The Real-Time Strategy elements add another, unique aspect to the experience. If you ever played the original Natural Selection (a Half-Life mod), or the recent online FPS/RTS hybrid Nuclear Dawn, the theory is basically the same. One member of your team takes the role of Commander, directing the flow of battle, building structures, and researching upgrades for your team to make use of. For example, a Marine commander can up his soldiers' armor and weapons, and eventually provide jetpacks and hulking, Avatar-style exosuits loaded with gatling guns. On the Kharaa, the Commander researches abilities for the different alien forms, and ubiquitous skills which allow each player to customize their little monster based on their playstyle. For instance, one they're both researched you can choose between Celerity to move faster, or Adrenaline to increase your energy pool for extended ability use, but not both. It probably goes without saying that your Commander can make or break any given round.
On the Marine side, you will frequently find yourself in pitch black rooms with nothing but a flashlight--and maybe a few more erratic flashlight beams from your freaked-the-hell-out teammates--to light your way. Then a skittering form creeps along the wall just outside your beam, but you lose it and its gone. You call out to your teammates, “We're not alone in here,” and all hell breaks loose. A pack of quadrupedal, zergling-like Skulks drop off the ceiling, they start biting at your ankles and scurrying around faster than you can track; a pterodactyl-esque flying Lerk swoops through the room dropping poisonous gas on you and your squad. You try to fall back, but when you turn to flee, a bipedal Fade with blades for arms appears out of a cloud of mist and cuts down your last remaining squadmate. The last thing you see is an elephant-sized Onos charging toward you.
Hopefully you can use your imagination to see that scenario from the other side, too. (The Kharaa have a toggle to switch between normal and a pseudo-infrared/thermal vision, which means zero-light conditions are beneficial for them.) You should know, going into this game, there is a bit of a learning curve for the aliens. It's a different type of gameplay than you're probably used to (unless you played a lot of Aliens vs. Predator back in the day). Once you've gotten the hang of it though, playing the Kharaa skillfully can be an extraordinarily rewarding experience--not to mention exciting to the point of adrenaline-pumping. Marine-side, things are pretty straight-forward but still very enjoyable and occasionally terrifying: shoot guns, follow orders, build the structures your Commander throws down, and try not to die.
There is a lot for a Commander to keep track of, and unlike normal RTS games, if you screw up in this one, your units will probably start trash-talking you. So it's a bit of a stressful position for someone without a fairly deep understanding of the game on both the ground- and meta-level. I wouldn't advise hopping into the Commander seat for a while, since there is a surprising amount of depth to this game which only reveals itself to you over time. Luckily, all these elements are pretty well streamlined for the Commander. Instead of name-specific hotkeys--like “A” for “[A]rmory”--all the Commander hotkeys are arrayed in a consistent, four-wide/three-tall grid on the left side of your keyboard (from “QWER” down). So once you get the hang of each building or ability's location in the menu, your left hand will barely move, allowing you focus on the battle.
Besides being fun as hell, the game is very nice to look at too. The Kharaa models are unique and just the right blend of kinda-gross and fully-rad. Overall, the player models are good but nothing you're going to be raving about. The real shine here is in the level designs. These are some incredible maps: strategically interesting and well-designed; beautiful and atmospheric; very complex, but each room is memorable enough that you'll learn them well after you put some time in. Adding to the impressiveness, the levels also work really well in multiple states, such as: infested and non-infested, full-light, low-light, and pitch-black/powered-down. Map knowledge is a big part of the skill curve here--and its even harder to get a really good feel for the levels when you are sprinting through them as a Celerity-enhanced Skulk. But each significant room on the mini-map is clearly named and labeled, and there is a HUD element that keeps you informed of what room you are in at all times.
Sound plays a big part in the strategy and skill here, so it's to Unknown Worlds Entertainment's credit that the sound design is superb. Marine boots make an easily identifiable, metal-on-metal marching noise that echos around corners, and Skulks' skittering, blade-like feet are equally recognizable. Marine welders produce a satisfying sizzle, while their structures and exo-suits make clangy, wonderfully metallic noises. Alien growls are fun and Zerg-like, their structures and skills make sickeningly organic little squeals and splashes and spits.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Len Testa and the Math Behind Your Theme Park Vacation
Last month GeekMom Dak reviewed Touring Plans, a website and app that helps you plan your Disney vacation and knock hours off queuing times at the theme parks. Touring Plans‘ features included crowd calendars, wait times and customisable plans that allow you to select the attractions you are interested in seeing each day before the site gives you a detailed, unique itinerary. But where does the data for such a system come from and how do you go about creating a website that can instantly produce such a detailed plan for the millions of permutations each park offers on a single day? I spoke with Len Testa, the founder of Touring Plans and co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, about the mathematical side of planning your dream Disney trip.
