Think about walking. Each step is a balance between falling to the earth and a counter force pushing back. A connectedness exists between the minds timing perception which connects with the earth and generates an counter force pushing the body back up. Likewise, as an external force is approaching, a connectedness needs to be perceived relating time to impact and the counter force necessary to bounce the opponent away. The external force compesses the your body downward to the earth. A certain degree of compression is realized and expansion series initiates at will cause the counter force. Expansion generates a greater force greater than the force of gravity holding the person down causing causing a bounce or uprooting. The degree of bounce or
uprooting depends on the intent and degree of expansion.

The discovering the center-line means finding the opponents body location where yielding becomes difficult. The body pivots around the center. Double weightedness means pushing too hard, at a miscalculated center and losing one's own center of balance. If one pushes against a door thinking that it is rigid but instead it swings free open; the over extension will cause him to fall. This is called double weightedness and is bad. The test of double weightedness is the objective of pushing hands. If the body is soft and yielding to external force the center can not be discovered. However, any points of rigidness or resistence can be compressed and the opponent's center of balance exploited causing him to step back or jump back to absorb the incoming counter-force.

Focusing on feeling increases awareness. Remove the ego of looking good and start thinking about the moment. Surrendering and yielding to the opponents movements allows you to blend with them. Blending is the key to find their center. Blending can lead to a bounce or a yield, control, and neutralization. Blending can start at formation of intent by your opponent. A punch, kick, tackle can be sense before it starts. It more important to feel what the person will do and blend with that feeling. Feeling is more important than seeing. With experience fighters the feeling is very stubtle. Connectedness with your body, the earth, and the opponent is the key. Remove the ego of superior strength, credentials, pride, and prestige immediately proceeding listening to feelings. Concentrate on the sensation in the body: breathing, integration with the earth, confidence, integrated energy, and feeling the other persons energy.

Relaxation increases the ability to connect with the earth. Relaxation reduces the number of mistakes in technique. Relaxation keeps the body soft and prevents the centerline from being
discovered. Test this principle by having a person push forward gently on your shoulders, swing
your body with the force. Alternate between left and right parts of the body. Repeat the push on the left and right hips also. Relaxation is the key to not getting bounced during pushing hands.

Focus on the purpose of the technique. Executing a technique without understanding the intent will result in failure even if it looks perfect. Technique changes as the understanding of the purpose changes.

Zola has been referred to as the father of literary "naturalism". His literary vision captures life as it exists for the majority of the persons then alive, rather than the elite, whose lives had been the subject of most literature written up to this point. Germinal vivdly portrays the monotonous, near hopeless, life of the laborer: long hours; miserable working conditions that considerably shorten life expectancy and routinely cause medical problems early into middle age; and the almost common manner in which many young girls encounter their first lover (and often future husband) in non-consensual circumstances- in the mine, behind the barn, etc. Many readers were shocked or even outraged.

Zola's characters are fairly well-developed, and their patheticness is disturbingly believable. The plot (which seems secondary) details the counterproductive attempt to strike by the organized coalminers. The book is peopled with aristocrats and bourgeoisie as well as workers; but its most salient and revolutionary aspect is its primary focus upon the miserable lives of the oppressed. The particulary egregious plight of the workers in this story may slightly overstate the plight of Zola's contemporary workers, but the detailed and informed nature of Zola's description of the coal mine's operation leaves little doubt that the oppression faced by this generation of workers was all too real.

As a work of fiction, it is marred only by its incomplete, or unresolved ending, and the feeling that the development of the main character, Etienne, has not been fully realized, for better or for worse.

The story of Germinal is about the struggles of the working class in a coalfield of France during a time when industry was taking over. Lives were changing, and this class suffered greatly. The Maheus are the family that is the main focus of the story (the struggle). Etienne Lantier is a young man who comes to the coalfield searching for a job. He represents the guiding force throughout the novel. A complicated mass of events are occuring, and Zola does a great job making it sound realistic. By the end of the novel, few have survived, but that adds to the reality of the story. I love his writing style, which is illuminated by imagery and stunning metaphors.

