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Sights and attractions
Underground, overground, on top of a volcano, on a boat - Edinburgh's sights and attractions are as varied as they are exciting. Covering history, politics, royalty, the natural world and more, we didn't have space to write about all of them so here are our favourites. If you're not sure where to start, head for the Royal Mile. It's bookended by two of the city's headline attractions - Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood House.
Edinburgh Castle
Standing majestically on top of Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline. It's home to St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh, and the oldest crown jewels in the British Isles. Kings and queens have lived and loved in The Royal Palace. Enemies and pirates have suffered in the Prisons of War. Soldiers are honoured at the Scottish National War Memorial and military history told in the Regimental Museums.
Edinburgh University
For more than 400 years, Edinburgh University has been attracting students from all over the county and the world with its excellent academic reputation and buzzing city centre campuses.
Its galleries and museums - Talbot Rice Gallery, the Anatomical Museum and the Musical Instruments Museum to name a few - are open to the public and house some rare and impressive collections.
Edinburgh Dungeon
Since opening its doors, the Edinburgh Dungeon has been attracting visitors with its dark tales and gory stories. Over 80-minutes you'll take a trip around 1,000 years of Edinburgh's horrible history and meet lots of sinister characters along the way. From famous cannibal Sawney Bean and serial killers Burke and Hare to torturers and plague victims, this live action interactive horror show brings to life some of Edinburgh's darkest moments.
Edinburgh Zoo
Visit Edinburgh Zoo and you'll be supporting some of the world's most important conservation projects.
In return, you'll see the only giant pandas and koalas in the UK plus the highly entertaining penguin parade.
Arthur's Seat
This very royal park is right next to Holyrood Palace at the bottom of the Royal Mile. In it, you'll find Arthur's Seat, an ancient volcano which towers above Edinburgh and offers a magnificent viewing point. It's also home to St Anthony's Chapel, Holyrood Abbey, Salisbury Crag and Duddingston Loch.
St. Giles' Cathedral
Its handy location halfway down the Royal Mile makes St Giles' Cathedral the perfect stop-off on your way from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood House. The stained glass windows will leave you aghast.
It's also where the annual Hogmanay Candlelit Concert happens.
The Real Mary King's Close
Once the heart of Edinburgh, Mary King's Close and the surrounding 'wynds' now lie beneath the streets of the Old Town. Dramatic guided tours tell real-life tales of this plague-infested, haunted and intriguing part of town.
Palace of Holyrood House
The Queen's official Scottish residence, Holyrood House really is an opportunity to see how the other half live. Snoop around the Mary, Queen of Scots' Chambers, the State Apartments or the current exhibition.
Holyrood Abbey
Whilst you're at Holyrood House, don't forget to go to Holyrood Abbey. Situated behind Holyrood House in Holyrood Park, what remains of this 12th century monastic building will set your imagination on fire.
Scotch Whisky Experience
Enjoy a wee dram and gawp at the world's biggest private collection of Scotch - but only after a barrel ride through a visual distillery and a sensory exploration of the art of whisky blending. Booking in advance recommended, especially during November and December.
Scottish Parliament Building
An ultra modern building in Edinburgh's Old Town, the Scottish Parliament Building has so much more to offer visitors than a snapshot of government. History, art, literature and architecture tours, regular events and exhibitions make it a top Edinburgh attraction.
The Royal Yacht Britannia
It used to be where the royal family holiday, honeymooned and entertained. Now it's an award-winning visitor attraction with a top-class tea room. Royal Yacht
Britannia is a short distance from the city centre in Leith.
Princes Street Gardens
This picturesque garden in the middle of the city is worth a visit for the Floral Clock alone. Made of at least 30,000 flowers, it's not just pretty - it tells the correct time. There's nothing else like it in the world.
Craigmillar Castle
Craigmillar Castle is a quieter alternative to Edinburgh Castle. Walking around, you still get that great sense of medieval Scottish history.
It's where Mary, Queen of Scots took refuge and supposedly plotted to murder her husband.
Royal Botanic Gardens
The building itself is a work of art. Inside rare orchids, tropical palms, alpine flowers, an arboretum, a woodland garden, the largest collection of Chinese plants outside of China and 28 glasshouses make for a horticultural paradise only a mile from the city centre.
Edinburgh Vaults
This series of chambers underneath South Bridge in the Old Town is best explored through a guided tour. Captivating storytellers will regale you with tales of ghosts, serial killers, dead bodies murders, poverty and illegal drinking dens.
Looking for a hotel in Edinburgh?
Whether it's the city centre, next to Edinburgh Castle, or Princes Street, or on the outskirts of town, we have the right hotel for you. Flying in for a business trip and we've hotels next to Edinburgh Airport. And if you're looking for a family-friendly hotel for a weekend break we have those aswell.


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The question of whether Pat Summitt is a great coach has already been answered. Her 1000+ wins, eight national titles and the Olympic gold medal team make that query an easy one to answer.
The real question is just how great of a coach is the Vols leader.
GAME ON: Summitt diagnosed with dementia
VIDEO: Summitt explains her condition
Whether her recent medical diagnosis allows her to coach this season as she hopes, her place in history is assured.
And Summitt will go out like she has coached the past 37 years, kicking and fighting for every inch.
Said Summitt: "There's not going to be any pity party and I'll make sure of that."
The only thing that could limit Summitt's legacy is the tendency by some to downplay accomplishments when they come in women's sports.
How good do you think Summitt is as a coach?
While we wait in judgement, here is some good work by some good people that we might have missed while sleeping or wondering if Dayne Crist can wake up the echoes at Notre Dame.
Bleacher Report has 10 freshman bigs who could make a basketball impact.
Alex Rodriguez will show his cards to MLB on Friday.
Padraig Harrington is still buying futures in Tiger Woods.
Kyle Busch always speeds but this time it costs him his license.
Blake Griffin: Is he a clown? Does he amuse you? His new internship will let us know.
Thirty years after the theft, Artie Donovan has his title ring back.
Lions WR is a registered nurse.
A list of the best nicknames in sports.
Enes Kanter gets thumbs down from Turkish coach.
Golf team suspended for nude photo.
CBS analysts are not high on Tim Tebow.
Michael Jordan is returning to Chicago... in the form of a steakhouse.
Reid Cherner has been with USA TODAY since 1982 and written Game On! since March 2008.
He has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.
Michael Hiestand has covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY, tackling the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.

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$ 610.00
Atsushi Tanaka is an award winning wood sculptor known for his charming illustrations of everyday life in Japan. His studio is on a small island off the coast of Shikoku. This wood sculpture, 'Mochitsuki Motarestu' (Teamwork for Mochi Making) shows an elderly couple pounding rice into mochi, a traditional way to celebrate the New Year.
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Good Point! I feel sorry for the horse! What kind of a name is "Awaiting Justice"?
Was it a black horse? Maybe it was a white horse.
He must have decided to name the horse after Michael Vick.
There is a long tradition of strange names for race horses. Also, some owners like to pull pranks that strain the pronunciational abilities of track announcers. That's one reason there are so many rules governing the naming of horses, such as the number of letters or syllables in the name.


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We are currently accepting late applications for students starting in September 2017 at Ashton Sixth Form College.
These applications will be considered on a case by case basis and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
If you are still undecided regarding your course choices, you can browse our courses here.
Once we have received your application you will receive notification of this to the email address that you have provided on your application form. All applicants will then be invited in to the college for an interview to discuss their application. Details of your interview date and time will be communicated to you via email.


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Wadena courthouse confrontation led to fresh charges
A Wadena man faces another felony charge and an additional gross misdemeanor charge for confronting a woman outside the Wadena County Courthouse who has an order for protection against him.
Scott Bradley Berglund, 40, was charged May 19 with violation of an order for protection and violation of a domestic abuse no contact order. According to court documents, Berglund saw the woman and a man who is a mutual friend of both on a bench outside the courthouse on April 27 when he was being sentenced in a case in which the woman was a victim. Berglund allegedly asked the woman if she had court too, or if she was there for his hearing, but she didn't respond. Three court cases prohibit Berglund from having contact with the woman, including one order for protection and two domestic abuse no contact orders. Also, specific conditions of his release forbid contact with the woman. Berglund also had another case which prohibited him from having any contact with the man.
Berglund denied talking to the woman, and said he only asked the man "how it was going," according to court documents. Berglund has two prior domestic violence related convictions in April 2001 and July 2003, and has felony domestic violence cases pending in Wadena County District Court.
His first court appearance was set for June 7 on the new charges.


