‘The Office’: Fans Think This Is the Most Heartbreaking Quote in the Whole Series – Showbiz Cheat Sheet

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The Office delivered the laughs throughout its nine seasons, but it also had some emotional and touching moments, too. Fans think theyve identified the most heartbreaking quote from the whole series and the line was delivered in the finale.

Over the course of its nine seasons, The Office had a number of uncomfortable moments that made viewers cringe. Boss Michael Scott was at the center of it all for seven seasons a character who was totally unaware he was inappropriate in the most cringey ways.

During the July 21 episode of the An Oral History of The Officepodcast, Steve Carell explained why his character Michael could make you cringe but he was still loveable. Its like, he would put his foot in his mouth all the time but in a lot of ways I dont think he ever valued one type of person over any other, he said.

Carell added, And in that way, I think he was a very pure character because he was very dumb in terms of political correctness and being appropriate in public but at the same time I just dont think there was hardness in his heart towards anyone.

RELATED: The Office: The Genius Way the Writers Made Michael Scotts Character Lovable and Pure After Season 1

There were many touching standout moments fans recall from the series, with many of them revolving around Jim and Pam. One sweet moment in season 3, however, involved Michael and Pam, as he attends her art show after none of her co-workers show up to support her.

Michael tells Pam how impressed and proud he is and even wants to buy her drawing of their office building. The moment moves her to tears. Of course, the touching scene has an element of comedy as well, as Pam asks if Michael has something in his pocket and he says chunky, pulling out a candy bar.

Pam and Jim had some sweet moments as well, including Jims proposal and their wedding, but in the final season, Pam and Jims relationship faced some rockiness. One scene in which the two fight brought Pam to tears and viewers felt her sadness too.

In the series finale, the employees come together for Dwight and Angelas wedding and gather as a group at the Dunder Mifflin office where Creed sings a song as the former co-workers reminisce.

Andy delivers a touching quote in a talking head interview, saying, I wish there was a way to know youre in the good old days before youve actually left them.

Fans have loved the line since they first heard it and have shared their thoughts about the touching sentiment over the years. One Reddit thread discussion kicked off when a user posted the line, noting, Thats the most heartbreaking quote in all the series.

Others agreed, with comments like, Best quote from the entire series, Who would have thought Andy would have the most poignant remark the entire series?, and Yeah this line really got me in the feels.

Another Redditor noted, The finale is full of such beautiful quotes.

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'The Office': Fans Think This Is the Most Heartbreaking Quote in the Whole Series - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Best South Park episodes: 25 amazing episodes of the adult animated sitcom – TechRadar

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South Park has been on the air for over 20 years now, and in that time it's established itself as one of the most iconic animated shows of all time. With its low production aesthetic and no-limits humor, its garnered a passionate fanbase, while its quick production turnaround time means it constantly has its finger on the pulse.

It definitely isnt for everyone, and while they do take swings at all comers (an approach which has been often criticized), creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have occasionally acknowledged overstepping the mark. Either way, its a series with a lot of high points, and here are the 25 best.

If you're in the US, you can streamSouth Park for free on Comedy Central's website. It's also available to stream onHBO Max. In the UK, South Park airs on Comedy Central, and it's streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

South Park tells a lot more tech-based stories these days, and in this episode, internet advertising has run amok. Sponsored Content also features a staunch political debate between Hillary Clinton, Garrison and Caitlyn Jenner. The main story, though, is the start of yet another three-act arc, this time on political correctness in media with political correctness in general a running theme throughout this entire season.

Like a few other episodes later on, Black Friday is actually part of a trilogy, along with A Song Of Ass And Fire and Titties And Dragons. Theyre all great, but here were going with the first instalment. Its all about a Black Friday sale, with one half of the town looking for a PS4 and the other half for an Xbox One. By the end of the trilogy, its a full-blown war, but here its the calm before the storm as the residents of South Park choose their sides. Poor Randy, in his new job as a mall security guard, doesnt realize hes about to be caught in the middle.

One of the first big concept episodes for the show, you can see from this premise how it offered a foundation for more outlandish episodes later. Cartman gets $1 million from his grandmothers inheritance, and uses it to buy a theme park. His success causes Kyle to lose his faith in God, but Cartmans financial troubles quickly bring his faith back. There are some great visuals within the theme park, and the shows gross-out huimor is alive and well in this episode. A great example of South Parks straightforward storytelling done right.

This double header is essentially one whole episode, so were counting both parts as one entity. It sees Family Guy preparing to feature the Muslim prophet Mohammed in an episode, leaving the USA fearful of retaliation, even prompting Cartman to go to Hollywood to leverage the network into cancelling Family Guy. It ends with an infamous title card after the network refused to air South Parks own depiction of Mohammed, and has become infamous both for this and its genuinely mean-spirited take on Family Guy.

These days, everyone knows what to expect from South Park, so it takes something really extreme for it to wind up in the headlines. With Band In China which was actually banned in China South Parks mocked Xi Jinpings regime and garnered their most controversy in years. It goes after Chinas aggressive censorship of Western media, and the way huge conglomerates seemingly compromise in order to profit in the Chinese market, with Randy heading to China for a business deal, but ending up in jail.

Two very disparate plots here, which isnt usually South Parks style, but it works brilliantly in Medicinal Fried Chicken. The A-plot sees Randy become desperate to partake in the medicinal marijuana movement, giving himself testicular cancer just so he can reap the herbal benefits. Eventually, he ends up with space hopper-sized balls. Meanwhile, in a heavy Scarface parody, KFC are banned from South Park, leading to Cartman setting up a black market fried chicken business in the episodes B-plot.

Here, Butters buys a kiss off a girl after the rest of the boys discover hes never kissed anyone. From here, Butters has a brainwave and realizes he could become a businessman dealing in kisses; soon after, hes a fully fledged pimp. In his new line of work, he finds himself entangled with an undercover cop wholl go to any length to expose the prostitution racket in South Park. And when we say any length, we mean any length.

If youre even vaguely familiar with South Park, youll know that Kenny dies a lot. Like, in every episode of the first few seasons. This episode is specifically about his death, though, with Kenny in hospital with a terminal illness. Cartman hatches a plan to save Kenny using stem cell research, resulting in him winding up with a truckload of fetuses. Cartman eventually takes to Congress to lobby for stem cell research, but his efforts are for nothing as, like the title suggests, Kenny dies.

Because South Park is so mercilessly referential, even the great episodes can be dated by relying on context from pop culture 20 years ago. Le Petit Tourette, however, is absolutely timeless, and involves Cartman faking Tourette syndrome in order to say whatever he wants. Unfortunately, over time Cartman struggles with any filter at all, and begins blurting our embarrassing secrets non-stop. The story is a little thin on the ground here, but the jokes more than make up for it.

If youve been paying attention to some of the things Cartman has done in the history of South Park, youll know that he does indeed suck. Here though, the title is far more literal, as it involves Cartman sticking Butters penis in his mouth to prove that Butters is gay, taking a picture as proof. However, Kyle tells him that Cartman is the gay one in the scenario, and in order to cancel it out, he and Butters must switch positions, which leads to Butters being sent to gay conversion therapy.

This episode references the absolute domination of The Simpsons in late 90s/early 00s animation, and the ways South Park (and other shows, like Family Guy) were often accused of ripping off Simpsons plots. Here, Butters alter ego Professor Chaos tries in vain to come up with an evil scheme the Simpsons have not already done, following on from the previous episode, Professor Chaos. This one is good as a two-parter but incredibly enjoyable as an individual experience too. The jokes are well worth watching for alone, but if youre an animation fan, its packed with references.

Arguably South Parks first venture into extreme whoa, can they say that? territory, it sees Cartman join the North American Man Boy Love Association. His plan? To make some more mature friends. The episode also entangles another NAMBLA (the North American Marlon Brando Look Alikes), a mistaken FBI raid, and Kennys parents trying for another baby. The extremely twisted finale is possibly the best Kenny death in the whole series too.

The season 5 finale is the first time Butters gets substantial spotlight, and is one of the few episodes the creators have since walked back. Revolving around Butters surviving a murder attempt by his own mother after a discovery about his father, the episode is framed like a classic '50s sitcom but of course goes to much darker places.

The dual narrative of this one begins when Cartman leaves the band he, Kyle, Kenny, and Stan had started together. After a disagreement on musical direction, Cartman exits and joins forces with Butters and Token to create a Christian Rock band, recognizing the constant popularity of the genre. Meanwhile, Kyle, Kenny and Stan get busted by the FBI for illegally downloading music. Remember when that used to be a thing we were all so worried about?

