text: My dad just found out that he can't go with us on our disney trip. We have the trip insurance, so we're ok there. But I'm concerned about our ADRs-most importantly, CRT. I suppose I need to call them to change our party from 6 to 5. Do you think they will give me problems over this? What to do?


text:
Advertisingy u no do it?
Advertising (learn more)Advertise virtually anything here, with CPM banner ads, CPM email ads and CPC contextual links. You can target relevant areas of the site and show ads based on geographical location of the user if you wish.
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I have 2 million dollars. What to do?
Discussion in 'General Chat' started by ismar, Sep 6, 2010.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Updated from 6:56 a.m. EDT
Here are 10 things you should know for Friday, May 16:
1. -- U.S. stock futures suggested a weaker start for equities on Friday after Wall Street suffered heavy losses in the previous session.
European stocks were flat while Asian shares ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.4%.
Indian stocks jumped Friday as preliminary results from national elections indicated the pro-business opposition and its leader Narendra Modi had won a landslide victory.
2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. on Friday includes housing starts and building permits for April at 8:30 a.m. EDT, and the University of Michigan Sentiment Index for May at 9:55 a.m.
3. -- U.S. stocks on Thursday fell amid mixed economic data, while retail stocks dropped on disappointing earnings. Small caps, as measured by the Russell 2000, declined more than 1.6%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.01% to 16,446.81 while the S&P 500 fell 0.94% to 1,870.85. The Nasdaq fell 0.76% to 4,069.29.
4. -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) disclosed on Thursday it had taken a stake of 11 million shares in Verizon (VZ) worth more than $500 million. The conglomerate added marginally to its investment in IBM amid the IT services giant's struggles.
Berkshire Hathaway also said in a 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it purchased 7.35 million Liberty Global Class C (LBTYK) shares in the first quarter.
IBM was the only stock of Berkshire's so-called big four stock investments that was added to in the quarter. The other stocks are Wells Fargo (WFC), Coca-Cola (KO) and American Express (AXP). Berkshire's buying was limited to just 233,100 new shares of IBM, less than 1% of the company's overall investment in IBM.
IBM shares were down 0.3% in premarket trading to $185.87.


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Is Hellyeah really a metal band? I mean, I get they have some members from other metal bands and, for all intents and purposes, they occupy the same space as a metal band but...
Hellno. Feel free to kill off that memory with what ever aerosols you might have laying around the house.*
This track, Better Man, is off Hellyeah's sophomor(ic)e album, Stampede, out now on Epic Records. Feel free to voice all hails and wails in the comments section.
*Metal Call Out does not condone the use of inhalants as a memory suppressant.
Chief Editor and Writer for Metal CallOut. Favorite sub genre of heavy metal includes Black, Death, Folk and Traditional. Josh can be found at Google+.


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Last updated at 9:16, 7 Feb 2016 Uploaded at 4:33, 28 May 2012
UPDATE v2.0: Now fully uses proper perks. Alik'r Armor now craftable with Steel Smithing perk, and Redguard Armor craftable with Advanced Smithing perk. Both are flagged as Steel Plate for matching set bonuses. Gauntlets changed to farmer gloves model.
So have you ever been VERY disappointed with the fact that the [email protected]$$ Alik'r Warriors are wearing no armor, and when you kill them, their loot is just boring clothing? Well look no further! What this simple mod does is tag all the Redguard garments as light armor, and gives them stats comparable to Leather, except for weight and value. Weight is halved from leather, and value is doubled. Not only this, but makes a complete set as I have added Alik'r Gauntlets (just used the farmer gloves model, at request). And, all the NPC's who wear the Redguard clothing (Alik'r, Nazir, etc.) will be wearing this, along with the new gauntlets. And finally, it is also craftable (under Steel section) and upgradeable.
v2.0: Finally fixes the use of perks for determining stats, tweaked stats of Redguard Clothing (and added unique enchanted version of Nazir's outfit)
v1.2: Includes Nazir's garments within craftability and upgradeability
v1.1: Includes all Alik'r/Redguard items within Matching Set perk
v1.0: Initial release
If you don't use NMM or MO, just download manually, extract the archive with whatever unzipping tool you use (7zip, WinRar, etc.) and copy the enclosed .esp to the Data folder in your main Skyrim directory (where TESV.exe is located), then make sure you activate the mod in the Data Files of your Skyrim Launcher. You will want this mod to load after any other mod that may affect the same items to see desired effect.
See my other mods!
Armored Redguard Clothing
Better Sleeping Arrangements -- Riverwood Trader
J'heart - Khajiit Merchant and Follower
Oriella Overhaul
Player Home Tavern Music
Ragnar Grey-Bear - Stormcloak Follower
Shadow Kat - Standalone Follower
Stormcloak Soldier - Grimnir Follower
Stormcloak Soldier - Grimnir Preset and Save Game
The Dragonborn Comes by Malukah tavern music replacer


text:
Severe Heat Wave Cloaks Much Of The US
The rising temperatures have killed citizens and hurt businesses. In many places, the triple-digit weather is making devastating droughts even worse for farmers and ranchers. Thousands of cattle have died across South Dakota. In Iowa, the blistering sun caused a portion of Interstate 380 to buckle.
Tim O'Neil, reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Howie Bluestein, meteorologist
Anayeli Ruiz, reporter, NewsWest 9
Charles Ray, reporter, South Dakota Public Broadcasting
NEAL CONAN, host: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. A heat wave in July is no real surprise, but this one's a doozy. The immense heat bubble that built up over the South and Midwest arrived on the East Coast today. So far, it's blamed for the deaths of nearly two dozen people.
Triple-digit weather hurts a lot of businesses and traps a lot of people indoors. In many places, the heat bakes land parched by drought and makes things even worse for farmers and ranchers.
Up to 1,500 head of cattle died across the state of South Dakota. In eastern Iowa, a portion of Interstate 380 buckled in the heat. How is the heat affecting your work and your life? Give us a call. Tell us your story, 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. You can also join the conversation on our website. Go to npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Later in the program, a heartbreaking letter from the Civil War and the Battle of Bull Run, 150 years ago today. But first, the big heat. And let's start with a caller. Sister Mary Beth is on the line with us from Cincinnati.
Sister MARY BETH: Hello, Neal.
CONAN: Hi, Sister Mary Beth. How are you?
BETH: I'm doing fine, thank you. A little hot but doing well.
CONAN: A little warm. How's it affecting your life?
BETH: Well, I run a large soup kitchen hospitality center in Cincinnati, Ohio, where we're about 107 degrees. And we normally do 400 to 500 meals a day. But our meals have increased dramatically over the last couple weeks because of this heat.
Many of our guests are - at least half of them are homeless. So they don't have any place to get out of the heat, too. And those that aren't homeless don't have air conditioning. And in the middle of the city center where there are no trees, just lots of concrete, it seems to even bake more.
CONAN: Does the city have cooling centers? I know some do.
BETH: Yes, yes. They do have cooling centers this year. So we're very grateful for that. So we don't have to stretch our staff quite as far.
CONAN: I wonder, what does a soup kitchen serve when the weather is so hot?
BETH: Sandwiches.
BETH: And lots of salad and ice water and cold drinks.
CONAN: That's a great idea. Keeping people hydrated is absolutely critical.
BETH: Correct.
CONAN: Well, thanks very much. We wish you good luck.
BETH: Well, thank you so much.
CONAN: Tim O'Neil is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and he joins us from his office there on the phone. Nice to have you with us today.
TIM O'NEIL: Thank you, Neal, (unintelligible).
And officials in St. Louis and other cities are asking people to stay inside when possible, also to check on their friends. People who deliver meals and people like that are being asked to make sure that all their clients are okay.
CONAN: Go ahead.
O'NEIL: No, I - supposedly, the city is going to have a bunch of people do a sweep tomorrow and knock on the doors of anybody who hasn't taken phone calls yet. But there are a bunch of cooling centers around here, although frankly, most people don't use them because I don't know what it's like in Cincinnati or Chicago these days, but pretty much rich or poor, most residences around here have at least a window unit.
