text:
User talk:Zombo

Welcome to the Wikipedia
I noticed you were new, and wanted to share some links I thought useful:

 * Tutorial
 * Help desk
 * Foundation issues
 * Policy Library

For more information click  here . You can sign your name by typing 4 tildes, like this: ~.

Sam Spade 10:06, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Zombo image
Sorry but you're going to have to remove the picture of Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg from your user and talk pages, as images with a license of "fair use" can't be used in the userspace (see WP:FUC for more information). -- Ricky81682 (talk) 23:40, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

Unspecified source for Image:Timetunnel-cast.jpg
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Image:Zombo.jpg
Hello, Zombo. An automated process has found and removed an image or media file tagged as nonfree media, and thus is being used under fair use that was in your userspace. The image (Image:Zombo.jpg) was found at the following location: User talk:Zombo. This image or media was attempted to be removed per criterion number 9 of our non-free content policy. The image or media was replaced with Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg, so your formatting of your userpage should be fine. Please find a free image or    media to replace it with, and or remove the image from your userspace. User:Gnome (Bot)-talk 11:14, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Replaceable fair use Image:Hades-turner.gif
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Image source problem with Image:Dr-Smith-oxygen-mask-1966.JPG
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Fair use rationale for Image:Dr-Smith-oxygen-mask-1966.JPG
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Robert B. Cooper
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title: User talk:Zombo


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User:Scroogle

irc://irc.gamesurge.com/scroogle

Equally as good as the next.

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

title: User:Scroogle


text:
Celebrity Wrestling

Celebrity Wrestling is a British television programme, broadcast on ITV in 2005. It involved two teams of celebrities, competing against each other in wrestling style events. The series was presented by Kate Thornton and Rowdy Roddy Piper. British mixed martial arts fighter Ian Freeman was the show's referee.

The aftershow programme on ITV2, called Celebrity Wrestling: Bring It On was presented by Jack Osbourne and Holly Willoughby. The winning team was The Warriors and the winning wrestlers were Annabel Croft (Solitaire) and Iwan Thomas (The Dragon).

It was received with a feeling of derision by professional wrestling fans, due to the lack of actual wrestling content. The show featured heavily upon games which involved grappling and the real life interactions of team members in training (and usually not the training process itself).

After five weeks the show was moved from its primetime Saturday evening slot to a graveyard Sunday morning slot due to its extremely poor ratings and being comprehensively beaten in audience share by Doctor Who on BBC One.

Teams
Bold indicates that the celebrity won their gender championship

Crusaders
This team was trained by wrestler D'Lo Brown

Warriors
This team was trained by wrestler Joe Legend

Masked Celebrity
Each week there was a "mystery celebrity" who joined in the wrestling. The celebrities included:
 * Fatima Whitbread
 * John Fashanu
 * Neil Ruddock
 * Antonia Okonma
 * Terri Dwyer
 * Fran Cosgrave

Other participants

 * Model Emma B took part in one episode as a replacement for Victoria Silvstedt using the character name Queen Bee.
 * Radio DJ Toby Anstis was set to appear in the series, but had to pull out when he broke two of his fingers.
 * The UK Pitbulls tag team appeared on the follow-up show with Jack Osbourne, but serious wrestlers declined to appear.

title: Celebrity Wrestling


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War Gods (video game)

War Gods is a fighting video game originally released to arcades by Midway Games in 1996. Ports for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Windows were released in 1997. In the game, players control one of ten fighters who have been given great power by a mysterious ore that crashed-landed on Earth from outer space. The object of the game is to defeat all the other fighters to become the most powerful warrior on the planet.

The game was heavily influenced by Midway's Mortal Kombat series, and features controls similar to the Mortal Kombat games, as well as the series' signature fatalities. Unique to War Gods is the "3D" button, allowing players to use the background/foreground for additional attacks and evasive maneuvers; in other words it lets the player dive around the ring in a circular arc as part of their attacks and defensive moves. The orbiting camera smoothly follows the fighters, working to maintain the left/right "fighting line" needed for coherent two-player joystick control on the arcade cabinet. The game's graphics were created using a technology by Midway called "digital skin", which mapped photographs onto 3D models.

War Gods received mixed reviews, with particular criticism being directed at the game's character design and animations.

Gameplay

War Gods is a 3D fighting game with the control scheme of a Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter entry. It is limited to a story mode that can be played alone or two-player; in the Nintendo 64 version, the two-player mode is activated by having the second controller plugged in while on the character selection screen. The plot takes place billions of years ago, where ten humans turn into the titular powerful beings by finding chunks of ore that arrived on a crashed spaceship. The gods fight each other to possess all the stones and become the ultimate super-warrior. The final battles are with two aliens from the spaceship, Grox and Exor, hunting the War Gods for a missing transporter. The levels are set in areas native to the War Gods, such as the cyborg Cy-5's futuristic machine halls in 2096, and the priest's desert temples.

The game plays similarly to Mortal Kombat 4, using an almost identical button layout of high/low punches and kicks. The "Run" button was replaced with a "3D" button that, when held down while using other joystick and button combinations, allows the player to perform different attacks/evasions utilizing the background or foreground. To prevent situations where opponents end up on different playing fields for prolonged periods of time, each character has a teleport move which moves them close to their opponent. Just as in the Mortal Kombat games, players select a character and fight a series of opponents. War Gods also features combos which can be used through series of button presses. Like the Mortal Kombat games, the game has fatalities that are used to finish off opponents.

Development
Released by Midway as the first of its new 3D software prior to the release of Mortal Kombat 4, War Gods was developed by a team led by Joe Linhoff and George Petro. The arcade game utilized a hybrid of the hardware used for Cruis'n USA with a hard drive for data storage. All the moves were recorded using motion capture with just two actors. The in-game characters were created using a technology called "digital skin", which involved digitizing reference photographs of live actors and mapping them onto 3-D models.

Gamefan reported about War Gods in August 1995 claiming it will use the same hardware as Killer Instinct and will be unveiled at Amusement Expo International in September 1995. However War Gods did not get unveiled until at a trade show in March 1996. In response to suggestions and complaints about the gameplay, several months were devoted to refining the game's programming, delaying the arcade release to the third quarter of 1996.

The Nintendo 64 version was delayed in order to tone down the difficulty level and add additional moves. A Panasonic M2 version of War Gods was in development and slated to be one of its launch titles, but it never happened due to the system's cancellation.

Reception
The response to War Gods was lukewarm. Critics from GameFan and IGN felt the N64 port improved on the problems of the arcade port, such as the AI and frame rate, although the former source expressed that it was a waste of resources to do so. One of the biggest criticisms the game received was for its cast of characters. Computer and Video Games reported that while the arcade game was being exhibited at the 1996 American Coin Machine Exposition, showgoers believed that the character designs would hurt the game's chances for success. Matt Casamassina of IGN called the character designs "uninspired", while a reviewer for Next Generation called them "mildly embarrassing Ringling Brothers' character design". Game Revolution, however, said the character designs were "pretty cool" and complimented the variety in the available fighters.

The response to the game's graphics was mixed. Computer and Video Games had a positive impression of the in-game models with "digital skin". Next Generation said the digital skin technique is genuinely innovative and different, but the result is characters which look jagged, move stiffly, and generally lack the smoothness of the polygonal fighters seen in contemporary games like Tekken 2 and Virtua Fighter 2. Commenting on the Nintendo 64 version, Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot called it "probably the first N64 fighting game to hit the market that actually shows off some of the power of this system." However, most reviewers said the game makes poor use of the N64 hardware, citing choppy character animations, a low frame rate, poorly detailed characters, and slowdown. Casamassina wrote that the while the digital skin textures were "initially nice", the "animation and terrible character design detract greatly from the whole experience."

IGN said they were "pleased with the control in the game, but not overly excited by it." GamePro remarked that "The 3D button, while innovative, really doesn't enhance the gameplay" and is too easily confused with low guard on the N64 controller. Reviewers, such as E. Storm of GameFan who found the controls not responsive enough to compete with fighters of such "insane" AI, also commented that the game's controls were ill-suited for the N64 controller. Only Next Generation argued that the controls are more intuitive with the N64 controller than they were in the arcade. The Nintendo 64 version was also criticized for having imbalanced A.I., Casamassina writing fighters would successfully pull off every attack without struggle on the easiest setting. Reviewers highlighted the fact that the game plays very similarly to the Mortal Kombat games. Gerstmann commented that there was "just enough of the MK feel to give it familiarity" calling it "an interesting footnote to the MK legacy." After seeing the game demoed at the American Coin Machine Exposition, a Next Generation writer said it was "the next step forward for Midway's Mortal Kombat series (though it's not technically Mortal Kombat)." The magazine's later review of the game, however, criticized that too many of the fighters' moves are obvious parallels to moves seen in the Mortal Kombat series. Sushi-X of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) likewise judged that the overt similarity to Mortal Kombat makes the game "horribly unoriginal." EGM named it the 1997 "Game That Should've Stayed in the Arcades" in their 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide, commenting that "an average arcade game doesn't make for a great home game, War Gods is no exception."

