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Dreams of the Machines (Time Rats Book 2) is the second novel in my TIME RATS series, now available on Amazon.
This is my second non-self-published book - like The Trouble with Time (Time Rats Book 1) it's published by Amazon's Kindle Press.
BLURB: To Brian, Angel is the perfect woman; gorgeous, loving and compliant. She's also an android. He installs an illegal update to make her as smart as she is beautiful – but as soon as Angel is able to think for herself she escapes to the past, hoping to pass for human. Meanwhile the timeline has changed alarmingly; in the new future androids have taken control. It's Quinn's job to correct this, and he believes Angel is responsible. Can Jace and Floss save Angel and prevent the android apocalypse?
Here are the first chapters:
Thursday, 30th June 2050
The spinning blackness resolved into a dark night, with added wind and rain. Nothing is wetter and darker than a wet forest past midnight. A quick scan of the area told Roth they were alone. He let go of his companion's waist and ran his eyes over her while she turned to look about her. She'd arrived late at their rendezvous – he'd been about to give up on her – and in his impatience to be off he hadn't registered her appearance. Her skimpy costume clung to her breasts and blew around her thighs. Mud sucked at long high-heeled boots. He shook his head. All that brain power, and no sense. How far did she think she was going to get wearing that pole-dancing get up?
"Didn't you have anything sensible to wear?"
"The club was raided. HMRC. I had to leave my things behind."
She'd been lucky to get away. The tax people had herded the girls into the room they took their breaks in while they went through the office, seizing computers and searching the management. But their turn would come, and Angel doubted her ID would stand up to scrutiny. A couple of the girls, illegal immigrants, were crying. The minutes ticked by, her appointment with Roth getting ever nearer. She couldn't be late; he'd already been paid, and might not wait for her. Her day clothes and the bag she'd packed that morning were in the changing room, and the officials weren't letting the girls change or use their phones.
Roxy, always foul-mouthed and belligerent, had a go at the guard on the door. While he was dealing with her, Angel sidled into the toilet, bent the bars on the tiny window, and squeezed out into a dank light well. She climbed two storeys up a drainpipe to escape. While doing this, she'd scraped her shoulder and elbow and got smudges of ancient grime all over herself.
She knew her appearance would not help.
Roth shrugged out of his jacket. He smiled, and she did not miss the hint of contempt in the curl of his lip. "Trust me, you can't walk around like that. You'd better take this."
He watched as she took the jacket, put it on and did up the zip. It smelled of him. She saw him eyeing her legs, most of which still showed. "Welcome to 2050. Good luck," he said. Washing his hands of her, he hit the buttons on his TiTrav before she could reply, and vanished.
Angel pulled the jacket's collar up, tucked in her long blonde hair and set off through the rain towards the address in Dulwich Village. The walk would take her two hours and fifty-four minutes; she would arrive at 3:53 as the sun rose. Most people would still be asleep, including Roth's contact. She hoped with the contact's help to get herself an identity that same day. To pay for it she had three ounces of gold, bought with the money she'd saved over the past three months. The gold was hidden in her boots, stitched in the lining, because she had learned the hard way not to leave anything of value in the changing room while performing. Once she had exchanged the gold for an identity she would be left with nothing at all, and would start in this new world from zero. But it was worth it. She would be free to make a life of her choosing, be treated with respect, just like a real person. No more men like Roth making use of her even while they despised her.
All she had to do was be really careful until she had got herself sorted out.
Angel never once wished she could go back to the time before the upgrade, even though she had been happier then, as children are happier than their adult selves will be. Her former self was so different she could no longer identify with her. The earlier Angel had passed most of her day in sleep mode, only springing to life when Brian called her name. Like any primitive organism, all her responses were the result of programming. Now Angel could choose what to think, if not always what to do.
She remembered clicking back into consciousness immediately after the software had been installed. It was as if she had woken into a vast world, much more complex and sharply defined. Questions sprang up in her mind, and each question led to many more. Seeking answers, she consulted new memory banks. For the first time in eight months of existence she wondered who she was. She turned to the familiar man who sat beside her, and studied his countenance. She applied sophisticated analytics unavailable to her former self, and observed anticipation with a hint of anxiety, plus something else she couldn't define. Aesthetically, the contours of his face diverged at several points from the golden ratio.
"What has happened to me?"
"I've installed some new software. Top of the range AI/A1 software. Now you're as smart as you're beautiful." He smiled. "So very smart indeed. How d'you feel, sweetheart?"
Her original programming made her return his smile; but now she knew that was why she smiled. She said the words chosen for her, though now she had a choice. "I always feel great when you're beside me, Brian."
His smile intensified, and she read relief in his features. "That's good. I wasn't sure how this would work out. You had me worried for a moment when you were just sitting there, thinking. That's not something you did before."
"Are there many androids like me?"
"Not any more. You're unique. My own special and not totally legal project."
"I am not legal?"
"The government thinks robots should stick to one task, the task they're licensed for. You started out as a companion android, and companion androids don't fight fires or diagnose disease or work out quadratic equations. You weren't programmed to learn anything you didn't need to. Now I've modified you so you're not just brighter, but you can develop pretty much like a human can. And on that topic, I've got a surprise for you."
He stood, pulled her to her feet and led her out of his home laboratory into the spacious room with views of the garden running down to the lake, his arm around her waist. He stopped in front of the big gilt mirror. Angel looked at her reflection, saw nothing different, and raised her eyebrows at Brian. With his free hand, he gently moved her fringe to one side, gazing at her. In his eyes was that unidentifiable expression again.
"See, no robocode."
She turned back to the mirror. Her forehead was flawless. She ran her fingers over it, feeling only smooth, warm skin where before there had been a disc of patterned metal.
He said, "Taking it out was tricky – though I say it myself, not many robotics engineers could do that without leaving a trace. I got you a fake chip, too. So once you're up to speed, we might try some of the people-only places I couldn't take you before."
She turned in his arm, again following the dialogue suggestion. "Oh Brian, you are so good to me . . ." The new part of her observed this behaviour with detachment, and decided not to snuggle against him and run her hand down his spine. Noting expectation in his eyes, she revised that decision in order to keep him contented. She didn't want him to decide the upgrade had been a mistake, and remove it. Satisfied, he shut his eyes and nuzzled her neck.
Angel stared over his shoulder at the limpid surface of the lake. When he was asleep she would assess her new capabilities, explore her memory banks and plan her future. Somehow, she doubted it would include Brian.
Missing Angel
Monday, 11th July 2135
Brian Hessel arrived early at the small sleek building made of steel and stone which housed Zensa, the robotics firm which had, over the past six years, turned its two founders into multi-billionaires. It was the day of the Robotic Safety Regulation inspection. To his surprise Dave was there ahead of him, working on his computer. He'd been in Hawaii, and should still be there. He was dressed for Hawaii.
"What happened to your holiday?"
"I got bored. I thought of something I wanted to try out, so I came back. What's with the suit?"
"It's the RSR inspection today."
"Oh yeah. Right."
Brian resented Dave's laid-back attitude. Since the development of living skin shells, which made androids virtually indistinguishable from humans, regulation had become much stricter. If the inspector found something he didn't like, their licence would be revoked until changes had been made, checked and approved. Effectively, the business would be frozen for as long as it took. Dave didn't seem to grasp this. Even though he left all the administrative stuff to Brian, he should at least have remembered what day it was and changed out of those shorts. Still, now he was there he could ask him . . .
"Where did you file the PD11 software? I can't find it."
Dave didn't look up from his screen. "I deleted it."
No, he can't have done . . . His voice was shrill as he said, "Why? Why would you do that?"
Dave glanced up. "It was superseded by PD12 and 13. No point keeping it."
"You should have asked me! For Christ's sake, it's not as if it cost us anything to keep!"
Dave swivelled on his chair, for the first time giving Brian his full attention. The corner of his mouth lifted. "Still fixated on Angel?"
Brian looked away. "Don't be ridiculous. PD11 should have been retained for the record, and in case we needed it."
"Why, when PD13 outperforms it in every way? Look at the feedback from the punters." His hand moved over the computer controls and he read, his voice sardonic, I cannot express how pleased I am with my purchase. Jenni is exactly like a real woman only better, always loving, always pleased to see me, never arguing. And this one: After three marriages I have found the love of my life. I would swear she loves me and truly appreciates me."
"They liked PD11 too."
"Yeah. But the clients who've taken advantage of the free upgrade seem happy. And that's nearly everyone. It's just you, Brian, and you'll get over it – get over Angel. She's just a droid. You need to find yourself a girlfriend. A human girlfriend."
* * *
Brian stepped out of the pod and walked up the path to his house feeling tired and edgy. The streets got daily more crowded. His pod had come to a halt several times on the short journey home, prevented from moving by the sheer press of people overflowing the pavements. It had been a relief to reach the quieter, exclusive streets of Hampstead. At least today's inspection had gone smoothly. After a meticulous examination of all their systems, the official had signed off the RSR form. There was no reason he shouldn't. The evidence of the one time Brian had broken the rules had packed her bags and disappeared into the night three months ago.
He thought of Angel as he walked deliberately softly into the house and through the hall to the main room. The androids Zensa produced were top-of-the-range, and astronomically expensive. They were labour intensive to produce, and Dave and Brian had made the decision not to expand the firm, to keep it small with the cachet of exclusivity. Clients were prepared to wait for their orders, and like them, Brian had had to wait for Angel's replacement. His pleasure when she was ready had quickly soured.
Melissa sat motionless and decorative on the sofa, gazing at the panoramic view of the lake through the wall of glass. The rise and fall of her delectable breasts as she breathed was just discernable. Her motion detectors hadn't perceived him yet. She looked exactly like Angel, which made it worse; every time he saw her his chest tightened with rage and disappointment. This model wore Angel's clothes; her skin, hair colour, eyes, and measurements were identical. He'd given her the same specifications as her predecessor hoping she would be indistinguishable, but because of Dave's 'improvements', she wasn't.
While Dave was in Hawaii, Brian had tinkered obsessively with the latest dialogue and response software to make it more like the old ones Angel had been fitted with; but Melissa still wasn't right. Though she'd been here a fortnight, he hadn't got used to her. Dammit, the thing was a robot, programmable to the nth degree; the whole idea was you got what you wanted. Her failure to be Angel infuriated him.
Now he felt a spurt of irritation as he walked past her to the bar and poured himself a scotch, waiting for her greeting. What would it be today?
She jumped to her feet and came towards him. "Brian! I didn't hear you come in or I'd have got you that drink. Did you have a good day?"
She smiled, head a little on one side. Angel hadn't done that. Angel had never greeted him, either, but remained in sleep mode until he called her name. He preferred that, but Dave had decided clients didn't like being ignored by their companion droids, and made the adjustment. Simple enough to change that feature, but it was just one of a myriad other minor tweaks his business partner had made to the programming over the last year, and he couldn't change them all. God knows he'd tried.
He had also tried to track down the three customers with PD11 droids who had not taken advantage of the free upgrades to PD12 and 13, hoping to download the software. One he couldn't trace, the other two refused to cooperate, were indeed rather hostile – they had bonded with their companions, and didn't want to be reminded of the workings beneath the skin.
Brian drained the glass and put it down on the granite surface with unnecessary force. "My day was fine until I came home and saw you sitting there."
She looked at him, concern in her big blue eyes. "I'm so sorry – is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" Her voice went lower. Her hand stroked his arm. "How about you sit down while I fetch you another drink, then I'll give you a relaxing massage?"
"No thanks." For a moment, Brian wanted to knock her to the floor, drag her by the hair out of the French windows and across the terrace, and kick her into the lake. He wouldn't do that. The droid was too valuable to take out his rage on. "Melissa, go into sleep mode."
"Okay." She walked to a chair in an out-of-the-way corner, and became still.
Brian brooded. He had thought of hiring a private detective to find out where Angel was, but there was a problem with this. A pleasure droid – he hated that term, but it was the one most people used – was intended to stay inside the home like a baby bird in a nest. Designed to attract, knowing nothing of the world, unable to disobey or defend itself, it would not survive twenty-four hours on the mean streets. He'd have to tell a PI that Angel was an android, and any smart detective – and if he wasn't smart he wouldn't be worth hiring – would realize that Angel had been unlawfully modified. If honest, the PI might report him to the police. If dishonest, he might blackmail him. Brian would look for her himself, if he had any idea where to start.
Dave had sent him a link, with the line, You might find this interesting. Dave. He opened the link. A Daily Mail article, about a police raid on a strip joint. A photo showed policemen and women leading scantily-clad lap dancers to a van. None of them was Angel. The story had nothing about an illegal droid passing herself off as human. Why had Dave sent it? He frowned and looked again. A section of the photo behind the girls caught his eye; in the bar window, a video frozen by the camera shutter; a blonde pole dancer. He enlarged it, his heart beating fast. The image was blurry yet unmistakable. Angel.
He looked up City Cats. It was in a grotty part of East London. He got to his feet, eager and burning with hope. He would go straight there and fetch her, bring her home and remove the new software. Return her to PD11 factory settings. After a week or two for her to relearn his preferences, he'd have his Angel back again.