Probably the most straightforward example of the time-dependent travelling salesman problem is the kind of scheduling that a company like FedEx or UPS has to do for one of its drivers. The company’s goal is for the driver to deliver packages to customers in different locations while minimizing the overall cost, including labor and fuel. At any point in the day, the FedEx driver has to take into account not only the distance between his current location and the next customer, but how much traffic will delay him when he’s on the road to that next customer. For example, the driver may decide to take a 4-mile detour on a rural road to get to the next customer, rather than drive a 1-mile stretch of I-95 at 5 p.m. on a Friday. The I-95 segment may be shorter, but the rural road is faster because it has less traffic. The trade-off there is slightly higher fuel cost for much lower labor costs.
After I finished my undergrad degree (also in computer science), I visited Walt Disney World the summer before I started graduate school. One day during that trip I waited in line almost two hours for the Great Movie Ride. Sometime during that wait I thought that there should be an app for minimizing your waits in line at theme parks.
I went back to my thesis advisors and discussed the problem. They proposed a literature search, which showed it was a suitably difficult problem. Once they gave their approval, I contacted Bob to see whether he’d share his data from the book.
It turned out that he was using a different approach than I was envisioning, so we didn’t get to share data. But Bob was exceptionally generous with his time, explaining how his modelling worked and what to look out for when creating a schedule for theme parks. We stayed in touch through my graduation, and I started joining Bob’s team for in-park research in 2000. Because I was spending so much time in the parks for touring plan research, I started updating other sections of the book when it needed to be done. I became co-author of the Guide in 2007.
Two things make the Unofficial Guide book, the Touring Plans website and the Lines app different: First, our research is consumer-oriented. That means that we’ll tell you in plain language whether an attraction isn’t worth your time, or a restaurant isn’t worth your money. Second, we’re a data-driven organization. Our staff consists of scientists applying their knowledge to travel problems, which is unique in the travel publishing industry. This allows us to tackle things like touring plans, which are complex scheduling problems. It turns out that there are quite a few vacation questions that can be answered through science, math and operations research. Finding the least-expensive combination of Disney admission tickets, for example, is a bin-packing problem.
The other thing that makes our app different is that we’ll estimate how long you’ll actually wait in line at a given ride at a given time of day. Every other app just tells you Disney’s posted time, or (worse) tries to estimate Disney’s posted wait time because they don’t have people in the parks feeding them data. Any theme park veteran will tell you that the wait time posted outside an attraction isn’t how long you’ll really wait. Sometimes the posted waits are set artificially high on purpose, as a form of crowd control, to get people to get in line somewhere else. Sometimes the waits are set high at the end of the day to dissuade people from getting in line, so management can close the park on schedule and keep their labor costs low. And sometimes the posted waits are too low, because the kid staffing the sign got caught up doing something else.
A lot of it is the same for any organization, including Disney. We’re looking for bright, self-directed, team-oriented people. Because we’re both writers and scientists, we probably put more emphasis than other companies on the combination of fact-based decision making and strong oral and written communication.
I spent a long time doing architecture in American Express’ technologies group prior to joining the Guide. AmEx Technologies is an excellent place for computer scientists to learn how to run a company; their leadership team is level headed and fact-based. They make their tech teams responsible for rationalizing tech investment to the business group giving the funding. You learn how to verify that your idea makes business sense and how to communicate the investment to an audience whose skills are outside of technology.
Probably the most straightforward example of the time-dependent travelling salesman problem is the kind of scheduling that a company like FedEx or UPS has to do for one of its drivers. The company’s goal is for the driver to deliver packages to customers in different locations while minimizing the overall cost, including labor and fuel. At any point in the day, the FedEx driver has to take into account not only the distance between his current location and the next customer, but how much traffic will delay him when he’s on the road to that next customer. For example, the driver may decide to take a 4-mile detour on a rural road to get to the next customer, rather than drive a 1-mile stretch of I-95 at 5 p.m. on a Friday. The I-95 segment may be shorter, but the rural road is faster because it has less traffic. The trade-off there is slightly higher fuel cost for much lower labor costs.
After I finished my undergrad degree (also in computer science), I visited Walt Disney World the summer before I started graduate school. One day during that trip I waited in line almost two hours for the Great Movie Ride. Sometime during that wait I thought that there should be an app for minimizing your waits in line at theme parks.
I went back to my thesis advisors and discussed the problem. They proposed a literature search, which showed it was a suitably difficult problem. Once they gave their approval, I contacted Bob to see whether he’d share his data from the book.
It turned out that he was using a different approach than I was envisioning, so we didn’t get to share data. But Bob was exceptionally generous with his time, explaining how his modelling worked and what to look out for when creating a schedule for theme parks. We stayed in touch through my graduation, and I started joining Bob’s team for in-park research in 2000. Because I was spending so much time in the parks for touring plan research, I started updating other sections of the book when it needed to be done. I became co-author of the Guide in 2007.
Two things make the Unofficial Guide book, the Touring Plans website and the Lines app different: First, our research is consumer-oriented. That means that we’ll tell you in plain language whether an attraction isn’t worth your time, or a restaurant isn’t worth your money. Second, we’re a data-driven organization. Our staff consists of scientists applying their knowledge to travel problems, which is unique in the travel publishing industry. This allows us to tackle things like touring plans, which are complex scheduling problems. It turns out that there are quite a few vacation questions that can be answered through science, math and operations research. Finding the least-expensive combination of Disney admission tickets, for example, is a bin-packing problem.