CONAN: A window air conditioner. Yet one of your stories, I was reading earlier today, a woman died in her home. The room had a working air conditioner; she just didn't have it on.
O'NEIL: Right. That has become the classic heat death nowadays, at least around here. The last time there was a really terrible killer heat wave, 1980, we had about 150 people die, and the classic then was an elderly person in a low-income neighborhood who had his or her windows shut because they feared burglars.
Nowadays, unfortunately, it's somebody who thinks they can tough their way through the heat like they used to in the old days or just are afraid of the bills.
CONAN: Afraid of the shock of opening the electric bill.
O'NEIL: Um-huh.
CONAN: As the - it is interesting, though, that there are so many fewer deaths this year than just a few years ago, back in 1995.
O'NEIL: Well, part of that is the heat. I mean, it's a balmy 102 here, and come visit as soon as you can, which is hot, but 1980, it was 107, it was 106. I mean, we had a number of days that were hotter than that. And 107 is hotter than 102 by a good measure.
But primarily the difference in the death rate around here is the almost universal use of at least a window air conditioner.
CONAN: And as the city adjusts, there in St. Louis, I know it's also been very persistent. It's been there for some days.
O'NEIL: The - well, this is our fourth day at 100. I defer to Dallas, which has been a lot hotter for longer. But 102 is pretty hot. And one of the things about this town, and I'm sure Cincinnati is very much the same way, is that most of - most all of old St. Louis was built of brick - good, sturdy, German brick. And you heat up those houses with tar roofs over three or four days, and you've got a baking oven.
CONAN: And they sort of radiate heat through the night, too.
O'NEIL: They don't cool off very well. I live in one myself.
CONAN: Nice in the wintertime, though.
O'NEIL: I'm sorry?
CONAN: Nice in the wintertime.
O'NEIL: Oh, much better in the winter.
CONAN: Has the city taken actions like closing various venues or - well, the cooling centers you mentioned.
O'NEIL: No, there really hasn't been anything closed. The cooling centers are open. For the most part, those are senior centers. They just double. They ask people to come on by. I've called around a couple of days, and it's pretty sparse. Cooling centers might have one or two or three people.
For the most part, folks are just staying in with the A/C on, which would be the wise thing to do, obviously.
CONAN: So I suspect radio and television ratings are doing pretty well during the daytime.
O'NEIL: I would think so. You have lots of listeners right now.
CONAN: Tim O'Neil, thanks very much for your time today, we appreciate it.
O'NEIL: Okay.
CONAN: Tim O'Neil is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and we spoke to him from his office there. We'd like to hear your stories of the heat. How is it affecting your life and your job? 800-989-8255. Email us, firstname.lastname@example.com. Let's go to Rob, Rob with us from Mason in Ohio.
ROB: Hi, Neal, thanks for taking my call.
CONAN: Sure.
ROB: I'm a tree-climber, professional arborist. It's pretty strenuous work. I mean, sometimes you may have to haul yourselves maybe 80 foot up in a tree. So trying to deal with this heat is really problematic, especially since we had such a wet spring, and it was tough to get any work done.
So it's been, you know, either too wet or too hot. But currently, I'm just trying to deal with it and drink lots of water and try to make it through.
CONAN: Is it more dangerous for you when, well, you could slip because of the sweat?
ROB: You know, that's a really good point because, I mean, honestly you're sweating so hard that you may make a puddle, and yeah, you do have to take that into consideration. You know, your rope may get a little extra-slippery, and you get friction (unintelligible) extra-slippery. So it's one little extra, added danger to it, so...
CONAN: And for those who haven't seen an arborist work, you get yourself around with pulleys. You bring yourself up in the tree.
ROB: Actually, maybe pulleys, or sometimes we just loop our rope over a natural crotch and kind of pull ourselves up. So it's more of a natural pulley system. But, you know, you still are lifting half your weight, you know, for a good distance, and you may go up and down and move around, so...
CONAN: And you're usually hauling a chainsaw.
ROB: Yeah, that's another added thing. You might have, you know, seven to 13 pounds on your hip, plus other gear. And, you know, and a hard hat, which sometimes is, you know, an added heat stress to you because you're not able to get air circulation around your head.
CONAN: Well, make sure even though I'm sure it weighs a lot, a couple of bottles of water.
ROB: Oh yeah, yeah, that's important to take, too, so.
CONAN: Thanks very much, be careful.
ROB: All right, thank you, bye-bye.
CONAN: Here's an email from Patrick(ph): I ride a motorcycle as my primary transportation every day that rain doesn't threaten for work, commuting, errands and recreation. When it gets up to 101 degrees, as it is today in Kansas City, the heat is hitting me like a blast furnace. The road radiates heat like an oven, and the engine beneath me is like straddling a bonfire, and my head is encased in a roasting helmet.
However, I get 42 miles per gallon on the bike, as opposed to 15 in my air-conditioned truck. So it makes this mode of transportation a necessary discomfort, even though I'm soaked with sweat when I've arrived as my destination.
Let's go next to JP, JP with us from San Antonio.
JP: Yes, I was just calling about here in Texas, we are - I heard somebody comment about Dallas, and here in South Central Texas, you know, last year, we were 90-plus days over 100 degrees. And this year, it seems to be trending. We got a little bit of rain last couple of days ago, but you look around now, and you can't even tell.
CONAN: What business are you in?
JP: I'm in real estate. And I was telling your screener there it's interesting when the heat gets like this, most of our inner-city is built on clay, and clay expands and contracts. When it's really wet out, it expands, and when it's really dry out, it contracts.
So we've having obviously issues in selling homes. People that come from - that relocate to San Antonio with the military or what have you, they walk through houses, they see these cracks in drywall and the foundations and stuff and don't have any idea of, understanding of it.
So we're having to educate people that, you know, this is a come-and-go thing, and it's just - I was curious if any other places in the U.S. experience that kind of stuff.
CONAN: In terms of the prevalence of cracks in foundations and that sort of thing?
JP: Correct, correct.
CONAN: Well, we'll maybe get a call and find out.
JP: Well, thank you very much, Neal. I enjoy your show.
CONAN: Thanks very much for the call. This email from Jocelyn(ph) in Buffalo: My one-year-old son and I will be taking a walk through the mall tonight instead of Delaware Park, like we usually do on Thursdays. It's not as much fun, but it's much more comfortable.
Let's go next to - this is Evelyn, Evelyn with us from Salisbury in North Carolina.
EVELYN: Hi, Neal, how are you?
CONAN: I'm good, thank you.
EVELYN: Hope you're staying cool.
CONAN: Nice and cool in the radio studio. That's one thing they're very good at.
EVELYN: Well, we're roofing out here in Salisbury, North Carolina, and it's anything but cool. And what I found in this temperatures, like tomorrow when it's supposed to get at about 100, we won't put the crew up in the roof. But like today, they're staying a couple of hours on the roof and 30 minutes under the shade, and they're going through a lot of T-shirts because they do sweat a lot when they're up on that roof.
CONAN: I bet they do.
EVELYN: If you see a roofer, tell them how much you appreciate them.
CONAN: Okay, are these tar roofs?
EVELYN: Shingle roofs.
CONAN: Shingle roofs. So it's not quite so bad. But those shingles can almost burn they get so hot.
EVELYN: Yes, they need to wear gloves because black is a popular color when you're doing asphalt shingle roofs, and they do get extremely hot, yes.
CONAN: It's interesting, Hilda Solis, the secretary of labor, mentioned roofers when she held a conference call to remind workers' companies have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace, to make sure employees have enough water, get occasional breaks, as you mentioned, to cool down and get immediate medical help if they're showing signs of heat stroke. Those at greatest risk: farm workers, construction workers, roofers, baggage handlers, road crews, landscapers and car sellers who spend their days walking across acres of hot asphalt.
We wish your crews the best of luck, Evelyn.
EVELYN: Thank you, have a great one, bye-bye.
CONAN: Thank you. We're talking with people around the country about their experiences in the heat that has spread from the Midwest and the South now to the East Coast, which is expected to be the hottest part of the country tomorrow, 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. Stay with us. I'm Neal Conan. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. We know it's hot in many places. A glance at the thermometer tells it's hot here in Washington. Recent government data, though, confirms that temperatures across the country are, on average, rising.
