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https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/issue/feed Radiocarbon 2015-10-19T15:40:23-07:00 Kimberley Elliott email@example.com Open Journal Systems
Radiocarbon is the main international journal of record for research articles and date lists relevant to 14C and other radioisotopes and techniques used in archaeological, geophysical, oceanographic, and related dating. The journal is published quarterly. We also publish conference proceedings and monographs on topics related to our fields of interest. ISSN: 0033-8222

As of 2016, Radiocarbon will be published by Cambridge University Press. Please check the Cambridge Online site for new Radiocarbon content and submit manuscripts through the new platform.
 https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18719 Table of Contents 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Mark McClure email@example.com 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18718 Editorial Board 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Mark McClure firstname.lastname@example.com 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18676 Book Review: The Long and Winding Road: Review of L S Klejn. Soviet Archaeology: Trends, Schools, and History (translated by R Ireland and K Windle) 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Yaroslav V Kuzmin firstname.lastname@example.com 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18198 Late Quaternary Vegetational Changes in a Marsh Forest in Southeastern Brazil with Comments on Prehistoric Human Occupation 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Walter Mareschi Bissa firstname.lastname@example.com Mauro B de Toledo email@example.com
This article presents a palynological study carried out on a sediment core from a peat deposit in Serra de Botucatu, in São Paulo State, southeastern Brazilian Plateau. This region has been covered by grassland vegetation and forest patches throughout the recorded period. AMS radiocarbon dating plus palynological analysis of 27 samples from the sediment core allowed the recognition of several environmental changes that took place during the last 33,000 yr recorded in the core. The relationship between sedimentation rates and changes in the abundance of plants recognized through their pollen record, particularly a few important indicator species, provided the paleoenvironmental history for the Serra de Botucatu region, allowing the identification of changes in climate conditions and comparison with other regions in Brazil. One of the most remarkable features of this record is the cold and humid conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum, which diverges from previous interpretations for southeastern and southern Brazil but is in good agreement with paleoclimatic data from trace elements from cave stalagmites in SE Brazil. No indications of human impacts on the vegetation were found in this record.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18198

