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Skip to definition. Noun: vestry  ves-tree 1. In the Protestant Episcopal Church: a committee elected by the congregation to work with the churchwardens in managing the temporal affairs of the church 2. A room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept or meetings are held - sacristy Derived forms: vestries Type of: commission, committee, room Part of: church, church building Encyclopedia: Vestry
Meloria • Ever Better Search Tools Main Menu Using PHP to Connect to Microsoft SQL Server PHP is a server-side web scripting language normally used to communicate with MySQL databases. However, it is also possible to use PHP to access Microsoft SQL (MS SQL) Server databases. Our Unix servers use FreeTDS to communicate with MS SQL Server databases, and this Web Help tutorial discusses how this is accomplished and the known limitations of running MS SQL queries from PHP on a Unix server. The information in this document is largely specific to MS SQL Server 2000 databases. Although complete testing was not conducted on MS SQL Server 2005 databases, our preliminary testing suggests similar behavior to that of MS SQL Server 2000. SQL Tutorials If you are new to SQL, see the following tutorials online to get started. Policy and Security In order to Deploy a MS SQL connection script, you must check the MS SQL checkbox under your "Account Information" inside of Deploy. If this box is not checked you will not be permitted to deploy any files that contain MS SQL connection scripts. Checking this box places you on a mailing list for notifications on MS SQL-related issues. If you do not administer the MS SQL server you will need to contact the database administrator of the system in question. (University IT/Academic & Research is responsible for most of these systems at the University.) You will need to request the following from your database administrator. 1. You will need a username that uses SQL Server authentication to login. 2. Mixed Authentication should be enabled on the server. (This is also called SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode) 3. You will need user permissions on a database and a table. Remember to use strong passwords. We strongly recommend that you use the same standards that are used on your www.wdev login password. When you deploy any file that contains a MS SQL connection script, Deploy will automatically set the appropriate permissions on the file to best protect its contents. Deploy will also record the location of the file under "Account Information" so that we have it on record in the event of a security breech. Only you and the system administrator will have access to this information. Please read this tutorial carefully and completely. Contact for assistance.
Posts in this category Sun, 23 Aug 2009 Let's build an object Permanent link Building an object in Perl 6 is rather easy. As the author of a class you don't really have to care (at least in the simplest case), you inherit a default constructor from class Mu. As a consumer of that class you just write => $value1) to create an object of class YourClass, at the same time initializing a public attribute. Running initializations code If you want to run some initialization code on object creation, you don't have to touch the new method at all. Something like this works: class C { submethod BUILD { say "Created a new instance of C"; The BUILD submethod is called by the constructor automatically, and can do any initialization that's necessary. It also receives the named arguments that the user passes on to new(). (In case you wonder, a submethod is a method that's not inherited to child classes). Since BUILD is run on an object which is not yet fully constructed, attributes are only accessible if they are declared as named parameters like submethod BUILD(:$!attr1, :$!attr2) { # can use $!attr1 and $!attr2 here }. This syntax also automatically initializes the attributes with the value of the named parameter to new of the same name. So the following class declarations behave the same: class D { has $.x; # and class D { has $!x; # private attribute submethod BUILD(:$!x) { } # allow => $value) method x() { $!x } # accessor Custom constructors Suppose you're not a big fan of named arguments, and you want to write a constructor that takes one mandatory positional parameter. In that case you'd write a custom new method. To create an object, that method has to call self.bless: class C { has $.size; method new($x) { self.bless(*, size => 2 * $x); say; # prints 6 The star * as the first argument to bless tells it to create an empty object itself. If you want to enable additional named parameters, that's easily done: class C { has $.size; method new($x, *%n) { self.bless(*, size => 2 * $x, |%n); Note that these two concepts (custom new() and BUILD() (sub)methods) are orthogonal; you can use both at once, and both peacefully coexist. Default values of attributes The most convenient way to provide defaults to attributes is at the point of attribute declaration: class Window { has $.height = 600; has $.width = $.height * 1.618; The default value will only be used if the underlying attribute has not been touched by new or BUILD. Understanding object initialization As demonstrated above you don't need to understand the full process of building and initializing objects to manipulate it. If you still want to know, read on. Suppose you have a class C which inherits from another class B, then the process of building an object of class C looks like this: Perl 6 object creation The user calls (which is inherited from class Object), which in turn calls self.bless(*, |%args). bless creates a new P6Opaque object which is the storage for the newly created object. This is the call to CREATE in the image above. After the storage has been allocated and the attributes initialized, new passes control to BUILDALL (passing along all named parameters), which in turn calls BUILD in all classes in the inheritance hierarchy, starting at the top of the hierarchy and calling the BUILD method of class C at last. This design allows you to substitute parts of the initialization with least effort, and especially writing custom new and BUILD methods very easily. See Also Perl 6 Reference Documentation on object construction. [/perl-6] Permanent link comments / trackbacks
From Conservapedia Jump to: navigation, search A gambit is the sacrifice of one thing in order to obtain something else, in a calculated risk. The Passion of Christ was the most significant gambit of all. As applied to chess, it refers to losing pieces, usually a pawn or two, in order to obtain a strategic advantage. (There are some exceptions, such as the Muzio Gambit, which sacrifices an entire knight, or Bobby Fischer's famous queen's gambit.) A gambit is also a small tool used to attach a cantle to a sporran. Mike Gambit was a character in mid-70s British action series The New Avengers, played by coffee salesman Gareth Hunt (d.2007). Increasingly the term gambit is used to refer to any calculated maneuver. Personal tools
RE: Patchfeed burned up Professionally, large dishes (spacecraft tracking and radio astronomy) are painted with flat, white Titanium Dioxide paint. In addition to minimizing reflections that might cause fires, the paint is chose to minimize thermal gradients that can distort the dish panels and backup structure. You want the broad-band absorption (how much heat you get from the sun at 5-6000 Kelvin) to match the infrared emission (at ~300 Kelvin). A good amateur choice is flat-white latex paint. 73, Tom
Gossip Girl Chuck Bass Chuck has a lot of money, but he doesn’t have a mother. She died giving birth to him, which is the sort of poignant, tragic detail you would not associate with Chuck, the Upper East Side’s ultimate bad boy. Chuck’s best friend is Nate Archibald, whom he regularly betrays. Nate always forgives him. In Season 1, Chuck’s Dad, Bartholomew, is a supporting character. He gives Chuck a lot of headaches and a lot of money. Then Bart dies, leaving his widow, Lily van der Woodsen Bass (Serena’s mother) as wealthy as Chuck. Chuck does not squander money. He spends it on things he needs: limos, private planes to Europe, hand-crafted suits, the best restaurants, the best hotels. The best women. In the GG books, Chuck was bi-sexual but not on TV. Chuck prefers the ladies, and plenty of ‘em. His fave is Blair Waldorf, who is as scheming and conniving as he is. Despite the fact that they are clearly soul mates, his and Blair’s romance is so off-again, on-again it might as well be an environmentally friendly light bulb. Our Partners You Might Like Register now to become a Wetpaint VIP Tell me more or sign me up (just click below)
n. the elementary particle of bogosity (the measure of something being "bogus", i.e. bad) Common bogon sources include politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists, and suits in general. by junkyardprince November 11, 2003 1)It is a person that is below the normal status and loves to where tight jeans. Generally they drive older commodores. 2)Port Power supporter "check out that bogon's mullet." "dam, those bogon's shouldn't get so upset over loosing again." by Scotty April 14, 2005 A person who can't quite qualify as a hipster, although strives to; and still holds bogan qualities despite strong efforts to repress such attributes. (Australia east coast specific) A person that strictly buys fair trade organic coffee, attends 'politics in the pub', studies social science, wears jeans and shoes bought at second hand shops, and then drives their SS ute to a rugby league match and opts for cheaper beers such as VB or Tooheys New. They attend blue-grass and jazz concerts for the image but would probably prefer to be listening to ACDC polishing their ute at home. They like the image of appearing environmentally green in social situations, but work down a coal mine and boast about the money it pays with close friends. "he's definately a bogon" "Thats a nice vintage fixie he's riding; although that Nixon watch he's wearing reeks bogon" by novojackson September 30, 2011 the imaginary particle of which something false (bogus) is comprised The airwaves are full of bogons tonight. (example of bogon) by The Return of Light Joker August 18, 2011 A gross particle, possibly unidentifiable making it even creepier. Possibly a booger or bogey. Unidentified disgusting particles stuck to something that has been cleaned by a dishwasher are bogons. by anco January 08, 2005 Free Daily Email
Take the 2-minute tour × On other operating systems the file chooser dialog in applications lets you do things like: • see a larger preview of images in the current directory • create a new folder • change the view of the current directory between vertical list, horizontal list, small icons, large icons, thumbnails etc I am in Ubuntu 12.04LTS (Unity) ...As far as I can tell there is no way to do any of these things. My file choosers look like this one I found on Google Images: File Chooser Dialogue ...except that I don't get the list-detail view, I get horizontal rows of icons. I had a Google and found this: http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/240/ (and hundreds of duplicate requests for the same functionality) So apparently this have been fixed since v8? How do I get it to work? share|improve this question I have posted a bug report in launchpad # 1175608. Perhaps this will work?!!? The problem is that is basically a Nautilus feature, thus we have to convince the Nautilus/ GNOME developers involved that this should change. Given the fact that Gnome is being dumbed down further and further I don't know if we stand a chance. –  Hein Hanssen May 21 '13 at 12:57 2 Answers 2 up vote 1 down vote accepted Quite frankly you can't "enable" it (file preview). It is an application specific feature, which most developers don't seem to bother with. You will notice that in some applications, (for example the GIMP) you will get image previews, but for the most part you won't see any. As for other features like creating/deleting folders, these have (for some reason) not been implemented. share|improve this answer Thanks for the info. This is very disappointing, especially as it's such a basic usability feature and elsewhere large amounts of time and money seem to have been spent on developing 'me too' cloud services, app stores and visual effects. –  Anentropic Jun 14 '12 at 14:56 I've noticed that a lot of applications have identical file chooser dialog boxes though. Is there a particular widget (e.g., in GTK+) that is very often used for this? If so, feature requests filed upstream against the library providing the widget may be productive. –  Eliah Kagan Jun 15 '12 at 2:15 @EliahKagan afaik, yes, there is. I believe that has already been attempted, but you know how it goes in Gnome... you can request a commonly missed feature a million times and have it ignored until the developers suddenly want it themselves and then pretend like it was their grand idea... –  RolandiXor Jun 15 '12 at 12:24 Not sure if this is an option for you, but Nautilus(called Files) in Ubuntu 13.04 has the image preview, via a "Grid" view of a folder. Also, you can still create a folder (or delete) using keyboard shortcuts. These are much easier than using context menu selections. [Ctrl][Shift][N] - create new folder [Delete] - delete folder hth, V share|improve this answer keyboard shortcuts are only easier if they are discoverable via the UI –  Anentropic May 22 '13 at 20:05 Your Answer
Financial Literacy - Financial tuneup A cartoon man in red handing a wrench to a cartoon man in yellow laying down inside a wallet with a blue and yellow background Use investments to reach your goals Many people go about investing in sporadic fashion, without considering their goals, time horizon or risk tolerance. They put together a thousand bucks, call a broker and ask for a stock recommendation. Or they sign up for 401(k) plans -- a good thing -- but plan to tap them early without realizing they'll have to pay stiff penalties plus taxes to do so. Still others dutifully open accounts and invest without truly examining why. And dreams? For many, dreams are for those rare moments of reverie and don't even enter the process. Figure out your dreams, goals Instead of following a financial formula and then seeing if it makes sense to pursue your dreams, you should work from the other direction, says life-planning pioneer George Kinder, author of "Seven Stages of Money Maturity" and founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning. First determine your dreams, then use financial planning to help you get there. Use this work sheet to help you determine your goals. Fine-tuning your investments: 1. Figure out your dreams, goals 2. Balance multiple objectives 3. Consider your time line 4. Invest for your time horizon 5. Determine your risk tolerance It's important to explore even those desires you wouldn't normally consider discussing with a financial planner. Whether you want to spend more time with your family, play the guitar like Eric Clapton or learn to fly a plane, you'll need to figure out how to free up the resources -- the financial and time components. After all, time is money. "Write down five to 10 financial objectives," says John Grable, professor in personal finance planning at Kansas State University. "It's unlikely you'll be able to fund them all unless you're very rich. What you've got to do is determine what's important to you and then prioritize meeting the goals." Balance multiple objectives It's not all about the pie in the sky. "Out of your dreams, do some realistic goal setting," recommends Richard Salmen, Certified Financial Planner and national president of the Financial Planning Association. "If your goal is to save up for a down payment on a $240,000 house, you'll need to save $800 per month for the next five years in order to reach it," he says. "Start with the big picture at the end and work backwards to achieve it." It may be necessary to adjust your goals. Salmen tells the story of one couple who dreamed of buying a ranch in Montana, but after looking at prices and income realized they wouldn't be young enough to enjoy their dream by the time they could afford it. They settled on a smaller farm outside of Kansas City instead. "Now they have a baby with Down syndrome and they had to readjust again," he says. "'Life happens as you're planning it,' is our favorite saying around here. Planning is a process, not a product." Use this calculator to run the numbers and see how much you need to invest or save to achieve your goals. Consider your time line Another piece of the puzzle is your time horizon. Some goals come with a set time frame, such as education. "Once you have a baby you know you have 18 years until the first year of college hits," says Shashin Shah, a Chartered Financial Analyst, Certified Financial Planner and president of SGS Wealth Management in Dallas. Other goals don't have an expiration date, but can depend instead on your financial wherewithal: when to retire, for example, or moving into a bigger house. "If someone starts with nothing at 35 and wants to retire at 50, they'll either need to achieve a 20 percent return on their investments, work longer or back off their goal savings amount," he says. "They'll need to find out what they are willing to do to achieve their goals." You don't want investments to get eaten up by taxes, but before funneling every extra penny into tax-deferred investments such as a 401(k) plan or IRA, consider carefully if you might need the money for some other purpose before retirement. Otherwise, you'll feel the bite of penalties.           Connect with us CDs and Investment Should lucky gambler play the market? Sheyna Steiner Guess who hates state auto IRAs? Partner Center Connect with us
Ed Burns alias Maurice Clement Guess Who? Linda Rohr was a Black Dahlia roommate. Maurice was the Dahlia's "favorite boy friend."  How many newshawks in the Dahlia newsmania interviewed ultra-newsworthy Maurice? Zip. Maurice was the little man who wasn't there: Ed Burns. Look what Ed thought he'd gotten away with:                       1.  Ed Burns began with a switcheroo:            BURNS  ED                        2.  Ed made two anagrams of himself:            NBURS  DE                       3.  Ed alphabetically shifted data down           v v     v  v                                           one place.  Shift 2 alphas, skip 2 alphas: MAURR CE                          4.  Ed put "I/Ed" in the slot he'd saved:           MAURRICE      "Maurrice" was "I, Ed Burns" to Ed, and "Maurice" to everybody else. Ed Burns' Maurrice/Maurice had a last name: "Clement." "Clement" has a decryption which jells with decryption of "Maurice." Ed utilized "Clement" to say and prove that Ed Burns was the Black Dahlia killer. Here's how Ed got to "Clement":            1.  Ed began w/ "Black Dahlia Killer" plus an apology:     BDK    SM            2.  Ed made his Maurice "maneuver." Two anagrams:     BKD    MS            3.  Ed did his Maurice shift. This time, all up 1 alpha:      CLE     NT            4.  Ed did what we expect of him. He injected "I/me":       CLEMENT   The full decryption of "Maurice Clement" is:                 "I, Ed Burns, Black Dahlia killer, [that's] me. Sorry mare."      Does it seem familiar? It should. It's the same "Sorry, mare" Ed Burns would set up in The Hirsh Apts. and use in his suicide/confession message.      Ed Burns was Maurice Clement! And a Maurice Clement is a hub of chicanery in Donald Wolfe's The Black Dahlia Files . . . In the book are a photo allegedly of and text purportedly about Maurice Clement. But the LA-area man Elizabeth knew as> "Maurice" was not in settings and scenarios Wolfe puts Maurice into. And the photo is of a guy named "Salvadore Torres Vara."      Vara was not the man Elizabeth Short knew as "Maurice Clement." How could Wolfe have made this "mistake"? Was it a mistake? Look at this:      In Wolfe's book, pg. 277: "He [Clement] was identified as the person who transported Elizabeth to Mark Hansen's residence on Carlos Street."      In John Gilmore's Severed, pg. 94: "[Ed] Burns drove Beth from another hotel to a house [Hansen's] on Carlos Avenue that was situated behind the Florentine Gardens nightclub. 'She had a lot of luggage . . .' "      Wolfe and Gilmore collectively endorse the Guess Who theme: Ed Burns and Maurice Clement were one and the same man! On this, they were correct.      The strangest statement in the DA suspect list is under "Maurice Clement." It is suspiciously short. It concludes: ". . . a likely character type but has been partially eliminated by the Los Angeles Police Department. See their report." The statement says "partially"(?) What does that mean? If Ed Burns did drown himself, and is not hiding out in the Sunbelt, he's eliminated. Is that what it means?       The "belongings pack" telephoner had a silky-sounding voice. The Chancellor Apartments-phoning Maurice had a cultured British accent. This points directly at Ed Burns. "Silky" and "cultured British" insinuate deception: Ed's trademark.      Certain Dahlia buffs have claimed that Ed Burns isn't in the LA DA's 1949 Black Dahlia-murder suspect List. But Burns is in said list as his LA-area alias: "Maurice Clement." The double-whammy function of this alias is explained below. M 'n M Ed had good reasons for using "Maurice Clement" as an alias. One's a weirdity, not a rarity. It was done by Robert Louis Stevenson in the classic: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was done by the Suzanne Degnan-dissector, William Heirens: Will was the good guy, George Murman was the bad guy. And it was done by the Black Dahlia- bisector, Ed Burns: Ed was the good guy, Maurice Clement was the bad guy.      So Ed's Degnan-murder mimetism went further than we'd thought: Ed/Maurice included the Heirens/Murman thing. And Ed Burns was more cryptically clever in manufacture of "Maurice" than we'd thought. Do you see it, and hear it? They have similarities in look and sound: Murman/Maurice.      In addition to being part of the Degnan mimetism, "Maurice Clement" would've been a cover: an element of Ed's "perfect murder." The DA list said: ". . . working at Columbia Studios at the time of the murder." Maurice was a talent scout. He must have used a phony ID. He likely had a desk he would never use, and an LA-area apartment he'd use when he was in the area on a "one-day trip." The FBI file noted that Ed Burns made the trips. But I'll bet the Bureau was unaware of the apartment or "Maurice," at the time of the interrogation. Maurice probably was out in the field scouting, full-time. The field included Sunbelt states . . . and the Shanghai Dance Hall in Hollywood, where he met the Black Dahlia. Would anybody in the LA area have known him as "Ed Burns"? If not, the link from UnID'd Man in Hirsh Apts. to Ed Burns in the Sunbelt could've been tenuous. LAPD called on the FBI to identify Mr. Barnes . . . If no one in the LA area knew him as "Ed Burns," then so what if everyone in the area deciphers his messages? Initials and names they will find are E, B, Ed and Ed Burns: not M, C and Maurice Clement.      Like other elements of the Dahlia murder, Ed's "Maurice" alias reflects long-term planning. The murder might've been in the works from the time Ed realized the love of his life would never be "his": in other words, from the day Ed Burns and Elizabeth Short met. Maybe Elizabeth never heard "Ed Burns" prior to the trilogy reading. But that's crazy. Yes! Ed Burns was a psychiatrist-certified mental case. And the Black Dahlia murder was stranger than any "true story" Black Dahlia fiction I've read. Ed Burns must've been a fixture at the top of LAPD's Black Dahlia-suspect list from the day the FBI ID'd him. And Ed told us most of what we would want to know about the murder. But 1947 LAPD did not close the case . . . Do not follow the bouncing blue ball! The Fate of the Black Dahlia Murderer Home | About | Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Epilogue | Appendix
Microsoft Visio MathType works with Visio, allowing you to create equations to annotate or label your flowcharts and diagrams. Visio is a diagramming application that allows you to produce many types of flowcharts and other business diagrams and drawings. With MathType and Visio, you can: MathType 6.8 - Equation Editor Equations Everywhere and Anywhere Work with math in 500+ applications and websites!  $97 ($57 academic)  Upgrade $49 ($37 academic)  MathType - Equation Editor product shot buy MathType upgrade MathType free 30-day trial of MathType
Linux move could make Netware a viable alternative to Windows Linux move could make Netware a viable alternative to Windows Karl Cushing and Antony Adshead Novell's decision to offer Netware services on Linux has given existing users a migration path and could revive the fortunes of the Netware operating system, making it a viable alternative to Microsoft's Windows and Active Directory. Netware 7, due to be released in autumn 2004, will incorporate a set of Novell services, such as file and print and collaboration, that can run on either a Netware or a Linux kernel. Shackling Netware services to the non-proprietary Linux operating system could help Novell retain its large installed user base while appealing to open source users and those considering a move away from a Sun Unix-based platform or a Microsoft platform. John Enck, vice-president of server and directory strategies at analyst firm Gartner, said Novell would probably support mainstream Linux distributions such as SuSE and Red Hat, and migrating to Linux would not be an issue for Netware users. "In terms of migration from a Netware-based product to a Linux-based product, Novell already offers all of the data migration tools that will be needed," said Enck. He pointed out that other Novell products such as Zenworks and eDirectory are already multiplatform and can run on Netware, Linux, Windows, Solaris, HP-UX and AIX. "The Linux move is a nice counterbalance to Microsoft Windows Server - users who do not want to run Windows or other proprietary operating systems such as Netware now have another option," said Enck. "Novell is not backing off of Netware, it is simply offering another choice." Ashim Pal, vice-president at analyst firm Meta Group, said, "Don't interpret this as 'Netware is dead' - that is absolutely not the case." While its share of the operating system market has fallen significantly in recent years, Pal said there are about one million end-users on Netware in the UK, many in the public sector. Pal said the move would make sticking with Netware more appealing for existing users. Those leaning towards Microsoft for services such as file and print are being offered "an economic alternative" to stay put, he said. However, Gary Barnett, an analyst with Ovum, said there was "a huge cost" in migrating to Linux and warned that by embracing Linux Novell could be shooting itself in the foot. "Novell is running a risk of creating an exit point from its operating system," he said. For Barnett, Novell's choice of Linux distribution will be key. There have been suggestions that Novell might create its own but Barnett said this would be inadvisable due to the number of existing distributions available. He also said that if Novell chooses a distribution such as Red Hat it would have to ask how much value it is adding. For most file and print users it will be irrelevant whether they are running on a Netware or a Linux kernel. Barnett also pointed out that most Linux distributions already come with pretty good file and print capabilities. "I am not convinced this is going to deliver Novell any major new revenues or have an impact on Linux adoption. I don't think this is the point where Novell's fortunes change for the better," said Barnett. Email Alerts COMMENTS powered by Disqus  //  Commenting policy
The President's Burden What a burden our president bears.  Just ask him. He must bravely fight the depredations of hordes of American doctors who lop off limbs and take out tonsils for absolutely no reason, except to stuff their wallets.  And we're talking doctors in all 57 states! He must revive an economy mired in record-shattering depths, pulling against the strain of job-destroying ATM bank machines.  True, ATMs debuted in 1968; but only now, during his administration, did their cunningly concealed job-killing effects suddenly explode. And does he have the proper equipment to handle these challenges?  Sadly, no.  Upon assuming the presidency, he thought he was "gonna have, like, really cool phones and stuff."  But it was not to be. "C'mon guys, I'm the president of the United States! Where's the fancy buttons and stuff and the big screen comes up? It doesn't happen," he poignantly remarked. Most tragically, just when he's meeting Queen Elizabeth, he gets sucked into a...(Read Full Post)
Here Comes IPv6... Guess Who is Not Ready In about 100 days, the United States Federal Government will be required to be running large portions of their systems on IPv6. Now, for the few non-technical in the crowd, it means that the address your PC uses to connect to the Internet, in most cases, is IPv4. Version 4 has been around almost since most of you started networking your machines to the Internet (it was around in the early '90s when I started doing all of this). IP version 6, which debuted in 1995 was designed to "fix" some of the things that were broken in IPv4, such as the limited address space (it may surprise you but there are only so many addresses in IPv4 that can be allocated). IPv6 increases the address space to some ridiculous number like 1000 per cubic meter of the Earth - in other words A LOT!. So, as part of my testing, I figured I would call my ISP and request a block. Might as well get while the getting is good right? So, here is some of my chat with my ISP (try not to laugh): Me: I want a block of IPv6 addresses. How do I request them? ISP: As I understand, you wish to block the IP Address of any Domain name. Am I correct? Me: Negative. I want to request a block (say a /48) of IPv6 addresses. As you can see, we are off to a roaring start. But it gets better: ISP: I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. I am not getting your concern correctly, could you please elaborate your concern once again for me? Me: I would like to request a block of IPv6 addresses for use on my home network. How do I do that? ISP: Alright. As I understand, you wish to block of General Unicast IPv6 addresses for your Home Network. Am I correct? Me: Correct. ISP: I would love to assist you however we have a different department... So, I call the department and they do not even know what I am talking about until they find a supervisor who tells them that the "service" is not supported. Tell me again why the Fed is pushing to convert? Now, how do I apply for an IPv6 address block? Comment viewing options Frankly I don't blame the raf's picture Frankly I don't blame the customer service rep too much. Especially for a non-native English speaker, or even someone who's just not familiar with IPv6, or IPv4's distinction from it, it would be easy to interpret your question as "please block all IPv6 addresses from connecting to my computer." I think you might have tried rephrasing it: "I would like a range/series/group of IPv6 addresses be assigned to my network." kg4giy's picture If I had been on the phone, maybe...but since I was typing it (and typed it about four times), once, yes...maybe. The truly sad part about all of this is it is NOT a new initiative. It has been the focus of dozens of article in the trade press for three years now. If this was a mom and pop organization I would chalk it up to inexperience, but this is a MAJOR telco. Agree with mburns brian_'s picture I have to agree with mburns here. This article is poorly researched, inflamatory, and underlines the author's total misunderstanding of the reasons behind the IPv6 government mandate. The mandate is there exactly BECAUSE IP6 has not been widely adopted by the public. What it does is force any vendor who wishes to get very lucrative contracts with the government to implement IP6, which means that they will have to create and test products that work with it. Also, any ISP or network company must also implement it on their networks. THEN, because all of that cost has already been forced on the vendors, the next easy step for them is to turn around and offer it to the consumer. By that time, a significant portion of the infrastructure will already be in place, and the chicken/egg problem will have been solved. It's ALWAYS about economics. kg4giy's picture Who's economics? The Federal Governments? We are talking about an organization that has access to as many addresses as it needs to do business, most of which really are not utilized properly to begin with (on the front side) and are NATed to private addresses on the back side. So, there are no savings here from an address perspective. It isn't like the Fed is going to convert tomorrow and suddenly all these IPv4 address are going to be freed up. In reality, they are going to have to NAT their IPv6 traffic back to IPv4 just to reach the sites on the net that haven't converted. Which is plenty! Forcing corporations to change, just for the sake of change is a VERY bad idea. Perhaps if it was Cisco leading the way, it might make sense, but from a "let's change the world" prospective, especially when it comes to IT, the United States Federal Government is the most conservative organization on the planet with only a couple of exceptions. Telcos look positively bleeding edge by comparison. The Fed does not do ANYTHING until everyone else forces their hand. So who is forcing the migration to IPv6? It is not coming from the inside. Sure DARPA and maybe some propeller heads over at NIST and NASA might be chomping at the bit, but by and large, the networks inside the bulk of the Federal space are chugging along quite nicely thank you, many still running version of software that have been end-of-life for years. Why? Because they can, they work and there is no reason to change. Economics has very little to do with the Federal Government. After fifteen years of building their networks, I have a pretty intimate view of what is going on and deploying IPv6 is getting little more than lip service. There is no money to convert (yes, it costs money - equipment, training, etc). There is not a lot of spare money in most departmental budgets. So where is the impetus? As I have said, there is gear already in production that supports the stack. There is also considerable amounts of gear in the agencies that DO NOT. From OMB's perspective, this is a mandate that must be met. So the agencies are doing as little as possible to meet it (some more, some less). If ANYONE is under the misconception that this is going to force the Internet to convert to IPv6 overnight, let me help you out and tell you not to rush out and start renumbering. If the telcos are not rushing to meet it and they are not, what is the impetus. Why was this even made a priority in a nation with dozens of other IT priorities? Maybe I don't understand the reasons. I will fully admit there are a lot of mandates the Fed imposes that makes me sit back and scratch my head. Most of them are little more than empire building frankly, but this one is just out of left field strange. If you work for OMB, tell us, why? What were the technical decisions? What was the thought process? Everyone in the engine rooms will tell you that there was no thought process behind this mandate, because if there was, it would have died a quick and quiet death. Can't see the forest from the trees brian_'s picture Again, you've misunderstood. "Economics" is "the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services." (wikipedia) No one entity has "economics" as you seem to be saying. It is the entire marketplace (and ONLY the entire marketplace) that can have "economics". You also seem to be looking too closely at the problem, and at completely the wrong level. Certainly you must agree that any argument that claims IP4 has enough addresses for the government to use is a completely shortsighted one. The point of the IP6 move is to look into the future, not the present. Your work on the details of networks has prevented you from seeing the big picture. This is a "big picture" sort of thing, so if you haven't, adjust your perspective accordingly for the rest of this reply. One of the main ways that the US Government can promote changes in the general marketplace is by USING the marketplace. That is the ultimate ideal of capitalism, which is what drives this country (USA). Because the OMB realizes that there's a looming problem coming on the Internet (running out of addresses), and that the Internet is now such a critical piece of the economy, they decide to do something about it. The market is not taking care of the problem already because there is a chicken/egg problem. No one will use IP6 because it's not implemented anywhere, and no one will implement it because no one is using it. They need to break this stalemate. I'll spell it out for you: Before the IP6 edict: • Vendor knows about IPv6, but is not getting any demand for it, so they don't put any effort or money into implementing it • Vendor is getting lots of money from its government contracts • Some in the general public want IP6, but they can't get it because no vendor is making it, and really, (as you said), it's not a problem right now, and they have more important things to worry about. You see, the general public is worried about themselves, how they are going to put food on the table and pay their mortgages. They are not worried about the looming global crisis of IP4 address exhaustion that might come sometime in the future. That's one of the things governments should be looking at. OK, finally, the edict comes out that by this year, the government networks must be able to support IP6. • Vendor realizes that if they want to continue to get those lucrative government contracts, they must invest in and develop products that support IPv6, so they do • Now that these products are available, the general public can also purchase them, so they now have IP6 support. The ENTIRE point of the mandate is to force vendors to start making equipment that supports IP6. In the process, it will also cause the kinks to get worked out, and many additional products will begin to show up in the market. Does it mean that your home-level cable/DSL ISP will implement it right now? No. The next time they buy new hardware, however, it will probably already have IP6 support in it, even if that's 5 years from now. This is a "long timeline" type of thing. No one is going to be trashing everything they have now just to get IP6. It doesn't make sense. BUT, in a few years, maybe even a decade, all equipment will have IP6 support, then it's just a matter of flipping the switch. Again down to microsoft. brendan's picture From what I've just read Windows XP has very limited support for IPv6. The same has occurred for PNG adoption in internet websites (< I.E 7 little or no support), ODF (no support from Microsoft) and EFI (not supported by Vista (no service pack), XP (all service packs)). is it just me or are we just pawns in a Microsoft world. Yes and No kg4giy's picture Pawns of Redmond? I would hope we have more free will than that, but when you control large portions of corporate and federal infrastructure, yes, a lot of the decisions are based on what comes out of the Northwest. XP and Server 2003 have limited support for IPv6, limited to the stack and a couple of text files. The templates and other mechanisms in key pieces of the architecture do not support it. Further, there are some bugs, enough that Redmond had to change the stack for Vista and Server 2008. We have all heard the old joke, how many Microsoft Engineers does it take to change a light bulb. None, they just declare darkness the new standard. In the old days that might have been the case, but with the deployment of Vista, I think there are some real opportunities to push a different model forward, but it is going to take a lot of work. Again down to microsoft. Anonymous's picture Who is using IPV6? Michael Eager's picture I guess I have to ask: Is anyone using IPV6, except as a response to preparing for a government mandate? Other than the every-other-year predictions that we were going to run out of IP addresses, the Internet will fail, and it will be the end of the world as we know it, I seldom hear anything about IPV6. Do any of the main Internet destinations (,,,, have IPV6 connections? If they do, how would I know? I guess that the government wants to give us all a push in this direction, but until the core of the Internet has IPV6, it's going to be real slow going. It depends on what you want FredR's picture It depends on what you want to use it for. I've been an IRC addict for so long I lost track of how long it's been. I've literally met thousands of people online, mostly through IRC. When I saw the #linuxjournal channel on freenode, I became a permanent fixture (flrichar in there). Yet, I could not think of a good reason to use my IPv6 tunnel from Hurricane Electric. What's sad, this is the second one I've had in so many years. The first one, my account was deleted for inactivity. What kinda network nerd is that? So I sat in a few channels on freenode recently, and someone popped in on an IPv6 connection. I started getting all exicted! I quickly compiled and ran irssi on my IPv6 gateway machine, and jumped in the channels I was in. I had to find a reason to use it. It was there, and what I was already doing supported IPv6 so I took advantage. Now, to bring IPv6 connectivity to all of my machines, I'm planning on running several tunnels. Even right into several virtual machines I have. I mean, geesh I only have 18 quintillion addresses to play with (/64). Noone's gonna come by and place a magic IPv6 tophat on your head. If you want to do it, do it. Find a reason to. Find the initiative, the incentive. Vote with your actions. The largest chain reactions begin with the smallest changes. Organic vs Institutional kg4giy's picture What you point out is a feature (the nature?) of the success and failure of applications in the Internet herself. The Internet as we know it has grown more through organic success than institutional edict. Applications that succeed are those that are used by the majority of people. New protocols are introduced daily and others are dying just the same. Forcing the "adoption" of an application or protocol on the Internet is really like yelling into a hurricane. Webmistress's picture We're very glad to have you in #linuxjournal! :) kg4giy's picture I know that Verio/NTT are, and I suspect that Sprint and AT&T are in support of the Federal Government Networx network (that passes all the traffic). Beyond that I am at a loss to tell you because they are not advertising it if they are (I know NTT is for example because they are held up as the poster child of ISPs for running it native on their backbone). A good question to ask is how many of the CABLE companies are running it? With more and more traffic flowing over their networks, they are becoming an increasingly large carrier of Internet traffic. I would be curious to know as well. Simple questions... mburns's picture "Tell me again why the Fed is pushing to convert?" We are running out of IPv4 addresses and IPv6 is more scalable, secure and robust. "Now, how do I apply for an IPv6 address block?" Get an ISP that doesn't suck, or (if you are an ISP, corporation, university, etc) apply directly with IANA directly, as per their publicly stated guidelines that walk you through the process. My question: Why are you writing poorly researched, inflammatory articles about your experience with the tier 1 tech support from your local telco? kg4giy's picture So, what is missing from this little story: 1) The Federal government is being forced to migrate, not because we are running out of addresses (we are, but that is a different discussion) but because they, OMB, made a unilateral decision three years ago with no technical backing behind it (goes along with the conversion to only 50 gateways that have to be implemented by, I think, the end of June). The problem is that the Fed is in no way ready to make the conversion and IPv6 really is not ready for prime least not the way that the people that managed the federal networks need it to be. I will be the first to agree that the current IPv4 space is becoming limited. However, most of the Federal sector is hiding behind well established NATed address spaces. Converting the backbones to IPv6 is a paperchase. 2) I know HOW to apply. The problem is that I am not technically allowed to go direct to ARIN. My ISP is one of the largest in the United States. Does it suck, yes. Do I have a lot of options? Nope. They are the only providers of DSL in my area. The RFCs and established protocols say I get my addresses from my upstream provider, my ISP. Therefore, I have to apply for them from them. If they are unprepared for those requests, then guess what, they aren't prepared and sadly, they get to say, we do not support this. 3) After two hours of searching the web, the ISPs web site and asking around with those in the know, Tier 1 was my only option. Yes, Tier 1 is not always the best option...sadly, when it comes to the Telcos, it sometimes the ONLY option. Oh, should I mention that after talking to the ARIN people at FOSE, their recommendation was to contact my ISP first? Generally, one follows the established protocols before violating them. There's several different FredR's picture There's several different ways. Try what I did, a tunnel from or Earthlink has a (Linux-based) firmware for the popular WRT54G Linksys router. kg4giy's picture Yes, there are a number of ways around this. I could always piggy back on my agency's addresses. There are a couple hundred available that will never be used in this decade if at all. What I was really attempting was, to validate what I have been, in background, chasing ever since the move to IPv6 was "announced" by the Fed back in 2005 (2004? It has been a while and my memory that far back is fuzzy). The move, designed to force the Internet in the US to adopt IPv6, is essentially a flop. Beyond the backbones of the Federal Government, adoption of IPv6 is spotty. Cisco and Foundry gear have supported IPv6 for close to 10 years (probably Juniper and other gear, but since I don't work with it, I cannot say for sure. Take it on faith that it probably does). Linux supports it in the current (2.6) kernel, but I would be hard pressed to remember when it was added in initially because I never really looked for it. It was probably there early on. Some ISPs (notably NTT/Verio) have supported it for a number of years, but mainly because the protocol was already deployed in areas OUTSIDE the United States. There are supposed to be millions of addresses available under IPv6 (the theory goes) and you would think that the ISPs would be handing them out like swag at a convention. The sad part is that most organizations are not even close to being ready to implement IPv6 in any capacity and even fewer are really doing it, even those that support the Federal Government. A while back, when Java was fairly new, Scott McNealy made an observation. He said that when Java was released, there was only a handful of books on the subject. Within 500 days of its release, there were shelves of books. IPv6 is short on books and really good sites with information (sorry, I am an old time network engineer - I have to take it with me - reading on the web is just too painful to old eyes and a four hour commute does not lend itself well to laptop use). IPv6 has been available, functionally, for close to 15 years. Reference implementations are still few and far between. The 6bone and others have proven the traffic can be routed, but routing traffic is only a small part of the battle. Applications like DHCP, DNS and protocols like HTTP and FTP have to be able to utilize these new addresses. When we talk about the Federal Government, we are talking primarily a Windows world (for better or worse) and it has not been until Windows 2008 that the applications (not just the stack) have supported IPv6. And that does not cover printer NICs and other "devices" that have to support the protocol. Yes, there are short cuts. Yes, there are somethings that work...but the goal of IPv6 was to reduce the overhead of management, secure the stream (as much as it could be) and increase the address space. What we have discovered is that the personnel are untrained, security requires more thought than we expected and the implementation is more complicated that anyone had foreseen when the protocol was designed in an era before large scale spam, crackers and session hijacking. And sadly, like most Federal mandates, this one was not thought through...despite all the good intentions. We all have a long way to go. David, Fantastic points. FredR's picture Fantastic points. I, too am an "old school" (albeit not older) network engineer. In my experience, as I'm sure in yours, I see the world in two types: geeks and non-geeks. In fact I moved 800 miles across the country almost two years ago. In my last job, all my coworkers right up to the VP level were geeks. It was great. At my new job, there's very few. In fact, most are non-geeks. It's very difficult for me. Don't get me wrong. I love the new state, the new house, the new job (and the weather is nicer). But I kinda miss the geek mentality. What I've noticed is these geeks (or tech types, or engineer types) are really a minority. The majority of people out there are average joes, including plenty policy and decision makers. They can barely wrap their heads around IPv4 let alone IPv6. So I think the issue is primarily social. Noone wants to fix something they don't percieve as broken. They'll let the "network guys" like us handle it and deal with it. I feel at work I'm understaffed to handle the network I have let alone the one I want, so I do the best I can. And shame on me for settling! My insatiable need for efficency drives me to believe IPv6 is better for everyone. Ever notice our field is the only one where people expect us to fix social problems? First, email was always "make sure the message is delivered no matter what", now it's "I don't like the type of mail I'm getting (spam)". Can you imagine if we complained to the postal service about junk mail, or the telephone company about wrong numbers? They would say one word: tough. I believe the internet will split. Those of us like you and I who can find ways to take advantage of IPv6 will begin to use it. The IPv4 internet will continue down a messy road. Those too scared of the new technology will not adopt it. There will be the "old internet" and the "new internet". Want a release from all the pain of the old one? Upgrade. Is it a lot more difficult to understand? Yes. Maybe then you'll see large scale adoption. Learn More Sponsored by Bit9 Linux Backup and Recovery Webinar Learn More Sponsored by Storix
Pro-family activism that makes a difference! A Report on the Pro-life Views of Governor Mitt Romney POSTED: June 10, 2007 Due to an unusual amount of confusion over the pro-life position of Governor Mitt Romney, MassResistance has issued this report. Much of this confusion is caused not only by the Governor's ever changing positions, but also by the endorsement of Romney by a few pro-family leaders who have apparently failed to do their due diligence before endorsing him. Moreover, this confusion is further compounded by some conservative publications that for reasons unbeknownst to us have refused to report the full and complete story on Romney's pro-life views. Such obfuscation by conservative leaders and publications does a disservice to the conservative movement and to the pro-life movement in particular. We hope that this report will shed some light on where Governor Romney stands on this culture-defining issue. THE TOP SIX PROBLEMS: Since Romney's famous pro-life "conversion" in November 2004, note the following - 1. Romney said that he does not favor a federal constitutional amendment banning abortion, but instead favors each state deciding for itself whether to allow abortion or not. (Suppose Lincoln had taken that approach on the slavery issue. ) 2. Gov. Romney signed into law a universal health insurance plan that (a) includes increased state-funded abortions, and (b) names Planned Parenthood in the law as an overseer. Romney never challenged any of that. 3. Romney said he would disagree with governmental intervention in the Terri Schiavo forced starvation case, adding "I think it's probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts." 4. Gov. Romney forced Catholic hospitals in Massachusetts to dispense the "morning after" pill. 5. Romney said he does not object to stem cell research using left over human embryos. 6. Although Romney vetoed pro-abortion legislation after his "conversion", it always appeared to be for political effect. The Legislature always overrode the vetoes. We never saw Romney exert any substantial effort to get his vetoes sustained. Romney's Pro-Abortion History Mitt Romney hails from a liberal Mormon tradition that supports abortion rights. While this is not a large faction within the LDS Church, it does exist and there have been LDS leaders who have supported Roe vs. Wade ever since its inception. In the 1960's, George Romney, Mitt's father, was considered one of the key leaders of the liberal wing of the GOP, and along with Nelson Rockefeller and others, worked incessantly to move the Republican Party to a more liberal position on both social and fiscal issues. Romney's mother, Lenore Romney, was one of the early Republican Party proponents of abortion. During her candidacy for the US Senate in Michigan she announced: This was in 1970, three years before the Roe vs. Wade decision. At the time, performing an abortion was a felony. Mitt Romney has a long history of supporting pro-abortion candidates and causes, and aggressively sought the support and endorsement of groups such as NARAL and Planned Parenthood. Indeed, Romney is still listed today as a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group supported by Billionaire leftist George Soros dedicated to shifting the GOP leftward on social issues such as abortion rights and stem cell research. Romney also has a history of assisting the careers of other prominent pro-abortion politicians. In the 1992 presidential race, Romney endorsed and voted for pro-abortion liberal Democrat Paul Tsongas in the Democrat primary and just three years ago endorsed and made a television ad for Democrat Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, a former Planned Parenthood attorney. As Governor, he issued state proclamations honoring "Right to Privacy Day" which until 2005, specifically referenced the Roe vs. Wade case. Romney repeatedly took extreme stances on abortion throughout his career and consistently made statements such as this one: There simply is no doubt that Romney was one of the most pro-abortion Republican office holders in the country. In his current campaign, Romney has sought to play down his prior support for abortion, giving the impression that he never really strongly supported abortion, but new revelations reported by the Los Angeles Times demonstrate otherwise. Notes taken by key leaders of the nation's most radical pro-abortion group, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), reveal that at a 2002 meeting, Romney assured them he would work to soften the GOP stance on abortion and said that the GOP's pro-life position was "killing them." He also promised to fight efforts by conservatives to require abstinence-only sex education in the schools. These are not the comments of someone who took this issue lightly, but rather the words of a person deeply committed to the pro-abortion issue. Romney's Conversion. Was it Authentic? Romney says he became "pro-choice" two years before Roe vs. Wade became law as a result of a death of relative due to an illegal abortion. But then, in November of 2004, at age 57 years old, he claimed to have had a second conversion about the issue while meeting with a stem cell researcher from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Romney claimed the researcher told him, Look, you don't have to think about this stem cell research as a moral issue, because we kill the embryos after 14 days. However, the media located the scientist, Dr. Douglas Melton, and he stated he never said such a thing: Governor Romney has mischaracterized my position; we didn't discuss killing or anything related to it….I explained my work to him, told him about my deeply held respect for life, and explained that my work focuses on improving the lives of those suffering from debilitating diseases. It's a troubling conversion story. If Romney was disturbed by the destruction of a 14 day old embryo created in a test tube, then how did he not realized after all his years in politics that millions of unborn babies - some as old as six months -- were being destroyed? How can he walk away appalled that stem cell research kills life but then turn around and continue to support the killing of embryos for stem cell research? (see below) And then there's the question of his wife Ann. A long time member of the moderate Republican Party establishment in Massachusetts, one of her jobs while her husband was governor appears to be to reassure liberal voters that her husband can be trusted to support abortion rights. Indeed, a 2002 video has now surfaced on YouTube with Mrs. Romney doing just that: I think they [referring to pro-abortion women] may be more nervous about him on social issues. They shouldn't be, because he's gonna be just fine. Romney himself chimes in, "So when asked, will I preseve and protect a women's right to choose, I make an unequivocal answer: Yes." You can watch this at: Incredibly, Ann is now being assigned by the Romney campaign to speak to pro-life groups about her husband's pro-life credentials. Are we being asked to believe that she also had an epiphany on this issue at the same time her husband did? We do believe that some people sincerely change their views, but we believe Romney's pro-life conversion to be suspect for many reasons. He doesn't appear to have converted on all issues related to life, the conversion story itself is suspect, and he doesn't appear to understand the moral aspects of this issue. Moreover, his conversion occurred around the same time period when he started to consider running for higher office. Romney's current view on abortion 1. Romney's current view on abortion appears to be based more on a procedural stance than a moral view and is not necessarily a pro-life view. Instead of focusing on the moral case against abortion, Romney has repeatedly stated he wants the people to vote on this issue, which, in of in itself is not a pro-life position unless you also agree to use your position to pass pro-life legislation. But when pressed on whether he would support a constitutional amendment banning abortion, he refuses to answer this question. The National Journal (February 10, 2007) pressed him on this point: If a state wanted unlimited abortion? On February 28, 2005 - also after his conversion - Romney said: I am personally pro-life. However, as governor I would not change the laws of the commonwealth relating to abortion. When the reporter asked if he favors making abortion illegal, Romney stopped the interview by stating: But that's the furthest I'm going to take you right now. These statements make it clear he does not favor using his political authority to advance the pro-life position. If he's not willing to do this, then we question his pro-life commitment. His position on abortion appears to be more about democratic voting rights and not about the moral evil of abortion. He never says specifically how he would use his power to protect the sanctity of life nor has been able to clarify the moral reasons why he is opposed to the procedure itself. 2. Romney's 2006 health care plan vastly increases state-funded abortions. While there are court decisions requiring state health care plans that receive Medicaid funding to fund all "medically necessary" abortions, the Romney plan funds all abortions with no restrictions. Moreover, the creation of a state-wide government entity that widely promotes abortion services will of course increase the number of state-funded abortions. Furthermore, the Romney administration wrote the health care plan with the requirement that everyone must have health insurance and creates a subsidy for those who cannot afford it. Therefore it subsidizes the insurance of low income women and creates a new category of state-subsidized abortions. Nor, to anyone's knowledge, did Romney make any attempt to exclude or even minimize abortions in the health care plan. Thus, it is a fact that Romney is responsible for the expansion of state funded abortion. With Planned Parenthood serving on the plan's advisory board (as written into the law itself), should we be surprised by any of this? To understand how a whole new class of people will have abortions paid for by the state, Massachusetts has an uninsured population of 460,000 people which means there are anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 women not previously eligible who are now eligible for state-funded abortions. In response to revelations in the media about this, the Romney campaign released a statement claiming that "decisions [about the health care plan] were made separate of the Romney Administration." But this is deceitful. When Romney gave a speech about his health care plan at the Heritage Foundation, he made clear, as the Heritage Foundation's web site does, that the plan was his idea and his design. He was the main architect of the plan; he lobbied for its passage; he signed it into law, and he boasted about it on the campaign trail for many months. Only after it was revealed that the plan dramatically increases state funded abortions has Romney left it out of his campaign speeches. 3. Romney's current position on the stem cell research issue is NOT the accepted pro-life position Much has been made of Romney's alleged conversion after meeting with a stem cell researcher, but a total conversion apparently never occurred. The only aspect of this issue he changed his mind on was the creation of human embryos for research purposes (cloning). However, he continues to this day to support research on stem cells: Stem cell research does not require the cloning of human embryos. Some stem cells today are obtained from surplus embryos from in-vitro fertilization. I support that research, provided that those embryos are obtains after a rigorous parental consent process that includes adoption as an alternative. In other words, Romney is opposed to cloning but not embryonic stem cell research, but there is no moral distinction between the two. As Carol Tobias of the National Right to Life Committee recently stated, "He's still in favor of killing the new lives that are in existence right now." Even the pro-Romney National Review magazine states that, "Romney has decided to support experimentation on surplus frozen embryos from in-vitro fertilization procedures." This position should not surprise anyone since Romney stated in 2006 that his views on stem cell research are NOT grounded in religious or moral beliefs: I'm not talking about from a religious standpoint. I'm talking about from the medical and scientific standpoint…. 4. Romney forced Catholic hospitals in 2005 to dispense the "morning after" pill When the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law requiring all hospitals to provide women with the morning after abortion pill, Romney's Department of Public Health determined that private religious hospitals were exempt from the statute due to both current law and the religious freedom protections in the Massachusetts Constitution. As Daniel Avila, Associate Director of Public Policy for the Massachusetts Catholic Conference stated, The new bill does not expressly nullify the older statute, the conscience protection already on the books still remains in force. The Boston Globe interviewed State Health Commissioner Paul Cote Jr. and reported that Cote said that "his department felt strongly that the new emergency contraception law did not compel all hospitals to provide the morning-after pill." However, there was a huge outcry from the pro-abortion lobby and within days, Romney bowed to this pressure and overruled his own Health Department by interpreting the statute to illegally apply to private hospitals. He then shocked everyone by publicly agreeing with the decision: I think, in my personal view, it's the right thing for Hospitals [referring to private hospitals] to provide information and access to emergency contraception to anyone who is a victim of rape. This displays an astounding ignorance of religious freedom. Even if there were some disagreement over whether the new statute applied to private religious hospitals, Romney should have stood firm in favor of religious hospitals. Yes, there may have been litigation, but he had the state constitution, the Bill of Rights, previous statute, and his own Department of Health on his side. Instead, he allowed the liberal attorneys who surround him to advise him to allow an unprecedented attack on religious freedom. This occurred AFTER his conversion. 5. Romney appointed pro-abortion judges Governor Romney appointed 36 judges but a check of their political affiliation confirms that only 9 of them are Republicans. Two are radical gay activists and 14 are registered Democrats. The remainder are unenrolled. Since Massachusetts Democrats are among the most pro-abortion Democrats in America, we have to assume that the majority of Romney's judicial appointments are NOT pro-life. Take for example, Steve Abany, a hard left Democrat and a prominent gay activist involved with the effort to legalized homosexual marriage in Massachusetts. Romney appointed him to the bench in May of 2005, which was, again, well after his pro-life "conversion." Any bets that he's pro-life? Nor can we find any evidence that the Governor tried to recruit judges who respect life. Romney's defenders claim he had no choice because a entity called the Governor's Council controls the process and is composed of Democrats, but we've found that this council serves mostly as a rubber stamp and is set up purely to ensure judicial nominees are qualified, not to oppose them on ideological grounds. Indeed, there is no evidence that the Governor's Council has ever blocked any judicial nominees on ideological grounds. Many of these judicial appointments were made in the last three years, SINCE Romney's alleged conversion. The Romney campaign also claims that his judicial selections as governor had nothing to do with abortion and was more about the nominee's stance on local issues such as crime. However, the Los Angeles Times has revealed that notes taken at a 2002 NARAL endorsement meeting attended by Romney, reveal that he assured its leaders his judicial picks would be more likely to protect abortion rights than those of a Democrat governor! These notes demonstrate that he did indeed use the abortion issue to inform his judicial selections, but not in the way we would have wanted. Once again, the Romney campaign is not being truthful. With the next president appointing 1-2 justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and a slew of Federal judges, Romney's judicial selections should alarm those who care about family values and the sanctity of life. The fact that only five years ago he assured NARAL's leaders that he would appoint pro-abortion judges should cause every pro-lifer in the country to doubt his sincerity on this issue. It is also notable that Romney is still listed as a prominent member of the Republican Main Street Partnership which publicly praised Senator John Chafee for his vote against the confirmation of Judge Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. This may be the biggest pro-life achievement of the Bush Administration, but Romney's group was not happy about it. There is no evidence that Romney opposed this action. It really doesn't matter how often Romney announces he will appoint "strict constructionists" to the bench; if he can't be truthful about the criteria he used to select judges while Governor and didn't even bother to fill all the judicial vacancies in his own state, how can he be trusted to appoint solid judges while president? 6. Romney' opinion on the Terry Schiavo case: Let the courts force euthanasia. On March 10th, Romney was questioned on television about the Terri Schiavo case in which heroic efforts were made by the State and by Congress to save her life. Without his professional handlers by his side to tell him what to say, here what the press reported him as saying: He's campaigning hard for support from Republican socialconservatives, but presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Saturday he disagreed with the government's intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. 'I think it's probably best to leave these kinds of matters in the hands of the courts.' However, this view is consistent with his abortion stance. Forget about the life involved, let the people decide or let the courts decide. Once again, Romney doesn't seem to understand the moral implications involved here. The Republican Party establishment has a history of promoting candidates to the pro-life movement who often are not pro-life. The pro-life movement needs to be wary of such efforts and needs to remain focused on supporting candidates who share our values and not be misled by candidates whose views are constantly "evolving." We believe that Romney's recent pro-life statements and public stands are driven by political ambition and the cold calculations about Republican primary voters, not the result of any genuine "conversion." Governor Romney's failure to fight for the rights of private religious hospitals, his inattention to the types of judges he appointed, his involvement with a health care plan that vastly increases state funded abortions, his inconsistency on the embryonic stem cell issue, his ignorance of the evil of euthanasia and his failure to enunciate the moral objections to abortion have convinced us that he does not fundamentally understand life issues nor is it an important part of his worldview. In order to justify Romney's extreme flip-flops on the abortion issue, the Romney campaign has issued statements comparing Romney to Ronald Reagan since Reagan signed a pro-abortion bill into law as California governor before becoming pro-life. This is an inaccurate comparison. When Reagan signed the abortion bill in 1970, very little was known about the procedure as this was before ultra sound and before research showing that a baby's heart and nervous system is developed in utero far earlier than was previously known. Reagan later called that decision the worst one in his career and authored a book, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation, that went into great detail about the moral consequences of abortion. In contrast, Romney has had access to the latest research on abortion, has never apologized for his previous stances and cannot seem to carry on a discussion about the moral implications. Moreover, Romney continues to support abortion related issues such as stem cell research and euthanasia and refuses to state if he would use his political position to support actual pro-life legislation. This is a far cry from Ronald Reagan. Based on our research, we therefore do not believe Governor Mitt Romney will represent the views of the pro-life community if elected President of the United States.
Log In September 30, 2011 10:24 pm 0 comments Peda or Pedha is a popular and delicious sweet from the Indian subcontinent which is made into soft pieces. Peda is made with khoya or khoa, sugar and traditionally flavored with cardamom powder, pistachio nuts and saffron. There are either made into small ball or thick disk (patties) like shapes. Peda are like soft milk fudge that is slightly grainy texture is usually served as a dessert or during festive season. The color of the peda varies from slightly creamy white to caramel color or a little yellow color. The word peda is generically used to mean a blob of any doughy substance such as flour or khoa. It is said that peda actually originated in the state of Uttar Pradesh and especially Mathura is considered in making the best variety of peda. From there on, the popularity of peda spread to many parts of India. Another popular variety is the peda prepared in the district of Dharwad in Karnataka state in south India. This was established by Ram Ratan Singh from Lucknow who migrated there in the 1850s. This distinct variety is now famous as the Dharwad pedha. Peda is another special Indian sweet apart from the ladoos that is usually served as Prasad in religious services. Peda is generally served as Prasad in the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, Shirdi. Doodh peda made with milk is also a different variation of peda that is popular all over India. Peda made with Khoya is a milk food that is widely used in Indian cuisine made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. Khoya is very similar to ricotta cheese but less in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey. There are three types of khoya – batti, chickna, and daan-e-daar. Batti, meaning “rock,” has 50% moisture by weight and is the hardest of the three types; it can be grated like cheese. It can be aged for up to a year, during which it develops a unique aroma and a mouldy outer surface. Chickna (“slippery” or “squishy”) khoya has 80% moisture. For daan-e-daar, the milk is coagulated with an acid during the simmering; it has moderate moisture content. Generally different types of khoya are used for different preparations. Cardamom is another important ingredient in any Indian traditional sweet. The cardamom has a unique, strong taste with an intensely aromatic, resinous fragrance. In South Asia, green cardamom is often used in making traditional Indian sweets and in Masala chai (spiced tea). Black cardamom is sometimes used in garam masala for curries. It is occasionally used as a garnish in basmati rice and other dishes. It is often referred to as fat cardamom due to its size. Pistachios in peda enhance the flavor giving a nutty taste to the sweet. Pistachios contain an elongated seed which is commonly thought as a culinary nut and not a botanical nut. The fruit has a hard, whitish exterior shell. The seed has a mauvish skin and light green flesh, with a distinctive flavor. The kernels are often eaten whole, either fresh or roasted and salted, and are also used in ice cream, pistachio butter, pistachio paste and confections such as baklava, pistachio lassi, pistachio kulfi or halva and cold cuts such as mortadella. To prepare this delicious and yummy Indian sweet, Peda, firstly grate khoya with a steel (not iron) grater. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Put mixture in a large heavy bottomed or nonstick pan. Heat the pan on high for few minutes then on slow till done. Make sure to stir continuously while on heat. When mixture gets thick ad gooey, add cardamom and mix well and take off from fire. Allow the mixture to cool, gently turning occasionally. Use cookie moulds or shape pedas with palms into patty rounds. Mix pistachios and cardamom seeds and press a bit on top of each. If using moulds, first sprinkle some at bottom. Take some mixture and press into mould. Allow them the pedas to set well and then invert them carefully and un-mould the pedas. The pedas are ready to be served. Saffron in peda imparts a rich golden yellow hue to the sweet. Do try this recipe and you will find the difference and satisfaction of homemade peda from the shop. Click on the below link for detailed recipe: Unlike the Dharwas pedas, the Mathura peda are very popular throughout North India. They are made of milk which is heated and stirred continuously, with added flavor and sugar. Different types of Pedas are sold in the shops in Mathura. The Pedas of Mathura are particularly famous due to their purity and great taste. Mathura is a place popular for pure milk products. Due to the large cowherd, different types of milk products are very popular in Mathura. Made of milk, the milk products of Mathura are of high quality and aroma and peda forms the most important milk products of Mathura. Peda first originated in Mathura itself and therefore is named after the place. Pedas are made in Mathura with great care and there is a particular procedure to make them. Pure milk is boiled for long hours, till the last drop of water evaporates. Then this ‘khoya is used to make peda. There are a variety of different pedas sold in Mathura out of which Kesari Peda is the most tasty and popular of all. Kesari Peda is made of good amount of saffron, which makes them look and taste delicious. Another significance of Mathura Peda is that they are also used as ‘Prasad’. People visiting the temples of Mathura can buy peda from the neighboring shops. Peda as made out of milk taken in moderate is good source of calcium and protein. Leave a Reply join me Social Media
Ain't It Cool News ( Movie News Now That's How You Do A Poster For TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D!! The Kidd here... Sometimes simplicity works best, and in the case of anything involving THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, what more is needed to sell fans at first than some relatively easy poster art that features Leatherface. I mean, you don't have to do a lot to the Bat-symbol to sell a new Batman film to audiences, or the Superman logo. People know what it is that they're looking, derive from such imagery that a new movie is coming out featuring a character the recognize and like and then make a mental note that they want to see it.  It's so easy.  Lionsgate must have finally gotten the memo that they should have some Leatherface in their promotional art for TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D, and, so in this New York Comic-Con exclusive poster, they've given it to us. See... now that wasn't so hard, was it? For the next one though, they might want to look into incorporating a chainsaw while they're at it. I'm just saying... Leatherface looks as if he doesn't know what to do with his hands when he's not slaughtering people.  -Billy Donnelly "The Infamous Billy The Kidd" Follow me on Twitter. Readers Talkback comments powered by Disqus
EL PASO, Texas - An emotional sentencing in district court this morning as Eric Barajas was sentenced for killing Angela Gonzalez and Orlando Figeroa as they crossed a street on October 30th of 2009.   On Saturday a jury found Barajas guilty on two counts of Intoxication Manslaughter. This morning he learned his fate, 12 years in prison. Barajas's family broke out in tears as the sentence was handed down by Judge Patrick Garcia. As the sounds of sobbing and crying filled the courtroom ,  Atilano Barajas, Eric's father, went up to Orlando Figeroa Senior, the father of one of the victms and hugged him telling him how sorry he was. Figeroa replied "esta bien yo comprendo el dolor que estan pasando no tengo rencor" (its okay I understand the pain they are suffering and don't hold a  grudge)  Both men then broke down in tears. Eric Barajas's young son hugged his father, crying out loud as his family and friends held Eric's  hands and formed a prayer circle in front of the judge's bench. After praying a few minutes they said their last good-byes to him. Outside the courtroom defense attorney  Theresa Caballero told ABC7 there were no winners because of emotions in this trial. Caballero said  she and the prosecution agreed to the sentence on Saturday because she didn't trust the jury claiming jurors  had been deadlocked 11 to 1 during deliberations Saturday adding  jurors had called the one juror who thought Barajas was not guilty unattentive and confussed. Caballero also mentioned the case was a clear issue of causation since both victims were intoxicated when they crossed  the street moments before being struck by Barajas's car. The attorney then told us she has a study that indicates drinking and walking is 8 times more dangerous than drinking and driving. Barajas will be eligible for parole in 6 years.
Price Fixing What it is: Price fixing is an agreement among businesses to sell the same product or service at the same price. How it works/Example: Price fixing involves the cooperation among two or more business competitors to set or stabilize a price for a product or service.  It may involve setting a minimum price, setting a maximum discount on price, agreeing to buy supplies at an "agreed upon" maximum price, agreeing to a standard set of charges or surcharges for a product or service, or even agreeing to a set rate of production of a product.  In any case, it involves an agreement that disrupts open market price competition. Legally, price fixing may involve sharing price information with competitors with the intent to set prices.   According to the United States Department of Justice, price fixing does not necessarily involve setting the exact same price for a product or service, nor does it require the participation of every business in an industry. Why it Matters: Price fixing works against open, competitive markets that allow prices to reach equilibrium between supply and demand.  This disruption can be harmful to consumers, resulting in higher prices.  In the long-term, economists believe that price fixing is harmful to producers because it masks an industry's real production and service costs, resulting in inefficient and unproductive industry. Generally, price fixing is considered illegal, often found in monopolies, cartels, bid-rigging, bid suppression, complementary bidding, and bid rotation schemes. In the US, price fixing is considered a criminal felony under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Albanian Opposition Threatens Street Protests Albania's opposition Socialists charged Saturday that the ruling Democrats were improperly trying to influence the country's lengthy vote count by declaring victory before all ballots from last week's national election were tallied. Albania joined NATO in April and has been under intense international pressure to ensure the June 28 vote was free of the fraud that marred the first six elections held after the Balkan country's communist regime fell in 1990. But the Socialists threatened to hold street protests after election authorities declared late Friday that Prime Minister Sali Berisha's Democrats had won enough seats to form a government. The country's electoral commission is re-counting ballots from some polling stations following complaints about irregularities, and the Socialists insist it cannot declare that the Democrats won 71 seats while recounts are still pending. They accuse Berisha of trying to sway the electoral commission. "I appeal to Berisha to abandon the idea of imposing himself on the Albanian people ... unless he wants to meet and face the people in the street," said Gramoz Ruci, a senior Socialist politician. Both main parties ran on similar platforms, pledging to lift Albania out of poverty and secure its goal of joining the European Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe issued preliminary findings saying there were improvements and fewer irregularities in this year's voting, but that some violations such as family voting and the late opening of polling centers persisted. Election officials said late Friday that Democrats won 46.69 percent, giving them 71 seats in the 140-seat parliament - the exact number needed to form a government. Tirana Mayor Edi Rama's opposition Socialists won 45.36 percent, or 65 seats, with a former prime minister's coalition in third place, the Central Elections Commission said. Berisha, acknowledging that he could at best form a weak government, if the current results are upheld in the re-count, invited the third-place SMI to join him in a coalition if the final results confirm the current vote count. SMI's head, former Prime Minister Ilir Meta, accepted the invitation, saying it was "the only one in the country's Rama responded by calling Meta "Berisha's crutches" and the deal "the most shameful, humiliating bazaar of the last 18 years" to create "a monster government." Full final results are now expected in days, after all disputed ballots are counted. Based on the partial count, the election commission said 50 percent of Albania's 3.1 million registered voters had cast powered by Disqus KOLO-TV 4850 Ampere Drive Reno, NV 89502 Copyright © 2002-2014 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability 49947012 - Gray Television, Inc.
Question types Start with Question limit of 99 available terms Advertisement Upgrade to remove ads Print test 5 Written questions 5 Matching questions 1. myopia 2. idiom 3. duplicity 4. solecism 5. substantiate 1. a a nonstandard or improper use of language; a mistake in manners or behavior 2. b to support with evidence 3. c lack of planning for the future; shortsightedness; nearsightness; a condition in which distant objects apear blurred 4. d an expression with a secial meaning that cannot be understood from the meanings of the individual words; a nonliteral expression 5. e deliberate deception in behavior or speech 5 Multiple choice questions 1. a piece of music intended to introduce a longer work; an act or offer showing readiness to form a relationship or negotiate 2. to take advantage of people by tricking or fooling them; someone tricked and taken advantage of 3. open and observable; not hidden or secret 4. the most direct or specific meaning of a word 5. to prevent from taking place; frustrate; block 5 True/False questions 1. eradicationa feeling that something will happen in the future; an advance warning 2. commenceto begin 3. commendto cook gentley in a liquid just at or below the boiling point; to be filled with pent-up emotion 4. anathemautensils used for eating; cutting instruments and tools 5. premonitionideas or meanings suggested by a word; associations that go beyond a word's literal meaning Create Set
User profile: The DooD User info User name:The DooD Name:George Mooney Location:Bucks, UK Bio:I'm an 18 year old college student living in the UK, on a BTEC IT course. The course is easy and I am way beyond it, but I need the qualification before I can move on. I'm currently trying to teach myself C++ in my own time, mainly because I'm an aspiring game programmer (shock horror). After learning C++ well enough, I'm going to try and learn SFML so that I can create 2D games and once I go back to school and do a maths course without failing it, then I should be properly equipped to learn 3D graphics programming. I'm very interested in pretty much anything to do with C++, as while I can't always be practising my programming, I like to bask in C++ related articles on the internet or read forums (including this one). I don't understand half the things I read but I still think it's good to get into the mind set of a programmer. Statistical data Birthdate:Jan 31, 1993 Number of posts:4 Latest posts: Repeat do while loop if there is an character Well as far as I know (because I'm only a beginner too) "nx" can never be a letter, because the nx v... Console Closing Down I feel sorry for you Duoas, having to correct everyone an all. Also, useful thread, I had the sam... What is a good IDE/Compiler to use? Thanks a very lot to both of you. What is a good IDE/Compiler to use? At the moment I am using Dev-C++, but it seems to be a bit out of date. Also, when I try to do some...
Easy To Use Patents Search & Patent Lawyer Directory Search All Patents:   This Patent May Be For Sale or Lease. Contact Us   Is This Your Patent? Claim This Patent Now. Register or Login To Download This Patent As A PDF United States Patent 5,576,951 Lockwood November 19, 1996 Automated sales and services system A system for composing individualized sales presentations created from various textual and graphical information data sources to match customer profiles. The information search and retrieval paths sift through a hierarchy of data sources under multiple operating programs. The system provides the means for synergistically creating and displaying customized presentations in a convenient manner for both the customer and salesperson to achieve a more accurate, efficient and comprehensive marketing presentation. Organizational hierarchies of data sources are arranged so that an infinite number of sales presentation configurations can be created. Multiple micro-programs automatically compose the sales presentations initiated by determinants derived from customer profile information, sales agent assessment data and operator's entries including the retrieval of interrelated textual and graphical information from local and remote storage sources. A similar system can be used for filing applications with an institution from a plurality of remote sites, and for automatically processing applications in response to each applicant's qualifications. Each multimedia terminal comprises a video screen and a video memory which holds co-related image-and-sound-generating information arranged to simulate the aspect and speech of an application loan officer on the video screen. The simulated loan officer is used to acquire personal loan data from the applicant by guiding him through an interactive sequence of inquiries and answers. Appl. No.: 08/210,301 Filed: March 16, 1994 Related U.S. Patent Documents Application NumberFiling DatePatent NumberIssue Date 116654Sep., 19935309355 96610Jul., 1993 752026Aug., 1991 168856Mar., 1988 822115Jan., 1986 613525May., 19844567359 396283Aug., 1989 152973Feb., 1988 Current U.S. Class: 705/26.62 ; 235/381; 705/26.81 Current International Class: G07F 7/00 (20060101); G06Q 30/00 (20060101); G07F 17/16 (20060101); G07F 17/00 (20060101); G07F 17/42 (20060101); G06F 019/00 () Field of Search: 364/401,407 235/383,385,381 395/600,650 References Cited U.S. Patent Documents Re32115 April 1986 Lockwood et al. 3718906 February 1973 Lightner 3956615 May 1976 Anderson et al. 4300040 November 1981 Gould et al. 4359631 November 1982 Lockwood et al. 4438326 March 1984 Uchida 4449186 May 1984 Kelly et al. 4567359 January 1986 Lockwood 4648037 March 1987 Valentino 4650977 March 1987 Couch 5241671 August 1993 Reed et al. 5309355 May 1994 Lockwood Primary Examiner: McElheny, Jr.; Donald E. Attorney, Agent or Firm: Charmasson; Henri J. A. Buchaca; John D. Parent Case Text This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/116,654 filed Sep. 3, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,355 which is a continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 07/396,283 filed Aug. 21, 1989, which is a continuation-in-part of abandoned application Ser. No. 07/152,973 filed Feb. 8, 1988, which is a continuation-in-part of abandoned application Ser. No. 822,115 filed Jan. 24, 1986, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 613,525 filed May 24, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,359. This is also a continuation-in-part of abandoned application Ser. No. 08/096,610 filed Jul. 23, 1993, which is a continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 07/752,026 filed Aug. 29, 1991 which is a continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 168,856 filed Mar. 16, 1988, which is a continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 822,115 filed Jan. 24, 1986 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 613,525, filed May 24, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,359. This is also a continuation of the combination of the above-cited applications Ser. No. 08/116,654 filed Sep. 3, 1993 and Ser. No. 08/096,610 filed Jul. 23, 1993. What is claimed is: 1. A computer search system for retrieving information, comprising: means for storing interrelated textual information and graphical information; means for interrelating said textual and graphical information; a plurality of entry path means for searching said stored interrelated textual and graphical information, said entry path means comprising: textual search entry path means for searching said textual information and for retrieving interrelated graphical information to said searched text; graphics entry path means for searching said graphical information and for retrieving interrelated textual information to said searched graphical information; selecting means for providing a menu of said plurality of entry path means for selection; automatic data processing means for executing inquiries provided by a user in order to search said textual and graphical information through said selected entry path means and for fetching data as a function of other data; indicating means for indicating a pathway that accesses information related in one of said entry path means to information accessible in another one of said entry path means; accessing means for providing access to said related information in said another entry path means; and output means for receiving search results from said processing means and said related information from said accessing means and for providing said search results and received information to such user. 2. The search system according to claim 1, wherein said textual information comprise words, phrases, numbers and letters stored in said at least one database. 3. The search system according to claim 1, wherein said graphical information include maps, charts, pictures, and moving images. 4. The search system according to claim 1, wherein one of said graphical and textual information comprises audio information. 5. The search system according to claim 1, wherein said graphical and textual information are stored on a CD-ROM disc. 6. The search system according to claim 1, further comprising a micro-computer for executing operations of said search system, and for storing said graphical and textual information. 7. The search system according to claim 1, wherein said textual entry path means and said graphical entry path means include informing means for assisting a user in searching said graphical and textual information. 8. The search system according to claim 1, wherein said textual search entry path means comprises a topic tree entry path means for dividing said textual information into topics and sub-topics in order to assist in browsing through said textual information. 9. The search system according to claim 1 which further comprises: title finder entry path means for assisting a user in uncovering titles stored in said stored textual information. 10. A computerized system for selecting and ordering a variety of information, goods and services, which comprises: a plurality of computerized data processing installations programmed for processing orders for said information, goods and services; at least one computerized station, said station including: a micro-processor; a device for displaying graphical and textual material; at least one mass memory device controlled by said micro-processor; means for addressing at least one of said computerized data processing installations, and for sending thereto and receiving therefrom, coded messages and batches of data; program means for controlling the display on said display device of inquiries and acceptable answers; user operated means for selecting at least one of said acceptable answers; means for accumulating a set of said acceptable answers; automatic data processing means for processing said set of answers as a function of other data; means for storing in said mass-storing device, interrelated textual information and graphical information; means for interrelating said textual and graphical information; a plurality of entry path means for searching said stored interrelated textual and graphical information; means, responsive to said means for processing, for executing inquiries provided by said user and for searching said textual and graphical information through said selected entry path means; said means for executing and searching, including means for addressing at least one of said installations and for retrieving data related to said answer; and means responsive to said means for processing, for transferring orders for said information, goods and services to said installations. This invention is directed to data processing systems designed to facilitate commercial, financial and educational transactions between multimedia terminals such as automated sales workstations, information dispensing networks and self-service banking systems. Specifically this invention is directed to a tool for augmentation of sales and marketing capabilities of travel agency personnel in conjunction with computerized airline reservation systems. This invention also relates to financial service application processing, and interactive delivery of informative, educational and recreational audio-visual programs to the home, school or office. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, travel agents are able to synergistically compose individual customized sales presentations and itineraries for their clients, representing thousands of tour destinations and criteria, from multiple permutations of data sources in a fully automated fashion. During the 1980s airline reservation systems evolved into very sophisticated information networks. A majority of travel agencies in North America subscribe to one of the major computerized reservation systems; Sabre, Apollo, System One, or WORLDSPAN. Prior to the development of computerized reservation systems in the 1970s, a travel agent would read airline schedules from either the North American or International edition of Official Airline Guides (OAG), printed directories which are published monthly, then telephone the specific airline to reserve-and confirm passenger flights and physically write the airline tickets. The advent of computerized reservation systems allowed the travel agent to access computerized travel data banks, reserve, confirm and transact airline, hotel or car rental reservations with a `dumb terminal` comprised of; keyboard entry of customer requirements in conjunction with a display terminal and ticket printer, connected to the centralized reservation service. The Mar. 19, 1985 testimony of Robert L. Crandall, President of American Airlines, Inc., before the Aviation Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation details the evolution of computerized reservation systems in the United States. A travel professional accumulates extensive knowledge which is extremely valuable to the travel agency business and is in fact, the single most important element which differentiates one agent from another. Unfortunately, this knowledge requires years of experience to acquire. The physical requirements to visit and inspect even a portion of popular tourist destinations dictates a significant investment of time and monetary expense. Additionally, tourist localities are seldom static; new hotels or attractions and changing custom regulations require a constant monitoring of hundreds of potential vacation sites. A first alternate embodiment of the invention relates to multimedia terminals used by banking institutions to make their services, such as loan processing, available at all hours of the day from various remote locations. Loan processing has traditionally been a labor-intensive business which represents the major activity of banks and other financial institutions. In the processing of a loan application, numerous forms have to be filled-out, loan officers have to explain payment schedules and generally guide the applicant through the loan application process. The financial institution then has to process the application and either telephone, mail, or communicate acceptance or rejection of the loan in person to the applicant. The complexity of the process has so far prevented the application of automatic terminals to perform this important part of financial institution activities. Interactive multimedia terminals have evolved to a high degree of sophistication as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,631 Lockwood, et al. Yet, this high degree of sophistication has not been put to use in the more complex types of goods and services distribution which require a great deal of interaction between individuals and institutions. A second alternate embodiment of the invention relates to an improvement of a system for automatically dispensing information, products and services by means of stored prerecorded audio-visual presentations telegenically transmitted from a remote site to sales and information terminals in the home under the command of customers with easy-to-use communication equipment that does not require formal computer literate training. Service providers have traditionally communicated and marketed information and products to consumers in their homes by way of newspapers, magazines, mail order catalogs, direct mail, telephone, radio and television. None of these communication methods allow consumers to interactively display alternate audio-visual sales presentations for transactional order fulfillment. Lately, videotex has emerged as a supplement to traditional product ordering methods. Beginning in 1978, British Telecom established a videotex service named `Prestel` planned for a mass consumer market. Videotex, a textual display, is not designed nor intended to deliver full color prerecorded audio-visual presentations. Videotex typically requires computer operating knowledge and a personal computer with modem for access. Subsequently several major attempts at introducing videotex in North America have failed and surviving operators have maintained a limited user base. A fundamental reason for the unsuccessful acceptance of videotex is that it requires reading of computer generated text. Conversely, the American consumer has become accustomed to a high degree of television quality programming from sporting events and news to popular movies broadcasted daily. Interactive delivery of information, goods and services to consumers by means of multimedia terminals is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,359,631 and 4,567,359 using a central processor, audio-visual data sources, CRT, keyboard and remote communication capabilities. It would be desirable to provide such a system accessible to consumers from their homes or workplace. Typically consumers have had to travel to multiple stores and shop for products. This is both time-consuming and involves transportation expenses. Certain segments of the population, for example disabled persons and the elderly have been restricted in their ability to compare product features and prices. The system could also allow service suppliers and product manufacturers to communicate directly with consumers and present products, take orders and ship purchases from a central or regional warehouse facility. This would reduce the expense of maintaining retail stores, inventory, sales personnel, overhead and general distribution costs while providing services to hundreds or thousands of homes and offices throughout a community. Preferably such a system would incorporate; a central data processing center, audio-visual data sources, a CRT for displaying information, communication links and a keyboard for control of the remote data sources. Additionally, such a system would allow consumers an opportunity to communicate with product and service providers to place orders, and to process commercial transactions. Interactive audio-visual communication systems using television and telephone common carrier networks are now possible based on some of the techniques disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,668,307 Face et al., 3,691,295 Fisk, 3,746,780 Stetten et al., 3,752,908 Boenke et al., 4,054,911 Fletcher et al., 4,064,490 Nagel, 4,251,691 Kakihara et al., 4,264,925 Freeman et al., and 4,553,222 Kurland et al. Research reveals that the average person retains about 25 percent of what they hear and 45 percent of what they see and hear. Retention levels increase dramatically to 70 percent of what a person sees, hears and performs if an interactive sequence is available. Therefore the persuasive power of interactive full color multimedia presentations would be an ideal means to market products and services. This in-home information delivery system could also provide a conduit for educational, medical and other important informational services. Accordingly, the objects of this invention, among others are to: organize a variety of traditional travel and tour references in a comprehensive and synergistic multimedia sales system to effectuate consumer awareness; These and other objects are achieved by the preferred embodiment of the invention which is directed to a means for automatically creating and displaying customized travel and tour sales presentations from various textual and graphical data sources managed by a multiplicity of operating programs. Sales presentations comprise audio-visual data and computerized reservation system information, presented individually or in combination. The graphical data may include charts, maps and other still images as well as moving pictures with or without sound enhancements. Individualized sales presentations are requested by the client for specific destinations. The organizational hierarchy of data sources is arranged so that an infinite number of variations or sales presentation configurations can be displayed. Multiple operating programs create the sales presentations directed by: (2) Travel agent assessment of client profiles; or (3) Computerized reservation system response to client profiles. As explained in the first alternate embodiment, another object of the invention is to standardize the reporting and interpretation of credit ratings and their applicability to loan application processing. A further object of the invention is to reduce the amount of paperwork and processing time required by each loan application. It is also an object of the invention to offer a more personal way to apply for credit. Many applicants are reluctant to inquire about loans requiring face-to-face interaction with a loan officer, who would not hesitate to use an interactive device to place their inquiry. These and other objectives are achieved by means of a system that connects financial institution data processing, the computer services of a credit reporting bureau, and a plurality of remote terminals. Each remote terminal displays the live image of a fictitious loan officer who helps the applicant through the interactive series of questions and answers designed to solicit from the applicant all the information necessary to process his loan application. The terminal can acquire credit rating information about the applicant from the credit reporting bureau and make a decision based on all the information gathered about the credit worthiness of the applicant and the amount of loan to which he is entitled. The amount is then communicated to the applicant and to the financial institution for further processing of the loan. As explained in the second alternate embodiment, additional objects of the instant invention comprise among others, the following: to provide an automatic and efficient system for dispensing information and services to the general public interactively from terminals in their homes; to offer such a system which is particularly useful for dispensing information, goods and services for a wide variety of service industries; to facilitate immediate access to thousands of products and services by the elderly, disabled persons and others limited by travel or time constraints; to present such services by means of audio-visual presentations for transactional decisions from prerecorded sound, images and synthesized data; to centralize product distribution, therefore reducing traditional merchandising overhead costs while increasing manufacturer's product selection, target marketing and advertising promotion of products; to increase service sector productivity while reducing inventories and out-of-stocks by creating an unlimited number of distribution outlets over geographically extended trade areas which operate 24 hours per day; to maximize information delivery by interactively involving the customer as opposed to passive viewing. In furtherance of these additional objects, an automatic system is disclosed for dispensing information, goods and services to consumers in their home. The system comprises a central data processing computer and multiple remote satellite facilities linked to the center. The satellite facilities are sales and information terminals, each equipped with a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) for receiving and displaying requested customer information from the computer's data sources at the data processing center. Customers interactively display the audio-visual presentations by selecting various choices and entering the choices on a telephone keypad which directs the computer to select from its data sources the requested information and transmit it to the customer's CRT in their home. The system operates in the following sequence: 1. The customer dials the data processing center and requests access to the system. 2. The data processing center verifies the customer and selects from its data sources the general instructional audio-visual presentation which is routed through the customer's local cable television communication link and transmitted to the customer's sales and informational terminal. 3. The customer views the presentation and selects from the menu presented on the screen the next display. 4. The customer enters on the telephone keypad the selection which is transmitted to the data processing center via the telephone communication link. 5. If the customer decides to purchase a product or service he also enters on the keypad the payment information. 6. After verification and acceptance of the payment, a confirmation message is displayed on the customer's CRT video screen. 7. Information on the transaction is transmitted from the data processing center to the relevant product or service company for fulfillment. This second alternate embodiment of the invention is directed to a system for automatically dispensing information, goods and services from multiple retailers, and from travel, financial, and other service providers. The data processing center is linked to data sources of various product and service providers for order processing. The data processing center is programmed to respond to customer's directions, select requested audio-visual presentations from its data sources of prerecorded information segments and place them on a television network from where they will be decoded, captured and displayed by the customer's home receiver. If the customer elects to purchase a product or service, his order is processed by the data processing center. After validation and acceptance, confirmation of the order is displayed on their CRT monitor. The data processing center stores information about the products and services offered by each supplier, and tabulates sales. The data processing center is programmed to transmit periodically to each institution's data processing terminal, either directly or indirectly, for example through an automated telecommunication network service such as TELENET.RTM.; up-dated information on sales made by the system for that institution. Suitable data links, such as phone line, cable television and optical fiber data links can be used between the sales and information terminals and the data processing center, and between the service provider's data processing terminals, either directly or indirectly via common carriers. In the latter case, each institution will have its own particular account number with the service to which information on sales made by the system will be delivered. Similarly, the system itself will have an account number to which each institution can deliver information on any changes in prices or services offered. The data processing center is suitably also linked to a remote credit information center for checking the credit of a customer in response to a sales order and charging a customer's account via debit card, credit card or alternately customer accounts that are also stored at the data processing center for monthly billing. FIG. 1 represents a general block diagram of the overall system for creating customized travel sales presentations of the preferred embodiment of the invention; FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a detailed information selection process; FIG. 7 is a general block diagram of the system for automatically processing loan applications according to the first alternate embodiment of the invention; FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the major components of the terminal; FIGS. 9 to 11 are detailed flow diagrams of the system operation. FIG. 12 is a general block diagram showing an overview of a system for automatically dispensing information, goods and services according to the second alternate embodiment of the invention; FIGS. 13 to 16 are detailed flow diagrams of the system; and FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram of a home or office station. FIG. 1 represents a general block diagram of the overall system for creating customized travel sales presentations according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that such a system may be used in a variety of other service-oriented industries, such as retail sales and real estate, various financial services and the like. The system basically comprises one or more special information and sales terminals 2 linked to an airline computerized reservation system 1 which gives access to the data processing installations of various travel suppliers 4. The terminals are all linked to the computerized reservation system by any suitable remote telecommunication links. This automated travel and tour sales system is preferably achieved according to the teaching of U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 32,115 and 4,567,359 whose specifications are hereby incorporated herein by this reference. REMOTE 30 represents textual information which is accessed from the computerized reservation system 1. This information; airline flight times 32 and hotel availability 33 is critical to the tour sales presentation if transportation or lodging is required. Therefore, LOCAL 20, and REMOTE 30 act in conjunction to present an integrated and individualized travel and tour sales travelogue. REMOTE 30 creates dynamic presentations of transitory information such as weather conditions 35 or currency exchange rates 37. Organizational chart FIG. 3 describes a secondary selection format which further delineates tourist destinations in multiple subsets. If the client selected Canada 41, the microprocessor would define a Canadian province such as British Columbia 43 as a function of the client's characteristics. Additional organizational A1 format can define cities within the selected province and then tourist features within cities. Three types of randomly accessible segments of data are thus stored in the data source 9, the audio-visually displayable narrative chapters, the inquiries to be sent to the reservation system and the essentially textual reservation systems answers to be combined with the narrative chapters. Thus, the programmation of the entire sales presentation resides in the programming of information access paths in the PROM 16. In other words, the PROM assist the user in his quest by performing automatically and almost instantly, the sequential and time-consuming information accessing, gathering and organization that a travel agent must process using conventional reservation and information sources. For example, a typical sales presentation for selecting hotel accomodations 23 which would include displaying pictoral representations of hotels i.e., overview, rooms, restaurants, sporting facilities, swimming pools, and tennis courts. Applicable textual travel information such as Canadian custom and immunization 28 regulations correlatively stored with the hotels information would be displayed textually. This textual information would be backed by maps of the area. In FIG. 2, if client selects Senior 25 the chapter identity subset numbers would be; Senior/Barbados 25/39 chapter 5100, Senior/Bermuda 25/40 chapter 5300, Senior/Canada 25/41 chapter 5500 and so forth. If client selects Sports 26 the chapter identity subset number of one sport Golf 26-A which would include Golf/Barbados 26A/39 chapter 8200, Golf/Bermuda 26A/40 Chapter 8500, Golf/Canada 26A-41 chapter 8800 and so forth. An important advantage of the highly efficient hierarchical organization of the data bases is the ability of retrieving interrelated information either textual or graphical, by accessing one topic. For instance, the selection of a particular hotel by name would trigger the display of its accommodations along with a touring map of the area fetched from the same local database, as well as data on available airlines services to that area derived from a remote database. Similarly, starting from the graphical display of a touring map, the user may retrieve textual and graphical data about a particular hotel in the area. It will be understood that this automated sales system may be applied to many other types of customer service and sales industries. Some examples are retail sales and real estate and various financial services, as illustrated by the first alternate embodiment of the invention disclosed below. There is shown in FIG. 7 the general block diagram of an automatic loan processing terminal system. This system may be considered an improvement of the system disclosed in parent application Ser. No. 613,525, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,359 whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. The system links a financial institution 101, a plurality of self-service terminals at various remote sites 102 and a credit rating service 103 by telephone lines or other means of telecommunication. The financial institution 101 is provided with a central processor 104 which is used primarily to process loan applications and handle other financial transactions. The central processor 104 has a communication interface which allows it to access the various terminals 105 at the remote sites and be accessed by them at any time of the day. A communication control unit 106 associated with the central processor 104 assures an orderly sending and receiving of information between the terminals and the central processor. The communication control unit 106 provides for a quick transfer of batches of information to and from the terminals 105 under direct access memory mode. Direct access memory modes are achieved by means of high speed data exchange units such as those manufactured by Metacomp, Inc. of San Diego, Calif. and sold under the mark METAPAKS. The central processor 104 is also provided with a terminal monitor and update unit 107 which is programmed for periodically polling the various terminals 105 in order to verify their status and proper operation and to update the data stored in those terminals as may be required. The memory 108 of the central processor 104 holds some files 109 in which are stored textual information about the various loans available to customers from the institution. This information includes loan rates and repayment schedules. These loans include real estate loans, loans to finance the purchase of automobiles, boats and other vehicles, personal loans secured by certificates of deposit, stocks and other assets controlled by the financial institution 101 and unsecured personal loans. Loan packages which have been quoted to customers are stored in a quoted case file 110 pending acceptance and execution by the applicant. Once a loan has been approved and accepted it is processed and monitored through an active case file 111. The credit rating service 103 is an institution such as TRW CREDENTIAL SERVICE which maintains financial files of consumers based on past and current loan payment obligations, credit card uses and balance sheets provided as part of loan applications, and makes that information available to a membership of merchants and financial institutions who need to access the credit worthiness of a particular customer. The credit rating service information is processed automatically by a data processor 112 equipped with automatic communication interface. This interface allows direct access through telephone lines or other communication networks by any subscribing member. The confidentiality of the credit rating service files is guaranteed by use of identifying codes which must be provided with each request. The system operates as follows. The central processor 104 of the financial institution 101 periodically sends to the terminals 105 at the various sites 102 loan rate information and other data pertinent to the loans available from that institution which are extracted from the loan rate file 109. That textual information is stored in the various terminals and can be reviewed by an applicant in need of a loan. Once the applicant has selected a type of loan which is available from the institution, he is asked to provide the pertinent personal information data which will be necessary to process his loan application. The information provided by the applicant is supplemented by a financial profile obtained directly from the credit rating service after being automatically requested by the terminal 105. The terminal 105 is programmed to compute the credit worthiness of the applicant and to approve or disapprove the loan. Once the loan has been approved the applicant is requested to accept it or reject it. Accepted loan information is transmitted to the central processor of the financial institution and stored in the active case file 111. Information about loans which have not been accepted on the spot, are also transmitted to the financial institution and stored for a period of time in the quoted case file 110. The customer can return to one of the terminals and accept that loan anytime during the validity period. Turning now to FIG. 8, there is shown a block diagram of the various components of a terminal 105. The operation of the terminal is controlled by a data processor 113. To the left of the processor, various blocks represent the peripheral equipment which interfaces with the applicant. To the right of the processor there is shown a videodisc 114 on which are stored all the permanent data necessary for the operation of the terminal including the data necessary to effect the interactive and automatic request of information by the terminal from the applicant. A modem 115 provides a two-way communication channel with the financial institution 101 and the credit rating service 103. The modem is controlled by the data processor 113 and handles a batch of information through a direct memory access unit 116, to and from a RAM memory 117. Thus, the RAM memory can be used to hold textual data obtained from the loan rate files 109 at the financial institution as well as applicant's financial profiles obtained from the credit rating service 103. The RAM memory can also be used to store some of the operating routines necessary for the operation of the terminal. Communication with the applicant is done mainly through the video screen 118. The video screen 118 displays the picture of a fictitious loan officer who informs the applicant about the various types of loans available as well as the manner in which the application can be filed. The applicant answers the request of a loan officer by means of a touch pad 119 or a keyboard. Any entry made by the applicant on the touch pad 119 is processed and orally repeated immediately by means of a voice synthesizer 120 and loud speaker 121. The oral expression of the answers provided by the applicant is a way to assure that no false entry is made. A magnetic strip reader 122 may be provided so that the applicant can give an account number or an identification by means of a credit card. A printer 123 is used to deliver to the applicant a hard copy of any loan quotation as well as a confirmation of his accepted loan. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of the system operation during the initial phase of the loan application process. The start 124 of system operation is triggered either by the applicant pushing a start button or by the automatic detection of his presence in front of the terminal. Once the system is activated 125 the recording of an image and sound of a fictitious loan officer is read from the videodisc 114 and graphically appears on the video screen 118. The fictitious loan officer takes the applicant through a language selection routine 126-129. In this case the applicant is asked in both English and Spanish in what language the loan transaction is to be conducted. In this phase of the operation as well as all interactive communications between the loan officer and the applicant, the loan officer explains to the applicant how to enter his answer by means of the touch pad 119. The applicant is then asked whether a previous quotation has already been prepared for him 130. In the affirmative, he is then requested 131 to enter a pass number or identification number either by entering the number on the touch pad or by running his credit I.D. card through the strip reader 122. The terminal then addresses the financial institution and requests 132 the prior loan quotation stored in the quoted case file 110 of the central processor 104. This is done by the data processor 113 of the terminal dialing the institution phone number through the modem 115 and sending a request message. The terminal goes into a standby mode with its DMA unit 116 waiting for a transfer of information from the line into the RAM memory 117. The continued operation depends on whether or not the previous quotation is found 134 to be on file. If the answer is negative, the fictitious loan officer instructs 135 the applicant how to proceed to apply for a loan. In the case where a previous quotation is found to be on file, that quotation is transferred to the terminal according to the program routine B illustrated in FIG. 11. FIG. 10 is the flow diagram of the system operation during the acquisition of information by the terminal from the applicant. The applicant is first asked to select 136 the type of loan in which he is interested. In this case, he is offered a menu allowing him to choose between a real estate loan 138, a vehicle loan 139, a personal loan 140 secured by an asset held by the financial institution or a personal unsecured loan 141. Any invalid selection 137 triggers a new request. Once a type of loan has been selected, a real estate loan, for example, the fictitious loan officer asks a series of inquiries corresponding to the questions that would be found on a standard loan application form. For each question the system performs a subroutine 142-145 designed to guarantee proper input of the information into the terminal memory 117. If a problem develops during the question and answer period, the applicant is invited to call 144 the loan service at the financial institution. If the answer to a question is not received within fifteen seconds 145, the process of application is presumed to have been abandoned by the applicant and the system returns to its initial standby state. Once all the proper answers have been accepted they are processed 146 by the terminal data processor 113. This process may involve analyzing certain key answers in order to identify any element or data that would automatically disqualify the applicant. Depending upon the result of that first analysis, more questions 147 may be presented to the applicant in order to refine the data necessary for a thorough assessment of his qualifications, or to provide additional information for the applicant. For instance, the fictitious loan officer may ask, "Are you familiar with our loan repayment schedule?" If the customer desires to read the loan repayment schedule, he would indicate his choice. The loan schedule would then be textually displayed. After reading the text, the applicant would proceed to more questions 147 presented by the fictitious loan officer. The customer could continue to additional textual displays about legal responsibilities of obtaining a loan or return to the fictitious loan officer who would continue the presentation. Turning now to FIG. 11, the B subroutine used to receive a previous quotation from the financial institution is illustrated in the first flow diagram. Once the previous quotation is requested 148 the DMA unit 116 of the terminal is allowed to receive a batch of information containing the previous quotation. This batch of information is stored in the RAM memory 117 from where it is fetched 150 and displayed 151 on the video screen 118. The applicant is then asked if he wants a hard copy 152 of the quotation. In the affirmative, the previous quotation is printed 153 on printer 123. The second flow diagram corresponds to the acquisition of the applicant's financial profile from the credit rating service 103. Once a loan quotation has been presented to the applicant he is asked whether or not he wants to apply for the loan 154. If his answer is negative, the fictitious loan officer expresses final greetings 155. The loan quotation, if not already in storage at the financial institution, is transmitted there for temporary storage in the quoted case file 110 of the central processor 104. If the applicant wishes to apply for the loan, he is asked to provide a password or identification 156 which will allow the terminal to access his file at the credit rating service 103. As previously explained, this number can be entered directly by means of an identification card run through the strip reader 122 or entered manually 157 by means of the touch pad 119. The terminal requests a rating 158 from the credit rating service 103 in a manner similar to the one used and described previously for obtaining a previous quotation from the financial institution. The applicant's financial profile is received as a batch of information through the DMA unit 159 and then read from the memory 160. The financial profile is then analyzed by the terminal in order to compute 161 a debt ratio or other criterion devised by the financial institution to access the credit worthiness of the applicant. The debt ratio is the ratio of the applicant's current expenses to his current income. Other parameters such as debt to equity ratio or fixed assets to debt may be computed by the terminal data processor 113 and used in determining the qualifications of the applicant. It should be noted that the entire decision whether or not to grant the loan is performed automatically and onsite by the terminal 105 without intervention whatsoever from any of the financial institution personnel, except in case of breakdown in communications requesting a direct phone call by the applicant to the financial institution. The last flow diagram on the drawing represents the final phase of the loan application transaction. Once the terminal equipment has determined that the applicant qualifies 162 for the loan, the applicant is so notified 163, and instructed how to obtain the loan funds. The institution is also notified 165, and the loan is processed through the active case file 111 by the central processor 104. The fictitious loan officer closes the transaction by giving his final greetings 166 before the system is returned to a standby condition. If the applicant does not qualify for the amount of loan requested, he is first asked whether a lesser amount 167 would be acceptable to him. He is then instructed to enter the lesser amount 168 through the touch pad 119. That new amount is then checked against the determination already made by the terminal. The process is repeated until an acceptable amount is requested by the applicant, or until such time as the applicant declines to proceed with the loan application. It should be noted that the system as described could be applied to other forms of transactions in which information has to be acquired from a customer then processed to a decision or into the performance of a particular task. A similar system could be used, for instance, for the preparation and filling-out of income tax returns. In such case, the assistance that the fictitious person who appears on the video screen can give to the applicant in filing the tax form can be easily programmed on the videodisc. A system adapted to the sale of real estate properties would use interrelated textual and graphical information stored on the videodisc 114. The inquiries 142 displayed on the video screen 118 would consist of real estate information designed to both inform and address applicants needs. To facilitate customer interaction, the graphical display could include city maps designated by zip code areas so the applicant could indicate the location of his or her current residence. Other interrelated displays would present types of dwellings, i.e., single, family or commercial, of pictorial representations which aid the applicant in determining his or her loan needs. Other applications of the system include the selection and purchase of stocks and other securities, the selection and opening of so-called `self-directed investments` such as Individual Retirement Accounts, and other complex transactions which normally require a great deal of time and attention on the part of the officers of an institution. FIG. 12, a second alternate embodiment, shows an overview of an automatic system for dispensing information, goods and services from multiple retail, travel, financial, grocery and other service industries. The system basically comprises a data processing center 201 linked to various remote sites, including one or more information and sales stations 202, a credit reporting service terminal 203, and data processing terminals 204 of various goods and services providers. The station and terminals are all linked to the central data processing center by any suitable remote links such as phone line data and cable television communications 209. The provider's terminals 204 are indirectly linked to the data processing center 201 via a computerized telecommunication network service such as TELENET.RTM. 205. Each of the providers and the system has its own specific account number with the service, which can be accessed by either party to submit or retrieve information at periodic intervals. In this embodiment of the invention, numerous sales and information stations 202 are provided at a series of locations such as homes or offices. The terminals are all remotely linked to the data processing center. The information and sales terminals 202, typically comprise a CRT monitor, audio-speaker device and controller located in the customer's residence or office. The CRT monitor receives selected prerecorded audio-visual segments via the cable television company's communication links 209, generated at the data processing center 201. As illustrated in FIG. 17, this equipment may consist of a common television receiver 274 and a dial tone telephone, also located in the customer's residence or office, that functions as the entry device allowing selection of various audio-visual presentations to be displayed on the television screen. Once a voice communication has been established between the telephone handset 275 and the data processing center, the tone generating keypad 276 is used to generate and send to the processor by way of the telephone network 280, coded instructions representing a request for information to be displayed on the television receivers 274. After viewing the requested information on his television set, the customer can use the telephone keypad 276 to order goods or services selected among those displayed on the television receiver. The customer also can transmit a credit account number against which the purchase can be charged. Voiced requests, orders or payment authorization could also be transmitted by means of the telephone handset 277 to be automatically recognized and interpreted by an automatic speech recognization device at the data processing center. Since the data processing center transmits a great deal of information to be accessed by a large number of stations through a common cable television network 281, the television receivers 274 must be coupled to an information selector unit 279 which looks for information which has been specifically addressed to that particular station and routes it to the television receiver 274. The address code which is used as a key by the information selector 279 to select data on the cable television network 281 may be a fixed number permanently entered into the information selector, or a variable number which is generated from the keypad 276 as part of the requests for goods or services and temporarily stored in a key code register 278 to be fed to the information selector 279. The same key code is also stored at the data processing center as it is transmitted on the telephone network 280 and is used to frame the specific information which is transmitted over the cable television network 281. Preaddressed information may also be periodically transmitted over the cable television network 281. The address or access number to available products or services may be published in printed catalogs for use from the various stations to request specific displays of information. The information selector 279 and key code register 278 may be part of the cable television signal descrambling device 282 such as those commonly used with pay cable television services. This type of communication system is based on the well-known technology such as was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,780 Stetten et al. and other patents cited in the background of this specification. The data processing center 201, basically comprises a tone or voice response system, host computer and data sources. The tone or voice response system 221 receives the customer's selections in audio signal form and converts the signals to messages which are transmitted to the central processor 222 for selection of data sources. Additionally, the tone or voice response system allows customers the ability to enter requests on their keypads and receive audio information in the form of synthesized human speech which is transmitted via the standard telephone communication links. Features of voice response systems include; interfaces with all major host computers, high quality digitally encoded voice, extended storage capacity of synthesized speech, support for multiple software applications and the ability to handle dozens of simultaneously incoming calls. A suitable voice response system is the VCT Series 2000.RTM., manufactured by Voice Computer Technologies Corporation, although many alternatives are available. The host computer can be one of those manufactured by IBM, NCR or Digital Equipment Corporation, which has the ability to direct the incoming requests, store and manage the data sources and generally perform data processing functions. The data sources typically consist of prerecorded audio-visual segments stored on optical discs and transitory alphanumeric price and stock information stored in the host computer's memory. Although several data storage technologies can perform the audio-visual product presentation including digitized information, the preferred choice is optical disc storage. Optical disc storage technology is commonly referred to as videodisc and CD-ROM. Suitable optical storage discs are Scotch.RTM. Laser Videodiscs manufactured by 3M Corporation. Industrial videodisc players which are designed for allowing sequential or random access of 54,000 individual video frames or the playback of 30 minutes of full-motion on a single disc, include model LD-6200 manufactured by Pioneer Communications of America, Inc. The LD-6200 has the extensive capabilities of the IEEE-488 parallel interface port which is particularly well suited for multiple player control with a single external computer. Multiple laserdisc players controlled from a single external computer offer a flexible configuration allowing simultaneous access from numerous users with system expansion a factor of customer demand. To increase the enhancement of still-frame video presentation, audio compression technology is utilized. Still-frame decoder technology which allows 30 seconds of audio compression in an individual video frame is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,332, Television Compressed Audio. This technology increases the optical disc data sources communicative capacity with audio compression and is available in model VAC-300 manufactured by EECO, Inc. Although several alternative transmission technologies exist, it is assumed that cable television operating companies can provide one of the most reliable, high quality audio-visual transmission networks. Cable television transmission of selected audio-visual segments can be achieved by multiple means including addressable video signal encryption configured at the cable head end and downloaded to a decoder at the home terminal for program descrambling. The customer activates the audio-visual presentations by dialing the keypad 276 requesting access to the system through the telephone network 280 to the data processing center 201. A voice response system 221 at the data processing center accepts the customer's inquiries and audibly answers questions from its voice synthesis storage. Customer requests for audio-visual presentations are relayed from the voice response system to the central processor 222, which selects the appropriate data sources for transmission to the local cable television company 210 and routed via the cable network 281 to the customer's terminal 202. The customer upon viewing the presentation, which includes a menu, selects from the displayed menu on the video screen his next selection which is then entered on the keypad and is transmitted to the central data processing center for assembly of the requested informational segment to be routed to the sales and information terminal. This circuitous sequence continues until the customer; decides to abort access, is terminated due to preset time allotments or purchases a product or service. If he decides to order a service or product he would then enter his purchase and payment by either an account identification or credit card number on the telephone keypad 276, which would be authorized upon verification of the customer's credit worthiness by a credit information service or the central data processing center. Upon acceptance of the customer's order, the central data processing center would transmit to the customer's station a confirmation number and order fulfillment information which is displayed on the video screen. Customer orders for goods or services are then transmitted to the provider 204 for order fulfillment. The interfacing of the various components of the system described above is done according to standard practices well known to those skilled in the electronic arts. The data processing center 201, includes a central processing unit 222 and memory 223. The memory 223 stores graphical program information, management of the audiovisual sources and textual information on prices of products and services acquired from the providers, which are periodically updated from the terminals 204 of the various companies, and information on customer requests and orders which can be accessed periodically by the respective providers. The processing unit 222 operates in response to program instructions for performance of product and service calculations in response to customer information and orders received from any of the stations, to send audio-visual product and service data to the respective stations, to receive credit account numbers from the stations and access the credit reporting terminal for credit approval or disapproval of a particular account. If a customer places a purchase order from a station after credit is approved, the data processing unit stores the information and sends a confirmation to the terminal. The various programs for executing the operations of the sales and information terminal and the data processing center computer 222 are of a `menu-type` and can best be understood with reference to the flow diagrams of FIGS. 13 through 16. FIGS. 13 and 14 show the sequence of operations executed at the sales and information terminal 202 and FIGS. 15 and 16 show the operations performed by the data processing center's computer 222 for the on-line and off-line processing and communications with the providers. The sequence of operations basically comprises the following steps: (1) The customer activates the system by entering a sequence of numbers, on the keypad device, which are transmitted to the data processing center; (2) A voice response system at the data processing center acknowledges customer's inquiry, verifies his authenticity and interrogates the customer to determine the desired services; (3) The voice response system transmits the customer's requests to the central processor; (4) The central processor selects the appropriate data storage sources and transmits the audio-visual information to the customer's local cable television company communication links; (5) Requested information and menus are relayed through the cable channel and displayed on the CRT video screen; (6) If the customer wishes to purchase a product or service he proceeds with the payment protocol as displayed on the CRT and enters the form of payment, on the keypad, which is then transmitted to the data processing center; (7) Upon authorization of payment, a confirmation message is transmitted from the data processing center to the sales and information station's video display monitor; (8) Upon completion of customer access the system disconnects; (9) The data processing center stores the information on products or services sold; (10) At the end of every day, the data processing center transmits information on the daily sales activities for each provider to the appropriate files of the Telenet.RTM. computer; (11) The sales information for each provider can be accessed from its terminal linked to the Telenet.RTM. computer. At the same time, the service providers can transmit updates on prices and products to their system account at the Telenet.RTM. computer. These steps will now be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 13 to 16. Referring now to FIG. 13, each sales and information terminal will be in an inactive state with system activation initiated by the customer entering a number on the keypad 276 and requesting access to services 224 from the data processing center 201. If access is available through an open line, the customer logs on 225 and begins a synthesized speech dialogue with a voice response system 226. For example, the voice response system may ask, "Are you interested in connecting to our shopping service?", "If yes, please press key #3" or "Do you have a question about a previous order?", "If yes, please press key #4." The audio interaction verifies the customer's identification 227 and determines their geographic location for routing of requested presentations. The dialogue also determines if emergency access 232 to the system is required. The customer responds to the questions by entering his answers on the keypad 276. If a customer is unable to dialogue with the voice response system, he may enter a specific key for communication with a human operator 228. The human operator would assist the customer with questions, emergency access or selections of program material. If the human operator is unable to provide assistance, he thanks the customer 229 and the communication would cease 230. If data sources are available for access 231, the voice response system begins a transmission of signals to the central processor 222, for selection of data sources. If the customer has an emergency 232 the voice response system activates a priority mode to the central processor and begins an immediate routing of presentation of an emergency menu display 233, on the customer's video display screen. An important aspect of the present invention is its ability to transmit emergency life-saving instructions to consumers. For example, a mother whose young child has just ingested poison or received a serious cut could access the system, state that an emergency has occurred and the system would interrupt any current user on conflicting transmission links and begin presentation of emergency first-aid medical information. Simultaneously the system would alert medical authorities or personnel as to the injury. In many instances, audio-visual medical emergency procedures can serve critical needs during the first few minutes of injury, drowning or heart attack. Consumers would have instantaneous access to a comprehensive first-aid `assistant` in the form of audio-visual presentations specifically addressing medical needs in their home or office. The menu display 233 presents a series of selections in which choices are available to navigate through the numerous decision-making branches of possible interactions. The main menu 233 presents the general categories of products and services which are available such as: retail, travel, financial and grocery. The interactive sequence of customer-selected information displayed on the television receiver is continuous and a typical audio-visual presentation would include choices accompanied with numbers which correspond to the keypad 276 of the telephone or similar control device. For example, key #5 would be--repeat, key #6 would be--return to main menu, key #7 would be--new selection and so forth. The customer would then be able to enter on his controller device the next desired sequence of information. The customer can quickly locate a specific product or service by defining his selections through the menu. For example, if the customer is interested in lamps he would begin with a retail display menu 234. The customer would then select from the second frame, home furnishings 235 and from the third frame of home furnishings the customer would select lamps 236. Therefore, within three consecutive interactions the customer commences evaluation of various lamp features. The current price of the lamp and other transitory information is stored in the data sources 223 and by use of an overlay, this timely textual information is superimposed and displayed simultaneously, with the prerecorded audio-visual presentations. Therefore at all times current price and product availability are maintained by the central data processing center 201 and presented to the customer. If the customer encounters any problems in operating the system he or she can enter a specific command on the control device to communicate with a human operator for assistance. Referring now to FIG. 14, during the selected presentations the menu also displays a numbered key for entry on the control device for an order of a product or service 240. Product ordering menu questions would include; quantity, color, sizes and styles. If the customer decides he doesn't wish to continue or order products or services he is offered a final greeting 241, and the system access is disconnected 251. Once the customer has completed his selection 243 the data processing center tabulates the orders and other relevant information and transmits the desired purchase summary to the sales and information terminal 244. The menu asks the customer 245 if the ordered items are correct? Assuming the customer proceeds with the purchase, he would examine the listed items textually displayed on the monitor's screen and either accept or correct the list. If incorrect, the customer would continue the interactive menu sequence or contact the human operator for assistance 228. When the customer has completed his selections he would proceed to the payment process menu 246. This menu explains the various forms of payment, typically the customer has an established account number on file 247. The customer would enter a PIN (Personal Identification Number), credit card number 248 or other suitable payment data manually on the keypad. Once the payment data has been obtained by the central data processing center a payment verification procedure is initiated, as will be described in more detail below in connection with FIG. 15. The procedure results in either rejection or acceptance of payment and corresponding data is transmitted from the data processing center to the terminal and displayed on the television screen. If payment is rejected, the customer can either insert additional payment information 248 on the keypad or call the customer service for assistance 228. If payment is accepted, 249 the customer receives a confirmation number that is displayed on the television and is asked to enter any additional delivery information, such as a person or address that is to receive the product or service ordered or a specific time of the day for delivery. The customer is then thanked, the dial-up line to the data processing center 201 is disconnected, and the terminal communication to the data processing center returns to an inactive state 224. The sequence of operations conducted by the data processing center 201 performing product and service selections, executing credit checks and issuing sales confirmations will now be described with reference to the flow diagram parts, shown in FIG. 15. When the data processing center receives a product or service request B from one of the sales and information stations 202, it first determines the type of product or service required 252. The central processor 222 then locates the appropriate graphical and/or textual information for that product from its transitory and audio-visual data sources for assembly and transmission to the selected communications company 254 and subsequently to the terminal 255. Upon receipt of payment verification request C from a terminal 256, the data processing center locates the customer's account file 257 from its memory or transmits the account number to the credit information terminal 258. The results of the verification process 259 are received by the processing center and relayed to the terminal. If payment is rejected, the customer is notified at the terminal 260. If payment is accepted, a product or service information record 261 is created at the data processing center and the customer is notified at the sales and information terminal 262. After the data processing center has processed D the product payment 263, it issues a confirmation at the terminal and the product or service information file is updated with the name and address of the customer 264. The product or service confirmation is transmitted to the terminal for acceptance by the customer 265. The data processing center 201 performs a number of programmed off-line operations at periodic intervals, as illustrated by the flow diagram in FIG. 16. The product and service information files stored in the memory are updated daily. The data processing center routinely performs a series of daily activity status reports E. The daily reports include a sales activity report 263 listing all sales and service transactions for the particular day's processing, payment verification reports 264 listing all payments verified by company number sequence, and audit trail reports 265 listing all sales for a particular company or geographic regions, customer profiles and other marketing information. A sales data file 266 is created for all sales transacted for each company in that particular day's processing. This file is forwarded to the appropriate service provider's computer terminal 204 via Telenet.RTM. to be entered in their automated billing system. The data processing center dials a central computer such as the Telenet.RTM. computer 205 to which all the service provider company's terminals are linked, logs-on to the appropriate account for each company, and transmits the appropriate daily reports and sales data files to each company's specific Telenet.RTM. account. The product or service provider can then retrieve the information in its account at its pleasure by dialing the Telenet.RTM. computer from its own computer terminal 204, to process and complete order fulfillment. The data processing center also performs monthly processing programs F, these routines 267 consist of valuable sales data compilation which includes a payment verification report listing all payments verified for a given company during that month 268 and a sales activity report listing all sales processed for a specific company for a particular month 269. These reports are transmitted to the relevant account numbers of the Telenet.RTM. computer for subsequent retrieval by the respective companies and the daily reports. Data requests G can also be made by the individual service providers via their terminals 204 and the Telenet.RTM. computer 270. When a service provider wants a certain program to be performed, a memo is sent from the company's terminal to the specific Telenet.RTM. account number for the data processing center, stating which report is to be processed. The reports G which can be requested in this way are the sales analysis reports 271 and reports for each type of product or service for a specific company. The sales reports allow each company to update its price rates and product availability in the system as necessary. The sales analysis reports can provide listings by company, product type, date, and time of day. Therefore service providers can obtain valuable market research and analyze their advertising and sales promotion for specific products. Programs H are provided for maintaining current product and service prices stored by the data processing center. The prices are updated by checking the rate files for each company's product line offered 272. Utility programs are maintained for all product and service providers 273. The system of this invention allows a customer convenient access to numerous products and service providers in a variety of industries and allows the customer to make a selection and purchase products on a self-service or operator-assisted basis. All the necessary operations of obtaining information, checking credit and transmitting information to the respective companies are performed automatically. Significant savings in time and money will be realized for both the consumer and companies that will potentially result in more sales and increases in productivity because thousands of consumers will have greater accessibility to the service providers in their homes. The general public will benefit from direct marketing communication channels with manufacturers and monetary savings will be realized as traditional retail product sales overhead is reduced. It will be clear that this system may be applied to many other types of customer service and sales industries. Some examples are the educational industry, many types of governmental services, and the medical and health industries. * * * * * File A Patent Application
Lawmaker working to get rid of speed cameras POSTED: 5:51 PM Feb 15 2013 A local lawmaker is leading an effort to get rid of some area speed cameras, but Bluff City officials say the cameras have likely saved lives. Representative Timothy Hill has brought a bill to the state capitol in hopes of getting rid of the speed cameras in Piney Flats. "We have a city that has come along and they've corridor annexed an area that has no governing body and said their traffic is high enough to support the activity of these cameras. Unfortunately the people in Piney Flats don't really have a voice whether or not to remove these or not," said Hill. Bluff City manager Judy Dulaney says nearly 30,000 vehicles drive on 11-E in Piney Flats and only one percent of the people driving ever get cited. She also says 90 percent of the first-time offenders never get another ticket. "It's doing its job. It was put there for safety and no other reason," said Dulaney. "People have slowed down. We've worked less wrecks than we ever have through there," said Greg Depew, Chief of Police. Representative Hill tells us he's not buying it and believes it has to do with money. "I know that the majority of what is discussed seems to have little to do with safety and more to do with the money they generate," said Hill. Dulaney tells us they only generate 18 percent of their funds through the cameras and she expects that number to continue to drop; but the money they do gain, Dulaney says goes back into the community. "Because of the extra revenue we were able to put it back into the town and be able to give more to non-profits," she said. Another issue Hill brings up: he says cameras should not replace police officers. "There is no comparison. There's no training a camera that takes photos with a flashing light. The officer is well trained, they're good at what they do," said Hill. However, Depew says he only has eight officers in his department and they can't monitor just one roadway. "We have different calls we're on or other highways to patrol or different duties we're doing," he said. "If those cameras are taken away, it will turn back into the dangerous area that it is," said Dulaney. Dulaney told us that if the cameras are taken away and replaced with officers, the speeding citations will go from $50 to $123.50. As of now, the bill still sits in the transportation sub-committee.
Livingstone aides 'broke rules on poll campaigns' Former adviser to the London Mayor sparks a row by claiming he raised large sums for the 2004 election while being paid by the taxpayer A former key adviser to Ken Livingstone today tells how he and others breached the strict rules governing political campaigning, including raising money from donors for the Mayor of London's election campaign. The claims have prompted a ferocious rebuttal from the mayor's office, which yesterday described Atma Singh, 47, Livingstone's policy adviser on Asian affairs between 2001 and 2007, as an 'embittered ex-employee' who was 'removed' from his job. Initially an enthusiastic supporter of Livingstone, Singh - who last year accepted an out-of-court settlement after alleging that he was the victim of racist bullying while working at the Greater London Authority (GLA) - has decided to speak out in a forthcoming Channel 4 Dispatches programme. He had become concerned at what he claimed was the mayor's lack of accountability. In his first newspaper interview, Singh told The Observer he was one of around 20 key advisers to Livingstone employed by the GLA, the strategic body that helps the mayor and elected members of the London assembly to carry out their duties. Even though his salary was paid for by the taxpayer, Singh said that he, like many of the advisers, raised large sums of money for Livingstone's successful 2004 re-election bid in breach of local government rules barring the authority's employees from working on political campaigns during office hours. Emails seen by The Observer also show how Livingstone's office asked several of the advisers to draft responses to questions raised during the election campaign - another apparent breach of electoral guidelines. Singh said he personally raised more than £50,000 for Livingstone's 2004 mayoral campaign by targeting wealthy Asian donors when he was employed by the taxpayer to give the mayor policy advice. 'During the election I did what every-body else was expected to do, which was raise money for Ken,' Singh said. 'I vigorously pursued that [approach] from all the main Asian donors.' The mayor's office said policy advisers were allowed to campaign during their free time, but Singh said most of the work had been done in office hours, and the advisers had used the GLA's offices at City Hall to hold campaign meetings. Asked why he did not question at the time whether his fundraising might have been in breach of local government rules on campaigning, Singh said: 'There was an atmosphere, it was more about loyalty. It was almost impossible not to do these things. All the policy advisers were in Ken's gift. People were clear they were not doing their jobs unless they could show they were being loyal.' Dispatches alleges that the mayor's office spent more than £14,000 of taxpayers' money running a public relations campaign to stop the head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips, from becoming the chair of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The revelation has prompted calls for a public inquiry, but the GLA has said that, as an elected politician, Livingstone is allowed to take a position on such matters. The programme also examines Livingstone's relationship with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the changing role of the congestion charge and expenses run up by the mayor on a trip to India. But Singh's allegations are likely to provoke the most controversy, coming after the recent funding rows that has rocked the Labour party. Singh claimed the GLA's advice on election campaigning for officials had been vague, making it hard for them to know where they stood if they did not want to raise funds for the mayor. 'If people had been given clear guidelines, they would have been given strong opportunities not to do it [raise funds],' Singh said. Despite initially being a close ally of Livingstone, Singh said he grew disillusioned with life at City Hall. 'Ken's a much weaker man now,' Singh said. 'He's less committed to equal opportunities and he's not such a strong defender of the poor. London has become the city of the wealthy; it's unhealthy.' However, a GLA statement accused Singh of making 'unfounded allegations' about senior officials in the mayor's office. It said: 'Atma Singh was removed from his job for failure to discharge his duties, most seriously in failures to meet requests for assistance from the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorism Unit. This person is an embittered ex-employee who refuses to accept that this record of disregard for London's security makes it impossible for him to work for the mayor and Greater London Authority, which was why he was asked to leave for reasons that are self-evident.' Singh strenuously denied failing in his duties, saying he had paid the price for refusing requests from the police to meet extremist Muslim groups that he believed were perpetuating terrorist ideology. Last year Singh accepted £20,000 in an out-of-court settlement from the GLA after alleging he had been subject to racism and bullying because of his reluctance to meet with the Islamist groups. He said he was a 'neutral' in terms of political allegiances and that, prior to talking to Dispatches, he had approached senior politicians at the GLA and a government minister to raise his concerns, but nothing had been done. 'The scrutiny of the mayor is very weak,' Singh said. 'The mayor is making executive decisions that are without parallel. Similarly, the mayor's advisers aren't accountable to anyone. One of the most common things I heard [while at City Hall] is assembly members saying, "We don't have any power in the GLA. The checks and balances in London are missing".'
HOME > Chowhound > Greater Boston Area > Symphony Hall Area Meals • a I have two occasions where I will be attending events at Symphony Hall-one a Sunday afternoon and the other a Friday evening. I am looking for places for chowhoundish meals before those events. There is no limitations in cuisine or price (though the higher the price the longer the meal at least in my experience) Also any suggestions for after the Friday night concert would be appreciated. Thanks 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. Taste of India on Hunt. Ave. just got a good review in the Calendar. I always like Dixie Kitchen on Mass Ave. It's usually not jammed with Symphony people like Betty's Noodle place is, which is fair. There's always Bangkok on Mass Ave. for dependable Thai food. Has anyone been to Stars on Huntington? That's a step up from the other restaurants mentioned. 6 Replies 1. re: Joanie I have been to Stars several times and love it. It is basicaly dressed up diner food - but done really well. They dare to serve homemade tater Tots - gotta love it. I have never had a bad meal there, for brunch, lunch or dinner. 1. re: Howiecat I've eaten at Taste of India twice, and been very pleased. The flavors are very rich, and the portions are generous. Taste of Asia, slightly closer to the Hunt. Ave. entrance to Symphony Hall, is also very good. If you're in a hurry, they do a good pho, but the also have a full menu with both Chinese and Vietnamese specialties. 1. re: peregrine Avoid Tiger Lily on Westland at all costs. The food is terrible and overpriced. We've had the noodle dishes and the dim sum. The most frequently used adjectives have been gummy, gluey, and salty. Betty's Wok & Noodle is adaquate, and Tiger Lily is several notches down from BWND. 1. re: Lindsay B. There is a new Thai place RIGHT next door to Tiger Lily, on Westland, which is great. Unfortunately, i can't find my receipt, and can't remember the name to save my life...It is in the spot that used to be a bare-bones Thai place, now they've upgraded, and we found the food really spicy and enjoyable, and reasonable(!) before "Betty's Summer Vacation". 1. re: galleygirl The Thai place galleygirl mentioned is called Pan Thai. I've eaten there twice. So far, I've found that the curries and stir fries outshine the noodle dishes. The vegetables are fresh and the sauces are flavorful. I recommend the green curry with eggplant and green beans. Unfortunately the tempura tastes like it came from a food court. The batter is heavy and chalky-tasting. The Pad Thai is thoroughly lackluster as well. The noodles were mushy and the sauce was greasy and overly sweet. 1. re: Lindsay B. Hmm, well we DID just have stir-fries..They were very fresh and tastey,perhaps "great" was a little too strong a word to use....I just get excited whenever I find anything decent in that immediate area, because I'm always running late, and never have time to squeeze in dinner anyplace not in the neighborhood..Thanks for the name.... 2. r Roejimmy (formerly Matt) South End Galleria is three blocks over and three blocks up from Symphony Hall on Columbus Avenue. They have great chow. It is owned by the same women who owned Galleria Italiana, and they have a late night menu as well if you decide to eat after Symphony. 1 Reply 1. re: Roejimmy (formerly Matt) Find any excuse to go to South End Galleria. The menu is inventive and changing; the staff and owners friendly and efficient. For bread pudding fans, hurry on down for their particularly lucious version with turkish figs. 2. I finally tried Bangkok City on Mass Ave. It's now my new favorite for Thai food in Boston and I have to recommend it if you love Thai. Make sure to ask for the "other" menu featuring Northern and Central Thai dishes (not Lotus of Siam but great nonetheless!). I'm addicted to the cold spicy glass thread salad with plenty of cilantro, lime, and ground chicken and shrimp. The duck curry is the best I've had. 1. w Win (Boston) Brasserie Jo in the Collonande Hotel is nearby. It is one of my favorites. They do a lot of Symphony business. Ideal for light appetizers or a completre meal. Not cheap, but a real value in terms of quality. Link: http://colonnadehotel.com/hotels/colo... Image: http://www.colonnadehotel.com/hotelsi...
Related topics Software seer shows companies path to cheaper databases DBSeer cuts through clouds with predictive database performance model The DBSeer predictive modeling method, described in two academic papers authored by researchers at MIT and Microsoft, gives companies a way to model the ins and outs of their particular database so they can save on data center infrastructure and avoid downtime. The DBSeer modeling method helps administrators spot DB problems without having to manually test out different configurations of the database under different load environments, the researchers write (PDF). Its creators hope DBSeer can deal with the main shortcoming of running a database-as-a-service in an on-premise virtualized environment, which is that the isolation of compute power, per-VM billing, and the lack of information about the particulars of the underlying infrastructure makes tuning a database in the private cloud "more challenging than in conventional deployments." "You can now answer many questions about your database that were previously only answered through 'try it and find out for yourself'," the lead author of the papers, Barzan Mozafari, tells The Register via email. "Now in many cases we can predict what will happen without actually trying those configurations out. This can dramatically reduce the cost of testing and deploying your database configuration." So far, the researchers have created an implementation of DBSeer that can help model performance for transactional MySQL workloads, but they believe it can be extended to other databases as well. The system has proved so efficient that it has already piqued the interest of Teradata, which has tasked several of its engineers with the job of porting the DBSeer algorithm to its own software. The system works by observing query-level logs and the OS statistics generated by a live database management system. "It's a non-intrusive approach, i.e. it doesn't require modifying the database engine," Mozafari says. "It simply observes the load that comes into the database and the performance and resource consumption of the database and tries to understand the relationship between the two." This allows DBSeer to model the CPU, RAM, network, disk I/O, and number of acquired locks per table, for various MySQL configurations. To test the algorithm, the researchers generated 20 mixtures of the transaction processing performance council (TPC-C) benchmark with different ratios of transaction types. The average error rates of DBSeer's predictions ranged between 0 and 25 percent, with its I/O model performing best, with an average margin of error of 1 percent. With a variance that low, we can see why Teradata would be interested in porting the technology to work with its own. The researchers are due to deliver a further paper (draft PDF here) at the SIGMOD conference in June in New York, which will give further information on how to apply DBSeer to performance and resource modeling in highly-concurrent OLTP workloads. The researchers hope that DBSeer can be extended to still other databases, including NoSQL ones. "Row-store (NoSQL) ones are much simpler to model/predict because they are more linear (due to lack of locking) than a traditional transactional DB," Mozafari says. If technologies like DBSeer are adopted, companies will be able to automate some of the tasks done by DBAs and make sure they're not provisioning more hardware for their databases than they actually need. What has got El Reg's database desk all a-flutter is the thought of DBSeer being integrated into an off-premise rentable cloud, like, say, Amazon Web Services. This would give database developers a technology that could give them real anticipated I/O performance for an off-site database, and go some way toward solving the numerous reliability concerns people have over running a database in the cloud. ® Sponsored: 5 critical considerations for enterprise cloud backup
Sports Trivia >> Golf Trivia Golf Trivia Questions 1) What professional golfer has won the most majors?   A: Tiger Woods B: Jack Nicklaus C: Ben Hogan D: Gary Player 2) Who of the following golfers has never won a PGA Championship?   A: Arnold Palmer B: Gary Player C: Phil Mickelson D: John Daly 3. What Major golf tournament schedules it's final round on the 2nd Sunday in April every year at the Augusta National Golf Club.   A: The US Open B: The British Open C: The Masters D: The PGA Championship sports trivia golf swing Copyright © 2007 | Back to homepage for Sports Trivia
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether police must get a search warrant before forcing a drunken driving suspect to have blood drawn, accepting a case that will shape privacy rights on the road. The justices said they would hear Missouri's contention that the Constitution doesn't require police to take the time to get judicial approval given how quickly alcohol dissipates in the bloodstream. The Missouri Supreme Court disagreed, saying officers typically must seek a warrant. That decision “actually requires police officers to stand by and allow the best, most probative evidence to be destroyed during a drunk-driving investigation,” Missouri argued in its appeal. Lower courts are divided on the question. The case might have widespread day-to-day implications. More than 1.4 million people are arrested each year in the United States for driving under the influence, according to FBI statistics. San Antonio, which implemented its “no refusal” program in 2008 with the District Attorney's Office, has always included a search warrant as part of the blood draw process. That was one of the major hurdles to getting it implemented on a full-time basis two years ago, First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg said. “We had to train patrol officers ... to draft a search warrant,” Herberg said. The Texas Legislature has allowed for blood draws without a search warrant for intoxication manslaughter cases, third-time DWI offenses or intoxication assault cases in which someone has been sent to the hospital. But that's different from the “exigent circumstances doctrine” — the idea that evidence needs to be collected immediately to avoid its destruction — that Missouri is arguing, Herberg said. Tyler McNeely, the defendant in the case, was pulled over for speeding in 2010 by a state highway patrolman in southeast Missouri and refused to take a breath test after failing field sobriety tests. The officer took McNeely to a nearby medical laboratory, where a technician drew blood over his objection. McNeely's lawyers say the Supreme Court shouldn't categorically exempt drunken driving cases from the normal rule that police must get a warrant for intrusive bodily searches. “While every drunk-driving investigation will involve the eventual dissipation of a suspect's blood alcohol content, not every case will involve a risk of losing evidence of intoxication before search,” argued McNeely, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. Craig Kapitan contributed to this report from San Antonio.
An Unfinished Term Paper ‘I hate college,” Keith thought miserably. He had a term paper due in Intro to Space Plasma Physics tomorrow, and it was already midnight. ‘Not tomorrow anymore, and that’s what I get for making the idiot decision to major in Astrophysics,’ he grumbled to himself. ‘Three years of college so far, wasted if I don’t get this stupid paper done tonight.’ Sighing, he sat down at the computer and turned it on, waiting for it to boot. The machine was old, however, and took nearly five minutes just to start up, and during that time Keith heard his roommate, Adrian, walk into the apartment. ‘Of course, he took Aviation as his major, so he’s been out partying all night while I sat here trying to finish the homework for that stupid Optics class…’ Keith has long been jealous of his roommate, who, it seemed, never had any serious homework to do and was always out at parties hanging out with people from around school. No lonely nights for him, and no sitting up until 5am writing term papers, either. Keith cheerfully ignored that fact that he could have started writing the term paper last weekend, instead choosing to silently bash his roomie for having a good time. Engrossed in his silent litany of Adrian’s “faults” and busy waiting for the computer to boot, Keith jumped in surprise when Adrian wandered into his room. “Bit jumpy aren’t you? You know it’s midnight…” Adrian grinned. Keith rolled his eyes. “Hey. No, I didn’t notice.” “Term paper again?” Keith nodded silently. Adrian laughed and walked over to him, sitting down on the floor next to Keith’s chair. “You know what your problem is?” “I wasn’t aware I had a problem,” Keith growled, annoyed at the turn the conversation had just taken. “Yep, it’s a big one. Know what it is?” “Obviously not…” “You’re too tense, that’s your problem. Of course, you’re also an idiot for taking something like Astrophysics, but mainly you’re just too tense. You should go to more parties or something.” Keith, unhappy to hear his own thoughts repeated back to him, looked away bitterly. “I’m sorry, I’m just the geek who sits around doing homework all the time. I don’t get invited to parties.” Adrian laughed. “You would if anyone thought you’d go. Being a geek is part of your charm you know.” “I don’t have charm.” “Do too.” “Do – you know, this is just a stupid conversation. And anyway, you’re wrong, no one would ask me to go to a party.” “Bet you I can prove you wrong.” “I can!” “Whatever, go for it.” Keith was expecting to get hauled out of his chair and dragged off to a party somewhere; the term paper wasn’t going to get done anyway, so why not? He definitely wasn’t expecting for his roommate to stand up next to him, grab him by the back of the head, and pull him up into a full kiss on the mouth. For a split second, Keith could do nothing but sit there in shock. The shock, however, wore away as Adrian continued kissing him and showed no signs of intending to stop, and Keith melted into the soft sensation of Adrian’s warm lips upon his. Pulling Adrian’s body down closer, Keith shifted to allow their chests to touch, and their bodies molded together in that sensuous embrace. Lost on the passion of that kiss, Keith allowed the misty feeling of Adrian’s lips to envelop him, forgetting about everything else. He forgot that only moments ago he had been panicking at the thought that he wasn’t going to get his term paper finished. He forgot that for the past five years of his life he had tried obliterating any feelings like this, viciously crushing any desire for the same sex, and at the same time, unwittingly crushing any desire for any sort of happiness. Now, however, nothing mattered beyond the blissful sensation of Adrian’s tender lips against his own. Vaguely, as though from a great distance, Keith heard someone moaning and wondered in a small corner of his mind who it might be. It never occurred to him that it was himself. With a sigh of pleasure, the two of them separated, eyelashes brushing against each other as their eyes slowly opened. With their chests still pressed together, Keith could feel Adrian’s heart beating in time with his own, and a soft, wondering smile curved his lips. Adrian smiled back, taking a few slow, deep breaths. Then he tangled his fingers in Keith’s hair and pulled Keith’s lips to his again. Keith had time to suck in a quick breath before Adrian’s lips, now hard and burning with lust and desire, locked themselves to his. Then Adrian pulled back, for a second only, and kissed him again, showering Keith’s lips and face with rough kisses. Gasping in breaths between Adrian’s kisses, Keith began talking in a low voice. “Take me to bed with you.” Startled by Keith’s sudden boldness, Adrian drew back for a moment, gazing steadily at him. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” Keith nodded, determined. He was tired of letting his fears dictate the way he ran his life. He had hurt himself with unfeeling for long enough; this outbreak of passion made him feel more alive than he’d felt in years, and now that he’d had a taste of being alive, he wasn’t about to let it go. Adrian looked into his eyes for a minute longer, then smiled slowly, pleased by the determination and ardor that he saw there. Leaning forward to rest his chest against Keith’s again, he allowed his fingers to slide out of Keith’s hair and slowly, sensuously, down his back. He brought his lips up close to Keith’s ear and whispered softly. “I am going to give you a night like you’ve never had before.” Keith shivered with pleasure at the sensation of those long, slender fingers trailing slowly down his back, and Adrian smiled, drawing his hands around to the front to move firmly up Keith’s chest, slowly swirling his fingertips around Keith’s nipples. Keith groaned, fully aroused, and Adrian took the opportunity to kiss him again, slipping his tongue into Keith’s open mouth. Excited by the new sensation, Keith slipped his own tongue into Adrian’s mouth. Chuckling, Adrian began sucking and teasing Keith’s tongue, swirling his own tongue around it and alternately sucking and blowing on it. Keith moaned again, and Adrian shoved their hips together, pressing his pulsing cock into Keith’s groin and moaning himself as he felt Keith’s dick grind into him. Panting, Adrian pulled his mouth away from Keith’s again, still teasing his nipples with his fingertips. “Come on babe, let’s move this to the bedroom.” They both stood, shivering at the sudden cold after being pressed together for so long. Unwilling to have their bodies separated for even such a short time, Keith quickly stepped forward and crushed himself back against Adrian, wrapping his arms around him. Adrian allowed his hands to wander back to the other side of Keith’s body, grasping his tight ass and Adrian pulled him into another passionate kiss, suckling on his tongue. Completely engrossed in each other, their bodies, slick with sweat, sliding up against each other’s and erections grinding together, the short trip down the hall to Adrian’s bedroom took them several minutes. Once in the bedroom, Adrian broke off the kiss and shoved Keith away from him and onto the bed. Startled by the abrupt movement, but pleased to find himself sitting with his legs spread on the bed, he grinned mischievously up at Adrian, leaning back on one hand and using the other to stroke slowly down the length of his erection. Laughing at Keith’s brashness, Adrian stalked over, his own erect cock bouncing slightly with each step. Transfixed by the sight of that huge erection, Keith stopped paying attention long enough for Adrian to reach the bed and shove him flat onto his back. “Oh, you’re a gorgeous little tease, aren’t you babe?” Grinning again in agreement, Keith languidly moved one hand up to tangle in Adrian’s hair, wrapping hi s legs around him as Adrian lowered himself onto Keith’s body, kissing him again and running firm hands up and down Keith’s ches t, flicking his nipples lightly on each pass. With each flick Adrian ground his hips into Keith’s, and the combined assault soon had Keith moaning wildly and bucking up and down beneath Adrian’s body. Thrilled with Keith’s enthusiastic response, Adrian continued this until he sensed Keith coming to the brink of an orgasm, then pulled away until Keith moved slowly back from the brink. Keith sobbed at the sudden absence of Adrian’s body and opened his eyes, wondering what was wrong. Smiling gently, Adrian locked eyes with him and slowly lowered his mouth to Keith’s lips, lightly teasing them with his tongue as he watched Keith’s sea-green eyes flicker with pleasure. Smiling again, Adrian slowly moved down from Keith’s mouth, lapping lightly at the sweat that trickled down the groove of Keith’s chest. Pausing only to give each of Keith’s nipples a single, vicious lash with his tongue, actions that made Keith cry out and writhe in ecstasy, Adrian continued all the way down Keith’s body, stopping only when the length of Keith’s erection forced him to turn his head sideways to continue to its base. Stopping there, Adrian slowly lipped at the base of Keith’s cock, massaging his balls slowly and gently and Keith’s erection pulsed hotly beneath his mouth. Absorbing Keith’s moans of pleasure, Adrian slowly, torturously, moved his lips up Keith’s shaft until he reached the tip of his penis, already leaking pre-cum as Keith’s entire body arched in rapture. Focused entirely on Keith’s erection now, Adrian cupped his balls in his hands and devoted his attention to Keith’s throbbing cock, taking just the tip of it into his mouth and swirling his tongue slowly around it, enjoying the salty taste of Keith’s pre-cum. Adrian bobbed his head shallowly up and down for several minutes, delighting in the taste and fell of the cock pulsating in his mouth, and smiling around it as he heard Keith whimper for more. Happy to oblige his lover, Adrian allowed his mouth to slide down the length of Keith’s shaft, swallowing every inch of it. Keith’s whimpers quickly turned back into moans as Adrian pulled back and then slid his mouth down again, and again, picking up speed each time he repeated the action. Before long, Keith was pumping his hips in time with the pumping of Adrian’s mouth, and he felt himself quickly rising to the brink again. Adrian, feeling the tightening of Keith’s muscles and scrotum, didn’t pull away this time, instead rubbing at Keith’s balls and the base of his erection as he pumped his head up and down even faster. Keith came hard, shooting a thick load into Adrian’s mouth. Swallowing it all and licking up what little escaped onto his lips, Adrian continued pumping at Keith’s cock until all of his spurts had subsided. Saving the cum from those last spurts in his mouth, Adrian slid back up Keith’s body, parting his lips with his tongue and letting him get a small mouthful of himself, which they passed back and forth with their tongues before finally swallowing it all. Sighing with pleasure, Keith’s body went lax, until Adrian lowered his body back onto his and Keith realized that Adrian still had a massive erection. Laughing softly at the look of surprise on Keith’s face, Adrian murmured into his ear again. “I promised you a night like you’d never forget… That blow job certainly wasn’t all you’re getting from me tonight.” Keith gasped as Adrian brought his fingers down to rub slowly at Keith’s opening, and Adrian smiled at him again. “Time for some fun of a rougher sort, babe.” Sliding off of Keith, Adrian reached over to the end table next to the bed and pulled a bottle of lotion out of the top drawer. He lathered the lotion onto his stiff cock as Keith watched, open-mouthed, and then he indicated that Keith should roll over. “On all fours, babe.” Keith complied quickly, and Adrian, with lotion still slathered all over his hands and fingers, began rubbing around Keith’s opening with his fingers. After Keith relaxed a little bit, Adrian slid one well-lubricated finger up into his tight opening, smiling at Keith’s grunt and at the tightness of the hole. Adrian quickly slid a second finger into the hole to join the first, pressing them in and out and spreading them slightly to loosen up the opening. At first, Keith was merely uncomfortable and a bit sore at the intrusion; then Adrian’s fingers bumped up against his prostate. Gasping and jerking at the sudden shock of pleasure, Keith’s muscles tightened up with excitement and he pressed himself farther onto Adrian’s fingers. Adrian grinned at Keith’s eagerness and slipped his fingers out. Keith looked over his shoulder to glare at Adrian, but his frustration was short-lived as Adrian replaced his fingers with the tip of his cock, pressing it slowly inside. Keith shuddered with satisfaction as Adrian pumped his tip in and out of Keith’s opening, allowing some pre-cum to build up there. After doing this for a few moments, Adrian suddenly thrust his hips forward, letting the pre-cum lubricate the way as he slammed his entire cock deep into Keith’s ass. Keith cried out sharply in pain, and Adrian paused for a moment before continuing so that Keith could adjust. A moment was all he gave, however, and he quickly pulled out all the way to the tip again and then, like before, slammed his shaft into Keith, gripping Keith’s hips and jerking them back on his cock. Keith’s cry this time was mingled with pleasure as he noted the sensation of that burning, quivering shaft sliding through him and pounding in. Grinning at the pleasure in Keith’s voice, Adrian began thrusting rhythmically, unable to contain his own shouts of ecstasy as he pounded in. By this point, Keith was beyond feeling any pain, and he shouted in time with Adrian, gripping the headboard of the bed tightly and trying to shove himself back onto Adrian’s dick each time Adrian thrusted forward and jerked on his hips. Keith’s own cock was fully erect again, bouncing each time Adrian’s massive tool slammed into him. Adrian took one hand off of Keith’s hips, where bruises in the form of fingerprints were starting to form, and closed his fist around Keith’s cock, jacking it off in time with his own plunging dick. Blood rushing in their ears, the two could barely hear their own ecstatic shouts as Adrian fucked Keith as hard as he could. Keith was the first to cum, shooting his load all over Adrian’s pillows. The tightening of the muscles in his ass when he came set Adrian off, and he shot his load deep into Keith’s as they both collapsed onto the bed, their heads resting on the cum-covered pillows. Wrapping one leg around Keith, Adrian laid there with his cock still deep inside Keith’s ass, with cum leaking out around it and dribbling slowly onto the bedspread. Keith sighed, wriggling backwards as close as he could to Adrian, his hair sticking to his face as his own cum smeared across it. He hadn’t even gotten his breath back yet, but he already wished Adrian were hard again so that he could start ramming him again. Adrian, guessing where Keith’s thoughts lay, smiled and nibbled on his earlobe, reaching around him and teasing Keith’s nipples with his fingers. “Don’t worry babe,” he whispered, as his lips curved up into a soft smile. “We’ll do this again real soon.” Sighing contentedly, Keith relaxed against him, letting the fogginess of sleep overtake him. ‘I never did do that term paper…” To be continued… VN:F [1.9.22_1171] Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast) VN:F [1.9.22_1171] Rating: +1 (from 1 vote) No Responses to “An Unfinished Term Paper” 1. dirtygirl19 I want to hear more VA:F [1.9.22_1171] Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast) VA:F [1.9.22_1171] Rating: 0 (from 0 votes) Leave a Reply You must be logged in to post a comment.
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4.3 Thoughts by Position Below are some things to keep in mind when playing a specific position. Obviously, these kinds of things make more sense in the context of a game, so they take some practice to get used to. We can go over more detailed points of technique/more exhaustive situations elsewhere if there's any interest. in The Short Fielder: Depending on the circumstances, there are typically 4 places to put the short fielder: play as though you have four outfielders, all at the same depth (for batters who usually kill the ball); in the middle of the LF-CF-SS triangle (for a normal RHB tending to pull); in the middle of the RF-CF-2B triangle (for a similar LHB); or right behind the second-base bag, with the SS and 2B now freed up from having to cover the bag & able to play more in their holes (for batters who usually hit grounders, or when you really need the double-play). As such, the short-fielder gets to run around a lot as batters change.
Virtual Verduria Flaidish / Orthography * Flaidish vowel shift Pitfalls for English speakers Loanwords Inflectional morphology * Verbs Nouns Adjectives Numbers Derivational morphology * Nominalizers Adjectivizers Verbalizers Pronouns * Base forms S-O pronouns Fourth person Required vs. optional Reflexives Interrogatives and demonstratives Indefinite Verbal system * Definite and indefinite Ongoing Irrealis Habitual The infinitive The participle Syntax * NP order Articles Measure words Sentence order Focus Conjunctions Relative clauses Sentential subjects Comparatives and superlatives Questions Imperatives Directions * Basic prepositions The direction of time Separable verbs References * Conventional expressions Time and the calendar Names Example: Jeerio tries to find a job Example 2: The ʔubeer Introduction [To Index] Flaidish (flaidyx) is the language of the flaids, a Thinking Kind of obscure origins, occupying the island of Flora and neighboring islands, in the Mišicama Ocean north of Verduria. No other flaids are known on Almea, and Flaidish is an isolate, related to no other Almean language. It's been heavily influenced by Caďinor and Verdurian, which to a large extent supply its technical vocabulary, and by Kebreni. In modern times, as flaids have become a maritime trading nation, it has borrowed words from many human languages. It is not a particularly alien language— indeed, having experienced something very like the Great Vowel Shift, its orthography and phonology strongly reminiscent of English— but it has some unusual features: History: Our first historical references to the flaids date to over 3200 years ago, when we find them already living on Flora. Though friendly to humans, they have always discouraged any human settlement on their islands, and successfully resisted the few attempts (by Meťaiun, Caďinorians, and a few medieval kings) to conquer them. Sometime around Z.E. 2500 they adopted the Caďinorian alphabet to write Old Flaidish, though we have very few texts that old. Texts become more abundant during the Middle Flaidish period, 400-600 years ago; this is also the time of the vowel shift. Some differences between Middle Flaidish and the contemporary language: Dialects: The standard language described here is that of the capital, Syxesteer. The dialect of Ledley, on the southern coast, is distinctive; it's said to have a nasal twang. The dialect of the flaids of the smaller islands east of Flora (zermolaim, locally dzrmullein) is even more divergent. Phonology [To Index] Flaidish phonology, orthography, and phonological constraints are remarkably like those of English. The only Flaidish sound not present in standard English is the glottal stop ʔ. (It lacks several English sounds, however: the consonants th, sh, zh, ng as well as several vowels.) Stops are aspirated at the beginning of words; f and v are labiodental; t and d are alveolar; r is a single-tap trill; l tends to be dark at the end of a syllable. In the diagram, the consonants are identified by their transliterations (identical to IPA except of course for ch j y, which have their English values). The vowels are identified by IPA symbol; transliteration will be discussed below. Flaidish words cannot begin with a vowel. (Historically, this may not always have been true; it may have been that the initial glottal stop was a phonetic accompaniment to an initial vowel. It still frequently disappears in the morphology. However, the glottal stop can now occur medially or finally, and is best considered as a phoneme.) Stress: Flaidish words are normally stressed on the first syllable. Separable verbs may be stressed on the root instead; and some flaids pronounce recent Verdurian loanwords with the Verdurian stress. Orthography [To Index] Consonants [To Index] Flaidish uses the Caďinorian alphabet; the consonants are shown in red in the chart above. Flaidish uses three additional letters: In contexts where Unicode is not available, the glottal stop ʔ may be written 7. Vowels [To Index] The vowel system is best understood as containing five long and five short vowels, plus schwa. Spelling Sound Transliteration Spelling Sound Transliteration e aa = late æ a = ai = pat i ee = peer ɛ e = pet wI ii = quit I i = pit u oo = boot ɔ o = au = caught yu uu = pure ʋ u = cut The long vowels tend to have lax offglides, especially in stressed syllables; thus aa = [eI], ee = [iI], oo = [uʋ]. The basic spelling rule is that vowels are A single vowel followed by a single consonant is Final vowels are limited to: The schwa /ə/ is represented (y), or, as just noted, with final -a. Note that schwa can receive the stress, as in Syxesteer /'səks ɛs tir/ The semivowel /j/ only occurs before a vowel (when it's written y) or as part of the long vowel u. The Flaidish vowel shift [To Index] Based on the values of the Caďinorian letters, we can see that since the alphabet was adopted, the long vowels have all raised (except for the high vowels, which couldn't shift any higher and acquired an initial glide)— a movement very much like the English Great Vowel Shift. The major difference is in the high vowels. In English ū au (as in 'cow'), but the spelling system works like Flaidish: 'long u' is pronounced [ju], as in 'cute'. But Flaidish long ii becomes /wI/ and not /ay/ as in English. 'Twit' could be written (tiit) in Flaidish, or 'quit' as (kiit). For both high vowels, the Flaidish rule is that the vowel acquired an initial glide of the opposite backness. After r or l, long i is pronounced [əI]: riid 'fire' = [rəId], rather as in some Irish pronunciations of 'ride'; litor 'east of' = [ləItɔr]. (It's possible that this is not an innovation but a retention of an earlier stage of the Flaidish GVS. In the island dialects, [əI] for long i is found in most environments.) Good and bad news for English speakers [To Index] As a result of these processes, most native Flaidish words can be transliterated and read off as if they were English. Indeed, many Flaidish words look and sound exactly like English words, though the meanings are different— e.g. back, boor, dell, felt, jeer, kiss, lad, met, morn, moss, much, neck, sam, seer, tell, test. This is good and bad news: there aren't many new rules to learn, but on the other hand the similarity is partial, and one can go wrong assuming that 'it's all like English'. Loanwords [To Index] The flaids are great borrowers, and over half the lexicon is borrowed from Verdurian, Caďinor, Kebreni, Ismaîn, or other languages. The oldest strata of borrowings participated in Flaidish's Great Vowel Shift: berac 'glory' /bi ræk/ caimica 'unit of measure' /kæm wI kə/ corumaiʔa 'harmony' /kur ju mæ ʔə/ curenda 'festival' /kjur ɛn də/ kestora 'philosophy' /kɛs tur ə/ cammisidas 'orpiment' /kæm I swI dæs/ koodu 'riverboat' /ku dju/ lesteʔo 'restaurant' /lɛs ti ʔɔ/ murebuus 'fantastic' /mjur i bjus/ namary 'lead' /ne me rə/ plestura 'history' /plɛs tjur ə/ psuronda 'famine' /sju rɔn də/ scagantos 'vagina' /ske gæn tɔs/ tuma 'plague' /tju mə/ ʔaluatas 'grammar' /ʔe lju e tæs/ ʔeridas 'cinnabar' /ʔi rəI dæs/ More recent borrowings can be divided into ear and eye borrowings. The latter are borrowed with their original spelling, but pronounced by Flaidish rules: chëno 'axis' /či nɔ/ chupse 'miserly' /čʋp si/ ʔery 'map' /ʔi rə/ gorkrege 'ledger' /gɔr kri gi/ jyngu 'expenditures' /džən gju/ lagu 'income' /le gju/ lujura 'affection' /lju džjur ə/ nëron 'holy' /ni rɔn/ përnapa 'saltpetre' /pɛr ne pə/ plasy 'nerve' /ple sə/ pretäro 'valet' /pri te rɔ/ razumbre 'intelligent' /re zʋm bri/ satre 'sovereign' /sæt ri/ tiplüba 'wig' /tIp lju bə/ traze 'fancy' /tre zi/ Verduria /vɛr dju rIə/ zondre 'annual' /zɔn dri/ ʔaviza 'university' /ʔe vwI zə/ ʔeklura 'hedonism' /ɛk lju rə/ ʔelryn 'Ismaîn king' /ɛl rən/ Generally, Verdurian š ž ř ď are borrowed as ch j r d respectively, the " mark is borrowed but ignored, h is dropped, c and k are retained but both pronounced /k/, and initial vowels are supplied with a ʔ. Ear borrowings are borrowed by sound, with no attempt to retain the original spelling: chaiʔ 'tea' /čæʔ/ ← V. čai gettyt 'dice' /gɛt ət/ ← geteta kaijena 'mistress' /kæ dži nə/ ← kažžina nassechy 'pregnant' /næs i čə/ ← nasitse pauna 'butch lesbian' /pɔ nə/ ← pona sezzu 'dried meat' /sɛ zju/ ← sezu tauken 'have sex' /tɔ kən/ ← tocen tootannel 'newspaper /tu tæn ɛl/ ← tutanél bauru 'stink' /bɔ rju/ ← Keb. bauru cheernu 'deck' /čir nju/ ← cirnu kolesa 'fleet' /ku li sə/ ← kulisa lelly 'cute' /ləl ə/ ← lele memu 'fix things up' /mi mju/ ← mimu moonu 'news' /mu nju/ ←mohnu nemannick 'homosexual' /ni mæn Ik/ ← nemanec bauna 'beef' /bɔnə/ ←Is. bone /bɔnə/ cheesty 'Ismaîn guitar' /čis tə/ ← çis,te sudaddy 'Ismaîn robe' /sju dæ də/ ← sudâde chesse 'sugar cane' /čɛs i/ ← Nanese tsêsi kim 'rice' /kIm/ ← kim niira 'yam' /nwIr ə/ ← nyara sidrau 'soy sauce' /sId rɔ/ ← sidrɔu ʔerram 'jungle' /ʔɛr æm/ ← kheram ʔugau 'coffee' /ʔju gɔ/ ←yugakhau Whatever the age or source of the borrowing, the stress is placed on the first syllable. Inflectional morphology [To Index] Flaidish inflectional morphology is fairly simple; the usage is more difficult. For ease of exposition, I've discussed the forms only; the usage will be discussed below. Verbs [To Index] Verbs are not conjugated for person, number, or age; these things are expressed using pronouns. There are ten inflected forms for each verb, divided into four definite and four indefinite forms, plus two combining forms. For instance, here is the complete conjugation for groopen 'watch': groop watched simple past gropse watch ongoing gropno may watch irrealis ʔengroop always watches habitual gropt watched simple past gropte watch ongoing gropdo may watch irrealis ʔengropt always watches habitual Combining forms groppo watched participle groopen to watch infinitive Further distinctions are made using auxiliary verbs. Note that definite forms involve adding a -t- or -d-; this -t is etymologically the same as the objective case suffix. Simple past The root form of the verb is the indefinite simple past. The definite simple past is formed as follows: The indefinite ongoing tense is formed by adding -se (or -yse after ch or j). The last vowel of the root is shortened: medse, munkse, sachyse, dobse, forvadjyse, gropse, treckse, ʔaulse The definite form is formed by adding instead -te, or -de after a voiced stop (b d g j). The last vowel of the root is shortened: medde, munkte, sachte, dobde, forvajde, gropte, treckte, ʔaulte A few verbs have irregular ongoing forms: The indefinite irrealis is formed by adding -no. The last vowel of the root is shortened. medno, munkno, sachno, dobno, forvajno, gropno, treckno, ʔaulno The definite form is formed by adding instead -do. The last vowel of the root is shortened. meddo, munkdo, sachdo, dobdo, forvajdo, gropdo, treckdo, ʔauldo The habitual is formed by adding the prefix ʔen- to the simple past forms. Before a labial (p b m f v), add ʔem-). Definite: ʔemmeed, ʔemmunk, ʔensach, ʔendoob, ʔenforvadj, ʔengrop, ʔentreck, ʔenaull Indefinite: ʔemmeedet, ʔemmunket, ʔensachet, ʔendobd, ʔenforvajd, ʔengropt, ʔentreckt, ʔenault The infinitive (which doesn't have separate definite and indefinite forms) is formed by adding -en: meeden, munken, sachen, dooben, forvadjen, groopen, trecken, ʔaullen The participle (which doesn't have separate definite and indefinite forms) is formed by adding -po, or -bo after voiced b d g j; it also shortens the last syllable of the verb. medbo, munkpo, sachpo, dobbo, forvajbo, groppo, treckpo, ʔaulpo Nouns [To Index] Nouns are inflected by number (singular and plural) and case (subject, object, and possessive). The normal plural is -er: feejer heads, laumer dreams, leeber geese, ʔuuker holes If the word already ends in -r, use -en instead. booren wines, teeren cities, fivvoren brothers, gommeren stomachs If it ends in a vowel, add -r: surdenar facts Some other words (marked in the dictionary) also use -en, such as flaiden 'flaids'. The objective or accusative case is formed with the suffix -t: fivvort brother, ʔuukt hole, taut lake If the word ends in a dental stop or affricate (t d ch j), or m, or in two dissimilar consonants, the suffix becomes -et: feejet head, testet body, tolket oak, laimet tongue It applies after the plural suffix, if any; but -en + -t → -et: feejert heads, laumert dreams, ʔuukert holes teeret cities, fivvoret brothers The possessive or genitive case is formed with -ys: fivvorys brother's, ʔe flaidys a flaid's If the word ends in a vowel, the suffix is -m: Jeeriom Jeerio's, Floram Flora's The suffix can be added after the plural: feejerys heads', fivvorenys brothers', flaidenys flaids' The objective suffix can be added after the possessive; note that -m + -t = -nd: fivvoryst brother's, flaidenyst flaids', Jeeriond Jeerio's Adjectives [To Index] Adjectives have two inflected forms: Numbers [To Index] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 digit ʔy lin fell gory back liffel sam liggory ʔecker fiich tens fiich miffich reffich goreck baffich liffleck sammich liggoreck ʔeckbonner bonner ordinals morn lint felt goreet backet lifflet sammet liggoreet ʔeckret fichet Two-digit numbers are formed on the model unit-en tens: 23 = fellen miffich, 74 = goreen sammich, 96 = liffelen ʔeckbonner. The first two teens are worn down: 11 = ʔymfich, 12 = limfich. Three- and four-digit numbers follow the model hundreds bonner units: 123 bonner fellen miffich 497 gory bonner samen ʔeckbonner 1000 fiich bonner 2374 fellen miffich bonner goreen sammich 3480 goreen reffich bonner liggoreck Six-digit numbers work the same way, using the word tragg '10,000': 512374 ʔeen baffich tragg fellen miffich bonner goreen sammich The Verdurian borrowing perun '1,000,000' fits into this scheme; migga '1000', from Kebreni, is also sometimes used. A number of the form 10X, 1000X, etc. places the units to the far left: 108 liggoreen bonner 10001 ʔeen tragg To form ordinals for numbers higher than 10, add -et to the last number: linen miffichet '22nd'; fiich bonneret 'thousandth'. (If the number word ends in a digit, use that digit's ordinal form: 203rd = lin bonner felt.) The suffix -em is used for fractions (fellem 1/3, samem 1/7, fiichem 1/10), with the exception of 1/2, which gets its own word, ʔobb. 1/4 has worn down to greem. Negative numbers are formed with som 'without', also borrowed from Verdurian: som lin -2, som ʔeckeren goreck -49. Mathematical notation is identical to Verdurian. In a sense it's read in Verdurian too, but rather indirectly. The Kebreni borrowed the arithmetic operations from Verdurian, translating the expressions literally. The flaids then borrowed them from Kebreni, borrowing the Kebreni words (in some cases, taking Kebreni case suffixes as the names of the operators). Native Translation Addition 2 + 2 = 4 Verdurian ďun er ďun eu par. "two and two are four" Kebreni kur eh'c kur zaru hak "two and two exist four" Flaidish lin ʔej lin zaru gory "two plus two equals four" Subtraction 5 - 2 = 3 Verdurian pan sam ďunán eu ďin "five without two are three" Kebreni amma kur fuuste zaru dam "five without two are three" Flaidish back fuuste lin zaru fell "five minus two equals three" Multiplication 2 x 4 = 8 Verdurian ftore par e žoc "second four is eight" Kebreni kureh'te hak zaru midam "second four is eight" Flaidish lin ʔateʔ gory zaru liggory "two times four equals eight" Division 10 / 5 = 2 Verdurian decë panëe e ďun "tenth 1/5 is two" Kebreni krameh'te amimnu zaru kur "tenth 1/5 is two" Flaidish fiich ʔateʔ back nu zaru lin "ten times five reciprocal equals two" Derivational morphology [To Index] Suffixes often shorten the root vowel. Nominalizers [To Index] -iʔ nominalizes many simple verbs: sach eat → sachiʔ meal taax meet → taaxiʔ meeting bul share → buliʔ An archaic nominalizer, no longer productive, is -z (which usually absorbs the last consonant of the root): gaad hoard → gaaz wealth geel wear → geez pants feel → prooz emotion neev name → neez guilt -mot (from lexical moot 'way') names an abstract quality: feck dark → feckmot darkness kiss small → kissmot smallness ʔy one → ʔymot unity riil child → rilmot childhood tood know → todmot knowledge -chet (from cheet 'stuff') names substances: sach eat → satchet food maat sell → matchet wares fool ear → foolchet earwax yaich clench → yaitchet astringent -att is found in many Verdurian borrowings, but also with native words: cepple virginal → cepplatt virginity yuun type → yunatt class ʔirran Irrean → ʔirranatt Irreanism -el is someone or something that does an action, or exemplifies an adjective. (Final t → ʔ.) prid divide → priddel coin sack bristle → sackel beard ʔeldoob discard → ʔeldoobel garbage lott idiotic → loʔʔel idiot gaaz wealth → gaazel rich man, noble -mo is used for an object exemplifying an action or quality: mard stay → marmo pudding zeer alone → zermo island lin two → limmo pair -ick can be used the same way, and is also used to name inhabitants of a place: yatt fun → yattick game choon float → chonick boat noller huge → nollerick giant Syxesteer → Syxesterick Ismahi → ʔismaiʔick -mory is used for buildings: koos drink → kosmory tavern lilo spice → lilomory grocery suut bake → sutmory bakery ʔibro book → ʔibromory library, bookstore -ril (from riil 'child') is used for offspring: flaid → flaidril human → luukril human child tem cow/bull → tembrick calf -bit (from biit 'study') names a field of study (replacing -viso in Verdurian borrowings): mell good → mellbit morality meclibit chemistry ʔedolobit geometry -(i)o forms diminutives, and by extension personal names: kess knife → kessio dagger laum dream → laumo daydream noov grow → novio fruit jeer fat → Jeerio wise → Buxo -che forms nicknames for children as well as female personal names: cheen beautiful → Cheenche dark → Feckche nell sweet → Nellche Adjectivizers [To Index] The most common adjectivizer is -ick: flaid → flaidick flaidish storm → floomick stormy juur convention → jurick conventional meed sleep → meedick sleepy pich dirt → pichick dirty The possessive case can also be used adjectivally: ʔanys mot 'a mother's love'. A particular use of -ick is to form an adjective relating to a place (verdurick); we have already seen this usage as a nominalizer. Other common adjectivizers are -eck and -it: nool big → nolleck biggish gen be true → geneck true ʔev year → ʔeveck yearly feck dark → feckit black miif hunger → miffit hungry nell sweet → nellit nice -er is used as an intensifier: nool big → noller enormous lana girl → laner virginal treck awaken → trecker alert ʔell away → ʔeller far ro- (Verdurian řo; but pronounced [ru]) is used with loanwords as a negative: lediseroledise abnormal namerickronamerick unintentional volemerovoleme unwilling Reduplication with change of the initial consonant (usually to ch-, j- or g-) has a deprecative meaning: traze fancy → traze-chaze rococo, outta control jurick conventional → jurick-gurick square, uptight laner maidenly → laner-janer princessy, butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth nëron holy → nëron-chëron sanctimonious, holier-than-thou ʔulle friendly → ʔulle-gulle glad-handing, unctuous Verbalizers [To Index] There are many doublets of words, where the noun has a voiceless final and the verb a voiced one. This process is no longer productive. biit study → biid joot place → jood be located mot love → mod noof growth → noov grow vrick wound → vrig hole → ʔuug drill Old Flaidish had a causative, formed by raising the root vowel and infixing -n- after it. It's no longer productive, but it's left a large number of doublets, some of them modified in meaning. daat intend → dont decide sit → dunn set, put faach cling → fench tie foot go → funt expel geel wear → giln wrap geet burn → gint kindle kreck stand → krink excite koon seek → kund send koos drink → kunz water laat fall → lent drop lad see → lend show mard remain → mend leave moog yield → munk work sach eat → sench corrode seek lie → sink pack tood know → tund proclaim treck awaken → trink warn toor bend → tunn crumple vaur wait → veʔn delay vooj be immersed → vunj submerge yaul listen → yeln inform yest rise → yint raise zaat graze → zent drive ʔoz get → ʔunz furnish Another archaic verbalizer is -gim, applied to nouns, and meaning to use the object. It often absorbs the final consonant of the root. fool ear → folgim heed knife → keggim stab brain → koggim figure out foot → laggim walk paix market → paggim shop runn eye → rungim spot zeem finger → zeggim point See also the section on separable verbs. Pronouns [To Index] Flaidish personal pronouns are notable for being marked not by gender but by age. There are separate forms to use for persons before and after the coming of age (vurickmod)— normally 23, but in (rare) cases where a flaid marries or inherits a title early, the adult pronouns are used. Base forms [To Index] The adult pronouns are as follows: sing pl 1 ʔok / va tack 2 se / ʔes seer 3 ne / ʔem yau 4 na / nar yet The adult singular pronouns have separate object forms, as shown. The 4th person will be discussed below. The possessive is formed using the suffix -ry in the singular and -(y)m in the plural: sing pl 1 ʔokry takym 2 sery serym 3 nery yaum 4 nary yeʔm The childhood pronouns are as follows. The plurals are formed by reduplication. sing pl 1 fu fufu 2 ʔil ʔilil 3 le lele The child forms do not have separate object or possessive forms. Examples in this grammar use mostly adult pronouns; this is probably the best approach for the traveler or academic, but it should be noted that it's opposite the experience of the flaids themselves, who grow up using the child pronouns. Even adults sometimes use the child pronouns among themselves, in moments of deep emotion. Till flaids have children of their own, it can be said that they think of themselves with fu rather than ʔok. S-O pronouns [To Index] In adult speech, if there's a subject and object pronoun, the latter cliticizes to the former. This is an exception to the normal SVO order of Flaidish. The S-O cluster precedes the verb (and indeed, generally nothing else can be inserted between the pronouns and the verb). Neva much. He/she kissed me. Seʔem yeln. You told him/her. Yautack modse. They love us. Neʔes geetno. It might burn you. ʔoxeer grop. I watched you all. Seeryau kroog. You all broke them. A medial ʔ drops out after a consonant: tackes lad 'we saw you'. Also note ʔok + seer = ʔoxeer. When speaking to children, or when children speak, pronouns are not combined, and word order is usually SVO: Ne much va 'He/she kissed me'; ʔok lad ʔil 'I saw you!' Combination forms with child pronouns can be found when adults are speaking among themselves: Leva much 'He/she (a child) kissed me (an adult)'. Fourth person [To Index] The 'fourth person' in the tables provides an alternate pronoun for use when there is more than one third-person referent. Typically ne / yau are used for the first person or thing referred to, na / yet for the second. Cheenche1 muchet Jijot2. ʔok jamse ty ne1nar2 techyse. Zeckno, na2 zys lelly. Cheenche kissed Jijo. I think she likes him. Well, he is cute. Lesteʔo1 ʔydmunk Jeeriot2, frett yoven ne1 ziitse ty na2 zys loost. The restaurant hired Jeerio, but it will find that he is lazy. There are no fourth person forms among the child pronouns. Pronouns are 'reset' by explicitly stating a new topic. Compare two possible continuations of the last example. The first continues to use na for Jeerio; the second switches to ne for him because he has been restated as the topic. Na ʔemprott munken. He hates to work. Jeerio ne ʔemprott munken. Jeerio hates to work. Jocularly, flaids sometimes use a third alternate form no; it's rather as if, in enumerating people, we said "Him, her, and— er, hum." It has no object or possessive form. Deejo1, Jeerioʔen2 Cheenche3 yonse. Ne1 zys tuuch, na2 zys vecke, yoven no3 zys chuun. Deejo, Jeerio, and Cheenche are coming. The first is sad, the second is thin, and the third is ugly. Required and optional pronouns [To Index] First and second person pronouns are always required: ʔok modse ʔicetebitet. I love math. ʔil zys miffit? You're hungry? ʔokry ferick voss frintooden va. My wife doesn't understand me. Third person pronouns are optional if the antecedent is present, required otherwise. Thus 'It burned' is Ne geet, while 'The fire burned' can be either Riidet geet or Riidet ne geet. If just one 3p antecedent is present, one can either omit it, or use the S-O cluster anyway: ʔok(em) passette ʔokry nellerick. I'm visiting my sweetheart. ʔokry ʔan neʔes voss techpo. ʔokry ʔan voss techpo ʔes. My mother doesn't like you. Ne(nar) eldoobd smettet. He threw out the trash. When speaking to children, it's usual to include the third person pronouns no matter what. Reflexives [To Index] Flaidish doesn't have a reflexive pronoun; instead it simply combines the corresponding subject and object pronouns. The plural forms lose their final consonant. sing pl 1 ʔokva tatack 2 seʔes seseer 3 neʔem yayau 4 nanar yeyet Note the difference between: Nenar moss. He washed him (someone else). Neʔem moss. He washed himself . Interrogative and demonstrative pronouns [To Index] mill who, what neck this / that one millick which neckit this / that miikor when neckor then miinit how much nennit that much mildoz what extent neddoz that extent ʔool what direction ninx that direction ʔollyd where (at) ninxyd there (at) ʔolor where (to) ninxor there (to) yauj why sood because ʔoj how nemot in that way The interrogatives are typically derivatives of mill 'who', the demonstratives, of neck 'this or that one'. The initial n- of the later is etymologically the same as that in the third person pronouns ne / na. The interrogative pronouns are used for questions only; relative clauses use the demonstratives instead. (See Syntax.) The demonstratives are unmarked in meaning between 'this' and 'that', 'here' and 'there', 'now' and 'then', etc. Rather, the direction adverbs are used to clarify such relationships. Usually vick 'nearby' is used for 'this', ʔell 'away' for 'that'; but any of the directions can be used. neck vick this one neck ʔell that one neck loll the one underneath neck dor the one outside ninx vick here ninx ʔell there neckit metch vick this country neckit max ʔell that rabbit neckit lana ʔut the girl right here (alongside) neckit bin ʔatyd ʔes the creepy guy behind you Indefinite pronouns [To Index] Indefinite pronouns are synthetic constructions in Flaidish, formed from a quantifier plus a demonstrative: vott none naak rare tim some liss any toob many, much toober too many chem other minden all vott neck no one, nothing tim neck someone, something chem neck another one minden neck everyone, everything vott ninx in no direction, nowhere chem neckor some other time naak neckor rarely, seldom liss nennit any amount tim nennoz to some extent toob kor many times, often However, there are separate lexemes for these time words: tinkor sometimes sauʔ never mingor always Verbal system [To Index] Definite and indefinite forms [To Index] The definite forms are used when the verb has a definite third-person object. That is, where English establishes the definiteness of an object via the article 'the', Flaidish uses a different verb form: ʔok much ʔy lanat. I kissed a girl. ʔok muchet lanat. I kissed the girl. Baub kroog ʔy chunt. The fool broke a bone. Baub krogd ʔokry chuntet! The fool broke my bone! First and second person objects take indefinite verbs: Neva much 'she kissed me', ʔokes lad 'I saw you'. As a general rule, you should use the definite forms where we would use a definite article ('the mule'), a possesive ('my mule'), or a proper name: ʔok modet Syxesteert 'I love Syxesteer'. Simple past [To Index] The unmarked form of the verb (and the citation form in the lexicon) is the past tense (scrifel); the flaids explain that the most frequent communicative act is to report that something has occurred. They also consider past actions to be the surest: the future is unknown, and the present is confused and in process— who knows how it will turn out? The sure meaning of the past tense is that the action is no longer going on; auxiliaries are needed if it's desired to specify whether the event was completed. Ne laum for chonicker. He dreamed (or, was dreaming) about boats. Sery fivvor meed ʔator dell. Your brother slept until noon. If an event started in the past and extends to the present, we usually use the past perfect, and Flaidish uses the simple past: ʔok lack sittyd Syxesteer back ʔever. I've lived in Syxesteer for five years. Ongoing [To Index] Flaids call this the nonpast tense (roscrifel); it's used for either present or future events. It normally corresponds to our present progressive. Tack laumse. We are dreaming. ʔokry lan ladmerse ʔy ʔibrot. My daughter is reading a book. ʔok gropte Jeeriot. I'm watching Jeerio. Ne ladmerte ʔibrot. She is reading the book. ʔok zys meedick. I'm tired. Neet zyt lana. This is the girl. It's also used for basic statements about the future, including declarations of intent. Tack fotse for Syxesteer. We're going to Syxesteer. ʔok medse vur ʔatnap. I'm sleeping all day tomorrow. Irrealis [To Index] The basic meaning of the irrealis tense (epesec) is uncertainty, and its simplest use is for present or past events the speaker cannot vouch for. Yau belopno geppt. Perhaps they fixed (or, are fixing) a machine. Yau belopdo geppt. Perhaps they fixed (or, are fixing) the machine. Yau zeno nollericken. They might be giants. Tootannel foryeffdo surdenart. (I hear) the newspaper sniffed out the facts. Mill todse neckor ty ne ʔyssno? Who knows when it will rain? A special usage is for examples or hypothetical instances: Maichert ʔokyet voss techpo. ʔy maich riikno. I don't like cats. A cat can scratch you. Here the switch from the habitual to the irrealis indicates that the speaker is now imagining a specific but fictional instance of a cat scratching, as opposed to a general fact about cats (cf. maicher ʔenriik, cats scratch). The irrealis is also used for wishes and desires. The conjunction ty introduces the clause (the desire or wish), unless the subjects are the same. Ne meert ty seva ʔadno ʔy feej maxt. he wanted that you-me give-IRR one head rabbit-ACC He wanted you to give me a rabbit. ʔok mertse ty seva ʔaddo maxt. I want you to give me the rabbit. ʔok dont taxno sery ʔant. I've decided to meet your mother. ʔok mertse treckno! I want to wake up! What one doesn't know uses the irrealis; what one does know uses the appropriate realis form. ʔok voss todbo ty okry ferick zeno voleme. I don't know if my wife is ready. ʔok todse ty jenu zys voleme. I know that the carriage is ready. Habitual [To Index] The basic implication of the habitual tense (mingrick) is that a situation is always the case. It is thus appropriate for 'timeless' things that are always true, for which we'd generally use the present tense. Flora ʔenze ʔy zermo. Flora is an island. ʔokry fivvor ʔensach. My brother is always eating. With verbs of attribution like ze 'be' or lach 'appear', the habitual describes an inherent state or permanent nature, while the past or ongoing tenses refer to temporary conditions; the distinction is similar to that between ser and estar in Spanish. Habitual: Sery keem ʔenze borpo. Your friend is a drunkard (all the time). Ongoing: Sery keem zys borpo. Your friend is drunk (now). By extension, the habitual is used for repeated events and habits, even if the period of repetition isn't eternal. Again, we normally use our present tense for this. ʔok ʔenladmert tootannelt. I read the newspaper. In a past narrative, the habitual implies that the event was repeated or generally true, even if it's not any longer. Sery ʔott ʔemmod kerter. Your father loved gardens. The infinitive [To Index] The infinitive (ʔislaunë) looks suspiciously like the conjunction -en, and historically that's what it is. The development is clearest if we look at expressions like these, which have parallels in English: Bin footet zecken ʔy tantelt. creep go-DEF tell-INF a teacher-ACC The creep went and told a teacher. Beloopel yont beloopen triffmot. repairman came-DEF fix-INF loom-ACC The repairman came and fixed the loom. In early Flaidish we see expressions like footent zeck. When the first verb was inflected, it was easier and just as proper to add the clitic to the second verb, e.g. irrealis footno zeckent. Till a few centuries ago either verb could receive the -en in the simple past; but now it's only correct to add it to the second verb. The flaids have devised a large number of conjunctive verbs. First, here are some common expressions with the second element free (meemen 'do' stands for any verb). foot meemen went and did did X (conveys firm intent, rashness, or regret) yon meemen came and did did X (for the speaker's benefit or at his/her place) kreck meemen stood and did did X (stubbornly, foolishly, or without compassion) mard meemen stayed and did did X (which took longer than expected) lad meemen saw and did did X (conveys clear understanding and resoluteness) siit meemen rushed and did did X (hurriedly or without preparation) vaav meemen jumped and did did X (immediately, without thinking) munk meemen worked and did did X (very thoroughly or laboriously), Xed out domm meemen sat and did was doing X, was in the process of doing X gedfoot meemen   advanced and did   kept on doing X ʔeem meemen finished and did finished doing X; did X completely keez meemen began and did started to do X proom meemen stopped and did stopped doing X mauk meemen could and did could do X, was able to X tood meemen knew and did knew how to do X tech meemen liked and did liked to X Some examples: ʔokry lan ʔeemt ladmeren ʔibrot. my daughter finish-DEF read-INF book-ACC My daughter read the book. (Perfective, emphasizing that she finished it.) ʔy madder ʔemmauk naaven. a bird can-HAB fly-INF A bird can fly. There are infinitive expressions with both verbs fixed, and an idiomatic meaning. Flaids are fond of combinations that will seem redundant to us, though at the very least there is an intensive effect. yon vissen came and carried brought foot vissen went and carried took foot ʔozen went and got acquired (from elsewhere), fetched yon ʔozen came and got acquired (from here), took away fiit ʔozen paid and got bought kuld ʔozen sent and got sent away for yaul sittozen heard and accepted believed fost sachen cooked and ate consumed mer jamen considered and thought   reflected a long time taat ladmeren   opened and read read with great attention lop ʔozen stole and got shamelessly stole ʔoz tarten got and held took firm hold of, grabbed If the first verb is inflected, the second is not: yon vissen brought simple past yonse vissen is bringing ongoing yonno vissen may bring irrealis ʔenyon vissen   always brings   habitual yonpo vissen brought participle yonen vissen to bring infinitive The participle [To Index] The participle (mevdonec) is used after the negative and passive auxiliaries. The negative auxiliary von is used to negate a sentence: Riil von techpo toosert. child not like-PART egg-PL-ACC The child didn't like eggs. Se vont mosspo sery crettert. you not-DEF wash-PART your hand-PL-ACC You didn't wash your hands. If the negated verb was itself inflected, its inflections migrate to von: ʔy zermo zys ʔy chonick. → ʔy zermo voss zepo ʔy chonick. An island is (→ not) a boat. ʔedolobit tromno tack. → ʔedolobit vonno trompo tack. Geometry might (→ not) hurt us. ʔokry fivvor ʔensach yart. → ʔokry fivvor ʔemvon sachpo yart. My brother is (→ not) always eating fish. Sentences with other negative words don't need von: ʔok sauʔ jatet lanat. I never touched the girl. Vott flaid ʔenze ʔy zermo, frett yoven Flora ʔenze. No flaid is an island, but Flora is. Flaidish also has a positive auxiliary gen, whose usage is exactly parallel to von. It can be used to emphasize the truth of a sentence: ʔice ʔengen zepo rogeddick! math yes-HAB be-PART difficult Math is hard! Sery chonick gen lolvojpo. Your boat did sink. The passive auxiliary baaʔ (which is simply the verb 'suffer') works the same way. Note that the agent, if present, is expressed in the genitive. Katch sachet beckat. → Becka baaʔ sachpo (katchys). duck ate-DEF frog-ACC → frog suffered eat-PART duck-GEN The duck ate the frog. → The frog was eaten (by the duck). Flaiden techyse sidrau. → Sidrau baʔse techpo (flaidenys). Flaids like soy sauce. → Soy sauce is liked (by flaids). Notice the double participle in a negative passive sentence: ʔedolobit von baʔpo tantpo. Geometry wasn't taught. The verb ʔoz 'get' can replace baaʔ, for a more colloquial feel. Loʔʔel ʔoz getpo. The idiot got himself hurt. Conditionals are expressed with an auxiliary verb, gaar, followed by the participle. Se gaar fostpo garchet, ʔok fotse for ʔy lesteʔo. you if cook-PART catfish-ACC I go-ONG toward a restaurant If you cooked catfish, I'm going to a restaurant. Be careful not to follow English tense usage here; our conditionals use tense in a very different way. A good rule of thumb is: use the tenses that would be appropriate if the verb were an assertion rather than a conditional— e.g., compare: Se fost garchet, sooden ʔok fotse for ʔy lesteʔo. You cooked catfish, so I'm going to a restaurant. Here are some samples using various tenses: Se garse kospo, se medse zeer. you if-ONG drink-PART, you sleep-ONG alone If you're drinking, you'll sleep alone. (ongoing) Se ʔengaar techpo luckit satchet, Pickapo ninx ʔenjinn ʔy verdurick lesteʔo. you if-HAB like-PART human food, Pickapo there have-HAB a Verdurian restaurant If you like human food, there's a Verdurian restaurant in Pickapo. (habitual) The irrealis is used when the consequent would be doubtful even if the condition were true: Se garse raulmertpo ʔy porrt, se ʔozno ʔy nellericket. you if-ONG wish-PART a cup-ACC, you get-IRR a sweetheart-ACC If you wish upon a cup, you just might get a sweetheart. (irrealis) Another use of the participle is as a resultative. In this construction, the participle follows the object of the sentence and indicates its final state. Note the diversity in the English glosses: Ne sitviitet lanat latpo. s/he push-DEF girl-ACC fall-PART He pushed the girl, who fell down. Booz mard dor rontpo. wheat stay out spoil-PART The wheat stayed outside and spoiled. Tack fostte veezt plorpo. we heat-ONG water-ACC boil-PART We're cooking the water to boiling. Rusom veert mattrinelt bojbo. thug beat-DEF shopkeeper-ACC kill-PART The thug beat the shopkeeper to death. In an extension of this construction, the object of the main verb can be the subject of the resultative, which has an object of its own. This pivot construction can be seen as a transformation which raises the subject and changes the tense of the verb in the subclause: Leebche kundet [nery lan ʔozt grettet] → Leebche kundet nery lant ʔozpo grettet. Leebche sent-DEF [her daughter get-DEF wood-ACC] → Leebche sent-DEF her daughter-ACC get-PART wood-ACC Leebche sent [her daughter fetched wood] → Leebche sent her daughter to fetch wood. The initial examples, in fact, can be seen as pivot constructions where the verb in the subclause has no underlying object. Causative expressions work the same way: Jijo ne dunnt [ʔok lentet yartet] → Jijo neva dunnt lentpo yartet! Jijo he set-DEF [I drop-DEF fish-ACC] → Jijo he-me set-DEF drop-PART fish-ACC Jijo made [I dropped the fish] → Jijo made me drop the fish! If the subclause is intransitive, its subject can be raised instead: Jijo ne dunnt [lanar kalt] → Jijo neyet dunnt kaltpo lanart! Jijo he set-DEF [girl-PL cry] → Jijo he-them set-DEF cry-PART girl-PL-ACC Jijo made [the girls cried] → Jijo made the girls cry. Dative expressions are essentially resultatives in Flaidish. Where English uses a single verb with two objects ("give that man / a fish"), Flaidish uses two verbs, each with a single object ("give the fish, the man gets it"). Veen soon maat yartet ʔozpo ʔelfootelt. old woman sold fish-ACC got-PART traveler-ACC The old woman sold the traveler a fish. Either object can cliticize with the subject pronoun, but not both; the excess pronoun follows the participle: Jeerio neva ʔaad vedpo nar. Jeerio he-me gave take-PART it-ACC Jeerio nenar ʔaad vedpo va. Jeerio he-it gave take-PART I-ACC Jeerio gave it to me. Syntax [To Index] Noun phrase order [To Index] Noun phrases work rather like English: numbers and articles first, then adjectives or genitives, then nouns, then prepositional phrases and relative clauses. ʔy ferick a wife lin fericker two wives sery ferick your wife ʔy veen ferick an old wife vickelys ferick the neighbor's wife ferick sittyd nery trin a wife in her house ferick neck ʔok vautet the wife I married Articles [To Index] An indefinite form (required only in the singular) is formed with ʔy: ʔy fivvor 'a brother', ʔy ʔuuk 'a hole', ʔy tau 'a lake'. Measure words [To Index] With what we might call 'merchandise'— exchangeable physical objects or animals— numbers cannot be used directly, but must be used with a measure word. This concept tends to be difficult for English (or Verdurian) speakers, so let's ease into it by considering expressions where English also requires a measure word: lin porr kimys two cups of rice lin maig kimys two grains of rice lin meche kimys two bags of rice You can never say just "*two rice" or *lin kim; you must insert a measure word so it's clear what you're counting. In English, only mass nouns require measure words; count nouns do not. Mass nouns are, as the name implies, seen as an undifferentiated mass which can't be directly counted— it has to be divided into countable containers. The distinction seems obvious to us, but it can be confusing to a foreigner: why are "peas" countable while "corn" isn't? Most animals are count nouns, but they can be treated as mass nouns as well: lin feej temys two head of cattle lin limmo temys two brace of oxen lin nen baunam two pounds of beef In Mandarin, almost all nouns are mass nouns. Even people must be counted with a measure word: liǎng ge lǎoshī 'two teachers.' Flaidish is in between: most physical objects are mass nouns which can only be counted with measure words. The best general description of this class is indeed 'merchandise': anything that can be bought or sold, from food to animals to manufactures. In more detail: Mass nouns Count nouns Domestic and game animals, including fish Non-game animals (except honeybees) Manufactured objects Buildings, cities, canals, walls Parts, tools, components Features of a thing (e.g. 'scratch', 'protuberance', 'bottom') Paper, physical books, paintings, sculptures Ideas, titles, melodies, characters Real estate Geographic features Oil, wax, butter, wood, gems, liquids, and other natural or mined commodities Body parts, waste, garbage Astronomical bodies; aspects of weather People (flaids, other species, spiritual beings) Containers and measures As the examples indicate, measurements like nen 'pound' or cremo 'hand', as well as containers like porr 'cup', meche 'bag', tarmo 'shelf', or kaux 'wagon', are valid measure words. Others depend on the type of object: novel 'growth' entire plants novio 'plantlet' fruits, flowers neer 'berry' berries, nuts, beans, grapes, and fruits of a similar size maig 'grain' cereals, other items that come in small discrete units, like sand kriv 'bunch' grouped plants or vegetables (e.g. leeks, carrots, grapes); arrows vaal 'leaf' leaves (e.g of laurel); paper, documents valer 'folio' bunches of leaves; magazines, books tex 'trunk' beams, other large rod-like objects feej 'head' animals; large round vegetables saʔ 'mouth' jars, pots, cups, buckets, and other open containers test 'body' clothing, armor; meals, rooms, or other items sold per person; hides limmo 'pair' animals, shoes, candles, scissors, horns— anything that comes in pairs tarj 'object' boxes, or blocky objects in general semm 'cake' pastry, meat; cushions, pillows lammo   'flat' plates, tiles, planks, other flat thin things zuss 'blade' weapons flit 'stick' pens, reeds, needles, other small rod-like objects gepp 'machine'   machines, instruments trock 'frame' doors, windows, furniture, vehicles lurmo 'coil' coils of rope or wire; rolls; wreaths tratt 'pile' anything that can be stacked The same word will appear with multiple measure words. This is not really different from English; it's simply that there is a default measure in English— what we consider single items— while in Flaidish the measure must always be given: lin neer bornerys two grapes lin kriv bornerys two bunches of grapes lin tarj bornerys two boxes of grapes back vaal dainam five sheets of paper back valer dainam five sheaves of paper back lurmo dainam five rolls of paper fell flit niilys three arrows fell kriv niilys three quivers of arrows gory lammo chenam four plates gory test chenam four place settings gory tratt chenam four stacks of plates Neither the measure nor the merchandise is pluralized; and the merchandise appears in the genitive. Either can be modified: lin nool semm legdalachte munizelys two large most elegant cakes Measure words can be used with quantifiers, too. This usage is optional and difficult for outsiders to define; it's fair to say that it makes the expression more precise and more commercial-sounding. You definitely want to use the measure word if the quantifier is being used in lieu of a more precise count ("Some of the doors still need painting"); you don't need them if you're making a general statement and don't care about quantities ("Some doors lead to wonderful stories"). vott valer ʔibrom no books tim zuss bellackys some swords minden trock temmom all the windows If the same type of object is referred to multiple times, it's the object rather than the measure word which is omitted: ʔok mertse fell noviot loomam yoven Jeerio lin noviot. I want-ONG three meas-ACC apple-GEN then-AND Jeerio two meas-ACC I want three apples and Jeerio wants two. Se ʔenmauk jinnen liffel noviot dretor ladick riigu. you can-HAB have-INF six meas-ACC across same price You can have six (apples) for the same price. As seen here, the measure word and not the merchandise takes accusative endings. Foreigners are not really expected to master the measure words; it's always safe to use feej 'head' for animals and tarj 'object' for everything else. Sentence order [To Index] Unmarked sentence order is SVO; but the S-O pronouns and explicit accusative allow for almost any order. Riil leʔem doobd smettet ʔator frej. The child threw the trash behind a bush. → Riil smettet leʔem doobd ʔator frej. → Smettet ʔator frej riil leʔem doobd. → Smettet leʔem doobd ʔator frej riil. → ʔator frej leʔem doobd riil smettet. → Leʔem doobd ʔator frej smettet riil. The S-O pronoun leʔem is optional (since both referents are present), but if present must directly precede the verb. It's preferred not to begin a sentence with a verb, however, so the pronoun would almost always appear in the last variant above. Focus [To Index] A better way to describe Flaidish sentence order, however, is Topic Verb Comment. That is, the topic (the known information, what you're talking about) comes first, followed by the verbal complex (including SO pronouns and infinitive or participle constructions), followed by the comment (the new information). The topic need not be a constituent of the sentence at all. In such cases it can be taken as locating the following statement in space or time, or limiting its applicability, or simply setting the scene. The best way to grasp the feature may be to study a set of examples. Note that some of the English glosses work much like the Flaidish, simply stating the topic; but in other cases we use an introductory prepositional phrase or other syntactical construction. Ledley ne zys nellit teer. Ledley, it's a nice city. ʔeedvocker ʔok ʔentech geddyd ty ʔenzoop grettet. Winters, I like to buy wood rather than chop it. Sooner se zys legcheen. Among women, you are the most beautiful. Limmo zeer yau keez muchen. Once the couple were alone, they started kissing. ʔuveremot ne geel ʔy dalachte sudaddy. As for clothes, she wore an elegant Ismaîn dress. Luckit teeren Verduria zys kematt nellit. Among human cities, Verduria is pretty nice. ʔokry datmot ʔimlelel mornzitdo ʔokry ʔibrot. My aim is for a publisher to notice my book. Teer vick tack meerse gedfotno laggimen. The city being near, we want to keep walking. Conjunctions [To Index] Conjunctions use the clitic -en: feejen creter 'head and hands'; fecken floomick 'dark and stormy'. It can be added to either conjoint; the examples could equally be feej creteren and feck floomicken. For entire sentences, use yoven 'and then': Jeerio konse ʔy munkmot, yoven ne zitno ʔy rocurat. Jeerio is looking for a job, and he may find an adventure. Verbs can be conjoined by adding -en to the second verb, with no other inflections: sachyse koosen 'eats and drinks', sachno koosen 'may eat and drink'. This can be seen, of course, as another use for the infinitive. Where the verbs are separated by objects, adverbs, or other material, however, it's best to use yoven instead: ne sachyse ʔuss yoven kosse boor 'he's eating meat and drinking beer'. Add the adverb frett to convey the idea of 'but': meedicken frett deej 'tired but happy'. An alternative X or Y is expressed zyn X zyn Y: zyn razumbre zyn cheen '(either) intelligent or beautiful'. With entire sentences, use zynen: Se ʔenmauk koonen ʔy munkmot zynen se ʔenmauk koonen rocurart. You can look for a job or you can look for adventures. Relative clauses [To Index] Relative clauses use the demonstrative pronouns, not the interrogatives. flaid neck lopt ʔokry ferickt flaid the-one stole-DEF my wife-ACC the flaid who stole my wife — (literally) the flaid, the one who stole... bodde neck ʔokry ferick techte the recipe my wife likes — (literally) the recipe, the one my wife likes naap neckor caarau miip the day (when) the music died — (lit.) the day, at that time the music... teer ninxyd yatt sauʔ ʔemproom the city where the fun never stops — (lit.) the city, there the fun... These can be seen as deriving by a raising transformation: bodde [ʔokry ferick techte boddet] → bodde neck ʔokry ferick techte a recipe [my wife likes the recipe] → a recipe which my wife likes This explains why the verb in the subclause is definite. Before the transformation the subclause has a definite direct object (since it's a repetition of the head noun, "recipe" in this case). The verb is therefore definite, and this doesn't change when the sentence becomes a relative clause. Nonetheless, the head clause may be definite or indefinite within the main clause. For instance, the above phrase can be used, without change, in an indefinite and a definite sense: ʔok ʔenkoon boddet [neck ʔokry ferick techte]. I'm always looking for a recipe [that my wife likes]. ʔok ʔenkont boddet [neck ʔokry ferick techte]. I'm always looking for the recipe [that my wife likes]. Headless relative clauses are acceptable. Note that neckt is used when the headless clause serves as the object. Tack voss todbo [neckt boj mattrinelt]. We don't know [who killed the shopkeeper.] [Neck bitse ʔirranattet] ʔenze ʔy bux flaid. [Who studies Irreanism] is a wise flaid. It's a wise flaid who studies Irreanism. Since the indefinite pronouns are also based on the demonstratives, combinations of them would contain a repeated word. This is simply omitted; so "Someone who..." is tim neck..., not *tim neck neck; and "This one who..." is neck vick..., not *neck vick neck. (Another way of looking at these is that they are an extension of headless clauses.) [Liss neck todse Jeeriot] zeckse ty ne ʔenze loost. Anyone [who knows Jeerio] will say he is lazy. Sentences as subjects or objects [To Index] If an entire sentence is the object of a verb, it's preceded by ty 'that'. (English allows this conjunction to be omitted, but Flaidish does not.) ʔok gropse ladbo ty [se ʔenze syxesterick]. I watch-ONG see-PART that you be-HAB Syxesteer-ADJ I perceive (that) [you are from Syxesteer]. Like Verdurian, Flaidish allows ty clauses to be subjects, too. In English we normally cleft these to the end of the sentence, leaving an empty pronoun behind; this is possible in Flaidish, but not at all required. [Ty se ʔenze ʔy trazel] zys sooden ʔotinimache. [That you are a fop] is therefore probable. → Ne zys sooden ʔotinimache [ty se ʔenze ʔy trazel]. → It is therefore probable that [you are a fop]. If an entire sentence is the object of a preposition, ty is still required: ʔok vautse lanat, chord ty seʔem ʔemprott. I marry-ONG girl-ACC despite that you-her hate-HAB I will marry the girl, although you hate her. Comparatives and superlatives [To Index] A 'more than' comparison uses formula ʔabb (adj) ty (comparand), while 'less than' uses soom. Se zys ʔabb pansyr ty ʔy dex krazerys. you be-ONG more lovely that a field rose-PL-GEN You are more lovely than a field of roses. Sery ʔan zys soom ʔagasick ty ʔy trotmory gruʔerys. Your mother is more annoying than a barnful of owls. An equal comparison uses a relative clause with the demonstrative neddoz 'to that extent': Yart zys mell neddoz zys ʔy lesteʔom fish be-ONG good to-extent be-ONG a restaurant-GEN The fish is as good as a restaurant's. Ne voss zepo mell neddoz ʔok gedladse. It isn't as good as I remember. The comparison class of a superlative can be given in two ways: Questions [To Index] Yes/no questions Yes/no questions are formed in two ways. First, the sentence may begin with the interrogative particle jaaʔ: Jaaʔ mellbit ʔenromifa seobojiʔt? Does morality prohibit suicide? Second, and more colloquially, the tag question zynen voss (literally 'or not') can be appended to the end of the sentence: Lesteʔo nivse Jeeriot, zynen voss? Will the restaurant fire Jeerio? Although this has become a fixed expression which can always be used as is, careful writers are aware of the literal meaning and match the tense with the main verb, or use zynen gess ('or yes') if the main verb is negative: ʔubeer ze sittyd vickelit komm, zynen von? Was the ʔubeer in the next room? Lana voss zepo cepple, zynen gess? The girl isn't a virgin, is she? A yes/no question is answered gess 'it is' or voss 'it's not'. It's not necessary to reflect the tense of the main verb, but some writers choose to. To question a particular component, make it the focus: Jaaʔ sery ʔott ne techyse koosen ʔugaut ʔyd teen? Q your father (T) he like-ONG drink-INF coffee-ACC at night Is it your father who likes to drink coffee at night? Jaaʔ ʔugaut naʔem techyse koosen sery ʔott? Is it coffee your father likes to drink coffee at night? Jaaʔ ʔyd teen sery ʔott techyse koosen ʔugaut? Is it at night that your father likes to drink coffee? Other questions The interrogative particles tend to occur at the end of the sentence, since Flaidish sentences start with the topic, and the questioned element is by definition not known information. Neckit chendmorym fedjel zys mill? this temple's chief be-ONG who Who is the head priest in this temple? Ninx jys ʔibror raulyd fold vicken yauj? there be-ONG book-PL on-LOC floor near-EXT why Why are there books all over the floor? Luuker dorfotse miikor? When will the humans leave? Se ze ʔyd sammen fichet teen ʔollyd? you be at seven-AND ten-ORD night where Where were you on the night of the 1ʔth? Mill doesn't distinguish subject from object (you don't add the accusative -t). If another noun phrase is given, its case will make the role of the interrogative clear, even with different word orders— e.g. vajat below is in the accusative, so mill must be a subject. Ne kost mull vajat mill? Who drank the last bottle? Mull vajat kost mill? Lott bin veed mill? The stupid creep took what? When only pronouns are present, one must pay attention to the case forms. E.g. in the first example below, the S-O pronoun neʔes indicates a 3s subject. 2s object; since unknowns are always third person, mill is the subject. In the second example, seʔem is 2s subject, 3s object, so mill is the object. Neller, neʔes modse mill? Who loves you, babe? Neller, seʔem modse mill? Who do you love, babe? Imperatives [To Index] The simple past, probably because it is the shortest verb form, doubles as an imperative. The definite or indefinite form is used, as appropriate. These are about the only sentences in Flaidish without an explicit subject. Lentet bellackt! Drop the sword! Viss ʔugaut kospo va. Bring me some coffee. These sound rather peremptory to flaids. Flaidish offers a wide range of indirect imperatives, of varying degrees of politeness. One step above the ordinary imperative is to query about the possibility of an action: Jaaʔ ʔok maukse ʔozen ʔy porrt chaiʔys? Q I can-ONG get-AND one cup-ACC tea-GEN Could I get a cup of tea? Or the conditional is used, without a consequent: ʔok garse jimpo lin soochiot chezmom. I if-ONG have-PART two teaspoon-ACC sugar-GEN If I could have two spoons of sugar. Next, the irrealis can be used. On a literal level, one is merely stating a desire; one is pleasantly surprised if this is taken as a hint. ʔok dordejno ʔy pridmot kaanys, ʔejme. I enjoy-IRR one slice-ACC bread-GEN too I might enjoy a slice of bread, too. This by no means exhausts the possibilities; almost any indirect statement can hide a request. Directions and prepositions [To Index] Location, movement, and direction are expressed in Flaidish with a set of particles, which also are the basis of the prepositions. Basic prepositions [To Index] For reference, the basic (underived) prepositions are these: ʔyd at for toward, about frind with, using, in favor of chord  against, despite meet like, similar to som without Adverb [To Index] The unmarked form is an adverb, and can express either direction (sitt 'inward', raul 'upward', gedd 'forward') or a general location ('inside', 'on top', 'in front'). Locative [To Index] The suffix -yd (from ʔyd 'at') forms a locative preposition: sittyd podj 'in bed'; raulyd sery feej 'on your head', geddyd trin 'in front of the house'. The adverb/locative pair can be compared to English pairs like outside / outside of, or French hors / hors de. Allative [To Index] The suffix -or (from for 'toward') forms an allative preposition, expressing movement in the indicated direction, stopping at the position indicated by the locative: sittor podj 'into bed'; raulor sery feej 'onto your head'; geddor trint 'up to the house'. The locative/allative pair works like English on/onto, in/into, but in Flaidish this distinction is made for all locatives: you must distinguish between foot ʔator ʔy frej 'go behind a bush' (motion implied → allative) sneep ʔatyd ʔy frej 'hide behind a bush' (no motion → locative). Extensive [To Index] The suffix -en is used to form an extensive adverb, which can be glossed 'and further on in that direction'. Thus sitten 'further in', raulen 'farther upward', etc. This is often used with a locative phrase: ʔatyd trin ʔaten behind the house and on back sittyd groon sitten inside the forest and further in geddyd teer ʔellen in front of the city, extending away from it Ablative [To Index] Finally, (direction) ʔellor forms an ablative preposition, expressing movement away from the position indicated by the locative: sitt ʔellor podj 'from inside the bed'; raul ʔellor sery feej 'from on top of your head', 'off your head'; dret ʔellor teer 'from beyond the city'. List [To Index] Here's a list of the directions and associated locative and allative prepositions, with English equivalents. Direction Locative preposition Allative preposition ʔyd at for toward gedd forwards geddyd in front of geddor (moving) in front of ʔat backward ʔatyd behind, in back of ʔator to behind vuz back (returning) vuzor back to sitt inward, inside sittyd in, inside of sittor into dor outward, outside doryd outside of doror (moving) out of loll downward, underneath lollyd under, below lolor down into raul upward, up raulyd on, over raulor onto ʔut alongside ʔuttyd next to ʔutor (moving) next to dret across drettyd across, over dretor (moving) across vick nearby, close vickyd near, close to vickor (moving) near ʔell away ʔellyd away from ʔellor (moving) away from jirys centerward jirysyd in the center of jirysor to the center of fusys rightward fusysyd on the right of fusysor to the right of gerys leftward gerysyd on the left of gerysor to the left of baul north, left baulyd left or north of baulor to the north of tell south, right tellyd south or right of tellor to the south of liit east littyd east of litor to the east of mann west mannyd to the west of mannor to the west of The direction of time [To Index] The Flaidish metaphor for time is opposite ours. For the flaids, the past is forward; the future is behind. They explain this the same way they explain the unmarked past tense: the events we understand best and are most certain about are in the past; in effect we are always looking at them, facing them. And of course the future is behind us; it's unknown to us, we can't see it! The prepositions used for time reflect this, and thus often seem opposite to ours: e.g. where we'd say 'after noon' the flaids say ʔatyd dell 'behind noon'. 'Predict' is ʔatlad 'see backward', since the future is behind us! Similarly 'remember' is gedlad 'see forward'. Compare also ʔatnap 'tomorrow' vs. gednap 'yesterday'. Direction Locative preposition Allative preposition ʔyd at gedd earlier geddyd before, earlier than geddor since ʔat later ʔatyd after, later than ʔator until ʔok zeck gedd. I was speaking earlier Se treck ʔyd dell. You woke up at noon. Jeerio treck ʔatyd dell. Jeerio woke up after noon. ʔok sauʔ koos geddyd dell. I never drink before noon. Jeerio meed ʔator dell. Jeerio slept until noon. Ne kosse geddor ty ne treck. He's been drinking since he woke up. ʔok voss kospo ʔatyd dell ʔaten. I won't drink from this noon onward Mornsachiʔ ze geddyd dellsachiʔ. Breakfast was earlier than lunch. Separable verbs [To Index] The direction adverbs can be used to form verbs: foot go → gedfoot go forward, dorfoot leave, dretfoot cross, ʔelfoot go away, vuzfoot go back yon come → sichon enter, lolyon come down, raulyon come up, vuzyon come back doob throw → ʔeldoob discard, dretdoob throw across, vuzdoob throw back vaav jump → sitvaav jump in, dorvaav jump out, vuzvaav jump back dunn set → rauldunn set down veed take → ʔutveed pick up, sitveed take in If the adverb ends in a doubled consonant, it's reduced: ʔell + foot = ʔelfoot; sitt + vaav = sitvaav. The habitual of these verbs follows the pattern adverb + en + root: sittenyon 'always enters'; ʔatenfoot 'always returns'; dorenvaav 'always jumps out'. These verbs can be used as is; but the adverb can also be placed after the object, or even at the beginning or end of the sentence. Ne sichon dorfooten. He came in and went out. Neva dretdobd pulat. He threw the ball back to me. Neva dobd pulat dret. Dret neva dobd pulat. Some adverbs have conventional metaphorical meanings, often seen using basic verbs like foot 'go', meem 'do', yon 'come', munk 'work', jam 'think'. dor 'out' implies doing something to completion or exhaustion: dorgeel 'wear out, use up', dorgeet 'burn up', dortaat 'throw open', dordeej 'really enjoy' dret 'across' suggests outdoing or outcompeting someone: dretsern 'outrun', dretkoos 'out-eat' raul 'up' suggests improvisation, lightness, or precipitation: rauljam 'think up', raullaum 'dream up', raulfoot 'up and leave' for 'toward' is used for causatives based on adjectives or nouns, or inceptive forms of verbs: forvadj 'oil up', forfeck 'darken', formunk 'hire' fornack 'attack', forgonu 'move (one's abode)' ʔell 'away' is the opposite of for, thus meaning 'undo' or 'de-'; it's also used (especially with verbs of motion or names of virtues) to imply corruption or leading astray: ʔelpich 'wipe off', ʔelvadj 'degrease', ʔelgeel 'undress', ʔeltaat 'close' ʔelzent 'lead astray', ʔelmunk 'slack off work', ʔelmod 'fall out of love' References [To Index] Conventional expressions [To Index] ʔopo! Mell reʔl. Mell dellaten. Hello! Good morning. Good afternoon. Lin koren. Sichon. Yon dommen. ʔutoz ʔugaut. two moment-PL. enter. come sit-AND. accept coffee-ACC. Hold on. Come in. Sit down. Have some coffee! yauʔes ʔachonse ʔok? Mellme. Yonse mill? Vott neck. ʔok ʔaullse. they-you proceed-ONG how? well. come-ONG what? no thing. I deal-ONG. How are you? Fine. What's happening? Nothing. I'm getting by. Taaxiʔ lereje. Jaaʔ ʔokes maukse skeeten? ʔokes ʔenforsmeen. meeting happy. Q I-you can-ONG help-AND. I-you serve-HAB Pleased to meet you. Can I help you? I'm here to serve. Prisick nap. Ne zys (toober) fur. Seenitme ninx jys tanick lutt. pleasant day. it be-ONG (too-much) hot. fortunately here have-ONG sea-ish breeze. Lovely day. It's (too) hot. At least there's a sea breeze. Gess. Voss. Zymme. Voss todbo. Jaaʔ se maukse bekrejen? is-true-ONG. not-ONG. maybe. Q you can-ONG re-ask-AND Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know. Could you repeat the question? ʔes precse. ʔokry kusmod. ʔes precse. ʔelneez va. ʔok ze borpo neckor vick. you beg-ONG. my gratitude. you beg-ONG. excuse me. I was drink-PART then nearby Please. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm sorry. I was drunk at the time. Mell passet. Ne ze lerejan. ʔator yovy kor. Jaaʔ liss neck zys krogbo? good visit. it was pleasure. until next time. Q any thing be-ONG break-PART Goodbye. It's been a pleasure. Till next time. Is anything broken? Sery neev mill? Se lack miinit? ʔok lack liggoren miffich ʔever. your name what. you lived how-much? I lived eight-AND twenty year-PL. What's your name? How old are you? I am 28 years old. Se yon ʔell ʔolor? Neller, se zys naj lellche. ʔokes modse. you came away where-TO. sweetie, you be-ONG very cute-DIM. I-you love-ONG. Where are you from? Baby, you so fine. I love you. Time and the calendar [To Index] Flaids borrowed the hour (mur) from the Kebreni, but found dividing the day into 24 segments too picky; they took it as 1/12 of a day instead. When increasing trade made it useful to have an equivalent to the Verdurian hour, they called it ʔobmur 'half-hour'; half of this is a greemur. Navigation and science finally made it necessary to borrow the Verdurian megua (megiiʔ— 1/12 of an hour, or 5 minutes) and piya (1/100 megua, or 3 seconds). Hours are numbered from naffest 'dawn', dell 'noon', nammed 'sunset', or jirten 'midnight': lin mur naffestys two hours of dawn = 10 a.m. fell ʔobmur dellys three half-hours of noon = 3 p.m. ʔy mur nammedys one hour of evening = 8 p.m. Times are written Verdurian style: e.g. 10h3 = 10h3 = 10 ʔobmur 3 megiiʔ = 4:15 p.m. (The Verdurian letter h is used; but it's simply taken as a conventional symbol, and pronounced ʔobmur.) Calendar [To Index] Flaids follow a five-day week (backmo)— they find the seven-day Caďinorian week tiresome. The first four days of the week are simply numbered (mornap, litnap, fetnap, greetnap); the fifth, pinnap, means 'rest day', and indeed, a flaid finds the idea of working on pinnap quite scandalous. (Entertainers and restaurants work that day, and take off the next.) Market day (paixnap) can vary by town, but usually it's every other greetnap. It seems fairly clear that the flaids originally had no idea of months (vockiter), but only the four seasons (vocker)— and even these were not terribly important; Flora has about the climate of San Diego. The idea of dividing the seasons in threes was due to Caďinorian influence, and the usual pattern is to refer to the season— the month before fall starts is called 'before-fall', for instance. season meaning month meaning Verdurian ʔysfock (spring) rain-time (spring) jirysfock mid-spring olašu ʔatysfock after-spring reli curenda festival cuéndimar furvock (summer) hot-time (summer) gromnap long-day vlerëi ʔatfurvock after-summer calo gedjosfock before-fall recoltë yosfock (fall) harvest-time (fall) jiryosfock mid-fall yag ʔachosfock after-fall ʔe;elea gedeedvock before-winter išire ʔedickvock (winter) cold-time (winter) fecknap dark-day šoru ʔateedvock late-winter froďac prommev end-year bešana Names [To Index] Flaids do not use Caďinorian or Eleďe names; they have their own stock of names, almost entirely drawn from the native vocabulary. Many names are formed from adjectives or nouns by adding -(i)o for males and -che for females: bux wise → Buxo, Buxche beautiful → Cheenio, Cheenche deej happy → Deejio, Deedje jeer fat → Jeerio, Jeerche round → Luurio, Luurche morn first → Mornio, Mornche nell sweet → Nellio, Nellche luck → Seenio, Seenche sonn heart → Sonnio, Sonche blue → ʔaaxo, ʔaaxche Adjectives formed from a suffix, one-who-does nominalizations, and participles are also a source of names. These can be used as either male or female names, though -che may be added to the names of girls or young boys. Feckit black Floomick stormy Geddick straightforward Prisick agreeable Cenuel defender Kressel hunter Kompo sought for Mertpo wished for Modpo loved Precpo begged for Smempo vowed Finally, names of natural things— weather, geographical features, plants and animals— can become names. Cheef wind Fax wolf Floom storm Frebb sparrow Freff cloud Gallam dove Koʔ rock Maich cat Max rabbit Mez honey Perner raspberry Rook fox Sax hawk Secku carnation Tolk oak ʔaxner blueberry ʔyss rain These lists are not exhaustive; nonetheless, the stock of names is not that great. Flaids are usually named after a relative, and no one expects to have a unique name. Most flaids don't have surnames; if there's a need to distinguish flaids with the same name, just about any nonce description will do: nicknames, personal characteristics, locatives, genitives. Some of these stick to the individual; others are devised when needed. jeer Deejio fat Deejio yog neck Deejio Deejio, the loud one meezel Deejio Deejio the complainer legfatt Deejio the youngest Deejio brinys Deejio Deejio from the corner Pickapom Nellche Nellche from Pickapo Yadderys Nellche Nellche from the hills Kresselys riil Nellche Nellche, Kressel's daughter Floomys ferick Nellche Nellche, Floom's wife Upper-crust flaids do have family names; often in origin they are just this sort of nonce description, but they are placed after the given name rather than before: e.g. Cenuel Maumys, Cenuel of the Maumys family. The family name is not used (unlike English or Verdurian) with titles, or for second references, only to refer to the family, or disambiguate given names. An exception is the Irreanist philosopher Saxys (whose given name was actually Mornio). Example: Jeerio tries to find a job [To Index] This is a short extract from my first story about the flaids, written when I was in fifth grade. Jeerio— pushed by his mother, who's sick of him sleeping all day at home— ventures forth with his dog Twain to find adventure, or a job, whichever comes first. He encounters a dragon (the fragment below is part of his conversation with the monster), walks to Syxesteer, and takes a boat; but he ends up piloting it in a circle and returning to Syxesteer. Depressed by this, Jeerio and Twain return to Pickapo, where he finds a job in a restaurant four blocks from home. The full story is available here. Jeerio seelese ziiten ʔy munkmot —ʔelneez va, ʔok fotse— Jeerio keez. excuse me, I go-ONG, Jeerio began —ʔaaʔ, ʔokes voss maukpo menden fotpo1— Myasocreje jirviit.2 —Ne zeno vurme chord Nollertiffmodys Mören! oh, I-you not-ONG can-PART let-INF go-PART, Myasocreje interrupted. it be-IRR totally against dragonhood-GEN rule-PL —ʔok kellse footen— Jeerio ʔakmize. —Mell passet.— yoven ne laggim vodme gedd. I must-ONG go-INF, Jeerio disagreed. nice visit. then-AND he walked bold-ADV forwards Voss! — maleme Myasocreje, daaten verpo raulor Jeeriom lapp feej. —ʔok ʔenranet Dorgetnom3 rysmoryt, yoven ʔok jys naj naj tereme befelert ty ʔok ʔenvon mendbo zyn flaidet zyn luukt zyn naupelt, gess zyn yadj dretfotpo! 4 ʔok garse ʔelzichpo, ʔok ʔozse festpo ʔaax! not-ONG, protested Myasocreje, aim-AND hit-PART onto Jeerio-GEN flat head. I guard-DEF Dorgetno-GEN castle-ACC, then-AND I have-ONG very very firm order-PL-ACC that I not-HAB let-PART nor flaid-ACC nor human-ACC nor iliu, yes nor ant cross-PART. I if-ONG disobey-PART, I get-ONG paint-PART blue —Le5 zys gozz mill for neck?— Tiin krej. it be-ONG wrong what about that-one, Twain asked. —Jaaʔ ʔil techno ʔozen festpo ʔaax?6 Q you like-IRR get-INF paint-PART blue? —Pooro voss. certainly no —Neckor vick ʔil todde ʔokry proozert— Myasocreje zeck firden. then nearby you know-ONG my feeling-PL-ACC, Myasocreje said shudder-AND Jirzeckatt ninx jinn kechach. Vott von todbo neckt zeckpo. conversation (T) there had pause. no-one not-PAST know-PART that-one-ACC say-PART "Sorry to go," began Jeerio. "Oh, I can't let you go," interrupted Carnivourous. "It would be totally against the rules of Dragonry!" "I must go," objected Jeerio. "Cheerio." and he walked boldly forward. "No!" protested Carnivourous, and he aimed a blow at Jeerio's flat head. "I guard Burntup's castle, and I am under very, very strict orders not to let a flaid, human, iliu, or even ant to cross! If I disobeyed, I'd be painted blue!" "What's wrong with that?" asked Twain. "Would you like to be painted blue?" "Definitely not." "Now you know how I feel," said Carnivourous, and shuddered. 1 That's quite a verbal complex; let's examine it in more detail. To allow someone to do something is expressed as a resultative: in effect ʔok mendse [se fotse] 'I allow (you go)' → ʔokes mendse fotpo. Next we apply the 'can' transformation: mendsemaukse menden. Finally we apply the negative: mauksevoss maukpo. 2 The dragon's name is expressed in a slightly antique form, Myasocreje. This is difficult for Flaidish, which now spells it Masocreje. It's a borrowing from Verdurian myasocreže 'meat-eating'. I've translated it "Carnivourous" to give the same feeling. 3 Dorgetno, the wizard whose castle the dragon is guarding, has a name meaning "burned up"; I've translated it Burntup. It sounds just as silly in Flaidish. 4 Another resultative, complicated by a complicated object. Start with the resultative transformation ʔok ʔenmend [flaid dretfotse] 'I allow a flaid to cross' → ʔok ʔenmend flaidet dretfotpo. Apply the negative: ʔenmendʔenvon mendbo. The single object is replaced with a conjunction zyn X zyn Y zyn Z "X or Y or Z". Gess 'yes' before the last conjoint expresses surprise or emphasis: yes, even this. 5 Dogs, like children, use the child pronouns. The dragon addresses Twain using the child pronoun ʔil, too. I've anglicized the dog's name— Tiin 'loyal', pronounced 'twin'— as "Twain". 6 This could use some analysis too. Lele festno ʔil 'they may paint you' is passivized to ʔil ʔozno festpo 'you may get painted'. Then ʔozno 'may get' → techno ʔozen 'may like to get'. Example 2: The ʔubeer [To Index] The ʔubeer is a monster from flaidish folklore; the description is taken from a bestiary written by Zaulio of Ledley. Minden molnuxer1 ʔenze legsidiisick ʔubeer, all monster-PL (T) be-HAB MOST-deceptive ʔubeer sood ty nenar ʔydenmunk2 vickelys chainesat: because that 3sS-3sO3 don-HAB neighbor-PL-GEN appearance-ACC ne ʔengaar gonupo4 jirysyd flaiden, meet ʔy flaid, jirysyd zyn luuker zyn sooreler, meet yau. 3sS if-HAB live-PART among flaid-PL (T) like a flaid, among or human-PL or elcar-PL like them Ne ʔenze linnar, ʔengeelen gaazelys ʔuveret, ʔenzecken frind prolesta rysmoten. 3sS be-HAB handsome wear-HAB-AND noble-GEN clothes-ACC speak-HAB-AND with charm force-AND Of all monsters, the ʔubeer is the most deceptive, because it takes on the appearance of its neighbors: like a flaid if it lives among flaids, like a man or an elcar if it lives among those people. It is handsome, dresses like a nobleman, and speaks with charm and force. Chor ty ubeer ʔenjinn chriftat frind bellacken kessio, ne mornentech ʔelzenten geddyd ty fornacken. despite that ubeer have-HAB skill-ACC with sword-AND dagger 3sS prefer-HAB seduce-INF before that attack-INF Ne forgeeldo5 legchem yunaʔʔelys chainesat (chor ty ninx jys nemannick ʔubeeren), dommno zecken kenme forvadjicken. 3sS assume-IRR MOST-other gender-person-GEN appearance-ACC (despite that there be-HAB homosexual ubeer-PL), sit-IRR speak-INF light-ADV flattering-ADV-AND Nery datmot ʔy ʔopfë naʔem6 sitrexdo sittor nary kraichre kommer; ne munkno forgedjonen ty chemmer naʔem vonno groppo ladbo.ʔ 3s-GEN aim (T) a victim 4sS-3sO invite-IRR into 4s-GEN private lodging; 3sS work-IRR ensure-INF that person 4sS-them not-IRR look-PART see-PART Limmo zeer ʔopfë baaʔno geelpo ʔell, yoven tinkor buliʔ testerys gedjonno. couple alone (T) victim suffer-IRR dress-PART off, then-AND sometimes sharing body-PL-GEN occur-IRR ʔopfëm cenumoter vurme bespo ʔubeer nenar muchdo, yoven sitviitdo nery rolediseme kroom laimet lolor ʔopfëm forgoom chuʔpo mippo. victim-GEN defense-PL entirely lose-PART (T) ubeer 3sS-4sO kiss-IRR, then-AND push-IRR 3s-GEN abnormal-ADV long tongue down-to victim-GEN throat choke-PART die-PART Ne fotdo geelen nery laimet fuchpo ʔopfëm kozt8 neck zeerme ne sachdo. 3sS go-IRR use-INF its tongue suck-PART victim-GEN brain which alone-ADV 3sS eat-IRR Though it is skilled with sword and dagger, it prefers to seduce rather than attack. It assumes the appearance of a member of the opposite sex (though there are homosexual ʔubeers), speaking lightly and flatteringly. Its aim is to be invited to the victim's private lodgings; it is careful that third parties do not observe them. Once alone, the victim is undressed, and sometimes sex occurs. When the victim's defenses are entirely lost, the ubeer gives them a kiss, and pushes its abnormally long tongue down the victim's throat, choking them to death. It then uses its tongue to suck out the victim's brain, which is all it consumes. Ne snepno liss nery ʔutzemodys zendonick yoven ʔipme ʔelfotno— baʔpo ʔeltampo ʔopfëm bochy zemod. 3sS hide-IRR its any presence-GEN evidence then-AND silent-ADV leave-IRR, suffer-PART discover-INF victim-GEN horrible state Meregut tinkor nenar lopdo, sood ʔubeer neʔem ʔentech krecken gaazick loll9; frett yoven ne ʔenze sigi yoven ne sauʔ vedno liss neck chemmer maukdo chemoren vuzor ne. wealth-ACC (T) sometimes 3sS-4sO steal-IRR, because ubeer 3sS-3sO like-HAB stand-INF rich-ADV inside but then-AND 3sS be-HAB discreet then-AND 3sS never take-IRR any that-one which people can-IRR trace-INF back-TO 3s It hides any evidence of its presence, then leaves silently, leaving the horrible state of the victim to be discovered. Sometimes valuables are stolen, since the ubeer likes to live richly; but it is discreet, and never takes anything that can be traced back to it. Nery nool jeckmod ʔenze10 veez, neck naʔem ʔengedjat meet riid natack. its great weak-NOM be-HAB water, which 4sS3sO affect-HAB like fire 4sS-us ʔy bux flaid sooden ne sitrexno vott neck sittor nery kommer neckor nenar vondo ladpo koosen ʔy porrt veezys zynen mossno frind neck— veez nenar ʔaddo frind nery cretter, sood ʔubeeren tackyau ʔenlad vaumaten, ʔydjot yau ʔenkoos ʔutul boorsichunt. a wise flaid (T) therefore he invite-HAB none to 3s-GEN lodging when 3sS4sO not-IRR see-PART drink-INF a glass water-GEN or wash with that - water (T) 3sS4sO give-IRR with 3s-GEN hand-PL, because ubeer-PL (T) we-them see-HAB fake-INF instead they-3sO drink-HAB pure alcohol-ACC Its great weakness is water, which is like fire to you and me. A wise flaid, then, will invite no one to their lodgings without having seen them drink a glass of water, or wash with it— water given by one's own hands, since ubeers have been known to feign this, drinking pure alcohol instead. ʔubeer ne ʔenvon mauken baʔpo bojpo frind niilen bellack; nery vricker lox forenvaar tim nennoz ʔeltaaten. ʔubeer (T) 3sS not-HAB can-INF suffer-PART kill-PART with arrow-AND sword- its wound-PL only bleed-HAB some that-extent close-AND Yauʔem ʔengedjat sauʔ riid furmoden. they-3sO affect-HAB never fire heat-AND Ne maukno baaʔen bojpo vunjiʔys sittyd taan, zynen seʔem bramno yaitchetet raulor nery jaddys ʔato forbufauʔpo yoven seʔem jordo nery testet frind chatchet. 3s can-IRR suffer-INF kill-PART drowning-GEN in-LOC ocean or you-3sO smear-IRR alum-ACC on-ALL its neck-GEN back for you-3sO immobilize then-AND you-3sO rub-IRR its body-ACC with lye Neckit juydoni naʔem vonno bojpo, frett yoven nery test dorgeetno begailnen ʔy pun testet lox sittyd ʔy ʔeller joot. this procedure (T) 4sS-3sO not-IRR kill-PART but then-AND 3s-GEN body out-burn-IRR reconstitute-AND a new body only in-LOC far place An ubeer can't be killed with arrow or sword: its wounds only bleed a little and then close. It is immune to fire and heat. It can be killed by drowning in the ocean; or smear alum on the back of its neck to immobilize it, and then rub its body with lye; this will not kill it, but its body will burn off and it will reconstitute a new one in a faraway place. 1 The domain of the superlative is given as a topic. Where a topic/comment construction is used, the gloss separates them with (T). 2 Most of this passage is in the habitual— the tense used for 'timeless' narratives, for which we use the present. 3 The formula 3sS-4sO in the glosses should be read "third person singular subject pronoun / fourth person singular object pronoun"; fourth person being the obviative (alternative) pronoun set. Simple English glosses would be misleading, as English indicates gender in the 3s and cannot express the fourth person. 4 An instance of Flaidish's unusual if verb. Instead of saying "If he lives...", flaids say "He ifs to live..." 5 For vividness, the writer switches from general facts about ʔubeers, using the habitual tense, to an imagined particular incident, using the irrealis. 6 Normally an explicit subject becomes third person ne; but ne was used for the ʔubeer in the topic. The introduced subject (ʔopfë 'the victim') therefore becomes fourth person na. ʔ An example of a resultative idiom: groop 'look' is the basic action, ladbo 'seen' is the result— thus, 'look in order to see' = 'observe'. 8 A resultative with object: the syntax is that of the causative. "X uses Y to affect Z" can be seen as starting from "X uses [Y affects Z]", transforming it to "X uses Y-ACC affect-PART Z". 9 The separable verb lolkreck surrounds the object; compare English expressions like "look the word up". 10 The imagined incident is done, and we are talking in generalities again; the author therefore shifts back to the habitual. [ To the Lexicon ] [To Index] Virtual Verduria
2007-01-05 / Letters Fight A Waste Of Time Dear Editor, I was watching the movie "Finding Nemo," on ABC and my bigger brother wanted to watch the Knicks game on that same time. So, we flipped channels. As soon as the movie finished, we turned and guess what we saw...A BIG BRAWL BREAKING OUT!!!!! It was the result of two players having a dispute over a foul. The Knicks were losing anyways. Why did they have to pick a fight? I don't know and I don't care. In my personal opinion, this was a stupid waste of time, and since I saw the melee on TV, to quote Kim Possible, "A perfectly good waste of satellite frequencies." This was totally uncalled for. The Knicks already lost and the Nuggets already led by 20. This was a huge embarrassment for all the Knicks team members, coaches, staff, fans, and eventually all those work at Madison Square Garden and all of New York City. Then, the next day, the appropriate action was taken. Both teams got fined $500,000 each and the players that were involved, on both teams, got suspended for a certain amount of games depending on how much they were involved. As for the city's image, we were viewed as the city whose people can only fight in situations without using logical reasoning, like animals. I guess they forgot they play for New York City. We have seen better from people. If anyone here saw this game or a replay of the fight on sites like YouTube, they are jerks, just remember what I said. The people involved said themselves that they were sorry for the melee and one who gave back to his community actually gave a speech saying that he was acting stupid that night and told the children that they shouldn't play out a repeat of what he did or else face punishment and embarrassment. All this comes from a relative of a Knicks fan who saw one of his favorite teams make fools out of themselves to add to their losing streak. It would take them a long time to regain their dignity. That is how I feel about this incident. Preach Love, Not Hate Dear Editor, In response to Joseph Costa- it is people like you that cause hatred in the country. There is enough violence without your inciting more. Why not spend your time preaching brotherly love and you might live longer instead of having hatred in your heart. I am of the Jewish faith and proud of it, and I also belong to the seniors of St. Camillus Church and proud of it. Also my 86 years has taught me to love my brothers no matter who and what they are. Empty Promises From Sanders Dear Editor, It has been three months since Mario Young was shot to death on September 25, 2006 in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken on Mott Avenue and Beach Channel Drive. Sayahword Ministries with Families United Against Violence have been holding meetings every month for the past three months to find solutions to these problems that have involved our young people. On September 29, 2006, Councilman James Sanders held an emergency meeting at Town Hall to discuss the shootings in Far Rockaway. He issued challenges such as: -Why are there no vocational schools in the area -Arranging a community agreement to create jobs for the Arverne East -Funding a mentoring program -More job training -Possibility of hiring a private security firm He also stated, "I challenge you- what are you as a people doing?" Well, we are doing something, but he wouldn't know because he has yet to come to any of our meetings. He is our Councilman and wants everyone to support him. How can we support him if we do not get anything in return from him? He has not been in touch with the Young family or with the families of Christopher Glenn and Cedric Smalls. He did not show up for the candlelight vigil held for Mario Young. We didn't have a march like they did for Sean Bell, but we do have community meetings. Just because Mario, Christopher and Cedric were not shot by the police like Sean Bell, we should be hearing from Councilman Sanders. When it is time for reelection, then he will come to us with smiles on his face, shaking hands and telling us if we ever need anything, call him. We do call and nothing gets done. Councilman Sanders is always making promises but he is just opening his mouth and saying nothing. He tricks people like us with his promises. They are just lies. What is Sanders really doing for our community? You need to find out what Councilman Sanders is really all about before election time again. Sharpton Causes Civil Unrest Dear Editor, I would like to take this time to ask a question of the city of New York and find out a few things that are going on in our city. I am asking the question of how the leader of the Black community gets away with the nonsense he gets away with. How does Rev. Al Sharpton have the nerve to cause havoc with his marches against the NYPD, knowing full well that if the conditions were the other way, where a black police officer was to shoot a white teen, he would not saying anything at all. So where does he get the nerve to pull this stupid thing he is doing. Please understand that I have nothing at all against the marches for Mr. Bell; I do not find fault with what happened. It was a very tragic mistake, and sometimes the NYPD does make mistakes, but to say that they are against blacks is a false statement and must be addressed. I have lived for many, many years with our police force and I have found that most police officers are nice, kind and care about the community, regardless of who it is. They have wives and children, just like most people have, and they have the same feelings that we all have. So, show me, how does Sharpton have the nerve to insult the citizens of our community by having a march near the graves of the finest and bravest at 9/11. This was an action that Sharpton understood was going to hurt the loved ones of 9/11, but he showed all of us that he did not care. Again I will say that if a black police officer would shoot a white, Sharpton would not do anything about it. All we hear from him is: the blacks this and that, but for him to step out for the whole community, regardless of ethnicity, he will not do this. Please understand that I do not find fault with the black community at large. In fact I have many black friends I have known for over 20 years. But when someone comes along to stir the community into civil unrest, even my black friends hate this. I am trying to say that it is Sharpton (not the black community) that is causing all the trouble all around New York, and if there are any intelligent people, regardless of what color you are, you will not listen to anything he has to say. All of the citizens of New York must try to understand that the NYPD is trying to do the best they can to help protect the citizens of our community 24-7, sometimes giving up their lives in doing so. It seems that people like Sharpton have shown that he could care less that a police officer is shot down in an incident, or a firefighter gets killed in the line of duty, but see how quickly Sharpton would say something if the officer or fireman was black. But the facts are at hand, that Sharpton and his hangers-on do nothing but cause trouble, not only for the black community but for all of us. Before Sharpton shoots his big mouth to the press, he should know all the facts at hand. Not run off his big mouth to the media and press and make a big show of it. Sharpton would like to run for public office, but do you know what this country, state and city would be like with him in office? New York City would be the crime capitol of the world, and most of the whites would flee the city. Is that what the city administration would like to happen? I am at a point were I can not afford civil unrest, where all and any citizens, regardless of ethnic background, do as they please regardless of our laws and regulations in our city. We must give 100 percent backing to the NYPD and FDNY, regardless if they are right or wrong. If the NYPD or FDNY does something wrong, there are laws in place to correct any actions they take, but the citizens of this city must back them and help them to protect our city from the bad guys. Allowing Sharpton to do what he is doing is going to cause all of us much unrest. I hope that in 2008, when we get a new Mayor and police and fire bosses, I will see a change for the better; at this time it seems to me that the present administration has shown that it could care less about the citizens of New York. Let's hope that the changes will come soon. If Sharpton is smart and not as stupid as he makes out to be, he would call for a non-racial (for all people) town hall meeting in every borough of the city, and have the Mayor and the police and fire bosses speak directly to the public and not the press and media only. Return to top Email Us Contact Us Copyright 1999 - 2014 Wave Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved Neighborhoods | History
Adchemy is helping retailers upload their entire inventory of millions of products to Google Shopping Image Credit: John Koetsier google-shoppingGoogle product listing ads (PLAs) can make the world’s largest search engine your store by uploading your products, setting pricing, and letting the magic of the Internet happen. That’s all fine for mom and pop, who have three widgets to sell, but how do you upload and manage thousands, hundreds of thousands or even tens of millions of products on Google Shopping? One solution is Adchemy, which recently released smart software that matches its internal consumer intent graph to Google’s knowledge graph … and then uploads, monitors, manages, and even assigns keywords to your entire product portfolio, automagically. “We’re seeing rapid adoption of Google product listing ads,” Adchemy chief executive officer Murthy Nukala told me. “The click rate is higher, and conversion rates are higher … the return on ad-spend for PLAs is very, very good — it’s like the early days of keywords … not very competitive yet.” reportsEssentially, we’re in early land-grab stage of product listing ads, Nukala says. The returns are great because Google is giving the consumer all the information they want right in the ad and because generally only people who are actively searching for say, a dishwasher, see the ads. This means that when consumers do click on PLAs, it’s an informed click — and a highly intentional click. That’s why Nukala believes that the No. 1 priority for retail brands should be to do PLAs right. Also, because Google’s changing the landscape of search — and marketing. “The world of search is going through its most dramatic transition now from an algorithmic search to the introduction of knowledge graph as a second brain for the search engine,” Nukala told me. “By having knowledge graph, the goal is to answer questions as opposed to presenting links. We see a very similar trend happening in the area of product search, and the move to PLAs is the first step.” Knowledge engine is an attempt by Google to understand the world, the objects in it, and their relationships, which enables Google to start answering search queries for intent, not just for a set of words. The same change is affecting product search, and so what Adchemy has done is build an intent graph that shadows or mirrors Google’s knowledge graph. bidAnd that intent graph, which models the way consumers think of and search for products, is a major part of what makes it easy to upload and manage thousands or hundreds of thousands of products to Google Shopping. “The knowledge graph at Google is very good for noncommercial entities, but we specialize in commercial entities,” Nukala says. “And once you have the intent graph, we can completely automate keyword creation and search optimization for all your products.” The standard Google Shopping process is to upload products, manually add descriptions and keywords and prices, and then organize them basically by hand in ad groups — setting your ad prices relative to your product prices and so on. Adchemy automates all that, enabling programmatically driven ad pricing based on your profitability data right down the SKU level. “One customer told me ‘you’ve essentially taken my website structure and put it in your product,’ which eliminates an enormous amount of friction for our customers,” Nukala said. “That allows retailers to market in their own language, with their products, their brands, and their categories.” That basically makes Adchemy a software-translation layer between marketers’ products and Google ad structures. Image credit: John Koetsier, AdChemy
Baby changed the world IT is 60 years since the birth of the modern computer in Manchester. The last surviving member of the trio who created 'Baby' talks to Paul Taylor about his place in history. The huge Baby computer in the 1940s The huge Baby computer in the 1940s UNLIKE most 86-year olds, Geoff Tootill keeps a couple of personal computers in his home. And, also unlike most octogenarians, Oldham-born Tootill can claim a key role in the origins of those PCs. He was there at the birth of the modern computer, and he has kept a keen eye on his Baby's progress. "But I don't think anyone can keep abreast of the whole field of computer research and development," he says. Asked about the social impact of the computer, Tootill guardedly replies: "I have observed it, and no doubt you have too." Computer age For all the enormous good and debatable ill the computer has wrought, the computer age dawned on June 21 1948 in a house in Bridgeford Street, opposite Manchester University, when the display tube of the Small Scale Experiment Machine, nicknamed Baby, lit up with the correct answer to the mathematical problem set it 52 minutes earlier. It weighed a ton, filled a room and had less computing power than the modern calculator. But the world's first stored-program computer - the computer as we know it today - had been born. "A program was laboriously inserted and the start switch pressed," said the late Freddie Williams, the Manchester University professor who, with Tom Kilburn and Tootill, created the Baby. "Immediately the spots on the display tube entered a mad dance. In early trials, it was a dance to the death leading to no useful result, and what was even worse, without yielding any clue as to what was wrong. But one day, it stopped and there, shining brightly in the expected place, was the expected answer. It was a moment to remember. This was in June 1948, and nothing was ever the same again." It's tempting to wonder now exactly what these architects of the computer thought they were building. What use did they see then for their valve-laden contraption? "There had been general purpose computers, but they were driven by packs of punch cards or reels of punched paper tape," says Tootill, who now lives in Wokingham, Berkshire. "We knew very well that it would revolutionise weather forecasting because at that time the skilled meteorologist could calculate what tomorrow's weather forecast would be but the calculation took him a long time, and he did not get the necessary data until the day before." What the team could not have foreseen, perhaps, was a day when a computer infinitely more powerful than the Baby would be found in almost every home and every office. Tootill describes as `epoch-making' the period in the 1980s when Sir Alan Sugar's Amstrad company popularised the home computer. "It's been born on me over the years that the computer was becoming not only more important but also more known to the public," says Tootill. "This, of course, was completely foreign to us. In the 1940s we were accustomed to the very tight security discipline during the war. Tom Kilburn was a very dour Yorkshireman and he did not believe in publicity of any kind. One of his favourite remarks was: `Them as needs to know, does know'." In January 1947, Freddie Williams moved from the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) in Malvern to become professor of electro-technics at Manchester University. In the race to invent the modern computer, an effective means of electronic storage was vital, and Williams hit on the idea of the Cathode Ray Tube. Tom Kilburn, who had also worked at TRE, was seconded to Manchester to work under Williams, as was Chadderton-born Tootill, who had studied maths at Cambridge with Kilburn and also ended up at TRE working gruelling six-day weeks on war-time research into radar. "It was Tom Kilburn and I who were working on developing the hardware full-time," says Tootill. "FC Williams dropped in when he could, and probably spent an average of an hour a day with us. But he was definitely leading the team." The Baby was closely followed by a more powerful machine, the Manchester Mark 1 and, by October 1948, the government had asked Ferranti to build a computer to this design. Stockport-born Freddie Williams remained head of his department until his death in 1977. Tom Kilburn became professor of computer science at the university, overseeing the evolution of the computer from the Baby. He retired in 1981 and died in 2001. Tootill remained a civil servant, working at the Royal Military College of Science, the National Physical Laboratory and National Maritime Institute. On loan One is bound to wonder what reward there was for these men who spawned a multi-billion pound industry. "We did patent our work, and, because of our contracts of employment, the patents were ascribed to the ministry of aircraft production at first," says Tootill. "But when FC Williams became a professor at Manchester University, he left the discipline of the ministry and the university attitude to patents was very much freer. He obviously told Tom Kilburn that he'd better do the same and he got some value from his patents. "But all the time I was a scientific civil servant on loan to FC Williams and the university. "They sent a chap up to Manchester once a month to write some new patents on what we had done during that month. The ministry wished to licence our patents to American firms like IBM, and American legislation did not allow you to give away your patents, so I was given one dollar per patent, and I didn't even get the bloody dollar. I got 4s 2d." The University of Manchester has declared today Digital60 Day in commemoration of the Baby's 60th anniversary. Events include the Kilburn Lecture, given by Prof Steve Furber of the University of Manchester School of Computer Science, a seminar by the Computer Conservation Society and the awards ceremony for a school computer animation competition. For more information, go to A working replica of the Baby is on show at Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. For more information, visit . comments powered by Disqus Neal Keeling Chief Reporter, Crime, Salford, Fire Service John Scheerhout Charlotte Cox Wythenshawe, Airport Yakub Qureshi Education, Religion Dean Kirby Jennifer Williams Politics, Local government, Trade unions Paul Britton Defence, Bury, Bolton, Wigan Dan Thompson Chris Osuh Pete Bainbridge Breaking News Richard Wheatstone Amy Glendinning Chris Slater North and East Manchester Emily Heward Digital Journalist Emma Flanagan Digital Journalist
WC Varones Devaluation bandwagon: get on board! Two weeks ago, I opined that devaluation is the only way out of the economic disaster that the Fed has created. Yesterday, Jesse's Cafe linked, largely approvingly, an Institutional Risk Analyst piece by Chris Whalen interviewing Lee Quaintance (of QB Asset Management, formerly of Goldman Sachs, CSFB, DLJ) that argues the same thing. To us, there is no "double dip" in the economy. We never recovered from the first decline in aggregate demand. Forget the bogus inflation and GDP statistics coming from Washington. Talk to your neighbors and family, the people in the community who own businesses. Ask them how their revenues for 1H 2010 are doing YOY... In response to mounting concerns about deflation, news reports are filled with speculation that the Federal Reserve System will "ease" monetary policy further, an interesting idea given that interest rates already are at zero. The concept of further quantitative easing, as we understand it, would be for the Fed to purchase more securities from the Wall Street banks and hope -- repeat hope -- that a few pennies trickle down to the real economy. Quaintance: You want organic employment growth? Lower the relative price of other factors of production. Boosting asset prices unilaterally while wage rates remain relatively stagnant is a recipe for unemployment. This is just common sense and it's what we're seeing today. The system yearns for more money, not more credit. The IRA: Yes, their operating costs are rising but selling prices are compressed [...] consumers and small businesses who do not do business with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are the big losers in the fiat system. You must be smart enough to surf the waves of inflation, not just swim with the tide, and that makes us all speculators. (It is really the arbitrariness of the money that is a root cause, and the creation of a monopolization of credit under an incompetent/corrupt Federal Reserve - Jesse) Quaintance: Agreed. In the end, credit inflation historically leads to asset inflation while base money inflation leads to wage and basic goods/consumables inflation. No matter how you slice it, the ratio of outstanding global debts to global base money is irreconcilable. This is a mathematical tautology. From this imbalance flow many of the imbalances you cite, in my mind. Chris, as I said, we think this is as simple a problem as too little "money" in existence attempting to service and ultimately reconcile too much debt. Read the whole thing. It's remarkably consisent with the view I put forward, but much more articulate and well-developed. Devaluation: catch the fever! angryfutureexpat said... Catch the fever! AFEP and WC Varones - disagree about plenty, but always ahead of the curve where it matters. Great find, great post. W.C. Varones said... On what could we possibly disagree, AFEP? I agree with just about everything I've read on your site. Could it be the Teabagger thing? Universities and the media have conditioned a lot of otherwise rational people to have contempt for conservatives (Old Zeke being a prime example), but I think if we sat down for a beer we'd agree on just about everything. Waiting eagerly for your next post, angryfutureexpat said... Heh, I think my fondness for the welfare state and socialized medicine would be our main point of disagreement. Outside of that, we seem to see eye to eye on most things - I've even written good things about the Tea Party! If life brings me to SoCal, I'll be sure to send an email (really!). Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger... Contact Us Blog Archive
10 Questions about Filtration Tue, 01/17/2006 - 7:27am Close-up of wet-laid media By Richard Smolen and Viola A. Bielobradek Tempted to try a different filter to improve your dust collector’s performance? How do you choose when there are so many options? Start by reviewing the answers to 10 frequently asked questions about mechanical filtration. The array of filter elements on the market can generate anxiety when it’s time to specify the best media for specific applications. The following report offers answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about mechanical filtration elements. It focuses on pleated cartridge filters and pleated bags and examines the three most popular styles of media available today. These are wet-laid, spun-bonded, and needled felt media. 1. What media type is least expensive and why are there such significant differences in price? The wet-laid category is the least expensive. The difference in pricing is dictated by the cost of production as well as varying performance characteristics for each group of media. The least expensive category is created in a wet process. Cellulose fiber slurry is mixed with a chemical resin that holds the fibers together and protects them against moisture. The cellulose fiber can be a hardwood, softwood, or even grass. The mixture is pressed flat, cured in high-temperature ovens, and dried. Because of their excellent efficiency characteristics, wet-laid media types are good for a wide array of applications and are suitable for operating temperatures up to 200F. The 100 percent cellulose wet-laid media category, though, is not recommended for high-grain loading or high-moisture applications. However, it is important to note that there are cellulose blends available, also created in the wet process, that exhibit excellent moisture tolerance. 2. What can spun-bonded media offer? Spun-bonded media, also known as non-woven media, can easily handle higher grain loading. This fine denier polyester media can also be treated to repel moisture and oil contamination. This style is seen as moderately expensive but offers high levels of efficiency. It’s produced when dried polyester chips are put into a hopper and extruded by a melt-spinning machine while molten. The continuous filaments are spun, drawn, and opened by a spinning cylinder, dispersed on a net conveyor, and laminated uniformly. The filament webs are then thermal bonded with an embossed roller in order to form a sheet. Spun-bonded media types are recommended for operating temperatures up to 275F. It is worthwhile to note that there are various treatments and finishes available to handle application specific needs. One example is the ePTFE membrane. It can be laminated onto spun-bonded media to provide extraordinary release characteristics for product reclaim applications. Inside look at needled felt media 3. Which media type is most widely used in the chemical processing industry? Since the chemical processing industry is a diverse industry, media selection really is application specific. Having said that, we’ve observed that most of the industry deals with abrasion and higher operating temperature challenges quite frequently. Out of the three media classes, the needled felt type would be most appropriate for those extreme applications. This category is also moderately expensive. It is produced when short felt fibers are pressed together and mechanically fixed with a needle punch machine. The style offers varying levels of efficiency based upon weight and fiber composition. In some cases, a limited amount of media area per cartridge requires dust cake buildup for maximum efficiency. It is recommended for applications with operating temperatures up to 500F. 4. How important is choosing the right media for a given application? Crucial. The wrong media type may cause all types of problems from media blinding to premature filter failure or even to collector fire. Also, the right media choice may significantly improve dust collecting operation. It is absolutely imperative, however, that all the application aspects be considered when selecting the media and the filters especially in the chemical processing industry. 5. What are some of the signals that would indicate there might exist a media change/upgrade opportunity? Filter upgrades should be made to improve specific performance criteria. For instance, reasons to upgrade include if your system is operating with higher-than-standard pressure drop or if filters are retaining too much product. Upgrading filters in these two cases will likely mean switching from one pleated style to another. You also may decide to upgrade filters because there has been a change in your process that requires a new approach to dust collection or because regulations demand lower plant emissions and better plant air quality. Or, you may need to achieve a longer filter service life to reduce production interruptions caused by filter leakage or insufficient efficiency and to lower maintenance costs. 6. What can a typical upgrade yield? Changing from wet-laid or needled felt to spun-bonded media can improve strength, dust release, abrasion resistance, and efficiency. Although the filter price increases, a higher cost is justified by an extended service life and improved performance. Upgraded filters also bring about better filtration efficiencies with lower emissions, improved product reclamation, lower compressed air usage, lower fan amps due to lower pressure drop, and a lower maintenance cost with less frequent change-outs. It may also be the answer to premature filter failure. 7. What causes filters to fail prematurely? Thermal exposure, chemical attack, abrasion, cleaning insufficiency, and moisture saturation are factors that shorten filter service life. If you are practicing preventive maintenance, filters should be analyzed annually. If filters are failing prematurely, they should be tested. Specific laboratory testing can determine what is causing these failures. Details of spun-bonded media with ePTFE membrane 8. What are examples of laboratory tests and their possible results? One test is the Frazier Permeability test. A low number scored on this test may indicate decreased efficiency and increased pressure drop. The test records the volume of air, in CFM, that flows through one square foot at 0.5 in. W.G. pressure drop. Another test is the Wet and Dry Mullen Burst test. Low readings indicate deterioration of used media. The test involves a rubber bladder that is pressurized under clamped sections of media. When both the wet and dry media burst, the pressure is recorded in PSI. A very low reading indicates that the media may not hold up under repeated pulsing for an extended period of time. And finally, a microscopic examination of the media can show pore blockage, clean-side contamination, and particulate penetration, allowing the lab technician to assess the potential recovery of porosity and the remaining service life of a given filter or pleated bag. 9. What specialized finishes are available? Fire-retardant, ePTFE membrane, carbon impregnation, metallized, or hydro and olieophobic finishes can be used to address very specific application needs. 10. How should these finishes be used? A fire-retardant finish, which is not fireproof, can be sprayed onto wet-laid or spun-bonded media to retard combustion. An ePTFE membrane can be laminated onto spun-bonded and needled felt media to capture fine particulate. It yields improved efficiency and cake release. Carbon impregnation is a process applied to wet-laid media in the slurry stage and results in excellent static dissipation properties. A metallized finish can be applied to spun-bonded media to produce improved cake release and excellent static dissipation properties. And finally, hydro or olieophobic finishes can be applied to spun-bonded media for excellent moisture and mild oil-mist tolerance, efficiency, and strength. About the Authors: Richard Smolen is the filtration design engineer at TDC Filter/Midwesco, 1331 S. 55th Ct., Cicero, IL 60804. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and experience in laboratory work and testing. Viola A. Bielobradek is the marketing manager at TDC Filter/Midwesco and has a bachelor’s degree in commerce. Questions about this article can be addressed to the authors at smolenr@tdcfilter.com and bielobradekv@tdcfilter.com or by calling 800-424-1910. Additional information is available at www.tdcfilter.com and www.midwescofilter. 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J3/03-147 To: J3 From: Malcolm Cohen Subject: Problem with defined assignment Date: 14th March 2003 1. Introduction [142:15-16] says apropos of the defined assignment statement x1 = x2, "The types of x1 and x2 shall not both be numeric ..." This has an obvious flaw in that it fails to limit this requirement to when x1 and x2 have conformant ranks. But there is worse to come... This is not effective in preventing one from defining such an assignment (e.g. via an ASSIGNMENT(=) interface block) as it places no restriction on the dummy arguments (d1 and d2) of the assignment subroutine. So we are left with 16.2.3, in particular the second sentence thereof, to prevent overriding intrinsic assignment of numerics etc. But given the initial sentence of ([139:4-5]) "An intrinsic assignment statement is an assignment statement that is not a defined assignment..." the second sentence of 16.2.3 is ineffective as when you do the "defined assignment" the intrinsic one disappears and so there is no conflict. (Or if you don't think the intrinsic one disappears, then we've managed to lose the ability to override intrinsic assignment for derived types.) Some of these problems are new to the F2000 wording, some of them apply to F95 as well. 2. Discussion - defined assignments It is unclear what the intent of [142:15-16] really is. The only conceivable and reasonable intent is surely to prevent the user from overriding intrinsic assignment (other than for derived types) but (a) it is formulated wrongly for this task (b) it is in the wrong place - if we want to place requirements on defining assignment the right place is (Defined assignments) where all the other requirements for it are. Moreover, these requirements are duplicated in 16.2.3 (second sentence) except that the 16.2.3 version makes no exception for derived types. Given the need for a derived type exception, it would seem easier to place the restrictions in and to remove the incorrect duplication in 16.2.3. This is a prime example of "say it twice => it is wrong in both places". 3. Discussion - defined operations These are only actually restricted in one place - the second sentence of 16.2.3 - though the restrictions are stated in a second place: at [122:4-5] (for monadic ops) and [122:23-25] (for dyadic ops). I say "only restricted in one place" because the words in the other place(s) use the verb to be ("is") not the verb of requirement ("shall be"). Unlike defined assignment, there is no facility to override intrinsic operations and so 16.2.3 would seem to be technically ok. Again unlike defined assignment, the text in [122:23-25] mentions the need for both type and rank conformance, so that too would seem to be ok. I'll note in passing that again, the "requirements" are on the operands (x1 and x2 in "x1 .op. x2") not the dummy arguments of the function. So apart from the lack of use of "shall", these sentences are more descriptive than specificative. OTOH, I fail to see what is gained by putting (pseudo) requirements on x1 and x2 when it's supposed to apply to defining the operation in the first place. Anyway, like defined assignment, it would seem to be more appropriate (a) to only say this thing once! (b) to put requirements on defined operations in (Defined operations). Some might think that the descriptive stuff is useful; I take the contrary view that it immediately raises the question "what if this ``is'' is not satisfied by the defined operation - what happens then? - is the interface block ignored? - or does something else happen? - or is there some actual restriction somewhere that stops it from arising?". So I think that it ought to be deleted whether the actual restriction is in ch12 or ch16. If we put these requirements into ch12 we can remove the problematic second sentence of 16.2.3 altogether. 4. Discussion - type-bound generics Type-bound generics for assignment and operations are defined to have the same requirements as specified in and, so they will be handled properly iff the interface block generics are handled properly. 5. Edits to 02-007r3 These edits are neutral to the passage of UK comment TC1, except that the edit for [142:15-16] in this paper overrides the edit in the UK comment TC1 paper. [122:3] After "2" insert "or 2". [122:4-6] Delete "or that ..." until the end of the sentence. {Get rid of redundant description.} [122:22] After "2" insert "or 1 2". [122:23-25] Delete "or that ..." until the end of the sentence. {ditto} [142:15-16] Delete. {Text is multitudinously bad.} [258:11] After "operator" insert "and the types or ranks of the dummy arguments shall differ from those required for the intrinsic operation (7.1.2)" {Disallow overriding intrinsic operations.} [259:10] Split excessively long paragraph into two after "names." {This splits off the requirements and execution semantics from the introductory waffle.} [259:12] After "(IN)." insert "Either the second argument shall be an array whose rank differs from that of the first argument, the declared types of the arguments shall not conform as specified in Table 7.8, or the first argument shall be of derived type." {Disallow overriding intrinsic assignment except for derived types.} [397:16-18] Delete "If ... operand.". {This sentence is incorrect for assignment, and unnecessary for operations.} ===END===
Coliseum Walkthrough Location: Nopada System Contact Obisek to start this mission. One of his ships that was carrying thalaron weapons disappeared in the Nopada system. He has asked you to travel there, find the ship, and rescue his people. In the system you'll find a debris field around the planet which seems to be from destroyed ships. Your first task is to investigate it. You will then need to scan the nearby satellite. Just before you do it an energy beam will attack the ship. You won't be able to move or really do anything so click the Scan Satellite button on your screen. You'll need to beam over to the satellite and try to disable the beam. Satellite Inside the satellite you'll need to find a way to access the computer console. You'll first need to access the Cargo Bay Console. Your Bridge Officer will determine that there are some equations that are locking up the system. You'll need to solve them before continuing. You'll be given equations, each with a letter where a missing number belongs. You'll need to click the options at the bottom in order to cycle to the correct number. After you have cycled to the correct number click Lock Position. The number will turn green after you have locked it in if it is correct. You'll need to solve 3 pages of equations (a total of 6 equations). The answers for each are: Now you can unlock the other computers. Each console has an override console nearby, use it by inputting the correct numbers (which will appear as an option). Start by overriding the Targeting Console, then accessing it. When you access the Targeting Console follow these steps: 1. Access Long Range Scanners • Expand Scan Range 1000 km 2. Open Ship Identification Program • Reclassify Derelict Hulk: Active 3. Access Targeting Control • Designate Derelict Hulk as Priority Target Next override the Power Console and access it. Follow these steps: 1. Update Power Save Modes • Load Power Save Mode: Economical 2. Set Process Priority Values • Restore Factory Default Settings Finally override the Satellite Operations Console and access it. Follow these steps: 1. Change Operational State • Set Satellite's Operation State to OFF Coliseum You can now return to the ship. Unfortunately you don't go there. You end up in some cage, so click the options Where am I? then Now What?. You can now exit the cage and walk down the hall. At one point you'll be able to go right and pick up some melee weapons. You won't be able to use any other weapon or your abilities. You can take as many melee weapons as you want, then continue into the arena. Slamek In the arena you'll be put through a series of tests. It is important to note here that there are herbs on the ground of the arena. You can pick these up to heal yourself. After the battles the prisoner who is with you will be forced to stay in the arena so return to your cell. In the cell you'll need to wait for a bit. Eventually Slamek, another prisoner, will enter the cage near you. Speak with him choosing diplomatic options. If you upset him you will be able to go back and continue your discussion by choosing another option. After your conversation you and Slamek will decide to try escaping. Wait a few more moments then you're cage door will open so return to the arena. You'll need to survive the attack of aehallh worms wile Slamek frees the other prisoners. Be careful of the acid that these worms shoot out, there is a chance it can kill you if you stay around the acid for too long. First defeat the few worms that are sticking out of the ground (these are easy). After that a large worm will come out from the ground, use one of the consoles on either side of the arena to activate the turret. The large worm will destroy it then go under ground. Defeat the smaller worms that come out. The large worm will come out again so use the console on the other side of the arena to activate the other turret. After that is destroyed return to the gate where you first entered from and use the console there to open the doors. This will release some prisoners. Now go straight across (to the top of the map) and use the console by the metal wall. This will cause the remaining turrets to activate and kill the large worm. At this point you can go back to the room with the prison (where you always start from) and access the melee weapons that were behind a forcefield before. This will give you a chance of getting an Uncommon one. You can also use the other door in the arena and access the melee weapons there. When the large worm falls it will break the metal wall, go through it. You'll find yourself in a Romulan base. To your left is a console which you can use to disable the dampening field so you can use your energy weapon again as well as your abilities. Now climb through the waste pipe to escape. Nopada You'll enter the Nopada Desert and will need to reach Slamek's ship which is to the east. After walking for a bit you'll need to take cover in some rock formation to hide from a ship. After it passes over you can continue east but Slamek will need to rest for a minute due to his injuries. You'll need to find a disinfectant, antipyretic, and analgesic for him. There are three plants nearby which you must scan. Then in the area you'll need to collect the appropriate items from each plant. You can use your scanner to find them or look at the map. After you have collected everything return to Slamek and treat him. Go to the canyon entrance and travel through it. At one point in the canyon you'll have to stop and talk to Slamek. You will need to find a place to rest for the night (a cave to the east) and something according to your career which is near the cave. Engineering Objective You're task will be to find food. There is a warrigul pack a little above the cave. Defeat them. After that you can carve the meat to get the Feeding Fellows accolade. Science Objective You're task is to find water. Firs you'll need to hollow out a gourd. You have to find one without spiders in it. Then you can fill it up with water at the small lake near the cave. This will give you the A Toast to Teammates accolade. Tactical Objective You're task will be to find kindling, firewood, and fuelwood to start a fire in the cave. Once you have all three you'll get the Fueling Friendship accolade. Hakeev Now go to the cave and camp out. After a brief cut-scene you'll end up on the other side of the cave during the day. Head toward the ship. Once you reach it you'll need to find a way to contact your ship. There will be a small opening in Slamek's ship that you can use to enter it. Find the emergency beacon and access it. You won't be able to use it so find some parts around the wreckage. After you have found all three parts (use the map in this walkthrough) go back into the ship and connect it to the power source. Exit the ship and wait for your rescue. Congratulations! Mission Complete. Contact Obisek. Skill Points One of the following 1. Reman Prototype Covariant Shield Array 2. Resilient Shield Array [Pla][Tet] 3. Combat Impulse Engines [Full][Turn] Sponsored Links
Scarlets to Sign Synthetic Lifeform Llanelli Scarlets are to go into massive debt (again) in order to bankroll a bid for the new $40m synthetic lifeform, it has been revealed by the Western Mail. Talking to one of their “reporters” Soaraway Scarlets Supremo, Nigel Davies stated “This is a high profile signing for the region. Once again we’ve shown that we are not shy at spending money to provide back-up at tighthead.” This follows the recent set back in failing to sign either Species 8472 or a Predator. “There are two main advantages that the sythetic life form has over these” stated Davies “1. It actually exists and 2. There aren’t any complicated image rights.”
