title: Akhtar Mansour

text: On 21 May 2016, Mansour was killed in a U.S. military drone strike on the N-40 National Highway in Pakistan near Ahmad Wal, not far from the Pakistan–Afghanistan border; Mansour had crossed earlier that day from Iran into Pakistan through the Taftan, Balochistan border crossing, some away from the spot where he was killed. Mansour was being driven to Quetta, after a long stay in Iran, reportedly to both visit family and seek medical treatment. The CIA had learned of Mansour's location via electronic intercepts, and the movements of his vehicle were tracked using signals intelligence provided by the NSA. Mansour had crossed into Pakistan posing as a Pakistani citizen, using forged identity documents (a Pakistani passport and national ID card under the name "Muhammad Wali.") The false passport showed that Mansour had entered Iran on 28 March. Mansour and his taxi driver were both killed in the strike against the Toyota Corolla, which was struck by two Hellfire missiles launched by Reaper drones that had evaded Pakistani radar.


title: Akhtar Mansour

text: The following day, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States had "conducted a precision airstrike that targeted Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in a remote area of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border" against Mansour that had likely killed him, and stated that Mansour "posed a continuing, imminent threat" to U.S. personnel and Afghans. Kerry said that the leaders of both Pakistan and Afghanistan were made aware of the airstrike but did not comment on the timing of the notifications, which he said included a telephone call from him to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Pakistani government later said it was notified of the strike seven hours after it took place. On 23 May 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed that Mansour had been killed in the American airstrike that he had sanctioned, and stated that Mansour had been planning attacks against U.S. targets in Kabul. Obama stated afterwards that he had hoped Mansour's death would lead to the Taliban joining a peace process. The death of Mansour was also later officially confirmed separately by the Afghan government and members of the Taliban.


title: Akhtar Mansour

text: The U.S. government agencies involved reportedly agreed that officials were to be vague about identifying the location of the strike, beyond saying it took place in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. The strike that killed Mansour was a rare instance of a U.S. drone strike in Balochistan; U.S. strikes in Pakistan were more generally limited to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.


title: Akhtar Mansour

text: Two senior members of the Taliban said that Pakistani authorities had delivered Mansour’s badly burned body to the Taliban for its burial in Quetta, Balochistan. Pakistani officials, however, denied handing over a body. Mansour's body was later handed over to his relatives in Afghanistan.


title: Akhtar Mansour

text: Some U.S. officials had been divided over Mansour's intentions. Some believed that Mansour could have brought the Taliban to the negotiating table, potentially speeding up the reconciliation process; others, by contrast, "were highly skeptical of Mansour's commitment to talks," noting that Mansour had a long history of authorizing suicide attacks, including in the weeks before the drone strike (such as the April 2016 Kabul attack, which killed more than 60 people), and that even as Mansour was agreeing to secret direct peace negotiations, he had rejected international peace efforts. According to the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, U.S. officials stated that Mullah Mansour's death was "unavoidable" due to the then Emir being unwilling to engage in peace talks.


title: Fen

text: A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. The unique water chemistry of fens is a result of the ground or surface water input. Typically, this input results in higher mineral concentrations and a more basic pH than found in bogs. As peat accumulates in a fen, groundwater input can be reduced or cut off, making the fen ombrotrophic rather than minerotrophic. In this way, fens can become more acidic and transition to bogs over time.


title: Fen

text: Fens can be found around the world, but the vast majority are located at the mid to high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. They are dominated by sedges and mosses, particularly graminoids that may be rarely found elsewhere, such as the sedge species "Carex exilis". Fens are highly biodiverse ecosystems and often serve as habitats for endangered or rare species, with species composition changing with water chemistry. They also play important roles in the cycling of nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus due to the lack of oxygen (anaerobic conditions) in waterlogged organic fen soils.


title: Fen

text: Fens have historically been converted to agricultural land. However, fens face a number of other threats, including peat cutting, pollution, invasive species, and nearby disturbances that lower the water table in the fen, such as quarrying. Interrupting the flow of mineral-rich water into a fen changes the water chemistry, which can alter species richness and dry out the peat. Drier peat is more easily decomposed and can even burn.


title: Fen

text: Fens are distributed around the world, but are most frequently found at the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. They are found throughout the temperate zone and boreal regions, but are also present in tundra and in specific environmental conditions in other regions around the world. In the United States, fens are most common in the Midwest and Northeast, but can be found across the country. In Canada, fens are most frequent in the lowlands near Hudson Bay and James Bay, but can also be found across the country. Fens are also spread across the northern latitudes of Eurasia, including Britain and Ireland, as well as Japan, but east-central Europe is especially rich in fens. Further south, fens are much rarer, but do exist under specific conditions. In Africa, fens have been found in the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the highland slopes in Lesotho. Fens can also be found at the colder latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. They are found in New Zealand and southwest Argentina, but the extent is much less than that of the northern latitudes. Locally, fens are most often found at the intersection of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, such as the headwaters of streams and rivers.


title: Fen

text: It is estimated that there are approximately 1.1 million square kilometers of fens worldwide, but quantifying the extent of fens is difficult. Because wetland definitions vary regionally, not all countries define fens the same way. In addition, wetland data is not always available or of high quality. Fens are also difficult to rigidly delineate and measure, as they are located between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.


title: Fen

text: Rigidly defining types of wetlands, including fens, is difficult for a number of reasons. First, wetlands are diverse and varied ecosystems that are not easily categorized according to inflexible definitions. They are often described as a transition between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems with characteristics of both. This makes it difficult to delineate the exact extent of a wetland. Second, terms used to describe wetland types vary greatly by region. The term "bayou," for example, describes a type of wetland, but its use is generally limited to the southern United States. Third, different languages use different terms to describe types of wetlands. For instance, in Russian, there is no equivalent word for the term "swamp" as it is typically used in North America. The result is a large number of wetland classification systems that each define wetlands and wetland types in their own way. However, many classification systems include four broad categories that most wetlands fall into: marsh, swamp, bog, and fen. While classification systems differ on the exact criteria that define a fen, there are common characteristics that describe fens generally and imprecisely. A general definition provided by the textbook "Wetlands" describes a fen as "a peat-accumulating wetland that receives some drainage from surrounding mineral soil and usually supports marsh like vegetation."


title: Fen

text: In the textbook "Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation", Paul A. Keddy offers a somewhat simpler definition of a fen as "a wetland that is usually dominated by sedges and grasses rooted in shallow peat, often with considerable groundwater movement, and with pH greater than 6." This definition differentiates fens from swamps and marshes by the presence of peat.


title: Fen

text: A further distinction is made between open and wooded fens, where open fens have canopy cover less than 10% and wooded fens have 10–25% canopy cover. If tall shrubs or trees dominate, the wetland is instead classified as a wooded bog or swamp forest, depending on other criteria.


title: Fen

text: Hydrologyal conditions, as seen in other wetlands, are a major determinant of fen biota and biogeochemistry. Fen soils are constantly inundated because the water table is at or near the surface. The result is anaerobic (oxygen-free) soils due to the slow rate at which oxygen diffuses into waterlogged soil. Anaerobic soils are ecologically unique because earth's atmosphere is oxygenated, while most terrestrial ecosystems and surface waters are aerobic. The anaerobic conditions found in wetland soils result in reduced, rather than oxidized, soil chemistry.


title: Fen

text: A hallmark of fens is that a significant portion of their water supply is derived from groundwater (minerotrophy). Because hydrology is the dominant factor in wetlands, the chemistry of the groundwater has an enormous effect on the characteristics of the fen it supplies. Groundwater chemistry, in turn, is largely determined by the geology of the rocks that the groundwater flows through. Thus, the characteristics of a fen, especially its pH, are directly influenced by the type of rocks its groundwater supply contacts. pH is a major factor in determining fen species composition and richness, with more basic fens called "rich" and more acidic fens called "poor." Rich fens tend to be highly biodiverse and harbor a number of rare or endangered species, and biodiversity tends to decrease as the richness of fen decreases.


title: Fen

text: Fens tend to be found above rocks that are rich in calcium, such as limestone. When groundwater flows past calcareous (calcium-rich) rocks like limestone (calcium carbonate), a small amount dissolves and is carried to the fen supplied by the groundwater. When calcium carbonate dissolves, it produces bicarbonate and a calcium cation according to the following equilibrium:


title: Fen

text: where carbonic acid (HCO) is produced by the dissolution of carbon dioxide in water. In fens, the bicarbonate anion produced in this equilibrium acts as a pH buffer, which keeps the pH of the fen relatively stable. Fens supplied by groundwater that doesn't flow through minerals and act as a buffer when dissolved tend to be more acidic. The same effect is observed when groundwater flows through minerals with low solubility, such as sand.


title: Fen

text: In extreme rich fens, calcium carbonate can precipitate out of solution to form marl deposits. Calcium carbonate precipitates out of solution when the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the solution falls. The decrease in carbon dioxide partial pressure is caused by uptake by plants for photosynthesis or direct loss to the atmosphere. This reduces the availability of carbonic acid in solution, shifting the above equilibrium back towards the formation of calcium carbonate. The result is the precipitation of calcium carbonate and the formation of marl.


title: Fen

text: Fen, being a distinct type of wetland, shares many biogeochemical characteristics with other wetlands. Like all wetlands, they play an important role in nutrient cycling because they are located at the interface of aerobic (oxic) and anaerobic (anoxic) environments. Most wetlands have a thin top layer of oxygenated soil in contact with the atmosphere or oxygenated surface waters. Nutrients and minerals may cycle between this oxidized top layer and the reduced layer below, undergoing oxidation and reduction reactions by the microbial communities adapted to each layer. Many important reactions take place in the reduced layer, including denitrification, manganese reduction, iron reduction, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis. Because wetlands are hotspots for nutrient transformations and often serve as nutrient sinks, they may be constructed to treat nutrient-rich waters created by human activities.