Next Generation and Crispin Boyer of EGM noted that the Nintendo 64 version was actually enhanced over the arcade version, with faster gameplay, better anti-aliasing, and bosses which were tuned to present a more reasonable challenge, but both felt these enhancements were not enough to make the game good. GamePro assessed that the game compared unfavorably, not only to the top tier fighting games on the Saturn and PlayStation, but even to middling N64 fighters such as Killer Instinct Gold and Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

War Gods flopped in arcades, owing chiefly to limited distribution and unfavorable word of mouth.

title: War Gods (video game)


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Downhill mountain biking

Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including 12 m, and drops can be greater than 3 m.

The rider commonly travels to the point of descent a ski lift or automobile, since the weight of the downhill mountain bike often precludes any serious climbing. In this context, the use of a motorized vehicle or device does not make DH a motorized sport. Riders must possess a unique combination of total body strength, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, and the acceptance of a relatively high risk of incurring serious permanent injuries. Downhill bikes are heavier and stronger than other mountain bikes and feature front and rear suspension with over 8 inches (20 cm) of travel, to glide quickly over rocks and tree roots. In competitive races, a continuous course is defined on each side by a strip of tape. Depending on the format, riders have a single or double attempt to reach the finish line as fast as possible, while remaining between the two tapes designating the course. Riders must choose their line by compromising between the shortest possible line and the line that can be traveled at the highest speed. If a rider leaves the course by crossing or breaking the tape they must return to the course at the point of exit, unless they do not gain a time advantage from crossing the tape, in which case they can continue with their run.

Riders start at intervals, often seeded from slowest to fastest, and courses typically take two to five minutes to complete with winning margins being often less than a second. Riders are timed with equipment similar to that used in downhill skiing.

History of competitive racing
The 1st downhill time-trial race took place in Fairfax, California on 21 October 1976, on a fireroad now referred to as Repack Road,  due to the need to repack the hub brake after each descent. The bikes used were based on cruiser bicycles that had a drum or coaster brake that worked by pedalling backward. The mechanism operated with a conical brake shoe being wound on a thread in a metal hub. To prevent the brake from seizing it was kept filled with grease. Heavy use during the descent would cause the brake to over heat, softening the grease and causing it to drain from the hub, requiring frequent repacking. Ten riders descended 1300 ft of Repack road in about 5 minutes.

The first bikes used for descending were known as "klunkers" or "paperboy bikes" – sturdy cruisers using balloon tires and coaster brakes, designed by Ignatz Schwinn during the Great Depression. The bikes could endure abuse that would damage other bicycles by changing features from the Henderson and Excelsior motorcycles his company had built during the 1920s, including a heavy "cantilevered" frame with two top tubes and 2.125-inch-wide (54.0 mm) "balloon" tires from Germany. Innovations like the fat-tire Schwinn with derailleur gears by Russ Mahon of  The Morrow Dirt Club in Cupertino at the 1974 Marin County cyclo-cross and Gary Fisher's 1975 use of a tandem rear hub (from a flea market) with a drum brake threaded for a freewheel cluster developed the sport, and by 1979, two organizers and competitors of the Repack downhill, Charlie Kelly and Gary Fisher founded the company which named the sport, MountainBikes. As mountain biking grew during the 80s, downhill riders continued to use either rigid or limited-travel (under 2 in) suspension bicycles. Purpose-made downhill bikes started to appear in the 90s, with innovations such as dual crown forks and disc brakes, as well as more elaborate suspension designs.

Later, riders from other disciplines began focusing on downhill, such as BMX racers Daniel Solano (Team Tomac Bikes), and Brian Lopes. Their influence is seen in the increased difficulty of many courses, with bigger jumps and drops added. The coming of age for downhill biking was its inclusion at the first UCI Mountain Bike Championship, held in 1990 in Durango, Colorado.

Notable downhill racing venues
Many ski areas are converted into downhill mountain biking venues in the summer, such as Whistler Mountain Bike Park and Fernie Alpine Resort, alongside the specifically developed all-season downhill trails. At some courses, bikers ride gondolas, trams or chair lifts to the starting point, or "shuttling" with motorized vehicles is used to transport riders to the top of the hill. Others are accessible by riding (or pushing) bicycles to the starting point. Urban downhill courses have also appeared in mountain-side cities, with the courses going through city streets and sidewalks, such as the Taxco Downhill event in Mexico.

Courses used in competition often feature several "lines" through or around difficult obstacles. For example, the "A line" might be a direct line over a large jump with a sketchy landing, the "B line" a smaller jump with a better landing, and the "C line" completely avoids the jumps, but may take longer.

Australia
Australia has produced a large number of internationally successful downhill racers, including Sam Hill, Chris Kovarik, Nathan Rennie and Mick Hannah. The large majority of Australian downhill riding and racing is accessed by shuttling in cars, buses or by walking to the top of the track (push runs), however the venues at Mount Buller and Thredbo provide lift accessed tracks during the snow less summer months.

Mount Stromlo, near Canberra, hosted a World Cup Round in August 2008 and the 2009 World Championships. The top can be accessed by either riding up singletrack, or by shuttling via the road. Australia's first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup was held in Cairns in 1994–1995. followed by the World Mountain Bike Championships in 1996 and again in 2017, placing Cairns on the map as the premier Australian mountain bike destination.

Austria
Located in the Alps, Austria is very suitable for downhill riding. A large majority of Austria's downhill tracks are accessible via lift shuttles. A World Cup track called the "Planai" is located in the city of Schladming. It is about 5 km long and with an average descent grade of about 35% it has become a legendary World Cup race track known for its technical and steep sections.

Since 2010 Austria's biggest bike park in Leogang has taken over hosting the annual UCI World Cup DH races. It has also been host zu multiple Downhill World Championship events. The race track is called "Flying Gangster" and most of it is open to ride for amateurs visiting the bike park. It is known for its high speeds and an extremely difficult final section called "Vali's Hell" (named after multi-time World Cup winner and World Champion racer Valentina Höll).

Bolivia
Most of Bolivia's downhill riding is done in the Andes Mountains in and around La Paz. In the city there is the Pura Pura trail, there are also a few trails through the forest. Camiraya at the outskirts of La Paz has more and longer trails. The Loma Loma and Chu Chu trails are a little further out in Sorata. There are also trails in other parts of the country, for example in Cochabamba and Potosí.

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is rich with mountains especially around the capital city of Sarajevo, in which a downtown race is held, although mountain bike and downhill especially are still developing to become known sports. Mountains like Igman, Bjelašnica and others are being increasingly used for downhill racing. Currently there are a few tracks on Trebević, Igman, Bjelašnica, Cavljak – Barice, all featured tournaments on an international level. Unexploded ordnance is one of the reasons for slow development of this sport in a country with a such great potential for it.

Canada
Canada is famous for its downhill racing as well as other sorts of mountain biking. The Whistler Mountain Bike Park in Whistler, British Columbia hosts the annual Crankworx and Joyride Huckfest racing events. The province of British Columbia is also home to several other large lift-serviced mountain bike parks, including Sun Peaks in Kamloops, BC, Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon, BC, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, BC and Fernie Alpine Resort. The North Shore Mountains of North Vancouver, BC, are a famous downhill biking destination in their own right. The popular style of technical downhill freeriding that involves many man-made trail elements originated here. The style is often referred to as "North Shore Style." Canada has produced many world-class mountain bike racers, including downhillers Andrew Shandro and Steve Smith. The mount of Bromont, situated in Bromont, Quebec, and Mont-Sainte-Anne near Quebec City are great places for downhill biking.

Croatia
Downhill MTB races have been held in Croatia since 1993, when the first competition was organized outside Zagreb, on the same mountain that today hosts the world cup races in alpine skiing. Until the past 4–5 years, Mountain biking was banished from popular hiking trails and ski slopes around the capital. However, with the rise in popularity of DH and enduro, (gravity) riding, Trail management regulations have been relaxed and along with allowing riders, have begun to allow for the development of MTB-specific trails, cooperating with the local riding community to communicate which trails are acceptable and which are not. Additionally, the area known as 'Grma' has seen the growth and development of DH-specific trails. MTB DH riding has also flourished in other parts of Croatia, especially in the northern Adriatic coastal region and in the northern (continental) part of the country. In 2010 the national DH Cup events were held in Buzet (Istria), Samobor (Zagreb area), Pakrac (Slavonia), and Gracisce (Pazin, Istria). Additionally, multiple enduro races around the country are now part of an annual 'Cro-enduro series and the fall of 2017 saw the organization of the first-ever Croatian Enduro National Championships. Urban downhill events are also held in the coastal city of Rijeka. 2018 saw the first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup held in Croatia, on the island of Lošinj.