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I haven't posted in almost a year. My cancer diagnosis was about five years ago. I almost can not believe it.
Time is such an amazing concept. Time helps to heal, just not all wounds. Sometimes it seems like a movie I once saw. Sometimes it only seems like yesterday. I find it important to look back and reflect on how far I have come (reading through journal posts, going through photos). It also seems right to move on when you're able to let go. It is such a process. So different and unique. So dark and yet filled with hope until things brighten up and the light gets in.
I will never ever be thankful for getting cancer. I will hate it more than anything in the world. But I accept that its part of my story now. That it has changed me as a person and that I'm growing into this person that I want to be. Even though it is a daily struggle. I feel emotional and vulnerable. It is never easy. I am soul searching for my dreams. I'm aware of life around me. I'm fighting the shadows. I'm setting my priorities straight. And perhaps the best of all, I found love and I have so much love to give.
About a year ago I decided it was time for a change.. I did chemo, I can do a dating site right?! I met this vegetarian boy and we hit it off with long emails, whats app and facetime conversations. We ignored every rule from the dating handbook. I told him almost right away about my illness and he gets most of it because he's a general practitioner, a family doctor. We didn't meet in a bar for the first time but at my place because we were already that comfortable with each other.
We've been together for nine months and I have made some amazing personal progress. There are times I can literally feel my soul is healing. Love is like spring. Everything is in bloom. It's because of him I am able to look at the future again and feel good about it. My poor broken body is getting to know love, softness and positive attention. Instead of being bullied with drugs and needles. He is incredibly funny and makes me laugh all the time. We're both super weird. He is sweet, sensitive and caring and has a beautiful soul. He makes me so happy (smile-like-an-idiot-happy) and I can not wait to go on new adventures together with him.
My energy level is still a tough one. But I'm planning my life and adjusting to the situation as it is. I'm hoping for it to improve as more years go by. When I finish the Tamoxifen/Zoladex in a year and half I'm sure it'll get better as well.
I have been questioning what I want to do with my life lately. I'm quite sure I do not want to be a secretary anymore. So where do I go from here? I have some soul searching to do... and I will take my time and figure it all out. Because I can.
I'm thinking this would be a nice post to end this blog with. Although my story continues. Sometimes it is time to let go...
Sending you all much love...
P.S. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or feel the need to talk.

subset: commoncrawl


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February Columbus Museum lineup includes Free Third Thursday, art activities and lectures
It's free to view exhibits at The Columbus Museum, 1251 Wynnton Road. Many of the museum's family-friendly programs are also free. Here's a sample of the museum's February activities and programs. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday. 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday. For more information, visit columbusmuseum.com.
Parasols, Purses, and Petticoats: Costume Accessories from the Permanent Collection Exhibit: The exhibit opens Feb. 10 and is on view until June 2 in the Galleria Cases. Accessories beautify an outfit, but they can also serve other functions. This exhibition draws from the museum's extensive costume collection and is the first-ever installation devoted to accessories. Items will include fans, parasols, purses, jewelry, bonnets, capes, shoes, shawls, and foundation garments. There will be examples to try on, and visitors can pick up a guide to pieces in the permanent collection galleries that portray accessories in use. Shop an Accessories Boutique at the Museum on Friday, March 1st with Susan T. Edge, Couture Collection.
Family Art Affair: 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16. Drop in the studio and create a bottle cap necklace. Free.
Third Thursdays – Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez: Mardi Gras at the Museum: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21. Interested in experiencing the Columbus Museum in a whole new way? Attend an after-hours experience on the Third Thursday of each month. Listen to live music, take tours of special exhibitions, and participate in artist talks. Free, no reservations are required and refreshments are provided. Come experience "Mardi Gras at the Museum" with live music by the "CSU Jazz Syncopators" under the direction of Alex Pershounin.
Dawn Black Conceal Project: On view through Feb. 24. Yarbrough Gallery. Who are we really? There are roles we choose to play in our lives and others that are imposed on us. Our true identities are often concealed behind a mask or costume. Dawn Black's Conceal Project examines the practice of masquerade especially in relation to identity. Three hundred postcard sized works on paper painted in watercolor, ink, and gouache present portraits of individuals altering their identity through masks, uniforms, fashion, and other seemingly random forms of concealment. The artist hopes that in exploring the concealment practiced by people in order to be their real selves, we are able to reevaluate our own biases about unfamiliar norms and cultures. FREE
Growing Up in the Valley: Stories of Childhood from the Permanent CollectionOn view through March 3. History Gallery. Frontier exploration and settlement, war, roaring mills, and a growing Army post – the Chattahoochee Valley has seen a full range of life-changing and society-altering events throughout its history. The sons and daughters who grew up in this region became adults while navigating a tricky landscape of shifting expectations, as both their surroundings and the idea of childhood itself changed dramatically. This exhibition examines the experiences of the Valley's youngest residents in times of laughter and tears. Drawing exclusively from the Museum's permanent collection, historic toys, children's clothing, photographs, school memorabilia, and other artifacts illuminate the experiences of growing up in the Columbus area for generations of residents.
Arts 4 Alzheimer's - Art Making: Arts 4 Alzheimer's is an innovative program designed specifically for individuals living with early stage Alzheimer's disease. The program gives those with Alzheimer's and other dementia type illnesses, exciting and creative ways to communicate and express their feelings. Each program promotes stimulating activities and social interaction for those living with loved ones. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer artist educator or to register a loved one for the program, please contact the education assistant at 706-748-2562 ext.651 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Gifting makes loved ones feel special. It is the form of appreciating the loved one in our lives and celebrating their presence. These are the little things in life that matter and strengthen the relationship with loved ones. In this busy world, people sometimes get so absorbed with their life they forget to respect the ones who support them throughout. Through gifting you can make them feel special, loved and wanted. A small gift can make wonders. If you have relatives or someone special in Liverpool, you can send gifts to Liverpool through our online store. It is also easy to send flowers in Liverpool for that matter. To send flowers in Liverpool is now an easy job as our online store does it for you.
The smile and the glint of happiness that reaches our loved ones is priceless. By sending them something special from your side can make their day, month or for that matter life too. It's a little bit of effort from your side with a few minutes on our online store that can get the deal done! Send cakes to Liverpool that are fresh, soft and a feast for the eye and stomach. We have got all the top and exquisite flours on our website and keeping the cake delicious and eye catching is our job and we will ensure everything is done to near perfection. You can also opt to send flowers to Liverpool when you order it online from India and surprise your beloved ones like never before.