title: Fen

text: Fens are also hotspots for primary production, as the continuous input of groundwater stimulates production. Bogs, which lack this input of groundwater, have much lower primary production.


title: Fen

text: Carbon from all types of wetlands, including fens, arrives mostly as organic carbon from either adjacent upland ecosystems or by photosynthesis in the wetland itself. Once in the wetland, organic carbon generally has three main fates: oxidation to CO by aerobic respiration, burial as organic matter in peat, or decomposition to methane. In peatlands, including fens, primary production by plants is greater than decomposition, which results in the accumulation of organic matter as peat. Resident mosses usually carry out decomposition within the fen, and temperate fens are often driven by plant roots' decomposition. These peat stores sequester an enormous amount of carbon. Nevertheless, it is difficult to determine whether fens net take up or emit greenhouse gases. This is because fens emit methane, which is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Methanogenic archaea that reside in the anaerobic layers of peat combine carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas to form methane and water. This methane can then escape into the atmosphere and exert its warming effects. Peatlands dominated by brown mosses and sedges such as fens have been found to emit a greater amount of methane than "Sphagnum"-dominated peatlands such as bogs.


title: Fen

text: Fens play an important role in the global nitrogen cycle due to the anaerobic conditions found in their soils, which facilitate the oxidation or reduction of one form of nitrogen to another. Most nitrogen arrives in wetlands as nitrate from runoff, in organic matter from other areas, or by nitrogen fixation in the wetland. There are three main forms of nitrogen found in wetlands: nitrogen in organic matter, oxidized nitrogen (nitrate or nitrite), and ammonium.


title: Fen

text: Nitrogen is abundant in peat. When the organic matter in peat is decomposed in the absence of oxygen, ammonium is produced via ammonification. In the oxidized surface layer of the wetland, this ammonium is oxidized to nitrite and nitrate by nitrification. The production of ammonium in the reduced layer and its consumption in the top oxidized layer drives upward diffusion of ammonium. Likewise, nitrate production in the oxidized layer and nitrate consumption in the reduced layer by denitrification drives downward diffusion of nitrate. Denitrification in the reduced layer produces nitrogen gas and some nitrous oxide, which then exit the wetland to the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas whose production is limited by nitrate and nitrite concentrations in fens.


title: Fen

text: Almost all of the phosphorus that arrives in a wetland does so through sediments or plant litter from other ecosystems. Along with nitrogen, phosphorus limits wetland fertility. Under basic conditions like those found in extremely rich fens, calcium will bind to phosphate anions to make calcium phosphates, which are unavailable for uptake by plants. Mosses also play a considerable role in aiding plants in phosphorus uptake by decreasing soil phosphorus stress and stimulating phosphatase activity in organisms found below the moss cover. Helophytes have been shown to bolster phosphorus cycling within fens, especially in fen reestablishment, due to their ability to act as a phosphorus sink, which prevents residual phosphorus in the fen from being transferred away from the it. Under normal conditions, phosphorus is held within soil as dissolved inorganic phosphorus, or phosphate, which leaves trace amounts of phosphorus in the rest of the ecosystem.


title: Fen

text: Iron is important in phosphorus cycling within fens. Iron can bind to high levels of inorganic phosphate within the fen, leading to a toxic environment and inhibition of plant growth. In iron-rich fens, the area can become vulnerable to acidification, excess nitrogen and potassium, and low water levels. Peat soils play a role in preventing the bonding of irons to phosphate by providing high levels of organic anions for iron to bind to instead of inorganic anions such as phosphate.


title: Fen

text: Bogs and fens can be thought of as two ecosystems on a gradient from poor to rich, with bogs at the poor end, extremely rich fens at the rich end, and poor fens in between. In this context, "rich" and "poor" refer to the species richness, or how biodiverse a fen or bog is. The richness of these species is strongly influenced by pH and concentrations of calcium and bicarbonate. These factors assist in identifying where along the gradient a particular fen falls. In general, rich fens are minerotrophic, or dependent on mineral-rich groundwater, while bogs are ombrotrophic, or dependent on precipitation for water and nutrients. Poor fens fall between these two.


title: Fen

text: Rich fens are strongly minerotrophic; that is, a large proportion of their water comes from mineral-rich ground or surface water. Fens that are more distant from surface waters such as rivers and lakes, however, have been shown to be more rich than fens that are connected. This water is dominated by calcium and bicarbonate, resulting in a slightly acidic to slightly basic pH, which is characteristic of rich fens. These conditions promote high biodiversity. Within rich fens, there is a large amount of variability. The richest fens are the extreme rich (marl) fens, where marl deposits are often build up. These are often pH 7 or greater. Rich and intermediate rich fens are generally neutral to slightly acidic, with a pH of approximately 7 to 5. Rich fens are not always very productive; at high calcium concentrations, calcium ions bind to phosphate anions, reducing the availability of phosphorus and decreasing primary production. Rich bogs with limited primary production can stabilize with the accumulation of mosses and mycorrhiza, which promote phosphorus cycling and can support the growth of new vegetation and bacteria. Brown mosses (family "Amblystegiaceae") and sedges (genus "Carex") are the dominant vegetation. However, an accumulation of mosses such as "Sphagnum" can lead to the acidification of the rich fen, potentially converting it into a poor fen. Compared to poor fens, rich fens have higher concentrations of bicarbonate, base cations (Na, Ca, K, Mg), and sulfate.


title: Fen

text: Poor fens are in many ways an intermediate between rich fens and bogs. Hydrologically, they are more alike to rich fens than to bogs, but in terms of vegetation composition and chemistry, they are more similar to bogs than rich fens. They are much more acidic than their rich counterparts, with a pH of approximately 5.5 to 4. Peat in poor fens tends to be thicker than that of rich fens, which cuts off vegetation access to the mineral-rich soil underneath. In addition, the thicker peat reduces the influence of mineral-rich groundwater that buffers the pH. This makes the fen more ombrotrophic, or dependent on nutrient-poor precipitation for its water and nutrients. Poor fens may also form in areas where the groundwater supplying the fen flows through sediments that don't dissolve well or have low buffering capacity when dissolved. Species richness tends to be lower than that of rich fens but higher than that of bogs. Poor fens, like bogs, are dominated by "Sphagnum" mosses, which acidify the fen and decrease nutrient availability.


title: Fen

text: One of the many threats that fens face is conversion to agricultural lands. Where climates are suitable, fens have been drained for agricultural use alongside crop production, grazing, and hay making. Draining a fen directly is particularly damaging because it lowers the water table. A lower water table can increase aeration and dry out peat, allowing for aerobic decomposition or burning of the organic matter in peat. Draining a fen indirectly by decreasing its water supply can be just as damaging. Disrupting groundwater flow into the fen with nearby human activities such as quarrying or residential development changes how much water and nutrients enter the fen. This can make the fen more ombrotrophic (dependent on precipitation), which results in acidification and a change in water chemistry. This has a direct impact on the habitat of these species and many signature fen species disappear.


title: Fen

text: Fens are also threatened by invasive species, fragmentation, peat cutting, and pollution. Non-native invasive species, such as the common buckthorn in North America, can invade fens and outcompete rare fen species, reducing biodiversity. Habitat fragmentation threatens fen species, especially rare or endangered species that are unable to move to nearby fens due to fragmentation. Peat cutting, while much more common in bogs, does happen in fens. Peat cut from fens has many uses, including burning as a fuel. Pollutants can alter the chemistry of fens and facilitate invasion by invasive species. Common pollutants of fens include road salts, nutrients from septic tanks, and runoff of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides.


title: Fen

text: Shakespeare used the term "fen-sucked" to describe the fog (literally: rising from marshes) in "King Lear", when Lear says "Infect her beauty, You fen-sucked fogs drawn by the powerful sun, To fall and blister."


title: The Belgariad

text: The Belgariad is a five-book fantasy epic written by David Eddings, following the journey of protagonist Garion and his companions, first to recover a sacred stone, and later to use it against antagonist Torak. It was a bestseller from the first book in the series. It has been called both the "last gasp" of traditional fantasy and "one of the founding megasagas" of modern fantasy.


title: The Belgariad

text: David Eddings, who had been writing adventure and thriller genres, has said he developed the idea for a fantasy series somewhat "cynically" after noticing how many times J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" series had been reprinted. He had an epiphany, realizing the fantasy genre might be very lucrative and was currently "underserved". He mapped out an imaginary world to use in developing the story for the Belgariad.


title: The Belgariad

text: He has also said he was influenced by reading medieval epics and by Lester del Rey's editorial input. In later works he acknowledged his wife, Leigh Eddings, as an "unindicted collaborator"; eventually later books credited her as co-author. She is generally acknowledged as a co-author of the earlier books as well.


title: The Belgariad

text: The title of each book combines a chess term with a fantasy term; whereas the concept of a 'Game of Destiny' is a significant motif in the story. The series has been reprinted as a two-volume set, titled "The Belgariad Volume One", containing the first three books of the series, and "The Belgariad Volume Two", which contains the last two books. This does not include the original map by Chris Barbieri, but only Shelly Shapiro's map.


title: The Belgariad

text: "The Malloreon" is a five-book sequel to "The Belgariad". "Belgarath the Sorcerer" (1995) and "Polgara the Sorceress" (1997) are prequels that share the setting and most characters. "The Rivan Codex" (1998) features annotated background material.


