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Admiral Piett

Piett was a loyal Imperial officer aboard Darth Vader's flagship, the Executor, during the Hoth campaign. As an attentive Captain aboard the Super Star Destroyer, he was more creatively minded than his by-the-manual superior, Admiral Ozzel. After Ozzel committed a fatal mistake during the hunt for the Rebels, Darth Vader promoted Piett to Admiral in his place.
Piett served in this capacity during the Battle of Endor. He perished aboard his vessel when a wayward A-wing starfighter crashed into the Executor's bridge.
Admiral Piett profile from starwars.com
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Urbandictionary.com

UrbanDictionary
UrbanDictionary is an online dictionary whose definitions are contributed by users. Most words featured on UrbanDictionary are slang, particularly ambiguous slang.
Site features
It has recently arranged its terms into categories in which people may search for terms. One of its main motives is to emphasise the defining of words how you want to define them, hence its slogan: "Define your world". Because of this, one word may return many definitions. Individual definitions can be voted on based upon a thumbs up/down scale, and a running tally of votes is kept for each definition. Visitors may also view a randomly chosen word to expand their urban vocabulary. Users can submit sounds of spoken words and images to give a clear, understandable feeling of a certain definition. This feature has been very helpful to some, although it has been sparingly used; many terms are unable to be visualized. Other recently-added features of the site include a "Word of the Day", where subscribers receive a daily email containing a select term, and a chatroom.

The "Urbanelite" and the "UD terrorist"
When authors submit their definitions, they are permitted to include a name or pseudonym, and more recently, their location, which appears underneath the definition. These names cannot presently be password protected, and some names are used by many authors (anonymous and unknown being primary examples), while other authors with unique handles gain some degree of notoriety from the number or popularity of their definitions. The authors judged to make the most notable contributions are sometimes known as the "urbanelite" and have intercommunicated with each other via chatboard style back-and-forth definitions. This has led to a series of on-and-off flame wars on the website. Disliked members of the urbanelite are often the victims of having extremely disagreeable definitions superimposed under their nicknames by other authors trying to discredit them. This was first seen large scale happening to the inarticulate PlayStation fan with the handle of "sony roolz". The handle "sony roolz" was used by several urban dictionary regulars to make the user appear an immature and illiterate sociopath, with the abuse even extending beyond urbandictionary.

Over time a group of users formed into a loosely organised attack group with the sole aim of commandeering the names of urbanelites and writing a plethora of definitions packed with objectionable content, including racist statements, offensive jokes, poems in support of necrophilia, zoophilia and child molestation as well as plenty of statements where the victim 'admits' to homosexual activity and hatred of non-white races. These claims are desultory and conflicting, as are most spatial attacks. One victimised author refered to the people behind these attacks as the 'Urbandictionary Terrorist', believing there to be just one culprit. The handle "ud terrorist" stuck, and today many of the definitions of urbanelite authors that used to contribute to the site have disappeared. Prior to the new deletion system, some of these authors have had all their definitions removed as their continued presence was likely to spark more trolling.

Quality control
In order to keep definitions accurate and non-offensive, a so-called "quality control" system was established. Should a user disapprove of a certain word, they could submit a complaint. The user was able to choose one of five general reasons for which the definition ought be deleted and to enter additional comments about the rationale justifying the definition's deletion (such as if the definition was incoherent or hateful). Deletion requests were added to a pool that was reviewed by users who choose to participate in quality control. Users participating in the system made a judgement whether to keep the definitions on the website or to delete them by selecting for each one either "it stays" or "it goes". If the user was unsure, a "don't know" option was also selectable.

However, the site's management did not believe that this concept was working as intended. Many people were not, in their eyes, using it to solely erase definitions from the site that were inconsistent with the site's terms of service. For instance, many users recommended definitions of users they did not approve of or those containing opinions they did not agree with. Because of this, a many definitions that did not meet the site's criteria for deletion were removed from the website. As this was happening repeatedly, a new system has been established. Though complaints are still submitted, the quality control system is now invalid, with executive editors now determining whether a definition should remain on the website or not. Now, the site is offering free, non-executive editing positions. Users now determine whether a definition is appropriate for publication, and if not, the definition will not appear on the website. This system had, at its' inception, what appeared to be several weeks worth of backlogs, and is still open to abuse despite the posted guidelines.

