Showing posts with label featured. Show all posts
Showing posts with label featured. Show all posts

Thursday, February 7, 2013

How to make chocolate ?

For a long time I do not eat store-bought chocolate because hardly eat sugar and do not know what they contain chocolates that are sold. If there is one thing that will greatly affect the way you look - it's sugar. Stop it for one month and appreciate the difference. Note that you need to read food labels because sugar is where you might expect - in crayfishes (not crab, and of cod and other ingredients), soy sauce, mustard, ketchup ...

Chocolate Products

250 g cocoa butter

80 g coconut oil

100 g cocoa

50 g of honey (2.5 tablespoons) becomes as black, not sweet chocolate, try before you put cocoa and if you add honey

* at the bottom will give you links to stores, which buy products


Preparation of chocolate

Cocoa butter is solid as soap and must be melted.



 

 
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Monday, January 28, 2013

Reception history of Jane Austen

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Portrait of Jane Austen, from the memoir by J.... Portrait of Jane Austen, from the memoir by J. E. Austen-Leigh. All other portraits of Austen are generally based on this, which is itself based on a sketch by Cassandra Austen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

The reception history of Jane Austen follows a path from modest fame to wild popularity. Jane Austen (1775–1817), the author of such works asPride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815), has become one of the best-known and widely read novelists in the English language.[1] Her novels are the subject of intense scholarly study and the centre of a diverse fan culture.

During her lifetime, Austen's novels brought her little personal fame. Like many women writers, she chose to publish anonymously and it was only among members of the aristocracy that her authorship was an open secret. At the time they were published, Austen's works were considered fashionable by members of high society but received few positive reviews. By the mid-19th century, her novels were admired by members of the literary elite who viewed their appreciation of her works as a mark of cultivation. The publication in 1870 of her nephew's Memoir of Jane Austenintroduced her to a wider public as an appealing personality—dear, quiet aunt Jane—and her works were republished in popular editions. By the start of the 20th century, competing groups had sprung up—some to worship her and some to defend her from the "teeming masses"—but all claiming to be the true Janeites, or those who properly appreciated Austen.

Early in the 20th century, scholars produced a carefully edited collection of her works—the first for any British novelist—but it was not until the 1940s that Austen was widely accepted in academia as a "great English novelist". The second half of the 20th century saw a proliferation of Austen scholarship, which explored numerous aspects of her works: artistic, ideological, and historical. With the growing professionalisation of university English departments in the first half of the 20th century, criticism of Austen became progressively more esoteric and, as a result, appreciation of Austen splintered into distinctive high culture and popular culture trends. In the late 20th century, fans founded Jane Austen societies and clubs to celebrate the author, her time, and her works. As of the early 21st century, Austen fandom supports an industry of printed sequels and prequels as well as television and film adaptations, which started with the 1940 Pride and Prejudice and evolved to include the 2004 Bollywood-style productionBride and Prejudice.

Background


Jane Austen lived her entire life as part of a large and close-knit family on the lower fringes of the English gentry.[2] Her family's steadfast support was critical to Austen's development as a professional writer.[3] Austen read draft versions of all of her novels to her family, receiving feedback and encouragement,[4] and it was her father who sent out her first publication bid.[5] Austen's artistic apprenticeship lasted from her teenage years until she was about thirty-five. During this period, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried and then abandoned, and wrote and extensively revised three major novels and began a fourth. With the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813),Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1815), she achieved success as a published writer.

Novel-writing was a suspect occupation for women in the early 19th century, because it imperiled their social reputation by bringing them publicity viewed as unfeminine. Therefore, like many other female writers, Austen published anonymously.[6] Eventually, though, her novels' authorship became an open secret among the aristocracy.[7] During one of her visits to London, the Prince Regent invited her, through his librarian, James Stanier Clarke,[8]to view his library at Carlton House; his librarian mentioned that the Regent admired her novels and that "if Miss Austen had any other Novel forthcoming, she was quite at liberty to dedicate it to the Prince".[9] Austen, who disapproved of the prince's extravagant lifestyle, did not want to follow this suggestion, but her friends convinced her otherwise: in short order, Emma was dedicated to him. Austen turned down the librarian's further hint to write a historical romance in honor of the prince's daughter's marriage.[10]

A sketch of a woman from the back sitting beneath a tree and wearing early 19th-century British clothing and a bonnet


A watercolour sketch of Jane Austen by her sister Cassandra(c. 1804)




In the last year of her life, Austen revised Northanger Abbey (1817), wrote Persuasion (1817), and began another novel, eventually titled Sanditon, which was left unfinished at her death. Austen did not have time to see Northanger Abbey or Persuasion through the press, but her family published them as one volume after her death and her brother Henry included a "Biographical Notice of the Author".[11] This short biography sowed the seeds for the myth of Austen as a quiet, retiring aunt who wrote during her spare time: "Neither the hope of fame nor profit mixed with her early motives ... [S]o much did she shrink from notoriety, that no accumulation of fame would have induced her, had she lived, to affix her name to any productions of her pen ... in public she turned away from any allusion to the character of an authoress."[12] However, this description is in direct contrast to the excitement Austen shows in her letters regarding publication and profit: Austen was a professional writer.[13]

Austen's works are noted for their realism, biting social commentary, and masterful use of free indirect speech, burlesque and irony.[14] They critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century realism.[15] As Susan Gubar and Sandra Gilbert explain, Austen makes fun of "such novelistic clichés as love at first sight, the primacy of passion over all other emotions and/or duties, the chivalric exploits of the hero, the vulnerable sensitivity of the heroine, the lovers' proclaimed indifference to financial considerations, and the cruel crudity of parents".[16] Austen's plots, though comic,[17] highlight the way women depend on marriage to secure social standing and economic security.[18] Like the writings of Samuel Johnson, a strong influence on her, her works are fundamentally concerned with moral issues

1812–1821: Individual reactions and contemporary reviews


Austen's novels quickly became fashionable among opinion-makers, namely, those aristocrats who often dictated fashion and taste. Lady Bessborough, sister to the notorious Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, commented on Sense and Sensibility in a letter to a friend: "it is a clever novel.  ... tho' it ends stupidly, I was much amused by it."[20] The fifteen-year-old daughter of the Prince Regent, Princess Charlotte Augusta, compared herself to one of the book's heroines: "I think Marianne & me are very like in disposition, that certainly I am not so good, the same imprudence, &tc".[21] After reading Pride and Prejudice, playwright Richard Sheridan advised a friend to "[b]uy it immediately" for it "was one of the cleverest things" he had ever read.[22] Anne Milbanke, future wife of the Romantic poet Lord Byron, wrote that "I have finished the Novel called Pride and Prejudice, which I think a very superior work." She commented that the novel "is the most probable fiction I have ever read" and had become "at present the fashionable novel".[23] The Dowager Lady Vernon told a friend thatMansfield Park was "[n]ot much of a novel, more the history of a family party in the country, very natural"—as if, comments one Austen scholar, "Lady Vernon's parties mostly featured adultery."[24] Lady Anne Romilly told her friend, the novelist Maria Edgeworth, that "[Mansfield Park] has been pretty generally admired here" and Edgeworth commented later that "we have been much entertained with Mansfield Park".[24]

