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Dave Scadden Excalade Pontoon
Discussion in 'Classifieds' started by LeoCreek, Sep 16, 2005.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
1. LeoCreek
LeoCreek Member
Dec 21, 2002
Likes Received:
Spokane, WA, U.S..
Dave Scadden Escalade Pontoon
** Price Reduced **
** Or would consider trading for 4pc 6wt or 8wt rod, or a Ross reel, or?
Dave Scadden Escalade Pontoon craft - green color with black, comes with heavy duty carry bag - frameless, semi-kayak shaped design - no oars or oarlocks, but strap on oarlocks should still be available - powered by fins - although I've only used it a few times on lakes, where it worked great, it's also supposed to be fine on rivers up to class II/III - think I paid ~ $500 for this 3 or 4 years ago - anybody in Washington or N. Idaho want to take this off my hands for $150 OBO?
Tom Goodner
Spokane Valley, WA
tgoodner at eBay
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/7982
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Results 1 to 4 of 4
Thread: lil help plz
1. #1
Join Date
Mar 2003
lil help plz
I have webspace on a server and i have a cgi-bin in my space. I would like to start experimenting with cgi scripts in perl language but i need to install the perl software to the /usr/bin/perl directory and dont no how. I dled the perl software but theres lots of files and i dont no what to do with them. Any help would appreciated, thx.
2. #2
Join Date
Nov 2002
NY, USA
If your server supports CGI scripting then they should have Perl installed already. Ask your host what the correct path is.
3. #3
Join Date
Dec 2002
Pleasanton, CA
Hi jeff... Totally off subject.
I just ran your for(split...
'just another perl hacker', cleaver!
You must have been doing this a while. I've got a couple of years at Perl but I still feel like a novice. At perlmonks they say after 10 years you're still learning. Maybe a silly question, but can you explain your obfuscation (is that right?).
4. #4
Join Date
Feb 2003
Was the cgi-bin there when you took out the hosting plan, if so, then perl is installed on the server. the path is either
/usr/bin/perl or /usr/local/bin/perl your provider should give you this information. There are servers like the cobalt RaQ which allow you to run perl scripts from anywhere on your site.
Start off with this script http://www.scriptsolutions.com/programs/free/perldiver/
upload this script to your cgi-bin in ASCII format and set the permisions to 755.
When you run the script it will give you the perl version and modules installed.
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Is It Really Depression?
Symptoms of depression, anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder have similarities -- but require different treatments.
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
This sad, hopeless feeling just can't go on. It's affecting your job, your life. It seems like depression. But could it be something more?
Many people with depression also experience some degree of anxiety - anxiety that goes beyond the typical tension we experience when we face life's challenges. For people with an anxiety disorder, the overwhelming worry and fear is constant - with obsessive thoughts, feelings of panic, trouble sleeping, heart palpitations, cold or sweaty hands.
Recommended Related to Anxiety Panic
Stage Fright (Performance Anxiety)
If you dread the thought of getting up in front of a group of people and performing, you are not alone. Millions of people suffer from performance anxiety, commonly called "stage fright." In fact, most people would rather get the flu than perform. Athletes, musicians, actors, and public speakers often get performance anxiety. Performance anxiety can prevent you from doing what you enjoy and can affect your career. Worst of all, performance anxiety can negatively affect your self-esteem and self-confidence...
Read the Stage Fright (Performance Anxiety) article > >
"Very often, we find that people have more than one condition -- both depression and anxiety disorder," says Charles Goodstein, MD a professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, with a clinical practice in Tenafly, N.J. "As a matter of fact, it's very hard to find patients who are depressed who don't also have anxiety. It's equally hard to find people with anxiety who don't have some depression."
Mood Disorders Similar to Depression
Indeed, sadness, depression, and anxiety are often triggered by life events - and the symptoms are not easily separated out, says Andrea Fagiolini, MD, a psychiatrist and medical director of the Bipolar Center at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
"We see this very frequently," he tells WebMD. "Financial, relationship, and family problems - all these can trigger anxiety and sadness, so we consider these feelings to be normal. They are not normal when the feelings are extremely intense, when they impair everyday functioning, affect quality of life. When all that is happening, it becomes difficult to solve the very problems that started the depression."
In addition to anxiety and depression, there might be something else going on -- bipolar disorder. This is a condition that involves shifts in a person's mood from severe depression to manic phases - with soaring highs, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, racing thoughts, impulsive decisions, reckless behavior, and poor judgment. In many cases there is normal mood in between the phases.
Antidepressant Not Always Best
Because of the difficulty in diagnosing these mood disorders, it's important to talk to your doctor candidly about what you've been feeling. It's also crucial that your doctor take time to ask enough questions, Goodstein adds. "Many people go to a general practitioner first. They've been feeling depressed and think they may need an antidepressant. But if that doctor is very busy, he or she can't do much evaluation."
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Gold, Herbert
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LIFORT, ein Programmsystem zur Umsetzung von LIDIA-Programmen nach FORTRAN IV by Herbert Gold( Book )
1 edition published in 1978 in German and held by 1 library worldwide
German (1)
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Dishwasher Pete
From ZineWiki
Revision as of 11:50, 30 November 2011 by InvisibleFriend (Talk | contribs) (Reverted edits by Reverse101 (Talk) to last version by Joebiel)
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Dishwasher Pete
Dishwasher Pete is the pen name for Pete Jordan, the writer and publisher of the now defunct Dishwasher perzine. He's also the author of the book DISHWASHER: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States that was published May 1st, 2007 by Harper.
For twelve years Pete moved from state to state with the goal of washing dishes in all 50 states of the US and writing about it. When Dishwasher Pete's story reached the mainstream, he was invited to appear on Late Night with David Letterman. As a joke he instead sent Jess Hilliard, who Letterman believed to be Pete, making for one of the more infamous moments in zining. The story was retold in issue #12 of Dishwasher.
• Episode #56 "Name Change"
• Episode #74 "Conventions"
• Episode #102 "Roadtrip"
• Episode #109 "Notes on Camp"
• Episode #115 "First Day"
Some of Pete's writing appears on the Open Letters website:
DISHWASHER: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States is Dishwasher Pete's book compiling much of the writing from his zine and more. His MySpace profile reveals he's currently living in Amsterdam, Netherlands, but he's been known to make occasional stops in Portland, OR on his travels, where he spends time behind the counter at Reading Frenzy. He's planning a book tour of the U.S. starting May 16, 2007.
External Link
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8073
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Difference between revisions of "Toledo Amateur"
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Line 5: Line 5:
[[Category:Zines from the U.S.A.]]
[[Category:Zines from the U.S.A.]]
[[Category:1920's publications]]
[[Category:1910's publications]]
Revision as of 21:49, 10 July 2011
The Toledo Amateur was an amateur press publication by Wesley Hilon Porter.
Contributors included Margarite Allen, Edna von der Heide (The Inspiration), Dora M. Hepner, Olve G. Owen, Addie L. porter, Mary Margaret Sisson, and Emma Marie Voigt.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8081
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Archive for Saturday, March 25, 2006
Police dispatched to wrong house
March 25, 2006
A one-block mistake led to a rude awakening Friday morning.
Nick Pierotti said he was sound asleep about 2 a.m. Friday when he awoke to police banging on his door. He said the police were shining bright lights into his house at 828 Ind., including his 11-year-old daughter's bedroom.
Police had the wrong house. The call was actually dispatched one block away to 828 La.
"He was knocking on my door instead," Pierotti said.
According to police spokesman Sgt. Dan Ward, some of the confusion occurred because the 911 call came in from Colorado Springs to check a person's welfare in Lawrence, but the phone went dead.
The caller was not sure of the address. Officers went to both locations. The correct address, Ward said, was on Louisiana Street, and the person there ended up being fine.
angel4dennis 9 years, 2 months ago
How scary for all of you. I am glad to hear that all involved are fine.
Steve Jacob 9 years, 2 months ago
It's not like they busted down the door with a SWAT team or something. Give them a break.
Lorenzo_Teris 9 years, 2 months ago
See, this is why I always sleep in shorts and a t-shirt (no matter what time of year it is)!!! I don't like the idea of someone kicking in my front door at 3 in the morning.....and there I am, laying completely naked in bed!!! And you know, more and more police officers today are women....which makes having a bunch of cops running around inside my house late, late at night, shining flashlights and using taser guns and whatnot, all the more embarrassing for a guy like me (the naked guy laying in bed).
doc1 9 years, 2 months ago
Holy cow an honest mistake. Are there no better news stories. I have one. How about how teh UPS guy delivered a package to the wrong doorstep. Then smitty and janiebullinlawrence could make some conspiracy statements on how it was the police departments fault.
rousseau108 9 years, 2 months ago
Actually, the article said the caller did not know the specific address, so the officers had a duty to check the possible addresses supplied. It's not dispatch's or the officer's fault, it's part of the job.
Confrontation 9 years, 2 months ago
People on here would complain if the police did not act on the call and someone's body was discovered later at one of the two addresses. Those who are now complaining because the cops went to the wrong house would be the same ones who would yell because they didn't investigate the call. I hope all of you who bitch and moan about the cops are the ones whose call for help gets overlooked.
LawrenceKSisgreat 9 years, 2 months ago
In regards to cop haters and cop lovers:
I am a BI-copper.
I hate em when I get a ticket.
I love em when they let me off or help me out.
Lorenzo_Teris 9 years, 2 months ago
I think that the statement you made in your last post has a huuuuge hole in it.
I think that when any police officer anywhere in America gets a call (911 or not) to investigate something...he or she has no choice but to---at the very least---swing by the place and see what's what.
I mean, I don't hear too many stories (local or otherwise) of someone having called the cops for some reason or another........and the cops never showed up at all!!
Lorenzo_Teris 9 years, 2 months ago
Here's my one and only real beef with the LPD....
Out on 6th Street (west of Dillons) where they did the widening project.....During the construction process, the LPD had speed traps set up there at various times of days and at varous times during the week. Hey, construction workers' lives were at stake and it made sense to me to have cops there making sure that people would go slow and be careful.
And I understand why the speed limit is being kept at 40 mph....because of future growth in that area.
Okay. Fine.
But these days, when I see (and I have seen this many times over the past few months) a cop parked in the shadows of that area at 11pm at night and he nails some dude going 52 in a 40 zone and it's just that dude and the cop around...and nobody just makes me laugh!! That area has become such a huuuge cash cow/cash register for the LPD!!! Oh, sure, they'll never admit to such a thing.....but it's true!!
Wilbur_Nether 9 years, 2 months ago
Smitty wrote: "The LPD that has a high attrition rate. So many of our home trained officers move on to other police forces after a short time in Lawrence. None are killed, few retire each year but yet we have a high need to hire and train new officers. Why is that?
"I don't believe it is the street cop that is the problem here but the head of the department and his management style."
It could be that, instead of the head of the department being "the problem," that the turnover is largely due to this being an entry-level position. Hiring on with another community, esp. out-of-state, often results in a decent raise. One of the reasons the feds recruit out of the LPD ranks is due to the quality of training and development that LPD invests in its officers. Lots of reasons exists for turnover, and it is an error in judgement to conclude that the only--or even the primary--cause is any one of those things.
And what does the minimum GED requirement have to do with anything?
dozer 9 years, 2 months ago
Jannie - I live in east lawrence, and I don't have any issues. Perhaps it is that dog of yours that keeps biting little kids.
dozer 9 years, 2 months ago
I'm a bit confused, how does the above article about police knocking on a door for a welfare check relate to SWAT busting down your door, shooting you if you're native american, accusing you of selling crack if you're black, and stack charges on you if you are poor, etc, etc. Maybe it's me, but I just don't see that connection. Help me out Jannie.
dozer 9 years, 2 months ago
OK, so point out the incompetency. The caller wasn't sure of the address, officers were dispatched to two possible locations. Stop the broad generalizations, point to the incompetence in how this specific situation was handled, or can you?
dozer 9 years, 2 months ago
Read on Smitty, the article continues by stating, "The caller was not sure of the address. Officers went to both locations."
You still haven't told me how the officers were incompetent by going to both locations to check when the caller wasn't even sure of the address.
Abundance of caution is a more logical conclusion. Especially in light of the fact that the caller didn't know the address.
dozer 9 years, 2 months ago
Again Jannie, can you give a specific answer as to how they were incompetent in this welfare check? It is a simple question.
bearded_gnome 9 years, 2 months ago
wow, Jannie is really way off this time!
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8095
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dayton redlining map
Home Owners Loan Corporation
“Redlining” is when banks in lots of U.S. cities refused to make loans or provide services in some neighborhoods—often low-income neighborhoods with high populations of immigrants and African Americans. The practice was officially ended in 1977, with a federal ban known as the Community Reinvestment Act that also encouraged banks to reinvest in poor areas.
Catherine Crosby heads the Dayton Human Relations Council.
Dayton Human Relations Council
People in West Dayton and Trotwood, among other parts of the Dayton area, have seen scores of businesses boarded up, from banks to grocery stores to Best Buy and Target.
Lewis Wallace / WYSO
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8108
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15.8.4. WSRP validation mode
The lack of conformance kit and the wording of the WSRP specification leaves room for differing interpretations, resulting in interoperability issues. It is therefore possible to encounter issues when using consumers from different vendors. We have experienced such issues and have introduced a way to relax the validation that our WSRP producer performs on the data provided by consumers to help with interoperability by accepting data that would normally be invalid. Note that we only relax our validation algorithm on aspects of the specification that are deemed harmless such as invalid language codes.
By default, the WSRP producer is configured in strict mode. If you experience issues with a given consumer, you might want to try to relax the validation mode. This is accomplished by unchecking the "Use strict WSRP compliance." checkbox on the Producer configuration screen.
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on the order of one, 1.5% visual, quite significant drag on economy. at the same time with quite a bit to do to address our long-term sustainability issues. a lot more work to do, let me be very clear about that. but it's going to be a long haul. it's not going to happen overnight. basically because the government budget represents the values and priorities of the public, and decisions been made about what to spend on, what you tax and so on are very difficult and contentious decisions that will take some time to address. >> well, those is to use -- those issues of course are not the specific purdy of the fed, and so why do we shift gears and talk more specifically about some things that the fed is doing and things that the fed might do. perhaps a way to introduce that is to say that the fed of course is keeping interest rates at close to zero since roughly 2008, and it dug pretty deep into its arsenal, more recently in terms of in particular the very massive asset purchases recently launched its third round, which are intended to bring long-term interest rates. can you tell us how well you
Search Results 0 to 4 of about 5
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8121
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= The Admin Application - Common pitfalls = == Creating new users == === Passwords === *Note: This is no longer a problem in the Django development version, as of [3520].* One FAQ about the admin app is how to create new users. In particular how to set the password. It has been decided (and mooted on the lists) that the password field will only accept password hashes rather than plain text password. The problem is how one goes about generating these hashes. The following script will generate passwords on the command line. Run it with: {{{python }}} and you'll get the correct output to paste into the admin app. IMPORTANT SECURITY NOTE: The password will turn up as plain text in your shell history, so take appropriate measures: change permissions, get an administrator you can trust or tweak the script not to use the command line. {{{ import hashlib, random, sys try: raw_password = sys.argv[1] except IndexError: print "Usage: %s password" % (sys.argv[0], ) sys.exit() algo = 'sha1' salt = hashlib.sha1(str(random.random())).hexdigest()[:5] hsh = hashlib.sha1(salt+raw_password).hexdigest() print "%s$%s$%s" % (algo, salt, hsh) }}}
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8127
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The filter expression of a filtered index is lost when a table is modified by the Table Designer - by Razvan Socol
Status :
Won't Fix<br /><br />
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to vote
ID 462053 Comments
Status Closed Workarounds
Type Bug Repros 13
Opened 5/30/2009 5:14:14 AM
Access Restriction Public
When the Table Designer is used to modify a table that has a filtered index, if the modification requires the table to be recreated, the filtered index is recreated without the filter condition.
This may cause an error right away (if there is data that would violate the uniqueness without the filter condition) or worse, the error can pass undetected, causing problems months later when data is entered into the table (when the DB developer may already have forgotten which is the correct filter condition).
Sign in to post a comment.
Posted by Razvan Socol on 11/7/2013 at 10:36 PM
The bug is fixed in SQL Server 2012, but it is not fixed in SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2. The "Won't fix" resolution probably applies to the specific version mentioned in this bug report.
Posted by Will Rayer on 11/6/2013 at 5:47 AM
Is this fixed or not? The below comment says it is fixed, but the Bug status shows "Closed won't fix" (which would be a great pity!)
Sravanthi Andhavarapu,
SQL Server Manageability Team
Posted by Microsoft on 3/29/2011 at 2:17 AM
Greetings from the Microsoft SQL Server Manageability Team.
We triaged this bug along with several others that had come in. Unfortunately, given the work involved in this fix, and our schedule/resources, we regret to tell you that, we will not be able to fix this issue in the near future.
Thanks much for writing into Microsoft.
SQL Server Manageability
Posted by Microsoft on 7/14/2010 at 9:28 PM
Thanks for the update. the designers do three things: They either alter or drop and recreate entities for you. As of now, the drop and recreate scenarios havent been enhanced to support all new 2008 features. That is the reason we also surface an warning saying, modifying tables using designers for the drop and recreate scenario is not adviced. They will probably be a different solution when we revamp our designers. But for now, this is a known issue. Do not use the designer for drop and re-create scenarios,
You could use scripts for the same.
Posted by Gio on 2/27/2010 at 10:20 PM
Original bug has been submitter more than 18 months ago!!!!!
Error is very subtle and dangerous since opening and saving a table changes filters and make data insertion impossibile in some conditions
If you have the following condition:
Column A => nvarchar(33), null
and you wnat to have a unique index allowing for duplicate null values (column A values should be unique when different from null, but multiple null values should be accepted).
Result: Idx_Table_Column A is unique with filter "Column_A is not null";
Then you open the table in design mode, add a field and save: the result is the filter condition being changed and reset to the database without any warning; removing implicitly the "Column_A is not null" makes impossible to insert data in the table due to uniqueness feature of the index....
Any other way of having a unique index but still allowing for multiple null values (which is by default in ANSI std but not in SQL server) and having a unique index when value is not null ?
We also updated our test server to SQL Server SP1 Cumulative Update 6, BUT THE BUG IS STILL THERE!!!
How long will it take to sort it out @MS ?
Posted by Brandon.Tucker on 9/22/2009 at 9:44 AM
Probably a dupe of
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8138
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From Joomla! Documentation
Revision as of 03:47, 8 July 2013 by Wilsonge (Talk | contribs)
Returns a reference to the global database object, only creating it if it doesn't already exist. The object returned will be of type JDatabase.
object JDatabase getDBO()
In this example, the Joomla database prefix is retrieved.
$db =& JFactory::getDBO();
echo "Database prefix is : " . $db->getPrefix();
which should output something like this:
Database prefix is : jos_
See also
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8141
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Need help? Check out our Support site, then
1. Please stop messing around with my blog
The LIKEs are reduced to 12 and the link to the others does not work.
Please restore the LIKEs to the way they were. Ralph
The blog I need help with is
2. It appears Staff are working on that area. If the numbers have not updated in several hours time I suggest posting again.
4. Hi TT. Wow that was quick !! Thank you. Why should I have to post again when they are mes (thanks for the tag. Just got it)sing around with something that other bloggers and I like to see. No one from staff asked me if I wanted it and I have been to see if there are any changes made in my settings. Nothing new. I'm not getting at you TT. Ralph
5. @Rlaph
It's not realistic to think Staff will be contacting any of us prior to changes. This platform is on continuous roll-out and nothing is frozen in time. Everything is in a state of flux just like the Universe is. Here several code changes can be made in a single day. One Staff team make code changes doing the best they can to prevent negative impacts. When they are done then the support Staff follow-up on the threads created here and the emails people send them. If you expect things not to chnage then you will be continually disappointed.
6. Rats! I made s dyslexic error when typing your name above. I'm so sorry Ralph.
7. No matter with your spelling TT I understand :D
There is an old saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it" I understand the theory of change, but hey I've spent a lot of US dollars for the blog and my theme was working well.
Are they putting new LIKE buttons in, for instance: hate, like. brilliant, I want your children :D
8. For staff information
When my cursor hovers over "34 bloggers like this" as I am using FireFox (as recommended by TT) at the bottom left hand corner of my screen is the link ""
Other posts have the same problem of no link connection.
I am using customised Tapestry as my theme.
9. Update.
The LIKE pop-up of avatars still does not work on :( Ralph
10. Hm, this is rather odd. Do you still have the same problem if you temporarily switch to the Twenty Twelve theme?
11. Hi Macmanx. To tell you the truth I don't want to switch themes as I have encountered problems and lots of work to restore the original theme in the past. I hope you understand. Ralph
12. @macmanx
Could this could be a disable your Adblocker or disable all browser add-ons type of issue?
13. P.S. There's also an animation running at the top of the sidebar. Could that be a culprit?
14. I have checked my firefox addons and have no extra Adblocks.
Those animations have been running for months with no problems. I do vary them occasionally but I am doing nothing contrary to standard WP practices.
This problem started immediatel the new LIIKE format was introduced.
15. Thanks for updating us Ralph.
16. I see the problem myself too, but it's definitely not the widgets.
FWIW, I'm focussing on and
I'm starting to think this is theme related, but we're still looking into it.
17. Thanks MM. I have just went into my firefox options/content/block pop up windows which I unchecked. No change to LIKE pop up or do I have to restart to activate the uncheck ?
18. No, it's definitely not that. We'll let you know when we've tracked down the problem.
19. You're all fixed up now, sorry for the trouble!
20. I restarted. The same, no LIKE pop up. I'll put the blocker back to normal.
Thanks MM. I've used you twice now and you have come up trumps both times (and you TT). :D
Okay. Which monkey dropped his banana skin in my theme ????? ;)
22. You're welcome!
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8145
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Ahmad ibn Abu Bakr al-Zuhri
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the geographer from Al-Andalus see Mohammed Ibn Abu Bakr al-Zuhri
Abu Mus`ab Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr al-Zuhri (292 AH [1]) was a well-known 3rd-century AH Muslim scholar, the son of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri.[2]
1. ^ Imaams of the Sunnah: Vanguards of Islamic aqeedah: Taabi’een from the People of Madeenah « IBN AL HYDERABADEE
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8147
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Peer exchange
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Peer Exchange Conventions[edit]
Extensions to BitTorrent such as PEX are typically implemented using one of two common extension protocols, AZMP[2] or LTEP.[3] Both types of peer exchange send messages containing a group of peers to be added to the swarm and a group of peers to be removed.
Some clients may choose to enforce these limits and drop connections from clients that ignore them.[5]
To create a PEX protocol providing a uniformly-distributed peer selection, one could form a small DHT local to a torrent. For each desired new peer one would look up a (uniformly) random key, and use the node responsible for the key as a new peer. This is conceptually simple but would require quite some overhead.[citation needed]
For "trackerless" torrents, it is not clear if PEX provides any value[citation needed] since the mainline DHT can distribute load as necessary. Each DHT node acting as a tracker may store only a subset of the peers, but these are maximal subsets constrained only by DHT node load rather than by a single peer's view. Private torrents commonly disable the DHT, and for this case, PEX might be useful provided the peer obtains enough peers from the tracker.
There are three incompatible PEX implementations (making distinct "networks" in swarm)[citation needed]
• Vuze – introduced in Azureus
• BitComet – proprietary – introduced in BitComet
• MainLine – introduced in µTorrent
Clients supporting peer exchange[edit]
Most BitTorrent clients use PEX to gather peers in addition to trackers and DHT. With the release of Vuze, all major BitTorrent clients now have compatible peer exchange.
Each of these clients implement some version of peer exchange:
External links[edit]
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8157
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Subversion checkout URL
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Add API Documentation to README #173
ajpiano opened this Issue · 4 comments
5 participants
The docs for jQuery.tmpl are no longer included in, and I don't foresee us adding them back to there. I think the best solution is to just include the API documentation in the README, as is popular for many open source projects of similar scale and complexity as jQuery.tmpl. Although the plugin is deprecated, it seems many are still reliant on it and the documentation should be somewhere.
This issue is essentially porting over @listrophy's tweet from earlier today, so thanks for that.
+1 I needed this today, but.. =/
If anyone is still interested in this, I've submitted a pull request that should go towards correcting the issue. #175
@ajpiano ajpiano closed this in 489cf3e
Very nice. Thanks Wayne. This leads the way. :). This is one topic, from the 13 that are listed here, so logically, this process could be continued to add the other twelve. (And then, for more fun, adding in the demos :))
I know a lot of folks are missing the docs a lot, so this is great. I did receive an email suggesting I add the docs to my blog, which could also be an option. Otherwise just adding to this README might be fine, especially if navigation between topics can be included, as hash anchor links, within the document... Maybe we should keep this issue open, since so far we just have one documentation topic out of 13.
@BorisMoore BorisMoore reopened this
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8163
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This is a place especially for newbies to training with SATS. You can get extra help here, and possibly even tutorials. Welcome! Julie Kinsey and Kayce Cover
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8180
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1. XBean
2. XBEAN-119
ContextUtil$ReadOnlyBinding#isRelative() always returns false
• Type: Bug Bug
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Minor Minor
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 3.3, 3.4, 3.4.1, 3.4.2
• Fix Version/s: 3.12
• Component/s: naming
• Labels:
When iterating through the JNDI tree in Geronimo with the following code
NamingEnumeration<Binding> namingEnum = context.listBindings("");
while (namingEnum.hasMore()) {
Binding nameClassPair = namingEnum.nextElement();
if (nameClassPair.isRelative()) {
the isRelative() test always fails. The object returned from the nextElement() call is a ContextUtil$ReadOnlyBinding which has a trivial implementation of the isRelative() method:
public boolean isRelative() {
return false;
Since the ReadOnlyBinding inherits from the NameClassPair it has a instance var named isRelative and inherits a method isRelative() which – at least in my case – has the correct default value of "true". So, the method could be simply deleted so that the original method is used.
However, I haven't dug deep enough into the code to assess if the property is initialized correctly at any time, i.e. for the top level JNDI entries one might assume that those return "false" (OTOH would that really be necessary? In what situation should the NameClassPair return "false" for isRelative ?)
Relates to http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/GERONIMO-4477
Issue Links
Christian Haul created issue -
Christian Haul made changes -
Field Original Value New Value
Link This issue is depended upon by GERONIMO-4477 [ GERONIMO-4477 ]
Jack Cai made changes -
Attachment XBean_119.patch [ 12401723 ]
David Jencks made changes -
Component/s naming [ 12311432 ]
Guillaume Nodet made changes -
Status Open [ 1 ] Closed [ 6 ]
Assignee Guillaume Nodet [ gnt ]
Fix Version/s 3.12 [ 12321694 ]
Resolution Fixed [ 1 ]
• Assignee:
Guillaume Nodet
Christian Haul
• Votes:
0 Vote for this issue
1 Start watching this issue
• Created:
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8193
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Re: Where to find iscsitarget-modules-2.6.24-1-ixp4xx for lenny on NSLU2
* theo <[email protected]> [2008-07-04 17:11]:
> If I want features like a webserver or FTP I use apt-get install and it
> always works. If I want to use iSCSItarget things become different. From the
> Debian packages website I know that I have to install two packages;
> iscsitarget and iscsitarget-modules-<kernel version>-ixp4xx. The current
> kernel version I use is 2.6.24-1 (lenny).
> The problem I encounter is that I can't find the
> iscsitarget-modules-2.6.24-1-ixp4xx package paired with the current lenny
> kernel. The only packages I find are for sid and kernels 2.6.25-2.
I don't know why it's not available, but 2.6.25-2 will move to testing
in a few days.
Martin Michlmayr
Reply to:
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8194
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Re: XML files referencing DTDs via HTTP
On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 21:37:41 +0100
Petter Reinholdtsen <[email protected]> wrote:
> [Brian May]
> > This seems to be an increasing problem lately, do I need to submit a
> > seperate bug report for each package???
> >
> > Referencing a DTD via HTTP won't work on computers with no Internet
> > connection, or require HTTP queries go via a proxy HTTP server.
> I believe XML processors are expected to keep a local map of URLs to
> local files, to avoid having to fetch the files from the net. having
> the URLs in the document is _not_ a bug. It is a design choice in
> XML.
That's why a `catalog' is used for.
.''`. Arnaud Vandyck
: :' : http://people.debian.org/~avdyk/
`. `'
Attachment: pgprtY9RgcnN3.pgp
Description: PGP signature
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8195
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Re: Debian Buzz and Rex binary packages
Aurélien GÉRÔME wrote:
> For a little silly experiment, I would like to know whether someone
> still has the official debs of Buzz and Rex around.
I finally got around to read out my old "rex" CD.
Torrent can be found at http://honey.hogyros.de/debian-rex.iso.torrent .
Have fun,
Reply to:
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8196
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Re: "Debian is switching to EGLIBC"
Martin Langhoff wrote:
On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 12:51 PM, Jon Dowland
<[email protected]> wrote:
only to say that "this is really just applying a patch, no need to panic".
How about defaulting to assume if the maintainer hasn't posted,
there's no reason to panic. Assume the maintainer knows better than
slashdot or reddit about his/her own package :-)
Is Debian a community or instead random developers and users with
some common (???) objectives?
BTW you are right, but we saw the notice in LWN, where it describes EGLIBC
as a library targeted to embedded systems, that now (because of the blog post)
seems mature for other use.
Do you think this is reassuring? I think that right information at
right place is a lot better than misleading information (found in wrong places).
So let Debian community to know where Debian is going. This has nothing
to do about the decision of the maintainers.
BTW we are speaking about libraries, which affects a lot of packages (this
in particular), we have a lot of notices about libraries transitions (and troubles)
so I think it is normal to expect worries; OTOH I know that we should not
worry). It is human (yes Debian is also human!).
Reply to:
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8198
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Re: backport request: live-build
> we usually provide our own backports at live.debian.net/debian/, which
> is automatic and which is integrated into live-build.
I just added this repository to my Squeeze system:
# Debian live snapshots
deb http://live.debian.net/debian/ squeeze-snapshots main
and imported the key. I also set the preference for this repository to
1000! but apt-get / aptitude / synaptic can't get the package?
what am I missing here?
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8199
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Re: need help with debian in my iMac DV+
On Wed, 2004-08-04 at 14:52 -0300, Daniel Ruoso wrote:
> Em Qua, 2004-08-04 às 12:06, Michel Dänzer escreveu:
> > Hmm, the end of that log looks like the server exits normally.
> Yes, I did killed it by pressing ctrl+alt+backspace... there's nothing
> unusual in the log... It just doesn't work...
This means the server doesn't crash or lock up at all (as it sounded
from the post that started this thread) but runs normally, so the
problem seems to be 'only' somewhere between the drawing code and what
you see.
Reply to:
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8208
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Shared publicly -
A woman who was arrested driving at 100mph in a 30mph zone told claimed God had told her to drive so fast.
Chris R.'s profile photoGee Baker's profile photoChaza Afandi's profile photoLeo Novo H's profile photo
and by the same reasoning, he's going to throw you in Prison as well .. Amazing :)
Clearly she is wrong. Not because God doesn't exist, but because everyone knows that God only talks to elderly white men and then they tell women what to do. Duh!
there again, God is not going to go to court to say he didn't say it hahahahahahaa
No +Simon Stone, I'm not God, although I use to be quite good at Populous on the Amiga many years ago.
yeah hard to prove or disprove the existence of God in court, the whole legal system would have to be held in contempt right
that's defo a drunk and husband beater, and the only spirit guiding her was vodka, every thing i dislike about woman is in that picture, im in work cloths in my pic but i bet its still cleaner and smells better than hers,, horrible
what the hell as a GOD got to do with your right foot this GOD has a lot of things done in his honor these days
At least there were no fatalities... The lady is clearly in need of help (and no i'm not talking about legal assistance).
First, claim breach of Human rights, if that doesn't work, claim that God suggested it.
Oh... God. whatever be the mistake ...don't blame God.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8209
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Shared publicly -
really need to ditch Windows at home and get a Mac.....this thing is a pig.....
Jeff Moore's profile photoJoel Kalmanowicz's profile photoDavid Razloga's profile photoScott Lovenberg's profile photo
What is your current setup like?..
PCs and macs have the same hardware nowadays, the only difference is that windows is easier, safer, cleaner..
If you don't already have one, get an SSD.. It is hands down the best thing I have bought so far. It has sped up my system much faster than any other piece of hardware..
good call +David Razloga that's probably what I need to do....I have a pos dell that's pretty new but its not SSD
I assembled my machine myself, but in my opinion, there isn't anything wrong with buying a pre-built PC, so long as you install a clean copy of windows as soon as you get it..
For the SSD, remember that you don't need it to be too big, my 120GB SSD is more than enough to house all of my programs and any working projects.. I also have a 4TB raid setup for everything else..
apple sells pre-built computers, their quality is not exactly as stellar as it once was.. The only reason people pay so much more for apple hardware is because of the shiny, half-chewed on logo.. :P
+David Razloga, while I'm a windows user myself, I would debate that it's "easier, safer, cleaner". 'Easier' tends to be whatever you're used to, 'safer' is however you've configured your anti-malware product suite, and 'cleaner' is how well you configure and manage your processes, file system, registry cleaning, etc...
I will definitely not debate that the half-chewed brand is part of the premium price though, and I'm completely with you on SSDs; can hardly wait to get one on my next laptop in a few months. I'm waiting it out since I've read that manufacturers are still in the midst of reallocating production lines from moving-part to solid-state, and so prices should drop between Q2 and Q3.
I do believe that windows is easier to use than osx.. I have had friends that have used macs for years- when I show them my setup, they are surprised how quickly and easily I can accomplish anything they can. I suppose this is debatable though..
I do think that windows computers are safer though. Microsoft has had decades of experience in working with malware- there are very many software suites that can easily deal with almost any type of malware.. Personally, I use Microsoft Security Essentials (yay for being free!) and I haven't had any issues in years. As opposed to (one friend of mine in particular) someone who uses a mac and doesn't even know that anti-malware software even exists for macs. apple isn't even so keen to advertise this either..
Cleaner, yes, I do think that it is easier to "clean" a computer and to keep it that way. I have dealt with registry issues on windows and macs, it is a simple process to keep it clean.
As for prices of solid state drives, I don't think that they will drastically drop in price in the near future.. I paid about $110 shipped for my sandisk 120GB drive. There are better deals out there nowadays though. I usually peruse now and again and usually see a good deal pop up once a week or so...
A friend of mine recently bought an SSD for his computer- he too was waiting for them to get cheaper.. I'll let +Matt Anderson tell you if he thinks it was worth it..
Thanks for your detailed response David. Personally I also find windows easier to use than osx, but being completely used to the former, I can't generalize. I agree that culturally, mac users may be less likely to be aware of malware issues, but to be fair it's entirely allegorical.
It would be pretty interesting to run a study where a large number of subjects switch OSs :)
Interesting to hear more about SSDs already being cheap without a large drop incoming, thanks! From the sounds of it, I may cycle onto my next laptop after my present busy state of affairs cools down a bit in late June.
I do love my SSD, now that I have one, methinks I would pay twice as much if I had no choice- I would still be happy with it..
I encoded a my brother's wedding to a DVD format to send to a few family member, ~2 hours of video took somewhere around 20 minutes to finish processing.. I don't have an i7 and my video card was $25.. :D
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8210
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Question types
Start with
Question limit
of 9 available terms
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3 Written questions
3 Multiple choice questions
1. Crime vs Punishment
2. Wrote the encyclopedia.
3. Believed in women's rights
3 True/False questions
1. VoltaireFreedom of speech and thoughts
2. John LockeRulers should earn the right to govern.
Human natural rights.
3. RosseauFreedom of speech and thoughts
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8231
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Part I: Of Man
In Part I, Hobbes attempts an analysis of society from first principles, beginning with Man and the Senses. He develops this in a sequence of definitions (for example: Imagination is "nothing but decaying sense" and is the same as Memory). He points out the Necessity of Definitions, which is a hint that he is attempting an axiomatisation of political philosophy in line with the programme of geometry. He defines various passions in an unsentimental way: e.g. "But whatsoever is the object of any man's appetite or desire, that is it which he for his part calleth good; and the object of his hate and aversion, evil; and of his contempt, vile and inconsiderable. For these words of good, evil, and contemptible are ever used with relation to the person that useth them: there being nothing simply and absolutely so; nor any common rule of good and evil to be taken from the nature of the objects themselves…". A whole sequence of such definitions follows: Appetite with an opinion of attaining, is called Hope; Honourable is whatsoever possession, action, or quality is an argument and sign of power. Chapter XIII is an exposition "Of the Natural Condition of Mankind, as concerning their Felicity, and Misery" and contains the famous quotation describing life in the state of war of every man against every man as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Part II:
Part III: Of a Christian Common-wealth
In Part III Hobbes seeks to investigate the nature of a Christian commonwealth. This immediately raises the question of which scriptures we should trust, and why. If any person may claim supernatural revelation superior to the civil law, then there would be chaos, and Hobbes' fervent desire is to avoid this. Hobbes thus begins by establishing that we cannot infallibly know another's personal word to be divine revelation:
Part IV: Of the Kingdom of Darkness
Hobbes named Part IV of his book Kingdom of Darkness. By this, Hobbes does not mean Hell (he did not believe in Hell or Purgatory)[9] but the darkness of ignorance as opposed to the light of true knowledge. Hobbes' interpretation is largely unorthodox and so sees much darkness in what he sees as the misinterpretation of Scripture.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8240
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shot in Paris, october 2009
one camera, 40min show, edit of 4 songs
watch in the dark, listen carefully with headphones
filmed and edited by vincent moon
sounds by francois clos
produced by la blogotheque
thanks to cooperative music, SUPER, lovepump
"Hi, we’re HEALTH. We’re from Los Angeles.”