More than just slang
Urban Dictionary's content contains more than slang. The names of many well-known figures, computer games, and other commonly-used terms exist. Also, because of Urban Dictionary's informality and anonymity and its popularity among teens, some people define their peers' names, usually to insult or profess their love for them. Many people believe that this does not ruin the site; they believe that the site has drifted away from being solely a slang dictionary, but instead a slang dictionary and a source from which people can learn more about the general conceptions that people have of certain things in everyday life. But, most definitions are rather opinionated and not very useful.
See also
Wiktionary
External links
Urban Dictionary
UrbanDictionary.com Online Dictionary By Submissions.
by P.redeckis June 14, 2006
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Lando Calrissian

Cardplayer. Scoundrel. You'll like him. That was Han Solo's hurried precis on his old pal, Lando Calrissian. While the description is accurate, it barely scratches the surface of this complicated rogue. Calrissian is at home in the shadowy reaches of the fringe, the underworld culture that permeates the galaxy. While he has rubbed elbows with hunters, mercs, outlaws and gangsters, Lando's main difference is that his elbows were covered by some of the most expensive and fashionable clothes this side of the Core. Lando has style and class; some would say in excess. He is a man of sophisticated tastes, and settles for nothing short of the best in his surroundings, his belongings, his look, and his female companionship.
Han and Lando go way back, you'll hear them say, but it hasn't always been friendship and camaraderie. Solo and Calrissian have been rivals in the past. A bitter point of contention between the two has been the ownership of the Millennium Falcon. The deceptively dilapidated freighter once belonged to Calrissian, and much to the gambler's chagrin, he lost it to Solo in a heated game of sabacc. Though Solo insists he won fair and square, Calrissian still questions Solo's victory, if only to goad the Corellian.

Lando was the first of the two friends to go "respectable," a fate worse than death to some smugglers. He distanced himself from the life on the run, and settled down in the floating metropolis of Cloud City, on the gas planet Bespin. Lando became baron-administrator of the city and its lucrative Tibanna gas mining operation. Where once he had only looked out for himself, Lando now found himself responsible for the lives of millions of Cloud City residents. Despite himself, Lando found that he had a knack for administrative duties, and enjoyed being a businessman and community leader as much as a cardshark.

Lando's new world came crashing down around him when the Empire arrived at Cloud City. It was shortly after the Battle of Hoth when the Dark Lord, Darth Vader, and the masked bounty hunter Boba Fett came before him. They had tracked down the Falcon and its crew heading to Cloud City, and forced Calrissian to agree to turn Solo over to the Empire. In exchange, the Empire would not interfere with Cloud City, and allow it to remain an independent colony. Calrissian was torn -- was a friend's life worth more than the lives of his people?

Reluctantly, Calrissian agreed to the Empire's plan and lured Solo into a trap. Throughout the ordeal, Vader kept altering his end of the bargain, and Calrissian was powerless to stop him. The gambler learned an important lesson: never deal with a Dark Lord.

With all the cards on the table, Lando realized that he was set up to lose. Although Solo was captured, frozen in carbonite, and taken to the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt, Calrissian seized the initiative to redeem himself. He freed Solo's friends, Leia Organa and Chewbacca, and warned Cloud City's populace of the impending Imperial takeover. Calrissian, aboard the Millennium Falcon, led the escape from the city. He even helped rescue a wounded Luke Skywalker before returning the fugitive Rebels to the Alliance fleet.

Calrissian volunteered in a daring mission to rescue Solo from Jabba the Hutt's fortress on Tatooine. He concealed himself in the armor of one of Jabba's many faceless skiff guards and infiltrated the palace. Lando was in perfect position when Skywalker sprung his rescue mission over the Great Pit of Carkoon.

The skiff guards never knew they had a Rebel in their midst. Calrissian helped dispose of several of the guards protecting the prisoners, and piloted the rescue skiff that spirited away the newly liberated Solo and his friends.

