President-elect Barack Obama has again made the trip to a Marine Corps base near his vacation home for an hourlong morning workout.
Obama and his friends from Chicago — Eric Whitaker and Martin Nesbitt — went to the Semper Fit gym on Marine Corps Base Hawaii's compound Sunday morning. The president-elect didn't speak to reporters but made small talk with folks who gathered by the road inside the secure base.
Marines and others on the secure base gathered on a traffic island waiting for a glimpse of Obama.
Afterward, Obama asked the visitors how they were doing and offered a drawn out "al-ohhh-ha." The group applauded.
During the afternoon, Obama's police-escorted motorcade took a two-hour scenic drive from his rental home to visit the North Shore residence of a high school friend, Bobby Titcomb.
On the way, Obama made a brief stop at the Turtle Bay Resort.
Obama, his wife and their two daughters spent nearly seven hours at Titcomb's house.
Obama and his family are spending 12 days in Obama's native state. The Obamas are trying to keep a low profile on the trip but Obama is receiving national security briefings. He has no public schedule through the New Year.
The forecast as for most days: balmy breezes, sun, occasional showers and temperatures in the mid-70s.
After posting the last column, an interesting topic arose about originality in gaming. So, I'm pushing my next topic back to spend some time on this issue, particularly as it relates to the use of new or existing IP (intellectual property). There are merits and drawbacks to both types and I will attempt to address the major ones here. I will admit from the outset that I generally prefer new IP though I have enjoyed many games of the other variety.
Originality is a hard concept to measure because it is a subjective idea. Two people discussing a game, book, or movie may have different perceptions on the roots of certain concepts. It also depends on where a particular person wants to start their timeline. For example, one could argue that the Warcraft world is not original because it draws inspiration from Tolkien. Consider the concept of elves. Prior to Tolkien, elves / fairy folk were generally considered small (often miniscule) such as in Celtic and Nordic mythology. It was Tolkien who first made elves taller than humans. Therefore, since Warcraft has tall elves, rather than small ones, it is building from Tolkien even if its Night and Blood Elves have many distinct differences from Middle Earth's Noldor, Vanyar, and Teleri. But elves aren't original to Tolkien either. He borrowed from various mythologies which borrowed from earlier mythologies and so on into pre-history. Everything that exists, both in fiction and in reality, has links to what has come before so nothing is truly original. The adage "there is nothing new under the sun" holds true.
In order to achieve something that is measurable, as I mentioned above, I will investigate originality in the sense of what is commonly called new IP. Intellectual Property in games generally refers to world concept rather than game mechanics and I will hold that premise here. That is to say, is a world distinct (if not entirely original) from any previously existing one. Azeroth is distinct from Middle Earth is distinct from Norrath while Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights are drawn from the same root IP: Forgotten Realms.
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Sunday, December 28, 2008
partly buried rock
George Gatliff walked across a leaf-covered hill next to a strip mall and pressed his foot down on a small, partly buried rock.
"It's solid," the 78-year-old amateur archaeologist said, confident he'd found another spot in an unkept cemetery where Arkansas pioneers were laid to rest.
After five years of tramping around the backwoods of western Arkansas looking for abandoned cemeteries with his friend Meeks Etchieson, it takes little more than a slight depression in the dirt or a curiously placed rock to tell Gatliff he's on hallowed ground.
The two are grave hunters, out to record a bit of history and maybe even prevent it from being demolished by modern conveniences.
They have documented a couple dozen abandoned cemeteries and family grave sites, mostly in Pike and Clark counties, where many of their ancestors lived and died.
Gatliff, a Little Rock retiree, and Etchieson, a forest archaeologist from Magnet Cove, photograph the graves, draw detailed maps and turn in their findings to the Arkansas Archeological Survey.
"If we do our paperwork correctly, 50 or 100 years from now somebody can walk right up to that spot," Gatliff said. "In the meantime, it may be covered up by a gasoline station or something like that."
Along with other volunteers across the state who have the macabre-sounding hobby, the duo is an integral part of making sure that lost cemeteries are found and not forgotten, archaeologists said.
"There are only so many of us who are doing this in the survey as professionals," said Mary Beth Trubitt, an archaeologist with Henderson State University. "We rely on these volunteers because they get out and are able to do all this work and help us."
Gatliff and Etchieson are particularly helpful, she said, because they have devised a detailed way of keeping records and are knowledgeable about headstones and burial practices.