ETFs To Invest Like Warren Buffett By Tim Parker | January 29, 2013 AAA Want to be like one of the richest men in the world? Warren Buffett is third on Forbes' World's Billionaires list (ranking the wealthiest people in the world) with a net worth of $44 billion. Only Carlos Slim Helú and Bill Gates rank higher. If you are going to design a portfolio for longer term gains, looking at Buffett's favorite stocks is a logical first step. For the retail investor, individual stock picking can feel like a loser's game, and often it is. Finding the next Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) in the thousands of available stocks doesn't exactly put the odds in your favor. A less risky way to put money to work in the stock market is to use exchange traded funds (ETFs). Buffett hasn't disclosed any use of ETFs in his portfolio, but if stocks were not his product of choice, which ETFs might he choose? SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (ARCA:DIA) There is no doubt that Buffett is a blue chip investor. His portfolio boasts at least five of the Dow 30 stocks as well as other mega cap names like Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP). For that reason, he would likely invest in an ETF that tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average. DIA is one of the most popular ETFs, trading more than 3 million shares each day. It has a low expense ratio of only 0.18% and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (ARCA:XLP) Much of Buffett's portfolio is made up of low beta names that pay a healthy dividend. Names that Buffett has said he will hold "forever" include Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG). Those two names are the top two holdings, making up 23.6% of XLP. Buffett owns four of the top 10 holdings in the fund. Since Buffett is a penny pincher, he would want a low expense ratio, and at 0.18%, he would get it with XLP. He would also be paid a dividend of more than 3% to hold it. iShares MSCI EAFE Index (ARCA:EFA) CNBC chronicled a trip that Buffett and a Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A, BRK-B) delegation recently took to China. He not only had existing investments in the country, but also looked for new opportunities. He has his eye on opportunities outside of America, so a Buffett ETF portfolio has to have some international exposure. There are a large number of ETFs with China, emerging markets and other international exposure, but the EFA ETF keeps with his core idea of investing in solid, reliable, developed businesses. EFA invests in securities in developed countries in Europe, the Far East and Australasia. Its relatively low expense ratio of 0.34% is well below the category average of 0.51% and the fund pays a dividend of more than 3%. PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage (ARCA:PBJ) Finally, any Buffett follower knows that he is a very rich man with common tastes. He loves Coca-Cola products, likes to stay in his modest-looking home and one of his favorite restaurants is a steakhouse in Omaha, Neb. For that reason, an ETF that tracks the performance of the more sinfully delicious foods might be in order. The PBJ ETF has among its holdings Kraft (Nasdaq:KRFT) (one of his holdings), Hershey (NYSE:HSY) and Papa John's Pizza (Nasdaq:PZZA). It has a yield of 1.57% and an expense ratio of 0.63% - maybe a little high for his "taste." The Bottom Line Buffett hasn't shown much of an interest in ETFs, but for retail investors, ETFs remove some of the risks associated with stock picking. Maybe next time he does one of those three-hour CNBC interviews, somebody will ask him about his favorite ETFs. You May Also Like Related Analysis 1. Chart Advisor ChartAdvisor for December 19 2014 2. Chart Advisor Profit From Holiday Spending With This ETF 3. Stock Analysis 4. Chart Advisor Cocoa Prices Setting Up For A Move Lower 5. Chart Advisor How To Trade The Biggest U.S. Companies In 2015 Trading Center
Thursday, 11 February 2010 spelling reform In the 16th century, some words were respelled to clearly show their Latin origin. det became debt (Latin dēbitum), scol became school (Latin schola), and etik became hectic (Latin hecticus). But sometimes the spelling reformers got it wrong. They changed iland to island, in the belief that the word was related to isle from Latin insula - but in fact it's from Old English īeġland, a combination of īeġ "island" and land. The same thing happened in France. Letters were added to reflect the words' Latin origins, even tho the sounds had long been lost. doi became doigt "finger" (Latin digitum), pié became pied "foot" (Latin pedem), and set became sept "seven" (Latin septem). Mistakes were made: pois became poids "weight" in the belief that the word was derived from pondum "weight", but in fact it is from pensum, neuter past participle of pendo "to weigh". No comments :
Peach Pistachio Praline Trifle Mommie Cooks • Yield: servings 4tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2cup brown sugar 1/4teaspoon cinnamon 1cup pistachios 3/4cup and 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1teaspoon vanilla 1 3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding, prepared according to package directions 1/4cup sugar 1/2teaspoon pistachio extract (you can sub almond extract) 4 fresh peaches 16 Donsuemor Madeleines (Can sub ladyfingers, angel food cake, or pound cake) 1. In a small saucepan heat up the butter on medium heat until melted. 2. Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix well. 3. Stir in the pistachios and let the mixture cook for one minute more. Remove from heat, stir in the 3 tbsp of cream and vanilla. Let cool. 4. Whip up the remaining heavy cream, sugar and extract until peaks form. 5. Fold the whipped cream into the prepared pudding. 6. Boil up a pot of water and blanch the peaches for 1 minute. Peel and slice. 7. Layer up the trifle starting with half the cookies/cake, followed by the pistachios, peaches and pudding. Repeat the layers and chill for at least an hour before serving. Julie, Mommie Cooks blog comments powered by Disqus Get every new post delivered to your Inbox. Join 316 other followers
Easter basket has strong religious roots, significance among ethnic faithful Maribeth Joeright/MJoeright@News-Herald.com Marilou Suszko kneads dough for her traditional Easter bread. Maribeth Joeright/MJoeright@News-Herald.com Paska, or Easter bread, is a traditional part of Marilou Suszko's Easter basket along with brightly colored eggs. Each color has it's own significance and the bread is braided to symbolize Christ's crown of thorns. Today at 1 p.m., the Rev. John Betters, pastor of Sts. Robert and William Catholic Church, will bless an estimated 200 or more Easter baskets that have been placed in the Euclid church's sanctuary by parishioners. They won't be baskets filled with candy, Peeps or cute toy rabbits, although some might have eggs in them. These are the original Easter baskets, filled with foods that were given up during the 40 days of Lent. After they've been blessed with incense in the half-hour Easter Saturday church ceremony they'll be reclaimed by their owners and taken home so the contents can be eaten, either today or on Easter Sunday. "Many of the baskets will be covered with a beautifully embroidered cloth, used only at Easter," explained Marilou Suszko, a Vermilion-based food writer whose Slovak relatives observe the annual blessing of Easter foods. She was invited by Betters to give a March 20 food symbolism class at Sts. Robert and William, one of the area's most ethnically diverse churches. The blessing of Easter foods has long been a tradition in Polish households, but it's also been embraced by Catholics of Slovenian, Slovak and German heritage, she said. "I think people are looking for traditions to reintroduce into their family celebrations," Suszko said. During the 1700s, when the tradition likely began, people faced stark times during the 40 days of Lent without meats and fats, she explained. So being able to return these indulgences to the table was a big part of the Easter celebration. The symbolism of various foods varies with the ethnicity, but most agree that pagan celebrations of spring were the historic roots. The egg symbolizes that rebirth or in some more specific traditions it symbolizes Christ in the tomb. When the egg is broken open and shared on Easter morning, it not only symbolizes the resurrection, but the unity among Christ and his followers. "Many different ethnic groups make an Easter bread that in my heritage is called paska," Suszko said. "It's a rich yeast bread made from eggs, butter, raisins and milk -- many of the forbidden ingredients during Lent." The bread is often braided to symbolize Christ's crown of thorns and is one of the first things served on Easter morning. She taught those in last month's food symbolism class how to make Easter bread and each person took a loaf home to let rise, and then bake. "Another thing my Slovak relatives do is make a custard-type cheese called Cirak for Easter morning," Suszko said It's also made of milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla -- ingredients often given up for Lent. A red egg plays an important role at Easter in Greek Orthodox churches. Legend says that when Mary Magdalene told the Emperor Tiberius about the empty tomb, she used an egg as a symbol of it. The emperor replied that was about as likely as the egg in her hand turning red. The egg she held did turn red and ever since a red egg has been a part of Greek Orthodox tradition. In some churches, a basket of colored eggs is blessed by the priest at midnight and then passed out to the congregation members to be cracked open. Symbolic foods that Suszko revealed to her class included butter in the shape of a lamb to represent the goodness of Christ, salt to remind Christians that it is their duty to flavor the world and red horseradish made with beet juice to remind of the blood and suffering of Christ. "Sometimes people add personal things to their baskets before they are blessed," she said. "I always put in a picture of my grandmother because it is her traditions we are continuing," she said. She also includes a bottle of Ohio wine to remind her of the agricultural bounty we enjoy as Ohioans, and a candle to represent that Christ is the light of the world. Many Easter baskets, she said, don't even make it to Easter. "Some people take them home and have it all for Saturday lunch," Suszko said. 1 p.m. today, blessing of Easter baskets Sts. Robert and William Catholic Church 367 E. 260th Street
Learning a New Language @ Home: Teaching Yourself Web Design Looking at a page full of code might seem pretty daunting to the untrained eye. In fact the very foundation of any site, including this one, depends upon the brick and mortar of code (what you're looking at right now is the furnishings and decor). We'd like to help introduce you to the idea learning how to read and write code is not unlike learning a foreign language, and fluency may prove not only practical, but maybe even fun! Pin it button big The internet is still growing at a breakneck speed, with plenty of potential still out there. The problem is in order to realize that potential, it is important to be fluent in the language spoken online...languages including HTML, CSS, Javascript... all used to create the visible "front end" of site (web development deals with the back-end functionality of the site, the "plumbing" and "electrical", requiring an equal amount of expertise before poking around). Although it's beneficial to know both, it's much easier to teach oneself the design portion. 4 reasons why learning web design should be your goal for 2012: 1. Jobs The job market is shrunk considerably, but one industry continuing to expand is online and tech skill services. Companies often have openings for web designers and people knowledgeable with coding languages. In fact, we have several friends who went to school for different subjects entirely, taught themselves various coding languages on their own, and now have jobs working as web designers. Even if you're not planning to be a web designer, knowing the basics of HTML is similar to knowing a little Spanish: it comes in handy when you may least expect it. 2. Freelance Freelancers with a wide and flexible skill set are the most desirable, and even those with full-time jobs can sometimes add a side income by taking on freelance work. Creating a portfolio and advertising your expertise both online and in real life may lead to extra income. Networking can get you a long way and chances are, you probably know one or two people right now who could use web design help. 3. The Future The internet is going to continue to expand into every facet of our lives. Although coding languages will continue to change, many of the foundation elements are likely here to stay. Being able to speak "the languages" of web design will only serve to keep you more in tune with what is happening around the world while helping you to stay relevant and competitive in the job market. 4. It Can Be Fun Bear with us — it actually can be. If you're interested in learning languages, this isn't too far off. Considering web design as a study in a second language. It has syntax, grammar, rules, and everything else a real language has. Additionally, coding can be very finicky. The slightest error can throw an entire website off. It demands diligence, an attention to detail and accuracy. But if you pull it off, you're rewarded. People who have those kinds of qualities will likely feel right at home when it comes to coding. Pin it button big Now that we've unequivocally convinced you to learn how to code, where should you begin? There are countless books out there on the subject in varying degress of complexity. Two publishers we really like are O'Reilly and A Book Apart. If books aren't your thing, you can also look to a tutorial site such as Lynda.com. We've also used their services in the past and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. Pin it button big Lastly, Codeacademy recently began a new project called Code Year which aims to teach users how to code in 2012 by sending them weekly tutorials and lessons. The step by step handholding makes learning coding as simple as reciting your ABC's, and the opportunity to learn at your own pace with instantaneous feedback is both useful and convenient. (Images: Flickr members xJason.Rogersx and Al Abut licensed for use under Creative Commons)
Text size Police are investigating suspicions that a Holon nursery school teacher tied a one-and-a-half-year-old child to a chair for 15 minutes, bruising one of his arms, so he would "learn to sit quietly." The teacher, assistant teacher and principal have all been questioned under caution and released. The case began when Y., a resident of Holon, picked her son up from nursery school several days ago and noticed the bruise. She took him to a pediatrician, who said the marks were consistent with "pressure caused by binding." She called the school to ask what had happened, and the teacher initially responded that perhaps the assistant had grabbed the child during some incident on the playground. The principal told Y. that the boy had been wild lately and might have hurt himself. The next day, however, Y. spoke with the assistant, who told her, "If you love your child, take him out of this nursery school," Y. related. The assistant then explained she had seen the teacher tie the boy to a chair for about 15 minutes. Y. promptly complained to the police, who summoned the teacher, principal and assistant for questioning. The assistant related that another assistant had seen the incident and asked the teacher whether she was not overdoing it, and the teacher replied, "This isn't overdoing it. He needs to learn to sit quietly." "This teacher is not fit to work with children, period," Y. said yesterday. "And I don't understand how, almost two weeks after my complaint, she is still working there, as if nothing had happened." The Tel Aviv police confirmed the complaint but said they are still investigating. The teacher declined to comment yesterday. The principal said she and her staff had told the police "everything we know, and obviously we saw nothing of the sort. As a rule, we will not back a teacher who turns out to have acted improperly."
Question: English & Literature What is the theme in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes? In English & Literature | Asked by bookragstutor Asked from the Flowers for Algernon study pack The main theme would be Man playing God, but there's also friendship and the role of intelligence in human relationships (guest) | 216 days ago
Agnieszka Kolakowska Two lessons emerged from my two-week stint of French jury service. The first is that if you want to commit a murder in France, make it as savage as possible: you will have a good chance of getting off more lightly. Keep stabbing until the corpse is in shreds, and a forensic psychiatrist will almost inevitably pronounce the balance of your mind to have been disturbed, and the jury will have to take this into account. The second lesson is that if you are intending to rob someone at gun-point, or using some other instrument of persuasion, do not, under any circumstances, demand anything or try to extract any information. The maximum sentence for extortion with violence is ten years longer than for robbery with violence. You are not logged in
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Log in  ::  Register  ::  Not logged in A DDL Auditing Solution By David Wiseman, The purpose of this article is to share some of my own experience implementing a DDL auditing solution and to introduce you to the tool I developed to manage it, the T-SQL DDL Code History Tool.   This can be downloaded for free on my website Here are some of the benefits provided by the tool: •          Tracks DDL Events (schema modifications) •          Explorer style user interface.  Similar to SQL Server Management Studio •          See a history of schema changes for any given object in a database. •          See a history of schema changes made by any given user. •          See what recent changes have been made on your server/database. •          Advanced search/filter capabilities when required. •          Recycle Bin node for objects that no longer exist in the database or databases that no longer exist on the server. •          Create a point in time DDL Snapshot of your database. •          Integrates with Source Gear Diff Merge to provide diff comparisons.  •          Clipboard compare feature to allow compare of any object from any DB - current or DDL history •          Quick compare option to compare an object in the current database with an object of the same name in another database. •          Quick compare option to compare the schema of two databases. •          Export option •          Red Gate SQL Compare Integration Before I discuss how the tool works in more detail, we will look at the options available for capturing DDL events. Capturing DDL Events The following methods can be used to capture DDL events: •          DDL Triggers •          Event Notifications •          SQL Trace DDL Triggers DDL Triggers were introduced in SQL Server 2005 and they are a popular choice for implementing DDL auditing solutions.  They are very similar to AFTER DML triggers which are familiar territory for most DBAs.  An EVENTDATA() function is used within the trigger to retrieve XML that describes the DDL event.  Here is a very basic example: -- EVENTDATA() function returns XML describing the DDL event -- Shred the XML and store in an audit table (add additional columns for PostTime, ObjectName etc as required) INSERT INTO dbo.AuditTable(LoginName,EventType,EventDataXML) SELECT @EventDataXML.value('(/EVENT_INSTANCE/LoginName)[1]','SYSNAME') AS LoginName, @EventDataXML.value('(/EVENT_INSTANCE/EventType)[1]','SYSNAME') AS EventType, The XML returned from the EVENTDATA() function when creating a stored procedure might look something similar to this: <CommandText>CREATE PROC dbo.MyProcedure A DDL trigger fires after the DDL operation has completed and runs within the same transaction that fired the DDL event.  As DDL triggers run within the scope of the transaction that fired the DDL event it’s possible to rollback the transaction, preventing the DDL event from being committed to the database. The use of DDL triggers goes beyond auditing; for example you could use it to enforce naming conventions.  Note: In SQL Server 2008 Microsoft introduced the declarative management framework (DMF) which is a better way to enforce naming conventions etc. If you are running SQL Server 2005 or if you want to implement something outside the scope of the DMF, then DDL Triggers are an option to consider. For auditing purposes the fact that DDL triggers fire synchronously and have the ability to rollback the transaction is not desirable.  We only want to capture and store the DDL events that have occurred – not to prevent them in any way.  We also need to consider that the client will need to wait for the logic in the DDL trigger to complete, slowing down DDL operations. If you want to capture DDL events in one database and store those events in another database there are some security restrictions that you will need to work around when using DDL Triggers.  Erland Sommarskog wrote an excellent article that will point you to a few different solutions that you can use.  Older versions of my auditing solution logged DDL events to tables in the same databases that generated the events.  I later decided that I wanted to log events in a separate database and I used certificate signed stored to solve the cross database access problem.  This worked, but it wasn’t a great solution.  The cross-database access issue is one of the reasons I switched to using event notifications. Event Notifications Event Notifications were also introduced in SQL Server 2005 and they offer some benefits over DDL triggers for auditing solutions.  Event Notifications make use of the asynchronous programming infrastructure provided by the Service Broker.  Event notifications are sent to a service broker service and stored in a queue to be processed.  It’s possible to process events automatically as they arrive in the queue using broker activation.  The payload sent to the broker queue is an XML message that is identical to the one generated by the EVENTDATA() function used in DDL triggers. The processing of DDL events is decoupled from the events that fire them.  This means that it’s not possible to rollback the transaction that generated the DDL event as that transaction has already been committed.  This isn’t a bad thing for an auditing system as it reduces the performance impact on the clients generating the DDL events.  It also means that if an error occurs during the processing of the DDL event, it doesn’t cause the DDL event to fail.  The event isn’t necessarily lost in this case as it’s possible to take the event off the queue as part of the transaction that processes the event.  So if the processing fails, the event remains on the queue.  If a message retrieved from the queue is rolled back 5 times, poison message handling will kick in, disabling the queue and manual intervention will be required to fix the issue. In SQL Server 2005 it’s not possible to create a server level DDL trigger to capture database level DDL events for all databases on your server.  If you want to capture database level events for every database using DDL Triggers, you either need to create a trigger in each database or upgrade to SQL Server 2008.  One of the advantages of event notifications is that it allows you to create a single event notification at server level to capture database level events for every database on your server, even if you are still using SQL Server 2005. Event Notifications also make it easier to capture DDL events in one database and process those events in a different database (or even another server).  My first attempt at an auditing solution was done using DDL Triggers, but I switched over to using event notifications.  Event notifications have the advantage of been asynchronous, easier to setup when logging in a separate database and provide the ability to capture database level events at server level in SQL Server 2005.  Event Notifications are used in the T-SQL DDL Code History Tool and we will see how this works later in the article. SQL Trace The default trace captures a limited amount of data about DDL events and a report is available in management studio called “Schema Changes History” that you can use to see recent activity on your server.  The report can tell you what’s changed recently and who made the change, but the DDL command is not captured.  It’s also possible to create your own traces, but DDL triggers and event notifications provide a more complete solution for auditing DDL Events.  T-SQL DDL Code History Tool The T-SQL DDL Code History tool makes it easy to configure DDL event auditing using event notifications. To get started, please download the tool from my website: After loading the tool, you connect to your SQL server instance using the connect button on the toolbar.  DDL events can be tracked at the server level for every database on your server or you can enable tracking for specific databases.  To track events at the server level, right-click the server node and select “Configure DDL Event Capture”.  If you want to track events for a specific database, expand the tree and select the “Configure DDL Event Capture” context menu for that database instead.  Note: If you want to track events for a specific database, you need to make sure the service broker is enabled on that database.  This step isn’t required for tracking events at the server level as the msdb database is already enabled for the service broker.  To enable the service broker you must have exclusive access to the database so the application will prompt you to do this instead of running the command for you. The first time you configure DDL event capture it will prompt you to create a new database called “zzCodeHistory” which will be used to store our DDL events.  The design of the database is a star schema, a pattern commonly used in data warehouses.  Here is a quick overview of the table design: The events table is used as a fact table with a grain of 1 row for each DDL event fired.  The objects, logins and eventtypes tables are dimension tables with a one-to-many relationship with the events fact table.  The EventData table is a junk dimension table with a one-to-one relationship with the Events table.  The EventData table preserves the XML generated for the event in its original format.  This table is accessed when the application needs to retrieve the T-SQL command text for a specific event or when the “Event Data” hyperlink is clicked to display the XML for an event.  The critical elements of the database that enable it to be the target of an event notification are the “DDLEvent_Queue” service broker queue, the "" service and the “DDLEventQueue_Receive” stored procedure which is used to process events from the queue.  The “DDLEvent_Queue_Receive” procedure is specified as an activation stored procedure on the “zzCodeHistory.DDLEvent_Queue” so it automatically runs when there is work in the queue to process.  The stored procedure simply takes events off the queue and inserts the XML into the zzCodeHistory.EventData table. You can see the relevant portion of the database DDL below: CREATE QUEUE zzCodeHistory.DDLEvent_Queue ON QUEUE zzCodeHistory.DDLEvent_Queue Created By:  David Wiseman DDL Events are captured using event notifications and are placed in a service broker queue.  This stored procedure is the activation stored procedure to take messages off the queue and insert the captured XML Event data into an audit table (zzCodeHistory.EventData).  A trigger exists on this table that handles the rest of the processing. CREATE PROCEDURE [zzCodeHistory].[DDLEventQueue_Receive]     EventDataXML XML -- Keep processing messages until timeout (no more messages to process)        -- Transaction includes rcv msgs, process, and write to table        BEGIN TRAN;        -- Get next 1000 messages from queue.  Timeout after 1 second if no messages are on the queue        WAITFOR (RECEIVE TOP(1000) message_body                     FROM zzCodeHistory.DDLEvent_Queue                   INTO @tDDLEvents                      ), TIMEOUT 1000;        -- Exit if not messages returned        IF @@ROWCOUNT = 0               ROLLBACK TRAN;     -- A trigger will fire on insert into EventData, shredding the XML data and populating various other tables (events, objects etc)        INSERT INTO zzCodeHistory.EventData(EventDataXML)        SELECT EventDataXML        FROM @tDDLEvents        -- Empty table variable ready to process next batch of events        DELETE FROM @tDDLEvents; ALTER QUEUE zzCodeHistory.DDLEvent_Queue   PROCEDURE_NAME = [zzCodeHistory].[DDLEventQueue_Receive],  It’s worth noting that a regular database DML trigger exists on the zzCodeHistory.EventData table which is used to shred the XML data from the event notification, populating the zzCodeHistory.Events table and related dimension tables.   After creating the database, you will then be prompted to create the event notification.  In this case we are capturing the event group "DDL_EVENTS" which includes events generated at server level (CREATE LOGIN, DROP DATABASE etc) as well as database level events (CREATE PROCEDURE, ALTER TABLE etc) for every database on the server.  The events and event groups available to capture are documented here. If you preview the command, it will look something similar to this: CREATE EVENT NOTIFICATION zzCodeHistory_DDLEvent_Notification The event notification points to the service broker service that exists in the zzCodeHistory database.  The GUID in the script is the broker specifier for the zzCodeHistory database and this will be different on your database.  The application automatically provides the correct GUID for you, but you can also use the following query to identify the GUID to use in your database. SELECT name,service_broker_guid FROM sys.databases After creating the event notification, your DDL audit configuration is now complete.  Whenever a DDL event occurs it will generate an event notification.  This will get put on the transmission queue and then forwarded to the service that exists in the zzCodeHistory database.   When the message arrives in the queue, the activation stored procedure will run automatically, inserting the XML event data into the EventData table.  A DML trigger on the EventData table will fire, shredding the XML and populating the other tables in the database. What’s cool about the tool? The T-SQL DDL Code History Tool not only makes it easier to configure a DDL auditing solution, but it also makes the data more accessible.  One of the really cool things about the tool is integration with SourceGear DiffMerge, a free file differencing utility.  This makes it easy to see exactly what has been changes have been made to a stored procedure.  The tool also includes a quick compare feature that allows you to compare a stored procedure in one database with the same stored procedure in a different database.  If you need to compare two stored procedures with different names, you can use the copy to clipboard feature.  The quick compare feature can even be used to compare an entire database, although I would suggest using Red Gate SQL Compare if you need a tool for comparing and synchronizing databases.  The tool also includes SQL Compare integration if you have a license for the professional edition. In addition to auditing DDL events, the tool also allows you to create a point in time snapshot of your database schema.  One of the limitations of auditing DDL events for an existing database is that you are starting from scratch without any previous history for your stored procedures.  If someone modifies a stored procedure you won’t have a previous event to compare it to, preventing you from seeing exactly what changes were made.   This problem is solved by using DDL snapshots as they provide you with a point in time copy of your database schema that you can use when no previous events are available.  Download the tool! The tool is available to download for free on my website: The link above also includes a video introduction to the tool if you want to see it in action.   Installation instructions are available here: A list of known issues and limitations is available here: Note: At the time of writing, the version of the tool available to download is CTP1.  Please let me know if you find any bugs or if you have suggestions for new features. Total article views: 1824 | Views in the last 30 days: 67 Related Articles How notificate create database event How notificate create database event Getting Started with SQL Server Event Notifications Notification of Database Issues New White Paper: SQL Server Extended Events and Notifications Download the new white paper: How to Use SQL Server’s Extended Events and Notifications to Proacti... 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Man who gets sick from Wi-Fi speaks about illness Says millions of people suffer from electronic sensitivity Published  12:02 PM MST Jan 12, 2013 The man who unsuccessfully sued his neighbor because he said her cellphone and computer use was making him sick spoke to Action 7 News about the ordeal. Arthur Firstenberg said he can't go to concerts, go to the movies or simply be around a lot of people because he's electronically sensitive and the cellphones in everyone's pockets are making him sick. "There really are a lot of us," Firstenberg said. "I know doctors, lawyers, who have had to leave their practices and live in their vehicles in remote places. This should not happen." Firstenberg said millions of people around the world suffer from the same symptoms, including at least 100 people he knows in Santa Fe. Firstenberg said his conditions started when he was in medical school back in the 1980s. He said he was overdosed with X-ray and that was the turning point in his life. "Something changed in my head, and I felt an electric current go through my body, out through my toes," Firstenberg said. When cellphone towers started popping up around New York City, Firstenberg had to leave. He said he's been a refugee since 1996, trying to escape cell towers as they became more and more prominent. Firstenberg moved to Santa Fe a few years ago and helped a friend move in next door. But he said her cellphone and laptop use made him physically ill. He suffered everything from headaches to heart problems. "I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think. I couldn't eat. My head felt like it was going to explode," he said. Firstenberg sued his neighbor but lost, but he is now appealing the case. Firstenberg said he and others like him deserve a place in this world where they can live in peace and health. He said they need to be part of the conversation when it comes to the future of cellphones, Wi-Fi and other technologies. Do you want to print this page now?
Compounded drugs and clinical practice (Proceedings) Compounded drugs and clinical practice (Proceedings) Aug 01, 2009 Compounded drug formulation for use in equine clinical practice has at least two clearly ethical appeals, one contentious issue, and one non ethical practice. 1. Drugs that are not available in commercial formulations useful in horses can be compounded for better ease of administration and clinically effective applications. Also, drugs without Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, human or otherwise, can be formulated. This is the essential function that pharmacy compounding fulfills, because there is a large need for medications in equine practice relative to the small number of drugs FDA approved for horses. 2. Compounding of drugs that have been approved for horses, but have been withdrawn by the sponsor is fair game for compounding pharmacies (e.g., oral flunixin meglumine powders, or dipyrone injectable). Again this is an essential function fulfilled by compounding pharmacies. 3. Compounded drugs are often far less expensive than FDA approved formulations for other species, especially those approved for human beings. Compounding of these formulations is a contentious issue. By the letter of the guide this is inappropriate compounding. However, expense of products approved for human beings can preclude treatment. It is the author's opinion that if the veterinarian and the owner are aware of issues in using compounded drugs, this is a rational use for them. 4. Compounded drugs that mimic FDA approved drugs are often far less expensive than FDA approved formulations for horses. This is the disturbing form of compounding that has a severe negative impact on drug development and equine practice. In addition, this is an unethical practice as defined by most pharmacy boards and good compounding practice. As an example, using compounded omeprazole, clenbuterol (both for oral use), or flunixin meglumine, (for iv use) in horses is not advisable or appropriate on several levels. Quality of clinical medicine, negative impact on equine drug development, and client expectations are just a few issues. The quality of the compounded medication cannot be guaranteed. Hence, it is reasonable to assume that this increases your liability, and reduces the quality of care delivered. Compounding of these drugs is considered unethical by the AVMA. Veterinary compounded drug quality is greatly unregulated in most states. Essentially quality is dictated by the ethical and knowledge bounds of your pharmacist. Clearly an essential part of rational therapeutic drug use is the knowledge of the quality, strength (concentration), purity and availability of the molecule in the formulation you intend to administer. In this respect, when a compounded drug is prescribed, veterinarians should have complete knowledge of the compounding pharmacy selected for this process, since the veterinarian bears a portion of the responsibility for the use of these formulations. In addition, veterinarians must decide when quality is outweighed by cost. In other words, when is a clinical decision to use a compounded medication worth the risk of ineffectiveness or adverse responses in the patient and to the client. It is judicious for veterinary practitioners to assume that they are ultimately responsible for the use of a compounded product. This more clearly defines the seriousness of using compounded formulations. Clearly, it behooves the veterinary practitioner to be sure that the compounding pharmacy is following appropriate compounding pharmacy laws and guides.
1. Why has ASM Capital contacted me? ASM Capital is offering creditors in certain bankruptcy cases an opportunity to liquidate their bankruptcy claims for an immediate cash settlement. 2. How did ASM Capital find me? The Bankruptcy court requires a Debtor to provide a list of all of its creditors to the court in a publicly available document. ASM Capital also tracks the filing of proof of claims in cases in which it is active. 3. If I want to sell my claim to ASM Capital, what is the next step? In addition to a signed Purchase Agreement, ASM Capital may require supporting documentation to purchase your claim. This documentation may take the form of invoices, purchase orders, contracts, or other correspondence including a copy of your filed proof of claim. 4. Do I need to have a Proof of Claim filed to sell my claim? Not necessarily. It depends on the circumstances of your claim and the case itself. ASM Capital can assist you in filing a Proof of Claim, or, if we purchase your claim, we can also file a Proof of Claim in the case on your behalf. 5. If I sell my claim to ASM Capital, when can I expect payment? Generally, ASM Capital sends out checks within 7 to 10 business days of having received a signed Purchase Agreement. ASM Capital can also send its payment via a wire. 6. Will ASM come back to me for a refund if the ultimate recovery from the bankrupt company pays less than the sales price? No, as long as the claim itself is not reduced or disallowed. 7. Does ASM Capital have account information to help me reconcile the claim to my receivables records? No. ASM Capital is unaffiliated with the bankrupt company and is operating as a third-party purchaser. If you have any questions about selling your claim, please contact ASM Capital E-mail:   info@asmcapital.com The Asm Capital Team includes experts in bankruptcy law, analysis and administration.
Whether or not he's Uber "A", at this point, it's clear that Ezra (Ian Harding) is up to something sketchy. And after Pretty Little Liars Season 4, Episode 18 (“Hot for Teacher”) it seems equally clear that Ezra has an accomplice who was helping him by taking pics of the girls. So, who's helping Ezra? The obvious answer would be Mona they did have that mysterious meeting, and she has a proven history of spy skills but in Rosewood, the obvious is rarely right. Every week, we like to delve into the world of fan theories and see what interesting ideas pop up, and these week we want to look at one of the more extreme, but still plausible, theories about who Ezra is working with: Jason DiLaurentis. Why might Ali's brother be teamed up with Ezra? Here are some of the clues and theories that make us say Hmmm, that's possible. He's been MIA. One reason Jason is suspect right now is that he's been MIA all season. His mom claims he's down south working on his grandmother's old house, but that could easily be a lie. He has a history with photographs. Jason was a member of the NAT club, which was all about creepy spying, so he has the skills needed to help Ezra out. Plus, more recently, there was that time he had a bunch of photos of Aria, which some have tied to the photos of Aria sleeping that were in "A"'s lair in the tag for Episode 18. Could Ezra be helping Ali? The biggest problem with this theory is that it really seems like Jason is genuinely upset over his sister's apparent death. While that could all be an act, we have a hard time imagining him helping someone who was out to hurt Ali. But, as we've explored in the past, some fans think Ezra may actually helping Ali. Or, if he's not teamed up with her, he might be trying to find her/find out what happened to her because he cares about her, not because he wants to hurt her. In either case, we could easily see him recruiting Jason to his cause.
Ask The Rabbi For the week ending 25 June 2005 / 18 Sivan 5765 Revisiting Angels by Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman - The Color of HeavenArtscroll From: Al Allen in Atlanta Dear Rabbi, In response to your weekly question/answer regarding angels, I was wondering why G-d needs angels in the first place. Is their job solely to carry out G-d's orders? If so, why does G-d need assistance when He's capable of doing everything Himself? Also, how do angels become angels? Are they angels in perpetuity? Are the angels that we have now the same ones that have been there since the beginning of time? I have a hard time with the concept of angels. It seems very Christian to me ... but I bet you'll say that the Christians borrowed the concept from the Jews! Thank you in advance for your response. Dear Al, The Hebrew word for angel is "malach". The word "malach" is related to the word "melacha", which means "task". Hence, a malach is a force that acts as an agent or vehicle to accomplish G-ds will. Thus, the primary function of angels is to carry out G-ds orders. If we were to understand that angels are independent creatures "separate" from G-d, we might wonder why G-d needs the assistance of an emissary. However, in Judaism, not only are angels not to be envisioned literally as scantily dressed winged beings, they are not even considered as independent spiritual beings per se. Rather, angels are an extension of G-d Himself, their being spiritual manifestations of His will, as He realizes that will. Since G-ds providence over all existence is not static and distant but rather dynamic and intimate, His will in maintaining everything is constantly being modified. Therefore the forces through which He executes His will are constantly changing accordingly. Most angels then, are limited, finite forces realizing G-ds will each moment as He purveys a myriad of considerations. This is what is meant by angels being created, fulfilling one specific task, and being destroyed. Nevertheless, many angels have "universal" tasks such as Gavriel, the manifestation of G-ds corrective strength, or Raphael the extension of Gods health-giving powers. These angels will last for the duration of the world as we know it. Are the angels that we have now the same ones that have been there since the beginning of time? Targum Yonatan, a translation of the Torah into Aramaic by Yonatan ben Uziel who was the greatest of Hillel's students, circa 165 CE, paraphrases "And G-d said to the ministering angels who had been created on the second day of the Creation of the World, Let us make man". According to the above explanation, this expresses the idea that before G-d created time and space, there was nothing else in existence to act upon that would require an expression of G-ds will. Once creation was fixed, G-d initiated the aforementioned dynamic through which His will is directed upon Existence. Many people have a hard time with the concept of angels particularly with the popular Christian concept. I hope our description of the authentic Jewish concept, while admittedly somewhat deep, will help make things easier for you. © 1995-2014 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. « Back to Ask The Rabbi
Picture This: 7 Tips for Perfect Pics Whether you're taking pictures for photo Christmas cards or everyday photo cards, we know that you want to make your pictures - the star of your card - look great. Believe it or not, when it comes to photography, knowing some simple tricks will make all the difference. And if you take better pictures, you're going to be happier with your cards! You've already got the tough part down... you have the special people and amazing places whose pictures can make any card perfect. As far as how to take the best photos of them, Cardstore talked to professional photographers and asked for advice - here's what they said. Change your perspective Most "amateur" photographs are taken from the photographer's-eye level, usually standing up. Stand out and shoot like it's your job by exploring alternative camera angles... crouch down, get up above the subject or even lay flat on the ground. Doing something as simple as changing your angle can take an average image and make it dynamic and interesting. If you're taking pictures of kids or pets, for instance, crouch down low and experiment with taking pictures from an eye-to-eye point of view. (For more tips on taking pictures of kids, take a look at this article on our blog.) On the other hand, if you want to be the most popular photographer at the high school reunion just hold your camera about a foot over your head as you snap every picture. The simple trick of having everyone in the photo look upwards a little bit makes the extra years - and the extra chins - magically disappear! When it comes to changing angles, there's no right or wrong. Experiment, have fun, and see what works for you. Go steady Who says pro tips have to be hard? You can instantly improve the quality of your pics by attaching your camera to a tripod. Or, if you don't have a tripod, use your imagination: lean on a tree, rock, table, a building - or even on someone's shoulder. In a pinch, you can pull your elbows tight into your sides to create stability. This is much easier than holding a camera up by your face and trying to hold it steady. Having a steady shot will give you the clearest photos. Get up close & personal When taking portraits, it's important that the people are the focus of the picture. Make sure your subject fills the majority of the frame, and don't feel the need to include their whole body in a shot; a picture from the waist up usually works well. You don't need to center subjects in a picture, either. Get creative by posing your subject off to one side to a get a more styled look. If you're using a camera phone, our best advice is zoom with your feet - in other words, walk closer to your subject rather than use the "digital close up" zooming feature. We all love our camera phones, and you'll be amazed at the difference that one simple trick will make in your photos. To increase the brightness in a room, hold white pieces of poster board around your lamps to "bounce" some light back into the scene. Turn off the flash Take advantage of natural light as much as possible to create more interesting shots, even playing with taking pictures at different times of the day - you'd be surprised by how much more warm and flattering an early morning or evening sun can be compared to the bright shine of midday. Experiment throughout the day to find your own "magic" sunshine level; it tends to be unique for everyone. For outdoor scenes, you can also play around with a technique called "backlighting" by shooting with the sun behind your subject. Backlighting can create a warm halo effect around a person, and sometimes add a soft sun flare. For indoor scenes, you've got plenty of options. To increase the brightness in a room, hold white pieces of poster board around your lamps to "bounce" some light back into the scene. Or to create a softer feel in a shot, take your picture in a room with lots of windows and open your shades up all the way. Then drape a white sheet over them to diffuse the light. This diffused light technique is a great trick if you're taking pictures of a baby - just take the pics next to the window, and drape another white sheet over whatever table or chair the baby is resting on. Come up with a game plan When it comes to photography, a little planning can go a long way. Before you start snapping shots, spend a few minutes considering the background and color story for your photos. A busy background will compete with the person (the star of the show!) you're photographing. Stay away from bold patterns, as well as other visual distractions like light poles, trees, and people passing by in the background. Choose colors that "work" with your composition. You want to create a scene that complements your subject, not clashes with it. This also applies to wardrobe - busy patterns and bright colors distract from people's faces. Instead, have your subject wear muted or basic colors, or subtle patterns. It never hurts to avoid baggy clothing, and aim to wear something that enhances your shape. Try layering techniques, and use jackets and blazers to subdue patterned shirts or dresses. And as long as we're talking about what to wear... if you're posing a group shot, make sure it looks like everyone's heading to the same place! We're not talking about matching t-shirts or cheesy his-'n-her outfits, but having a woman in a cocktail dress standing next to guy in shorts and a polo shirt just doesn't work. Limited depth-of-field can render less important parts of a picture soft and dream-like, while keeping the important parts of the picture – your main subjects – in sharp focus. And, really, we don't mean to sound like your mother - but use that iron! Nothing will make you cringe like seeing wrinkled clothes in your family portrait. Google your camera If you're anything like us, you probably have no idea where your original camera manual is right now. And that's okay, because if you're reading this it means you have the power of the Internet on your side. Go ahead and search your camera model, along with the word "settings" or "icons." That will give you a great overview of what all those weird symbols mean. Want more information on your camera's mysterious icons? Here's a link to a helpful article, which provides a quick overview of the symbols found on most digital cameras. Once you've got the tech basics down, you can begin to play around with some of the advanced settings on your camera, especially in "Manual" mode. For example, you can try a technique called "limited depth-of-field." Limited depth-of-field can render less important parts of a picture soft and dream-like, while keeping the important parts of the picture - your main subjects - in sharp focus. You can do this by opening your f/stop to the largest opening (which is the smallest "f/" number). Most consumer lenses have maximum f openings of f/2.8, but fixed (prime) lenses, such as some 50mm types, will open to f/1.4. Manual mode will also let you adjust things like the shutter speed, which comes in handy if you're taking pictures of pets or other moving objects. Using the fastest shutter speed setting on your camera will help you avoid blurry shots. Shoot, shoot, shoot! Pro tip number seven is actually the easiest and most fun: Take as many pictures as you can! Instead of taking just one or two pictures of the scene you've set up, why not take 30 or 40? This isn't 1995, when you would have had to pay for the development and printing of 40 shots (not to mention film!). The joys of being digital is that the more pictures you take, the better your odds will be of finding that perfect shot in the batch. And taking the perfect picture for your card is what it's all about, right? And there you have it... seven simple tricks from the pros that are guaranteed to improve your photos! And once you're ready to showcase your pics to the world, here are some awesome Cardstore photo cards: Blank Photo Cards Add a photo and personalize your card with an instant memory. Shop blank photo cards > Photo Cards It's not just a card; it's a conversation piece. Make your favorite photo the main attraction. Shop all photo cards > Word Bubble Cards Create your own comic clouds. A personalized funny page for any photo. Shop word bubble cards >
Cliftonville Euro hopes still alive after draw in Belfast against Debrecen Cliftonville's Chris Curran with Debrecen's Norbert Meszaros Cliftonville's Chris Curran with Debrecen's Norbert Meszaros • by Conor McLaughlin at Solitude Cliftonville kept their Champions League ambitions alive with a stirring home draw with Debrecen last night. The Hungarians will still be huge favourites to progress when the sides renew acquaintances in next week’s second leg but, having avoided the concession of a potentially pivotal away goal, the Reds will travel in good spirits for their return showdown against a side they’ll believe they can score against. Indeed, were it not for visiting keeper Nenad Novakovic they would have secured a half-time lead last night with both Chris Curran and Joe Gormley sensationally denied within a minute of one another. Though Ibrahima Sidibe slammed an attempt against the underside of the crossbar during the second period, Cliftonville were not without chances of their own and Novakovic repelled efforts from Curran and Ronan Scannell during frantic closing exchanges which saw both sides threaten to break the deadlock. Debrecen’s best chance came in the depths of injury-time when, with the goal at his mercy, substitute L’imam Seydi lashed wildly over the bar. CLIFTONVILLE: Devlin, R Scannell, Johnston, Flynn, Curran, Donnelly, Seydak, Catney, Gormley, Cosgrove. Subs: Brown, McMullan (for Seydak, 82 mins), Garrett (for Donnelly, 63 mins), Smyth, Winchester, Murray (for Gormley, 90 mins), Caldwell. DEBRECEN: Novakovic, Bouadla, Lazar, Meszaros, Mate, Sidibe, Bodi, Varga, Tisza, Korhut, Jovanovic. Subs: Poleksic, Damahou, Zsidai (for Jovanovic, 84 mins), Mihelic (for Bodi, 78 mins), Morozov, Brkovic, Seydi (for Tisza, 46 mins). REFEREE: Artur Manuel Ribeiro Soares Dias (Portugal) Back to the top of the page
HOME > Chowhound > General Topics > Black thready things in frozen tilapia • 7 Hi everyone. I'm a sort-of longtime lurker, first-time poster :) Nice to be here! I've bought frozen tilapia in 2lb bags from Costco a few times now. Can't remember if it's the loins or fillets (I think it's the loins- I don't know fish anatomy well :P) Reason being that it's quick to thaw and quick to cook, so it makes a fairly easy dinner. However last time I bought tilapia, one of the pieces had these very thin, black thread-like things in its flesh. I cooked the fish fully and figured they're probably harmless, but they still kind of squicked me out, especially as I had not seen them in other pieces before. They only showed up after I flaked the fish a bit- they weren't on the surface. Also, the tilapia already comes de-boned (another convenience.) What are these thready black things? Are they harmless, as I suspect? Bonus question: are there any seriously harmful long-term effects of eating lots of tilapia? By lots I mean maybe 3-4 loins a week, and the loins aren't huge or anything. Of course I'm going to work some different kinds of fish in there too, like salmon, but since the tilapia is relatively cheap I'd be eating a lot of it. I live in Las Vegas, if that helps. Thanks in advance for any help! 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. Drawing a blank on the threads, maybe bit of skin from the skinning process? Re harm eating lots of it, there is ALWAYS someone who will say you are are harming yourself by eating anything, you have to learn to tune those people out. Tilapia is a great source of low-fat protein. You aren't getting the Omega 3 that you get from ocean fish but it's still a very healthy thing to eat. 1. I know what you are talking about - I have seen it in other white fish too. It's part of the fish, what it is I don't know (nor do I want to...) so it is safe to eat. I think eating a lot of tilapia is ok - what you want to be careful of are the fatty fish and the bottom feeders. Bottom feeders, because who knows what they're eating. Fatty fish, because they have higher mercury content. I Googled "tilapia risks" and there are some interesting things out there, you may want to research yourself. 1. I'm an "everything in moderation" gal, so I'm going to say that I personally wouldn't consider it healthy to be eating Tilapia (or anything else specific for that matter) 3-4 times per week. 1 Reply 1. re: Bacardi1 It's just a protein source. The concern over mercury (relatively low in tilapia) may have some validity, and the omega ratio debate is vaguely interesting from a medical perspective, but your point I don;t quite understand. Plenty of people eat "something specific" on a daily basis, be it bread, milk, some kind of cereal, heck even apples. How is that a health concern? 2. Where is it imported from? If you are eating it that frequently you need to understand how it is raised and most tilapia production in Asia is some nasty, nasty aquaculture. Domestic production like farmed catfish is much, much cleaner. Look up "honey pot" if you want to better understand. 1. Like I said no matter WHAT food you eat, someone will come along and say it is dangerous to eat it.
12 October 2011 General Motors Strikes Back Stop Pedalling, Start Driving. It would be amusing if it wasn't so pathetic. Giant bicycles produced this bicycle-friendly version of the ad. Titch said... That ad is "patheticness" at its best! Sad and desperate. Urggh, makes me cringe! It gets a good old slap from me! Anonymous said... Even if I bought the cynical premise of this campaign (driving is for WINNERS!), it's just a weak campaign. The slogan, the graphics, everything about it is lame and out of date. Why would the attractive, fit guy on the bike even care what the smirking harpy in the car thinks? It smacks of desperation and almost makes me feel sorry for GM. They're going to need to do better than that to counter the perception of all the younger people I know, that cycling is hot and driving is at best a necessary evil. Anonymous said... The Car industry in America and the EU is getting worried. The European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association stated that cycling is a luxury activity: "European cities only a few can afford walking and cycling to work or for leisure, the cost of living close to the place or work or leisure being too high” (http://www.ecf.com/4600_1) This is a sign they're getting worried.... good work copenhagenize Miguel Barroso said... I think tha GM has already found out the hard way, that this ad was a big FAIL. Judging by the FB comments (www.facebook.com/gmcollegeprogram), and their response, I guess that sonnner than latter, they will try to come up with some "damage control" to this campaign: "We are very sorry that we have offended you and the bicycling community by our recent campaign. We are listening to everyone's feedback, and making changes to the campaign. Thank you for voicing your concerns and again we apologize." SteveL said... According to Wikipedia, the US, Canada and Ontario State governments own 43% of the GM stock here. This is not just a company, it is a company half owned by the North American governments. Ryan said... Geeze, as an Ontario resident who owns a part of GM, I'm furious about this...but at the same time I'm amused. If car manufactures are targeting bikes in their ads, it must mean cycling is on the right track over here! Also, college students can hardly pay for tuition so what makes GM think they'll ever afford the upkeep of a pickup truck, let alone a compact car? Doug said... Mikael, I've suggested that cyclists embrace this GM campaign, but reverse its slogan: "Stop driving...start pedaling." Jason Tinkey said... Terrific, let's saddle college students with even more debt that they won't be able to repay once they graduate and can't find a job. What's good for GM is good for America, amirite? Rhode Long said... I think you are right with turning the campaign against them. Let's face it, "Reality sucks" to be a motorists with the congestion, lack of parking, stress, health impacts, costs etc. etc. A reverse campaign would be easy but I guess we would come across as petty. I prefer quiet smugness. ZA_SF said... The ad-jam is so easy. Corpulent overdebted dude in a pickup truck, or a heaving svelt cyclist (with the best butts) with a smile a bottle of beer to share? Embrace selling the sexy, because the car loses every time. Anonymous said... if this is GM "striking back" then I don't think we have much to fear. Everything about the ad is dated - other than the car model years there is nothing to indicate that this wasn't produced in 1992. There's a lot of survey evidence indicating that cars are losing their status-symbol cachet among younger people, and this totally out-of-touch campaign will do nothing to counter that trend. SteveL said... To be fair to GM, the EU-only Corsa model comes with the option of a built in 2 bike carrier built in to the rear bumper: pull it out and you've got room for two bikes. This is a complete contrast to the "you need an SUV for outdoor adventures" marketing that is normally presented. If car club vehicles were so equipped, and rental cars, it'd be easier to rent a car for the odd car+bike journey. That built in bike carrier is a way of embracing bicycles and recognising that people who own small urban cars may want to carry bikes, and don't need a second vehicle to do it (unlike the electric-for-commute, SUV-for-weekends story) Rhode Long said... Nah, GM cannot be defended, even with the neat Corsa integrated rack. You must have seen the adverts in the UK whereby the lycra clad, helmeted model on the bike is tempted into the Corsa for a lift rather than carry on up the slight incline she was on. I agree with your sentiments for getting this onto car club vehicles (and the crazy SUV requirement for outdoor adventures that they market) but this is all marginalising cycles to weekend leisure rides and not as a form of transport. Rhode Long said... The advert is here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5erA6DqDwI It was a good design I agree (although a £500 option and you lost the spare wheel). Unfortunately it no longer appears as an option for the latest Corsa. Looks like they have discontinued it. JRoberts said... I'd love to know the market research the GM folks had access to that had them so concerned that they created this sort of campaign. It's not about the love of driving, new features or a passage into adulthood but rather a comparison to a product from a related but distinctly different industry. Thanks for posting! Erik G. said... To be fair, GM may have given street rail transit the coup de grace in some cities, streetcars were dying in many U.S. cities long before "National City Lines" thanks to non-public ownership, over-regulation by the Utilities regulators (fares couldn't be raised wooden cars had to be retired early), and improvement of parallel roadways, sometimes involving the acquisition of the rail right-of-way for road use instead. Try to find a copy of a documentary called "This was the Pacific Electric" for a good synopsis: I can very much remember riding a "Line Number 5" in a certain city before it was converted to bus, so this phenomenon happened in a lot of places. Adam said... Forever driving alone...