I found Germinal difficult to read, so if you don't read a lot of these types of books I recommend that you watch the movie first- you'll follow it a lot better. I found it hard keeping focus on the main theme in the midst of all the characters and happenings. But all in all, it is a classic and I would suggest it to anyone interested in european historical literature.

Some extra stuff: The two first chapters explains windows programming. Wow!! In about 70 easily degistable pages you get the hang of windows programming!

What is great about the other two sections (genetic algÂ's and neural nets) is that they are explained in a very down-to-earth manner, with workable code-examples in every chapter.

What is preventing me from giving it five stars is that it initially makes a point of being written so easily that an idiot can understand it, and that a witty author and a casual style of writing will more readily impregnent the information in the readers mind. Well, the author TRIES to write in a casual way that will appeal to the average targeted reader (I assume male, 18 to 30 years of age), but unfortunately that effort only manifests itself in very occasional jokes trying to punch a hole through the otherwise stiff and professional language. Still, the material is very easily presented (even for a swedish reader), and much more casually written than virtually any book on AI so far; its just that the general tone and vocabulary is a bit more dull than it had to be.

Well, regardless of this criticism, this is the best book for anybody who wants to get a clear grasp of AI, and be able to implement it in code. BUY IT!!

This book fits the bill perfectly. It is well written, humorous, clear and patient. The examples are interesting enough that you can see how they would be useful for solving other problems, not necessarily game related.

One caveat: if you don't have a decent intro to basic Win32 API programming, get Charles Petzold's Programming Win32 book and get busy. Yes, the first two chapters of AI Techniques are a Win32 refresher (which was good for me because I last wrote Win32 3 years ago...I now do Java only), but I'm pretty sure if you haven't seen it before you'll be lost.

BTW, just to give you an idea how clear the concepts were presented, I've recoded Chapters 3 and 5 as properly OOPed (MVC, etc) Java applications. Just MHO, but Java is a much better platform for this stuff. ...

I'm was also surprised by how much fun this book makes GAs and NNs. I assumed it was going to be hard work but the author has a knack for making everything seem so easy. Learning about these techniques has also given me a whole new perspective on some AI related issues.

...In a nutshell, if you want to learn about GAs and NNs then this is a great book which will fill you with excitement and help you approach AI problems in new and interesting ways.

The parody on the CIA underworld was hilarious and so where some of the situations Smith and Pedrito found themselves in. This book leaves the reader with the thought 'What if a case of mistaken identity really happened to me?' and 'Do I have a double on this planet?' The plot is what keeps you reading, making it a great 'What If' novel.

Attributed to the great Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu, the "Tao Te Ching" has attracted generations of followers from across the world to its simple tenets of modesty, peace, and pragmatism.

The most pleasant feature of this book is that it illustrates concepts clearly and cleanly. Complex issues are brought home and made familiar.

Any of this authors books are a wonderful place to start. The reason? Because these books are all about the title subject in a nutshell, easy to read as a comic book, the story lines and illustrations are wonderful, and after you read this as well as all the other books by Tsai, you will have a great, well rounded start on your path and will know what you want to study more deeply!

To add, when others ask you about your interest in eastern philosophy, you can get them started here as well, because these books are fun, consise, and you know they will enjoy them over and over again!

There are many great translations of Taoist texts and books that interpret them. However, not everyone is big into East Asian philosophy. It is for those people I recommend this version and this entire series of cartoon Chinese philosophy books. They are really cute, make good gifts, and are great in the classroom.

I recommend this book for teachers and as a gift. People who are deep into this stuff, will understandably have problems with these books. However, for beginners, kids, and as a gift these books are great.