title: The Belgariad

text: The book opens with a prologue, beginning with the creation of the world by seven gods. Aldur, oldest of the seven, fashions a stone orb and creates within it a "living soul". Torak, the most beautiful of the seven, attempts to seize the Orb from Aldur and subdue the Orb's intelligence; the Orb mutilates the left side of Torak's body. The Orb of Aldur is later recovered by Belgarath the Sorcerer, King Cherek, and Cherek's sons. Riva, Cherek's youngest son, is found to be able to hold the Orb unharmed; he and his descendants protect the Orb from Torak.


title: The Belgariad

text: The story then begins in earnest with the experiences of protagonist Garion. His childhood on a large, prosperous farm: his earliest memories in the kitchen of his Aunt Pol; his friend Durnik the blacksmith; early games and friends; and the romance between Garion and local girl Zubrette. It also introduces Belgarath, as a wandering storyteller nicknamed 'Mister Wolf'; Garion's telepathic vision of the antagonist Asharak/Chamdar; and a "dry voice" in his mind, distinct from his own consciousness. The reader later discovers that this is the Voice of Prophecy, or "Necessity", which takes action through him.


title: The Belgariad

text: When Belgarath, alias "Wolf", announces the theft of a mysterious object (actually the Orb), he, Garion, and Aunt Pol leave Faldor's farm to pursue the thief, reluctantly allowing Durnik to accompany them. They are joined later by Silk/Kheldar, a Drasnian prince, spy, and thief; and by Barak, a Cherek earl. Thereafter Mister Wolf follows an invisible trail through several regions until they are arrested.


title: The Belgariad

text: They are taken to a meeting of monarchs where Garion suspects a green-cloaked individual of treason. A few days later, Barak and Garion are hunting wild boar when Garion notices the green-cloaked spy discussing further espionage; but before Garion can tell anyone of this, he is attacked by a wild boar, which is then slain by Barak in the form of a bear. Garion later exposes the green-cloaked spy, and the latter's patrons are defeated in a fight. Garion himself is almost captured, but escapes.


title: The Belgariad

text: Garion learns that Polgara is Belgarath's daughter and the sister of Garion's second-most-distant female ancestor (identified in the prologue as Queen Beldaran, wife of Riva), and for that reason called his aunt. Having learned this, Garion identifies Belgarath as his grandfather. The group, with the addition of an Algarian prince named Hettar, then leave in search of the Orb.


title: The Belgariad

text: The story opens in the Kingdom of Arendia, where Garion duels and then befriends a master archer named Lelldorin. The party travel to Lelldorin's uncle's manor, where Garion hears about a plot to kill the Mimbrate king Korodullin and to start a civil war between the two grand duchies. The plot is masterminded by a spy from Cthol Murgos named Nachak. Garion's friends are joined thereafter by Korodullin's knight, Mandorallen.


title: The Belgariad

text: The party continue to Vo Mimbre, the Arendish capital, where Garion reveals the plot to kill Korodullin, without naming its local conspirators, and Mandorallen challenges Nachak to a duel, which Hettar terminates by killing Nachak. The party travels to Tolnedra, to talk to the Emperor Ran Borune in the city of Tol Honeth, and are nearly captured by a group of mercenaries for the Queen of neighboring Nyissa. At Tol Honeth, Belgarath and Polgara urge the Emperor to rid Tolnedra of the invading 'Murgos'; but Ran Borune refuses. Upon leaving the capital, the group acquire an ineffectually-disguised Princess Ce'Nedra (Ran Borune's daughter), and enter the Wood of the Dryads, hoping to cross into Nyissa ahead of their opponent Zedar. In the Wood, Ce'Nedra asks the Dryad Queen Xantha for sanctuary, on grounds of common ancestry; but is refused. Splitting up on the way to the Nyissan capital of Sthiss Tor, they are detained by Tolnedran legionnaires under Grand Duke Kador of Tol Vordue, accompanied by Asharak, who demand Ce'Nedra to ensure Kador's chances of the throne. When Asharak slaps Polgara, Garion strikes him such that he bursts into flames and dies; whereupon Grand Duke Kador is taken prisoner by his soldiers.


title: The Belgariad

text: Arriving at Nyissa by boat, Garion, angry at the treatment of the slaves there, uses the Will and the Word (the ability shared by himself with Belgarath, Polgara, and all other sorcerers in the story) to teleport one but does not know that the leeches in the river are poisonous so the slave dies. Following a quarrel with Polgara, during which she explains to him that the power he had used to kill Asharak was the same as the one he had earlier used unwittingly to cure a madman, Garion is kidnapped, drugged, and given as a gift to Queen Salmissra. He is rescued by Polgara and Barak (the latter again assuming a bear's shape); and Polgara, with permission by Issa, the god of the Nyissans, transforms Salmissra into an immortal snake. Thereafter Garion is reconciled with Polgara.


title: The Belgariad

text: In the third book of the series, after learning that the Angarak sorcerer Ctuchik has stolen the Orb from its erstwhile thief Zedar, Belgarion and friends go after him, via the Vale of Aldur. In a sacred cave, Garion brings a dead colt back to life. This is of significance because Polgara and Belgarath maintained that before this, it was impossible to use the "Will and the Word" to restore life to the dead. To save time, the group passes through the haunted land of Maragor, whose inhabitants were killed or enslaved when the Tolnedrans invaded them to obtain gold and whose god Mara drove every invader insane. To protect their minds, Belgarath and Polgara place their companions in a trance, during which the voice of prophecy teaches Garion of its own purpose and his control of the Will and the Word. At the center of the ruins, Mara attempts to drive Ce'Nedra insane; but is prevented by the voice.


title: The Belgariad

text: In the Vale of Aldur, Garion practices the Will and the Word, and learns from Belgarath. The group enters Ulgoland, and there recruit the local zealot Relg as a guide to Cthol Murgos. Ce'Nedra is left behind as a guest of Gorim, the Ulgos' supreme authority, when UL warns them against taking her to Cthol Murgos. At Cthol Murgos itself, Belgarath fights Ctuchik until Ctuchik attempts to "unmake" the Orb and thus "unmakes" himself. The group escapes, taking the now unconscious Belgarath, a boy later nicknamed Errand, who carries the Orb unharmed, and an escaped slave named Taiba, descendant of the Marags sold into slavery.


title: The Belgariad

text: The role of leader is thrust upon Garion when Belgarath and Polgara are incapacitated: the former by his battle with Ctuchik and the latter by protecting Errand. Garion thereafter incapacitates the Hierarchs of Rak Cthol in retaliation for an attack upon Durnik. With Errand continuously trying to give the Orb of Aldur to one of the company (its donation being the source of his name), they return to Ulgo for Ce'Nedra and eventually reach the Isle of the Winds, the object of their journey.


title: The Belgariad

text: There, Belgarion is led by Belgarath, Polgara, and the Voice of Prophecy to accept the Orb of Aldur from Errand in the Hall of the Rivan King, where the ancient Sword rests above the Rivan Throne. In Garion's hands, the Orb identifies him as the long-lost heir to the throne. This revelation infuriates Ce'Nedra, who discovers herself betrothed to him. During the investiture, Garion, aided by the Voice of Prophecy, sees each member of the quest as an Instrument of Prophecy.


title: The Belgariad

text: Shortly after the betrothal, Garion learns from the Mrin Prophecy that the Rivan King must slay the god Torak or die in the process. Belgarion, Belgarath, and Silk therefore set out to challenge Torak, leaving only a note to Polgara and Ce'Nedra with instructions not to pursue them; whereupon Polgara enters a rage, which devastates her apartment and causes a thunderstorm overhead. Having learnt the reason of Belgarion's departure, Ce'Nedra raises an international army to distract the Angaraks from Garion's quest so that he may reach Cthol Mishrak safely and overcome Torak.


title: The Belgariad

text: The final book of the series starts with Belgarion, Silk, and Belgarath sneaking through Gar og Nadrak, whence they cross into Mallorea. Garion is tempted by Torak to accept him as a father and Polgara as his mother, but rejects this offer and reaches Cthol Mishrak unchallenged.


title: The Belgariad

text: Ce'Nedra's army invades Angarak lands, and wins a hard-fought battle at Thull Mardu with both physical and magical powers employed by both sides. However, in the moment of victory Ce'Nedra, Polgara, Durnik, and Errand are captured by the emperor Zakath of Mallorea, who gives them to Zedar to offer to Torak. "En route" to Cthol Mishrak, Polgara reveals that the Mallorean Prophecies identify her as Torak's fiancée, and that her resistance to Torak's call may decide Belgarion's duel. Zedar takes his prisoners to Torak's chamber, where Zedar kills Durnik, enraging Belgarath, who buries him alive. Torak attempts to sway Polgara; but Garion sends images of Durnik into her mind, thereby helping her to withstand Torak's call. A final battle ensues, during which Garion and Torak swell into immensity, and in which Garion, having 'rejected' Torak again, kills him outright. The other gods claim Torak's body, and UL, revealed as the father of the gods, agrees to allow Garion to revive Durnik; Mara objects, but relents when Belgarath reveals the existence of Taiba.


title: The Belgariad

text: Upon the company's return to Riva, Garion and Ce'Nedra plan their wedding, while Polgara and Durnik are married in a private chapel in the Citadel. Here, Durnik reveals that he received the "Will and the Word" when he was brought back to life, and that Belgarath had been training him to control the "will and the word". Ce'Nedra and Garion are married, dance with everyone, and retire to their chambers. The story ends with a half-drunk Belgarath having a conversation with the Orb, while Garion and Ce'Nedra consummate their marriage.


