Posts: 830
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
3
The smooth toadfish (Tetractenos glaber) is a species of fish in the pufferfish family Tetraodontidae. It is native to shallow coastal and estuarine waters of southeastern Australia, where it is widespread and abundant. French naturalist Christophe-Paulin de La Poix de Fréminville described the species in 1813, though early records confused it with its close relative, the common toadfish (T. hamiltonii). The two are the only members of the genus Tetractenos after going through several taxonomic changes since discovery.
Up to 16 cm (6+1⁄4 in) long with distinctive leopard-like dark markings on its dorsal side, the smooth toadfish has a rounded front and tapers to a narrow tail at the back. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not have prominent spines on its body. Like other pufferfish, it can inflate itself with water or air. It forages for its preferred foods—molluscs and crustaceans—in sand and mud of the bottom sediment. Often an unwanted catch by fisherman, the smooth toadfish contains a possibly fatal dose of tetrodotoxin and should never be consumed.
██████ ██████ ██████ ██████
3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Director of Internal Affairs of The League and Concord
Archivist of The League and Concord
Posts: 830
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
3
The Solar System[c] is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. The largest eight objects, which form a planetary system, are, in order from the Sun: four terrestrial planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars; and four giant planets which include two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, and two ice giants, Uranus and Neptune. The terrestrial planets, which all have a definite surface, are mostly made of rock and metal. The gas giants are mostly hydrogen and helium while the ice giants are mostly made of volatile substances such as water, ammonia, and methane. The terrestrial planets are also called the inner Solar System and the giant planets the outer Solar System.
The Solar System was formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. Over time, the cloud formed the Sun and a protoplanetary disk that gradually coalesced to form planets and other objects. That is the reason why all eight planets have an orbit that lies near the same plane. In the present day, 99.86% of the Solar System's mass is in the Sun and most of the remaining mass is contained in the planet Jupiter. Six planets and many other bodies have natural satellites or moons orbiting around them. All of the giant planets and a few smaller bodies are encircled by planetary rings, composed of ice, dust and sometimes moonlets.
There are an unknown number of smaller dwarf planets and innumerable small bodies orbiting the Sun.[d] These objects are distributed in the asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, the Kuiper belt, the scattered disc that lies beyond Neptune's orbit and at even further reaches of the Solar System (in which case they are classified as extreme trans-Neptunian objects). There is consensus among astronomers on the classification of the following nine objects as dwarf planets: the asteroid Ceres, the Kuiper-belt objects Pluto, Orcus, Haumea, Quaoar, and Makemake, and the scattered-disc objects Gonggong, Eris, and Sedna.[d] Many small-body populations, including comets, centaurs and interplanetary dust clouds, freely travel between the regions of the Solar System.
The solar wind, a stream of charged particles flowing outwards from the Sun, creates a bubble-like region known as the heliosphere. The heliopause is the point at which pressure from the solar wind is equal to the opposing pressure of the interstellar medium; it extends out to the edge of the scattered disc. The Oort cloud, which is thought to be the source for long-period comets, may also exist at a distance roughly a thousand times further than the heliosphere. Beyond these is the end of the Solar System. The Solar System is inside the Local Interstellar Cloud, which is part of the Local Bubble, a region of the wider Orion Arm of the Milky Way, and orbits the Galactic Center, at a distance of 27000 lys. The closest star to the Solar System (except for the Sun) is Proxima Centauri at a distance of 4.25 light-years away.
██████ ██████ ██████ ██████
3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Director of Internal Affairs of The League and Concord
Archivist of The League and Concord
Posts: 830
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
3
Velociraptor (/vəˌlɒsɪˈræptər, vəˈlɒsɪræptər/;[1] lit. 'swift thief') is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis, named and described in 1924. Fossils of this species have been discovered in the Djadochta Formation, Mongolia. A second species, V. osmolskae, was named in 2008 for skull material from the Bayan Mandahu Formation, China.