During the Battle of Endor, Calrissian again proved his mettle. Now a General in the Alliance Forces, Lando volunteered to spearhead the starfighter attack on the second Death Star while Admiral Ackbar led the capital ships. His past exploits in the Battle of Tanaab helped prepare him for the coming conflict. His unorthodox strategies worked well with Ackbar's more conservative tactics. When the Death Star proved operational, Ackbar was ready to retreat. Instead, Calrissian commanded the Alliance Fleet to engage the Imperial Fleet at point-blank range, offering limited protection from the Death Star's massive superlaser weapon.

Once a Rebel strike team deactivated the Death Star's protective deflector shield, Lando led the starfighters into the station's incomplete superstructure. Lando, aboard the Falcon, flew point into the twisting narrow corridors of the Death Star's innards. Once in the massive reactor core, he loosed a volley of concussion missiles at the Death Star's exposed heart. He then outran the fantastic explosion that followed, and the Millennium Falcon emerged triumphantly from the dying Death Star.
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Nicholas Hoult

Nicholas Hoult
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Nicholas Hoult born 7 December 1989 is the British actor best known for playing Marcus in the hit British film About a Boy.

He trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London and made his film debut as Bobby in the Boxer Films/Fox Searchlight picture Intimate Relations. Although About A Boy marked his first leading role in a feature film, he had worked since the age of eight in film, television and theatre.

Hoult has also appeared with the English National Opera at the London Coliseum, firstly in their production of The Nutcracker and more recently in Swan Lake.

edit
Television
For the BBC:

Silent Witness
Mr. White Goes to Westminster
World of Pub
Waking The Dead
Murder In Mind
Holby City
Doctors
Casualty
Judge John Deed
For ITV

The Bill
Ruth Rendall's The Fallen Curtain
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
edit
Filmography
The Weather Man (2005) - Mike
Wah-Wah (2005) - Ralph Compton
Kidulthood (2005) - Blake
About a Boy (2002) - Marcus Brewer
Intimate Relations (1996) - Bobby
Nicholas Hoult
About a Boy (2002)
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Brynn Hartman

Brynn Hartman (April 11, 1958 – May 28, 1998) was the wife and eventual murderer of actor Phil Hartman. She grew up in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Her birth name was Vicki Omdahl.
Minor acting career
Hartman acted in small roles on television and film, playing a waitress in the Elijah Wood film North and a Venusian on 3rd Rock from the Sun. She met her husband, actor Phil Hartman, while working as a Catalina swimsuit model. She can also be seen during the early 1990s opening credit sequence of Saturday Night Live, having dinner with Hartman. At the time, Phil's career was near its highest point.
Murder/suicide
In 1998, she shot and killed her husband, Phil Hartman, then committed suicide using a different gun.
Phil Hartman's divorce attorney, Steven Small, stated in a CNN article that Brynn's anger management problems may have contributed to the bloody murder-suicide. According to a 1998 People Online article, Brynn's alcoholism and addiction to cocaine also contributed. Each was unhappy and accused the other of not allowing a divorce.
According to an article on www.FranksReelReviews.com, Brynn combined cocaine, drinking, and Zoloft at the Hollywood restaurant, Buca di Beppo. Small stated that the couple had an argument concerning Brynn's drug addiction and the impending divorce when she returned home, according to an article in PeopleOnline.
Around 2am or 3am, she shot Phil twice in the head while he slept. After shooting Phil, she drove to her friend Ron Douglas's house. She confessed the crime to him, but he did not believe her. At 6:20am, she drove back to her house with Douglas, who called 911. As the police arrived on the scene to escort their children, Sean Hartman and Birgen Hartman, out of the house, and before they could reach her, she went to the bedroom where Phil's body lay, shot herself in the head, and died.
Brynn Hartman 1958-1998
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Padmé Amidala