Despite these positive reactions from the elite, Austen's novels received relatively few reviews during her lifetime:[25] two for Sense and Sensibility, three for Pride and Prejudice, none for Mansfield Park, and seven for Emma. Most of the reviews were short and on balance favourable, although superficial and cautious.[26] They most often focused on the moral lessons of the novels.[27]Moreover, as Brian Southam, who has edited the definitive volumes on Austen's reception, writes in his description of these reviewers, "their job was merely to provide brief notices, extended with quotations, for the benefit of women readers compiling their library lists and interested only in knowing whether they would like a book for its story, its characters and moral".[28] Asked by publisher John Murray to review Emma, famed historical novelist Walter Scott wrote the longest and most thoughtful of these reviews, which was published anonymously in the March 1816 issue of the Quarterly Review. Using the review as a platform from which to defend the then disreputable genre of the novel, Scott praised Austen's works, celebrating her ability to copy "from nature as she really exists in the common walks of life, and presenting to the reader ... a correct and striking representation of that which is daily taking place around him".[29] Modern Austen scholar William Galperin has noted that "unlike some of Austen's lay readers, who recognized her divergence from realistic practice as it had been prescribed and defined at the time, Walter Scott may well have been the first to install Austen as the realist par excellence".[30] Scott wrote in his private journal in 1826, in what later became a widely quoted comparison:

Also read again and for the third time at least Miss Austen's very finely written novel of Pride and Prejudice. That young lady had a talent for describing the involvement and feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The Big Bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going, but the exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early![31][32]


Half-length portrait of a man in a black suit with a mustard vest and wispy blonde hair.


Novelist Walter Scott praised Austen's "exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things ... interesting".[31]




Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, published together posthumously in December 1817, were reviewed in the British Critic in March 1818 and in theEdinburgh Review and Literary Miscellany in May 1818. The reviewer for the British Critic felt that Austen's exclusive dependence on realism was evidence of a deficient imagination. The reviewer for the Edinburgh Review disagreed, praising Austen for her "exhaustless invention" and the combination of the familiar and the surprising in her plots.[33] Overall, Austen scholars have pointed out that these early reviewers did not know what to make of her novels—for example, they misunderstood her use of irony. Reviewers reduced Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice to didactic tales of virtue prevailing over vice.[34]

In the Quarterly Review in 1821, the English writer and theologian Richard Whately published the most serious and enthusiastic early posthumous review of Austen's work. Whately drew favourable comparisons between Austen and such acknowledged greats as Homer and Shakespeare, praising the dramatic qualities of her narrative. He also affirmed the respectability and legitimacy of the novel as a genre, arguing that imaginative literature, especially narrative, was more valuable than history or biography. When it was properly done, as in Austen, Whately said, imaginative literature concerned itself with generalised human experience from which the reader could gain important insights into human nature; in other words, it was moral.[35] Whately also addressed Austen's position as a female writer, writing: "we suspect one of Miss Austin's [sic] great merits in our eyes to be, the insight she gives us into the peculiarities of female characters. ... Her heroines are what one knows women must be, though one never can get them to acknowledge it."[36] No more significant, original Austen criticism was published until the late 19th century: Whately and Scott had set the tone for the Victorian era's view of Austen
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Saturday, January 26, 2013

LG enV2 (VX9100)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"]LG enV touch cell phone. LG enV touch cell phone. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

The LG enV² is a Verizon Wireless digital messaging feature phone manufactured by LG. It is available in standard black as well as maroon (pomegranate, in Canada). Both the colors are available at Verizon Wireless (Telus Stores and Koodo stores, in Canada) stores, and were released on the same date. It is also capable of installing VZ Navigator. The original price of the phone at release was $129 after a $50 mail-in-rebate. It had dropped to $79.99, and then to $49.99, but as of February 2009, the price has returned to $129.99. Best Buy stores also offer the enV² for a price of $49.99 with a 2 year contract. As of June 2012, a data plan for the phone is optional. [3]

It succeeded both the LG enV (VX9900) and the original LG The V (VX9800). The phone's successor, the LG enV3 (VX9200) was released in 2009.

The styling of this phone has been updated from the previous versions. It's slimmer (40% slimmer than original enV), lighter (30% lighter than original enV), and more pocketable than the previous versions. Its styling is made more comfortable and easier to handle and text, its shaped like a rectangle with both front and back of phone being a flat surface (unlike the original enV). The back of the phone is painted in SoftTouch paint in the phone's respective color (a smooth and grippy paint) making it more comfortable to handle. Its styling follows that of the LG Voyager (VX10000), which is the other successor to the LG enV (VX9900) and the LG The V (VX9800) phones. The Env2 was released in Canada in August, 2008 as the LG Keybo from Telus. Its successor, the enV3, was released on May 29, 2009.

Features


The enV² has several features, such as the QWERTY keyboard and a 2.0 megapixel camera with up to 10x zoom. It is Bluetooth-compatible and supports V CAST, Verizon's music and video service, as well as VZ Navigator, Verizon's map service. The phone has a microSD memory card port for storing music and video from a computer and is enabled to set videos under 5MB as wallpaper. It can store up to 300 text messages, has an "auto text readout" functionality(phone reads texts outloud for you), and message sorter. The phone supports FOTA, which allows for new firmware updates to be sent to the device without needing to make a trip to a retail store to receive the update.

The phone also has the capability to display four different themes which may change button styles, background colors, and general style of the phone. These themes are the Classic view, having the red and white menu screen when the OK button is pressed, the Slick Black theme, with a more digital, and of course, black look. There is also the Wall theme, with the menu and other features looking like a concrete wall. The last theme is the wave, a rounded and dark look.

The phone supports up to 8GB of storage via the MicroSD port on the right side of the phone. The forms of media able to be stored on this card include: Photos ("PIX"), Music, Sounds, and Videos ("FLIX"). This phone supports the Bluetooth profile A2DP which supports the listening of music through wireless headphones. The phone also has a "Standalone Mode" which allows one to take advantage of the phone's multimedia capabilities (Music, Photos, Videos, Games) without sending or receiving RF signals. This mode is most useful while on an airplane.

The phone has a full QWERTY keyboard optimized for text messaging, and comes in the alternate colors maroon and black.

Specific ringtones may be set for individual callers on the phone's contact list. However, unlike many previous LG models, it is not possible to set individual ringers for incoming TXT messages.

Specifications


The following are the specifications for the LG enV2



































































































TypeSpecification
Backlit KeypadYes
Battery TypeLithium-Ion
CalculatorYes
CalendarYes
Changeable Faceplate CapableNo
Customizable Ring TonesBuilt-In, Downloadable
Data CapabilitiesYes
Extras2.0MP Camera, Bluetooth, MP3 Player
GamesYes, Downloadable
Hands-free SpeakerphoneYes
Included in BoxAC Charger Rechargeable Battery
Keypad LockYes
Number of Display Lines320 x 240 Pixels
Number of Modes/BandsDual band
Phone Book Capacity1000
Product Dimensions10.2(W) x 5.4(H) x 1.65(D) cm
Product Weight120g
Standby TimeUp To 216 Hours
Supports Caller IDYes
Talk TimeUp to 5 hours
Vibrate ModeBuilt-in
Web BrowserYes
MemoryInternal/External, USB Mass Storage

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Sydney Riot of 1879

Dave Gregory, the captain of New South Wales

The Sydney Riot of 1879 was a civil disorder that occurred at an early international cricket match. It took place in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, at the Association Ground, Moore Park, now known as the Sydney Cricket Ground, during a match between a touring English team captained byLord Harris and New South Wales, led by Dave Gregory, who was also thecaptain of Australia. The riot was sparked by a controversial umpiring decision, when star Australian batsman Billy Murdoch was given out byGeorge Coulthard, a Victorian employed by the Englishmen. The dismissal caused an uproar among the parochial spectators, many of whom surged onto the pitch and assaulted Coulthard and some English players. It was alleged that illegal gamblers in the New South Wales pavilion, who had bet heavily on the home side, encouraged the riot because the tourists were in a dominant position and looked set to win. Another theory given to explain the anger was that of intercolonial rivalry, that the New South Wales crowd objected to what they perceived to be a slight from a Victorian umpire.

