text:
AllCharsAllChars provides a quick, easy-to-remember way of creating accents like é Ü ç î æ and special characters like ƒ ² ‰ © £ ± ß ° 1/2 ¿ « » ™ " in most Windows programs.AllChars emulates the *nix Compose key on Windows.AllChars v3.5 upwards supports macros: type a (short) name and AllChars will replace it with a (long) text.AllChars is very easy and intuitive in usage and it is possible to adapt it to your wishes.AllChars is FREEWARE.AllChars works with Windows 3.11 or Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0 and 2000.
List of Keys, Mouse Buttons, and Joystick Controls--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mouse (mouse hotkeys require Windows NT/2000/XP or later)LButton - the left mouse button RButton - the right mouse buttonMButton - the middle or wheel mouse buttonWheelDown - this is equivalent to rotating the mouse wheel down (toward you)WheelUp - the opposite of the above. When WheelDown/Up are used as hotkeys, A_EventInfo contains the number of turns/notches.Supported only in Windows 2000/XP or later:XButton1 - a button that appears only on certain mice XButton2 - a button that appears only on certain miceKeyboardNote: The names of the letter and number keys are the same as that single letter or digit. For example: b is the "b" key and 5 is the "5" key.Space - the spacebarTabEnter (or Return)Escape (or Esc)Backspace (or BS)Delete (or Del)Insert (or Ins)HomeEndPgUpPgDnUpDownLeftRightScrollLockCapsLockNumLockNumpadDiv - the slash keyNumpadMult - the asterisk keyNumpadAdd - the plus keyNumpadSub - the minus keyNumpadEnter - the Enter keyThe following keys are used when Numlock is OFF:NumpadDelNumpadInsNumpadClear - same physical key as Numpad5 on most keyboardsNumpadUpNumpadDownNumpadLeftNumpadRightNumpadHomeNumpadEndNumpadPgUpNumpadPgDnThe following keys are used when Numlock is ON:Numpad0Numpad1Numpad2Numpad3Numpad4Numpad5Numpad6Numpad7Numpad8Numpad9NumpadDot - the decimal point (period) keyF1 through F24 - The 12 or more function keys at the top of most keyboards.AppsKey - this is the key that invokes the right-click context menu.LWin - the left windows keyRWin - the right windows key. Note: unlike Control/Alt/Shift, there is no generic/neutral "Win" key because the OS does not support it.Control (or Ctrl) AltShiftNote: The hotkeys Shift::, Alt::, and Control:: fire upon release of the key unless they have the tilde prefix such as ~Alt::. By contrast, a specific left or right hotkey such as LAlt:: fires upon press-down.Note: For the most part, these next 6 keys are not supported by Windows 95/98/Me. Use the above instead:LControl (or LCtrl) - the left control key RControl (or RCtrl) - the right control key LShiftRShiftLAlt - the left Alt key RAlt - Note: If your keyboard layout has AltGr instead of RAlt, you can probably use it as a hotkey prefix via <^>! as described here. In addition, "LControl & RAlt::" would make AltGr itself into a hotkey.PrintScreenCtrlBreakPauseBreak -- Since this is synonymous with Pause, use ^CtrlBreak in hotkeys instead of ^Pause or ^Break.Help - this probably doesn't exist on most keyboards. It's usually not the same as F1.Sleep - note that the sleep key on some keyboards might not work with this.The following exist only on Multimedia or Internet keyboards that have extra buttons or keys:Browser_BackBrowser_ForwardBrowser_RefreshBrowser_StopBrowser_SearchBrowser_FavoritesBrowser_HomeVolume_MuteVolume_DownVolume_UpMedia_NextMedia_PrevMedia_StopMedia_Play_PauseLaunch_MailLaunch_MediaLaunch_App1Launch_App2SCnnn (where nnn is the scan code of a key) - Recognizes unusual keys not mentioned above. See Special Keys for details.VKnn (where nn is the hexadecimal virtual key code of a key) - Although this rarely-used method is supported in all versions, only in v1.0.38.02+ does it prevent certain types of hotkeys from requiring the keyboard hook. For example, the following hotkey does not use the keyboard hook, but as a side-effect it is triggered by pressing either Home or NumpadHome: ^VK24::MsgBox You pressed Home or NumpadHome while holding down Control.JoystickJoy1 through Joy32: The buttons of the joystick. To help determine the button numbers for your joystick, use this test script. Note that hotkey prefix symbols such as ^ (control) and + (shift) are not supported (though GetKeyState can be used as a substitute). Also note that the pressing of joystick buttons always "passes through" to the active window if that window is designed to detect the pressing of joystick buttons.Although the following Joystick control names cannot be used as hotkeys, they can be used with GetKeyState:JoyX, JoyY, and JoyZ: The X (horizontal), Y (vertical), and Z (altitude/depth) axes of the joystick.JoyR: The rudder or 4th axis of the joystick. JoyU and JoyV: The 5th and 6th axes of the joystick. JoyPOV: The point-of-view (hat) control.JoyName: The name of the joystick or its driver. JoyButtons: The number of buttons supported by the joystick (not always accurate). JoyAxes: The number of axes supported by the joystick.JoyInfo: Provides a string consisting of zero or more of the following letters to indicate the joystick's capabilities: Z (has Z axis), R (has R axis), U (has U axis), V (has V axis), P (has POV control), D (the POV control has a limited number of discrete/distinct settings), C (the POV control is continous/fine). Example string: ZRUVPDMultiple Joysticks: If the computer has more than one and you want to use one beyond the first, include the joystick number in front of the control name. For example, 2joy1 is the second joystick's first button.Note: If you have trouble getting a script to recognize your joystick, one person reported needing to specify a joystick number other than 1 even though only a single joystick was present. It is unclear how this situation arises or whether it is normal, but experimenting with the joystick number in the joystick test script can help determine if this applies to your system.See Also:Joystick remapping: methods of sending keystrokes and mouse clicks with a joystick.Joystick-To-Mouse script: using a joystick as a mouse.Hand-held Remote ControlsRespond to signals from hand-held remote controls via the WinLIRC client script.Special KeysIf your keyboard or mouse has a key not listed above, you might still be able to make it a hotkey by using the following steps (requires Windows XP/2000/NT or later):Ensure that at least one script is running that is using the keyboard hook. You can tell if a script has the keyboard hook by opening its main window and selecting "View->Key history" from the menu bar. Double-click that script's tray icon to open its main window. Press one of the "mystery keys" on your keyboard. Select the menu item "View->Key history" Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Somewhere near the bottom are the key-down and key-up events for your key. NOTE: Some keys do not generate events and thus will not be visible here. If this is the case, you cannot directly make that particular key a hotkey because your keyboard driver or hardware handles it at a level too low for AutoHotkey to access. For possible solutions, see further below. If your key is detectible, make a note of the 3-digit hexadecimal value in the second column of the list (e.g. 159). To define this key as a hotkey, follow this example: SC159:: ; Replace 159 with your key's value.MsgBox, %A_ThisHotKey% was pressed.returnReverse direction: To remap some other key to become a "mystery key", follow this example:; Replace 159 with the value discovered above. Replace FF (if needed) with the; key's virtual key, which can be discovered in the first column of the Key History screen.#c::Send {vkFFsc159}
just to let you know avast reports Accents to be a trojan horse "Win32:Agent-QYH [trj]" ...-mtp (January 31, 2008, 08:02 AM)
I don't think there's a lower case form of "Ð"-Hirudin (April 18, 2007, 12:09 PM)
Page created in 0.026 seconds with 59 queries.


text:
From Mississippi to Pennsylvania and Ohio to Kansas, there's a gold rush in the natural gas market.
In little Williamsport, Pa., population 30,000, city officials say they have never seen such an economic boom. Long lines at restaurants and sold-out local hotels are the result of 115 new businesses being created over the past three years as natural gas companies come to town to set up shop. Williamsport is now the seventh-fastest growing community in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In southwest Mississippi, prospecting for oil and gas has created 13,000 full-time jobs and more than $500 million in salaries over the last four years alone. Out in south-central Kansas, the story is no different. Land that sold three years ago for $30 an acre is now fetching $3,000, as oil company officials buy up millions of acres of mineral rights.
"Fracking," or hydraulic fracturing, has revolutionized the search for natural gas in the United States. Using advanced techniques that allow prospectors to drill not only down but sideways through deep shale rock, natural gas explorers are reaching huge pools of otherwise untapped gas, bringing tax revenue, jobs and economic rebirth.
A 2011 study authored by the consulting company Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimates that shale gas recovery might result in one million new manufacturing jobs by 2025. Another study by IHS Global Insight, a country and industry forecasting firm, found that 34% of natural gas harvested in the U.S. is now shale gas, up from 27% in 2010, and projected the figure will grow to 60% in 2035.
With all of this new economic activity also comes investing opportunity. And there is more than one way to play the market. Investors might choose to buy shares in Chesapeake Energy (CHK), a huge player in the natural gas shale market, or a traditional giant like ConocoPhillips (COP). Smaller energy companies just getting their start in the market or service companies like pipeline providers are another way to invest in the sector.
Tyler Kocon, a portfolio manager for Split Rock Private Trading in Duluth, Minn. sees the biggest investing opportunities in smaller companies with under $1 billion in market cap value. He likes Synergy Resources (SYRG), a domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production company, with just 168 wells primarily operating in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska.
These companies are attractive in part, Kocon says, because they present good buyout opportunities for larger firms. "[They go from] one well to two wells, and all of a sudden they grew 100%," Kocon says. "That's what is so exciting about these companies. We think they present themselves as fantastic buyout opportunities for larger companies like Exxon."
Still, smaller companies without proven records of performance can present greater risks, and Kocon is well aware that he is investing in a volatile sector. "Without a doubt, it's the riskiest portfolio that we've run," Kocon says.
Diverse Risks
Corporate performance isn't the only risk to consider when investing in this sector. Environmental groups oppose "fracking" because they say water used in the drilling process is contaminating water tables and releasing methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. Hydraulic fracturing differs from traditional drilling in that wells are dug deeper and drills are pointed sideways to break up pockets of shale that in turn release latent gas reserves. During the drilling process, millions of gallons of water are pumped down into the drilling holes. The pressure from the water aids in breaking up the shale. Oil companies contend that the contaminated water is so deep at that point — thousands of feet below the surface — that it can do no harm, but many environmentalists believe otherwise.
"The environmental side of it is very scary," Kocon concedes. "That is the biggest threat to this portfolio. The first time someone messed up with disposal or pumping … would be devastating for our portfolio and other people's holdings."
Environmental concerns aren't even the greatest threat to this investing area, however. Greater threats loom in historically low prices of natural gas and questions about how the industry presents its current assets and future prospects.
Thanks to new drilling techniques, the price of natural gas has sunk to 10-year lows. In 2010, there were 487,000 wells producing natural gas in 30 states, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistics branch of the U.S. Department of Energy. All of this new drilling, however, has pushed down prices to one-third the level of 2005. This has been great for consumers, who have seen lower electricity bills, but it is a mixed blessing for manufacturers.
For one thing, oil and gas companies that once built their plants overseas are now building again domestically. Moreover, U.S. companies that use products created from natural gas, like plastics, are seeing a huge price advantage over international competitors.
But just as high oil prices are pushing up the price gasoline and enriching oil conglomerates, so too the low price of natural gas is hurting the drilling companies. The Nasdaq Natural Gas Index (XNG) has dropped 7.1% over the last year while the S&P 500 has risen about 10%. As a result, oil and gas companies are cutting back on their drilling in some of the biggest natural gas plays, like the Marcellus Shale that stretches from New York to West Virginia and the Barnett Shale in Texas.
Simon Rosenberg, a portfolio manager and analyst at Snow Capital Management, a boutique investment firm outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, says he sees "fertile ground" in the natural gas sector. The fourth-warmest winter on record has left producers with an oversupply of fuel, Rosenberg explains, but it's a mistake to believe that means natural gas price will continue to fall.
"Gas is now trading 60% below its marginal cost of production, 85% below the cost of oil on BTU-equivalent basis, and substantially below the cost of coal," says Rosenberg. "In the long run, we believe market forces will drive demand higher through substitution of other fuels and reduce production to a rate that balances demand."
Producers will carry out that reduction by cutting output, a process that has already started. "Once the supply response becomes evident, we expect the price of gas to recover and the shares of natural gas exploration and production and oil service companies to recover along with it." Uncertain Reserves
The greatest risk for investors, though, may lie in attempting to assess just how much natural gas exists and how much can be extracted at a profit. For example, earlier this year the EIA cut back its estimate for the amount of gas contained in the Marcellus shale. Just one year after predicting that Marcellus held 410 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the agency cut its forecast by two-thirds, to 141 trillion cubic feet, in January 2012. In that same report, the agency reported there was a total of 480 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in all of the United States, a reduction of almost half of an earlier number of 830 trillion cubic feet.
And those are the official estimates. An investigative report by the New York Times in June 2011 found that companies may be overestimating the size of their reserves and overstating the productivity of their wells. Worse, hundreds of industry emails obtained by the paper cast the search for natural gas in shale formations in a highly negative light. Industry insiders compared the current craze over natural gas prospects to the dot-com rush of the late 1990s. One went so far to compare shale plays to Ponzi schemes because "the economics just don't work."
Central to the concerns among these industry participants is the long-term viability of the plays themselves. In simple language, the wells are running out of oil and gas faster than expected. It is common for drilling sites where gas is extracted with the "fracking" method to have highly productive initial years and then slowly declining later years. A geologist at Chesapeake Energy, the second largest producer of natural gas in the United States, told a federal energy analyst in March 2011: "Our engineers here project these wells out to 20-30 years of production and in my mind that has yet to be proven as viable. In fact, I'm quite skeptical of it myself when you see the [percentage] decline in the first year of production." Indeed, the Times report found that less than 20% of the wells in three major shale formations are likely to emerge as profitable and less than 10% of some 9,000 wells surveyed had recouped their costs within seven years.
Rosenberg, for one, says it may be difficult to calculate how much natural gas the U.S. holds, but that it surely is a lot. To his mind, the data on production decline rates "clearly support" predictive models used by the industry to determine resource flows over time. "One can certainly not argue that the resources do not exist in large quantities," Rosenberg says. "Whether that is more or less than original estimates is beside the point."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
White Sox drop makeup tilt to Cubs
Five-run eighth inning breaks it open; Phegley hits second homer
CHICAGO -- White Sox rookie Josh Phegley is doing what he can to provide a spark to a struggling team.
The catcher hit his second home run in his third game in Monday's makeup finale of the 2013 crosstown series, but the White Sox bullpen couldn't hold off a late-inning rally from the Cubs in an 8-2 loss at U.S. Cellular Field.
"We've lost a few in a row, and coming in here this is my first home game," Phegley said. "I definitely wanted to get a win for us. The home run was nice, but just like the past one I hit, it'd be a lot better if we'd come out on top."
In a season that hasn't gone the White Sox way, Phegley's historic day in Monday's loss was a consolation to getting swept by the Cubs for the first time since the home-and-away version of the series began in 1999. It took a 39-day hiatus to complete the series, but, in the end, the White Sox dropped all four games to the North Siders.
Phegley did his best to take the focus off the here and now and point to the future. His third-inning shot not only crowned him the first White Sox player to ever homer on the first pitch in his first game at U.S. Cellular Field, but he became the quickest White Sox rookie (dating to 1921) to homer in back-to-back games since Magglio Ordonez in the second and third games of his career in 1999, according to STATS, Inc.
In the fifth, with the game tied and Alexei Ramirez on second with one out, White Sox manager Robin Ventura gave Phegley the green light to swing on a 3-0 pitch -- he grounded out to short -- to see how the youngster handled the situation for future reference.
"You are hoping it was tied and he was coming up late, the way he was playing and the way the game was going," Ventura said.
The White Sox held the game close until the top of the eighth, but left-handed reliever Matt Thornton allowed a two-run double to third baseman Luis Valbuena to start a five-run inning that sealed the sweep.
"It feels good, not for us, but for the fans," Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano said. "This team has a lot of fans. I think we played good against them."
The White Sox tied the game at 2 in the top of the sixth, when Gordon Beckham became the first White Sox player to steal home since Juan Pierre swiped a run on Oct. 2, 2010. With runners on first and third and two outs, Alex Rios broke for second base and Cubs catcher Dioner Navarro fired a throw that bounced in front of the bag, allowing enough time for Beckham to sprint home.
But the White Sox bullpen couldn't preserve the tie long enough for its offense to mount another threat. After Valbuena's double, White Sox right-hander Nate Jones allowed the inherited runner to score on an RBI single by Dave Sappelt, finalizing Thornton's line with three earned runs and the loss. The Cubs then pushed the lead to five runs on a Cody Ransom two-run, bases-loaded single before Ramon Troncoso finally ended the damage by striking out Anthony Rizzo. Ventura called the eighth inning a backbreaker.
"Well, I mean, people want to make a big deal about it, but it is," Ventura said of losing to the Cubs. "It's at that point where you want to win against anybody. Coming back here and losing this one, you don't like losing to anybody. But again, we got to right the ship."
Ventura pointed to Phegley's energy as the kind of tough-minded example of what he likes to see in a ballplayer, extolling him as the kind of guy that's born to be a catcher. While the rookie's home run and seventh-inning pickoff of Julio Borbon at first counted as two of the team's plays of the game, the reunited duo of Phegley and starter Hector Santiago couldn't cool the Cubs' bats.
Phegley and Santiago played together in the Minors for the last four seasons and grew a close-knit friendship. Santiago even said Phegley has probably caught the most innings for him of anyone in the organization. Still, Soriano managed to get on base five times during the game, Sappelt had four hits and the Cubs had the leadoff man reach base in each of Santiago's last five innings.
"It was just like old times," Phegley said. "He's easy to work with. He's pretty easygoing. He's one of my good friends that I've come up through the system with. It was fun battling out there. We didn't get the result we wanted, but I thought he threw a really good game, kept hitters off balance and put his best foot forward."
Santiago didn't look as sharp as his counterpart, Cubs starter Matt Garza, but the 25-year-old left-hander pitched out of trouble when he had to. The Cubs had two runners reach base in the second, third and fifth innings, but Santiago limited the North Siders to a second-inning run -- on Valbuena's sac fly -- until Soriano's leadoff home run in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie.
After the lefty pegged Cody Ransom with a pitch, Santiago, who allowed five hits and two walks and struck out three, was removed after throwing 101 pitches.
"When you get people on, you fall behind in counts, you try to make pitches and keep us in the game," Santiago said. "For the most part, I did it. I tried to make a good pitch there in the last inning, tried to do more than I needed and just hit him."
Outside of the sixth-inning chance, the White Sox couldn't garner much off Garza, who worked deliberately in a seven-inning effort, in which he allowed two runs (one earned) and struck out six.
But Phegley's home run stuck out to Ventura and will provide a lasting inkling of positivity as the White Sox head into their first series against division-leading Detroit with a 9-17 record against the American League Central.
"Yeah, he's not going anywhere," Ventura said of Phegley. "I think tonight it's one of those where he has a good night and it's good to see."


text:
NBC's Sochi Olympics primetime anchor, Bob Costas, pledged Tuesday that he will not ignore Russia's anti-gay laws during his coverage of the Games, HuffPo reports.
The sports reporter's comments came during an Olympics press preview held on Jan. 7 -- a few months after he told the Associated Press he'd love to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Russia's "homosexual propaganda" law, but said he wasn't interested in giving commentary about the issue.
"If Putin doesn't drag his butt into the studio, then we'll talk about it without him," Costas said at the event. "But if he shows up, we'd rather talk to him. Wouldn't you rather hear it from the horse's mouth? I would. That's what I was trying to say."
NBC executives at the event said the Olympics are extremely important to them with NBCUniversal Chief Steve Burke saying, "The soul of this company is the Olympics."
NBC officials and Costas said that there are plans to address political and social issues that relate to the Olympics, citing the recent bombings in Russia.
Back in November, Costas said NBC would report on Russia's anti-gay laws but he himself wouldn't give his opinion on the subject.
"You can say, 'Russia has these laws, tsk, tsk,'" he told the AP. "But 90 percent of Americans, I'm guessing - regardless of their political affiliation when it comes to other issues - disagree with the law anyway.
So the best service is not to just wag a finger. The best service is to ask the right questions if you can get responsible people to sit down to be interviewed."
He went on to say: "We will frame these issues: This is the lay of the land here. This is what's going on. This is what to be aware of. It's not going to be necessary, unless issues arise, to repeat that every single night."


text:
E.U. leaders are attempting to come to agreement on the amount of capital banks would have to set aside as a precaution against losses, with Britain and Sweden seeking even larger percentages than rules already being discussed.
Reuters reported Wednesday that the 27 members of the European Union had different ideas about how much bank capital should be set aside to cover potential losses, with the lessons of the financial crisis spurring some countries to demand more stringent regulation.
Denmark, the present occupant of the six-month rotating presidency of the group, is trying to find consensus among countries about proposed new capital rules so that an accord can be reached with the European Parliament by the end of June. It has pressed members to find common ground, which thus far has been unsuccessful.
The end goal is to take Basel Committee regulators' higher capital standards for banks and make them into law so that banks must begin to abide by the new regulations by the beginning of 2013.
Margrethe Vestager, economic affairs minister for Denmark, said in the report, "This is a very important lesson from the crisis. I see a strong willingness to compromise but the countries have very different opinions."
According to a Danish diplomat, the time has come to reach a conclusion. "We believe that the matter is ready—that the issues have been clarified to a sufficient extent," the diplomat said.
However, many officials do not expect a deal to be reached Wednesday. One British diplomat was quoted saying, "The simple fact is that ministers haven't discussed this legislation in detail yet and we're likely to need more discussion before an agreement can be finalized. You can't ignore the reality that the costs of getting this wrong are profound."
Both Britain and Sweden are reluctant to cede autonomy over their banks, with both wanting the authority to resort to additional measures beyond the proposed law to force compliance from the banks. Both say they need to be able to protect taxpayer interests since taxpayers could end up being the ones to bail out failed banks.


text:
Baltie 2011
- regional round
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SGP Systems
Proposition of regional round of the contest Baltie
Actual list of enrolled contest places for regional round:
Contest place
from that
for B4
Fee taken
in the contest place
Enroll new contest place...
Start fee
Basic start fee is 0 € for 1 contestant
Overhead fee taken in the contest place - assessed and collected by organizer of the contest place separately - if they ask for it.
Contest platform
- Baltie (the same as in school round).
Contest duration
- 2 hours.
Note: the beginning for each contest group is the time when first team from the group opens submission. This means that contest place organizer needn't set the exact beginning. The contestants take their posts, log in on the server, then supervisor announces verification code for the contest group and, when first team from the group displays a submission, the time starts to be measured for the whole group.
Contest places
- to maximalize the number of teams from individual schools advancing to national round, the regional round in the region is held on as many contest places as possible (minimum is one).
Enrollemnt for teams to the regional round.
The teams can be enrolled (qualified) to regional round only from results of school round, i. e. just when they were enrolled to the contest in due form and in time.
Teacher chooses from the list of contest places in his region one, where he wants to go and comes to an agreement with organizer of the contest place about how many teams from his school can come. Then the teacher logs in, chooses regional round and clicks on "Enroll teams". In the displayed list he enrolls teams to regional round and waits for confirmation from the school place organizer.
Organizer of regional round see continuously list of all enrolled teams to the regional round and chooses from it (after agreement with teachers) teams, that will compete in his contest place, to the relevant contest group. Number of teams in the group in the contest place is denoted by
blue color
School alone settles, how many teams in individual categories A, B, C, D will enroll to the regional round.
Signing the team off the regional round
If a team does not belong to any contest group in any contest place, teacher can immediately sign it off - menu regional round, "Enroll teams".
In the other case (the team already belongs to a contest group in a contest place), the contest place organizer must first relieve it from the contest place and only after that it can be sign off by teacher.
Conditions for the Contest Place (CP) - duties for
rganizer (CPO):
CPO communicates with schools that want to come to the place.
CPO prepares technical (computers, internet) and organization (desks, chairs) conditions for the contest. On the computers inteded for the contest will be the last versions of programs B3 and B4. There is no necessary to delete any of files from computer after the Baltie instalation.
Also check, that on all computers submissions of tasks n. 4 and 5 from Junior can be opened - there were problems with older Mozilla Firefox.
CPO creates
contest groups
on the contest server and maintains them (left menu, regional round and Contest groups - visible only for CPO, other teachers doesn't see this item). After creation of the groups CPO assigns teams to them from displayed list of enrolled teams in the round. The assigned team is definitely enrolled and confirmed in this round. In the list of schools the number of teams in the relevant column (blue) is increased.
We recommend to create one contest group for one room with the name of the room. It is good for orientation in the school and also for the list of teams. You can then sort the list of teams by group names and the lists for the rooms are ready.
CPO before the beginning of the contest (at the lastest in the day of contest) puts together committee with at least two SGP teacher and one pupil/student as representative of contestants. The commission confirms the proper course of the contest in the contest place by signing the contest protocol.
Note: in the case of emergency and when only one contest place is in the region, the teacher from the second SGP school needn't be presented, but then only "defined minimal number of teams" can advance from the region to the national round, so in the case of refilling of free place in the nation round, the teams from this region won't be chosen.
After beginning of the contest CPO sends email with list of absent contestants to organizers of national round (which issues invoices) in the format of SID - number of teams. By this number the invoice of start fee of the school (SID) will be decreased.
In the case of inability to connect to the internet during the contest (contest programs can't be uploaded), CPO ensures downloading the contest programs to two USB flashes drives (CD-ROMs) after expiration of contest time. One flash (CD-ROM) puts in the envelope signed by members of the contest committee and from the second flash (CD-ROM) sends the programs from anywhere to the contest server in the shortest possible time (till 20:00).
CPO creates and updates web page with detailed information for contestants: adress, contact, map, limitations (rubbers) etc., or gives an contact email.
CPO ensure the collection of additional overhead fee for contest place (besides the basic start fee).
New Contest Place
If you are interested in organizing regional round in your school (so your pupils don't have to go far and more of them can participate in this round) please fill this
enrollment for contest place...
, so we can contact you, tell you details and help you to prepare a contest place.
SGP Help
- if a contest place doesn't have necessary SGP license, the company SGP Systems will give the license to the contest place for free, but only for the time of organization of the regional round.
Advancing to the next round
- number of advancing teams from regional to the international round will be set after the regional round.
Have you found any mistake on this page or do you have any question about this round of the contest?
Write us...
© 2020
SGP Systems, s.r.o.
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text:
Curator's note: This RWFWD: originally had a list of petition signees at the bottom. It has been removed to protect the privacy of these individuals.
It does not matter if you personally like or dislike Obama. You need to sign this petition and flood his e-mail box with e-mails that tell him that, even if the House passes this bill, he needs to veto it. It is already impossible to live on Social Security alone. If the government gives benefits to 'illegal' aliens who have never contributed, where does that leave those of us who have paid into Social Security all our working lives?
As stated below, the Senate voted this week to allow 'illegal' aliens access to Social Security benefits. Attached is an opportunity to sign a petition that requires citizenship for eligibility to that social service.
Instructions are below. If you don't forward the petition and just stop it, we will lose all these names.
If you do not want to sign it, please just forward it to everyone you know.
Thank you!
To add your name, click on 'forward'.. Address it to all of your email correspondents, add your name to the list and send it on.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When the petition hits 1,500, it is up to you to send it email@example.com <http://us.mc527.mail.yahoo.
PETITION for President Obama:
Dear Mr. President:
We, the undersigned, protest the bill that the Senate voted on recently which would allow illegal aliens to access our Social Security. We demand that you and all Congressional representatives require citizenship as a pre-requisite for social services in the United States .
Fw: IMPORTANT SOC SEC CHANGE...IMPORTANT
Curator's note: This RWFWD: originally had a list of petition signees at the bottom. It has been removed to protect the privacy of these individuals.
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This entry was posted on 9/12/2011 07:05:00 AM
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This entry was posted on 9/12/2011 07:05:00 AM and is filed under IMMIGRANT , PETITION , SOCIAL SECURITY . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
7 comments:
- Zeno said...
Snopes, of course.
- 12 September, 2011 08:27
- Anonymous said...
God its gonna be funny when these assholes vote for Perry and then he turns around and fucking dismantles their precious Social Security.
Wait... not funny. What's that word? Tragic.
- 12 September, 2011 09:14
- gruaud said...
It saddens me that people actually signed their names to this monumentally stupid piece of tripe.
- 12 September, 2011 19:59
- goober1223 said...
thank you so much for this website. My aunt/uncle fwd this crap to me and i get tired of replying all with a snopes link.
- 13 September, 2011 01:14
- Marc with a C said...
The only thing that would make this forward more precious is if they actually linked to some kind of "E-Mail the President" button.
- 13 September, 2011 09:49
- Ken said...
Don't worry Perry has everything under control.
Perry uncovers the scam of the century
- 13 September, 2011 15:02
- ferschitz said...
Obama IS trying to gut Soc Sec & Medicare, but so are the TeaPublicans. This isn't a lie, but duly noted that TeaPublicans are being pushed to sign petitions against what Obama is doing but not against TeaPublicans who are doing the very same thing.
Do be aware: Obama is NOT your friend in terms of Soc Sec & Medicare, and he's doing everything possible to gut both asap.
- 14 September, 2011 12:13


text:
Series: Young Reading Series 3 Famous lives
By Katie Daynes
Reader reviews are really helpful for other readers and we love hearing what you think! We'll use your name beneath the review, but no other details. If you would like to email us about a product, please use our 'contact us' form.


text:
George Lucas to Inflict 'Star Wars' Characters on Disney? [SUNDAY COMICS]
Now that Lucasfilm is in the hands of Disney, George Lucas must certainly be figuring out ways to help Disney enjoy the kind of spectacular success he's had in his career.
For this bonus edition of Sunday Comics, our friends Nitrozac and Snaggy of The Joy of Tech have a pretty good idea of what Lucas might have in mind. Hey, if Star Wars characters can be so all-pervasive in today's world, why not in the Disney universe?
But wait. Improve upon Mickey Mouse? Good luck with that, George.
SEE ALSO: Previous Sunday Comics
Comic illustration provided by The Joy of Tech. Published with permission; all rights reserved


text:
|The Dad Hatter:
our beloved father
This little section is dedicated to my father.
THE CHRONICLES of THE DAD HATTER:
The Wedding Invitation:
Dad received a wedding invitation; his nephew's daughter was getting married and the invitation was a photo of the bride and groom when they were children:
Our housekeeper asks him:
"Would you like to go,uncle?"
