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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1237	Be a Let’s Test facilitator! Hey, aspiring facilitators; will you be among those about to rock? Do you believe you have guts made of steel? Are you brave enough to step up the challenge and while doing so immensly grow personally? Is crowd control your second nature? Would you anytime wrestle a lion before breakfast? Do you open beer bottles with your bare teeth? Mind you, not all of the above is necessary to be a Let’s Test facilitator, but it might help. You will get an indepth introduction in the art of facilitation and after the event you’ll be famous. You might remember last year’s pink jackets? Yes, only the most worthy get these. Be one of them and send me an e-mail and explain to me why you want to be a hero. Leave a Reply
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1249	Thursday, September 10, 2009 The Day Tomato Came to be Known As Tomato For as long as I can remember, my son has always called a tomato a "potato". With confidence. So, sometime back, I gave up correcting that it is a tomato, and played along calling it a potato. As a parent, you get the instinct when your child is doing it on purpose. For lunch everyday, LG has a boiled tomato sprinkled with salt. This afternoon, I asked him what he was having? He replied, "Tho-maa-to." I grinned and asked him, "Are you sure this is not a Paa-tho-to?" And LG replied, "Tho-maa-to." This, for me, is as huge a milestone as was his turning over, or crawling, or walking, or talking. This post is in celebration of discovering the tomato.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1256	Browser Access Platform requirements Platform requirements Before accessing the TT platform, ensure that you meet the TT system, network, and email requirements. System Requirements To ensure the best experience, TT recommends the following setup on any machine or mobile device that you use to access the TT platform. Browser Requirements TT supports the latest two versions of the following browsers: • Google Chrome • Firefox • Microsoft Edge Note: As Microsoft has discontinued support for Internet Explorer, TT no longer supports Internet Explorer. Users should verify that the browser is set to automatically update. Note: Users should also verify that cookies are accepted in their browser. Hardware Requirements TT recommends a minimum of 4GB of RAM on any machine or mobile device that you use to access the TT platform. For mobile access, ensure that you have enough storage on your device to store the TT Mobile application. Access to the TT platform is independent of the type of hardware (e.g., laptop, mobile) or operating system (e.g., Mac OS, Windows, iOS, Android) that you use. Mobile Requirements Trading Technologies recommends the following minimum operating system versions for use with the TT Mobile application: • iOS 8 • Android KitKat (4.4) Network Requirements Client workstations must support https traffic (via Transport Layer Security) over port 443 to/from the TT Platform. Therefore, the firm's administrator must allow traffic to the TT Platform's domain as opposed to a specific range of IP addresses. This can be accomplished by either updating firewall restrictions or using an https web proxy. You can verify connectivity by pointing a web browser on the client workstation to the following location: Email Requirements Trading Technologies uses email to send a number of communications including users' initial invitations and notices for general system maintenance. To ensure receipt of invitations, notices, and advisories, users must ensure they can receive emails from Users should add as a contact in their mail client. In addition, company administrators should configure as a valid address for their company email.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1260	Wednesday, September 3, 2014 Today And Tomorrow Or: Today, still the same as yesterday, Tomorrow, forecast for hilarity, rich people not amused I have tried four or five times to type a post, but I end up all over the place and if I feel incoherent then reading it would have been awful (or hilarious if you're like me and you can laugh at just about anything). Since I have spent about six months in the 15th to 19th centuries researching my ancestors, I am going to read some more things of today to get used to knowing the date (since we are a couple hundred years since the last time the year, month and day was changed, except for the countries that acquiesced later, even less than one hundred years ago) and seeing no "f's" where an "s" should be, though the topics are largely the same, sadly. We've been struggling across the world for equality throughout, eliminating or at least seriously diminishing sexism and classism, and we still haven't tried what would most likely work: empathy. We won't stop people from being angry and certainly not if we bomb them. Who doesn't dream of revenge when their mother or child was murdered? It's America's problem right now, 'wish I had a say, but my vote seems to go nowhere, but one day there might be a different country attempting to capture a dominating power. As long as people are allowed to see another type of person whether they look the same or completely different, as the enemy, then we will remain dumb as a species. We could be learning about the various cultures of the planet (the same planet), and we could focus on any aspect of science, which could prepare us for life on other planets. Don't think we need to worry about leaving this planet? Is that because you don't know how gas works? The sun won't last forever. Why not start now to secure a life for our children's children? At the moment I think humans are too dumb to worry about continuation, if we could just stop killing in the name of this or that idea of god, but there are so many good people out there (currently outshined by stupidity within politics) that I do have hope I foresee stupid religious types jumping on the bandwagon after it's been worked out and those who spent the time and money will say, "No, you cause war and we don't want that on this new planet we are to inhabit." I want to say that those who are religious and not jerks won't be disregarded (and they will be included in moving to a new planet), but they might be left behind because of the atrocities committed in the name of the religion they follow. It will be interesting to watch, though I won't be alive for it, and maybe religious fanatics will have settled down (and maybe even apologized for things they may not have had a part in? Apologies that are heartfelt go a long way to mend judgments and relationships). If money is power and power is a right and if an inanimate object such as a corporation is a person (now with rights to power), then money can buy anything so even assholes who might ruin life for everyone might still be included in inhabiting a new planet. The culture shock alone would be worth writing about. Possible headlines: Richest man on new planet doesn't get his own way. Richest man on new planet learns what depression is like, can't take own life, no one will change the laws on access to medicine and weapons just because he wants his way. Richest man on new planet no longer richest man, no one wants his money. New planet has new system of creating and offering goods in a public market. Richest man on new planet appears confused, Never learned anything outside of business. Richest man on new planet Most socially awkward, can't hide behind pretentiousness any longer. My future posts will focus on racism and classism as I now see that what I have talked about in the past are in the same genre. Now I see why no one gave a shit about what I had to say when I was out west. We can't run from possibly upsetting topics. You can't be afraid to look bad if you want to help society. Sincerity means a whole lot more to the world (and the people within) than protecting from hurt feelings. We need to get used to handling difficult feelings while in the presence of others, also known as patience or "keeping your cool" if we want to see something resembling peace and/or happiness.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1276	[Top][All Lists] Re: [avrdude-dev] avrdude GUI with Fuse Calculator From: Joerg Wunsch Subject: Re: [avrdude-dev] avrdude GUI with Fuse Calculator Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:31:15 +0100 User-agent: Mutt/1.5.11 As Andreas Weber wrote: > Mark H. (http://palmavr.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/fc.cgi) and I > discuss if we should program a FLTK GUI for avrdude with Fuse bit > calculator (similar to his online version). The emphasis should be > to calculate and program the fuse bits, not to up- or download the > firmware. I'd kindly ask you to reconsider that somewhat, and try writing a full GUI that completely integrates into avrdude, rather than yet another frontend. Some time ago, I restructured the avrdude source code to clearly separate the backend code (that now goes into an internal library) from the frontend code (the classic CLI main.c). One of the major ideas behind that was to make it easier to write a different frontend, based on the identical backend code the command-line UI The major advantage of that is that it will automatically ``scale'' with avrdude: new devices will always be added to everything as a whole, rather than trying to catch up after each release only. Also, it will constitute a uniform utility to the user that way. Jörg Lachmann, the original author of avrdude-gui (who later abandoned the project due to lack of time) once already toyed with the idea to rewrite it completely using FLTK. So perhaps you might even try discussing all that with him, and see whether he'd like to comment on some things. After all, he's at least once tried already, and perhaps got his experience to share so you don't have to repeat some of his earlier mistakes. > My question is now if some facts of the case from 2005 has changed > or where we could get the fuse bit information NOT reading all the > datasheets individually. Or is it legal to write a xml converter > tool which extracts only the fuse settings? That's exactly the way Atmel suggests. They don't allow copying these files verbatim into an open-source project, but they explicitly allow picking up all the information one needs from it. Btw., if you opt for an integration into avrdude rather than a separate tool, this would probably require to store the fuse information inside the avrdude configuration. The current size of avrdude.conf bothers me, it's approaching half a megabyte already. Also, the current structure shows some significant shortcomings in other areas as well: the flat name space has caused arbitrary naming in certain areas, just to distinguish e. g. the different poll timeouts used within certain contexts. So some kind of restructuring appears to be overdue. I'd like to know about other developer's opinions on that. Ideally, I'd like to at least see it split into one file per AVR part, and maybe one file for the rest, or even one file per supported programmer as well. The idea to use XML files rather than plain text files is also tempting, given that many of the modern programmer parameters are to be extracted from Atmel's part description XML files anyway. reply via email to [Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1280	Friday, March 30, 2012 Kids' Snack Menu, With 70+ Snack Ideas I got tired of hearing things like "Mom, what should I eat?" and "There's nothing to eat!" (after I'd listed several possibilities). So I made the boys their own snack menu, to look through whenever they're hungry. I printed it out, laminated it, punched a few holes in it, and put it all together with pipe cleaners, which allows me to add more pages whenever I want. There are more than 70 snacks on our menu right now, so I used dry-erase markers to show them what's availablewhat they can make themselves, what they'll need help with, and what they'll have to wait a little while forand what's not available. At the end of the menu, I added a page for them to fill out with dry-erase markers anything they want that's not availableso in addition to having to read the menu, they get some writing practice as well. Now I just need to find a frog's eyeball for my future mad scientist... You can print the snack menu here. The snack ideas on the menu are all healthy, although some of them might not sound it. You can find recipes for many of these ideas at Chocolate-Covered Katie. Sunday, March 11, 2012 9-Year-Old Boy: Series Books Here's what Tintin's been reading lately: Attack of the Volcano Monkeys (Ordinary Basil) Author: Wiley Miller Publisher: The Blue Sky Press (February 2008) Category: Chapter Book (2nd in series) In this second Ordinary Basil book, Basil and his friend Louise travel (via pteranodon) to a planet of intelligent monkeys and try to overthrow the king. Wonkenstein (The Creature From My Closet) Author: Obert Skye Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (September 2011) Category: Chapter Book (1st in series) Rob finds a strange creature in his closet. Wonkenstein is a cross between Willy Wonka and Frankenstein, characters in two of the books Rob has thrown into his overstuffed closet. Tintin can't wait for the next book, in which Rob finds yet another creature (Potterwookiee) in his closet and probably gets in even more trouble. Snarf Attack, Underfoodle, and the Secret of Life: The Riot Brothers Tell All Author/illustrator: Mary Amato/Ethan Long Publisher: Holiday House (April 2007) Category: Chapter Book (1st in series) Fifth grader Wilbur and his third-grade brother, Orville, catch a crook, search for treasure, and try to overthrow a king. Along the way, they also play a few games elementary school boys will love reading about. Upon finishing this book, Tintin immediately checked out the second book in the series, Drooling and Dangerous: The Riot Brothers Return. The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse (A Chet Gecko Mystery) Author: Bruce Hale Publisher: Perfection Learning (April 2001) Category: Chapter Book (1st in series) Chet Gecko is a fourth-grade private investigator. In this first mystery, Chet is hired to find Billy, the missing brother of Chet's chameleon classmate. With the help of mockingbird Natalie Attired, Chet looks for clues that will help him find Billy before the start of the football game. Wednesday, March 7, 2012 Celebrating Dr. Seuss's Birthday in the Bathtub Dr. Seuss's birthday was March 2. To celebrate, we took our books to the bathtub and had a reading party. Instead of eating cake, as the cat does in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, the boys had popcorn while I read to them. Of course, putting two growing boys in one bathtub at the same time doesn't always make for a peaceful experience. Tintin was much more relaxed the next day when he didn't have to deal with any kicking or pillow-stealing ("That's my pillow!" "No, it's not, I bought that pillow before you were born!"): The printable Dr. Seuss quote on the tub can be found at The Scrap Shoppe.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1289	From the Beginning Llywelyn 2018-06-21T13:20:32+01:00 text: Is this a new golden age?? 2013-10-24T03:53:00+01:00 2013-10-24T03:53:00+01:00 Llywelyn I live overseas most of the time. This means I can only get to Golden Age Collectibles in Seattle or The Great Escape in Louisville every 18 months, at best! So I see things from a different perspective than most people. Not since the great B&W indie boom of the 80s have I seen so many new publishers. None of whom I had ever heard of and many of whom are clearly doing land office business. And the fact that I am now able to get collected works from these people tells me they have been around for many years at this point. I am particularly impressed with Boom! Their series, "The Boys" was a clever breath of fresh air and an original take on the cult of super heroes. Wasn't the internet supposed to kill off the comics industry??
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1307	Google Chrome Extensions The Google Chrome web browser provides the ability to add custom tools, called Chrome Extensions, to enhance the behaviour of the web browser. These can be installed from the Chrome Web Store, where developers can submit their own apps and extensions. The following extensions have been completed and can be installed from the Chrome Web Store. Link Finder Link Finder Icon This extension finds links on a page and groups them by the file’s extension. More info In Development The following extensions are in development and will be released on the Chrome Web Store once they are complete. No extensions in development right now. The following extensions are just ideas in my head and will be developed at some point. If there is a substantial interest in any of the planned extensions (indicated by the comments below), it will probably be developed sooner! If you have any ideas for extensions, leave a comment below and I will think about it! Use the familiar Microsoft Office shortcuts to type accented characters on web forms. Loading Facebook Comments ...
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1350	Painting Video Interdisciplinary activities Research groups Publications Bio Contact • Music/Ustvolskaya/Painting (2014- ) • Little paintings (2014- ) • Translation and Reprise (2013- ) • Music/Feldman/Painting (2007- ) • Studio walls (2002- ) • Drawing (2002- ) • Recording Surface (2002-2006) • Video/Vertov/Painting (1997-2001) • Video/Painting (1990-1996) • Painting (1989-1990) One could summarize Mario Côté’s pictorial project of these six years as a deliberate borrowing of a process that is different from painting, and that comes from the making of electronic images as represented by constantly changing frames on the screen. As of 1988, he was making video works in parallel with his pictorial practice as though to embrace the challenge of a possible fusion between a fixed image and a moving one. His project of transposing the electronic image into painting has led him to favour, almost exclusively, a formal system using the three colours red, green and blue in reference to RGB light, to defining a surface by a certain number of horizontal lines, and to the intertwining of photographic and abstract images. Between movement and freeze-frame, painting investigates the very matter of images. photo credit Denis Farley et Guy L'Heureux
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1371	Monday, January 11, 2010 Challenge: Write a Kids' Poem about Math Back in September, Sean Nash wrote a post, over at his nashworld blog, about reading a book of Mother Goose to his 2-year-old daughter and not reading this one: She's recognizing words, maybe he's lucky she let him skip it. I wonder what the rule of three was back then. Reading the comments, including one from a dad who's encouraging his daughter to write science poems, got me thinking about what more we could do. So... Here's the challenge: Write a little kids’ poem that’s as catchy as that nasty bit quoted above, and that tells of the beauty of math, or, that mentions math and challenge, both in a positive way. If you start working on this, please let me know, even if you don't come up with something you like. I know I need to let this thought percolate for a while before I'll be able to come up with anything. 1. This was a good distraction from class planning. I may have my el ed students try, too. = 24 Two times two times two times three is the form that most pleases me. But even more, what I enjoy, Is that a number’s like a toy. Words are beautiful and do delight, But lack in metamorphing might. Numbers bend and twist and dance – They transform given half a chance. Two tens, four ones, a place to start, Two dozen (doughnuts) in the cart, Twice around the clock, a day, Enough eggs to make up six soufflé Thrice eight; half of 48 feet tall; 4321 (factorial); 25-1 will easily multiply. 248 would be good to try. Don’t wait on me, go find your own, A form of 24 unknown. Be clever, be brave, be strong, be bold! For 24, in carats, is pure gold. 2. Wow! This is fabulous! I usually write poetry when inspiration strikes - I hope I can come up with something. What I'm hoping to write would be at a much younger level. More like that 5 little race cars story (or poem) that I talked about in this post. 3. Okay, I'll give it a shot. In the meantime, the Rule of Three is a quaint-ish name for cross-multiplication to solve proportion problems. 4. OK- see how great "challenge-based" tasks are for some people? John- I'm impressed. Wow. I'm rather excited to see this thread take shape. Let's see if we can't point a few more eyes in this direction. Nicely done. 5. I heard of this challenge via Sean Nash. I am the "dad" you mention in the post who got his daughter to write scientific poems. I just wrote a blog post about this entire phenomena, please check out and best of luck with the Math-Po Challenge. I now have a new fun task for my kids! 6. I just had to write one... not sure it meets all the requirements that you set out in your challenge, but check out Goldbach’s Conjecture, A Math-Po 7. Well, we're going to need to set up a math poetry site, if there isn't one already. ;^) I've found fibetry, but that's very specific. Nothing else looked particularly promising. I posted a math poem before, here, but it's not a little kids poem. (I've also written a poem called Desire In a Math Class, which may not be appropriate for this blog...) 8. Sue, see what you have done!! Your latest comment (and link to the poem on the square root of -1) inspired me to write one of my own. You may notice some elements from your writing in there as well (there was no way I was not going to use the "complex plane" idea). Anyway check out "The Mathematical i" at 9. Nice! (Less plagiarism than in my 5 little race cars piece. I wouldn't have noticed.) Umm, I'll put the adult math poem I wrote long ago on my other blog. Come visit there if you want. 10. Oh, I thought this was an exercise for children. Since the adults are joining in, my daughter and I both will both tackle it tomorrow during homeschool lessons. Will blog and link. i haven't doubled anything until i've doubled one time. and so i'll start with one and then go on to have a fun time. one and one are two (so few?) and two and two are four (that's more). eight (that's great!), sixteen... but wait! what are these calculations? "exponentiation" is a mouthful but all it means is "multiply by two". by two, by two, by two, by two: just "multiply by two". by two, by two, by two, by two: just multiply-by-two. thirty-two and sixty-four, and then one-twenty-eight, two-fifty-six... and so on... (they're fun to calculate). two-to-the-zero is one (why not?) and two-to-the-one is two (one two!) two-to-the-two is four (a lot!) and two-to-the-three is eight. now you! by two, by two, by two, by two just "multiply by two". by two, by two, by two, by two just multiply-by-two! 12. Anonymous?! Folks didn't sign their artwork in ancient times, but... but... I do hope you'll come claim some glory, anon. This is lovely. And little kids like doubling, a lot! 13. i know i did. (it was that story about the vizer and the king and the chessboard that set me off; i doubled up to about a meg or so i imagine before i got tired of it. found it years later and sure enough there was a mistake...) owen thomas vlorbik his mark X 14. I thought I had better play along... 15. I blogged our poems. They are rather simple in comparison with some of the poems you've gotten already. But it is our small contribution. Thanks for the avenue for such mathematical creativity. My daughter and I tend to be more verbal than mathematical, so this was a perfect activity for us. I hope that some others will jump in after seeing my blog post. 16. My first Mathematic discovery was 1 plus 2 would equal 3 beyond that fact were many more like 2 plus 2 does equal 4 soon I figured greater things like 100 birds means 200 wings and buying donuts in a dozen 6 to me and 6 to my cousin fraction came in apple pies a part of the whole I just had to try to see the math in everything now all the numbers seem to sing. 17. Thanks, Heidi! Pretty soon we'll have a bookful. 18. Three, five and seven are fine, thirteen and nineteen sublime, and thirty-one, even just one, all of these numbers are prime! 19. Hi Lee, that's a sweet one. But unfortunately, one isn't prime. I'll try to explain why, but if what I say doesn't make sense, please let me know. If you take a number like 12 and factor it all the way down to its prime factors, you get 2x2x3. If you allowed 1 as a prime, how many 1's would you put in the list? You can put none, or one (2x2x3x1) or as many as you like, it'll still multiply to 12. Since 1 doesn't help it break down into smaller numbers, we don't count 1 as one of the primes. I'm trying to think how you could fix it. If you said 'Even just two' (since two is the smallest prime, and is unusual being the only even prime), I don't know what would rhyme well in the line before. Anyone else have ideas for Lee for that line? 20. How embarrassing. I wondered about one but didn't bother to look it up. You'll have to forgive me. My oldest child is nine. Haven't thought about prime numbers in years. Okay, no problem, revised version. Three, five and seven are fine, thirteen and fifteen sublime, two is fun, and thirty-one, all of these numbers are prime! 21. Don't be embarrassed. If it's not something you're into, it's easy to forget details ... And you've added to a delightful collection we could all publish together someday. (Am I too optimistic?) Anyone want to try to write another poem about primes that says something about why we care? 22. We've got about 10 poems. Can we come up with more? Any other math poets out there? On February 12 I'll collect everything here, try to find a few more, and post about it, in time for the next blog carnival. 23. Oh dear, I'm just not succeeding at this, but I won't give up. Will these verses help? Then there is one, all alone, with no factors of its own, not even prime, but that's just fine, for from one comes most math as its known. A long time ago, just for fun, in order to name a sum, it had to be, so you shall see, the assumption of a unit one. I think it shows something of the beauty of math that it all comes down to one. You can't prove 1 + 1 = 2 without the assumption of the existence of one. 24. here's some more metaphysics of "one". "green grow the rushes". classic children's verse, from wales, learned at my mother's knee. kind of. (she didn't know it well and i can't be said to know it at all. but i've just looked it up...) but i say math starts with zero not one. the earth was without form and void. let me pin this down outside the scriptural realm. multiplicative theory starts with 1. but additive theory starts with 0. corresponding to sue's "why 1 shouldn't count as a prime", we won't count "0" when we count "partitions". 4= 4 4 = 3+1 4 = 2+ 2 4 = 2+ 1 + 1 4 = 1+ 1+ 1 + 1 and... ignoring "reorderings" like 4 = 1+3... this is all the ways to partition "4". but if we start allowing and so on, we have an infinite list of boring objects useful only for showing the need of careful definitions. same with 5= 5111. 1 is a "unit" not a prime. (another well-known "unit"... in the integers, not the naturals... is -1. "x" is a unit [in a "ring"] if there's an object "y" satisfying "xy = 1". thus -1 counts because of course (-1)(-1) = 1.) anyhow, since adding* is a more "primitive" operation than multiplying, and since 0-- the "additive identity"-- plays the same role in addition as 1--the "multiplicative identity"-- plays for multiplication... i now claim that 0 is even more basic to the number system than 1. (every ring-theorist knows this in their marrow. very few other people know it at all i imagine.) 25. >Oh dear, I'm just not succeeding at this, but I won't give up. Will these verses help? My turn to say oh dear. I'm sorry. I definitely didn't mean to say there was anything wrong with your revised poem. I was more thinking along the lines that, since you enjoy thinking about primes, you'd enjoy a poem from someone else that comes from another perspective. And Lee, you're doing better than I am. I haven't yet added anything to the list here. I wonder why. I love writing poetry. Maybe I think of Mother Goose style as having stricter meter, and most of my poems are free verse. I'll start working on a poem today. 26. I will read your poem when you post it. I'm not a free verse person at all. I do like math. I like formulas which is probably why I like limericks which tell me just how I'm supposed to put it together. :) 27. A limerick, this time around Doesn’t it just race your heart to see These games with numbers and infinity. How can one stay aloof From the elegance of a proof Time to groove on mathematics’ and beauty. 28. Love your poems. I wrote a few too, for example: If you click on Math Poettary, you will find a few. Keep writing. 29. OK, I blogged about your challenge but failed to take it myself...until one of my readers pointed out the error of my ways. So I have added my own poem to the pot. Thanks for the great idea! 30. Do our poems have to be made new for this post? If not, here's an old favorite of mine. Mental play. Archimedes shouts, “Eureka! I figured it out.” From Fibonacci poetry = fun! 31. Nope, no need to make a new one. I said I 'd collect them on the 12th. That's today, and I'm on a deadline. I'll do it sometime next week (I hope). 32. I'm working on a wiki for these, but wanted to get each person's permission to post there. Heidi, I have no way to contact you. If you see this, please email me (suevanhattum on hotmail) to let me know whether I can post your poem there. I'm posting them all for now, and will delete any that don't give permission. 33. Hi Sue, Take some of mine too if you like. But many of them go with Punya's ambigrams. Here is one on doing math. The scientific training, teaches how to discover. The artistic training teaches how to uncover. The mathematician uncovers, only to discover -- new things to uncover. 34. Ok, here's one: The Pleasure of Struggling I can’t get this. It doesn’t make sense. What are they talking about? I will never get this. It’s crazy. If I put this with this… Oh my! Look at that! How cool! May I have another, please? And now I'll put up a new post about this. 35. Oh, brilliant, thanks all! I'm starting a maths class for the first time next year and a few of these (with poet credited) are definitely going up on my wall. Perfect, as I'm and English teacher, too. (PS: & thanks for the wiki, Sue.) 36. to all. Was doing a search for younger children Math poems. Things like: "2, 4, 6, 8, who do you appreciate?" Poems that i can use in daily activities with young children (& autistic kids) to have the memorize skip counting of 2's, 5's, and 10's. Does anyone out there know of any? I want to use them when cleaning up, or other transition times in the classroom. 37. I'm a teacher, and I'd like my kids to create math poems and post them to a site. Do you know how I can go about it? Thanks! 38. Jill, I wrote a post about a month after this one, about the wiki I set up for math poetry. You can add pages to it yourself. (Feel free to ask for help. You can email me at math anthology editor without the spaces, on gmail.) That's one option. Another is using google sites ( Or you could start a blog and set up a page on it for the poetry. There are probably other good options, too, that I'm not thinking of. Math Blog Directory
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1372	Agent Thompson Agent Thompson Physical description Hair color Chronological Information Agent Thompson was an Agent who was a cohort of Johnson and Jackson. Captains' MeetingEdit Agent Thompson Fights Neo Thompson fighting Neo after the Crisis Meeting. Thompson, along with Johnson and Jackson, attacked the Crisis Meeting and fought Neo who held his ground and gave the other redpills enough time to reach their exits. During the fight, Jackson and Johnson are knocked off their feet and were separated from Thompson, leaving him to fight Neo alone momentarily. However, Thompson was not able to defeat Neo and he was the first one to be eliminated out of the three. Eventually, with the powers of The One, Neo defeated them in under one minute and escaped. Burly BrawlEdit Smith surprising Thompson before assimilating him. Thompson reappeared during Neo's battle with Smith and his clones. After taking possession of a Bluepill who was witnessing the fight between the many Smiths and Neo, he is almost immediately confronted by a Smith, and immediately recognizes him ("You!"), to which Smith starts to copy over the Bluepill. Once Thompson is taken over and is another Smith, the two Smiths join the fight and Agent Thompson appears to have been destroyed. However, though Smith did copy over the Bluepill that Thompson had taken over, he did not actually copy over Thompson's own code, so Thompson still exists within the system. Freeway ChaseEdit Agent Thompson preparing to unload his weapon on Trinity's vehicle. In an attempt to kill Trinity and The Keymaker during The Freeway Chase, Agents Jackson and Thompson took possession of two police officers and joined the chase. When Johnson's attempt to kill Trinity failed, Agent Thompson pulled alongside Trinity's vehicle in an attempt to kill her. After Trinity escapes, Thompson and Jackson inform Johnson, who is standing on a bridge waiting for the Keymaker. Ambush at the Nuclear Power PlantEdit Thompson made his final appearance at the Nuclear Power Plant in an attempt to stop Trinity after she helped Neo reach The Architect. During his fight with Trinity, Jackson appeared and the two agents tried to kill Trinity with their weapons. To escape, Trinity jumps out through the building window and Thompson follows her. Agent Thompson fires a bullet just below Trinity's heart. As both of them fall, Thompson and Trinity are shooting at each other. However, Thompson succeeds by shooting a bullet just below her heart. Before Trinity falls onto the car below, Neo manages to save Trinity and Thompson falls to his temporary death by landing on the car. • Shortly before Thompson was assimilated by Smith, he says "you" in a slightly fearful and angered tone. This implies that Thompson not only knew of Smith, but seemed either fearful of what he was capable of or surprised that he was still in the Matrix despite being an Exiled agent. • During the Freeway Chase sequence, Thompson can be seen reloading his Desert Eagle (although he never fires it again after that). Reloading is not a very common sight in The Matrix Trilogy. Also, he can be seen thumbing away at the safety for his firearm, a rare sight in any action film.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1386	Good Things: An Urban Fantasy Anthology Home > Books > Multiple Authors > Good Things: An Urban Fantasy Anthology Good Things: An Urban Fantasy Anthology About the Book Magic and mayhem. Vampires and gods. Cops and werewolves. The binding thread of mysticism in the modern world and acts of kindness, small and large, random and focused. Join these ten authors as we travel through their worlds. All of the author proceeds from the sales of this anthology will go to the Random Acts Organization, sponsoring kindness throughout the world. This is not official Random Acts merchandise, but is a fundraising project under permission from the charity. Order Now Buy from Amazon Kindle
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1395	Toxic Home Transformation Summit Toxic Home Transformation Summit Sunday, February 14, 2016 More Internet Annoyances.... So..., The other day, YAHOO had added a silly heart emoticon "Valentine's Autocompose." email and totally killed regular email functions! It had totally crashed basic email function. 5 or more hours went without the ability to receive, send or compose emails. Has anyone ever noticed how many freaking times support techs and everyone says to disable this, update that, etc, give a penny here, and want to SELL some BS crap we don't need... and these things STILL don't work? Quit blaming all of us for your defunct coding, programming, etc.. in the email program. It wouldn't even let me go to BASIC email, without another stupid error. We don't need the bells and whistles and other fancy stuff. Who the fuck asked for this? I never did. Hello? Less is MORE. Yahoo had a major issue on their hands, the other day. Their stupid valentine's day BS had crippled many users email accounts. "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is." "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.", is the new motto of the internet. The old internet as we knew it, has long since been gone. Shitty products, services, surveillance, data mining customers, no customer service, the ever offending aggravating evil javascript, being flashed and scripted to death. Can any of these incompetent and overpaid losers just hit the revert button to 2009? Or better yet, even back to the year 2000? The internet was still decent back then. The same goes for every other service. We would all SOOOOO LOVE that. I'm here to tell you that The "Spirit of Excellence" has long since left the building. ‪#‎FirstWorldProblems‬ ‪#‎autocompose‬ ‪#‎youhadonejob‬ No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1405	Emptied Gestures - Heather Hanson - kinetic art Emptied Gestures is an experiment by New Orleans kinetic artist Heather Hanson. She is "exploring ways to download her movement set directly onto paper," emptying gestures from one form to another. Mesmerising and poignant statement about the Art of You and How You're Doing... Popular posts from this blog Destiny Schafer - art prodigy - one to watch Electric Universe - Thunderbolts of the Gods - Lightning Scarred Planet Earth
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1428	Rich Kids Of Instagram Flaunt Absurd ‘First World Problems’ Most People Would Love To Have It doesn’t matter if you believe you’ve been blessed with good luck; so long as you’re human, eventually you’ll have a bad day every now and again. Yet, not all bad days are created equal. While some are enough to keep you hiding under your covers all day, others seem a lot more manageable. Just take the kind of days these Rich Kids of Social Media™️—a subset of super-wealthy youngsters who parade their family’s money all over Instagram and Snapchat—were recently forced to endure. While their problems might hardly seem like issues to the rest of us, to them, it’s practically the end of the world. Just see for yourself… 1. Looks like this poor rich teen can’t fit the haul from his luxury shopping spree into his Lamborghini. Drat! He’d better call an Uber—preferably driving a Porsche—to come cart his bags to his mansion. 2. If leaving the top down on your Lamborghini is your biggest problem, consider yourself lucky. Most people wouldn’t even spend money on a new pair of suede shoes if they were to get them soaked, let alone a new car. 3. Running out of paper in the middle of class is never a good thing. For rich kids, though? Not to worry—they can always rely on writing on the bottom of their laptops as backup! For this person, the difference between a piece of paper and expensive technology is negligible. 4. Everyone’s been there before: you just got paid and you want to treat yourself. But rather than being responsible, you go out and spend everything you had. Now multiply that by 10,000, subtract the “paycheck,” and that’s the boat this kid is in. 5. You know that feeling when you get home from a long day of shopping, only to discover that all of your family’s waitstaff has parked their vehicles in your parking lot? No? Okay, well, apparently it’s a huge nuisance for this kid. 6God forbid this rich girl had to travel by land like the rest of the “peasants” below. Luckily for her, a helicopter ride can keep her far enough from everyone so she doesn’t have to worry about rubbing elbows with normal folk. 7. This is the kind of decision most people are faced with at the checkout counter: did you buy the correct watch? Well, this kid didn’t have to worry about that. He only has to worry about which bling he wants on his steering wheel. 8. Look, no one likes having to go back to school following summer break—that’s understandable. But let’s just say that getting to go back in your own private jet surely beats taking the loud school bus in the morning! 9. This could honestly be an advertisement for what meditating can do for you. Envision yourself as a wealthy, loving person. Alas, it is just a rich kid meditating, surrounded by thousands of their parents’ dollars. 10. If your biggest worry of the day is deciding which of your parents’ premium member credit cards you should use on your shopping spree, then your problems probably aren’t really all that bad. 11. Learning to drive a car can be pretty embarrassing—at least for everyday people. But learning to do it in your parents’ incredibly expensive Bat Mobile-esque car seems a lot cooler than doing so in your mom’s 1994 Chrysler Grand Voyager. 12. Who doesn’t hate sitting out in the sun and relaxing all day? Only kidding, of course. If relaxing on your dad’s yacht for an entire day seems like a chore to you, then congratulations, you’re this-level rich. You’d think with all of that money, this person could learn the difference between the possessive and the plural of “daddy,” though. 13. It must be strange to be so wealthy that, even as plants, you’re spoiled. Can you imagine using expensive bottles of Moët to water your plants? Their parents better hope money grows on that tree! Otherwise, what a waste. 14. Have you ever bought so many things at once that you didn’t know when you’d get around to wearing them? Well, apparently this guy had that problem. But instead of waiting, he decided to just put on everything at once. So Gucci. 15. Everyone can relate to having their spot at the grocery store swiped by someone who was quicker to the punch. But have you ever experienced someone in a bright yellow Porsche taking your spot? Didn’t think so. 16. This rich kid of Instagram had such a stressful shopping day that he doesn’t even know how to cram everything he bought into one picture. Poor him! He’d surely have been happier if he could fit it into one photograph. 17. Most people are lucky enough to be allowed to borrow their parents’ car by the time they’re old enough to drive. But this kid? Well, he just has so many options that he doesn’t even know what to do. 18. Many people struggle just to keep the water running in their homes, but for this guy, water’s not even the best option. Instead, they choose to bathe themselves with the finest of bath bombs: Champagne! 19. Many people dread having to return home from a long vacation, but not this rich kid. Then again, who wouldn’t love returning home to high-end Champagne, a few Rolexes, and practically more money than you can count? 20. This guy must wonder why all of his guests suddenly have stuffy noses. Can you even imagine asking for a tissue and someone handing over a load of cash? Pretty sure everyone reading this could use one of those tissues, please! Well, if that’s what having a bad day is like for these rich kids, then imagine what your good day would look like to them? It definitely gives you some perspective. Share these ridiculous rich-kid “problems” with your friends below! More Money Versed Below! Stay up to date on the latest trending stories! like our facebook page!
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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1458	Movie Quotes - Movie Sounds - Movie Wavs Archive of October 2007 Knocked Up 109 new sound clips I just finished adding 109 new wavs from Knocked Up. price at: amazon I'm working on clips from Knocked Up. I've made 70 clips so far. They'll be up when I'm finished.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1459	Thursday, 27 March 2014 I Just Have One Thing To Say And that thing is: Yes, that's a shot of the bottom of my screen saying that I have written 42,694 words of a novel this month. I need to get to 50,000 words. 4 days to go. I'm behind with everything. Especially emails, because emails require typing and if I have access to a keyboard I'm chained to Squeaky Clean: a story about friendship, love and ....laundry. (I just made that strapline up, right now, as I was typing. It's pretty awful, but that's okay. That's the spirit of Novel Month). Anyway, I'd better get back to it. Nadine is about to try to get her parents back together. (Come on, Kenneth and Yewanda. I'm sure you two still love each other. You've got about 1500 words to sort yourselves out or your relationship is toast). I think what I'm trying to say is: I'm not dead. But my arms may be about to fall off. See you in April!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1465	Saturday, May 01, 2010 Kentucky Derby Bets And now... for one Chipotle Burrito.... Drum roll please... This is for you Aunt Rad: Sarah's Picks: 1. Noble's Promise 2. Ice Box 3. Patty O'Predo 4. Jackson Bend 5. Conveyance Dominic's Picks: 1. Line of David 2. Homeboykhris 3. Lookin' at Lucky 4. Devil May Care 5. American Lion Here we go! Anonymous said... You didn't do to well! I think you need a trip to KY to the racetrack so you can learn how to pick your horses. Anonymous said... This comment has been removed by a blog administrator. Sarah and Dominic said... Actually I did. I had Super Saver (for obvious reasons). I just didn't pick him first.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1470	Bartibog Bridge Postal Codes Bartibog Bridge city is located in New Brunswick, Canada You can search for the Bartibog Bridge NB postal codes by its streets and block numbers Bartibog Bridge Area Code is 506 and Time Zone is Atlantic (GMT -04:00). Bartibog Bridge Postal Code - New Brunswick Bartibog Bridge Postal Code is a six-character string that forms part of a postal address in Canada. Like British and Dutch postcodes, Bartibog Bridge - NB postal codes are alphanumeric. The last three characters denote a Bartibog Bridge local delivery unit (LDU). An LDU denotes a specific single Bartibog Bridge address or range of addresses, which can correspond to an entire small town, a significant part of a medium-sized town, a single side of a city block in larger cities, a single large building or a portion of a very large one, a single (large) institution in Bartibog Bridge, New Brunswick, such as a university or a hospital, or a business that receives large volumes of mail on a regular basis If you want to send a mail to Bartibog Bridge City, you should use the corresponding Postal Code. Bartibog Bridge Postal Code MAP Bartibog Bridge Postal Code - CA Streets Postal Codes By pressing keys ctrol + F you can search Bartibog Bridge postal codes by its streets/addresses Search Bartibog Bridge Postal Code You should look for the desired Bartibog Bridge address to know for certain postal code in Bartibog Bridge, NB Bartibog Bridge, New Brunswick - Postal Codes Canada Bartibog Bridge Postal Code Lookup City: Bartibog Bridge Bartibog Bridge Area Code: 506 Bartibog Bridge, NB - Time Zone: Atlantic (GMT -04:00) State: New Brunswick State Abb: NB Bartibog Bridge Elevation: 7 Bartibog Bridge Population: 14039 New Brunswick Postal Code: related postal codes View more New Brunswick postal codes Related pages 10025 102a ave edmontonleduc alberta postal codespencerville ontario populationsherwood park ab postal code390 bay street torontopostal code salmon arm bcbel air postal code310 gorge road east victoria bc9 spadina road toronto15 greenview ave north yorkjudo bramptonarea code 336 timezonepinnacle ridge calgarybrampton ontario area codepostal code for burlington ontario canadaavepoint canada4330 sanderson way burnaby bc503 beecroft rd520 portage ave winnipegpostal codes for manitobaburnside newfoundland1909 area code421 7 ave sw calgaryoklahoma postal codes80 dundas st london ontario360 bloor street westpostal codes colomboniagara falls canada postal code121 wellington street barrie27 roytec rd woodbridge20 lynch street bramptonramsey crescent ottawazip code ontario canada483 bay street toronto on9700 jasper avenue edmonton130 spadina avenue torontopalmdale postal codeontario canada zipcode2788 prince edward street vancouvernortham postal codepostal codes halifax nova scotiagrande prairie ab postal codeterrebonne postal codecode postal albertans canada zip codeboblo island mapcanada zip codes ontarioisrael postal code lookupsydney nova scotia timezonepostal codes in windsor ontariosouthcrest london ontariohalifax nova scotia timezoneedwin carrfoxboro area codematheson postalrandom postal code canada26 val gardena view swnapier postal code851 west queens road north vancouver38 elm street toronto800 de la gauchetierepostal codes for karachibondi area codewicklow postal codenanoose bay postal codearea code 263 canada180 quarry park blvd searea code 313 35590 sumachbilbao postal codesussex nb postal codevancouver post codefreeport area code
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1478	Skillz Real-Money Gaming: How Android Users Can Win Money Competing Against Each Other Skillz is a multiplayer tournament platform for Android users that allows players to place wagers against each other over certain skill-based competitive games like Bubble Shooter, Cave Runner and IBC Boxing. Will the attempt to monetize Android games for developers succeed? Everyone's heard of competitive Starcraft in South Korea but most people don't imagine Android gamers to be competitive hard-nosed gamblers. That's about to change, as Skillz, a multiplayer tournament platform for Android allowing players to wager real money on skill-based games, is now in open beta. This opens up a brave new world of competitive gaming for Android users. Read Full Story >> The story is too old to be commented. AzaziL1873d ago If it's too good to be true, it usually is.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1530	Sunday, October 11, 2009 What happen after Automatic Saving ? Once you have Automated Saving System or ASS setup and running for a while. ( I bet not many of you yet ) You may wonder, "What a crap! I am not financially free yet!" Thanks to a case study reminding me to move on after ASS is setup. Also inspired by a silent guru - Meshio - somehow some reason I started scratching on a piece of paper when I review that case study. So in short, this may represent what happens after ASS ... 1. Choose an account that gives highest interest you can find for your ASS account 2. Decide how much emergency fund you need in your ASS ( usually in number of months or years of your monthly expenses ) 3. Once achieve the emergency fund amount, the overflow should goes into investment 4. Your investment potential return should be significantly higher than your ASS return 5. move the emergency fund to FD, Bond Fund or Money Market Fund if interest is higher than your ASS account. 6. Continue looking, learning, categorizing and revising until your investment return is Passive and higher than your active income. Finally the most important one #7, comes buy me a bottle of wine and tell me how MalPF can be improved based on your experience. God did rest on Sunday didn't he ?
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1549	« Star Citizen Writer's Guide - Audio Version Episode 11 \| Main \| Star Citizen – Mining Overview » July 06, 2015 That seems like a curious and rather pointless mechanic because, as you point out, it's largely avoidable in most ways that mean anything. If you take careful note of your choices at character creation you can make an absolutely identical character in terms of what it looks like. That character then receives all the material possessions of the dead one and also nearly all of the intangible (reputation) assets. That's no different in essence to the loss of xp/levels/skills on "death" that we're all familiar with from many MMOs. In fact the only thing that will "die" permanently appears to be your character's name. Presumably names will be unique, as they are in most MMOs - although these days it's possible to tie the identity of the customer to a log-in and allow duplicated names in game so maybe not even that. Presumably all your friends/guild/alliance/whatever contacts will be retained or can be easily replicated so everyone will know it's still you. It's hard to see how this device amounts to something that isn't just "immortality" with an occasional, brief hiccup. I think you'd need to lose a lot more than described above before it would feel like more than a minor, irritating convenience for most people. Alysianah aka Saylah I think that depends on your priorities in the SC universe. I only touched on tangible assets and reputation. Upon death you lose your achievements, as they belonged to the other character. If youre that type of player, that could be a big deal. Im not that kind of player myself but know many that are. I agree, you can reasonably avoid death by limiting your activity and where you go in the game, much like you can in EVE Online. However, even some of the professions executed in safe space can result in death. Mining for example, which Ill be covering soon, is dangerous enough that your ship can explode if youre not careful or good at certain of the required roles. I like and dislike the mechanic. I believe some players will be emotionally and mentally impacted by simply knowing that theres a life counter present. Enough so that it will alter their behavior. Your reputations is still aligned but youre not the other person. The mechanic of NPCs reacting to you differently based on past deeds, never fully realized in GW2, is planned in SC. We shall see, however. If that is the case, you will lose those NPC relationships upon death. I considered but decided against including that in my blog post because it wasn't explicitly called out the article itself. However, it can be construed based on dev responses to player questions. I believe in the forum thread there was an example of a player having reached a certain rank/position within a NPC corp dying. His beneficiary would still be looked on favorably but they do not inherit whatever the former characters rank/position was. That has to be achieved again. For that matter, player organizations might choose to adopt the same policy. If an officer dies, theyre dead. The beneficiary comes in as a recruit. Now that would be interesting to see play out. I can smell the drama from here. :-) The comments to this entry are closed. The Smithes • coming soon...
