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Ask A Scientist
When you see fire, what are the flames actually made out of and how does it work?
Asked by: Caleb Kellicutt
School: Chenango Forks Middle School
Grade: 6
Teacher: Karyn Church
Hobbies/Interests: He enjoys baseball, soccer and turtles.
Career Interest: Comedian, Baseball Player, Artist
Answer from Douglas W. Green
Adjunct lecturer
Douglas has had research focus in Leadership and Instructional data analysis. He has a 24 year old daughter named Lena who is an animator in New York City. He enjoys playing the banjo, biking, golf and reading.
When you see a fire you are seeing chemical energy being released as visible light. All matter is made of chemicals. If the conditions are right, different chemicals can react. This means that their individual atoms combine in different ways to make other substances. When this happens, energy stored in the bonds that hold atoms together is either released or taken in. Some reactions require you to add energy while others give off energy. All matter is composed of very small particles called atoms. In nature there are about 90 different atoms that combine in different ways to make all of the substances on earth. A particle made of atoms bonded together is called a molecule. Atoms have a small positive center called the nucleus, which is surrounded by a cloud of electrons that have a negative charge. Examples of reactions that give off enough energy to make a flame include the burning of substances like natural gas, gasoline, and wood. The burning substance reacts with oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide and water as energy is released. In some cases the energy released just warms things up as it makes the molecules move faster. If enough energy is released it can cause electrons to move farther away from the center of their atoms. When the electrons fall back to their original orbits, also called energy levels, they give off weightless particles called photons which give us electromagnetic radiation. Some of these photons have energy that puts them in the visible light part of this energy spectrum. Other photons give us x-rays, ultraviolet rays, microwaves, and radio waves. Flames are composed of hot gas molecules, products of a chemical reaction. Hot molecules in the flame are less dense than the surrounding air, which causes them to rise. This movement causes the flame to flicker and the light in the flame results as excited electrons in the hot gas fall back to lower orbits. The color of the light depends on how far the electrons fall. Each photon in our rainbow of visible light has its own quantity of energy. As you go from red to violet the photons have more and more energy. Each type of atom gives off it own colors of light which is how we can tell which atoms are in a flame or on a distant star.
Last Updated: 9/18/13
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/116732
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This work is sponsored in part through an NSF-ILI grant.
Laboratory Schedule: Molecular Biology
This page gives you a weekle outline of what we will do in lab each week as we use PCR to clone five yeast IDH genes, express them in E. coli, determine exhamine hybridization strengencies at the DNA level, affinity purify the proteins, and perform IDH enzyme assays with your recombinant proteins. You MUST keep a lab notebook. To learn what I expect in your notebook, click here.
If the method is followed by a company's product, then we will use their reagents and protocols which will be duplicated for you. Otherwise, follow the links to see detailed protocols.
Week Begining - Procedures
Jan. 15/17: Start at the beginning (practice calculations #1 and #2)
Jan. 22/24: Purify genomic DNA and design PCR primers
1) We will begin by purifying yeast genomic DNA as our template for PCR.
Qiagen DNeasy Kit #69104
2) Determine the concentration of your gDNA.
Use yeast genomic web pages and Qiagen QIAexpress UA cloning vector map.
Jan. 29/31: Continue to Design PCR Primers, Make Web Pages
Netscape Composer and Macromedia Dreamweaver. Also use Snapz Pro2 for screen shots.
3) Design PCR amplification using the handout. 1.3 x 107 bp in the yeast genome and thus about 6 x 105 genomes in 1 µg of yeast genomic DNA. You need to devise 3 PCR experiments where we use 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0 mM of MgCl2. The concentration of MgCl2 is very important. Use the handout to guide you towards making a 50 µL reaction for each experiment. We want to amplify our DNA in 30 cycles. Primers come as stock solutions with concentrations of 100 µM each.
Feb. 5/7: Conduct PCR, Finish Web Pages
1) Start PCR to amplify all 5 yeast IDH genes. Here are the primers we will use.
Taq PCR Master Mix by Qiagen #201443
2) Pour 2 gels that will hold all the samples plus MW markers.
3) Make 100 mL of SOC medium. Look on page 4 of the PDF file for SOC protocol. Note: Only make 10 mL of the 1M MgSO4•7H2O + 1 M MgCl2•6H2O stock solution and 10 mL of the 2M glucose solution.
3) Final touches on your IDH web pages.
See the Results Here
Feb 12/14: Clean PCR, verify on gel, ligate, transform into expression cells
1) Clean PCR products. Elute in 30 µL buffer.
QiaQuick PCR Purification Kit #28104
2) OD purified PCR product with 40 fold dilution.
3) Calculate how much PCR product to get 10X excess or 4 µL, which ever is less.
4) Ligate PCR products into expression vector. Ligate for 1 hour.
QiaExpress UA Cloning KIt #32179
Vector may need SAP.
5) Transform ligation into JM109 strain of E. coli.
Promega #L2001
Feb. 19/21: Screen for insert and orientation
2) Minprep plasmid DNA
QiaPrep Spin MiniPrep #27104
4) Verify identities and orientations of PCR products with restriction digestions. Electrophorese digestions.
Download copy of 1kb ladder PDF.
See the Results Here
Feb. 26/28: Southern Blot part 1
1) Continue to hunt for IDH genes in forward orientaitons
March 5/7 - SPRING BREAK and no labs
March 12/14: Southern Blot part 2
1) Run gels and photograph them with ruler
2) Transfer Southern Blot
3) Make probes
March 19/21: Express IDH Proteins
1) Day before lab, add probes to blots.
2) Finish Southern Blot
March 26/28: Run Western Blot part 1
1) Night before lab, begin O/N cultures of forward and reverse clones.
2) Induce protein production.
3) Affinity purify IDH proteins.
Qiagen Ni-NTA Spin Kit #31314
4) Freeze in aliquots.
April 9/11: Finish Western Blot
1) Run SDS-PAGE.
2) Transfer to membrane.
April 16/18: Run IDH Enzyme Assays
1) Bind antibody and detect prtoeins.
2) Determine MW of all 5 IDH proteins.
April 23/25: Final Wrap Up
1) Verify NAD+ and NADP+ specificity.
May 8 at noon: Turn in Lab Notebooks and Lab Reports -
1) Your lab notebooks are due at noon May 8.
2) Your lab reports are due at noon May 8.
Lab Schedule In Context of Research Project
Molecular Biology Main Page
Biology Main Page
© Copyright 2010 Department of Biology, Davidson College,
Send comments, questions, and suggestions to: [email protected]
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Document Detail
Split-based computation of majority-rule supertrees.
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MedLine Citation:
PMID: 21752249 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE
Anne Kupczok
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Created Date: 2011-09-09 Completed Date: 2012-01-05 Revised Date: 2013-06-28
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Languages: eng Pagination: 205 Citation Subset: IM
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Classification / methods*
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Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Evol Biol
ISSN: 1471-2148
Publisher: BioMed Central
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Copyright ©2011 Kupczok; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Received Day: 1 Month: 9 Year: 2010
Accepted Day: 13 Month: 7 Year: 2011
collection publication date: Year: 2011
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Volume: 11First Page: 205 Last Page: 205
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DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-205
Split-based computation of majority-rule supertrees
Anne Kupczok12 Email:
2Institute of Science and Technology, Austria, Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
Supertree methods amalgamate trees containing information from different, but overlapping, relationships into a larger supertree (e.g., [1]). The input trees need not have the same taxon sets, but the supertree contains all of the taxa present in at least one of the input trees. With this property, supertrees are applied to combine information present in different gene trees to infer relationships about larger sets of taxa (e.g., [2-6]).
Supertree methods can be distinguished by the elementary relationships they extract from the gene trees. These relationships can be splits (e.g., [7-9]), rooted triplets (e.g., [10-12]) or quartets (e.g., [13,14]). Here, I focus on split-based supertree methods. A split is a bipartition of the taxa and a split of a tree corresponds to an edge in the tree that divides these two sets. Splits are compatible if they can occur together in a tree. Otherwise they are incompatible. A subsplit of a supertree split is generated by deleting some taxa from the taxon set. Thus an input tree split may be subsplit of a supertree split. The definition of compatibility can also be applied to splits on overlapping taxon sets, then the splits are first reduced to the common taxa and subsequently tested for compatibility.
It is natural for split-based supertree methods to first extract the splits from the input trees and code them into a matrix representation (see e.g., the splits from in Table 1). The most widely applied supertree method is matrix representation with parsimony (MRP, [7,8]). In this approach, the matrix representation is interpreted as a binary alignment and the supertree is the most parsimonious tree given the alignment. Matrix representation with compatibility (MRC, [9,15]) searches for the supertree maximizing the number of input splits that are a subsplit of a supertree split. MRC can also be understood as the compatibility method [16] applied to the binary alignment.
The task of summarizing trees on the same taxon set, the so called consensus setting, is well studied (e.g., [17,18]). Supertree methods can be understood as generalizations of consensus methods, that is, when applying a supertree algorithm in the consensus setting, the result should then be equivalent to the consensus. One popular consensus method is the majority-rule (MR) consensus, which produces a consensus tree that contains all splits present in at least half of the input trees. The MR consensus tree is a median tree under the Robinson-Foulds distance, in that, it is the tree with the smallest sum of the Robinson-Foulds distances to the input trees [19]. The Robinson-Foulds (RF) distance of two trees is the number of splits occurring in each of the trees, but are not found in the other [20].
Study of the consensus setting may also lead to important insights for supertree methods. Obviously, if a supertree method does not fulfill a property in the consensus setting, the property does not hold in general. For example, Wilkinson et al. [21] studied Pareto properties. They show that most supertree methods, including MRC and MRP, are Pareto on splits, i.e. the supertree contains a split if it is contained in all input trees. Methods are not co-Pareto on splits, if the supertree contains splits not supported by any input tree. E.g. MRC is co-Pareto on splits, but MRP is not. Some supertree methods show a bias in tree shape [22]. MRP shows a bias towards unbalanced shapes which is caused by the asymmetry of the underlying distance [23].
MRC and MRP can also be seen as median methods based on an asymmetric distance. The underlying distances are asymmetric since they only evaluate the fit of the input trees on the supertree and not vice versa. MRC is a median tree under the asymmetric RF distance, that is, the number of splits that are in the input tree but not in the pruned supertree. Thus, it generalizes the asymmetric median consensus [24,22]. Analogously, MRP can be interpreted as a median method based on the asymmetric parsimony distance.
Due to the asymmetric distances, MRC and MRP may favor relationships contradicting a majority of the input trees [25]. Cotton and Wilkinson [26] define majority-rule supertree methods as supertree methods generalizing the MR consensus. Different variants of MR supertrees exist and have been investigated. The main division among variants is between MR(-) and MR(+). The first evaluates distances between the pruned supertree and each input tree, while the second evaluates distances between the supertree and extended input trees. Here, extension refers to a method that adds missing taxa onto the input trees. Since this extension can be defined in multiple ways, multiple variants of MR(+) supertrees exist [26,27]. MR(+)s supertrees, a variant of MR(+) supertrees, can be solved exactly with an integer linear programming formulation [28]. MR(-) supertrees are closely related to RF supertrees [29] since both evaluate the RF distances between the pruned supertree and the input trees. Conceptually, there is a large difference between RF supertrees and MR supertrees. The aim of the first is to find at least one bifurcating tree of optimal score [29]. The approach of the latter, in contrast, is to find all trees of optimal score and to summarize them using the strict consensus method into a potentially multifurcating supertree. This also allows for labelling the MR supertree with values of support in the gene trees. By definition, finding all trees of optimal score also includes searching over multifurcating trees. Here a first attempt to solve the problem is performed that only searches for bifurcating trees of optimal score. From now on, I will also call these bifurcating trees of optimal score supertrees, since they contain all taxa from the input trees. They should not be confused with the MR supertrees that are obtained after the consensus step and can thus be multifurcating (see next section).
To date, there is only one study comparing the properties of different MR supertree variants [27] and I am not aware of any study on the performance of different MR supertree variants. The aim of this paper is to suggest a general framework for the distance computations underlying the MR supertree methods, to present an implementation evaluating different distance variants, and to compare these by simulation.
Results and Discussion
Score computation
I present the computation of majority-rule (MR) supertrees based on bifurcating and unrooted input- and supertrees. These trees contain only nodes with either one adjacent edge (the terminal nodes labeled with a taxon and the adjacent edge is a terminal edge) or with three adjacent edges (the inner nodes; non-terminal edges are also called inner edges). If an inner node of a tree has more than three adjacent edges, the tree is multifurcating. Note that bifurcating trees of n taxa have n - 3 inner edges and, in comparison, multifurcating trees of n taxa have fewer edges.
The Robinson-Foulds (RF) distance is only defined for trees labeled with the same taxa. There are two main ways to compute the RF distance between a supertree and an input tree when the input tree may contain only a subset of the taxa [26]:
1. Prune the supertree to the set of taxa in the input tree and compare the resulting tree to the input tree. This distance is called d -.
2. Graft the remaining taxa in all possible ways onto the input tree, compute all distances, and take the minimal distance. There are different variants of grafting taxa onto input trees [27]. Here, two methods are investigated: (1) d+ extends an input tree to all bifurcating trees by placing additional taxa onto edges only and by resolving multifurcations in the input trees; (2) extends an input tree to bifurcating and multifurcating trees by placing taxa onto edges or nodes, but does not resolve multifurcations present in the input tree.
Example distance computations are shown in Figure 1.
The algorithm to compute the distances proceeds as follows. The matrix representation is a binary coding of the splits in the input- and supertree (Table 1). Next, a relationship matrix is computed from this matrix representation. For each (input split, supertree split) pair, the relationship matrix has three possible entries: subsplit; compatible but no subsplit; or incompatible. The relationship matrix of the example trees is given in Table 1. From this matrix, it is easy to see, whether the i-th input split is incompatible to at least one supertree split, then a binary variable ci is set to 1. Analogously, a binary variable bj is set to 1, if the j-th supertree split is incompatible to any input split. For a bifurcating input tree and supertree , with and n taxa, respectively, the distance computations can then be simplified as follows (see methods section):
The sum over the distances of all input trees is called the score of a supertree with the respective supertree method, i.e., the score of with MR(-) is , with MR(+) it is , and with MR(+)g it is . Note that the score of MR(-) also applies to multifurcating input trees (see methods section).
Here, d+ and differ only by the way the taxa are placed because of the restriction to bifurcating input trees. When computing d+, taxa can only be placed onto edges, and when computing taxa can be placed onto edges or nodes. Note that MR(+) does not generalize majority-rule consensus but rather another consensus method called majority-rule(+) consensus [28,18]. Here, I deal only with bifurcating input trees. It is easy to see that MR(+) supertrees also generalize MR consensus in this case: For bifurcating input trees on the same taxon set, MR(+) cannot place missing taxa or resolve multifurcations and thus MR(+) directly minimizes the RF distance to the input trees. Therefore the distinction between majority-rule consensus and majority-rule(+) consensus is only important for non-bifurcating input trees.
Although these respective consensus methods behave differently in the general case [27], they are equivalent for bifurcating input trees, and I will treat all three methods, MR(-), MR(+)g, and MR(+) as supertree methods generalizing MR consensus for the remainder of the paper.
Heuristic algorithm
A heuristic search is necessary to finds upertrees with the minimal score. The three scores and a heuristic to search for supertrees with the minimal score were implemented in the python program PluMiST (Plus and Minus SuperTrees, available from The program takes bifurcating trees as input in the case of MR(+) and MR(+)g, and arbitrary trees in the case of MR(-). The algorithm to compute a MR supertree proceeds in the following steps (see methods for details):
1. Generation of the starting tree (the starting tree may also be provided by the user).
2. Supertree computation by minimizing the respective score functions on bifurcating supertrees. A heuristic tree search using the rearrangement operations TDR (taxa-deletion-reinsertion) and NNI (nearest-neighbor interchange) is carried out.
3. Strict consensus tree computation of the best scoring supertrees. The strict consensus contains the splits present in all supertrees.
4. Contracted consensus tree computation by deletion of splits that are contradicted by ≥ 50% of the input trees.
The resulting tree, i.e., the contracted consensus tree, is the MR supertree of the respective MR method. The last step contracts splits that violate the MR consensus property. Since the MR consensus tree only contains splits occurring in > 50% of the trees, it cannot contain splits contradicting ≥ 50% of the input trees. Note that this step would be redundant if the tree search was over multifurcating trees. I will also present results without the last step of the algorithm. The respective supertree methods are denoted . That means, the supertree is the strict consensus tree. The methods are not generalizations of the majority-rule consensus.
Several simulations were conducted to assess the performance of PluMiST. The methods were also compared to MRP using PAUP* [30] with the following options: maximal 1,000,000 trees in memory, 10 replications, and TBR branch swapping.
Simulation with compatible input trees
This setting is similar to the setting used in [15]. However, I use different model trees generated under a Yule model [31] and subsequently prune a fraction of taxa randomly from ten input trees. If the pruning step deleted the same taxon from each input tree, the data set was discarded and a new data set was generated instead. Thus each taxon had to be present in at least one input tree. I use the following parameter settings: The number of taxa is 32 or 64, and the fraction of deleted taxa in each input tree is 25% or 50%. 100 replicates are performed for each of the four possible combinations.
An MR method is successful if a score of 0 is found and the resulting strict consensus tree contains only splits present in the true tree. Note that this definition of success differs from the one in [15]. In their case, the method is successful only if the true tree was the only supertree. However, I think that a method should not return only one best scoring tree if some nodes cannot be resolved. Multiple trees with a score of 0 are clearly an indication that some nodes cannot be resolved. In the simulations, there was no check for sufficient overlap between the input trees. Different measures for this criterion exist (e.g., [32,33]). If there is not sufficient overlap, then the supertree cannot be expected to be reconstructed without ambiguity and this should be reflected by multiple supertrees.
With this criterion of success, all three MR methods and MRP were successful in all cases and under all parameter settings. Furthermore, in each simulation, all three MR methods returned the same number of trees. PAUP* may return more trees since it also returns unresolved trees if they have the same parsimony length. However, in all cases, where PAUP* returned more trees, the strict consensus tree (i.e., the supertree) was the same as for PluMiST. With a deletion probability of 0.25, more than one optimal tree is found only three and two times with 32 and 64 taxa, respectively. In these cases the resulting supertree had one split missing. With a deletion probability of 0.5, substantially more optimal trees were found which resulted in more multifurcating trees (Figure 2). On average, trees with n = 32 contain 24.9 inner splits (instead of 29 for a bifurcating tree) and with n = 64, there are 53.9 inner splits (instead of 61).
Simulation with incompatible input trees
I use the same model trees and input trees as in the previous section. However, the input trees were modified such that each internal edge undergoes a nearest-neighbor interchange (NNI [34]) with probability pnni and stays the same with probability 1-pnni. The two alternative NNIs are equally likely. The results for n = 32 and pnni of 0.1 and 0.2, respectively, are shown in Figure 3.
Since MRP usually performed well in these simulations, its average distance is used as a baseline and I report to what amount the MR methods exceed it. The results for MR(-) are generally comparable to the results for MRP. The difference in the mean distances is less than 0.8% for and less than 0.5% for MR(-) and all simulations with n = 32. In contrast, for the most difficult simulation (Figure 3d), the mean distances for MR(+)g and exceed the ones for MRP by 1% and 0.8%, respectively, and the mean distances for MR(+) and exceed the mean distance for MRP by 3.2% each. The methods show differences when only the number of missing splits is considered: The average number of missing splits for MR(-), , MR(+)g, and increases the average for MRP by less then 0.7% each. In contrast, MR(+) and miss up to 1.8% more of the true splits.
MR(-) rarely finds more incorrect splits than MRP. MR(-) and do not find more incorrect splits on average for pnni = 0.1, and 0.1% more for pnni = 0.2. In contrast, MR(+)g and find up to 1.9% more incorrect splits, while MR(+) and find up to 0.8% more incorrect splits.
Sequence simulation
PluMiST was also incorporated into a supertree simulation pipeline [35]. Two simulation settings were carried out: a small simulation with 25 taxa, 10 input trees, and on average 37.5% of the taxa deleted and a large simulation with 69 taxa, 254 input trees, and on average 84.2% of the taxa deleted. Here I present the results for the simplest setting where the true gene trees are subtrees of the species tree and the simulation parameters are the same for all genes. Input trees were generated by maximum likelihood reconstruction from simulated alignments. 500 simulated data sets were evaluated for the small simulation and 200 for the large simulation.
In contrast to the previous simulations, I conducted ten independent replicates for all MR supertree computations and combined trees with the best score over all runs into the final supertree. However, these results were very similar compared to taking one run only (data not shown). Thus, I conclude that the combined search heuristic of TDR and NNI is a sufficient exploration of the tree space in these simulations and report and discuss the results for one run only.
The results for the small simulation (Figure 4a) are similar to the results from the previous section: MR(-) has a slightly higher distance than MRP: 10.9% compared to 10.8%; MR(+)g and MR(+) have higher distances of 11.5% and 12%, respectively. The differences between the MR methods are more pronounced in the large simulation (Figure 4b). Here, MR(-) (average distance of 5.1%) clearly outperforms MR(+)g (10.2%) and MR(+) (15.8%). In both simulations, the -versions of the MR methods resulted in the same trees.
Furthermore, MR(-) clearly improves another MRC implementation (Clann version 3.0.2 [36] with the sfit criterion, SPR search, nsteps = 3, maxswaps = 1000000, 1 repetition). In the large simulation, MR(-) also outperforms MRP (6.5%). Both the percentage of missing splits (7.1% with MR(-) compared to 8.6% with MRP) and of incorrect splits (3% compared to 4.3%) improves.
There are two main reasons why different methods might reconstruct different trees: the scoring function and the search heuristic. To evaluate whether the difference in the scoring functions can explain the distance differences observed for the large simulation (Figure 4b), the trees of all four methods, MRP, MR(-), MR(+)g, and MR(+) were scored with the other objective functions. If a method found multiple trees, all trees were scored and the minimum was taken. In > 90% of the cases the MR(+) supertree had a smaller MR(+) score than any other supertree, and this also holds for MR(+)g. MRP and MR(-) supertrees also usually have a smaller parsimony lengths and MR(-) scores, respectively, than the MR(+)g and MR(+) trees (> 99% of the cases). In 31% of the cases the parsimony lengths of the MRP and MR(-) supertree were equal and in 31.5% the MR(-) scores of both methods were equal. It was never observed that another method found a lower parsimony or MR(-) score than the respective supertree methods. However, for MR(+), at least one method resulted in a better MR(+) score in 6.5% of the cases. In 0.5% of the cases, one MR(+) supertree had a better MR(+)g score than the MR(+)g supertree.
To summarize, supertrees from different methods usually vary in their scores when evaluated with one objective function (MRP, MR(-), MR(+)g, or MR(+)). The search heuristics implemented in PAUP* and PluMiST usually find better scores for the respective objective functions compared to the supertrees found with the other methods.
Evaluation of real data sets
The program was also applied to real data sets and compared with MRP using PAUP*. First, two data sets also used in Bansal et al. [29] were analyzed (available from [37]). The seabirds data set [38] contains rooted trees, thus an outgroup taxon was added to the trees. The mammals data set contains "semi-rooted" trees [39], i.e., not all trees are rooted and an outgroup taxon is already present in some of the input trees. Some trees were discarded from the mammal data set since they contain no inner splits and thus no information for MR supertrees or MRP. Since both data sets contain some multifurcating input trees, only MR(-) was evalutated.
The results are summarized in Table 2. The high number of optimal trees for the seabirds data set had already been reported [38]. This slows down the last part of the PluMiST algorithm, because equally scoring trees are explored by NNI. The RF supertree method [29] finds a score of 61, but only 4 trees of the optimal score for this data set. This score also corresponds to the optimal MR(-) score of 23, but PluMiST finds 1538 optimal trees. The runtime of RF supertrees is substantially lower than the runtime of PluMiST or PAUP* for two reasons. First, efficient heuristics use the root information, and second, the search does not continue to find multiple optimal trees.
The mammal data set has different optima depending on whether the MRP or the MR(-) criterion is used (Table 2). The full data set could not be analyzed with RF supertrees since not all trees are rooted. Lastly, a microbial data set containing 61 taxa and 1117 genes was analyzed [40]. Bootstrap resampling of the gene trees and computing MRC using Clann had resulted in a highly multifurcating majority-rule consensus tree [40]. The data set consists of bifurcating unrooted trees and I applied it to the three majority-rule supertree methods and to MRP. All supertrees are completely or nearly completely resolved (Figure 5). There are clear differences in the scores of the optimal trees when evaluated with other scoring functions (Table 3). None of the trees matches a recent reference phylogeny completely (Figure 5e, Figure 1 in [41]). All of the nine groupings marked by different colors in Figure 5 are present in the MR(-) and in the MRP tree. Both of the MR(+) variants nest the Betaproteobacteria inside the Gammaproteobacteria. The branching order of these groupings also shows some deviations from the reference tree. First, most of the groupings with only one member in the data set are not correctly placed in any tree: Aquifex aeolicus is never a sister of the Epsilonproteobacteria, Chlorobium tepidum is never a sister of the Chlamydiae, the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis is never a sister of the Actinobacteria, and Deinococcus radiodurans is never basal. Because of these problems, the information about groupings with one member only are ignored in the following points. Second, the Alpha-, Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria form a clade in all trees, but the Epsilonproteobacteria are not their sister group. In the MR(-) and MR(+) tree, the Epsilonproteobacteria form a clade with the Chlamydiae and in the MR(+)g tree, they form a clade with the Chlamydiae and the Tenericutes. In the MRP tree, they are basal to a clade of Chlamydiae and the other Proteobacteria. Third, in both the MR(-) and the MRP tree, the Firmicutes do not cluster with the Actinobacteria but with the Tenericutes. Only in the MRP tree, the clade of Tenericutes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria is basel to the other Bacteria. In the MR(-) tree, the clade of Epsilonproteobacteria and Chlamydiae is basal and in the MR(+)g tree a clade of these two and the Tenericutes is basal. The MR(+) tree has more differences; even the Archaea are not monophyletic.
Taken together there are serious problems in the data set, when groups have only one member. The fewest contradictions to the reference tree are present in the MRP tree followed by the MR(-) tree. Note that the deep branching of the bacterial phylogeny and the meaningfulness of a search for a tree like pattern in Bacteria is hotly debated (e.g., [42-45]). Here, the microbial data set is presented as an example how different methods resolve conflict among the input trees and not as a statement about the "true" bacterial phylogeny.
I present a new framework for the computation of the distances underlying majority-rule supertrees. The basis of this framework is the relationship matrix that stores the possible relationships between an input tree split and a supertree split: subsplit, compatibility, or incompatibility. The distance computations for MR(-), MR(+)g, and MR(+) are presented for bifurcating input- and supertrees. The distance computation of MR(-) also applies to multifurcating input trees.
These distance computations are implemented in the python program PluMiST. The program was tested in a simulation study with different settings, in particular with compatible and incompatible input trees. With compatible input trees, all MR methods find a score of 0 and the same supertree as MRP and I thus conclude that all methods search the tree space successfully. With incompatible input trees, the results for MR(-) are best, especially when both missing and incorrect splits are taken into account. MR(+)g might miss less splits than MR(-), however it also finds more incorrect splits. Reconstructing incorrect splits which give rise to false conclusions is obviously a more serious problem compared to the exclusion of some splits.
The RF distance to the true tree is often decreased by including splits contradicted by a majority of the input trees (i.e., skipping the last step of the algorithm, denoted by ). This holds particularly when only a few taxa are deleted and the input trees are highly incongruent (25% of the taxa deleted and pnni = 0.2). While the methods are not a generalization of MR consensus anymore, they may still be useful supertree methods. Given that is equivalent to MRC for bifurcating supertrees, PluMiST can then also be used as a heuristic for MRC.
In a more realistic simulation setting involving more input trees, trees of different sizes and different amounts of missing data and sequence simulation, MR(-) performed very well. It outperformed the MRC implementation in Clann and also MRP for the large data set. Those differences can be traced back to the differences in the objective functions in PAUP* and PluMiST. The trees found with the respective objective function usually have better scores compared to the supertrees found with other methods.
This is also observed when analyzing biological data sets. Of the three data sets analyzed, two contain multifurcating input trees, and therefore only MR(-) was compared to MRP and to RF supertrees. For one data set with rooted input trees the score of MR(-) was equivalent to the score to RF supertrees, but MR(-) finds more optimal trees. The microbial data set contains bifurcating trees and was analyzed with all three majority-rule supertree methods. The MR(-) tree recovered more relationships present in the reference tree compared to the MR(+) variants.
In conclusion, the objective function of MR(-) performs best among the MR supertree methods studied here. Note that this objective function is also justified in the likelihood setting [46]. The MR(+) supertree methods add taxa to the input trees and apply a consensus. At first view, this approach seems to be a natural method for dealing with the supertree problem. However, phylogenetic signal may be confounded by properties of the complex tree space [47].
The problem of distance computations in the general case of multifurcating trees is still open but I suppose that formulas for these cases can be constructed based on the relationship matrix. The generalization of these computations to multifurcating supertrees is an important task. The proof for majority-rule consensus trees [19] only holds for multifurcating consensus trees and was the motivation for majority-rule supertrees [26]. Note that another variant of MR(+), MR(+)s supertrees, can be computed via the span and the consensus step and thus also includes multifurcating trees [28].
The current implementation of MR(-) in PluMiST is similar to the RF supertree method. The approach of Bansal et al. [29] is, however, to find at least one tree of the optimal score and not to search for equal scoring trees. This latter property is needed for MR supertrees. This, in addition to the heuristics for rooted trees, makes the RF supertree method fast. In contrast, the advantage of MR(-) is that input trees can be unrooted and that the area around the optimum is searched for equally scoring trees.
Furthermore, PluMiST and the theory presented here comprises a general framework for MR supertrees. The relationships between the distance functions underlying these methods will hopefully help in understanding the similarities and differences of the methods. Simulations show that MR(-) usually performs very well, in particular in comparison with the established MRP method and is thus recommended for majority-rule supertree reconstruction.
Phylogenetic Background
A (phylogenetic) tree is a leaf-labeled tree and is thus identified by its leaf set X and its edge set (for details and terminology see also [48]). The leaves are usually called taxa. Terminal edges connect a leaf with an inner node and inner edges connect two inner nodes. I present the computation for unrooted trees. This computation can easily be applied to rooted trees by treating the root as an additional taxon. In unrooted trees there is no node of degree two.
If an edge of a phylogenetic tree is deleted, the tree decomposes into two connected components. Thus, the taxon set is then partitioned into two sets (X1 and X2), one for each component. Such a bipartition is called a split and is denoted by X1|X2. Since each edge in a tree corresponds to a split, a tree on taxon set X is identified by the corresponding split set (see example in Figure 1, note that the taxon sets in a split can be shortly written as a string of concatenated taxa).
Two splits are called compatible if there is a phylogenetic tree containing both splits. This holds for two splits X1|X2 and Y1|Y2 if at least one of the following taxon sets is empty: X1 Y1, X1 ∩ Y2, X2 ∩ Y1 or X2 ∩ Y2. Note that terminal splits are compatible to any other split. An unrooted phylogenetic tree of n taxa contains at most n - 3 inner splits. If it contains exactly n - 3 inner splits, all inner nodes have degree three, and the tree is called bifurcating, or multifurcating otherwise. An inner node of degree three is a taxon tripartition and can be written as X1|X2|X3.
A tree T1 displays a tree T2 if it contains all splits of T2, i.e., T2 T1. The Robinson-Foulds (RF) distance of two trees is defined as the symmetric difference of the split sets [20]: RF(T1, T2) = | T1\T2 | + | T2\T1|. Note that if both trees are bifurcating, then both set sizes are equal and RF is an even number.
A supertree for a set of input trees is a tree that contains exactly the taxa occurring in at least one input tree, i.e. . Thus in general . The following abbreviations are used: and . The splits in are called partial if . In contrast, the splits in are called plenary. A partial split is a subsplit of a plenary split if one of the following conditions holds: (Y1 Z1 and Y2 Z2) or (Y1 Z2 and Y2 Z1). For example, the split ABC|F is a subsplit of the split ABC|DEF. Two splits on different taxon sets will be called compatible if they are compatible on the set of taxa occurring in both trees and incompatible otherwise.
is the restriction of tree to taxon set , i.e., .
Consensus methods
Consensus methods combine input trees on the same taxon set. There are many consensus methods available [17], some of which are based on the split sets of the input trees:
Strict consensus The strict consensus contains all splits present in all input trees, i.e., .
Majority-rule consensus The majority-rule (MR) consensus contains all splits present in more than half of the input trees.
Distance computations for MR supertrees
The majority-rule supertree methods were defined to minimize a particular score [26,27]:
MR(-) Find a tree that minimizes where .
MR(+)g Find a tree that minimizes where and
MR(+) Find a tree that minimizes where
As for majority-rule consensus trees, the majority-rule supertree is the strict consensus of all potentially multifurcating trees that minimize the distance. Here, the tree search is restricted to bifurcating trees. In the following I show, that for bifurcating input- and supertrees the distance computations can be simplified. Therefore assume that is already modified as follows: If there is an inner split with and there is no split with , then replace the subtree spanned by the the taxa in Xi by a dummy taxon (i, j ∈ {1, 2}). For d-this modification will make no difference, since the dummy taxon is deleted again. For d+ and only this dummy taxon needs to be placed in . Afterwards it could be expanded again without any cost. This modification ensures that in the optimal each taxon was added to an edge already existing in (analogous for ). The modified example tree is shown in Figure 6.
A matrix representation is a binary coding of the splits, an example is shown in Table 4. Furthermore, the relationship matrix of dimension is used, which indicates for each pair of input-and supertree splits, whether they are subsplit; compatible but no subsplit; or incompatible. Only inner splits and trivial splits for are included (see Table 4). Note that for bifurcating trees there cannot be a split compatible to all other splits in the relationship matrix. Thus each line and row, respectively, must contain either at least one s or at least one i.
Theorem 1 Given a bifurcating supertree and a bifurcating input tree . Then d-= 2C, where C is the number of splits in that are incompatible to at least one split in .
Proof Let be the restriction of to , i. e. .
. Since both trees are bifurcating, each must be either identical or incompatible to a split in . Thus measures the number of splits in that are incompatible to a split in . Each that is incompatible to a split in , is also incompatible to a split in , since incompatibility can only be caused by the taxa in . Thus is the number of splits in that are incompatible to a split in . ■
Note The formula easily generalizes to multifurcating input trees: Assume that has m multifurcations, i.e., inner branches. Then d-= 2C + m, there are C splits in that conflict with , C splits in that conflict with , and in addition m splits in that are missing in . Since m is constant for all supertrees, the objective function is equivalent to the one for bifurcating input trees.
Note, that C can be easily computed from the relationship matrix since .
Theorem 2 Given a bifurcating supertree and a bifurcating input tree . Then , where B is the number of splits in that are incompatible to at least one split in and C is the number of splits in that are incompatible to at least one split in .
Proof Both inequalities are shown. The idea of the proof is to show that and for one . Since B C, , this is accomplished by potentially introducing multifurcations when placing taxa onto .
For all and . Thus this inequality holds for all .
Need to construct a with .
First, . It is shown now that the taxa in can be placed onto and and thus increase the distance by not more than B - C. Therefore, . nT = n - nG taxa have to be placed onto to get . There will be ngood "good" taxa that are placed onto edges without introducing an increase in the distance; and nbad "bad" taxa that are placed onto nodes and will increase the distance by one; nT = ngood + nbad.
Each supertree split can only be a supersplit of at most one input split. If it is a supersplit of an input split, it is compatible to all others. An input split may be a subsplit of different supertree splits. If it is a subsplit of > 1 supertree split, each additional supertree split gives information about the placement of one taxon. e.g., the input split A|B may be a subsplit of the supertree splits AX|B and A| XB (A and B are taxon sets, X is a taxon). Then X is a "good" taxon and placed on the edge between A and B without increasing . The number of taxa that are placed with this procedure is . and represent the respective number of columns and rows in the relationship matrix that have a subsplit entry.
In each row and column of the matrix, there must be either at least one subsplit entry (s) or at least one incompatibility entry (i). Thus and . Using this, the remaining number of taxa to insert is
These B - C bad taxa can be placed on a node increasing by one. In detail, the two splits in S that are adjacent to the terminal split of the bad taxon will be incompatible with at least one split in . As a result the bad taxon can be placed on any of the nodes adjacent to a conflicting split in . The resulting distance is not larger than 2C + (B - C) = B + C. ■
Example In the example , , C = 1 and B = 2. Thus, (taxon A') and nbad = B - C = 1 (taxon E). g3 is a subsplit of both s1 and s5, thus A' can be placed on the terminal edge leading to C without conflict. s2 and s3 are adjacent to the terminal split of E. They are conflicting with g1 and thus E can be placed either on the node D|F|CGH or on the node C|DF |GH.
Theorem 3 Given a bifurcating supertree and a bifurcating input tree . Then d+ = 2B, where B is the number of splits in that are incompatible to at least one split in .
Proof The proof is a modification of the proof for Theorem 2. The "good" taxa are placed in the same way and the bad taxa are placed onto any split corresponding to a conflicting split in . The resulting distance is then 2C + 2(B - C) = 2B. ■
Heuristic algorithm
Starting tree
The tree search starts with a step-wise addition tree. A random taxa order is processed the following way: The quartet toplogy for the first four taxa is determined by the topolgy most frequent among the input trees. The remaining n - 4 taxa are inserted step by step to the partially reconstructed tree. For each of the remaining taxa, the informative input trees are determined. These trees contain the considered taxon and at least 3 of the taxa already inserted. Afterwards, the best insertion point of the terminal branch labeled with the taxon is determined: If the objective function is d-, then the sum of d-is computed for each insertion point. This is done by pruning the supertrees and the input trees to the common taxon sets. If the objective function is d+, for each split in the supertree the number of input trees it contradicts is determined. The insertion point minimizes the sum of the split contradictions. This method does not ensure d+ since taxa are missing in both trees. If the objective function is , both types of insertion strategies are carried out alternatingly, i.e., for each insertion only one of the strategies is used. In all cases ties are resolved randomly.
Optimization step
The tree search allows for two rearrangement operations: Taxa-deletion-reinsertion (TDR) and nearest-neighbor interchange (NNI). Given a tree, TDR deletes a given fraction of the taxa randomly (by default 0.25). Afterwards, a random taxon order of the deleted taxa is determined and the taxa are reinserted via the step-wise addition strategy. An NNI operation takes a split of a tree and generates the two alternative splits that could replace it. If replacing the split with one of these splits would result in a supertree with a lower score, the split is replaced. Alternative best trees are also returned.
The tree search proceeds in two stages: The first exploration stage lasts at most l2 iterations, where l is the number of inner splits in a supertree and an iteration is an NNI or a TDR operation. First, all splits of the starting tree are optimized by NNI until there is no further improvement. Next, the tree space is explored by TDR. After one TDR operation, all splits of the new tree are optimized by NNI again. It may happen that a TDR operation generates a tree that it found before or that yield no improvement with NNI. Then this tree is discarded and a new tree is generated with TDR. If trees were discarded consecutively or l2 iterations passed, the broadening stage starts. At this point, all optimal trees that have not been analyzed before, are optimized by NNI. This mainly ensures that all trees in the optimal region are found.
In the end, all optimal trees are summarized by a strict consensus and splits that are contradicted by ≥ 50% of the input trees are deleted. In these trees, the internal nodes are labeled with support values similar to those of majority-rule consensus trees. Each inner node is labeled with x/y, where x is the number of input trees not contradicting the corresponding split and y is the number of input trees where a nontrivial split supports the corresponding split. Thus, y is the number of input trees that support the node and x - y is the number of input trees that are irrelevant for that node with the definitions of support and irrelevance used in [49].
Authors' contributions
AK conceived and implemented the method, carried out the analyses, and wrote the manuscript.
The author likes to thank Jonathan P. Bollback for assistance in analyzing the prokaryote supertrees, Arndt von Haeseler and Bui Quang Minh for valuable comments on the manuscript and Mark Wilkinson for motivating discussions. Financial support from the Hungarian Bioinformatics project (HuBi MTKD-CT-2006-042794) and from the the Wiener Wissenschafts-, Forschungs- and Technologiefonds (WWTF, to Arndt von Haeseler) is greatly appreciated.
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[Figure ID: F1]
Figure 1
Example input- and supertree. Example supertree (a) and input tree (b) for distance computations. Both trees are identified by its split sets: = {AB|CDEFGH, ABC|DEFGH, ABCD|EFGH, FGH|ABCDE, GH|ABCDEF} and = {DF|CGH, GH|CDF} The supertree pruned to the taxa in is shown in (c). Thus d-= 2. (d) shows a tree that results in an optimal distance of d+ = 4 and (e) shows a tree that results in an optimal distance of .
[Figure ID: F2]
Figure 2
Distribution of inner splits with compatible input trees and 50% of the taxa deleted.
[Figure ID: F3]
Figure 3
Results for incompatible input trees and n = 32. The distances are normalized by dividing by the maximal distances, that is, 2n - 6 for the RF distance and n - 3 for the other two distances. "Missing splits" is the proportion of splits that are in the model tree but not in the supertree and "Incorrect splits" are in the supertree but not in the model tree. The mean of the data is displayed by "+". Note the different scaling of the y-axes.
[Figure ID: F4]
Figure 4
Results with sequence simulation. The mean of the data is displayed by "+".
[Figure ID: F5]
Figure 5
Prokaryote trees. Reference tree for the bacteria is taken from Wu et al. [41]. Chlorobium tepidum is not present in [41] but is displayed at the position of the other Chlorobi. The Archaea are marked in turquoise. Full taxon names can be found in [40].
[Figure ID: F6]
Figure 6
Modification of the supertree. The taxon set {A, B} is replaced by A'.
[TableWrap ID: T1] Table 1
Matrix representation and relationship matrix
Matrix representation
s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 g1 g2
A 1 1 1 0 0 - -
B 1 1 1 0 0 - -
C 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
D 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
E 0 0 0 0 0 - -
F 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
G 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
H 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
Relationship matrix
s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 ci
g1 c c i i c 1
g2 c c c c s 0
bj 0 0 1 1 0
Coding of the example trees in Figure 1. Only inner splits are shown.
[TableWrap ID: T2] Table 2
Results with the seabird and the mammal data set
Data Set Taxa Input trees Best score Optimal trees MRP-score Time
Seabirds [38] 122 7 23 1538 214 1 day*
Mammals [39] 116 692 2160 272 9454 13h10
Data Set Taxa Input trees Best score Optimal trees MR(-)-score Time
Seabirds [38] 122 7 214 106 23 9h00
Mammals [39] 116 692 9452 109 2162 1h40
* The search with the seabirds data set was aborted after about 1 day, and the optimal trees saved thus far were used. The optimal score of 23 was found after 1h20.
[TableWrap ID: T3] Table 3
Results with the microbial data set
Method MR(-) MR(+) MR(+)g Parsimony Optimal trees Time
MR(-) 1453 1875 3328 6802 4 19 min
MR(+) 1539 1744 3283 7003 1 24 min
MR(+)g 1484 1753 3243 6862 4 36 min
MRP 1474 2010 3484 6775 1 2 sec
Scores matching the criterion used for optimization are marked in bold.
[TableWrap ID: T4] Table 4
Coding of modified example trees
Matrix representation Relationship matrix
s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7 s8 s9 g1 g2 g3 g4 g5 g6 g7 s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7 s8 s9 ci
A' 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - - g1 c i i c c c c c c 1
C 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 g2 c c c s c c c c c 0
D 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 g3 s c c c s c c c c 0
E 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - - g4 c c c c c s c c c 0
F 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 g5 c c c c c c s c c 0
G 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 g6 c c c c c c c s c 0
H 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 g7 c c c c c c c c s 0
bj 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Thursday 1 March 2012: And love ...
... can conquer anyone.
We've got to let love rule.
March 1st is self-injury awareness day.
Have you ever felt so miserable, desperate, alone and unloved that you wish you didn't exist? Have you ever agonised so much that you wrapped your arms around you and dug your nails into your arms until the pain you felt inside was replaced by the pain of the bloody marks you were leaving in your arms?
I have.
Fortunately I knew where to go. I had friends, family. I had a therapist who saw right through me and a careful, considerate psychiatrist. I had more strength than I knew I had because of all of them. And then I found a Beloved who listened and supported and all of that together saved me.
5 Years down the line I still struggle now and then with my self-image, self-worth and assertiveness. When I think of how far I have come though, I feel so proud.
So many people are struggling alone, the stigma of mental health issues preventing them from speaking up - and it doesn't have to be that way.
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Complete Project Gutenberg John Galsworthy Works eBook
Bianca went swiftly up to the trunk.
“You shall!” she said. “Take that thing and go.”
The little model did not move.
“So you won’t?”
The girl trembled violently all over. She moistened her lips, tried to speak, failed, again moistened them, and this time murmured; “I’ll only—I’ll only—if he tells me!”
“So you still imagine he will tell you!”
The little model merely repeated: “I won’t—won’t do anything without he tells me!”
Bianca laughed. “Why, it’s like a dog!” she said.
But the girl had turned abruptly to the window. Her lips were parted. She was shrinking, fluttering, trembling at what she saw. She was indeed like a spaniel dog who sees her master coming. Bianca had no need of being told that Hilary was outside. She went into the passage and opened the front door.
He was coming up the steps, his face worn like that of a man in fever, and at the sight of his wife he stood quite still, looking into her face.
Without the quiver of an eyelid, without the faintest trace of emotion, or the slightest sign that she knew him to be there, Bianca passed and slowly walked away.
Those who may have seen Hilary driving towards the little model’s lodgings saw one who, by a fixed red spot on either cheek, and the over-compression of his quivering lips, betrayed the presence of that animality which underlies even the most cultivated men.
After eighteen hours of the purgatory of indecision, he had not so much decided to pay that promised visit on which hung the future of two lives, as allowed himself to be borne towards the girl.
There was no one in the passage to see him after he had passed Bianca in the doorway, but it was with a face darkened by the peculiar stabbing look of wounded egoism that he entered the little model’s room.
The sight of it coming so closely on the struggle she had just been through was too much for the girl’s self-control.
Instead of going up to him, she sat down on the corded trunk and began to sob. It was the sobbing of a child whose school-treat has been cancelled, of a girl whose ball-dress has not come home in time. It only irritated Hilary, whose nerves had already borne all they could bear. He stood literally trembling, as though each one of these common little sobs were a blow falling on the drum-skin of his spirit; and through every fibre he took in the features of the dusty, scent-besprinkled room—the brown tin trunk, the dismantled bed, the rust-red doors.
The little model raised her face and looked at him. What she saw must have been less reassuring even than the first sight had been, for it stopped her sobbing. She rose and turned to the window, evidently trying with handkerchief and powder-puff to repair the ravages caused by her tears; and when she had finished she still stood there with her back to him. Her deep breathing made her young form quiver from her waist up to the little peacock’s feather in her hat; and with each supple movement it seemed offering itself to Hilary.
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The Bad Beginning Test | Lesson Plans Mid-Book Test - Easy
Buy The Bad Beginning Lesson Plans
Mid-Book Test - Easy
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
Multiple Choice Questions
1. How long does Mr. Poe say the children have to wait to be able to use their family's money?
(a) Violet comes of age
(b) Violet gets out of college
(c) The children all have turned 21
(d) Sunny comes of age
2. What does the theater troupe do when they are ready to have dinner?
(a) Begin pounding on the table
(b) Begin stomping their feet
(c) Yelling for food
(d) Hit their cups with their knives
3. What do the children see on the wall when they step into Count Olaf's house?
(a) A large sword
(b) Moose head
(c) Stuffed lion's head
(d) A billy bass
4. What is the only decoration in the children's room?
(a) A statue of Count Olaf
(b) A picture of a house burning
(c) A sculpture of an eye
(d) A painting of an eye
5. What does the peep hole on Count Olaf's door look like?
(a) Count Olaf's face
(b) An eye
(c) A tiger
(d) The theater symbol
6. What does Violet wish that she had bought at the market to put in Olaf's food?
(a) Roast Beef
(b) Poison
(c) A bus ticket
(d) Ex-lax
7. What does Justice Strauss do that immediately puts Violet at ease?
(a) Laughs
(b) Touches Violet's hair
(c) Hugs Violet
(d) Holds Violet's hand
8. Who does Klaus suggest could adopt them?
(a) Violet
(b) Their grandmother
(c) Justice Strauss
(d) Mr. Poe
9. What has Count Olaf made for the children to eat when they awake the next morning?
(a) Pancakes
(b) Burnt toast
(c) Eggs
(d) Oatmeal
10. Where does Klaus say he would rather take his chances than with Count Olaf?
(a) A foster home
(b) At an orphanage
(c) With cannibals
(d) In the streets
11. What is in the corner of Strauss' personal library that doesn't contain books?
(a) Ladder to reach books with
(b) Chairs
(c) A filing cabinet to easily find a book
(d) Television
12. What is Justice Strauss holding when she first meets the Baudelaire children?
(a) Pie
(b) Bag of manure
(c) Flower pot
(d) Loaf of bread
13. What does Violet say that they must do, quoting her father, after Klaus says he hates everything about Olaf's home?
(a) Have a stiff upper lip
(b) Keep our chins up
(c) Look for the silver lining
(d) Whistle while you work
14. What does Klaus tell Mr. Poe that Count Olaf is?
(a) A horrid person
(b) A mad man
(c) A lunatic
(d) A child abuser
15. What does Justice Strauss show the children that excites them?
(a) A room for the children to stay in
(b) A play room
(c) Books on adoption
(d) A private library
Short Answer Questions
1. What does Count Olaf call the Baudelaire children?
2. What does Violet have to drop in order to take Klaus' hand?
3. What does Count Olaf tell the children that he wants them to do in order to feel more at home with him?
4. What does Count Olaf blame his past 'standoffish' behavior on?
5. What is the only thing that Violet says she knows how to cook?
(see the answer keys)
This section contains 503 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
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Packs, Pasts, and Promises
Novel By: MKLrules
Literary fiction
I'm starting a small portion of my book. I'm gonna keep adding more and more as it flows. Don't worry, the conflict starts in chapter three. just be patient. View table of contents...
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Submitted:Apr 27, 2013 Reads: 5 Comments: 0 Likes: 0
Chapter 3
I laugh as my only other friends in the world besides Liam drag me to a small table in the corner of the room.
"O-M-G! You were so amazing up there!" Amber squeals.
Her twin sister Kai nods enthusiastically. "You totally burned it up there."
Amber elbows Kai. Hard. "Hey! Isn't that a negative?"
Kai rubs her side and shrugs. "I don't know. I think it's a positive."
Amber rolls her eyes and smiles. "Point is, you were awesome."
Kai and Amber are identical twins. They both are natural redheads, but Amber dyed her hair black, and have freckles and gorgeous hazel eyes. Amber is a very loving girl, in both ways. She is really nice, and really boy crazy. She can almost always be seen with a guy, human or otherwise. Kai is also really sweet, but she also doesn't go for guys. Kai is lesbian, and even so she isn't always clinging onto girls like Amber does to boys. Kai is usually volunteering for everything helping everyone, human or otherwise.
I laugh. Their cheeks are obviously flushed from the oustide air, and to top it off Kai says,"I can't believe Eli didn't give you any trouble!"
"Don't even try to act like you were here." Amber growls and elbows Kai again.
"Kai! I told you she'd know you were late! Eli did give her trouble. Lydia tell her why he gave you trouble." Amber says trying to put all the blame on Kai and still get info.
"AMBER JONSON! DON'T MAKE BE SLAP YOU." Kai screeches in her ear. Amber flinches and Kai turns to me. "I am so sorry, Lydia, she got caught up with some cute guy at the gas station and they were talking for about an hour. Can you ever forgive me?"
I pretend to ponder it as Amber and Kai give me the puppy-dog look. It'd work better if they were actually in wolf form. Still, they are my friends, and I can't exactly be mad at them for being themselves. "It's okay guys, nothing really happened. Eli was just mad at me for embarrassing one of his wolves. Well, Wolf, to be specific."
Kai crinkles her nose while Amber just keeps staring at me. After a few seconds, she says,"What wolf?"
Kai sighs. "Not a wolf, she means Wolf. The thing. Not the animal."
"Oh, the actual person. I got it."
I laugh."If you can even call him a person."
"That's why I called him a thing." Kai says in a 'duh' sort of way."I swear I feel bad for you sometimes, Amber. It's a good thing I'm pretty."
"Don't you mean 'It's a good thing I'm pretty'?" Amber asks.
Kai smiles at me and chuckles. "No, cause we're twins, remember?"
Amber rolls her eyes then sharply turns her head to me. "I forgot, you're leaving."
I sigh. Tomorrow I'm leaving for California in a hopeless attempt to find my dad who's been absent for my whole life. He's the only clue I have to find out what really happened to my mom. Not to mention I want some closure from having to take care of myself from the age of twelve and up without even getting a birthday card. But it'll also be a dangerous trip. There have been countless rumors of him having caught rabies and of him being a lone wolf who'd gone insane and kills anywolf who goes near him. Humans he'll let in his bubble, but if he smells wolf he goes berserk.
I have no evidence to prove this true, but I am going to be extra cautious on this little vacation. But I'll have to be even more cautious when I finally tell Liam tonight that I'm leaving tomorrow. He can be really dangerous when he's depressed.
"Yeah, and I still haven't told Liam. I've been too chicken to do it."
Kai and Amber meld their brains and talk in unison. It happens sometimes. "What?! If you don't tell him, he's going to explode and there'll be guts evrywhere. And you can't blame us if we eat some of him. He looks so tasty."
"Ew, that was just... disturbing."
"No it wasn't. Point is, you need to tell him you're leaving. Now. Or else we will, and he'll be even more upset that you didn't tell him yourself."
"Fine, I'll go take him home and we can talk there. I'm gonna miss you guys." I hug each of them and my eyes tear a little. I've never left Manhattan before tomorrow and to be in a strange place without them won't be easy. "Take care of Liam while I'm gone and please watch the border for me. In fact, you can stay at my house."
"We'll check the border, comfort Liam, and check in on your house, we will not live there for the next months though. Sorry, but your place sucks." Amber says.
Kai shakes her head. "That sentence was grammatically incorrect in so many ways, it wasn't even funny."
Amber thinks about it, furrowing her brows. "No, it was fine."
"Guys, I'm gonna go talk to Liam." I leave them to argue about Amber's grammar and look for Liam through the small crowd of people dancing to 'Empire State of Mind' by Jay-Z.
I feel someone grab my shoulder. I turn around expecting it to be some sleazy Klomker sniffing up my skirt and see Liam instead giving me a goofy smile. "Is it my turn to give you props for not killing Eli?"
"Sure. But can we go? I'm feeling really tired."
"Sure, Dee." He tak a closer look at me. "Do you feel sick?"
A little, yeah."No, I'm fine. Let's go."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd to the exit and we walked down the hallway to his car and jumped in.
"Liam, I need to tell you something."
Liam laughed. "Why do you sound like Amber when she tried to give me the 'talk'?"
"Liam I'm serious right now. Promise you won't get mad." I could tell he wanted to reference the Hulk but he swallowed it and nodded. "Thank you. So you know how my dad has been missing for the past eight years?"
Liam got quiet. "Yeah."
"Well, I've sort of been looking for him."
"How long?"
"About four years ago, I started noticing the rumors. I started asking around checking for any animalstic deaths nearby and spread my searches when I saw a pattern. I think I know where he is."
"Why do you care? He left you, he doesn't deserve you."
We're about two minutes from my house. I need to get him into my house where he can let his anger out on my furniture than on some innocent guy.
"Liam, he's my dad. He was there for twelve years of my life with my mom. Then she died. Not just died, but she was murdered. I'm surprised he's still alive."
"Look, I feel bad that she died, but you were still his kid. It was his responsibility to raise you." Liam says angrily.
I take a breath. I hate how he gets more upset about it than I do, when I was the one that had to live with my father's stupidity and deal with the mystery of why. "Yeah, I don't see your parents here for you right now. Nor the last 21 years of your life." I instantly regret my words when I register the pain in his face. He hides it well, but I know him better than I know myself. He was an orphan that had been living with his uncle for his whole life until Uncle Jeff died of a severe flu at the age of 187. We wolves get extended lifetimes. We live the double amount of years as humans which is odd because canines don't live typically as long as even humans. So Uncle Jeff lived a long life. It was still sad, cause Jeff helped raise me too, with giving me extra groceries and stuff. I didn't let him take me into his home which was on the other side of the island in Thylite territory. They are on the other side of the Rosalinds. But he was really a caring guy.
"I'm sorry Liam. I didn't mean--"
"But you said it." We pull up to my place but keep the engine running. I undo my seatbelt and open the door. I hesitate.
"Liam, I'm --"
"Yeah, see you later." I get out and he drives away so fast I can't even say bye.
Fine, if he wants to be a hypocrite and get mad about my barbs at his family, I'll let him. He obviously isn't going to miss me right now. I bet I could leave for a year, come back, and he still wouldn't be over it. I sigh when I get into my house and lean on my door. "Who are you kidding, West? He always comes back, he'll freak if he comes over tomorrow and doesn't see you. He'll probably kill a few Klomkers... which wouldn't be too bad, but he'd be executed. And you don't want that, do you?"
I walk over to my small kitchen and open the fridge. I pull out a coke and open it. "Well he wasn't the one with the crappy dad. His parents could have been amazing. But mine is a well-known jackass. He knows that that's a sensitive spot to me. Well he'll see when I'm gone and he thinks the reason why."
I groan and sit my coke down. "I need to call him."
I go into my room and jump onto my bed. I tear off my jacket and tenderly take off my heels, which hurt like a mother. Like my mother. Well, her shoes. I put the shoes into my drawer on the right and throw my jacket to the other side of the room. I grab my pajama tee which is under my pillows and throw it on after taking the dress off. I pick up all of the clothes and throw them into the hamper in my bathroom, then dig into the jeans I'd been wearing in the morning to find my little green flip-phone. I know it's a little vain, but I love the color green. I go through what few contacts I have: Kent the Thylite Weapons Dealer, Cherise the Alpha's secretary, Amber, Kai... and Liam.
I take a breath and call Kai. I cannot trust myself talkting to Liam, and honestly, he probably wouldn't answer.
"Hello?!" I hear Kai screaming over loud music and laughing.
"Hey, you're still at the party?"
"No. Amber took it home... With about eight guys." Kai does not sound pleased.
"I'm sorry.. For two things."
"Why? What?"
"Well, for Amber's libido.."
"Ugh, don't get me started. I blame our mom. She was way too in love with our dad. Just kidding."
"Oh-kay... Also I sorta pissed off Liam and now I need you to tell him I'm leaving."
"What did you do."
"Why do you assume it was me!? He kept talking crap about my dad and stuff!"
I hear a loud sigh. "And what did you say after that."
"I.. Um.. I sort of made a point about how neither of his parents were really there either."
"Wow, Lydia. I am shocked at you."
"I know... I hate myself and he hates me and... The world is crashing down on me!"
"Look, I'll tell him you're leaving but only after Amber's little friends leave. I don't want him to hear inappropro things happenin'. You need to talk to him later though. You were really hurtful."
I gasp in exhasperation.
"I know, he wasn't so innocent either, but he's not known for thinking before he speaks. You're the Thylite. In other words, you're more mature."
She has a point. The only reason Fendrils are charmers is because they need to be. They can't censor themselves. "Ok, you have a point. I'll talk to him tomorrow. After I'm gone."
Kai mumbles something. "Kai, I can't understand you."
"No, duh. It's called mumbling incoherently so someone knows that you don't agree with them."
"Is there an acronym for that?"
"Har har. Yeah it's called, see you later."
"Okay, love you girl."
"I love you too."
I hang up and set the phone down on my bed. I get up and go to the kitchen to finish my coke. I look at the backpack near the door. Inside lay about 500 bucks, two loaded guns and extra clips, a few fake IDs, three sets of extra clothes, a burn phone, and all of the clues I'd found about my dad. The bullets are silver.
I finished my coke and wandered around my house getting ready to leave it for awhile. Maybe forever.
"Yeah right. You'll be back soon, Lyd." I hope I will.
I wake up on my couch with a bunch of raw meat in my hands. I must have had cravings. I sleep eat raw meat when I'm anxious. I lift a peice of meat to my nose and sniff it. "Eight hour rule." I put it in my mouth and savored it. I love raw meat. As does every single wolf in Manhattan.
I get up and put the meat into the freezer where it belongs. I grab a few napkins and wipe my mouth, but I lick the remains of my hands. I can't resist. I walk into my room and put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. I put my hair up into a ponytail and brush my teeth. I put my phone in my pocket and grab my back pack. I open the door and see Eli standing there.
"Where are you going, West?"
I sigh. "Eli, get out of my way, I'm late."
Eli laughs. "I got direct orders to escort you through Klomker territory, I know you're leaving town. The question is why?"
Some she-wolf walks up and pushes Eli aside. "No.. I got the orders. I'm dropping you off at the border on the way to the ferry. Get your facts straight."
I look her over. She's pretty for a Klomker. Her dark skin contrasts sharply with her grey eyes and her frizzy hair is tied up and out of her face. She is wearing a zebra print black shirt, black jean shorts and a leather jacket. I look closer at her face and notice that she is wearing eyeliner and a faint layer of lipgloss. Was she trying to get into Eli's pants? Eww.... I shiver.
"Yeah, he's really gross. I wish I didn't have to have him here for safety. He'd probably run if you attacked. No offense." She says.
I wait for Eli to cuss her out but he just laughs and walks to the car.
"I'm Lana. Lana Grove. I'd say nice to meet you, but I hate Thylites." Lana says without holding out her hand.
"I'm Lydia. Lydia West. I'd say it's my pleasure, but it really isn't. No offense." I say bitterly.
She chuckles and turns away from me. "Maybe you're not so bad after all." I follow her to her car and sit in the back. She has an Impala, so it's kind of small. I've always been a fan, but since it smells of Klomker, it isn't so great.
I guess I'm just in a bad mood because of all the stuff going on. Okay, only three things are bothering me. But still, they'reall pretty important.
"You can try and read my lyrics off this paper before I lay 'em, but you can't take the sting outta my words before I say 'em." Lana slams her hand on the wheel. "I love this guy. He tells it like it is."
Eli groans. "How do you like rap?"
Lana smiles. "I'm black. Nah, I just like rap with ethics. None of that rap about making it rain is worth anything."
"And yet they are still famous." I mutter.
Lana looks back at me. "It doesn't make sense, right?"
Eli taps her arm gently. "Keep your eyes on the road, I don't want to die."
Why is Eli being so gentle with her? He's usually really vicious. I almost can imagine him as a person.
The car stops and when I look out there's actually a yellow house with a white picket fence. No way. Eli opens the door and gets out. He goes to Lana's side and kisses her through the window. "Be safe sweetheart. I'll be waiting."
"I love you, I'll be back as soon as I can. Dinner's in the freezer. Charlie needs to go every five hours from now. Bye my love." Lana looks back at me and gestures for me to go up front. I climb to the front and strap in. I look out Lana's window to see Eli glaring at me. I scowl at him as Lana blows a kiss to him. When he looks at her, his face softens and he smiles a little. My jaw drops. Is he human?!
We drive away and I'm left in shock. How can the Klomkers actually be empathetic?
"I know what you're thinking. It's written all over your face." Lana says interrupting my thoughts.
"I don't know what you mean." I don't want to start anything with these guys.
"You're surprised that our pack can actually have the picket fence life. The ferocity is just an act. A defense against the rest. We have less in numbers and since Elijah is third in line for Alphism and he's not too corrupt to help, the rest look up to him. He's sort of our leader. The Alpha is just a face. Truth is, the rest of the wolves are planning an impeachment. Eli's scared. He doesn't want the responsibility. Think about that the next time you fight with him in public." I look at my hands. Lana touches my shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, he doesn't hate you. He actually respects you. He also sees you as a threat."
"Yeah. You."
"How can I be the threat?"
"You're the best of your pack, you're witty and, to be honest, you're sexy." Lana chuckles. "You're practically me as a Thylite."
"Thanks, I guess."
"No problemo."
We drive in silence for awhile. The ferry port is over at the edge of the island. "So you and Eli?"
"One. And one on the way."
"Nice. Boy or girl?"
"Boy...His name is Charlie. He has a stutter in his heart that makes him turn out of his control."
Wow. I turn to her. "I am so sorry."
"Don't be. He's going to be fine. Kendra says it'll probably go away as he gets older."
That's good. It would be lethal not to have control over that. "Oh."
"Don't get all stiff with me, let's chat. Why are you leaving your pack?"
"I'm not leaving them. I'm looking for someone."
"An ex?"
"My dad."
"Ah. He abandoned you. You're looking for answers. Closure."
"Wow. Um...Yeah."
"Good luck. You can add my number to your phone, I'll be willing to help."
"Thanks." I meant it. She's really amazing.
"No problem."
I laugh a little. "You know I have a brand new perspective on you people."
"You like playing the race card, don't you?"
"I use what I have for amusement."
"You are kind of cool I guess."
"Thanks, I think." Lana tries to sneak a glance at me but I notice. "So, you and Harris, huh? Now Harris he does hate."
"His name is Liam, and there's nothing going on between us."
"So that's a yes."
"It's a no."
"You have a thing for him."
"Yes again." She looks so smug and amused.
"Fine. I care about him. So what? It's not like anything is gonna come out of it."
She laughs. "Right. I heard that one. Then Thylite and Fendril wolves began to chat. And neck. And fornicate."
"Dirty language!"
Lana laughs even harder. "Look, I won't tell if you make a move. I believe in true love, and you seem to really care about him. Just if you need any help call me."
"No really, I support you. It's cool that you can even keep up the charade."
I looked out the window. This was the first time I admitted my feelings for Liam. Even to myself. And I just let myself leave without even telling him goodbye.
Chapter 4
I'm on my bed still waiting to go to sleep even though it's already eleven in the morning.
I feel terrible. I gave so much crap to Lydia and then got all bitchy when I got what I deserved. Now she probably hates me. I will never have a chance with her.
I pick up my phone and look at all the calls I canceled halfway to her. I just keep seeing the pain and anger in her emerald eyes. I caused that. How could I do that to her?
My phone shocks me and for a split second, I hope it's her. Then I look at the caller ID and realize Kai, her best friend was calling me. I only have her number for when Dee misplaces her phone and needs a ride.
I click the green button and bring the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Hi Liam! It's Kai Jonson. I'm Lydia's friend." says a cheery well-rested voice.
"Yes, we're familiar." I say taking a swig of the beer on my end table.
"So, Lydia is really, really sorry." She's sorry? "And I'd fill your car up with gas and chase her because she's probably at New York City now."
I shoot up in my bed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that she was trying to tell you she was leaving for California today." Crap. "I am sorry, Liam. She was really torn up about it, I bet you were upset too."
"I have to go." I'm already pulling a clean shirt over my head. "Thank you, Kai."
"Just let her know how you feel about her."
"What?" Did she know?
"You know." I hear a click and she's gone.
I grab my keys and rush out the door. I jump into my car and drive over to the border. I meet Kendall and her cousin Louis on patrol. Kendall waves me down and I give my best nonchalant smile. "Kendall, sweetheart. Can I by any chance zoom through your territory so I can get to the ferry. I''m taking a small trip."
Kendall smiles. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing that could get me in that much trouble."
"What? No." How did she know I was after her?
"If not her, then where are you going?" Kendall, that smug little girl. No think of something Liam.
"Remember Jeffrey Harris? Yeah, turns out he has some relatives out of town that don't know he's dead so I thought I'd go give my condolences. You know, pay my respect." Great. I just lied about the one guy that actually gave two shits about me besides Lydia.
"Okay. Let me just flag Louis down so he can follow you with his car." Kendall turns to her cousin and points to me. She charades a steering wheel then turns back to me. "I am sorry about your uncle. He was a good wolf."
"You don't need to tell me. He practically raised me."
I rev my engine and leave her where she stands, and watch my rearview mirror to make sure I don't lose Louis. If I lose him, I am an invader. I can be killed.
I drive across their territory making sure that I kept Louis close behind me. It took the both of us twenty mintues to get to the no man's land between the Rosalinds and the Thylites.
I pull over and take the keys out of my precious car. Who knows how long she'll be left alone for?
Lydia always mocks me about my attachment to my car, but this vehicle has been faithful to me for twelve years, so it doesn't matter what Lydia thinks. Okay, it might be odd that I named my car, but it's not like I consider her a human. "Stay safe, Sasha. Don't get robbed."
I look around the street as I shove my keys in my pocket. I hop out of the car and it's then I notice the twins across the street. One of them has long black hair, and the other has red hair in a pony tail. The black haired one is wearing a pair of black, ripped skinny jeans and a ripped black tee with the words "BLACK STAR" written across it with glitter. The redhead is wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a yellow sweater. She looks anxious, pacing back and forth in front of the seemingly uncaring texter.
I turn and wave Louis off. I walk over to the girls hoping I could figure out which one was who. I would assume the redhead is Kai and the other is Amebr, but what do I know? Lydia is the one that actually speaks to them on a regular basis. I don't actually have that many friends. I might be a people person, but I don't exactly like most people. And no one but Lydia seems to be able to spend large amounts of time with me. Even Lydia gets tired of me, as I witnessed last night.
As I get closer, the black haired girl catches my scent and shoves her phone into her pocket. She stalks toward me with a small smile on her face.
"Hey Liiiiiiiiii-am!" She twists her hair around her finger. "How you been?"
"Amber back off. He's untouchable and you know it." So the black haired girl is Amber.
"Hey Kai. So what's the plan?"
Kai tossed me a black hoodie and a backpack from her car. "We're all going after her. Incognito."
"Why incognito? Why not just find her and drag her lying ass back here where she's safe?"
"Gawd, you are such a control freak." Amber grabs a hoodie from Kai and zips it on. "Obviously we all want her to get closure about her mom, and we can't be getting in the way of that cause she'll just get sneakier. Kai and I already knew she was going, so we've been getting ready. We've been getting money and have got up to about eight thousand dollars."
"I cashed in a few favors. I also got us some guns for safety and installed a GPS into Lydia's phone."
Amber excitedly holds up a few passports and IDs. "And I finally got to use my expertise in forgery and made us a few fake IDs! We can do ANYTHING!!!"
Kai rubs her brow. "Amber. Did you by any chance have coffee this morning?"
I put the hoodie on and slip the backpack over my shoulder. "So we're not gonna drag her back home?"
"No, we're going to follow her and make sure she's safe. Like I said, we've known for awhile. We made sure Lydia could contact us no matter what. We want to make sure that if she does get in trouble and needs our help, we won't be too late."
"Where do I come in in all of this?"
"We're thinking that you deserve to know where she's been, since you guys are so close. And we could use the extra company." Kai says.
"So we are going to follow her agisnt her will and invade her privacy so that we can make sure she's safe?" Kai and Amber nod sheepishly. I pull the hoodie over my head and put on the sunglasses that were in the pocket. "Let's do this."
"Woo!" Amber whoops and slips on her jacket.
"By the way, I bet you got this by now, but we are never to give anyone our true identity. Also, we have to sneak through Klomker territory without a guide and that'll be dangerous. So be careful." She tosses her carkeys to Amber and hops into the car. "Get in the back and duck. Be ready to invade and evade."
I nod and jump into the back. I grab the towel that is on the seat and throw it over myself. Then it occurs to me. "Hey, why exactly am I hiding?"
"Amber got us on probation. We are on house arrest because she decided to get drunk at the reception last night and sleep with the Alpha's brother's nephew. The Alpha isn't mad but the nephew sure was mad when she said she wasn't looking for a relationship."
"Hey, I told him I liked to be an independent literally two seconds before he started pouring drinks into me. It was ALL him." The car jerked and my head slammed into the side of the car.
"Not really ok, but whatever."
A few minutes pass before Amber hisses. "It's Jared!"
Jared Lysander. He is the biggest suck-up ever. Constantly trying to snag spots for rep. and ratting out the smallest infraction so that the Alphas, all of them, would think him a born leader with an eye for perfection. To be fair, he was pretty nice as long as you weren't a threat to him. Unfortunately we would be.
Kai puts a smile on and pulls a pint of icecream out of the glove compartment. "Liam, keep quiet and keep covered."
"Hello misses, why exactly are you out of your house? Not causing trouble are you?" Jared asks with a tight smile. He wants to send everyone straight to the principal and get his gold star.
"No way, we just needed some icecream to complete our George Lopez marathon. Can't wait." says Kai unenthusiastically.
"You don't sound so enthused. I'm doubting some of these facts you're spewing." Jared say deepening his voice to sound full of authority.
"Nah, she has never seen it so she doesn't know what fun she's in for." Amber squeals.
"Yeah. Ok, I'll leave you girls alone. Have fun. Don't get out again, I'd hate for some other wolf to see you and report you." Otherwise, only one pass a wolf.
I hear a car speed away so I pull my little invisibility cloak off of me. The car jerks forward without warning and I hit my head against the side of the car. "Ow! God dammit! Little warning, could you please?"
"Oh, you mean give you one? Well maybe you shouldn't have gotten all pissy with Lyd." Amber says icily.
"She's PMSing, pay no attention. Lydia is also on the chopping block for this." Kai reassures me. Or at least tries to.
How could I be so ignorant? I swear I always have to get pissy like a teenage girl about shoes. I guess it just kills me to know that Lydia's dad is still alive and doesn't seem to give two shits about her. At least my parents have the excuse of being dead. I wouldn't be surprised if Lydia realized the same thing and has been freaking about it. "That's why she's after him!"
"Um... We're not in your head, bro. What are you nerdgasming about?" Amber asks.
"Nerdgasming?" What the hell is that?
"Nerdgasm, noun. Three words mixed together: nerd, orgasm and spasm." Kai looks back at me and smirks. "The language is gibberish."
"Ok, well now that we have decided that my creativity is invalid, what were you epiphanizing?"
"Again, not a word, and I just realized the reason Buffy and Spike became a thing. I for one, always thought he was douche."
Amber snorts. "Great. Our weapon is distracted contemplating a TV show that's been canceled forever."
We drive in silence for awhile until the car stops at what I assume is the ferry dock. I pull my hood closer around my black hair. I stumble out of the car and our trio walks to the ticket booth. Behind the couter is a young nineteen year old girl with pink hair and about a million piercings. She rolls her eyes to me.
"What do you want, kid?" She says monotone.
"We need a few tickets." I say pulling out a 20 from my wallet. "But we're a little short on cash.
"Yeah, no." She says holding out her hand for more cash.
I pull my glasses down a bit to let my eyes peek over. I hate using girls this way, but I want to make sure that we have enough money for the journey ahead of us.
"Please? I promise I'll make it up to you. How about a dinner when I get back?
"Again, no. I don't even swing that way, bud."
Kai taps my shoulder. "Gimme a chance." She walks up to the girl at the register and sticks out her butt. She whispers seductively into her ear and gives her a pouty look.
"Woah. I never knew she had the potential to be, well, me." Amber says in surprise.
"Ditto." I reply. I can't help but appreciate Kai's moves. When she pulls back a piece of the pink haired girl's hair, and giggled, I almost dropped my jaw.
Th pink punk chick is totally buying into it. She smiles, stops herself and points at me. Kai turns and look at us for a second then turns back to the girl. She leans forward and says something to girl before lightly kissing the girl's cheek, close to her mouth.
Kai turns ad goes behind the counter with the girl. They look at the computer for a bit until something is printed out. Kai smiles at us and waves the tickets discreetly. She starts to walk to us the turns around, grabs the girl's head and kisses her. Then she whips around, leaving the girl dazed and walks to Amber and I with her chin up and her hand on her hip. "What are you guys staring at? These FREE tickets? Or maybe the sexiest lesbian you'll never get?"
I laugh. "Ok, enjoy your moment. You were pretty impressive but we need to get going. Who knows how far Lydia has gotten? And we've barely made any progress."
"You're just jealous because a chickrejected you for me." Kai laughs. She then becomes somber. "But you're right. Let's get going."
I look at the ferry and clench my fist. "Where ever you are, I will find you and bring you back to me, Dee."
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Deflowered by the Billionaire
Novel By: Nellh
What can a girl do when she’s desperate to loose her virginity? How does she get to indulge in wild, rampant sex when no one in her circle of men friends is suitable? Who can she get to satisfy that deep hungry need? Sophie’s been told about a club, a club where a girl can go and choose a man or men and have all the sex she craves – any type of sex. No names, no questions and no guilt; it sounded just perfect. View table of contents...
Submitted:Apr 24, 2013 Reads: 2,524 Comments: 12 Likes: 13
Chapter 1
A statuesque blonde wearing a dress so tight every inch of her curvaceous figure was straining for its freedom opened the door. She smiled invitingly at the redhead who'd rung the bell, and with a 'come hither' wiggle of her index finger gestured her to enter.
"Welcome to Club Viveur," she smiled invitingly. "You are Sophie I take it? She asked holding out her hand.
Sophie smiled at the woman and entered the dimly lit hallway. So far so good - the welcome was encouraging. Coming here tonight had taken a great deal of courage so hopefully she wouldn't be disappointed. Nonetheless she was still dubious about whether or not she was doing the right thing. A sex club, Sophie, were the words rattling through her head - whatever are you doing?
"There's no need to be shy," the blonde said noting the nervous shake as she took hold of Sophie's small hand and held it in her own. "First time at the club or not you mustn't worry. We're all here tonight for the same reasons," she winked, fluttering her long black lashes and smiling again. This time the smile was wider and she licked her luscious red lips in a predatory fashion as she eyed the younger woman up and down. "We all want you to enjoy your time with us," she insisted. "You're here because you're seeking pleasure," she noted coyly. "Pleasure of a certain kind, isn't that right Sophie?" She added stroking the girl's arm. "That wicked, wanton pleasure that your anonymity here can give you. So embrace it - welcome the opportunity and make the most of your time at Club Viveur."
Sophie felt the butterflies assert themselves as she looked past the woman at the crowded room ahead. What was she getting in to? What had possessed her to imagine she could do this? She'd come here tonight - to a BDSM club to find a man who'd fuck her. But now - faced with the reality of going through with it Sophie wasn't sure she could.
All she really wanted was to feel normal - to feel like every other woman she knew. They'd had no problems. All of them with the exception of her had had sex by the time they were sixteen. So what had gone wrong? Why at the age of twenty two was she still a virgin? But given how she felt now if she did meet a suitable man would she actually have the nerve to submit to a complete stranger?
"You're quite lovely," the blonde complimented moving her hand to Sophie's hair and running her fingers through the girl's long, titian locks. But what really got her attention were Sophie's large breasts. For a girl with such a small frame they were fantastic. They jutted forwards and tilted slightly skywards with prominent hard tips that stuck out through the flimsy bodice of her dress. They must be supported somehow, the blonde reasoned, so she must have cheated.
"You have followed our dress code?" She frowned. "I did explain when we spoke over the 'phone that it's important you follow my instructions to the letter," she added now running those fingers boldly over Sophie's breasts feeling for the telltale signs of a bra. "Because if you haven't you will have already broken a very important rule," she paused, her red lips pouting and wondering if she should tell her. Yes, she needed to know - it was only fair, and anyway a little fear only added to the fun. "Broken rules mean punishment and despite this being your first time with us, no allowance would be given."
Sophie nodded her head, thankful that she'd followed instructions to the letter.
"I did exactly as you said," she confirmed. "I'm wearing the dress and the shoes but no underwear, none at all," she confirmed and stuttered slightly with discomfort as the blonde's hand kneaded at her breasts.
"Sorry I doubted you," the blonde allowed as she felt the sensuous swell of naked breasts under the dress. "But with tits like yours you can understand why I might."
Then she cast her lascivious gaze down the long, shapely legs below the short flared skirt. Smiling again the blonde dipped down slightly and slipped a hand up Sophie's thigh and felt between her legs, the girl was telling the truth, no panties.
"Part your legs wider for me," she instructed.
Sophie was embarrassed and blushing. They were standing in a hallway and the main room, only metres away, was full of strangers and anyone of them could be watching this little interlude. But she was too nervous to refuse so she obeyed without question and winced as she felt the blonde's hand stroke over her smooth pussy mound then curious fingers slide down her slit.
"Sweet, I like a pampered pussy and so do our gentlemen," she cooed.
Her fingers lingered on Sophie's plump labia before slowly and deliberately parting them. Her eyes narrowed and her breathing slowed as she slipped a long, elegant finger deep into the girl's already moistening cunt.
Sophie had never been touched so intimately by a woman before, or even by a man for that matter, which was the whole point of tonight. But this felt so weird and she'd no idea what the correct reaction was. This was a sex club - a sex club where most members were into BDSM. Same sex liaisons and liaisons involving more that two people were bound to be the norm. So Sophie took a deep breath and tried not to think about the finger that was so eagerly exploring her most intimate place.
"You're very tight, Sophie," the blonde noted, pleasantly surprised at the way the girls narrow passage gripped around her finger. "A rarity, believe me and a surprising one in such a lovely young woman," she allowed. "The gentleman who gets to fuck you tonight is in for a real treat," she complimented.
Then she slowly pulled her sticky finger free and put it straight into her mouth and sucked slowly. "I just love the taste of sex, don't you?" Her large eyes twinkled and taking Sophie's hand again she led her into the house.
"Anything is allowed here." She explained as they went. "And I mean anything, straightforward sex, boy on girl, group sex, same sex couples or groups. Or perhaps you fancy something a little darker," she suggested, her eyes suddenly sharp and hard looking. "Most of our members do. Most of the men we have here are wonderful Dominants. And we have the perfect Master who will tame you beautifully if you want him too. In fact, break any of our rules and a session with Master Gregor is mandatory." She pulled a face. "He is an expert at giving a girl a hard time; his favourite pastime is whipping pussy. Hurts like Hell but it doesn't half bring on the best orgasms.
Sophie was horrified but fascinated both at the same time. She'd done her homework and read about this stuff. Erotic stories - books about sexual torment and domination were her normal bedtime reading these days. Sophie wasn't sure exactly what she wanted from tonight - to get laid, that had to be her starting point. But did she really want to be bound naked to a bench and used by strangers? It was odd but the idea of being tormented in this way sent a shot of tingly pleasure down her lower body. Was that normal? She'd no idea but perhaps under the right circumstances…
However, for safety's sake she decided there and then she'd take exactly what she wanted from this evening and then there was every possibility that she'd never come back. The temptations here were just too great and goodness knows where it might lead her.
The blonde continued with her introduction to the club and pointed to various rooms that led off the main large, square, central hallway. "These rooms hold a feast of delights and during your time as a member, Sophie, I hope you will try them all." She patted the girl's shoulder. "As I said, don't be shy. Take the experience and enjoy everything, you won't regret it."
Sophie smiled weakly, but she knew already there was no way she'd do that - she might fantasize and be intensely curious by what was on offer but she was too much of a coward. She only wanted this one night, just the one. She wanted to find a man who'd fuck her, no questions, no complicated relationship - just plain, unforgettable sex with a stranger.
Sophie was so desperate to be rid of her virginal status she was prepared to try anything. And when she'd been told about this club, it had seemed so perfect and so wonderfully anonymous. And at twenty two Sophie was almost frantic that she'd never loose her cherry to anyone, particularly as she didn't fancy any of the men in her usual circle of friends. So hopefully among this room full of strangers she'd spot the right man.
"I don't want to experiment," she told the blonde simply. "I like men," she added, "but only one at a time, please."
"Well I think that's a shame." The blonde admitted sadly. "I'll admit - I'd really like to have a crack at you myself," she added rubbing the girl's buttocks and her eyes on Sophie's breasts again. "You could have me all to yourself tonight. Believe me I'm good. Imagine laying on your back, naked, your legs held wide apart. Imagine my tongue in your pussy, my fingers working hard on your clit and then me fucking you senseless with huge a dildo."
Seeing the look of disgust that crossed Sophie's face the blonde laughed and pointed to room straight ahead. "All right, I get the message. Come with me - I'll introduce you to one or people," she said taking her hand and leading her in. "Remember though, we don't allow complaints. Once you spot someone you like and he's willing he's allowed to sample before he dives into bed with you. And unfair as it may seem to you he's allowed to sample in any way he wishes," she reminded the girl with another predatory lick of her red lips. "And remember what I said about our male members being Doms - so it's his choice, not yours."
The blonde threw back her head and laughed loudly then took hold of Sophie's chin gently between finger and thumb lifting it closer to her own face. "You won't be hurt, just wonderfully pleasured, so enjoy it all and loose all those inhibitions I sense you are carrying around."
The blonde led her into a large sumptuously furnished room and halting at the door allowed her to sweep the room with her large blue eyes.
"See anyone you like the look of," she smirked.
Sophie looked in, it was crowded with couples and groups all chatting and laughing. Was she brave enough for this? Sophie just wanted to turn tail and run. What had she got herself into? Was she mad? No, she reassured herself, she was just desperate and despite being a lovely young woman she didn't have the confidence to start a relationship in the normal way. So this was her big chance to get laid and she mustn't blow it.
And anyway it just looked like every other drinks party she'd ever attended, not that scary then, she tried to convince herself. She scanned the room looking for a small group she could join and spotted one made up of three handsome looking men and immediately panicked. Dare she join them? Did she have the confidence to boldly walk across and take one aside?
Reminding herself just how much membership of this club was costing her, Sophie took a glass of champagne from a waiter's tray and pointed them out to the blonde who nodded with approval. They were all tall and wearing expensive clothes. One immediately caught her eye as he stood out from the others. He was taller with lightish hair and a well toned physique. Something about the way he stood, laughed and interacted with his friends attracted her. She nursed her drink and watched him for several minutes more but then became suddenly embarrassed as one of his friends nudged him and pointed her way
"They've noticed you," the blonde smiled. "Come on then I'll get you started," she added pulling her forward.
They'd seen her staring, she thought horrified watching them pointing at her and smiling. If the blonde didn't have such a firm hold on her hand Sophie might well have run for it but she couldn't so she'd just have to brazen it out. She sighed - it would be a shame to miss this chance.
If she was really going to do this then it had to be one of these three. A very quick decision but a good one, she decided, and confident or not, she would have to make the first move. For a female who'd come here alone that was the rule.
Sophie helped herself to another glass of champagne from a waiter's tray, took a big swallow for confidence and untangling herself from the blonde sidled up to the group and bravely stood beside the fair haired man.
"Hello," she opened simply. "Are you with anyone yet?"
He turned, winked at his friends then grinned down at her. He had an open, handsome face with big clear eyes that were now raking her up and down. What he saw pleased him. She was a beauty with a superb curvy figure, huge breasts and unusual red hair and porcelain skin.
"Well, not yet," he answered with a backward glance at his friends who knew full well she'd approached him for sex. "Why, are you interested in getting together?" He asked, placing an arm around her waist. "Please me and you could be my lucky girl for tonight," he added with an arrogant smile. "But I must warn you, I have high standards. But if you're willing to be the submissive little slut I'm looking for then we can give things a try."
"Enough! And Alec - try to curb the dirty talk if you don't mind," a deep voice rang out. "This young woman is new so give her the courtesy of politeness at least," the stranger who'd now joined them added.
"I'm sorry Miss," he intoned looking down at Sophie. "My friends here can get a little over excited when they're picked out," he smiled. "Perhaps for your first time with us you would do better to choose someone with a little more experience - someone with a modicum of finesse."
Sophie stared up at him and blinked - he'd appeared from nowhere and he was just so gorgeous, so utterly perfect. He took her arm and led her away and she swayed at his side. He was tall with dark hair and the sexiest smouldering chocolate eyes. She shivered - was he considering having sex with her himself? That would be just too delicious, she thought feeling the sizzle of excitement shoot down her spine.
"You're right this is my first time here," she admitted. "So I'm grateful for any help I can get," she told him. "I really don't want to fall foul of the strict rules - so thanks for the help."
He laughed and leaned her up against the wall. "This isn't help, babe - this is nothing more than pure selfishness," he smiled. "You see I go for all the newbies - I enjoy destroying their innocence and forcing them to see what this place is really all about."
"I don't understand - I know what this place is about. Having sex with no guilt," she whispered. "Getting laid anonymously with no regrets afterwards."
He laughed again and shook his head. "I'm afraid it's about a little more than that, babe. You see the members here - the male members," he qualified. "Are leaning more and more towards the kinkier side of sex and they expect the women that join to be equally as keen," he shrugged. "So - ask yourself, did you come here to get laid or to get tied to a leather bench and fucked in every hole by numerous men after being lashed until your sweet ass is the colour of beetroot?"
Sophie flushed and to think he'd criticised the other's language. She freed her arm from his grasp with a sharp tug. "I know what goes on here - that blonde woman told me," she explained. "But I also know that I can simply opt for something more traditional," she noted firmly. "That is if we both agree."
"Stella's full of crap and you really only have to take a walk down that corridor - listen to the screams, look at what's going on behind the closed doors to see the truth. Women are forced - coerced into sexual acts and they can't do a thing about it." He shrugged and watched her face flush a shade deeper. "I'll admit to being every bit as bad. I use the women that come here - use them terribly at times for my own pleasure. But they don't complain so I continue to have my fun."
Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea after all. Yes Sophie was here for sex - but did that have to include the darker element? "I think that's awful - so unfair and I think perhaps you should leave me alone."
"So you can go back to him," he said nodding at the fair haired man. "Because go back to him and all three of them will take you. Want to be the subject of a gangbang do you?" He asked wryly.
Sophie was horrified and looked up into his face. He wasn't pulling any punches she could see from his expression that he meant it.
"Men are dominant here and the women submit," he told her simply. "And they must be willing to submit to anything we require of them - within reason doesn't come into it," he qualified. He smiled and took her arm. "Unfair I know but we men get all the perks and we get to make the final choice, and before we make our minds up we also get to sample the goods," he squeezed her hand. "If you are still up for this then we should get started - what do you say?"
"And the other stuff - do I have to agree to that too?"
"We'll see how we get on," he replied giving her a small smile. His mind suddenly filled with images of that glorious body naked and spread eagled for his delight. She was a treat too good to miss out on.
"Okay then," Sophie nodded and felt a blaze of need streak through her core. "But if I want you to stop then you must - can you agree to that?"
"I'll take what I want - agree or leave. But if you agree then - yes - I could go easy on you, this being your first time with us."
The idea of having a man touch her - particularly this wonderful specimen only doubled the electric need permeating her lower body and it ended its delightful little dance by tingling through her pussy. She gasped - she really wanted this, she wanted to feel a man's hands on her body, to feel male fingers inside her doing what the blonde had just done. But most of all she wanted to feel a man's cock penetrate her at long last.
"If I like what I sample then I'll fuck you," he shrugged. "But my way - not yours. That's the deal, do you agree?" He asked gently getting straight to the point. "And that means that I'll restrain you while I have my fun," he admitted sending more shots of dark delight down Sophie's spine. "Do have a problem with that?"
Sophie shook her lovely head and looked at him. He was gorgeous, tall and dark with handsome chiselled features. He could do anything she was so desperate - even the BDSM stuff she'd read about.
"Good. Put both your arms behind your back and open your legs," he ordered. "I want you to understand how it will be. If I decide to take you I won't be rough but I will do things my way and the sex will be thorough, okay?"
What - she wondered - did he mean by thorough. And - of course - he'd yet to make his mind up. Choosey as well as gorgeous and Sophie began to worry that he wouldn't like her. What would he do to her by way of 'sampling'? And what if he was disappointed with her body? But what mattered to her most, what after sampling he didn't want to fuck her after all?
"And I also like to sample my way," he explained with a wry smile. "Yes I know what you're thinking - is there anything that you get to have a say in," he smirked. "Well the short answer is no - you don't. The males rule here and we get to do what we want. The females just have to go along with it."
Well she'd known that and that was part of the attraction. Reading about this place - hearing more about the one sided rules was doing nothing to put her off. She was confused - this was all so new but Sophie didn't want the experience to stop any time soon.
"I don't just go for a quick fumble up your skirt either. I like to feel and to probe carefully." He paused watching her face flush again with embarrassment. "If you don't want this then you just leave and don't come back. No one's making you have sex, it's entirely your choice."
But before she could say or do anything about her feelings he'd already snaked a hand up her short skirt and was fondling between her legs with strong masculine hands.
"Nice thighs, soft and smooth, I like that," he complimented, next feathering his fingers delicately over the mound of her pussy. "Smooth pussy too - more of what I like," he soothed in her ear. "So what do you think? Do you want me to go on?"
Sophie was knocked off guard by this sudden move and his directness to reply. But his hand felt good - not at all threatening and she instinctively moved her foot so her legs were wider apart for him. He quickly took this as her agreement and ran a finger hard down her moist slit.
"In that case I will," he whispered sexily in her ear. "Do you like what I'm doing?" He nuzzled in her ear as his thumb massaged around her clit. "You're wet - so my friend was right - you are a little slut after all," he teased parting her folds.
She let out a gasp. This was incredible. Sophie was well aware what having her clit rubbed felt like; she'd done it to herself often. But never had the sensations felt like this, and the anticipation of where his wonderful masculine fingers would go next excited her even more. She'd been right to come here - she knew that now. But good as this was it was just so very public and she was intensely aware that they were in a crowded room and virtually on show to anyone who cared to look. Plus she wasn't sure she could control her reactions. His touch had instantly set her pussy alight with such a hot urgent need that was so different from anything she'd felt before. She had to use the wall for support as her legs had gone wobbly. His fingers rubbed inside her slit between her folds - one found her vaginal entrance and another, her anus. Sophie wasn't prepared for that and uttered a low squeal and tried to wriggle away.
"Like I said - thorough, and my way or nothing. I take it all or we forget it, babe," he looked down at her. "I go in deep and wherever I choose to."
So that's how it would be. Seconds later Sophie felt his fingers push into her wet passage while another rubbed hard against her rear entrance. She closed her eyes - this wasn't what she'd expected and she was a little scared.
"You don't have much experience, do you?" He noted. "But you're responses are good. I love how wet you are and the way your clit hardened under my finger and I'll admit your inexperience makes me horny."
He watched her lower her eyes and grinned. "Does what I do make you horny too, babe?" He asked lifting her face and looking into her big blue eyes. "Does the idea of me taking your pussy and then your ass make the slut in you hungry for more?"
Sophie closed her eyes against his scrutiny, parted her lips and moaned her reply. The image of this sexy, gorgeous man touching her and fucking her made her senses swim and, at last, she felt her sex juices start to run fast.
"You need an expert's hand to show you what you've been missing," he told her arrogantly, and as if to prove the point he pushed the finger he'd been pleasuring her so deliciously with back into her tight, wet cunt and began to rhythmically fuck her with it.
He watched her squirm and felt her vaginal walls tense up. She needed to relax, enjoy it and stop being so embarrassed. "No one's watching us," he confirmed. "So chill and enjoy what I'm doing. It's what you came here for, isn't it?"
He continued to work her cunt until he felt her wetness increase then he withdrew gently and inserted two fingers. She squirmed again as he splayed them wide inside her, making the feeling of fullness in her vagina much more acute.
"Ooh", she squealed breathlessly, wriggling her buttocks against the wall and bobbing down to meet his fingers as they thrust into her. "That's lovely but go careful please don't hurt," she moaned moving her arms and gripping his shoulders.
"Put your arms back like I told you," he growled. "It won't hurt if you relax. You're getting wetter, your body is responding so let go and enjoy," he advised gently.
Sophie closed her eyes and did as he asked while he worked his fingers faster and faster inside her. And he was right; gradually the pain eased and was replaced by a growing, burning pleasure deep inside her cunt. She gasped for more and gyrated her hips on his stiff fingers meeting his thrusts eagerly, and this time there was no pain.
This wanton, decadent behaviour was so out of character. She'd never imagined she'd be able to allow a strange man to do such intimate things to her in such a public place. But now she was enjoying it and she just didn't care. No one here knew her, so why should she? What he was doing and her reaction to it was expected and wouldn't even cause a raised eyebrow.
I think we should go somewhere more private now. This might be OK for sampling but I can't fuck you in full view of all these folk, can I?" He grinned. "You really are something once you let go," he complimented.
Then smiling his appreciation he gently withdrew his fingers from her pussy.
"My guess is you don't have a lot of experience, but a load of potential. So if you're willing I'll teach you a thing or two"
Sophie closed her eyes and nodded. The most wonderful sensations were still teasing the entire area between her legs. Her pussy was aflame with need and literally ached for more of him. She could feel her pussy hole drooling sex juice down her inner thigh and knew she'd made the right choice. She really wanted this, needed to have a man inside her and in every possible way. When she done as he'd asked and relaxed, the feel of his fingers working deep inside her cunt had been bliss and she couldn't let this opportunity pass, she had to have this man, tonight.
She smiled back at him coquettishly. "I'd love that," she breathed huskily, in a voice heavy with sexual need as he examined his hand.
"Yes, I think you will," he agreed. "But for now you can lick these clean," he told her holding his fingers out to her.
At first Sophie was horrified, knowing where they'd just been and they smelled of her musky arousal. But then she recalled the blonde and what she'd done, so she knew she just had to do this so she opened her mouth and licked at his fingers tasting her own cum for the first time.
"Good, isn't it," he told her. "And if you still want me to fuck you then that's just the start," he told her squeezing her hand.
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3-D Musical Hamlet Movie For Teens in the Works
Emile Hirsch and one-time Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke aren't the only ones planning another big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet — there's also one in the works that will target the High School Musical audience. A 3-D musical movie version of Hamlet is coming our way, apparently "the first of six adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, based on musical versions created by UK theater company Shakespeare 4 Kidz." The other films in the series include Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest.
Today's article in Variety asserts that "Hamlet lends itself to a 3-D treatment. The producers hope to include a ghost that hovers in front of the aud's eyes, cannon fire that flies into the auditorium, and a sword fight that appears to happen all around viewers." But I think if I were younger, this is the part I would find particularly intriguing: the production company behind these musical 3-D movies will also shoot a TV show called Movie Quest — A Romeo 4 Juliet, "a public search to find two undiscovered young actors to play the lead parts of Romeo and Juliet." This should be interesting, at the very least.
Source and Getty
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"Natural claustrophobia self treatment to provide relief from stress and anxiety. Aids in claustrophobic episodes (elevators, MRIs, commuting, airline travel, trains, crowds and other situations which cause a feeling of being closed in) providing a discrete natural remedy to overcome feelings of fear and anxiety."
How do we smell (part 1 of 2)
Posted: March 29th, 2011 | Author: Shawn_Bee | Filed under: Claustrophobia | Tags: , , | No Comments »
This is not to suggest that we need to find new deodorant or aftershave… but I want to share some science with you regarding how we scientifically smell and process odor signals.
We consider smell to be a very direct sense. Molecules which trigger the sense of smell must reach your nose. Touch on the other hand can occur at your hand or the back of your leg. As molecules trigger receptors in the nose which signals the brain to process and differentiate smell. Therefore, everything you smell gives off molecules–whether it is Cinnabons®, vinegar, perfume or garbage. Those molecules are described as light and “volatile” (easy to evaporate) chemicals that float through the air and into your nose. For instance, bread emits a smell as it can easily change structure, becoming harder with toasting, softer with moisture, etc. It is considered composed of “volatile” molecules. On the other hand, a steel rod has no smell because nothing evaporates from it — steel is a non-volatile solid.
From Molecular Biology of the Cell:
Humans can distinguish more than 10,000 different smells (odorants), which are detected by specialized olfactory receptor neurons lining the nose…. It is thought that there are hundreds of different olfactory receptors, each encoded by a different gene and each recognizing different odorants.
Each of the hundreds of receptors are encoded by a specific gene. If your DNA is missing a gene, or if the gene is damaged, it can cause you to be unable to detect a certain smell.
When you smell many fruits or flowers, what you smell are esters evaporating from the fruit or flower. Esters are organic molecules. For example, the ester that gives a banana its smell is called isoamyl acetate, and the formula for it is CH3COOC5H11. We can now make artificial esters, which is how artificial flavors evolved.
Although calmspace™ is all natural, it seemingly is the esters associated with vanilla and lavender which we smell. We still need to understand how smell associates with behavior. I will look into it and report back soon.
Until next time…
Dr. B.
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College of American Pathologists
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CAP Home > CAP Members > 2007 CAP Meritorious Service Award Recipients > Award Description and Past Recipients – CAP Lifetime Achievement Award
Award Description and Past Recipients
Updated November 28, 2011
CAP Lifetime Achievement Award
This award was established in 2006 to recognize and honor members of the College who have made a broad and positive impact on the pathology profession through contributions to one or more areas(s) of the College over an extended period of time, but who have not received a CAP award. It may be presented as often as appropriate and to more than one member in a particular year.
Award RecipientYear
David J. Blomberg, MD, FCAP2011
William J. Castellani, MD, FCAP2011
Diane D. Davey, MD, FCAP2011
Paul S. Fekete, MD, FCAP 2011
Gerald R. Hanson, MD, FCAP2011
Henry A. Homburger, MD, FCAP2011
Alvin M. Ring, MD, FCAP2011
Susan M. Strate, MD, FCAP2011
Ronald L. Weiss, MD, MBA, FCAP2011
Washington C. Winn, Jr., MD, FCAP2011
James Leo Connolly, MD, FCAP2010
Wayne W. Grody, MD, PhD, FCAP2010
John D. Milam, MD, FCAP2010
Richard A. Savage, MD, FCAP2010
Mary R. Schwartz, MD, FCAP2010
Margaret S. Skinner, MD, FCAP2010
David C. Wilbur, MD, FCAP2010
David L. Witte, MD, PhD, FCAP2010
Kathleen G. Beavis, MD, FCAP2009
John H. Eckfeldt, MD, PhD, FCAP2009
Seth L. Haber, MD, FCAP2009
Grover M. Hutchins, MD, FCAP2009
Dina R. Mody, MD, FCAP2009
Thomas L. Williams, MD, FCAP2009
Richard W. Brown, MD, FCAP2008
Edward P. Fody, MD, FCAP2008
Bruce A. Jones, MD, FCAP2008
Frederick L. Kiechle, MD, PhD, FCAP2008
Anthony A. Killeen, MD, PhD, FCAP2008
George G. Klee, MD, PhD, FCAP2008
Robert W. Novak, MD, FCAP2008
Richard M. Nunnally, MD, FCAP2008
James M. Small, MD, PhD, FCAP2008
John C.H. Steele Jr., MD, PhD, FCAP2008
Raymond R. Tubbs, DO, FCAP2008
P. Joanne Cornbleet, MD, PhD, FCAP2007
Franklin R. Elevitch, MD, FCAP2007
Chantal R. Harrison, MD, FCAP2007
Joan H. Howanitz, MD, FCAP2007
George W. Knabe, MD, FCAP2007
Thomas A. Merrick, MD, FCAP2007
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Pulp Comics: David Alan Grier
• Season 1, Ep 0106
• 03/24/1998
>> Ross: All right.
What's up, New York people?
How you doin'?
What's up, ass watchers?
How are ya?
I'm sorry.
Get here earlier.
What are you doing?
Cool ass crowd.
And I'm a cool comedian.
I'm Jewish.
People don't always think
Jewish people are cool,
'cause we don't talk as cool
as other types of people.
You never hear stuff like,
you know, "Jews in the house?"
Only time you hear a Jewish
person say "in the house"
is, like, you know, "Murray!
Get in the house."
You never hear stuff like,
"Rabbi, I ate pork
on the Sabbath.
My bad."
He's like, "Go, Jeff.
Go, Jeff.
It's your bar mitzvah.
It's your bar mitzvah."
You never see a Jewish guy
on a Harley.
What's the point?
You know he's going to fall.
Like all religions
and nationalities and races,
the Jews are very sensitive
to the stereotypes.
What do people say about us?
People say we're the cheapest
People say that Jews
have the biggest noses.
People say we have
the biggest penises.
I can dream, can't I?
What's the other big one
about Jewish people?
People say that Jews
control the media.
You ever heard that one?
I got to think about that one
for a second.
I think we got to fess up
to that one.
My manager's Jewish.
My agent's Jewish.
Let's face it, okay?
Show business is run by, like,
2,000 Jews and Oprah.
And she lives next door
to Spielberg, which makes her
Jewish by association, right?
It's a good thing.
We have that influence.
Jews as a people
should be proud.
Some stereotypes
aren't negative.
You think African-American males
get mad we make jokes
you have the biggest penises?
Hell, no, man.
I'd switch places in a second.
I'm hung like a Tic Tac.
But that's the deal God gave us.
Black guys get the nine-inchers,
and the Jews get channel 9.
I got the smallest penis
in here.
I'm proud of it.
If I was a rapper,
I'd be Dickie Smalls.
♪ I got my mind on my wiener
♪ and my wiener on my mind.
♪ In the dark,
♪ mine's hard to find.
♪ I was born to my moms
♪ at 8 pounds 5.
♪ Then my body got bigger,
♪ but my penis same size.
♪ Now I use,
♪ now I use,
♪ now I use what I got.
♪ 'Cause one size fits all.
My name is Jeff.
The ladies call me
Dickie Smalls.
Mmm, Notorious L-I-T-T-L-E.
♪ Break it down.
♪ Wee-wee, ding-dong,
♪ hoo-hoo, shaft.
♪ Laugh if you want.
♪ Mine's cut in half.
♪ Organ, shreckle,
♪ rocket, pump.
♪ When I wear tight jeans,
♪ you don't see no lump.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> Ross: Why it got to be
about inches?
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> Ross: ♪ Don't let it come
♪ between us.
♪ Makin' love to my ladies,
♪ I always make them smile
♪ 'cause they cool
♪ with the fact that I'm hung
♪ like a child.
♪ My little penis is so cute
♪ and sweet
♪ that if I made a porno,
♪ it'd still be rated G.
♪ Back in the days
♪ when I was a teenager,
♪ before I had pubes,
♪ before I used a razor...
>> ♪ Mama said stand proud.
♪ Throw away the ruler.
>> Ross: ♪ Other boys
♪ are bigger,
♪ but you're a lot cooler.
♪ A Jewish gangster
♪ with a belly gettin' bigger
♪ and a penis the size
♪ of a machine gun trigger.
♪ Baruch atah Adonai. ♪
♪ Want to pop a cap
♪ in all them boys.
♪ Got a ding, a dong,
♪ bigger than mine.
♪ On top of all this,
♪ I'm circumcised.
♪ Woody, wiener,
♪ member, willy.
♪ It hides up inside me
♪ when it gets real chilly.
♪ Boner, stiffy,
♪ carrot or pickle.
♪ Call it what you want.
♪ I call mine Don Rickles.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> Ross: Yo, I ain't even
trying to hear that.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> Ross: Don't call it
a thumbtack!
>> Hey, Dickie, I don't know
what you did to me last night,
baby, but ooh, you rock
my world.
I thought fun size
was just for candy.
>> Ross: ♪ If you've got
♪ a little weeny, say ho.
♪ If you got a teeny weeny,
♪ say hey-ho.
♪ And wave your little jimmies
♪ in the air.
♪ And pee like you just
♪ don't care.
♪ If you see me naked
♪ at the gym,
♪ don't stare.
♪ Stare.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> ♪ He's got a little,
♪ itty-bitty, teeny-weeny.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> Ross: Yeah, I want to tell
all the women in the world
from Cali to Carolina,
it's not the size of the penis
that counts.
It's the depth of the vagina.
This is Dickie Smalls,
saying less is more, ladies.
I'm outta here.
>> ♪ Oh-ohhh.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> ♪ He's got a little penis.
>> Ross: I love rap music.
I was listening to that band,
Wu Tang Clan, you know
that band?
They got this guy in the band;
his name is Old Dirty Bastard.
That's his name.
Old Dirty Bastard, and his
ex-wife was in the paper.
She's suing him for child
First of all, how do you marry
a guy named Old Dirty Bastard?
What was the ceremony like?
"Do you, Denise, take this
Old Dirty Bastard?
To love and to smell.
I now pronounce you
dirty bastards.
You may wash the groom."
>> Ross: I'm a weird-looking
Somebody heckled me one night.
She said I looked like
Rick Moranis and Walter Matthau
had a baby.
It's not that funny.
If I ever have my own show,
I would have to be like
cast with, like, ugly guys
or something.
Ugly Friends.
>> announcer: It's Ugly Friends,
starring Jeffrey Ross,
with Jay London as Ugly Jay
and Howard Feller as Yiiiich!
>> Hey, Jeff.
>> Hey, Jeff.
>> Ross: How are my ugly friends
doing today?
>> Oh, great.
>> Ross: Ugly Jay,
did you get a job today or what?
>> Yeah, I'm working over at
Bed, Bath, and Beyond
in the Beyond section.
Thank you.
>> Hey, Jeff, that fox over
there is giving you the eye.
Boy, I sure wish there was
something I could do to be
better looking.
Any advice there, uh, Casanova?
>> Ross: Yeah,
saw off your head.
Be cool.
She's coming over.
>> T-t-t-talking to the ladies
makes me fart.
>> Hi, I'm Amy.
>> Ross: Hi, I'm Jeff.
These are my friends,
Ugly Jay and Yiiiich!
>> Oh, oh, my.
>> Lady, I got a key
stuck in my ear.
>> I gotta run.
I've had a couple drinks,
and looking at your friends...
giving me the spins.
But I wanted to give you
>> Oh, oh...
>> That's my number.
Use it.
>> I would trade places
with you, Jeff, in a minute.
Then I wouldn't have to look
like a goat's balls.
>> Ross: You wouldn't want to
be in my shoes, fellas.
>> Why? Did you step in barf?
>> Ross: No, I didn't step in
barf, Jay.
I'm just saying it's not easy
being this handsome.
I just want to be treated
like a normal person.
I'm sick of being treated
like a sex toy.
>> I had sex with a toy once.
Remember Stretch Armstrong?
>> Ross: I'm just saying there's
a lot of pressure maintaining
these good looks, not to mention
this body.
Do you realize what time I have
to get up to maintain this
physical condition?
>> Noon?
>> Ross: That's right, Yiiiich!
I'm sick of being
just a pretty face.
Not to mention these baby blue
Come on, guys.
Let's get out of here.
You know the drill.
>> announcer: Tune in next week
when Yiiiich! falls in love.
>> Ross: I love watching TV.
Late at night, you always see
some guy trying to sell
real estate with no money down.
Always have some fat guy
in a Hawaiian shirt, right?
Chicks with bikinis and yachts.
I love the success stories
at the very end.
That's my favorite part.
Just three months ago, everybody
in my neighborhood thought I was
Now I make $9 million
every Tuesday.
My teeth and gums grew back.
And my lovely wife, Nipples,
can finally afford that hair
transplant she wants.
>> Ross: I don't want
to get old.
Here's the proof that I'm
getting old.
Some of you can back me up.
I went to Tower Records
the other night to try to buy a
new needle for my record player.
I might as well have said,
"Excuse me.
Do you good men sell
I'm fresh out o' cannonballs
for ye olde cannon back home.
Come on.
I ain't got all fortnight.
The British are coming!"
>> Ladies and gentlemen,
I hope you enjoyed your lunch.
Mr. President, everything was
>> Hear, hear.
>> As I introduce our first
roaster, I can't help but wonder
to myself "Who cancelled?"
[sting punctuates joke]
Let's have a big forefather
welcome to Jeffrey Ross.
>> Ross: Thank you, Senator.
Nice to see you back in men's
This is exciting.
How are you, Mr. President?
Look at this.
I've seen younger faces
on money.
All kidding aside,
Mr. President, this is great.
You're here laughing your butt
off and Martha's at home
getting her fields plowed
by the house boy.
Right now he's knee deep
in Martha's vineyard,
if you catch my drift.
In all seriousness,
Mr. President, I feel uniquely
qualified to be here this
afternoon because I, too,
cannot tell a lie.
I voted for McGovern.
Sam Adams is here.
How are you, Sam?
I didn't recognize you
without a beer.
To the king of England.
Thomas Jefferson's here.
Tom, how are you, sir?
Tom would have brought a date
this afternoon, folks, but her
master wouldn't let her off.
Guy gets more ass
than an outhouse.
You know what, Tom?
You're a very striking man.
May I strike you?
I see the great Geronimo
is here.
How are you doing, Gerry?
>> Yeah, man.
>> Ross: Didn't recognize you
[sniffs] Whew.
Little known fact, folks,
Geronimo's an old Indian word
meaning future casino owner.
And did your people do this
to Ben Franklin's head?
I kid you, Ben.
I love you, Ben Franklin.
Keep it going for the band
everybody: Salem's Lot.
>> Thanks, Jeff.
I just want to let all you
settlers know we're also
available for weddings,
bar mitzvahs, witch drownings.
>> Revolutions.
>> Tea parties.
[hysterical laughter]
>> Ross: Take a break, fellas.
Francis Scott Key is here.
How are you, Frankie?
I'm a big fan of all your song.
Frankie's what's known in
show business as a one-anthem
Keep it going for your slaves,
Workin' hard.
>> Hey, Ross.
I slept with your sister, Betsy.
>> Ross: You too?
Who didn't?
Betsy, enough with the flags
How about some mitten
or a sweater?
The troops are freezing.
Now let's talk about the
president's legendary penis
Talk about a star-spangled
Folks, George Washington's penis
is so big, it should declare
its own independence.
George Washington's cherry tree
is so big, it crossed the
Delaware before he did.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm standing on it.
Put it away, Mr. President.
Folks, George Washington's penis
is so big, it wears a wig
on its head.
God bless you.
God bless America.
Stay free.
[cheers and applause]
My favorite band in high school
was The Clash.
Remember The Clash?
All right, so they had this one
song early on that my boys
and I used to use as our little
greeting to each other.
We thought we were cool.
It was called Stay Free.
We'd be like, "Hey, man.
Stay free."
Then one day out of nowhere,
it became a feminine hygiene
We couldn't use it anymore.
And we were like, "Hey, man.
You know."
>> Ross: Little change in mood,
if you'll indulge Peter and I.
I wrote a love poem.
Can we dim the lights
a little bit?
[somber violin strains]
I love you guys.
Could I just say that?
Here's a love poem.
I hope you like it.
Hey, Wait a Minute...
by Jeffrey Ross.
Her long tan legs,
those dark bedroom eyes,
her deep, sexy voice;
her huge protruding
Adam's apple.
Hey, wait a minute.
You guys are awesome.
You having fun over there?
Nice talking to you.
Sorry to wake you.
You sound great, man.
Are you having fun?
>> Yeah.
>> Ross: I saw you drinking
between shows.
>> No, I don't drink.
>> Ross: You don't drink?
>> You don't drink either,
>> Ross: I don't drink either.
I'm a lightweight.
One drink and I'm wasted.
Two drinks and I'm gay.
>> Buy you a drink?
>> Ross: [laughing]
[cheers and applause]
I thought you had a girlfriend,
>> Actually I do.
>> Ross: You have a girlfriend,
>> Yeah, she's beautiful.
She's Chinese.
>> Ross: She's Chinese.
I love Chinese women.
You're Korean?
>> Yeah, I'm Korean.
>> Ross: What are you, about 40?
>> No.
No, I'm 21.
>> Ross: You're 21?
>> Yeah.
>> Ross: When I was in college,
I spent a semester in China
as an exchange student.
And I met a girl there.
[violin strains]
And we fell in love.
And this is a poem
that I wrote for her.
You have dishonored me.
Now I must dump you.
[traditional Chinese music]
All right, this is a love poem,
Peter, mellow it out.
I gotta pour my heart out
to these people now.
From the bottom of my heart,
I hope you like it.
This poem is called
Why I Love My Gangster Bitch
It could happen.
I got down on one knee.
I took her hand in mine.
I looked her in the eyes
and said, "I want you to be
my love, my wife, my mate
for life."
She said, "Nigga, please."
And stabbed me in the face
with the box cutter I gave her
on Valentine's Day.
That's why I love my gangster
bitch girlfriend.
Here's the last one.
It's a poem I wrote for my dog.
I love my dog.
It's called Sadie,
Get off the Couch.
Sadie, get off the couch!
Sadie, get off the couch!
Sadie, off the couch!
Sadie! Off the couch!
Good girl.
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Left 4 Dead Preview
Xbox 360 | PC
Left 4 Dead box art
System: X360, PC Review Rating Legend
Dev: Turtle Rock 1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid 4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Players: 1-8 3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Pending 3.5 - 3.9 = Good
Throw Resident Evil and Counter-Strike in a pot and stir
by D'Marcus Beatty
February 22, 2007 - Along with Nazis and nameless, nondescript soldiers, zombies are probably one of an average gamer's most numerous foes. Gamers have dispatched hordes of the evil undead in everything from SNES's Zombies Ate My Neighbors to current favorites like Resident Evil and Dead Rising. Although there are probably very few gamers that can accurately say that they've never slain an approaching digitized zombie, even fewer can claim that they've played a game from the viewpoint of an undead aggressor. Turtle Rock plans to change this in a big way this year with the release of their multiplayer survival horror game, Left 4 Dead.
Left 4 Dead screenshot
Unlike the average survival horror game where the game is based around the protagonist trying to survive alone against multitudes of foes, Left 4 Dead lets you choose your side. You can choose to play a human in a team of four survivors, or you can choose to side with the mutated "infected," a mass of monsters that resemble RE's undead, although some of these infected are endowed with special abilities beyond that of slow, plodding zombies. Most of the infected are unplayable foot soldier-esque monsters, although there are four playable boss infected that are distinct from the rest of the horde.
Left 4 Dead takes place in the stereotypical post-apocalyptic scenario. An incredibly potent virus has been released, distorting humans into rabid monsters that swiftly and mercilessly attack anyone that is uninfected. A small group of humans finds themselves immune to the virus, which winds up being both a blessing and a curse, since they must now fend off the infected if they wish to continue surviving. Beyond setting the stage for the gameplay, developers Turtle Rock admit that the story isn't as important to the game since it isn't emphasized or progressed for the most part.
Left 4 Dead screenshot
The human team consists of four fairly ordinary people with diverse backgrounds, including a Vietnam veteran, a rich teenage girl, a manager at an electronics store, and a loud but loyal roughneck. To combat the infected, these human survivors have access to an arsenal of weaponry, including standard survival horror fare like handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Developers Turtle Rock, also known for Counter-Strike, promises to also keep updating and adding additional content that can be downloaded after the game's release, which will probably include new and more innovative weaponry.
A little more interesting than the humans, however, are the four playable boss infected, with three that can be chosen outright. The first is called a Boomer, which is a large, flabby infected that explodes when killed, allowing him to take closer humans into oblivion with him. Boomers can also "tag" humans with their vomit, which marks the unfortunate victim as a target for all nearby infected. The Smokers are another type of infected, which, like the Boomers, explode when killed, but into a cloud of smoke. This smoke is dense enough to obscure the survivors' vision, creating a potential handicap. Smokers also have long tongues that can be used to lasso humans and can even be used to hang them when the Smoker attacks from an elevated area. Hunters, the third infected type, are stealthy and swift, allowing them to sneak up on their prey. Hunters also have the Predator-like ability to turn invisible when unmoving. The most agile member of the infected, Hunters can leap to great heights, wall jump, and pounce on humans, knocking them over and setting them up to be killed. The final playable infected class isn't selectable and is called the Tank. The game will choose select players in the middle of a match to have the option of becoming a Tank. As its name suggests, the Tanks are incredibly strong and hardy and are capable of tossing heavy obstacles at their human foes as well as taking heavy damage from firearms. Most of the infected are fragile and easier to kill than humans, which requires the infected to ambush humans if they want to gain the advantage. The dull-witted Tank, however, cannot abide long periods of idle time. For every moment that a Tank character isn't in the presence of survivors, a frustration meter fills, and the Tank completely loses control when the meter is full. All of these elements combine to create an interesting dynamic between the armed humans and the dangerous infected characters.
Left 4 Dead screenshot
Like Counter-Strike, the game is set up as a series of multiplayer matches pitting the humans against the infected. All four humans are playable, and the aforementioned boss infected are playable among the unplayable hordes. The humans generally have to work together to survive, as the infected obviously outnumber them immensely, although most of the infected are fairly easy to kill. However, the infected also don't stay dead, which is par for the course with the undead. Also, the infected don't take damage from long falls and have night vision which gives them slight advantages in certain areas.
Currently, Left 4 Dead is focusing almost exclusively on creating a great multiplayer experience. There is little to no story, although there are objectives and goals as well as boss fights. The single player experience will substitute bots for the player's teammates, with the developers working to create intelligent AI that ensure a great single player campaign as well.
Left 4 Dead screenshot
Left 4 Dead uses the latest version of the Source engine, so we can expect great graphical and lighting effects along with wonderful animation. Hopefully all these visuals will translate well to the online arena where sometimes battles are won or lost in an instant, and recognizable characters are essential where reflexes rule.
This game seems to be taking an interesting premise and creating a strong multiplayer game from it. With its sharp visuals, the effective balancing between the infected and the survivors, and the promise of intense multiplayer battles, Left 4 Dead might be the game for people tired of uninspired zombie killing and looking for the chance to do some killing as the zombie. Look for Left 4 Dead in late 2007.
By D'Marcus Beatty
CCC Former Co-Site Director
• Multiplayer battles with up to eight participants. Form a party with four friends and fight to survive against the infected hordes. Or join the infected team and hunt down the human survivors.
• Choose to play as human survivors or as boss infected with a dynamic balancing system. Humans are strong with access to weapons, while the infected are able to respawn, fall from great heights, see in the dark, and access special infects ladders that humans can't see.
• Runs on the latest version of the Source engine, which ensures great visuals and animation.
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Multiple concept -( Example:4 -Page 393 -7th editionJohn D Cuttnel ) illustrates the concepts pertinent to thisproblem. A cylindrical brass rod (cross sectional area=0.000013meter square) hangs vertically straight down from a ceiling.When a 860N block is hung from the lower end of the rod, therod streches. The rod is then cooled such that it contracts to itsoriginal length. By how many degrees must the temperature belowered?
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Chicago dad: Six things I learned while single parenting
By Alan Kercinik
Member of the Chicago Parent Blog Network
Last week, my wife flew to Puerto Rico with some friends from college. She was gone for five days. Our marital and familial arrangement is considered "traditional." I go to work and my wife stays home with our three boys. Thirty years ago, this trip would have been the inspiration for some terrible comedy with a trailer voiced over by the "In a world where…" movie trailer guy saying something like, "When Mom's away, the boys will play!"
Cue montage of me not knowing how to change a diaper. Of the four of us, sitting shirtless and pantless on the couch, watching television and eating cereal out of the box. The group of us baking a cake -- even though I'd never consider baking a cake under most normal circumstances -- and a bag of flour exploding all over the kitchen. Because that is what bags of flour do whenever men touch them. Explode.
Stereotypes aside, this was the longest I'd ever been alone with the kids.
Here are six things I learned:
1 People appreciate the challenges of the stay-at-home thing much more than I do. The most common question I got when people heard my wife was leaving was, "Do you have any help?" This invariably irritated me. I know how to change a diaper. I know how to feed my children. I know, more or less, their routines. What I didn't realize that it wasn't a comment on my parenting abilities or my kids' behavior, but a recognition of the challenges that come when you are the primary caregiver. Caring for kids -- especially three young kids 5 years old and younger -- demands energy and patience and a pretty fair amount of improv ability.
2 Kids are resilient, but love their routines. With kids who are 5, 2 1/2 and 6 months, my oldest is the only one really able to articulate his feelings. Even so, none of them came out and said, "I miss Mom. That's why I'm being difficult." But her absence definitely affected them. Everyone's sleep schedule was off. Tempers were short. Meltdowns more frequent. After my wife came home, suddenly the kids were sleeping until 7 in the morning again instead of waking up at 4:45 and seemed much more themselves.
3 Smartphones totally make sense. If the clueless Dad is one parenting stereotype that refuses to die, then the smartphone-always-in-hand Mom is another. But now I get it. It's the connection to a world where there are other topics of conversation besides poops, butts and heated demands for juice.
4 Play takes work. It's a lot, getting kids dressed and fed and to school and fed and entertained while keeping the house in some kind of order. The easiest thing in the world to drop off the list is anything nearing quality time with your kids. That's the opposite of my typical day, where I have no choice but to focus on quality moments -- talks, bedtime stories, drawing and playtime of some sort or another -- because I'm gone but for an hour total of their day. I had to work, to make sure that time didn't drop off a cliff our five days together.
5 I don't want to be a single parent. My appreciation for people who do this on their own has grown immeasurably. And in some ways, it's not even about the notion of doing the caring and time-spending with the kids alone. It's the time when the kids are asleep. It's lonely and quiet. For someone who gets a lot of energy from reading and spending time in his own head, it surprised me how much I missed my person while she was gone. Not to loosen the load. But to be there at the end of the day.
6 Never turn your back. Ever. Because, and this is just a hypothetical, your middle child might drag a step stool out of the bathroom, push it into the kitchen and climb up to the sugar bowl next to the coffee maker and start eating raw sugar like it was yogurt.
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eToCache5 = ""; ?> Everything i own by Bread - guitar chords, guitar tabs and lyrics - chordie
Everything i own
You sheltered me from harm,
kept me warm, kept me warm.
You gave my life to me,
set me free, set me free.
The finest years I ever knew
were all the years I had with you.
And I would give anything I own,
Give up my life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own
just to have you back again.
You never said too much but still you showed the way
and I knew, from watching you
(repeat Chorus)
Is there someone you know, you're loving them so
but taking them all for granted?
You may lose them one day, someone takes them away
and they don't hear the words you long to say.
(repeat Chorus)
just to touch you once again.
D(add E) 000230
Gm6 xx2333
A Asus Bm C D Dmaj7 E Em G Gm6 Gmaj7
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tomk (report comment to admin):
To get this in the same key as Anthology, drop it by 5 semitones (so the piece is in A).
In the bridge, I think it sounds better to go from F#m to F#m/E (rather than to A) in the first line, and similarly from Bm to Bm/A (rather than to D) in the third line. Both of these switches can be made by going from a full to a partial barre.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117045
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eToCache5 = ""; ?> Anti Flag guitar chords, guitar tabs and lyrics - chordie
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Anti Flag
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eToCache5 = ""; ?> Queen Adreena guitar chords, guitar tabs and lyrics - chordie
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Queen Adreena
Rough Trade dropped them shortly after the release of Drink Me, and Wajih left the band at that time. The band signed with One Little Indian Records, who released 2005's The Butcher and the Butterfly with KatieJane?'s sister, Melanie Garside on bass, who left soon after and was replaced by Paul Jackson.
Queen Adreena have a small but dedicated following in England, their home country, but are little known elsewhere.
• Taxidermy, 2000 (Blanco y Negro Records)
• Drink Me, 2002 (Rough Trade Records)
• The Butcher and the Butterfly, 2005 (One Little Indian Records)
• Live at the ICA, 2005 (One Little Indian Records)
==External links=
5 popular songs
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117092
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Introduction to Controlling Microbial Growth
The control of microbial growth may involve sterilization, disinfection, antisepsis, sanitization, or degerming. Sterilization is the destruction of all forms of microbial life, with particular attention to bacterial spores. Disinfection and antisepsis both refer to destruction of microbial pathogens, although some organisms, such as bacterial spores, may remain alive. Disinfection refers to the destruction of pathogenic organisms on an inanimate (lifeless) object, such as a table-top, while antisepsis refers to that destruction on a living object, such as the skin surface.
Sanitization refers to the reduction in the number of pathogens to a level deemed safe by public health guidelines. Degerming is the physical removal of microorganisms by using such things as soaps or detergents.
Any chemical agent that kills microorganisms is known as a germicide. An agent that destroys bacteria is called a bactericide, one that kills fungi is a fungicide, and one that kills viruses is a viricide. A bacteriostatic agent prevents the further multiplication of bacteria without necessarily killing all that are present.
Among the conditions affecting the use of a germicide are temperature, the type of microorganism, and the environment. Germicides are more effective at high temperatures because the chemical breaks down at lower temperatures. Microorganisms vary in their susceptibility depending on such things as the composition of their cell wall, the presence or absence of a capsule, and the ability to form spores or cysts. The environment can affect the activity of a germicide, as, for example, when organic matter is present. This material shields microorganisms from germicides and often reacts with the germicide.
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1946 Results for
Next version of Windows shown off in alleged screenshots
By July 22, 2014
SnapUp wants you to shop with mobile screenshots
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How to take a screenshot on Android Wear
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How to arrange two photos or screenshots side by side
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Better manage your iPhone screenshots with Screenshotter
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Learning how to take a screenshot is one of the first things you should do with a new device.
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Annotate local files with updated Awesome Screenshot
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Samsung Tizen screenshots leak ahead of February debut
Samsung's Android-bashing Tizen is to make its public debut in February -- and here's a sneak preview.
By December 19, 2013
Autosave makes Awesome Screenshot more awesome
By November 21, 2013
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Tell a friend about the Bengals Growl! page on Collectors Weekly
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For over fifteen years, Nikolai Dante has been entertaining the readers of 2000 AD as he fought, thieved and loved his way through life in 27th-Century Russia. A long-running story of grand adventure which began in 1997 reaches its conclusion in 2012. one of 2000 AD's most popular characters, Dante has become an iconic part of the British comics scene. In this final instalment of his epic story, Dante must escape from captivity in order to lead the Revolutionary army in its final battle against his tyrannical father, the psychotic Dimitri Romanov.
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What If the Democratic Response to Snowden Is to Expand Surveillance?
Published on
What If the Democratic Response to Snowden Is to Expand Surveillance?
I got distracted reading two pieces this morning. This great Andrew O’Hehir piece, on how those attacking Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald ought to consider the lesson of Justice Louis Brandeis’ dissent in Olmstead.
And this more problematic Eben Moglen piece talking about how Snowden revealed a threat to democracy we must now respond to.
So [Snowden] did what it takes great courage to do in the presence of what you believe to be radical injustice. He wasn’t first, he won’t be last, but he sacrificed his life as he knew it to tell us things we needed to know. Snowden committed espionage on behalf of the human race. He knew the price, he knew the reason. But as he said, only the American people could decide, by their response, whether sacrificing his life was worth it.
So our most important effort is to understand the message: to understand its context, purpose, and meaning, and to experience the consequences of having received the communication.
Even once we have understood, it will be difficult to judge Snowden, because there is always much to say on both sides when someone is greatly right too soon.
I raise them in tandem here because both address the threat of spying to something called democracy. And the second piece raises it amid the context of American Empire (he compares the US to the Roman decline into slavery).
I raise them here for two reasons.
First, because neither directly notes that Snowden claimed he leaked the documents to give us a choice, the “chance to determine if it should change itself.”
Snowden, at least, claims to have contemplated the possibility that, given a choice, we won’t change how we’re governed.
And neither O’Hehir nor Moglen contemplates the state we’re currently in, in which what we call democracy is choosing to expand surveillance in response to Snowden’s disclosures.
Admittedly, the response to Snowden is not limited to HR 3361. I have long thought a more effective response might (or might not!) be found in courts — that if, if the legal process does not get pre-empted by legislation. I have long thought the pressure on Internet companies would be one of the most powerful engines of change, not our failed democratic process.
But as far as Congress is concerned, our stunted legislative process has started down the road of expanding surveillance in response to Edward Snowden.
And that’s where I find Moglen useful but also problematic.
He notes that the surveillance before us is not just part of domestic control (indeed, he actually pays less attention to the victims of domestic surveillance than I might have, but his is ultimately a technical argument), but also of Empire.
While I don’t think it’s the primary reason driving the democratic response to Snowden to increase surveillance (I think that also stems from the Deep State’s power and the influence of money on Congress, though many of the surveillance supporters in Congress are also supporting a certain model of US power), I think far too many people act on surveillance out of either explicit or implicit beliefs about the role of US hegemony.
There are some very rational self-interested reasons for Americans to embrace surveillance.
For the average American, there’s the pride that comes from living in the most powerful country in history, all the more so now that that power is under attack, and perhaps the belief that “Us” have a duty to take it to “Them” who currently threaten our power. And while most won’t acknowledge it, even the declining American standard of living still relies on our position atop the world power structure. We get cheap goods because America is the hegemonic power.
To the extent that spying on the rest of the world serves to shore up our hegemonic position then, the average American might well have reason to embrace the spying, because it keeps them in flat screen TVs.
But that privilege is just enjoyed by some in America. Moglen, tellingly, talks a lot about slavery but says nothing about Jim Crow or the other instruments of domestic oppression that have long used authoritarian measures against targeted populations to protect white male power. American history looked at not against the history of a slavery that is past, but rather against the continuity of history in which some people — usually poor and brown and/or female — don’t participate in the American “liberty” and “privacy” Moglen celebrates, our spying on the rest of the world is more of the same, a difference in reach but not in kind. Our war on drugs and war on terror spying domestically is of a piece with our dragnet internationally, if thus far more circumscribed by law (but that law is expanding and that will serve existing structures of power!).
But there’s another reason Americans — those of the Michael Kinsley and George Packer class — might embrace surveillance. That’s the notion that American hegemony is, for all its warts, the least bad power out there. I suspect Kinsley and (to a lesser extent) Packer would go further, saying that American power is affirmatively good for the rest of the world. And so we must use whatever it takes to sustain that power.
It sounds stupid when I say it that way. I’m definitely oversimplifying the thought process involved. Still, it is a good faith claim: that if the US curtails its omnipresent dragnet and China instead becomes the dominant world power (or, just as likely, global order will dissolve into chaos), we’ll all be worse off.
I do think there’s something to this belief, though it suppresses the other alternative — that the US could use this moment to improve the basis from which US exercises its hegemony rather than accept the increasingly coercive exercise of our power — or better yet use the twilight of our hegemony to embrace something more fair (and also something more likely to adequately respond to the global threat of climate change). But I do believe those who claim US hegemony serves the rest of the world believe it fairly uncritically.
One more thing. Those who believe that American power is affirmatively benign power may be inclined to think the old ways of ensuring that power — which includes a docile press — are justified. As much as journalism embraced an adversarial self-image after Watergate, the fundamentally complicit role of journalism really didn’t change for most. Thus, there remains a culture of journalism in which it was justified to tell stories to the American people — and the rest of the world — to sustain American power.
One of those stories, for example, is the narrative of freedom that Moglen embraces.
That is, for those who believe it is worth doing whatever it takes to sustain the purportedly benign American hegemon, it would be consistent to also believe that journalists must also do whatever it takes to sustain purportedly benign system of (white male) power domestically, which we call democracy but which doesn’t actually serve the needs of average Americans.
And for better or worse, those who embrace that power structure, either domestically and/or internationally, expanding surveillance is rational, so long as you ignore the collateral damage.
Marcy Wheeler
Marcy Wheeler writes the blog Emptywheel. Her book, Anatomy of Deceit: How the Bush Administration Used the Media to Sell the Iraq War and Out a Spy, provided a primer on the CIA Leak case surrounding Valerie Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson. She has a Ph.D. from University of Michigan; her research focused on the oppositional uses of a particular literary-journalistic form that arose with the industrial press. Marcy is a recipient of the Hillman Award for blog journalism.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117144
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Here's a pretty funny fact about Thai model Krisana Yamapevan (@MissKrisana): Although she's taken "a million" photos at car shows (her estimate, not ours) and appeared in tons of different car mags and on car sites like Models in the Trunk, she just finally got around to renewing her driver's permit last November. But, really, are you that surprised by that? We get the feeling she's never had to beg for a ride in her life. Holla at us if you ever need a lift, honey.
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Hot Dog Legs is taking over the Internet right now with a simple and hilarious observation: hot dogs look a lot like bent legs. The Tumblr blog features the typical p.o.v. shots near pools and of sunsets that, for some reason, include the portion of the leg from mid-thigh to knee in the frame. Some of the photos are clearly of hot dogs but others are near impossible to figure out. Test your skills above and over on the Hot Dog Legs Tumblr.
RELATED: We Tumblforya: Girls Eating Hot Dogs
RELATED: We Tumblforya: Famous People as Food
[via HotDogLegs]
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I Kings
From Conservapedia
(Redirected from 1 Kings)
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The book of I Kings is a historical time line showing how the kings of Israel and Judea obeyed or disobeyed God and is part of the Old Testament of the Bible. It covers the time period from what occurred to make Solomon King until the death of wicked King Ahaziah. I Kings picks up when II Samuel left off and is followed by II Kings. Coinciding histories are given in the Biblical book of II Chronicles which also starts with Solomon, but ends in a different place.
I Kings covers the time period from approximately 970 to 853 B.C. This book was approximately written around the time of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews, somewhere between 560 and 550 B.C. The author of this book is uncertain, but many Jewish traditions believe the prophetJeremiah to be the author.
(In the Hebrew Bible used by Judaism, there is only one book called "Kings". Similar to I & II Samuel, the split was made in the Septuagint and that standard was later picked up by Christianity.)
Events Covered
• Chapter 1: Adonijah son of David tries to set himself up as king. With David's help, Solomon becomes king.
• Chapter 2: Solomon has his last talk with David before David's death; he establishes his throne.
• Chapter 3: God grants Solomon one request. Solomon asks for wisdom. Because of his choice, Solomon will be made the wisest person who ever lived.
• Chapter 4: List of Solomon's governors, discussion of the borders of his kingdom and his wisdom
• Chapter 5: Preparations for building the Temple of God
• Chapter 6: The building of the Temple
• Chapter 7: The building of Solomon's palace and discussing the furnishings in the Temple
• Chapter 8: The Ark of the Covenant is brought to the Temple and the Temple is dedicated
• Chapter 9: God appears to Solomon; other activities of Solomon
• Chapter 10: The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon
• Chapter 11: Solomon's wives lead him astray; adversaries arise; Jeroboam rebels; Solomon dies
• Chapter 12: Kingdom split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Judah
• Chapter 13: A prophet of God speaks out against evil practices in Israel, but is led astray and killed
• Chapter 14: Ahijah prophesies against Jeroboam; Rehoboam king of Judah
• Chapter 15: Abijah king of Judah; Asa king of Judah; Nadab king of Israel; Baasha king of Israel
• Chapter 16: Baasha overthrown by Jehu; Elah king of Israel; Zimri king of Israel; Omri king of Israel; Ahab king of Israel
• Chapter 17: The prophet Elijah
• Chapter 18: The prophet Elijah
• Chapter 19: The prophet Elijah, and the calling of Elisha
• Chapter 20: Ben Hadad attack Samaria; Ahab defeats Ben Hadad; a prophet condemns Ahab
• Chapter 21: Naboth's vineyard
• Chapter 22: Miciah prophesies against Ahab; Ahab killed; Jehoshaphat king of Judah; Ahaziah king of Israel
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Today's Creation Moment
Meerkat School
Exodus 4:15b
Mindless Logic?
Romans 1:20-22
Do you and I think? Or do we just think that we think? If you believe that we were created by God, your answer to that question will be that we actually do think. But if you believe that life is just a chemical accident, you might agree with those evolutionists who actually believe that we do not think. We only think we think.
Mindless LogicDo you have a mind? What is that part inside your body that is really you? For thousands of years we referred to this part of us as the soul. But today, with the strong humanistic desire to remove all spiritual references from language, many people simply call it the mind. The problem (for those who believe in evolution) is that saying that we have a mind still sounds a lot like saying that we have a non-material part to our being. Besides, evolutionists generally admit that even evolution could not accidentally create something as powerfully intelligent as the mind. As one evolutionist put it, there is no central intelligence within us that is in charge because nothing could be that smart.
It seems to be a contradiction, then, that some evolutionists have written entire books explaining that none of us really has a conscious mind. One wonders why people who supposedly have no conscious minds would want to read a book written by someone else who also had no conscious mind.
Romans 1 tells us that when people deny their Creator, He eventually lets them sink into complete foolishness. As the Scriptures declare: "Claiming to be wise they became fools."
Dear Father, none of us is perfect and so some foolishness even creeps into my life. I ask that You would make me eager to correct that foolishness with Your good and wise instruction in Scripture. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Hoffman, Paul. 1987. "Your mindless brain." Discover, Sept. p. 84. Photo: "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin, 1902.
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The Obamas: The Untold Story of an African Family
Filmmaker Peter Firstbrook traces Barack Obama’s family back 700-plus years to the Sudan.
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The Obamas
By Peter Firstbrook
352 pp.
View Caption
Barack Obama never lived in Kenya and he met his African-born biological father only once (at the age of 10, when his father visited him in Hawaii for part of a day). On his mother’s side, the 44th president of the United States has a multiple-nationality ancestry typical of that of tens of millions of Americans: 37 percent English, with smaller mixtures of German, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Swiss.
So is there any reason to take a particular interest in President Obama’s African roots? Would it not be overreaching to suggest that his Kenyan heritage plays a particularly significant role in shaping the man who today occupies the White House?
Perhaps. But Peter Firstbrook, a British documentary filmmaker who has traced the roots of the Obama family back to the year 1250, has nonetheless performed a useful service. Not only does his book, The Obamas: The Untold Story of an African Family, dig where other researchers have failed to look, but it also provides a compelling narrative about a place, a tribe, and the difficulties of uniting humanity across boundaries.
Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test?
Firstbrook traveled to the African nation of Kenya, where he visited the towns and countryside around the shore of Lake Victoria still dominated by the Obama clan and other families that constitute the Luo tribe.
The Luo tribe originally resided in what today is the Sudan. Tribal members gradually migrated south and east through about 600 miles of swamp and jungle and desert before settling in what today is Kenya, a territory colonized by the British until a grant of independence during 1963.
The Luo people believe that blood is thicker than water. So they are proud of Obama, although he knows little about their culture. “The Luo will never consider Obama to be a white man,” Firstbrook comments. “Regardless of where he was raised or what he might say or do, they will always see him as an African – a true Luo with an ancestry that can be traced back two dozen generations.”
The genealogical aspect of Firstbrook’s book is important, given Obama’s world prominence. Yet for me and possibly many other readers, the book is more fulfilling when read as a contemporary family detective story, with Firstbrook as the guide and eventually the answer man to questions directly related to the Obama family.
In fact, Firstbrook may now know more about Obama’s roots than does the president himself. In the book’s prologue, Firstbrook says Obama has never heard from his Kenyan family tales such as “the extraordinary story of how his grandfather fell in love with his grandmother, nor the tragic circumstances of their separation.” Neither has Obama heard suspicions about how his father really died in 1982. Firstbrook’s research has yielded plausible narratives. I will not become the spoiler in this review.
It does not require a spoiler role, however, to disclose that contemporary detractors of Obama will find no support from Firstbrook for their claim that he was not born in the United States, and therefore is illegally occupying the White House.
But Firstbrook does make clear that neither can Obama’s African roots be overlooked in any attempt to fully understand him.
Firstbrook believes that Obama’s ancestors throughout Africa contributed to his much-observed emotional makeup. For example, Obama may have inherited his “willingness to be direct, open, and honest from his grandfather Onyango, who, for all his faults, never tolerated deceit or dishonesty.”
And of course there is also Obama’s own desire to know something about the world of his ancestors. In his memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” Obama tells of his first visit to Kenya in 1987, when at the age of 26, he met his stepgrandmother in the village where his father and grandfather are buried. Obama recalls, “I dropped to the ground and swept my hand across the smooth yellow tile.... I felt the circle finally close. I realized that who I was, what I cared about, was no longer just a matter of intellect or obligation, no longer a construct of words.”
Steve Weinberg is a biographer in Columbia, Mo., and a frequent book reviewer for Monitor.
Join the Monitor's book discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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Mumps (3.5e Disease)
From D&D Wiki
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Name: Mumps (Ex)
Infection DC: 14 (Contact)
Incubation: 1-6 days
Damage: Nauseated, fatigued
The mumps is a childhood illness that affected people in the Middle Ages more differently than people today. It causes swelling of the salivary glands and/or testicles, and may cause rash, fever, and headache. While it is generally nonlethal, if left untreated it could cause pneumonia or other illness.
If the PC fails the check by more than 5 points, s/he becomes fatigued.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117288
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From DD-WRT Wiki
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"There are currently (May 28, 2007) two versions of the WRT150N available. The first version compatible while the second version uses unsupported ICs" - this isn't clear from the Supported Devices table. I tried to update the table, but the edit caught in the wiki spam filter. Could somebody update this? --Tomten 20:03, 29 July 2007 (CEST)
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July 29, 2014
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Spinning Your Code with XSLT and JSF in Cocoon
• May 3, 2004
• By Michael Nash
• Send Email »
• More Articles »
In this article, we will explore a sophisticated and flexible approach to user-interface building for Web applications. We will explore the combination of the XML processing language XSL with the newly released JavaServer Faces (JSF) standard API, using the Apache Cocoon framework as an enabler for both.
Overview of JSF
Much has been written about the new JSF standard for UI construction, and it is easy to assume that JSF is mostly an adjunct to Java Server Pages (JSP). Most of the examples shown, after all, show JSF in conjunction with JSP and a JSF-oriented tag library to render the user interface. JSF is in fact independent of JSP, though, and easily can be used with other UI technologies. An example is included with the reference implementation of JSF, showing how it can be rendered via XUL.
In a nutshell, JSF provides a way for developers to use and create non-visual user interface components, and to associate those components with "renderers" (via a render "kit"). The components themselves are associated with application logic (e.g. JavaBeans and/or events), and the rendering is separate from the component itself. In this way, the components can be laid out into a design by a Web page designer who is not himself a programmer, for example, leaving the programmer free to concentrate on actual application logic development. JSF handles the conversion of data to and from the types used to display and input data (essentially various strings) into appropriate data types for the non-visual components. The developer simply provides the "hooks" for the UI components to tie into. If necessary, the developer also can create (or purchase, or obtain from some third party) custom JSF components, for specialized needs not met by the standard component library included with his or her JSF implementation of choice.
In addition to handling type conversion, JSF also handles preservation of UI state between requests, as well as basic (and extensible) validation. This means that the application user, presented with a form, can fill in the form, submit it, and have the same form with his data intact presented back to him if a field is not valid (perhaps he keyed in a word where only a number is allowed). For a validation this basic, the application logic is never even executed. For more sophisticated validation (such as against a database to check for a valid value), the application can simply return control to the same UI page, and the data is again preserved. All of this is done without any extra effort on the part of the application developer.
JSF prepares a "tree" of components for rendering (starting with a UIRoot element). This allows components to be nested within each other (e.g. a table containing a series of input fields, as a simple example). It is this "tree" that is handed to the renderer for processing when it is time to display the result. JSF takes components through a complete lifecycle, as we will discuss below.
Overview of Cocoon
Cocoon is a large and sophisticated project, and has many more features than we have space to talk about here—its Web site at http://xml.apache.org/cocoon gives a much more detailed look at its facets. For our purposes, though, the essential capability of Cocoon is to act as a Web interface for XML "pipelines." These pipelines can originate from many sources, and can have their contents manipulated and transformed before they are sent to the destination—in our case, a user's browser.
A Cocoon pipeline is defined in an XML configuration file (called the sitemap), which contains a sequence of elements. Usually, these include a specification for a "generator" (the source of the XML for the pipeline), one or more "transformers," (which modify the XML stream, often via XSL), and a "serializer," which writes the modified stream to the destination. Again, this is a simplification, and Cocoon pipelines are capable of much more—but we will see, even this much can make a powerful combination. One more Cocoon element we will need is an "action"—this is a component that can execute arbitrary application logic during the initialization of a pipeline. This is where we will "plug in" our application logic.
Putting JSF and Cocoon Together
Putting JSF and Cocoon together involves defining the flow of control from a URL request, to our application logic, and back to the user.
When a user requests a URL from Cocoon (as a POST or GET request), a component called a "matcher" determines which pipeline will handle the request. Let's assume that we've received a URL that matches our application pipeline: The first thing that happens is that any required pipeline initialization takes place. In our case, this includes our application logic. The request is available to the action, meaning our application has access to any field values or parameters that accompanied the request. At this point, we change hats and transfer control of the request to the JSF lifecycle.
First, a request "tree" is either created or re-created, depending on whether this is a new or repeat request. Request values then are applied to the components in the tree—passing all form fields and parameter values that were part of the original request. Now, the tree is complete, and event handling can begin, if any events are requested—we'll assume for our initial example that there are none. Next, validations are applied—this may cause the lifecycle to jump directly to the response phase if there are validation errors. If there are no errors, the model values are updated—this is where Faces passes control to our custom code that implements application logic. JavaBeans (usually) are specified to receive the model request values, and the application is then invoked.
Once application logic is complete, the appropriate model values returned (if any) from the execution of the application logic are applied to the component tree. This may result in new values being applied to existing components, or entirely new components being added. Now we get to the interesting phase, from the point of view of our exploration: the rendering response phase. This final phase of the request lifecycle is where Faces applies a RenderKit to a JSF "tree," resulting in output that can be sent to the user's browser (or other device).
Converting the JSF "tree" to a series of SAX events (or an XML document) is very straightforward because the tree already has a hierarchical structure, and appropriate methods are supplied to allow us to "walk" this structure, emitting SAX events or building an XML DOM document as we go. Each component in the tree becomes an XML element, complete with (potentially) nested elements and attributes. This is the point where we begin the pipeline itself, effectively handing control back to Cocoon.
At this point, we have XML, which is the fuel for our Cocoon pipeline, and we have a couple of choices as to how to handle it:
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July 29, 2014
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Xalan 2, New and Improved
• February 14, 2001
• By Piroz Mohseni
• Send Email »
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Last week, the Apache XML group released version 2 of Xalan-Java (http://xml.apache.org/xalan-j/index.html). Xalan takes a fundamental approach to the general problem of transformation. Traditionally, transformation has been thought of application of an XSLT stylesheet to an XML document and retrieving a resulting XML document. In actual practice however, transformation is a more complex issue. For one thing, XSLT is not the only transformation tool. For various reasons, including performance, some programmers choose strict code based transformations using languages like Java or Perl. Sometimes the transformation needs to occur between different representations of an XML document like a SAX event stream or a DOM model.
So while the fundamental transformation problem is the same (i.e., going from A to B), the manner in which it is implemented is different. Xalan 2 provides a transformation framework that is independent of the parser and transformer implementations. This framework is called TrAX (Transformation API for XML) and is also part of JAXP effort from Sun. Several abstract notions make up the framework. A tree is some representation of an XML document. Transformation instructions describe the actual transformation. This is not limited to XSLT. A transformer is then responsible for applying the transformation instructions to a source tree and producing a result tree.
Let's look at some of the specifics. In order to decouple the abstract notion of transformation from an implementation, we use a TranfrormFactory.
javax.xml.transform.TranformerFactory tranFactory =
We can now use the factory to retrieve an instance of Transformer which can transform a source tree into a result tree given some instructions. This will give us the engine that will be responsible for applying the transformation rules.
javax.xml.transform.Transformer transformer =
tranFactory.newTransformer(new javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamSource("somefile.xsl"));
The final step would be to do the actual transformation. We are using an StreamSource as the source tree. We could have used DOMSource or SAXSource. The transformation output (result tree) is put abstractly in a StreamResult and physically in a file. Other choices would have been a DOMResult or a SAXResult.
transformer.transform(new StreamSource("source.xml"),
new StreamResult(new FileOutputStream("result.xml")));
A nice feature of Xalan is that using system properties, you can plug in different DOM and SAX parsers and different transformer processors (e.g., XSLT processors, etc.) This plugability feature is part of the Java API for XML Parsing (JAXP) under review by JavaSoft and most likely will be supported by other parsers as well.
By supporting a SAXSource and SAXResult, Xalan can do incremental transformations. Recall that the SAX API uses an event model to parse an XML document. These events can be acted upon and transformed as they arise. It would be interesting to examine the performance benefits of this approach.
Piroz Mohseni
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Diet Self HelpDietDietSHDietSelfHelp
Paleolithic Diet
Caveman diet
Paleo Diet Caveman Diet
Paleolithic diet or Paleo diet or Hunter-Gatherer diet, or Caveman diet includes only foods that were eaten during our early evolution, discarding the rest.
The last 83 tribes of hunter gatherer people in the world, who, by necessity eat what cavemen did, are stronger and faster than we are, have near-perfect eyesight, straight teeth and almost total absence of allergies, depression, schizophrenia and such chronic diseases as obesity, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
For more than a million years, humans ate only meat from wild game, fish, eggs, fruits, nuts, leafy and root vegetables.
They avoided beans, grains and potatoes which, when raw are not edible and even toxic.
Proponents of the paleolithic diet say that humans evolved along with this basic diet and that it's coded in our genes.
According to Dr. Loren Cordain, Prof. of Health at the University of Colorado, "Our genetic makeup is identical to that of the Paleolithic people. We know from mitochondrial DNA evidence, looking at diverse ethnic groups, that our genetic makeup is identical to the people who lived over forty thousand years ago. So, those people were optimally adapted to the types of foods they could gather or hunt, and there's no evidence to suggest that modern humans are any different."
Paleolithic Diet Foods to Eat
Meat, seafood, especially oily fish rich in the omega-3 fatty acids, eggs;
Fruits including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc;
Vegetables, especially root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas but excluding potatoes & sweet potatoes;
Nuts - walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, almonds, but not peanuts, which are members of the bean family
Avoid Eating These:
Grains, including bread, pasta, noodles;
Beans, including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, soy beans, snow peas and peas, potatoes;
Dairy products:
Sugar and sugar substitutes.
According to James Neel, a geneticist at Michigan University, "We could more efficiently get rid of chronic diseases by changing our diet to fit our genes than by using sophisticated gene therapy."
It does take time for your body to adjust to the changes but of the paleolithic caveman diet, and there will be a large increase in vitamin intake and a huge decrease in your toxin intake.
Also see: Organic Living
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117380
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My Start Introduction Redmon Group Getting A Job Starting A
Document Sample
My Start Introduction Redmon Group Getting A Job Starting A Powered By Docstoc
The World of a Multimedia & Internet
Development Company
Presented by John Redmon
Introduction
Introduction to Redmon Group
Cool Projects
Redmon Group
Multimedia Products
My Start E-Business Products
Getting A Job E-Learning Products
My Start: Humble Beginnings
Starting A
Company Want to Start A Company?
Recommendations in the New Economy
Demos
John Redmon, President of Redmon
Introduction Group
Redmon Group GMU graduate (BA & MBA)
My Start Live & work in Old Town
Getting A Job Chairman of the Alexandria Chamber
of Commerce
Starting A
Company On target with achievement of life
Demos goals
Love what I do
Still a 17-year old at heart
Introduction to Redmon Group
Multimedia & Internet Development Company
Introduction Founded in 1990, Privately Owned, Profitable
Redmon Group We develop:
Interactive Multimedia
My Start - Interactive Museums
- CD-ROM Titles
Getting A Job - Kiosk Systems
- Games
Starting A E-Business Applications
Company - Web Sites (B2B, B2C)
- E-Commerce
Demos - Hosting Services
E-Learning Technologies
- Web-Based Training
- Computer-Based Training
- Online Reference Tools
Cool Projects
DEA Narco-Terrorism Traveling Exhibit for DEA
Interactive Exhibits for ATF National Laboratory
Introduction Work with Homeland Security
Pope John Paul II Cultural Center
Three Web Sites for Discovery Channel
Redmon Group
Lewis & Clark Web Site for the Smithsonian
Interactive exhibits for Gettysburg
My Start CommuterPage Web Site and Mobile Web Site for Arlington County
Restaurant Web Sites for Sweetwater Tavern, Mike’s American,
Getting A Job Carlyle Grand Café, DC Coast, Ten Penh, and Landini Brothers
E-Learning for AOL
E-Learning for RIF
Starting A
E-Learning for the Patent & Trademark Office
Company Dietary Web Site –
National Guard Museum
Demos Good Samaritan Foundation Web Site for Art Monk and Charles
Multimedia Clients
Redmon Group has developed Interactive Multimedia for:
- Alexandria Economic Development
Introduction - American Red Cross
- Body Shop
- City of Fairfax
Redmon Group
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Discovery Channel
My Start - Fairfax County, Virginia
- Fairfax Fair
Getting A Job - GE
- George Mason University
- Gettysburg
Starting A
- HP
- IBM
- Monarch Pharmaceuticals
Demos - National Guard Museum
- Pope John Paul II Cultural Center & Museum
- Smithsonian
- Town of Warrenton, Virginia
- USDA
E-Business Clients
Redmon Group has developed Web applications for:
- Alexandria Chamber of Commerce
- Arlington County's Commuter Store
- Artie’s Restaurant
- Carlyle Grand Cafe
Redmon Group - DC Coast Restaurant
- DEA
My Start - Deloitte Consulting
- Discovery Channel
Getting A Job - Ford
- Landini Brothers Restaurant
- Lucent Technologies
Starting A - Mike’s American Grill
Company - National Cancer Institute
- Northern Virginia Regional Commission
Demos - PGI
- Silverado Restaurant
- Sweetwater Tavern
- Ten Penh Restaurant
- US Mint
- WashingtonPost.Com
E-Learning Clients
Redmon Group has developed E-Learning for:
- America Online
- Arthur Andersen
Introduction - Bell Atlantic
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida
Redmon Group - CSC
- Datatel
- Defense Acquisition University
My Start
- Eastman Chemical
- Florida Power & Light
Getting A Job - Land Rover
- Litton/PRC
- Lucent Technologies
Starting A - MCI
Company - National Institutes of Health
- PBS: The Business Channel
- Reading is Fundamental (RIF)
Demos - Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Wal-Mart
- Williams Learning Network
- World Wildlife Fund
Capabilities & Services
Our services include:
- 3D animation development
Introduction - Audio narration
- Database design
- Graphic design
Redmon Group
- Instructional design
- Marketing support
My Start - Music composition
- Programming
Getting A Job - Project management
- Video digitization
Starting A - Web development
Company - Web hosting
We Host 15 Web sites and e-commerce sites
Demos - 12 Dedicated Servers
- Dual T-1s
- Security with Firewall
Total staff = 20
Development staff = 16
Introduction Project Managers = 4
Redmon Group What does the company expect?
2000 work hours per year
My Start
1600 billable hours per year
Getting A Job
Each staff member averages 12 to 15 projects per
Starting A How do we find staff?
Company
Demos Referrals
I interview first
My Start
Always thought I would start a
Introduction business
Redmon Group Did not get accepted at UVA
My Start
Accepted into George Mason
Tough times during Sophomore year
Getting A Job
at Mason
Starting A Had to re-build myself
Full-time at GMU and full-time job
Took bus a lot to Old Town
Graduated after 5 years and decided
to get my MBA
My Start
Worked full-time at Mayflower
Introduction Hotel while in MBA program
Redmon Group Learned how to first work with
My Start computers
Getting A Job Developed a computer program
Starting A
in final class which gave me my
Company start
Demos Professor asked me to consult
with him on a project for the
United Nations
My Start
Started my company out of my
Introduction apartment living room
Redmon Group Caught the wave – learned Windows
My Start
First clients were: Wal-Mart, NIH,
IBM, and Discovery Channel
Getting A Job
My girlfriend joined me full-time
Starting A Had to get an office – more
professional and our cats were
Demos jumping on clients
Grown the company to a good size
and we are profitable
The Way It Was
Where have all the foosball tables
Introduction gone?
Redmon Group What does your company do again?
My Start You mean I’m not going to make 6
Getting A Job digits by the age of 25?
You mean I won’t get a car if I work
Starting A
Company here 2 years?
Demos You can breathe. Do you want a job?
“I have the most seniority here even
though I’ve only been here 6 months.”
Getting a Job in These Times
No more sense of entitlement – you
Introduction have to pay your dues.
Redmon Group
My Start Many lay-offs these last two years so
Getting A Job competition for jobs is tight.
Starting A
Company Not all jobs are fun.
Companies may not be as willing to
spend for training.
Getting a Job in These Times
Don’t go for just a paycheck - go for a career.
Develop personal Web site.
Research the company before you send resume.
Redmon Group Do not fax your resume. Do not send from current
employer. Do not use current employer’s phone for
My Start
an interview.
Write a professional cover letter. Make it specific to
Getting A Job that job.
Write a clear objective in your resume that states
Starting A
what you will do for an employer.
Company Only list software that you really know.
Don’t list too many jobs. This could appear as job-
Demos hopping.
If they don’t respond, then be persistent.
Keep all replies professional.
Interviewing Questions
Ask the following of an employer:
Introduction Why does the company exist?
Redmon Group
Where is the company going?
What are the core values of the
My Start company?
Getting A Job What’s in it for me if I go above and
Starting A How many work hours are considered
Demos What type of person does the company
What is a trait that the company frowns
Starting A Company
Why are you starting a business?
Introduction To create your own job
To retire early
Redmon Group
To be your own boss
My Start To make a difference
To achieve a life goal
Getting A Job
To sell it
Starting A Why shouldn’t you start a business?
You have too much to lose
Demos You are risk averse
You like set hours
You do not like pressure
You see the glass half empty
Starting A Company
Challenges of starting a company
Introduction Finding clients & work
Redmon Group
Getting paid on time
Hiring and retaining staff
My Start
Financial and legal issues
Getting A Job Delegating
Starting A
Company The odds are against small business:
Demos Only 20% of businesses survive after 5
Only 4% survive after 10 years
Starting A Company
Determine an exit strategy before you
“Pay your dues”
Redmon Group
Don’t quit your day job or college, and
My Start don’t burn bridges
Getting A Job Learn the benefits & costs of different
types of funding:
Starting A Boot-strapping
Company Total control
Difficult to grow or to react to cash crunches
Loans from family & friends
People you trust the most
What if business fails?
Starting A Company
Bank loans
Introduction Don’t have to give up equity.
Redmon Group Must be proven with collateral.
Partnerships
My Start
Sharing of funding.
Getting A Job
Don’t have high success rate.
Starting A Venture capital
Quick source of money.
Demos Must give up equity.
Where’s The Glory?
When a staff member tells you that “this is
the best job that they ever had”.
Creating products that make a difference.
Redmon Group
When the mailman delivers the BIG CHECK.
My Start When potential clients call you because they
have heard of your work.
Getting A Job
When people think that your staff size is 100.
Starting A When you become debt-free.
Going to Office Depot is a night on the town.
Demos When you have publicity in magazines &
When you are no longer working IN your
company. You are working ON it.
Finding Business
Build your company’s portfolio by
Introduction doing work for free or for barter
Redmon Group Check out opportunities with the Fed
My Start Universities may have opportunities
Getting A Job When you receive RFPs, you need to
make a bid/no bid decision
Starting A
Company Washington Business Journal is my
Demos favorite business newspaper
As a business owner, I look for two things:
Introduction Are they making money for me?
Are they making my life easier?
Redmon Group
Let people know what is expected of them.
My Start 2000 works hours, 1600 billable
Getting A Job Invest in your people
Identify your core staff and future leaders
Starting A
Company Realize that you cannot please everyone
Identify what is important to them
How we allocate staff to projects
Introduction Monday morning meetings
Redmon Group
Salaries
Based on what clients are willing to pay
My Start Use 40% rule
Getting A Job Benefits
Be creative
Starting A We combined sick & vacation together
Review process
Demos 6 month reviews
Review budget based on financial performance of
The Numbers
You have to know the score
Develop a method of tracking your
Redmon Group staff time. This will help to:
My Start Track hours on T&M projects
Getting A Job
Ensure that you are within budget on
fixed-price contracts
Starting A Use numbers for future proposal efforts
Know how your business is doing
Plant calculators throughout your
Redmon Group
My Start
Getting A Job
Demo Time
Starting A
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HG Outdoor Stone Cleaner 500ml removes fingi, algae, moss etc on mansonry made from marble and other natural stone.
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When it is time to replace your computer system, you are often at the mercy of the vendor as you extract data from the older system to put into your new system. Vendors often charge exorbitant prices to write custom programs to pull the data from their system and write it to a file for import by your new system. If the data can be printed from your older system, you can use MinePoint to quickly capture it and migrate it to your new system with no vendor involvement. If the new system runs on a 3rd party database such as SQL Server or Oracle, you can push the data directly into the new system. It is also possible to remotely automate a 3rd party terminal emulator program with MinePoint and use screen scraping technology to pull data from legacy computer systems.
If you need to set up a data warehouse to consolidate information across multiple computer platforms, MinePoint is an excellent choice to use as a live feed into this warehouse from each of your platforms. MinePoint acts in this case as a data consolidator and will interface via captured reports, screen scraping, or by direct connections to the system’s database. We offered unparalleled options for connecting to systems and moving data between them.
As an example of the versatility of our data conversion tools, MinePoint is used by a Texas hospital client to pull all self pay patients’ name and SS# from the computer system. This information is converted by MinePoint into a HIPPA X12 270 Medicaid eligibility request document. MinePoint then dials up the Texas Medicaid bulletin board system and uploads the document for processing by Medicaid. MinePoint periodically polls the bulletin board system for results and downloads the X12 271 response when it is ready. The 271 document is then parsed by MinePoint and eligibility information is emailed to hospital business office staff as an Excel spreadsheet. The entire process is fully automated and occurs on a scheduled basis.
Another MinePoint client uses the data conversion features of MinePoint to feed data from a payroll system, financial system, and timekeeping system into a labor productivity tracking system. The end result of the interface is a live feed of staff hours worked, payroll dollars earned, and statistics(work performed) into the productivity system. This allows management to actively monitor productivity of their labor force on a daily basis.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117405
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McDermott Discovery
Communicating a unique value proposition
Next Step
Creating a new lifestyle brand for weight management
Jay Street Coffee
Building a brand for the urban Millennial
La Baleine
Re-designing an international icon in the US
Kernel Season's
Accelerating growth of a seasoning brand
Pretzel Crisps
A new pretzel was born
All Bran
Re-defining a 100-year-old brand
Thorny Rose
Creating a wine brand for a new target
Re-launching a brand of lip care.
Keeps moms on the go...going
Alere Annual Report
The face of connected health
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117414
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How do you sync your calendar with Outlook?
Discussion in 'Android Tech Support' started by rick619, Jan 10, 2013.
1. rick619
rick619 New Member
Jan 10, 2013
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I just got a Droid Razr M and REALLY like it so far, don't miss my slow iphone.
I used to have a droid and used the Google calendar sync. I see that is now discontinued.
Are there any good free programs that will do this?
Search tags for this page
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how to sync 2013 outlook calendar with samsung galaxy 3
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how to sync outlook calendar to galaxy s4
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outlook 2010 calendar sync with android
sync razr m with outlook calendar
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117418
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In the US, Maprotiline (maprotiline systemic) is a member of the drug class tetracyclic antidepressants and is used to treat Depression, Major Depressive Disorder and Panic Disorder.
US matches:
ATC (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification)
CAS registry number (Chemical Abstracts Service)
Chemical Formula
Molecular Weight
Therapeutic Category
Antidepressant, tetracyclic
Chemical Name
9,10-Ethanoanthracene-9(10H)-propanamine, N-methyl-
Foreign Names
Generic Names
• Maprotilina (OS: DCIT)
• Maprotiline (OS: DCF, BAN, USAN)
• Maprotiline Hydrochloride (OS: BANM, JAN)
• Ba 34276 (IS)
• Maprotiline (chlorhydrate de) (PH: Ph. Eur. 7)
• Maprotiline Hydrochloride (PH: BP 2011, JP XV, USP 34)
• Maprotiline hydrochloride (PH: Ph. Eur. 7)
• Maprotilinhydrochlorid (PH: Ph. Eur. 7)
• Maprotilini hydrochloridum (PH: Ph. Eur. 7)
• Maprotiline methanesulfonate (IS)
Brand Names
International Drug Name Search
BANBritish Approved Name
BANMBritish Approved Name (Modified)
DCFDénomination Commune Française
DCITDenominazione Comune Italiana
ISInofficial Synonym
JANJapanese Accepted Name
OSOfficial Synonym
PHPharmacopoeia Name
Rec.INNRecommended International Nonproprietary Name (World Health Organization)
USANUnited States Adopted Name
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117426
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Old 02-20-2012, 01:19 PM
Pollyanna's Avatar
Pollyanna Pollyanna is offline
Platinum Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Cyberspace, Sydney connection
Posts: 10,000
Default What on earth is wrong with society!
I was looking at the news. Sports articles often go into the science and art behind what the players do. The music articles seem to mostly talk about the business, the artists' private lives and what's on.
The govt gives far more in grants to sports than the arts. Then there's all the corporate sponsorship. To be fair, both the govt and corporations put a dead hand to almost everything they do. Sure, lots of people play sports themselves but many have had music lessons, and most listen regularly.
I enjoy sports but my point is that it's so much more popular than the arts it's redikulouss! (at least in this country)
I don't geddit. What the [expletive] is wrong with people!!
Sorry, just had to vent.
Polly's rhythms
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Duck Tape® Decorative Lamp
Ducktivity provided by Duck® Brand
Skill Level:
Approximate Crafting Time:
Supplies and Tools:
• Duck Tape®
• Lamp
• Scissors
• Craft knife
• Crafting board
• Step 1
Cover the base of your lamp in Duck Tape®.
• Step 2
Cover the lamp shade in Duck Tape®.
• Step 3
To make your ruffle, cut several strips of Duck Tape®. The amount depends on how big or small your lamp shade is.
• Step 4
Fold the strips of Duck Tape®, leaving one third of the sticky side showing.
• Step 5
Make your ruffle by applying the sticky side of the strip directly to the lamp and pinching or bunching the other part of your strip.
• Step 6
Add a skinnier strip of Duck Tape® overtop the bunched tape to hold the ruffle in place as you go.
• Step 7
Continue steps 5-6 until your entire lamp shade is covered in ruffles.
• Step 8
Place your lamp shade on the base you covered in step one.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117434
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Online Test Banks
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Best Bedtime Foods to Promote Sleep and Boost Metabolism
Part of the Boosting Your Metabolism For Dummies Cheat Sheet
''It's okay to have a snack before bed, especially if it's been many hours since dinner. This will prevent you from going to bed hungry, which can interfere with sleep. However, now that you know it's okay to eat before bedtime, that doesn't give you free reign to finish off that carton of ice cream or leftover lasagna!
Greasy or salty foods are tough on your bedtime digestion. Same with any food that's spicy or acidic, like tomato sauce or citrus fruits, which can increase heartburn. In addition, although ice cream is a popular late night and refreshing treat, the simple sugars can cause an increase in energy, or alertness which offsets that sleepy feeling.
The old adage about having a glass of warm milk before bedtime isn't a myth! Warm liquids make you sleepy by increasing body temperature. Also, dairy contains tryptophan plus calcium to boost your sleep-well chemicals.
The ideal snack before bedtime is about 200 calories and is a combination of carbohydrate plus a bit of protein. That's best to help you get to your happy place.
Calming components
• Tryptophan: An amino acid in turkey that purportedly increases sleepiness helps your body produce serotonin, or the feel-good hormone, which makes you feel calm and promotes good sleep. It works best when the stomach is empty or there's not too much protein in your system — so with turkey, the effect is somewhat dampened. Protein perks you up with the amino acid tyrosine, which is another reason why you don't want a protein-dense snack pre-bed. It takes about an hour for tryptophan to reach the brain, so plan the timing of your snack accordingly. Best sources for sleep: Whole grains and seeds.
• Melatonin: The same stuff that's affected by light and regulates your internal sleeping clock is also found naturally in some foods. Best sources for sleep: Oats and cherries.
• Calcium: Calcium can convert tryptophan into melatonin. Calcium is also important for nerve impulses, and a deficiency may interrupt your sleep. Best sources for sleep: Low-fat milk and yogurt.
• Magnesium: Helps decrease the production of cortisol, your stress hormone, that thwart a good night's sleep. Magnesium is also key for muscle contraction so that your legs aren't cramping up in the middle of the night. Best sources for sleep: Almonds and bran cereal.
• Potassium: Important to prevent muscle cramping and Restless Leg Syndrome, which can keep you up when you're trying to power down. Best sources for sleep: Banana and sweet potato.
Ten great bedtime snacks
• Oatmeal with sliced banana
• Edamame
• Air-popped popcorn
• Bran cereal with soy milk
• Whole wheat crackers with hummus
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Cherry smoothie (frozen cherries plus skim milk)
• Low-fat yogurt with ground flaxseed
• Whole wheat toast with almond butter
• A calming cup of chamomile tea
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Boosting Your Metabolism For Dummies Cheat Sheet
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Win $500. Easy.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117456
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Unrep MSC to amphib
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Earth's Ice Age
Want more?
Just saying . . .
1 comment:
1. Anonymous10:32 AM
Clearly the ancient aliens had a coal based economy. Has anybody gotten Von Danniken or History Channel Guy-With-Really-Weird-Hair or Knit Beret Dude on this?
Anyone that has driven I-35 from San Antonio South has seen the evidence of past sea levels. Those sand bodies on either side of the road are past barrier islands of the Gulf. Drill cores of these bodies show the same structure we see in the modern barrier island system, which is different from other sand bodies.
Sonar surveys of the continental shelf in the Gulf also reveal submerged sequences of barrier islands to depths of around 150 feet, indicating lower sea levels as well, again verified by coring. Dates on all of these can be verified by radiometric means as well as by fossil assemblages (Pleistocene mammals and other things, even plant pollen). Unless one thinks the ancient astronauts or early homonids or both were into carbon credits, the answer lies elsewhere, in the realm of isostacy, Milankovich Cycles and current changes.
As one of my profs used to say:"We're not out of the Pleistocene, yet".
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Friday Movie Night - Not For Sale
The Occupy Wall Street protests have taken off, so of course now come attempts to belittle and discredit them. Business Insider posted the below photoshopped image, titled Down with Evil Corporations. Whoever created it believes they are showing the hypocrisy of demonstrators using corporate products to protest corporate power and greed.
The photo really shows, instead of it's intent, one has little choice, but to use products from corporations labor arbitraging Americans and raping the financial planet. Markets have become so monopolized by multinational corporations, you cannot find products made by good corporate citizens. With that, the below documentary outlines how multinational corporations have limited consumer choice.
Not For Sale
Think about it. Have you ever hunted high and low for lunch meat that doesn't have sodium nitrate or High-fructose corn syrup in it?
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@techreport{Cai2008effects, abstract = {We investigate the impact of health on working hours in recognition of the fact that leaving the labour market due to persistently low levels of health stock or due to new health shocks, is only one of the possibilities open to employees. We use the first six waves of the HILDA survey to estimate the joint effect of health status and health shocks on working hours using a dynamic random effects Tobit model of working hours to account for zero working hours. We follow Heckman (1981) and approximate the unknown initial conditions with a static equation that utilizes information from the first wave of the data. Predicted individual health stocks are used to ameliorate the possible effects of measurement error and endogeneity. We conclude that overall lower health status results in lower working hours and that health shocks lead to further reductions in working hours when they occur. Estimation results show that the model performs well in separating the time-persistent effect of health stock (health status) and the potentially more transient health shocks on working hours.}, address = {Bonn}, author = {Lixin Cai and Kostas Mavromaras and Umut Oguzoglu}, copyright = {http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen}, keywords = {J22; 330; Working hours; health; health shocks; Tobit estimation; Arbeitszeit; Gesundheit; Schock; Sch\"{a}tzung; Australien}, language = {eng}, note = {urn:nbn:de:101:1-20080527163}, number = {3496}, publisher = {IZA}, title = {The effects of health and health shocks on hours worked}, type = {IZA Discussion Papers}, url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10419/35202}, year = {2008} }
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117481
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Will the soloists please step forward?
I decided to tackle the problem of finding solo music in sound files that contain both solo and non-solo music. Basically, this is a classification problem where each part of a track of music is labeled 'solo' or 'non-solo.' It's an interesting problem because such a classifier would allow you to pull out sections of solo music out of a large pool of mixed music. You might then, for example, attempt to classify the solo instrument.
Part 1: Getting a handle on the problem
Part 2: Strategy
Part 3: Execution
Part 4: Results with test music samples
Part 5: What happened?
Part 6: What next?
Addendum: Wav files, labels, and code
Christine Smit
Christine Smit's email address
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117497
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Ramón Rentería
Dear Luis,
It has been a while since you sent all those newspaper clippings and a three-page letter.
You accused me, my colleagues and even El Paso Times contributors of being stupid and illiterate because you said we don't use proper or decent Spanish like El Diario.
This is what you said: "I daresay that in my lifetime you (your ilk, too) are the only ones proposing illiteracy as a virtue, a standard to be sought, indeed obtained."
You impress me Luis. I've been alive for 66 summers and I've never had to use ilk in speech or a sentence.
Not that there's ever any good excuse for mangled Spanish, but we are an English newspaper.
I assume you are a well-educated professional, perhaps a well-read Spanish teacher or another unhappy Spanish language purist. Don't you guys have better things to do than whine?
You circled a lot of words and names that you said must be accented.
Maybe it doesn't matter to you but some people simply do not want their name accented. We respect their choices. (Even Susana "La Tejana" Martinez).
As for your assumption that El Diario would never hire me as a writer, well thanks but no thanks. I've pretty well done my time. (Anyway, este pocho no escribe español fulltime.)
I hope you never run into old pachucos that you insulted and labeled as "semi-functional illiterates."
I don't profess to be an expert on English, Spanish or Spanglish.
We can argue for eternity about whether vato should be vato or bato. I suppose scholars and pachucos could strangle each other over which dictionary has the proper spelling.
Every time I use vato with a "b" people who think the opposite of you accuse me of being stupid and ignorant and neither fluent in English or Spanish. Either way, I lose.
Award-winning author Luis Alberto Urrea once wrote a poem paying tribute to all vatos, even disenchanted vatos like you.
Urrea wrote: "Vatos — street slang for dude, guy, pal, brother — sprang from the highly stylized language of the Pachucos (los cukotes) in the '50s. It's a Chicano term derived from the once-common friendly insult chivato, or goat. It had a slightly unacceptable air to it, which the Locos and Weesas of the Chuco world enjoyed. They were able to take the sting out of racism by calling themselves a bunch of names assimilated 'good Mexicans' didn't like."
Professor Dennis Bixler-Márquez, director of Chicano Studies at UTEP and perhaps one of the last true vatos standing in El Chuco, said: "The Pequeño Larousse Ilustrado, a respected Spanish dictionary, lists both vato and bato as synonymous, which means the spellings compete or alternate with each other in written Spanish."
Most readers of this column have no issues with the spelling of vato. As someone suggested, stop calling people names for how they use language and agree to disagree. (Your bato is not better than my vato.)
Someday I'm going to write a complicated children's book about "The Vato Who Could Not Spell Bato."
Anyway, thanks for reading my stuff.
God bless you, Luis.
— El Ramón, a tired old bato or vato who did not grow up in a famous varrio.
Ramón Rentería may be reached at 546-6146.
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Upgrading Our Choices
"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death... therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live." (Deut. 30:19 NKJV)
1. Begin with the RIGHT end in mind.
"Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land." (Ps. 25:12-13)
2. Be wiling to COMMIT to the CONSEQUENCES
"Peter asked, 'Lord, why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.' Then Jesus answered, 'Will you really lay down your life for Me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times!'" (John 13:37-38 NIV)
3. Trust in the PROCESS and the PROVIDENCE of God.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it." (Ps. 37:4-5)
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Some fast-acting medicines, such as diazepam or lorazepam, can be used 'as needed' to stop seizures. When used outside of a hospital setting, they are usually given by mouth. Some forms of injections and nasal sprays are being developed and tested. The following information will help people understand important facts about giving and using rescue medicines that are meant to be taken orally or sublingually (which means under the tongue). People who are prescribed these medicines or who are asked to give them to someone else (such as their child) should receive one on one teaching from a doctor or nurse.
How can oral or sublingual medicines be given?
Some people don’t like the idea of using a medicine rectally, or their doctor may feel that an oral medicine is better for them. You may be asked to take or give a medicine in one of three ways.
• Oral or by mouth: This usually means swallowing the pill with water. This should be done only if the person is awake and alert and is not at risk for choking on the pill or water.
• Sublingual: This means that the pill is placed under the tongue where it will dissolve and be absorbed into the bloodstream. The person should not drink or eat anything until the medicine is gone.
• Buccal: This means that the medicine can be placed in the mouth between the cheeks and the nearby gum where it will dissolve and be absorbed into the bloodstream. Usually, medicines that can be taken sublingually can also be taken buccally. The person should not drink or eat anything until the medicine is gone.
Taking the pills orally is usually easier for most people. However, it may be hard to give medicines this way to an infant or young child, a person who is too sleepy or not able to cooperate, a person who can not keep the medicine in their mouth (for example someone who drools or has vomited), or a person who is having too many seizures. In these situations, talk to your doctor about rectal forms of the medicine such as Diastat.
Specific orders needed from your doctor:
• Name of the drug.
• The dose of each pill and how much to take at each dose.
• When it should be given - for example after a certain number of seizures or after clusters of seizures that last a certain period of time.
• How often it can be taken and how much in one day.
• Times when it should NOT be taken.
• How to take it – swallow, sublingual or buccal.
• Talk to your health care provider about the best way to use rescue seizure medicine.
• Make sure you have a specific plan on when to use it and when not to.
• Include information on how to give these medicines on your Seizure Plan so others will know how best to help you.
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A Novel Processor Architecture for Efficient Conditional Processing: Accelerating the Von Neumann Machine
by Jan van Lunteren
Traditional general-purpose processors seem finally to have reached their limits. The substantial performance improvements achieved year after year over the past decades are diminishing as processor technology approaches physical limits and has to deal with growing power consumption. The tough requirements of several emerging applications now call for rethinking fundamental aspects of the processor architecture that have existed for almost half a century.
At the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, we have started a research project that examines whether there are opportunities for novel processor concepts which deviate from the traditional ‘Von Neumann’ processor architecture. The objective of this project is to realize a new type of programmable coprocessor that is optimized for applications that run into performance problems when being executed on a conventional processor. The initial focus is on tasks that operate on streams of data such as XML processing, pattern-matching (eg, for spam filtering), compression and encryption. One of the main focal points is to optimize the handling of conditional branches, which is an important factor affecting the performance of state-of-the-art, deeply-pipelined and superscalar processor architectures, as this directly influences the fill rate of the pipeline and execution units.
In a traditional ‘von Neumann’ processor architecture, instructions are identified and selected for execution based on their memory addresses using a program counter. Because the program counter is incremented by default after the execution of each instruction, the basic “instruction execution flow” is sequential in nature and is usually only changed by branch, procedure-call and return instructions. This is illustrated in Figure 1(a). Conditional branch instructions can change the instruction execution flow based on the evaluation of typically one simple condition (eg greater than, less than, or equal to). If multiple conditions or a more complex condition (eg “is a given character a legal name character in a given programming language”) need to be evaluated, then these have to be translated into a sequence of multiple instructions and conditional branches.
Figure 1
Figure 1: New concept for processor architecture.
Figure 1(b) shows the new concept in its most general form: a processor architecture in which each instruction is associated with a set of multiple conditions. In each execution cycle, the conditions for all instructions in the current instruction group are evaluated, and the instruction for which all conditions match is selected for execution. If the conditions for multiple instructions match, a priority scheme is applied. Special “branch” instructions allow a jump to a different group of instructions. Because the execution of the instructions will typically affect the evaluation of the conditions in subsequent cycles, this will determine the actual instruction execution flow. This is illustrated in Figure 1(c), which shows an example of a specific embodiment of this concept in the form of an enhanced state-transition diagram. This diagram involves numerous potential execution paths, in which the actual path taken during execution of the program is determined by real-time evaluation of the various sets of conditions associated with the state transitions, and the instructions associated with the transitions chosen are selected for execution. (Note that the state-transition diagram shown in Figure 1(c) is small and simple; actual diagrams can be substantially larger and more complex.)
A novel programmable, state-machine technology, called B-FSM (BaRT-based Finite State Machine), has made practical implementations of the concept described feasible for clock frequencies into the gigahertz range. Based on the B-FSM technology, the novel processor concept has already been successfully applied to design prototypes of an XML accelerator coprocessor and a pattern-matching engine for intrusion detection. The latter engine will be capable of matching thousands of patterns simultaneously at processing rates of up to 10 Gb/s for FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) and beyond 20 Gb/s for ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) implementations, achieving a storage efficiency that is a factor 10 to 500 better than conventional algorithms. Ongoing research is directed at the design of a common instruction set that enables the coprocessor to be used for a range of applications. Other topics for further investigation are also the programming model and compiler.
Please contact:
Jan van Lunteren, IBM Research GmbH, Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland
E-mail: [email protected]
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117532
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From ErfWiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Book (TBFGK)
Page by page (17)
Panel by panel (17:1)
Page Info
Turn Number:3 AW
Side's Turn:Gobwin Knob
Previous TBFGK 16 Next TBFGK 18 [edit]
TBFGK 17.jpg
Panels: 9
Previous TBFGK 16 Next TBFGK 18 [edit]
Panel 1
Wanda Firebaugh, outlined in light, stands with her feet splayed and cyan light shining in a disc above her upstretched hands. The room is dark, with a large red cylinder outlined in red light filling the centre and blue squares outlined in blue light orbiting in the air around the cylinder.[1][edit]
Wanda Firebaugh: The spell is cast, Lord.
I have only to concentrate on the target and speak the trigger word.
Stanley the Plaid: Okay, listen...
Panel 2
Stanley grins eagerly, clenching his fist as he envisions his perfect warlord.[edit]
Stanley the Plaid: I want a big guy.
Big, powerful, dashing, handsome, heroic...
...a guy who'll shock and awe[2] them, just standing on the city walls, commanding the fight.
Panel 3
Wanda throws an irritated-looking glance over her shoulder at Stanley. Her eyes and clothing glow with cyan energy.[edit]
Wanda Firebaugh: I thought we agreed I was looking for the perfect military mind.
A strategic genius, not an ornament.
Panel 4
Still grinning excitedly, Stanley makes an emphatic gesture.[edit]
Stanley the Plaid: I want that, too!
Now think. I want a guy who's commanded all different kinds of battles.
I want him to be obsessed with war. Somebody who plans wars and kills his foes for fun.
I want a guy who snacks on gwiffons and eats Marbits for BREAKFAST!
Panel 5
Wanda turns her face back up to the disc of cyan light as Stanley continues to give her directions.[edit]
Stanley the Plaid: And I know the spell will bind him to serve me, but I don't want a morale case. Get me somebody who actually wants to be summoned.
Wanda Firebaugh: Yes Lord.
Stanley the Plaid: And don't screw up the basics, either.
Panel 6
Stanley's grin hasn't faded as he continues to list.[edit]
Stanley the Plaid: He's gotta speak Language.
Breathe the air and things.[3]
Everything should seem familiar and safe to him. No crazy surprises.
Wanda Firebaugh: Lord, it's difficult...
Panel 7
Wanda looks stressed as she continues to hold the energies of the Summon Perfect Warlord Spell.[edit]
Wanda Firebaugh: I...
I am not a Findamancer!
I was looking for a mind! All these physical requirements are too much, I--
Panel 8
The energies in the casting room start to blur and grow brighter as Wanda completes the spell.[edit]
Stanley the Plaid: Oh all right, find your genius. Just make him BIG, okay?
Can you do that much, Commander?
Wanda Firebaugh: Thank you, Lord.
...I have him...
Panel 9
A bulky humanoid silhouette, fallen on all fours, appears in the casting circle in the middle of the Tower of Efdup casting chamber.[edit]
Sound: PLOT[5] [edit]
1. ^ Shock and Awe is a colloquial term for a military doctrine developed in the U.S. in 1996. The term was used regularly in the buildup to and early action of the 2003 Iraq War.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117543
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Sin and Punishment: Successor to the Sky
Don't go unpunished.
Version tested Wii
Sin and Punishment 2 looks like what would happen if a music visualiser developed sentience and tried to kill you. It envelops you in sweeping patterns of bullets, elegantly criss-crossing lasers and lens-flare, a deadly visual cacophony that puts you into a comforting trance as you flit defensively around the screen. But hidden behind these familiar graphical patterns is a deceptively innovative and flexible shooter; developer Treasure plays with your expectations and your instincts, and Sin and Punishment 2 comes out feeling at once like a genre greatest hits compilation and completely fresh.
Depending on which mood you catch it in, it can echo Bangai-O, Ikaruga or Space Harrier, but its own personality always shines through. A large part of the appeal is the glorious, inventive insanity of the levels, particularly the boss design. Each of the game's seven stages is wonderfully distinct, only occasionally throwing up a staple environment like a factory or a volcanic landscape or the final extraterrestrial battle with an enormous spaceship. The rest of the time it's completely off the rails. Some illustrative phrases from my notebook, jotted down whenever there was a five-second gap in the bullet assault: "forest of the testicle-mace golem", "magma guinea-pig and the baffling cranes", "four-pronged whale assault", "moonlit battle with the giant stonefrog", "cactus-hatted sand leeches".
Most of the time you're running into the screen on a 2D plane, but the camera angles are creative and the game sometimes turns you on your axis and becomes a side-scrolling shooter for a while, or zooms out to offer a panoramic top-down view. The elven main characters, Kachi and Isa, have been freed from the floor since the original Sin and Punishment, pulling out a hover skateboard or jetpack to float around the entire screen.
Thanks to this new freedom of movement, bosses are now screen-filling affairs, and there are at least three of them in every single stage. Their attacks often take up half the screen. You must learn to use your evasive roll, and the tiny window of invulnerability that it provides, to dodge everything from massive claw-swipes to explosive cherry-blossoms to projectile tadpoles. B fires a constant stream of bullets, tapping A locks on to a boss' weak-point or particular enemy - locked-on bullets, though, have less power. Most importantly, tapping B brings out a sword for a melee attack that can deflect missiles and damage nearby enemies.
Each character has their own charge shot, too - Kachi's can target multiple enemies, Isa's is one focused explosion. It's absolutely non-stop madness from start to finish, which is about six hours including frequent deaths (less if, for some reason, you choose to play on Easy). As you would hope and expect, Sin and Punishment 2 is a relentless, non-stop sensory assault from start to finish. Everything that you touch (or try frantically not to touch) explodes. Robots, giant eagles, bulls, birds, vehicles and fish all explode. Even human enemies, once you've shot them, fall over and then explode.
Comments (60)
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117561
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Skip to main content
1. Tech
2. Games
3. Consoles
Games on Demand demands too much of your wallet
Tuesday Microsoft released the 360 Games on Demand service but the prices of some of these games has made me wonder if downloading games is really worth it at all. Sure gamers are getting games when they want them, but they are paying a premium for a game that could be found for much less elsewhere.
For example Prey, a game that has been in bargain bins since late 2006, costs $20 when purchased over Xbox Live. While this was a great game and I do recommend that everyone play it at least once, I would also recommend that no more than $10 be spent on it. One of the major talking points in favor of online purchases is the instant gratification of download and play Xbox 360 games at all hours of the night, but wouldn’t it be worth the $10 to wait a few hours until the stores open? As if $10 isn’t enough savings take Bioshock, a game voted by many publications as Game of the Year, costs $30 via digital download, but can cost between $20 and even $15 at some locations.
Price gouging digital games is not limited only to the Xbox 360. Recently I purchased a copy of Jeanne d’Arc at a local Gamestop for $15, but if I ha d purchased it via the PSN it would have cost me $22. This is the same case with Parappa the Rapper, Pursuit Force, and Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow all of which can be found for 50-80% off the PSN download price at a game store.
It seems that downloading games via the PSN or Xbox Live has some ground to make up. While I've never been the type to sing the praises of Gamestop and it's "I'll buy your games for $1 and sell it for $50" policy, they can provide games that are new and used for less than what the PSN and Xbox Live are asking. The ability to purchase games at a bargain price outside of the PSN was also one of the deciding factors in my recent PSP vs PSP Go decision and I fear that expensive downloads coupled with the lack of option to purchase in store could be the undoing of Sony's newest PSP model. I feel that unless downloading a game can be competitively priced with picking up a physical media disc at a brick and mortar store it will be a long while until we as consumers can fully usher in the digital distribution age.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117565
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How to make your macros and functions available to all workbooks
When you create a macro or a user defined function in a workbook, by default that macro will only be visible for that specific workbook.
If you have a code that you use repeatedly and you want it to be available for all workbooks then you have to create a global workbook called Personal.xls and save it in Excel startup folder.
How to create the file:
1. Open a new workbook.
2. Save As Personal.xls in folder:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\XLSTART
3. Copy your macros from their original workbooks to personal.xls.
4. Click Window –> Hide to hide the file.
The path may differ slightly depending on which version of office you are using.
How to use the file:
1. Whenever you start Excel personal.xls will be opened automatically, and all your macros will be available for use in any workbook.
2. Keep personal.xls hidden unless you want to add macros to it.
3. When you want to add new macros Click Window –> Unhide and select “personal.xls”.
4. To add a new macro click Tools –> Macro –> Record new macro. You will get the following dialogue box.
5. Under “Store macro in:” select “Personla.xls”.
6. When you are done hide the file again.
If you are interested in more details please see the following Microsoft office link:
Deploy your Excel macros from a central file
Applies to: Excel 2003
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117576
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Blowing Thirty Candles Dont Instantly Make U Another Person.
Like in the title i used to expect my twenties to get over the pain and sadness i would always blame on teens. Today i am nineteen turning twenty on june and i gotta say, theres nothing changed im me. In fact everything i was turns more and more bigger until i cant control it. In school i was the only one to think ahead like a grownup. What i want to say is that, the age is irelevant with the growth of your chararter. Its not aging but its the situations and the expiriences u gain that make u who u become. So i hate it when they try to explain it all on "passing phase" of age. Society just makes us fake our growing up, coz in real we may be as childish and dumb as when we were eight.
Theanonymuswimp Theanonymuswimp 18-21 2 Responses May 10, 2012
Your Response
You are right about that. Some of my very young friends are like "old souls." They may lack life experience, but they have a certain wisdom...a maturity...that defies their age in years. Dismiss platitudes for what they are...people just don't know how else to respond, so they think it helps you to just say what we have all heard before. They mean well, and it's the only way they know how to respond, but it does get a bit tedious to keep hearing these things. Good luck to you.
Yea indeed.Thanx for the luck a lot.
Age does not define your maturity, this is very true! What age does define is what people will expect from you and your behavior at a certain age.
Thats true thats what i wanna say. Aaah, when someone sums up in one sentense what u need ten paragraphs for. :-)
It only happens when the stars are lined up for me.LOL
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117602
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Re: FCGI and Apache
Paul Mahoney (
Mon, 13 May 1996 16:37:29 +100 (BST)
Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 16:37:29 +100 (BST)
From: Paul Mahoney <>
To: Mark Brown <>
Subject: Re: FCGI and Apache
In-Reply-To: <>
Message-Id: <>
On Sat, 11 May 1996, Mark Brown wrote:
> The absolute simplest FastCGI thing is cgi-fcgi, run from the command line,
> talking to tiny-fcgi. Here's what to do:
> 1) do a clean build of the kit, being sure to compile with -g for
> debugging.
> 2) start tiny-fcgi:
> % cd examples
> % ../cgi-fcgi/cgi-fcgi -start -connect sockets/tiny-fcgi ./tiny-fcgi
> Use ps to verify that the process is running.
> 3) give SERVER_NAME a value (tiny-fcgi expects it):
> % setenv SERVER_NAME foo
> 4) run a request through tiny-fcgi using cgi-fcgi:
> % ../cgi-fcgi/cgi-fcgi -bind -connect sockets/tiny-fcgi
> If all is well, some HTML will spit out. I'm betting
> that it won't.
> If all is not well, you've probably got one or more core dumps to look
> at. The total amount of code involved is pretty small so you should
> be able to make some sense of it. At least you can get a stack trace to
> send in.
> Another thing to try if that didn't work is to use TCP rather than
> Unix Domain communications. Read the cgi-fcgi manpage for
> information on how to use TCP.
I have also been unable to get fgci app going so following the above steps.
Using "Unix Domain communications" I get no output and no core dump. As far
as I can tell cgi-fcgi sends the BEGIN and PARAMS, the select hear a response
but, when read, finds it to be zero lenght and exits with a protocol error.
If I use "-connect localhost:8081" instead of "-connect sockets/ting-fcgi"
it appears to work. That is I get sensible html output, with an incrementing
count value.
I haven't yet figured out why "Unix Domain communications" (named pipes)
aren't working. I'm running SCO Enterprise System Release 5. Has anyone
else figured this one out?
Is there any way the AppClass (Apache server) directive can be told to use
TCP instead of Unix domain sockets?
Paul Mahoney, X-Act Solutions Limited
email: ...
phone: +44 424 846368
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117632
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Legendary Riders - Custom Action Figure Contest!
Contest Winners:
View Contest Entries
Legendary Riders (Yes, the name is stolen from ML Series 11). Any character riding a vehicle, creature, etc. would be acceptable. Half person / creature/ cyborg combinations are not okay (i.e., no centaurs, guy with tank treads for legs, etc., you could, however, have another character riding on the back of that centaur or the guy with tank treads)-- the rider and mount have to be separate 'entities', and each entry must have at least one of each. Either the rider(s), what they're riding, or both, have to be customized (i.e., if you don't have a lot of time, you could customize Ghost Rider, but use an unaltered bike, customize a bike, but use an unaltered Ghost Rider, or, if you're more ambitious, customize both). A small sampling of things you might do: He-Man on Battlecat, any Dinorider character and their dinosaur, a Final Fantasy character on a Chocobo, a Tusken Raider on its Bantha, Harry Potter on his broom, or just something you made up--heck, have one character giving another a piggy-back ride if nothing else.
Thanks to Patraw for putting this together!
What is the contest schedule?
Begins: Contest Closed
Ends: August 31st, 2010 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time.
Voting: September 1st - 7th.
What are the rules of the contest?
• Please use the form here to submit your custom figure.
• How was this custom customized?
• How does the custom fit into the contest theme?
• Your identity will remain hidden until after the voting completes.
How does the contest voting work?
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117694
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Bobby Owsinski
Bobby Owsinski, Contributor
I write about the latest news in the new music business.
Media & Entertainment
1/07/2014 @ 6:00AM |5,076 views
The Numbers Are In: Should The Music Industry Be Worried?
Norio Ohga, Former Sony President Credited wit...
Norio Ohga, Former Sony President Credited with Developing the Compact Disc (Photo credit: ssoosay)
We’re in the era of the single song, as albums mean less and less to today’s consumers. It’s a different time where the attention span is much shorter, multitasking abounds, and there are more media choices than ever, which are less than ideal conditions for a medium that requires a long time commitment. Albums won’t die, but hopefully they’ll be altered for the times, with fewer songs and less running time. That’s not going to bring the format back to prominence, but it might slow its decline. This is one time where quality trumps quantity for sure.
“Of course we all knew that CD sales would fall again, the question was only by how much.”
Of course we all knew that CD sales would fall again, the question was only by how much. Last year the sales of that round piece of shinny plastic was down 14.5% to 165.4 million units. Keep in mind that these were only the units that Soundscan could count. The number of CDs that are directly sold by artists at gigs, events and online is unknown and could easily push that total considerably higher.
But who’s selling these albums? In the end, it’s still the same players, but the marketshare has shifted a bit. iTunes gained slightly to 40.6% last year, while the big retailers Target and Walmart declined to around 27%, Best Buy and Trans World to 13.5%, and mom and pop retailers down to 6.3%. Non-traditional retailers like Amazon and Starbucks are the only ones that saw an increase to 12.6%.
About the only format besides streaming that showed any growth was the vinyl LP, which grew last year by 32% from 4.55 million units to 6 million units. Save your cheering though, since those numbers, while now about 2% of all album sales, are still insignificant to the industry at large. No matter how much growth the format shows, vinyl will not energize the business.
“While people don’t need music to live, they need it all the same.”
So should the music industry be worried? In a word, no. While people don’t need music to live, they need it all the same. It’s in our DNA and we’re always going to consume it in one form or another. What we see now is the business morphing as music streaming becomes the consumption method of choice for listeners. It seems like just yesterday we were living through the first digital music revolution; keep your eyes open because we’re living it again.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117726
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[dokuwiki] saving non-changing edits (was: better way?)
> In the publish plugin, http://www.dokuwiki.org/plugin:publish
> it suggests something like:
> <snip>a core modification to save edits even if the page's content wasn't
> changed in the edit</snip>
> Is there a better way (something that might be acceptable upstream)?
> I couldn't see an event that could be used for this...
Hmm complicated. Let's have a deeper look at how the publish plugin works first:
Privileged users (with AUTH_DELETE permissions) get an "approve this"
checkbox in the edit form when editing any page in a namespace set up
for approval. The usual workflow is that a less privileged minion
writes a page, then the more privileged overlord clicks edit, finds it
to be good as is and checks the checkbox and clicks save.
Now the publish plugin intercepts the IO_WIKIPAGE_WRITE event to know
when a page was saved. It will then add the approval to the page's
metadata. But as the name suggest, the IO_WIKIPAGE_WRITE is only
called when a page is really written. But saveWikiText() aborts the
save when there was no change to the page content and
IO_WIKIPAGE_WRITE never happens.
First, I believe in general it makes sense NOT to store a new page
revision when no content was changed. So IMHO we should see if the
publish plugin could be changed. The plugin doesn't really care if
there is a new revision or not, it basically just signs the most
recent revision anyway (because metatdata always refers to the current
revision). And it doesn't need any special event data, just the
current page which is in $ID and the currently loggend in user which
is superglobal anyway.
So any event that happens after pressing the save button and after a
possible page change (eg. IO_WIKIPAGE_WRITE, because the overlord
might change something while approving) but before the redirect to the
do=show action happens, would be good.
Unfortunately there seems to be no such event that god be used
directly. One way would be introducing an event wrapper around
saveWikiText(). Maybe others could chime in if that would be
But there's another way. The plugin could do the follwoing:
1st hook into ACTION_ACT_PREPROCESS.BEFORE and remember what action
was initially submitted (we only care for 'save')
2nd hook into ACTION_SHOW_REDIRECT.BEFORE and check if a 'save' was
remembered before. If yes do the approval thing before redirecting.
Any comments? Did I miss something?
DokuWiki mailing list - more info at
Other related posts:
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117744
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hide menu
User avatar #99 - peopleeatdogs (12/19/2012) [-]
im gunna marry her O.o
#106 to #99 - snakefire (12/19/2012) [-]
>excessive ha's
>O.o not even used right
Full facebook
>excessive ha's
>O.o not even used right
Full facebook
User avatar #107 to #106 - peopleeatdogs (12/19/2012) [-]
da fuck does this have to do with failbook?
#108 to #107 - snakefire (12/19/2012) [-]
You act like a typical facebook tard
<you right now
#112 to #108 - peopleeatdogs (12/19/2012) [-]
you act like someone who has nothing better to do then be a dick to a girl you dont even know.
go get laid.
im funny.
#116 to #112 - snakefire (12/19/2012) [-]
No you arent
I would probably have an easier time getting laid than you, and you're supposedly a woman so that really says a lot.
#115 to #112 - samagain (12/19/2012) [-]
no.... you're not.
Friends (0)
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117745
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hide menu
#33 - TheDinoIsBack (03/26/2011) [-]
I hate how MTV glamorizes teen pregnancy. I hate girls like this. There's a chick in my school that dropped out because she's pregnant. She posts all these pictures of her stomach on facebook as her friends are just going nuts on how "cute she looks" being pregnant. I hope she knows that she threw her whole future away for a guy that isn't even there.
User avatar #35 to #33 - almox (03/26/2011) [-]
exacually the same from my school, the whole dropping out of school, facebook pictures and the ''boyfriend'' that doesn't care. i don't see why she couldn't have just waited another five or ten years to be honest
Friends (0)
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117756
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Welcome to Gaia! ::
x OneTreeHill x's avatar
So, I have a canker sore, in my mouth and it hurts, obviously classified_fu
I was wondering, if baby orajel for teething/pain medicine will help?
waterrock's avatar
Ruthless Flatterer
It helps for mine, so I'd say yes.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117784
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A. Introduction
If the Garnishee does not file an Answer by the forty-fifth day after being served with the Summons (or the next business day if the forty-fifth day is on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday), then the Garnishee is automatically in default.[i]
The Garnishee then has another 15 days to “open” the default. [ii] This is essentially a “grace period.” See Chapter 14 for how to open the default within these 15 days.
If the Garnishee does not open the default within these 15 days, then a Default Judgment may be entered against the Garnishee for the entire amount which the Plaintiff claims to be owed by the Defendant on the judgment.[iii] Once the Default Judgment is entered, the Garnishee owes the Plaintiff the same amount that the Defendant did, because the Garnishee did not respond in time!
Nevertheless, the Garnishee may have the Default Judgment modified to a $50.00 fine plus the amount that the Garnishee should have paid in to the Court, if the Garnishee will act within 60 days after receiving notice that the Default Judgment was entered.[iv]
This deadline is not necessarily 60 days after the date the Default Judgment was actually entered… the 60 days does not start until the Garnishee learns of the Judgment.[v] “Notice to the garnishee by certified mail of the entry of a default judgment is “sufficient notice….”[vi] If certified mail is used to give notice, the 60 day period begins to run:
l on the date of the first attempted delivery of such notice, even if the Garnishee fails or refuses to claim the notice (provided the notice is correctly addressed and contains adequate postage), or
l on the date an agent of the addressee signs for the certified mail notice.[vii]
B. A Company Must Be Represented By a Lawyer to Modify a Judgment
As described in Chapter 2, if the Garnishee is a company, then it will need a lawyer to move the Court to modify the default judgment.
However, even if a lawyer is not required, given the potentially high stakes involved in avoiding a judgment, it is recommended that a Garnishee who is in default hire a lawyer to make sure that all of the technicalities to modify the judgment are satisfied.
C. How to Move the Court to Modify the Judgment within 60 Days after Notice
To move the Court to Modify the Default Judgment, the Garnishee should follow the following steps:
(1) Call the Clerk’s office,[1] and:
1. Ask what the costs of the action are, so you can move to modify the judgment (the clerk will need the case number from the Summons),
2. Ask what form of payment the Clerk accepts (e.g. check, cash, money order), and to whom to make any check payable,
3. Confirm the Clerk’s address.
(2) Complete a cover letter to the Clerk (Form 15-7 Letter to Clerk)
(3) Obtain the necessary payment for the costs (e.g. check or money order)
(4) Prepare the Answer of Garnishee [See Chapters 12-13] (the statute does not specifically state that the Garnishee is required to file an Answer at this stage, but it is advised to help justify the amount you set forth in the Motion to Modify Judgment)
(5) Prepare Form 15-2 Motion to Modify Judgment
1. There is an optional paragraph 8 which calls for the Judgment to be VACATED. It is recommended that the Garnishee consult with the Plaintiff or their counsel about simply paying the amounts which would be due, to obtain an agreement to vacate the judgment. This may prevent having a judgment recorded against the Garnishee, protecting its credit rating. If the Plaintiff will consent, then complete Form 15-3 Plaintiff Consent to Vacate Judgment, have the Plaintiff sign it, and file it with the Clerk.
2. The Motion should be signed by the Garnishee in front of a notary public, who should notarize the Verification.
(6) Prepare Form 15-4 proposed Order
1. The form is largely self-explanatory. If you are asking the judge to modify the Judgment, then it will be modified to include a $50.00 fine, plus the amount of money that the Garnishee should have paid over to the Clerk of Court (as calculated in preparing the Answer of Garnishee).
2. [Optional] If a judgment is going to be issued, then the Garnishee may prefer to immediately pay it. Immediate payment can avoid some of the negative effects of a judgment such as:
1. i. Accrual of postjudgment interest on the judgment,
2. ii. The recording of a Fi.Fa. against the Garnishee in the general execution docket which acts as a lien against the Garnishee’s property,
3. iii. Negative reporting on the Garnishee’s credit report, and
4. iv. Collection activity against the Garnishee, including the hassle of responding to postjudgment discovery requests.
If the Garnishee makes immediate payment of the reduced judgment into the Registry of the Court, then the Garnishee should consider checking off option “B” in the proposed Order.
(7) [Optional] Prepare Form 15-5 General Civil Case Final Disposition Form
1. If the case is pending in State Court or Superior Court (but not Magistrate Court), the prevailing party is required to file this form at the end of the case.
2. This is not required to file the motion, but if the proposed Order modifying the judgment will end the case, then it will help to end the case for the Clerk to have the form.
(8) Actually deliver to the Clerk’s office by the 60th day after the Garnishee received notice of the Default Judgment (it is not enough to mail it by this day)
1. Form 15-7 Letter to Clerk
2. The check or other payment of costs to open default
3. The Answer of Garnishee
4. Form 15-2 Motion to Modify Judgment
5. [optional] Form 15-3 Plaintiff Consent to Vacate Judgment
6. Form 15-4 proposed Order
7. [optional] Form 15-5 Final Case Disposition Form
8. Form 15-6 Certificate of Service
9. The check or other payment for the garnished funds
10. The other garnished property
(9) Mail a service copy of the documents filed to the Plaintiff, Defendant, and any Claimant
If the motion is not filed by the deadline, then it is proper for the trial court to deny the motion.[viii]
D. Moving to Set Aside Judgment on Other Grounds
The procedure in O.C.G.A. § 18-4-115(b) only applies when the court enters a default judgment. However, the Court of Appeals has held that if the Garnishee has not been served with a summons of garnishment, then a purported ‘default judgment’ is not indeed entered pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 18-4-115(a), and therefore a motion to modify the judgment under O.C.G.A. § 18-4-115(b) “affords no relief.”[ix] In such an instance, “the garnishee is entitled to bring a motion to set aside the default judgment under OCGA § 9:11:60(d)(1).”[x]
For example, when a summons of garnishment identified “Tommy Lewis d/b/a 2:A Paint and Body” as the garnishee in the caption of the Summons of Garnishment and Affidavit of Garnishment, but the Summons listed an entirely different entity “Lewis Automotive Enterprises, Inc.” as the garnishee, the Court of Appeals held that Tommy Lewis had not been given proper notice, because the summons of garnishment was not “directed to the garnishee” as required by O.C.G.A. § 18-4-113(a).[xi] The Court of Appeals therefore held that the defective summons did not confer jurisdiction of Mr. Lewis’s person upon the court, and the court should have granted a motion to set aside the default judgment under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-60.[xii]
E. Attend Hearing on the Motion
It is possible that the Court may hold a hearing where the parties appear and are allowed to present argument regarding whether the Motion to Modify Judgment should be granted.
The Garnishee bears the burden of showing that it complied with the requirements in O.C.G.A. § 18-4-91 to modify the judgment, and that the Garnishee has correctly calculated the amounts due in its (late) Answer of Garnishee.
An exception to this rule is that, if the Plaintiff wants to argue that the Garnishee did not file its Motion within the 60 day period, the Plaintiff bears the burden of showing that the Motion was untimely.[xiii]
The Plaintiff can show notice to the Garnishee by showing that it gave notice by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery (e.g. FedEx Overnight, signature required).
[1] – To find a Magistrate Court clerk, visit: http://goo.gl/NzOTT
– To find a State Court clerk, visit: http://goo.gl/XCGX5
– To find a Superior Court clerk, visit http://goo.gl/kF15v
[i] O.C.G.A. § 18-4-90.
[ii] O.C.G.A. § 18-4-90.
[iii] See O.C.G.A. § 18-4-90.
[iv] See O.C.G.A. § 18-4-91.
[v] See O.C.G.A. § 18-4-91.
[vi] W. Ray Camp, Inc. v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, 308 Ga. App. 597, 598, 708 S.E.2d 560, 562 (2011) (holding that photocopy of default judgment signed by state court judge, with “ghost markings of the file stamp” provided actual notice sufficient to put Garnishee on notice that 60-day statutory period to seek to modify judgment was running).
[vii] Id.
[viii] W. Ray Camp, Inc. v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, 308 Ga. App. 597, 598, 708 S.E.2d 560, 562 (2011) (affirming denial of motion to modify judgment where Garnishee did not file motion until well after 60 day deadline had expired).
[ix] Lewis v. Capital Bank, 311 Ga. App. 795, 798, 717 S.E.2d 481, 484 (2011).
[x] Id.
[xi] Id.
[xii] Id., 311 Ga. App. at 800, 717 S.E.2d at 485.
[xiii] See O.C.G.A. § 18-4-91 (“On the trial of the motion, the burden of proof shall be upon any plaintiff who objects to the timeliness of the motion to establish that the motion was not filed within the time provided for by this Code section.”).
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117827
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Monday, 21 January 2013
ADULTS ONLY: How To Make Her Scream And Call Your Name While B@nging Her
NB: This update is meant for those who have the legal rights to have sex)
Push her against the wall, start kissing, place your right hand on her tigh and slowly lift it up till you
could feel her soft ass, while you massage it, slowly then move your hand right to her pu**y area,place your thumb and index finger on her clit,making her clit stay in between them,while massaging her clit your middle finger should be busy driving in and feeling her wet pu**y...ïn a random manner take off her clothes leaving her panties on.
While still kissing her slowly, slowly move her closer to the bed and on getting to the bed gently throw her on it,then pull away from her, go down a bit and pull her panties off, with your wet tongue start licking her juicy pu**y, make her open her legs wide as your tongue kept massaging her clit..then take out an ice cube from the ice cube maker,place it in your mouth then gently spell her name with it on her clit,making sure she grabs the bed sheet continue till she moan at the same time, keep on rubbing it on her clit till she almost push you away, then insert your middle finger into her pu**y and finger her in a slow but romantic manner while your other hand should be tapping on her pointed nipples,then lift her up in a sitting position making her hold on your d*ck and suck it real good like a porn star' make sure she keep on sucking till you cant take it no more.
Then push her to the bed open her legs wide while your hand should lift her left leg up, slowly place your d*ck on her pu**y and push it in gently immediately your D*ck gets in make sure she holds you so close while her leg is still up and let her whisper in your ears saying
"I want you to f*ck me silly"
On hearing this bang her so bad that even the bed too will start singing its own song.. bang her for another 1hr , then lift her up turn her back making her two hands hold the bed rail, push her ass out a bit in a doggy style form with her two breast falling ask her to take your D*ck in because your hands wouldn't just allow her falling breast go free without massaging them, when your d*ck gets into her wet pu**y, immediately start digging her like it was your last sex fuck the shit out of her. making her scream.
"I love your d*ck please don't stop"
Then intensify banging till she cant hold on to the bed rail again then sit down on the couch and make her ride your d*ck while she place one of her nipples in your mouth as she rides, after a while make her ly on the couch faced down then kneel behind her and lick her pu**y from behind till you could fill her juice running out of her pu**y keep on licking it till she make a loud sigh,then turn her face up make her hold onto your d*ck and slowly insert it into her pu**y again but this time just bang keep banging the hell out of her pu**y, making her face full of smiles.
Don't Forget To Like And Share
1. girls if u need that,if u need it real hot like dat,then call me 08133638106 if u wana get laid in style..
2. you're obviously a virgin who has seen too many porn movies
3. Hahahahaha I cant atop laughing... Reminds me of mexican films. Bro, that tactic works but only if she is already crazilly in the mood before you start.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117871
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Your Morning Real Talk, Via John McCain
McCain on the Senate floor just now:
My friends, this supposed war on women, or the use of similarly outlandish rhetoric used by operatives, has two purposes, and both are political in their purpose and effect. The first is purely political, the first is to distract citizens from real issues that really matter, and the second is to give talking heads something to sputter about when they appear on cable television. Neither purpose does anything to advance the well-being of any American.
This isn't a wholesale endorsement of the quote. The "war on women" moniker might be outlandish, but it did raise awareness about important legislative issues like the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act on the federal level and personhood and transvaginal ultrasound initiatives on the state level—still, a major Republican calling out the outrage industry that both parties participate in? Kind of refreshing. Vintage McCain.
Read more on Death Race
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GQ's Presidential Playlist: Slow Jamz Edition
There Can Only Be One Death Race 2012
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117898
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Voters’ Rights
Thursday, Apr. 24, 2014 4:46 pm
Under what circumstances do civil rights laws get enforced? Why do authorities seem to protect certain civil rights, while ignoring others?
These are the big questions that Douglas Hess ’91, assistant professor of political science, seeks to answer in his research on the National Voter Registration Act.
The NVRA was enacted in 1993 to make voter registration easier and more uniform across states. It requires states to include voter registration when qualifying voters apply for social services or driver’s licenses.
Two decades later, however, the NVRA is implemented unevenly from state to state. This poses problems for equal access to representation: tens of millions of potential voters are currently unregistered.
“A lot of states don’t implement the law very well. Some parts of it they just flat out ignore, and even in states that try to implement it well, some of the counties don’t do it right. So we’re looking at ways to enforce the law,” Hess says.
Hess will conduct his research through field experiments, statistical analyses of agency data, and case studies.
Hess has also found ways to integrate Grinnell students into his research. In fall 2013, James Dowell ’15 read legal settlements between states and civil rights groups concerning the NVRA. Then he coded them for variations in content. In summer 2014, Ryan Hautzinger ’15 and Chris Lee ’15 will be working on a related Mentored Advanced Project.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/117918
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Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
International Family Planning Perspectives
Volume 28, Number 1, March 2002
Recent Changes in Heterosexual Attitudes, Norms and Behaviors Among Unmarried Thai Men:A Qualitative Analysis
By Mark VanLandingham and Lea Trujillo
CONTEXT: High risks of HIV infection have led to dramatic changes in patterns of early sexual experience among young Thai men. We know little about the shifts in attitudes and expectations underlying these changes in behavior.
METHODS: In-depth interviews with 10 young men are used to explore recent changes in the social context of male heterosexual relations in Thailand. Changes in ideas about the appropriateness and availability of commercial and noncommercial sexual relationships are examined, as well as changes in ideas regarding the importance of condom use during various types of sexual encounters. The use of standard interview guidelines and the systematic coding and analysis of transcripts allows comparison of these issues across cases.
RESULTS: In large part because of fears about AIDS, at least some younger Thai men are rebuffing older friends' efforts to initiate them into traditional patterns of sexual life, patterns that emphasize heavy alcohol consumption followed by a group visit to a brothel. Some participants report that opportunities exist for sexual relationships with female peers; these opportunities appear to be leading men and women to reevaluate longstanding patterns of male sexual expression.
CONCLUSIONS: The changing context of men's early sexual behavior should be considered when developing programs to prevent commercial sex patronage and to reduce the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases through noncommercial or quasicommercial sexual relationships.
International Family Planning Perspectives, 2002, 28(1):
After having suffered the impact of a rapidly expanding AIDS epidemic for almost a decade, Thailand has in the past few years seen remarkable declines in the rates of spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A series of studies measuring infection levels among several populations, especially military recruits, have documented changes in the incidence of HIV infection. It is widely assumed that behavioral change is also occurring, but there have been fewer systematic efforts (especially using individual-level data) to assess how behavioral change is affecting the spread of HIV and vice-versa.* It is also widely assumed that the normative and attitudinal structure underlying patterns of heterosexual behavior are changing dramatically, but there is very little research of any kind on the extent or nature of these changes.
Qualitative methods provide an ideal approach for exploring the changing social context in which early Thai male sexual behavior occurs. The open-ended format of this approach allows for extensive rapport to build during the interviews and provides opportunities to explore complex, ambiguous and potentially sensitive material. In this article, we used in-depth qualitative interviews to shed light on the normative and attitudinal shift underlying these recent epidemiological and behavioral changes. A secondary goal is to highlight potential topics for a longitudinal, nationally representative survey of Thai sexual behavior.
Historical and Cultural Context
Systematic surveys beginning in the early 1990s indicate widespread commercial sex patronage among young, unmarried Thai men, a peer group context for these behaviors and associated heavy alcohol consumption.1 Given the high prevalence of STDs during the two decades prior to these surveys,2 these patterns were surely widespread long before the surveys were conducted.3
Because of the lack of reliable data, it is difficult to make confident generalizations about patterns of sexual behavior occurring before the advent of modern social science surveys. Nevertheless, it seems virtually certain that commercial sex was readily available in most urban areas for men who had the discretionary income to pay for it. Still, it was not until the widespread modernization of the Thai economy during the 1960s that large numbers of Thai men had the discretionary funds required for regular visits to commercial sex workers. Declining fertility and the increasing importance of income generation for women,4 the influx of money and foreigners associated with the war in Vietnam and the expansion of international tourism5 all may have provided further impetus to the spread of commercial sex in Thailand.
Confident generalizations regarding predominant sexual norms and attitudes—like those for sexual behavior—are not possible for the period prior to the early 1990s because there were no systematic studies of this topic. Frequent references to sexual relations (both commercial and noncommercial forms) outside of marriage throughout Thai literature6 belie the claims of those who would argue that Thai sexual morality has been fundamentally corrupted by outside influences;7 sexual license for Thai men is long standing and well established. Even so, it is critical to distinguish among the levels of acceptance for different forms of sexual expression. Well-to-do married men's relationships with mistresses are considered by many to be their prerogative, even if such extramarital relationships can be quite disruptive to both the marriage and the community at large.8 Until recently, unmarried men's commercial sex participation has probably been considered by most in Thailand to be quite ordinary behavior. In contrast, at least one study has found that during the 1960s, noncommercial premarital sexual relations between unmarried men and women were generally frowned upon in the rural areas where the research was done,9 a finding likely generalizable to other rural areas of the country at that time.
How pervasive these early sexual patterns and their associated attitudes were is unknown. By the early 1990s, however, researchers using modern survey methods had documented marked variations in attitudes, norms and behaviors regarding commercial sex; for example, the most privileged groups participated less in commercial sex than did other groups.10 Prior to this period, it seems likely that it was common for both privileged men and the poor to visit commercial sex workers.11 But even if commercial sex patronage was in decline in some sectors of Thai society, norms during the 1990s among many groups of men apparently were quite supportive of it.12
Until quite recently, patronage of commercial sex among Thai men seems to have been generally tolerated, if grudgingly, by Thai women. For unmarried men, it has been viewed as an unremarkable and natural activity in a man's maturation process. Occasional commercial sex patronage among married men, while more problematic, has been generally tolerated by many married Thai women as well.13 This tolerance is rooted in a cultural system that is quite sympathetic toward male sexual desire. While sexual preoccupation and unrestrained sexual behavior are flawed from a Buddhist perspective, it is understood from a Thai Buddhist point of view that sexual desire is a singularly difficult obstacle for men to overcome.14 Even if male philandering has, at least in a philosophical sense, been viewed as a sin and as contrary to Buddhist principles, women generally have—until recently—understood, accepted and tolerated it as an inherent and fundamental male weakness.
Epidemiological and Behavioral Changes
Because of modernization and epidemiological forces, longstanding and widespread permissive sexual norms for men have recently become problematic. The spread of HIV and AIDS is increasing fears among women about the possibilities of infection,15 and with good reason: Sex with one's husband is now the main route of contracting HIV among married Thai women.16
But if epidemiological forces are having a conservative influence on women's sexual attitudes and behavior, modernization is having the opposite effect. Given increasing awareness of the less divergent norms of sexuality for men and women in the west—where there is a less pronounced "double standard"—and less supervision in the cities where many young Thais have migrated for work,17 today's Thai women are more likely to engage in premarital sexual experimentation than those in earlier generations.18
If more women are becoming willing to engage in premarital sexual relations, there may be increasing opportunities for men to have noncommercial premarital sex. Moreover, men's fears of infection by commercial sex workers may be an incentive to seek out noncommercial sexual partners and to engage in other strategies perceived to be less likely to lead to infection. Behavioral and epidemiological research suggests that such changes in men's behavior are occurring. For example, in a 1993 sample of the general young adult population, about one-third of young men reported that their first sexual intercourse was with a commercial sex worker, compared with 71% in a 1991 sample of military recruits from the upper north, and 43% from other areas in the country.19 In addition, 43% of the men in the 1993 study said it was wrong, or a mistake (pen gan kratham pit), for an unmarried man to engage in commercial sex.20 At the same time, HIV and STD infection rates have fallen dramatically.21 Taken together, a conclusion of phenomenal behavioral change seems inescapable.
These changes are occurring in the context of a massive public education campaign about the dangers of unprotected sex with commercial sex workers and a national campaign to enforce a 100% condom use policy among brothel owners.22 Evaluation of the latter campaign indicates a substantial increase in condom use during commercial sex,23 but there has as yet been little attempt to evaluate concurrent changes in men's ideas regarding the propriety, availability and desirability of various types of sexual contacts.
In December 1996, we recruited and interviewed 10 unmarried men who had different social backgrounds and who had extensive networks with other unmarried men in a provincial town and rural area approximately three hours from Bangkok.
The 10 men were recruited by a Thai research assistant and a Thai researcher through personal contacts at a local village, a construction site, a vocational school and a motorcycle shop. The recruiters asked their contacts to help them identify informants—young men who were typical of the other young unmarried men at the site, had lots of friends and acquaintances and would be willing to talk to us about the prevailing sexual norms and attitudes in their particular social groups. We stressed that what was important to us was not whether the informant himself visited commercial sex establishments frequently, rarely or even at all, but rather that he knew what was going on among his peers.
When we met potential informants, we briefed them on the nature of the study and explained that the interview would be primarily about the leisure activities of their group, including sexual activities, and would focus on current norms and attitudes regarding the sexual activities prevailing among their male friends and associates. We stressed that what was important to us was that they knew what was going on among other men in their social group, and not that they tell us about their own sexual behavior. In practice, many of the men chose to use themselves as examples. We did not record identifying information about the informants. The men we interviewed were aged 18-26 (Table 1), sexually experienced and unmarried. All but one had never been married. (It was not clear whether one man had ever been married.)
Our recruiters and their contacts reported no refusals, but it is likely that they approached individuals whom they thought would be willing to participate. Informants were offered a small sum of money for their time; several refused the gift.
All 10 interviews were conducted in Thai by the lead author, four with the help of a Thai research assistant. The interviewer reviewed the purpose of the study with each informant and received permission to record the interview (there were no refusals at this point). Interviews took place in a secluded, private area. Each interview opened with a few warm-up questions about the informant's work and family, followed by questions about his background and social networks. The interviewer then asked a number of open-ended questions about his impressions of current sexual patterns among his friends and acquaintances, norms and attitudes underlying these patterns and any recent changes that he perceived. These questions emphasized norms regarding commercial sex visitation and condom use, opportunities for noncommercial sex relations and the nature of noncommercial sex relationships.
After five pretest interviews, we finalized a set of guidelines to be followed during the study, so that we would later be able to make systematic comparisons across individuals and their respective social groups. The open-ended nature of the discussions, however, provided considerable leeway for informants to express their views in detail and for the interviewer to explore relevant topics as they arose.
Interviews were recorded, fully transcribed and word processed in the original Thai language and in English translation. We then systematically coded and analyzed the English transcripts using text analysis software.24 We used two coding strategies to classify and evaluate the data. The first was predetermined by the guidelines; transcript segments were classified by the topic being discussed. The second followed an analytic induction approach that classified segments by topics brought up by the informants and not anticipated in the guidelines.25
To assess intercoder reliability, both authors independently coded the first transcript. Differences in their interpretation of the transcripts and codes were discussed and resolved. This process continued with each transcript until intercoder reliability reached at least 90%, and then was discontinued. The first author coded the remaining transcripts.
We used results matrices (grids of results with informants on one axis and topics on the other) to facilitate our analysis.26 When discussing a particular finding, our aim is to convey the degree of consensus, portray the predominant opinion (where there is one), and indicate the distribution of views on the topic. We illustrate particular points using typical exchanges between the interviewer and informant, with "I" indicating that the interviewer is speaking and "R" indicating that the informant is responding.
One clear consensus among our informants is that the sexual milieu has changed dramatically and rapidly over the last few years. These changes involve differences in both the social context and the opportunity structure in which male sexual expression occurs.
Changes in the Types of Partners Available
In contrast with prior survey data that indicate large proportions of unmarried men having their early sexual encounters exclusively with commercial sex workers,27 the men in our study describe a wide array of potential sexual partners for unmarried men. In addition to sex workers, these partners now include serious girlfriends and casual partners, as indicated in the following exchanges:
I: For men who are not sexually experienced, what kind of women are [typically] their first [sex partner]?
R: Well...not good women.
I: What do you mean "not good women"?
R: Going to the brothels....It is the prostitute.
24-year-old rural farmer
I: Nowadays, are there men who haven't had experience, but have sexual need or want to have experience, and don't want to go to prostitutes?
R: Sometimes they prefer their girlfriends, sometimes they do it [first] with their girlfriends.
I: So, they have the opportunity to sleep with their girlfriends?
R: These days, girls are brave. In secondary school, they are together in pairs [with young men].
22-year-old rural farmer
I: Your friends who are [sexually] experienced; most of them will have experience with women of about what age?
R: Of about the same age. First they might be friends in classes.
26-year-old urban salesman
Commercial sex visitation in a peer group context seems to be becoming more rare in Thai society. While survey evidence indicates that there have long been some men who have opted out of premarital commercial sex,28 half of our informants made explicit mention of a decline in commercial sex patronage among their friends:
I: Three or four years ago, did you know anyone who liked to go to prostitutes, before AIDS became well-known?
R: [Actually], at that time, AIDS was here already, but there were still some who went.
I: If you compare the situation three to four years ago to nowadays, are there any changes?
R: What kinds of changes?
I: About going to prostitutes, about sleeping with women.
R: Mostly they don't go to prostitutes. There is no one asking me to go. No one goes.
18-year-old urban student
Seven of the men said that they or members of their social group go to prostitutes less than they used to, very little or not at all. These findings support recent survey and STD data29 that suggest massive behavioral change and contrast remarkably with data from the early 1990s, when most men readily professed to habitual commercial sex patronage.
Not only do patterns of commercial sex patronage appear to be in flux, but rationales for and circumstances of this behavior also seem to be changing. Part of the justification underlying early male sexual activity involved the widespread idea that men need to be "trained" for sexual life. In the local idiom, this training is symbolized by the term kun crew (literally, ascend the teacher), which describes the teaching of sex to a young man by a commercial sex worker.30 While this logic still held currency among some informants, it was not widespread: Only two men mentioned it, and another specifically rejected it:
I: If [men] don't go to prostitutes and try to have [sex] with a girlfriend for the first time, what will happen?
R: One has to have experience about it before.
I: If one has no experience, what will happen?
R: They don't know what to do....Because we don't know where the female's [parts] are. We can't find it. We don't know.
24-year-old rural farmer
I: So your friends are not out trying to gain [sexual] experience with women. But aren't they afraid that they won't know what to do when getting married? What do they think about this?
R: They think it is natural. Anyone can do it.
18-year-old urban student
Traditionally, men coming of age sexually faced significant peer pressure to participate in commercial sex, and in at least some cases, to forgo condom use while doing so.31 In all significant Thai social relationships, the deference of young people to those who are older is axiomatic.32 In the area of male sexual behavior, older friends or relatives traditionally encouraged and paid for their younger friends to engage in commercial sex when the time was deemed appropriate.33 In this way, men passed on the traditional means of sexual initiation to their younger friends, which no doubt served to maintain (at least for awhile) sexual practices that became extremely dangerous after the advent of AIDS.
These norms appear to be coming under scrutiny in at least some circles, and this basic feature of relations between older and younger (pi-nong) males is apparently being disrupted by the rapidly changing social context. Some of the informants expressed both surprise at and frustration with younger friends who are coming of age in an entirely new social environment.
R: Some [young men] are not brave. They have never passed women before....They are around 16-17 years old. [But they say it is] not their time yet. They are not brave, but we [try to] convince them.
I: If we asked them to go to a prostitute, but they are not ready, what would they say?
R: Mostly they say they have no money, or "low budget."
I: [I've heard that] if someone hasn't enough money, their senior friend may pay for them, especially for those who have no experience with women before.
R: Oh. It used to happen. I used to call women for them, but they wouldn't go....Whatever you do, they just won't go.
21-year-old urban laborer, rural background
Among the informants who said men have reduced their participation in commercial sex, we probed for reasons. As we found in an earlier study on a similar topic,34 the reasons are for the most part practical, rather than moralistic, in nature. In fact, moral themes were notably absent from our discussions—only one informant expressed his group's opposition in such terms:
I: In your group, why don't they go to prostitutes? Are they not interested in it?
R: They don't think it is a good thing. So they aren't interested in it.
I: What does it mean, 'not a good thing'?
R: Going to a prostitute is not good. It is not appropriate for us at our age.
18-year-old urban student
Practical reasons prevailed. Half of the informants referred to fears about AIDS and other STDs as a reason for the decreasing patronage of commercial sex workers; one cited the expenses involved in going; another cited embarrassment. One informant reported that he seldom went to prostitutes because he knew he would be drinking, and did not trust himself to use condoms if he was drunk:
I: ...for those who have no [sexual] experience, why don't they go to brothels?
R: They don't dare go. Afraid of diseases.
I: Afraid of diseases? What kinds of diseases?
18-year-old urban student, rural background
R: [I only] go there once in a while, not often, there may be AIDS.
I: Are you afraid?
R: I'm afraid of getting drunk. If drunk, I feel brave.
I: If you're not drunk, you don't go?
R: If I'm not drunk, then I don't go. If drunk, I feel brave.
I: If you are drunk [and you go], do you use a condom?
R: Sometimes I don't use it because of being drunk. When getting drunk, I'm not thinking of other things. If I'm not drunk, then normally I use a condom.
21-year-old urban laborer, rural background
This example was the only instance of reported current nonuse of condoms while engaging in commercial sex after drinking. But if this informant represents a segment of the male population who patronize sex workers—a core group of men who will continue to participate in unprotected commercial sex in spite of the risks of doing so35—this behavior has serious implications for these men and for the women with whom they have sexual relations.
In traditional male social relationships, alcohol plays a very important role in the expression of manhood, gives a central focus to a male social circle and provides an alibi for what would otherwise be seen as irresponsible behaviors.36 In the face of widespread, aggressive campaigns to educate men about the dangers of AIDS, it is becoming more and more untenable for men to participate if they are sober. If there is a core group of men who continue to use intoxication as a rationalization for continued participation in unprotected commercial sex, the link between drinking and commercial sex visitation may be extremely difficult to break.
In the absence of a state-of-the-art national survey on sexual behavior, it is difficult to know whether the predominant factor in the decline in HIV and other STD infection in Thailand is decreasing commercial sex patronage or increasing condom use among men who continue to visit prostitutes.37 The available evidence, biased as it must be by increasing pressures for both commercial sex workers and their clients to report socially encouraged behaviors, indicates substantial increases in condom use. The number of condoms used has increased, as has reported condom use.38
Our informants reported behavior in their social networks that is consistent with these results. Four reported that men in their networks always use condoms; three said that men they know usually use them. Our informants indicated that condom use with commercial sex workers has increased both because of the success of the national 100% condom use campaign, which makes it more difficult for men to purchase unprotected sex, and because many men are unwilling to engage in unprotected sex in the current epidemiological environment.
I: Compared to 3-4 years ago, do men use condoms more or less now?
R: Now they use them more. In the past, there was not this dreadful disease. It has just appeared recently. When I was young, we didn't use them.
I: Didn't use them at all?
R: No, didn't use them at all; not when I was 15-16. They've only had campaigns about 5-6 years.
I: Do men always use them nowadays?
R: Ah, now if the men don't use condoms, women don't allow them to lie down with them.
I: In your group, is the use of condoms increasing?
R: Yes.
I: Has it increased to 100%?
R: Yes. We are afraid as well, not only is it the women who are afraid. We still have a long life in front of us.
25-year-old urban laborer, rural background
Three informants said that men they know do not use condoms under some circumstances with commercial sex workers. In addition to the issue of intoxication, two informants described special relationships between some clients and commercial sex workers that lead to a lower willingness to use condoms.
R: One-hundred percent of Thai men use condoms [with commercial sex workers], except when they go to brothels and they are the regular customers. Too often [commercial sex workers] allow them not to wear condoms.
24-year-old urban teacher, rural background
Non-Brothel-Based Commercial Sex
Several informants mentioned an increasing propensity for men to contract for sex in nonbrothel venues, for example in restaurants and nightclubs. Such an adaptation is not surprising, especially for slightly older men who came of age when commercial sex visitation by unmarried men was normative. They may find it more difficult than younger men to completely forgo commercial sex, and may also have the resources necessary to purchase these more expensive forms of commercial sex. Four of the six older informants (aged 22-26) described this shift in behavior. Two typical discussions follow:
I: I would like to ask about your friends' groups or about men you know—if they have free time, might they go to prostitutes, or brothels or massage parlors? Are there many people who do this?
R: Err...[as] for those going to brothels, there [are] none. For those going to entertainment places and meeting women, there are some.
26-year-old urban salesman
R: Yes. Sometimes we go to prostitutes.
I: Where do they go: restaurants, or brothels or massage parlors or what...?
R: Calling it politely a restaurant...because we can also sit and drink inside it. They open it as a restaurant, but they have women [for hire], too.
22-year-old rural farmer
Although the above scenarios are clear manifestations of commercial sex, albeit less explicit than in brothels, other types of sexual relationships men mentioned fell less clearly into a commercial sex category. For example, the issue of picking up women for sex (or at least trying to) at pubs and bars came up frequently in our interviews. One man mentioned exchanging money for this type of sex. It is unclear how frequently these types of quasicommercial sexual encounters occur and what kinds of relationships the participants have, but what is clear is that these arrangements are quite distinct from brothel transactions.
Changes in Romantic Relationships
Concurrent with changes in the normative and attitudinal context of commercial (and quasicommercial) sexual relationships, there are changes occurring in noncommercial romantic relationships. These changes are even more difficult to assess, because there are longstanding and fairly strong norms against noncommercial premarital sexual relationships. We know little about them, including how often they occur, especially prior to the surveys of the early 1990s.
Early observers of Thai rural life have noted that noncommercial sexual relationships were not rare;39 however, there were likely fewer opportunities than exist today for men and women to pursue these relationships because of the close supervision afforded by a village setting. Today, young people's migration to Bangkok and other cities has resulted in greater opportunities for them to pursue sexual relationships unsupervised by family and other village members.40 Survey data indicate that among youth, behavior and general attitudes about premarital sexual relations are becoming more liberal.41 Our informants also perceived these changes and attributed them to increasing fears of commercial sex, increasing opportunities for noncommercial sex relations, and changing women's views on men's commercial sex patronage.
• Men's increasing fears of commercial sex. Three men openly cited the avoidance of HIV as one of the advantages of noncommercial sexual relationships. The following exchange is typical:
I: Nowadays and in the past 3-4 years, for men you know, is the chance of having a [sexual] affair with ordinary women increasing or decreasing?
R: It may be increasing, because becoming involved with ordinary women doesn't risk contracting the dreadful disease.
25-year-old urban laborer, rural background
I: For friends in your group, those you know, do most of them have some [sexual] experience with women? Have they had experience with women before?
R: Some of them do.
I: For those who have had experience, what types of women did they have this experience with?
R: Students like us. ...
I: Are there any looking for women serving food in restaurants?
R: No. No one likes that.
I: Why don't they like to have affairs with easy women?
R: Easy women aren't good. We know, so we don't go.
I: What does it mean, not good? Why are they bad?
R: It is like they are promiscuous. They can give us diseases.
18-year-old urban student
• Increasing opportunities for noncommercial sexual relations. Our data suggest that many men feel that at least some women their age have fairly relaxed attitudes toward premarital sexual relations. Half of the informants reported that opportunities for premarital sexual relations had increased over the past few years.
I: Are there many women who will have sexual relations with men before marriage, speaking of women who are not prostitutes?
R: A lot. Now there are a lot.
I: Why do you think a woman might have a [sexual] affair with a man if she doesn't think the guy will be her future husband?
R: They feel satisfied with it. [The man and woman] satisfy one another and agree about it. That's it. There is nothing more to it than that.
I: I don't quite understand; what does it mean, "satisfaction"?
R: Well, it has to do with the guy's appearance, character, how handsome. [Women] like them and go with them.
I: Isn't that similar to how men think?
R: It is the same.
26-year-old urban salesman
As this exchange shows, men not only perceive opportunities for sex with female peers, but also recognize sexual desire and an interest in exploration among their women friends. For many young men, these opportunities for premarital sexual experimentation are probably replacing the more one-sided sexual experimentation with commercial sex workers.
• Women's changing views about men's commercial sex patronage. Thai women coming of age today are less tolerant of male commercial sex patronage than were their predecessors,42 a change that is undoubtedly also influencing men's attitudes. While most of our informants perceived fairly widespread opportunities for noncommercial romantic and sexual relationships, two men reported declining or few opportunities; one suggested that this was particularly the case for men who were known to continue participating in commercial sex.
I: For the men in your group, would you say that their chances to have sex with an ordinary woman [not a commercial sex worker] have increased or decreased in the past few years?
R: Nowadays? It is less.
I: Why is that?
R: Women know about us and so don't want to get involved with us....If they know we behave like this [visit commercial sex workers], they despise us....They hate it that we behave badly...going to prostitutes.
I: But if friends are going to brothels, going to they discuss it?
R: They don't tell....They are afraid that friends will talk about it with others.
I: With whom do they fear their friends talking?
R: Their girlfriends.
24-year-old rural farmer
The relative attractions of commercial and noncommercial sexual relations were not an explicit topic of our investigation. Nevertheless, the perceived advantages of commercial sex did arise spontaneously in three of the interviews with informants.
I: Didn't [your friends] like their girlfriends?
R: Women. Sometimes [our friends] were bored with women. They didn't do like the men wished. So we had to go to service women.
18-year-old urban student, rural background
R: For me, most [of the women I had sex with] were easy women, more in brothels. Because there was no bond. We knew how they were, and they knew how we were.
24-year-old urban teacher, rural background
While informants did not spontaneously discuss advantages of noncommercial sex relationships over commercial sex relationships, other than the perception that they pose less risk for contracting disease, we hypothesize that noncommercial romantic and sexual relationships hold a number of other attractions for Thai men. Specifically, we believe that the increased privacy and intimacy of a noncommercial sexual relationship is probably attractive to many men. Only one informant alluded to perceptions of increased privacy in noncommercial relationships, however.
Condom Use During Noncommercial Sex
If commercial sexual encounters are increasingly protected by condom use, there is rising concern about the degree to which noncommercial sexual encounters are becoming an important vehicle for the spread of HIV. While the recent decline in incidence is welcome news, the large number of currently infected but otherwise healthy young Thai men (and increasingly, women) has dire implications for the future spread of the epidemic.
Our informants' responses unfortunately support the generally held fear among public health officials that condom use is not occurring in many transitory noncommercial sexual relationships. Three informants reported that their peers primarily or only used pills for contraception with noncommercial sex partners; four reported a mix of condoms and pill use (often using condoms with more casual partners and pills with more serious ones), and one (one of the two youngest informants) reported a preference for condoms within his group.
I: Have friends ever told you about the method of contraception they use?
R: Some buy pills. Some use condoms.
I: Men who use condoms, do they use them to prevent their girlfriends' pregnancy or are they more afraid of disease?
R: Preventing pregnancy.
I: Haven't they ever been afraid of diseases from women [with whom they have noncommercial sex]?
R: No.
I: Even if the women had boyfriends before, [men you know] aren't afraid of contracting a disease from having sex with a woman [with whom they have noncommercial sex]?
R: Well..., well..., they do some, but....
I: Not so much.
R: Right.
18-year-old urban student
I: If men you know have [sexual] affairs with women, what contraception do they mostly use? Have they ever told?
R: Using pills.
I: Isn't there anyone using condoms with women who are their girlfriends?
R: A few. I don't quite like [condoms] myself. Mostly they use pills.
I: Aren't men afraid of women having sex with other men and having diseases that they can contract?
R: They never think about that because of being boyfriend-girlfriend.
24-year-old urban teacher
One informant explained that within his peer group, concerns about passing HIV along to one's girlfriend is a reason for consistent condom use with commercial sex workers, but the comment was elicited by the interviewer's probes.
I: Er...if they have girlfriends, they don't use condoms at the brothel? At the brothel, do they use?
R: Some use. Some don't use.
I: Meaning that if friends are going to the brothel, do all of them use a condom, or only some of them will use?
R: Some use. Some don't use....but those who have girlfriends will use.
I: Ah...Why do they use if they have girlfriends?
R: They are afraid their girlfriends will get [a] disease.
24-year-old rural farmer
Although a qualitative approach can provide insights into the ways in which Thai men (and women) are adapting to changes in the social and epidemiological context of sexual life, this approach has important limitations. Because our research strategy necessitated purposive rather than random sampling as well as a small number of informants, our data cannot be considered representative of any population in a statistical sense. Furthermore, because we were investigating a period of time during which our informants were maturing, changes they attribute to the passage of time may instead be due to their own maturation. In most cases, however, their explicit connection between behavioral change and AIDS demonstrates the importance of the changing epidemiological and social context. Finally, it is possible that our informants responded to our questions in a socially desirable manner. We minimized this possibility by taking a nonjudgmental approach to the topic in our interviews and by focusing our questions on informants' friends, rather than on the informants themselves. Men's frequent reporting of attitudes and behavior that are socially undesirable gives us confidence that their reports were generally reliable.
The men we interviewed were keenly aware of the increased risks involved in commercial sex, especially unprotected commercial sex. Consistent with the profound changes in behavior suggested by recent survey and STD data, our data indicate that most men in the informants' social circles have responded to these escalated risks by reducing the frequency of commercial sex visits, increasing the use of condoms or abstaining from commercial sex altogether.
Underlying these changes in behavior are profound changes in attitudes and group norms regarding sex, especially commercial sex. Views of commercial sex patronage have shifted from fun and normative to worrisome and questionable. As these changed attitudes spread among young men, a decline in peer pressure to participate in risky sexual practices has also occurred. Men are more likely than before to encourage each other not to visit prostitutes. In cases where men, usually those who are slightly older, try to pressure young men to participate in commercial sex, it is much easier in the current normative environment for the younger men to decline.
It is not only commercial sex relationships that are changing. Profound changes in noncommercial sexual relationships will have important implications for both the spread of HIV and for male-female relations generally. Our informants reported that opportunities for premarital noncommercial sex are not at all exceptional. Changes in the normative sexual environment for women appear to be making noncommercial sexual opportunities for men more common. At the same time, young women are less accepting than they once were of their male peers' commercial sex patronage. Consequently, men who engage in commercial sex may find that romantic or sexual opportunities outside of the commercial sex arena are diminished.