Like Cartoon Wars, this is a series of episodes rather than just the one, but theres nothing between the Imaginationland trilogy. It features a terrorist attack on titular Imaginationland, parodying classic horror, fantasy and sci-fi movies as well as the military industrial complex along the way. Of course, this being South Park, theres also a subplot where Cartman tries to get Kyle to suck his balls, which the show manages to stretch over three episodes without getting tiresome. Only on South Park...

Unlike Kenny Dies, this episode doesnt actually include the death of Eric Cartman, despite the title. Instead, it sees the boys all grow sick of Cartmans selfishness, ignoring him after he eats all of their crispy chicken skin, which is framed as the ultimate crime. They convince everyone in class to go along with their plan, but forget to tell Butters. Being ignored convinces Cartman that hes dead, and that Butters is the only one who can see him as a ghost. With Butters help, Cartman tries to redeem himself for his past sins.

The Season 8 premiere pays homage to anime as the kids lie about being orphans to get entry into a ninja weapons expo. Throughout the episode, the animation style switches to give it a more anime flavor. The boys have fun at the expo, but unfortunately Butters soon gets injured with a throwing star, and the boys are left scrambling. They cant tell their parents or a doctor on account of lying, so instead dress Butters up as a dog and take him to the vet. South Park is quite often a show to watch in spite of the animation, but here it adds to the texture of the episode brilliantly.

Youd think from the title that this one would be a parody of the R Kelly musical, but they really just use him and his hiphopera as the wrap around here. Instead, the episode targets Scientology, focusing specifically on a couple of big name Scientologists to much controversy at the time. For some fans, South Park is at its best when its lampooning celebrities; if thats you, send this one right to the top of the list.

Similar to Black Friday, Grounded Vindaloop is built around modern gaming technology. This time around, its an Oculus Rift which takes center stage, as the boys experiment with virtual reality. Things start out smoothly, until they suspect theyre stuck in a virtual world, and can no longer tell which of them are real and which are simply virtual creations. As they struggle to decide whos wearing the Oculus Rift, the episode only gets stranger and stranger.

This episode is a genius example of how Cartman can transform a simple premise into a fantastic story by just cranking the pressure up and up and up. Kyle doesnt invite Cartman to his birthday party, but does invite Butters. Cartman is outraged, but initially tries sucking up to Kyle, eventually being told he can come but only if one of the other boys drops out. All Cartman needs to do now is convince Butters a meteor is about to strike and he needs to hide for his own good

This is a retelling of The Lord Of The Rings the way only South Park could do. Here, the 'precious' is a pornographic tape accidentally given to Butters, which he watches with no knowledge of what hes seeing but gradually becomes obsessed with. The rest of the boys go on a Middle-Earth style adventure to recover the tape, with the rest of the town folding into the Lord Of The Rings parody superbly. Even if youre not a Lord Of The Rings fan, theres so much to enjoy here.

This is the highest-rated episode of South Park on IMDb ever, and for good reason. If anyone wants an introduction to what makes Cartman Cartman, just show them Scott Tenorman Must Die. Cartman takes revenge on Tenorman after being refused a refund on a sale of pubic hair, and creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone point to this as Cartmans first descent into truly unhinged behavior, using it as a benchmark for future episodes. A must watch for Cartman fans.

A rare instance of Cartman being on the backfoot, this episode has Cartman pretend to be a robot in order to trick Butters. As planned, he learns of Butters embarrassing secrets, but also discovers Butters has a tape of Cartman dancing to Britney Spears. Cartman is forced to stay as AWESOM-O while he tries to find the tape, something which only gets harder when the military captures AWESOM-O for research. Cartman is so often on the offensive (in more ways than one), and this dynamic flip works fantastically.

Following immediately after Casa Bonita is another all time great episode in All About Mormons. The episode focuses on a new kid, Gary, introducing the Mormon faith to Stan. Stans dad Randy is initially annoyed by this, but eventually converts to Mormonism himself. The episode also sporadically breaks off into flashbacks which detail the origins of Mormonism in entertaining ways. Working on this episode also led Parker & Stone to write the Tony winning musical The Book Of Mormon almost a decade later.

Along with Scott Tenorman Must Die, many fans would point to Make Love, Not Warcraft as one of the essential South Park episodes. It revolves around World Of Warcraft, with the boys initially just playing together for fun, until a high level player ruins the game by killing everyone. In response, the boys sit at their computers for days on end, barely sleeping, and become fat, greasy and unkept. With a little help from World Of Warcraft creators Blizzard, the boys finally become ready to take on their foe.

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Best South Park episodes: 25 amazing episodes of the adult animated sitcom - TechRadar

As Perplexing as the Loch Ness Monster – Alameda Sun

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For me, the nebulous expression affordable housing has always been a mystery or an enigma; right up there with professional wrestling, Area 51 and the Loch Ness Monster. Judging by the dearth of rental units on the local market, one might, lacking nuance, sensitivity and subjectivity, think nearly all Alameda housing is affordable given it is all rented.

Even the word affordable suspended out there without its partner, Housing, is a perplexity ranking well above both the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot and the Winchester Mystery House. Nowadays, many people unknowingly find themselves in the squeeze grip of a solipsism: they narrowly define Un-Affordable as something they cannot afford. For me, Un-Affordable would mean a Tesla Model-X, a Chivas Regal liquor miniature, an early retirement at age 72 or a fourth divorce.

Dont test me on this, but affordable seems to have some relationship to income and in the case of rental units, Affordable would have some connection to the incomes of the people who intend to pay the rent.

Presently I live in a one-bedroom condominium; it is so small that even the mice have round shoulders and my bigger sticks of furniture remain in the hallway and the parking garage. My living room is my assigned parking slot.

For me, eating a plant-based diet is not a matter of political correctness, environmental concern or health; as a social chameleon, I wish it were. Instead, vegetarianism is a choice, I can either eat meat or live indoors. Life is all about choices. What would you choose? A ribeye or running water? Lamb chops or indoor plumbing?

When it comes to available housing in Alameda, the question that surfaces is, What is our target audience? Everyone west of Manteca? Everyone west of the Missouri River? Or just plain everyone?

Alameda is a delightful place to live, but it is subject to a bidding war. If demand for housing vastly outstrips availability perhaps the answer is to rundown demand. As the sagacious and perspicacious Yogi Berra once remarked, Nobody goes there anymore its too crowded. Just the name Alameda means public walk shaded by trees.

Theres a clue, cut down the trees and replace them with No Parking signs. Next, those stately, hoity-toity Victorians gotta go, they attract the wrong kind of people; the aesthetes and sentimental people of taste.

Go with Albert Speer cubism, if it aint a rectangle or a square, it comes down. Next, run up the traffic grid lock: more bike lanes, more traffic lights, more stop signs and close one or two bridges or tunnels. Then, lower the speed limit from 25 mph to 15 mph and ramp up the number of radar traps.

If you cant feel your face getting warmer driving down Otis, its because you are not getting hit with enough radar waves. Although I am a teacher and loathe to mention this, run-up the student to teacher ratio from 35 to 1 to 50 to 1. No one wants to send his or her child to a school where the teacher has not learned the names of his or her students by May or June.

Then hit the landed gentry with more parcel taxes. Taxes to increase firefighter, school superintendent and police pay and reduce their retirement ages to 30 something. Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of profligacy!

Next, get rid of the folksy Mom and Pop stores on Park Street. Everything gets replaced by a Big Box. If it aint a national franchise, it dont belong. Toy Safari becomes Toys R Us; Oles Waffle House is relabeled IHOP; Cera Una Volta becomes Franco-American Spaghetti House; Trabocco becomes Pizza-A-Go-Go. Make Rock Wall sell only New York State wines exclusively. Declare beaches off limits to children under 18 with beach hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Once you set aside rational thinking, the possibilities are endless. As my Uncle Cusper used to lecture me, Never hog-tie yourself with the truth, reason or common sense.

And finally, Alameda Hospital; how about Drive Thru Only?

If the city planners, or whatever those apparatchiks are calling themselves these days, need more ideas, I am free from now to mid-August. As a concerned citizen, unfettered by the rigors of Aristotelian logic and any semblance of linearity, I am here to help. While thinking outside the box has never been a problem, thinking within the realm of possibility has always been a struggle.

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As Perplexing as the Loch Ness Monster - Alameda Sun

Letter to the Editor | Attack on our history is wrong – Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

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Attack on our history is wrong

As a disabled veteran of the Vietnam War; Operation Desert Storm; Operation Iraqi Freedom preparation; the U.S. Army Depleted Uranium Project; and numerous weapons-of-mass-destruction emergency-response operations, including the Oct. 15, 1987, incident in Urbana, who continues to advocate for all veterans, I disagree with the recent editorial supporting the renaming of military installations.