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Wellington, Jan 24: Former captain and director-general of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Javed Miandad, has called up the present stock of Pakistan players to learn from the professional attitude and behaviour of Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.
Rather than letting their on-field performance speak for them, Miandad feels that the players are happy to brag about their performance in media.
"We keep on reading and hearing about some of the players making claims about how they will deliver, but on field that is not happening and it is a big letdown for the nation. I would advise them to just focus on their game and go for improvement and take every match seriously. The players need to realise cricket is played on the field."
Miandad drew attention to the fact that Tendulkar stayed modest to the media while boasting only with his bat.
"They should learn from Sachin who has had a wonderful career and scored century after century but one never hears him making tall claims about his performances or achievements. He is a proper professional and someone our players can learn from," the veteran of 124 Tests insisted.
Miandad also called on captain Shahid Afridi to take more responsibility as a player and lift the team by example and said that the all-rounder has got enough amount of talent and he should chanelise it properly.
"He shouldn't be playing the way he is. Imran Khan is a great example of how a captain should perform. Imran lifted the team in the 1992 World Cup. Afridi needs to start doing that himself. He did it during the World T20 Championship, so he is perfectly capable of delivering," Miandad said.
Persuading the players to take the current one-day series against New Zealand seriously, Miandad said, "Unfortunately, what I noticed was that the players didn't appear serious about their business in the first match in Wellington' they took things lightly. In international cricket, this is not acceptable."
Pakistan, who are currently engaged in an ODI series against Kiwis, failed to replicate their performance in Tests against the hosts and lost the series opener by nine wickets after being bowled out for just 124 runs in 37.4 overs.
Miandad added that it was imperative Pakistan perform well in the one-day series versus the Kiwis in order to take some momentum into the World Cup.
"It is important for the players to realise that once they get into a losing streak, it will be difficult for them to come out of it in a high-pressure event like the World Cup," the former batsman cautioned.


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High Speed Internet Access: Credit card required.
Clarion hotel, centrally located in Beachwood Welcome to the Clarion Hotel, conveniently located close to area attractions like the Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Cleveland Zoo, Jacob's Field, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and John Carroll University. The Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is only 18 miles away. Adjacent to this Beachwood hotel is the award winning Hyde Park Grille, the perfect restaurant for business lunches or elegant dinners. Other local restaurants and cocktail lounges include the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, the Cheesecake Factory and Bahama Breezes. Guests of this Beachwood hotel are invited to enjoy amenities like free weekday newspaper, deluxe continental breakfast, outdoor pool and fitness center. Business travelers will appreciate modern conveniences like high-speed Internet access in all rooms, data port telephones, access to copy and fax services and competitive corporate rates. Personal attention and contemporary luxury awaits every guest. Relax or entertain in a beautifully decorated guest room or an Executive Suite. Microwave and refrigerator rentals are offered. Other amenities include in-room coffee makers, hair dryers, irons, ironing boards and guest laundry facilities. There is a barbershop and car rental service located on the property. Handicap accessible and non-smoking rooms are also available. Whether traveling to the Beachwood area for business or pleasure, the Clarion Hotel takes pride in making every stay a pleasant one.
Room Facilities:
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Tyler Connoraliso viejo/Laguna Niguel, California, US
Strong deep sometimes little raspy which have been told works very well.
Able to use many different ranges inflections and tones.
Sometimes somewhat loud and boisterous however works well for certain jobs or applications.
Versatile authoritative and humorous.
dependents on time of the day...inflection....sound of voice means all...everything....depending. Heavy in classic rock....But very eclectic ...can move w/most times of what is up at the time .....2016...Right?
English (North American), English
British, Irish
Middle Aged, Senior, Young Adult
Special Skills
Audiobooks, Documentaries, Internet, Movie Trailers, Podcasting, Radio, Telephone, Television
Have done work w/ my brother who is a 30 yr. vet. in radio,tv and professional v/o work.
Have done many auto dealer sales as well as giant used car promos. from San Diego to Los Angeles.
Giant Promos at major venues throughout So. California of car shows,raves,food events and street fairs.
Very familiar with the latest venues of California.
Washington State University (Phone hidden)
Bret Connor school of broadcasting.
Orange County Culinary Institute.
paper back writer..... god bless John Lennon 1980 dec 8 still love all his compilation. Last album .....Double Fanasity.
Voice Over Clients
Giant Venue promotions-San Diego,CA
Last Chance Gigs-Orange Co. CA Laguna Beach
Payment Terms
Hire Tyler as a voice actor. Payment is made through Voices.com SurePay, an escrow service that guarantees your work is done to your satisfaction. Send payment securely by Visa, Mastercard or PayPal through Voices.com then download your files from the website.
Watch a video to see how to make a payment
Next Steps
To contact Tyler Connor about your project, request a quote today. We'll walk you through the process step-by-step. It's fast and easy.
This talent has not uploaded any demos yet.
Title of Your New Demo 7777 Listens
Hire Tyler Connor as a voice actor. Working with Tyler Connor is fast and easy. We'll walk you through the process step-by-step.
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Join us for London's 2nd Annual Blockchain Conference, focusing on blockchain technology. Beyond the hype of Bitcoin, blockchain technology is becoming an essential tools for financial services start-ups and large corporations. In 2015 we had a full house of senior executives, investors and start-ups. Don't miss out!
If we separate Bitcoin, the "brand," synonymous with media hype and speculation from the elegant transaction technology that creates the underlying structure, we end up in a very interesting place. Blockchain technology eliminates double spending and thus the middle men (banks) from global transactions. Find out what it means for you and why large financial institutions are getting involved early. Hear directly from the people making it happen.
Our events have several opportunities throughout the day to meet with other delegates and speakers. If you are interested in blockchain technology beyond virtual currencies, there's no better place to discuss the future of financial services.
Whether you're looking for an inspiration, a new project or investment ideas, there will be something for everyone.
We have a few slots left for speakers and panelist that are working on interesting projects using the blockchain infrastructure. There are also sponsor and exhibitor opportunities.
We're especially interested in hearing from economists. Get in touch soon.
Speakers & Agenda will be updated regularly watch this space.


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DC Super Friends
DC Super Friends
Brain Freeze!
By J. E. Bright; Random House (Illustrator)
Random House Books for Young Readers, Paperback, 9780375862212, 32pp.
Publication Date: May 11, 2010
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6 Best Open Source Audio Players and Editing Tools
Six open source audio players and audio editing tools to help computer users spend less money on creating and consuming multimedia content.
While some commercial audio and video software can cost hundreds of dollars, open source software often offers very similar -- or better – features and capabilities for free.
The following list of 6 open source replacements for audio players and audio editing tools, courtesy of Datamation.com, will help computer users spend less money on creating and consuming multimedia content.
Open Source Audio Players
1. Discover Music With Songbird
- Replaces: iTunes
- Operating System: Windows, OS X, Android
More than just an audio player, Songbird positions itself as a way to discover music effortlessly with recommendations based on your interests and your Facebook friends' likes. It offers Web, desktop and Android versions, with an iPhone version on the way.
2. Amarok Integrates with Multiple Web Services
- Replaces: iTunes
- Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X, iOS
Amarok's claim to fame is its integration with multiple Web services, including Last.fm, Ampache, Magnatunes, MP3tunes, Echo Nest, Jamendo and others. It can also import your iTunes database, including your statistics and ratings.
3. Aqualung Plays Most Types of Audio Files
- Replaces: iTunes
- Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X
The Aqualung app plays most kinds of audio files, including audio CDs, internet radio streams and podcasts. Other features include gap-free playback of consecutive tracks, multiple playlists, multiple skins and support for numerous input and output file types.
Open Source Audio Recorders and Editors
4. Busy Professionals Use Ardour
- Replaces: Sonar X1, Adobe Audition, Sony ACID
- Operating System: Linux, OS X
Suitable for use by professionals, Ardour offers highly advanced audio recording, mixing and non-linear editing capabilities. Key features include unlimited tracks, unlimited undo, 32-bit floating point audio path, sample accurate automation, more than 200 plug-ins and much more.
5. Audacity Works Well for Garage Bands and Hobbyists
- Replaces: Sonar X1, Adobe Audition, Sony ACID
- Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
While it isn't as full-featured as the commercial audio recording tools above, Audacity offers an impressive set of capabilities suitable for garage bands and hobbyists who are just getting started. It records live audio, converts among various file formats, allows users to edit sounds together in various ways and much more.
6. Frinika is Best for Amateur Musicians
- Replaces: Sonar X1, Adobe Audition, Sony ACID
- Operating System: OS Independent
Like Audacity, Frinika offers music recording and editing features suitable for amateur musicians. Key features include sequencer, midi support, soft synthesizers, audio recorder and piano roll/tracker/notation editing.
Read the complete article: 80 Open Source Replacements for Audio-Video Tools on Datamation.com
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List of free online Java courses for students and IT professionals looking to enhance their skills . Read More »SEO Dictionary
From keyword analysis to backlinks and Google search engine algorithm updates, our search engine optimization glossary lists 85 SEO terms you need... Read More »Slideshow: History of Microsoft Operating Systems
Microsoft Windows is a family of operating systems for personal computers. In this article we look at the history of Microsoft operating... Read More »
Java is a high-level programming language. This guide describes the basics of Java, providing an overview of syntax, variables, data types and... Read More »Java Basics, Part 2
This second Study Guide describes the basics of Java, providing an overview of operators, modifiers and control Structures. Read More »The 7 Layers of the OSI Model
The Open System Interconnection (OSI) model defines a networking framework to implement protocols in seven layers. Use this handy guide to compare... Read More »


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Computational Modules for Studying Electron Effects in Heavy-Ion Fusion Accelerators
Award Information
Small Business Information
Tech-x Corporation
5541 Central Avenue, Suite 135, Boulder, CO, 80301
Principal Investigator
Name: Peter Stoltz
Phone: (303) 448-0727
Phone: (303) 448-0727
Business Contact
Name: John Cary
Title: 70444
Phone: (303) 448-0727
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Title: 70444
Phone: (303) 448-0727
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Research Institution
Abstract70444 The electron cloud effect is a major limiting factor in the performance of proton accelerators for heavy-ion fusion. To assure that this effect does not adversely affect performance, further study of electron effects in regimes relevant to heavy-ion fusion is needed. Computer modeling is the most widely used method for studying the problem, but the codes used in the heavy-ion fusion community do not have the capability of studying the electron cloud effect. This project will develop a complete set of computational modules for studying electron effects in accelerators. These modules will provide heavy-ion fusion simulation codes with access to the most recent experimental data and numerical routines for modeling the electron cloud effect. In Phase I, initial computational modules will be implemented in one of the primary heavy-ion fusion research codes. The code will be used to model recent beam physics experiments in heavy-ion fusion. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: In addition to the heavy-ion fusion application, computational modules for electron effects also should be useful to high-power microwave and radio-frequency researchers.
* information listed above is at the time of submission.


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Cisco Wireless: A new web experience.Mobility
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it's a good buy for those who doesn't need much comfort but nice and clean place to stay. pleasantly surprised by the high level of service for 1* hotel. Stefano, a manager of the hotel, seems to remember all the guests in person and is...More
Nember & Garden Hotel Venice


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MESSAGE FROM THE AMAC president
AMAC is pleased to announce that we have issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for our Annual Airport Business Diversity Conferences for 2018-2020.
The AMAC Annual Airport Business Diversity Conference is one of the largest industry conferences hosting over 1,000 attendees, exhibitors, airport representatives, primes and stakeholders. Over the past three years, we have consistently provided an economic impact of more than $1.7 million to the local economy.
We encourage airports and their local Convention and Visitors Bureau to partner with AMAC to showcase their city, highlight airport programs and contractual opportunities and invite the industry into their marketplace.
Please join with AMAC to provide a great venue while boosting your local economy. We're growing and would love to have your City "Take Flight for Success".
AMAC is also announcing an RFP to provide a comprehensive range of On Call Legal Services in support of our organization. Attorneys currently licensed to practice law representing a national organization, and/or law firms including such attorneys, in the Washington, DC and surrounding areas, are encouraged to respond.
Please take a look at our full RFP packages on our website at amac-org.com.
President and CEO
Spotlight on AMAC Members Lorraine and Clifton Marshall
Submit your recommendation here.
Mary Buckley Helps Project LIFT Provide Education and Inspiration
As co-chair, with Jack Thomas of Jackson International Airport, of AMAC's Project LIFT planning committee, she puts her experience to work for the Foundation's youth program. Project LIFT (Leaders Inspiring Future Talent) offers educational experiences throughout the year for minority and women students interested in fields related to aviation and aviation-related business.
"Too often young people learn about potential careers in a narrow environment," she notes. "Programs like Project LIFT give them a chance to get out of the classroom, talk to adults in the field and other students interested in aviation, and see what the aviation industry has to offer."
For example, she says, last year AMAC held its 30 year Anniversary Conference in Denver. As part of the conference, Project LIFT high school students visited the Metropolitan State University of Denver which has the largest and most advanced collegiate aviation programs in the country. There they met with professors who described their programs in pilot training, airport management, meteorology, and airline management, among others.
They toured the Denver airport and got a behind the scenes look at its functioning parts. They participated in a 'soft skills' program where they learned basic business etiquette and job interviewing tips. And, they and their parents enjoyed a reception with photos taken and gifts distributed.
"I think the young people were most surprised to see the vast career choices that are available in the airport environment," she says. "Some noticed that they could own a restaurant in the airport, or a retail clothing shop, in a really cool and unique space."
"I think the young people were most surprised to see the vast career choices that are available in the airport environment," she says. "Some noticed that they could own a restaurant in the airport, or a retail clothing shop, in a really cool and unique space."
"An airport is like a mini-city," she notes. "For example, our airport employs more than 35,000 people. That includes every skill set from plumbers for our 100 bathrooms to writers for our marketing programs."
Project LIFT programs are conducted every year during the AMAC National Conference and at training seminars held regionally. They are unique to each airport, tied to that area's special personality. For example, Buckley noted, Houston International Airport combined its Project LIFT program with a tour of NASA!
Atlanta Airport is the World's Busiest
McCarran International Airport to be Fifth Fastest Growing
McCarran International Airport will be the fifth fastest-growing airport in the country over the next 10 years, a noted aviation expert said recently.
Mike Boyd, president and CEO of Evergreen, CO-based Boyd Group International, told the more than 400 people attending his Aviation Forecast Summit at Bellagio last week that McCarran can expect 27.4 million enplanements by 2024, a 22.8 percent increase over projected 2015 arrivals.
Boyd made the projection in the closing session of his two-day conference that drew executives from airports, airlines and aircraft manufacturers from all over the country.
If Boyd's projections are on target, the total would be close to McCarran's 55 million capacity.
Click here to read more: http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/tourism/mccarran-seen-fifth-fastest-growing-us-airport-next-decade
Aerostar Teaches Chicago Youth to Fly
With an aviation degree in one hand and a pilot's License in the other, Tammera Holmes sets out to change the Aviation Industry, one child at a time as she teaches inner-city Chicago youth how to fly.
Holmes is owner of the Aerostar Consulting Corporation (www.aerostarcorp.com), a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide professional leadership training and management consulting through education centers to students and professionals in order to enhance academic awareness of aviation and aeronautical career path opportunities.
Since the program started, Aerostar has worked with countless students thanks to their partnership with Afterschool Matters at various satellite campuses across the city.
Chicago's ABC7 recently aired a news item about the program. View it here: http://abc7chicago.com/society/heart-and-soul-aerostar-corporation/962031/
Simeon Terry Honored with AMAC Hall of Fame Award
Simeon Terry, Vice President for Diversity Affairs for Austin Commercial LP, has been honored by AMAC with the 2015 Hall of Fame Award. This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated historical, sustainable and profound contributions to the aviation industry and exhibited a positive impact on diversity inclusion within the industry. Terry has provided continuous support of AMAC's mission and goals, as well as the growth and development of airport diversity.
Terry was honored at the Catalyst Awards Luncheon during the recent 31st annual Airport Business Diversity Conference held in Ft. Lauderdale. He has been in the construction and risk management industry for more than 27 years.
AMAC's Lynn Boccio to Receive WBE Hall of Fame Award
AMAC Board Member Lynn Boccio, Vice President for Strategic Business and Diversity Relations at Avis Budget Group, has been selected to receive a 2015 Women's Business Enterprise Hall of Fame Award by the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce.
This distinguished national award honors individuals, companies and organizations that have demonstrated exemplary leadership and support in the success of women's business enterprise initiatives.
"We can certainly attest to the fact that Lynn is truly deserving of this award," says AMAC president Shelby Scales. "She is a tireless advocate for both women owned and minority owned business enterprises for our organization."
Boccio heads the Avis supplier diversity team and also manages the Avis Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. She emphasizes the 'strategic' nature of her activities because helping diverse suppliers develop forward thinking new and creative ideas that add value to the supply chain is what Boccio considers as one of her most important responsibilities.
As a result of her efforts, Avis Budget uses minority women-owned business software, and outsources all diversity reporting, Compliance Reports, 2nd Tier Volume Reports, remote location reporting from airports and a number of other reporting functions.
Boccio serves a number of networking organizations including Past Chair and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Women Presidents' Educational Organization and as a Board member of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, WEConnect Canada and the Airport Minority Advisory Council, to name a few.
She also works closely with WBENC and the NMSDC. In addition, Avis Budget Group, through Boccio's leadership, is a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable, one of WBENC's "America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises" for twelve consecutive years and a member of The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's "Million Dollar Club". She has received numerous awards for her excellence in developing supplier diversity by major magazines and organizations.
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There is still time to register for the AMAC Regional Forum in Jackson, Mississippi on Thursday, October 15th.
Held at the Hilton Jackson, 1001 E County Line Rd, Jackson, Mississippi 39211-1817 (601-957-2800), the event will further AMAC's mission of providing the most up-to-date information and policy as it affects business in our nation's airports.
The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA) will co-host this forum for approximately 200 attendees including Airport Operators, Airline Executives, Government Officials, Prime Contractors and M/W/DBE/SBE Contractors from across the region. The itinerary includes educational sessions on Doing Business with Airports; Regional Opportunities and Procurement; Navigating the Certification Process; Legislative Policy Updates and an Economic Forecast for the region.
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Airports Going Green Group Looks at Diversity
- Shannetta Griffin - Senior Director of Planning and Development, Indianapolis Airport Authority
- Meenakshi Singh - Former Deputy Director of Planning and Development, City of San Jose
- Liza Milagro - Senior Sustainability Planner, Dept. of Aviation-Hartsfield Jackson, Atlanta International Airport
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- Carol Bell - Vice President for B. Coleman Aviation, Gary/Chicago International Airport
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The Industrial Internet of Things
Architectural principles of I2oT:
- ISA100.15 illustrates methods for segregating automation networks in zones and connecting the zones with conduits. The concepts for zones and conduits were developed by ISA99 for ISA/IEC 62443.
- ISA100.15 illustrates methods for creating and enforcing policies that determine which entities can communicate over industrial networks, and the allocation of bandwidth or relative priority of those communications.
- As a general principle, many automation nodes and networks have limited bandwidth and capability to serve data. The primary source of data from these nodes must be in separate buffers and caches with sufficient bandwidth for expected users. Direct access to nodes requires systematic limitation.
- Local autonomous control and local history collection and compression are two techniques that are used in industrial automation systems to deal with low bandwidth and/or high or variable latency in networks. Many proprietary schemes are used to fill these needs, and there is an opportunity to standardize these features.
Common network management—ISA100.20 is starting work on a recognized need for common network management. This is a gap that needs to be filled. Common network management is intended to provide a way of managing multiple diverse networks with common tools. Some of the tools already exist, but many networks are not designed to work with external tools. Some networks are unmanaged. This is an opportunity.
Common security management—This aspect will also need work. It is not easy to separate this need from common network management, and it may be handled by the same effort. This will need to include provisioning procedures and tools. Most industrial protocols do not include sufficient security. They need to be upgraded to include this as a standard feature.
Specifications and profiles to support compliance certification—We need plug and play, not plug and pray. This means that we will need enough compliance profiles and specifications that a certification body can do compliance testing. Standards developed by a standards development organization may support this cause, but will not be sufficient to meet industry needs.
What does the future hold?
There are multiple paths and even multiple end points for this technology migration. It is not certain what path(s) or endpoint(s) will be the final result. The only certainty is that this technology will change, and so far the changes have led to more diversity.
Current state—Many organizations are involved in pieces of the communication problem, but no single organization is involved in all aspects of this problem and no organization is well positioned to take the lead in coordinating this technology drift.
Some standards organizations have taken on the task of standardizing horizontal layers of the communication stack. IEE writes standards for the PHY/MAC (or link) layers. IETF writes standards for network and transport layers. Coordination at the boundary between the link and network layers (which is also an organizational boundary) is informal at best and sometimes appears to be a turf war.
Many foundations have taken a vertical approach to communication stack specifications and have written full top-to-bottom stacks. Many of these support only one PHY and one application and have a single stack in between. Others have multiple PHY layers available but with restricted stacks in between. These foundations are generally market competitors.
All of the organizations fill a need whether they are working on a horizontal or vertical slice of the communication problem, or just a little piece of the problem. All of these organizations could slowly converge on best-in-class technology, or not. If market forces do eventually drive this convergence, it is safe to assume that the convergence will happen very slowly and chaotically under market conditions.
Lead organization—Building a positive outcome will need a lead organization or a consortium of organizations to make this effort successful. It will involve liaison work with too many organizations to name, and will need executive sponsorship from multiple entities including vendors, standards organizations, and foundations.
Herman Storey is chief technology officer of Herman Storey Consulting, LLC.
See additional voices on the topic on the next two pages:
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I personally agree with Herman that a single physical medium will not serve all requirements. Just like our home and office need both Ethernet and USB, and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the plant environment needs both Ethernet and fieldbus, and Wi-Fi and WirelessHART.
IPv6 is not necessary for IIoT. What is required, by definition, is that each device ('thing') has a unique identifier. An IPv6 address is one way of uniquely identifying a device. FOUNDATION fieldbus and WirelessHART and other industrial protocols have unique IDs that work just as well. Plants built on these technologies are in a good position to move to IIoT when the time is right.
I agree that many industrial protocols already exist in plants connecting millions of devices. These devices lay the foundation for the IIoT so any developments in IIoT need to be backwards compatible with these devices and networks to ensure speedy acceptance of IIoT paradigm where these devices are accessed remotely from other offices.
What is required to make data flow freely from sensors to the enterprise is communication without barriers. This requires that the application protocol which is used over IP networks is the same as the fieldbus application protocol used by devices that sit on automation networks like FOUNDATION fieldbus, WirelessHART, Modbus/RTU, PROFIBUS-DP, and DeviceNet etc. That is, the corresponding application layer protocol used across Ethernet and other IP network are FF-HSE, HART-IP, Modbus/TCP, PROFINET, and EtherNet/IP respectively. By using the underlying fieldbus protocol with the corresponding Ethernet protocol the data can flow freely and unobstructed without gateways, drivers, and data mapping etc. A simple linking device is all that is required to connect Ethernet to a fieldbus. This in turn enables intelligent device management (IDM) remotely:
Upgrading fieldbus protocols to use IP at device level would mean all the fieldbus protocols would have to be changed. Manufacturers would have to maintain two concurrent versions of the fieldbus device (in addition to the 4-20 mA/HART and WirelessHART versions) since existing plants already use these. At the instrument level IP adds little or no value (since devices already are uniquely identified and can be accessed remotely through an IP linking device) so it may not make sense to change all these protocols creating new versions of all of them.
I agree we should use the existing application layer protocols rather than creating new protocols. Indeed it is possible to create IP devices that support multiple application protocols. For instance one application communicates with the device using HART-IP, another application uses FF-HSE, a third application using PROFINET, and a fourth application using Modbus/TCP – all from the same device, all applications getting the same data but through a different IP port. This requires the multi-protocol solution is implemented as intended, like on Ethernet and Wi-Fi, where the application protocols access the device directly through their assigned IP ports, not by "tunneling" across another application protocol of some type.
The way whereby devices are identified to humans in the industry is by "tag" name. So device tag is the logical way whereby devices shall located in the IIoT. Existing industrial networks like FOUNDATION fieldbus and WirelessHART already support locating devices using device tag. That is, a device is identified as for example 51-PT-101; humans do not need to know the address of the device. These protocols are the foundation of the IIoT. Plants built on these technologies are in a good position to move to IIoT when the time is right.
Modern protocols like FOUNDATION fieldbus already support communication of real-time and non-real-time data in separate timeslots such that non-real-time data does not delay real-time data.