The other thing that makes our app different is that we’ll estimate how long you’ll actually wait in line at a given ride at a given time of day. Every other app just tells you Disney’s posted time, or (worse) tries to estimate Disney’s posted wait time because they don’t have people in the parks feeding them data. Any theme park veteran will tell you that the wait time posted outside an attraction isn’t how long you’ll really wait. Sometimes the posted waits are set artificially high on purpose, as a form of crowd control, to get people to get in line somewhere else. Sometimes the waits are set high at the end of the day to dissuade people from getting in line, so management can close the park on schedule and keep their labor costs low. And sometimes the posted waits are too low, because the kid staffing the sign got caught up doing something else.
A lot of it is the same for any organization, including Disney. We’re looking for bright, self-directed, team-oriented people. Because we’re both writers and scientists, we probably put more emphasis than other companies on the combination of fact-based decision making and strong oral and written communication.
I spent a long time doing architecture in American Express’ technologies group prior to joining the Guide. AmEx Technologies is an excellent place for computer scientists to learn how to run a company; their leadership team is level headed and fact-based. They make their tech teams responsible for rationalizing tech investment to the business group giving the funding. You learn how to verify that your idea makes business sense and how to communicate the investment to an audience whose skills are outside of technology.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Shreveport siblings visit WWII Memorial
This time Brookshire's Food and Pharmacy and subsidiary Super 1 Foods picked up the tab for Tooley, his brother, 92-year-old Ed Tooley of Shreveport, and more than 20 other men in their 80s and 90s -- all World War II veterans.
Brookshire's instituted the program in 2010 and have since taken dozens of veterans to the country's capital to visit various war memorials.
Fel Tooley found out about the program through his brother, who called him one day and asked if he'd like to make the trip. The answer was a resounding yes, and the brothers each filled out their applications.
Fel Tooley -- the youngest veteran on this trip -- was drafted just at the end of World War II. He served in the Navy from 1944 to 1945 in the hospital corps. His career was spent stationed in California. Ed Tooley was a colonel in the Air Force and stationed mainly in Burma during the war.
"The trip was outstanding," Fel Tooley said. "It would take me an hour just to explain all the things we did."
The veterans were treated like royalty from the moment their escorts -- representatives of Super 1 Foods and Brookshire's -- arrived. Causal meals, fine dining and even a 1950s-themed dinner service complete with dancers in zoot suits, thanks to the Arlington, Va., Knights of Columbus.
But the real reason for this trip and the others like it is to provide these service men and women (though no women were on the latest trip) with the opportunity to see the National World War II Memorial erected in Washington, D.C., in 2008. Other programs of this kind exist, and Brookshire's public relations manager, Sam Anderson of Tyler, Texas, where the grocery store is headquartered, said his company takes special care to select veterans who have never before seen the World War II memorial.
"It's a way to say to these veterans thank you very much for your service," Anderson said. "What I've seen on these trips is an awful amount of gratitude expressed to these veterans as they go around to different sites in D.C. It is not uncommon for people to stop them on the street and express their gratitude for the veterans' service to this country. There is still a feeling of patriotism in this country."
Once in Washington, D.C., the veterans were divided into smaller groups and provided with T-shirts, hats, jackets and wheelchairs before touring monuments and memorials.
When the groups reached the World War II Memorial, the emotions took hold.
"When we got to the memorial, they had chairs set out for us, and we had lunch right there," Fel Tooley said. "It was very moving for all of them. We were all from different branches -- there were Marines from Iwo Jima there -- they were from all over. The 'Wall of Stars' gets you more than anything."
That wall, officially titled the Freedom Wall, has 4,048 gold stars, each representing 100 Americans who died in the war.
Once home, each veteran received a packet containing photographs taken on the trip, as well as 30 or 40 letters from school children thanking the men for their service.
"If you read them, you'd just laugh and cry," Fel Tooley said.
Still, there's more to look forward to for the latest group of veterans. On Dec. 6, the group will reunite in Shreveport for a dinner hosted by Brookshire's.
"The veterans have been very, very grateful for this experience," Anderson said. "They are honored that we have provided this for them, when in reality it is actually we who are honored to do this for them."
Brookshire's instituted the program in 2010 and have since taken dozens of veterans to the country's capital to visit various war memorials.
Fel Tooley found out about the program through his brother, who called him one day and asked if he'd like to make the trip. The answer was a resounding yes, and the brothers each filled out their applications.
Fel Tooley -- the youngest veteran on this trip -- was drafted just at the end of World War II. He served in the Navy from 1944 to 1945 in the hospital corps. His career was spent stationed in California. Ed Tooley was a colonel in the Air Force and stationed mainly in Burma during the war.
"The trip was outstanding," Fel Tooley said. "It would take me an hour just to explain all the things we did."
The veterans were treated like royalty from the moment their escorts -- representatives of Super 1 Foods and Brookshire's -- arrived. Causal meals, fine dining and even a 1950s-themed dinner service complete with dancers in zoot suits, thanks to the Arlington, Va., Knights of Columbus.