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1551	Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Sometimes you read a blog post and you just weep. The author is able to so carefully, beautifully articulate feelings you experience. To the outside world, one might wonder why we read them. Is it some strange voyeur phenomenon we are experiencing as a culture. Do we, as readers, need to know what's going on with others - strangers - to measure our own life? I knew that was not why I read. I read to have those "aha" moments where someone else's words help me make sense of my own emotions. Yesterday, my yoga teacher included the following words in her class. It finally answered the question of Why I read....why I listen....why I write.....why I talk. Tell the truth about your feelings and your experiences and see the golden road appear that immediately connects you to others on the path.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1555	Windows Server 2003 EOL: What if You Can’t Migrate All Your Servers? Windows Server 2003 End of LifeWhile there comes a time in business to let go of the old and embrace the greener pastures that new technologies offer, what do you do when you are told that there is simply no money left in the budget to do so? With the scheduled end of life for Windows Server 2003 slated for July 14, 2015, many businesses are faced with that reality. According to Microsoft and analysts like Gartner, an estimated two to three million machines will still be running Server 2003 beyond the July 14th EOL date. While you may be facing budget constraints or the reality that your organization relies heavily on custom apps or legacy business-critical applications that only run on Windows Server 2003, you need to be aware of the risks and what you can do to mitigate them. Running an unsupported operating system poses some serious security risks that have the potential to affect your entire server network. When that day comes, and Microsoft no longer provides security updates, bug fixes and patches for Windows Server 2003, it will undoubtedly open the doors for hackers and cyber criminals to find exploits and vulnerabilities to hack into these systems. To put this into perspective, according to Microsoft, there were 37 critical updates in 2013 and another 21 updates in 2014 to this operating system. It just goes to show that even after 10 years on the market, it is not without vulnerabilities and hackers are probably counting down the days. Windows Server 2003 and HIPAA Compliance If you are in the healthcare industry, there are additional compliance risks that you have to consider. HIPAA compliance regulations require covered entities to establish proper safeguards with “procedures for guarding against, detecting and reporting malicious software.” When Microsoft stops patching vulnerabilities, stops sending anti-malware definitions, and stops supporting both System Center Endpoint and Forefront Endpoint Protection for Windows Server 2003, it is going to be hard to guard against, detect or even report on malicious software that has infiltrated the unprotected server’s operating system. The reality is when day-zero hits, you will no longer receive notifications regarding vulnerabilities that affect your servers. The penalties for violating the HIPAA act can be very costly, so you need to do everything you can now to alleviate the risks to remain compliant. How to Protect Your Windows Server 2003 Post EOL While you will need to start planning for the eventual migration to a new platform, there are a few things that you can do not to mitigate some of the risk to your data. Back Up Your 2003 Servers Data Backing up data on servers running Windows Server 2003 is going to become even more important post Server 2003 end of life. As your data becomes more vulnerable, the ability to restore from your backups is essential. Should your server become infected with a virus or your data becomes corrupt, you want to be able to restore from your backup as quickly as possible to avoid any delays in production. Some backup software solutions like NovaBACKUP will continue to support Windows Server 2003, at least for the time being. We realize that not all users can afford to move all of their data and applications to a new platform before the July 14th EOL deadline. In addition to frequent file backups, you may also want to consider creating an image backup of these servers. If you are running Microsoft Exchange 2003 or SQL 2000/2005 on the same server, you would continue to be able to backup and restore your complete databases for these applications. Isolate Your 2003 Servers To help minimize the risk, only run applications that absolutely have to run on Windows Server 2003 and then isolate these physical servers from the rest of your network. If you can cut these servers off from accessing the internet, do so. Limit Access to Your 2003 Servers Lock down and limit access to all of your physical servers that are running Windows 2003 Server. This should be high on your list of priorities. Check user access to ensure that it is limited to only those individuals that absolutely need access to these servers. Make sure that logging is turned on and that you are monitoring all activity for unauthorized access attempts. Consider Virtualizing Your 2003 Servers If your organization has taken on the “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” mindset with regard to legacy applications, you may want to consider virtualizing your 2003 Servers. This will offer a bit more security, allow you to run your current operating system in an isolated virtual environment, provide better utilization of your existing servers, and not require you to replace your aging servers, which might be budget prohibitive. Al Gillen from IDC, points out that in reality any business running more than a few servers should be virtualizing their workloads anyway. Keep in mind that Server 2003 runs on a 32-bit operating system, which will require some additional preparation to convert them from physical to virtual. Luckily there are tools available to help with this process, which is known as a physical-to-virtual machine (P2V) conversion. By virtualizing your current systems, you can create an isolated virtual environment and easily test new configurations. Testing is key here. Here are some tools that help during the process: • Microsoft’s Virtual Machine Converter will convert virtual machines and disks from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts or convert physical machines and disks to Hyper-V hosts. • VMware’s vCenter Standalone Converter will convert physical and virtual machines into VMware virtual machines. • Disk2vhd is a free, third-party utility that will create a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) from your physical server’s hard drive for use in Microsoft Hyper-V No matter which Hypervisor you choose, NovaBACKUP is capable of protecting your virtual machines weather they are running under Hyper-V or VMware. Plan Your Migration Even if you don’t have budget for it now, eventually you will need to migrate. Why not get your plan in place and be prepared for the inevitable migration. That way once funding is approved, you can hit the ground running rather than scrambling to develop a plan of action. Take the time to fully scope out the project, determine the best course of action, put together a realistic timeline with budgetary requirements and get buy-in from all stakeholders. For additional reading on the subject, you may want to check out Spiceworks IT report on The Great IT Upgrade, which discusses the migration from Windows Server 2003 from IT pros. If you have further questions on how NovaBACKUP can protect your servers facing Windows Server 2003 EOL, contact us directly at If you liked this post, subscribe to our RSS feed or share this post: Twitter Facebook LinkedInStumble UponReddit Bridget Giacinto Bridget is the Ecommerce Marketing Manager at NovaStor. Bridget has over a decade of Marketing experience, with 8 years specifically in the Software Industry. Leave a Reply
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1590	Universalis, About this blog Saturday, June 16, 2012 Sisters of Mercy speak the language of faith One of the most amazing aspects of faith in God is the proper perspective that power is ascribed to God alone. Therefore, the language of faith emphasizes thanksgiving and trust in God, while we, his children, speak of charity and service pertaining to one another. With God, power is not grasped: it is granted to us as grace. As the Sisters of Mercy point out about the LCWR scandal, problems arise when the language indicates a political struggle instead. As this scandal unfolds, it is becoming a circus of politics by mainstream media, not at all a dialogue. What now, SSPX? Vatican confirms offer to SSPX for a personal prelature. On the plus side, unity is always a good inspiration. It is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit to bring peace, and it is as the Lord prayed fervently. On the minus side, this would be an inopportune time to be tempted to gloat -- may God's grace bring about nothing but his gifts of charity and hope! Thursday, June 07, 2012 Which is the first of all commandments? What immediately struck me from this question, put to Jesus by one of the scribes in today's reading (Mk 12:28-34) is that the question itself of primary importance. Assuming that God exists as the Church teaches, then it is imperative to ask what his greatest or primary command is. Then it occurred to me as well that this question may well be taken to the wrong extreme of seeking what is fundamental in order to escape the rest. But even so, Jesus does not leave much room to wriggle out of the rest: "Listen, Israel, the Lord, our God, is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The analogy of faith tells us that no component of it stands isolated from the rest of the faith, so we are compelled to recall the admonition from Jesus to observe all that he commanded the Apostles, and so we must keep the fullness of the Apostolic faith. But a postmodern believer might quickly complain that to speak of commandments is old-fashioned and too forbidding to consider. Here also, the analogy of faith comes to our aid, for Jesus equated this obedience to his commandments with love for him. We may well wince at the notion of receiving commands, but here we have someone who is more than worthy to give them: no earthly ruler who is, at his core, no better than we. This Lord is fully God, and has the right to issue commands, not because of his terrible power -- which is indeed terrible and to be feared -- but because of his awesome love, because he is love. Therefore, to circle back to that question, the first of all commandments is to love -- to love him who loved us first.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1627	Prototype Nutrition Ketoforce Homemade Steroids Making Users Sick? By Patrick Arnold In Panama City Florida a steroid bust was made at what appeared to be some “garage lab”. The amount of steroids seized allegedly had a street value of one million dollars (I have no idea how that is calculated but I suspect it is warped on the high side.) What made this story a bit unusual was that the steroids apparently were making people ill. I read this story on the internet and it originated from a newspaper called The News Herald which is out of the panhandle area of florida. What is described sounds like injectable steroids, in other words, steroids dissolved in oil. Authorities claim that some of these steroids had residue stuck to the side of the vials and some had “debris” floating in them. Residue and debris in injectable steroids sounds unclean and potentially harmful and that very well could be the case. It also could be the case that this residue and debris was precipitated steroid crystals due to the product being loaded into the oil at too high of a concentration. That may not necessarily be unclean or harmful (other than potential harm from steroids themselves), but is indicative that whoever was making the product didn’t know what they were doing. Oddly, the cops commented on the fact that the “cook plate”, which I assume means hot plate, was anything but sterile. I am not sure why a hot plate would have to be sterile for product that is put into a vial to be sterile. I bet the house the hot plate was in wasn’t sterile either. What made this story interesting to me though was the fact that these products were producing troubling physical symptoms in many of the users. These were acute symptoms of coughing and chest pain. Authorities weren’t sure if it was the steroid in the product or something else in the product. Since I am familiar with this area I can say with relative confidence that it was likely one of two things. First of all, the steroids could have contained trenbolone acetate, which is a steroid commonly known to cause an anaphylactic type reaction in users upon injection. An anaphylactic reaction is an allergic response that comes on very quickly (seconds or minutes) after exposure to an allergen and involves symptoms such as coughing due to shortness of breath, chest pain, sweating etc. Also known to cause anaphylactic reactions are the chemicals benzyl alcohol and benzyl benzoate. These chemicals are often added to injectable preparations in small amounts, but when added in larger amounts they have been known to cause anaphylactic like reactions in people (sometimes quite severe). It’s a very bad idea to use an oil based injectable steroid or anything that is not made under proper pharmaceutical conditions. And although the risk of infection due to sterility problems is much less than that of water based preparations, there still can be a host of other problems that can cause you some serious problems. Unfortunately the desire to use performance enhancement drugs is widespread and the current laws forbid the use of steroids and other PEDs for things other than disease. As a result, people are buying stuff from idiots that mix up Chinese steroid powder in oil in their basement. Leave a comment You must be logged in to post a comment.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1631	Tuesday, 20 September 2016 Snowden’s muse was Ayn Rand’s John Galt Ayn Rand’s inspiration is still making the world a freer place, says Jeffrey Tucker in this guest post. Something has always bugged me about the case of Edward Snowden. He worked in a massive professional machinery of enormous power, prestige, and money. His world was the pinnacle of achievement for his skill set. Everything about the massive surveillance state broadcast that there was no escape. Everything about his environment demanded compliance, service, and submission. His job was to check at the door his individualism, integrity, and character -- and to become a faithful cog in a machinery of superiors. Everyone else went along. They didn’t question it. If they did question the goings on, it was purely abstract. Surely there was no real escape. You could only adapt, enjoy the power, take the money, and die someday. SnowdenSnowden, for whatever reason, decided to take a different direction. Alone, and without consulting even those closest to him, he struck out on his own. He took the unfathomable risk of copying all the most pertinent files. He put them on a tiny disk and embedded it in the Rubik's cube he often carried. He plotted his escape. He walked calmly out of the National Security Agency and boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he met two reporters he had contacted through encrypted email. What he revealed rocked the world. Throughout it all, he was scared but never indecisive. Unimpressed by the machinery all around him, he saw it not as his master and not even his equal. He saw it all as beatable. He knew that what he was doing was right, and he did it all because – against all odds – he thought he could make a difference. He literally risked his life in the service of human freedom. What would drive a man to do such a thing? Many may have thought about it. That running a global and indiscriminate dragnet was both illegal and immoral was not unknown to his colleagues. But only Snowden stepped up to do something about it. It’s actually remarkable that such a man exists in our time. Having followed the Snowden case carefully, this always puzzled me. It’s fine to say he has character, that he acted on principle, that he showed courage. That’s all great, but where did this come from? He is not particularly religious. He seems to have a libertarian streak. But he doesn’t seem particularly ideological in his politics. So I’ve always wondered: what is the moral guide that led Snowden to do the unthinkable in the service of truth? Here is where I’m deeply grateful for the new movie by Oliver Stone [a phrase I never thought I would see on this blog – Ed.]: Snowden. Rand Was His Muse There is a moment early on in Stone’s movie when Snowden is being interviewed for his first national security position. He is asked what books have influenced him. He mentions Joseph Campbell. (The influence on Snowden of Campbell’s notion of the “Hero’s Journey” would itself be a fascinating topic to pursue.). And then, crucially, Ayn Rand. The interviewer quotes a line from Atlas Shrugged: “one man can stop the motor of the world.” Snowden agrees, and the movie proceeds. Snowden2This is it! This makes sense of so much. In Rand’s novel, everyone faces a gigantic and oppressive state apparatus that is gradually pillaging the producers and driving society into poverty. Each person who confronts this machine must make a decision: join it, defend it, ignore it, or fight it through some means. Those who take the courageous route know better than to take up arms. Instead, they do something more devastating. They walk away and deny the regime their own services. They decline to partake in their own destruction. In so doing, they are doing society a great service of refusing to have their talents contribute to further oppressing society. There we have it. Edward Snowden must have had this riveting story in his mind. As any reader of Atlas can attest, the book creates in your mind a huge and dramatic world filled with epic moral decisions. People are tested by their willingness to stand up for what is right: to stand as individuals confronting gigantic systems against which they otherwise appear to be powerless. Her message is that one human mind, inspired to action by moral principle, can in fact change the world. Here is where Rand’s book is decidedly different from all the other postwar literature in defense of freedom against the state. She was emphatic about the individual moral choice. She created a fictional world, a tactile and unforgettable world, in which history turns on doing what is right, regardless of the personal risk and even in the face of material deprivation. (The silliest rap on Rand is that she favoured material acquisition above everything else; the truth is that she favoured moral courage more than security, power, or even a steady income.) Why Is This in the Movie? Snowden3This movie was made in close cooperation with Edward Snowden himself, and he actually appears in the final moments of the film. He surely signed off on all the biographical elements of the film, including this one. Why would Oliver Stone – a famously left-wing, conspiracy-driven producer – want to include this bit of biographical detail? Part of the drama of the film chronicles Snowden’s own ideological enlightenment, from being an uncritically pro-American patriot type to becoming a deep skeptic of the military-industrial complex. In order to see the truth, he had to gradually shed his conservatism and embrace a broader point of view. It is possible that Stone included this vignette about Rand as a way of illustrating his right-wing biases and how they gradually became something else in the face of evidence. I don’t have evidence for this, so it is pure speculation on my part. But it makes sense given the popular impression of Rand as some kind of goddess of right-wing thinking. Moral Courage But the truth of Rand’s influence is very different. One way to understand her books is as entirely autobiographical. She was born in Russia and fated to live under communist despotism. Had she acquiesced to the systems around her, she might have lived and died in poverty and obscurity. But she wanted a different life. She wanted her life to matter. So she plotted her own escape from Russia. She came to the US and lived briefly in Chicago. Snowden4Alone she moved again, this time to Hollywood and built a career as scriptwriter, before writing her own plays and becoming a novelist. This ‘peasant’ born in Russia made a brilliant career for herself, becoming one of the 20th century’s most influential minds – all without an academic career or any champions at all in the centres of power. Rand’s greatest characters follow a similar path of refusing to go along just because powerful and rich people are in charge. Her message is that one person with a mind and moral stamina can stand up to even the most powerful machinery of oppression. It takes cunning, daring, and a single-minded focus on doing what is right by one’s own lights. This is precisely what Snowden did. He followed the example of John Galt. Instead of shutting off the motor of the world that he invented, Snowden sought to shut down the motor of the state that he was helping to build. And he did it because it was the right thing to do. If Stone included this passage to show Snowden’s evolution, he is deeply mistaken. It makes far more sense to me that Rand was actually Snowden’s muse throughout. And this makes me personally very proud of the mighty contribution she made in this world. Though she died in 1982, her influence is still being felt in our times. In fact, her influence is usually underestimated. If I’m right about this, Rand’s influence is still making the world a freer place. And consider whether he made the right choice. He is now one of the world's most in-demand speakers. He can pack in a crowd anywhere in the world. He is a leading spokesperson for human dignity, privacy, and freedom. Thanks to technology, he now reaches billions and billions. He has a lifetime of good work ahead of him – all because of the choices he made. Ayn, you have done it again. TuckerJeffrey Tucker is Director of Content for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and CLO of the startup Liberty.me. Author of five books, and many thousands of articles, he speaks at FEE summer seminars and other events. His latest book is Bit by Bit: How P2P Is Freeing the WorldFollow on Twitter and Like on Facebook. This post first appeared at FEE. 1. Pull the other one. He was a low-level tech who ran to Putin with millions of documents irrelevant to claims of state intrusion into privacy and is under the "protection" of the FSB. 1. State intrusion into privacy is "irrelevant," you say. Right ... 2. PC: if your reading comprehension is so bad it's no wonder you would regard someone running from the US to Russia as a 'muse of John Galt'. 3. "State intrusion into privacy is "irrelevant," you say." Not at all. But that part is a miniscule fraction of what he stole and gave to the Russians. Making him out to be a libertarian hero when is in fact a petty thief who only too willingly sold out the security of his countrymen is just stupid. He's going to go the way of all other defectors, probably dying a lonely death somewhere a long way from home once he is no longer useful to the decidedly non-libertarian regime in Russia. 2. All a bit idealistic and rose-tinted to me. Snowden didn't "just do what's right" by a long shot. Here's the Washington Post's wider view: 1. The WashPost concludes his halo is tainted by being hosted by Putin (even though he faced few other options at the time), that he released more documents than were necessary (he took care, as I understand it, to remove files that could taint genuine security operations), that he must come home to face the music (irregardless that the law disallows him any legal defence for exposing the state's illegal activities), and that all the ilegal stuff he did expose has now been fixed by that nice Mr Obama (irregardless that it hasn't at all been fixed, just made more legal.) Not much of a "wider view" at all , to me. But certainly a heavily jaundiced one. 3. Well Peter, I'm surprised that you'd call the WP article "heavily jaundiced" when Tucker's article managed to avoid any point negative to Snowden's actions. Edward must be the purest of angels! 1. Commenters are welcome and invited.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1632	November 25, 2010 Bring it on, bitch ! Bring it on, bitch ! November 15, 2010 Loveable MAMA Happy Birthday MAMA You're always there for me and I'll do the same thing, I'm trying. Fir doakan Mama panjang umur, di murahkan rezeki serta dipermudahkan segala urusan dunia & akhirat. Makta, Makteh, Mama <3 At the same time, Makta was here too. Thank you, Makta for a very nice gift. Wish you will get well soon and stronger :) One more to go Yeah, alhamdulillah I just finished my semester 6 and this coming sem, is my last semester of my diploma even it was a bit tough for me, i've managed to maintain my humble pointer HAHA. anyway, I'm no longer staying at Shah Alam after lotsa things happened, and please I don't wanna talk about it So here are few pictures of our final presentation for Communication Theory Final Presentation ! Classmates, good luck for upcoming Sem ! November 11, 2010 Oke, I'm going to stop now Sleepy =_= plus I need to accompany my friend to Putrajaya this morning HAHA oke, night ! I'll be back, soon ! A legend and A star Burlesque, cepat cepat lah keluar ! OMFG, Xtina and Cher kot ! Hopefully, it's a good movie lah kan Wait up, the guys in the movie are also smokin' hot! Trust me ! ;p I'm sick of my BB's trackball rasa macam nak sepak je ! pfftt Then I went survey for phone, & I was introduced to a new phone BB TORCH ! sob sob, kita makan hati lah sebab lawa sangat and kita tak cukup duit nak beli dia. But don't worry, I'll work for it babeyh ! caiyok caiyok ! Soon, you'll be mine grrrr Tweet tweet Guys, follow me on twitter. Lately, I don't know why I'm sooo in lurrvveee with Twitter That blue bird took my heart lah from FB haha ;p anyway, follow me at See you there ! Jahat ! Heard of Stacy - Jahat ? Gosh, kill me if korang tak dengar lagi. It's a cute song, seriously ! At first pun I was like, macam bodoh je lagu ni tapi once dengar, HAHA I'm addicted to it. Here's the link , Note: Ardy is one of the talents, gosh he's hot ! ;p This picture was at M-IFW, 2010. The one with the black jacket. Jahat budak jahat, LOL ! Selamat Hari Raya, belated ! Saya dan keluarga mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri Maaf Zahir dan Batin ! Mama and Ayah tercinta ! <3 Malang memang tak ada bau -.- 2 days before Raya 2010, kiteorang accident ! After drop off Israq at Pavilion, Anuar, Mimie and Me planned to have dinner but yeah, tak nak kat pavi boring lah -__- so we're planning to have our dinner maybe at Shah Alam area since Anuar pun nak balik sana But on our way to S.Alam, from Smart Highway, somewhere around Highway Kajang to P.J, our car suddenly lost control and spinning for few times kat jalan, then we hit the divider! Syukur Alhamdulillah semua oke, just minor injuries ! It was a long story, but since cita dah outdated, so malas nak panjang lebar :p Bitches ! It's been years, I've lost contact with my very bestfriend, even for a short time. I just can't wait to meet her, and spend the whole day at Starbucks, gossiping and chattin' ! Girl's Talk babeyh ! HAHA and still, tak dilupakan the other girls, Syafnida, Bieha, Ramona and Dewi ! Girls, let's hit the road back to hell ! Radar, ON ! Time by time, I keep on searching what I needed the most, and yet I have found nothing pfttt -__- Anyway, lemme introduce you to a person who helped me to get through my rough time. Introducing Israq Ismail, best buddy ! Thank you, KAKAK ! ;p Here comes goodbye You came into my life happily and you're gone just like wind I didn't expect it to happen You showed to me a new life but it turned out to be the worst one :( Every moments we spent together, I will never forget each of them. You always be a part of me no matter how far we are now. I can't get over you, because I don't want to. You're the best thing happened in my life. Lotsa love, Bionic ! At last, I owned that Christina Aguilera - Bionic album! I'm so sex-cited about it, I keep on listening to all the songs!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1647	Insect Identification - Aavon Pest Control Aavon Pest Control 49 Ryan Street Stamford, CT 06907 Fax: 203-322-3670 Insect Identification Prior to calling any pest control company, save a sample of what you are seeing. If you find you canâ€™t bring yourself to touch them (dead or alive) please leave the dead ones in the corner and donâ€™t vacuum them. For the live ones be creative and get that insect into a jar, box, baggy, container, etc. We need to see our target species. This will determine if you require a treatment. Samples can really speed up a service call. Comments: 0
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1652	Phil Hauck's TEC Blog Thursday, April 15, 2010 "Curiosity May Be Best 'Position' For Listening" Worthwhile reprint from Tom Foster's Cheryl was determined to turn things around with her team. She was hired as a troubleshooter in Quality Control, but finding the problem and fixing the problem are two different things. "So today, you said you were going to listen?" I asked. Cheryl nodded "Yes." "What position will you be listening from?" The question caught Cheryl off-guard. "I'm not sure what you mean." "The way we see the world is often influenced by our position. In fact, you have listened to your team before, but you were listening from a position of judgment, so you didn't hear what they had to say." I stopped to let that sink in. "What position will you be listening from today?" I repeated. "I guess I will try to understand their point of view." "Not bad, but not aggressive enough to be effective. What position do you want to be listening from?" Cheryl was stumped. "Curiosity?" she finally blurted out. I nodded. "So, when you sit in your meeting today, you will be listening from the position of a curious child?" Cheryl smiled. "And curious children always have a lot more fun than stuffy old Quality Control managers," I said. "And curious children often invent interesting ways to solve problems." Monday, April 12, 2010 What H/C Reform will look like in a year or two ... On Friday, April 2, there were two articles that together tell the story of what's coming in the health insurance debacle that Congress has created: Maine became a forerunner of our upcoming national disaster when in 1993 it declared that everyone applying for insurance must be provided it, regardless of pre-existing conditions ... with no requirement that healthy people also had to join up, nor any leverage on holding provider costs down. Today, for Anthem, 1% of its Maine insureds account for 50% of its claims. It has to raise rates greatly on the other 99% to pay for the 1%. The insurance commissioner feels Anthem's 2009 increases are too high and has nixed them, requiring a "no profit" year or two for Anthem. The premium levels, she says, are too burdensome for Maine citizens. What kind of a business model is this? It's not insurance companies who are creating the cost problem. (They do create other problems in trying to operate a profitable business) They are trying to deal with it and provide a "broker" service between providers and citizens. The cost problem is driven by medical providers. That same week, Massachusetts' insurance commissioner rejected 90% of the current requested increases in its state. You will see this in more and more states. Insurance companies won't be able to cope, and will withdraw. Also that week, a New York state hospital/physician provider group said it needed a 15% price increase from a major insuror, and the insuror said it couldn't turn around and charge the resulting premiums without losing customers to competitors ... so it dropped the provider group. Now, the provider group has fewer patients and a big fixed cost problem. Everything described above is happening just as it should from a cause/effect standpoint. High cost providers get pressure to reduce costs ... and pay the penalty of losing money and volume when they don't. Do you see any good in the above? The health care reform package didn't solve the cost problem. It exacerbated it. What you see above is the beginning of the negative experience. The Administration says that the penalties imposed on people and businesses if they don't sign up for insurance will cover the over-spend. Yeah? The average cost per person of our health care system is $7,600 ... and the penalties are far, far less than that. It's better to pay the penalty ... another rational cause-and-effect you will see. It will be interesting to see what that drives ... people predict it is a purposeful way to get to government-provided health care. PS: Running the system nationally (i.e., price-fixing a la Medicare) won't help ... as it hasn't in any European country. Yes, it "works," but not the way it could have if you understand what drives people to excel regardless of pay levels, and put that situation in place. Reaction to Health Reform ... not positive! Okay, so why can't we get enthusiastic about the new health care "reform" legislation ... supposedly the biggest reform since Medicare in 1965? Well, because it was done irresponsibly. No "family", no "business", no one who has responsibility for their own money would ever do it this way. Even if you agree that universal coverage is important, which I do, this has NO substantive cost control. (Too, it was not engineered in a way that would create the "true reform" of a "broken system" that was needed ... but that's another topic.) And it wouldn't have been that hard. Here's what should have been included ... without even beginning to reform the "broken system." 1. Expand/Incent use of individual Health Savings Accounts coupled with High Deductible plans. It would put more of a person's money "at risk," incenting more careful spending. Says economist Gary Becker, "In the U.S., we spend 17% of GDP on health care, but out-of-pocket expenses make up only about 12% of total health care spending (businesses pay the rest). In Switzerland, the out-of-pocket is 31% of the spend, controlling the total cost at 11% of GDP (still one of the highest in the world)." Our third party reimbursement system is a total disaster. 2. Extend tax deductibility to all individuals, not just those covered by businesses. This puts everyone on the same footing and sends the message that health care is of national importance. 3. Transparency: Require some form of disclosure to patients/users of the approximate cost before they are exposed to the service. Forbid the non-disclosure/confidentiality clauses in the pricing agreement contracts between providers and insurors. 4. Medical Liability: Control it at a low level, such as non-economic damages caps of $250,000. To be sure, medical liability premiums aren't much (just $2 billion, although they are astronomic for such specialties as gynecology), but estimates are that they drive extra, un-needed tests to the tune of $210 billion ... almost 10% of our $2.4 trillion spend. 5. And finally, the quid pro quo: If we're going to subsidize the cost of health insurance, then there must be a "health/wellness/fitness" requirement of each person. They must be doing prescribed things that can be third-party verified to reduce the likelihood they will need the sick care system, and certainly the more expensive parts of it. Many businesses are requiring this of their employees; extend it. What are they: Diet/nutrition and exercise that controls such costly disease-causing factors as glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides that can be analyzed by blood draws. Forbid smoking. Let's finally establish and enforce national standards, since parents and other adults aren't doing it.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1655	Who Loves the Sun? as performed by Phish It was played at 0.06% of live Phish shows. It was last played October 31, 1998, which was 562 shows ago. There have been 562 shows since the live debut. “Who Loves the Sun?” has been played approximately once every 1814 shows. Since its debut, “Who Loves the Sun?” has been played, on average, once every 562 shows. Date Venue Gap Set Song Before Song After Notes Comments 1998-10-31 Thomas & Mack Center 1209 2 *** Sweet Jane Phish debut. Blue text indicates this song is in our jam charts. Yellow indicates you were in attendance. Gray text indicates that this performance doesn't count for stats purposes. Credits \| Terms Of Use \| Legal
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1665	Friday, 26 June 2015 JPG image loaded into a test application. First converted to 32-bit float / channel, then linearized, dynamic range expanded and a quick saturation mod applied. Then dynamic range compressed back, set to gamma 2.22 and converted back to 8-bits for displaying the image using Processing's PImage. Simple. Image editor in Processing For the past few years I've fiddled with lots of different languages, mainly with Unity3D's javascript / C# and some really basic edits of C++ code. I never really got my hands dirty with Java but I did try out Processing a long time ago when it came out and every now and then I've tweaked a bit on some cool demos that I've come across. It was 2013 that I really started to look into Processing as a semi-serious development IDE as most of the stuff I would need (as an artist) is already there and the possibility to get your stuff running on Linux and Android was a major plus. I did a mockup of a drawing app for my Android tablet and the performance was top notch and the development was just so unbelievably easy that I started to really think about all the other apps I've always wanted to have. And one was my own photo editor. And not just any photo editor, but a one where I would always know what really happens to the image data under the hood. No unnecessary conversions and keeping the data in high precision. Also I wanted to harness the processing power of my GPU and that is very easy in Processing, just a few lines of code. But my problem for that was that 8-bits per channel is not going to cut it. I want 32-bit float processing all the way (because I'm insane). At the moment of writing this, Processing developers are looking into adding higher precision images to Processing, but I just thought I'd test out myself what kind of performance I can squeeze out of the code. If you feed normal 8-bits / channel (24-bit) images to Processing, it's just zipzap. couple of lines of code and you're on your way. But loading something that's 32-bit float / channel is a totally different matter. I had to create my own internal image format to store the data which opened another can of worms: memory. If I open an image that's 6000 x 4000 pixels, it's not a biggie if it's 8-bits / channel. But holy whopping hamburgers Batman when it's 32-bit float - my computer actually started to cough out blood. And I want to load as many as 5-10 images and layer them together. and image sizes that are even bigger, say 7000 x 10 000 that my texture generator spits out. Holy kääk. And if I wanted to edit those in the GPU, well, the card has to have that much memory available to fit the images in there and blend them together or do color swapping tweaks and comparisons or whatever. OpenCL to the Rescue (well, almost) All OpenCL libraries failed with similar error - they can't find the native libraries or they can't connect to the card. So I thought that I'd use OpenCL for this as there are quite a few libraries available for Java and they all seems to perform really really well. This would give the option of not processing all the data at once but in chunks and in parallel. But now after two months of testing and fiddling with this, I still haven't gotten any of them to work. The only one that did work was JOCL from the Jogamp package and that only did it's own self test which printed out loads of OpenGL details about my card and said 'everything's ok, let's do it'. So it should work though. But even the Eclipse project setup that I followed from their pages failed. JOCL had no idea the native libraries were inside the .jar packages and cried when it couldn't find them in the project's root folder. Setting up Eclipse with JOGL The problem with each of the libraries was that some of the API was changed so much that the examples just failed. But the most common problem was that the libraries couldn't find their native libraries which are essential. And trying to fire up OpenCL from Processing? That's even trickier. There were some test implementations of Aparapi and JOCL for Processing that I could find but none of them worked. To someone who does Java as their second language this would be like a 3 minute fix to see what was happening and why they don't work. I don't want to hit the Jogamp forums and complain "It doesn't work" because I can't give a clear description of what really is happening (most likely my build environment setup is wrong as this was primarily made for Android development). It could be a gazillion things like - The Java version I use is wrong (1.8.0_45, most stuff want 1.6) - The Java JDK is installed wrong - The libraries don't like the Nvidia driver or the .so that gives OpenCL the data about installed GPU's - The AMD APP SDK that I have installed will not work with my card - The OpenCL bindings that are installed in the OS are wrong or conflicting - Linux Mint was not meant for this - I'm just too stupid to use a computer So I'm leaving OpenCL alone for the time being. I'll try to setup a new build environment that is made just for this and see if that works. Processing the images in 32-bit float using hardware = would be friggin awesome though. I thought I had a point when writing this. Just thinking out loud here and trying to come up with a solution. > . < Back to coding. >>
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1682	Mike Auldridge Shop for Mike Auldridge mp3s. Get Mike Auldridge essential facts below. View Videos or join the Mike Auldridge discussion. Add Mike Auldridge to your PopFlock.com topic list for future reference or share this resource on social media. Mike Auldridge Mike Auldridge Mike Auldridge 31DEC2006.jpg Mike Auldridge at The Birchmere, December 2006 Background information Born (1938-12-30)December 30, 1938 Washington, D.C. Died December 29, 2012(2012-12-29) (aged 73) Silver Spring, Maryland Genres Bluegrass, Country, Instrumental Instruments Dobro, Vocals 1960s-2012 (death) Seldom Scene, Chesapeake Mike Auldridge (December 30, 1938 - December 29, 2012) was a Dobro player and a founding member of the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene. The New York Times described Auldridge as "one of the most distinctive dobro players in the history of country and bluegrass music while widening its popularity among urban audiences".[1] He also worked as a graphic artist. Auldridge was born in Washington, D.C.,[2] and grew up in the suburban town of Kensington, Maryland. He attended Wheaton High School and, while in his teens, took classes at the Corcoran College of the Arts and Design.[3] Inspired by his uncle, steel guitarist Ellsworth T. Cozzens who had performed with Jimmie Rodgers during the 1920s,[3] Auldridge started playing guitar at the age of 13. His main influence through his early years was Josh Graves who also sold him his first dobro.[4] A 1967 graduate of The University of Maryland, Auldridge worked as a graphic artist for a commercial art firm in Bethesda, Maryland and then for the now-defunct Washington Star-News. He did not start playing music full-time until the Washington Star-News folded in 1981. Auldridge last played with Darren Beachley and The Legends of the Potomac bluegrass band.[5] Past bands include The Country Gentlemen, Emerson and Waldron, Cliff Waldron and the New Shades of Grass, Seldom Scene (of which he was a founding member), Chesapeake, The Good Deale Bluegrass Band, and John Starling and Carolina Star (which featured three original members of The Seldom Scene). Mike was also a member of the touring bands of Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris. He worked with Paul Beard (Beard Guitars) to produce the Beard Mike Auldridge Models of square-neck resophonic guitars (dobro), including an 8-string version. Auldridge died on December 29, 2012, just one day prior to his 74th birthday, at home under hospice care in Silver Spring, Maryland after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.[6][7] Auldridge was nominated for four Grammy awards, including twice for Best Bluegrass Album with The Seldom Scene, in 1992 and 1994.[8] He won numerous awards including Frets Magazine's "Dobro Player of the Year" and the International Bluegrass Music Association's Distinguished Achievement Award. He is a recipient of the 2012 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.[9] 1. ^ Friskics-Warren, Bill (December 31, 2012). "Mike Auldridge Dies at 73; Lent Dobro Fresh Elegance". New York Times. Retrieved 2017. 2. ^ Allmusic biography 3. ^ a b McArdle, Terence (2012-12-30). "Mike Auldridge, founding member of D.C.'s Seldom Scene bluegrass group, dies at 73". The Washington Post. Retrieved . 4. ^ Holland, William (November 19, 1972). "Young Man with a Dobro". Washington. 5. ^ "Good Deale Bluegrass Band: Band Members". Good Deale Bluegrass Band. Retrieved . 6. ^ Cooper, Peter (December 29, 2012). "Mike Auldridge, 'hero' of the Dobro, dies at 73". The Tennesseean. Retrieved 2012. 7. ^ Morris, David. "RIP Mike Auldridge". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 2012. 8. ^ "Grammy Award Results for Mike Auldridge". www.grammy.com. The Recording Academy. 2017. Retrieved 2017. 9. ^ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2012". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 2017. External links Music Scenes
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1694	Wednesday, October 26, 2011 40 Days in the Wilderness: Premediation and the Virtual Occupation of Wall Street Given the biblical implications of 40 days and nights, this is as good a time as any to add my voice to the swelling chorus of academic analyses of #occupywallstreet. Nearly two weeks into the occupation of Wall Street I had suggested in an initial analysis that no matter how the occupation turned out it was already successful insofar as it had premediated the occupation of Wall Street and other occupations across the world. In particular I argued that “Insofar as premediation generates potential or virtual futures as a way to mobilize individual and collective affect in the present,… #occupywallstreet opens up paths to potential futures in which the occupation of Wall Street (or the political occupation of other sites) is actualized.” 40 days into the occupation, I want to develop this claim further to argue that it is precisely its virtuality, its resistance to making specific demands or adopting a platform, that makes #occupywallstreet successful and that will keep it growing and thriving. The virtuality of the movement is evident in its very name, which calls for the occupation of Wall Street even while not occupying Wall Street per se. The occupation of Zuccotti Park is near Wall Street, but Wall Street is not occupied either as street, building, or financial institution. Wall Street is, however, virtually occupied, as Times Square has been, as Chicago or Los Angeles or the London Stock Exchange have been. While some veterans of earlier protest movements have argued that occupation involves going inside buildings and taking possession—as Wisconsin protesters did in the State Capitol—it is the potentiality of these virtual occupations, I would argue, their premediation of greater and more numerous and powerful potential occupations in the future, that vitalizes the Occupy movement. The virtuality of the Occupy movement is evident as well in the widespread feeling that the movement should not at this point make explicit demands, for doing so would prematurely and unnecessarily constrain or limit the movement’s gathering strength. Despite increasingly vocal appeals by the chattering class of the mainstream political media for the Occupy movement to develop a list of specific demands it has now become almost a truism that such demands would be premature. In a brief video interview Wallace Shawn gives voice to the widely shared belief that the movement is in the preliminary stage, that it is "before the moment of specifics." Judith Butler plays off of this belief in her recent speech at Washington Square Park about demanding the impossible, which is another way to refuse actualizing or realizing any particular demands, but rather of encouraging the proliferation of informed, half-formed, nascent or potential exams. Premediation works by mobilizing affect in the present, by deploying multiple modes of mediation and remediation in shaping the affectivity of the public, in preparing people for some field of possible future actions, in producing a mood or structure of feeling that makes possible certain kinds of actions, thoughts, speech, affectivities, feelings, moods, mediations that might not have seemed possible before or that might have fallen flat or died on the vine or not produced echoes and reverberations. As an event of premediation, #occupywallstreet is also working to change the mood or collective affective tone in the media, in public discourse, in social networks, and in the political sphere so that talking about amnesty for college or mortgage debt or demanding increased taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations or thinking about restructuring property relations and economic becomes not only permissible, but indeed begins to appear as common sense or received wisdom. So #occupywallstreet may make it possible, say, for politicians to take positions they could not have taken before, by providing cover, or clearing the ground, by means of the shaping of collective moods or structures of feeling out of which more intense feelings about economic injustice are generated. Before any specific goals or demands can be formulated, and perhaps even if they never are, what has to happen first is that #occupywallstreet must continue to do what it is already doing—fostering and intensifying what Jonathan Flatley would characterizes as “a revolutionary counter-mood.” The heart of this revolutionary counter-mood can be found in what the opening lines of the September 29 Declaration of the Occupation of New York City call a collective "feeling of mass injustice." “As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.” The initial aims of #occupywallstreet seem clear—to produce and intensify a mood of occupation or civil disobedience, a shared feeling of injustice towards such developments as income inequality, the foreclosure crisis, workplace discrimination, student loan debt, and a host of other 21st century developments. It is too early to have the kind of specific list of grievances, demands, goals, but rather this is the time to try to spread and complexify the networks of revolutionary feelings, to try out the power of popular assembly, to let it grow and mutate and mobilize to see how powerful or extensive it might get. 40 days into the occupation, #occupywallstreet is perhaps still becoming a movement. Or to play off of Erin Manning’s recent book, Relationscapes: Movement, Art, Philosophy, I would suggest that #occupywallstreet might best be understood as a becoming movement, still in a stage of preacceleration or incipient movement. As a virtual movement #occupywallstreet remains in an ongoing process of inventing what a global social and political movement can be in the 21st century. In so doing it is producing its own rhythms, its own temporality, through stages of preacceleration and intensification and emergence and articulation, only then to return to another interval of preacceleration and re-intensification and re-individuaton. “When articulation becomes collective, a politics is made palpable whereby what is produced is the potential for divergent series of movements. This is a virtual politics, a politics of the not-yet… These are not politics we can choreograph but politics in the making…. These are politics of that many-bodied state of transition that is the collective” (27). It is precisely this incipience, this preacceleration, that makes #occupywallstreet so frustrating to politicians and political commentators, who are trapped within neoliberalism’s calculus “of the rational modern subject,” according to which the Occupy movement does not compute—does not even compute exactly as a movement, since it has no clear aim or goal. This incipient emergence can be both powerful and frustrating for those participating in the occupation, as expressed in this recent piece from Harrison Schultz: “For the sake of keeping your head sane and your heart still engaged, be aware: we are not in control. You are not in control. We at the NYC occupation are not in control. The website hosts are not in control. No one is in control of this hurricane.” As Schultz suggests, not unlike recent geotechnical, political disasters like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the BP Oil Spill, or the Sendai quake, or the occupation’s more immediate precursors in the University of California student protests, the Arab Spring, or the labor protests in Madison, #occupywallstreet is emerging as a complex 21st-century media event, with its own temporality, its own affectivities, and its own scale. In her recent post on “Lessons from #occupywallstreet,” Jodi Dean addresses the movement’s incipience and its untapped potential, the fact that “the movement exceeds any single occupation.” Dean writes: “We will start learning the different tonalities and variations of this movement. Some sites might become more intensive as others regroup. Some might abandon one site in order to occupy new possibilities. Regrouping is an opportunity: an opportunity to build outside of the prying eyes and presumptive expectations of a 24/7 media cycle concerned only with pumping content through feeds.” The “regrouping” that Dean speaks of functions similarly to what Manning describes as the “interval.” “Political philosophy has not made space for the interval within the vocabulary of the rational modern subject,” writes Manning, “yet the interval has nonetheless leaked into the complex iterations of pure plastic rhythm’s political becomings” (28). Insofar as #occupywallstreet in fact creates such an interval in the daily rhythm of business as usual, it has the ability to open the political space for potential becomings whose scope and power remain untapped and unsounded. Dean sees the arrival of winter in the northern hemisphere as providing for an opportunity to regroup, an interval, from which the Occupy movement can emerge with even greater vitality than it currently possesses. In the past few days, police crackdowns in Chicago, Atlanta, and most violently Oakland have brought about state-sponsored intervals which will almost certainly have the result of intensifying the movement. And insofar as Atlanta and Oakland are relatively temperate in the winter, it would not be surprising to see those nodes on the Occupy network intensify in the coming months. As a virtual occupation of Wall Street and hundreds of other sites around the world, the Occupy movement should take advantage of whatever intervals it can make or find to help actualize a more just world. By premediating and proliferating potential futures for social and political opposition and a more just world, #occupywallstreet will be able to intensify "a feeling of mass injustice," thereby mobilizing collective affectivity towards an increasingly powerful revolutionary counter-mood of occupation.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1695	Wednesday, May 04, 2005 How to lose the War on Terror: Step 1 Don't bother to learn Arabic. Don't bother to learn any of the languages actually spoken in any of the key battlefield countries. If English was good enough for the King James Bible, it's good enough for us. FBI agents don't need to learn Arabic, they can rely on translators. CIA agents don't need Arabic either. If we want to understand why our strategy in the War on Terror has sometimes gone awry, might it not be linked to the fact that we have yet to put any one in charge who can actually read the Koran? So we find today a nice piece of good news: The Christian Science Monitor reports that Pentagon leaders "increasingly see foreign-language skills not as a peripheral part of the military's mission, but as crucial to the success of American forces abroad." In the future, officers could be required to have some familiarity with a second language; enlistees might receive language instruction during basic training. No decisions have yet been made. Yet when the Pentagon released its Defense Language Transformation Roadmap last month, it made clear its view that security in a post-Sept. 11 world requires not only a military capable of deploying to the remotest corner of the world at a moment's notice, but also soldiers capable of coping with the cultural and linguistic challenges they meet when they arrive there. Exactly. Imagine trying to man a roadblock if you don't speak the native language. Imagine trying to do a house-to-house search without being able to understand the locals. It's good to see that the brass is catching on. But why wasn't this figured out three years ago? At Thursday, 05 May, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said... Indeed. Why was it not figured out decades ago? Post a Comment << Home
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1698	Tuesday, August 23, 2016 Bioethics at NIH It seems that NIH supports a robust effort to ensure that human subjects being used in its supported research are treated humanely and in accordance with the spirit of documents like the Belmont Report. It also appears that NIH is alert to potential harm to human subjects that could arise from emerging technologies and works to ensure that the potential harms are identified and carefully evaluated. NIH seems to support ongoing work on the ethical side of its supported research with human subjects. But when the research involves the use of animals, nothing similar occurs. Instead of being at the leading edge of research and thought on the ethics of hurting and killing animals for human gain, NIH is reactionary at best. This does not speak well for those in the NIH Department of Bioethics. Their near uniform silence on the matter suggests something less than should be expected from anyone claiming to be a bioethicist. I wonder why ethicist is deemed insufficient? Maybe putting bio- in front of ethics is politically correct code for self-interest or maybe it just sounds more highfalutin. Maybe bio-ethics gives license to behave in ways that plain old ethics would deny? What isn't open to speculation is that when- and wherever NIH uses the term in relation to its funding of experiments on animals, ethics does not have its commonly implied meaning. In NIH's usage, the word in any connection to vivisection, refers only to its legality. When NIH or one of its supported institutions or scientists say that their use of animals is ethical, all they really they mean is that it is legal. They seem to think that anything legal is ethical. Moreover, it has to be assumed that animals' pain and suffering is of such little concern or consequence to NIH's bioethicists that they need not even take notice of it. This narrow meaning of the word has contributed to innumerable events that are universally thought of as having been profoundly immoral. (Slavery, state-sanctioned torture, and mass executions are just the tip of a very large mountain of examples. In many cases, philosophers -- the ethicists of the day -- defended the practices, or as today's NIH crew does, simply ignored them.) This narrow meaning of the word continues to shield immoral behavior and maintains barriers to moral progress on numerous important issues including how other animals are and should be treated by us. It seems that we never learn the lesson that legal and ethical should not be used interchangeably. It might have something to do with moral development. (See W.C. Crain. (1985). Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall. pp. 118-136. ) The NIH and its supported institutions and scientists tend to use ethics and ethical in ways that an unsuspecting reader would naturally and predictably interpret as meaning that the practices being discussed or defended are just or moral. Consider the upcoming "NIH Workshop on Ensuring the Continued Responsible Oversight of Research with Non-Human Primates." (Wednesday, September 7, 2016, 9:00am to 5:00pm. It will be videocasted here: http://videocast.nih.gov.) The NIH Office of Science Policy is organizing a workshop on September 7th, 2016, that will convene experts in science, policy, ethics, and animal welfare. Workshop participants will discuss the oversight framework governing the use of non-human primates in NIH-funded biomedical and behavioral research endeavors. At this workshop, participants will also explore the state of the science involving non-human primates as research models and discuss the ethical principles underlying existing animal welfare regulations and policies. NIH is committed to ensuring that research with non-human primates can continue responsibly as we move forward in advancing our mission to seek fundamental knowledge and enhance health outcomes. The workshop is one result of PETA's successful lobbying effort that led to the closure of Stephen Suomi's lab at NIH. A few members of Congress were appalled by videos of some of the things being done to monkeys in the lab and complained to NIH Director Francis Collins (who not coincidentally is also a vivisector.) NIH followed the standard playbook and denied that the lab closure was due to the dust-up. Honesty is also implied by ethical when the term is used in its more commonly understood sense. A bit of background about that case: copies of the videos were turned over to Peta in response to its public records requests. NIH could not resort to the usual claim that the evidence had been doctored by animal rights extremists; it was clear that the extremists were the NIH scientists performing cruel and macabre experiments on baby monkeys and their mothers. Suomi was the co-inventor of the infamous vertical chamber that made a name for UW-Madison as far as cruelty is concerned, or in the words of his teacher and co-inventor Harry Harlow, the "well of despair." NIH has chosen not to name the participants in the workshop ahead of time -- the "experts in science, policy, ethics, and animal welfare." That doesn't seem too ethical to me. I'll wager right now that an overwhelming number of the experts will have obvious financial and professional interests in maintaining the status quo. The title of the workshop makes this even more likely "... Ensuring the Continued Responsible Oversight...". As if. The workshop is actually just an appeasement to the members of Congress who were alarmed by the NIH's irresponsible sponsorship of Suomi's cruel and worthless very long career. Given the background of the agency's leadership, it is unlikely that NIH would or even could convene a panel that might fairly evaluate the ethics surrounding the use of monkeys or any other animals in its funded research. An example of the agency's inability to grapple with this issue was seen pretty clearly during another NIH convened workshop, "The NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee" meeting in June, 2014. See: "...an unbearable kind of suffering." (4-15-2016.) It is interesting and germane to NIH's misuse of ethics and bioethics to note that if one visits the NIH homepage, and searches the site using bioethics, the first hit is The Department of Bioethics, which is part of the NIH Clinical Center. The Department of Bioethics provides an ethics consultation service for researchers, the Clinical & Research Ethics Services. Its stated purpose is to: "... improve the process and outcomes of clinical care and clinical research at times when ethical quandaries arise by addressing distressing concerns and questions, and assisting with identification and analysis of ethical issues." Try as I may, I have been unable to find anything other than a topic on an obsolete list and a single name that even hints that the NIH Department of Bioethics has ever taken notice of any matter involving the use of animals. It is as if, no, that's not right, it isn't as if, let me say it plainly: Neither NIH at large nor the NIH Department of Bioethics, believes that the use of animals is an ethical concern. Maybe I'm wrong, but if so, they have hidden any evidence to the contrary. But casual visitors might think otherwise. Under the section on Ethics of Clinical Research, among the five research areas listed is this: Research with Animal Populations. But after that mention, all reference to animals disappears. The name I referred to above is David DeGrazia. But the chart has not been updated recently, and at least one of the people listed is deceased (Alan Wertheimer, PhD.) DeGrazia is the author of a number of academic articles on the ethics of animal research. [Nonhuman Primates, Human Need, and Ethical Constraints. DeGrazia D. Hastings Cent Rep. 2016 Jul;46(4):27-8; Necessary conditions for morally responsible animal research. DeGrazia D, Sebo J. Camb Q Healthc Ethics. 2015 Oct;24(4):420-30. And here.] His work related to animals does not seem to be mentioned or referred to on the NIH pages. If one searches his name from the main NIH page, there are multiple hits and some are for articles on the ethics of animal use. But these hits are links to PubMed which currently indexes over 26 million citations. I contacted DeGrazia to ask whether he was still affiliated with Department of Bioethics; he confirmed that he is. (The inclusion of someone who had been dead for a while is what led me led to ask.) He has been a Senior Research Fellow in the department since July 2013. He was recommended as a participant for the "NIH Workshop on Ensuring the Continued Responsible Oversight of Research with Non-Human Primates," but told me that he was not invited. It seems to me that the failure to invite one of its own Senior Research Fellows in its own Department of Bioethics who has written and thought about the use of primates in biomedical research undermines the implication of the NIH's claim that they "will discuss the ethical principles underlying existing animal welfare regulations and policies." But maybe I'm wrong and there will be others included who are as qualified to talk about the ethics underpinning the use of monkeys. (I won't hold my breath.) In any case, other than mention of DeGrazia's name and the single apparently obsolete listed topic name, there appears to be no mention or consideration of the ethics of animal use on the NIH Department of Bioethics webpages, the NIH site at large, or even a link to something elsewhere. It seems to me that this absence on pages devoted to ethics, is telling. And then, there is the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW). The word ethics does not appear on the homepage. If you click Useful Links, you are taken to an organized list of websites. This is the set of sites listed under Ethics: 1. Animal Ethics Infolink, Australia. Australia? 2. Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Animals in Research, APA. The American Psychological Association (APA) is a trade group with many members whose livelihoods are dependent on animal experimentation. Their Guidelines are simply a restatement of federal regulations and the urging of vivisectors not to break the law. It does not in any sense address the ethics of animal experimentation. 3. Information Resources for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees 1985-1999: Ethics USDA. I thought this might lead to something substantive. On first blush, it seems to. Unfortunately, when drilling down from here, one hits one dead end after another. I was probably the first person to look at the page in a long time. The germane links in the pdfs refer one to the USDA's Animal Welfare Information Center, which in turn, directs users to various regulatory and policy documents. Again underscoring the misleading substitution of ethical for legal. 4. NASA Principles for the Ethical Care and Use of Animals. Right. NASA's history of animal use is the anathema of ethical. 5. National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia. Australia again? 6a. NIH Bioethics Resources on the Web This takes one to the Office of Clinical Research and Bioethics Policy mentioned earlier, which has no mention of animal use. 6.b Research Ethics, Laboratory Animal Care and Use. Which is a broken link. 7. On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research, 1995, NAP. You can read the little booklet online. The word animal does not appear in the linked version. In a funny-ish twist, they point to the first edition of the booklet. The third edition is now in print. The third edition does mention animals somewhat frequently and always in connection with making sure that what is being done to them is legal. The ethics of animal use is not otherwise mentioned. 8. The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique, W.M.S. Russell and R.L. Burch, 1959, Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health. This classic serves as the guide for all subsequent regulations and policies promulgated by vivisection trade groups, the industry, and the NIH. It is well worth reading and is available here. The work is only marginally on point however because it assumes and proceeds without explanation or argument that it is fitting and just to experiment on animals. I don't think NIH is capable of convening a fair panel to discuss the ethics of animal experimentation. The agency is dominated by vivisectors and those with ties to the industry. See for instance, "It is Unethical for Carrie Wolinetz to be Involved in Any Policy Decisions Concerning the Use of Animals or Non-Human/Human Chimeras," and "Vivisectors at the Helm." The upcoming "NIH Workshop on Ensuring the Continued Responsible Oversight of Research with Non-Human Primates" is probably going to be more of the same. No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1706	Friday, March 10, 2017 Atheism, the absolute Truth! There is nothing special about human life that comes and goes like a bubble in a millisecond compared to the cosmic time scale. Life evolved in the primordial conditions of the earth (a spec in the Solar system) with enough energy from the sun, abundance of elements, electricity (from lightening), hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide. It took 3.5 billion years for humans (with the brain complexity to produce consciousness) to evolve from the unicellular organisms. The earth is so very tiny in the Milky Way galaxy that has 200 billion stars like our sun. Its size will tends to zero in this universe which has 20 trillion such galaxies! Our life will get extinguished with the death of our brain. The whole human race may not last long here. A comet had obliterated the dinosaurs earlier. A huge Volcanic eruption (Thoba) had almost finished off the evolving Homo Sapiens. The 10,000 or so left out, survived the extreme cold (as the sun was blocked with dust and rock particles for long) and they evolved and spread across this globe and here we are by sheer accident. There must be trillions of earth like-planets in the habitable zones of their stars perhaps with life coming and going just in a flicker. Human life,, the earth, solar system and even the Milky Way has no special status. All, including the universe, are set to die and end up. The earth-bound-gods will perish in no time. The Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythological gods- Osiris, Dionysus, Mithras, Cybele, Horus, Zeus, Apollo, Adonis, Eros, Hercules, Isis, and thousands of others have died. Some of them like Zeus & Apollo were stronger than today's mighty Yahweh or Allah. Hundreds of Indian Vedic gods - very powerful once- have become defunct or dead and so are the nature gods like Vauna (wind god), Indra (god of thunder) and Agni (fire-god). Hundreds of weird gods and goddesses like Chinnamasta (Hindu and Buddhist goddess), Pan (Greek god), Sheila Na Gigs (lustful pagan goddess) Baron Samedi (Haitian god of death) are all buried. Allah, Yahweh, Jesus, Buddha, Brahma, Krishna, Rama, Siva, Vishnu, Hanuman and some others are the remaining gods. By a simple deduction form the past experience with gods, the present mighty ones will also die soon. Yahweh, the Christian god is already dying and Jesus is replacing him. You believe in a religion if you happen to be born in a religious family. Religions don’t make people think or reason out. Their command is simple: just believe. Theists believe in their god and whatever their religion says. Whether it is objectively good or bad, true or false, does not matter. There are now many religions with opposing and contradictory doctrines and gods. Christians believe in a trinity-father, son and the holy spirit. Islam believes in Allah (who is seen in Quran for the first time), Hindus believe in many gods some good and some bad.. Buddhists believe in no god, they are basically atheists. There is no consensus on god. Each believes in his own god, different from the others. There is no universal god. Further, the believers in a god do not believe in any other god. The only difference between believers and atheists is that atheist does not believe in any god, whereas theists believe in just their god/s. If all the other gods do not exist other than the god one believes in, it is amply clear the majority of the population are almost atheists except that they do not deny their deity. They deny all others. Hence atheism that believes there is no god is the truth. All humans are the same in their genetic and cognitive levels. If there is a god and if he wanted to send a message, he would do so to the entire humans. Can anybody believe that He will come down to this tiny spec (the earth), choose a semi-stupefied tribe to reveal himself, leaving the vast majority of the population orphaned? In the Bible, God revealed himself to Moses in a bush, in Quran Allah revealed himself to just one person, Mohammed, and the Hindu gods never revealed themselves to anyone in particular. Buddha never said he is god. The bloodiest massacres and the cruelest atrocities were carried out by the religious guys.The worst religious ideas that have surfaced so far: conflict, cruelty, chosen people, blasphemy, genital mutilation, blood sacrifice, hell, karma, female oppression, massacre, oppression, stoning to death, beheading, persecution… The history of religions shows that they have created hatred, violence and inspired its followers to commit cruelties in the name of their god which as humans they would never attempt to. People believe in a cruel god without being aware men give gods the passion they themselves have. Probably the strongest argument for god is that we need to believe in god even if he is not there. Many believe that such a belief creates a social order to make humans happy. Religions do not make people happy or make them co-exists in peace. ‘Religion has been,’ as Philip Adams puts it, ‘an aphrodisiac for horror, Benzedrine for bestiality. At best it has lifted spirits and raised spires. At worst it has turned entire civilizations into cemeteries.’ Atheists never believe in anything. They reason out and they understand. Theists believe; they have faith. Atheists are willing to change if proper evidence is produced. Theists' minds are closed. They believe anything they have been programmed to believe, even if it is stupid and foolish. In Global Peace Index rankings for 2009 (assessing 23 criteria, including foreign wars, internal conflicts, human rights violations, number of murders, number of people in jail, arms trade, and no democracy) all the countries with the lowest rates-Iceland, Japan, Austria, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand are all pretty non-religious. The top scorers are: Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Pakistan, Israel, Russia, Georgia, Chad and Congo are all deeply religious! Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has found, taking into account indicators of societal well-being that the most religious US states like Mississippi and Alabama have the worst quality of life. Vermont and New Hampshire, the least religious states, have the best quality of life. The Pew Forum’s Religious landscape survey also finds that the least religious states - with the lowest level of faith in god and Church attendance -are better than the more religious in measures including homicide, violent crimes, poverty, obesity, diabetes, sex-diseases and teen pregnancy! Religious belief seems to do more harm than good. K Guardian columnist George Monbiot says, "if you want people to behave as Christians advocate, you should tell them God does not exist.” Paul Zukerman’s detailed research shows: violent crime and murder rates are lower in secular sociteies and higher in religious societies. A 1999 US Barna study had shown that atheist and agnostics have lower divorce rates than religious Americans. And conservative religious women experienced higher rates of domestic violence than non-affiliated. Most atheistic nations like the top ten mentioned above report the highest levels of happiness. No comments: Post a Comment