The pitch invasion occurred while Gregory halted the match by not sending out a replacement for Murdoch. The New South Wales skipper called on Lord Harris to remove umpire Coulthard, whom he considered to be inept or biased, but his English counterpart declined. The other umpire, Edmund Barton, defended Coulthard and Lord Harris, saying that the decision against Murdoch was correct and that the English had conducted themselves appropriately. Eventually, Gregory agreed to resume the match without the removal of Coulthard. However, the crowd continued to disrupt proceedings, and play was abandoned for the day. Upon resumption after the Sunday rest day, Lord Harris's men won convincingly by an innings.









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Friday, January 25, 2013

Procter & Gamble Tops Estimates, Raises Outlook

[caption id="attachment_2350" align="alignleft" width="630"]35682-hi-PG_building Procter & Gamble Co. headquarters building in Cincinnati.[/caption]

 

Household products giant Procter & Gamble (PG) reported quarterly earnings and revenue on Thursday that beat analysts' expectations.

The company, which makes household staples such as Bounty paper towels and Tide detergent, reported fiscal second-quarter earnings excluding items of $1.22 per share, up from $1.10 a share a year ago.

Revenue rose to $22.18 billion from $22.14 billion a year ago.

"The consumer is definitely hanging in there. We haven't seen an inflection point in the market growth rates yet, but we also haven't seen any deterioration. So it's reasonably good," Procter & Gamble CFO Jon Moeller told CNBC. Read the entire story

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Klaha

klaha

Masaki Haruna (春名真樹 Haruna Masaki?), aka Klaha, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. He is best known as the third vocalist for visual kei rock band Malice Mizer. His first band was the new wave group Pride of Mind, active from 1992-1996. He first played with Malice Mizer in 2000, on their single, "Shiroi Hada ni Kuruu Ai to Kanashimi no Rondo", providing vocals, although he was credited as "fourth blood relative". He then provided vocals on their album, Bara no Seidou. It wasn't until at a concert in August that he became an official member. Sadly it wasn't for long, as only a year laterMalice Mizer went on hiatus.[1] A year after Malice Mizer, Klaha started a solo career, but with a drastic change of style he performed pop music. After a live appearance in April 2004, Klaha's releases and performances stopped without explanation. In 2007 he stated that he would be returning that year, but nothing happened and no information has been given since.














































Klaha
Birth nameMasaki Haruna
Also known asKlaha
BornMay 3[citation needed]
OriginOsaka, Japan
GenresProgressive rock, dark wave,gothic rock, pop rock, new wave
OccupationsMusician, singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1992–2004
Associated actsMalice Mizer, Pride of Mind
WebsiteOfficial Website (expired)

 

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Gary Pettis































































Gary Pettis
Texas Rangers – No. 24
Center fielder
Born: April 3, 1958 (age 54)
Oakland, California
Batted: SwitchThrew: Right
MLB debut
September 13, 1982 for the California Angels
Last MLB appearance
September 10, 1992 for the Detroit Tigers
Career statistics
Batting average  .236
Hits  855
Runs batted in  259
Stolen bases  354
Teams


  • California Angels (1982–1987)

  • Detroit Tigers (1988–1989)

  • Texas Rangers (1990–1991)

  • San Diego Padres (1992)

  • Detroit Tigers (1992)


Career highlights and awards


  • 5× Gold Glove Award winner (1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990)



[caption id="" align="alignright" width="266"]The Gold Glove Award given to Eric Chavez for ... The Gold Glove Award given to Eric Chavez for his performance during the 2005 season (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Gary George Pettis (born April 3, 1958, in Oakland, California) is the current first base coach of the Texas Rangers. Prior to coaching, he spent eleven seasons as a center fielder in Major League Baseball.

Pettis was selected in the 6th round of the 1979 draft by the Angels, and played minor league baseball for the Salinas Spurs of the class "A" California League in 1980, then the Holyoke Millers of the double "A" Eastern League in 1981. In 1982, Pettis was promoted to theCalifornia Angels, where he played the first six seasons of his career.

After the 1987 season, Pettis went on to play two seasons with the Detroit Tigers, 1988 through the following season of 1989. After two years with Detroit, Pettis joined the Texas Rangers for two seasons 1990-91. Pettis finished his career in the major leagues in 1992. The 1992 season saw Pettis play for two different teams. After leaving the Texas Rangers, Pettis joined the San Diego Padres for the 1992 season but ended that season back in Detroit with the Tigers.

During his career, Pettis consistently hit for low averages and was known for striking out often, but he performed extremely well on defense, earning five Gold Glove Awards. He was noted for making many spectacular leaping or diving catches, depriving hitters of home runs or base hits, and was known in baseball circles as "The man who made center field look easy". Additionally, he was a prolific base runner and had five seasons where he stole over 40 bases. Pettis held the Angels' club record for stolen bases for nearly 20 years, until it was broken byChone Figgins on July 15, 2007. Pettis was tagged as "Pac Man" Pettis by a local radio station listener call-in contest in 1986, referring to his unusual speed in the outfield and ability to chase down opponents' hits.

On his 1985 Topps baseball card, the person posing in the picture is not Pettis, and is in fact a picture of his younger brother.

 

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Great Shefford railway station

Great_Shefford,_Former_Lambourn_Valley_Railway_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1660730


The station opened on 1 April 1898 as West Shefford. It was renamed Great Shefford in November 1900.


In 1923, a crane costing £179 was installed to facilitate the handling of heavy goods – particularly timber. The crane had a loading capacity of 64 tons. The station had a coal yard, and also dealt with dairy produce, livestock, and racehorses.


The station closed to all traffic on 4 January 1960.

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Operation Goodwood

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"]A knocked-out German PzKpfw IV tank in a hull-... A knocked-out German PzKpfw IV tank in a hull-down position, 13 July 1944. Additional info: "A dug-in Panzer IV of the 1/22nd Panzer Regiment, photographed near Lebisey after being knocked out during Operation Charnwood.(Battle for Caen, p. 34, by Simon Trew. ISBN:0-7509-3010-1) Charnwood Category:Military history of Normandy Category:World War II operations and battles of Europe Category:Battles and operations of World War II Charnwood, Operation Charnwood, Operation Charnwood, Operation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Operation Goodwood was a Second World War British offensive that took place between 18 and 20 July 1944. British VIII Corps, with three armoured divisions, launched the attack aiming to seize the German-held Bourguébus Ridge, along with the area between Bretteville-sur-Laize and Vimont, while also destroying as many German tanks as possible.

Goodwood was proceeded by preliminary attacks dubbed the Second Battle of the Odon. On 18 July, British I Corps conducted an advance to secure a series of villages and the eastern flank of VIII Corps. On VIII Corps's western flank, Canadian II Corps launched a coordinated attack—codenamed Operation Atlantic—aimed at capturing the remaining German-held sections of the city of Caen south of the Orne River.

When Operation Goodwood ended on 20 July, the armoured divisions had broken through the initial German defences and had advanced seven miles before coming to a halt in front of the Bourguébus Ridge, although armoured cars had penetrated further south and over the ridge.

Since 1944, there has been controversy over what the actual objective of the operation was: whether it was a limited attack to secure Caen and pin German formations in the eastern region of the Normandy beachhead, preventing them from disengaging to join the counterattack against the US Operation Cobra, or a failed attempted breakout from the Normandy bridgehead. At least one historian has called the operation the largest tank battle that the British Army has ever fought.