"Aren't they a little young to be getting married!?"
Rio Bravo:
Dad loves a good western and has seen them all.
"Dad,Rio Bravo is on...would you like to watch it?"
"Yes,yes ya baba....put it on."
As we busy ourselves putting dinner on the table, Dad turns to us and says:
"This isn't Rio Bravo...."
"Erm...yes it is Dad...look it says: John Wayne and Dean Martin starring in Rio Bravo"...
We sit and start to eat....
"This is not Rio Bravo..."
"Dad!!!It is...."
Munch, munch...dinner over and Dad is back in front of his TV screen...
"This is not Rio Bravo"...
The credits start to roll and Dean Martin starts to sing the movie theme:
"Rioooo Bravooooo"...
"Dad!! Dean Martin is singing it at the top of his lungs!!"
Dad looks on...stunned into silence.
RIP...James Garner:actor
My sister on phone with Dad:.."Dad,do you remember James Garner?"
Dad: "Yes...the actor."
Lina: "He died,poor thing..."
Dad: " He wasn't very famous...."
The Walker:
Dad has to get used to the fact that he can no longer walk without his faithful three wheeler walker as well as his carer by his side.
My sister and I happened to be on this particular walk and as I watched Dad painstakingly pushing himself along and squeezing the brakes whenever he is unsure of the terrain...and coming to a sudden halt:
"Dad!.... Release the brakes!!...it's just like riding a bicycle..."
"A bicycle? More like a donkey!!"
The Document:
Dad has to sign some documents and Lina explains this to him in great detail over the phone:
"Dad....wherever you see a red cross,you 'll need to put your initials..."
"Yes...yes...ya baba"
"And where it says : " sign here" twice,you have to sign.... Okay ?"
"Okay! That is great ya baba...so I don't have to sign anything!......"
The Watch:
Dad's watch has stopped working, his back up watches are no longer working either , as we established while there last weekend:
"Take it to Cartier and let them check it Dad...but you are going to have to go without since your other watches have stopped working too."
Couple of days later and once we were back home:
" I took my watch to Cartier Ya baba, but ...(indignant "Heh!")it is going to take 6 to 8 weeks! So I put on one of my other watches...."
"Dad!! You do realise they are not working either!!"
"Yes Yes Ya Baba!" as though I was taking him for an absolute fool. " It is just in case the pendulum starts swinging again..."
The Dad Hatter had a great fall....
Unlike Humpty Dumpty, all the kings ambulance men couldn't convince Dad to climb into the ambulance to have his vitals checked...Once upright and outwardly mobile, his one demand was to be left alone to go to Peter Jones to have his latte and scone....Peter Jones needs to award Dad with a medal of honouring them through thick or thin.
"Dad!" I cried teary eyed and worried sick." What happened? Are you alright?"
" Ya baba I appreciate your worry...I am fine!... I am getting used to this falling down business..." he replies chomping on a mouthful of watermelon.
" What did the doctor say when he came to check you?" I persevere fearing that I am rapidly getting nowhere.
" They sent a very nice chap.."
" Dad! He's your GP!"
" Aah...Oh yes yes...he checked me and gave me a prescription for antibiotics".
" Antibiotics for what?" I ask confused.
" For something or another" was his reply.
Two days prior:
"Dad, do you have a cold? you sound bunged up.."
"Ya Allahhhhh...NO! I don't have a cold! What is the matter with you an your sister??"
"Dad, how is your ankle? We heard from K. that it is swollen..."
"What!!! Who told you that???" cussing and mumbling.
"NO! I don't have a swollen ankle or a swollen aunt!"
The "eyes" have it:
While visiting Dad and during a lull in the conversation,my sister leant over her husband, scissors in hand, to trim a rogue eyebrow:
" Watch it, Ya baba! "said Dad taking in the scene at hand.
" It's ok Dad... She's only trimming an eyebrow..." I replied .
"Yes..." said a patient Dad,"..But he happens to have eyes also!"
What did you eat today ?
K. the carer was helping Dad put on his cardigan and I approached to button it up, in doing so I exclaim:
" OMG,Dad! This cardigan needs to be washed! There's yoghurt on it...tomato sauce..."
And Dad calmly responds:
"It's like a menu!"
(Queue laughter)
The Tooth fairy vrs Fatigue:
Dad lost a tooth...but it pretty much looks like he lost a good many more as the teeth,missing their broken companion, have decided to "part" ways with each one stepping away from the other that Dad's mouth looks like a zipper!
My sister organised an appointment with a dentist close enough for Dad not to balk and we repeated to him the day,hour and who would take him until he knew it all by heart.Still things went pear shaped:
Part 1:
"When is my appointment Ya baba?"
"Monday, Dad...remember? Monday the 4th....Tomorrow."
"Yes,yes..I see it written on the calendar but what is the date today?"
"The 3rd Dad. Tomorrow is the 4th..."
"Today is the 3rd!?...But it says we are the 17th on my clock!" replies a startled Dad.
Part 2:
When Lina called to check how the appointment went (dreading that Dad may have pulled a fast one at the last minute) she was told that when Dad and the carer got there...the lift was out of order and wouldn't be up and running before a month!!!!
That evening's phone conversation with my sister:
"Dad, I am so sorry about the whole hassle with the dentist...."
"Yes Ya baba..." interrupts Dad seeking sympathy." K.(the carer) was quite pushy and insisting that I had to go!"
"Waddah ya mean you didn't want to go! Of course you were bloody going Dad!! What I meant was about the lift not working!!...I will have to re-schedule."
"I don't want to go..." petulant Dad.
"I don't care...you are going!" insistent daughter.
"You Don't Care?" hurt Dad.
"No!" firm daughter. " Have you seen the state of your teeth?...(Deep exaggerated sigh from Dad).. What more can we do for you?? Chew your food and put it in your mouth!!!!"
"Ya Howlelahhhh" (Arabic way of expressing tedium..as in "Dear God")...."Ya baba, I am tired!!..." this always comes out when he wants to wheedle out of any appointment.
"Dad! You don't do anything all day !!" exasperated daughter.
" I am psychologically tired....."
Lasagna vrs Fish Pie:
Dinner time with Dad is invariably quite early and this time my sister and I had an appetite to match his. Once the food was on the table,we gathered round to eat. I put a plate of lasagna in front of dad:
"Careful Dad..it's really hot".
He nods and pokes his dish while looking at mine:
"What is that?" he asks while poking and trying to taste his meal.
"Fish Pie.."
"Is it good?..."
"Yes,there is fish and prawns.."
"There is prawns!?"
"Do you want to switch?"
So we do and I start to enjoy his lasagna
Dad prods and picks at his fish pie,his eyes darting to my plate:
"Is it good ya baba?..."
"Do you want it back,Dad??!".....
Issues and Tissues:
I was reading out loud to Dad from a Sunday paper about 2" Big Issue" sellers who were killed:
"...you know the homeless guy who stands outside Peter Jones and calls out "Big Issue! Big Issue!" and wants you to buy a copy..."
"Yes,yes yes..."
"Well apparently 2 of them were killed,it says here..."
"Ya baba what are you talking about 2 Tissues..."
I was chatting to Dad when he cut me short:
"Ya baba...the line is very bad! Let us hang up and you call me back in seconds...ok? Ready? 1....2...3!"
Dad was bent over my iPad with glee as I showed him picture after picture of my growing puppy Titan. I then wrapped up the show with a short video of Titan in full action:
"Ya Baba!!These pictures are moving....!!?"
So the "Hat" now has a fan club...men have apparently stopped Dad in the street to ask him where he got it:
"Shopping...shopping!" replies Dad being purposely evasive.
"Why don't you tell them your daughter bought it for you?" asked my sister.
"...Would you like me to give them your name and number too??!!!" was Dad's sarcastic reply.
My sister bought Dad a new hat and had it sent directly to him. Worried that he might not like it was the least of our problems,Dad tends to want to keep anything that he likes but that doesn't fit...it is a costly luxury.
"Dad? Did you receive the hat?"
"Yes! Ya baba.." he gushed enthusiastically." It is a..masterpiece!!!"
" Does it fit,Dad?!"
"Yes,yes...it is not too small and not too sloppy...it sits perfectly on my beautiful head!"
"I take it that you like it then..."
One of Dad's favourite pastries are "ma'moul": middle eastern date filled delights that are gobbled down with relish to be swiftly followed by another. Iman,his housekeeper/carer has bought some to celebrate the upcoming Eid, but told Dad that under no circumstances is he to eat one before Eid is made official ...(there is no time like the present for Dad,Eid or no Eid...)
"Ok...Ok" he replied complying fully with her wishes. "Just... give me a little one Now!...."
Iman has hidden them from him.
Where did Yankee Doodle go?
I was explaining to Dad the new fad of dog breeding, namely the Labradoodle:
"So they take a Labrador and breed it with a poodle... A labradoodle!"
Dad deadpan replies: " ...Went to town!"
The Lawyer:
We needed to seek legal council and we talked ourselves hoarse telling Dad all about it...while he sat back and listened without reacting. Worried, we let him speak directly to her,over the phone:
"Well Dad? Did she explain things to you?... are you reassured?"
Moment of reflection then he responds: "Ya Baba...Apparently she is a lawyer!!..."
Ta Dahhhh!
"Reeeemmmo...Phone call for you":
...and if by chance or our misfortune,the caller on the other end was a man...Dad would promptly run up the stairs to stand vigil by our door.Basically,in the absence of any bugging devices at his disposal,he would man his God given station by the door,nostrils flaring until satisfied by our mortification or mouthed name of the man daring to call and speak to one of his daughters.
You've Got Mail....:
We were never given the chance to get to our mail let alone read it in our household; Dad would beat us to it, dust them for prints and analyze all the information before handing them to us:
"Here ya baba..you have a postcard ....from A. ...Who says he is having a wonderful time in...."
Yeah Dad,why don't you read my postcard to me...Oh!You've memorised it? Even better!
Watching The Voice UK:
"Ya baba...what are they doing?"
"It is a sing off Dad..."
"Singing? They are shouting at each other!"
"What do you call this music?..."
"Erm...Pop music Dad"I didn't want to venture further...
"Ahhh Pep!?"..
"Yesss I heard you PEP!"
Money well spent on another hearing aid.