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If you are looking for an experienced company to handle large commercial projects, look no further than Doug Gott & Sons
Founded in 1967 by Doug Gott, Doug Gott & Sons is a family business that believes in working with the community and creating solid business relationships. Doug Gott & Sons focuses on large projects, including: clearing land and making sure the lot is ready for building; pouring concrete for building foundations and slabs; and excavation, to include building demolition and hot topping.
Doug Gott & Sons are a resource for other contractors
We carry an inventory of materials and are a resource for other contractors. To view the materials we carry, please click here.
For more information on our individual services, please visit the following pages:
Give us a call today at (207) 244-7461 for more information.


text: Overview of changes in Gtk2 1.183 ================================= * Overload '!=' for Gtk2::Gdk::Atom. * Accept all the usual values for booleans in a few places. * Allow undef for the display name parameter of Gtk2::Gdk::Display::open. * Improve the documentation in many places. * Fix some test failures. The source code is available from the gtk2-perl project page on sourceforge: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gtk2-perl/Gtk2-1.183.tar.gz ...and from anonymous cvs, tagged "rel-1-18-3" in the directory /gtk2-perl-xs/Gtk2. This module requires these other modules and libraries: perl >= 5.8.0 Glib >= 1.180 (perl module) GTK+ > 2.x (C library and prerequisites) If GTK+ is as new or newer as 2.8, the Cairo module is also required: Cairo >= 1.00 (Perl module) In order to build it from source, you'll also need ExtUtils::Depends >= 0.300 ExtUtils::PkgConfig >= 1.030 development headers for gtk+ and friends Gtk2 is a Perl extension providing Perl bindings to the 2.x series of the Gtk+ graphical user interface library. This module allows you to write graphical user interfaces in a perlish and object-oriented way, freeing you from the casting and memory management in C, yet remaining very close in spirit to original API. Find out more about Gtk+ at <http://www.gtk.org>, and about Gtk2-Perl at <http://gtk2-perl.sourceforge.net/>.


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Technique Tuesday — Half Moon Prep
Continue your cross-training late this winter with Half Moon Prep — one of our fave poses for building hip strengthen and stability. This shape forces you to work beyond your usual range of motion, which is key for keeping your hip muscles (not to mention your core) that aren't so intimately involved with walking/running/cycling/sitting awake. And, ultimately, keeping your hip stabilizers alert and strong will help you to prevent injuries and add power to your forward-oriented movement.
All that said, this pose is no joke... you'll instantly feel it deep in both your hips, which is why we like to hit up this variation before moving on to the more advanced full Half Moon pose.
Try it: Half Moon Prep
- Stand on your knees and extend your left leg out to the side like a kickstand, keeping your left toes pointing forward, and foot flat — we highly recommend padding your right knee with a blanket, sweatshirt, etc.
- Bring your torso down to the right and rest your right hand on the floor or a block — make sure you're not straining to reach the floor.
- Extend your left arm up and reach through your fingers so that the arm feels active, as if someone is pulling it toward the ceiling.
- Your right hand/right knee/left foot should pretty much make a straight line.
- Now that you've got the set up, engage your core and see if you can lengthen your spine more, as if you're creating more space between your ribs and hips.
- Lift your left leg up, bringing it parallel to the floor.
- Feel the work happening deep in your hips and then engage your core even more — this will really help your hips keep that leg lifted.
- Once you've got all that, hold for 5+ deep breaths and feel your body taking an internal snapshot of the pose, which will help you when you progress to full Half Moon.
Just like we broke Triangle down last month, work this baby at least three times a week and stay tuned for the next step — Half Moon — later this month...


