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Mr. Bogus

Mr. Bogus is an American animated television series created by Peter Keefe, directed and produced by Tom Burton with Claudia Burton of Zodiac Entertainment, which aired in syndication from September 28, 1991 to November 22, 1993. The show also ran in 1998 on Fox Family Channel. It is loosely based on the French / Belgian clay animation series of shorts simply titled, Bogus. Each episode is separated into two distinct parts, one using mostly traditional cel-based animation and another using what the show is based on, which are 42 localized versions of the 300 original clay animation shorts (either 8 claymation shorts per episode, 336 in total). Characters often walked around on a kitchen counter having various adventures with common household items.

The show has also aired on Channel 4 and The Children's Channel in the UK, on Welsh language channel S4C as "Mr. Bogel" in Wales, as well as on Telefutura program block, Toonturama as "El Señor Bogus" in United States with Spanish-dubbed, on TV Globo in Brazil, on TVN in Chile, ANT1 in Greece, on Arutz HaYeladim in Israel as "Mr. Bluffer", on Max in Australia, on Fun Channel in the Middle East, on M-Net in South Africa, on Bahrain 55 in Bahrain, on TV2 in New Zealand, on ABS-CBN in The Philippines, on Channel 5 in Singapore, on Channel 2 in Jordan, on Dubai 33 in the UAE, on Canal J in France, on Tele 3 and TVP3 in Poland, on kabel eins in Germany, on MBC C&I in South Korea, on TV3 in Sweden, on PTV4 in Finland, on Saudi 2 in Saudi Arabia, on TV3 in Malaysia and on TV6 in Russia.

Cel-animated version
In the cel-animated version, Mr. Bogus is a yellow gremlin-like creature living in the walls of the suburban home of Tommy Anybody, alternately creating problems and/or accidentally solving them. Sometimes Bogus adventures to his own world, Bogusland, a distorted alternate dimension of curved and warped perspective and bizarre plots. He often encountered the feared dust bunnies known on the show as Dirt Dudes.

Clay animated version
The clay-animated version is a series of shorts that are localized versions of several episodes of the 1987 French / Belgian series of shorts simply titled Bogus, and served as lead-ins to commercial breaks. They were originally produced by Antenne 2, Y.C. Aligator Film and Chin Chin Production, and were created by Michel Durieux and Ghislain Honoré. They were first aired on October 30, 1987, and reran from October 2, 1988 to February 1990. There were 300 episodes created, but only 42 were localized and used in the 42 episodes of the cel-animated version.

In the original 1987 plot, the male house owner was awakened by his alarm clock, drank coffee, took his keys, and left for work. But during his absence, the house wasn't alone. Bogus, a funny little yellow character, then emerged from his hiding place and had short and fun adventures with surrounding objects. As Bogus clumsily discovered the world around him in different rooms of the house (such as the bathroom and the attic), he always provoked laughter from viewers.

In the 1991 localized version, the original voice-acting and background music were changed to Cam Clarke's voice-acting and the instrumental version of the cel-animated version's opening theme respectively.

Episodes
Season 1 (1991)
 * "Meet Mr. Bogus" (September 28, 1991)
 * "Class Clown Bogus" (October 5, 1991)
 * "A Day at the Office" (October 12, 1991)
 * "Et Tu, Brattus?" (October 19, 1991)
 * "Shop Around the Clock" (October 26, 1991)
 * "Beach Blanket Bogus" (November 2, 1991)
 * "Bogus in Wilderland" (November 9, 1991)
 * "No Snooze is Good News" (November 16, 1991)
 * "Hipster Tripster" (November 23, 1991)
 * "Museum Madness" (December 7, 1991)
 * "Lights, Camera, Bogus" (December 14, 1991)
 * "Bogus in Bogus Land" (December 21, 1991)
 * "Good Sport Bogus" (December 28, 1991)

Season 2 (1992)
 * "Computer Intruder" (September 27, 1992)
 * "Babysitting Bogus" (October 4, 1992)
 * "Bogunda, Bogetta & Bogus" (October 11, 1992)
 * "Bookstore Bogus" (October 18, 1992)
 * "Bad Luck Bogus" (October 25, 1992)
 * "Totally Bogus Video" (November 1, 1992)
 * "Bogus Private Eye" (November 8, 1992)
 * "Bogus to the Rescue" (November 15, 1992)
 * "Mr. Bogus' Sci-Fi Fest" (November 22, 1992)
 * "Terror Tot in Bogusland" (November 29, 1992)
 * "Roam Away from Home" (December 6, 1992)
 * "Bugboy Bogus" (December 13, 1992)
 * "Springtime for Bogus" (December 20, 1992)

Season 3 (1993)
 * "Nightmare on Bogus Street" (October 27, 1993)
 * "B-TV" (October 28, 1993)
 * "Waterboy Bogus" (November 3, 1993)
 * "Kung Fu Camp Out" (November 4, 1993)
 * "Battle Action Bogus" (November 5, 1993)
 * "Secret Agent Bogus" (November 8, 1993)
 * "Super Bogus Flies Again" (November 9, 1993)
 * "Is There a Bogus in the House?" (November 10, 1993)
 * "The Bogus Invasion" (November 11, 1993)
 * "Fun Park Follies" (November 14, 1993)
 * "Buff-Tuff Bogie" (November 15, 1993)
 * "Once Upon a Bogus Time" (November 16, 1993)
 * "Brainy Bogus" (November 17, 1993)
 * "Mega Star Madness" (November 18, 1993)
 * "Totally Bogus Daydream" (November 21, 1993)
 * "Baseball Bogie" (November 22, 1993)
 * "Hospital Play" (November 29, 1993)

Alternative titles

 * مستر بوغِس (Mistar Boghes) (Arabic Title)
 * Majstor Fantaz (Croatian Title)
 * Monsieur Bogus (French Title)
 * Jetzt kommt Bogus! (German Title)
 * Μίστερ Μπόγκους (Greek Title)
 * מר בלופר (Hebrew Title)
 * 보거스는 내 친구 (Bogeoseuneun nae chingu) (Korean Title)
 * Pan Boguś (Polish Title)
 * Senhor Bogus (Portuguese Title)
 * Мистер Богус (Mister Bogus) (Russian Title)
 * Gospodin Mufljuz (Serbian Title)
 * Herr Humbug (Norwegian Title)

Cast

 * Voice Characterization Actors: Cam Clarke as Mr. Bogus, Tress MacNeille, Jeannie Elias, Pat Fraley, Neil Ross, Jim Cummings, Brian Cummings, Russi Taylor

title: Mr. Bogus


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User talk:ESlaydog

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia! Hope you like it here, and stick around.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

 * To sign your posts (on talk pages, for example) use the '~' symbol. To insert just your name, type ~~~ (3 tildes), or, to insert your name and timestamp, use ~~~~ (4 tildes).
 * Try the Tutorial, and feel free to experiment in the test area.
 * If you need help, post a question at the Help Desk
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 * Eventually, you might want to read the Manual of Style and Policies and Guidelines.
 * Remember Neutral point of view
 * Explore, be bold in editing pages, and, most importantly, have fun!

Good luck!

Hi. To create a user page, you can go to User:ESlaydog. I've moved your page there. Best wishes, [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 14:37, 2004 Jul 23 (UTC)

Disputed fair use rationale for Image:Bogus.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Bogus.jpg. However, there is a concern that the rationale you have provided for using this image under "fair use" may be invalid. Please read the instructions at Non-free content carefully, then go to the image description page and clarify why you think the image qualifies for fair use. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it will be deleted within a couple of days according to our criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot (talk) 04:59, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

User:ESlaydog
A tag has been placed on your user page, User:ESlaydog, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under the criteria for speedy deletion, because the page seems to be blatant advertising which only promotes a company, product, group, service or person, and which is a violation of our policies regarding acceptable use of user pages: user pages are intended for active editors of Wikipedia to communicate with one another as part of the process of creating encyclopedic content, and should not be mistaken for free webhosting resources. Please read the general criteria for speedy deletion, particularly item 11, as well as the guidelines on spam, the guidelines on user pages, and, especially, our FAQ for businesses.

If you can indicate why the page is not blatant advertising, you may contest the tagging. To do this, please add  on the top of the page in question and leave a note on this page explaining your position. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. Calton | Talk 22:33, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

May 2009
Your account has been blocked from editing Wikipedia, because it appears to be mainly intended or used for promotional purposes of a company or group. See FAQ/Organization and Conflict of interest''.

In addition, accounts are for individuals only, not for companies or groups or other collective editing, and your username should reflect this.

Wikipedia is not a promotion website; this kind of activity is considered spam on Wikipedia, and forbidden by policies, and usernames that appear to be promotional also violate our username policy. Editing on Wikipedia is not intended to be used to promote anyone, or anything, and its use for that purpose will result in blocking of the account involved.

If you feel that there has been a mistake, please appeal this block by adding the text   or contacting the administrator who has blocked you. Your reason should include a clear response to this issue and a new username you wish to adopt that does not violate our username policy. Please check that your new username has not already been taken here.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:ESlaydog


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Aero (automobile)

The Aero was a Czechoslovak automobile company that produced a variety of models between 1929 and 1947 by a well-known aircraft and car-body company owned by Dr. Kabes in Prague-Vysocany. Now Aero Vodochody produces aircraft only.

Type 10
The original Aero model, the Type 500 or Type 10 was a small car launched in 1928. Powered by a 494 cc single-cylinder two-stroke engine with water cooling, producing 10 bhp, it could reach a top speed of 70 km/h. Drive was through a 3-speed gearbox to a rear axle without differential. The Type 10 was sold with a choice of body styles; roadster, cabriolet and coupé, all with two seats in the front and one in the rear. Production ran for four years, ending in 1932 with 1,358 built.

Type 18
Announced in 1931, the Type 18 (also known as the 662) was powered by a larger 660 cc two-cylinder engine developing 18 bhp, with a top speed of 90 km/h. With improved four-wheel brakes, the Type 18 came as a 3-seater roadster and 4-seat saloon, made using steel-covered timber-framed coachwork. 2,615 Type 18s were built before manufacturing ceased in 1934.