Smaller than other dromaeosaurids like Deinonychus and Achillobator, Velociraptor was about 1.5–2.07 m (4.9–6.8 ft) long with a body mass around 14.1–19.7 kg (31–43 lb). It nevertheless shared many of the same anatomical features. It was a bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long tail and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to tackle and restrain prey. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout.
Velociraptor (commonly referred to as "raptor") is one of the dinosaur genera most familiar to the general public due to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park films. In real life, however, Velociraptor was roughly the size of a turkey, considerably smaller than the approximately 2 m (6.6 ft) tall and 90 kg (200 lb) reptiles seen in the novels and films (which were based on members of the related genus Deinonychus). Today, Velociraptor is well known to paleontologists, with over a dozen described fossil skeletons. One particularly famous specimen preserves a Velociraptor locked in combat with a Protoceratops.
██████ ██████ ██████ ██████
3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Director of Internal Affairs of The League and Concord
Archivist of The League and Concord
Posts: 830
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
3
Five Nights at Freddy's (FNaF) is a 2014 point-and-click survival horror game developed and published by Scott Cawthon. Set in a family pizzeria, the player takes on the role of Mike Schmidt, a night security guard. Schmidt must complete his shifts without being confronted by the homicidal animatronic characters that wander the restaurant at night. The player has access to security cameras to monitor the animatronics throughout the shift, and a set of steel doors that can lock out the characters. Using the cameras and doors consumes the player's limited electricity, and draining all of the power causes these tools to become inoperable.
Cawthon conceived the idea for Five Nights at Freddy's based on criticism of his previous game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co. Reviewers complained of its unintentionally frightening characters that had animatronic-like movement, inspiring Cawthon to create an intentionally scarier experience. Developed in six months using the Clickteam Fusion 2.5 game engine, Five Nights at Freddy's was released for Windows through Desura on August 8, 2014, and through Steam on August 18. It was made available for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone later in 2014. Versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One were released in 2019.
Five Nights at Freddy's received generally positive reviews from critics, many considering it a frightening and distinct horror game. Reviewers praised the atmosphere, sound design, and gameplay mechanics, although some found the jumpscares repetitive and the game to have little replay value. It became the subject of Let's Play videos on YouTube and gained a large fan following. The game's success led to the launch of a media franchise, including sequels and books, and its popularity led to several imitations and fangames. A film adaptation by Blumhouse Productions was released in 2023.
██████ ██████ ██████ ██████
3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Director of Internal Affairs of The League and Concord
Archivist of The League and Concord
Posts: 830
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
3
Asimov's Science Fiction is an American science fiction magazine published by Dell Magazines which is owned by Penny Press and edited by Sheila Williams. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac Asimov's consent for the use of his name. It was originally titled Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and was quickly successful, reaching a circulation of over 100,000 within a year, and switching to monthly publication within a couple of years. George H. Scithers, the first editor, published many new writers who went on to be successful in the genre. Scithers favored traditional stories without sex or obscenity; along with frequent humorous stories this gave Asimov's a reputation for printing juvenile fiction, despite its success. Asimov was not part of the editorial team, but wrote editorials for the magazine.
Scithers was fired in 1982, and his replacement, Kathleen Moloney, only lasted a year. Shawna McCarthy took over as editor in 1983, and quickly relaxed the strictures on the kind of fiction Asimov's was willing to publish. "Her Furry Face", by Leigh Kennedy, with a plot that involved sex with an intelligent orangutan, scandalized some readers, as did other stories involving sex or violence. Asimov defended McCarthy's choices in an editorial, and "Her Furry Face" was nominated for a Nebula Award. McCarthy transformed the magazine into a leading market for science fiction writers, and more award-winning stories appeared, including fiction by Frederik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, Lucius Shepard, and John Varley.
Gardner Dozois took over as editor in 1985 and stayed for nearly twenty years. Asimov's continued to be a prestigious market and several award-winning stories appeared during Dozois's tenure, including Lucius Shepard's "R&R"; Orson Scott Card's "Hatrack River"; Pat Murphy's "Rachel in Love"; Suzy McKee Charnas's "Boobs"; and Terry Bisson's "Bears Discover Fire". Mike Ashley, a historian of science fiction magazines, describes Dozois's time at Asimov's as "one of the greatest of all editorial careers".[1] Dozois was succeeded by Sheila Williams in 2004.