title: The Belgariad

text: The series was a bestseller and an instant sensation. "Publishers Weekly" in their review of "The Rivan Codex" (1998) called "The Belgariad" "one of the founding megasagas in modern English-language fantasy." The Guardian credited Eddings with creating "the craze for doorstopper-sized fantasy series". The series was published in a transitional period for fantasy literature, when the genre was becoming more "complex and nuanced," and the Eddings books were a sort of "last gasp" of popularity for traditional fantasy. Stephen Hunt said the books "were fantasy, but they carried a modern feel to the dialogue and characterisation, while still being firmly placed in a deeply believable fantasy world."


title: The Belgariad

text: Jason Heller wrote a retrospective on the series for NPR in 2017 after re-reading the books as an adult ~30 years after reading them originally. He found the archetypical fantasy aspects had aged reasonably well despite his expectations that the tropes might feel worn out, and noted the story's very direct use of the hero's journey from Joseph Campbell. Heller did find that the gender roles had aged poorly, though:


title: The Belgariad

text: Heller also felt that the series uncritically mirrored the real-life East–West dichotomy, and that this aspect also bothered him as an adult. The protagonists are largely fair-skinned good guys in the West, while the antagonists of the series are from the kingdoms of the East and "systematically sinister or congenitally stupid."


title: Claire van der Boom

text: Claire van der Boom (born 1983) is an Australian actress. She first became known to Australian audiences for her roles in the TV series "Love My Way" and "East West 101". In 2008, she starred in the Australian neo-noir thriller "The Square". Internationally, she is best known for her appearance as Stella Karamanlis in the HBO miniseries "The Pacific", and her recurring role playing the ex-wife of Det. Danny Williams in the 2010 remake of "Hawaii Five-O".


title: Claire van der Boom

text: Van der Boom was born in Broome, Western Australia. She attended Presbyterian Ladies' College in Perth, where she studied drama, graduating in 1999. She graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 2005.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: Following graduation, van der Boom appeared in the Australian TV series "Love My Way" and "East West 101". Her first major role in a feature film was in "The Square", opposite Joel Edgerton and directed by Nash Edgerton. It premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2008. It was released in the US in 2010 by Apparition.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: Van der Boom had a role in the Steven Spielberg-produced mini-series "The Pacific". This 10-part series, which is a follow-up to "Band of Brothers", was largely filmed in Australia and was released internationally in March 2010. The role of Stella required her to speak Greek.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: In 2008, van der Boom appeared as Grace Barry in the Australian police drama "Rush", but her character was killed off in episode 11, which aired 11 November 2008. Josef Ber's character, Sergeant Dominic "Dom" Wales, was originally scripted to be killed off. However, during production of the first season, van der Boom had her US green card approved which required her to relocate. She was nominated for a TV week Silver Logie for her work.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: Van der Boom starred in the 2010 psychological thriller "Red Hill", opposite Ryan Kwanten and directed by Patrick Hughes. Also in 2010 she starred in the comedic LGBT short 'Baby Cake' which screened at multiple festivals. In 2010, she portrayed Sister Berenice Twohill in the telemovie "Sisters of War", directed by Brendan Maher, for which she won a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress in 2011.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: Van der Boom starred in the 2011 telemovie "", the true story of drug smuggler David McMillan. She played McMillan's lover Clelia Vigano. She played the role of reporter Juliette Gardner in the first three episodes of the Australian police procedural "City Homicide"; the episodes aired in February and March 2011. She portrays the ex-wife of Danny Williams (Scott Caan) in the remake "Hawaii Five-0" series.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: In 2012, van der Boom was cast in two Off-Broadway productions. She played 'Karen' in David Rabe's "An Early History of Fire" (The New Group) and took over the role of 'Sally' (originally played by Julianne Nicholson) in the extended season of Sam Shepard's "Heartless" (Signature Theatre). Van der Boom had previously worked with Shepard in "Tough Trade", the original series pilot for Epix. She played Billie Tucker in the drama.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: Van der Boom appeared in the 2015 film "5 Flights Up", starring Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton, playing 'Young Ruth' to Keaton's 'Ruth'. In November 2014, Universal Pictures secured the international distribution rights to the Australian feature "Love Is Now", starring van der Boom, Eamon Farren and Anna Torv. In 2015 she appeared in Stephen Suettinger's movie, "A Year and Change" as Vera.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: In 2015, van der Boom appeared in "Chronic", which won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The same year, she was in the premiere of Scott Caan's play "The Trouble With Where We Come From" at The Falcon Theatre in Los Angeles.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: In 2015, van der Boom appeared in the movie Broke, as Terri , the film directed by Heath Davis who along with Luke Graham and Carmel Leonard produced the film.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: In 2016, she appeared in the coming-of-age film "Dear Eleanor". She appeared in the two episodes of "Constantine", portraying the character of Anne-Marie who has secluded herself away from society in the guise of a Catholic nun in Mexico, as a result of the Newcastle incident. She was a series regular in the ten-part NBC series "Game of Silence". Van der Boom also played Phyllis in the theatre adaptation of the crime novel "Double Indemnity" for the Melbourne Theatre Company.


title: Claire van der Boom

text: In 2003, van der Boom recorded vocals for a track titled "Do What You Want" produced by Jason Hearn. The track was later remixed by Infusion, Max Graham and Jacob Todd. The Infusion remix is featured on the critically acclaimed Balance 005 compilation mixed by James Holden. The Max Graham Afterhours In Montreal Mix is included on DJ Tiësto's 2005 album "".


title: Computation

text: Computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that follows a well-defined model (e.g., an algorithm).


title: Computation

text: Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as "computers". An especially well-known discipline of the study of computation is computer science.


title: Computation

text: Computation can be seen as a purely physical process occurring inside a closed physical system called a computer. Examples of such physical systems are digital computers, mechanical computers, quantum computers, DNA computers, molecular computers, microfluidics-based computers, analog computers, and wetware computers.


title: Computation

text: This point of view has been adopted by the physics of computation, a branch of theoretical physics, as well as the field of natural computing.


title: Computation

text: An even more radical point of view, pancomputationalism (inaudible word), is the postulate of digital physics that argues that the evolution of the universe is itself a computation.


title: Computation

text: The classic account of computation is found throughout the works of Hilary Putnam and others. Peter Godfrey-Smith has dubbed this the "simple mapping account." Gualtiero Piccinini's summary of this account states that a physical system can be said to perform a specific computation when there is a mapping between the state of that system and the computation such that the "microphysical states [of the system] mirror the state transitions between the computational states."


title: Computation

text: Philosophers such as Jerry Fodor have suggested various accounts of computation with the restriction that semantic content be a necessary condition for computation (that is, what differentiates an arbitrary physical system from a computing system is that the operands of the computation represent something). This notion attempts to prevent the logical abstraction of the mapping account of pancomputationalism, the idea that everything can be said to be computing everything.


title: Computation

text: Gualtiero Piccinini proposes an account of computation based on mechanical philosophy. It states that physical computing systems are types of mechanisms that, by design, perform physical computation, or the manipulation (by a functional mechanism) of a "medium-independent" vehicle according to a rule. "Medium-independence" requires that the property can be instantiated by multiple realizers and multiple mechanisms, and that the inputs and outputs of the mechanism also be multiply realizable. In short, medium-independence allows for the use of physical variables with properties other than voltage (as in typical digital computers); this is imperative in considering other types of computation, such as that which occurs in the brain or in a quantum computer. A rule, in this sense, provides a mapping among inputs, outputs, and internal states of the physical computing system.


