Private (rocket)

Private was an experimental rocket developed by the California Institute of Technology on behalf of the United States Army. Tested in two different configurations, it provided the proof of concept that a fin-stabilised ballistic missile was technologically feasible, and led to the development of the Corporal ballistic missile.

History

The Private program was begun in 1944 as an outgrowth of work by the California Institute of Technology's Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory that had produced the first practical jet-assisted take-off (JATO) rockets. A proposal to adapt the JATO rockets for research into the development of ballistic missiles was accepted, and the first flight of the Private A rocket, developed under the direction of Tsien Hsue-shen, took place in December 1944, conducted at Camp Irwin in California.

Private A was an unguided, fin-stabilised ballistic rocket; it consisted of a JATO unit equipped with cruciform tail fins, and a set of four T22 booster rockets that were jettisoned after launch. This made Private A the first multistage rocket to be flown in the United States.

Private (web series)

Private is an American Web series produced by Alloy Entertainment based on the novels of the same name by Kate Brian.

The series was announced in May 2009, beginning with a contest allowing female readers the chance to audition for the role of Kiran Hayes. It was also announced that the series would adapt the first four books via 20 episodes, each with a standard length of four to six minutes.

A DVD with episodes of the series was released by Newvideo.

Contest

Private: The Casting Call was the contest in which three contestants competed for the role of Kiran Hayes in the Web adaptation of Private.

Episode list

References

List of Madagascar (franchise) characters

This is a list of characters that have appeared in the Madagascar films, the television series The Penguins of Madagascar, and the Netflix series All Hail King Julien.

Concept and creation

Tom McGrath explained in an interview that the intention of Madagascar was not to take a political stance on whether "zoos are bad and the wild is better, or that the wild is bad," but to show "the most extreme 'fish out of water' story that [they] could do". McGrath stated "the basic irony to the story is that, you think animals do belong in the wild, but if they're so accustomed to civility, they wouldn't know where food even came from," and the animals were meant to "love the zoo and to love where they are because they've got" 5,000 square feet (460 m²) "right off Fifth Avenue".

McGrath also described, during the research of Madagascar, they "found these crazy, weird animals that were already cartoons in their own right."

Main characters

Alex

Voiced by:

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that creates credit by lending money to a borrower, thereby creating a corresponding deposit on the bank's balance sheet. Lending activities can be performed either directly or indirectly through capital markets. Due to their importance in the financial system and influence on national economies, banks are highly regulated in most countries. Most nations have institutionalized a system known as fractional reserve banking under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities. In addition to other regulations intended to ensure liquidity, banks are generally subject to minimum capital requirements based on an international set of capital standards, known as the Basel Accords.

Banking in its modern sense evolved in the 14th century in the rich cities of Renaissance Italy but in many ways was a continuation of ideas and concepts of credit and lending that had their roots in the ancient world. In the history of banking, a number of banking dynasties — notably, the Medicis, the Fuggers, the Welsers, the Berenbergs and the Rothschilds — have played a central role over many centuries. The oldest existing retail bank is Monte dei Paschi di Siena, while the oldest existing merchant bank is Berenberg Bank.

Rampart (fortification)

A rampart in fortification architecture is a length of bank or wall forming part of the defensive boundary of a castle, hillfort, settlement or other fortified site. It is usually broad-topped and made of excavated earth or masonry or a combination of the two.

Early fortifications

Many types of early fortification, from prehistory through to the Early Middle Ages, employed earth ramparts usually in combination with external ditches to defend the outer perimeter of a fortified site or settlement.Hillforts, ringforts or "raths" and ringworks all made use of ditch and rampart defences, and of course they are the characteristic feature of circular ramparts. The ramparts could be reinforced and raised in height by the use of palisades. This type of arrangement was a feature of the motte and bailey castle of northern Europe in the early medieval period.

Types of rampart

The composition and design of ramparts varied from the simple mounds of earth and stone, known as dump ramparts, to more complex earth and timber defences (box ramparts and timberlaced ramparts), as well as ramparts with stone revetments. One particular type, common in Central Europe, used earth, stone and timber posts to form a Pfostenschlitzmauer or "post-slot wall". Vitrified ramparts were composed of stone that was subsequently fired, possibly to increase its strength.

Bank (card game)

Bank, also known also as "Polish Bank" or "Russian Bank," is the name of a comparing card game. The game requires a standard 52-card deck and five or six players.

Rules

At the start of the game, each player contributes an arranged stake to the pool. The dealer gives three cards to each player and turns up another; if this is not lower than an eight (ace is lowest), the dealer continues turning up cards until such a card is exposed. The player on the dealer's left, without touching or looking at the three cards received, can bet the amount of the pool, or any part of it, that among those cards is one that is higher (of the same suit) than the turn-up. If the player wins, the player takes the amount from the pool; if the player loses, the player pays that amount to the pool. Each player does the same in turn, the dealer last. Whenever the pool is exhausted, a fresh stake is put into the pool. After a round is over the deal passes. No player may touch any cards received until making a bet; the penalty is a fine to the pool of twice the stake, and the loss of the right to bet during that round.