Born Padmé Naberrie, Queen Amidala was the formal name of the royal leader of Naboo. As a child, Amidala was prodigiously talented and extremely well educated. She had long been interested in public service, volunteering in the Refugee Relief Movement as a youth. Her efforts helped in the Shadda-Bi-Boran exodus. At the age of eight, she joined the Apprentice Legislature and became an Apprentice Legislator at age 11. By 14, she was elected Queen of Naboo.
During the Trade Federation siege of Naboo, the scheming Neimoidians tried to force the strong-willed Amidala to sign a treaty that would legitimize a brazenly illegal occupation. Amidala refused, and was sentenced to a prison camp. En route to incarceration, Amidala was freed by Jedi ambassadors. They took the Queen and part of her retinue to Coruscant, to plead her case before the Senate with the help of Naboo's galactic representative, Senator Palpatine.

On Coruscant, Amidala learned of the inefficiencies of galactic politics, watching as Trade Federation political maneuvering stalemated her plea. Following advice from Senator Palpatine, Amidala called for a Vote of No Confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum.

Fed up with the Senate, Amidala returned to Naboo. She requested aid from the native Gungans in freeing her captured capital. During the Battle of Naboo, Amidala infiltrated her own palace, and forced Neimoidian Viceroy Nute Gunray to end the occupation. The cowardly Neimoidians, having their armies defeated, capitulated and freedom was brought back to Naboo.

While Queen Amidala was the ruler of Naboo she had a large staff of advisors and aides that handled the day-to-day affairs. Sio Bibble, for instance, was Naboo's governor. Captain Panaka was Amidala's loyal bodyguard and head of security. Ric Olié was the pilot of the Queen's gleaming Royal Starship and leader of Bravo Flight.

Perhaps most important in Amidala's entourage were her five handmaidens. Saché, Yané, Rabé, Sabé and Eirtaé not only helped the Queen with her intricate gowns, hairstyles and make-up, but they were also trained in self-defense. When in danger, Queen Amidala disguised herself as one of her handmaidens, and adopted her less formal name of Padmé. When disguised as Padmé, Sabé assumed the role of Queen in her place.

When her terms ended, Amidala was constitutionally obligated to step down as Queen, although the public would have easily backed an amendment allowing her to serve longer. Though she had every right to retire and concentrate on her personal life, Amidala continued to be passionate about public service. At the request of the new Naboo monarch, Queen Jamillia, Amidala served as Senator of Naboo, taking the position once occupied by Palpatine. In a galaxy undergoing tumultuous changes, her outspoken nature shone as a beacon of reason and rationality in an increasingly fragmented Senate.

With the rise of a Separatist movement that threatened the stability of the Republic, Amidala was one of the few championing a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Alarmist Senators rallied to create a military force to protect the Republic, but Amidala led the opposition against the Military Creation Act. She believed such a measure would inevitably lead to hostilities against the Separatists.

On the day of the Military Creation Act vote, Amidala's starship was attacked upon arrival at Coruscant. Seven people, including her decoy Cordé, died in the explosion. Some suspected that disgruntled spice miners from the moons of Naboo were the culprit, but Amidala believed that it was actually Count Dooku, leader of the Separatists, behind the attack. In truth, it was an old enemy, Nute Gunray, who was behind the bounty hunters hired to finally silence the young woman from Naboo, though that would go undiscovered for some time.

At the behest of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Amidala was placed under the protection of the Jedi Knights. Amidala was once again reunited with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, whom she had not seen in a decade. A second assassination attempt by the bounty hunter Zam Wesell revealed just how gravely in danger Amidala was.

Anakin escorted Padmé to Naboo, where she would be sequestered while the Jedi investigated the attacks against her. In moments of quiet solitude against the beautiful landscape of Naboo's Lake Country, Anakin and Padmé bonded, rekindling an affectionate friendship that had been interrupted ten years ago, and falling into a deeper love.

It was a love forbidden to both. As per the tenets of the Jedi Code, Anakin could not enter into a romantic relationship, and Padmé needed to focus on her career. Despite their strong feelings, it was Padmé who remained the realist, rebuffing Anakin's overtures while attempting to still her own heart.

Anakin's love for Padmé was not all that was troubling him. He suffered from terrible nightmares of his mother in danger. When he could bear it no more, Anakin returned to Tatooine, with Padmé in tow, to find Shmi Skywalker.

