Ava Gardner with a straw hat as a teenage girl, 1939. Colorized by Dejan Travica

[Image description: Digital drawings featuring a variety of characters from Octopath Traveler. There are full descriptions of all images under the cut. End image description.]

you know what? octopath is the only game i’ve ever played that accurately depicts what happens when you eat an olive. thank you octopath

[Image description: First is a drawing of Primrose, Ophilia, Kit, and Lyblac, with certain aspects of their designs altered. Primrose steps forward in a beguiling pose. She wears a red dress with a short, layered front and a long, flowing back. She wears gold jewelry including three rings on her right hand, a headband with a flower adornment, and a belt around her waist. Her knife is strapped to her right thigh and she wears medieval women's knee-high hose, black with red garters, beneath her sandals. A note next to her reads, "Elements taken from 15th century Italian illustration of dancers." Ophilia holds up her staff. A long lace veil covers her head and is tied beneath her chin. She wears a brooch on the left side of her cloak. The notes next to her read, "Mourning veil worn for varying lengths of time depending on relation (parent = 1 year). Mourning brooch of braided hair worn indefinitely by choice." Kit's design is much the same. He looks with slight wonder over at Lyblac, who stands tall with her hands clasped and a blood red halo around her head. She wears a black escoffion and a black and red houppelande with dagged sleeves.

Second is a drawing of Mattias, Esmeralda, and Lianna, with certain aspects of their designs altered. A note above Mattias and Esmeralda reads, "Obsidian fashion is ahead of the times (entirely because I mistook Mattias's sprite as having a ruff)." Along with the ruffs around his neck and wrists, Mattias wears a yellow doublet, orange jerkin, a gold necklace with a red jewel pendant, black paned trunkhose, a blue cape with a pattern of yellow stars, and a black cap with a blue feather. He has a confident expression, with one hand on his hip and the other splayed outwards. The note next to him reads, "If he's posing as a merchant he needs a stupid little hat and plume." Esmeralda holds up a black dagger in one hand and clenches the other into a fist with an irritated expression. She wears a French hood, a black gown with slashed sleeves, and gold jewelry around her neck and waist. The gown's skirt is full on the left side, layered and translucent in the middle, and has a slit on the right side to show the crow tattoo on her thigh. The note next to it reads, "Put it back." Then it points to Mattias's left leg and says, "He has it too." Lianna has a neutral expression as she holds up Aelfric's Lanthorn with a dark flame burning within. She wears the robes of a vestal of Galdera. The note next to her reads, "Love how he made her a special little anti-cleric outfit (takes off mourning veil)."

Third is a drawing of Alfyn smiling in profile, showing off his messy, dirty blonde hair with the sides shaved. To the right is a bouquet of seven white lilies. The text above them reads (in all caps), "Donio sam ja sedam ljiljana / Majko da li znaš još sam sam / Majko da li znaš još sam sam / Spava malena slatka glavica / Majko pokrila mi je travica / Majko pokrila mi je travica."

Fourth is a collection of doodles. 1. Lyblac and Kit stand in front of the Gate of Finis. Kit asks, "what are u trying to say." Lyblac points to the Gate with a smile and says, "go here." Kit asks, "in the dark ?" Lyblac says, "go in the dark." 2. Galdera says, "AND I'M BAD!" The souls around the Omniscient Eye say, "MEAN!! GREEN!! BAD!!" 3. To the left, Therion holds up a pair of rivet spectacles to his eye. To the right, he wears a paisley-patterned headscarf and a chador over it with a small smile. The text reads, "His chador swag. Based on an outfit my friend saw me wearing in a dream cuz I thought he'd look cute in it." 4. Two anthropomorphic birds wear cloaks and hold up staves. The first one has a neutral expression and the second looks more aggressive. The text reads, "My brother mistook Believer I + II in Seaside Grotto for bird people and now I wish they really were bird people." 5. A screenshot of a post by user tlirsgender: "Consider: a gay dude and a lesbian who are BEST friends and also dating the same person but not each other because they are a gay dude and a lesbian but their mutual partner has a weird enough gender for it to work. Polycule that’s lgbt like all at once." Beneath it, Alfyn and Primrose happily shake hands while Therion stands in the background with a neutral expression. The note next to them reads, "This concept is so funny to me that it kinda loops around to being compelling." 6. Cyrus smiles and quirks one eyebrow while pointing upwards. The text reads, "LOVE IS IN THE AIR? / WRONG! LIGHTNING BLAST." 7. Primrose leans back on a counter and Therion sits on a stool with his hands clasped. Both look miserable and share a thought bubble which says, "I'm the only bitch here who's incapable of love and sincerity." They glance at each other curiously, and then return to being miserable and sharing a thought bubble which says, "Nah I'm way more sick and twisted than you."