France
The French Alps are home to many downhill routes and events. The most famous one is the Megavalanche downhill race, the event in the Alp d'Huez and Bourg d'Oisans regions. Another downhill course in the region is Les Deux Alpes which sometimes hosts other downhill events. The downhill courses and events are limited in the area, however, because of the alpine winter and snow. The most popular region for downhill in the French alps is the Portes du Soleil, including the two more popular resorts of Morzine and Les Gets. Most recently, a world cup was held for the first time in La Bresse. In August 2011, La Bresse hosted the sixth round of the UCI World Cup. Since 2015, Lourdes has hosted a World Cup round each year.

Georgia
The first downhill trails in Georgia were developed in 2015. Among the first built was in Gudauri, followed by trails in Bakuriani. Both of the places are also ski resorts. Trails are at 2000–2250 meters, with trail lengths of about 5000 meters.

Germany
In Germany the landscape is quite diverse, reaching from flatlands in the north to medium-sized mountains in the center to the alpine mountains in the south. Downhill tracks in Germany are not as steep as in Switzerland, Austria, or Canada and the difference from top to bottom is less, but the main parts of an average track are everywhere in Germany. Racing on these short tracks is highly intense and allows no mistakes. Due to the country's large population, the sport has developed quickly in Germany. The number of riders can go up to 600 at races. With 3 cup races, Thuringia, in the middle of Germany, is the center of gravity riding. The most popular race series is the 'iXS German Downhill Cup'. In Germany is Europe's biggest Mountainbike Freeride Festival held, called iXS Dirt Masters. It includes one iXS German Downhill Cup Round, a 4X Race, and a slopestyle contest. It is visited by around 25000 spectators and 1200 riders. In the small town of Wi of Willingen is a former World Cup Downhill and Four Cross Race Course. The World Cup has been held there in 2005 and 2006. With Germany being a high-level industry country, there are many firms are producing downhill bikes, such as Last Bikes, Zonenschein, Fusion Bikes, Cube Bikes, Ghost Bikes, Canyon Bikes, Propain Bikes, Rose Bikes, Solid Bikes as well as boutique bike manufacturers Nicolai and Liteville. There are also a lot of firms producing high-end parts like Rohloff, Magura, or Tune.

India
Downhill Mountain Biking in India is fairly new. The main and the most popular downhill mountain bike race in India is called the Himalayan Downhill Mountain Bike Trophy which is organized by Himalayan Mountain Bike Network during the Himalayan Mountain Bike Festival. This race is conducted at Ski Himalayas Ropeway and Ski Resort located in Solang Valley near Manali which is the Mountain Biking Capital of India. The DH race track is 2 km, long and the area offers a lot of natural mountain biking trails and lends itself to many styles of mountain biking. The paths in this Himalayan region are accessible to riders of all skill levels.

Ireland
Downhill cycling has increased in Ireland over the past 10 years, for example, the National Points Series rounds regularly attract over 250 riders from all over the country. Irish tracks vary greatly in length and difficulty. Moneyscalp is one of the shorter tracks with times for Elites coming at just over a minute. Other tracks such as Carrick in Co.Wicklow are closer to 5 minutes. There are no official downhill tracks in the Republic of Ireland. Just across the border in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland however, Newry & Mourne District Council has recently built some tracks in Kilbroney Forest which includes a 27 km and 17 km single track and 2 purpose-built downhill trails.

According to the law, it is illegal to ride in the forests. All the tracks are built and maintained voluntarily by individuals and mountain biking clubs who take it upon themselves to do so. As downhill mountain biking has become more popular so has the call for more facilities and practitioners of this sport have begun campaigning with the state on this issue.

Italy
Bardonecchia, one of the Torino 2006 winter Olympic venues, converts some of its ski courses and lifts for use by mountain bikers in the summer, and several downhill courses are present. Other ski resorts turning to mountain bike parks in summer are Canazei, Pila, Sestola, and Livigno. The area of Finale Ligure, near Genoa, offers year-round tracks that end on the seaside, served by shuttles. Among the most famous trails in the country is the Sanremo Downhill, a rocky, technical, and dangerous course won in 2007 by Fabien Barel. The 2008 World Championship happened in Val di Sole.

Kazakhstan
Located in the Tian Shan, the city of Almaty, Shymbulak bike park was opened in 2013. There are also the Charyn canyons and mini Red Bull Rampage trail. The cheap living costs, warm climate, and fresh mountain air make Almaty a "must-visit" place for riders on a budget.

Latvia
In the global context, there are very few notable downhill venues in Latvia. Most of them are located at local ski resorts in Baldone, Sigulda, and Cēsis. Also, there's a trail network in the forests of Tukums near Melnezers. All the tracks are built and maintained voluntarily by individuals who take it upon themselves to do so. Each year Latvian Downhill association regularly schedules the National downhill cup and championships. In the next several years, it is expected to grow a local community around downhill mountain biking by increasing the number of riders and improving local ski resort trail quality.

Norway
Hafjell, a ski resort in the county of Oppland and host of the alpine skiing events (giant slalom and slalom) at the 1994 Winter Olympics, offers a vast combination of courses and tracks for cross-country and downhill mountain bikers during summer. Hafjell hosted the 2010 European downhill championships and the 2010 Nordic downhill championships.

Philippines
The Philippines is known for its mountainous range and rocky hills. In Rizal, there are famous downhill tracks, such as the Patiis Downhill Tracks in San Mateo. Other downhill tracks around the country hold annual downhill races. Former downhill tracks include the famous and now-defunct Antenna Downhill Tracks in Binangonan, Rizal, which were closed and dismantled alongside the enduro tracks of the exact location due to the development of the private property. Some notable Downhill athletes in the Philippines are Parabanne Mendoza, Lea Dennis Belgira, Fredrick Farr, Jerich Farr, Eleazar Barba Jr., and Niño Martin Eday. The Downhill Riders Organization of the Philippines (DROP) organizes some downhill races around the country.

Portugal
Portugal is the host country of a unique variety of downhill races, the Urban Downhill, known as Downtown. Lisbon DownTown is a famous annual event that brings world-class Downhill athletes to Portugal. Steve Peat is the King of the race, winning against 8 of the 11 editions. The Gouveia International Downhill is another important annual race that normally brings some of the WorldCup racers to the country. Places like Lousã, Tarouca, and Sintra offer a large mixture of single tracks and Downhill circuits.

Russia
Some of the notable Russian downhill venues are ski-comp, the ski complex "Metallurg" (Bannoe lake, Magnitogorsk), Mashuk, and Chaget mountains. And in the city of Novosibirsk has a trail for such races. It is located in the CHP-5.

Slovenia
Slovenia's vast hilly landscape and undamaged nature make very good conditions for downhill cycling, thus one of the world's top, not only tracks but riders are also in Slovenia. The famous tracks that are included in the world cup are at a ski resort the ski resort Kranjska Gora in the northwest tip of Slovenia, while the other track is on the ski resort hill Pohorje at Slovenia's second largest city Maribor.

South Africa
Downhill racing is not currently a very big sport in South Africa but is rapidly growing. South Africa boasts some great tracks and riders, especially from the Western Cape and the Pietermaritzburg area in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the hometown of Greg Minnaar. In the Western Cape, the best tracks are Edeouth and Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch, Playgrounds in Paarl, Sir Lowry's Pass near Somerset-West (hometown of Andrew and Jonty Neethling), Zevenwacht near Kuilsrivier, and Witfontein in George. They provide quite technical, but fun courses. Ferncliff and World's View our great in Pietermaritzburg. Helderkruin (West of Johannesburg), Klapperkop in Pretoria, and Gillooly's Farm in Johannesburg. South Africa held the first round of the 2009 UCI World Cup, which was in Pietermaritzburg (Greg Minnaar's hometown).

Sweden
With the Caledonian mountains forming the borderland with Norway, this country has places for downhill races. The majority of Sweden's notable downhill tracks are situated around Åre and Åre Bike, accessible via lift shuttles. In 1999 Åre was the host of the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, and it hosted the Nordic Championships in 2007. There are numerous graded biking trails down the Åreskutan fell.

Sweden's most southerly DH bike park is called Vallåsen Bike Park. And it is located on the north side of the Halland ridge between Skåne and Halland. Vallåsen opened in 2008, and it attracts riders not only from Sweden but also Denmark due to Its relatively close location to Copenhagen. Vallåsen holds an annual DH race at the end of the season called the Vallåsen DH Challenge.

Jarvsö Bike Park is another downhill park, which is in the locality of Järvsö, in the municipality of Ljusdal approximately, 3 hours north of Stockholm by car. The park consists of 17 tracks of varying difficulty and a pump track.