OK, I’m pretty sure that BJ did say that. Or Jake. But then…I have no idea. Beneath the mess of mutated sounds and the heinous volume that is HEALTH, it’s pretty damn hard to hear a single thing the guy is singing. Which is fine. No one came to the Nouveau Casino expecting to hear Facebook status-quality poetry. Nobody was expecting words of wisdom. People see HEALTH for the experience, the attack on the senses that leaves you just a bit disoriented. Before they go on I meet up with a friend from Los Angeles, a huge fan of HEALTH since the get-go. For weeks he has been going on about the band’s bassist, John Famiglietti. Supposedly the guy makes weird sounds on his bass, but I never really got any more specifics than that. These conversations usually end in my friend dancing on the sidewalk or making sounds that I am confident no one can ever reproduce.
At the show there’s almost a mosh pit. There’s a lot of teenagers not really grooving. There is a guy dressed as a clown. And there is my friend from LA, six foot fourteen. Completely freaking out. The bass, the bass he’s pointing and waving, the bass ! Dean Moriarty come to life. And I cock my ear, searching. And there it is.
The moment that seals the deal comes at the end of “Tabloid Sores,” when all of the band’s energy, the steamroller churning and remarkably tight pummeling of snares, the waves of guitar like bits of glass all come to a screeching halt, leaving only a bass loop that sounds like an animal, an android, Abraham Lincoln. Anything but a bass. And that’s when I start going crazy too.
text by Max
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8264
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by Zac Bertschy, Oct 2nd 2005
Rurouni Kenshin
G.novel 18
Rurouni Kenshin GN 18
With Shishio finally defeated, Kenshin and friends make their way back to Misao's place for a little rest and relaxation after a hard-won battle. Meanwhile, dark forces are gathering elsewhere, and Enishi, a figure from Kenshin's shrouded, blood-soaked past, emerges from the shadows to declare war on Kenshin!
Volume 18 of the Rurouni Kenshin manga represents a major turning point for the series, and it's one fans of the anime series who haven't been keeping up need to read. Basically, this is the final volume of the Kyoto arc where Kenshin and his buddies head back to Tokyo after bidding Misao a fond farewell. In the anime series, this is where the show jumped the shark and started plotlines about crazy Christians with blinding powers and germans with tin ears and whatnot (not to mention that episode where Sano finds that treasure-hunting dog). In the manga, volume 18 starts a storyline that will be all-new to anime and manga fans alike: the Enishi arc, the gripping (but still kinda silly) revenge tale of Kenshin's deceased fiancée's brother coming back for vengeance.
The first half or so of this book is basically the slow part at the end of the Kyoto arc where they spend a chapter or two talking about going home and getting settled, and it's a nice breather between the relentless action of the Shishio battle. Watsuki's gorgeous visuals never fail to please; he's one of the few shonen artists who are just as good at rendering scenes of idyllic bliss as they are at drawing exciting action panels, and these scenes are no different. The storyline really heats up, however, when Enishi shows up, and he starts gathering an all-new army of villainous circus freaks to take Kenshin down. Yeah, we've kinda seen this before, but people have talked about this storyline for years and it's finally in America where everyone can read it.
That said, the road this new storyline is going down has already started to get a little ridiculous. The first of Enishi's henchmen is a gigantic grinning dude with a cannon for an arm a'la half the bad guys in Trigun, and he fires a colossal warning shot over Tokyo to let Kenshin know that something's afoot. If the crazy, bizarre villains in the Kyoto arc (like the flying bat-guy with dynamite wings) didn't turn you off, these won't bother you, but anyone who giggled will probably be rolling their eyes at some of these new ones. Don't expect great literature, but it's fun enough.
What makes this volume so special is that if you only ever saw the show and didn't want to read through 17 volumes of a story you've seen before, you can pick it up here and not miss a single beat. Odds are the artwork – which still shines really well, even this late in the series – will strike any anime fan as being superior to the anime, if only for the consistency in the character design. The story is executed better as well, for the most part.
Viz's translation remains competent and serviceable; the font they're using looks like it's been bolded and the text seems a little large, as though they'd designed this book to be read by senior citizens, which is interesting. Overall, if you've been following the series, there's no reason to stop now just because the universally accepted “best part,” the Kyoto arc, is over. While it might seem a little like more of the same over-the-top silliness, the Enishi arc certainly has promise. At least, there'll probably be some cool fight scenes. What more can we ask for?
Production Info:
Story : B
Art : A
+ Great art, beloved characters, better than anime anime
Ridiculous villians, new storyline might be more of the same
Story & Art: Nobuhiro Watsuki
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Rurouni Kenshin (manga)
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Rurouni Kenshin (GN 18)
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8276
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There is one summary. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.
Shown Here:
Introduced in House (03/05/2009)
Adds Rule XXIX (Time to Read Legislation Before Voting) to the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit voting by the House on legislation between the chambers unless: (1) the text of the measure has been available to all Members and their staffs in both printed and electronic format for at least 10 days; and (2) any manager's amendment or other amendment which makes substantive changes to the legislation has been made available in such format for at least 72 hours before such vote.
Exempts from such prohibition: (1) the intelligence authorization bill, appropriations, or other legislation containing classified information, or its conference report, if Members have at least seven days to study the measure's contents; and (2) congressional declarations of war or authorization of military force to respond to attacks on the United States.
Allows any citizen who is eligible to vote and who is not an employee of the federal executive or judicial branch to petition the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate allegations that a Member voted for any measure that violated this Rule.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8281
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The issue I was having is when you set up Administer Users by Role it changed Content Profile links edit location to "/user/0" (only after I clicked the link, not when hovering over the link) for editing Content Profiles which I think is the admin. There seems to be something going on here where it is blocking the user from editing his/hers own content.
When I remove Administer Users by Role module everything goes back to the way it was (being able to edit your own profile content).
Maybe I missed something I don't know.
anthony0perez’s picture
Issue summary:View changes
changed: "edit/user/0" to "/user/0"
AdamPS’s picture
Issue summary:View changes
Status:Needs work» Closed (won't fix)
D6 is no longer supported.
In D7 please see #2059429: Error when profile2 module is enabled.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8301
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Reviews for A New Perspective
10th Squad 3rd Seat chapter 1 . 1/14
You called Bill Brill once.
Slytherin Weasleys, I can see what they could do.
missgsmith51 chapter 1 . 3/20/2014
Good for old Arthur, alerting Harry like that. As for Molly not using a love potion on him ... I happen to think he's dreaming.
lastcrazyhorn chapter 1 . 1/18/2014
Hahahah! Ron! I'm so glad that he got Gryffindor, as I suspect he would be rather lost in Slytherin.
mychakk chapter 1 . 11/27/2013
If only it went that way :) Arthur saves Harmony and I so agree with your interpretation of the Weasley boys - all trying to escape their overbearing mother...
Guest chapter 1 . 11/23/2013
When people get sorted without prejudice, the world would be different. At least a little.
supernlp chapter 1 . 8/19/2013
Another amusing and excellent read!
CheyRain chapter 1 . 7/23/2013
Wow. I could totally see this. Also, Ron wanted to be different than his brother's. I suppose he was, although he ended up being the only one to turn out as expected.
Thaliran chapter 1 . 5/3/2013
Guest chapter 1 . 4/25/2013
Great! :)
TharzZzDunN chapter 1 . 3/28/2013
A nice different POV story, thanks for sharing!
rekrula chapter 1 . 2/24/2013
interesting viewpoint. thanks for sharing.
Individual Narrative chapter 1 . 1/30/2013
This was a cool idea. I LOVE how you implied that the kids basically went to Slytherin because of their mother. Brilliant, and very ironic when I imagine her reaction to her kids not being in Gryffindor. The subtle Ron (and not so subtle Ginny) dissing was also funny, and I liked reading a fic from Arthur's point of view. Especially when he says he really only stays with Molly for the food! Very stereotypical male right there (guess that's where Ron gets his love of food?).
Tactition101 chapter 1 . 1/27/2013
Now that's an interesting twist. I can see your reasoning though and agree that most of that generation of Weasley's could theoretically fit the house requirements.
mist shadow chapter 1 . 11/11/2012
if you don't own this drabble, who does then? and quite an interesting take on how they could end up in Slytherin
Noradin chapter 1 . 10/29/2012
I always thought it was 'very Slytherin' of the twins to be in Gryffindor, I doubt they would have gotten way with their pranks in Slytherin, everyone would have hade darker suspicions about the reasons for those then.
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This just popped into my head while I was watching the episode where Genkai starts giving Yusuke the Spirit Wave Orb. Right before she does that, she tells him that she just 'had a need' that her 'power would always exist'. It made me wonder if Yusuke would carry that on. Then I wondered, if he did carry it on, who too? And from those various wonderings came…this. Kinda cool, huh?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters. There's a whole bunch of legal stuff to go in with that and its all very confusing, so I won't go into it. It is only the prologue, after all, people.
Yu Yu Hakusho - Blossom
Prologue: Grandpa Fox
Kurama glance out the window at the sunlight filtering inward onto the stark white sheets of his bed. He gently touched a glossy green leaf of one of the many plants sitting around him, then ran his fingers ran calmly through his hair. The long mane was nowhere near as thick as it once was, it had thinned considerably and now contained only a few paling red streaks in a sea of white.
He smiled sleepily at the yellowing photograph by his bed. It was well over sixty years old. His fifteen-year-old self was standing at the far left, eyes shining in a way they hadn't for years. Kuwabara was beside him with one arm raised in a fighting stance, Hiei in front of him with both hands stuffed in his pockets and usual smirk-like smile on his face. Yusuke was in the direct center, hair down in his face, with Keiko's arm around his waist. Botan was beside Keiko and Koenma, as a teenager, was behind Botan.
His smile widened a bit. Shizuru had taken that picture just after the first match of the Dark Tournament. It reminded him of times long gone past. It didn't seam quite that long, somehow…Sixty years…
"Hn. Going down memory lane again, fox?"
At the familiar voice, Kurama's eyes turned towards the window. Hiei sat silently on the sill, legs dangling over the side. His old friend hadn't aged a bit, and neither his power or his dislike of other creatures hadn't faded in the decades since their fighting days. It was just like him to appear unannounced, without informing the staff downstairs.
Kurama smiled wearily, sitting up to greet him. "Good day, Hiei." he whispered, the voice of a tired old man escaping his lips.
"Don't push yourself." Hiei stepped down from the window, stopping next to his partner's bedside. His voice had taken on the calm, caring tone he only used with his aging partner, or Yukina. "From the looks of it, you need your rest."
"I'm not worried." Kurama sighed, leaning back against the not-very-reclined hospital bed. "You feel it as well as I do, this body can't last much longer. I might as well get it over with as soon as possible."
"Fine. Be stubborn." Hiei sighed. He sounded a bit worried, slightly unnatural for him. "…… It's just like you not to be afraid."
"I've died before." Kurama sighed. "It's not as hard as it looks. Besides…it won't be the end of Kurama. Just of Shuuichi."
The green eyes widened a bit, then his voice dropped to a whisper. "You better go. My family's coming."
"How do you know that?" Hiei asked, surprised. The fox's enhanced senses had dulled as he grew older, and there was never anything distinct to feel from any of his human offspring. His daughter had always been purely human, with enhanced sixth sense, yes, but pure human.
"Kura's telling me." Kurama smiled. "She says they're almost through talking to the nurses and should be up in a couple of minutes."
Hiei blinked a moment before realizing he was talking about Sakura. Kurama's granddaughter. But that was impossible, the girl was barely nine!
"She's already mastered her psychic abilities better than Shiori was ever able too." Kurama's daughter was named, naturally, after his own mother. "She can send telepathic messages better than any I've ever seen. It's possible the demon blood has seeped into her, rather than her mother."
"Fine then." Hiei shrugged, swinging his leg back outside the window. He paused a moment, then turned back to his old partner. "How long…?"
"…Tonight, at the most." the tired voice came. Hiei nodded, then jumped from the window to a near-by tree branch just as the door began to open.
"Grampa!" an excited voice came from it.
Kurama looked down, smiling at the little girl as she scrambled, smiling, to his bedside. She had two vibrant red pigtails and large, dark eyes that were more yellow-jade green than the pure forest of his own. She really was a beautiful child.
"Hi-hi grampa!" she laughed, bouncing up on the balls of her feet.
"Now Sakura." her mother chastised. Her dark red hair was bound up in a bun. "Remember what we talked about? Grandpa needs his rest."
Sakura dropped back down, groaning a bit in disappointment. Kurama smiled a bit, then leaned down and scooped the child up, off her feet, and onto the bed with him.
"How's my Kura-chan?" he asked with a laugh, tickling the already giggling girl under the chin. He pulled a rose out of a near-by bouquet and handed it to her.
"Fine, Grampa." she smiled, tucking the flower into her belt.
"Oh, dad." Shiori sighed, putting down her bag. She leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek. "Don't you ever know when to take it easy?"
"No, as a matter of fact, I don't." Kurama grinned at his daughter.
A white-coated doctor came in and tapped Shiori on the shoulder. As they exited the room, Sakura tugged on her grandfather's sleeve. "Grampa, can you tell me a story?" she begged.
Kurama smiled. His 'stories' were mostly tales of the Spirit World an his days in the Reikai Taneti. Of course, he had changed a few things. It wasn't actually him doing all these things, it was a character he'd called Kori, a word for foxes, and had changed the other's names as well. He'd hidden his demon identify from his human family too long to reveal it now. If Sakura became involved with it all, she'd find out soon enough…
"Alright then, Kura." he patted her on the head, using her old baby-nickname. "Which one do you wanna hear?"
"The first one!" Sakura urged. "You know, when Ura-chan's trying to get the treasures back, the first time he meet Kori face-to-face!"
"Okay then…" Kurama leaned back against the bed in thought, pulling Kura closer. "You must know it better than I do by now…Kori, little fox, was an ancient fox-spirit known as a youko…Now youkos were special, because…"
"'Cause only foxes who lived a full century could become 'em." Sakura repeated by heart.
Shiori looked into her father's room as the little girl laughed along with the story. Smiling quietly, she turned back to the doctor, who was examining a clipboard. "Well, Ms. Koubai…" he sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "He's actually doing quite well for his age…"
"That's good." Shiori sighed.
"However…A seventy-five year old man is still unpredictable, even in the best of conditions." he continued. "I suggest we keep him here another day or two, to make sure he doesn't have another attack, then he should be free to go home."
"Two days…" Shiori muttered, looking in again. "I wonder if it's wise…to take him out of here, even then…"
~ * ~ * ~
Sakura woke that night to a cold chill. The girl sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Why…is my window open?" she wondered out loud, getting up to close it.
Just as her hand touched the latch, she stopped. She took a step back, eyes widening in shock. Stepping smoothly and easily through the open window came a sleek, silver fox.
It was easily the most gorgeous thing Sakura had ever seen. Unusually large, it came up to her waist when it sat straight up. Its eyes were a beautiful, deep gold and its fur was thick and shiny silver.
She was not frightened by it, rather, somehow, it filled her with a strange, fulfilling clam. She crouched down to look at it closely, holding her hand out. The fox leaned forward and pressed its warm, wet nose to her palm. Gently, very gently, it rubbed up against her so that her hand ran through its thick, warm fur.
"Who are you?" Sakura asked quietly, petting it gently. "You feel…familiar…"
She closed her eyes a moment. When she opened them again, the fox had disappeared out of her grasp. But she knew what it meant now.
Shiori looked up from her book. Sakura was standing in front of her, eyes filled with tears and hiccupping with sobs. "Sakura, what's wrong?" the mother gasped, setting down her book as the telephone rang. "Come here, honey, what's the matter?"
"Grampa's gone." Sakura sobbed, letting herself be folded into her mother's arms. "Grampa's gone…he's dead!"
Shiori gasped, pulling her daughter close. "Oh, no honey…" she whispered soothingly, running her hands through the girl's hair. "It was just a dream, dear…a nightmare. Grampa's fine, he just needs to rest…"
"No…He's dead!" Sakura cried wildly. "He's gone, I know, he's…"
"Shiori." she looked up. It was Minoru, her husband, eyes wide and the phone in one hand. "The hospital just called. Your father…he had a heart attack a couple of hours ago. They couldn't stop it…Shiori, he's dead."
Sakura hiccupped again, burying her face in her mother's shirt. Shiori gaped a moment, staring at her daughter in wonder. "How…How did she know? …How?"
Prologue ends. It'll pick up a bit more in the next chapter, I was just setting the scene, okay? And, in case you're wondering, Koubai would be Sakura's father's last name, so Kurama's daughter Shiori Minamino would become Mrs. Shiori Koubai. Next chapter should be up soon…
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Chapter 2: Yuck! I'm Not Eating That!
Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh. I only own Weili aka Wei!
Warnings: OOC (out of character) actions and strong language and sexual misunderstandings.
A/N: Thanx for all the reviewers that are interested in this story!
~~~~~~~~ "You baka! I am not eating that!" I yelled as I jumped out of my bed to dodge a certain white-haired yami's attempt to catch me.
Ever since I opened my eyes, Bakura had been trying to get me to eat his soup. I was hungry but when I caught sight of it, I wanted to throw up. Whatever that thing is, let me assure you it is not soup. For one thing, it is too murky to be soup. Second, it makes gurgling noises and it bubbles every few seconds. It looks like dirt mixed with water and other ...unidentifiable things.
"You are eating it, mortal! Even if I have to feed you myself!" yelled the irritable yami.
"HELP!" I screamed, standing behind the bed. 'Stupid Malik and Marik won't even bother to see what's wrong with me!'
But since he was standing behind the other side of the bed which was near my only escape, the door, I had no escape. I gripped the edge of the bedpost and tried to move slowly to the door. I tried not to make any sudden movements as not to alarm him. I had to make him think that I wasn't going to escape. But of course, when he lets his guard down, I'm going to sprint out of the room. (And hopefully I could find a bridge to jump off from. Death is better than this kind of torture. -_-')
"Now Bakura, why don't we just settle down? I mean, can't we just discuss this?" I asked, giggling nervously.
"You are eating the soup...." he said, dangerously low.
I gulped. Now I was scared and hungry but I am definitely not going to eat that poor excuse of a 'soup'. Yeah, right, it's probably just dirt water. Okay, in order to get my little plan to succeed, I had to get him to believe that I would actually eat that dirt soup. Of course, an image of me sticking my tongue out and making gagging noises popped up into my mind. What if that doesn't work? I mean, I'm such a bad actress. How can anyone possible look at that soup and not cringe at the sight of it? But then again, I would know. In all the years that I made dinner, mom would always crinch at the sight of my cooking. Although, my cooking doesn't literally look like dirt.
"Heh heh. Bakura-san, I know you must've work really hard to make me this soup. But couldn't I just have canned chicken soup?" I asked in feign innocence.
He didn't say anything though. He didn't even look at me, instead he looked down on the floor. This was so unexpected. What was he doing? What's wrong with him? What was that baka waiting for? Isn't he going to yell at me for even suggesting that? I was beginning to feel uncomfortable and curious. I tried to see how he was feeling by leaning forward a little bit so I could see if he was really angry or something.
"Um...Bakura...heh heh...Are you okay?" I asked nervously.
He still didn't answer me and I was starting to feel guilty.
"Whoo-hoo, you okay?" I asked, throwing a pair of rolled-up socks at him.
He didn't even bother to dodge, and then something unexpected happened. He started to make a sobbing sound. I sweatdropped and made a face that showed I was not buying this act. He was not really crying, was he? Although, he's pretty surprising sometimes. What if I actually hurt his feelings? But I was not going to eat the soup just to cheer him up.
"Baku-chan?" I asked, slowly inching towards him.
Although, I was unaware that I was getting closer and closer to him. I didn't even know that my legs were moving. But I had a conscience and I felt sympathy towards him right now. Don't get me wrong but this is probably the only time I will. You would feel pity for him too if you saw him right now. He just looked at the floor, his bangs covering his eyes, his body still and his arms hanging loosely at his sides.
"Bakura?" I asked and put a hand on his shoulder.
What happened next was such a blur that I couldn't even believed it happened. But the awful taste on my tongue proves it. This is what I remembered. I put a hand on his shoulder then he grabbed me by my waist and yelled,"GOTCHA!" I yelled and tried to struggle out of his grasp but he had a tight grip on me. Then he quickly jammed the spoon with the awful soup into my mouth. Of course, I immediately barfed it out but unfortunately I tasted it before I spit it out. Take my advice, never eat any of Bakura's cooking. Even if he is good looking (Uh...that's another matter) , don't EVER! It's so bad that my eyes started to water.
"GAH! Help! I'm going to die!" I yelled, attempting to get the taste off my tongue.
I used both of my index fingers to try to scrap the taste off of my tongue but I could still taste it! Bakura laughed hysteriously and I wanted revenge so I grabbed the spoon and jammed it into his open mouth. Heh Heh! I was really satisfied with the result. Now it was my turn to laugh and point at him. But he was strong and survived his cooking. He made a move to pin me down but I ran quickly out of his way for a sick person. I think that if you had someone trying to harm you then you would have enough strength to run away whether you're sick or not.
"Come back here, you stupid girl!" he yelled, chasing after me around the bed.
"Never!" I yelled back, trying to breathe normally.
Although, one of my nostrils is stuffed and the other isn't. I was out of breath and tired but I wasn't going to stop now. Not when some psycho's going to harm me. Also, I was hungry and since I didn't eat anything edible so I was out of strength. I had to come up with another plan to get him to leave me alone. If only I had something that was dear to him, but what? The idea popped into my head when my eyes fell upon the Millenium Ring. That's it! I'll steal his ring but that was too risky since he was wearing it. Then I remembered that Yami once told me the current owners of each Millenium item and who had the Millenium eye?
"Bakura....*pant pant* I can't do this anymore. I'm too tired", I said, trying to sound convincing. I stopped and hugged my stomach to indicate that I was out of breath and tired.
He stopped running which was helping me a little bit. Now to get my plan in action....
"Ooh, Bakura, I'm so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?" I asked, sticking my bottom lip out. I was attempting the sad puppy look. I also opened my arms wide,"Truce?"
I could tell that he didn't believe me since he was eyeing me with a 'what- exactly-are-you-planning?' kind of look. But he walked closer to me, I cackled inside. After all, what could a sick 15-year old girl do to me? I bet he was thinking that and he was so wrong. I could do so much. He stopped a few inches from me.
"Oh, come on. Just give me a hug", I said, whimpering slighly.
"Fine....", he said slowly and hugged me.
My arms were encircled around him but I hurriedly reached into his pants pocket and pulled it out. (No nasty thoughts please) I loosen my arms around him and smiled triumphly at the Millenium item. I got it! I really had it! He pulled away and looked confused at me. It took him at least a minute to figure what just happened. He had a furious look on his face and made a move at me but I once again dodged. But not good enough, I felt a tugging on my pajama shirt and turned back to find him holding onto the hem.
"Give me back the Millenium eye!" he yelled loudly and I winced. Whoa! He was REALLY pissed off, wasn't he?
"No way!" I shouted, trying to run away but he had a tight grip on my shirt.
"Time for some medicine!" Malik announced, stepping into the room, and pouring some cold medicine into a teaspoon.
"Finally! Where the hell were you?!" I yelled.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"What do you mean 'what?' Are you blind?" I asked, indicating Bakura still clutching onto my shirt.
"Are you that desperate that you'll even do it with a sick girl?" Malik said, laughing.
"WHAT?!" Bakura and I said at the same time. He let go of my shirt. Finally! I scampered away before I even knew it myself. Then I carefully and quietly slid inside my closet. I could still feel the millennium eye in my clamped hand, I wanted to hide it so I hid it in the only place that would be safe for now: inside my bra.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter Universe; I just play with the characters and make no money from them. In fact, I don't own anything, not even the plot!
Harry was sitting alone in the Gryffindor common room with an open Advanced Transfiguration book, quietly scratching out an essay when Lavender Brown pranced down the stairs from the girl's dormitories and sat in one of the wing backed chairs near the fire. Harry glanced at her briefly, dropped his head back to his essay, and then looked back at her again with a curious stare. Something was different about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Lavender was just sitting, flipping through her new copy of Witch Weekly when she felt Harry's eyes on her. She looked over at him, and sure enough, he was just sitting there with his quill in his hand and staring blankly at her.
She gave him a pleasant smile and said, "Harry…?"
He continued to stare. He wasn't leering at her, he just appeared to be lost in thought.
"Harry? Are you awake?"
He seemed to snap out of his daze and quickly mumbled an apology. "Sorry, it's just that you look different today. I was trying to figure out what it was."
She beamed at him and asked, "Is it my hair?"
Harry focused on her golden blonde hair and it clicked, "Yes, that's exactly it! Your hair looks smashing, not that there was anything wrong before, but it certainly looks different today. What did you do to it?"
"Ah, it's a new hair cleansing potion that was developed by the fine young ladies at Beauxbatons Academy. I found the recipe in this issue." Explained Lavender while she held up her copy of Witch Weekly. "Apparently it's based on a muggle product, something called 'Charm Poo' or some such thing."
"Shampoo." Corrected Harry.
Yes, quite… anyway, the article says it works something like 'Tête et épaules,' which translates to 'Head and Shoulders,' but since apparently only muggles grow hair on their shoulders, they made the potion just for the hair on your head and called it just that… 'Tête,' or in English, 'Head.'"
"Wow, I must say that it seems to work for you, your hair looks fantastic! Head shampoo sounds great! If you made any extra, do you think you could give me some of that Head?" Harry asked excitedly, indicating the messy mop of black hair on his own head.
Lavender squealed in delight at the thought of playing hairdresser, "I'll tell you what, meet me in the prefect's bathroom in an hour and I'll be happy to give you some Head. I'll have you washed, styled, and blown dry in no time."
"And blown dry? You'd do that for me? Wow, you don't miss a lick, do you?"
Neither one of them noticed Hermione as she entered the common room through the portrait hole. She just arrived in time to hear the 'blown dry' comment and froze in her tracks. She stood in the entranceway, remaining hidden and listening intently.
Harry rubbed his chin in thought, then asked Lavender, "Say, has that stuff hit the market yet? And if it has, how expensive is Head?"
Lavender glanced at the article, "Hmmm, it says here that it's not on the public market yet, but there are some bootleg potion parlors in Knockturn Alley where you can get Head for less than 10 knuts!"
Hermione let out a squeak and covered her mouth, hoping that neither of the room's occupants had heard her.
Harry's eyes widened, "Wow, that's cheap! At that price, everybody should be getting Head."
"You've said a mouthful, Harry." Replied Lavender brightly, "That price certainly isn't hard to swallow, and I heard it's going down."
"I should tell Ron about it, I'm sure he'd love to get some Head."
"I don't know, Harry… I know it only cost a few knuts, but I honestly don't think Ron could get it up, and he can't leave Hogwarts to go buy some, anyway."
Hermione could have laughed at the comment, that is to say, if she wasn't so flustered at the topic of their conversation.
Harry again furrowed his brows in concentration, "Is Head hard to make up? I mean, I'm not a master at 'stuffing the cauldron', so to speak, so if it's really difficult… well, I suppose I could see if I could get some Head off of Slughorn…"
Hermione's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what Harry was suggesting!
Lavender laughed, "You probably could get Head off of Slughorn, but you might want to try Ginny first, she has the recipe, but may take some convincing for her to spit it out. Although, I saw her giving out Head to a bunch of Slytherins just last week. I'll tell you, she made Draco blow his top!"
'Ginny and Draco?' thought Hermione, 'That's insane! What was that girl thinking? I knew she was promiscuous, but with the Slytherins?'
"Slytherins, huh? Is the stuff safe? How does it actually work?"
Lavender quickly referenced the article and showed it to Harry, who read, "St. Mungo's Hospital had Master Healer Phelattio test it out. She found that Head stiffens each limp follicle, leaving an erect, glistening shaft." He went on to read, "Then after the natural oils are sucked out of the root, it leaves the hair soft, manageable and exhausted."
"Well, Head does sound safe…" Harry thought for a moment then snapped his fingers as an idea came to him, "Hermione is a bright girl, maybe I should ask her for some Head, I mean she's best in the class, isn't she… after all, she is the Head Girl, right?"
Hermione didn't know what to think at that point. Part of her was happy that Harry thought so much of her academic skills, another part of her was furious over the idea that Harry could even think of using her that way… and another small part deep inside her got excited over the chance to show Harry exactly how she felt about him. A chance to show him that she'd do anything for him… a chance to show how much she loved him.
"Hmmm…" thought Lavender, then said to Harry, "Hermione may not approve of Head at all, but then again, you might be able to convince her to try her hand at it, but I seriously doubt it… If you do manage to get some Head from her, you'll be a lucky stiff!"
Hermione's eyes narrowed at Lavender's comment. What did she think, that she was frigid or something? Some sort of prude? Just because she takes her studies seriously, doesn't mean that her hormones weren't affecting her, just like they would with any eighteen year old girl.
"Are you kidding? If I told Hermione that I had a recipe for a something that she's never heard of, she'd be on her knees in no time, gagging for me to give it to her! She would beg me to spill it."
Hermione stood dumbfounded in the shadows, her mouth opening and closing of its' own accord. She didn't quite hear everything that Harry said, but she heard enough to wonder if Harry really thought she was that 'easy.' A sad frown appeared on her face, 'or maybe he thinks I'm that desperate…'
Lavender looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, Parvati might be willing to give you some Head, but knowing her, she'd want something in return. You might want to surprise her with a present, maybe you could give her a pearl necklace or something."
I don't think I'd go with Parvati, I think she's still miffed at me from the 'Yule Ball' fiasco… If I asked her for Head, I'm afraid she just might bite my head clean off!"
"You may be right," said Lavender with a sigh, "Well, you can always ask Luna Lovegood to give you some Head. I kind of feel bad for the girl, hardly anyone pays attention to her. If you asked her nicely for some Head, I'll bet that she'll really get choked up."
"That's a great idea! She's a bright girl, being in Ravenclaw and all… I'm sure she'd love a chance to help me out with some Head. Thanks Lav, I think I'll give her a shot."
Hermione squared her shoulders and marched into the middle of the common room. She walked up to Harry, drew herself up to her full height and said in an angry voice, "Oh, no you don't Potter! If you're getting head off of anyone, it's going to be me! Honestly, are you so desperate that you have to ask around, begging for it? I promised you a long time ago that I'd do anything for you, so…" She sighed, as if steeling herself before she continued, "so if you need head that badly, I'll give it to you, after all, that's what best friends are for, right?"
Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and led him to the portrait hole.
"Umm, where are taking me?"
"To the Room of Requirement, of course! Do you think I'd give you… 'that…' out where anyone could see?"
Harry waved back to Lavender, who had a shocked look on her face, realizing that Hermione had the entirely wrong impression of what the conversation was about. She smiled and shrugged and said to herself, 'Well, what do you know? Who would have ever thought that Hermione, of all people! I hope Harry thanks me later!'
A/N: It's all innuendo, nothing untoward goes on in this fic, it's just shampoo, so keep your minds out of the gutter! A lot of this is referenced from an old radio skit from the 'Bob and Tom Show,' I just thought I'd adapt it to HP, just to spread the love.
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Disclaimers: Nope, still not mine.
Rating: PG
A/N: Look, Mom! No spoilers! But I do have lots of gratitude for my partner-in-crime, Faye, just for being her. And for Brenna, who put together the most kick-ass website known to man. Or at least, to SN-dom!
When the Bough Breaks
It was cold. He was cold.
The only part of him that was warm was his side, but he knew it wasn't supposed to be. And that scared him a little.
Okay, maybe a lot.
"Don't break position," Dad said. "No matter what."
No matter what.
So, even though he was shivering so hard he could barely hold his gun, even though the body of the (thing he had to keep reminding himself. It's a thing, not a person anymore) was lying only inches away from him, even though he was starting to feel a little lightheaded, a little nauseous, he didn't move.
Dad would come for him. Dad always came. Maybe not right when he said he would, and maybe he had forgotten him at time or two, at school, at the neighbor's . . .
But this was different. This was a hunt.
Dad would come.
He just had to hold on a little longer.
Even the midst of battle, John didn't lose track of his sons. Dean was close – he could hear him, feet crunching through the brittle surface of frozen snow.
He cursed the weather, knowing it left them more vulnerable, more exposed. But Dean was careful. He was a good hunter. He had learned his lessons well.
And Sam . . . Sam was safe. Hidden away, just outside the perimeter John had marked. Involved enough to feel like he was a part of things, like he had a role. But not close enough to the action to be a liability.
Sam had good instincts, was as skilled with a gun as his brother had been at that age. Maybe even more skilled with a knife. But he was young. Inexperienced in much more than a simple exorcism or routine salt-and-burn. He needed to learn, too, John knew. But this wasn't the time for a training exercise. Hunting werewolves was serious work. They were smart and agile and damned fast, and even a competent ten-year-old had no business trying to face one down. He'd left Sam in a position to spot trouble if it came – or tried to escape. For now, that was enough.
Two shots rang out in quick succession, the last echoing oddly through the trees.
"Got one!"
John nodded to himself. Two more to go. He scanned the darkness, looking for signs of the others.
A rough growl behind him was the only warning he had. He dropped and fired as the werewolf bore down, jaws snapping the air where his legs had been, seconds before. He heard it hit the ground with a dog-like yelp, and then it was up again, scrambling toward him.
His second shot found its heart.
He felt Dean's presence before he saw him and answered his unasked question.
"I'm alright."
Panting a little from the adrenaline rush, he let Dean pull him to his feet. He saw the flash of worry in Dean's eyes, but didn't respond to it. It disappeared almost instantly and he felt a little swell of pride – watching Dean's focus, his determination. His skill.
He's a good soldier. No less than what he expected, but John allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction.
He motioned Dean north while he moved south.
It started to snow – wet, heavy flakes that quickly covered the frozen ground, obliterating their footprints, and the werewolves' as well. The hunt would be harder now. Time was of the essence.
His jacket and jeans were quickly soaked. The snow began to thicken, blanketing the woods around him in a peaceful quiet.
It barely lasted an instant.
He heard a snap and lunged sideways. Something heavy hit him in the shoulder and shoved him down.
He wedged a hand beneath his body, pushed himself away. It was on him again before he could stand, and he felt a row of teeth dig into his back. They didn't break the skin – he had on too many layers – but they worked as a perfect distraction.
He twisted, ducked and the werewolf sailed over him. It rolled as it landed, already turning on him. He dropped to one knee and raised his gun, this time finishing the job with a single shot. It collapsed in front of him, its blood staining the ground with dark fingerprints.
He exhaled a long breath and flicked the safety on, calling to Dean as he tucked his gun in his waistband.
Three werewolves dead. Not bad for an evening's work.
Time to bless and bury the bodies and get back on the road.
The snow made it harder for him to see, less sure of what direction his father come from. But at least it covered the body a little.
He hadn't felt bad about shooting it until it changed. Once it was human again, it was a lot harder. Even though it had hurt him, it had been a monster then.
It was a person now.
His mouth suddenly ran dry and he forced himself to swallow, desperately trying to not get sick.
His side throbbed. He'd tied his flannel shirt over it as a makeshift bandage, but it was still bleeding. He didn't know how else to make it stop.
He didn't lower his gun, though, even though he had to hold in both hands. It took too much effort to keep it in just one, but Dad would expect him to stay ready.
He made himself stand up to change position. His legs had started to cramp and he knew that if he didn't move now, he wouldn't be able to.
The pain was sudden and excruciating. Like being burned with a hot poker. He gasped as he put a hand out, closing his eyes against another wave of dizziness. The little knobby pine he'd been sitting near barely held him and he slid awkwardly back to the ground.
"Dad . . ." he whispered into the darkness. He kept the rest of the thought to himself. Please come soon.
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I own none of this.
Athrun stared at the Chairman of the Supreme Council in disbelief. Is he actually asking me this? Images flashed through his mind; Kira fighting to protect his friends, Cagalli defending her homeland, and Lacus, rallying people to the cause of freedom. The real Lacus, not this cheap imitation.
He finally found his voice. "No."
Gilbert Durandal raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"I'm not going to help you lie to your own people, sir," Athrun said, struggling to control his voice. "There might be some short term benefits, but it's not worth it."
"Even if it calms the people down, and helps them act rationally?" Durandal asked mildly.
"That's no excuse,"Athrun said. "The ends don't justify the means, sir, and your means are no better than Earth Forces propaganda."
Durandal blinked at his vehemence. "No better? The Earth Forces are trying to incite violence; I am trying to do the exact opposite."
"That doesn't matter," Athrun shot back. "When this is found out -and it will be, sir, you can count on that- it could lead to a civil war."
He leaned forward, feeling a spike of white-hot rage as another thought came to him. "And that's not the only reason. With both of my parents dead, Kira, Cagalli, and Lacus are all I have left, and you're asking me to betray them!" He clenched his fists. "I won't do it, sir. Not for you, not for anyone else."
The chairman shrugged. "So be it. I take it you won't return to ZAFT, then?"
"No sir. Not now, not ever." Athrun trembled with barely suppressed rage. "You've shown yourself to be nothing but a common criminal."
Durandal ignored the insult. "What will you do now? If you won't return to ZAFT and help defend your homeland..."
"For now, nothing. And I wouldn't be defending my homeland if I helped you, I'd be making things worse." Athrun turned to leave, then paused and looked back. "However, I should give you fair warning. If Kira is drawn into this war, then I will fight by his side. No matter what."
Durandal smiled thinly. "Perhaps. There is Shinn Asuka to contend with."
"Shinn doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of defeating Kira," Athrun countered, and was gone.
Too angry to watch where he was going, Athrun almost collided with Yzak and Dearka. "Sorry, guys."
"Don't worry about it," Dearka said, brushing his red uniform off. "What's got you so steamed, anyway? I haven't seen you this mad since Nicol died."
Athrun hissed through clenched teeth. "I was wrong about Durandal." He quickly sketched out his meeting with the Chairman. When he'd finished, both ZAFT officers looked outraged.
