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IT WAS TWELVE-TEN A.M., and Dayklan Incorporated's newly-launched Spaceborn Imaging Satellite (SIS) rose over the eastern horizon. What its electronic payload was programmed to see, record, and relay, it saw, recorded, and relayed, despite the fog at ground level.
Unluckily, for those scientists monitoring on the planet's surface, the competition's SIS had made this very same pass sixteen months before, which meant The Mentlic Group had already mapped, and acted upon, whatever the mineral resources as detected, color-coded, and spewed out on read-outs from the banks of computer link-ups below.
DANE WILCOX SET HIS TRAVEL CLOCK for a one-thirty a.m. alarm, and he dozed until seconds before the buzzer went off.
At the Machu Picchu hotel sink, he splashed his face with water that he wouldn't drink on a bet. He paid little notice to his mirror-reflected black hair, black eyes, dimpled cheeks, and cleft chin, which all came together in a rugged boyishness that belied his thirty-two years. He was no more immune than the next guy to the good-looks of other people, but he'd always considered his own physical attractiveness a superficiality.
He bundled up in a llama-wool vest that he'd bought in Cuzco. He exited his room quietly and made his way through the deserted lobby and out the front door.
Well-honed reflexes told him, without seeing or hearing other evidence, that he wasn't alone. The adrenaline, spontaneously released throughout his system, produced an attractive flush and a sheen of sweat that high-lighted the contours of his cheeks and jaw line.
"I'm sorry," sheapologized. "I thought you saw me."
Saw her? Did she think he was a bat?
She sat in the dark, not even the glow of a cigarette to say here I am. People weren't so easily spotted since the link between smoking and cancer had re-popularized chewing gum.
She was lucky he hadn't blown her and her chair right off the patio and over the escarpment. Dane had reached for his SIG 49. Only intuition had stopped him. This wasn't, after all, an official battle zone. Someone out here, even at this time of night, didn't necessarily mean beware the enemy.
"Did I look startled?" he asked.
"Are there extensive Inca ruins on this mountaintop?" she answered indirectly. Her accompanying laugh was low and throaty. A smoker's laugh, before cigarettes became more dangerous than sticks of dynamite. Sexy.
Dane's eyes were better adjusted; it was no longer as dark as it had originally seemed. There was a luminescence to the fog overflowing the Urubamba Gorge. Whiffs of vapor danced here and there, disappeared to materialize in different places and shapes. Moisture pinpricked his skin. Here were all the ingredients every spook flick could have asked for, and more.
The woman was blonde and well-tanned. No spotlights needed to tell any of that. She had nice legs, too; they were encased in tight-fitting trousers, the cuffs of which were tucked into shiny black riding boots.
"I assumed I was the hotel's only insomniac," Dane excused his late-night appearance on the patio.
"It's the air," she rationalized for him, "or lack thereof. The latter knocks some people out. Others.... "She shrugged. "Maybe, between us, we tipped one cup of coca tea too many. You know the spiel? Have one. Have two. On no account, Mr. and Mrs. Tourist-in-Peru, have three!"
He laughed. No one had ever actually officially given him those de-rigueur instructions for combating altitude sickness, but it was standard fare, used by every tour escort who ever rode roughshod over every tourist group herded through Machu Picchu on an assembly-line basis, in and out in four-hours flat: poor old folk suffering from soroche. Gasping for breath. Asking for a bit of pure oxygen divvied up like precious elixir from portable tanks. Splitting headaches. Nausea. Saved from death only by a whirlwind schedule that had them back to lower elevations in no time.
Coca tea looked sickly green and tasted even worse than it looked; Dane never had experienced the reputed euphoria of an overdose.
She motioned to a vacant chair at her commandeered table.
He checked his watch. He didn't have the time for meaningless chit chat, or whatever. He had an appointment to keep within the pea-soup fog.
"Symptoms of soroche tell me I'd better hit the sack if I want to be standing in the morning," he excused.
"I would have thought you'd be acclimatized by now," she surprised. "Doesn't sickness come from being up and around one's first day in?"
He tried to read something into that. He warned himself against paranoia. It was no big deal: her knowing that he'd been at the hotel for more than one day. Any waiter could have told her; which, it turned out, had been the case.
"Pedro served me lunch today and said you'd been here three days. I actually made it a point to ask, since you looked too fresh for your own good."
There was something curiously sensual about the way she said fresh.
"You planning to be here for awhile?" he asked. If Roger were out there, Roger could just wait. He'd kept Dane waiting. Turnabout was fair play. This woman was far more inviting than the geologist.
"I'm hoping to stay here long enough to adjust well enough to the altitude to see the sights without an accompanying headache," she answered.
"I read this romance novel," she said. "Beyond Machu. Ever hear of it?"
What was she thinking! He didn't read that stuff. He'd never met a man or woman, before now, who'd willingly admit to reading it, either.
"Two men, believe it or not, Machu Picchu, and love on this very mountaintop."
"You don't say," he said lamely.
"I said to myself: Self. I'm going there. And here I am. Sure enough, here's a handsome man. Tell me you don't have another handsome man awaiting you in the wings."
He echoed her laughter. He couldn't help it. He didn't need genius IQ to know she was putting him on.
"Obviously, the lack of oxygen makes me giddy," she apologized.
She got up and was shorter than he'd thought. She came to his mid-chest; that made her around five-five. She extended her hand for his; no talons on this matter-of-fact lady; no bitten-to-the-quicks, either.
Suddenly, he was sorry they were parting.
Her handshake was firm. She smelled of some exotic flower. Heady stuff: her touch, her perfume, the night mist, the exotic mountain-top setting. Maybe that romance author knew something after all.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked and smiled as if she'd like just that. Some women made, I'd like a loaf of French bread, please, sound sexy: this one had the knack.
If he didn't know her name, he had all intentions of finding out. She beat him to the punch: "Helen Mallory." It could as well have been Helen of Troy: the face and body to launch those thousand ships.
Dane would have introduced himself, but she beat him to that, too: "And you're Dane Wilcox." Her lips were pale pink. Their natural color? Her teeth were small and pearly white. Would such teeth nibble at his lips if he kissed them? "The waiter told me you were one of us special ones who hang around longer than the normal in-and-out-the-same-or-very-next-day tourists."
Did the waiter know of Dane's nightly strolls? Was that how Helen happened to be there?
"Maybe you can spare a few minutes, come daylight, to show me around?" she suggested and let her hand stay in his until he reluctantly freed it. Her eyes sparkled and caught moonlight, or starlight--anyway, whatever the light that filtered in through the fog. Her eyes were some light color. Maybe blue, maybe green, maybe grey. "My spy tells me you've been to the high Huayna terraces. See any snakes along the way?"
He shook his head. "BEWARE OF SNAKES! however, is on one of the signs up there."
"I hate snakes," she said. "I hate spiders. I climb on a chair at the first sign of a mouse."
That had to be an exaggeration. She looked and sounded like she could take care of herself. Beautiful didn't necessarily equate with helplessness.
"I eat breakfast early," he said. "You?" He might as well make his stay--and hers--as pleasant as possible. He had nothing to do until Roger showed. If Roger showed; there were no guarantees.
"Starting tomorrow, I eat breakfast early," she said.
She smiled again and brushed by him. She left a trace of perfume; it lingered within the strands of mist set into motion by her departure.
Dane had his exit along the pathway memorized. Good thing, too, because he was late, and it was easy to walk off the edge, mistaking cloud for solid ground. A long fall. Condors could, and did, soar between him and the bottom, in clear weather looking like specks of dust in the vortex of a drain as they did so.
It was uphill to the gate where, every day, an indigenous Indian collected entrance fees. The Indian, though, disappeared when the transient tourists, at precisely two-thirty, headed down the Hiram Bingham Road to catch the three-o'clock train out of there. After that, permanent special hotel guests had full run of the ruins, without paying a sol.
There weren't that many overnighters; the rustic hotel could boast only thirty-one rooms. To coax more tourist traffic, die-hard capitalists had successfully out-lobbied conservationists for the bigger hotel whose skeletal remains were rotting on the nearby rock foundations found, too late, to be too soft to support them. Nature had triumphed where ecologists had failed.
There were times when it was easy for Dane to imagine he was alone on this mountaintop. Not a soul in sight. Not a human sound. Like now. Except, now was different, because he couldn't tell he was on a mountaintop. There was no sign of the deep hole to his right. Fog filled it, overflowed it, and piled high above it. Wet. No hint of the preceding balmy day. Sunset dropped mercury, like a lead balloon, to freezing and below.
Fog-parenthesized Inca masonry appeared on his right. It was a wall capped by thatched roof. The stones were ancient and without mortar. Thin paper couldn't be squeezed between the joints. The roof was modern: a convenience for tourists who wanted to see the ruins from cool comfort during the heat of Peruvian summers. Only die-hard archaeological enthusiasts ventured into the panoramas beyond the rest hut. Tonight, there were no such people and no such view.
Grass flowered droplets of distilled moisture and sprouted where foot traffic was never heavy enough to keep even this frailest of growth beaten down. The wet streaked Dane's boots and then reformed as crystal-like beads on wax-saturated leather.
He was on one of the hundreds of terraces layering the mountain. They held the top soil once carried in buckets from the valley by a now lost race of people. What once grew potatoes and maize now grew moss and weeds.
A gust of wind smacked Dane's face with a dollop of wetness. His cheeks stung from the blow. His eyes watered. This wasn't a place to be savored at night, except by a masochist. Far better by day, sunlight glinting off greens, grays, and blacks. Lovely, then. Peaceful, then. One could even imagine Incas, then, living here while Pizarro ransacked other Inca citadels and toppled Inca gods.
Now, though, it was night, and Machu Picchu was habitation more attuned to the dead than the living.
He stopped and listened. Hearing what? Roger?
Tonight, he actually wasn't expecting him, and he wasn't sure just why.
He heard a pebble. Freed from its matrix by water expanded-to-ice by low temperatures in some hairline crack, the stone, like a marble, cascaded from one terrace to the other, finally taking that final silent leap into the void of the gorge. No one hearing the first click of such a stone bouncing upon stone would likely hear its final shatter far, far below.
Dane reached the altar where some guides insisted Inca priests had once conducted bloody human sacrifices. Other experts pooh-poohed the notion. In the end, did Dane really care?
Where was Roger if he wasn't here?
Dane should have stayed with Helen. He enjoyed her company.
He was cold, and he was tired.
Another sound. No going, going, going, going, gone of a pebble this time. An I-am-out-here kind of noise. Roger suddenly where he was supposed to be? Helen deciding not to accept Dane's first refusal?
"Hello?" It was a line Dane borrowed from horror movies. Cue the fog. Cue the wind. Cue the monster. Cue the jerk waiting to get his from the mad slasher, the ax murderer, the zombie cannibal, the werewolf, the vampire, the thing from outer space or Black Lagoon. So, what would your everyday hot-to-spend-a-few-days-at-Machu-Picchu tourist ask in Dane's place? Assuming an everyday tourist was dumb enough to wander the fog of this potentially dangerous mountaintop at this hour of the early morning.
"Isn't there a Sandburg poem about fog creeping in on little cat's feet?" It was impossible for Dane to tell from where someone asked that question. The fog distorted as well as concealed.
