Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Art of War: Hands-on with Total War: Rome 2

Total War: Rome 2

In a recent introduction to the more civilised side of Total War: Rome 2 we looked at how diplomacy and manipulation can win you allies without a single drop of blood being spilt. We also explored the benefits of effective territory control and learned how to discern a willing trade partner from an arrogant ambassador.

All useful stuff, but honeyed words and devious machinations will only take you so far and while the pen can indeed be mightier than the sword, nothing proves a point quite like a gladius through the gullet.

Playing through the opening hours that form the prologue of Total War: Rome 2, it?s apparent that there are many reasons to mount your enemy?s head on a spike and an even greater number of opportunities to do so. City defence, border expansion, senate missions and civil insurgence must all be effectively managed as the prologue teaches you to tend to military affairs both at home and abroad.

The opening level puts you in charge of a well ordered but inexperienced company of soldiers. They are led by Tribune Gaius Fulvius Silanus, a commander of a grain store who is more accustomed to defending his rural outpost during minor skirmishes than charging headlong into battle. Nonetheless, it is up to Silanus to march his men to the aid of his compatriots who are under siege by a vast number of Samnite soldiers.

As you might expect, this first mission is a hand-holding exercise designed to teach you the basics of battlefield management and troop control. However, there are a number of fundamental concepts introduced here that form the basis of more complex strategies later on. The advantages of moving troops quietly through a forest in order to ambush an enemy or of maintaining the higher ground during a skirmish are key lessons that you?ll draw on time and time again.

As the prologue progresses, these early lessons become an ingrained part of your battle strategy. Manoeuvring individual legions to outflank an enemy is often more effective than spamming them head-on with your entire force. Conversely, leaving your own flanks undefended can easily result in you snatching humiliating defeat from the jaws of certain victory.

Unsurprisingly, the fewer casualties you take during a conflict the better, but not just for your own sense of pride. Replenishing an army can be an expensive business and so a poorly managed skin-of-your-teeth victory can prove almost as costly as outright defeat. In this way, Rome 2?s economics extend into battlefield management as a smarter victory means more money to spend on improving your armies rather than simply propping them up.

A host of technologies, edicts, and city improvements can further enhance your army?s combat prowess.? These cost money and time to come to fruition and so it can be beneficial to accept one of the many optional missions set by the senate to help boost the coffers. From the very beginning, Rome 2 advises patience and warns that recklessly rampaging through the campaign map can leave you overstretched and exposed to counterattack.

Likewise, out on the battlefield it can be tempting to thunder over a hillside to sweep aside enemy skirmishers with your cavalry but you must be mindful of the spearmen that might be lying in wait just out of sight over the crest of the hill. Even very early battles have the potential to ebb and flow as you gain ground before ordering a tactical retreat to regroup. It?s immensely satisfying to enact a battle plan and emerge with minimal casualties due to cunning rather than because of sheer force of numbers.

As armies and their commanders survive multiple battles they gain bonuses and traits based on their actions. Experience points can be spent to boost a commander?s authority, cunning or zeal, which brings with it a suite of unique abilities. Similarly, attributing a Tradition to a legion allows it to specialise in training accomplished skirmishes, artillery experts or formidable fighters. This further individualises your army, informs your battle tactics and strengthens your connection to your troops.

Politicking plays a major role in Total War: Rome 2 but Creative Assembly is also ensuring that a keen mind will serve you as well on the battlefield as it does in the senate. Ultimately, brute force will win you a battle or two but it?s cunning and guile that will better serve you in the long run as you seek to further the glory of mighty Rome.

Source: http://games.on.net/2013/08/the-art-of-war-hands-on-with-total-war-rome-2/

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Light that moves and molds gels

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers have demonstrated a biomimetic response using hydrogels -- a material that constitutes most contact lenses and microfluidic or fluid-controlled technologies. Their study is the first to show that these gels can be both reconfigured and controlled by light, undergoing self-sustained motion -- a uniquely biomimetic behavior.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/o52sT6BBWWI/130801125706.htm

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Chinese man hurt in crash sues Asiana

SAN FRANCISCO - A Chinese professor who was seriously injured in the Asiana Airlines crash has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the carrier in San Francisco federal court.