But the real reason for this trip and the others like it is to provide these service men and women (though no women were on the latest trip) with the opportunity to see the National World War II Memorial erected in Washington, D.C., in 2008. Other programs of this kind exist, and Brookshire's public relations manager, Sam Anderson of Tyler, Texas, where the grocery store is headquartered, said his company takes special care to select veterans who have never before seen the World War II memorial.
"It's a way to say to these veterans thank you very much for your service," Anderson said. "What I've seen on these trips is an awful amount of gratitude expressed to these veterans as they go around to different sites in D.C. It is not uncommon for people to stop them on the street and express their gratitude for the veterans' service to this country. There is still a feeling of patriotism in this country."
Once in Washington, D.C., the veterans were divided into smaller groups and provided with T-shirts, hats, jackets and wheelchairs before touring monuments and memorials.
When the groups reached the World War II Memorial, the emotions took hold.
"When we got to the memorial, they had chairs set out for us, and we had lunch right there," Fel Tooley said. "It was very moving for all of them. We were all from different branches -- there were Marines from Iwo Jima there -- they were from all over. The 'Wall of Stars' gets you more than anything."
That wall, officially titled the Freedom Wall, has 4,048 gold stars, each representing 100 Americans who died in the war.
Once home, each veteran received a packet containing photographs taken on the trip, as well as 30 or 40 letters from school children thanking the men for their service.
"If you read them, you'd just laugh and cry," Fel Tooley said.
Still, there's more to look forward to for the latest group of veterans. On Dec. 6, the group will reunite in Shreveport for a dinner hosted by Brookshire's.
"The veterans have been very, very grateful for this experience," Anderson said. "They are honored that we have provided this for them, when in reality it is actually we who are honored to do this for them."
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Applied Releases Latest Version of Agency Management System
Applied Systems announces the general release of TAM 12, the newest version of the most insurance software vendor’s agency and broker management software.
Applied reports TAM 12 delivers enhanced capabilities for writing insurance policies in the commercial middle market. Among them are reverse alerts, which support real-time communication from agents to carriers, including attachments. For Canadian customers, it includes new capabilities for writing commercial lines policies.
TAM 12 supports the new Canadian eDoc XML standard from The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO), which allows for electronic documents to be transmitted in broker downloads, yielding broker cost efficiencies and improving customer service and retention. It also provides an improved French user interface and help files.
In addition, TAM 12 provides enhanced integration with Compu-Quote, providing the ability to attach a PDF file that contains carrier details, premium summary and underwriting. TAM also creates a default description in the activity note with year, make, model, total premium and premium per vehicle for an auto quote and location, total premium and premium per location for a property quote for Canadian brokers. As previously announced, Applied Systems acquired Compu-Quote earlier this year.
“At Applied Systems, we are committed to innovation that will continue to drive the business of insurance,” says Applied Systems CEO Reid French. “Advancements in TAM remain core to our innovation focus. With the delivery of TAM 12, agents and brokers will benefit from further automation of their business operations, enabling them to increase profitability and enhance customer satisfaction.”
More agents and brokers utilize Applied TAM than any other agency management software in North America, according to French. TAMOnline, the hosted version of TAM, eliminates the need and cost for agents and brokers to manage hardware, software upgrades and application security. TAMOnline also provides increased application access and flexibility to allow agencies to more effectively manage client and policy information, he added.
With Hike, a user can message contacts regardless of whether they have the app installed. Sending messages to another Hike user is free globally. One can also message via SMS friends who don’t have the app installed. The company is giving 100 free SMS every month to message those friends who aren’t on Hike. Friends can reply to these SMS at standard rates and the message comes right back into Hike. A user gets 50 free SMS per month for each friend they have invited to Hike.
There are a plethora of messaging platforms globally such as WhatsApp and Nimbuzz that are agnostic to handsets, operators and operating systems. Then there are also platforms from handset makers such as BlackBerry Messenger, iMessenger from Apple and Samsung’s ChatOn.
But Mittal reckons that the SMS facility on Hike gives BSB an edge over the others. “In countries like India only a few people have smartphones and, therefore, having the ability to combine SMS with instant messaging is a huge differentiator,” he said.
Applied reports TAM 12 delivers enhanced capabilities for writing insurance policies in the commercial middle market. Among them are reverse alerts, which support real-time communication from agents to carriers, including attachments. For Canadian customers, it includes new capabilities for writing commercial lines policies.
TAM 12 supports the new Canadian eDoc XML standard from The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO), which allows for electronic documents to be transmitted in broker downloads, yielding broker cost efficiencies and improving customer service and retention. It also provides an improved French user interface and help files.
In addition, TAM 12 provides enhanced integration with Compu-Quote, providing the ability to attach a PDF file that contains carrier details, premium summary and underwriting. TAM also creates a default description in the activity note with year, make, model, total premium and premium per vehicle for an auto quote and location, total premium and premium per location for a property quote for Canadian brokers. As previously announced, Applied Systems acquired Compu-Quote earlier this year.