"So he's got someone pretending to be Lacus Clyne, and he asked you to help him keep it up," Yzak summarized. "Who does he think he is?"
"Bastard," Dearka muttered. He'd come to know Lacus well in the last war, and the thought of someone impersonating her, whatever the reason, turned his stomach. "What are you going to do?"
"For now, I'm going back to Orb," Athrun said. "I don't think Reverend Malchio will mind if I drop in. But if Kira does get involved, then I'm going with him."
Yzak and Dearka exchanged glances. "We're with you," Yzak said.
Athrun blinked in surprise. "Yzak, are you sure? If anyone finds out, you'll be charged with treason."
"Durandal's the traitor," Yzak growled. "Lying to his own people like that."
Dearka clapped Athrun's shoulder. "Besides, Kira's my friend, too, and he did help save the PLANTs."
Athrun managed a smile. "Thanks, guys."
None of them knew what their destiny would be, but they were ready to face it.
Author's note: First, I should mention that while I've only seen snatches of Destiny, I do know a fair amount of what happens from other sources. In my opinion, Destiny is substantially inferior to SEED, and the canon version of the events depicted here is one of the biggest reasons. The idea that Athrun Zala would even consider going along with something as self-evidently immoral as the Meer Campbell fraud doesn't even rise to the level of idiotic. After the later events of the previous series, his ONLY believable place is with his friends on the Archangel.
Before anyone questions my having Dearka in red, let me say that I'm well aware of canon in that regard, I just think it's silly. Yzak and Dearka were both sentenced to death; if they were both pardoned, having Yzak promoted and Dearka demoted defies all logic.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8310
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Atomic Gaz
"You're evilness," Minimus' voice was heard, breaking the silence previously only broken by the occasional slow beeps of the computer. The radar appeared to be empty, save for a bunch of things Maximus was not looking for. "Your evilness," Atomic Betty's ship had apparently disappeared around this area. The sensors on Maximus' ship indicated that it made a light speed jump. He had been paying extra attention to Betty's moves lately. The ship always came in that particular direction. Maybe he was close to finding her secret home planet. "Your evilness," of course Maximus couldn't focus with Minimus constantly interrupting. "Your evil-ouch!"
Maximus watched with a glare as Minimus' head spun around rapidly. "Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate. I have an important mystery to figure out."
"But it's already past lunch time and I'm hungry." Minimus' head spun around to reveal a face on the opposite side of his head. While the first looked as if it was a little afraid most of the time, that new face looked angry. "If you starve me to death you won't find anyone else who puts up with you as your sidekick!"
For that remark, the double faced sidekick received a kick on the side, no pun intended. "I already know it's past lunch time, you idiot and I already had lunch." Maximus was expecting Betty's ship to return to that spot, but that had not happened yet and he was getting impatient.
"Can't you land on that planet over there so I can have a nice relaxing lunch break? Eating on the ship makes me feel kind of space sick," Minimus returned to his normal face, which spun rapidly showing his angry face to finish the sentence, "you inconsiderate," he paused spinning his head around again, back to his normal face, "genius super villain." he finished in a last hope of not getting kicked again. Miraculously Minimus didn't get kicked, not so surprising, he got punched instead and then he got kicked.
Minimus rolled on the floor by the force of Maximus' kick, until he came to the teleporting beam platform of the ship. "You can go eat your lunch, but not a word of complaint after you get back." Maximus threw Minimus' lunch box at him, landing a hit right on the head that made it spin some more. "You have ten minutes." Before Minimus could complain about his short lunch hour, which wasn't even an hour, Maximus activated the beam, sending the sidekick down to the near by planet. It was planet Earth.
Minimus landed in what appeared to be a normal neighborhood, except for the green puppy running around in circles screaming, apparently frightened by Minimus' sudden appearance out of thin air. "It's okay little doggy, don't be scared."
The green puppy stopped running and looked at Minimus. "I want a taco!"
Minimus blinked in surprised. He switched faces and back again several times, keeping the normal one. "How did you know I was having tacos for lunch? I guess dogs really do have a good sense of smell, too bad his evilness hates them. You're a strange dog. You're green, which is pretty normal, but you have four legs, no antennae and only two eyes."
"I want a taco!" The green puppy repeated.
"Alright I'll give you a taco," Minimus sat down on the sidewalk and opened his lunch box. He shared his tacos with the strange puppy, then the puppy revealed a secret. Minimus watched as he removed a hood to reveal it was actually a robot in a strange dog suit.
"That was yummy! You know what else is yummy? Cupcakes! I took some stuff out of my head to make room for the cupcake!" A compartment opened up on the robot's head and a cupcake popped out. "Want some, friend?"
"You'll share your cupcakes with me?" Minimus asked a bit surprised.
The robot nodded his head, making odd noises as if there was something loose inside it. "Yup!"
"Aw, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me!" By the time they where done hastily eating, the ten minutes Minimus got for lunch were almost over.
"I'm Gir what's your name?" The robot asked.
"Minimus," the literally two faced alien replied.
"Let's go watch TV!" Without waiting for an answer, Gir dragged Minimus inside.
When Gir opened the door, a pair of poorly built robots came out and automatically said, "welcome home son!"
Meanwhile, outside the house, a beam coming from a ship on the atmosphere collided with the empty sidewalk where Minimus once was. "Where did he go?" Maximus wondered when the beam came up empty. For all Maximus knew, that planet may not be as peaceful and pre-contact as he thought. Maybe it was all an act to lure unsuspecting victims into their trap. Maybe if he hurried, Minimus could still be alive. In the middle of an energetic panic attack, probably because he drank too much coffee, Maximus grabbed a large bazooka and beamed him self down to that planet.
Upon his arrival on the unknown planet, which was actually Earth, Maximus saw a green alien being chased by a human. The alien, possibly an irken, with a badly done disguise consisting of contact lenses and a wig, entered a house in a hurry. The irken shut the door before the two robots could finish saying, "welcome home son!"
The human, who had a really big head, stopped and looked at Maximus. "Isn't it a little early for Halloween?" He paused as his alien detection device, which looked like it was built out of a calculator, started to beep rapidly. It was picking up another signal that was not Zim. His archenemy might have reached the safety and refuge of his base, but there was another alien right in front of him. "You're not human!"
"You're not smart, not at all. Obviously I'm a lynx," Maximus spoke with a certain air of feline pride.
"Another alien," the human boy cheered. "I'll just have to capture you instead and take you to Mysterious Mysteries so they'll finally take me seriously!" The boy pulled out a strange looking device from his coat, like an oddly shaped box with wires sticking out, and pointed it at Maximus.
Ignoring the device, which Maximus believed was too low tech and unworthy to present a threat, the lynx poked the boy's forehead. "Is that actually your real head? It's so big. I haven't seen all that many humans, but yours has to be the biggest head I've ever seen."
"You're not taking me seriously! Don't you know who I am? I'm Dib and I'll become the best paranormal investigator ever!" But the boy was being ignored as Maximus had decided that he was no longer curious about the human's big head and instead went inside the house the irken had gone into.
"Welcome home son!" The two robots at the door greeted him as they always did whenever someone opened the door.
"There's an intruder?" The Zim dashed to the door. Then he saw the being in his living room was not Dib, but the lynx he saw on the sidewalk before.
Maximus was glaring at Minimus, who was sitting on the couch watching TV with Gir. "I'm here to get my sidekick." Maximus placed his oversized bazooka resting against a wall and walked over to Minimus then hit him on the head.
"That creature is your sidekick?" Zim half said and half asked, while poking at Minimus with the end of his spider legs, which came from the 'pak' on his back.
"He's my new friend!" Gir cheered.
"Quiet Gir!" Zim yelled.
Gir's eyes changed from their normal blue to a glowing bright red color. He saluted in a tone of voice much less high pitched than the one he normally spoke in. "Yes sir!"
"Does he have a split personality?" Curiosity was in Maximus' nature.
"Sometimes he does. Judging by the two faces your sidekick creature has, I would say he has a split personality also. It seems we have something in common. But what are you doing here on this planet?" Zim asked.
"Besides looking for my sidekick," Maximus paused and hit Minimus again making his head spin around and around yet again. Gir giggled watching the spinning head.
"That looks like fun! Let me try!" The cute little robot requested. "Let me try, let me try, let me try!" Gir repeated over and over.
"Go ahead..." Maximus thought this would be amusing.
"I don't want to be hit," Minimus' complaint was interrupted when Gir made his head spin.
"Wee!" Gir cheered and sent Minimus' head spinning gain.
"It seems we have the same luck with minions," Zim commented.
"It would appear so," Maximus agreed. "As I was saying, other than looking for my sidekick, I'm here looking for Atomic Betty. Does she live on this planet?"
"Atomic Betty... Nope never heard of her, but surely you've heard of me, the one and only Invader Zim! I'm the Tallests' favorite," Zim proudly declared.
Maximus had heard of an irken named Zim who ruined the irken empire's conquest plan Operation Impending Doom One. Now they were trying again with Operation Impending Doom Two. However, their activities were taking place in far away galaxies out of the Galactic Guardians' jurisdiction. Maximus thought that Zim was vanished, but apparently he was given a pre-contact planet to invade and conquer; how pitiful for an invader. Maximus paused before saying anything, suddenly it all made sense. Atomic Betty must have been stopping on that planet to check on Zim and make sure the incompetent irken didn't cause any actual trouble. This was not her secret planet, it couldn't be; it was too primitive to possibly be the planet of Atomic Betty. "Sure I've heard about you," Maximus spoke with a hit of sarcasm that Zim conveniently missed. "Surely you have heard of me also. I am the great Maximus IQ, intergalactic supreme super villain!" The lynx finished his introduction with an evil laugh.
Zim joined in laughing, even if he had no idea who Maximus was. "Of course I know who you are," Zim lied for the sake of sounding as if he was well informed. "You're the one who's trying to destroy that thing..."
"The Galactic Guardians," Maximus supplied.
"Yeah! That's the thing," Zim nodded. They both laughed evilly again for no apparent reason, possibly just for the fun of it.
After a while, Maximus headed out, grabbing his bazooka on the way out, and a very dizzy Minimus followed. Maximus activated his ship's beam, not realizing that a familiar red haired girl stood near by with two others. As far as Maximus knew, Betty must have been caught between jurisdictions and unable to do anything about Zim, but she would keep an eye on his operations. It couldn't be her planet; if it was, she would have kicked the irken off it a long time ago. Beside, that space rock they dared to call a planet was far too primitive for Maximus' only worthy rival.
"Did you see that?" Dib yelled. Betty looked up for a second, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
"Betty, behind you!" Gaz called out.
Betty returned her attention to the videogame she was playing with Gaz. Their Game Slaves II's where connected by a cable as they played 'Attack of the Piggies VII: The Revenge' in team mode. Dib slapped his forehead. For some unknown reason, he had the feeling Gaz's new Canadian friend would understand about aliens, but apparently she clearly knew nothing about aliens. He didn't know why he thought that in the first place. Temporarily giving up, Dib headed back home.
Betty was in the United States with her parents visiting some family, that is fully human family, as in not from Beatrixo's side. She took the opportunity to play some videogames with Gaz and hang out outside of the Galactic Guardian Headquarters. "How's everything going with Invader Zim?" Betty asked.
"Everything's fine," Gaz replied as she blasted a flying vampire piggy on the videogame. Betty's character followed, blasting another piggy, this time a zombie piggy. "My brother thinks he's the one saving the planet. He has no idea I'm always following and watching from hiding to make sure he doesn't mess up. I'm the one who sets thing up to save the Earth and Dib and Zim doesn't even notice. I've been keeping a close eye on Zim and watching out for any signs of Tak's possible return, just like Admiral Degill assigned, but I have nothing out of the ordinary to report so far."
"Speaking of Dib, are you going to recommend him to the Galactic Guardian academy any time soon?" Betty asked.
Gaz took a second to think about it. "Not yet; he's not ready yet. He gets all worked up about aliens and it can be distracting. I'll let you know if he's ever ready to handle things in a civilized way, but it may take a while. Here it comes, the final battle." A gigantic monster piggy appeared on their game screens and both atomic girls attacked with everything they had. Soon enough the monster fell and the videogame was won, just as easily as their galactic missions.
The End
Disclaimer, I do not own Atomic Betty and I do not own Invader Zim.
xoxox xox xoxox
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8311
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Authoress: LollipopBaby125
Pairing: Sasuke/Ino
Summary: When a priceless masterpiece is stolen all evidence points toward the biggest thief of all time. So what happens when he meets the insurance agencies most cunning –and seductive- investigator?
Yamanaka Ino stared at the computer screen. She couldn't help but jump when she heard a voice behind her.
"So, you get here at 7a.m, you work until 10, you eat lunch at the park by yourself, you have no friends in the office-"
"Well, haven't you been paying attention" Ino said as she turned her chair around to face the man.
"I'm worried about you." He confessed.
"Maybe I like being alone," She said as she directed her attention back to the computer screen. "Maybe I'm getting over someone."
"Well, you know what they say, 'Nothing gets you over the last one, like the next one.'" The man said as Ino turned around with a smile on her face.
"Is this your way of asking me out, Shikamaru? Huh?" She asked.
"Well, um… not if you're going to say no." He said as Ino laughed softly.
"You may be right" He said as he dropped a file on her desk. "He was here this week."
"He flew back to Tokyo this morning?" She said a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"I think we should send a couple of guys after him. Ya know, see what he's up to." Shikamaru said as Ino chuckled.
"I know this guy." Ino said.
"Do you?" he retorted.
"Yeah!" Shikamaru sighed at her answer.
"I remember when I was in the bureau. We sent a couple of guys after him-"
"I know, I know. They disappeared. I know the story." She said.
"And these were both good agents." Shikamaru said.
"They were, also, both men." Ino replied. Shikamaru sighed as he looked down.
"What are you using as bait?" He asked.
"The one thing I know he wants." She said as she handed him a nearby magazine. Shikamaru studied the cover. A gold ancient Chinese mask was on the cover.
"Why not the Mona Lisa?" He asked as he set the magazine down.
Ino shrugged. "Our guy likes a challenge." She responded as Shikamaru looked at her.
"Come on." She pleaded. Shikamaru sighed again for the fourth time.
"I want this back." He said as he put a gun on top on the magazine.
I couldn't update the other stories cuz im on a time limit so gotta go a quick preview of the next chapter.
Rule #1: Never carry a gun. If you carry a gun, you may be tempted to use it.
I have a proposition for you.
If I don't like your answers you're going out the window
Rule #2: Never trust a naked woman.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8312
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Title: S.O.S
Pairing: Matt X Mello
Rating: NC- 17
Warnings: Severe Violence, Rape, but most important Unrequited Love
Summary: When the unthinkable happens to Mello, it's up to Matt to save him. But how can Matt bring Mello out of his shell again when Mello's strongest fear in the world is being touched?
Chapter Number: #1
Author Note: Takes place while Mello and Matt are both in America, never been to Japan, can't write about what goes on in Japan. This isn't a very dark fic, even though it's plotted out to be. There's more Matt trying to comfort an overly traumatized Mello. Meaning, lots of cute Matt X Mello fluff scenes. However, for the first few chapters there will be no sexual intercourse between Mello and Matt. Basically saying, it's a cutsie fic with an extremely dark beginning.
It'd been five weeks since Matt had heard from him last. He'd said he had to deal with one more suspect and he would be home. For Mello that could mean minutes, hours, or days, but never weeks. It was strange, but the Kira case was a strange case, so Matt didn't worry. After all, Mello had a way of just vanishing off the face of the earth from time to time. It was only natural for him to go missing. However, this very train of thought was what, at the moment, Mello was fearing the most..
It'd been five weeks since Mello was walking home, tired of the stress caused by the case, and tired of hearing all of the people cheering and supporting a mass murderer. Five weeks since a crazed man grabbed him from behind and drug him off to a deserted alley way and proceeded to beat the shit out of him until he was unconscious and then drag him off. Five long weeks since he'd woken up, stripped down to null the only things on him were a pair of handcuffs, in an empty cement garage, alone in the cold dark. Thirty five days since he'd come face to face with his attacker who claimed he wanted a woman, but a pretty little sissy boy would do. 840 hours since he'd been beaten by the crazed man during an attempt to escape and then repeatedly raped by the bastard. An act that to that very day and minute had failed to cease...
It seemed as if every four or less hours the man would come and find some way to injure Mello in a new place not yet injured before and then molest him for at least an hour up to four hours at a time. The man kept Mello only hand cuffed at first, but after ten failed escape attempts and three broken ribs later Mello found himself in shackles as well.
During the five weeks of imprisonment and torture Mello had been fed once, and only because he'd agreed to 'behave' and perform sex acts on six of his captors friends, all of them males...And watered but once a day, and only three spoonfuls of water.
In one week Mello began to fear the man with everything he had in him, body, mind, and soul. And in less than three he began to fear all of the people that he saw. And in the entire five weeks, Mello began to fear everything. Any loud sound meant someone was coming to hurt him, any object he'd see was used as a punishment tool. Everything from pieces of paper and light bulbs to nails, staples, and scissors. He feared anything that entered the garage, his prison...Anything and everything frightened him, and he hated it.
Despite everything that happened Mello still held onto his pride as if for dear life. He would try his best to suppress whimpers and screams from the misery induced on him by his keeper, but only ever managed to save his tears for after he was sure the man was gone and not coming back. He'd managed to keep everyone from seeing him cry and was not about to allow this jack ass to see him break down.
Mello had found a favorite spot on in the cold garage... The one place where he hadn't been violated...The far left corner. When all acts were done and everyone had left, he'd curl into the fetal position trying to get some warmth, hide his face in the corner, and press his body as close to the wall as he could trying to get as far away from the door as possible.
That's where he lay now. Alone, in the dark, at least for the moment.
The dim light clicked on.
"Hey Doll, what are you doing way over there? Get over here!" Doll, his acquired pet name by his captor. The man knew how Mello was about that one spot, how he felt about that one spot. He had had many spots. And the man knew that every time he took one of those spots away by raping him there, Mello would go into a panic, and the sex would be bad until the prisoner found a new spot. And with that being the last spot...well...there'd be no clue as to what would happen to the little blonde captive.
Mello rolled over to look at the man, the man he despised and feared. With a grunt of pain, three un attended broken ribs, several bruised bones, countless infected flesh wounds, and a sore and tired 'sex hole' , as his captor called it, were very difficult to get moving without a fresh jolt of pain with every attempt, Mello began crawling to a neutral area of the garage floor, trying to squirm away from his spot, but not too far knowing that if it hurt to get away from it before sex, it was going to be even worse trying to get back.
Not an inch of the floor went without a splatter of Mello's blood. It had become a decoration of sort, like paint on the floor. Even some of the walls were decorated with the red liquid, and after one cruel, sick act, some of his blood managed to get splattered on the high ceiling.
"I said come here!" The man emphasized his words by flashing the metallic buckle on his belt. A silent warning that if Mello didn't obey, that large piece of Metal would be beat into him.
Mello did as instructed, grunting and whimpering as he dragged himself towards his keeper. A sick man with a twisted grin and numerous friends and sex toys...actually...to this man...everything was a sex toy. As close as he got to the man and the threat to back up the man's order, Mello did not inch past the center of the garage, he never did.
"That's a good boy." The man came the rest of the way towards Mello. Yet another thing Mello learned to fear. Anyone coming near him. If they came close enough to make physical contact he would be hurt and he knew it.
The man grabbed him painfully up by the bangs of his hair lifting him to his knees. That's when he first saw it. The man had a cell phone in his pocket. Mello wasn't stupid, he knew better than to ogle at it or try to grab at it, he just looked away the instant he saw it and stared up at his captor with unwillingly fearful eyes.
"I noticed it a while back, that your sex hole was getting raw and less enjoyable for me...because of that...I had to tell a few friends that they couldn't come over to play with you today."
"Th-thank you," Mello said weakly, his voice, though tired and strained from yelling, held a great amount of bitterness as it recited it's trained response.
"But this also means that I can't enjoy you for myself the way I like to...so you're going to have to be extra good with your mouth today and not bite. If I'm unsatisfied you'll get beaten and you won't be watered for three days. And on top of that I'll make sure all of my friends come to play with you." The man violently tugged on Mello's hair causing an involuntary whimper to seep past his lips. "Are you going to bite me?" Mello shook his head, defeated, and the grasp on his hair disappeared. "Now don't move and I'll get you some water. Extra water today...you look sick." The man chuckled and left.
/no shit asshole I've looked sick for days. if you'd feed me I'd be more attractive!/ Mello's mind begged to scream these words, but he held his tongue, he could not fight this man. He hadn't the energy nor the will anymore.
When the man returned he had a full bottle of water, some generic brand of purified water, heaven in a bottle. Mello couldn't take his eyes off of it.
"Do you want this, Doll?" Mello nodded and stared at the man, pleading with his eyes. "Then who am I to deny you of what you desire most in this world?" The man un capped the bottle and held it to Mello's lips. He tipped the bottle slowly watching as if amazed at how Mello managed to get every drop into his mouth and down his throat, emptying the bottle in less than ten graceless gulps. "That's a good boy, don't waste any of it." Even after the bottle was empty the man watched amused as Mello desperately tried to lap up every drop his tongue could reach.
When the man tried to pull the empty bottle from Mello's lip, he grabbed it with he's teeth and held onto it, trying to get all he could, still thirsty, trying to substitute water for food. The man's hand connected with Mello's cheek in one swift blow that left Mello on the floor, whimpering as his broken ribs stabbed against organs and flesh.
"No water! Three days!" The man yelled, Mello stared at him hurt. Was it really unexpected of him to be completely against letting the bottled heaven leave his lips? The man pulled Mello up by the hair again, back on his knees. The man undid his fly and Mello's eyes brushed past the cell phone again. As the pants sagged to the bottom of the crazy bastards ass, the cell phone was pushed slightly out of the pocket, even more exposed. Once again Mello refused to allow himself to focus on it. Instead, he focused ninety percent of his attention on the member that was being forced into his mouth. The other ten percent was pretending that the member belonged to Matt.
Mello was secretly superstitious. As long as he had been held captive he believed that it was because he'd left his rosary at his and Matt's apartment. He believed that because of that little fact, God was no longer looking out for him. But while his captor was in ecstasy as he prepared to orgasm, it was as if God had just come back suddenly.
For some reason, as he began to cum, the man stuffed his hands into his pockets which somehow made the cell phone fall free. But what surprised Mello the most was that the man didn't even notice. Mello made a mental note that when the man was completely finished, he would make sure to fall onto that cell phone to block it from view as the man left.
His plan went well. The man forced him to swallow, pushed him over violently, spectacularly with his hair completely covering the little object from view, pulled up his pants and left. Not forgetting to turn off the light.
Mello trembled hard. Could it be possible that he had fooled this man? That he had taken the cell phone without the man noticing? Was it possible that he could finally be set free?
The man was somewhat kind to Mello. He noted how much Mello panicked if his arms were held behind his back, so he allowed them to be cuffed in front of him, allowing Mello enough movement to open the cell phone and dial the only number he knew was safe.
First instinct would be the police, but the police were searching for someone of his description at the time being. He couldn't trust them, but he could trust a certain red-head chain smoker who he happened to love...a lot.
The phone rang four times. /Please God, Matt. Answer the phone. Stop playing your game for five minutes and answer the phone. I don't think I'll have time to try to call you back. The man will know his phone is missing sooner or later and he'll come here first to get it. Please answer...please!/
"Yo." That familiar, neutral voice. Matt... for once in his life, Matt had answered the phone after being called only once. God was with him.
"Matt...I-it's Mello. I-i need your help." Seven words spoken and Mello's voice was already tired.
"What is it Mello? Where the hell have you been? You sound awful, did you catch a cold?" It was so like Matt to take nothing seriously.
"Matt...please help me. I-I don't know where I am. Some guy...jumped me a really long time ago. You have to come get me out of here..."
"Mello? Hold on a second and I'll be able to figure out where you are."
"I don't have a second...Matt. He'll know I have his phone, Matt. He'll find me, and he'll hurt me again. He'll kill me this time for sure. Hurry..." Mello heard various noises in the background. Computers starting, boxes being opened and tossed around. Thirty long, terrifying seconds later and Matt replied.
"Alright, Mello. I know where you are. I've traced the phone to some guy's house. Tell me, where is he keeping you? What can you see?" Matt sounded worried and a smile almost covered Mello's lips. Matt loved him.
"I-I can't see anything. B-but I know that I'm in a garage." Mello whimpered, feeling his consciousness start to slip. He knew the by getting excited about reaching Matt had drained important energy.
"Mello, you aren't too far from here, I should be there in about fifteen minutes. Can you hold out that long, or should I risk speeding on the freeway?" Even though it sounded like a joke, Matt was being serious.
"Please hurry. A-and when you get here...the man...is always armed with...some..." a long pause "thing." Mello closed the phone and let out a sigh. Matt was coming for him. Matt was strong and powerful. Matt could beat the man, at least now that he knew what to expect. He left the phone on the floor and crawled back to his spot in the corner against the wall where he lay no longer even tried to hold onto consciousness. It wasn't worth it. Matt was coming. He was safe. The man would see the phone right away if he came into the room, but there's always the chance of the slight thought that Mello was too afraid to use it and crawled away from it. It was unlikely that if he'd called the police that he would go to sleep and wait for them to come. No, he'd want to be awake for that.
Mello awoke to the sound of the door being swung open and the light clicking on. it wasn't Matt. He knew that. It was his captor, and at that moment, Mello feared death.
"So that's where my phone went. You didn't call anyone did you, Doll?" Mello rolled over and stared at the man.
"Yes," he said. There was no point in denying the obvious. The man's face contorted with anger.
"Who the fuck did you call!?" The man picked up his phone and opened it, searching for the last dialed number.
"He called me." A thick voice. The man turned around fast, clutching for the pocket knife he always had on him, but it was too late. Matt swung down a bat and crashed it into the man's skull leaving the man on the floor, looking dazed and clueless. At least for the moment. "Mello, are you alright?" One glance and his words changed, his temper flared. "God damn! Mello! What the hell did he do to you?!" Matt glared down at the man at his feet. With hate in his eyes he began thrashing the man again with the bat, fueled by the horrid images of Mello, bound and bleeding, and half dead on the floor, Matt bashed the man's skull in at, at least, two different places before he delivered his final blow, killing the man.
He dropped the bat. He wasn't the type of man to kill people. He didn't like to kill people, but nothing gave him more pleasure than killing that man. That sick man who hurt Mello. He stared at the floor, not wanting to look at Mello, his lover and best friend, laying there half dead.
"Matt...help me out...come on...move." Mello stared at him. Wanting desperately for Matt to come for him, but fearing greatly each step Matt would take towards him, each movement Matt would make to touch him.
"Mello...Wh-what did you let him hurt you for!?" Mello smiled weakly, knowing that the question was Matt's way of trying to making sure it was really Mello he was looking at, not an illusion or a mirage. "God..." Matt looked around at the garage. All of the blood and the obvious splotches of something else. "Mello...i-is a-all of this b-blood..."
"It's mine," Mello said, numbly as if he had spoken no more than an answer to a simple math problem.
"Oh god Mello!" Matt walked over to Mello as quickly as he could, wanting to find someway to take the horrid look of despair out of his lovers eyes. He barely noted how Mello turned his hip preventing Matt from seeing his groin. It wasn't something that Matt had never seen before, it was just...the fear. Mello was afraid to let Matt look at him. At the moment Matt was no more than a stranger. And who in the world wanted a stranger to look at the sex organs?
Matt kneeled on the floor in front of Mello and caressed his cheek gently, his eyes scanning the body, taking in every bruise and wound. Without thinking he made a feeble attempt to embrace the flesh and bone figure before him, only to have Mello jerk back violently in an attempt to break free of the touch.
Mello trembled and breathed heavily. He didn't want to back away from Matt, but he didn't want to be touched either. But most of all he didn't want to hurt Matt, who looked completely devastated, not understanding why Mello wouldn't allow him to hug him.
"M-my ribs. H-he broke three of my ribs, I-It hurts. I'm sorry." Mello stared at Matt helplessly. "I need a doctor Matt. I need them to remove the ribs and that's all. Once they fix that I'll sneak out. I can fix wounds, but... bones I can't." Mello whimpered and Matt nodded, still hurt.
"Where are the keys?" He said, pointing at the handcuffs. Mello shook his head. "Can you walk?" He asked, knowing the answer the instant he spotted the shackles.
"Barely." Mello tried to avoid looking into Matt's eyes. They looked so devastated and confused. Like a lost puppy trying to seek shelter in a rain storm.
"Can I carry you?" Matt asked, a hopeless look in his eyes. A hopelessness different from Mello's.
Mello nodded. "Just, be gentle...you know?" Matt tried desperately to prevent Mello any discomfort, but it was next to impossible. Mello's back had been torn to shreds, obviously by whips, and two of the broken ribs Matt could feel stabbing into his forearm as he lifted Mello up, knowing that they were none pressing against organs inside of Mello causing him to be hurt. There was no way around causing him discomfort.
"I-I'll take you to the living room. He has a large couch I can lay you there and try to find something to get the chains off you." Chains. Mello knew Matt only said it to shelter himself from the reality that Mello was in cuffs and shackles like a slave.
Mello wanted to say no, to tell Matt not to leave him alone, that he'd been left alone for too long, but he decided against it. Matt was already panicked enough, he didn't need more stress.
Matt did as he said he would. left Mello on the couch, returned to the garage, locked the door so if, by some satanic miracle, the man had somehow survived and would be able to get up and attack, he'd be locked in. He then returned to Mello and began looking over the locks on the 'chains,' as he called them.
"Simple," Matt said. Despite the softness of his voice Mello still flinched at the suddenness of the words. Matt frowned. "I can pick both of them with a bobby pin. Think he has any?" Mello breathed heavily, Matt was unsure as you why.
"H-he does," Mello said, a tremor running down his spine. Even bobby pins were sex toys for the crazed man.
"I'll be right back, I'll check his room." Matt offered Mello a weak smile and turned and searched the upstairs for the man's room. It took him ten minutes to return, six bobby pins, just incase some break. Mello panicked at the mere sight of the tiny metal hair accessories.
The instant Matt placed one on the bobby pins in the lock to the handcuffs Mello jerked back against the couch hard trying to get away from the tiny wire. He began breathing unevenly, his eyes filled with fear.
/He's changed so much.../ Matt thought sadly. /That man hurt him so much that he's actually afraid of something, and not even trying to hide it either... Mello.../ Despite how much Mello tried to pull away from the pins, Matt managed to undo the locks on both hands, smiling at the tiny fact that the cuffs hadn't been clicked on so tight that they broke the skin. It didn't even look as if Mello had been cuffed. But the shackles were different. Too many times Mello had jerked his leg causing the metal to dig into his skin, breaking the flesh open and allowing them to bleed and then get infected after the metal was repeatedly rubbed against the wounds.
"There, your completely free now. Do you know if he kept your clothes Mello? The last thing I want to do is put you in that sick fuck's clothes.
"I don't know Matt. But I'm cold." Mello stared at Matt emptily. Matt looked at his feet and then back at Mello's dull eyes.
"I'll tell you what Mello. This guy has a nice bathtub. I'll get you a bath ready and clean you up a bit alright? I mean, I can't take you to the hospital looking like this." It was the truth, most of Mello's skin was tinted red from blood, an easy fix.
"A-aright." Mello found himself even more reluctant to let Matt leave his sight again to prepare the bath, and even more fear as Matt picked him up again to carry him up the stairs to the awaiting bath. With each thing that Mello saw he flinched, some things he recognized, other things he didn't, but all were equally intimidating.
When the bathtub came into view Mello began panicking again. He knew the bath would do nothing but help him, but something about it scared him. Maybe it was the involuntary flashes of images in his mind of Matt drowning him. Matt would never even think to hurt him, but Mello was unsure of everything now. He was unsure of that bathtub, and of Matt.
The instant one of his feet touched the skin of the water Mello jerked back against Matt, his sudden jolt causing Matt to loose his balance and fall backwards, in the end drooping Mello who managed to slam his head on the sink on his way down.
Mello, yelped and whimpered, like a dog that had been beaten. He squirmed over to the corner formed by the bathtub and the wall and stayed there trembling.
"Mello! Are you alright?" Matt placed a hand on Mello's shoulder only to hear Mello gasp and tense up. "I'm so sorry Mello, I didn't expect you to flinch so badly." Mello said nothing. He'd found a new 'spot' and didn't want to move away from it. Not for anything, not even for Matt. "Mello..." Mello sighed softly as if to signal that he knew Matt was there. "You have to get in the tub Mello." Matt attempted to pull Mello from the corner as gently as he could only to hear Mello let out what sounded like a choked sob. "Mello? Did you get hurt? What's wrong with you?" Matt whimpered a little and Mello knew that Matt was trying not to cry himself. Matt never cried about anything, like Mello, but it was obvious that stress and hurt was eating away at him like termites on a wooden deck.
"I'm sorry...I-I got scared. Th-that's all." Mello turned his head away from the corner and looked back at Matt who had pulled his goggles down over his eyes, darkening them to make it harder to see if he was crying already or not. "Did you get hurt?"
"No! I'm fine." Matt forced a smile and reached to touch Mello's hair only to have the blonde jerk away. The smile vanished instantly.
"I can get into a bath myself you know?" Mello said, trying to take on his old personality. It barely worked, he didn't feel like himself. Weakly he tried to stand on his own, Matt supporting him like a crutch. One of his loose ribs stabbed at his insides causing him to whimper loudly and real with pain, but once he sat down in the tub the bone shifted to where he barely felt its presence at all.
Almost instantly the water turned a shade of pink which began darkening as Matt gently rubbed Mello's skin with a wash cloth, working off the dried blood. After a complete ten minutes the watered had turned a transparent red that made Matt's stomach churn. Mello had fallen unconscious.
After draining and refilling the tub twice, the water had finally turned just a very pale translucent pink from the fresh wounds Mello had acquired from Matt rubbing off infected scabs. With Mello asleep things became easier. As he dried Mello off to the best of his abilities he didn't have to worry about Mello getting frightened and flinching and managing to hurt himself.
He found six rolls of gauze and several boxes of Band-Aids in the bathroom cupboard. Matt propped Mello up against the wall and proceeded to disinfect all open wounds he could find with hydrogen peroxide and wrap Mello's entire back, nearly every lash wound had been reopened and needed bandaged, and six other sever wounds on Mello's arms and legs. Only ten minor wounds were found that needed Band-Aids.
Matt carried the unconscious figure of his lover and friend to the bed room and placed him in the center of the bed to rest while he scoured the house for Mello's clothes. Miraculously enough, he found them in a spare bedroom that was filled with numerous whips and other sex toys that all appeared to be stained with blood, most likely Mello's. The thought was sickening.
He took the clothes and headed back to Mello and began dressing the blonde who still remained unconscious. With the pants in place Matt couldn't help but notice how much weight Mello'd lost being with the man. His pants were loose enough that without their belt that were sure to fall right past Mello's hips down to the floor. The belt had to be tightened four notches past where Mello usually kept it. The thought was sad.
With all wounds hidden behind clothes, and Mello's face completely unharmed, he looked just like his old self, but one thing was missing. Matt pulled the rosary out of his pocket and twisted it around Mello's hand, not wanting to place anything around Mello's neck. Even in his sleep Mello fought against anything that even caressed the flesh of his neck.
Before turning to leave the room, Matt placed a soft kiss on Mello's parted lips only to have Mello whimper and roll over, scared, even in his sleep. He had been ruined.
Matt left the room and headed down to the kitchen. Mello had been starved, it was obvious, the least he could do for Mello now was give him something to eat and drink.
Opening the fridge Matt found numerous pieces of fresh food, unfortunately, nothing so simple as a TV dinner. Obviously the man was into fine dinning and had rich taste. Matt found numerous cook books hidden in the cupboard. He didn't want to do it, but he decided that it was more than necessary to at least attempt to make Mello a good meal. The poor guy deserved one.
It didn't need to be a big meal, but a decent one. And after thirty minutes of flipping through cook books and over twenty minutes of finding and measuring ingredients, Matt was prepared to attempt to make an edible dish all made from scratch.
In two and a half hours after all preparation was done Matt had managed to pull of a decent, unburnt meal for one. He chosen a seemingly simple main course, Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was, after all the only thing that he had all the ingredients to make. Two chicken breasts, compliments of the freezer, eight slices of Swiss cheese and small cutlets of ham, compliments of the fridge, a breaded coating made from cheap flour, paprika, and a little bit of some spice called dill weed that managed to get into the mix by accident. All in all making that main dish Matt managed to only get burnt twice. Once by oil from the skillet that it was fried in and a second time by bumping his wrist into the skillet when trying to flip over one of the folded up browning morsels. (He naturally removed his gloves to do the cooking as to not ruin them.)
For a quick side dish he found a fast and easy recipe for mashed potatoes that he some how managed to work on while attending the chicken in the skillet. He let the potatoes fit in as two sides. Usually one would have a main dish, mashed potatoes with some sort of vegetable as a second side, but no vegetables could be found and Mello wouldn't eat them anyway. He hated eating 'plants.' But Matt wasn't sure if that fact had changed. Mello was probably willing to eat anything.
Matt was carelessly, now tired of messing with food, throwing the food onto a plate when he heard Mello calling for him. Obviously terrified from waking up alone.
"I'm coming Mello!" Matt called loudly, but not quite a shout. He grabbed the plate, a fork, and two bottles of water out of the fridge, one for Mello and one for himself, and then headed briskly up the stairs to Mello. Mello who was no longer sitting on the bed, but huddled up in the far corner of the room, pressed up against the man's dresser. "Hey, Mello, guess what." Mello turned his head slowly towards Matt, eyes turning from frightened to pleading the instant he saw the plate of food. "It's not exactly the best but I made it for you. There wasn't any chocolate so there's no desert." He forced on a smile, but frowned quickly as he noticed how Mello refused to move. "Are you feeling any better?" Matt asked as he walked towards Mello who noticeably flinched at every step.