Zhengheng Xie, whose lawsuit was filed Monday, is filing under an exemption in an international treaty that limits legal actions by foreigners.

The San Jose Mercury News reports the treaty would have limited Xie's legal settlement to no more than $135,000 in China, where he is from, or South Korea, where Asiana is based.

But Xie's son purchased his father's round-trip ticket in the United States, making it an exception to the treaty. That gives Xie the right to sue Asiana in the United States

The July 6 crash left three passengers dead and 180 injured.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/chinese-professor-injured-in-crash-sues-asiana

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Lakeland Mayor Fields Differs on Scope of LPD Advisory Panel

Published: Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 4:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 4:23 a.m.

And most city commissioners agreed, but not the panel's creator.

Mayor Gow Fields, who personally organized the advisory panel, handpicking its members, told The Ledger this week that any examination of the two administrators would fall outside of the panel's scope.

"They won't investigate what they (Thomas and Womack) knew and failed to do," Fields said. "If the City Commission wants Doug and Lisa investigated, then that's their role."

City Commissioner Phillip Walker echoed Fields' comments.

"We're the ones who are in charge of Doug," Walker said.

But Commissioners Howard Wiggs, Keith Merritt, Don Selvage and Edie Yates said the panel should be allowed to question and investigate Thomas and Womack if the inquiry takes them in that direction.

They should face tough questions, Selvage said, such as how the widespread sexual misconduct that led to the panel's task could have lasted so long without their knowledge.

"I'm sure they (Thomas and Womack) are asking themselves that," Selvage said.

Fields organized the panel this month, calling it a "vehicle for citizen involvement," in response to revelations of widespread sexual misconduct at LPD that, according to city officials, went on for more than a decade and involved other city departments.

Through a series of resignations, the panel has dropped from 15 to nine members. Fields asked it to consider what he described as a narrow set of questions:

"Does the city and Police Department have the appropriate processes in place to address current challenges? What can be done to improve the culture within the LPD? What can be done to improve citizen trust?"

Bruce Abels, the retired president of Saddle Creek Corp., whom the panel chose as co-chair last week, said Fields asked them to examine the city government as a whole, but it should train its eye initially on LPD. Womack and Thomas are "certainly not off limits."

"Anything we look at, we're going to look at what the chief did or didn't do, or the city manager did or didn't do," he said. But, Abels added, "I don't think we're in the position to give them a job evaluation."

Katrina Lunsford, a Fifth Third Bank vice president picked for the panel, said she expected Thomas and Womack to be included in the inquiry.

"Quite naturally, the scope would look at current leadership," Lunsford said. "You can't dismiss leadership from this experience."

Jim Sewell, a retired assistant commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said panel members still have work to do in getting their hands around the specifics of their job. Examining Thomas and Womack could be part of their work, he said, "but (what) we want to make sure is that it's not a witch hunt for anyone."

"We have to get some answers before we say, 'Yes we are' and 'No we're not.' There may be times we go back to the mayor and commission and (ask) ? is this in our charge?" he said. "It's fair to say, 'We need to look into this.'?"

Panel member Frank O'Reilly, former Lakeland mayor and School Board member, said he wants to take a broader approach to the task to avoid micromanaging City Hall or LPD.

"We don't need to get into the nitty-gritty," O'Reilly said.

He said it's already apparent Thomas needs to change his leadership style.

O'Reilly suggested Thomas and possibly Fields speak with officers on a quarterly basis to ensure they will come forward in the future if there are issues.

The former mayor said he and former City Manager Gene Strickland met with officers regularly.

"Gene had tremendous rapport with the officers," O'Reilly said. "That's what city managers do.

"Doug Thomas has to take the lead on this thing."

Panel member Paul Roberts said it's too early to tell what the committee will investigate at LPD.