Type 20
Based on the Type 18/662, the 1933 Type 20 (also known as the 1000) came with a larger 1.0-litre 999 cc 26 bhp engine which would power the car to a top speed of 100 km/h. Production lasted two years and ceased in 1934 after 2,546 were built.

Type 30
In 1934 the Type 30 was announced with a 998 cc 26 bhp twin-cylinder engine, front-wheel drive and all independent suspension. The car could reach 105 km/h. The Type 30 was the most successful Aero model, and production reached 7,780 before manufacturing ended in 1940. Another 500 were produced post-war with a new radiator design but was stopped in 1947 when the company was nationalised.

Type 50
The last, and largest, Aero model was the Type 50 announced in 1936 and manufactured until 1942. The front-wheel-drive model had a 1997 cc four-cylinder 50 bhp two-stroke engine with twin alloy cylinder head and was capable of reaching 130 km/h. 1,205 were made until the company closed.

750 Pony
The 750 Pony is a small two-seater convertible with only 2 models built as prototypes in 1941 and was intended for post war producing, but nationalisation of the company ended the plan. It was powered by a 745 cc engine producing 21 bhp.

title: Aero (automobile)


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User talk:Tinus

Welcome to the Wikipedia
Here are some links I thought useful:

 * Tutorial
 * Help desk
 * Policy Library
 * Utilities
 * Cite your sources
 * Verifiability
 * Wikiquette
 * Civility
 * Conflict resolution
 * Brilliant prose
 * Neutral point of view
 * Pages needing attention
 * Peer review
 * Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense
 * Village pump
 * Boilerplate text
 * IRC channel
 * Mailing lists
 * Current polls

Feel free to ask me anything the links and talk pages don't answer. You can sign your name by typing 4 tildes, like this: ~.

Be Bold!

Sam [Spade] 00:59, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Glad to :D
I like making sure newbies feel at home, and I esp. enjoy the praise. Thanks again, and glad to have you, Sam [Spade] 01:11, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Images
Yes, I will contact him about the sources. The most recent one, Image:Al-Azhar Logo.gif, needed a tag, but we'll see about the others. --Merovingian 07:47, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

Phantom of the Opera image
Pardon me, but what can't you "believe" about me making the image Image:Phantomtechnicolor.jpg that you've tagged today as a copyright violation? For one thing, the film is in the public domain, and secondly, I happen to have a 35mm print of the film that I was kind enough to scan in on my own time. Was I not clear in my description of where the image was taken from?

I hope this can be resolved. A number of pages link to the image, and it would be a shame for it to be removed just because someone "has doubts." -The Photoplayer 20:10, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Re: Phantom of the Opera Image

 * Yes, I understand what you're saying. But first, the film itself is in Public Domain.  The image, however, was created by me and I've copyrighted the scan and alterations I've made to the image.  Hence my GFDL tag.  I'd be fine with Fair Use, but the problem is that the pulling of licensed images and usage elsewhere without credit is too rampant to begin with.  -The Photoplayer  23:49, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

 * The copyright was not renewed by Universal in 1953 and thus, it fell into the Public Domain. It is the reason why it remains a perennial for bargain bin home video distributors and is so common on the home video market. --The Photoplayer  14:35, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

 * You can get verification of this by contacting the Library of Congress if you wish. Of course, there will be a research fee, but the truth is never free, unless it's on Weakipedia, of course.

 * Also see Scott MacQueen's audio commentary on the 2003 Milestone Home Video edition of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA for more information of PHANTOM's public domain status.

 * In any case, perhaps I should have noted it was a public domain film, but I suppose I took that for granted when making the image. In any case, can we please come to a resolution on this?  The image is linked to several pages.  -The Photoplayer  02:32, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

 * Thanks. That is perfectly agreeable. -The Photoplayer  23:58, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Slave ship image
Hi! I'm not sure whether you are currently active on Wikipedia. I have taken the liberty of slightly altering your wonderful image of the plan of the slave ship 'Brookes'. It is in use on William Wilberforce and, as we seek to progress the article from GA to FA status a request has been made to "straighten" it. I have obliged, and have at the same time retouched (very slightly) a few dark areas and blotches (but hardly so that you'd know). I hope this is alright. As I have not been able to contact you I am uploading it as an image with a slightly different name, although I will credit you if you wish. Regards – Bruce Agendum (talk) 19:55, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:Tinus


text:
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome

In immunology, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is an inflammatory state affecting the whole body. It is the body's response to an infectious or noninfectious insult. Although the definition of SIRS refers to it as an "inflammatory" response, it actually has pro- and anti-inflammatory components.

Complications
SIRS is frequently complicated by failure of one or more organs or organ systems. The complications of SIRS include
 * Acute kidney injury
 * Shock
 * Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

Causes
The causes of SIRS are broadly classified as infectious or noninfectious. Causes of SIRS include:
 * bacterial infections
 * severe malaria
 * trauma
 * burns
 * pancreatitis
 * ischemia
 * hemorrhage

Other causes include:
 * Complications of surgery
 * Adrenal insufficiency
 * Pulmonary embolism
 * Complicated aortic aneurysm
 * Cardiac tamponade
 * Anaphylaxis
 * Drug overdose

Diagnosis
SIRS is a serious condition related to systemic inflammation, organ dysfunction, and organ failure. It is a subset of cytokine storm, in which there is abnormal regulation of various cytokines. SIRS is also closely related to sepsis, in which patients satisfy criteria for SIRS and have a suspected or proven infection.

Many experts consider the current criteria for a SIRS diagnosis to be overly sensitive, as nearly all (>90%) of patients admitted to the ICU meet the SIRS criteria.

Adult
Manifestations of SIRS include, but are not limited to:
 * Body temperature less than 36 °C (96.8 °F) or greater than 38 °C (100.4 °F)
 * Heart rate greater than 90 beats per minute
 * Tachypnea (high respiratory rate), with greater than 20 breaths per minute; or, an arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide less than 4.3 kPa (32 mmHg)
 * White blood cell count less than 4000 cells/mm³ (4 x 109 cells/L) or greater than 12,000 cells/mm³ (12 x 109 cells/L); or the presence of greater than 10% immature neutrophils (band forms). Band forms greater than 3% is called bandemia or a "left-shift".

When two or more of these criteria are met with or without evidence of infection, patients may be diagnosed with "SIRS". Patients with SIRS and acute organ dysfunction may be termed "severe SIRS". Note: Fever and an increased white blood cell count are features of the acute-phase reaction, while an increased heart rate is often the initial sign of hemodynamic compromise. An increased rate of breathing may be related to the increased metabolic stress due to infection and inflammation, but may also be an ominous sign of inadequate perfusion resulting in the onset of anaerobic cellular metabolism.

Children
The International Pediatric Sepsis Consensus has proposed some changes to adapt these criteria to the pediatric population.

In children, the SIRS criteria are modified in the following fashion: Temperature or white blood cell count must be abnormal to qualify as SIRS in pediatric patients.
 * Heart rate is greater than 2 standard deviations above normal for age in the absence of stimuli such as pain and drug administration, or unexplained persistent elevation for greater than 30 minutes to 4 hours. In infants, also includes heart rate less than 10th percentile for age in the absence of vagal stimuli, beta-blockers, or congenital heart disease or unexplained persistent depression for greater than 30 minutes.
 * Body temperature obtained orally, rectally, from Foley catheter probe, or from central venous catheter probe less than 36 °C or greater than 38.5 °C.
 * Respiratory rate greater than 2 standard deviations above normal for age or the requirement for mechanical ventilation not related to neuromuscular disease or the administration of anesthesia.
 * White blood cell count elevated or depressed for age not related to chemotherapy, or greater than 10% bands plus other immature forms.

Treatment
Generally, the treatment for SIRS is directed towards the underlying problem or inciting cause (i.e. adequate fluid replacement for hypovolemia, IVF/NPO for pancreatitis, epinephrine/steroids/diphenhydramine for anaphylaxis). Selenium, glutamine, and eicosapentaenoic acid have shown effectiveness in improving symptoms in clinical trials. Other antioxidants such as vitamin E may be helpful as well.

Septic treatment protocol and diagnostic tools have been created due to the potentially severe outcome septic shock. For example, the SIRS criteria were created as mentioned above to be extremely sensitive in suggesting which patients may have sepsis. However, these rules lack specificity, i.e. not a true diagnosis of the condition, but rather a suggestion to take necessary precautions. The SIRS criteria are guidelines set in place to ensure septic patients receive care as early as possible.

In cases caused by an implanted mesh, removal (explantation) of the polypropylene surgical mesh implant may be indicated.

History
The concept of SIRS was first conceived of and presented by William R. Nelson, of the Department of Surgery of the University of Toronto. SIRS was more broadly adopted in 1991 at the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine Consensus Conference with the goal of aiding in the early detection of sepsis.

Criteria for SIRS were established in 1992 as part of the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine Consensus Conference. The conference concluded that the manifestations of SIRS include, but are not limited to the first four described above under adult SIRS criteria.

In septic patients, these clinical signs can also be seen in other proinflammatory conditions, such as trauma, burns, pancreatitis, etc. A follow-up conference, therefore, decided to define the patients with a documented or highly suspicious infection that results in a systemic inflammatory response as having sepsis. Note that SIRS criteria are non-specific, and must be interpreted carefully within the clinical context. These criteria exist primarily for the purpose of more objectively classifying critically ill patients so that future clinical studies may be more rigorous and more easily reproducible.

title: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome


text:
User talk:Lefronde

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia! Hope you like it here, and stick around.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

 * To sign your posts (on talk pages, for example) use the '~' symbol. To insert just your name, type ~~~ (3 tildes), or, to insert your name and timestamp, use ~~~~ (4 tildes).
 * Try the Tutorial, and feel free to experiment in the test area.
 * If you need help, post a question at the Help Desk
 * Follow the Simplified Ruleset
 * Eventually, you might want to read the Manual of Style and Policies and Guidelines.
 * Remember Neutral point of view
 * Explore, be bold in editing pages, and, most importantly, have fun!