"Yeah... A-a lot better." Matt sat down on the floor next to Mello and sat the plate of food on the floor between them, not handing it to Mello knowing that he would flinch away from it. He did however hand him the fork, making sure that the point was facing down, not pointing towards the blonde that was already terrified enough. "Y-you made th-this for me?" Mello asked, accepting the fork after a moments hesitation. He eyed the bottles of water in Matt's other hand and reflexively grabbed one of them and uncapped it as fast as he could before drinking down nearly half of the bottle before Matt made him stop.
"You drink too much and you'll get sick. Try eating something, I worked hard on it for you." Mello smiled, an obviously forced smile, but it helped put Matt at ease. Mello was feeling well enough to crawl out of the bed and over to a corner, it proved that he wasn't in as bad of shape as he'd previously feared.
Mello stabbed at he chicken a few times before abandoning the fork by throwing it across the room and picking up the chicken with his hands and eating it that way. Eating liked the starved man he was, Mello nearly forgot to chew before swallowing.
He finished both pieces of chicken before he finally stopped eating to take another drink, this time finishing the bottle of water and staring at the one Matt had gotten for himself. Matt handed it to him glad to be of service. Mello picked lightly at the mashed potatoes but refused to eat more than three bites.
"Thank you, Matt," Mello said quietly before laying down on the floor, just barely missing the plate. "C-can I go back to sleep?" Mello asked, whimpering slightly, almost as if he expected Matt to tell him no.
"Of course, Mello." Matt grabbed the plate and attempted to stand only to have Mello gently grab onto his ankle, silently begging him to stay close by. "Mello, I'm just gonna take the plate downstairs. I'll be back in a second." Mello stared at him, his eyes pleading.
"No. Stay with me." Mello whimpered and Matt sat back down, placing the plate down a good distance away.
"Alright Mello. I won't leave you." Matt reached down slowly to stroke Mello's hair, and surprisingly, Mello didn't flinch. Instead he sighed and fell into unconsciousness once again. That's when Matt noticed it. Mello wasn't wearing his rosary. It wasn't on his hand where Matt had put it, and it didn't appear to be in either of Mello's pockets, so what had the blonde down with it.
He stood up, grabbing the two bottles of water and the plate, retrieved the fork and took them downstairs. Nearly the instant the dishes hit the sink Matt heard Mello scream. Fearing for the worst Matt sprinted back up the stairs to find Mello now huddled on the hallway, rather than where he'd been left.
"Mello? What's the Matter?" Matt went to put a hand only Mello's shoulder, Mello jerked away roughly, glaring coldly at Matt.
"You said that you weren't going to leave," Mello said, bitterly. "Aren't you aware that I've spent enough time all by myself? Where did you go?" After eating and a short fifteen minute nap, Mello's usual energy was restored.
"I'm sorry Mello. I'm trying to make it look less like someone else was here. It's gonna be hard enough getting out of here without being seen. Once someone stops in and sees that dead guy we're going to be main suspects. Oh yeah, where did you put your little crossy thing?" Little crossy thing meaning the rosary, Matt always called it everything but rosary, claimed that he didn't like the word rose.
"I put it over there," Mello said, pointing into the bedroom. "But don't go in there." Mello grabbed onto Matt's arm and held it as if for dear life.
"Why? What's in there?" Matt stared at Mello, knowing that there was no chance of anyone hiding in there, he'd already checked when he was searching for bobby pins.
"That bastards in there! He saw me. And he kept staring at me." Matt began wondering what Mello was even talking about. There was no chance that the man had survived being pummeled by the bat. Perhaps he was talking about a photograph.
Indeed, he was. Matt had managed to pry loose of Mello's grip and enter the room to retrieve Mello's rosary which Mello had left on the floor in front of the window. The man had a photo of himself with some woman on his dresser. It was a small picture and was surprised that Mello even noticed it.
"Here's your little crossy thing," Matt said, setting the rosary down on the floor in front of Mello who just picked it up and stuffed it into his pocket claiming that he didn't want anything to be around his neck.
Matt would've made an attempt to be more serious about the situation at hand, but he was sure that Mello didn't want him to be serious. To be serious at that time would cause Mello to stress, what he needed was something to make him laugh. It was obvious that he hadn't done much laughing in the past five weeks. Of course, Mello didn't laugh much, but at least usually once a day, mostly out of sick sense of humor.
"Do you want to leave Mello?" Matt asked with a blank expression.
"No shit! You think I wanna stay in this hell hole?" Mello managed to stand up weakly without Matt's help, obviously feeling a little stronger. "But I have to use the bathroom first." Mello walked weakly over to the open door of the bathroom.
Matt stayed in the hall, respecting Mello's privacy despite the fact that he didn't bother to shut the door. Trying not to pay any mind to the familiar sound of his boyfriend pissing, but the unusual reoccurring whimpers made it hard to ignore.
"Mello. Everything alright?" The sound of urination stopped, the whimpers didn't however they were interrupted and made unclear by the loud sound of the flushing toilet.
"No..." That was his reply.
"What's the Matter?" As if he didn't already have a clue. After going a long time without pissing, you almost always bleed.
"I want to go to the hospital." Mello came out of the bathroom looking more than depressed. Even if he felt perky and energetic, he was starting to realize that his body didn't exactly feel the same way.
"Alright, we'll leave after I use the bathroom myself." So Matt went to the bathroom, and during the thirty second period of his absence, Mello got bored and decided to open the only closed door he could see. The door to the spare bedroom.
The first thing Matt heard was a loud thud, and then frantic screaming and whimpering. He came tearing out of the bathroom after reflexively flushing the toilet, trying to zip his pants to find Mello huddled up against the open bathroom door, curling into the angle formed by it and the wall. /What is it with him an corners?/ Matt found himself wondering.
"You alright Mello? What's the Matter? What happened?" Then he spotted the open door to the guest room.
"That room! Th-that room! He's used everything in that room on me." Mello tried to get further into the corner formed by the door only to have the door start closing from him pushing on it. He began whimpering frantically, panicking the way he always did when he lost one of his spots.
"It's alright, Mello. He's dead now, he can't hurt you anymore. He's gone, and I'm here so no one will ever be able to hurt you again, alright?" Matt once again attempted to touch Mello's shoulder, to offer him some comfort. However, all he did was cause Mello to panicked even more. Jerking away from the hand managing to slam his head into the wall and then try to scoot away from his 'attacker.' "Mello, damnit! I'm not going to hurt you!" Matt yelled, mostly hurt, not realizing how intimidating his tone of voice was.
Nearly painfully, Matt grabbed Mello into a tight embrace, Mello jerked away at first, but soon dropped his efforts and merely trembled in Matt's arms, accepting the comfort Matt was trying to offer.
"I want to go to the hospital now," Mello said in a shaky voice. Matt didn't move for a moment, it was only when Mello started trying to flinch away again that Matt let go and stood up, helping Mello to his feet.
"Alright then, let's get going." It was always like Mello to want to get better quick, if only he knew how long it would take for all of his wounds to heal.
Alice von Wonderland
Closing Note: I would like to apologize for any misspellings or bad grammar that might have appeared in my story. The software I am using does not have a spell check, but I've done my best to fix all of my obvious errors.
Please Rate and Review
I'm not sure when chapter two will be up, but it should be soon. I have a plot for the chapter, but I'm not too sure that it will be as long or as interesting as this one. Mostly Mello getting out of the hospital (because no one wants to read about doctors and medicine and IV bags and limited visiting hours) and just wanting to lay on the couch 24 / 7. And most importantly Mello seems to be more timid than ever stretching Matt's patients to the breaking point. Will he be able to handle Mello's violent reactions to being touched or not? Just wait and see loves...
Until next time
Alice Von Wonderland
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A/N You know I don't own the series or characters, this story and attempt at humor is mine though. A sad, sad attempt at humor...are you laughing now?
Fucking worthless trash. Just look. Walking. Alone. Unprotected. It was like the golden opertunity. Usually the shortest trash of the team was atleast with that hot chick, what's-her-name or the monkey. Clearly he was none too interested in the names of those weaklings. Why bother remember some trash's name unless he was getting some? Of course if that girl would be willing to put out, he'd certainly make the effort to find out her name. He tended to become a different person when he wanted something. At the moment though the kind of action he was looking forward to at the moment was seeing how much blood that fucking midget had in him. He would just beat the shit out of him.
Why Agon? How could you do such a cruel thing to such a sweet little cutie? Obvious. He'd been beaten and humiliated by the little shit. No one could ever beat him without getting nearly killed afterwards. And besides, he was interested in women, it didn't occur to him how cute and molestable Sena was. (Sorry, had to add it ;D)
Things flew through his mind, delicious ways to throw him down and beat him to a bloody pulp. Break his frail little bones. The midget had no protective padding on him, he would be easy to snap in two. Of course the idea that stuck in his mind was a way that would make him look heroic, bleed the trash, and probably get a few girls' numbers. He casually strode through the crowded street, coming up behind the little football 'ace'. His sharp eyes darted around, making certain no one saw him bash the kid's head, knowing just where to hit to knock him senseless. He quickly caught Sena and lifted him with the utmost grace, bridal-style. A crowd stopped and looked to him and the boy in his arms, but he quickly put on his concerned face and lied about how his 'little friend' was diabetic and hadn't been eating properly. That got them away from the crowd and a few impressed girls that quickly jotted down their numbers and shyly slipped them into his pockets. What girl didn't like a hot, muscular stud that looked after his cute, innocent little friend. The diabetic story made the boy look like a sad case, thus it earned pity points.
He made it into an alley quickly, looking like he was taking a shortcut to the hospital, but he brought the boy deep enough into the alley that no one would see him. He tossed the limp body callously onto a heap of knocked over trashcans, the harsh wake-up being enough to bring him around quickly. But he still looked rather stunned and confused, looking up at Agon in utter bewilderment. Somehow that look only managed to piss Agon off even more than he already hated the little shit. The weak, terrified, tiny little shit was the one that beat him? He was outraged and insulted. Even trash like Hiruma he could accept beating him, only because he had a back-bone. (I'm sorry Sena...I do love you ;-; )
He twisted his large hand in the folds of the front of Sena's shirt, ignoring the squeak of alarm. He forced him against a wall, both hands gripping his shirt and pressing hard enough to give Sena trouble breathing. Though, the chances that Agon cared...slim to none. In all honesty he just wanted to cause the smaller boy as much pain and suffering as he could get away with. Taking full advantage of the small little body Sena had that he could toss around just like a little rag doll. (Of course more likely owned by Unsui)
A few kicks that sent poor little Sena tumbling and his actions were finally noticed. And by the worst possibly person. Of all people to run into...police he'd be fine with. But the overprotective captain wouldn't let Agon go with anything short of a black eye and a few broken bones.
Agon and Hiruma exchanged vicious glares, both looking about ready to kill one another or simply just to try to claw the other's face off.
Hiruma pulled out one of his guns from God knows where and fired a few warning rounds, enough to make Agon pull away from Sena. He sneered and kicked the runningback to his worthless captain. "You can't protect him all the time." With that he smirked and turned, walking away from Hiruma and his little pet. Maybe the shit captain didn't like when other people played with his toys. Agon couldn't care less if someone attacked one of his team, thus only thought it amusing to see that shit captain so riled up about it. People were replacable to him. Even Unsui, his own twin brother.
The pain in his face and cold tone of Agon's made Sena cringe and squeeze tightly to Hiruma. Usually it was Mamori coming to the rescue, clinging tightly to him. It was sort of a safe feeling to him. And since Hiruma wasn't really the clingy type, Sena just held tightly to him instead, eyes closed.
After the sounds of Agon's harsh feet on the ground was long gone Sena looked slowly up at Hiruma, finally realizing just who he was clinging to and quickly he moved back. He cringed a little and pulled back. Hiruma had on his scary angry face. Of course it was only instinct that made Sena assume it was his fault and he quickly muttered his apologies. It wasn't his fault Agon beat him up, yet somehow he felt to blame about Hiruma having to protect him...just like Mamori...but with weapons that didn't include a broom.
Sena pulled away and looked down at the ground, utterly racked with guilt. As to why, he wasn't completely certain why, he just knew that he was guilty of something.
He cringed and waited for the impending growl, scowl, or scolding, but it never came. He slowly looked up at Hiruma, frightened that he would see a look that could kill, but instead the demon looked rather irritaited. He grabbed Sena's chin and began moving his head from side to side, looking at how bad the hits had been. After he was satisfied he turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Sena.
"Fuckin dreads is right," he mused thoughtfully, speaking completely to himself and ignoring the little runningback slowly following him uncertainly. He cackled to himself as he looked through his black threat book. "But fuckin dreads is getting sloppy," he sneered. "Didn't seem to take anything into account." He cackled again.
The tone of his voice made Sena slowly ebb away in fear. His crazed captain was scary when like that. Sena didn't even want to know what lunacy went through his captain's mind when he laughed like that. It never meant anything good. Atleast his evil attention was aimed at Agon.
When Hiruma began to walk away from Sena, though, he deemed it then that he should keep to his captain's side. In all honesty he was still afraid that Hiruma was just waiting for him to drop his guard just so that he could then use the time to take action and scare the poor little boy senseless. It really did seem like something the sadistic captain would do. But nothing. Hiruma just looked to be coming up with some horribly insidious plot to somehow pay Agon back. Of course knowing Hiruma he would take it out on the entire Shinryuuji team. The poor unsuspecting bastards.
"Ahh...H...Hiruma?" he asked slowly. The shorter male glanced carefully at his captain, trying not to sound too worried about that evil grin that ripped his face in two. He was sore, yes...but whatever Hiruma had planned, he was sure no one deserved.
Hiruma flicked his forehead carelessly and continued to ignore him. His eyes were locked on his book, flipping the pages like mad, looking for something that only he knew.
That silenced Sena down till he realized that Hiruma had walked him home, shaking himself alert when he saw his house. Since when did Hiruma know where he lived? Since when did he--? No, some things were better left unknown.
"Go home now," Hiruma ordered before stalking off.
Sena could only silently stare after him. Though why...he wasn't certain. In all honesty he was a little...bewildered? Since when did Hiruma do things like walk people home? Or stand up for them? Or be...well...protective. He certainly was a good captain to look after his teamates like that. He smiled a little to himself before going into his house. He couldn't help feeling better even though he already had several bruises forming.
After a rather long and probing interogation from his mother he was allowed to go shuffle off to his room and sit and lick his wounds. He saw a few in the mirror and chances were Mamori would be none too impressed. He wouldn't be surprised if she blamed it on Hiruma. Then again maybe he wouldn't mind that. His 'big sister' seemed to be giving the captain too many googly eyes for his taste. She was like a sister to him...seeing her fawn over someone like him like that was a little...unnerving. And considering they couldn't stop arguing! OH! Damn Suzuna for putting those thoughts in his head. It seemed that all the females in his life were against him. Suzuna letting Hiruma put him in a cheerleading uniform, Mamori for getting notions on Hiruma, his own mother wanting him to get a girlfriend...wait...yea, those were the only females in his life. How pathetic was that? He sunk a little in his bed, hiding his face in his pillow. Eventually he fell asleep like that, but only after a good while.
The next morning he slowly got an inkling of just what Hiruma had planned. How he figured that? Well as usual Monta was screaming at his house just as Sena was piling food in his mouth (He did his best but still he could not seem to beat his friend), and the odd part about it was the other three waiting for him. He happy wave and smile both fell to the ground when he saw Jyuumonji, Togano, and Kuroki. None of the three looked terribly happy.
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A vein in Melissa Mao's head throbbed as she sat in Kaname's apartment, trying to break the news that she herself hadn't wanted to hear in the first place. Had dreaded, actually – five months of nothing, when nobody could find Sousuke dead or alive, when he could have been anywhere in the world. She had actually hoped that he'd taken advantage of his own disappearance and simply… disappeared. Started a new life somewhere else, far away from Japan and Mithril and the military. He had been so at home in desert surroundings that she thought he might have been in Arizona while everyone else was looking for him.
But he hadn't done that. He had gone too deep undercover, trying to wedge himself into North Korea without being suspected – it was a long-term assignment. He'd actually wanted it. And things had gone smoothly for the first few weeks, until his transmissions simply stopped. No one knew why – nothing had come out about a spy being discovered, and aside from the fact that Sousuke had completely disappeared, nothing else in the world was different.
It seemed to Melissa that something should have happened: misfired rockets, an uprising squashed, even a suspicious break-in somewhere to give them something to go on. But no, Sousuke was dead and there was no reason for it. Only eight people really cared what happened to the infamous little Japanese sand rat, but the ripples faded quickly after them.
"So that's it, then," Kaname said numbly, eyes on her shoes. "I guess – they all said his chances weren't good, so we should have seen this coming, but… it's official now." She swallowed. "Kurz told me after the first month that I shouldn't get my hopes up, you know, but I thought I could just say later that I was the only one who knew he'd be all right. Thought I'd rub his nose in it, you know?"
"I know," she sighed miserably. "I know. They… I mean, the coroner says he died quickly. Whatever happened, he wasn't in pain, and there's no sign of pre-mortem trauma."
The other girl didn't seem to register the morbid comfort. "Quick. That's good for him, I guess. I didn't –" And here, a quick swipe at her eyes. "Never mind. I'm sick of crying."
"It's okay to cry, if you want," she said uncomfortably – even for Sousuke, Melissa wasn't about to take on a weepy teenager willingly. No way. But it had to be all right to cry now – she had told herself every night before this that she would cry when his body was found, and not until then. Until then, he might be alive somewhere and in no need of anyone's tears.
Not so anymore. Eventually it would be her turn to cry.
"It's okay, but I'm tired of it," Kaname gritted, stamping on an urge to simply scream. "I've cried myself to sleep every night for five months now. I can't do it anymore."
An awkward silence stretched between them. "If you need anything…" she began uncomfortably. "You know that Kurz and I will be here."
Kaname nodded and sniffed quickly, teeth sinking into her bottom lip. "Thanks. Is Kurz okay?"
"He's… well, he's having a hard time with it," she admitted quietly. "We all are. He was the one who got the call from Mithril's forensic lab in Hawaii, and Kalinin told everyone else – he just wasn't expecting it. The rest of us got a little bit of a buffer. Anyways, the captain… we're having a memorial service on the submarine tomorrow. If you'd like to come back with me – I think you should be there," she said firmly, control returning to her. "We've been in the dark too long – I think it will be good for everyone to finally get some closure."
The other girl nodded and bit her lip further, blood blossoming quickly. "I'd like that."
The silence that followed was not awkward.
Not many outsiders could look out upon the sprawling deserts of Jordan and marvel at how lovely it was; for the man sitting in a parked Volkswagen Thing peering past two camels with a pair of high-resolution binoculars, it was as beautiful as any other arid, dry corner of hell. He waved a rolled-up newspaper at a persistent fly, but when he caught sight of the silly little red fez bobbing through the crowd, the fly was forgotten, and he began rifling through his bag for a silencer. God bless tourist shops, and that stupid fucking hat.
The binoculars wavered in his hand when a pair of icy blue eyes turned and seemed to look right through those fancy lenses, right at him. And the hat still looked stupid.
I hate it when they see me coming, he thought darkly, tossing the binoculars aside and assembling the rifle quickly. Didn't matter; the little British shit was dead meat whether he had time to get right with God or not.
Although – said British shit couldn't have possibly known he was marked for death. Marked at five million big ones, no less. An innocuous, if well-paying, hit.
He didn't bat an eyelash when the boy came walking up to his vehicle, one of the local street punks looking to make a buck or two. "I told you not to disturb me while I'm working," he said without actually looking at the child. "Was there some part of that you failed to understand?"
"Message for you, sir," the kid shot back, chin held high. "From Moscow."
Ah. He had left the boy with strict instructions to bring him anything from Moscow. "So get to it."
"They say they have news of the Mithril operative you've been keeping under surveillance," he delivered, proud of himself. "His remains have been positively identified after being discovered with the wreckage of a very large boat off the shore of North Korea. They know nothing else of it."
The gun lowered as the message unfolded. "Where did they hear that?"
"Monitoring Mithril's emergency channel."
He narrowed his eyes and picked up the gun again, aiming and shooting at the bobbing red fez with not-so-deadly accuracy. The hat shot off into the air as the bullet connected, and the wearer bolted away unhurt.
"Consider yourself warned," he growled, and then turned back to the boy. "They're wrong, so you know. He's not dead. If Moscow makes contact again, tell them it's not possible. Mithril might suspect we're listening to them."
"Will you not tell them yourself, sir?" The boy shifted on his feet.
"No, I won't."
"Where will I tell them you are?"
He was offered a chilling smile. "You won't tell them anything. I've got some personal business I'll be attending to; when I want to contact them, I'll do it."
The kid looked dejected, well aware that his salary was leaving as well. "Why, sir?"
"Because," Gauron said tightly, turning on his Volkswagen Thing and lighting his first cigarette of the day. "Anyone who believes Kashim is dead obviously hasn't met either of us."
The service proved to be one of the most miserable of Kaname's young life. As she went to a public high school, several students over the years had died for one reason or another. None of them had been real friends of hers, but the memorial services were both painful and drawn out.
This made all the rest look like picnics.
Aside from Tessa, it was a clearly military crowd in attendance, and most eyes in the room were dry. Kurz barely even saw her walk in the door, but it was only because his eyes were cloudy and distant. She sought him out quickly, more afraid of enduring this alone than disturbing him.
"Hi," she said softly, laying a hand on his arm.
He seemed to hardly register her presence. "He would have hated all this," he told her tightly. "He couldn't stand being the center of attention."
Kaname chose not to argue with him; she suspected that Kurz was the one who hated it more. Sousuke couldn't have cared less. "I hope it's not showy," she agreed. "It wouldn't be right."
"You know," he said emptily, "we still don't know why. His cover wasn't blown, no one saw anything out of the ordinary. It's so fucking hard to get any sort of info out of North Korea, no one will tell us anything –" He blew out a noisy breath. "I want to know why. I want to know if there was any way of stopping it, anything leading up to it." His jaw tightened. "I want to know if anyone benefited from it. I want to know if anyone had any clue. I want a piece of everyone involved."
She didn't know what kind of piece Kurz was after, but she wouldn't have minded one herself. It seemed a poor end to her long vigil.
She supposed it was normal for a ship full of hard-core militants to keep composure during a funeral. Tessa cried a little noisily a few times, and Melissa was nowhere to be seen, but beyond that it was so stiff and formal that she thought she might keel over. It was also a little strange to be seated behind the weepy Tessa and the stoic Kalinin, who did not bat an eyelash the entire time. In truth, he looked as far away as Kurz did.
Kaname herself felt a thousand miles away as well – something about the severity and finality of the service just seemed to make it more unreal than it already was. She hadn't known there were so many nice things to say about Sousuke, but they were nice things that she'd never heard him say one thing about: he was the only AS pilot to come to a draw with Kalinin (during the Lieutenant Commander's tenure as flight instructor), he'd survived five weeks alone in a South American jungle after a mission gone awry… a slew of things that were fascinating stories, none of which he'd ever told her about.
Kalinin himself did not get up and speak, which surprised her. She didn't actually know anyone involved with the ceremony outside of Tessa. The ones who had actually fought beside Sousuke remained seated and stunned, like Kurz and Kaname, as though they were waiting for him to walk in and end this strange procession. He never did.
It was in the hallway that Kaname saw the man for the first time –Kurz had wandered off to smoke a cigarette in the emergency stairway, and she still hadn't seen Mao that day. All the other faces on the submarine were strangers, so when she actually spotted someone familiar, it took a moment for her to comprehend who she had seen.
He didn't see her, which was good – only a handful of people on the sub would be able to place his face, and if he knew he'd just passed one of them… she might not have come out on top this time.
The very fact that she saw him at that exact moment chilled her, and she wondered if it were one of those Whispered things that happened sometimes. Because for a long time as she'd roamed the ship all day, she thought first of how she missed Sousuke, and the mere thought simply… expanded. She'd thought about how life would be different now, the way it was before he came to school with an automatic weapon on his first day. She'd spent so many hours fuming to him that he'd messed everything up, even though he only meant well. But she'd never gone so far as to think of her life without him.
It was like there was no happy medium. He was either there and in her way, bothering the hell out of her, or he was dead.
But it didn't really feel like he was dead – maybe that was just the shock, but some little part of her simply refused to call him that. Maybe it would pass, but so far it hadn't budged an inch. It had been there for five months of uncertainty, so when Melissa had shown up on her doorstep and said that he'd been found among the dead on a sunken cargo ship, she was understandably more upset than she'd expected.
News spread quickly among mercenaries, because she saw a handful of faces at his service that surprised her. It was like the entire world had heard.
She'd actually been a little surprised that she hadn't seen him there – of course, he was dead, too. But he'd come back from stranger deaths yet, and life was weird enough with Sousuke's funeral – his funeral, because he was dead– and so it just would have made sense to see him. Actually, it would have proven to her that Sousuke was really gone, for Gauron to show up at his funeral and bid whatever farewell he might have chosen (whether it was a dance of joy or a shooting spree). When the most persistent, unkillable man in the universe showed up – well, it was a little bit like having Death himself lounging in the audience, admiring his work.
That was actually what Kaname was thinking about when she saw him, and for a silly moment, she thought, Huh. Death is pushing a first aid cart around. Ironic.
Then, of course, reality clicked, and she jumped behind a fire extinguisher in case he chose to turn and look her way – as if the squeak of her shoes alone wouldn't give her away, but it was worth a try.
He kept on walking, though, and when she felt sure she was far enough behind him, she slipped back into the hall and began to follow him, stepping in time with him to mask her footsteps.
It didn't look like he had a specific destination; he wandered the floor aimlessly for nearly forty-five minutes. That was lucky enough, because an elevator might have gotten awkward. And Kaname was becoming a little giddy at the fact that he hadn't noticed her yet – a world-class assassin, and she was the predator.
Until, of course, the people in the hallway thinned slowly, and she had to make sure to step exactly when he did, and remain just close enough that he wouldn't see her if he tossed a glance back. Then there was the problem of breathing, and her sandals were making a faint slap against the metal floor, and her skirt rustled noisily –
"If you think," came his voice in the chilled hallway, "that you'll be able to follow me by holding your breath and hopping along in time to my steps to disguise yours, then I've got some bad news for you: I inventedthat one."
She froze in place. "You did not."
Gauron turned and gave her a frosty smirk. "But you can't prove it, Miss Chidori. Can you?"
"If you come any closer," she said delicately, "I'll scream so loud, they'll think you've dismembered me."
"Don't underestimate me," he replied. "Because I just might."
Okay, she decided. Don't give him ideas. I was just thinking about him…
"What are you doing here?"
Well. That was subtle.
"I thought you were going to scream," he reminded her.
"Only if you come any closer, and you haven't yet. Plus, that dismemberment thing. Why are you here?" she pressed stubbornly.
"I'm here to see a friend," he replied simply.
"You heard about Sousuke?" Kaname asked uneasily.
He sniffed. "I might have heard something."
Her own grief slipped to the back-burner for a moment. "His funeral was today," she said coldly. "If that's what you came for, you're a little late."
"He'll understand. I was always a little behind."
As far as Kaname knew, there were only two ways to cope with her grief: the smart way, and the not-so-smart way. Exuding frustration of any sort upon, not to mention taking it out on Gauron qualified as… well, not-so-smart.
Insane, even.
But her brain kept insisting, Doesn't anyone care that he's dead? Doesn't anyone understand that it's not fair? So not only did she get rather short with him, she might have been mistaken for pissy. Her hands balled into fists at her side, and there was an impressive amount of venom in her voice. "He'll understand," she repeated. "I'm sure he will. You're probably beside yourself with joy, aren't you? You jerk. How dare you come back here and pretend to give a shit one way or another about him? You never caused him anything but misery, you never did anything other than try to kill him – you're like the flip side of his coin," she decided frigidly. "Heads and tails, yin and yang. He really is dead now, you know – it's not just an elaborate hoax to trick you into leaving him alone. And frankly," Kaname added, murder in her voice, "he didn't deserve to die like that. If someone was going to die that day, for whatever reason or cause, it should have been you." She swallowed and took another quick swipe at her eyes. "So why are you here? Why isn't it him standing there while people talk about your tragic end?"
Her chin threatened to tremble, but she bit down on it. "Why isn't it Sousuke?" she demanded, and then her precious composure began to crumble.
Possibly for the first time since they'd met, he regarded her with a degree of severity. "Touching. I'd cry, but it seems you've done it for me." At her appalled, kicked-puppy look of shock, he sighed. "Forget it. I'm not here to deal with your hormones."
Kaname's face flamed bright red. "Then why in the hell are you here?" There actually seemed to be no logical answer to that question – Sousuke was dead and beyond torment, a gun had not yet been pulled on her, nor was there any mention of her status as a Whispered… it wasn't quite adding up.
"I want to see his – I'm looking for the sniper," Gauron replied haughtily, his words faltering for only a millisecond. "The cocky one. Weber."
"Kurz?" she said stupidly. That definitely wasn't what she'd expected to hear.
"His friend," he clarified with disdain, a little too tightly. "You caught me on my way to have a little chat with him."
"You came to meet Kurz?" she repeated.
"More or less." He flashed her a cannibalistic grin. "Of course, I'm hoping he's as exited to see me as you were; it's always a treat to have the element of surprise."
"Can't you just leave us alone?" she said weakly.
"I could," he shrugged, "but you're going to want to hear what I have to say first. If you don't buy into it, then you'll probably never see me again."
"Promise?" Kaname almost sneered.
There was a chilling finality to his words. "I promise."
That proved to be little comfort to her.
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June, 17, 2009 1:43 am
A/N: I have just finished the Thrid story to Worthless and Hopeless. It is called Powerless and can be found under my stories on my profile. Think you all that have read this story. I hope to see your next review real soon.
Nunnally: ::Gives everyone who reads this a apple:: An apple a day keeps the Dark Lord away! Voldie!
Voldemort: ::Twitches::
Makurayami Ookami: Think you for your review.
Sabaku no Sable: You made me laugh think you. And think you for your review.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8319
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Title: There's a Reason Not to Want This, But I Forgot
Characters: Gillian Foster, Cal Lightman
Rating: K or PG
Through 1x11: Undercover
Timeline: Set during the final scene of 1x11: Undercover
Word Count: 400
Summary: People were the sum of their choices, and she wanted to be a good person. Set during the final scene of 1x11: Undercover. Cal/Gillian
There's a Reason Not to Want This, But I Forgot
"You didn't just happen to find Alec's glasses the other night, did you? You thought he was having an affair." It was a dangerous question, but the words had slipped from between her lips, touching air: she couldn't take them back.
"I was afraid you were going to get hurt," Cal replied without hesitation, his hand settling on her arm. A simple touch, with simple words. Nothing was simple.
His honesty and his palm warmed more than just her skin. She struggled to keep from lifting her own hand to cover his and keep it in place. The act of wanting something didn't equal possession. If it did, she would hear Sophie's laughter every day, instead of imagining it in her dreams.
"You were protecting me?" she asked, unable to keep a note of wonder from her voice.
"Something like that, yeah," he said, with a small nod of confirmation. Pleasure winged through her, swift and unexpected. Undeniable.
For a second she let herself forget -- her obligations, her commitments, all the reasons why...
She caught herself.
A choice hovered in this moment.
People were the sum of their choices, and she wanted to be a good person. "You know the line we talk about? You know, the line we have to draw because we see things people are hiding? Things they don't want us to know... I think we should respect the line. I think it's best for both of us."
He didn't reply, just looked back at her, brow furrowed and eyes thoughtful, watchful, in the small golden circle of light that enveloped them. Seeing too much, as always, she was certain. His silence didn't escape her notice, and she knew him too well to take it for complete acceptance. If he had argued, she could have continued. Then she might have had a chance of convincing herself as she worked to convince him. But he didn't. So neither did she.
The weight of his gaze pressed against her, as solid and warm and real as that of his hand on her arm moments ago. Or had it been a lifetime? She finally glanced away. "Good night, Cal," she said, injecting finality and a firmness she didn't feel, into the words.
After three heartbeats, he spoke. "Night, love," he replied, voice hushed.
She sighed as he stood and walked away, leaving the casual endearment drifting in his wake.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8320
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By that kawaii chibi Dark Moon
Author's note:
Chibi Li: Oh no. You're not dwessing me up.
Chibi DM: But you'll be such a cute snuggles!
Chibi Li: Use Yue or Cwow. Dey make tha best babies.
Chibi DM: Come on Li. I'll give you a lollypop.
Chibi Seth: I wanna lolly.
All the chibi's: Me too.
Storm: DM are you being good?
CDM: *gives him big chibi eyes* Of course.
CLi: Alwight, but I wan' my lolly first.
*CDM hands CLi a sucker and turns him toward the changing room*
All the chibi's: Where's my lolly?
Character # (Eh I lost count)-Chibi Li
"DM are you sure about dis?" asked chibi Li, hiding behind the scenes.
"Of course. Now Action!" she called, cuddling up to her newly captured chibi hotties.
Li comes falling out of the sky in a porcupine costume and lands with an 'oof' on his butt. The well placed towels right in front of him.
"Hey who moved the towels. That hurt." Li said, small tears forming in his eyes.
"Oops, sorry 'bout that. I musta got the co-co-cordinates wrong." Chibi Heero said, then walked up on the stage and moved them to were Li was still sprawled on the ground.
"Okay now that that's cleared up let's start again." Li got up with Heero's help and went back to get into place.
Li came out of the sky again and landed on the towels, then rolled right off the towels to the floor.
"Try it again. Action!"
He rolled off again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
"Cut! Li you're supposed to stay on the towels dude. And we still have several more animals to do before we get to the end. Now could you please not roll off this time." Chibi DM asked, hands on hips.
"It's not my fault and every time I fall I hear laughing. Someone set me up." Li whined.
"I was laughing. You just look so cute when your eyes get big after you fall off." DM told him.
"I don't think it's so funny. Can we pwease just do the end of the commercial?" Li said, giving DM HUGE chibi eyes.
"Must...resist. Can't....give" Chibi DM stuttered but the eyes were too much and with a frustrated sigh gave in.
"Fine, but you have to do the Macarena when this is over."
Li gave an excited shout and ran to get into the snuggles the bear costume. DM smiled evilly as she rushed to the towels and placed another banana peel into the soft folds.
"Injustice!" Chibi Wufei shouted.
"Aw go slay a dragon." Chibi DM stuck her tongue out and went back to her directors seat.
"I'm weady!" Li called out.
"Alrighty then. Action!"
Li floated from the sky, using a towel as a parachute. He landed gracefully on the towels and managed to stay on. DM looked at him in shock, and checked her supply of banana peels. Li continued with the commercial.
"I make towels snuggley soft." then he giggled, causing Chibi Meilin to melt into a puddle of chibi goo and Storm to go 'awww'.
"And that's a wrap. Darnnit he should have fallen off." DM growled, then went over to the towels and began searching for the banana peel.
"Hey Onna!" Chibi Wufei called out, said object in his hand.
"Why you little...I'll get you!" DM ran after Wufei, an evil glint in her eyes.
Chibi Li: I hope I don't have ta do the Mac-macawena now.
Chibi Clow: You'll have to do it, just not now.
Chibi Li: -_-v I figered as much.
(They both watch as Wufei runs by with DM hot on his heels.)
Chibi DM: Get back here you justice loving freak!
Chibi Wufei: At least I'm not a baka onna!
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"You waited."
-The Lake House
"You really should think about getting someone to let that room Sherlock, it's not good to be cooped up alone like you are."
I let my eyes smile down at the woman in the parlor.
"I've got you Mrs. Hudson, besides who'd want me for a flatmate? If you can find a suitable one I will refrain from slowly demolishing the flat."
She smiled.
"No you won't, and I already have. Most of his things are already upstairs and he'll be back within the hour. You will behave won't you?"
I tilted my head.
"He's important to you, who is he?"
Her eyes lit up as she smiled up at me.
"John, John Watson. He actually owned this place before we took it over. He's a nice young man; don't go scaring him off with your silly adventures."
I let a small smile show.
"They're not silly Mrs. Hudson, and you get excited when you have something to gossip about with Mrs. Turner."
"Oh hush you! I tidied up a bit, not much mind, but it's obvious now two of you live upstairs. I'll send him up when he returns."
Her smile was soft, but her look held a lethal tinge to it—none of my games as she liked to call it. I nodded as she waved me off. I strode up the rest of the stairs and froze in the doorway; oddly enough, while admittedly there were a few new additions throughout the flat, it wasn't too noticeable, then again, not everyone was me. There were new books mingled in with my own, slotted in perfectly with my system or organization—the lack thereof actually. Medicinal texts mostly, so he was a doctor, how dull.
A closed laptop sat atop the secondary desk, not mine—then where, oh, that is generous. The chaos that once sat atop John's self-designated desk sat intermingled within the mess on my imposed desk, except every pile was in similar disarray as it sat on the previous desktop. Fascinating. The third and ninth steps creaked so I couldn't sneak upstairs to peek at his room; I had only been there once. Determining which room I wanted to let as my own; I'm a busy man, it was only logical to take the one on this floor.
There was a loose scrap of paper on the low table. It was my handwriting, I would recognize it anywhere. I picked it up and read my own apparent words.
daily happenings—John, if I were to have ever let myself love another, it would be you.
Regardless, my offer still stands. You never did answer me that night. Even if we're to be strangers the next we meet, I will truly be
Very sincerely yours,
Sherlock Holmes
"You must be Mr. Holmes, hello."
I looked up across the room to the doorway where a man stood, leaning in the doorframe. He offered me a small smile and stood straight and entered the room, his hand extended outwards to me. I stared for a moment and he sheepishly stuck in his coat pocket.
