Machine

A machine is a tool containing one or more parts that uses energy to perform an intended action. Machines are usually powered by mechanical, chemical, thermal, or electrical means, and are often motorized. Historically, a power tool also required moving parts to classify as a machine. However, the advent of electronics has led to the development of power tools without moving parts that are considered machines.

A simple machine is a device that simply transforms the direction or magnitude of a force, but a large number of more complex machines exist. Examples include vehicles, electronic systems, molecular machines, computers, television, and radio.

Etymology

The word machine derives from the Latin word machina, which in turn derives from the Greek (Doric μαχανά makhana, Ionic μηχανή mekhane "contrivance, machine, engine", a derivation from μῆχος mekhos "means, expedient, remedy").

A wider meaning of "fabric, structure" is found in classical Latin, but not in Greek usage.

This meaning is found in late medieval French, and is adopted from the French into English in the mid-16th century.

Artension

Artension was a North American neo-classical progressive metal band, founded in 1993 by keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij.

History

It was sometime in '92/'93, when Vitalij Kuprij, who was studying classical music in Switzerland at that time, met Roger Staffelbach, a Swiss guitarist who was also studying at the Jazz School in Lucerne.

They soon founded their band "Atlantis Rising", which played several instrumental gigs in Switzerland. After having recorded some demos, they got in touch with Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records, who showed great interest in the band but suggested to add some vocal lines to their songs.

Vitalij had already known stunning drummer Mike Terrana from one of Yngwie Malmsteen's tours. His friend, bassist Kevin Chown, also joined the band and enriched their sound with solid experience and great musicianship, and Artension was born.

Mike Varney introduced Vitalij and Roger to several musicians, one of them being John West, whose soaring vocals, along with Vitalij's and Roger's lightning-fast solos, became the trademark for Artension's neo-classical and aggressive music.

Simple machine

A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refers to the six classical simple machines which were defined by Renaissance scientists:

A simple machine uses a single applied force to do work against a single load force. Ignoring friction losses, the work done on the load is equal to the work done by the applied force. The machine can increase the amount of the output force, at the cost of a proportional decrease in the distance moved by the load. The ratio of the output to the applied force is called the mechanical advantage.

Simple machines can be regarded as the elementary "building blocks" of which all more complicated machines (sometimes called "compound machines") are composed. For example, wheels, levers, and pulleys are all used in the mechanism of a bicycle. The mechanical advantage of a compound machine is just the product of the mechanical advantages of the simple machines of which it is composed.

Fragment

Fragment may refer to:

Entertainment

Television and film

Music

Other

Other

Sanctuary (season 2)

The second season of the Canadian science fiction–fantasy television series Sanctuary premiered on Space in Canada and on Syfy in the United States on October 9, 2009, and concluded on the same channel on January 15, 2010 after 13 episodes. It continues to follow the actions of a secret organization known as the Sanctuary Network, who track down a series of creatures known as abnormals and then bring them to the Sanctuary base for refuge. Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne, Emilie Ullerup, Ryan Robbins, Agam Darshi and Christopher Heyerdahl are billed in the opening credits as the main cast.

The season starts six weeks after the conclusion of the first season, where the protagonists work to defeat the antagonistic Cabal from destroying the Sanctuary Network, but in the process Ashley Magnus (Ullerup), daughter of Sanctuary leader Helen Magnus (Tapping), dies. Later episodes involve a story arc on Big Bertha, the most dangerous abnormal on Earth.

The second season included a writing team, where as in the first there were only two writers; series creator Damian Kindler, and Sam Egan; however Egan left the series after the end of the first season. The producers wanted to expand on the Sanctuary Network by including episodes where the team visit some of their international sites as opposed to only mentioning them. The season was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia from late March to July 2009, with some scenes of the finale filmed on location in Tokyo, Japan. Anthem Visual Effects continues to produce the series' visual effects. Anthem found an exponential growth in their work, with some episodes including as many as 500 visual effects shots.

Fragments (album)

Fragments is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1986 and released on the ECM label.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Stephen Cook awarded the album 4 stars stating "this 1986 session ranks high among his many solo and group outings for the label... Overcast and a bit icy as one might expect, but nevertheless Bley's Fragments makes for a consistently provocative and enjoyable listen".The Penguin Guide to Jazz said "The writing and arranging are surprisingly below par and the recording isn't quite as clean as it might be".

Track listing