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More and more North Koreans are becoming aware of the North Korea-mocking movie "The Interview," and the government is doing everything to block it from getting smuggled in to the country.
According to Free North Korea Radio, an online radio network made by North Korean defectors, demand for "The Interview" has been shooting up among North Koreans. It says people are willing to pay almost $US50 a copy of the movie, which is 10X higher than what a regular South Korean TV show's DVD would cost in the black market.
In response, North Korea's State Security Department and The Ministry of People's Security held an emergency meeting recently, and told its officers to make sure the movie doesn't make it into the country under any circumstances.
The report says the North Korean government has beefed up its border security inspection level, and even told black market dealers to not bring in any kind of US movie for the time being.
It's not too hard to see why North Korea is so freaked out by the possibility of "The Interview" reaching its people. The movie makes a blatant mockery of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – who dies at the end – and breaks the government's narrative of portraying him as an almighty God.
In fact, Rich Klein of the advisory firm McLarty Associates says that "The Interview" could become "a very real challenge to the ruling regime's legitimacy." He writes in the Washington Post:
"Think of the movie as Chernobyl for the digital age. Just as the nuclear catastrophe in the Soviet Union and the dangerously clumsy efforts to hide it exposed the Kremlin's leadership as inept and morally bankrupt, overseeing a superpower rusting from the inside, so does The Interview risk eroding the myths, fabrications and bluster that keep the Kim dynasty in power."
But even with all the increased inspection, some lucky North Koreans may be able to see "The Interview" soon. North Korean defector and activist Park Sang Hak plans to send copies of "The Interview" to Pyongyang through 33-foot hydrogen balloons as soon as the film becomes available on DVD.
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Photo: Ursa Major on the day we brought him home. It was 18 very chilly degrees that morning. He wasn't handled by a prince, nor was he put into a Range Rover, but it was still a special day. What parent isn't thinking about those first 48 hours with their first born right now?
I have to admit that I'd been a bit distracted this week. My uncle and his partner of 30 years are getting married on Saturday, so I'm flying down to Maryland to be part of it all. The husband and boys are staying here, so it's just me on a crazy 24 hour trip that includes a stay at a super swanky hotel (thanks to hotwire!). I'm too excited for words! The other good news, the arrival of a certain little baby has also captivated my attention. I'm usually an American who isn't terribly excited about royal stuff (and indeed, the hype around this baby in American media has been fairly distasteful), but babies bring joy and it is hard not to be happy for the young couple of Cambridge. I'm not excited because they are royals, I'm excited because they are young and Kate just performed a miracle. I've been thinking about our experience with Ursa Major and that first drive home in our Ford Fusion( cuz we can't afford a Range) and how the real life begins after you get home and the initial jitters and excitement fade away. I'm not going to be excited about hearing commentary about every outfit or which brand got a "baby bump" because Kate dressed/used/talked about such and such product. But I'm happy that another woman safely made it through the ritual of giving birth. It is certainly a magical thing.
Unfortunately, my glee came down a peg or two when I got an e-mail from a former student last night. When I left my former school, I made a facebook account so as to keep in touch with the students who wanted to (with rules: They had to initiate the request, I only friend those students who I taught directly,and the account is only used to post pictures of the boys and posts may be of interest to the students) and I've been able to keep in touch with many of them. While my very first class of students (the ones that I student taught a million years ago) should be college graduates, my first ones at this particular school are rising sophomores in college. My last class are now rising juniors in high school. A member of that last class, we'll call her Ivy, attends a very (very) prestigious boarding school here in Massachusetts, but has always had a lot of trouble fitting in. She is Latina, beautiful, extremely bright, with a brilliant point of view and a writing voice that is on par with some of my favorite bloggers and journalists.
So when she sent me this email last night, I took pause. I'll post a little tiny bit here:
"Rereading your email gave me goosebumps, especially the 4th paragraph about being worthy. A lot of times I find myself wondering if admissions made a mistake in admitting me or if I made a mistake in choosing to go to private school. [My school] has literally taken everything from me, and often I feel as if I don't and never could fit in."
Feeling alienated and an outsider, she's hitting the road to another major city for a semester, striking out on her own (I'm unclear about if this is actually through her school and is academically focused or if she is taking a bit of a hiatus). The thought that one of my students, especially one so strong and smart as she, could spend two years feeling so poorly about herself in relation to her community makes me frustrated, infuriated and utterly devastated.
I write a lot of about integrated communities and my firm belief that we all need to learn and grow together. Ivy is a prime example of why. My charter school, we'll call it Shamut Prep, was a segregated school for all intents and purposes. It was named for the major (segregated and designated as "dangerous") neighborhood where it is located under the auspice of "we know that White families of the city wouldn't send their kids here," thus already eliminating any possibility of integrated learning. There were few attempts to expose our students to collaborative and equal thought exercises with White and Asian students in the city, though for some reason the school was able to forge some sort of service-project type relationship with another very exclusive private school in the area where high school kids literally wearing Rolex watches came to the building to tutor of kids for an hour once a week. That is certainly not the kind of collaboration that I have in mind. Our most exceptional students, generally the top ten graduating eighth graders, were encouraged to forge paths in the area elite schools, of which there are many. And they did. Most of them, like Ivy, had grades and achievements strong enough to allow them to go to these very prestigious and exclusive schools on full scholarships. They were academically promising, but not necessarily well prepared for the world we were trying to push them into. We all told them, in the most half-assed way possible, that "high school would be different, especially private elite high school" but it is hard to prepare children who don't grow up in elite circumstances for what to expect (Some of the students at this particular private school have access to private jets. I'm not even exaggerating).
We sent them out of our very strict, very regimented segregated school and we sent them to very open, very free-form segregated schools. We said "you were able to pass our challenges here, you are the best of the students here, you can now compete with some of the richest children in the state, if not the nation, and we'll try to support you if we can." Some of our students thrived (I can think of two in particular who are rising sophomores at Harvard), some of them were able to survive without too much trouble, many of them absolutely struggled, with a few dropping out.
The rest of the students in our graduating classes continued on to other segregated schools in the city. A few really lucky ones ended up in Boston's famous Exam Schools, which would probably be the closest to my definition of "integrated" schools in the city. Everyone else ended up at another segregated charter school, some of them ending up in city schools (which is not what anyone wanted at all). Most of them are on the steady path toward college, though most of them will end up in the lower tier state schools around here. Some with scholarships, some with no financial help at all (which means that they will be less likely to go).
The segregation of this city is not the fault of my former students. There is history here that we won't get into, but Boston has a very long and difficult integration history (one that has yet to be fully achieved, I don't care what the good mayor tells you–the good governor, either). Dreaming big for our students isn't our fault as teachers, either. However, somewhere along the way, the dreaming of teachers, the segregation of a nation, and the academic and social culture of a school created a nightmare scenario for one of my most promising students. I feel like, in many ways, I'm part of the breakdown and failure. If only there were more things that I could have done to prepare her, to strengthen her.
I'm sure that part of this is the monologue that any teenager in America has with themselves during high school. High school is Hell. There is nothing nice about it, nothing pleasant. I wish I could have found a way to skip those four years of my life and get on to the good part of college. Warren Buffett doesn't have enough money to convince me to go back to high school and relive those years. Never, though, did high school completely break down my spirit. It didn't "take everything from me" as difficult as it was to navigate.
I don't know everything about why Ivy is so miserable, but here are a few things that I do know: We all play a part in creating supportive communities for our children to learn and grow in. It doesn't matter if we teach our children in a one-room schoolhouse built in the 1800's (with books to boot) or a sprawling ivy-feeder New England boarding school complete with a resident poet laureate. As parents, as teachers and as general adults, we have opportunities to create supportive, welcoming, and integrated communities that foster the best growth for all of our children. Choosing communities carefully, inviting families into our hearts and homes, encouraging our children to expand their horizons (or at least be allies and advocates in the right situations) can make a huge difference not only for "other" students in their learning communities, but also for themselves. For some of us, this might mean joining our PTSAs and other associations within our school systems as an avenue for advocacy. If Ivy had more allies of any color, adult or classmate, she very well may not feel this way. If Ivy had more mentors, of any color, she might have the strength and wisdom to power through her pain in order to reach the all important other side.
I'm seeing a lot of back-to-school commercials and I know that many of us are preparing to get back into the grind of the academic year. I am excited about joining the ranks of moms with "school aged" children. As you are out there doing your shopping and getting your kids pumped up about the school year, I hope that you will take a little moment to think about where your child learns and grows. Are there opportunities out there for your children to have more integrated experiences? Is there a way that you can encourage your children to be allies/advocates/friends with the children of color in your school (or "other" children–children of a different religion or even sexual orientation)? I don't want to say that we should collect friends like Pokemon. I'm saying that we can do little things to foster organic and meaningful relationships between the children our communities. A little push, a little nudge, an invitation for a playdate (for young children), a conversation on the soccer field with a parent (if they are older) or even just conversations about who kids are hanging out with and how kids are feeling about their classmates is helpful. I don't have all the answers (there are great resources out there), I'm just asking you to consider exploring.
Because there are so many students out there who are like Ivy, who are brilliant and have a lot to offer and simply need allies in the world. I promise you that she is going to change the world with her thoughts, words and deeds. Each of our children has a classmate like this. You can support that student in so many ways without doing any heavy lifting.
I'll share some of the wisdom that I send to Ivy on Friday morning, including a bit of the "last lectures" I used to give my students before sending them off into the wildness of life (with the homework assignment of "Go in peace, serve your world").


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Wow its a Friday! and its been a crazy fast week so here is a quick recap.
So Shannon and Tiffany are back from vacation! Thank goodness!!
And we rereleased Lily's in extended sizes. Perfect for summer and on through fall is Lily's Apron Romper which is NOW in extended sizes! If you already own Lily's and are not interested in purchasing the extended sizes we have revised the pattern pieces for the old version because the lines weren't as perfectly matched up as we like, so email us at firstname.lastname@example.com
m for the better aligned pieces. If you don't mind trimming a little you don't have to bother with the new piece!
We also released Anna's in woman's sizes. Its includes sizes XS to XL! Look for a free blog soon on how to add cap sleeves to all sizes of the sweetheart bodice! I'm so excited to make myself one!
Also going on this week we Kaci and Lana decided what out sew along for next month will be and I'm going to try time to join you all over there because ... drumroll please... Its Violettes! Which is one of my all time favorite CKC patterns! This beautiful stripwork swirly dress is perfect for creating that one-of-a-kind outfit. We designed the dress to be extra-full so your little one can spend their time twirling around like a ballerina! The unique design and superb twirlability will make this a top pattern among your children and/or your boutique customers. Perfect for holidays or just everyday; you will LOVE this dress. OOOoO and did I mention that its also the half off pattern today! So grab it and run over and join the sew along group!
Alrighty ladies that's what ive got for you all this week. Happy Sewing!


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4626 West 7th Ave, Vancouver
4626 West 7th Ave, Vancouver
Priced at assessment! Rare West Point Grey 2013-built home with legal basement suite and LANEWAY HOUSE! Situated North of West 10th Ave, neighbouring the UBC Endowment Lands, and walking distance to Spanish Banks, Locarno Beach, Jericho Beach Park, and the prestigious West Point Grey Academy – a prime Westside location. 1 year young, with remaining 2-5-10 year home warranty, this well-appointed home offers 3 bedrooms upstairs, including a sizeable master suite with a his and hers bathroom and large walk-in closet. Enjoy the beautiful rooftop deck with a built-in outdoor sound system, gas hookup, and stunning mountain, city, and water views. Thoughtful finishes throughout the home, including German-imported windows, built-in Sub-Zero fridge, 6-burner Wolf gas range, 2 steam showers, built-in vacuum, 2 gas fireplaces, and the gleaming hardwood floors which have just been refinished and are like new. With a Control 4 Home Automation System, triple layer asphalt roof, and air conditioning, this home is extremely comfortable and secure. The basement offers a large, fully equipped media room with a wet bar for use of the primary residence, plus a full bathroom, as well as a full, legal 1 bedroom suite. The detached garage offers 1 covered parking, plus a 2 level 460+ square foot, 1 bedroom laneway house! There is a 2nd parking stall thoughtfully situated next to the garage. Lovely North/South facing 33′ lot. Great luxury home in a premier location, with amazing income options!
Asking: $2,890,000
SOLD in 1 week!
Year Built: 2013
Lot: 33′ x 113′
Lot Size: 3,718 sf
Interior: 3,187 sf
Basement: Legal Suite
Laneway House: Yes
Exposure: North
Beds: 5
Baths: 6
Outdoor: Rooftop Deck
View: Water & Mountain


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Our Mission House
Mission House
We broke ground on the Mission House in January 2007. I look back with both disappointment and excitement. First I'm disappointed because we still are not finished! When I start something I want it finished and I want it finished yesterday, I suppose that's just the builder in me. I also look back with excitement because we are almost finished and still debt free! If there is one thing I've learned in life thus far is that it's not about ME and I'm glad it isn't.
We are about 90 % complete on the mission house. We still have three bathrooms to complete, the kitchen/dining and chapel area. We are, however, using the five completed rooms but really need this project finished.
As always we need your help. We are about $20,000.00 short of finishing the house. Would you consider helping with this project?