Good luck!

title: User talk:Lefronde


text:
Keeled scales

Keeled scales refer to reptile scales that, rather than being smooth, have a ridge down the center that may or may not extend to the tip of the scale, making them rough to the touch. According to Street's (1979) description of European lizards and snakes, in those that have keeled scales the keels are usually stronger in male specimens and are consistently arranged according to the species of reptiles, even though many others do not have them. With European lizards, the dorsal scales are usually well keeled, while those on the flanks are more weakly keeled and those on the belly smooth. Non-European lizards such as Sphaerodactylus macrolepis also display keeled scales.

Klauber (1997) describes how the keels on the scales of Crotalus rattlesnakes are particularly strong mid-dorsally, but gradually weaken on the lateral rows with the ventral scales being smooth. He then references a 1938 study, stating that it "has suggested that the keels may have an adaptive advantage in reducing shininess, that otherwise might lead to discovery by enemies."

The purposes of keeled scales are largely understudied, but some other uses may include locomotion in arboreal and grass-dwelling species. Water collection has been shown in some rattlesnakes, though the nanostructure of the scales is thought to be more significant than the macrostructure (keel) of the scales.

In some viperines, most notably those of the genus Echis, the lateral scales are not only keeled, but the keels have minute serrations. The snakes use this in a warning and threat display: the body is arranged into a series of parallel C-shaped (counterlooped) coils that they rub together continuously to produce a sizzling sound, rather like water on a hot plate. This method of making sound is called stridulation.

title: Keeled scales


text:
Phase-change memory

Phase-change memory (also known as PCM, PCME, PRAM, PCRAM, OUM (ovonic unified memory) and C-RAM or CRAM (chalcogenide RAM)) is a type of non-volatile random-access memory. PRAMs exploit the unique behaviour of chalcogenide glass. In PCM, heat produced by the passage of an electric current through a heating element generally made of titanium nitride is used to either quickly heat and quench the glass, making it amorphous, or to hold it in its crystallization temperature range for some time, thereby switching it to a crystalline state. PCM also has the ability to achieve a number of distinct intermediary states, thereby having the ability to hold multiple bits in a single cell, but the difficulties in programming cells in this way has prevented these capabilities from being implemented in other technologies (most notably flash memory) with the same capability.

Recent research on PCM has been directed towards attempting to find viable material alternatives to the phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), with mixed success. Other research has focused on the development of a GeTe–Sb2Te3 superlattice to achieve non-thermal phase changes by changing the co-ordination state of the germanium atoms with a laser pulse. This new Interfacial Phase-Change Memory (IPCM) has had many successes and continues to be the site of much active research.

Leon Chua has argued that all two-terminal non-volatile-memory devices, including PCM, should be considered memristors. Stan Williams of HP Labs has also argued that PCM should be considered a memristor. However, this terminology has been challenged, and the potential applicability of memristor theory to any physically realizable device is open to question.

Background
In the 1960s, Stanford R. Ovshinsky of Energy Conversion Devices first explored the properties of chalcogenide glasses as a potential memory technology. In 1969, Charles Sie published a dissertation at Iowa State University that both described and demonstrated the feasibility of a phase-change-memory device by integrating chalcogenide film with a diode array. A cinematographic study in 1970 established that the phase-change-memory mechanism in chalcogenide glass involves electric-field-induced crystalline filament growth. In the September 1970 issue of Electronics, Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, published an article on the technology. However, material quality and power consumption issues prevented commercialization of the technology. More recently, interest and research have resumed as flash and DRAM memory technologies are expected to encounter scaling difficulties as chip lithography shrinks.

The crystalline and amorphous states of chalcogenide glass have dramatically different electrical resistivity values. The amorphous, high resistance state represents a binary 0, while the crystalline, low resistance state represents a 1. Chalcogenide is the same material used in re-writable optical media (such as CD-RW and DVD-RW). In those instances, the material's optical properties are manipulated, rather than its electrical resistivity, as chalcogenide's refractive index also changes with the state of the material.

Although PRAM has not yet reached the commercialization stage for consumer electronic devices, nearly all prototype devices make use of a chalcogenide alloy of germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb) and tellurium (Te) called GeSbTe (GST). The stoichiometry, or Ge:Sb:Te element ratio, is 2:2:5 in GST. When GST is heated to a high temperature (over 600 °C), its chalcogenide crystallinity is lost. Once cooled, it is frozen into an amorphous glass-like state and its electrical resistance is high. By heating the chalcogenide to a temperature above its crystallization point, but below the melting point, it will transform into a crystalline state with a much lower resistance. The time to complete this phase transition is temperature-dependent. Cooler portions of the chalcogenide take longer to crystallize, and overheated portions may be remelted. A crystallization time scale on the order of 100 ns is commonly used. This is longer than conventional volatile memory devices like modern DRAM, which have a switching time on the order of two nanoseconds. However, a January 2006 Samsung Electronics patent application indicates PRAM may achieve switching times as fast as five nanoseconds.

A 2008 advance pioneered by Intel and ST Microelectronics allowed the material state to be more carefully controlled, allowing it to be transformed into one of four distinct states: the previous amorphous or crystalline states, along with two new partially crystalline ones. Each of these states has different electrical properties that can be measured during reads, allowing a single cell to represent two bits, doubling memory density.

Aluminum/antimony
Phase-change memory devices based on germanium, antimony and tellurium present manufacturing challenges, since etching and polishing of the material with chalcogens can change the material's composition. Materials based on aluminum and antimony are more thermally stable than GeSbTe. Al50Sb50 has three distinct resistance levels, offering the potential to store three bits of data in two cells as opposed to two (nine states possible for the pair of cells, using eight of those states yields log2 8 = 3 bits).

PRAM vs. Flash
PRAM's switching time and inherent scalability make it more appealing than flash memory. PRAM's temperature sensitivity is perhaps its most notable drawback, one that may require changes in the production process of manufacturers incorporating the technology.

Flash memory works by modulating charge (electrons) stored within the gate of a MOS transistor. The gate is constructed with a special "stack" designed to trap charges (either on a floating gate or in insulator "traps"). The presence of charge within the gate shifts the transistor's threshold voltage $$\,V_\mathrm{th}$$ higher or lower, corresponding to a change in the cell's bit state from 1 to 0 or 0 to 1. Changing the bit's state requires removing the accumulated charge, which demands a relatively large voltage to "suck" the electrons off the floating gate. This burst of voltage is provided by a charge pump, which takes some time to build up power. General write times for common flash devices are on the order of 100 μs (for a block of data), about 10,000 times the typical 10 ns read time for SRAM for example (for a byte).

PRAM can offer much higher performance in applications where writing quickly is important, both because the memory element can be switched more quickly, and also because single bits may be changed to either 1 or 0 without needing to first erase an entire block of cells. PRAM's high performance, thousands of times faster than conventional hard drives, makes it particularly interesting in nonvolatile memory roles that are currently performance-limited by memory access timing.

In addition, with flash, each burst of voltage across the cell causes degradation. As the size of the cells decreases, damage from programming grows worse because the voltage necessary to program the device does not scale with the lithography. Most flash devices are rated for, currently, only 5,000 writes per sector, and many flash controllers perform wear leveling to spread writes across many physical sectors.

PRAM devices also degrade with use, for different reasons than flash, but degrade much more slowly. A PRAM device may endure around 100 million write cycles. PRAM lifetime is limited by mechanisms such as degradation due to GST thermal expansion during programming, metal (and other material) migration, and other mechanisms still unknown.

Flash parts can be programmed before being soldered onto a board, or even purchased pre-programmed. The contents of a PRAM, however, are lost because of the high temperatures needed to solder the device to a board (see reflow soldering or wave soldering). This was made worse by the requirement to have lead-free manufacturing requiring higher soldering temperatures. A manufacturer using PRAM parts must provide a mechanism to program the PRAM "in-system" after it has been soldered in place.

The special gates used in flash memory "leak" charge (electrons) over time, causing corruption and loss of data. The resistivity of the memory element in PRAM is more stable; at the normal working temperature of 85 °C, it is projected to retain data for 300 years.

By carefully modulating the amount of charge stored on the gate, flash devices can store multiple (usually two) bits in each physical cell. In effect, this doubles the memory density, reducing cost. PRAM devices originally stored only a single bit in each cell, but Intel's recent advances have removed this problem.

Because flash devices trap electrons to store information, they are susceptible to data corruption from radiation, making them unsuitable for many space and military applications. PRAM exhibits higher resistance to radiation.

PRAM cell selectors can use various devices: diodes, BJTs and MOSFETs. Using a diode or a BJT provides the greatest amount of current for a given cell size. However, the concern with using a diode stems from parasitic currents to neighboring cells, as well as a higher voltage requirement, resulting in higher power consumption. Chalcogenide resistance is necessarily larger than that of a diode, meaning operating voltage must exceed 1 V by a wide margin to guarantee adequate forward bias current from the diode. Perhaps the most severe consequence of using a diode-selected array, in particular for large arrays, is the total reverse bias leakage current from the unselected bit lines. In transistor-selected arrays, only the selected bit lines contribute reverse bias leakage current. The difference in leakage current is several orders of magnitude. A further concern with scaling below 40 nm is the effect of discrete dopants as the p-n junction width scales down. Thin film-based selectors allow higher densities, utilizing < 4 F2 cell area by stacking memory layers horizontally or vertically. Often the isolation capabilities are inferior to the use of transistors if the on/off ratio for the selector is not sufficient, limiting the ability to operate very large arrays in this architecture. Chalcogenide-based threshold switches have been demonstrated as a viable selector for high-density PCM arrays

2000 and later
In August 2004, Nanochip licensed PRAM technology for use in MEMS (micro-electric-mechanical-systems) probe storage devices. These devices are not solid state. Instead, a very small platter coated in chalcogenide is dragged beneath thousands or even millions of electrical probes that can read and write the chalcogenide. Hewlett-Packard's micro-mover technology can accurately position the platter to 3 nm so densities of more than 1 Tbit (125 GB) per square inch will be possible if the technology can be perfected. The basic idea is to reduce the amount of wiring needed on-chip; instead of wiring every cell, the cells are placed closer together and read by current passing through the MEMS probes, acting like wires. This approach resembles IBM's Millipede technology.

