text:
pureScale on Linux
- Sort by:
- Date
- Title
- Likes
- Comments ▼
- Views
Nanoclusters now available
CiaranDeB 2700033FRG Tags:  nanocluster purescale 5 Comments 6,583 Views
We are currently building nanoclusters in several locations worldwide, including here in Dublin. Somehow the lab guys have come up with a way to get pureScale to work on about $500 worth of hardware! Respect!
The nanocluster is a pureScale cluster built on 3 intel Atom boxes with 1 acting as storage and running the demo software, the other two having one CF and one member on each. Gigabit ethernet is used between the nodes.
The nanoclusters (obviously) do not consist of a supported configuration and are not for production use.
Nanoclusters are a great way to get pureScale out there for demos and for clients, ISVs and partners to try it out for themselves. The cluster comes pre-packaged with demos and instructional software.
If you want to get your hands on one of these little beauties. Please contact your friendly local sales, avalanche teams or me for more information or a demo.
Unfortunately we can't give the nanoclusters out on loan for extended periods but we will also be releasing instructions and code to allow you to build your own.
Watch this space...
TPC-C the OLTP benchmark...
We are currently setting up the tpc-c benchmark on the cluster. Tpc-c is the standard benchmark for OnLine Transaction Processing ( http://www.tpc.org/tpcc/ ). We will be doing some test runs on the pureScale cluster and some tuning to see what kind of throughput we can get out of the cluster for typical OLTP workloads . We will start out with 4 nodes first with the default parameters, then start tuning and tweaking. Please let me know if you want to know more?
pureScale on Linux - the opportunity!
Purescale delivers a high availability, scalable database clustering solution on commodity hardware. PureScale is mainly aimed at OLTP workloads and I believe it delivers on the promise that Oracle RAC has been making for several years and not quite delivering on. It delivers these benefits without the need for applications to be made cluster aware.
I think a lot of companies are looking to their IT to be scalable and flexible these days. Imagine you could buy a small number of commodity servers to run your application(s) on. Then simply add more when you need more resources. Swap servers in easily to help out with the processing load of end of financial year number crunching or the holiday rush on your online store. Pay the licenses fees and running costs when you use extra servers and then easily shut them down and not pay when they are not needed.
I guess this kind of flexibility is (arguably) available as follows:
1) Mainframe with virtualization. This is a great solution for those who have the skill set and budget for it. In my experience many companies are not ready for this. It's also difficult to shut down part of a mainframe!
2) Cloud computing. A great solution if you can "cloud enable" your applications and you trust the cloud service provider (a lot). Again many are not ready for this.
PureScale (especially on Linux / system x as it is available now) can give this kind of flexibility in a much more accessible package.
As part of my job here in Dublin with IBM I'm currently building a 6 node pureScale cluster on systems x with SLES 10. Watch this space for more on this...
...oh yes and please comment if you want to see more.
pureScale enhancements included in the new DB2 Cancun Release 10.5.0.4
Today is the day when DB2 10.5 FP4, known as Cancun Release has been published officially!
This DB2 Cancun Release includes many different new features and improvements in differents areas like:
The summary of the enhancements can be found here:
There are some exciting improvements and new features included on the pureScale side, which will make even easier to implement pureScale!
Some of these features are really useful to get started with pureScale like having the possibility to run pureScale using just a basic TCP/IP network or using virtual machines under KVM or VMware ESXi. This is great for who wants to explore pureScale technology just using a basic network or a virtualized environment!
But also, for actual pureScale users, two great enhancements like incremental backups and online REORG will be a huge improvement in terms of system and database maintenance and administration.
If you like me are really looking forward to try all these new features, just go and download the just released DB2 Cancun Release 10.5 FP4 at this link:
Feel free to ask any question or comment you may have on all these new and exciting features for pureScale!
Quick pureScale troubleshooting
Marco Bonezzi 270005PS6A Tags:  db2cluster purescale 2,630 Views
Today I saw that the status of one of our testing pureScale instances was red.
Yes, red, it had a red sign, as this instance is on a PureData System for Transactions. The DB2 pureScale instances panel lets you have a quick look at the status of your instances and the databases deployed on them.
Connecting via ssh to the instance, and trying to run db2instance -list shown that this particular instance was not in a good shape:
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1> db2instance -list The member, CF, or host information could not be obtained. Verify the cluster manager resources are valid by entering db2cluster -cm -verify -resources. Check the db2diag.log for more information.
Following the tip, I ran db2cluster -cm -verify -resources and it shown that the cluster state was inconsistent. At this point, I had a look at the db2diag.log and I could see that there were some errors related to cluster resources.
After seeing that the issue was due to the cluster resources for pureScale, I decided to try to stop and restart the cluster services with the following commands:
1) Restarting pureScale cluster services
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1/sqllib/bin> ./db2cluster -cfs -stop -all
All specified hosts have been stopped successfully.
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1/sqllib/bin> ./db2cluster -cfs -start -all All specified hosts have been started successfully.
2) Verifying and repairing the instance
At this point, I tried to verify again the status of the cluster with db2instance command:
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1/sqllib/bin> db2instance -list The member, CF, or host information could not be obtained. Verify the cluster manager resources are valid by entering db2cluster -cm -verify -resources. Check the db2diag.log for more information.
Now, trying again to repair the cluster resources with the db2cluster command:
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1/sqllib/bin> db2cluster -cm -repair -resources All cluster configurations have been completed successfully. db2cluster exiting ...
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1> db2instance -list ID TYPE STATE HOME_HOST CURRENT_HOST ALERT PARTITION_NUMBER LOGICAL_PORT NETNAME -- ---- ----- --------- ------------ ----- ---------------- ------------ ------- 0 MEMBER STOPPED compute05 compute05 NO 0 0 compute05-net1 1 MEMBER STOPPED compute06 compute06 NO 0 0 compute06-net1 128 CF STOPPED compute05 compute05 NO - 0 compute05-net1 129 CF STOPPED compute06 compute06 NO - 0 compute06-net1 HOSTNAME STATE INSTANCE_STOPPED ALERT -------- ----- ---------------- ----- compute06 ACTIVE NO NO compute05 ACTIVE NO NO
3) Starting the instance
So now the pureScale cluster was healthy again, so I was able to finally to start the instance successfully:
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1> db2start 10/01/2013 13:12:02 0 0 SQL1063N DB2START processing was successful. 10/01/2013 13:12:03 1 0 SQL1063N DB2START processing was successful. SQL1063N DB2START processing was successful.
db2vr1@compute05:/home/db2vr1> db2instance -list
-- ---- ----- --------- ------------ ----- ---------------- ------------ -------
0 MEMBER STARTED compute05 compute05 NO 0 0 compute05-net1
1 MEMBER STARTED compute06 compute06 NO 0 0 compute06-net1
128 CF PRIMARY compute05 compute05 NO - 0 compute05-net1
129 CF CATCHUP compute06 compute06 NO - 0 compute06-net1
-------- ----- ---------------- -----
compute06 ACTIVE NO NO
compute05 ACTIVE NO NO
The speed of light in glass!
We have heard that a "tens of kilometres" limit applies to the distance between the two sides of a Geographically Dispersed pureScale Cluster (GDPC). Buy why?
This is based on a physical limitation i.e. the speed of light in glass (fibre) which is about 5 µs / km. From this we can calculate a round-trip times from member to CF as follows at these distances:
3km = 30 µs
10km = 100 µs
50 km = 500 µs
100 km = 100 µs (or 1 ms)
300km = 3000 µs (or 3 ms)
This will have a significant effect on the performance of the cluster, especially when we start to get into tens of kilometres. The "normal" times for RDMA actions are of the order of 15 µs so to those we need to add this latency for the distance. Compared to a normal pureScale cluster (all in one location) an RDMA action will be slower at a distance as follows.
3km = 3 times slower
10k = 8 times slower
50k = 33 times slower
100k = 66 times slower
300k = 200 times slower
µs = microseconds or 10-6 seconds
ms = milliseconds or 10-3 seconds
PureData for transactions - database deployment is easy with Patterns!
CiaranDeB 2700033FRG Tags:  appliance database purescale transactional puredata workload oltp 3,405 Views
As with all of the pureSystem family the use of patterns to automate repeatable tasks is a feature of pureData systems.
With pureData here are two types of patterns available:
1) Topology Patterns. Topology patterns will install all of the software required to run pureScale and create the pureScale instance on a number of compute nodes. You can deploy a topology pattern of 2, 4, or 6 nodes. The 2 node topology pattern consists of an instance of 2 members with a cluster caching facilities (CFs) co-located on each of two compute nodes. This is the smallest practical HA installation of Db2. The 4 nodes topology pattern consists of 2 members and 2 CFs on separate compute nodes. The 6 node topology pattern is a 4 member cluster with 2 CFs on separate compute nodes. Of course the more nodes you deploy to the higher the performance and resilience.
2) Database Patterns. A database pattern is essentially a method of storing and reusing database configuration settings. Databases patterns are used to create and configure a database within the instance topology. PureData systems will come with an IBM transaction processing database pattern. You can also "roll your own".
SEE pureScale WLB in action with PSmon!
CiaranDeB 2700033FRG Tags:  purescale wlb demonstration 2,861 Views
I thought you might be interested in a nice little demo tool that is being being developed by Jorge Mira and Christopher La Pat here in the lab.
This lightweight demo tool's purpose is to graphically demonstrate the key elements of pureScale WLB graphically and in real time on any pureScale database and without changing the databse or application running. It is not for production use!
Introducing psMON-:
psMon allows for platform independent monitoring of a pureScale cluster to graphically demonstrate the key elements of pureScale WLB graphically and in real time. PsMon provides the user with a view of a number of useful pieces of data regarding the current operating status of a pureScale cluster. The data displayed is broken down into two graphs:
In addition to the graphs, tables below the system resource graphs provide information on what applications are using the highest amounts of system resources.
The entire client application is built in Java and is therefore platform independent. It is a lightweight executable JAR file that can easily be run from almost any computer and can connect to any machine on which the PSMServer application has been deployed.
Hate paying for hardware and software that almost never gets used?
I am referring to the standard form of database disaster recovery whereby the production system is duplicated at a second "standby" site. The changes made at the production site are made at the standby site keeping it more or less up to date with the production site. This hardware and software, often costing as much as the production system, only gets used in the case of a pretty major disaster when it takes over the function of the production site. Fortunately these events are quite rare. In my experience the rarity of the disaster scenario makes it psychologically difficult to spend all of that money on stuff that will "probably never get used". This can be an even more onerous decision when the database is clustered and several servers are involved. So what can we do?
Those clever folks at the IBM labs have done it again. Why not simply stretch the cluster out so that half is at one data center and half is at another. If one data center fails for whatever reason the application keeps going. The best ideas are usually simple! Of course we retain the existing features of purescale: High availability, capacity on demand etc. This is the Geographically Dispersed PureScale Cluster (GDPS). More details are available. in this white paper
He who fails to plan plans to fail
As Winston Churchill said (and famously paraphrased by a certain Roy Keane years later) "He who fails to plan plans to fail". This applies to any task that is more than trivial. Whether it is creating a new lawn or installing pureScale...
If you are going to be installing pureScale then the installation itself is really easy. Where the preparation comes in is in getting the environment set up beforehand. I strongly recommend that you take a careful look here at the DB2 infocenter "Planning for a IBM DB2 pureScale Feature for Enterprise Server Edition deployment" . This should be your first step towards installing pureScale and done before any of the logistics can fall into place. There are various considerations and checklists here such as:
If you need any help or advice then please drop me a line.