Background


The historic Normandy town of Caen was a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division that landed on Sword Beach on 6 June 1944.[15] The capture of Caen, while "ambitious", has been described by historian L F Ellis as the most important D-Day objective assigned to Lieutenant-General Crocker's I Corps.[nb 4] Operation Overlord called for Second Army to secure the city and then form a front line from Caumont-l'Éventé to the south-east of Caen, in order to acquire airfields and protect the left flank of the United States First Armywhile it moved on Cherbourg.[19] Possession of Caen and its surroundings would give Second Army a suitable staging area for a push south to capture Falaise, which could itself be used as the pivot for a swing left to advance on Argentan and then towards the Touques River.[20] The terrain between Caen and Vimont was especially promising, being open, dry and conducive to swift offensive operations. Since the Allied forces greatly outnumbered the Germans in tanks and mobile units, transforming the battle into a more fluid fast-moving battle was to their advantage.[21]

Hampered by congestion in the beachhead that delayed the deployment of its armoured support and forced to divert effort to attacking strongly held German positions along the 9.3-mile (15.0 km) route to the town, the 3rd Division was unable to assault Caen in force and was stopped short of the outskirts.[22] Follow-up attacks were unsuccessful as German resistance solidified; abandoning the direct approach, Operation Perch—a pincer attack by I and XXX Corps[23]—was launched on 7 June, with the intention of encircling Caen from the east and west.[24] I Corps, striking south out of the Orne bridgehead, was halted by the 21st Panzer Division,[25] and the attack by XXX Corps bogged down in front of Tilly-sur-Seulles, west of Caen, in the face of stiff opposition from the Panzer Lehr Division.[24] In an effort to force Panzer Lehr to withdraw or surrender[26] and thereby keep operations fluid, the 7th Armoured Division pushed through a gap in the German front line and tried to capture the town of Villers-Bocage in the German rear.[27] The resulting day long battle saw the vanguard of the 7th Armoured Division withdraw from the town,[28] but by 17 June Panzer Lehr had themselves been forced back and XXX Corps had taken Tilly-sur-Seulles.[29] The British were forced to abandon plans for further offensive operations, including a second attack by the 7th Armoured Division,[30] when on 19 June a severe storm descended upon the English Channel. The storm, which lasted for three days, significantly delayed the Allied build-up.[31] Most of the landing craft and ships already at sea were driven back to ports in Britain; towed barges and other loads (including 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of floating roadways for the Mulberry harbours) were lost; and 800 craft were left stranded on the Normandy beaches until the next high tides in July.[32]

Having taken a few days to make good the deficiencies caused by the storm, on 26 June the British launched Operation Epsom. The newly arrived VIII Corps, under Lieutenant-General Sir Richard O'Connor, was to strike to the west of Caen south across the Odon and Orne rivers, capture an area of high ground near Bretteville-sur-Laize, and thus encircle the city.[33] The attack was preceded by Operation Martlet, the aim of which was to secure VIII Corp's flank by capturing high ground on the right of the axis of advance.[34] Although the Germans managed to contain the offensive, to do so they had been obliged to commit all their available strength[35] including two panzer divisions just arrived in Normandy[36] and earmarked for a planned offensive against British and American positions around Bayeux.[37] Several days later Second Army made another bid to gain possession of Caen, this time by frontal assault, codenamed Operation Charnwood.[38] As a prelude Operation Windsor, a postponed attack to capture the airfield at Carpiquet just outside Caen, was mounted.[39] By 9 July Charnwood had succeeded in taking northern Caen up to the Orne and Odon rivers,[38] but German forces retained possession of the south bank and a number of important locations including the Colombelles steel works, whose tall chimneys gave them commanding observation posts overlooking the area.

Allies


On 10 July, General Bernard Montgomery, the commander of all the Allied ground forces in Normandy, held a meeting at his headquarters with his army commanders, Lieutenant-Generals Miles Dempsey (British Second Army) and Omar Bradley (United States First Army). They discussed 21st Army Group's employment[42] following the conclusion of Operation Charnwood and the failure of First Army's initial breakout offensive.[43] Montgomery approved Bradley's suggestion for a new offensive codenamed Operation Cobra, a second American breakout attempt to be launched by First Army on 18 July.[44] To facilitate Cobra Montgomery ordered Dempsey to "go on hitting: drawing the German strength, especially the armour, onto yourself - so as to ease the way for Brad".[42]

In early July, Montgomery had been informed by the Adjutant-General to the Forces, Ronald Adam, that, due to a worsening manpower shortage in Britain, sufficient replacements to maintain his infantry strength would not be forthcoming.[45] This led Dempsey[nb 5] to propose an attack comprised solely of armoured divisions, a concept that violated Montgomery's personal policy of never employing such an unbalanced force.[47] However, tanks were one commodity with which the British were plentifully supplied.[48] By mid-July, Second Army had 2,250 medium tanks and 400 light tanks in the bridgehead,[49] of which 500 were in reserve to replace losses.[50] These were organised into three armoured divisions[nb 6] and seven independent armoured / tank brigades.[nb 7]

At 10:00 on 13 July, Dempsey met with three of his five corps commanders[nb 8] to discuss his idea. Later that day, the first written order for Operation Goodwood—named after the Glorious Goodwood race meeting[59]—was issued.[60] This document contained only preliminary instructions and the operation's general intentions; it was intended mainly to stimulate detailed planning and alterations were expected.[61] In addition to Second Army's staff, the order was sent to senior planners in the United Kingdom so that air support for the operation could be secured.[62]

When VIII Corps had first assembled in Normandy in mid-June, it was suggested that the corps be used to attack out of the Orne bridgehead in an attempt to outflank Caen from the east. However this offensive, codenamed Operation Dreadnought, was cancelled when Dempsey and O'Connor made pessimistic assessments to Montgomery regarding the difficulties involved in such an undertaking.[nb 9] In Goodwood's outline plan, VIII Corps, with three armoured divisions, would now strike south out of the Orne Bridgehead.[61] The 11th Armoured Division was to advance south-west over the Bourguébus Ridge and the Caen-Falaise road, aiming for Bretteville-sur-Laize. The Guards Armoured Division was to push south-east to capture Vimont and Argences, and 7th Armoured Division, starting last, was to aim south for Falaise itself. The 3rd Infantry Division, supported by elements of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, was to secure VIII Corps's eastern flank by capturing the area around Émiéville, Touffréville and Troarn.[64] Simultaneously II Canadian Corps would launch a supporting attack on VII Corps's western flank. Codenamed Operation Atlantic, the Canadian offensive was intended to liberate Caen south of the Orne river.[65] The British and Canadian operations were tentatively scheduled for 18 July, Bradley's estimate for Cobra's start date having been pushed back by two days to enable his US First Army to secure its start line around Saint-Lô.[66][67]

Detailed planning for Operation Goodwood began on Friday 14 July,[68] but the next day Montgomery issued a written directive ordering Dempsey to make the operation less ambitious. It was to be changed from a "deep break-out" to a "limited attack".[69] Anticipating that the Germans would be forced to commit their armoured reserves rather than risk a massed British tank breakthrough,[70] Dempsey's force was instructed to "engage the German armour in battle and 'write it down' to such an extent that it is of no further value to the Germans". He was to take any opportunity to improve Second Army's position—the orders stated that "a victory on the eastern flank will help us to gain what we want on the western flank"[71]—but not to endanger its role as a "firm bastion" on which the success of the forthcoming American offensive would depend.[72] The objectives of Dempsey's three armoured divisions were rewritten accordingly. They were now only to "dominate the area Bourguébus-Vimont-Bretteville", although it was intended that "armoured cars should push far to the south towards Falaise, spread[ing] alarm and despondency". VIII Corps's objective was changed too, from a wide punch south towards Falaise to a limited thrust to the southwest of Caen. The objectives for II Canadian Corps remained largely unaltered and it was stressed that these were vital. Only following their achievement would VIII Corps "'crack about' as the situation demands".[71]