 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18313 Radiocarbon and Stratigraphic Chronology of Canímar Abajo, Matanzas, Cuba 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Mirjana Roksandic email@example.com William Mark Buhay firstname.lastname@example.com Yadira Chinique des Armas email@example.com Roberto Rodríguez Suárez email@example.com Matthew C Peros email@example.com Ivan Roksandic firstname.lastname@example.com Stephanie Mowat email@example.com Luis M Vieira email@example.com Carlos Arredondo firstname.lastname@example.com Antonio Martínez Fuentes firstname.lastname@example.com David Gray Smith firstname.lastname@example.com
Twelve accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates from the shell-matrix site of Canímar Abajo (Matanzas, Cuba) are reported. Eleven were obtained directly from human bone collagen in burials and one was obtained from charcoal recovered from a burial context. The site stratigraphy presents two episodes of burial activity separated by a shell midden layer. The AMS dates fall into two compact clusters that correlate remarkably well with the stratigraphy. The older burial dates to between 1380–800 cal BC (2σ) and the younger one to between cal AD 360–950 (2σ). The AMS dates are compared to eight conventional 14C dates previously obtained on shell and charcoal. One of the conventional dates on charcoal (5480–5380 cal BC; 2σ) has been reported as the oldest 14C date in the Caribbean region; its context and reliability are clarified. The suite of AMS dates provides one of the most reliable chronometric dating of a cultural context during this timeframe in Cuba. The correlation of 14C and stratigraphy establishes a solid chronology for investigating the important economic and ritual features of Canímar Abajo.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18313
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18343 Dating the Dead: New Radiocarbon Dates from the Lower Ica Valley, South Coast Peru 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Lauren Cadwallader firstname.lastname@example.com Susana Arce Torres firstname.lastname@example.com Tamsin C O'Connell firstname.lastname@example.com Alexander G Pullen firstname.lastname@example.com David G Beresford-Jones email@example.com
This article presents radiocarbon dates from human bone samples (n = 13) from seven pre-Columbian cemeteries in the Samaca and Ullujaya Basins of the lower Ica Valley, south coast of Peru, spanning from the end of the Early Horizon to the Inca Late Horizon. These contexts have been severely looted. Yet, in all cases, their putative dating by material culture remains is confirmed by these 14C dates. This shows that such disturbed contexts, sadly typical of the Peruvian coast, can nonetheless still yield valuable bioarchaeological and burial practice data. These dates elaborate upon an emerging picture of the absolute dating of the cultural phases of the wider south coast region, in particular casting new light on the poorly understood Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate period transition. A paucity of archaeological data for this 3-century period has been taken as evidence of some sort of environmentally or socially induced lacuna. Instead, the 14C dates presented here suggest that the basins of the lower Ica Valley were continuously occupied over this period.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18343
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18318 Radiocarbon Dating of Atacama (Chile) Snuff Trays: An Update on Stylistic and Chronological Correlations 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Pascale Richardin firstname.lastname@example.com Catherine Lavier email@example.com Helena Horta firstname.lastname@example.com Valentina Figueroa firstname.lastname@example.com Nicolás Lira firstname.lastname@example.com
The Atacama region of Chile has the highest concentration of hallucinogenic paraphernalia from prehistoric cemeteries on the planet. These artifacts have been studied since the late 19th century, primarily from the perspective of stylistic classification, which has been used to infer their temporal assignation. However, direct chronological dating of the snuff trays has not been addressed until now, through an interdisciplinary study conducted in San Pedro de Atacama on the psychotropic paraphernalia collection of the Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Museo R.P. Gustavo Le Paige S.J. (IIAM), part of the Universidad Católica del Norte. In this study, samples were taken from eight snuff trays for radiocarbon dating and to develop a suitable procedure and protocol for sample extraction and handling of wooden archaeological pieces. This article provides the results of these activities by establishing the existence of a sequence of styles in the hallucinogenic paraphernalia that goes from the Middle to Late Intermediate period (about AD 300 to 1400), which shows that in this timespan there were two styles (Tiwanaku and local), and then both were replaced by a macroregional style.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18318
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18319 14C and Marine Reservoir Effect in Archaeological Samples from the Northeast Gulf of California 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 David L Dettman firstname.lastname@example.com Douglas R Mitchell firstname.lastname@example.com Gary Huckleberry email@example.com Michael S Foster firstname.lastname@example.com
Previous studies of live-collected pre-weapons testing mollusk shells in the northern Gulf of California have demonstrated that the local radiocarbon reservoir effect (ΔR) is large and highly variable. To test the validity of this observation for paired charcoal and shell samples from archaeological contexts, we dated samples from four shell midden locations and six midden layers from the eastern shoreline of the Gulf of California near Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico. Dated charcoal samples were small twigs or brushy plants used to cook shellfish and the shells dated within each midden showed signs of burning. Ages range from approximately 5700 to 1900 cal BP. The offset between the modeled marine 14C age for calibrated ages of the middens and measured shell 14C age (ΔR) averaged 425 yr with a standard deviation of 115 yr.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18319
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18341 Prehistoric Mortuary Practices and the Constitution of Social Relationships: Implications of the First Radiocarbon Dates from Maski on the Occupational History of a South India "Type Site" 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Andrew M Bauer firstname.lastname@example.com Peter G Johansen firstname.lastname@example.com
In 1954, B K Thapar excavated the multicomponent site of Maski (Raichur District, Karnataka) to establish an archaeological sequence for the southern Deccan region of India. Thapar identified four major periods of occupation, now known as the Neolithic (3000–1200 BC), Iron Age (1200–300 BC), Early Historic (300 BC to AD 500), and the Medieval periods (AD 500–1600). Renewed research at the site by the Maski Archaeological Research Project (F.1/8/2009-EE) has investigated the development of social differences and inequalities in south Indian prehistory. This article reports the first ever radiocarbon assays from habitation and megalithic burial contexts in the vicinity of Maski. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates of charcoal sampled from exposed occupational strata on Maski's Durgada Gudda hill and subsequent Bayesian analyses indicate that the site was extensively occupied during the 14th century AD, corroborating interpretations of numismatic and inscriptional materials. Associated artifacts with these 14C samples have significant implications for recognizing late Medieval period ceramics and occupation in the region. AMS assays of four charcoal samples from exposed megalithic burials just south of the Durgada Gudda hill, similar to those recognized by Thapar, indicate that burial practices commonly attributed to the Iron Age predate the period, and thus are not precise chronological markers. However, the results also suggest that megalithic burial practices became more labor intensive during the Iron Age, creating a cultural context for the generation of new forms of social affiliations and distinctions through differential participation in the production of commemorative places.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18341
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/17778 Radiocarbon Dating of Aghios Antonios, Potos, and Intersite Chronological Variability in South Thasos, Greece 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Yannis Maniatis firstname.lastname@example.com Nerantzis Nerantzis firstname.lastname@example.com Stratis Papadopoulos email@example.com
Radiocarbon dates obtained for the coastal hilltop settlement of Aghios Antonios Potos in south Thasos are statistically treated to define the absolute chronology for the start and the end of the various habitation and cultural phases at the site. The location was first occupied during the Final Neolithic (FN) between 3800 and 3600 BC, extending this much contested phase to the lowest up to now record for Thasos and the northern Greece. The site is continuously inhabited from Early Bronze Age I until the early Late Bronze Age (LBA; 1363 BC) when it was abandoned. Comparison with other sites in Thasos and particularly with the inland site of Kastri Theologos showed that the first occupation at Aghios Antonios came soon after the abandonment of Kastri in the beginning of the 4th millennium. In fact, after the decline and abandonment of Aghios Antonios in the LBA, the site of Kastri was reinhabited, leading to the hypothesis that part of the coastal population moved inland. The presumed chronological sequence of alternate habitation between the two settlements may evoke explanations for sociocultural and/or environmental dynamics behind population movements in prehistoric Thasos. A major conclusion of the project is that the 4th millennium occupation gap attested in many sites of Greece, especially in the north, is probably bridged in south Thasos, when the data from all sites are taken together. The mobility of people in Final Neolithic south Thasos may explain the general phenomenon of limited occupational sequences in the FN of north Greece.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.17778
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18391 Radiocarbon Dating Shows an Early Appearance of Philistine Material Culture in Tell es-Safi/Gath, Philistia 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Yotam Asscher email@example.com Dan Cabanes firstname.lastname@example.com Louise A Hitchcock email@example.com Aren M Maeir firstname.lastname@example.com Steve Weiner email@example.com Elisabetta Boaretto email@example.com
The Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in the coastal southern Levant involves a major cultural change, which is characterized, among other things, by the appearance of Philistine pottery locally produced in styles derived from outside the Levant. This transition in the coastal southern Levant is conventionally dated to the 12th century BC, based on historical and archaeological artifacts associated with the Philistine pottery. Radiocarbon dating can provide a more precise independent absolute chronology for this transition, but dating for the period under discussion is complicated by the wiggles and relatively flat slope in the calibration curve, which significantly reduce precision. An additional complication is that the stratigraphic record below and above the transition at this site, as well as at most other sites in the region, is far from complete. We thus used a variety of microarchaeological techniques to improve our understanding of the stratigraphy, and to ensure that the locations with datable short-lived materials were only derived from primary contexts, which could be related directly to the associated material culture. The 14C dates were modeled using Bayesian statistics that incorporate the stratigraphic information. Using this integrative approach, we date the appearance of the Philistine pottery in Tell es-Safi/Gath in the 13th century BC.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18391
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18197 Radiocarbon Age Determinations of Mosaic Mortar Layers of Churches from North Jordan 2015-10-19T15:22:21-07:00 Khaled Al-Bashaireh email@example.com
This research is aimed at radiocarbon dating organic inclusions and lime-binder powders of mortar layers of mosaic pavements in four churches of arguable archaeological date located in northern Jordan. One mortar sample from each mosaic pavement of each church was collected, examined by thin section microscopy, and then physically pretreated by gentle crushing and dry sieving to collect lime-binder powders of different grain sizes. Charcoal samples uncovered from three samples and the CO2 gases, collected by hydrochloric acid (HCl) hydrolysis of the powders, were 14C dated using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Four powders of 63–45 μm from the four samples and two powders of 45–38 μm from two samples were analyzed in order to get more precise dates and examine previous proposed models for the interpretation of the results. 14C determinations showed agreement between charcoal ages and archaeological data, while the fine lime-binder's powders, especially from the mosaic's bedding layer, produced more precise dates. Results suggest that 14C date profiles produced by HCl hydrolysis of the lime-binder powders can be clearly interpreted by the existing models.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18197
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18200 Tel Tsaf and the Impact of the Ubaid Culture on the Southern Levant: Interpreting the Radiocarbon Evidence 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Katharina Streit firstname.lastname@example.com Yosef Garfinkel email@example.com
A data set of 18 radiocarbon dates from the domestic quarter and the well at Tel Tsaf provide conclusive evidence for the absolute dating of this Middle Chalcolithic site. Bayesian modeling suggests that the site was occupied in the last quarter of the 6th millennium BC and abandoned in the first quarter of the 5th millennium. The absolute dating of Tel Tsaf has further implications for the synchronization of the protohistory of the Levant. The ceramic assemblage of Tel Tsaf included delicately painted ceramic sherds (so-called Tel Tsaf ware), which are distinct from the common plain ware. Comparable motifs have been identified in ceramic assemblages of contemporary Ubaid sites such as Tell Mashnaqa, Tell Zeidan, Tell el-Abr, and Hammam et-Turkan IV in northern Mesopotamia. Tel Tsaf is a rare example of a little researched connection between the Ubaid culture and the Middle Chalcolithic of the southern Levant. The findings of Tel Tsaf expand the southwestern border of the Ubaid sphere of influence and shed new light on long-distance interaction in protohistory.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18200
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/17961 King David's City at Khirbet Qeiyafa: Results of the Second Radiocarbon Dating Project 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Yosef Garfinkel firstname.lastname@example.com Katharina Streit firstname.lastname@example.com Saar Ganor firstname.lastname@example.com Paula J Reimer email@example.com
Seventeen samples of burnt olive pits discovered inside a jar in the destruction layer of the Iron Age city of Khirbet Qeiyafa were analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. Of these, four were halved and sent to two different laboratories to minimize laboratory bias. The dating of these samples is ~1000 BC. Khirbet Qeiyafa is currently the earliest known example of a fortified city in the Kingdom of Judah and contributes direct evidence to the heated debate on the biblical narrative relating to King David. Was he the real historical ruler of an urbanized state-level society in the early 10th century BC or was this level of social development reached only at the end of the 8th century BC? We can conclude that there were indeed fortified centers in the Davidic kingdom from the studies presented. In addition, the dating of Khirbet Qeiyafa has far-reaching implications for the entire Levant. The discovery of Cypriot pottery at the site connects the 14C datings to Cyprus and the renewal of maritime trade between the island and the mainland in the Iron Age. A stone temple model from Khirbet Qeiyafa, decorated with triglyphs and a recessed doorframe, points to an early date for the development of this typical royal architecture of the Iron Age Levant.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.17961
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18336 Radiocarbon Dating Khirbet Qeiyafa and the Iron I–IIA Phases in the Shephelah: Methodological Comments and a Bayesian Model 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Israel Finkelstein email@example.com Eli Piasetzky firstname.lastname@example.com
This article discusses methodological issues related to the radiocarbon dating of Khirbet Qeiyafa, mainly the question of whether the site should be dated solely according to samples retrieved there or dated as part of a regional sequence of stratigraphically based ceramic typology phases. For the latter, we deploy the large number of 14C determinations now available for several sites in the Shephelah, which are located in close proximity to each other, in order to establish a Bayesian model for the absolute chronology of the Iron I–IIA phases in the region. We argue that the information assembled from six neighboring sites in the Shephelah pushes forward the date of Qeiyafa to the 10th century, a date later than the one the excavators estimated based on the more limited 14C information from the site alone.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18336
