Absent Element

More recent "old school" or "demostyle" MOD music, although sample-based, continues the style of the chiptunes used in these intros; new compositions in this style can still be regularly found at www.chiptune.com or www.chip-on.com (new chiptunes from old computers/formats can be found here as well).

In the last couple of years, chip music has returned to modern gaming, either in full chip music style or using chip samples in the music. Games that do this in their soundtrack include Mega Man Battle Network, Seiklus, and Tetris DS.

Voice Cards

LONDON (AFP) –
Former England and Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson died on Friday at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer.

Robson, whose first brush with the disease that would ultimately claim him was in 1992, led England to the World Cup semi-finals in 1990 before leaving to manage a host of top European clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Barcelona and finally his boyhood team Newcastle.

A statement issued on behalf of his family said: "It is with great sadness that it has been announced today that Sir Bobby Robson has lost his long and courageous battle with cancer.

"He died very peacefully this morning (Friday) at his home in County Durham with his wife and family beside him.

"Sir Bobby's funeral will be private and for family members only.

"A thanksgiving service in celebration of Sir Bobby's life will be held at a later date for his many friends and colleagues.

"Lady Robson and the family would very much appreciate it if their privacy could be respected at this difficult time."

Ipswich opened a book of remembrance for Robson ahead of Friday's friendly with Real Valladolid and a minute's silence was held during training at Newcastle, while the club's St James' Park stadium was opened for fans to lay tributes.

As a mark of respect, flags at the Civic Centre in Newcastle were lowered in tribute, while Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Ipswich all released statements expressing their sympathy to Robson's family and saluting his achievements with their teams.

As a youngster, Robson, born in County Durham, fell in love with football as he travelled with his father Philip and brother Ronnie 20 miles on the bus to watch the Newcastle team of the 1940s, which included the great Jackie Milburn.

Robson, whose father was a miner, had started to learn the same trade when he avoided a career underground by signing for Fulham, aged 17.

Through the 1950s and early 1960s he was a top midfielder with the London club and with West Bromwich Albion.

Robson was the first player to negotiate an image rights deal and was paid a fee of three guineas for his photo to appear on cigarette cards.

He won 20 England caps, and took part in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

His first managerial role came at Fulham, but he made his name during a successful reign at Ipswich from 1969 to 1982.

Under Robson's astute leadership, Ipswich - an unheralded provincial club - became one of the most feared teams in England and their boss earned a reputation as one of the gentleman of British sport.

Ipswich won the FA Cup in 1978, beating Arsenal 1-0 in the final, and enjoyed European glory for the first time in 1981 with victory over Dutch side AZ 67 Alkmaar in the UEFA Cup final.

A year later Robson was appointed England coach and, after missing out on qualification for the 1984 European Championships, he took England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1986.

England's run in Mexico ended in controversial circumstances when Diego Maradona's infamous 'hand of god' goal and a brilliant solo effort handed Robson's team a 2-1 defeat.

"It wasn't the hand of God, it was the hand of a rascal," Robson said.

By the time England reached the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Robson had grown tired of the pressures of the job and revealed he would leave to take charge at PSV after the tournament.

He almost went out on a high as England, inspired by a young Paul Gascoigne, reached the last four for the first time since winning the competition in 1966.

A heart-breaking penalty shoot-out defeat to West Germany ended Robson's England reign, but he was to enjoy more success for the rest of his career.

With his reputation restored, Robson won the Dutch league twice with PSV, then went on to Sporting Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, where he won more championships.

A move to Barcelona in 1996 was perhaps the biggest job in his club career, and he led them to Spanish Cup and Cup Winners' Cup success in Europe before he briefly became general manager.

In 1999 he made a romantic return to Newcastle at the age of 66 but was unable to end the club's long wait for silverware.

Robson was knighted in 2002 but two years later Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd sacked him despite a fifth place finish in the Premier League the previous season.

His last job in football came in 2006 when he was a consultant to the rookie Republic of Ireland boss Steve Staunton.

Robson was first diagnosed with cancer in 1992 while working in Holland and when he was 62 a malignant tumour was detected in his head.

A routine check-up in February 2007 revealed more tumours on his lungs. This time they were inoperable.

He devoted his time to raising cash for the fight against cancer and launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

He finally admitted cancer was going to kill him, saying: "I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left.

"But then everyone has to go some time, and I have enjoyed every minute."