I also view removing from public display statues and paintings representing historical leaders, and the current banning of books, flags, statues, movies, street names, paintings, photographs and historical documents some label offensive or a challenge to current political control as violations of the Bill of Rights.

As an Army officer, I gave some and I ordered others to give their all, including assigned duties resulting in illness and death, to ensure that our precious freedoms are sustained.

Today, a very vocal minority wants to erase our history or alter how we explain the good and bad sides of our nations history. Political correctness and purging our history has had horrible effects already and must be stopped.

Today we are re-playing 1930s Germany and other historical periods that had horrible effects on our nation and beyond. If we allow banning to proceed, then where will it stop?

Everyone has something they find offensive. That is life. Please, learn to live with it.

Today, what has been morally wrong since antiquity is now viewed as right, and what was historically morally wrong is right via political correctness fiat.

DOUG ROKKE

Rantoul

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Letter to the Editor | Attack on our history is wrong - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

How Do We Colonize Mars? – Universe Today

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Welcome back to our series on Colonizing the Solar System! Today, we take a look at that cold and dry world known as Earths Twin. Im talking about Mars. Enjoy!

Mars. Its a pretty unforgiving place. On this dry, desiccated world, the average surface temperature is -55 C (-67 F). And at the poles, temperatures can reach as low as -153C (243 F). Much of that has to do with its thin atmosphere, which is too thin to retain heat (not to mention breathe). So why then is the idea of colonizing Mars so intriguing to us?

Well, there are a number of reasons, which include the similarities between our two planets, the availability of water, the prospects for generating food, oxygen, and building materials on-site. And there are even long-term benefits to using Mars as a source of raw materials and terraforming it into a liveable environment. Lets go over them one by one

The idea of exploring and settling Mars has been explored in fiction for over a century. Most of the earliest depiction of Mars in fiction involved a planet with canals, vegetation, and indigenous life owing to the observations of the astronomers like Giovanni Schiaparelli and Percival Lowell.

However, by the latter half of the 20th century (thanks in large part to the Mariner 4 missions and scientists learning of the true conditions on Mars) fictional accounts moved away from the idea of a Martian civilization and began to deal with humans eventually colonizing and transforming the environment to suit their needs.

This shift is perhaps best illustrated by Ray Bradburys The Martian Chronicles(published in 1950). A series of short stories that take place predominantly on Mars, the collection begins with stories about a Martian civilization that begins to encounter human explorers. The stories then transition to ones that deal with human settlements on the planet, the genocide of the Martians, and Earth eventually experiencing nuclear war.

During the 1950s, many classic science fiction authors wrote about colonizing Mars. These included Arthur C. Clarke and his 1951 story The Sands of Mars, which is told from the point of view of a human reporter who travels to Mars to write about human colonists. While attempting to make a life for themselves on a desert planet, they discover that Mars has native life forms.

In 1952, Isaac Asimov released The Martian Way, a story that deals with the conflict between Earth and Mars colonists. The latter manage to survive by salvaging space junk and are forced to travel to Saturn to harvest ice when Earth enforces an embargo on their planet.

Robert A. Heinleins seminal novel Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) tells the story of a human who was raised on Mars by the native Martians and then travels to Earth as a young adult. His contact with humans proves to have a profound effect on Earths culture, and calls into questions many of the social mores and accepted norms of Heinleins time.

Philip K. Dicks fiction also features Mars often, in every case being a dry, empty land with no native inhabitants. In his works Martian Time Slip (1964), and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965), life on Mars is presented as difficult, consisting of isolated communities who do not want to live there.

In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), most of humanity has left Earth after a nuclear war and now live in the colonies on Mars. Androids (Replicants) escaping illegally to come back to Earth claim that they have left because nobody should have to live there. It wasnt conceived for habitation, at least not within the last billion years. Its so old. You feel it in the stones, the terrible old age.

Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars trilogy (published between 19921996), Mars is colonized and then terraformed over the course of many centuries. Ben Bovas Grand Tour series which deals with the colonization of the Solar System also includes a novel titled Mars (1992). In this novel, explorers travel to Mars locations including Mt. Olympus and Valles Marineris to determine is Mars is worth colonizing.

Alastair Reynolds short story The Great Wall of Mars (2000) takes place in a future where the most technologically advanced humans are based on Mars and embroiled in an interplanetary war with a faction that takes issue with their experiments in human neurology.

In Hannu Rajaniemis The Quantum Thief (2010), we get a glimpse of Mars in the far future. The story centers on the city of Oubliette, which moves across the face of the planet. Andry Weirs The Martian (2011) takes place in the near future, where an astronaut is stranded on Mars and forced to survive until a rescue party arrives.

Kim Stanley Robinsons 2312(2012) takes place in a future where humanity has colonized much of the Solar System. Mars is mentioned in the course of the story as a world that has been settled and terraformed (which involved lasers cutting canals similar to whatSchiaparelli described) and now has oceans covering much of its surface.

NASAs proposed manned mission to Mars which is slated to take place during the 2030s using the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and the Space Launch System (SLS) is not the only proposal to send humans to the Red Planet. In addition to other federal space agencies, there are also plans by private corporations and non-profits, some of which are far more ambitious than mere exploration.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has long-term plans to send humans, though they have yet to build a manned spacecraft. Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, is also planning a manned Mars mission, with simulations (called Mars-500) having been completed in Russia back in 2011. The ESA is currently participating in these simulations as well.

In 2012, a group of Dutch entrepreneurs revealed plans for a crowdfunded campaign to establish a human Mars base, beginning in 2023. Known as Mars One, the plan calls for a series of one-way missions to establish a permanent and expanding colony on Mars, which would be financed with the help of media participation.

Other details of the MarsOne plan include sending a telecom orbiter by 2018, a rover in 2020, and the base components and its settlers by 2023. The base would be powered by 3,000 square meters of solar panels and the SpaceX Falcon 9 Heavy rocket would be used to launch the hardware. The first crew of 4 astronauts would land on Mars in 2025; then, every two years, a new crew of 4 astronauts would arrive.

On December 2nd, 2014, NASAs Advanced Human Exploration Systems and Operations Mission Director Jason Crusan and Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs James Reuther announced tentative support for the Boeing Affordable Mars Mission Design. Currently planned for the 2030s, the mission profile includes plans for radiation shielding, centrifugal artificial gravity, in-transit consumable resupply, and a return-lander.

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also announced plans to establish a colony on Mars with a population of 80,000 people. Intrinsic to this plan is the development of the Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT), a spaceflight system that would rely on reusable rocket engines, launch vehicles and space capsules to transport humans to Mars and return to Earth.

As of 2014, SpaceX has begun developing the large Raptor rocket engine for the Mars Colonial Transporter, and a successful test was announced in September of 2016. In January 2015, Musk said that he hoped to release details of the completely new architecture for the Mars transport system in late 2015.

In June 2016, Musk stated in the first unmanned flight of the Mars transport spacecraft would take place in 2022, followed by the first manned MCT Mars flight departing in 2024. In September 2016, during the 2016 International Astronautical Congress, Musk revealed further details of his plan, which included the design for an Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) and estimated costs.

There may come a day when, after generations of terraforming and numerous waves of colonists, that Mars will begin to have a viable economy as well. This could take the form of mineral deposits being discovered and then sent back to Earth for sale. Launching precious metals, like platinum, off the surface of Mars would be relatively inexpensive thanks to its lower gravity.

But according to Musk, the most likely scenario (at least for the foreseeable future) would involve an economy based on real estate. With human populations exploding all over Earth, a new destination that offers plenty of room to expand is going to look like a good investment.

And once transportation issues are worked out, savvy investors are likely to start buying up land. Plus, there is likely to be a market for scientific research on Mars for centuries to come. Who knows what we might find once planetary surveys really start to open up!

Over time, many or all of the difficulties in living on Mars could be overcome through the application of geoengineering (aka. terraforming). Using organisms like cyanobacteria and phytoplankton, colonists could gradually convert much of the CO in the atmosphere into breathable oxygen.

In addition, it is estimated that there is a significant amount of carbon dioxide (CO) in the form of dry ice at the Martian south pole, not to mention absorbed by in the planets regolith (soil). If the temperature of the planet were raised, this ice would sublimate into gas and increase atmospheric pressure. Although it would still not be breathable by humans, it would be sufficient enough to eliminate the need for pressure suits.

A possible way of doing this is by deliberately triggering a greenhouse effect on the planet. This could be done by importing ammonia ice from the atmospheres of other planets in our Solar System. Because ammonia (NH) is mostly nitrogen by weight, it could also supply the buffer gas needed for a breathable atmosphere much as it does here on Earth.