The 11th Armoured Division was assigned to lead the advance[73] and was tasked with screening Cagny[74] and capturing Bras, Hubert-Folie, Verrières and Fontenay-le-Marmion.[73] Its armoured brigade was to bypass the majority of the German-held villages in its operational area, leaving them to be dealt with by follow-up waves.[75] The division's infantry component, the 159th Infantry Brigade, was initially to act independently of the rest of the division and capture Cuverville and Démouville.[76] The Guards Armoured Division, advancing behind the 11th Armoured Division,[73] was to capture Cagny[74] and Vimont. Starting last, the 7th Armoured Division was to move south beyond the Garcelles-Secqueville ridge. Further advances by the armoured divisions were to be conducted only on Dempsey's order.[69] II Canadian Corps's detailed orders were issued a day later. The corps was to first liberate Colombelles and the remaining portion of Caen, and then to hold itself in readiness to move on the strongly held Verrières Ridge.[77] If the German front collapsed a deeper advance would be considered.[69]

Second Army's intelligence services had formed a good estimate of the opposition Operation Goodwood was likely to face, although the German positions beyond the first line of villages had to be inferred mainly from inconclusive air reconnaissance.[41] The German defensive line was believed to consist of two belts up to four miles deep.[78] Aware that the Germans were expecting a large attack out of the Orne bridgehead,[79]the British initially anticipated meeting resistance from the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division bolstered by SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 25 of the12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend.[80] Signals intelligence ascertained that the 12th SS Panzer Division had been moved into reserve, and although it was slow to discover that SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 25 was not with the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division, having also been placed into reserve, this oversight was rectified before 18 July.[80] Battle groups of the 21st Panzer Division, with around 50 Panzer IV tanks and 34assault guns, were expected near Route nationale 13.[80] The 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was identified in reserve with an estimated 40 Panther tanks and 60 Panzer IV's,[nb 10] and the presence of two heavy tank battalions equipped with Tiger tanks[disambiguation needed] was established.[nb 11] German armoured strength was estimated at 230 tanks[81] and artillery strength at 300 field and anti-tank guns.[nb 12] Second Army believed that 90 of these guns were in the centre of the battle zone, 40 on the flanks, and a further 20 defending the Caen-Vimont railway line.[80] The British had also located a German gun line on the Bourguébus Ridge, but its strength and gun positions were unknown.


In an attempt to mask the operation's objectives, Second Army initiated a deception plan that included diversionary attacks launched by XII and XXX Corps.[83] Dempsey's three armoured divisions moved to their staging positions west of the Orne only at night and in radio silence,and artillery fire was used to mask the noise of the tank engines.[84] During the hours of daylight all efforts were made to camouflage their new positions.


For artillery support, Goodwood was allocated 760 guns[nb 13] with 297,600 rounds.[nb 14] Prior to the assault these were to attempt to suppress German anti-tank,[87] anti-aircraft[88] and field artillery positions, and during the assault would provide the 11th Armoured Division with a rolling barrage. They would also assist the attacks launched by the 3rd Infantry and 2nd Canadian Infantry Divisions and, throughout the operation, fire on targets as requested.[87] Additional support would be provided by three ships of the Royal Navy,[nb 15] whose targets were German gun batteries located near the coast in the region of Cabourg and Franceville.[85]

Augmenting the preliminary artillery bombardment, 2,077[nb 16] heavy and medium bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) would attack in three waves, in the largest air raid launched in direct support of ground forces in the campaign so far.[90] Speed was an essential part of the Goodwood battle plan and it was hoped that the aerial bombardment would pave the way for the 11th Armoured Division to rapidly secure the Bourguébus Ridge.[75] Dempsey believed that if the operation were to succeed, his tanks would need to be on the ridge by the first afternoon.[91] He therefore cancelled a second attack by heavy bombers scheduled for the first afternoon. Although this was to be in direct support of the advance towards the ridge[85] he was concerned that the 11th Armoured Division should not be delayed waiting for the strike.[91]

Close air support for Goodwood would be provided by No. 83 Group RAF, which was tasked with neutralising German positions on the flanks of VIII Corps' planned advance and strong points such as the village of Cagny, attacking German gun and reserve positions, and the interdiction of German troop movement.[89] Each of VIII Corps's brigade headquarters was allocated a Forward Air Control Post to assist with coordinating air support.[92]



The engineering resources of Second Army, I and VIII Corps, and the divisional engineers were put to work between 13 July and the evening of 16 July building six new roads from west of the Orne River to the start lines east of the river and the Caen Canal.[93] Engineers from I Corps strengthened existing bridges and built two new sets of bridges across the Orne and the canal.[94] They were further tasked with constructing another two sets of bridges by the end of the operation's first day.[95][nb 17] II Canadian Corps planned to construct up to three bridges across the Orne as soon as the opportunity presented itself, giving I and VIII Corps exclusive access to the river and canal bridges north of Caen.[94] Engineers from the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, with a small detachment from the 3rd Infantry Division, were ordered to breach the German minefield in front of the Highland Division's position. This was largely accomplished during the night of 16–17 July when they cleared and marked 14 gaps.[97] By the morning of 18 July, 19 40-foot (12 m) wide gaps had been completed,[98] each allowing one armoured regiment to pass through at a time.[nb 18]

The 11th Armoured Division's infantry brigade, with the divisional and 29th Armoured Brigade's headquarters, crossed into the Orne bridgehead during the night of 16–17 July. The rest of the division followed the next night.[99] The Guards and 7th Armoured Divisions were held west of the river until the operation began.[84] As the final elements of the 11th Armoured Division moved into position and VIII Corps's headquarters took up residence in Bény-sur-Mer additional gaps in the minefields were blown, the forward areas were signposted, and routes to be taken marked with white tape.[100]

Germans

The Germans considered the Caen area to be the linchpin of their position in Normandy and were determined to maintain a defensive arc from the English Channel to the west bank of the Orne.[101] On 15 July German military intelligence warned Panzer Group West that from 17 July onwards a British attack out of the Orne bridgehead was likely. It was thought that the British would push south-east towards Paris.


To meet this threat, General Heinrich Eberbach, the commanding officer of Panzer Group West, designed a defensive plan, with its details worked out by his two corps and six divisional commanders.[102] A belt of at least 10 miles (16 km) depth[81][103] was constructed, organised into four successive lines.[104] Villages within the belt were fortified and anti-tank guns emplaced along its southern and eastern edges.[81] To allow their tanks to move freely within the belt, the Germans decided not to establish anti-tank minefields between each defensive line.


On 16 July, several intelligence-gathering flights were mounted over the British front, but most of these were driven off by anti-aircraft fire.[105] However, as darkness fell, camera-equipped aircraft managed to bring back photographs taken by the light of dropped flares that revealed a one-way flow of traffic over the Orne and into the British bridgehead.[82] Further confirming the suspicion that preparations for an offensive were underway, later that same day a British reconnaissance Supermarine Spitfire was shot down over German lines while photographing defences; British artillery and fighters attempted to destroy the crashed aircraft but without success.