"Right, I forgot, Mrs. Hudson did say you were a bit strange with other people. No worries though, I have a busy schedule, working between two clinics and all, we should hardly see each other. She also told me that I should refrain from touching your experiments, but to ask that you label them properly so I don't accidently ingest one for a meal."
There was something utterly familiar about him but I could not place him in the recesses of my memory. I knew him, but not, at the same time. He finally recognized the scrap of paper in my hand his cheeks tinged pink—why?
"Might I have that back, please?"
"What's the significance of this to you?"
"You can't tell? She told me about your adventures, your special gift."
I narrowed my eyes at him and he rocked on his heels, hands stuffed in his pockets. A slightly insufferable smile on his lips, his eyes locked on my form, watching me as I dissected him.
"I would recall writing something so open; I've never done such a thing. I find wasting my time on what most people deem essential takes from what I do best. I wouldn't permit my mind to be littered with thoughts brought on from pure emotion. Whoever you think wrote this, while undoubtedly plagiarized both my handwriting and my signature, I assure you Mr. Watson, I did not write this."
"It's Doctor. Are you always like this? This stubborn and closed off? I just want to know, Mrs. Hudson did warn me, but I like to see first hand what I'm getting myself into on occasion."
I pressed my lips into a thin line—he was mocking me.
"You were invalided home from either Afghanistan or Iraq as an Army Doctor, which profession you took up to escape your family as well as an attempt to redeem yourself in your own eyes at the expense of others. You miss the bustle; otherwise you'd have taken up a boring single clinic duty rather than two. You have trouble sleeping due to nightmares of those you couldn't save while at war, your eyes tell and hold the sorrow you try so hard to conceal from others. Mrs. Hudson is just as important to you as you are to her, surrogate paternal connection. You're the son she was never able to have and she's the mother you wish yours could have been."
He smiled.
"Afghanistan. That all?"
I tilted my head.
"Not at all; I can't figure out your attachment to a forged scrap of paper."
He chuckled and walked over to his desk. I watched in silence as he pulled open one of the drawers and pulled out an old, worn, leather book. He walked towards me, holding it out.
"Open it to the marker and read, then you'll understand why that piece of paper means so much to me. You see, the words you're about to read—while it took me a bit to figure it out—were written by the very same man who wrote the remainder of that letter you're holding only a scrap of."
I sat down stiffly and took the book, glancing at its cover I realized it was a journal, his personal one—his name in the lower corner indicated it as such. I maneuvered the pages to the one he had marked.
Dear John,
First and foremost you must understand…
most remarkable Army Doctor, have no doubts about that…
FOR ALL THAT YOU CAN, IGNORE HIM! He's nothing special…
those lost causes, you chose me as one. I was your downfall…
line asks: Am I missed? More than I could ever hope to comprehend, and more than either you or I will ever know…
When I sat up once more, letting my gaze fall on his form, he leveled me with a rather hard stare.
"I'm tired of waiting Sherlock."
I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes; he thinks I wrote both of those. It is my handwriting, but I have no memory of writing those words—I froze. I recall writing something once, but I placed the memory as a hallucination when I experimented with heroin once.
"I beg your pardon Doctor; I don't recall writing such things."
He shook his head. He didn't believe me.
"Do you recall the words, Doctor Watson, I wish you survived, if only for the sole purpose that I solve you?"
I gave a slight nod. He stared, hard; then after a few moments he let out a small, sad huff of laughter.
"I waited, which is what the man who wrote those letters asked me to do. I searched and searched for all I could find of him for ages, till the one day a blog came up in my search. There are times Mr. Holmes, that I have memories I cannot recall ever having, but they feel so real to me, memories of sitting in this very room, or even my own, and corresponding with the only person who truly understands me."
His fingers curled further into the back of the chair he was leaning on.
"I tried to stay away, for years, Mr. Holmes, to ignore the man who so adamantly wished my survival, but I can't, not anymore."
He let out a rigid sigh and stood up, posture perfectly at parade rest and leveled his stare. I have never felt so nude merely sitting before someone, not even Mummy could make me feel like this. As if everything I attempted to dissolve within myself had materialized and is littered across my body in scrolling text for all to see.
"If it is your desire, Sherlock Holmes, to merely be flat-mates and nothing more, I shall whole-heartedly fulfill whatever you ask of me. Just please, I ask only one thing of you…that you…that if, if for any reason, you find yourself remembering, or you have had bits and pieces of odd memories, that you…I, I…I just don't want to be the only one who remembers."
His eyes were closed, but the pain he was feeling was written clearly across his face. In fact, it was present throughout his entire being. How did I tell him I understood, but I had no method to express what I do not understand? How do I tell him the memory that feels so real to me is that of a dingy, one room apartment, his fingers tugging on my curls as my own cupped his head, our lips mingled in a passionate gridlock? That every night that memory comes through to my dreams, I always wake feeling so empty and so alone?
While questioning my thoughts I realized he was mistaking my silence as a dismissal. He gave a curt nod and turned towards the door—if what he has implied is correct, I have asked him twice to remain alive for my own reasoning, the least I could do is tell him I remember something. I called out for him and he froze in the doorway, his back to me. For a moment, so brief, that if I hadn't felt this way before I'd have never even noticed—emptiness and loneliness raged within me. Making me ache in a familiar way and the apparent cure for all that I am is the man standing across the room from me.
"John, I…I have one memory."
He didn't turn, but the tenseness of his shoulders lessened. He wanted me to share it with him; he wasn't going to face me until I did—he had the audacity to call me stubborn. I curled my hands into fists and let out the breath I had been verbosely holding.
"We are in a flat, not this one. It screams of dejection and bitter loneliness…yet in the midst of it, on a solitary bed, your…your fingers are buried deep within my curls, my own fingers cradling your head as if you would break if I let go. Our mouths are sealed together in a quiet passion I was unaware I was capable of…I…it only comes to me on nights I manage to get sleep and…John, I hurt when I wake the next morning."
I was so overwhelmed in sharing that I had not realized I closed my eyes, nor that John had moved towards me. It wasn't till I felt his fingertips tracing my jaw once I had finished speaking that my senses returned full force. My eyes snapped open and look down into his. I uncurled my fists and maneuvered my arms through his to mirror his gentle grasp.
My fingertips grazing the edges of his jaw, the apples of his cheeks, toying with the slight curls at the base of his neck—I've done this before, but that thrill of a first time struck simultaneously. I shifted the teeniest bit and pressed my forehead against his, our eyes still locked together—I could feel his warm breath mingling with my own on each exhale. I could see his pupils slowly dilating as his fingers curled into fists in my hair.
"Is it gone?"
I blinked at his sudden whisper, but I knew to what he was referring. I nodded against him, mirroring the smile that grew on his face. The lingering gaping whole of emptiness and loneliness was filled abruptly with a warmth I was unfamiliar with, but knew I've felt before.
My eyes closed on their own accord as I felt the barest of lips dance along my jaw-line. Actual warmth began to permeate through me as I felt his chest collide with my own as his lips pressed against the corner of my mouth. He was silently asking permission or forcing me to make a move.
Logically I did the only thing I could; I cupped his head between my fingers and attached my lips to his.
::letsoutdeepbreath:: I rewrote this bit about a dozen times before I came up with this chapter. None of the other pieces fit, not like this one. Or so I hope. Do tell me your thoughts! I'm open for all sorts of feedback.
Thank you for being such a wonderful lot of readers! Your alerts, favorites and reviews are what kept me going! :) You all put up with my "mid-young-adult-life-crisis" with delightful well wishes sent my way( those of you that did, you did better than my real life friends and for that, no words could express my gratitude). I also found out(through a moment of complete boredom and a dick move one night, as I googled my username, story title and a few other choice words) that a couple of you linked my story on other sites. I geeked! [To the one who posted on Tumblr, I hope that while my characters seemed a bit OOC and bits were confusing, I hope this remained a good read for you. I really do.] To the one who shared this on The Baker Street Supper Club-The Lake House forum, thank you for allowing me to find other stories that were based off the film. I finished one, and am half through another. It really is great to see how others tweak something and make it their own, and just thank you for thinking this story awesome enough to share! :)
I am no where near being done with this fandom; I just have to finish up my Criminal Minds fic: Hands Clean. I find that while writing more than one story at a time is doable, posting leads to nitpicking which to post first. I will be back with another story, of that I am certain! (I still have to get through season 2! ...I just have to wait till May 'cause I live in the States...oh my lanta am I grateful for youtube!) ;)
Thank you again!
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He's always known that he was different to the rest of his class. At least, he's pretty sure that none of the other kids could have heard Miss Williams thinking about the test results during that exam. And he's pretty sure that they would never have lied their way through the playground conversations over which girls they were interested in, if they'd all been able to see the truth like he had.
It wasn't until 5th grade that he realised that what he had could never be considered a gift. It was difficult trying to keep track of what had been said out loud, and what was an internal monologue, especially when he wasn't facing the speaker. Unfortunately, this lead to him telling his best friend Steve that he should tell Mr Dawson about what his father does, before realising that he should never have known what Steve had been thinking. Needless to say, that friendship didn't survive terribly long afterwards, but at least Steve kept his secret safe.
He sometimes hears his father talking about the growing mutant problem in the States, and about how they wouldn't stop until they had complete control over the country, starting with tearing apart families. That's when he knows that telling anyone is out of the question. He's read the stories online about what sometimes happens to mutants – being kicked out of the houses, being used in research to find a cure... and he knows that if his father finds out, he won't be one of the lucky ones who gets accepted and even becomes a better part of the family after revealing their powers.
Sometimes, he wants nothing more than to be able to control this power. He doesn't want to hear the silent screaming of the missionaries as they once again have a hell dream – it keeps him awake more than his own hell dreams. He doesn't want to feel the terror of the villagers when it comes to the General, and he certainly doesn't want to continuously see Disneyworld whenever Elder Price was nearby (apparently, some people project their thoughts a lot more than others do). If it had an off-switch, maybe he'd be better at actually leading the other Elders, instead of trying to avoid telling them that he knew each of their darkest secrets.
However, he finds it difficult to resent the power when it saved his life. If the would-be assailant hadn't such a one-track mind, he's pretty sure that his first month in Uganda might have been his last. Elder Thomas put it down to Heavenly Father protecting him (maybe that was true, if he could believe that people like him were just born that way), which did stop any more awkward questions.
Each day, it was getting more and more difficult to keep track of whether Elder Church had actually said that his dad was going to beat him, or if he had kept that to himself, whether Elder Cunningham was imagining things, or remembering things that he had actually done. He just wishes that he could keep up with his mind, for even just one day. On a bad day, he thinks to himself that any cure has to be better than trying to keep this under control.
In fact, he'd probably give anything just to feel less alone.
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Chapter 1: Revelations and Redemption
"Boom" "Clash" "Bang" With these thundering noises Thomas Boleyn woke drenched in his own sweat. His dream a terrifying nightmare that tore at his soul, His children standing before him demanding there justice for his ambition, demanding there vengeance, there salvation and then nothing, a black endless void with only his screams to echo for eternity and then "Boom" "Clash" "Bang" he was awake staring into the darkness of his own bedchamber his beautiful wife sleeping peacefully at his side.
A dream nothing more, a horrifyingly realistic nightmare, he was safe and soon Anne would be Queen of England and then nothing could ever harm him. Quietly he lay himself back down to sleep in an attempt to block out the images of his children but no matter how many times he told himself he was alone in his bed chamber save his wife he could not help but feel as though he was being watched, haunted by the echoes of his nightmare, their faces swirled before his eyes and soft words whispered of endless night, of death, despair and betrayal. Suddenly he could bare it no longer and rose from his bed as one possessed determined to rid himself of this dread.
Calmly he walked the halls of Hever hoping to relieve the sudden fear that was threating to consume him, but the further he walked the more his heart began to pound and the more he was convinced he was being pursued, stalked by his own fear. Taking deep breaths he leaned against the smooth cold stone in an attempt to steady his nerves and then heard her, the soft sigh with the whisper of laughter, Anne.
In one moment he raised his head and stared into glistening black eyes hooks for the soul, startled he jumped back and attempted to regain his balance, but to no avail he lay on the cold stone floor staring up at his daughter attempting to slow the beat of his heart and then the anger consumed him, what right did she have to haunt his very step, to instil fear into her father. He rose in one swift motion and went to grab her arm, only to find stale cold air and his daughter's shimmering image. Shocked he stood motionless wondering if this to was a part of his nightmare, if the dream hung over him still.
In an attempt to regain some sense of reality he began to pinch his flesh, for he had been told that in your dreams you would feel no pain, but as soon as his nails pierced his arm he winced and his head began to clear, before him stood the vision of his daughter, her dark brown eyes looking into the very depth of his soul, as if she was searching for something, luring him into a trap never to be released. She held his gaze as if to mesmerise him before she spoke. Whispering one single word that held such malice it cut him to the core "Father".
Tears burned at the back of his eyes and shimmered in there depths but he refused to let them fall, he did not understand her hatred, he had given her everything she had ever wanted, everything he owed her as a father and parent, yet here she stood looking at him with such contempt, such clear disgust it had him wishing he could take back what every offence he had ever committed against her and in a moment of complete desperation he uttered her name as if begging for forgiveness for the sins she held against him.
Slowly he closed his eyes attempting to shut out his pain, Anne was his youngest daughter the apple of his eye, so bright and beautiful she shone like the stars of the evening sky, Her wit and charm had managed to raise him from a humble knight to a Viscount and, it had earned him the love of his King, Yet here she stood within the walls of Hever Castle condemning him without cause or reason and then hit him this was not Anne, his Anne had remained in London with the King, this figure was not his daughter but an apparition and suddenly a feeling of complete dread overcame him dropping him to his knees.
He collapsed before her, his knees slamming into the ice cold stone unable to move or speak, breathing became difficult and fear overwhelmed him, had this ghost appeared to take him to the purgatory of his dream, the endless void of darkness and eternal night for the sins he had yet to commit. He wanted to plead and beg for mercy but all he could do was hang his head in defeat knowing that there would be no escape from the punishment that this soul bequeathed.
He heard her move then a faint swish of fabric, a click of heels and then he felt the air turn so cold he could see his hot breath leave the warmth of his mouth and he waited for the moment when she would strike him down, he counted his breaths and relished in the ability to do so, but as he peered into the night hoping to capture and store the image within his mind, he heard her laughter, so quiet he had to strain to hear her at first and then it began to echo around him loud and clear, endless laughter, endless joy. The sounds could only be described as the revelation of her victory and her freedom.
She stood staring at him in the night, joyful victory over coming her hatred of the man who had abandoned her and her beloved brother, Yes she held hatred it was what bound her to this earth, allowed her to walk through time as if her heart still beat, hatred had granted her this gift, her second chance to right the wrongs of her past and to forge a new future and with her father's help she could undue all the atrocities that had befallen her family, all the mistakes of her past.
Slowly she kneeled before him and allowed herself to touch him, it had been so long since she had been able to communicate with anyone, George had long ago abandon their quest for redemption preferring to leave the world as it was, and leave the wrongs un-righted, but she could not her families happiness and very lives were dependant on the success or failure this plan and she had seen the results of her past, Henry's never ending marital conquests, the deaths of thousands of innocent people and the destruction of England itself. If she could just convince her father of the truth and the importance of her purpose she knew she could change the fate of her family and alter the course of her past.
So as she lay her hand upon her father's shoulder she spoke confidently and clearly, telling him all would be well that she was not here to drag him into an endless purgatory but to save him from one and though her eyes could not reveal the warmth that she had once held for this man she allowed him to believe that if he rendered her his assistance that all would be forgiven and all though she had long ago resigned herself to hatred she found herself hoping that while she would never be able to forget the past, that she was still capable of such forgiveness.
Slowly he let out the breath he had been holding in, she needed him and although she had not said so in words he heard her desperation, the demanding need of her father. Yes he could easily see that he had hurt her in some way and that she held it against him, but still what kind of man would he be if he abandoned her for the second time, if he failed her again, maybe if he listened, if he was able to help her then the mistakes he must have made in the future would not come to pass and as his brain ticked over the opportunity that had been presented to him he relished in the challenge, the conquest and the gamble, for what other reason would Anne have shown herself to him other than for a battle she could not win alone.
He stood then tall and straight, ready for war, ready for the battle. As he rose and stood before her Anne could see the man come to life, he became the manipulative, confident courtier that life in the world of the monarchy demanded, he relinquished his fear and doubt and transformed into a Boleyn, into her father.
In one swift move he turned and summoned her to follow him and although his curiosity was eating at him Thomas did not relish in the idea that his wife would see Anne, who would as always attempt to embrace her daughter and shower her with affection, if Elizabeth attempted to touch this Anne her physical form would pass straight through Anne's ghostly body, which would either result in hysteria or shock, both incidents would cause a scene and would take a lengthy amount of time to deal with, time he did not feel like wasting, when there very futures hung in the balance.,
As he walked down the dark, deserted corridors, He felt her presence besides him, dread, fear and desperation pressed down upon him like she flooded the endless hallways with these emotions, slipping into every crevice until the walls seem to expand under the weight of her being and yet when he looked at her she seemed so calm and soothing, so regal. But still he began to wonder why, Why was this Anne was so different from his own, what horrors awaited in there glorious future, where had it all gone wrong and as he began to turn towards his study he heard her speak as if unknowingly she was answering his questions.
She looked so alone in that moment, like the entire world had turned against her and then she smiled and she began to weave her intricate tale, her story of trust, love and betrayal. "I had a daughter, a single living child. But for three years I reined as Queen and for half of that I was loved" He heard he sigh but did not interrupt, if he hoped to be of any assistance he needed to know the entire story. But from the look she graced him with he was not sure he wanted to hear how this tragedy would end however before he could speak or interrupt her musings she began her account of how his future would play out.
She told him of his granddaughter, of her miscarriages, of her marriage and as her narration continued he saw her life unfold though her eyes, the betrayal of her husband as he took mistress after mistress, the pain of witnessing his affection and love stray but most of all the horror of watching her life slip through her fingers, as the whole world turned against her. Soon he was to learn that it was not only the husband that had once worshiped her, but her kin had also fled in droves. All those that had claimed to love her, to stand by her had run at the first signs of her downfall and defeat. She told him of her greatest hurt, the father who had always loved her unconditionally turning his back and leaving her to die alone and then the heartbreak of watching her daughter grow into a woman without the guidance and love of her mother, of watching as Henry abandoned their child and moved on with his precious Mistress Seymour.
After she had finished speaking all he could do was breath, breath past the gut wrenching pain, breath past the realization that he had not only abandoned his daughter, but his only living son. George and Anne would die to for his ambition, only Mary would survive, but still he would die alone in poverty with nothing but the ghosts of his children to haunt him and with that he could not stop the heart breaking cry that tore through his chest, his greed, his lust for power and his sheer and utter cruelty would leave him alone in the world while his children's headless bodies lay cold and bloodless beneath the harsh earth of the tower, of all the fates, in all the world never would he have managed to conjure up such a such torture to inflict upon a soul.
As she stood watching her father, she realized that although he had originally understood her purpose his minds perception had changed and he no longer understood her purpose for arriving, he had managed to convince himself that she wished to show him his fate, a fate that was un-escapable, he truly believed that she had come to torment him with this knowledge so once more she raised her voice above his agonizing cries and spoke "This fate was mine to live, but it shall not be yours. I have need of your assistance, to ensure that this fate does not befall you".
At once silence descended upon the room and then for the first time he spoke, nothing more than a whisper, loud enough for her ears alone "Why would you wish to assist me, I was the one who forced you into that fate, into that hell, do I not deserve to die alone" and at once she laughed pure and clear "You have not yet caused that fate, the wheels have been set in motion but the path is undefined" and then he understood, she had come here not to save him from his own personal hell, for the man he would have become in his future was fully deserving of the price he paid in her past, but to save herself from the torment that she had endured and the pain inflicted upon those she had loved, but most of all she had come here with a plan, a plan for their salvation and her redemption.
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A/N- Here we go! I know some of you guys wanted Four's POV, but it's in Lynn's so you know what's going on. :) Also, in regards to the contest, I will keep it up until the end of October; the details are on my profile. The first winner has been picked and I'd love your guys' feedback. So, please see 'Why', idea by Oreo-ism.
This just sucks. I wish I were able to be super happy for Uriah about getting Tris, and don't get me wrong, I am happy for him, just not as much as I could be. And it's all because I can't stand her moping about this. I mean, I knew that she liked Uriah, and I was pretty sure that he liked her too at some point. But then once initiation started he kind of just... lost interest in her like that. She didn't lose interest in him though. No, Marlene took everything to a whole new level of obsessive and it was like she couldn't see that loss of interest. I was really hoping that Uriah finally admitting who he liked, even though I didn't think it was Tris, would knock some sense into her.
But no.
Instead she's locked herself in her room, no doubt scheming something. And the few times I managed to get in she seemed so... I dunno... scary calm. So there's something going on and I can't help but hope it's against Tris.
Well, that's not entirely true. There's still that part of me that doesn't want Tris hurt because, as much as I hate to say it, she's somehow sneaked up on me and wormed her way into my small circle of friends. But stronger than that, is the overwhelming desire that something will hurt her, because it's her fault that Marlene has gotten like this. That she has stooped to scheming. That she has made the only person I will ever love, and made them obsessed over my only other friend.
Ever since Uriah started slowly losing interest, Marlene and I have grown apart somewhat. She's the only one I've told why I shaved my head. She's the one I always went to when being the tough kick-ass girl I am got too hard, when all I wanted to do was break down and cry. She was the one I talked to, but now I doubt she'd even remember that I got a tattoo last week.
I sigh and push my plate of neglected cake away. Somehow, and this is a true sign of depression, I have lost my appetite for cake. And it goes all the way when I look up to see Tris and Uriah sitting in the corner of the dining hall laughing and smooshing cake into the other's face.
"You know," His voice comes out of nowhere and makes me jump a bit. "Wasting Dauntless cake is, like, against the law. Or it should be." He says before sitting down at the seat across from me.
"What do you want Peter?" I sneer at him, turning away from the couple.
He puts on a face of shock and hurt and brings his hand up to his neck. "Lynn, that hurts. You don't remember asking for my help?"
I roll my eyes at him. "No, I remember, I just thought we were going to talk later and in a more... what's the word? ...Oh yeah! Private place."
He just shrugs eyeing my forgotten cake slice hungrily. "Does it really matter?" He asks.
I shake my head before sighing and pushing the plate to him. "Just eat it." I tell him.
He nods before digging into the cake. I sit and watch Tris and Uri a bit longer. They're cleaning up all the cake now and they get up and leave a little bit after. "So you really like him?"
I turn to look at Peter who's also watching the happy, life-destroying couple. I shake my head. "No, my friend Marlene does and she has gotten really scary with her obsession thing and I just want it done with."
He nods like he understands. I doubt he does though. "How did you know?" He asks all of a sudden.
"Know what?"
"That I like her." He says still watching the annoying relationship-wrecking, friend-depressing couple walk out hand in hand.
"You were just kind of obvious to me. You watched her all the time, you mocked and teased her, I dunno, it just... kinda added up." I tell him.
He gives a small laugh. "And yet you didn't notice that Uriah liked her too? Or Four?"
"Well, Uriah's just kind of naturally like that. He's a nice guy and he's just kinda flirty. And Four... well I wasn't really paying him much attention.
He nods before he turns back to me. "Alright then. So we have to break them up. How?"
I think about it for a second. "You aren't going to let me hurt her, are you?"
He shakes his head. "Nope. Just like you won't let me hurt Uriah."
I nod. "Then... we make one of them think the other cheating like you said last night."
"I said that?" I nod. "Cool. Um, yeah alright. Who started the relationship?" He asks.
He nods. "Alright good. That guys way too laidback for us to be able to make him think Tris is cheating on him well anyways. But since he started it, it'd be better for us to have Tris think he's cheating on her. Especially since she's so self-conscious."
I nod. I really didn't think Peter was this clever. "Sooo... what? Get some random girl to kiss him? I can't even get Marlene out of her apartment so she's out of the question."
He shrugs. "Why don't you do it?"
I give him an incredulous look. "Why?! Because Uri's practically my brother! I'm not gonna kiss him." I tell him crossing my arms.
"Then do it for Marlene." He says indifferently.
"Fine." I huff.
We discuss the rest of our plan for the next couple hours until finally, we have our plan set and I'm back in my room lying on my bed.
I have to kiss Uri. I shudder, just thinking about it. But it's for Marlene. I'd rather her be happy though. Her happiness comes first. And with these happy I thoughts I drift off to the nowhere land of sleep.
A/N- Definitely not my fave chapter. But yeah. And as for the evil pair: they were LYNN AND PETER! A couple of you guessed Peter, but I don't think anyone guessed Lynn! :) Also, MY CHAPTERS ARE GETTING INCREASINGLY SMALLER! NOOO! I will fix this, don't you worry! Oh, and sorry of my Lynn/Marlene thing pissed anyone off but its there so it's done. But until my next update, LOVE YA, BYE-BYE!
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Mike Grogan
Mike Grogan is a staff engineer at Sun Microsystems currently working on the WebServices Team. He is the Spec Lead for JSR 223 "Scripting for the Java Platform" and Co-Spec Lead for JSR 261"Java APIs for XML-based Web Services Addressing".
mikeg's blog
When to Use WSIT Reliable Messaging
Posted by mikeg on February 25, 2007 at 3:56 PM PST
Reliable messaging is a feature of WSIT, which will be delivered through Glassfish V2.
Closing WSIT Reliable Messaging Connections
Posted by mikeg on January 24, 2007 at 12:37 PM PST
Most Reliable Messaging implementations in Web Services stacks, including the ones in Sun's WSIT and Microsoft's WCF are designed to operate "under-the-hood" with little or no effort required from client or server application programmers.
There is one case where it is sometimes importa
Reliable Messaging in WSIT Milestone 2
Posted by mikeg on September 22, 2006 at 2:10 PM PDT
Other than the usual bug fixes and minor adjustments needed to adapt to changes between WCF versions,
the new work for the milestone consists of implementing some configuration settings that may
affect performance. First some background:
The WS-RM spec defines a SOAP-based protocol used by middleware components that exchange messages called
the sender and receiver.
WS-Reliable Messaging and Session Support (Part 2)
This is Part 2 in a series of articles
on supporting sessions using WS-ReliableMessaging. In
needs Reliable Messaging to work properly. Like most endpoints that
benefit from Reliable Messaging, this one maintains state between
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25 CFR 293.1 - What is the purpose of this part?
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§ 293.1 What is the purpose of this part?
This part contains procedures that:
(a) Indian tribes and States must use when submitting Tribal-State compacts and compact amendments to the Department of the Interior; and
(b) The Secretary will use for reviewing such Tribal-State compacts or compact amendments.
Title 25 published on 2014-04-01.
No entries appear in the Federal Register after this date, for 25 CFR Part 293.
United States Code
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33 U.S. Code § 883i - Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be necessary to acquire, construct, maintain, and operate ships, stations, equipment, and facilities and for such other expenditures, including personal services at the seat of government and elsewhere and including the erection of temporary observatory buildings and lease of sites therefor, as may be necessary for the conduct of the activities herein authorized.
(Aug. 6, 1947, ch. 504, § 9,61 Stat. 788.)
References in Text
Herein, referred to in text, means act Aug. 6, 1947, ch. 504, 61 Stat. 787, as amended, which is classified generally to this subchapter (§ 883a et seq.). For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
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Organic Consumers Association
Campaigning for health, justice, sustainability, peace, and democracy
• Purple flower
• asian farmer
• veggie market
• african wheat farmer
• woman harvesting
• allium
• 3 lambs
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• apple
• apple vendor
• apples in basket
• apples on tree
If I Eat a Gluten-Free Diet, Why Am I Still Having Food Allergy Symptoms?
For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Genetic Engineering page, Health Issues page, and our Appetite For a Change page.
You're sick and tired of being sick and tired and bloated and foggy-brained. An allergist or doctor tests you for food allergies and tells you that you should avoid gluten. You've been gluten-free for a while, but you're still experiencing some of the following symptoms:
• gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea and cramping
• skin breakouts (hives, eczema, swelling)
• joint pain or migraine headaches
• mood changes
• immune disruption
Despite the glut of gluten-free offerings - including gluten-free beer - an increasing number of people still feel bloated. In addition, more people are developing Celiac disease or non-Celiac sensitivity. But why? Here are a few possible reasons:
1. Products labeled gluten-free aren't really gluten-free: Gluten-free labeling - at least in some cases - offers the same dubious promise as "cage-free" or "natural." In an attempt to regulate gluten-free foods in 2007, the Food and Drug Administration proposed to allow manufacturers to label a food "gluten-free" if the food does not contain 20 or more parts-per-million gluten, among other parameters. But if a food contains 19 ppm gluten, it still might trigger an allergy or sensitivity.
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Other Teachings
Never stop learning about the Catholic Faith. Here you’ll find additional interesting Church teachings, such as creation and eschatology.
Appreciating Life
Appreciating Life Making the best of life in a culture of death
Authentic Charity!
Authentic Charity! Reader responds to The Priest magazine article
Sin as Ongoing Evil
In the Beginning...
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Made in God’s image and likeness
Debunking myths behind the 'new cosmology'
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In the Beginning...
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The other night I read Alma 25 with my kids, a strange chapter about the gruesome fate of an apostate group called the Amulonites on the one hand and the exemplary growth of a pacifist group called the Anti-Nephi-Lehies on the other. The chapter concludes incongruously with Mormon glossing the events in what seems like the most reductive possible way, wrapping everything with a tidy bow: the conversion of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies had been foretold to the missionaries who introduced them to Christianity, and thus all these events merely show that the Lord "had also verified his word unto them in every particular" (Alma 25:17). The human suffering implied in the appalling demise of the Amulonites, the radical meaning of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies' pacifism, none of this seems to matter to Mormon as much as the fact that the Lord's word had been "verified."
The word "verify" seemed so strange and unscriptural that I searched for it electronically at to find all its occurrences. It shows up seven times in the Book of Mormon, and only four times in all other books of scripture combined. This isn't surprising, given Mormon's obsession with prophets, prophecy, and the fulfillment of prophecy, of which the development of Nephite Christianity and its culmination in the appearance of the resurrected Christ are exhibit A. Indeed, all instances of "verify" in the Book of Mormon (including two in Alma 25) occurs as part of Mormon's strenuously ideological interpretation of Nephite history to show that the Lord's word in scripture is always, without exception, proved to be true in the end.
There's a straightforward reading of this, which is simply to take Mormon at his word. God speaks directly to prophets, prophets record the word in scripture; scripture will be empirically verified in the end by the providential unfolding of knowledge and history. This is certainly a coherent idea, amply attested in scripture, and one that I find deeply compelling in theory. It's an idea that most modern believers have ignored or attenuated, however, in an effort to preserve the relevance of scripture in the present day. It turns out that it's not so easy to verify scripture, in the empirical sense Mormon seems to have in mind.
Rather than abandoning scripture altogether as unverifiable ancient relics incompatible with modern ways of knowing, we find new ways of reading. Theologians work out sophisticated theories of scripture, emphasizing metaphor or narrative or ethics or history; I love them all. Rank-and-file believers work out practical theories of scripture, emphasizing personal relevance and devotion; I love these too. But none of these, when applied to the Book of Mormon, seem to be able to account for its explicit and central language of verification. All of them somehow seem to dodge Mormon's repeated and emphatic assertion that the Book of Mormon's sweeping claims about hemispheric history, ethnic identity, and the destiny of Christianity will be verified.
Allow me to suggest an alternate reading of "verify," one that is a bit of a dodge itself but that at least has the advantage of grappling with the scriptural language as it presents itself. Abandon the notion of "verification" as our passive recognition that the scriptures are true, as the unfolding of irrefutable evidence that obviates our doubt, that compels us to accept scriptural claims. Instead read "verify" as an active transitive verb, like "beautify" or "electrify": one does not simply judge an object to be beautiful or electric, one must actively make the object beautiful, make it hum with electricity. To verify scripture, one does not simply find it to be true, based on the evidence; one must actively make it true. When Mormon tells us that the Lord's word was "verified" in the events of Alma 25, we can read this as the Anti-Nephi-Lehies' active living out of the Lord's word. Scripture became true because the scriptural actors verified it, made it true, in their lives and their hearts. In the same way, we can "verify the Lord's word" as we actively infuse it with truth, taking it in to our hearts and minds and breathing it out, verified, in our lives and choices.
Okay, but is this what Mormon really meant to convey in his language of verification? My reading may be clever (or it may simply be strained), but does it really get at what the Book of Mormon authors intended? Honestly, I don't think it does. I think Mormon had a much more literal, empirical notion of verification in mind. I was trained to do historically-correct readings of texts, and I'm the first to admit that in a lot of ways my little reading is completely unjustified. The only justification for ahistorical interpretation, perhaps, is that it makes the text relevant in the present day; it saves scripture for modernity, so that scripture can in turn save us. A mutually redemptive relationship to scripture—we redeem it for today, it redeems us for eternity—is something to be verified, indeed.
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In the comfort of the therapist’s office parents will sometimes feel safe enough to reveal their inner most unspoken thoughts about their children. Parents often experience a tremendous sense of shame and guilt associated with their negative thoughts. The risk of allowing these thoughts to emerge within themselves and be spoken to another person is enormous for the average parent and yet essential for a healthy and positive parent-child connection. Here are 6 taboo thoughts that parents have:
1. This is not the child I had hoped for and expected. Well intended parents can develop unrealistic expectations of a child long before the child’s birth. These parents have spent years envisioning a certain kind of child and then when a real child arrives, it’s difficult for these parents to adjust to the reality. These expectations range from having a healthy child to more defined desires such as expecting a child to appear a certain way, have a certain intelligence, and have specific talents in predefined interest areas, for example, “I know my son will be an athlete”. When children turn out differently from what their parents expect, parents struggle to accept their feelings of disappointment. They deny their own feelings because of the shame their feelings evoke. In reality, accepting their feelings is much healthier and allows them to grieve the loss of the child they dreamed of and learn to accept and truly bond with the child they have.
2. Feeling jealous of their child. Parents with low self-esteem and unfulfilled childhood wishes can develop jealous feelings towards their own children. They struggle to accept and integrate these feelings of envy which often can be masked as competition, harsh discipline and criticism of their child that has what they wanted during their childhood.
3. Comparing siblings. Parents are notorious for comparing sibling children and deciding that one fails short of the other. When they do this they stereotype their children, failing to allow them to become themselves and instead typecasting them into certain roles that are most comfortable for the parents and unhealthy for the children.
4. Wanting a child of the opposite sex. Parents may have had their heart set on having a boy or a girl and instead they give birth to the opposite gender. When this occurs, grieving helps to resolve the disappointment and helps to allow the parent to bond with their child.
5. Favoring one child over another. Parents sometimes have a favorite child based on their own unhealthy needs and expectations. It’s not healthy to love one child over another and most commonly this develops out of a parent’s need to have one special child as their ally which allows them to feel safe.
6. Wishing negative thoughts on other children. When parents wish for bad things to happen to other children, whether it’s missing a basket in a game of basketball or not getting a part in the school play; these negative thoughts occur because parents project their own insecurities on to their children. These parents feel that their child has to be more successful than any other child in order to feel safe and valued. When parents acknowledge their desire for their children to be “the best”, they can assess their own unhealthy self-image and separate their needs for perfection and success from their child’s needs.
Parents love their children and yet they sometimes confuse their child’s needs with their own needs in order to fulfill unmet wishes in their lives. Parents can resolve their conflicts by addressing them head on. When parents are able to grieve and accept their disappointments and resolve their inner conflicts, they can build strong connections to their children. Parents who risk sharing their darkest thoughts and feelings are able to begin the process of becoming a whole and complete integrated self, whereby they can fully connect to themselves and subsequently their children.
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Monk's Hood from Holy Ghost Trail near Pecos, NM
Marsha Linehan's Dialectic Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorders got me looking at the wildflowers in New Mexico through a different eye. Specific types of wildflowers tend to cluster in areas where they do best. Monkshood prefer stream front locales; fireweed thrive in spots of sun. On my hike along the Holy Ghost Trail last week, it seemed as though the flowers segregated themselves, sunflowers in one field, Aspen daises in the next. As my brown thumb has proved more than once, plants can be unbending in their requirements. With the right sunlight and water a violet thrives; under same conditions a cactus withers.
Linehan states "'goodness of fit' or 'poorness of fit' of the child within the environment is crucial for understanding later behavioral functioning." A good fit, where the child's talents and style are appreciated, leads to optimal results. A bad fit (where unrealistic expectations, abuse or cultural norms crush the spirit of the child) can lead to later behavioral nightmares. For example, Linehan cites that in numerous studies 75% of people with borderline personality disorder reported childhood sexual abuse. At a time when the seedling person is developing, abuse works like a drought. Abuse weakens roots, impedes future function and leaves the person less resilient.
Inherent in Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an idea of acceptance. We don't look at a cactus and rate it good or bad against a violet, rather we create the right environment for the plant. Linehan applies the same thought process to people and behavior. She doesn't judge behavior, but rather presents consequences of behavior.
So this got me wondering, where is the divide between a bad fit and a malfunction of the brain called mental illness? Behaviorists might argue that bad fit leads to unproductive behavior, not a broken brain. I would argue that these two are so closely intertwined that it's hard to know which comes first: a malfunctioning brain or a bad fit that leads to dysfunction and eventually a broken brain. We don't have the tools available today to measure accurately the extent of psychological abuse on the brain, but it's easy to imagine a misfiring of brain electricity and chemicals due to a steady stream of negative experience. In the same way, a validating environment can cause positive physical changes to the brain.
Why does this matter? Some patients believe that all problems can be corrected by behavior modification. Medication is for wimps, those lacking the self discipline to change their behavior. I fight this bias myself. I stopped taking my antidepressant medication in 2005 against my psychiatrist's orders. Despite the fact that I was high risk, I felt I'd changed my behavior and could beat the odds. Without informing my psychiatrist, I stopped my medication. I relapsed in 2007, requiring hospitalization.