Crazy,Stupid, Love:
When I was 16, I was head over heels in love. Dad tolerated the situation from afar and would bring my almost daily love letters to the breakfast table...not before having scrutinised the back of the envelope at length.Until one day he snapped :
"What on earth does SWALK mean?"
"SEALED WITH A LOVING KISS" I replied dreamily.
"How exciting" he replied his voice dripping with sarcasm.
The Screen:
Dad needed a new tv...not only was his old and old fashioned (the kind that juts out in the back and hits the wall)but it simply wasn't up to digital scratch.The very fact that it had lasted this long was not only surprising but a bloody miracle.
That evening I called Dad to make sure all went well :
"Dad? Did Peter Jones deliver your new tv this morning?"
"Yes,yes,yes...they came and delivered the screen..."
"Dad, the screen as you put it...is in fact your tv."
The Screen part 2:
The next day I checked up on him to make sure he knew how to use it:
"Hi Dad! Are you watching your new tv?"
"Do you know how to use it?"
"Well do you plan on finding out?"
"Yes ,yes ya baba! Don't worry, I'll push a few buttons and see what happens..."
|*I spied a resemblance and simply brought it out!*
The wise words of Buddha Baba...:
On a trip to New York many years ago, Dad, Lina and I were out and about early one Sunday morning. It was mid November and freezing so when we came across a streetfair and saw a stall selling big woolly Peruvian sweaters,we headed straight for it. Feeling brazen I launched into some basic Spanish:
"Hola senor! Cuanto este?"I asked pointing at a sweater.
"Hola senorita! You speak Spanish!"says the stall keeper smiling.
"It's about time !" Dad pipes in. "Good to hear that her education finally serves a purpose!"
"Dad...do you remember Lina's friend H. from college?"
"Not really Ya baba....but his name rings a bell."
"You used to tease him when he would come round to the house...slim guy,dark hair, fast car? H.??"
"Ya baba ...it rings a bell...but from farrrr away."
Back in the day:
On cinema days with Dad we would jump into the car, drive to Leicester square and usually end up parking at the carpark on Panton street. The smell of urine emanating from the stairwells was unbearable... I always made it a point to never touch the doors with my bare hands, preferring to minimise contact by kicking them open instead:
"Ya baba why are you kicking the doors like that?"
"Cos they are disgusting and I don't want to catch anything..."
Dad decided to follow my lead by missing the door entirely and ....kicking me in the leg.
It isn't always easy to try and find enough stuff to chat to Dad about over the phone but I try and chatter away regardless. I winded down by saying:
" So Dad...what're you watching on TV?..."
"Dad? Is it ..(and I hazard a guess)..Deal or no Deal?"
" ...I can't remember after this long conversation!"
Do you remember the time?
My mother had an awful habit that drove Dad up the wall. Every morning she would judiciously drench her cornflakes in milk, add sugar then proceed to stir the living daylights out of it. She would then calmly sit down with the Daily Mail, take two maybe four mouthfuls before slinging the whole lot down the sink. Having witnessed the remains time and time again Dad looked at her one morning and said:
"Why don't you just mix the whole thing in the sink?..."
For anyone who knew my mom...she wasn't amused...But we sure as hell were!
Culinary manoeuvre's in the dark:Part 1
I hear Dad getting up, I check my watch and shake my head in frustration:
Me: "Dad...are you ok?"
Dad:" Good morning ya Baba..."
Me:"It's 2 o'clock in the morning Dad!!!"...
Dad:" So? It's the morning..."
Me:"Go back to bed Dad"...and he shuffles off to the kitchen for something to drink and eat...who am I kidding.
Part 2:
Lina catches Dad red handed(on his second tour of kitchen duty)cheese sambousek (lebanese savoury delight) in one hand,a pot of yoghurt in the other on the verge of some heavy duty dunking:
Lina: " Dad!! What the hell are you doing?"
Dad a look of thwarted defeat and surprise on his face:" Eating ya baba..."
Lina: "It is 3 o'clock in the morning!.."
Dad: silence but still armed with food in each hand.
Lina:" You have already gotten up to eat, Dad..."
Dad: "I did?"...as if his alter ego got there before him
"These shoes were meant for walkin'.....One of these days these shoes are gonna fall to pieces around you..."
" Dad? What on earth happened ...?"
"Ya baba my shoes committed suicide!"
Dad loves his soap operas and he has a handful he watches every evening ending with "EastEnders". One of the longstanding characters on the show was being killed off in an episode over Xmas and Lina chose to chat to Dad about it:
"So Pat from EastEnders died...."
"W'allah?....(Really?) She was a very nice lady..."
The Bank:
"Dad? Can you remember whether there are bank tellers working on Saturday morning....?"
"I think so, Ya baba.... If not, you can always use the slot machines..."
The Bank 2:
"You'll need to take your ID, Dad..."
"What ID, Ya baba ?My ID is myself !" he says proudly as he skims his hand from neck to chest to emphasize the very fact.
Coco's Christmas Card:
Every year Dad receives a Christmas card from Tante Claudette aka Coco;she is my dear friend's mom and our neighbour here in France.
"Ya baba...you have received a Xmas card from Claudette."
"Erm...it's addressed to you,Dad. It's for you... Every year she sends you one...?!
"How does she know where I live?..."
Another day, another holler!
Food for thought:
So back in London and back from the supermarket where we organised a delivery that could only be done in the morning:
" Ah Baba...what did you buy?"
"The delivery will come first thing,Dad. No more options available for tonight." It was now around 5.00pm...
" But did you bring something with you?.. I WANT SOMETHING TO EAT NOW!!"
He got a yoghurt before he threw his rattle at us!
Dad likes to get up in the middle of the night...to eat! And because we indulge him when we see him by...filling up the fridge, we get a telling off from Iman,who takes care of Dad, the flat and his food:
"Don't buy him too much prepared food! He'll eat it all!"
Iman was away on holiday and replaced by the smiling Khadija who, upon Iman's return , proceeded to confide in her:
"I think someone is stealing Aami's... ("Amo" means uncle,as does "Aami ": used as a form of respect for the elderly even you are not related) ...Food! Every time I come..there is less and less!"
Iman was in hysterics when she told us,as were we:
"No one is stealing his food.... He is eating it !"
Photograhs and Memories II:
We come across a photo of Dad on the ship "Esperia" on their crossing from Marseille, France to Alexandria, Egypt (the stories will all be in "The Dad Hatter": The Book")Rather fetching with his shirt tucked in a la Simon Cowell:
And then another of him on another day next to...:
"Dad? Who is that next to you? Is it the Captain of the Esperia?"
"How did you know it was the Esperia, ya Baba?"
"It's written on the life preserver in the photo...."
"Oh yes,yes...Yes,that is the Captain...Must have been a short one..."
So there we were around the dining table: Lina, Dad and I having dinner. Dad was eating leftovers from lunch but eyeing my Heston Blumenthal beef pie that I had bought from Waitrose:
"What's that, ya baba?"
"Its a pie Dad...a beef pie. Do you want a bite? It's De-licious!"
"No baba" as he waved a hand at me pretending that he was not interested.
So we got down to eating while Dad kept his eye on my plate:
"Do we have any more of them?..."
"No Dad."
"Why not?"
"Eat your dinner,Dad."
Photographs and memories of hair lost:
Lina put together a bunch of Dad's old photos that he took back in the day and those that were taken of him and we sat with him as he talked us through them,reminiscing and making comments:
"I was very handsome.....Clark Gable!"
Lina: "What's up with bow tie, Dad..."
Dad: concentrating on the photo (pause):"...Well, that hair is gone."
Lina: "What's up with bow tie, Dad..."
Dad: concentrating on the photo (pause):"...Well, that hair is gone."
The Long and Winding road:
For once the phone only rang a handful of times before Dad picked up: "Wow Dad! That was quick!"
"It's because I am in the bedroom ya baba...can you call me back?..."
(Dad only enjoys conversing from the living room and the safety of his armchair.)
"Okayyyy Dad."
"But call me right back!... 5mns ...!"
So I mentally pictured Dad shuffling from his room, to the corridor, from the corridor, to the living room and flinging himself unceremoniously into his armchair... I gave him an extra beat or two...Yep, time to call. And the phone rang and rang and rangggggggg...!!!
" Dad!??? What the hell took you so long??"
"I had to walk over ...Ya Baba!"
"Dad! You weren't exactly in Hyde Park!!"
Explosive laughter from Dad.
I was telling Dad all about our day in Monaco and how surprised we were that the pavements were covered in dog shit and not the fabled gold:
"Really? What a shame...(tut tut tut)That means that the population of dogs has increased....."
Dad received his new hearing aid and promptly told my sister over the phone that night : "Ya baba ....it is perfect! I hear even better than before!"
Which did nothing to reassure us when the following night he couldn't hear a thing: " Hello? HELLO?...wait a minute ya baba...Helloo?!..I can't hear a thing...Can you speak up?"
Apparently it all depends on how it puts it in his ear....as for the special accessory he has to wear around his neck... (to enhance the sound of the tv without having to up the volume) it sits beside him like an unwanted guest.
Lina had a missed call from Dad. She tried to call him repeatedly but the line was continuously busy...worried that she couldn't get through and that Dad had called her this early in morning: 7.30am, she started to panic. Finally it rang and Dad answered straight away:
"Dad! (Relief,mixed with anger )... I've been trying to call you! What's wrong?"
"Ya baba...every time I pick up the phone...there is no action.."
"What are you talking about Dad?
" Every time I try to dial ya baba...there is no action!"
"Well You called Me! What kind of action are you looking for? A ticker tape parade?"
My sister and I took Dad to get him a new hearing aid:
"Mr Adeeb ?...I am now going to test your hearing..."
"Is that a threat?"
Years ago, Dad was rushed to hospital for a serious ear problem and was under the care of Doct. Parikh( "..he is like a brother to me...") One morning,while we were visiting him, a large jovial nurse from the "di islands" sashayed in with a very large torch under her arm:"Good mornin' Mista Adeeb..."
Dad took one look at the torch and replied: "Good morning my dear.... and what do you plan to do with that ? ..."
Back in the day, we used to have a brilliant and very charming dermatologist : Doctor Ian Sarkani who had his practice in Harley street, London. He would know immediately where the eruption came from, why and how to get rid of it. One day Dad went to see him about an unsightly spot on his head. Doctor Sarkani peered at it and asked :
"Mr. Adeeb...do you do this... (scratch, scratch, scratching his head with his index finger)... while watching television ?"