Anakin did find his dying mother, and lashed out in vengeance against the Tusken Raiders that had tortured her. When he returned to Padmé, he confessed his actions, and he collapsed with shame and despair over what he had done. Padmé saw the wounded, sobbing youth, and let her compassion guide her heart as she comforted him.

Shortly thereafter, Anakin and Padmé voyaged to Geonosis, to rescue Obi-Wan who had been captured by Separatist forces. Padmé hoped to use her diplomatic skills to parley with the Separatists, but she and Anakin were captured by the Geonosians. Placed on trial for espionage, Amidala and Anakin were sentenced for execution.

Faced with overwhelming evidence of her mortality, Padmé lowered her emotional guard and professed her love to Anakin. The two were then placed in an execution arena alongside Obi-Wan, and three deadly beasts were unleashed upon them, much to the delight of the Geonosian spectators. Though sustaining a glancing slash from a ferocious nexu, Padmé held her own, and disappointed her would-be executioners.

The spectacle was cut short with the arrival of Jedi reinforcements, and then the opening battle of the historic Clone Wars. Despite her initial objections to a Republic army, Padmé nonetheless fought alongside the newly created clone troopers against the Separatist droid forces.

After the Battle of Geonosis, Anakin escorted Padmé Amidala back to Naboo. There, at a secluded lake retreat, the same place where their forbidden love began to blossom, the two were quietly wed in a ceremony witnessed only by C-3PO and R2-D2. This tranquil expression of love preceded some of the darkest moments to be faced by Amidala and by the galaxy as a whole.

Amidala continued to serve the Senate faithfully, though she was often distracted by the growing career of her secret husband. Anakin was becoming a war hero known throughout the Republic, and while the citizens thrilled at his exploits, she was deeply worried for his safety. The few moments they could snatch together were all too brief. The war was concentrated in the Outer Rim, far from Coruscant, and Padmé saw very little of Anakin. By the time the Outer Rim Sieges ended, Padmé had stunning news to deliver to Anakin --- he was to be a father.

The war years saw the continued transformation of the Republic. To efficiently battle the Separatists on numerous fronts, Chancellor Palpatine enacted executive decrees that saw more power funneled to his office, stripping away the last of the Senate's lackluster ability to wage war. Many welcomed the handover of power, particularly the corrupt politicians.

A small group of Senator grew increasingly wary of Palpatine's amendments. Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma spoke of drastic alternatives in clandestine gatherings. Padmé was one of these secretive idealists, along with Senators Fang Zar, Giddean Danu, Chi Eekway, Terr Taneel and Bana Breemu. They swore to keep their discussions absolutely secret, even from their closest associates. Padmé agreed, even though she feared Anakin would sense her duplicity... and perhaps misconstrue it for something else.

Though early talk of action against Palpatine was carefully couched and measured so as not to border on extreme acts of sedition, Padmé favored a diplomatic solution within the boundaries of the law. She even asked Anakin to use his relationship with Palpatine to press for a peaceful resolution to the war, but her beleaguered husband resented the request. He wanted such overtures to remain in political circles, where they belonged. Her doubts about the system troubled Anakin. To his ears, she was starting to sound like a Separatist.

Padmé began collecting the pledges of what would become the Delegation of 2,000, a group of disaffected Senators formally critical of Palpatine's rule.

She presented the Delegation's concerns to Palpatine, who disregarded them. Palpatine carefully planted seeds of doubt of Padmé's intentions in Anakin's mind, even as he continued to exploit Skywalker's fears about losing her.

Anakin was plagued with terrifying nightmares of Padmé dying during childbirth. Given his prophetic dreams that predicted the death of his mother, these visions greatly unsettled Anakin. He could not stand to lose Padmé, and would do anything to keep her with him. A gateway to dark powers that could unnaturally preserve life beckoned to Anakin -- it was a power that could be achieved by allying himself to Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith.