Similarly, it would be possible to trigger a greenhouse effect by importing hydrocarbons like methane which is common in Titans atmosphere and on its surface. This methane could be vented into the atmosphere where it would act to compound the greenhouse effect.

Zubrin and Chris McKay, an astrobiologist with NASAs Ames Research center, have also suggested creating facilities on the surface that could pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thus triggering global warming (much as they do here on Earth).

Other possibilities exist as well, ranging from orbital mirrors that would heat the surface to deliberately impacting the surface with comets. But regardless of the method, possibilities exist for transforming Mars environment that could make it more suitable for humans in the long run many of which we are currently doing right here on Earth (with less positive results).

Another proposed solution is building habitats underground. By building a series of tunnels that connect between subterranean habitats, settlers could forgo the need for oxygen tanks and pressure suits when they are away from home.

Additionally, it would provide protection against radiation exposure. Based on data obtained by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, it is also speculated that habitable environments exist underground, making it an even more attractive option.

As already mentioned, there are many interesting similarities between Earth and Mars that make it a viable option for colonization. For starters, Mars and Earth have very similar lengths of days. A Martian day is 24 hours and 39 minutes, which means that plants and animals not to mention human colonists would find that familiar.

Mars also has an axial tilt that is very similar to Earths, which means it has the same basic seasonal patterns as our planet (albeit for longer periods of time). Basically, when one hemisphere is pointed towards the Sun, it experiences summer while the other experiences winter complete with warmer temperatures and longer days.

This too would work well when it comes to growing seasons and would provide colonists with a comforting sense of familiarity and a way of measuring out the year. Much like farmers here on Earth, native Martians would experience a growing season, a harvest, and would be able to hold annual festivities to mark the changing of the seasons.

Also, much like Earth, Mars exists within our Suns habitable zone (aka. Goldilocks zone), though it is slightly towards its outer edge. Venus is similarly located within this zone, but its location on the inner edge (combined with its thick atmosphere) has led to it becoming the hottest planet in the Solar System. That, combined with its sulfuric acid rains makes Mars a much more attractive option.

Additionally, Mars is closer to Earth than the other Solar planets except for Venus, but we already covered why its not a very good option! This would make the process of colonizing it easier. In fact, every few years when the Earth and Mars are at opposition i.e. when they are closest to each other the distance varies, making certain launch windows ideal for sending colonists.

For example, on April 8th, 2014, Earth and Mars were 92.4 million km (57.4 million miles) apart at opposition. On May 22nd, 2016, they will be 75.3 million km (46.8 million miles) apart, and by July 27th of 2018, a meager 57.6 million km (35.8 million miles) will separate our two worlds. During these windows, getting to Mars would be a matter of months rather than years.

Also, Mars has vast reserves of water in the form of ice. Most of this water ice is located in the polar regions, but surveys of Martian meteorites have suggested that much of it may also be locked away beneath the surface. This water could be extracted and purified for human consumption easily enough.

In his book, The Case for Mars, Robert Zubrin also explains how future human colonists might be able to live off the land when traveling to Mars, and eventually colonize it. Instead of bringing all their supplies from Earth like the inhabitants of the International Space Station future colonists would be able to make their own air, water, and even fuel by splitting Martian water into oxygen and hydrogen.

Preliminary experiments have shown that Mars soil could be baked into bricks to create protective structures, which would reduce the amount of material that needs to be shipped to the surface. Earth plants could eventually be grown in Martian soil too, assuming they get enough sunlight and carbon dioxide. Over time, planting on the native soil could also help to create a breathable atmosphere.

Despite the aforementioned benefits, there are also some rather monumental challenges to colonizing the Red Planet. For starters, there is the matter of the average surface temperature, which is anything but hospitable. While temperatures around the equator at midday can reach a balmy 20 C, at the Curiosity site the Gale Crater, which is close to the equator typical nighttime temperatures are as low as -70 C.

The gravity on Mars is also only about 40% of what we experience on Earths, which would make adjusting to it quite difficult. According to a NASA report, the effects of zero-gravity on the human body are quite profound, with a loss of up to 5% muscle mass a week and 1% of bone density a month.

Naturally, these losses would be lower on the surface of Mars, where there is at least some gravity. But permanent settlers would still have to contend with the problems of muscle degeneration and osteoporosis in the long run.

And then theres the atmosphere, which is unbreathable. About 95% of the planets atmosphere is carbon dioxide, which means that in addition to producing breathable air for their habitats, settlers would also not be able to go outside without a pressure suit and bottled oxygen.

Mars also has no global magnetic field comparable to Earths geomagnetic field. Combined with a thin atmosphere, this means that a significant amount of ionizing radiation is able to reach the Martian surface.

Thanks to measurements taken by the Mars Odyssey spacecrafts Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE), scientists learned that radiation levels in orbit above Mars are 2.5 times higher than at the International Space Station. Levels on the surface would be lower, but would still be higher than human beings are accustomed to.

In fact, a recent paper submitted by a group of MIT researchers which analyzed the Mars One plan to colonize the planet beginning in 2020 concluded that the first astronaut would suffocate after 68 days, while the others would die from a combination of starvation, dehydration, or incinerationin an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

In short, the challenges to creating a permanent settlement on Mars are numerous, but not necessarily insurmountable. And if we do decide, as individuals and as a species, that Mars is to become a second home for humanity, we will no doubt find creative ways to address them all.

Who knows? Someday, perhaps even within our own lifetimes, there could be real Martians. And they would be us!

Universe Today has many interesting articles about the possibility of humans living on Mars. Heres a great article by Nancy Atkinson about the possibility of a one-way, one-person trip to Mars

What about using microbes to help colonize mars? And if you want to know the distances between Earth and Mars, check it out here.

For more information, check out Mars colonies coming soon, Hubblesites News Releases about Mars, and NASAs Quick Facts

The Mars Society is working to try and colonize Mars. And Red Colony is a great resource of articles about colonizing Mars.

Finally, if youd like to learn more about Mars in general, we have done several podcast episodes about the Red Planet at Astronomy Cast. Episode 52: Mars, Episode 91: The Search for Water on Mars, and Episode 94: Humans to Mars Part 1, Scientists.

Reference:NASA Quest: Possibility of colonizing Mars

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Goodbye Mars One, The Fake Mission To Mars That Fooled The …

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The ambitious dream is over

Four years ago, you couldnt go a day without hearing about Mars One. Outlets including The Washington Post, the BBC, CNN, Fox News, and many more were swept up by the projects promise of colonizing Mars, despite scientists ruthlessly and regularly pointing out its flaws. Now the false promise is over.

According to a notice from the Civil Court of the City of Basel in Switzerland picked up by the Swiss newspaper Landbote and onReddit, Mars One Ventures a British company bought by a Swiss firm in 2016 and one of two entities behind the project has been declared bankrupt as of January 15, 2019, with less than $25,000 in its accounts. The company has now been dissolved.

In truth Mars One has been quiet for a while now. Aside from the odd press release here and there, the organization and its founder Bas Lansdorp haven't said much in public in recent years, despite originally planning to launch their first robotic mission in 2020. Crewed launches were expected to soon follow.

Mars One first arrived on the scene in 2012, with the immediately eyebrow-raising proposal to send people on a one-way trip to Mars. These pioneers, being sent on regular missions, would be resupplied by cargo missions from Earth, and would live out the rest of their days on the Red Planet.

Originally the plan was to send the firsts colonists to Mars in 2023, following a number of robotic missions to deliver equipment and habitats to the surface. Questions immediately started to be raised, though. Who would build this equipment, and where would the funding for this mission come from, considering such a venture would cost in the billions of dollars?

Mars One never really explained who would build the habitats and equipment

Lansdorps answer was that Mars One would be a self-funded reality TV show, with people tuning in to presumably watch the hopeful astronauts go through training, before the fateful mission on Mars itself. The audience sizes were often compared to the Olympic Games, although failing to take into accountthat while the Olympics lasted weeks, this Mars mission would last for eternity.

The Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012 lasting only three weeks each, yielded more than $3.8 billion from broadcasting rights only, Mars One wrote on its website. Mars One offers the opportunity to take the world on the greatest exploration mission, from selecting and training the future astronauts, preparing the settlement, to the actual human landings on Mars where the settlers will start building a whole new society on another planet!

Following its arrival in 2012, Mars One went quiet for a couple of years. That was until 2015 when, following a well-publicized application process, they announced the final 100 volunteers that would be the first to train for the companys mission to Mars. These 100 people received a considerable amount of media attention, appearing on talk shows, being profiled by various newspapers, and more.

