title: Twitter

paragraphs: Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service. Users use mobile phones or computers to send and to read messages, called "tweets". For years, tweets could be up to 140 characters long, then doubled in November 2017 to 280 characters. They appear on the user's profile page. Tweets can usually be read by anyone, but senders can also keep messages private. Private tweets only go to their list of friends. Users may subscribe to tweets from other people. This is called "following", and subscribers are known as "followers". As of late 2009, users can also follow lists of authors.

paragraphs: All users can send and receive tweets using the Twitter website. They can also use other applications that work with Twitter on smartphones. Twitter by Short Message Service (SMS) is available in certain countries. Using Twitter is free, but sending or getting tweets by SMS may cost money. The website is based in San Francisco, California. Twitter also has servers and offices in San Antonio, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts, and soon in Salt Lake City, Utah.

paragraphs: Twitter has become very popular worldwide since Jack Dorsey created it in 2006. It now has more than 126 million users. It is sometimes described as the "SMS of the Internet."

paragraphs: Twitter started at a podcasting company Odeo. The company board members had a "daylong brainstorming session." During the meeting, Jack Dorsey introduced the idea of one person using an SMS service to communicate with a small group. At first, they called this project "twttr". It fit the five-character length of American SMS short codes and sounded like "Flickr". At first, the developers planned to use "10958" as a short code. Later they changed it to "40404" because it was easier to remember and type. Dorsey sent the first Twitter message at 9:50 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST) March 21, 2006. The first tweet was, "just setting up my twttr."

paragraphs: The first version of Twitter was only for Odeo employees to use. They opened the full version for anyone to use on July 15, 2006. In October 2006, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, Dorsey, and other members of Odeo started a new company called Obvious Corporation. Obvious Corporation bought Odeo and all of its property–including Odeo.com and Twitter.com–from the investors and shareholders. Twitter became its own separate company in April 2007.

paragraphs: Twitter started becoming very popular after the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000. The Twitter company set up two very large computer screens in the hallways at the conference. These screens only showed Twitter messages. Hundreds of people at the conference checked on what each other were doing by looking at the many tweets. Panelists and speakers talked about Twitter. Bloggers at SXSW described it to others in a very positive way.

paragraphs: Reaction at the festival was very good. Blogger Scott Beale said that Twitter "absolutely rul[ed]" SXSW. Social software researcher Danah Boyd said Twitter "own[ed]" the festival. Twitter staff won the festival's Web Award prize. They said, "we'd like to thank you in 140 characters or less. And we just did!"

paragraphs: On September 14, 2010, Twitter changed the site design and added a new logo.

paragraphs: On October 4, 2010, Evan Williams announced that he would not be CEO any more. Dick Costolo became the new CEO. He had been COO of Twitter. Williams will stay with the company and work on plans for the future of Twitter.

paragraphs: Technology author Steven Johnson described the basic way Twitter works. He called it "remarkably simple." Following is an important part of Twitter as a social network. Users' Twitter home pages show all of the tweets from people they follow. The tweets appear from newest to oldest. Johnson said:

paragraphs: Twitter is mainly used by older adults who might not have used other social sites before Twitter. Jeremiah Owyang studies social media. He said, "Adults are just catching up to what teens have been doing for years." Only 11% of Twitter's users were 12 to 17 years old in September 2009. This may be because Twitter first gained popularity in businesses and news media that attract more older people. Many famous people such as Shaq, Britney Spears, and Ashton Kutcher are Twitter users.

paragraphs: In June 2009, more women than men used Twitter—53% women; 47% men. Only 5% of users made 75% of all tweets. Also, New York had the most Twitter users.

paragraphs: This is a brief summary of Twitter users as of 3 September 2009.

paragraphs: Twitter is one of the 10 most visited websites in the world.

paragraphs: People can use software from other companies to access Twitter. These programs are called "third-party applications". The Twitter company changed the way this works on 31 August 2010. Now applications must use OAuth to connect to Twitter. This method means that users do not have to give their passwords to the third-party applications. Changing the login system to OAuth did cause some problems. Using OAuth had been optional and programs used to be able to ask for usernames and passwords. However, now third-party applications that try to use a username and password do not work at all. The Twitter company said that using OAuth will give users "increased security and a better experience."

paragraphs: On April 30, 2009, Twitter changed the way it looks on the web. They added a search bar and a space on the right side of the page with "Trending Topics". That space shows the most common phrases appearing in messages. Biz Stone explained that all messages are instantly indexed and explained the results of the change. The Trending Topics has made Twitter something "unexpectedly important — a discovery engine for finding out what is happening right now."

paragraphs: Sometimes Twitter users experience a problem with the service and cannot access the website. They cannot read or write tweets but only see the "Fail Whale" image created by Yiying Lu,

paragraphs: Twitter worked well approximately 98% of the time in 2007. That is about six full days of no service. The problems were particularly noticeable during events popular with the technology industry such as the 2008 Macworld Conference & Expo keynote address.

paragraphs: Twitter developed several software projects to improve their own service. The company shared these as open source software. Some of these software projects are related to databases, such as the Gizzard Scala framework and a distributed graph database called FlockDB.

paragraphs: t.co is a service created by Twitter to make URLs shorter. It can only be used for links that people post to Twitter. It is not available for other uses. Eventually all links on Twitter will use t.co. The company hopes that the service will protect users from harmful websites. They will also use it to keep a record of people clicking on links in tweets.

paragraphs: Twitter had used the services from other sites such as TinyURL and bit.ly. They began trying their own way of making URLs shorter for direct messages in March 2010. They used the domain, twt.tl, before they bought the t.co domain.

paragraphs: The company is using these accounts to test the service on the main site: @TwitterAPI, @rsarver, and @raffi.

paragraphs: On 2 September 2010, Twitter sent an email message to users to explain that they were starting to open the service to them.

paragraphs: Twitter can also be used as an amateur and professional news source.


title: Microblog

paragraphs: A microblog is a form of a blog where people send short messages of text or media (pictures, video, or sounds). These messages can be sent to a website and shown to either a small group or to the public. A "microblogger" (someone who uses a microblog) could send their messages from different sources including cell phone text messages, email, instant messages or through a website.

paragraphs: A microblog is usually different from a normal blog. It has much smaller pieces. A microblog entry can be just one sentence, or a link to an image or short video. A person writing a microblog can use many ideas from "what am I doing now," to Race cars or politics or information about their business or personal life.

paragraphs: Micro blogs are in use in many ways on different websites. They became popular with sites like Twitter where people send messages to each other with text comments or links to other media. Newer sites are also available now which allow you to share media like videos, pictures or sounds directly instead of sending a link.

paragraphs: Many social networking sites (such as Facebook or MySpace) use a type of microblogging using "status updates" where the person tells their friends what they are thinking or doing.

paragraphs: A Harvard Business School study found that while most social networking websites are more popular with women microblogging, like Twitter, has been much more popular with men. Both men and women "followed" more men, this allows them to receive the messages that get sent out by the person they followed.

paragraphs: Micro blogs have also become new sources for news that just happened or is still happening, such as the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008.

paragraphs: A new idea for Micro blogging has been to turn it into a way to talk to other people about work. It allows a person to give quick news or information to the people they work without sending a lot of emails and without the spam they get in their email account. New companies such as Yammer have been started who want to help allow workers to talk to each other with about work and share what they need.


title: Clarkson University

paragraphs: Clarkson University is a four-year school in Potsdam, New York. It was created in 1896 in Memory of Mr. Clarkson. It is known for its Business and Engineering majors.


title: Omegle

paragraphs: Omegle is website that allows one to talk with one person anonymously and randomly without signing up. The nicknames that are used are "You" and "Stranger". It was started in late March of 2009 by an eighteen-year-old, Leif K-Brooks, who lives in Vermont.

paragraphs: The website has started using a lot of new things in the chat. One thing is that people can chat using webcams. Another feature is that one person can ask something while watching two other strangers discussing it. Usually, the asker can't talk, but he/she can watch them discuss the question. One new feature that people can do is use Facebook Connect to find strangers who have liked the same things on Facebook. You can also type in common interests, these will only connect you to people who have the same interest(s).

paragraphs: The website does not ban users because of their age. A user may experience nudity or sexual content on camera. K-Brooks says, that at one time, he felt "disappointment" at the way in which the site has been used.

paragraphs: Since 2013, Omegle monitors the video chats. There is a moderated video section and an unmoderated video section. The unmoderated video section is for adults who are 18 and over. The moderated video section is for everyone. If someone is seen naked on the moderated video section, they will be banned and only be able to use the unmoderated section.


title: Kowloon Walled City

paragraphs: Kowloon Walled City was a tiny Chinese enclave in Hong Kong.

paragraphs: It was a military fort for hundreds of years, but later became a very dense settlement. In 1980, the city had about 35,000 people on about 20,000 m² of land, making it one of the most densely populated places on earth. It was torn down in 1993, and a park called Kowloon Walled City Park was built in 1994.

paragraphs: The area where Kowloon Walled City was located is now called Kowloon City. It is part of the Kowloon City District of Kowloon, Hong Kong. At the end of the whole destruction process of the kowloon Walled City, 51% of people had to go to temporary housing just outside of the walled city. When they destroyed the walled city it was hard to destroy all of the walled city's machinery. The walled city was known for three things. brothels, dentists, and opium houses.


title: Lunch

paragraphs: Luncheon, usually simply called lunch, is a meal that is usually eaten around noon or in the early afternoon. In most countries, it is the second meal of the day, after breakfast and before dinner. A lunch can be cold (bread and fruit) or hot (a full meal, like a dinner). People that go to work or school during the day, usually have lunch together with their coworkers or classmates. Some people bring lunch to work or school in a brown paper bag or a lunchbox, but you can also buy lunch at a restaurant. In some countries, lunch is the most important meal of the day.


title: Yoshihiro Nishida

paragraphs: Yoshihiro Nishida (born 30 January 1973) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Koji Maeda

paragraphs: Koji Maeda (born 3 February 1969) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Vincent Kompany

paragraphs: Vincent Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian former football player.