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1710	07 September 2006 Hikaru no go cartoonist arrested The Mainichi news reports that Takeshi Obata, author of the "Hikaru no Go" manga series, was arrested for illegal posession of a knife, according to Tokyo police. An officer questioned Obata, 37, in Tokyo's Nerima-ku after he was driving his car with the headlights off shortly before 1 a.m. on Wednesday. 1 comment: Anonymous said... I believe the author is Yumi Hotta, and that guy is the artist.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1745	/> Raising Angels: On Second Thought Wednesday, October 01, 2008 On Second Thought "Dawson, do you know what day it is today?" I asked him this morning on the way to school. "It's October 1. What happens in October?" "My birthday!" he yelled gleefully. "What would you like for your birthday?" After several moments of thought, he simply replied, "You can just get me whatever you want." "Really?" I asked in amazement. "That's so nice of you." "Or..." he added upon some more thought, "you can get me the real Speed Racer." Post a Comment << Home
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1760	About Rationally Speaking Thursday, March 20, 2014 So long, and thanks for all the fish by Massimo Pigliucci Or, as the title of the last Star Trek: The Next Generation episode wistfully announced: “All good things… This is the last Rationally Speaking post, folks! It has been a long and fascinating ride. It began back in 2000, before blogs were a thing, with what at the time I called a (syndicated) internet column, and which became a blog in August 2005. Since then, I published or edited a total of 1208 posts (this is #1209!), which have been commented upon 35,651 times and have been seen 3,880,694 times (not counting the one you are reading now, to be precise). Not bad for a one-man, one-editor (Phil Pollack), and a small number of collaborators (currently including Leonard Finkelman, Steve Neumann, and Ian Pollock) enterprise. As you know, there has been plenty of controversy on these virtual pages, at at times it has been harsh. But there have been also many many incredibly thoughtful conversations, from which I’ve learned a lot, seriously. A number of readers of RS love to engage in dialogue with me, and I sincerely thank them for their patience and contributions. However, I feel like I need a new project or two to re-energize my batteries, now that I have just celebrated half a century on this planet! Hence my decision to close Rationally Speaking (though the archives will remain available as long as Blogspot will host them) and open Scientia Salon (which you can, of course, follow on Twitter, Facebook or Google+). Scientia” is the Latin word for knowledge, broadly construed – i.e., in an ampler fashion than that implied by the English term science. Scientia includes the natural sciences, the social sciences, philosophy, logic and mathematics. And Salons, of course, were the social engine of the Age of Reason in France and throughout much of Europe. The idea of Scientia Salon is to provide a forum for in-depth discussions on themes of general interest drawing from philosophy and the sciences. Contributors will be academics and non academics who don’t shy away from the label of “public intellectual,” and who feel that engaging in public discourse is vital to what they do and to society at large. The initial concept was inspired in me years ago by Noam Chomsky’s famous contention that “Citizens of the democratic societies should undertake a course of intellectual self defense to protect themselves from manipulation and control, and to lay the basis for meaningful democracy” (in his Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies). But more recently what spurred me into action was an article by City University of New York’s Corey Robin, on “The responsibility of adjunct intellectuals” (published in Al Jazeera America). It’s a must read, and it’s most definitely not just aimed at academic adjuncts. The new outlet will inherit much from Rationally Speaking, especially initially. I will be the author of most of the first essays, though several colleagues and friends have already signaled their willingness to help out. It will be possible to submit essays for publication (2-3000 words, up to 5000), which will be edited and — if necessary — peer reviewed. (Interested? Here are the guidelines.) Scientia Salon will also inherit some of the themes of Rationally Speaking, but there will be less emphasis on traditional skepticism and atheism, and more on philosophy, social science and natural science (with a bit of math and logic sprinkled throughout). The tone, hopefully, will be civil, thoughtful, as jargon-free as possible, and occasionally gently ironic (as opposed to overly sarcastic, something I must admit of which RS was occasionally guilty). The site will welcome comments, but there too, there will be a push to increase open and constructive dialogue and curb name calling and trolling. Consequently, while access to the site for reading will be open to all, in order to post comments it will be necessary to register with name and email address. Not much of a burden in these days of NSA surveillance, and — I hope — well worth the trouble. So, expect the first essay at Scientia Salon within the next few days. In the meantime, so long, and thanks for all the fish! Sunday, March 16, 2014 David Silverman and the scope of atheism — Postscript by Massimo Pigliucci Predictably, my recent post on some remarks made by American Atheists President David Silverman has generated a firestorm on blogs and twitter, even though I thought the opinions expressed therein are actually quite mild. But such is the nature of debates in the age of social networking. There are several interesting points that have emerged from the thoughtful discussion that has taken place on this blog, for which I thank my readers. (No, I never check discussion threads on other blogs. Sorry, not enough time and energy!) Some of these points have also been taken up by two of the most critical commentaries, one by PZ Myers and the other one by (future Rationally Speaking podcast guest) Greta Christina. I will analyze these as representative of the discussion, and as an occasion to further clarify my own views. Predictably, neither piece takes a kind view of my essay, nor, frankly, did the authors try to give it a charitable reading that may lead to fruitful discussions rather than name calling. But in the case of PZ’s sarcastic remarks, I richly deserved it. His entire (short) post takes me up for writing (in the original version of my essay) that “abortion should always be a very difficult and emotional step.” I did not mean that literally, as should have been clear from the context and the examples given. But it was certainly an instance of sloppy writing on my part. After some of my readers pointed it out, I revised the entry to read: “certain types of abortion (say, last trimester)” should always be a very difficult and emotional step,” and later added a footnote to call readers’ attention to it. This ought to take care of most of PZ’s remarks, though I’d like to hear from him directly. I say most because PZ (and surely Greta, as well as several of my readers) still objects to the “presumption” that someone might dare tell another human being how s/he ought to feel in certain morally salient cases. I don’t get it. We do this all the time, and it is a cornerstone of our moral education — in true virtue ethical-Aristotelian fashion, I might add. We begin with young children, trying to both explain to them the reasons why certain things (e.g., stealing) are wrong and how they should properly feel about those actions (shame, guilt). We do it to adults too, of course. We criticize the greed (emotion!) of big bankers, we call on our politicians to feel sorry (emotion!) about their misdeeds, and we are horrified by the lack of emotional response on the part of sociopaths when they show no regret (emotion!) at whatever crime they may have committed. And this goes for positive emotions as well, of course: we say that people should feel pride for this, happy about that, and so on. So, what exactly, is the problem with someone arguing that another person should (morally) feel troubled by a certain (ethically salient) decision? But perhaps the idea is that I, as a man, should not dare tell a woman how to feel or think about something I couldn’t possibly have experienced myself. But that is also highly problematic. As one of my readers pointed out, we do this too all the time. We don’t think that only people who have relatives on death row have a right to express opinions about the emotions and ethical reasoning of people who do. And the same holds for pretty much any other ethical discussion: being a first-person participant is neither a requirement to engage in it, nor necessarily an unquestionable positive (the reason we don’t let families of victims of crimes render verdicts and hand out punishments is that they are too emotionally close to the events themselves). Moreover, as it happens, I have actually been very close to a painful decision about abortion, so I do have a very good (second hand, since obviously I wasn’t the pregnant one) sense of how complex and wrenching that decision was. It happened many years ago, and I have no intention of going into the personal details of it, but both people involved were definitely secular and were definitely weighing the issue from a non-religious perspective. That didn’t make it a slam dunk. Now let me turn to Christina’s, longer, much less charitable than even PZ’s, response. I am a bit at a loss to see how a fellow traveler in atheism, skepticism and critical thinking could so grossly misread what I wrote. Below are a few bits from Christina’s post, with my commentary. > Thank you so much for dismissing the issue of the basic right to bodily autonomy of half the human race as a “tempest in a teapot.” < I didn’t. That phrase referred to generic diatribes among atheists, not to the basic right to bodily autonomy of half the human race. This should have been clear both from the context and from much of what I’ve written about the New Atheism over the years. > What a great way to make women in the atheist movement, and women who are considering joining the atheist movement, think that our issues are taken seriously by the movement’s leaders. < Except, again, that that sentence had nothing to do with any of that (and I’m no leader of any movement — more on this below). Christina might have missed that the post was about a very specific claim, that there are no reasonable secular arguments against abortion — it wasn’t a call to shut down abortion clinics around the country. My strong pro choice position ought to be clear, and I take women's issues very seriously. But you’d hardly know the difference if you just read her post. > By all means, let’s treat the right to abortion as a philosophical exercise in which both sides should be thoughtfully considered and given intellectual validity < Ah yes, the by now mandatory dig at philosophy as a useless intellectual exercise indulged in by mostly white (mostly dead) men. Except of course that we get much of our non-religious ethical discourse precisely from philosophy, and that to reject the need for rational discourse on ethics is a bizarre position to take for someone who is interested in reason and critical thinking. (And I would add that to refuse to grant intellectual validity to thoughtful opponents is precisely the tactic of the Religious Right, not to be imitated.) Moreover, and importantly, Christina confuses a discussion about the ethical issues raised by abortion with support for curbing women’s access to the procedure. While the first is obviously relevant to the second, one can very consistently maintain that there is something to be debated about the ethics of abortion while at the same time staunchly defending a woman's right to have one. > Stephanie Zvan has already masterfully taken apart your whole thing about how abortion should always be a very difficult and emotional step. < I’m sure she has (I haven’t read the piece, see note above about limited time and energy). But Christina already knew of my correction to the above statement (she acknowledges it at the end of her post), which should have set things straight. Why didn’t it? Why did Christina go on with her diatribe even though I had already corrected my post and explained what I actually meant? No interest in being charitable, apparently, nor in actually engaging in a discussion. It’s all about rallying the Forces of Change against the Old Guard. > Do you seriously think abortion has nothing to do with atheism? Are you aware that the fight against abortion rights has been waged, almost entirely, by the Religious Right? Are you aware that the case against abortion rights is almost entirely centered in religion? < I do seriously think about what I write, I’m not a comedian, I’m a philosopher. Being an atheist carries no logical (broadly construed, see below) connection whatsoever to a lot of political positions about social issues. And yes, I do read newspapers and I am aware of where the opposition to abortion (mostly) comes from. But, as usual, things are more complicated than that simple narrative. To begin with, there are plenty of religious people who are pro-choice. There are also plenty of prochoice people who would not have an abortion themselves. Second, my original post was much more narrowly focused: I was disputing the ill informed statement by Sarah Moglia that there are no secular arguments against (certain types of) abortion (not abortion rights). Of course there are. And even though I don’t find them convincing (as I said in my original post), they are neither irrational nor informed by bad science, as Moglia stated. We (the pro-choice camp) are right, rationally, morally and scientifically. But there is no reason to pretend that the other side is made up entirely of religious nuts and ignorant country bumpkins. > What atheism has to say about abortion is, “There are no gods. You have no evidence that your god exists — and you certainly have no evidence that your god shares your political opinions.” < But the discussion I started had nothing at all to do with religiously motivated objections to abortion. It concerned the (alleged) lack of secular reasons against it. > First, and very importantly: Abortion access is a church-state separation issue. < Psychologically, maybe, in the sense that most opponents are indeed religiously motivated. But not rationally, or even legally. No law aimed at restricting access to abortion procedures is couched in religious terms. Our opponents are doing precisely what John Rawls said people should do in a pluralistic society: they are translating their concerns into secular language, making this a secular debate. The terms of that debate are partly philosophical (ethics is a branch of philosophy after all), partly legal, and partly scientific (when does life begin? When do fetuses start to feel pain?). Just because someone has ultimately religious motives to take up a given position, that doesn’t make the debate itself an issue of church-state separation. > Second: You’re arguing that organized atheism should only work on issues that logically and directly descend from atheism itself. … There are literally no issues that logically ought to unite every atheist. < Here Christina is playing the card of taking my writing so literally (again, lack of charitable interpretation) to make it sound absurd. Yes, of course if we are talking about formal logical entailment (are we using Aristotelian logic or something else?) then atheism implies absolutely nothing other than a commitment to a negative epistemic or metaphysical claim, depending on how one interprets the meaning of the a-word. But what I meant was that there is much more room for disagreement among atheists (and secularists more broadly) about all sorts of socio-political issues, and for substantial secular reasons. Which is why we have other types of secular movements (humanists, ethical culturists) who have articulated a specific, progressive, political agenda, which is coupled with their atheism. Christina uses a reductio ad absurdum argument against me, saying that — on strict logical grounds — there is no connection between atheism and church-state separation or the rights of unbelievers either. And she is right, if one adopts formal logical entailment as a criterion. But I didn’t. It seems to me that it is much easier to rally atheists to fight those fights than to embrace pretty much any other political cause, and for good reasons. Remember that this is in the context of David Silverman daring to go to a conservative political convention to make the argument that atheism isn’t necessarily a liberal issue. And it isn’t, and Dave was right in making the move. Humanism, however, is a liberal movement, and I would feel pretty uncomfortable if Debbie Allen, the President of the AHA were to make the same move. Look at it from the point of view of a parallel between atheism and gay rights. The gay rights movement has rightly focused on the issues that are closest and most specific to it: the legal rights of gay people. It’s likely that a majority of gays also endorses other political positions (mostly liberal?), but since there are progressive gays and conservative gays and libertarian gays, it was wise to stick to the basics. And it worked, beautifully (though clearly the fight is not over yet). Moreover, the leaders of the gay movement also could have made Christina’s case for their issues being ones of separation of church and state, since most of the opposition to gay marriage, for instance, is religiously motivated. But they didn’t. On the contrary, they sought allegiances with progressive religious institutions, just like other minorities had done before them. And again, in my opinion this was the wise and effective thing to do. We finally get to what really seems to be bothering Christina: > What you’re saying is that the people who have traditionally been running organized atheism, the people who have been setting the agenda of organized atheism for decades, are the people who should continue to set the agenda. What you’re saying is that the old guard should get to keep running the show. < And I assume she thinks I’m one of those people who have been “running the show.” She hasn’t done her homework. I’m not a formal member of any atheist organization (I do have a life membership with AA, but it was given to me as an honorary title, I didn’t join), nor have I ever served on the board of any atheist organization (except, briefly, NYC Atheists, and look how that ended!). > You don’t get to help decide what we work on. … And you don’t get to set the agenda for all of us. < And where, exactly, did I ever say that I “get to decide”? I have no power, and if I did I would simply nudge the agenda in my preferred direction (based on my disputable but nonetheless articulated reasons), just like anyone else (including Christina herself) does. > At best, at the most charitable interpretation of your words, you’re making the argument from tradition — one of the worst, least rational arguments around. At an only slightly less charitable interpretation, you’re making the argument from privilege. You’re making the argument that the people currently running things should continue to run things. In fact, the argument from tradition is an argument from privilege. < Tradition? Privilege? I don’t recall making any argument at all that was based on something along the lines of “this is what atheists have done in the past, therefore…” And what privilege, exactly? As I said above, I have no position of power within the movement, and I’ve always refused to be involved in political disputes internal to any atheist organization. But does that mean that I, as a somewhat rational human being who has been thinking and writing about atheism, secularism and related issues, get no say (“you don’t get to help”) in what I think is the best way for atheists to engage in the public square? Why? Is it because I’m old? White? Male? A university professor? A fan of AS Roma soccer club? And isn’t Christina forgetting that American Atheists itself was founded by a woman? And was run for 13 years by another woman? Were they, too, the Old Guard who isn’t entitled to help in the debate? I have a pretty established record of critically engaging both the New Atheists and American Atheists, including David Silverman himself. And of course I’ve had bones to pick with Greta Christina too (after which I invited her to promote her new book on my podcast with Julia Galef). That’s what constructive debate within a movement looks like. We are supposed to engage each other, not to shut the opponent down by accusing him of wanting to keep his alleged and factually entirely non-existent privilege. Christina wants to steer atheism toward new directions? More power to her. But I do have a right to point out that in my opinion she is largely reinventing the wheel of secular humanism. We can have a lively discussion (as we did on the RS podcast) and then we can go have a beer together for some more back and forth. The ability to enter into vigorous yet thoughtful debate (and to drink beer) is what truly separates us from the religious fundamentalists. Let’s try to keep it that way. Postscript to the postscript: apparently, "friendly atheist" Hemant Mehta is also in trouble now, according to a statement released by Secular Woman. It is interesting that the statement makes the same confusion that Christina incurred in, mixing up the idea that there are secular arguments showing that some abortions are morally problematic with the idea that women's rights to control their bodies should be curbed. Once more: they are not the same thing! According to SW: "Entertaining anti-choice arguments delegitimizes women’s humanity and bodily autonomy," which essentially amounts to an exceedingly anti-freethought stand, seems to me. And here is more hyperbolic rhetoric from SW: "What seems to be lost on Silverman, Mehta and others is that debating women’s humanity is not an academic exercise." Debating women's humanity? Seriously? I'm appalled. Friday, March 14, 2014 David Silverman and the scope of atheism by Massimo Pigliucci You may have heard of the latest tempest in a teapot to hit the often tumultuous waters of modern atheism, this one surrounding American Atheists’ President David Silverman. Before getting to the meat of the matter — such as it is — let me give you the capsule commentary: i) No, Dave did not (contra Steve Ahlquist) “offer [a] compromise on women’s rights” to appease participants to the Conservative Political Action Conference [CPAC]; ii) the idea that there are secular arguments against abortions has not been “debunked” by Skepchick Sarah Moglia. Let’s start with Ahlquist. He was very upset that Silverman went to CPAC to begin with, apparently under the misguided understanding that atheism is a special province of political progressivism (it isn’t). In particular, Ahlquist really didn’t like the following sound bite from the AA President: “I will admit there is a secular argument against abortion. You can’t deny that it’s there, and it’s maybe not as clean cut as school prayer, right to die, and gay marriage.” I find precisely nothing to object to in that statement, which seems to me obviously true. Not so, says Sarah Moglia over at Skepchicks: “If by ‘secular argument,’ you mean ‘a belief based on personal feelings,’ then, sure, there’s a secular argument against abortion. There could be a ‘secular’ argument against puppies, in that case. If you’re using ‘secular’ to mean ‘a logical, science-based, or rational’ belief, then no, there is no ‘secular argument’ against abortion. The supposed ‘secular arguments’ against abortion are rooted in misogyny, a lack of understanding of science, and religious overtones.” Sarah, not everything you (or I, for that matter) dislike or disagree with is based in misogyny, stupidity, or religious fundamentalism, and it’s high time people stop using the m-word as the ultimate trump card to which one cannot possibly dare to reply. Of course there are logical, science-based, and rational arguments against abortion. They may turn out to be ultimately unconvincing, or countered by better arguments — as I believe they are — but they certainly exist. To start with, you may want to spend some time perusing a few entries in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (like this one, or this one, or this one), for instance (don’t forget to check the relevant references too). Are these arguments sufficient to justify forceful state interventions on women’s bodily integrity, under any circumstances? Very likely not. But plenty of countries (including the US) do already regulate, for instance, late term abortion, noting the ethical complexity of the issue and of course making room for a number of special circumstances, usually having to do with the health of the mother. Morally, should the decision to abort not be the subject of serious consideration, at the least on the part of the mother? After all, Dave didn’t say anything about legislation, he simply stated that the case of abortion is ethically more complicated than that of minority rights or Church-State separation. Seems to me that this is a no brainer: since abortion involves more than one life, and there is a marked difference in the consequences of a given decision for the two parties, the issue is thornier than others, and it ought to be so for secularists also. To decide to get certain types of abortion* (say, last trimester) is always (or, at least, should always be) a very difficult and emotional step, precisely because it has significant ethical consequences. There is no equivalent to that in, say, deciding whether to allow gay couples to marry or not, as a moment’s reflection should make clear. Now, does that mean that we should therefore advocate a restriction of women’s rights as they are currently defined in the US? Of course not, nor do I see any evidence that that’s what Dave meant to suggest. But to dismiss the complexity of the issue by suggesting that only irrational, science-illiterate country bumpkins could possibly think that there is reason for pause is either intellectually naive or dishonest. Now back to Ahlquist. He also doesn’t like a number of other positions Silverman took at CPAC. Apparently, Dave is “fiscally conservative,” “owns several guns,” is “a strong supporter of the military” and has “serious suspicions about Obama. [stating that] I don’t like that he’s spying on us. I don’t like we’ve got drones killing people…” Well, to be fiscally conservative isn’t necessarily a bad thing, although it depends on what one means by that. I, for instance, would rather save on a lot of the corporate welfare funds that the US Government has been handing out to big corporations and banks for decades now. I think that makes me fiscally conservative, in a sense. And I don’t like Obama that much either, in part for the same reasons that Dave listed. However, I do profoundly dislike guns and people who like them, and I am most definitely not a strong supporter of the military. Silverman is quoted as saying that “the Democrats are too liberal for me.” You can quote me as saying that the Democrats are far too conservative for me. The point is: so what? What does any of the above, including abortion, fiscal conservativeness (or not), support for the military (or not), owning guns (or not), and liking or disliking Obama have to do with atheism? Nothing, absolutely nothing. If there is a reason to criticize David Silverman, it is because he made the same mistake that a lot of progressive atheists make these days: thinking that atheism is somehow logically connected to one political position or another. It isn’t, and it can’t be, and it’s time to stop pretending it is. You like progressive politics and are not religious? Great, join the American Humanist Association, or the local chapter of the Ethical Union (though they, bizarrely, do call themselves a secular religion — an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one). But, do recognize that there are libertarian atheists, and conservative atheists, and atheists who don’t give a damn about gun control, or women’s rights, or whatever it is you think should be at the top of the agenda of the “movement.” In fact, pretty much the only social issues that ought to unite every atheist are the separation of Church and State and the rights of unbelievers. Not even a defense of science and critical thinking are really “atheist” causes, since there is a good number of atheists who buy into all sorts of woo (just not the particular woo featuring a white bearded male who sits high in the sky and spends a lot of time watching people’s sexual habits) — trust me, I know a number of them. And please do not dare comment on this post and characterize me as conservative, misogynistic, anti-feminist, and so forth. I’ve written enough about all the above mentioned issues that it ought to be crystal clear that I’m to the left of Jon Stewart when it comes to all of them. Thank you. * The original wording here said "to decide to get abortions," which was meant to be understood in the context of the specifics I was giving. However, that was sloppy writing on my part. Clearly, plenty of abortions do not carry any moral problems at all (e.g., fertilized zygote, recently implanted embryo, and so on until a fuzzy line where the fetus is complex, responds to stimuli and most importantly feels pain). The current wording reflects my intended meaning. Wednesday, March 12, 2014 This Isn’t the Free Will You’re Looking For by Steve Neumann In Star Wars: A New Hope, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are traveling into the most “wretched hive of scum and villainy” that is the city of Mos Eisley in order to find a smuggler who can hide them, R2-D2, and C-3PO from the Empire. At one point, they are stopped at a checkpoint by Imperial Stormtroopers who are looking to recover the stolen technical plans of the Death Star that R2-D2 is carrying. Obi-Wan uses a Jedi mind trick to divert their attention, telling them “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” In a paper entitled “Freedom and Control,” philosophers Stephen Mumford and Rani Lill Anjum [1] have attempted to capture free will for those who are libertarian about it — those who hold that, since humans do have free will, determinism must be false. But what they end up doing, in my view, is arguing for a new species of compatibilism; except in this case, free will is compatible with causation (properly understood) and not determinism. And to paraphrase old Ben Kenobi, I don’t think this is the free will libertarians are looking for. Mumford and Anjum argue that the libertarian can have free will “without requiring that agents step outside of the causal laws.” If libertarians could achieve this, it’d be the Holy Grail of metaphysics. But I think the authors implicitly recognize that such a goal might not be possible when they write that they can “supply a variety of libertarianism worth having,” echoing Daniel Dennett. [Italics mine.] Mumford and Anjum claim to have secured both freedom and control — or what are called Alternate Possibilities (the ability to have done otherwise) and Ultimate Authorship (one is the ultimate author of one’s own decisions that lead to actions, or “causal responsibility”), respectively — by arguing for a view of causation that is somewhere between “necessity and pure possibility,” where possibility can be understood as akin to randomness [2]. They maintain that a strict dichotomy between necessity and randomness is a false one, and they note that there is a third possibility that goes by the name of “causal dispositionalism.” In other words, they deny both causal determinism and causal necessitation. [3] Here’s a very simplistic diagram of the basic background to the problem: Fixed Past => Present Possibilities/Choices => Future Now, surely most of us can agree that the past is fixed — we can’t change it; what happened, happened. And, all of us experience the fact that, at any given moment, we seem to have a near limitless number of possibilities available to us when making a decision. The problem, however, comes in when we try and figure out what to make of the future — is it fixed, or is it open? Do past events completely cause or determine our choices in the present, even though we may feel like we have many possibilities available to us? Mumford and Anjum argue, echoing Aristotle, that “a cause can be thought of as something that tends towards an effect of a certain kind,” that it is disposed toward a certain effect — hence the name. With this definition, they further claim that we can separate the ideas of causal production and causal necessitation by “drawing attention to the possibility of a particular variety of interference that applies to all natural causal processes.” In other words, causes don’t necessarily produce their signature effects. This idea of “interference” is where they hope to help the libertarian locate free will by showing that alternate possibilities really exist. For purposes of my critique, I’ll use one of the examples Mumford and Anjum cite: philosopher J.L. Austin’s famous thought experiment of a golfer sinking a putt. They note that “the ball would not have sunk had a gust of wind come along just as it neared the hole, or a squirrel might have jumped on the ball, or a twig might have deflected it. These alternate possibilities are all real.” The wind, the squirrel, and the twig are all examples of the interference they refer to in the context of causal dispositionalism. In the case of Austin’s golfer, it’s easy to see how alternate possibilities could be secured: it’s true that before he attempts the putt it seems as though there are many possible outcomes: a sudden gust of wind could come along just as the ball nears the hole; a squirrel could run across the green, knocking the ball off its trajectory; or the golfer himself could have a heart attack just as he swings his club. These are all very real possibilities — interferers, in Mumford and Anjum’s lexicon. Additionally, the golfer is employing his best causal powers in his attempt to sink the putt, and these powers are disposed toward the outcome of the golf ball falling into the hole; so they also conclude that the golfer is the ultimate author of his actions. They summarize their position by saying that “in exercising our causal powers, we exercise our free agency.” But this doesn’t seem quite right. I’m ready to agree that we exercise our agency by exercising our causal powers — where agency means the ability to voluntarily act upon our own reasons and motives — but to me that still doesn’t mean we have free agency, at least not in the libertarian sense. At the moment of an action, there may indeed be several possibilities available to an agent; however, these possibilities aren’t freely chosen in the sense the libertarian wants: for instance, each of these possibilities is itself subject to its own causal chain which no agent can step outside of — causal powers are still comprised of causes, deterministic or not. And if the interferers that contribute to these alternate possibilities originate outside the agent (a malicious squirrel), thwarting the agent’s expressed desire (of sinking a putt), then the agent has no ultimate control. And even if the interferers arise within the agent’s own mind, either as a counter-desire to his initial one, or as an external influence that works in his mind to alter the initial desire, then where is the freedom in that? The case of the external interferers doesn’t seem to pose much of a problem — I think most people can accept that a sudden gust of wind altering the trajectory of the golfer’s putt is something that is completely out of his control (and this is one of Mumford and Anjum’s arguments against causal necessitarianism). So let’s focus on the internal interferers. Let’s say Austin’s golfer decides to position his thumb a certain way on his club just as he’s about to make his putt. However, right before he swings the club, he has the thought to move his thumb into a different position; but what is the cause of that thought? The thought to change his thumb position simply occurred to him. Where is the freedom in that? The libertarian assertion that, even though our golfer can’t control the thoughts that come into his mind, he still has control of his actions once the thoughts occur, doesn’t seem to cut it — the golfer’s decision to change his thumb position still wasn’t freely chosen in the sense libertarians want. He may have had a subsequent thought that approved of the thought to change his thumb position, but then one can ask where that thought came from, and so on ad infinitum I think the line of reasoning that Mumford and Anjum pursue ultimately fails to secure the kind of freedom libertarians believe is possible — and which they really want. I think that to say there is “ample space for causation to occupy between necessity and pure contingency” makes sense, and it shows that an agent has alternative possibilities in the face of a decision. And the argument that one is the author of one’s own actions because one is the causal producer of the effects one desires is an accurate and workable conception of agency. But one cannot be the ultimate author of one’s actions, even if causal necessity is false, because the alternatives — dispositionalism and pure contingency — permit one to be only the proximate author of one’s actions. Compatibilists about free will are okay with this, but not the libertarians. Pure contingency (randomness), I think everyone agrees, doesn’t allow one to be the author of one’s actions, so let’s return to the issue of causal dispositionalism. Here, even if one is acting according to one’s own singular character, to one’s own developed reasons and motives — those things that dispose the agent toward certain effects — that character, and those reasons and motives, still have their own causal history outside of which no agent can step. The reasons and motives that make up the agent’s character didn’t pull themselves up into existence by the hair, out of the swamps of nothingness, to paraphrase Nietzsche’s take on an agent being causa sui. The agent hasn’t freely chosen those reasons and motives, even if she has come to approve of them and take “ownership” of them. For a libertarian to feel that she has free will, she needs to feel that she has real alternate possibilities available to her when making decisions, and that she is the author or originator of her actions in a meaningful way. But the biggest obstacle to this has always been the perceived failure of libertarian models of agency to explain how an agent could have done otherwise in exactly the same conditions. Some have argued that the original set of circumstances will always obtain, every time you “roll back the film” of the action in question. Others have argued that, due to the inherent unpredictability of the universe, the original set of circumstances may not always obtain for the action in question. But even in the latter case, even if quantum indeterminacy obtains every time we roll back the film, ensuring a slightly different result, the agent can’t claim to have “freedom” then either: an agent can’t be the author or originator of a completely random event, at least not in the sense of having willed it. In the concluding section of their paper, Mumford and Anjum write that the principle of Alternate Possibilities was “threatened by a world of necessity,” and that the principle of Ultimate Authorship was “threatened by a world of pure contingency,” and that the causal dispositionalist framework they use in their argument “provides a metaphysical basis highly conducive to the libertarian’s needs: one in which the agent has both freedom and control.” But unfortunately I have to resort to a Clintonesque parsing of the word “freedom” and say that what they have actually secured is a compatibilist’s freedom, not a libertarian’s. They correctly note that the “more empowered an agent is, the more freedom they gain,” but this is the kind of freedom that is conducive to the personal project of identifying, developing, and expanding one’s causal powers so that one can attain greater degrees of freedom in the sense of achieving real possibilities of life. It’s a valuable freedom, no doubt, and in reality the only one we have — and, in light of that, the only one worth having. [1] I’ve invited Mumford and Anjum to comment on this post, if they have the time. Hopefully they can set me straight if I’ve misread their paper! [2] The actual formula used by the authors for the principle of Alternate Possibilities is stated as “for any free agent x, and action A performed by x in circumstances C at time t, then there was another action A’, where A does not equal A’, such that x could have performed A’ at t and not A.” Though they leave out “circumstances C” in the second clause, I’m assuming it is included for purposes of my analysis. [3] I haven’t read their book on causal dispositionalism, so I’m basing my critique on their summarized exposition of it in this current paper. Monday, March 10, 2014 Rationally Speaking podcast: Neil deGrasse Tyson on Why He Doesn't Call Himself an Atheist Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson returns for this episode of Rationally Speaking, with a particular question to discuss: Should he call himself an atheist? The impetus is a recent dust-up over Neil's appearance on Big Think, in which he explained that he avoids the label "atheist" because it causes people to make all sorts of unflattering (and often untrue) assumptions. Julia and Massimo reply with some counterarguments, and along the way delve into the philosophy of language. Neil's picks: The movie "Gravity," "IFLS," and the TV Shows "The Big Bang Theory," "CSI" and"NCIS." Friday, March 07, 2014 Massimo's weekend picks! * The difference between academic freedom and academic justice. (Hint: the former is far preferable...) * The philosophy of "Her" (the movie). * The mindfulness racket. * Louise Anthony talks to Gary Gutting about the non-existence of god. * The Two Cultures, then and now. Tuesday, March 04, 2014 What does it mean for something to be metaphysically necessary? by Massimo Pigliucci As I mentioned before, this semester I’m teaching a graduate level seminar on David Hume, and having lots of fun with it. During a recent discussion of sections 4 and 5 of the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (“Sceptical doubts concerning the operations of the understanding” and “Sceptic al solutions of these doubts”) the concept of metaphysical necessity came up. As is well known, Hume wasn’t very keen on metaphysics in general. One of the most famous quotes by him (in section 12 of the very same Enquiry) says: “If we take in our hand any volume; of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.” Ouch. Anyway, back to metaphysical necessity. What might it mean for something to be metaphysically necessary, or — conversely — metaphysically impossible? Not surprisingly, there is a fairly large literature about this. The (far from comprehensive, but heavy on recent entries) section on metaphysical necessity of the PhilPapers archive lists 74 papers, with some of the most recent entries having titles like “Hume’s Dictum and Natural Modality: Counterfactuals”; “Radical Non-Dispositionalism and the Permutation Problem”; “Soames’s Deflationism About Modality”; and so forth. But we’ll proceed here by looking briefly at the basics. First of all, metaphysical necessity/impossibility as opposed to what other kinds of necessity/impossibility? Two immediately come to mind: logical and physical. It is logically necessary that I either am me or am not-me, for instance [1]; it is also logically necessary, though for different reasons, that there is no such thing as a married bachelor. It is physically necessary that objects with mass attract each other; it is also physically impossible for me to both be here in New York and simultaneously in Rome [2]. And so forth. Let’s see what we can glean from the above examples: in both instances concerning physical possibilities, and in one instance concerning logical possibility, the idea seems to be that there are certain “laws” that govern logic or physics, and that these laws are inviolable. Now, one could be skeptical about the a priori validity of the laws of logic (like W.V.O. Quine was), and one can even think of the laws of physics as simply empirical generalizations that could, in fact, admit of exceptions or have a limited domain of application (like, for instance, Nancy Cartwright does), but I won’t go there. As far as we are concerned, both logic and physics are solid enough, so to speak, to allow us to talk about things that are either possible or impossible given the respective sets of laws. The remaining case (the impossibility of a married bachelor), of course, hinges on issues of definitions: since a bachelor is defined as an unmarried man, there simply cannot be any such thing as a married one, on penalty of (logical-semantic) contradiction. Definitions, of course, are tautological, and tautologies are often regarded with little interest in such discussions. But this is a mistake: think about the fact that mathematics (and much of logic itself) consists precisely in the working out of the tautological implications of certain axioms or premises. So, where were we? Well, the discussion so far hints at one promising way to look for metaphysical necessity: search for laws of metaphysics. Unfortunately, that’s not at all a straightforward quest, because it is not clear what counts as a metaphysical law, as distinct from either a physical law or a law of logic — which of course doesn’t help our predicament at all. Perhaps we should do what I’ve done above in the cases of logic and physics: look for examples first, then see what we can learn from them. If you follow that route, one of the most commonly advanced examples of metaphysical necessity is… the existence of God! Since that is prima facie (I love it when I get to write that!) ludicrous — or it should be at the dawn of the 21st century — we will ignore it and proceed otherwise. What else can be done? Well, there are some more intriguing examples of alleged metaphysical necessity, for instance “whatever is water is H2O” and “whatever is elemental gold has atomic number 79.” Let’s look more closely: these are not examples of definitional necessity, like the bachelor. True, once we discovered that the molecular structure of water is H2O we could simply define water as that substance that has that chemical structure and be done with it. But this required an empirical discovery, it wasn’t true a priori from the get go, as is the fact that there cannot be a married bachelor. The reasoning is the same for gold being the element with atomic number 79. Could it be that these two examples can be interpreted as instantiations of the laws of logic? Hard to see how. There is nothing logically contradictory in imagining a substance with the characteristics of water that is not made of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. But wouldn’t that contradict the laws of physics, at least? Ah, here things become tricky. Surely water behaves the way it is in our universe because the laws of physics are such that if a molecule has that structure then it will behave in that way. But it is hard to say which specific law of physics would be violated if something made of H2O actually behaved differently (say, it had a different freezing point at standard pressure). Another way to think about this is to say that we can imagine a universe where the physics is (slightly) different and where, as a consequence, H2O doesn’t behave as our H2O. Of course, if that were the case, the H2O = water equation would not be a metaphysical necessity after all, but only a physical one. That’s because metaphysicians these days seem to make sense of the notion of metaphysical necessity by saying that something is metaphysically necessary if it is true in all possible worlds. Talk of possible worlds is tightly connected with modal logic which, not surprisingly, is a set of logics that deal with expressions such as “necessarily,” “possibly,” etc. — which philosophers call modalities. There are a bunch of modal logics, including deontic (dealing with what is morally necessary or permissible), temporal, conditional and so forth. These have given origin to what is known as possible worlds semantics, the study of logical languages that make it possible for logicians to determine whether a given modal expression is inferentially valid or not (which, after all, is the whole point of any logic). To return to our example: is it physically or metaphysically necessary that H2O = water? For this to be an example of metaphysical necessity, the equation would have to be valid in all possible worlds. But what makes a world possible to begin with? We could, again be talking about either logical or physical possibility (the former, should be clear, being much ampler than the latter). Let’s say we are talking about physical possibility: possible worlds are those worlds that could exist while instantiating a coherent set of physical laws. Our world, obviously, realizes one of these possibilities. Worlds that, say, were different from ours only with respect to the gravitational constant would be our possible-neighbors, the closer to us as a function of how similar their gravitational constant is to ours. One can easily extend this concept to a multidimensional landscape of fundamental physical constants, each varying within whatever range is physically possible for them to vary (e.g., although logically the gravitational constant could take any of an infinite number of values, it is perfectly possible that only a small subset of these values would yield a physically realizable universe). If you smelled “multiverse” you are close. Despite some people’s reservations about the scientific status of the multiverse theory (reservations with which I sympathize), it does seem to make philosophical sense to deploy it within the context of this discussion. But if you don’t like that particular take, then think of possible worlds as the set of worlds that are mathematically realizable instead. While neither of these senses is the one normally used by philosophers who are interested in possible worlds semantics, I think they do help to get an intuitive grasp on the whole idea of “possible worlds,” because they give a fairly precise answer to the obvious question: possible in what sense? So, again, water = H2O would be a metaphysical necessity just in case it had to be true in all possible worlds, say in the entire multiverse. My hunch is that this isn’t the case. It seems that some change in one physical constant or another would yield a pocket universe (within the multiverse) where a substance had the molecular structure H2O and yet had different physical characteristics from our water. Still, there may be things that are metaphysically necessary in all possible instantiations of the multiverse. Perhaps the inter-conversion between matter and energy? Or the existence of fields from which matter emerges (like the Higgs)? I am going to bet that most metaphysicians won’t like my analysis of metaphysical necessity as presented above, though. True, I have arrived at the conclusion that there can be such a thing as metaphysical necessity as smaller than logical necessity but ampler than physical necessity, thus legitimizing the concept. But I have also linked said concept operationally to either the multiverse as conceived by modern physics or its mathematical equivalent. If so, then discovering metaphysical necessities becomes either a matter for physics (because it is an empirical question) or for logicians-mathematicians (because it is a logical-mathematical thing). Which means that even our newfound way of thinking about metaphysical necessity either expands into logical necessity or collapses into physical necessity. At the least, that’s the way I see it this week. Anyone out there have examples of metaphysical necessity that would rescue the concept from the Scylla or logic and the Charybdis of physics? Postscript on the role of metaphysics Interesting discussion so far. I wanted to add a few notes to further refine my thoughts about this issue. To begin with, I am leaning toward the conclusion that there is no such thing as metaphysical necessity. That’s in part because one cannot find metaphysical laws, and in part because I doubt there is such a thing as necessity, period. Nothing is physically or logically necessary - only possible or impossible. True, once we establish certain constraints - for instance the laws of physics in our universe - then certain things necessarily happen. (Indeed, if you are a determinist, everything necessarily happens.) But there doesn’t seem to be a reason to think that the laws of physics themselves are necessary (multiverse and all that), so… The same goes with logical necessity: once we pick certain axioms or premises, a number of things necessarily follow. But we could have picked different axioms or premises, so that those very same things wouldn’t follow at all. Where, then, does that leave metaphysics? I still think it has a role to play, in the same sense that philosophy in general has a role to play. I have come to see philosophy as a type of critical inquiry that bridges logic (broadly construed) and science (and other sources of empirical knowledge), in the sense that it applies rigorous reasoning to whatever the issue at hand may be (e.g., ethics) while taking into account empirical input. This is nothing new: it is a restatement of Kan’t compromise between rationalism (the idea that one can derive a priori truths about the world) and empiricism (the idea that all truths derive from sense experience). Similarly for metaphysics: I see it as a bridge between the Scylla of logic and the Charybdis of physics: the role of metaphysics is to make reasoned sense of what the natural sciences tell us about the world (in this I’m with people like Ladyman and Ross), as well as to elucidate how that knowledge fits with our understanding of abstract objects, such as mathematical and logical relations. But there are no laws of metaphysics, just like there are no laws of philosophy, so this endeavor is one of critically making sense of things, not of discovering or dictating how things are. At least (again), this is what I think this week... [1] For the purposes of this discussion I will assume standard classical logic. The details would be different, but the general arguments the same, if we were using other kinds of logics. [2] Non-locality does not apply to macroscopic objects of the size of a human being, for reasons that not even quantum physicists are particularly sure of. Friday, February 28, 2014 Massimo's weekend picks! * Why is academic writing so, ahem, academic? Wednesday, February 26, 2014 (Psychological) Gravity’s a Bitch: On Addiction and Phillip Seymour Hoffman by Steve Neumann You are a comet. You were formed by material and processes in the deeps of time, hurled from your home star system out into the wider universe. You’re able to travel for long stretches through vast swathes of space relatively unencumbered; but as you approach certain sufficiently large celestial bodies, you feel the drag of their gravitational pull. Sometimes you get pulled in so close you can never break free from their influence, and are forever caught in their orbit. There’s even a chance you could perish altogether. These bodies are your weak spots — maybe even your blind spots — those areas in your life that cause you a good deal of what we normally consider an excessive amount of anxiety, stress and pain. You may see these bodies looming on the distant horizon, or you may never see them coming, realizing you’re under their control only after you’re already firmly in their grip. Gravity’s a bitch — psychological gravity, that is. And just like the gravity of physics, this type of gravity is pernicious, in that the closer you get to its field of influence, the harder it is to escape. But people can and do escape. Why is it that some people can, while others can’t? This question is as much philosophical as it is psychological, and deals with the always fun topic of freedom of the will. Poor Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It’s tough to see anyone succumb to drug addiction, even anonymous, complete strangers; but I always seem to get an extra pang of loss when that person is some type of exceptional talent, maybe because talent is so rare, and there’s a fear that it might not appear again. But that feeling usually subsides after a few minutes, because I realize again and again that life is a profligate spender. Clearly heroin was Hoffman’s greatest gravitational weakness. The Hoffman-comet got stuck in its orbit and eventually disintegrated, after flaunting its radiance across our skies for years. Almost immediately upon hearing the news that Hoffman died of a drug overdose, people generally fell into two camps on the matter: one, that addiction is a disease and he succumbed to it as if it were cancer; and two, he did it to himself and therefore has only himself to blame. Is one of these conclusions correct, to the exclusion of the other? Or is there a middle ground that lays blame on both — or neither? I don’t now remember where I first found it, but I came across a blog post from someone named Debbie Bayer who has “worked for 9 years as a psychotherapist in facilities treating addiction, mood disorders and eating disorders,” and who has “over 25 years experience working with 12 step communities.” The title of the post is “Phillip Seymour Hoffman did not have choice or free will and neither do you.” Coming from an expert in addiction, that would seem to settle the issue. Except that it doesn’t. It is, however, a clear cut example of the first opinion I mentioned above, and it may also be the prevalent one. In talking about the few sorry souls out of the vast majority of us who haven’t succumbed to addiction, Bayer contends that their brains simply don’t respond in the same way that a hopeless addict’s brain does. This is undoubtedly true — and a tautology. Of course their brains responded differently; otherwise they wouldn’t have yielded to the narcotic temptation in the first place. But the stronger claim about addiction is that an addict is hardwired or genetically predisposed to it, with the implication that they are fated to be addicts, and nothing they do can commute that life sentence. Their comet-trajectory is fixed, and it’s just a matter of time before they fall headlong into a star of destruction, and their feathery ice-flame is forever extinguished. But is this really true? Is it the case that someone born with a predisposition to addiction will inevitably become an addict, and likely die from it? Yes, gravity’s a bitch, but even comets get knocked out of their orbits every now and then. The universe is in motion — stars explode and die, jettisoning vast amounts of material into their environs; other stars are born and grow, greedily accumulating ambient material; other celestial bodies collide and spread debris in all directions. Space is awash in detritus. Likewise, our friends and family die, and we feel the jolting psychic reverberations of these events; other friends and family are born or otherwise enter our lives, providing opportunities to alter our trajectories; and strangers collide, for good or ill, and the results of these collisions can send us careening far and wide. In other words, there are ample opportunities for life to change our direction. But it could be argued that, even though we are constantly buffeted by events, by chance and circumstance, we still have to be cognizant enough to exploit them to our advantage. If I’m fated to be an addict, and to die at the hands of the dragon I’ve been chasing, then it doesn’t matter what life throws at me, right? If my best friend tragically dies from a heroin overdose, what is that to me? If my partner gives birth to a beautifully delicate little girl, what do I care whether or not I’m around to see her grow up and have a family of her own? If a shady dealer holds a knife to my throat or a gun to my head and robs me of all my money, what do I care if I have to steal in order to get my next fix? I’m sure many people cringe at the thought of these scenarios, but nevertheless they continue to believe that the addict has no choice in the matter. But if we take a look at what Bayer considers to be some of the mechanisms involved in the etiology of an addict’s fix, we might find some room for choice. She says that when withdrawal symptoms (e.g., physical distress, anxiety caused by emotional stress, etc.) reach a certain critical mass in the brain, then “the brain automatically cuts off the access to the frontal lobes (in a manner of speaking) and begins to direct the body to rebalance the stress, to find equilibrium.” But what happens before this point of no return is reached? Aren’t there opportunities for the trajectory of the addict’s comet to be redirected? Just because the addict is experiencing those negative emotions doesn’t mean that he must feel them, or at least that he must continue to feel them — why can’t those feelings change before it’s too late, before the addict texts his dealer? There is some research that shows that bad moods and good moods can lead to preferences for different kinds of foods. An example from the research shows that, “if given the choice between grapes or chocolate candies, someone in a good mood may be more inclined to choose the former while someone in a bad mood may be more likely to choose the latter.” Personal experience seems to bear this out. I’m usually stressed out by the end of the week, but instead of making a rejuvenating fruit smoothie packed with vitamins and minerals, I’ll grab my glencairn glass and fill it with a dram of bourbon, preferably Mr. Hayden’s amber restorative. [1] Surely the same forces are in play when it comes to a narcotic like heroin. [2] So the crux of the research is that “individuals in a positive mood, compared to control group participants in a relatively neutral mood, evaluated healthy foods more favorably than indulgent foods,” and that “individuals in positive moods who make healthier food choices are often thinking more about future health benefits than those in negative moods, who focus more on the immediate taste and sensory experience.” As a result, the researchers recommend what they call “mood repair motivation,” or getting the individual to focus their attention on more harmless ways to alter their mood. They suggest talking to friends or listening to music as mood boosters. Engaging with friends, listening to music — these and ten thousand other activities are the forces that present themselves as raw materials for us to exploit to our advantage. But it’s up to each individual to come up with the right recipe that will generate the desired changes to his trajectory. An addict’s choices are just as productive as the unchosen forces that have shaped him hitherto. And even though some of his key choices thus far have been determined by his predisposition to addiction, there still remains available to him the capacity to choose differently the next time. [3] Ah, but that’s the rub, isn’t it? How does the addict go about making choices that will change the orbit of his suicidal comet? In a word, influence. He has to be able to be influenced by people and events. It’s certainly not easy, even for someone “addicted” to chocolate, much less heroin. But it’s possible. Psychological gravity’s a bitch, and it’s not going away; but, just like with the physical world where we can achieve escape velocity of our planet’s gravitational pull, we can achieve escape velocity from the gravitational fields that populate our psychology. It takes conscious effort on the part of the addict and, yes, some luck; but even the smallest effort may have substantial repercussions, strong enough to jostle him onto a different path. In her post about Hoffman, Bayer says that it’s “time for all of us who got through unscathed to stop patting ourselves on the back for our genetic good luck, and it is time to stop judging those who were not born with the same good genes as defective.” I couldn’t agree more. Our American culture needs more of this kind of sensibility, which jibes nicely with the consequences that can be derived from Worldview Naturalism. So I would just add one thing: knowing what we know about the power of genetics and the causal web in which each of us is ensconced, those with better genetic good luck should make an extra effort to share responsibility with those who are struggling with the gravity of their hazardous situations. When we see their comet getting caught in a dangerous gravitational field, we should offer our best help and not fall victim ourselves to the fallacy of fatalism, the idea that no matter what we do the outcome will be the same. We can find strength and maybe even solace in the knowledge that, even though the future is fixed, we don’t know what that future will be, and only in the unfolding of our own choices does the future take shape. So it behooves us to make the best choices we can, for ourselves and others. [1] My nod to Christopher Hitchens. [2] Yes, this “surely” marks a weak spot in my argument — release the Hounds of Dennett! [3] When I say that the addict can “choose differently,” I don’t mean to say that he can choose to do other than he did in the exact same circumstances. That’s why I added the “next time.”
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1778	Friday, 26 August 2011 Guide Numbers and Watt-Seconds Whenever I think about hauling lighting equipment to a location, the question comes up: Should I take a.c. strobes, extension cords and power bars, or will a couple of hot-shoe flashes, umbrellas and stands do it? Hmmmm...I know what I'd prefer. The trouble is, hot-shoe flash output is (usually) expressed in Guide Numbers (GN) while strobes are rated in Watt-seconds. Sadly, there is no easy way to relate the two, so I made a quick setup to measure the output of each. I've always assumed that a 150 Watt-second strobe would blow away a flash in terms of light output, but I was about to be surprised. Now, we should start with definitions. GN is the product of the distance of the flash to the subject and the f stop being used at a particular ISO setting (or film speed). Example: I set my flash meter at a sensitivity of 100 ISO and placed it at 10 feet from the flash. I fired the flash and read the f stop it was recommending. For a flash rated at GN 80 (ft - ISO 100), you would read f/8 on the meter (f/8 x 10 ft). Indeed, my Sigma EF 500 came in close at f/7.6 (hence a GN of 76). Next, I set up the 150 Watt-second strobe at the same location as the flash, set it for full power, and blasted away. Here's the surprise: it read f/7.9 on the light meter, meaning its GN equivalent is 79, which is barely better than the Sigma. Admittedly, there are a couple of variables here. One is that the light meter is older and uncalibrated, and the Sigma's batteries may not have been at peak voltage. The point, however, is that on a relative basis you can determine how your strobe/flash sources compare. This is particularly helpful when the manufacturer of the flash doesn't provide the GN. So GN is a measure of the amount of light available for proper exposure of a subject at a particular combination of distance from the flash and camera aperture setting, on a camera set at a particular ISO sensitivity. On the other hand, Watt-seconds are a measure of the electrical energy expended in the strobe tube (Watts are the rate at which energy is used, so multiplying by time gives energy used over that time period). This measure doesn't take into account the conversion efficiency of the tube from electrical energy to light energy, or the effect of the reflector behind it. Hence, GN and Watt-seconds can't be related mathematically. Bottom line: measure the output of each with a flash meter so you know how they relate. Similarly, if you double the Watt-seconds you can expect the guide number to double, since it should add another stop to the flash meter reading. Then, you write your results down, as I did, so that confusion doesn't ensue.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1781	Ingredients Jump to Instructions ↓ 1. 2 c All purpose flour 2. 1 1/2 Stick of butter, unsalted, cut into 1 inch slices 3. 1 Egg 4. 1 pn Of salt 5. 1/2 Egg shell of water Instructions Jump to Ingredients ↑ 1. Pastry: Process butter and flour until crumbly. 2. Add egg and water, process until a ball forms, remove from processor, wrap in cling film, refrigerate 20 minutes. 3. Cook the tart shell and cool. 4. (He says nothing of how long or what temperature!) Tart: 5 pears, peeled, halved, cored, and poached in a simple syrup (2 c water, 2 c sugar, 1 Tbsp vanilla) 6 oz semisweet chocolate 2 oz butter 1 large jar apricot preserves 2 Tbsp grand Marnier Poach pears in liquid until soft, about 30-40 minutes. 5. Test for doneness with a knife - if there is little resistance, pears are done. 6. Remove from liquid and cool Melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, then pour into tart shell. 7. Halve the pears and make vertical cuts from the bottoms almost up to the stem ends, spread out cut parts like a fan, and arrange in the chocolate. 8. Allow the chocolate to set. 9. Bring the apricot preserves to a boil with the Grand Marnier, then brush very liberally over the pears. 10. Cool and serve. 11. If this is made in advance and refrigerated, take out and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Send feedback
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1782	Ingredients Jump to Instructions ↓ 1. 4 Mission® Soft Taco Size Flour Tortillas 2. 2 Bananas, thinly sliced 3. 1/4 cup Raisins 4. 2 tablespoons Honey 5. 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon 6. 1/2 cup Peanut butter 7. 1/4 cup Chopped Peanuts or other Nuts Instructions Jump to Ingredients ↑ 1. Combine fruit, honey and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread each tortilla with 1 tablespoon peanut butter, leaving a 1-inch border. Spoon fruit filling down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Fold in 2 sides of tortilla to meet in center, then roll up, bottom to top. Place seam-side down. Halve each tortilla on a sharp diagonal. Send feedback
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1783	Ingredients Jump to Instructions ↓ 1. 1 lb. ground beef 2. 1 onion, chopped 3. 2 cloves garlic, minced 4. 15 oz. container marinara sauce 5. 8 oz. pkg. sliced fresh mushrooms 6. 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with seasonings, undrained 7. 15 oz. can tomato sauce 8. 1/8 tsp. pepper 9. 9 oz. pkg. refrigerated cheese tortellini 10. 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese 11. 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Instructions Jump to Ingredients ↑ 1. Brown ground beef together with onions in nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until beef is browned. Drain thoroughly. Mix all ingredients except tortellini and cheese in 4-5 quart crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Add tortellini, stir to combine, then sprinkle with cheese. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 15-20 minutes or until tortellini is tender and cheese is melted. Beefy Crockpot Tortellini serves 4 Send feedback
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1790	Yes, It is Harder to Monetize Open Source. So? Share via Twitter Share via Facebook Share via Linkedin Share via Reddit Crash Collapse Four years ago this month, Red Hat became the first pure play commercial open source vendor to cross the billion dollar revenue mark – beating my back of the envelope forecast in the process. This was rightfully greeted with much fanfare at the time, given that if you go back far enough, a great many people in the industry thought that open source could never be commercialized. Enthusiasm amongst open source advocates was necessarily tempered, however, by the realization that Red Hat was, in the financial sense, an outlier. There were no more Red Hat’s looming, no other pure play commercial open source vendors poised to follow the open source pioneer across the billion dollar finish line. Four years later, there still aren’t. Looking around the industry, Red Hat remains the sole example of a pure play open source organization matching the revenue generated by even modest-sized proprietary alternatives, and as was the case four years ago, there are no obvious candidates to replicate Red Hat’s particular success. Which has, understandably, led to assertions that – in the non-literal sense – open source can’t make money and is difficult to build a business around. Assertions for which there are exceptions like Red Hat, but that are generally defensible based on the available facts. What these discussions typically omit, however, is that – as we’re reminded by by Adrian Cockcroft – it’s also getting harder to make money from proprietary software. As has been covered in this space for years (for example), and in book form in The Software Paradox, sales of software generally have been on a downward trajectory over the past decade or more. Notably, this is true across software categories, consumer to enterprise. From large software providers such as IBM, Microsoft or Oracle seeing systemic declines in software margins, revenue or both to consumer companies like Apple taking the price of their operating system from just under $200 to zero, the simple fact is that it’s getting more difficult to monetize software as a standalone asset. It’s far from impossible, obviously: Microsoft’s revenue stream from software as but one example is measured in billions in units of ten. But when you look across industries, at company after company, the overall trendline is clear: it’s harder to make money from software than it used to be – regardless of whether the model employed is volume or margin, open or closed. Smart companies realize this, and are already hedging themselves against these declines with alternative revenue models. There is a reason why we’re having a lot more Software Paradox-related conversations with our clients today than we would have even a few years ago: the writing is on the wall. So yes, we are no more likely to see another Red Hat today than we were four years ago. But that says a lot less about the merits of open source as a model than it does about commercial valuations of software in general. One comment 1. […] Yes, It Is Harder to Monetize Open Source. So? […] Leave a Reply
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global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1806	Friday, January 25, 2013 I Am Not But I Know I AM If ever there was going to be a perfect blend of blog and book review, today is that day, my friends. It would be like getting just the right amount of fudge on your ice cream, not so much that you're licking fudge off your spoon long after the ice cream is gone. But not so little that you're left eating plain vanilla ice cream at the end of the bowl. That would just be sad. Louie Giglio, author of I am not but I know I AM can come pray at my inauguration anytime he would like. I have only heard Louie preach before, but I was pretty stoked to grab a copy of his latest book. In this one book, Giglio does a great job of explaining why it's all about God and how that makes it not about us at us all. Along the way, he also explains why it's okay for us to be uncomfortable with this truth. If this fact makes you feel a tad bit uncomfortable, you're not alone. Invariably, when I talk about the vastness of God and the cosmos, someone will say, "You're making me feel bad about myself and making me feel really, really small," as if that's the worst thing that could happen. But the point is not to make you feel small, rather to help you see and embrace the reality that you are small. Really, really small. But that's not where the story ends. ~Louie Giglio, pg44 Indeed, that is not where the story ends. Louie weaves many a story into the vast truth of God. Honestly, this should be required reading for any believer. It was not required reading for me. I received this book for free from my good friends at Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing. They give me books and ask me to tell people what I think. You can check out some more by following these links; If you've never taken the time to consider just how big God is, let this book be your tour through the cosmos. Because in discovering how big God really is, we'll also discover just how small we are. But this is not to our shame. We are what God created us to be. The knowledge of how small we are, coupled with the fact God created us, should leave us focused, not on our smallness, but on the glory of God. After all, I am not, but I know I AM. No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1807	Wednesday, April 16, 2014 Why You Shouldn't Pray For People to be Saved Suppose I had a pitcher of water and lots of empty cups. Suppose I had access to lots of water to refill the pitcher. Suppose I had made it abundantly clear that I was willing to give water to anyone who had asked. Now let's suppose you knew some thirsty people. (We're doing a lot of supposing.) Who are you going to talk to in order to connect the thirsty people with me? Are you going to talk to me? Why? I've already told you I am more than willing to give people a drink. Shouldn't you be talking to the thirsty people? Shouldn't you be telling them about this guy with lots of water to drink? I wonder if we spend too much time praying about people coming to salvation. Perhaps we talk too much to God about these people, instead of talking to these people about God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't be praying people into salvation. What I am saying is that God has made it abundantly clear that He is wanting everyone to experience His salvation. While we can pray to God for the right words to say and for courage to say them, we should be spending more time talking to people. Romans 10:14 tells us this quite plainly. How can people call on a God they have not heard of? So let's do the math. God has heard of people, each and every one of them. So, ask Him for courage and wisdom. But don't ask God to do what He has already promised to do. Not everyone has heard of God. Let's change that. No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1875	Mosques of Xining: Constructing Chinese Muslim Identity Originally built in 1380, Dongguan 東關Great Mosque mixes historic Chinese features with a new Arab-style entrance hall built in the 1990s. Whether they are centuries old or newly constructed, China’s mosques and Muslim tombs, gongbei 拱北, are often-overlooked architectural treasures that display a fascinating combination of traditional Chinese, Central Asian, and Arab styles. With sloping, tiled roofs, upturned eaves, and columns topped with interlocking brackets, many mosques are almost indistinguishable from Buddhist or Daoist temples. Others have onion-shaped domes and soaring minarets that look like they could have been airlifted out of Central Asia or the Middle East. Still others resemble Byzantine Christian churches or the fanciful castles of Disney’s magic kingdom. During my time in Xining 西, the capital of Qinghai Province青海省, I photographed thirty-eight different mosques within the city limits and countless more in my travels around the region. The various types of domes and minarets dotting the skyline not only add a diverse architectural flavor to the city, they also convey the long history and complex identity of Chinese Muslims. Fu Qiang Xiang 副強巷 Mosque features the green-and-orange style, pointed minarets flanking the prayer hall entrance, and domed minarets at the prayer hall's back corners and entrance to the mosque complex. Several distinctive architectural styles are evident within Xining alone, and then variety begins to increase outside the city, differences in regional types become more evident when one leaves Qinghai Province, and the mosques and tombs of Xinjiang 新疆 Uyghur Autonomous Region are too different to consider in this article. Only a few Xining mosques retain all of the original Chinese temple-style architecture that was once typical of Chinese mosques outside Xinjiiang. Many of these survived Maoist crusades against religion because they served as schools, factories, or meeting halls until religious practice became legal after 1978. In the early 1980s, Xining’s Muslims began building new mosques and resurrecting old ones, and this new construction began integrating features more typical of mosques in other countries. Dong Guan's old and new minarets Regardless of architectural style, minarets topped with crescent moons clearly identify mosque buildings. One minaret often towers over the entrance gate, or two may rise from either side. In addition, minarets usually emerge from either side of the prayer hall’s main entrance, or one minaret might mark each of the prayer hall’s four corners. Minarets usually consist of two, three, or four stories with one or two ambulatories from which a muezzin once would recite the call to prayer. Today’s minarets are mounted with loudspeakers that broadcast the voice of a student reciting the call inside one of the mosque buildings. Chinese-style minarets generally consist of several stacked pavilions supported by columns without walls and topped with a sloping Chinese-style roof. More recently built minarets often feature a semicircular or onion-shaped dome, which is often a miniature version of the large dome atop the prayer hall, reminiscent of mosques commonly found in south and central Asia. The newest minarets usually taper toward the top and feature a conical point, resembling the towers found in the mosques of Mecca and Medina. Feng Huang Shan 鳳凰山 Gongbei is a Muslim tomb originally built in the 1300s for a Sufi teacher from Yemen. It was rebuilt in the 1980s and is currently being renovated. Muslim tombs built to house Sufi masters resemble Chinese-style minarets, as the mausoleum towers feature upturned eaves and octagonal or hexagonal plans, but their Chinese-style roofs are rounded off into a steep dome. Solid walls make these towers more like pagodas than pavilion-style minarets, and they lack staircases, doors, or windows because they are made to house the dead, not offer views to the living. These gongbei and other structures built by Sufi brotherhoods generally adhere to traditional Chinese Islamic architecture, but the other sects of Xining prefer building styles more common to the Muslim world. Built in 1896, Shuichengmen 水城門 Mosque, Xining’s finest example of Chinese-style Islamic architecture, served as a wire factory between 1958 and 1980. Most Chinese mosques feature several buildings centered on a central courtyard in a style not unlike Chinese temples and common to mosques all over the world. Unlike temples, most mosques do not include a screen wall immediately behind the entrance gate, and instead of the many, interlocking courtyards common in large temples, they generally contain just one large courtyard where congregants gather and sometimes perform prayers when the prayer hall is full. To either side of this largest structure, several smaller buildings house classrooms, dormitories, the imam’s office, and his living quarters. The prayer hall usually sits opposite the entrance gate, often positioned at an angle in relation to ancillary buildings and city streets, so it is oriented to face Mecca. Nanguan 南關Mosque is home to Xining’s most prestigious young imam who helped raise funds to replace a 1934 Chinese-style mosque with a new Arabic-style one. Inscriptions in Arabic and sometimes Chinese calligraphy often decorate mosques inside and out, and the more ornate buildings include geometric patterns, scrollwork, vases, lotuses, peonies and other familiar Chinese motifs. But human and animal figures are absent due to a Quranic ban on depicting figures with eyes. In Xining, Chiang Kai-shek’s 蒋介石 calligraphy adorns the entrance to the oldest and largest mosque, and in Xi’an’s 西安oldest mosque, a Chinese translation of the entire Quran is carved into the prayer hall’s interior wooden walls. But some other mosque interiors are somber and bare, featuring only a digital clock displaying the time for each prayer and a simple niche in one wall to indicate the direction of Mecca. Lian He Cun 聯合邨 Mosque was built in the 1980s with Chinese-style minaret and miniature dome. One could argue that more conventional Islamic architecture is gradually replacing Chinese-style mosques. There were some newly built Chinese-style mosques in rural areas, but all four of the mosques under construction in 2013 Xining were virtually indistinguishable from mosques of the Islamic world. Three of these had replaced older Chinese-style mosques. Just under half of the mosques in Xining still had prayer halls built in the Chinese style, but many of them more recently added minarets or other architectural features more typical of Islamic nations. Others still retain Chinese-style minarets, but feature oddly shaped domes constructed atop preexisting buildings. The largest and oldest mosque in town, Dongguan Great Mosque, is a prime example of this fusion as a new entrance hall was built in the 1990s to resemble Mecca's Masjid al-Hasam with a colonnaded front façade and large dome, but the old Chinese-style minarets and wooden prayer hall remain inside. Yi Ke Yin 一顆印 Mosque features a white tile building topped with an unusually wide, gray dome. Before Chinese Muslims began reproducing the mosques of the Islamic world, they experimented with creative combinations of traditional and modern Chinese and Islamic architecture. Mosques built in the ‘80s and ‘90s often feature the vertically aligned white tile façades and blue-tinted windows that began replacing drab Soviet-style architecture in all Chinese buildings during the early days of economic liberalization. This white color represents purity in both mosques and the white hats Muslim men, but most recently built mosques have replaced the no-longer-fashionable white tiles with somber gray or white plaster or stone. Dingzi Lu 丁字路Mosque exhibits the typical white tile, blue windows, and green dome popular among mosques built in the 1990s. The domes of most mosques are green as it was Muhammad’s favorite color, but three mosques in Xining combine the conventional green and white palate with orange architectural features and geometric patterns to produce a colorful and ornate style that seems to be unique to the region around Xining. A decorative orange-tile cornice stretches across the front façade of these mosques, possibly a local interpretation of muqarnas, a type of decorative molding often found in Iranian mosques that may represent the stalactites of the cave in which the Quran was first revealed. Sadly, one of the best examples of this type will soon be demolished and replaced with a standard Arab-style mosque. Built in 1996, Xin Cun 新邨 Mosque, the best example of the ornate orange-and-green style, is slated to be destroyed to make way for the Xining-Xinjiang high-speed rail line. These mosques, built with congregants’ donations, are not only monuments to the increasing religiosity and economic resources among Chinese Muslims, they also represent changing perceptions of modernity and identity. Tracking the evolution of mosque architecture over time reveals a constant negotiation among the historical legacies of Chinese ethnicity, aspirations to a universal religious identity, and creative local interpretations. Shui Cheng Men, Dong Guan, and a few other mosques feature festive lights at night. Popular Posts
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1880	/action posts to his weblog. Haven't posted in a while. Because I'm lazy. Many things going on - firstly, big huzzah for Google, as I've moved up to the first result in a search for my name. I've been here before, so I guess I shouldn't break out the champagne too soon. Other big news, Delta Tao (or more accurately, DT president Joe) has re-opened canceled accounts in Clan Lord. It's good to be back in Puddleby, and they've made a lot of progress in the years since I quite - though it's somewhat depressing that so many of the old problems persist. One problem with this 'throwing the doors open' approach to re-invigorating the player base, of course, is that Skirwan is three years behind everyone else, which makes for depressing hunting. I'm undecided as to whether I'll stick around after the free time ends - but I'd probably re-up in a second if a thousand ranks fell out of the sky. Other news: Ward Churchill isn't an Indian any more, but he is still an idiot. Democrats think Karl Rove is the boogeyman, which would be funnier if I hadn't just heard this tinfoilhattery coming out of my own Grandfather's mouth a week ago. The YWCA is like the YMCA's crazy cousin that the YMCA has to keep locked up in the basement. My gold-colored iPod Mini is now discontinued, and should thus be worth millions of dollars very soon. There's now a standardized disclosure form for bloggers. Aquaman has already completed his. And apparently, everyone at Nintendo is totally blind.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1912	Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Ray Price Ray Price signed this for me in the late 90s after a show at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, Virginia. His voice has held up nicely over the years and he put on an outstanding show. Another Bridge to Burn is not my favorite album cover (or song), but it's nicer looking than many of Ray's other albums and there's plenty of light-colored space for an autograph. I think the best cover for signing is his first LP Ray Price Sings Heart Songs. 1. While I think that this cover is -technically- a good one for a signature, I would have perhaps even opted instead for the first greatest hits cover (with nudie suit, but not one that was electronically rechanneled for stereo, an cover-uglifying sales ploy that that probably deserves its own posting elsewhere). I would have even instead opted for the "night life" cover with a silver or some other colored sharpie to create contrast. this cover, while -technically- superior for placing a signature, just does not honor ray price to me. should we begin with the rather uncomfortable looking facial expression or the hideous fonts? 2. The Ray Price Sings Heart Songs LP is a very similar picture to the one on the Greatest Hits LP. I think the former is a better cover since it's his first LP and it isn't a repackaging of songs. That said, I agree that the Greatest Hits cover is better than this one. On the positive side: at least he's wearing a cowboy suit and not a sweater or a turtleneck or a tuxedo, which he wears on most of his LPs. Another decent cover is one called The Same Old Me, which was exclusively a record club offering.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1915	Serial Wars logo serial wars Serial Wars is a line of custom figures that continues my experiment of isolating the inspiration elements of Star Wars and emphasizing them individually. The line is intended to be look like the old retro sci-fi serials of the 40’s like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. A humble robot who is caught up transporting messages to the various alien worlds who plot an uprising agains an evil tyrant named Dark Vanquisher. The rambunkous sidekick of Cecil who helps in delivering the rebelious communiques The countless legions of minions of the Dark Vanqiusher who rocket around the galaxy imposing his evil reign. Dark Vanquisher An evil imperial overlord whose dominion includes countless alien worlds who are subjectated to his will. Princess Lura The leader of an uprising of all the alien worlds under the control of the Dark Vanquisher. Lash Starwarrior Our brave protagonist who is transported from Earth to an alien world and tries to become a hero. Sir Orion Kindros An aged warrior who was once a member of the Galactic Space Rangers before Dark Vanquisher disbanded them. Ch’aw Bok’lar The leader of noble yet savage appearing alien planet who align with Princess Lura. Capt. Hawk Solar The leader of the Space Pirates Alliance who ally with Princess Lura to rid themselves of Vanquishers interverance. Buzz Fury The right hand of Dark Vanquisher who leads the Starsoldiers and hunts down the leaders of the uprising
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1916	An intriguing semi-realistic, semi-literate wolf pack roleplay. HomeHomeFAQSearchMemberlistRegisterLog in Share \| How do I roleplay? - Guide to the IRC Go down Posts : 8 Join date : 2015-03-26 Location : Somewhere Character Profile Wolf Name:: Taroou Wolf Age:: 3 years Wolf Gender:: Female PostSubject: How do I roleplay? - Guide to the IRC Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:46 am If you are going to roleplay, you'll need to connect to our IRC channels. This can be a little tricky, especially with the multiple servers you can connect to out there, but this mini-tutorial will explain everything you need to know- well, I'll try, anyway. First, you'll need to connect to a server. To do this, we recommend using Kiwiirc (https://kiwiirc.com/client), so that's what we're going to use right now. 1. Choose a nickname - to make it easier for us, use your site name/wolf name. If you have a password, enter it. Step 1: 2. Type in which channels you'd like to join. In our case, we want this in our box - "#siluestres-ic, #siluestres-ooc" without the quotations. Step 2: 3. See that link (Server and network) under the Start button? Click on it. Now type in "irc.foonetic.net" in the first box. leave Port and SSL as they are. Step 3: 4. Click Start and, if all went well, it should work! You can switch between channels by clicking their names at the top. The bar at the bottom of the screen is where you type what you want to say. (warning, large image) Step 4: Psst... If you type in '/me', it will replace '/me' with your username. And that's how you connect to our channels. Happy Howling! Back to top Go down How do I roleplay? - Guide to the IRC Back to top Page 1 of 1 Similar topics » Role Play Guide » Training guide » A vampire Chronicles Roleplay!? Help! Help! » (New gold Roleplay!) Snatch-A-Thief » Uglies Roleplay Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum Siluestres :: Help and FAQ :: Guides- Jump to:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1948	A Shed of Something, A Palace of Nothing Installed at Embodied Computation Lab Posted By: On March 5-6, 2018, a pavilion designed by Sandy Attia and Matteo Scagnol of MoDus Architects was installed at our Embodied Computation Lab (ECL). Attia and Scagnol, who were visiting faculty members during the Spring 2017 semester, also led a workshop in conjunction with Assistant Professor V. Mitch McEwen's course ARC 200 (Experimenting in Dark Times) that gave an overview of how the design was conceived. See photos from the installation and workshop on our Flickr page.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1965	Saturday, April 5, 2014 Never trust a poet who can drive "Nothing ever happens to novelists. Except - this. They are born. They get sick, they get well, they hang around the inkwell. They leave home, with their stuff in a hired van. They learn to drive, unlike poets (poets don't drive. Never trust a poet who can drive. Never trust a poet at the wheel. If he can drive, distrust the poems). They get married at registry offices. They have children in hospitals - the ordinary miracle. Their parents die - the ordinary disaster. They get divorced or they don't. Their children leave home, learn to drive, get married, have children. They grow old. So nothing ever happens to them, except the universal." - Martin Amis, The Information, p.132 All - in genreal - so true (of the many poets I have known very very few of them drive), and curiously, as with many good novelists, this riff seems to border on poetry.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1967	Make your own free website on chocolate brownies Mmmmmmm, Chocolate Yes, Rats can have chocolate!!! What is Chocolate? Chocolate is poisonous to dogs and cats , but seen far less often in cats, presumably due to a cat's finicky eating habits. I've also read that chocolate is harmful to pet birds, horses, pigs and poultry. All, because of the chemical Theobromine that is naturally found in chocolate. But, Theobromine appears to have no adverse affects on rats, and rats LOVE chocolate. The reason that we caution to give rats chocolate in moderation is because chocolate, like other sweet treats, is full of empty calories. It's a dessert, not a main course. Chocolate Nutrition Facts Chocolate can be Beneficial to Rats It is a rare rat, indeed, that doesn't have a sweet tooth for chocolate. If your rat likes chocolate and you suspect that your rat might be ill, or "off", offer it a chocolate chip. If it refuses the treat, your rat could be sick and a vet check is in order. If your rat never did like chocolate try a yogurt chip for the same purpose. Aminophylline is derived from Theophylline and both of these drugs are synthetic bronchodilators, that is, their purpose is to open up constricted airways to the lungs to help ease breathing in asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Both of these drugs are prescribed to our rats for the above mentioned ailments, but they are not without their adverse side affects. Theophylline is naturally found in chocolate. Along with chocolate's Theobromine and Caffeine content, a few semi-sweet chocolate chips could help your rat's breathing during respiratory distress. It would stand to reason then, with Theobromine's affects on the heart muscle and nervous system, and caffeine acting as a stimulant, that one should take caution in giving rats chocolate when the rats are on a Veterinarian's prescription for Aminophylline or Theophylline. Not all chocolate is the same. If the package says "chocolate flavored", as did the bag of Safeway brand chocolate chips that I bought for the rats, it's not real chocolate. They tasted so artificial and waxy that I won't even eat them. Don't buy Baker's chocolate either. It has the highest content of cocoa and the lowest content of cocoa butter and sugar, and it's incredibly bitter. Semi-sweet chocolate has the highest content of Theobromine while still being palatable. I love semi-sweet chocolate myself so my rats have learned to share. What Kinds of Chocolate are There? Depending on what is added to (or removed from) the chocolate liquor, different flavors and varieties of chocolate are produced. * Unsweetened or Baking chocolate is simply cooled, hardened chocolate liquor. It is used primarily as an ingredient in recipes, or as a garnish. Too bitter, tastes yucky. * Semi-sweet chocolate is used primarily in recipes. It has extra cocoa butter and sugar added. Best kind in my opinion. * Sweet cooking chocolate is basically the same, with more sugar for taste. Still good as a treat. * Milk chocolate is chocolate liquor with extra cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla added. This is the most popular form for chocolate. It is primarily an eating chocolate. Remember, contains lactose from the milk. Are your rats lactose tolerant? * Cocoa is chocolate liquor with much of the cocoa butter removed, creating a fine powder. It can pick up moisture and odors from other products, so you should keep cocoa in a cool, dry place, tightly covered. Cocoa also is bitter unless you add sugar and water, or honey to it to make it palatable. Good for hiding medicines. * Couverture is a special kind of chocolate. Couverture chocolate has more cocoa butter than normal chocolate, anywhere from 34% to 39% for a really good brand. This type of high quality chocolate is used as a coating for things like chocolate truffles. Go ahead, spoil your rats rotten. And don't forget the chocolate syrup, the chocolate sauce, the chocolate Boost/Ensure, and the chocolate milk. All are good for mixing and hiding most medicines. So What About the "Others"? * White Chocolate is not chocolate. In order to be legally called "chocolate" a product must contain cocoa solids. White chocolate does not contain cocoa solids, that's why it's a smooth, off-white color. Real white chocolate is primarily cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla. There are some products on the market that call themselves white chocolate, but are made with vegetable oils instead of cocoa butter. Because white chocolate does not contain any cocoa solids it has no benefits that semi-sweet chocolate does for respiratory distress. Makes a nice rat treat though. * Confectioner's chocolate isn't really chocolate at all, but a chocolate flavored candy used by those who are impatient. It was created to melt easily and harden quickly so it's great for chocolate covered fruit, and quick candies, but it doesn't taste all that great. Around Christmas time grocery stores and bulk stores start to carry Confectioner's chocolate for those who like to make their own Christmas Candy. They come in round wafers and have different colors and flavors. Nutrition-wise I would rather give my rats real chocolate rather then this stuff. * Carob is the fruit of an evergreen tree that grows up to 15 meters. The fruit is a pod 15 to 30 centimeters long and is classified as a legume. It looks like a lima bean pod. Both pods and seeds are used. Carob is grown around the world in warmer climates and is considered a highly nutritious food. Carob contains Vitamin A, B Vitamins, several important minerals, and it's abundant in protein. Carob has one third the calories of chocolate and is virtually fat-free. Carob is used as a chocolate and coffee substitute because it has none of the side affects of the two. Even though Carob tastes something like chocolate it needs an aquired taste. Carob pods have been used to treat diarrhea for centuries. Carob should be taken with plenty of water. Too much Carob will produce the opposite effect and cause constipation. A good treat, BUT IT'S NOT CHOCOLATE, and has none of the benefits that chocolate has for rats. * Yogurt Chips are supposedly made with the same ingredients as real yogurt, and have the same benefits as yogurt. I question that, but the rats lOVE them. Again, they are not chocolate and do not have the benefits of chocolate. Yogurt chips, also known as yogurt drops and yogies, can be purchased quite expensively from the small animal supplies isles in pet shops, but I purchase mine as small chips in bulk form at grocery and health food stores. Much cheaper that way, and the chips are just paw-size for a rat. * Other chips can be found in mint, peanut butter, raspberry, and butterscotch flavors. Great treats....BUT THEY'RE NOT CHOCOLATE. Chocolate For Sick Rats Chocolate has a high fat content. Chocolate has a simple sugar for quick energy. Chocolate has flavonoids which have antioxidant activity to help fight free radicals. Chocolate contains a compound known as Phenyethylamine which acts as a mood elevator and anti-depressant. Eating Chocolate makes the brain produce pain-killing opiates, according to a study by a University of Michigan researcher. All good reasons to indulge our rats in a little chocolate when they are not feeling well. After all is said and done, you're probably wondering how much chocolate I give to my rats? Once every 3 weeks, my rats get 1 semi-sweet chocolate chip each. Those that have respiratory illness get chocolate more often. Yogurt chips are a more likely treat for every day training. More Reading on Chocolate for Rats Chocolate and Rats Like Chocolate for Ratties Like Chocolate for Ratties II Chocolate Toxicity? Chocolate, An Effective Means of Oral Drug Delivery in Rats Ability of a Cocoa Product to Correct Chronic Magnesium Deficiency in Rats Cocoa-drinking rats' teeth were significantly healthier than those of their straight-sugar counterparts Taratoo - Sage's Niece 5 times removed This site is being created by Sandra Beasley Copyright © 2002-2004 All Rights Reserved
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1970	• The Power of a Godly Woman • Truth for Tea • A Year of Bible Verses • Our House Tuesday, December 29, 2015 The Great Exchange Roots are for taking in --What happens when you and I do slip away to be with God in study and prayer? We receive. We take in. We are nurtured and fed. We insure our spiritual health and growth. When we spend time with Christ, He supplies us with strength and encourages us in the pursuit of His way. I call this time with God, "the great exchange." Away from the world and hidden from public view, I exchange my weariness for His strength, my weakness for his power, my darkness for His light, my problems for His solutions, my burdens for His freedom, my frustrations for His peace, my turmoil for His calm, my hopes for His promises, my afflictions for His balm of comfort, my questions for His answers, my confusion for His knowledge, my doubt for His assurance, my nothingness for His awesomeness, the temporal for the eternal, and the impossible for the possible. A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George Friday, January 30, 2015 A Woman and Her God O God, you are my God, earnestly I see you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63a I pray that as you read those words, you saw not only with your eyes, but also with your heart. This description is the sacred romance that each one of us is meant to encounter with God. It describes the purpose of our existence. Consider again the first few words: "O God, you are my God." Is that something that you can say? Have you encountered Him in such a way that He has become your refuge and strength? "O God of all the universe, who called the worlds into being, You are mine." This is a Psalm about intimacy and the relationship that we were born to enjoy with God. It is a Psalm of prayer and devotion, prompted by the heart. Many people are motivated by discipline. Discipline is getting up and having a time of prayer and devotion with God when we are weary from exhaustion. On a daily basis, however, our heart should yearn to be with Him, as well as our soul. Our longing and thirsting comes as a gift from the Holy Spirit, and we desire it more than life. The heart of this Psalm says, "Give me a thirst and a hunger for You, God. Not just a discipline. Give me an ache and a longing to know You, to be with You, to abide in You always." A Woman and Her God by Beth Moore Get your copy today!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1973	Tuesday, November 21, 2006 Monday recap I thought "Heroes" was pretty decent, although I saw all of the plot revelations coming a mile away (and I missed last week's episode). After all the build up, Sylar went down like he had a glass chin when he came up against HRG's crew. Hopefully, they have a plan to ratchet things up before the Christmas break -- I was expecting something a little more epic out of this ep. Does anyone else have a take on what Sylar's powers really are? "Studio 60" was less terrible than usual, although I couldn't bring myself to care about any of it. As much as I mock the Sorkin wish-fulfillment episodes, at least I sense that there's something human behind those. This one just seemed like a line-reading seminar. Dull. At 2:44 PM, November 21, 2006, Blogger Eli the Mad Man said... "Underwhelmed" is the general consensus from my friends who watch, including 300+ in my City of Heroes supergroup (it's a massive multiplayer online game kinda like World of Warcraft, but with superheroes instead of orcs). Not bad per say, just not worthy of the week long build up. Kind of a let down. As for Sylar's powers... we know he has several. He appears to physically need the brains from other heroes in order to absorb their powers. Not like Peter, who only has those powers for a short time and when in close proximity to someone, but permanently. What he does with the brains (eats them?), who knows... but he needs them. Post a Comment << Home
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1979	Who are you? stacey_webadmin \| September 9, 2017 \| Uncategorized Who are you? What does it mean to be you? In this moment? In this lifetime? In the various roles we play? From your soul? How do we even begin to answer this question? For years, I was the opposite of authentic. I smiled when I wanted to cry. I laughed on cue in social situations that made me cringe on the inside. I let anger seep into the muscles of my body instead of feeling into it. I got lost in playing in the world of social acceptance. So much so that I compromised my integrity– hid my vulnerability and for sure tried to cover transparency with social graces. The more I did so, the larger my physical being grew. Somewhere under there, I believed I needed a physical barrier to protect me from a dangerous world. A world I believed would reject me. A world that would not understand who I really am. I pretended my way through social engagements and friendships (the kind where you never really reveal anything), and all sorts of other random social encounters – the list was endless. And this disconnection cost me. My marriage unraveled, my finances shattered, my health deteriorated, my sense of self felt like a whisper of a shadow in a dark hallway covered in spidery webs. As crazy as this sounds, this was all perfect for me. My life crashing around me challenged me to wake up and ask those questions. My personal tipping point was knowing that this charade was more painful and more scary to be stuck in than the uncertainty of letting myself be me. I realized that authenticity (as scary as my social self believed it to be) was freedom. My life today asks of the same. Why am I doing “this”? Does this truly align with who I am and how I want to show up on the planet? I want to know — what questions do you ask yourself? How do you know if you are cultivating your authenticity or undermining it? Ask yourself. In a journal. On a walk. With a trusted friend. You are brave enough to hear the answers. And even braver to follow your own wisdom as it nudges you out over the edge. We are here in this moment – to shine our magnificent, brilliant selves. As George Eliot says “it’s never too late to be who we might have been”. I’m here standing with you— show us your you– in all its vulnerable beauty. The world is ready. With love,
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/1991	//The Medical Information Bureau The Medical Information Bureau The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is a national clearinghouse that keeps track of everyone’s health insurance claims. They state that they use this information to prevent insurance fraud. Every time you file a health insurance claim, it goes into this database. This information can affect your chances of getting life, health, or disability insurance in the future. Many of my clients/patients prefer to not file with their insurance for this reason. I always recommend you request a copy of the information they have on you, because some have found their information to be incorrect. The scary thing is that all you have to do to request your information is state that you are actually you. That’s it. I had a letter to the editor published in Money magazine about this database. I’ll add it to the blog later tonight. Interestingly, MIB was able to keep a pretty low profile until fans of the movie “Men in Black” accidentally went to their website. By \| 2016-11-20T07:53:50+00:00 February 13th, 2008\|Categories: News\|Comments Off on The Medical Information Bureau About the Author:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2002	Posted on The Price of Apathy – Part 1 Our Apathy Leads to a Beltway Circus We are seeing a repeat of all the same types of policies from the previous eight years playing out before our eyes. Some intentions are diametrically opposed to those of the previous administration. But the results will be the same or worse. Apathy is to blame here. This circus and others I’ll talk about later will continue to play out at our expense because the “swamp” knows you won’t do a thing about it. The apathy of thinking people, while understandable, is why our government continues to circle the toilet bowl. We are mid-flush. And they will take the country down with them. How Not to Fight for Our Interests I listen to people like Chuck Schumer and Adams Schiff decrying the coziness between the Trump campaign and the Russians. While there is some real “there” there, these two and many others have been gleefully fanning this Russian hysteria. Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign was twice as cozy with Vladimir Putin than Trump ever was. The bottom line is this, Chuck Schumer and all the people staging the phony investigation about the Russians don’t give a shit about foreign influence and the White House. They never have. Where were these two when B.H. Obama fought tooth and nail against his own Congress in pursuit of Iranian interests over US interests? That fight got downright nasty at times. Obama wouldn’t think twice about throwing an American under a bus in order to see that the Iranians got nukes AND got sanctions lifted. I spoke of this in my book and in this post written in 2015. So why are the Dems crying now about Trump wanting to lift Russian sanctions (or at least Trump not actually fighting to keep them in place)? I will stipulate that rewarding either Iranian or Russian bad behavior is not good for the United States. It is far worse for our allies. But favoring such bad actors over American interests has become business as usual inside the Beltway. So Schumer knows he is full of it every time he opens his whiny mouth on this. And What the Hell are the Cultists Celebrating? For months, while Hillary Clinton’s crimes were oozing out, courtesy of Wikileaks, Trump and his mindless band of “ingnoratti” actually praised the source! This is a rogue organization that has never, EVER worked in the interests of the United States. But your typical, blind Trump-ette has no way of knowing that. No one ever discussed it in the Facebook echo chamber. What had become clear to Julian Assange anyway, was by destroying Clinton he just might open the door for Trump, and that would be the worst thing he could do to this country. If it hadn’t, he’d have done something else. But Julian Assange is no goddamn hero. It must have been a near-run thing for poor Julian to come by such a conclusion. Both were locked in a race for the bottom. But which was the slimiest? I would have to say Clinton. She was the actual criminal. Putin’s buddies paid BJ BIll $500,000 for his lame speeches. And the phony “Foundation” made a killing selling strategic material to the Russians. Trump has just shown himself to be a big, impetuous kid with an extremely delicate ego. Well, it’s still not possible to tell for sure. Obama wanted to help the Iranians at our expense and at the expense of our allies. Trump now seems enamored with Putin, and already had to can three people for being up to their eyeballs in Russian (and other foreign) influence. Rex Tillerson WILL be next. And Still the Child Tweets! And how does Trump handle this situation? He tweets. From the first ill-conceived, early-morning tweet about being “bugged’ at Trump Tower to this morning’s I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I-rant (3-20-16), the President has put himself further behind the eight ball than any thinking President would be at this point. The Twitter-twat-in-Chief is either utterly ignorant of sound foreign policy or he truly does believes Russia belongs in Crimea. Either way, because of his gross immaturity, this administration will be mired in an unseemly mess for some time to come, and deservedly so. While is it 100% true that the Dems and their media lackeys created the myth of the Russians successfully “hacking” or “rigging” the election (they always try), that is not what has placed the Administration in the eye of the storm. It should have been held to ridicule at the very beginning and then treated as a non-issue. But Trump, because his ego insists he poke the lion with a stick, had to make the situation worse for himself. And thanks to the weak links like Ryan and McConnell (not a gonad between them), the Republicans played right into their opponents’ snare. Tell me again how brilliant Donald Trump is. This update: It was announced on 21 March the Rex Tillerson would not be attending the upcoming NATO Ministerial Meeting. He will be in Mar-a-Lago. AND THEN he will visit Moscow the following month. You just couldn’t make this stuff up. An administration that wants favors from NATO, has a NATO image problem, trying to tamp down the Russian influence charges…and this is the plan? Tell me for a third time how brilliant Donald Trump is.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2009	Sunday, December 24, 2006 A Web Site that Just Works, and One That Doesn't In Chapter 2 of Why Software Sucks, I showed you a way in which Just Works. When you type into your browser's address bar, Google's servers figure out the country from which your request is coming and automatically serves up its home page in the correct language, with English available with one click in the few cases where that selection might be wrong. (Swedish shown below)., on the other hand, makes you select your country manually, and won't let you do anything at all until you have done so. This takes 30 clicks for Swedish users, and even 3 clicks for US users, who send 90% of UPS's packages. And you have explicitly check the box if you want it to remember your selection so you don't have to do it next time. (Example shown below) No language selection. No need to check the "I agree to the terms and conditions" check box. Two clicks and you're done. This leads to the following more-than-faintly ludicrous situation: Not only does do a better job at its own business than does at's own business, but Google does a better job at's business than does. Google Just Works. UPS doesn't Just Work.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2015	[google6a7b7d93c7100df5.html] Sunshine's Creations.Vintage Threads Inc.com: how to join knit edging friends and followers I would like to make. Love Sunshine Search This Blog Monday, March 26, 2012 how to join knit edging I am working a few project that need a lace edging added to a finished piece so this video is how I am teaching myself to do this. No comments: Post a Comment Copyright/permissions info I like to share on this space my ideas and projects. Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2019	Friday, March 23, 2012 Weeerd Cover of the Week #12 Now, this is a strange one. I'll have to search it out, but Paul Gulacy on Swampy? ...odd choice me thinks.. There are a handful of artists out there I would describe as "detail-oriented" ..very controlled lines.. Including Art Adams, Dave Gibbons, George Perez, and the one I'd've put at the top'd be Mr. Paul Gulacy. His work is generally precise, and I find these guys have the hardest time with ol' Swampy.. BUT I haven't seen the work(other than this) so I'll have to decide once I find 'em. The cover above is pretty cool, and a little magazine-y, so it really works, and it's a bit more organic than I'm used to with him - damn good comic artist we will see. I'll look for The Swamp Thing Movie Portfolio in New York this fall, whilst hunting for awesome creator-interviews to film for my VIDEO BLOGS ...coming soon.. 1. I love Gulacy, especially from this period, and hope you dig up more of his Swampy! 2. I posted all four plates on my tumblr a while back. Here is the link: 3. Thanks John - I'd actually just popped on here to do a little research about New York and a story I'm writing - LOVE those Gulacy plates - must have them - cheers
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2028	GEEQBOX: A MATLAB Toolbox for Generalized Estimating Equations and Quasi-Least Squares. The GEEQBOX toolbox analyzes correlated data via the method of generalized estimating equations (GEE) and quasi-least squares (QLS), an approach based on GEE that overcomes some limitations of GEE that have been noted in the literature. GEEQBOX is currently able to handle correlated data that follows a normal, Bernoulli or Poisson distribution, and that is assumed to have an AR(1), Markov, tri-diagonal, equicorrelated, unstructured or working independence correlation structure. This toolbox is for use with MATLAB. This software is also peer reviewed by journal JSS.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2041	tirsdag 24. februar 2009 New user interface. Though I've been aware of it for some time now, Sunday's Obsidian Sanctum raid made it abundantly clear to me that I REALLY needed to re-do my user interface. A combination of SCT taking way too much space as well as having certain filter issues, combined with my buff bars growing too large when a full 25-man raid popped their cooldowns at once led to an overflow of information that took so much space on my screen that it blocked out the twilight drakes' Void Zones and made the flame adds a bitch to even find beneath the flow of text and graphics. (Click image to see full-size version) Starting from the center, I use AGUF for my new player, target/target of target and party unit frames, replacing Xperl (which really is overrated). I've also replaced Xperl's raid frame with a dedicated raid frame called VuhDo, situated top right in the picture. My actionbars remain Bartender4, though I've spent some time rearranging my setup and keybindings for faster and more comfortable flow. Quartz delivers my swing timer underneath the actionbars, and a mob castbar the length of my own frame, target frame and target of target frame situated immediately above said frames (not shown in picture). I've collected my Recount and Omen in the bottom left corner, using a fairly standard setup. Prat3.0 delivers my chat and combat log. The minimap is Chinchilla, and to keep it small I've gathered all the necessary buttons with MiniMap ButtonFrame beneath it. Finally, solving the problem areas. The first thing I did was to move my target buff/debuff rack to the bottom right corner of the screen, placing my own buff/debuff rack next to it. I then redesigned it from scratch, changing size, font and colours to make them as small as possible, yet at the same time fast accessible for information. I grew my IceHUD a bit bigger, to allow a larger area around my character clear of information. The biggest and by far most important change, though, was replacing SCT with MikScrollingBattleText. It takes some time to set up properly, but it completely annihilates SCT with regards to configurability. I actively set up to place all sources of information to outside and around my HUD, leaving the area inside clear of any disruptions, hopefully making those Void Zones more visible next time around. Apart from what the picture shows, I also use BigWigs, Ratingbuster and Cartographer - all essentials. I'm quite pleased with where I've gotten my setup, and can't wait to test its functionality in a raid environment. 2 kommentarer: Aerophilia sa... HAHA Your monitor is square! Nasthalthia sa... I know... my current computer really isn't very decent, so I can't be arsed to get a decent widescreen one before I upgrade my equipment. Which will hopefully be this fall!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2042	Wednesday, January 25, 2012 WEEK 3: Animation Direction 2 -- Guest speaker: Stop motion animator Luke Mistruzzi & a tour of Cuppa Coffee We're starting sharp at 12 in the Octagon - I have some tasks for you to work on for the afternoon. Next we're getting a visit from Luke Mistruzzi, Creative Director / Animator at Powerline Films and former Cuppa Coffee stop-motion animator. As I detailed in my email, Luke has arranged for us to tour Cuppa Coffee! We'll have to go over in small groups. Meanwhile, you guys can get started on your projects: Milestone 1: Planning Assigned: 19/01/12 Due: 02/02/12 In class (next week) % of final grade: 20% Create a detailed plan for your project. Please keep your ideas simple and contained. You should include: 1. a production schedule, 2. a storyboard and/or animatic, 3. a drawing of your set plan including top-down view, and 4. a drawing of your puppet including a plan for the armature. 5. technically challenging R&D should be included here such as green screen, plans for moving characters that fly or jump You would be wise to include a 'plan b' in case you run behind schedule. Exemplary: Thoroughly planned, detailed and clear presentation with all aspects of the project well organized. Timelines seem reasonable, solutions to technical challenges anticipated. Excellent: Well-planned, clear overall package with most aspects of the project well organized. Timelines outlined and solutions to most technical challenges anticipated. Acceptable: Overall plan of the project completed with minimal missing elements. Timelines suggested and some technical challenges outlined. Not Acceptable: Project not thoroughly planned. Timelines vague, missing elements, not much anticipation of technical challenges. Good luck! WEEK 3: Character Acting 2 -- Walks, wrap-up, transitioning to runs The famous 'human/dog' comparison scene from 101 Dalmations We'll wrap up the final stages of the walk, adding subtle details that can make your walk look unique and polished. There are lots of great examples of hand-drawn cartoon walks from on "Walk Cycle Depot" and "Pencil Test Depot" for us to have a look at. Good luck with your deadline this weekend! Next we'll get ready to transition into the run cycle. Next class I'll show you a bunch of video examples of both sprinters and long-distance runners in slow motion and talk about the mechanics of a run. Homework: Read up on runs in the Animator's Survival Kit pgs 176-200 Assignment 2: Run Cycle Assigned: 25/01/12 Due: 12/02/12 % of final grade: 20% Use the pre-built humanoid skeleton or your own rig. Animate a treadmill run that clearly shows the personality and attitude of the character. The run should cycle on its own but also transition smoothly from the walk. By transition I mean there should be a believable weight shift to pick up speed - this could include an anticipation, a change of mood, and a shift forward in the center of gravity. The timing (both frames per step and timing of secondary actions such as arm swings and head drag) should support the attitude and personality. The character should have a believable weight. Steps should be symmetrical (apparently if not mathematically) and the motion should be fluid and smooth without obvious pops or bumps. Body parts should be offset from one another a bit so every part of the action doesn't occur on the same frame. Exemplary: Clear personality and attitude, strong apparent weight, fluid motion with a strong grasp of all animation principles. Excellent: Apparent personality, weight and almost entirely fluid motion with a good grasp of nearly all animation principles. Acceptable: Some personality and weight. Motion is mostly fluid with minor errors or missing animation principles. Not Acceptable: Generic walk not convincingly heavy or not fluid with quite a few glitches or missing animation principles. Equal weight will be given to: Overlapping Actions / Secondary Motion Please submit files by FTP. Instructions will be sent via email. Tuesday, January 24, 2012 WEEK 3: Modeling and Animation II -- Bouncing Balls, last week Today we're wrapping up the bouncing balls which are due this weekend. All animators should be familiar with these equations ;o) I'll go over how to hand in your assignments via FTP. We'll also go over the results of the Pixar Story quiz. Next up: Gravity! Click here to learn more about Newton's Laws of Motion We'll watch a short movie about a physics specialist working in the animation department at Dreamworks. Submitting work via FTP All assignments for my classes should be submitted digitally via FTP. You'll need to install a free FTP program like Filezilla or FireFTP. I'll email you the login info and we'll go over it in class. Our directory is publicFTP/Tara and the subfolder for your course. Example: Inside the course folder: (1) I'll create a folder for each of your assignments. (ex: assignment 1, assignment 2) (2) Inside the assignment folder please create one folder with your first initial, last name. (ex: tdonovan) (3) Inside each subfolder, put your named files. (ex:, tdonovan_hydrant_uvs.png) Feel free to leave me a note as a .TXT file. Word Files are too slow to launch. Always send me an email regarding any verbal agreement for extensions or modifications to the assignment. Please be careful with the files in this shared directory. If you accidentally delete someone else's file please let them and me know asap so it can be restored. Always have backups saved in more than one secure location (ex, a portable hard drive as well as saved on a backed-up computer as well as sent to yourself via email or DropBox.) If you're unfamiliar with using FTP programs and/or you have trouble, please ask for help from the peer tutors. It only takes 5 failed password attempts in 5 minutes to lock yourself out of the server. At school, that means the whole school's IP. Stop after 2 failed attempts and check all the info again. 99% of the FTP problems students have had in the past resulted from typos. Files can take several minutes or longer to upload especially if the server is busy. Please allow time for uploading and don't wait 'til the last minute to send your files. If you encounter a big problem, such as our server crashing, please send me a screen grab confirming the error and I'll issue extensions to the whole class. Assignments cannot be handed in via any other means but FTP without special permission. Please do not email me your videos or other large files as attachments. I'll explain other options as needed.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2045	July 7, 2010 Crown Bench Estates 2002 Beamsville Bench Summertime Merlot Found July 2010 One bad wine deserves another. This is my second wine tonight, as I am trying a few wines from the '02 vintage, that strike me as 'need to try now'. I guess I have to admit I have not picked the best wines to give this a go with, but I have to open each and every bottle in its turn (and as i am packing up there are certain wines that strike me as either drink now or ditch wines). Tonight this bottle had its turn and in truth I wish I had left it lost. This wine had sweet fruit at some point in its life, though I am not sure whether it was designed as an off-dry red or just a juicy sweet thing - the name suggests an off-dry red to chill and enjoy in the summertime, like maybe the summer of 2003. This wine is now 8 years from vintage date and the smell is faintly sweet, yet with oxidative notes. The cork was like a sponge, the corkscrew sunk deep and quick and actually pushed the cork deeper into the bottle. Once in, the cork did not take any effort to come out, it slipped out without the use of the lever on the corkscrew, just a simple pull up and out. This wine tasted like a Manechevitz sacramental wine that had gone bad - odd and unappealing. Lost & Found Rating: Trash No comments:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2047	Friday, August 14, 2015 The Future of Work and the Demise of Scholarship I've pointed out before that the future of work has a chequered past. Evidently it also has a questionable present and future. Paul Saffo teaches forecasting at Stanford University and chairs the Future Studies and Forecasting track at Singularity University. In his contribution to the "Future of Work" project of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, Saffo wrote: Sandwichman call bullshit. Saffo's claim couldn't be further from the truth. In 1934, Keynes gave a BBC radio address titled "Is the Economic System Self-Adjusting?" His answer was "No." The "create more jobs than they destroy" refrain is a version of what is otherwise known as Say's Law, which Keynes paraphrase in his General Theory as "Supply creates its own demand." Keynes's general theory was a debunking of Say's Law.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2058	Monday, August 20, 2012 Trend Micro - You're doing it wrong! In my Monday morning blog catch-up I stumbled upon Trend Micro's blog "Big Data Analytics and the Smart Protection Network". I don't normally bother reading or commenting on such self-serving marketing crud, but I worry that Trend Micro may starting to believe their own marketing fluff. There are a number of things that are worth commenting upon, but the following is more dire than many... "Every day, we receive 430,000 files for analysis, of which 200,000 are unique. That results in 60,000 new signatures for detection every day." Trend Micro - you're doing it wrong! Who in their right mind still pumps out 60,000 new signatures for yesterdays malware? The fact that any vendor is forced to write signatures for each new threat is obviously a depressing aspect of the whole legacy approach to antivirus. There are considerably smarter ways in dealing with this class of threat. From my own past observations those 200,000 unique samples are more than likely serial variants of only a handful of meaningful malware creations. A ratio of 200:1 or 500:1 is pretty common nowadays - and even then more modern "signature" approaches could shrink the ratio down to between 4000:1 or 10,000:1 by the time you start interpreting the code contained within the malicious binary. Why is all this important? Firstly, perhaps it's my German heritage, but inefficiencies can be grating. Just because you're been pumping out the same crud the same way for decades, doesn't mean you can't learn something from the younger dogs at the park. Secondly, these 1:1 transformations of signature to unique malware sample are redundant against the current state of the threat. The bad guys can generate a unique malware variant for every single visitor every time they get infected or receive an update. Thirdly, the signature you're pushing out is redundant - it's a marketing number, not a protection number, it wouldn't even serve as a SPF number on a bottle of sunscreen. Finally (and it's only "finally" because I've got a day job and I could go on and on...), "200,000 are unique" - I think you've missed more than a few... "Thanks to our leadership in the reputation and correlation area, we get many requests from law enforcement to help them identify and jail criminals." I suppose blind self-promotion works best if evidence is contrary. I'm sorry, but there's a lot more to reputation than blacklisting URL's and whitelisting "good" applications nowadays - and there's an ample list of companies specializing in reputation services that do this particular approach much better. The problem with these (again) legacy blacklist approaches is that the threat has moved on and the criminals have been able to ignore these dilapidated technologies for a half-decade. Server-side domain generation algorithms (DGA), one-time URL's, machine-locked malware, Geoip restrictions, blacklisting of security vendor probing infrastructure, etc. are just a sampling of tools and strategies that the bad guys have brought to bare against this legacy framework of reputation blacklists and correlation. Don't get me wrong, the data you're gathering is useful for law enforcement. It can be helpful in identifying when the criminals screw up or when a newbie comes on to the scene, and it can be useful in showing how much damage has been done in the past by the bad guys - it's just not too effective against preemptively stopping the threat. Speaking of the data, I'd love to know who's buying that data from Trend Micro? From past experience I know that most governments around the world pay a pretty penny for knowing precisely what foreign citizens are browsing on their computers, what type of Web browser they're using and what's the current patch level of their operating system... it's traditionally useful for all kinds of spying and espionage but, more importantly nowadays, for modeling and optimizing various cyber-warfare campaign scenarios.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2063	45 Free Wingdings Translator Charts Wingdings is one of the more common icon fonts which has its origins way back in the early 1990s. It was made when Microsoft had developed its typography, making use of different characters from a group of symbols created by Kris Holmes and Charles Bigelow. Originally though, the symbols had been created by Holmes and […] Read More
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2080	Artist Name Your Ten Mofo (0 users) 1 Male 0 to Present... Most Loved Music Videos Upcoming Shows Artist Biography your ten mofo create their own individual versions of hymns always one step off the beaten track of established musical understanding; a dulcet melody on the verge of silence, a fragile whisper out of a remote crevasse, a violin slowly working its way to the foreground; gradually, one perceives fragments presented as a whole. Structured grooves and bass lines direct the way through the imagined landscapes - landscapes that are finally completed by instruments like vibraphone, glockenspiel and strings. One finally catches oneself enjoying getting lost in the wondrous world of sound - a touching world, but without leaving the least cliched or cheesy smack. *** Living up to the cliche that wonderfully weightless music could only originate from the dark high up north, your ten mofo immediately would have to pack their stuff and best move to Iceland. This is not going to happen. Why? - because they are busy releasing their debut-album and by doing so setting a pleasant counterpoint to the multitudinous guitar based pop-productions in their Austrian home base. Since early 2004 the four musicians Michael and Florian Parzer, David Punz and Stefan Hartl have been working together. Inspired by well known protagonists of the Icelandic school (Sigur ros, Mum) your ten mofo knew from the beginning that they would not be doing party-gigs for biker-meetings. In fact, they wanted to compose atmospherically beautiful songs which impress by their diversity in instrumentation. The fact that this did finally result in epics that could well be fifteen minutes long going far beyond any existing standards in popular-music-theory was something nobody could foresee, but also something nobody wanted to avoid once it was happening. This approach got very much reassured when the band released their demo which was excitedly embraced by the press and became demo of the month 10/04; in "Visions"-magazine. This resulted in various follow-up projects and collaborations like one with the literature-project "urban electronic poetry"; ( in which your ten mofo wrote the music to Xochil A. Schütz`s poem "Gute Mächte". The project was finally turned into a film that gained recognition in international film-festivals and was released on DVD on the "Schaltkreis"-label (Cologne, Germany). In January 2005 your ten mofo started working on their debut and deliberately did so without the help of an "external" producer already having an experienced sound-engineer in the band - Florian Parzer. He is responsible for all the editing and mixing; only mastering was done by Kai Blankenberg (Nova International, Beatsteaks, Slut). The 67 minutes of music represent seven tracks braiding the listener with almost unearthly aesthetic sounds and nevertheless providing dynamic power enough to puzzle everyone in front of their stereo. "Things change while helium listen to everyone" was released May 26th on wohnzimmer records. Wide Thumb User Comments No comments yet.. Unlocked - Last Edit - 07/Aug/14 Data Complete Store Links Buy Amazon
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2085	venerdì 18 settembre 2009 sky burial: a final act of generosity "Although lamas and monks would be cremated, the most common way to dispose of the dead in Tibet was to take the corpse to a specially designated area outside the town or village, often at the top of a mountain, chop it into pieces and wait for the vultures and other birds of prey to come and eat it. The final religious rites would be performed by monks and relatives before taking the body away. According to Mahayana Buddhist beliefs, consciousness leaves the body about three days after clinical death. From this moment on the corpse is considered as truly lifeless, its purpose fulfilled. The manner of disposal is considered as a final act of generosity, enabling other animals to be nourished by one's remains." Stephen Batchelor: The Tibet guide Wisdom Publications, London - 1987 pagg. 64-65 catalogazione: libreria di fronte al divano Condividi su Facebook Nessun commento: Posta un commento benvenuti nella nostra biblioteca. Benvenuti due volte se venite accompagnati da un libro!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2095	Saturday, January 1, 2011 HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND MERRY 2011! (Or is it the other way around...) MERRY 2011! Dis calls for celebration... For those of you TNM fans... De WHOLE of Part 9! I'm working on Part 10 as I speak, and I'm about 1/3 or 1/2 or 1/4 through it. I think more around the lines of a third or a fourth, but oh well. If you've read most of this, just skim down to the part you're on and start from there. Da Seagem ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Necromancer's Matter, Part 9; A Glitch in Time "The newspaper archives are right this way," The wizard library volunteer said. "Thanks," Destiny said. Ever since Noah had revealed that Marcus was his great-granddad, she had been researching him, looking for any hints that could be useful. From Noah's knowledge she had learned that Marcus was an only child and had lived until he was sixteen years old. He was a very advanced student that even Dragonspyre Academy was impressed with, and she knew they were strict when it came to students. His academic level was so high that he constantly made newspapers, them saying how great and dedicated he was. She was mainly scanning for any hints of Legendary Wizards activity. Destiny walked through the archieves hall, scanning the newspapers that were printed when Marcus was alive. Destiny chose a few months worth of newspapers and looked until she found something: A New Age of Wizards Recently, there have been some advanced students making their way towards the highest academic achievement possible. There are some very dedicated students in which have made the honor roll so many time in which they have to be reconized for their strong efforts. Destiny leafed through the biographies for dedicated students until she came across Marcus: Marcus Dawngem Marcus is a fellow fire student who has achieved honors since he was seven. His extrodinary ablities for Fire Magic has allowed him to rise up and up until he has gotten to where he is now: at the top of Dragonspyre Academy. "He always studies hard and tries his best," Says his sister, Cassandra Spellfountain, adept thautamerge. Destiny read on the biography and other newspaper articles until she came across a newspaper with an interesting header: Dawngem Fades Fellow wizards, old and young, grandmaster and novice, are now saddened by the shock of the sudden death of Marcus Dawngem, at the age of sixteen. The high-achieving grandmaster fire student was found in his room, lying on the floor, stone dead. His eyes were wide open along with his mouth, but no one has any idea why this sudden tragedy has taken its toll. "He was just fine the day before," His family claims. "Then all of a sudden, he goes into his room, and he stays there for hours. We call him to dinner, and when he didn't come, we rushed to investigate. And there he was, just dead. We have no idea why all of a sudden, this, this ordeal for us is taking place!" For those who don't know who Marcus is, he was a high-ranked fire student. At novice his professor could see just what Marcus held in store. "He was so bright," Professor Firestone, teacher of Fire, said. "I could instantly tell that he was so capable of many things. It is a great loss to have such a young and brilliant mind lost." Marcus reached apprentice soon, then became initiate in a matter of days. In just two months, at the age of nine, Marcus was a grandmaster and unbelievably, still moving. During his lifetime he has achieved countless honors since the age of eight. "I honestly think he had more then the capacity to become a future teacher of Dragonspyre Academy," Shares his friend, Patrick Thundershard, master diviner. "He even tried to create his own spells! Even though we were best buds, I always looked up to him. Even at death, I still do." We will all mourn the loss of Marcus Dawngem. Funeral services will be conducted at the Dawngem home, next friday starting at 10:00 am. Destiny had never realized how much even she was saddened until now. She could tell that everyone had had high expectations of him. Then all of a sudden he was gone. Sighing heavily, she cleaned up the newspaper articles and put them back in place. Destiny picked up her Scavenger's Staff of Sagas and exited the library. She was also now level 23, wore the Initiate's Uniform, was still sticking with the Onyx Studded Boots, and was really proud of her hat, the Animated Tri-Corn. It was a rare item and was no longer sold. Nikki fluttered up to her. I read most of the article, She said. Until you put them away. It's kinda sad, isn't it? Destiny nodded. "It is indeed," Well, I meant you putting away the articles, actually, Nikki admitted. Destiny glared at Nikki. Kidding, Nikki muttered. Take a joke, will you? "The death of someone that great isn't a joke," Destiny said as she exited the library. Jessica sneaked behind the houses in the Commons as she eyed her target. Her eyes followed the thautamerge around, and when Sophia stopped at Zeke and Eloise, Jessica closed in a little to hear the adept better. "What was that again, my dear?" Eloise asked, straining to hear. "I need a Cardinals Cap, Rouge's Robe and Jester's Slippers," Sophia ordered. "All purple with a dark green trim. Girl kind." "Your reason to purchase them?" Eloise asked. When Sophia raised an eyebrow, Eloise said, "Sorry dear, a student just asked me to ask why wizards purchased things for a survey. My apologies if I seemed suspisous." Sophia smiled. "It's okay," She said. "I'm buying the outfit as a birthday present for a friend," Sophia answered. Eloise turned to another sheet of paper in a notebook and added up the cost total. "That'll be 1980 Gold," She said. Sophia looked through her pouch for a while as Eloise bagged the robes. When Eloise turned to Sophia again, Sophia had the appropriate amount of gold. She handed the gold to Eloise. "Kinda costly," Sophia admitted. "I only had 2000 gold in there." "Oh well, it is for a friend," Eloise helped. "It'll be worth the smile." "Yes, yes it will," Sophia answered. "Thanks Eloise! Nice doing business with you!" "Have a nice day!" Eloise waved as Sophia skipped away. Jessica calmly stalked Sophia. Then she calmly reached for her wand and aimed it at her. Jessica knew that casting spells wasn't tollorated in the Commons. But did Jessica care? No. She didn't. Going ahead, Jessica tried a Vampire, to start off easy. Her spell succeeded. Jessica grinned as the Vampire was set loose. Life and Ice, especially Ice, would pay for the misery they had afflicted to her. The wizards in the Commons, especially novices and apprentices, screamed and ran away from someone or something. Sophia looked around to see what the sudden screaming was about, then she saw the vampire fluttering in the air, delebirately ruining the peace that was meant to be in the Commons. Sophia was surprised when the Vampire went for her. Sophia took out her new Krokotopian staff, but then realized that if she casted spells along with the necromancer, she would get in trouble, too. She might not even win. All she could do was run. So that's what Sophia did. Sophia ran around the Commons, trying her best to dodge the vampire. Seeing the success, the necromancer began to cast another spell. Sophia looked around earnestly for help, hoping to spot the administration or some brave students. Unfortunately, there weren't. Things were in her own hands. She had to act, and act quick. Then she remembered something that Professor Icetalon (A fat fairy) had said to his students, "When in a tough spot, use the advantage of your surroundings. This is the Ice Wizard's normal specialty." Use your surroundings. Right when the necromancer had summoned a skeletal pirate, which lunged for Sophia, the adept rushed through the decision, barely pausing to think. Sophia jumped headfirst into the lake. The advantage when Ice Wizards swam in water, they could breathe and their eyes wouldn't sting. Then Sophia froze the surface of the lake, trapping herself in the waters. Nice work Sophia, She complemented. Quick thinking and good defense. You're growing into a successful wizard of Ice. The encouragement didn't last long, however. The skeletal pirate and vampire were relentless and wouldn't give up. The vampire's claws scratched rapidly at the Ice unsuccessfully. The status didn't discourage him, however. The skeletal used the tip of its sword to puncture and hack away at the surface. It was actually making some progress. Just a few more moments and the barrier would be penetrated. Just as the shield of Ice was about the break away, a familier voice saved her. "I heard screaming in the Commons. What's going on?" All of a sudden the vampire quit raking as did the pirate with his sword. Sophia swam and pressed her face to see who had stopped them. It was Destiny. "Jessica, what's going on?" Destiny persisted. Sophia clarified that Jessica was the name of the necromancer. "Death spells on the loose," Jessica said. True. "I'm trying to get them under control." False. Sophia took a deep breath and used the her staff to break the Ice herself. The look on Destiny's face was inevitable when she saw Sophia clamor out of the lake. Tired, Sophia melted the sheet of Ice spreading the lake, and the skeletal pirate gave way. The vampire resisted and held his own by taking advantage of the fact that he had wings, but then they were too frail and gave way along with the pirate. "Sophia?" Destiny asked, unable to hide the shock in her voice. "Wha-what in Merlin's name were you doing in the lake?" Sophia ignored Destiny's question and said instead, "I've got them under control now." Sophia turned the necromancer called Jessica. "Now, I need answers. Clearly you were the one who attacked me." "You did WHAT?" Destiny shrieked. The sprite next to Destiny-Nikki was her name, wasn't it?- chirped something ununderstandable. "No, Nikki, she didn't deserve it!" Nikki talked back. "That's your opinion!" Destiny protested. She turned back to Jessica, clearly mad. "Why?" "I hate Ice and Life," Jessica muttered. "I told you that a long time ago." "A long time ago was barely two months!" Destiny said. She started to say something, but before she could, Jessica interrupted her, before she had even begun. "A long time in my standards," Jessica said. "So you hate Ice and Life," Destiny said. "That nowhere means that you can rush into the Commons and just attack someone!" Destiny looked around her. "The Commons is empty because of you! Do you know what this means Jessica? Do you?" "What?" Jessica snapped. "Suspension!" Destiny yelled. "And that's getting off EASY! This is worth EXPELLATION! If the administration were to find out about this, which they will, and find the culprit, you will be expelled!" Jessica stared at Destiny. Finally she said, "Expellation is a risk I'm willing to take to exact my revenge on those schools." She said. Then Jessica turned away from Destiny and Sophia. When Sophia was sure that Jessica had gone, she nudged Destiny. "It sounded like you knew her," Sophia said. Destiny nodded. "I do. She's a friend of mine." Silence had fallen between them. "I'm sorry Destiny," Sophia said, beginning to cry. "I really am!" Destiny hugged Sophia. "Its not your fault," She soothed. "We all know that Jessica brought this on herself." I would like to say that on that certain night, that Destiny had a peaceful and dreamless sleep. But, I can't, seeing how that dream is vital to the story and this part particurally. That, and it just wouldn't make sense to say that she had due to the amount of stress she currently had pressed on her. After the long day in the library and the stress from the newly erected fight between the two necromancers, Destiny went to bed, after settling Nikki in. As she faded into sleep, she thought of the great loss of Marcus, and hopefully not Jessica. Destiny was surrounded by sand. Krokotopia. She was back at the Oasis. Before she could open her eyes, she spotted a familier figure. Destiny walked up to him. Balance was smiling. He looked around as if they were sharing a secret and everyone was going to hear it, there was no one around. Then, out of thin air, he pulled out a sword. The steel blade appeared to be attatched to an unusual hilt: It appeared to be made of a dragon's talon. Balance then turned the sword around and cut himself on the arm. A few drips of blood came seething out of the wound and onto the sand. It seemed to form as a solid. Balance picked up the now-solid form of the blood up. Destiny turned her attention to the wound for a split second, it was already healed. She figured, because, 1) It was a dream 2) Destiny figured that those kind of things would happen to a Legendary It seemed that Balance was now trying to puncture the solid form of the blood with the sword. It couldn't cut through, it seemed to be inpenitrable, strong. Destiny could now hear a rustle in the sand, another boy was here. And above him, the sky seemed to darken, as if night were approaching. The boy pointed to it with his right index finger, and seemed to be giddy, as if he had found it. Then the boy dissolved into sand along with the night sky directly above him, but his giddyness remained. But in his place was another boy. He picked something off from the ground. He seemed to be holding ashes. He fashioned the ashes into many things: first a staff, then a book, a stuffed animal, a firecat, and so on until he, like the privious boy, turned into sand, the ashes with it. Destiny turned to Balance once more. He stepped closer to the Oasis water and rummaged through it for something, the ripples evidence of it. Finally he pulled out an aqua-colored jewel, water still dripping from it. She woke up. But not just on instinct: there was a red-hot burning at her hip. She quickly felt around it, and was almost half-surprised that it was the Communication Stone. She peered at it. She wondered if it were Jason or Noah. The message answered for her. I finally reached grandmaster! Jason said. Really? Destiny wrote. That's great! Congradulations, commander. You're the first member of the Order of the Spiral to reach that rank. And not just that, He added. Dragonspyre is thinking of accepting me! Okay, now that's great! Destiny said. Then, thinking of the recent event, Destiny wrote, But the battle still rages on. Uh oh, Jason wrote. What is it now? I had a dream, Destiny replied. It's not like the one I had in Krokotopia or the one after the mission in Marleybone pointing to Jessica. It was a variety of things. And guess who's in it? Who? Jason inquired. Oh, gosh. Jason said. This is GREAT! It could be leading to the descendant of balance! Actually, Destiny corrected. Descedants. More then one. Nice, Jason complemented. So, what happened first? First off, Destiny started. Balance had this sword appear. It had a steel blade and the hilt was a dragon's claw or talon, however you want to put it. Oh, that's easy, Jason wrote. Either Dragonsword or Dragonblade. That seems about right, Destiny approved. The next one was this; Balance cut himself. Blood came out, then it transformed into a solid. He tried to use the sword to penitrate it, but it seemed kinda, kinda strong. A little harder, Jason admitted. I'm thinking Strongblood. Okay, these next two are tricky, Destiny said. This boy appeared, and there was night around him, even though the rest of the sky was in the tone of light blue. He was pointing to it and seemed happy that he had spotted it. There was silence from Jason. That one he had to figure out, apparently. Finally the stone burned. Keywords are night and spotted. Nightfinder? He tried. You're good at this, Destiny said. But, there's something familier about the last two names. Nightfinder and Strongblood? Yeah, Destiny said. Where have I heard those two before? Once you mention it, Jason said. I think I've heard them before, too. But this isn't a trip to memoryland, if there's such a place. Is there any more of them? Yes, Destiny wrote. The next one is when a boy picked up ash and molded it into a variety of items. You said that that this would be hard, Jason pointed out. That's easy! Ashwielder, no duh. Okay, there's one more, Destiny replied. Balance kneeled down and picked up this jewel from the Oasis lake. There was no reply from Jason for at least ten minutes. That could mean a whole bunch of last names. But one of them, oh gosh. What's one of the last names? Destiny questioned. Um, one of the options is Seagem. Jason and Destiny both looked around them: They had gathered all the members of the Order of the Spiral at Destiny's cottage. The members were Jason, herself, Ryan Stormcaster, a diviner in his early magus, his sister, Natalie Goldenflame, a diviner, like her brother, who just turned level 40, Destiny's cousin Esmee Lionblood, an adept thautamerge very close to magus, Chris Soulhunter, a master conjurer, Alexis Lifestone, a theurgist who just turned magus, Jessica, a necromancer in her middle magus, and Nikki, an exiled sprite princess. "Destiny here has just had another prophaphectic dream," Jason started out. "They concern the matter of the descendants of Balance." Alexis gasped. "The cycle is almost complete!" "Awesome," Esmee added. "But who are they?" "Yeah," Ryan joined in. "I'm getting there, I'm getting there," Jason tried to calm the members down. "The last names we interpreted were, in order: Dragonsword or Dragonblade; Strongblood; Nightfinder; Ashwielder and, the last one could mean lots of things but, one of the options is," Jason looked at Destiny. "Seagem." Instantly all heads swivled towards Destiny. "Knew it!" Jessica said at last, pumping her fist in the air in triumph. Soon the stares were passed on to Jessica, who then blushed. "We had a talk in the Bazaar," She admitted. Shortly, Jessica realized her mistake as she remembered the event that had taken place the day before. "Not that it matters," Jessica grumbled, sinking into her seat. "There are four others anyways." As Jessica said this, the Stone burned hot. Destiny quickly pulled it out and read, Guys, this is Noah. Urgent! Vladimir, Neela, Cody, Antonio and Anthony are coming to raid your base! It's my house, for crying out loud! Destiny wrote. How do they get access? Apparently Vladimir has this sort of system where he can hack the security system of houses, Noah explained. He fabricates house keys, equips the house, and you get the picture for now. I guess that's how Neela raided one of the times before, Destiny guessed. As she was writing, she yelled, "Guys! Prepare your wands and spell deck! Noah has warned of an ambush coming shortly!" Destiny readied her staff. "How shortly?" Natalie asked, urgency clearly audible in her voice. "A few minutes shortly! Hurry!" Before she even finished saying that, almost all of the members were readied for battle. Quickly prepare, Noah warned. They've already left the manor! Before Noah could even finish, the spiral door swiveled open to let out a leprechaun aiming for Jason. But something was unusual about the leprechaun: It was black. It seemed like a mutated, twisted form of the move. Death Leprechaun, Destiny named. Destiny swiftly wrote Noah back. Hold on, she said. They're already here! Wow, they're quicker then I thought! Noah wrote. Good luck holding them off. Nikki killed the death leprechaun with one of her own. But shortly she was distracted by a sudden sight. A sight of a fellow sprite, not cursed like Nikki. She looked like any normal sprite, but she knew the face all too well. LADY LILY?!? Nikki yelled. The sprite smiled. Nice to see you too, She said. YOU! Nikki shouted again as her rival seemed perfectly calm, contempt, even. You’re the one who tattled on me, rusulting in my banishment! You’re the one who made me fend for myself! You’re the one who just charged into my life and made most of it a dispicable misery! A living torture! Of course, Lily reasoned. Why shouldn’t I? You’re my rival, after all. Enough of this fancy talk! Nikki sneered. Let’s settle this, dueling style! Lily grinned evilly. Gladly. Meanwhile, Natalie attempted a Kracken at Vladimir, who had just emerged. Neela followed with a wraith, the wraith aimed for Jessica. She tried to cast a Kracken to defend herself, but it fizzled. The Adept life wizard (Destiny thought it was Antonio) summoned a Seraph at Alexis, which didn't do too much damage due to her resistance and a life shield. The pyromancer, Anthony, aimed his merciless helephant at Esmee, who conjured a fire shield in order to save herself. She flung it at the firey elephant then quickly ran away. Anthony followed. "Sissy!" He cried out. That was enough for Esmee. "SISSY?" She shrieked. She cast an Ice Wyvern, Evil Snowman, and Blizzard in that order, all aimed for Anthony. He gulped as he tried to scramble away. Esmee nodded her approval. She folded her arms in satisfaction, despite the raging battle. "Run. Run, run, run while you can, sissy," She said, copying the pyromancer. Meanwhile, Ryan and Natalie were teaming up against Neela. Neela used Doom and Gloom while Ryan brought up a colossus while a spell of Natalie's fizzled. As the colussus boomed after Neela, she yelled to Ryan, "I thought you were a magus diviner, not a master thautamerge!" Ryan sighed in exasperation. "Treasure cards, nitwit." He said. "Oh. I knew that." Neela said calmly despite avoiding the colossus trying to kill her. "Right," Ryan said sarcastically while Natalie summoned lightning bats. Jason, Chris and Jessica were ganging up against Vladimir. Jessica attempted a skeletal pirate, not doing much damage due to Vladimir's resistance. Chris tried humongofrog, his smelly belch sticking all over Vladimir. Vladimir looked down at himself, as if he couldn't believe the slimey goo all over him. "Sick," He muttered. "I didn't know boys were also concerned about their looks," Jessica said. "Most boys aren't. Wait, does this mean you're... you're a GIRL?" "WHAT?" Vladimir shrieked. His rage brought up a wraith, skeletal pirate and a... No, it wasn't a firecat. Well, it kinda was. It was a rather twisted form of it, like a firecat, only the cat was black. Black cat? Jessica guessed. Her confusion brought her off-guard, and Vladimir quickly used that chance to summon a Kracken. "Treasure card?" Jessica asked. Jason shook his head as he tried a meteor strike. It fizzled, due to the lack of concentration. "No, his secondary is Storm," He yelled over the commotion, the sound of spells in the air. "When we were little, we agreed to choose the same secondary. We both chose Storm. Chris wanted to train in Life badly, though." "Don't push it," Chris warned, speaking up for the first time in ages. In another part of the cottage, Destiny and Alexis were teaming up against Cody and Antonio. For some reason, Cody kept giving Antonio glares. Glares that seemed to read stuff like: Don't try anything or, I will kill you afterwards. She was confused, seeing how they were supposed to be on the same team. Alexis casted a seraph at Cody while Destiny took the theurgist with a skeletal pirate. Then Destiny summoned a minion. Cody looked at Destiny suspisiously. "You don't learn that till you're thirty!" He said as he used a wraith. "Hat," Destiny reminded as the minion attempted a dark sprite at Antonio. Alexis gritted her teeth and decided to go for Antonio instead, drawing a centaur. Despite the resistance, it did heavy damage. But Antonio quickly used Satyr on himself, so the centaur hadn't really done much good. Destiny decided to try to make up for it with a skeletal pirate at Antonio whereas Alexis used Seraph once more on Cody, who easily defended himself with a Life shield, then summoning a minotaur at Alexis. While he did that, Destiny saw a glint of sparkling green hanging from Antonio's belt. Thinking that she knew what it could be, she used another skeletal pirate while the minion used a simple ghoul. Destiny manervered easily through the battle and too the pouch, and quickly drew her athame and cut off the pouch from Antonio's belt. That's when Antonio spun around as Destiny ran away. "Hey!" He ran after her, trying to regain his stolen items, therefore leaving Cody and Alexis to duel each other. Antonio tailed after Destiny into the cottage. Antonio looked around. Where was she? Destiny was hiding behind her Wraith statue that she had recieved from Baron Mordecai. She opened the pouch, at the same time keeping an eye on Antonio, who was searching the house. She rummaged through a few rings and chokers, an athame, and a robe he had forgotten to sell before she found what she was looking for. It was green, and in height it was no more then an inch long, but in width it had to be at least four inches. It was a dark green, and tiny little leaves seemed to fall as if it were fall and it were falling from a tree within. She could feel and see the power inside it. The Life Shard. "Yes," Destiny whispered in triumph. She quickly stuffed the Life Shard into her pouch, then put the rings chockers, athame and robe back in the pouch. She sealed it, and checked on Antonio. He was upstairs, looked behind the dresser. Destiny quickly took advantage of the situation and ran out of the house. But before she did that, she turned around and called after him, "You can keep it!", thrusting the pouch on the floor as she ran out to join the fight again. She at first headed to join Alexis, but it seemed that the theurgist was doing pretty well against Cody, with the help of her healing spells. Esmee seemed like she was handling Anthony. Jessica, Chris and Jason were ganged up against Vladimir. But Ryan and Natalie's spells kept fizzling. She rushed to join the siblings in the fight against Neela. As she used Sunbird against Neela, she leaned in and whispered to Ryan, "I got the Life Shard from Antonio!" "Can I see it?" Ryan whispered back. Destiny handed him the shard. After he was done observing it (And casting storm spells at the same time) he asked, "Didn't you say that you had the Storm Shard also?" Destiny nodded. She rummaged through her pouch as she tried a vampire that fizzled. She got out the thin piece and handed it to Ryan. Ryan was now glancing back and forth between the two shards, Life in his left palm, Storm in his other. He had dropped his clockwork staff. Slowly, he brought both of the pieces together. Soon they were no more then five inches apart from each other, and Neela had spotted both of the shards. "Hey!" She shouted, lunging for Ryan. Natalie quickly defended her brother by running in front of him and used a Kracken, followed quickly by a banshee, treasure card. But Neela wasn't the only one who had spotted Ryan slowly bringing the shards together. Jason had noticed Ryan's actions as he summoned a fire dragon, but as soon as he saw him, he ran from the fight and to Ryan. "Wait, Don't!" He cried. But he was too late. Ryan had brought the shards close enough together that lightning kept being exchanged rapidly between the two until a purple portal appeared behind Ryan, swirling as a vortex, and Ryan then fell through the portal. "Ryan!" Destiny yelled. Her yell had brought Natalie to attention, who tried to come but was delayed by a scarecrow. Natalie finally couldn't handle it, she passed out. Destiny wanted to wake Natalie, but Ryan was in even more trouble. She leaned down and soon linked hands with Ryan, and looked down. It seemed to be like a bottomless pit. Destiny struggled to keep her weight balanced, but was on the verge of falling in. Destiny turned her attention to Jason. "Jason!" She yelled. Jason ran over, trying to help her regain her balance. He looked down and saw Ryan. "If you connect two shards outside of the forge in which it originiated from, bad things happen!" He yelled after Ryan. "Yeah, I think I've gotten that message!" Ryan yelled. "Where's Natalie?" Jason had the same instinct. She was still unconsious. Jason looked around. "Alexis!" He yelled. "Someone needs your attention!" Alexis peered from the seraph she had casted then ran over to Natalie. "What happened?" She asked. "I don't know, I guess that battle was too much for her!" Jason yelled. "Try to bring her back to consiousness!" "You think I don't know that?" Alexis yelled, tending to Natalie. Meanwhile, Destiny couldn't help it. She would have fallen if not for Jason. "We're both slipping!" Destiny yelled. "Hold on!" Jason said. "Just don't let go!" "Why in the spiral would I let go?" Ryan hollered after them. The vortex had now clasped everyone's attention, except Alexis and Natalie. Chris rushed over to the trio trying to handle the vortex. "Why is this here?" He yelled. "Ryan allowed the Life and Storm Shards to meet!" Jason replied. "Oh, heck," Chris muttered. "I don't think I can be enough for the three of you to hold on, I'll try to find something!" Chris dashed off. Jason was now using full power of all of his muscles to hold on to Ryan and Destiny. But then he saw a shadow loom over him. It was Cody. "To heck with it," He muttered. He pushed Jason into the vortex. Both Antonio and Anthony came over to investigate when they heard the three yells. Antonio looked to Cody. "What'd you do?" "Why should you care?" Cody snarled. "Get away before I break your nose!" Then, grinning smugly, he added, "And you know how badly I can make things hurt." Then Cody got an idea. "Actually, I want to get rid of YOU too!" Before Antonio could react, Cody went behind him and pushed him into the vortex. "Why'd you do that?" Anthony questioned, joining Cody by leaning in. "Simple," Cody shrugged. "I don't like theurgists." "Clearly," Anthony muttered. But as Anthony had said it, both him and Cody had leaned too far in. So far that they accidentally fell in. Then, as if deciding that they were enough, the vortex closed. Jessica watched this happen. Breathing heavily, she decided, "We have to flee! Hurry before we're overrun!" Chris nodded. "Esmee!" He called. "We have to go!" Esmee looked around. "Where's Destiny and Jason and Ryan?" She asked. "They fell in some kind of vortex!" Chris yelled. "We need to go." Then he turned to Alexis. "Come on, we need to flee now!" "But what about Natalie?" Alexis shouted back. "She still hasn't recovered." Chris didn't say anything for a minute. Finally, he decided, "We have no time! I'm sure she'll find her way back!" "We can't leave without her!" Alexis refused. "Alexis, if we don't go now, more then one person will be unconscious! Do you want that?" Chris asked. Alexis was too stunned to speak. Finally, she said, "No," "Then lets go!" Chris made a hurrying motion with his hand. "Can't we just take her with us?" Alexis inquried. Chris shook his head. "She has to teleport on her will! Now hurry! We have to go!" Alexis reluctantly joined them. "Ugh," Ryan chorused, clutching his head. He sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. Ryan looked around. Where was everyone? Apparently Ryan was back in Mooshu, outside at the Jade Palace. "Glad to see you're awake," A familier voice behind him said. Ryan stood up and turned around. It was Jason. "How did we end up in Mooshu?" Ryan asked, baffled. "I don't know," Jason wondered. "I guess we just ended up here when we woke up." "Huh," Ryan said. Then he noticed something that hadn't been in the Jade Palace before: It was a statue of a pig monk mediatating. "I don't remember that being there before," Ryan commented. "What being where?" Jason asked. "That," Ryan answered, pointing to the statue. Jason squinted and saw it. "I don't remember either," He said. Then the duo saw a goat monk heading their way. "Excuse me," Ryan said. "I don't remember that statue being there. When was it built?" "Only thirty years ago," The monk replied. "Oh, you mean 452 A.C.?" Jason asked. A.C. stood for After Creation, the creation referring to after Ravenwood was built. The monk looked at them as if they had both grown tails. "No, I mean 532 A.C.," The monk finally said. "But that's ten years into the future!" Ryan protested. "No, its in the past," The monk persisted. Jason stared at the monk quizicly. "What year is it now?" He asked the monk. "Don't be silly," The monk said. "Sheesh, pretending that 498 is in the future and not knowing what year it is. What're you trying to do?" "We're trying to find out what year it is!" Jason said, angry. "Fine, fine, no need to get mad," The monk soothed. "562 A.C." Ryan and Jason looked at each other with the same shocked expression. They knew what had happened. They were in the future. "Now, if you would please excuse me, I'd best be on my way," The monk said. He traveled into Hametsu Village. There was a silence between Ryan and Jason for a couple of moments. Finally Jason burst. "What have you done?" He yelled. "What have I done?" Ryan asked, confused. "When you fuse two Shards together outside of the forge," Jason explained. "THIS happens! How're we gonna get out now?" "Fuse them again?" Ryan suggested, bringing out the Storm Shard. "No, don't!" Jason warned. "If we do that again, who knows how much trouble its going to be! Congraduations Ryan, you've got us trapped in time! We don't even know where the rest of the Order is!" "Did you say you got trapped in time?" Jason and Ryan spun around to see a boy in master clothing behind him. He had long dark brown hair, green eyes, tan skin, had a Valkerie hat and another Dragonspyre robe and a grizzlehiem staff. His clothes were a tan-ish orange, so he appeared to be a master sorcerer. "Nevermind," Jason quickly muttered. "No, really," The boy persisted. He appeared to be about fourteen. He smiled. "Because I did too." "You did?" Ryan questioned. The teenage sorcerer nodded. "My name's Garrett," He said, offering his hand. Both Jason and Ryan took it. "My brothers and sister and I were just minding our own business when all of a sudden we were in a different area. Well, the area was the same, it looked the same, but we could tell it wasn't the right area. We found out we were stuck in time." Garrett's hand did a come along motion. "We've made camp in Ravenwood. Wanna join us?" "Sure," Ryan and Jason said simontainiously, accepting. They followed Garrett. Then Jason stopped. "Wait, what's your last name?" "Dragonblade," Garrett said. "I'm Garrett Dragonblade, master sorcerer. What's yours?" Jessica had offered for Chris, Alexis and Esmee to stay at her Mooshu house for the night; It was best that they stayed together. Chris, Alexis and Esmee were also all asleep in a guestroom. In her bedroom though, Jessica was wide awake. She was thinking about the day's events. The Order of the Spiral had suffered a big loss today. Sure, they had gotten the Life Shard, but that was with Destiny or Ryan. Natalie's whereabouts were unknown. Destiny, Jason and Ryan had fallen into a who-knew-what. And the cottage might have taken some damage. All that remained was herself, Chris, Alexis and Esmee. What were they going to do now? The last time they had talked to each other, they had fashioned a new fight. Now there was a radiation of regret surging through Jessica and taking over her whole body. Jessica sighed and surprised herself by falling asleep. "Oh, Cody!" Antonio cursed. "What?" Cody replied. "Why'd you have to push me down?" Antonio complained. "Because I wanted you gone! And if I hadn't been taken down with you, it would have been good riddance!" "Guys!" Anthony tried to break the theurgist and necromancer up. "What is wrong between the two of you? We're apparently trapped in time and you two are still bickering like two little girls fighting over a doll!" Cody punched Anthony. "Guys, do you know what's going on?" A new voice asked. Cody, Anthony and Antonio stopped the fight and spun around. The person appeared to be a girl around their age with long white hair with maroon eyes. She had dark brown skin and appeared to be a master diviner, with a Mooshu hat and a Dragonspyre robe. Her robes were purple with white trim. She was seated on a dragon mount. "I guess we do," Anthony said. "From what I've seen, we're trapped in time," Antonio helped. All Cody said was, "Who're you?" "Sarai Storm," The diviner said. "I was on the Scotland Yard Roof, as we're on now, then I felt this feeling surge through me. I was in the same place, but I could tell the tiny details, like who was there, that kind of thing, had changed. Now apparently, from what I've seen, I'm in the future!" "You're lucky," Antonio said. "I just had to experience the thrill of being pushed down a vortex." He glared at Cody, who just shrugged. "That's how you got here?" Sarai asked. Cody nodded. "How do you suppose we return to the present?" Sarai said. "I have no clue," Anthony said. "Wait," Sarai said. "Who are you guys?" "Anthony Spiritwalker, Antonio Lifespear, and Cody Shadowstrider," Anthony informed. "But which is which?" The diviner persisted. "I'm Cody Shadowstrider," Cody began. "The pyromancer is Anthony. And the theurgist is an idiot." "Antonio Lifespear," Antonio corrected by gritting his teeth. He gave an I-swear-I'm-gonna-kill-you-someday-just-wait-for-it look. Cody's glare said in turn, Fat chance, idiot. Antonio surprised the rest of the quartet by demonstrating a low, unearthly growl. Anthony then ignored the growl and turned his attention back to Sarai. "Maybe we should all team up and look for a way to get out of this kind of time." Sarai nodded. "You know, as a kid I had always wanted to travel in time," She said. "I had daydreamed of being in it, influencing the past so that the present was better, making revolutions in the future. But now that it's actually happening, all I want to do is return home." Destiny awoke leaning on the side of the trunk of Bartleby, facing the Ice school. Groggily, she stood up and looked around as she recalled the events that had just taken place. She looked around. Where were Jason and Ryan? They had all been pushed into the vortex together, but she couldn't find them anywhere. Destiny had read in books that normally when people like her fell and went through portals, they went to a different dimension of the spiral or something. But things just appeared how they normally would be. She decided to first look around Wizard City for Jason or Ryan or somebody. As she was strolling in the Commons, she found the Headmaster's office. The Headmaster! He'd know what to do! Eagerly, Destiny went inside. She had been expected to find a lean man with red hair and beard. But instead, what she found was an old man with a blue monicle with Merlin clothing on. Students were swarming him. "Woah," Destiny muttered. "Someone seems to have aged in the past year," But then she noticed the sky-blue eyes. Wait... Merle? "Merle?" She repeated out loud. She walked over to the old man. "Is that you?" The old man turned around. "Of course its me," He said. "Why wouldn't it?" "Its... its just that, the last time I saw you you were a baby, for crying out loud!" Destiny said. "Baby?" Merle said. "Young wizard, I'm afraid you must be mistaken. I was born in 481. I'm eighty-one years old, how could you have seen me as a baby?" Just as Destiny was about to reply, someone said, "Destiny?" She spun around, hoping that the voice belonged to someone she knew. It didn't. It belonged to a girl looking around twelve years old with short red hair and blue eyes. She looked to be an apprentice pyromancer, judging from the way she was dressed. "Who are you?" Destiny asked the apprentice. The pyromancer seemed stunned. "It's me," She said. "You know, Fallon Shadowgem?" It sounded more like a question then an answer. Fallon studied Destiny. "And why're you dressed like an adept?" "Because I am one!" Destiny said. This Fallon chick was insane. Fallon shook her head. "No, you're a master." Then a thautamerge arrived behind Fallon. She had light brown skin, long black hair that seemed jagged at the end and was wearing blue and white Krokotopian clothes. She looked to be around nine. "Hi, Fallon! Hi Destiny!" The Ice wizard chimed. "Somethings wrong with Destiny Vanessa," Fallon said. "And I don't know why." Fallon made a come on guester. "Come on Vanessa, lets do some questing with Alric." With that Fallon and Vanessa left. Destiny was baffled. Fallon, Vanessa, maybe this Alric person, all seemed to know her. They said she was a master! How did they know her? What was wrong with them? Fallon especially. She needed a good place to think things through. The Death School. Destiny exited the Headmaster's-now Merle's- house and back into Ravenwood. She was thinking that things couldn't get much worse until she saw the death school. Or at least, what was left of it. Her school had seemed to have been torned from Ravenwood! The death classroom was nowhere to be found, and in the cycle of where it should have been, all that was left was a gaping chasm of remnants of the street floating in the air. What had happened? "What're you doing here?" A vaguley familier voice asked behind her. Destiny turned around to see an apprentice sorcerer with pale skin, blue eyes, and long light brown hair. She could tell that the sorcerer was nine. Destiny remembered seeing her back in the balance school in Krokotopia. "Hi!" Emma chorused. Then she repeated, "What're you doing here?" "Trapped in time," Destiny replied. "You?" Emma nodded. "Same here," Then Emma spotted a boy with very dark skin and purely white clothes, complementing short white hair. He had dark brown eyes and looked to be an initiate. Destiny couldn't decide if he was a necromancer or a sorcerer. He looked to be about eleven. "Hey, Dylan, come over here!" Emma called. "I've found another one!" The boy called Dylan soon joined Destiny and Emma. "What's up?" He asked. "She's trapped in time too!" Emma pointed to Destiny. Dylan nodded as a sign of understanding. "I see." He said. Dylan gave out his hand. "I'm Dylan Nightfinder." Strongblood and Nightfinder. Emma Strongblood and Dylan Nightfinder. Of course! Destiny accepted. "Destiny Seagem," She introduced. "You should meet our other brothers!" Emma chimed. "We've all made camp! One of our brothers, Garrett, also found a grandmaster pyromancer and a magus diviner." Destiny gasped. "Jason Stormflame and Ryan Stormcaster?" "Yeah, how do you know them?" Dylan asked. "They're both great friends of mine!" Destiny said. "I've been looking for them for a long time!" "They did mention something about an adept necromancer," Dylan mused. "I guess you could be it. Come on, we camped in the Wizard City Spiral Chamber." The trio hurridly ran down to the spiral chamber. "You should also meet our three other brothers," Emma pointed out cheerfully as they all went inside the spiral chamber. Right when they did, Destiny spotted Jason and Ryan. "Jason! Ryan!" She shouted. They both spun around just in time to see Destiny arrive. "Where were you?" She asked. "We woke up in Mooshu for some reason," Ryan said. "What about you?" Jason asked. "Ravenwood," Destiny said. She turned back to Emma, who was right behind her. "So who are these brothers of yours?" She asked. "Come on, I'll show you!" Emma said. Emma led Destiny to a boy in tan robes, a Mooshu hat and Dragonspyre robe. He looked to be in his early teens and had purple eyes, long brown hair, and slightly tan skin. "Garrett," The sorcerer introduced. "Garrett Dragonblade." "Now you need to meet Nicholas!" Emma pulled Destiny along before she could say any more to Garrett. Soon she was looking at an eleven-year-old boy with white skin, amber eyes, long light brown hair and was in initiate sorcerer robes. He smiled. "I'm Nicholas Ashwielder," He said. Before Emma could pull her along again, Destiny introduced herself too. Then she allowed Emma to drag her to the final person. He looked to be the eldest, being around fifteen. He had slightly long black hair and light tan skin. He had kind of purple eyes and wore grandmaster clothing, which were tan and white. He smiled. "My name's Connor," He said. "What's yours?" "Destiny," She said, offering her hand. Connor took it. "What's your last name?" Connor sighed in frustration. "I don't like revealing my surname, honestly," He said. "It makes me sound like a wimp with Strongblood and Dragonblade around. Heck, Nightfinder and Ashwielder are more manly then mine! And I'm supposed to be the eldest!" "I won't laugh," Destiny promised. "No, people don't normally laugh," Connor explained. "It just makes me look like a sissy." "It's true," Jason commented. "He hasn't revealed it to me or Ryan yet, either. Don't know why." "Oh come on," Destiny said. "It can't be that bad. I've seen last names like Lifepetal." Connor laughed. "Okay, now that's girly!" He said. "Oh fine. It's Seagem." Chris shook Jessica awake. By splashing water in her face. "Hey, what was that for?" Jessica protested. "Well, I couldn't wake you up with a dang horn, what else was I supposed to do?" Chris asked. Then Jessica noticed Alexis and Esmee in the backround, laughing. Jessica growled. "Anyways," Chris said. "Using Communication Stones-" "Communication Stones?" Jessica cut Chris off. "You write on special stones and send messages," Chris replied. "Oh yeah, I remember Destiny and Jason having them," Jessica said. "Wait, you have one too?" "When Jason first found them, he gave one to me to communicate," Chris said, clearly exasperated. "Anyways, I got word from Jason, Destiny and Ryan." "Really?" Jessica leaped out of her bed. "What did they say?" "Get this," Chris started. "They say that they've been trapped in time." Jessica's hopes dropped by almost a mile. "Is that where the vortex took them?" "Apparently so." Esmee said, startling Jessica. "How far or back?" Jessica asked. "I read over Chris's shoulder as he was messaging Jason," Esmee continued. "Right now its 482 A.C., and there its 562 A.C., so," She cut off purposefully so that Jessica could do the math. But Alexis did it before her. "That makes it eighty years into the future," She answered. "Almost a whole century!" Jessica sighed. "Ugh, why do those three always get the good stuff?" "Maybe its because they're the head of the Order of the Spiral?" Esmee suggested. "That kind of thing doesn't matter right now," Chris interrupted. "Basically, what we need to focus on is how they're gonna get out." "Well, what was it caused by?" Jessica asked. "Ryan put two of the Shards together, I think," Alexis said. "They were the Storm Shard and the Life Shard, weren't they?" Esmee nodded as an answer to Alexis's question. "Anyways," Chris said. "Here's another part you'll be interested in. Our spy among the Thorns, Noah Firewielder, has given word that Vladimir and Neela are currently holding Natalie." "I knew we shouldn't have left her," Alexis muttered. "Where?" Jessica asked. "My guess would be Thorn Manor," Esmee said. "That's their headquarters. I remember because Destiny was assigned to spy on them once before we found you, disguised as Neela." "I guess we need to get her, then," Jessica said. Then her face fell. "But what about Ryan, Destiny and Jason?" "They're smart, they'll be able to find their own way," Chris said. "But we're going to need a plan to rescue Natalie." "I guess you and I will have to go there and find our way to her, get her, and get out as fast as possible," Jessica said. "Seems good." "Only one problem," Esmee said. "You left out Alexis and I." "Exactly," Jessica said. "We don't need you." "You just don't like Life and Ice, huh?" Alexis asked. Jessica nodded. "Well, like it or not Jessica," Chris said. "It's Thorn Manor. We'll need all the help we can get." "Who are you?" Natalie asked. "Can you go get it?" Natalie inquired. "Sure," Noah said, hurridly leaving the room. "Why would they withhold them?" Sarai wondered. "Any idea where they're at?" Anthony asked. "Got it," Sarai said, nodding. "What do I do?" Anthony asked. "How about you patrol Krokotopia?" Antonio suggested. "What'll you do, Cody?" Sarai asked. "Same here," Anthony supported. "Hey, what's up?" "How do you know?" Nicholas asked. "Wise guy," Destiny muttered. "How?" Destiny questioned. "You don't," He said. Five of Balance will be found in the glitch in time; Five to start; But one shall not pass the test; Another will turn to the enemy; And in the end only three shall remain. "What?" Destiny asked. "Oh no," Destiny muttered. None of them deserved to die. Before she knew it, tears stung her eyes. And crying was something that she did on very rare occasions. Sarai Storm had followed Cody's directions and gone to the Wizard City spiral chamber, desperate to find a way to her own time once again. Why would someone be so horrible enough to block their only way out of this mess? Sarai thought. It was too much for her, even though she had gone through a lot and was a master diviner. But then another thought came to mind, setting up a sinking feeling in her stomach, like a dark room that longed to be lit, and the match was the answer to the thought that came to mind. Why do I suspect that there's something that Cody hasn't told me, or even Antonio or Anthony? Little did Sarai know was that she was passing that answer right along in the dark as she walked out of the Wizard City spiral chamber, somehow not noticing the group of camping wizards. "What use are Alexis and Esmee?" Jessica moaned as the quartet approached Marleybone. "What is it that you have against Ice and Life?" Esmee asked once more. Jessica shrugged. "Dunno. Oh, wait, apparently I do know, its because they're weak." "Oh, I'll show you weak-" Esmee challenged, but was cut off by Jessica. "I'll show you weak?" Jessica mimicked in a high-pitched tone, sounding nowhere near Esmee's voice. "Ha! You don't know the freaking definition of weak! That's how weak you are!" "Listen up, you little-" "Girls!" Chris said, butting in between the middle of them. "Stop fighting for Merlin's sake! This is not going to get Natalie out of Thorn Manor! In fact, I think it'll bring the chances that we'll all be caught higher!" Jessica huffed. "Humph," She grunted, meekly agreeing. "So what do we do?" Alexis asked, trying to bring Esmee and Jessica off-topic and forget about the argument they had less then a minute ago. "Here's what we'll do," Chris said. "Jessica and Esmee will team up to distract the guards-" Jessica groaned. Chris was silent for a while then continued. "As I was saying," He said. "Jessica and Esmee will distract the guards while I go in there and find Natalie myself-" "Why do you get to go there yourself?" Jessica complained. "Why can't I go in there and you and Esmee distract people?" "Because I was friends with Vladimir," Chris explained. "I've been there, and I know my way around. Its best I do it, or else we have a higher chance of getting caught." "That's great," Alexis said. "But what do I do?" "Stick around and heal me or Jessica or Esmee if we need it," Chris said. Then he thought about it. "Actually, Natalie may need some tending too. Maybe you should come with me." "At least I don't have to put up with the theurgist too," Jessica grumbled. Alexis pretended she didn't hear that. "Lets go," She said. Chris nodded. "We better go quick," He said. "Can't imagine what horrors Natalie is facing." "Take this, stupid dogs!" Natalie yelled as she cast an Orthrus treasure card. As they were distracted by the huge two-headed dog, Natalie avoided them and ran. As she ran, she called after them, "You make horrible security! I'll tell Mr. Thorn that!" Then she muttered as she ran away, "Or maybe I won't." I find this strangly fun, Natalie thought. I guess its the thrill. Natalie turned through corners and through the halls, up a few stairs, down a few, having no idea if she was nearing the exit or running away from it. I wonder how Destiny and Alexis were able to make their way out, Natalie thought. If I run into Noah again, I guess I'll ask if he can guide me. Natalie came to a fork in the road. She looked both ways, then quickly decided to take the left. She took the left. Then she ran into a teenage boy with blue eyes, long blonde hair wearing yellow Dragonspyre clothing. She ran past him, and shouting, "Hey!" He gave chase to Natalie. Oh no, Natalie thought. Must be working for Vladimir! Must get away! But she couldn't. Natalie staggered back as all of a sudden an Orthrus was blocking the way she was running. She turned around. Heading the other way was that conjurer she had just past, who was walking towards her. Nowhere to run. But she could fight. But not with spells. Natalie was a person who thought quickly on her feet, Ryan complemented that all the time. So she already had a plan. "Are you working with Vladimir?" She asked. The conjurer nodded. "Why else would I be here?" "And where's here?" Natalie asked. She knew the answer. Natalie was just asking to test out how dumb he was. "Thorn Manor, Marleybone," The conjurer boasted. "And you can't get out." "You're right, I can't," Natalie said, trying to get him overconfident. "But why take me here in the first place?" She added. "When Vladimir found you unconsious at the raid," The conjurer began. "He saw that if he took you hostage that you could be a good barganing chip for the Shards." "Shards?" Natalie asked. Once again, testing his dumbness. "I don't know what they are," The conjurer admitted. "Vladimir hasn't told any of us. He told us to guard these little pieces." "Huh," Natalie shrugged. "Why didn't I see you at the raid?" She asked. "Vladimir didn't trust me and my friend Jose," He said. "Because we lost one of the Shards." Natalie forced herself not to grin. Now the moment of truth; she had gotten the conjurer hooked, maybe forgetting that they were enemies! "That's unfortunate," She sympathized. "What're you doing with the Shards now?" "Well, I think Antonio had this green one," The conjurer began. "And I'm pretty sure that Vladimir left Anthony with a red one, and I think that's it." The conjurer smiled. "By the way, I'm Adam." "Nice to meet you, Adam," Natalie said. "But one thing," "What's that?" Adam asked. "Did you forget that we're enemies?" Before Adam could respond, Natalie cast a tempest, leaving Adam in the waves. She turned and ran the other direction: The Orthrus wasn't there anymore. Natalie ran as fast as she could. When tempest was over, Adam started to give chase to Natalie, but was stopped by Vladimir having a panicked expression on his face. It was odd to Adam because he usually seemed so confident. "Thorn Manor is under attack!" Vladimir shouted. Sarai glanced out into the Commons at night, looking for the trio Cody had described. Instead, she found someone else. "Looking for someone?" A sweet voice asked behind her. Sarai immediately turned around to see a girl that was completely white. Literally. She had long white hair and white eyes, with white skin. She wore an odd mix of a white Victators Helm, Monk's robe, and Krokotopian boots. Sarai could make a trace of faint blonde in her hair. She held a long white staff with crystals adorning it all the way down the handle and another huge crystal at the top. They, of course, were white. "Are you one of those people?" Sarai asked. "My name's Taryn," The girl said. "But don't listen to those boys. You don't need the Shards!" "How do you know?" Sarai asked. "Because I myself can get you out," Taryn said simply. Grunting, Destiny woke up again, a part of her brain saying that this was all a dream and that she would wake up soon. But it was too good to be true. Almost everything was lately. She opened her eyes again. The reality part of her had spoken the truth. It was reality. "I need to know," A new voice said behind her. Destiny jumped and found Nicholas standing firmly. Whatever Nicholas was asking, Destiny knew that he would not back down from the subject he inquired. "Need to know what?" Destiny asked. "What you, Ryan and Jason were all talking about," Nicholas persisted. "You looked so serious about it, and you were crying afterwards. Most necromancer's don't cry." "I am not most necromancers," Destiny snarled. Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, I don't cry too often," Destiny admitted. "Well, what was it about?" Destiny sighed. Nicholas would find out sooner, so she might as well tell him. Unless he's the one who dies. Destiny shook all matter of death from her head. The fateful lines of the prophecy had kept snaking their way into her head. She tried to take her mind off of the topic, but she never could. It was practically useless to get rid of, they were stuck to her mind like cement glue. "Well, to start out," Destiny began. "You ever read the story called The First Wizards?" "Oh, its that you wanted to talk to me about?" Nicholas asked. "Yes, this is a serious topic," Destiny persisted. "Dude, or dudett, whichever you prefer, I know," Nicholas said. "I know. I know what you're going to say." "Wh-wha-what?" Destiny asked. He knew that who he was? A smile crept up on Nicholas. "I know who I am, who Connor and Garrett and Dylan and Emma are. We're the descendants of Balance, aren't we. The page you were holding? The Prophecy of Fire. Who you are? Descendant of Death, correct?" “Wait,” Destiny interrupted, suspicions rising. “How do you know?” Nicholas smiled. “I was hoping you might ask that,” He replied. “And it’s because I can do this.” Right then, Nicholas found some grass and plucked it out of the World Tree. He set it out on his left palm, and then his right palm covered that and rubbed them together. He took his right palm off of the palm that contained the grass- No. It didn’t contain grass. It contained sand. Destiny folded her arms. “Okay, give it up,” She said. “What trick did you just pull off?” “I didn’t pull off anything,” Nicholas said. “I can actually change grass to sand. And,” He rubbed them together again, and when they came apart, they revealed grass again. “Sand to grass.” “Impressive,” Destiny admitted. “Can all of you do that?” Nicholas shook his head. “Not that I know of, at least,” He replied. “Okay, I’ve answered your question, now you answer mine. Are you a Descendant of Death?” Destiny shook her head wearily. "No," She said in a hoarse voice. "I've only got one chance of lineage, and that's very slim." "What's that chance?" Nicholas asked. "A few days ago I had a dream," Destiny replied. "In the dream, I saw things that represented people's last names. Like, um, lion's blood in a dream is Lionblood. I saw five last names. Your guys'. Ashwielder was in that no problem. One of them was Seagem." Nicholas nodded. "Connor Seagem." "And Destiny Seagem," She pointed out. For a moment Nicholas was silent before letting out, "Oh," "Yeah, Oh. Ironic, isn't it." "Yeah. Sorry, it's Connor." Nicholas admitted. Destiny laughed. "Sure not what you were saying last night!" "Yeah yeah, so everyone keeps telling me," Nicholas muttered. Then he rubbed his head. "That's odd," Nicholas said. "Starting to feel a slight headache. I thought I took this medication that blocked migranes. This is... sudden." Destiny sucked in a breath, eyes wide open. Oh no, She thought. This can't be happening, it CAN'T! But it was. And furthermore, there was nothing she could do about it. Nicholas rubbed his head more, then groaned. "This is getting worse by the second," He said. "Correction, This is getting worse by the millisecond." Then Nicholas could hold on no more. It began with a grunt, then a groan, then screaming in agony. "What kind of headache is this?!" Nicholas yelled. Then Nicholas fell to the ground, unconscious. Tears stung her eyes. She didn't know why all of a sudden this was happening. Why did she get teary-eyed at this moment, out of all others. The signs had come. She had known they would come. She'd known they'd come and Destiny had also known that there was nothing that she could do about it. The Ordeal was upon the Descendants of Balance. Why when Nicholas fell to the ground? Destiny asked herself. You've been through Alexis's and Jessica's Ordeal, accepted them and acted like a man. So why now? Why this moment out of all others? Destiny wanted to man up, to face that Nicholas was facing his Ordeal and there was nothing Nicholas, Destiny, or anyone else but Fate to do about it. Destiny wanted no more Ordeals, what all of the Descendants had to go through wasn't fair! Maybe it was a trail for them to overcome. Maybe it would sharpen them in every way. But they didn't deserve it. They could overcome trails just as well without the Ordeal. Destiny wanted no more Ordeals for anyone. But Fate apparently had other ideas. "Ready?" Esmee asked Jessica. Jessica nodded. "Lets bust Natalie out of there!" Normally she would have said something snappy to the thautamerge, but Jessica know better. Reluctantly, she released her bitterness towards Life and Ice. Chris and Alexis had already gone inside to search for Natalie, Noah or anyone else. Now it was up to the rivals to complete the job: Distraction. What seemed like the same moment, Jessica started tracing the Death symbol for a Skeletal Pirate while, surprisingly, Esmee was etching the Myth symbol. They let go at the same time and unleashed their spells. Jessica's Skeletal Pirate was successful. So was Esmee's spell... which was an Earthquake. Jessica nudged Esmee. "Secondary Myth?" She guessed. Esmee shook her head. "No, treasure card. Thought it'd be effective." Esmee paused to listen to screams within the black mansion, added by the sound of guards' yells, completed with a shriek from what sounded like Neela. Esmee looked at Jessica and grinned. "What do you know?" She asked. "I was right." "For once," Jessica snarled. Esmee rolled her eyes. "Whatever Jessica," She grunted. Then her frown was erased with an evil grin. "Now, how does that saying go?" Esmee asked, then pretended to think. "Oh yeah, I believe its, lets get this party started!" Esmee raised her Flawed Sapphire Wand for Battle. Jessica, rolling her eyes, did the same. Natalie's breath was starting to come out ragged. True, it was fun. But now was not "Fun" time. Right now was "Run-for-your-life-or-you'll-be-mincemeat" time. Natalie wanted to get out of the latter time. Natalie then heard the sound of guards gaining. So persistant and yet so bad at their job! Natalie thought as she ran. Then she stopped. "Time to fight," Natalie muttered. Quickly the storm symbol had appeared in the air, and Natalie finished with a Kracken. Natalie grinned evilly, even though she wasn't evil as Vladimir, Neela and Cody and whatever people they hired, like that dunce Adam. Natalie noticed the Kracken's palm not to far from her, so reaching out, she jumped and hung onto the Kracken, made her way onto the palm, climbed up the arm and rested and the twenty-foot-tall creatures shoulder, where she had a clear view of the guards who had now caught up. They looked around, then looked up at the Kracken. The guards meekly casted a few ghouls and enraged, the Kracken hurled his bolt at the group. It landed almost straight in the middle, leaving the mixture of dogs and humans scattering. Natalie grinned. "That's right," She called. "Run away like wusses and sissies!" Natalie paused to think. "Actually, you're something more profound! Wussissies!" Lot of S, Natalie thought. Confident now, Natalie guided the Kracken after the guards, assuming that they knew where the exit was, since she had heard that there was an attack on the Manor. As she did, to hopefully prevent trouble, Natalie took the fact that her secondary was Fire to good use and summoned a Phoenix. Natalie could feel the Kracken beginning to sway, knowing that his time as a minion was almost up. Not knowing what to do, Natalie looked around for options. The Kracken was about to fall over and unless she didn't do something quick, Natalie would fall with it. Then the phoenix she had summoned was in sight. Making an insane decision in a split-second, right when the Kracken toppled over Natalie jumped off his shoulder, loving the few, fast and exilerating moments when she was soaring through the air. Natalie squinted and saw the phoenix... ...And landed perfectly on its back. The phoenix was soaring through the air faster then Natalie had, which was kind of surprising, seeing the rate and altitude she had flew. Wind pushed heavily at her face, and she could barely rein in, let alone cast spells. Then Natalie couldn't take it any longer. Tired, Natalie's muscles gave way to falling off, and Natalie couldn't help herself. She tumbled off of the phoenix in which she had created and landed on the ground. She heard something snap. Natalie tried to get up but found it difficult. The rest of her body had landed on her left arm, which was now searing almost unbearingly with pain, pure pain. Natalie got up, but staggered and limped as she walked. She wondered what had happened as she couldn't help but cry out in pain. Then the answer was clear. Natalie had broke her left arm. "Then prove it," Sarai snarled. "Do it now. I want to go back. That's the whole point of me being here in Wizard City." Taryn sighed. "When the time is right, I will," Taryn said. "The time is right now!" Sarai protested. Taryn smiled, as if Sarai had cracked a funny joke. "Time," She muttered. "Time is a beautiful thing. An element. There should be a school of it." Sarai groaned. This was getting her, Cody, Antonio or Anthony nowhere. Maybe she should just stick with finding the trio and these Shards. She huffed. "Waste of time," Sarai muttered. She walked away. "Wait!" Taryn yelled as she ran up to Sarai. Sarai stopped and turned around. "What?" "I would do it now," Taryn said. But-" "Then freaking do it already!" Sarai yelled, her echoes bouncing off of houses in the commons in the night. It was the sort of scene you see in a book, Sarai realized. The kind where the mysterious person tells the kid or teenager everything, or her mission. Hopefully Taryn would do something like that. It would be pretty cool, Sarai guessed. "There's a good reason why I'm not," Taryn persisted. "Its because you're not together." There was a silence. Then Sarai exhaled deeply. "I see your point." She admitted. "So what do we do now?" "We," Taryn started, a small smile starting on her face and taking over her face. "We need to get the whole gang back together." Destiny stared down at Nicholas, still shocked. The time was coming. One of them was going to die. Destiny was racing through her mind. No, it can't be! She thought. No more Ordeal, please! Just at that moment, Ryan appeared. "Destiny, this is bad," He said. "Emma just entered her Ordeal, as did Connor." Destiny nodded. "Same with Nicholas." "So only Garrett and Dylan remain for now, huh?" Nicholas asked. "I guess so," Destiny shrugged. "But if their siblings are currently going through this, then its only a matter of minutes, seconds, possibly, before they're out too." Ryan shook his head. "Death is almost upon us," He said. "One of them has most likely seen their last sights." "Don't remind me!" Destiny snapped. Then she saw the hurt on Ryan's face and her next reply was in a gentler voice. "I'm sorry, its just that I'm going through a lot, I guess." "Aren't we all?" Ryan replied. "I've never seen someone die through Ordeal. But its gonna happen." Destiny let out a breath that she just then realized that she'd been holding in for a while. Then a new topic came to mind, one that she had been constantly wondering about but hadn't realized it till now due to the horrific lines of the Prophecy of Fire. "How's Esmee?" Destiny asked. "Chris? Jessica? Alexis? Natalie?" She had put Esmee first because she was her cousin and so far was concerned about her welfare most. Natalie too. The last time Destiny had seen her, she had been lying on the grass unconscious. "Have you recieved any word from them? Any at all?" Destiny had been expecting a solemn shake of the head, "No, I'm sorry,", or a sigh. The next words weren't what she had in mind. "Actually," Jason joined, coming up from behind Ryan. "We recieved word while you weren't here. Chris has a Communication Stone like me, so he told us all that was going on, as I did him." A spark of hope lit. "What'd he say?" Destiny ask excietedly. "Chris told us that when in the raid on the base that they fled, but had to leave Natalie behind," Jason said. "It resulted in her capture, apparently." Both of Ryan's hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles white. Destiny noticed a drop of crimson liquid drop from a fist. Blood. Ryan's nails were apparently digging into his skin, Destiny observed. Eew. "Scumbag," Ryan said. "Dirty little rat. I'll show him..." "Ryan, stop," Destiny warned, and helped him uncurl his fists, one of which was bleeding. "Hurting yourself isn't gonna make things better." "Oh yeah?" Ryan countered. "Imagine if your sibling got kidnapped! What would your reaction be?" Destiny didn't say anything. She did have siblings, two brothers and two sisters. "I would be mad," Destiny admitted. "I would stop at nothing until I got them back." She shocked herself that if her little sister Scarlet was the victim, that she'd do it. Because Scarlet was a pain in the butt. "Now imagine yourself in my situation," Ryan proceeded. "That you were helpless to do anything about it, in another time or dimension with no known way out." "Furious," Destiny said. Streams of tears were beginning to fall from Ryan's eyes, one making a trail, then another one shortly following, taking advantage of the same path and glistening. He was breathing heavily. Ryan noticed the tears and wiped his face quickly before anymore could fall. Then he furrowed his eyebrows. "Exactly," "Don't worry Ryan," Destiny soothed. "It's going to be okay." "Actually," Jason interrupted. "It already is. Chris reports that he issued a rescue mission to the remainders of the Order, Jessica, Alexis and Esmee, and I can feel that its already taking action. Don't worry Ryan." "Anything else?" Destiny asked. "Other then that they fled to Jessica's house," Jason said. "Pretty much it. Lets hope luck's on their side on the mission." Let's hope luck's with us, Destiny thought. "Quit pushing me around, Cody!" Antonio yelled as he tried to run away from the rouge necromancer. "We're supposed to be finding the dang Shards already! Geez, you were the one who issued the mission in the first place!" "We've already looked," Cody said. "We've looked and we've met up. They're nowhere to be found. So I figured that until Sarai and Anthony get back, I'd amuse myself. Unfortunately for you, my strategy is get you back for taunting me for when we first met." "You already did!" Antonio protested. "You over made up for it!" "In your book, yes, I have, true," Admitted Cody. "But lets see, on page seventy-two in my book it says, "If someone taunts you, you will remain restless and on the hunt until that person is truly sorry for their mistake." "But I am!" Antonio said. "Sorry, yes," Cody countered. "Truly sorry, no." "I am!" Antonio yelled. "Whether you're truly sorry or not has to be decided according to the avenger," Cody said. "And the avenger is me." Right before Cody could tackle Antonio, a shrill scream yelled, "Cody, what're you doing?" Cody quickly turned around, prepared to fight, but he relaxed when he reconized Sarai. "You done already?" Cody asked. "You done already?" Countered Sarai, raising an eyebrow. "Well, it was split up," Cody pointed out. "Never mind that or your wrestling with Antonio," Sarai critizied them. Both Antonio and Cody slouched. Then Sarai smiled. "Anyways, there's someone I'd like you to meet." That's when Cody and Antonio noticed the girl behind Sarai. "Woah," Antonio muttered. "Someone's white," The girl in white nodded respectively. "I am Taryn," She said. Cody nodded. "I'm-" "I know who you are," Taryn interrupted. "Your name is Cody Shadowstrider. The theurgist is Antonio Lifespear. And I believe I just met Sarai Storm." Cody stared at Taryn. "Who are you?" Cody asked, suspisions rising. Taryn giggled. "I am exactly who I say I am," Taryn claimed. "Taryn." Cody relaxed. He felt that Taryn was telling the truth. "Why're you here?" He asked, not letting his character falling. "You four-yes, I know about Anthony Spiritwalker, too," Taryn said. "Were focused on getting the Shards. That is not what you need to be focusing on. Right now our objective is to find Anthony. Not to mention the Order of the Spiral." Adam was shocked. Thorn Manor? Under attack? One of the reasons why he had accepted Vladimir's offer was because the Manor had seemed so inpenitratable. "Well, why're you just standing there?" Vladimir scolded. "Um what?" Vladimir asked. "Who was that girl who just ran from me and casted the Kracken?" Adam asked. "Girl and Krack-" Then Vladimir realized. "OH MY GOSH I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" He screamed. "Believe what?" Adam asked, genually confused. "My my MY, you and Jose mess up EVERYTHING!" Vladimir yelled. "You let Natalie ESCAPE?" "Natalie the prisoner?" Adam said. Vladimir sighed in exasperation. "No, Natalie the root beer girl. YES NATALIE THE PRISONER YOU IMBOSILE!" Adam gulped. Things weren't looking good. "Heckhound, you mess up everything! At least Jose knew who to watch over!" Vladimir yelled. Adam's fury was rising. He didn't want to get paid only to be shrieked at. Time someone stood to this guy. "Oh yeah?" Adam challenged. "Well, if you're so great and perfect, then why are you standing around talking to me instead of doing something about the fact that we're under attack?!" "You didn't do anything about Natalie!" "Oh, for crying out loud, I DIDN'T KNOW!" "Adam, if you still want your money then you better act up and you better act up FAST!" Vladimir hissed. "I pay you for work and alliance, not for releasing the dumbness that seeps through your uncharged mind! Now get to WORK! As will I!" With that, Vladimir charged off. Adam sighed. He did want the money. He was also tired with Vladimir's insults. They sure boost self-esteem, Adam thought sarcastically. With that he gave chase to the gir- Natalie. But not to capture. To negotiate. Jessica cast another Skeletal Pirate at the guards that kept coming and coming and seeping and seeping through the doors. A second later Esmee followed with an Ice Wyvern. Then something weird happened. Before she could cast another spell, a ray of blue came from one of Esmee's palm. It was clear that Esmee didn't know what she was doing. She was confused at the ray was pointed at the guards, hitting them one by one. And turning them into statues of ice one by one. Once they were all frozen, the ray flickered and died, leaving Esmee completely unaware of what had happened. "What," Jessica started. "Was that?" "I-I-I don't know," Esmee stammered. “I just had this radiation- no, feeling - and I just had to, you know, let it out. And that’s what I did.” “Well, save the dramatic speech for later,” Jessica interrupted. “Now that we can take care of guards easily with your fancy freezing, lets see how Chris and Natalie are doing.” “Ugh,” Alexis groaned. “When will we be able to find Natalie and leave? I’ve got bad memories here.” That was true. A month or two ago, Destiny had been assigned to spy on Vladimir desguised as Neela. She had found Alexis and together they had barely escaped the manor with Vladimir, Neela, Cody and the guards all on their tails. “Patience Alexis,” Chris soothed. “It’s a virtue.” “As the saying goes,” Alexis grumbled. “Not to mention it’s a curse.” “Quiet!” Chris hissed as he pulled Alexis against a black stone wall besides him, the guards barely missing them and running past. Chris turned to Alexis again. “Do you want to be caught?” Rapidly Alexis shook her head. “Good,” Chris approved. “Then stay quiet and lie low!” Her avid eyes sweeping the hall, Alexis noticed a medival door- one of those wooden doors with black metal hinges. Alexis knew instantly where it led to. “Come on!” Alexis whispered as she pulled Chris to the door. Alexis tried it, and surprisingly, it was open. It led to the Manor dungeon cells. “Knew it,” Alexis cheered. “Score one for Alexis.” “In what?” Chris asked sarcastically. “In being smarter then Chris,” Alexis answered. Before Chris could insult Alexis back, Alexis led Chris down the hall. Most of the cells were empty and the same. But the one that really stood out was one that looked utterly destroyed. The cell was practically pulverised. Most of the black iron bars had been snapped in two, the halves up slanted upwards, and the ones on the bottom slanted downwards. The door apparently hadn’t been opened, but the lock was split in two and the cell door seemed to be depending on a fateful hinge to the right for support. There were cut ropes sprawled on the floor and it looked like dust had actually built inside of there due to gray stone bricks that had crashed and one was preparing to crash. Alexis turned to Chris. “Natalie’s cell.” She decided. Chris nodded in agreement. “She is the type to think on her feet,” He said. “Now lets find her.” Chris pulled Alexis along down the hall as another stone brick crashed and broke the last hinge, the end result the doom of the cell door. Vladimir swiftly ran to the security room. He hadn’t been hearing from the security, so he decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands. Quickly Vladimir pulled out a red key from his pouch and unlocked the door, revealing the security room, basically a system of telescopes that watched every room at almost every angle that all met up to there. The Security Room. Vladimir entered another section of the room that watched over the cells in the dungeon. Before he entered that section though, he noticed a telescope leading to outside of the manor. Vladimir peered into the telescope. There he watched as Jessica and Esmee retreated into the manor. The guards that were supposed to be protecting it weren’t moving a milimeter. Just then he saw the sheets of ice that covered each one of them. Vladimir knew that all descendants had potential. But being able to freeze things? That was a whole different story indeed. Vladimir then rushed to the telescope watching over Cell #24, Natalie’s cell. Or what was left of it. Vladimir gritted his teeth at the sight of the ruined cell. Helephant! Vladimir thought. Dang those Descendants of Storm! He knew that they had a thing or two with strength. Then he noticed two others, a conjurer and a theurgist. He recgonized them both easily. Chris Soulhunter and Alexis Lifestone. Order of the Sprial. With good eyesight he watched the two of them carefully. He watched as Chris and Alexis fled the dungeon. Vladimir exited the security room. Just then he noticed Jose running about. “Hey, Jose!” Vladimir barked. Jose scrambled to him. “Yes Vladimir?” “You know where the dungeons are, don’t you?” He asked. Jose nodded. “Sure do,” He replied. “I need you to guard the entrance,” Vladimir said. “A part of the raiding party is in there and will attempt to get out. Don’t let them. Get them. Maybe even kill them, if it comes to that.” “Killing?” Jose asked, his voice quiet now. “You want me to kill?” “At a last resort,” Vladimir said. “But if that’s what it takes to stop them from killing us, you just may have to. The stakes are now higher then ever before.” Pretty soon Dylan and Garrett had fallen to the Ordeal too. Surprisingly, throughout the night, Connor had woken up and was waiting for the three members of the Order of the Spiral when they repeated. Destiny rubbed her eyes then noticed Connor. “I thought you were in your Ordeal,” She said. Connor nodded. “I was. Till I woke up.” Destiny sighed. “I guess that’s it then,” She said solemnly. Connor noticed the sadness right away. “What’s the big deal?” He asked. “Our last names,” Destiny said. “Lets just say that.” Connor sighed. “What about them?” He asked. “And please don’t do those dramatic pauses. I hate those.” Unknowingly, a smile crept up Destiny’s face. “I do too,” She said. “Anyways, one night I had a dream. They basically spoke of last names. One of them was Seagem.” “Awesome,” Connor replied. “It was for me too,” Destiny agreed. “Till I met you.” “So meeting me was a bad thing?” Connor asked, hardness erupting in his voice. Connor was taking it the wrong way. “No, that’s not what I meant!” Destiny protested. “The thing is, my last name’s Seagem too.” The hardness was replaced by happiness. “Awesome,” Connor said again. Then he realized where Destiny was getting to. “Oh,” Destiny nodded. “Yeah.” “Hey guys, what’s up?” Destiny looked around and saw Garrett awaking up. “Already passed?” She asked. Garrett nodded. “Yeah. It was scary.” Destiny stared at him. “You know,” She said. “It only took a matter of hours for you while it usually takes at least a day. You’re Descendant to recover that I’ve seen.” Garrett’s eyebrows rose. “Nice,” He said, grinning. Destiny offered her hand to Garrett. “Congrats Garrett,” She said as Garrett accepted. “You just set a record.” Garrett grinned slyly. “Again, nice,” Then a jolt was sent down Destiny’s spine. This means that when it comes to dying, Destiny thought. They’re out of the equation. But Dylan, Emma and Nicholas are still up for grabs. Oh great. It just had to be one she had history with, huh? Within the next hour Ryan and Jason had awoken and got some breakfast to share. The group ate viraciously and savored it. But Destiny knew it was only a matter of time before the subject arose again. Destiny was right. “So, you guys recovered from your Ordeal pretty fast,” Jason observed. “Honestly, I recovered barely before Destiny woke up,” Connor admitted. “I guess it took like fifteen or something hours.” “Fifteen hours is pretty normal,” Ryan added. “But a matter of two or three hours from Garrett? That’s almost paranormal. He was close to beating the Ordeal record.” Again Garrett raised his eyebrows. “Sheesh,” Was all he could say. Jason nodded. “Sheesh indeed.” The rest of the day seemed to fly by. Day turned into night. During the night Dylan recovered and was waiting for the rest of them. Now all that was left was Emma and Nicholas. Another day passed. Still no recovery from either one of them. Somehow the group managed to keep themselves entertained. Then, night rose. Dylan, Connor, Garrett, Destiny, Jason and Ryan had all gotten back from the arena to test out their skills against one another in a series of duels. When they came back to the chamber, they found Emma tending to Nicholas. Destiny gasped in horror. If Emma was now recovered- It meant two things. One was good, the other very, very bad. The first one was that Emma had survived her Ordeal. The second thing was that apparently fate had chosen Nicholas. Anthony was almost done searching for inside the Tomb of Storms. He had searched every nook and cranny of it, most would do the same if they were trying to get back to their own time. They would be that desperate. Soon, when he returned to the Oasis, he found Cody, Antonio, Sarai and another girl dressed clad in white waiting for him. “Hey guys,” Anthony greeted. Then his eyes swept to the girl. “Who’s she?” Before the white girl could respond, Cody said, “She claims to be able to take us back to our own time.” “Doesn’t the Shards do that?” Anthony questioned. The girl shook her head. “No,” She answered. “That would be very, very unwise. If you bring the Shards at a close enough distance yet again, the massive amount of cosmic energy stored inside those fragments will cause even more chaos if they were to reconnect. You were all very lucky to survive an event of the Shards being brought together. Sending you forward or back in time was a tiny spark compared to what could have happened. What normally happens. There must have been a very powerful force near it to repel the radiation of that kind of energy.” Antonio whistled. “So this is only a minority?” He asked. “It’s exactly what I’m saying,” The brainiac girl said. “So what’s your name?” Anthony said. “At least tell me that if I’m supposed to trust you.” The girl nodded her understanding. “My name is Taryn.” “A last name?” Anthony inquired. “None,” Taryn said simply. Anthony nodded his understanding. “I see,” He said. Some people in the spiral chose not to have a last name and just went by a first. Apparently Taryn was one of those people. But Anthony quickly got back on topic. “So you explained pretty well what would have happened if the Shards reconnected,” He observed. “So explain how you’ll be able to take us back to our own time.” “That I cannot explain,” Taryn objected. “It is against sacred laws for me to do so. But I can explain this: we need to find the rest of what you call the Order of the Spiral and... a few others.” “Who is a few others?” Sarai asked, speaking for the first time. “Some siblings who are gonna get caught up in this, whether they like it or not.” Taryn said. “All in the school of Balance.” Then the color drained from her face. Sarai could sense that something was wrong right away. “What is it?” She asked. “Sarai,” Taryn said softly. “Go to Wizard City. Now.” “Why?” Sarai asked. Taryn tried to blink away tears. “A death toll is near.” Jessica looked over her shoulder along with Esmee as they entered Thorn Manor. Instead of a dark blue, now the sky was becoming a dark yellow as the sun began to rise east over the horizon. “Wow,” Jessica marveled. “The raid has taken a few hours, apparently.” Esmee’s eyebrows raised. “Had no idea it took this long,” She agreed. “Anyways,” Jessica said. “We still have to find Alexis and Chris, but preferably Natalie.” “So stop freaking standing there,” Argued Esmee. Before Jessica could talk back, Esmee retreated inside the manor. Shortly Jessica followed and rushed to catch up with Esmee. Suddenly a shout of pain was heard down the hall to the duo’s left. Quickly they both decided to rush and check it out. But it wasn’t long before a sudden swooping phoenix was heading their way at an incredible rate. Quickly Jessica ducked, but Esmee held her ground, unmoving. “ESMEE!” Jessica yelled. “Do you want to get squashed?” A laugh came from Esmee. “I’m not!” Right when she finished, Esmee closed her eyes and exposed the palm of her right hand. Soon after, another freeze ray had shot out of it and turned the phoenix into a block of ice. Jessica nodded an approving nod to Esmee. “Nice one,” She complemented. “That certainly disposed of the rouge phoenix.” The fourteen-going-on-fifteen thautamerge shrugged. “I try,” She said, followed shortly by a smug smile. “Now lets move it,” Then once again Esmee broke off. Jessica rolled her eyes in annoyance, then shrugged. They looked around, then saw a diviner grunting in pain, one they recongnized instantly. “Natalie!” They shouted simentaniously. When she saw the group returning, Emma rushed up to them, with tears in her eyes. “It’s Nicholas,” She stammared. “H-he’s not doing well! He’s struggling to breathe, and his heartbeat is slowing!” Jason ran over to Nicholas while Ryan muttered, “Oh no.” Destiny along with everyone else listened to Nicholas, and he wasn’t in good condition. “We need to get him to a hospital or infirmary or something!” Dylan shouted. Garrett shook his head. “As much as I hate to admit it, we can’t,” He said, “because there just won’t be enough time to take him to someplace like that.” “Then get a theurgist!” Dylan shouted. “Just do something!” He looked to Nicholas, and even though he couldn’t hear, Dylan added, “Don’t worry, you’re gonna be okay!” “Does anyone know CPR?” Connor asked as he scanned the group. “Nicholas has lack of oxygen coming to his brain.” “I don’t.” The group was stunned by Nicholas opening his eyes. “You’re okay!” Exclaimed Emma. Nicholas shook his head. “Not exactly. I didn’t pass.” The color from Emma’s face drained once again. “What do you mean?” “For now, I’m alive. However, I can’t exactly say that in ten minutes.” “No,” Dylan said. “You’re not. If you do, we’ll get you to a medic.” “No ordinary medic can bring someone back to life,” Nicholas regected. “It’s got to be Life herself or... or...” “Or what?” Emma asked. “Or the Descendant of Life, in which even she may not be able to do it,” Nicholas said. “The only other one who can do it is a fully realized Pure Descendant.” “Pure Descendants barely exist!” Jason yelled. “You kidding me?” “If I were, would I be saying it in the first place?” Silence told Nicholas the answer he was looking for. “That’s what I thought.” He turned to his siblings, with a series look on his face. “You all have a common goal, Descendant or no,” He began. “You may not realize it, but I know that the spiral is indeed in graver danger then any of you know. It’ll take hard, combined efforts to repel that threat. “I have seen things of the future from my Ordeal,” Nicholas continued. “It’s not a pleasant one. You’ll also have to keep this in mind: In the process, a world will actually fall and crumble to ruins, as will the rest of the spiral if in the end it isn’t enough. The spiral will be filled to the brim with evil and demise. Vladimir and his group have a plan that none of you know about. You don’t even realize how dangerous his goal is, and you don’t even realize how close he is to completing it! If he were to succeed, then everything we’ve all worked for will be for nothing. Everything as you know it will crumble to dust and ash.” He looked closly at all of his siblings. “My time is coming very soon,” He warned, “Please, I need my siblings to fulfill their destinies, their roles to their school. Give your life if neccissary, as have I for this cause. The game has become a lot dangerous then what it was a year ago. I need you four, Connor, Garrett, Dylan and Emma, to fulfill your roles. All of you need to do so. And you will.” Nicholas turned to Destiny, Jason and Ryan. “You’re all thinking how the legendary Marcus Dawngem died,” He said. “I know how, the same way I will.” Ryan gasped. “He died in the Ordeal?” He asked. “But... he was a Pure Descendant...” “Ordeals for regular Descendants are horrible,” He said. “One for a Pure is a thousand times multiple! Almost no one can survive that kind of challenge.” Nicholas took a deep breath and looked up. “My time’s up,” he said. “Wherever this lead, someone had to go. I’m glad it wasn’t one of you guys. Time to rest.” And with that, he was still. From behind a corner, Neela Waterpetal noticed Esmee’s new power. She knew that she had a powerful aura as the Descendant of Ice, but not powers. Thautamerges learned to freeze little objects when they were grandmasters, and it could only be something small. However, Esmee had it down at adept. Her aura. Aura. That’s what Neela would call it. She had to find out about the Auras. If Esmee could freeze things, with her being a Descendant, there was almost no telling what the others could do. They’d most likely have Auras along with Esmee, powers to help them enhance life. Now she practically knew that the Descendant of Fire could do; he could most likely set things on fire with merly a glance. Neela had to find out more. Why hadn’t she, Vladimir and Cody heard of it before? Had they actually managed to keep their powers a secret or were they just barely being discovered? Neela had heard no mention of it that she could recall, nor had she seen it in action till now, so she assumed the latter. Neela needed to discover what this was, or if the Order had even known about it. But if they had just discovered it now, Neela thought, had they had the capacity to use this all along? Or did they not discover it till now because now was a grave time for them with Neela and Vladimir being so close to succeeding? Connor felt Nicholas’s face. “He’s gone,” He said, barely controlling himself, “no theurgist can bring him back now, I’m afraid.” Destiny looked back to everyone of Nicholas’s siblings. Only Emma’s auburn hair was visiable with her hands buried deep in her face. Connor was trying to hold his own for everyone. Garrett was trying to comfort Emma, telling her that everything was going to be okay. But was it? Nicholas had died! They were all trapped in time with no known way out! Natalie was apparently captured for what she knew, and she couldn’t imagine what kind of trial Chris, Jessica, Esmee and Alexis was going through. Things were not okay. She realized that she hadn’t checked on Dylan. Dylan’s back was turned to the rest of the group, arms across his chest. “Why did Nicholas have to die?” He asked himself, even though he knew that he was going to get no clear answer. “Why not me?” Destiny heard him, and apparently so had Jason. “It was for a good cause,” Jason promised, “it won’t be for nothing.” “And just what cause is this?” Dylan’s voice was raised. “Nicholas and I weren’t just brothers, we were almost twins! We were the closest two people you could ask for, even though that we were different schools.” “Wait, wait just a minute,” Destiny rose, looking Dylan in the eye, “just what do you mean you were different schools?” Dylan shrugged. “He was Balance,” He replied, “and I’m Death.” Destiny slowly turned to Jason, who had a shocked expression on your face. “Um, you’re not Balance?” He inquired, trying to hide the uneasiness in his voice but obviously not successful. “You see me wearing white robes, not tan,” Dylan reminded. “what did you expect?” “We expected that you were Balance!” Destiny’s voice rose. “You went through the Ordeal! Your last name was in a dream of mine! And now you’re death?” Her voice was shrilling with the final four words. “Oh, so its my fault all of a sudden?” Dylan asked, his voice rising along with Destiny’s, “you can’t blame me! I didn’t choose to be in Death!” “But, but,” Ryan joined. “this means that you just may not be a Descendant of Balance.” “But I went through the Ordeal and everything,” Dylan argued. “I guess you’re just not used to the fact that someone in Death could be a Descendant of Balance.” Jason looked to Destiny, who’s face turned a deep red. “Anyways,” Dylan persisted. “Enough with the fact that I may or may not be a Descendant, because I know for a fact that I am. My brother, twin, in fact, has died and all you’re doing is standing around here wondering if I’m a Descendant!” He yelled the last few words, breathing heavily, seething in anger. “You don’t care!” He yelled. “You don’t care that Nicholas has freaking died!” “That’s not true!” Ryan argued. “We care perfectly!” “Then why are you standing around here arguing with me instead of moarning him along with Garrett, Emma and Connor?” Dylan yelled pointing to his twin’s body. “If this case, whatever you’re fighting for, has killed him, then I want no part of this, I don’t care if it kills me!” With the last few words Dylan turned around and ran out of the spiral chamber. But not before saying, “In fact, I’d prefer to be dead myself now! Anything to see Nicholas again!” Sarai barged into the chamber, looking around. Taryn had said that a death was near. She had to get to that dying person before he or she did pass away. That was, until she saw two boys and a girl huddling over a body. Sarai walked over to the trio. “What’s wrong?” She asked. The girl looked to her, streams of tears accenting her blue eyes and light brown hair. “It’s N-N- I can’t say his name!” The girl cried. “My brother- dead!” “This wasn’t supposed to happen in at least thirty years,” The oldest boy muttered, with black hair and purple eyes in Valkyrie clothes. “I can’t believe this.” It was obvious that he was trying to hold it together for his siblings. Sarai gulped. She had been to late. Sarai knelt down besides the girl. “I’m so sorry,” She said. “So sorry.” “And now-now- another brother, he’s, away! He ran away!” The girl continued. “All in a days work,” Sarai heard the other boy mutter. Sarai shook her head. This was insane. Loosing two brothers in one day was perfectly insane. “Our companions have gone after him,” The boy muttered again. The younger one, the one in that looked like in his late Magus. “Dylan wants to kill himself!” “Well, you’re not going to let him,” Sarai affirmed, standing up. “He doesn’t understand that if he’s dead, he doesn’t consider how you three feel about this situation. Your brother needs to learn to live and learn, accept facts. Now, we’re going to find him!” Before they found Dylan, someone else did. He breathed heavily, staring out into the nothingness of his former school. Everything was being deprieved of him. First the trust of his teacher and guardians, practically saying that he was a failure as a necromancer. After that, his school was ripped out. To add, he was trapped in time with no known way out. Now, his twin brother and only supporter. It was all gone. Simply gone. “Sad how the Death School is gone, huh?” Dylan turned around to see a boy around his age with blue hair and dark eyes. He wore black Valkyrie armor and a gold sword. Dylan nodded sadly. The boy looked over to Dylan. “Something’s wrong. I can sense it.” “How would you feel if you just lost your twin and your school?” Dylan muttered. “Well, I don’t have a twin,” The boy said. “However, there may be something that I can do to change that.” Dylan looked at the blue-haired boy with interest. “What may that be?” The boy’s lips formed a grin, both a little sinister and warming. “I’ll tell you. First, introductions. My name’s Cody Shadowstrider. What’s yours?” Natalie grinned from ear to ear. “Great to see you guys!” She yelled as she rushed up to Esmee and Jessica. “What about Chris and Alexis? Destiny, Ryan and Jason?” She cringed as she spoke Ryan’s name. “Destiny, Ryan and Jason’s location are not of importance right now,” Esmee decided. She didn’t want to talk about her lost cousin. “What matters right now is that we find Chris and Alexis.” “Well, then let’s get out!” Natalie said. “Lets find them and go, I’m sick of this place!” “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” A new voice said. Shortly after those lines were spoken, the trio saw a shadow emerge. A shadow of a teenage girl with long jet-black hair flowing down wearing a black and red Valkyrie Set. At first they didn’t recongize her, but when they saw her amber eyes, they did. Neela. Apparently her hair that was usually tied up into a ponytail was now loose, and she wasn’t in her usual formal Marleybonian garb. Now she was clad in Dragonspyre armor. And as if reading their minds, Neela grinned and asked, “Oh, admire the new change of looks? I decided that Marleybonian wear was too stuffy and was getting old. However, Dragonspyre armor,” Neela did the impossible by grinning even wider. “now this is what you call a good change of clothes.” “Let us pass, Neela,” Jessica warned. Then, with a grin not nearly as sly as Neela’s, she added, “Unless you want to feel Esmee’s wrath.” Esmee grinned. “I can do pretty nasty things to you now,” “Oh, you mean your Aura?” Neela gasped. “Yeah yeah, been there, done that. I know you can freeze things.” “Wait, wait,” Natalie interrupted as she turned to Esmee. “you can freeze things?” She asked. “Isn’t that what we just said?” Neela snapped. Esmee nodded. “Exactly. So how about I test it out? You know, for practice?” And with that, she launched a blue ray at Neela. However, it stopped when it got a foot near her. It didn’t dissolve or anything, it was just stopped, as if there was an invisible force field around Neela. For a few minutes, Esmee kept pushing and pushing with her strength. She turned her head and mouthed, “Go while I have her distracted!” to Jessica. Jessica couldn’t read mouths. But she did get the message. She grabbed Natalie’s arm and fled. Or, at least, tried too. Neela drew out her onyx blade and used it to bar Natalie and Jessica. “One step closer and this will be going inside your bodies,” Neela warned. Natalie couldn’t take it anymore. She had already more or less played the role of damsel in distress, and even with a broken arm, there had to be a way in which she could help. She at least owed Esmee and Jessica that much. Then, without thinking, winds rushed up to Natalie and the fighting quartet heard clouds roll in above the manor. The air was spiraling around Natalie like a vortex consuming yet another victim, lifting her up so her head was an inch from the silver ceiling, and her eyelids fluttered and eyeballs rolled back as if she were fainting. But she wasn’t. So she opened them again. Only this time they weren’t their usual gray: It was a dark purple. Not just the eye color- her eyes were completely purple. Jessica gulped as she saw the fifteen-year-old rise up into the air with her eyes turning purple. And at the same time, she heard lightning flash outside and thunder rolling in. She quickly looked out a window and saw that the winds of the storm was causing a huge wreck outside, with tree trunks cracking apart and falling down onto soggy grass or gravel, Marleybonians fighting against the storm, desperate for safety inside their homes. And if Jessica knew right, the storm happening at the same time that Natalie was- well, in her state, (Jessica didn’t know what else to call it) was nowhere near a coincidence. She soon had her attention diverted back to Natalie, whose right arm shot out and lightning shot at the ceiling with a downwards motion of her arm. Esmee and Neela looked at each other with horror written across their faces. What had Natalie become? With a horizontal motion, the winds grabbed Neela’s sword from her and threw it against the wall, falling to the stone floor with a clank. As Neela rushed after it, Jessica and Esmee fled. But when they saw that Natalie was still in her trance, they rushed after her, not knowing what in the spiral to do to get her out of her state. As Esmee continued trying to get Natalie down, Jessica turned her attention to Neela, who had collected her sword and was already advancing towards them. Jessica quickly summoned a Kracken, knowing that her Death spells would be pracitcally useless due to Neela’s heavy resistance. After a huge effort, Jessica saw that Esmee had got the winds slowly putting Natalie down to the ground, and watched as the dark purple eyes were slowly turning to its usual gray. Once again she looked to Neela, who had easily killed the Kracken with her sword, the Kracken’s purple blood spilling across the floor. To hopefully keep Neela distracted once more, Esmee summoned an Ice Wyvern, knowing that it wouldn’t do too much, but for now it was what she had. A weakened Natalie opened her eyes, the purple completely gone, thankfully. “What- what happened?” She asked as the ceiling began to crumble and as Neela finished off the Wyvern- already. “No time for that,” Esmee rushed. “For now the important thing is to find Chris and Alexis and get out of here!” Jessica took Natalie’s hand and ran out of the hall with her, Esmee following short behind. As Jessica and Natalie proceeded, Esmee held her ground. “What’re you doing?” Jessica yelled at Esmee. “Let’s go!” “Hold on!” Esmee cried. She closed her eyes, raised her arms and hands up, fingers spread apart and palms downwards, she quickly turned her palms up as if she were commanding something to rise. And something did rise- that something was a thick sheet of ice slowly climbing up to the ceiling to bar Neela inside the hall. “Nice one,” Natalie approved, a grin creeping up on her face. Sure enough, she was her old self instead of that creepy being who had seemed to be possessed. “I’m liking Esmee’s power.” “Speaking of which,” Esmee quickly turned around, long brown hair swishing in the air. “What did you do? Natalie- somehow you called that storm. I don’t think you were possessed or anything of the sort. I think you did that on your own will.” “Did what?” Natalie questioned, confused. She was interrupted by the sound of Neela hacking away at the ice with her sword. Again, Esmee put another sheet of ice to join the one that was already imprisoning Neela for good measure. “Lets get out of here,” Esmee interrupted. “But just a second,” She added as she saw Jessica and Natalie already taking off. “Natalie, you may not remember, but you were lifted into the air, your eyes were a deep, dark purple, and there was this huge storm going on outside-” “Speaking of which,” Jessica cut in. “I think its gone now.” Sure enough, they didn’t hear any more lightning or thunder sounding. It still seemed a little cloudy, but based on what they were hearing, the storm seemed to have ceased. “Guys,” Esmee proceeded. “I remember Neela saying something about an Aura. She said that my ability to freeze things in thin air without a source of water nearby was my Aura. Natalie, I think you found yours. You can call storm fronts.” Before Natalie and Jessica could say anything more, Neela had broken through one sheet of ice and was already about halfway through the next. Esmee quickly added three more layers and, when they heard footsteps coming nearer and nearer, they ran away, their main goal to find Chris and Alexis as soon as possible. “Guys, Dylan could be anywhere,” Jason said as they hurried out of the spiral chamber in the dead of night. The trio was so tired- it had to be at least 11PM. “Ain’t that the truth,” Destiny muttered. She knew that it wasn’t exactly the best time to be snappy, but being a necromancer, she really couldn’t help herself but to let Jason see that stating the obvious wasn’t exactly going to help. “Like we did in Grizzlehiem and Mooshu, we’re going to have to split up and do patrols,” Jason proceeded. Either he hadn’t heard Destiny or decided to ignore her comment- and attitude. “Destiny, I need you to take the Commons. From what I’ve seen, the siblings are already looking through Ravenwood, so I guess I’ll look through the Shopping District and Elik’s Edge. Ryan, for now, you’re stationed in Olde Town.” “Why is it always me that gets to patrol the lamest places?” Destiny grumbled. This time, Ryan and Jason did hear her. “This the right time and place?” Ryan asked as Jason opened his mouth, most likely to say the same thing. “Who cares where we’re patrolling, the only thing that should be on our minds is where Dylan Nightfinder is.” “Guess you’re right,” Destiny responded. “Well, may as well get a move on.” The head of the Order of the Spiral headed into the commons. Once Destiny reached the lake, she stopped running and watched as Ryan and Jason headed into the Shopping District. Very soon she couldn’t see them anymore. Shortly Ryan had split up from Jason to do his task. But not long at all did he see make out a shape in the Commons. “Dylan?” He called. “Dylan, we’ve been looking for you. Your siblings are worried, you know.” But as Ryan advanced towards the figure, he realized that it wasn’t Dylan. It couldn’t be Dylan- He wasn’t a foot tall and he certainly didn’t have wings. The Descendant of Storm crouched down to inspect the figure. It was chirping rapidly in gibberish he couldn’t understand and ranting at him, but yet the sprite seemed kind of happy. Then Ryan inspected the sprite- then he gasped when he realized just who it was. First off Destiny looked through the streets. But all that was in the streets of the Commons was the almost eerie breeze of the wind the sound of the rushing waters going down the waterfall and going into the stream. Destiny decided to mess around for a second, so she picked up a little jagged rock the color of a nut, and threw it in the lake. Destiny grinned as she watched the rock drop in and the ripples came out of the epicenter and made its way through the street, and somehow that usual plunk sound satisfied her more then usual. Perhaps she had just needed to take her anger out somehow. Destiny crossed the bridge to the area of the Commons and noticed the entrance to Unicorn Way was guarded. But not too well, seeing how the guard was sleeping on the job. Man, this place... It just seems to have... Changed. Destiny thought, at a loss for words even for her own mind. I remember the Commons- when it wasn’t deserted at night and no one was guarding the entrance to Unicorn Way. What had happened? Destiny decided to check out the library. As she climbed its stepped she noticed something hanging on the doorknobs. Locked! She ran up to the doors and tugged at it, hoping something would work. She wished she knew how to pick locks. If only- Then, as if on cue, Destiny heard a distinct fluttering sound. She turned around and saw a small figure heading her way. Wait a minute- Until now, Destiny hadn’t really thought too much of the sprites disappearance. Now she realized how much she had missed her talkback attitude and her company. Destiny? She heard the chirping voice ask. Sure enough, it was her. And apparently Nikki realized that too. Nikki rushed up to her. Well, you haven’t seemed to change, She said, grinning. “Nikki!” Destiny almost yelled in delight. Never had she thought would she be so glad to see the dark sprite. “Where were you? How’d you find me? How are you in this time too?” Oh, I found that diviner bloke- “Ryan,” Destiny corrected. Yup, it sure was Nikki. Nikki didn’t think twice about insulting even her allies. Whatever. Anyways, I found him in Olde Town while I was desperately looking for Lady Lily- “Wait, Lady Lily?” Destiny asked. “That sprite who told on you?” Yeah! She’s allied herself with that blue-haired turd, now she’s still out to get me! “How is she communicating with Cody?” Destiny questioned. Then she stopped. “Wait... he’s here?” Yup. Nikki said. Sure is. When she said that, something flashed in Destiny’s head and quickly faded away- Another shall turn to the enemy; This was it. Those lines of the prophecy were almost complete. Nicholas had died, and now it was very possible that Dylan would join Vladimir and his brew-haha. That was that. They hadn’t been able to prevent those lines of the prophecy. But yet again, who could prevent fate? “DYLAN!” Emma practically shrieked, tears blinding her eyes. Her hair was matted, dirt and streams of tears on her face. Connor had never seen her this unruly. She was usually so clean. Emma must really be desperate for Dylan. And Connor couldn’t blame her. She had seen unspeakable horrors throught the Ordeal, trapped in time, a brother had died, and within ten minutes another sibling goes missing- and she was only nine. Connor was the oldest, so he was usually more or less expected to be “The Man of the House” from time to time. And as the oldest, he had to reassure her. But he could barely see that possible, as he couldn’t reassure himself. So how was he supposed to tell Emma that things were okay? He knew that Garrett kept trying to do it, but Connor could easily see uncertainaity within the magus’s eyes. The diviner girl, Sarai, knew that they were all lost in their own ways, but she didn’t know herself what the sorcerers had been through in the past couple of days. Connor looked up at the dark blue sky. Dark gray clouds seemed to be rolling in, matching the mood of the family. It seemed all was lost, not even a sliver of hope remained- until he heard the magic word. “Praise the spiral, Dylan!” Connor stopped sulking and ran towards Garrett’s voice. He looked behind and saw Emma was grinning as she ran too. Then they stopped at what they saw. Dylan was in a ball. Then he slowly rose up and faced them, his face expressing not even the slightest sign of joy. “Guys... I’ve... I’ve found a way.” He said. “A- a way for what?” Emma asked. “A way for all of us to be brought together once again,” Dylan responded. “We are together,” Connor persisted. “Don’t you see?” “No, you’re the ones who don’t see!” Dylan raised his voice. He took a minute or two for the confused faces of his siblings to sink in. Then he relaxed. “When I say all of us to be brought together, I mean all of us. Me, you three- and Nicholas.” “Dylan, Nicholas is dead!” Connor said. Instantly he wished he hadn’t said it, as if that statement had made it true. “And unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do.” “There is!” Dylan persisted. “A way to bring Nicholas back to life, a way, for all of us, to be truly reunited!” He took a deep breath, and looked at the siblings again. “We need Cody’s help if we’re going to become one again.” “Who’s Cody?” Garrett asked. A new voice spoke up. “I am,” An eleven-year-old boy in black Valkyrie armor, dark eyes, and short, light blue hair entered. Alongside him was a sprite. Cody stared at each one of them. “I know what has happened to you, all of you,” Cody said. “I’ll admit, I don’t personally know what each and every one of you has been through. But like Dylan said, I can change it.” Cody’s eyes swept the audience, as if he were trying to detect people who would speak up. No one did. He proceeded. “All you have to do-” “Cody!” Another voice joined. The Descendants of Balance recongized Sarai Storm, who looked a little worn. “Cody, Anthony and Antonio are in a fight in the Shopping District! Come on!” Cody looked at the Descendants again. “Excuse me, I have to go.” Cody followed Sarai, and Dylan decided to follow Cody. “Nikki, I need you to look for Jason and Ryan,” Destiny said. But before she could say anymore, Nikki cut her off. Why? I just found you! “Nikki, this is urgent,” Destiny persisted. “You need to warn Jason and Ryan that Dylan will most likely turn to Vladimir!” Then she looks at the lock shielding access to the library. “Actually, first I need you to pick the lock. You an do that, right?” Sure can. “Then do it, please,” Destiny pleaded. All right, all right, Nikki replied. After a few moments with fumbling with the lock, Nikki flew back over and said, You’re good to go. “Thanks,” Destiny said. “Now go warn Jason and Ryan, please.” On it, Nikki said as she flew away. Destiny rushed inside the library and looked around. With its banners, many shelves and mechanisms, it didn’t seem to have changed from when she last was in it, when she was doing research on Marcus Dawngem. Her attention was diverted to a book laying open on the desk. Destiny approached it and looked at the cover. The book was titled, Great Headmasters and Headmistresses of Ravenwood. She saw the page it was opened on. The page was labled, Merle Ambrose. Destiny smiled and read some of the biography. Merle Ambrose was born to Redbeard and Amber Ambrose, both former headmasters, on August 13th, 481 A.C. in Wizard City. She was stunned. Wait a minute.... She turned back one page and was shocked at what was written on the next page. A picture of a caring woman with red hair into a ponytail was under the header: Amber Ambrose Her eyes bugged. Amber was a headmistress? But- not in her day! Was this going to happen in the future? If it was in this book, it had too. But she thought that Redbeard would be on the next page! She had to face facts. Her world was slowly crumbling down. But her thoughts were interrupted by heavy panting. Come quickly! Nikki yelled. Jason and Ryan are in a fight! “Come on, Natalie has to be around here somewhere!” Alexis protested. “Patience is a virtue,” Reminded a bored Chris for about the hundreth time. “As you keep saying!” Alexis snapped impatiently. Before Chris could react by lecturing her once more, a new voice arose. “Who’s there?” Alexis and Chris gulped, clamping both of their hands over their mouths. They had just blown their cover... but it was too late. The past was past, and they couldn’t change it. So of course clamping their hands over their mouths was completely inneffective when a master diviner with dark eyes, short black hair, and a slightly muscular build that Chris and Alexis didn’t recognize seemed to rise out of the shadows, wearing a monk hat and dragonspyre armor and a purple Dragonspyre sword, which Chris recognized as the Galvanic Blade. “I said, who’s there?” That’s when the diviner casted the stormzilla to seek the two out. Its yellow nose sniffed the air, then after a minute, it seemed to pick up a scent- Chris and Alexis’ apparently, because right then the stormzilla charged at them. Right then a minotaur and a centaur popped out of the Myth and Life symbols Chris and Alexis had etched to meet the stormzilla. The minotaur’s ax went through the stormzilla’s hip, but seemed completely ineffective. However, this encouraged the centaur all the more to send a volley of arrows at the stormzilla, which bore through its chest while the minotaur held it down. As the stormzilla dropped to the ground, dead, the minotaur and the centaur disappeared into the air, having done their jobs. Alexis saw the the diviner’s lips curve into a smile. “There you are.” And now yet another voice arose, and Alexis was half-surprised to find it her own as she stepped out. “Got a problem with that?” “Yeah. I kinda do.” As the diviner reached for his sword, Alexis took that opportunity to lunge at him, her hip ramming into his chest, knocking him down the the floor. However, the boy simply brought up his leg behind Alexis and swung it at her backside, hitting her hard. Seeing this, Chris emerged and helped Alexis up after casting a humungofrog at the diviner, who was prepared for this, seeing how he had summoned a shield to defend himself as he used it to cover himself from the vomit the huge green frog puked out, barely damaging him at all. As he protected his head and torso by using his left arm to hold