Last is a comic. In the midst of a battle, Ophilia holds up her staff and does 719 damage; Cyrus holds up a tome and does one hit of 1284 damage and another of 1365 damage; and Alfyn holds up his axe and does 649 damage. One enemy remains: a Creeping Treant with one shield and vulnerabilities to axe and fire. In the foreground, Therion says, "Alright..." He prepares a full-boosted Wildfire and says, "Time to end this." Cyrus shuts his tome and says blithely, "I think not. You shall do exactly 2 damage." Ophilia holds a hand over her mouth and blushes, saying, "Oh my, is the Professor teasing?" Alfyn laughs, "Pff, c'mon now, Therion knows what he's doin'!" Therion uses Wildfire on the Treant and breaks it, doing 2 damage. Therion, Alfyn, and Ophilia stand lined up and look very startled, while Cyrus smiles mildly and thinks, "Oh wow, for real? I literally just said that for no reason." The note beneath the comic reads, "*Based on a true story where I was Therion and my brother was Cyrus. I laughed so hard I cried." End image description.]

Victoria Travica: a writer's biography

Dear reader,

Hi there.

my name is Victoria Travica, but you can call me Vic Trav for short. I am a 17 year old writer who exposes the truths learned throughout my life. Many of these truths are not easy pills to swallow - they are THE HARD TRUTHS. We can only learn them through human experience; I think there is something beautiful about that.

I like to think of my work as a reflection of how I see the world. My truest feelings come through in my various pieces of writing and art; they are entirely fuelled by the things I have experienced and the emotions that have come along with it. I am always on the lookout for new inspiration, and when I find it, I seize it.

I have enjoyed writing for as long as I can remember - I've written casually for years, which has served as an outlet for my thoughts when I need it. Poetry and creative writing are some of my favourites. However, this past semester in the Writer's Craft class has taught me how to broaden my writing horizons and try new things. The techniques I've learned have enabled me to try my hand at different kinds of writing and see what I like. Yet another example of how our experiences teach us valuable things.

THE HARD TRUTHS is a safe space meant to serve as a comfort to any who visit my blog. It is okay to acknowledge all of the experiences that make us who we are.

I hope you will enjoy scrolling through what I have to share.

All my love,

Vic Trav

Azimut Modena - Calzedonia Verona 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19),  DEFENDING CHAMPS MAKE IT THROUGH TO SEMIFINALS

Defending champions Azimut Modena turned around their Italian men's UnipolSai Superleague quartefinal series against Calzedonia Verona with a deciding win Sunday night 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19) before a sellout crowd of almost 5,000 at the PalaPanini that saw them through to the semifinals.

Azimut Modena: Travica 2, Ngapeth E. 19, Holt 7, Vettori 16, Petric 9, Le Roux 6, Rossini (L), Massari 0, Orduna 0, Piano 1. N.E. Onwuelo, Ngapeth S.. Man. Tubertini. 

Calzedonia Verona: Baranowicz 5, Kovacevic 15, Anzani 5, Djuric 0, Randazzo 9, Zingel 6, Frigo (L), Stern 9, Giovi (L), Ferreira 0, Lecat 1. N.E. Paolucci, Mengozzi. Man. Grbic.

Best-of-five semifinals (starting next Sunday): - Cucine Lube Civitanova v Azimut Modena - Diatec Trentino v Sir Safety Conad Perugia After Verona stunned them in the first leg at home, Modena had tied the best-of-three series midweek with a straight set win in Verona. MVP of the game Earvin Ngapeth of France was the force behind Modena's deciding win Sunday, scoring 20 points, while Luca Vettori added another 17. Uros Kovacevic of Serbia was best scorer for Verona with 15.

fivb.com

Candy Shop, photography by Vanja Ivosevic for HUF Magazinehttps://hufmagazine.com/candy-shop-photography-by-vanja-ivosevic-for-huf-magazine/

Modena Volley’s players gave Samuel Onwuelo a new bike for his birthday! Happy Bday Samuel!

