good robot. He's so damn amazing. The headsculpt is pure G1 Soundwave. It looks great, although I'm puzzled as to why Hasbro dropped a lightpiping plug into his head when his visor is painted. That's ok, though. His angular shoulders are dead sexy and his chest opens up just like old Soundwave. His blue and grey deco is exactly what you would expect, although I love the only added gold is around his tape door as if to really rub our faces into the fanwank "tape door." Simply awesome. As with the original G1 toy, you can plug one of his guns into his shoulder and the other can be held in either hand.
Soundwave is a solid figure with excellent articulation. His head is ball jointed. His arms are ball jointed at the shoulders, swivels in the biceps and wrists and hinged elbows. His legs are ball jointed at the hips, hinged at the knees and ball jointed again at the ankles. He stands great and he's tons of fun to play around with and pose.
Ok, I do have one criticism to lay on Soundwave's door. Hasbro should have found some way to incorporate Universe 2.0 Ravage into his design. I guess he's too small for that, but that's ok, Ravage still looks great standing next to him. I suppose I could have asked that he be a bigger figure, but then I love having all of my Classic themed Transformers figures in one size, and Deluxe just works fine. Soundwave here just reminds me that it's such a sweet time to be a Transformers fan and collector. And with awesome forthcoming figures like Kup, Wreck Gar and Scourge and Laser Rod Optimus, we've got some great months ahead of us, that is until the new movie line comes along and… well… you know.
By figurefanzero • Tagged hasbro, soundwave, transformers, transformers generations, war for cybertron
GI JOE 25th Anniversary Collection: Sgt. Airborne and Croc Master by Hasbro
What do these two figures have in common? They were two of the last figures I needed from this collection and I found them both on clearance at Marshall's last week. Seriously, if you haven't been to your local Marshall's lately, it's been transformed (HA!) into a wonderland of clearanced GI Joe and Transformers toys from yesteryear. I could go on and on, but today we're just here to talk about the two I picked up on this particular visit.
The recent Star Wars Vintage Collection is all well and good, but oh God, these 25th Anni. cardbacks are awesome. I love the artwork, I love the smaller bubbles, and even the back of the card is similar to the way things used to be, complete with vintage style filecards. I can't tell you how close this line brought me to starting a second mint-on-card collection just to decorate my wall. I really had to utilize every fiber of my resistence to not do it. Anyway, I tore these bastards open as soon as I got home.
Sgt. Airborne is a really nice update from the vintage figure, although that's based a lot on my fuzzy nostalgia because It's been a really long time since I owned the vintage one. I do remember him being among my top tiers of Joes to draw from when I was playing with them, and he often took the back seat in my SkyStriker. I can't say a lot about his character from the cartoon. All I really remember about him was he had some wacked out brother who got kidnapped by Cobra so they could turn his ESP into some kind of crazy super-weapon. Wow, do I need to watch some of those episodes again.
Airborne's sculpt is a home run and he's got plenty of added gear to enhance the figure even further. His vest is removable, as are his belt and leg straps, and his helmet. His backpack is also a separate piece and pegs into his back. I actually had to do some shaving on the peg to get it to fit in. His sculpted gear include a combat knife and a grenade on the vest and he's got a working holster sculpted on his hip for his pistol. He comes with a personalized figure stand, an assault rifle with bayonet, and an automatic pistol.
And then there's The Croc Master, also a brilliant figure. In his case, I never owned the vintage one and I only vaguely remember him from the comic. I don't recall him ever being in the cartoon. Still, you need only look at his file card to see his impressive pedigree. As founder of Gator Guard Inc. he wanted to sell alligators to people for use as home security. Wait, what? Is he Croc Master or Gator Master? Either way, it's obviously that kind of thinking that Cobra values. Interestingly enough, I already owned a variant of this sculpt as it was reused for the Viper that was packed in with the Mole Pod in the Rise of Cobra line.
The sculpt here is pretty nice. He's got textured reptile skin making up his vest, boots and holster. The mask is cool and has a hose that comes out of the mouth and runs to an oxygen tank on his back. The holster holds his grey revolver and he also comes with a whip, because apparently he whips his gators? Or crocodiles? It's all very confusing. He also comes with a personalized figure stand.
The croc figure is awesome. Instead of being just a hunk of plastic, he actually has a hinged jaw so you can have him clamp down on your Joes. The paint apps on him are also surprisingly well done and he's got a spiked collar and leash, which can be removed. Hasbro easily could have half-assed this piece, but instead it got some pretty good loving.
Both Airborne and Croc Master have the same level of articulation. They have ball joints in the neck. The arms have ball jointed shoulders and elbows and swivel wrists. The legs feature ball jointed hips, double hinged knees and ball jointed ankles. There's also the ubiquitous swivel and ab crunch in torsos.
These guys set me back a whopping $3.99 each, which was the price of all their single carded 25th Anni figures. It was all I could do to resist grabbing a shopping cart and filling it with figures. If you're looking for
By figurefanzero • Tagged 25th anniversary collection, gi joe, hasbro