Samsung 46.7 nm cell
In September 2006, Samsung announced a prototype 512 Mb (64 MB) device using diode switches. The announcement was something of a surprise, and it was especially notable for its fairly high memory density. The prototype featured a cell size of only 46.7 nm, smaller than commercial flash devices available at the time. Although flash devices of higher capacity were available (64 Gb, or 8 GB, was just coming to market), other technologies competing to replace flash in general offered lower densities (larger cell sizes). The only production MRAM and FeRAM devices are only 4 Mb, for example. The high density of Samsung's prototype PRAM device suggested it could be a viable flash competitor, and not limited to niche roles as other devices have been. PRAM appeared to be particularly attractive as a potential replacement for NOR flash, where device capacities typically lag behind those of NAND flash devices. State-of-the-art capacities on NAND passed 512 Mb some time ago. NOR flash offers similar densities to Samsung's PRAM prototype and already offers bit addressability (unlike NAND where memory is accessed in banks of many bytes at a time).

Intel's PRAM device
Samsung's announcement was followed by one from Intel and STMicroelectronics, who demonstrated their own PRAM devices at the 2006 Intel Developer Forum in October. They showed a 128 Mb part that began manufacture at STMicroelectronics's research lab in Agrate, Italy. Intel stated that the devices were strictly proof-of-concept.

BAE device
PRAM is also a promising technology in the military and aerospace industries where radiation effects make the use of standard non-volatile memories such as flash impractical. PRAM devices have been introduced by BAE Systems, referred to as C-RAM, claiming excellent radiation tolerance (rad-hard) and latchup immunity. In addition, BAE claims a write cycle endurance of 108, which will allow it to be a contender for replacing PROMs and EEPROMs in space systems.

Multi-level cell
In February 2008, Intel and STMicroelectronics revealed the first multilevel (MLC) PRAM array prototype. The prototype stored two logical bits in each physical cell, in effect 256 Mb of memory stored in a 128 Mb physical array. This means that instead of the normal two states—fully amorphous and fully crystalline—an additional two distinct intermediate states represent different degrees of partial crystallization, allowing for twice as many bits to be stored in the same physical area. In June 2011, IBM announced that they had created stable, reliable, multi-bit phase-change memory with high performance and stability. SK Hynix had a joint developmental agreement and a technology license agreement with IBM for the development of multi-level PRAM technology.

Intel's 90 nm device
Also in February 2008, Intel and STMicroelectronics shipped prototype samples of their first PRAM product to customers. The 90 nm, 128 Mb (16 MB) product was called Alverstone.

In June 2009, Samsung and Numonyx B.V. announced a collaborative effort in the development of PRAM market-tailored hardware products.

In April 2010, Numonyx announced the Omneo line of 128-Mbit NOR-compatible phase-change memories. Samsung announced shipment of 512 Mb phase-change RAM (PRAM) in a multi-chip package (MCP) for use in mobile handsets by Fall 2010.

ST 28 nm, 16 MB array
In December 2018 STMicroelectronics presented design and performance data for a 16 MB ePCM array for a 28 nm fully depleted silicon on insulator automotive control unit.

In-memory computing
More recently, there is significant interest in the application of PCM for in-memory computing. The essential idea is to perform computational tasks such as matrix-vector-multiply operations in the memory array itself by exploiting PCM's analog storage capability and Kirchhoff's circuit laws. PCM-based in-memory computing could be interesting for applications such as deep learning inference which do not require very high computing precision. In 2021, IBM published a full-fledged in-memory computing core based on multi-level PCM integrated in 14 nm CMOS technology node.

Challenges
The greatest challenge for phase-change memory has been the requirement of high programming current density (>107 A/cm2, compared to 105...106 A/cm2 for a typical transistor or diode). The contact between the hot phase-change region and the adjacent dielectric is another fundamental concern. The dielectric may begin to leak current at higher temperature, or may lose adhesion when expanding at a different rate from the phase-change material.

Phase-change memory is susceptible to a fundamental tradeoff of unintended vs. intended phase-change. This stems primarily from the fact that phase-change is a thermally driven process rather than an electronic process. Thermal conditions that allow for fast crystallization should not be too similar to standby conditions, e.g. room temperature, otherwise data retention cannot be sustained. With the proper activation energy for crystallization it is possible to have fast crystallization at programming conditions while having very slow crystallization at normal conditions.

Probably the biggest challenge for phase-change memory is its long-term resistance and threshold voltage drift. The resistance of the amorphous state slowly increases according to a power law (~t0.1). This severely limits the ability for multilevel operation, since a lower intermediate state would be confused with a higher intermediate state at a later time, and could also jeopardize standard two-state operation if the threshold voltage increases beyond the design value.

In April 2010, Numonyx released its Omneo line of parallel and serial interface 128 Mb NOR flash replacement PRAM chips. Although the NOR flash chips they intended to replace operated in the −40-85 °C range, the PRAM chips operated in the 0-70 °C range, indicating a smaller operating window compared to NOR flash. This is likely due to the use of highly temperature-sensitive p–n junctions to provide the high currents needed for programming.

Timeline

 * January 1955: Kolomiets and Gorunova revealed semiconducting properties of chalcogenide glasses.
 * September 1966: Stanford Ovshinsky files first patent on phase-change technology
 * January 1969: Charles H. Sie published a dissertation at Iowa State University on chalcogenide phase-change-memory device
 * June 1969: US Patent 3,448,302 (Shanefield) licensed to Ovshinsky claims first reliable operation of PRAM device
 * September 1970: Gordon Moore publishes research in Electronics Magazine
 * June 1999: Ovonyx joint venture is formed to commercialize PRAM technology
 * November 1999: Lockheed Martin works with Ovonyx on PRAM for space applications
 * February 2000: Intel invests in Ovonyx, licenses technology
 * December 2000: ST Microelectronics licenses PRAM technology from Ovonyx
 * March 2002: Macronix files a patent application for transistor-less PRAM
 * July 2003: Samsung begins work on PRAM technology
 * 2003 through 2005: PRAM-related patent applications filed by Toshiba, Hitachi, Macronix, Renesas, Elpida, Sony, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Infineon and more
 * August 2004: Nanochip licenses PRAM technology from Ovonyx for use in MEMS probe storage
 * August 2004: Samsung announces successful 64 Mbit PRAM array
 * February 2005: Elpida licenses PRAM technology from Ovonyx
 * September 2005: Samsung announces successful 256 Mbit PRAM array, touts 400 μA programming current
 * October 2005: Intel increases investment in Ovonyx
 * December 2005; Hitachi and Renesas announce 1.5 V PRAM with 100 μA programming current
 * December 2005: Samsung licenses PRAM technology from Ovonyx
 * July 2006: BAE Systems begins selling the first commercial PRAM chip
 * September 2006: Samsung announces 512 Mbit PRAM device
 * October 2006: Intel and STMicroelectronics show a 128 Mbit PRAM chip
 * December 2006: IBM Research Labs demonstrate a prototype 3 by 20 nanometers
 * January 2007: Qimonda licenses PRAM technology from Ovonyx
 * April 2007: Intel's chief technology officer Justin Rattner is set to give the first public demonstration of the company's PRAM (phase-change RAM) technology
 * October 2007: Hynix begins pursuing PRAM by licensing Ovonyx' technology
 * February 2008: Intel and STMicroelectronics announce four-state MLC PRAM and begin shipping samples to customers.
 * December 2008: Numonyx announces mass production 128 Mbit PRAM device to selected customer.
 * June 2009: Samsung's phase-change RAM will go into mass production starting in June
 * September 2009: Samsung announces mass production start of 512 Mbit PRAM device
 * October 2009: Intel and Numonyx announce they have found a way to stack phase-change memory arrays on one die
 * December 2009: Numonyx announces 1 Gb 45 nm product
 * April 2010: Numonyx releases Omneo PRAM Series (P8P and P5Q), both in 90 nm.
 * April 2010: Samsung releases 512 Mbit PRAM with 65 nm process, in Multi-Chip-Package.
 * February 2011: Samsung presented 58 nm 1.8V 1 Gb PRAM.
 * February 2012: Samsung presented 20 nm 1.8V 8 Gb PRAM
 * July 2012: Micron announces availability of Phase-Change Memory for mobile devices - the first PRAM solution in volume production
 * January 2014: Micron withdraws all PCM parts from the market.
 * May 2014: IBM demonstrates combining PCM, conventional NAND, and DRAM on a single controller
 * August 2014: Western Digital demonstrates prototype PCM storage with 3 million I/Os and 1.5 microsecond latency
 * July 2015: Intel and Micron announced 3D Xpoint memory where phase-change alloy is used as a storage part of a memory cell.

title: Phase-change memory


text:
Samir Abdul Aziz al-Najim

Samir Abdul Aziz al-Najim (سمير عبد العزيز النجم; born 1937 in Baghdad) is a former Iraqi politician, who held several senior positions under President Saddam Hussein. He was the Minister for Oil from January to April 2003 and the President's chief of staff for several years after the 1991 Gulf War. He also served as the Iraqi ambassador to Egypt, Turkey, Spain and Russia.

Biography
He was born in 1937 in Baghdad from a Sunni Arab background. al-Najim was the regional command chairman for the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party for East Baghdad. He was accused by US Army officers of helping Saddam Hussein plot assassination attempts He was convicted in 1959 of the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim and was sentenced to death, although Qassim pardoned Najim.

Following the invasion of Iraq by the United States and allied forces in 2003, he was depicted as the four of clubs in their deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. His assets were frozen under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 as a "senior official" and transferred to the Development Fund for Iraq.

He was captured by Kurdish peshmerga near Mosul in April 2003. He was held at a prison located in Kadhimiya Region. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and confiscation of all his property on October 26, 2016. He was released from prison in April 2023.

title: Samir Abdul Aziz al-Najim


text:
Thornton-Donovan School

The Thornton-Donovan School (TD) was founded as the New Rochelle School and Kindergarten in New Rochelle, New York by Judge Martin Jerome Keogh in 1901. The first teacher and headmistress was Emily Scott Thornton, a Philadelphia native educated at University College Nottingham (now the University of Nottingham). The headmaster as of 2023 is Douglas E. Fleming, Jr.

The school is now at its third campus, on Overlook Circle in the Beechmont neighborhood of New Rochelle. It inhabits three former homes, including the former Andrew Crawford estate (now the Main Building).

