Gothic alphabet
The Gothic alphabet is an alphabet for writing the Gothic language, created in the 4th century by Ulfilas (or Wulfila) for the purpose of translating the Bible.
The alphabet is essentially an uncial form of the Greek alphabet, with a few additional letters to account for Gothic phonology: Latin F, two Runic letters to distinguish the /j/ and /w/ glides from vocalic /i/ and /u/, and the letter ƕair to express the Gothic labiovelar. It is completely different from the 'Gothic script' of the Middle Ages, a script used to write the Latin alphabet.
Origin
Ulfilas is thought to have consciously chosen to avoid the use of the older Runic alphabet for this purpose, as it was heavily connected with heathen beliefs and customs. Also, the Greek-based script probably helped to integrate the Gothic nation into the dominant Greco-Roman culture around the Black Sea. The individual letters, however, still bear names derived from those of their Runic equivalents.
In past centuries, some authors asserted that Greek-like letters were already in use among Germanic tribes long before Ulfilas. Johannes Aventinus (c. 1525) even ascribed them to the mythical progenitor Tuisto, claiming the Greeks had really stolen the idea from them, and not the Phoenicians. Such theories enjoy no scholarly support today, as all available evidence traces the development of alphabetic writing to the Middle East, although there is some testimony by classical Roman sources, as well as a few assorted tombstones, indicating that Greek letters were sometimes used in Germany, in addition to Gaul, by the time of Julius Caesar (1st century BC).
Gothic (album)
Gothic is the second full-length album released by British heavy metal band Paradise Lost.
This album has been re-released twice, both of which contain remastered sound. The 2003 re-release of this album appended two remixes of songs from Lost Paradise, bringing the total running time to 49 minutes and 30 seconds. Remixed/live versions of "Eternal", "Gothic" and "The Painless", appear on the 2003 digipak re-release of Lost Paradise. In 2008, Gothic was re-released with a bonus DVD with a rare performance by the band.
Track listing
All songs written by Nick Holmes and Gregor Mackintosh.
Personnel
Guest musicians
Production
References
Gothic (Nox Arcana album)
Gothic is the 22nd concept album by Nox Arcana. The album opens with an introductory narration, describing terms of an inheritance of an old gothic mansion called Grimstone Manor. The story described in narrative form and in the liner notes contains elements of danger and romance like that of a 19th century Gothic novel. Musically, the album features Nox Arcana's brand of dark ambient music, with the use of pipe organ, violins, harpsichord, piano, choirs, and other instrumentation, representing a musical journey through the haunted mansion.
Track listing
Velocity (software development)
Velocity is a capacity planning tool sometimes used in Agile software development. Velocity tracking is the act of measuring said velocity. The velocity is calculated by counting the number of units of work completed in a certain interval, the length of which is determined at the start of the project.
Principle
The main idea behind velocity is to help teams estimate how much work they can complete in a given time period based on how quickly similar work was previously completed.
Terminology
The following terminology is used in velocity tracking.
Usage
To calculate velocity, a team first has to determine how many units of work each task is worth and the length of each interval. During development, the team has to keep track of completed tasks and, at the end of the interval, count the number of units of work completed during the interval. The team then writes down the calculated velocity in a chart or on a graph.
The first week provides little value, but is essential to provide a basis for comparison. Each week after that, the velocity tracking will provide better information as the team provides better estimates and becomes more used to the methodology.
Velocity (TV channel)
Velocity (formerly HD Theater and originally Discovery HD Theater) is an American high-definition, commercial-based, cable and satellite television channel owned by Discovery Communications. The channel specializes in nonfictional programming, focusing on cars, sports related shows, and other programming targeted at men ages 18–54.
As of February 2015, approximately 62.3 million American households (53.5% of households with television) receive Velocity.
History
The channel launched nationwide in the United States on June 17, 2002, as Discovery HD Theater. The channel was rebranded to HD Theater on September 22, 2007, because Discovery Communications launched HD simulcasts of some of its other channels including Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Science and TLC.
On April 14, 2011, Discovery Communications announced that HD Theater would be re-launched as Velocity later in the year: aimed primarily at an "upscale male" audience, the network focuses primarily on automotive-oriented programming and other shows of interest to a male audience. The re-launch took place on October 4, 2011.
Velocity (video game)
Velocity is a shoot 'em up video game developed by FuturLab for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita as a PlayStation mini. The developers signed with Sony to create new titles for the PlayStation Vita. A sequel titled Velocity 2X was released on September 2, 2014 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, and on August 19, 2015 for Steam and Xbox One.
Gameplay
Velocity's gameplay involves navigating the Quarp Jet – a teleporting spacecraft – through space, whilst avoiding and defeating enemies using bombs that can be flung in cardinal directions. The main goal of the game is to rescue stranded ships. The game adds depth by introducing new abilities and obstacles. The stranded ships are protected by shields that must be disabled by switches in a specific order. The player's ship has the ability to fire bombs. The game allows the player to teleport their ship anywhere. It also allows the player create telepods which they can return to anytime. The telepods add a puzzle element to the game because the player has to return to activate the switches in the right order.
Podcasts:
