To help him paint the world orange, last spring Blank hired Anders Moberg as president of international operations.

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In other words, unleash the world of possibilities that a blank check and real freedom to innovate can open up, but with smarts about getting that check to the right kind of people facing the right kind of challenge, and, perhaps hardest of all, with serious discipline that will encourage, not stifle, creativity and ensure real progress toward the final goal.

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They are, depending on your perspective, either pursuing the ultimate vanity project or are on the forefront of a new age of exploration that harkens back to the great adventurers of centuries past when men (and they were nearly all men) ventured into the vast blank spots on the world map.

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"The NFL is the most successful and best-managed sports league in the world, " said Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who is chairman of the league's compensation committee, in a statement.

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When I started as a travel editor in 1986, American travel magazines resembled world maps before Columbus: There were lots of blank spots.

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Pinker believes we live in a world that prefers to see the mind as a blank page ready to be overwritten by culture rather than something already shaped by our genes and evolution.

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Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences?

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At one point, Artyom delivers a shotgun blast to a mutant at point-blank range, and a burst of tinnitus blanks out the sound of the world for a few moments.

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