LXXXVI Corps, heavily reinforced by artillery,[106] held the front line. Its 346th Infantry Division was dug in between the coast to the north of Touffreville, while the battered 16th Luftwaffe Infantry Division held the next section from Touffreville to Colombelles. Kampfgruppe von Luck, a battle group formed around the 21st Panzer Division's 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment, was placed behind these forces with around 30 assault guns. The 21st Panzer Division's armoured elements, reinforced with the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion, which included ten King Tigers,[107] were northeast of Cagny in a position to support von Luck's men and to act as a general reserve,[108] while the rest of the division's panzergrenadiers, with towed anti-tank guns andassault guns, were dug in amongst the villages of the Caen plain.[109] 21st Panzer's reconnaissance and pioneer battalions were positioned on the Bourguébus Ridge to protect the corps's artillery.[91] This consisted of around 48 field and medium guns with an equal number of Nebelwerfer rocket launchers. In total, LXXXVI Corps had 194 artillery pieces, 272 Nebelwerfers,[91] and 78 anti-aircraft and anti-tank 88 mm guns available. One battery of four 88 mm anti-aircraft guns, from the 2nd Flak-Sturm Regiment, was positioned in Cagny,[91] while in the villages along the Bourguébus Ridge there was a screen of 44 88 mm anti-tank guns from the 200th Tank Destroyer Battalion.[107][nb 19] However, the majority of LXXXVI Corps's guns were sited beyond the ridge covering the Caen-Falaise road.[91][110]


Facing Caen to the west of the Caen-Falaise road was the I SS Panzer Corps. On 14 July, elements of the 272nd Infantry Division took over the defence of Vaucelles from the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, who moved into local reserve between the village of Ifs and the east bank of the Orne. The following day the 12th SS Panzer Division was placed in Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) reserve to rest and refit,[111] and—on Hitler's orders—to be in a position to meet a feared second Allied landing between the Orne and Seine rivers.[112] The division's artillery regiment and anti-aircraft battalion remained behind to support the 272nd Infantry Division, and two battlegroups were detached from the division.Kampfgruppe Waldmüller was moved close to Falaise and Kampfgruppe Wünsche to Lisieux, 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Caen.[111] Although Kampfgruppe Waldmüller was later ordered to rejoin the rest of the division at Lisieux, on 17 July Eberbach halted this move.[79]

Preliminary operations


Main article: Second Battle of the Odon

Shortly after the capture of northern Caen during Operation Charnwood, the British mounted an unsuccessful raid against the Colombelles steelworks complex to the northeast of the city. The factory area remained in German hands, its tall chimneys providing observations posts that overlooked the Orne bridgehead. At 01:00 on 11 July, elements of the 153rd (Highland) Infantry Brigade, supported by Sherman tanks of the Royal Armoured Corps's 148th Regiment, moved against the German position.[42] The intention was to secure the area only long enough for troops from theRoyal Engineers to destroy the chimneys before pulling back.[113] However, at 05:00 the British force was ambushed by Tiger tanks and after the loss of nine tanks was forced to withdraw.[42]

While planning and preparation for Goodwood was underway, Second Army launched two preliminary operations. According to Montgomery, their purpose was to "engage the enemy in battle unceasingly; we must 'write off' his troops; and generally we must kill Germans". Historian Terry Copp identifies this as the moment where the Normandy campaign became a battle of attrition; one that Montgomery did his best to ensure the Germans would not win.[114]


Operation Greenline was launched by XII Corps during the evening of 15 July.[nb 20][116] Greenline's objectives were twofold: to convince the German command that the forthcoming major British assault would be launched west of the Orne though the positions held by XII Corps;[83] and to tie down the9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions so that they could not later be relocated to oppose either Goodwood or Operation Cobra.[115] Supported by 450 guns, the British attack made use of "artificial moonlight"[nb 21] and started well despite disruption caused by German artillery fire. By dawn XII Corps had captured several of its objectives including the important height of Hill 113, although the much-contested Hill 112 remained in German hands. Committing the 9th SS Panzer Division, the Germans managed by the end of the day to largely restore their line, although a counter-attack against Hill 113 was unsuccessful.[117] Renewed attacks the following day by XII Corps gained no further ground, so during the evening of 17 July the operation was closed down and the British force on Hill 113 withdrawn.


Operation Pomegranate started on 16 July, one day after Greenline.[ XXX Corps was to capture several important villages.[119] On the first day British infantry seized a key objective and took 300 prisoners but the next day saw heavy and inconclusive fighting on the outskirts of Noyers-Bocage.[120] Elements of the 9th SS Panzer Division were committed to the village's defence; although the British took control of the railway station and an area of high ground outside the village, Noyers-Bocage itself remained in German hands.[119]


These two operations cost Second Army 3,500 casualties[6] for no significant territorial gains, but Greenline and Pomegranate were strategically successful. Reacting to the developing threats in the Odon Valley, the Germans not only retained the 2nd Panzer and 10th SS Panzer Divisions in the front line but also recalled the 9th SS Panzer Division from Corps reserve.[83][119][121] They suffered around 2,000 casualties; the heavy losses on both sides prompted Terry Copp to call the fighting "one of the bloodiest encounters of the campaign".


During the late afternoon of 17 July a patrolling British Spitfire fighter aircraft spotted a German staff car on the road near the village of Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery. The fighter made a strafing attack driving the car off the road. Among its occupants was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the commander ofArmy Group B, who was seriously wounded leaving Army Group B temporarily leaderless.



River Swilly

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"]River Whale River Whale (Photo credit: goingslo)[/caption]

The River Swilly (Irish: An tSúileach) is a river in Ireland, which flows in an eastern direction through Letterkenny, County Donegal. Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal, is built on the river and became the first crossing point on the river in the 17th century.

History


The river takes its name Súileach from a man-eating water monster that was chopped in half by Saint Columba, who was born in Gartan.Letterkenny DJ and Producer Diarmuid O'Doherty produced a song, "A Monster in the River Swilly", about this legend

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Sango Fighter

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"]centered centered (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Sango Fighter (武將爭霸) is a fighting game for DOS made by the Taiwanese Panda Entertainment and released in 1993. Set in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history, it is very similar to Street Fighter, but with historical context. Shareware developer and publisher Apogee Software was planning on licensing and releasing the game in the United States under the title Violent Vengeance, but the plans for the deal fell through. Instead, the game was distributed in English under its original title by a Taiwanese company named Accend, albeit without official permission from Panda Entertainment.

In 1995, Taiwan's fledgling 16-bit Super A'can game console saw release of a cartridge version of Sango Fighter, completely programmed inhouse by a single employee of Panda Entertainment. Being a rushed port from the PC version using a confusing and buggy Super A'can development kit, this version of the game suffered from stale, awkward gameplay and quite a few glitches.

Sango Fighter was also released for the Japanese PC-98 computer, in 1995. For this release, a portion of the game's story text was translated into Japanese. It was otherwise identical to the original DOS version, upon which its code was based. This adaptation was produced by Great Co., Ltd., and released by Imagineer.


The game was illegally ported to the Sega Master System console, with the name Sangokushi, and released only in South Korea. This port is one of the larger games in the console library, with 8 megabits of data size.

A sequel was released in 1995, Fighter in China 2, with more characters and more detailed graphics. Fighter in China 2 also featured a conquest mode in which the player attempted to unify the empire by invading other nations. In addition, the kingdom of Wu was added to the game.

There may have also been a planned, but unfinished 3D sequel by Panda Entertainment.[2] However, the former owner of Panda's intellectual properties stated that no records of any such title exist.

"Sango" is a rough romanization of Three Kingdoms. Using pinyin, it would be romanized as "san guo".