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How sustainable are printed magazines? Surprisingly, recycling isn't always the best option for printing a magazine responsibly. Lucy Siegle gets on the paper trail This is the age of the tree hugger. We have an unprecedented knowledge of environmental catastrophe and propensity to buy earth-friendly goods, from pyjamas to cauliflowers. It begs the question: why do so many actual trees continue to be felled on our watch? Forests are being destroyed at the rate of 13m hectares a year. Given that we collectively use 1m tonnes of paper every day (a fourfold increase in four decades), it is high time that we address our forestry footprint, and yes, I should address mine. I had always assumed that magazine paper was, like our newspaper, recycled. But magazines are a different breed. For starters, they require higher-grade paper. And so the trees felled for this magazine came from sustainably managed forests in Scandinavia. Those trees are then processed in local forest mills. Even if it were possible to use some recycled content, that would mean carting old newspapers to these forest mills, a logistical problem that adds up to a carbon insult. In short, we need virgin fibre. Acquiring this ethically is all about proactive sourcing. As Mandy Haggith, author of the compelling and terrifying Paper Trails: From Trees to Trash - The True Cost of Paper, tells us: "The paper industry exploits forests all over the world, in the tropics, in temperate zones of both the northern and southern hemisphere, and in the vast snowy north, known as the boreal region. Far too much of this exploitation is unsustainable and not welcomed by the local people." See as evidence the way the global paper trade has pushed through China and is now annexing the great Russian boreal forests. In common with other commodities, if you ask no questions, you end up buying into precisely this ecological and social time bomb. Fortunately the paper people here tend to ask more questions than you would think existed. Consequently, 99.91% of the paper used in this magazine is certified virgin fibre. Everything to do with the fibre used to make these pages - from growing the tree to felling, milling and printing - has been certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). It is the only programme that certifies right the way through the chain, and that's not easy to do. Fewer than 5% of the world's forests are covered by any certification scheme, and only a few of these produce trees for paper, so finding the right growers and mills is a challenge in the first place. In fact, we're the first newspaper publisher to get this chain of custody from the PEFC. If you're wondering where to go next with this, then bear in mind that less than half the paper consumed in the world is recycled after disposal, and in the UK 5m tonnes of paper goes to landfill every year. So - after you've finished reading, of course - it's off to the recycling bin so that this magazine can in effect become the paper. Think of it as a form of tree hugging. Do the right thing: Take your cloth bags to luxury stores. Upscale paper bags are eating into our forests, says the Rainforest Action Network (Ran) with its Don't Bag Indonesia's Rainforests campaign
Proposed US Navy port call to China has run aground for now By , Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor The proposed port call by United States Navy ships to China has run aground on the shoals of US policy. According to press reports from Washington, the two countries have not come to terms with China's insistence that visiting US ships not carry nuclear weapons. US policy is neither to confirm nor deny whether US naval vessels are nuclear armed. This issue has almost scuttled the military pact linking Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday that ``a number of issues'' remained in arranging the visit and that ``the two sides will maintain contact and continue discussion on this matter.'' Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test? According to Western diplomats here, the visit was expected this week in Shanghai after more than six months of planning. It apparently went off course because of remarks by Chinese Communist Party Secretary Hu Yaobang last month. Mr. Hu said the US had assured China there would be no nuclear weapons on any visiting naval vessels. US officials denied giving such assurances. Hu's remarks had more impact than usual because they were made to journalists in Australia and New Zealand on the eve of his visit to those countries. US ties with New Zealand were disrupted in March when Premier David Lange made good on a campaign promise to block from New Zealand ports US naval ships carrying nuclear weapons. The US has said Mr. Lange's position prevents any port calls in New Zealand by US naval vessels and disrupts military cooperation. Both China and the US have played down differences over the ship visit at a time when relations between the two countries are going smoothly. The visit to China would have been the first by a US naval ship since 1949. It was intended to symbolize the growing military cooperation between the two nations. But China also wants to avoid the appearance of a military relationship with either superpower. Some diplomats here say a conspicuous showing of the US flag in a major Chinese port would be ill-timed. They say it might symbolize too much friendship with the US and garner few points for China in international diplomacy, provoking in particular the USSR. Other diplomats point out that China has made little progress in normalizing its relations with Moscow and remains anxious about Soviet ships operating out of Vietnam's ports to the south and Vladivostok to the east, the headquarters for the Soviet Pacific fleet. In these circumstances, a historic visit by the US Navy would send a signal to the Soviet Union that China's regional security concerns cannot be easily dismissed. Share this story:
Save on all your Printing Needs at 4inkjets.com! Shakespearean Encounter by the Great Falls of Niagara By: Sambelini Page 1, Me and my friend wrote this as a Shakespearean exercise in grade 9 to try using Shakespeare\'s language and, more importantly, his INSULTS! So, obviously, there are quite a few wonderful insults in here. I think it\'s a funny story anyways :) Oswald stands by his lonesome, his back to the Great Falls of Niagara, facing small groupings of persons mingling amongst one another. 'Tis a warm summers' noontime and the sun blazingly lights the vicinity. Sambelini enters in a searching fashion before being spotted by Oswald's wandering gaze. Oswald: "Comrade Sambelini, what are thou in search of?" Sambelini: "Hail and salutations to thou, Oswald! It hath come to pass that Imust search of the spongy old pig of a mutt in the ownership of my cousin." Oswald: "Oh, what a shame! Ihad raised hope of thine presence at my coming celebration on the morrow. 'Twill be at the seventh hour of the evening." Sambelini: "Oh, blast it all! If that stenchy, flea-ridden mongrel hath the sense to come hither, I'd accompany you with great cheer!" Oswald: "Perhaps 'twould return if only we give a shout. What has it been named?" Sambelini: "Boar-Pig, 'tis what it's called. But it rarely responds to even that!" Oswald: "'Tis rather cruel. For what reason dost thou summon it by such a name?" Sambelini: "Tis the name given it by mine nephew." Oswald: "Very well. Let us call for it, then!" Sambelini and Oswald: "Ho, there! Boar-Pig, come hither! Hustle thine bustle, thou goatish mangy, hedge-pig!" Random man: Under the assumption their speech was to him, whips out a dagger and pursues Oswald and Sambelini as if to charge them. Sambelini: "By jove! Iam inclined to believe he is about to run us through!" Oswald: "What?Of what excuse? I won't have it!" Takes off running in opposing direction. Sambelini: Following behind and in time slowing at the realization of their cornering by the Great violent waterfall and the enfuried stranger. "Idon't suppose either me nor you will be present at thine festivity." Oswald: Does not slow but rather quickens before leaping at the water's edge and falling into oblivion. Sambelini: "I suppose 'twould be a more superior fashion in which to achieve death." Leaps after. Now, in English: Oswald is standing by himself in front of Niagara Falls, watching random people walking around in front of him. It's warm, around noon in the middle of summer and there's lots of sunlight. I walk in as if I'm looking for something for a few seconds, and then Oswald sees me. Oswald: "What are you looking for, Sambelini?" Sambelini: "Hey there, Oswald! I'm just looking for my cousins stupid, ugly dog. It's more like a pig, anyway." Oswald: "Oh, dang it! Iwas hoping you could come to my party tomorrow. It starts at 7." Sambelini: "Frig! If that smelly old flea-bag would get over here, I'd definitely come!" Oswald: "Maybe we should call it. What's its name?" Sambelini: "Stupid-Wild-Warthog-Pig-Brained-Idiot. But it never even comes when you call it!" Oswald: "That's not a very nice name. Why do you call it that?" Sambelini: "I don't know, that's what my nephew named it." Oswald: "Alright, then. Let's call it, then!" Sambelini: "Come here! Stupid-Wild-Warthog-Pig-Brained-Idiot, come back! Hurry up you disgusting, dirty old hedge-hog who looks like a goat!" Random man: Thinks that we were talking to him (and calling him a dirty old hedge-hog!) so he pulls out a knife and runs at us. Sambelini: "Oh dear! I think he'd trying to kill us!" Oswald: "What? Why!?! I'm not just going to stand here!" Runs away from the maniac. Sambelini: I follow him but Islow down because Niagara Falls is coming up. I realize that we can't really escape the falls and the crazy man. "I don't think either of us will be making it to your party tomorrow..." Oswald: Runs faster toward the cliff edge and jumps off like Pocahontas. Sambelini: "Iguess that's a pretty good way to die. Considering the other alternative..." I jump off too. © 2014 Booksie | All rights reserved.
Featured Faces: James Raimar Photo & Interview by Gina Myers January 22, 2010 Shortly after we sat down at Ewald's to do this interview, the bartender came over to ask James, "Don't you work at Old Town Tattoo?" It turns out James had pierced the bartender's wife. The bartender couldn't stop complimenting him, and before we knew it, we had a free round of drinks in front of us. I asked James if that sort of thing happens a lot, and he said yes. Through his years in Saginaw, his outgoing personality, and his unique facial piercings, James has become a sort of local celebrity, and it only seems right to feature him here. James Raimar is a lifelong Saginaw resident. He has been working as a piercer at Old Town Tattoo since 1993, and he is a longtime member of the local music scene, playing in many bands over the years. He's currently the vocalist for A World on Strike (A.W.O.S.), and he fills his free time with traveling all over the world, riding roller coasters, and, most recently, skydiving. Gina Myers: How long have you been working at Old Town Tattoo? James Raimar: Since October 1993. I started working out of my house at first. I did four piercings out of my house, and then when I got done with my apprenticeship, I went into the tattoo shop and they said, 'No. We don't want a piercer.' Jason's girlfriend at the time was just like, 'Piercings are gross. We don't want them in the tattoo shop.' So I said okay, and I just had to go out and try to find bodies around Saginaw. GM: But then somehow it worked out at Old Town... JR: Yeah, Jason broke up with his girlfriend! [Laughs.] So I went in there again and asked, and he was like, 'Hell yeah, dude.' GM: You were probably the first body piercer in Saginaw. JR: Yeah, I was one of the firsts. Todd [now at Adorned with Envy] started a few months before me. GM: How did you get involved with that? What made you get interested in piercings? JR: It was an accident really. The best accident that ever happened in my life. I just wanted to pierce myself. When I was probably about 11 years old, I wanted my ears pierced, and my parents wouldn't let me have it, so I kept trying to bug them and bug them and bug them, but they still wouldn't let me have it. My sister had a Rolling Stone magazine that had a "What's Hot & What's Not" section. In the "What's Hot," I saw a picture of a navel piercing, and I was instantly drawn to it. I went into my room that night and tried to pierce my navel. GM: And how did that go, that first piercing? JR: It took me an hour—it was hell. It hurt, and it was infected for about two years. It was totally messed up. I stayed home a couple of days from school because it hurt so bad. GM: Did your parents know that you had done it, or was it a secret? JR: It was my secret. I had no idea what I was doing. It was a body and I was just going off of what I saw in a magazine. But now it was flesh and tissue and I had to play around until I figured out what worked, and most of what I did didn't work at all. GM: But then you did go and study? JR: I had graduated from high school. I had saved up about a grand, and my goal was to hitchhike across the U.S. I wanted to travel more than anything in the world. I didn't want to work. I had no ambition to work or do anything. My mom told me, 'You don't know how to do anything. How are you going to make a living?' And I was like, 'I'll figure something out. Whatever. Fuck it.' So right after my mom put this in my head, I was in Grand Rapids getting a piercing, and I asked the woman, Kim, 'So how do you do this? How do you get into doing piercing?' She said, 'You pay someone about $1,000. We teach you and take you on for a few weeks.'  And I was like, 'I have $1,000." I had a tent. I was going to camp on Cherry and Division, I mean, I had no idea. She was like, 'No, you're not going to stay there. There are hookers and crackheads.' She, her boyfriend, and her son, took me in. I stayed at their house. The hospitality was great. And I hate to say it, but I learned from them basically nothing. I didn't learn what I should have. GM: So how did you go through the process of really learning how to pierce? JR: I wanted to do it so bad, that I kept doing it and doing it. Most of it was done on me and my friends, but I kept doing it until I figured out what worked. That's how we did it back then. And now the knowledge is there if people want it. They just have to ask the right people. They don't have to go through what we did. We've already failed. We know what not to do. GM: Are there any certification programs for piercers? JR: There isn't really anything. That's why I go to the APP [Association of Professional Piercers] every year. It's talking to other piercers, finding out what they're doing, sharing what I'm doing. But what it comes down to is, whatever works for you is what's going to work. And I disagree with tons of people on so much. It's like, it doesn't work for my clients. But if it works for you, then that's cool. The APP has an annual convention in Vegas. I've been a member since 2005, and it means you follow certain guidelines and your shop has to be up to a certain code. It's basically because piercing has never been legislated. A group of piercers got together who wanted to see piercings get professional, get established, and not be so D.I.Y. punk. I mean, it still maintains some of that, but it needs to have some professionalism, so they set guidelines. GM: I suppose there are some people out there who aren't really doing the right thing and are giving the profession a bad rep. JR: Yeah, that's totally it. There are a lot of people giving piercing a bad name. I'm not the one to say they can't pierce, but I have a respect for the industry. GM: Have you been a lifelong Saginaw resident? JR: Yes, I have. Since 1974. I've never moved out of here. GM: And you like it here? JR: I love Saginaw. I do. Saginaw is my home. It's miserable. It's lovely. It's everything. It gives me everything I could ask for. GM: But you do travel a lot— JR: That's my savior. If I couldn't get out of here, I think I would take everyone down with me! GM: I know you've traveled around the world as a roller coaster enthusiast, but recently you are into skydiving. Can you tell me about that? JR: I just got my coach training. I'm a USPA coach, which means I can start training people, once they've done their graduation jumps through the AFF program, which is accelerated free fall. I then take them on and help them hone their skills. I am taking on new students now. This has been the most positive thing. The sky-diving community is way cooler than anything I have been involved in. It is just an awesome group of people. It's almost like a band of pirates and gypsies. GM: Yeah. You do actually travel a lot to do different jumps, right? I remember you telling me you were going to do a Halloween dive in a gorilla suit. JR: I didn't get to do the gorilla suit because it was my first time jumping from a helicopter. I was going to wear it on my second jump, but someone didn't get to jump from the helicopter that day, so I gave up my second jump so they could. So I will have to save my gorilla suit for next year. But yeah, I've been to California, I've been down to Florida many times. Anywhere wherever it is warmer, wherever there is a plane going. I've been going down to Ohio all throughout December. It is definitely a new venture. It is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. Way harder. GM: Do you think this kind of thrill seeking is related to your work as a piercer? JR: I still get a high every time I pierce somebody. It is totally a rush. It has never left. It's one of those things that has stayed pure in life. Very little has stayed pure, but that has. I've kind of put coasters on the back burner for a little bit, just because of the skydiving. I can't afford to do everything I want to. And I am looking into scuba diving now. And I wonder, where else can I go? It's about finding stuff to do to keep you motivated. I'm getting older, if I stop, I'm going to die. That's how I'm going anyway. We'll see how it works. GM: You're currently playing in A World on Strike, but you've played in a number of bands over the years. Can you tell me a little about your musical history in Saginaw? JR: I've been in bands longer than I could drive cars. I was skating to band practice with Moon Mist in my hand. 'Dude, I'll be there in twenty minutes!' Skating as fast as I could down Malzahn all the way from the township [laughs]. We always had fun and played silly stuff. I've been in great bands. I was in Flux, Malaise, Absence. I've jammed with bands in Flint and Detroit. I love playing music. If I'm not singing or screaming in bands, I miss it. GM: Can you talk a little about A World on Strike? I know there was a line-up change. JR: Yeah, we had a total reformation of it and it's really nice. I love what we're doing now. We have a lot of electronics in it, a lot more samples, going more industrial kind of punk kind of metal. It's a nice little fusion of music. There's a lot of diversity in the band as far as musicians. Every one is writing songs and giving their input. GM: What is the band working on now? JR: We spent the last seven months writing 15 or 16 new songs and restructuring, slowly bringing in parts from the old band, but adjusting them so they fit the new band, rewriting lyrics. And we're recording everything to make sure that the way we record it is that way we sound when we play it live. That is our goal. Sometimes you go see a band live, and you can't even sing along and it's your favorite band. It's a different experience than listening to the cd. And it's not necessarily a bad thing. But we're trying to work so that we sound the same as our recordings. We played two shows recently, and people said they couldn't believe how much we sound like our recordings. © Gina Myers, 2010
YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsMovies 'The Paperboy': Nicole Kidman is used to audience discomfort Nicole Kidman was willing to risk looking like a fool for 'The Paperboy.' Surprised by audience reaction? Hey, this is the star of 'Birth' and 'Dogville.' December 20, 2012|By Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times • Nicole Kidman says she didn't read the "Paperboy" script as "crazy scenes." Nicole Kidman says she didn't read the "Paperboy" script… (Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles…) Talk about a good week. On back-to-back days last week, Nicole Kidman received two nominations each from the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes. Both organizations cited her performance in the television movie "Hemingway & Gellhorn" opposite Clive Owen, but what caught many by surprise was the pair of supporting actress nominations she received for her role in Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy." The simmering noir film has been a point of controversy and conversation since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, with audiences buzzing over Kidman's fearless, bold performance as Charlotte Bless, a Florida woman who falls for a convicted murderer (John Cusack) after writing him in prison. Zac Efron also stars, and there's a scene in the film, in which Kidman uses ahome remedy of sorts to heal his character after a jellyfish sting, that gets people talking. But it's her intense no-touching prison sex scene with Cusack that leaves audiences speechless. AWARDS: Oscars 2013 | BUZZMETER: "The Paperboy's" Oscar chances Kidman was in Belgium last week filming "Grace of Monaco," in which she plays Grace Kelly, when she learned of her nominations, but she was happy to discuss "The Paperboy" during a break in shooting. The role of Charlotte seems so unusual for you. What drew you to the part? I think it was probably a couple of years ago I just went, "God, I wish I had the chance to do a few things that were reaching into different parts of me." Not to say that Charlotte is me, but I just wanted the chance to explore different facets, the rawness and the sexuality and those sorts of things. I never get the chance to explore that. There's just things as an actor where you go, "I've never actually tread in any territory like that, and I wish someone would want to explore that with me." I can only imagine when you first read the script to "The Paperboy" it seemed like one crazy scene after another. I don't think I read it as crazy scenes. I read it, and it worked for me as a kind of noir piece that was sort of hot and balmy, and it had a flavor to it that was hard to explain. I didn't find it crazy or out there. I actually find it funny at times. The peeing scene, which everyone seems shocked by, I played it as black comedy. To me that was funny. It wasn't meant to be "Oh, my God." It's not sexual, it's her actually trying to heal a jellyfish wound, and she's territorial and fighting off other girls. It's her way of showing she cares. So I put a different slant on it. For as much as people talk about the scene on the beach, that scene in the prison with John Cusack is far more unnerving. And in the novel it's really just a few lines in the middle of a paragraph. It's nothing at all like how it plays in the movie. And that's because we just played the scene out and Lee just shot whatever we did. That's a great scene, and I don't always like to do this, but Cusack and I never talked as each other, we were always in character, and the great thing about not knowing the other actor is you both embody your characters. There's nothing self-conscious. I don't know if I could have done that if I was a great buddy of John's. I mean, I'm really friendly with John now, but if I'd been close to him, I'm not sure I could have abandoned myself. That's the dance of actors, and if you don't have someone working at that intensity with you, you're going to look like a fool. But at this stage in my career and my life, I'm more than willing to look like a fool. And has the response to the film been a surprise to you? People often really don't know what to make of it. I was in a film called "Birth" that, it's unusual because it's about something that makes people uncomfortable. There's a scene where I'm in a bathtub with a 10-year-old boy, but I didn't see it the way people viewed it, and I suppose that's the same thing with "The Paperboy." I'm used to that kind of reaction because of the stuff I choose, but I'm not aware of what's going to make people upset or uncomfortable. Something like "Dogville," some people love "Dogville" and some people are like "What the hell was that?" I've had that reaction on way more than two or three films I've been in. Red carpet moments PHOTOS: Memorable red carpet moments VIDEO: Go behind the scenes with the awards contenders Envelope Awards insider THE ENVELOPE: Awards insider Los Angeles Times Articles
So far Kim Zolciak’s storyline on Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta has centered around the eviction (or should we say “move”) that everyone knows we’ll finally get to see in a few weeks. From what we can understand, Kim and Kroy had every intention of buying the house from Antonio and Kendra Davis (the couple they were renting it from) but decided against it when the house was valued at $1 million less than what the Davis’s were asking Kim to pay for it. On the flipside, Kendra claimed that she was never paid for decorating the abode to Kim and Kroy’s unique taste. The first thing Kim clears up in her blog from this week is that she was not evicted from the fancy home. “We are HAPPILY no longer there,” Kim writes. “If I had the time and the space to tell you why IT WOULD BLOW YOUR MIND!”  “For the record, we were NOT evicted! Eviction is a violation of a lease and/or not paying rent, which NEVER happened. I paid my rent and then some,” Kim continues. Regardless of what happened in the past, Kim is more than eager to move into her new dream home, which is still under construction. But who do you believe: Kim or Kendra? Vote below!
In this instructable you will learn how to install Mac OS 7 on windows. Dont worry I have all the files you need. :) DOWNLOAD THIS FROM APPLE..... You wont need it but its just so apple gets the credit for the OS. So please download if your gonna do this. Remove these adsRemove these ads by Signing Up Step 3: Install Its gonna say can't install because its not a system disk.. but remember that disk imaged we unzipped earlyer? Well drag it into the emulator and click install. It will prompt you to insert a different disk. Find it from the images that you unrared earlyer. You will have to change disks a few times and just drag and drop. Dont worry about ejecting, it does it automaticly when you drag the new one in. Step 4: Finish up Ok now that you have it installed click quit. Then it will say its say to turn off. Click restart and it will bring up the no disk thing again. This time drag the 24 mb hard drive image into the emulator and it will start up. Every time you want to run the os for now on just drag that hard drive image in. 1-40 of 46Next » bauerbach7 months ago Mac OS 7 is SO outdated! imayoutuber10 months ago chinbean1 year ago hello i am not able download and the extra files. please help. JazzyTunes3 years ago amazing tip :) mrbob10007 years ago how do i add software to it? its kind of boring without software... please post instructions and a link to how to install some apps lookatmygrlyfont (author)  mrbob10007 years ago You can find disk images online. Ill post some later I'm also interested to know how I can install some softwares on the emulator :s I have found several files on the internet but I dont know how to use them. Anyway, thank you for that great instructable :) soeinegaudi5 years ago great project !!! thank you verry much ! Is it possible to install old mac software on it ? do you know were to get usefull programs that could be jused under this os ? jwoo20235 years ago The website doesen't come up! Oh Now it works cotton6 years ago how do you make a bigger disk i need one Derin cotton5 years ago open the disk file with notepad then copy-paste the contents now when you boot it will give a sad mac reinstall mac free hd enlarging Derin5 years ago I modded the HD file to give it a huge amount of hd conradev5 years ago i can run os 8.1 on a psp for gods sake how do you get it on th psp?!? There is some emulator out there ohhh, then this might work i think you need 1.5 OFW or CFW Ah yes, that is what it is, Its 80MB i remember that. ok i put it on my psp and it worked Its called Basilisk II, sorry for not commenting for so long *or any CFW Does this work for OS 9 OR X? To install Mac OSX as a second OS, as opposed to Windows, you need an Intel compatible Mac OS, such as Tiger or Leopard. If you want to install an earlier Mac OS, using PearPC works. why the hell do you want OS 7? Why wouldn't you want to relive that childhood memory of a not so colourful mac. It wasn't what it was put up to be in the movie hackers. Or else my school would be flooded by now. Ds HaKa7 years ago how do u download the software i got this on for my flash drive and it has stuff like mac paint but you can also get the torrent for it to with a lot of other stuff el-pedro7 years ago Cool, i have a mac classic 2 and this might work for some of the software Biotele7 years ago This is very useful. I have some old mac files that i want to transfer. Thanks. lookatmygrlyfont (author)  Biotele7 years ago your welcome :) v10m7 years ago how do you close the error messages like when it sais "please shut down the emulated computer before quiting lookatmygrlyfont (author)  v10m7 years ago you have to go to special > shutdown when your booted. or you could press ctrl + alt + delete and end the task. trickmirror7 years ago Hey, cool idea, though i was wondering if you could help. ive managed to get the end bit, but when i move the hfs24m.dsk file in, nothing happens after. any ideas? lookatmygrlyfont (author)  trickmirror7 years ago umm well if your at the installer screen drag it in and hit switch disk until the drive says unitled. if thats not your prob let me know and ill help u out. lemonie7 years ago As a purely impartial and genuinely inquisitive comment: What are the advantages of doing this? I believe I could install and run a Z-80 emulator on this machine, but I'm not sufficiently inclined to do so... lookatmygrlyfont (author)  lemonie7 years ago well there is no point but you can say you installed it on your computer. What would be really cool to say you had installed on your machine? RISC OS? 1-40 of 46Next »
Exclusively in the new print issue of CounterPunch It was the lowest turnout in a British general election since 1918. Only 59% of those eligible to vote made the journey to the polling booths. Tony Blair’s ‘mudslide victory’ was built on mass apathy. Labour is in power for a second term with the support of only 25% of the electorate. In 1997 13. […] What Blair’s Victory Means by Tariq Ali It was the lowest turnout in a British general election since 1918. Only 59% of those eligible to vote made the journey to the polling booths. Tony Blair’s ‘mudslide victory’ was built on mass apathy. Labour is in power for a second term with the support of only 25% of the electorate. In 1997 13. 5 million people voted Labour. In 2001 the figure had dropped to less than 11 million and 18 million registered voters declined to vote. Since the advent of adult franchise no British Prime Minister has ever governed with such a tiny mandate. Stung on election night by comments from TV journalists to the effect that the low turn-out had deprived New Labour of moral authority, Tony Blair’s trusted advisers, Lord Falconer, Jack Straw (now Foreign Secretary) and John Prescott (Deputy Prime Minister), each of them singing from the same Millbank hymn-sheet, offered two basic explanations. First, there was a general trend in Western Europe of voter apathy. Secondly, people were contented, happy, and aware that Labour was going to win a big majority and this made them complacent. The first is simply not true, something which could have been rebutted easily if the BBC journalists had been aware of European voting patterns. Turnout in France, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia is still above 70%. The truth is that Britain is heading in the American direction. Once the economy goes in a neo-liberal direction with the corporations in control, politics is usually not far behind. The second excuse is so ridiculous that I doubt whether even government ministers, cocooned from reality by civil servants and spin-doctors, actually believe this nonsense. All the surveys of public opinion indicate a deep dissatisfaction with mainstream politicians. People believe there is no fundamental difference between the two major parties. It is widely thought that both the major parties are servants of the system. The Liberals, who weakly resist the depredations of neo-liberalism are rewarded with a few extra seats and serve as a useful safety valve, but not much more. This is not simply the view of the ‘ignorant’ person in the street, who is supposedly incapable of understanding the complex processes of redistribution being masterminded by the New Labour leadership. This is also what is firmly believed by the City of London and helps to explain why so many big business interests voluntarily backed and funded Blair. His record of continued deregulation and low public spending, his promises to go further still, appealed to them. His courage in breaking with social-democratic reformism while castrating the Labour Party band neutering the trades unions fills them with admiration. They know perfectly well that it would have been difficult for a Conservative government to do what Blair will do in his second term. For this same reason New Labour enjoys the fulsome support of the leading organ of big business, the Financial Times; unpredictable but uniform support from the Murdoch empire, total support from the Express group (currently owned by a New Labour pornography merchant) and a BBC now packed with its own placemen (Greg Dyke, Andrew Marr, etc). No previous Labour government possessed anything like this level of media protection. Indeed, during the elections New Labour obtained the endorsement of every single national newspaper save the Mail and Telegraph at election-time. The election campaign and the result were joyless precisely because, for the first time ever, the entire campaign was conducted inside a media bubble. No public meetings. No public debates. Everything organised with the efficiency of a slick PR firm marketing a product. The only time the election came to life was when Blair was confronted by an angry working-class woman in Birmingham complaining about conditions in the hospital being graced by the Prime Ministerial presence. Blair’s embarrassment was acute. The reasons for this favourable treatment by the bulk of the media are two-fold. On the one hand, the Conservative Party is far more deeply crippled by a combination of Europhobia, and class ‘drop’ than it has ever been in the past century. It was simply not a credible alternative. More importantly, why should capital in general or newspaper magnates in particular object to the policies of this government? Apart from individual aversions to the EU, there is no good reason. Once Blair had stolen their soiled shirts, the Conservative Party had to make a choice. It could have moved decisively to the centre-ground and attempted an audacious outflanking of Blair from slightly to the left of New Labour. Or it could have appealed to hard-core Conservatives on traditional right-wing issues like crime, foreigners, the sanctity of the pound, etc. Their leader, William Hague chose the latter course, suffered a heavy defeat and resigned as Leader, leaving behind a rump Party to choose his successor. Whatever the choice, it is unlikely that the Conservatives will be able to heal their divisions over the next 4-5 years. This means that Britain over the next period will be governed by conservatives, but not the Conservative Party. In these circumstances, the electoral success of New Labour is unsurprising, though the low turnout is a useful indicator of actual public enthusiasm for New Labour. Those on the Left, who claimed that New Labour was really Old Labour and would soon begin to travel in a similar direction, were wildly wrong from the start. Blair signalled a break with traditional social democracy and if a system of proportional representation existed in Britain the breach would probably be marked by a split between social democrats and Blair Democrats. The Economist, an astute, but vociferous defender of global capitalism, in its issue before the election on 2 June 2001 published a cover which showed Blair’s face underneath a Margaret Thatcher hairdo and her earrings, headlined its leader comment thus: ‘Vote Conservative, but choose the ambiguous right-winger rather than the feeble one.’ The text explained to readers that Blair had governed on the centre-right and how New Labour’s ‘macroeconomic policy, indeed, has been more orthodox than its Tory predecessor, with more fiscal discipline and the welcome granting of independence to the Bank of England.’ The Economist concluded by calling on its readers to vote for Blair: ‘Tony Blair is the only credible conservative currently available. The Blair we support with our vote is the one who admires Margaret Thatcher and has followed many of her policies; who hints that he favours a real, structural reform in health, education and welfare, including greater use of private provision; who believes a sharp move to the left in the second term would be electoral suicide.’ What will Blair do in his ‘radical second term’? To his credit the New Labour leader made no attempt to conceal his plans from the electorate or members of his own party. The New Labour leaders really do believe in the neo-liberal dogma that only the private sector disciplined by the market can deliver decent public services. This belief is the outcome of a recent ideological shift. Unsurprisingly, it is former Socialists and Marxists in the Blair entourage who defend capitalism with all the ardour of new converts. They are virulent in their opposition to everything they once believed. They are shameless in their justification of the most irrational neo-liberal policies. They are untroubled by conscience. Having obliterated their own pasts and incapable of visualising a future, they live largely in the present. They have escaped from themselves in the world and have expelled the world from within themselves. They have become provincial, boorish, bullying opportunists. Power, patronage (receiving and returning) and money is all that matters to them. These are the corrupted souls that surround Blair’s throne. Born-again capitalists, they abase themselves in the presence of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO. For many years now, one of the main priorities of the WTO has been to accelerate the privatisation of education, health, welfare, social housing and transport. With the decline of profit margins in the once prosperous manufacturing sector, Western capitalism is determined to force entry into a once inviolate public sphere. Giant multinationals have been busy preparing competitive tenders to capture the public services share of the gross domestic product. In its notorious 1993 development report titled ‘Investing in Health’, the World Bank described public services as an obstacle to abolishing world poverty. There have been important conflicts between US/Canada and the EU on some of the policies advocated by the WTO which affect the health and safety of citizens, but the multinationals are winning. A few years ago in the hormone-treated beef dispute, the WTO ruled in favour of USA/Canada, arguing that EU safety standards were higher than those accepted internationally. In a sharply critical review of WTO policies Professor Allyson Pollock (of the Health Services Research Unit at University College, London) argued in Lancet, the leading British medical journal on 9 December, 2000: “… The WTO’s national treatment rule was used to define a public-health initiative as protectionist and therefore potentially illegalThe new criteria proposed at the WTO threaten some of the key mechanisms that allow governments to guarantee health care for their populations by requiring governments to demonstrate that their pursuit of social policy goals are least restrictive and least costly to trade.” New Labour, like their Thatcherite predecessors, ever zealous to please the United States and its financial institutions are determined to be the first EU state that fulfils all the WTO conditions. Accordingly, the British public was informed that the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) would be used to create a new structure of in the public sector. In other words New Labour declared that it would go further than Thatcher and Major had dared and attempt to complete the Thatcher counter-revolution. The air-traffic controllers will be sold off to a few wealthy airlines. The railways, whose privatisation has been a disaster financially and has led to the breakdown of safety, will not be taken back into any form of public ownership. New laws are being passed to make it possible for any local authority to sell off any school to private industry. At the moment only those schools considered to be ‘failing’, i.e. not provided with sufficient resources by the government to teach children from poor families, are handed over to companies. Among the firms directly engaged in teaching children of ‘failed’ schools are Shell Oil (special lessons in ecology?), British Aerospace (lectures on the arms trade?), McDonalds (healthy eating) and Tescos. The transition from the public to the private sector is already in place and by being handed important contracts a new wave of entrepreneurs are being won over to New Labour. They are making vast sums of money for doing what the Government once could do for itself. Naturally they feel obliged to contribute funds to the Party. The following eight businessmen are merely an indication of what will follow. _______________________________________________ Sir Clive Thomson Rentokil ?1m. Cleaning Service Peter Mason Amec ?669,000 Glasgow Schools Brian Staples Amey ?494,885 Modernising Min. of Defence Mike Welton Balfour-Beatty* ?477,335 UCL Hospital Sir Neville Simms Carillion ?452,000 Nottingham Trams Rod Aldridge Capita ?369,000 Criminal Records Paris Moayedi Jarvis ?347,000 Rail Maintenance * This was the firm in charge of rail maintenance and repairs, but after the Watford train crash (an event that created public revulsion against privatisation) it emerged that Balfour-Beatty had been negligent in its duties. This is not something that worries New Labour too much. After all, in the search for profits it is only natural that accidents will happen. When Blair first came to power he boasted that New Labour would and could implement ‘reforms’ that had escaped Thatcher and her successor. In this new term he will begin to do so. The funding of public services will be decisively decoupled from their public provision. The result of this socio-economic engineering will, in effect, end with the privatisation of health and education and bring about the death of universal services for all, the de-facto re-introduction of means-testing and a strengthening of social and class divisions in contemporary Britain. Already, the gap between rich and poor has grown wider after four years of New Labour. Those who voted for Blair will be in a weak position to resist him since the Government will argue, with some justification, which they are carrying out the policies for which he was elected. Mercifully only one in four people voted for New Labour, which leaves open the possibility that in more volatile conditions the apathetic will begin to stir. Already the trade unions that have, till now, been snoring peacefully in Blair’s big, inclusive bed are now beginning to make dissenting noises against the privatisation plans. Since they have refused to campaign against these measures or educate their members, they might have problems mobilising them except for the most narrowly sectional interests. This would be unfortunate since Blair has long been looking for a trade union to defeat in order to further improve his credentials with big business. Teachers and health-service workers ‘resisting reform’ might provide a useful target. The one bright moment during an otherwise gloomy election night was when a 66-year-old doctor, Richard Taylor in Wyre Forest, who stood as an independent candidate on a single issue–saving the accident and emergency wards in local Kidderminster hospital–defeated a junior New Labour minister, with a majority of 17,630 votes. In sharp contrast both the Greens and the competing far-left groups, the Socialist Alliance and the Socialist Labour Party, performed very badly. This is partially the result of a first-past-the-post electoral system that makes it impossible for small parties to gain seats, but only partially. The fact is that a mood of cynicism and political apathy tends to benefit the far right rather than the left. From within the bubble Blair could address the finely-tuned Labour Party conference on September 26, 2000 and indulge in meaningless boasts: In the small town of Oldham, near Manchester, they clearly lacked the spirit. This was once a centre of manufacturing industry. Unemployment is currently over 30% and real unemployment, undisguised by slippery statistics, is probably higher. The fascists of the British National Party (BNP) moved in a few years ago to target the town, which has a large Asian population (children and grandchildren of the workers who were encouraged to come and work in the textile factories after the Second World War), as a potential ‘race-hate’ area. The BNP worked hard, built a strong base amongst local unemployed white working-class youths, carefully orchestrated clashes between the two communities. During the election campaign there was a riot in Oldham with burnt cars providing barricades for angry young Asians, who refused to remain passive. No mainstream political leader visited the town. It remained outside the media bubble. Ignore it and will go away was the general view. But the BNP prospered, winning 16,000 votes in a solid Labour town. Throughout the last century capitalism was on the defensive, permitting social democracy to take the offensive and offer social and democratic reforms to keep revolution at bay. That situation has now been reversed. With the disappearance of a global enemy, capital can now concentrate on the ‘enemy within’. Many of the concessions it was forced to concede can be brutally clawed back. Others can be taken by stealth. In other words social, economic and democratic rights will have to be fought for once again (as in the 19th century) against the might of a triumphal capitalism and those who rule in its interests, symbolised today by the three B’s: Bush, Blair and Berloscuni. The executioners of neo-liberalism and their ideologues have created a culture of consumerism in which politics itself has become a game-show, a weaker reflection of what is available on television, which is a faithful reflection of life-politics. In the debased coinage of Blair’s most-favoured sociologist, Anthony Giddens, ‘Life politics concerns life decisions. It is a politics of choice, identity and mutuality.’ Such a politics can accommodate everything and everyone and mean nothing. It is the ‘political’ version of the ‘don’t worry, be happy’ message transmitted daily by MTV. What is required is a campaigning coalition that unites all sections of society opposed to the privatisation frenzy. What we need, and in a very real sense, in all our cities are Committees of Public Safety to defend the public and its needs against the pirate-politicians who serve the interests of global and local financial institutions. Such alliances, of necessity, need to be concrete rather than abstract, totally inclusive and based on reality rather than fantasy. This is a restricted horizon, but we are living in bad times. CP
St. Alphonsus Health System Print    Email Decrease (-) Restore Default Increase (+) Health Information The latest Flash Player 9,0,115,0 is available for download @ You're restless and nervous. You feel hungry all the time, but no matter how much you eat, you keep losing weight. You can't sleep or concentrate, and you feel hot and sweaty. If symptoms like these are putting you on edge, the problem may be an overactive thyroid gland, or hyperthyroidism. This little butterfly-shaped structure in your neck is your thyroid gland. It's job is to release the hormones that help control your body's energy levels, a process known as metabolism. When you have hyperthyroidism, that little gland goes into overdrive, releasing too much of its hormones. Having too much thyroid hormone is like putting your body in fast forward, everything speeds up. That's why you feel shaky, hungry, and your heart feels like it's pounding. So, what causes hyperthyroidism? You can develop an overactive thyroid because you've gotten too much iodine, an element the thyroid uses to make its hormones. Or, you might have a growth on your thyroid that's causing the excess hormone production. But many people with hyperthyroidism have an autoimmune disorder called Graves disease, which also makes their eyes bulge out. During an exam, your doctor may notice that your thyroid is larger than normal, and that you have high blood pressure, tremors, or a fast heart rate. These can all be signs of hypothyroidism. You'll probably have a blood test to check the levels of your thyroid hormones. If you do have an overactive thyroid, you may need to take medicine to slow down the gland and its hormone production. Or, your doctor may suggest having surgery to remove some or all of the thyroid, or taking radioactive iodine to destroy it. If you have surgery or radioactive iodine treatment, you'll probably need to take thyroid hormones for the rest of your life to replace the ones your body can no longer make. You can't prevent hyperthyroidism, but once you have it, it's usually pretty easy to treat. With the right treatment you can finally be free from its symptoms. While you're being treated, watch out for an emergency condition called thyroid crisis, or thyroid storm, which can set in if you've been under a lot of stress or have an infection. If you have a fever, fast and unsteady heartbeat, or you feel less alert than usual, call your emergency services number or go to the ER right away. Review Date: 11/17/2011    Facebook       Twitter       YouTube
South America Travel Situated in the heart of South America, Bolivia contains the most exotic and beautiful natural wonders found on the continent. Because its terrain is so dynamic and rugged it attracts the most adventurous travelers. The country is surrounded by the snow-capped Andes in the West, which form two parallel chains reaching 6,000m in height. In the middle lies the Altiplano, a gigantic plateau often compared to Tibet, and in the central region is the protected land of the Amazon basin, which contains a vast array of plants and animals. Bolivia is also unique because it has the largest indigenous population in South America. Although it is apparent the influence of colonial rule, the indigenous culture is still rich in tradition and history and is thriving throughout the country. The best time to visit is during its dry season, which runs from May to September. Compared to its neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, Bolivia is also one of the cheapest South American countries. La Paz, Bolivia's unofficial capital, is the city where travelers first fly into the country. The city makes for a captivating introduction to Bolivia, with its surrounding mountain peaks and canyons. It is also has the highest altitude in the world, at a staggering 3,500m. It is recommended to rest for a few days and take it easy in order to acclimate to the high altitude. Another must-see while in the city is the World's Most Dangerous Road, which runs from La Paz to Coroico. The 64 km road plunges 3,500m from the peaks of the Andes and down into a cloud forest. Despite the scarily steep mountainsides the views are so spectacular most travelers opt to go by bike rather than take a bus. Just north of La Paz lies the Cordillera Real, which offers some of the best trekking of the Andes. The staggering glacier peaks make a breathtaking barrier between the Altiplano and the Amazon lowlands. The range also includes the ancient Inca trails, which drop down into the subtropical valley of the Yungas. On the northwest part of the range you'll find the charming colonial town of Sorata, which makes for a relaxing base for mountain trekkers and travelers. From there you can reach the Titicaca Lake region, which is a pristine, unspoiled paradise surrounded by the snow-capped Andes. With 30 islands and bright blue water that covers over 3,000 sq. miles, it is also the world's highest navigable waterway, its altitude at 13,000 ft. about sea level. Take a boat ride from Copacabana to the island in the middle of the lake, the Isla del Sol, which is scattered with ancient Inca ruins and still populated by indigenous tribes. South America: Overview | Destinations | Highlights | Trip Planning Countries: Argentina | Brazil | Chile | Peru | Ecuador © 2010 All About AR
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 Vezina Trophy: Strength of Teammates Strength of teammates is an important consideration for goaltenders. The stronger the team around them, the more likely they are to win games. A strong defensive team is also likely to benefit the goalie's performance statistics, such as save percentage and goals against average. Both New Jersey and Vancouver took slightly more shots than they gave up. New Jersey took fewer shots and allowed fewer. The difference was even greater once you factor in the differences between the Eastern and Western Conferences. The Canucks took 0.3 more shots and gave up 0.6 shots more than their conference average, pretty much an average team in the defensive West. The Devils took 1.5 fewer shots per game than their conference average, and gave up 2.2 fewer, indicating that their style of play contrasted greatly with the rest of their conference rivals. Both taking and allowing fewer shots than average suggests that the Devils intentionally play a lower-scoring type of game, and that one of the reasons they don't score many goals is because of that style of play. New Jersey scored a few more goals than they allowed in all three periods, which indicates that they only scored as many goals as they needed. A defensive style of play is particularly obvious in their first period results. Whereas second and third period scoring is often driven by the score at the time, the first period always begins 0-0. That makes the chosen style of play more decisive than the particular game situation. New Jersey's chosen style of play was clearly defensive: they scored the second fewest goals in the league in the first period, and gave up the fewest. On ice statistics also support the idea that New Jersey intentionally plays a low-scoring game. Centers Gomez, Madden, and Elias all averaged about 19 minutes a game. Madden actually played more than either Gomez or Elias at even-strength, averaging 15:24 per game. Heavy use of their checking line reduces New Jersey's goal-scoring while simultaneously reducing the goals against. For Vancouver, their top two centers Henrik Sedin and Brendan Morrison averaged 18 minutes per game, while Ryan Kesler averaged 16, and Josh Green 11. New Jersey was also better at coming from behind when trailing after one period than Vancouver was, which is a sign of offensive ability since even a defensive team has to attack when they are behind. The Devils were 9-11-4 when trailing after one, the Canucks 6-15-4. New Jersey was also more effective at closing out leads than Vancouver was, winning 31 of 34 games they led after 2. Vancouver won 30 out of 36. New Jersey's forwards scored 185 goals and 430 points in 2005-06. Vancouver's scored 178 goals and 459 points last season. Based on career scoring rates, New Jersey's forwards would be expected to score 2.45 goals and 5.89 points per game. Vancouver's forward line that began the season would be expected to come in at 2.20 goals and 5.48 points per game. At the deadline, the Canucks acquired Bryan Smolinski, which added a bit of scoring depth and raised the expected totals to 2.36 and 5.88, very close to New Jersey. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the strength of teammate debate is the argument over whether Vancouver or New Jersey has a better defensive corps. Many would say Vancouver, but a key part of that is their offensive play - Vancouver's defencemen scored 149 points this season to New Jersey's 122. From a goalie performance perspective, it doesn't matter how good the defencemen are at scoring goals, just how good they are at preventing them. To try to evaluate this, I looked at the personal goals against averages of each team's defencemen over the last 4 seasons, based on the research done at the Hockey Analysis Group. The average goals against while they were on the ice per 60 minutes over the last 4 seasons for New Jersey's current defencemen was 3.02. For Vancouver, it was 3.60. This season was par for the course for New Jersey's defencemen. None of them, other than rookies Andy Greene and Johnny Oduya, had personal best goals against averages this season. Paul Martin and Colin White were over their 4-year PGAA average, and Brad Lukowich was just slightly under his, despite Martin Brodeur playing much better this year than he did over the 3 previous seasons. For Vancouver, Brent Sopel, Sami Salo, Mattias Ohlund, Lukas Krajicek, and Rory Fitzpatrick all had a lower goals against rate this season than in any of the previous 3 seasons. Other than Willie Mitchell, every Canucks defenceman was below his average personal goals-against over the last 4 seasons. The difference appears to be mostly from goaltending. The Canucks have in years past played a more offensive style, which certainly resulted in more goals against, but last year the Canucks gave up 29.9 shots per game, and according to Ken Krzywicki had average shot quality against. This year, they gave up 28.9 shots per game with easier-than-average shot quality. That is certainly an improvement, but not a huge one. However, their team save percentage went from .900 to .920, which is a bigger reason for the increase. Several of the Canucks defencemen weren't even with the team last year. Of all the minutes played by Canucks defencemen, 54% were by players that were with the team in 2005-06, a substantial turnover. For New Jersey, 80% of the minutes played were by players who had been with the team last year. As might therefore be expected, New Jersey's defensive performance in 2006-07 was very similar to that of 2005-06. The Devils gave up 27.9 shots per game with easier-than-average shot quality, compared to last year's 28.8 shots per game (also easier than average). The statistics indicate that New Jersey's defence is better at goal prevention, and that the main reason for many Vancouver defencemen having career defensive years was the goaltending. Based on past scoring history, the two teams' forwards are very similar in talent. New Jersey plays a more conservative, defensive style, which is why they scored fewer goals. The two teams are similar in makeup, style and talent. Overall, there is little talent difference between these two teams to tip the scales towards one goalie or the other. Perhaps one of the biggest differences concerning teammates was that Roberto Luongo had to adjust to a new team in a new conference with a revamped defence corps, while Brodeur played on the same team and system that he always has. Perhaps that explained some of Luongo's early season troubles; if he could play an entire season in his post-Christmas form, he would certainly be the best goaltender in the NHL.
You are not logged in. Starting Member Posts: 1 Location: USA Saturday, October 28th 2006, 8:33am I have no clue what I'm doing A couple weekends ago we had a huge power outage and my old sprinkler timer stopped working. I went a bought a new timer and now I can only get 2 out of the 3 zones to work. I'm not to sure why I can't get the other zone to run, but every time I try the pump starts for about 2 seconds and then clicks the whole system off. Please help!!!!! Posts: 1,474 Location: USA Saturday, October 28th 2006, 10:14am Usually when a specific zone shorts out the timer it's the solenoid on the valve. Either that or the ground and the hot wire are touching somewhere along the line on that numbered zone. Try this. Disconnect one of the wires at the valve which is shorting out the timer. Then turn on the timer. If it doesn't short out then you know it's the solenoid. If it does then the short is somewhere along the wiring. Good luck! If I can't fix it, it's broken! Rate this thread
Soon after Elizabeth McFarlane's grandfather died, a letter arrived. It was from a woman called Joan - and at last the extraordinary secret life he had led for 43 years began to unravel My grandfather left instructions for My Way by Frank Sinatra to be played at his funeral, and listening to those unrepentant lyrics belting out across the pews as I followed my family up the aisle, I was struck by how remarkably apt they were. For my grandfather - a working-class boy made good, a Midlands industrialist, a mason, a golfer and a bigoted, sexist egotist - lived a life of self-serving lies and deceit the magnitude of which, only days after his death, was finally becoming clear. He certainly had done it his way. Having married my grandmother in 1939 because my mother was well on the way, my grandfather apparently resolved not to let this mishap change things and continued to live as a carefree bachelor, albeit with a wife to cook and clean for him. Every Wednesday and Friday evening he went out, on Saturday and sometimes Sunday too. He did this all his married life - for 58 years. My grandmother had absolutely no idea where he went. My mother recalls frequent rows, especially in the early years of their marriage when she was little. My grandmother, standing at the bottom of the stairs in their little terraced house, would shout up at him as he was getting ready that she was coming too, or she would threaten to have him followed. While he - completely ignoring her, whistling and singing all the while - washed, crimped his hair with a curler, changed into fresh clothes on the landing (not forgetting clean pants) and went out. She never did have him followed. Where was he going? For years we all speculated, even in front of him. I remember that he found this amusing. Sometimes, he even offered various, casual explanations: he had been playing golf. What, in January, with snow on the ground? OK, he'd been fishing. In the dark? No, he'd been in a pub with some young people. He often mentioned these "young people". Only after he died did we realise who they must have been. While arrangements for his funeral were under way, a letter arrived addressed to my grandfather. My mother opened it. It was from a woman called Joan and she was anxious about him. Where was he? Was he ill? She included a telephone number. That evening, with my grandmother safely in bed, my mother dialled the number. A woman answered and - with ever a taste for drama - my mother said, "I always knew about you." (She hadn't.) When she heard that my grandfather had died, Joan confessed that she had been his mistress since meeting him in 1954. It was 1997. Nervously, my mother asked if they had any children and Joan said yes, they did. How many? There was a brief silence and Joan said, "Five." She explained that their first child, a girl, was born in 1954 with the other four arriving between 1960 and 1965, two more girls and two boys. I was born in 1966. So, my grandfather's youngest daughter was in the same school year as me. It was a lot to take in, especially coming hot on the heels of my grandfather's death. My mother told Joan that she would ring again when the dust had settled and continued the business of burying her father and looking after my grandmother who was bereft and utterly unaware of the unfolding drama. My mother lost no time telling us - my father, brother and me - all about Joan and her newly discovered half-siblings, but she protected my grandmother from it and as far as we know she never found out. She died in 2005. Gradually, through letters, phone calls, photographs and an eventual meeting with Joan, we gained a fuller picture of the secret life that my grandfather had been living for more than 40 years. It's a picture almost wholly acquired from Joan's version of events but corroborated by their children and photographs (my grandfather giving their daughter away at her wedding, for example). In meeting the youngest of her half-siblings, and seeing photographs of the others, my mother was struck by their undeniable resemblance to her father - particularly the boys. It has been a difficult path to negotiate for everyone, not least because Joan's children were not told, until after his death, that my grandfather - this man they knew only as a close friend of their mother's - was actually their father. Joan was not my grandfather's only extramarital affair. When he met her, in a pub when she was 24, he told her he had been seeing a woman called Eileen; they had apparently broken up over an argument involving a coat and she had had an abortion. He also told her he was two years younger than he was - then 37 - and correspondingly shaved two years from my mother's age. He came clean about having a wife and child but didn't manage to include a mention of their five-year-old son, Terry. In some ways we were not surprised that my grandfather had had another woman; it was the most obvious explanation for his absences. Indeed, we had often imagined it, only to discount the theory on the grounds that no one else could possibly put up with him. How wrong we were. And it was certainly true that my grandparents never had what you might call a happy marriage: he kept her short of money and they bickered incessantly. And so, outside his marriage, my grandfather fathered five children (that we know of), two of them sons. Ironically, with my grandmother - through a series of pitiful tragedies - they lost two baby boys (one during pregnancy and one at a week old) and a son who was on the cusp of adolescence when he died. They were left with but one offspring to show for their life together, the very child who had joined their fate in the first place - my mother. So why did my grandfather stay with my grandmother if he had created a family elsewhere and found comfort in the arms of another woman? Probably because he didn't love Joan either, and even if he did, he loved himself - and more particularly the life he had made for himself - more. He was a vain man, his image paramount. He had to have the fancy car, the big house, the golf-club membership, his standing in the masons (he was grandmaster twice), and with that went the respectability that marriage confers. Besides, why embark on an expensive divorce when you can have your cake at home and eat a slice with your mistress as well? And what of the mistress, Joan - what was in it for her? She, too, has died and so her reasons went with her to the grave, but her youngest daughter, my half-aunt, says her mother loved him to bits. Why else agree that their children should call him uncle and never know him as their father? Why else allow him to visit at his convenience, retiring to the bedroom and telling the children to run along outside and play? And why else bear children to a man who offered no support, either financial or practical, with the result that when one child was seriously ill in hospital, the others went temporarily into foster care because there was no one else to look after them? While my grandfather enjoyed motor holidays abroad in his brand new Vauxhall and lived in a large detached house on the posh side of town - built with the proceeds of his booming factory business - his "other" children lived "on the social", a hand-to-mouth existence, in a very different neighbourhood. To say he gave them nothing would be an exaggeration. There was the time a large number of toys that had belonged to my mother and her younger brother, Terry, went missing, in particular lots of toy cars. My grandmother was baffled and wouldn't stop going on about it, until my grandfather eventually offered the unlikely explanation that he had decided to donate them to poor children living near his factory. No doubt the recipients of those toys were deprived and in need of something to play with, but with the benefit of hindsight, they were probably more closely related to my grandfather than he let on. As with all lies, the devil is in the detail. Here were two families living parallel, un-touching lives with one same constant - my grandfather. He was their common thread, weaving between them, changing everything for everyone, leaving in his wake emotional scars that would fester for years. Deceit of this magnitude casts long shadows, reforming and retouching the past, adding new twists to ordinary events, fresh pathos to extraordinary ones. Take one night in 1961: it's late, the eve of Terry's 14th birthday and my grandmother is nursing her son, alone, in his tiny, airless bedroom. He struggles to breathe, his thin, bony chest rising and falling in rhythm with the terrible rasping; a sound that anyone who has witnessed a full-blown asthma attack can never forget. It's a common enough scene in this house, but this time it's worse, much worse. My mother, 21 now, returns from an evening out with her fiance. She calls an ambulance but by the time it arrives the desperate gasping for air has stopped, the pitiful chest no longer rises and falls. Terry's body is limp. The ambulance crew carry the boy downstairs. He is damp. My grandmother thinks he's wet himself. She goes with him to the hospital. Where was my grandfather that night? The next day, on the other side of the city, a mother has a birthday tea for her one-year-old son. Perhaps she makes sandwiches and waits in the front room for the guest to arrive - the child's father. But he doesn't show. She's not surprised, hardly disappointed really. The tea party goes ahead, a somewhat subdued affair, just the three of them: Joan, the little girl, who is six and their baby son. A few days later, a note arrives. Sorry he couldn't make it to the tea party, he's been busy burying his 13-year-old boy - a son she didn't even know he had. Names have been changed.
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solicit - meaning in Hindi Pronunciation of solicit 1. भड़काना 2. प्रार्थना करना 3. विनती करना 4. इच्छा करना 5. याचना करना 6. इच्छा रखना 7. यौन संबंधों के लिये आग्रह करना 8. धंधे के लिये लुभाना 9. प्रेम निवेदन करना 10. उकसाना 11. फँसाना 12. माँगना 13. मांगना 14. ललचाना Inflected forms solicited (verb past tense) soliciting (verb present participle) solicits (verb present tense) Definitions and Meaning of solicit in English solicit - verb 1. make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently - My neighbor keeps soliciting money for different charities 2. make amorous advances towards 3. approach with an offer of sexual favors - The young man was caught soliciting in the park 4. incite, move, or persuade to some act of lawlessness or insubordination 5. make a solicitation or petition for something desired Information provided on solicit Meaning and definitions of solicit, translation in Hindi language for solicit with similar and opposite words. Also find spoken pronunciation of solicit in Hindi and in English language. Tags for the entry "solicit" Hindi meaning of solicit, solicit meaning in Hindi, solicit definition, examples and pronunciation of solicit in Hindi language.