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18397 Identifying Specialized 19th Century Fishing Camps on California's Northern Channel Islands: Applying AMS Radiocarbon Dating to Historical Sites 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Todd J Braje firstname.lastname@example.com Torben C Rick firstname.lastname@example.com
California's Northern Channel Islands have long been an epicenter of specialized fishing economies dating from 13,000 yr ago to the mid-19th century. With thousands of well-preserved shell middens, some dominated by single shellfish species and little to no material culture, it can be difficult to distinguish between specialized prehistoric and historical deposits at some site types. Beginning at least in the Early Holocene and continuing into the Historic period, California mussels, turban snails, and abalone were targeted for specialized collection and processing by Native Americans and later Chinese and Euro-American fishers. Here, we demonstrate how selective accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of specialized abalone processing camps can help distinguish between prehistoric and historical sites. While unconventional, our case study demonstrates the utility of 14C dating at sites less than 300 yr old.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18397
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18201 Geoarchaeological Perspectives on the "Millennial Series" of Earthquakes in the Southern Puget Lowland, Washington, USA 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Ian Hutchinson firstname.lastname@example.com
Surface-breaking ruptures on shallow crustal faults in the southern Puget Lowland in western Washington State about a millennium ago prompted abrupt changes in land level and triggered tsunamis in Puget Sound. The displacement on the Seattle fault most likely occurred in the 1050–1020 cal BP interval. Structures further south (the Tacoma and Olympia faults, and one or more faults in the southern Hood Canal zone) ruptured at about the same time, or slightly earlier. The low frequency of radiocarbon ages from archaeological sites in the region in the aftermath of the "millennial series" of earthquakes, when compared to bootstrapped samples from a database of 1255 ages from the Pacific Northwest as a whole, suggests that these very large earthquakes had significant socioeconomic consequences. The cultural record from coastal archaeological sites shows that although survivors camped on the shore in the aftermath, many coastal villages appear to have been abandoned, and were not reoccupied for several centuries. There is little evidence, however, to suggest that people migrated from southern Puget Sound to neighboring areas, and no evidence of social conflict in the adjacent areas that might have served as havens.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18201
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18436 AMS Dating of the Late Pleistocene Mammals at the Colorado Creek Site, Interior Western Alaska 2015-10-19T15:30:46-07:00 Joshua D Reuther firstname.lastname@example.com Jason S Rogers email@example.com Julie Rousseau email@example.com Patrick S Druckenmiller firstname.lastname@example.com
The Colorado Creek section of Alaska is an important paleontological site first excavated and reported on in the early 1980s and 1990s. The remains of two individual mammoths (the "Upper" and "Lower"), and elements of horse, bison, and caribou make this a unique faunal assemblage for a region in interior western Alaska, and the western edge of eastern Beringia. The mammoth remains were the only portions of the faunal assemblage radiocarbon dated in the 1980s. The Upper mammoth ages were widespread between 13,000 and 16,200 BP with the older dates being more accepted for the death of the individual. A single age on the Lower mammoth was produced at 22,880 14C yr BP. New accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates generally confirm the accepted ages for the two mammoths and provide more precise ages of 16,200 ± 50 and 22,710 ± 90 14C yr BP for the Upper and Lower mammoths, respectively. AMS dates on caribou and horse are similar to ages on the Upper mammoth and show an overlap in their ecological ranges in interior western Alaska between 16,000 and 17,000 14C yr BP during the Late Glacial, similar to other areas of the state. The sole AMS date on bison produced an infinite 14C age (>43,500 14C yr BP), considerably older than the Upper and Lower mammoths' remains, and indicates that older deposits are present at the site. A dearth of dated Quaternary paleontological specimens from western Alaska hinders our understanding of this region's paleoecology. This study enhances our conception of the geographic and chronological spread of late Pleistocene large terrestrial mammals in Alaska and Beringia.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18436
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18329 The Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effect on Adak Island (Central Aleutian Islands), Alaska 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Bulat F Khasanov firstname.lastname@example.com Toshio Nakamura email@example.com Mitsuru Okuno email@example.com Ekaterina N Gorlova firstname.lastname@example.com Olga A Krylovich firstname.lastname@example.com Dixie L West email@example.com Virginia Hatfield firstname.lastname@example.com Arkady B Savinetsky email@example.com
Radiocarbon dates (n = 18) from three archaeological sites on Adak Island, Alaska, were analyzed to understand the marine reservoir offset. Samples of marine and terrestrial origins recovered from the same archaeological context were compiled in nine pairs. The mean ΔR value calculated for them totaled 545 ± 10 yr. This value can be regarded as a sound estimate of the marine reservoir offset in the central Aleutians.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18329
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18179 Bayesian Chronological Modeling of SunWatch, a Fort Ancient Village in Dayton, Ohio 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Anthony M Krus firstname.lastname@example.com Robert Cook email@example.com Derek Hamilton firstname.lastname@example.com
Radiocarbon results from houses, pits, and burials at the SunWatch site, Dayton, Ohio, are presented within an interpretative Bayesian statistical framework. The primary model incorporates dates from archaeological features in an unordered phase and uses charcoal outlier modeling (Bronk Ramsey 2009b) to account for issues of wood charcoal 14C dates predating their context. The results of the primary model estimate occupation lasted for 1–245 yr (95% probability), starting in cal AD 1175–1385 (95% probability) and ending in cal AD 1330–1470 (95% probability). An alternative model was created by placing the 14C dates into two unordered phases corresponding with horizontal stratigraphic relationships or distinct groups of artifacts thought to be temporally diagnostic. The results of the alternative model further suggest that there is some temporal separation between Group 1 and Group 2, which seems more likely in the event of a multicomponent occupation. Overall, the modeling results provide chronology estimates for SunWatch that are more accurate and precise than that provided in earlier studies. While it is difficult to determine with certainty if SunWatch had a single-component or multicomponent occupation, it is clear that SunWatch's occupation lasted until the second half of the AD 1300s.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18179
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18193 Flame-Sealed Tube Graphitization Using Zinc as the Sole Reduction Agent: Precision Improvement of EnvironMICADAS 14C Measurements on Graphite Targets 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Gergely Orsovszki firstname.lastname@example.com Laszlo Rinyu firstname.lastname@example.com
The flame-sealed tube zinc reduction graphitization method has been successfully adapted and optimized for radiocarbon measurements on EnvironMICADAS in the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies (ATOMKI HLES). To reduce the cost and treatment time of producing graphite targets from samples of about 1 mg carbon content, we have omitted the titanium hydride (TiH2) reagent and used a decreased amount of zinc as the sole reductant in our new method. These changes have also helped to eliminate methane formation during the graphitization processes as well as to recover higher ion current at the same background level. These conditions have led to improved efficiency in the 14C measurements; furthermore, the instrument background level remained sufficiently low (<49,000 yr BP). After determining the optimum parameters of the new Zn graphitization method (2.5 mg Fe powder, 15.0 mg Zn powder, 10 hr graphitization at 550°C in heating block, reaction cells with reagent pretreated at 300°C for 1 hr), verification of the accuracy was carried out by the preparation and measurement of IAEA standard samples (C2, C6, C7, C8) with known 14C activity. The sensitivity of the method for gas contamination was tested and determined by comparing the results to measurements of reserved portions of previously processed real samples.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18193
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18191 One-Year-Long Continuous and Synchronous Data Set of Fossil Carbon in Atmospheric PM2.5 and Carbon Dioxide in Debrecen, Hungary 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 István Major email@example.com Enikő Furu firstname.lastname@example.com László Haszpra firstname.lastname@example.com Zsófia Kertész email@example.com Mihály Molnár firstname.lastname@example.com
Radiocarbon investigation of atmospheric PM2.5 aerosol synchronized with 14CO2 observations began in Debrecen in the winter of 2010. The aim of the study was to determine the contemporary and fossil carbon fractions in the aerosol and to set them against the fossil CO2 excess data referring to the same period. The mass of the collected PM2.5 mode on prebaked quartz filters was determined gravimetrically, while its total carbon mass was calculated from the pressure of CO2 gas produced after the combustion of the filters. As a result of the applied sampling and preparation method, the stable, nonvolatile carbon forms were principally studied. 14C measurements of the tiny aerosol bulk samples were performed using the EnvironMICADAS accelerator mass spectrometer at ATOMKI. The sample preparation method was tested using several blanks, standards, and real samples. Test results showed good reproducibility for the applied aerosol sample preparation and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C analyses. Atmospheric fossil CO2 excess data were calculated according Levin et al. (2003), using the 14C results of collected CO2 samples measured by the gas proportional counting system at ATOMKI. Mass concentration of PM10 involving the PM2.5 mode in the city air exceeded the daily average of 50 µg/m3 (24-hr limit value in the EU) several times in 2011, mainly during the winter. The results showed that recently derived carbon most likely from domestic wood burning was causing the elevated carbon mass concentration of PM2.5 in Debrecen at the time. In the course of the 1-yr-long continuous and systematic comparison of fossil carbon mass concentration of PM2.5 mode and mole fraction of fossil excess of atmospheric CO2, similar and synchronous trends were observed during the studied period in Debrecen.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18191
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18221 A Process- and Provenance-Based Attempt to Unravel Inconsistent Radiocarbon Chronologies in Lake Sediments: An Example from Lake Heihai, North Tibetan Plateau (China) 2015-10-19T15:40:23-07:00 Gregori Lockot email@example.com Arne Ramisch email@example.com Bernd Wünnemann email@example.com Kai Hartmann firstname.lastname@example.com Torsten Haberzettl firstname.lastname@example.com Hao Chen email@example.com Bernhard Diekmann email@example.com
Aquatic macrophytes from a lacustrine environment are highly prone to a reservoir effect, resulting in an overestimation of age. This is often caused by the incorporation of dissolved carbon (CO2 and HCO3–) through photosynthesis from lake waters that have a different 14C activity than the atmosphere. The atmosphere-water disparity is often produced by a mixing of carbon between the water body and its terrestrial surroundings, a process highly prone to temporal variations. Thus, only a comprehensive understanding of the 14C budget over time enables a reliable chronology of lacustrine records. We studied lacustrine sediments from Lake Heihai on the northern Tibetan Plateau with a recent reservoir effect of 6465 ± 75 14C yr as estimated from accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of three living aquatic plants. Age inversions in a well-laminated composite core from the lake suggest that the reservoir effect markedly changed over the depositional period. In the lower part of the core, an excellent correlation was observed between the allochthonous input of dolomite and the inverse 14C ages, indicating the incorporation of dissolved 14C-dead carbon from a limestone catchment in the plant material. For the upper part of the core, sediment recycling of Holocene high-stand deposits may have further contributed to the reservoir effect. These findings give rise to a reliable process- and provenance-based chronology within a confidence interval supported by 137Cs measurements and magnetostratigraphic investigations. Our results highlight the need to identify the interactions of lakes with their surroundings to estimate reservoir-corrected ages in lacustrine settings.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18221
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/17957 14C Ages of the Last Eruptive Stage of Faial Island Caldeira Volcano 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 J M Pacheco firstname.lastname@example.com
Faial is one of the nine islands that form the Azores archipelago in the North Atlantic, characterized by a complex geodynamic setting dominated by the triple point where the North American, Eurasian, and African lithospheric plates meet. Faial Island comprises two central volcanoes and two basaltic fissure systems. The oldest central volcano is the Ribeirinha Volcano, on the northeast sector of the island. It is an extinct volcano, extensively dissected by the regional distensive faults of the Pedro Miguel Graben. The volcano has an age spanning from more than 850 ka BP to about 340 ka BP. The central portion of the island is formed by the Caldeira Volcano, a central volcano that has been active since before 440 ka BP. The ages of the basaltic fissure systems are less well constrained. The Horta Platform Fissure System, on the southeast sector of the island, has been active since more then 11 ka BP and its most recent activity is older than 6 ka BP. The Capelo Peninsula Fissure System, forming the west portion of the island, is a geomorphologically young region. This system has been active until the present and produced two historical eruptions, one in AD 1672–1673 and another in AD 1957–1958.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.17957
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18180 When 14C Dates Fall Beyond the Limits of Uncertainty: An Assessment of Anomalies in Western Mediterranean Bronze Age 14C Series 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 Vicente Lull firstname.lastname@example.com Rafael Micó firstname.lastname@example.com Cristina Rihuete-Herrada email@example.com Roberto Risch firstname.lastname@example.com
The aim of this article is to bring to light a serious problem affecting radiocarbon dates produced at least from 2009 onwards by the AMS Leibniz laboratory at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität (Kiel, Germany). Archaeological observations and cross-checkings between several laboratories confirm that in a significant number of dates, clear deviations of the results from chronological schemes based on stratigraphical sequences and hundreds of measurements have occurred, which usually implies an aging of the 14C values.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18180
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/view/18569 Accuracy and Reproducibility of 14C Measurements at the Leibniz-Labor, Kiel: A First Response to Lull et al., "When 14C Dates Fall Beyond the Limits of Uncertainty: An Assessment of Anomalies in Western Mediterranean Bronze Age 14C Series" 2015-10-19T14:52:15-07:00 John Meadows firstname.lastname@example.com Matthias Hüls email@example.com Ralph Schneider email@example.com
In this issue, Lull et al. (2015) have compiled a list of anomalous radiocarbon dates on samples of archaeological material from La Bastida and other sites in Spain, reported by our laboratory in 2009–2013. On this basis, they suggest that "at least from 2009 onwards" all Kiel's dates on organic samples are potentially inaccurate, and often too old. We would like to briefly respond to these claims, and to reassure readers that the quality of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C measurements at Kiel is comparable again to that in other research laboratories.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18569
 2015-05-28T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c)