While Sango Fighter was quite popular in Taiwan, a lawsuit by C&E Inc. (producers of the PC fighting game Super Fighter) stopped Panda Entertainment from distributing the game, let alone adapting it to other machines. Thus the game was never able to reach its full market potential.

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What is Variable (computer science) ?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"]This image was selected as a picture of the we... In computer programming, a variable is a storage location and an associated symbolic name (an identifier) which contains some known or unknown quantity or information, a value. The variable name is the usual way to reference the stored value; this separation of name and content allows the name to be used independently of the exact information it represents. The identifier in computer source code can be bound to a value during run time, and the value of the variable may thus change during the course of program execution. Variables in programming may not directly correspond to the concept of variables in mathematics. The value of a computing variable is not necessarily part of an equation or formula as in mathematics. In computing, a variable may be employed in a repetitive process: assigned a value in one place, then used elsewhere, then reassigned a new value and used again in the same way (see iteration). Variables in computer programming are frequently given long names to make them relatively descriptive of their use, whereas variables in mathematics often have terse, one- or two-character names for brevity in transcription and manipulation.[/caption]

A variable storage location may be referred by several different identifiers, a situation known as aliasing. Assigning a value to the variable using one of the identifiers will change the value that can be accessed through the other identifiers.

Compilers have to replace variables' symbolic names with the actual locations of the data. While a variable's name, type, and location often remain fixed, the data stored in the location may be changed during program execution.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240"]Tidal computer Tidal computer (Photo credit: awduthie)[/caption]

Actions on a variable


In imperative programming languages, values can generally be accessed or changed at any time. However, in pure functional and logic languages, variables are bound to expressions and keep a single value during their entire lifetime due to the requirements of referential transparency. In imperative languages, the same behavior is exhibited by constants, which are typically contrasted with normal variables.

Depending on the type system of a programming language, variables may only be able to store a specified datatype (e.g. integer or string). Alternatively, a datatype may be associated only with the current value, allowing a single variable to store anything supported by the programming language.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="270"]An instance that is directionally arc consiste... An instance that is directionally arc consistent according to the order x1 x2 x3 but not arc consistent (no constraint is present between x1 and x3; corresponding edges omitted). Every value of a lower-index variable corresponds to values of higher index variables. Question marks indicate points where the converse does not hold. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Identifiers referencing a variable


An identifier referencing a variable can be used to access the variable in order to read out the value, or alter the value, or edit the attributes of the variable, such as access permission, locks,semaphores, etc.

For instance, a variable might be referenced by the identifier "total_count" and the variable can contain the number 1956. If the same variable is referenced by the identifier "x" as well, and if using this identifier "x", the value of the variable is altered to 2009, then reading the value using the identifier "total_count" will yield a result of 2009 and not 1956.

If a variable is only referenced by a single identifier that can simply be called the name of the variable. Otherwise, we can speak of one of the names of the variable. For instance, in the previous example, the "total_count" is a name of the variable in question, and "x" is another name of the same variable.

Scope and extent


The scope of a variable describes where in a program's text the variable may be used, while the extent (or lifetime) describes when in a program's execution a variable has a (meaningful) value. The scope of a variable is actually a property of the name of the variable, and the extent is a property of the variable itself.

A variable name's scope affects its extent.

Scope is a lexical aspect of a variable. Most languages define a specific scope for each variable (as well as any other named entity), which may differ within a given program. The scope of a variable is the portion of the program code for which the variable's name has meaning and for which the variable is said to be "visible". Entrance into that scope typically begins a variable's lifetime and exit from that scope typically ends its lifetime. For instance, a variable with "lexical scope" is meaningful only within a certain block of statements or subroutine. Variables only accessible within a certain functions are termed "local variables". A "global variable", or one with indefinite scope, may be referred to anywhere in the program.

Extent, on the other hand, is a runtime (dynamic) aspect of a variable. Each binding of a variable to a value can have its own extent at runtime. The extent of the binding is the portion of the program's execution time during which the variable continues to refer to the same value or memory location. A running program may enter and leave a given extent many times, as in the case of aclosure.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"]C language example. Illustrates difference bet... C language example. Illustrates difference between variables and arrays. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

Unless the programming language features garbage collection, a variable whose extent permanently outlasts its scope can result in a memory leak, whereby the memory allocated for the variable can never be freed since the variable which would be used to reference it for deallocation purposes is no longer accessible. However, it can be permissible for a variable binding to extend beyond its scope, as occurs in Lisp closures and C static local variables; when execution passes back into the variable's scope, the variable may once again be used. A variable whose scope begins before its extent does is said to be uninitialized and often has an undefined, arbitrary value if accessed (see wild pointer), since it has yet to be explicitly given a particular value. A variable whose extent ends before its scope does may become a dangling pointer and deemed uninitialized once more since its value has been destroyed. Variables described by the previous two cases may be said to be out of extent or unbound. In many languages, it is an error to try to use the value of a variable when it is out of extent. In other languages, doing so may yield unpredictable results. Such a variable may, however, be assigned a new value, which gives it a new extent.

For space efficiency, a memory space needed for a variable may be allocated only when the variable is first used and freed when it is no longer needed. A variable is only needed when it is in scope, but beginning each variable's lifetime when it enters scope may give space to unused variables. To avoid wasting such space, compilers often warn programmers if a variable is declared but not used.

It is considered good programming practice to make the scope of variables as narrow as feasible so that different parts of a program do not accidentally interact with each other by modifying each other's variables. Doing so also prevents action at a distance. Common techniques for doing so are to have different sections of a program use different name spaces, or to make individual variables "private" through either dynamic variable scoping or lexical variable scoping.

Many programming languages employ a reserved value (often named null or nil) to indicate an invalid or uninitialized variable.

 

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Colonial Viper

VIPER

The Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard Battlestar Galactica and are the humans' main tools of defense against the fictional universe's antagonists - the cybernetic Cylon race.

The popularity of the original Battlestar Galactica series resulted in United States Air Force pilots nicknaming F-16 Fighting Falcons "Vipers".[1][2] When the reimagined series was created, the Viper was one of the elements that the designers wanted to carry through with minimal alteration.

Original series (1978, 1980)























Viper (1978, 1980)
Colonial viper original-series.JPG
Original-series Vipers in flight.
First appearance"Saga of a Star World"
AffiliationColonial Fleet
General characteristics
ArmamentsLasers

In the original run of Battlestar Galactica, the Colonial Viper is the only known fighter flown by Colonial Pilots, referred to as "Colonial Warriors". There is only one known model of Viper seen in the series. Some materials list the Viper as a "Starhound Viper" or "Starhound Class" fighter, based on information in the novelization of "Saga of a Star World".[3]

The Vipers are launched from a long tube in one of a Battlestar's landing bays, assisted by a powered catapult mechanism. It appears that a Battlestar can launch at least three Vipers from each bay at once. Vipers are loaded into the launch tubes atop rails which engage recesses in the bottom of the fuselage between the lower wings. The rail system ensures that the Viper remains on the centerline of the launch tube.

Vipers typically use all three of their engines for powered flight, and can use a "Turbo" boost for greater speed, analogous to a modern fighter plane's afterburner. A pilot can turn on or off each engine by a push button, as seen in the startup sequence anytime a Viper is preparing to take off. Vipers can also reverse thrust for rapid deceleration, a useful tactic when being pursued by enemy ships that would then tend to overshoot the Viper, placing them in a vulnerable position. Vipers are capable of atmospheric as well as space flight, and can land and take off from a planetary surface. Viper engines are designed to collect commonly occurring gases in planetary atmospheres and in space to power the ship's fusion reactor. Vipers are also capable of supporting the pilot for up to two weeks in a form of "suspended animation" for extremely long missions.