Switzerland
Located between the Alps and the Jura and surrounded by the downhill nations of France, Germany, Italy, and Austria. It is kind of a center for the European downhill scene. There are tracks in or near every city with high quality and steep descent. It has several World Cup tracks like "Champéry" or "Portes du Soleil. Switzerland is the home of parts manufacturer DT Swiss, EDCO Swiss bicycle components since 1902, frame manufacturer BMC and bike manufacturer Redalp.

Thailand
Mountainous regions of Northern Thailand offer great venues for downhill mountain biking. Chiang Mai is the most famous location for downhill mountain biking in Thailand. The Chiang Mai Downhill Challenge, which was held in November 2012 and 2013, attracted World Cup riders, such as Steve Peat, Josh Bryceland, Sam Dale, Brook Macdonald, Wyn Masters, and Edward Masters, as well as a Belgian free-rider. Nico Vink. Doi Suthep mountain is where most downhill actions take place in Chiang Mai. Tour operator, such as X-Biking Chiang Mai, offers guided tour or shuttle service to the trailheads and pick up the riders once they complete the trails. The Thailand National Championships, are held in many different venues across Thailand by the Thai Cycling Association. It also attracts many riders across Southeast Asia. The cheap living costs, great foods, warm climate, and great ridings make Thailand a "must-visit" place for riders on a budget.

United Kingdom
Within the UK, most of the main downhill tracks are in the Scottish Uplands, Highlands, Wales, and Northern England, as these are more mountainous areas. Fort William in Scotland is Britain's only World Cup standard track and was the venue for the 2007 World Championships. The UK has a powerful race scene with a national series and numerous regional series with a strong representation of all age groups present. The country has produced many of the world's top downhill mountain bikers, including Steve Peat, Gee Atherton, Danny Hart, Josh Bryceland, Brendan Fairclough, Rachel Atherton, Manon Carpenter, and Tahnee Seagrave.

United States
The Sea Otter Classic, held each April at Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, is a major riding event that opens the racing season. In 2008, experienced racer Mark Reynolds died after a crash at the Sea Otter Classic, highlighting the dangers of the sport. Plattekill Mountain in the Catskills, Mammoth Mountain, the Northstar at Tahoe, Brian Head Resort, Attitash and Deer Valley ski resorts, and Moab (Utah) are also well known to mountain bikers. Snowmass, Colorado is also developing as a location for the sport.

Mountain Creek Bike Park in Vernon, New Jersey is a downhill venue that hosts their own series of competitions called the Gravity Series. In the southeastern United States, Snowshoe Mountain is well known for its extensive mountain bike park, camps, and freeriding areas during the summer. Bryce Resort offers a self-described progression-based bike park, built by Gravity Logic. Massanutten Resort also has a bike park with some of the rockiest terrain on the east coast. UCI Pro Downhill riders, Neko Mulally and Dakota Norton have built, train at, and promoted races at Windrock Bike Park in Oliver Springs, Tennessee as well.

Vail, Colorado was the site of the 1994 Downhill World Championship. The trail was renamed "'94 Downhill", and is still ridden by downhill bikers today. In 2006, The U.S. National Championships were held at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. In 2007 and 2008 the U.S. National Championships were held in Mt. Snow, Vermont, and in 2009 and 2010 the U.S. National Championships were held at SolVista Bike Park in Colorado.

Venezuela
El Volcan, a small mountain in the southeastern, touristic El Hatillo Municipality of Caracas, has a Downhill course that has about 500 meters of vertical drop, it is used by hundreds of riders a day during dry and wet weather, mostly on weekends. El Volcan is the representative [Downhill] Track of Caracas city. The course is open to the public and riding is neither specifically allowed nor prohibited by law. The trails are also used by hikers all week long. Shuttles are about 10 Venezuelan bolivars per trip, they run from the parking lot of a Farmatodo drug store in La Boyera, up to the summit using public avenues and paved roads, taking from 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on traffic in the area. The course apart from being used mostly for recreational purposes. It has also been used for irregularly scheduled downhill races due to the lack of organization in the rider's community.

Governing bodies
The Union Cycliste Internationale is the governing body for downhill mountain bike racing. Racers qualify to compete in World Cup races by earning UCI points, which are gained by being a top ten finisher in certain races, usually national.

In the U.S., NORBA, as a part of USA Cycling, runs the National Mountain Bike Series, and the NCCA is the governing body for collegiate cycling. In the UK, British Cycling controls mountain biking as well as road and BMX. In Australia, MTBA controls all disciplines of Mountain biking.

Men

 * Gee Atherton
 * Dan Atherton
 * Fabien Barel
 * Wade Bootes
 * Joe Breeze
 * Troy Brosnan
 * Loïc Bruni
 * Josh Bryceland
 * Eric Carter
 * Cédric Gracia
 * Aaron Gwin
 * Michael Hannah
 * Danny Hart
 * Corrado Hérin
 * Sam Hill
 * Finn Iles
 * Mike King
 * Matti Lehikoinen
 * Brian Lopes
 * Greg Minnaar
 * Steve Peat
 * Nathan Rennie
 * Roger Rinderknecht
 * Luca Shaw
 * Steve Smith
 * John Tomac
 * Loris Vergier
 * Nicolas Vouilloz
 * Jake Watson
 * Joost Wichman
 * Amaury Pierron
 * Jackson Goldstone

Women

 * Rachel Atherton
 * Anneke Beerten
 * Manon Carpenter
 * Anne-Caroline Chausson
 * Leigh Donovan
 * Missy Giove
 * Niki Gudex
 * Tracey Hannah
 * Valentina Höll
 * Jana Horáková
 * Tara Llanes
 * Tracy Moseley
 * Myriam Nicole
 * Tahnée Seagrave
 * Valentina Holl

title: Downhill mountain biking


text:
Talk:Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac

Untitled
Why does article's title contain Galissard instead of Galinard?
 * The name of the scientist is "Galissard" Galinard comes form nowhere...

title: Talk:Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac


text:
Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal

The Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal is awarded to a regular career soldier of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who has satisfactorily completed 5 years of dedicated service.

The medal may be awarded to NSmen who have served 2 years of National Service Full-time (NSF) and at least 3 high-key In-Camp Training (ICT) served satisfactorily as NSmen. The criteria are based on a reservist's good attitude towards National Service, in-camp training competency performance and meaningful contributions to the SAF.

Description

 * The ribbon is orange, with two white stripes.

Service medals
In the SAF, the medals for service are:
 * 5 years - Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal
 * 10 years - Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal
 * 15 years - Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal with 15 year clasp
 * 20 years - Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal
 * 25 years - Long Service Medal (Military)
 * 30 years - Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal with 30 year clasp


text:
Talk:Gateway HandBook

OS
Article mentions you can install Linux, but not the stock OS, I assume Windows? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.173.93.186 (talk) 02:09, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

Original research and this article
I don't think some information I have included in this article counts as original research, even though the information was obtained from a lot of trial and error getting my Handbook to work with Linux. In particular, I point out the following:

 * Dillo runs on a Handbook 486 running Linux. How do I know this?  Because Dillo runs on my Linux 486 SX/25 handbook (and, heck, you can see my picture of Dillo running on this handbook).

 * Memory should be tested with memtest before being installed with this unit. How do I know this?  Because I had a bugger of a time getting non-defective memory to work in this unit.

In both cases, I don't think I'm crossing the original research line because my primary source isn't myself; the primary source is my Handbook, which can happily be used to browse the web with Dillo.

Additionally, I am not at all interpreting any of the data that I have obtained; the fact that Dillo runs on my Handbook is not one where my subjective impressions or inpterpretations change what content that would be in this encylopedia. Samboy 17:58, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Gateway HandBook


text:
Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct Medal may refer to:

 * Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal
 * Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal


text: Template:House of Orange-Nassau

title: Template:House of Orange-Nassau


text:
Julián Speroni

Julián Maria Speroni (born 18 May 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Having started his career at Platense, he played three seasons in the Scottish Premier League with Dundee before joining Crystal Palace for £750,000 in 2004. His first three seasons at Selhurst Park saw him largely play understudy to Gábor Király who made the goalkeeping spot his own. This was until the Hungarian departed Selhurst Park at the end of the 2006–07 season. Back in the line-up Speroni flourished and won his reputation back. He went on to play 405 matches across all competitions for the club. On 9 May 2019, it was announced that Speroni would leave Crystal Palace at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Dundee
Speroni was born in Buenos Aires. He started his career with Club Atlético Platense, in his homeland, but moved after just one year as a professional and two matches, to Scottish side Dundee. Dundee manager Ivano Bonetti received advice from an Italian contact to Speroni's potential. The move to Dundee was delayed for two months, due to administration delays in Argentina, holding up Speroni's application for an Italian passport.