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We have an Android App written in Java that performs HTTPS calls to our mobile API server running ASP.NET Web API 2 (C#). Some API methods require authentication, and some methods are "open". Protecting "open" methods is not required, but we still want to protect those "open" calls with digital signatures.
So Android app will have a Private Key to sign the "open" API calls with. The strategy of delivering that private key into the app is irrelevant for this question, but it could be either one of a) one key for all users, embedded (hardcoded) in the APK file, or b) different key for each user, delivered to the phone from server as part of users "email verification" process.
Let's just assume that "somehow" app has that Private Key, and the API server has the corresponding Public Key. So what would be the recommended crystallographic schema to sign the API call to server?
Possible Alternatives:
Please advice! Thank You!
some comment asdsdfsdf

subset: commoncrawl


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Q. I'd really like to start baking with my children but I just don't know where to start. What are your top ideas for getting kids involved in the kitchen?
Lotte Duncan says: It's always been an unwritten rule that children begin their cooking skills with something like rock cakes. They can get their hands in, feel the texture etc. I don't agree.
Rock cakes are pretty hideous at the best of times, and I think children should be inspired from day one with something visual and spectacular. Start with some fairy cakes and leave them alone to ice them – give them edible glitter, sweeties, different coloured icing and let them go bonkers with it!
I think the best way to get children involved in the kitchen is every day food – not just the fun cakes. Give them little jobs to do while you are making lunch or tea. Get them to wash and peel the vegetables, weigh out the ingredients, etc. Children learn so much more this way and quickly become used to preparing and indentifying food properly. And although you have to be careful with hot food and sharp knives, the quicker children have respect for them, the better they'll be at handling them when asked to do so.
Juliet Sear says: It's a great idea to choose a time when they are excited about a theme, especially if they are covering a topic at school. Perhaps they are learning about charity, you can encourage them to do a bake sale for school to raise money, or of course, for seasonal times or birthdays - it's a great idea to get them thinking about what to create in the kitchen. Have a look with them online and encourage them to choose their own flavours or pick designs so they will feel really in charge of their ideas. Make sure you always allow plenty of time once getting started with kids, because if you are in a rush, it might feel a bit stressful!
Tuck into our favourite cupcake recipes >>


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BBC micro:bit
The BBC micro:bit is the spiritual successor of the BBC Micro of the 1980s, which itself introduced a generation of children to computing. The BBC micro:bit carries on this 30 year tradition and does it 18 times faster and is 70 times smaller than its predecessor.
This powerful handheld, fully programmable, computer designed by the BBC and a number of partners to encourage children to get actively involved in writing software and building new things that will be controlled by it.
Featuring a 5x5 LED Matrix, two integrated push buttons and a compass, accelerometer and bluetooth all on-board, the device makes a great introduction to the world of programmable components. The main I/O rings can be used as outputs to control LEDs, motors and much more, and also as inputs to connect external sensors and switches.
The main rings are large enough that young people can easily connect to them with crocodile clips or conductive thread.
Write your code using one of the easy to use editors provided on the BBC micro:bit website, connect your BBC micro:bit to your computer via USB press the compile button in the editor and then drop the downloaded file directly onto your BBC micro:bit. There is also an app for Android devices.
Wirelessly connect and interact with the world around you. Use Bluetooth Low Energy to connect to mobile phones and tablets, take a selfie or drive the music in your playlists. All of this in a device only 5cm wide!
Excl. VAT: £124.00 Incl. VAT: £148.80
BBC micro:bit 10 Student Classroom Pack
BBC micro:bit Classroom Pack. This pack contains 10 x BBC micro:bits, ...
Excl. VAT: £10.49 Incl. VAT: £12.588
BBC micro:bit (Board Only)
Single BBC micro:bit. A portable, low power, user programmable compute...
Excl. VAT: £12.49 Incl. VAT: £14.988
BBC micro:bit Starter Kit
BBC micro:bit Starter Pack. The starter pack contains a BBC micro:bit,...
Excl. VAT: £32.99 Incl. VAT: £39.588 As low as: £34.188
BBC micro:bit with Kitronik Inventor's Kit and Accessories
The BBC micro:bit plus Kitronik Inventors Kit for the BBC micro:bit. T...
Excl. VAT: £16.49 Incl. VAT: £19.788
BBC micro:bit with Kitronik MI:power Board and Cable
The BBC micro:bit plus Kitronik MI:power board. This pack also include...
Excl. VAT: £11.50 Incl. VAT: £13.80
BBC micro:bit (Board Only) - Retail Pack
BBC micro:bit in retail packaging. A portable, low power, user program...
Excl. VAT: £15.39 Incl. VAT: £18.468
Kitronik BBC micro:bit with MI:pro Case and Accessories
The BBC micro:bit plus Kitronik MI:pro protector case pack. This pack ...


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Ensure the little ones look great for less with our Firetrap kids footwear range. With trainers, boots and formal shoes available, this selection of footwear is sure to compliment any type of outfit. Browse the full range online and find their perfect shoes today.
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sets that this line of toys and games must use, you similarly have just one way of playing with the bubbles that the squinkies have.
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There's one perform set that appears like a gumball dispenser. Here, you've enough room to keep your entire Squinkies Toys. You similarly have a tiny slot to put a money in so that you will get your squinkies. If it isn't really satisfying enough to play Puni Maru Squishies with the squinkies themselves, you and your youngster can have a lot of fun using so many of these Squinkies games from the gumball dispenser like enjoy set. While not used, it's a very good approach to keep your lovely and squishy toys safe. They're however on computer screen and it can be quite shock inspiring to see many in one container.With regard to the average person squinkies, you've numerous characters to select from. You will find cats, you can find ponies, you will find babies and you can find strange things. Divided in to 8 communities, you'll have little creatures like fish, elephants, apes, etc. to perform with. They Cutting Open Squishies are made out of a number of shades and each of them have an unique shimmering product too. Your Squinkies Toys fall in several groups identified since the Star, Butterfly, Rose, Moon, Crown, Diamond, Heart and Sun. Every kind of squinkie that is in the class includes a special indication.
If selection is the move to make, then your finest choice is Squinkies Toys. You are able to proceed and collect every identity in your chosen membership or you can gather them all. bornsquishy.com Together with these, in addition, you can buy special add-ons that produce play time together with your squinkies more fun. There is the desire bracelet, the queen Squishy Stress Balls diamond, the palace, looking fun, noble friends and bride to be sets. With over 200 characters, there's no end to the excitement and the thrill.
There's one play set that seems like a gumball dispenser. Here, you have sufficient area to keep all of your Squinkies Toys. You have a little slot to put a coin in to enable you to get your squinkies. If it isn't fun enough to play with the squinkies themselves, you and your child can have a lot of enjoyable taking many of these Squinkies toys from the gumball dispenser like play arranged. Although it is not in use, it's a terrific method to keep your Cheap Squishies charming and soft toys safe. They're still on display and it can be quite awe inspiring to see many in one container. With regard to the private squinkies, you have plenty of characters to pick from. There are kitties, there are ponies, there are infants and there are rare things. Divided into 8 groups, you can have small animals like fish, elephants, monkeys, etc. to play with. They're made with a variety of colors and they all have an exclusive glittery material too. Your Squinkies Toys drop in numerous clubs described as the Star, Butterfly, Flower, Moon, Crown, Diamonds, Heart and Sun. Every kind of squinkie that's in the group Squishy Ball has an unique sign.
If collection is your thing to do, then your finest option is Squinkies Toys. You can proceed and acquire every character in your preferred club or you can acquire them. With each other with these, you also can get unique add-ons that make play time with your squinkies more enjoyable. There's the dream bracelet, the queen bracelet, the palace, shopping fun, royal pals and bride-to-be to be units. With over 200 characters, there's no end to the enjoyment and the adventure.
They are adorable, they are funny, they're soft and they're squishy. They're probably the most good doll ever. In the event that you however don't \"know what


text: Anne Arundel County Real Estate Guide to Anne Arundel County View 1820 listings HomeGuidesAnne Arundel County As the most centrally-located county in Maryland and site of the state capital of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County is in many ways the heart of Maryland. Half a million people call the county home, and it continues to attract new business and new residents because of its centrality between Baltimore and Washington, superior transportation networks, natural beauty, and recreational opportunities. With over 533 miles of coastline, Anne Arundel County is known for boating, fishing, crabbing, water skiing, sailing, and swimming. It is well renowned for its access to the Chesapeake Bay and the United States Naval Academy. Often referred to as America's Sailing Capital or Naptown, Annapolis is situated on the Chesapeake Bay. It offers an array of things to do for all ages and interests – with historic sites and monuments, museums, dining, shopping, and nightlife. Guides Anne Arundel CountyBaltimore CityBaltimore CountyCarroll CountyHoward CountyCalvert CountyCharles CountyDorchester CountyFrederick CountyHarford CountyKent CountyMontgomery CountyPrince Georges CountyQueen Annes CountyTalbot CountySaint Marys CountyCaroline County


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Vintage OCARINA "SWEET POTATO" Musical Instrument, Box! - (eBay item 290182582620 end time Nov-23-07 20:38:34 PST)
This key of E ocarina or "sweet potato" musical instrument in original box was manufactured by the toy division of The Waterbury Button Company, Waterbury, Conn., U.S.A. The box says, "Easy to Play. This genuine Waterbury Ocarina produces a rich, flute-like music. Accurately made of durable, sanitary plastics for perfect tone...easy to play."
It also says the playing instruction are in the box, but they're long gone as is one end of the box. It says, "Start Your Own "Sweet Potato" Band. After you learn to play the Ocarina, teach your friends and form your own Ocarina Band. Ocarinas are featured in the movies, on the radio and by leading orchestras."
The metal reed has some patina, otherwise the ocarina looks like new. The original box has great fifties vintage graphics.
See more photos on eBay.
Blogged with Flock


