শুক্রবার, ৩ মে, ২০১৩

Cubes Vs. Spheres (for Android)


Cubes vs. Spheres (99 cents) delivers exactly what it promises: level upon level of brutal warfare by geometric shapes. You take control of the spheres, which you flick at the deadly and angular cubes that march relentlessly forward against a stark, minimalist background. At your disposal are six deadly orbs, ready to unleash Euclidian death upon your foes. It's a fun little time waster, and well worth the dollar on Google Play.

Playing the Game
As the literal name suggests, gameplay is very straightforward. Each level consists of a stark white room, usually with some kind of 3D set dressing. At one end of the room is a circle with a pipe to deliver your ammunition (read: spheres) and the cubes advancing from the other side. If three cubes make it to your circle, you lose the level. You win only when you've defeated every cube.

You launch spheres by selecting a weapon and then flicking the screen?a harder flick sends the sphere soaring, a slower one rolls the orb across the floor. A palette across the screen lets you chose which sphere to launch next. When your sphere reaches its target the cube bursts into a truly satisfying confetti with a sound halfway between a fart and a gas main explosion. Unfortunately, your selfless spheroid will also be lost in the process, but its noble sacrifice will not soon forgotten.

Choose Your Sphere
Each of your spherical weapons has a specialty, including ice, explosions, nigh-invulnerability, or homing. Blue spheres are provided in unlimited quantities, but can be upgraded to split into multiple balls of death, making it easily the most valuable weapon in the game.

By far the most useful specialty "spheres" is the decoy, which is actually shaped like a cube. Once deployed, a heart appears over it, and the enemy cubes will be compelled to roll toward it. So great is their amour that they'll even pile upon the delectable decoy, only to be betrayed when it explodes beneath them. Such is love. Though the decoy's explosion is useful, the biggest benefit you get is gathering the enemy cubes into one spot.

Not to be outgunned, the Cubes have their own variations as well. Watch out for break-apart giant cubes, armored black cubes, and sneaky transparent cubes that creep into your blindspots.

Locks and Controls
Much of the content in Cubes vs. Spheres is locked, though thankfully not behind a paywall. Levels unlock as you progress, meaning you'll have to play through all the easy and medium levels before jumping into the hard ones. This certainly drives play, but it might also alienate players who are only interested in the harder levels.

When you start the game, only blue spheres are available. As you play, you can spend the points you earn to unlock other spheres, and upgrades for the blue spheres. Once you unlock a sphere, you'll have to pay more points per sphere to place them in your arsenal.

This doesn't really extend gameplay much, since you'll have more than enough points to unlock and purchase each sphere well before you finish the easy levels. What's more, I didn?t notice many instances where specific spheres would be needed to complete the level.

I also found the controls to be rather unforgiving, and it wasn't until I was nearly done with the easy levels before I felt proficient. Trying to move the camera to check you blind spots, select your sphere, aim your shot, and fire one-handed is just about impossible. The game does include an option that moves the camera as you tilt your phone, but I found this more of a hindrance than a help. A revamped interface would go a long way toward streamlining the game.

Coming Full Circle
Cubes Vs. Spheres is a fun little game that manages to make the struggle between simple 3D shapes thrilling and immersive. I was struck by how ominous the slow, persistent advance of the cubes looked, and how startling it is when they suddenly leap toward you.

However, I'd like to see some more strategic play from the game. The sphere's powers seem under-utilized, and the purchase system unnecessary. A different system, which still restricts your arsenal but puts greater emphasis on strategic play, would make this game excellent. The pieces are already there, it just needs some tweaking, lest the game devolve into Paper Toss.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Boa-j1b8q_A/0,2817,2418313,00.asp

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It didn?t have to be this way, playing games and lost one day. (Unqualified Offerings)

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A Few Reasons Why Some Victims Stay In Abusive Relationships ...

Husband and wife arguing looking at each otherWhy Victims Stay in Abusive Relationships

You?ve heard it before; maybe even wondered to yourself, ?Why do people stay in abusive relationships?? The answer isn?t so cut and dry. It?s actually quite complicated. Men and women stay in abusive relationships for several reasons. Each situation is unique from others.

If you know someone in an abusive relationship, show your support by listening, offering to take them in or help them to leave, when they are ready. Forcing a victim to leave an abuser before they are ready may cause the victim to return to the abuser, which often times can lead to even?more?abuse or even death.

