Poing, Bavaria

Poing is a community in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg, lying 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of central Munich.

Geography

Poing is approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) NE of Munich and is serviced by the Munich S-Bahn (S2) and MVV Bus systems. Poing has two constituent communities named Angelbrechting and Grub. Poing is bordered on the east by Anzing and Markt Schwaben, Pliening in the North, Kirchheim to the West and Parsdorf to the South.

History

It is believed that Poing has been settled for more than 5,000 years. The ending on the community’s name suggests a Celtic origin.

Population development

Over the last few decades, Poing has developed rapidly from a small village into the second biggest community in the S-Bahn line 2 (S2) area (up to Erding) and into the second biggest community in Ebersberg after Vaterstetten. In 2006, it overtook the once dominant neighboring community of Kirchheim. The sharp rise in population is due to the many new building projects in the northern area of the city, to which no end is yet foreseen. Therefore, even more development projects are expected.

Poing (video game)

Poing is a freeware computer game, made by Paul Van der Valk, and released on the Amiga in 1992. It is a variant of the arcade games Breakout and Arkanoid but is presented in a horizontal orientation similar to the 8 bit computer game Krakout.

Description

Gameplay

The game is divided into stages, each containing a number of levels. Each level consists of a rectangular playing area, which contains an arrangement of blocks. The levels appear in a random order each game. In later versions this feature became optional.

In each level, the player controls a simple paddle, which is positioned on the left side of the playing area and can be moved up or down. The player uses the paddle to deflect strategically a ball, which can damage or destroy blocks on contact.

To complete a level, the right-hand wall of the playing area must be hit by the ball a number of times to break it, and then the ball must pass through the right-hand side, taking it to the next level. A 'Force' bar in the corner of the screen indicates the number of hits required. At the start of each level the wall needs to be hit 10 times, but powerups can damage or recover the wall.

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by either wind or water flow. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, formed by interaction with the flow of air or water. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind. The valley or trough between dunes is called a slack. A "dune field" is an area covered by extensive sand dunes.

Some coastal areas have one or more sets of dunes running parallel to the shoreline directly inland from the beach. In most cases, the dunes are important in protecting the land against potential ravages by storm waves from the sea. Although the most widely distributed dunes are those associated with coastal regions, the largest complexes of dunes are found inland in dry regions and associated with ancient lake or sea beds.

Dunes can form under the action of water flow (fluvial processes), and on sand or gravel beds of rivers, estuaries and the sea-bed.

The modern word "dune" came into English from French circa 1790.

Dune (film)

Dune is a 1984 American epic science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as young nobleman Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico City and included a soundtrack by the rock band Toto and Brian Eno. The plot, set twenty one thousand years in the future, concerns the conflict between rival noble families as they battle for control of the planet Arrakis (also known as "Dune"), which is the only planet that possesses the drug melange—also called "the spice"—which is the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe.

After the success of the novel, attempts to adapt Dune as a film began as early as 1971. A lengthy process of development followed throughout the 1970s, during which Arthur P. Jacobs, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ridley Scott unsuccessfully tried to bring their visions to the screen. In 1981, executive producer Dino De Laurentiis hired Lynch as director.

Arrakis

Arrakis (/əˈrækᵻs/;Arabic: الراقص‎, ar-rāqiṣ, "the dancer") — informally known as Dune and later called Rakis — is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's Dune, is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and it is sometimes cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history.

In Dune, the planet is the home of the Fremen (Zensunni wanderers), and subsequently is the Imperial Capital of the Atreides Empire. Arrakis is the third planet orbiting the star Canopus, and it in turn is orbited by two moons, one of which has the image of the desert kangaroo mouse, Muad'Dib, on it; the other moon possesses the image of a human hand.

Environment and the spice

A desert planet with no natural precipitation, in Dune it is established that Arrakis had been "His Imperial Majesty's Desert Botanical Testing Station" before the discovery of melange, for which it is the only natural source in the universe. Melange (or, "the spice") is the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe, as it extends life and makes safe interstellar travel possible (among other uses). The planet has no surface water bodies, but open canals called qanats are used "for carrying irrigation water under controlled conditions" through the desert. The Fremen collect water in underground reservoirs to fulfill their dream of someday terraforming the planet, and pay the Spacing Guild exorbitant fees in melange to keep the skies over Arrakis free of any satellites which might observe their efforts. As indicated by its large salt flats, Arrakis once had lakes and oceans; Lady Jessica also notes in Dune that wells drilled in the sinks and basins initially produce a "trickle" of water which soon stops, as if "something plugs it."