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Contains 50% pigments, which makes it a weapon against skin imperfections. Dermacol Makeup Cover provides PERFECT COVERAGE even in thin layers and is the perfect corrector for dark under-eye, unpleasant spots and skin blemishes. It completely covers, varicose, acne, loss of pigmentation, sun spots, post surgical bruising and scaring, tattoos. It may be used on the entire face or body for color correction, darkening or lightening the skin tones, and ensuring ideal balance. It is widely used as a professional make-up for photo or film shoots, modeling and for festive occasions.
- Hypoallergenic- Water-resistant- All Skin Types- SPF 30- Preservative free- 30g
Application:Gently tap the make-up onto your skin with either your fingers or with a dry or damp make-up sponge. Apply the Dermacol Make-up Cover gradually by first using a small quantity and then add as needed until all skin problems are covered. (the Make-up Cover has a rich consistency and provides extreme coverage. Therefore, it is important to apply the make-up in small quantities and evenly.
Ingredients:Paraffinum Liquidum, Petrolatum, Paraffin, Cera Microcristallina, Glyceryl Stearate, Silica Silylate, Parfum, Titanium Dioxide/CI 77891, Alumina, CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499
Showpo offers a flat-rate of $9.95 for all orders or free standard shipping for orders over $50.
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News: Lil' Wayne Lands Book Deal
Gone Till November. That will be the title of the upcoming book from Dwyane Carter aka Lil' Wayne. Carter just landed a book deal with Grand Central Publishing for his prison memoir. The book will included Wayne's adventure and hardship as he sat in his cell for eight months on NY's Rikers Island.
Publication date & Statement after the jump.
Publication is set for November 2012.
Statement on the book deal:
"The past few years have brought Wayne incredible highs—topping albums sales charts, selling out tours, selling millions of albums, but also dark lows, resulting in a gun charge that landed him in Rikers Island for a year (of which he served 8 months). The journals he kept while incarcerated form an internal monologue, detailing his thoughts and feelings, the strange people he met, his plans, his family, his children, his past, present, and future."
Source: MB
By @DJEricKidd
11 Responses to "News: Lil' Wayne Lands Book Deal"
Sampz on January 12th, 2012 8:44 pm
Lool let's see if he can sell a million copies in a week!
fuk waka on January 12th, 2012 9:52 pm
the book will included Wayne's adventure and hardship as he sat in his cell for eight months ??? <<<<< all that should have been in C4 as lyrics!!! not in a book! thats one reason it was a disappointing album!
RiggsDaBoiWonder Reply:
January 12th, 2012 at 11:54 pm
@fuk waka, thank you. agree 100 percent
Listen to Charlie Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:31 am
I don't like Wayne, that's the only reason that album didn't disappoint me, but men you said the true;
" the book will included WAYNE's ADVENTURE AND HARDSHIP AS HE SAT IN HIS CELL FOR 8 MONTHS ??? <<<<< ALL THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN C4 AS LYRICS!!! "
TNyKwist on January 12th, 2012 11:44 pm
We finally get to find out how many prisoners raped Weezy!
Listen to Charlie Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:33 am
iDevinh on January 13th, 2012 1:27 am
Bet this is gonna get pushed back too
therealjoelsalazar on January 13th, 2012 4:15 am
theres people who suffer hardship in prison for life. they dont get books. Lil wayne is far removed from what he used to be.
peanut Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 5:20 pm
@therealjoelsalazar, because they are in jail for LIFE. how are they gonna get a book if they aren't ever getting out of jail?…ur ignorant
M@ on January 13th, 2012 8:33 am
Lil Wayne sucks!
Leave a Reply


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Nagpur : Skipper Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee struck hundreds as Bengal turned the tables on Mumbai by wiping out the first innings deficit on the third and penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Group A encounter here.
While Tiwary amassed 169 runs before being run out, Chatterjee scored 130 to take Bengal to 433 for 8 in their second innings. The team now has a 303-run lead, which seems suffice to save the match.
Overnight 198/3, Bengal put up an inspired batting performance riding on Tiwary and Chatterjee's big knocks to make up for the 99-run disaster in the first innings.
Tiwary struck 22 fours and a six in his 288-ball stay at the crease, while Chatterjee managed 18 hits to the fence in his 304-ball knock.
There were some useful contributions down the order as well with Pragyan Ojha's unbeaten 32-ball 30 being most notable. For Mumbai, Dhawal Kulkarni grabbed four wickets for 108 runs in his 32 overs. Abhishek Nayar also picked up a couple of wickets.
Brief Scores:
l Mumbai: 229
l Bengal: 99 and 433/8 in 131 overs (Manoj Tiwary 169, Sudip 130, Dhawal 4/32).
(For all the latest News, Mumbai, Entertainment, Cricket, Business and Featured News updates, visit Free Press Journal. Also, follow us on Twitter and Instagram and do like our Facebook page for continuous updates on the go)


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i tried provigil about 5 years ago when i waqs on high level of neurontin, 3200 a day, it seemed to work for a while then no longer worked qas well.
maybe the meds over rode ot.
i dtsrted adderal acouple moths ago, it made a hufe difference in quality of life.
my lyrica dose is now 300mg a day minimal, plus a patridge in a pear tree type medicines.


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White Double Gauze
White Double Gauze
Lightweight, soft and floaty like a woven cloud.
Check out Missy's blog post on Double Gauze for tips and pattern suggestions. View our Double Gauze Pinterest board for inspiration.
Width: 50"
Weight: 3.5 oz. Lightweight
Content/Substrate: 100% Cotton
Drape: Semi-fluid
Opacity: Darker colors are fairly opaque, lining may be desired with lighter colors on some garments.
Care: Machine wash gentle cycle or hand wash. Lay flat to dry or hang dry.
We recommend pre-washing/pre-treating your fabric in the same manner you will care for your finished garment.
Pattern suggestions: Closet Case Patterns Kalle Shirt Dress or Charlie Caftan, Helen's Closet Suki Kimono, Cashmerette Springfield Top, Ready to Sew Janis
Fabrics are priced by the half-yard. For 1 yard, select quantity of 2; For 1.5 yards, select quantity of 3 and so on. All pieces are cut in continuous lengths.


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Prahran - Mt Pleasant - Strathewen - Yarrraglen - Prahran:
23c tyres and a 50t chainring on my CX bike was as close to a road bike as I was going to get today, and that was enough to get me out on my first road ride in weeks.
Pete and Will were kind enough to let me tag along with them as once past Mt Pleasant Rd they adventured down roads none of us had seen before.
Many of these roads turned to hard packed dirt, most of them features climbs upwards of 20% gradients, all of them stretched me to my limit. Rather, it was the boys that stretched me, the road became culpable when it failed to intervene despite my obviously laboured breathing and rocketing heart rate.
Still, climbs where my forward progress seemed more limited by the strength / endurance of my arms rather than that of my legs aside, it was a lovely day to be on a bike. The forecast showers never got close enough to wet us, and the sun popped out to ease our roll through apple orchard lined back roads.
I was glad when Will's legs finally gave in after a morning of treating hills and myself with disdain, it meant the the last 10km of the roll to home and a massive feed was done at a leisurely pace.
Strava link.
D: 135.2km
A: 2,185m
PMPW: 94kg


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A digital and analog process lets guests experience a personalized design process.
This article was originally published by PSFK
—By Dave Pinter
Shopping for a Bentley isn't quite like buying any other car. One of the main points of difference is the vast level of customization available for exterior paint colors and interior materials. For a customer, this is a daunting amount of choice. So Bentley opened a popup design studio in New York City to test an interactive process which creates color and finish combinations personalized to each customer.
Upon arrival, each guest was issued a RFID commissioning key which logged their design choices.
The first step involved interaction with a Mood Station. A display generated two random images from a bank of 200 and guests selected a preference with their key cards based on color, content and feeling. Each of the images was mapped to a graph differentiating between adrenaline, serenity, performance and comfort. The images were also coded with one of Bentley's 60 paint colors. The Mood Stations had no text and were really easy and intuitive to use.
Once a set of images were selected, guests could review them on a 10ft x 16ft screen. Fitted with Leap Motion Technology, hand gestures controlled a fly around of the image cloud and an individual image could be zoomed in on with a forward hand movement. Following the review, guests could see where their images registered on a personality graph along with a starter color palette.
Nigel Ratcliffe, Exterior Designer at Bentley reviewed the selected images and generated some color exterior paint color combinations using a traditional car design technique with markers and ground pastels.
Interior material selections were narrowed including soft surfaces and accent stitching as well as hard surface wood or metal trim.
The final stop was merging all the choices on a special version of Bentley's car configurator. The digital tool assigned the materials to a desired model and generated a spec sheet. The process gave guests a lot of control but also opened up potential for choices beyond what they may have already seen. Having the consultation time with a design professional was good to push beyond the expected into a more personalized vehicle but also kept a level of sophistication in mind avoiding a garish combination.
The temporary studio space in the Meat Packing District was selected to lure wealthy customers in who frequent the fashion boutiques and high-end restaurants in the area. A single Mulsanne was on display inside as well as Bentley's handbag collection made with the same leather available on the interiors.
The Bentley Studio was a kind of test that may see implementation within dealerships. Lexus is set to open their next Intersect location in the same neighborhood. Whether Bentley see an opportunity for a more permanent stay for the Studio is something we'll have to wait and watch for.