Emotional Rollercoaster

  • Fear.?An abused victim will no doubt be afraid to leave their attacker. Many abusers threaten their victims by telling them they will go after their family, friends, even harm their children if they leave.
  • Accepting Abuse.?Some people accept abuse because they don?t know what a healthy relationship entails. Previous experiences with past abusive partners or growing up with abuse can make abuse look acceptable or ?normal?.
  • Risk of Being Revealed.?Sometimes people in same-sex relationships don?t immediately reveal their sexual preference openly. Especially in the case of teenagers, there is the risk of their ?secret? being revealed. Many fear being involved in hate crimes, being ridiculed or teased.
  • Feeling Embarrassed.?It is very difficult for anyone to admit to being a victim of abuse. This is a normal reaction to being abused. No one wants to be judged for what they are going through.
  • Low Self-esteem. Low self-esteem can be the result of an abuser bullying, intimidating or humiliating the victim. Over time, a victim may feel that statements about them are true and that they are the cause of the abuse.
  • In Love.?The most common reason why people stay in abusive relationships is that they love their abuser and feel that the abuser loves them back so much, that they will change their ways and miraculously stop abusing them. This, more often than not, is untrue and unless the abuser seeks and responds to intense counselling, the pattern of abuse may never stop.

?

Under Pressure

  • Peer Pressure:?Peer pressure has long been the culprit behind much unethical and unhealthy behaviour. Especially in the case of abuse, if the abuser is widely known and respected or very popular, the victim may feel like no one will believe them.
  • Religion or Culture:?Some cultures influence the roles that women and men play in a relationship. To leave a husband/wife may be looked down upon, so they instead may choose to stay and take the abuse.
  • Parenthood:?The pressures of being a parent and raising a child in a two-parent household may cause some victims to stay in a domestic violence relationship. In addition, some abusers will use the children to control the victim by threatening to take them or hurt them.

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No Trust in Authority

  • Puppy-love.?Many young adults experience ?puppy-love?. Adults may not agree, but teenagers are definitely capable of loving; so, if their relationship goes awry they may not want anyone to know because their relationship may have not been accepted or taken seriously by others in the first place.
  • No Trust in Law Enforcement:?Most abuse goes unreported due to the lack of trust in law enforcement.
  • Barriers in Language/Citizenship:?Illegal immigrants may decide not to report abuse for fear of having to be deported. Also, if the victim does not speak English very well or at all, they may be pretty weary about reporting abuse.

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Dependence on the Abuser

  • No Money:If the abuser is withholding money from the victim or denying access to money, the victim may feel like there is no way to leave and be independent.
  • No Place to Go:?There is a general feeling of the lack of residence, or having to start over from nothing by victims/ This may prevent them from leaving, especially if they have never been on their own before or they are very young.
  • Medical Problems:?Sometimes a victim may suffer from disabling physical conditions, causing them to be dependant on the abuser that may be taking care of them. The victim may feel like no one else can or will care for them.

?

What You Can Do to Help

Knowing someone who is being abused is scary.

Friends or members of your family who are in this situation may not know how to get the help they need. They also may not be sure if and when they want to leave their abuser.

Be patient and respond to them by listening. Offer to take them to counselling or to assist them in leaving should they choose to.

Help them look at all their options such as online resources about domestic abuse.

Give them numbers to call to speak to people who are trained to handle domestic violence. And, most of all, don?t give up on them.

?

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Source: http://domesticviolenceuk.org/a-few-reasons-why-some-victims-stay-in-abusive-relationships/

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No sequester furloughs at State Department (The Arizona Republic)

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Source: Marathon bombing suspects planned July 4 attack

By Ross Kerber, Jim Finkle and Mark Hosenball

BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The two brothers suspected of carrying out the deadly attacks on the Boston Marathon had originally planned to set off their bombs on July 4, a law enforcement official said.

The official said the suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, advanced the date of their attack because they completed building bombs more quickly then they originally anticipated. The official declined to be identified and did not offer more details.

Police say the brothers detonated two bombs made with pressure-cookers in the April 15 attack on the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded 264.

An attack on Boston's packed July 4 celebrations would have carried the extra symbolism of disrupting the city's widely followed Independence Day celebrations.

Citing unnamed officials, The Boston Globe reported on its website that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger brother who was captured by police four days after the bombing, told investigators the pair discussed detonating their explosives at the city's famed celebration on its Charles River Esplanade.

News of the alleged July 4 attack plan and other details supplied by Tsarnaev to investigators was earlier reported by The New York Times and other media outlets.

NBC News, also citing unnamed officials, reported Tsarnaev told investigators the bombs were made in the home of his brother Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout with police early on April 19.

The Times reported the ethnic Chechen brothers also considered suicide attacks and that they had viewed online sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical U.S.-born cleric who was killed by an American drone strike in Yemen in 2011. There is no indication the brothers communicated with Awlaki, however, the newspaper reported on its website.

What, if any, ties the two suspects had with foreign militants is a key question for investigators trying to determine how the pair became radicalized. How they selected their target would also shed light on their mindset.

Mitch Silber, executive managing director at K2 Intelligence and former head of intelligence analysis at the New York City Police Department, said a July 4 attack in Boston might have been more deadly given the fact that greater numbers of people gather for the city's annual celebration.

Former federal prosecutor Mark Rasch said a July 4 attack would have sent a stronger message.