They were playing big-boy games here, and Dane followed the rules: "I don't know if it was Sandburg." That was his part of the prearranged greeting/response code. "I do believe, though, it was cat's paws, not feet."
"Mind coming over this way? I've had a hard go of it."
"Keep making sounds," Dane instructed.
"La, la, la," the answer was unenthusiastic.
Dane spotted him against the Inca wall. "What in the hell happened to you? I'd guess run over by a semi if there were one within a thousand miles."
"What didn't happen to me?" He had a makeshift bandage around his head. It was slung low over one eye. What there was to be seen of his face was scratched and puffy. His clothes were rejects from some ragbag. "We had trouble," he said; it sounded like the obvious understatement it was. "Chimchuck, I'm afraid, had even more of a bad time of it than I did. Seems we were expected."
Dane slipped off his vest, but his offer was refused. "Someone might have spotted you in that," he was reminded. "It wouldn't do for me to show up someplace wearing it."
"You won't show up anywhere, period," Dane forewarned, "if you die of exposure."
"I'm fine." His teeth chattered accompaniment. "Actually, I'm fond of the cold. No bugs, no sweat. I've had enough of both of those to last me a lifetime."
"What happened to Chimchuck?"
"As I said, they got him." He shuddered. "What about you? Anything suspicious at this end?"
"Not that I've noticed." Was Helen-of-Troy-on-the-patio something out of the ordinary?
"Well, count your lucky stars." He fished into his pants pocket for three small stones. "There were larger ones," he said, "but I ejected them, one at a time, along the way. Surprising how a mere few ounces can come to seem virtual tons after a few days of lugging them on the trail."
Dane took a good look at what he'd been handed. "So, these are what all the fuss is about." They looked as if he could have picked them up anywhere.
"It's blood-red-resolution matrix, nevertheless," the battered man confirmed. "A whole formation of it is laid down atop a sedimentary deposit of common garden-variety blue. So said the spectrometer which color-coordinated that message. By the way, if anyone asks, I abandoned the spectrometer during my hasty exit."
"What do you do now?" Dane's first guess would be die.
"Head down the Hiram Bingham to the train depot. Take the first train out. Might even keep them off your tail for awhile, but I wouldn't count on it. These people were not happy to see us. They were less happy to see me get away from them. You armed?"
"Swiss. Nine mm."
"Just don't lose your gun. Those rocks I just gave you may look like nothing to you. They may look like nothing to me. They may be nothing. But there are people out there doing an awfully lot to keep Dayklan Incorporated from getting a close look-see."
Dane slipped the stones into his vest pocket.
"Sure you wouldn't like this vest?" he offered one more time. The guy didn't look as if he'd survive the night.
"You just worry about getting the merchandise to Cuzco and to Gregory."
"I could come back and pick the vest up from you before sunrise," Dane tried again.
"Look, I do appreciate your concern. I've just reached a point where I want to pass on this commitment and be done with it. If I never see Peru again, it'll be too soon."
"First thing I'd do, if I were you, is find a doctor," Dane diagnosed.
"And the second is take a long vacation."
Reluctantly, Dane headed back to the hotel, alone. He was brought up short by muffled sounds suddenly evident in the shadows just left behind him.
Reflexes turned him. Simultaneously, common sense warned him to get out of there before someone kicked him over the precipice.
Nonetheless, he went back.
No need to check Roger for a pulse. Dane knew death when he saw it, and this premature death could be blamed on Roger's suddenly cut throat.
Even as he contemplated the whereabouts of Roger's killer or killers, he was grabbed from behind. A rope was slipped around his neck, a knee placed firmly to his spine. There was no space for his grappling fingers between the rope and his throat.
He tried elbow jabs into hard-as-steel muscle--with little success.
He needed to access the gun he wore in the small of his back. The SIG 49 could take out an assailant bigger than this one. Trouble was, he couldn't find it.
He'd have to rely on self-defense, pure and simple.
He wanted to scream for help: there were no heroes in foxholes or at times like this. He wasn't James Bond. Nothing, however, was coming out of him but breathless gasps.
Whatever had possessed him to think he could handle this assignment?
His end was near. It didn't take long at an altitude over nine-thousand feet, where oxygen was at a premium under the best of circumstances, to give up the ghost. All it took was this chokehold held for a few seconds longer, and that was all she wrote!
He never was sure what he did, or how he did it, but he lucked out, because his attacker suddenly produced a music-to-Dane's-ears what-have-you-done-to-me groan.
Still alive, Dane collapsed to both knees. His spine telescoped in the process, but what was a bit more pain?
He continued his pitiful gasps for air, surprised to be alive.
He wanted and needed his gun. Too bad it had chosen that particular time frame in which to be somewhere else. Where?
He made an additional effort to pull himself together. There was no one out here to do him any favors. He had to take stock, make plans, execute, figuratively and literally. He'd been up against worse and had survived on more than just well-conditioned body and acute reflexes. He'd used his good old Wilcox brain, and he could use it again, if it wasn't as fucked up by oxygen deprivation as the rest of him.
Maybe his assailant never had any intentions of killing him. Maybe the attack was defensive, triggered by Dane's sudden (and unexpected?) reappearance. Maybe pigs could fly and cabbages were kings.
All he could hear was his own breathing; he held his breath. Were those disgusting sounds his? Was that more ice-loosened scree scattered by Dane's fleeing assailant? Anyone putting bets on Dane's wishful thinking?
Finally, though, it dawned on him that whoever had jumped him was gone back into the shadows. That realized, he checked for the rocks in his vest pocket.
They were still in place.
Feeling the worst for wear, he relocated Roger's body.
Roger's pockets were turned inside-out. Stones looked for but not found? To what conclusions?
Quite by accident, he literally stumbled over his gun. Had it dropped of its own volition, or been discarded by the mystery man after a skillful disarming of Dane?
Dane took more rational stock and decided he'd not come out as badly as he might have. What's more, the transfer of the stones, from Roger to him, had been successful. Score points for his side.
HE DIDN'T NEED TO SEE HELEN'S six-a.m. expression to know something was up.
"Have you heard?" she asked and looked even prettier in daylight; there was something decidedly favorable to be said of green-eyed blondes who tanned well.
"I'm just up and out." Dane ached in muscles he hadn't thought he had any more.
"I'm the one who found his body, can you believe it?" She shuddered. "It was not particularly pleasant, let me tell you."
Dane knew, without further elucidation, that his exercise in hide-Roger's-body-until-I-can-get-out-of-here had been for naught. He might as well have saved his time and energy. Nevertheless, he asked: "Found whom?" Company Couriers were given acting lessons for times just like this.
"They don't seem to know the whom. There's an inspector on his way from Cuzco to investigate."
"Why don't we get some coffee," Dane suggested, "and you can fill me in."
Readily, she hooked her arm with his and let him lead her to a patio table.
Dane wondered if Roger, dragged out of concealment, was now in the hotel freezer.
He motioned for a waiter (Pedro?) who was more interested in discussing events with his fellow employees than in taking another breakfast order. Dane's look expressed the opinion that coffee had better be forthcoming or else. That accomplished, he turned his full attention back on Helen. "Now, about this body of yours?"
"Like what you see, do you?" She sat straighter to put her already nice breasts into even better display.
"I meant the body with the.... "He almost pantomimed a slit throat, but slit throat was far more information than he should have had at the moment. "...obvious problem."
"Oh!" Her feigned disappointment provided a sexy pout to her sensuous mouth.
"Not that your body has escaped my attention," he complimented.
"Thanks, but I know what I must look like this morning. What's more, I never look my best after a night like last night when I don't sleep as well as I should. Restlessness was what got me up with the chickens. Up even before the kitchen help, I strolled off to kill some time and ran across this huge bird; you know, a.... "She seemed to be searching for just the right word or words to describe and convey the horror of that moment of discovery.
"A condor?" Dane suggested. Bloody scavenger probably smelled the blood before the sun even came up.
"Not that it paid me any mind." She folded her arms on the table and leaned across.
"Not the best way to start a morning." Dane was talking about his morning. He had expended a lot of time and effort to hide Roger, apparently all for nothing.
"Definitely not romantic," she concluded.
"So, how about some sight-seeing to take your mind off the macabre before this inspector arrives to occupy all our free time?" Dane suggested. "Although I do have to make a phone call, first."
"You're allowed one."
He would have called Gregory the night before, but there was no cell-phone service, and the hotel switchboard closed at nine. This morning, the latter had, likewise, been absent its operator who was chatting up, with cohorts on the verandah, the morning's unusual-to-say-the-least occurrence, until Dane insisted the woman come inside and perform the service for which she was being paid.
"Girlfriend, or wife ... needing the telephone reassurances?" Helen asked when Dane made his reappearance.
"My mother's sister's husband's cousin, actually." If the best lies were the simple ones, he was off to a bad start. "He's in Cuzco, and I promised to catch him for dinner. Your discovery of the body gave me a good reason to beg off. It wouldn't look too good, my scooting off from here, just as the inspector arrives. I suppose we're all suspects."
"Are we?" Ah, the sounds of such pure innocence!
"Not too many of us special ones were up here last night," Dane reminded.
"Who says the guy wasn't killed during yesterday's turistas swarm? I can't imagine his killer sticking around to answer questions, can you?"
Dane liked the way this woman thought.
"There aren't any trains after three," he was loathe to remind. "It's a mighty long walk out of here. Maybe the murderer didn't have any choice but to stick around."
"I can't believe anyone would be so stupid. Would you kill someone and then stick around?"
"Guess not."
"Of course you wouldn't. Neither would I. Far easier to arrive at Machu Picchu under the cover of a crowd, commit the deed, and exit under cover of the same crowd headed out on the three-o'clock train. If you ask me, this inspector is headed here after the proverbial horse is long gone through a barn door left open way too long."
"Wouldn't the dead man's tour group have missed him?" Dane played Devil's Advocate.
"Who says the dead man or his killer came with any group?"
"Are you sure it's not mysteries you read, instead of romances?" he teased her.
EVEN AFTER HIS FEW DAYS on the mountain, Dane hadn't tired of the view--in the sunlight--as he took Helen to explore some of it.
The awesome Urubamba Gorge plunged steeply and bottomed out in the rusty brown of the-river-still-carving. The railway paralleled the river, below, in semblance of a roadway: deceptive in that there were no roads connecting this place to civilization. The Hiram Bingham, named after the U.S. senator who discovered the Inca ruins, was an independent meander scar on the mountain, with a visible start and finish, which was used for the convenience of tourists wanting up the mountain from the station in the gorge. Before vans were shipped in by rail, it was leg-power, or the back of an ass, that was required to get the curious up top.
The name Machu Picchu was a misnomer, since it was the more picturesque Huayna Picchu that hogged all the travel posters.
Dane led Helen in a beeline toward the ancient Inca altar. She stopped him before they got there. "I've already seen enough of what's farther off that way."
"Ah, the body, you mean?" He feigned complete innocence.
"The hotel manager says it has to be left where it is until the authorities arrive. I informed him as to how there was a buzzard already destroying vital evidence, even as we spoke. He assured me someone would be sent to keep the birds away. I'd just as soon not find out if he's been true to his word." She shaded her eyes and gazed skyward. "Especially since the local condor population does seem to be off somewhere."
"Actually, they don't become all that active until rising temperatures provide them with enough updrafts for gliding." At the same time, Dane wondered why one greedy bird had lucked out. While he was counting his bad run of luck, he might as well add: why had Helen picked that particular morning for a pre-breakfast stroll?
"It is beautiful up here, isn't it?" she said. "During the day," she qualified and posed on the edge of an Inca-made outcropping that overhung the valley. "Who'd ever dream any and all of this being here, last night, what with all that fog? Genuinely spooky in the dark, isn't it? Stereotypical atmosphere for a murder. Shades of Macbeth and all of that."
"Shakespeare, now, is it? Your reading habits are truly catholic."
"Well, Los Angeles isn't exactly the literary wasteland some people imagine. For every movie I saw, my parents insisted I read one book."
"Smart parents."
"Well, I won't say I thought them anything but aggravating at the time, but I've since amended my opinion. These days, I see far more of the printed page than I do of pictures on the screen."
"When you're not busy traveling, you mean?"
"This is really my very first trip of any note." She stepped back from the edge of the precipice and joined him to head other than toward the body. "Even so, I filled my suitcase with trashy best-sellers. How was I to know I'd run across that hoped-for mystery man and that never-expected corpse?"
Dane stepped back to let her precede him through a gauntlet of overturned stones.
Sunlight caught in her hair and provided a white halo.
He came abreast, and they walked that way for a few more yards. He would have asked what she did for a living--she seemed like a woman who could hold her own--but such an inquiry invited reciprocity. Granted, he had his Company cover story down pat, based on truths and half-truths, and downright lies, but he hadn't yet reached the point where falsehoods of any kind rolled off his tongue as freely and with the glibness his job sometimes--this time--demanded.
Helen volunteered information on herself: "I lucked out, during my sophomore year in college. Rather, between my sophomore and junior years, when I worked at a boutique where Liz Valum came around one day with some of her things." She paused--maybe expecting name-recognition but not surprised when Dane seemingly wasn't all that knowledgeable of a presently really big name in women's fashion. "I thought Liz's stuff was wonderful, but my opinion wasn't shared by the store owner, much to the owner's ultimate chagrin--especially since the owner is no longer in business, and I've just retired on my share of returns from loans I made Liz, from a small inheritance, which kept Liz from starving during some of her lean years."
"Retired, you say?" Dane was genuinely impressed. Without asking, he was sure Helen couldn't be older than twenty-nine.
"Oh, not forever-and-ever-amen retired," she quickly qualified. "No matter how many mystery men, romantic locales, and dead men in my life, I need something more. I just haven't decided which of several routes to go. My association with Liz is a tough act to follow, but I'm not anxious to become involved with Revlon who bought her out, although they've extended an offer. I'm more geared to one-on-one relationships. How about you?"
He'd already mentally rehearsed his spiel about running a guide service in a wilderness area of Washington State. Actually, his brother ran it, although their dad had legally left it to the both of them. Dane was supposedly in Peru scouting out the possibilities of international expansion--à la Sobek. In truth, his brother complained about too much business already, and Dane had no desire to baby-sit tourists to Machu Picchu or to anywhere else.
As it turned out, he was saved from immediate prevarication by the bullet that hit Helen and sent her barreling toward the lip of the gorge.
Dane dropped automatically into a crouch and drew his gun. He wasn't sure Helen wasn't, even then, airborne in the abyss until he caught a glimpse of the bottom of her foot.
He got no response, so he zigged left, then right, not reassured by the sudden lack of gunfire. A barrage of slovenly aimed bullets didn't kill as readily as one very carefully aimed one. He could picture himself skillfully being lined up in some unseen gun's deadly crosshairs.
Dane would bet his paycheck from this assignment, and his Company pay wasn't chicken feed, that the bullet that hit Helen had been meant for him. He didn't need sophisticated computations, incorporating bullet origin, trajectory, and angle of impact, either. Having been frustrated, Dane's assailant of the night before was merely back to finish off Dane in the bright light of the new day.
"Dane?" Helen was weak-voiced.
"How badly are you hurt?" He was more distraught by her injury than by Roger having bought the farm. If he knew Helen only slightly better than he'd known Roger, she was an innocent bystander. Roger had known the risks and had taken his chances. Helen was merely a young woman on holiday. She wanted good times and good memories. She hadn't come halfway down the globe to find a dead body or become one.
"My arm is bloody," Helen diagnosed, "but I think the bullet went right through. How about you?"
"Feeling better now that I've heard from you."
"Who's shooting at us?"
"Whoever: a definite crazy," Dane identified without identifying. No need to try and explain just how he knew the shooter's real motivation. Even if Helen saw the rocks he was now carrying with him, she wouldn't believe all the fuss being made over them; Dane hardly believed the fuss himself.
"Is the shooter gone do you think?" Helen asked and sounded better than seconds before.
"Don't stand up to find out," Dane warned.
"Would you believe my mother wanted me to go to Hawaii? I told her a tanned beach-boy was not my idea of romantic."
"Think of the guys you can now impress with the scar you're likely to end up with from that bullet wound."
"Do, please, consider yourself welcome at the head of that line."
Someone shouted: "Hello!"
"Hello, yourself!" Dane shouted back to whom he considered one very cheeky gunman. Except....
"I think that's Mr. Candly," Helen ventured, "and I can't believe he's our shooter."
"Mr. Who?" Dane wanted to know.
"I thought I heard gunfire," Mr. Candly yelled.
Dane saw him, now. An elderly Englishman, probably in his late sixties. Prone to tweeds and a walking stick, the latter with an eagle-head handle carved from a hunk of ivory that would have had environmentalists' hackles standing on end. Distinguished looking, if anyone should ask. Right at home at a grouse hunt, even if he didn't obviously appear to have a gun. What's more, it hadn't been any sixty-year-old man who had physically taken on Dane the previous evening.
"Someone shot Miss Mallory," Dane said.
"Surely not!" Mr. Candly very well sounded as if he couldn't believe that were really true.
Mr. Candly kept standing ramrod straight. He looked this way and that: an omnipotent Wellington surveying the battlefield. Napoleon would have never found a more perfect target at any turkey shoot.
TWO HOURS LATER, Helen joined Dane at a hotel parapet. Far below, a toy-like train didn't disgorge its usual tourists. All potential sightseers had been detrained in Cuzco to make room for the inspector and his accompanying military contingent who looked ant-like as they all jockeyed to get into the vans that would bring them up the mountain.
"How's the arm?" Dane inquired of Helen.
"The hole will make a nice finger-muff on cold evenings." She offered him her drink. "I don't think alcohol goes with tetracycline."
He took her glass and sipped vodka/tonic.
How long was he going to be stuck on this mountain? There was no leaving prematurely without someone pointing a curious-as-to-why finger directly at his exiting tail.
"Tell the inspector, first thing, that you expect him to call in a qualified doctor to take care of your arm," Dane instructed. "Let that get infected, and you're at risk of ending up dead after all."
"And what exactly do I tell the inspector about your gun--if anything?"
Warning lights went off in Dane's head. "I've carried one ever since a grizzly tried to walk off with me at Rainier National Park, one holiday." An exaggeration, to be sure.
"I see." Convinced? "I couldn't help notice you put the gun away before Mr. Candly saw it. I thought, maybe, well...."
"You thought right." He was glad they had established enough of a rapport for her to think, now, before she acted. "The inspector will point out how there are no grizzlies in Peru." Actually, he knew of no grizzlies in Rainier Park, either.
"I wouldn't want to get you in trouble. You were, after all, defending me, gun-drawn. You might like to know I have no intentions of mentioning you were armed."
"Thanks." The gun was clean, issued out of a Company "store" in Cuzco, but a non-Company inspector would want to know how Dane got it and why.
The vans, with their newly acquired contents, began the winding drive up the hill.
"Maybe we should find you a chair?" he suggested. "You're a woman wounded, remember?"
"And mercy me, I don't think I can take one more step without a gentlemanly arm on which to lean," Helen used her best southern drawl. She batted long eyelashes over expressive eyes and smiled up at him.
They detoured around a small group of standing fellow hotel guests just as one dropped his liquor glass with a crash.
Everyone jumped like dancers of The Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The guy choked. But on what? An olive? An ice cube? The Hotel de Turistas wasn't known for its martinis, and only a very brave man would risk the disconcerting possible medical consequences of drinking the local water--frozen or otherwise.
"Can you talk?" Dane asked. Someone choking supposedly couldn't talk. Ask Dane who, last night, in his grapple on that very mountaintop, had become a leading authority.
"I can't breathe," the guy grunted. Name of Timothy Something-or-other. He'd checked into the hotel immediately after Dane. He'd tried to start up a friendly conversation at the time, but Dane hadn't been anxious to get chummy with anyone.
There'd been something Timothy said, at the time, about backpacking the Inca Road. "I ... can ... not ... breathe!" he repeated, louder and with more emphasis. His face went from blue to dark purple and he wobbled on his feet.
Mr. Potter, at Mrs. Potter's insistence, grabbed hold and proceeded to perform the Heimlich Maneuver, in spite of Dane's warning that you didn't necessarily use it if the subject was coherent; if you did, you risked breaking ribs for nothing. Not that Mr. Potter got in more than one quick squeeze before Timothy converted to dead-weight. Mr. Potter, not up to holding on, but reluctant to let go, collapsed right along with the man to whom he was attempting to give succor. The old man's cry of pain wasn't pretty as his knees hit hard ground and broken glass. Except, no one paid any attention to Mr. Potter; Timothy, the continued star of the moment, began foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog.
Dane looked for something to keep the guy from biting off his tongue. Before he could come up with anything, though, the need for it was over.
Timothy stopped convulsing, went rigid as a poker, then went all limp, and that was that. No need for follow-up CPR or mouth-to-mouth. There was no more prefect example of a dead man this side of Roger Kimlery.
Mrs. Potter fainted. No one paid her much mind, not even her husband who--down on bloodied and bruised knees--had problems of his own.
Someone screamed: it was Mrs. Candly, the way Dane later figured.
Mrs. Simpson's mouth was agape and only capable of making little hissing sounds.
The hotel staff, manager included, stood around wide-eyed, obviously without the foggiest notion as to what to do. Bodies, snipers, deaths, pandemonium, and hysteria, obviously weren't included in any of their areas of expertise.
CAPITÁN RODRÍGUEZ DE MANTÁÑEZ had started out from Cuzco with instructions to investigate a murder at Machu Picchu. En route, he'd been handed a message that there was now, suddenly, a sniper loose on the mountain in question, shooting at--or having shot--two U.S. tourists. Good-bye lucrative U.S. tourist dollars!
At Machu Picchu, he was immediately greeted by one dead man gone purple and sprawled upon the hotel verandah; one woman (dead?) a few feet away from the downed man; another woman wounded; another man down on his knees, wailing like a banshee. That was all before he even got his first glimpse of the bird-pecked corpse (male?) almost totally concealed beneath a rock pile off in the Inca ruins.