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So I put 2 & 2 together today and I'm interested to see if anyone else agrees that I came up with 4.
First, I wanted to point out that many many experts agree that all modern warfare will have a cyberwarfare component. It makes sense that opponents will want to jam up each other's communications, steal sensitive information, etc.
With that in mind. I have been noticing a correlation between my Fail2Ban logs and the escalating political situation in Korea. Over the last week the number of intrusion attempts coming from China and the Korea's has ramped up steadily.
I think all sides are looking to build up their bot armies as much as they can.
I'm just wondering if this activity is a predictor of future 'real world' activities or an indicator of present ones or maybe a little of both?
I'd like to hear your thoughts. Also check your own IDS logs and post what you are seeing as far as trends.
11 Replies
Nov 25, 2010 at 6:31 UTC
Lawrie Dalman Consulting is an IT service provider.
Earlier this year we saw a worrying uptic in intrusion detections from China, but then in the last month or two it has dropped right off. Perhaps they were training and practicing a bit closer to home and have now shifted their focus.
Regional pundits seem pretty sure Nth Korea's activities are to sure up support for the son of the 'Great Leader', lol, who is being installed in his ailing fathers place.
As for China's role in the troubles, there are many who say they need attention to be taken away from various issues in their own country and perceived problems rising in their ecconomy.
In the old days it may have been refered to as saber rattling, these days it's more like them rattling the 'Bamboo Curtain', remains to be seen if there is anything more to it.
Nov 25, 2010 at 9:02 UTC
Niagara Technology Group (NTG) is an IT service provider.
I think that the most indicative traffic won't be to anonymous networks, it will be more focused and, most likely, passed through a third party country to make sure that it is not readily traced.
Nov 26, 2010 at 4:07 UTC
It's an interesting idea. Surely they would be more careful if it was a precursor to real-world action though?
Nov 26, 2010 at 9:57 UTC
What I'm talking about seeing is the type of activity that indicates the building of botnets. This would be a precursor to actual attacks on intended targets using those botnets.
As for hiding the attack vector, that's what this is. It's later when those botnets are used that it appears the attacks are coming from all over the planet. At this point however, there's no reason to hide it's origin since it can be written of as accidental virus/trojan activity. At the least it's too hard to prove and gives plausible deniability to the source.
Shutting down a country or agency's networks with DDOS and other attacks is an act of aggression whereas botnet building is something you can blame on normal Internet virus/trojan activity. "Ooops, sorry, guess we need new anti-virus software".
I really have the feeling that IDS data can be mined to indicate certain trends. I'm just not sure what those trends might be.
I'm think along the lines of Google's Flu Tracker or the Mood View site.
This is also interesting.
Nov 29, 2010 at 8:23 UTC
I can see the subterfuge that you suggest might be considered plausible deniability on behalf of foreign governments, however, they would then take additional steps to further obscure themselves utilizing third party countries.
Aside from that it's also not really most governments style to act that way directly. They would be more interested in intercepting information than disrupting the communication. Think about it for one second real military networks don't interact directly with the Internet. They also have alternative means to communicate. You are more likely seeing criminal elements trying to get a foot in your door, unless you are a strategic target, such as a DOD contractor.
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:14 UTC
I can see the subterfuge that you suggest might be considered plausible deniability on behalf of foreign governments, however, they would then take additional steps to further obscure themselves utilizing third party countries.
Aside from that it's also not really most governments style to act that way directly. They would be more interested in intercepting information than disrupting the communication. Think about it for one second real military networks don't interact directly with the Internet. They also have alternative means to communicate. You are more likely seeing criminal elements trying to get a foot in your door, unless you are a strategic target, such as a DOD contractor.
You don't need to engage military networks to bring down a country, in fact as we are seeing every day in various places around the world, the way that wars are fought has changed.
As this article and this article show, it is more likely that government, banking and other sites would be attacked rather than just the military. The cyber attack in the articles was eventually accredited to two 15 year old boys, but as Georgia is a country that does 95% of its trading online, it was almost brought to its knees.
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:40 UTC
China already does this and has been caught doing it on quite a few occasions, including the well publicized attacks against Google. The US has already revealed they have a cyber warfare division that trains and practices to do just what we're talking about. This is not speculation, it's a fact that modern conflict now includes cyberwarfare.
My question isn't IF it's being done, but rather if it can be predicted using data mining and trend analysis of Intrusion detection systems and other data sources.
I'm also curious how else such data could be used and what other trends might be visible from visualizing this type of data.
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:24 UTC
I know China is engaging in Cyber Warfare, as a matter of fact I recall very recently and news story about how for a period of time most of the worlds network traffic was funneled through China. Which I think was done purposefully, I just don't think DOS is the way most countries are going. It's good for a fear and terror aspect, but only for that and basically for the mass populace. The Google attacks if I recall correctly were targeted attacks on them, not a DOS attack. Note your article referring to what China has been caught doing, it is all about stealing data, not DOS type attacks. They are more likely going to target hacking Utilities, and ISPs to bring down the infrastructure rather than DOS type attacks. Yes there is a large element of Trojans and malware and virii that are involved with these sorts attacks, but they are going to attack strategic targets for the most part. From a strategic standpoint most computer networks have little value, unless you are in it for some sort of financial gain.
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:57 UTC
Agree that there are nations out there already having a go at this. What I would expect is to see a huge amount of recon work, and then the level would taper off to almost nothing befrore the actual attack. It would more than likely come through a third country to make the attack harder to counter, and will probably move around once it's under way. And again, they'll go after targets of strategic value, and will cause the most impact.
Nov 29, 2010 at 11:45 UTC
Don't think strictly DDOS attacks. Botnets have a lot of other uses. Including things like brute force attacks on security, and hiding the original source of various attacks.
I wouldn't underestimate the value of these botnets to governments as a cyberwarfare weapon.
Also, since many current botnets are run by criminal organizations, as was mentioned, then there's no reason a government wouldn't surreptitiously rent the use of these botnets just as spammers do. This puts yet another layer of separation/deniability in place and leads people to the conclusion that the attacks are just spammers.
I don't think there's any question about this going on. In fact it seems a given considering the much greater lengths China has been willing to go to infiltrate foreign network infrastructure.
Nov 29, 2010 at 12:07 UTC
Scary article. on the counterfeit CISCO products. Buying botnet time I can see the governments doing, developing their own not so much lass plausible deniability. But it is downright scary the stuff that can happen with technology espionage.
This discussion has been inactive for over a year.
You may get a better answer to your question by starting a new discussion.