text: GMX ResourcesOn September 19, 2012, GMX consummated its exchange offer for its outstanding 5% Senior Convertible Notes due 2013 (the "2013 Notes"), pursuant to which holders tendering the 2013 Notes received new Senior Secured Second-Priority Notes due 2018 (the "2018 Notes") and shares of GMX common stock. The Company tendered its 2013 Notes in the exchange offer, and consequently received 2018 Notes with a face value of $12,661,000 and 3,646,368 shares of GMX common stock. The Company sold 300,000 shares of GMX common stock in September and an additional 254,000 shares in October 2012. Interest on the 2018 Notes accrues at a rate of 9% per annum and is payable quarterly (commencing March 2, 2013) at GMX's option, in cash or, with respect to interest paid prior to September 19, 2014, either in the form of cash, GMX common stock, or a combination thereof. The number of shares of GMX stock, if any, to be issued in lieu of cash interest is calculated by assigning a value per share equal to the product of (a) 0.75 and (b) the 10-day volume weighted average price, or VWAP, ending the business day prior to the interest payment date. Mr. Gardner commented, "We are very pleased to report the restructuring of the Black Pool Term Loan and the results of the GMX exchange offer, which we anticipate will positively impact the net asset value of our investment portfolio. These transactions were made possible with the focused efforts, patience and diligence of our investment team, working together with our portfolio companies, to deliver the most favorable outcomes for all parties." About NGP Capital Resources Company NGP Capital Resources Company is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. We principally invest in private companies and from time to time, we may also invest in public companies. We invest primarily in senior secured and mezzanine loans according to our business plan and in some instances receive equity interests in portfolio companies in connection with such investments. Our manager is NGP Investment Advisor, LP, an affiliate of NGP Energy Capital Management ("NGP ECM"). Founded in 1988, NGP ECM is a premier investment franchise in the natural resources industry, which together with its affiliates has managed $13 billion in cumulative committed capital since inception.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- Home >
- Walking Aids >
- Trolleys >
- Standard Walsall Trolley - Large Castors Standard Walsall Trolley - Large Castors+-
Standard Walsall Trolleys - Large Castors
A cream steel frame with white coated shelves for easy cleaning. The lower shelf is cut away and one end of each tray has been left without a lip to facilitate food transfer. The angled side rails create comfortable hand grips.
- Castors: 10cm (4")
- Height to handle: 92cm (36")
- Shelves: 44 x 30cm (17.1/2 x 12")
- Max Load: 25Kgs
VAT Exemption
Q. What is VAT relief and who is eligible to claim it?
A. Click here for more information ...
Related Categories
- Menu


text:
Easy Teriyaki Chicken Burgers
Recipe by Tracee
A super simple way to make a chicken burger that zings with flavor! Sometimes it's referred to as "hawaiian-style." This has been my husband's favorite for a long time, especially at Red Robin. That got too expensive after a while so I thought I'd try making it at home instead. He loves it! These burgers have been a big hit whenever we have friends over for a barbeque.
Top Review by msu4two
We loved these sandwiches! Had them tonight, actually. Used the King's Hawaiian Hamburger Buns, which are a little on the sweet side, and marinated the chicken in Soy Vay Island Teriyaki for 2 hours. We took the suggestion of adding a slice of provolone cheese on top of the pineapple. Delicious!! We served with corn on the cob and pineapple. I'll definitely be making this recipe again!
See Discussion:9 Reviews
Ingredients Nutrition
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1⁄2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 4 hamburger buns, potato or gourmet style
- 4 slices pineapple, drained
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Directions See How It's Made
- Place chicken breasts in glass dish and smother with teriyaki sauce; turn breasts over to cover thoroughly.
- Marinate as long as possible, preferably in the fridge overnight.
- 15-30 minutes if you're in a hurry.
- On stovetop or grill, cook chicken about 12 to 14 minutes.
- (7-8 minutes in a George Foreman grill).
- Chicken breasts (bone-in and boneless) should be cooked to an internal temperature of 170 F.
- Exact grilling times will depend on the heat of your grill/pan as well as on the thickness of the chicken breast.
- Chicken is done if, when pierced, the juices run clear or the breast is no longer pink inside.
- Spread mayonnaise on each bun, top& bottom.
- Place each cooked chicken breast on a bun and top with a pineapple slice.
- Serve alongside a summer salad or veggies and don't forget a tall glass of iced tea!


text:
The London Rare Books School (LRBS) is a series of five-day, intensive courses on a variety of book-related subjects taught in and around Senate House, University of London. London Rare Books School 2017 will take place from 26 - 30 June (week one), 3 - 7 July (week two), and for the first time the School will run a third week of courses from 10-14 July. Each course lasts five days. Bookings cannot be made for individual days.
The courses
Our courses are taught by internationally renowned scholars using the unrivalled library and museum resources of London, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Senate House Libraries, and many more. The following courses have been confirmed for 2017.
Week 1 26 - 30 June
- Provenance in Books (David Pearson)
History of the Book in India (Aakriti Mandhwani)
The Printed Book in Europe, 1455-2010 (Simon Eliot)
History of Book Illustration (Elizabeth James and Rowan Watson)
Week 2 3 - 7 July
- The Medieval Book (Michelle Brown)
A History of Reading (Shaf Towheed)
Introduction to Bibliography (Andrew Zurcher)
The Queer Book (Brooke Palmieri)
History of the Book in Scotland (Andrew Nash)
Modern Rare Book Trade (Laurence Worms)
Week 3 10 - 14 July
- Medieval Women and the Book (Michelle Brown)
The Digital Book (Daniel Boswell)
European Bookbinding (Nicholas Pickwoad)
History of Colour Printing (Elizabeth Savage)
The Book in the Renaissance (Paolo Sachet)
Our courses are taught intensively in small groups of no more than 12 students in order to ensure that everyone has plenty of opportunity to talk to the teachers and to get very close to the books. Each course consists of thirteen seminars amounting in all to twenty hours of teaching time spread between Monday lunchtime and Friday afternoon. There is timetabled 'library time' that allows students to explore the rich resources of the University's Senate House Library, one of the UK's major research libraries. There will also be an evening programme with an opening reception and talk, a book-related guided walking tour, and a reception hosted by a major London antiquarian bookseller.
Taking courses for credit
We offer postgraduate credit for LRBS courses at the Institute of English Studies, which is part of the School of Advanced Study, University of London.