Walsh is careful to weave basic information about the presidents into the book. If you already know a good deal about the modern U.S. presidents, you will find much of this information either simplistic or repetitive. If you don't know very much about the modern presidents, however, but you want to know more about Air Force One, then you won't get lost here.

Walsh usually introduces each president with a brief history, and then shows convincingly that the planes they flew had a way of revealing the character of that president in a way that other places - the Oval Office, for example - did not. Reporters and staff, if they are fortunate enough to be allowed on board the jet, have access to a president that they do not have anywhere else. Presidents also seem to open up more when they fly Air Force One. Both of these circumstances allow a unique opportunity to see the usually powerful and distant man unfiltered.

While the historical moments that took place on Air Force One are all here (LBJ's swearing in as president just after the assassination of JFK; George W. Bush's long flight around the country after the terror attacks on 9-11, etc.), I personally found the trivial or less famous information more interesting. I had never heard, for example, that Nixon's Air Force One had to take evasive maneuvers during a trip to the Middle East after it appeared Syrian fighter jets might attack it (they were mistakenly sent up to welcome the Presidential jet). I also had no idea that secure communications on the president's hi-tech plane are often disrupted while it is in flight.

This is a light book that can be finished in an evening of reading. My only disappointment with it was the lack of basic drawings of the interior setup of Air Force One or drawings of the insides of previous presidential jets. I don't think the information is classified (since Walsh describes it in words), so it would have been interesting to see the various layouts.

The book starts with a very swift, journalist's sweep through Franklin Roosevelt to George Walker Bush. While Teddy Roosevelt was the first president in the air, FDR was the first to use it for presidential business including internationally. But Air Force One is really a contemporary element of the Presidency, becoming an important player in US history with the stunning image of the swearing-in of Johnson aboard the plane after the assassination of Kennedy.

Walsh describes everything from the food--Barbara Walters got a Spam sandwich, George H.W.Bush banned, what else, broccoli while son George likes Asian and spicy Tex-Mex. He tells you about the lavatories, souvenir notepads, who sits where (seats are assigned, and the president has a suite in the very front, including a desk and bed.) And there is other fascinating trivia--why, for example did George W. ground his father when both were flying? You'll find the answer here.

I once saw Air Force One on the tarmac at Boston Logan, when Clinton was at the end of his second term. It was night, we were delayed to allow Air Force One to land. Then we saw it, glistening huge and frosty-white in the glare of the runway lights. Air Force One IS impressive, and a symbol of our US leadership. This is a very fun read, and a unique insight into one aspect of the US President's life.

I have just finished reading Kenneth T. Walsh's newest book, "Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes". This book, I am happy to report, is as informative and articulate a reading experience as I have had in a long time. Mr. Walsh's long-time "insider" status as well as his exhaustive research and crisp, concise style of writing made this a thoroughly enjoyable read, start to finish.

The short history of aviation and it's effect on American history is truly remarkable, as Mr. Walsh reports. Over the few years it has taken for the jet age to develop, our executive branch has been relatively quick to recognize and tap the potential for extending democratic values and influence. Between FDR's first tedious and exhausting hop-scotch to Casablanca and George W. Bush's incredible split-second decision on board Air Force One the day of September 11, 2001, this book gives the reader some wonderful minute-by-minute reporting from the key people involved, right up to the presidents themselves.

Each of our presidents has approached the Ait Force One experience in their own unique way, thereby revealing a closer insight into their hearts and minds. This book details each, from Clinton's relatively relaxed and homey flying style, Johnson's bullying, to Nixon's brooding and self-obsessed genius. And for me personally, the detailed descriptions of each airplane's awesome power and capabilities imparted a sense of certainty and reassurance that our leadership is just as secure and in command at 35,000 feet and 700 mph as it has ever been in the White House or Camp David.

These airplanes and the phalanx of people who fly them have known more history than one could ever have even imagined. With this book, Mr. Walsh has brought American history buffs as well as casual readers like myself a slice of flying knowlege and experience not soon to be forgotten.