“At Applied Systems, we are committed to innovation that will continue to drive the business of insurance,” says Applied Systems CEO Reid French. “Advancements in TAM remain core to our innovation focus. With the delivery of TAM 12, agents and brokers will benefit from further automation of their business operations, enabling them to increase profitability and enhance customer satisfaction.”
More agents and brokers utilize Applied TAM than any other agency management software in North America, according to French. TAMOnline, the hosted version of TAM, eliminates the need and cost for agents and brokers to manage hardware, software upgrades and application security. TAMOnline also provides increased application access and flexibility to allow agencies to more effectively manage client and policy information, he added.
With Hike, a user can message contacts regardless of whether they have the app installed. Sending messages to another Hike user is free globally. One can also message via SMS friends who don’t have the app installed. The company is giving 100 free SMS every month to message those friends who aren’t on Hike. Friends can reply to these SMS at standard rates and the message comes right back into Hike. A user gets 50 free SMS per month for each friend they have invited to Hike.
There are a plethora of messaging platforms globally such as WhatsApp and Nimbuzz that are agnostic to handsets, operators and operating systems. Then there are also platforms from handset makers such as BlackBerry Messenger, iMessenger from Apple and Samsung’s ChatOn.
But Mittal reckons that the SMS facility on Hike gives BSB an edge over the others. “In countries like India only a few people have smartphones and, therefore, having the ability to combine SMS with instant messaging is a huge differentiator,” he said.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Americans shout out on Twitter
Americans added a quirky step to their voting routine Tuesday by taking to Twitter and other social media with proof they cast their ballot, amid a drive to boost turnout in the presidential poll.
A study by the Pew Research Center found that nearly a quarter of registered voters had already announced who they cast their ballot for -- or planned to -- on social networks flooded with "I voted" posts, clicks and photos.
"Just cast my vote & my grandpa would be so proud!", tweeted, posting a picture of an "I Voted" sticker on her grey jumper, complete with the #ivoted hashtag, which was being used by hundreds of Twitter users.
Wearing aviator sunglasses and a black cap, singer Lenny Kravitz also waded into the fray, sticking his "I voted today!" badge on his finger in a photo on his Twitter account.
In the run-up to Tuesday's election, campaigns, celebrities and others have used social networks extensively to try to persuade people to vote and even beat the record 2008 turnout, when two-thirds of US voters cast a ballot.
Facebook itself posted messages at the top of people's news feeds on Tuesday showing users which friends were voting in the election and urging them to do the same by clicking an "I'm a voter" button.
Two-thirds of these were women, according to Facebook statistics, while the top ten most-mentioned terms in the United States on the social network were election-related, with "vote", "Obama," "election" and "Romney" among them.
In its study, the Pew Research Center found that 22 percent of respondents in a representative sample of 1,011 adults said they had let people know who they voted for or planned to vote for on social networking sites.
The survey also found some 25 percent of Barack Obama supporters had publicly acknowledged their choice, while 20 percent of Mitt Romney backers had done so.
Nearly one-third of voters, meanwhile, had been encouraged to vote for Obama or his Republican challenger Romney via posts on social media, while one-fifth had tried to convince others to cast their ballot on social networks.
On Twitter, photos abounded of people proudly sporting their "I voted" badges and some also posted shots of their ballot papers -- which is illegal in some states.
Others put up photos of them voting with their children -- an initiative backed by First Lady Michelle Obama, who has encouraged Americans to take their kids to polling stations so they get an idea of the workings of democracy.
Some took to Twitter to point out irregularities. Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams posted a photo of a polling station in Philadelphia that had a huge painting of Obama on its wall complete with the word "hope."
Electioneering is not allowed at polling places in some states, and he later updated followers with a picture of the same Obama mural covered up by several pieces of paper, saying it was still "not good enough."
Picswitch, a website that allows users to customize their Twitter profile pictures, had a large selection of logos provided by Obama's campaign team that people were adding to their photos.
The most popular was the generic "I voted" banner with Obama's campaign logo. But dozens of people had also chosen a shot of the US president taken from behind, with the caption "I've got his back."
A study by the Pew Research Center found that nearly a quarter of registered voters had already announced who they cast their ballot for -- or planned to -- on social networks flooded with "I voted" posts, clicks and photos.
"Just cast my vote & my grandpa would be so proud!", tweeted, posting a picture of an "I Voted" sticker on her grey jumper, complete with the #ivoted hashtag, which was being used by hundreds of Twitter users.
Wearing aviator sunglasses and a black cap, singer Lenny Kravitz also waded into the fray, sticking his "I voted today!" badge on his finger in a photo on his Twitter account.
In the run-up to Tuesday's election, campaigns, celebrities and others have used social networks extensively to try to persuade people to vote and even beat the record 2008 turnout, when two-thirds of US voters cast a ballot.
Facebook itself posted messages at the top of people's news feeds on Tuesday showing users which friends were voting in the election and urging them to do the same by clicking an "I'm a voter" button.
Two-thirds of these were women, according to Facebook statistics, while the top ten most-mentioned terms in the United States on the social network were election-related, with "vote", "Obama," "election" and "Romney" among them.