title: Computation

text: Giunti calls the models studied by computation theory "computational systems," and he argues that all of them are mathematical dynamical systems with discrete time and discrete state space. He maintains that a computational system is a complex object which consists of three parts. First, a mathematical dynamical system formula_1 with discrete time and discrete state space; second, a computational setup formula_2, which is made up of a theoretical part formula_3, and a real part formula_4; third, an interpretation formula_5, which links the dynamical system formula_1 with the setup formula_7.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: It is home to the University of Texas at Dallas and the Telecom Corridor, with a high concentration of telecommunications companies. More than 5,000 businesses have operations within Richardson's , including many of the world's largest telecommunications and networking companies, such as AT&T, Verizon, Cisco Systems, Samsung, ZTE, MetroPCS, Texas Instruments, Qorvo, and Fujitsu. Richardson's largest employment base is provided by the insurance industry, with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas's headquarters, a regional hub for the insurance company GEICO, regional offices for United Healthcare, and one of State Farm Insurance's three national regional hubs located in the community.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Emigrants from Kentucky and Tennessee settled near present-day Richardson in the 1840s. Before the Civil War, a small settlement called Breckenridge, located near present-day Richland College, was established. In 1873, the Houston & Texas Central Railroad built a depot northwest of Breckenridge. After the H.&T.C. purchased acreage for a townsite from two local land-owners, the site was surveyed and laid out in blocks and lots, which the railroad began selling in 1874. The town was named after the secretary of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, Alfred S. Richardson.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: In 1908, the Texas Electric Railway, an electric railway known as the Interurban, connected Richardson to Denison, Waco, Corsicana and Dallas. In 1910 the population was approximately 600. A red brick schoolhouse was built in 1914 and is now the administrative office for the Richardson Independent School District. In 1924 the Red Brick Road, the present-day Greenville Avenue, was completed. The completion of the road brought increased traffic, population and property values. The town incorporated and elected a mayor in 1925. In 1940 the population was approximately 740.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: After World War II the city experienced major increases in population, which stood at approximately 1,300 by 1950. Throughout the 1950s the city continued to see growth including the opening of the Collins Radio Richardson office, Central Expressway, a police department, shopping centers, and many homes. Texas Instruments opened its offices in Dallas on the southern border of Richardson in 1956. This was followed by significant gains in land values, population, and economic status. In the 1960s Richardson experienced additional growth including several new parks, facilities, and the creation of the University of Texas at Dallas within the city limits. By 1972 the population was approximately 56,000. Residential growth continued through the 1970s and slowed in the 1980s. Commercial development increased throughout the 1980s. Richardson had a population of 74,840 according to the 1990 census. Population increases throughout the 1990s were primarily from development of the northeast part of the city. The city of Buckingham, after being completely surrounded by Richardson, was annexed into the city in 1996.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Richardson had a population of 91,802 as of the 2000 census. By 2002 Richardson had four Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail stations and had built the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations and the adjacent Galatyn Park urban center, which has a 2-acre public pedestrian plaza, a luxury hotel, and mixed-use development. Richardson was a "dry city" with no alcohol sales until November 2006, when the local option election passed to allow the sale of beer and wine in grocery and convenience stores. In the fall of 2008 Peter Perfect, a Style Network television show, came to Richardson. The business-makeover show remodeled SpiritWear, an apparel and embroidery store in the city's historic downtown area. The episode first aired on January 22, 2009. It was the first episode of the series to be filmed outside of California.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: In 2006, Richardson was ranked as the 15th best place to live in the United States by "Money" magazine. This ranked Richardson the 3rd best place to live in Texas. In 2007, the Morgan Quitno 14th Annual America's Safest and Most Dangerous Cities Awards pronounced Richardson the 69th safest city in America. In the same study Richardson ranked the 5th safest city in Texas. In 2008, Richardson was ranked as the 18th best place to live in the United States by "Money" magazine. This ranked Richardson the 4th best place to live in Texas. In 2009, Business Week's annual report on the "Best Places to Raise Kids," ranked Richardson in 2nd place in Texas. Richardson was the first North Texas city recognized as a best workplace for commuters by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Transportation in 2004. As of 2010 the city has continued to be recognized every year since 2004. In 2011 the Texas Recreation and Park Society awarded Richardson with the Texas Gold Medal for excellence in the field of recreation and park management. In 2014, Richardson was called the "5th happiest mid-sized city in America" by national real estate website and blog, Movoto.com, based on a number of metrics, such as low unemployment, low crime, and high income. In 2014 Richardson was named America's 17th Best City to Live in by 24/7 Wall St., based on crime, economy, education, housing, environment, leisure and infrastructure. D Magazine ranked Richardson Heights as one of the top 5 neighborhoods on the rise in 2014. Richardson ranked number 2 on SmartAsset's Boomtowns of 2015. In August 2016, Safeco Insurance listed Richardson as the 9th safest midsized city in the nation based on overall property crime rates. In November 2016, The Dallas Morning News ranked the Breckinridge Park neighborhood as the 6th best neighborhood in Dallas–Fort Worth. In 2016, Richardson ranked 2nd on SmartAsset's healthiest housing markets in American and 6th best college towns to live in. USA Today and 24/7 Wall St. ranked Richardson the 3rd best city to live in for 2016. KJKK ranked Richardson the 4th best place to live in Texas in 2016. Movoto ranked Richardson as the 3rd best Dallas suburb for young professionals in 2016. During August 2016, Richardson made Thrill-list's "The 7 Stages of Living in Dallas" and was named the 3rd overall best real-estate market in the United States by WalletHub.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The cities of Dallas, Plano and Garland, Texas constitute almost all of the Richardson border apart from the municipality's extreme northeastern "panhandle."


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The Lake Highlands area of northeast Dallas borders Richardson to the south, North Dallas to the southwest, Far North Dallas to the west, West Plano to the northwest, East Plano to the north, the city of Murphy to the northeast, Sachse to the east, and Garland to the southeast.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.32%, is water.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Approximately two-thirds of the city is in Dallas County, with the northern third of the city in Collin County. Of the contained within the borders of the city of Richardson, lie in Dallas County; the other are in Collin County.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Richardson has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: As of the 2020 United States census, there were 119,469 people, 44,136 households, and 29,113 families residing in the city. As of the 2015 American Community Survey, there were 106,123 people, 40,020 households, and 27,327 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,213.9 people per square mile (1,241.1/km2). There were 36,530 housing units at an average density of 1,278.9 per square mile (493.8/km2).


title: Richardson, Texas

text: There were 40,020 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.15.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: In the city the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: In the 2015 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates males had a median income of $60,709 versus $50,404 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,551. About 5.7% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over. According to a 2015 estimate, the median income for a family in Richardson was $72,427 and a median home price of $198,900.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: In 2015, the racial makeup of the city was 67.0% White, 15.7% Asian, 8.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 4.3% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latinos of any race were 17.9% of the population. By the 2020 census, the racial and ethnic composition was the following: 50.46% non-Hispanic white, 10.56% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 17.09% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.45% some other race, 3.95% multiracial, and 17.18% Hispanic or Latino of any race.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: By 1990 10% of the Richardson population was not born in the United States, which increased to 18.1% in 2000. According to the 2015 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, this figure was 24.3%. As of 2015, of those not born in the United States, almost 50% had arrived in the United States after 2000.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Dallas County has an estimated 275,000 Arab Americans, with many of them settling in Richardson. Many of them have come from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, etc. The DFW Chinatown is located in Richardson, in part because of the large Asian population. Esther Wu, a former editor of the "Dallas Morning News", stated that Chinese immigration began in Richardson in 1975. Since then the Chinese community has expanded to the north. In the mid-1980s the majority of ethnic Chinese K–12 students in the DFW area resided in Richardson.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: As of 2012 North Texas has over 60 Chinese cultural organizations and most of them are headquartered in Richardson and Plano. The Dallas Chinese Community Center (DCCC; ) is in the D-FW Chinatown. It includes English as a second language (ESL) classes and 20,000 books written in Simplified Chinese; the center imported some books from People's Republic of Mainland China. As of 2011 the Chinese restaurants catering to ethnic Chinese in DFW are mainly in Richardson and Plano. The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, as of 2012, has almost 1,000 Chinese students. The university has a program to recruit students of Chinese origin.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Richardson's Asian Indian immigrant community has been primarily driven by the international telecommunications industry that is so prevalent in the community. The Indian Association of North Texas headquarters are in Richardson. Indo-Pak grocery store is located in an Indian-oriented strip shopping center east of Central Expressway. Of the suburbs in the DFW area, Richardson had one of the earliest Indian settlements.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Richardson is home to a large community of Vietnamese Americans and even has a significant amount of Vietnamese-catering retail stores, malls, markets, and plazas, especially near U.S. 75, such as the Hong Kong Market, the Cali Saigon Shopping Mall, etc.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Despite declining economies in other parts of the United States, from 2005 to 2009 Richardson had substantial increases in its economy. The city's total assessed property value went up from $8.3 billion in 2005 to $14 billion in 2017. Sales tax collection went up from $21 million in 2005 to an estimated $32.9 million in 2017.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Since 2008, both Standard & Poor's and Moody's have upgraded Richardson's credit rating to "AAA" from the previous rating of "AA+". At the time, Richardson was one of only four cities in the state of Texas and one of 88 cities in the nation with an "AAA" rating from Standard & Poor's. In 2015, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) determined Richardson's daytime population to be 156,065 based on American Community Survey information. The economy remains rooted in the telecommunication industry. However, Richardson's property tax base is deep and extends beyond its telecommunication roots to include other sectors including insurance, health care, technology and finance. The tax base is diverse with the 10 leading taxpayers accounting for 16.17% of total assessed value.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: On March 1, 2014, the Richardson Fire Department officially received its Class 1 ISO rating. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) is "a leading supplier of statistical, underwriting and actuarial information for the property/casualty insurance industry", and its rating is used to measure the quality and effectiveness of fire protection in a community. At the time, Richardson was one of only 56 municipalities in the country to achieve this highest rating, which tends to reduce property/casualty insurance premiums.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Metro by T-Mobile, Fossil Group, Lennox International, Vent-A-Hood, Wingstop Restaurants, id Software, VCE, BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, RealPage, Fujitsu Network Communications (U.S. Headquarters) and Samsung Mobile have their corporate headquarters in Richardson.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: According to the Richardson Economic Development Partnership's listing on Major Employers (last updated May 2018), the top employers in the city were:


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts is located in Richardson. It serves as the primary venue for the Richardson Symphony Orchestra and the Plano Symphony Orchestra.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The city is located in North Central Texas and was originally incorporated in 1925, with the first Charter being adopted in 1956 and the latest revision made in November 2015. The community is a home rule city and has operated under the council–manager form of government since 1956. Richardson voters simultaneously elect six Council members and a mayor to represent them every two years. The Council members representing the four districts (1 to 4) must live in each district respectively; however, the mayor and the remaining two districts (5 and 6) can live in any part of the city. All Council members and the mayor are elected at large, with four Council members representing each of the city's four districts. The City Council is elected for two-year terms on a nonpartisan basis.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The Charter requires that the City Council appoint a city manager to act as the chief administrative and executive officer. The city manager is not appointed for a fixed time and may be removed at the will and pleasure of the majority of the City Council. One of the responsibilities of the city manager is to appoint and remove department heads and conduct the general affairs of the municipal government in accordance with the policies of the City Council.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The City provides to its citizens a full range of services including police and fire protection, emergency ambulance service, water and sewer service, solid waste disposal, park and recreational activities, cultural events, and a library. In addition, the City provides planning for future land use, traffic control, building inspection, and community services and operates two 18-hole golf courses. The City also operates the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations, which is a multi-venue performing arts and presentation center.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The City of Richardson is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The University of Texas at Dallas, also referred to as UT Dallas or UTD, is a public research university in the University of Texas System. Despite its name the UT Dallas main campus, consisting of approximately , is within the Richardson city limits at 800 West Campbell Road. The campus is sited with Campbell Road on the south, Floyd Road on the east, Waterview on the west, and Synergy Park Boulevard on the north. The university owns an additional in Richardson, adjacent to the campus, between Synergy Park Boulevard and the President George Bush Turnpike. The UTD Student Services building, completed in 2010, is the first academic structure in Texas to be rated a LEED Platinum facility by the United States Green Building Council. During 2016, construction was completed on the Student Services Building addition. New projects include an Alumni Center, a Brain Performance Institute and an engineering building as well as additional housing options. These enhancements are part of a campus renovation that has included hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in new and upgraded buildings since 2009. For the fall 2016 semester, UT Dallas had a total of 26,793 enrolled students.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Dallas College (formerly Dallas County Community College District or DCCCD) serves areas in Dallas County. Richland College of Dallas College is in Dallas on the Richardson border. It is the largest school in the DCCCD, featuring nearly 20,000 students. In 2005, Richland became the first community college to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The city is served by the Richardson Independent School District (RISD) within the Dallas County portion of the city and the Plano Independent School District (PISD) within the Collin County portion of the city. Despite that name, however, most of the Richardson Independent School District lies outside of the municipal boundaries of Richardson: 60 percent of RISD is in Dallas, with 35 percent in Richardson and 5 percent in Garland).


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The RISD and PISD have many Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created to honor schools. The Blue Ribbon award is considered to be the highest honor that an American school can achieve.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Zoned RISD high schools in Richardson include Richardson High School, Lloyd V. Berkner High School, and J.J. Pearce High School. The Christa McAuliffe Learning Center is also in Richardson. Lake Highlands High School is part of the Richardson Independent School District but is located in Lake Highlands, an area in Dallas just south of Richardson.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Sections of Richardson in the Plano Independent School District are served by several schools. Aldridge, Haggar, Miller, Schell, and Stinson elementary schools are within Richardson and serve Collin County portions of Richardson. A section of Collin County Richardson is zoned to Mendenhall Elementary School in Plano. Otto, Frankford and Wilson middle schools in Plano and Murphy Middle School in Murphy serve separate sections of Collin County Richardson. Vines High School and T.H. Williams High School, 9–10 schools in Plano, serve separate sections of Collin County Richardson, along with McMillen High School in Murphy. Plano Senior High School and Plano East Senior High School also serve separate sections of Collin County Richardson.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas operates two K–8 schools, St. Joseph School and St. Paul the Apostle School in Richardson. Other private schools include Canyon Creek Christian Academy (K–12), North Dallas Adventist Academy (K–12), IANT Quranic Academy (K–12), The Alexander School (8–12), Dallas North Montessori School (ages 3–9), and Salam Academy (K–12).


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Four charter schools operate within the City of Richardson. These include the Evolution Academy Charter School (9–12), Premier High School of Richardson (6–12), Vista Academy of Richardson (K–12), and the Winfree Academy Charter School (Richardson) (9–12).


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The Richardson Public Library is located at 900 Civic Center Drive at the southwest corner of U.S. Route 75 (North Central Expressway) and Arapaho Road.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The roots of the Richardson Public Library date back to 1947 when a branch of the Dallas County Library was established in a section of the Cash Dry Goods store on East Main Street in downtown Richardson. The fledgling library collection numbered about 400 volumes and was managed by Jessie Durham the store's proprietor. The City Council established the library as a city department in 1958 and in 1959 the library moved into a newly constructed building at 310 Tyler Street. This new library was just under in size and was built at a cost of $100,000.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Richardson was experiencing rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s, and the library facility soon became inadequate for community needs. The current facility was constructed at a cost of $2 million and opened December 1, 1970. The new , four-story building opened with the use of two floors and a small portion of a third. The basement was finished in 1980 for the reference collection and services. In 1995 the library underwent another expansion which finished the upper floor and renovated the three previously opened floors. Another renovation occurred in 2006 when the Youth Services department was expanded.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: In 2008 the library set a new record for the number of items circulated in a fiscal year when the 1 millionth item was checked out in the fall of 2008. The building has undergone building renovations and technological improvements in recent years that have enhanced the library experience for patrons. Since 2014, the digital library has expanded to include movies, music and magazines as well as books and audiobooks. In 2015, the Richardson Library established a "makerspace" that initially included a 3-D printer, designated computers with creative applications and software, and kits for the early exploration of electronics.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The Texas Municipal League recognized the library with its "Achievement of Excellence in Libraries" award every year from 2004 to 2017.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Richardson and the region benefit from the location of two major highways in the city. The President George Bush Turnpike, running east–west along the northern border of the city, provides a convenient connection to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, as well as links to IH 35E, IH 30, IH20, SH 114, and SH 183 west of the city as well as a second link to IH30 east of the city.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: Richardson also benefits from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Light Rail line which parallels U.S. 75 and has four stations in the city. In October 2016, DART approved the future construction of the Silver Line commuter rail with the adoption of its 20-Year Financial Plan. Service on the Cotton Belt is projected to commence in 2023. The Cotton Belt line will run from DFW Airport to the eastern side of Plano, with Richardson stations located at The University of Texas at Dallas and CityLine. The Cotton Belt rail line will also connect to Trinity Metro's TEXRail line, which is being developed to connect downtown Fort Worth to the DFW Airport. In order to take full advantage of these transportation assets for development and redevelopment purposes, the City has implemented three Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts. TIF District #1 was established in November 2006, encompassing both sides of the U.S. 75 corridor from Campbell Road south to Spring Valley Road, and then extending west from U.S. 75 along Spring Valley Road to Coit Road. TIF District #2, established in November 2011, is bounded by President George Bush Turnpike on the north, Wyndham Lane on the east, Renner Road on the south, and the DART Light Rail line on the west. TIF District #3, established in November 2011, is bounded by President George Bush Turnpike on the north, the DART Light Rail line on the east, Renner Road on the South and has its western boundary between Alma Road and U.S. 75. Dallas County participates financially in TIF District #1 and Collin County participates financially in TIF District #2 and TIF District #3.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: The southern Central Trail extension, opened in June 2014 and the northern extension opened in 2015. The new hike and bike trail segments mean that the central spine to Richardson's trail network will run from city limit to city limit, eventually connecting to trails throughout the region.


title: Richardson, Texas

text: In July 2015, Richardson was named a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. Richardson has a long-range plan to provide bicycle facilities and to designate preferred bicycle routes on lower-volume, lower-speed roadways. There are now more than 15 miles of bike lanes in Richardson.


title: LGA 775

text: LGA 775 (land grid array 775), also known as Socket T, is an Intel desktop CPU socket. Unlike PGA CPU sockets, such as its predecessor Socket 478, LGA 775 has no socket holes; instead, it has 775 protruding pins which touch contact points on the underside of the processor (CPU).


title: LGA 775

text: The socket had an unusually long life span, lasting 7 years until the last processors supporting it ceased production in 2011. The socket was superseded by the LGA 1156 (Socket H) and LGA 1366 (Socket B) sockets.


title: LGA 775

text: For LGA 775, the distance between the screw-holes for the heatsink is 72 mm. Such heat-sinks are not interchangeable with heatsinks for sockets that have a distance of 75 mm, such as LGA 1156, LGA 1155, LGA 1150, LGA 1151 and LGA 1200.


title: LGA 775

text: LGA 775 was the last Intel socket for desktops for which third-party companies manufactured chipsets. Nvidia was the last third-party manufacturer of LGA 775 chipsets (its final product was MCP7A family, marketed as GeForce 9300/9400, launched in October 2008), as other third-parties discontinued their products earlier. All chipsets for superseding sockets were exclusively designed and manufactured by Intel, a practice later also adopted by AMD when they first launched APUs in 2011 (Socket AM3+ processors, also first launched in 2011, were usually paired with AMD chipsets, but some motherboards using third-party chipsets were also manufactured, usually with Nvidia chipsets, as Socket AM3+ design directly derived from earlier Socket AM3 design).


title: LGA 775

text: PT880 Pro also supports AGP and PCI-Express at the same time, but only one port can be used at a time.


title: LGA 775

text: The force from the load plate ensures that the processor is completely level, giving the CPU's upper surface optimal contact with the heat sink or cold-water block fixed onto the top of the CPU to carry away the heat generated by the CPU. This socket also introduces a new method of connecting the heat dissipation interface to the chip surface and motherboard. With LGA 775, the heat dissipation interface is connected directly to the motherboard on four points, compared with the two connections of the Socket 370 and the "clamshell" four-point connection of the Socket 478. This was done to avoid the reputed danger of the heat sinks/fans of pre-built computers falling off in transit. LGA 775 was announced to have better heat dissipation properties than the Socket 478 it was designed to replace, but the Prescott core CPUs (in their early incarnations) ran much hotter than the previous Northwood-core Pentium 4 CPUs, and this initially neutralized the benefits of better heat transfer. However, the later Core 2 processors run at much lower temperatures than the Prescott CPUs they replaced.


title: LGA 775

text: Processors with lower TDP and clock speeds only used Thermal Interface Compound in between the die and the integrated heat spreader (IHS), while processors with higher TDP and clock speeds have the die soldered directly to the IHS, allowing for better heat transfer between the CPU and the integrated heat spreader.


title: LGA 775

text: All LGA 775 processors have the following mechanical maximum load limits which should not be exceeded during heat sink assembly, shipping conditions, or standard use. Load above those limits could crack the processor die and make it unusable.