text:
|By MibuWolf
|More from MibuWolf
|News and Updates
|Sweltering Heat
|Chapter information
One: Hushed Mystery
|Written by
|Release date
January 14, 2013
|Last chapter
|Next chapter
Previously in Tempests
One of our protagonists, Sohyon, was called out of a relaxing summer morning to hear an assignment from the Elder Monks. Standing in the place of the young Avatar (and the candidate from the Avatar's home temple), Sohyon is to venture to the Land of Earth to solve a dispute between two Earth Empires. He is faced with his mentor Seijin one last time and retires for the day before setting off on his epic journey...
The heat burns through their bones
Don't trust the faces in the shadows: they have much more to hide than those in the open.
Sleep would not come. For a few hours, Sohyon lay awake, tossing and turning as he desperately sought rest. It was early in the morning: past midnight but before sunrise. Though reluctantly, Sohyon finally accepted the fact that he would not be able to sleep and rose. He flitted about the room, quickly making the final preparations. Once he had carefully packed his flute, journal and staff, as well as some other last minute additions to his supplies, the Air Nomad set out.
The feeling of the Air Temple at night could only be related to a graveyard. Not a soul moved; it was as if the very air in which they trained during the day to bend had stopped moving. Sohyon took a deep breath of this air, noting that it even felt stagnant. Somehow, this lack of motion gave him peace. He was not leaving the bustling environment he had known for twenty-four years—this was something different. The sense of loss which might come from finally venturing out into the world was not there; rather it came as a sort of gentle transition.
Sohyon took his time getting to the bison pens; he felt no sense of urgency to depart at this hour. Meali was still prepared, her body relaxed in a deep sleep. The Air Nomad approached his bison and gave her a gentle shake. Her eyes slowly opened while she met her master with a deep and full yawn which inspired a soft smile from Sohyon: her calmness rubbed off on him. Twirling his hands in a small circle, Sohyon created a gentle gust of air which propelled himself upwards and onto the saddle he had placed the night before. As he fell into place, he created another small draft which pushed the reins into his hand and finally settled down to begin the journey. He snapped the reins and Meali rose, tiredly walking out of the bison pens. She walked in this manner until reaching the edge of the temple grounds before stopping as if asking Sohyon if she really had to fly.
"Come on girl—to Ishi Sentō," he instructed softly. With a deep grunt, the bison rose and pushed herself into the clouds.
After about several hours of flying, Sohyon realized that he had not been steering at all—the only reason they had not crashed into the ground below was because Meali had been leading on her own. The fact occurred to Sohyon that he was far too exhausted to properly meet a group of nobles, much less fly a sky bison. Somehow, Meali knew where she was going, thus Sohyon figured he could use this time to catch up on some sleep.
From the top of his supplies, Sohyon removed a sleeping bag of bison skin. The bison had not been killed—rather the nomads believed that after a bison had died, the fur could be used for practical purposes before burying the body. Though Sohyon disagreed with this practice, the leather sleeping bag was the only thing keeping him from freezing at this altitude. He curled up inside of it, closing his eyes to seek what rest he could.
"Sohyon... It's time to wake up!" These loud words awoke Sohyon with a start. He viciously slashed wind at now one in particular while jolting upright. Looking around, he saw a familiar face frantically redirecting the wind so as not to fall off of Meali's back.
"Eizo? How in the name of the spirits did you get here?"
"Well, I've been here all along!" Eizo exclaimed, throwing his arms out so as to emphasize his point. "But more importantly, look, look," he threw aside the blanket he had apparently emerged from to reveal another familiar individual. "I brought a girl! All is forgiven, right?"
"I told you that you couldn't say that," Kanae replied disdainfully.
It was apparent that Eizo had been expected some sort of excitement, but Sohyon simply looked horrified. "You kidnapped someone?! Eizo, do you understand how much trouble we'll be in?!"
"Actually, it was her idea," the stowaway shrugged. "She came to me right after your meeting with the elders. I haven't a clue how she found me, but it seemed like a good idea and when we got to the stables your bison was already packed up so we just hid ourselves and waited."
Sohyon rubbed his temples tiredly. "This is all some bad dream. I'll wake up in a couple minutes and be almost to Ishi Sentō..."
"Your idiocy is incomprehensible! We should have waited until after he arrived in the city." The female Air Nomad spat these words at Eizo, who looked at her like a wounded puppy-lion.
"I wanted him to know we were here..."
"Well it was stupid. Now he could turn around and take us back to the temple, it would have been more difficult if we had waited."
Before Eizo could return, Sohyon held up his hands and the others turned to him. "Stop talking for a few minutes," he instructed. With a deep breath, he continued, "Okay. I've accepted that you two are in fact real and bothering me. Now, what in the name of the spirits are you doing here?!"
"I didn't trust you," Kanae spoke first, flipping a rogue strand of hair out of her face. "I wanted to track you to Ishi Sentō, but your friend here insisted that we hide on your bison rather than taking another one. It would have been a perfect plan had he not decided to leap out in the middle of the flight."
Eizo put his hand on Kanae's shoulder causing her to jump a bit, "He is also right here, sweetheart." The female monk's face contorted as if she had just ate soup with a live worm in it. Ignoring this, Eizo continued, directing his words toward Sohyon: "The temple is boring without you, mate, so I figured I'd follow along. I doubt the Elders will care at all."
No words came to Sohyon, thus he simply sat back silently for a few moments. His eyes searched the other two's, who watched him intently. The Air Nomad's mind ran through everything, picking apart every detail to try to make sense of this. In his heart, he knew that he would be fine with a stowaway—if it was only Eizo. Kanae set him on edge. Something about her just made him uneasy, but at the same time his childhood friend looked so hopeful, so eager that they might get to stay...
"Fine," Sohyon declared finally. "You two can stay. But don't get involved in what I'm doing—I have a feeling the nobles will get uneasy if too many Air Nomads are prying."
Kanae's face feel and her lips pursed; overall, she seemed rather dissatisfied with the outcome. On the other hand, Eizo was practically leaping with joy. "Don't worry, Soh, politics bore me. I'll be sure to stay out of the way!" The latter announced proudly.
"I suppose if that's the best I'll get, I may as well stick around to at least make sure you don't screw up too badly."
"Then it's settled," Sohyon finished the conversation while leaning back and folding his arms.
Now, Eizo opened his mouth, but Sohyon interrupted quickly, "I just have one last request." The Air Nomad took a deep breath and exhaled into a long sigh. "Let me sleep the rest of the way?"
"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen, Soh." Eizo's tone was solemn and returned with a look of utter disbelief from his friend. In clarification, Eizo added, "I was going to tell you: Meali's making her descent."
Sohyon looked over the edge of his bison to see if what Eizo was true. Indeed Meali had broken through the clouds and he could now see a sprawling city below them. It was like nothing he had ever seen: towering mansions lining a massive throng which Eizo presumed to be the inner city. About halfway through, there was a visible crevice with but one bridge leading over; Sohyon assumed that this was the border between the two empires. Even from their position far above Ishi Sentō, Sohyon could see the flickering of an infinitesimal amount of flames lighting the late afternoon like waking stars. The journey must have been about fifteen hours, Sohyon guessed.
Were Sohyon not so sleep deprived, he knew the view would have been amazing. However, he was rather tired, and for that reason he could not fully take in the beauty of the young metropolis before him. Neither Eizo nor Kanae seemed impressed by the sight. With a sigh, Sohyon grabbed Meali's reins and tugged sharply back. The angle of descent became steeper as Sohyon directed his sky bison to an open plain on which they could land. As he neared the city, faces became visible, whispering and pointing at the mysterious visitors as they took to the ground.
"Ah! You must be the Tiáotíng Zhě we requested of the Air Nomads!" Not thirty seconds after they had landed, the trio was greeted by this voice. The voice was directed towards Sohyon, who was in the middle of dismounting Meali. A few moments after Sohyon leapt from the bison, Eizo and Kanae followed. They, however, were not greeted with enthusiastic words; rather, the latter two were met with a brief glare of contempt.
The man who greeted them was rather oddly dressed: wearing brilliant, obnoxious greens and yellows in what was clearly high-quality silk robes. While his clothes flaunted affluence, his face was quite a contrast. A crooked nose lay in the middle of an unimpressive middle-aged face lined with whatever wrinkles his skin-care products could not remove. Beneath the nose a goatee which was clearly well-groomed but rather gross in its length—stretching down just below his collarbone. His hair was equally disturbing: long and untied with streaks of gray against his temples.
This was the first outsider Sohyon had ever seen, but he chose not to judge harshly. "Who are you? And what's ' Tiáotíng Zhě '?" The Air Nomad sorted out all his jumbled thoughts to give these two careful questions.
"Where are my manners?" The strange-looking man throughout his arms in an exasperated gesture before continuing, "I am Lord Genkei Saromi. Tiáotíng Zhě is you, my friend! That is, I assume you are the mediator sent by the Air Nomad Elders?"
"Yes, I am—"
"Excellent! Normally I would have sent one of my servants to retrieve you; however, this is a very special occasion." The manner with which Lord Saromi said "special" made Sohyon's stomach churn. Whether warranted or not, Sohyon did not like this man. "If you don't mind answering a question yourself, I must inquire as to who your two friends are. The Elders said they were only sending one mediator...?"
"We're here to help," Kanae interjected before Sohyon could reply. This was met with a brief look of scorn from Lord Saromi, however Kanae continued, "I am Kanae and this is Eizo," she gestured towards the aforementioned. "This isn't a job to be taken off by any one person alone save the Avatar, and since Sohyon here isn't the Avatar, the Elders sent us just in case."
"'Just in case'..." Lord Saromi repeated the phrase, as if trying to decide whether he would believe it or not. He kept a straight face as he continued, "It just so happens I am holding a party at my manor. I extend this invitation to your friends as well... Seunghun was it?"
"It's 'Sohyon'."
"Of course," Saromi dismissed the correction. "You simply must come to my party. It'll be the perfect opportunity for you to meet all of the most important members of society in both bordering empires, as well as my beautiful wife."
Despite this cordiality, Sohyon still felt uneasy. Not only that, but with how little sleep he had gotten, some party was the last thing he wanted. Even more so since this was really his first time outside of the Air Temple. "I don't want to be rude, Lord Saromi, but we really can't—"
"I cannot let you refuse! All of the people worth knowing will be there!" The noble seemed keen on ensuring that Sohyon come.
Finally, Sohyon's shoulders fell and he knew he had been defeated. Still, he thought to inquire, "Will the Emperors be there?"
Suddenly, Lord Saromi began to laugh very loudly. It was almost frightening, causing all three of the Air Nomads to reel in shock. His mouth opened wide as he continued to chortle, almost as if he had turned into some frightening beast which would devour them in any moment. "Of course they won't be there! The Emperor and the Empress would have to bring their whole Royal Guard forces with them! That does not befit any party of mine."
The mediator was beginning to wonder what exactly a party of Lord Saromi's was. He was not given a chance to further question this, as the noble continued, "However, you will find Emperor Mashita's son. He's never missed one of my parties."
Sohyon looked back at Kanae and Eizo pleadingly, as if asking them to try and get him out of this. Lord Saromi appeared to take a liking to interrupting people: before either could speak, he grabbed Sohyon's shoulder and turned him around. "Come with me to my manor," he instructed. "Your friends should come, too!" Now, Sohyon's expression changed from one of pleading to one which sent a murderous message that Kanae and Eizo had better come along as well. "I even have a place for your bison to stay," Lord Saromi continued, nodding towards the almost-forgotten beast.
They fell into step, walking for about ten minutes before reaching the edge of the city. Waiting for them was another odd-looking man. This one was more poorly dressed and frighteningly skinny with thin hair sitting atop his head. He bowed as Lord Saromi came into his vision. "Take the Tiáotíng Zhě's bison to the stables for some rest."
Without responding, the apparent servant bowed once more and approached the bison. When his hand wrapped around Meali's reins, however, the bison instantly dug her heels into the ground and released a terrifying roar. The servant staggered backwards, but Sohyon simply approached his bison and began stroking her side. "It's okay, girl..."
Lord Saromi's eyes darted from the bison to Eizo and Kanae and then to Sohyon. There was a strange light in those sickly mint green orbs in his skull—scheming. "Why don't you have your friends accompany my servant? I'll have him lead them to the party afterwards."
"That's fine by me," Eizo replied, speaking for the first time since they had landed. He looked over towards Sohyon and gave a wild grin. "Don't worry; I'll make sure our fair maiden here stays safe in the rough and tough city."
"Don't test my patience," Kanae snapped, which spurred a chuckle from Eizo. "And you," she said to Sohyon, "don't get into any trouble while I'm not around."
"Perfect!" Lord Saromi clapped his hands together, shot a look to his servant, and quickly began guiding Sohyon away.
After Lord Saromi and Sohyon were out of sight, Kanae and Eizo shot each other a quick look. They hadn't known each other for long, but as the only two airbenders they wanted to make sure they had an understanding. One look and each knew the other was equally suspicious. Something about this situation didn't seem entirely real, but they wouldn't be able to talk in front of the servant. Eizo grabbed Meali's reins and turned to Lord Saromi's man: "Well, show us the way!"
Ever silent, the mysterious servant led Eizo and Kanae along the outskirts of town. Both were a tad disappointed they would not have the opportunity to view the interior of the city, but a ten-ton flying bison in the street would most certainly attract too much unwanted attention. The servant really seemed intent on their arrival at this barn, so Eizo and Kanae followed without speaking at all. Not that there was really any point in speaking.
Neither was sure how long they walked, but eventually they arrived at a run-down barn-looking place. The two Air Nomads glanced at each other nervously while the servant sifted through pockets to produce a key. He struggled with some locks on the door before finally tugging it open. Still without a word, he stood beside the open door. Eizo and Kanae took the cue to lead Meali into the barn.
They entered with the bison to set up a place for her to sleep. Then, sudden darkness engulfed them. The door of the barn was shut. Each cursed him and herself for not trusting his and her instincts. Eizo ran up to the wall and began banging on it with all his might. "Hey! Dammit! Open the door!"
"It's useless..."
"Get my staff!" Eizo gestured back towards Kanae. With a sigh, she obliged. Both had packed their staves, just in case worst came to worst—which it seemed to have. Using her airbending to propel Eizo's staff through the air, she threw it to him. He caught it, and in one clean movement whipped around to strike at the door with a blast of his bending. The door gave a little, but more than that Eizo was thrown backwards with the power of his own attack.
The wind was knocked out of him, and for a moment he simply remained there. Meali cried. It was a small whimper: a disheartening noise to hear come from such a mighty animal. "What just happened?"
Kanae approached the door, feeling the wood against her hand. "It looks like Lord Saromi doesn't want us at his party after all." Her hand traced along the door until finally she felt a small crack. The female Air Nomad bent down, putting her ear close to hear what was outside. "Breathing..." This sole word came as a hushed whisper. She stepped away from the door and folded her arms in a frustrated manner. "And it looks like he doesn't want us leaving, either."
"At least it's nice to see that he cares," Eizo said with a slight smirk.
"I've never liked the overly-protective type."
Bright lights and loud laughter met Sohyon as he and Lord Saromi neared the latter's home. Already he was feeling sick to his stomach, and he hadn't even set foot in the party. The Air Nomad was regretting this decision, but it seemed there was no turning back.
"Isn't this the most wonderful sight, Soon-chun, my friend?"
Wonderful was one word for it. Outside the house was a large garden with a pond running through the center. Sohyon imagined that normally the scent would be fresh, like the gardens the Elders used to keep. Gorgeous flowers bloomed beside the water, obviously flourishing from the proximity to liquid. Smaller koi fish flitted through the water, their orange scales glinting against the setting sun.