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brilliant anime, very serious
This group has been formed to gather the people who enjoy Japanese anime and all of its facets, to salute the people from the land of the Rising Sun.
brilliant anime, very serious
Nice fan manga. I would like to see the next chapters.
I'm pretty sure you already know about Death note, but in case you not, let me tell you that it has one of the best plots ever done. It is a must see. Despite that, the end disappointed me a bit.

subset: commoncrawl


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The African American Experience From Slavery To The Presidency HIST4027
- Academic Session: 2015-16
- School: School of Humanities
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
Short Description
The election of Barrack Obama in 2008 was a groundbreaking event in African American history, and has led many to question whether the United States is now 'post-racial.' This course will examine black history, race relations and gender from the perspective of African Americans: beginning with the emancipation of enslaved African Americans during the Civil War, through the civil rights struggles that began during Reconstruction and continued into the twentieth century, and ending with a discussion of African American culture and politics in the twenty-first century.
Taught twice weekly
Requirements of Entry
Admission to honours in History.
Excluded Courses
Coursework - class essay (2000 words approximately)
Examination duration - 120mins
Coursework - seminar presentation
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
The aims common to all the Department's Honours modules are as follows:
1. the development of the intellectual interests and analytical skills acquired by students during their first two years.
2. awareness of previously unfamiliar methodological approaches, chronological periods and geographical areas by offering a wide and flexible choice of options.
3. to offer the opportunity to develop skills in historical computing, as well as basic IT awareness.
4. familiarity with complex historical debates and interpretations, skill in interpreting primary sources where appropriate, and to inform these discussions with new ideas derived from lecturers' current research.
5. the development of transferable skills by fostering individual initiative, personal choice, group discussion and, where appropriate, problem-solving team work.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ Chart the course of African American history since the Civil War
■ Analyse the changing role of African Americans in US society, politics and culture
■ Articulate the ways in which African Americans have challenged the status quo, and evaluate the extent to which African Americans have been successful in improving their status in the United States
■ Engage with and critically evaluate different historiographical and popular interpretations of African American history and culture


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Geocacher hunts treasure
Natchez — An old coin, small dinosaur and folded up card. While most would considered these things junk, to Tim Eubanks they are pieces of buried treasure. Eubanks is a geocacher, someone who uses a GPS device to find locations where others have hidden small trinkets.
"I loved scavenger hunts as a kid," Eubanks said. "It's only natural that I'd enjoy geocaching."
Eubanks has hunted for caches all over the state of Mississippi.
"A friend of mine got me started in geocaching," he said. "I asked one day why he had a small box of junk and he told me they'd been left by other geocachers for people to find. I asked him when he was going out next and have been hooked ever since."
Web sites dedicated to the hobby list coordinates for caches all over the world. The caches are usually some kind of watertight container that contains a prize. Some contain only small trinkets like the ones Eubanks has found. Others just contain notes from other geocachers.
"I think the appeal of geocaching is that you're like a modern day treasure hunter, except instead of a map you have a GPS unit and coordinates," Eubanks said.
Even though they use GPS devices, the geocachers will sometimes not find the cache.
"Some of the people who place their own geocaches go to great length to make it difficult to find," Eubanks said. "There are a few south of Woodville that I've not been able to find yet, even though I have the coordinates."
Not always buried, caches can be placed in hollow tree trunks or under rocks.
"I remember looking for a cache in Louisiana for almost a whole day earlier this year," he said. "After hours of searching I turned over ordinary looking rock and found it was hollowed out and the cache container was glued to the underside."


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i cant sync any songs from itunes, i have purchased albums and imported my own cds but can't sync them to ipod
If you are using the latest iTunes, you are not alone. My iPod Classics will no longer sync and othjer posters have the same problem as me where it starts to sync but gets in a loop and goes no further than the second song.
Apple needs to fix iTunes.
Retrieving data ...


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Natasha Trethewey
Natasha Trethewey (author page at Amazon) is the author of Domestic Work (Graywolf, 2000) which won the 1999 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. She is the recipient of fellowships from the NEA and the Bunting Fellowship Program of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. She is an assistant professor of English at Emory University. (2001)
AGNI has published the following work by Natasha Trethewey:
|•Drapery Factory, Gulfport, Mississippi 1956
|•Naola Beauty Academy, New Orleans, Louisiana 1943
|•What the Body Can Say


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: [Pokémon]
Some Stars
View Single Post
August 20th, 2012 (8:54 AM).
There's Something About Lamps
Join Date: May 2011
Location: The USA
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Nature: Bold
Posts: 1,283
Thanks for the comment! It's a shame when reviews get lost. I had that happen a few times myself, so I've gotten into the habit of copying my reviews.
I think this chapter has the most affiliation with the title, but my goal for the title is to be thematic rather than so plain and obvious as illustrated here. Still, I did feel the need to mention stars somewhere as I actually did watch the meteor showers as I wrote it. I thought it was only appropriate haha. And yes, Reggie will appear next chapter. I know my story's plot is extremely obscure, but hopefully the next one explains itself better.
I do know that some people prefer to capitalize Pokemon names, but I don't in my stories. Pokemon names are basically the species, and it's like saying dog or cat or cow, which aren't capitalized. I find that Pokemon names are common names rather than anything that deserves to be capitalized. But in reality, it's just a preference.
Again, thanks!
★ Some Stars ★
~ on Chapter Four!
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Windsor, California - United States
Property ID: 7548
Print Page
A game of golf is never far away at WorldMark Wine Country Sonoma County. Adjacent to WorldMark Windsor is the challenging Windsor Golf Course, host to six PGA Nike events. Enjoy a swim in the outdoor pool. Work up a sweat at the fitness center and soak in the hot tub. Go horseback riding through beautiful vineyards. The resort also features a game room, an outdoor children's play area, and a children's pool. Resort offers internet access for an additional fee. Local Municipality Tax Laws require the resort to collect a Local Occupancy Tax upon arrival, and guests are required to pay for the Occupancy Tax on the number of nights listed on their reservations. The daily rate of the TOT Tax is US$8.63 - US$18.83.Check-in Time: 16:00Check-out Time: 12:00Check-in Days: SaturdayImportant InformationMinimum age check-in is 21.No smoking in units: could result in forfeiture of the unit and/or other penalties.Pet Information: Animals are not permitted; could result in forfeiture of the unit and/or other penalties.Security deposit required upon check-in at the resort.Resort cannot honor unit upgrades or moves.Occupancy limits are strictly enforced: could result in forfeiture of the unit and/or other penalties.Fees or deposits are charged for some amenities.Confirmation is required upon check-in at the resort.Credit card imprint required upon check-in at the resort.CALL THE WORLDMARK CENTRAL OFFICE AT 800.457.0103 TO DISCUSS SPECIAL NEEDS.A mandatory occupancy tax of between $9 and $20 per day will be collected at check in.Smoking is not allowed in units.Mandatory fee: Occupancy tax is 9.02 to 19.73 U.S. dollars.Call Worldmark at 877/484-3258 to discuss special needs.


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Corey James Miller (twitter: @pastorofpain)
Position: LB
Height: 6-2 Weight: 252 lbs.
Born: October 25, 1968 in Pageland, SC
High School: Central
College: South Carolina (school history)
Drafted by the New York Giants in the 6th round (167th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft.
Weighted Career AV (100-95-...): 35 (2770th overall since 1950)
Sponsor this page for $5 and help Pro-Football-Reference.com provide this service. Your message will replace this ad.