The main flight control of a Viper is a three buttoned joystick, similar to a jet fighter. The three buttons are labeled FIRE, TURBO and IM, with the fire button being red. The IM button is the reverse thruster. Notably in "Saga of a Star World" and "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero (Pt. 2)" some Vipers have STORES on the joystick instead of FIRE.

Armament consist of two directed energy weapons (referred to as "lasers" and "laser torpedoes" at separate points in the series, "The Long Patrol" and "Saga of a Star World" respectively) that are linked together to fire simultaneously. They can also be modified to carry fire suppression equipment, as shown in the "Fire In Space" episode where they are used to battle a fire on theGalactica after the Cylons crash explosives-laden fighters into the launch bays.

In the event of a crash landing, a Viper's cockpit can also be used as an escape pod, separating from the ship and parachuting to the ground. This system does not provide a soft landing—in fact, it can knock the pilot unconscious—but it is effective.[4] A G-suit is worn under the pilot's uniform for protection against gravitational forces, as seen in "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I". The flight helmet worn by the Warrior pilots resembles an ancient Egyptian headdress and has no faceplate. Viper pilots from each Battlestar have differing forehead ornamentation on their helmets:Pegasus pilot helmets feature a flying horse, while Galactica pilot helmets have a bird design. According to some sources, the Universal wardrobe department came up with designs for other helmets if they had ever been needed-pilots from battlestar Cerberus would have had a three-headed dog on their helmets, pilots from the Prometheus would have had a hand holding a flaming torch, and those from the Solaria would have featured a burning sun.

Gear


Each Viper contains spacesuits for its pilot(s). While not normally worn, they can be brought out and donned if an EVA is necessary (e.g. for emergency repairs).[5] Vipers also contain emergency survival kits, which include a backpack with rations and a reflective blanket, a parka, and (following the capture and reverse-engineering of Cylon Centurions)[6] a manual with schematics of Cyloncircuitry.[4]

Variants


A "Recon Version" was piloted by Starbuck in "The Long Patrol". It possessed "nearly double the speed of a regular fighter", along with improved maneuverability, but lacked any armament due to the removal of the laser pumps. It also possessed C.O.R.A. (Computer, Oral Response Activated), a sultry female-voiced, voice-activated computer which doubled as an autopilot.

In the Galactica 1980 series, Vipers are shown to be newly capable of invisibility, which is explained in the episode "Galactica Discovers Earth". Other 1980 episodes indicate that a Colonial Warrior's uniform is meant to protect against the crushing effects of gravity, similar to an inertial damper. All Vipers also appear to be able to accommodate a passenger in the Galactica 1980series, as hinted at in the first episode of the TV series. This is seen with Jamie Hamilton swapping between Troy and Dillon's Vipers throughout the series, and with Xavier tricking Troy & Dillon to fly his (sabotaged) Viper in "Spaceball". Vipers also appear to have largish cargo bays for their size as each one carries the Colonial equivalent of a motorcycle.

The 1988 film Space Mutiny, which used special effects shots from the original Battlestar Galactica, referred to the ships as "Stingray Vipers".

More advanced, upgraded versions, the Azure class and Scarlet class, appear in Richard Hatch's re-launch novel series and in his attempted revival trailer "Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming". The Scarlet class features swept forward wings much like the X-29 experimental fighter plane.

In the 2003 Reimagining of the series, an Original Series Viper can be seen in the starboard flight pod "museum".

Deployment


While Vipers can operate from land and (according to the novel) have some refueling bases, they are mostly deployed from Battlestars. Each Battlestar is known to carry 75 Vipers. The Galacticahosted four squadrons named Blue, Red, Green and Yellow. Members of Silver Spar squadron later joined from the Pegasus after the Battle of Gamoray.

Reimagined series (2003)























Colonial Viper
Battlestar Galactica - Viper Mark II.jpg
A pair of Mark II Vipers flying low (from "The Hand of God").
First appearanceMini Series, Part 1
AffiliationColonial Fleet
General characteristics
ArmamentsKinetic energy weapons
Conventional missiles

In the 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica, the Viper series of starfighters are the Colonial Defense Force's primary space superiority fighter/attack craft. Capable of atmospheric flight, the Viper is a single-seat sub-light speed craft mounting two kinetic energy weapons (3 on at least one later design), as well as having hardpoints beneath the wings for mounting missiles, munitions pods and other ordnance. There are at least seven versions of the Viper design at the point in history depicted by the reimagined miniseries.

Richard Hudolin, the production designer for the miniseries, has stated that "The only things that we wanted to carry through (from the original filmand series) were the Mark II ships." [7]

Background


The Viper (Mark I) was introduced into Colonial service shortly before the outbreak of the first Cylon War. However, it was the Mark II Viper series, designed specifically for use with the new Colonial Battlestars, that is best remembered. The Mark II was used during the Cylon War, proving a capable fighting vehicle. It is regarded as one of the reasons the Twelve Colonies did not suffer defeat at the hands of the Cylons. The Mark II remained in service after the end of the war, with William Adama commenting that he last saw one, likely one of the last of its type, roughly twenty years after the end of the war.

The Mark II was superseded by newer models, with the Mark VII serving in front-line duties forty years after the end of the Cylon War, as seen inBattlestar Galactica: The Miniseries. By this time the Viper design had progressively evolved, retaining the basic structural configuration (essential for use with Colonial Battlestars), but with variations in length, equipment, and capability. No information is provided about the intervening designs, but by the time the Mark VII was introduced the Viper design incorporated software-based controls and fully networked systems, providing superior agility, battle management, and flight information for the pilot.

The Mark VII was later upgraded to include Dr. Gaius Baltar's navigational software. Along with the majority of the Colonial Fleet, this software allowed the Cylons to remotely disable the Vipers during the renewed attack on the Twelve Colonies. The few Mark VIIs that survived the disaster were later stripped of this software. The older Mark II fighters, not equipped with the "fly-by-wire" systems of newer Vipers, were unaffected by the Cylon modifications to Dr. Baltar's program. Two squadrons of Mark IIs were present in the Galactica's starboard flight pod in preparation for the Battlestar's new role as a museum ship, and after the Galactica's Mark VII squadron was destroyed by the Cylons, the display of Mark II's were refitted for combat by Galactica's deck crew.

Along with a handful of surviving Mark VII's, the older vipers made up Galactica's fighter wing during the Cylon sneak attack, the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage, and most of the Galactica's action prior to the arrival of Battlestar Pegasus in Season 2 episode "Pegasus", when her ability to manufacture more Mark VIIs was added to the fleet. When the Pegasus was destroyed in Season 3 episode "Exodus: Part 2", her nearly intact squadrons, all of them composed of Mark VIIs, were transferred to the Galactica 's air wing. At the time of the episode "He That Believeth in Me" (season 4, episode 3), more Vipers were available than qualified pilots, and trainee pilots were used to fly the extra fighters.

During the Battle of the Resurrection Hub, Vipers of both types were deployed from the Rebel Basestar against the Resurrection Hub and its two basestar escorts. The Vipers were towed into battle with their engines and electronics cold, allowing them to get the element of surprise in the attack. In that battle, both Colonial Vipers and Cylon Heavy Raiders fought side-by-side against the Cylons and once D'Anna Biers was unboxed and rescued, the Vipers, each equipped with at least one nuclear missile, lined up and launched their nuclear missiles into the Resurrection Hub, destroying it.