Padmé, like the rest of the Republic, was unaware that Chancellor Palpatine was in fact a Sith Lord. He lured Anakin to the dark side, and Skywalker knelt before him, becoming Darth Vader, his apprentice. As Vader, Anakin led an ambush on the Jedi Temple, and traveled to Mustafar to kill the leadership of the Separatists, effectively bringing an end to the Clone Wars.

It was Obi-Wan who told Padmé the truth. He had seen evidence of Anakin's transgressions. Padmé was stunned. Unable to grasp this dark reality, she traveled to Mustafar to confront Anakin. Unbeknownst to her, Obi-Wan Kenobi stowed away aboard her ship.

It was just as Obi-Wan described. Padmé could not reason with Anakin. In his twisted perception, he had done all of his wicked deeds to better the galaxy for their union, to make the corrupt Republic into a just Empire for their children. Deluded with power, Anakin even promised that he could depose the Emperor, and make the galaxy exactly what he and Padmé wanted it to be.

Padmé was devastated by Anakin's transformation. When her enraged husband witnessed Obi-Wan emerging from her starship, he jumped to the worst of conclusions. Anakin saw the most stinging in a long line of betrayals -- now his wife had brought his former mentor to Mustafar to kill him. Anakin raised his hand and caught Padmé in a telekinetic chokehold. Padmé gasped for breath as life began to escape from her.

Anakin released his grip as he faced Obi-Wan, and Padmé collapsed. As Kenobi and Skywalker dueled in the Mustafar collection facility, C-3PO and R2-D2 faithfully carried her inert form aboard her starship. Despite the abbreviated medical suite aboard her ship, or the full medical facility at a refuge on Polis Massa, her life signs continued to dwindle.

Padmé never knew what had become of Anakin. She never saw the damage he suffered from Kenobi's blade or the lava of Mustafar. She still felt there was good within him. With her dying breath, she tried to convince Obi-Wan of this.

Before slipping away, Padmé remained strong enough to give birth. In the strange alien facility of Anakin's nightmares, she gave birth to twins -- Leia and Luke Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Bail Organa vowed to keep the children safe.

Amidala's body was returned to Naboo. At a state funeral, thousands of Naboo citizens came to pay their respects to their beloved representative.
Padmé Amidala, Starwars Episodes I, II and III
starwars.com
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Apartment

An apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth countries) is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Apartments may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).

Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment connotes a residential unit or section in a building. Apartment building owners, lessors, or managers often use the more general word units to refer to apartments. Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment, the lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each vacancy represents a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the time the apartment is vacant (i. e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are often to minimize the vacancy rate for their units. The owner of the apartment typically transfers possession to the occupant(s) by giving him/her the key to the apartment entrance door(s) and any other keys need to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other common areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant(s) move out, these keys should typically be returned to the owner.

Apartment types and characteristics

Luxury apartment buildings in Gurgaon, Delhi metropolitan areaApartments can be classified into several types. Studio or efficiency or bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with the cheapest rents in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room which is the living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen facilities as part of this central room, but the bathroom is its own smaller separate room. In the UK and Ireland, a roughly equivalent term is bed-sit (bedroom and sitting-room combined). Moving up from the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where one bedroom is a separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have only one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits, perhaps a door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the building design, the entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside or to a common area inside, such as a hallway. Depending on location, apartments may be available for rent furnished with furniture or unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in with his/her own furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an apartment.

Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all the tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built and the design of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and electric may be common for all the apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed separately to each tenant. Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always billed separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities are extra also. Parking space(s), air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may not be included with an apartment. Rental leases often limit the maximum number of people who can reside in each apartment. On or around the ground floor of the apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location accessible to the public and, thus, to the mailman too. Every unit typically gets its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large apartment buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of in trash containers similar to those used at houses. In larger buildings, garbage is often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster. For cleanliness or minimizing noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in an apartment.

In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to refer to a new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a building, whereas the word flat means a converted self-contained unit in an older building. An industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an apartment is commonly called a loft.

When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though these (sometimes illegally) created units are often occupied by ordinary renters rather than family members.

Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly becoming popular with travellers.
Apartment aka Flat, Suite
(Residence)
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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