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Aiony, painted princess of the unicorns looked out over the Hallow Hills. The light of the setting sun set the Hills awash with colour, hot reds, cool golden and sundog. The spangled light fringed the half-grown mare's silhouette with fire. The sweet wind of late spring cast her mane about her.
She stood on a lookout knoll above the Hills. Gazing out beyond the Hills, Aiony could see the plains, and she thought of her granddam. Aiony missed the poppy maned mare, though it was three years since Ses had quit the Hills, and ventured out onto Alma's Back. Three years since the Battle of Endingfire, where she and Dhattar played their part, telling Lell to join the warhost and carry the firebrand against the wyrmking Lynex.
Her twin had nearly matured to the size of Jan and Calydor, attaining the shape of both. He was molded exactly the same as Jan and Calydor, with a dancer's gait and warrior's grace, while Aiony had attained the shape of her dam, pied queen Tek. She was lithe and long-legged, tall and strapping, possessing her passionate, bold ways, agile quickness and wit.
Dhattar, nicknamed Dha, had forgone the throne to pursue the healing arts as Teki's acolyte, and learn of the singer and seer's craft from Calydor, leaving Aiony to shoulder the burden. And bear it she would. When Tek died, Aiony would ascend as queen, which wouldn't be for a great many years.
With a furious snort, Aiony wheeled at the sound of hoofbeats behind her. Her surprise changed to delight as she beheld her mallow-red, black-maned granddam Jah-lila mount the knoll behind her. Squealing like a filly, Aiony reached to champ the Red Mare on the crest of her neck. The magicker mare shook her off, laughing. "Hail, daughter of my daughter!"
"Hail as well, granddam! How have your travels kept you, and my pan aunts?" Aiony smiled, remembering her dear playmates.
The Red Mare looked past the young mare, over the knoll, and down to where Pitipak plucked strands of grass from fire-white Dhattar's mane. Sismoomnat suckled a young pan child as she watched the antics of colts that frisked about the small meadow. She had pledged with a pan warrior, Taxillatat, the previous year, and had borne him a fine, sturdy child. "My travels have been well! Your sire's peace forged with the Free People of the Plain has been a lasting one." Aiony murmured her assent.
A gentle wind picked up lifting Aiony's night and silver mane from her neck. "Moon's rising," she observed.
Jah-lila nodded, a small smile creasing her dayan features. "Moondance tonight, as well."
Aiony started. "I had forgotten."
"We should hasten to the council rock, for it is you, now, who leads the dance." Jah-lila cautioned with a smile.
The painted half-grown picked at the grassy turf with one cloven heel, than began forward, sighing.
The Red Mare fell into step behind her, and the two descended through the trees to the floor of the Hills.
Pied queen Tek stood on the council rise, overlooking the circling rush of unicorns dancing below her. At her shoulder stood the dark stallion Jan, Alma's prophesied Firebringer, once acclaimed prince of unicorns. Standing on the rise, Tek was reminded of when she learned that it was she, not Jan, to whom the throne belonged.
Leaning on him now, Tek remembered the gut wrenching loss she had felt when she thought that she must lose her beloved because of her deceiving sire, mad king Korr. Now, the jet-and-rose mare mused, now she knew why he had always held her in high regard against the one he believed his son. Korr must have felt some secret pride as she grew, feeling smug as Tek became a warrior to be reckoned with. It always Jan that he loved most though, for he had turned against her when he learned of the innocent pledge she and Jan shared, and fell through to madness when he learned of her pregnancy. Korr died believing that Jan was his son, and had pledged with his daughter.
But such thoughts, what has been done and gone, were bootless. Tek shook them off like flies. It was hard to believe that scant three years past she had taken the throne. Gazing down Tek saw their new weaned filly, Ciree, traipsing about the swaying line of dancers.
The young filly was deepest rose, near mallow in colour with a coal dark mane and tail, and her shanks were black night, as well. A jagged silver blaze extended from her forehead to her nostrils.
Tek came back to herself when Jan champed her lightly on the crest. Chivvying his ribs, Tek laughed. Jan whickered "Come, love, let us join the dance." Nipping him smartly on the shoulder, Tek vaulted from the rise to land among the celebrants, followed by her dark mate. Swallowed by the steam of moon's children, the pied queen shook herself for sheer exuberance and danced.
Aiony kicked up her heels beneath Alma's silver daughter, shivering with delight. The snorting breath and panting of her fellows filled her ears as she plunged about, the line of dancers trailing, streaming behind her. Night wind breathed warm and balmy, and Aiony could scarce contain her verve.
Watching her sire and dam's antics, she felt flush with power, as she and all her folk drew strength from the bright moon, the white fire that burned in the hooves, horns, teeth and bones of all unicorns.
Pale Dhattar pranced up alongside her, blue eyes gleaming devilishly. The acolyte healer whickered spiritedly "The dance is all the more lively for your coronation."
Aiony chivvied his shoulder. "It might not have been as lively had it been yours," she teased laughingly.
"Those are fighting words!" Dhattar brought his horn down in a sharp curve on her rump. Aiony shouldered him sideways and knocked at his horn. They circled each other in play, and stopped every now and then for a furious round of fencing. It was proving harder and harder to spar with Dhattar, for he was fast nearing the size of his sire and grandsire, already taller at the shoulder than was she.
Aiony tossed her head and caught a flash of mallow-red and night-dark. It was Jah-lila, midwife and magicker, standing at the edge of the grove. She simply stood and surveyed the milling colours that marked the dancing unicorns.
Aiony shifted in step, warning Dhattar off. She pummeled harder with her hooves, driving him backwards. Whickering, he retreated into the flow of dancers, sky blue eyes promising to settle it later, a mischievous smile gracing his lips.
Returning her attention to Tek's dam, Aiony couldn't help but wonder what the Red Mare was doing. Black-green eyes staring straight ahead, the mare seemed fiercely focused on something the painted half-grown could not see.
Suddenly the mallow mare shook herself; eyes becoming less clouded, clearing. Jah-lila's attention jerked back to the earthly plane and she returned to herself. Aiony shied a little when the mare turned her glassy-eyed stare on her, one of surprise and was it…awe?
Aiony turned from the midwife to reenter the dance. She could feel the Jah-lila's eyes bore into her back as she gave ground, and allowed herself to be swept away in the river-rush of dancers.
The morning breathed cool and clear, blowing sweet fingers of wind over the Hills, and sweeping away silt and spare brush in its catch. It raced about trees and eddied at the forest floor, touching gently on the Mere of the Moon, and gliding on. It seemed to pause at the smooth egress of a grotto, than continued.
The sun filled the dusky light of the cave with sparkling light, dancing in the new morn's heat. Lell opened her eyes and, blinking sleepily, pulled herself upright. Shaking her head, mane splashing like milk, she stood and shook away the last drowsy coils of sleep trammeling her mind.
Inhaling a deep, eager breath she bounded from the cave, glorying in the warm sundew shimmering in the air. At a youthful eight summers old, Lell was still full of herself, and not yet pledged, though some in the herd murmured that she should be by now. Fencing with an imaginary foe, Lell darted and sprang, than trotted briskly over the green meadow.
No sooner had she moved to join the other early risers that Lell staggered from a great impact on her side. Staggering, Lell fought for balance and whirled on the enemy. Pawing the ground she charged at…none other than the six summers-old daughter of Jan and Tek.
Aiony laughed at her aunt, and lowered her head for Lell. Springing forward like roe bucks, the two young mares clashed, slapping at each other with the flats of their horns. Lell's neck muscles bulged as each pushed for ground. With an unexpected heave, Lell threw off the painted half-grown, Aiony reeling backwards.
"I can still beat you in a fair fight, princess," Lell panted.
Aiony stamped the ground. "Not for too much longer, late king's daughter." Aiony was tall for her age, and stood of a common height and heft with Lell, but not for long. It was known that the princess would soon overtake her aunt in growth.
Lell nipped the ebony shoulder and took off. Galloping away o'er the meadow, she entered the trees and heard Aiony in hot pursuit. Showering in dappled spots all about her, the light let in by the trees was near to nothing. Using her own memory of the placement of obstacles, Lell shot through the wood.
The ground tilted upwards and free of trees. Golden grass swayed around her hooves. The milkwood groves surrounded them, the sweet odour hanging in the air. Stopping at the side of a polished mahogany trunk, Lell sampled a spray of the sweet flowers. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste and remembering how she had come to these cliffs before, as a fugitive, to fulfill her own destiny.
Aiony drew even with the gold-merled darkamber mare, nickering. "Sooth, you have gained in speed since last we matched!"
Lell tossed her head, ramping. As she made to reply to the night and silver half-grown, she glanced up at the sky. It was clear; midmorn and green as grass. As green as tercel's down, Lell thought.
Her expression softened, saddened. She missed greatly her shoulder-friend of old, the huge gryphon tercel Illishar. His burnt plumage had come back silver, the rest still green fletched and gold, marking his bravery in saving her life. Illishar's visits had been few and far apart, the latest many moons ago.
He had promised to visit often when he left! Lell ducked her head, fighting back anger and tears. Her countenance hardened. She was a warrior, she needed no one.
Aiony's voice broke her from her thoughts like a thunderclap. "Lell? Aunt Lell?"
Lell snorted and shifted, memories ebbing. She smiled, a little pained. "Sorry, Aiony. You bore me."
Aiony squealed and champed her-hard-on the neck. Rearing, she pushed her elder aunt over sideways. The darkamber mare chivvied Aiony's side. "Come," Aiony bade her "the herd will wonder if we are lost."
Lell cast a longing glance over the treetops of the milkwood grove, into the sky. "You go. I wish to stay here a while longer."
The young painted mare eyed her dubiously, but made no protest. "Come soon," she began, but thought better of her words and turned to leave. Moving to an easy trot she left the glade behind.
Digging the turf with her hooves, Lell sighed. With a heave of breath, Lell, too, turned slowly to go, back the way she had come. So lost in times of the past was she that she didn't prick her ears to the sound of wingbeats mounting the sky, flushing air out of their way. A large shadow flew over Lell's back. Feeling the shift of heat, Lell whirled. Gazing upwards, she saw nothing. Grass parted as within the shade of an overhanging bough of forest lit a shadowy shape. Easing, she turned slowly around-and gasped.
Unable to catch her breath, Lell could scarcely believed what she beheld. "Illishar!" she exulted in a near shriek. "Illishar!"
Couched modestly in the lush grass flooring the milkwood glade, Illishar purred in a relaxed tone "I was began to wonder when you would notice, warrior." Preening one shoulder before rising, the gryphon tercel was nearly brought down again by the force of Lell crashing into him.
Dancing delightedly about him the gold-merled mare launched into a series of questions. "Whence have you been the duration of this time, with your flock? Why have you not come to visit me?"
Illishar chuckled deep in his throat, green eyes gleaming. His expression abruptly softened. "How have you been, among your people, your flock?"
Lell smote the ground unhappily with her foreleg " Answer me, first. Then will I answer your questions."
The tercel sighed. "I have been unable to visit you, on account of certain…events."
Lell began to ask him of what events delayed him for so long, but was stopped by a third voice. "Aunt Lell? You've been here long enough, have you not? Come, the morning runs short-Illishar!"
Aiony bounded from the depths of the groves. "Hail, Illishar!" She rubbed shoulders in greeting with him, difficult for her to do since he was so tall. "Was the journey hard?"
"Nay, moonshadow. My pinions are strong." Watching him flexing one such magnificent wing, Lell felt her withers draw once more, longing for some of her own. The trio began to drift gradually into the wood, lost in easy, aimless chatter, murmuring softly off of the trunks of trees and echoing in the stillness.
Aiony stood at the edge of the Mere of the Moon. The cool waters lapped gently at her cloven hooves, as she stood lost in thought. After Illishar's joyous reception and welcome to the herd, he and Lell had retired to the forest to speak, as they had never had the chance to do so for many moons.
She was brought to attention by a voice calling her name. She wheeled lightly on her hindquarters, to see Dhattar and another coming through the groves. "Hail, brother, what brings you here?"
Dhattar chivvied her shoulder. "We spent the better part of an hour seeking you."
"We?" inquired Aiony.
"Dhattar and I," a new voice spoke. Aiony turned her head to view the speaker better.
Emerging from between the smooth, mahogany trunks of the milkwood trees strode a young stallion, a year Aiony's junior. He shook his true yellow forelock from his eyes and snorted. True yellow forequarters shading to brilliant salmon on the rump, Culu was a rare colour indeed.
"Hail princess," he said evenly. Culu was of the same height and heft as Aiony, and as Lell, standing level with her, and still growing.
Aiony dipped her head, "Hail son-of-Dagg. Is my calculating brother leading you astray?"
Dhattar nipped her on the shoulder. "It's the truth, isn't it?" she teased him. Culu came to stand beside the painted mare, blowing through his nostrils. "The Red Mare would speak with you," he continued "She sent us to locate you."
Champing him lightly on the crest of his neck, Aiony nodded. She had not held council with her granddam since moondance the eve before. Culu struck at her with a soft forehoof. With a whinny, Aiony struck his horn away from her. Dhattar stood off, absently nibbling a flybite on his shoulder.
The easy shove and pushing match quickly became a fast sparring match. Batting her horn away, Culu gained ground, pushing her from Dhattar and the pool. Bracing herself against his shoulder, she slashed his neck light enough not to draw blood, but hard enough to make him back down. Seizing the opportunity, she moved forward in an onslaught of thrusts and jabs. Culu signaled for a stop, his fiery horn no longer slapping at hers. Aiony slowed…only to pummeled lightly on the shoulder with Culu's forehooves. He sprang away laughing.
With a whinny she sprang into pursuit. Culu charged in the direction of the limestone cliffs, where the wyverns used to dwell. Redoubling her speed, Aiony galloped harder, to intercept him. Dhattar had dashed a few halting steps after them, than halted, a smile playing over his lips.
Glancing over one shoulder to make sure she was following, Culu dodged among the milkwood trees, well aware she was gaining. He reached the vertical slope where the battle had raged three years ago, and paced a few steps.
Like a startled hare, he shot off to the side, avoiding the place where Lell had descended to join the fray. Aiony bounded after him. The slope added to her speed and she stretched her long legs to catch him up.
Instead of veering to span the vast expanse of meadow where three years ago, the Battle of Endingfire was fought and won, Culu kept running. He disappeared in the gloom of the trees.
Aiony closed the distance quickly. Halting, she listened, pricking her ears to catch the sound of Culu's passing. After a moment, Aiony turned…and found herself looking into Culu's mahogany-brown eyes. He had been watching her from the trees. With a whinny, he sprang away.
Crashing through the bracken in hot pursuit, Aiony stopped at the edge of a fast-flowing river. A quick glance found Culu standing in the middle of it. His legs were braced against the current, and his forelock dropped over his eyes, giving him a rakish look. Not twelve paces from where he stood lay a sharp dropoff, a thin trickle of a waterfall. It didn't fall very far, but solid rock was all that lay at its bottom. Even as Aiony watched, from upstream a thick log floated towards the sundog hued young stallion. If he didn't move, it would catch his legs and drag him over the edge!
"Culu!" she cried. He whirled to behold the log flying through the water. He tensed to jump, and leaped. A strand of aquatic weed coiled about his fetlock and jerked him down. Culu stumbled and landed splay-legged in the midst of the flowing water. The log coursed toward him at a great speed.
Aiony felt rooted to the spot. Her eyes found the log as it raced toward Culu. Focusing, she fixed with a fierce stare, willing it to stop. To her wonder, it halted. A great pressure pressed against Aiony's mind. Fighting it back, she kept it at bay, training her eyes on the log.
Sweat broke out over her, hot pricks that soon turned to beads, than to drops. Her body shook with the effort. It almost felt as though she were the log, the water pushing her, slowly, inevitably toward Culu and the edge. "Go Culu!" she gasped out.
Culu, not wasting a moment of his time, worried the weed furiously with his teeth. When that proved to no avail, he slashed it with his horn. It sheared off, carried away with the water. Leaping from the water, he stumbled upon landing. His eyes became as round as moons, to see Aiony fighting the pull of the current.
She felt something filling her, and she let go. The force rushed from her sweat-soaked body and suddenly, she was no longer standing.
Aiony awoke to a warm side pressed against her own. Leaning against the other's side, she heaved an exhausted sigh. Culu nipped her gently. "Are you hale?" she asked him.
"I am," he answered "but how of you? What happened? What did you do?"
"I don't know," she answered him honestly "I-" From the corner of her eye, Aiony saw the Red Mare. Jah-lila stood in the shadows of the wood, smiling. A look of utter conviction showed in her eyes. Conviction of what? Thought Aiony. As she watched, the midwife's left eye closed in a slow wink as she retreated into the forest.
Culu's eyes filled with concern. "You needn't have…done that for me."
"Yes I did," Aiony said with a fierceness that surprised even herself. "You could have perished."
"I feel as though I owe you something," he said.
"You don't." the painted half-grow mare shook her head.
"My truename," Culu said suddenly "My truename is Culkelu."
Aiony's eyes widened. "Colour-of-burning." She smiled. "It suits." She felt a rush of gratitude, followed by shame. "My truename is Aionil'yah."
Culu shifted. "Shadow-under-the-moon. It suits as well."
Aiony sighed and leaned into his warmth. "We should leave. The others will wonder where we are."
Culu stood up with a grunt, and used his nose to steady her as she rose shakily. Resting a bit on his shoulder, Aiony and Culu began to make their way back to the herd.
That eve, the eyes of Alma shining all about her, Aiony found Jah-lila, standing apart from the herd, grazing contemplatively. "You wanted to see me?"
Jah-lila nodded. "I believe, granddaughter, that you have the talent to become a magicker, as am I." She paused to watch Aiony catch her breath. "I watched you, when you held the log back to protect young Culu. It came to me, as you regained consciousness, that I have no acolyte, no one to keep the herd in their care for the duration of my many absences. I have seen," the Red Mare paused "that you would develop such powers in time. For some years, I thought perhaps Dhattar would. But no. It came to me last night, during the moondance that you would inherit this gift and burden. You have the rare ability to understand, and use the limited ways of magic, even when you yourself is not aware of it."
Aiony digested this slowly. For some reason, this revelation did not alarm her. She wondered why this was so. "You have known this only since last night?"
Again Jah-lila nodded. "I can teach you to use your powers for the good of the herd. To scry, call weather…and other things."
Tossing her head and feeling her parti-coloured mane settle along her neck, Aiony consented. "Very well. I will be your acolyte."
Jah-lila smiled in approval. "Come to me tomorrow. I will teach you the ways of the magicker."
Aiony gazed up at the stars, and was reminded of the star path markings possessed by her grandsire, Calydor the seer. Heaving a sigh, the painted princess bade her granddam farewell. "Good eve to you, until we meet tomorrow."
"And to you as well, young magicker." Jah-lila bade softly to her back. If Aiony heard, she did not mark it, but for a small halt in her step.
The rest of the young half-grown warriors cavorted in the meadow, shaking their heads and sparring. Aiony approached them but did not join in. Instead she stood off, watching them play. Doubt, confusion and a little excitement weighed heavy on her mind.
Dhattar, always the observant one, noticed almost immediately. "What ails you sister?"
Aiony smiled, if not a little weakly, at him. "Nothing. I am fine and hale. It's just...nothing. You needn't worry. Go ahead, don't let me interrupt your gaming."
Dhattar shot a curious glance over his shoulder at her as he retreated, but raised no protest. His blue eyes caught the light of the stars, giving them an almost unearthly glow. As she watched him leave, Aiony felt the presence of another rise at her shoulder. The faint body heat he gave off signaled his approach.
"Hail," Culu greeted her softly.
Aiony snorted softly in return, and a small smile creased her lips. She did not turn to see him.
Culu stood at ease, his muscles relaxed. The ebony and alabaster young mare wondered why she was so acutely aware of his presence. He gave her an affectionate nip, and blew warm air into her mane. They stood like this for a long time, enjoying one another's company. Neither spoke a word, simply watched the frisking of their fellows into the night.
Finally, Culu broke the silence with a sigh. The half-grown warriors were dispersing, streaming into their grottos. "I should go," he said, already moving away.
"Go then, weanling," she teased, and swatted at the sundog-hued rump. Others were already asleep in their caves. The half-grown watched Culu slip away to his own grotto. She, too, should go.
A thought struck her, just then, as she padded off through the darkness. The sojourn to the Summer Sea was almost at hand. Illishar was to accompany the unpaired half-growns this year, to keep them from trouble and harm's way. Lell would be glad of the company, Aiony guessed, or more perhaps. As for herself, well…she would not pledge this year. She had not chosen a mate. Or hadn't she…?
Aiony smiled softly to herself as she paused briefly at the egress of her cave. Glancing back into the dark, she spied Culu, too, watching her. As soon as he felt her eyes on him, he flitted into his cave as though he was no more than a wraith in the night.
She had gone only once to the courting shore. Again, this year she would depart unpaired. The first summer, she had barely got her beard. On her second…Aiony smiled. The one she had just now chosen was raw, unready yet to eye the mares. Next year, when he grew wit enough to know his own heart…well.
Until then, she had much to do and think on. Her training beneath the watchful black-green eyes of the Wild One, the Rare One, her own granddam began tomorrow. She was an acolyte magicker now, however raw and untried, with much to uphold, and expectations as well.
With these final thoughts in her mind, she slipped away into the warm darkness of her grotto.