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Learning how to count bills and coins will be part of your primary school child's math curriculum. She will learn how to count the value of each type of bill and coin which will ultimately help her to save and spend money. Allow her to partake in at-home activities that will enhance her money counting skills.
There are several nursery rhymes that mention money in the lyrics. Use the songs' lyrics as a teaching tool to help your child count money. Set pennies on a table. Sing the lyrics to "Hot Cross Buns" aloud. When you get to the part of the tune that says, "One a penny, Two a penny," let him count one penny and then two pennies and put them to the side. This will teach him that the value of a penny is equal to one. Use dollar bills for the rhyme, "A Dillar, A Dollar" and use dollar bills and nickels for the rhyme, "Consolation."
Scavenger Hunt
Plan a scavenger hunt as an active approach for your child to learn to count money. Hide coins and a few small-value bills around the house. Ideal places are couches, under beds or even the pockets of some of her clothes. Set a timer and let her search the house to find as many bills and coins as she can and place them in a bag. When the timer dings, she must report back to you. Have her add up all the money she collected. Tell her she can keep the money as a prize to spend on something she'd like.
Fun Games
Games will serve as a creative and fun way to teach your child how to identify money. Take bills of different values out and place them on the table. Have your child find the number in the center. Let him put all the money in the proper order according to the value and attempt to add it up. You can also play a coin guessing game with him. Show him one coin or some change. Tell him if he correctly guesses them that you will let him keep them to put in a piggy bank.
Pretend Play
Engage your child in pretend play to teach her about counting money. Real-life scenarios will enhance her skills. Set up a mock supermarket with aisles of pretend food. Place price tags on the food. Provide her with a shopping basket and a set amount of money to spend. She can count her bills and coins beforehand to see how much she has. She must look at the price tags on the food and shop within her budget. Serve as a cashier and see how much money is left over from her spending. Allow her to count her change.


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The post about the Xbox 360got more hits than any blog post I've done to date. It even surpassed my rant on Ann Coulter,and was picked up on MySpacenews. But I digress: sort of. Anyway, all this has me wondering if I should combine the two stories, and maybe throw in Warren Buffett, to get killer traffic:
ANN COULTER CLAIMS CHRISTIANS ARE "COMPLETED XBOXES," AND BUFFETT PROPOSES TO 'FAKE JANE' Not!
Okay, back to reality. A couple of updates. Up 'til now, when you sent in your damaged Xbox 360, you got back a refurbished one most of the time. But one person says he's just received a brand new console in return, based on the manufacturing date of Nov. 10th. This may be one of the newer 360s thought to have more heat-tolerant components, or a better cooling system.
And, yes, I call it the "red rings of doom," others calls it the "red rings of death." My son just refers to it as RROD. I prefer to call it a "bummer."
Here are some of your responses to my post. Again, I cannot verify the truth of all claims:
From Chris C:
"Besides the initial screw up at launch, Microsoft owned up to its mistake and gave a free recall to everyone which I applaud them for...I hope people stop jumping all over Microsoft for trying to turn a profit, and besides, they've created something that millions of people will play to get away from day-to-day life and have a little fun."
From James O, on our entrepreneurial spirit!:
"This has created a whole new industry of Xbox and Playstation repair. A friend of mine has started a home-based business repairing Xboxes and Playstations (www.videogame911.com), turning them around in under a day (far quicker than the month Microsoft frequently makes people wait) Even offering to ship out a 'loaner machine' while yours is fixed for the severely dependent gamers."
My favorite response is from Jay C., who took me to task for several errors:
"The posted phrases like 'red rings' and 'Red ring of doom'. This only goes to show lack of research on the topic. It is in fact a conditioned response made up from lack of knowledge. The real phrase for anybody who has done to proper research would be 'Three red lights' or 'Three red quadrants of death'. I say this because common knowledge tells anybody that a single Xbox 360 cannot have 'red rings'. The 's' makes it plural meaning many and the 360 only has one ring made up of three red lights. If the poster of this article had even looked at and Xbox, with or without the three red lights, would have known this."
From Derrick B:
"Support technicians on Xbox hotline choose which red ring problems to fix. I suffered a red ring while playing a xbox 360 game and I am no longer able to play many of my games efficiently; at times I go almost 2 hours ejecting, reloading, powering off, turning on, anything I can to get the game to work. When I finally decided I had enough and called, support tech told me, 'I have to play the game and get the red ring then call them back otherwise I have to pay to fix it.'"
From Eric J.:
"Thank you, thank you so much for finally exposing this wide spread problem. Although Microsoft initially brushed off these claims with a '3 to 5 percent failure' numbers, I and many others firmly, and seriously believe that the real percentage of eminent failure is 100%, no joke here."
From OL:
"The main reason why this is happening, and Microsoft knows it fully well, is they are using cheap solder to clamp the chips(cpu) to the motherboard. These solder joints are failing because Microsoft insists on using lead-free solders (children are going to uses these consoles) on their Xbox360. But instead of using high quality and costly high-quality solder, they went with the cheap kind. When the xbox360 is turned on for a long time, the heat causes the motherboard to expand and consequently the cpu would just pop out of some joints...since Microsoft made their consoles to be almost hackproof they insisted on using solder joints instead of plug-in pins on their chips."
Comments? Funny Stories? Email firstname.lastname@example.com


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There are actors considered box office superstars, whose very name on the marquee can guarantee a movie tens of millions of dollars of business in a single weekend. Then there are the workhorses, the hard working actors who play supporting roles in those bigger movies and look for interesting projects that give them a chance to experiment with their craft.
In the latter category, you really can get no better than Willem Dafoe who has worked with some of the greats like Scorsese and Olver Stone and Sam Raimi and has shown he's comfortable whether leading a movie, playing a smaller role or even playing a performance capture Martian as he does in Andrew Stanton's recent John Carter. Certainly some of Dafoe's more interesting work has been in smaller indie films like Lars von Trier's Antichrist and by coincidence, Dafoe is headlining two such movies which played on the festival circuit and are being released next month, one with a director he has worked with previously, the other with an Australian filmmaker.
Abel Ferrara's 4:44 Last Day on Earth is Dafoe's third time around with the eclectic New York filmmaker who directed the original Bad Lieutenant and King of New York, this one involving an actor and his artist girlfriend (Shanyn Leigh) as they cope with the world ending the following morning and trying to use their valuable time as best they can.
Daniel Nettheim's The Hunter, based on the novel by Julia Leigh, takes Dafoe into the wilds of Tasmania, as he plays Martin, a hunter hired to track down a rare Tasmanian Tiger, whose DNA could be used for scientific purposes. Once there, he quickly gets wrapped up in the lives of the family of a scientist who previously went looking for the beast and the conspiracy surrounding his disappearance.
They're two very different movies but both great showcases for Dafoe's talents as an actor, which has helped add to the niche he's created for himself being able to headline smaller character-driven genre movies like these.
When ComingSoon.net spoke with Dafoe for John Carter a few weeks back, we only got a few minutes with him, but with two more movies out in the next month, this felt like as good a time as any for a longer interview and in the video below, we spoke with Dafoe about:
* How he got involved with The Hunter
And lots more!
4:44 Last Day on Earth opens on Friday, March 23 in select cities as well as debuting On Demand, while The Hunter is now paying on VOD but will get a theatrical release in New York and Washington D.C. on April 6 and other cities in the weeks that follow. You can see where and when it's playing in your area at the Official Site.


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This week Amazon announced its latest social shopping effort: #AmazonCart allows Twitter users to add items to cart direct from their Twitter feed.
Reply to any Tweet that contains an Amazon product link with hashtag #AmazonCart and it'll be waiting for you when you return to the site. For the feature to work, a customer must link his or her Twitter and Amazon accounts together.
Not only could this be killer for authors promoting their titles and affiliate marketers, but this approach could work with brands that regularly post product photos and Vine / Instagram videos.
While it reduces friction, the experience is not completely seamless – you still have to remember to visit that cart. The next step would be to trigger mobile or email notifications from idle carts referred from hashtag-commerce. If that book has been sitting in the cart for 24 hours, for example, a trigger — even a Twitter direct-message — would be useful.
Will this be a customer hit? Social has yet to prove itself as a shopping medium (remember F-commerce?), but this approach is a step in the right direction in measuring intent to buy through social channels, not just "awareness" and click activity.
An interesting observation mentioned in Adweek — there's nothing stopping other brands from hash-jacking #AmazonCart buying promoted post placement to appear in feeds. But it's unlikely to rock the boat. "Amazon isn't afraid of competition," commented Lee Maicon, svp of strategy at digital agency 360i. "They relish it."