Their work is part of a nationwide trend of preserving history by protecting grave sites potentially threatened by rural development. The effort has picked up steam in Arkansas over the past five years and can be as important as pottery or tools in understanding the state's past, said state Archeologist Ann Early, who heads up the survey.
"It became apparent that more cemeteries were at risk, and it was to our benefit to know where they were to share that information with developers and other people," she said. "It's rescuing a little bit of Arkansas history."
To Gatliff and Etchieson, some cemeteries are more intriguing than others.
Gatliff has made several trips to a Civil War-era cemetery off Arkansas 5 in Bryant to look at an hourglass-shaped grave outlined with crudely made bricks. Underground, the tombstones say, lay the Kirkpatricks, one of Bryant's pioneer families.
Gatliff posted information about the cemetery on a genealogy Web site, which led to inquiries from people across the country who think they are related to the Kirkpatricks.
His work helped Patsy Kuhn of Bryant connect with her roots.
A descendant of the Kirkpatricks, Kuhn wanted to unearth her family's history. It was only after learning about the graves Gatliff had documented that she was able to dig deep, ultimately tracing her heritage to Scotland.
"He actually knew more about my family than I did," she said.
Now, Kuhn is working with a local historical society to get the cemetery recognized as a national historic site.
Etchieson, 57, first got involved with documenting Clark County sites in the 1990s, when the historical society there was updating its cemetery book and needed people to wander into the wilderness to find remote sites.
Eventually Gatliff joined up, and now the two go on adventures whenever they can, unless Etchieson's "wife has something for him to do," Gatliff joked.
A tip about a possible tombstone in the countryside can send them on a hunt.
"We look for a lot more than we actually find," Etchieson said modestly.
On one trip, the pair had trekked about 50 yards off a country road in eastern Pike County when Gatliff found himself standing in front of a "rock and an armadillo hole."
"I looked around, and I was standing right in the middle of a grave. I hollered, 'Meeks, get your butt up here and see what I've found,'" Gatliff said.
He learned that the area was the Huffman homestead in 1850, but by the next census the family had vanished. It's hard to know for sure who lay under the armadillo hole, but Gatliff used his "vivid imagination" to paint a theory: "This little family got sick and all died before 1860."
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"It's solid," the 78-year-old amateur archaeologist said, confident he'd found another spot in an unkept cemetery where Arkansas pioneers were laid to rest.
After five years of tramping around the backwoods of western Arkansas looking for abandoned cemeteries with his friend Meeks Etchieson, it takes little more than a slight depression in the dirt or a curiously placed rock to tell Gatliff he's on hallowed ground.
The two are grave hunters, out to record a bit of history and maybe even prevent it from being demolished by modern conveniences.
They have documented a couple dozen abandoned cemeteries and family grave sites, mostly in Pike and Clark counties, where many of their ancestors lived and died.
Gatliff, a Little Rock retiree, and Etchieson, a forest archaeologist from Magnet Cove, photograph the graves, draw detailed maps and turn in their findings to the Arkansas Archeological Survey.
"If we do our paperwork correctly, 50 or 100 years from now somebody can walk right up to that spot," Gatliff said. "In the meantime, it may be covered up by a gasoline station or something like that."
Along with other volunteers across the state who have the macabre-sounding hobby, the duo is an integral part of making sure that lost cemeteries are found and not forgotten, archaeologists said.
"There are only so many of us who are doing this in the survey as professionals," said Mary Beth Trubitt, an archaeologist with Henderson State University. "We rely on these volunteers because they get out and are able to do all this work and help us."
Gatliff and Etchieson are particularly helpful, she said, because they have devised a detailed way of keeping records and are knowledgeable about headstones and burial practices.
Their work is part of a nationwide trend of preserving history by protecting grave sites potentially threatened by rural development. The effort has picked up steam in Arkansas over the past five years and can be as important as pottery or tools in understanding the state's past, said state Archeologist Ann Early, who heads up the survey.
"It became apparent that more cemeteries were at risk, and it was to our benefit to know where they were to share that information with developers and other people," she said. "It's rescuing a little bit of Arkansas history."
To Gatliff and Etchieson, some cemeteries are more intriguing than others.
Gatliff has made several trips to a Civil War-era cemetery off Arkansas 5 in Bryant to look at an hourglass-shaped grave outlined with crudely made bricks. Underground, the tombstones say, lay the Kirkpatricks, one of Bryant's pioneer families.