It was hardly evening, yet people were already regaling in the nightlife of drinking and mischief. Not only did these rather repulsive behaviors deter Sohyon, but they served as a harsh reminder to the lack of real sleep he had gotten since around this time the day before. The overwhelming scent of alcohol and clouds of perfume choked whatever beauty there was to be found in the garden, but Lord Saromi seemed to relish this. As they entered, some looked and watched them, but most did not.
Miraculously, Lord Saromi seemed to find a cup of whatever beverage and clear his throat loudly. "My treasured guests, the Tiáotíng Zhě has arrived to quell this madness that has been dividing our wonderful homelands."
There was some polite clapping, but more prevalent were hushed tones snaking through the crowd. Sohyon could not make them out, but he knew they were directed towards him. He cleared his throat uncomfortably as Lord Saromi beamed, made a wild hand gesture, and turned to him once more. "Sohyon, I would like you to meet my wife." As he made the introduction, a thin, tall young woman stepped to Lord Saromi's side. She was probably thirty years his junior, and probably a good seven centimeters taller. Lord Saromi was not a tall man, but regardless the sight was rather strange. Lady Saromi was pretty, to say the least, with deep brown hair tied into an elaborate hairstyle, garbed in clothes which rivaled her husband's in terms of elegance, and little make-up other than crimson lipstick.
For a second, Sohyon thought he saw Lady Saromi lick her the tip of her teeth while looking at him, but Sohyon had absolutely no idea what to do with this so he simply dismissed it as his imagination. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Saromi."
"Ah, but I'm sure you don't care much about my wife," Lord Saromi spoke quickly, seeming to instantly forget about the woman he had just called over as he looked over the crowd. "The young Lord Mashita doesn't appear to have arrived just yet, but you should mingle with the rest of my guests!" With that, both Lord and Lady Saromi seemed to dissipate into the crowd.
Sohyon did not need to search for anyone in the crowd to talk to. Within moments of Lord Saromi leaving, a noble approached him. She was hardly worth looking at, especially compared to Lady Saromi, but she just started talking. For the most part, Sohyon was too tired to register what she was saying, until he caught the word "Saromi" and "Mashita" in the same sentence.
"What did you just say?" Sohyon asked, blinking rapidly as if he had just woken up.
"That my husband is a sexist ass with the social awareness of a rock?" The noblewoman repeated the phrase tentatively. Though the influence of Lord Saromi's alcohol was strong, she still had the common sense to be worried that she might have made a mistake in saying this.
"No," Sohyon clarified, "before that."
"Oh, all I said is that Saromi always puts on these shows and says that he's the neutral party, but everyone here knows he's Emperor Mashita's right hand man and biggest supporter." She shrugged, as if this wasn't that big of a deal.
"He is?"
"Oh, dear! You're that cut off?" Suddenly, the noblewoman seemed excited. Other similarly aged housewives swarmed to the area, as if smelling the gossip. "There's a reason none of Empress Ichihara's supporters are ever at Lord Saromi's parties!"
"They say," one of the new women added, "that he has a special poisoned glass just for Empress Ichihara if she ever comes."
"Not only that!" Another interrupted quickly, "They say he has a team of assassins hiding out in the bushes to take out any of her supporters!"
"That's simply frightful!"
"I know, so uncivilized!"
"Really, though," the first one spoke in a whisper now, and they all leaned in to hear what she had to say. "I've heard the young Lord Mashita boast that he'd scalp any of her supporters who step foot in the same ground as him. He was roaring drunk of course, but still!"
"Hee!" One woman sharply took in air in a sort of frightened squeak. "He's so frightening."
"I know! My husband is a strong supporter of the Mashita family, but they scare me quite frankly. I've never heard of any man wanting to start a war over being rejected."
"What?" Sohyon interjected, caught off guard by the last woman's comment.
"Oh, sweetie, do you not even know about the war? After Emperor Mashita's wife—the young Lord Mashita's mother—died, he proposed to Empress Ichihara. Wanted to unite their empires, but he was utterly rejected! Through a tantrum and declared Empress Ichihara and her supporters enemies of the Stone Empire. And that's why you're here, to try and get both sides to see reason."
"I say more power to the woman," one noblewoman said while taking a sip of alcohol. The others got quiet, and so she added, "I wish I had the gall to reject an Emperor with anger issues running in his family."
They all laughed heartily. One pointed over towards a crowd and said, "Ah, speak of the spirits and the spirits shall come. If it isn't the young Lord Mashita, making his typical late appearance."
Surely enough, a young man entered the garden; his arms were wrapped around two young, promiscuously dressed women. It seemed that the youth of this society were quite a contrast to the elders. The young Lord Mashita was simply drop dead gorgeous. Not the sort of pretty-boy looks, but rather just rugged enough that one could immediately tell he had no difficulty picking up women. His clothes appeared more expensive than all the other outfits in the party combined, judging from the expensive silks and regal dyes. Even his hair style probably cost as much as any one of the noblewomen's outfits: styled to appear as if it had not been in a half-tied up bun with a few strands of hair falling over his face. He had facial hair like Eizo's, except contrary to Sohyon's friend, he appeared to actually be able to grow more of a beard but simply liked it this way.
"Servant! Get me some sake. I want to be drunk within the hour and black out within the next!" With that, he turned to one of the girls next to him and licked her face, suggesting that he was already somewhat intoxicated. The servant nearest to him sighed, but had to oblige. Judging from the disgusted expressions from everyone at the party—including the two girls beside the young Lord Mashita—Sohyon guessed that this young noble was not the most popular.
While waiting for his drink, the Emperor's son's eyes wandered, eventually falling upon Sohyon. Too late, Sohyon realized that it was proper to look away, as everyone else was doing. The servant arrived with the drink, which the young Lord Mashita promptly took and spilled on top of the servant's head. "Looks like the Air Nomads finally decided to send the mediator we asked for half a year ago." His arms dropped from around the two girls and he walked over to Sohyon with a smirk.
As Lord Mashita neared Sohyon, the busybodies around him quickly dispersed, leaving almost a hole in the crowd where the Air Nomad and Lord Mashita simply studied each other for a moment. "You must be Emperor Mashita's son."
"Eiichi Mashita, yeah." He responded simply. Before Sohyon could return the introduction, the young Lord Mashita aggressively pressed his finger into Sohyon's chest, pushing him backwards. "You'd better not give that bitch from the Mountain Empire anything. She deserves to be skinned alive, which is what I'd do if I saw her."
"I'm here to mediate, not pass judgement," Sohyon explained simply.
"Well you'd better mediate that whore to her grave."
"That's not exactly what mediating is..."
"I know what mediating is, you son of a bitch!" Suddenly, the Eiichi threw a wild punch at Sohyon's face. Out of instinct, Sohyon simply bent over backwards and the punch cut through air. It was sloppy form anyways, but this seemed to only get the young noble more upset. "How could I forget that Air Nomads are ball-less bastards who can do nothing but dodge?"
It was clear that Eiichi was trying to get Sohyon upset, but any attempt to do so would be just as fruitless. Eizo would be spitting fire at this point, though—come to think of it, he probably would have been even before Eiichi had spoken. Remembering his friend, Sohyon wondered at the back of his mind what was taking them so long. "Maybe by your standards," he replied simply and vaguely.
"Ah, what have I missed?" Lord Saromi's voice broke through the tension. The crowd parted as the middle-aged noble approached Eiichi and Sohyon. His smile seemed murderous, and now Sohyon was beginning to think that he'd rather brawl with the brat than deal with Lord Saromi again.
"Saromi, where have you been?" Eiichi growled.
"I apologize; I had to see to a few of my guests..."
Neither Eizo nor Kanae was sure how long they had been in the barn. It didn't seem like long so far—maybe an hour tops. "We're going to be stuck in here until we die, aren't we?" Eizo said glumly while lying on a pile of hay and counting the ceiling boards.
"Don't be ridiculous, why would they post guards to watch soon-to be corpses?"
"Good point." With that, there was silence again. "So will you sleep with me while we wait?"
"No," Kanae paused after saying this. "You strike me as the sort to give a cheesy pick-up line rather than be so straightforward."
"Well, I assumed you wouldn't get any pick-up line, Air Nomads being so prude an' all." Eizo thought for a moment, and then cast a sly smile towards Kanae, "So how 'bout it, then? You wanna go for a ride on my staff?" He raised his eyebrows flirtatiously.
"I might be convinced to consider it," she replied with a flirtatious grin. The reply caught Eizo off-guard, leaving him too dumbfounded to think up another reply.
The door of the barn suddenly creaked open. Both Eizo and Kanae leapt to their feet, watching to see who would enter. "Am I interrupting you two love birds?" Lord Saromi stood in the door frame, his body an eerie silhouette in the contrasting light.
"Actually, you kind of are—" Eizo started to say jokingly, only to receive an elbow in the ribcage.
"What are you pulling, Saromi?" A scowl was now drawn across Kanae's face.
"It's Lord Saromi," the noble corrected, "I am not 'pulling' anything. I just came to deliver a message." He took a step closer to Kanae, but she did not back down. "Don't get in my way. Keep out of the dealings between your friend, my friend, and that Empress bitch and you might just stay as pretty and living as you are."
"Is that a threat or a challenge, Saromi?" Kanae smirked and took a step closer to Saromi. Contrary to Kanae, he now took a step backwards.
Lord Saromi gestured to one of the guards outside, who brought him a torch. "I hear air feeds fire. Let's test the theory." He took a step out of the doorway and dropped the torch.
The flame instantly touched the dry straw, spreading quickly to the wooden walls and soon lighting the whole barn on fire. Meali roared loudly and began nudging Eizo, who was closest to her. "Come on, girl, let's get out of here!" Covering his mouth against the smoke, Eizo grabbed Meali's reins and led her out of the burning building, with Kanae not far behind. They made it to the doorway before a burning support began to fall. Eizo was tugged out of the way just in time by Meali, but the burning wood fell directly in their way.
Both Air Nomads had very irritated things to say, but they chose to conserve their oxygen rather than shout at each other. They knew they had to find a way out, and right now that was all that mattered. Eizo's eyes darted around, while Kanae appeared to be getting woozy. In his searching, he saw a small area of roof which was not yet ablaze. He gestured to Kanae, but she apparently couldn't see him. Seeing no other option, he grabbed her up and chucked her on to Meali's saddle before using his bending to propel himself upward as well. Once seated, he grabbed Meali's reins, and snapped them to tell Meali it was time to leave. The bison understood, and propelled herself upward with a flap of her tail, crashing through the wood with a painful moan.
Once they were clear of the burning building, Meali fell to the ground. It was clear that she was in pain, but right now Eizo could tell Kanae was in worse shape. Her skin was practically white and she had lost consciousness. Carefully, Eizo rested his hand on her chest to feel if she was breathing. Just barely: each breath was coming as a raspy gasp. Eizo swore under his breath and sat back, praying to the spirits that she wouldn't die.
"This is a bit of a shot in the dark, Lord Saromi," Sohyon began speaking to the host tentatively, "But have you happened to see either of my friends? It's been a while and they should be here..."
"Your friends...?" Saromi repeated the phrase as if he was trying to remember who Sohyon was talking about. "Ah, yes. My servant returned to me and said that things were getting quite... fiery between them and thus he chose to leave them be."
Sohyon's brows furrowed skeptically. Meanwhile, Eiichi was making sure that everyone could tell how bored he was by picking at his fingernails and yawning. "I have prepared housing for you if you would like to retire for the night. I'll have one of my servants show you to it," the noble continued. It seemed as if all Saromi's servants had some sort of radar to detect when he said "servant", as now another appeared. He bowed, and held out his arm to show Sohyon the way.
As Eizo was rapidly calling upon any spirits he knew, a figure came into view over the horizon. He recognized the uniform clearly: one of Saromi's servants. From Meali's saddle, Eizo removed his staff and gracefully leapt from the saddle, using airbending to break his fall. Then, he marched over to the servant and pointed his staff at the poor man's throat. "What do you want?" Eizo growled.
Without speaking, the servant removed a note from his breast pocket and handed it to Eizo. One hand still holding the staff, Eizo opened the letter and read its contents. All that was written was an address. He looked up to question the servant, but he was already gone. Now, Eizo saw little choice but to follow the address written and bring Meali and Kanae with him.
The building Sohyon was lead to stood just as regally as everything else he had seen: gorgeous traditional architecture lined with what was clearly a fresh paint job. There seemed to be stables nearby, and he noticed the feet of Meali and assumed that she was sound asleep from the long journey.
Sohyon's hand pressed against the door and he carefully opened it. "Eizo? Are you he—" His sentence was interrupted by the sight of Eizo bent over the unconscious body of the female Air Nomad. "Eizo! What happened?! Is she...?"
"She's alive..." Eizo admitted as his friend breathed a sigh of relief. "But I'll kill that bastard Saromi."
"Saromi? What happened?!"
"He led us to this old barn and then... just up and lit the place on fire! Then he had the guts to send one of his apparently mute and disappearing servants to give us an invitation to come to this place." Eizo shook his head in disbelief. "I know it sounds ridiculous. I wouldn't believe it if I were in your shoes, but it's true. And Kanae will tell you the same thing when she wakes up. He told us not to get involved."
Words simply could not fit the situation, so Sohyon simply paced for a few moments. Everything that happened was so muddled in his mind—he had to make some sort of sense as to what happened. All this information was now in front of him, yet he still had the feeling that he was only seeing part of the picture. Especially now that this had happened; some things just weren't adding up. "I can tell your thinking, Sohyon. You have that face. What are you thinking about?"
Rubbing his temples, Sohyon forced his face to relax before replying, "This is all just such a pain in the ass..."
"You're telling me."
"I haven't slept in days," Sohyon said simply. "I'm going to get some rest. I have a feeling that tomorrow's going to be a big day..."
Before Sohyon could do anything, there was a knocking at his door. Cautiously, he opened the door just enough to see that it wasn't Saromi or one of his servants on the other side. Rather, an unfamiliar figure stood with a letter in his hand. "The Empress invites you to a formal brunch tomorrow at her manor. I will return at ten o'clock tomorrow morning to take you there."
"Fine, fine..." Sohyon pulled the letter through the crack in the door, making sure not to open the door enough for this messenger to see that Kanae was badly injured. Without any courtesies, he closed the door again and left to retrieve his things from Meali to sleep.
But first, the Air Nomad knew he had to write in that blasted journal. He made sure to remove it and make himself some ink before sitting at the desk before him to begin writing.
Day One:
Today I arrived in Ishi Sentō. Or, rather, this evening. It appears I have a few unexpected stowaways. The Elders are probably upset with Eizo and Kanae for following me, and I expect you'll know as much if you come to deal with the issue. Most of the day I spent flying, though I did not get much sleep. Almost immediately upon my arrival, a noble by the name of Lord Genkei Saromi greeted me and pulled me into one of his parties. In short, it was a rather excruciating process, though surprisingly useful. The middle-aged housewives might seem worthless, but they have quite a helpful wealth of gossip. Neither the Emperor nor the Empress were present, but what is important is that I learned the true nature of the conflict.
Apparently, Emperor Mashita of the Stone Empire proposed to Empress Ichihara of the Mountain Empire, but was rejected. I know I haven't heard the full story, but that is what I was able to gather on the first day. It seems like a rather petty squabble to me, but both sides seem to be getting rather irritated over it. At Lord Saromi's party, I met Emperor Mashita's son. He is, to be frank, a pompous jerk, however I found that as the day progressed, I rather preferred Lord Mashita to Lord Saromi, though the latter puts on far more of a mannered air.
Lord Saromi apparently attacked my friends—though indirectly as would suit a politician—and Kanae is still recovering. He might seem polite, but... don't trust the faces in the shadows: they have much more to hide than those in the open. That was a good line, wouldn't you say? I'll need to look more into the Lord Saromi character, but for now I have nothing more to say.
Oh, and you're a girl, aren't you? Lord Mashita's a licker, just a heads up.
-Sohyon, Day One
- The "staff" joke is inspired by/taken from all those famous jokes of TAD's...
See more
For the collective works of the author, go here.