Speroni made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Falkirk in the third round of Scottish Cup on 6 January 2002. In a follow–up, he kept his first Dundee's clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Hibernian. Since joining the club, he quickly became Dundee's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2001–02 season. During a 2–2 draw against Dunfermline Athletic on 13 February 2002, Speroni was punched in the face by Stevie Crawford after Crawford tried to wrestle the ball from Speroni, resulting him being sent–off in the 74th minute. The club's owner Peter Marr said about the player: "He has done very well and we will do what we can to come up with a deal that keeps him here." It came after when Serie A club Inter Milan was interested in signing him earlier this year. Despite Dundee's poor performance for the rest of the 2001–02 season that saw them finish in ninth place, he proved to be one of the positive highlights for the club and went on to make twenty–one appearances in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2002–03 season, Speroni signed a three–year contract with Dundee, keeping him until 2005. He later spoke out about the departure of manager Ivano Bonetti, who signed him, saying: "Ivano had a huge impact on my career and was very patient with me when I first came to Dundee. Before he brought me here, I was playing in youth teams in Argentina. When Ivano left the club I did wait a while to sign a new contract as I wanted to see what was happening. Teams in Italy were interested in me but I decided to stay at Dundee, and now, even though I am still only 24 years old, I am playing the biggest game of my career." Speroni continued to be the club's first choice goalkeeper. He continued to display impressive performances in a number of matches despite Dundee's average results. Speroni later helped reach the Scottish Cup final after helping the club beat Inverness CT 1–0. In the event leading up to the final, Speroni helped Dundee finish sixth place in the league. He started in the final against Rangers, as the club lost 1–0. At the end of the 2002–03 season, Speroni went on to make forty–six appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Speroni continued to be the club's first choice goalkeeper despite facing competition from Jamie Langfield. He played in his first UEFA Cup match against Vllaznia Shkodër and kept a clean sheet, as Dundee won 2–0. In the return leg, Speroni kept a clean sheet, as the club won 4–0 (6–0 on aggregate) and advance to the next round. However, Dundee went on to lose 3–1 against Perugia in the next round, eliminating the club from the tournament. Halfway through the season, Dundee went into administration in November, leading the club expecting to sell him in the January transfer window, but he stayed in the end. His performance led Herald Scotland commented that Dundee "were fortunate to have him", calling him an "inspirational". Despite the club were on administration, Speroni helped Dundee finish seventh place in the league. At the end of the 2003–04 season, he went on to make forty–six appearances in all competitions. Following this, Speroni was expected to leave the club, with clubs, such as, Rangers, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace interested in signing him. Initially, Dundee turned down £500,000 bid from Crystal Palace, but they accepted a bid after they increased the offer for him.

Eleven years after leaving Dundee, Speroni was rewarded for his years of service to Crystal Palace with a testimonial match against Dundee on 26 May 2015. Two months later, prior to the testimonial match, he was inducted into the Dundee Hall of Fame picking up the International Award which was previously won by fellow countryman Claudio Caniggia. Speroni played in his testimonial match against his former club, as the club won 4–3, where it attracted more than 11,000 supporters. After the match, many past and present players of both Dundee and Crystal Palace paid tribute to him.

Crystal Palace

Speroni signed for Crystal Palace, newly promoted to the Premier League, on 13 July 2004, for a fee of around £750,000. Upon joining the club, he was given a number one shirt. Speroni was featured in Crystal Palace's friendly matches throughout the pre–season tour.

He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, and made an impressive display throughout the match, in a 1–1 draw against Norwich City in the opening game of the season. In a follow–up match against Everton, Speroni was at fault for giving away a penalty to give the opposition team an equaliser, in a 3–1 loss; after the match, manager Iain Dowie said he needs to "get used to pressure situations and clear his lines". The next four matches saw Crystal Palace lose matches, with Speroni conceding a total of twelve goals. As a result of his poor performance, he was replaced by Hungarian international Gábor Király and was placed on the substitute bench for the rest of the 2004–05 season. Speroni appeared twice for the club, playing in the League Cup matches. Speroni watched from the substitute bench, as the club were relegated from the Premier League. At the end of the 2004–05 season, he went on to make eight appearances in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Speroni was linked a move back to Scotland, with Dundee United, but he ended up staying at Crystal Palace. Speroni switched number shirt from one to twenty–seven, with Király taking over his original number. He made his first appearance of the 2005–06 season against Walsall in the first round of the League Cup and earned his first clean sheet, in a 3–0 win to advance to the next round. Speroni made three more appearances for the club in the League Cup, including a 2–1 win against Liverpool. Four days after beating Liverpool, he made his first league appearance against Crewe Alexandra, coming on in the 59th minute for the injured Király, in a 2–2 draw. Speroni then started three more matches for Crystal Palace between 3 December 2005 to 17 December 2005. Speroni continued to play understudy to Király for the second time this season, as the club unsuccessfully bounce back to the Premier League. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he went on to make eight appearances in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Speroni switched number shirts for the third time when he took over the twelve shirt from Mikele Leigertwood, who departed Crystal Palace. As Speroni continued to play understudy to Király, he found himself competing with new signing Scott Flinders over a spot in the substitute bench, as well as facing his own injury concern. It was not until on 16 December 2006 when Speroni made his first appearance of the season, in a 1–0 loss against Derby County. This was followed up by keeping his first clean sheet for the club, in a 1–0 win against Sunderland. After the match, newspaper Your Local Guardian praised his performance, saying: "he instilled confidence in his defence, made some crucial saves and kept a clean sheet". After Király was dropped from the first team, manager Peter Taylor announced that Speroni would be stepping in as his replacement. He made his first appearance for Crystal Palace in four months, as the club lost 2–0 against Barnsley on 21 April 2007. Speroni started the remaining two matches of the 2006–07 season, helping Crystal Palace keep two clean sheets. Manager Taylor revealed that he is planning to use him as the club's first choice goalkeeper next season and have no intention of signing a new goalkeeper. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he went on to make five appearances in all competitions.

In the opening game of the 2007–08 season, Speroni contributed the match well against Southampton when he set up a goal for James Scowcroft, who went on to score a hat–trick, in a 4–1 win. Back in the line-up as Crystal Palace's first choice goalkeeper, Speroni flourished and won his reputation back. During a 1–0 loss against Ipswich Town on 26 August 2007, he was given a yellow card in the 43rd minute after "handling on the edge of his box"; after the match, the opposition team felt that Speroni should have been sent–off, which manager Taylor disagreed. In a follow–up match against rivals, Charlton Athletic, Speroni was at fault when he "rushed out to deal with a hopeful long-ball in the 74th minute - only for substitute Svetoslav Todorov to nip in and score the only goal of the game", in a 1–0 loss. After the match, Taylor said he maintain his backing for Speroni, saying he will bounce back. In a match against Sheffield United on 22 September 2007, Speroni was at fault once again when he conceded two goals, in a 3–2 win; leading to suggestions that Taylor could re–sign Iain Turner, which he denied, though the possibly was not ruled out. Following this, Speroni managed to bounce back with impressive displays and helped the club go on a fifteen matches unbeaten run between 3 November 2007 and 28 January 2008. Manager Neil Warnock also praised his performance, describing him as looking sharp and bright, which teammate Mark Hudson agreed. Towards the end of the 2007–08 season, he helped Crystal Palace qualify for the Championship play–offs. Speroni played in both legs of the Championship play–offs against Bristol City, as the club lost 4–2 on aggregate. At the end of the 2007–08 season, he was an ever present goalkeeper, playing all forty–eight league matches. With his contract expiring at the end of the 2007–08 season, Crystal Palace began talks with Speroni over a new contract. He signed a contract extension with the club on a three-year contract, keeping him until 2011. For his performance, Speroni won the club's "Player of the Year" award. Reflecting on his performance in the 2007–08 season, Your Local Guardian said: "Julian Speroni had a tremendous campaign, increasing his authority and presence alongside his already technically excellent game. Time after time, Speroni has kept us in matches with some fine saves and it was a relief when he sorted out his contract."

Ahead of the 2008–09 season, Speroni reverted to wearing his number one shirt, which he kept throughout his Crystal Palace's career. Speroni continued to be the club's first choice goalkeeper despite facing competition from Darryl Flahavan. At the start of the 2008–09 season, he continued to stand out as Crystal Palace's key players despite the club's poor start. He helped Crystal Palace keep three consecutive clean sheets between 30 September 2008 and 18 October 2008. Speroni started in every match until he missed one match, due to a leg injury sustained during a 2–0 win against Coventry City on 8 November 2008. Despite missing one match and facing risk over his return from a leg injury, Speroni returned to the starting line–up from injury against Bristol City on 22 November 2008 and helped the club win 4–2. Since his return from injury, he helped Crystal Palace go on an eight match unbeaten run between 22 November 2008 and 26 December 2008. Speroni continued to regain his first team place as the club's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2008–09 season. During a 1–0 loss against Southampton on 13 April 2009, he suffered a gash on his face in the 80th minute of the match that required him stitches and had Clint Hill stand by in goal for the rest of the match, with all three substitutes were used. But Speroni quickly recovered from injury, returning to the starting line–up against Derby County on 18 April 2009 and helped Crystal Palace keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he went on to make forty–eight appearances in all competitions. For the second time in a row, Speroni was named the club's "Player of the Year" award.