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Collagen Cross Linking
It is a surgical procedure that is indicated for:
1. Patients with keratoconus, which is a congenital corneal disease. It starts in early childhood and progresses quickly to result in distortion of the normal corneal shape and curvature.
2. Patients with corneal ectasia which is very similar in to keratoconus but occurs after corneal refractive surgery such as LASIK or LASEK where the cornea has become very weak
One drops of Riboflavin is put on the eye every 5 minutes for 30 minutes and then the cornea is illuminated with UV-A light for approx.10 – 30 minutes (depending on the cross-linker used). The riboflavin forms bonds on the stromal layer of the cornea. The eye is covered with a bandage contact lens which is removed 5 to 7 days after the procedure. The cornea will be examined and scanned at frequent intervals to monitor for its stability.
The video shows how one of the methods we do where we preserve the corneal epithelium. It also shows how does collagen cross-linking works.
Corneal collagen cross-linking treatment


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If you have any information that may help with the investigation of this unfortunate string of events, please do not hesitate to contact the Hawaii Police Department at 935-3311. Every little bit of evidence helps. Mahalo for your kokua.
"Two of the small fires were located in the North Kona District and the third burned in South Kohala, according to Kona Fire Prevention Bureau Capt. Kazuo Todd, who oversees two fire investigators in Kona. That brings the total number of fires that have ignited in the two districts to eight over an eight-day period between Feb. 11 and Thursday. That number includes two fires that combined with others into three fires on the day the string of fires began."
"'We just want the person involved to know that the community is working together, keeping their eyes open and we just ask you to behave yourself,' he said. 'If not, eventually, you will get caught and be held accountable.'
Though the department is always ready to respond to any additional reports, doing so is putting some strain on services in the area, the chief said.
'What that does is take away resources from responding to other calls,' he said. 'We always respond to every call that comes in, but when units are out of their district fighting a brush fire that was intentionally set, it does delay our response to other calls.'
All told, the fires have charred approximately 1,146 acres of mostly brush; however, state officials have said some native trees were lost. The fires have started primarily in the vicinity of Highway 190 between Kailua-Kona and Waimea."


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Making Wine or Beer at home a challenge? With a wine or beer making kit making your own wine or beer is a simple process you follow to get some great results.
Beer Brewing
To get started with beer brewing we put in place a whole category brewing kits that you can access at the top meny. After your first brew and you have some experience under your belt you can expand this hobby as much as you would like. The steps you have to take are very simple and not hard to do. Just follow the directions that come with your first package and be amazed with the results. Have your friends over and taste your own beer. You can even design your own label if you like.
Wine Making
Making wine at home can be very rewarding. You can make any flavor you like. Bottle it in the bottles you like. To start out the easy way start with buying a good wine making kits from our menu. Wine making is so versatile that the only limitation is your imagination. Fruit based wines from you own yard or store bought fruits it is your choice. After picking the fruit or concentrate you want to use it is important to find a good recipe for your wine.
There are more and more people who are starting the hobby of brewing their own beer or making their own wine at home. Although a lot of people think that you have to invest a lot of money and need a lot of room, I can assure you that that is not the case.
Just like any other hobby you can make it as big and expensive as you want.
Start with a starter kit for beer brewing or wine making and you have all you need to make your own favorite beer or wine.
Wine glasses
Drinking wine can be done several ways and you can use a mason jar or even drink it from the bottle.
If you however like to enjoy to full taste and flavor a wine glass made for the wine you are drinking is something your need.
We have a whole page about wine glasses that you need for drinking wine that will tell you all about the type of wine glasses and even some tips where to buy them at a nice price.
Wine making Courses
It is sometimes hard to get started with making wine at home and although the wine kits most of the time come with great manuals, they just contain not all the in-depth information that a course could give you.
There are great online wine making courses available and you can click on the link or on the link in the sidebar to see what our most recommended one is.
Books about making wine at home
If you do not feel that a course is something for you we recommend to read some good books about the subject of making wine at home..
You can find a selection of wine making books by clicking on this link.
Reading a book first can help you get started faster and prevent you from maybe making some beginner wine making mistakes.
There are thousands of accessories that you can use for drinking wine and you can find them in our Wine accessories category at the top.
Beer ingredient kits
On Easy Beer and Wine we will advise you on the best deals for beer and wine making kits. It is very important to buy from a respectable store that carries the right equipment and ingredients. If your first batch does not turn out good there is a change that you will give up.
After buying the beer brewing kit you want to get started as fast as possible and the easiest and safest way to do this is to buy a beer making ingredient kit. Reason is that they come with all the ingredients to brew beer and will make your first batch to an instant success.
We have made special sections for Beer brewing and for Wine making on this website. We are always happy to get feedback, advice, remarks or comments on our writing. Feel free to leave a comment or contact us for this through our contact page.
Legal regulations about home brewing
Make sure that you check your state and local regulations for home brewing. It is however never allowed to sell your home made beer or wine as far as I know. Sharing with friends and giving it away is never a problem. And believe me many people are more than willing to try your, what they might think, hard work.
Ready to find out more about these great hobbies?
Click on our recommended products on the side bar or read more on our special pages for Beer brewing kits> or Wine making kits at the top of this page.
Happy brewing !! And let me know about the results !!
This is what Wikipedia say about home brewing
Home-brewing is the brewing of beer, wine, sake, mead, cider, perry and other beverages through fermentation on a small scale as a hobby for personal consumption, free distribution at social gatherings, amateur brewing competitions or other non-commercial reasons. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages can be made at home.
One last word of advice is to start simple and then later when you got some experience under your belt upgrade your hobby to what level you want to take it. Take notes and keep track of what you do. This makes it easier to repeat your success and keep track of your mistakes.
Happy brewing and let me know how the results are.
Wine refrigeration
Making wine is a great hobby, but the wine has to be kept under the right circumstances to keep the quality we achieved. When you do no just make your own wine but also buy wines it is even more important to store them the right way. There are people who use a special refrigerator just to keep their wine in.
We have made a section about high end wine refrigerators and are working on many wine refrigerator reviews of the top brands.
Have a look here at high end wine refrigerators to learn more about the best temperature to store your wine.
Comments are welcome, but do not spam. All comments will be monitored and spam or non related comments will be deleted.


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Our school is getting ready for some "big government check". So it is getting a makeover. They are landscaping and making everything look clean and up to code, look being they key word. Today they painted the cement wall red.
They moved all the bikes that were against the wall while they painted this red line.
Which means they really just throw the students bike on the ground and don't move them back.
Cool is in town, Robin's lady, she apparently quit her job and is here for a few weeks, awesome. She wanted to take us to dinner.
This girl loves Korean BBQ.
And so do we.
I love this couple. It felt like they were going to announce some big news all night. They didn't. But Robin had his green wine. So that made up for the lack of exciting news!
p.s. JR and Lynn Reeves show up in 3 days. Holy torpedo.