Takeo Harada


title: Gerard Piqué

paragraphs: Gerard Piqué (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish football player. He plays for Barcelona and Spain national team. He started his professional football career with Manchester United in 2004. In Manchester United he scored 2 goals in 12 matches. After that he was loaned to Real Zaragoza in 2006-2007 season. Gerard came back to Manchester United in 2007, but he said that he wants to go back to Spain. In 2008, Gerard signed a contract with Barcelona, with a 50 million Euro buy-out clause. He has been dating Shakira since 2010.


title: Osamu Umeyama

paragraphs: Osamu Umeyama (born 16 August 1973) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Takanori Nunobe

paragraphs: Takanori Nunobe (born 23 September 1973) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Pauleta

paragraphs: Pauleta (born 28 April 1973) is a former Portuguese football player. He has played for Portugal national team.


title: Tomoaki Komorida

paragraphs: Tomoaki Komorida (born 10 July 1981) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Persela Lamongan.


title: Milan Kundera

paragraphs: Milan Kundera (April 1 1929) is a writer who was born in Czechoslovakia and writes mainly in the Czech and French languages. He is best known as the writer of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting", and "Identity". The sale of his books in his home country was forbidden until the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989. Kundera has lived in France since 1975.

paragraphs: A number of Kundera's novels appear to criticise totalitarianism and the impact of totalitarianism on art.


title: Trisomy

paragraphs: A trisomy is when there are three copies of a chromosome. Normally in humans there is only two copies of any given chromosome. The most notable condition is Trisomy 21 syndrome which is better known as Down Syndrome, a form of developmental genetic disorder.


title: Toshiro Tomochika

paragraphs: Toshiro Tomochika (born 24 April 1975) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Makoto Segawa

paragraphs: Makoto Segawa (born 26 November 1974) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Yoshihito Yamaji

paragraphs: Yoshihito Yamaji (born 13 January 1971) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Östers IF

paragraphs: Östers IF is an association football club in the town of Växjö in Sweden. The club won the Swedish national championship in the years of 1968, 1978, 1980 and 1981. It also won the Swedish cup in 1977.


title: Yasunobu Chiba

paragraphs: Yasunobu Chiba (born 11 April 1971) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Lorenzo Staelens

paragraphs: Lorenzo Staelens (born 30 April 1964) is a former Belgian football player. He has played for Belgium's national team.


title: True Blood

paragraphs: True Blood was an American television show that was broadcast on HBO cable television. It is produced by Alan Ball and stars Anna Paquin as the main character, Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress who can hear people's thoughts. The story is based on the novels "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" written by Charlaine Harris. Most of the events of the TV show occur is a small town in Louisiana named Bon Temps. Although there are other places, like Mississippi, this is one of the main places the show is centered around. On July 15, 2013, it was announced by HBO that the show was renewed for a seventh and final season and would premiere on June 22, 2014.

paragraphs: Two years before the present (what the viewer sees now), vampires "came out of the coffin" (a coined phrase of "coming out of the closet"). After the creation of fake blood (called Tru Blood), vampires are allowed to enter the open and interact with humans (which is called "mainstreaming") more often. They can only come out at night, however (unlike Twilight, vampires will burn to death, until they are a pile of ashes, if they step out into the sunlight). The show is mostly centered around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepath, better known as a person who can hear the thoughts of others, and how her life changes after she meets vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer).

paragraphs: Sookie is a waitress for Merlotte's, a bar owned by her boss, Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammel). A rather lousy couple enters the bar, in Sookie's section. She serves them, and when a vampire enters the bar, the heads turn. She accidentely reads the rather rude couple's mind, and hears them both think that when they leave the bar, they will drain the vampire of his blood, a rather expensive substance used and seen as a drug in the series. Sookie leaves in a haste to stop them, and actually does save him. Something rather strange happens (Sookie gains the man's attention by throwing a chain around his neck, and it seems to squeeze itself around him and stay there), it is shrugged off. The woman, speaking for both of them, vows revenge on Sookie for getting in the way and runs off, with her male counterpart trailing behind her.

paragraphs: She removes small chains of silver off of him (which leads her to realize that one of a vampire's weaknesses is silver), and he thanks her, before she ends up pulling him out the way when the evil duo try to run him over with their truck. Because she works hard to shut the thoughts of other people out, she finds a surprise when she discovers she cannot hear Bill's thoughts. She learns that Bill is from an old time, and that he inherited his old family house from several hundred years ago.


title: Eyal Berkovic

paragraphs: Eyal Berkovic (; Born 2 April 1972) is a former Israeli football player and football manager. During his career he played for several clubs including Maccabi Haifa, Southampton, Celtic, Manchester City and West Ham United


title: Alexander Skarsgård

paragraphs: Alexander Skarsgård is a Swedish actor. He was born in 1976. He is the son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård.


title: Ian Wallace

paragraphs: Ian Wallace (born 10 July 1919; died 12 October 2009 in London) was a British bass-baritone opera and concert singer, actor and entertainer.

paragraphs: Wallace was born in London and went to school at Charterhouse. He soon became known at school as someone who was good at making people laugh. He learned to sing lots of songs and accompanied himself on the banjolele.

paragraphs: When he wanted to study at university he applied for a choral scholarship at King’s College, Cambridge, but he was not offered a place there, so he went to Trinity Hall. There he studied law and was known for the jokes that he played on people. He also had singing lessons.

paragraphs: Wallace wanted to go into music theatre, but the war broke out and he joined the army. Then he was ill with tuberculosis, but it did not stop him from singing to the people in the hospital.

paragraphs: He took a long time to get better. Gradually he started working in music theatre and then he got a chance to sing in opera. His voice was a bass baritone. He sang with the New London Opera Company in operas such as "La bohème" and "The Barber of Seville". From 1948 to 1961, he regularly sang at Glyndebourne. He usually sang comic parts (known as “buffo roles).

paragraphs: In 1948 he married Patricia Black. It was a long and happy marriage. The couple adopted two children.

paragraphs: The Glyndebourne season took place in the summer, so he had plenty of time to do other things the rest of the year. He sang in operas in the BBC studios and often appeared in pantomimes. Then he started to take part in a radio programme called “My Music”. Together with Frank Muir, Dennis Norden, David Franklin and Steve Race he made this programme extremely popular. It was a kind of lighthearted quiz programme with lots of stories and laughter. Wallace was particularly known for singing a song called “The Hippopotamus” by Flanders and Swann.

paragraphs: Wallace continued to sing in opera in the mid-1960s. He sang the roles of Leporello (in "Don Giovanni") and Pistol (in Verdi’s "Falstaff"). He acted on television and in films and appeared at many charity events. He was always very cheerful and friendly and he was liked by a lot of people.

paragraphs: He wrote two autobiographies: "Promise Me You'll Sing Mud" and "Nothing Quite Like It".


title: Bass-baritone

paragraphs: A bass-baritone is a male singer whose voice is quite low, like a deep baritone, but not quite as low as really deep bass. People started to describe some singers as "bass-baritones" in the 19th century, particularly when the composer Richard Wagner wrote operas which needed singers with that kind of heroic voice. Wagner's roles for bass-baritone include: the Dutchman in Der fliegende Holländer, Wotan/Der Wanderer in the Ring Cycle and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Wagner called these roles "Hoher Bass" ("high bass").

paragraphs: Some bass-baritones often sing baritone roles. Others prefer to sing bass roles.

paragraphs: Famous singers who have been, or are, described as bass-baritone include Hans Hotter, José van Dam, Thomas Quasthoff, Friedrich Schnorr, John Shirley-Quirk, Bryn Terfel and Willard White.


title: Photopsin

paragraphs: Photopsins are chemical proteins within the cone cell receptors of the eyes. They recognize colors. They are also known as iodopsins. Rod cells have other opsins.


title: Telus

paragraphs: Telus (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a Canadian company that provides phone, internet, television, and cellular phone service. They are a very large company, one of the largest telecommunication companies in Canada. Telus logo is stylized as TELUS. Telus' head office is in Burnaby, British Columbia.

paragraphs: Telus was made from a merger of BCTel, the main phone company in British Columbia and Alberta Government Telephones, better known as AGT. AGT was owned by the government of Alberta. AGT wanted to separate from the government and formed a company called Telus in 1990. After that, they combined with BCTel to form the current Telus company in 1999. That remaining Telus company purchased Clearnet Communications, a cell phone company. Clearnet gave them the current style of their advertising, including the slogan ""The future is friendly."" Telus uses colorful animals to advertise their services.

paragraphs: Telus has cell phone, internet, phone and telephone services. They have a CDMA network for most of their cell phones, but on November 5th, 2009, they started up a new HSPA network, similar to Rogers cell phone network. They have started this with Bell. It allows a very large selection of cell phones.

paragraphs: They have television and internet service based on ADSL service. Telus is the major landline telephone service provider for British Columbia and Alberta.


title: Brandon Roy

paragraphs: Brandon Roy (born July 23, 1984 in Seattle, Washington) is a retired professional basketball player. He played for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2006 to 2011. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, and was chosen as an All Star in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

paragraphs: Roy played college basketball for four years at the University of Washington. The Minnesota Timberwolves chose him with the sixth pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, but traded him to the Trail Blazers later that night.