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A familiarisation tour of local venues and experiences by visiting professional conference organisers (PCO) is the latest regional collaboration designed to grow the value of the business events industry for Hawke's Bay.
29 November 2019
Napier Conference Centre will be welcoming delegates for the 2020 CINZ Conference.
8 November 2019
The true flexibility and versatility of Napier Conference Centre was proven recently with the transformation of a conference room into a unique venue for cardiac surgeons.
20 June 2019
The results of a collaborative project between a renowned professional embroiderer and the public has been gifted to the people of Napier and is on display at the Napier Conference Centre.
19 February 2019
Our new kitchen and contracted catering team have been dishing up delicious snacks, lunches and dinners every day. Dish Catering, one of Hawke's Bay's most prestigious catering companies, operates onsite at the Napier Conference Centre, working hard behind the scenes to provide innovative cuisine.
7 February 2018
Hawke's Bay have secured the TEC (Tourism Export Council) Conference in August 2018. The two day event will be held at Napier Conference Centre and will bring close to 250 delegates to the region. Our team are extremely excited to be hosting, and a highlight will sure to be the black-tie Prohibition Party being held on the second night at the conference centre.
7 February 2018
Professional videos of our conference centre have now been completed demonstrating the facility, room set-ups, catering and team in both a corporate capacity and for weddings. We have also developed some great virtual tours for each room and are all available on our website to help guide our clients to the most appropriate space for their event.
5 February 2018
We've put together an offer of our most popular extras into a great package for half the price.
From the all-important parquet dance floor, to those special touches such as uplighting and chair covers, we're offering our Extra's Package for just $299 + GST (usually $599 + GST).
24 January 2018
Whether you have an hour to fill, an afternoon, or are considering a before-breakfast energiser at your next event, the team at Napier Conference Centre are making it easier for conference organisers to deliver memorable experiences for delegates.
30 November 2017
Napier Conference Centre
48 Marine Parade, Private Bag 6010, Napier 4140, New Zealand
Phone: +64 6 835 9001
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Napier Conference Centre Location Map


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My children have issues with Instagram not loading correctly, and when loaded, not allowing 'safe' things to open. Apparently, Instagram sits on the Facebook server so both have to be permitted for IG to work correctly.
Is this anyone else's experience? Can Familyzone confirm this is correct please?
Hi Penelope,
Yes, some areas of Instagram require Facebook to be allowed in order to function correctly.
If Instagram is blocked, then it will not load any content at all. If it is allowed, then it will allow all of Instagram.
At the moment, according to your childrens settings, they should only be allowed to access Instagram during Play. Is this different to what you're currently experiencing?


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sLow finland
With just a few tasty ingredients gathered from the pristine Finnish nature, you can transform yourself into a new person during your holiday. A handful of pure nature, a pinch of Finnish sauna, a spoonful of traditional treatments, wild food for serving and add light activities to taste.
The traditions of Finnish life style go back hundreds of years. In the rush and crush of modern life, the rarities are what we value most, such as space, quiet and time. The space to breathe, a time to dream, hiking in summer, cross-country skiing in winter, gathering berries and mushrooms or simply a gentle walk in the woods. Everyman's right in the country's forests guarantees that you are allowed to pick almost anything your heart and mouth desires.
Walking in Finnish nature not only refreshes and relaxes the brain, but also frees the spirit. Spending regularly time in the forest is proven to lower blood pressure, detox your body and improve your overall mood.
All articles
Dive deeper into Finrelax:
If you want to understand Finland and its people, getting familiar with sauna is a good starting point.Read More
Spend the night in a lighthouse to discover genuine peace of mind.Read More
Nature is never far in Finland. Visitors can get a feel of real countryside in Helsinki, too, by heading to Viikki nature trails or visiting friendly cows.Read More
The autonomous Finnish province of Åland is located in the Baltic Sea between mainland Finland and Sweden.Read More
In Finland, you can find some of the world's last wilderness regions, where you can experience the untouched nature with its rare wild animals.Read More
Finns are passionate about their food and fiercely loyal to their culinary roots. We've compiled a list of ten iconic foods that you should try - go on, don't be shy.Read More


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By Zoya
Photography: Courtesy Sahil & Sarthak, Zoya
Product and furniture designers, Sahil Bagga and Sarthak Sengupta redefine India's conventional auto rickshaws as socio-cultural insignia…
The young designer duo has fabricated an auto rickshaw (a popular mode of public transport across India) installation for Park by Zone Hotel in Jaipur and its upcoming branch in Coimbatore.
The brief given to them was precise: The auto rickshaw, to be installed in the main lobby of the hotels, besides being a photo-op, should forge a social connect between guests and the hotel.
Responding to the innate mass-appeal of this Indian conventional transport vehicle, informs Sarthak, they decided to mount a movable installation that were embellished with craft items, colours and graphics of the respective city. These autos could also be used as mini food vans or hotel gift shops," he conitnues.
Elaborating on the process, Sahil and Sarthak first bought an old auto rickshaw, had the somewhat-dilapidated vehicle repaired and repainted; and its original hood replaced by an outdoor awning material. Enamel paint then helped adorn the main body and fill in the decorative details. Bright shades of orange, blue and pink, with occasional yellows or greens lent the final exhibit an arresting aura.
Regional traditions, cuisine, architecture and people of Jaipur and Coimbatore inform the make-up and define the two distinct entities. A cut-out of Jaipur's iconic Hawa Mahal and a motif representing Tamil Nadu's popular folk dance, Kaman Pandigai, besides other graphics and elementary doodles associated with the two cities, are the symbolic elements crafted out of wood, metal or fabric, or simply redesigned and printed on vinyl sheets. While the driver's seat is left largely untouched, the passenger seat is used to create storage space. At the back of the rickshaw, a pull-down shelf serves for display.
While the auto-rickshaw has on several earlier occasions been used as a symbolic regional motif, this installation seems to draw attention to the versatility of the vehicle itself!


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We never miss our artists under a roof of petit morpho.
we all missed very much of Gorjuss Girls since the group exhibition 2010'
..due to Suzanne Woolcott health condition, she rerely released her new works since then!
...but if you are walking around on the street, it is very proud of her merchandise are getting popular, and it is able to find her "replica" in Hong Kong as well..... -_-"
it is very happy to see her works again in the public by holding an exhibition in her homeland.
petit morpho will display back her Original artworks from July/2012'.


text: How You Can Help Minimize the Heat Leaving Your Home Posted December 22, 2017 With the colder weather settling in, the last thing you need to be concerned about is sustaining a comfortable home. It would be great to be lounging around on the couch enjoying the cozy warmth of your home and not even concerned with the cold temps. Of course, it may not be that easy, and there are a few items that could be happening in your home that might result in a need for furnace repair or an unnecessary increase in your utility costs. There are a variety of causes for higher utility bills, but we are highlighting a few of the more common ones we encounter. Heat is getting out through the glass of your windows – when hot air comes in to contact with cold glass on your windows, that air loses some of its heat. An option to help minimize that impact is to make sure that you close your drapes during the evening hours and make sure that your windows are receiving light during the day before opening them. Lack of attic insulation – with older homes there's a chance that there is insufficient insulation. This means you could be losing heat through your attic, causing your heating system to work harder than necessary, and might eventually result in furnace repair. It's not hard to determine if you have enough insulation, take a look and see if the insulation is below or even with the joists. When the insulation is even or below the joists, it's likely your attic needs some additional insulation. Gaps in windows and doors – it's not always easy to tell by just taking a quick look if there are large gaps. Make sure to take a close look at all of your windows and doors to determine whether weather stripping is needed take care of those gaps. Similar to attic insulation, window and door gaps can force your furnace to work harder, making the possibility of furnace repair later even greater. We hope these three tips can help you identify any problem-spaces in your home that could be inhibiting the comfort of your home. If you have any questions about furnaces, furnace repair or other ways to combat heat-loss, give us a call at 561-270-6228. Back To Blog


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Cloud Computing (3 credits)
Text: Cloud Computing: A Hands-On Approach, by Arshdeep Bahga and Vijay Madisetti, CreateSpace Publishing, 2014
Course Information: This course introduces principles of cloud computing and the business and computing technology trends that enable and necessitate its uses. Cloud computing and its engineering and delivery models, Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), will be covered. Cloud-based and RESTful web services for developing new applications and offering new services will be discussed. Topics related to cloud computing security, identity, auditing, and authorization management will be presented. The course will be project based and an existing cloud computing platform (e.g., Amazon AWS) will used for projects.
Prerequisite: IT 320 or consent of the instructor
Required/Elective: Elective
Course Outcomes:
Students should be capable of:
- Understanding cloud computing technologies, computation models, and applications
- Technical analysis and use of commercial offerings such as Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Utilizing design methodologies for cloud applications
- Using cloud-based tools, technologies, and languages for developing cloud applications on a cloud platform such as Amazon AWS
- Understanding advance topics such as: cloud-based benchmarking, security, big data analytics, and virtualization
Student Outcomes:
B. An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution
I. An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice
L. An ability to effectively integrate IT-based solutions into the user environment
M. An understanding of best practices and standards and their application
Course Topics:
- Virtualization
- Load Balancing
- Scalability & Elasticity
- Deployment
- Replication
- Programming of cloud computing
- Practical cloud applications
- Benchmarking
- Cloud security
- Big data analytics
- Case studies on applications of cloud computing


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Use the drop down menu above the calendar to see dates available in each hut. Once you have made your choice of hut click on the date you wish to book and then click on the 'book now' button, highlighted in blue, at the bottom of the calendar. You will then be taken to the booking system to complete the process. If you should encounter any problems please use our contact page to get in touch and we will endeavour to help you. We do not take card payments over the telephone.
The prices below are for consecutive days, if you book separate days throughout the year they are costed at the single day rate. See our tariff page for prices.
We do not allow two or more huts to be booked to the same party on the same day. Sorry but the beach is not suitable for wheelchair users.
Full payment is required on booking, if payment is not made within 24 hours then the booking will be cancelled.
In the event of a cancellation we will charge a £40 administration fee and refund the difference from the initial booking amount. If the hut is cancelled with less than 24 hours notice then no refund is given.
Don't forget to check the tide times for getting on and off the island before coming to Mersea.
Click on the link below:-https://www.tidetimes.org.uk/west-mersea-tide-times