#SoloModena #AvantiGialli #NSLS

Source: Modena Volley Youtube

Final Blog post

Abstract

Throughout the class we have gone over several functions of knowledge management, such as what knowledge management is, what it can be used for, and how it is used to share information and data in different facets of our society such as business organizations and professional working environments. This paper will be discussing different aspects of the Knowledge management and the tools and technologies that are used in conjunction with traditional Knowledge management practices. I decided to focus on a knowledge management technology that almost everyone uses to search for information on a daily basis in the modern day, Google. Specifically, how Google, one of the world’s most well-known and commercially successful knowledge management technologies, affects the lives of the people who use it, whether that be in a personal or professional setting. While also showing some of the benefits that Google brings as a knowledge management technology as well as some of the disadvantages that come as a byproduct of those potential benefits. The paper will also define knowledge management and the tools and technologies used with it, while at the same time connecting these definitions to google as a platform and business.

Introduction

Knowledge management is the process which individuals who belong to a group or organization use in order to collect data and information into one central location. Making the collected information more easily accessible to those who need it within the organization or company. A company cannot grow or succeed without using proper knowledge management techniques and employees cannot learn how to be effective within the work environment unless they learn how to appropriately use and share these techniques with one another. However, knowledge management is not constrained to just a work place environment. Knowledge can be found literally anywhere in the world, whether it be in the home, the work place or when a person is just enjoying leisure activities in their everyday life . New information is always being created and wherever new information can be found there is a need for knowledge management. As the world continues to grow in population the need to manage knowledge also grows with it, so humans have created knowledge management tools and technologies in order to make the process easier and more efficient. This paper will define knowledge management tools and technologies, while also undertaking an analysis of Google as a knowledge management tool. Since, Google is used by a large section of the world in one fashion or another it is a great knowledge management tool to help express how KM tools are supposed to work. Finally, the paper will discuss some of the positive and negatives effects that Google has on the people who use it on a personal and a societal level.

References: Dalkir, K. (2017). Knowledge management in theory and practice. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Does the internet make our brains lazy? (n.d.). Retrieved from https:// www. alphr.com/science /1002312/does-the-internet-make-our-brains-lazy Firth, J., Torous, J., Stubbs, B., Firth, J. A., Steiner, G. Z., Smith, L., … Sarris, J. (2019, June). The”online brain": how the Internet may be changing our cognition. Retrieved from https ://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6502424/ Hajric, E. (n.d.). Knowledge Management Tools. Retrieved from http://www.knowledge-m anagement-tools.net/knowledge-sharing.html Oberer, B., & Erkollar, A. (2015, October 17). Sustainable Knowledge Management Shown in the Example of a Company Operating on the Telecommunications Market. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567115009120 The Role of Knowledge Management in Google Inc - [PDF Document]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://vdocuments.mx/the-role-of-knowledge-management-in-google-inc.html

Body Paragraphs

Defining Knowledge Management

Just as information is not easily defined or strictly bound to one particular definition so is the process of managing knowledge an ambiguous and roughly defined concept. There are more than one hundred recognized definitions for knowledge management and each brings a new perspective to what knowledge management can be used for in theory and practice. However, one definition that I think describes knowledge management in a way that is easy to understand without omitting important details is this definition. “Knowledge management is a collaborative and integrated approach to creation, capture, organization, access and use of an enterprise’s intellectual assets” (Grey, 1996). To me this definition not only expresses what knowledge management is but also shows the several important aspects of the knowledge management process. First it shows that knowledge or information is either found or created by the people who attempt to manage it. However, rarely is information ever formed or initiated in a neat simply understood package. More often than not once information is found it must be reorganized so that information is transformed from raw data to explicit knowledge. Then that newly created knowledge must be stored in a central location so that it is available when needed. This organization of information must be done in a way that those who need it can easily access and understand what they have found, otherwise the knowledge becomes useless or is lost entirely. The definition also shows that managing information more often than not is the result of a team effort. It may only be a single person who originally collects, organizes and stores the information but the process usually doesn’t just end there. Others individuals will likely find and use the knowledge over time and as they do so they will likely make changes to keep the knowledge updated and relevant. As reflected in what we see with many other tools and technologies, seldom does the tool stay in its original form. Society likes to improve upon the things that benefit us. So, it stands to reason, that when new members of the organization come across the information stored within a knowledge management tool they will also add to or edit it themselves to make an improved product for later use, perhaps even making changes to the knowledge management tool itself to improve the overall. This revolving process of finding and editing information will probably be done dozens of times or more throughout the lifetime of the organization. This can be considered necessity for any organization, at least if the organization wants to continue to be successful and improve. “An intelligent organization is capable of sustaining product innovation rather than just creating a single new product” (Travica 2015). As new information is found or created a database or index will inevitably need to be updated to stay current and relevant to the members within the organization and the customers they are accountable to.