But the cracks had already started to show. In 2014, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) produced a damning report on the feasibility of the mission. Among a number of criticisms, the report noted that within about 68 days, the first settlers would suffocate and die as their habitats failed.

By most estimates, the humans would have been dead on Mars in weeks

Joseph Roche, one of the 100 finalists, laid bare some of the underhand tactics being used by the company in 2015, saying they were ripping off supporters in an effort tosell merchandise. You get points for getting through each round of the selection process and then the only way to get more points is to buy merchandise from Mars One or to donate money to them, he said, reported Medium.

And the wheels completely came off in a brutal debate with MIT in late 2015, when two researchers tore apart Lansdorps mission, pointing out flaw after flaw. If somebody was scoring this debate, giving a point for each well-supported argument, deducting a point for each weak one, and subtracting multiple points every time somebody conceded the other sides argument, then Mars One lost it hands down, The Space Review noted at the time.

In the subsequent years, Mars One repeatedly pushed back its planned date for sending humans to Mars. Its last press release of note was back in 2017, when it announced new revenue predictionsfor the mission. Aside from that and a smattering of other minor announcements, Mars One has been long gone this bankruptcy is most certainly the final nail in an already rotting coffin.

Much has been said about Mars One over the years, with some questioning whether the whole thing was a scam from the outset, or if the people behind it were simply nave about the challenges of going to Mars. Whatever the truth, the saga is over now. Heres hoping that the whole experience will not dampen excitement for an actual human mission to Mars in the future, with proper expertise and funding.

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Five steps to colonising Mars – BBC Future

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As a commander of a space colony on Earth, Tarvin is one of the few people to have any experience of overseeing a Mars base. Its certainly not a Star Trek-style military environment, he says. Its a small group of highly motivated people and it really doesnt take much effort to manage them.

A government also needs all the structures that go with it. Any new society needs an economy as well as systems to maintain the habitat, provide employment, health, childcare, social care and education. In short: Mars needs bureaucrats.

4. Expand

The first Mars settlers will be living in the capsules they arrive in, perhaps augmented by a few extra capsules sent ahead and maybe some inflatable domes. But just as settlers will be utilising local resources for water, food and energy, they will also hope to use local materials to build a larger colony or even spin-off colonies.

At the very least, it would make sense to use Martian rock to bury the habitats to help shield occupants from radiation. Later, the surface could be drilled to form caves or rock could be excavated for building materials just as we build houses from stone on Earth. It might also be possible to extract useful minerals for metals or glass.

Robert Zubin, the president of the Mars Society, is one of the leading exponents of terraforming Mars transforming the planet from an airless, barren world to an oxygen-rich green and pleasant realm with a fully functioning ecosystem.

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Life on Mars: Scientists identify the ‘extraordinary’ key to colonising Mars – Daily Express

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The surface of Mars may be too inhospitable for colonisers, with frequent sandstorms and no protection from space radiation. Scientists are, therefore, interested in the possibility of subterranean life, exploring ways in which colonisers could set up camp in ancient lava tubes. Researchers at the University in Bologna, Italy, have now presented new findings with exciting implications for future colonisation efforts.

Lava tubes, or pyroducts, are natural tunnels formed underground by lava flowing from a volcanic source.

They are the third most common type of cave found on Earth and can run uninterrupted for tens of miles.

One of the longest known pyroduct on Earth is the 41-mile-long (65.5km) Kazumura Cave in Hawaii.

But the lava tubes are not unique to Earth and scientists have found evidence of them on the Moon as well as on Mars.

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And the conditions within are perfect to shield potential colonists from radiation, space rocks and wild temperature fluctuations.

Study coordinator Francesco Sauro said: "Lava tubes could provide stable shields from cosmic and solar radiation and micrometeorite impacts which are often happening on the surfaces of planetary bodies.

"Moreover, they have great potential for providing an environment in which temperatures do not vary from day- to night-time.

"Space agencies are now interested in planetary caves and lava tubes, as they represent a first step towards future explorations of the lunar surface - see also NASA's project Artemis - and towards finding life - past or present - in Mars subsurface".

Space agencies are now interested in planetary caves and lava tubes

Francesco Sauro, University in Bologna

Researchers at Bologna and the University of Padua have also proposed the tubes on Mars can be many times bigger than on Earth.

Whereas a typical lava tube on Earth measures between 32ft and 98ft (10m and 30m) across, a Martian tube could be 100 or 1,000 times wider.

Dr Sauro said: "We can find lava tubes on planet Earth, but also on the subsurface of the Moon and Mars according to the high-resolution pictures of lava tubes' skylights taken by interplanetary probes.

"Evidence of lava tubes was often inferred by observing linear cavities and sinuous collapse chains where the galleries cracked.

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"These collapse chains represent ideal gateways or windows for subsurface exploration.

"The morphological surface expression of lava tubes on Mars and the Moon is similar to their terrestrial counterpart.

"Speleologists thoroughly studied lava tubes on Earth in Hawaii, Canary Islands, Australia and Iceland

The researchers have explained the wider tubes through Mars' weaker gravity and the effect it has on volcanism.

Similarly, lava tubes on the Moon provide an exciting opportunity for explorers to consider.

Planetary geologist Riccardo Pozzobon said: "Tubes as wide as these can be longer than 40 kilometres, making the Moon an extraordinary target for subsurface exploration and potential settlement in the wide protected and stable environments of lava tubes.

"The latter are so big they can contain Padua's entire city centre."

According to Matteo Massironi, a professor of Structural and Planetary Geology at Padua, the lava tubes are incredibly stable because of the weaker gravity.

He said: "This means that the majority of lava tubes underneath the maria smooth plains are intact.

"The collapse chains we observed might have been caused by asteroids piercing the tube walls.

"This is what the collapse chains in Marius Hills seem to suggest.

"From the latter, we can get access to these huge underground cavities."

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All the Reasons Why Humans Shouldn’t Colonize Mars …

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Just Visiting

Elon Musk wants to go to Mars. Professor Stephen Hawking is eager to see us search for a new planet to call home. NASA is building an engine that could take us there. But would establishing a base on the red planet really be worthwhile?

Establishing a colony on Mars is incredibly technically challenging and expensive, University of Michigans Aaron Ridley told Futurism. He argued that while the red planet is certainly scientifically interesting, the enormous costs associated with a permanent station make it unlikely, especially given that establishing a colony wouldnt be a solution to a problem like overpopulation.

We are not going to go to the moon or Mars because of population pressure, he explained. It is really because we have an innate desire to explore.

Amanda Hendrix, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, shares a similar opinion on the prospect of a permanent Martian settlement. I think it makes sense to go to Mars with humans to test technologies and to do scientific experiments a short term visit or visits, she told Futurism. I do not think it makes sense to establish a long-term human settlement on Mars, only because it is not desirable as a long-term destination due to radiation concerns.

One of the biggest obstacles standing in the path of a human colony on Mars is the price tag. Getting to Mars will be prohibitively expensive, and figuring out a method of paying for the project isnt so easy.

I think it would be a natural next step in our human exploration to visit the Moon and/or Mars, but to stay for the long term probably requires an economic justification, said Hendrix. She added that space tourism is unlikely to serve this purpose.

Chris McKay, a planetary scientist at NASAs Ames Research Center, maintains that the only plausible economic motivation for a Martian colony is for it to serve as a government base, downplaying the possibility of either tourism or mining operations playing that role.

The analogy here is the Antarctic bases from 1955 to about 1990, he told Futurism.During this time virtually all Antarctic bases were [government] science research bases in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty. After ~1990 tourism started to grow. Now there are tourist bases in Antarctica that are not [government] science research bases.

Settling on Mars isnt going to make anyone rich, and thats going to make it more difficult to accrue the money required for such an expensive project. Still, despite the fact that a fully-fledged colony might not be the wisest direction for a prospective space program, theres still plenty we could learn from the planet.

It seems that were more likely to establish a base on the moon before Mars. While this has its own benefits, most would agree that the red planet is more interesting even if its harder to reach.

I would agree that Mars is a much more scientifically interesting place, said Ridley, although he acknowledges that he wouldnt make a beeline for the planet. I am a big believer in baby steps, so it makes a lot of sense to try to do something on the moon, and then move on to Mars.

In terms of science, Mars is way more interesting than the moon, wrote McKay. He listed three main advantages: its similarity to Earth in terms of planetary processes and history, the possibility of life, and the potential for terraforming the planet.

If there were no other considerations to be made, most would agree that a Mars colony could be a fascinating project. However, certain endeavors need to be prioritized over others, and right now it doesnt seem like a permanent Martian settlement is the best use of our resources.