Gatliff posted information about the cemetery on a genealogy Web site, which led to inquiries from people across the country who think they are related to the Kirkpatricks.
His work helped Patsy Kuhn of Bryant connect with her roots.
A descendant of the Kirkpatricks, Kuhn wanted to unearth her family's history. It was only after learning about the graves Gatliff had documented that she was able to dig deep, ultimately tracing her heritage to Scotland.
"He actually knew more about my family than I did," she said.
Now, Kuhn is working with a local historical society to get the cemetery recognized as a national historic site.
Etchieson, 57, first got involved with documenting Clark County sites in the 1990s, when the historical society there was updating its cemetery book and needed people to wander into the wilderness to find remote sites.
Eventually Gatliff joined up, and now the two go on adventures whenever they can, unless Etchieson's "wife has something for him to do," Gatliff joked.
A tip about a possible tombstone in the countryside can send them on a hunt.
"We look for a lot more than we actually find," Etchieson said modestly.
On one trip, the pair had trekked about 50 yards off a country road in eastern Pike County when Gatliff found himself standing in front of a "rock and an armadillo hole."
"I looked around, and I was standing right in the middle of a grave. I hollered, 'Meeks, get your butt up here and see what I've found,'" Gatliff said.
He learned that the area was the Huffman homestead in 1850, but by the next census the family had vanished. It's hard to know for sure who lay under the armadillo hole, but Gatliff used his "vivid imagination" to paint a theory: "This little family got sick and all died before 1860."
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Monday, October 27, 2008
an important thing to know
To play the game you'll need a starter pack, with a retail value of $29.99. Included are four minis, with all the cards a buy cabal online alz nd bases you'll need to use them, six dic cabal online alz e and a double sided map. You can also buy booster packs for $19.99, which will include 3 additional miniatures. The booster packs are randomized but there is some consistency in terms of which factions you'll get.
I was told that the randomization helps serve as a "chase" element to help prevent everyone from getting the epic figures, Leeroy Jenkins and Thrall the Warchief to give you two examples. While I would recommend getting cheap cabal both a starter pack and a booster pack, you don't need to. The st cheap cabal online alz arter pack has everything you’ll need for a 2v2 player game. Now an important thing to know before trying to play is that this is a turn based game.
More importantly it uses a unique turn based system in which turns are based off the master time clock. Each Miniature has a personalized base that tracks the units hit points and turn that the individual unit is on. Whenever a character moves or attacks, turns are used. cabal online gold Different kinds of attacks take more turns. For instance your character's basic attack might only take two turns but using one of their spells or abilities might take up to four. This helps balance the individual units as well as create balanced teams.
my current infatuation
Growing up, I cut my teeth on i cabal online alz nteractive table top games like Hero's Quest and Dungeons and Dragons. I remember begging my younger brothers to try all the games so I would have someone cheap cabal to play with. As I got older I found it increasingly difficult to find anyone to join me. Eventually I discovered MMORPGs and, naturally, my gaming focus shifted gears.
Recently I was introduced to a new game that incorporates both my current infatuation with MMOs and my lifelong love for table top gaming. Who would do such a thing you ask? Someone you may know all too well if you grew up collect buy cabal online alz ing baseball cards -- Upper Deck Entertainment. I sat down for a game of their new 'World of WarCraft: Miniatures Game' with Anna Maria Mannino from Upper Deck's marketing division.
Upper Deck is, once again, pushing the World of WarCraft franchise adding to their already popular Trading Card Game with this new offering. In my opinion, buy cabal online gold they're onto something big! Expected to hit store shelves on November 11th this quality product is everything you would expect from a box that says Blizzard and Upper Deck! cheap cabal
Saturday, September 27, 2008
the childhood home
Announced in Birmingham, the childhood home of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria will expand the online world of Middle-earth to let players explore the an lord of the rings gold cient underground cities of the dwarves, battle epic characters in the depths, face off with the Watcher, be a part of the fateful release of Durin Bane and lord of the rings gold more!
The Lord of the Rings Online expects to open Volume II of its epic story in the fall of 2008 with an increased level cap, two new classes and the introduction of a unique item advancement system. ines of Moria extends the world of Middle-earth into the dark heart of the Mi lord of the ring gold sty Mountains where players will explore one of the largest underground worlds ever created.