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by Tragedy88
Disclaimers: These are my characters, all mine, even if they bear a striking resemblance to a certain warrior and bard. Sorry MCA/Universal you should know by now that I can't resist. But, so ya know, in no way do I make money from this. It's just my own sick, twisted fun.
Sex/Violence: Lots. More then the usual eps of Xena, and more then my usual stories. This is a tough city, a tough neighborhood where just about anything does and will happen. This story depicts love between two members of the same sex, so if this is illegal or offensive, read elsewhere. This story also depicts an act of rape, but no graphic sex scenes. Sorry folks, just not my style.
Anything else? Don't know about that yet. Guess this story has an R rating because of the violence and potty mouth language. Um, that'd be all now. Go ahead and read. Delve into my twisted mind, if you dare! :)
Feedback most welcome at email@example.com
Two days later Shane was back. Casey was grouchy and agitated. Tony was pale and quiet. Nothing much was said. Tony had decided she needed air and had taken Joenne's offer of a walk down to the BP. She didn't know that Casey had asked Jo to keep her there.
"What?" Shane hissed as she paced back and forth across the abandoned apartment's dusty floor.
"You heard me," Casey said. "She's out of juvie. She's packing and she's coming after you."
Shane paced back and forth some more. No. She had two more years! "Why the fuck did they let her out?"
"Good behavior," Casey replied sarcastically.
"Good behavior my ass," Shane mumbled.
"What are we going to do?" Cadence asked, speaking for the first time since Casey had gathered them all together. All that is, except Tony and Jo.
What are we going to do? The question bounced mercilessly around Shane's head. The room echoed in the silence. What are we going to do? Abruptly Shane stood straighter and squared her shoulders. "What ever happens Tony stays out of this. She doesn't know. She doesn't need to know."
"She'll find out. You can't shut every mouth in school, Shane," Cadence stood as well and crossed her arms as she stood in front of Shane.
"Then we should tell her, so she doesn't hear it wrong," Ripper said, as she too stood with crossed arms in front of her dark haired leader.
"Fine, I'll tell her!" Shane stormed across the room. "But she stays out of this." She left in a whirlwind and started her bike with a grinding of gears and flew off down the street.
Inside, Casey mumbled that she didn't think Tony would stay out of it. And they still hadn't settled the question of what to do now that Jynx was back with a vengeance.
"Hey Jo, hey Tony," Shane said as she pulled the bike up beside the curb. Jo nodded a 'hey.' As Shane looked towards Tony she was suddenly caught up in a brilliant smile.
"Hey, you're back!" Tony leapt up from the base of the lamp post where she'd been sitting and talking, getting to know, Jo.
"Yeah," Shane groused. "I'm back. Can I talk to you a minute, Tony?"
"Sure," Tony said. She approached the bike wearily. Shane looked distant, pale, and it worried her. "What's up?"
"Hop on. I'll tell you in a minute."
Tony straddled the massive bike and wrapped her arms securely around Shane's waist. She held on tight as Shane sped down the road. Her nervousness grew by leaps and bounds as they kept going and going.
Finally Shane stopped. They were somewhere near the shore, but not near the usual beaches of Coney Island. It was calm here, with only the backdrop of noise from the Beltway.
"Ok, what's up?" Tony asked after the bike had pulled to a stop and they'd sat silently for some time.
Shane stepped off the bike and made her way to a small breaker. They sat on the rocks, listening to the gulls and the traffic. Tony waited as long as she could before she stood up and walked in front of Shane. She plopped down, right in Shane's line of sight, and forced her to look up.
"What is it, Shane?" Tony asked gently.
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. She closed it, then tried again. "Trouble..." Shane shrugged and looked away. "An old enemy of mine is back in town."
"Ok," Tony said, studying Shane's pale, withdrawn profile, and wishing she would just look at her. "What does that have to do with me?"
"Nothing, everything. I don't know."
"Explain, please."
Shane sighed. "Before... I mean, I wasn't always the leader. Casey told you about Jynx, right?"
Tony nodded. "A little bit." A cool ocean breeze ruffled her bangs. Absently she pushed them back.
"Well, we parted on bad terms. She went to juvie and now she's out." Shane looked at Tony, trying to gauge the reaction in the depths of her emerald eyes. They're deep eyes, Shane realized. No, not like that... something shines in them. Some secret knowledge of the world that I don't have. Might never have.
"Revenge?" Tony asked. She crossed her legs, trying to settle comfortably on the ragged rocks surface.
Shane silently nodded. "I um... well, I wanted to tell you. Cause rumors are gonna start flying all over school... and Ripper said... well, everyone thought I should tell you, instead of you hearing it elsewhere."
"When is your suspension over?" Shane asked, deftly changing the subject.
Tony hid a small smile. Ok, go with the flow. I'll let you get away with it. This time. "I go back tomorrow."
"Casey's really sorry about the whole mess, ya know?"
Brows furrowing together Tony looked out towards the ocean. "It wasn't her fault, if that's what she thinks. I should have done what coach asked."
"You can't do everything for everybody all the time, Tony. You know that, don't you?" Shane asked as she laid a reassuring hand on Tony's knee.
Tony glanced down at Shane's tanned hand, and back up to meet her pale, blue eyes. The iciness that she'd seen those first few weeks had slowly faded. It was still there, but not with Tony. She liked the change, a lot. "You have nice eyes." As soon as she said it Tony could feel the blush traveling up her neck to her face. I can't believe I said that.
"Thanks," Shane said with a small shy smile.
She smiled! It's ok, she's not gonna kill me. Yet! "Shane..."
"Don't say anything else, Tony, please?" The dark haired girl suddenly pulled her hand away and stood up. She turned to face the ocean. The salty air whipped at her face and stung her cheeks. Tony stood up beside her.
"But I-"
"Don't," Shane whispered hoarsely. No, everything would change!
"Ok." Tony was silent for a long moment. What the hell just happened? "Shane, can I ask you something?"
"I guess."
"Have you ever... kissed anyone?"
"Yeah." Shane shrugged and glanced down at Tony with raised eyebrows. Where had that question come from? "Why? Haven't you?"
Even in the dim light of the setting sun Shane could see the girl blushing.
"No," Tony murmured. "But it's, ah, not like ya know I never wanted toÖ what's it like?"
"What's what like?" Shane shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, and tugged nervously on the button of her leather vest.
"Kissing?" Tony looked up.
"Um, guess it's all right," the dark teen answered absently, as she watched a gull fly into the horizon.
"But what's it like?" Tony persisted.
Shane shifted, minutely uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. What the hell am I supposed to say? "Dunno, it's just kissing."
"Is it like seeing stars or lightning? Or whatever it is people say you're suppose to feel?" Tony stepped closer to Shane, unconsciously dropping her hand onto Shane's waist.
"Ah, no," Shane hedged. "I never kissed anyone that made me feel like."
"Haven't you ever loved anybody, Shane?" Tony asked sadly.
"What do kissing and love have to do with each other?" the dark teen asked.
"Huh?" Tony's head lifted and she stared at Shane incredulously. "They have everything to do with one another!"
"Whatever," Shane replied.
Tony grumbled and started all over again. "What's it like?"
Shane sighed. "Depends on who you kiss, I guess."
For a moment Tony mulled that statement over. "Who've you kissed?"
"Nobody important."
"I kissed TommyÖ in second grade," Tony chuckled.
"Lucky him," Shane mumbled.
"Well, actually he kissed me firs- huh?" Tony blinked over at Shane with wide eyes.
"N-nothing," Shane gulped.
"You said-"
"I know what I said!" Suddenly Shane turned back toward the bike, unsettling Tony and nearly sending her off her precarious perch on the sharp rocks.
Tony grabbed at Shane's arm. "Shane! Shane, wait."
"What?" Shane turned to stare into Tony's widened green eyes.
"Please come here," Tony urged.
Emphatically Shane shook her head, terror shaking the entire rest of her body.
Tony made her way across the rocks, her ankle twisting between a gap and sending her dangerously forward. Shane rushed to catch her. She pulled her up and Tony stood gazing solemnly into her eyes.
"Do you want to kiss me?" Tony asked breathlessly.
Silently Shane nodded her head.
"Very much so?" Tony whispered.
"Very much so," Shane replied in a husky voice.
"Then kiss me." The younger girl leaned slightly forward. "Kiss me. I want to know what it's like."
"No, you don't. Not with me." Abruptly Shane pushed the younger girl to arm's length.
"Yes, I do." Tony nodded her head, puzzlement clear in her eyes.
Shane shook her head and said softly, "No you don't. You want to kiss a nice boy. A boy who can take you to the movies or to get ice cream."
"But you get me ice cream."
With a sad smile Shane let go of Tony. She backed up a step. Tony took a step closer to Shane.
"You don't want this," Shane said.
"I think that's for me to decide," Tony replied indignantly.
"Whatever." Shane waved her away with a careless hand as she turned back towards the bike and made her way down the rocks.
"Don't you 'whatever' me!" Tony cried. She rushed down to the beach and reached out, grabbing Shane's elbow.
Shane spun angrily and faced Tony. "You don't want to kiss me," she hissed. "I'll hurt you."
"How is a kiss going to hurt me?" Tony asked reasonably.
With dark, gleaming eyes Shane stared down at Tony. "The kiss won't hurt you, I will."
Fearfully Tony dropped her hand from Shane's elbow and took a step back. Shane advanced on her, cruel menace in her eyes.
"I'll rip your heart out. I'll tear your dreams to pieces," Shane growled.
"You can't scare me." Tony's voice took on a hard edge. "You can't scare me away like you've scared Casey or Cadence or Molly. Do you think that you can just give people 'that look' and expect them to run screaming?" Tony didn't wait for an answer. "Stop pushing people to arm's length, Shane. Dammit, you're not as tough as you think."
Shane's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'm not, am I?"
Tony stared wide-eyed at the coldness sparking from behind pale, blue eyes.
"If I'm not so tough how is it then that I shot and killed my own brother?" Shane choked out the words, regretting them the instant they left her lips.
Tony's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
Sneering, Shane turned again. "Gimme an answer sometime, when you stop catching flies, that is."
Shane was halfway to her bike before Tony managed to reply. "You just did it again."
For a moment there was no answer, then Shane's reply drifted back to her on a current of salty air. "Did what?"
