Abstract: Systems and methods for designing a social gaming platform in which participants compete to determine who best predicts the outcomes of conditions relating to activities at sporting events, TV shows, or other types of events. In a game, players compete with other players in the same group or in different groups via a gaming platform that employs a live digitized information feed from a contemporaneous event (while an event is currently in-progress) in addition to historical information relating to the event available from third party sources. Such information allow players (and also the system) to predict outcomes of conditions relating to activities at events, wherein such conditions are either user-contemplated, pre-stored in the system, or generated live (by the system or users). Additionally, embodiments of the present system utilize geo-location information to enable creation of user-groups based on the physical location of system users and social network affiliation of users.

Abstract: A method of operating a retarder control system for a drivetrain retarder such as an engine compression brake of a heavy-duty truck vehicle is disclosed. The method of operation includes three novel subsets each of which controls the operational state and the resistance level at which the drivetrain retarder is operated dependent at least partially upon one or more factors including speeds of one or more drivetrain components, vehicle speed, rotational speed of one or more undriven wheels, position of a brake control member, elapsed time of activation of a brake control member and/or elapsed time from a change in a selected resistance level at which the retarder control system is commanded to effect operation of the drivetrain retarder.

Abstract: A method of operating a retarder control system for a drivetrain retarder such as an engine compression brake of a heavy-duty truck vehicle is disclosed. The method of operation includes three novel subsets each of which controls the operational state and the resistance level at which the drivetrain retarder is operated dependent at least partially upon one or more factors including speeds of one or more drivetrain components, vehicle speed, rotational speed of one or more undriven wheels, position of a brake control member, elapsed time of activation of a brake control member and/or elapsed time from a change in a selected resistance level at which the retarder control system is commanded to effect operation of the drivetrain retarder.