paragraphs: On December 9, 2011, Roy said that he would retire from basketball because of knee problems.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

paragraphs: Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (born September 17, 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger. He plays for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and serves as their captain.

paragraphs: Ovechkin was picked first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He also played for the Dynamo Moscow of the RSL from 2001 to 2005 and again in 2012 because of the 2012-13 NHL lockout.


title: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010

paragraphs: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 is a wrestling video game that is published by THQ, It is available for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii and Xbox 360 systems. The game was the first game in the series to be released as an app for the iPhone. The iPhone app was released on December 23, 2009. The game was removed from the app store on iTunes in June 2010. The game received positive reviews from video game reviewers.

paragraphs: It is part of the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw video game series.


title: Minimum spanning tree

paragraphs: A number of problems from graph theory are called Minimum spanning tree. In graph theory, a tree is a way of connecting all the vertices together, so that there is exactly one path from any one vertex, to any other vertex of the tree. If the graph represents a number of cities connected by roads, one could select a number of roads, so that each city can be reached from every other, but that there is no more than one way to travel from one city to another.

paragraphs: A graph can have more than one spanning tree, just like there may be more than one way to select the roads between the cities.

paragraphs: Most of the time, graphs are weighted; each connection between two cities has a weight: It might cost something to travel on a given road, or one connection may be longer than the other, this means it takes more time to travel on that connection. In the language of graph theory, the connections are called "edges".

paragraphs: A minimum spanning tree is a tree. It is different from other trees in that it minimizes the total of the "weights" attached to the edges. Depending on what the graph looks like, there may be more than one minimum spanning tree. In a graph where all the edges have the same weight, every tree is a minimum spanning tree. If all the edges have different weights (that is: there are no two edges with the same weight), there is exactly one minimal spanning tree.

paragraphs: It can be very simple to make an algorithm that will discover a minimum spanning tree:

paragraphs: In this case, "safe" means that including the edge does not form a cycle in the graph. A cycle means starting at a vertex, travelling to a number of other vertices and ending up at the starting point again without using the same edge twice.

paragraphs: Czech scientist Otakar Borůvka developed the first known algorithm for finding a minimum spanning tree, in 1926. He wanted to solve the problem of finding an efficient coverage of Moravia with electricity. Today, this algorithm is known as Borůvka's algorithm.

paragraphs: Two other algorithms are commonly used today. One of them was developed by Vojtěch Jarník in 1930, and put in practice by Robert Clay Prim in 1957. Edsger Wybe Dijkstra rediscovered it in 1959, and called it Prim's algorithm. The other algorithm is called Kruskal's algorithm, and was pulbished by Joseph Kruskal in 1956. All three algorithms are greedy, and run in polynomial time.

paragraphs: The fastest minimum spanning tree algorithm to date was developed by Bernard Chazelle. The algorithm is based on the soft heap,

paragraphs: Its running time is "O"("m" α("m","n")), where "m" is the number of edges, "n" is the number of vertices and α is the classical functional inverse of the Ackermann function. The function α grows extremely slowly, so that for all practical purposes it may be considered a constant no greater than 4; thus Chazelle's algorithm takes very close to linear time.

paragraphs: What is the fastest possible algorithm for this problem? That is one of the oldest open questions in computer science. There is clearly a linear lower bound, since we must at least examine all the weights. If the edge weights are integers with a bounded bit length, then deterministic algorithms are known with linear running time.

paragraphs: For general weights, there are randomized algorithms whose "expected" running time is linear.

paragraphs: The problem can also be approached in a distributed manner. If each node is considered a computer and no node knows anything except its own connected links, one can still calculate the distributed minimum spanning tree.


title: WWE European Championship

paragraphs: The WWE European Championship is a former championship for World Wrestling Entertainment. It was first established as the 'WWF European Championship'. The first and longest reigning champion, The British Bulldog became the first Champion after winning a tournament that was held over several shows in Germany, culminating in a finals victory over Owen Hart. When Shawn Michaels won the belt, it made him the first Grand Slam Champion in WWE. Michaels was and still is the only wrestler to have held both the WWF Championship and the European title at the same time. The title was on a brief hiatus in 1999 due to then-champion Shane McMahon's wanting to retire an "undefeated champion". The WWE European Championship was retired in a ladder match on July 22, 2002 when Rob Van Dam put his WWE Intercontinental Championship on the line, along with Jeff Hardy's European Championship in a winner-take-all type match. When RVD won the match he merged the two titles together, and continued to hold the Intercontinental Title. RVD's title reign is not listed in the official European title history on WWE's official website, and therefore he is not credited with being a Eurocontinental Champion, but is mentioned in RVD's profile.


title: Transgender Pride flag

paragraphs: The Transgender Pride flag was made by a woman named Monica Helms, and was first seen at a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, United States in 2000.

paragraphs: The flag is a symbol of the transgender group and is made up of five stripes that go straight across from left to right. Two light blue stripes, two pink stripes, with a white stripe in the center.


title: Christian Corrêa Dionisio

paragraphs: Christian Corrêa Dionisio (born 23 April 1975) is a Brazilian football player. He plays for Portuguesa Desportos.


title: Kohei Hayashi

paragraphs: Kohei Hayashi (born 27 June 1978) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Haruki Seto

paragraphs: Haruki Seto (born 14 March 1978) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Geylang United.


title: Yukihiro Yamase

paragraphs: Yukihiro Yamase (born 22 April 1984) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Sagan Tosu.


title: Kenta Tokushige

paragraphs: Kenta Tokushige (born 9 March 1984) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Vissel Kobe.


Tomoyasu Ando


title: Cop Killer (song)

paragraphs: "Cop Killer" is a very controversial song by the music group Body Count. It is off their 1992 self entitled album. The lyrics are sung in the first person of a single who is mad because of the police brutality and thinks to take the law into his own hands by killing violent, mad police officers. The song, which lyricist Ice T said it to be as a "protest record." It was made in 1990, and was mostly inspired by bands like Talking Heads.


title: Insane Clown Posse

paragraphs: Insane Clown Posse are an American hip-hop/Horrorcore group from Detroit, Michigan. The group consists of two members: Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. They formerly had two other members John Kickjazz whose real name is John Utsler and Greez-E whose real name is Kalyn Garcia but they left the band later on.

paragraphs: The band is known for spraying their fans with the soda, Faygo during their concerts. In one incident a man sued Violent J for throwing a bottle of Faygo at him during a concert in 2007

paragraphs: Insane Clown Posse and Horrorcore followers are usually known as "Juggalo"s (male) and "Juggalette"s (female).

paragraphs: Insane Clown Posse have feuded with Eminem in the past but in an interview with Violent J he said that the feud had ended.

paragraphs: They have formed a professional wrestling company called "Juggalo Championship Wrestling" which they founded in 1999.


title: Attic

paragraphs: The attic is the highest part of a house, it is directly below the roof. It is sometimes used as storage. Some people have "loft conversions" (change the attic into a room people can use) so that they can sleep in it. Attics can be hard to reach, which is why many of them are not used. They can help keep the temperature of the house stable.

paragraphs: The word "attic" derived from the Attica region located in Greece. It comes from the Attic style architecture.


title: 6teen

paragraphs: 6teen was an American-Canadian-French animated television series produced by Nelvana, Fresh TV and Cartoon Network Studios. The show was about six sixteen-year-old friends and followed them in their first part-time jobs and teenage lives. The series premiered airs at 4:00 p.m. ET/PT times on October 23, 2008 on Cartoon Network in the United States.

paragraphs: The show had 95 episodes, 2 45-minute-long specials and a total of 4 season.


title: Airline (UK TV series)

paragraphs: Airline is a British television program. It shows daily happenings of airport customers and staff. Series 1 are photographed in Britannia Airways and series 2 are photographed in EasyJet.


title: Telepopmusik

paragraphs: Telepopmusik is a music group. Angela McClusky sang in the song "Brighton beach" and "Don't look back" off their album Angel Milk. "Breathe" is their most famous song.


title: 2008-09 NHL season

paragraphs: The 2008-09 NHL season was the 91st season of the National Hockey League. It was the first season since before to the 2004-05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the other conference (one division at home and one on the road.) It began on October 4, with the regular season ending on April 12. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 12, with the Pittsburgh Penguins taking the championship. The Montreal Canadiens hosted the 57th NHL All-Star Game at the Bell Centre on January 25, 2009, part of the Canadiens' 100th season celebration.

paragraphs: "GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points."

paragraphs: In the event of a tie in points in the standings at the end of the season, ties are broken using the following tiebreaking procedures.

paragraphs: "GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes"

paragraphs: "GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average"

paragraphs: After the regular season, the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The San Jose Sharks won the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the league, at 117 points. Division champions maintain their relative ranking during the entire playoffs while the remaining teams get reseeded below them after each round.

paragraphs: "*Montreal finished with exactly the same record as the Florida Panthers (including number of wins), but garnered more points (the Canadiens with six, the Panthers with three) in the four game season series between them, to earn the 8th spot."

paragraphs: In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format: the higher-seeded team will play at home for games 1 and 2 (plus 5 and 7 if necessary), and the lower-seeded team will be at home for game 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).


title: Wavelet

paragraphs: A Wavelet is a mathematical function used to write down a function or signal in terms of other functions that are simpler to study. Many signal processing tasks can be seen in terms of a wavelet transform. Informally speaking, the signal can be seen under the lens with a magnification given by the scale of the wavelet. In doing so, we can see only the information that is determined by the shape of the wavelet used.

paragraphs: The English term "wavelet" was introduced in the early 1980s by French physicists Jean Morlet and Alex Grossman.

paragraphs: They used the French word "ondelette" (which means "small wave").