Sir Bobby is survived by his wife Lady Elsie and their three children, Andrew, Paul and Mark.

http://www.sandsresorts.com/

The cost and quality of hotels are usually indicative of the range and type of services available. Due to the enormous increase in tourism worldwide during the last decades of the 20th century, standards, especially those of smaller establishments, have improved considerably. For the sake of greater comparability, rating systems have been introduced, with the one to five stars classification being most common.[citation needed]

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest hotel still in operation is the Hoshi Ryokan, in Awazu, Japan. It opened in 717, and features hot springs.

INDIANAPOLIS – Jeff Belskus was content living life as Indianpolis Motor Speedway's No. 2 man.
He worked the books, sat in on meetings, offered advice and learned what it took to run a track. Yes, it was good training for a job he never dreamed he'd have, president and CEO of the 100-year-old Brickyard.
Welcome to reality, where everyone wants to know how Belskus intends to run this family owned company.
"I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head, but I think it's premature to talk about them right now," he said last weekend during NASCAR's race at Indy. "It would be easy, having been here for 22 years, to tell you I have all the answers and I have a plan, but I'm trying to learn everything I can to develop a strategy."
Clearly, Belskus is not suggesting a major philosophical overhaul. Yet. He still wants stock cars competing on the storied 2.5-mile oval and is willing to see if MotoGP racing will attract fans. And, of course, he's committed to keeping the speedway's signature event, the Indianapolis 500, front and center.
But changing executives at this venue, where tradition has always ruled, is almost as unfathomable as not seeing A.J. Foyt strolling through Gasoline Alley.
Since the Hulman-George family bought the track in 1945, the speedway corporation has been a model of stability. Tony Hulman was arguably the state's biggest celebrity this side of Bob Knight through the 1970s, and it was his grandson, Tony George, who took over as CEO in 1990.
Now there is uncertainty about the track's plans.
The board of directors, which is comprised of George, his mother, his three sisters and attorney Jack Snyder, replaced George with Belskus. Last week, speedway president Joie Chitwood also announced he was stepping down to take another racing job in Florida, giving Belskus even more power.
Most are convinced the new man will run a more efficient operation, something the board clearly craved after George spent hundreds of millions of dollars to make track improvements and keep the Indy Racing League afloat over the past 13 years.
So how will Belskus be different from George?
"We're different people with different styles," Belskus said. "I hope to bring some clarity to our situation in terms of goals and and objectives. I'll probably be more numbers oriented fiscally because that's my background."
Perhaps that's what the track needs in an economy where sponsorships are becoming tougher to keep.
NASCAR's Roush Fenway Racing confirmed last week that Dewalt Power Tools would not renew its longtime deal with Matt Kenseth, and on Monday, speedway officials announced Allstate was ending its five-year run as the title sponsor of NASCAR's Indy race.
Belskus' top priority is holding the line, something he appears well-suited to accomplish.
"I think any property in sports and entertainment faces tough challenges," Chitwood said. "It's about getting customers to attend your events. Jeff has over 20 years of experience here, he's been at the meetings of all the major decisions made here and I don't think he'll miss a beat."
But losing George and Chitwood weeks apart could make things harder.
Belskus is still trying to formulate ideas, choose a leadership team, run the track's day-to-day business and stay on top of the finances. This week, he was also scheduled to discuss next season's race deal with NASCAR president Mike Helton.

The good news is that racing insiders have confidence in Indy's new No. 1 man.

"Jeff Belskus has been a common denominator since we first started talking about coming here, so we are very familiar with Jeff, he knows us, we know him," Helton said. "He's representing the George family, so it's not a whole lot different from other transitions that we've seen at other racetracks over the years. But I would say that Belskus is the key to our comfort level. He's the common denominator in every conversation we've had here the last 17 years."

Belskus also gets a key endorsement from IndyCars' most prominent team owner, Roger Penske.

Though Penske credited George with having the foresight to bring stock cars and Formula One cars to Indy, invest in SAFER barrier development and figure out how to make IndyCar racing more affordable, Penske thinks the switch will be beneficial to the track and the series.

"If you look at any business, you know Tony has been in that role for 20 years, maybe it was time for a change," Penske said. "I think there will be continuity with Belskus and he has the confidence of the entire Hulman family."

All he has to do now is make sure everyone at the track knows he's in charge.

"I showed up at the Pagoda (Saturday) and was trying to get in and this security guy was doing his job and wouldn't let me in," Belskus said, chuckling. "Finally, he says 'Who are you?' I said, 'I'm Jeff Belskus' and then he let me in. There's been a lot of that lately."