Every 10 years, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, calculates the normal temperatures for most U.S. cities. A few weeks ago, those numbers showed that the new normal temperatures are, on average, a half a degree higher.
And the U.S. of the 2000s was about a degree and a half warmer than the U.S. of the 1970s. So it's getting hotter.
How is the heat affecting your work and your life? Tell us your story, 800-989-8255. Email us, email@example.com. You can also join the conversation on our website. That's at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Joining us now from member station KGNU in Boulder, Colorado, is Howie Bluestein, a meteorologist and research professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology, and nice to have you back on TALK OF THE NATION.
HOWIE BLUESTEIN: Nice to be back.
CONAN: And we keep hearing this referred to as a heat bubble as opposed to a heat wave.
BLUESTEIN: Well, this is an area of air in the middle part of the troposphere up about 20,000 feet and above that's circulating in a clockwise manner, and it's just sitting in one place. It migrates a little bit from east to west on a day-to-day basis, but it's been pretty persistently centered in the southern Plains. So it is in fact like a bubble.
CONAN: And how long is it likely to sit there?
BLUESTEIN: Boy, I wish I knew. This is the hottest part of the summer. And this time of the year, the jet stream migrates up to the north, up to near the Canadian border, and the bubble can move back and forth, and it probably could stay in place for another month or so.
But I don't think we can predict very well what's going to happen more than a few weeks in advance.
CONAN: And is this a common pattern, summertime pattern?
BLUESTEIN: Yes, this is a real common summer pattern. What's I think a little bit unusual is that it's been extremely persistent. Oftentimes, the pattern breaks down, and we get waves that come through, as opposed to this large anti-cyclonic, clockwise-rotating gyre.
Later on in the weekend, a cold front will actually come down through the northeastern part of the United States. I'm sure that people there will be happy to hear that. You should also be aware that the Pacific Northwest has been relatively cool. They're not having a heat wave at all.
CONAN: We were hearing earlier today, in fact a very rainy summer in Portland, Oregon.
BLUESTEIN: That's right. There's been a trough of low pressure anchored off the West Coast, the northwest, and that hasn't moved inland or done very much at all. That's been very persistent.
When you get a pattern like this, which persists for a long period of time, this is when we get our very, very, very bad hot spells.
CONAN: And is this connected to the drought in any way that's been so persistent there in Oklahoma and in Texas?
BLUESTEIN: That's a very complicated question. Certainly when the ground is very dry, the radiation from the sun doesn't have to evaporate the water from the ground up into the atmosphere, and so it can certainly get a lot warmer. And probably that does account for some of the heat, at least in the southern Plains, in Oklahoma and Texas and Kansas.
However, when you get farther to the east, some of the areas have had a lot of rain, and there it probably could be even warmer if the ground were dry. The bad news is that with all that moisture in the ground, it's evaporating into the air, and it feels more humid or muggy.
CONAN: Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed it does. When I was - it's not an expression I hear too much anymore. When I was a kid, we dreaded the Bermuda high.
BLUESTEIN: Well, yes, the Bermuda high is the surface high-pressure area off the East Coast of the United States that's responsible for the prevailing southerly and southwesterly winds in the United States. Right now, the Bermuda high, if you will, extends all the way to the west, into the mid-western part of the United States. So a lot of the hot air from the south-central U.S. is being blown right up through the Great Lakes and up into the Northeast.
CONAN: And what can we take away from that new normal, those higher temperature norms released by NOAA earlier this week? The average U.S. increased by .5 degrees Fahrenheit.
BLUESTEIN: Well, I think that some people feel that this might be due to global warming. It could be due to the increased urban area. Or it could be a regular - a sign of regular natural variability, where you go for 20 or 30 years where it's a little bit warmer and then 20 or 30 years where it's a little bit cooler.
I don't think we know for sure what the answer is.
CONAN: So we have to wait and see how these things average out?
BLUESTEIN: Yes, we do.
CONAN: All right, thanks very much, Howie Bluestein, appreciate your time as always.
BLUESTEIN: Thank you.
CONAN: Howie Bluestein, a meteorologist, a research professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology and with us today from member station KGNU in Boulder, Colorado.
Let's go to Ian(ph). Ian's with us from Burlington in Kentucky.
IAN: Hey, Neal, how are you doing today?
CONAN: Good, thanks.
IAN: First of all, I'd like to say I love your show. I listen to it every day on my way home from work. And I was driving home today, down 75, and I was just covered in my own sweat from having to work in - I work in a factory, and a lot of the time we get temperatures that exceed the triple digits - or not exceed, but that are in the triple digits.
You know, when it's 95 outside, it could be roughly, you know, 110 inside.
CONAN: Is this one of those huge factories, where they say oh, it's just not practical to cool such a big space?
IAN: Yes, it's pretty good size. I mean, they do the best they can to ventilate the place, but, you know, I mean, you can only do so much when you have, like, you know, a couple hundred workers inside. You know, I mean, they basically, like, in order to try and keep us cooled off, they give us free water and, you know, Gatorade and things like that, which is really nice.
But, I'll tell you, you know, the job that I do, I work on these machines that are about as big as, you know, a lot of people's houses. And it gets - it gets pretty hot, you know. And we have to wear a lot of safety glasses and things like that. And a lot of the time, they fog up and makes the job really difficult. So...
IAN: But, yeah, a lot of industrial jobs around here are, you know, like I said, they're - there's a lot of them here, and it's really difficult to work in this heat, you know, and there's not really a whole lot that they can do about that, you know.
CONAN: Do you have an air conditioner in the car?
IAN: Oh, yeah, there's definitely an air conditioner in my car.
CONAN: Well, good on that. Well, thanks very much for the call, and thanks for the kind words, as well.
IAN: Thank you.
CONAN: All right. Here's an email from Pat(ph) in Moorhead, Minnesota: I work for the city forestry department, and we've been planting over 10 trees daily plus marking Dutch elm diseased trees and spend a full eight hours outside. It is very miserable in this heat, with a heat index of 115 degrees earlier in this week.
This from Susan(ph): I work for a nonprofit that trains service dogs for individuals with physical disabilities. The heat is hard for a service dog. Their pads burn on the pavement, and they can get overheated and sick. Many of our clients are staying home rather than risk injury to their service dog.
And let's see if we can go next to Jennifer(ph), Jennifer with us from the Twin Cities.
JENNIFER: Yes, hi. I'm actually a ballet dancer, classical ballet dancer. And the company that I work for, we actually don't have air conditioning in the dance studios. So in the Twin Cities, the heat index was, you know, 119, 118 I think at one point on Tuesday. It was pretty awful to be dancing, you know, all day during the hottest part of the day, and we were sweating onto the floor and then slipping in our own sweat. It was pretty gross.
CONAN: And you had to do this because - they didn't give you breaks?
JENNIFER: No, we definitely got breaks. But, you know, we're rehearsing for performances. And so we were definitely taking breaks, and we actually had, you know, a popsicle break. They got us some popsicles and ice slushies, so we were - lots of cold washcloths around the necks to stay cool.
But, you know, you're trying to do your job, and when you're getting ready for performance, there's a date that you have to be ready for. So you rehearse. And we're, you know, lots of water and also, you know, Gatorade because if you drink too much water, that can be bad, too. You can over-drink water. So Gatorade and popsicles.
CONAN: And popsicles. It must be nice to actually go home and lie down.
JENNIFER: It really is. You get in the car, you get the air conditioning going in the car, and, you know, just try and get your body cool. But, you know, also you're just soaked. You know, you're in your dance clothes and just totally soaked.
CONAN: Well, thanks very much. Do the best you can, and good luck.
JENNIFER: Thank you, it's much cooler today, so...
CONAN: Okay. Joining us now from Midland, Texas, is Anayeli Ruiz, a reporter who covers West Texas for NewsWest 9. Nice to have you with us today.
ANAYELI RUIZ: Hi, thank you for having me.
CONAN: And West Texas, not only is it hot, it's been dry for quite some time.
RUIZ: Oh, it's been really, really dry I think since last year. We haven't really had any significant rain. And it's definitely, you know, hurt everyone out here.
CONAN: And I know that there are a lot of water restrictions in various communities. They're trying different things to make sure that they have enough water for essential services.
RUIZ: Yes, definitely. Things are getting really strict out here. You know, some cities have gone to two days a week watering. And we've actually seen one city in the past week who went to one day a week watering. And people are just, you know, trying to conserve as much water as possible because it's so dry. It's completely dried our lakes, so there's no water out there. So even if - some people might be wondering, you know, why - because our lakes are just so dry there's nothing there. So if we waste the little water that we do have, it's just going to be gone.
CONAN: And are people beginning to get alarmed?
RUIZ: Well, yeah. And some people, you know, actually started some new businesses. I don't know if you guys heard, but out here some people are actually starting to paint their grass green, to keep their grass green because everything is just brown everywhere. And people are trying to do - conserve as much. You know, people are trying to also drill water wells to see if they can get some water on that side. And there's been a lot of business increase in the water well business. They're just so busy right now. Everybody just needs water. Everybody - that's pretty much on everybody's mind out here.
CONAN: I read one of your stories earlier today that at least one community was offering incentives for gardens that, what was the phrase, Practice with Cactus?
RUIZ: Yes, it's called Practice with Cactus. And one community is actually giving - trying to incent people to, I guess, turn to a more dry, I guess, desert landscape in order to conserve water because that doesn't use as much water. And so they're offering $500, you know, for the most creative lawn. And people are actually excited about it. A lot of people are kind of taking this seriously and are changing their way of life, I guess.
CONAN: West Texas, of course, is oil country, but there are a lot of farmers out there too. How are they doing with this?
RUIZ: Yes, there's a lot of cotton farmers, and we also have cantaloupes actually are out here, so - but a lot of those people usually use well water. But they're also having trouble because, you know, the well water is actually going down, so it's costing them more money to drill their water and to bring the water out to their crops.
CONAN: You profiled one cantaloupe grower who's expanded from about 100 acres to 200 acres and seem to be doing really well.
RUIZ: Yes, they are actually doing well, but it is costing them more to drill the water. But, yes, they're doing great. They expanded. And I think they're going to, like, a bigger, more commercial stores like Kroger and Wal-Mart and stuff like that.
CONAN: Well, thanks very much for your time today. We appreciate it. And keep drinking that water. It's really important to stay hydrated if you can.
RUIZ: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
CONAN: Anayeli Ruiz, a reporter who covers West Texas for NewsWest 9. She joined us on the phone from Midland, Texas. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION, coming to you from NPR News. And let's go to another side of the state. Simon joins us from San Antonio.
SIMON: Hey, how's it going?
CONAN: Pretty good.
SIMON: Big fan. I install DirecTV, so spend a lot of time outside near the roofs. But the worst part of it, especially here in Texas, is having to do attic work, because, you know, it's 100 outside. I mean, God knows, 130 or something in an attic and it gets pretty miserable.
CONAN: DirecTV - for those who don't know, it's the system that has a satellite dish you have install up, up high in a building, right?
SIMON: Of course. Who doesn't know that? Come on.
CONAN: Oh.
SIMON: Go on. OK, yeah.
CONAN: Cable users. And the attic, as you say, it's got to be stifling up there.
SIMON: Yeah, it's awful. I mean, plus, you're all sweaty and there's - you got to deal with insulation. It gets - sticks to you and it's - I just drink lots of waters, and customers are always, you know, pretty generous with their - if I run out, with their water and with their pity - just, you know, covered in sweat. It's just horrific.
CONAN: Simon, thanks very much. Be careful.
SIMON: All right. Thanks. Tell Ira Flatow I said hi.
CONAN: I will. Jessica in Vermillion, South Dakota, writes: This weekend, we discovered that our older window AC units could not keep up at all with the heat. After calling around, I learned that within a 75 mile radius of the Tri-State area - I'm in South Dakota - all the retail stores are sold out of all types of air conditioners, big or small, and some don't plan on ordering any more. I was worried about myself, my family and my cats. Now, I'm more worried about the kids and elderly in my low-income neighborhood. We haven't had any rain since the weekend. And with the heat index reaching up to 118 degrees Fahrenheit, the house doesn't cool down enough at night to get restful sleep.
Let's go next to Beverly. Beverly is with us from Roseau in Minnesota. Is that - am I pronouncing that name correctly?
BEVERLY: Yes, Roseau. I'm in the far northwest corner, right on the Canadian border. I take care of two of my grandmothers. They're both 85 years old, and one is fortunate enough to have air-conditioning, and, boy, she's not afraid to use it. But the other is little less on the income, so she's terrified to use the air conditioner. And so I've got her with cold towels around their neck, you know, mopping her face. And she hasn't figured it out yet that the water heater and the well pump causes electricity so I've been able to get her in and take cooler baths, you know, during the day to keep her cool.
But then, another problem, too, is like with myself, I'm on medication that makes you extremely sensitive to heat and sun. And if I'm outside longer than 15, 20 minutes, I could be in very dangerous trouble, and I have gotten very sick, like on the Fourth of July and that. So people that are on these medications that make them extremely, you know, to the heat, they end up to where they can't control their body heat, and it can be extremely dangerous for them. I can't even imagine being homeless or with children with this problem.
CONAN: And...
BEVERLY: So that's where we're sitting at up here.
CONAN: The woman who use air conditioner, I'm sure you told her that a big bill is not worth her life.
BEVERLY: That's what I've tried to tell her. And so at least she is taking cooler baths, all the windows open in the house. And I go by and I'm calling her, you know, four and five times a day. And she - I am just pumping the water, the Gatorade, the popsicles, all of this, anything that can make her - cool her core body temperature, so...
CONAN: Well, good luck. Stay with it. It's important.
BEVERLY: Thank you.
CONAN: Thanks very much for the call. Sounds like a big summer for the 'sickle company. Mary in California emails: During a 100-plus degree hot spell, a crew from the gas utility was replacing gas pipe at my house. For safety reasons, the workers must wear heavy long-sleeved shirts covered by a bright orange canvas vests and, of course, hard hats and work boots and gloves. The sweat was streaming off these workers, although they had plenty of water. I worried someone might get heat stroke. They seemed to survive OK, but all of us who work indoors should appreciate the comforts that we've got.
We're going to hear more of your stories about dealing with the heat bubble in just a moment. Ranchers in South Dakota say they've lost nearly 1,500 head of cattle. Plus, we'll remind you of a heartbreaking letter home from a Union soldier days before the Battle of Bull Run, 150 years ago today. Stay with us. I'm Neal Conan. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
CONAN: Right now we're talking about the heat that hammers much of the country. By the end of the week, nearly half of all Americans will face high temperatures and stifling humidity. Give us a call. 800-989-8255. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Let's go to BJ - BJ with us from Aberdeen in South Dakota.
BJ: Hi, Neal. Thanks for taking the call.
CONAN: Sure.
BJ: I just wanted to, you know, you guys (unintelligible) with the amount of cattle that had been - that died because of this heat in South Dakota. And it happens to be a real problem. I just wanted to shed a little perspective on that, is that, you know, you're dealing with people in animal livestock production. You know, you're dealing with animals that are in your - and you're in charge of taking care of them, obviously.
But when you get the amount of heat that we had here in the last week, you know, they're easily perishable. And it seems to be when you live in the state of South Dakota and you have the extreme highs and lows that we do, when the weather is the worst, you have to work the hardest just to try to keep your animals alive. And it's been a real challenge for people, and it's really - it's a real despair. But, you know, by the time you put 15 hours in the day, in this heat, trying to keep your animals alive, it gives you some new perspective on just how - on how tough the heat can be on both people and animals.
CONAN: Can you give us an idea of the kind of area you're talking about, that you have cattle scattered over?
BJ: Yup, yup. We have - the operation I have is both the cow-calf, although I do have some out in pasture. But I also have a feedlot operation where you're finishing cattle. And at this time of year, the group of cattle that I have are heavy on their weight. So they're just about ready for market, which means that when they're grouped up and you're grouped up around water, the problem that you run into is when you lose the - when you have the highest humidity, the - these animals really congregate the other - in real close quarters. They cannot shed the heat fast enough, and, of course, they cool down by panting, you know.
And so when you confine them and they get real tight next to each other, that's when the oxygen, you know, doesn't move away fast enough and they just cannot remove enough heat. So the biggest and most important thing is to provide either shade, breeze or most especially water. But they can - I imagine, just raw figures, I've probably hauled, you know, 50,000 gallons of water in the last few days. So they can really suck it down.
CONAN: And they need it, obviously. You do too. You make - make sure you keep yourself hydrated.
BJ: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. That's equally important, but I just - just to close, you know, animal agriculture sometimes takes a little bit of pounding because of some of the negative publicity that we've seen in - and rightly so at times but generally speaking, the people who are trying to produce the food in America today care as much about, you know, taking care of these animals as we do anything else. So I just want you to know that our heart's in the right spot and they're in our care. We do everything we can to keep them alive, keep them healthy, keep them comfortable.
CONAN: Well, stay with us. We're about to talk with a reporter from South Dakota Public Radio Broadcasting on this very point. But we appreciate the phone call, BJ.
BJ: Thank you very much.
CONAN: The reporter for South Dakota Public Broadcasting is Charles Ray, and he's with us from Rapid City. Nice to have you with us.
CHARLES RAY: Thank you, Neal. It's great to be here.
CONAN: And BJ's problem is fairly widespread.
RAY: It certainly is across the state, and it's good to hear firsthand from a producer like that, who can talk directly about what these folks are facing out here trying to raise livestock. And we know the number has been updated. I think you said 1,500 earlier. So far this morning, we've heard the number is now 1,700 cattle lost in this heat wave across the state, and that may go very well higher as more and more of those numbers are reported.
One thing interesting, the state veterinarian has come out and said that anthrax may be one cause of some of these cattle losses. The anthrax bacteria, as many people probably know, is in the soil naturally. But high heat and humidity make for just the right conditions for the anthrax to apparently come up and give it - put into contact with the cattle. And that's when also high mortality rates can occur. So the state veterinarian is, you know, letting ranchers and farmers know that, hey, watch for this potential of anthrax. Beyond that, we had a lot of flooding in South Dakota earlier this spring and still now since the summer.
CONAN: Yeah. I was going to mention. Yeah. Just a couple of months ago, the problem was too much water.
RAY: Right, right, right. And apparently, those floodwaters can also bring anthrax into places where they haven't been before. One thing good about the floodwater, as we heard earlier, I know, from people who say they couldn't get - find water anywhere, all of the stock dams and lakes around the state are full of water. So it is easier to get - at least get the cows to water. But, oftentimes, that's an issue as well.
CONAN: It's a big state. And I know there are also wildfires in the western part, near the Wyoming border.
RAY: That's right. That's right. We have the Whoop Up fire right now burning. It consumed about 10,000 acres near the Wyoming-South Dakota border. Earlier this week, there was 16 homes evacuated down there near Newcastle, Wyoming. Those folks have now been let back into their homes as the fire has burned through that area.
But it's still burning very intensely in some areas, you know? The crews were fighting not only very rough rugged terrain but triple digit temperatures with, you know, flames consuming over the tops of the pine trees 100 feet high. You know, I heard earlier the gentleman talking about the difficulty of being in an attic when it's 100 degrees outside. It's the same trying to fight a forest fire when it's 100 degrees outside. It's just a nightmare scenario.
CONAN: And you can't skimp on the equipment. You've got to wear the clothing and the boots and the hat and - it's a terrible problem. Farmers, are they doing OK?
So far, they seem to be getting through the best they can. Of course, this could have an impact on the markets down the road, so a lot of farmers are watching closely the commodities, if the southern United States is going to the kind of drought that we actually saw earlier in this past decade in South Dakota. And, of course, this can make for a volatile commodity market, whether that be cattle or corn or whatever. And so that's something I know a lot of farmers here in the state are keeping an eye on.
We know that there are cooling centers for people to go to if they need to in St. Louis or Cincinnati. Cooling centers for people in South Dakota?
RAY: We haven't seen that yet, although we have had some centers for people who can go for the flooding, of course, emergency evacuation centers. The Missouri River, of course, saw one of - some of the worst flood in the state's history almost this year and so we've had some evacuation centers. We still have people evacuated out of their homes for that flooding that started in May on the Missouri River. And I think it's feast or famine here in South Dakota. (unintelligible) time of the year and now heat this time.
CONAN: It's a place of extremes but also a place of extreme beauty especially over there in your part of the state. It's really nice.
RAY: Yeah. We're all so very fortunate for that, sure.
CONAN: Thanks very much for coming in. We appreciate your time.
Thank you.
Charles Ray, a reporter for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, with us from the studios of South Dakota Public Broadcasting in Rapid City. Let's see, we go next to Janelle(ph), Janelle with us from Cave Creek in Arizona.
JANELLE: Yes, I am. Hi. Neal. How are you?
CONAN: I'm good. Thanks.
JANELLE: Yes. I just - it was funny. This morning, I sent an email to my sister-in-law who lives in New York, and I was telling her, you know, that now that the East Coast can have an idea of what people in Arizona, in the Southwest desert go through five, six, seven, eight months out of the year. Although, I will say this summer seems to be a little cooler than other summers, but it's all relative.
CONAN: You don't get quite the humidity that we get, but we understand you get a lot more heat than we do.
JANELLE: Yes. We get the heat but we still got the humidity because we do get the storms too. What we do, I own a - I have a boarding facility. And so at 4:30 in the morning, I'm out doing all the horse chores and everything so that the horses can get in under the roof so they're at least in the shade. And then each stall has a fan that allows them to at least the evaporative cooling because of the sweat, you know, that they can be sustained. And then they go out - they're out all night. So their whole schedule changes around between winter and summer.
CONAN: That's a lot of physical work, to muck out stalls. So I'm sure you're happier to do that at 4:30 in the morning too.
JANELLE: Well, on Monday morning at 4:30, it was 90 degrees out.
CONAN: Wow.
JANELLE: And the only difference is, is that the sun is not quite up yet, and so you don't get - besides the heat, you don't get the intensity of the sun's rays. But it was - there are time - oh, I had heat stroke twice last summer. So - and that's always hard when you get it. It's always hard to avoid it. It's better never to get it. But you can tell because, you know, you just don't sweat sometimes. But as far as animals go, the other day, we had some - the day of the haboob that hit the national...
CONAN: Yeah. That was the big sandstorm.
JANELLE: Yeah. Well, we had another one this week, and it was really eerie. It didn't hit the national news and it just kind of - you could see it just crawl. It was like 3,000 feet high and about 25 miles wide. And it just crawled along the floor and it just - the dust just hung. And it was very odd. And no rain followed it, which usually we do get it with the rain. But we have our lakes.
We have Horseshoe Lake, lakes around here that are totally dry. So the animals come down here. So we keep saucers filled with water for the deer and the coyote and the quail and all the other animals that we get through just so they always have, you know, some water to (unintelligible) some water to survive on.
CONAN: Well, take care of yourself. Avoid heatstroke.
JANELLE: I will. Thank you.
CONAN: Thank you. Here's an email we have from John(ph) of the United States Marine Corps: I deployed in 2008 to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, where the heat index often exceeded 140 degrees Fahrenheit combined with long patrols and guard duty outdoors with little shade and stifling body armor. The weather was quite hot. Since then, I - no matter how hot it gets, I can always say I've been hotter.
And this from Michael in Minneapolis: I work two jobs in the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport: one, as a baggage handler and the other as an aircraft refueler. The last few days have been absolutely miserable. We had a heat index of 120 degrees, but on the tarmac, it could be more like 140 plus. We've been trying to take as many breaks as possible, but we have to get the planes out on time with all the bags and passengers, so we don't get much of a chance to cool down before heading back out into the horrible heat. To make things worse, many planes run their auxiliary power units, which shoot out exhausts that's several hundred degrees. Today has been a bit cooler, but I can't wait for temps to fall back into the 70s again.