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Mark Burnett Prods. and AOL are collaborating with DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Features to create the FLUSHED AWAY UNDERGROUND ADVENTURE, DreamWorks first online game with custom animation integration, based upon the animated feature, FLUSHED AWAY, which opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 3, 2006.
Starting in early October, the game will be available for free exclusively at www.aol.com/flushedawaygame. FLUSHED AWAY UNDERGROUND ADVENTURE will offer a series of online challenges, each featuring a different character, setting, or storyline from the film. New character animation will be designed exclusively for the game itself, marking the first time that DreamWorks Animation is expanding the universe of its films by creating an original, totally immersive online environment.
Kids and their parents will compete together to solve individual puzzles and will then be rewarded with digital prizes. The interactive experience leads up to a grand prize sweepstakes during the opening weekend of FLUSHED AWAY.
Mark Burnett Prods., who previously collaborated with DreamWorks on THE CONTENDER and the upcoming show, ON THE LOT. Is developing the game. The collaboration between AOL and Burnett grew out of the companies partnership on GOLD RUSH, the breakthrough interactive event that premieres on AOL in September and involves challenges and clues based on pop culture.
Based on the GOLD RUSH interactive gaming model, DreamWorks Animation ceo Jeffrey Katzenberg and Mark Burnett sought to create an online experience for kids and parents to enjoy together, as well as introduce the characters of the film to an audience in a new and refreshing way.
Katzenberg said, We couldn't be more pleased about teaming up with Mark Burnett and AOL on this revolutionary new online game concept. We believe that the game will stand on its own as an exciting and fun piece of new entertainment. With special custom animation that expands the world of FLUSHED AWAY, the game will be the perfect complement to the moviegoing experience.
FLUSHED AWAY UNDERGROUND ADVENTURE will feature realtime 3D environments that allow the user to take control of the camera as they explore expanded environments of the underground city of FLUSHED AWAY. The game will expand each day, revealing new areas of the 3D world and a new challenge every day.
The media landscape is changing radically," Burnett said. "People are absorbing and interacting with their entertainment content in new and more sophisticated ways, and this is especially true of kids. The next generation of audience members expects and deserves so much from its content, which is why this project is so exciting to me and my company.
Jon Miller, chairman/ceo of AOL, said, " the mini-FLUSHED AWAY universe will get kids and their parents excited about the characters and imagery a month before the movie opens. This is really what the Web is perfectly suited to do."
DreamWorks Animation (www.dreamworks.com) is devoted to producing family entertainment through the use of computer-generated (CG) animation. Utilizing world-class creative talent and state-of-the-art technological capabilities, the company is committed to making two computer-animated feature films a year that appeal to a broad movie-going audience.


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Mike Parry doubles down on Governor Dayton pill-popper accusation: Top 10 tweets
Parry continues to claim he saw Dayton pop 15 or 16 pills during a meeting.
SEE ALSO: Mike Parry says Governor Dayton is a drug addict, pops "15 or 16 pills" during meetings [VIDEO]
Mike Parry won't apologize for calling Gov. Mark Dayton a drug addict. Instead, he's doubling down.
That's right kids -- Parry is standing by his claim that Dayton pops "15 or 16" pills during meetings. And, as you'd imagine, the Twitter-sphere isn't letting the U.S. Congress hopeful get away with uttering such seemingly preposterous statements without giving him grief in return. Below the jump, we take a look at the top 10 Twitter responses to Parry's surprising double-down.
10. Dayton responded to Parry's remarks this morning:
Dayton says he takes meds for depression but not to the level Parry suggested.
-- tomscheck (@tomscheck) August 7, 2012
9. But Parry, asked to clarify his remarks, wouldn't back down:
Parry declines to apologize to
#mDayton. Instead doubles down, says pills were on table. Doesn't *think* they were tictacs.
-- Jennifer Brooks (@stribrooks) August 7, 2012
8. Bob Hume, Dayton's deputy chief of staff, pointed out that Parry was embodying the height of hypocrisy in accusing the governor of being anti-veteran:
@mikeparry 's 2011 proposal SF 1047 includes veterans in an across the board 15% cut.
-- bobhume (@bobhume) August 7, 2012
7. MNGOP Rep. John Kriesel, a veteran himself, took fellow veteran Parry to task:
Classless. RT
@josh_moniz: Parry says Dayton pops 15 to 16 pills when he sitting across from you in negotiations. Says Dayton is scary
-- John Kriesel (@johnkriesel) August 7, 2012
6. After responding to the substance of Parry's allegation, Dayton blasted him:
Gov. Dayton called Sen. Parry's comments the worst form of "gutter politics" and said the claim that he takes 15 to 16 pills is "a lie."
-- tomscheck (@tomscheck) August 7, 2012
5. Mike, man, you're just not helping yourself here:
Mike Parry, who last night accused the DFL governor of popping pills, says the worst thing about politics now is how partisan it is.
-- Jennifer Brooks (@stribrooks) August 7, 2012
4. MinnPost's David Brauer points out that Dayton's pill stash probably would have been in high demand at last night's Brown County MNGOP get-together:
Given the average age of crowd at Brown County fundraiser last night, guessing some attendees popped 15-16 pills listening to Mike Parry.
-- David Brauer (@dbrauer) August 7, 2012
3. The record doesn't seem to help Parry out either:
also unfortunate for
@mikeparry is #mdayton letter back in 5/11 imploring him not to cut funding for veterans.ow.ly/cNN06
-- bobhume (@bobhume) August 7, 2012
2. Allen Quist is enjoying an unfamiliar side of a preposterous statement fiasco:
Asked Quist what he thought about Parry's comments: "I wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole."
-- Heather J. Carlson (@PBhcarlson) August 7, 2012
1. But you know who's really having fun? Tim Walz.
Looks like CD1 GOP is stuck between a rock and a hard place for the primary: Racist and libelous
@mikeparry vs. sexist @allenquist #stribpol
-- Anna Gedstad (@AnnaGedstad) August 7, 2012
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This is my half of a design trade with the talented *Winterfaux
She picked dust as the smell the design should be based from, I hope I did alright even tough it looks more like a Honey Vapor dragon for me
I had a lot of fun designing it and I hope you like it
*Winterfaux can make any changes in the design as she wants.
Go and love the amazing character I got from her:
aaaaaaaaaaw i so want one of these babes~ they are simply amazing~
how much are they?
Thank you for your interest <3
I don't have a set price for them and I think I'll auction a couple more to see which one is the price they would normally sell for, but I calculate it would be something around 15$ or 1200 points or less c:
NO problem, I've been look for designs but really couldn't decide~
Yeah I saw in a previous one you sold it for I think a higher price, thanks a bunch for the info! Hope to catch one~ ^u^
I'm glad that you like them, and I'd be glad you could snag one <3
oh my god these are amazing
Kelirth! This is so gorgeous! Ahh I'm sorry I took so long to reply, wow this is so beautiful, I'm stoked to draw this, thank you so much! <333
I have your design sketched out I just need to actually draw it cx
I'm glad that you liked it <3 And no need to apologize c:
And as I said before, take all the time you want ^^
Your dragons are so majestic ;A; how do you do it! I love it it flows so well as it twists and turns I can't get over your designs, they're just so beautiful!
It looks so beautiful and graceful.
The colours are amazing and the anatomy is very original.
Your dragon designs are wonderful, seriously c:
The colours are amazing and the anatomy is very original.
Your dragon designs are wonderful, seriously c:
Oh my goodness, yet another beautiful dragon.
(Would you be up to do another trade sometime maybe?)
I'd love to trade with you! I'll send you a note as soon as I finish the other design trade I have pendant.
I adore the colors and markings on this! Very nice work! <3


text:
Pixel Chibits COM: Reid by hitogataWatch
©2013-2016 hitogata
sdfgsdfgs SCREEEMS SO ADORABLE OMGGGG thank you so muchg bby ;7; <33333
oooh, this one's cool too ^^
Excellent style, colour choice, and shading. Great work.
What programm do you use to draw pixels?
Cute! The buster sword reminds me a lot of Cloud. ^u^
I Love how you Do Pixel art
Its adorable *-*
Flagged as Spam
I love the way you draw her body like that x3
So awesome! I really love the shading on this, and that contrast! xD
where's reid from?
Awww sooo dorabuuu
Super cute, looks great.
wooo is sooo cute!*A*
Sooo cute. o.o I love the weapon very much.
aaaa i wish i could afford a commission they look so good!
cute!! <3 .o.
Wow, it's so cute and detailed!
Cute ;u; it's so cute.
Beautiful colors and style!
I like this, sword seems a bit short though
It's so cute, I love it! You did a fantastic job
Ahhhh, you are so good at pixelating!
omg how much are your chibi commishes? ;o;
Its really good.
So adorable!
I love your pixel shading omg
How does it cost for a single pixel chibi commission?


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#572 Liberty Global
- Market Cap As of May 2015
- $45 Billion
- Industry
- Broadcasting & Cable
- Founded
- 2005
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Chief Executive Officer
- Mike Fries
- Website
- http://www.libertyglobal.com
- Employees
- 38,000
- Sales
- Headquarters
- London
Liberty Global on Forbes Lists
- #572 Global 2000
- #521 in Sales
- #355 in Assets
- #228 in Market value
Liberty Global Plc is an international cable company that provides cable television and internet services. It connects people to the digital world and enables them to discover and experience its endless possibilities. The company's television, broadband internet, and telephony services are provided through next-generation networks and innovative technology platforms that connect customers who subscribe to services. Its consumer brands include Virgin Media, UPC, Unitymedia, Kabel BW, Telenet, and VTR. The company was founded on June 7, 2013 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. More »
More on Liberty Global
More on Global 2000
China Takes Lead On 2015 Global 2000Liyan Chen, Forbes Staff
Visa Moves At The Speed Of MoneyDaniel Fisher, Forbes Staff