"The essence of terrorism is all about symbolism," Rasch said. "The Boston Marathon just does not have as much of a symbolic feeling as the Fourth of July to the United States."

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was 26 when he was killed in the shootout with police in Watertown, Massachusetts. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was wounded in the shootout and captured later that day.

Both are also suspected of killing a university police officer. Another officer was badly wounded in the Watertown confrontation.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged with crimes in connection with the bombing that could carry the death penalty if he is convicted, and is being held at a prison medical facility in Devens, Massachusetts.

SUSPECT'S BODY CLAIMED

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's remains were claimed on behalf of his family on Thursday. His body had been kept at a Boston facility for more than a week.

Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Massachusetts, said a funeral services company retained by the family had claimed the body. Harris declined to provide details including the cause of death or where the body had been taken.

On Tuesday, Tsarnaev's widow, Katherine Russell, said through an attorney that she wished his remains to be released to the Tsarnaev family.

Russell's attorney could not immediately be reached on Thursday.

Investigators have questioned Russell as they seek clues about how the suspects allegedly built the two bombs used in the attack and whether they had help.

The Tsarnaevs' parents previously lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but have since returned to Russia. Other relatives remain in the United States, including an uncle, Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Maryland.

Officials said on Thursday that three men who had been charged with interfering with the investigation of the bombing were in custody at a jail in Middleton, Massachusetts, a small town about 20 miles North of Boston.

The three 19-year-olds - Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev and Robel Phillipos - had been transported to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton on Wednesday after they were charged in Boston. Authorities have described them as college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

(Additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marathon-bombing-suspects-had-planned-july-4-attack-003807316.html

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Why hasn't The Shield been beaten yet?

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/why-has-the-shield-been-unbeatable

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Outdoor recess time can reduce the risk of nearsightedness in children

May 1, 2013 ? Two new studies add to the growing evidence that spending time outdoors may help prevent or minimize nearsightedness in children. A study conducted in Taiwan, which is the first to use an educational policy as a public vision health intervention, finds that when children are required to spend recess time outdoors, their risk of nearsightedness is reduced. A separate study in Danish children is the first to show a direct correlation between seasonal fluctuations in daylight, eye growth and the rate of nearsightedness progression.

The research was published in the May issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Nearsightedness in childhood is correctable, but is also linked to development of severe forms of this eye disorder in adulthood, which increases risks for potentially blinding diseases such as glaucoma and retinal detachment. Research on nearsightedness, also called myopia, is intensifying as the condition nears epidemic status in Asia and other regions, primarily in developed countries. In the United States nearsightedness has increased by more than 65 percent since 1970. Though myopia is often inherited, researchers are now assessing environmental factors to help explain why myopia rates are rising so rapidly in some populations.

In one of the new studies, an elementary school in Taiwan required its 333 students to spend recess outdoors for a year from 2009-10 so that researchers could learn whether this would reduce myopia rates. A similar school nearby served as the control group and did not require outdoor recess. The children in the intervention school, many of whom had formerly spent recess indoors, now spent a total of 80 minutes per day outdoors.

Students at both schools received eye exams at the study outset and one year later. The results showed that significantly fewer children became nearsighted or shifted toward nearsightedness in the school that required outdoor recess, compared with the control school. The researchers recommend that elementary schools in Asia and other regions add frequent recess breaks and other outdoor activities to their daily schedules to help protect children's eye development and vision.

"Because children spend a lot of time in school, a school-based intervention is a direct and practical way to tackle the increasing prevalence of myopia," said the leader of the study, Pei-Chang Wu, M.D., PhD., of Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

A separate study on the impact of daylight exposure on eye development analyzed data collected in a 2005 clinical trial that included 235 Danish school children with myopia. The participants were divided into seven groups, each of which represented a different seasonal interval. Because daylight hours fluctuate markedly with the seasons in Denmark, from seven hours in winter to nearly 18 in summer, access to daylight was distinct for each group. Axial eye length -- the distance from the front to the back of the eye -- and vision were tested in each group of children at the beginning and end of their seasonal interval. Axial length is an important measurement because elongation of the eye indicates that the person's myopia is worsening. In the children with access to the fewest hours of daylight, eye growth averaged 0.19 mm; in those with access to the most daylight, eye growth was just 0.12 mm.

"Our results indicate that exposure to daylight helps protect children from myopia," said the leader of the study, Dongmei Cui, M.D., Ph.D., of Sun Yat-sen University, China. "This means that parents and others who manage children's time should encourage them to spend time outdoors daily. When that's impractical due to weather or other factors, use of daylight-spectrum indoor lights should be considered as a way to minimize myopia."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Ophthalmology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Dongmei Cui, Klaus Trier, S?ren Munk Ribel-Madsen. Effect of Day Length on Eye Growth, Myopia Progression, and Change of Corneal Power in Myopic Children. Ophthalmology, 2013; 120 (5): 1074 DOI: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2012.10.022

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/mt7XyBYovGQ/130501101258.htm

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