Ahead of the 2009–10 season, Speroni was linked a move away from Crystal Palace, but manager Warnock said he would not sell him. He started in the first four matches of the season. However, Speroni missed one match, due to a throat injury. He made his return to the starting line–up against Manchester City in the second round of the League Cup, losing 2–0. Despite the loss, Speroni's performance was praised by Your Local Guardian, saying: "His kicking was a bit off but the defence looked a lot more secure with him behind them" and named him Man of the Match. He then helped the club keep three consecutive clean sheets between 19 September 2009 and 29 September 2009. Following this, he continued to establish himself as the club's first choice goalkeeper and, once again, his performance drew praise. This includes an impressive performance against Queens Parks Rangers, which manager Warnock praised Speroni's performance, saying: "He's the best keeper in this division by a mile, and I don't see anyone better in the Premier League. It's good that nobody rates him. But he's not leaving this club while I'm manager - unless I take him somewhere with me." Speroni's performance, once again, was praised against Middlesbrough in the follow–up match when he "world class and claimed everything in his box in a commanding display" and kept a clean sheet. Halfway through the 2009–10 season, Crystal Palace entered administration during the January 2010 transfer window, and the consequent ten-point deduction left the team in danger of relegation, just Speroni experienced this situation once again like his time at Dundee. He continued to maintain his impressive display in a number of matches towards the end of the 2009–10 season despite the club's poor results that saw them in relegation zone. His performance was praised by manager Paul Hart, who replaced Warnock halfway through the season, in a match against Blackpool on 20 March 2010. In a match against Sheffield Wednesday in the last game of the season, which Crystal Palace needed a point to survive at their hosts' expense, Speroni started the whole game and despite conceding two goals, he helped the club draw 2–2, resulting in the opposition team relegated and the team staying up. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Speroni went on to make thirty–two appearances in all competitions. For his performance, he was given a new record, becoming the first man to win Crystal Palace's "Player of the Year" award for three consecutive years, equalling Jim Cannon's record, as well as, vice-president's player of the year. Upon receiving his award, Speroni said he would like to stay at the club for the rest of his career.

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Speroni was linked a move away from Crystal Palace, with Premier League clubs were monitoring his situation throughout the summer transfer window, but he ended up staying at the club. At the start of the 2010–11 season, he continued to be Crystal Palace's first choice goalkeeper. Speroni continued to maintain his impressive display in a number of matches despite the club's poor results. This includes a performance against Burnley, which he kept a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw on 18 September 2010. After the match, manager George Burley praised his performance, calling him "a top class keeper" and "an important player" for Crystal Palace. Speroni, himself, said he was happy to earn himself his first clean sheet of the season. Speroni found himself booked on two occasions throughout the 2010–11 season that saw the opposition team scoring at the last minutes of the game; the first one came against Queens Park Rangers on 2 October 2010 and the second one came against Bristol City on 28 December 2010. After months of speculation, he finally agreed a $3 1/2$-year extension to his current contract. Speroni made his 200th appearance for the club against Norwich City on 29 January 2011, as he helped Crystal Palace keep a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw. Since the start of the 2010–11 season, Speroni started in every match for the club until he suffered a groin injury during a 3–3 draw against Reading on 26 February 2011 that caused him to miss one match by being placed on the substitute bench. Speroni made his return to the starting line–up against Cardiff City on 8 March 2011, as he helped Crystal Palace keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win, once again keeping a second clean sheet against them. As the club soon found themselves placed in the relegation zone once again, Speroni later helped Crystal Palace avoid relegation after drawing 1–1 against Hull City on 30 April 2011. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he went on to make forty–eight appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2011–12 season, Speroni continued to established himself as the club's first choice goalkeeper. He then helped Crystal Palace keep five consecutive clean sheets between 15 October 2011 and 1 November 2011. This resulted in the club setting a new record for themselves by going 619 minutes without conceding. Since the start of the 2011–12 season, Speroni started in every match until he missed three matches, due to illness. Speroni made his return to the starting line–up against Cardiff City in the first leg of the League Cup on 10 January 2012 and kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. However, in the return leg, he was unable to help Crystal Palace reach the final after the club lost 3–1 after Cardiff City was able to overcome deficit and played throughout extra time. After making his return from injury, Speroni then helped Crystal Palace keep three consecutive clean sheets between 18 February 2012 and 3 March 2012. This was followed up by making his 250th appearance for the club, in a 1–1 draw against Coventry City. He helped Crystal Palace go unbeaten in the next three matches, bringing the club's unbeaten run to ten. However, during a 2–2 draw against Reading on 21 April 2012, Speroni suffered an injury in the 25th minute and was substituted, in what turned out to be his last appearance of the season. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he went on to make forty–four appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2012–13 season, Speroni continued to regain his first team place, as Crystal Palace's first choice goalkeeper role. Once again, he helped the club go on a fourteen matches unbeaten run between 1 September 2012 and 17 November 2012, resulting in them being placed at the top of the table at one point. In a match against Huddersfield Town on 22 December 2012, Speroni performed well throughout the match and saved a penalty from Adam Clayton but he conceded the equaliser goal, in a 1–1 draw. After the match, manager Ian Holloway defended Speroni's performance and said if it were not for him, Crystal Palace would have lost the match. He then made his 300th appearance for the club, in a 4–1 loss against Birmingham City on 29 March 2013. Speroni helped Crystal Palace qualify for the Championship play–offs after beating Peterborough United in the last game of the season. He played in both legs of the play–offs semi–final against Brighton & Hove Albion and kept a clean sheet, as the club won 2–0 on aggregate. In the Football League Championship play-off final, Speroni started in goal throughout the match and played 120 minutes, as Crystal Palace beat Watford 1–0 to seal their promotion return to the English top tier after an eight-year absence. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make forty–nine appearances in all competitions.

In opening game of the 2013–14 season, Speroni made his first Premier League appearance in nine years, in a 1–0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the club's poor start with just three points from the first eight games, he continued to regain his first team place, as Crystal Palace's first choice goalkeeper role. Under the new management of Tony Pulis, the club's results soon improved in the league as the 2013–14 season progressed. His performance was praised by manager Pulis, saying: "Speroni made some good saves and in particular one outstanding one but that is what you are hoping you are paying him to do, overall it was a great team performance with everyone working hard." He then helped Crystal Palace keep three consecutive clean sheets between 29 March 2014 and 12 April 2014. A week later on 19 April 2014, Speroni kept another clean sheet against West Ham United, in a 1–0 win to ensure the club's relegation safety. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he went on to make thirty–nine appearances in all competitions. Following this, Speroni was named Crystal Palace's Player of the Year for the fourth time. His contract expired early into 2014 and he subsequently negotiated contract offers with the club, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion. On 13 June 2014, Crystal Palace announced that Speroni had signed a new contract with the club for 12 months with a further 12 month option.

Despite being told by manager Pulis that he would not be Crystal Palace's first choice goalkeeper, Speroni, nevertheless, continued to remain the first choice following the departure of Pulis at the start of the 2014–15 season. In a match against Burnley on 13 September 2014, he saved a penalty from Scott Arfield, as the club drew 0–0. After the match, his performance was praised by the returning manager Neil Warnock, saying: "I think they broke the mould with him. Speroni is just a one-off but he does that every week and that's why he's been here so long with us. Speroni is a gem of a person." During a 2–2 draw against West Bromwich Albion on 25 October 2014. Speroni was substituted in the 55th minute after he took a blow to the face from Craig Dawson's arm. After the match, manager Warnock questioned the official's failure to take action against Dawson, calling it "an assault almost" and that Speroni could have been injured. But he made his recovery and returned to the starting line–up against Sunderland, as Crystal Palace lost 3–1 on 3 November 2014. Speroni then made his 347th league appearance for Crystal Palace, breaking John Jackson's record as the team's goalkeeper with the most league appearances, against Arsenal on 21 February 2015, losing 2–1. During a 2–1 win against Stoke City on 21 March 2015, he made an impressive display by making impressive saves and was praised by his teammate, James McArthur. However, Speroni uncharacteristically had an inconsistent season could be due to a lack of rotation and even a sense of being too comfortable in the number one spot. Despite being dropped to the substitute bench for the last two remaining matches of the 2014–15 season, he went on to make thirty–seven appearances in all competitions. On 22 May 2015, Speroni signed a one-year contract extension at Crystal Palace to keep him at the club until at least the end of the 2015–16 season.