text:
Alec Bohm Stats & Scouting Report - Baseball America
#23 | 1B
Name: Alec D. Bohm
Born: Aug 3, 1996 in Omaha, NE
High School: Roncalli Catholic HS, Omaha
College: Wichita State
Career 160 .338 .400 .481 4
Drafted in the 1st round (3rd overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018 (signed for $5,850,000)
Bohm has been one of the most impressive college hitters in the 2018 draft class and has positioned himself to go early in the first round after several big performances in front of large groups of evaluators this spring. With a large, 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame, Bohm brings a vast amount of strength to the batter's box, which helps provide some of the best raw power in the country. Bohm has gotten to that power frequently this spring, hitting .353/.464/.596 through his first 36 games with eight home runs and nine doubles. Perhaps more impressive than Bohm's power output--he also hit 11 homers as a sophomore and six as a freshman--is his improved plate discipline this season. He's cut his strikeout rate and significantly improved his walk rate, taking the free pass more frequently than striking out for the first time in his collegiate career. He has an exceptional understanding of the strike zone and always seem to have a plan when he steps in the batter's box, with the ability to make adjustments within an at-bat. His loud spring comes on the heels of a summer in the Cape Cod League, where Bohm was selected to the all-star game and finished second in the league with a .351 average. Bohm has done as much as anyone in the 2018 class to prove himself with the bat, but where the questions will surface for him are on the defensive side. Some scouts think Bohm will eventually have to move to first base, while others believe his strong arm will be enough for him to stay at the hot corner.


Victor Marie (centre) from Fort Smith competing in a round of the Dene hand games in the Archie Simpson Arena.
The Archie Simpson Arena was alive with the men's hockey tourney Saturday afternoon.
The bravest of souls ventured out on Lake Athabasca, where the wicked wind pushed the temperature below minus-40, for snowmachine and motorcycle races.
Cash Brebant won the 4-6 year old boys 'Baby Crawl' event.
Marie Rose MacKay at the busy bingo.
Click on the slideshow above to view captions.Photos by Paul Bannister.


text:
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»Maurice Hamington, University Studies, Philosophy and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty, co-authored Care Ethics and Poetry with Ce Rosenow. The book was published in May 2019 by Palgrave Macmillan. Care Ethics and Poetry is the first book to a
»William Comer, World Languages and Literatures faculty, authored the article "Measured Words: Quantifying Vocabulary Exposure in Beginning Russian," published in the Slavic and East European Journal.
»Andres Holz, Geography faculty, co-authored a new paper titled "Testing Conceptual Models of Early Plant Succession Across a Disturbance Gradient" published in the Journal of Ecology.
»Andres Holz, Geography faculty, and student Kyla Zaret co-authored a new piece titled "Emergent Freeze and Fire Disturbance Dynamics in Temperate Rainforests" published in Austral Ecology.
»Jack Straton, Physics and University Studies faculty, had one of his photographs chosen to be part of the American Swedish Institute Traveling Show, a juried joint show of all fine art media in Minneapolis, Minn., Feb. 22–March 24, 2019.
»Dacian Daescu, Mathematics and Statistics faculty, received a three-year, $165,522 grant award from the Naval Research Laboratory for research on adaptive optimization of hybrid ensemble-variational atmospheric data assimilation and forecast systems.
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Tony joined CEMN as the facility manager in September 2009, after working as a research scientist at Monsanto Company for two years. Dr.