paragraphs: Later, this word was brought into English by translating "onde" into "wave" giving "wavelet".

paragraphs: Wavelet is (complex) function from the Hilbert space formula_1. For practical applications it should satisfy following conditions.

paragraphs: It must satisfy an admissibility condition.

paragraphs: Zero mean condition implies from admissibility condition.

paragraphs: The function formula_5 is called mother wavelet. Its translated (shifted) and dilated (scaled) normalized versions are defined as following.

paragraphs: Original mother wavelet has parameters formula_9 and formula_10. Translation is described by formula_11 parameter and dilatation by formula_12 parameter.


title: Rodney Anoa'i

paragraphs: Rodney Agatupu Anoa'i (October 2, 1966 – October 23, 2000) was a professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling for the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Yokozuna. He is a member of the famous Anoa'i family, The Rock, Rikishi, Samu, Rosey, Manu, and Umaga were his cousins. He was a two time WWF Champion and two-time Tag Team Champion and also won the 1993 Royal Rumble.

paragraphs: On March 31, 2012, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Jimmy and Jey Uso and Rikishi.

paragraphs: On October 23, 2000, Anoa'i died at the age of 34 from pulmonary edema in his room at the Moat House Hotel in Liverpool, England while touring for an independent wrestling show. At the time, it was reported that he died of heart failure or a heart attack but this was found to be incorrect because his lungs showed severe signs of blockage due to fluid. He is buried in Green Hills Memorial Park in California.


title: Minnesota North Stars

paragraphs: The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow gold and white. The North Stars played 2,062 regular season games and made the NHL playoffs fifteen times, including two Stanley Cup Finals appearances. In the fall of 1993, the franchise moved to Dallas, Texas, and is now known as the Dallas Stars.

paragraphs: The team had 15 playoff appearances, a 77-82 playoff record, 2 Norris Division championships, and 2 Campbell Conference championships.

paragraphs: "Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes"

paragraphs: This is a listing of the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history.

paragraphs: Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

paragraphs: "Note: This list does not include Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons captains". >

paragraphs: This is a listing of players in the Hockey Hall of Fame:

paragraphs: After the move, the Dallas Stars retired the number 7 of Minnesota native, University of Minnesota graduate and 1980 Olympic hero Neal Broten, C, 1981-93.


title: Superfluidity

paragraphs: Superfluidity is a state of matter where a liquid can act very strangely.

paragraphs: Some of the things a superfluid can do are:

paragraphs: So far, scientists have only been able to create superfluids at extremely cold temperatures. However, superfluids have quite a few uses in science today, like:

paragraphs: There is also another state of matter called a "supersolid", although how they are formed is more complex.


title: Princely state

paragraphs: A princely state (also called a native state or Indian state) was a state within the former British Indian Empire where a native Indian sovereign came under subordinate alliance with the British via a treaty. Such treaties allowed for what was termed British Paramountcy as opposed to sovereignty over the native states. The peoples of these native states were officially not considered subjects of the British Indian Empire but rather as subjects of their native monarch. For the purposes of travel the term used on the passports of subjects of Native sovereigns was "British protected person". As according to treaty with the empire the native ruler had surrendered the subject of foreign affairs, such states could not have direct relations with other states without British approval.

paragraphs: From time to time, however, often for the purposes of its own security, the British Indian Empire

paragraphs: would interfere in the internal affairs of even the first class states in violation of the treaties made with them. Such interference was met by both public and formal protests buy native rulers and their subjects and was considered as an "encroachment on a native states sovereignty" by the empire.

paragraphs: The rulers of these states held various titles: e.g. raja (a Hindu ruling prince); maharaja (a greater Hindu ruling prince); nawab (a Muslim ruling prince such as the Nawab of Awadh); nizam, the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. About 118 of the 565 princely states existing in 1947 were considered first class sovereign states and had state governments of their own and only five were large states (Hyderabad (Princely state), Mysore, Kashmir and Jammu, and Baroda). Of these three became part of the dominion of India while the status of Jammu and Kashmir was disputed.


title: Wookiee

paragraphs: A Wookiee is a fictional race of aliens from the Star Wars series of movies. Their home planet is Kashyyyk. The best known Wookiee character is Chewbacca.

paragraphs: When George Lucas was developing fictional characters for "Star Wars", he named Chewbacca after his dog, Chewbacca. The name "Wookiee" came from an in Lucas's first feature movie, "THX 1138". The line was "I think I ran over a Wookiee back there."

paragraphs: On Kashyyyk wookiees build their houses in mile-high trees. They have long arms and legs so they can climb the trees. Chewbacca is over seven feet tall and over 200 years old. By nature they are gentle and intelligent creatures. When angered they can pull a man's arms out of their s. Wookiees have a great sense of smell. They are fully covered with a thick coat of hair. Wookiees prize loyalty and above all else.

paragraphs: The Wookiee language is Shyriiwook. Wookiees are capable of understanding English but cannot speak it. In the original Star Wars trilogy Chewbacca showed he could understand humans. His human partner, Han Solo, also shows knowledge of Shyriiwook. In the Star Wars expanded universe books, Chewbacca builds a miniature translator droid ("Em Teedee") for his nephew Lowbacca. When Lowbacca begins training as a Jedi the droid helped him communicate with his fellow students.


title: Monte Plata

paragraphs: Monte Plata is a Dominican city and head municipality of the Monte Plata province.

paragraphs: The town was founded with people from Monte Cristi and Puerto Plata; they took the words "Monte" from the first town and "Plata" from the second town to form the name of the new town: "Monte Plata".

paragraphs: The city was founded in 1606 when the Spanish Governor Antonio Osorio destroyed, by orders of King Phillip III of Spain, the towns of Monte Cristi and Puerto Plata. The people and the cattle were moved to a new town that was given the name of Monte Plata to remember those two towns that were destroyed.

paragraphs: When the province of Monte Plata was created in 1982, the city was made the head municipality of this province.

paragraphs: The municipality had, in , a total population of 26,192: 13,288 men and 12,904 women. The urban population was of the total population.

paragraphs: Monte Plata is located in the northwestern part of the "Llano Costero del Caribe" (in English, "Caribbean Coastal Plain"), a large prairie with many important savannas.

paragraphs: The "Sierra de Yamasá" is found to the northeast of the municipality. "Los Haitises" is a karst region with many small hills; it is to the northwest of Monte Plata.

paragraphs: It has a total area of and has three municipal districts (a municipal district is a subdivision of a municipality); these are Boyá, Chirino and Don Juan.

paragraphs: The altitude of the city of Monte Plata is above sea level.

paragraphs: The municipality of Monte Plata has the municipality of Sabana Grande de Boyá to the north, the municipality of Bayaguana to the east, the Santo Domingo province to the south and the municipality of Yamasá to the west.

paragraphs: Monte Plata has a tropical wet climate (Köppen-Geiger classification: Af) with no dry or cold season as it is constantly moist (rainfalls during the whole year).

paragraphs: The average amount of rainfall for the year in the city is . The month with the most precipitation on average is August with of rainfall, followed by May with .

paragraphs: The driest season is winter. The month with the least rainfall on average is January with an average of followed by December with an average of .

paragraphs: Monte Plata is in a warm region; the average temperature for the year is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

paragraphs: The municipality of Monte Plata has three municipal districts:

paragraphs: Because there are many savannas, and by its history, the most important economic activity in the municipality is cattle raising is also important, mainly for milk.

paragraphs: Farming is also an important activity. Some crops are sugar cane and fruits like orange.


title: Epistulae morales ad Lucillium

paragraphs: The Epistulae morales ad Lucilium (in English "Moral Letters to Lucilius") is the name for 124 letters Seneca the Younger wrote when he was over sixty-years-old. The "Letters" were probably written in the last three years of Seneca's life, during the years 62 to 64 AD. All letters start ""Seneca Lucilio suo salutem"" (Seneca greets his Lucilius) and end with ""Vale"" (Farewell). Lucilius was the Governor of Sicily at the time, but he is only known through Seneca's writings. Seneca wrote the letters to give Lucilius advice on how to become a better person. The letters are like a diary, or a handbook, of Stoic philosophy. Seneca writes about life, death, and virtue as the supreme good. He writes about the joy that comes from wisdom. He repeatedly refers to the shortness of life.

paragraphs: The tag "Vita sine litteris mors" ('Life without learning [is] death') is adapted from "Epistle" 82 (originally "Otium sine litteris mors", 'Leisure without learning [is] death') and is the motto of Derby School and Derby Grammar School in England, Adelphi University, New York, and Manning's High School, Jamaica.


title: Yaniv Katan

paragraphs: Yaniv Katan (, born on January 27, 1981 in Kiryat Ata, Israel) is a Forward/Winger for Maccabi Haifa F.C.. Yaniv Katan is also the 2nd player to score a hat-trick for Maccabi Haifa against a team from Europe. Katan is also a member of the Israel national football team. He has played for Maccabi Haifa for most of his career since 1998. He played for West Ham United for several games in 2006, but then returned to Maccabi Haifa.


title: Sorbet

paragraphs: Sorbet, or sherbet, is a cold dessert made with water or fruit juice instead of milk. Most sorbets have fruit flavors. Lemon is the most common flavor, and other flavors include orange, lemon, cherry, lime, red wine. Rainbow is a mix of different-colored flavors, usually including lemon and cherry.

paragraphs: Sorbet is a French name, but the origin of the dessert is not known for sure. It has been around for several centuries. Before refrigeration frozen ice stores were used. Claims have been made that the idea was known in ancient Persia.


title: Ken Nelson (British record producer)

paragraphs: Ken Nelson (born 6 February 1959 in Liverpool) is an English record producer. He is the producer of the band Coldplay. This band brought him worldwide success.