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August 25, 2006 By Nimrod Halpern The international battle against animal experimentation has reached Israel's Teva (TASE, Nasdaq: TEVA). Protestors are demonstrating outside company offices in Israel, Belgium and Britain today, demanding that Teva sever its relations with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), an animal experimentation firm that kills about 500 test subjects each day. Huntingdon Life Sciences is the biggest contract testing firm in Europe, say the SHAC protestors. SHAC stands for Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. "We demand that Teva immediately sever its relations with HLS and adopt more efficient, safe scientific methods to test materials, which do not involve causing pointless pain and death to animals," according to the Israeli branch of SHAC. HLS runs two labs in Britain and one in the U.S. Together they slaughter 180,000 animals a year, including dogs and cats, monkeys, and rabbits. SHAC'S purpose in life is to shut down HLS, through imposing economic pressures on bodies and companies that do business with the animal-testing firm. That includes the banks that give it credit, investors, clients and suppliers. It has been working: more than 100 bodies have cut their ties with HLS and its shares have lost most of their value. The company's owners were forced to infuse money of their own and also to move the company's headquarters from Britain to the U.S. But the company's attempt to move its shares from the London Stock Exchange to the NYSE did not go well. In a dramatic move, the NYSE announced on September 7, 2005, the day HLS shares were to have started to trade, that it was suspending trade in its stock, with no specific limit in sight. It was the first time in history that the NYSE halted trade in a company's shares based on a public battle against the company. Although at the time the NYSE did not explain its move, it is known that animal rights activists were preparing to target the exchange as well. (Huntingdon's US listing is halted at last minute) SHAC was founded in 1999, two years after Channel 4 television in Britain aired deeply disturbing footage in a show called "It's a dog's life". The films, shot in secret, showed HLS workers punching beagle puppies in the face, shaking them violently, and throwing them against walls. Four subsequent investigations uncovered horrors in way the regular HLS staff treated the animals, from deliberate cruelty and torture to bestiality. Animals were operated on without anesthetic. Test results were falsified in order to expedite the time to market of products. Several HLS workers were convicted after these findings and HLS itself was slammed with heavy fines. Leaving aside the moral question as to the justification of any such testing, there is a question about efficacy. Many scientists say that alternative techniques available today are better. The tremendous differences in the way species react to a given therapy render animal testing unreliable to useless, and major drugs such as digitalis and aspirin were created without a single animal. Moreover, based on animal tests, both would have been disqualified. Fair Use Notice and Disclaimer Send questions or comments about this web site to Ann Berlin,
The unedited full-text of the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia - Phrase search: "names of god" - Exclude terms: "names of god" -zerah - Volume/Page: v9 p419 - Diacritics optional: Ḥanukkah or hanukkah - Search by Author: altruism author:Hirsch search tips & recommendations MERKABAH (lit. "chariot"): The Heavenly Throne; hence "Ma'aseh Merkabah," the lore concerning the heavenly Throne-Chariot, with especial reference to Ezek. i. and x. The conception of Yhwh riding upon cherubim, or fiery cloud-birds, upon the heavens or the clouds, is certainly genuinely Hebrew (see Ps. xviii. 11 [A. V. 10]; Deut. xxxiii. 26; Ps. lxviii. 5 [A. V. 4]; Isa. xix. 1); hence His "war-chariot" (Hab. iii. 8 and Isa. lxvi. 15, Hebr.) and the name "chariot" for the ark with the cherubim (I Chron. xxviii. 18). Just as the Assyrian sunchariot with its horses is employed in the legend of the ride of Elijah to heaven (II Kings ii. 11; comp. Enoch lxx. 2, lxxii. 5, lxxiii. 2), so did the prophet Ezekiel in his vision, probably suggested by Babylonian sculpture, see Yhwh riding on the Throne-Chariotwhen leaving the doomed Temple at Jerusalem (see Müller, "Ezechielstudien," 1895, pp. 8-11; Bertholet, "Das Buch Hezekiel," 1897, p. 12). To a later age Ezekiel's picture became a sacred mystery known by the term "Merkabah" as early as the time of Ben Sira (Ecclus. xlix. 8). The ancient Mishnah lays down the rule: "The Ma'aseh Merkabah should not be taught to any one except he be wise and able to deduce knowledge through wisdom ('gnosis') of his own" (Ḥag. ii. 1). Job beheld the throne of God, and his daughters sang the doxology of the Ma'aseh Merkabah (according to the Testament of Job, ed. Kohler, vii. 39, xi. 25; see Kohut Memorial Volume, pp. 282, 288). Quite characteristic is the story given in Tosef., Ḥag. ii. 1; Ḥag. 14b; Yer. Ḥag. ii. 77a: (πνευματικοί; see Joël, "Blicke in die Religionsgeschichte," 1880, pp. 133-135). "R. Eleazar ben 'Arak was riding on a mule behind R. Johanan b. Zakkai, when he asked for the privilege of being initiated into the secrets of the Merkabah. The great master demanded proof of his initiation into the gnosis, and when Eleazar began to tell what he had learned thereof, R. Johanan immediately descended from the mule and sat upon the rock. 'Why, O master, dost thou descend from the mule?' asked the disciple. 'Can I remain mounted upon the mule when the telling of the secrets of the Merkabah causes the Shekinah to dwell with us and the angels to accompany us?' was the answer. Eleazar continued, and, behold, fire descended from heaven and lit up the trees of the field, causing them to sing anthems, and an angel cried out, 'Truly these are the secrets of the Merkabah.' Whereupon R. Johanan kissed Eleazar upon the forehead, saying, 'Blessed be thou, O father Abraham, that hast a descendant like Eleazar b. 'Arak!' Subsequently two other disciples of R. Johanan b. Zakkai walking together said to each other: 'Let us also talk together about the Ma'aseh Merkabah'; and no sooner did R. Joshua begin speaking than a rainbow-like appearance [Ezek. i. 28] was seen upon the thick clouds which covered the sky, and angels came to listen as men do to hear wedding-music. On hearing the things related by R. Jose, R. Johanan b. Zakkai blessed his disciples and said: 'Blessed the eyes that beheld these things! Indeed I saw myself in a dream together with you, seated like the select ones [comp. Ex. xxiv. 11] upon Mount Sinai; and I heard a heavenly voice saying: "Enter the banquet-hall and take your seats with your disciples and disciples' disciples, among the elect, the highest ('third') class"'" Symbolic Significance. Obviously this is a description of an ecstatic state in which the pictures that the mind forms are beheld as realities (comp. Tosef., Meg. iv. 28 and Meg. 24—"Blind ones saw them"). The study of the Merkabah was theosophy; to the initiated the Ḥayyot and the Ofannim around the Heavenly Throne became beings that lived and moved before their eyes (see Joël, l.c. p. 152). It was in fact considered perilous to penetrate into these mysteries. "A youth who studied the 'Ḥashmal' [Ezek. i. 27, Hebr.] was consumed by the fire which sprang forth from it" (Ḥag. 13a; comp. Shab. 80a). Only the older men dared to be initiated into those mysteries. "I am not old enough," said R. Eleazar when R. Johanan b. Nappaḥa wished to instruct him in them. They were to be imparted in suggestions ("initial sentences," "rashe peraḳim") rather than in complete chapters (Ḥag. 13a). "The bird that flew over the head of Jonathan b. Uzziel as he studied them was consumed by the fire surrounding him" (Suk. 28a; comp. Meg. 3a). "Ben 'Azzai was seated meditating on the Torah, when, behold, a flame encircled him; the people told R. Aḳiba, and he went to Ben 'Azzai, saying, 'Art thou studying the mysteries of the Merkabah?'" (Cant. R. i. 10; Lev. R. xvi.). "In the future Ezekiel will come again and unlock for Israel the chambers of the Merkabah" (Cant. R. i. 4). Glimpses of the mysteries of the Merkabah may be discerned in such rabbinical sayings as the following: "The angel Sandalfon towers above the rest of the angels the length of a five hundred years' journey; his feet touch the earth while his head reaches the holy Ḥayyot. He stands behind the Throne-Chariot binding wreaths for his Master" (Ḥag. 13b). To R. Ishmael b. Elisha is ascribed the saying that when offering the incense in the Temple as high priest he beheld the angel Akatriel ("the wreath-binding one"; Sandalfon?) seated on the Throne and asked him for a blessing (Ber. 7a; comp. Bacher, "Ag. Tan." i. 267). One of these great archangels is said to equal in size a third part of the world (Ex. R. iii.). Concerning the lion, the ox, the eagle, and the man as the four faces of the Ḥayyot, see Ḥag. 13b; on account of these four, which carry God's Throne-Chariot, the latter is called also "Tetramoulon"="Quadriga" (Ex. R. iii. 3; comp. Jellinek, "B. H." iii. 92-95). In the Enoch Literature. The Merkabah mysteries, which remained the exclusive property of the initiated ones, the "Ẓenu'im" or "Ḥashsha'im" (see Essenes), have been preserved chiefly in the Enoch literature of the pre-Christian centuries, and in the "Hekalot" of the geonic time, known also as the "Merkabah" and "Enoch Books" (see Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 40-47, 114-117, and Introduction xiv.-xvii., xxx., xxxii.; iii. 83-108, 161-163, and Introduction xx.-xxv.; v. 170-190 and Introduction xli.-xliii.; Wertheimer, "Batte Midrashot," ii. 15-28; see Hekalot). Part of it has been embodied in the "payyeṭan-ḳedushshah" literature and has found its way also into other ancient apocrypha, such as the Testament of Abraham, the Ascensio Isaiæ, etc. Besides the descriptions of the seven heavens with their hosts of angels, and the various storehouses of the world, and of the divine throne above the highest heaven, the most remarkable feature is that the mysteries rest on the belief in the reality of the things seen in an ecstatic state brought about by ablutions, fasts, fervent invocations, incantations, and by other means. This is called "the Vision of the Merkabah" ("Ẓefiyat ha-Merkabah"), and those under this strange hallucination, who imagine themselves entering the Heavenly Chariot and floating through the air, are called "Yorede Merkabah" (= "those that go down into the ship-like chariot"; Jellinek, "B. H." iii. 90, 94 et seq.). In this chariot they are supposed to ascend to the heavens, where in the dazzling light surrounding them they behold the innermost secrets of all persons and things, otherwise impenetrable and invisible. Particularly significant is the warrior-nature of the angels surrounding the Throne-Chariot; flames dart forth from their eyes; they ride upon fiery horses (comp. Zech. vi. 1-8) and are armed with weapons of fire (Jellinek, l.c.). In order to be allowed to pass these terrible beings the Merkabahrider must provide himself with amulets or seals containing mysterious names ("Hekalot," l.c.xvii.-xxii., xxx.), and in order to be able to step before the Throne he must recite certain prayers until God Himself addresses him, if he be worthy. The "Hekalot" mention especially either R. Aḳiba or R. Ishmael, and their associates of the Bar Kokba time, as types of the "Yorede Merkabah." The central figure and chief actor in the theophany, however, is the "Prince of the Face," Meṭaṭron, the one next to the Throne, whose name, or whose seventy names, are like God's, and who is none else than Enoch translated to heaven and transformed into the highest angel. He is the one who imparted to man all the knowledge of heaven and of the past and the future (see especially Jellinek, l.c. v. 170-176), exactly as Enoch did in the Ethiopic and Slavonic Books of Enoch. Origin of the Conception. Concerning the origin of the Merkabah-ride, Jellinek ("B. H." iii. p. xxii.) expressed the opinion that Persian Sufism gave rise to its peculiar notions, and Bloch ("Monatsschrift," 1893, pp. 18-25, 69-74, 257-266, 305-311) endeavored to trace them all back to Arabic mysticism. But recent researches concerning the Mithra worship and the Mithra liturgy have cast altogether new light on the whole Merkabah lore. Mithra, the heavenly charioteer, with his Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses, who was worshiped in ancient Persia as the god of light and regarded in early Roman times as the prime mover of the world, formed of the four elements (Dio Chrysostomus, "Oratio," xxxvi.; see Cumont, "Die Mysterien des Mithra," 1903, pp. 87-88; Windischmann, "Zoroastrische Studien," 1863, pp. 309-312), was invoked under mysterious rites as the mediator between the inaccessible and unknowable Deity, in the ethereal regions of light, and man on earth (Cumont, l.c. pp. 95, 122). These rites bear such a striking resemblance to those by means of which the Merkabah-riders approached the Deity that there can scarcely be any doubt as to the Mithraic origin of the latter (see Dieterich, "Eine Mithrasliturgie," 1903, pp. 7-15). The only difference between them is that while the Mithra-worshipers, at least those of Roman times, had the coming forth of Mithra as the highest god their aim, the Merkabah-riders have the seeing of the Lord on high as their goal, Meṭa-ṭron-Mithra, the archangel, being the divine charioteer who ushers them into the presence of God. Otherwise there is the same hallucination at work which makes the ecstatic imagine that he is lifted up from the earth to heaven to see the sun, stars, and winds come forth from their places; to behold the sun (or sun-god) and the entire celestial household, the seven rulers of the celestial poles, or the archangels; and finally to gaze at the luminous youthful Mithra in all his beauty—the youthful Meṭaṭron of the Jewish mystics (see Cumont, l.c. pp. 117, 151, et al.). Such spiritualistic experiences through mystic rites had their origin in Egypt rather than in Persia. Jamblichus ("De Mysteriis," iii. 4, 5) describes the optic and acoustic illusions under which the Egyptian mystic labored as if they were realities, and at the same time he states that in the ecstatic state brought about by magic songs and proper environment the soul is encompassed by a chariot of light and ether (αἰθεριωδές χαὶ αῦγοειδὲς ὄχημα), on which it beholds the heavenly things in the light reflected from above (iii. 14; see Von Harless, "Das Buch von der Aegyptischen Mysterien," pp. 53-54, 65-66). Neoplatonic ideas, accordingly, aided in rendering the Mithra worship the center of the mystic belief in which the world of antiquity sought relief during the period when the gods of classical antiquity were losing their authority and divinity; and Jewish wisdom, following the tendency of the age, embodied it, under the name of Enoch Meṭaṭron, as secret lore in its system (see Meṭaṭron). Philo took the idea of the Merkabah with its charioteer Meṭaṭron and applied it to his Logos ("De Somniis," i. 25; "Quis Rerum Divinarum Heres Sit," §§ 42, 48; "De Profugis," § 19; "De Confusione Linguarum," § 28; "De Monarchia," i. 1; comp. Plato, "Phædrus," ii. 46). Maimonides ("Moreh Nebukim," iii. 1-7), in his antagonism to mysticism, went so far as to dissolve the whole Merkabah theophany of Ezekiel into mere physics, notwithstanding the rabbinical warning against disclosing these mysteries (see Pes. 119a). All the stronger, therefore, grew the zeal of the mystics, as is evidenced in the renewed form of the Cabala, which lent to the Merkabah lore and all the ecstatic visions and mystic operations connected therewith new life and vigor; of this the Book of Raziel and the later Cabala are ample proof. See Ma'aseh Bereshit. Images of pages
Globalisations Benefits Greater Than Its Costs Politics Essay Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. The twentieth century began when the first wave of globalisation was approaching its peak and it ended on the rising crest of a second wave far more forceful than the first. Globalisation, in the sense of increased integration of international markets, has waxed and waned throughout history. Freidman describes the two sides of globalisation as he states; "[Globalisation] can be incredibly empowering and incredibly coercive. It can democratize opportunity and democratize panic. It makes the whales bigger and the minnows stronger. It leaves you behind faster and faster, and it catches up to you faster and faster. While it is homogenizing cultures, it is also enabling people to share their unique individuality farther and wider." [3]   These comparisons and observations characterise globalisation and heightened inter-dependence. What it seems immediately obvious and about the effects of globalisation is the inherent unpredictability. With conflicting theories whether it’s a good or a bad thing, or its time has ended or has just begun; debates that have lasted decades if not centuries. An example of the unpredictably in the interdependent, globalised economy was displayed after the events of September 11th 2001 as it led some observers to believe that globalisation would be halted, John Gray even went so far as to claim, ’the era of globalisation is over.’ [4] Although the world economy did appear to stall temporarily, the intensity of global economic activity has increased ever since. It seems that the ‘second age of globalisation’ has come about and economic activity is more intensified than ever. Benefits 1000 In 2002, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan launched his Global Compact at the World Economic Forum. The premise is a simple one - business and the UN pursue complementary objectives.With the UN focusing on peace and development, business’ role was therefore to create wealth and prosperity. It is clear that the different remits are not mutually exclusive, i.e. one cannot exist without the other in most cases and there are clear areas of commonality on such issues as human rights, labour standards and environmental protection. Multinationals are a often portrayed as the arch enemies of developing nations by critics of globalisation, however the question arises; if that is is the case, then why do so many nations compete so fiercely for their investment. They spread wealth, work, technologies that raise living standards and better ways of doing business. Richard McCormick makes the point that ‘Without globalisation, the developing world and the millions in it who live in extreme poverty will lose the best chance they have of improving their lot in life.’ [5]  It seems that a consensus has been reached that overall globalisation has brought more benefits than costs; that it has exacerbated inequalities both within and between countries because of sharply diverging experience at individual and country levels; and that it has increased economic and political insecurity even for those who have benefited in monetary terms from globalisation. O’Neill makes the point that there is no argument that the levels of income and disparity and poverty are significant between advanced and emerging countries. [6] It is claimed by Gunter and Hoeven (2004) that considering the shear amount if literature produced on globalisation, there is an overall feeling that, on balance, globalisation has produced more benefits than costs; due to the sharp diverging experience at individual and country levels, both within and between countries, it has exposed and exacerbated inequalities that exist; and that even for those who have benefitted financially from globalisation, it has contributed/caused a heightened level of economic and political insecurity. That not withstanding, Gunter and Hoeven (2004) take issue with the casual link often made between the rise of globalisation and the changes in poverty and inequality, as due to the nature of globalisation, it is not simply and economic movement, and they point to the impact of global health and environmental crises. Joseph Stiglitz makes the argument globalisation has not produced the promised benefits its cheerleaders have claimed it produces, however, he does not question that globalisation will benefit the world’s poorest. He also acknowledges that for Globalisation to be a real force for good, it has to be managed in the right way and that current global governance is not fit for that purpose. He claims to be a ‘great cheerleader for globalization when it is managed well’ [7]  Critics of globalisation such as Mandle agree that the management of globalisation is key and that it could be made fairer with increased government actions. [8]  Although he concededs that global market integration has been beneficial to the poor in that it helps to advance worldwide living standards. On the other hand, when trade barriers are lowered and poor-country economies are opened to an influx of imports, it is often the case that many local producers and industries are unable to keep up with their technologically advanced competitors in the developed world. The result is unemployment and other problems of social instability as local businesses and even entire industries are destroyed. At the same time, poor countries are under pressure from IMF and others in Washington to limit social welfare spending. Mandle recognises the harmful side effects of globalisation and argues that its proponents have paid too little attention to these matters, and claims that more should be done to ameliorate painful but necessary dislocations. These researchers find the basic problem of globalisation, how to address “the damage that is done to some as a result of change that is beneficial to most” (Mandle 2003). Therefore they do not question the structure of the international economic order as much as they argue that enhance safety-net policies are needed at the national level. They advocate policies designed to maintain worker income and benefits when globalisation results in job losses, to educate and retain people for the new opportunities created by globalisation, and to assist retrained workers seeking new employment (Mandle 2003). Some other researchers led by Stiglitz (2003) argue that the IMF particularly but also major international economic institutions (the World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO)) divided and pushed policies that “have served interests of the more advanced industrialised countries – and particular interests within those interests- rather than those of the developing countries. Stiglitz devotes most of his attention to how public international financial institutions have worked to advance the financial interests of Wall Street, but he also notes that major commercial interests and priorities have similarly held away at the WTO. Costs 700 Tony Barnett makes the point ‘Development cannot be defined in any simple way. It is a political and cultural term, and therefore heavily disputed. A product of western thought, culture and political interests, it has often been used as though it were technical, neutral and merely descriptive.’ Tony Barnett ‘Development’ in R.Barry Jones (ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of International Political Economy (London: Routledge, 2001), pp.337-340 It is clear that globalisation has failed to rid the world of poverty. Rather than being an unstoppable force for development, globalisation now seems more like an economic temptress, promising riches to everyone but only delivering to the few. Although global average per capita income rose strongly throughout the 20th century, the income gap between rich and poor countries has been widening for many decades. Globalisation has not worked. The reason globalisation has not worked is because there has not been enough of it. If countries, including the rich industrialised ones, got rid of all their protectionist measures, everyone would benefit from the resulting increase in international trade: it's simple economics. If unnecessary government regulation can be eliminated, and investors and corporations can act freely, the result will be an overall increase in prosperity as the "invisible hand" of the market does its work. Tell that to countries that have followed this route. I doubt many people in Argentina would agree. Many developing countries have done exactly what free market evangelists such as the International Monetary Fund told them to and have failed to see the benefits. The truth is that no industrialised society developed through such policies. American businesses were protected from foreign competition in the 19th century, as were companies in more recent "success stories" such as South Korea. Faith in the free market contradicts history and statistical evidence. Lewis Williamson, Globalisation; Good or Bad? The Guardian 31/10/02 At the WEF, the most serious threat to the welfare of the world's poor comes not from those outside the conference hall, but from those inside. he reality is, the question whether globalization is good or bad is not black and white. But it can be inferred that the process of connecting various economies and spreading technology, ideas, and culture has done more good than harm. Globalization has posed the more overt economic, social and also political benefits worldwide. But it also comes with a small price compared to the big picture. On the economic side of things, globalization is responsible for all the various consumer productsthat are stacked on shelves in local supermarkets or large chain ones. It's made international trade possible by facilitating the transport of products between various countries. So in short, there are a greater choice of products that will guarantee consumer satisfaction. Moreover, it poses mutual economic benefits on both sides of the countries in trade. A multinational corporation from the U.S. makes a direct foreign investment in India by building branches in that country and setting factories for production. The corporation receives cheap labor which generates greater profit and in turn, India will benefit from more jobs from factories and financial capital entering the country. Socially, there is the spread of technology, knowledge and culture. People through one of the most important and revolutionary invention ever developed by mankind, the Internet, allows people to in touch with international news and insurpassable amount of information regarding all sort of things. The proliferation of information generally increases people's social, political and economics awareness of the world around them, therefore increasing intellect. And politically (a tricker aspect), globalization is responsible for spreading differing political ideals ranging from democracy to communism. This increased awareness (assuming there is no censorship) allows people to weight pros and cons about differing beliefs and be able to make informed decisions or opinions in the political arena that shapes their government. And the undisputed major role of the media in assisting globalization, can expose corrupt governments to the public and therefore, pressure the removal of oppressive dictators. Critics argue the dark side of globalization stems from multinational corporation's violation of human rights in factories at their host country (mostly developing nations) and use their economic importance to their host country as a political leverage. And more recently, it's widens the gap between rich and poor nations. Well, quite frankly, globalization is not meant to level the playing field and remove poor nations out of poverty. Globalization is the beacon of spreading knowledge, technology, cultures, religion in a world that's ever becoming much smaller to live in.  Conclusion 500 It seems that a consensus has been reached that the age of globalisation and increased interdependence has brought more benefits than costs. It also seems that in broad terms, there is a common belief that it has exacerbated inequalities both within and between countries because of sharply diverging economic experiences, both as induviduals and as states. It is also evident that globalisation has increased economic and political insecurity even for those who have benefited in monetary terms from it. In his book The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Thomas Friedman wrote:  "Today [Globalisation] is an overarching international system shaping the domestic politics and foreign relations of virtually every country, and we need to understand it as such."  If Freidmen’s view is correct, then our analysis of whether globalization is a good or a bad thing seems almost redundant, and that the more useful question is how can globalization be harnessed so that it reduces inequality, and not exacerbate it? But they challenge making casual link between changes in poverty and inequality with increased globalisation, as the globalisation process today has an impact far beyond its economic aspects, and is increasingly influenced by global health and environmental crises. Globalisation can pose problems and be dangerous. But it can also bring untold opportunities and benefits. Just as capitalism requires a multitude of governing systems to keep it from devouring societies, globalization requires observation and the rule of law.  Globalization will always have its supporters who are blind to the destruction it can cause. And it will always have strident opponents blind to the way globalization gives some people their first opportunity to fulfill basic aspirations.  As with most issues that a studied in academia, the majority of people will be in the middle. They will see globalization not as something to adore or demonize. Instead, they will see it as something to mold, shape and manipulate for the betterment of everyone. Request Removal Request the removal of this essay More from UK Essays
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Why America isn't the greatest country in the world anymore. Friday, April 13, 2012 The Logical Flaw of the Stand Your Ground Law THere is something that really bothers me about this law taht surprisingling the over-active 24h news media freak show hasn't dug into yet. Or at least I haven't heard them brign this particular point up. that is Not how the stand your ground law relates to Zimmerman's actions, but how it realtes to Martin's actions. Zimmerman says he had the right to stand his ground. He was trying to protect his community after a string of break'ins. So, for the sake of argument about this law. Lets say Zimmerman has represented the accoutn of that night very accuratly. And that he was justified in the killing. But, as a thought expirement, let's reverse thing. If Trayvon Martin had killed Zimmerman tht night in thier struggle. Would not the "stand your ground" law protect him as well? He had the right to be there. He had some guy stalking him, with a gun no less. He had a legitimate right to fear for his life. Those are the grounds to use deadly force in Florida. SO I come to the conclusion that Trayvon Martin would have had the right to kill George Zimmermann. My point? How can anyone write a law that makes it perfectly legal to kill someone over a misunderstanding. George Zimmerman didn't know Trayvon Martin had a right to be there and only had skittles with him. Trayvon Martin didn't know that George Zimmerman was just trying to stalk him he was just trying to stop a rash of burgleries. This is why sane places have the law that you have to retreat if you can. So just in case it was a misunderstanding, You don't have a circumstance where both parties have teh right to kill each other. Thanks for reading my rant. I do not know what happened that night, this was a theoretical exercise. Labels: , , , Wednesday, December 14, 2011 Ben Franklin, full of it. from C. Hitchens I am ready a collection of essays from Hitchens called Arguably. He supports his claims but the more I read the more I feel he is choosing his arguments not on evidence but on belief, but that he has a pre choosen narative and he is streching in every way possible to make as many peices fit into his narative as possible. The latest was his essay on the writtings of B. Franklin, US of A founding father. As Hitchens couldn't find in any support for his argument that franklin didn't believe in god he argued that Frankilin didn't mean what he wrote. That his famous almanac and its earthy wisdom was written in jest and that any intellectual could see that. W it is a well written essay and argument. I am not convinced. I, never having read any of Franklins work would have to read it myself to make that determination. And that beings me to my point. From reading a few of the works of Hitchens. I think, as good of a philosopher as he is, is more interested in being interesting and sensational than being correct or arguing to find the truth. And I guess now i take this grain of salt in every thign of his I read now. I love how he quotes all these great sources to read myself. Geico Auto Insurance / uses for your car So I just set up auto insurance through Gieco. I had to list what the car was for. I had three options: • Commute to school • Commute to work • Recreational use There was no option for a stay at home father (or mother in that case). I had to put down that the car was for recreational use which of coarse means a higher premium. Are there not people who stay at home with their children and don't work? apparently not according to Geico. ...and what about retirees. are all thier cars only for recreatinoal use as well? Tuesday, December 13, 2011 Back in the US of A / Comcast So I back in the US. Ever since I have moved here to Milton VT Comcast has been trying to get me to subscribe for thier cable TV service. They try to contact me 5 to 7 times a week though phone calls ( I am on the national do not call registry) and snail mail. I do not answer thier calls and throw away the mail because I have no television set. Also, my internet is provided through my phone company ( fairpoint comunications). today I finally picked up the headset when they called and said "hello, I have no television set, thank you) . No one repleid on the other end of the line. I then hung up the phone. Lets see if this stops them.
Middle Scots From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Middle Scots Region Scottish Lowlands, to some extent the Northern Isles Era Developed into Modern Scots by mid-18th century Early forms Early Scots • Middle Scots Language codes ISO 639-3 Linguist list Glottolog None Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 15th century, its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually indistinguishable from early Northumbrian Middle English. Subsequently the orthography of Middle Scots differed from that of the emerging Early Modern English standard. Middle Scots was fairly uniform throughout its many texts, albeit with some variation due to the use of Romance forms in translations from Latin or French, turns of phrases and grammar in recensions of southern texts influenced by southern forms, misunderstandings and mistakes made by foreign printers. The now established Stewart identification with the lowland language had finally secured the division of Scotland into two somewhat antagonistic parts, the Gaelic Highlands and the Anglic Lowlands. The adherence of many Highlanders to the Catholic faith during the Reformation led to the 1609 Statutes of Iona forcing Clan chiefs to establish Protestant churches, send their sons to Lowland schools and withdraw their patronage from the hereditary guardians of Gaelic culture – the bards. This was followed in 1616 by an act establishing parish schools in the Highlands with the aim of extirpating the Gaelic language. Just over a hundred years later this endeavour gained almost genocidal proportions[citation needed] after the Jacobite uprisings. The Danish dependency of Orkney and Shetland had been held by Scottish magnates from the late 14th century. These had introduced the Lowland tongue which then began to replace Norn. In 1467 the islands became part of Scotland. By the early 16th century Scottis (previously used to describe Gaelic in Ireland as well as Scotland) had been adopted for what had become the national language of the Stewart kingdom. The term Erse (Irish) was used instead for Gaelic, while the previously used term Inglis was increasingly used to refer to the language south of the border. The first known instance of this terminology was by an unknown man in 1494. In 1559 William Nudrye was granted a monopoly by the court to produce school textbooks, two of which were Ane Schort Introduction: Elementary Digestit into Sevin Breve Tables for the Commodius Expeditioun of Thame That are Desirous to Read and Write the Scottis Toung and Ane Intructioun for Bairnis to be Learnit in Scottis and Latin but there is no evidence that the books were ever printed. From 1610 to the 1690s, during the Plantation of Ulster, some 200,000 Scots settled in the north of Ireland, taking what were to become the Ulster Scots dialects with them. Later in the period southern influence on the language increased, owing to the new political and social relations with England prior to and following the accession of James VI to the English throne. By the Union of Parliaments in 1707 southern Modern English was generally adopted as the literary language though Modern Scots remained the vernacular.[1] On the whole Middle Scots scribes never managed to establish a single standardised spelling for every word, but operated a system of free variation based on a number of spelling variants. Some scribes used their own variants, but this was relatively rare. The least variation occurred in the later 16th century as printers moved towards fixed spellings. This ended in the 17th century when printers began to adopt imported English conventions. Middle Scots used a number of now obsolete letters and letter combinations:[2] • þ (thorn) was equivalent to the modern th as in thae. þ was often indistinguishable from the letter y and often written so. • ȝ (yogh) in was /ɲ/ as in the French Bretagne. It later changed to /ŋ/ or /nj/ leading to the modern spellings with z and y as in Menzies /ˈmɪŋʌs/ and Cunyie /ˈkʌnjiː/. • quh [xw] was equivalent to the modern wh. • sch was equivalent to the modern sh. • A ligature of long s and short s, similar to German ß, is sometimes used for s. • The initial ff was a stylised single f. • The inflection -ys, -is was realised /ɪz/ after sibilate and affricate consonants and other voiced consonants, and /ɪs/ after other voiceless consonants,[3] later contracted to /z/ and /s/ as in Modern Scots -s. The spelling -ys or -is also occurred in other words such as Inglis [ˈɪŋlɪs] and Scottis [ˈskotɪs] . The older Scots spelling surviving in place names such as Fowlis [fʌulz], Glamis [ɡlɑːmz] and Wemyss [wimz]. • d after an n was often (and still is) silent i.e. barrand is [ˈbarən] = barren. • i and j were often interchanged. • h was often silent. • l after a and o had become vocalised and remained in use as an orthographic device to indicate vowel length. Hence the place names Balmalcolm /ˈbɑːməkoːm/, Falkirk /ˈfɑːkɪrk/, Kirkcaldy /kərˈkɑːdi/, Culross /ˈkuːrəs/ and Culter /ˈkuːtər/. • i after a vowel was also used to denote vowel length, e.g. ai /aː/, ei /eː/ oi /oː/ and ui /øː/. • u, v and w were often interchanged. • After -ch and -th, some scribes affixed a pleonastic final -t (-cht, -tht); this was unpronounced. • The word ane represented the numeral ane as well as the indefinite article an and a, and was pronounced similar to Modern Scots usage. For example, Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis was pronounced a sateer o the three estates. • The verbal noun (gerund) -yng (-ing) differentiated itself from the present participle -and /ən/,[4] in Middle Scots, for example techynge, cryand and bydand—-the motto of the Gordon Highlanders. Both the verbal noun and present participle had generally merged to /ən/ by 1700.[5] The development of Middle Scots vowels:[6] Middle Scots Long Vowels 1: ei ɛ(ː)i 2: i(ː) 3: ɛː 4: ɛː e(ː) 5: o̞ː 6: u(ː) 6a: u̞lː#, u̞lːC u̞l öl 7: øː ø(ː) () → øː 8a: ai# → ɛi ɛi 8: aiː æi ei 8b: ?äː#, ?ɑː# → e̞ː 9: o̞i o̞i 10: ui u̞i öi 11: ei i# 12: au ɑː(aː) ɑː(aː) 12a: al#, alC# ↗ → al al 13: o̞u o̞u o̞u 13a: ol     ↗ → ol 14a: iuiu iu iu, ju 14b: ɛːuɛu     ↗ Short Vowels 15: ɪ ɪ (ɛ̽) → ɪ(ɛ̽) 16: ɛ ɛ ɛ 17: a a a 18: o o 19: ö The Scottish Vowel Length Rule is assumed to have come into being between the early Middle Scots and late Middle Scots period. Here vowel length is conditioned by phonetic and morphemic environment. The affected vowels tended to be realised fully long in end-stressed syllables before voiced oral continuants except /l/, in hiatus, before word or morpheme boundaries and before /rd/ and /dʒ/. The major differences to contemporary southern English were the now well established early merger of /ei/ with /e/ (dey 'die', ley 'lie'), early 15th century l-vocalisation where /al/ (except intervocalically and before /d/), /ol/ and usually /ul/ merged with /au/, /ou/ and /uː/, medial and final /v/ was lost (deil 'devil', ser 'serve'). The Great Vowel Shift occurred partially, /u/ and /øː/ remained unaffected, /ɔː/ became /oː/, /iː, , ɛː/ and /aː/ became /ɛi, , eː/ and /ɛː/. Sample text[edit] On Praying in Latin. by Nicol Burne (1581) An anti-reformation pamphlet printed abroad and circulated in Scotland. vthir is publik, quhilk the preistis sayis in the name of the hail kirk. As to the priuate prayeris, na Catholik denyis bot it is verie expedient that euerie man pray in his auin toung, to the end he vndirstand that quhilk he sayis, and that thairbie the interior prayer of the hairt may be the mair valkinnit, and conseruit it is also expedient that he vnderstand the mening of the vordis at the lest. For the quhilk caus in the catholik kirk the parentis or godfatheris ar obleist to learne thame quhom thay hald in baptisme the formes of prayeris and beleif, and instruct thame sufficiently thairin, sua that thay vndirstand the same: Albeit the principal thing quhilk God requiris is the hairt, that suppois he quha prayis vndirstand nocht perfytlie the vordis quhilk he spekis, yit God necessar that the pepill vndirstand thame, becaus it is nocht the pepill quha prayis, bot the preistis in the name of the hail kirk, and it is aneuche that thay assist be deuotione liftand vp thair myndis to God or saying thair auin priuate oraisonis, and that be thair deuotione thay may be maid participant of the kirk. As in the synagogue of the Ieuis, the peopill kneu not quhat all thay cerimonies signifeit, quhilk vas keipit be the preistis and vtheris in offering of thair sacri- fices and vther vorshipping of god, and yit thay did assist vnto thame; ye, sum of the preistis thame selfis miskneu the significatione of thir cerimoneis Than gif it vas aneuche to the pepill to vndirstand that in sik ane sacrifice consisted the vorshipping of God, suppois thay had not sua cleir ane vndirstand- ing of euerie thing that vas done thairin, sua in the catholik kirk, quhen the people assistis to the sacrifice of the Mess, thay acknaulege that thairbie God is vorshippit, and that it is institute for the remembrance of Christis death and passione. Albeit thay vndirstand nocht the Latine toung, yit thay ar not destitut of the vtilitie and fruit thairof. And it is nocht vithout greit caus that as in the inscrptione and titil quhilk pilat fixed vpone the croce of Christ Iesus thir thre toungis var vritt in, Latine, Greik, and Hebreu, sua in the sacrifice and the publik prayeris of the kirk thay ar cheiflie retenit for the con- seruatione of vnitie in the kirk and nationis amang thame selfis; for, gif al thingis var turnit in the propir langage of euerie cuntrey, na man vald studie to the Latine toung, and thairbie al communicatione amangis Christiane pepil vald schortlie be tane auay, and thairbie eftir greit barbaritie inseu. Mairatour sik publique prayeris and seruice ar keipit mair perfytlie in thair auin integritie vithout al corrup- tione; for gif ane natione vald eik or pair onie thing, that vald be incontinent remarkt and reprouit be vther nationis, quhilk culd not be, gif euerie natione had al thai thingis turnit in the auin propir langage; as ye may se be experience, gif ye vald confer the prayeris of your deformit kirkis, togidder vith the innumerabil translationis of the psalmes, quihlk ar chaingit according to euerie langage in the quhilk thay ar turnit. It is not than vithout greit caus, and ane special instinctione of the halie Ghaist, that thir toungis foirspokin hes bene, quhen the Ieuis sall imbrace the Euangel than sall the sacrifice and other publik prayeris be in the Hebreu toung, according to that quhilk I said befoir, that on the Croce of Christ thai thrie toungis onlie var vrittin, to signifie that the kirk of Christ suld vse thay thre toungis cheiflie in his vorshipping, as the neu and auld testament ar in thir thre toungis in greitast authoritie amangis al pepill. See also[edit] 1. ^ Michael Montgomery (1991)The Anglicization of Scots in Seventeenth-Century Ulster Studies in Scottish Literature, Volume 26 Issue 1. 2. ^ Smith, G. Gregory (1902). Specimens of Middle Scots. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons. Retrieved 2008-02-17.  3. ^ King A. The Inflectional Morphology of Older Scots in Jones C. (ed) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh Press. p.161 5. ^ Beal J. Syntax and Morphology in Jones C. (ed) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh Press. p.356 6. ^ Aitken, A.J. (2002) Macafee C. (Ed) The Older Scots Vowels: A History of the Stressed Vowels of Older Scots From the Beginnings to the Eighteenth Century. Edinburgh, The Scottish Text Society. ISBN 1-897976-18-6 Further reading[edit] • A History of Scots to 1700 in A Dictionary of Older Scots Vol. 12. Oxford University Press 2002. • Aitken, A.J. (1977) How to Pronounce Older Scots in Bards and Makars. Glasgow, Glasgow University Press. • Jones C. (ed) The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language, Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh Press. ISBN 0-7486-0754-4 External links[edit]
UPDATE: Robert Scoble says the report isn't true. He has a full explanation in the comments below. EARLIER: Robert Scoble, a Rackspace employee and massive presence in the tech blogosphere, is also getting involved with an angel investment fund, Dan Lyons of The Daily Beast reports. Lyons said he got a call from a venture capitalist who said he was recently offered a chance to participate in an angel fund that involves Scoble. Sound familiar? It should — Mike Arrington, another prominent tech blogger, also started a venture capital fund called the CrunchFund. The VC tells Lyons that the undertone of the pitch was, "The deal is that Scoble invests in XYZ company, and he makes sure they get a lot of press." Scoble's reply to Lyons was, "Hah. There is some bar talk about this but nothing official yet. I am interested but not anywhere close and certainly I wouldn't be managing it," adding, "I doubt I would be more than a pretty face on any such fund." Lyons' VC source passed on the fund because he doesn't think Scoble is that influential. He said, "I think there’s a mismatch between what goes on in his mind and reality."
Nick Sorrentino I was recently talking to a friend who is not particularly political but who like (nearly) everyone is feeling the pinch of the economy and has become increasingly concerned with the direction of the country. “What can be done?” he asked. “Vote? Voting doesn’t seem to do much.” I disagreed, voting still, even now affects things. There is a very good case for just opting out and not voting and thereby not perpetuating the system, but on the whole I think voting is still important, especially as the iron grip of the 2 parties is lessened. I’d like to opt out and change things that way but I think that being engaged moves things forward more quickly. But it’s true that in many elections our votes mean next to nothing. It’s also true that our votes are often negated by fraud. (I know, I know it doesn’t exist.) So is there anything else we can do to affect positive change besides showing up on election day? There are dozens of things we can do of course but one place an individual can have significant impact almost immediately is the consumer marketplace. Your dollar may be more powerful than your vote. In fact for most people it nearly always is. What you choose to spend your money on sends a powerful message. Don’t like GMOs? Don’t eat them. Don’t like t-shirts made in Vietnam under slave conditions? Don’t buy them. Don’t like the big banks? Don’t do business with them. Think a company is polluting and hurting the planet, choose another company’s products or abstain from the product. Think a company is exploiting crony connections to the detriment of consumers? Find a non-crony alternative and reward that non-crony company with your business. Don’t think a restaurant pays its workers enough. Don’t eat burgers there. The level needed for critical mass in the marketplace is much lower than in the voting booth, especially nowadays. In a supermarket for instance each purchase is tracked and trends (often) are examined in real time. The store knows what is selling. As such the store will seek to satisfy any spikes in demand. This can be used to our advantage and if shopping is done “consciously” the world can be made a bit better. So take a moment to make sure your cereal, meat, beer, car, housing choice, etc. reflects what you desire in the world. It takes a small bit of effort, but the rewards can be significant. Your dollar vote absolutely counts. For more from Nick Sorrentino, visit Nick Sorrentino Nick Sorrentino is the co-founder and editor of, and the CEO of Exelorix Consultants. A political and communications advisor with clients spanning the political spectrum and the business world, his work has been featured in many publications and across the Web. A graduate of Mary Washington College he lives just outside of Washington DC where he can keep an eye on Leviathan. Get the best of Townhall Finance Daily delivered straight to your inbox Follow Townhall Finance!
Satan Says Lyrics You've gotta stay away - I got a voice inside my head that doesn't wanna play with you tonight No, my calendar's blocked off for days - Just him and I alone We're drawing plays for ways to take the cake But he won't ever sleep, so it won't take much more time Look, I got a lot to say, but not to you not yet There's gotta be a better way for me to skin this cat But now I'm another day behind on catching up with my friend deep inside my crooked No, he won't stop until I'm dead - That's the only way to make him leave But he gives me super powers Like the wizards in "Twin Towers" Big thanks for the vase of flowers - Sure, I've got 10 minutes, but it's not for hours We're aligning planets too - That's how you call Cthulu No, I'm not lying to you Wait a goddamn minute, don't push the issue You've gotta stay away cause I gotta use this place in a way that your mind won't erase If you witness it, no saving grace will deliver you from dreams that always end in screams and leave paralyzed inside your mind with all the lies It won't be clean or organized It won't be neat or undisguised In fact, it's best if you're baptized if you surmise you'll be surprised by thighs cut up and thrown aside with knives at least two inches wide This time, go, or I'll pluck out your eyes and fry them up for me to dine on We'll fall 10,000 feet, and it's you who's coming with Correct these lyrics these lyrics are submitted by kaan Official lyrics powered by Rate Satan Says by Direct Hit! (current rating: N/A) Meaning to "Satan Says" song text no entries yet capthca required Characters count : min. 100 characters
Aphrodite joins her newly made Avatar and Oracle in the flesh as sexual energies flow and mingle The crystal entity Aphrodite pulsed brightly with pleasure as her simulacrum neared completion. Thin strands of crystal lattices floated from her body to join with it, completing it further. A shape could be made out already, it was definitely human and most certainly female. The shape was more demure than the last she had but these times were different and this shape would please her Avatar. Soon she would know the pleasure first hand again and walk among men, if only for a while. For now, the feeding would continue as her Avatar and Oracle were about to generate some more energy. Perhaps the second female could be made into a priestess, she was willing enough and enjoyed the administrations given to her by her representatives. When she walked among them, she would see if she was worthy of the honor. Drenched in their bodily fluids, David and Tillie made their way up to the master bathroom. Brother and sister, Avatar and Oracle, both were now able to influence their own and other bodies with focused pleasure, denying it, storing it, releasing it or even rewire sensitive neural clusters. Tillie’s nipples were still wired as a clit and David was teasing her with it, trying to lick or pinch them. She fought him of just long enough to get into the shower. There he managed to grab her from behind, his still hard cock between her butt cheeks, and pinched both nipples at the same time, getting a shudder and a gasp from her. Momentarily distracted, Tillie was unable or unwilling to resist David as he pulled her up and set her down on his cock again. They both grunted their pleasure at being joined again and while Tillie turned the water on, David undid the rewiring of her nipples, but kept them extra sensitive. As the water cascaded down on them, Tillie bent over to set her hands against the wall as David started to move in and out of her. With an ease belying the difficulty he undid the lace that kept her corset on, letting it fall on the ground. Her hoses had become undone already, being torn during their make out session on the couch. The warm water relaxed both of them and soon they were set in a nice smooth rhythm, teasing each other with short bursts of intense sexual stimulation. No words were spoken, their bodies in perfect sync, their minds on the same track. David experimented with his new found powers and found that he could influence the size and shape of his cock as well as hold or release his own orgasm. He searched for the most active spots in Tillie’s cunt and adjusted his cock in length, width and bend to achieve maximum pleasure for her. “What are you” Tillie started but could not finish as she came, exclaiming “Oh my.” Her orgasm forced cunt muscles clamped down on David making him join her in ecstasy. As she shuddered panting under the hot shower, David shook as he unloaded his cum in her. “This is the closest to heaven I think I could ever come” David whispered, still panting from the intense orgasm, his cock still throbbing deep in Tillie. Tillie on her part, still had her head down, gasping for breath as each throb of David fired a micro orgasm in her cunt. “I agree love” she whispered back “this is addictive.” It took them awhile to regain their full senses and get cleaned. They both took turns, washing each other, taking their time and making sure there was nothing innocent about it. David had helped her out of the soaking boots and held her as she took her hoses down. “I like these boots” Tillie said when they left the bathroom “lucky for you I have a pair in black as well because these are ruined.” “We’ll buy new ones dear, as many as you like” David answered, looking forward to help her select sexy outfits on the internet. “Really? Cool, there are a few things I had my eye on but wasn’t sure if you’d like them, but eh, I guess you like anything that’s on me hmm?” Tillie continued, pulling David into his bedroom. Maggie was still asleep on the bed when they entered, the sheets showing of her curves. “What do you think bro?” Tillie said “Shall we wake her or move to my bedroom?” “I don’t mind either way sis, we have the rest of our lives to fuck each other silly so, you chose” David answered her question, pulling her closer for a quick kiss. “Oh, I have an idea, you wake her up, I’ll be right back” she replied after the kiss and darted of to her room. David sat down next to Maggie and carefully moved her hair out of her face. He bend down and ever so gentle started to kiss her face, nose and lips. Small movements under the sheets showed David that she was waking up and he continued to kiss her neck and shoulder. “Oh a girl could get used to that you know” Maggie said sleepily. “I hope so” David replied moving in for a real kiss. His lips met hers and as before, their kiss started softly but ended in a passionate kissing frenzy. Her hands were all over his body as she came up and he caressed every inch of her free skin. David moved onto the bed, removing the last piece of sheet covering her and placed his body on top of hers. His head bent down he started to lick and suck on her nipples, getting them harder than before. Adjusting their sensitivity upwards, Maggie gasped in surprise when he sucked on them. Her cunt was already getting wet with arousal and David felt that she was ready to receive his cock. He sensed that Tillie was watching from the door and imagined her smiling, waiting for the right moment to play with both of them. Tillie quietly went back to her room again, getting a strap on and some lubricant. David would be in for a surprise she thought with glee as she mentally prepared herself to bind cunt sensations to David ass. David had readjusted his cock for maximum pleasure and a little bit of pain for Maggie, making it a bit too big. He knew she liked it rough and this would be a nice surprise for her. Maggie came up, pushing David up as well when he entered her cunt, gasping “Holy shit.” He barely fit in her and she was stretched to the max. “Am I this tight or are you this big for me?” Maggie said when she adjusted her hips so David could enter deeper. “I am this big for you” David smiled and slowly started to drive his cock in and out, hitting her G spot every time and pouncing her clit on his way in. Maggie was bucking under him, her hands on his shoulders and her legs around his waist. Red streaks showed on his back where she scratched him whenever he made her come up in intense heat. The bed was getting wet with the juices she was leaking and David moved faster in an out now that she was soaking wet. His big size didn’t bother her anymore and she was helping him ram it deeper and harder every time. When they hit their stride, the bed rocked under the force they were fucking each other, their voices getting hoarse from all the moaning and yelling. Tillie had put her fake cock on, putting her side deep in her pussy and locking the other side with a flexible clasp so she could ram his ass as he was pounding Maggie’s cunt. Already she was getting wet from the idea of fucking unsuspecting David in the ass, giving him the sensation of what it would be like to have a cunt there, clit included. Moving to the bed, she applied the lubricant on the strap on, giving it a good helping. David noticed that his sister was moving in behind him and that she was working him but he could not sense what or where. “Hold still for a second bro” Tillie almost yelled getting on the bed behind him. Deep inside Maggie, David held still for a moment, taking the opportunity to bury his face in her neck, kissing and biting her softly. David felt his sister’s hands on his hips and was about to ask her what she was up to when she slid the silicone dick in his asshole activating the sensations she had wired there. For a moment David was shocked, the sensation was unlike anything he had ever felt. His ass gave him the feeling of a woman’s cunt and it was being fucked hard by his sister. The excess lubricant Tillie had used made the dildo go in nice and easy and after the initial shock, David resumed fucking Maggie while Tillie was fucking him. He was a bit thrown off with the pounding in his ass, the sensations almost drove him nuts. It was like he was building towards two different orgasms, each with a distinct flavor. This was truly an out of this world experience and for a second he wondered how he would stay sane. That thought disappeared instantly as Tillie rubbed past his fake clit making him shudder and drop his rhythm. The girls both noticed the dual pleasure he was getting as he tensed for a moment. “Maggie” Tillie spoke loudly to make sure she was heard over the noise they were making “want to make my brother squirm?” “Yes, oh yes I do” Maggie panted back, getting very close to the edge of orgasm. “Suck on his pendant, the one I gave him, suck it like a cock” Tillie told her, speeding up her assault on his ass. She made an extra effort to rub David’s clit every time she went in deep. With some effort, Maggie managed to grasp David’s pendant with her mouth and started to suck on it. She was looking him straight in the eyes when she saw the surprise in his face. He couldn’t make any sound anymore, his mouth open and his eyes wide, all he could do was continue these last few motions. David was fucking Maggie’s cunt, getting fucked in his rewired ass and now, through the pendant Tillie had given him, Maggie was giving him a blow job as well. His mind was lost in all the sensations it was receiving and after two more strokes, his orgasm was beyond anything he had thought possible. The energies released from all the sensations and different forms of orgasm mingled and clashed in his body. The excess spilling out of him in a radiant pink glow, pulsing visibly and causing both girls to have a spectacular orgasm at the same moment. His cock throbbed in sync with his ass, producing an enormous stream of cum. Maggie was overwhelmed with her orgasm and the energy she got from David, his orgasmic feeling pouring over and into her. Her cunt squeezing his cock as it unleashed a flood or her own juices, mixing it with his cum. Tillie was holding on to David, riding his pleasure and energy. She felt so close to her brother, her cunt throbbing like his cock. She was close to orgasm herself when David’s release pushed her over and beyond the edge. Smiling while shuddering she relaxed on his back, feeling happy and spent. “That was” Maggie started but didn’t have the energy to finish. “Yes it was” Tillie and David replied in unison, their voices hoarse. Slowly and stiffly they all untangled and laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling while remnants of the orgasms caused all of them to shudder and sigh in contentment. The girls cuddled up to David, one on each side and soon both were dozing off. David was still very much awake, his incredible orgasm had given him energy instead of draining him. While the girls slept, he carefully untangled himself and covered the girls up, tucking them in. Feeling a bit stiff still, he opted for another quick shower to wash all the fluids away and get some of the kinks out of his muscles. The rush of extra energy surprised Aphrodite, her crystal body lit up in a strong pink glow. Her simulacrum now complete, it basked in the glow. Her Avatar had shed excess energy during his sexual encounter and was sated now. She could feel him relax and move about. It was time to meet him in the flesh. She connected with the young woman’s body, taking possession of her creation. The simulacrum gasped as Aphrodite connected her consciousness with her creation. Both where one now and while the body would not last long, it would give her enough pleasure and energy to last a while. She had missed the intimate physical contact with humans, however fleeting, they were intense and precious memories. Tonight she would create more. David had just finished drying himself off when he heard someone on the stairs. Looking at the bed he could see both his lovers sound asleep. He quickly started to get some pants on but a sudden calm refrained him from doing so. Curious at his sudden calm, he moved to the hallway to meet this new visitor. The woman walking up the stairs was vaguely familiar, short silky red hair, a lush face with big grey eyes and full lips. Her figure was amazing, a wasp like waste, double D breasts standing proud and a perfect ass held high by legs that seemed to go on forever. He probably would have gotten an instant erection but she was semi translucent and glowing in a soft pink light, almost ghost like. Nevertheless his cock did stir and the woman smiled slyly. She walked past him, keeping her eyes on him until she reached his bedroom door. Glancing inside to the bed she smiled pleased and turned to walk to Tillie’s room. David was stunned, horny and confused. His cock however had no such problems and rose to attention when she passed. The woman hadn’t spoken a word yet as she beckoned him into Tillie’s room. Unsure of what to do, too much things that had happened in the last 48 hours, David thought what the hell and followed her inside. She sat down on the bed, her legs parted showing of her bare pussy. David followed and sat down next to her, turning his face towards her, analyzing her face. He knew her from somewhere but she was different somehow besides the obvious. “You know who I am David as I know you intimately” Aphrodite spoke. “Aphrodite?” David spoke, almost a whisper on his breath. “Yes, I am and you are my Avatar, my hero in the realms of mortal flesh” she answered him smiling. “Are you a real honest to God Goddess? Like in the Greek myths?” he asked flushed and in awe. “Yes and no” she told him “I am not mortal and I have powers beyond your ken but my powers are bound to love, fertility and lust with some side benefits.” “That makes me not a god like you would describe, more of an archangel I suspect” “Shush” she said as David started to ask questions again “let me tell you what I am and what you have become, should you have more questions then, I shall answer them.” “Aphrodite is just the last name given to me, for as long as I can remember I have been worshipped for what I stand for.” “I may be as old as the Earth itself, I don’t know, I have lost memories during the ages, parts of me broken away and lost in time.” “You have woken me recently from my slumber, you and your sister for which I am very grateful.” “Maybe you have noticed that your sexual prowess has improved dramatically these last two days and your sisters as well, she has become my Oracle, my voice.” “Yes, I did repair the damage in her head, making her whole again but no, I did not instill the feelings in her, those were her own all along.” David didn’t verbalize his questions, she just answered them as they came in his head. “Ah yes, of that I am guilty, I did lower your cultural abhorrence at incest but to be honest, for me it’s as horrid not to love your family as you have done as you thought incest was.” “No children should come of it but it is as pure a love as any other.” She paused a moment to gaze in his eyes, seeking his gentle soul and reached out to it. David gasped at the caress she gave him, not physical but in his mind and body. He could feel her intent and love for him and all others, the need for passion and lust wrapped in love. “Yes, I need that feeling, that energy to wake and be aware. You have supplied me with enough so I could manifest for you here.” “That is not all an Avatar is, you are a champion to my cause, spreading love and sexuality to all that would be receptive to it.” “You are also my prime conduit to my energy needs, your energy feeds me, keeps me awake and allows me to grow and exist.” “You will heal the broken and assist the seeking in finding love and passion, if you would serve me that is.” Aphrodite waited for David to respond to her, watching him closely as his mind raced to make sense of what she had told him. David mulled it over for a few moment, his face serious until he made his decision, his smile telling her all she needed to know. “I will gladly serve you my Goddess for as long as I can on one condition, should I ever tire or for whatever reason want to leave your service, you’ll let me.” David spoke to her getting on one knee. He took her hand and kissed it as she answered “Silly boy, there is no reason for that condition, you either serve me because you want to or not at all, there is nothing forcing you to stay should you wish to leave nor will I make you stay against your will.” “Any other questions?”She asked him pleased with his response. “Yeah, can you have sex in this form?” David asked her boldly with a big grin on his face. She laughed at his question, a tear flowing down her face as she took a moment and said “This body is made for sex dear boy, long and passionate sex.” David got up, pulling Aphrodite of the bed and embraced her, his lips seeking hers. When their lips met, their power flowed between them, intermingled and formed an almost physical bond. Both their eyes opened, glowing in the same pinkish light. In the mirror David could see himself holding the near translucent Goddess in his arms, his body wrapped in her glow. Somehow it felt natural to him and he started to kiss her in earnest. She responded with a ferocity that enticed him even more, his kiss more forceful, and their tongues battling it out. Aphrodite felt all her senses focus on her simulacrum, the pleasurable feelings long forgotten reawakening and her passion and lust getting new impulses from her young and willing Avatar. David took the initiative and with a smooth swoop placed her on the bed and parted her legs, kneeling in front of her. His mouth was on her cunt an instant later, the feeling of her crystal flesh strange but pleasant on his tongue and mouth. Her taste was divine, sweet and arousing, and as he licked her lips he noticed the energy flowing beneath her skin. It was the same as when he sensed it in Tillie only now visible to the naked eye. He moved his tongue several times up and down, licking down her entrance, tongue fucking her a for a short while before he turned his attention to her clit. Aphrodite was moaning already, the stimuli pleasing her tremendously, letting her Avatar work her body without assisting or interfering him so she would get her first orgasm naturally. When his attention came to her clit, she came up gasping, surprised at the intensity of the feeling. It had been too long and now she would have a night she could relish for a long time, experiencing everything again for the first time, in the hands of an expert lover. David almost stopped what he was doing when she shot up but her hands on the back of his head told him to continue. He divided his attention between her clit and her entrance, at one point pushing her so far up he could lick her asshole, causing a cry of joy from her as it was a new sensation she had never had before but enjoyed immensely. It didn’t take David’s skilled tongue and mouth long to get her to come hard and loudly. Just before her orgasm he saw the flow of energy come together near her clit, growing in intensity. She cried out as a fire started in her loins and spread through her entire body, energy visibly spilling over to her crystal body back in the lab. Her back arched, she shook for some time, her gasps for air coming at the same time as her shudders. David was licking up the juices she had sprayed on his face and in his mouth. The taste getting better with each lick, he felt himself getting more aroused and harder than ever before, almost primal in his need of her. He teased her a bit with his tongue, flicking over her clit causing more gasps and shudders as he cleaned up most of the juice she had released. When he got up, he saw that her face was set in a look of wanton lust and her desire was aimed at him. He could tell that she wanted him, to devour him whole, she was a sexual predator looking at a kindred spirit because he felt exactly the same. She got on her knees on the bed, moving to the edge and bit his nipples, one after the other. Her hands moved to his cock as her tongue travelled between his nipples licking them and softly blowing on them when wet. With delicate movements she started to rub her hands up and down on his cock. At first she used both hands to stroke him but when she moved her mouth to his cock head, one hand started to fondle his balls. David had closed his eyes and moaned when she started to suck his cock. He could feel her soft lips, wet and willing moving over his cock head, going down his shaft all the way to his crotch. Her tongue wrapping around his shaft, licking it where it could, her teeth softly biting at short intervals. Soon she was moving up and down his cock, giving him the same treatment only faster. Alternating her suction she made him shudder under her careful administrations, feeling his energy build to that pleasurable release. David opened his eyes and looked down, seeing his cock disappear in her mouth yet vaguely visible through her translucent body. It was the weirdest and sexiest things he had ever seen, his cock in her mouth, he could see her tongue on the side appear and disappear beneath his cock, her throat expand to let him in and he could even see when she applied more suction. The sight was so bizarre and sexy, David felt his orgasm rushing instantly to the surface with great force. She felt the rise and sudden release of his energy in an orgasm. The force surprised her and the pleasant throbbing in her mouth of his cock made her touch herself, so horny had he made her. His cum shot out into her throat and she swallowed all he could produce, sucking it out of his cock with force when it didn’t arrive fast enough for her. She relished his taste and manipulated his balls to keep producing a bit longer. David felt the pressure she brought to bear intensifying his orgasm even more as she sucked the seed out of him hard. Expertly she let him hang in the orgasm a little longer, stimulating him with precision with her mouth and hands. When he became too sensitive she let him go, licking her lips as she looked at him like a kitten that just had gotten a treat. David felt week in the knees and feel on the bed next to her. Aphrodite straddled his chest, looking down on him. Her skin had become less translucent during the sex, making her look more like a real woman. Her face showed she was pleased with him and he answered that smile with one of his own. He was about to say something when she pressed a finger on his lips, shaking her head. There would be no more words, just two lovers making beautiful noise. She gave him a small respite before moving up and back, squatting down on his cock. His cock entered her cunt directly and she sat down on him, her butt barely touching him. She held this position, knees bend towards his face, her feet keeping her balance and her breasts hanging in front of him between her legs. Aphrodite turned her head up to look at him as she started to massage his cock in her cunt without moving. David looked on in amazement as she did things to his cock that seemed impossible. He moved his arms back to his head, popping it up to get a better view of his cock in her cunt, her lips puffy on the lower side of his shaft. The massage continued for a few minutes before she started to move again, straight up and down again, never settling down on him. It felt like she was jacking him with her cunt instead of her hands and he was breathing heavily with lust filled eyes as she continued to work on him. Getting the desired response Aphrodite increased the speed, feeding of the extra lust she was creating in him with this show of her special skills. His lust tasted so exquisite she took extra time with his cock, extending the feeling she was giving, building to an ever greater orgasm for him. When she felt for his energy build up she was pleased to notice that he already was hoarding it for a release and even more pleased when she saw that he had wired it to her. Clever boy she thought to herself as she increased her grip on his cock with her cunt and moved in a slightly altered way up and down. David held on with all he could as her cunt was working miracles on his cock, wanting to let her join in his orgasm. Almost painfully she gripped his cock as she went in for the orgasm, her cunt clamping down so hard she had to force him in her, using her weight, angle and speed to get his cock fully inside her. David had felt the sudden increase in resistance and bucked up, forcing himself deeper in her as she forced herself down. The sensation was a combination of pain and incredible good sex at the same time. The orgasm hit them both like a brick wall coming down. Their screams waking up the girls in the other room as David unleashed his energy in Aphrodite and came to a new high in orgasms. Her tight cunt fighting each throb of his cock as it forced his cum in her. Both were writhing in the throes of their orgasm, gasping and shaking in sheer enjoyment. Their energies shot in and out of each other, forming new sensations as they hit, giving them both aftershock after aftershock. When she finally lost her balance she fell on her knees over him, her breasts on his face. Finally free, David’s cock shot out more cum with a vengeance, spraying her ass and back all the way to her neck with hot cum. Her pussy drenched David’s stomach and leaked the juices on the bed, soaking the mattress through and through. When she was finally able, she moved down a bit, laying her head on David’s chest, sighing softly. “I am out of practice” Aphrodite whispered, relaxing her body, snuggling closer to David. “Out of practice?” David whispered back “Are you kidding? That was amazing.” She smiled, pleased with the compliment, and said “I was referring to my energy intake but I am glad you are pleased nevertheless.” “What do you mean?” David asked, his curiosity as a writer being prodded. She moved up, leaning on her elbows and forearms on David’s chest as she looked at his face, the cum on her back and ass slowly flowing down on to David and the bed. She grinned as she felt the streams of his cum flow of her, still warm to her skin. “The intensity and amount of sexual energy released just now was almost more then I could store and feed on, it used to take an orgy of several hours to reach these levels but with you it takes almost no effort” Aphrodite explained. “It is pleasing but also confusing” she continued smiling “however, the side benefit is that I can keep this body active longer with all the surplus you generate.” “Active? For how long?” David asked surprised, not having though of an expiration date on the artificial but very beautiful woman on top of him. “Indefinitely” she grinned moving in for a kiss. Tillie woke to the joyful sounds of great sex, nestled against Maggie on David’s bed. She could feel Maggie stir in her sleep, the sounds in the other room waking her as well. Turning around she came face to face with Maggie who just opened her eyes, yawning with a grin. Tillie felt a duality in the presence of Aphrodite in her mind and when she followed that feeling she shot up in bed grinning like a mad teenager. Aphrodite had made her corporeal form, she was sure of it. Curious as to what form she had taken, Tillie got out of bed, leaving a groggy Maggie behind. Maggie on her part stretched lazily, her face lit up in a big smile as she recalled her recent fun. Not knowing what made Tillie get up like that she turned around once more, wrapping the blanket tightly over her body, dozing off again. From the hallway Tillie saw Aphrodite’s form lying on top of her brother, cum streaming down her sides. They looked so hot together she thought, the smell of David’s cum teasing her nostrils as she moved closer. In her haste she had forgotten the strap on and now it was teasing her cunt as she tried to tip toe closer. Licking her lips and swallowing a moan she saw Aphrodite move up to kiss David. David heard the muffled moan from his sister and when he and Aphrodite had finished their loving kiss, he said “Hey there lover, did we wake you?” Aphrodite turned her head to face her Oracle and smiled at her with joy. She was very happy with Tillie, her Oracle, as she had bound David to her and made him a full Avatar on her own. The love she holds for her brother is very strong Aphrodite thought as her gaze went over the perky teen’s body. Tillie turned red, feeling caught and stammered “Yeah, you were kind of loud.” Aphrodite grinned at Tillie’s discomfort and motioned her closer. The toy Tillie was wearing intrigued her, it looked like a man’s penis but was made from an artificial material and seemed to enter her as well. “What is that delightful looking toy you are wearing?” Aphrodite asked Tillie. Tillie stood in front of the bed, looking at the cum sprayed body of Aphrodite, her nose basking in the scent of sex when she replied “It’s a dual sided strap on cock, one side for my pleasure, the other for my partner.” “Show me how it works” Aphrodite asked getting up from David to stand next to Tillie. “Okay but let me wash it first, it is still sticky from eh before” Tillie grinned as she undid the strap on. She walked to the bathroom sink and started to clean the two sided dildo with Aphrodite watching her closely. David had gotten up as well, following the girls into the bathroom. “Would you like to take a shower?” David asked Aphrodite. “A shower is a standing bath like a waterfall?” she asked him. “Yes it is, except you can choose the temperature of the water, hot or cold” he answered turning the water on. She looked at the stream of warm water and back at the dildo, now clean in Tillie’s hands. “May I reward you for the excellent job you have done and have my way with you?” Aphrodite asked Tillie. She nodded her agreement and Aphrodite leaned forward, cupping her face and kissed her gently. “Well then, attach the device to me if you would please and let us all get in the water spray” Aphrodite said as she spread her legs to allow Tillie the access she needed to insert and bind the strap on. She purred softly when Tillie slid the dildo partly inside and moved it a few times in and out before attaching the harness. Setting the clasp, Tillie stepped back as Aphrodite looked at herself in the mirror. A smile appeared on her face and Tillie saw the delight with her new toy in her expression. David was already under the shower watching the girls get ready. He wondered what Aphrodite was planning but whatever it was, it would be fun, that he was sure of. “David, I will need you assistance shortly” Aphrodite said as she and Tillie stepped into the shower, joining him. He nodded at her and got a sponge and scented soap. The warm water cleansed away all the sweat and fluids while David took his time washing both women in a gentle fashion. Tillie was getting aroused in anticipation of what Aphrodite had in store for her, the strap on promising something wild and fun. “Please allow me to control your energies and other bodily functions until I release it, the experience will be better for it” Aphrodite asked the both of them. “Okay” was Tillie’s answer, drawn out in trepidation, David just nodded his assent. Aphrodite moved to stand behind Tillie and placed her hands in Tillie’s armpits, lifting her a good 10 inches of the ground. Tillie let go of a squeal in surprise and David just looked amazed. Both noticed that she was influencing their bodies but couldn’t see how without interfering. “David, please stand in front of her and guide your cock into her cunt as she descents” He did as she told him, holding his cock in his hand he guided it towards his sisters pussy. Aphrodite slowly lowered Tillie onto David’s cock while entering her asshole with the strap on. Tillie felt herself heat up as both her holes were being filled at the same time in an incredible slow and sensual way. There was no hurt, just a tingling sensation of the penetration itself. When she was resting on the two cocks her feet barely reached the floor. Standing on her toes, she breathed out, letting go of the air she had held during the descent. “David please wrap your arms around me and pull us as close as you can” Aphrodite told him. He wrapped his arms around Tillie and Aphrodite, pulling them as close as he could without hurting them. Tillie’s breasts were squashed against his chest and he could feel her hard nipples on his skin. Getting a good grip, he managed to lock his hands, increasing the tension even more. “Excellent” Aphrodite said and activated the rewiring she had done in all of them. A purple glow engulfed the three lovers, each in complete touch with the other, their physical sensations mingling until there was no way to tell which feeling originated where. David and Aphrodite moved in unison, one pushing up deeper into Tillie while the other slid almost out and then the reverse, keeping Tillie suspended between them, her feet of the floor. Tillie was franticly kissing David, her tongue a force in his mouth while Aphrodite licked, sucked and bit in Tillie’s neck. Aphrodite had wired all the girls nipples to Tillie’s clit and each movement induced tremendous arousal in all three of them. Tillie’s asshole was wired like a cunt and David’s cock was shared amongst them all. The sensation of those feelings joined would have made them all come in an instant but Aphrodite had stretched the energy required for orgasm to an enormous amount causing them to ride the edge of orgasm until they almost blacked out. The glow emanating from them was almost blinding when the orgasm storm hit them. Tillie was the first focus and she basked in the power of their love making. Her body strengthened by Aphrodite, she shook wildly caught between them, feeling her entire being energized by the experience. The orgasm was so intense, loving and joyful, it defied description in her mind. Tillie just rode the river, letting the orgasm flow over her and past her, leaving her basking in a sensational afterglow before passing it on to David. Like his sister, he was totally unprepared for what hit him, he had incredible orgasms before this night but this was something else. He felt like his body throbbed, the sensation of coming spread out to his entire body and mind. He could feel the force with which he sprayed his cum into Tillie, each throb an exquisite experience that seemed to last an eternity. The feeling of a woman’s orgasm riding each throb made him cry out and like Tillie, he felt the love and joy being spread by the intense orgasm. Unable to hold on longer to the sensation, he passed it on to Aphrodite. Aphrodite simply basked in the power, never before had so few fueled her so. She could feel every nerve of her lover’s fire in delight and felt the joy and love fall over her like a warm blanket. Riding the pleasure wave, she infused her simulacrum’s energy matrix to a point she had never before, fearing it may be too much. Her own stores were filled to her current maximum charge and still there was so much energy left. Needing to discharge at least some more, she targeted Maggie and filled her up with the excess energy before sharing what was left with her two lovers. Maggie woke up in a shock, her entire body heated up as a small sliver of the orgasm storm hit her. Her back arched as she came up, howling in pleasure as her body shook in incredible orgasmic throes. She felt her cunt contract and unleash a torrent of juice, her nipples so hard they almost hurt. Every nerve lit up in her and when she finally came down from the first wave, a second one hit her. Maggie glowed in the energy given to her, her mind in shock and her body helpless as it reacted to the intense pleasure given to it. Her mind could not make any sense of it and before the third wave hit, she passed out in extreme orgasmic joy. Aphrodite took what remained of the energy, infusing it in her Avatar’s energy matrix. David felt the addition in himself but was unsure of what had happened, he would ask Aphrodite later, now his main concern was Tillie. She hung limp between them, still suspended on his cock and Aphrodite’s strap on. Her breathing was regular and she had a loopy grin on her face but was either passed out or deep asleep. Sensing his concern, Aphrodite said “She is fine David, just exhausted.” With care they placed her in her own bed on top of the covers as the mattress was still soggy from the previous lovemaking. David tucked her in with a clean sheet, kissed her goodnight and closed the door behind him. He joined Aphrodite under the shower where she was enjoying the warm water caressing her body. She had removed the strap on and stood in the shower stall waiting for him. David kissed her softly on the lips and pulled her in for a hug. Aphrodite smiled at his display of affection for her, enjoying the emotions he broadcasted to her. Breaking the hug, Aphrodite took the sponge and applied a generous helping of soap, rubbing it thickly over her body. Still covered with soap, she moved to David and started to rub her body against his, washing him with her body. Their slippery bodies pressed against each other and their hands finished the job, sharing the sponge. The water removed the last remnants of soap and they both dried themselves afterwards, David getting his robe and grabbing Tillie’s for Aphrodite to wear. “So, what do you want to do next?” David asked Aphrodite softly, not wanting to wake the others. “I would like something to eat, there is a lingering scent downstairs that has made me crave solid food” she answered. David grinned at her choice of words and said “Food it is then, if the Goddess would be so kind as to follow me” before walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Aphrodite stared at her Avatar walking down, already planning what memories she would like to revisit with her new Avatar and Oracle before she would rebuild her former glory. These are good times and better is still to come she thought following David to the kitchen. Her crystal form, still in the lab pulsed with energy, rebuilding and rewiring herself with the extra energy she had gained. Aphrodite had never considered what she could do with unlimited energy so for now, she would create extra stores and dedicate a full section of her crystal form for the link between her crystal and flesh form. The internet tome would be helpful in dressing her flesh form and she dedicated part of her mind to search for appropriate attire that would please her Avatar. Anonymous readerReport 2014-08-31 04:02:54 I am sad because you don't have a sequel Anonymous readerReport 2013-09-12 00:17:07 Best story you should write another part anonymous readerReport 2011-11-14 00:42:42 this story is mind blowing i want to know what happens next anonymous readerReport 2011-06-06 10:22:12 please continue with this story it is amazing... the imagery is wonderful and it makes me very horny anonymous readerReport 2011-04-09 10:00:21 is there going to be a contnuation ofd this story???? You are not logged in. Characters count:
Take the 2-minute tour × We're planning a camping holiday and are expecting to be outside for a fair amount of it. Most of the board games we enjoy have lots of small pieces, or require cards to be displayed on the table. Are there any Eurogames that would stand up to a strong gust of wind? share|improve this question closed as not constructive by Pat Ludwig Jan 8 '12 at 7:12 closing per our policy against game rec/shopping questions. –  Pat Ludwig Jan 8 '12 at 7:12 5 Answers 5 up vote 6 down vote accepted Travel Editions There are travel editions of some very good boardgames that are specifically designed to have more durable board states than the standard games. For example... I've played the Ticket to Ride Card Game on a train - I think you could probably manage it outdoors, if you had a card table or something. A bungee cord strapped across each face of the tabletop could help everyone secure their cards and could be used to secure boards for games that have pieces substantial enough to survive some breezes. I'm not sure if it's a "Eurogame", but Abalone is an abstract with substantial, heavy pieces. At least, my '80s vintage edition is. Dice games might be a good choice. Zombie Dice would be a great choice for a quick game outside, especially after a few beers have dulled everyone's strategic minds a bit. But Roll Through the Ages is an excellent game by any standard! I've only played the iPhone implementation, but game state is maintained with pegs, not pieces, so it should naturally be wind-resistant: RTtA Boards and dice from BGG share|improve this answer As you've realized yourself games with light parts will be susceptible to wind. This is difficult to answer as it always depends on the strength of the wind but let me try... • Blokus - By the time those tiles fly off the board you probably don't want to play outside anymore anyway... • Mesopotamia - Might be borderline with the wooden pieces but the board itself should hold together well enough. • Bohnanza - There are cards but with some stones or other items on top they should stay put. • Tavel variants of games - Most of them will have pieces that are either magnetic or get stuck into the board. • Amazing Labyrinth - Aside from the treasure cards there shouldn't be much of a problem. • Trick taking card games - Not really euro games but since the cards don't stay on display for long they should work quite well. share|improve this answer +1 for trick taking card games. A staple of our camping games for sure. –  Adam Wuerl Mar 18 '11 at 0:36 Other than looking for particular games, you can look for ways to play your current games outside. 1. Replace paper money with poker chips 2. Use small figurines or pewter pieces instead of lightweight pawns 3. Place the board inside of a larger container/box so that pieces will not fall into the grass 4. Paper weights (or your legs) can keep cards pinned down 5. Bring rain prevention gear; standard board game boxes don't like getting wet Other tips: 1. Remind people to play more casual; the environment will be different and that should feel good not stressful 2. Feel comfortable asking people for information. Don't make people lean over everything to read what is before you; just tell them when they want to know 3. If people seem more interested in running around playing frisbee or exploring that is okay; board games are great fun but don't pressure people into playing them share|improve this answer The Climbers - Doesn't involve any cards or lightweight pieces that can fly away. You build a large mountain ouf sturdy wooden blocks that have six differently colored sides. Pawns can only travel on their same color or neutral gray, with the objective of reaching the highest point. You get to pick up pieces of the mountain, changing their placement and orientation to allow for more moves, but at no point does it get into a situation where playing outside would be a problem. In fact, this game benefits from being able to take a look at the mountain from all angles, and people may be more willing to get up on their feet to consider moves than they would being glued to a dining room chair at a big table. share|improve this answer Puzzle Strike works well outside since the chips are much less susceptible to wind than cards in similar deck-building games (like Dominion). share|improve this answer
Thursday, November 09, 2006 Pentel Ain Lead kenzilla said... ahhhhhhh i love your site!! over my years of elementary to now, i've grown quite fond of the many designs of a mechanical pencil. one of my favorite companies right now is pentel. i don't know anything about those big companies i don't even know about. haha Anonymous said... But, you don't have the 3B and 4B leads. What's up with that? kiwi-d said... Well in 0.5mm Super Hi-Polymer the range is 4B to 6H, and 2B to 4H in 0.7mm. I'm not sure about AIN but I suppose it's the same. Anyway, 2B to 2H is all thats available in this part of the world. Pentel don't exist here in their own right, and the Pentel agent only imports a very small selection of their pencils and leads. Anonymous said... Everyone is forgetting the Pilot Neo-X lead which is quite difficult to find (at least in the states). However, this lead creates a more intense and darker line than the Pentel lead. Anonymous said... I like 4B lead because it writes really smoothly. The bad part is that it gets really smudgy. Mike said... I've been looking around for the AIN leads (I live in Los Angeles, CA, USA). I can find Premium Hi Polymers (like these, but never AIN. When I was in Hong Kong, however, I found a variety of AIN leads, but no premium... So am I right that AIN is outside the US only? kiwi-d said... Mike - well I'm not in the USA, but Pentel USA website has Hi Polymer and not Ain, so you may well be right. Most USA retail sites seem to have Hi Polymer rather than Ain, but then eBay, importers like JetPens, etc have Ain. JiBi_AI said... you're really wonderful... I've been thinking about what different between pentel and Ain for a long times and the answer is here!!!! I use Ain 0.7 2B, and I think it smoother than the previous one [I used pentel hi-polymer 0.7 2B before] but I've never test them As I read your blog, I thought of something I did in the past. I've ever test coca-cola vs. pepsi with my friends and mostly we can tell their difference. Thank you again for your information. Kevin said... My local Officeworks store here in Sydney has the following unit prices for Pentel leads: Pentel Hi-Polymer(STANDARD) - 12.4cents per lead in 2 * 12 lead packs.($2.98(US2.10) Pentel Super Hi-Polymer 12.4 cents per lead in 2 * 12 lead packs. ($2.98(US2.10) Pentel AIN (SUPERIOR)5.7cents per lead in 40 lead pack.($2.29 (US1.60) I understand the concept of volume pricing ie AIN40 v 24 which would reduce the price of the AIN leads slightly but who would buy standard hi-polymer on this pricing. Anonymous said... Anyone seen these - Black Ain from Pentel? Seems they put in nano-diamonds ala Mitsubishi NanoDia leads. Wonder how they write?.... Anonymous said...三菱鉛筆-ユニ替芯Hi-uni-0-5mm芯-2B-HU05300-2B/dp/B001UNB1GS And not just Black AIN (, but also Mitsubishi Hi Uni Pressure Proofed Hi-Density Leads GRCT pencil lead is out in Japan - even pricier than Mitsubishi NanoDia, so I must think it's in line to compete against Pentel's Hi Polymer for Pro. (Y300 vs Y200 - GRCT vs NanoDia) Anonymous said... Hello guys ! Where is it posible to buy those Pentel Black AIN leads? Any US internet website? Are the Uni G.R.C.T. available in 0.5mm HB? Thanks a lot... Anonymous said... Thank you for the time you took to ananlyze the lead differences. It is helping me to make the right purchasing decision. Tom Golding Anonymous said... I agree with Tom Golding, above, but I didn't see any questions or info on the other lead hardnesses, such as "F", which is excellent for everyday notes and writing. HB is far too soft and H is too hard except for drawing, perhaps. My best choice is F in 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7mm for all the various types of use. The only place I could find "F" to buy is 6 other sites I ck'd only had HB and H. Norm Y. Vikram said... In the US we have Pentel Super Hi-Polymer lead only. I have not really seen any other brand of lead sold around me, except in specialty shops, which sell lead from Parker and Staedtler. (So I am also the user of Ain...technically) Anonymous said... Books Kinokuniya in Sydney, Australia has some of the Pentel Ain 0.5 3B (not as much as before I got there!), but none of the 4B alas. 3B is brilliant, and I wish I'd bought the rest of their stock while I was there. Anonymous said... Dave, thanks for explaining the different hardness grades. I found a random tube of "F" leads in my desk and had no idea where that fit in the spectrum. Pentel's website did not give me any info (at least that I could readily find). We accountants usually use 0.5 HB's, but I find that I prefer a 0.7 HB for more general use. ScAnMaN said... Aren't there qualite difference between pentel ain leads and Super Hi-Polymer ? so Is Pentel company swindling us ? :( Kiwi-d said... ScAnMaN - I did ask Pentel but their answer was not particularly clear. It is though my understanding Super Hi-Polymer and Ain are the same lead, just sold under different labels in different markets. Anonymous said... The question of which one is pricier is determined by the number of leads in the packaging AIN 0.3 20pcs, AIN 0.5 40pcs, AIN 0.7 40pcs, AIN 0.9 36pcs. The only super hi polymer tube I have is 0.7 which contains just 12pcs. On a per lead basis I am sure that AIN is cheaper. 2 1/2p Anonymous said... haha this is a soo interesting blog,I congratulate you,Dave:) Do anyone of you know about 0.6mm pencil leads? I'm not sure,, maybe 10 years ago I could find 0.6mm pencil and its leads which was produced by tombow but now no one sells them.Since Iam from Turkey , I wonder if they sell them out there?? I mean,I am asking you guys if anyone of you used it or using it, I want to find that leadss:( Kiwi-d said... Sorry, 0.6mm lead is unknown to me. Wendell said... As far as I could tell, the Ain was exactly the same as the Super Hi-Polymer sold in North America. Now, Ain has been discontinued in favor of Ain Stein in Japan. I have just noticed that the Super Hi-Polymer sold in the USA claims a new formula that makes it 25% stronger. I'm assuming it is the same as the Ain Stein. Anonymous said... Just doing an experiment, I took one piece of lead from my "labeled" 0.5mm pencil (in Japan). Then my micrometer (0.001mm accuracy). 1)The lead was 0.565mm to 0.574mm, this was the same piece just rotated at several different positions. 2)A "labeled" 0.7mm Bic, bought in USA: 0.703mm +/- 0.004mm as it twisted. (same piece of lead) Horace said... This is a glorious page! Thank you, Dave. I read it years ago and found it again today while searching for "0.7 mm Pentel Ain lead". Nice to know the Ain is truly superior. I found two tubes of 40 on ebay for $5.77 shipped, but they come from Hong Kong (I'm in the USA). I may order them anyway because it seems like such a screaming deal for a great product. Anonymous Pencil Pusher Anonymous said... What grade would you prefer for everyday writing. HB 2b or 4b Kiwi-d said... HB is the standard everyday all purpose grade.