text:
- Horoscopes
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Groton - The president of the Poquonnock Bridge firefighters' union says the union offered concessions to the district board over the disputed 10-year contract but the board rejected them.
Poquonnock Bridge Professional Fire Fighters Association President Kale Kiely said in an open letter that the union offered to reduce the contract by five years so it would end in July 2017; cut its minimum staffing from six firefighters per shift to the current five per shift; eliminate a lieutenant's position and remove the cost-of-living increase for retirees.
"These changes would address the major factors that the district board was concerned with," Kiely wrote. "The district refused to accept this offer."
District Board President Alan Ackley could not be reached for comment Monday.
Board member Ron Yuhas said he attended the session in which the contract was discussed and negotiations were not meant to be made public.
"There were a few things still holding up the bargaining in my eyes," he said.
The concessions would not solve the district's immediate financial crisis because Poquonnock Bridge is using the old contract and yet cannot pay the salaries and benefits for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Taxpayers in May approved a budget of $3.9 million for the coming fiscal year, $700,000 less than the district had this fiscal year.
On July 19, the district board laid off nine firefighters - 36 percent of the department - and Fire Chief Todd Paige said the department would need help dealing with basic emergency calls.
Firefighters were given a 30-day notice before layoffs go into effect next month.
Yuhas said the board had no choice, and will formally notify neighboring fire departments shortly of the district's need for aid.
The layoff of nine of 25 firefighters is in addition to four vacancies in the department. Poquonnock Bridge also employs a chief and fire inspector.
"Eliminating 13 positions from a 31-member department is dangerously irresponsible," Kiely wrote. "Residents need to know that the ability to extinguish fires, rescue trapped occupants, render emergency medical service and numerous other services provided by the fire department have been seriously compromised."
The union has also had to be the "watchdog" for the taxpayers, he wrote. The union has fought with the district for years over issues like running fire engines overdue for repair or replacement and failing to replace the ladder truck, so firefighters can't reach anyone over two stories, the letter said.
Kiely also said the union fought with the district over abolishing fire prevention programs and an attempt to get rid of the box alarm system, the system of red boxes that can be pulled to send a direct signal to the fire department.
Poquonnock Bridge is the largest fire district in Groton and covers 12,000 residents, the business strip along Route 1 and town-owned property, including Groton Town Hall, the Town Hall Annex, Groton Public Library, the town police station, the senior center, an elementary school and the high school.
The department is responsible for protecting more than $704 million of commercial, residential and municipal property based on 2012 figures, Kiely wrote. The layoffs have other costs; one of the nine firefighters to lose his job prepared four federal and private grants that saved taxpayers $1.2 million in safety equipment and federally mandated communication upgrades, he said.
"These firefighters slated to be laid off are not simply numbers as the district board would have people believe," Kiely said. "They are husbands, fathers, taxpayers, coaches, volunteers; they are an integral part of our community."
Firefighters' union seeks injunction on Poquonnock Bridge layoffs
Police identify woman found dead at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital
Developer to build Aldi food market in Groton Shopping Plaza
Barrs appointed chief public defender of New London Judicial District
Trump's open path to nomination causes agony for some in GOP
Sanders, Trump win primary votes in southeastern Connecticut
Egg farm denies access to animal rights activists after fire
Demonstrators force Trump to crawl under fence to reach speech site
New London neighbors prepare to fight affordable housing development


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The Power of Independent Thinking
Ivan Eland on Ranking US Presidents
Recorded: Sunday, October 26, 2014
Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, appears on Fox & Friends to discuss his updated version of "Recarving Rushmore."
To order copies of "Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty," click here.
Experts: Ivan ElandType: TelevisionIssues: Bureaucracy and Government, Civil Liberties/ Human Rights, Culture/ Society, Defense and Foreign Policy, Democracy, Diplomacy and Foreign Aid, Fiscal Policy/Debt, Freedom, Government Power, Government Secrecy, Government Waste/Pork, History (U.S), Nationalism, Political Ideology and Philosophy, Politics, Regulation and Deregulation, Terrorism and National Crises, Trade
Ivan Eland Speaks on Recarving Rushmore at LPAC 2014
Recorded: Friday, September 19, 2014
Senior Fellow Ivan Eland speaks on Americas Presidents at the 2014 Liberty Political Action Conference .
Experts: Ivan ElandType: TelevisionIssues: Constitutional Law, Culture/ Society, History (U.S), Political Ideology and Philosophy, Politics
Ivan Eland on Talibans POW Exchange
Recorded: Saturday, May 31, 2014
Sr. Fellow Ivan Eland appears on Canadas CTV to analyze the recent exchange of an American Prisoner of War for five Taliban leaders held in Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Experts: Ivan ElandType: TelevisionIssues: Civil Liberties/ Human Rights, Defense and Foreign Policy, Freedom, History (U.S), Politics, Terrorism and National Crises
CPAC Interview: Ivan Eland Talks Recarving Rushmore
Recorded: Thursday, March 14, 2013
Video streaming by Ustream
Senior Fellow Ivan Eland interviewed on his book Recarving Rushmore.
Experts: Ivan ElandType: TelevisionIssues: Economic Policy, History (U.S), Politics
Jeffrey A. Miron on Legalizing Drugs
Recorded: Friday, November 20, 2009
Originally aired on 11/20/09 on FoxBusiness.com Live. Jeffrey A. Miron, Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and author of Drug War Crimes, argues in favor of legalizing marijuana and other drugs in the U.S.
Experts: Jeffrey A. MironType: TelevisionIssues: Crime, Criminal Justice/ Prisons, Drugs (Illicit)
Ivan Eland on Fort Hood Shooting
Recorded: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Originally aired 11/5/09 on Russia Today. Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, provides perspective on the shooting at Fort Hood in Texas.
Experts: Ivan ElandType: TelevisionIssues: Crime, Defense and Foreign Policy, Terrorism and National Crises
What President Obama Should Learn from His Predecessors
Recorded: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Part 1 |
Part 2
Part 3
Experts: Ivan Eland, Andrew R. RuttenType: Independent Institute EventIssues: History (U.S), Politics
Ivan Eland with Ron Paul on C-SPAN2s Book TV
Recorded: Sunday, March 15, 2009
Ron Paul interviews Senior Fellow Ivan Eland on his new book Recarving Rushmore.
Experts: Ivan Eland, Ron PaulType: TelevisionIssues: Economic History and Development (U.S.), Economic Policy, History (U.S), Politics


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Tipton County Executive Jeff Huffman, center, recently spoke to the Covington Lions Club about the state of the county. Program chairman W.T. Bailey, right, introduced Huffman and Shelvie Rose is club vice president. Courtesy photo
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text: ICPSR Metadata record for Cross-National Time Series, 1815-1973 ICPSR ICPSR metadata records are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/). Cross-National Time Series, 1815-1973 Banks, Arthur S. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research ICPSR 1992-02-16 7412 doi://10.3886/ICPSR07412.v1 This study is a longitudinal national data series for 167 nations. The present dataset represents an expansion both of temporal coverage and of substantive variable categories from the earlier CROSS POLITY TIME SERIES (ICPSR 5002) by the Center for Comparative Political Research, State University of New York (Binghamton). General areas included among the variables now available are demographic, social, political, and economic topics. Cases in the data collection represent nation-year observations. UniverseScheme07412 ICPSR.XVI.B economic systems national identity nations political history political systems social attitudes Global 1815 1973 ICPSR AVAILABLE. This study is freely available to the general public. The original collector of the data, ICPSR, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Rearch ICPSR Ann Arbor MI http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ email@example.com


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- 110Promote
Throw Pillow
Vacant by Galaxy Eyes & Garima Dhawanby Garima Dhawan
Throw Pillow made from 100% spun polyester poplin fabric, a stylish statement that will liven up any room. Individually cut and sewn by hand, each pillow features a double-sided print and is finished with a concealed zipper for ease of care. Sold with or without faux down pillow insert.
a collab with the very talented Anna Carol for Vacancy Zine. Anna is at http://society6.com/galaxyeyes/Vacant...
That was fun to do. Thanks again, Garima :)
great job ladies!
Thanks so much Jacquie! it came together really cool ;-)
Good luck!
wow, love this! great collab!
Thanks so much Eric, Pame, Sharon, Agostino & Irina!
Love it!
that's really cool!
nice collaboration!
Thanks so much Paula, Klara, Lisa & Natalie!
LOVE this so much!!
Thanks so much Beverly and Josie ♥
Looks really cool.
See More Comments


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Friday, October 23, 2009
2 comments
omg im so excited i hit the ten pd mark and three pds over that. its taken so long but im really doing it. 87 more to go but im just enjoying the sucess so far. oh and im engaged!!!! yah!!... Read more
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
1 comments
yah i got a compliment! i know its sad, lol. one of my coworkers said today "im so jealous you always eat so healthy, i wish i could do that". hehe. next up wow kaci you look wonderful, how much weight have you lost? lol ok so im lame but i love... Read more
Monday, August 17, 2009
4 comments
ok so very interesting weekend. first iv been horribly sick w something close to stomach flu. then when i start feeling better i help family this weekend. my great grandmother was like wow kaci youve gained weight. thats one of those moments whe... Read more
Monday, August 03, 2009
7 comments
Oh man im getting no where. No No i take that back i feel better but as far as scale goes nope. Im so much more active and iv cut back on the foods i used to eat. Plus im drinking tons more water. I thought that would get me some where but its n... Read more
Thursday, July 09, 2009
0 comments
Well yesterday i turned 23. So i felt like this should be a great time to really start the losing weight campaign. i really really want to feel good about myself. And feel healthy. I want to find the man of my dreams who i can fall in love with.... Read more