title: LGA 775

text: The transition to the LGA packaging has lowered those load limits, which are smaller than the load limits of Socket 478 processors but they are bigger than Socket 370, Socket 423 and Socket A processors, which were fragile. They are large enough to ensure that processors will not crack.


title: LGA 775

text: Compatibility is quite variable, as earlier chipsets (Intel 915 and below) tend to support only single core NetBurst Pentium 4 and Celeron CPUs at an FSB of 533/800 MT/s.


title: LGA 775

text: Intermediate chipsets (e.g. Intel 945) commonly support both single core Pentium 4-based CPUs as well as dual core Pentium D processors. Some motherboards using the 945 chipset could be given a BIOS upgrade to support 65nm Core-based processors. Other chipsets have varying levels of CPU support, generally following the release of contemporary CPUs, as LGA 775 CPU support is a complicated mixture of chipset capability, voltage regulator limitations and BIOS support. For example, the newer Q45 chipset does not support NetBurst-based CPUs such as the Pentium 4, Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition, and Celeron D.


title: LGA 775

text: Some Core 2 and other Socket 775 processors are capable of hardware-accelerated virtualization. However, more recent hypervisors might not be compatible with these CPUs because they lack support for Extended Page Tables.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and lead singer and founding member of the country music trio Lady A, which was formed in 2006 and are signed to Big Machine Records.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Kelley was born in Augusta, Georgia, the youngest of three boys of Gayle and Dr. John W. Kelley, a now retired cardiologist. He began his musical career at the age of 11. His older brother, Josh Kelley, is also a musician and singer. As teenagers, Charles, Josh and oldest brother John formed a band called Inside Blue; the band released a five-song CD that garnered the attention of a major label. In middle school, Kelley met Dave Haywood and, at the age of 14, they wrote their first song. They both graduated from Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Kelley attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, where he was a member of the Nu Zeta chapter of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He graduated in 2004 with a degree in finance.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in mid-2005 to pursue a musical career, Kelley worked in his brother John's construction business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as an accountant for an affiliated waste management company. Kelley made the move after his brother Josh, who was a pop musician at the time, bought a house in Nashville and convinced him to come live there so they could write songs together.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood founded the country music group Lady A as Lady Antebellum in 2006 and released their debut album in April 2008. The trio either wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs on the album, which featured production by Paul Worley and Victoria Shaw. The album included the trio's debut hit, "Love Don't Live Here", along with the singles, "Lookin' for a Good Time" and "I Run to You", the latter of which became their first number one hit on "Billboard"'s Hot Country Songs chart in July 2009. It was certified platinum by the RIAA in October 2009. In 2008, they returned to Charles' and Dave's former high school alma mater, Lakeside High School, and performed a short concert in the gymnasium.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In January 2010, they released their sophomore album, "Need You Now", which was led off by the five-week number one and crossover hit, "Need You Now". It also peaked at number two on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and is 6x certified Platinum. All three members of the band co-wrote eight of the eleven songs on the album and produced alongside Worley. The album generated the number one hits, "American Honey" and "Our Kind of Love", and the top 10 single, "Hello World", and was certified triple platinum in October 2010.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In May 2011, the group released "Just a Kiss" as the lead single from their third studio album, "Own the Night", which was released on September 13, 2011, and became their fifth number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. "Just a Kiss" was 2x certified Platinum by the RIAA. It stayed on the Hot 100 for forty-two weeks. The second single "We Owned the Night" also became a number one hit and was certified Gold. The third single "Dancin' Away with My Heart" was also certified Gold and peaked at number two. "Wanted You More" was released as the fourth and final single from the album. It was their first single since "Lookin' For a Good Time" to miss the top 10. The band supported the album with their second headlining tour, the "Own the Night Tour" which was also their first arena and world tour.


title: Charles Kelley

text: On October 22, 2012, "On This Winter's Night", the band's first Christmas album was released. One of the tracks on the album "A Holly Jolly Christmas" was released to Country radio and AC radio. A music video for the single was made.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Shortly after the release of "On This Winter's Night", they started working on their fifth studio album. "Golden" was released on May 7, 2013. "Downtown" was the album's first single and peaked at number two on Country radio and number one on the US Country Airplay chart. It was certified platinum by the RIAA. The second single was "Goodbye Town". In late 2013, the deluxe edition re-issue of "Golden" was released which included the third single "Compass". "Compass" was met with positive reviews and went number one on the Country Airplay chart. In 2014, the band toured the album on the Take Me Downtown Tour and sold-out shows every night.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In May 2014, "Bartender" was released as the first single off their sixth studio album. "Bartender" became their third number on the Country Airplay chart and is certified Platinum. "747" was released on September 30, 2014. "Freestyle" and "Long Stretch of Love" are the second and third singles off "747" respectively.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In October 2015, the group appeared on "Good Morning America" to announce they will be taking some down time after their Wheels Up Tour finishes. They still continued to do shows together throughout 2016.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In January 2017, Lady Antebellum released "You Look Good", the lead single off their upcoming seventh studio album "Heart Break". The album will be released on June 9, 2017, and will support it on the "You Look Good Tour".


title: Charles Kelley

text: In June 2020, the band announced they were changing their name to Lady A in light of the original name's Confederate origins.


title: Charles Kelley

text: During the band's break, Kelley focused on a solo project and said that Lady Antebellum is his priority but he wanted to try working alone out. On September 28, 2015, he released his debut solo single "The Driver" which features Dierks Bentley and Eric Paslay. Kelley revealed on "GMA" that he started working on his solo project six months prior to his single's release. "The Driver" received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. His solo debut studio album "The Driver" was released on February 5, 2016.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Kelley's other works consist of co-writing songs for other artists, mainly with Lady Antebellum bandmate, Dave Haywood. One of those songs was "Do I" on labelmate Luke Bryan's 2009 album, "Doin' My Thing". Written in late 2008, the song was released to radio in April 2009 and peaked at No. 2 on "Billboard"'s Hot Country Songs chart in December of that year. The song also featured Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott on background vocals.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In 2006, prior to forming the band, Kelley released a solo album called "2 to 9's". The record met with little mainstream success, but was well-rated by listeners.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In 2009, Kelley and Haywood penned a song called "It's Only" for Danny Gokey's debut album, "My Best Days", with "I Run to You" cowriter, Tom Douglas. That same year, the two also wrote "Love Song" with Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, which Lambert would later record for her third studio album, "Revolution", and Kelley would sing background on.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In 2010, Kelley and Haywood wrote "Kiss Me Slowly" with Will Anderson, lead singer of the pop rock band, Parachute. The song made it on to Parachute's second studio album, "The Way It Was", and was released to iTunes in the weeks leading up to the release of the album. That same year, Kelley, along with Scott and Haywood, recorded a duet with Maroon 5 called "Out of Goodbyes" as Lady Antebellum. The song was included on Maroon 5's third studio album, "Hands All Over", but was never released as a single.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In addition, Kelley has co-written numerous songs for his brother, Josh Kelley. Those songs are "Just Say the Word" and "Pop Game" on Josh's 2006 album, "Just Say the Word", which were written by the brothers with Haywood; "Lift Me Up" and "Stay Awake" on 2008's "Special Company"; and "Georgia Clay" and "Ain't Lettin' Go" on his 2011 country debut, "Georgia Clay".


title: Charles Kelley

text: Kelley and Haywood co-wrote the semi-autobiographical track "Better Than This" on "(Encore)", the 2013 re-issue of rising country star Hunter Hayes' self-titled debut album.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Kelley is married to music rep Cassie McConnell. The couple wed in a Nashville courthouse in late June 2009 as a legal formality before having a destination wedding in the Bahamas. After the wedding, Lady A tweeted a photo of Kelley showing off his wedding ring, saying, "What is that you see on Charles' hand... yep a wedding ring!!!" McConnell represents several country musicians, including her brother-in-law, Josh Kelley. Charles and Cassie wed on July 6, 2009. On August 7, 2015, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child in February 2016. On August 28, 2015, his wife Cassie appeared on "Good Morning America" to reveal her fertility struggle and also announced they were expecting a baby boy. The couple welcomed their son, Ward on February 11, 2016.


title: Charles Kelley

text: As a result of his brother Josh Kelley's marriage, Kelley is the brother in-law of actress Katherine Heigl.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Lady A's 2022 Request Line Tour was postponed to 2023 so Kelley can take time to embark on his "journey to sobriety."


title: Charles Kelley

text: Kelley had the lyrics, "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise," from the Beatles song, "Blackbird", tattooed on his right forearm in early 2009. In 2010, Kelley got a second tattoo, a design of the "flower of life", on his upper left arm.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In addition to being an avid golfer, Kelley is a motorcycle enthusiast and owns a 2006 Harley Softail Custom.


title: Charles Kelley

text: In August 2022, Lady A announced that they were postponing their Request Line Tour tour to 2023 so that Kelley could focus on his sobriety.


title: Charles Kelley

text: Since Lady Antebellum won the Country Music Association Awards New Artist of the Year award in 2008, they have accumulated seven more awards, including their first Grammy in 2010 for Best Country Performance by Duo or Group with Vocals. At the 2009 CMA's, the group ended Rascal Flatts' six-year reign as Vocal Group of the Year. At the 2010 CMA's, the group became the first artist in CMA Award history to receive the Single of the Year honor for two consecutive years.


title: Charles Kelley

text: At the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, the trio won the Song of the Year. They won Top Vocal Group at the 2012 ACM Awards April 1, 2012.