text:
Time to think about voting power
I'm surprised that this hasn't cropped up yet but no one seems to have measured voting power in the potential hung parliament. Tim Harford offers a nice primer for those unfamiliar with the idea. The way to think about it is, what value do individual independents have to form coalitions and win majority votes?
The Shapley-Shubik index seems to me to be appropriate for our current situation. Here are some scenarios. The last one is where the Nationals candidate wins O'Connor but decides to go independent. Notice that Tony Crook is far more valuable to the Coalition than he would be as an independent so you can see what will likely happen there.
Anyhow, this exercise demonstrates that the power of the independents changes little as there are more or less than them but who actually wins more seats amongst the majors matters alot. Specifically, if the major parties can sign on independents as ministers and lock them into their voting block that matters a great deal compared to an informal undertaking.
You can calculate these yourself on Dennis Leech's website.
2 Responses to "Time to think about voting power"
This looks like crunching numbers for numbers' sake. The Coalition will struggle to form a majority with 72 seats? That's not exactly earth-shattering news. I'm sure Mike Rann didn't consult Shapley-Shubik before offering ministries to two independents when he led a minority SA government either.
Wlikie might still win in Denison – projections based on regressions on the individual booth results have him beating the ALP on two-candidate preferred. That's not enough to win (he has to avoid being excluded earlier on), but he is a decent chance.
I am wondering what the three independents do. at this moment they look like they will be moving to labor.
waiting game