And this one is from Becky(ph) in Fowlerville in Michigan: My husband and I have been holed up in our home over this past week, working in our cool basement. We've generated a lot of trash. And as today was trash day, we decided to show our appreciation for those hardworking garbage collectors by greeting them with cold bottles of water and money for each of them to have lunch on us. They were both surprised and grateful. And we were blessed.
Well, thank you all for the emails and the text messages and the tweets and your phone calls. We're sorry we couldn't get to everybody. But everybody, please, take care of yourself. Make sure you get enough water. And if you have elderly relatives or friends, make sure you give them a call from time to time and make sure they're OK. This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
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text:
A Harper's Education
Reads: 33484 | Likes: 0 | Shelves: 0 | Comments: 1940
Book by: Think Pink
Chapter 1 (v.1) - A Harper's Education
The music was loud and the bass was pounding through Laila's body. Her new roommate had dressed her up, dragged her to the party and forced her on the dance floor. Not that Laila minded the distraction, but she had never been to a party like this before. Her parents would never have allowed it and, if they knew the faculty at the expensive preparatory school she now attended had all but turned a blind eye to such behavior, she would certainly be shipped back to California on the next flight out of Boston. But parent's weekend wasn't for another couple of months and Laila was determined to take not full, but at least partial advantage of her new found freedom.
She looked around the crowded basement. Nothing looked familiar. The gothic architecture of the building, the blue and gold colors of the school, even the students looked different with their expensive clothes and their plastic cups filled with booze.
"Let me tell you who's who," Tennille offered, smiling at her roommate, seeing the confusion on her face.
Laila smiled and nodded, standing by Tennille's side as she started to point out people in the crowd.
"That guy over there, the one with leather jacket and black hair, that's Julian Polk, kind of the leader of the popular crowd here. The blonde girl standing next to him is Kalyn Andretti, his sometimes girlfriend, soon to be fiancée unless he impregnates someone else before graduation."
"Wait," Laila laughed. "Why is she his soon to be fiancée if she's only his sometimes girlfriend?"
Tennille laughed as well. "Welcome to Harper's, girl, where old money means old tradition. Kalyn's family and Julian's go way back. They aren't allowed to call it an arranged marriage, but that's essentially what it is."
Laila's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Are you serious?"
"Hmmm, afraid so," Tennille said with a sly smile. "Pretty archaic, don't you think?"
Laila's head nodded in disbelief. Her friends back home were going to love the stories she would have for them. They had all warned her what going to an east coast school would entail, but even their imaginations didn't stretch this far.
"Okay, so who else is here?"
"That guy standing next to Julian, staring at you like you're a perfect piece of filet mignon, that's Chase."
"Oh, disgusting!" Laila laughed as she caught sight of the person Tennille was talking about. His tall, lanky figure was slouched at the shoulders and his eyes looked red and swollen even from across the room. His chestnut hair was slicked back and his tongue ran over his pale lips as he stared at the two girls.
"Chase gets away with almost everything because his parents donate an obscene amount of money to the school every year. His sense of entitlement reaches beyond school rules and into the female population, although he usually ends up with Julian's left-overs.
"Now, on the other side of the spectrum," Tennille continued, taking Laila's hand and spinning her around, "are the ones you don't have to look out for. The kid sitting alone in the corner, the one with red hair, that's Randy. He's one of two seniors here on scholarship, which means he doesn't have many friends."
"Who's the other one?"
"That would be yours truly." Tennille smiled proudly. "Although, I've managed to stay under the radar of ridicule for the past three years."
"Yeah? How did that happen?"
"I believe it has something to do with the fact that I'm almost a novelty at this school. Harper's was eager to impress the board with a new music prodigy and it was just an added bonus that she was, how they put it, culturally diverse."
Laila hadn't noticed before, but looking around she quickly realized how similar the student body really was, a drastic change from the last school she attended.
"Look," Tennille brought Laila's attention back to the lesson at hand, and pointed to the stairs. Three figures, all of whom looked little more like shadows in the dark light of the basement, were entering the room. Their steps were slow and confident as they walked into sight and they appeared not to notice the sideways glances and longing gazes of half the senior girls.
The boy in the front stood tall, his dark hair and dark brows towering over the rest of the student body. His eyes were searching the crowd for someone or something. Two blondes came in behind him, their ashy hair picking up all the colors of the strobe lights. The closer of the two had a wide grin on his face, his dimples showing for the world to see. But his twin brother looked more somber, his eyes fixated on the crowd with an unusual sense of calm considering the present environment.
"Who are they?"
"Hands off the dark haired one, he's mine," Tennille laughed and waved her hand in the air. The boy with the dark hair gave her a crooked smile and pushed his way through the crowd.
"You made it!"
"I told you I would be here," he said in a deep voice as Tennille threw her arms around his neck to kiss him. It wasn't indecent or prolonged, but it made Laila blush.
"Tate, this is my new roommate, Laila."
Tate extended his hand for Laila's. "Welcome to Harper's Prep," he said with a bow.
"Thank you," Laila smiled.
"And this is Alistair and Sterling," Tennille said, making the last of the introductions before returning her attention to Tate.
"Laila, what a beautiful name," the cheerier of the blonde twins took her hand and brought it gently to his lips. "I'm Alistair, the more handsome of the Pierce twins."
His brother rolled his eyes behind Alistair's back. Laila smiled at his dimples. "You two look identical to me," she admitted.
"Almost, but not quite," Alistair continued without showing signs of offense.
"How am I supposed to tell the difference?"
"Sterling's got the crazy eyes. I've got the dimples." Alistair smiled at Laila again, before becoming distracted by a group of girls dancing only a few feet away. "If you'll excuse me…"
Laila turned to watch him leave, impressed by his confidence and ease. She turned back to his brother, a little disappointed to find Tennille and Tate dancing in what appeared to be a world of their own.
"So, I guess it's just you and me," Sterling said and Laila's heart nearly flipped inside of her chest. His voice, unlike his twin brother's, was deep and silky. Laila looked up at him. Although not as tall as Tate, he still towered over her short frame. His complexion was flawless, his skin appeared tan from the summer sun, and his short, ashen hair was pushed messily away from his eyes, making him look the epitome of disheveled perfection.
"I guess so," Laila smiled at him, unsure of what to think. He appeared so harmless when broken down to the basics: blonde hair, athletic build, simple blue button up shirt paired with expensive jeans. But something about him was mysterious, almost brooding. Maybe it only seemed that way because she had yet to see him smile.
Laila was struggling, trying to find something interesting to say to Sterling when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Hey," the scratchy voice said from behind her. She turned around and forced a smile when she saw Julian and his friend Chase.
"You're new here, aren't you?" Julian asked, chewing on a piece of gum while he spoke.
"Yeah. I mean, yes, I am." Laila's California syntax and speech were proving hard to get rid of.
"I'm Julian. This is Chase," he said, taking her hand and kissing it, much like Alistair had done. But unlike Alistair's innocent touch, Laila felt Julian's tongue run between her knuckles, his fingers tightening around hers. She pulled her hand away, softly, but with enough force to break free.
"I'm Laila. It's nice to meet you." She nodded at each of them, rubbing the back of her hand against her side, suddenly incredibly uncomfortable under Chase's constant stare and Julian's playfully devilish grin.
"Where did you come from?" Julian asked her, disregarding her attempt at pleasantries.
"San Francisco, California."
"Surprise, surprise," she heard a voice from her side say with a whiny drawl. Kalyn and another girl stepped in beside Julian. "A blonde with blue eyes from California. I'm guessing she's a democrat as well."
The smile faded from Laila's face as she looked at Kalyn. The girl was near perfection with her teased and highlighted hair, her makeup applied flawlessly and her dress most likely designer.
"It must be an uncommon thing around these parts, I suppose." Laila said before she could stop herself.
"What? Democrats?" Kalyn laughed and Julian smirked.
"No. Natural blondes."
Laila heard Sterling laugh from behind her and was surprised when Julian and Chase laughed as well. Kalyn glared at her, probably not used to being spoken down to. The two girls stared at each other for a moment, Kalyn seething with an embarrassed contempt, Laila's heart racing at her bold move.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Julian asked, taking a step toward her and reaching for her waist. Kalyn scoffed and turned away, dragging her friend by the hand toward the exit.