My Dad didn't have to ponder the question long:
"Actually, I do! "
" Well... Stop It !"
In late autumn of 1993 I went travelling with my parents to Montreal, my mom and I were ecstatic when Dad suggested we swing by NYC on our way home. So there we were, in NY at the luggage carousel when I spied one of our bags and made a grab for it just as Dad sidled up behind me. I swung the suitcase round and hit Dad straight in the nuts. He went down like a felled tree, bending at the waist and trying to be as dignified as possible under the circumstances.
"Omg! Dad!!..." I said in shock and fear, Dad could not reply. I looked to my mom for some sign of what to do...she was muffling her laughter and shaking her head.
" Baba! I am so sorry!"
"Aarghhhh..."he expired slowly muffling a scream."Ya baba...leave me be for now" he whispered through clenched teeth as he turned to hobble off to regain composure.
My mom and I were in tears, I was laughing so hard my vision blurred and I could hardly breathe. When dad reappeared, we cut it short...fast.
The carers are told to make sure that Dad drinks plenty of water...which he doesn't. I ,on the other hand, don't have to be told twice . I was guzzling away from the bottle placed near Dad on the sitting room table when he got up to shuffle to the toilet. When he got out, I happened to be in my room, polishing off the remains of another before I left: "You're finishing all the water in the house! All I see is( miming holding a bottle of water to his mouth)...glug,glug,glug."
Marcel Marceau would have been proud... I , on the other hand,was in hysterics.
I bought myself a chequered shirt and knew that Dad would get a kick out of it ,being a lover of chequered shirts himself:
"Ya baba this is lovely! And its beauty is that it is not exactly green...."
"And what is it exactly, Dad?"
" A hint of green."
" And what is the rest then?"
"A hint of white."
Lina asking Dad, for conversation sake, which one of the carers came today: "Ya baba,there are so many girls coming and going....I can't remember..."
"Dad...it's not a whore house!"...
Dad: chuckle,chuckle,chuckle...
Dad reflecting on the various colourful members of our vast family and their antics: "Ya baba...It's like a forest..."
The paint on Dad's bathroom ceiling was flaking so badly that it looked like confetti. My sister arranged for the painters to come in and sort it out with the least amount of discomfort for Dad. Now while he agreed with her wholeheartedly , Dad radically changed his tune when the actual day approached :
" Painters are coming?... Why are they coming? The ceiling is fine, ya baba...it's just a little patch..."
I called him the morning of, to make sure he was up and ready to let them in and begin their work:
" Good morning Dad..are you washed and dressed?"
"Of course I am dressed! You think I am sitting here naked?!"
Regarding The Dad Hatter:
My sister told me that she had just received a phone call from the manager's assistant at the healthcare company we employ for Dad.
" Oh?" I said" what did she want?"
She was calling to enquire when our next trip to London will be:
"We haven't yet made any plans" replied my sister to the assistant.
" I see....Well how about your brother, Reem...?"
!#****!?~*** #
"Dad? Remember when I told you about Lina now having a brother called Reem?!"
" A brother?... Nobody told me!"
"Yes I did, Dad! Yesterday when we spoke?"
" Well,tell me again...."
" Wow Dad! You answered the phone fast."
"Because I am sitting right next to it."
"Why aren't you sitting opposite the TV watching "Deal or no Deal?"
" Because I am eating watermelon...."
My sister was telling Dad all about the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock in the Principality of Monaco (2-3 July 2011): "So... he is the son of the man presently ruling Monaco?"...
" Albert is the present ruler, Dad...his father is dead..."
"Prince Rainier died?!!!"
I was showing Dad my new passport :
" Ya baba...this is a Beauty ! "
Can't wait to show him my driving license!!!...
Dad needed more cologne:
"Cologne baba...not perfume..."
I bought him 2 bottles of his favourite Roger & Gallet:
"Thank you, baba. How much did it cost?"
"£60 Dad...which is on the cheaper end of perfume these days."
"How much was one bottle?"
" £ 30,Dad.."
"£30 ?!! Oof...."
9.57am London time: I called dad to tell him to expect a package for me but he was more concerned about the whereabouts of his carer:" No body has shown up..."
" Don't panic, Dad... " I replied."They don't start before 10.00am..you still have a few minutes to go."
"Can you call them ya baba? Please? Tell them my escort hasn't arrived ."Oh,Boy....
My sister and I were starving after our early flight in from New York and since we were taking Dad on his daily walk, we decided on an outdoor cafe and brunch. They tucked into a hearty plate of scrambled eggs while I munched on jam and toast. Once we had all wiped our plates clean, Dad turned to my sister and said:
"I suspect they used powdered eggs..."
" Why on earth would you think that,Dad?"
" Because all the pieces look exactly the same," he replied.
"This isn't WW2 ... we are not on rations."
"I suspect they used powdered eggs..."
" Why on earth would you think that,Dad?"
" Because all the pieces look exactly the same," he replied.
"This isn't WW2 ... we are not on rations."
Dad would often go away on business when we were kids and after one such trip abroad, he found himself in the back of a cab on his way home from the airport. Now Dad is only chatty and inquisitive when he is in the mood to be but on this particular night,he wasn't...:
"So guv'...Wha' you been doin' today ?"
" Minding my own business !"
" Alrigh'... no need to be facetious!"
Now Dad told his brother Uncle N. all about the cab ride and how he put the overly inquisitive cab driver in his place. My uncle was very impressed and on his return to New York, decided to put this line to use as soon as he got the opportunity. With luck and armed with Dad's zinger comment, my uncle found himself in the right situation . The cab driver started to chat and before long came the question:
" So what business are you in, sir ?"
My uncle replied with unmitigated glee:" Minding my own business ."
"Oh yeah?" replied the driver undeterred. "And what business is that ...?"
Unfortunately the subtlety was lost on the New Yorker and my uncle was left to face the music.
" So what business are you in, sir ?"
My uncle replied with unmitigated glee:" Minding my own business ."
"Oh yeah?" replied the driver undeterred. "And what business is that ...?"
Unfortunately the subtlety was lost on the New Yorker and my uncle was left to face the music.
My Dad had a secretary by the name of Ray,she was a sweet natured woman but one who could talk the hind legs off a horse and every other farm animal in the vicinity as soon as you had the misfortune of saying :" Hello Ray..."
One morning my Dad called her into his office and asked her to take down a letter:
" Dear sir, " he started,"as mentioned during our last conversation..." and Ray interrupted him in full flow.
" Dear sir, " he started,"as mentioned during our last conversation..." and Ray interrupted him in full flow.
" Mr. Adeeb? I think you should start by mentioning..." and off she went.
" I tell you what Ray..." said Dad cutting her off, "why don't you write it....then give it to me to sign."
Back in the late 70s , one of our erstwhile drivers Nesbit aka Nes; a short man with greased back hair and a rather strange demeanour, had a predisposition for platform shoes - black with a brown side panel as we recall. Now those hideous shoes were the butt of many a joke in the family and we couldn't help but stare at them.
Some afternoons, Dad preferred to walk home from the office and one fateful day he found the hapless Nesbit sitting in the hall ,one leg crossed over the other,the vile shoe in full view.... My Dad looked at him and said:
"Do you pay ground rent on those?"
As I have already mentioned, Dad often went to New York and always made it a point to hook up with his elder brother: Uncle N. aka " The Cap Hatter"(his predilection were flat caps)who lived there. Theirs was a relationship based on love, light banter and sarcasm: the latter courtesy of Dad.
My uncle wanted to take his brother someplace new for drinks, to show off his town and to get him away from their usual haunt : The New York Palace Hotel and the piano bar at the bottom of the sweeping staircase. My Dad is a creature of habit and to get him to try anything new is an exercise in patience and herculean will. My uncle could not be deterred nor talked out of it, so off they went to rooftop terrace at the Peninsula hotel on 5th ave, to enjoy their evening drinks outdoors and up in the heavens.
Next day we asked Dad if he enjoyed it and what it looked like...he simply replied : "It's a shanty town."
Several years ago , we wanted to gift Dad with a new watch , so on one of our trips to London we took him into Cartier ( Cartier was the be all and end all of jewellers to Dad). He selected a particular model which the sales man proceeded to slip around his wrist. As he clipped the stainless steel buckle shut with a flourish, Dad let out a rather loud:
"What ' s wrong , Dad ? "
"Ya baba he clipped it on my skin !"
(Now where we're from " oof " is generally used to express surprise but never pain. . ) So while the red faced sales man quickly rushed to his rescue , we were bent over double howling with laughter .
He has since been the proud owner of the Cartier "OOF" watch .
Dad has always been a keen eater of roast chicken and Partridges would invariably be the place to go and get one. We would always get to the counter that bit too early and have to face the wrath of the old gruff French man in the plaid cap who ran the counter with a steel fork in one hand and grease proof paper in the other:
"Id 'eez too early monsieur...come back in 'alf an 'our."
"I want it now".
"But 'ow do you want id cooked?"
"Medium rare..."
"Dad! This isn't steak ...Have you never heard of salmonella??? You are a prime candidate my friend."
During one of our phone calls and running out of things to chat about, I ask Dad:
"So which one of the girls came today?"
"So which one of the girls came today?"
"Ya baba this man showed up...3 metres tall!"
"Whaddaya mean a man showed up?"
"He said he came from the agency..."
"I told him: I don't want you! ...Can you imagine me walking down the road with this man holding my hand? What will people say?"
"First of all, he wouldn't have held your hand Dad, he is a carer not your lover...and second of all, I have news for you, nobody cares! What is so different when you are out walking with one of the girls?"
"Very funny... They think I am out with my daughter...my niece..."
"Watch where you are going with this old man..."
During one of our many jaunts to New York with Dad , we stayed at his favourite hotel , the perennial Waldorf Astoria... not one of the best anymore, but he had such fond memories of the place , so who were we to mess with that. I was waiting for him and my sister in the lobby when out they popped from the elevator, mischievous smiles playing around their lips. They had shared the ride down with a woman and her boisterous kids and just before they got to the ground floor, Dad lent over to her and said :
"How long has this show been on the road? "
Dad, once a voracious reader has given it all up of late for quiet contemplation and reading over our shoulders. I was reading the newspaper one Sunday morning and Dad, having turned it down when I offered it to him claiming he was not in the mood, suddenly exclaims:
"What is that all about ... (reading out part of the front page headline)...."