the shield, his right, which had a sword in it, cruelly scribbled a Storm symbol, which fizzled, the ashes falling quickly like snow. But this didn’t bother the diviner. As Chris and Alexis were busy picking new spells, he heaved the shield, landing perfectly in the humongofrog’s mouth, suffocating it a little, then the diviner ran his sword through it, and he might have the same intention to do it to the Descendants, seeing as how he ran his swords through the symbols they had made in progress, therefore altering their concentration and having it fizzle as he took them by surprise as he pushed Alexis to the stone ground and attempted to punch Chris, who countered it by using his left arm to grip the diviner’s, holding him back as Chris kicked his stomach. Meanwhile, Alexis swiftly got back up, rushing to her Mooshu wand, which was laying on the floor about ten feet away from her. She ran as fast as she could to it, but to no avail, seeing as how the Storm Wizard beat her to it in a flash and grabbed it, pointing it to her throat as Alexis skidded to a halt from running fast, then noticed that the diviner was pointing the Galvinic Blade at Chris. Then what happened next was unexpected. The diviner’s lips curled into a smile just when another guy crept up behind him, surprising the trio completely as he tackled the diviner, forcing him to drop Alexis’ wand and his Galvinic Blade. The guy who had tackled the diviner was someone who yet Chris and Alexis didn’t recognize, for he was in black, black hood shrouding his hair and yet also shading his eyes. “Enough, Jose!” The guy in black snarled. “What do you think you’re doing?” the diviner called Jose countered back. “Teaching you a lesson!” Yelled the guy in black, who before backtalking pulled down his hood to reveal short blue hair and sky blue eyes. Alexis didn’t recognize him, but apparently Chris did. Noah’s gaze abrubtly swung to the Descendants of Myth and Life. “Go!” He yelled. “I’ve got Jose!” “Noah, you just blew your cover!” Chris said urgently as Alexis bent down to pick up her wand. “You’ll probably get killed!” Noah managed a weak smile at them, as if everything was going to be okay. But just blowing his cover and identity as a spy, it may not. As if seeing this suddenly, the magus pyromancer’s smile turned serious again. “Just go! I’ve got Jose covered! Reunite with Jessica and Esmee quickly! They’ve already found Natalie! Just GO!” Looking to each other with worried expressions written on their faces, Alexis and Chris solemnly nodded briefly as they ran out of the hall, leaving Noah to fight with Jose, who had broke free from Noah and looked at him menacingly. “You’re going to get it!” Jose yelled, angry, bringing up his blade. Noah gulped. Before Nikki could say anything more, Destiny was already out of the library, running towards the shopping district, gripping her Scavenger’s Staff of Sagas as if it were a lifeline. Must... get... to... Jason... and... Ryan... That’s what was in Destiny’s head as she entered the shopping district, and by the fountain she found that Nikki’s words were true- Jason was locked in combat with Anthony while Ryan was holding off Antonio, Noah’s cousin. Fire symbols after Fire symbols rang in the air, both of the pyromancer’s having no better idea then to constantly bring helephants to life. Antonio had just been able to cast a Guiding Light as Ryan’s spell fizzled, allowing Antonio time to trace the Life symbol again, this time bringing up a seraph. However Ryan seemed to be holding his own against the magus theurgist, while Jason and Anthony weren’t making much progress. So Destiny rushed to help them when she was caught back by surprise. Jason screamed in fury at Anthony, and then the next sight was horrific- fire poured out of Jason’s mouth and other fist, sparks zooming the air and some landing on Destiny’s shirt. Fireballs came out of Jason’s fists, all aimed for Anthony, who backed away in surprise, trying to dodge the fire. Anthony had brought up a Fire Shield, but it seemed to be doing no good to the fire that Jason was summoning without a symbol, without a staff- without magic. Yet it was magic. How else would Jason be able to summon fire without a spark or ash without creating a monster from a spell? It just popped out of nowhere, and fire seemed to surround Jason and Anthony as Jason advanced towards the master, barely any emotion displayed on his face. Jason didn’t carry his Dragon Rider Staff- he just went out there with his bare hands, and he didn’t even lift them up as more fire seemed to surge from his mind and into the real world, fireball after fireball aimed for Anthony, yet none actually hitting Anthony- instead it hit the dye and shoe shops, unmaintained due to the late hour. Fire lit up the night and wreathed the battle between Anthony and the Descendant of Fire in red and orange. Jason was now looming over Anthony, clearly worried for his sake and backing away on the ground. The Descendant of Fire brought up his arm, all of a sudden flames dancing on it, and as he was about to bring it down on Anthony it was interrupted by a cry, which Destiny had found to be her own. The pyromancer turned his attention to her and as he did so, the fire seemed to soften, and apparently Antonio and Ryan’s battle had ceased to turn and watch Jason bring up the flames. A look of concern and compassion replaced his emotionless face, and gradually it seemed that the fire ceased a little bit, and on top of it, Jason looked as if he were going to pass out. Jason had gone from a vicious battler into an understanding guy in barely a second. Jason took notice of the fire around them, which were slowly beginning to die down. Jason breathed hard as he seemed to be done taking notice of his surroundings. “What... what happened?” “Dude, you were out of control!” Ryan suddenly yelled. “There was a whole bunch of fire that you generated, and you did it without spells! It didn’t come from flint or sparks or anything either!” Jason took a moment to register this and tears streamed from his eyes a bit, as if realizing and taking notice of the monster he had been. He drew in ragged breaths, another stream of tears going down his soot-stained face. Jason turned to Anthony, who was still on the ground, cowering from Jason in fear. But Antonio didn’t, for he took no mercy and casted a centaur, already nocking an arrow at a surprised Jason, and to cover for him, Destiny quickly summoned a Skeletal Pirate, just in time for it to rush up in between the centaur and Jason, and just as the arrow was released the pirate blocked it with the flat of its sword. But the pirate met its match soon enough, for there was another pirate who lunged for it, sending Destiny to quickly turn around to find Cody Shadowstrider grinning menacingly, the near-grandmaster advancing near them. “What did I miss?” Cody asked, confusion seeming to take over his face. The confusion quickly died as he grinned. “By the way, I’ve brought a friend.” That’s when a boy in white clothes with dark, dark skin, short white hair and chocolate-brown eyes stepped out behind him, looking fairly nervous and ashamed, and Destiny’s heart softened a little bit when she saw him. “Dylan,” She barely mangaged. Dylan took a deep breath and pointed his wand at the head of the Order of the Spiral, switching from Destiny, to Jason, then to Ryan as he said, “For the right reasons. You guys lied to me! You all are wizard scum!” “We didn’t lie to you!” Ryan’s voice rose. “We told you what was going to happen! We warned you about the death of one of your siblings! We took you in-” “You didn’t take me in!” Dylan yelled. “Garrett took you in! AND HE NEVER SHOULD HAVE!” “Dylan, I know that Nicholas has died,” Jason cut in, “but nothing can change that. Fate has already took its course.” “Then I hate fate as much as I hate YOU THREE!” Dylan screamed. “Guys, I hate to be the party pooper,” Cody interrupted. “But I’m bored. How about some fighting?” Just then Cody released a scarecrow, something that Destiny had only seen once or twice from Vladimir and Neela. With barely a second to think, she conjured up a Death Shield and quickly observed who Cody was aiming at- Ryan. So she threw the shield at one of the Descendants of Storm, but missed. Ryan picked it up and raised it just in time to partly block the scarecrow’s attacks. Antonio casted a sandstorm at Destiny and Jason, and because they had not been prepared, yes, it did damage them. As it died down, both of them summoned fire- Destiny by sunbird, and Jason by using his mind trick as he threw a fireball at Antonio, who seemed fairly surprised, taking him aback, which gave the duo the opportunity to throw more spells at the theurgist while Ryan attempted to hold Cody off, who Dylan was joining. Anthony was still speechless from Jason’s fire tricks, still on the ground as if he were rooted there- Jason seemed to have truly terrified him. And the sound of spells in the air, the fire flickering and the aura of warfare spreading seemed to have died immediately when a shrill voice screamed, “STOP!” Destiny quickly turned around to see a master diviner with chocolate brown skin and eyes, with long white hair, wearing a purple and white monk’s hat and Dragonspyre armor. Cody seemed to have recognized her though, because he muttered, “Sarai... Oh geez.” The girl Cody identified as Sarai yelled again. “What’re you doing? Who caused this?” Antonio and Anthony looked a little ashamed of themselves when they heard Sarai scolding them like a mother scolding her son for stealing candy from a baby. The remaining Descendants of Balance emerged behind her, as did a girl purely in white- with the exception of her purple eyes, reminding Destiny of an athemist. Finally Destiny broke the silence. “Who are you?” It was directed at the white girl. The girl smiled. “My name is Taryn. I have the power to get every single one of you back to your own time.” It seemed as if the air had been knocked out of Destiny. Ryan’s eyes bugged, and Jason tried to disguise his shock by raising an eyebrow and asking, “How?” Taryn’s lips formed a genuine smile. “That, I cannot tell, for the secret of this particular magic is ancient and has been lost for a time.” “Well, never mind that,” Destiny suddenly spoke up. “What I’m wondering is if you can do it. Because if you can, then prove it.” Taryn maintained her smile. “I remember Sarai here asking the very same thing a day or so back. I refused to do it because not all of you were here. But-” Taryn’s gaze went to Sarai, Cody, Antonio, Anthony, Emma, Connor, Garrett, Jason, Dylan, Ryan, and finally, Destiny, and Taryn’s gaze seemed serious and punctured into her, as if trying to send her a vital message, and Destiny could see a look of worry yet hope in her eyes when she saw Destiny, “since now all of you are here, I can do it. I only will if you agree to stop the fighting.” Everyone hastily nodded. Taryn nodded her approval, her smile suddenly fading as she marched into the very center of the Shopping District. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then her eyes opened suddenly as she said, “Then let the process begin.” Huffing, Chris and Alexis ran side by side until- Until they found them. A thautamerge with long auburn hair and blue eyes wearing Marleybonian clothes, a necromancer with jet-black hair and blue eyes wearing black and red Mooshu clothes, and someone they had been eagerly hoping to see again- a girl with dark skin, light blue hair and gray eyes in purple and white Mooshu armor. The next moments were blurred with joy and happiness, but Chris could make out that Esmee and Jessica were smiling and laughing wholeheartedly together but tired, their differences put aside- for now. Alexis and Natalie giving one another a girl hug, and Chris stood there, smiling at the happy reunion. And, it seemed for a moment right there, that things were going to be okay. That it was going to be all right. They had succeeded in their goal. They had united once more. Sure, Destiny, Jason and Ryan were in a different time, but Chris was confident that it would get sorted out. But quickly things got grim. “Noah,” Chris breathed. The girls paused and turned to look at Chris, a look of determination and hardness on his face. “Noah,” He repeated. “Noah Firewielder blew his cover just so Alexis and I could escape from a diviner called Jose.” Alexis bent her head solemnly. Chris smiled a little. “But don’t worry Alexis.” He said. “Noah saved us,” The next words sent all of them with a new determination and new goal. Something that they had to do otherwise nothing would go right. “So we’re going to do the same.” Vladimir Thorn was rushing everything and running everywhere, hoping to protect his home and base from crumbling to the Order of the Spiral. He tried veraciously to stop them from flowing down his cheeks- he could barely watch. It was his home, after all. But his thoughts were quickly interrupted by a girl with long black hair (not tied in its usual ponytail) and amber eyes in black and red Valkyrie Dragonspyre armor. Neela. She looked worn and shivering a little bit- maybe the Descendant of Ice’s powers had an effect on her. The soles of her boots were covered in a purple liquid- Kracken blood. “What is it?” Vladimir asked. Neela took a deep breath and said, “They found her! They found Natalie! They took her along and are nearing escape! I’m sorry, I fai-” Vladimir gripped her shoulders, and Neela expected a slap or something most villains did in books. But when she look into his eyes, all she saw was concern and worry for his childhood friend. “Neela, stop. Calm down.” He said encouragingly and sympathetically yet stern and forceful. “It wasn’t you. It was the Order- they simply overpowered you that time, especially with Esmee’s newfound power.” Vladimir released Neela’s shoulders and asked calmly, “You do know about them, right?” Neela nodded her understanding, trying not to show the fright in her eyes. But Vladimir easily found it, forcing him to recall the time they had first met, three or four years back... “Stop it!” Twelve-year-old and newly oriented novice necromancer Vladimir Thorn, grief stricken, looked over to his right and saw a girl a bit younger then him in novice fire robes backing away from a trio of grandmaster necromancers. They were bullies of Ravenwood- Oran Nighthunter, Ally Shadowbreeze and Galen Darkspell. Oran pushed the fire student back, his red hair seeming to glisten along with his amber eyes remarkably similar to the girl in the Fire robes- for she had long black hair, was a little short and had narrow, light amber eyes. Oran laughed. “Or what, puny novice?” He pushed the Fire girl down onto the pavement, and as he did so, a chorus of laughter erupted from the trio of bully necromancers. As the girl tried to get up, Oran simply pushed her back down again, and they laughed once more. “Oran, stop it,” Ally pretended to sympathize, her long golden hair pushing on her shoulder. “I mean, isn’t the girl weak enough? She is a novice! They can’t even help themselves, those noobs!” Oran, Ally and Galen laughed again. Rage burned within Vladimir, a fire within him flaring. The Fire girl’s black hair... it reminded him too much of her. I’m doing this for you. “Hey! Stop it!” Vladimir yelled, approaching the twelve-year-olds. Oran, Ally and Galen all turned their gazes to him, and for a second Vladimir was nervous and unsure that he should have said that. But then he quickly regained his confidence as Oran asked, “What? Did you say?” Vladimir grinned along with them. “You heard me. Stop it! Or do you need your ears checked?” The novice pretended to think about it for a minute then grinned wickedly as he added, “Oh yeah, that’s right, I forgot. You don’t have any.” Galen rolled up his sleeves and balled up his fists, but Oran didn’t even turn his head around as his arm blocked the dark-haired boy’s way. Then Oran advanced towards Vladimir, making sure to tower over him. “Going up to us, you might not have any yourself.” Ally and Galen laughed to encourage Oran, but instead Vladimir maintained his confidence and countered, “You’re just using my insults? Man, you cowards might want to take classes on insultation.” Ally and Galen Ooohed as Oran raised his eyebrows and asked softly and forcefully, “What did you just call us?” “Coward. You heard right. I called you a coward.” Vladimir pointed out. “And I’ll do it some more. Liar. Bully. Good-for-nothing.” Oran was starting to look mad. “You’re starting to get it!” Then he punched Vladimir, knocking him to the ground. Ally and Galen followed shortly, kicking him in between them as if he were some sort of ball. Oran barely had time to register the cry when all of a sudden, the girl, now in black and red and hair flowing down, tackled him and tackled him hard. Vladimir got up as Oran was knocked down, with the girl in Death robes furiously swiping at him. “You... don’t... mess... with... me... ever... AGAIN!” She yelled between punches and kicks, and Oran was helpless, and Vladimir, Ally and Galen made no move- they just stood there, surprised at the sudden change of the girl. The girl was seething with rage, eyes filled with fury all the while the only thing Oran’s eyes displayed was fear. But nontheless, the girl continued. “You think you’re so smart!” The girl screamed. “But get this, son of a banshee!” Vladimir couldn’t believe she had just sweared, “You just dug your own grave right there!” “Please, no!” Oran begged. “Please!” “No!” The girl screamed right in his face, kicking him. “I will not stop! When you pushed me down and I begged for mercy, did you give it to me? DID YOU?!” She kicked him again. Oran was wheezing now- he probably couldn’t handle it anymore. He looked half-dead... all because he had attempted to pick on a seemingly mindless girl. “Wh- who are you?” Oran asked fearfully in a mix of a stutter and wheezing. “A fighter,” The girl snarled, “giving you what you deserve!” She laughed. “It’s funny- you’re acting like the victim now! Hiding your lies and disguising yourself!” Now the girl was barely inches away from his face. “I’ll stop. Because I have to thank you- you made me infinitely stronger and smarter today.” She stepped away from him, and it took him a minute or two to regain his strength to sit up. “Don’t you dare mess with me again!” The girl hissed right in his face, spitting on him. “Because believe me, I’ll remember. I’ll remember, all right. Now run. Run like the spiteful coward you always have been!” Oran hastilly nodded, picked himself up and ran like the wind. The girl in Death robes turned her attention to Ally and Galen. “You want it too?” She threatened. They both shook their heads and ran. The girl smiled, then turned her attention to Vladimir. But unlike the previous three, at him, she smiled. “Hey. You had guts.” Vladimir relaxed. He had thought that the girl was going to harass him to get the helephant out of there, but apparently not. “Um... yeah. I guess I did.” The girl smiled again, this time genuine. “You stood up to them-” “So did you,” Vladimir pointed out. “Yeah, but you inspired me to rise up.” “I- I did?” The girl elbowed him and laughed. “Didn’t I just say that?” She looks at him for a moment, then says, “I’m Neela. Neela Waterpetal. Student of... Death.” Vladimir nodded. “Vladimir Thorn.” The flashback was interrupted. “Vladimir!” He recognized the voice. “Jose? Did you find them?” “Yes, and something else,” Jose appeared now with a guy in black with blonde hair, his eyes closed, Jose’s arm over Noah’s neck. Noah looked unconscious and had a bloody nose. Vladimir stepped forward. “What the-” “He’s a traitor! A spy! Noah has worked for the Order of the Spiral all along!” Taryn took a deep breath and lifted her arms, then brought them back down again. She’s not doing magic with a wand, staff or sword, Destiny observed. Hand magic. Have to be pretty powerful to do that. But Destiny’s thoughts were interrupted, because a symbol she had never seen before appeared in front of Taryn. It was a white symbol, that looked like the basic hourglass outline, an upside-down triangle’s tip connecting to the tip of another triangle. Then it broke and a white portal appeared in the air, like a swirling, white black hole. “Here we are.” The Descendants ran like heck, running away from the entrance on the slim hope that they’d find Noah. Then they saw him. He looked unconscious, in Jose’s arms, which couldn’t be good. Neela and Vladimir were near. “What do we do?” Alexis squeaked. “Simple,” Esmee said. She looked down on her hand and grinned. “Esmee, fancy freezing isn’t an option!” Jessica hissed. “Didn’t you see? It had no effect on Neela! It stopped in midair by the time it got a foot near her!” “Maybe not,” Esmee admitted. “But observe those stone pillars. I can freeze those...” Then Esmee whispered her plan to everyone. “Pretty good,” Chris mused. “What can I say?” Esmee shrugged. “I’m the Descendant of Ice. I’m awesome that way.” Then the five rose up and ran towards Jose, Vladimir and Neela. Chris landed and cast a minotaur at Vladimir while Alexis started to cast the Life symbol, aiming for Neela. Jessica went head on for Jose and wrestled with him for a bit. Esmee got to work coating the pillars in ice, and Natalie guarded Esmee. Jessica jammed her thumb into Jose’s eye then punched him in the stomach, forcing to release his hold on Noah, who was now awake- a little. “Whaz heppin...?” Noah groggily asked. “Why do you need to know again?” Jessica answered as she ran with Noah’s arm on her shoulders, limping along. Neela lunged for Natalie, who swung her staff and tripped Neela, with a new confidence that she had never had before. She poked her staff into Neela’s stomach knocked her to the ground, not bothering to do anymore damage. Chris and Vladimir were locked in combat, with Myth and Death eagerly awaiting each other with constant wraiths and minotaurs summoned. The minotaurs ax clashed with the wraith’s ax like a swordfight. Finally the wraith chopped off the minotaur’s head, the body of the human collapsing to the ground, and the wraith evaporating into air as it grinned with it’s skeletal teeth in satisfaction. For some reason, for Chris, he lost it. He screamed in a deadly combonation of fury and rage and out popped in midair a Mooshu sword, which he barely caught. Then popped out blue and white Mooshu armor which immediately assembled themselves over his current set of clothing as he advanced towards Vladimir, furiously swinging the sword. Vladimir took a step back or two. “What the-” Out came of the air a hatchet, which launched itself at Natalie’s hand, who immidiately started hacking away at a pillar that Esmee had already coated completely in ice, and it started to tremble a bit, weakening. As Vladimir was distracted by this, just like that, a Myth symbol appeared in front of Chris, and out came an earthquake that shook the whole room, and Vladimir struggled to maintain his balance. Then somehow, the sword that had popped out of the air launched itself at Vladimir, who spun around and dodged, it barely missing his head and sticking itself into the wall instead. Immediately another sword popped out of nowhere, which threw itself at Vladimir. During then the pillars started to crumble down, thanks to Esmee and Natalie. “Run!” Natalie screamed as they all broke out into a run, going as fast as the wind, avoiding the crumbling ceiling that Neela, Vladimir and Jose were trapped in. They soon saw Jessica, who looked relieved to see them. “GET OUT!” She screamed with Noah at her side, half unconscious. And with that, they ran like the wind out of the doors of Thorn Manor and into the setting of Marleybone, with dawn erupting, the sign of a new day there. After they had put enough distance between them, Esmee huffed, “I can’t believe it. We did it.” Taryn turned back. “Now’s your chance. It will shut down within a matter of minutes. The more energy I have, the longer this will remain, because this is a more of an over time spell, like Fire Elf. So hurry.” She turned to Cody, Dylan, Antonio and Anthony. “You guys will go first- I cannot endanger the rest.” Taryn had barely finished her sentence when Antonio had already gone through the portal. Cody smirked. “May as well,” He said as he strode towards the portal. Before he did though, Cody turned around and gave the Head of the Order a look that said, This isn’t over. Clearly it wasn’t. But it soon would be, Destiny reminded herself. But how did she know that? Maybe it was a gut feeling, maybe it was something she was sure of. Destiny didn’t know how she knew it, but it would be over soon. But not now it wasn’t. Destiny had been so lost in her thoughts that she had barely noticed when Anthony clammered up to Jason. “T-take this,” He said as he handed Jason a red piece of something that was almost like a perfect oval. There seemed to be a fire flickering inside it. Jason breathed. “You can’t be serious...” He looked to Anthony. “Do you know what this is?” Anthony didn’t seem to know, but Destiny sure did. The Fire Shard. “No, I don’t,” Anthony stated. “But- just don’t do that to me again, okay?” Jason nodded. “I won’t.” Anthony nodded, the two moons of Wizard City glistening on the streams of tears that had ran down on his face as he slowly walked backwards towards the portal, then he turned around and eagerly went through, not looking back. Emma, Connor and Garrett walked over to Dylan, who hesitated. “Are you staying with us... or what?” A minute passed before Dylan rapidly shook his head. Looking back all the way, he stepped through the portal to join Anthony. Right then, the grim words of the Prophecy of Fire ran through Destiny’s head once more. One shall fail the test; It had referred to Nicholas Ashwielder, Descendant of Balance and twin of Dylan. He had loved and cherished his siblings over anything else. It hadn’t been fair that it was he who ended up dying. And it wouldn’t have been for nothing, Destiny vowed. One shall turn to the enemy; Out of vengeance and grief for his twin, Dylan Nightfinder had looked to Cody Shadowstrider for help. He had made bad choices... but really, who could blame him? Dylan had been in a state of pure grief- and made rash decisons that would affect his life. “Descendants of Balance,” Taryn called, and the siblings looked to her. “You may have as well joined the Order, but it is best to get back to your home, for now.” Garrett, Connor and Emma nodded. As they walked up to the portal, all holding hands together, Taryn stopped them with a sad expression. “I am truly sorry for the loss of Nicholas. He would have had a bright future ahead of him.” They nodded solemnly to Taryn, but then looked over to Destiny, Jason and Ryan with little smiles. And it relieved Destiny to know that even with Nicholas gone, they would be okay and manage to move on. And so they did. It seemed as if stepping through the portal assured that. And there they were, gone in the bright white light. “Sarai,” Taryn said. “You were very eager to go home. Now you are able to do so.” Sarai ran up without hesitation or looking back whatsoever. Taryn now looked at the final three. “Ryan. Go. You will meet up with your sister shortly.” This encouraged Ryan a lot as he practically plunged in headfirst into the portal. Now Taryn looked over to Nikki and Lady Lily, who Destiny had realized just then had been fighting... or doing whatever. She didn’t know. Taryn beckoned towards the portal with her head. Lady Lily fluttered in, but Nikki remained at Destiny’s side. Not just yet, She said. I’m staying by your side. I will fight and defend. Destiny looked down at Nikki and smiled at the backtalking sprite. However rude she may be at times, it was very comforting for her to say it. And not just for Nikki to say it, but the fact that it was true. “Jason.” Taryn said. “You have the Order of the Spiral to manage. Best you meet up with them and your best friend, the Descendant of Myth.” “How do you know this?” Jason asked. Taryn chuckled. “As superstitious as Fire, I see. You remind me so much of her.” Jason’s eyebrows rose, and so did Destiny’s. “Wait... you knew my ancestor.” Taryn chuckled. “I know many things, Jason Stormflame, Descendant of Fire, Grandmaster Pyromancer.” “Okay, you were just showing off right there,” Jason pointed out. Then he got back to business. “But who are you?” “That, my friend,” Taryn answered, “will be answered another day. Another time. It is not now.” She quickly looked to the white portal, which was starting to flicker a bit. “Go now, Jason Stormflame, while I have the energy left.” Jason nodded and ran through with the Fire Shard in his hand. “Nikki, the Dark Sprite,” Taryn said. “You have to go through now. My energy will be wasted soon, and I will have to talk with Destiny in private. She will follow shortly, do not worry.” Nikki nodded, took a look back at Destiny, and flew through. Taryn looked to Destiny after Nikki had fluttered through. “You are last,” She observed, as if she hadn’t noticed it before. “No duh.” “Seagem,” Taryn said, and Destiny being referred to by her last name creeped her out a little bit, “now is not a time to fool around. Great horrors will await all of you. Some might say this is the end, but... this is merely the beginning of your true trials.” “Good to know.” “And about knowing,” Taryn began as Destiny edged near the portal. “soon you will find out... everything. Things that are barely hinted to Wizardkind, wonderful things you and everyone else will discover. But at a price- there will be more lives taken- Nicholas was merely the start. And he was right- a world will fall. Stop the Thorns before it gets too late!” Destiny nodded, then looked at the portal- it was starting to die. “Go while I’ve got the last bit of energy left,” Taryn warned. “What about you?” Taryn smiled. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I have my ways- I summoned this, so I can summon another one in due time.” Destiny nodded to Taryn as she said, “You’re not who you seem to be.” It was not a question- it was a hard statement. Taryn shook her head. “No. I am not. Now go.” Destiny looked behind her once more and sure enough, it was starting to close. Panicked, she hurried and took one last look at Taryn as white light blinded her eyes- And she was at her cottage, with Ryan, Nikki and Jason waiting. But something else was waiting- something that her heart fell at when she saw the sight. Her cottage that Esmee had given her after their journey in Grizzlehiem was burned down. It was a wreck. The ceiling had collapsed and the walls were black instead of the bright brown-gold it had been, a bit like a skeleton. Some of the wall had been evaporated and was still falling apart. All the furniture were merely debris and ash, some so badly charred that you couldn’t even recognize it anymore. The sight was enough for her breath to be squeezed out of her and she tried to hold her own. Jason came up and laid a hand on Destiny’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. We’ll rebuild it.” Destiny nodded and knew at once that Jason’s words were true. “Yes. We will.” But then her sadness was suddenly replaced by a sudden happiness as six people came into view as they teleported there. Chris, Jessica, Esmee, Alexis, Natalie and a little surprisingly, Noah with dried up blood surrounding his nose. Oh sheesh. “What happened?” Jason asked whereas Ryan rushed to Natalie and Destiny rushed to Esmee. “You’re back!” They shouted simultaneously. Ryan was about to hug Natalie when all of a sudden Natalie backed up. “Hold up, just go easy on me, okay?” She asked. “I have a broken arm.” Natalie diverted her attention to her arm. Ryan’s face immediately paled. “Alexis!” He said. “Nat has a broken arm!” “Really?” Alexis asked. “I didn’t know! Natalie sure didn’t act like it.” “Heh, seeing isn’t believing,” Natalie reminded. “You should know that by now.” “Nevermind,” Alexis replied. “Just let me take a look at it and see what I can do. Ryan, you may want to come along, after all, she is your sister.” Ryan hastily nodded and joined the two girls. Destiny turned to Esmee, both of them unsure what to do now that they were reunited. Sure, minutes ago they would have given almost anything to see their cousin again, but now it was a bit akward. But then, as if on cue, they both rushed up to each other and hugged as if there were no tomorrow. And out of a peek of her eye, Destiny saw Jason and Chris a bit unsure like them, then observed them smiling and patting another on the back. Soon both duos let go to get back to business, for even at this moment they had things to discuss. “So, Neela used the word auras, right?” Jessica asked. Esmee nodded. “I’m pretty sure that’s what she called my ability.” “So Esmee’s... Aura... is to freeze things,” Destiny didn’t know what to call it for a second, but then quickly reminded herself what it was called. “And there was this incident with Jason,” Ryan piped up. Ryan had stayed at Natalie’s side for a bit as he had observed Alexis tend to her, but the siblings had quickly caught up and now Ryan was no longer worried about her. “He was just shooting fireballs everywhere, but not with magic. It was more of his will and personality, his drive.” “Maybe that could be his Aura,” Noah mused. Some of the area below his nose was a dark, dark red from the dried blood, but for the time being he was pretty much okay. “Setting fire to things.” Ryan nodded. “So Auras are powers of the Descendants. Esmee’s Aura is to freeze things, and Jason’s is to set fire to things with his mind.” “Wait, what about Natalie?” Jessica pointed out. “Remember that huge storm front and her being lifted into the air? That’s Natalie’s Aura, calling up massive storms. What other explaination is there?” Esmee nodded her understanding. She too had witnessed it, so she understood the Descendant of Death’s theory. “So we’ve got three out of eleven Descendants who have discovered their Auras,” Jason observed. “Natalie, Esmee and myself.” “What about me?” Ryan asked. “If my sister has an Aura, than so do I.” “Well, you are a Descendant,” Jason pointed out, “but there are two of you, and Natalie’s already discovered her Aura, so honestly Ryan, there may be a chance that you won’t have one.” Ryan nodded. “I understand.” Destiny knew that Ryan was trying to hold it together and all, but she could sense that he was growing jealous of Natalie and wanted a power of his own. She knew how he felt- but at least he was a Descendant. Was Destiny wishing that she were a Descendant? She was. Maybe facing the Ordeal would be bad, sure, but having such great and noble lineage would be awesome, as if she were royalty. And now they had the will to do such awesome things. Even her cousin was one. That’s when Destiny observed- Esmee was a Descendant. And Destiny was her cousin, so they shared part of the same blood. So what did that make her? Did that make her a Descendant or just a regular girl related to one? Most likely the latter. Alexis and Natalie walked over to the group discussing the Auras. “Not to mention Chris,” Alexis pointed out as she joined them, Natalie shortly following with a cast around her left arm. “You should have seen him when we were rescuing Noah. There were a bunch of swords popping in the air by Chris’ side and the swords were hurling themselves at Vladimir.” Chris nodded. “I don’t exactly know how I did that- I just wanted to strike Vladimir with something offensive, something unexpected- and I guess I did.” “So what I’m seeing is that Chris can bring things to life,” Jason understood. “So basically, if he wanted a chair, he’d get a chair at will.” “Not to mention he can control the objects,” Natalie recalled. “The swords were hurling themselves at Vladimir.” Somehow, that’s when Destiny remembered something. “What about the Descendants of Balance?” She suddenly asked. “Nicholas... before he died, he could change grass to sand with a rub of his hands. And Nicholas could change it back to grass again.” “Who’s Nicholas?” Chris asked. “Someone great,” Destiny replied. “Nice, caring... he was the wrong person to die.” Jason, Ryan and Destiny quickly told the rest of the Order about their experiences, as did Natalie, Alexis, Chris, Esmee, Jessica and Noah. Nikki tried to add in a few lines, but only Destiny could understand her, so the effort was practically useless. But Destiny recognized her effort to tell about Lily, so Destiny hurridly added that too. Even though she had been in a rush, Nikki was satisfied with Destiny’s effort. “Wow,” Chris raised his eyebrows. “And we thought we had an adventure,” He muttered. Ryan chuckled. “Oh believe me, you did. You got to get into a fist fight with others!” He was reffering to Chris and Alexis’s fight with Jose. “True, but you’re the one who got stuck in time!” Alexis protested. Destiny smiled as she watched Chris, Ryan and Alexis argue about who got the better adventure. Things seemed normal now, not as if they were recovering from their darkest times yet. Because it seemed that they knew that things would be better... or would they? There was still the mystery of Taryn. Who was she? How was she able to travel in time? How’d she know about the Shards? Would they encounter Cody again now that he proved just what he was made of? How would the Balance Descendants get exactly caught up in this? Would Dylan be okay? Whose side was Sarai on? And most importantly, what had Taryn meant when she said that she would find out everything? So what did that mean? Obviously that meant that there were things to find out, no duh. But how? Could she seek out the other five founding members of the Order of the Spiral? But Taryn had said everything else... was there something that no one had discovered? Ever? Then she recalled more of Taryn’s wisdom- But at a price- more lives will be taken. Nicholas was merely the start. And he’s right- a world will fall. Those words really bothered Destiny, punched so many holes in her as if she were a piece of paper and the words were a hole puncher. More lives taken? Did this mean that she would die? By pushing down Vladimir Thorn on the day of her orientation... did she seal her fate on that dreadful day? Then she realized- it shouldn’t be her that she worried about. What about the rest of the Order of the Spiral? Would they die? Destiny didn’t want this to end as it had with the Balance Descendants. Destiny was cut off from her thoughts by Jessica approaching her. “Uh, hey,” She said. She understood Jessica’s reluctance. Destiny had the same feeling, most likely received from the fight they had before Destiny had even got the dream. In turn, Destiny nodded and made eye contact with the other necromancer, jade green making contact with blue. And that was the only conversation they needed, making up for the fight in the Commons after she had attacked Sophia. They both smiled, and Jessica turned her head, and Destiny did likewise to see most of the Order of the Spiral filing out. Jessica was shortly out of the cottage too, leaving Destiny and Nikki alone with a skeleton of a cottage. Nicholas had died. Dylan had turned to the Descendants of Valkoor. Noah had been found out. Natalie’s arm was broken. The Balance Descendants had faced tradegy brutally. Yet, Destiny knew that everything was going to be all right. Vladimir was alone in his room, staring at the picture of a girl whose image he had memorized. He looked at it every night, to remember just what he was fighting for, to make sure she wasn’t forgotten. The girl with the long black hair and bright blue eyes was his only thing to keep him going after all these years spent alone. Sure, he had found Neela. But even she couldn’t make up for the loss of her. “I will be seeing you again,” Vladimir vowed. Nothing was going to get in the way of that. Vladimir would make sure of it. 1 comment:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2121	Now Sings My Soul: Psalm 22: 1-5 Where are you? I am in trouble! Sin and wickedness have surrounded me. Everything goes dark and cold. Satan and his minions look upon my flesh with lust and hunger. Temptations are too much. I cannot do battle. My muscles are weak, small, and frail. I cry and scream: HELP ME, O GOD! But you are my powerful Champion. You are the people’s Savior. You are invincible. You are forever strong. I have praised you in the past and my lips shall sing of your praises for as long as I draw breath and beyond. Your people before me trusted you and I trust you now. You have never failed me. Even when there have been moments when I didn’t know your goodness, you were always good. You have rescued my grandmother and my dad. Now rescue me! Save me, O God. My life is in your hands. Series: As a young believer, I have not had the chance to read all the way through the Bible. The Psalms and Proverbs will be the last books before I finish the Old Testament in Ezekiel, Daniel, then Isaiah. As I read through the Psalms, I was struck by the very personal and intimate nature of the Psalms despite the deep theological, doctrinal, and Christocentric focus of the written songs themselves. Using the Psalms as a mere template and an outline, how I would I respond? So doing just that, I began writing out prayers based on each of the Psalms. Published by Joe Louthan
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2151	Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Burning Bridges As it says in the title, I may be burning some bridges today. The first possible bridge to be burned is with the JREF (and maybe other members of the skeptical community who are fans of it). Back in February, I responded to their call for open submissions with a post that I thought fit at least one of their criteria (either a topic that hasn't been covered much or a fresh take on a topic). It was about being a non-believer married to a believer and my thoughts on the "accommodation vs. confrontation" debate. I thought it provided a fresh viewpoint because I think it's safe to say that most non-believers married to believers (and probably all of the ones who read the JREF blog) are married to believers in more "mainstream" religions. I happen to be married to a Christian Scientist. The post was rejected. This is the reason I was given in the e-mail : "As for your piece, it does a good job of explaining your position and it's one that a lot of people share. However we have to decline it because it's not really what we're looking for right now. The accommodationist/confrontationalist debate is an important one but we're looking for more fresh perspectives on the debate as a whole rather than posts that advocate for one side or the other." I thought I had provided a fresh perspective and as I said when I put the post up here ("Comfortable Accommodations", posted on 2/26), I don't quite see how you could post on the topic and be totally neutral about it. I just let it go at that, even though I had the thought that the reason I was given might not be the real one. Now, after some time and looking at what has been posted on the JREF blog since then, I feel like I have to express my real thoughts on the matter. I want to point out that the person who indicated that the post didn't work because it advocated for a certain side had recently put up a series of posts on her own blog where she and someone else had debated the topic and had asked for reader input. Granted, she did tell me that she had recently posted about the topic and directed me to her blog, so it's not as if she hid the fact. Still, I find it odd that it was ok for her to put up several blogs advocating for one side or the other on her blog, but not for mine to go up on the JREF blog. I'm not trying to throw this person under the bus. I'm sure it wasn't totally her decision not to accept the post, just saying that there seems to be some inconsistency there. Also, just a couple of weeks ago, the JREF blog had a post about ear candling. Ear candling ! Yeah, that's a topic that hasn't been written about much. Maybe they'll cover the barely trodden area of homeopathy next. So, if it wasn't rejected because I didn't provide a fresh perspective or cover a topic that hasn't been written about much, then why was it rejected ? Was it because the writing sucked ? I don't think so, based on the quote from above and the fact that I was encouraged to submit again. I was hoping by now to have another piece of evidence, but I don't. That's something that will be talked about when I get to burning another possible bridge later. Is it because they don't need that many guest posts ? In March, I put up 5 posts. Yes, I know, I suck at updating regularly, we'll get to that shortly. There were 16 posts on the JREF blog in March. It looked like 8 of those posts were written by guest bloggers, which means that only 8 of the posts were written by people directly associated with the JREF, only 3 more then I posted in that month and as I've noted, so far, I've sucked at updating regularly. Seems to me that they definitely need as many guest posts as they can get. What is the real reason then ? I suspect that it's because of the specific religion of the woman I'm married to and the positive light I presented her and her family and friends in. I think it might have been ok if she were Catholic or Jewish or something like that. But a Christian Scientist ? I think in their eyes, I might have just as well said I was married to a "psychic". Think that it might have been just a little too much "woo" for them. To portray the people who are believers in that religion in any kind of positive way might have been more than they could stomach. Of course, I could be wrong about this. It would be nice if I could point to the responses I got when I put the rejected post up here. But, unfortunately, I don't have any responses for to that post. Which brings me to the other bridge I may be burning today, the one between me and you, the reader. You see, I can't point to the responses I got from this post on my own blog to show that it would have been worth putting up on the JREF blog, because I didn't get any responses. I almost never get any responses. Hell, I set it up so there are now Like/Dislike buttons at the end of each post. It's something that would take less then a second, just click on a button and you're done. You don't have to sign in and we're not talking about writing some well thought out response or criticism, just clicking a button. And yet nobody even does that. Either, the stuff I write is so boring or so poorly written that it inspires nothing but apathy or it's just too much to ask for people to even click a button. Either way, it means I will no longer get upset with myself if there's a long time between my posts. It used to really bother me. Yes, you can add this blog to your Google Reader (or something like it) and it will let you know when there's a new post, so you don't have come back to this site every day to check. Still, it bothered me. I kind of felt like I might be letting people down in some way. The more I've thought about it, though, the more I think, well, if people don't care enough about what I'm writing to even click on a button, then why am I going to care about how often I put something up ? Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I'm not going to post any more or that I'm not going to make an effort to do it more regularly. I'm just saying I'm not going to beat myself up when there's a long time between posts, unless and until I'm given some reason to feel I should be more diligent in posting.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2161	Thursday, October 30, 2008 Doing the Happy Dance "Once upon a time, on the north shore of Long Island... there lived a small girl on a large estate." ~Sabrina Fairchild~ As a hobby, my hubby does movie reviews online. So the UPS guy drops random movies on my doorstep. Today he left these... oh yipee, I'm doing the happy dance right now!! Tonight I'll be watching Audrey Hepburn featurettes until I can't keep my eyes open. "At midnight, I'll turn into a pumpkin and drive away in my glass slipper." ~Princess Ann~ Sunday, October 26, 2008 My Heart for the Unborn: Part 3 (Read part 1 here and part 2 here.) For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14 I don't remember when I first began to develop a heart for the unborn. I suppose it was during elementary school. As a child, I remember wondering why mothers were taking their babies' lives... I suppose it was because I wasn't that many years removed from being a baby myself and I took it very personally. My mother had told me stories of the 3 miscarriages she had suffered between my brother and I. She held two of the tiny, perfectly formed babies, a girl and a boy, in the palm of her hand and wondered at all their beautifully developed features. Early on, I was told that my birth was a blessing and an unexpected miracle to her and my dad. As a result, it didn't make sense to me that a woman would want to purposely take her own child's life. It wasn't long before I discoved that my beliefs about the sanctity of life in the womb were quite unpopular. In the eighth grade I prepared a speech on the topic of abortion, hoping that if fellow students understood the truths behind this procedure, surely they would be influenced to make good choices in the future. Many boys were curious to see the gory pictures (I think it was the shock value) and were surprised to actually be able to make out dismembered arms and legs. Several comments were uttered, such as, "Oh, I thought it was just a blob of tissue, but look that's an arm..." Most of the girls didn't want to look. And then there were those who were visibly angered, and told me that what I had said was not true and that it wasn't any of my business what they wanted to do with their own bodies. For the next couple of days, I became the topic of conversation and the target of mean stares and embittered comments. For many years, I made the pridefilled assumption that women who were pro-choice were either heartless or ignorant. College years and my twenties introduced me to about a dozen women, friends who had chosen to abort their babies. The issue took on a face and a life as I learned these women's stories and how they had arrived at their decisions. There were some who thought they were too young to mother a child and couldn't fathom any other option, others who had been convinced abortion was an acceptable form of birth control, others who were ashamed to tell their families, and most who had been told by Planned Parenthood representatives that they were making a good "choice." All of the stories had a common conclusion. Each of the women struggled with tremendous guilt and pain spiritually and emotionally, and sometimes physically. Each woman deeply regretted the choice she had made and wished she could go back and do things differently. And each woman found forgiveness and healing through her Savior... Jesus Christ. In time, He diminished their pain and they laid their children in His hands. During my college years, I also met a darling woman named Dene. Her husband was in my wedding, and was one of the first real friends Patrick had in his Christian journey. One weekend we went to Dene's house for a birthday party and a photo hanging on the wall caught my attention. It was a little girl shaking hands with the President... I believe it was Ronald Reagan. When I asked Dene about it, she told me about her adopted sister, Gianna, who had been aborted, but survived the saline procedure. Gianna has since become one of my heroes in the faith, not just because she is a pro-life advocate and the actual voice of the unborn, but because she has a deep compassion for the women who carry them. She unashamedly speaks of the grace of Jesus and asks us to consider our stance on the issue in light of what He speaks through her miraculous survival. I hope you'll take the time to be blessed and challenged by her message... (Note: Before you listen, please scroll down to the bottom of the blog and pause the music... then you'll be able to fully hear Gianna's voice!!) Saturday, October 25, 2008 Family Portrait We hung out at the Avila Valley Barn today. I was hoping to capture a good family portrait. Many thanks to the stranger that captured it! Wednesday, October 22, 2008 My Heart for the Unborn: Part 2 (Read Part 1 here) Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3 On the days when I am struggling the most with my relationships with my boys, I remind myself of this verse. My flesh and the world around me tempt me to think of them as a burden or a sacrifice of time and energy, but God sees them as a blessing and a legacy. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 Oh, how I want to be continually humbled in this manner, to have my Savior's heart for my children every moment. I fail and I confess... and God continually teaches me and refines me. As my pregnancy with Jason progressed, I asked the Lord to help me through my prenatal experiences at the doctor's office. About halfway through, I got the results of the triple screen test I had taken, so we would be aware of any genetic abnormalities and make any preparations necessary. My doctor called and said there was an increased risk for Down's Syndrome and that she wanted me to go in for genetic counseling. Patrick and I went in together. The genetic counselor was very matter of fact and described chromosomal abnormality related to Down's. She suggested that we schedule an amniocentesis to conclusively determine if we had a Down's baby and with that knowledge, we would have the opportunity to abort our child. I expressed that I didn't feel comfortable doing a test that could possibly harm the baby or induce a miscarriage. Was there any other way we could prepare ourselves to know if this was possibly a Down's baby? The counselor's response was quite harsh. She said we could have ultrasounds to see if the baby was measuring accurately. Then, she proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't have had the test in the first place. If I wasn't willing to have further testing done, I shouldn't have bothered at all. I explained that I just wanted to prepare my heart ahead of time for any differences from the norm. Narrowing her eyes, she suggested that next time around, I shouldn't waste anyone's time. If I wasn't willing to abort the baby, the test wasn't necessary as far as she was concerened. Patrick could see my temper beginning to boil, and shot me the "it isn't worth it" look, so I calmed down and thanked the counselor for her input. It was an unexpected education... I hadn't realized that the term genetic counseling implied such blatant abortion advocacy. A couple of days ago, my mom asked, "Do you remember what Patrick said when you told him the baby might have Down's Syndrome?" I admitted I couldn't recall, exactly. He said, "God will teach us to love in a whole new way, won't He?" I love that man. Sunday, October 19, 2008 Fairies & Fancies My friend, Jamie, recently posted a beautiful collage she created at So I thought I'd try it since I'm stuck at home with a nasty illness. It didn't make my throat feel any better, but... I have to admit that it was pretty fun being girly. It's kind of Audrey Hepburn meets Beatrix Potter... Don't you think? Thursday, October 16, 2008 My Heart for the Unborn: Part 1 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 Four years ago, Patrick was layed off from a job where he'd only been gainfully employed for about a month. I felt as though someone had punched me in the gut, and then a general feeling of nausea persisted for the next few days. As we struggled to trust in God's sovreign plan, the nausea just didn't subside. One pregnancy test later, I confirmed that we were indeed jobless and expecting. We laughed at the ironic comedy of it all. God has amazing timing, doesn't He? This would surely be a lesson in believing that. Unsure of how we should break the news to my folks, we did what any jobless, expecting couple would do... we told Josh to tell the big secret. My mom, in true form, cried tears of joy, and my dad smiled and said, "Well, finally, some good news!!" Their reaction was such a great encouragement to our hearts. The miracle of this new little life was a great gift in the midst of a trial... It was cause for rejoicing and hope for the future. The circumstances surrounding my pregnancy with Jason made for a very different prenatal care experience than I'd had with Josh. We filed for unemployment and Medi-Cal, as well, since we had no insurance, and no one wanted to insure a pregnant woman at a reasonable rate. This meant a change in my OBGYN and the office staff I was so familiar and comfortable with. The new office was cold and clinical. The office assistant seemed devoid of emotion as she handed me a pile of paperwork to fill out. There were so many questions about whether I was using drugs or drinking. I felt as though they were assuming the worst of me. My new doctor greeted me with professionalism, but no sense of warmth. I remember feeling as though I had done something wrong, and I fought feelings of shame. I desperately wanted her to congratulate me and show excitement for this new life, but instead she asked how I felt about the baby and whether or not it was even wanted. "Yes it is wanted. We are so excited about this baby," I said as my face reddened and my eyes began to sting. I tried not to allow the tears which were welling up in my eyes spill over onto my cheeks. As I left the office, I decided that the joy of the Lord would have to be my strength. Friday, October 10, 2008 Favorite Fall Flourishes Last night I pulled out a few little Fall Flourishes Leaves in the hurricane glasses Berries for the napkins But I have a definite favorite I look forward to these little treasures every Autumn No, not pumpkins... They don't make my heart giddy (although Jason does!) These gems are so ugly, they're cute... My little flock of gourds Only a mother could love these silly little fellows Oh, the bumpy, lumpy goodness Thank you, Lord, for the gourd! Sunday, October 5, 2008 I'm still here... Wow, it's been a while since the last post!! Sorry, I've been painting and painting and painting some more!! The boys' rooms, my room, and a bookshelf!! And we replaced the carpet... more on that later!! All in the same week an a half... are we crazy?? My house still looks like we are either moving out or moving in... boxes and stuff everywhere!! It's mayhem, I tell you, but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to you friends who shared verses!!! I happened to have enough bookmarks left for all of you!! So Nicole, Colleen, Denise, Liz and Sarah M. .... you can email me your info at , and I'll send you a lovely, laminated bookmark! Drea and Jen, I'll catch you two at church!! And by the way, Drea, your "Pleated Poppy" clips were very cute today!! Looking forward to hearing from you, friends!! Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2208	Saturday, January 10, 2015 [GTASA] A new project Well, this is somewhat interesting and different from all the mods ive ever done (like the transformers) its something i actually have wanted to do in the past but lacked the skills on 3ds max to do so. for now, ive replaced every police vehicle i could remember with other default ones Sentinel for LSPD Stratum for LVPD Sultan for SFPD - slightly modified. Wayfarer for HPV1000 Yosemite for Rancher Monster Truck for FBI Rancher - heavily modified version of it, made it 4 door with back closed, LSPD markings cause i found it interesting to have one more vehicle in their fleet. all of them have GTA V police cars interiors (all but the suvs are the same, i'd like to work on different for each but that would be time consuming) and also feature an old 870 with wooden parts converted by me (low quality version of it) For now im thinking on also converting the patriot into a police version and giving it LVPD markings, and not sure about a SUV for SFPD (probably not, cause its mostly city'ish, not like LS with woodlands around or LV with the desert)
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2237	Heartwarming / Gaslight Inexact title. See the list below. We don't have an article named Heartwarming/Gaslight, exactly. We do have:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2256	Blog post 2: Society for Developmental Biology 74th Annual Meeting In the middle of a summer full of lab work, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to present my research at the Society for Developmental Biology conference in July. This year was the 74th annual meeting, and it took place in Snowbird, Utah. This was my first ever conference, and I was excited […] Blog post 1: Introduction + neural axis transplants This summer, I continued my work in Dr. Margaret Saha’s lab on a project I have been investigating since the beginning of 2014. The fundamental question of our lab is how an organism can go from being a tiny, single-celled zygote to an immensely complicated and intricate multicellular organism in the face of various challenges […] BMP Regulation of Germline Stem Cell Development (Abstract) Every organism begins as a single cell. Many organisms ultimately consist of many cells organized into complex systems of tissues and organs that perform an array of functions necessary for its survival. But how does a single cell give rise to trillions of cells specified for explicit functions? The answer to this question is stem […]