Knowledge Management Tools and Technologies A common issue people face when managing knowledge is finding an efficient way to store information once it has been found so that it can be quickly and easily accessed later. This is where knowledge management tools and technologies come into play. “Technology is used to facilitate primarily communication, collaboration and content management for better knowledge capture, sharing dissemination and application.” (Dalkir 2017) Which in layman’s terms means that knowledge management tools and technologies are systems used to make the process of capturing, storing and accessing information easier for the average person. Just like there are many different types of knowledge and information throughout society there are also many different types of knowledge management tools and technologies used to access that information. Knowledge management tools can be classified in many ways, such as, communication, collaboration, content creation and networking to name just a few. Many knowledge management technologies also fall under more than one classification. For example, Google at first glance looks like just a search engine used to look things up or find definitions, but in actuality it is a portal that holds a vast almost insurmountable amount of information. Not only that but google can be used as a gateway to other knowledge management technologies. In a sense, Google can be considered a knowledge management technology for finding other knowledge management technologies.

Google as a Knowledge Management Tool

We have already defined knowledge management as capturing, codifying, storing, accessing and renewing information and knowledge management technologies as tools that make this process easier. This is why google is the perfect example of a knowledge management tool because it actively fulfills all of the criteria for managing knowledge while making the process to do so easy enough for even an elementary school aged child to use it easily and efficiently. For instance, in the modern day when the average person wants to learn about something or needs the answer to a question, more often than not there first instinct is to go to Google for the answers. Google has access to millions of sites and more often than not a person can easily find any information they are looking for by searching these sites through Google. This is an example of information being captured, stored and accessed in a central location which are three of the main segments of knowledge management. However, google doesn’t just pull these sites from thin air, in order for those sites to be there for an individual’s use, the site itself must be codified so that can be integrated into Google’s program. When this is done properly google not only acts as a knowledge management tool and database itself but it is also acting as a knowledge management portal to other knowledge management tools and sources of explicit knowledge.

Benefits of Google

Being able to operate as not only a knowledge management tool but a knowledge management portal is a great benefit to Google from a business stand point because from the way it operates, it essentially works as not only a provider of information but also a supplier of the commodity that is sharable knowledge and by extension a dealer of a variety of knowledge management tools. In effect google has become the number one trader of information and knowledge for a large portion of society and it shows no signs of losing this title or even slowing in growth. As more knowledge is created, captured, and codified the need for knowledge management only increases. Because of this, Google only continues to grow and become more relevant in our society, further strengthening the bond between itself and its customer base. In present day Google is so integrated into the average person’s life many people can no longer imagine life without it. This leaves room for very few problems, for Google, from a business perspective. One problem being the need to continuously upgrade and perfect its technologies in order to make the user experience even easier and more efficient while keeping their brand fresh and relatable. This is a challenge that most if not all knowledge management tools face and as google is at the top this is a good problem for a business to have.

Disadvantages to Google

Google’s greatest asset can also be considered its greatest disadvantage, because Google is so easy and simple to use, in some ways, it has caused people to stop thinking and learning for themselves in their personal and professional lives. For example, there is no need for a person to retain or memorize knowledge when they have access to a vast network of information they can pull up at any time. Why would a person need to memorize a mathematical formula or proper sentence structure when Google gives them access to this information anytime and wherever they need it? A person doesn’t need to learn how to properly do their job when they can just go to Google for the answers whenever a problem arises. “It is without doubt that the Internet has fundamentally changed how we acquire information. One can quickly find many answers online. Most everything and every acquaintance is a fingertip away.” (Meyer, 2017). In Google’s quest to preserve and store the vast amount of information that society has to offer they have made it so that, that very society is less hungry for the knowledge to begin with and by extension this causes people to be less knowledgeable overall. Essentially, people have become lazier and less open to learning because of Google being too good at what it’s supposed to do. This sort of issue is also not easily fixed. How does one fix a problem like the overabundance of easily accessible knowledge in the first place? One solution could be to limit the use of the technology that provides it, but in the United States at least this seems like an unlikely outcome since the country as a whole values freedom above all else. Even in countries where freedoms are valued less and regulations against internet use are stricter it is still next to impossible to completely enforce the rules with the arrival of smartphones and VPNs. While on the subject of smart phones this brings to light another disadvantage to google being so easy to use and accessible. Since google can be used by anyone with a smart phone and it gives an opportunity for anyone with a smart phone to use it. Google as a technology is very inclusive which means that not only can good or accurate information be shared through Google but also bad or inaccurate disinformation. There has been a popular term for the last decade or so, Google it, which basically means if you need the answer to something simply look it up on google. At first it just sounds like a catchy phrase but there is an underlying affect to the widely used term. A large majority of the population believes that if they read something, they originally found through Google that this information is accurate and from a reputable source. However, as many of us know this is not actually the case. Google has no gatekeeper so any information can show up on it as long as it stays within the legal limit and this practice gives the opportunity for bad actors to intentionally put out disinformation in order to sway the unsuspecting public to a particular cause or belief. These affects can be seen in many facets of American life. Specifically, politics where people on one side or the other will spread false or misleading information in order to get ahead of or bring down the opposing side. So, while Google’s main objective is to be used to find accurate information it also being used to spread lies or disinformation. Whether this can be directly be blamed on Google is a topic of heavy debate. After all, at the end of the day Google is only the window to these outlets of misinformation but at the same time it can be argued that such a successful and well-off company should be able and willing to put for the resources needed to counteract these disinformation outlets.