"Dad! ...Why don't you read it when I have finished?"
He mumbles his displeasure at my statement.
Once I finished, I hand him the paper and he starts to fiddle with the pages while I pick up a magazine:
"Who is that man clutching his face?...."
Every Saturday outside "Partridges"on the Duke of York Square, a lovely and lively area,there is an open farmers market with glorious food and fresh products . We took Dad there when it first opened and we immediately made a bee line for the fresh fish stall which was in a small caravan like stand. Dad loves fresh fish and proceeded to order fillets of cod and just as the guy was to hand our purchase over , Dad piped in :
" Now fry it up!"...
Over Easter my sister and her husband, who is Italian, ordered and carefully prepared a "capretto"/baby goat for their meal. My Dad who loves to discuss food and cooking listened intently and then he asked:
"So...you brought it home alive and then slaughtered it?"
On my last trip to London I had come a day earlier in order to spend some quality Dad time. So that morning I took him for coffee instead of the usual carers. After he enjoyed his daily latte and scone we started our walk to the elevator. I was ahead of him and as I turned to check on his progress, I found him slowing down and pointing with his walking stick at a 5 penny coin on the end of a discarded tray:
" Miss?"
The lady looks up, giggles, smiles at him and pockets the coin.
"Very chivalrous of you ,you old charmer."
"Well, she was going to forget it!"
" Dad..it's 5p not gold bullion. And why call her Miss? She was easily in her 60's."
" What do you want me to call her? Mama?"
" Mam would have sufficed."
Once we had finished running an errand, Dad was ready to go home:
"Let's cross the road, ya baba..."
"Why Dad?"
"Because there is a Taxi rack...."
We both were desperate to go to the toilet once we got home. As Dad came out and saw me hovering at the door "Tatler" in hand, he exclaimed with glee:
"Oho! This needs a magazine?....Must be a big one!"
With all the pomp and circumstance of the Royal wedding I called Dad that evening to chat about it :
"Ya Baba I am watching the wedding...You want to talk now?...Well make it fast...."
So much for indifference.
When my sister called Dad yesterday, she wondered whether she had woken him from his nap...Dad was awake but....
"Well, I have been snooping...Is it snooping?"
"No Dad, you mean snoozing...."
Many years ago,during Dad's creative period, he would come up with the most interesting pieces:
"Dad? What the hell is that belt you are wearing?"
"Do you like it? I got it off the suitcase strap..."
Following our conversation last night, I enquired whether the "Truck" had resurfaced(*for all new readers,the "Truck" is explained further down...*)
"Obviously I am not their only client (the healthcare service)but I am their BEST...shame on them for sending me her!"
"Dad? First of all: What makes you think you are their best client?"
"I know I am."
"Okayyy....and secondly, there is no conspiracy behind this poor woman you have taken a dislike to.They may have simply assumed she would be a good choice for you and your needs."
"Ya baba, she is part Truck!"
Dad, a few days ago,as he answered the phone:
"Was it you who just rang?"
"No Dad. It could have been your niece Y who has been trying to call you.I told her she had to let it ring a lonnnnng time before you answered. She may have given up."
"Well it did ring a lonnnnng time ."
"Well why didn't you answer if you heard it ring that long?"
"Well when I did...they hung up."
Do you remember the time when George W Bush choked on a pretzel? It made all the headlines,obviously...Dad was perplexed:
"Ya baba,what is a Prestel?"
Of course we were in hysterics:
"It's PRETZEL Dad !"
"Ok ya baba ! But WHAT is it?"
Dad has always had an absolute obsession with padlocks. Having recently crossed the Pont des Arts and seen all the padlocks...I remembered Dad and past conversations:
"I just bought a new suitcase,Dad..."
"Does it have a padlock? No?...Here have this one."
There was always an abundance of padlocks amongst Dad's things,he would mysteriously pull one out of nowhere and hand it to you like a shiny penny. But there were the odd times when he would come a calling...:
"Is that a new suitcase? Does it come with a padlock? Good, can I have it?"
"Dad! Why do you need another padlock? I need this one."
"I want it."
Dad told me that his favourite carer, Imelda will be away for 5 weeks and when I asked him who would replace her he replied:
" I hope they don't send me The Truck...she is huge."
"Is she fat or very tall?"
"Both...she is monumental. If she comes,I'll just send her home."
"Hang on Dad,let me call and find out who they will send.Do you remember her name?...I can't refer to her as The Truck!"
"No I don't....Just call her The Pickup..."
" I'll send an email asking for someone as nice and efficient as Imelda.."
"Yes....better that we don't talk about the heavy stuff."
Dad had an appointment with the chiropodist,who was coming to the flat to tend to his feet:
"Dad,after your shower,don't put on your shoes and socks,because Kay is coming....just put on your slippers."
"Ok, ya baba."
Dad comes into the sitting room all dressed and ready including shoes and socks:
" Dad! What did I tell you?"
"She's going to take them off anyway!"
"Dad,remember way back when, when we used to make fun of this ad on tv and say:" We gonna wha,wha...T..W..A"?
" Not really. But I used to say such funny things."
"Believe me Dad,you still do....
"Dad,it's Reem's birthday today."
" Why didn't anybody tell me?..."
"Dad? We are going to Waitrose,do you need anything?"
"Can you get me some toothpaste, you know Synodino..."
"You mean Sensodyne..."
I went out and bought a grooming and hair clipper kit so complete that I could set up a salon in Dad's sitting room. I was so outraged at the state of his hair and more specifically his eyebrows after a so called appointment at his local Sassoon salon.The man's eyebrows looked like startled starfish,they were curling up upon his brow as though they had just been subjected to shock treatment.Dad just smiled at me and watched as I assembled the necessary odds and ends,indulging me:
"Ok Dad are you ready?I am going to start by trimming your eyebrows."
"What? You are going to do them?No,no,no let us not be hasty! What happens if I wake up tomorrow morning and my eyebrows have dropped off?"
"Dad! This is a brow trim,not an experimental treatment."
Needless to say, I did a fantastic job;Dad was preening in front of the mirror and so pleased with the result.The next morning I tried to go for the hair trim:
"No,no no ya baba...you need to take your time and do it properly.What will I look like if you mess up?"
"A darn sight better than you do now,Dad."
He has an appointment at Sassoon's in a couple of weeks and my BF has a new grooming kit.
"Ya baba,your watch is really impressive.What is it ?"
"It's a Swatch Dad."
Dad has been having some trouble hearing of late.Usually all it takes is a change of battery and a filter clean on his hearing aid and he is back in action.But every once in a while, his ears need cleaning too...and it is a battle of monumental proportion:
"Dad,did you go to the surgery to get your ears cleaned by the nurse?"
"Yes baba...she did a professional job."
"Well I should think so Dad,she is a nurse after all,not the receptionist!" Chuckle from Dad:
"She cleaned out all the debris...."
My sister was shooting the breeze with Dad the other night and the weather was discussed:
"What is the weather like Dad?"
"It is medium."
"Dad..in all the years you have been watching the news and the weather forecast,have you ever heard them say that the weather is medium?"
"Ok... it is bearable."
"Dad,let me introduce you to 2 little words: hot and cold...."
Just returned from my monthly visit,Dad now sporting a pair of sideburns worthy of any member of ZZ Top:
"I'll shave tomorrow..."
They are still making their way down his face,they'll soon join his beard and he will officially become Clement Freud...
We were watching the final episode of "Masterchef Australia":
"There is a town called Lawyers there...it came up several times.Did you see?"
"Dad...that's not the name of a town,it's the contestant's profession...you see? This one says "student"...
The cold snap continues in England and there is even snow in Central London. My sister was speaking to Dad today wondering how he is managing:
"Is there any snow in London?"
"Yes there is snow in the garden."
"But is there any on the pavement?"
"Yes,yes baba but people are clearing it up when they walk."
" Well be careful when you go out... I guess if you go down Dad, you'll be taking one of the girls with you!"
"Pretty cold in London Dad,are you warm enough in your jacket?"
"Yes,Yes baba."
"Do you need to wear your cardigan just in case?"
"No,no,no...I'll look like a football!"
"Fine Dad as long as you are warm enough...I was just wondering whether you needed to wear layers."
"What am I....a sandwich?"
Dad is completely infatuated with the new Borsalino hat we last bought him:
"It is really something special...a beauty. The colour is fantastic...ya baba it's silver!"
"Dad..it is grey/green."
"Yes! Yes! Grey/green..you are right."
" Cos the day you wear a silver hat will be the day you'll be doing matinees in Cabaret!"
Dad is always inspecting what we are wearing, he will suddenly zoom in on a ring ,watch or jacket and ask where we got it from, if it is new or simply to admire something he has seen a dozen times but simply can't remember:
"What is that on your wrist?"
"A bracelet Dad."
"That piece of string?....you need a telescope to see it."
We were talking to Dad about the 3 different health care workers that he has watching out for him:
"So what do you think of R. and her special diet of nuts,fruits and vegetables?"
"Ya baba..I am sick to death of hearing about her fruits and nuts..."
"What about the Australian girl...are you happy with her?"
"Borno? Yes ...she is very good."
"Dad..her name is Bronwyn."
"No...she calls herself Borno...Borno Bromfeld."
"Dad, Borno isn't even a name! Can you say BRONWYN?"
"Broadwin?...Broadway?..He he he!"
Dad asked me to make a copy of the post I made on Mom as he wanted to read it. As I handed the copy to him, he sat and stared at the page for a while:
"Dad? Have you finished reading it already?"
"I haven't started yet. Frockanrolla?....What is that? " Too hard to use the word "blog" with Dad..I call it my "online journal".
"The name of my journal Dad...just forget about that and read what is underneath ."
"Is that a drawing of me?...How did you get that?...."
Dad called me yesterday in a fluster:
"Baba...nobody told me we had to change the clocks!"
"I'm sorry Dad."
"The desk clock and telephone have the hour changed ...How did that happen?"
"I don't know how that works Dad,but it does,like my cellphone and computer..it doesn't matter,all you now have to do is change your watch."
"I know...and I will.But how did they change?"
"I don't know Dad! I still don't understand how a fax works ! It just did,don't worry about it."
"I thought there was something wrong with my brain."
"How's the weather holding up on your end,Dad?"
"It's steady."