Overview
The Thornton-Donovan School is now a New York State accredited high school educating over 175 students in grades K-12 every year. On May 25, 2005, students planted two flowering trees at the end of Overlook Circle and at Lester Place and Beechmont Lake as a gift to the city of New Rochelle, New York.

The school has a swimming pool, an outdoor playset, woodchips, a driveway, more than thirty living trees, a large grassy field, a basketball/tennis/family court, three buildings, a parking lot/Hacky Sack arena, and a shed for arts and crafts which is used only during the summer.

2008-2009 Renovation
In early 2008, plans were being made to expand and level the field along with building a new basketball court. A proposal for the renovation was sent to the New Rochelle Department of Development Planning Board on June 24. The proposal stated that the field would be graded, ten irrigation sprinklers would be installed, the basketball court would be taken apart and relocated to allow more field space, a ten-foot chain link fence would enclose the new court, and twenty trees would be removed during the process. Headmaster Douglas Fleming has referred to the final product as the Field of Dreams.

Summer Challenge Program
In the summer, the school also holds a summer camp program. Children aged 3–14 are permitted to join the program. The children are split into two divisions: Play School (3–7 years) and Sports Fitness (7–14 years). They participate in a wide variety of sports. Activities include: tennis, softball, field hockey, swimming, arts and crafts, karate, dance, basketball, soccer, trampolining, capture the flag, an outdoor playset, watermelon, and kickball. The older group is also taken to a bowling alley in the Bronx every Friday, where the children have a chance to bowl.

Thematic Language Education
Middle and Upper School curricula are themed annually on an area of the world. Students are exposed daily to a dynamic course of learning throughout the year learning not only about international cultures, but actual politics, history and the arts of painting in an intramural and experiential context. The school also has strong ties to several countries, with 35 sister schools throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America. During the school year, about four students are selected to go to one of several sister schools. The more notable exchange trips are to Busan, South Korea; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Dublin, Ireland; La Rochelle, France; Nottingham, England; Rome, Italy; Mexico City, and Guatemala City.

A rigorous course of learning is punctuated by a "spring-time fling" trip to locations associated with the year's theme (i.e. - the country or locale the school studied). Students, faculty and friends can all join for an exceptional educational excursion. Since 1994, there have been 18 trips, of which 14 were international.

1990s
Little information about the first six trips taken by the school has been given through their website; however, trips to six countries and one state were undertaken between 1994 and 1999.

2000- Greece
The new millennium began with an 11-day trip to Greece that started on May 18 and ended on May 28. The travelers departed from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on May 18 and landed in Athens, Greece on May 19. The group spent the morning and early afternoon at the Hotel Plaka in old Athens, overlooking the Acropolis. After touring the old city that evening, the school went to the Acropolis at night before going to Pnyx Hill to see a light show. On May 20, a full day of sightseeing took place. Travelers visited the Propylaea, Temple of Athena, the Erechtheum, the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum, and the Theatre of Dionysus. At 6:00 pm, they attended a Changing of the Guard ceremony in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

2001- Spain
In 2001, the school took an 18-day excursion to Spain from May 10 to 28.

2002- New York
The following year was a ten-day tour of New York City, Upstate New York, and Montreal from April 12 to 21.

2003- Florida
In 2003, the school traveled to southern Florida from April 25 to May 4.

2004- Belgium
In 2004, a ten-day trip to Belgium began on April 29 and ended on May 8.

2005- Illinois and Missouri
In 2005, the schools' most recent non-international trip took place from April 1 to 10 in Illinois and Missouri.

2006- England
During 2006, the school traveled to England for two weeks from April 28 to May 13.

2007- Japan
From May 4 to 17, 2007, the school journeyed to Japan. One of the largest excursions made by the school, a total of 90 people, including teachers and parents, took part in the trip across the Pacific. Due to the large number of people, two flights were taken to Japan, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, both of which were from John F. Kennedy Airport to Narita Airport; however, the first stopped in Los Angeles, California to reduce the amount of waiting time between the two flights. That night was spent in the Shiba Park Hotel in Tokyo. The first destination was the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo before traveling to the Meiji Shrine which dates back to 1920. After visiting the shine, the group traveled across the Rainbow bridge to the Fuji Television building. The final visit of the day was to the Tokyo International Forum where the group attended a performance by La Folle Journee au Japan. The next day the school traveled to the Imperial Palace for an exclusive tour inside the building; however, this did not take place due to misunderstandings by the students and the group toured the outside of the palace. After touring the Imperial Palace, the next stop was the John Lennon Museum in Chūō-ku, Saitama.

2008- Portugal
The 2008 trip taken by the school was from April 25 to May 10 in Portugal.

2009- Brazil
From April 29, 2009, the school toured Salvador, Brazil. The trip has taken students through the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and entered the Amazon Rainforest on May 1.

2010- South Africa
As of September 28, 2008, the 2009-10 semester trip is set to be about South Africa.

The arts and community connections

 * The mural "The Constellations" on the first floor of T-D's main building was painted by a relative of James Joyce, Alton S. Tobey
 * Lumen Martin Winter's Haus was T-D's second acquisition for the current opus. The mosaic is in the United Nations' headquarters at Manhattan. There is also a mural by him entitled "Aspirational Music" in the school's main building structure.
 * The school has many connections to Lion's Club International, a worldwide "service" organization.

Notable alumni

 * Wayne Allyn Root – the 2008 United States Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee. He attended the school from 1977 to 1979 when he graduated.
 * Joey Kramer - The drummer from Aerosmith.

Headmasters

 * 1. Emily Scott Thornton- 1901-1945
 * 2. Genevieve F. Berns- 1945-1968
 * 3. Douglas E. Fleming, Jr.- 1968– present

title: Thornton-Donovan School


text: Category:World War II divisions of the United States


text:
Soyuz TM-13

Soyuz TM-13 was the 13th expedition to the Mir space station. Launched from the Soviet Union in October 1991 and lasting until March 1992, the mission included cosmonauts from Austria and the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (Kazakh SSR), the latter of which became an independent state during the mission due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. The launch ceremony at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakh SSR was attended by the Soviet Premier Ivan Silaev, the President of the Kazakh SSR Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the Chancellor of Austria Franz Vranitzky. Before the launch, for the first time, President Nazarbayev received the launch report from cosmonaut Tokhtar Aubakirov in the Kazakh language.

Mission highlights
Soyuz-TM 13 carried commander Alexander Volkov along with Austrian cosmonaut-researcher Franz Viehböck and Soviet-Kazakh cosmonaut-researcher Toktar Aubakirov. The flight was unusual for carrying no flight engineer. Veteran Russian cosmonaut Alexandr Volkov commanded. The Austrians paid $7 million to fly Viehböck to Mir, and the Kazakh cosmonaut flew partly in an effort to encourage the then-Kazakh SSR to continue to permit launchings from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The cosmonaut-researchers photographed their respective countries from orbit and conducted the usual range of materials processing and medical experiments. Artsebarsky and Viehböck returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-12, with Volkov remaining on board Mir for an extended mission.

The Soyuz spent a total of 175 days docked to the Mir space station.

The Soyuz returned from Mir with German Klaus-Dietrich Flade and Krikalev and Volkov, dubbed by some as "the last citizens of the USSR" because they had launched from the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR, and landed in what had since become the independent Republic of Kazakhstan.

In popular culture
Out of the Present, a 1995 film documentary focused on Soyuz TM-12 cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev's stay on Mir, features the arrival of Soyuz TM-13.

title: Soyuz TM-13


text:
Theodor Martens

Theodor Martens (August 27, 1822, – October 1, 1884) was a 19th-century German artist.

Life and work
Martens was born in Wismar, Germany. he had nine children. He resided in Düsseldorf, Paris, Hamburg, Schwerin and Portici, in addition to Wismar. Martens worked as a merchant until age 40 when he took up art as his full-time vocation. Martens studied with August Weber in Düsseldorf and Émile Lambinet in Paris.

His work was especially influenced by the Barbizon school masters such as Corot, Daubigny and Diaz. In 1874 he received a silver medal during a show at the London Crystal Palace. He died from cholera in Portici, Italy, aged 62.

His paintings are in a realistic style that anticipates the impressionists to follow. Many landscapes and architectural subjects are included in his work. His works were considered very modern by contemporaries. Many examples of his work may be found today at the Schwerin State Art Museum in Schwerin, Germany and in the Schwerin Castle located in that northern German city.

A painting by Martens was sold July 6, 2004, at auction at Bonhams in London for $790 (US) it was a 27.5 by 35 centimeter oil titled "A river at dusk", the auction report did not disclose a date for the painting.

title: Theodor Martens


text:
Talk:David Brent

Alcoholism?
Should there be sentences in the article about how much the Brent character likes to drink, goes out drinking, talks about drinking, and is recalled by others as being a drunk? 69.178.120.127 (talk) 22:48, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

 * i dont know but his lack of tact reminds me of a certain alcoholics, as well as his insecurity and vuneribilty to criticism which causes him to overreact to what he views as criticism (like when people say that he doesnt look as young as he thinks he does). Hoginford (talk) 15:33, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

Father and Salesmanship
Worth noting that his father is alive with dementia(?) and one of Brents nastier moments was when he didnt come to his father's aid in order to stay at the quiz. Also, may be worth noting that Brent is depicted as a convincing salesman at the beginning of the Xmas special. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.179.205.151 (talk) 03:56, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Anonymous props
Good work on this article, 81.174.241.227.

Football
The bit about Ricky Gervais supporting Reading FC is contradicted by the main Ricky Gervais article.

Don't know about Gervais but Brent does indeed support Reading FC. In the Christmas Special he mocks Finchy for supporting Leeds United but then admits "I support Reading, so what do I know about football?" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.236.33.188 (talk) 12:22, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Quote
"Funny and true, the essential genius behind 'The Office'."

I'm not sure what you mean by this? Do you mean you agree with the quote? Or is this explaining the context?

