Air ram

The air ram is a pneumatic device that catapults a stunt performer through the air. To simulate the effects of an explosion the performer steps on a large "pedal" and using compressed air the "pedal" is released sending the performer hurtling through the air. The distance and height the performer attains is dependent upon the air pressure set.

There are many different design types but all air rams have a few design elements in common - they use compressed air and a surface area that the performer steps on—that is raised using the compressed air which then catapults the person forward.

At the 1995 (65th) Academy Awards Scientific and Technical Awards presentation, stunt performer Joe Finnegan (a.k.a. Joe Yrigoyen) was the recipient of a Technical Achievement Award for "his pioneering work in developing the Air Ram for motion picture stunt effects."

References

Ram

Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:

Used as a word (not as an initialism)

Animals

Military

Music

Other

People and characters

RealAudio

RealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is played at the same time as it is downloaded. In the past, many internet radio stations used RealAudio to stream their programming over the internet in real time. In recent years, however, the format has become less common and has given way to more popular audio formats. RealAudio was heavily used by the BBC websites until 2009, though it was discontinued due to its declining use. BBC World Service, the last of the BBC websites to use RealAudio, discontinued its usage in March 2011.

File extensions

RealAudio files were originally identified by a filename extension of .ra (for Real Audio). In 1997, RealNetworks also began offering a video format called RealVideo. The combination of the audio and video formats was called RealMedia and used the file extension .rm. However, the latest version of RealProducer, Real's flagship encoder, reverted to using .ra for audio-only files, and began using .rv for video files (with or without audio), and .rmvb for VBR video files. The .ram (Real Audio Metadata) and .smil (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) file formats are sometimes encountered as links from web pages (see Streaming Audio section below).

Goat (zodiac)

The Goat (Chinese: 羊; pinyin: yáng) is the eighth sign of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The sign is also referred to as the Ram or Sheep sign, since the Chinese word yáng is more accurately translated as Caprinae, a taxonomic subfamily which includes both sheep and goats.

The Year of the Goat (alternatively, Year of the Ram or Year of the Sheep) is associated with the 8th Earthly Branch symbol, 未 (wèi).

Goat or Sheep

The Chinese word yáng refers both to goats and sheep, with shānyáng specifically goats and miányáng sheep. In English, the sign (originally based on a horned animal) may be called either. The interpretation of sheep or goat depends on culture. In Vietnamese, the sign is mùi, which is unambiguously goat. In Japan, on the other hand, the sign is hitsuji, sheep; while in Korea and Mongolia the sign is also sheep or ram. Within China, there may be a regional distinction with the zodiacal yáng more likely to be thought of as a goat in the south, while tending to be thought of as a sheep in the north.

Airó

Airó is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Barcelos. The population in 2011 was 913, in an area of 3.02 km².

References

Air (classical element)

Air (also sometimes called Wind) is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as aspire, inspire, perspire and spirit, all derived from the Latin spirare.

Greek and Roman tradition

Air is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. According to Plato, it is associated with the octahedron; air is considered to be both hot and wet. The ancient Greeks used two words for air: aer meant the dim lower atmosphere, and aether meant the bright upper atmosphere above the clouds.Plato, for instance writes that "So it is with air: there is the brightest variety which we call aether, the muddiest which we call mist and darkness, and other kinds for which we have no name...." Among the early Greek Pre-Socratic philosophers, Anaximenes (mid-6th century BCE) named air as the arche. A similar belief was attributed by some ancient sources to Diogenes Apolloniates (late 5th century BCE), who also linked air with intelligence and soul (psyche), but other sources claim that his arche was a substance between air and fire.Aristophanes parodied such teachings in his play The Clouds by putting a prayer to air in the mouth of Socrates.

Air (French band)

Air is a music duo from Versailles, France, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel.

Air's debut EP, Premiers Symptômes, was followed by the critically acclaimed album Moon Safari, the re-release of Premiers Symptômes, The Virgin Suicides score, and subsequently albums 10 000 Hz Legend, Everybody Hertz, Talkie Walkie, Pocket Symphony, Love 2 and Le voyage dans la lune.

Career

Formation of the band

Nicolas Godin studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles, and Jean-Benoît Dunckel studied mathematics before forming a band in 1995. Before founding Air, Dunckel and Godin played together in the band Orange, with others such as Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Jean de Reydellet. The former two have subsequently contributed to remixes of tracks recorded by Air.

Initially Nicolas Godin was alone. He recorded a demo with members of Funkadelic as his backing band before releasing his first entirely solo effort 'Modular Mix', which featured production by Étienne de Crécy.