The former Polk County Sheriff's deputy and Winter Haven police officer, who is now a Lakeland High School teacher, said he wants to look at how city officials responded to regulations and rules. And the advisory panel is there to provide a different perspective than LPD or city officials.

"Is there anything we can see that the city manager's office or LPD isn't seeing?" Roberts asked.

Panel members Rick Garcia, Myra Bryant, Tim Jackson and Mary Smith could not be reached.

LIMITED SCOPE?

The lone city commissioner opposed to the panel is Wiggs, who said he can't support its current format because of its limited scope. He said he plans to address other issues he has with the group at the commission's Monday agenda study meeting at 7:30 a.m. at City Hall.

Wiggs, who is running for mayor against Fields, said he has heard from too many residents who think city commissioners should be investigating and making necessary changes to LPD.

Tasking an advisory panel to examine the department suggests there's "disunity" in the way the city is handling the problem.

"Many people have said, 'Why is the city abdicating responsibility when ultimately it comes back to you anyway?'?" Wiggs said.

"This is something that affects the entire community, yet there is no unity because of the way it is structured."

Fields disagreed the city commission is ceding any of its duties to the panel. He likened the panel's role to that of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, which makes recommendations to the commission.

"Ultimately, the City Commission is responsible," he said.

Two other commissioners said they want some clarity.

Merritt said he wants it made clear the advisory panel is reporting to the City Commission ? not the city manager. He said he also expects the panel to investigate anyone at city hall if its members deem it necessary.

Yates agreed.

"Anything that comes to their attention, certainly the city will listen to them," she said.

Commissioner Justin Troller did not return a phone message.

RANGE OF ISSUES

Ledger interviews with panel members and city commissioners showed each has his or her own ideas about what should come out of the advisory group's work.

Selvage wants recommendations from the panel on how to make the Police Department and City Hall more transparent.

Whether it's a recommendation for a city ombudsman who assists with complaints about the city, or a change in leadership style, Selvage said commissioners will ultimately decide any changes that must be made.

"Some are saying we're avoiding hard decisions," he said.

"But it will have to be the city that solves this."

Abels said he has basic concerns over how the panel will carry out its legwork.

"This isn't like a congressional investigation where we have a large staff," he said. "We're just going to have to look at that.

"We're making this up as we go along. But unfortunately, none of us do this for a living."

Abels said he thinks part of their task is determining why the misconduct happened. The department might have policies, but it didn't stop problems from happening. "Why these people did what they did, (that's) very hard, and I don't know we'll ever have an answer."

There are some questions the panel will have to take up concerning LPD crime analyst Sue Eberle, the woman at the center of the sexual misconduct allegations, and whether, as Abels put it, she was "truly part of the problem."

"I am not ready to rush to judgment," Abels said. "But the number of people involved with her over what's apparently 12 to 13 years certainly gives one significant reasons to wonder."

At the panel's first meeting, Sewell, the former FDLE second-in-command, gave the most concrete outline of areas it could examine.

He suggested looking at how LPD "acculturates" its officers to stated values and how it makes those values "living and breathing." He suggested they look into training; report writing; and how quickly officers finish reports, as well as "what the field training officers do to support that."

At the panel's first meeting, he also mentioned looking into management and supervision "because you had supervisors involved in some of these issues. What were the gaps that occurred that allowed that to happen, and how do we fix them?"

Sewell said he also plans to suggest that the commission place all the documents it requests and reviews online for the public to review.

"It makes sense," he said. "Transparency is important."