Bogus quotes
I don't know who first ascribed quotes like "You have to be 100% behind someone before you can stab them in the back" and "Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines" to David Brent (e.g. ), but they're all bogus. chocolateboy 06:54, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The first quote is attributable to Humphrey Appleby in Yes, Prime Minister. Sebastian789 15:27, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Asperger's syndrome
Hi, I added this into the see also section because this is something David Brent has, isn't it? Along with Alan Partridge, and various other comical fictional characters. Let me know if I'm wrong about this! :-s --Rebroad 23:40, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * You're wrong about this! :-) chocolateboy 12:38, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * WTF?????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Has the OP ever seen the show?? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.14.208.190 (talk) 11:27, 10 April 2007 (UTC).

 * Neither Brent or Partridge have Asperger's; they both appear to have narcissistic personality disorder. 109.249.255.68 (talk) 20:58, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

In his 40s?
IIRC, doesn't he kind of admit to being 39 in one of the episodes? --Dingbats 19:41, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes - a couple of times. One time he points out to Tim that they are both in their 30s, and Tim says, "I'm only just 30, and you're... what? 39?" Brent responds "Doesn't matter - both in out 30s is the fact" (and he draws a rectangle in the air with his fingers, to put the fact in a 'box'). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.96.164.105 (talk) 22:00, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Boss from hell?
To add to the bit about David Brent not being as bad a manager as he was portrayed, the fact that he was offered promotion at the end of series 1 (but failed the medical) would seem to suggest that he couldn't have been that incompetent... Paul-b4 10:00, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

 * Please see The Peter Principle, Brendt was supposed to be an example of a competent salesman who was promoted too quickly to a position he was unsuited for, namely management. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.185.1.100 (talk) 17:37, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Spaced
This paragraph is interesting but is original research and is compromised by weasel words:

Ricky Gervais' cameo appearance in the sitcom Spaced may have been intended as a reference to the David Brent character or a portrayal of David Brent in his younger, office junior days before he has become employed by Wernham Hogg and made manager. Obvious signs include him working in an office, his name "Dave" being spoken by his colleague and the way he bites his bottom lip. His cocky swagger also foreshadows the future David Brent. However, Ricky Gervais and Spaced creators Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Jessica Stevenson have never commented on the cameo. Brad (talk) 14:00, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Drawings
In the list of attributes Brent think he excells in, I removed drawing. Can't remember a single time when this came up in the series. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.96.164.105 (talk) 22:02, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

What about the time when he mentions the ear he drew while at school shattering due to all the excessive noise around it? IndieSinger (talk) 22:05, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

British comedy - character development/comparison
This paragraph seems to have been removed almost wholesale by a replacement block describing him in relation to his latter-day US counterpart. Both have room in the article, so I'm restoring the original scetion as cited (nb. no, I didn't author it, so no WP:OWN moan) Plutonium27 (talk) 19:24, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I removed this bit of original research, but didn't actually replace it with anything. (The verifiable information about foreign adaptations already existed.) So do you propose any kind of timeframe for sources to be found or anything? Thanks for the note on my talk page. --TM 22:54, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

No arguing about the foreign adaptations' relevence etc - just noticed the place-in-text swap is all. Anyway, give me, say, a week - until (23 July) - and I'll show what I've got/found (though may need some help with formatting/citing them here). How's that? FWIW, I thought the usual way is to put a tag (WP:OR) next to the text in question first (unless the claim is inflammatory, a decided one or plain ridiculous) rather than a unilateral decision to excise. Plutonium27 (talk) 09:24, 18 July 2008 (UTC)
 * If by swap you mean the fact that when you delete text, other text takes its place then I suppose it's a swap, but I assure I wasn't attempting any sleight of hand. Well you know us North Americans, unilateral decisions are all we're capable of. But for the record, someone else had tagged it as OR, I agreed and was bold in attempting to improve the article. And, if anything, you acted unilaterally by bringing back unsourced claims tagged by one user, and removed by another, without any attempt to discuss it beforehand or find supporting citations. A week is pretty short, but it's not like I'm in any position to set a mandate. I've tagged the paragraph as best as I could. --TM 11:45, 18 July 2008 (UTC)
 * So any progress with sources? It's been about three weeks. --TM 00:24, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

The goatee
I've long been under the impression that David Brent's goatee was a reference to real-life docusoap irritant Jeremy Spake - whose own goatee was very similar, as with his mockery of a "showbiz career" in the Christmas episodes. Does anyone know if I have held that impression mistakenly? MultipleTom (talk) 00:10, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

Making the staff laugh
"In the final scene, Brent also succeeds in achieving what he failed to do for the whole series up to that point: he makes the staff laugh."

I'm 99% sure he acheives this pretty early in the series. Not just at him, but at one of his jokes (we only hear the very end, and the staff laughing). I /think/ it was just before he introduced Donna to the rest of the staff. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.72.248.121 (talk) 15:34, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Indeed he does. All we hear of the joke is "... it worked for the turtle" but all the staff present laugh. I'd love to know what the joke was... IndieSinger (talk) 08:34, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

Illiterate and unsourced
This entire thing needs to be rewritten. 86.158.122.82 (talk) 19:14, 14 September 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:David Brent


text:
Homalopsidae

The Homalopsidae are a family of snakes which contains about 30 genera and more than 50 species. They are commonly known as Indo-Australian water snakes, mudsnakes, or bockadams. They are also known as ular air (lit. "water snake") in Indonesian. They are typically stout-bodied water snakes, and all are mildly venomous. Two monotypic genera are notable for their unusual morphology: Erpeton possesses a pair of short, fleshy appendages protruding from the front of the snout, and Bitia has uniquely enlarged palatine teeth. Cerberus species have been noted to use sidewinding to cross slick mud flats during low tide. Fordonia and Gerarda are the only snakes known to tear their prey apart before eating it, pulling soft-shelled crabs through their coils to rip them apart prior to ingestion.

Genera

 * Bitia Gray, 1842
 * Brachyorrhos Kuhl, 1826
 * Calamophis Meyer, 1874
 * Cantoria Girard, 1857
 * Cerberus Cuvier, 1829
 * Dieurostus Berg, 1901
 * Djokoiskandarus J.C. Murphy, 2011
 * Enhydris Sonnini & Latreille, 1802
 * Erpeton Lacépède, 1800
 * Ferania Gray, 1842
 * Fordonia Gray, 1837
 * Gerarda Gray, 1849
 * Gyiophis J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2014
 * Heurnia de Jong, 1926
 * Homalophis W. Peters, 1871
 * Homalopsis Kuhl & Hasselt, 1822
 * Hypsiscopus Fitzinger, 1843
 * Karnsophis J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2013
 * Kualatahan J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2014
 * Mintonophis J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2014
 * Miralia Gray, 1842
 * Myanophis G. Köhler et al., 2021
 * Myron Gray, 1849
 * Myrrophis Kumar, Sanders, George & J.C. Murphy, 2012
 * Phytolopsis Gray, 1849
 * Pseudoferania Ogilby, 1891
 * Raclitia Gray, 1842
 * Subsessor J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2014
 * Sumatranus J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2014

title: Homalopsidae


text:
Siege of Warsaw (1939)

The Siege of Warsaw in 1939 was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army (Armia Warszawska) garrisoned and entrenched in Warsaw and the invading German Army.

It began with huge aerial bombardments initiated by the Luftwaffe starting on September 1, 1939 following the German invasion of Poland. Land fighting started on September 8, when the first German armored units reached the Wola district and south-western suburbs of the city. Despite German radio broadcasts claiming to have captured Warsaw, the initial enemy attack was repelled and soon afterwards Warsaw was placed under siege. The siege lasted until September 28, when the Polish garrison, commanded under General Walerian Czuma, officially capitulated. The following day approximately 140,000 Polish troops left the city and were taken as prisoners of war. On October 1 the Wehrmacht entered Warsaw, which started a period of German occupation that lasted until the devastating Warsaw Uprising and later until January 17, 1945, when the Wehrmacht troops abandoned the city due to the advance of Soviet forces.

Around 18,000 civilians of Warsaw perished during the siege. As a result of the air bombardments, 10% of the city's buildings were entirely destroyed and further 40% were heavily damaged.

Heavy bombardments
From the very first hours of World War II, Warsaw, the capital of Poland, was a target of an unrestricted aerial bombardment campaign initiated by the German Luftwaffe, which was controlled by Hermann Göring. Apart from the military facilities such as infantry barracks and the Okęcie airport and aircraft factory, the German pilots also targeted civilian facilities such as water works, hospitals, market places and schools, which resulted in heavy human casualties that possibly led to the early surrender by lowering of morale of the Polish army defending the city.

The anti-aircraft defence of the capital was divided into active and passive parts. The former was composed mostly of units of the Pursuit Brigade (Brygada Pościgowa) under Colonel Stefan Pawlikowski, and anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns detachments under Colonel Kazimierz Baran. The Pursuit Brigade was equipped with 54 fighter aircraft, mostly the obsolete PZL P.7 and PZL P.11 types. The AA artillery had 86 pieces of anti-aircraft artillery, as well as an unknown number of other anti-aircraft machine guns. The latter was composed mostly of fire-fighter brigades and volunteers and was supervised by Colonel Tadeusz Bogdanowicz and Julian Kulski, the deputy president

Initially the air defence of Warsaw was fairly successful and by September 6, 1939, the Pursuit Brigade had shot down 43 enemy aircraft, while anti-aircraft artillery had shot down a similar number of enemy bombers. There were also 9 unconfirmed victories and 20 damaged enemy planes. However, the brigade also suffered heavy losses, and by September 7 it had lost over 38 pieces of equipment, or approximately 70% of its initial strength, which greatly contributed to an early surrender.

The AA defence started to crumble when on September 5 by order of the military authorities 11 AA batteries were withdrawn from Warsaw towards the eastern cities of Lublin, Brześć and Lwów. Furthermore, as the war progressed, the German high command redirected more bombers to attack the city, especially the historical old town, the Warsaw Royal Castle and other iconic monuments, significant to the Polish nation and its capital. At the peak of the initial bombing campaign on September 10, there were more than 70 German bombers above Warsaw. During that day, nicknamed "Bloody Sunday", there were 17 consecutive bombing raids.

Eve of the battle
On September 3, the forces of German 4th Panzer Division under Major General Georg-Hans Reinhardt managed to break through positions of the Polish Łódź Army near Częstochowa and started their march towards the river Vistula and Warsaw. The same day Polish Commander in Chief, Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły ordered the creation of an improvised Command of the Defence of Warsaw (Dowództwo Obrony Warszawy). General Walerian Czuma, the head of the Border Guard (Straż Graniczna), became its commander and Colonel Tadeusz Tomaszewski its Chief of Staff.