In its study, the Pew Research Center found that 22 percent of respondents in a representative sample of 1,011 adults said they had let people know who they voted for or planned to vote for on social networking sites.
The survey also found some 25 percent of Barack Obama supporters had publicly acknowledged their choice, while 20 percent of Mitt Romney backers had done so.
Nearly one-third of voters, meanwhile, had been encouraged to vote for Obama or his Republican challenger Romney via posts on social media, while one-fifth had tried to convince others to cast their ballot on social networks.
On Twitter, photos abounded of people proudly sporting their "I voted" badges and some also posted shots of their ballot papers -- which is illegal in some states.
Others put up photos of them voting with their children -- an initiative backed by First Lady Michelle Obama, who has encouraged Americans to take their kids to polling stations so they get an idea of the workings of democracy.
Some took to Twitter to point out irregularities. Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams posted a photo of a polling station in Philadelphia that had a huge painting of Obama on its wall complete with the word "hope."
Electioneering is not allowed at polling places in some states, and he later updated followers with a picture of the same Obama mural covered up by several pieces of paper, saying it was still "not good enough."
Picswitch, a website that allows users to customize their Twitter profile pictures, had a large selection of logos provided by Obama's campaign team that people were adding to their photos.
The most popular was the generic "I voted" banner with Obama's campaign logo. But dozens of people had also chosen a shot of the US president taken from behind, with the caption "I've got his back."
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Four candidates seek three seats on Surgoinsville BMA
Two incumbents and two newcomers are seeking three contested seats on the Surgoinsville Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
The following are excerpts from candidate responses to a Times-News questionnaire.
Incumbent Alderman Marc Borghetti did not respond to numerous telephone messages seeking his participation in the questionnaire.
Alex Dykes is a former manager at Dominos Pizza and Citi and is currently employed at the Surgoinsville Pizza Plus while he takes classes at Northeast State Community College.
“I had been thinking for sometime that I would like to participate one day in the city. This is a great chance to participate in the city and continue the good work that has been done by the current BMA over the last eight years or so. Going way back to the new police department to the new Creekside Park we have just built, the city has made a litany of improvements. Seeing the work being completed has been inspirational in my idea to try and join the team.”
“The sewer project is number one. We have been working on implementing this project for quite some time. Once this project is completed I feel like we can do more city building like the Creekside Park that was just recently completed. What if one day the city park had free access WiFi? What if the Riverside Park had a playground? Or if the city added a fenced-in basketball court with public access? This is just a small example of the ideas I have for the city. The budget may be small in this city, but I still feel like we can make it work while still staying within budget.”
“I am the best candidate for this office because of my previous leadership experience, the education I am currently receiving, and the work ethic I will provide. I am an ‘ideas guy’ always looking for solutions. With compromise and hard work we can keep moving forward.”
“I have always had a deep care for this great city. I have seen the improvements we have made so far. I want to be a part of the future of this city, and I want to be hands-on in every way that I can.”
Incumbent Alderman Joe McLain is also a member of the Hawkins County Commission, a Vietnam veteran, and retired as operations manager of John Sevier Fossil Plant after 32 years of service.
“I want to help make improvements in Surgoinsville. Surgoinsville is a lovely little town. We are in need of a few services, but we are working toward getting those. This is a good Board of Mayor and Aldermen who share the same vision for improvements. We have great employees who also share the vision of making improvements. Our police department is exemplary. Our fire department, which is all-volunteer, has made many improvements and continues to work to provide first-class coverage. The fire department maintains a good ISO rating, which helps citizens with lower homeowners insurance.”
“I would like to see the successful completion of the sanitary sewer system. I would like to improve the method of garbage pickup with a safer, more efficient system. I am interested in purchasing road repair equipment. Our roads need attention, and with the cost of asphalt we will have to do most repairs with our capable employees.”
“In every decision the board makes the taxpayer needs to be considered. Voters can be assured that I will spend taxpayer dollars wisely. My work and voting record for the past four years will give voters an idea of what to expect from me on the City Council.”
Landon Pruitt is employed with Greeneville Oil Co. He is a graduate of Volunteer High School and is currently attending classes to become a EMT.
“I chose to run for office because I am a lifelong citizen of the town, and I want to make a difference. I’ve always wanted to be in politics, and where else better to start than my hometown. Also, I would like to give back to the citizens of the town. This town needs a change, and I firmly believe that I can help do that.”
“As far as political experience goes, I am what you call the new guy. I don’t really have any, but what I do have is common sense and a willingness to make the town better. You have to start somewhere, and I believe I will be a good choice for the citizens.”
“I would like to build on what the current BMA has already started such as finishing the sewer project and then expanding it throughout the town, and continue to clean up the overgrown lots throughout the town.”
“I want to make sure we keep taxes as low as possible and the sewer rates as well. Also, I want to have something for the children of the town. Currently we have nothing, so maybe starting off with a playground or something. The other thing I will work on is trying to attract some new businesses. I realize all this isn’t something that can happen overnight. It takes the whole BMA to run this city, and we all have to work together to get the things this city needs done accomplished.”