title: Homecoming (Kanye West song)

paragraphs: "Homecoming" is a song by rapper Kanye West and featuring Coldplay's Chris Martin. The song is about his hometown.


title: Instrumentation (music)

paragraphs: Instrumentation in music is the use of different musical instruments to make up a certain mixture. This mixture is then used to make the music.


title: Lead single

paragraphs: A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band from a given album. The lead single does not have to be the first track on an album though. It does not have to be the first single either. Sometimes singles are released as part of promotions.


title: Jonny Buckland

paragraphs: Jonathan Mark "Jonny" Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is an English guitarist and musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist of the band Coldplay.


title: Will Champion

paragraphs: William "Will" Champion (born 31 July 1978) is the drummer for the English rock band Coldplay.

paragraphs: Champion's mother, Sara, died from cancer in 2000. Coldplay's debut album "Parachutes" was dedicated to her.

paragraphs: Champion was the first Coldplay member to marry. He married Marianne Dark, a teacher, in 2003. Their first child, a girl named Ava, was born on 28 April 2006. On 7 May 2008, Marianne gave birth to fraternal twins Juno and Rex.


title: Trouble (Coldplay song)

paragraphs: "Trouble" is a song recorded by British alternative rock band Coldplay. It was composed for their first album, "Parachutes". The band wrote the song and produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson. The word "trouble" is repeated many times in the lyrics of the song.

paragraphs: The song was released on 26 October 2000 as a single. It was the third single of the album. It reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. This made it the band's second Top 10 single in the country. "Trouble" did not chart on the main singles chart in the United States. But the music press said it was almost as successful as "Yellow". "Yellow" was the single released before "Trouble". Two different music videos for the single were released.

paragraphs: Chris Martin, the vocalist of Coldplay said that inspiration for writing "Trouble" came from his own behaviour. Martin said that there were "some bad things going in our band ... the song is about behaving badly towards somebody you really love and I was certainly doing that to some members of the band." The four members of Coldplay are credited as the co-writers of "Trouble". But, it was based on Martin's idea.

paragraphs: British record producer Ken Nelson and the band produced "Trouble" for their first album, "Parachutes". The song was recorded four times before the band got the recording they liked most. The band decided that the first three versions were not "working". The last take was recorded into Pro Tools with a shaker. This was done to provide the rhythm to the track. For the backing track, Will Champion played the drums and Martin played the piano. It was recorded in a little wooden room. Guy Berryman recorded the bass and then guitarist Jonny Buckland added the guitar section. In recording the piano section of the track, the band used two microphones. Nelson, who wanted to keep the song simple, chose the microphone which had a fuller sound for the mixing.

paragraphs: "Trouble" was mixed in New York by American mix engineer Michael Brauer. The first mixed version was sent back to the band and Nelson. However, it was not as good as they wanted and had to be mixed again. Nelson found some problems in the version. In spite of this, he did not blame Brauer because he was not present during the mixing. This was because they were recording the album at that time.

paragraphs: Like in the song "Yellow", in this song the word trouble is used many times. The song's lyrics have "softer emotional themes". This includes apologies and unrequited love, and longing.

paragraphs: The song has a minimalistic approach. The song is mainly built around a piano. It has a snare drum in the background. The sound of the drum was mixed very low. The snare drum cannot be heard when the guitar is played. The song has a tempo of 70 beats per minute. Martin's vocal range in the song is from F to A, the highest note being sung using his falsetto voice.

paragraphs: "Trouble" was released on 26 October 2000 in the United Kingdom, and on 18 December 2001 in the United States. It was the third single of "Parachutes". A limited edition CD of the single was released. It had a remix of the songs "Yellow" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Only 1,000 copies were made. It was given only to fans and journalists.

paragraphs: Coldplay did not accept many offers to use "Trouble" for advertisements. In 2004, the band rejected an offer from Diet Coke and Gap to use the song. The offer was worth many million Euros. American actor Sylvester Stallone wanted to use the song for the soundtrack of his 2001 film "Driven". But the band declined.

paragraphs: "Trouble" was a commercial success. It reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. This made it the band's second Top 10 single in the UK after "Yellow". "Trouble" was successful because the previous singles did very well. Also, the album, "Parachutes" was very successful in the United Kingdom. The British band Lost Witness made a remixed version of the song. It was released and was successful.

paragraphs: In the United States, the single's chart performance was almost as good as "Yellow"s. It reached number 23 on the "Billboard" Adult Top 40 and 28 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks. Martin has said the single had saved them from being a "one-hit wonder" band. The band thought it was not a "great single". They felt it would not do well in the United States.

paragraphs: The original European version of the music video for "Trouble" was directed by British director Sophie Muller. The video was shot in a Newhall, California ranch. Its theme was the Wild West.

paragraphs: The music video also had a U.S. version. This was directed by Tim Hope who won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction in 2002 for the video. It was also nominated for "Breakthrough Video". The video is similar to "Don't Panic".


title: Epping tube station

paragraphs: Epping on the London Underground is the north-eastern terminus of the Central Line. The station before Epping is Theydon Bois, which is about three minutes travelling time away. Epping station is in the Epping Forest District of Essex. It is one of eight London Underground stations in this District and is in Travelcard Zone 6.


title: Mixed number

paragraphs: A mixed numeral (also called a mixed fraction or mixed number) is a traditional denotation of the sum of a non-zero integer and a proper fraction (having the same sign). It is used primarily in measurement: {\displaystyle 2{\tfrac {3}{16}}}{\displaystyle 2{\tfrac {3}{16}}}inches, for example. Scientific measurements almost invariably use decimal notation rather than mixed numbers. The sum is implied without the use of a visible operator such as the appropriate "+". For example, in referring to two entire cakes and three quarters of another cake, the numerals denoting the integer part and the fractional part of the cakes are written next to each other as {\displaystyle 2{\tfrac {3}{4}}}2{\tfrac {3}{4}}instead of the unambiguous notation {\displaystyle 2+{\tfrac {3}{4}}.}{\displaystyle 2+{\tfrac {3}{4}}.} Negative mixed numerals, as in {\displaystyle -2{\tfrac {3}{4}}}-2{\tfrac {3}{4}}, are treated like {\displaystyle -(2+{\tfrac {3}{4}}).}{\displaystyle -(2+{\tfrac {3}{4}}).} Any such sum of a whole plus a part can be converted to an improper fraction by applying the rules of adding unlike quantities.

paragraphs: For better readability, the multiplication is sometimes made explicit or parentheses are added. So, {\displaystyle 2{\tfrac {b}{c}}}{\displaystyle 2{\tfrac {b}{c}}}may be written as


title: Trichome

paragraphs: Trichomes are structures on a plant's leaves. They look like tiny hairs sticking out from the surface of the leaf.

paragraphs: Trichomes are made of living cells, which can look very different. Some trichomes have one long cell. Other trichomes are a long chain of cells. They may have branches which make them look like a star.

paragraphs: Trichomes help to shade the leaf from the sun. They block too much wind from moving across the leaf surface. This stops too much water from leaving the leaf. Animals might not eat leaves with trichomes because they do not like the taste.

paragraphs: Glandular trichomes have chemicals in them. They break when the leaf is touched, and then the chemicals come out.


title: Shawn Daivari

paragraphs: Shawn Daivari (born April 30, 1984) is an Iranian-American professional wrestler who currently works for Ring of Honor under his name, Shawn Daivari. He has also wrestled for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Daivari and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Sheik Abdul Bashir.


title: Shinji Jojo

paragraphs: Shinji Jojo (born 28 August 1977) is a former Japanese football player.


title: James Vaughan

paragraphs: James Vaughan (born 14 July 1988) is an English footballer. He plays for Leicester City.


title: Yusuke Sato

paragraphs: Yusuke Sato (born 2 November 1977) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Tochigi.


title: Satoshi Yokoyama

paragraphs: Satoshi Yokoyama (born 14 February 1980) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Blaublitz Akita.


title: Yoshiyuki Takemoto

paragraphs: Yoshiyuki Takemoto (born 3 October 1973) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Saúl Martínez

paragraphs: Saúl Martínez (born 29 January 1976) is a Honduran football player. He plays for Marathón and Honduras national team.


title: Pedro Rocha

paragraphs: Pedro Rocha (3 December 1942 – 2 December 2013) was a former Uruguayan football player. He has played for Uruguay national team.

paragraphs: He died on 2 December 2013 in São Paulo, one day before completing 71 years from stomach cancer.


title: Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.

paragraphs: Hapoel Tel Aviv Football Club () is an Israeli Football club based in Tel Aviv and created in 1926. Their city rival is Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.. The club is second behind Maccabi Tel Aviv in the number of national titles. They play in the Bloomfield Stadium.

paragraphs: The club was founded on 31 May 1927. There were two other attempts to found the club. In 1927 they united with Allenby F.C and created the club in its modern form. The club is part of the Hapoel Sport Organisation, which is connected with the Histadrut trade union. Until the independence of Israel in 1948 the club often won the Palestine League (5 titles). After the independence Hapoel joined the Israeli League. In 1988-1989 they were relegated to the second league for the first time of their existence. Next year they came back. Since 1948 they have won 8 national titles. Overall they have won 13 national titles and 13 State Cups. They have had many big successes in international football, for example the victory in the first Asian Club Championship in 1967, beating Red Bull Salzburg and Benfica in the 2010-11 Champions League, and finishing first in their group in the 2010-11 Europa League.

paragraphs: Only up to six non-Israeli nationals can be in an Israeli club, but only five can play at the same time on the pitch. Those with Jewish ancestry, married to an Israeli, or have played in Israel for an extended period of time, can claim a passport or permanent residency which would allow them to play with Israeli status.