text:
- Chipotle 1528 Georgesville Rd14.Dec 2015
- Employee
Support from Management
Goals are set and obtainable as long as time management isn't an issue. As far as decision making, though, you pretty much find out what's going on with the company when the general public finds out.
Suggestions for improvement
- Make sure that each location is properly staffed so employees don't end up getting overworked and overly frustrated
What I like about the company
They promote from within
What I dislike about the company
Employees can get stuck doing just one task the whole day, like making and bagging one dinner or lunch service stock of chips. The task consists of standing in front of a fryer for 2-3 hours for one services worth, which leaves you very hot and sweaty. If you are very good at it you can get stuck doing it all day. No one wants a horrible chip so if the location is very busy most likely the best chip maker will have to make lunch and dinners stock of chips. And if you aren't so good at it , and the location isn't so busy, you can get stuck doing it all day, too. What better way to learn....


text:
Geared to a Main Street audience, this e-newsletter will provide a sampling of the latest speeches, research, podcasts, videos, lesson plans and much more. Sign up now to have this emailed to you monthly at no charge.View Publication
The Econ Lowdown e-newsletter is the most convenient way for economics and personal finance teachers to stay up-to-date on the latest videos, podcasts, curriculum, classroom activities and events from the St. Louis Fed.View Publication
Robert Hopkins, regional executive and vice president for the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, published an editorial in the April 16 issue of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette calling out the need for improved financial literacy education. Hopkins highlighted success stories in states with mandated financial education and pointed out free resources available through the Fed for kindergarten through college classrooms and for consumers.


text:
Archive for Chef Demos
Expert knife sharpening by local blacksmith Arnon Kartmazov!
Montavilla's own Arnon Kartmazov of Bridgetown Forge is back at MFM, on Sunday, July 30th, 2017! Here's a few words from Arnon about his practices: "Having lived and apprenticed in Japan for a long time, my attitude to knife-making and knife sharpening... Read More
Thanksgiving Comes Early to the Montavilla Farmers Market!
We're thrilled to announce a special Thanksgiving edition (if you will) of our Market Chef series! This coming Sunday, Nov. 18th, come see the Country Cat's own Mike Eels and Daniel Miller of Adalu Stew-- both former Market Demo Chefs -- join... Read More
Market Chef : Patrick Pugh
Yes! It's true! We have not one but TWO market chefs this week. Patrick Pugh (who you may recognize from around the market) will be bringing his chefing skills to the demo table to accompany Arnon Kartmazov and his sure-to-be amazing... Read More
Market Chef : Kimi Reid of Slow Food Portland
Meet Kimi Reid, the very adorable chef who will be representing Slow Food Portland at the Chef Demo table this week at the market! We were able to spend a little time with her this week, and here for your... Read More
Market Chef : Leather Storrs
Noble Rot chef Leather Storrs is a Portland cheffing rarity : he's actually an Oregon native! While we love our PDX transplants, it's pretty fun to celebrate a home town boy once in a while. He left the state briefly... Read More
Nathan Gerdes: recipes
The market was delighted to have a demo the other week from Nathan Gerdes of Kask. He concocted some fine mocktails inspired by the season. Here's how to make them yourself! Holding on to the last bits of summer: 1 part Basil... Read More


text:
Link's Triforce of Courage sounds impressive, but as the big bad in this comic points out to Link, it's not the coolest Triforce you can have. Courage just means you are willing to face down the monsters, not that you're necessarily able to slay them. I never thought about it that way before. Luckily, Zelda swoops into the dire scene to save the day and be hilarious.
See the full comic after the break.
(via Dorkly)


text:
Raiseys Originals HYDRATE sports drink products are the best tasting (like a lemonade popsicle) and are among the most effective on the market today. They taste so good, we only need the one flavour!
This is our best selling product! It tastes great....just like a lemonade popsicle (everyones favourite iceblock). Its not too sweet and has a good blend of carbs and electrolytes and it works! Rehydration is not an optional extra out there these days when you're working hard at whatever your passion is. We have many cyclists, triathletes, cricket and footy teams, shearers, window cleaners and courier drivers all using HYDRATE and loving it.
CLICK HERE FOR HYDRATE BACK LABEL, INGREDIENTS & NUTRITIONAL INFOView full product details
To help keep you functioning normally or to perform at your peak for longer.
Available in 300g, 800g and 2kg zip top foil bags.
HYDRATE-X combines electrolytes and carbohydrates in a re freshing drink that is absorbed by your body faster than water alone.
A scientifically balanced formula ensures that electrolytes lost in sweat are restored, fluid is replaced and glucose is provided for your body's immediate energy needs.
Cramp hurts! It can severely restrict your everyday lifestyle or stifle your athletic performance. HYDRATE-X contains the electrolytes required to help with normal muscle function.
Sports nutritionists from the New Zealand Academy of Sport say to perform at your best you must stay hydrated, as a fluid loss of only 2% of body weight by dehydration can reduce your performance by 10 – 20%.
By avoiding cramp, and staying hydrated, you can maintain your motor skills and stay mentally sharper for longer – international studies indicate athletes can stave off fatigue up to 37% longer!
Drink HYDRATE-X immediately if you start to experience muscle cramp, or drink before and during exercise if you think you may cramp. If you experience night cramps regularly, try drinking HYDRATE-X before sleeping and/or keep a glass by your bed.
Dextrose, maltodextrin, sucrose, magnesium lactate, sodium chloride, citric acid, potassium chloride, calcium lactate, flavour (lemon), sodium citrate, potassium citrate.
HYDRATE-X is manufactured on equipment that may also process products containing egg powder, soy, dairy, and products derived from shellfish.
Excessive consumption of HYDRATE-X may have a laxative effect.
Exercise caution if using HYDRATE-X for hydration purposes only.
HYDRATE-X is not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or for children under 15 years. If you are on a restricted diet please see your health professional before using. HYDRATE-X should not be used as a sole source of nutrition.
Raisey's Originals new HYDRATE-PRO is aimed squarely at our friend the endurance athlete. It's designed to be a quick, easy and high quality race and training nutrition alternative.
The less time and energy you spend feeding, the better. By using HYDRATE-PRO you are able to down your food faster, and more importantly, digest it quicker with minimum energy expenditure. No unwrapping, biting or chewing and no rubbish to carry (and dispose of thoughtfully after the race).
HYDRATE-PRO provides an athlete with 4 key elements of their nutrition program.
• Carbohydrates: uses maltodextrin, a good energy source for endurance athletes and provides rapid transportation of nutrients into your system.
• Protein: an endurance athletes own muscle is "eaten up" during a long race or training. HYDRATE-PRO contains just the right amount to counter this catabolic process and supply extra energy.
• Electrolytes: HYDRATE-PRO provides sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium at higher levels than some electrolyte sports drinks.
• Water: Prevents dehydration, helps faster digestion and replaces fluids lost through perspiration.
HYDRATE-PRO can be added to your nurtitional race plan a number of ways:
• mixed with 500ml water in your bottle as a pre race snack
• adding 1 scoop to your sports drink (flavour compliments HYDRATE)
• freezing a bottle of HYDRATE-PRO the night before your race
• used during your race as a meal either as liquid or paste (see usage rate*)
• taken immediately after your race/training as a recovery drink
Use HYDRATE-PRO as and when you would normally take your race food then every hour after that. (after approx 60-90min as a guide)
USAGE RATE* 1 scoop = 15g
• up to 55kg: 3 scoops per hour
• up to 70kg: 4 scoops per hour
• up to 85kg: 5 scoops per hour
• over 85kg: 6 scoops per hour
For a liquid consistancy, drop desired scoops into your drink bottle and fill with water. For a paste/gel consistancy, drop scoops into a small flask, start with as little water as possible, mix and add water to suit.
Do not mix HYDRATE-PRO more than 12 hours before use unless freezing it.
View full product details
Get your HYDRATE out of these cool new 650ml drink bottles. Like anything we put our name on, we want it to be quality, so we scoured around and found what we reckon are the best bottles you can get. They are soft, comfortable, see through, have a cool little scale on the side so you can see if you are half full or half empty (depending on what kind of person you are) and have a wide diameter mouth so you dont spill your HYDRATE everywhere when you are putting your scoops in. Will save you getting sticky fingers and have all the ants come running. They are good quality bottles, they look cool and are functional and of course are BPA free!
Available in MYSTIC MUSK, DEMENTED BLUE and good old UNCOMPLICATED CLEAR.
View full product details
$7.50 $10.00
I thought not. What are you waiting for then? Get some of this. Heres why!
Would you pay a couple of dollars to give yourself the best chance of being up and ready "the morning after the night before?"
View full product details
$7.50 $10.00
This is our best selling product! It tastes great....just like a lemonade popsicle (everyones favourite iceblock). Its not too sweet and has a good blend of carbs and electrolytes and it works! Rehydration is not an optional extra out there these days when you're working hard at whatever your passion is. We have many cyclists, triathletes, cricket and footy teams, shearers, window cleaners and courier drivers all using HYDRATE and loving it.
View full product details
$14.50 $20.00
Need a bottle, some gel and some rehydration in a hurry? Well check this out!
1 x 650ml Bottle BPA Free
1 x SBEED Honey Gel 70g Tube
1 x HYDRATE Single Sachet 40g (or 3 x HYDRATE option)
$20 products for $14.50... TOO EASY!View full product details


text:
Hardwoods Collection
This expertly handcrafted coffee table features a roundover edge with a solid 1" thick top, dovetailed walnut/maple drawer boxes, and soft close undermount slides. It is designed and constructed in America by an authentic Amish carpenter.
Please call with questions, toll free. 1-866-272-6773.
© Copyrights 2003 - 2017 DutchCrafters All rights reserved.


text:
We used to purchase this toilet paper from Costco a few times a year. The price was great and we really enjoyed the softness & comfort. What I didn't like was that it is all individually wrapped. Seems like an excessive amount of garbage that really isn't necessary. Made the switch to the Walmart store brand and like it just as much if not more.
The thing I like best about this toilet paper is I love that they are individually wrapped. Its a great 2 ply soft for using. it has 450 squares per roll. How do we know. Oh dear my OCD is kicking in. I see in my near future counting to see if there really is. I only decided to write this now since my last review cleat eyes was itching and burning so bad i grabbed said tp and my eyes felt better.. Keep up the great work tp. I will count and see if there really is 450 squares. I also like that if you are short on money most corner stores in my area sell these rolls singularly for $1, I think i paid $17.99 fir 36 and I had a $2 off coupon. great value
I really like this toilet papper as it is nice and soft and the rools are a great size. The price is ok but i only buy when i can get it onsale and stock up!
Relatively soft toilet paper. I only get this brand when its on sale. Its much softer than the store brands version but not as soft as Charmin.
This is a great brand of toilet paper, especially when you buy it in bulk at a store like COSTCO. It's not super expensive but it feels luxurious!
These reviews are the subjective opinions of ChickAdvisor members and not of ChickAdvisor Inc.