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Post your pictures of what you ride.
Printable View
Post your pictures of what you ride.
And a 2003 catrike speed.
That's an awesome machine. Thanks for sharing.
I like the home theatre too :D (nice)
One of my favorite recumbent designs is this one.
I tried to have 3 fellows ride in my homebuilt velomobile once and there was no room for the PBJs.
Man, are those long chains or what?
Originally Posted by Spuds McDoogle
Spuds.....Is that picture another one of your creative homemades?....You must be the very fit-looking rider on the rear.....How did you co-ordinate your start?...
I notice the front rider has the PBJs tucked in behind his helmet......like Epaminondes.....
I want to race this design some day. I can make a plastic coroplast, zip tie and duct tape storage bin between the seats and load it up with PBJs and Oreo cookies for a century ride.Quote:
Originally Posted by norton
This is one of the fastest recumbents out there and guaranteed to "smoke" any paceline of old folks who are doing a century ride.
Originally Posted by Spuds McDoogle
May you never cease to amaze.....& amuse....
How about 3 recycled enema bags for on the move hydration?....
I could only fit 2 on this one.Quote:
Originally Posted by norton
I have found that plastic zip-loc bags with a straw poked in the side and sealed with duct tape will work just like a Camelback.
Easy to make and CHEAP.
1. RANS V-Rex with Coroplast front fairingQuote:
Originally Posted by 53-11_alltheway
2. Optima Baron lowracer
3. Homebuilt dual-26
Hey blazin, do you ride with just the standard seatfoam? I'm been trying to decide if I should change mine out to the seat pad I've seen on some vk2s or add a cover from optima for mine.
AS Engineering S32 Zenit L trike. Front wheel drive, hydraulic braking in all three wheels, aluminium chassis.
this reminds me of how the ambigualy gay duo flys
my burley limbo. with upgraded wheels and seat. I just moved the lights to a post mounted bracket today. I commute on this bike 20 miles a day haul heavy trailers of lumber and such too.
May I ask where you found the plans (if any) for the home built dual 26?Quote:
Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
R Long
There weren't any formal plans. I just cut the seat tube and top tube on the first donor bike, and went from there, pulling the seat stays down and adding a downtube from another donor as the seat mounting tube. The boom was from new chromoly. Plans on the seat mounting clamp were found at recumbents.com, and the riser and handlebars are 7/8" aluminum tubing. Building a seat would have complicated the project, but I was able to use an old hardshell that was lying around.Quote:
Originally Posted by rlong
Due to the junkyard-quality donor bikes, it's pretty clunky; but in spite of it all, it is almost as fast as my faired V-Rex.
You can see my bikes/trike at the link below.
Sorry Greg I didnt' see your post right away. I've been using the standard foam, but it's getting pretty ragged after 3 years of hard use. I have a Bacchetta hardshell pad which sort of fits, but I don't like it. I want to get my hands on some Zote-type foam and cut/rout a homebrew pad.Quote:
Originally Posted by aikigreg
Oh yeah, registration is now open for BRAT. This goes to John and Aikigreg.
I'm assuming the donor frames were cro-mo? I wonder about looking for some aluminum donors. It doesn't look too difficult to build a vacuum bag carbon fiber seat, but I'd sure use an "old hardshell" if I had one laying around. Don't you love it when you get to use that stuff that's been laying around collecting dust?Quote:
Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
Chromo? LOL - Only the boom. The rest is hi-ten. The main donor was a 1979 Ace Hardware road bike. One of the problems I ran into was that the rear dropouts weren't the normal 1/4" plate, they were just 1/8" sheet, crimped onto the stays. Had to use washers on the axles so that I could tighten the QRs into the dropouts.Quote:
Originally Posted by rlong
Here's my RANS Rocket packed for touring with my new Arkel RT-60s, and another of me heading out for a weekend tour on the Rocket last summer:
Howdy! First post here, I'm a 30+ year cyclist and brand-new recumbent fan. I have just completed this fine machine:
Built along the lines of the "No-Weld" plans sold on the internet. I didn't buy the plans, I just looked at the pics and figured it out.
Thing comes in at a hefty 38 pounds, which leads me to wonder what I could do with one of the aluminum Y-frames and maybe one of those old Raliegh "Technium" roadsters for the boom...hehe.
I still need to sort out the gearing, and construct a chain tensioner to make the front DR work. Seat is pirated from a Nordic Trak ab machine.
Link didn't work for me. Go to tinyurl.com and convert it to something smaller!
Odd, opens instantly for me....Lets try this:
Success! I was looking around at some info this morning, and it's a good thing I decided to chuck the cheesy suspension forks that came with this bike, numerous recalls and reports of failures.


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Michael Vick on mobile QBs: 'I revolutionized the game'
More NFL offseason: League minicamp dates | Latest news, notes
Based on at least one report, Michael Vick was underwhelming during the Jets' three-day minicamp, but whatever happens going forward doesn't change the fact that, early in his career, he helped transform the way the game is played -- at least to hear him tell it.
"I was the guy who started it all," Vick told ESPNNewYork.com. "I revolutionized the game. I changed the way it was played in the NFL."
Mobile quarterbacks are now in vogue thanks to the success of Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton and even a more traditional passer like Aaron Rodgers. And while Vick was certainly a special talent when he arrived in the league in 2001, he didn't actually "revolutionize" the position.
As Mike Freeman, our former colleague now with Bleacher Report, explained via Twitter Saturday morning:
I see Mike Vick's not much of a history buff.— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) June 21, 2014
Mike Vick never heard of Fran Tarkenton?— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) June 21, 2014
Hell, Otto Graham was a running quarterback.— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) June 21, 2014
And don't forget Roger Staubach and Randall Cunningham. Still, Vick is the NFL's all-time rushing leader among quarterbacks (5,857) and that's worth noting.
"The things I've done, I've pretty much surpassed myself and expectations — over 25,000 yards in total offense in the NFL, and I missed a lot of years and a lot of games," he said. "That's more the reason I have to keep it going."
Now 34, Vick understands that this is Geno Smith's job to lose, though he admits being a backup isn't any easier at this stage of his career.
"It's still tough right now ... I won't lie," Vick said last month. "Because deep down you always want to be a starter. Hopefully that opportunity will come again one day and I've just got to keep working for it."


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the things you see when you dont have a camera...
so yeah l lost (or had stolen) my digital camera. And wouldnt you know it, I was laying down for a bit... and when I got up ALL 12 of my peppered cories were hanging out in my 110g all in the same spot together. it looked SOOOO cool and I figured Falina would love it, but alas, no piccy takey for me.
the things you see when you dont have your camera.... :blueworry:
aw heck i know what ur sayin
my dojo loach (wiskas) always baries himself alive in the gravle by burrowing in it - it looks so cool and i always want a pic of it.
I acctually think Wiskas is phycic :shock: it happed to me 3 times where i saw him in the gravle with his tail sticking out and i run to get my camera, and when i come back- HE'S NOT THERE :frustrated:
oh well. i keep my cam beside my tank now so i can keep my eye on him
That's what I do! I don't even have to get up to get my camera now!!
Aww that sounds so cute!
Shame you didn't have the camera there to take a photo though. Sometimes mine line up in single-file. I'm sure there's some sort of valid reason for it, but I just think it looks so cute and funny! :)
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Ford Owners Club - Ford Forums Messages
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Ford Fair 2016: Tickets and stand passes are now available to purchase. More info here.
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shinobivsmeBudding Enthusiast
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- Ford Model fiesta
- UK/Ireland Location Yorkshire
Hrm so it must be software/firmware then, I find it really odd! Shame ford haven't done an update for it
Really? That sucks, what does a USB port have to do with Bluetooth audio, surely its all in the ford software? Good job ford :/ would have thought the titanium would definitely have it
shinobivsme started following Bluetooth Audio 2009 Titanium
Bluetooth Audio 2009 Titanium
shinobivsme posted a topic in Ford Fiesta ClubHi all, I'm new here so forgive me if this is somewhere on the forum already! Basically I'm wondering how I get bluetooth audio to work, I use bt for my phone and that works fine but I've never worked out how to use it to play music. I can select audio output on my phone and select ford audio, and under the audio options on the ford menu there's a section for Bluetooth, but I can't work out how to do playback? I only have a line in for aux no USB, so its an audio cable only for me at the moment which is less than ideal. Any help would be great Thanks in advance
Welcome to the Ford forums shinobivsme :)


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Cole Haan
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Music writer Rickey Wright died yesterday of a stroke. He was a frequent contributor to our music section in 2005 and 2006 under Michelangelo Matos. Matos has a tender remembrance on his blog. Wright's work for us can be found on his author page. I especially love this bit of description from a review of an Andy Bey show at Jazz Alley:
Even his wordless count-offs, barely more than rhythmic breaths, command an intimacy rare in any genre.


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Nikki Bella off Europe tour
Since she is dealing with a neck injury, Nikki Bella has been pulled from the upcoming tour of Europe that WWE is doing this week. While she is staying in the United States to rehab, Alicia Fox will replace her and team up with Brie Bella for these particular set of live events. Management generally brings a lot more of the divas when they go overseas, so the lost of Nikki should not affect business too much.
November 3, 2015
Nikki Bella working out
A photo on Instagram where Nikki Bella shows off her sexy body after a workout before working a live event in Atlantic City.
May 16, 2015
Brie Bella possibly injured
During a live event over the weekend, the Bella Twins worked a tag team match against Naomi and Tamina Snuka. Towards the end of the match, Brie Bella appeared to have injured her shoulder, as the referee did the X symbol that normally signifies the medical team backstage that someone needs help. Some, however, are under the belief is that it is solely a story line, as Paige made the save on Nikki Bella as she was being double teamed.
May 16, 2015
Nikki Bella turning face
Since Paige might not be available because she is filming a movie and Naomi just did a heel turn, WWE is looking into the possibility of Nikki Bella working as a baby face when she defends the belt against the latter at Extreme Rules on Sunday night. They even tested out the audience reaction at a live event during the tour of Europe last week. The face turn might not necessarily be a full time thing, however, as management likes the Bella Twins as is.
April 20, 2015
Nikki Bella nose
It is going to be a little bit harder for Nikki Bella to look pretty this week. The WWE diva has a broken nose. The injury took place during the latest episode of Monday Night Raw. She took a stiff kick from Paige during a segment. While she more than likely will be allowed to skip matches during the live events this week, Nikki should be able to work her tag team match at Wrestlemania just fine. She will be teaming with her sister, Brie Bella.
March 4, 2015
Nikki Bella injured
WWE did a live event in San Antonio tonight, and something peculiar happened during the show. Nikki Bella came out and informed the audience that she would no longer be wrestling on the card because of a leg injury. Her sister, Brie Bella, replaced her in the match against Natalya, which was won by the heel. No word yet on whether or not this is a legitimate injury or a story line. However, Nikki was wearing bandage on her left leg.
January 18, 2015


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Retractions are on the rise. But reams of flawed research papers persist in the scientific literature. Is it time to change the way papers are published?
New Test for Zika OKed
March 22, 2016|
The US Food and Drug Administration gave emergency approval for a combination diagnostic that can distinguish between Zika, dengue, and chikungunya infections.


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I have a huge log file of around 3.5 GB and would like to sample random sections in the middle of say 10 MB for the purpose of debugging what my application is doing.
I could use head or tail commands to get the beginning or end of the file, how can I grab an arbitrary portion from the middle of the file? I guess I could do something like
head -n 1.75GB | tail -n 10MB but that seems clumsy and I'd need to determine line numbers for the midpoint of the file to get 1.75GB and 10MB line counts.