title: Veikkausliiga

text: Veikkausliiga (; ) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name. Veikkausliiga was founded in 1990; before that the top division was called "Mestaruussarja" (championship series) since 1930 which was an amateur or semi-professional league. Between 1908 and 1930 the championship was decided as a knock-out cup competition.


title: Veikkausliiga

text: As with certain other cold-climate European countries, league matches in Finland are played in summer, with a schedule usually from April to October. The format and number of teams has changed frequently. As of 2020 there are 12 teams, which first face the other teams two times. After the two rounds, the league is divided into championship group (6 teams) and challenge group (6 teams), and both groups play a single series of five further matches. At the end of the season, the last team is relegated to Ykkönen, whose winner is promoted to Veikkausliiga, and the second last team plays a two-leg play-off versus the Ykkönen runner-up.


title: Veikkausliiga

text: In 2010 the average annual salary with fringe benefits for a league player was 24,400 euros. Veikkausliiga is a founding member of the European Professional Football Leagues association.


title: Veikkausliiga

text: The Veikkausliiga clubs in the 2023 season are presented in the table below. Number of seasons includes seasons played in Veikkausliiga and preceding Mestaruussarja and seasons of predecessor teams after season 2022. In the case of mergers, the seasons of the predecessor with the most seasons are counted.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: Outside of "Tekken" spin-off titles, Heihachi also appears as a playable character in other games such as "Soul Calibur II", "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale", "Street Fighter X Tekken", and the "Project X Zone" games. He is also featured in the printed, animated and live-action adaptations of the "Tekken" series. In contrast to the main "Tekken" games, Heihachi also appeared in many games with a younger appearance.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: Harada referred to Heihachi as one of his favorite characters from the series. Critical reception to Heihachi has been positive with journalists praising his moves and characterization. However, critics joked about his design and expressed a lack of interest in his role in "Tekken 7", where he is one of the most important characters. Nevertheless, his popularity has led him to become one of Namco's and "Tekken"'s mascots.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: "Tekken" series director Katsuhiro Harada has stated that Heihachi is his favorite character in the series overall and the character he most frequently selects when playing. He further described Heihachi as a "very human character", stating that while focus has been placed on his appearance, he found the character's philosophy more interesting, and that in the series he was a "perfect portrayal of the evil that lurks in men's hearts", an evil "far more hideous than any made-up monster". In response to claims that the story of "Tekken" was complicated, Harada denied as he saw it as a "simple" struggle between members from the Mishima family. Despite promotion from "Tekken 5" claiming that the character has died in the intro, Namco Bandai denied this statement in interviews. Heihachi's story and traits are based on Harada's history with his father. Harada was born in 1970, after World War II . However, Harada claims that in that period, parents were harsh with their children in Japan. As a result, Heihachi was portrayed as an antagonistic father to his son; something that the Japanese players could relate to. Heihachi's power in the form of the "zaibatsu" was based on the Imperialistic Japan. Furthermore, Heihachi is "Tekken"s personification of wartime Japan.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: After "Tekken 6", Heihachi's voice actor Daisuke Gōri passed away. In order to include the character once again in the spin-off "Tekken Tag Tournament 2", Namco hired a new voice actor who would fit into the character. As for in this game, Heihachi took a potion to make himself look younger. The voice selected was Unshō Ishizuka. "Tekken 7"s story mode was supposed to conclude the long struggle between Kazuya and Heihachi. However, Namco made the story so that newcomers to the franchise would understand it easier. In further teasers of the game, Harada stated that in "Tekken 7" Kazuya or Heihachi would die in their final fight. In 2016, Harada commented he had his own family. As a result, he compared it with the violent characters from "Tekken" who are constantly fighting each other: Heihachi, Jin, and Kazuya. He viewed this type of family as "too hard" in comparison. When asked about the final fight between both Kazuya and Heihachi, Harada called it "a major milestone in the storyline", as he was surprised by how extended the rivalry between these two characters has become due to the franchise's current popularity, and thus felt it was necessary to end this in a mortal fight.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: In "Tekken 5", his movesets were viewed as one of the strongest from the cast but GameSpy commented that he lacked a weakness, as well as quicker attacks. In preparations for "Tekken 7", Harada commented that he would often try Devil Jin if he was an "intermediate player", comparing his skills with Heihachi's. For Capcom's crossover game "Street Fighter X Tekken", the official guide noted how Heihachi's multiple combos could inflict a large amount of damage on the opponents.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: For the film "", writer Dai Satō commented that he had to wait to get Namco's approval to introduce Heihachi's final transformation using the power of the Mokujin in order to fight Jin in his Devil form. Heihachi's transformation surprised Harada and other members due to how over-the-top it was. The fight scene between the three generations of the Mishima family proved to be difficult to make as a result of the choreography aimed as well as the movement of motion actors. In order to use Heihachi in the movie, the original character Shin Kamiya was created. Shin's relationship with the Devil Gene experiments attract villain in the story. In retrospect, Satō was shocked when learning Lars was Heihahchi's son, comparing it to Masami Kurumada's manga "Saint Seiya" which uses a similar plot twist involving a man like Heihachi, Mitsumasa Kido, having several offsprings secretely.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: Comic book artist Cavan Scott described Heihachi and Kazuya as "demons" due to their dark character traits, making their rivalry with Jin look unfitting in the narrative because of their differences. Scott wanted fans to look forward to his "Tekken" comic adaptation due to his handling of the three main characters, as it's set during the time Jin becomes similar to Heihachi and Kazuya, making their war more engaging. While still treating Jin as the main character for not reaching Heihachi's traits in terms of corruption, he believed the two would, nevertheless, be interesting enemies.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: In the first "Tekken" game, Heihachi hosts the King of Iron First Tournament where he faces his son, Kazuya Mishima in the finals. Kazuya wins the tournament, tosses Heihachi off a cliff and assumes control of the Zaibatsu. Heihachi survives the fall, and then returns two years later in "Tekken 2" to defeat his son. After defeating Kazuya in the finals, Heihachi tosses his body into a volcano, killing him. Fifteen years later, Heihachi learns of a creature, Ogre, which has immortal blood, Heihachi seeks his blood in order to create an "ultimate life form". Around this time, he meets a teenager named Jin Kazama, who claims to be his grandson and begs Heihachi to train him so he can take revenge against Ogre for murdering his mother Jun. Heihachi agrees, and four years later, announces the "King of Iron Fist Tournament 3" to lure Ogre out. After Paul Phoenix defeats Ogre in the tournament, but then quits the competition under the impression that he has won, when he had one last opponent remaining in Ogre's true form after Ogre absorbs Heihachi's fighting force, after Heihachi tried to capture him while he was unconscious. Jin is reinstated in the tournament and replacing Paul in the finals, he manages to defeat True Ogre and completely dissolves, avenging his mother's death and winning the tournament as a result. Moments later, Jin is suddenly gunned down by a squadron of Tekken Force led by an awakened Heihachi, who no longer needing him, personally fires a final shot into his grandson's head. Jin, however, revived by the Devil within him, reawakens and dispatches the soldiers, smashing Heihachi through the wall of the temple as he survives.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: During the events of "Tekken 4" Heihachi collects the remains of Ogre and attempts to combine his and Ogre's DNA, but discovers that he will need the Devil Gene possessed by his son and grandson as a catalyst. Heihachi learns Kazuya has been resurrected. To lure both to him, Heihachi holds the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament two years later. Heihachi defeats Kazuya in the finals, and takes him to Hon-Maru. However, the two are defeated by Jin, who escapes after sparing Heihachi's life. Following Jin's departure in "Tekken 5", an army of G Corporation Jack-4s invade Hon-Maru. Heihachi is seemingly killed in the attack, but in reality was blown a great distance away after the Jacks detonated. However, he managed to survive and when he came to, the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 was already over. He encountered Raven and they began to fight.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: Before a winner could be decided, Raven received orders to return to headquarters, and he had to withdraw from battle.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: After that encounter, Heihachi went home, without any knowledge of the events that occurred at the tournament, where he was ambushed by the Tekken Force. He appears in the story mode in the console version of "Tekken 6", whose main character is Lars Alexandersson, Heihachi's illegitimate son. Heihachi tries to make an alliance with Lars but it fails.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: Heihachi returns as the main character and arcade mode subboss in "Tekken 7". The story follows most of his backstory. Heihachi is better known as the only son of Jinpachi Mishima, a famous martial artist who founded the Mishima Zaibatsu company. He later meets Kazumi Hachijo, who is much younger than him and sent by her family. Eventually, Heihachi and Kazumi become closer and get married, and Kazumi gives birth to their son, Kazuya. One evening, Kazumi attempts to kill Heihachi in cold blood and reveals that was the reason she married him. Her clan foresaw his attempt at world domination in the future and she was sent to assassinate him before that future comes to pass. However, Heihachi overpowers and, realizing the woman he loved is gone, kills her. In the same year, Heihachi overthrows his father for control of the Mishima Zaibatsu.


title: Heihachi Mishima

text: Following Jin's disappearance after his battle with Azazel, Heihachi single-handedly retakes the Mishima Zaibatsu and announces a seventh tournament to lure Kazuya out. At the same time, he is confronted by Akuma, whose life was once saved by Heihachi's deceased wife, Kazumi, and who promised to kill both Heihachi and Kazuya for her in return. Heihachi clashes with Akuma and loses, but survives. In order to save the Zaibatsu's image, Heihachi captures footage of Kazuya's battle with Akuma in his Devil form; Their fight is interrupted as Heihachi blasts the two using Dr. Abel's satellite, but both survive. Heihachi then confronts Kazuya at the site of a volcano and the two clash. After a long struggle, Heihachi is apparently finally killed; his body is subsequently thrown into a river of molten lava.