At the start of the 2015–16 season, Speroni lost his first choice goalkeeper role and was dropped to third-choice goalkeeper in that season, behind Wayne Hennessey (whom he competed since 2014) and Alex McCarthy, as well as, his own injury concern. Speroni also faced a finger injury that saw him miss the club's pre–season tour and upon returning from injury, he continued to spend most of the season on the substitute bench. Speroni made his first appearance of the season against Manchester United on 20 April 2016, losing 2–0. He then made his second appearance in the league match against Southampton in the final day of the season, losing 4–1 and his appearance in the match equalled John Jackson's club appearance record as a goalkeeper in all competitions. Speroni appeared as an unused substitute in the FA Cup final against Manchester United, as Crystal Palace lost 2–1. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he went on to make two appearances in all competitions. Following this, Speroni signed another one-year contract extension on 13 June 2016 to remain with the club until the end of 2016–17 season.

The 2016–17 season continued to see Speroni remain placed as Crystal Palace's third-choice goalkeeper behind Hennessey and Steve Mandanda. He made his first appearance of the 2016–17 season, starting the whole game, in a 0–0 draw against Bolton Wanderers in the third round of FA Cup. After the match, Speroni said he was honoured to break another club's record with 389th appearance, as well as, keeping a clean sheet for the 108 time. Speroni was featured in the FA Cup replay against Bolton Wanderers and helped Crystal Palace win 2–1 to advance to the next round. At one point, Speroni was linked with a move to Cardiff City, but he ended up staying at Crystal Palace throughout the January transfer window. Despite suffering an injury later in the 2016–17 season, Speroni went on to make two appearances in all competitions. Manager Sam Allardyce revealed that he signed a contract extension with Crystal Palace.

In the 2017–18 season, Speroni continued to remain as Crystal Palace's second choice goalkeeper behind Hennessey. He made his first appearance of the season against Ipswich Town in the second round of the League Cup and helped the club win 2–1 to advance to the next round. Speroni captained Crystal Palace for the first time in his career against Huddersfield Town in the third round of the League Cup and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win to advance to the next round. Following the injury of Hennessey, Speroni was named a starter in Crystal Palace's match day squad again, helping the club win 2–1 over the defending champions Chelsea on 14 October 2017. After the match, Speroni said he was happy to make his return to the pitch. Following this, Speroni received a handful of first team football despite competing with Hennessey, who returned from injury. He made his 400th appearance for Crystal Palace, in a 2–1 win against Watford on 12 December 2017. Following this, Speroni said: "I am only 38 and for a goalkeeper that is not too bad and I must say that at this time I feel better than ever so I want to play as much as I can. I want to be enjoying it as long as I can compete at this level but you can never put a time limit on it because you never know what is around the corner but if I keep feeling like I am at the moment then I will be looking to play for a few more years yet." By late–December, he was dropped from the substitute bench, with Hennessey preferred as the club's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2017–18 season. Speroni also faced his own injury concern after he suffering a knee injury that saw him out for two months. At the end of the 2017–18 season, he went on to make thirteen appearances in all competitions.

After months of speculation over his future at Crystal Palace, Speroni signed a one–year contract extension with the club on 4 July 2018. At the start of the 2018–19 season, he continued to remain the pecking order behind Hennessey and Vicente Guaita and was Crystal Palace's third choice goalkeeper. Following the injuries of Hennessey and Guaita, Speroni made his first appearance of the season against Liverpool on 19 January 2019 and was at fault when he conceded the fifth goal of the game, in a 4–3 loss. After the match, both manager Roy Hodgson and chairman Steve Parish defended Speroni's performance, while the player acknowledged his mistake on the third goal. Despite this, he continued to keep his place in goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup and kept a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win, what turns out to be his last appearance. After the match, his performance was praised and was even Man of the match on the club's website. Upon the return of Guaita and Hennessey, Speroni returned to Crystal Palace's third choice goalkeeper status, as well as, his own concern. On 30 April 2019, he was awarded the club's Chairman's Award for Outstanding Contribution at the award ceremony. It was announced on 9 May 2019 that Speroni would leave Crystal Palace at the end of the 2018–19 season, after 15 years with the club. By the time he departed Crystal Palace, Speroni remains the last player born in the 1970s to play in the Premier League. In the wake of his departure, past and present players and supporters from Crystal Palace paid tribute to the player, acknowledging his contributions he has done for the club. Manager Hodgson said he offered Speroni a starting place in the last game of the season against Bournemouth as a wonderful gesture but he rejected a chance at his own request. On the day of the match, Speroni received a guard of honour from his team-mates and made a farewell speech, thanking the club and will never forget his time there. At the end of the 2018–19 season, he made two appearances in all competitions.

During his time at Crystal Palace, Speroni quickly became a fan favourite among the club's supporters and soon earn himself a cult hero. Your Local Guardian once described Speroni as "one of the nicest guy in football", a sentiment that was agreed upon by Crystal Palace's supporters Because of his contributions made at Crystal Palace, he considered himself to be a fan of the club.

Post-playing career
After leaving Crystal Palace, Speroni said that he ruled out hanging up his boots and was willing to play in his forties. However, after not finding another club he announced his retirement from professional football after playing for 20 years. Speroni previously hinted that he would be moving to coaching once in his playing time is over. In October 2022 he returned to Crystal Palace as a coach within the club's academy system.

International career
In November 1998, Speroni was named in the squad for a friendly against Japan U20 in Tokyo. In December 1998, he was called into the Argentina U20 pre-selection squad for the 1999 South American U-20 Championship, Argentina's under 20 team played friendlies against Hungary and Denmark. On 30 December José Pékerman did not name him in the final squad.

Speroni made one appearance for the Argentina U20 team, and said on two separate interviews that he would like to get a call–up from the senior team, but was not considered throughout his professional career. Both managers Warnock and Paul Hart called on Maradona to give him a place for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Personal life
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to working-class parents, Speroni said he spoke about positivity on his childhood. Growing up, he began playing football when he was eight years old and joined a school football club. He at one point almost quit playing football but his coach convinced him otherwise, as he enjoyed playing football. Speroni also revealed that he grew up watching Serie A football because of its popularity in the country and was a boyhood Boca Juniors supporter. Speroni also holds an Italian passport, for which he qualified through his grandfather. He is a Christian and also on the board of reference for Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), an organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights. In addition to speaking Spanish, he speaks English. Speroni is married to his childhood sweetheart, Marina, an artist. Together, they have three children and all of them were born in England.

Speroni owned a restaurant in Purley, south London that was named "Speroni's". The restaurant closed in October 2016 following "structural issues". He also took part in charity work during his playing career at Crystal Palace.

Honours
Crystal Palace
 * Football League Championship play-offs: 2013
 * FA Cup runner-up: 2015–16

Individual
 * Crystal Palace Player of the Year: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14

title: Julián Speroni


text:
Liberazione

Liberazione is Italian for liberation. It may refer to:

 * Liberation Day (Italy), April 25, the anniversary of the 1945 fall of Mussolini's Italian Social Republic; a public holiday in Italy
 * The Italian resistance movement's "War of Liberation" or "War of Resistance" during World War II in general
 * Liberazione (newspaper), a newspaper maintained by the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (Communist Refoundation Party), a splinter faction of the Italian Communist Party

title: Liberazione


text:
Reformed Ecumenical Council

The Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) was an international organization of Calvinist churches. It had 39 member denominations from 25 countries in its membership, and those churches have about 12 million people together. It was founded August 14, 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan as the Reformed Ecumenical Synod. The Reformed Ecumenical Council was the second largest international Calvinist alliance and the more conservative of the two largest. In 1953, The Reformed Ecumenical Synod meeting in Edinburgh decided to advise its member churches not to join the World Council of Churches as currently constituted because it “permits essentially different interpretations of its doctrinal basis, and thus the nature of the Christian faith” and “represents itself as a Community of faith, but is actually not this” due to member churches holding “basically divergent positions.”

About two-thirds of REC member churches also belonged to the larger World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). The seat of the Reformed Ecumenical Council was Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States.