"No, I'm fine, thank you," Laila replied quickly, stepping back and running into Sterling's chest.
"Are you sure?" Julian looked at her through narrow eyes, glancing only once at Sterling who had, until now, remained silent.
"She said she's fine." Sterling put a hand around Laila's thin arm, taking a few steps back and pulling her with him. "We were just about to sit down before you interrupted us."
Sterling suppressed a laugh as Julian glared at him. But he wasn't worried about Julian. He had, on more than one occasion, with and without the help of his brother, put Julian in his place. No, Sterling was more concerned about the look that Chase was still giving the new girl. His eyes had never left her, raking over her body as if she were a mannequin at a store.
Sterling put an arm around Laila's ribs, turning her around and walking in the other direction. He glanced behind him only once to see Julian motioning for Chase to follow him to the spiked punch bowl. His friend's head nodded as if he understood but he stood as still as a statue, watching Laila walk away, until the people on the dance floor filled in the space between them.
"Thank you for that." Sterling's attention was taken away from the two guys behind him to the pretty girl still tucked closely to his side. Take that back, she was gorgeous. And not gorgeous like the other girls at the school who, even though they may have been born unfortunate looking, had enough money to hide behind artificial features and expensive make up. She was naturally beautiful with long strawberry blonde hair that flowed to the middle of her back. Her features were small and delicate, her nose turned up slightly at the end to give her a childlike demeanor, and her perfectly bowed lips were deliciously full and pink.
"You're welcome," Sterling had to remind himself to answer her. "I imagine you'll want to form your own opinions about the rest of the students here, but those two really aren't the type of guys you want to hang around with."
"I figured as much," Laila said, shivering slightly as she remembered how Julian's tongue had felt on her skin. "They were pretty creepy."
Sterling led her over to a table and pulled out a chair for her. He couldn't help but smile at her words and thought she might be the only girl in the school not to fall for Julian's slick lines.
"Chivalrous, are we?" Laila smiled up at him as he held the chair, waiting for her to sit down.
"It might be considered chivalry on the west coast, but here we call it being a gentleman."
Laila giggled and the sound filled Sterling's ears like the soft music of a harp. He sat down, trying to keep his composure in the company of this girl who had his heart skipping beets and his fingers aching to touch her skin. He looked around the room, noting the whispers and glances from the groups of students still dancing. Word had probably spread throughout the class that Laila had stood up to Kalyn and Sterling didn't envy her the gossip she was now subjected to. Nor did he look forward to the retaliation which was certain to follow. Luckily, Laila would be naïve to the butterfly effect she had created, at least for now, for she couldn't possibly understand the unwritten rules which governed the social lives of Harper's students.
He looked back at her, her arms were folded on the table and she was leaning into them, stretching closer to him. Her eyes were fixated on his and a curious look was on her pixie-like face.
"You're staring," Sterling reminded her. Not that he minded.
"Sorry," she smiled and her entire face lit up. "It's just that when your brother said you had the 'crazy eyes,' I didn't understand what he meant. But now, it's incredibly obvious."
Sterling let her stare for a moment longer. He used to be self-conscious about his eyes, unsure of how to react when people commented on them. But now he had grown accustomed to people staring at his eyes instead of into them. It was uncommon but not unheard of for people to be born with two different colored irises. The dark blue of his left eye contrasted brightly with the light green of his right, but in the dimly lit basement, he wasn't surprised it had taken Laila this long to notice.
"They're beautifully peculiar," he heard her say softly as her gaze danced between the two colors, before meeting his.
"You're one to talk," he smiled at her and saw the blush rise in her cheeks. She looked away and smiled.
"No, no, no. You saw mine, now let me see yours," he teased as he reached for her face, turning it back to his.
Laila laughed but opened her eyes wide to let him examine her. He held her chin in his hand as he moved his face closer to hers. Her skin was burning from where he was touching her and she caught herself holding her breath.
"Kalyn called them blue, but they aren't. Are they?"
"I'm impressed you're able to tell the difference in this light."
"Well, now that I've noticed, it's becoming increasingly difficult to look away," Sterling smiled at her and her pale cheeks blushed again.
"Violet eyes are far less common than what I have." He spoke and watched as her long lashes blinked in what seemed like slow motion. Did this girl have any idea what she was doing to him? He glanced down at her lips which were seductively pouted and he couldn't stop himself from running his thumb over their plump fullness. But the second he touched her pink mouth, she pulled away from him and sat back in her chair.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to…"
"You don't need to apologize," Laila interrupted him. He was relieved to see amusement in her expression rather than disgust. "You just surprised me, that's all."
"So, California?" Sterling quickly changed the subject.
"California," Laila admitted, almost as she was embarrassed by it.
"What brings you all the way to Harper's?"
"I want to go to Yale. More students from Harper's Prep are admitted than any other private school on the east coast. And certainly more than any on the west coast."
Sterling smiled. Both of his parents were Yale Alumnus and he had never imagined going anywhere else for college. Alistair, on the other hand, had dreams of a big city and had greatly upset their parents when he announced he was applying to Harvard and NYU. Yale was his backup. But he didn't want to make Laila aware of any of this just yet. He was determined to learn more about her first.
"Did you go to a private school in San Francisco?"
"I did. Not a boarding school, like this one, but it was private."
"Let me guess, an all girls Catholic school?"
Laila frowned. Was it that obvious? "Yes."
Sterling laughed. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"It wasn't that bad," she insisted.
"Well, I think you'll be just fine here. Keep flinging the insults at the likes of Kalyn Andretti and you'll be famous in no time."
"She's not going to let that one go, is she?"
"Probably not. But I wouldn't worry too much about it. She's harmless unless you're susceptible to catty comments and gossip."
Laila smiled but she didn't know if she was immune to those things. Her last school had been so small compared to Harper's. There were only 35 other girls in her class, not enough to distinguish between the popular and the losers. But it was clearly different here in Massachusetts, where the money was as old as the prejudices. Her parents were well off and more concerned with her attending her senior year across the country than the minimal damage Harper's steep tuition would do to their bank account. But their money was nothing compared to the wealth of the other Harper parents. She had Googled some of the alumni after her transfer had been accepted and was shocked at the names she recognized.
She was brought back to her new reality by the smooth sound of Sterling's voice. "Laila, would you like to dance?"
She smiled but glanced at the dance floor. The majority of people were dancing close, arms and legs tangled, hips grinding against hips, breasts pressed to chests. She didn't know how to dance like that and was embarrassed at the thought of even trying.
"I'm not a very good dancer, Sterling. I've never even been to…"
"Wait!" he cut her off, an excited grin on his face. "Don't tell me this is your first dance."
"It's not. I've been to dances before. Very chaperoned, very sober dances."
He laughed and she had to smile. His brother had the dimples, but Sterling's smile was in a league of its own. When his mouth smiled, his entire face followed suit, radiating happiness to anyone who was within range.
"Come on, then. I'll ease you into it."
Reluctantly, Laila stood up as Sterling reached for her hand. He led her to the dance floor and smiled as she looked around uncomfortably.
"Just look at me," he leaned in and whispered into her ear as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her back. She leaned into his arms as she raised her head to look at him. Her violet eyes were smoldering, their golden center nearly on fire as her pupils dilated at his touch.
Sterling knew she was innocent, this tiny girl now wrapped comfortably in his arms, but he didn't care. He didn't want to take any of that innocence from her, it seemed to be the part he enjoyed the most, the part he envied her. But as she became more comfortable with the music, as she began to move against his body and circle her hips into his groin, he could only think about how much he wanted her. Oh, the things he could do to her at that moment. He looked down his chest to where her soft breasts were pressed. Her tight dress had produced just the right amount of cleavage and now they were swelling as he pulled her closer to him. He imagined what it would be like to kiss her bubblegum lips, nip down her neck and then finally take one of her perfectly formed breasts in his mouth.
He felt himself stirring as he let his daydream play inside his head. Blood was already rushing to areas he wished it wouldn't, but he was hoping Laila would be too inexperienced to notice what was happening. Without giving her any warning, he spun her around and pulled her backside into his hips. He felt her hesitate and was scared he had gone too far too fast.