"Lingo from your seafaring days?..."
"Dad...I will be going away with my BF to..."
"I see....... Will you be taking separate rooms?..."
"Absolutely, Dad".
I while back I called to find Dad agitated:
"Dad? What's wrong?"
"Ya baba I am very,very upset....I can't open the cutlery drawer...it doesn't open more than 1 inch."
"For goodness sake Dad,you scared the hell out of me! Just push something in and rattle it around to dislodge whatever is blocking it."
"Ya baba I can't..all I can manage is to open it 1 inch..."
"Dad,it is not a calamity.Ask R. or I. to help you tomorrow morning."
"No,it is ok...I have all I need in the sink.As far as I am concerned it can stay that way. I don't need anything in there and R.has big fingers and it only opens 1 inch..."
" What is the matter with you? Of course it isn't ok and if you say 1 inch one more time I am going to scream..."
We were in London for our monthly visit and one morning Dad emerged from his bedroom looking dapper but rather squeezed into a pair of trousers that haven't seen the light of day for a good many years. Surprised that he even went delving into the unknown depths of his closet since his comfy trousers are purposely left out for easy access, I was rather curious:
"Dad,you look great!..But aren't these trousers a little tight? Wouldn't you rather change into your other ones?"
"No..they took me long enough to get into them."
"I hate to tell you this but there is the beginning of a hole on your left buttock cheek."
Needless to say he remained squeezed in them all day and with the wee gaping of his shirt he had some kind of osmosis going on. The next morning the trousers were spirited away...
One of our cousins was in town for a visit and like his brother,they always come and pay their respects to Dad and supply a much needed diversion from his routine. This time we happened to be there and after our cousin left,Dad looks up to us and says: " He is a big man."
"Well you're not exactly petite yourself,Dad!"
There was some mix up with Dad's doctor appointment and in the melee he ended up going 3 hours earlier than the booked appointment...When I called him that night and he told me about mix up,I was as angry as he was,but he seemed to take it much harder:
"I am boiling!"
"Are you hot Dad?"..weather was quite warm that day in London.
"No.. from nerves! This was the worst day of my life!"
"Come on Dad..this was a botched appointment not a hostage situation."
He did end up seeing his ENT specialist the following morning and his hearing had improved. That night it was my sister's turn to check up on him and to see how he was feeling:
"How did your check up go Dad ?"
"Doct P. is such a kind man. He scratched out all the debris from my ears.
He is like a brother to me...."
Dad cancelled his appointment for a haircut, one I made for him when I was last in London and he didn't bother to reschedule... When we spoke about it last night,
he told me that he would see to it some other time because what was the hurry after all:
"Don't be ridiculous Dad! Your hair looks like a rain cloud and let's not mention the Brezhnev eyebrows... the carer will book another one and that's the end of the story."
This morning the phone rings: "Hello baba! I am dressed and ready. At what time is my appointment at the hairdresser's? My hair is in a terrible state!"
After visiting with Dad for a while, time came for us to leave and join our other halves:
"I don't want to keep you from your beaus"..
"Dad...this isn't Charleston."
"I don't want to keep you from your beaus"..
"Dad...this isn't Charleston."
On our recent trip to London,my sister and I spent time chatting to Dad and in one conversation we were trying to ascertain the age of a certain relative:
"Dad,how old is uncle M? Isn't he older than you?"
"Well , if I am pushing 80.."
"Dad..you are 80, you can stop pushing now ."
"Dad,how old is uncle M? Isn't he older than you?"
"Well , if I am pushing 80.."
"Dad..you are 80, you can stop pushing now ."
One morning a while back I found blood on Dad's pillow , in a wild eyed panic I rushed to him in the living room and said:
"Dad! Didn't you see the blood on your pillow ?... Where does it come from ?"
" That's not blood,baba...it is dirt mixed with a little water ."
"Dad! Didn't you see the blood on your pillow ?... Where does it come from ?"
" That's not blood,baba...it is dirt mixed with a little water ."
It was my sister's turn to call our Dad yesterday and contrary to the lengthy and fulfilling conversation I had with him the day before,it went a little like this:
"Hi Dad...Reem said you spoke to your nephew the other day."
"I did? When was this?"
"I don't know! You're the one who told her!!"
"And ? ...What did he say?"


text:
Student Debt Turns Young People From Borrowing
Neil Shah explains how young people have become more wary of taking on more debt in general as student loan debt has reached record levels. Photo: AP Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the the ... people are racking up stood at levels not seen before Wall Street Journal ... reporter Neil Shah is here to tell us how they're becoming more wary of debt overall ... meal welcome to the use of things for being here this morning thanks to last for some olive startup with the the fears will find student debt and then overall ... well I mean a lot of the focus when it comes to young adults and just ... to define suffered when we talk with young adults to talk about how solvents led by someone under thirty five ... a lot of the focus with young adults is on students ... and student loans which is warranted I mean ... alot is due loans are ... going bad it accretes briefly about ... about almost a trillion dollars of student loan debt compared to two hundred and fifty billion ... about ten years ago so ... it's a problem and that through all of the focus is that the thing is we step back and look at the total picture of ... all the debts that ... you know ... young adults might have ... actually did it has gone down substantially I'm in between two thousand won in two thousand ten ... the figures are we talking about how much has gone down roughly ... um it's gone down from a substantial amount mean time ... to give you a sense of calm ... a young adult who had no student loan debt at all Tokyo the banks would love this person and he's he ... probably would be easy to get credit ... that person on ... a typical person like that and there ... has to wonder what ... their overall that might be like thirty thousand I'm talking just about the non stool and right and that's gone down ten pounds ... and what's so ... in terms of individuals may also and officials personally get to the broader economy with individuals ... it's not actually interesting Lee nephew write necessarily a good thing ... the overall that is is going to meaning he could indicate some things that are ... not so great yet attention except only a good news bad news and the good news is that it's it's good if people have class that ... may be an adult can deal with their student loan burden a little bit better ... if they have less debt look a lot of debt is what got us into the ... housing crash in the ... financial press crisis to begin with so ... that's all good the bad news is that ... it's also kind of a sign of economic weakness essentially incomes might be downright Friday they can take on more than ready to do if you look at household incomes and we're still ... about just ninety two percent aware we were in two thousand ... to it ... in young people to make less ... money in North Oaks of ... postcrisis postrecession it ... if kids aren't making as much money ... a lot of what ... the numbers are telling us is that there be no that and they're a little wary are taking on more debt ... a separate occasion ... to get more data given their incomes on that ... as ... Bill Gates or is it is not super good for the town and bring the broader economy of its American economy powered by consumer spending so what does this mean for the for the American economy I mean it suggests that I'm here at the margin says ... young people spending less can be an oak of a negative factor for the economy ... older older people and high earners to spend disproportionately in a lot of their spending in the U S economy comes from them ... but still give younger people barring last ... time that means they're probably spending less and that does come ... especially with the recovery's slugger says this one that doesn't help ... any new also grateful that this could be a delay rather than a chef not necessary that our generation has overall been far less but that we may just be delaying not borrowing a couple years yet mean there are several reasons why this why young people and share their debt load one is here ... intensely more risk averse ... but I mean there are other factors and a ... lot of ... demographic work suggests that young people are putting off marriage ... home buying ... been mortgage debt that it's possible that in a few years time this entire generation has all the things that the most borrow and spend ... aam ... five years down the line ... there are other factors to mean a lot of ... them actually like eucalyptus trees foreclosures in bankruptcy ... mom and so that can actually reduces them ... mortgage debt which is a big part of overall that there are other factors involved but ... one thing that's interesting another factor is ... tight credit standards if you're young you get a lot of steel and that and it's hard to get along whats interesting is that even with all of that ... aam ... even young ... adults with no student or are shedding their debt ... car loans ... and mortgages ... the current wonderful meal shopping is so much for joining the fun ... to tell the story on the front page of The Wall Street Journal as well as on WS J dot com


text:
Hello Dota 2 Dev support team,
could you please help me out.
1. I created a lobby Custom Lobby -> Create (Server Luxembourg) -> Start Game.
2. Then I am trying to download the lobby game, but I only see the "download replay" button and when I press it it doesn´t download the game.
3. When I go to Watch -> tournaments -> Uprise Champions Cup (a tournament with games being played today) -> Effects vs Burden United and click on "download replay" I can download and watch it.
As you can see here on this picture:
Left side: My lobby game, can´t download it.
Right side: The tournament game, can download it.
What´s the problem? Why is it not working? I tried it here on my smurf. One month ago I tried the same on my main account and on both I am unable to download lobby games that I created, but I am able to download tournament games on both just fine.
Please help me out I really want to watch the lobby game replay.
Kind regards,


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Play as a small goldfish with an insatiable appetite. After being overfed by your owner, escape into the ocean and eat bigger and bigger entities. Eat prawns, turtles, sharks, submarines, houses, and more! How big can this goldfish get?
Version: 1.0.0Play as a small goldfish with an insatiable appetite. After being overfed by your owner, you'll escape into the ocean and begin to eat everything that you encounter.
License: Free To Try $19.99
Operating System: Windows
Homepage: www.dingogames.com
Developed by:
The more you eat, the bigger you get! Eat shrimp, turtles, sharks, submarines, houses, airplanes, and more!
In addition to the goldfish, you can also play as a dolphin and a shark. The dolphin starts off as an overworked aquarium star, forced to jump through flaming hoops for food.
He escapes from captivity by eating his way through the aquarium and taking revenge on his trainer. The shark is the final playable character, an artificial fish created by scientists to save Earth's oceans.
It uses self-replicating nano-technology to consume everything in its path and convert their matter into its own. There's no telling how big this shark will get.
Tasty Blue features over 50 levels in the main story mode of the game. There are also 15 more challenging bonus levels to play after the main game has been completed.
The levels are spread across three diverse environments in the game: temperate, tropical, and arctic.
Tasty Blue can be played by two players on the same computer! This cooperative mode is extremely fun to experience with a friend.
Options allow for split screen (horizontal or vertical) or shared screen (this provides more screen space but constrains the movement of players together).
Get Tasty Blue and eat everything in the ocean!


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Robert Browning#32 on top 500 poets
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Overhead The Tree-Tops Meet
Overhead the tree-tops meet,
Flowers and grass spring 'neath one's feet;
There was nought above me, and nought below,
My childhood had not learned to know:
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