Initially the forces under the command of General Czuma were very limited. Most of the city authorities withdrew together with a large part of the police forces, fire fighters and the military garrison. Warsaw was left with only four battalions of infantry and one battery of artillery. Also, the spokesman of the garrison of Warsaw issued a communique in which he ordered all young men to leave Warsaw. To coordinate civilian efforts and counter the panic that started in Warsaw, Czuma appointed the president of Warsaw Stefan Starzyński as the Civilian Commissar of Warsaw. Starzyński started to organize the Civil Guard to replace the evacuated police forces and the fire fighters. He also ordered all members of the city's administration to return to their posts. In his daily radio releases he asked all civilians to construct barricades and anti-tank barriers on the streets and at the outskirts of Warsaw. On September 7 the 40th Infantry Regiment "Children of Lwów" (commanded by Lt.Col. Józef Kalandyk) – transiting through Warsaw towards previously assigned positions with the Army Pomorze – was stopped and joined the defense of Warsaw.

Initial clashes

The field fortifications were constructed mostly to the west of the city limits. Gradually, the forces of General Walerian Czuma were reinforced with volunteers composed of mostly civilians, including women and children, as well as rearguard troops and units withdrawing from the front. On the morning of September 8, the suburbs of Grójec, Radziejowice, Nadarzyn, Raszyn and Piaseczno were captured by forces of German XVI Panzer Corps. At exactly 5pm the forces of the German 4th Panzer Division attempted an assault on Warsaw's western borough of Ochota. The assault was repulsed and the German forces suffered heavy casualties with many Panzer I and Panzer II tanks lost. The following day, the 4th Panzer Division was reinforced with artillery and motorised infantry, and began another assault towards Ochota and Wola. The well-placed Polish 75 mm anti-tank guns firing at point-blank range, and the barricades erected on main streets, successfully managed to repel all initiated assaults and unexpected attacks.

One of the barricades erected at the crossing of Opaczewska and Grójecka streets was defended by the 4th company of the 40th "Children of Lwów" Regiment. After the war a monument was built on the spot to commemorate the battle. On several occasions lack of armament had to be made up for by ingenuity. One of the streets leading towards the city center was covered with turpentine from a nearby factory. When the German tanks approached, the liquid was ignited and the tanks were destroyed without a single shot fired.

The German forces suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat westward to help thwart the Bzura River counter-offensive. The 4th Panzer Division alone lost approximately 80 tanks out of the approximately 220 that took part in the assault.

Second phase

By then General Czuma had gathered an equivalent of 2 infantry divisions under his command. His forces were supported by 64 pieces of artillery and 33 tanks (27 of Vickers E, 7-TP and R-35 and 6 TK-3 and TKS tankettes). On September 8 the Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły ordered the creation of an improvised Warsaw Army (Armia Warszawa) under General Juliusz Rómmel. The newly created force was composed of the forces defending Warsaw and Modlin Fortress, as well as all Polish units defending the Narew and the Vistula between Warsaw and Pilica river lines. General Czuma continued to be the commander of the Warsaw Defence Force, which he split into two sectors: East (Praga district) under Lt.Col. Julian Janowski and West under Colonel Marian Porwit.

The Army Poznań commanded by General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, and Army Pomorze under General Władysław Bortnowski started an offensive on the left flank of the German forces advancing towards Warsaw. As a result of this offensive that later became known as the Battle of Bzura, German commanders withdrew the 4th Panzer Division and sent it to counter the Polish threat near Kutno. Its positions were replaced by forces of a weakened German 31st Infantry Division. In this sense the desperate attempt to buy time for organising a defence of Warsaw was a success. The defenders of the city were joined by various units of the routed Prusy Army. In addition, several new units were created in Warsaw out of reserve centres of Warsaw-based 8th Polish Infantry Division and 36th "Academic Legion" Infantry Regiment.

On September 11 the Polish Commander in Chief ordered that Warsaw was to be defended at all costs, despite the possible heavy casualties and civilian losses. The following day the forces of German 3rd Army (under General Georg von Küchler) broke through Polish lines along the Narew river and started its march southwards to cut off Warsaw from the east. It was assaulted by cavalry units under Władysław Anders, but after heavy fighting the Polish counter-offensive failed and the forces were withdrawn to the south. Other Polish units fighting under General Juliusz Zulauf near the Narew River area retreated and reached Warsaw on September 14. They were incorporated as the core of the defence forces of the borough of Praga district.

On September 15 the German forces reached Warsaw from the east and the capital of Poland was under siege. Only a strip of land along the Vistula leading towards the Kampinos Forest and Modlin Fortress was still controlled by Polish forces. The defence of the Modlin fortress was an important relief to the defenders of Warsaw.

Siege of Warsaw

On 15 September, the German Third Army from Army Group North attacked Praga. They attacked from both sides of the Vistula.

After heavy fighting for the Grochów area the German 23rd Infantry Regiment was annihilated by the Polish defenders of the 21st "Children of Warsaw" Infantry Regiment under colonel (later promoted to general) Stanisław Sosabowski.

After the Battle of Bzura ended, the remnants of the Poznań Army and the Pomorze Army broke through the German encirclement and arrived in Warsaw and Modlin between 18–21 September from the Kampinos Forest. After that the forces of the defenders amounted to approximately 140,000 soldiers. The German forces preparing for an all-out assault numbered 13 divisions with one thousand artillery pieces. On September 22 the last lines of communication between Warsaw and Modlin were cut by German forces reaching the Vistula.

As preparation for the storming, the city was shelled day and night with artillery and aerial bombardment. Among the guns used were heavy railway guns and mortars. Two entire air fleets took part in the air raids against both civilian and military targets. After September 20 the forces on the eastern bank of the Vistula started daily attacks on the Praga suburb. All were successfully counter-attacked by the Polish forces. On September 24 all German units concentrated around Warsaw were put under command of general Johannes Blaskowitz

An initial German attack took place on 23 September, which was successfully repulsed. On September 25 the next attack started with an artillery and air bombardment, including 1,200 aircraft. This so-called "Black Monday" became a legend in the history of Warsaw.

The following day in the early morning the general assault was started on all fronts of surrounded Warsaw. Western parts of the city were attacked by 5 German divisions (10th, 18th, 19th, 31st and 46th) while the eastern part was attacked by 4 divisions (11th, 32nd, 61st and 217th). The attack was supported by approximately 70 batteries of field artillery, 80 batteries of heavy artillery and two entire air fleets (1st and 4th), which bombarded the city continuously causing heavy losses in the civilian population. On 26 September, the Forts of Mokotów, Dąbrowski and Czerniaków fell to the German assault.

Capitulation and surrender

General Czuma managed to gather enough forces and war material to successfully defend the city for several weeks longer. However, the situation of the civilian inhabitants of Warsaw became increasingly tragic. Constant bombardment of civilian facilities, lack of food and medical supplies resulted in heavy casualties among the city's population.

The water works were destroyed by German bombers and all boroughs of Warsaw experienced a lack of both potable water and water with which to extinguish the fires caused by the constant bombardment. Also, the strategic situation became very difficult. The Soviet Union's entry into the war and lack of support from the Western Allies made the defence of the city pointless and heavily demotivated the volunteers in participating in any further military actions.

On September 26, Army Warsaw General Juliusz Rómmel, started capitulation talks with the German commander. On September 27, at 12:00 a cease fire agreement was signed and all fighting halted. Soon afterwards, Warsaw capitulated. Several units declined to put down their weapons and cease fire, and their commanding officers had to be visited by generals Czuma and Rómmel personally.

On September 29, the garrison of Warsaw started to hide or destroy their heavy armament. Some of the hidden war material was later used during the Warsaw Uprising. On September 30, the evacuation of Polish forces to German prisoner of war camps started and, the following day, German units entered the capital. The city was occupied until January 17, 1945.

title: Siege of Warsaw (1939)


text:
Aerocar (disambiguation)

Aero Car or Aerocar may refer to:

Automobiles

 * Aerocar (1905 automobile), an American automobile built from 1905 to 1908
 * Aero Car (1919 automobile), a British 5/7 hp (533 W) flat twin-engine cyclecar manufactured from 1919 to 1920
 * Aero Car (1921 automobile), a planned American automobile

Flying cars

 * Aerocar (1949–1956), several working "flying cars" (roadable aircraft)
 * Wagner Aerocar, a roadable helicopter completed in 1965
 * Aerocar 2000, a roadable aircraft currently in development in the US
 * Klein Vision AirCar (2020-Present), a certified two-seat real flying car designed by Štefan Klein
 * AeroMobil s.r.o. AeroMobil, sereral working "flying cars" produced 1990-Present

Light aircraft

 * Portsmouth Aerocar, a British light utility aircraft design of the late 1940s

Companies

 * Aerocar International, the company that built the Aerocar as well as:
 * Aerocar Aero-Plane, an unusual light aircraft flown in the US in 1964
 * Aerocar Coot, a two-seat amphibious aircraft first flown in 1969, designed for homebuilding by Moulton Taylor
 * Aerocar Micro-IMP, a light sportsplane developed from the successful Mini-IMP homebuilt in 1978
 * Niagara Aero Car Company, which built the Whirlpool Aero Car, an attraction at Niagara Falls, in 1913

title: Aerocar (disambiguation)


text:
Stream gradient

Stream gradient (or stream slope) is the grade (or slope) of a stream. It is measured by the ratio of drop in elevation and horizontal distance. It is a dimensionless quantity, usually expressed in units of meters per kilometer (m/km) or feet per mile (ft/mi); it may also be expressed in percent (%). The world average river reach slope is 2.6 m/km or 0.26%; a slope smaller than 1% and greater than 4% is considered gentle and steep, respectively.

Stream gradient may change along the stream course. An average gradient can be defined, known as the relief ratio, which gives the average drop in elevation per unit length of river. The calculation is the difference in elevation between the river's source and the river terminus (confluence or mouth) divided by the total length of the river or stream.