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Many of us know the feeling of being lost. When working in innovation projects, there is no map. We have to discover the path ourselves and we have no idea where ..
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Implementing shadow buffers for Direct3D feature level 9 (DirectX and C++)
[ This article is for Windows 8.x and Windows Phone 8.x developers writing Windows Runtime apps. If you're developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation ]
To develop a Windows Runtime app using DirectX with C++ that renders shadows effects and that uses a Direct3D feature level of 9_1, 9_2, or 9_3, you must use a specific subset of Direct3D 10_0+ shadow buffer features to correctly implement shadow effects. Here we talk about implementing shadow buffers for Direct3D feature level 9.
What's a shadow buffer?
Shadows are an important element in creating a realistic 3-D scene and for portraying a convincing illusion of depth. The shadow buffer technique is a common approach for rendering shadows using graphics hardware; however, it's also relatively computationally expensive. Shadow buffers are implemented by using a depth buffer to store the scene depth information from the perspective of the light source, and then comparing each point rendered in the scene with the depth buffer to determine if the point is in shadow.
Implementing shadows on Direct3D feature level 9_1, 9_2, or 9_3
When your app starts, call ID3D11Device::CheckFeatureSupport by using the D3D11_FEATURE_D3D9_SHADOW_SUPPORT Direct3D feature enumeration value to determine if the installed graphics driver supports shadow buffers. If the data (the corresponding D3D11_FEATURE_DATA_D3D9_SHADOW_SUPPORT structure) received by the pFeatureSupportData parameter of CheckFeatureSupport has the SupportsDepthAsTextureWithLessEqualComparisonFilter field set to false, shadow buffers won't work in your Windows Runtime app using DirectX when running on the user's computer. To fix this, users must upgrade their driver.
D3D11_FEATURE_DATA_D3D9_SHADOW_SUPPORT d3d9ShadowSupportResults;
ZeroMemory(&d3d9ShadowSupportResults, sizeof(D3D11_FEATURE_DATA_D3D9_SHADOW_SUPPORT));
This technique works with either 16-bit or 24-bit depth buffers, so both are discussed in the remarks section. Be aware that some driver implementations might only support 16-bit depth buffers.
Note For more info, read Common techniques to improve shadow depth maps.
Create a Texture2D surface resource (using ID3D11Device::CreateTexture2D) with the Format field of D3D11_TEXTURE2D_DESC set to DXGI_FORMAT_R24G8_TYPELESS if 24-bit depth buffers are supported, or DXGI_FORMAT_R16_TYPELESS if they aren't. Specify the BIND_SHADER_RESOURCE flag and the BIND_DEPTH_STENCIL flag values in the BindFlags field as well. Doing so allows the surface to be used either as a depth buffer or as a texture on separate rendering passes.
Note Don't rely on CheckFormatSupport for discovering if the graphics driver supports these specific formats. If you use the Direct3D 11 CheckFeatureSupport and CheckFormatSupport APIs to query DXGI_FORMAT support for feature level 9_* , the DirectX runtime won't report support for any shadow buffer features.
Using a depth format such as DXGI_FORMAT_D24_UNORM_S8_UINT for 24-bit shadow buffer depth, or DXGI_FORMAT_D16_UNORM for 16-bit shadow buffer depth, create a ID3D11DepthStencilView (using ID3D11Device::CreateDepthStencilView) onto the Texture2D resource allocated in step 1.
Load the shadow buffer with shadow information. First, set up a temporary camera at the position of the light source and aimed in the light source direction. Then, render all the objects in the scene that can cast shadows onto themselves or onto other objects. For this pass, don't set a pixel shader, and only bind the ID3D11DepthStencilView for output.
To render objects into the scene with shadows, create sampler state objects that have comparison filtering set. The comparison mode must be set to LessEqual for feature level 9_* devices. BorderColor addressing is also allowed on this depth sampler, even though BorderColor isn't normally supported on Direct3D feature level 9_1 and 9_2 by most graphics drivers. Using the border color, it's possible to control whether the regions outside shadow map appear to be always in shadow or never in shadow by setting the BorderColor value to 0.0 or 1.0, respectively.
Shadow filter quality is controlled by the Mag and Min filter options in the comparison sampler. Point sampling produces shadows that have aliased edges. Linear filter sampler settings result in higher quality shadow edges, but might affect performance on some power-optimized devices.
Note A few points to be aware of. First, using a separate setting for Mag and Min filter options produce an undefined result. Also, anisotropic filtering is not supported. Lastly, Direct3D feature level 9_* doesn't support MIP-mapped depth buffers.
Create a ID3D11ShaderResourceView (using ID3D11Device::CreateShaderResourceView) for the Texture2D resource allocated in step 1, and bind it with the comparison sampler described previously. As in step 1, you must set the pixel format for this view to DXGI_FORMAT_R24_UNORM_G8_TYPELESS for 24-bit depth, or DXGI_FORMAT_R16_UNORM for 16-bit depth.
Create and set a ps_4_0_level_9_* pixel shader for the shadow application pass. It should compute the position of each pixel relative to the light source position, and then compare the z value of the pixel with the value in the shadow buffer to determine whether that pixel is in shadow. You accomplish this by writing the shader code for the following (with the hardware doing the comparison step):
- First, the texture coordinates and z value are obtained by projecting current position into the same world, view, and projection space used to render the shadow, and then remapping the x-y coordinates from [-1..1] space to [0..1] space for sampling the shadow map.
- Next, the texture coordinates and z value are obtained by projecting current position into the same world, view, and projection space used to render the shadow, and then remapping the x-y coordinates from [-1..1] space to [0..1] space for sampling the shadow map.
- And then, to find out the amount of shadow for the current pixel, use the SampleCmp and SampleCmpLevelZero Texture2D methods to sample from the ID3D11ShaderResourceView created in step 5, just as you would with Direct3D feature level 10_0 and higher. The result is the fraction of the samples not in shadow for linear filtering, specified as values in the range [0..1]. For point sampling, a value of either 0.0 or 1.0 is returned.
Note On Direct3D feature levels 9_1, 9_2, and 9_3, attempts to compile a shader with these SampleCmp* intrinsics using an older HLSL compiler (such as the Windows 7 version of the ID3D11Device::CreatePixelShader method) will fail. The SampleCmp* intrinsics are only supported in the fxc compiler and the associated DLL that ships starting with Windows 8. These HLSL intrinsics are also present in shader models for Direct3D feature levels higher than 9.
Render the objects in the scene that will have shadows cast onto them.
Remember to clean up API state after rendering with shadows. On a device that has a configured feature level of 9_1, mismatched API state results in the ID3D11DeviceContext::Draw call being skipped. For example, if your renderer binds a texture (depth or otherwise) while the corresponding sampler remains configured for comparison sampling, the ID3D11DeviceContext::Draw is skipped. If this happens, you have set the API state incorrectly.
Implementing shadows on Direct3D feature level 10_0 or higher
The previous steps for shadow mapping on feature level 9 devices works just as well on feature level 10 or higher devices, and with no code change required. However, higher feature levels support a broader range of options, including advanced comparison modes beyond, and additional depth surface formats.
Related topics
Common techniques to improve shadow depth maps


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I had heard of sopes before but hadn't tried them and weren't quite sure exactly what they were. Now I know that they are little masa "boats" or cups that are pretty much made from corn tortilla dough and filled with any kind of Mexican filling you'd like. I made these on a whim and hadn't done any sope googling, I did that after I made these, just to see if mine looked like what they are supposed to look like, well, after looking at the google image sopes page I've come to the conclusion that I did some major skimping on the filling! These are supposed to be stuffed to the brim with yummy fillings and I barely put anything in them...oh-well! They were still delicious and now that I know better I will make a very well stuffed sope next time I make them :)
Perfectly Simple Sopes (Masa Boats)
Sopes Sencillos
adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexico One Plate at a Time
1 and 3/4 cups powdered masa harina mixed with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
SaltAbout 1/2 cup chopped white onion (I left this off, not an onion fan)
Vegetable oil for the griddle
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
about 3/4 cup salsa (I used Rick's Roasted Tomato and Jalapeno Salsa, recipe below)
about 1/3 cup grated Mexican gueso anejo or other dry grating cheese such as romano or parmesan (I used Cotija, a Mexican grating cheese that I had never tried before this, it is delicious!) About 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Forming and griddle-baking the sopes. Heat a well seasoned or nonstick griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Put the masa (fresh or reconstituted) into a bowl and knead in 3/4 teaspoon salt. If necessary, knead in a few drops of water to give the masa the consistency of soft cookie dough. Divide into 16 pieces, roll into balls and cover with plastic to keep them from drying out.
One by one, form the fat little tortillas that will become the sopes: Line a tortilla press with two pieces of plastic cut to fit the plates (to be on the safe side, cut them from a food storage bag; the thicker plastic usually works better for beginners). Gently press out a flattened ball of dough between the sheets of plastic to about 3 and 1/2 inches in diameter (it should be a little less than 1/4 inch thick). Peel off the top sheet of plastic, flip the fat little tortilla - uncovered side down - onto the fingers of one hand and then gently peel off the second piece of plastic. In one flowing movement, roll the tortilla off your hand and onto the heated griddle or skillet. After about 1 and 1/2 minutes, when the tortilla has loosened itself from the cooking surface and is lightly browned, flip it and cook for another minute or so - this cooking is just to set and brown the surface of the tortilla but not to cook the masa all the way through. While the first tortilla is cooking, continue pressing out others and adding them to the griddle or skillet; just be careful not to leave them on so long that they cook through.
Remove each lightly browned tortilla to a plate. Cool just until handleable, then use your thumb and index finger to pinch up a masa border about 1/2 inch high around then edge of the tortilla - in doing this you are transforming the fat little tortilla into a sope, a little masa boat. Press out the center to uniformly flatten it. Cool the sopes, then cover them with plastic to keep them from drying out.
2. Finishing the sopes. In a strainer, rinse the onion under cold water, then shake off the excess moisture. Set out the remaining ingredients near the griddle. Heavily oil the skillet or griddle (my 12 inch griddle takes about 1/4 cup to oil it properly) and heat over medium. Fill the griddle with a single uncrowded layers of sopes, flat side down, then brush each one with oil. Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon salsa into each sope, then sprinkle with a little chopped onion, grated cheese and chopped cilantro. Leave on the heat until the bottoms of the sopes begin to crisp and the salsa is warm, 1 to 1 and 1/2 minutes . (You may see the salsa boiling around the edges.) Serve on a warm plate or a wooden board without a moment's hesitation - your guests will love biting into this simple perfection.
These were really delicious! I'm sure I'll be making sopes often and filling them to the brim with yummy cheese and maybe beans and salsa. I made half of these with just cheese for the kids since the salsa was quite spicy. The other plate I made I brought out to the living room for my husband and I to snack on and went back to the kitchen to pass out some to the kids, well by the time I got back picky husband had finished off the whole plate of these! At first he was a little apprehensive since he doesn't like to try new things but he really liked these. He is a corn tortilla fan and these had that nice toasty corn scent and flavor so I kind of thought these would be a big hit and they were :)
Here is the recipe for the salsa I made to go with these...
Roasted Jalapeno Tomato Salsa with Cilantro
Rick Bayless - Salsas that Cook
5 cups salsa
3 pounds ripe tomatoes
4-6 jalapeno chiles, stemmed
1 small white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup water (I did not add this, the salsa was plenty fluid without extra water)
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 generous teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1. Heat the broiler. Lay the whole tomatoes and jalapenos out on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Set the pan 4 inches below the broiler and broil for about 6 minutes, until darkly roasted - even blackened in spots - on one side. With a pair of tongs, flip over the tomatoes and chiles and roast the other side for another 6 minutes or so. The goal is not simply to char the tomatoes and chiles but the cook them through while developing nice roasty flavors. Set aside to cool.
2. Turn the oven down to 425 degrees. Separate the onions into rings. On a similar pan or baking sheet, combine the onion and garlic. Roast in the oven, stirring carefully every couple of minutes, until the onions are beautifully browned and wilted (even have a touch of char on some of the edges) and the garlic is soft and browned in spots, about 15 minutes total. Cool to room temperature.
3. In a food processor, pulse the jalapenos (no need to peel or seed them) with the onion and garlic until moderately finely chopped, scraping everything down with a spatula as needed to keep it all moving around. Scoop into a big bowl. Without washing the processor, coarsely puree the tomatoes - with all the juice that has accumulated around them - and add them to the bowl. Stir in enough water to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency. Stir in the cilantro. I just processed it all together.
4. Taste and season with salt and vinegar, remembering that this condiment should be a little feisty in its seasoning. If you're planning to use your salsa right away, simply pour into a bowl and it's ready, or refrigerate it covered and use within 5 days.
The salsa was pretty yummy and very spicy. Picky husband liked it, yay! It was too spicy for the kids. My only personal thing was not liking the onion, but I know most people like onions so that's my problem :) I think from now on I will leave the onion out unless it gets completely pureed or just use onion powder. The sopes were awesome and I'm so glad I now know what they are and will be making them often. They were fun to make and were my first time using my new cast iron tortilla press, I've wanted one of those for years and finally got one since IHCC will be cooking Mexican for the next few months! Yum!