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Learn How To Build Your Own Strategy Based Video Game With These Online Classes – ExtremeTech

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The global gaming market could be worth over $159 billion by the end of this year,bigger than the movie and music industries combined. And unlike the devastating financial hits suffered by both film and music companies during the COVID-19 pandemic, video games use is only getting bigger during social distancing and quarantine rules. Game sales reached over $977 million in May, amore than 50 percent rise over 2019.

Gaming could well be the dominant media of the future so for those interested in taking a proactive step toward joining the industry or just creating something really cool, the training inThe Build a Strategy Game Development Bundle can jump start that charge. Regularly $1,990, its available now for only $39.99.

The package collects 10 courses that can help even first-time game creators understand what it takes to create their own gaming world and get familiar with the most popular tools for crafting those games used by todays top developers.

Packed with 12 gaming projects to challenge learners at each stage of their development, this collection lays down the basics of building your own game, no matter whether its turn-based,requires real-time strategy moves, or even hinges on multiplayer gaming.

The training begins with a full introduction to using Unity, one of the most powerful game creation engines in the world. Once students acclimate to the Unity environment, the instruction centers around those projects, offering real hands-on experience that not only embeds the training, but makes that training well, including important lessons for their own game building adventures.

Users amass skills while actually crafting games, exploring the mechanics of building a strategy game by guiding students through making their own 3D, turn-based game centered on creating and leading a Mars colony.

Training advances to encompass even trickier game development tasks, showing users how to move 3D models around the game world at will, how 3D model trees can control unit spawning, and action-based methods for creating game opponents that truly react to the gameplay through artificial intelligence tactics.

Finally, the courses lead students to their biggest challenge yet as theyre tasked with building a multiplayer strategy game that partially springs from the popular framework tool Photon.

Each step in this 10-course package retails for $199, but with this offer, the whole package is on sale forless than $4 per course, only $39.99.

Note: Terms and conditions apply. See the relevant retail sites for more information. For more great deals, go to our partners atTechBargains.com.

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9 Ways To Spend A Beautiful Fall Weekend In Flagstaff – TravelAwaits

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Spending a weekend in Flagstaff also means enjoying its culinary landscape. Youll find a great meal here at any time of the day and for every taste and budget, from high-end gourmet restaurants to tiny hole-in-the-wall establishments.

Here are a few of my favorites.

If you are like me and the hotels morning coffee just doesnt cut it for you, you need to try the espresso at Firecreek Coffee Company in Historic Downtown Flagstaff. And you dont have to order the espresso, either -- from the perfect cup of cappuccino to lattes and gourmet blends, youll find something to satisfy your coffee craving. Pair it with one of their fresh-baked pastries or stay for a full breakfast.

In our quest for the best pizza in town, we found Pizzicletta a few years ago. Baked from fresh ingredients, their thin, crispy dough makes one of the best Margherita pizzas Ive ever tried -- anywhere. Though pizza is their specialty, they have other Italian fare, too. And if you are in the mood for dessert, be sure to try their house-made gelato.

Youll find Pizzicletta on a corner of Phoenix Avenue in a small and unassuming brick building.

For a satisfying meal after a day of hiking in the forests around Flagstaff, dine at Brix Restaurant & Wine Bar, where youll be delighted by the farm-focused, fresh meals. Big on sustainability, Brix uses fresh ingredients from local farmers and ranchers. Youll find seasonal dishes that will delight meat lovers and vegans alike. Ask your server for recommendations.

Youll find Brix on San Francisco Street just a few blocks from downtown Flagstaff.

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Creating your own video games isnt impossible this training can get you on the path – Boing Boing

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For those who want a career in video games, theres no reason to sit around and wait. EA and Rockstar Games probably arent going to seek you out and knock on your door with a job opportunity. But if youre an indie developer with a good idea and some passion, you can create a really cool game that serves as the resume that might just bring the big boys to your doorstep.

You can jumpstart that process now, even if youve never designed your own games before, with the training in The Build a Strategy Game Development Bundle.

Across 10 courses, students are introduced to the techniques used by premium game developers as well as the cutting edge tools they use to help each creator fashion a game that is uniquely their own.

Powered by Unity, the worlds most popular game creation engine, this training walks new users through all the basics of assembling your first game, whether its turn-based, involves real-time strategy, depends on managing your resources or even centers around creating a multiplayer extravaganza, this core instruction can be invaluable to help you set the framework for your project.

While many course packages lead students through lectures and videos, this package is very hands-on, challenging learners to complete 12 standalone gaming projects, all centered around specific key learning areas.

After tackling an introduction to Unity and building games, students are quickly pressed to create their first 3D game. With that complete, they must next master the foundations of strategy game development by creating a turn-based, micro-strategy game about building and managing a colony on Mars.

Next, the projects advance into more critical game development skills, from understanding how to set up 3D models as units that can be selected and moved to various points clicked on a map, to starting 3D model trees that can be used to control unit spawning to how to script units to attack and damage enemies using a state machine.

That state machine is driven by AI, so the training also explains how to create crafty opponents to push your players. With all the training secure, students face their ultimate test: the creation of a multiplayer, turn-based strategy game using both Unity and Photon, a free popular networking framework.

Regularly priced at $199 per course, the entire 10-course collection is available now for just $39.99, less than $4 per course.

Prices are subject to change.

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Creating your own video games isnt impossible this training can get you on the path - Boing Boing

Lovecraft Country and HP Lovecraft’s racism: how the HBO series and the novel it’s based on reappropriate the author’s work. – Slate

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Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett in Lovecraft Country, and H.P. Lovecraft.Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by HBO and Lucius B. Truesdell.

Just how much Lovecraft can be found in Lovecraft Country, the new HBO series based on the 2016 novel of the same title by Matt Ruff? Explicitly, not all that much, despite an opening fantasy sequence in which a monstrous, tentacled being who is very clearly Cthulhu, the most familiar (anddare I say it?beloved) of Lovecrafts elder gods, is walloped to icky smithereens by Jackie Robinson, in a scene that surely would have driven Lovecraft himself mad with indignation. Yet Lovecraft Country, a label Ruff never defines but that seems to arch over the whole of the United States, fits the series thematically even as it sets up expectations that may disappoint some fans of the influential horror author. The series, developed by showrunner Misha Green (who co-created the 2016 historical series Underground), soon resolves itself into a supernatural soap opera, but its primary subjectlife as a Black person struggling under the weight of systemic American racismremains acutely pertinent to Lovecrafts work.

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The racism of Howard Phillips Lovecraft was extreme even for its time, and like Ruffs novel, the series quotes from a particularly vile poem Lovecraft wrote in 1912, one with the title On the Creation of Ns that only gets more racist from there. The Black novelist N.K. Jemisin has argued persuasively that Lovecrafts racism is central to the horror he aimed to convey in his work: a cosmic, existential dread combined with profound physical disgust. An exemplary quote from the story The Lurking Fear captures it: I felt the strangling tendrils of a cancerous horror whose roots reached into illimitable pasts and fathomless abysms of the night that broods beyond timethe tendrils and the cancer, and the great dark emptiness between the stars. The typical Lovecraft protagonist pursues some lonely, arcane scholarly quest until he collides with the terrible secret that humanity is an irrelevant speck in a universe presided over by vast, repulsive, powerful entities that our minds cannot even comprehend. This revelation is frequently linked to the discovery of a degenerate community of worshippers, people whose humanity has been contaminated with alien bloodfish men being a particular favorite. Lovecrafts published and private writing exhibits the same revulsion toward people of color that his characters lavish on the mongrel mer-tribes of his fiction.

With his novel, Ruff inverts this perspective. Set in the 1950s, Lovecraft Country depicts the family and friends of Atticus Turner (related to Nat Turner, who led a slave rebellion in 1831, and played by Jonathan Majors in the series) and their run-ins with a secret society of rich white occultists calling themselves the Order of the Ancient Dawn. A leader of this group captures Atticus because he is descended from its founder, who impregnated one of his slaves. With the founders blood, the mage plans to conduct a ritual that will make him immortal and restore the hierarchical social order that he sees as threatened by a changing world. While Atticus escapes the sorcerers New England compound and returns to his native Chicago, he and the people hes closest to continue to have their lives and fates manipulated by the cult as its members jockey for supreme power.

Ruffs book is in part a valentine to Black nerdery and the ability of readers of color to find wonder and transcendence in a genre that rarely included a place for them. Atticus and his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance), who publishes The Safe Negro Travelers Guide, a Green Bookstyle manual of establishments where Black motorists can eat and sleep while on the road in Jim Crowera America, share a love of pulp fiction. This dismays Atticus irascible father, Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams), who points out that Atticus problematic fave, Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom series, features a hero, John Carter, who was a Confederate officer before becoming a warlord on Mars. Stories are like people, George tells Atticus, in a line echoed in the HBO pilot. Loving them doesnt make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. The flaws are still there, though. They do disappoint me sometimes. Sometimes they stab me in the heart.