“What I want to tell the citizens of Surgoinsville is that I am willing to work hard and do my very best for the town! I’m willing to listen to the citizens and work for them. It’s time this place sees something new, and I believe I am that person.”
The following are excerpts from candidate responses to a Times-News questionnaire.
Incumbent Alderman Marc Borghetti did not respond to numerous telephone messages seeking his participation in the questionnaire.
Alex Dykes is a former manager at Dominos Pizza and Citi and is currently employed at the Surgoinsville Pizza Plus while he takes classes at Northeast State Community College.
“I had been thinking for sometime that I would like to participate one day in the city. This is a great chance to participate in the city and continue the good work that has been done by the current BMA over the last eight years or so. Going way back to the new police department to the new Creekside Park we have just built, the city has made a litany of improvements. Seeing the work being completed has been inspirational in my idea to try and join the team.”
“The sewer project is number one. We have been working on implementing this project for quite some time. Once this project is completed I feel like we can do more city building like the Creekside Park that was just recently completed. What if one day the city park had free access WiFi? What if the Riverside Park had a playground? Or if the city added a fenced-in basketball court with public access? This is just a small example of the ideas I have for the city. The budget may be small in this city, but I still feel like we can make it work while still staying within budget.”
“I am the best candidate for this office because of my previous leadership experience, the education I am currently receiving, and the work ethic I will provide. I am an ‘ideas guy’ always looking for solutions. With compromise and hard work we can keep moving forward.”
“I have always had a deep care for this great city. I have seen the improvements we have made so far. I want to be a part of the future of this city, and I want to be hands-on in every way that I can.”
Incumbent Alderman Joe McLain is also a member of the Hawkins County Commission, a Vietnam veteran, and retired as operations manager of John Sevier Fossil Plant after 32 years of service.
“I want to help make improvements in Surgoinsville. Surgoinsville is a lovely little town. We are in need of a few services, but we are working toward getting those. This is a good Board of Mayor and Aldermen who share the same vision for improvements. We have great employees who also share the vision of making improvements. Our police department is exemplary. Our fire department, which is all-volunteer, has made many improvements and continues to work to provide first-class coverage. The fire department maintains a good ISO rating, which helps citizens with lower homeowners insurance.”
“I would like to see the successful completion of the sanitary sewer system. I would like to improve the method of garbage pickup with a safer, more efficient system. I am interested in purchasing road repair equipment. Our roads need attention, and with the cost of asphalt we will have to do most repairs with our capable employees.”
“In every decision the board makes the taxpayer needs to be considered. Voters can be assured that I will spend taxpayer dollars wisely. My work and voting record for the past four years will give voters an idea of what to expect from me on the City Council.”
Landon Pruitt is employed with Greeneville Oil Co. He is a graduate of Volunteer High School and is currently attending classes to become a EMT.
“I chose to run for office because I am a lifelong citizen of the town, and I want to make a difference. I’ve always wanted to be in politics, and where else better to start than my hometown. Also, I would like to give back to the citizens of the town. This town needs a change, and I firmly believe that I can help do that.”
“As far as political experience goes, I am what you call the new guy. I don’t really have any, but what I do have is common sense and a willingness to make the town better. You have to start somewhere, and I believe I will be a good choice for the citizens.”
“I would like to build on what the current BMA has already started such as finishing the sewer project and then expanding it throughout the town, and continue to clean up the overgrown lots throughout the town.”
“I want to make sure we keep taxes as low as possible and the sewer rates as well. Also, I want to have something for the children of the town. Currently we have nothing, so maybe starting off with a playground or something. The other thing I will work on is trying to attract some new businesses. I realize all this isn’t something that can happen overnight. It takes the whole BMA to run this city, and we all have to work together to get the things this city needs done accomplished.”
“What I want to tell the citizens of Surgoinsville is that I am willing to work hard and do my very best for the town! I’m willing to listen to the citizens and work for them. It’s time this place sees something new, and I believe I am that person.”
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Screen Size Choices Now More Real For Consumers
What size Tablet is right for you? Well, in my view, I wouldn’t let anyone else make that judgement for you. It all depends on what you need and want to do on a Tablet that will determine the best fit. Most of what you want to do on a Tablet these days is not limited by the screen size. If there are limitations they belong to the operating systems that power the Apps, but even those limitations are few and far between. What’s key is how you want to view AND want to touch the world inside that window that your Tablet provides. We’ve seen various screen sizes from various Tablet makers for quite some time now. But, in my view it is only lately that these choices have become a viable mainstream choice for consumers.
Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD have proven what many have said all along that the 7-inch form factor is attractive to many consumers. The iPad mini that is supposed to begin arriving for some users tomorrow will certainly continue that trend. Google and Samsung are unleashing its next 10-incher here shortly under the Nexus brand called the Nexus 10. The low price point will make it serious competition for Apple’s industry leading iPad . Keep in mind though that the iPad 2 is still on the market for $399. And Microsoft is finally in the game with its widescreen 10-inch format Surface RT, as are a few OEMs that use Microsoft’s Windows platform. There are certainly other Tablets out there for the Android Platform as well. With the exception of Amazon’s still to come 8-inch Fire HD, we’re looking at a world of choices that settle on the 7-inch form factor and the 10-inch form factor. For the sake of this post I’m going to break things into those two categories: 7-inch and 10-inch although those broad dimensions don’t cover all the permutations.