The lack of condom use in noncommercial sexual relationships is cause for concern for men and women who are both old enough to have come of age when unprotected brothel-based sex was more common, and young enough to subscribe to the more relaxed norms now governing noncommercial sexual relationships. Cohorts of young men and women coming of age during this transitional period should be targeted by aggressive campaigns designed to encourage condom use for all types of premarital sex.
If commercial sex transactions can be expected to continue to decline as a normative expression of male sexuality, and if noncommercial sexual relations can be expected to continue to become more commonplace, it is less clear what can be expected for relationships that cannot easily be classified as either. Intimate relationships between Thai men and women that cannot be categorized as purely commercial, but do involve the exchange of money or resources, have been around for as long as Thai history has been recorded. Such relationships may eventually replace the standard brothel-based sexual relationships that are now in decline. If so, the mixture of pecuniary, hierarchical and emotional components in these relationships present a new set of challenges for controlling HIV and other STDs. Being non-brothel-based, they will be much more difficult to monitor. Furthermore, if men retain disproportionate power in hierarchical and pecuniary sexual relationships, it may be difficult for women to negotiate issues such as condom use. Finally, the emotional component of these relationships is likely to be greater than in more conventional commercial sexual relationships, which can work for or against safe-sex practices. More emotional attachment could lead to more communication and concern for each other's welfare, (although such concern about the welfare of partners was generally absent from the discussion about noncommercial sex partners in the current study). Increased emotional intimacy could also work against condom use if condoms are seen as a barrier to intimacy.
Patterns of sexual behavior are changing rapidly, and these changes have profound implications not only for the spread of HIV and other STDs, but also for marriage and fertility rates, gender relations and economic transfers. To validate and supplement our qualitative results and the large number of informative, but limited, surveys on the topic (for example, those involving soldiers), Thailand needs a state-of-the-art, longitudinal, nationally representative survey of sexual behavior. Both behavioral and serological data should be collected, so that we gain a more accurate picture of the distribution of risk-taking behaviors and infection rates within the entire adolescent and young adult population, the nature of the links between behavior and infection, key covariates of behavior and infection, and differences in the rates of change over time among age cohorts and other key subgroups. The national quantitative data provided by such a survey should be supplemented with ongoing qualitative data collection to assess how the normative context and individual attitudes shift alongside these behavioral and epidemiological trends. Given the high level of social science research expertise found in Thailand, the dedication of its national leaders to addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS and the sophisticated and frank discussions of sexuality currently occurring within the Thai populace, we would stand to learn a great deal from a study documenting the extensive changes now under way, as well as the causes and consequences of these changes.
1. Sittitrai W et al., Survey of Partner Relations and Risk of HIV Infection in Thailand, Bangkok: Thai Red Cross Society, 1991; Nopkesorn T et al., Sexual Behaviors for HIV-Infection in Young Men in Payao, Bankok: Thai Red Cross Society, 1993; VanLandingham M et al., Two views of risky sexual practices among northern Thai males: the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Reasoned Action, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1995, 36(2):195-212; Xenos P, Networking outside the family: Family and Youth Survey final report, in: Podhisita C and Pattaravanich U, eds., Youth in Contemporary Thailand: Results From the Family and Youth Survey, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand: Institute for Population and Social Research, 1995; Im-em W, Changing partner relations in the era of AIDS in upper-north Thailand, in: Caldwell J et al., eds., Resistances to Behavioural Change to Reduce HIV/AIDS Infection in Predominantly Heterosexual Epidemics in Third World Countries, Canberra, Australia: Health Transition Center, 1999; Maticka-Tyndale E et al., Contexts and patterns of men's commercial sexual partnerships in northeastern Thailand: implication for AIDS prevention, Social Science and Medicine, 1997, 44(2)199-213; VanLandingham M, The social context of formative sexual experiences for Thai men, in: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), Proceedings of the International Population Conference of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, Beijing, China, Liège, Belgium: IUSSP, 1997; and Fordham G, Women, whiskey, and song: men, alcohol and AIDS in northern Thailand, Australian Journal of Anthropology, 1995, 6(3):154-176.
2. Bamber SD, Hewison KJ and Underwood PJ, A history of sexually transmitted diseases in Thailand: policy and politics, Genitourinary Medicine, 1993, 69(2):148-157.
3. Fox MG, Social Service in Thailand, Bangkok: Department of Public Welfare, 1960, pp. 139-165.
4. Muecke MA, Make money not babies: changing status markers of northern Thai women, Asian Survey, 1984, 24(4):459-470.
5. Truong T, Sex, Money, and Morality: Prostitution and Tourism in Southeast Asia, London: Zed Books, 1990.
6. Phillips HP, Modern Thai Literature: With an Ethnographic Interpretation, Honolulu, HI, USA: University of Hawaii Press, 1987.
7. Phongpaichit P, From Peasant Girls to Bangkok Masseuses, Geneva: International Labor Office, 1982.
8. Knodel J et al., Thai views of sexuality and sexual behavior, Health Transition Review, 1996, 6(2):179-201.
9. Klausner WJ, Reflections on Thai Culture, Bangkok: Siam Society, 1987.
10. VanLandingham M et al., Sexual activity among never-married men in northern Thailand, Demography, 1993, 30(3):297-313.
11. Im-em W, 1999, op. cit. (see reference 1); Ford N and Koetsawang S, The social context of the transmission of HIV in Thailand, Social Science and Medicine, 1991, 3(4):405-414.
12. Knodel J et al., 1996, op. cit. (see reference 8); Brown T and Sittitrai W, Heterosexual risk behavior in Asia: the implications for HIV/AIDS, Current Science, 1995, 69(10):840-848; and VanLandingham M, Two perspectives on risky sexual practices among northern Thai males: the health belief model and the theory of reasoned action, unpublished dissertation, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA, 1993.
13. VanLandingham M et al., In the company of friends: peer influence on Thai male extramarital sex, Social Science and Medicine, 1998, 47(12):1993-2011; VanLandingham M and Grandjean N, Some cultural underpinnings of male sexual behavior in Thailand, in: Herdt G, ed., Sexual Subcultures and Migration in the Era of AIDS/STDs, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1997; Macqueen K et al., Alcohol consumption, brothel attendance, and condom use: normative expectations among Thai military conscripts, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 1996, 10(3):402-423; and Knodel J et al., 1996, op. cit. (see reference 8).
14. Keyes CF, Ambiguous gender: male initiation in a northern Thai Buddhist society, in: Bynum C, Harrell S and Richman P, eds., Gender and Religion: On the Complexity of Symbols, Boston, MA, USA: Beacon Press, 1986.
15. Thaweesit S, From village to factory "girl": shifting narratives on gender and sexuality in Thailand, unpublished dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, 2000.
16. Brown T and Sittitrai W, 1995, op. cit. (see reference 12).
17. Thaweesit S, 2000, op. cit. (see reference 15); and Ford N andSaiprasert S, Destinations unknown: the gender construction and changing nature of the sexual lifestyles of Thai youth, paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Thai Studies, London, July 5-10, 1993.
18. Isarabhakdi P and Cornwell GT, Premarital sexual attitudes and behavior among never-married rural Thai youth: implications for STDs, paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, San Francisco, CA, USA, Apr. 6-8, 1995.
19. Nopkesorn T et al., HIV-1 infection in young men in northern Thailand, AIDS, 1993, 7(9):1233-1239.
20. Thongthai V and Guest P, Thai sexual attitudes and behavior: results from a recent national survey, paper presented at the conference Gender and Sexuality in Modern Thailand, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, July 11-12, 1995.
21. Mason CJ et al., Declining prevalence of HIV-1 infection in young Thai men, AIDS, 1995, 9(9):1061-1065; and Hanenberg RS et al., Impact of Thailand's HIV-control program as indicated by the decline of sexually transmitted diseases, Lancet, 1994, 344(8917):243-245.
22. Phoolcharoen W et al., Thailand: lessons from a strong national response to HIV/AIDS, AIDS, 1998, 12(Suppl. B):S123-S135.
23. Chamratrithirong A, The measures of the 100% Condom Promotion Program inputs and their relation to the condom use among sex workers in Thailand, paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Mar. 25-27, 1999.
24. Seidel J, The Ethnograph v5.0: A User's Manual, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications, 1998.
25. LeCompte MD and Preissle J, Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research, second ed., San Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press, 1993.
26. Miles MB and Huberman MA, Qualitative Data Analysis, second ed., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications, 1994; and Knodel J, The design and analysis of focus group studies in social science research, in: Morgan D, ed., Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art, Newbury Park, CA, USA: Sage Publications, 1993.
27. Nopkesorn T et al., 1993, op. cit. (see reference 1); VanLandingham M, 1993, op. cit. (see reference 12); and VanLandingham M, 1997, op. cit. (see reference 1).
28. Sittitrai W et al., Thai Sexual Behavior and Risk of HIV Infection in Thailand, Bangkok: Program on AIDS, Thai Red Cross Society, 1992.
29. Hanenberg RS and Rojanapithayakorn W, Changes in prostitution and the AIDS epidemic in Thailand, AIDS Care, 1998, 10(1):69-79.
31. VanLandingham M et al., 1995, op. cit. (see reference 1); VanLandingham M, 1997, op. cit. (see reference 1); Maticka-Tyndale E et al., 1997, op. cit. (see reference 1); Macqueen K et al., 1996, op. cit. (see reference 13); and Fordham G, 1995, op. cit. (see reference 1).
32. Komin S, Psychology of the Thai People, Bangkok: National Institute of Development Administration, 1990.
33. VanLandingham M, 1997, op. cit. (see reference 1).
35. Fordham G, Northern Thai male culture and the assessment of HIV risk, paper presented at the IUSSP Seminar on AIDS Impact and Prevention in the Developing World: The Contribution of Demography and Social Science, Annecy, France, Dec. 5-9, 1993; and Fordham G, 1995, op. cit. (see reference 1).
36. VanLandingham M and Grandjean N, 1997, op. cit. (see reference 13); Fordham G, 1995, op. cit. (see reference 1); and Macqueen K et al., 1996, op. cit. (see reference 13).
37. Mastro TD and Limpakarnjanarat K, Condom use in Thailand: How much is it slowing the HIV/AIDS epidemic? AIDS, 1995, 9(5):523-525.
38. Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), Relationships of HIV and STD Declines in Thailand to Behavioural Change: a Synthesis of Existing Studies, Geneva: UNAIDS, 1998; Hanenberg RS, et al., 1994, op. cit. (see reference 21); and Chamratrithirong A, 1999, op. cit. (see reference 23).
39. Klausner WJ, 1987, op. cit. (see reference 9).
40. Thaweesit S, 2000, op. cit. (see reference 15); and Ford N and Saiprasert S, 1993, op. cit. (see reference 17).
41. Isarabhakdi P and Cornwell GT, 1995, op. cit. (see reference 18).
42. Saengtienchai C et al., Wives' views of the extramarital sexual behaviour of Thai men, in: Jackson P and Cook N, eds., Gender and Sexuality in Modern Thailand, Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books, 1999; and Knodel J et al., Sexuality, sexual experience, and the good spouse: views of married Thai men and women, in: Ibid.
Contexte: L'importance du risque d'infection à VIH a donné lieu à une transformation radicale de l'initiation sexuelle des jeunes hommes thaïlandais. Les glissements d'attitudes et d'attentes à la base de ce changement comportemental ne sont pas clairs.
Méthodes: Des interviews en profondeur de 10 jeunes hommes ont permis d'explorer l'évolution récente du contexte social des relations hétérosexuelles masculines en Thaïlande. L'évolution des idées est examinée quant au caractère approprié et à la disponibilité de relations sexuelles commerciales et non commerciales et quant à l'importance de l'usage du préservatif lors de différents types de rencontres sexuelles. L'observation de directives d'interview standard et les codage et analyse systématiques des transcriptions facilitent la comparaison de ces questions d'un cas à l'autre.
Résultats: Face, en grande partie, à la peur du SIDA, certains jeunes Thaïlandais au moins repoussent les efforts de leurs amis aînés cherchant à les initier aux modèles traditionnels de la sexualité, caractérisés par une forte consommation d'alcool suivie d'une visite en groupe dans une maison de prostitution. Certains participants signalent l'existence d'occasions de relations sexuelles avec leurs homologues féminines. Ces occasions semblent mener les hommes comme les femmes à réévaluer les modèles traditionnels de l'expression sexuelle masculine.
Conclusions: Il faut tenir compte du contexte changeant des premiers comportements sexuels des hommes dans l'élaboration des programmes visant à réduire la propagation du VIH et des autres MST dans le cadre des relations sexuelles commerciales, quasi-commerciales et non commerciales.
The research on which this article is based was supported primarily by the Mellon Foundation. The authors thank John Knodel, Chanpen Saiengtienchai, Anthony Pramualratana and Rebecca Mowbray for their insights. They also thank Leudech Girdwichai, Somsak Nakhalajarn, Sureeporn Punpuing and Nuatip Butbuanit for their superb research assistance and logistic support. A longer version of this article that includes more methodological detail and expanded findings is available from the first author, and can be downloaded from by searching by the author's name.
Mark Vanlandingham is associate professor and Lea Trujillo is a graduate studentat the school of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
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Harnett County, North Carolina
Emergency Medical Services
911 History
9-1-1 is the three digit telephone number that has been designated as the Universal Emergency Number for public use throughout the United States to request emergency assistance. It is intended as a nationwide telephone number giving the public direct access to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) which will be responsible for taking the appropriate action.
In the United States, the first catalyst for a nationwide emergency telephone number gained momentum in 1957 when the National Association of Fire Chiefs recommended use of a single number for reporting fires nationwide.
On February 16, 1968, Senator Rankin Fite completed the first 9-1-1 call to be made in the United States in Halleyville, Alabama. The serving telephone company was Alabama Telephone Company, which later became Contel Corp. This 9-1-1 system is still in operation today. On February 22, 1968, Nome, Alaska implemented 9-1-1 service.
In March of 1973, the White House's Office of Telecommunications, issued a national policy statement which recognized the benefits of 9-1-1, encouraged the nationwide adoption of 9-1-1, and provided for the establishment of a Federal Information Center to assist units of government in planning and implementation. The intense interest in the concept of 9-1-1 can be attributed primarily to the recognition of characteristics of modern society, i.e., increased incidences of crimes, accidents, and medical emergencies, inadequacy of existing emergency reporting methods, and the continued growth and mobility of the population.
As we come to the close of the 20th century, nearly 85% of the population of the United States is covered by some type of 9-1-1. Ninety-five percent of that coverage is Enhanced 9-1-1. Approximately 50% of the geographical area is covered by some type of 9-1-1 with the same percentage being Enhanced 9-1-1.
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Medical centre to be built at The Hive at Barnet FC's football ground in Edgware
Harrow Times: Medical centre to be built in football ground Medical centre to be built in football ground
Plans to build a new medical centre next to a football stadium were approved by councillors this week.
The centre will open at Barnet FC’s training ground in The Hive, in Camrose Avenue, Edgware, to provide footballers, athletes and members of the community with faster treatment options.
It will be run by Toshiba Medical Systems, and include CT, MRI, ultrasound and general X-Ray machines.
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The Fitness Fixer
The Fitness Fixer
Exercise and Fitness in Decompression Sickness Risk
In Train Exercise is Exercise Training, I mentioned the ongoing question in diving physiology research of how exercise can affect the risk of decompression sickness (the bends).
It seems that exercise done during a scuba dive at the bottom increases the amount of nitrogen gas you absorb from the air you breathe from your tanks. This makes more gas which could contribute to decompression sickness on the way up. Mild exercise on a "decompression hang" (waiting at specific shallower depths for a few minutes on the way up) seems to help let more gas dissolve out while you breathe, and may lower risk. Exercise soon after surfacing may increase gas coming out and increase risk according to other work. Some interesting studies look into whether exercise done days before a dive can reduce risk by "using up" specific components that decompression sickness bubbles need to be able to form. The kind of exercise and timing seems important. I will post more on this another time.
Some work looks at physical fitness, and whether that affects risk of decompression sickness (DCS). Would someone in better physical shape have lowered risk? What constitutes being in better shape? Is it body fat? Is it the amount of oxygen you can use to exercise? How might any one of those components affect DCS risk?
I am writing this from the UHMS scientific meeting, explained in Exercise and Medicine Underwater and at High Pressure. One of the studies presented by French naval researchers is, "Does the VO2 max value predict the formation of intravascular circulating bubbles during decompression of healthy divers?" VO2 max (pronounced vee-oh-too-max) is the most oxygen you can use when doing the most exercise you can do. It is usually higher in people who can do more aerobic exercise (other factors also contribute). The maximum amount of exercise an average person can do is about ten times their resting level of oxygen use. Marathoners usually max at around 20 times better than resting levels. A top aerobic athlete can use about 30 times resting level (a horse - more than twice the top human max). Someone badly out of shape, or with heart disease or other problems that limit ability to get oxygen to cells, generally has a low VO2 max. You can raise your level with regular exercise at any age. It is not set.
In the French study, divers were tested for VO2 max a week before their experimental dive. They avoided any physical exercise 48 hours before the dive. Then half completed a dive in a dry hyperbaric chamber and the other half in the open sea with the same dive profile and decompression stop according to French military decompression table MN90. After the dive they were all tested for presence of small decompression bubbles in the bloodstream.
Bubbles can form in the body painlessly after a dive without creating decompression sickness. It is not the case that bubbles always form after every dive, as often thought. Certain bubbles can be detected audibly (they sound like pops and squeeks) using Doppler ultrasound, and other kinds of instruments being developed. I will post more another time about these bubbles and what ultrasound can and can't determine about bubbles and decompression sickness.
The French researchers found that bubble formation in both types of dive was related to the age and body mass index of the divers, but not to VO2max.
Being in good shape makes many aspects of diving safer, even if it doesn't affect risk of decompression sickness. Being in better aerobic shape helps you swim more easily against currents that may take you away from your dive site or boat. Strengthening your body through weightlifting with good body mechanics helps you lift and haul gear with less chance of injury, and practicing all your physical skills helps you be more able to rescue someone or yourself.
• What about physical fitness and risk of decompression sickness in space? Several studies here at the meeting address that. Astronauts who go outside the space vehicle go to lower pressures, similar to divers coming up from a dive. Many considerations, including exercise, go into their preparation for that. The interesting story is posted in Space Walks.
• Here is the next exciting article from this meeting: Does Hyperbaric Treatment Heal Sprains?
Read success stories of Fitness Fixer methods and send your own.
Photo by Lord Cuauhtli
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If you could ask Napoleon Bonaparte one question what would it be?
Originally published on Published Online: April 15, 2010
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7 comments FONT + FONT -
7 Responses to “If you could ask Napoleon Bonaparte one question what would it be?”
1. 1
Cameron Reilly says:
I'd ask him why he continued to let Fouche and Talleyrand into his inner circle for all of those years when he KNEW they couldn't be trusted. What was he thinking?? Okay, getting rid of them would have caused temporary roadbumps, but in the long term, he could have trained up new people he could trust.
2. 2
Ryan Anderson says:
Why didn't you use the Elite Guard at Borodino?
3. 3
Brady Holley says:
I think I would ask him why he left a marshal like Davout in France in 1815 instead of taking him with the Grande Armee. It seems that what Napoleon was lacking on that campaign was a marshall that could think for themselves. (Or in the case of Ney at least be able to think at all) Davout certainly displayed his talents for independant command at Aurstadt.
4. 4
Robert Gagnon says:
Why did he allow Wellington to choose the field to fight at Waterloo?
5. 5
Anh Nguyen says:
If possible, would you be my mentor?
6. 6
uNcommoNjoe says:
What are you most proud of?
7. 7
Lyndon says:
Why didn't you fight naval battles with the British in Australia during the Napoleonic wars?
After all, your explorers were quite busy in the South Seas during this time.
Why didn't you have colonial settlements on the Australian continent in a similar fashion as you had in Canada and various American colonies e.g. Louisiana?
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Topic: Somebody’s sacrifice
The drummer played robotically. His heart wasn’t there, just enough of his mind. He thought of his lady at home and his son sleeping, both he missed dearly.
The guitarist played with vigor, the talent and expression was still there but the lust that made it worthwhile was gone.
The bass player dreamt while he played of the minutes passing. Waiting, he was doing his best to concentrate, to make it back to the addictions that called and awaited back stage.
The lead singer wondered with every note if the audience really did love him and if they still would if they knew he hated this song with all his being. the song that they were all chanting along with, almost spiritually.
A young man sat in the audience immersed in joy. The joy the men on stage had brought him and the thousands of others.
Last edited by swollenguy (2011-12-19 22:31:39)
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Body By Bison - Tony Little, America's Personal Trainer
"I’m a big believer in bison. And folks, I’m not just an endorser of it, I eat it every day."
tony little’s story
By switching from beef to leaner, bison, eating healthy and increasing his physical activity Tony:
lost weight
lowered his total cholesterol by
25 points
lowered his bad cholesterol from
135 to 106
raised his good cholesterol from
45 to 61
bison beef benefits
Low-calorie bison is lower in fat than regular ground beef and is a great source of protein and iron.
why bison beef?
A steak from bison has no added hormones and can have fewer calories and lower fat than a steak of equal size from an animal whose diet was mostly grain.
history of north american bison
Prior to the 1800s, American bison (commonly known as buffalo) flourished with a large population. Bison herds were hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century, and by the 1890s fewer than 1,000 remained. Thankfully, through legislation and the creation of wildlife preserves, the bison population experienced an amazing comeback. The herds continue to grow, and today it is estimated that nearly 1 million bison exist throughout the United States and North America.
try body by bison today!
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iOS app Android app More
Vicki Iovine
Girlfriends' Guide: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Mel Gibson?
Posted: 07/18/10 09:53 AM ET
I've been on summer vacay, professionally known as a hiatus, but even fun in the sun couldn't distract me from the Mel Gibson debacle calling to me from supermarket checkout lines to the evening news to family dinner conversations.
He's a beast, isn't he? Rage, mixed with misogyny and racism is just too grotesque to be ignored. What do you think we should do about it? Ban him from "The View?" Applaud that his talent agency has kicked him to the curb? Go easier on those Russian spies, to show solidarity to Oksana Grigorieva, his baby mama? Torch his homes? Start recording all our distasteful private conversations for future evidence?
I, for one, am microwaving popcorn and settling in with my iPad, TV and gossip mags on my sofa. It's many things, but to me it's entertainment. It's so extreme and perverse, yet somehow non-threatening, that I find it diverting. Lust, greed, lots of injectibles and orthodontia combining with one man's struggle to deny time and the diminishment of his potency are the stuff of King Lear and MacBeth. How fun! I just wish it were better written.
If I were Lindsey Lohan's P.R. agent, I'd be squeezing myself with delight right now. Only Mel and Oksana's cocktail of narcissism, sex, ambition and treachery could have diverted America from her jail sentence and entrance into drug rehab. Or is it vice versa, I can't recall. Then again, Lindsey is existing on the fumes of celebrity rather than an actual career these days and might resent every anguishing moment of the Aussie actor's compelling disintegration.
Who is Mel Gibson to you or me anyway? A performer. An actor, folks, and a good one. His most distinguished contributions to the screen have always been sociopaths and extremists. Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, The Patriot -- not a single character you'd want to leave your dog and kids with for a weekend. Sure, he has played other, more moderate men, but he vibrates in an irresistible frequency when he plays men with outsized egos who are seized with paranoia. We can't get enough of that guy.
And then we have Apocalypto and The Passion of the Christ, for Christ's sake (pardon me, I couldn't resist)! What right-sized person would write and direct such arrogant and agonized films? It's not like he wasn't preparing us for this less-compelling and sordid drama in his personal life. To borrow from F. Scott Fitzgerald, the artistic are very different from you and me, and I find them exhilarating.
Singer/songwriters, painters, writers and actors, not to mention inventors and philosophers and architects are often very tortured and self-involved people. Being one of their intimates, lovers, spouses, or children can be so damaging as to require them to wear asbestos suits. But for the rest of us it is often moving, inspiring and transcendent to share the fruits of their insanity.
The Mel Gibson who intrigues me is not the ordinary man of or Entertainment Tonight; in fact that guy is embarrassingly predictable and pedestrian. I prefer my Murtoughs and William Wallaces to be the insane heroes of popular mythology. It would be nice if Mel Gibson could spare us his personal indelicacies and really move us again. C'mon, Mel, put it on the screen!
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How Do You Choose a Moisturizing Shampoo?
How does one opt for a moisturizing shampoo? 1. Alcohol-Free Shampoo 2. PH-Balanced Shampoo - 3. Shampoo with Natural Moisturizing Oil - 4. Creamy Hydrating Shampoo -
How does one opt for a moisturizing shampoo?
The key qualities to examine out for whenever shopping for moisturizing hair shampoo square measure as followed:
1. Alcohol-Free Shampoo -
terribly initial and additionally primarily the moisturizing hair shampoo has to be delicate. defend the hair from losing far more of its all-natural oil. you have got to as a result keep one's distance from hair shampoos together with alcohol or maybe its derivatives.
2. PH-Balanced Shampoo -
The natural hydrogen ion concentration of the hair is regarding five. to keep up the external vesicle closed and sustain the shine of the hair, you wish to form certain that your hair's hydrogen ion concentration is keep in a very traditional level. explore for moisturizing shampoo that contains a hydrogen ion concentration from four.5 - 5.5. It should take the hair back in a very reliable balance. additionally if the label states it's got anti-static parts (just like trimethyl alkonium chloride or maybe ammonium ion chloride) to avoid or maybe eradicate fly away hair, it extremely is what you be for. Bear in mind that the right moisturizing shampoos in addition embody the streaming agent Na change state, that's a substance that emits lots additional acidifying ions whenever acidity is reduced further as soaks up acid whenever acidity is solely too higher.
3. Shampoo with Natural Moisturizing Oil -
Make use of oil-based moisturizing hair shampoo to shut in water. This maintains the hair moisturized for a extended time. choose moisturizing shampoos that contains natural oils as an example jojoba oil, avocado, grape seed, tea tree oil, essential oil, vegetable oil further as emu oil. Don't mistake natural oil together with oil. you want to ne'er create use of mineral oil-based hair shampoo chiefly as a result of it leads to residue build-up further as maximize status further as crispness. For product for dry black hair, explore for emu oil or maybe jojoba oil as main ingredients..
4. Creamy Hydrating Shampoo -
Crystal clear, gel targeted hair shampoos carries with it an excellent amount of cleansing agent and have an inclination to dry out the hair. certify to pick out the creamier sort of moisturizing hair shampoos.
Health & Fitness
beauty, hair, Shampoo
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IMDb > Carter Rutherford (Character)
Carter Rutherford
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Carter Rutherford (Character)
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Leatherheads -- Clip: Dodge and Carter fight
Leatherheads -- Behind the scenes: George Clooney intercepts a pass
Leatherheads -- Interview: John Krasinski "On pro football at the time"
Leatherheads -- Clip: Carter confronts Lexie
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1. Leatherheads (2008) Played by John Krasinski
Additional Details
Fun Stuff
From Leatherheads (2008)
Carter Rutherford: Wait. Where were you two?
Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: Out.
Lexie Littleton: Nowhere.
Carter Rutherford: Did you *kiss* her?
Lexie Littleton: Now wait a minute.
Carter Rutherford: I want answers!
Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: Yeah, I kissed her! On the mouth, twice! And I liked it. A lot!
Carter Rutherford: Oh you did, did you?
Jimmy 'Dodge' Connelly: Yeah!
Lexie Littleton: Thanks.
See more »
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Slavic Languages and Literatures | Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature 1
R505 | ALL | Staff
Course description / Preliminary Syllabus
Class objective:
The principal objective is to give students an overview of the development of Russian literature during 1800s-1850s. and to prepare them for a thorough understanding of the main literary phenomena that grew dominant through the second half of the 19th c
entury. A focus of the class is the analysis of the primary sources: even if English translations are available, references will be given to the original. The course begins with the designation of Sentimentalism and Romanticism, as particular features
of their styles and narrative principles can be seen in the works of N. Karamzin and V. Zhukovsky. The focal point of further discussios is the general concept of Realism: how does the notion of faithfulness to nature (mimesis) progress through differe
nt aesthetic principles and practices of the nineteenth century Russian writers? Is the so called "Russian Realism" of mid- 1820s -1850s a dialogical/polemical reconstitution of the foundations of the Sentimentalist and Romantic aesthetics? What is the
interconnectedness between literary theories, poetic practices, the social history of literature, cultural history, and literary interpretations?
Each class session is divided in two parts: lecture (5.30--7.00 p. m.) and discussion (7.00-8.00). Students' participation in the discussions is absolutely required. The guidelines for discussions are provided by the instructor. Every student will be
asked to make one formal in-class presentation of approx. 20 mins. length. and to produce two research reports of approx. 8-10 pages length. There will be no final exam for this course.
Oral presentation will involve either an introduction to a literary work not discused in class (i.e , Pushkin's Dubrovsky; a work by M. Zagoskin, a narrative poem by M. Lermontov, etc.), or a comparative summary of theoretical views (i.e., M. Katz, The
Literary Ballad in Early 19th Cent in Russ. Lit. and G. Malcolm Laws, The British Literary Ballad). Paper 1 Option A: Examination of a Russian literary text from the perspective of a Russian and a non- Russian pretext. Option B: Examination of a Russ
ian literary text from the position of the early ninetenth century criticism and from the position of a contemporary literary theory. Paper 2 Introduction to a narratological problem. A major work from the Required Reading List is to be discussed.
Grades are based upon the following rationale: Quizzes and weekly discussions--25% Oral presentations--25% Midterm and Final paper--25% each
Required reading:
A. Russian 19th century drama: an overview (all texts, with an exception of Lensky's vaudevilles, are English from An Anthology of Russian Plays, ed. F. D. Reeve, Vintage, 1961. One can also use A. Ostrovsky, Five Plays, tr. E. Bristol, N.Y
.: Pegasus, 1969)
A. S. Griboedov, "Gore ot uma", A. Pushkin, "Boris Godunov", N. Gogol', "Revizor", D. Lenskii, "Lev Gurych Sinichkin" and Russian vaudeville; A. Ostrovsky and the mid-nineteenth century Russian drama. In addition to "Boris Godunov" (which is a require
d text for this course) every student is expected to choose two comedies, one drama (either Griboedov and Ostrovsky or Gogol and Ostrovsky), and one vaudeville.
B. Russian prose narrative, its thematics and aesthetic forms:
N. M. Karamzin. Pis'ma russkogo puteshestvennika (excerpts);. Povesti "Bednaia Liza', "Natal'ia Boiarskaia doch'", "Ostrov Borngol'm" (Engl. transl: Selected Prose of N. M. Karamzin, 1969) V. A. Zhukovsky, "Liudmila", "Svetlana." A. S. Pushkin, Collec
ted Narrative and Lyrical Poetry. Evgenii Onegin. Povesti Belkina. Puteshestvie v Arzrum (Engl. transl available) Russian Romantic Prose: A. Bestuzhev-Marlinskii, "Revel'skii turnir", "Ispytanie". V. Odoevskii, Russkie nochi ("Brigadir", "Bal", "Nasmesh
ka mertvetsa"), "Kniazhna Mimi", "Sil'fida" M. Lermontov, Geroi nashego vremeni. Kniaginia Ligovskaia (Engl tr available).. N. Gogol'. "Taras Bul'ba". "Peterburgskie povesti". Mertvye dushi.(available in English) The early growth of Russian Realism: Feui
lletons and Physiological Sketches (A. I. Gertsen, V. Dal', D. Grigorovich, Ia. Butkov, N. Nekrasov, F. Dostoevsky) F. Dostoevsky, Bednye liudi, Dvoinik.(Engl. tr. avail.) A. Gertsen, Kto vinovat., Byloe i dumy, (parts I-IV, Engl. tr. avail, secondary re
ading for this course) I. Goncharov, Obyknovennaia istoriia (Engl. tr. avail.), Oblomov (secondary reading for this course) I. Turgenev, "Zapiski okhotnika ", Rudin. (Engl. tr. avail).
Secondary sources and Criticism:
a) General D. Mirsky. A History of Russian Literature D. Chizhevsky. History of Nineteenth-cent. R. Lit, 2 vols. V. Terras, Handbook of R. Lit R. Freeborn, A History of Russian Novel John Mersereau, Russian Romantic Fiction (Ardis, 1883).
b) Genres, Styles, and European Connection
A. Bold. The Ballad (1979) M. Katz, The Literary Ballad in Early 19th cent in Russian Lit (1976) G. Malcolm Laws, The British Literary Ballad (1972) Zhukovskii i Russkaia kul'tura Sbornik nauchnykh trudov (L., 1987). Iu. Lotman, B. Uspenskii, "Pis'ma russ
kogo puteshestvennika Karamzina i ikh mesto v razvitii russkoi kul'tury", in N. M. Karamzin, Pis'ma russkogo puteshestvennika (L., Nauka, 1984). Ju. Mann Poetika russkogo romantizma (M., 1976) William Mills Todd III. Fiction and Society in the Age of P
ushkin (Harvard Univ. Press. 1986) Art and Culture in Nineteenth-cent. Russia (UI Press, 1983) N. P. Antsyferov, Dusha Peterburga (L., 1978 or any other edition)
c) Authors' Bibliographies will be provided
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Technology: The keys to technology licensing
Part 1: Understanding the basics
Business success increasingly depends on new technologies and the wise use of intellectual property rights. Often, these technologies and IP rights are developed or exploited in collaborative relationships, and having agreements clearly stating each party’s rights is absolutely critical. With the exception of software licensing, in my opinion, the legal community has not kept up. We lack a set of generally understood industry standards for technology licensing agreements. There are surprisingly few lawyers with the necessary combination of intellectual property knowledge and contract drafting/negotiating skills, so an attorney knowledgeable about licensing transactions can add significant value
Technology vs. IP
To distinguish between technology and IP, the term technology can be described as tangibles and intangibles such as software, equipment, know-how, chemical process, while intellectual property represents specific legal rights—the right to prevent others from doing things.
The basic difference between a technology license and a patent license is that with a technology license the licensee is actually getting the technology necessary to make the product. A patent license, by contrast, is merely the owner's grant of authority to infringe the claims of the licensed patent.
The three types of IP rights that are primarily applicable in the context of technology licensing are: copyrights, trade secrets and patents.
1. Copyright protects works of authorship, such as text, art and software, and gives the owner the right to prevent others from, among other things, copying, distributing or making derivative works from the protected work. Note that copyright does not protect ideas, only the particular expressions of those ideas. With the exception of software, copyright often provides weak protection for the owner of a technology.
2. Trade secrets are know-how, information, etc. that are valuable to the owner because they are confidential. Trade secret law gives owners the right to prohibit their misappropriation. Remember when licensing that trade secrets are generally destroyed by public disclosure. So, technologies that are protected primarily by trade secret law are sometimes difficult to market without disclosure, which can therefore destroy their value.
3. Patents, broadly speaking, protect technological developments (the claimed inventions) and give the owner the right to prohibit others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing products that embody the claimed inventions. In practice, patent rights are often the strongest protection for technology. This strength arises in part because the patent owner’s rights will not be diminished by disclosure or use of the inventions and independent conception and development of a technology is not a defense to patent infringement.
Possible IP transfers
The types of IP transfers, ranked roughly by amount of rights transferred, are: an assignment, an exclusive license, a non-exclusive license and a covenant not to sue.
The following are some key points practitioners should understand about the nature of these transfers:
1. An assignment is a sale. It is the transfer of the assigning party’s entire right, title and interest in particular personal property (unless the owner is making another party co-owner). Keep in mind that many (but not necessarily all) restrictions, such as attempting to limit future transferability of the assigned rights to third parties, will not be enforceable in the context of an assignment, notwithstanding the general tendency under U.S. law to respect freedom of contract. Courts over the years have concluded that many such restrictions are inconsistent with basic property law and against public policy as being, for example, improper transfers of partial title or improper restraints on alienation.
The name the parties give to the transaction will generally not be dispositive. When faced with inconsistent language, courts have been known to recast transactions so that the language is permissible. This could mean, for example, reforming a purported assignment into an exclusive license so that the intended restrictions would then be permissible, or vice versa. In addition to the obvious implications regarding title, disputes regarding the distinction between assignment and exclusive license may also arise in the context of the recipient’s standing to sue a third party for infringement.
2. An exclusive license may not be as “exclusive” as you think. In general, an exclusive license indicates that the licensor will not grant other licenses that have the same rights within the scope or field covered by the exclusive license. In addition, under U.S. patent law, an exclusive license is generally understood to mean that the licensor cannot itself practice the licensed rights. In other contexts, however, a simple grant of “exclusivity” can be ambiguous as to the rights of the licensor.
The best practice, therefore, is for the license agreement to explicitly state the parties’ intentions regarding any retained rights of the licensor and the licensor’s obligations not to license third parties or otherwise compete with the licensee. Also, be careful using the term “sole”—the unfortunately common phrase “sole and exclusive license” can be a contradictory statement because the concept of a “sole license” in proper usage means that, while the licensor may not make similar grants to other licensees, the licensor may not be limited in its own exercise of the granted rights.
3. License grants (both exclusive and non-exclusive) encumber title and will therefore “run with” any transfer of the underlying intellectual property to a third party. This is a basic element of intellectual property law that seems not to be that well known. A covenant not to sue, while in some aspects identical to a non-exclusive license, is considered personal to the grantor and therefore does not run with the intellectual property.
In subsequent articles we will review the anatomy of a technology license agreement and many of the key provisions such as license grants, financial terms, ownership and IP enforcement. We also will address transferability, change of control and bankruptcy considerations.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118155
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Problems with sky sports app???
Discussion in 'iPad Apps' started by Neeman22, May 14, 2011.
1. Neeman22
Neeman22 iPF Noob
May 13, 2011
Thanks Received:
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Is any1 else having issues with there app. Live scores are constantly loading, but not opening. Or am I on my own.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118170
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January 16, 2007
X are from Email, Y are from Blog
51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse
Buyers Scarce, Many Condos Are for Rent
The Warming of Greenland
Modern Love: What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage
Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Marrying
Netflix to Deliver Movies to the PC
Blazing a Paper Trail in China
Fitness: When It’s O.K. to Run Hurt
51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse
A Rifle in Every Pot
U.S. and Iraqis Are Wrangling Over War Plans
Democrats Seek the Middle on Social Issues
Two Hussein Allies Are Hanged, Iraqi Official Says
24-Hour Newspaper People
Cheney Defends Efforts to Obtain Financial Records
Second Hanging Also Went Awry, Iraq Tape Shows
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
meep said...
I've got an alternative hypothesis: people email the practical articles to friends, where there may be some impact/help (I do that all the time...like an article on NY real estate to my husband). Many times these practical matters have a particular resonance with the person you email it to (continuing above example, we're looking to sell our apt in Queens and move upstate soon, thus the relevance of the article). This is not something that invokes big emotional reactions or is something emailers feel they need to share with the whole world.
People blog about articles that they've got strong opinions or emotions about, and many times ones they assume people have seen, but they link to the article for the particular reference. For example, I assume people know about the botched hanging where the guy got decapitated because the rope was too long. Say I have strong opinions about capital punishment and want to use this as an illustration of my disgust with it -- this I'll blog about, as opposed to sending it in an email to my mother.
I really don't think it's a men/women thing. I think it's a personal communication vs. soapbox kind of thing. If there were more blogs about the latest cars and more emails about the latest cosmetics, I might buy the male/female dichotomy.
Obama Bin Laden said...
I'm with Steve on this. And thank God for women, who keep the human species alive while men go on their adventures and schemes (all things that end with -ism are ridiculous and crazy in the end) and join their armies (all to impress women, incidentally).
Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D. said...
Modern Love: What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage.
Wow! I'm going to try the ideas in this article on my employees.
GKer said...
Observe that two of the most e-mailed NYT articles today are "Speaking Chic to Power" and "Skin Deep: Taming Frizz and Setting Curls Free", two articles that are not on today's most blogged list. Methinks this is more than a "personal communication vs. soapbox" kind of thing.
prince said...
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118228
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CIA general counsel nominee faces skepticism from Senators over torture memo
[JURIST] Members of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence [official website] expressed reservations Tuesday about the nomination of John Rizzo [official profile] as CIA general counsel, questioning the career CIA-lawyer's decision to sign off on the controversial 2002 "Bybee Memo" [PDF text; PBS backgrounder] in which the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) [official website] defined torture as physical pain equivalent in "in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily functions, or even death." During a hearing [committee materials] on his nomination, Rizzo, who is currently serving as acting CIA general counsel, said he did not have any "specific objections" to the memo and even in retrospect does not think he should have objected to a memo which he has characterized as being "over broad." Rizzo has served as a CIA lawyer for 32 years and has been acting general counsel since August 2004. President Bush nominated [announcement; White House materials] him to oversee the CIA's Office of General Counsel [official website] in March 2006. If confirmed, Rizzo will be the first CIA general counsel ever to come up through the ranks.
The Bybee Memorandum has been an issue for many legal appointees of the Bush administration. In 2005, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee delayed the confirmation of then Attorney General nominee and White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales [JURIST news archive] because of the controversial memo, which was disavowed [JURIST report] by the White House in 2004. AP has more.
Op-ed: Confirming the CIA's Legal Eagle
About Paper Chase
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118244
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SB 48--
By Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance
AN ACT concerning property insurance; cancellation or decision to deny renewal of coverage. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas: Section 1. After the effective date of this act, an insurance company shall not cancel or nonrenew a policy of property insurance because the insured has filed a single claim for loss due to windstorm, hailstorm or any other act of nature within any three consecutive years such policy is in force. As used in this act, the term ``policy of property insurance,'' means an insurance policy insuring against the physical loss of or damage to real or personal property used for habitation and personal purposes in connection with insurance coverage offered on a one to four family dwell- ing or its contents. Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118265
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Jaw Dropping Discovery
Kean biology professor Dr. Xiaobo Yu was part of a team that discovered the earliest-known creature with a recognizable face. His work on a 419-million-year-old fish fossil is making headlines around the world.
Here are links to some of the news sources covering this amazing find:
USA Today
National Geographic
The Conversation
BBB News
Daily Mail (UK)
Science 2.0
University Relations
Hutchinson Hall, 2nd Floor
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Former Cowboys' TE Novacek Visits Hooks - South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend
Former Cowboys' TE Novacek Visits Hooks
Posted: Updated:
CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii Sports) -
Former Dallas Cowboys' tight end Jay Novacek was in Corpus Christi Sunday as a guest of the Corpus Christi Hooks.
The former five-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion Novacek met with Hooks fans before Corpus Christi's game against Tulsa. Novacek talked about those Super Bowl teams of the 90's, saying the fact they came from "all walks of life" yet were the closest of friends made the difference in winning and losing.
Novacek also predicted this year's group would make the playoffs, and would prove doubters wrong.
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Weather Blog
How do they get "ORD" for Chicago?
How do they get "ORD" for Chicago?
Slow weather week, so in looking for inspiration for a blog entry, I saw my old luggage this morning with a leftover "SEA" baggage tag on it and thought, "Yeah, I could finagle a story out of that."
I figured I'd tie it into how you can find current weather conditions on the Web, in which the weather community uses the same city codes as airports do in recording observations.
I don't know who decides who gets what code -- the FAA? NOAA? Boggle boards? Sesame Street? ("This city is brought to you by the letters, "S", "E", and "A"?), but some are way out there.
For example: Anyone who has flown through Chicago's O'Hare Airport gets an "ORD" tag, which, try as I might, I could not figure out where the 'D" came from. What was wrong with "CHI"? A quick peek of Wikipedia finds that during World War II, the airport was known as Orchard Place Field, and thus where "ORD" came from. The airport was renamed in 1949 for Edward "Butch" O'Hare, a Navy ace pilot who was honored with the Medal of Honor. But I guess ORD had already stuck.
Many cities do make sense -- SEA for Seattle, BOS for Boston, JFK for John F Kennedy Airport in New York, MIA for Miami, MSP for Minneapolis-St. Paul, LAX for Los Angeles (they use an "X" a lot to fill out a third letter).
On the other hand, that's used for Portland, Ore. too -- they are PDX. But I can't figure out why not "POR"? I thought at first that would be Portland, Maine, but no, they are PWM. (And the 'W' comes from...??)
(After I originally wrote this, I found out that it was because originally, the airport codes were two letters, and when it expanded to three, many of the airports that already had two letter codes were just given an "X" on the end. Portland used to be 'PD'. Still no idea where the 'W' comes from for Portland Maine)
[Update: Alex Nguyen e-mailed me Wednesday morning, finding this: "Portland bought the airfield and changed its name to "Portland-Westbrook-Municipal. "Westbrook" referred to the location of the last directional light before the airport in the nearby town of Westbrook."]
But there's some other weird ones out there: MSY is New Orleans' Louis Armstrong Airport. But that was originally known as Moisant Field, which got MSY from the name Moisant Stock Yards. Incidentally, the more aptly coded "NEW" is for the city's Lakefront Airport. Left with the crumbs are every other "New" city, who have to come up with something else, including Newark, NJ, which is "EWR".
MCO is Orlando, leftover for when it was McCoy Air Force Base.
In trying to find how the heck Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. came up with "IAD" (more on that in a second) I stumbled upon this fantastic site, which points out some other interesting rules that I didn't know about:
* When they were generating these codes, the Navy stole all the "N" codes for themselves. Thus, aside form a few exceptions, such as New Orleans' "NEW", almost all N codes are for Naval bases. (To wit: Whidbey Island's NAS is "NUW")
* The "W"s and "K"s were kept out by the FCC to use for radio stations. Canada took the "Y" for theirs and then apparently threw letters on a wall to come up with the rest of their codes (Victoria is "YYJ", Toronto is "YYZ")
This brings us to the wacky IAD for Dulles. Washington's National Airport, which was first but couldn't use a "W" (FCC stole 'em) or an "N" (Navy) had to be creative and took "DCA" for DC (District of Columbia) Airport. Dulles originally tried "DIA" for Dulles International Airport, but then found it was too confusing if you wrote that really fast on a baggage tag, you might mistake the C for an I, so they jumbled it a bit and came up with IAD.
* There's also a rule that you can't have a three letter code with two of the first letters, or the second and third letter identical within 200 nautical miles, to lessen confusion among air traffic controllers. This came into play in Houston which had the original Houston Hobby Airport, which was HOU and the new shiny new airport, which they ended up naming International Airport Houston to get around this, and gave it IAH. (I think this is now named for the senior George Bush).
Again, check out this site which has way more information on airport codes.
Locally, there's some interesting ones as well: Everett is "PAE", short for Paine Field. Port Angeles is "CLM", presumably for Clallam County. Forks is "UIL" for the actual airport location of Quillayute. Bremerton is "PWT" but can't find out why. And Kelso has the distinction of being one of the very few "K" codes -- KLS.
In western Oregon, most seem to make sense and use the city letters in some form: Eugene is EUG, Hillsboro is HIO, Salem is SLE, Astoria is AST, but Scappoose is "SPB" ("B"?) and Vancouver, Washington is VUO, despite the "O" coming before the "U" in the city name. (And "VAN" is not taken, so...?)
Eastern Washington is a bit different: GEG for Spokane goes back to when it was Geiger Air Force Base, and MWH is Moses Lake, with that mysterious "W" again -- maybe it was taken from Walla Walla, whicih is ALW since it can't start with a "W".
But my favorite is Pullman, whose code is "PUW" -- I assume for PUllman, Washington, but as a University of Washington alum, I take great pleasure in the irony that "UW" would be in Pullman's city code :)
OK, so now you've got the gist of codes. How about putting it to use?
If you go to this site from the National Weather Service, you can find current conditions for most places in the world. Here is that URL spelled out:
The trick is see where it says after "sid=SEA" -- you can replace the SEA with any three letter code, and the "num=48" is how many hours back you want to go. For example, you can put in "120" and it'll go back 5 days.
Now, one thing to notice -- it shows Seattle as "KSEA". Believe it or not, we made things more complicated a few years ago. The international weather community got together and designed four letter codes for all weather observations, with the first letter being a regional designation, and the latter three being the usual code from before.
For the United States, we're "K" - I assume back to the heritage of using K for radio station call signs. Only in this case, K is for everyone in the lower 48, including the east coast. (No "W" for them, everyone's "K"). Canada is "C", the Pacific Ocean region, including Alaska and Hawaii, is "P" (So, Anchorage is "PANC"). France is "L", England is "E", etc.
You can find the code for almost every major city on this text file. You can then put the code in the link above. You can use the 4 letter code too, so "KSEA" works as well as "SEA", but for cities outside the lower 48 states, you need to use the entire four letters.
Next up: Looking to morning cereal for tomorrow's inspiration. Wonder if Cheerios and droughts are related somehow? :)
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A North Idaho girl is recovering from major surgery at Sacred Heart Medical Center to remove a massive tumor so rare doctors believe five-year-old Madison Valentine may be the youngest child on record to have it.
John and Cynthia Valentine first noticed something was wrong with Madison last fall when she rapidly began to gain weight. In nine months Madison went from a healthy 45-pound girl to weighing 102 pounds.