text:
Most of us go through life having to play the occasional 'lame excuse' card now and then.
Of course, the Money Shot has a perfectly valid reason for being missing in action since June – it's been on a journey of personal fulfilment and discovery, and has returned for 2015 reeking of incense and Zen, loudly recounting its amazing life-enhancing experiences to anyone who'll listen.
Speaking of lousy excuses, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC to you and me) has issued a salvo of limp justifications it's received for people not doing their tax return on time. There are some real belters in there.
Witness, for instance, the justification that a person handed theirs in late "because they fell in with the wrong crowd". A crowd, presumably, who would cajole them into bunking off tax-return sessions to mooch about the local precinct, swigging energy drinks and goading passers-by.
But wait! They get even more surreal. "I've been busy looking after a flock of escaped parrots and some fox cubs," pleaded one latecomer.
Another claimed they were "travelling the world, trying to escape from a foreign intelligence agency", which sort of checks out. After all, when was the last time you saw James Bond filling in some tedious paperwork? Poor old Barack Obama was even blamed for one applicant not doing his form on time. And yes, somebody did actually say that their dog ate the form.
"People can have a genuine excuse for missing a tax deadline, but owning a pet with a taste for HMRC envelopes isn't one of them," tutted HMRC director general of personal tax Ruth Owen.
"You need to file your 2013-14 tax return online, and pay what you owe, by 31 January. But it's best to do it now, to allow plenty of time to sort out any issues with your return. That way, you'll avoid the busy period for our phone lines as the deadline approaches."
Share your lousy excuses (tax-related or otherwise) with us on Facebook or Twitter
News in brief
First-time buyer levels have hit a seven-year high, according to a report from Halifax.
Poundstretcher was 'buoyed' by a bumper Christmas.
The Payments Council has revealed that Christmas Eve was the busiest day of 2014 for money withdrawals.
A full-on fixed-rate mortgage war has broken out, with lenders across the board offering super-low deals.
Get your van cleaned on us
Do you own or drive a van? Well, you could get it cleaned on us. To enter, simply send an email with the subject line 'Clean My Van', along with a contact number, to firstname.lastname@example.com by 19 January, 2015 (terms and conditions apply).
On Covered mag this week
He may have left the building a long time ago, but Elvis' legacy is still big business, says Emily Bater.
Prepare to be shocked as Abbie Laughton-Coles blows the lid off hotel wi-fi charges.
Your 2015 holiday may be easier to book than ever.
Give your finances a shot in the arm for the forthcoming year.
Here are some New Year's resolutions for you and your pet.
Join us next week for another thrilling instalment of the Money Shot. In the meantime, send your letters to email@example.com