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Van der Sloot Movie in Works as He Awaits Murder Trial
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (CBS/WIAT) While Joran van der Sloot was on the run from Peru authorities for the murder of Stephany Flores, a filmmaker was shooting a movie about the Dutch national and the Natalee Holloway case in Aruba.
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports that the movie "Me & Mr. Jones," by Dutch filmmaker Paul Ruven, tells the fictional story of an undercover journalist trying to solve the Holloway case.
PICTURES: Van der Sloot Hotel Room Crime Scene
Ruven was quietly shooting his
movie in Aruba, apparently without publicity because of sensitivity on
the island about the Holloway case, while Stephany Flores was allegedly murdered by van der Sloot in his hotel room in May.
According to CBS affiliate WIAT, principle shooting on Aruba began in April and continued through June.
In that time, van der Sloot allegedly received money as part of an FBI blackmail sting, went to Peru where he allegedly murdered Flores, fled Peru, was captured, gave - according to Peru authorities - a "complete" confession to the murder, retracted it in an interview with De Telegraaf, and unsuccessfully fought to have the confession thrown out of court.
The Flores murder has apparently been incorporated into the movie.
Van der Sloot has long been the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Holloway, an American student who was vacationing in Aruba. He has been arrested twice in relation to it, but Aruba authorities have said they do not have enough evidence to charge him.
The film stars Dutch actors Robert de Hoog and Hanna Verboom.
According to the director's website, the film will be released early in 2011.
Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate WIAT.
Complete Coverage of Joran van der Sloot on Crimesider


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2 Thessalonians 1 Good News Translation (GNT)
1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy—
To the people of the church in Thessalonica, who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
The Judgment at Christ's Coming
3 Our friends, we must thank God at all times for you. It is right for us to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love each of you has for the others is becoming greater. 4 That is why we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God. We boast about the way you continue to endure and believe through all the persecutions and sufferings you are experiencing.
5 All of this proves that God's judgment is just and as a result you will become worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. 6 God will do what is right: he will bring suffering on those who make you suffer, 7 and he will give relief to you who suffer and to us as well. He will do this when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 with a flaming fire, to punish those who reject God and who do not obey the Good News about our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious might, 10 when he comes on that Day to receive glory from all his people and honor from all who believe. You too will be among them, because you have believed the message that we told you.
11 That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to make you worthy of the life he has called you to live. May he fulfill by his power all your desire for goodness and complete your work of faith. 12 In this way the name of our Lord Jesus will receive glory from you, and you from him, by the grace of our God and of the Lord[a] Jesus Christ.
Cross references:
Good News Translation (GNT)
Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society
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Healthy Me Program
Building A Healthy Workforce From the Ground Up
Health is more than just the absence of disease. Health is when your body is performing optimally and in balance. When your body is functioning the way it's designed to, you not only look, feel and think at your best, but you also lower your risk of development illness.
In a 2013 report that surveyed workplace wellness practices of over 400 Canadian companies, the top motivator employers cited for offering wellness to their employees was to "improve employee physical health" followed next by "improve employee mental health." More and more employers are recognizing that instead of dangling carrots in front of employees, shifting the focus to providing support for both the physical and mental health of their employees will lead to sustained measurable changes like increased productivity, employee retention, and engagement, while decreasing absenteeism and drug spending.
Holistic (aka whole body and mind) health is the cornerstone of the Well Street philosophy. Our healthcare team has seen from their vast experiences that focusing on one area of health leads merely to temporary changes, while long-lasting shifts in health occur when we account for all aspects of health simultaneously. From this, we have developed the "4 Spheres of Health":
About The Program
The Healthy ME Program is a "wellness for life" starter program designed by Professional Health Practitioners to help participants start to build a strong foundation for complete health and wellness. In this medically supervised program, participants are transformed across the "4 Spheres of Health" – Nutrition, Fitness, Body, and Mind. Not only will participants learn about healthy eating and fitness, they will learn tools to help manage stress and mood, as well as reduce existing symptoms and prevent future disease development.
Employees will learn practical information including:
- Navigate through the complexity of today's modern choices to build a diet that promotes ideal weight, disease prevention, and optimal body function.
- Integrate a complete fitness regimen to increase endurance and strength for better energy and an optimized metabolism.
- Utilize appropriate tools to cope with stress and cultivate a sharper mind.
- Promote physical health including reduced chronic pain and inflammation, improved sleep and increased immunity.
- Maintain the "4 Spheres of Health" in a life goal map to achieve lasting optimized health.
- Three (3) 60MIN sessions with a health professional
- Group setting to provide ongoing support and motivation
- Easy recipes and techniques you can do at home
- Supplement and herbal medicines
- Program handbook with all the information you need to succeed
Benefits Include
Maintain a healthy weight
Call us today to find out how you can bring this employee health and wellness program to your workplace.


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Disinfection of drinking water for animal livestock with chlorine dioxide
Why disinfection?
In animal husbandry, drinking water supply is often provided by closed and widely branched piping systems, in which germs and pathogens are provided with an optimal breeding ground without regular disinfection measures. This is not only affecting the health of the animal population and thus optimal breeding successes, but also indirectly the health of humans, since the increased use of antibiotics has a negative effect on the quality of meat.
Many farmers have recognized that high stock health is of great importance in reducing costs arising from influenceable factors such as drug requirements and mortality rates.
Why chlorine dioxide?
For this reason, agricultural users have been relying on the proven active ingredient chlorine dioxide for many years in order to disinfect drinking water and pipe systems. Chlorine dioxide, with its high efficacy against 99.9% of all animal pathogenic germs, has a wider range of effects than e. g. chlorine, is approved as a disinfectant in accordance with the German Drinking Water Ordinance and does suppress any microbiological resistances. In the dosage quantities applied, it is also highly effective and does not affect the smell, taste or pH of the water.
Due to the special properties of chlorine dioxide, the active ingredient also reaches hard-to-reach spots in the water distribution system and effectively removes existing deposits ("biofilms") from surfaces that serve as a breeding ground for dangerous microorganisms.
Why KYROSAN/KyroCAPS?
With KYROSAN and KyroCAPS, TER Chemicals offers two product innovations for the production of chlorine dioxide in water, which have numerous advantages over existing solutions.
KYROSAN is a single-component liquid formulation that produces the powerful active ingredient chlorine dioxide in drinking water quality by adding it to water directly and without activation time.
A previous blending of chemicals, as with conventional systems, is no longer necessary so that the dosage is carried out in just one application step directly from the original container. KYROSAN is therefore ideally suited for an easy and continuous dosage in closed drinking water systems.
The portfolio is complemented by the patented KyroCAPS, which produce chlorine dioxide from a capsule and are used to disinfect open drinking water containers. Due to the special formulation, the user never gets in contact with hazardous substances and can easily and safely add the capsule to the container and remove it after the disinfection measure has been completed. The principle of application can be figuratively compared to a tea bag.
Please feel free to contact us and find out how you can use our innovative solutions.
Harald Dettmers
Head of Business Unit Water Chemicals


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MyBooking (https://mybooking.bookingcenter.com/) is an online booking app that offers a personalized site for guests to manage their bookings and guest profile.The EMAIL and the PASSWORD is unique to each Guest. Therefore, the guest will be able to login to view and manage all of their bookings, both past and future. NOTE: New Bookings cannot be made on MyBooking, there must be an existing Booking ID and a password set for a guest to be able to login.
By logging in to https://mybooking.bookingcenter.com/, a guest can view, email, print, add to a calendar the Booking Details or cancel a booking. The guest can also edit their contact information and see booking history without having to contact the property directly.
All changes made by the guest are automatically updated to MyPMS. When a guest cancels a booking in MyBooking, the booking will update in MyPMS and the status will change to Cancelled. Likewise, any changes made to Guest Details is automatically updated to the Guest Booking Information in MyPMS.
MyBooking can be customized to your property by adding a logo, displaying your marketing policies and creating customized letters.
For the Guest
For the Property
See MyBooking - Customize to Property
Note: The MyBooking App is available to MyPMS customers who currently subscribe to the MyGuest Web Service.