title: Hugo de León

paragraphs: Hugo de León (born 27 February 1958) is a former Uruguayan football player. He has played for Uruguay national team.


title: Quantum computer

paragraphs: A quantum computer is a model of how to build a computer. The idea is that quantum computers can use certain phenomena from quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. The basic principle behind quantum computation is that quantum properties can be used to represent data and perform operations on it. A theoretical model is the quantum Turing machine, also known as the universal quantum computer.

paragraphs: The idea of quantum computing is still very new. Experiments have been done. In these, a very small number of operations were done on qubits (quantum bit). Both practical and theoretical research continues with interest, and many national government and military funding agencies support quantum computing research to develop quantum computers for both civilian and military purposes, such as cryptanalysis.

paragraphs: Today's computers, called "classical" computers, store information in binary; each bit is either on or off. Quantum computation use qubits, which, in addition to being possibly on or off, can be both on and off, which is a way of describing superposition, until a measurement is made. The state of a piece of data on a normal computer is known with certainty, but quantum computation uses probabilities. Only very simple quantum computers have been built, although larger designs have been invented. Quantum computation uses a special type of physics, quantum physics.

paragraphs: If large-scale quantum computers can be built, they will be able to solve some problems much more quickly than any computer that exists today (such as Shor's algorithm). Quantum computers are different from other computers such as DNA computers and traditional computers based on transistors. Some computing architectures such as optical computers may use classical superposition of electromagnetic waves. Without quantum mechanical resources such as entanglement, people think that an exponential advantage over classical computers is not possible. Quantum computers cannot perform functions that are not theoretically computable by classical computers, in other words they do not alter the Church-Turing thesis. They would, however, be able to do many things much more quickly and efficiently.


title: Israeli Premier League

paragraphs: The Israeli Premier League (, "Ligat Ha'Al", literally Super League; also known as Ligat Toto) is a the first division association football league in Israel. It was created in 1999, replacing Liga Leumit as the top division. The Liga Leumit is the second division.

paragraphs: In the 2016–17 season, there were 14 Teams in Israeli Premier League. The winner of the league in each season is named the Ligat Winner ().

paragraphs: The following 14 clubs will compete in the Israeli Premier League during the 2018–19 season.


title: British Rail Class 379

paragraphs: The Class 379 Electrostar is a type of electric multiple unit. It has been ordered by National Express East Anglia to run their Stansted Express services. The Class 379 units feature 2+2 seating and wi-fi internet installed. Large luggage racks and multi-lingual signage will be expected. The units will be built at Bombardier's plant at Derby.


title: Shuta Takahashi

paragraphs: Shuta Takahashi (born 27 July 1983) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Aries Tokyo.


title: Nixon Perea

paragraphs: Nixon Perea (born 15 August 1973) is a former Colombian football player.


title: Hiroyuki Tazawa

paragraphs: Hiroyuki Tazawa (born 29 April 1978) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Brynäs IF FK

paragraphs: Brynäs IF is an association football club in the town of Gävle in Sweden. The club won the Swedish national championship in 1925 and played in Allsvenskan during the 1974 season.


title: Kazuyoshi Mikami

paragraphs: Kazuyoshi Mikami (born 29 August 1975) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Yasunari Hiraoka

paragraphs: Yasunari Hiraoka (born 13 March 1972) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Naoya Saeki

paragraphs: Naoya Saeki (born 18 December 1977) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Tokyo Verdy.


title: Wavelet transform

paragraphs: The wavelet transform is a time-frequency representation of a signal. For example, we use it for noise reduction, feature extraction or signal compression.

paragraphs: Wavelet transform of continuous signal is defined as

paragraphs: In case of formula_6 and formula_7, where formula_8, formula_9 and formula_10 and formula_11 are integer constants, the wavelet transform is called discrete wavelet transform (of continuous signal).

paragraphs: In case of formula_12 and formula_13, where formula_14, the discrete wavelet transform is called dyadic. It is defined as

paragraphs: It is possible to rewrite dyadic discrete wavelet transform as

paragraphs: where formula_20 is impulse characteristic of continuous filter which is identical to formula_21 for given formula_10.

paragraphs: Analogously, dyadic wavelet transform with discrete time (of discrete signal) is defined as


title: Gladys Knight

paragraphs: Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer, actress and songwriter. She is called the "Empress of Soul", She was the lead singer of the music group The Pips.

paragraphs: Knight has been married four times and given birth to three children. In 1960, Knight married her high school sweetheart, James Newman. Gladys gave birth to their son, James III (1962–1999). In 1963 daughter Kenya was born. Newman and Knight divorced in 1973. She married producer and Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson in 1974. They had one son, Shanga Hankerson, and divorced in 1981. She married motivational speaker Les Brown in 1995. They separated and divorced in 1997. Also in 1997, she was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, following her son and daughter. Knight married current husband, William McDowell, in 2001.


title: Prank phone call

paragraphs: A prank phone call is when someone calls a phone number to play a practical joke on them. One example is a John Cena prank phone call. Prank phone calls are popular.


title: Push (movie)

paragraphs: Push is an American action science fiction thriller movie. It stars Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans. Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou and Camilla Belle are also in the movie.


title: Roman Urdu

paragraphs: Roman Urdu is the name used for the Urdu language written with the Roman alphabet. It is used by a number of Urdu-speakers on the internet and computers due to the fact that the predominant internet language is English, which is written in roman script. Moreover, people who can speak Urdu but cannot read the script also use this format.


title: Koji Ezumi

paragraphs: Koji Ezumi (born 18 December 1978) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Omiya Ardija.


title: Tatsuma Yoshida

paragraphs: Tatsuma Yoshida (born 9 June 1974) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Toru Araiba

paragraphs: Toru Araiba (born 12 July 1979) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Kashima Antlers.


title: Shinya Kato

paragraphs: Shinya Kato (born 9 September 1980) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Ventforet Kofu.


title: Yuzo Funakoshi

paragraphs: Yuzo Funakoshi (born 12 June 1977) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Sagamihara.


title: Masanobu Matsunami

paragraphs: Masanobu Matsunami (born 21 November 1974) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Arata Kodama

paragraphs: Arata Kodama (born 8 October 1982) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Shimizu S-Pulse.


title: Hitoshi Morishita

paragraphs: Hitoshi Morishita (born 21 September 1972) is a former Japanese football player.


Takahiro Endo


title: Naoki Hiraoka

paragraphs: Naoki Hiraoka (born 24 May 1973) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Teppei Nishiyama

paragraphs: Teppei Nishiyama (born 22 February 1975) is a former Japanese football player.


title: Takashi Miki

paragraphs: Takashi Miki (born 23 July 1978) is a Japanese football player. He plays for Tokushima Vortis.


title: Quadrature mirror filter

paragraphs: The quadrature mirror filters (QMF) are two filters with frequency characteristics symmetric about formula_1 of sampling frequency (i.e. formula_2). They are used especially in process of orthogonal discrete wavelet transform design.

paragraphs: In notation of Z-transform, we can create the quadrature mirror filter formula_3 to (original) filter formula_4 by substitution formula_5 with formula_6 in the transfer function of formula_4.

paragraphs: By doing it, the transfer characteristic of formula_3 is shifted to formula_4 by formula_11.

paragraphs: According to the picture above, the signal split and passed into these filters can be downsampled by a factor of two. Nevertheless, original signal can be still reconstructed by using reconstruction filters formula_16 and formula_17. Reconstruction filters are given by time reversal analysis filters.

paragraphs: For orthogonal discrete wavelet transform formula_3 is given by

paragraphs: Reconstruction filters are still given by same equations.


title: Neil Aspinall

paragraphs: Neil Aspinall (13 October 1941 - 23 March 2008) was a British music executive. He was the managing director of Apple Corps, a company started by The Beatles. He had earlier served as the band's road manager.

paragraphs: Aspinall was born in Prestatyn, North Wales and grew up in Liverpool, England. He was an Accountancy student and lived with the Best family, renting a room in their house. Eldest son Pete Best was a drummer who played for the Beatles. Aspinall owned a van, and began driving the band to their shows, and setting up equipment. In time, they began to pay him for this, and he gave up his studies to be their official road manager.

paragraphs: During 1962 the Beatles changed drummers when Ringo Starr joined, and Pete Best was let go. Aspinall offered to quit also, but he was persuaded to keep working for the Beatles. (He kept a connection to the Best family, having a son, Roag, with Mona Best.) Aspinall was joined by another man, Mal Evans, who shared his job duties.

paragraphs: Over time, other people helped with setting up and breaking down the Beatles' instruments and equipment, but Aspinall and Evans still supervised them. They also did other jobs, like shopping for the band, delivering important messages, and dealing with members of the public who wanted to meet the band. Some of their lesser-known jobs were choosing female audience members at Beatles concerts to visit the band backstage, and signing Beatles autographs on photographs. (The demand for autographs was too great for the Beatles themselves to meet practically.)

paragraphs: When the Beatles stopped giving concerts, they put time into forming their own company, which became Apple Corps. Aspinall and Evans were both directors at Apple, and personal assistants to the Beatles. None of the band's inner circle knew how to run a large company, and Apple got into financial trouble. Allen Klein and Lee Eastman (Paul McCartney's father-in-law) took over running Apple, and Evans was fired. Aspinall was also supposed to be fired, but the Beatles themselves insisted he be kept on.

paragraphs: After the Beatles disbanded, Apple's business decreased, Klein and Eastman moved on, and Apple was reorganized. Aspinall alone was able to handle most of Apple's ongoing business, which was mostly licensing Beatles-related products, and future issues of Beatles music. He kept working for the band until shortly before his death.