text:
Kerby Women, United States
I am an optimist and I show respect for the sensitivities of others. My character is kind, candid, honest, faithful and romantic. I believe in love. I am caressing. I like an activity life. I like to swim and skiing, outdoors activities. I like sea, mountains and nature very much. I fond of...
Natalia, 50 years old, United States
I am a woman, 28 years old, seeking a woman age from 18 till 99
Tony Vee, 28 years old, United States
I love you all
hanan, 33 years old, United States


text:
Rectilinear planar layouts and bipolar orientations of planar graphs
- First Online:
- Received:
- Citations
- 208 Downloads
We propose a linear-time algorithm for generating a planar layout of a planar graph. Each vertex is represented by a horizontal line segment and each edge by a vertical line segment. All endpoints of the segments have integer coordinates. The total space occupied by the layout is at mostn by at most 2n–4. Our algorithm, a variant of one by Otten and van Wijk, generally produces a more compact layout than theirs and allows the dual of the graph to be laid out in an interlocking way. The algorithm is based on the concept of abipolar orientation. We discuss relationships among the bipolar orientations of a planar graph.
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Copyright information
© Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1986


text:
Mix all ingredients for batter in a bowl. Mix really well to make sure batter is smooth and free of any lumps.
Next →
← Previous
Bare Blog
Come gather around the warm glow of the fire and listen, watch, share, discover, and be inspired by the conversation. It is here where we explore stories, and new ideas. Pull up a rock.
Recent Posts
Follow Us


text:
|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|"stack (JIRA)" <j...@apache.org>
|[jira] Updated: (HADOOP-1747) [hbase] On a cluster, on restart, regions multiply assigned
|Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:08:39 GMT
[ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HADOOP-1747?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:all-tabpanel ] stack updated HADOOP-1747: -------------------------- Attachment: hadoop-1747.patch Here's a fix. Commit message to use is below. HADOOP-1747 On a cluster, on restart, regions multiply assigned M src/contrib/hbase/src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HMaster.java Removed some empty lines so I can squeeze more code into a screenful. (assignedRegions): Factored out some code into own methods so this method is made a bit shorter. Added early returns near top -- if nothing to assign, etc. -- so less nesting. Added fix: Instead of iterating over unassignedRegions after all the loadings have been calculated, instead iterate over the locally calculated map, regionsToAssign (Otherwise, we were running over the same territory each time through the loop and were thus giving out same region multiple times). (regionsPerServer, assignRegionsToOneServer, getRegionsToAssign): Added. > [hbase] On a cluster, on restart, regions multiply assigned > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > Key: HADOOP-1747 > URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HADOOP-1747 > Project: Hadoop > Issue Type: Bug > Components: contrib/hbase > Reporter: stack > Assignee: stack > Priority: Minor > Fix For: 0.15.0 > > Attachments: hadoop-1747.patch > > > In a cluster of multiple region servers, on restart, regions are being assigned multiple times often to different servers. -- This message is automatically generated by JIRA. - You can reply to this email to add a comment to the issue online.
|View raw message


text:
Cast: Julia Taylor, Judith Fox, Katalin, Liz Honey, Sammie Rhodes, India Summer, Sasha Grey, Lorelei Lee, Jennifer Love, Tea, Michele
Best Liz Honey Porn Videos (9)You just found 9 Liz Honey porn videos collection ! Naughty Blog has the hottest Liz Honey videos for Free and you can Download them right now. Our users love this pornstar. Check out our 9 sexy Liz Honey porn videos below. Like what you see? Make sure to share our page and sign up for RSS Feed ! Share RSS
Cast: Aletta Ocean, Black Angelika, Samantha, Liz Honey, Lucy Belle, Tiffany Hopkins, Petra Short, Boroka Balls, Wanda, Martina Mercedes
8 fucks with a view.
Merry Christmas !
Dec 24
Merry Christmas to you all ! Hope all your wishes become true.
I've got a gift for you. I collected 12 best Christmas XXX Movies and upload them for you ! So what are you waiting for ? :) Open this post and enjoy your Christmas with these wonderful movies ! Merry Naughty Christmas to all of you !
Good Girls Swallow
Sep 7
Cast: Liz Honey, C.J., Regina Ice, Linda, Chiara Cis, Chloe Delaure, Bob Terminator, James Brossman, Greg Centauro
Bad girls suck, good girls swallow. Greg Centauro, Supercutie C.J., dreamgirl Liz Honey, … fucking their brains out like the cam is running out of tape! Super gonzo!
Only Blowjob – Liz Honey
Aug 16
Liz Honey – Upside down cock chugger!
Released: August 16, 2011
Liz Honey shows us that sweet syrup doesn't only come from beehives! She has her own way of collecting her honey, and I'm definitely a fan of her method! Liz is the sort of girl every guy wishes he could run into ( or cum all over ). She loves to suck cock and she'll show you just how she does it, using a banana! Thomas decided to see how good she was at chugging down his banana upside down. She pulls her top off and wearing just panties with her cup sized tits and a little red bow on her head she goes tit for tat with the chiquita in one hand and the meat in the other! That's a full meal! She's quite the pleaser, suckin down that fruitsicle a mile a m…
Cast: Daniella Rush, Julia Taylor, Monika Sweetheart, Dora Venter,Sandra Russo, Donna Marie, Anita Queen, Liz Honey, Angel Dark,Rita Neri, Bibi Fox, Suzie Diamond, Misty Mild, Carla Cox, Eve Mendes
That ebony skin, those dark sultry eyes, when they lick their lips you know you are in for an interracial sextravaganza! Taste the pleasure they have to give as they ride, pounding, throbbing, thick cocks. There's some delicious, warm chocolate to dip your lollipop into and the Princesses of Darkness are waiting to lick it all off! 7 Scenes!
Dick Play # 6
Jun 1
Cast: Vivien, Thalia, Barbara, Kristy, Gilda Joy, Liz Honey, Monalee
Blonde Girl Booty Battle # 4
Mar 31
Cast: Boz, Dora Venter, Jazmine, Justin Slayer, Liz Honey, Lora Croft, Macy Lane, Nat Turnher, Natalli, Sophie Dee
OnlyBlowjob – Liz Honey
Jan 2
OnlyBlowjob – Liz Honey
Released: January 1, 2011


text:
Why you were stuck in traffic
The filming of "R.I.P.D." jammed up the city today ... and you can thank the film tax credits for the mess. All I have to say is the movie better be more enjoyable that "Knight and Day" ... that was also filmed here.
Here's the abc on the film tax credits ...
Under our bi-partisan film tax credit law (originally signed by Governor Mitt Romney in 2005 and significantly upgraded by Governor Deval Patrick in 2007) studios, producers and filmmakers-who either shoot at least half of their movie or spend at least half of their production budget in the Commonwealth-are eligible for a tax credit equal to 25 cents for every new dollar of spending they bring to Massachusetts. No caps. No limits. No pre-authorization. No pre-certification. No lines. No waiting. No muss. No fuss.
That's not all. Beginning with the start of pre-production and continuing for a period of 12 months, filmmakers are eligible for 100% sales tax exemption on any production related items purchased in the state.
Massachusetts is also the only state in the country that allows filmmakers to take their unused credits either as a direct rebate at 90% of the face value (guaranteed), or to sell them at market rate-whichever is more favorable.


text:
Comback Chair from Space
Kartell revisits the classic 18th Century Windsor 'Comb Back' chair, with this contemporary take by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola
Just arrived in Australia, the Comback features a backrest consisting of seven "teeth" spreading out towards the lumbar region where they meet a reinforced hexagonal rim before extending down to join the seat. Perfectly proportioned, the Comback is a single mould chair made from batch-dyed thermoplastic technopolymer.
Comback is available in four versions, each embodying both comfort and functionality with a well balanced appreciation of the past.
The Comback chair is available as:
- SWIVEL CHAIR: four legs and a swivel shaft in white or black
- SLED CHAIR: two slim tubular side legs available in White, Black, Orangey Red, Yellow, Grey Blue or Hazelnut
- WOODEN CHAIR: four oak-stained Ashwood or white or black painted Beechwood legs
- ROCKING: two rocker legs/runners in Oak-stained Ashwood
Space Furniture


text:
i have a pain in the left side of my chest.my letf breast is smaller as compared to the right one?is this nomal.i havnt experienced a pain before this.when ever i press my nipple,little milk comes out,just like a dot.is this normal.plz reply m worried.READ MORE
is little milk coming out from the breast an indication of breast cancer??
Hi - None of this sounds like it would be related to breast cancer. If your left breast has always been smaller than your right, then it's nothing to worry about - it's normal for you. However, if the right breast has recently grown and become enlarged, then you'd probably want to speak to your doctor about it. As for the milk, it sounds like it could be a hormonal issue; please read our post on nipple discharge for more information about possible causes. And might the pain be related to your menstrual cycle? Bottom line, track all of these changes; if they're cyclical (and seem to worsen around the time of your period0, they're probably related to your cycle. If they worsen—more discharge, more pain, more breast enlargement—see a doctor. And oh, by the way; please don't press your nipple; that's one of the reasons you're noticing discharge. Good luck - PJH
actually i hav delivered a baby 18 months back and have not breastfeeded her much....very little....
now after 17 months when i press my right breast i see a little milky discharge....i am worried .....wat could b d reason..can i breastfeed evn now...plzz replyREAD MOREYou should know Answers to your question are meant to provide general health information but should not replace medical advice you receive from a doctor. No answers should be viewed as a diagnosis or recommended treatment for a condition. Content posted by community members does not necessarily reflect the views of Remedy Health Media, which also reserves the right to remove material deemed inappropriate.DISPLAY TEXTLINK URL


text:
1300 36 33 32
Sunday 3 September is Father's Day! Buy Dad a book from our Fantastic Father's Day Book Catalogue...
Buy A Mouse Called Wolf by Dick King-Smith from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, Boomerang Books.
Book Details
(March 1999)
(August 1997)
Audio cassette
(July 1999)
» Have you read this book? We'd like to know what you think about it - write a review about Mouse Called Wolf book by Dick King-Smith and you'll earn 50c in Boomerang Bucks loyalty dollars (you must be a Boomerang Books Account Holder - it's free to sign up and there are great benefits!)
Write Review
DICK KING-SMITH was a Gloucestershire farmer until the age of 45, when he gave up farming to become a primary school teacher. Now a bestselling full-time author, his work has received many awards including a Bronze Medal for the Smarties Prize of l997 for All Because of Jackson and the Children's Book Award in l995 for Harriet's Hare. In l992, he was also voted Children's Author of the Year. In l995, his top-selling title The Sheep-Pig was developed into a box-office movie, BABE, introducing hundreds of thousands of youngsters to his work.
Boomerang Books customers who bought A Mouse Called Wolf by Dick King-Smith also bought the following titles:
Phone: 1300 36 33 32
(10am-5pm Mon-Fri AEST)
+61 2 9960 7998
© 2003-2017. All Rights Reserved. Eclipse Commerce Pty Ltd - ACN: 122 110 687 - ABN: 49 122 110 687