Doctors discovered a tumor the size of almost two softballs in the center of her liver. The tumor caused her body to create excess steroids, creating a hormonal imbalance and causing her to gain all that weight.
The tumor was so massive, it was pushing on her veins and arteries and could have been life threatening. A team of doctors spent 11 hours in the operating room to remove it.
?We knew it was going to be dangerous and difficult because of the imaging because it was pressed against the inflow to the liver and the main garden hose which drains the lower body,? pediatric general surgeon Dr. Winston Chan said.
?Long, excruciating ? you could hear the second clock ticking, second hand ticking away it was a long day for all of us,? Madison?s dad John said.
Madison is recuperating from the surgery now; she?s slowly losing the weight and is starting to talk.
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Communism Teacher Resources
Find Communism educational ideas and activities
Showing 101 - 120 of 675 resources
Students examine the impact of religion on the Cold War. In this Cold War lesson, students analyze speeches delivered by Lenin, Truman, and Graham regarding the role of religion in society. As a culminating activity, students are tested over the material.
In this famous leaders worksheet, students read a passage about Osama Bin Laden and then complete a variety of activities including spelling, synonym matches, and scrambled sentences.
Andrei Sakharov's shift from thermonuclear scientist to political dissident is the subject of Fang Lizhi's article Time Magazine Most Important People of the Century. After reading a short passage from Lizhi's article, learners respond to multiple-choice questions and self-check their responses.
Students explore the correlation between the Cold War and the Domino Theory. For this history lesson, students watch a short video that exhibits the domino effect, then divide into small groups, each representing an assigned country, and answer questions from the teacher to reinforce the concept.
Students examine the impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In this Cold War lesson, students analyze the "Brandenburg Gate Speech," delivered by Ronald Reagan and explore the reasons that communism did not flourish in the Soviet Union.
Eleventh graders study the leadership decisions at the end of WWII. In this World History lesson, 11th graders examine leadership decisions made by President Truman and General George C. Marshall. Students interpret primary documents from the post WWII era.
Students examine the aftermath of World War II. In this Marshall Plan lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the plan to rebuild Western Europe and its outcome. Students respond to discussion questions regarding the lecture.
Students read facts about The Chinese-Russian Split of the 19060's in China and answer short answer questions about it. Students complete 4 short answer questions.
In this Christiane Amanpour worksheet, students read about the life of the news reporter, then complete a variety of comprehension activities. An answer key is included.
Learners examine Margaret Chase Smith's Declaration of Conscience and discuss its impact on Maine politics. After reading it, they discuss their opinions and write short responses about them. As a follow-up activity, students write their own declarations of conscience aligned with current events.
In this ESL editing worksheet, students will focus on error correction and editing. Students will read a short passage correcting any spelling mistakes or omissions from the article.
In this Russian Revolution worksheet, students read about Tsarist Russia, Communism, the February Revolution, the October Revolution, and Russia's Civil War. Students answer 8 questions about the text.
Eighth graders study the later half of 20th century American history. In this Cold War lesson, 8th graders research selected websites to gather information regarding various topics of significance in the United States between 1950 and 1989. Students create posters that feature their research findings and discuss the implications of the events.
In this European history worksheet, learners research Communism, Fascism, and Nazism in Europe during the 1930's. Students respond to the provided questions about the government systems.
In this Cold War worksheet, students review a PowerPoint presentation about the conflict and then respond to 48 fill in the blank questions about it.
Tenth graders explore the evolution of Chinese communism to its present export-driven economy. Working in groups, they examine various articles about reforms in Chinese society. They write essays about the impact of political reform on the Chinese Communist Party.
Young scholars study Russia and Eastern Europe. They select from a menu of option activities to demonstrate their knowledge of both countries including preparing meals, reading Russian works of literature, analyzing political cartoons and researching online. They choose to create flashcards, view videos, or make posters.
In this Political Geography worksheet, students take notes in a chart while reading several passages, then answer five comprehension questions.
In this world history activity, students learn about Nazi Germany during World War II. They then use the information they learned to solve the 10 questions on the activity. The answers are on the last page of the packet.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118398
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6 Weeks to a Younger You
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Week 3
Work up a sweat.
You can't just go for a stroll around the block and expect your heart to get healthier. But you don't have to run a marathon, either. The key is interval training, which means alternating between short bursts of intense activity and longer periods at a more comfortable pace. Not only will you burn more calories, but by increasing your heart rate you improve your stamina and cardiovascular health.
How to start:
Walk, run, swim, or cycle as fast as you can for two minutes, then switch to a steady pace for four minutes. Try to build up to a 30-minute workout.
Step away from the sugar.
Too much sugar turns into belly fat, which makes your bad cholesterol rise and your good cholesterol fall -- and that can lead to heart disease. Eating a little sweet stuff only makes you want more, says New York City cardiologist Holly S. Andersen, MD, a member of the LHJ Medical Advisory Board. "As your sugar levels start to plummet, your insulin levels rise and your body says, Feed me, feed me! That's why you get the carb craving." Weaning yourself off simple carbs like cookies, candy, and white flour can be tough but is a worthy goal.
How to start:
Do it at breakfast. Replace your cereal or doughnut with foods low in sugar and carbs -- egg whites, a mozzarella stick, walnuts, or almonds -- and you'll feel full longer, have more energy, and be less likely to dig into the candy jar at 11 a.m.
Play mind games.
"The brain is like a muscle -- you can make it stronger by stimulating it," Dr. Fotuhi says. But you can't just do a crossword puzzle every day; you need to seek new challenges.
How to start:
If something at home is broken, tinker with it to try to fix it. Or take a completely different route on your commute. "Even if you get lost you're teasing your brain in a good way," he says. People who challenge their brain all the time keep it in top condition -- and may lower their risk of Alzheimer's.
Push yourself.
Robert L. Leahy, PhD, author of Beat the Blues Before They Beat You, says that "constructive discomfort" is the ability to do what is uncomfortable to accomplish your goals. You may initially avoid aerobic exercise because you don't like getting sweaty. That discomfort is inevitable when you're getting started, but work through it.
How to start:
Pledge to do one thing that's uncomfortable each day, whether it's knocking off five push-ups or replacing the fries you love with the green veggies you don't. "Think of it as an investment to get what you really want," Dr. Leahy says. "It's like building mental muscle -- it's called self-discipline."
Continued on page 4: Week 4
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118416
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A Week in Limbo ends
Discussion in 'Linux News' started by Fred, Dec 28, 2011.
1. Fred
Fred New Member
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After a week of testing the hardware, Larry the Free Software Guy found only one glaring downside to the ZaReason Limbo 5440 desktop: having to return it back to ZaReason after the review. The Week in Limbo series wraps up with this epilogue, which includes a new-found love for Linux-based hardware and deep thanks to ZaReason CTO Earl Malmrose and his engineering staff for making such great Linux hardware.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118417
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TITLE: How To Build A DSL-Router LFS VERSION: All AUTHOR: Florin Boariu SYNOPSIS: This hint explains how to set up your own PPPoE/DSL gateway. Or Better: it explains how _I_ did it and assumes that you could do it the same ;) HINT: You will need three things: o A Linux System with two configured NICs o A Kernel Capable of PPP and PPPoE (PPP-over-Ethernet) o A PPP Daemon Capable of PPPoE and DoD (Dial-on-Demand) The Linux System ---------------- Check the LFS Book, it should explain it quite clearly. What it doesn't explain is how to add a second NIC: no problem, just make sure you have compiled the correct driver and add the folllowing lines to your /etc/inet.d/network (or whatever your network-up-script is). # # these lines should already be present if you # have one working network interface # for all computers in your network, this will # be the router/gateway address. # ifconfig eth0 route add net netmask # # add this line to configure the second interface # ifconfig eth1 The Kernel ---------- Following options should be enabled in the kernel (either 'm' for 'module' or 'y' for 'yes'): CONFIG_NETDEVICES=y CONFIG_PPP=y CONFIG_PPPOE=y You don't need to enable any kind of compression/deflate support for PPP, since PPPoE only works with turned-off compression (at least here in Germany -- your mileage may vary). And don't forget to make sure the respective modules get loaded, in case you compiled anything as a module. Of course, the kernel should also have the drivers needed for your NICs enabled, for example CONFIG_ETHERNET=y CONFIG_NET_PCI=y CONFIG_8139TOO=y Then you'll have to enable routing support for your kernel. I'm not quite sure about all the options, but the following work for me (2.4 kernel, ipv4). Some of them I knew, others I guessed, probably some are superfluous. If someone knows better, please correct these. Anyway, here my settings: CONFIG_PACKET=y CONFIG_PACKET_MMAP=y CONFIG_NETLINK=y CONFIG_RNETLINK=y CONFIG_NETLINKDEV=y CONFIG_UNIX=y CONFIG_INET=y CONFIG_IP_ADVANCED_ROUTER=y CONFIG_IP_MULTIPLE_TABLES=y CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_FWMARK=y CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_NAT=y CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_MULTIPATH=y CONFIG_IP_ROUTE_TOS=y CONFIG_NET_IPIP=y CONFIG_SYN_COOKIES=y # Netfilter Configuration The PPPoE Daemon with Dial-on-Demand ------------------------------------ In order to dial-on-demand you will need a pppd-2.4.1, patched with the pppoe4 patch. I couldn't find that patch on the net, it was sent to me by the author Michal Ostrowski . Note that a pppd-2.4.0-pppoe3 will _not_ work! It will work for _normal_ pppoe use, but not for dial-on-demand. As of now (2001-07-01) I wasn't able to find the pppoe4-patched pppd available for download, so you might aswell have to email to Michal. Alternately, you cold have a look at http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ -- it might be available for download there meanwhile... Just install the new pppd and write the following to your /etc/ppp/options file: # # /etc/ppp/options: # plugin /usr/lib/pppd/plugins/pppoe.so demand connect /bin/true ipcp-accept-remote ipcp-accept-local # the idle time in seconds -- you might want to adjust this idle 600 noipdefault defaultroute user hide-password noaccomp nopcomp nocrtscts lcp-echo-interval 10 lcp-echo-failure 3 lock nodetach # # /etc/ppp/options: # You will also need a /etc/ppp/pap-secrets file, with a valid password for . Next, you'll have to start the daemon as root. Simply call # pppd eth0 From now on, you should be able to trigger a connect by simply pinging an outside host: # ping If it does not work, you've done something wrong. You might want to read the PPP howto or some docs that come with pppd-2.4.1... good luck! If it does work, then the link should be automagically terminated after the specified idle time. Then you should be able to connect again by ping. Don't laugh, there's a reason why I'm telling this: the 2.4.0 version of pppd, pppoe patched, does not connect for the second time. It blocks! You _need_ pppd-2.4.1-pppoe4 or higher! Now you might want to trigger the start of your pppd from somewhere in /etc/init.d/ (/etc/rcX.d/). Do The Routing -------------- Your box can now dial itself into the internet, but it still takes some more lines in order to have a router. You have to install iptables (http://netfilter.samba.org/). The installation of Iptables seemed quite special to me. It didn't make any trouble, but it looked like some software which could lead to trouble -- I happened to guess the correct settings, but I'm far from understanding the software deeply, so you're basically on your own ... :-/ There's one thing I can tell, though: you'll need to start the patch-o-matic ('make patch-o-matic') and apply the TCPMSS patch. This has something to do with the MTU (maximum transmit unit) of the clients, but I never really understood what. When you suceeded the installation, execute the following: ------------------- # # prepare the kernel for ip forwarding and dynamic ip addresses # /bin/echo "1" /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward /bin/echo "1" /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_dynaddr # # enable FORWARD target for all packets comming from 10.x.x.x # via eth0 (from the inside) or via ppp0 (outside) # aswell as INPUT packets from eth0 (inside) # /usr/sbin/iptables -A FORWARD -i eth0 -s -j ACCEPT /usr/sbin/iptables -A FORWARD -i ppp0 -s -j ACCEPT /usr/sbin/iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -s -j ACCEPT # # set default policy to DROP all other INPUT or FORWARD packets # /usr/sbin/iptables -P INPUT DROP /usr/sbin/iptables -P FORWARD DROP # # enable masquerading for all packets from 10.x.x.x # /usr/sbin/iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s -j MASQUERADE # # set the MTU of the interfaces to the correct size. this is usually # smaller than usual, since pppoe does some more encapsulating. If you # don't, ping to the outside world should work, but almost any other # TCP connection (like FTP or HTTP) will fail. Accorting to Daniel # Roethlingsberger, this can also be done at interface level (try # 'ifconfig mtu XXX'), but there's nothing wrong with taking the # following line in your iptables, too. # /usr/sbin/iptables -I FORWARD -p tcp --tcp-flags SYN,RST SYN -j \ TCPMSS --clamp-mss-to-pmtu ------------------------ This will give you basic routing support. For troubleshooting and/or more advanced iptables flags (if you're interested in making a firewall out of your router), see the iptables-HOWTO: http://www.linuxgrill.com/anonymous/fire/netfilter/iptables-HOWTO.html. You might also want to search http://www.linuxdoc.org/ for the keyword 'iptables' for some more advanced docs on routing and/or transparent proxying ;) Good Luck! Florin Boariu
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118418
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Trying to add text to the beginning of each line
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http://www.unix.com – Well here goes: I tried to write a batch file that adds a specific fixed text to each line of an already existing text file. for the adding text infront of each line I tried this: Code: for /F "delims=" %%j in (list.txt) do echo.STARTTEXT\%%j >> list.txt for adding text after each line I haven't figured out how to do it. HOWEVER: When I use the code descripted, this: Code: 1stline becomes this ->>> Code: 1stline STARTTEXT1stline I want it to be just Code: STARTTEXT1line so to sum it up I want to add something BEFORE and AFT (HowTos)
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118423
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Ten Years Later
Alexandre Dumas
Chapter 8 - What His Majesty King Louis Xiv. Was At The Age Of Twenty-Two
It has been seen, by the account we have endeavored to give of it, that the entree of King Louis XIV. into the city of Blois had been noisy and brilliant his young majesty had therefore appeared perfectly satisfied with it.
On arriving beneath the porch of the Castle of the States, the king met, surrounded by his guards and gentlemen, with S. A. R. the duke, Gaston of Orleans, whose physiognomy, naturally rather majestic, had borrowed on this solemn occasion a fresh luster and a fresh dignity. On her part, Madame, dressed in her robes of ceremony, awaited, in the interior balcony, the entrance of her nephew. All the windows of the old castle, so deserted and dismal on ordinary days, were resplendent with ladies and lights.
It was then to the sound of drums, trumpets, and vivats, that the young king crossed the threshold of that castle in which, seventy-two years before, Henry III. had called in the aid of assassination and treachery to keep upon his head and in his house a crown which was already slipping from his brow, to fall into another family.
All eyes, after having admired the young king, so handsome and so agreeable, sought for that other king of France, much otherwise king than the former, and so old, so pale, so bent, that people called him the Cardinal Mazarin.
Louis was at this time endowed with all the natural gifts which make the perfect gentleman; his eye was brilliant, mild, and of a clear azure blue. But the most skillful physiognomists, those divers into the soul, on fixing their looks upon it, if it had been possible for a subject to sustain the glance of the king, - the most skillful physiognomists, we say, would never have been able to fathom the depths of that abyss of mildness. It was with the eyes of the king as with the immense depths of the azure heavens, or with those more terrific, and almost as sublime, which the Mediterranean reveals under the keels of its ships in a clear summer day, a gigantic mirror in which heaven delights to reflect sometimes its stars, sometimes its storms.
The king was short of stature - he was scarcely five feet two inches: but his youth made up for this defect, set off likewise by great nobleness in all his movements, and by considerable address in all bodily exercises.
Certes, he was already quite a king, and it was a great thing to be a king in that period of traditional devotedness and respect; but as, up to that time, he had been but seldom and always poorly shown to the people, as they to whom he was shown saw him by the side of his mother, a tall woman, and monsieur le cardinal, a man of commanding presence, many found him so little of a king as to say, -
Whatever may be thought of these physical observations, which were principally made in the capital, the young king was welcomed as a god by the inhabitants of Blois, and almost like a king by his uncle and aunt, Monsieur and Madame, the inhabitants of the castle.
It must, however, be allowed, that when he saw, in the hall of reception, chairs of equal height placed for himself, his mother, the cardinal, and his uncle and aunt, a disposition artfully concealed by the semicircular form of the assembly, Louis XIV. became red with anger, and looked around him to ascertain by the countenances of those that were present, if this humiliation had been prepared for him. But as he saw nothing upon the impassible visage of the cardinal, nothing on that of his mother, nothing on those of the assembly, he resigned himself, and sat down, taking care to be seated before anybody else.
The gentlemen and ladies were presented to their majesties and monsieur le cardinal.
The king remarked that his mother and he scarcely knew the names of any of the persons who were presented to them; whilst the cardinal, on the contrary never failed, with an admirable memory and presence of mind, to talk to every one about his estates, his ancestors, or his children, some of whom he named, which enchanted those worthy country gentlemen, and confirmed them in the idea that he alone is truly king who knows his subjects, from the same reason that the sun has no rival, because the sun alone warms and lightens.
The study of the young king, which had begun a long time before, without anybody suspecting it, was continued then, and he looked around him attentively to endeavor to make out something in the physiognomies which had at first appeared the most insignificant and trivial.
A collation was served. The king, without daring to call upon the hospitality of his uncle, had waited for it impatiently. This time, therefore, he had all the honors due, if not to his rank, at least to his appetite
As to the cardinal, he contented himself with touching with his withered lips a bouillon, served in a gold cup. The all-powerful minister, who had taken her regency from the queen, and his royalty from the king, had not been able to take a good stomach from nature.
Anne of Austria, already suffering from the cancer which six or eight years after caused her death, ate very little more than the cardinal.
For Monsieur, already puffed up with the great event which had taken place in his provincial life, he ate nothing whatever.
Madame alone, like a true Lorrainer, kept pace with his majesty; so that Louis XIV., who, without this partner, might have eaten nearly alone, was at first much pleased with his aunt, and afterwards with M. de Saint-Remy, her maitre d'hotel, who had really distinguished himself.
The collation over, at a sign of approbation from M. de Mazarin, the king arose, and, at the invitation of his aunt, walked about among the ranks of the assembly.
The ladies then observed - there are certain things for which women are as good observers at Blois as at Paris - the ladies then observed that Louis XIV. had a prompt and bold look, which premised a distinguished appreciator of beauty. The men, on their part, observed that the prince was proud and haughty, that he loved to look down those who fixed their eyes upon him too long or too earnestly, which gave presage of a master.
Louis XIV. had accomplished about a third of his review when his ears were struck with a word which his eminence pronounced whilst conversing with Monsieur.
This word was the name of a woman.
Scarcely had Louis XIV. heard this word than he heard, or rather listened to nothing else; and neglecting the arc of the circle which awaited his visit, his object seemed to be to come as quickly as possible to the extremity of the curve.
Monsieur, like a good courtier, was inquiring of monsieur le cardinal after the health of his nieces; he regretted, he said, not having the pleasure of receiving them at the same time with their uncle; they must certainly have grown in stature, beauty and grace, as they had promised to do the last time Monsieur had seen them.
What had first struck the king was a certain contrast in the voices of the two interlocutors. The voice of Monsieur was calm and natural while he spoke thus; while that of M. de Mazarin jumped by a note and a half to reply above the diapason of his usual voice. It might have been said that he wished that voice to strike, at the end of the salon, any ear that was too distant.
"Monseigneur," replied he, "Mesdemoiselles de Mazarin have still to finish their education: they have duties to fulfill, and a position to make. An abode in a young and brilliant court would dissipate them a little."
Louis, at this last sentence, smiled sadly. The court was young, it was true, but the avarice of the cardinal had taken good care that it should not be brilliant.
"You have nevertheless no intention," replied Monsieur, "to cloister them or make them bourgeoises?"
"Not at all," replied the cardinal, forcing his Italian pronunciation in such a manner that, from soft and velvety as it was, it became sharp and vibrating, "not at all: I have a full and fixed intention to marry them, and that as well as I shall be able."
"Parties will not be wanting, monsieur le cardinal," replied Monsieur, with a bonhomie worthy of one tradesman congratulating another.
"I hope not, monseigneur, and with reason, as God has been pleased to give them grace, intelligence, and beauty."
During this conversation, Louis XIV., conducted by Madame, accomplished, as we have described, the circle of presentations.
"Mademoiselle Auricule," said the princess, presenting to his majesty a fat, fair girl of two-and-twenty, who at a village fete might have been taken for a peasant in Sunday finery, - "the daughter of my music-mistress."
The king smiled. Madame had never been able to extract four correct notes from either viol or harpsichord.
"Mademoiselle Aure de Montalais," continued Madame, "a young lady of rank, and my good attendant."
This time it was not the king that smiled; it was the young lady presented, because, for the first time in her life, she heard, given to her by Madame, who generally showed no tendency to spoil her, such an honorable qualification.
Our old acquaintance Montalais, therefore, made his majesty a profound courtesy, the more respectful from the necessity she was under of concealing certain contractions of her laughing lips, which the king might not have attributed to their real cause.
It was just at this moment that the king caught the word which startled him.
"And the name of the third?" asked Monsieur.
"Mary, monseigneur," replied the cardinal.
There was doubtless some magical influence in that word, for, as we have said, the king started at hearing it, and drew Madame towards the middle of the circle, as if he wished to put some confidential question to her, but, in reality, for the sake of getting nearer to the cardinal.
"Madame my aunt," said he, laughing, and in a suppressed voice, "my geography-master did not teach me that Blois was at such an immense distance from Paris."
"What do you mean, nephew?" asked Madame.
"Why, because it would appear that it requires several years, as regards fashion, to travel the distance! - Look at those young ladies!"
"Well; I know them all."
"Some of them are pretty."
"Don't say that too loud, monsieur my nephew; you will drive them wild."
"Stop a bit, stop a bit, dear aunt!" said the king, smiling; "for the second part of my sentence will serve as a corrective to the first. Well, my dear aunt, some of them appear old and others ugly, thanks to their ten-year-old fashions."
"Yes, that is it," said the king: "two years behind for each day."
"Indeed! do you really think so? Well, that is strange! It never struck me."
"Now, look, aunt," said Louis XIV., drawing still nearer to Mazarin, under the pretext of gaining a better point of view, "look at that simple white dress by the side of those antiquated specimens of finery, and those pretentious coiffures. She is probably one of my mother's maids of honor, though I don't know her."
"Ah! ah! my dear nephew!" replied Madame, laughing, "permit me to tell you that your divinatory science is at fault for once. The young lady you honor with your praise is not a Parisian, but a Blaisoise."
"Come here, Louise," said Madame.
And the fair girl, already known to you under that name, approached them, timid, blushing, and almost bent beneath the royal glance.
"Mademoiselle Louise Francoise de la Baume le Blanc, the daughter of the Marquise de la Valliere," said Madame, ceremoniously.
The young girl bowed with so much grace, mingled with the profound timidity inspired by the presence of the king, that the latter lost, while looking at her, a few words of the conversation of Monsieur and the cardinal.
"Daughter-in-law," continued Madame, "of M. de Saint-Remy, my maitre d'hotel, who presided over the confection of that excellent daube truffee which your majesty seemed so much to appreciate."
No grace, no youth, no beauty, could stand out against such a presentation. The king smiled. Whether the words of Madame were a pleasantry, or uttered in all innocency, they proved the pitiless immolation of everything that Louis had found charming or poetic in the young girl. Mademoiselle de la Valliere, for Madame and, by rebound, for the king, was, for a moment, no more than the daughter of a man of a superior talent over dindes truffees.
But princes are thus constituted. The gods, too, were just like this in Olympus. Diana and Venus, no doubt, abused the beautiful Alcmena and poor Io, when they condescended, for distraction's sake, to speak, amidst nectar and ambrosia, of mortal beauties, at the table of Jupiter.
Fortunately, Louise was so bent in her reverential salute, that she did not catch either Madame's words or the king's smile. In fact, if the poor child, who had so much good taste as alone to have chosen to dress herself in white amidst all her companions - if that dove's heart, so easily accessible to painful emotions, had been touched by the cruel words of Madame, or the egotistical cold smile of the king, it would have annihilated her.
And Montalais herself, the girl of ingenious ideas, would not have attempted to recall her to life; for ridicule kills beauty even.
But fortunately, as we have said, Louise, whose ears were buzzing, and her eyes veiled by timidity, - Louise saw nothing and heard nothing; and the king, who had still his attention directed to the conversation of the cardinal and his uncle, hastened to return to them.
He came up just at the moment Mazarin terminated by saying: "Mary, as well as her sisters, has just set off for Brouage. I make them follow the opposite bank of the Loire to that along which we have traveled; and if I calculate their progress correctly, according to the orders I have given, they will to-morrow be opposite Blois."
These words were pronounced with that tact - that measure, that distinctness of tone, of intention, and reach - which made del Signor Giulio Mazarini the first comedian in the world.
It resulted that they went straight to the heart of Louis XIV., and the cardinal, on turning round at the simple noise of the approaching footsteps of his majesty, saw the immediate effect of them upon the countenance of his pupil, an effect betrayed to the keen eyes of his eminence by a slight increase of color. But what was the ventilation of such a secret to him whose craft had for twenty years deceived all the diplomatists of Europe?
From the moment the young king heard these last words, he appeared as if he had received a poisoned arrow in his heart. He could not remain quiet in a place, but cast around an uncertain, dead, and aimless look over the assembly. He with his eyes interrogated his mother more than twenty times: but she, given up to the pleasure of conversing with her sister-in-law, and likewise constrained by the glance of Mazarin, did not appear to comprehend any of the supplications conveyed by the looks of her son.
From this moment, music, lights, flowers, beauties, all became odious and insipid to Louis XIV. After he had a hundred times bitten his lips, stretched his legs and his arms like a well-brought-up child who, without daring to gape, exhausts all the modes of evincing his weariness - after having uselessly again implored his mother and the minister, he turned a despairing look towards the door, that is to say, towards liberty.
At this door, in the embrasure of which he was leaning, he saw, standing out strongly, a figure with a brown and lofty countenance, an aquiline nose, a stern but brilliant eye, gray and long hair, a black mustache, the true type of military beauty, whose gorget, more sparkling than a mirror, broke all the reflected lights which concentrated upon it, and sent them back as lightning. This officer wore his gray hat with its long red plumes upon his head, a proof that he was called there by his duty, and not by his pleasure. If he had been brought thither by his pleasure - if he had been a courtier instead of a soldier, as pleasure must always be paid for at the same price - he would have held his hat in his hand.
That which proved still better that this officer was upon duty, and was accomplishing a task to which he was accustomed, was, that he watched, with folded arms, remarkable indifference, and supreme apathy, the joys and ennuis of this fete. Above all, he appeared, like a philosopher, and all old soldiers are philosophers, - he appeared above all to comprehend the ennuis infinitely better than the joys; but in the one he took his part, knowing very well how to do without the other.
Now, he was leaning, as we have said, against the carved door-frame when the melancholy, weary eyes of the king, by chance, met his.
It was not the first time, as it appeared, that the eyes of the officer had met those eyes, and he was perfectly acquainted with the expression of them; for, as soon as he had cast his own look upon the countenance of Louis XIV., and had read by it what was passing in his heart - that is to say, all the ennui that oppressed him - all the timid desire to go out which agitated him, - he perceived he must render the king a service without his commanding it, - almost in spite of himself. Boldly, therefore, as if he had given the word of command to cavalry in battle, "On the king's service!" cried he, in a clear, sonorous voice.
At these words, which produced the effect of a peal of thunder, prevailing over the orchestra, the singing and the buzz of the promenaders, the cardinal and the queen-mother looked at each other with surprise.
Louis XIV., pale, but resolved, supported as he was by that intuition of his own thought which he had found in the mind of the officer of musketeers, and which he had just manifested by the order given, arose from his chair, and took a step towards the door.
"Are you going, my son?" said the queen, whilst Mazarin satisfied himself with interrogating by a look which might have appeared mild if it had not been so piercing.
"Yes, madame," replied the king; "I am fatigued, and, besides, wish to write this evening."
A smile stole over the lips of the minister, who appeared, by a bend of the head, to give the king permission.
Monsieur and Madame hastened to give orders to the officers who presented themselves.
The king bowed, crossed the hall, and gained the door, where a hedge of twenty musketeers awaited him. At the extremity of this hedge stood the officer, impassible, with his drawn sword in his hand. The king passed, and all the crowd stood on tip-toe, to have one more look at him.
Ten musketeers, opening the crowd of the ante-chambers and the steps, made way for his majesty. The other ten surrounded the king and Monsieur, who had insisted upon accompanying his majesty. The domestics walked behind. This little cortege escorted the king to the chamber destined for him. The apartment was the same that had been occupied by Henry III. during his sojourn in the States.
Monsieur had given his orders. The musketeers, led by their officer, took possession of the little passage by which one wing of the castle communicates with the other. This passage was commenced by a small square ante-chamber, dark even in the finest days. Monsieur stopped Louis XIV.
"You are passing now, sire," said he, "the very spot where the Duc de Guise received the first stab of the poniard."
The king was ignorant of all historical matters; he had heard of the fact, but he knew nothing of the localities or the details.
"Ah!" said he with a shudder.
And he stopped. The rest, both behind and before him, stopped likewise.
"The duc, sire," continued Gaston, "was nearly where I stand: he was walking in the same direction as your majesty; M. de Lorgnes was exactly where your lieutenant of musketeers is; M. de Saint-Maline and his majesty's ordinaries were behind him and around him. It was here that he was struck."
The king turned towards his officer, and saw something like a cloud pass over his martial and daring countenance.
"Yes, from behind!" murmured the lieutenant, with a gesture of supreme disdain. And he endeavored to resume the march, as if ill at ease at being between walls formerly defiled by treachery.
But the king, who appeared to wish to be informed, was disposed to give another look at this dismal spot.
Gaston perceived his nephew's desire.
"Look, sire," said he, taking a flambeau from the hands of M. de Saint-Remy, "this is where he fell. There was a bed there, the curtains of which he tore with catching at them."
"Why does the floor seem hollowed out at this spot?" asked Louis.
"Because it was here the blood flowed," replied Gaston; "the blood penetrated deeply into the oak, and it was only by cutting it out that they succeeded in making it disappear. And even then," added Gaston, pointing the flambeau to the spot, "even then this red stain resisted all the attempts made to destroy it."
Louis XIV. raised his head. Perhaps he was thinking of that bloody trace that had once been shown him at the Louvre, and which, as a pendant to that of Blois, had been made there one day by the king his father with the blood of Concini.
"Let us go on," said he.
The march was resumed promptly, for emotion, no doubt, had given to the voice of the young prince a tone of command which was not customary with him. When arrived at the apartment destined for the king, which communicated not only with the little passage we have passed through, but further with the great staircase leading to the court, -
"Will your majesty," said Gaston, "condescend to occupy this apartment, all unworthy as it is to receive you?"
"Uncle," replied the young king, "I render you my thanks for your cordial hospitality."
Then, when all were placed, he chose as his headquarters the ante-chamber, in which he found a large fauteuil, a lamp, some wine, some water: and some dry bread.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118424
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tagErotic CouplingsMet on the Net Ch. 04
Met on the Net Ch. 04
Dana and Charles, two people who live miles away, met online and have had a wonderful love affair. Moving from online chats, phone calls, steamy web cam sessions and finally to days and nights full of passion, love and lust. Catch up on their lives in this final chapter of Met on the Net.
Dana sits in her home, her new home. She rests on the couch having just hung her final portrait, the one of her and the children, taken a month after her divorce was final. The divorce went smoothly, but Dana knew it would. Once she had confessed her relationship with another man, she had no problem getting all she had asked for. Both of them knew that the marriage was over long before she had even met Charles, it was just a matter of time before one of them turned to someone else. It ended peacefully and quickly, custody was shared and she hoped that their father took the time to appreciate and enjoy his children. She knew that it had been hard for them and they still struggled with grief and guilt, thinking the blame was theirs to shoulder. Though the family unit was dissolved they all met monthly for counseling to help ease the children into realizing that though mom and dad were no longer together, the kids were still the most important things in their lives.
The house is quiet now, the twins and their brother spending the next 2 months with their dad for the summer, Dana closes her eyes and thinks of Charles. Thinking over the last year and a half and how different her life is, how much she has changed and grown. No longer would someone look at her and see a quiet reserved woman, but they would see a woman who has a sparkle in her eye and a skip to her walk. She feels as if everything in her life is as it should be. She is in love with a wonderful man, she is residing in her own home, decorated her way and this summer she gets to just experience life. The doorbell chimes and she is startled back to the presence, moving towards the door she presses her hand against her stomach to quell the nerves inside. She knows who is behind the door and she is always amazed that after all this time, he still manages to make her feel young and giddy.
Charles waits outside the door, his back facing it. He admires the neighborhood and the lovely flowers that Dana has scattered in various flower beds, he sees her special touch in everything related to her. He was unsure of how her divorce would proceed, but was relieved when she had kept him informed on the proceedings. Now here he was on her front porch and for the first time they would be able to make love without any worries about her having to hide any marks on her skin. However, he would still have to be cautious. The business acquaintance that he had noticed in the hotel bar, the last time he and Dana were together, had agreed to keep quiet. He and Charles had discussed what each had seen one night after work and Charles now knew why his 'friend' wouldn't say a word to his wife about what he'd seen. Both men stood to lose many things if their extracurricular activities were discovered.
He hears her footsteps behind the door and turns just as she opens it. "Hello beautiful," he says as she walks into his arms. "I've missed you." He folds her into his embrace and presses his lips to hers. Sighing with each stroke of her tongue with his, he tightens his hold on her. The cool wine bottle in his hand rests against his arm as his other hand presses into the small of her back. Moving his lips across her's he taste her mouth, together their tongues dance and stroke one another, remembering how each one feels.
"We'd better take this inside." he mumbles against her lips. Charles follows her inside watching her ass move under her skirt, he quickens his step and places his palm on her left cheek, squeezing it gently. She smiles up at him and takes the wine bottle from his offered hand. He follows her into the dining room and waits as she reaches in the curio cabinet for two crystal goblets. Looking around Charles notices a wine rack and admires her taste in wines. He uncorks the bottle he had brought, a 1935 Chateau Filhout 2eme Cru Sauterne, allows it to breath, before pouring a small sample and passing it to her. He watches her as she swirls and slowly samples the exquisite treat. He'd decided to bring it to welcome a new path for their lives to take. He fills both of their glasses and together they move to her sofa.
Dana cuddles against his side enjoying the taste of the wine along with the relaxing feeling of finally being with him in her home, no need to call home and check in, no need to keep her relationship secret from her family. She worries about Charles now. He had told her about the business man and why he had become uneasy at the hotel the last time they were together, but she knew that Charles would have to handle things on his end the way he saw fit. She had come to realize that she didn't want to be married again. She was enjoying this relationship with Chuck and she wanted it to remain this way, no longer having to answer to a man, no longer wondering if it was ok to enjoy something that her spouse didn't. A new since of freedom had enveloped her and she was embracing it.
Finishing her wine she set her goblet on the coffee table beside Charles'. She took his hand in hers and began a tour of her home. She enjoyed holding his hand and showing him her sanctuary. They moved from room to room as shared with him memories of the various pictures she had throughout the house. Memories of things he had only been told about, but had not actually had gotten to see pictures of. They moved on from the children's room, where she shared how much fun it had been to let each child decorate it the way they wanted. She pointed out to him each child's unique personality. Together they moved to the master suite and she grinned up at him. Dana saw the hungry look in his eye as he moved to kiss her, she turned her head, chuckling as she allowed his lips to rest on her neck instead. "Later my love." she told him, as together they glided down the stairs back to the kitchen.
"I have been wanting to cook for you ever since I realized I loved you."
Charles sits on a bar stool and watches his lady love, move around her kitchen. He sees how at ease and relaxed she is and he falls deeper in love with her seeing her in a new light. Enjoying her presence as she moves without a care or worry in her walk or in her face. He sees nothing but joy radiate from her. Sliding from the stool he walks up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she cuts the vegetables for the salad. He lets his hand slide up to cup her breast, feeling the soft globe of flesh. His fingers move gently over her nipple. It tightens under his touch as he slowly twist the bud between his thumb and finger. Her head leans to one side so his mouth can gently nibble her flesh. He watches her hand grip and release the knife, laying it down on the board as she gives herself over to his hands.
He slides his hand back and forth across her breast, first one then the other. His other hand slides down into her skirt to rest his palm on the silkiness of her panties. One of his fingers slowly press against the lips of her pussy, feeling the softness of her panties. Her sigh fills the air as his kiss covers her neck. She presses her ass against his erection and grips the counter's edge. Charles continues to suck on her neck, his tongue pressing against her pulse. He moves his fingers along her body, barely touching her, feeling her skin beneath his caress begin to cover in goose-bumps. His hand slides back and forth on her pussy, barred from his fingers. She calls his name and he feels her legs opening for him. Coaxing the edge of her panties to the side with his fingers he lets one slip across her wet lips.
Dana shutters as his finger makes contact with her aroused sex. She presses her ass against him and opens her legs wider, inviting him in. The marble counter top is cold and smooth to her hands as she tightens her grip with each stroke of his tongue against her neck. His fingers move over her cunt, bringing the wetness to the surface of her body. She slides her body up and down his urging him to probe her more fully. As his finger dips inside her she bites her lower lip, feeling her body quiver against him. Together they move, her hips thrusting and her pussy clenching as his finger slides deeper into her. Soon her body is craving more and he answers that craving with another finger joining the first. She bucks against him, his thumb rubs her clit as each drive his fingers make go deeper and deeper.
The hand on her nipple brings more torment to her senses. She feels as if she can not get enough of his touch, his caresses or his loving. Her breast ache with need, a hunger that only he can satisfy. She feels her body soaring on a precipice as if it is waiting to fall, to crash against the jagged rocks below, and it does. Dana cries out as she feels her lover's bite against her neck bringing her the orgasm she had been building to. Her sex releases its moist treasure, covering his fingers. She clenches his fingers inside her as he continues to twist and turn them, bringing more fire from her body. Each wave of desire slams against her as he rocks his hips against her ass, bringing the last of her need from her.
Charles presses a kiss against Dana's neck and slides his fingers from her. He passes them over her panties as his other hand moves from her breast, to lay on her hip. He removes his hand from her skirt. "I'll be back." he tells her as he gives her as a smooth caress and moves off to the bathroom. Charles washes his hands then dries them. He takes a moment to rub his hard cock, easing some of the discomfort that was brought on in the kitchen. He looks at himself in the mirror, seeing a man who has lived a hard life. Though most of his years as a husband and father have been pleasant, he wonders what had brought him to this point. What path did he travel that would lead him to have an affair with a woman for well over a year? He would never have seen himself, cheating on her, but here he was again with Dana. Now Dana was single, she had told him that she didn't want to get married, that she wanted to remain his lover and friend. But what if the time came when she did meet someone else would he be able to lose her? He knew he wouldn't leave his wife, he loved her and he felt that he belonged with her, his love for Dana was strong, but the commitment to his wife was stronger.
Moving back through Dana's home he takes in all the little things that make her special. She obviously loved flowers, they were spread all over the house. A mixture of silk arrangements and fresh ones could be found in every room. He noticed the bird feeders outside and the lovely fountain surrounded by a man made garden pond. The most interesting thing that he noticed was the small room in the corner, he had thought it the most charming room in her home. Her love of wind chimes was obvious as a soft breeze caused the more then two dozen, hanging from the ceiling, to sing gently in the room. He chuckled as he closed the door and headed back, letting his nose lead him to the kitchen.
Dana moved from the kitchen to the dining room, her face still warm and hot from her orgasm. She let Charles assist in setting up the table while she finished the pasta. She had planned on this simple supper for the two of them, her family recipe for spaghetti and a wonderful Caesar salad. Together they enjoyed dinner each talking about the others families. She touched base on her new job and how nervous she had been on re-entering the work force. Dana had told Chuck about how much she had missed interacting with other adults and how much she had loved her former job as an accountant, now she was getting her feet wet again and loved every minute of it. She smiled wide as she related the escapades of her co-workers and the fun they all had when they went out. Dana moved her hand to his and ran her fingers across them. "I'm glad your here. I've missed you and I've wanted to share all this with you." Her fingers curl around his and they finish their meal in the quiet, each one stealing glances of the other.
After dinner they both gathered up the dishes and moved to the sink. He offered to wash and she shooed him off to grab a towel, no one would wash her antique dishes, but herself. She washed each plate and utensil with care, remembering all the family dinners that had been on these plates, a bit of melancholy comes over her and she sighs. She thinks back over the years she had spent in her marriage, the years of romance and then the years of loneliness, knowing that all of it was so she could be where she is now, independent and free to learn about herself. Taking Charles hands she leads him out to the garden, they walk a winding path she had created with the local landscape designer and she shows him all the plants and flowers, her favorite the carnation. They move to the pool house and she pulls him into her arms.
Charles' hands wrap around her back and hold her close to him. His left slips down to cup her ass cheek while his right moves to her chin, tilting it up he lowers his lips to hers. He takes his time kissing her, savoring this new Dana, this new woman he has discovered. She looks the same and yet different, but he still loves her, he now wonders if he is enough for her. He has a feeling that her life is going to be a new more exciting one and he hopes she will continue to allow him to be a part of it. His lips move slowly over hers. Using his tongue as if it were a pen, he traces the outline of her lips. Slowly he runs his tongue along the seam of her closed mouth, before he feels them part slightly for his probing muscle. When their tongues meet with the slightest touch, each one retracting from the other,only to return again to dance and taste. They kiss with their mouths open only their tongues touch, each little lick bringing shivers to one another.
He moves his hands into her hair, letting the combs fall to the ground, releasing her dark curls to fall against her back. Sliding his hand along the back of her skirt he moves it down to the hem. His fingers creep slowly up her thigh and around to her rear again, smoothing his hand over her satin covering. He grips her and pulls her body closer to his. The pressure of her against his cock only drives his hardness into more of a gnawing ache. He longs to bury himself deep inside her, but he wants to enjoy this time with her, to take their time together, as if they are christening this home for them. He slides his hand from her ass and out of her skirt. It travels up to her waist and inside her blouse, again he feels the texture of her bra and he releases the clasp that is holding her breast hostage. Her nipples pucker as his fingers slowly glide across each one. The warm evening air stirs against her skin and he presses his palm against her breast.
Dana presses her breast against his hand and enjoys the friendly banter of their kiss. She can feel his erection pressing into her and she rubs her body against it. Pulling back from him to look into his eyes she asks him, "Would you like to swim this evening? I have suits for us both." She smiles innocently up at him as she watches his eyes darken with love and lust.
"Suits? Do you think we would keep them on for long?"
She moves away from his arms and steps from him. She holds out her hands silently telling him not to touch her. She moves to the pool house and turns on some music. Antonio Vivaldi's, All of the Spring section of the Fair Seasons, plays quietly as she moves back to stand in front of Chuck. Her hands slide to the buttons of her blouse. One by one she lets each button slip from its hole. Her hand moves inside her blouse as the opening widens with each new release. She watches Charles while she undresses for him. Her blouse billows in the breeze as she moves both her hands to her breast. She pushes back the bra that he had earlier unclasped and allows her breast to be released, cupping them in her hands. Running her fingers across her nipples, she feels them peak beneath her fingers. He continues to watch her, she sees his chest rise and fall as she plays with her tits.
Dana allows her fingers to fondle her chest before sliding her blouse off her shoulders and down her back taking her bra along with it. She sways her body slowly as the music plays for them. Her head falls back as she cups her breast again, kneading them with her palms and fingers. Sliding one hand down her body, the other remaining on her breast, she slips her palm between her panties and her pussy. Her head comes back up as her finger slides against her clit. Eyes connect with eyes as they watch each other. Her own show lust and passion as she stares into those of her lovers. His reflecting back to her the same need and the same hunger she feels. As her finger pushes into her wet hole her other digits pull and tug at her nipple, moaning and writhing against her hand, she calls out his name.
Charles struggles to remain still as he watches his woman bring herself to orgasm, with each thrust of her finger he can feel her pussy around his own cock. Though they do not touch his own erection strains against his pants and he reaches to strip his clothing from his body. He watches her hand move under her skirt as her own body moves back and forth in a rocking motion. He quickly removes his shirt, pulling it over his head. His shoes, slacks and boxers are quick to follow. His eyes never leave her crotch as he bends and removes each sock. Charles stands naked in front of Dana as his cock points up for her, aching to have her.
He watches her as she shutters against her hand and then he walks slowly towards her. Dropping to his knees, he yanks the skirt and panties down over her hips, ass and legs. It pools at her feet and he pins his mouth against her wet lips. He licks the cum from her body, thrusting his tongue deep into her cunt. He fucks her with his mouth, tasting the sweet nectar that she had freed. His tongue moves in and out of her, licking her full slit, before sliding in again. He is greedy with his tongue wanting to suck and drink all of her. Charles moves his mouth to her clit and sucks it hard, his teeth pulling on the hard bud. His own cock fights to be noticed, tired of being denied. Charles pushes back the need to drive into her and continues to plow and stoke her with his tongue. Her fingers pull him closer to her pussy, diving deep he grinds his tongue against her. Again, he hears her scream calling out his name and with each hard firm lick she empties her juice on his tongue. He drinks and sucks all he can of her, enjoying the orgasm with her this time.
Dana feels as if she will die. Her breathing is ragged, her heart beats in her chest. The blood flowing in her body is on fire, as if it were boiling inside each vein. She pulls his head from her pussy and drops to her knees in front of him. She kisses Chuck deeply, licking his lips and chin sharing the taste of her. He pushes her down against the hard patio surface. She feels the cold slabs of brick and rock against her back not caring how they feel when he lifts her legs to his shoulders. She watches his cock as his hand guides it into her pussy. She clenches her eyes shut and lifts her hips as she feels him rub his cock between her wet lips, before he slams it fully into her. Dana gasps and thrust herself up higher, her hips driving his cock in deeper
Together they move as one. She feels his hard cock drive faster his hands on her hips as he pulls her against him. Her hands grab her breast, her nipples red and swollen from her ministrations, she continues to moan and call out her need for him. Dana works her nipples into harder nubs before sliding her finger to her clit. She strokes it as Charles rams her pussy harder and harder together they pump and move each one taking what they want and giving what they can. She can feel her release coming closer and she knows Charles will reach his soon. She clamps down on his cock and squeezes his shaft. The walls of her pussy ache as she cradles him against her, keeping his cock hard and full.
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global_05_local_4_shard_00000656_processed.jsonl/118425
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tagFetishNight Nurse
Night Nurse
My most unusual and erotic sexual experience occurred several years ago near the end of my sophomore year in college. I had just finished an afternoon exam and thought I would stop by a campus bar for a few beers on my way home. The bar I stopped at was a grad student hangout, but was also occasionally frequented by locals. I liked the place because of the diverse crowd and because they had the cheapest beer on campus.
When I walked in I was startled at how busy the place was at four in the afternoon. Every table had someone sitting at it! This really wasn't a problem since each table was very long with benches on each side leaving me several seating possibilities. I got a beer at the bar and positioned myself at the end of a table near the back of the bar. Sitting at the other end of the table were several women in nurses uniforms. From the smattering of conversation I heard over the sound of the juke box, I gathered that they had just finished an unusually rough shift at the local hospital. They must have been there a while because there were several empty pitchers on the table.
I was busy working on my second beer and attempting to think of some way to introduce myself when they all got up to leave. All of them that is, but the nurse at the far end of the table. She still had a full beer and I heard her tell her friends that she would stick around to finish it before she headed home. To be honest, I don't think I even noticed her before her friends got up to leave. She was older than the others, probably early thirties and a little over weight. Her hair was bleach blond with about an inch of dark roots showing. Her eyebrows had been over plucked and she used lots of blue eye shadow which even back then seemed out-of-style. I guess you would say she wasn't much of a catch, but I remember thinking at the time that there was a certain sleaziness about her looks which really turned me on.
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I slid down to her end of the table. I introduced myself and launched into my usual patter about the weather and local sports teams. She was obviously bored, but she politely sipped her beer and listened to my monologue. When her beer was empty, she said that she needed to go pee. Without thinking I blurted out "can I watch?" To this day, I'm not sure why I say it. Maybe I was trying to be sarcastic since I figured she was using the bathroom as an excuse to slip out the back door. In any case, I never expected her reaction. She sat back down, leaned forward, looked me straight in the eyes and said "really?" The intensity of her stare and the seriousness in her tone took me completely by surprise. I didn't know what to say. I sat there for what felt like an eternity before I finally choked out "sure." She stood up, extended her hand and said "Well then, lets go."
This was the first time I had seen her standing. Although I had noticed that she was on the plump side, I hadn't expected her to have such a heavy bottom. Her white nursing slacks were tight against her large round ass. Her tight slacks and small breasts may have helped make her ass and thighs seem disproportionately large, but there was just no denying it, this woman had a big butt! I just sat there staring at her, trying to figure out what I was getting into. Finally she said "are you coming or not?" Still dazed, I got up and took her hand. She lead me toward the back of the bar to the rear exit which led into an alley behind the bar. I asked her where we were going, and she replied that she had an apartment just around the corner. Still holding her hand we walked down the alley together. When I finally had regained enough composure to ask just what she had planned for me, she just said "Shhh, just enjoy the moment. I'll take care of everything." We walked the rest of the way in silence.