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2263	Thursday, March 25, 2010 On Death and dying and Barbies [WHAT HAVE YOU DONE BLOGGER? I CAN NO LONGER UPLOAD MY OWN PICS! For all of you others - there would have been a cool picture right here, but now there's not. It would have been awesome. Hmph] One of our friends is a bit of a player. A young, single, intelligent and handsome foreigner in a country seemingly filled with women eager to hook up with such a catch. Or I guess I mean playah if we're being completely accurate. As we always are. Always. Completely accurate. You know me, I would never make insulting generalizations or permeate stereotypes. Nothing of the sort. Nope. Not me. A Playah he is indeed. Surrounded by an interestingly varying cavalcade of adoring women. But let's talk about how we - I and El Grande Vikingo also known as the man of my dreams who drives me to shoe stores on a regular basis - fit into the picture. We are not adoring women. We are far from adoring (and even more so from adorable) and although I do admit to being a woman that adoring side of me never really blossomed. Sometimes I'll pretend it's there and not complain about the Viking's weird habit of emptying his pockets of all the weird shit he likes to store daily in in them, right onto the dining room table, immediately upon entering the house. Our house, that is. But it's a shoddy pretense at its best. We are not entirely women, nor are we adoring - we are simply the Playah's friends. And friends go to places with their friends. Isn't that even on one of the Love is...? posters? Surely. So we decided for once to not go home after the restaurant bill has been settled, but continue. Move beyond that 'married thing' known as getting home, slipping into something more comfortable and talking about how weird it is that regardless of me very well knowing how badly certain legumes make me fart I'll always be able to find a dish with them in it and without realizing what I've done order it, without fail, followed by brushing our teeth in sickly unison, before turning to the welcoming bed and the next chapter of Gloria Naylor/ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy/ Bulgakov/ Austen/ some smart shit to show that that Marie Claire by my bed is some sort of an aberration. Seriously. We decided to prove to ourselves and to the gang of playahs we had dined with (there were three of them and one of them was the original playah's brother, but still) that a couple in their comfortable thirties can totally party the night away. Like, totally. On Saturday night I and the faithful Hubs (who, I now know, would follow me to the ends of the earth and beyond) decided to take a trip to an alternate universe. To that place where skirts are short, hair is big, men with money are sleazy and old and need help with getting out of their fancy sports cars, orange tans abound, and bling means so much more than just '...oooh shiny....'. So... The 80s? No. A club in Sandton, Johannesburg, called Taboo. A club whose webpage tells me that I'm "welcome to the Reivention of Forbidden." I guess I would be elated if I knew what the hell 'reivention' meant and if whatever it was about to do to the Forbidden (a thing I quite like as it is) wouldn't make me all wary. Now, why would anyone want to fok with a very comfortable Forbidden, I ask you? Why? I'm not sure about you but for me screwing with the existing forbidden just brings up ideas of downright ghastly as being passed off as forbidden, and then where are we going to be as a society? Well. At Taboo, I guess. Where what the awesome Fug Girls of Go Fug Yourself call crotchtacular is the norm, if not the dress code (I'm pretty sure I only got in in my faded Levi's and leather jacket because of the Playah's female contacts. Apparently, all of a sudden, I was on a 'list'), where having a 'wardrobe malfunction' a la Janet Jackson regularly happens just with the removal of an overcoat, where there are no fans because they would pose a danger of making like Dorothy in the tornado to the sizable heads-on-sticks clientele (although, I think I would perhaps even pay to see that kind of display of wind power), where everyone keeps drinking red bull and vodka out of tall glasses instead of something that was meant to be consumed by humans for enjoyment and not to turn them into drunken duracell-bunnies, where there is no proper seating unless you 'book' one of the cordoned off sofas (Really! This display of wannabe snooty made me laugh so hard that I think I peed my faded levi's a little) where I saw no one sitting while we were there, where the concept of a 'song' has been completely discarded in favor of 'noise that you feel vibrate your breastplate in a way that makes you think it must have some interesting consequences for all those mainly plastic boobies constantly nearly spilling out of flimsy tops' (perhaps the vibration keeps that hard casing around the implant from forming is what I'm talking about. Patent Pending, mind you), and where I could recognize none other than tons of Malibu Barbies, Dolly Forever Barbies, Fab Girl Barbies, Ferrari Barbies, Miss Pearl Barbies, plenty of wannabe Barbies and, I kid you not, a large congregation of My Little Ponies. Oh, sorry. I meant a large congregation of girls who should have been playing with their My Little Ponies. Not hobbling around a club with no seating on heels much too steep in light of their still developing growth plates, drinking caffeine high in sugar with vodka, and making drunk-eyes (meant to be flirty, I think) to guys, if not three times, then at least twice their age. Excepting the playah, of course. Who is young and dapper. Naturally. And likes to date real women. He told me so. Needless to say we made a hasty retreat, preceded by quite a few loudly yelled (Nevermind, no one could hear shit anyhoo because of the horrible noise music and everyone was thus getting along famously. Grandpas out with their granddaughters, it felt like.) "J fokken H Zeus, did you just see that chick? Was that combined butt and chest cleavage?" We bolted. Almost taking with us the in-house photographer with pleading eyes and a following of gals with a very skewed leg-boob ratio and eyes too smoky for their own good, nearly tripping over the low Ferrari parked directly outside the door, amidst inane chatter from different cliques of Barbies and their friends, and past the line of wannabe Barbies waiting to be let in. We made like prisoners on the run. We sped away in our getaway car with tires screeching and smoke rising. "I'm so glad I don't have to be single ever again," declared the Viking to me. I take that as a suicide pact, and realize that if it wasn't for Taboo, we wouldn't be going together when it's time. So... Thanks Taboo for making me want to kill myself? Friday, March 19, 2010 A whole grain toast and some rolled oats On any given Friday there is always a slew of posts on various blogs that revolve around boozing in one way or another. There is always a flurry of tweets that speak of thanking a greater power for it being the end of the working week and how much that involves boozing, in one way or another. Never disappoints. I myself tweeted 'Cooling down the crispy, citrus-y chardonnay for tonight...' earlier today. Because I am. Cooling down the crispy, citrus-y chardonnay for tonight, that is. And fully intend to drink more than one glass of it too. Regardless of Julochka's admission of what her seemingly normal husband had done to a precious bottle of Patron tequila, which sort of initially made me want to treat my Patron like it should be treated instead of indulging in the the crispy, citrus-y chardonnay, just to, you know, give the Patron the kind of respect it deserves. To make up for the insult. Somehow. Poor baby, my Patron. Respectful tequila drinking naturally involving 1) only drinking the best of tequilas (get your shitty Jose Cuervo out of my line of sight or I might just bite you, or someone standing too close), 2) only drinking the aged, or añejo, variant, 3) enjoying it neat, with a glass of sangrita on the side, 4-100) and never ever using it in a milky concoction. Never, ever. But where am I going with this? Other than on yet another tequila rant (it has been a while). Well, mis queridos, I was thinking of making a toast, or several. Tonight, I'll go with the Friday-flow, and raise my glass (which at the mo is a teacup containing a Pukka green chai blend which I know is wrong on a lot of levels, but which will eventually become a glass of crispy, citrus-y chardonnay, you know, once I get my ass into wino-gear): to Boot Camp ultimate discomfort and many wedgies with a twist of butt-crack sweat breaking up for the weekend. But it's for my... health? to meat. Specifically lamb. Given. Almost implicit at this stage. Kind of like raising my glass to coffee. to coffee. to Molly's nouveau babe, Stella. Hey STELLAAAAAAAA....... This is for you. (Was I really screaming? Really?) to good tequila. And drinking it like it should be drunk. With no salt in sight. to my chicken covered in suspicious pesto (not a euphemism, although it would be an awesome one), and my finally learning to cook something so that not one person barfed after eating it. I have made myself very proud. And my chicken all pestoed nice and oily. to sort of being back in the blogosphere after taking some time off. Intentionally and unintentionally. And attempting to comment again. Even if the comment was about flesh eating bacteria. to El Grande Vikingo who works like a maniac these days. I love him so. to selling some photos, and using the earnings immediately to buy shoes. to real names. Not mine, of course. to not giving up on me and my uncommunicative ass. to you. All of you lovely people. What would you toast today? Other than drinking tequila properly and shunning people who don't. My Patron in my garden. Just hanging out, watching the sun go down. Sweaty kisses for the weekend and some toast(s) for all. MWAH! Thursday, March 18, 2010 They should support me I know, but currently feel like an accomplice to the enemy. Continuing in the vein of possible brain malfunctions, I recently signed up for something called a Boot Camp. I know. The name says it all. What I should have read between the lines, or beneath the words, or wherever you feel that the real meaning seems to hide when it comes to language, was NOT 'Join the fun!' but 'Why do people do this stuff to themselves?' Stupid, spontaneous me. I fear this specific experience might end up killing me. And not softly either a la Lauryn Hill, but by a very painful, sudden, and, to be perfectly frank about my questionable skills when it comes to such things as basic coordination, accidentally self-inflicted strangulation on a jumprope, or barring that, by an equally accidental bashing in of my own skull with a weighty dumbbell. So more along the lines of something evoked by Richard Simmons. You know, without the accident variable of course. Or it might just all come to an end because I have to get up way too early and I'm not able to sit down onto the toilet without help. So car crash due to lack of sleep and coffee, or a burst bladder then. But I plow on. I paid for the enjoyment of having to run around a field with a bunch of other women who also feel they probably should have never signed up, while sweat stings my eyes, and the cool morning breeze does nothing to cool my head down, but helps to freeze my toes, soaking wet in my sneakers from the dew on the field, and my leaden arms that I'm forcing to lift the dumbbells at least above shoulder hight. So I must stick with it. Or so says my misconstrued view on the Scandinavian Lutheran Mother-instilled work ethic. Thank you, Mother. What this boot camp boils down to is me getting up every morning, every day from Monday to Friday, rain or shine, at 5am in order to be at the fields at 5:30am, to do some variation of circuit training for a whole hour while the sun comes up (or the thunder clouds gather like yesterday) and sweat pours from sweat glands I didn't know existed (I mean, I've heard about those things in the armpits, but dismissed it as just an old wives' tale, silly me), and then getting other people to do stuff for me for the rest of the day because I'm unable to walk/ bend/ kneel/ turn/ wipe my butt, or even breathe properly. But it's for my... health? I seem to have forgotten that I don't like sports. Or getting sweaty. Or squats. Or lunges. I seem to have forgotten that I'm a sedentary person who drinks a lot of coffee and wine, and sometimes eats incredible amounts of licorice (preferably some of it covered in chocolate) while watching a whole season of Lost/ Weeds/Northern Exposure in one go. Burgers also strongly feature in this picture. But no. What in the name of coffee cups with pictures of other people's children on them has become of me? If I'm no longer the semi-alcoholic hermit content to lounge around in that famous green bathrobe for weeks at a time, then who am I? I've also started to wear heels. Like, every day. And go places other than where the coffee maker is. I seem to be having a crisis. Get help! And wine. Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Does the dye inject stupid in right through the scalp? This has a nice Homer Simpson vibe to it. And let's face it, who else could qualify as the original airhead better? My mental age just hit somewhere where it can only be defined as 'very old, bordering on senility and that stage when the fridge seems like the optimal spot for any sort of keys, the husband's deodorant, and Mitzy, the little hand-bag size poodle'. Or perhaps I finally bore witness to that thing called a blond moment, made so famous by Jessica Simpson of the notorious chicken of the sea fame. Or was it Marilyn Monroe (Oh no! Am I having another one? Of those moments. Or was it that Monroe was just having more fun...? Nngh! She does look like she was having oodles of fun in her hayday, but then again she did kill herself, so I don't quite know what that does to the whole having more fun than brunettes or redheads, and... What was I saying? Am I still writing an aside in the parentheses? Oh yes. I was writing about my interesting discussion at the gas station today. In case that wasn't completely obvious from the Marilyn Monroe references. Nothing says gas like Marilyn, right? "Please fill it up," I say, and the man smiles at me through my open window. There are the usual questions on the water and oil and something I think sounds like 'carlage' but which I haven't actually told them to check yet, not even to find out what carlage might mean, when I hear the gas pump click. "Hmm, that's awfully soon," I mumble to myself and frown in what I always believe is an endearing manner, but might just be scaring the bejeezus out of the attendant, as I'm pretty sure I can see his lip quiver just a little when he approaches me again. "52 rand," the man tells me. "What? That's not possible! I had less than half a tank left! How much did you put in?" I open with, but decide to make things easier for myself as him telling me 5 liters or 50 is not going to mean anything to me anyway, "wait, scratch that. Did you fill it allllll the way up?" I make a sign that to me signifies full, but probably means that I would like to hitch a ride to Baragwanath hospital on one of the local taxis. Which I probably should not do. Or that's at least what every single person I've told about my two taxi-rides in Soweto says as they look at me like I'm insane. "Yes ma'am, allllll the way up" says the attendant and makes a sign that might mean that he too is in need of some sort of transportation. I start the car and watch the gauge that doesn't move at all. "See!" I yell and point at the dashboard, "There's something wrong!" "Madam, that's the temperature gauge." Now, where to find a new gas station I can start frequenting? Thursday, March 11, 2010 In search of my 'tude mojo Looks sufficiently medicinal, but is in fact taken at a vineyard. You might not know this, or may not have guessed it since I've been told more than once that it isn't exactly a thing I radiate and would possibly even sneer at, apparently because of my cynicalprofessional and rational-seeming exterior... I fokken know. I mean, really? WHAT IN THE NAME OF PLATONICALLY FROLICKING UNICORNS WOULD GIVE ANYONE THIS IDEA?!?! See, right there, I just had to scream because it was sort of warranted. the whole thing's just that utterly confounding to me. Utterly. ...but I am a strong believer in the power of alternative medicine, the role of nutrition, vitamins, and such other like things, when it comes to staying healthy or being cured. So I pop a lot of pills of the supplement variety. I drink a lot of wheatgrass juice. In the mornings I like to brew liqorice-root and cinnamon infused green tea to be sipped (and to hopefully cancel out some of the negative effects) right alongside my several cups of morning coffee. I eat a lot of broccoli and spinach. I chew on flax seeds. I drink incredible amounts of water. I buy organic. Somehow, almost without noticing it myself, I seem to have become one of those people. Those annoying people who show up at a dinner and won't eat half of the things on their plate because they either contain sugar, white flour, starch, dairy, or something passing itself as fruit but which is closer to a lump of sugar, just not as refined. Those irritating people who can comfortably talk about the benefits of vitex agnus castus as a dietary supplement for at least a good 20 minutes, and don't even get them started on superfoods. Those boring people who swear by a green concoction of wheatgrass, spinach, cucumber, avocado, and some alfalfa as the best snack ever. Those frightening people whose pee is always neon yellow from excess vitamin C and completely discussible with anyone, odor included. One of them. Which I thought was a mainstream movement and I was just a little slow at catching on. Yes? Aren't we all pretty much those people by now? At least mostly. Surely we're all on the 2010-version wagon of 'you are what you eat'? We all understand and respect the awesome power of traditional medicine, but don't sneer at new, or sometimes 'ancient', developments in the form of uses of medicinal plants, acupuncture, patient-specific treatments, yada yada and all that jazz, right? Turns out, nope. For quite some time I have been managing my condition that involves a severe hormonal imbalance among other wondrous medical phenomena, without taking one pill of the drug variety. (Okay, so in the last year truly managing, prior to that just refusing to take the drugs and sometimes suffering quite a load of consequences. I admit. I like wine, burgers and coffee. So sue me, oh body of mine.) When I was diagnosed in Denmark more than five years ago, it was the doctor who pointed me to a site on the internet with more information about a necessary diet, the necessary supplements, the correct kind of exercise, and other such hoopla. The website was pink in color, but it was doctor recommended, so I read it and have now finally followed. Without a need for any kind of drugs. Well, coffee and wine of course, but they are more in the 'necessity for ultimate survival of the human race' category anyway. However, here in South Africa, it seems that those people don't quite exist yet, and that medical 'developments' are running a vastly different course, if not a whole different race. "Either you manage your condition with medicine or you suffer and live with the consequences," the doctor, a prominent gynecologist and an elderly man, says, looks at me and sneers. "But I haven't actually had any 'consequences' in the year I've been managing it with natural products and diet," I respond. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I do the air quotes. Yup. I do. "Well, that's all pure nonsense," the doc blurts out, "show me one [fancy word I don't know what means] placebo [other fancy word I don't know what means, the flippen a-hole] study out there." The doctor laughs and I stare at him. "Just because there aren't studies out there doesn't mean the products and diet do not work. There aren't any studies out there showing they don't work either," is what I should have said, but instead I just stare. Also, the ultrasound device inside me is throwing off my 'tude mojo some serious. And the doctor just laughs. And then he laughs again when I tell him I refuse to go back on the medicine because of the side effects, since according to him there aren't any. There I go, screaming again. Maybe it's the 'consequences'. Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Some serious love Growing up Finnish, mainly in Finland, guaranteed a few things. 1) Someone, at some point of my fragile youth (I'm thinking the big mean high school sports coach, and yes, I too was fragile at one point in my life. Was too!) made sure I learned how to ski. Cross country. Fast. Even if I was wailing like a lunatic while frog-legging it up a steep hill with my increasingly slippery skis on. But Finns must all know how to ski. Yes they do. And I still hate skiing like the plague. Only worse. 2) I didn't have to learn how to hug, compliment, or express any kind of affection through any other means than slightly raising my left eyebrow and grunting softly. Or by emptying the dishwasher. Or vacuuming my own room without being yelled at. Or making a full pot of coffee instead of just two cups for myself. Or not telling my best friend she looked like crap even if she totally did (Pigtails never look good. No they don't). I learned to love the Finnish way. Except for skiing. That I learned to hate. Like hundreds of thousands of other Finns before and after me. Why am I talking about skiing and affection? Together? WHY? Why would I combine possibly the worst memories I have of Finland and being Finnish with love? Ah well. I'm not completely there. Or here. Yet. The lights are on, but the lady's still under the covers. This past week saw me return to Finland at a time I normally avoid. I was supposed to be landing in the warmth of Cairo, but instead, at the airport, which incidentally instead of Cairo was in the freezing north also known as Helsinki, around midnight, I was met with -17 degrees celsius and my tired brother. My grandma suddenly passed away and my family needed me. Which was a first, because we Finns don't tend to need other people, or at least we won't say so. As it turns out, they really did need me. They needed the one person in the family who has learned to hold hands with anyone else than their significant other (mine taught me that!), to hug, to console with words that are in no way masqueraded as grunts, to go beyond household chores as far as displays of affection go, and to laugh through tears and not be terribly embarrassed by it. But that was only to get the ball rolling. For the first time in my life I hugged my Grandpa. And he hugged me back. I held his hand. I consoled him. I talked with him about Grandma, about Africa, about traveling, about getting a good fire going, about my childhood, and about the life from now on. And then I talked with my mother. I held her hand. I hugged her. I consoled her. And she hugged me back. And we talked. Last week, I learned the true depth of the love, I had sometimes doubted even really existed, between my Grandpa and my Grandma. I learned about the way my Grandpa would, whenever my Grandma wasn't there, literally count the hours to her return. I learned about his desperation at her open casket. I learned about the completely missing 'I' in everything he's ever done. I learned about how Finns, and by that I mean FINNS because that's what my war-veteran Grandpa is to the core, can love too, really love to a point where it takes your breath away. I learned that perhaps I'm not so special after all, with my fancy hand-holding, foreign hugging, and the continuous 'I love you's. I learned that underneath that uncomfortable and repressed seeming eyebrow wiggling and vacuuming instead of talking, there are some serious and deep emotions coming out of Finland too. Some serious love. With all that enforced skiing, who would have guessed?
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2265	February 11, 2015 the visa run visas are the bane of travelers. some countries have more complex rules than others. Thailand, for example, doesn't charge for visas and it's quite easy to get a 60 day stay with an extension. you just show up and they stamp your passport. a visa is just a stamp in your passport that grants you the right to be in the country. some countries penalize severly for overstaying and will prevent you from rentry if you are a repeat offender. others like Myanmar just charge you $3 a day for every day you overstay. in most SE Asian countries, there's a really complex set of rules around when you apply, where you apply, how long the visa is valid, how many entries are allowed on one visa, when you want to visit and of course the type of visa [tourist, buisiness or diplomatic]. for Myanmar, they grant 28 day tourist visas and you can stand in line at the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok [see my earlier post about that delight] or in late 2014 they launched a VOA [visa on arrival] which can be applied for online and picked up at the airport if you fly in [not available or overland travel]. see, it gets complicated. for a Myanmar Business Visa, with the proper paperwork, you get 70 days in country. so that's what i came in on. initially i thought it would be inconveinent and a pain in the ass. now that my 70 days are up and i need to do a visa run i am thrilled to be getting kicked out. i am going to Thailand. i am going to find the fat westerner beach, sit at a luxury resort and imbibe fancy drinks for three days. then it's back to Myanmar. No comments: Post a Comment
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2283	Video Game Forums - Privacy policy This policy explains in detail how “Video Game Forums” along with its affiliated companies (hereinafter “we”, “us”, “our”, “Video Game Forums”, “”) and phpBB (hereinafter “they”, “them”, “their”, “phpBB software”, “”, “phpBB Limited”, “phpBB Teams”) use any information collected during any session of usage by you (hereinafter “your information”). Your information is collected via two ways. Firstly, by browsing “Video Game Forums” will cause the phpBB software to create a number of cookies, which are small text files that are downloaded on to your computer’s web browser temporary files. The first two cookies just contain a user identifier (hereinafter “user-id”) and an anonymous session identifier (hereinafter “session-id”), automatically assigned to you by the phpBB software. A third cookie will be created once you have browsed topics within “Video Game Forums” and is used to store which topics have been read, thereby improving your user experience. We may also create cookies external to the phpBB software whilst browsing “Video Game Forums”, though these are outside the scope of this document which is intended to only cover the pages created by the phpBB software. The second way in which we collect your information is by what you submit to us. This can be, and is not limited to: posting as an anonymous user (hereinafter “anonymous posts”), registering on “Video Game Forums” (hereinafter “your account”) and posts submitted by you after registration and whilst logged in (hereinafter “your posts”). Your account will at a bare minimum contain a uniquely identifiable name (hereinafter “your user name”), a personal password used for logging into your account (hereinafter “your password”) and a personal, valid email address (hereinafter “your email”). Your information for your account at “Video Game Forums” is protected by data-protection laws applicable in the country that hosts us. Any information beyond your user name, your password, and your email address required by “Video Game Forums” during the registration process is either mandatory or optional, at the discretion of “Video Game Forums”. In all cases, you have the option of what information in your account is publicly displayed. Furthermore, within your account, you have the option to opt-in or opt-out of automatically generated emails from the phpBB software. Your password is ciphered (a one-way hash) so that it is secure. However, it is recommended that you do not reuse the same password across a number of different websites. Your password is the means of accessing your account at “Video Game Forums”, so please guard it carefully and under no circumstance will anyone affiliated with “Video Game Forums”, phpBB or another 3rd party, legitimately ask you for your password. Should you forget your password for your account, you can use the “I forgot my password” feature provided by the phpBB software. This process will ask you to submit your user name and your email, then the phpBB software will generate a new password to reclaim your account. Back to login screen
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2313	Quality Marks People often wonder just how good their watches are. A quality seal can help provide an answer: it shows that the watch has passed a test for its timekeeping ability and, in some instances, the quality of its finishing. COSC and the Geneva Seal are by far the best-known issuers of quality certificates, but there are many others. Some, like these two, test watches from multiple brands; others, such as the Patek Philippe Seal. Here’s a look at 11 quality-testing systems.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2325	Vignette 10 Complex Numbers The nineteenth century German mathematician Leopold Kronecker is reputed to have said "Die ganzen Zahlen hat Gott gemacht, alles andere ist Menschenwerk" (The whole numbers were made by God, all else is the work of mankind). Indeed, negative integers fill an algebraic void left by the positive integers, by providing solutions to equations such as x + 1 = 0. This leads to the creation of the system of integers, in which all such equations have solutions. The system of rational numbers in turn fills an algebraic void left by the integers, by providing solutions to equations such as 2x - 1 = 0. And in a similar way, the system of real numbers fills an algebraic void left by the rational numbers, by providing solutions to equations such as x2 - 2 = 0. The System of Complex Numbers Does the process of creation of new "numbers" end with the real numbers? In spite of creating these successively larger number systems in order to have solutions to more and more equations, there are still equations that have no solution, the simplest being the innocent-looking x2 + 1 = 0. Rather than simply declaring such equations to be unsolvable, why not extend the system of real numbers to include solutions to equations of this type? In order to do this, let us postulate the existence of such a larger system of numbers, which we will call the complex numbers, and agree that in this larger system, a solution to the equation x2 + 1 = 0 will be denoted by the letter i. Must there be any other numbers in such a number system? Algebraic closure is a property that we would certainly expect any set that calls itself a number system to have. This means that adding and multiplying any two such numbers should result in another such number. In particular, then, since this new number system is an extension of (that is, a more inclusive set than) the real numbers, our new complex number system must contain all the real numbers, in addition to at least the one new number i. Algebraic closure then requires that our new system contain numbers to represent 2i, 3i, 4.783i, -8.6i, and even and . So we must include at least all real multiples of i. (These are called the pure imaginary numbers.) But then we must also include sums of real numbers with the various multiples of i, in order to retain the desired algebraic closure. That is, we must include at least the "numbers" of the form . Must any other new numbers be included in our new system of complex numbers? Addition and Multiplication of Complex Numbers For the time being, at least, let's try out what we have built so far, and see how it works. If it is fails to have some property that a number system should have, or if it does not permit solving all the equations that we would like to have solutions to, then we can always go back and throw in more new "numbers." Of course, we expect that a number system will have operations of addition and multiplication defined in such a way that the customary commutative, associative and distributive properties will hold. Because of this, we are essentially forced to define addition of complex numbers so that Note that in going from the third line to the fourth line of the equation for multiplication, we have used the fact that i is a solution to the equation x2 + 1 = 0, so that i2 + 1 = 0, and hence i2 = -1. Also notice that complex numbers are added by simply adding the real parts and the imaginary parts, but that multiplication is performed by the slightly more complicated formula shown above. Although it is somewhat tedious, one can verify that the complex number system, with the addition and multiplication shown above, satisfies the commutative, associative and distributive properties usually expected of a number system. There is also a division operation for complex numbers, which gives a quotient of any two complex numbers (as long as the divisor is not zero). Solving Equations with Complex Numbers Remembering that the reason for introducing the complex number system was the fact that equations like x2 + 1 = 0 have no solution in the system of real numbers, we should now look at how much improvement has been made with the introduction of the system of complex numbers. Of course, we now have a solution for x2 + 1 = 0, namely x = i. But what about other equations? Although we cannot prove it here because the proof uses a fair amount of advanced mathematics, we can at least state the important result known as the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra: Every polynomial of positive degree with coefficients in the system of complex numbers has a zero in the system of complex numbers. Moreover, every such polynomial can be factored linearly in the system of complex numbers. This means that the program of expanding number systems in order to be able to solve equations is completed with the complex number system. Not only do all polynomial equations with real numbers as coefficients have solutions, but even if we use complex numbers as coefficients, there will still be solutions. The fact that polynomials can be factored into linear factors means, for instance, that a polynomial equation with degree n will have exactly n roots (counting any repeated roots as separate roots) in the system of complex numbers. Roots and Graphs You should be familiar with the relation between the real roots of a polynomial equation and the x-intercepts of the graph of the polynomial. For example, the graph of , as shown below, has two x-intercepts: Consequently, there are two real roots of the equation . On the other hand, the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra (stated above) guarantees that this equation has exactly four roots in the system of complex numbers. Two of them are real, and the other two therefore must include an imaginary component. If the graph of a polynomial does not intersect the x-axis, then all of the roots of the corresponding equation include an imaginary component. What about the roots of the equation x2 + 1 = 0 ? According to the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, there should be exactly two roots in the system of complex numbers. But neither of these is a real number, because the graph of y = x2 + 1 does not cross the x-axis. (Indeed, the fact that this equation does not have any real roots is what started the whole development of the complex numbers!) One of the roots, we know, is the complex number denoted by i. It is easy to see by inspection that the other root must be the number -i, for . Thus, in the system of complex numbers, there are two square roots of -1, namely i and -i. Can you find the four 4th roots of 1 (that is, the four complex numbers that are roots of the equation x4 - 1 = 0 )? Finding Roots The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra is an example of what is known in mathematics as an existence theorem. It tells us that something exists or is guaranteed to happen, but it does not tell us how to find that thing. We know, for instance, that the equation has four roots in the complex number system, but the problem of finding those roots is not necessarily easy! Every polynomial equation of degree 4 or less can be solved by formulas -- similar to the quadratic formula, but considerably more involved. For instance, if you ask the computer algebra system DERIVE to solve the equation , the solution is so involved that it extends approximately ten screen-widths! In this case, a numerical approximation is much easier to understand, and can also be obtained easily from a computer algebra system. Further Exploration Copyright © 2000 by Carl R. Spitznagel
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2337	Monday Morning Movie Reviews: 10 Cloverfield Lane, Knight of Cups, The Brothers Grimsby, Only Yesterday Nick Digilio and Collin Souter review the new movies including Only Yesterday, The Brothers Grimsby, Knight of Cups and 10 Cloverfield Lane. The reason Erik Childress did not join them is that he is at South By Southwest. To hear a recap of the movies he’s seen, click here.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2351	Karma reasons for concrete message Posts: 2196 • Darwins +288/-0 Here's a question for all - what does cause African children to starve? If it isn't your fault, is it anybodies? If I had to make a guess at it, I would say that the reason African children starve is the same reason any other living thing on the planet would starve... lack of food. Fault is an interesting notion here. To me, that implies that someone screwed up somewhere. If you are going to argue that, then you must take each instance on a case by case basis and identify the factors that played into it. You may argue that it is the fault of every human being on the planet that children starve to death in Africa. I don't know if that is where you are going with the question, but we've heard that one before. The thing is... not one of us is omnipotent, and most people struggle to survive as it is without having the added burden of millions of starving Africans on their shoulders. Now, if God exists, and he has the power (with a simple thought no less) to stop children everywhere from starving, and he does not do it, then God is, by FAR, more culpable than any of us humans. To use a very simple analogy here; if I had the power to give food to starving children (every day for the rest of their life) with a simple thought, and I did not do it, I would think the blame would come to me. Or worse yet, if I were father to everyone on the planet, and chose to give ample supplies of food to fat, greedy, gun toting, stock car driving, bible belt Christians, while telling the starving African children to go fuck themselves, I would expect the world to turn on me violently and rightfully so. I'm with kaziglu bey. Very happy I don't worship that monster. Changed Change Reason Date ParkingPlaces And JeffPT, for using the term "stock car" intellectually. March 21, 2012, 09:38:16 PM
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2453	Tuesday, August 04, 2015 Things I Learned in June and July I learned all kinds of interesting things this summer--today I'm linking up with Chatting at the Sky to share my random tidbits :) 1. Pink lemons actually exist. I always assumed that "pink lemonade" was colored either by berries (berry lemonade has been a love of mine ever since the late 1990s...Snapple broke my heart when they discontinued the flavor) or by good old Red 40. But it turns out, lemons come in pink varieties! As usual, it was Smitten Kitchen who opened my eyes to this surprising delight. 2. Alcoholics Anonymous isn't evidence-based treatment. Until I read this eye-opening article in The Atlantic, I took for granted the common teaching about addiction: the only way to be free is to quit cold-turkey and never, ever have a sip of alcohol again. As it turns out, more than a few mental health experts are questioning the prevailing wisdom. Studies don't really support the dogmatic assertions of AA, and many care providers have found other methods to be more effective for helping alcoholics turn their lives around. 3. An "array" can refer to an orderly arrangement in rows and columns. It isn't often that my husband schools me on vocabulary words :) This one came up at dinner one night when discussing the boys' latest memory verse. We've spent the summer learning Revelation 19:11-16 and 21:1-6, and have worked out a system that seems helpful for our family: I practice the memory work with the boys at breakfast, and then at dinner, they tell Daddy what they worked on, and he helps them understand what it means. One night we were discussing Revelation 19:14: "And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses." I had assumed it was referring to the armies' being "dressed" in fine linen, with "arrayed" used as a synonym for "dressed." But Steve saw the word "arrayed" near the word "armies" and immediately thought of the term "array" as "an arrangement in rows and columns." In context, I think it's probably the former definition, but I learned something new, since I had no idea the word "array" indicated such a specific arrangement. 4. Alfredo is the Italian equivalent of buttered toast or saltine crackers. Alfredo sauce won't be found on a menu in Italy, except at restaurants that cater to naive tourists. According to this article I stumbled across, you won't find "fettuccine alfredo" on a menu in Italy any more than you'd find "saltine crackers and ginger ale" or "buttered toast" on a menu in the U.S. Because that's essentially what pasta alfredo is to the Italians: an incredibly basic food that your mother might make when you have an upset stomach, but not something you'd ever order in a restaurant. The Italian version, called "pasta al burro" (pasta with butter) or "pasta in bianco" (white pasta), is plain pasta with some butter and Parmesan to dress it up just a little. It has since been Americanized, with copious amounts of heavy cream, but it is not an authentic Italian dish. Neither, for that matter, is spaghetti and meatballs (Italians eat both, but not in the same course, much less mixed together in the same dish). 5. Duolingo is a fun, addictive (and free!) app for learning a new language. Speaking of Italy...! I admit this method of language-learning is way outside my ordered, linear-thinking box (I keep wanting a list of verb conjugations, or wanting to ask WHY you use this word and not the other), but I suspect in some ways it's more effective. At any rate, I'm having fun trying to learn enough Italian to get by! And it's not even one of those "free" apps that tries at every turn to get you to purchase extras. Just fun and game-like. I've actually thought about getting Elijah started with Spanish, since it's supposedly so much easier for kids to learn new languages. FYI, there's also a web-based version, so you don't have to have a smartphone to try it out. 6. A horrifying number of Africans were enslaved and brought to the Americas during the 16th-19th centuries, though most did not end up in the United States. During the slave trade from the 1500s-1800s, more than 10 million Africans were brought to the Western Hemisphere, but fewer than 4 percent came to North America. Most went to the Caribbean and Brazil. This animated map provides a stunning picture of the way Africa was plundered. 7. Growing peaches is a fascinating combination of science and art. We've been buying big half-bushel boxes from The Peach Truck every summer for the last few years. I also follow their gorgeous Instagram account (and the story of how they got started is charming). Earlier this summer they shared an interview with the owner of Pearson Farm, where the peaches come from, and it was full of interesting information about how the fruit is grown. The farm is in Fort Valley, Georgia, where about 95% of Georgia peaches are produced. They prune the trees "to look like a hand, palm up, holding a softball." And after the trees blossom and begin producing 2500-3000 peaches each, pruners return in April to thin the fruit to about 500 peaches per tree. For the record, their results speak for themselves. We eat our weight in Pearson peaches during the few weeks they are available! 8. The peregrine falcon is the world's fastest animal. It's not the cheetah, as you might expect. Peregrine falcons are far faster, achieving dive speeds over 200MPH. Though, to be fair, they're going that fast in a freefall, not by flapping their wings or sprinting. But then again, as Steve pointed out, if you can freefall that quickly and yet be in control and not kill yourself, it's still pretty impressive. The boys and I learned about peregrine falcons and several other birds at this year's animal show at the library. 9. Rit color remover can save a ruined white sweater. A couple of months ago, my white cardigan somehow ended up with large, bright green ink spots on it. I tried all the usual remedies (hairspray, straight rubbing alcohol, OxiClean) all to no avail--the ink faded to a light blue, but the sweater was still ruined. I was about to try bleach as a last resort, or if that failed, just dye the sweater black. But then I found Rit color remover at JoAnn. And (for less than $2!) it worked! My beloved sweater was rescued and looks good as new. What have you learned this summer? 1 comment: Linda said... Fascinating post, thank you so much for sharing!
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2456	Site hosted by Build your free website today! Aaahh! Real Monsters Coloring Pages Click on the picture you would like to color. It will open, or should. When the larger picture has finished loading, and you can see it all, use the PRINT button on your browser to print it out. Main Coloring Page gromble.gif realmonsters.gif realmonsters2.gif oblina.gif Page 1 of 1
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2501	How to connect to MySQL database using PHP How to connect to MySQL database using PHP To be able to connect to a MySQL database, you will need the following MySQL Database Connection Credentials: • Database Name • Host Name • User Name • Password Before you can get content out of your MySQL database, you must know how to establish a connection to MySQL from inside a PHP script. To perform basic queries from within MySQL is very easy. This article will show you how to get up and running. Let’s get started. The first thing to do is connect to the database.The function to connect to MySQL is called mysql_connect. This function returns a resource which is a pointer to the database connection. It’s also called a database handle, and we’ll use it in later functions. Don’t forget to replace your connection details. $servername = "localhost"; $username = "username"; $password = "password"; // Create connection $dbhandle = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password); // Check connection if ($dbhandle->connect_error) { die("Connection failed: " . $dbhandle->connect_error); echo "Connected to MySQL successfully"; All going well, you should see “Connected to MySQL successfully” when you run this script. If you can’t connect to the server, make sure your password, username and hostname are correct. Walid BaniHani College of Applied Sciences - Al Rustaq Leave a Reply
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2524	Change in Cuba? Feb 22,2008 00:00 by The San Diego Union-Tribune After nearly 50 years and the unsuccessful efforts of 10 American presidents to loosen his iron group on Cuba, Fidel Castro is voluntarily giving up supreme power over the small island nation that has been so much a part of the U.S. foreign policy focus in recent decades. In a letter appearing in Cuban newspapers Tuesday, Castro, 81, announced that his health will not allow him to accept another five-year term as president of the ruling Council of State. Weekend elections by the National Assembly of People's Power had been scheduled before Castro announced his decision to resign. About 19 months ago, Castro provisionally surrendered leadership of the country to his 76-year-old brother, Raul. Were it not for the long and intense history of antagonism that grew out of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Castro's announcement would mean little to the United States. Cuba had a thriving but corrupt economy before a guerrilla war led by the Castro brothers toppled Fulgencio Batista in 1959. As the middle-and upper-middle classes fled mostly to the United States, Fidel Castro, a lawyer by training, assumed power and nationalized just about everything. Castro embraced the Soviet Union as his nation's economy collapsed. It never began to recover, even with $4 billion to $6 billion in annual subsidies from the Soviets. Today, Cuba depends heavily on $2 billion in annual subsidies from the oil-rich government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In large part because of the economic plight of Cuba, the United States has used mostly economic pressure in an attempt to isolate, if not topple, the only Communist dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere. In 1996, after Cuban fighter jets shot down two private planes owned by a Miami-based anti-Castro group, Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, which gives the U.S. president no choice but to maintain an economic embargo against Cuba. That embargo remains the center of U.S. policy, and it is a mark of faith for politicians to periodically express support for it. At its heart, the aim of Helms-Burton, named after former North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms and Indiana Rep. Dan Burton, was to force political change in Cuba. The United States rightly demanded political freedoms for the Cuban people. It called for a halt to political suppression, including the jailing of dissidents. None of this moved Fidel Castro. In fact, he likely drew power from the U.S. actions. With Castro's passing, and with Raul Castro's seeming willingness to loosen some political control, is it time for the United States to act? Tuesday, President Bush announced there would be no change in U.S. policy, a message pretty much echoed by the three major contenders to replace him. There are many potential hazards for the Cuban people and for America as Cuba begins its transition from Fidel Castro's rule. For Cubans, the primary hazards are political and economic turmoil. For the United States, that turmoil could produce a regime 90 miles off our coast supported by drugs and other crime. It also could produce boatloads of refugees. There are many questions to be asked during this transition. It will be important, mostly for the sake of the Cuban people, that there be a thorough debate in this country over whether to maintain current policy or change as Cuba does. Reprinted from the San Diego Union-Tribune. CNS
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2530	Best Self Magazine » Dr. Africa Wallace Wed, 20 Jun 2018 18:58:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Lung Cancer Myth Debunked Mon, 28 Dec 2015 13:10:12 +0000 Continue reading ]]> Pink Lungs Myth: Lung cancer only affects men Fact: Lung cancer kills almost twice as many women as any other cancer. In fact, a woman learns she has lung cancer every five minutes in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association, says Dr. Africa Wallace, a thoracic surgeon at Piedmont Hospital. ]]> 0
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2569	Objects & Places from Stuck in Neutral Buy the Stuck in Neutral Lesson Plans Cerebral Palsy This condition prohibits communication and is central to the story. The Poem Shawn This object concerns a relationship and brings fame, fortune, and opportunity. This object is occupied most days, and is once associated with a fall and a broken arm. Many, many details are known about this object, which has been in the same location for too many years to count. Kitchen Window This object provides visual access to interior and exterior activity. Detraux Videotape This object is associated with death and generates controversy in a public forum. Pulitzer Prize Conferred for excellence in writing, this object brings fame and fortune to the recipient. Quilted Pillow Seemingly innocuous, this object may be implicated in a murder. Shoreline High School A location that contains a "friggin' zoo." Seattle, Washington A location considered a hundred times cooler than you can believe. (read more Object Descriptions) This section contains 146 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) Buy the Stuck in Neutral Lesson Plans Stuck in Neutral from BookRags. (c)2018 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved. Follow Us on Facebook
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2570	The Mote in God's Eye Test \| Mid-Book Test - Easy Buy The Mote in God's Eye Lesson Plans Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________ Multiple Choice Questions 1. In Part 2, Chapter 19, what technique is used effectively for the first time? (a) Humor. (b) Comparisons. (c) Simile. (d) Sarcasm. 2. What feeling does Horace have about the lack of success of the rebellion? (a) Unhappiness. (b) Guilt. (c) Happiness. (d) Remorse. 3. What kinds of civilizations has Sally found while digging on the planet? (a) Layered civilizations. (b) Lost civilizations. (c) Unknown civilizations. (d) Primitive civilizations. 4. How are the humans on the planet recalled to the ships? (a) A televised message. (b) With a communique. (c) By a messenger. (d) Secret code. 5. Who invites the Moties onto the cutter? (a) Dr. Lussen. (b) Dr. Sinclair. (c) Dr. Smith. (d) Dr. Horvath. 6. Buckman believes that money and power are to serve the purpose of what? (a) Himself. (b) Human-kind. (c) Research. (d) His family. 7. When Cargill checks the gun batteries, what does he find? (a) They are empty. (b) They are filled with mini-Moties. (c) The Moties have eaten them. (d) They are missing. 8. Who lets one of the small Motie creatures escape onto the MacArthur? (a) Renner. (b) Shelly. (c) Sandra. (d) Whitbred. 9. Humanity expanded throughout space rather than becoming what? (a) Over-populated. (b) War-driven. (c) Meaningless. (d) Extinct. 10. In Part 1, Chapter 3, what does Horace search for? (a) Proof. (b) Information. (c) Escape. (d) Money. 11. What kind of alert does Rod issue when he finds the mini-Moties have made alterations to his ship? (a) Evacuation alert. (b) Silent alert. (c) Intruder alert. (d) Battle alert. 12. What rank does Whitbred hold? (a) Petty Officer. (b) Midshipman. (c) Petty Officer First Class. (d) Cadet. 13. In Part 2, Chapter 17, how many classifications of Moties does everyone think there is? (a) Six. (b) Five. (c) Three. (d) Four. 14. Why does Rod record everything at the meeting? (a) For the record. (b) In case they are captured. (c) For science. (d) For discovery. 15. What is the name given, by the humans, to the approaching Motie ship? (a) Stone Mountain. (b) Stone Ship. (c) Stone Rock. (d) Stone Beehive. Short Answer Questions 1. What kind of studies did Sally Fowler complete? 2. What kind of activity is occurring on the pod when it is first brought onto the MacArthur? 3. When the shrouds connecting the pod to the sail are cut, what does the pod do? 4. When the MacArthur learns that another ship is on its way to meet them while they are observing the Moties, where does the MacArthur send a small expedition? 5. When Rod holds a dinner party in Part 1, Chapter 3, who is invited? (see the answer keys) This section contains 410 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) Buy The Mote in God's Eye Lesson Plans The Mote in God's Eye from BookRags. (c)2018 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved. Follow Us on Facebook
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2593	A friend of mine landed his last six clients as a direct result of his participation in LinkedIn Groups. Another sees his groups as a natural extension of his social-media marketing efforts. And believe it or not (I still find it hard to believe), a third somehow managed to meet her fiancé in an HR-focused group. LinkedIn groups are informal communities formed around industries, professions, themes, niche topics, etc. Because any LinkedIn member can create one, there are now well over a million groups. Find and join the right groups, and it's easy to keep up with news and trends, make connections, ask and answer questions, land new clients—even start a romance. (Well, maybe that last one isn't so easy.) Here's how to find the right groups for you: Set your goals. Because groups are relatively focused, one group probably can't meet all your needs. Decide whether you're looking to connect with potential clients, establish your credentials and authority, learn more about your field—determine what you hope to achieve. If you're new to groups, start with one primary goal. You can always branch out later. Then search. Go to the Groups Directory page and enter search terms related to your goal. Just keep in mind that searching broad terms will generate broad results; search marketing, and you get more than 41,000 results; social-media marketing yields more than 4,000 results. Think about what you're looking for and use search terms that are as specific as possible. And sift. You can refine your search by using the check boxes on the left-hand side of the page. One handy move is to sift search results by your current connections. For example, you can choose to see only groups that your first and/or second connections have joined. In some ways, that's handy, but given that most people hope to make new connections by joining groups, don't limit yourself to groups where you already "know someone." And borrow ideas. Plus, joining the same groups increases your chances of connecting with the people you hope to connect with. Chances are, influential people in your industry are members of useful groups, so why not hang out where they hang out? Then sift through the results. A search result lists groups in descending order according to the number of members. Under each group is a brief description. Sometimes the description is helpful. Sometimes, though, the group has veered away from its description and original purpose. The only way to know is to... Join a few groups. Pick a few groups that appear to meet your goals--and seem interesting--and join. You can be a member of up to 50 groups, and you can leave a group at any time, so there's no harm in experimenting. Read recent discussions and click the Members link to find out who else is in the group. If you find heavy hitters or people you respect, that's a good sign. Keep in mind, some groups are members only; the manager of the group must accept you before you can participate or view discussions. Members-only groups tend to be more focused, but there are plenty of open groups that stay just as on topic and spam free. Pause and reflect. Check out the quality of the discussions or updates. Are article or resource references relevant and valuable? Are the discussions interesting? Are there enough members to create a vibrant group? Then chill for a bit. No one likes the guy who walks up and takes over a conversation at a party. Watch, listen, and get a feel for how the group operates. Then gradually start to participate. Start by responding to questions or topics raised by other people. Get a real feel for the group, and let the group get a feel for you, before you start driving discussions. Otherwise, you're that guy, and no one likes that guy. Stay reasonably active. You don't need to participate every day, but you should be somewhat regular--otherwise, why are you joining the group? That's especially true if you hope to establish yourself as an authority; it's hard to spark great discussions and answer questions when you're never there. Stay small. Sometimes people will invite you to join a group. Sometimes you'll stumble across a group and think, Why not? Before long, you'll belong to dozens of groups. It's impossible to participate in a meaningful way in more than a few groups. If you aren't getting the results you want--given the goals you established--don't add more groups to your collection. Find a few groups that better suit your need, and leave the groups that don't. Besides, no one is impressed by a seemingly endless list of groups on a profile page. Eventually, consider starting a group. Anyone can found a group. If your group becomes popular, you can drive traffic to your website and send free weekly messages to group members—all of whom opted in to receive those messages. But wait until you really understand how groups operate before you found a group, and think about how you can differentiate your group from the thousands of similar groups that exist. Otherwise, you may belong to a group of one. But, hey, at least you'll always enjoy the discussions. More From Inc.:
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2594	Posts from November 2012 3 Items Disruption – and why big companies don’t get it by Jochen Kressin We need some new disruptive ideas! Sounds familiar? Have you heard this sentence in your company before? Well, I certainly did, a number of times. Everybody is talking about how disruptive innovation can lead to phenomenal growth and that everyone should pursue it. And then – nothing. Some ideas are tossed around, but none […] Leistungschutzrecht FTW or WTF? by Jochen Kressin You have probably never heard the term “Leistungsschutzrecht” before. And rightly so, because it is one of the most stupid concepts ever invented. It describes a new law currently discussed in Germany which will “protect” publisher from being robbed by Google. And although I’m referring to Germany in particular, such laws are debated all over […] Business Models and Strategy in the digital domain, part I by Jochen Kressin Business Models and Strategy When talking about business models with someone who is experienced in strategic management and especially familiar with the theories of Michal Porter, I often hear the following questions: Is a business model the same as strategy? How do business models relate to the domain of strategic management? If we already have the well-defined and thoroughly […]
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2599	Forbidden Language: English Learners and Restrictive Language Policies Patricia Gandara and Megan Hopkins, Editors Published by Teachers College Press This publication pulls together recent research on the effects of restrictive language policies on English language learners, with a focus on what we know about outcomes in states where these policies have been adopted. These outcomes are examined by legal experts in bilingual education to determine if they undermine the legal viability of the policies. An overview of English language learners in the United States and a brief history of policies that have guided their instruction provides background to the discussion of issues related to these policies. In the final section, contributors suggest how better policies, that rely on empirical research, might be constructed. The volume includes contributions from well-known educators and scholars in bilingual education, including Diane August from the Center for Applied Linguistics. This book is an important resource for policymakers, researchers, and educators interested learning more about the impact of policy on educational outcomes and how effective future policies might be developed. 2010 Order online from the CAL Store
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2621	March 27, 2006 - Gary Hart In this episode, Time Magazine implies the Iraq war isn't worth the cost -- well, neither is a Ferrari, but it gets you laid. Then, the new Afghani government threatens a Christian convert with death. The Taliban offered him "chi chi." Plus, I tell former Senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart that more Democrats should follow his example and leave politics. In the future, you'll be able to inject this program directly into your eyeballs. The future is now. This is The Colbert Report.
global_01_local_2_shard_00001658_processed.jsonl/2668	09 novembro 2016 Erros estatísticos de Nate Silver sobre Trump Parece que o Guru das eleições não conhece muito bem de probabilidade aplicada. Ele errou feio as previsões das eleições. Nate Silver is one of the most highly regarded statisticians of sports, politics and other domains [1]. During the 2016 presidential campaign, his early analysis of the chances of Donald Trump becoming Republican nominee stands out—he estimated only a 2% probability. Even though statistics are not about actualities but probabilities, subsequent events do not appear to be consistent with those predictions, as he later acknowledged [2-4]. He has explained the problem with the analysis as due to political factors [3], and in terms of the difficulty of analysis [4], but not why the model he used is essentially flawed. Here we point out fundamental problems with the statistical ideas he uses. Statistics begins from an assumption of independence, which is generally not valid. In this case, the assumptions lead to mathematical inconsistencies. This illustrates how statistics can lead to illogic even for sophisticated users. Indeed, perhaps it is more likely to mislead those who are sophisticated—a cautionary tale. Silver's analysis [2] is based on a gauntlet of six "stages of doom" of nomination. He assigns each stage independently a 1 in 2 chance of being won, leading to less than 2% = (1/2)6chance of nomination. Like winning 6 coin tosses in a row. There is an argument that makes Silver's result suspect. Some of the stages of Silver's analysis appear unique to Trump. However, each candidate faces difficulties, and every stage of the nomination is surely not guaranteed to any of them. While the specific terms that are used might not be the same, a similar analysis would hold for each one: gaining and keeping attention, withstanding scrutiny, achieving early state success, building organization, accumulating delegates, and achieving a majority for the convention. If anything, they faced greater challenges because Trump was ahead in polls. Nenhum comentário: Postar um comentário

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