text:
NextEra Reaches Pact With Lenders on Funding Oncor BuyBy
Utility owner sees funding $9.5 billion for debt repayment
Credit Suisse, Bank of America, lead list of lenders
NextEra Energy Inc.. has reached agreement with financial institutions on its bid to buy Energy Future Holdings Corp.'s Oncor Electric Delivery Co. utility in Texas.
As part of the transaction, NextEra plans to fund $9.5 billion, primarily for the repayment of about all of the Energy Future Intermediate Holding Company debt, NextEra said in a statement Monday.
NextEra has proposed to take over the biggest transmission operator in a state where regulators have already proven they can drive a tough bargain. An investor group led by Dallas-based Hunt Consolidated Inc. tried and failed in May to buy Oncor. At stake is a transaction that's key to Energy Future's emergence from one of the biggest bankruptcies of all time, involving the restructuring of about $50 billion in debt.
NextEra has previously agreed to buy all of the equity of reorganized Energy Future Holdings and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Energy Future Holdings' approximately 80 percent indirect interest in Oncor.
The transaction is subject to bankruptcy court approval of the merger agreement and Energy Future's reorganization plan as well as the Public Utility Commission of Texas. NextEra expects the transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both NextEra and Energy Future Holdings, to be completed in the first quarter of 2017.
Credit Suisse Group AG, and Bank of America Corp. are lead lenders in a group that includes Deutsche Bank AG, UBS Group AG, Wells Fargo & Co., BNP Paribas SA, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Credit Agricole SA, KeyCorp., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Bank of Nova Scotia, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., The Toronto-Dominion Bank Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and U.S. National Bank Holdings Corp., according to the statement.


text:
|Business News
Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Blog is marketing and communications insights from the edge. Mitch Joel will unravel the complex world of digital marketing and social media with the perspective of a digital marketing agency. The Six Pixels Of Separation podcast is also here. Join the digital marketing conversation. Take part in the new marketing discussion. Stay tuned to see how this interactive agency is making a digital difference. While marketers still struggle to understand online marketing, an entirely new generation of marketing opportunities is already taking place and they're being created by your customers. The Twist Image blog is here for all of your digital marketing adventures.
October 12th, 2008
Episode 126 of 577 episodes
Welcome to episode #125 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast. While I was supposed to meet Niall Cook (author of Enterprise 2.0) in person, we wound up doing a phone conversation on the future of work, how companies are dealing with these social tools and what you need to know about it. It's a twenty-minute plus conversation and there are lots of kernels of truth and knowledge for you to play with and bring it into the office. On top of that, there is a Six Points of Separation on ways to make Work 2.0 work for you. Enjoy the conversation... Here it is: Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast - Episode #125 - Host: Mitch Joel. Running time: 44:00. Audio comment line - please send in a comment and add your voice to the audio community: +1 206-666-6056. Please send in questions, comments, suggestions - [email protected] Hello from Beautiful Montreal. Subscribe over at iTunes. Please visit and leave comments on the Blog - Six Pixels of Separation. Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook. or you can connect on LinkedIn. ...or on twitter. Facebook Group - Six Pixels of Separation Podcast Society. In a perfect world, I'd love for you to connect with me, directly, through my Facebook profile instead of joining the group - but, that's your call. Check out my other Podcast, Foreword Thinking - The Business And Motivational Book Review Podcast - sponsored by HarperCollins Canada. Foreword Thinking - Episode #11 featuring Michael Gerber - E-Myth Revisited and Awakening The Entrepreneur Within. The Best Practices In Social Media Marketing Writing Project. Prizes too: Apple iPod Shuffle – 1gb. Always Be Testing – Bryan Eisenberg. Word of Mouth Marketing – Andy Sernovitz – 4 copies. Is Digital Marketing recession proof? send in your audio comments for a future episode of Six Pixels of Separation. Heidi Miller - Knight News Challenge. EveryBlock - Adrian Holovaty. In conversation with Niall Cook – author of Enterprise 2.0 - Worldwide Director of Marketing Technology at Hill & Knowlton. Special thanks to David Jones from Inside PR and PR Works. Six Points of Separation – Six Ways To Get Your Company Excited About Social Tools: 1. Choose only one tool. 2. Hype it up. 3. Run a beta group. 4. Make it fun. 5. "Me too" model. 6. Follow-up. Music from the Podsafe Music Network. Alice Cooper – 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' – Live at Montreux. Please join the conversation by sending in questions, feedback and ways to improve Six Pixels Of Separation. Please let me know what you think or leave an audio comment at: +1 206-666-6056. Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast - Episode #125 - Host: Mitch Joel. Tags: adrian holovaty advertising alice cooper always be testing andy sernovitz apple awakening the entrepreneur within best practices in social media marketing blog blogging bryan eisenberg business david jones digital marketing emyth revisited enterprise 20 everyblock facebook facebook group foreword thinking google harpercollins canada heidi miller hill and knowlton inside pr ipod shuffle itunes jay moonah knight news challenge marketing mass media media driving michael gerber motivational books niall cook online social network podcast podcasting podsafe music network pr works six pixels of separation social media marketing social tools twist image twitter web 20 word of mouth marketing book work 20
You'll need to sign in to write a comment.
Welcome to the Brain Training Podcast, the daily audio workout for your head. In this podcast we have two games for you, each with three rounds which get progressively harder. To enjoy the full experience, relax, and avoid distractions whilst you listen.


text: Guilty of taking its eye off the ball at a crucial point in the smartphone game, RIM has bled market share. The Canadian firm has also been rocked by delayed product launches and its besieged former management team. As a result, investors have lost faith in RIM during the last 12 months, pushing its shares down more than 76%. Apple shares, in contrast, have risen 74% while Microsoft has climbed more than 24% over the same period. In a note released last week, Citigroup predicted that RIM's fourth-quarter results will likely be in-line with analysts' estimates, but warned that the company's guidance may disappoint. "We expect investors to focus on full year outlook (though we do not believe the company will provide this) and any update to the timeline for the new phones that RIMM is planning to launch in the second half of 2012," explained Citigroup analyst Jim Suva, in a note. RIM, he added, is at risk of missing the 2012 back-to-school season thanks to delaying its next QNX-based BlackBerry products to the second half of this year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are currerntly looking for RIM to report second-quarter revenue of $4.255 billion and earnings of 66 cents a share. For the coming fiscal year, analysts are looking for sales of $17.31 billion and earnings of $2.74 a share. Sterne Agee's Wu, however, thinks that RIM's guidance may not be as bad as anticipated. "Due to much lowered expectations with the Street cutting estimates aggressively over the past few weeks, we believe RIM may report a decent quarter and guide less worse than expected," he explained, in a note released on Thursday. "Because of this, we would not be surprised to see a near-term relief rally in RIM shares." Wu, however, has a neutral rating on RIM's shares, citing concerns with the company's fundamentals and its upcoming transition to the BlackBerry 10 operating system. RIM's shares dipped 6 cents, or 0.44%, to $13.61 on Thursday. -- Written by James Rogers in New York. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/jamesjrogers. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: email@example.com. Check out our new tech blog, Tech Trends. Follow TheStreet Tech on your wireless devices.


text:
Log Into Your Account
Show MoreLess
Now Viewing:
Enter new zip code to refresh estimated delivery time.
PayPal Orders
Payments processed using PayPal will be charged immediately (as opposed to when an order ships).
Part of the Bogen/IFF Studio Rail System. Allows height differences in ceiling of maximum 0.78"; combining two brackets to compensate differences of maximum 1.6 inch.


text:
Pending Cases
This list of pending cases does not include suits against the Federal Reserve Banks in which the Board of Governors is not named a party.
Perry v. Board of Governors, et al., No. 16-cv-1661 (D.D.C., filed August 16, 2016). Claim for wrongful termination of long term disability benefits.
Richardson v. Board of Governors et al., No 16-cv-00867 (D.D.C., filed May 9, 2016). Claims arising out of termination of employment.
Haase v. Bank of America, et al., No 16-DCV-231823 (District Court for Fort Bend County, Texas, filed April 25, 2016). Case raising claims resulting from mortgage foreclosure.
Burford v. Yellen, No. 15-cv-02074 (D.D.C., filed December 1, 2015). Employment discrimination claim.
The Loan Syndications and Trading Association v. Board of Governors, No. 16-cv-00652 (D.D.C., transferred from D.C. Circuit on March 18, 2016). Administrative Procedure Act challenge to the credit risk retention rules issued under Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Richardson v. Board of Governors, No. 14-cv-01673 (D.D.C., filed October 8, 2014). Employment discrimination claim.
Community Financial Services Association of America, Ltd., v. Board of Governors, No. 14-cv-00853 (D.D.C., filed June 11, 2014). Administrative Procedure Act challenge to actions of the Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that allegedly disadvantage payday lenders.
WMI Liquidating Trust v. Board of Governors, No. 13-cv-01706 (W.D. Washington, filed September 20, 2013). Action for a declaratory judgment regarding golden parachute payments. On July 3, 2014, the action was transferred to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Adv. Pro. No. 14-50435-MFW (Bankr. D. Del.)), and on March 19, 2015, the District Court withdrew the reference and took jurisdiction of the matter (No. 14-cv-01097).
Ferrer v. Bernanke, No. 13-cv-22975 (S.D. Fla., filed July 30, 2013). Claim on behalf of putative class of mortgagors that the Board's Independent Foreclosure Review and related enforcement actions failed to provide sufficient benefits to borrowers. On October 28, 2014, the district court granted the Board's motion to dismiss the action. On November 25, 2014, the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal (Eleventh Circuit, No. 14-15325). On April 11, 2016, the Court of Appeals granted the Board's motion to dismiss it as a party to the appeal.
Crisman v. Board of Governors, No. 12-cv-1871 (D.D.C., filed November 19, 2012). Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act case.
Artis v. Greenspan, No. 15-5260 (D.C. Cir., notice of appeal filed September 19, 2015). Appeal of dismissal of plaintiffs' Equal Employment Opportunity claims. On December 21, 2015, the Court of Appeals summarily affirmed the district court's dismissal. On June 20, 2016, the plaintiffs filed a petition for certiorari (No. 15-1543).