My medication had no side effects. Why did I go off? Reason one: I believed I'd cured myself with behavioral change. Reason two: I didn't want my depression to be a lifelong management issue. Many people applauded my drug-free decision, all of us hoping I had my depression licked. Those cheering (including me) underestimated my genetic predisposition. Perhaps if my psychiatrist had a way to show me why my brain works the way it does - a brain scan - a blood test - something, I might have accepted his argument. Instead, I charged into the world without the protection of medicine and relapsed.
Aspen Daises
Unlike plants, humans have the capacity to change their environment and the way they think. A violet can't erect a shade to avoid the afternoon sun. Our capacity to change allows us to use tools to create hope and harmony in our lives. Psychiatric medication is one of those tools. If used well, meds can allow a person to thrive. Take that tool away, and some people shrivel.
If we place a violet in a desert expecting it to sprout needles and don a thick outer shell, we've overlooked the essence of being a violet. True acceptance requires an open mind, with the ultimate goal of patient wellness. I had to learn this lesson the hard way; perhaps I can spare you the trouble. Take the medicine. If medication works for wellness, don't dump the pills.
Cactus from Pecos National Monument
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Article excerpt
For approximately two decades, the General Trading Model ("GTM") has been used in securities litigation to estimate the number of shares damaged by alleged fraudulent misrepresentations by defendants. The GTM estimates the fraction of in-and-out trading volume and the fraction of retained volume. "In-and-out volume" refers to shares bought and sold within the class period; "retained volume" refers to shares purchased and held through the final disclosure that reveals the fraud. This is typically the last day of the class period. Estimates of the number of damaged shares from the GTM have been used in conjunction with a theory of true value (or conversely, artificial inflation) for the security to estimate aggregate monetary damages. [1]
Over the years, variations of the GTM predicated on different assumptions and/or parameters have been developed. The variations include single-trader models, such as the proportional and accelerated trading models, and multi-trader models. [2] This article compares the results of these models and critically evaluates the conclusions reached in previously published research.
This article demonstrates that results from the proportional single-trader model, GTM (1x), are consistent with the results of multi-trader GTMsfc when appropriate assumptions and parameters are used. No evidence was found to reject the GTM (1x) as a scientific method to estimate the number of damaged shares in securities litigation.
In securities litigation, damages arise when defendants make false or misleading statements that artificially inflate the stock price. [3] If an investor purchases the stock at this artificially inflated price, and the price later declines when the fraud is revealed, the investor will suffer damages from paying too much for the stock. In general, damages per share are calculated as the artificial inflation when the shares were purchased minus the artificial inflation when the shares were sold. For example, shares purchased when the stock price was artificially inflated and held through a disclosure that reveals the fraud typically are considered to be damaged. Shares purchased and then sold before any revelation of the fraud, however, are typically not considered to be damaged because these shares were passed on before any deflation in value.
Experts on damages in securities class actions generally do not have access to the trading records of individual class members. Consequently, the number of damaged shares is commonly estimated from a security's reported daily trading volume. Although the reported trading volume is quite reliable, the number of damaged shares is generally less than reported volume for several reasons.
First, reported volume may overstate the trading volume by the plaintiff class because it includes trades by specialists on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") or market makers on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system ("NASDAQ") who buy from one investor and sell to another. One must adjust the reported volume to remove these double-counted trades. Recently published research suggests that a suitable correction is obtained by reducing NYSE reported volume by approximately ten percent and reducing NASDAQ volume by approximately fifty-eight percent. [4]
A second adjustment to volume is necessary to eliminate shares that were purchased during the class period and sold before the revelation of the alleged fraud. In many cases, these in-and-out shares have no associated damages because they were purchased and sold at prices with the same artificial inflation. [5] Historically, it has been common practice among economic experts for both plaintiffs and defendants to adjust volume for non-damaged, in-and-out volume using a statistical trading model. [6] The trading model is a mathematical model that estimates, on each day of the class period, the fraction of volume that is in-and-out volume and the fraction that is retained volume. …
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Spaces for the Sacred: Place, Memory, and Identity
Article excerpt
Spaces for the Sacred: Place, Memory, and Identity. By Philip Sheldrake. Baltimore, Md.: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. 214 pp. $16.95 (paper).
It only takes 171 pages for the English theologian Philip Sheldrake to present a grand sweep of the Christian spiritual tradition by organizing his material into six chapters and weaving through them the theme of "place." The notes in the hack (twenty-four pages) with the bibliography (thirteen pages) provide helpful references in support of the authors handling of the subject.
The chapters entitled, "A Sense of Place," "Place in Christian Tradition," "The Eucharist and Practicing Catholic Space," "The Practice of Place: Monasteries and Utopias," "The Mystical Way: Transcending Places of Limit," and "Re-placing the City?" give the reader a broad picture of spirituality especially in its Western Christian manifestations. Two quotations from familiar sources draw the reader to an underlying theme found throughout the chapters: "To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul" (Simone Weil) and "There are no meanings apart from roots" (Walter Brueggemann) (p. 9).
Contrasting "place" and "placelessness," Sheldrake guides the reader through a myriad of examples from the historic significance of cathedrals and the place of hospitality in the Christian tradition to the loss of a sense of place today-a loss that undermines "a message of liberation and transformation that the Christian gospel proclaims" (p. 166). Focusing on the loss of a sense of roots-of belonging-in the modern city sets the stage for a new appreciation of the tradition of spirituality the author espouses. In discussing the matter, he refers to a definition of reconciliation he particularly likes, found in the Oxford Dictionary, "the reconsecration of desecrated places" (p. 168).
For Sheldrake, the importance of reconciliation causes him to emphasize the Incarnation in the tradition of spirituality under consideration. From Duns Scotus and Augustine to David Tracy and Rowan Williams, he praises the mystical dimension of theology-the apophatic language in the great mystical writers, east and west-which he believes should inspire us who live in the postmodern era (p. 121). …
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Mark Vincent at Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs
Meganeura, Robert Back, 2007
Meganeura does not hum or buzz, rather its lace-and-glass wings hiss and whisper, fluttering like paper caught in an electric fan, susurrating like a pinwheel whirling in a breeze. It does not move randomly. Each spiral and zig-zag, each aerial pivot and dive is a calculated part of the hunt. Trajectories are adjusted, targets are pinpointed—one must stay clear of the prey’s eyesight. When the ambush comes, lizard-like Hylonomus hears the wing-shiver for just a split second before being folded into the insect’s arms and consumed while still alive.
The forest dweller, Hylonomus (1851)
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Reptilia
Subclass : Eureptilia
Genus : Hylonomus
Species : H. lyelli
• Carboniferous (315 - 312 Ma)
• 20 cm long (size)
• North America (map)
It’s always possible that a more ancient candidate will be discovered, but as of now, Hylonomus is the oldest true reptile known to paleontologists: this tiny critter scuttled around the forests of the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. Based on reconstructions, Hylonomus certainly looked distinctly reptilian, with its quadrupedal, splay-footed posture, long tail, and sharp teeth.
Hylonomus is also a good object lesson in how evolution works. You might be surprised to learn that the oldest ancestor of the mighty dinosaurs (not to mention modern crocodiles and birds) was about the size of a small gecko, but new life forms have a way of “radiating” from very small, simple progenitors. For example, all mammals alive today–including humans and sperm whales–are ultimately descended from a mouse-sized ancestor that scurried beneath the feet of huge dinosaurs more than 200 million years ago.
L’Ilonomo, il più antico rettile conosciuto
L’Ilonomo, il più antico rettile conosciuto
Alcuni dei capitoli più importanti della storia natural del nostro pianeta si sono svolti, per così dire “in sordina”: mentre creature enormi o persino inquietanti dominavano la catena alimentare, altre creature, apparentemente piccole ed insignificanti facevano la loro comparsa, vivendo nell’ombra, sopravvivendo grazie a caratteristiche uniche che un domani li renderanno i loro discendenti i…
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(hie- luh-NOE-muss)
Taxonomy: Sauropsida - Protorothyrididae
Genus: Hylonomus
Type Species: Hylonomous lyelli (only species)
Living before dinosaurs, roughly 312 million years ago, during the Late Carboniferous period, the Hylonomus is the earliest known reptile to fully develop to living on land. In 1852, fossil bones were discovered in a hollow fern stump in Nova Soctia.
Appearance: About 8 inches in length, with feet positioned along the side of its elongated body, the Hylonomus looked similar to our modern day lizards. Its stronger backbone and more slender limb-bones separated it from amphibians.
Habitat: Living in lowlands and forests, where there is grass and trees, the Hylonomus lived inside the trees.
Diet: Because the Hylonomus was primarily insectivorous, its eyesight was highly-developed.
[photo source: http://www.dinocasts.com/prod_productDetails.asp?ProductId=493]
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Help support Wordnik by adopting your favorite word!
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
• adj. Resembling a fog or some aspect of it.
fog + -like (Wiktionary)
• But there are no characters - no figures or movement at all other than the manipulating hands, modulating light and occasional drifts of foglike cigarette smoke.
The city as artifice, created as you watch
• Before he could get his bearings and pull himself out of the vision — to go where? — there was a foglike swirl and he stood in front of a hide-covered hut, watching helplessly as five rough-garbed soldiers dragged a dark-haired girl from the building.
The Gauntlet Thrown Chapter Thirty Seven
• The foglike swirl was so thick that it blocked any view of the big amoeba.
Delta Anomaly
• Grady pointed through a glass window to several men in a sealed test chamber that was filled with a foglike haze.
Golden State
• He felt foglike terror as he walked down the midway, because pretty soon they would spot him and it would be all over.
• For more than a hundred vingts above the falls and for a good four vingts below the cataract, the river was ice-free, running rapidly over the rocky shallows, with foglike vapor rising from the water.
• The ground shivered, and a light and acrid mist drifted from the foglike clouds that had formed over the battle area.
Colors of Chaos
• Leyladin glanced toward the Market Square, dark and wreathed in a foglike mist.
Colors of Chaos
• We had been suffering from extremities of weather since early spring-heat and drought, and now this foglike emanation.
• Each of them had been counting the various reports of cloudlike fogs or foglike clouds that had been littering up the case, vagrant data in search of a shelter.
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Yahoo TV
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Does William Shatner Have a Crush on Betty White? [Exclusive Video]
Betty White/Yahoo! TV/Instagram
Are William Shatner and Betty White an item? No — we're only dreaming. But if Shatner had his wish, the entertainment legends might have had a chance at romance, according to the now-married Shatner.
"Her skin is so soft to the touch, especially around her back. I've caressed her many times. On, off — doesn't matter to her. She's an animal," the "Star Trek" icon said, laughing, when asked by a Yahoo! TV Twitter follower how he can "keep his hands off the goddess that is Betty White." Apparently, he can't.
Shatner, along with Brian Baumgartner (Kevin on "The Office") and Danny Pudi (Abed on "Community"), will be guest starring on the Season 5 live premiere of TV Land's hit comedy "Hot in Cleveland." These guys and the stars of the show — Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White — sat down to answer your questions, which we highlighted in this exclusive behind-the-scenes video! Here are some of the best moments:
"The Golden Girls" were golden
When Yahoo!'s own Billy Johnson Jr. asked White which "Golden Girls" actress she fought with the most when the cameras were off, she had only good things to say: "I've got to tell you guys, we loved each other. Nobody fought on 'The Golden Girls.' I was blessed with the 'Mary Tyler Moore' group. I was blessed with 'The Golden Girls' group. How I lucked into another group of women like this, I have no idea." Aww! The feeling is mutual. "I think there's a common denominator in all that," said Bertinelli, pointing at White, adding, "That's why. Because you're special."
[Related: Check out Betty White's Takeover of Yahoo! TV's Instagram]
Betty White at Greendale?
Twitter follower Mary asked Pudi if he would like White to make an appearance in "Community," Season 5. His answer (duh!) was yes. "Absolutely. We do have an empty spot in the study group. So on behalf of everyone in Greendale, I would to ask you, Betty White ('cause I can't ask her here; it would be a little awkward, so I'm gonna ask her through Yahoo! TV), would you please join us at Greendale? We'd really love it," Pudi said.
Lightning in a bottle twice
Jennie Albano asked Leeves about her famed role on the acclaimed comedy "Frasier," which ended nearly 20 years ago — particularly about what her favorite memory is from the show and how hard it was to find another successful series. "I relished my time, especially with David Hyde Pierce and the scenes we had together. The seven-year flirtation that we had, and then we finally got together and had a baby: That was fantastic. You luck into something like 'Frasier' once, and you think it's lightning in a bottle. You never think you're gonna have that again." But it did with "Hot in Cleveland": "I had that same feeling. There's a chemistry between people that you cannot anticipate, you cannot manufacture it. You just luck into it."
Troublemaking ladies
Brenda Cotton asked Malick if the cast does anything fun off-set. The answer: a resounding yes! Aside from hanging at Malick's ranch, which Bertinelli calls "paradise," the group has so much fun that they cause trouble together. When Malick and Leeves went to a ladies' lunch at the school that Leeves's daughter and Malick's niece will soon attend together, they were shushed! "We had to be asked to be quiet during a speech," said Malick. "We got in trouble. We were naughty," added Leeves.
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Going once, going twice, sold!
Posted: Saturday, August 16, 2008
Ding Stansberry, with Assiters and Associates, auctions a variety of items, including power tools, Friday at the Amarillo Civic Center. The larger items of the auction, such as cars, trucks and work vehicles, will be auctioned today beginning at 10 a.m.
Trending this week:
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The Desire to Be Wired
Will we live to see our brains wired to gadgets? How about today?
By Gareth Branwyn
Just mention "neural interfacing" (being wired directly to a machine) on a computer bulletin board and you will quickly receive comments like the following:
I am interested in becoming a guinea pig (if you will) for any cyberpunkish experiment from a true medicine/military/cyber/neuro place. New limbs, sight/hearing improvements, bio-monitors, etc. Or even things as simple as under the skin time pieces.
Online conversants will pour forth such cybernetic dreams as computers driven by thoughts, implanted memory chips, bionic limbs and, of course, the full-blown desire to have one's brain patched directly into "cyberspace," the globally-connected computer networks. The romantic allure of the "cyborg" seems to captivate the fringes of digital culture, especially on the nets.
Neural interfacing fantasies have mainly grown out of science fiction, where "add-on" technologies turn people into powerful hybrids of flesh and steel. Since so much of our contemporary mythology comes from SF, an inherent confusion between fantasy and reality is to be expected. This already has happened in the field of virtual reality. Today's crude systems in no way reflect the media hype and "Cyberspace NOW " mentality of the impatient computerized masses. Neuroscientists and engineers in the area of implant technologies offer a similar tale of woe. Science fiction has fed us so many images of technologically souped-up humans that the current work in neural prosthesis (devices that supplement or replace neurological function) and mind-driven computers seems almost retro by comparison.
Images of human-machine courtship are omnipresent in pop culture. Recent albums by digital artists Brian Eno, Clock DVA, and Frontline Assembly sport names like Nerve Net, Man Amplified and Tactical Neural Implant. A recent Time magazine article on the cyberpunk movement made a number of dubious references to the near-future tech of brain implants, offering "instant fluency in a foreign language or arcane subject." Roleplaying games based on bionic, post-apocalyptic SF are gobbling up market share once reserved for Dungeons & Dragons.
Computer network and hacker slang is filled with references to "being wired" or "jacking in" (to a computer network), "wetware" (the brain), and "meat" (the body). Science fiction films, from Robocop to the recent Japanese cult film Tetsuo: The Iron Man, imprint our imaginations with images of the new, increasingly adaptable human-cum-cyborg who can exfoliate one body and instantly construct another. One might even speculate a link between the surprising popularity of modern primitivism (piercing, tattooing, body modification) and the emerging techno-mythology of "morphing" the human body to the demands and opportunities of a post-human age. The human body is becoming a hack site, the mythology goes, a nexus where humanity and technology are forging a new and powerful relationship.
Academic discourse also is rife with talk of cyborg bodies and the need to re-think the postmodern relationship between humans and machines. "There's a rapt, mindless fascination with these disembodying or ability-augmenting technologies," says Allucquere Rosanne Stone, director of the Advanced Communications Technology Lab at the University of Texas. "I think of it as a kind of cyborg envy.... The desire to be wired is part of the larger fantasy of disembodiment, the deep childlike desire to go beyond one's body. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Certainly for the handicapped, it can be very liberating. For others, who have the desire without the need, there can be problems. Political power still exists inside the body and being out of one's body or extending one's body through technology doesn't change that."
"People want the power without paying the attendant costs," says Don Ihde, professor of the Philosophy of Technology at SUNY, Stonybrook. "It's a Faustian bargain."
Is the desire to be wired a fantasy born of our relationship with increasingly personalized and miniaturized technology? Will neural interfacing be commonplace in a future we will live to see? If so, what biomedical and bioengineering feats will be necessary? Most important, what function-restoring neural prostheses are being researched that show promise for the disabled, and may eventually lead to function-amplifying implants?
Bionic Hardware
In her influential essay "A Cyborg Manifesto," science historian Donna Haraway suggests that the severely disabled are often the first to appreciate the fruitful couplings of humans and machines. A brief conversation with anyone who has a pacemaker, a new hip, a (good) hearing aid, an artificial heart, or any one of a host of bionic devices will bear this out.
The neural prosthetic and interface technologies of today can be broken down into three major areas: auditory and visual prosthesis, functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS), and prosthetic limb control via implanted neural interfaces. So far, the most successful implants have been in the realm of hearing. Larry Orloff, a scientist who had suffered hearing loss since childhood, edits Contact, a newsletter for people with hearing implants. He reports that there are more than 7,000 people worldwide outfitted with cochlear implants. These devices work through tiny electrodes placed in the cochlea region of the inner ear to compensate for the lack of cochlear hair cells, which transduce sound waves into bioelectrical impulses in ears that function normally. Although current versions of these devices may not match the fidelity of normal ears, they have proven very useful. Dr. Terry Hambrecht, a chief researcher in neural prosthetics, reports in the Annual Review of Biophysics and Bioengineering (1979) that implanted patients had "significantly higher scores on tests of lipreading and recognition of environmental sounds, as well as increased intelligibility of some of the subjects' speech."
The hearing-implant patients and family members I interviewed spoke of their desperation during their deaf years and emphasized how much they appreciated the technology that had changed their lives. John Anderson, a 43-year-old implant recipient from Massachusetts offered his views via electronic mail (he still has trouble communicating by phone): "The silence of those three years when I was totally deaf is still deafening to me these many years later. My life was in the hearing world and it was critical for me to be able to hear like 'everyone else.'" Orloff spoke movingly of hearing things like crickets, birds, and church bells for the first time. He also points out that computer networking was instrumental in his getting the implant: He first learned of the technology on CompuServe.
An even more radical type of auditory prosthesis now under development snakes hair-thin wires deep into the brain stem, linking it with an external speech processor. But don't expect to see it soon.
Visual prosthetics is still a long way from offering any major breakthroughs, though several promising directions are being explored. The goal of most of these schemes is to implant electrodes into the visual cortex of the brain to stimulate discernible patterns of phosphenes which can then be interpreted by the user. Phosphenes are those tiny dots (the proverbial stars) that can be seen after rubbing one's eyes or after getting beaned on the head. These phospenes originate in the brain and are responsive to electrocortical stimulation. Recently, Dr. Hambrecht and fellow researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) implanted a 38-electrode array into the visual cortex of a blind woman's brain. She was able to see simple light patterns and to make out crude letters when the electrodes were stimulated.
Richard Alan Normann, professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah, has been developing similar "artificial eyes" that would use denser phosphene arrays (100 electrodes). The long-range goal of his research is the development of vision hardware that "will consist of a miniature video camera mounted on a pair of sunglasses, signal processing electronics, a transdermal connector to pass across the skin, and an array of...microelectrodes permanently implanted in the visual cortex." The development timetable for these systems is still long-term; advances have been slow. Often years pass between experiments as researchers painstakingly assemble the required miniature electronics.
Beyond sight and sound, functional neuromuscular stimulation systems are in experimental use in cases where spinal cord damage or a stroke has severed the link between the brain and the peripheral nervous system. These systems usually combine implanted electrodes and an external battery-powered microprocessor. The system is controlled by switches, either triggered manually or through movement of some body part (an elbow or shoulder) that is still operational. These types of systems are likely to be used clinically one day to restore movement in legs, arms, and hands. Similar electrical stimulation schemes to restore bladder control and respiratory functions are also in experimental and even clinical use.
Some of the most compelling research in the area of neural interfacing is being done at Stanford University. A recent article in the IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (V39, N9) reports that "a microelectrode array capable of recording from and stimulating peripheral nerves at prolonged intervals after surgical implantation has been demonstrated." These tiny silicon-based arrays were implanted into the peroneal nerves of rats and remained operative for up to 13 months. The ingeniously designed chip is placed in the pathway of the surgically severed nerve. The regenerating nerve grows through a matrix of holes in the chip, while the regenerating tissue surrounding it anchors the device in place. Although this research is very preliminary and there are still many intimidating technical and biological hurdles (on-board signal processing, radio transmittability, learning how to translate neuronal communications), the long-term future of this technology is exciting. Within several decades, "active" versions of these chips could provide a direct neural interface with prosthetic limbs, and by extension, a direct human-computer interface.
While a composite image of all these technologies might portray the bionic humans of SF, the practical limitations and technological obstacles are still sobering. Very few of these technologies are in approved clinical use, and most of them will not be for a decade or two. One of the main things frustrating this research is finding (or developing) materials that are not toxic to the organism and that will not be degraded by the organism. The human body has formidable defenses against invading hardware.
Besides the material and physical hurdles, this technology raises tremendous ethical and social issues. Many critics say that neural implants are impractical at best, if not downright irresponsible. These critics contend that implants are bioengineering marvels looking for a justifiable use, rather than appropriate technology for the disabled. Other naysayers argue that these unproven prosthetic devices give experimental subjects unreasonable expectations of sight, sound, and independence. Scott Bally, assistant professor of audiology at Gallaudet University, points out that auditory implants are very controversial in the deaf community. "Many deaf people feel as though deafness is not a handicap. They are culturally deaf individuals who have successfully adapted themselves to being deaf and feel as though things like cochlear implants would take them out of their deaf culture, a culture which provides a significant degree of support."
William Sauter, head of prosthetics at MacMillian Medical Center in Toronto, also has reservations. "A patient must go into surgery again, and I think most amputees don't like to be opened up," he observes in a May 1990 Science article on the Stanford research. In thinking of a future populated by machine-grafted humans, questions are raised as to how society as a whole will relate to people walking around with plugs and wires sprouting out of their heads. And who will decide which segments of the society become the wire-heads? "People are just not ready for cyborgs," says the implanted John Anderson.
And the moral issue of animal testing cannot be overlooked. Society as a whole, and armchair "neuronauts" in particular, should be aware that this research is totally dependent on the extensive use of laboratory animals. Legions of cats, monkeys, rats, rabbits, bullfrogs, and guinea pigs have been poked, prodded, zapped, and stuffed full of experimental hardware in the name of progress.
Basement Neurohackers
Perhaps more within the realm of science fiction than science fact, "neurohackers" are the new do-it-yourself brain tinkerers who have decided to take matters into their own heads. "There is quite an underground of neurohackers beaming just about every type of field imaginable into their heads to stimulate certain neurological structures (usually the pleasure centers )," a neurohacker wrote to me via e-mail. Several of these basement experimenters were willing to talk.
Meet Zorn. I got his name (which has been changed) from another neurohacker who told me a wild tale about a device that Zorn had recently built. "It's got an electrode ring situated over the pleasure centers of the brain. I know someone who tried it and he said it was like having a continuous orgasm." My God, you mean this guy's invented the Orgasmatron ? I immediately called Zorn, but at the suggestion of the other hacker, I only talk to him generally about basement brain tech.
Zorn's a psychologist by trade and a weekend electronics hobbyist. He tells me about several sound and vision devices (brain toys) he's built, similar to those now commercially available. He seems entirely sane; he's full of cautions. When I tell him about some of the other neurohacks I've heard about, he expresses deep concern. "If these people are going to mess with neuroelectric or neuromagnetic stimulation, they should build in more safety devices. There's a tremendous potential for harm: brain damage." When I ask him what he's been doing recently, he becomes quiet. "Well, it's something I'd rather not talk about. It's a device I built that could very easily be abused." (Hmmm... My mind flashes with perverse images of twitching orgasmo-junkies permanently jacked into the Zorn Device.)
"Why would it be abused?" I ask.
"I really can't say anything more about it. It would be a disaster if it got out into the world." Definitely an Orgasmatron...or perhaps just another piece of cybernetic mythology.
David Cole of the non-profit group AquaThought is another independent researcher willing to explore the inside of his own cranium. Over the years, he's been working on several schemes to transfer EEG patterns from one person's brain to another. The patterns of recorded brain waves from the source subject are amplified many thousands of times and then transferred to a target subject (in this case, Cole himself). The first tests on this device, dubbed the Montage Amplifier, were done using conventional EEG electrodes placed on the scalp. The lab notes from one of the first sessions with the Amplifier report that the target (Cole) experienced visual effects, including a "hot spot" in the very location where the source subject's eyes were being illuminated with a flashlight. Cole experienced a general state of "nervousness, alarm, agitation, and flushed face" during the procedure. The results of these initial experiments made Cole skittish about attempting others using electrical stimulation. He has since done several sessions using deep magnetic stimulation via mounted solenoids built from conventional iron nails wrapped with 22-gauge wire. "The results are not as dramatic, but they are consistent enough to warrant more study," he says.
Part of the danger of monkeying with one's brain, especially with little or no knowledge of neuroscience, is that most individuals do not have access to the sophisticated testing and feedback devices that are available to legitimate researchers. Through devices like the Mindset, a "desktop EEG," Cole and other researchers hope to change that (see Going Mental, page 106). "It is imperative that neuroscience research is not limited to large organizations with big budgets," insists Cole. The further I got out on the fringes of neurohacking, the more noise overcame signal. I heard rumors of brain-power amplification devices, wire-heading (recreational shock therapy), and most disturbing of all, claims that people are actually poking holes in their heads and directly stimulating their brains. (Kids, don't try this at home )
Jacking in? Please stand by...
We know the future will be wired. Hardwiring of neural prosthesis is already here and will continue to develop towards completely implantable systems controlled by the user's brain. Most researchers, perhaps over-cautiously, contend that these advanced systems are 10-20 years in the future. Whatever the date, this technology will eventually become a common enabling option for the disabled, and at that point, people will surely start talking about using the same technology for elective human augmentation.
But even when that day comes, many questions will remain. Will people really want to have their heads opened and wired? How will they pay for what will certainly be expensive procedures? And what about obsolescence? Technology moves at light speed now. How fast will it move a decade from now? In that accelerated future, today's hot neural interface could become tomorrow's neuro-trash. "Look, Jimmy's still got the version 1.1 Cranium Jack " (titter, titter). Certainly, even the most enthusiastic neuronauts will not want to subject themselves to repeated brain surgery in the pursuit of the latest hardware upgrade.
For the near future, the bulk of elective interface options will continue to be softwired ones, mainly via the sophisticated neural transducers we already have: our five senses. Likely directions include more immersive 3D, voice input/output, and a whole wardrobe of VR work and leisure suits. The sexiest, most SF interfaces of the next decade will include EEG-controlled/radio transmitted input devices.
Certainly the mythic desire for the bionic human, whether to restore what was lost or to add on what is desired, will continue to drive much of this inquiry. What direction such desires will take is anyone's guess. Professor Idhe: "I think a lot of this is conceptualist stuff, wishful thinking. These are fantasies that may have nothing to do with what eventually gets developed and used. As Avital Ronell points out in The Telephone Book: Technology - Schizophrenia - Electric Speech, the phone was originally intended as a prosthetic device for the hard of hearing. Technology will always develop as the society decides what it's to be used for, not necessarily what the designer or visionary had in mind."
Going Mental
Let Your Neurons Do the Typing
Psychic Labs fills the crowded front room of a seventh-floor flat in a posh Park Avenue apartment building. Stacks of data tapes containing recordings of brain waves compete for wall space with four video screens, professional sound equipment, and a bookshelf stuffed with programming manuals and arcane psychic literature. Since the apartment doubles as the home of psycho-engineer Masahiro Kahata and his family, visitors are asked to remove their shoes in keeping with Japanese custom. In this humble little room, say neuro-hackers, the revolution is taking place.
Using simple little boxes and electrodes, Kahata offers a new twist on "jacking in." First, hook a MIDI controller to your head, then plug it into your Macintosh and watch your own brain waves go by in full color.
A well-credentialed software engineer in Japan, Kahata came to New York in 1989. He is universally acknowledged as a visionary for his Interactive Brainwave Visual Analyzer (IBVA). Six years in the making, the IBVA is a $1,000 Mac-based system that picks up brain waves and translates them into colorful 3D graphs on the computer screen.
Kahata and like-minded researchers say that one day, keyboards and mice will be unnecessary - commands will be fed to the computer merely by thinking them.
Unfortunately, that day is not yet here. According to David Cole, director of research and development for Chinon America and an independent researcher in the field of mental computing, advances in direct-brain input to personal computers are akin to the replacement of clunky old typesetting machines with fast, cheap desktop publishing equipment. If Cole is right, the results might be the desktop equivalent of the electroencephalograph (EEG). But for now the equipment is more reminiscent of the early Apple IIs. In those days, you had to buy an extra board to make lowercase letters.
The principle of direct brain-input systems is simple. Your nervous system generates electric wavelengths with frequencies ranging from one-half cycle to more than 30 cycles per second. An electrode attached to your forehead picks up these waves as complex electrical signals, which it then transmits via radio signals to the computer. The computer uses a mathematical routine, called a "Fourier Transform," to break the signals into different wave components. Each component has a frequency of its own. Its amplitude can be graphed in near real time. According to neuroscientists, the level of "activity," or the strength of the waves at each frequency, has neurological meaning - it tells you what your brain is doing. Sort of.
This is about where science ends and, er, wacko-ism can set in. Doctors can certainly use brain-wave data for certain things. An epileptic seizure, for example, would show up quite dramatically. Intense concentration or even a sudden realization might manifest itself as distinct patterns in the graphs. But beyond that, any claims that people use brain waves to send messages, elegantly control computers, or bend spoons is speculation, if not pseudo-scientific fraud. Simply put, most neurologists would not ascribe that kind of power to brain waves.
Kahata's work evolved from a fascination with the psychic trickery of Israeli birthday party magician Uri Geller and other self-described psychics who preyed upon gullible Japanese (and Americans) in the 1970s. He was intrigued by a spoon-bending trick Geller performs, and decided to measure brain-wave activity of psychics. He found, indeed, a significant increase in the brain activity of psychics as they plied their trades.
Science writer and magic teacher Dorion Sagan (son of Carl) analyzes the situation this way: "If there is a tightly correlated increase in mental activity while a psychic is bending spoons, it is probably because he is nervous he is going to get caught."
But such psychic tomfoolery fostered the development of what could be a great tool, in the right hands. The IBVA - a two-component system packaged in plastic boxes the size of card decks; one strapped to your head, one to a receiver that sits on top of a computer - can use brain input for almost anything. Kahata's partner, Drew DeVito, has hooked it up to a MIDI interface to produce low, soothing music correlated precisely with brain activity from the frontal lobes. You can send brain-wave data over a modem. You can even record the data on a Walkman and analyze it later. Because the IBVA system is wireless, you can walk around and look out at Park Avenue while the computer records your brain waves. And while first-timers often have trouble with the device (mastery takes practice), recordings of LSD-promoter Timothy Leary's brain waves show that he is able to increase or decrease activity in any one part of the brain almost at will.
Mindset, an even more advanced IBVA-like instrument developed by AquaThought, Cole's non-profit group, is now on the market. While the IBVA looks at either one or two parts of the brain, Mindset, with the aid of a gooey, electroconductive gel, maps the whole brain at sixteen spots, thus reproducing on a laptop what was once possible only in a hospital or medical lab with a bulky and expensive EEG. The package will come with its own programming language which, according to software developer Sunil Gupta of Baltimore's Monsoon Software, will provide total control of the computer based on sixteen-channel brain input. "You do, of course, have the option of shaving your scalp, and then you wouldn't need the jelly," Gupta said. With personal-computer-based flexibility and a list price of around $1,500, Mindset could have far more mass appeal than a $20,000 EEG.
While skeptics will be singularly unimpressed by the present technology (the IBVA is a long way from transferring thought to the screen), the implications of IBVA and Mindset are astounding. The possibilities for enlightened medical use are numerous: With something like IBVA, some day a quadriplegic could "push buttons" by thinking. BioMuse, a more advanced and elaborate system from BioControl Systems in Palo Alto, California, has already shown some impressive test results in this field.
Medical student and neuro-hacker David Warner of Loma Linda University Medical Center puts it this way: "If you consider the keyboard and mouse as a unit, when we put the body into the cybernetic loop, human-computer interaction time will increase a thousandfold."
Warner predicts a change in the structure of human communications as a result. "Natural language is based on a physiological optimum," Warner says. "There is nothing optimum about little letters. The Gutenberg paradigm is dead."
At the cutting edge, in the distant future, that may be true. In the meantime, however, inexpensive equipment like the IBVA should increase access to brain-computing for hackers - the driving force behind most electronic innovation. That should speed things up; but don't toss out your keyboard - or shave your head - just yet.
Zachary Margulis is a reporter at the New York Daily News.
Gareth Branwyn ([email protected]) is senior editor of bOING bOING magazine and the creator of the HyperCard program "Beyond Cyberpunk: A Do It Yourself Guide to the Future." He is a columnist for Artpaper, and contributing writer for The Whole Earth Review and the Utne Reader.
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W On Newsstands Now
Issue 2.09 | Sep 1994
The Prince of Persia 2
By J. Caleb Donaldson
Printing? Use this version
Cosmology of Kyoto
Mind Your Net.Manners
Newton's Home Run App
Technology & Media
Shrinks in Love
Video Saves the Radio Star
Salt of the Earth
Anatomy of a Cel
A Manual of Factual Self-Defense
What to Ware for Your Wedding
Civil War What If
The Paste-Bomb Machine
See Hear
Reconfiguring the Corporation
The Prince of Persia 2
Babes in TuneLand
Scare Tactics
Using Wireless Communications in Business
Street Cred Contributors
So, you finally finished Prince of Persia. Your fingers hurt from the awkward keyboard controls, and your head is swimming from staring into your Macintosh magic mirror, but the Princess is at last within your reach. Not so fast - here comes Broderbund's sequel, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame. As before, the traps, mazes, and riddles will have you ignoring the rest of your life until you complete the game.
Part arcade battle, part puzzle-solving mystery, this is one of the most complicated computer games on the market. Though the plot is thin, it's all the motivation you need to start playing. After that, the complex puzzles hook you in for the duration.
Production values are superb, but you pay for this beauty in CPU cycles: game play is slow, like knitting. Sure, there's swashbuckling - but the trade-off between keyboard responsiveness and detailed animation has been settled in favor of aesthetics.
Prince of Persia 2 for DOS and Mac: US$40. Broderbund: +1 (415) 382 4600.
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Gear & Gadgets / Product News & Reviews
Android APK 4.2 teardown shows Google getting serious about security
New features might include VPN lockdown, SELinux, and SMS confirmation.
The folks at Android Police released part two of their Android 4.2 Alpha teardown today. The first edition revealed Android may soon have a Quick Settings feature available in the notifications panel. Now, it looks like Google is also turning its focus to beefing up security on the open platform.
We already know there’s the possibility of a built-in malware scanner coming to the Google Play store to help users make better decisions about which apps they install. Users should also expect Bouncer, the server-side malware scanner, but there's evidence that more is on the way.
First on the list is Security-Enhanced Linux, essentially a set of kernel add-ons that keeps applications from running rampant and having access to all the user's files. Android Police found code buried in the Settings APK that hints at an option to enable this kind of security in Android 4.2. There are three options for SELinux, including Disabled, Permissive, and Enforcing. Permissive essentially allows apps to have access and will log when the OS would have blocked an application, but it won’t actually block anything from having root file access. Enforcing puts all "hands" on deck to keep applications from having root access, and Disabled implies there's no security at all. The prevalence of such a feature follows a bigger trend in mobile security, where OSes are adopting standard security features found in desktop operating systems like Windows and OS X. There is also the SE Android project that's been working to bring this kind of security to Android.
The APK also shows evidence of VPN lockdown. This function ensures that certain data is sent only while connected to a specific network. At present, if Android users are logged out of VPN during an active session, the data will still send over the active Internet connection (offering no security). With the code tweaks in the APK, the session will stop immediately if there’s no VPN access available, rather than default to the active Internet connection.
Lastly, users will now have SMS confirmation when sending out text messages. This is to help combat recent malware that charged user accounts for text messages they never actually sent. Now, Android might ask users before it sends out a text message to a short code phone number.
None of these features have been confirmed for Android 4.2, but even the idea is a step in the right direction. If Google focuses its efforts on making Android more safe and secure for users, it could help grow the operating system’s market share and finally give it the safety rating it needs for enterprise users who want to switch from BlackBerry or iOS.
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Scientific Method / Science & Exploration
Weird Science says think green, but don’t go green (or slouch)
As if bridge-loving bats and the evolutionary impact of the pill weren't weird …
Green products as the new Diet Coke: How humans respond to making choices perceived as ethical or good has been one of the rather unfortunate discoveries in the psychological sciences. If people are reminded of positive choices—shown a diet menu or something similar—they'll tend to behave better. Once they actually make a positive choice, like ordering a diet Coke, they feel like they've done their bit and are licensed for poor behavior. Hence the supersized fries that often accompany the diet soda. Well, apparently, green products have arrived, or at least reached Diet Coke status. "People act more altruistically after mere exposure to green than conventional products," write the authors of a study that will appear in Psychological Science. "However, people act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products as opposed to conventional products."