[ Matthew Pleasant can be reached at matthew.pleasant@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]

Source: http://www.theledger.com/article/20130731/news/130809998

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Magical Bottle Opener Can Pour Wine Without Popping the Cork

Magical Bottle Opener Can Pour Wine Without Popping the Cork

There are plenty of ways to open a nice bottle of wine, but they all involve the avoidable decision to finish the bottle (or risk the weird-tasting leftovers). We can do better than this, people. A new opener from Coravin aimed at connoisseurs lets you drink one glass at a time, by performing what amounts to a surgical procedure on your bottle.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9S5Os56ThBc/magical-bottle-opener-can-pour-wine-without-popping-the-967410908

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Man pleads not guilty to killing 3 Ohio women

This undated photo provided by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff Department show Michael Madison. Authorities responding to a report of a foul odor from a home discovered a body and arrested a registered sex offender, Madison, who sent police and volunteers through a poor Ohio neighborhood in a search for more victims, officials said Sunday, July 21, 2013. Madison is expected to be formally charged Monday. (AP Photo/Cuyahoga County Sheriff Department)

This undated photo provided by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff Department show Michael Madison. Authorities responding to a report of a foul odor from a home discovered a body and arrested a registered sex offender, Madison, who sent police and volunteers through a poor Ohio neighborhood in a search for more victims, officials said Sunday, July 21, 2013. Madison is expected to be formally charged Monday. (AP Photo/Cuyahoga County Sheriff Department)

CLEVELAND (AP) ? A man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to kidnapping and killing three women whose bodies were found wrapped in trash bags earlier this month.

Michael Madison, 35, appeared via a video feed from jail for his arraignment, for which he was handcuffed and wearing orange jail scrubs. When the judge asked him how he was, Madison answered, "I've been better."

The judge continued his $6 million bond and said she would appoint two attorneys to represent him. A pretrial hearing was set for Tuesday morning.

Madison is facing six charges of aggravated murder, two for each victim under different killing theories. He's also charged with three counts of kidnapping, three counts of gross abuse of a corpse, one count of rape and one count of weapon possession by an ex-convict.

East Cleveland police found one body July 19 when a caller reported a foul smell coming from a garage. Two more bodies were found the next day.

Madison was arrested in the deaths of Shirellda H. Terry, 18, Angela H. Deskins, 38, and Shetisha D. Sheeley, 28. The medical examiner said Terry and Deskins were strangled and Sheeley died of "homicidal violence by unspecified means."

The indictment said Madison raped Terry between July 10 and July 19. She was last seen July 10 leaving a Cleveland elementary school where she had a summer job.

Madison was classified as a sex offender in 2002, when he was sentenced to four years in prison for attempted rape, according to Cuyahoga County court records. He had previous convictions in 2000 and 2001 for drug-related charges.

The mayor of East Cleveland said Madison indicated he might have been influenced by Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell, who was convicted in 2011 of killing 11 women and sentenced to death. His case is under appeal.

Sowell was arrested after a woman escaped from his house in 2009 and said she had been raped there. Police found the mostly nude bodies in garbage bags and plastic sheets throughout his property.

In another case of violence against women in the Cleveland area, three women who separately vanished a decade ago escaped to freedom from Ariel Castro's house on May 6 when one kicked out part of a door and yelled to neighbors for help.

Castro, 53, who was arrested within hours, pleaded guilty Friday to 937 counts in a deal which sends him to prison for life without parole, plus 1,000 years. Prosecutors agreed to take a possible death penalty charge off the table. He is scheduled for sentencing Thursday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-07-31-US-Ohio-Bodies/id-1eb569afb057406b80404db5df076816

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American Hustle Images: First Look at Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/american-hustle-images-first-look-at-bradley-cooper-and-christia/

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PSA: Windows Phones to lose Google Sync activation on August 1st

Engadget Mobile

PSA Windows Phones without GDR2 lose sync for new Google accounts tomorrow

Windows Phone users who want to use Google Sync for contact and calendar integration had better act quickly: today is the last day that they can link their handsets to the service before Google pulls the plug. From August 1st onwards, Google Sync will only work on a given Windows Phone if it's already configured. The GDR 2 upgrade keeps syncing alive through CalDAV and CardDAV support, although many users could go without that support for some time -- to date, Americans can only see the OS refresh on the HTC 8XT, Lumia 520, Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020. If you're not in that group and miss the Google Sync deadline, you'll just have to sit tight while Microsoft finishes rolling out the GDR 2 update this summer.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft, Google

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