When we got to her apartment, she lead me straight to the bedroom. She told me very matter-of-factly to take off my clothes and lay on the bed. As I undressed, she stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and watched. When I pulled my jockey shorts off to reveal my rock hard erection, I saw her smile for the very first time. Without a word, she gestured for me to lie down on the bed. After I did so, she reached behind my head and pulled out two dark strips of material from beneath the mattress and began to tie the end of one to my wrist. I must have had panic written all over my face as she stopped immediately and said "Don't worry, they're just silk ties. I'll tie them loose so you can get free if you really want to." I nodded my head sheepishly and she continued to tie my wrists. She then pulled the ends of two more ties from under the end of the mattress and tied my ankles. She tucked two pillows under the back of my head so that my head was angled so that I could see the foot of the bed. I gently tested my restraints and found that although loose as promised, my movement was limited to swaying slightly from side to side.
Once my "host" felt I was properly positioned, she went to the foot of the bed and began to slowly undress. She began by unbuttoning her blouse to reveal a white lace bra. Next she pulled down her slacks, all the while, staring me straight in the eyes. Next she turned and slowly bent over, showing me her big ass which was barely covered by her white cotton panties. She slowing began to pull them down to reveal her huge pillowy ass cheeks. Turning, she caught me licking my lips and said "like what you see so far?" I just nodded and gave her my best lecherous grin. All she said was "good" as she climbed onto the bed. Straddling my chest, her pussy was only a foot from my face. It was covered with a thick thatch of brown hair which started as a little trickle of hair at the navel and grew into a dark triangle which disappeared between her meaty thighs. Very slowly and deliberately, she began to play with her pussy. At first just by running her fingers through the hair. Gradually, her fingers began to probe between her plump pussy lips. As she spread them, I could see her prominent pink labia and the bud of her swollen clitoris. I was mesmerized by the sight and the smell. My cock was aching as I drooled over the beautiful pussy that was being fingered just inches from my face. She seemed to be approaching orgasm when she suddenly stopped teasing her swollen clit and spread her pussy wide with both hands. I was admiring her beautiful pussy now fully engorged and literally dripping with juice when a squirt of hot pee hit me square in the face. In all the excitement of being tied up and watching my chubby nurse masturbate, I had completely forgotten that it was my sarcastic comment about watching her pee that begun this adventure.
After the initial shock of the first blast of pee, I watched with fascination and lust as a beautiful golden stream of pee sprayed out of her hot hairy pussy soaking my face and hair. I tried to position my head so that I could catch the stream in my mouth, but her gyrating hips kept the stream of pee criss crossing my face. I couldn't believe that I actually wanted her to pee in my mouth! 'Want' wasn't the right word, I needed to taste her pee. I was going crazy with lust! My cock was bobbing uncontrollably and my balls ached. My mouth was wide open, my tongue extended catching all the hot pee I could as the stream moved back and forth across my face. Finally, she stopped her teasing and aimed the hot spray right into my mouth. I gulped down a couple of mouthfuls before she finally stopped. Using the head of the bed for support, she raised herself to her feet and positioned herself so that she was standing over me straddling my crotch. Placing her hands on her hips, she closed her eyes and let go another long stream of hot pee. Since she was not holding her pussy open this time, instead of a solid stream, pee sprayed all over. Some sprayed on my chest, but most of the golden liquid dripped straight down on my cock and balls.
When her bladder was finally empty, she turned around to show me her great big ass. She got down on all fours and slowly backed her butt into my face. I attempted to lick her pussy, but she repositioned herself so that her tight little asshole was pressed against my lips. I had never licked a women's ass before, and didn't really know what I should do. I licked it, sucked it, even tried to bury my tongue deep inside it. Apparently I was doing something right as I could hear her moaning softly and she began to slowly grind her pussy against my chest.
I could feel her hot breath on my cock and balls as I hungrily licked her asshole. Occasionally I would feel her mouth or tongue on my inner thighs or balls. At first I thought she was trying to tease me, but I soon realized that she was lapping up any pee that remained on my crotch! She was careful to avoid my cock as I think she knew that the slightest stimulation would make me cum.
After several delicious minutes of ass licking, she tilted her ass slightly, pulling her asshole from my lips. Without warning she let go a large fart right in my face! The smell was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was so intense I felt dizzy and I almost came! She lowered her asshole back to my lips and I resumed my tonguing with even greater passion. Several times she tilted her hips to position her asshole directly in front of my nose to pass gas. Each time I would inhale deeply before resuming my tongue worship of her ass. After what seemed like hours, she pulled her ass from my face and repositioned it about a foot away from my face. Reaching back with both hands she pulled her big ass cheeks wide apart to expose her hot hairy pussy and the dark brown asshole I had been sucking so feverishly. Once again I saw her tilt her hips slightly, and I watched her little brown asshole began to open slightly. Too my surprise, no gas rushed out. For a moment I was confused, but then I realized what was happening. She was going to shit on me! Although I had done things tonight that I never thought I would do (and loved them), this was just to much! Her asshole continued to widen and I could begin to see the end of a large turd just inside the opening. She continued to push and I saw the turd slowly begin to emerge from her asshole. All of a sudden, she relaxed and the turd quickly slipped back inside out-of-site. She repeated this several times, each time exposing a little more of the turd. As she did this I found myself beginning to feel that crazy lust build back up inside of me until I was actually craning my neck and sticking out my tongue in an attempt to reach her shit! After several more teases, she finally pushed several inches of firm brown shit out of her ass. It hung from her asshole for a moment and then dropped to my chest. The smell was, well, you can imagine!
She continued to push, until 2 more large firm turds lay steaming on my chest. She had shit so close to my face that I was actually able to touch the last turd with my tongue as it fell from her asshole and landed on my chest. When she was all done, she said "please clean me up" and once again backed her big ass into my face. As I feverishly licked and sucked her dirty asshole, she squirmed excitedly on my chest. I could feel her wet pussy smearing her warm shit all over my neck and chest. I could tell that she was very near orgasm from the twitching of her thigh muscles. Just as she began to moan, she grabbed my cock roughly in her hand and began to stroke it. With only a few strokes of her hand I was convulsing beneath her. I had my face buried so deep between her ass cheeks I couldn't even breath. I literally went out of my mind! The intensity of my orgasm was like nothing I had experienced before or since. I think she orgasmed too, but I was so absorbed in the intensity of my own orgasm, that I couldn't tell. She continued to pump my cock until I finally relaxed and let my tongue slip from her gaping asshole. We laid there in a smelly heap for several minutes before she finally crawled off me. She had shit smeared on her stomach and in her pubic hair as well as a big gob of my cum in her hair. I must have been quite a sight too because she looked down at me, made a face and said "yuk, what a mess!." Grabbing some tissues from the head of the bed she scooped up most of the shit laying on my neck and chest and then rushed out of the room. She returned in a couple of minutes wearing a bathrobe and carrying a pan of soapy water and a towel. Sitting beside me on the bed, she gave me quick but efficient sponge bath. I made no attempts at conversation as I still hadn't regained my composure from the intensity of my orgasm.
When my sponge bath was complete, she untied my hands and feet and handed me my clothes. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she said "sorry to poop and run, but I've got to hop in the shower. I'm already late for a dinner date with friends. Could you be a dear and let yourself out?" Still a bit dazed I nodded in agreement, and she disappeared through the bedroom door. After I got dressed, I heard the shower running in the bathroom, so as requested, I let myself out. As I made the long walk back to the dorm, I tried to sort out everything that had happened. I couldn't believe all the sick things I had done, yet I had loved every minute of it! This was definitely the most exciting sexual experience I had ever had and I hadn't kissed her or even seen her breasts. Hell, I never even asked her her name!
When I got back to the dorm, I took a long hot shower, trying to get rid of the smell, but no matter how much I scrubbed, it seemed to linger. It was several days before I got over the shock of what I had done. I kept thinking that you just don't do those types of things and enjoy them.
The semester ended and I went home for the summer. My initial feelings of shock and disgust gradually gave way to lust and the first day of my junior year I went back to her apartment. Sweaty with anticipation I knocked on the apartment door. Much to my dismay, I was met at the door by an oriental grad student. He politely told me that he had moved in over the summer and had never met the previous tenant.
For the last fifteen years now, I have been watching for her on the street, in bars and shopping malls. But even if I never see her again, I will never ever forget the afternoon I spent with my naughty nurse.
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tagAnalReggie and Muffy's Anal Role Play
Reggie and Muffy's Anal Role Play
Reggie finally gets down and dirty with Muffy's ass.
It was hot, the kind of hot summer weather in Jackson, Mississippi that you don't want to do anything but sip a cold drink. Even farting takes up more energy than you'd want to expend.
"Willie! Did yous just fart?"
"Sorry baby, Ids trieds to holds it in, but it was one of those silent but deadly farts."
"Phew! That was nasty, Willie. That the last time Ids feeds you beans," said Kenisha holding her nose, while waving a newspaper in front of her face. "It figures that the hottest day of the year that our air conditionin' breaks. At least, we hads the fan," said Kenisha. "It ain't much relief pushin' all that hot air around, but it's better than nothin'."
Kenisha checked the temperature on the thermostat and it was a suffocating 88 degrees in their bedroom, not much cooler inside than it was outside. She remembered dozing, before the foul odor of Willie's smelly fart permeated the air and hung down low over her head, as if a cloud of noxious fumes from a nuclear power plant. The smell disturbed her enough for her to awaken, open her eyes, and gasp.
"Dang, it's hot in here, baby gurl. Ids can hardly breathes."
"It's soos hot, toos hots, Willie," she said hoping by not moving that she'd stay cooler.
She closed her eyes and was just falling asleep again, when she felt something crawling up her backside and it startled her. At first she thought it was a big bug. They have some monster bugs in Mississippi in the summertime. Yet, just before she thought to move her hand to swat it away, it felt more like a slimy snake, and that's when she recognized what it was.
"How's that, baby? Do you like that, Kenisha? Does that feels gooood?"
"Say what? What you doin' to my ass, back there, fool. Get that dang thang outta there. Get off me, niggar. What are yous crazy? It's toos damn hot for that shit."
Too hot and too tired to move, Willie was trying to stick his big, black cock up her Kenisha's big, beautiful, black ass. Good luck to him. Kenisha had made it known to him before and in no uncertain terms that she doesn't do anal and that tunnel is permanently closed to any incoming foreign objects, namely his cock. Her last boyfriend, Tyrone, had tried to coerce her, bribe her, and force her to have anal sex with him, before she ended up socking him one and dumping his black ass for Willie.
Then, when Willie started doing what she loves her man to do, treating her like the Nubian Princess and the black diva, that she likes to think she is, he was getting her in the mood. He started kissing her neck, while rubbing her back, massaging her shoulders, and running his hot hands down along her arms. Even though his hands were hot and clammy, even though his body was hot and sweaty, and even though he was making her feel hotter and sweatier, it felt so good to passively lay there, while he did all the work feeling her big, beautiful, black body.
After a while, her knees hurt from all the blowjobs that she enjoys giving her man. Just as she did for Tyrone, she does for Willie. No man who's ever been with Kenisha can't say that she never satisfy them in the way they needed to be satisfied. Then, when Willie reached around and started playing with her big titties is when she moved her arm out of the way, so that he could twist and pull her nipples, in the way that this big mama likes her man to do.
"Ids likes it when yous plays with my titties, Willie," she said adjusting and positioning her body, so that he had free access to her big tits.
"Ids knows yous dos, which is whys I'ms doin' it, baby gurl. Yous just relax and lets Willie takes good cares of you."
"Damn, ma fucka," she said annoyed that he was trying to fuck her up the ass again.
There he goes again trying to do something she doesn't want to do. She could feel the head of his cock pocking at her ass. If nothing else, he was determined to stick his big cock up her ass. Dreading the feel of that monster up her ass, he's got too big of a prick for her to even think about having anal sex with him. Instead, she reached around behind him to fondle his big dick. Already way ahead of her, he was already so very hard.
"Gees, Willie, yous really gots a hard one going with that thang," she said knowing that her man was good an' horny. "Dos you wants me to suck on it some to get yous off?"
"No baby, it's toos hots for that. This feels good what I'm doing right heres right now. Just stays still and lets me pokes your ass some, while Ids plays with your big titties."
"You can pokes all you wants, baby. Only, Ids don't dos ass play. That road is permanently closed, sugar. Nothing comes in, but plenty goes out, if you knows what Ids means. Mama doesn't dos anal."
Just as she said that, she could feel his cock trying to part her ass cheeks. Too hot and too lazy to move to stop him, she was curious just how far and how deep this home boy would try and go. Then, she felt it. She felt something cold and slimy.
"Willie! Whats the fuck is that? What are you doin' back thar, ma fucka?"
"How's that feel, gurl?"
"What's you doin' back thar, Willie? Alls a sudden, your thang feels cold and slimy. Ids don't like this one bit, no sur, not one bit. Ids done tolds you that Ids don't dos anal."
"Ids just puts somethin' that Tyrone gaves me tos try."
"Tyrone? What's you doin' takin' anything from Tyrone? That ma fucka never had my best interest in minds. What's you doin' talkin' to my ex-man?"
"Just tryin' to help a brother out, he knows how yous feels about ass play."
"What dids Tyrone give yous to try?"
"Jelly? That's nasty. Do Ids look like a big, black jelly donut to yous? Ids that what my asshole reminds you of? Ids donts wants no jelly up my ass, Willie. Yous best better scrap that shit outta there, right now, before Ids hauls off and hits you likes Ids dids with Tyrone. Ain't no brotha gonna fill my ass with jelly."
"It's not that kinds of jelly. It's a differen' kinds of jelly for lubricatin' thangs. Give me a minute, Kenisha. Ids justs wants to see if this here stuff really works, okay, baby gurl? Don't worry, I'lls be gentle."
Suddenly, Muffy panicked and thought better of what they were doing. They had gone far enough with their imagined poor, black ghetto experience. What sounded like fun before, she now realized was just a ruse for Reggie to have anal sex with her.
"Okay, that's enough role playing, Reggie. You're making me quite uncomfortable, I dare say."
"I don't like this one bit. Role playing that we're a poor, black couple from the south is one thing, Reggie, but if I knew you were doing this just to impale my backside with your penis, I never would have agreed to this abhorrent, uncivilized, and barbaric behavior of having anal sex with you. I find the whole thing reprehensible, appalling really. How dare you, Reginald? How dare you?"
"Muffy, really, you're making a big deal out of nothing, honeydew."
"It disgusts me to think about your cock in my ass. I'd rather be flogged than have anal sex with any man. This is Mumsy's summer mansion in the Hamptons, after all, and not some tenement slum in Mississippi."
"C'mon Muffy, don't ruin it now. I never had anal sex, but always wanted to try it. You have a sweet, round, firm behind and I've always wanted to fuck you up the ass."
"Don't you dare talk to me in that foul way. Why, you talk to me, as if I'm a common whore. How dare you? Please don't talk to me like that ever again, Reggie. I'm your fiancé, not some tart you found in a back alley."
"Tart in a back alley? What do you mean? What do you know about Vivian?"
"Vivian? Pardon? Who's Vivian?"
"Sorry. Just kidding. Never mind. Forget that I said anything at all about her. She's nothing."
"I can't believe you talked me into this Reginald Royal Ashcroft. I don't do anal. You know I don't do anal. We've had this discussion several times before and I specifically told you absolutely not, absolutely not. What don't you understand about absolutely not? Why, if Mumsy ever knew that her muffin was taking it up the ass, she'd die. She'd absolutely die."
"Unless you tell your mother about what we do in bed behind closed doors, Muffy, she'll never know anything at all, kitten."
"If Mumsy was to find out that we had anal sex, if anyone was to discover that her muffin was being brutalized and fucked up the ass and taking a big hairy cock up the poop shoot, right up Hershey Highway, a shit stuffer, she'd be the laughing stock of the social register. Now, you have me talking with such vulgarity."
"You're making too big a deal out of nothing, Muffy. I'm sure there are plenty of debutants and socialites who have anal sex. Why I know for a fact that Todd and Elizabeth Amesbury have anal sex all the time. When I was at Yale, the guys talked about how woman so enjoyed, preferred, actually, anal sex to regular intercourse."
"Really, Reggie? Is that true?" She turned her head to look at his face. "You're not just saying that, so that you can have your way with my ass, are you?"
"No, of course, not Muffy. I'd never lie to you or try to deceive you, just for the sake of anal sex. Yes, it's all true, muffin, I swear. Scouts honor, Muffy."
"I don't know about this, Reggie. I'm afraid it will hurt terribly."
"C'mon, muffin, just give me another minute. I'm sure it will all be swell. Have another sip of Cristal. Yeah, that's right, take a big sip. The bubbles in the champagne will relax you," he said watching Muffy take a big sip of champagne.
"Oh, dear," she said letting out a bit of gas. "Champagne always gives me gas."
"It's okay, Muffy. You have cute little farts. I love your farts," he said humping her again.
"Wait. Stop. No. I can feel you inside me. How far are you inside my anus?"
"Just the head of my cock is barely past your ass cheek, darling. How does it feel, Muffy?"
"Weird. It hurts, but it feels kind of good at the same time."
Just then, Reggie gave her a bigger hump, then a thrust, and a push.
"Reggie! How dare you?" With eyes bulging out of her pretty blonde head, she recoiled. "You seriously and totally fucked me up the ass. It's all the way inside me. I can feel it. Pull it out! Pull it out! Pull it out this instant! How dare you?"
As if taking a hissy fit because she didn't receive the service that she thought she deserved and expected at the boutiques on Rodeo Drive, laying there in bed, if she could have stomped her foot, crossed her arms, and pouted, she would have.
"Wait...just give me a minute...just one more...oh, God, that feels so fucking good, Muff," said Reggie continuing to hump her and fuck her ass deeper.
"Okay, wait, don't hump me so hard. Just do it easy, okay? Slow down. Go slow and maybe we both can enjoy this. I'm not some hooker or stripper that you pickup in a bar."
"Stripper? What do you mean? Did Chad tell you about Tiffany?"
"Tiffany? Who's Tiffany?"
"Never mind. Sorry. Forget I even mentioned her name. She's no body. She's no one."
"Actually, this isn't as terribly bad, as I thought it would be," said Muffy. "Play with my nipples, sweetie. Pull my nipples, Reggie. Twist them, while you fuck my ass."
"Reggie reached around his hand and played with Muffy's tits and pulled and twisted her nipples, while continuing to fuck, pound, and hump her ass deeper and deeper."
"Okay, seriously, that's quite enough. Please pull your cock from out of my ass, right now, Reggie. Immediately. I'm not kidding. Pull it out, Reggie. I'm serious. I'm not a farm animal, you know."
"Farm animal? Listen, Muffy, I can explain about that. I'll have you know that was just the one time, when I was drunk and lonely and--"
"What are you going on about?"
"Nothing. Sorry. Never mind."
"Please release me, now, Reginald."
"Okay, okay," said Reggie pulling back and pulling it out. "How about that blowjob, now?"
"Blowjob? Eww! You just had your penis up my ass. What makes you think that I'd put that in my mouth? Go wash your cock."
"If you were Kenisha you would."
"That's a racist comment and I'm not Kenisha. I'm sure just because our maid is a black woman, she'd draw the line at sucking on a shit covered cock," she said looking at his cock and wrinkling her nose, before turning it up, as if the caviar had gone bad or the champagne had gone flat.
"Kenisha? Why? What did Kenisha say to you? I swear, nothing happened between us, Muffy," said Reggie getting up and going in the bathroom. "She was just bending over to pick up the soap that I had dropped in the shower for me. What happened between Kenisha and I--"
"Picking up the soap? What on Earth do you mean by that comment? Pray tell, tell me, what did Kenisha say to you and what did you do with her? Reggie? I beg your pardon, Reggie? I can't hear you from back there."
"Never mind. Sorry. Erase Kenisha from your mind. It's just employer employee stuff, muffin, don't even trouble yourself with that. I'm sure nothing will come of the sexual harassment lawsuit when my lawyer--"
"What are you going on about now, Reggie? I can't hear whatever it is you're saying in the bathroom."
"I said," said Reggie stepping from the bathroom. "How does my cock smell now?"
"Eww. I dare say that your penis smells like my excrement. Go wash it off really good and maybe I'll think about blowing you," she said giving her fiancé a curious look. "And, tell me, Reggie, how do you know that Kenisha would suck your shitty cock, after it was up her ass."
"What did you say, Muffy, dear? I can't hear you over the running water, pumpkin."
"Oh, never mind, Reggie. Did you wash it off really well? Did you scrub it with soap and spray it with something. Mumsy has some Chanel. Spray your penis with that. I love the smell of Chanel."
"Yes, yes, of course, my love," said Reggie returning back to bed and offering his cock to her for her inspection.
"It still smells a little funny. Go wash it again."
"Just stick it in your mouth and suck it, Muffy."
"Well, okay," she said holding her nose and opening her mouth.
And that was Reggie's and Muffy's summertime anal role playing experience.
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tagNonConsent/ReluctanceTaken By The Trash
Taken By The Trash
I probably shouldn't even tell this story, but it has been almost 20 years since it happened and you might find some enjoyment in it. I was 23 at the time and working for a property management company while going to school. Being the new guy, I got all the crap jobs – literally: clogged toilets, busted sink disposals, rodent and pest issues, etc. The pay was decent so I kept my gripes to myself.
On this particular day I found 2 job tickets for Gateway Village in my basket. I hated going out to Gateway. It was an out-of-the-way trailer park and, other than possibly some tax perks; I can't imagine why the company owned it. The denizens of Gateway were basically white trash and I don't mean any offense by that – it just happens to be the best way to describe them.
I did my local tickets before lunch and drove out to Gateway in the early afternoon. It was a hot day, but they always were and I was dressed accordingly in shorts and company t-shirt.
The first ticket was an easy one; a pothole needed filling. I dumped a bag of gravel in the offending hole and patted it flat with my shovel, barely breaking a sweat.
The second ticket was more trouble. Some kids had knocked over the electric meter board. The board is a large piece of wood, basically a wall, on two poles. Mounted on the wall are the neighborhood electric meters – giving the meter reader one place to stop, all the meters are in one place.
The kids had done a good job of knocking it over and it was going to take some effort and time to get it standing again. After struggling with it for about 15 minutes, I was sweating like a pro basketball player. I stopped to drink some water and tossed my shirt into my van.
With renewed energy I returned to my task. While I toiled, I felt like I was being watched but paid it no mind; probably just curious neighbors.
It took over an hour, but I finally got the board in place and was standing there admiring my work.
"Hey!" somebody shouted at me. "Hey, you! Come here for a sec!"
I turned to see an older woman standing in the doorway of her trailer. She was skinny, scrawny being a better description, with a swirl of hair tied atop her head. She had bony legs with knobby knees and a huge chest. Her breasts were gigantic on her thin frame. She was wearing a pair of shorts – we used to call them shortie-shorts – and a dirty white tank top. The top was stretched to its limit and her little round paunch stuck out beneath it.
"Come here," she gestured again, so I strolled over.
"Can I help you?" I asked, taking another sip of my water.
"You with Hendricks?" she asked. Up close she looked even older; the years had not been kind to her.
"Yes, ma'am," I answered. "Something I can help you with?"
"How come you haven't fixed my shower yet?" she demanded. "I'm tired of washing in the sink."
"I wasn't aware you had a shower problem, ma'am," I told her honestly. "I don't know if I can fix it, but I'll take a look if you don't mind. Let me get my shirt."
"You don't need your shirt," she said, gesturing me in.
I stepped up and into her trailer and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust after being in the sun all morning. There was a large woman sitting on the sofa in the main room. I couldn't be sure since my vision was blurred, but it looked like she quickly pulled her hand from between her legs as I entered.
"This is Jess," the woman in the doorway told me. "She's a friend of mine."
Jess stood up and extended her beefy hand. I shook it politely; it felt very warm and maybe a little damp. She was a big woman – fat, but not soft. She had short cropped hair and broad shoulders. A long t-shirt draped over her large stomach and wide chest. I say wide because her breasts weren't large in a protruding way, but large in their spread across her chest.
I stood awkwardly for a minute, feeling their eyes on my bare chest, before saying, "Ok, let's take a look at this shower of yours."
There was only one place it could be, so I took the lead down the narrow hall; the skinny woman and her friend right behind me. The bathroom was, as is often the case in trailers, very small. The three of us filled the room to bursting. Jess crowded the doorframe.
"What's the matter with it?" I asked, looking it over.
"Uh ... it won't turn on," she stammered uncertainly.
I twisted the knob and the shower burst to life; the water feeling terrific on my arm.
"It seems to be working fine," I said, turning to face the women.
"Imagine that," the skinny one said as she ran her hand up my sweaty chest.
"Uh, yeah," I said uneasily. "Guess I'd better get going."
"You ain't going nowhere," said Jess in a husky voice.
I pushed past the scrawny one, but couldn't get through the blocked doorway. I was in pretty good shape back then, but Jess was stronger than I would have thought. She pulled me into a bear hug and crushed me against her thick, firm chest. As my panic increased I couldn't help but notice she was not wearing a bra – funny how the male mind works – and her tits felt heavy and full.
She backed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Her thin friend followed us with a grin. Jess slammed me down into a wooden chair, momentarily knocking the wind out of me. I tried to stand, but she took me by the shoulders and slammed me down again.
I felt something cold on my neck and looked to find the thin woman next to me. I couldn't see what she was holding against my throat, but assumed the worst.
"Don't move, big boy," she told me softly. "Put your hands on the armrests."
I did as I was told and Jess tied my wrists to the chair while her partner continued to press against my neck. They tied my ankles, too. Jess picked a gigantic pair of granny panties from the floor and stuffed them roughly into my mouth; pulling a stocking around my face to hold it in. When they were certain I was securely in place, they stepped away from me. I felt completely helpless, but strangely aroused.
The thin one stepped behind me and began rubbing her hands over my shoulders and down my chest. She paid special attention to my nipples; rubbing and pinching them tightly. She pressed her huge chest into the back of my head.
Jess leaned into me and pulled at the waistband of my shorts.
"Lift up," she ordered and I struggled to obey. She pulled my shorts and briefs to my bound ankles. Now totally exposed, I felt even more helpless. Bony fingers continued exploring my chest and, to my dismay, I watched my penis stiffen.
"Look at that, Billie," Jess said, pointing at my growing erection. "Looks like our handy-man is feeling handy."
Billie stopped rubbing me and stood with her fat friend. "That's some fresh stuff," she told her with an evil grin.
Without warning they were in each other's arms – gently kissing and hugging and touching each other knowingly. Jess pulled Billie's dirty tank over her head and yanked at her bra. The thin woman's breasts dropped violently out and spilled down across her soft stomach. They were the biggest tits I had ever seen – sagging and stretched, but huge and oddly breathtaking.
Billie squirmed out of her shortie-shorts and reached for Jess' t-shirt. She lifted it off her, revealing the large woman's big, flat breasts. They looked squashed against her chest and her nipples were stiff and knob-like. Her stomach hung mightily over her waistband as the two of them fell onto the adjacent bed.
They continued to enjoy each other on the bed in front of me; kissing and touching and rubbing each other passionately. I didn't want to get excited, but I couldn't help myself. Watching those two rednecks going at it was too much for me. My cock was harder than I remember it ever being as they quickly brought each other to orgasm.
"Feeling left out?" Jess asked, acting as if she had just noticed me there.
"Poor, baby," said Billie, looking half asleep.
"I've got an idea," the big woman said, standing up and pushing my chair. She leaned the chair backwards, almost tipping me over. The chair came to a rest on the edge of the bed. I was leaning back, facing the ceiling.
"You can go first," she told her busty partner, pointing at my cock before climbing back onto the bed.
Billie crawled between my spread knees and took my stiffness in her bony hand. She jerked it a few times before engulfing it abruptly with her mouth. It felt terrific even though I wished it not to.
I was watching in awe as her head bobbed up and down on my manhood. I marveled at her swaying tits – two sacks bouncing to and fro, one noticeably larger than the other. I was surprised when the gag was pulled from my mouth. I tried to speak, but couldn't say much before Jess' huge ass landed on my face. She was squatting over me; how she held up her weight I'll never know. She ground her wet, stank crotch into my face.
"Lick me, handy man!" she barked. "Tongue me."
I was hesitant and didn't start quickly enough. My nipple was pinched painfully – very painfully and I rammed my tongue into her sloppy puss. She tasted stale and I almost gagged, but I continued to swirl my tongue madly.
I felt an eruption building in my too eager cock and tried to fight it. That just made the explosion bigger – I burst with a groan into her mouth and she gulped with abandon – catching as much as she could as I shot stream after stream into her.
The fat woman exploded then, too; her juice spilling across my face as I tried unsuccessfully not to drink any. Jess' fat twat pressed smotheringly into my face for a few long moments before she climbed off.
After catching my breath, I found them next to me, one on either side. Billie cupped her tremendous breasts and pressed them into my face. Again I must not have reacted quickly enough because my nipple was twisted violently. I sucked at her tits obediently.
She pushed one then the other into my mouth. She rubbed them against my cheeks and forehead. I wondered what they must have been like in her youth. Jimmy Bob probably had a great time with them in the back of his truck.
"Don't forget mine," I heard Jess say. "They ain't as big, but they ain't little, neither."
I turned my head and found Jess' melons waiting. Not wanting my chest pinched again, I went to work immediately. I sucked and nibbled on them, pulling her thick nipples deep into my mouth.
Before I knew it, they were both smashing their tits into my face playfully.
"Mine! Mine!" they laughed and shouted. I was licking and sucking madly as they rubbed their saliva-covered tits on my face.
This went on for a while before things slowed. My cock was fully erect again and dancing to the beat of my pulse.
"Sit on him, Billie," Jess told her, lowering the chair back to all fours. "He'll fuck you."
With some effort Billie climbed onto my lap – the chair's arms making it difficult. Wasting no time, she lowered her wet crease onto my prick and started humping me. Her tits pressed crazily against my chest. I found myself wanting to hold them.
Jess was behind me, holding my ears and pressing her fat chest into the back of my neck. I wanted to hold them, too. I wanted to rub her fat stomach – I was losing it.
I started to tell them, but Billie and I came together in a rush. She clung to me as I lifted my butt off the chair in an attempt to push deeper into her. I groaned loudly.
"You like that, handy-man?" Jess asked, pulling my ears back as Billie climbed off me with a line of my spunk hanging from her tangled bush.
"Untie me, fat ass," I told her softly, but determinedly. "Untie me and I'll fuck your fat ass."
She slid quickly around in front of me, an angry look on her rugged face.
"You think you can handle this?" she asked sharply, pawing roughly at my sensitive nipples. She pulled and pinched them causing me to squirm. "You think you can take all this?"
"Untie me and find out," I told her.
"Ok, handy-man," she said while releasing me. "Bring it on. Show me what you got."
I bolted to my feet intending to flee, but something kept me from running. I looked at the two naked, ugly women standing next to me – my cock was pointing at them in anticipation.
"You," I told Billie. "Get on the bed – on your back."
She looked at Jess for a second before climbing onto the bed.
"You, fat ass," I told the big woman. "On the bed – hands and knees – eat her."
Jess smiled and slowly climbed between her friend's legs. On all fours, her wide ass spread before me. I slid in behind her.
"Eat her, fat ass," I said again, rubbing my hard prick into her butt crack. Jess began licking at Billie's twat. "I'm going to fuck your fat ass, fat ass."
"You ain't so tough," she told me between gulps.
Without warning I rammed my cock into her puckered hole. I pushed in as deeply as I could, ignoring her yelp. I pulled out and shoved in again - hard. I grabbed onto her massive hips and fucked her ass with everything I had. I reached under and smacked at her heavy belly. I rubbed it like I was buffing my car.
Billie came with a happy moan and I felt Jess start to quiver then shake. I pushed my cock in as deeply as I could, pulling at her firm tits at the same time. She came with a scream and I did the same – shooting my third load into her tight butt.
She was still shaking when I pushed her onto her thin buddy and pulled my pants on. I raced to the door and out into the street. The sun was setting as I jumped into my van and sped out of Gateway Village. I drove about 10 miles before pulling over to catch my breath. I couldn't believe what had happened and vowed never to return to Gateway ...
... but, wouldn't you know it, there was a "broken shower" ticket in my basket the very next morning.
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tagTranssexuals & CrossdressersThe Double D Ranch Ch. 02
The Double D Ranch Ch. 02
Jeff Malville awoke slowly, moaning softly. He almost forgot where he was in that moment where sleep and being awake clashed. However, after that split second, it all came rushing back and he moaned in delight.
He was a captive on the Double D Ranch, and even though he was considered an employee, the only thing that he'd come to be good for was a sex slave. He'd been there for two weeks straight and he was yet to be released from this stall other than to go to the bathroom. Otherwise, he never saw the outside of his stall.
He was beginning to wonder what his wife Karen thought of what was happening. She knew that he'd come to the Ranch, but she hadn't shown up when he hadn't shown up for the weekened. He was only suppose to work during the week and then return on the weekends to spend time at home. That hadn't happened though.
Instead, Jeff had spent his entire time on the ranch, serving as a sex slave to his beautiful shemale boss, Ms. Jesse. Not that he was complaining because he wasn't. He didn't consider himself to be gay, but then again, he didn't think of it as being gay. After all, there wasn't a man alive that was as feminine as Ms. Jesse.
The only difference between Ms. Jesse and a normal woman was the big, hard, throbbing dick that she had between her legs. And it was said dick that she used often to take control of him, to exude her dominance over him, but he didn't mind at all. In fact, he rather liked that she dominated and controlled him in such a way. It was fun.
However, there was still the issue of Karen. What would his wife think if she saw him in this position? Would she think him less than a man, servicing and loving the hard dick of a woman? Would she laugh at him and call him a faggot? Or would she understand that he was doing what was necessary to get paid. He just didn't know and it was that uncertainty that worried him.
Suddenly, he heard boot steps echoing off of the walls of the stables. He frowned and raised his head. Then, a thought occurred to him and it was an exciting thought as well.
Ms. Jesse was coming to see him.
I must please her, Jeff thought to himself excitedly. If she isn't pleased with me, one of these days she'll throw me out. I can't allow that to happen. I have to have her hard dick using me for the rest of my days.
That thought in mind, he turned and faced away from the stable door. He rested himself on his fours, placing his face down on the ground and raising his ass as high as he could in the air, hoping that she would appreciate his greeting of her.
Only time would tell.
He heard the sound of foot steps growing closer and he noticed that his cock had grown stiff and was leaking pre-cum from its tip. He licked his suddenly dry lips and he hoped that she wasn't angered by his erection when she came. Over the passed two weeks, he'd come to understand the natural dominance of women over men, whether they were hung or had dripping wet pussies. Women were better than men, period.
Jeff heard the boot steps stop in front of his stall. A second later, he heard the lock of his stall being slid free and the door creak open. He listened with his eyes closed as someone stepped into the stall.
"Well well well, look what we have here." said an amused feminine voice. It was a voice that he knew all too well, but it wasn't Ms. Jesse. He quickly turned around and sat on his ass, staring at the woman that stood in the doorway to his stall.
His wife, Karen.
She was petite, standing at five foot six, and very voloptous. She had long auburn hair that she wore to the middle of her back unrestrained and dark eyes set in a tanned, girlish face. Even after all these years, she hadn't lost her youthful appearance, not even in her large, melon sized breasts that absolutely refused to sag. She wore a white tanktop that showed off the cleavage of her 36C tits, a pair of tight jeans that fit nicely over her legs and butt, and a pair of cowgirl boots.
He felt shame well up in his chest at the sight of his wife. She'd seen him for what he really was, and now, there was no explaining away his lack of masculinity. She would see him for what he really was: a weak willed beast meant to be controlled.
"I see that you are pleased with his condition then?" asked another feminine voice from behind her, and when his wife stepped out of the way, he could see that it was Ms. Jesse standing there, a big smile on her pretty face. "He turned out quite nicely don't you think? Very easy to control are these men."
Jesse was petite, standing at five foot eight, and slender. She had long blond hair that fell just passed her shoulders in a single thick braid and bright blue eyes set in a tanned face. She wore a black leather vest that her tits nearly popped out of, a pair of tight jeans that clung to the bulge in the front of them, and a pair of cowgirl boots on her feet.
He was torn from his reverie when his wife answered the other woman's question.
"Yes, you did well Jesse. I hope that he didn't give you too much trouble?" Karen asked, turning to look at the blond woman and ignoring him.
Jeff blinked, his mouth dropped open in surprise. The two women knew one another? How could that be? Had Karen set him up for a fall with this? It sounded as if she had planned for this to happen to him!
"He's a man, Karen. They're all beasts, controlled by the dicks between their legs." Jesse replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. She stared straight into his eyes when she smirked. "Not like us at all."
The two women laughed at that and he frowned as he stared at them. Just what did she mean by that? Why would she say us when Jesse was the only one of the two women who had a cock between her legs. Karen didn't have a hard, throbbing dick. He knew that because he'd been married to her all these years.
"Oh look, he's confused dear." Karen said with a little laugh, obviously having noted his confused expression. She turned to look at him and grinned. "Things have changed quite a bit darling. In these passed two weeks, the world has changed. Men are no longer the dominant gender. Women are. We've only allowed for you to hold onto your form so long so you could see what was happening all around you and fully appreciate the loss of your manhood."
Jeff stared, still not understanding. Just what in the hell was she talking about? Women were ruling the world now? But how was that possible? There was no way that men would allow women to take over in just a short two week time period.
There was just no way!
This was a man's world!
"I think that it's time that we induct him, put him in his place like the rest of his gender." Jesse said out of nowhere, breaking through his reverie. He stared at her, not sure just where this was going. He wasn't sure if he WANTED to know where this was going.
The cowgirl stepped towards him, her hips swaying from side to side as she approached. He watched her approach him with trepidation in his heart, not sure what to do. She stopped in front of him, and even though he was distracted by the bulge he saw clearly outlined in her jeans, he noticed her take a small vial of red liquid out of her jean pocket.
"I want you to drink this." Jesse told him as she bent down to stare him in the face. She popped the cork on the vial and held it out for him to take. He looked back and forth between her green eyes and the vial in her hand. There was no doubt that he would have to take it. Something in his mind told him to ask no questions, to just take it. He didn't have any choice.
Jeff took the vial from her hand, and with a sparing glance at his wife, he tipped the vial up to his lips, drinking down the red liquid. To his surprise, it was sweet tasting so he had no problem drinking it down. Once he was done, he licked his lips and smiled softly, feeling as if he'd been drinking all night, but without the sick feeling.
Then, he started to feel weird. He didn't know what was happening, but he wasn't sure that he liked it.
He looked up, confusion evident in his face and his wife only smiled. Then, she pulled a small mirror out from behind her and she approached him. She turned the mirror and showed him his face. Or what was suppose to be his face.
For staring back at him was a very feminine face, and as he watched, his hair was growing longer, framing his face before extending further down his body.
It was at that moment that he felt his body smoothing out, becoming more hourglass shaped. His ass plumped out, becoming apple shaped, and to his horror, his balls disappeared only to be replaced with the slit of a pussy where they had been. Then, his penis shriveled until it was only the head protruding from his body.
Jeff shook his head from side to side, denying what was happening to him, but he knew that there was no real way to do that. This was happening, and even while he was denying it, he began to feel strange.
He began to...accept what was happening to him as the natural order of things. Just what the hell was going on here? He felt positively slutty and all he wanted to do was suck any dick that came near his mouth.
"W..what's going on?" Jeff stuttered out, surprised by his new high, feminine voice. He looked down at his chest and waited for a pair of breasts to appear, but nothing happened. He remained flat chested. He'd expected bimbo sized tits, but apparently, that didn't go with his new form.
He looked up at his wife and boss, tears forming in his eyes, not understanding what was going on here. Why did he look like a woman now? Why had they done this to him? Even as he thought that, he felt a giggle well up in the back of his throat as a feeling of peace filled him, but that wasn't the only feeling.
The other feeling was lust and there was lots of it.
"What has happened my love is that you've just taken your place in the New World Order." Karen said softly as she walked over to him. Reaching him, she bent down and stared into his eyes with a loving gaze in her eyes. Jesse had moved aside and was standing in the corner, one leg pressed against the wall of the stall and a cocky grin on her face. "A world where the feminine rule. From now on, men will be the one's who bare children and stay at home to take care of the home. The Divine Feminine is a loving and caring power, but men must know their place with it. While you can emulate the forms of women, you will never be true women. You will always be lesser, and as such, it will be in your nature - no, your instincts - to submit to women."
He shook his head, wanting to deny it, but even as he tried, he knew that he couldn't. Everything that she'd just said rang true in his mind. It was within his nature to submit as it was in the nature of all Human men to submit to their women.
There was one thing that still bothered him though.
"How will we have children? How will we breed. We don't have the technology to create artificial babies without semen." Jeff said, his new nurturing feelings coming out and in a big way, but she merely shook her head.
"You should show him Karen." Jesse said, drawing his attention. He looked at her and frowned before looking at his wife expectantly, not understanding what was going on.
The red haired woman sighed and nodded her head. Then, she rose to her feet and she pulled her top over her head, revealing her large breasts. Seeing the twin peaks made his mouth salivate and his boi pussy grew wet, dripping down between his thighs.
She kicked off her boots and then reached for the zipper of her jeans. She pulled it down and then she began to shimmy out of her jeans. He watched all of this, and what she revealed between her legs was astonishing.
Right where her dripping wet, lovely pussy had once been was a limp cock that was far larger than his own even when it was hard. Seeing this, he couldn't control himself.
Jeff lunged forward on his knees, his hand sliding under her shaft and pushing it up. She moaned, surprised by his motions. However, he didn't give her time to tell him no or to stop. He took the head into his mouth, closing his lips tightly around it. Then, he began to bob his head up and down on her already growing rod of flesh, his fingers stroking the rest of it.
"By Gaia." Karen moaned out and he instantly recognized the name of the Goddess. The very Goddess who made woman in her image and had meant for women to rule over men. To bring the feminine agenda to the world. Men had invented christianity and other religons though, straying from the true path of the Human race.
They would never go back again. What man would want to?
With his wife's cock now fully erect, he plunged his mouth down again and again on her cock, but after two weeks of practise with his former boss, he didn't even gag. She was moaning loudly and he looked up at her, watching her tits bounce as he took her to the root with each bob of his head.
He saw Jesse in the corner, stripping down, revealing her body. He felt his little cock head start to pulse and he moaned as she pulled down her jeans, revealing her rather large she-cock which stood out straight from her hips.
Even as he saw her cock spring free, Karen began to skull fuck him, her balls slapping his chin with every thrust. A second later, she climaxed and she shot her thick, sticky seed deep into his throat. Without a second thought, he swallowed it down as quickly as possible, moaning loudly. Then, she pulled her hard she-cock from his mouth and he whimpered, wanting it back. She smiled and patted his head.
"Don't worry my little sissy wife." Karen said with a smile and she lifted him to his feet. She cupped his cheek and looked down into his eyes with a kind smile. "Your Husband will take care of you. I will make sure that you get all that you need from this day. I promise."
Jeff frowned, not sure what to make of the terminology. Apparently, he was now a sissy wife and she his Husband. He had no doubt that that was how it was suppose to be. His life was too please his Husband in all ways, and if he did wrong, she had the right to punish him.
He didn't know where that had come from, but he didn't care. All he cared about was doing a good job for his Husband.
He watched as Jesse lay down in the straw, butt naked, her cock standing straight up. She grinned at him and patted her thighs. His Husband smiled and nodded her head.
"Come here, sissy. Jesse wants that tight little ass of yours. Your Husband can have your pussy." Jesse said with an arrogant smirk on her face. He blushed at that, but he made his way over to her. He turned around, pushing out his apple shaped ass.
Then, he lowered himself down carefully, rubbing his asshole against the head of her cock. She growled with his teasing before grabbing his hips and yanking him down on all ten inches of her cock. He moaned loudly, throwing his long hair about as she filled him.
He leaned back on his hands with his feet holding him up and he began to bounce up and down, meeting her thrusts. At the same time, Karen came towards him and slid between his thighs.
She grinned.
"Wrap your legs around me like the little slut you are." Karen demanded, and hearing the dominant quality in her voice, he did as she bid instantly. He wrapped his long legs around her hips even as the head of her twelve inch cock slipped between his folds.
He moaned loudly as he was impaled from both ends, loving the feeling that filled him. He was servicing the dominant ones as it should be. There was no better place for a sissy wife than pleasuring the dick of his Husband.
Both women hammered him from both ends, falling into a rythm as old as the Goddess herself. Before too long, he was pushed over the edge and his entire body began to shake as he climaxed, his inner walls squeezing the cocks that filled him.
He heard Jesse cry out from underneath him at the same time that Karen cried out above him. Then, he felt it as both of them filled him with hot sticky seed, making him moan.
After several minutes, the two women pulled out of him, leaving him sitting on his knees, butt naked and dripping cum. They spoke with one another for awhile, dressing. Then, the two women shook hands, bidding one another good bye.
"Come my sissy wife. I take you home today." Karen said with a smile on her pretty face, fully dressed. He was still naked, and since she hadn't told him to get dressed, he assumed that he would be going home butt naked.
He rose from his feet, and the moment he was standing straight, she turned, making her way out of the stall. He followed after her, leaving the stall and then the stables. The two of them walked over to her truck and she opened the door for him, patting his ass as he got into the truck. Then, she got in, turned on the vehicle, and in moments they were driving away from the Double D Ranch.
Driving away to their new life as Jeff the sissy wife and Karen the Husband.
As the Goddess had always intended. Life was beautiful.
And Jeff couldn't wait to experience this new world for himself.
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People treading water
Weird Water
June 10, 2014 | by Elizabeth Wason
The size of your pool matters. In a pool at the gym, for example, water is pretty predictable. The depth is clearly marked, and that won’t change as long as the pool stays filled. But water at the huge scale of the ocean follows different rules. Ocean water gets pulled away from shore by the moon’s gravity at low tide, forcing you to move your towel up the beach to avoid getting soaked when high tide rolls back in.
At the almost invisibly tiny scale, it turns out, water behaves totally differently. Go through the trouble of building an infinitesimally small swimming pool, and you’ll find that water has a whole new personality.
That’s what Aniruddha Deb did. Deb, an assistant research scientist in LSA’s Department of Chemistry, built microscopically small “pools” that he calls nanopores. Deb created nanopores with an industrial material called Nafion, which is made of molecules shaped like long threads. These threads formed the walls of the nanopores—the sides of the tiny pools—which Deb filled with water. When he watched the electrons in those tiny swimming pools, Deb noticed something unusual.
When poked, the electrons sped away really, really fast.
Electrons Swimming in Tiny Pools of Water
Deb studied the water at what he calls a “dream institute” in Japan. “It’s a beautiful place,” he says, “at the top of the mountains.” Deb wasn’t there for the view—the facility houses a top-of-the-line magnetic Compton scattering spectrometer, a machine that came in handy for his tiny water experiments.
Using the spectrometer, Deb blasted the electrons in his nanopores with X-rays. When an X-ray crashed into an electron, the electron recoiled from the collision at a speed that Deb could measure. Based on the speed of the recoiling electrons, he could judge how strongly the water molecules in the nanopores interacted with each other. Slower electrons would mean that the water molecules mostly stayed separate, like a group of friends floating in separate kayaks. Faster electrons would mean that the water molecules were strongly bonded in a network, like a group of boaters who had rafted their kayaks together in a flotilla.
When Deb compared the speed of nanopore electrons with the speed of electrons in other contexts, such as water in larger volumes and water at different temperatures, he saw that the water in the nanopores was weird. The speed of electrons in any type of water tends to increase when they’re struck by X-rays, but in nanopores, the recoiling electrons increased their speed to a much greater degree, ranging between a 17-fold and 46-fold difference.
“It behaves as a network!” Deb exclaims about the tiny volumes of water in the nanopores. Faster electron speed means strongly interacting water molecules. Instead of existing independently, as in water at larger scales, water molecules at exceedingly small scales appear to behave in a more coordinated way. This means that we need to handle water differently in extremely small volumes.
Batteries and Biology
We’ve noticed weird things about water before. Unlike other substances, water is less dense as a solid than as a liquid, which is why ice floats. Water expands when it’s cold, unlike most materials, including asphalt, which can expand in the heat of summer to form cracks in roads. Water also has the highest specific heat of any common substance, which is why sweating cools our bodies, using up our body heat in the evaporation process.
This newly discovered quirk of water, that its molecules seem to interact more strongly at the teeny-tiny scale, carries whole new implications, including potential biological applications. Deb’s nanopores span the approximate distance that separates the structures in the cells of organisms. Understanding the properties of water at the cellular scale can allow us to produce new medicines and may reveal clues about how organisms have evolved.
Where else can we apply what we’ve learned about weird water? “I will give you a simple example of a lithium ion battery,” Deb explains. Lithium ion batteries have positive and negative ends that are separated by a material that, like Nafion, contains nanopores. The nanopores are filled with an electrolyte, often a liquid, which allows the battery’s electric charge to flow between the positive and negative ends. As researchers engineer increasingly efficient batteries, they need to know whether electrolytes behave differently within nanopores. “These experiments with water can be applied to understand different electrolytes,” Deb says, “which can help us build a better battery.”
TAGS: the michigan difference, campus, staff
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