paragraphs: Aspinall's last tasks for Apple included handling a lawsuit against Apple Inc. over iTunes, and supervising a new recording of the whole Beatles music catalogue. Aspinall died of lung cancer in New York City in 2008.


title: Caretaker (Star Trek: Voyager)

paragraphs: "Caretaker" is the first episode in the TV series "". When it was first broadcast on TV, it was shown as a double-length episode (meaning it lasted for double the time a normal episode would last), however it has been split into two separate episodes so that it can be shown as a repeat.

paragraphs: This episode was first broadcast on January 16, 1995 and takes place on stardate 48315.6, in the year 2371.


title: Jean Balukas

paragraphs: Jean Balukas (born June 28, 1959) is an American pool player from Brooklyn, New York. During the 1970s and 1980s, many people thought Balukas was the greatest female player ever. Some people described her as a leader and "a child prodigy, a loner who rebelled against dress codes for women—the pool equivalent of Billie Jean King". Balukas was named Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Player of the Year five times. She was the youngest person given an entry in the BCA Hall of Fame. She is only the second woman given that honor. In 1999, Balukas was ranked fifteenth on "Billiard Digest's" Fifty Greatest Players of the 20 Century.

paragraphs: Balukas was thought of as a rare young talent. She first earned some fame when she was six years old by appearing in a pool playing event held at New York City's Grand Central Station. She later appeared many times on television, such as on CBS's popular evening television show, "I've Got a Secret". She was nine years old when she placed 5th in the 1969 U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship. She placed 4th and 3rd in the next two U.S. Opens. From that early start, Balukas dominated women's professional pool during the 1970s and 1980s.

paragraphs: Balukas won the U.S. Open seven years in a row, from 1972 through 1978. She won six world championship titles. She had over 100 professional competition first place finishes; 38 of those wins were in major events. She had a streak of 16 first place finishes in women's professional tournaments. Balukas was also the only woman to compete equally with men in professional play in her era. She quit the sport in 1988 because of a dispute that happened in a match at the World Open Nine-ball Championship that year.

paragraphs: Jean Balukas's father, Albert Balukas, and his business partner, Frank McGown, owned a forty-eight-table pool hall, named the Ovington Lounge, in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York. Balukas began playing pool when she four years old. She did not play at her father's pool room. Her first play was on a 4½ by 9 foot pool table in the basement of her childhood home. Her parents bought the table to keep her four brothers out of local pool rooms.

paragraphs: Balukas played with a cue stick that had ivory details. It was made just for her in 1965 by a cue stick maker, George Balabushka. When she was five and six years old she would practice a game called straight pool to 50 points after family dinners. Her father supported her play.

paragraphs: In 1966, McGown held a public billiards exhibition at New York City's Grand Central Terminal. With her parents' permission, he brought along the six-year-old Balukas. Balukas participated in the exhibition. This gained Balukas media attention. Later in 1966, Balukas appeared on a television show called "Wonderama". Balukas and her younger sister Laura also appeared on CBS's television show "I've Got a Secret" later that year.

paragraphs: In 1967, Balukas was in an exhibition match at a pool hall called the Carom Club, located Manhattan. In advertisements for the match, Balukas was described as "the Little Princess of Pocket Billiards". A reporter described her at the match as "a little girl with honey-blond hair...wearing a short yellow dress and green leotards...who resembles a young Shirley Temple". She beat her adult opponent, Roland DeMarco, with a final score of 50 to 42.

paragraphs: In 1969, at the age of nine, she competed in her first Billiard Congress of America U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship. Balukas placed 5th in the competition. All her opponents were adults. In the next two U.S. Opens, in 1970 and 1971, she placed 4th and 3rd, respectively. By that time, Balukas had appeared on other television programs with a number of billiard stars and other celebrities.

paragraphs: On August 18, 1972, when she was thirteen years old, Balukas won the women's side of the U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship. For the win she beat five time champion Dorothy Wise. The prize was $1,500. Balukas was the U.S Open's youngest winner ever and by a large number of years. She also beat in the finals, Madelyn Whitlow of Detroit, Michigan, with a score of 75 to 32 in 44 innings (turns at the table). Reporting on the competition, "The New York Times" described her as a strong player "throughout the tournament ... as she defeated six opponents with precision shooting and <nowiki>[</nowiki>almost perfect<nowiki>]</nowiki> strategy".

paragraphs: In 1973, at fourteen, Balukas successfully defended her straight pool U.S. Open title. She beat runner-up Donna Ries, a psychologist from Kansas City, Missouri, with a final score of 75 to 72 in 42 innings. In her longest turn, she sank 26 balls in a row and won $2,000 for first place. Earlier in the tournament she beat Mieko Harada, a housewife from Kyoto, Japan. Baluka's score was much higher than Harada's: 75 to 1 in 20 innings and sank 25 balls in a row. In the 1974 U.S. Open held at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Balukas defended her title, again beating out Harada, but by a much closer score: 100 to 99. This was Balukas's third U.S. Open title in a row, at the young age of fifteen. The close scores at the end of the match were similar to the results on the men's side, where Joe Balsis defeated Jim Rempe 200 to 199.

paragraphs: In 1975, Balukas beat Ries again in the U.S. Open semi-finals with a score of 75 to 15 in 15 innings. She also beat Gail Breedlove of Ames, Iowa, 75 to 19. She then again played and beat Harada in the finals, winning $3,000 with a score of 100 to 63 in 39 innings. In her longest turn, she sank 23 balls. In 1976, then 17, Balukas took her fifth U.S. Open title in a row, beating Gloria Walker of Cheyney, Pennsylvania 75 to 46 in 39 innings and winning a $1,700 prize. Balukas would win the next two U.S. Open straight pool championships for a total of seven wins in a row. Her streak of wins ended after 1978 because the U.S. Open itself was canceled, not because she was beaten.

paragraphs: Balukas was not only talented at pool but also good at other sports. From age sixteen to eighteen, ABC-TV asked her to be on a show called "Superstars". This event happened in Rotonda West, Florida. Top athletes from one sport competed in a different sports that they did not usually compete in. In her first appearance in 1976, while a junior in high school, Balukas placed second with 192 points. She won titles in tennis and bowling. The winner that year was speed skater Anne Henning. Other competitors included: diver Micki King; tennis and golf pro Althea Gibson; skier Kiki Cutter; runner Wyomia Tyus; and tennis champion Martina Navratilova. The second place win was both good and bad for Balukas. She won $13,100 prize money, so she lost amateur standing. Afterwards, she was banned from competing in high school sports. Also, she was not allowed to get a college athletic scholarship.

paragraphs: Balukas has won many other pool titles, including six at the World Open Pocket Billiard Championships. At her first win in that tournament, held at a convention hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey on August 14, 1977, she was described as "the 18-year-old prodigy from Brooklyn". There, she again beat Gloria Walker with a score of 100 to 57, and earned a $1,001 prize. Balukas has won more U.S. Opens than any other player, male or female. The closest male is Steve Mizerak with four wins to Balukas's seven. Her ball average over the seven U.S. Opens was far better than was her opponents'. Balukas averaged 3.44 in 1972 with the next best, Gloria Walker, having an average of 2.37. In 1975 she averaged 4.05, while no other player averaged even 3.

paragraphs: By the late 1960s, Balukas was playing in exhibition matches with top male players. For example, she played with Willie Mosconi and Irving Crane who were together considered between 1941 and 1956 the "best in the world, flat out". In 1975, she again played Willie Mosconi on CBS's "Challenge of the Sexes", playing in games of eight-ball and nine-ball. For the exhibition, the rules were changed to allow Balukas to have an advantage (a practice called "handicapping"). Specifically, Balukas always took the first shot. Then, she also took the next shot, even if she did not put a ball in a pocket on the first shot. Balukas beat Mosconi at both games. She would later play "Battle of the Sexes" matches on television with Rudolph Wanderone (also known as Minnesota Fats) in 1977, Ray Martin in 1979, and with Steve Mizerak in 1986.

paragraphs: On August 6, 1978, Balukas became the first women to qualify to play in the men's side of the World Open Pocket Billiards Championship. This meant that Balukas would be competing in both the women's and men's sides of the tournament. The tournament was to be held on August 12 of that year at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City.

paragraphs: Balukas played against men in several other competitions. These included at least one first shown on TV on March 25, 1979, between her and men's champion Ray Martin. The match was described on the television schedule as part of a "Challenge of the Sexes". Other male-female matchups in the series were between golfers Nancy Lopez and Andy North and co-ed participants in a skateboarding challenge match. During 1980, Balukas again competed in the men's side of the World Open Pocket Billiards championship. That year it was played at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel. She was beaten in the second round by Steve Mizerak with a score of 150 to 93. Her final in the tournament was 22nd. At the end, 42 men were behind her. She also played on the women's side and was the champion. She beat Billie Billings, also from Brooklyn, with a score of 100 to 75.

paragraphs: Balukas was entered in both the men's and women's divisions of the 1987 B.C. Classic, a nine-ball competition. After controversy, she competed only on the men's side. There, she beat Keith McCready 11 to 3. At that time McCready was the 17th-ranked male player by money list. Balukas finished the tournament by tying for 9th place.

paragraphs: In August 1987, at the B.C. Classic held at a Holiday Inn in Binghamton, New York, Balukas was scheduled to play in the men's and women's tournaments. After arriving, she found out that for the nighttime matches, she would be required to wear formal clothing. However, she did not have suitable clothing with her. The men's side had no similar dress code. Thus, Balukas did not buy clothes to follow the rule because she thought it was unfair.