Ruffs book is in part a valentine to the ability of readers of color to find wonder and transcendence in a genre that rarely included a place forthem.

Or you find a way to retell them. Lovecraft Country is really a series of linked stories in which Atticus and the people in his orbit each engage with a pulp fiction trope inflected by the dilemmas of the racial caste system. Atticus must confront the fact that his Black ancestor was raped by his white ancestor. His childhood friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) buys a haunted house in a white neighborhood that does not want to be integrated. His aunt Hippolyta (Aunjanue Ellis), a thwarted would-be astronomer, stumbles upon a device that enables interstellar travel, where she finds a colony whose only surviving member, another Black woman, has no interest in returning to a home planet plagued by hatred and inequality. A team of buddies retrieves a forbidden book from a secret vault inside a museum to trade for the stolen accounting book in which one of their ancestors detailed the precise amount of reparations owed to her by the family who enslaved her. Letitias sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) meets a man who supplies her with a potion that temporarily changes her into a white woman.

Some of these stories echo Lovecraft tales. Lovecrafts The Dreams in the Witch House becomes Lovecraft Countrys Dreams of the Which House, for example, but the storyline is entirely transformed from that of a student plagued by the ghost of a 17th century witch in a cursed house that is eventually razed to the triumphant battle of a young woman to secure her place in the world. The TV series changes the story even further, until all that remains of Lovecraft is the pun in the storys title.

In one terrifying scene, Atticus and company are detained by a rural sheriff who intends to blame them for a string of local robberies and then shoot them in the backs for a fictional escape attempt. This plan gets interrupted by monsters who devour the white men. In the book and the series, these creatures are identified as shoggoths, beings that once served Lovecrafts elder gods. But Lovecrafts shoggoths are not lithe, pouncing, velociraptorlike predators with infectious bites, like those in the series. Rather, theyre amoeboid blobs that periodically shout Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! for reasons unknown. At any rate, the racist sheriff and his grinning thugs are far scarier than pretty much anything Lovecraft ever cooked up (except perhaps for Brown Jenkin, a malevolent rat-shaped demon with a human face and hands). Contrary to the authors assertions, its often the littleand the human-scaledthings that inspire the most fear.

The aficionado will scour HBOs version of Lovecraft Country in vain for knowing and clever references to Lovecrafts mythos, but the series does preserve something of the novels original notion: that for Atticus and those close to him, people simply trying to survive in a highly imperfect world and who are treated as pawns by the powerful white characters, theres no need to look to the far reaches of the universe or the depths of the ocean to find unfathomable, senseless, gibbering evil. Its all around them, and it flourished in H.P Lovecrafts heart. Ruffs novel ends with the collected Black characters responding to a magician who warns that if they cross him, No matter where you go, youll never be safe! They laugh, right in his face.

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Lovecraft Country and HP Lovecraft's racism: how the HBO series and the novel it's based on reappropriate the author's work. - Slate

Chief Read: Island weathered the storm well with a good response in restoring power – Shelter Island – Shelter Island Reporter

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The postmortems of how PSEG handled the effect of Tropical Storm Isaias on Long Island had it doing a poor job of clearing wires and restoring power.

But PSEG managed Shelter Islands emergency well, as it has over the past several years when storms struck. Power was restored to almost all Island customers who had lost it on the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 4, when high winds blowing 30 to 35 mph and gusting as high as 60 mph knocked down trees, which carried power lines with them to the ground.

At one point PSEG reported that 771 customers had lost power on the Island, but Shelter Island Police Chief Jim Read, who is the emergency manager coordinator of the town, disputed that figure. It was just one instance where the power company had a communication failure, not just here, but all over Long Island.

Chief Red said the communication breakdown by PSEG for the Island was mostly in the pre-storm hours. But once the emergency event was underway, and during its aftermath, from Aug. 4 to Friday, Aug. 7, PSEG and the town were on the same page.

Compared to other communities, PSEG did a great job on Shelter Island, the chief said. He gave one example of the IGA losing power, but having it restored in about an hour.

PSEG had deployed emergency clean-up crews to the Island on Tuesday, well before the storm hit around 2 p.m., and Chief Read and his emergency mnagement team coordinated with them.

We made quick decisions, like assigning our officers to the PSEG crews and assisting them with high priority issues, he said.

It was a busy afternoon for first responders. There were well over 200 calls to the towns emergency Operations center, the chief said, regarding downed trees and wires, power outages and fires. The Shelter Island Fire Department responded to five emergencies a transformer, a generator, smoke in a basement, a brush fire and live wires in the road.

Thankfully, There were no medical emergencies during the storm, Chief Read said.

But, as efficient and positive as it was on Shelter Island even with many Islanders inconvenienced it was a different story for many parts of Long Island.

In all, in the immediate aftermath of the storm, PSEG reported more than 420,000 residences and businesses went dark across Long Island, and Isaias brought down 3,000 trees.

The Suffolk Times reported that on Monday, Aug. 10, nearly a week after the storm left the area, There are currently about 800 outages across Southold and Riverhead towns, with the final repairs estimated to be completed by 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the outage map. No local outages are estimated to be repaired by tonight.

Just across the water, however, it was a different story. Chief Read said that, on Shelter Island, Broadly speaking, PSEG had a great response.

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Chief Read: Island weathered the storm well with a good response in restoring power - Shelter Island - Shelter Island Reporter

Cameron: The City Island Monorail – CT Examiner

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Looking for a fun day-trip for the family? Dont miss City Island, a boat-centric New England style village just off the east coast of The Bronx. In addition to some of the citys best seafood restaurants, City Island was also home to a monorail over a century ago.

The three-mile line from the Bartow train station on what was then the Harlem River branch of the NY, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (near what today is Co-Op City in the Bronx) through Pelham Park, over a rickety bridge and ending at the Island. It would replace the slow, forty minute ride to the resort in a horse-pulled trolley with a three to five minute adventure zooming along at a mile a minute.

City dwellers heading to the beach wanted to get there fast and a monorail was not only speedy, but modern and exciting.

It was bankrolled by August Belmont Jr. (after whom Belmont Park racetrack is named) who had financed much of the construction of the Citys IRT subway, often touring that subterranean investment in a private rail car.

Belmont was intrigued with the monorail when he saw it demonstrated at an exposition and especially liked its ability to bank into curves at higher speeds a design feature that would doom it on its first trip.

This monorail was unlike those we know today as it actually ran on three tracks: two guiding it from the top, hung from support piers and a single track on the ground over which it was propelled by electric motors.

Belmont used the old horse-drawn trams right-of-way he owned along the route to lay out his monorail, known as The Flying Lady. But it took so long for Belmont to find money that his franchise from the City was about to expire so work was rushed to completion.

The line had just a single caryellow, cigar shaped and about 75 feet in length. Inside it was equipped with movable rattan-covered chairs. It was hardly luxurious, but if it hit its goal of running 60 mph it would only be a three-minute ride, so who cared.

On opening day, July 16 1910, the crowds grew anxious to be among the first to ride this marvel of transportations future. The car, designed to carry 40 passengers, was soon jammed with about 100. When the car groaned into motion it made the first two curves just fine. But while tilting into the third curve, the Flying Lady just flopped on her side.

Fearing that electric lines might be dangling from the overhead towers, the conductor locked the doors as pancaked passengers struggled to get out. Some of the inaugural riders were injured but there were no deaths.

Among those injured was Howard Tunis, inventor of the monorail, who suffered a broken rib but told waiting reporters he could rebuild the train, chalking up the incident to a minor mishap which occurs daily in every scientists laboratory.

The Flying Lady was uprighted and her roadbed strengthened and service resumed, albeit at slower speeds. But the damage had been done and the combination of costly lawsuits and dwindling ridership led to the point that the line went bankrupt and the last train ran in April 1914.

Today City Island is still a summer destination, but one best accessed by car or bicycle.

Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media

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Cameron: The City Island Monorail - CT Examiner

Full List of Big Island Primary Election Results – Big Island Now

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Big Island Now file photo.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect a mistake in reporting. Hawaii County Council races in District 1 and District 5 will be decided by runoffs, as the leading candidates did not garner 50% of the Primary Election Vote.

The results are in, Big Island Mayor Harry Kim is out, and some new faces will occupy familiar offices for the upcoming term.