There’s one principle reason that the 10-inch Form Factor is my preferred size for a Tablet. That’s Digital Inking. I need the screen real estate to spill my digital ink on when I’m scrawling notes. I was used to larger Tablets back in the prehistoric Tablet PC days, but since using the iPad, I realize that a 10-inch screen covers most of my note taking needs. I’m anxious to see what Windows 8 Pro brings to the table and the Tablet regarding Digital Inking. As I said in my Surface RT review, that device sadly isn’t built for this kind of work. The iPad is certainly not a perfect tool for digital Inking either, but thanks to work that some of the developers of Apps like Penultimate, Noteshelf, and Stan Misanikov and his company Phatware (PhatPad, Writepad) there are some choices that make this a doable but not perfect solution on the iPad.
I actually prefer the 7-inch form factor for doing email chores. It forces me to be brief and concise if I choose to reply and allows me to put off emails that require a longer answer until I can gather my thoughts.
Now, none of the tasks I’ve listed above need to be or are exclusive to one sized form factor or the other in my usage. Those are my preferences as I’ve watched them develop in these recent months.
The Windows Surface RT has thrown some interesting new twists into my thinking and usage, as I continue to work with it and I’m anxious to see what changes down the road as more Metro Windows 8 Apps Metro Apps appear. While I have some real issues with the Surface RT in this first implementation,I find there are some very appealing things about the size and form factor. That is as long as I am comfortable in landscape mode.
While you may not be able to put your hands on each of these devices in any one retail location, I would offer that it is a good idea to at least check out the different size differences that are offered in locations like Best Buy. You need to imagine how you’ll be using a Tablet to make that worthwhile, because in most cases, holding the devices can be very seductive.
Of course things are limited to what I’ve talked about here. Quite a few folks are using the larger sized smartphones in the same ways I use a Tablet. Certainly if that works for you it could be a compromise without being compromising. But, then that’s the exciting about where we are now with the choices that we have before us.
Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD have proven what many have said all along that the 7-inch form factor is attractive to many consumers. The iPad mini that is supposed to begin arriving for some users tomorrow will certainly continue that trend. Google and Samsung are unleashing its next 10-incher here shortly under the Nexus brand called the Nexus 10. The low price point will make it serious competition for Apple’s industry leading iPad . Keep in mind though that the iPad 2 is still on the market for $399. And Microsoft is finally in the game with its widescreen 10-inch format Surface RT, as are a few OEMs that use Microsoft’s Windows platform. There are certainly other Tablets out there for the Android Platform as well. With the exception of Amazon’s still to come 8-inch Fire HD, we’re looking at a world of choices that settle on the 7-inch form factor and the 10-inch form factor. For the sake of this post I’m going to break things into those two categories: 7-inch and 10-inch although those broad dimensions don’t cover all the permutations.
There’s one principle reason that the 10-inch Form Factor is my preferred size for a Tablet. That’s Digital Inking. I need the screen real estate to spill my digital ink on when I’m scrawling notes. I was used to larger Tablets back in the prehistoric Tablet PC days, but since using the iPad, I realize that a 10-inch screen covers most of my note taking needs. I’m anxious to see what Windows 8 Pro brings to the table and the Tablet regarding Digital Inking. As I said in my Surface RT review, that device sadly isn’t built for this kind of work. The iPad is certainly not a perfect tool for digital Inking either, but thanks to work that some of the developers of Apps like Penultimate, Noteshelf, and Stan Misanikov and his company Phatware (PhatPad, Writepad) there are some choices that make this a doable but not perfect solution on the iPad.
I actually prefer the 7-inch form factor for doing email chores. It forces me to be brief and concise if I choose to reply and allows me to put off emails that require a longer answer until I can gather my thoughts.
Now, none of the tasks I’ve listed above need to be or are exclusive to one sized form factor or the other in my usage. Those are my preferences as I’ve watched them develop in these recent months.
The Windows Surface RT has thrown some interesting new twists into my thinking and usage, as I continue to work with it and I’m anxious to see what changes down the road as more Metro Windows 8 Apps Metro Apps appear. While I have some real issues with the Surface RT in this first implementation,I find there are some very appealing things about the size and form factor. That is as long as I am comfortable in landscape mode.
While you may not be able to put your hands on each of these devices in any one retail location, I would offer that it is a good idea to at least check out the different size differences that are offered in locations like Best Buy. You need to imagine how you’ll be using a Tablet to make that worthwhile, because in most cases, holding the devices can be very seductive.
Of course things are limited to what I’ve talked about here. Quite a few folks are using the larger sized smartphones in the same ways I use a Tablet. Certainly if that works for you it could be a compromise without being compromising. But, then that’s the exciting about where we are now with the choices that we have before us.
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