"Push me away," Tony said sadly. "You've tried to push me away everyday since the first day we met."
Shane turned back. "If I recall the first day we met you almost got yourself killed." A wry grinned edged her lips.
Lopsided. Familiar... That grin made Tony tremble inside. She hesitated, then drew in a deep breath of the sea air. "I like you Shane. I don't understand why you don't like me." Tony's voice cracked and silent tears tracked their way down pale cheeks.
Shane did not move.
"I tried to understand you. When that didn't work I just accepted you. I tried to make you laugh. When that didn't work I just tried to be your friend. You were there for me when my momÖ k-killed herself. I wanted to be there for you. You never let me." Tony turned her back on the dark teen. "You never let me. You never let me in." Her shoulders shook with sobs but she refused to runaway. "What did I ever do wrong that you refused my friendship?"
For a long time there was nothing but the sound of Tony's tears.
"Please don't cry," Shane whispered. Of it's own accord her hand reached out toward Tony. She looked at it, puzzled.
"Sorry," Tony responded angrily, "but I hurt inside." She stayed facing the ocean, unable or unwilling to let Shane see her pain.
Hesitantly Shane took a step forward and laid a shaking hand on Tony's shoulder. She tugged gently till the young girl was facing her. Shane tucked her hand under Tony's chin and tugged gently. She was met only with resistance and cold tears on her thumb and wrist.
"Please." Shane tugged gently again and finally raised Tony's chin up. But her eyes remained tightly closed, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Please, don't cry."
Tony's lips trembled. "I ń I can't stop."
Running a thumb down each pale cheek, Shane rubbed the tears away. But the tender gesture just seemed to make Tony cry all the harder. "Shhh," Shane crooned. "Shh."
Tony just shook her head violently. Her breath hitched in her throat and she let out a painful sob. She threw herself into Shane and wrapped her arms around her waist. Shane hesitated then wrapped her arms around the shaking girl and held tightly.
It was a long, dark moment later when Tony's tears had finally turned to silence.
In the silence Shane whispered, "I'm sorry."
The blond head tipped upward and green eyes looked into misty blue.
Shane drew in a ragged breath and leaned down to place a tender kiss on sweet, soft lips. Tony's lips tasted like salty tears and it was the most delicious feeling Shane had ever had.
Tony trembled as Shane's tentative lips touched hers. Her knees wobbled and she wound her arms tighter around Shane's waist.
Breathless they broke apart and stared into each other's eyes for a timeless moment.
Shane rested her forehead against Tony's. "I'm so sorry," she said again
Tony leaned back and looked into Shane's darkened eyes. "So am I. I shouldn't have yelled like that. Shouldn't have fallen apart on you."
"You've been through a lot." Shane smoothed Tony's hair and pressed her gently back under her chin. They felt so right together. What have I done?
Anxiously Tony pulled back and looked up. She's scared. I can feel her heart thundering, like a stampede of horses. But I'm scared too. "Shane?"
"Hmm?" she murmured, her half slitted eyes roaming across the ocean, watching the splashes of purple and pink as the sun set.
"What did you mean earlier, about your brother?" Tony asked softly.
Shit... "I... dammit!" Shane pulled away and folded her arms across her chest.
The ice was back. No! "Shane." Tony touched Shane's elbow, and drew the resisting girl back to face her. "Look at me." She didn't look. "Dammit, look at me. Don't pull away from me now."
Shane blinked and looked at Tony. Damn, she's one feisty, fiery, stubborn kid. What the hell have I gotten myself into? I can't do this. I shouldn't do this. Not with Jynx back in town. "I said I killed my brother."
Push. Well, two can push. "How?" Tony asked.
"Shot him."
Shane's answers were turning to monosyllables and Tony needed to get inside her head, before she lost Shane again. For good. The thought made her heart stick in her throat. "Tell me what happened."
"I just did. What don't you understand? Shot or him?"
"Don't patronize me," Tony said. God, she's a frustrating person. "I want to know what happened."
"Why? So you can hate me just like everyone else?" Shane fixed bright, steely eyes on Tony, trying to bore the message into her mind; go away. I'm no good for you. I'll hurt you.
Tony obviously didn't hear the message.
All around them the sky was darkening, from pinks to purples to dark blues.
"I don't hate you," Tony whispered. If I thought I could tell you what I want to tell you I would. I think it would only scare you more. It's all about fear, isn't it, Shane? You're afraid of loosing everything, like you lost your brother... "And Casey, Cadence, Ripper.... none of them hate you."
"Whatever," Shane mumbled.
Tony sighed. How can I get through to her? Actions speak louder then words... Impulsively she wrapped her arms around Shane and laid her head on Shane's chest. She felt the solid body stiffen, then long, strong arms finally circled around Tony's back.
"Why?" Shane whispered.
"Why what?" Tony asked.
"Why- how do you break down all my walls and just plow through my life?"
Do I take offense to that? It's a good thing, right? "You like me."
Shane sighed, laying her chin back on the top of Tony's soft, golden hair. The anger, the tension... everything just seemed to flow out of her, leaving her soft, and vulnerable. She wasn't sure she liked that feeling. "Yeah, I like you."
"I like you too." Tony smiled. I like you lots...
"I'm still here."
Tony switched the phone from one ear to the other. "You going or not?" To school. Suspension ended tomorrow, and they would go back. Casey had to come too. "Please?" she asked after Casey remained silent for some time.
"Why?" Casey asked. She wasn't angry, at least not really.
"Because I want you to, Case." Tony held back a sigh. She could just see Casey's future going down the proverbial toilet if she refused to come back.
"I can't put up with that shit from Coach anymore." There was another pause, filled with tension and Tony waited for Casey to continue. "If, if he touches me again... I... I won't hesitate to tear him to pieces. You know that, don't you Tony?" Her voice cracked slightly, and Casey cleared her throat, embarrassed to let her feelings be known.
"I won't let that happen," Tony said.
Casey made a noise like 'phfft.' "Uh huh."
"I'll talk to the princi-"
"That ass won't do anything!" Casey's voice rose.
Tony sighed and this time Casey heard it. Silence reigned for a full minute before Tony spoke again. Her voice was low as she said, "I won't let him touch you Case. I'll protect you."
It almost made Casey laugh. Almost. Till she realized that Tony meant every word of it. And she suddenly had no doubt that the fiery little blond would stick up for her. Why? "Fine."
"You'll come back?"
"Yeah, yeah. But I swear I'll punch his lights out-"
"I know, I know! Thanks Casey, you won't regret this! I'll see you tomorrow."
They said their good-byes and hung up. Casey held on to the receiver wondering what the hell she was doing. School meant nothing to her. Nothing meant anything to her. Except... well... Casey chuckled ruefully.
Besides, Shane would kill me...
"She's going." Tony clicked the phone back down in it's cradle and looked over at Shane as she leaned against the lamppost in the convenience lot.
"Why? She's just gonna have it out with him and get into more trouble." Shane glanced to the passing cars. She knew all she really had to do was terrorize a few teacher's, leave a 'message' for the principal and no one would bother Casey, or Tony. So, why didn't she? Maybe she should...
"Oh come on. Casey has to learn she can't fight her way through everything..." Geez, Tony thought, sounds like someone else I know. But Shane wasn't looking at her or seemingly paying any attention, so she shrugged. "Besides, if she doesn't face it, what she comes up against in the future she may not be able to face either."
Point taken Shane nodded her head and smiled in Tony's direction. Enough serious stuff. "Let's go."
"Where to?" The thought of going back to the apartment was unsettling. She hadn't returned since her mom had died. Only checked in with Gram once in a while to let her know she was still alive. Practice what you preach, darlin', it all comes back to you in the end. She could hear her Gram's words of wisdom, stuff she'd spoken of numerous times in the past. If she doesn't face it... may not be able to face... "Can you take me home, Shane?"
Keen, blue eyes were studying Tony. Their eyes met. Shane nodded. "Sure. And I can pick you up tomorrow and take you to school. Ok?"
Tony watched Shane go, their good-bye kiss lingering on her lips. As she touched the apartment key, nestled in her pocket, she felt the first tremors of fear.
Face it... She didn't want to face the memories. Not without Shane.
I can't do everything with Shane. She squared her shoulders and turned the key. "Hey Gram, I'm home."
BETA version
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Last week, we hosted the Howe Sound Secondary and Don Ross bands at Valleycliffe It's always a pleasure to watch the older students from our district perform. Thank you to Mrs. Booth and Mrs. Wallace for the special concert.
During Ready Set Learn, it was our pleasure to meet and greet our future Kindergarteners and their families. We look forward to getting to know them better in the fall.
This week, we were treated to a Ballet Victoria performance. Our students were not only entertained but were introduced to different styles of dance including modern and jazz.
On Wed morning, some of our leadership students and HSSS students tried to Skype with the students from Inoro Secondary School in Nanyuki, Kenya. And we succeeded! The topics of discussion are: food resources, women's rights, employment choices, hobbies and life style. We learned a lot from our discussion together.
This month, the Mountain Biking Club has started. Thank you to Mrs. Roberts, Mrs. Zoo & Mrs. Lock for sponsoring.
Yesterday, VCE hosted the Multicultural Day. It was wonderful to see students and staff dressed in cultural regalia. The potluck lunch was delicious. Thank you to all who contributed to the potluck – we appreciate your generosity. Thank you to the parents and staff who demonstrated games and activities from their culture: Mr. Zander, Mrs. Siebel-Palethorpe, Mrs. McCutcheon, Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Vriend, Kirandeep Dhaliwal, Naiomi Lu. We had fun learning.
We thank the PAC who will be hosting the staff and volunteer appreciation lunch on June 6th. As well, on the same day, the school will be hosting the Balding for Dollars with Mrs. Platz getting a buzz cut. Mrs. Platz and her Kindhearted Kindergarteners are very close to reaching their goal. If you would like to donate to childhood cancer research, please visit: https://secure.bcchf.ca/SuperheroPages/main.cfm?Member=62535&Event=BFD
The VCE Sports Day is on Fri, June 10th. The staff is busy with planning. It's sure to be fun. June will be a busy month with many activities such as camp and fieldtrips.
Ji Ai Cho