Sit up straight when you write that!: A bit more weird psychology. Apparently, slouching will make you less likely to believe positive statements about yourself. On the plus side, it makes you less likely to believe negative ones, too. Researchers instructed subjects to sit up straight or slouch as they listed positive or negative qualities about themselves. A short while later, a test suggested that the subjects felt more confidence in what they wrote, both positive and negative, if they had been sitting up straight.
Scientific publishing weirdness: This paper didn't strike me as weird so much as completely bonkers, given its opening sentence: "I reject the Darwinian assumption that larvae and their adults evolved from a single common ancestor." It forwarded the proposal that the difference between larval and adult forms of insects—between caterpillars and butterflies, to give one example—arose because insects are the product of a hybridization event between a caterpillar-like organism and something that looked like the adult. The two different forms represent what once were two different species. There's no evidence for this, and any number of reasons to indicate it's wrong. The person who wrote the article is retired after having pushed similar ideas for decades; he's apparently so poorly read on the subject that he doesn't realize that there's already data that addresses the test of his proposal that he puts forward (and shows that he's wrong).
Living under an overpass is good for you (if you're a bat): Humans may be disrupting ecosystems left and right, but the changes they bring about sometimes create winners, as well as losers, among the ecosystem's inhabitants. Apparently, when it comes to nesting environments, bats can sometimes come out as winners. "Based on putative stress-related conditions (noise from vehicular traffic, chemical pollutants and a modified social environment) present at bridges, we predicted that bats at these sites would have reduced reproductive success," the authors write. But those expectations did not survive contact with the data: "Contrary to our prediction, pups born at a bridge site were on average heavier and larger at birth and grew faster than those born at a cave site."
Artificial selection, via the pill: The human menstrual cycle is a powerful thing. Various studies have suggested it influences mate choice, as men find women who are on the verge of ovulation more attractive, while women who are ovulating prefer men who impartial subjects rate as more masculine. But a funny thing has happened in modern society: a substantial portion of women no longer ovulate because they're on the pill. The authors of a recent review discuss some evidence that the sorts of shifts that normally occur upon ovulation don't happen when women are on the pill, and consider what that might mean for the formation of relationships that eventually go on to produce offspring.
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Scientific Method / Science & Exploration
Genetically modified salmon up for FDA approval, then dinner
Genetically modified salmon are the first transgenic animal destined for human …
Salmon is really good for us. Of the ten most frequently consumed fish in the United States, salmon has the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to reduce coronary heart disease and are essential for fetal brain development. In terms of animal sources of protein, salmon is about as nutritious as we are going to find. We might see great public health benefits if everyone ate more salmon, especially if we substituted it for less healthful sources of animal proteins.
But ocean stocks of salmon, like those of many other fish, are dwindling, so we have turned to aquaculture to provide us with tasty fish. Unfortunately, this may exacerbate rather than solve the problem. Farmed fish eat fish oil or fish meal, which come only from wild fish, and it takes three pounds of wild fish meal to generate one pound of salmon. Thus, aquaculture further depletes the oceans rather than sparing them.
To escape this vicious cycle, Aqua Bounty Technologies, based in Massachusetts, has generated transgenic AquAdvantage salmon that grow to market size twice as fast as regular salmon while requiring less feed. The FDA is considering whether to approve this salmon based on safety grounds alone, and that's simply too narrow, according to a Policy Forum published in Science.
These genetically modified Atlantic salmon have two foreign DNA sequences inserted into their genomes. One encodes a growth hormone from Chinook salmon. The other is the on-switch used by an antifreeze gene from ocean pout, an eel-like fish found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. When placed alongside the growth hormone, this on-switch makes the salmon produce the growth hormone in cold weather when they otherwise wouldn't. Importantly, the GM salmon do not grow larger than regular salmon; they just achieve their size in sixteen to eighteen months rather than three years.
If approved, GM salmon would be the first transgenic animal available for human consumption in the United States. The FDA is evaluating the GM salmon as a veterinary drug. As such, it is analyzing only the risk of GM salmon compared to conventional salmon, and its primary deciding factor for approval will be whether or not the GM salmon are safe (and so far, they seem to be).
The FDA is not taking market issues into account: how the introduction of GM salmon may affect the price of salmon, how that may in turn impact consumption of salmon, and what effects that might have on public health and its associated costs. Past data indicates that, if GM salmon does in fact lower production costs, more people—especially those in low-income households, who are the most susceptible to poor nutrition—are more likely to eat it. The FDA is also not considering the environmental concerns engendered by a potentially expanded salmon market: pollution by waste, concentration of disease and the drugs used to deal with it, the strain on wild fish used for feed, or the escape of transgenic fish.
The company that created the fish has minimized this last concern by noting that the fish are grown inland in facilities with containment mechanisms. Even if they get loose, they are sterile and cannot breed with wild stocks.
Since the FDA is evaluating GM salmon as a drug, and not a food, its sole criterion for approval is whether it's safe compared to other salmon. Yet no one is evaluating whether this planet or the population that inhabits it will benefit or not from the introduction of GM salmon into our food supply.
These additional concerns may not be the responsibility of the FDA, but the authors of the Policy Forum argue that they should be considered by someone, somewhere. And since it will probably take two to three years for the salmon to reach supermarkets if they are approved, market economists, environmentalists, nutritionists, and everyone else have plenty of time to ponder these issues before tasting the cause of all the controversy.
Science, 2010. DOI: 10.1126/science.1197769 (About DOIs).
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Great Firewall of China expands as Tibetan riots continue
The Great Firewall of China has struck again, this time blocking access to …
China has joined the ranks of countries that have instituted either temporary or permanent blocks on YouTube. The decision came as clips of the recent riots in Tibet—a "sensitive" topic in China—have made their way onto the popular video sharing site. As usual, the Chinese government has remained mum on the move to block content from the eyes of Internet users, so it's unclear whether this block will remain in effect for the long term or if it's merely a short-term solution.
YouTube isn't the only site that has reportedly been added to China's Great Firewall since the Tibetan riots started last week. Popular news sites reporting on the riots—such as CNN, The Guardian, the BBC, Google News, and Yahoo!—have allegedly had all or parts of their sites blocked. Some Chinese readers have reported that only specific articles have been blocked, including ones that contain keywords about Tibet, riots, or the Dalai Lama.
Our own tests this morning with WebSitePulse's China firewall tester have only yielded a block on thus far—the other sites' home pages (and some specific articles about Tibet) appear to be going through. As we know, though, China's firewall doesn't always filter everything all the time, and may be implemented differently in different areas of the country. Sites that appear accessible in Shanghai right now might not be accessible in Beijing, and something that's accessible in China's capital may mysteriously "disappear" later on. Researchers at UC Davis' Computer Science department found that the firewall would accidentally allow banned terms through about 28 percent of the time, particularly during high-traffic times.
The problem with these arbitrary blocks is that users are increasingly aware of them. Posts made to, a site about Chinese media, show that Chinese Internet users not only know which sites are being blocked at which times, but why. "Youtube is blocked in China as of 22:45, Beijing time. See no evil, hear no evil..." wrote one poster, with others confirming the disconnect and pointing out that it "has a lot to do with Tibet." Another poster noted in a thread about YouTube and other news sources being blocked, "This govt officials should get a life and deal with reality!"
Given the Chinese government's fickle attitude towards the filtering the websites of international media, we'll venture a guess that the block on YouTube will eventually be lifted once the Tibetan dust begins to clear online. But each bit of additional filtering only raises the profile of China's filtering activities in the eyes of its Internet users. Maintaining the Great Firewall of China will become increasingly challenging as more of China's massive population gets online.
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Derivatives: Cards aplenty, play 'em right
TNN Dec 18, 2002, 01.12am IST
About a month ago a large Mumbai-based corporate house with possibly the smartest treasury operation, was quietly taking a huge currency and interest rate bet on its books.
What it was doing was simply converting some of its old rupee loans — a high cost liability which can't be prepaid — into dollars by entering into a swap arrangement with a bank.
Under this synthetic structure, the corporate supposedly transferred its rupee liability to the bank and took a dollar loan. Thus it only paid a lower interest on the dollar loan and neutralised the higher interest cost on its original rupee loan.
But behind this apparently neat structure to lower the company's fund cost, was an element of risk: at the end of six months when the company has to pay the interest on the dollar loan, it would lose out if the US currency gains; the blow would be even bigger if the Libor (or the dollar interest rate) inches up, which will require the company to cough up an even higher interest at the end of the next six months. On the other hand if the rupee gained, the corporate makes money and the bank loses out.
Banks normally minimise risks by entering into a reverse transaction with another corporate.
Whichever way the market moved, the company in question was taking a bet. Understandably, it was driven by two definite views: first that the rupee will gain against the dollar (as has been the case for the past seven months) and secondly, international interest rates (since it was paying a mark up over the Libor) would further soften.
The point is the company was keeping the position uncovered to save on costs that go with hedging.
Over and above this, it has built leveraged positions, which means that either the gains or losses depending on whichever way the market moves in future, will be a multiples of the actual gain or loss.
Exotic financial products are inevitable in a market with a significant presence of foreign banks which have successfully sold such structures in several advanced as well as less developed markets. Besides, as market matures, the appetite for risk grows. But few Indian corporates really have the expertise and wherewithal to run such risks on their books.
Nevertheless, it caught on and soon several companies were attracted to such leveraged swap deals. In such cases a sophisticated player would know how to cover itself: say, track the daily rates and the benefit accruing from every drop in Libor could be locked in by using the surplus to hedge, thus lowering the risk the extent to which it hedges. But fears are only a handful of corporates have such mechanisms in place.
Perhaps such concerns and a more general one relating to the system as a whole caused the RBI to intervene. In early November banks received a directive issued by RBI, saying : "....certain banks are offering/contemplating to offer swaps involving leveraged structures to clients. The matter has been reviewed by RBI...and it has been decided that these are not appropriate at the present stage of development of the market."
But RBI is not clamping down on all derivative structures. Another product doing the rounds is "Libor in arrears". Say, a company with a foreign currency loan, has a view that interest rate will fall one year down the line.
To lower the cost on its existing liability, it goes to bank and enters into a derivative contract with a bank, under which it receives, say, an interest of 2.85%, but agrees that one year later it will pay the Libor prevailing at that of time.
Here, 2.85% is the what the corporate thinks the Libor will be on December 18, '03. The company, in other words, takes the Libor forward. If the Libor is more, it loses, but clearly there is a positive earning for the company if Libor drops. Before these structures arrived, the Indian market mostly offered plain vanilla interest rate swaps.
Suppose a corporate does an external commercial borrowing, which was quite prevalent three years ago where the dollar and rupee interest differential was higher.
Here, the IRS primarily related to a switch from either a floating to a fixed, or a fixed to floating interest rate obligation, depending on whether the company is expecting the interest rate to rise or fall, respectively.
Alternatively, an entity could buy "caps" or "floors". A company buying a cap would ensure that the interest rate would be fixed once it reaches a particular level.
On the other hand, a lender with a floating rate asset would buy a floor, which again would ensure that the interest would freeze once it drops to a particular level.
The market also offers what is called a "range". This ensures that a fixed rate will be offered, say against a deposit, if Libor moves in a particular range.
While these simpler products are still available in the market, a continuous fall in the interest rate and a gradual appreciation of the rupee is causing a growth of more interesting structures. The inverse floater was one such structure.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
ok, i have one question, i got an error that my disk failure is imminent, i tryed everything possible to recover it but not success. then i completelly removed my ubuntu 12.04 by installing windows xp instead, but for some reasons, it now work fully with windows xp, but again suffers problems with ubuntu, displaying same message. is there any fix possible, please answer me quickly, i can not use windows i dont know lot to use it it s so hard. please help to back my best linux ever!!!!
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askubuntu.com/questions/190671/… ? – Rinzwind Mar 20 '13 at 15:51
your hard disk is going to fail soon. The self test are reporting that. Probably in XP, it doesn't recognize the result. Try windows 7, you will get the error. So backup your disk as early as possible – Web-E Mar 20 '13 at 15:52
i allredy backuped. in wndows everithing works nice, just terminal or that cmd does not recognize any comand just cd. is that sure that it will fail, beacause it is really new one and 2tb disk?? – pro ubuntuer Mar 20 '13 at 15:57
1 Answer 1
Ubuntu is more sensitive to potential disk failure, and will tell you long before Windows does. Heed the messages Ubuntu is giving you. Your drive is failing. I don't care what Windows (especially XP) says. By the time Windows figures it out, you probably won't even be able to boot to the drive.
Yes, brand-new drives can fail. I've had this exact same thing happen with my Western Digital 1TB drive (it was a factory defect with that line of drives). Since it's brand new, you can get it replaced under the manufacturer's warranty. Do that ASAP.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8585
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8587
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A bit late but never mind! Introducing the world's first Alpaca Chef, Senor Arpakasso! Something halloween themed but you could easily make it less gruesome :P
This is a web series we've been producing for a while, but somehow I've never posted it here. Hope you enjoy it! Full recipes in the "show more" comments box on the video. Any suggestions of what we should bake next? I know it's thanksgiving but that's kind of a foreign concept for us Australians~
Episode 2: Vanilla & Raspberry Creme Brulee
Episode 1: Chocolate Fondant (just hit 50,000 views! woo)
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8634
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If you're developer who creates or accesses data files (and who doesn't?), then this blog might be one for you to keep an eye on.
Welcome to the first installment of Microsoft Packaging Team blog!
The Packaging team works in the Microsoft Windows Division to provide programming APIs that support the Open Packaging Conventions standard. Open Packaging Conventions ("OPC") is a new file technology documented by the ISO/IEC 29500-2 and ECMA 376-2 standards.
Several members of the team worked on the original System.IO.Packaging APIs released for managed-code in .NET 3.0. We're particularly excited now with the upcoming release of Windows 7 which will include new native-code Win32 Packaging APIs that will ship as part of the operating system! Microsoft is strongly embracing open standards and interoperability - the commitment to incorporate OPC as an integral element of the operating system is another step in that direction.
Open Packacing ConventionsPerhaps an initial question might be, "what is OPC and what makes it so compelling"? Rather than being a specific file format, OPC is a container-file technology that's designed to create file formats based on a flexible open framework. OPC integrates elements of Zip, XML, and the Web into an open industry standard that makes it easier to organize, store, and transport application data. OPC is the core file technology for many of the new file formats supported by Microsoft products. This new generation of OPC-based files include Office 12 versions of Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), and PowerPoint (.pptx), along with XPS (.xps), Semblio (.semblio), plus a growing number of other new Microsoft and third-party applications such as Autodesk AutoCAD (.dwfx) and Siemens UGS (.jtx). While each of these file formats share OPC as a foundation, the data content contained in each differs depending on the specific format. Before going too much further, perhaps a couple of words on terminology.
In packaging terms...
• A "package" corresponds to a "Zip archive".
• A "part" corresponds to a "file" (i.e. "a data stream") stored within the Zip.
In using Zip as its physical container, all OPC-based file formats are, in fact, Zip files. You can simply append ".zip" to any OPC file (package) to open and examine its contents in Windows Explorer or your favorite Zip utility. This makes packages a great choice for organizing multiple application data streams into a single file that’s portable and easy to access. It’s important to note, however, that while all OPC files are Zip files, the reverse is not necessarily true: not all Zip files are OPC files. OPC adds two requirements to a Zip file:
1. The names of all of the parts (files) stored in an OPC package must be URI-compliant.
2. The package must contain a “[Content_Types].xml” file.
URI Part Names
The first requirement*, URI-compliant part names, enables potential web-access to the parts stored in a package when the package is located on a web server. In situations where an original filename is not URI-compliant, the filename is typically "percent-encoded" to a URI-compliant form. For example, a part with the filename "my file.txt" would be percent-encoded as "my%20file.txt" (you've probably seen this in many of the URLs on your Web browser).
*Re. ISO 29500-2, Section 9.1.1 “Part Names”.
The [Content_Types].xml Part
The second requirement**, a "[Content_Types].xml" part, is used so that the content of all the parts in the package are clearly and accurately defined, not only today but into the future. Since many three or four characters filename extensions have multiple meanings, Content_Types is used to accurately define part content through the use of MIME-style media types. The markup within a Content_Types part is fairly simple and contains just two basic types of elements: "Default" and "Override" elements.
• Default: associates a generic file "Extension" to a specified "ContentType".
• Override: associates a specific "PartName" to a specified "ContentType"
(overrides any Default extension association).
The following is an example of a [Content_Types].xml part:
<Default Extension="htm" ContentType="text/html" />
<Default Extension="css" ContentType="text/css" />
<Default Extension="png" ContentType="image/png" />
<Default Extension="jpg" ContentType="image/jpeg" />
<Default Extension="mp3" ContentType="audio/mpeg3" />
<Default Extension="xml" ContentType="application/xml" />
<Override PartName="/docProps/core.xml"
ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-package.core-properties+xml" />
When using the Win32 native-code Packaging APIs or .NET managed-code Packaging APIs the Content_Types file is created and managed automatically. If you're creating a Zip package on your own you'll also need to include a [Content_Types].xml file that contains the markup to define the content types for all of the parts contained in the package. As shown in the above example this is fairly simple to do.
**Re. ISO 29500-2, Section 9.1.2 “Content Types”.
The Adventure Continues...
These are some basics to help get you started but there are many other additional services that OPC provides. A goal of this blog will be to highlight uses and features of both the Win32 native-code Packaging and .NET managed-code System.IO.Packaging APIs for creating, organizing, and accessing information stored in OPC files. We think you'll find the Open Packaging Conventions an exceptionally flexible standard for managing application data; and in particular, the packaging APIs an indispensable tool to help you take advantage of this new file technology - more to come in following episodes...
Thanks for listening,
PS: Here are some links for more information and related topics about Packaging:
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8641
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How Can I Modify the Output of the Ping Command?
How Can I Modify the Output of the Ping Command?
• Comments 1
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Hey, Scripting Guy! Question
Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I place the current date and time at the beginning of each line of Ping.exe output?
-- AL
SpacerHey, Scripting Guy! AnswerScript Center
Hey, AL. We have to admit, we were a little shocked by your question. Change the output of the Ping command? Really, AL. Would you ask us to rewrite Romeo and Juliet, giving it a more happy and upbeat ending? Would you ask us to fix up the Mona Lisa, giving Mona blonde hair and maybe a cute little butterfly tattoo? Would you ask us to take the peanuts out of peanut M&M’s and replace them with soybeans? Some things should not be tampered with; they’re perfectly fine just the way they are.
But, to tell you the truth, we don’t consider Ping.exe to be one of those things:
Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set objWshScriptExec = objShell.Exec("ping")
Set objStdOut = objWshScriptExec.StdOut
Do Until objStdOut.AtEndOfStream
strLine = objStdOut.ReadLine
If Len(strLine) > 2 Then
WScript.Echo Now & " -- " & strLine
Wscript.Echo strLine
End If
So what are we doing here? Well, to begin with, we’re creating an instance of the Wscript.Shell object. After that, we call the Shell object’s Exec method, asking Exec to run the command-line command ping
Set objWshScriptExec = objShell.Exec("ping")
If you aren’t familiar with the Exec method (which was introduced as part of Windows Script Host version 5.6) it’s actually a nifty little command. Exec is similar to the Run method; the primary difference is that while the Run method runs a command-line tool in a visible command window, the Exec method runs that same command-line tool in a hidden window. When you call Ping.exe using Exec, you’ll never see Ping – or its output – onscreen.
That’s a good point: Ping isn’t really all that useful if you never see the results, is it? But that’s OK: we can still get at the output. That’s because a command-line tool run using Exec has all its output stored in the StdOut property of the WSHScriptExec object (an object we created at the same time we called the Exec method). To get at the output of Ping.exe we simply need to read the value of the StdOut property.
So let’s see how we go about doing that. To begin with, here’s a line of code that binds us to the StdOut property:
Set objStdOut = objWshScriptExec.StdOut
After we’ve made the connection we set up a Do Until loop that reads StdOut line-by-line until there are no more lines to read (that is, until the AtEndOfStream property is true). Admittedly, we don’t need to read StdOut line-by-line; we’re only doing it in this case because we want to put the current date and time at the beginning of each line.
Note. Admittedly, we’re cheating a tiny bit: we’re actually calling Ping, waiting for the command to finish, and then – slightly after the fact – adding the date and time to the beginning of each line. That means our times will always be a few seconds off. However, that’s about the best we can do: we can’t ask Ping to issue the first ping, wait for us to grab the results and tack on the date and time, and only then run the second ping. If you feel the need to get that level of accuracy – and if you’re running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 – then you might want to use the WMI class Win32_PingStatus and, in essence, create your own, customized version of Ping.exe.
Inside the loop we use this line of code to read the first line from StdOut:
strLine = objStdOut.ReadLine
We then use the Len function to determine whether or not the line has more than two characters in it. Why? Well, Ping’s output typically includes a few blank lines; because we don’t want to stick the current date and time on a blank line we use a little bit of programming intelligence to weed out blank lines. So then why do we check for lines greater than 2 characters? Shouldn’t we check for lines that have 0 characters?
That would seem to make sense. However, in command-line output a blank line doesn’t really have 0 characters; instead a blank line actually has two characters: a carriage return and a linefeed. If we checked for lines that had a length equal to 0 characters we’d never find one.
Suppose a line does have more than two characters in it. In that case we echo back the current date and time (using the VBScript function Now) followed by the line of code we read in from StdOut:
WScript.Echo Now & " -- " & strLine
If the line doesn’t have more than two characters then it must be a blank line. In that case, we don’t attach the current date and time but instead echo back just the value read in from StdOut:
Wscript.Echo strLine
Will that do the trick? Judge for yourself:
8/6/2006 2:42:45 PM -- Pinging with 32 bytes of data:
8/6/2006 2:42:45 PM -- Reply from bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
8/6/2006 2:42:46 PM -- Reply from bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
8/6/2006 2:42:47 PM -- Reply from bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
8/6/2006 2:42:48 PM -- Reply from bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
8/6/2006 2:42:48 PM -- Ping statistics for
8/6/2006 2:42:48 PM -- Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
8/6/2006 2:42:48 PM -- Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
8/6/2006 2:42:48 PM -- Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
Note. Incidentally, many years ago the legendary Dean Tsaltas wrote a Tales From the Script column that, among other things, used this same approach to show how you can modify the output you get back from command-line tools. If that sounds interesting to you check it out. (This, by the way, was the very first column published in the Script Center. And it remains as useful today as it was back in 2002!)
We hope that helps, AL. As for putting a butterfly tattoo on the Mona Lisa, though, well, we’re afraid we can’t help you there:
Your comment has been posted. Close
Leave a Comment
• Opps, I lost everything I typed.... go figure. Long story short with Windows 7 and Windows Script Host Version 5.8 objShell.Exec does not run with a hidden window. The code below captures input and runs it hidden:
Set objShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Const TemporaryFolder = 2
Sub RunDOSCommand(command)
TempFile = objFSO.GetSpecialFolder(TemporaryFolder) & "\" & objFSO.GetTempName
objShell.Run "%comspec% /c " & command & " >" & TempFile, 0, True
Results = Split(objFSO.OpenTextFile(TempFile).ReadAll, vbcrlf)
objFSO.DeleteFile TempFile
For Each i in Results : If trim(i) <> "" Then Msgbox i
Msgbox Join(Results, vbcrlf)
End Sub
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Is it Compute Cluster Solution or Compute Cluster Edition?
We seem to be getting a few perplexed looks from some of our customers as to the actual name of our new HPC technology. Is it Compute Cluster Solution (CCS) or Compute Cluster Edition (CCE)? The short answer is both. ;-) Please read on.....
Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Solution consists of two separate products (on 2 separate CD's) which can be purchased separately or together:
DISK 1: Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition, for x64 processors. Although you can use an off-the-shelf version of our x64 editions, this version of Windows Server 2003 has been tailored to the needs of the HPC workload.
DISK 2: Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Pack, which includes a Job Scheduler, message passing interface, cluster monitoring tools and deployment tools.
So, you may ask, why did we do it this way? Simply put, customers who want to implement this solution may already have the x64 edition of Windows Server 2003 and may not need disk 1, or maybe you want to add more nodes – bingo – disk 1.
In contrast, some organizations may have some components on disk 2 (i.e. Job Scheduler)
This approach to HPC allows our customers the most flexibility at the lowest cost when choosing to implement an HPC solution.
- Ward Ralston
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8645
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Syndicate content
Gratuitous use of pop-culture in titles
Gangnam Migration: Regression-Discontinuity Impacts of Migrating to Korea
David McKenzie's picture
Several countries around the world (notably Australia and Canada) have migration points systems- score above some points threshold and you can come in, score below and you can’t. This has intrigued me with the possibility of a regression-discontinuity design to measure impacts of migrating. However, there are several problems – the points given tend to be lumpy (e.g.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8678
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The Motley Fool Discussion Boards
Previous Page
Investing/Strategies / Retirement Investing
Subject: Pension info to consider Date: 10/4/2012 8:30 PM
Author: gogreengo Number: 71000 of 77570
We finally (a week late) got the specifics on my husband's pension. He is being offered the opportunity to choose: 1. take lump sum now, 2. take monthly payments now, or 3. do nothing and receive pension benefits at age 65 (he's 47 now).
Here's their offer:
1. lump sum: 35,000
2. monthly payments now: 170
3. pension benefits at 65: 670
Choices #2 and 3 are based on a single life annuity. We don't see the upside of choosing single life, since I am dependent on his income/savings. So those numbers would be lower with a 50, 75, or 100% joint and survivor annuity. On their web site, the calculator says a 100% j/s annuity payment at age 65 would be $500 a month.
The PPA interest rates they used are -1.2, -3.6, and -4.5% on the 5 years, 6-20 years, and the 21+ years respectively. (Not sure what this means, but I have a general idea.)
Soooo...I am surprised at the lump sum amount. It seems maybe they are expecting someone to only live about 5 years after age 65. (I know the math isn't straight-forward when they figure these things.)
Any opinions on what the best choice would be, given these specifics?
(Thanks again for all the input on the previous thread! I will be noodling all of this in the days/weeks ahead.)
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Subject: Re: 0% APR Date: 4/29/1998 7:34 PM
Recommendations: 0
Crazyfred sed:
I'm going to coin a term here... "Metal Creep"
Used to be, a Gold Card had a certain cachet to it... but as more and more people got them, the "membership" in a Gold Card account lost its ability to confer prestige. And so, when the marketing oomph was drained out of the "Gold" concept, the credit card peddlers upped the ante: the mark of the true elite became the Platinum Card.
Of course, everybody and his brother qualifies for a Platinum Card these days... even I've got one, and if they let me have it on a Fool's salary, they aren't exactly checking pedigrees. So we may define "Metal Creep" as the tendency for a decline in the efficacy of the symbols used by credit card marketers in their attempts to confer an aura of status to their products -- especially when said symbols are gimmicky, like the funny color of a plastic rectangle. In a few months, I'll be expecting the dapper and well-to-do will be flashing their Plutonium Cards under the turned-up noses at Tiffany's. Three months after that, we'll all have them.
Moral of the story: read the fine print -- don't be dazzled by the shiny colors. Remember, kids... prestige doesn't have the cachet it once had.
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Aug 1 2011
House of Holes: A Book of Raunch by Nicholson Baker
Adam Wilson
web exclusive
Everyone knows you can't judge a book by its cover, but what about judging one by its author photo? Surely something can be inferred from an author's surly eyebrows, or his affected stare into sunset? I bring this up because the author photo for Nicholson Baker's latest novel, House of Holes: A Book of Raunch, so perfectly captures the book's warmly horny voice. Baker—chub-cheeked, twinkle-eyed, sporting a Floridian sun-hat and snow white Santa beard—calls up a gentler Hemingway, less Old Man and the Sea than Old Man and the Giant Bottle of Viagra. He looks like a randy but harmless grandpa, the threat of his implied erection undercut by an overwhelming aura of sweetness. The same could be said for House of Holes: Wildly pornographic, fearlessly comic, incredibly entertaining, the book is ultimately a dulcet affair, a wide-eyed imagining of an Edenic sexual playground.
The House of Holes referred to in the title is a vacation resort—part Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, part Hedonism II, part Jewish summer camp. In this sexed-up dreamland, you'll enjoy leisure activities like "pussy-surfing the lake." After dinner you might wind down on the International Couch, where you "get to hump your way" down a line of women from all imaginable countries. In summer there's a Tit Swarm in which one man is allowed into a dark room filled with topless women. In the Headless Bedroom women can have their way with decapitated men called "bodyboys." Perhaps most intriguing is the Velvet Room, where famous dead Russian composers will "play your leg like the keys of a piano," and rub their erections against the soles of your feet. And don't forget to visit the other attractions: the Hall of the Penises, the Penis Tree, the Groan Room, the Porndechahedron, the Avenue of Men Who Need to Suck Twat Everyday, the Garden of Happy Delightful Fuckers, the Squat Line, and, simply, the Man Line. The only drawback is expense—$9,000 a day for men not on work-study programs (women get in free). Oh, and there's a thief on the loose who's stealing clitorises.
How does one get to House of Holes? Archaeology student Shandee's journey to the resort begins when she finds a disembodied human arm on a dig. It's a sophisticated arm—it has a solar panel, a digestion system, and a "lovely touch"; it also acts as a portal. Portals are found in numerous random places: washing machines, pens, pepper grinders, plastic straws; one man is even sucked in through the tip of his own penis—"a self-referential experience." Upon arrival guests are greeted by Lila, a Wonka-esque "woman of a certain age," who says things like, "All orgasms are marvels." This could be the resort's motto, stitched onto the complimentary bathrobes below the HoH monogram.
There's no plot to speak of. Like Sherwood Anderson's Winesberg, Ohio, the book is comprised of short vignettes featuring crisscrossing characters in a vividly rendered locale. Much unlike Winesburg, Ohio, the vignettes have titles like, "Shandee Learns How to Wash a Penis" and "Luna Fucks a Penis Tree." Some characters are carrying out missions: Shandee must reconnect the arm with its owner, Dave, who traded it for a giant penis via a "cross-crotchal interplasmic transfer"; Henriette must find a cure for her "sleepy clit"; Dennis must gently excavate the accidentally shrunken Mindy who is stuck inside his penis. But for the most part, HoH has no overarching narrative, and is propelled by Baker's uncensored imagination and give for comic wordplay—a significant power source. Here, a penis is a "spunkloaded meatloaf of a ham steak of a dick" or a "Malcolm Gladwell," and the sex act might involve a man's "thundertube of dickmeat" pushing "frilly doilies of labial flesh aside" so it can slam into her "train station…commuting in and out of her pussyhole." He's satirizing the tropes of terrible erotic writing, but in doing so he's created something original, a hilariously over-the-top sexual lexicon.
It's familiar territory for Baker. His dialogue-only second novel, Vox, takes place entirely within the space of a call to a phone-sex operator. The Fermata is about a man who uses his ability to stop time to have sex with whomever he wants. But House of Holes is an entirely different beast with two backs. Whereas Baker's previous forays into skin-fiction used sex as springboard to larger ideas about psychology and humanity, House of Holes is smut for smut's sake: It's goal is to arouse and entertain. In this, it succeeds, at least if you're a heterosexual male. There are no gay men at the resort, and the occasional moments of lesbianic interplay involve "scissoring," an act more common to porn films than to actual lesbian sex (or so I've been told). The women are parodically over-eager constructs of male fantasy; they say things like "fill my mouth with the manly warmth of your nutbag," and "Ice my cake dickboys! I want to feel like a breakfast pastry."
The press materials for HoH frame the book as a triumphant riposte to Katie Roiphe's recent plea for the re-sexification of American fiction in the New York Times Book Review. But HoH feels more like an accusatory rejoinder against something else, against a larger creative limpness that has infiltrated not just American fiction, but our collective cultural imagination, as evidenced the massive amounts of uninspired pornography that terrorize our bandwith. House of Holes refuses to settle for predictable erotic fantasies. In this sense it is a "sex positive" book, a celebration and reminder of how far sexual fantasies and the language that describes them can go.
Adam Wilson's novel Flatscreen will be published by HarperPerennial in February 2012.
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You are viewing bramcohen
Fri, Nov. 13th, 2009, 10:08 pm
Comments on Go
Here are my preliminary thoughts on the Go programming language.
The most interesting feature for me personally is the built-in threading. Aside from its superb support for multi-core, it's just plain a good set of ways of doing networking. The lack of a decent built-in networking library (and generally coordination library) in Python has been a thorn in my side just about forever. In particular the promotion of queues to being one of the few built-in primitives with their own special syntax encourages good threading practice and is clearly warranted. Even such a simple command as 'wait until either the UI thread or the networking thread comes up with something' is a source of ongoing pain in most languages, but is built into Go as a core concept using select.
Go seems to finally get the static typing problem solved. Its := operator is a reasonable middle point between C++'s ludicrous verbosity and ML's excessive magic. Types being structural is also a huge win. There's no end of stupid architectural haggling over what module a base type sits in and who owns it, and the answer 'nowhere' completely gets rid of that problem. It seems to me that there are deep subtle problems with such declarations - for example, how does it statically check that the parameters accepted by methods of a type you're receiving are compatible with what you want to pass them? But maybe I just haven't thought about it enough. It's too bad that Go doesn't currently have generics. I for one won't start any new project in it until it reaches that level of maturity.
Go's lack of exception handling is a real problem, and another thing I'm blocking on to do real development in it. My own preferred method for adding it would be that if you call a function which has multiple return values and you don't handle one of them, it defaults to shorting to the same return of the caller, although some people might complain about that being too much like Java's 'throws'. That said, I've gotten so used to debugging by stack trace that I'd be loathe to not have stack building built into the language in some form, and in fact I've gotten really attached to a tricked out logging tool I wrote which can decorate any object and automatically logs a full stack trace of every assignment which is made to the object and allows you to print them all out at once. But perhaps such trickery is really the domain of highly dynamic languages, and not appropriate for something as low level and performance oriented as Go.
The primitives in Go are quite good. All languages should have special maps and lists built in. I think it actually doesn't go far enough with giving them special status, and should have Python-style special syntax for maps. The curly brackets could be freed up by simply eliminating their current usage and making formatting have syntax. It's more than a little bit absurd that the language designers themselves have a setup where a utility standardizes the formatting of their own code every time they commit, but they still maintain the nominal free-form nature of the language. Really guys, I know you were traumatized by Fortran's original awful enforced formatting, but that was a long time ago and it's time to let go.
That said, the primitives are given too much special status in other ways - they're the only things which have type parameterization, making it impossible to even implement their interfaces yourself, and worse, they're the only things which are call by reference. The call by reference thing worries me a lot. I really, really don't want Go to become the reference/pointer mix hell which C++ has become, but it's already headed in that direction. It really shouldn't matter that much - things which are passed are either an address or a copy, and the reference/pointer distinction really just has to do with what's the default (okay, so typically references don't let you overwrite either, but that's not a fundamental property). I for one strongly prefer the default be an address, and clearly when push comes to shove Go's designers do too, but more important than which way it is is that it should be consistent. Already transitioning to something consistent might require rewriting huge amounts of code, and it's getting worse, so fixing this problem might have to happen soon or never, and I'm afraid that it might already be never.
Go's speed of compilation is very nice, although I'm afraid I view that not so much as a strength of Go but as an awfulness of C++. Why C++ continues to take forever to compile even on machines many orders of magnitude faster than the first ones I ever used it on has long been a mystery to me. I hope the answer is simply that it's a language which wasn't designed with ease of parsing in mind, and has a whole layer of preprocessing on top of it which is horribly abused.
It's interesting that Go is going the garbage-collected route. If such a low-level language as Go can get away with that (and, truth be known, their preferred garbage collector isn't really integrated yet, so it's a little early to call it) then we may never see another non-garbage-collected language ever again.
I despise the use of initial capital letters to specify that something is public. Maybe if I used it for a while I'd learn to not hate it, but for now I hate it. Does chinese even have uppercase?
It's entirely possible that after using Go for a while something else would really start to gnaw at me about it, but it generally has a good smell, so hopefully not.
If you've read this far, you should follow me on Twitter.
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HOME > Chowhound > General Topics >
Jul 16, 2001 04:10 PM
Splitting cost of check evenly with big eaters/drinkers
• t
Hi, I'm new to this great board and have this "problem" that I feel pretty sure other hounds may have had. I'd like to know hear of your solutions to my dilemma. Here goes:
I eat out a lot on weekends and usually have dinner with 5 or 6 other friends. They're great people but many of them drink more or order more expensive dishes than I do. For example, the last meal I ordered was a $15 chicken dish and a $6 house wine. I figured with tax and tip, my share should be about $28.00 or so. My other friends had several $10 martinis or cosmopolitans, one ordered an expensive steak, another didn't drink but had several expensive appetizers as a main course. The upshot is when the check came, everybody-including me-paid $46.00. So what do I do? I don't want to come off looking cheap ("You had four wines and I only had two...") but this is getting expensive.
One of my friends suggested that I order more food and drink but I don't want to do this just to balance it out. I just don't want to subsidize other people's splurges. Most restaurants won't do separate checks because it's inconvenient. All suggestions are appreciated.
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1. Well if I were eating with you I'd feel guilty about ordering/drinking twice as much, then splitting the tab evenly. Are you not "close" enough to any of these people to say something subtle like, "my God, you folks are killing me with these martinis" or something?
5 Replies
1. re: John Tracey
Well, I have tried to hint in the past that the bills are disproportionate but I don't think saying 'their martinis are killing me' is that subtle. Thanks anyway.
1. re: TommyT
Maybe it's time to move beyond subtle. This is costing you real money. You have to either be frank with them or continue to grin and bear it.