Davis sold the magazine to Dell Magazines in 1992, and Dell was acquired by Penny Press in 1996. Asimov's switched to bimonthly publication in 2017. Circulation declined steadily over the life of the magazine and as of 2020 it was below 20,000, more than half of that coming from online subscriptions.
██████ ██████ ██████ ██████
3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Director of Internal Affairs of The League and Concord
Archivist of The League and Concord
Posts: 25
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2023
Reputation:
0
Posts: 830
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
3
The 44th Chess Olympiad was an international team chess event organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Chennai, India from 28 July to 10 August 2022. It consisted of Open and Women's tournaments, as well as several events to promote chess. The Olympiad was initially supposed to take place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, the host of the Chess World Cup 2019, in August 2020, but it was later moved to Moscow. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then relocated to Chennai following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This was the first Chess Olympiad to take place in India.
The total number of participants was 1,737: 937 in the Open and 800 in the Women's event. The number of registered teams was 188 from 186 nations in the Open section and 162 from 160 nations in the Women's section; being the host nation, India had three teams participating in each section. Both sections set team participation records. The main venue of the Chess Olympiad was the convention centre at the Four Points by Sheraton, while the opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Chief Arbiter of the event was France's Laurent Freyd.
Uzbekistan won the gold medal in the Open event, which was their second medal at the Chess Olympiad after having previously won a silver medal at the 1992, while Ukraine claimed their second gold in the Women's event after having previously won the 2006. English player David Howell had the highest performance for an individual player in the Open event with a performance rating of 2898 (he scored 7½ out of a possible 8 points). Polish player Oliwia Kiołbasa had the highest individual performance in the Women's event with a performance rating of 2565 (she scored 9½ of a possible 11 points).
The 93rd FIDE Congress also took place during the Olympiad, at which Arkady Dvorkovich was re-elected as FIDE President and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand was elected as FIDE Deputy President.
██████ ██████ ██████ ██████
3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Director of Internal Affairs of The League and Concord
Archivist of The League and Concord
Posts: 25
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2023
Reputation:
0
I mean chess is enjoyable, unlike you I do true posts that aren't copied from an article or website.
Posts: 830
Threads: 51
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
3
Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部, English: "Lady Murasaki"; c. 973 – c. 1014 or 1025) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been Fujiwara no Kaoriko (藤原香子), who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.
Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency. She married in her mid-to-late twenties and gave birth to a daughter before her husband died two years after they were married. It is uncertain when she began to write The Tale of Genji, but it was probably while she was married or shortly after she was widowed. In about 1005, she was invited to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi at the Imperial court by Fujiwara no Michinaga, probably because of her reputation as a writer. She continued to write during her service, adding scenes from court life to her work. After five or six years, she left court and retired with Shōshi to the Lake Biwa region. Scholars differ on the year of her death; although most agree on 1014, others have suggested she was alive in 1025.
Murasaki wrote The Diary of Lady Murasaki, a volume of poetry, and The Tale of Genji. Within a decade of its completion, Genji was distributed throughout the provinces; within a century it was recognized as a classic of Japanese literature and had become a subject of scholarly criticism. Early in the 20th century The Tale of Genji was translated into English, completed in 1933. Scholars continue to recognize the importance of her work, which reflects Heian court society at its peak. Since the 13th century her works have been illustrated by Japanese artists and well-known ukiyo-e woodblock masters.
██████ ██████ ██████ ██████
3rd Chief Consul of The League and Concord
World Assembly Delegate of The League
Director of Internal Affairs of The League and Concord
Archivist of The League and Concord
Posts: 3
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2023
Reputation:
0
creeper is absolutely destroying everyone else in this
██████ ██████ ██████
Cannoneer of the Ldf, Citizen, Karmand, Greater Hah Slaptings
|