After a two-day meeting ending on 1 February 2006, Douwe Visser, president of the REC and Clifton Kirkpatrick, president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, said in a joint letter to their constituencies, "We rejoice in the work of the Holy Spirit which we believe has led us to recommend that the time has come to bring together the work of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council into one body that will strengthen the unity and witness of Calvinist Christians." The new body would be called the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

Australia

 * Christian Reformed Churches of Australia

Botswana

 * Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana

Dominican Republic

 * Christian Reformed Church of the Dominican Republic

France

 * Evangelical Reformed Church of France (UNEPREF, formerly EREI)

Greece

 * Greek Evangelical Church

India

 * Presbyterian Church of India

Indonesia

 * Indonesian Christian Church of Central Java (GKI)
 * Javanese Christian Churches (GKJ)
 * Christian Church of Sumba (GKS)
 * Southernpart Sumatra Christian Church (GKSBS)
 * Church of Toraja Mamasa (GTM)
 * Toraja Church (GT)

Japan

 * Reformed Church in Japan

Kenya

 * The Reformed Church of East Africa

Korea

 * The Presbyterian General Assembly (Reformed Church of Korea)

Malawi

 * Church of Central Africa Presbyterian - Nkhoma Synod

Mexico

 * Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Mexico

Mozambique

 * Reformed Church in Mozambique

Myanmar

 * Christian Reformed Church in Myanmar

Netherlands

 * Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN)

Nigeria

 * Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria
 * Church of Christ in Nigeria
 * Church of Christ in the Sudan Among the Tiv (NKST)
 * Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ
 * Presbyterian Church of Nigeria

Philippines

 * Christian Reformed Church in the Philippines

South Africa

 * Dutch Reformed Church (NGK)
 * Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA)
 * Reformed Church in Africa
 * Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA)

Sri Lanka

 * Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka

Swaziland

 * Swaziland Reformed Church (SRC)

Uganda

 * Christian Reformed Church of East Africa
 * Reformed Presbyterian Church in Uganda

United States and Canada

 * Christian Reformed Church in North America

title: Reformed Ecumenical Council


text:
Opel Olympia

The Opel Olympia is a compact car by German automaker Opel, then part of G.M., from 1935 to 1940, and after World War II continued from 1947 to 1953. It was one of the world's first mass-produced cars with a unitary body structure, after the 1934 Citroën Traction Avant; and it was a mass-production success, made in six-figure numbers. Opel achieved this even before the war, all while Hitler promised Germany a "Volkswagen" - a 'People's car', which didn't materialize until 1946. From 1967 to 1970 the Olympia badge was briefly reused on a later car.

The 1935 Olympia was Germany's first mass-produced car with an advanced all-metal unitary body - even a full monocoque in the case of the closed-roof saloon models. This for its time revolutionary technology supplanted the previously customary vehicle body, supported on top of a separate load-bearing chassis, reducing the car's weight by up to 180 kilograms (400 lb.) compared to its predecessor. Production of the unibody design required new production methods and materials. Wood framing in the car's body was all but eliminated - instead, advanced types of sheet-steel, fastening by spot welding, and a new production line layout were among the many advances introduced with the Olympia.

The car was first presented in February at the 1935 Berlin Motor Show; production got under way later during that year. The Olympia was named in anticipation of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. The pre-war Olympia was made in two versions: From 1935 to 1937 the Olympia had a 1.3-litre engine; for the OL38 version made from 1937 to 1940 this was replaced by a 1.5-litre overhead valve unit.

Between 1935 and 1940, over 168,000 units were built. The car was also Opel's first post-war automobile when it re-entered production in 1947. This time it was built until 1953. The name Olympia was revived for a second time in 1967 for a luxury version of the Opel Kadett B.

Opel Olympia (1935–1937)
At 2500 Reichsmark it offered a true four-seater with 1.3-litre, four-cylinder, side-valve, 24 PS engine capable of 100 km/h (62 mph). Drive was to the rear wheels through a three-speed gearbox but a four-speed unit became available in 1937. The car had independent front suspension with a live axle at the rear and semi-elliptic leaf springs. This car was also assembled in Tanjung Priok, near Jakarta, in the then-Netherlands East Indies. Assembly there began in 1938 and the car was marketed as the "Opel 1.3".

The car was made available in two versions, as a two-door saloon and as a two-door soft-top convertible:
 * LZ 2-door 5-window saloon, costing 2500 Reichsmark
 * CL 2-door 5-window cabriolet

Opel Olympia OL38 (1937–1940, 1947–1949)
In 1937, after just a few years, the Olympia received both a new engine, as well as a revised body. The new, larger motor now introduced overhead valves, and a capacity of 1488 cc. It produced some 50% more power, increased to 37 PS, with the car's top speed now reaching 112 km/h.

This engine was to remain in production until 1960 with only minor changes and its architecture was also used for the 2.5-liter "six" installed in the Opel Super 6 and Kapitäns.

The car's body was also altered, not only giving it a facelift and adding a 4-door saloon version, but also making the cars somewhat bigger overall - both 7 cm wider and 9 cm longer, but also on a 6 cm longer wheelbase.

It was available in the same versions as its predecessor with the addition of the 6-light LV:

 * LZ 2-door 4-light saloon, 2675 Reichsmark
 * LV 4-door 6-light saloon, 2950 Reichsmark
 * CL 2-door 4-light cabriolet, 2750 Reichsmark

Due to World War II, production came to a halt in late 1940. During the war, the Opel plant in Rüsselsheim was severely damaged by allied bomb attacks.

After reconstruction, production of the Olympia was announced in November 1947 and restarted the following month. Opel had been building the six-cylinder Blitz truck since July 1946; it would have made sense to restart production of the Kapitän before the Olympia since it used the same engine as the Blitz. However, occupation regulations prohibited civilian sales of passenger cars of over 1.5 liters' displacement at the time. Externally, the OL 38 looked unchanged to the pre-war car, but the fragile and complex Dubonnet front suspension was replaced by a more conventional control arm and coil spring one. Only the two-door sedan was produced after the war. Until the end of 1949, 25,952 of these were made.

Opel Olympia 1950 (1950–1953)
In January 1950 the Olympia got a modernized body, but the car was still based on the pre-war Olympia. One change was the seemingly retrograde change to a column-shifted three-sped manual from the floor-mounted four-speed used before. The following bodies were offered:

 * 2-door saloon, 6400 Deutsche Mark
 * 2-door cabrio-coach, 6600 Deutsche Mark
 * 2-door kombi (estate), 7350 Deutsche Mark

The kombi was built by Karosserie Miesen. In February 1951, the Olympia was upgraded with more modern 15- rather than 16-inch wheels and a trunk compartment which enclosed the spare tyre. In just over three years of production (until March 1953), about 160,000 cars were made.

Successor: Opel Olympia Rekord (1953–1957)
In March 1953, the 18-year-old design of the Olympia was not directly replaced by anything, although the Opel Olympia Rekord used the name, with a modern pontoon body. In 1957 this dropped the "Olympia" part of the name, and was sold simply as the Opel Rekord until 1986, although the Rekord was an executive car compared to the Olympia which was a small vehicle.

Name revival: Opel Olympia (1967–1970)
In August 1967 Opel revived the Olympia name with the new Olympia A. The name had last been used, until 1959, for a reduced specification version of the Opel Rekord, but now it was applied to a luxury derivative of the Opel Kadett B, readily distinguishable from the outside by its redesigned front end, together with the word "Olympia" appearing on the body sides behind the front wheels. Olympias were also often equipped with a black vinyl roof to help set them apart from their lesser brethren.

Giving the Olympia its own name may have distanced it from the Kadett in the Opel showrooms and enabled the manufacturer to charge a premium price, but in other respects the new Olympia did not convincingly fill the gap in the range that had opened up between small family cars and big family cars, the Rekords having grown ever larger with each new generation.

The Olympia was available in saloon/sedan and coupé-bodied versions. The saloon/sedan, available with two or four doors, shared the fast-back "Limousine" body of the "Kadett LS", while the Olympia coupé used the same body as the "Kadett coupé F". The Olympia was fitted with the "1100 SR" twin carburettor 60 PS engine, and could also be ordered with any one of the three high-compression Camshaft in Head (CIH) engines also fitted in the Kadett and providing 75 PS, 90 PS or, in those export markets where the 1.5-litre version was available, 65 PS. At this time, Opel also provided SAE power figures which were 67 hp for the 1.1 and 76, 84, and 102 hp for the 1.5, 1.7, and 1.9-litre versions.

The Olympia A was withdrawn in August 1970, by when 80,637 had been produced. The Olympia's demise cleared the way for the Opel Ascona, produced from August 1970 and introduced to the market in November 1970. The Ascona filled the gap between the smaller Kadett and the larger Rekord more obviously and, in terms of the sales figures, more persuasively than the Kadett-based Olympia, defining in the German auto-market a new mid-weight family car class where it would be joined by the Ford Taunus TC and, a couple of years later, by the Audi 80 and the Volkswagen Passat.

The Olympia design did live on in a manner, as the front design was used on United States-bound Kadetts from the 1968 model year until replaced by the next generation, and on South African Opel Kadetts beginning with the 1971 model year.

Body styles were:

 * 2-door fastback saloon
 * 4-door fastback saloon
 * 2-door coupé

title: Opel Olympia


text:
ORV

ORV or orv may refer to:

 * Austrian Luge Federation (Österreichischer Rodelverband)
 * Austrian Rugby Federation (Österreichischer Rugby Verband)
 * Ocean Range Vessel, a fleet of US Air Force ships
 * Obiteljski Radio Valentino, a Bosnian radio station
 * Off-road vehicle
 * Old East Slavic (ISO 639-3 code)
 * Oral rabies vaccine
 * a series of Indian research vessels
 * Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (IATA: ORV), Noorvik, Alaska
 * Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, a South Korean Webnovel

title: ORV