text:
By Paul White, USA TODAY
Get ready for the A-Rod Watch.
With Barry Bonds on the verge of becoming baseball's home run king, the spotlight soon will shift to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, the player in best position to take the record from Bonds.
"I'm not going to starting think about what my destination is," Rodriguez said Saturday after becoming the youngest player to hit his 500th home run, mere hours before Bonds tied Hank Aaron atop the all-time list with 755.
A-ROD VS. HISTORY: Facts, figures on other members of 500 club
A-ROD MAKES HISTORY: Accents youth with No. 500
"I have a tremendous passion to play winning baseball and play baseball the right way. Let's take it one step at a time."
Projecting totals is tricky
Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle are the only other players to hit No. 500 as a Yankee.
Though Rodriguez missed by eight days getting No. 500 before his 32nd birthday, he still became the youngest to the milestone by 328 days. Jimmie Foxx did it on Sept. 24, 1940, at 32 years, 337 days.
But Foxx finished his career with 534 homers, demonstrating a point made by San Diego Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman, the all-time saves leader who reached 500 in his specialty this year.
"You can't predict the way numbers are going to go," Hoffman says. "This isn't a game that's about putting up numbers before they happen. How about (Ken) Griffey (Jr.), the poor guy? Where would he be on the list if he didn't have three or four years of injuries?"
Maybe as high as fourth all time, but still not at the pace Rodriguez is setting.
Griffey had 460 homers when he turned 32 after the 2001 season, in which a hamstring injury limited him to 111 games and 22 homers. Six more trips to the disabled list over the next three seasons left Griffey with a total of 206 games and 41 homers from 2002-04, severely curtailing his chances at passing Aaron, let alone whatever new standard Bonds leaves behind.
If Griffey had been able to average 40 homers from 2001-04 (he averaged 50 the previous five seasons), he'd be at 685 today, trailing just Aaron, Bonds and Ruth.
Rodriguez has averaged 41 homers a season during his 11 previous full-time seasons, 1996-2006. He's on pace for 49 this year, but even if he maintains an average of 40, he would get to 800 near the end of the 2014 season, when he would be 39.
He would also make Bonds' tenure as the home run king the shortest since 1900. Aaron's reign will have lasted just over 34 years after Ruth held the record for 53 seasons.
"This (500) is not a destination for him, this is a stopoff," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "I'm proud to be in the dugout with him. … He's certainly going to stand tall with other guys who have worn the pinstripes."
Injuries, of course, are the key.
Rodriguez was limited to 129 games by a knee injury in 1999, but that's the only time he has played fewer than 141 games since becoming a full-time player with the Seattle Mariners as a 20-year-old in 1996.
Injuries derailed Foxx
Foxx was on a similar career path through the 1941 season, which he completed as a 33-year-old with 519 homers. He had averaged 146 games for 13 seasons before a rapid decline limited him to just 204 more games.
Foxx had several injuries, but the most significant problem was linked to a beaning in a 1934 exhibition game. He had increasing difficulties with sinus headaches as a result of being hit. By the early 1940s, the pressure was affecting his vision.
Injuries also deprived Foxx of potential decades of legendary status. Just five years after Ruth set the single-season record of 60 in 1927, Foxx was in position to wipe out that mark. He had 41 homers by the end of July, a full month ahead of Ruth's pace. But Foxx hurt a thumb and wrist in early August and, despite continuing to play, was unable to generate much. He finished the season with 58.
Alex Rodriguez turned 32 on July 27; eight days later he hit his 500th home run, well ahead of the pace set by the all-time top four sluggers:
How other sluggers compared
Alex Rodriguez hit his milestone home run in his 7,169th at-bat and at age 32 years, 8 days. Details of the 500th homer for the top 10 career leaders:
Contributing to story: Peter Abraham, Mel Antonen
Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.


text:
Journaling: After picking out the perfect pumpkin for his Jack-O-Lantern Victor had a little trouble getting it picked up. After walking a short distance with it he needed to some help carrying it to the check out.
Credits: Pumpkin Kisses by Kristmess Designs; Pumpkin Kisses Shabbies by Kristmess Designs. Fonts: Amanda's Script; sf Scribbled; Pea Dolce Bello.