1. re: John Tracey
I don't understand what the big deal is. I never expect anyone to pay for what they didn't eat or drink, and I think most reasonable people think that way. If these people you're eating with are any kind of friends at all, you just tell them how much you owe and pay it. That's it. I'm a nondrinker, so my part of the bill is frequently less than most of the others in my group. I pay my part, they pay their part, and everyone's happy. No big deal.
1. re: Ira Kaplan
If your pals don't voluntarily offer to pay more for their splurg, they are not your pals. Find other friends.
1. re: Ron
We used to have this problem when a work group would get together socially. My husband and I were more flush than the others and would usually do something for the group like order an extra appetizer to share or a bottle of wine, but inevitably someone would drink more than the others, or order the most expensive entree and the bill would become an issue. We solved this by chosing restaurants where the entrees were evenly priced, or there was a pre-fixe, then we would get up and get our own drinks at the bar. I know this wasn't fair to the waitress, so we would tip her on the high end to compensate.
Just an idea it worked with our group we could just split evenly at the end of the night.
2. My starving artist/student friends and I use this method. Grab check off table. Glance at it, doing lightning quick math (figuring out tip. Proclaim, okay, that's $25 for me, or my share's $33, or whatever. Really, the state of my wallet these days, I care more about paying a fair amount than whether somebody thinks I'm a cheapskate or something. Maybe it's because everyone's in the same financial boat as me.
Personally, I really hate it when people toss too little money onto the table at the end of the meal. This one girl I knew did it constantly, even running to the bathroom to wait it out until the check had been paid by the rest of us...this ended when we started waiting for her to emerge, then informed her that, "We're $7 short. Did you put in enough?" That forced her to 'fess up.
1. I eat out in groups a lot and encounter this problem frequently on both ends. I discreetly mention to friends before that evening, or to the table prior to ordering, that I'm on a budget/between assignments (I work freelance, so this might not fly for you but perhaps there's some applicable variation?) and thus need to order sparingly. That way when the bill comes I can plunk down my, say, $28 and sit back. If anyone asks me for more money - and this rarely, if ever, happens - I say, "Oh, I only had $30 to spend on dinner tonight so I ordered accordingly" and if I have it will kick in another buck or two.
I don't know if this is a particularly classy way to handle it, but when I'm on the other end I understand completely. (Unless, of course, this is indicative of complete cheapskate-ness and said dinner companion always tries to weasel out of paying their fair share.) If your friends don't like it you can find other, cheaper things to do with them...or find some new friends.
1. I too have been on both sides of the split, so to speak. Right now I'm in the chips (relatively) so I'm one of the people you're complaining about. And I have to confess I get a little annoyed when friends get all niggling about the bill. (How quickly he forgets what it was like to be broke! Never mind that that was only last month...) But what annoys me more is feeling that I can't order a martini because my friend can't or doesn't want to pay for one for himself. Thus I'll happily pay the bigger share of the bill if asked -- leaving me drunk and guilt-free. I guess that means I agree with advice from the poster who told you to jump for the bill. Say what you owe before somebody has a chance to split the bill evenly...Of course, in an ideal world, your richer friends would be treating you, and this whole problem would never come up!
A related problem: birthday dinners. Has anyone else had the experience of being invited to bday dinner /drinks and then being expected to chip in to help pay for the bday boy or girl? This happens to me all the time. In fact, I'm sure I've been that bad bday boy myself... I don't usually mind, but if you're broke, it can be a drag.
1 Reply
1. re: Rafi
As far as being 'expected to chip in to help pay for the bday girl or boy' - it was my impression that all persons at the table are expected to buy the bday person dinner/drinks. It doesn't amount to that much more if every person kicks in - unless you're celebrating multiple birthdays.
I have a friend who just stops by for a drink after dinner and buys a drink for bday girl/boy. That's one way to keep costs down without and still have fun.
2. b
it's not being cheap, it's paying what you eat/drink. if they're your friends, they'll understand. if they're drunk, maybe they'll give the ole' drunken' salute - "your a cheap bastard, but your the greatest. another round for the greatest guy on earth"
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HOME > Chowhound > Southern New England >
Feb 5, 2011 05:30 PM
Boston to NYC - where must I stop ? ! (Moved from Greater Boston Area)
Hey all
Am likely to be travelling between Boston and NYC - possibly by road, most likely Amtrak in early June and wonder whether there are any great Chow places I must stop over , even if only for one night.
I am relaxed about cuisine and price but there must be compelling reasons to stop or my travelling companion will insist we fly between the two !
Ideally the stop over town should also have places of interest or stunning scenery too, since we are travelling from the UK. Max journey time between the two cities is two days.
All thoughts welcome, thanks in advance.
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1. No scenery but if traveling by car you can't beat Sally's or Pepe's in New Haven for what many argue might be the country's best pizza.
8 Replies
1. re: bobbert
While I would never willingly suggest that someone get off a train to visit New Haven, I can't deny that Pepe's is awesome.
1. re: bobbert
While the pizza is good at Sally's and at Pepe's the hours and the line are impossible. They have done so well that they hardly have to open. And when they do open they are jammed. They remind me of pub opening hours in the UK back in the sixties.
Modern Apizza has better hours but the product is not as good.
1. re: VivreManger
The last few times I've been to Pepe's (always weekend lunch time) the wait hasn't been too bad (less than 1/2 hour), but maybe I just got lucky.
If you're looking for a regional gem that you can't find anywhere else, New Haven pizza certainly fits the bill. Having taken several people to Pepe's for the first time, and going by their reactions, it can be an amazing, mind-blowing experience.
1. re: VivreManger
I have made the mistake of going to Pepe's at prime time... once. Go early when they open or mid afternoon (3 ish) and very short, if any, lines.
1. re: VivreManger
I love New Haven pizza and have eaten at Sally's, Pepe's, and Modern. They're all great, but I now believe that Zuppardi's Apizza in West Haven is even better. It is a truly glorious pizza. The house-made sausage is fantastic. I've heard great things about the fresh clam pizza, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet.
Zuppardi's Apizza
179 Union Avenue
West Haven, CT 06516
1. re: maillard
I will have to check that place out next time.
Also, re: Pepe's: Pepe's has a branch in Manchester, CT, which is more "on the way" than the New Haven branch, has a much shorter lines, and is 99.5% as good as the original.
1. re: Alcachofa
Pepe's also has a branch in Yonkers that is about 25% as good as the original.
1. re: MRich
Wow, really? That stinks. I have to confess, although they do a good job in Manchester, I'm skeptical about how good a job they could do in a casino (they have one in, I think, Mohegan).
2. A couple of meta-thoughts about this. First, as you may well already know, Boston and NYC are not very far from one another. It takes about four hours to drive. So, unless you do visit some tourist locations (which is definitely going to be considered off-topic here), it might be hard to justify taking multiple days to do the trip! The good news is, however, that there are some very nice places to visit along the way, even if we do not discuss them here....
A second thought is that while this Board is great for recommendations for when you first arrive from the UK, you might also wish to post this question on the Southern New England board, as most of your journey will be in areas covered by that board.
Finally, I will point out that if you drive there are two general routes you could take. One is inland and faster, and the other is close to the coast. If I had guests I would want to take them to the coast. It is pretty and there is local seafood to be sampled...
1. If you are driving, you should stop in Sturbridge, Mass at BT's Smokehouse. I have never had such great bbq in the North! You could go to Old Sturbridge Village, it's a working reenactment of life in New England 1790-1840. If you google the name, I see that you can go to a site that has coupons, " Old Sturbridge Village coupons" it says. www.osv.org is the url for the place. It is a lovely area, quite woodsy and charming.
BT's Smokehouse
392 Main St, Sturbridge, MA 01566
18 Replies
1. re: CookieLee
Is BT really better than Blue Ribbon?
More generally, with the possible exception of the much hyped NH pizza parlors, I do not think that there is anything between Boston & NYC that offers food so distinctive and outstanding that it is better than what you can get in either of those cities.
However if you want to try NH pizza than you will have to spend a night in New Haven just to get in. And June will be a busy season for them.
As for things to see, Yale is a pale imitation of Oxbridge, but it might be worth a visit while you wait to queue for pizza.
1. re: VivreManger
Why do you have to spend a night in new haven to eat the pizza? I never have. Also, as I posted in the thread the op started on the nys board, bob & timmy's pizza in providence definitely is chow worthy, as is captain Scott's lobster dock in new london.
1. re: Blumie
Take the coast route. Providence is worth a stop. Eat at Al Forno (I think it's still open though it's been several years since I've been there). Go to the museum at RI School of Design. Walk the downtown and shop at the italian markets. You can get better Italian food in Providence than in Boston. Or, if you go inland, think of increasing the trip and going along the Hudson route. Stop in Beacon or Hudson. There are several fine house museums. But if you go straight through from Boston to NY on the Mass Pike, at least take the Wilbur Cross into NY. It's scenic though there isn't any great food that I know of. You can consider a detour, if you make reservations, for lunch or dinner at the Culinary Institute (near Poughkeepsie I think).
1. re: teezeetoo
AlForno is still open and still wonderful. Have a grilled pizza and make sure you order dessert. The tarts are amazing.
1. re: BostonZest
OP, be warned that Al Forno is virtually universally panned by everyone living in Providence, and I agree. It's totally a tourist spot relying on it's rep from 15 years ago.
1. re: invinotheresverde
invino, haven't been in years and I'm sorry to hear that because I counted it a wonderful experience in the past. What do you recommend in Providence now?
1. re: teezeetoo
Providence has tons of great spots. It depends what you're feeling. I'd say three places generally regarded as favorites would include Chez Pascal (my fave), Gracies and La Laiterie.
Chez Pascal Restaurant
960 Hope St, Providence, RI 02906
La Laiterie
184-188 Wayland Avenue, Providence, RI 02906
2. re: invinotheresverde
For grilled pizza in Providence, skip Al Forno and go to Bob & TImmy's. It's cheap and delicious!
2. re: teezeetoo
Second Providence in early June. It's a little gem of a city- you can walk everywhere and every Boston to New York train stops there. Much better Italian food than Boston too.
3. re: Blumie
If you do go to New Haven, it is the home of Yale University. They have a fabulous art museum.
4. re: VivreManger
BT is definitely better than Blue Ribbon these days. I'd stack it up against any New England BBQ joint.
Check out this review and pictures:
1. re: Msample
+1 Msample took the words right out of my mouth!
1. re: CookieLee
i go to nyc frequently. I sometimes drive to new haven; park my car in a parking garage near the train station and take the train (MTA Metro North). Then you can stop in New Haven for pizza if you choose. But i prefer to go to NYC and eat lunch there.
1. re: cambridgedoctpr
cambridgedoctpr: The op is talking about traveling from NYC to Boston. My suggestion to him/her is if they're driving. I'm sorry, I don't know what you're referencing. I also go to NYC frequently, and either drve or take the bus. We leave here early enough to have lunch in the city.
1. re: cambridgedoctpr
oh, yeah. I don't know where I got confused as to the direction.
5. re: CookieLee
I second BT's; I make the stop a few times a year when heading west on the Pike. IMHO, much better than Blue Ribbon.
6. Like others on this thread, I, too, travel between New York and Boston frequently (30 times a year or so). With New York beckoning at one end and Boston (slightly less compellingly) at the other it has never occurred to me to stop along the way for the food. To those of you recommending the pizza in New Haven I ask: is this pizza clearly superior to the best that New York has to offer, and if you think so which pizza, specifically, in NY are you comparing it to?
More significantly (I think) is pizza worth a stop for its own sake, compared to the other, diverse food offerings of New York and Boston? If one had a limited time in the U.S. and one was interested in food, it would seem to me that one would spend as much time as possible in NY (mostly) and Boston and not waste time along the way. I admit, of course, there might be other non-food reasons to stop. One might wish the experience of being mugged in New Haven, for example.
9 Replies
1. re: FoodDabbler
i think New Haven pizza is vastly superior to Boston pizza (which isn't very strong, but improving) and on par with what I've had in NYC. Probably the best pizza I've had in NY is Grimaldis in Brooklyn and I think Pepe's holds its own. It's important to note that they're different: it's not just a matter of quality; if you're big into pizza, New Haven would offer something unique.
As for whether it's worth stopping on the way between NY and Boston, that's a whole different discussion. The OP specifically asked for Chow-worthy options between the two cities, not whether it would be worth spending less time in NY to stop along the way. I agree that in itself is an interesting topic for debate. But if the OP would prefer a leisurely drive rather than flying, you could do worse than lunch at Pepe's. Taking into account the extra time going into New Haven entails rather than taking the Merritt Parkway, it probably wouldn’t add much more than two to three hours to their trip.
1. re: FoodDabbler
Sorry FD but Providence has Italian food that beats B oston and compares with the best NYC has to offer. I'll back Al Forno against, say, Convivio. And my NY friends always stop at Pepe's: you'll have to ask them why they think it's better than NYC pizza.
1. re: teezeetoo
What are their names and phone numbers?
1. re: FoodDabbler
while i have never eaten at sallie's or pepe's pizza; they have a reputation as being among the best in the country: http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-ri...
1. re: cambridgedoctpr
Leaving aside the question of how seriously one takes a list in GQ, I must point out that there are several NYC places on that same list that rank very highly. My original questions still stand: (1) How clearly superior is New Haven pizza to the best of NYC pizza, and (2) Do hounds live by pizza alone?
1. re: cambridgedoctpr
Although I generally loathe those kind of "best of" list, I do find that particular GQ list to be very credible.
To answer FoodDabbler's question: New Haven pizza is not "clearly superior" to NYC pizza, but it's great pizza and just different than NYC's best. In NYC, I love Company (in Chelsea), Artichoke (on 14th St. -- the square slices only!), and Roberta's (in Bushwick), but I'll still stop at Pepe's every once in awhile. They are very different products. (I've also been to Keste, Grimaldi's, Pauli Gee's, Fanny's, Joe's, and many many others, but the three I've listed are my favorite.)
Is it worth stopping for? I can't answer that, except to say that I sometimes stop for it.
1. re: Blumie
The answer to the "is it worth stopping?" question depends, I think, on how much time you have. If you're in the northeast for a visit and are going to be in NY and in Boston, my opinion is that it's hard to justify stopping in-between solely for food reasons (and even solely for sightseeing reasons*). You're better off eating for an extra day in New York (or Boston -- but that would be my second choice). If you're in the northeast for a lifetime, and have no plans to die young, occasionally stopping along the way to try the food makes more sense (although, as I said, I've yet to do it).
* I agree with those who say the journey along the coastal route is scenic and is a sight worth seeing by itself. It's better from the train, by far, though -- you're very close to the water for long stretches and can look at the view without fear of being crushed by a truck. The best seats on the train are on the left from Boston to NY, and on the right on the reverse journey. The so-called Acela Express is much more expensive than the regular train and does the journey in only about 45 fewer minutes, but it has bigger, clearer windows and a less dingy overall feel. For a one-time deal it's worth the extra money. For a further $70 you can travel first class, get a sometimes-edible hot meal served at your seat (there's your "meal along the way" right there), then recover the cost of the whole trip in the free booze they provide.
1. re: Blumie
I live in NYC and have been to nearly all of the pizza places that are generally regarded as the best in the city. In my opinion Pepe's is better. Modern is pretty darn awesome too. Is it worth making an entire 2 day plan around? Maybe not. But every time we drive to New England we make sure to stop in New Haven for pizza.
You could also make a case for stopping for seafood on the way down.
From a purely food point of view I'd probably spend the extra day eating in NYC, however.
2. re: FoodDabbler
First, the OP asked for any great Chow places enroute worthy of a stop during what appears to be a somewhat leisurly drive. In the world of pizza, New Haven is considered somewhat of a Mecca with a couple of names standing out. Are there possibly better places in NYC? Maybe, but the point is to visit some place along the way and, if there is anything chow worthy, it's certainly in New Haven. I often make minor detours to see some sites enroute to various places even when I'm. quite aware that the sites to see at my destination might be "better". Sometimes it is ok to try something if only to find out for ones self what the fuss is about. That's the point. As far as getting mugged is concerned, I would advise being careful in neighborhoods by Yale and, as a native New Yorker, I could easiily rattle off many areas that I would avoid in NYC as well.
3. I suspect your post would get more response on the Southern New England board.
1 Reply
1. re: Karl S
The post on Southern NE got one reply, a rec for Pepe's
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HOME > Chowhound > San Francisco Bay Area >
Mar 1, 2011 08:09 AM
best hamburgers and milkshake in sf ?
hi !
i'm new in sf and a friend of mine is coming to visit me and he wants to eat a good 'traditional' hamburger and a good milkshake also. american cliché, you know...
is anybody has a suggestion about that ?
thanks for answering.
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1. One contender is Bill's Place, on Clement Street between 24th-25th Avenues.
Bill's Place
2315 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121
5 Replies
1. re: DavidT
Nuff said.
In-N-Out Burger
333 Jefferson St, San Francisco, CA 94133
1. re: tstrum
Just look at my screenname and it speaks for itself!
James Randall in Los Gatos does a pretty kick-ass burger made from ground brisket. Couple that with their truffle fries and you're loving life.
James Randall Restaurant
303 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030
1. re: wolfe
In-N-Out's neapolitan shake is all-three flavors of vanilla-strawberry-chocolate or the Choco-Vanilla Swirl... Root Beer Float.
2. re: DavidT
A 2nd on Bill's. Old fashion, traditional, standard greasy burger...good fries and shakes. Also the environment matches the food.
3. Barney's Burger off Chestnut. They have great shakes and fries (garlic, curly, steak, or skinny) and the burgers aren't bad. I love the turkish coffee shake.
If its more of a gourmet burger you want try Wayfare Tavern.
Barney's Gourmet Hamburger
3344 Steiner St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Wayfare Tavern
558 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
1. If your friend is foreign, I'd say go for atmosphere: Orphan Andy's at 2 am, St. Francis Fountain.
St. Francis Fountain & Candy
2801 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Orphan Andy's
3991 17th St, San Francisco, CA 94114
1. Previous burger and shakes thread with fries on the side.
1. How about super duper?
Super Duper Burgers - 2304 Market St San Francisco, CA
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HOME > Chowhound > Ontario (inc. Toronto) >
Jun 9, 2012 04:28 PM
Dexter-Russell cleavers in the GTA (or metro TO)
Looking for Dexter cleavers sold in the GTA. Does any one know where we might find them? Heard good things about them. US equivalent to a CCK Chinese cleaver but with western handles (and Chinese...round, shorter).
If I can't find Dexter cleavers I guess I'll go with a CCK.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8715
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HOME > Chowhound > Greater Boston Area >
Feb 25, 2014 05:55 AM
where to buy pita/flat bread for gyros
I'm hoping to make gyro's for a dinner party next weekend. I'd love to buy some softer flatbreads/pita that will easily roll up for the sandwich. Any thoughts on where/brand to get these in the Cambridge area? Thanks.
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1. Sophias in Belmont...you can get gyro meat and tzatziki there as well
1 Reply
1. re: grant.cook
thanks! been meaning for an excuse to make it to Sophias. I'll make my own gyros and tzatziki though
2. I'd go Sofia's on the Tzatziki, but Arax and Sevan have much better pita selections. For Arax go on Tuesday afternoons they get a baked goods delivery from Montreal on Tuesdays and some REALLY good stuff.
2 Replies
1. re: Science Chick
And Massis, up the road a block! they get the same bread from Montreal.
1. You might also ask at your favourite gyro place. Sometimes they will sell you a bag.
Its all about the pita for me! They can be tricky and get over done and cripsy fast esp on bbq and will crack instead of fold. I hate it!! Just something to watch out for!
1. you know what I've used that works really great? Supermarket naan bread, that kind that comes 2 to a package that you re-heat in the oven? It's a little thick, but fluffy and soft how I like my gyro bread to be. I have made my own gyro meat and tzatziki in the past, and used the naan and it was outstanding. It's also nice that it comes in 2 pieces, so Im not eating gyros for days worrying the bread will go stale (I would love to eat gyros for days, but my doctor might stage an intervention if I did!)
2 Replies
1. re: devilham
There's a major manufacturer- Kontos- which makes both naan and pita. The products are nearly identical. The company has Greek origins. You can buy Kontos breads at any of the Indian markets as well as the Greek International Food Market in W. Roxbury. I'm sure Sofia's has it too. It's pretty easy to find.
For day-to-day use, I just use the naan from Trader Joe's. (I am Greek-American.)
1. re: Scruffy The Cat
probably the same product I am referring to (as I didn't have a manufacturers name, sorry!), but it's a great substitute for pita IMO, so warm and soft when heated up to contrast with your cool tzatziki. God I love gyros.
2. I agree with Striper and Sci Chick that Arax and Sevan are the places to go for fresh and delicious thin pita, but they are sometimes out of pocketless pita. If you want the thick gyro bread, Sophia's is more likely to have some.
Devilham's idea to use supermarket naan (I think it's still available at Trader Joe's, too) is a good one. Similar flavor and texture.
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Category:Built in Vienna in 1834
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Flag of Vienna (state).svg 1830s architecture in Vienna: 1830-1831-1832-1833-1834-1835-1836-1837-1838-1839
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Member Since 27 Jan 2012
Offline Last Active Oct 01 2014 02:23 PM
#32346 Favorite Supply Sites
Posted by SunsetBay on 06 April 2013 - 08:31 AM
I'm in the New England, so I try to stick to the northeast. in addition to Bailey's and Clay-King (which isn't in the northeast, I know!) I've had good experiences with:
Portland Pottery in Portland, ME, is terrific, but not for mail order, unfortunately.
#13037 How Much Do You Sell Your Mugs For?
Posted by SunsetBay on 04 February 2012 - 10:59 PM
As a newbie to selling, I beg to differ with the idea that "beginner" pottery should perhaps not be sold. I'm just starting to sell because 1) people have seen my work and asked to buy it; and 2) to "get rid" of some of my extra pieces (the better ones, of course) instead of having to find more room for them at home. My goal is only to get a little extra cash to help pay for my pottery addiction; I have a paying job and don't expect pottery to pay me a living wage. But back to the point about selling early work: No one is forcing anyone to buy my work. If someone buys a mug I made, I can only assume they bought it because they liked it: it pleased them aesthetically, felt good in their hand. Hopefully they get pleasure every time they drink their tea or coffee from that mug. So who's to say that work was "good" or not? Or even "good enough?" If some stranger liked it enough to buy it, then it's good enough in my book. And if my work improves and I start charging more, I am going to assume that the quality/properties will have changed enough to make people see the differences and appreciate them. That's how I'm thinking about it now. I just don't see the point of keeping my work in my house until some point when--who? how? what? decides that it is finally "good enough" to sell. Just sayin'.
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Browse Articles
History & Historiography
Cultural Production and Reproduction in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico: Tropes at Play among Maquiladora Workers
Avant-gardism as a Mode of Culture Change
Agonistic Exchange: Homeric Reciprocity and the Heritage of Simmel and Mauss
Museums and Festivals: Notes on the Poetics and Politics of Representation Conference, The Smithsonian Institution, September 26–28, 1988, Ivan Karp and Steven Levine, Organizers
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Possible Modernities
Beyond Ethnography: Anthropology as Nominalism
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PATCO Lives! Stigma, Heroism, and Symbolic Transformations
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traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's disease
Traumatic Brain Injury and ADRC Research
The TBI and Alzheimer's Connection
Traumatic brain injury remains the only well-established environmental risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury even early in life clearly increase the risk for Alzheimer's and even a single concussion (brain trauma severe enough to cause loss of consciousness) may increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease. Important links are emerging in clinical and laboratory studies of the immediate, as well as long-term, brain responses to traumatic brain injury. These responses involve the abnormal presence of brain chemicals that are central to Alzheimer's, beta amyloid and tau. Immediately after traumatic injury, the brain produces large amounts of beta amyloid, the very same protein that appears toxic to brain neurons when it is present in excessive amounts over many years in Alzheimer's. In Alzheimer's, beta amyloid gradually concentrates into the amyloid plaques that are a central diagnostic feature of the disease at an autopsy examination of the brain. Intriguingly, this deposit of beta amyloid into plaques does not occur following traumatic brain injury. If we can figure out what prevents plaque formation despite large beta amyloid release in response to brain trauma, we may be able to prevent the formation of toxic beta amyloid deposits in people with Alzheimer's disease.
The long term brain response to traumatic injury provides another link to Alzheimer's. Abnormal tau in the form of neurofibrillary tangles in damaged brain neurons in Alzheimer's is also seen as a long term consequence of traumatic brain injury. First described in boxers who became "punch drunk" in midlife, these tau neurofibrillary tangles are increasingly being found in the brains of football players and other athletes who have suffered repeated concussions from head trauma. These traumatic brain lesions and the cognitive loss they cause are properly called "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" or "CTE". This disorder is of increasing concern to our military because of the very common brain traumas suffered by our service members in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Graduate Student Profile
Ross Coen is a second-year Ph.D. student in the History Department where he is studying the 20th century American West, in particular the intersections of environment, technology, and politics in Alaska fisheries. Before coming to UW, he worked on climate change policy in the office of Senator Ted Stevens and on rural energy development for the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP), an applied research institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Coen’s 2012 book, Breaking Ice for Arctic Oil (University of Alaska Press), examines the political and technological history of the SS Manhattan, an icebreaking tanker that transited the Northwest Passage in 1969 in order to test the viability of shipping Alaska North Slope crude oil via circumpolar marine routes. Based on his Masters thesis, the book project was supported by fellowships from the Center for Global Change, Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies, University of Alaska Foundation, and the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States. In summer 2013, he returned to ACEP in Fairbanks to research the long-term influence of technological innovation on the lifespan of Alaska oil fields.
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8785
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Winning Words of the Scripps Spelling Bee
[in-vet-er-it] /ɪnˈvɛt ər ɪt/
settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like:
an inveterate gambler.
firmly established by long continuance, as a disease, habit, practice, feeling, etc.; chronic.
Origin of inveterate
late Middle English
1375-1425; late Middle English < Latin inveterātus (past participle of inveterāre to grow old, allow to grow old, preserve), equivalent to in- in-2 + veter- (stem of vetus) old + -ātus -ate1; cf. veteran
Related forms
inveterately, adverb
inveterateness, noun
1. hardened, constant, habitual. 2. set, fixed, rooted. Unabridged
Cite This Source
Examples from the web for inveterate
British Dictionary definitions for inveterate
long established, esp so as to be deep-rooted or ingrained: an inveterate feeling of hostility
(prenominal) settled or confirmed in a habit or practice, esp a bad one; hardened: an inveterate smoker
(obsolete) full of hatred; hostile
Derived Forms
inveteracy, inveterateness, noun
inveterately, adverb
Word Origin
C16: from Latin inveterātus of long standing, from inveterāre to make old, from in-² + vetus old
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
Cite This Source
Word Origin and History for inveterate
late 14c., from Latin inveteratus "of long standing, chronic," past participle of inveterare "become old in," from in- "in, into" (see in- (2)) + veterare "to make old," from vetus (genitive veteris) "old" (see veteran).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
inveterate in Medicine
inveterate in·vet·er·ate (ĭn-vět'ər-ĭt)
1. Firmly and long established; deep-rooted.
2. Persisting in an ingrained habit; habitual.
in·vet'er·a·cy (-ər-ə-sē) or in·vet'er·ate·ness n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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Some English speakers likely know this word
Word Value for inveterate
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Simon Cowell made what word trend?
[suh-rawr-i-tee, -ror-] /səˈrɔr ɪ ti, -ˈrɒr-/
noun, plural sororities.
Origin of sorority
1525-35; < Medieval Latin sorōritās, equivalent to Latin sorōr- (stem of soror) sister + -itās -ity Unabridged
Cite This Source
Examples from the web for sorority
British Dictionary definitions for sorority
noun (pl) -ties
(mainly US) a social club or society for university women
Word Origin
C16: from Medieval Latin sorōritās, from Latin soror sister
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
Cite This Source
Word Origin and History for sorority
1530s, "a society of women, body of women united for some purpose," from Medieval Latin sororitas "sisterhood, of or pertaining to sisters," from Latin soror "sister" (see sister). Sense of "women's society in a college or university" attested by 1887 (Alpha Delta Pi claims founding in 1851).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Word of the Day
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global_05_local_5_shard_00000035_processed.jsonl/8787
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Interview with Herb Boyd
OK, Herb. How did the police relate to the Black community when you lived in Detroit in the early sixties up to 1967?
Well community relations with the police at that time was very bad. But that wasn't unusual. It had been bad for many years. I'd grown up at the time when the big four was like the force that came in the community. They had pretty much toned down that and turned in to more or less like patrol officers periodically through neighborhoods and randomly accosting people. Slamming you up against the wall. Making you show identification. If you looked at all suspicious then you were a prime target for the police at that time. We had a feeling that it was like a occupied army that was a Garrison city. It was incident after incident all across the city. I mean police brutality was rampant at that time. In lower East side it was a couple of incidents in June la--early July. There was a police brutality case on the West side of Detroit. So all of this was in the air by the time the rebellion was in the wind.
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1.1.4 New in MySQL Workbench 6.0
This section summarizes many of the new features added to MySQL Workbench 6.0.0, in relation to MySQL Workbench 5.2.x;.
A new home screen
A new, modernized Home screen where major functionality of MySQL Workbench can be accessed, including connections to MySQL servers, modeling, migration, and the command-line utilities.
Figure 1.34 Home Screen: Workbench 5.2
Home Screen: Workbench 5.2
Figure 1.35 Home Screen: Workbench 6.0
Home Screen: Workbench 6.0
Unified SQL Editor and Administration interface
In the new user interface, the Server Administration functionality (such as start/stop server, managing user accounts etc) is now accessible directly from the SQL Editor interface, located near where the schema information can be browsed and queries executed.
The image below contains three screenshots of the Schema window in the SQL Editor. The first is from MySQL Workbench 5.2, the second is MySQL Workbench 6.0 with the management tab collapsed, and the third shows what the merged management tab looks like. Toggle the merged and tabbed views by clicking the new merge button next to the refresh button.
Figure 1.36 Comparing the SQL Editor interface for Workbench 5.2 and 6.0
Comparing the SQL Editor interface for Workbench 5.2 and 6.0
Table data search
You can select schemas and/or tables to perform client-side searches for user specified strings and patterns. To access this new search feature, right click select a schema or a table in the left sidebar and select Search Table Data....
This screenshot demonstrates the search feature, along with an example search. Multiple tables were selected and searched in this example:
Figure 1.37 Table search functionality
Table search functionality
For additional information, see Section 8.1.8, “Table Data Search Panel”.
Context Sensitive help for the SQL Editor
Select a keyword or function in your query and after a delay it will show formatted help information from the MySQL Server (equivalent to using the help command from the command-line MySQL Client).
Figure 1.38 Context Sensitive Help
Context Sensitive Help
For additional information, see Section 8.1.6, “Context Sensitive Help”.
Schema Inspector
New Schema Inspector feature allows you to browse general information from schema objects. For tables, it's also possible to perform maintenance tasks such as ANALYZE, OPTIMIZE, CHECK, and CHECKSUM TABLE. To access the inspector, right-click a schema and select the Schema Inspector
Figure 1.39 Schema Inspector
Schema Inspector
And choosing Maintenance for a table:
Figure 1.40 Schema Inspector: Maintenance
Schema Inspector: Maintenance
For additional information, see Schema Inspector.
Cascaded DELETE statements generator
You can generate a series of DELETE statements needed to delete a row from that table, which includes rows from other tables that reference it, recursively. The SELECT version allows you to preview what rows would be deleted. Right click a table and select Copy to Clipboard, Delete with References.
Figure 1.41 Cascading SELECT
Cascading SELECT
Table templates
Define templates of tables with commonly used columns, to be used to create new tables in a live connection or in an EER model. In the SQL Editor, choose Create Table Like..., or in Modeling, use the right sidebar. For additional information, see Section 9.6, “Table Templates”.
Vertical Text
A Vertical Text output option for queries (equivalent to \G from the command-line Client) was added. To execute, choose Query, Execute Current Statement (Vertical Text Output).
Figure 1.42 Vertical Text (\G)
Vertical Text (\G)
Improved Visual Explain
The Visual Explain output was improved.
Figure 1.43 Visual Explain: Workbench 5.2
Visual Explain: Workbench 5.2
Figure 1.44 Visual Explain: Workbench 6.0
Visual Explain: Workbench 6.0
Improved Server Status
Additional server status information was added, and the user interface was improved. Select Server Status from the Management tab to open this window.
Figure 1.45 Server Status: Workbench 5.2
Server Status: Workbench 5.2
Figure 1.46 Server Status: Workbench 6.0
Server Status: Workbench 6.0
Enterprise Features
Support for MySQL Enterprise features in the Commercial edition of MySQL Workbench was added. From within the Management tab for an open connection, look for the following products under the heading MySQL Enterprise:
MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB): A GUI frontend for the MEB tool. After installing a commercial version of MySQL Workbench and MySQL Enterprise Backup, MySQL Workbench will check for and handle the pre-requisites. Backup recovery is also supported. This plugin supports MEB with local and remote installations of Linux and OS X, and locally for MySQL Windows.
MySQL Audit Log Inspector: A GUI for browsing the contents of generated logs by the commercial Audit Log Plugin. Powerful filtering and search capabilities are available. Fast browsing is provided by caching the log data locally in an encrypted file. This plugin supports MEB with local and remote installations of Linux and OS X, and locally for MySQL Windows.
Database Migration Features
SQL Anywhere and SQLite are now supported.
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Sun Java System Web Proxy Server 4.0.11 NSAPI Developer's Guide
The shexp_casecmp function validates a specified shell expression and compares the expression with a specified string. The function returns one of three possible values representing match, no match, and invalid comparison. This comparison, in contrast to the comparison made by the shexp_casecmp function, is case sensitive.
int shexp_cmp(char *str, char *exp);
0 if a match was found.
1 if no match was found.
-1 if the comparison resulted in an invalid expression.
char *str is the string to be compared.
/* Use wildcard match to see if this path is one we want */
char *path;char *match = "/usr/netscape/*";if (shexp_cmp(path, match) != 0)
return REQ_NOACTION; /* no match */
See Also
shexp_casecmp, shexp_match, shexp_valid
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Sun Java Communications Suite 5 Installation Guide
Before You Run the Directory Preparation Tool
This section covers information you need to understand before running the Directory Preparation Tool, and contains the following topics:
What the Directory Preparation Tool Does
The Directory Preparation Tool proceeds through three steps, as follows:
1. Collects your choices for utility options.
For a list of the specific information this step requests, see Information You Need to Gather Before you Run the Directory Preparation Tool.
2. Generates a shell script and LDIF file from your options choices that will be used to modify the LDAP directory.
If you are not using a Sun product for your directory server, or have customized your Directory Server, stop the process here without running the shell script. For further information, see Directory Server Considerations for the Directory Preparation Tool that follows.
3. Runs the shell script created from your options choices. Your directory is modified accordingly.
At the end of each step, the utility asks you if you want to continue. No changes are made to the LDAP directory until the third step.
Directory Server Considerations for the Directory Preparation Tool
The following is a list of the considerations for your LDAP directory:
Information You Need to Gather Before you Run the Directory Preparation Tool
During the first step of the Directory Preparation Tool, it requests information about your Directory Server. Prepare for this by gathering the information shown in the following table. (To help you keep track of this information, use Directory Server Installation Worksheet.)
Information Item Needed
Default Value
Directory Server root path name
Which instance of Directory Server to use? (If more than one.)
Directory Manager Distinguished Name (DN)
Directory Manager's Password
Directory Server being used for user/group data? (yes), or configuration data only? (no)
User and group root suffix (if yes to previous question)
Schema version? (pick one of the following)
1 Schema 1
1.5 Schema 2 Compatibility Mode
2 Schema 2 Native Mode
[For more information on how to choose a schema, see About the Directory Preparation Tool Schema Choices. If you have one version of the schema installed and want to upgrade to a higher level, refer to the Sun Java System Communications Services 6 2005Q4 Schema Migration Guidebefore running this utility. ]
Root suffix (if using Schema 1 or Schema 2 Compatibility Mode) [If you choose Schema 1 or 1.5, you will need a DC tree. If the DC tree does not yet exist, the Directory Preparation Tool creates only the root suffix node, its does not create the rest of the DC tree. You must create the rest of your DC tree yourself.]
Update schema? [If this Directory Server is being used for user/group data, you must have a config directory containing the schema files.]
Add Directory Server indexes? [If you answer yes, the Directory Preparation Tool does the indexing for Messaging Server and Calendar Server, even if you are not using both of them.]
About the Directory Preparation Tool Schema Choices
Communications Suite servers support the following schema choices:
Access Manager Considerations
If you are using Schema 2, Access Manager must be installed and configured.
Note –
Do not use the Access Manager console to administer users. Use Delegated Administrator for administering Messaging and Calendar users.
Attribute Indexes Created by the Directory Preparation Tool
Attribute indexes improve the performance of search algorithms. The tool offers to index attributes. If you choose to do so, it will add indexes for the all the Communications Suite products. Therefore, once you have run the indexing for one product, you do not need to reindex for other products. If you try to index the same attributes again, nothing happens. The tool calls db2index for each attribute being indexed, but only if the index does not already exist.
The following table lists all the attributes the Directory Preparation Tool indexes, grouped by suffix category. It also lists the type of indexes created for each attribute. For more information about Directory Server indexing, see http://docs.sun.com/coll/1316.1.
Attributes Indexed
Type of Indexes Added
pres, eq, approx, sub
pres, eq, approx, sub
pres, eq, approx, sub
User/Group (for Access Manager – Schema 2)
pres, eq
pres, eq
pres, eq
pres, eq
pres, eq
DC Tree (for Schema 1)
pres, eq
pres, eq
Personal Address Book (PAB)
pres, eq
pres, eq
pres, eq, approx, sub
pres, eq, approx, sub
pres, eq, sub
Should you decide to add further indexes on your own, instructions for adding indexes can be found in the Directory Server documentation.
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