The Legendary Items lotro power leveling system where players can craft unique and powerful weapons and armor that will grow in power and value is just one of the breakthrough features that will further establish The Lord of the Rings Online as one of the world premium online games,?said Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of lord of Lord of the rings online the rings gold the Rings Online. layer enthusiasm continues to exceed our expectations at every milestone and we are very excited to enter this stage of our Beta Program and take the next major step toward our launch.
The Lord of the Rings Online expects to open Volume II of its epic story in the fall of 2008 with an increased level cap, two new classes and the introduction of a unique item advancement system. ines of Moria extends the world of Middle-earth into the dark heart of the Mi lord of the ring gold sty Mountains where players will explore one of the largest underground worlds ever created.
The Legendary Items lotro power leveling system where players can craft unique and powerful weapons and armor that will grow in power and value is just one of the breakthrough features that will further establish The Lord of the Rings Online as one of the world premium online games,?said Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of lord of Lord of the rings online the rings gold the Rings Online. layer enthusiasm continues to exceed our expectations at every milestone and we are very excited to enter this stage of our Beta Program and take the next major step toward our launch.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
join the chat channels for company and information
as you progress through hellgate london palladium the levels you will find that you will likely have to download third party programs to facilitate your play. usually hellgate palladium guilds have access to a server for one of these applications. members are expected to make use of these servers during raids and many people join the chat channels for company and information.
click on the arrow button next to user hellgate gold name. here you will enter a user name that will be displayed. once you're satisfied by the way your voice sounds click on "ok" this brings you back to the main screen. then click on ok. this completes the hellgate pd in stock basic ventral setup. you can now click "connect" to hear the voices of your team.
then click in the window marked cheapest wow gold hotkey and push the key you want to assign to talk. team speak can be downloaded for windows and unofficially as tamped for macintosh. go check it out if you have any interest in better ways to make gold. enter your nickname as you wish to be known, in most cases your screen name is your best option. for age of conan power leveling smaller groups who you are closely acquainted with, you may want to use skype for voice chat.
click on the arrow button next to user hellgate gold name. here you will enter a user name that will be displayed. once you're satisfied by the way your voice sounds click on "ok" this brings you back to the main screen. then click on ok. this completes the hellgate pd in stock basic ventral setup. you can now click "connect" to hear the voices of your team.
then click in the window marked cheapest wow gold hotkey and push the key you want to assign to talk. team speak can be downloaded for windows and unofficially as tamped for macintosh. go check it out if you have any interest in better ways to make gold. enter your nickname as you wish to be known, in most cases your screen name is your best option. for age of conan power leveling smaller groups who you are closely acquainted with, you may want to use skype for voice chat.
mages are the blasters of the game
they are the users of guild wars gold dark magic’s, and draw their powers largely for demonic arts. to that end, warlocks are able to summon one of gw platinum in stock five different demon pets to fight for them. mages are the blasters of the game, able to deal heavy amounts of magical damage in a very short period of time.
mages are also widely-known for cheapest guild wars gold their use of polymorph, a spell that turns a target into a sheep for a period of time as long as it remains undisturbed, effectively removing it from combat. there are some bonuses to race, which i cheap wow gold won’t outline, as they are only intended to have minor effect and add flavor to the game. use the sidebar to read up on races if you like.
you do have some minor options to adjust your cheapest wow gold appearance with things like skin shade, hair style, facial hair, etc. this isn’t going to impact your game play, and both genders are equal in all ways, so just pick whatever looks prettiest to you or whatever. make sure you send a note to wow insider if you have suggestions for what new players need to age of conan power leveling know. i have to compliment blizzard on paying attention to the tools the players are using.
mages are also widely-known for cheapest guild wars gold their use of polymorph, a spell that turns a target into a sheep for a period of time as long as it remains undisturbed, effectively removing it from combat. there are some bonuses to race, which i cheap wow gold won’t outline, as they are only intended to have minor effect and add flavor to the game. use the sidebar to read up on races if you like.
you do have some minor options to adjust your cheapest wow gold appearance with things like skin shade, hair style, facial hair, etc. this isn’t going to impact your game play, and both genders are equal in all ways, so just pick whatever looks prettiest to you or whatever. make sure you send a note to wow insider if you have suggestions for what new players need to age of conan power leveling know. i have to compliment blizzard on paying attention to the tools the players are using.
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