Hydrology and geology
A high gradient indicates a steep slope and rapid flow of water (i.e. more ability to erode); where as a low gradient indicates a more nearly level stream bed and sluggishly moving water, that may be able to carry only small amounts of very fine sediment. High gradient streams tend to have steep, narrow V-shaped valleys, and are referred to as young streams. Low gradient streams have wider and less rugged valleys, with a tendency for the stream to meander. Many rivers involve, to some extent, a flattening of the river gradient as approach the terminus at sea level.

Fluvial erosion
A stream that flows upon a uniformly erodible substrate will tend to have a steep gradient near its source, and a low gradient nearing zero as it reaches its base level. Of course, a uniform substrate would be rare in nature; hard layers of rock along the way may establish a temporary base level, followed by a high gradient, or even a waterfall, as softer materials are encountered below the hard layer.

Human dams, glaciation, changes in sea level, and many other factors can also change the "normal" or natural gradient pattern.

Topographic mapping
On topographic maps, stream gradient can be easily approximated if the scale of the map and the contour intervals are known. Contour lines form a V-shape on the map, pointing upstream. By counting the number of lines that cross a certain segment of a stream, multiplying this by the contour interval, and dividing that quantity by the length of the stream segment, one obtains an approximation to the stream gradient.

Because stream gradient is customarily given in feet per 1000 feet, one should then measure the amount a stream segment rises and the length of the stream segment in feet, then multiply feet per foot gradient by 1000. For example, if one measures a scale mile along the stream length, and counts three contour lines crossed on a map with ten-foot contours, the gradient is approximately 5.7 feet per 1000 feet, a fairly steep gradient.

title: Stream gradient


text:
Aerocar (1905 automobile)

The Aerocar is an American automobile that was built from 1906 until 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. Backed by Henry Ford's former partner, coal merchant Alexander Malcomson, the short-lived company offered an air-cooled four-cylinder luxury car which sold for $2,800.

The factory was sold to Hudson Motor Car Company.

History
The Aerocar Motor Company was founded in late 1905 by entrepreneur Alexander Malcolmson, who was also the primary financial backer of the Ford Motor Company in 1903. The two had differing views on serving the marketplace with Malcomson focusing on profitability from more expensive cars in contrast to Henry Ford looking to develop cars for the low-priced market.

The company's name refers to the car's use of an air-cooled engine. An order was placed with Reeves Pulley Company to deliver 500 four-cylinder, 20 hp engines. A factory was built in Detroit at the corner of Mack Avenue and Beaufait Street. The Detroit News published an article on 3 December 1905, about Malcomson, the new Aerocar Company, and its plan to produce 500 touring cars during the year. This brought a response on 5 December 1905 from Ford's board of directors calling for Malcomson's resignation from the board.

Production began in February 1906 for a high-end car to compete with the automobiles on the market at that time, including Ford's Model K, and Aerocar reserved spaces at the major 1906 auto shows. By April, the company reported selling one car per week and was planning to build three per week. News reports during December 1905 boasted that Aerocar was manufacturing four cars per week, mostly the runabout version. By April 1907, the company announced intentions of buying a large office building near Woodward in Detroit. High fixed costs and low demand for its cars were factors for the company to file for bankruptcy on August 6, 1907, and the process of liquidation during October and November of that year included the sale of 25 new Aerocars "at half of production cost." A lawsuit in 1909 by Reeves against Aerocar's failure to fulfill its 500 engine contract indicated that only 319 were taken. Moreover, the $325 price was high for an "unremarkable, 1905 technology engine."

Malcolmson went back to the more lucrative coal business.

The Aerocar factory at Mack Avenue and Beaufait Street was leased in April 1909 to the Hudson Motor Car Company. The new company experienced rapid growth of its Model 20. Demand for that first 1910 model exceeded production capacity at the former Aerocar plant "in a matter of months." Hudson had Albert Kahn design a new factory that was built a few miles away at East Jefferson and Conner. This facility needed to be doubled in size in a couple of years and was producing 100 cars per day. Manufacturing of Hudson cars continued until August 1954 and the plant was purchased by General Motors in 1956 for metal fabrication of Cadillacs, but the facility was demolished in 1959–1960. The original Aerocar factory appeared to be "reasonably well maintained" as of 2012, and "some very old lettering on the east side of the building had the words The Aerocar Company in white paint on the red brick."

Models

Trade promotion of the new Aerocar described it "The Car of today, tomorrow and the years to come. Built by practical men" with numerous claims as to its features as well as that "the dealer who has a selling agency for the Aerocar will have a gold mine." The first model priced at $2,800 was for a touring car equipped with an air-cooled engine with a three-speed sliding gear transmission, standard steering, tubular front axle, and single battery/timer/coil ignition.

The Model A was powered by a Reeves 24-horsepower, four-cylinder, air-cooled engine. It came with a "Standard Extension Black Top" and two gas headlights as well as "Full Oil Lamp Equipment." The automobile had a Prest-o-Lite tank, Hartford shock absorbers, Gabriel horn, and a speedometer. It also came with an extra tire and inner tube in a waterproof case with attaching irons, robe-rail and a footrest in tonneau. A toolbox with full equipment was attached to the exterior running board. The air-cooled engine was later replaced by a Reeves water-cooled model.

Aerocar continued to build less expensive autos. Aerocar continued to use the 20 hp air-cooled Reeves engines in both the Model D and roadster, adding a 40 hp water-cooled touring in 1907 and 1908. The larger touring initially sold for $2,750 in 1907, then $2,200 in 1908.

Near the end, the more conventional Model F with a water-cooled 45 hp Rutenber engine was introduced, but it was too late.

The remaining cars were sold in 1908, with a grand total of approximately 300 Aerocars built.

title: Aerocar (1905 automobile)


text:
Protest Warrior

Protest Warrior was a conservative political activist group. It was formed in 2003 by Alan Lipton and Kfir Alfia in Austin, Texas. The group is primarily known for organizing counter-protests in favor of the Iraq war. Its slogan is "Fighting the left...doing it right". As of 2015, it was inactive.

History
In February 2003, Alfia was working as a computer chip designer in San Francisco when he reunited with Alan Lipton, a childhood friend, and crashed an anti-war protest in San Francisco on February 16, 2003.

The two carried their own signs. Alfia's sign showed a woman in a burqa tied to a pole with a leash around her neck, and was captioned "Protect Islamic Property Rights Against Western Imperialism. Say No To War!" Lipton's sign said, "Saddam Only Kills His Own People. It's None Of Our Business." Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh covered their counter-protest on his website and complimented the group on its work.

Motivation
Seeing liberals as "morally and politically bankrupt," and as having a monopoly of media attention, Protest Warrior believes that the voices of the "left" are "heard disproportionately, demoralizing our troops and emboldening dictators around the world."

Method
The group's primary method of activism is crashing liberal events, chiefly anti-war protest marches and counter-demonstrating within their ranks. For instance, Protest Warriors attended rallies against Halliburton, Caterpillar Inc., Israel, and U.S. President George W. Bush, displaying support for these entities. When doing so, the Protest Warriors carry large signs often designed to appear similar to those held by the participants, enabling them to mingle until observers are close enough to read their signs' fine-print.

Website
The group maintains a website as an organizing and information hub. It also acts as a source for the many slogans and signs presented by Protest Warriors at protests, as well as offering a sign creation tutorial to registered members. The website also includes an online shop. The website also featured numerous forums, but they were shut down without explanation on September 13, 2006, and currently return a HTTP 404 error.

The website has been the target of various attempts at politically motivated hacking in the course of its existence. Most notably, in January, 2005 the site was hacked by Chicago native Jeremy Hammond, affiliated with the website HackThisSite.org, to steal credit card numbers and shut down the web server. Hammond was indicted in May, 2006, and sentenced to two years in prison on December 7, 2006.

Past operations
Local and National chapters of Protest Warrior have carried out operations in the United States and abroad. Examples of past Protest Warrior operations include:

 * On January 20, 2005, "Operation Hail to the Chief" drew thirteen Protest Warriors to Washington D.C. to oppose those protesting the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.
 * During the 2004 Republican National Convention, a group of Protest Warriors staged a counterprotest, "Operation Liberty Rising".
 * On August 27, 2005, a group of three Protest Warriors led by co-founder Kfir Alfia was the target of animosity at a conservative counter-Cindy Sheehan rally in Crawford, Texas. Despite the Protest Warriors' assurances that they were on the same side, the conservative protesters repeatedly shouted at them, destroyed the Protest Warrior signs, and forced the Protest Warriors to leave the rally, mistaking them for anti-war protesters.
 * During the Sept. 24, 2005 Anti-War Protests in Washington D.C., Protest Warrior, along with Move America Forward, RightMarch and Free Republic counter-protested those opposed to the war, and also demonstrated in support of the war and troops.

Current status, future campaigns
The current status of Protest Warrior is unknown:

 * "ProtestWarrior, LLC", formed as a limited liability company in Texas in 2003, is currently listed by the state as "Not In Good Standing", meaning that Protest Warrior has failed to file its annual paperwork and pay due taxes/fees.
 * The main discussion forums for PW closed in September 2006. The public forums were reopened in August 2007 and then subsequently went offline again sometime in 2008.
 * On February 21, 2007 a blog was started, announcing a "Protest Warrior 2.0" initiative aimed at revitalizing the organization. Seven articles were written over the span of seven months, with the last entry being dated August 15, 2007.
 * On February 19, 2009 the website was offline again and then returned three months later. The website is currently accessible, but the discussion forums, donation solicitation page, and "HQ" sections are either non-functional or have been entirely removed (HTTP Error 404). The latest "News & Updates" section announces a book publication in June, 2007.

title: Protest Warrior


text:
Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Sattar

Ibrahim Ahmad Abd Al-Sattar Muhammad Al-Tikriti (9 September 1950 – 28 October 2010) was the chief of staff of the Iraqi armed forces under the rule of Saddam Hussein from 1999 until 2003. He was taken into custody on 15 May 2003.

He was the "jack of spades" in the U.S. deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards and was reported by CENTCOM to be in custody in May 2003.

On 2 March 2009, Abdul Sattar was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the violent repression of a Shiite uprising in 1991.

He died from cancer on 28 October 2010 while being held in US and Iraqi custody.

title: Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Sattar