Nicola Salsi, Modena's backup setter for Santi Orduna, has decided to leave Modena. Though we might not have seen him on the court that much (since he did only recently move up from Modena's junior team), he is a talented setter. I hope he continues to play/finds a team who can provide more game time for him.

I'm actually confused! Modena now has 13 players in his team? On the official site, under the "team" link you get the list of all the members. And you see /both/ Santi, Salsi and Travica. Does that mean that we still have a chance to see Santi play with Modena? Do you know something more @modena-volley @zaytsevs ?

| @pallavolosupervolley 🏐💙 #volleyball #pallavolosupervolley #quasiunanno #magazines #1 #brakocevic #diouf #nicolai #coppaitalia #2 #kovacevic #juantorena #playoff #sintini #3 #signorile #papi #piccinini #tiffany #bosetti #4 #sbertoli #atanasijevic #travica #vermiglio #5 #guerra #degennaro #degiorgi #guidetti #6 #7 #bonifacio #colaci #cacciatori #mastrangelo #8 #rossini #nicolaielupo #lupo #ringo #sangiuliano #9 #baranowicz #savani #aguero #10 #tapp #cambi #lobianco #sabbi #birarelli #2017

the paper on the window (new poetry piece)

the paper on the window curled away from the cold glass,

just as one recoils from their painful thoughts.

paper on a window wrinkles and fades,

a spirit choked by its environment,

tortured by its only vessel,

taped to the scene with

no way out.

but what you must know is

the glass window wasn't always cold.

many warm days had bathed the paper in sunlight before,

and beauty was all she knew.

but the unknowing paper on the window was not prepared for

what winter would bring.

the fellow papers and posters, who were taped to the inside walls,

were unaffected by the change of season.

they watched the snow fall and said,

"don't you like the view?".

they made conversation about what happened outside,

and the paper on the ice-cold window would weakly chime in.

but she wished she was

anywhere else.

the paper on the window yearned for the days when she could

forget that winter existed.

she dreamed the door would open

and the wind would take her someplace

that was never cold.

but could she ever trust any sunlight again?

the truth is,

things that may seem clear often aren't.

is the temporarily beautiful view

worth the inevitably ugly sting?

is being stuck to the cold glass worth it?

poetry by Victoria Travica

Parallel legs: Andreja Travica Parallel legs - https://ift.tt/2OyzYCS

https://theiamagazine.com/

photo: @  Erik Travica

SUPERLEGA PLAYOFF SEMIFINALS (March 26th)

Azimut Modena Volley-Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-1 (21-25; 27-25; 25-16; 34-32)

Modena Volley won the 2nd leg of the playoff semifinals against Lube Civitanova. This has been one of the most exciting matches ever inside PalaPanini, where the two opponents fought hard to overcome each other. Lube got the edge in the first set, where the Yellows made too many mistakes, whereas Modena pulled themselves together in the second set and totally outplayed Lube in the third one. The fourth set was an emotional roller coaster, but eventually the Yellows managed to keep focused and won it.

The MVP of the match was Nemanja Petric, who delivered a solid performance that led the team to the victory.

Santi Orduna played his best match of the whole season, showing his good setting technique and his amazing defence skills.

Maxwell Holt was brilliant as well, scoring 13 points.

#SoloModena #ManyRobs #AvantiGialli #NSLS

Photo credit: Modena Volley official fb