paragraphs: The women held a vote on whether Balukas should be allowed to play. The vote resulted in Balukas being banned from the women's tournament. Some people said that the real reason other players voted her out was because they would have a better chance of winning the first place USD $5,000 prize if Balukas did not play. Balukas did not think so. Balukas did compete on the men's side, tying for ninth place.

paragraphs: Soon after the dress code issue was reported on, the president of the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), Belinda Bearden, sent a letter to "The New York Times". Bearden wrote that the facts were different than reported. The WPBA stated the dress code was decided by the women players for themselves. They made the rules to improve the image of women's pool and to attract a larger audience and more press to the sport. They said that Balukas was the only woman at the event who was not willing to follow the rule. They also explained that Balukas first left from the women's division. They said that she came back to play after the list of who would play who was already completed. Another vote on whether she could play went 8–7 in Balukas' favor. However, after they asked a player who was absent from the first vote, Balukas withdrew from the women's division of the competition.

paragraphs: In 1988, Balukas was playing another professional player named Robin Bell the Brunswick-sponsored World Open Nine-ball Championship. The tournament was held at Caesars Palace (a casino and hotel) in Las Vegas, Nevada and shown on television. Bell was Balukas's best friend on the women's tour. She had never beaten Balukas before. However, Bell had been playing very strongly in the tournament. The terms of the match were that the winner would be whoever won nine games first. In the game of nine ball, there is a way to win the game very quickly. The game is over and the first player wins if they put the 9 ball in a pocket when they take the first shot. Early in the match the score was 2 games to 3, with Bell winning. Then, Bell sank the 9 ball on the first shot two games in a row, so she won both games. That made the score 5 to 2 very quickly without having to play a complete game. Bell avoided having to match skill with Balukas on each turn.

paragraphs: All television match players wore small microphones so that their words and the sounds of play could be heard by the audience. Balukas quietly said to herself that Bell had gotten lucky. The microphone let others hear what Balukas said. The referee spoke to Balukas and told her not to continue talking about Bell. They continued playing. Balukas won the match with a final score of 9 to 5. According to an interview with Balukas by "New York Woman" magazine in 1991, Balukas's exact words were "Some world championship... beat me with skill, not luck". Despite Bell and Balukas's friendship, after the match Bell made a formal to the WPBA about the incident. The WPBA's board of directors fined Balukas $200 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

paragraphs: Balukas was angry about the fine. She did not pay it. She turned down offers by others to pay the fine for her. Balukas explained that "It wasn’t the $200... [Women] pool players, who were ranked three and six and five, were the ones who decided I should be fined. I felt it should have been done by an outside panel, not by my competitors". The sides were deadlocked. Balukas to pay and the WPBA refused to cancel the fine. They would not allow Balukas to play again until she paid. "Just because she was our premier player does not mean she was above the rules", said Vicki Paski in 1992, then president of the WPBA. Another professional named Loree Jon Jones was also interviewed. Her feelings were more mixed: "Her not playing is, I guess, sad", but she also said that without Balukas playing, "we've all learned how to win".

paragraphs: Balukas had faced other problems before she stopped competing. When she had tried to compete against men as the only woman she heard insults from some men. For example, one said "I’m gonna put on a dress and go play with the women". Balukas heard many complaints from the men upon her entry to a Chicago tournament in 1988. They said it was not fair that she got to play on both the men's and women's side, when the men could only play on their own side. She agreed not to play. However, after she traveled to the tournament she learned she had been tricked: "I found out that the first- and second-place winners in the women’s event were going to be invited to play in the men’s event. I was stabbed in the back".

paragraphs: Balukas also admits having been under great pressure, much of it that she placed on herself. After she reached the very top of her profession, "That's when I started getting nervous... that’s when I started putting a lot of pressure on myself". "Playing against the men, I learned to lose... but [losing] hurt with the women because I was expected to win all the time". Balukas later said that leaving the sport was a combination of many things, including: stress, fatigue, frustration, and anger at the professional pool industry. She said, "You know, you're going to fine me? Well, see you later. That was my excuse to finally say I need a break".

paragraphs: After leaving the sport, Balukas returned to Bay Ridge. She took over management of her family's pool hall, Hall of Fame Billiards on Ovington Avenue in Brooklyn. She says "I'm enjoying my life immensely... I have moved on". In summing up these events in a 1992 article, "The New York Times" stated, "So America's greatest woman pool player competes only for the odd soda. If you're feeling lucky, drop by her poolroom...If you're thirsty...go elsewhere".

paragraphs: In 1975, when she was fifteen years old, Balukas was already described as the "best female pool player in the world". Announcers had stopped calling Balukas "the Little Princess", but introduced her to audiences as "the Queen". By that time she had won the World Straight Pool Championship women's division eight of the last nine years. During those same years, she also won sixteen women's professional tournaments. She had been named the Billiard Congress of America Player of the Year five times. In 1985, Balukas became the second woman (after Dorothy Wise) to enter the BCA Hall of Fame. She was the youngest person ever to receive the honor, at just under 27 years of age. In 1999, Balukas was ranked number fifteen on "Billiard Digest's" Fifty Greatest Players of the Century.


title: New York State Route 308

paragraphs: New York State Route 308 (NY 308, Route 308) is a short road in Dutchess County, New York. The highway is long. It goes through mostly rural areas, and is usually used as a shortcut from U.S. Route 9 (US 9) to New York State Route 9G. The road passes several landmarks along its path. The road began its history in about 1685, when a group of Native Americans built the Sepasco Trail. This trail went from the Hudson River to Lake Sepasco, and followed the same path that currently exists as Route 308. The trail was there until 1802, when part of the Ulster and Delaware Turnpike was built over it. Route 308 was officially formed in 1930.

paragraphs: Part of NY 308 is in the Rhinebeck Village Historic District, which is a area that has 272 historical buildings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. A well-known attraction is the Beekman Arms Inn, which is located at the corner of NY 308 and US 9. The inn was started in 1776, and says it is one of the oldest inns within the United States.

paragraphs: The road begins at US 9 in the village of Rhinebeck, which is above sea level. To the south of here is a park, a small lake, and a cemetery. At this point, the Dutchess County Fairgrounds are north of Route 308. The highway goes to the east, and is called East Market Street. It soon leaves Rhinebeck, while it runs next to a small creek sometimes known as the Landsman Kill.

paragraphs: The road intersects with County Route 101 and then turns to the north. It also intersects with Route 9G before it turns to the east into a rural area. In this area, Route 308 carries about 6,400 vehicles each day. There are many small lakes around the road as it intersects with County Route 52 and turns to the northeast. NY 308 then travels west of Sepasco Lake before turning east again. It ends at NY 199 in the town of Milan.

paragraphs: The earliest people that lived in northern Dutchess County were the Mohicans. They were a Native American nation that came to the area about 3,000 years ago. There were around 8,000 Mohicans during the time they first saw the Europeans. However, there were only 800 after the American Revolution. Artifacts were found along the shore of Lake Sepasco, which is a small lake near NY 308. The artifacts included very old arrowheads, and are now being shown at a local museum.

paragraphs: A smaller group of these Native Americans were known as the Sepasco Indians. This name was used for Native Americans in the Sepasco area, which is now known as Rhinebeck. The word "Sepasco" probably came from the tribe's word for "little river" or "stream", which is "sepuus". After the Civil War, only a few of the Sepasco were left. The last Sepasco Indian died in 1867 in a hut near Lake Sepasco. By 1685, a trail known as the Sepasco Trail was formed by the Sepasco people. This trail started at the Hudson River and went east through the village of Rhinebeck. It ended at Lake Sepasco. Part of the trail from Rhinebeck to Lake Sepasco follows about the same path that is today taken by Route 308.

paragraphs: The trail was there until 1802, when a turnpike, a type of road, was built over it "for improving and making a road from the west line of the Town of Salisbury in the State of Connecticut to the Susquehannah River at or near the Town of Jericho". The part of the new turnpike east of the Hudson River was sometimes known as the "Ulster and Salisbury Turnpike". A plaque was placed in November 1922 at the Beekman Arms Inn. The sign marked the crossing of the Kings Highway (now called US 9) and the Ulster and Salisbury Turnpike.

paragraphs: NY 308 itself was officially made during 1930. The path of the road was changed a bit in the 1960s.


title: Grand Central Terminal

paragraphs: Grand Central Terminal (GCT) — often called Grand Central Station or simply Grand Central — is a train station in New York City. Located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms.

paragraphs: The first station at this site was built in 1871 by the New York Central Railroad at a time when there were many long-distance passenger trains in the United States which most people took to move across the country. Back then it was called "Grand Central Depot". In 1913 the station was rebuilt and given its current name, "Grand Central Terminal", but today many people call it "Grand Central Station". In fact, "Grand Central Station" is the name of the nearby post office, and of a New York City Subway station underneath.

paragraphs: Grand Central Station covers an area of 48 acres and has 44 platforms on two levels, with 67 tracks along them. There are 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 tracks on the lower level. All of them are built underground at the end of a long tunnel under Park Avenue, where trains have to change from diesel to electric power using a third rail to avoid problems with exhaust. These platforms serve commuters traveling on the Metro-North Railroad to Westchester County, New York, Putnam County, New York, and Dutchess County, New York in New York State, and Fairfield County, Connecticut and New Haven County, Connecticut in the state of Connecticut. By December 2022, the Long Island Rail Road will be extended to a new station at Grand Central, below the existing platforms. Once this happens, Grand Central will have a total of 75 tracks and 48 platforms.


title: Samuel P. Taylor State Park

paragraphs: Samuel P. Taylor State Park is a state park located in Marin County, California. It contains approximately of redwood and grassland. The park contains about of old-growth forest, some of which can be seen along the Pioneer Tree Trail.