Mass spectrometer at OHSU A mass spectrometer is an instrument which is used to measure the mass to charge ratio of ions. All mass spectrometers consist of three basic parts: an ion source, a mass analyzer, and a detector system. The stages within the mass spectrometer are: 1. Production of ions from the sample 2. Separation of ions with different masses 3. Detection of the number of ions of each mass produced 4.Collection of data to generate the mass spectrum Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry platform, Tandem mass spectrometer Filter by location: Bioanalytical Shared Resource/Pharmacokinetics Core Laboratory Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Contact: Koop, Dennis, Ph.D. • Thermo TSQ Quantum LC/MS/MS System Flow Cytometry Shared Resource Contact: Boyd, Miranda • DVS Sciences CyTOF mass cytometer Proteomics Shared Resource Core Laboratory Contact: David, Larry, Ph.D. • Thermo Fisher LTQ spectrometer • Thermo Fisher LTQ VELOS mass spectrometer • Thermo Fisher LTQ VELOS Pro spectrometer
Edition: U.S. / Global Police Sergeant Is Charged in Assault on Brooklyn Civic Leader Published: August 12, 1992 A Brooklyn police sergeant was indicted yesterday on charges that he beat a community leader who is a member of his precinct's community council and assaulted one of the woman's sons. A Brooklyn grand jury indicted the sergeant, Peter Viola of the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant, on a charge of misdemeanor assault, accusing him of punching the council member, Ann B. Dodds, in the forehead. It also charged him with assault in the second degree, a felony, accusing him of hitting her son repeatedly with his nightstick as the son lay on the ground face down in handcuffs. The case struck a nerve in the neighborhood, which has hailed Mrs. Dodds, the chairwoman of Community School Board 16, as a model citizen and a driving force behind dozens of neighborhood improvements. The day after the incident, dozens of community leaders and politicians, including Representative Edolphus Towns, a Brooklyn Democrat, rallied around her. Support From Fellow Officers But it also galvanized support behind Sergeant Viola from scores of police officers who depicted him as a victim in his own right, someone who had tried to break up a dispute at Mrs. Dodds's home between two of her sons and found himself in the center of an unruly domestic dispute. His indictment represents one of the few times that an officer charged before the Civilian Complaint Review Board has been indicted and arrested. Typically, even in the most extreme cases, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which received complaints against Sergeant Viola from the Dodds family as well as from several witnesses, recommends discipline or placing an officer on modified duty. However, in this incident, the Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles J. Hynes, immediately sent investigators to the neighborhood, which led to a joint investigation with the complaint-review board. Thus, many officers and police union officials immediately characterized the arrest as a political gesture by Mr. Hynes that was intended to assuage an outraged community. Saying that Mr. Hynes had investigators interviewing witnesses the morning after the incident, which occurred on July 23, one official commented that Mr. Hynes had reacted with "unprecedented, blazing speed." "The arrest is just going to send the cops in Brooklyn a wrong message," said Joseph V. Toal, president of the Sergeants' Benevolent Association. "The message that the cops are getting is that the safest thing to do is to do nothing. If I was out there, I'd think twice of taking any police action." Kathleen Healy, a spokeswoman for Mr. Hynes said: "It is not unusual for the Brooklyn District Attorney to move quickly. The case was presented professionally and methodically by a team of assistant district attorneys." Wanda Lucibello, who is in charge of the corruption unit in Mr. Hynes's office, said the day after the incident that "we start our investigations as soon as we find out about the incident and that's what we did here." Sergeant Viola, 34, was arraigned yesterday at Brooklyn Supreme Court and released without bail. He was also suspended without pay. The felony charge carries a maximum prison term of two-and-a-third to seven years. 'A Community Issue' Yesterday, Mrs. Dodds said, "This was what the community had hoped for. This is a community issue. It just so happened that it happened to Annie Dodds." She added: "The sergeant was the one that did the assaulting. How they deal with the other officers, that would be up to the D.A." Tyrese Daniels, 29, one of Mrs. Dodd's sons, said: "If he wasn't indicted, anything could have happened. Young people out here, they're thinking, 'If they're beating her up like that, imagine what happens when they get to whooping on me.' " But Phil Caruso, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, called the indictment "outrageous" and Sergeant Viola a "sacrificial pawn." "Family disputes are the toughest situations to deal with," he said. "The people who call you turn on you because they now feel you're invading their privacy and they want you to come in and without using force, get rid of culprits and do it in immaculate fashion. Nightsticks are not Tootsie Rolls." To the Dodds family and dozens of witnesses who saw the incident unfold in front of Mrs. Dodds's home at 999A Lafayette Avenue, it seemed an unlikely and violent episode involving a woman who has worked for closer ties between the community and the police. The incident began after Mrs. Dodds called the police for help when one of her sons, Harold Dodds, 34 years old, began fighting with another son, Mr. Daniels. Sergeant Viola, an 11-year veteran, was one of several officers to respond. Mrs. Dodds said that Sergeant Viola and four officers from the 81st Precinct flipped Mr. Dodds over the top of a small iron fence in front of her house during a scuffle and that when she tried to read the sergeant's badge number, he punched her in the forehead. When Mr. Daniels tried to take a picture, Mrs. Dodds said that the sergeant also struck him. A Different Account But Assistant Chief John J. Hill, commanding officer of Brooklyn Borough North, said after the incident that when Sergeant Viola and the other officers arrived at the scene, they found Mr. Daniels holding a metal pipe. Sergeant Viola, he said, had his neck sprained and was cut on his mouth when he was hit with a camera. Chief Hill said four other officers were injured when they were flipped over the fence in their attempt to subdue Mr. Dodds, including one officer whose shoulder was broken. Both Mr. Dodds and Mr. Daniels were arrested and later released. Both have been charged with assault against each other, and Mr. Dodds has also been charged with resisting arrest. On the resisting arrest charge, the maximum penalty is a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Photo: Sgt. Peter Viola, who has support from many officers who depicted him as a victim in his own right. (pg. B2)
Distributed Computing Systems Catalog Data:  Design, architecture and programming of distributed computing systems. The course consists of three parts: 1) Networks and Protocols in high performance distributed systems; 2) Architectural issues of designing and implementing disturbed systems (distributed operating systems, distributed file systems, concurrency control and redundancy management, load balancing, and security); and 3) Distributed computing paradigms (shared memory, message passing, and web based computing, virtual computing, and Grid computing). University of Arizona College of Engineering
Friday, April 29, 2011 A Royal Wedding In the early hours of the morning this morning, Prince William (of Wales - not England; that was his real title - CNN told me so) married Kate Middleton. Since I was up and down all night with heartburn and GERD, I found myself watching most of the television coverage. If you haven't seen it yet, don't bother. Nothing went wrong. Prince Harry didn't seem to be drunk or hungover. No one in the crowd of millions complained about the obscenity of a royal family sitting pretty atop a pile of poverty. All the commentators gushed about the beauty of Kate's gown. Gimme a break. She's marrying the future king of England, she's gonna show up in a K-Mart garden frock? And fat chance we'll ever get to see those pictures of the kid smooshing wedding cake in his bride's face. I wish them long life and happiness. Now where are those reruns of SVU? I need me some Mariska kicking pervert ass. (And PS, what the hell is that on that girl's head?!) Thursday, April 28, 2011 A Tweet in Time If I tweeted (or twittered or twitted), I might twill you something like this: Where else but in New Orleans, can a fun-loving kind of guy spend a lazy weekday afternoon at his nearby corner drinkery, belting back cheap vodka doubles before skipping off to his five o'clock AA Meeting - without anybody raising an eyebrow? Just an observation. Wednesday, April 27, 2011 You know that trick someone's always pulling at corporate retreats? The one designed to inspire "trust" and "team-building?" You know the one. The outside consultant who's making more in an hour than you pull down in a week suddenly stops her inspirational speechifying, claps her hands two times and chirps, "Okay, everybody, out of your seats and up on your feet! Let's all pair up into twos!" Why "twos?" I used to wonder. Threes or fours always seemed more interesting to me for some reason. "Now, one of you stand in front of the other. Don't look at him or her. On the count of three, the person in front will fall backward. The person behind will catch him or her. Okay? Okay. Now, one, two, three!" Couldn't do it. Wouldn't. My mama didn't raise me to trust anybody till they'd earned my trust. I remember a car ride when I was a little kid. There we were, mom and dad in the front seat, me and my brother Russell in the back. My mama tilted her head around and said to me, "When you go to the Rice Theater, don't let the manager take you into his office, okay? He'll make your little bird hurt." What the hell was she talking about? My brother Russell knew, 'cause he was squirming and giggling with his hands up against his mouth. Made me want to find out. Never did, though, 'cause the manager of the Rice Theater never asked me into his office. So I've been an outsider pretty much all my life. It suits me, I guess. Yet there are times - even now - when I wonder - no, wish - that I could be like everybody else - and just let go. Lean back into the unknown, fall, and trust that someone, something, will catch me, hold me, lower me down. Just surrender to the here and now, no questions asked, blind faith. I imagine that's what dying must be like. Surrendering, falling through an eternal instant of whooshing wind before crashing into - or being embraced by - the deep sleep of oblivion. In that trust/team-building exercise, I always did fine as the catcher. I'm a natural daddy-, big brother-, uncle-figure. I take care of people and things, but I won't let myself be taken care of. I do not lose control. I do not surrender autonomy. But sometimes ... I was invited to a birthday party Monday night. The party was due to begin at ten o'clock. That's ten o'clock at night! Ridiculous. But the birthday girl was an actress, and where actresses are concerned, "never mind the why and wherefore." In addition to that, she's an actress I have worked with, whom I like, respect, admire, and care for. So I went. The party was at a Frenchmen Street tavern with a live band, very loud. Lots of people. Too many for me to handle. I stayed outside with the smokers and the other people who couldn't - wouldn't - deal with the crowd or the noise. I wasn't miserable. I was content to stay in my place. But something in me so wanted to be a part of that messy social gumbo. Didn't happen. I just watched the pot. But then - ah, but then, if I hadn't stood apart, would I have caught that magical moment when the hostess stood in the doorway of that raucous joint, straddling that slip of common ground between the partiers and the watchers, and began to move to the music? When she set her feet apart and started to sway her hips, her head slowly swinging in an arc atop her neck? When her arms reached out above her head and came down to caress her belly, and her fragile hands slid down her thighs to grasp the hem of her skirt and tug first one side, then the other, up and down, as her legs began to strut to the rhythm of a jazz jam? Surrender? Never. Sunday, April 24, 2011 Easter in New Orleans If you are reading this far from New Orleans, Happy Easter to you. That is what today is, after all, where you are. Of course, here, too, there will be the archetypal Easter rituals: sunrise services to commemorate the Resurrection, Easter egg hunts for the children, family feasts topped with all manner of chocolates and sugar-spun versions of Faberge eggs. This afternoon, a bevy of ladies of a certain age will don yards of organzas and taffeta and great big bonnets before hauling themselves up into mule-drawn carriages to be paraded around the Vieux Carre like it was all of 1832. Not to be outdone, the downtown drag queens will shortly follow them in carriages of their own, wearing even more fabulous finery and way bigger hair and hats. Who knew there were so many beasts of burden in the city of New Orleans? But all of that is not what today is really about to many in this sliver by the river. No, today is the day the second season of Treme kicks off! And for the cultists among us, that is the true meaning behind the Easter message of rebirth. Tonight, all true believers will adorn themselves with feathers and fedoras as they wend their way to any number of  sanctioned places of worship to take the bread and swill the wine in remembrance of their own experience of crucifixion and resurrection. What else you gonna do in the Saints' off-season but honor the only living off-season saint among us, David Simon? Simon has achieved the level of reverence here once accorded only to John Kennedy Toole. But Toole, like the saints who'd gone before him, had to die a sad and lonely death before his merits were discovered and appreciated. Simon enjoys his deference here and now, because, as in Toole's book, A Confederacy of Dunces, he retells with great verve the Greatest Story Ever Told, the story of ... us. And no one will ever go wrong in New Orleans by elevating the city and its denizens and icons to the status of myth. The secret, you see, is that New Orleans, for all its vaunted attractions and glories, is, surrounded as it is by water and its kaleidoscopic reflections, the most narcissistic city in the world. Where else on this planet can a person be the creature he imagines himself to be without being ostracized by his neighbors or, worse, arrested for it? Where else can you transform night into day by electing to have breakfast at midnight, brunch at dawn, and bedtime by early afternoon? What other city would allow barnyard animals as household pets, grown men browsing Saks for personal lingerie, and topless women in boas trundling up and down the streets at noon in wobbly, too-high heels? Our self-regard is what both charms and appalls those people from outside, why some who visit find they cannot leave and others cannot flee too soon. Narcissism may require a submission to an image only we can see, but for some that is a fair price to pay for the ultimate glory of finally one day being flung into a night sky as a congregation of stars, to blaze gloriously there forever and ever. Saturday, April 23, 2011 Dance, Girl, Dance Have you seen Black Swan yet? (It's not THE Black Swan, by the way, just Black Swan.) I finally caught it on pay-per-view the day before yesterday - or maybe it was the day before that, I can't remember. But I did see it. Well, I saw a big chunk of it before Bobby fell asleep and I sneaked up here to the computer. But then I went back down before it ended and caught the climax. So, yeah, I consider myself as having seen it. Hell, I paid for it. Now, you might not think of me as a sensitive kind of lug, but the fact is, I like what people call "the dance," and I like dance movies, too. I also love horror movies. I figured Black Swan would be a wet dream for me. It turned out to be more like a drizzle in a dreary fog. Now, let me explain something. Like a few of the people I know down here who write reviews for publication, I am not a critic. That's a real job with standards. So please don't let what I have to say keep you from shelling out a few bucks to see this movie or buy the DVD or the Blue Ray or the 3-D or whatever it is they're selling. In this economy, everybody needs to make a buck. Like the CGI people, for instance, who worked on this movie. I mean, putting Natalie Portman's face on every other actor in the movie at one point or another couldn't have been easy. And don't forget the little people who did all the doubling work for her. I mean, we all know about the dance double now; but I'm sure there was a foot double for the dancing parts, a foot double for the barefoot parts. I'm also certain there must have been a hand double. (You think Natalie Portman's gonna spend a few days shooting one of her hands pulling the skin off her other hand? Please.) There was a mirror double and the double she meets on the subway and in the alleys. There were probably a dozen or so other doubles with their own doubles that went by too quick to catch. And they're all entitled to catch a few of the bucks wafting down in the breeze from the top of that mountain of profits this movie is earning. But why is it making so much money? Black Swan is not a dance movie. I have seen dance movies, and this is not a dance movie. I know there are people who believe, and maybe even hope, that Black Swan will encourage little girls to flock to ballet class like hordes of little cygnets. These people are twisted. Any little girl catching a glimpse of this movie will decide pretty quickly that cosmetology school is the place for her. On the other hand, I can see the movie igniting a fire in the loins of a few misogynistic little straight boys - easy pickings, groping and coupling in the wings of a Lincoln Center theatre, running and jumping, stuff like that. Will this movie advance the art? It might expand the gene pool. No, Black Swan is not a dance movie. The Red Shoes is a dance movie. Any movie with Fred Astaire is a dance movie, even the ones he made when he was old and didn't dance anymore. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a dance movie. It's cool. And it teaches little boys how to treat little girls in the right way, with respect and tenderness and high lifts that don't end with them dropping the girl on her head or her butt. Then is Black Swan a horror movie? No, it's just a gross-out. And it hates women. You might think that's a strong statement to make, but it's not. Early on, the movie makes it clear that all these ballerinas, with their years of grunt work behind them and ahead of them, are just lined up at the barre for the artistic director's delectation and selection. Let's be kind and say they're like members of his harem, to be rewarded or dismissed or just plain dissed. I know there is a hierarchy in the dance world, but there are also such things as sexual harassment laws; and, as much as dance might be an art, it's also a business with profits and losses, and taxes and paychecks to be paid on a regular basis. Even the poor schlub who keeps turning out the lights in the movie gets paid and has rights. So far. The Republicans haven't taken complete control of the country yet. But, I can hear you thinking, what about dear Natalie's performance? Wasn't it divine? If you think crinkly eyebrows meant to telegraph personal misery and suffering is divine, have at it. Me, I couldn't help thinking what she needed was a sharp slap upside the head and a strong voice saying, "Girl! If this dancing gig is making you this miserable, then consider taking that job spritzing perfume at Macy's." But she won the Oscar, you say. Yeah, like that means anything. Now, if Photoshop gave out awards ... No, Annette Bening was robbed. Again. You don't believe me? Watch the movie, The Kids Are All Right. There she is up there on the big silver screen with Mark Ruffalo, and her face is all glowing from inside like it always does. And she doesn't want to fuck him. She does not want to do it with Mark Ruffalo. That's a performance that deserved an Oscar! Thursday, April 21, 2011 The Secret Annex From what I can see through the bright yellow pane of my stained-glass door, it's a beautiful day outside. I can't go out and enjoy it, however. I'm in hiding. I'm in hiding from the two maintenance guys our landlady pays to hang around, coaxing us to do their work for them. Their task this week is to paint the outside walls of our courtyard. So far they've tackled the walls of the apartments back here. Today they were going to take on the blank wall that borders the whole place. The only problem is there are plants and ceramic knickknacks hanging there. Why is that a problem, you ask? It's a problem because they want me to take them down. If they're not knocking on the door to borrow our drill or one of our hammers or a screwdriver or asking to use our bathroom, they're knocking on the door, waking us up from a nap, to tell us something we don't need to know. Like, "You need to take those things off the wall tomorrow so we can paint." "Those things" are just hanging on nails. They're not secured by Gorilla Glue or anything like that. They're not heavy. I think the maintenance guys, being, you know, maintenance guys, could handle all that. So yesterday in my post-nap haze, I decided I wasn't going to do it. They would. This morning when they knocked on the door at nine o'clock, I pretended I wasn't home or I was asleep or I didn't hear the sound. I sneaked upstairs. Around ten-thirty I slipped back down and peaked outside again. They were sitting at our patio table shooting the breeze. The wall was untouched. It's eleven-thirty now, and I'm still upstairs. I have no idea what they might be doing by now, probably still talking. They excel at that. I won't know until five this afternoon. They're usually gone by then. I can ride it out. It's no big deal. I just have to remember not to make a sound. No sudden moves to cause the floorboards to creak. If Anne Frank could do it, so can I. Monday, April 18, 2011 Oh. My. G ... ! Look. At. The. Goosebumps. On. My. Arms. Gina. They're right there - there! - under all the hairs. This little blog (that's a word that comes from saying "web log" really fast and over and over) has finally surpassed one-hundred-thousand visitors since it first went on the air in the year of our Lord two-thousand-aught-five, AD (that means "After the Death" - of Jesus, of course; he separates the "before" from the "after"). That. Is. Amazing! It is a wonder to behold! Of course, and, unfortunately, I cannot tell you who that one-hundred-thousandth visitor might have been since he - or she! - chose to visit here anonymously over their Verizon cell at 5:14 PM, Central Standard Time. (Why anyone would choose to be anonymous in this day and age is something that is alien to me. Alien like Sojourner Weaver. Unless, of course, they have ulterior motives that might involve the circumventing of a law or two or something along the lines of nature like that. I do not know. I cannot pretend to comprehend. I simply sit in awe and wonder.) Nevertheless, Bigezbear is all grown up now. People are paying attention, stopping to scan, clicking on the links - unless, of course, it's just that all they like is all the pictures. Who knows? It's not for me, or us, to judge. As I always say, "Do not walk in front of me. Do not walk beside me. Walk behind me as my equal." Life is beautiful. And did I mention, you look very, very pretty tonight? My Brother Russell and the Garden Gnome Bobby shot this picture an instant after I had grabbed my brother Russell's crotch. (It's okay, brothers do that to each other all the time - even fraternity brothers. Right?) Bobby's gotten slower on the shutter release since the onset of his dotage, so he missed it. Maybe I should have told him I was gonna do it on the count of three. But then  Russell would have expected something. Maybe something more. By the way, that's my brother Russell on the right - the one shaped like the male member of the Homo sapiens species. Thursday, April 14, 2011 Been Nice So Long, It's Making Me Mad An Internet lady-friend of mine insists I am a compassionate human being and an all-around-nice guy. You start taking that stuff seriously, it begins to cramp your style. The fact is, there are several soups swirling around inside my brain and coming to a boil that are really pissing me off. Taking it from the top, it seems to me we've got some Kennedy-caliber speechwriters up in Washington stringing together some evocative words for a weak-kneed president who's giving the store away. Injustice, un-fairplay, and obscene wealth are the principles that are shaping our present laws. America, like its poor and middle-class citizen base, is dying; and the plutocrats can't wait to cremate the corpse. A hundred years ago, these same things happened, but they happened in smoky backrooms. Today, they're being done proudly in daylight at noon, and nobody much cares. Why worry about things like that? It's more fun to follow the Lindsey or Charlie train wrecks. An earthquake in Japan? A tsunami? A nuclear-reactor meltdown? I'll send a few bucks to the Red Cross and get back to The Next Iron Chef. Distract my attention, relieve me from thought. By all means, excuse me from action. Dear Lord, deliver me. Here in Louisiana, like cows in a pasture, we're placidly observing our governor and his legislature dismantling higher education and public health and gerrymandering the state's voting districts. But, hell, this grass is so sweet. Oops, I dropped another pie. Tee-hee. Pardon me. Do you know what happens to cows? Any of you subscribe to email alerts from NOLA Ready? I started getting them after Katrina when New Orleans was a lawless and dangerous place. Now, of course, everything's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of. The alerts all tell us so. Superintendent Ronal Serpas is on his horse and looking out for us. There was a knifing on the 200-hundred block of Royal Street this morning around 10? Not to worry. Superintendent Ronal Serpas is on his horse and tracking down the hombre. Somebody fell into the Mississippi River and you expect the police to go down there and look for him? Lady, that water's dirty. But, if you insist, Chief Ronal Serpas will climb up on his horse and get some people down here from Texas to dive in and take a look. Of course, that all takes time, but your boy's bound to be dead by now, dontcha know. No matter how bad things might appear to be to those few hysterical people in New Orleans, you can all rest easy knowing Superintendent Ronal Serpas is on his horse and looking out for us. Every alert from the NOPD tells us so. It's beginning to look to me like we all belong to a cult. We've invested our trust, our lives and livelihood in a few select people to do our thinking for us, to provide our food and lodging, to hand down a set of commandments by which we all should live. The trouble is, not one of those commandments says to stand up on our own two feet. It's far too comfortable grazing in peace in the shade. After all, the softer and the fatter we get, the tenderer our steaks will turn out to be. Monday, April 11, 2011 Saturday, April 9, 2011 I saw my play, Parallel Lives, again last night. Well, okay, not exactly. I saw the second act of Parallel Lives last night. I don't always do that. I watched every performance of Take Me Out back in 2006, and each showing of Valhalla, a year or so later. When I directed The Glass Menagerie, there were scenes I watched every night, but my attention was split between what was happening on the stage and how the audience was responding. Both of those "shows" were beautiful. Maybe I'm deluded, but I like what I do. With a handful of gifted actors and a couple of dedicated crew people, I'm able, more often than not, to make something I find, for want of a better word, pretty, something even other people can enjoy. It isn't much, but I think it is worthwhile. I feel like I'm able to add something positive and pleasurable to a person's life, rather than something negative and hurtful; and I believe I have the right to be a little bit proud of that. Sorry to gloat, but when a generally critical person can write, "I saw Parallel Lives last evening. It's a don't miss! The show deserves an SRO (standing room only) audience. It's that good. I could (and may) see it again. I'm still laughing! Don't miss it! You'll be doing yourself a favor. It's magical!" I'm touched and flattered. Thursday, April 7, 2011 Where Did I Go Right? I may not show it, but deep inside, I think I'm a lucky guy. People who know me from seeing me around would probably be as shocked by that statement as you must be. I don't carry myself like a lucky guy. I carry myself like a short, fat, tired, old man who's always depressed. The lucky guys I know are kind of cool and cocky, self-assured. They never betray a fear that if they were to call somebody that person would make some excuse to get off the phone real quick. They never appear to feel a twinge of panic before swinging open the doors to a bar they've never visited before and walking in as if they owned the place. Hell, they own the world. They're not shy about getting out on the dance floor and spinning the latest moves. They're willing and appear to be downright duty-bound to impress anybody in sight with the entitlements their luck bestows upon them. As for me, well, I can't figure out what I ever might have done to deserve being lucky, so I can't bring myself to take any credit for it or assume it's some kind of birthright. It's just something I become aware of from time to time. The only reason I'm thinking about it now is because of something I read here on the Internet earlier this week. I'm not going to link to it. It's poorly written. It's smug and mean-spirited. It's intent was to hurt. Things like that don't deserve to be shared. But it made me think, This guy isn't lucky. It made me wonder who or what could have hurt him so badly and twisted his point of view so awry that the only joy he could grasp today had to come through cruelty. Bullying is all the rage these days. Maybe he was bullied as a kid. I can empathize with that even though I myself was never bullied. No. Wait a minute. That's not so. I remember now a little girl in the first grade at St. Michael's back in my home town. She used to coax me away from all the other kids at recess and, when we were alone, demand that I give her my lunch money or she would tell Sister Isabel what I had done. I had no idea what that might have been. I was all of six years old. What could I have done? After all, when you're only six, you don't always know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. You generally find out by doing something and then either getting a reward for it or getting sent to your room with no supper. No goodnight kiss. And since, back then, I didn't want to live without my goodnight kisses, I would hand over my nickels and run back to the rest of my recess and a quick game of tag. Does that count as bullying? I don't know. I do know that little femme fatale evaporates from my recollections after only two or three occurrences of her coercion. What she did to me did not make me hate all other little girls nor fill me with a senseless compulsion to make them cry. See what I mean? I'm a lucky guy. What is luck anyway? Maybe it's all a matter of perception. Maybe it all comes down to what we see when we look at an optical illusion. The beautiful woman or the skull? Saturday, April 2, 2011 Oy, Vhat a Veek! It's been a busy week, but I may be getting my life back soon. On Monday, a favorite aunt of mine passed away. An easy death, if any death is easy. The sadness I felt at hearing the news was for me and the knowledge that she wouldn't be in my day-today world anymore. Otherwise, it was a fitting end to a fun and full life. She would soon have turned 94, after all. She had raised four kids and gushed over I don't know how many grand- and great-grandchildren. And her hair was big and defiantly Elvis-black to the end. That same night I went out and came back home with two Big Easy Theatre Awards, one for directing and one for producing Frozen last year. The show was nominated in five categories and won four. I'm happy to report that I didn't say anything stupid at the podium, and I didn't cry. The whole evening was sweet and full of kindness. Tuesday, we moved our new little show, Parallel Lives, into the Shadowbox Theatre, setting up the set, focusing the lights, and running a cue-to-cue rehearsal for the techies - who happen to be my co-producers (it's a scratch-and-scramble world down here). By Wednesday, it was clear to me that two of the nine(!) wigs we use in the show were not suitable. In fact, they were downright ratty. Did you know that not all wigs are created equal? I didn't. Did you also know that there are places in New Orleans where you can buy reasonably nice replacements on the cheap? I do now. Thursday's full dress rehearsal sailed by beautifully. The show was ready for the audience. Maybe not the audience we had last night for our opening. The house was pretty evenly divided between men and women. The women got it, the men seemed confused. Parallel Lives is a blackout sketch-comedy show written from a feminine, if not feminist, perspective. Originally meant to be performed by two women, the characters in the play are both male and female. In our production, they are played by men. But, though they might wear wigs, the actors are not in drag. This character or that one just happens to be female. Perhaps the male minds in the audience could not comprehend the gender fluidity this implies. No, that's not it. I knew them all. Talk about your gender fluidity. Maybe we should have used boas and sequins and glitter, glitter, glitter. At least, we sold enough tickets to cover the rent for the theatre for the night. Today, I hope to relax. Tomorrow, I intend to begin re-seizing the day and living like a more-or-less real person again. Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Anticipating India Result: 1- 4 out of 4 Article found First Person, Second Draft: Once upon a bloody time There lived and died a man called Bhindranwale. National Interest: Talk less That’s what Modi should tell his ministers before they shoot their mouths off and damage his hard earned political capital. Rolling back the culture of freebies a challenge for new govt: Shourie Shourie was in conversation with The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta at the launch of Gupta’s book Anticipating India Anticipating India releases today in city Shourie and the book’s author to discuss the unfolding India and what lies ahead
tagNonConsent/ReluctanceBackdoor Break In Ch. 01 Backdoor Break In Ch. 01 Marilyn van Zandt: 39 yrs old Unknown Intruder: Female Bob and his wife Marilyn aren't home five minutes when the phone rings. It's Jeff from his office, yelling frantically that the computer system is crashing and the next day's payroll will either be delayed or not processed at all unless Bob drops everything and high-tails it back downtown to deliver one of his patented miracles. Bob wastes five minutes apologizing profusely to his wife; they had planned a quiet evening at home, without their kids (for once!), and now his work had intruded into their lives yet again. Marilyn sends him off, assuring him that it's okay; but it's NOT okay! Bob has been away for two weeks prior to tonight and Marilyn has been looking forward to having the "itch" she's been enduring for the past 14 days scratched at last. She strips off her evening dress angrily and tosses it onto a nearby chair, then walks toward her closet, feeling lonely and horny. She opens the closet door, and immediately sees stars: someone has punched her, hard in the jaw, sending her reeling back into the center of the room. A second punch drops her to her knees; tears blur her eyes and her pretty face is streaked by mascara and smeared lipstick as she struggles to focus through the pain and blurred vision. Her mouth is open, gasping for air, until something huge is shoved between her lips and down her throat. I'm being raped!, she thinks frantically, but the last small part of her brain able to think coherently reasons that whatever has been so rudely crammed into her mouth is not a male organ; it tastes vaguely like rubber or latex. She's unable to spend much time pondering this as the thick shaft is being thrust in and out between her widely-stretched lips. The rapist is using handfuls of her long hair, currently piled-atop her head, to brutally rape her throat; she can feel the tip of the "cock" bouncing off of her tonsils. Marilyn hasn't had anything this big in her mouth for 15 years; Bob is a respectable 7", but this monstrosity must be at least 10, or even 12 inches! The mammoth-jugged housewife is sure she will pass out soon from lack of oxygen when the cock is suddenly yanked from her aching throat; a huge gasp of air comes with it. As she gulps down huge lungfuls of air, Marilyn recognizes a familiar scent: is it PERFUME? Is her rapist a WOMAN?? Her 44EEs, encased in a lace and blue satin bra, are roughly squeezed and fondled; after so long without sex, Marilyn's nipples spring to life eagerly despite her fear and pain. Her cunt tingles as the lips of her outer labia fatten with the sudden rush of blood to that area, caused by the rough fondling. She gasps as slender fingers grasp the cups of her bra and yank hard: the flimsy material gives-way easily, and her heavy endowments plop free, the nipples huge and hard. Soft palms slide beneath her hanging jugs, cupping and squeezing them, and even softer lips encase the dark brown nubbin capping her left breast and suckle hungrily. "Oooooh!" the auburn-haired beauty whimpers, as the active tongue bathes her turgid nipple and the wide, surrounding areola with warm spit. Her unknown attacker switches from one breast to the other for a few minutes, then pushes them together and nibbles both urgently straining brown stems at the same time. Hot, clear vaginal juices stain Marilyn's silken panties, flowing down her shapely thighs and wetting the tops of her stockings. Fleeing is not an option at this point; nor is struggling: it is far too late for either. Long-suppressed sexual desire is a live flame in the wife and mother's flesh, and she gives herself over to it. She has experienced sex with a woman before, many years ago, and what she is feeling now is very similar to what she experienced then. "Get on your hand and knees" the black-clad intruder orders in a husky, yet clearly female voice. As Marilyn obeys, the burglar admires her lusciously-curved physique in its tantalizing lingerie. Her big tits hang beneath her like over-ripe melons, and her smooth, arched back tapers down and into flaring, womanly hips and a large, round, fleshy (but firm) ass. Those round, deeply-clefted globes are framed invitingly by the lacy blue garters indenting the milky flesh. Her gloved fingers dig into the deep, smelly ass-crack and peel them apart like a ripe peach, revealing her captive's pink, crinkled starfish and lightly-furred, dripping cunt. The intruder leans forward, long, tongue extended, and laps greedily at the wrinkled grommet, emitting a throaty chuckle when the buxom redhead gasps "Oooo; that's so NASTY!" No one, especially not her husband, has ever done that to her. They are no strangers to anal sex, and Bob frequently sticks a finger in there when he gives her head, but to actually lick her there! The rapist's tongue is like a slithering snake, probing and lapping, teasing the center of her stimulated pucker until it opens slightly, just a bit. Marilyn reaches between her own legs and plays with her drooling cunt while the oral worship of her most private orifice continues. The purpose isn't to pleasure Marilyn as much as it is to facilitate the next step in the horny home invader's plan....while continuing to work on the weakening center of her anal pucker, she uses one gloved hand to grasp the huge black strap on penis she wears strapped around her middle and peels the condom from it; she had filled the condom with vaseline before putting it on her "dick" when she dressed earlier, to avoid the inconvenience of carrying a container of the lube around with her. With a last, loving lick, Marilyn's captive stops sucking her asshole and relaxes her grip on her spread-apart buttocks. "I think you're nice and ready for my cock, now, bitch" the woman whispers in the panting, squirming mother of three's ear. "You better be, 'cause I love fucking big-titty bitches like you in the ass" Marilyn's guts chill when she hears this. Bob's 7" and this foot-long whopper are two very different things: this monstrosity will tear her apart! Her musings are interrupted by the large, Vaseline-coated tip of the dildo pressing insistently at her back-door. Her rapist pushes forward, slowly but insistently. The pain is almost unbearable as her tight, puckered opening stretches and stretches and stretches...then, just as she's convinced her asshole is about to rip, the rim of her over-taxed muscle snaps over the fat, helmet-shaped cock-head, sending a harsh, ringing stab of pain rocketing through her bowels. Her shriek of pain comes from deep within, a primal howl that resounds off the walls of the spacious bedroom. After the briefest pause, the thick invader continues its wicked path into the depths of her squirming bowels, taking her breath away. The pain is very bad; not as bad as childbirth, but a definite '9.99' on a scale of '10'. "It's s-s-so BB-BIG!!" she groans, hanging her head as another couple of inches gain ground in her already over-packed fart funnel. The masked woman strips-off her black gloves and slides her latex-gloved hands up and under the pain-wracked housewife and cup the heavy, warm globes of her naked breasts in each hand, kneading them and teasing the blunt, rubbery nipples with her fingers before withdrawing almost all the way out before driving forward, causing another "yip" of discomfort from the beleaguered redhead. This action is repeated, over and over, until the horrible pain begins to fade, replaced by a pleasurable, itching sensation. Yes, there is a CHAPTER 2! Report Story byNastilatinabitch© 13 comments/ 303333 views/ 20 favorites Share the love Also in this series Tags For This Story Report a Bug 1 Pages:1 Please Rate This Submission: Please Rate This Submission: • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 Please wait Favorite Author Favorite Story heartcott786, BlkReaperX75 and 18 other people favorited this story!  by Anonymous Add a Post comment as (click to select): You may also listen to a recording of the characters. Preview comment Forgot your password? Please wait Change picture Your current user avatar, all sizes: You have a new user avatar waiting for moderation. Select new user avatar:
First class or economy? Airports hold a mirror to an unequal world How airports have become the territory of the capitalist elite. I have always loved airports: the muddle and classlessness of them, the anonymity and freedom. I like how people are out of their comfort zones, shuffling around in non-places, uncertain of what time of day it is. I like airport chapels, soulless and empty, their little vases of flowers serving only to make them more depressing. I'm fond of airport hotels, the nowhereness of them, and I am particularly keen on transit lounges in small, hot nations, humid and dirty, where you're not quite sure which country you're in - or not quite in. You can tell a lot about a country from its airports: the style of the waiting lounges, the attitude of the immigration officials and even the loos. "Please do not flush toilet with your foot," I once read in a lavatory in Latin America, sparkling with pride and gently chiding the fastidious European and American travellers. "These toilets are cleaned daily." Another time, at Gatwick, I was standing in a queue with some horrified Americans outside a vomit-strewn, blood-soiled Ladies. I found myself apologising and saying to them that Britain wasn't normally like this. It is always a depressing experience to fly back to Gatwick or Heathrow and see what happens when you sell a national asset to international, profit-motivated corporates. Yes, I love all airports, except ours. Lounge lovers I have, however, just read a book that shatters the fantasy of drifting happily around foreign airport lounges and supping a last drink at the bar near the departure gate. Tim Cresswell is a geographer who specialises in mobility. His book On the Move: Mobility in the Modern Western World includes an analysis of how people move around Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, a major international hub. For sociologists and geographers, mobility is not a fantasy. It is something that differentiates classes of people, a mode of inequality: I drift around airports; you, a refugee, get arrested in them. It's obvious once you think about it, but most of us, too busy with our schedules or dreams, do not. How quickly you move through an airport denotes international status. The business traveller, branded "upper class", "connoisseur" or "elite", moves from complimentary limousine through fast-track services to special lounge and early boarding. The iris-scanning system that business travellers can pay for to speed the journey further at Schiphol is called Privium, a name laden with connotations of exclusivity and privilege. It is open only to those from inside the European Economic Area. These travellers are capitalism made flesh, what the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman once called a "nomadic and extraterritorial elite": "Capital can travel fast and travel light and its lightness and motility have turned into the paramount source of uncertainty for all the rest." Families with cheap tickets struggle slowly through economy check-in and along immigration queues, weighed down by pushchairs and clutter. The illegal immigrant and asylum-seeker face arrest. I have written before about the young Bangladeshi men I met in central America, whose three-day route to the US had taken them via India, Dubai, Brazil, Panama, Peru, Honduras and Belize - and they still hadn't made it into the US. "Some glide through the fast lane and have complimentary massages in the business lounge," Cresswell notes. "Some bodies are found frozen in undercarriage wells." The homeless favour airports for their warmth and shelter, the theatre they offer and because the more privileged travellers discard food and reading materials as they drift along. The homeless can fit in here, a kinetic underclass amid the kinetic elite. Momentarily, at least, everybody is sleeping on plastic seats - but we are choosing to do so and they are not. Candid camera Not so classless, then. And free? Even for those of us with golden passports from the US or UK, travelling through airports is a tightly controlled and pre-planned process. "Critical path analysis" programmes are used to engineer the efficiency of passenger movement at modern airports. A sophisticated system makes use of yellow and black "primary process" and "secondary process" signs, as well as colour-coded emergency and commercial signposts. The process signs are set at right angles to the flow of passengers to grab attention. The commercial signs are darker, set lower down and in parallel to us. We are not drifting; we are being managed unconsciously. Even the building materials have codes built into them. The floor of the entrance plaza to Schiphol, for instance, is a neutral-coloured grid that indicates two directions for movement - one to the airport entrance, the other to the rail terminal. You won't notice it but it is directing you. So much for freedom. And the anonymity? When I travel to the US this month, I will be pre-screened, screened, searched, watched, profiled, scanned, turned into a computer code and processed. As this is the US, I'll be fingerprinted and iris-scanned, too. In the Star Centre at Heathrow, an anonymous-looking building near Terminal One, there is a windowless office with a circle of desks facing outwards to banks of computer screens. No fewer than 26 CCTV screens show the entire airport, from the roads to the check-in areas and security queues. Even the grass is regimented. It is cut to between eight and 12 inches long: any shorter and birds will sit in it, because they can see what's around them; any longer and they can hide in it. Yellow trucks with loudspeakers drive around Heathrow all day, playing distress signals to ward off flocks. Cresswell has shattered the illusion of happy freedom at airports - but it is reassuring that, even though they might have us under control, they struggle to manage the birds.
Login | Register    RSS Feed Download our iPhone app Browse DevX Sign up for e-mail newsletters from DevX Getting Small: Building Lightweight Web Applications with Small-Footprint Databases : Page 3 Assembling the Application Now that the implementation roadmap is clearer, you can begin assembling the application. First, create a new SQLite database by calling the SQLite program with the name of the database file: root@thor:/usr/local/apache/data# sqlite3 todo.db3 SQLite version 3.3.17 Enter ".help" for instructions sqlite> Then, add a table to it using the following CREATE TABLE command: sqlite> CREATE TABLE items ( ...> id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, ...> name TEXT NOT NULL, ...> due INTEGER NOT NULL, ...> complete INTEGER NULL, ...> priority INTEGER NOT NULL, ...> status INTEGER NOT NULL ...> ); Table 1 shows a brief explanation for each field in the preceding table definition. Table 1: The table shows the database fields in the "items" table in the sample application, along with a brief explanation of each. Field Description Id Record identifier Name Description of to-do item Due Date item becomes due Complete Date item was actually completed Priority Priority of to-do item, ranging from 1 (low) to 5 (high) Status Status of item: 0 (complete) or 1 (pending) You can verify that the table has been created with the .tables command, which lists all the tables in the current database; if the table was created correctly, the .tables command will return one table named items: sqlite> .tables items Next, insert some dummy records to get things rolling: sqlite> INSERT INTO "items" VALUES(1, 'Buy anniversary present',1184437800,NULL,4,1); sqlite> INSERT INTO "items" VALUES(2, 'Send invoices',1180549800,NULL,5,1); sqlite> INSERT INTO "items" VALUES(3, 'Finish homework',1180549800, 1180290600,1,0); sqlite> INSERT INTO "items" VALUES(4, 'Visit Jane',1180290600,NULL,2,1); sqlite> INSERT INTO "items" VALUES(5, 'Finalize hotel reservations',1181737000,NULL,5,1); sqlite> INSERT INTO "items" VALUES(6, "Angie's birthday",1182537000,NULL,4,1); sqlite> INSERT INTO "items" VALUES(7, 'Weed the lawn',1182237000,NULL,1,1); In case you're wondering about the value inserted into the due field—which doesn't look like a date—it's a UNIX timestamp representation of a date. You can generate such a timestamp easily with PHP's mktime() function; you'll see how to do that a little later. Author's Note: A quick word here about SQLite's datatypes. SQLite supports five basic datatypes: NULL, INTEGER, REAL, TEXT, and BLOB. However, when inserting data into an SQLite database, the datatype of each value being inserted is given higher priority than the datatype of the field into which it is being inserted. This feature, referred to as "manifest typing," is unique to SQLite and it allows, for example, INTEGER values to be inserted into a TEXT field, or vice-versa. The only exception is a field of type INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, which creates an automatically-incrementing numeric field—you can see that field type in the preceding schema. If you find manifest typing distressing, relax; you can configure SQLite to run in "strict affinity mode," which returns an error if you attempt to insert an incorrectly typed value into a field. You can read more about manifest typing here, and you can find a complete list of SQL-92 features omitted from or unsupported in SQLite. Comment and Contribute
When you borrow, at some point in the future, you have to pay back or return whatever was borrowed.  Among the most significant reasons for our current economic mallaise is the fact that many people do not concern themselves with this fundamental principal.  Normal citizens sometimes put too much on their charge cards and end up in a position where they have to sacrifice something in order to pay off their debt.  In the past decade, many people bought houses that they could not afford but they hoped that a combination of inflation in values and ever increasing wages would make this minor problem go away.  Politicians have made decisions to offer pay and benefits to government employees that they could not sustain or support with current revenues.  They offered an ever-increasing number of social programs that bought them votes but which helped break the budget.  Very few of our elected officials stood up to reality and made due within their budgets.  The result?  Today we have a National debt that is equal to our Gross Domestic Product, but, the debt is growing and the GDP is not. One of the biggest factors in a strong and stable currency is faith in and respect for the government that stands behind that currency.  When we consistently prove to the world that we are not responsible with our money and continue to build up debt, we will suffer loss of respect and loss of the value of our currency.  If we are to avoid economic and government collapse, we need politicians who have the nerve to live within budgets.  If you want to read a sobering , but I think very accurate discussion of where our economy is going, please read this.  One graph in the article I think is worth reproducing here (actually many are, but you can get that by reading the article): Let’s try a simple exercise.  You are a homeowner, a mom, and a commissioned sales person.  Your income varies because of the nature of sales and the commissions generated by those sales.  In good months, you can make $10,000 but some months you barely make $2,000.  Because of this, you budget for a low average income of $3,500 per month.  Along with your husband’s steady salary at the auto parts factory in your town of $3,000, you have a comfortable and stable situation.   You are consistently able to pay your taxes, pay your mortgage, pay your utilities, keep your old car running, and feed and clothe your family.  In good months, you put away money for things you really want, but, don’t need.  Vacations, a new car, a new patio in the back yard, the kids college fund are all things for which the savings may go.  You don’t need any of these things but most of the family agrees that many of these things are worthy of the sacrifice needed to save for them.  In spite of intense pressure from your teen-aged son, you have no plans to spend any of the savings on a car for him when he turns 16.  If he wants a car, he can earn it himself.  Sure, lots of other kids will get cars when they turn 16 but that doesn’t make it a responsible choice for you.  Your responsibility is to provide for your family’s needs, not cater to their wants. I think that is what our elected officials should be doing: providing for our needs, not our wants. Please take the time to watch an elected leader doing the right thing.  It is Governor Chris Christie speaking to his Legislature less than two months after taking office.   If most of our elected leaders had the guts and the principles of this man, we would have few of the serious financial uncertainties that we face today. It is refreshing and a hopeful sign to see a leader facing the problem and taking responsibility.  If other State leaders and the country’s leadership in Washington, D.C. could do the same, we would be a long way toward being healed.  I would vote for a leader like this in a minute.  Unfortunately, our leadership seems focused on finding new sources of revenue and selling more debt to the rest of the world.  How long will the world view both our government as Responsible and our currency as Reliable with leaders continuing to spend money that they do not have? For my money, the position that must be taken by a candidate for whom I will vote is one of thrift, living within our means. About these ads
hide cookie message 80,258 News Articles Analysis: a week in IT security The challenge of protecting systems and data When it comes to security in IT, not a week goes by without a major discovery. We look at several stories that have cropped up recently to reveal the ongoing challenges invlved in protecting systems and data. US setting sites on countries harbouring cyber criminals The US is attempting to pass a law that would require it to identify countries providing cyber crime safe havens and institute trading penalties. This isn't exactly new, as I know the US Bush administration threatened something similar with Nigeria over all the Nigerian spam letters - although I don't know the eventual outcome of that particular instance. Meanwhile, Nigerian-orientated spam seems to continue unabated. Still, I'm happy to see this proposed legislation. Countries need to be held accountable for permitting bad internet behaviour to continue without repercussions. I'm not talking about taking punitive actions against countries that appear to be the source of large amounts of cyber crime but we do need to make sure that countries at least have laws that make cyber crime illegal and assist other victim countries in the prosecution where evidence has been legally presented. Unfortunately, if the past is any indicator, this type of bill will probably take years to pass - and when it does, it will be significantly watered down. Hopefully, history won't repeat itself. 1. We look at the ongoing challenges of protecting systems and data 2. Bot solves Captchas using audio 3. US setting sites on countries harbouring cyber criminals IDG UK Sites IDG UK Sites IDG UK Sites IDG UK Sites Why Apple shouldn't be blamed for exploitation in China and Indonesia
hide cookie message Contact Forum Editor Send an email to our Forum Editor: Tech Helproom Easily updatable site for my Wife Likes # 0 I have created a basic site for my wife at work. I has been written in Dreamweaver. How can I have the text inserted in such a way so that she can edit the news on one page and upload it, without going into dreamweaver. Can I have the text for the page in a replacible text file for example. that just needs uploading and replacing. Like this post Likes # 0 This may be wrong, but worth trying.... Assuming that it is just one page to change, she can copy and paste the text from the webpage (opened in IE or Firefox etc) into notepad (which removes the formatting). Then change the text to what she wants. Save the file and copy and paste back into the web page. Someone else can confirm if this would work - or amend it. Don't forget to backup before it is changed! I use Expression web which is similar to Dreamweaver, I understand. I open the program and amend the pages directly. Surely it isn't too difficult to do that with Dreamweaver? Like this post Reply to this topic This thread has been locked. IDG UK Sites IDG UK Sites IDG UK Sites IDG UK Sites Why Apple shouldn't be blamed for exploitation in China and Indonesia
Edit Article Three Parts:Rehearsing what you'll askPreparing yourselfAsking out your crush It can be scary asking someone you fancy to go on a date with you. You might be worried about getting rejected or even laughed at. The thing is, if you don't try, you'll never know. In life, there will always be times when you need to lay your heart on the line and get going, which is why asking out your crush in five minutes is a great way to make the most of the adrenaline rush and put your confident side forward in the hope of a positive response. Part 1 of 3: Rehearsing what you'll ask 1. Ask Your Crush out in Five Minutes Step 1.jpg Rehearse first. Grab a mirror and look into your own eyes and say something passionate. Say it as if you were saying it to your crush. Part 2 of 3: Preparing yourself 1. Ask Your Crush out in Five Minutes Step 2.jpg Wear nice clothes. This isn't just to impress your crush; it's also about giving yourself the confidence to stand tall because you know you look your best. Iron your clothes, choose ones that you like the most and wear them well. Part 3 of 3: Asking out your crush 1. Ask Your Crush out in Five Minutes Step 3.jpg Wait for an opportune moment. It's a good idea to locate your crush when he or she is either alone or not with many people. Asking someone out in front of a group of people not only places added pressure on you but it's likely to embarrass your crush and he or she might respond in a way opposite to the one they really wish. You don't want to pressure your crush into saying yes even if he or she might have doubts or to cause him or her to say no just to seem cool in front of people. 2. Ask Your Crush out in Five Minutes Step 4.jpg Strike up the conversation. Go up to your crush and say something sweet and funny. For example: "Hey! I haven't seen you in a while. I was just about to put your face on a milk carton." Let your crush respond. 3. Ask Your Crush out in Five Minutes Step 5.jpg Get to the point. Look into your crush's eyes and say these exact words, "Wondering if you have a girl/guy. 'Cause I'm always free. And I would like to have you as a boyfriend/girlfriend." 4. Ask Your Crush out in Five Minutes Step 6.jpg Depending on the guy or girl, you might want to be a bit more vague, especially if there are others around. There is no point in publicly embarrassing both of you if he or she says no. 5. Ask Your Crush out in Five Minutes Step 7.jpg If your crush says yes, be happy. Say that you're really pleased and ask if it's a good time to arrange a date. 6. 6 If your crush says that he or she isn't interested, say thanks for considering your request. Avoid throwing a tantrum, storming off or crying. Look strong, be strong and make it seem that you're okay with that response. Inside you might be crushed by your crush but show a good side. After all, he or she might be assessing your reaction and could actually need time to think about your request. If you show that you're courageous and have a sense of self worth, it may just be enough to change that person's mind later. We could really use your help! Can you tell us about how to ollie while moving Can you tell us about how to plan a sabbatical Can you tell us about how to wakeskate Can you tell us about how to install a camshaft Thanks for helping! Please tell us everything you know about Provide Details. Don't say: Eat more fats. • A little flirting never hurt. • Keep things casual when you ask your crush out. • Don't act stuck up or superior around your crush. You may suffer from nerves but that's not an excuse to come across as arrogant. • Don't freak out if he or she says no or yes. Stay calm, thank them and say something nice, like "maybe some other time, you're a really great person" or just say a simple "thanks for considering me" and leave it at that. • Don't say creepy jokes. • Don't overdo what you wear, your makeup, etc. And don't try to be someone you aren't just to impress your crush. an Author! Write an Article
Question for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker katydude asks: Added Jan 17th 2005, ID #19038 Question for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker In the Savage Labrinth I have played the wind song and received the triforce chart. An escape tube has appeared. However there is a large stone something or other (chair, throne) blocking the entrance to go further down. How do I move it? Or is this the end! Thanks in advance! and get Add your answerAnswers for this Question sheiny answered: Added 17th Jan 2005, ID #29807 Hello - as long as you have the mirror shield - just step into that pillar of light (not the exit tube) and reflect the light onto that large statue. Hold your position for a few seconds until it is destroyed - then proceed down the hole to continue - good luck... Add your answer BB Codes Guide Accept submission terms View Terms You are not registered / logged in. Who's Playing Game Guide Game Talk Have a question?