Hawaii voted Saturday or several days before via mail-in balloting, the states first such endeavor for statewide and county offices in the 2020 Primary Elections.

Former Big Island State Senator Kai Kahele (Democrat) will face Michelle Rose Tippins (Libertarian), Ron Burrus (Nonpartisan), and John Giuffre (American Shopping) in Novembers General Election, with the winner assuming Tulsi Gabbards District 2 seat in the US House of Representatives.

Former Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth will square off against community activist Ikaika Marzo in what could prove a close race after the two separated themselves from a large pack of candidates Saturday evening. Roth took 31.1% of the vote with 20,225 ballots cast in his favor, while Marzo claimed 21.2% of the vote with 13,764 ballots submitted for him. Three-time and current Mayor Harry Kim finished third with 15.4% of the vote.

The following is a list of primaries and county offices that were up for grabs Saturday and the names of those who claimed them:

State Senate

State House of Representatives

Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney

Hawaii County Council Winners

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Full List of Big Island Primary Election Results - Big Island Now

This Day In History, August 10th, 2020 – "Last Island Hurricane" – Signals AZ

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By Staff | on August 10, 2020

(Before and After, image courtesy of Wikicommons, Public Domain.)

It was just 164 years ago today, August 10, 1856 when the Last Island Hurricane struck off the coast of Louisiana, causing widespread damage and death. Also known as the Great Storm of 1856, this hurricane has no official name, as it was not until 1953 that hurricanes were so identified. Hard to predict, except for the season, many lives were lost before it even made landfall. Several ships out to sea were tossed about the Gulf like toy boats as estimated 150 mph winds wrecked anything in its path.

Last Island, Louisiana was dead center in the hurricanes destructive path. The storm surge, some 12 feet high, obliterated the island, all structures, hotels, casinos, and homes were washed out to sea. Last Island was some 25 miles long, but after the power of the storm surge, the geography was so drastically altered, that the remnants are now split into five small islands with little vegetation. Now referred to as the Isles Dernieres, the five smaller islands are, East, Trinity, Whiskey, Raccoon, and Wine. In all, the storm claimed the lives of more than 200 people. With rivers swollen all over the Gulf Coast, buildings damaged or wiped out, its something to consider, the power of Mother Nature throughout history.

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This Day In History, August 10th, 2020 - "Last Island Hurricane" - Signals AZ

Mediapro Supplies OneSoccer With Broadcast Infrastructure of CPL The Island Games Tournament – Sports Video Group

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The Canadian Premier League is returning to play, and OneSoccer will be bringing full coverage of the 2020 season, broadcasting every game of The Island Games and giving Canadian soccer fans exclusive content from inside the tournament bubble in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

OneSoccer the home of Canadian soccer will be broadcasting every single match and providing Canadian soccer fans with unparalleled access to the Charlottetown bubble, including cameras embedded within team training camps. Our Canadian soccer expert Oliver Platt will be reporting from inside the bubble, and OneSoccer will also debut its new, soccer-specific studio sets, programs, and an expanded team of Canadian soccer experts who are set to provide unprecedented coverage of Canadas top tier.

Were pleased to add a distinguished list of on-air personalities to an already impressive group that did a tremendous job bringing Canadian fans first-class coverage of their top-tier league, domestic cup and national teams in 2019, said OneSoccer General Manager Victor Rodriguez. Our mandate to continue expanding the Canadian game through our coverage is backed up by significant investment in our fresh, soccer-specific sets in time for The Island Games and Concacaf World Cup qualifying.

OneSoccer is also proud to present Bringing It Home, a four-part documentary looking back on the CPLs inaugural season. Produced by Mediapro Group, Episode 1 of Bringing It Home debuts exclusively on OneSoccer on Monday, Aug. 10 at 9 p.m. ET.

We made our intentions very clear from the start, promising to deliver world-class programming to Canadian soccer fans, said Mediapro Canada CEO Oscar Lpez. Bringing It Home demonstrates the passion that has helped Mediapro become a global leader in production. We hope Canadian Premier League fans enjoy seeing the league in a way theyve never seen it.

Heres what you can expect from our 2020 Island Games show lineup:

The Canadian Premier Leagues single-site tournament, The Island Games, will be played in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The CPLs eight clubs will compete in a three-round tournament to crown the 2020 Canadian Premier League Champions. In the initial round-robin phase, each team will play each other once (28 games). The top four clubs after this initial round will advance to a second round where they will face off again (six games) to determine two top teams, who will then round out the 2020 season and compete in a single match final for the North Star Shield.

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Mediapro Supplies OneSoccer With Broadcast Infrastructure of CPL The Island Games Tournament - Sports Video Group

Car crash on Block Island kills teen, seriously injures another – The Providence Journal

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Donita Naylor Journal Staff Writer donita22

SundayAug9,2020at3:48PM

NEW SHOREHAM A car crash on Block Island has left one teen dead, another seriously injured and a third charged with driving under the influence, the Rhode Island State Police said in a news release Sunday.

TO OUR READERS: This content is being provided for free as a public service during the coronavirus outbreak. Sign up for our daily or breaking newsletters to stay informed. Please support local journalism by subscribing to The Providence Journal.

The crash was on West Side Road at 12:30 p.m. State police and New Shoreham police arrived to find one young man with fatal injuries. Another young man was taken by helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro with serious injuries.

A juvenile female was identified as the driver. She is being held at the Rhode Island Training School for a Family Court appearance on Tuesday, the news release said.

She faces two counts of driving under the influence, resulting in death and resulting in serious bodily injury, and two counts of driving to endanger, resulting in death, and in serious bodily injury.

The state police news release said the crash is still being investigated and that no further details would be released Sunday.

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Car crash on Block Island kills teen, seriously injures another - The Providence Journal

Eddie Hearn Has Boxing’s Answer to the UFC’s Fight Island – Sportscasting

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The UFCs fight island has been very successful, and now, other organizations are looking to copy its success. Boxing, as a sport, usually leads the way, but now, boxing may follow in the UFCs footsteps. Heres a look at boxing promoter Eddie Hearns Fight Camp, which takes after Fight Island in many ways.

The UFC needed a place where anyone in the world could fly to and fight in, and that place was a private island in Abu Dhabi called Yas Island. While the UFC has hosted events in Abu Dhabi before, the idea of hosting events on a private island was simply new at the time, and many UFC fans were curious about what itd look like.

As it turns out, a fight on Fight Island looks about the same as a fight in any other place in the world. Regardless, thanks to the novelty of this idea, as well as to the many talented fighters who flew to fight on Fight Island, the events on Fight Island were a massive success.

Fans were simply hyped to see Jorge Masvidal fight Kamaru Usman, and many fans paid to see it happen. This success has encouraged the UFC to host more events on Fight Island, but at the same time, its also encouraged the boxing world to try the same thing, sort of.

RELATED: The UFCs Fight Island Is Still Happening

Like ESPN reported, Eddie Hearn, a promoter for Matchroom Boxing, has created Fight Camp, which is not on an island but rather, in the backyard of Hearns former home.

Located in England, Fight Camp features an outdoors boxing ring. While that sounds simple, ESPN wrote that Hearn and his team spent over $1 million to build up the infrastructure for Fight Camp.

Thats because a lot of stuff is necessary behind the scenes in order to make Fight Camp a reality. This includes room for the TV crew to stay and work in, as well as structures to protect the arena from the elements.

As far as safety goes, there will be plenty of testing going on, according to ESPN. Fight Camp will also be using a nearby hotel where boxers will stay and train in. Additionally, since its an outdoors arena, ESPN reported that, When its outdoors it reduces the risk of infection. Furthermore, Hearn said that hes restricted the number of people who will be present at the events.

While building Fight Camp was a massive undertaking, Hearn told ESPN that it actually was kind of easy. He said, Its actually been a bit easier than going to a venue because we can create exactly what we want on our own doorstep.

RELATED: How Much Is Floyd Mayweathers Net Worth?

The whole purpose of Fight Camp is to host boxing events, and ESPN said that Hearn has planned four, five-fight events for Fight Camp. The first event on Fight Camp happened on August 1st, and it was headlined by a title fight between Ted Cheeseman and Sam Eggington. Cheeseman smashed Eggington to win the IBF International light-middleweight title.

According to DAZN, the next fight camp will happen on August 14th, and the final one will be on August 22nd. The fight on the 14th will be headlined by a clash between Felix Cash and Jason Welborn for the Commonwealth middleweight belt.

The other Fight Camp will be headlined by a heavyweight battle between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin. The winner of this bout will more than likely get a big fight against either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder, according to ESPN.

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Eddie Hearn Has Boxing's Answer to the UFC's Fight Island - Sportscasting