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Plantronics Blackwire C310
Product # 85618-02
The Plantronics Blackwire C310 USB headset are a easy-to-use, comfortable and durable choice for conference calls, Web-based training, and PC multimedia applications. It features monaural design with Hi-Fi stereo sound that optimizes music and video quality along with soft ear cushions ensuring maximum all day comfort. It has easy volume adjustment settings with +/- and mute button and its SoundGuard® protects against instantaneous sound spikes above 118 dB SPL.The dynamic EQ feature automatically adjusts audio for voice or multimedia use.This sound reducing headset gives a perfect secure fit along with its digital signal processing technology and its wideband frequency optimizes audio for more natural voice quality.
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Poitin, the highly alcoholic pot-stilled liquor that was illegal to produce in Ireland until 1997, is the newest release from leading Irish whisky maker Cooley
Poitin, the highly alcoholic pot-stilled liquor that was illegal to produce in Ireland until 1997, is the newest release from leading Irish whisky maker Cooley Distillery.
Cooley's version of Irish moonshine is now available only at a Dublin liquor store and the Dublin airport, but a representative pouring the brand's better-known whiskies at this weekend's Whisky Festival in Victoria said the distillery hopes to expand distribution to the U.S.
"We hope to revive the Poitín as a national product," distillery managing director Jack Teeling said in a release announcing the "Origin Series." "We want to bring Poitín out from the shadows and let Irish people have a national white spirit they can be proud of."
Traditionally distilled from malted barley or potatoes, poitin -- along with other homemade liquors -- was outlawed by Ireland in 1661. Many rural dwellers bucked the law, whether out of rebellion, cultural habit or economic circumstance; horror stories culminating in blindness or death were commonly traded by the drink's detractors.
Two small distilleries have produced legal poitin since the ban was lifted, but Cooley -- the nation's only independently-owned distillery -- is the first established operation to tinker with the category. Cooley's poitin is triple distilled from malted and unmalted barley in a traditional pot still. The unaged spirit is bottled at 65 percent alcohol by volume.
Teeling is confident his company can overcome the perception that poitin is dangerous. He points to the popularity of absinthe, which also spent many years as a pariah from the legal liquor cabinet.
"Over the years, (poitin) has been demonized because it was illegally produced and the end product lacked consistency, quality and credibility," Teeling says. "We have produced a quality Poitín product."
Follow Voracious on Facebook & Twitter. Follow me at @hannaraskin


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10 Steps to Pick the Right Doctor
Whether you need a primary care doctor or a specialist, these 10 steps will ensure you find the right doctor for you. View Slideshow
Dr. Musselman's Experience
- Psychosomatic Medicine
Board Certifications
- Psychiatry
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Psychiatric Evaluation
- Psychiatric Medication Therapy
- Alcoholism (Alcohol Dependence)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence
- Drug-Induced Mental Disorders
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Nondependent Drug and Alcohol Abuse
- Nondependent Marijuana Abuse
- Psychiatric Diseases
- Schizophrenia
- Suicidal Ideation
- Tobacco Use Disorder
Background Check for Dr. Musselman
0 Malpractice Claims
- No malpractice history found for Florida.
- No sanctions history found for the years that Healthgrades collects data.
0 Board Actions
- No board actions found for the years that Healthgrades collects data.
Awards & Recognitions
Education & Training
Medical School
- Oral Roberts Univ Sch Of Med
- Graduated in 1989
Residency Hospital
- Emory University School Of Med
Languages Spoken by Dr. Musselman & Staff
- English


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The long rumored deal between the San Francisco Giants and Hunter Pence is finally official and the front office has done their part to ease the pain of the players for under-performing all season. They figured if they made a bonehead move and overpaid Pence, they were flubbing up just like the team did. How nice is that? Now that they have paid too much to Pence, the Giants appear ready to do the same with starter Tim Lincecum.
I really cannot imagine what the Giants were thinking when they agreed to give Pence a five year $90 million deal which is reportedly what he has. Not only did they give him 18 million per season on average but also a no-trade clause. If Pence always had 11 homers every month that would make good sense. As it is, Pence is a very reliable outfielder that usually doesn't come close to 11 jacks every month.
This is not me busting Pence; in fact I like his style of play a great deal. He just isn't someone that would usually warrant 18 million per season. That isn't to say he shouldn't get a nice contract but by overpaying Pence the way they are, they set themselves up to be tied down to him if he doesn't continue to deliver at this record pace he has found.
The really disturbing news for the Giants is that they appear to be prepared to give Lincecum plenty of money as well. Hopefully they will exercise a little more good sense when offering him a deal. Here's hoping Pence blows the doors off of the place next season and deserves twice as much as he is making; but I doubt it.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, "Like" him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
San Francisco Giants Rumors: Don't Pay Hunter Pence Based on September
Hunter Pence's Heart Exemplifies Why he Should Be Re-Signed by San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants' Hunter Pence Thriving in Spoiler Role


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Latest Headlines
First of eight victims honored at service
About 80 people attended Gary Rhoden's funeral service today in Kentucky. "It's a sad day, a very sad day," said his father.
NFL draft
Big night for Buckeyes
It figured to be a banner night for Ohio State in the NFL draft. But to have two of the top four overall picks, three of the top 10 and five of the top-20 picks was something few predicted.
Police ID men shot near Ohio State campus
Police have released the names of two men who were shot Wednesday afternoon near Ohio State University in what they said was a home invasion.
Licking County attempted murder case ends with unusual sentenceThursday, April 28, 2016 06:54 PM
Today's Top Videos More Videos
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- Treasury decision won't be final say on Central States pension cuts
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Follow the latest developments surrounding the eight homicides that took place in Pike County on Friday.
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Test your knowledge about issues both serious and lighthearted at Dispatch.com/quiz.
Dispatch mobile app
Are you using our mobile app? We keep you updated throughout the day with what's happening in Columbus and beyond.
Sports Headlines
Rob Oller commentary | Ohio State can win even as NFL draft takes awayFriday, April 29, 2016 12:24 AM
The odd duality that is the NFL draft played out again Thursday night in Chicago, where perpetual winner Ohio State celebrated big losses. That's right, the Buckeyes celebrated losing two of the best players in college football last season: defensive end Joey Bosa went No. 3 overall to the San Diego Chargers and tailback Ezekiel Elliott followed right after, going No. 4 to the Dallas Cowboys.
- Ohio State football | NFL draft: Big night for Buckeyes
- NFL draft | First-round picks
- Browns | NFL draft: Coleman brings needed speed at receiver
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- Bob Hunter commentary | Rumblings: Two Buckeyes decide not to check NBA prospects
- College football | NCAA rescinds ruling that banned satellite camps
- Ohio State football | Murder indictment in shooting of Will Smith
- Clippers 5, Knights 4 | 8-0 homestand
- High school football | Area players set for all-star game Saturday
- U.S. Half Marathon Championship | Desi Linden seeks first big win
- Women's basketball | Auriemma takes time to heal from illness
Business Headlines
- Cardinal Health quarterly earnings exceed Wall Street expectations
- State Auto reports big drop in first-quarter profit
- Lancaster Colony reports record sales for third quarter
- Sales tax holiday coming again in August
- Burger King says hot dogs helped boost U.S. sales
- Comcast buying DreamWorks Animation for about $3.55 billion
- U.S. economy weakest in 2 years as growth slows
- Abbott to spend $19.3 billion to buy St. Jude Medical
US & World Headlines from AP
- North Korea sends another US citizen to prison Thu Apr 28 22:49:00 EDT 2016
- APNewsBreak: Investigators look at overdose in Prince death Thu Apr 28 22:29:00 EDT 2016
- Congressional GOP beginning to accept Trump as nominee Fri Apr 29 00:01:00 EDT 2016
- Protests break out as Trump speaks in Southern Cal Thu Apr 28 23:47:00 EDT 2016
- Residents of Iraq's IS-held Fallujah suffer under siege Thu Apr 28 23:55:00 EDT 2016
- Former Speaker Boehner calls Cruz 'Lucifer in the flesh' Thu Apr 28 14:12:00 EDT 2016
- Casualties mount from bombardment in Syria's largest city Thu Apr 28 11:32:00 EDT 2016
- Biden to see Pope Francis, discuss cancer cures at Vatican Thu Apr 28 23:29:00 EDT 2016
- Ex-Montana Sen. Conrad Burns dies; influenced energy policy Thu Apr 28 20:00:00 EDT 2016
- Nigerian princess seeks funds to help Boko Haram survivors Thu Apr 28 23:26:00 EDT 2016
Life & Entertainment
TheaterAvailable Light Theatre's experimental piece explores themes about the body
DiningReview | Fukuryu Ramen: High-energy shop delivers 'un-fancy' but tasty Japanese food
Music'Thelma & Louise,' 25 years later
Fine artsNew art installation asks visitors to tell the truth
DiningBehind the menu: Condado's tacos begin with combo foundation
CommunityOhio State students win $5,000 for push to improve food system
FoodExperts advise how to make a great grilled cheese sandwich
RestaurantsPint House parent plans new concept, Standard Hall, in Short North
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BooksReview | '67 Shots': Author deems Kent State shootings both unlikely, inevitable
TravelFestivities surrounding Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday won't end anytime soon
MoviesSNL's Andy Samberg, Lonely Island crew hold court on Ohio State campus


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Ancient's Fall
Speak with Huntsman Blake at Krasarang Cove in Krasarang Wilds.
The crane has fallen.
You will receive:
|Lesser Charm of Good Fortune
You will learn:
|Presence of the Crane
The following spell will be cast on you:
|Presence of the Crane
You will also receive:
- 13,690 experience
- 11 40
- 200 reputation with Operation: Shieldwall


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Painted by artist Emanuel Leutze in 1851, Washington Crossing the Delaware interprets this historic moment. The original overwhelming masterpiece is more than 12 feet high and 21 feet long. General George Washington, destined to become the first President of the United States, stands erect and heroic, focusing his thoughts on his objectives. Colonel James Monroe (the future fifth President of the United States) struggles at Washington's side to keep the flag aloft, a promise of democracy and freedom for the American colonies.
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This beautiful glass paperweight features the Washington Monument which has been built to commemorate George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first American president, and it's one of the oldest landmarks of Washington, DC.Click for More Details
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This three-dimensional replica of the United States Capitol lets you literally see right through the most famous man-made landmark in America.Click for More Details