Laila couldn't believe what was happening. Her body was reacting to Sterling in ways she never knew existed. The heat between them was incredible and his touch was causing her to ache in areas she was embarrassed to talk about. When he spun her around and pressed himself against her back, she had been surprised to feel something stiff beneath his jeans. She could feel everything through the thin fabric of her dress and her imagination ran wild. She had never felt a boy so aroused before, and certainly had never been the cause of such arousal.
Her body quickly fell back in time with his and she pressed her derriere against his groin with a sensual circle of her hips. She heard him groan behind her as his hands moved from her sides and across her stomach. One of his hands continued up her body, sliding up her ribs and lightly grazing her breast as he moved up to her neck. She felt her hair being brushed to the side as his warm breath spread onto her skin. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, encouraging him to come closer. His hand had returned to her hip and was clenching her dress between his fingers when she finally felt his lips on her neck. She tilted her head to the side, allowing him more access.
The loud, pulsating music was nothing compared to Laila's heart. She could feel it pounding in her chest as Sterling showered her neck with rough, demanding kisses. She had forgotten where she was, forgotten that anyone was around aside from the person behind her holding her unbearably close. She didn't stop to think about how she should be acting in front of her new classmates, didn't stop to remember she was supposed to be making a good impression. No, as soon as Sterling's hand started to move up her stomach to cup her breast in his palm, she turned to face him, pulling his face to hers and kissing him, releasing all the tension they had built during the dance.
Sterling didn't have to think about what was happening. His body reacted instantly to Laila's kiss, his hands pulling her close, his tongue gliding over her sweet lips. Her mouth opened in response to his, his tongue instantly searching for hers, softly circling and massaging when he found it. She tasted so good to him, like strawberries. His teeth grazed her bottom lip as he positioned himself for another kiss. But as he leaned in, he couldn't find her.
Sterling opened his eyes to see Laila with her fingers to her lips, a worried expression on her face.
"I'm so sorry," she said, taking him completely by surprise. "I never act like this. I don't know what came over me."
She was speaking quickly, making her unnecessary excuse as she started to back away from his embrace. But he held her tight, not ready to let her leave.
"I don't either," he smiled at her reassuringly. "We were caught up in the moment. No harm done."
"I should go," she said, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him away.
"Laila, you don't need to leave. It was just a kiss. An amazingly sexy kiss," he added quickly when he saw the excited sparkle leave her eyes. "One that I will be dreaming about tonight and hoping to repeat the next time I see you."
Her face reddened and she looked away, checking to see if anyone had seen them. But all the couples on the dance floor seemed to be caught up in their own erotic foreplay, some even more indecent than she and Sterling had just been.
"I'm just not the type of girl who... I should go," she repeated, taking a few steps away from him even though her body was yearning to be pressed against his once again.
He caught her hand before she could run away from him. "I can tell you aren't that type of girl. And that is what makes you even more enticing than you were before."
She blinked her large violet eyes at him a few times before speaking. His words had clearly caught her by surprise. "I'll see you later, Sterling."
"At least let me walk you back to your room."
But Laila shook her head and smiled at him. "Goodnight."
She dropped her hand from his and pushed through the people, skipping up the stairs and disappearing from sight. Sterling smiled to himself and bit his bottom lip where he could still taste her. Yes, he would be seeing her later but probably earlier than she had imagined. Scanning the crowd, he found his brother talking to Rebecca Valencourt. Alistair had broken her heart numerous times before, but she always came back to him, understanding he wouldn't want anything more than a few raunchy nights together. Sterling used to feel bad for the girl, but after so many years, she should have learned her lesson. Tonight, however, he was actually glad to see the two of them together. Rebecca was a sure thing for Alistair, and a brilliant excuse for why Sterling couldn't share a room with his brother that evening. All he had to do now, was sit back and wait for them to slip away to the dormitories, hanging the red tie on the door, letting Sterling know he needed to find a different room to sleep in.
© Copyright 2017 Think Pink. All rights reserved.
Add Your Comments:
Oh lord, in love with this already! You are one of my favorite authors and I'm so excited about the new novel. Keep me updated!
Loving it can't wait for an update
love this! it sounds so good already!
LOVE IT!!!!! amazing!!!!!
wow, addicted already. lol. He sounds beautiful!!! and so does she!! wow:) Loved it ;P
Woo I love this story..It's awesome, brilliant and very well-written..I could feel the images emerging as I was reading..Can't wait to read more..Please update soon!! :D
You were right, nothing like Screaming in the Silence, but a promising start all the same.
Ooo, posh snobs; how I despise them. Great though, so very much enjoyed it. The two people that try to fade into the background but end up the centre of attention in each others eyes. Loved the eye thing, thought that was really unusual, and for me it's things like that that put your own mark on any story you write, you make it your own.
Wonder if she'll let him in. Wonder what's going to happen!
I may have got over the sadness of s.i.t.s ending by the anticipation of what's coming next in this one!
Haha nothing like it! I'm excited about this one because it has so many characters whereas Screaming only had two main ones. Four at most that I had to develop. This one moves pretty quickly too, jumps around and skips long periods of time. Its a complete 180 from my last one :)
From what I have read this is going to be a great novel. I loved it. Please keep me updated Jessica :)
Love This :) Can't Wait Until You Update! Keep Me Posted?
Cool! I can tell this will be another good one. I enjoyed the first chapter and look forward to reading more. :)
Ah, I love it already ;D The words just seem to flow off the page (: Onto the next chapter !
beautifully written...GENIUS!!!!!
Just have to say: I absolutely LOVE the name Alistair!!
And you're writing is great, as always.
I hope to actually post some stories that are read my so many people in the future as well. I just need to wait for the right time.
Anyways, keep up the good work!
Ooh sexy ;)
That was an interesting beginning. I liked how she stood up for herself and I love all the characters. Except for Julian. He's a creep. No offense or anything. lol
But I love Sterling's eyes. I have a friend who's eyes are like that. He has one blue eye and one half blue half brown eye. It's pretty cool.
Anyway, thanks for telling me about this awesome new story. I love your writing!
I love the setting of this story. and all the characters are magnificent well thought and deep. very interesting and doesn't give you a hint of what is going to happen which I love! can't wait to read more.
Ahhh though much different than 'Screaming in silence' but it's reallyyyy good. Great start, off to read the next chapter. Sorry couldn't get to it earlier :D
It's like a raunchier version of Gossip Girl
this girl is so Jenny
Can't wait to see her break loose
Woow, you are such a fantastic writer.
I was soo caught up in the whole thing,
I felt like I was there!
Can't wait to keep reading :)
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Valentine's Day is a time to show your loved ones just how important they are, usually with gifts like cards, flowers, and chocolate! Go ahead and surprise them with a dozen roses, a cuddly teddy bear, and cards with bright pink hearts – but why not try something other than chocolate this year? Show your loved ones that you care about their health by making a creative and nutritious dinner or snack, like our quick berry smoothie!
Did you know that the Prevent Cancer Foundation posts a new delicious and healthy recipe on our blog every Friday? Be sure to check back at the end of this week for our quick breakfast tacos.
Have a healthy and happy Valentine's Day!
Cheryssa and Liona


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Bruins great Bobby Orr writing a book
Former Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr, who's considered by many — us included! — to be among the two or three greatest hockey players ever to put on skates, is writing a book. Number 4's ''Orr: My Story'' will be released in October by G.P. Putnam's Sons, the publisher announced Tuesday. The two-time Stanley Cup champion (and three-time Hart Trophy winner as the NHL's most valuable player) is promising to share experiences that are ''worth putting down on paper.'' According to the publisher, Orr will reflect not only on his phenomenal career but also his angry break with onetime friend and agent Alan Eagleson, who was jailed for fraud. The 64-year-old Orr, who's now an agent and the owner of The Orr Hockey Group, was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979. Wednesday, he'll be downtown at the W Hotel, where his friend and former Bruins teammate Derek Sanderson will talk about the upcoming movie based on his life. Called "Turk,'' the film is being directed by Doug Atchisonand will star Edward Burns as Sanderson's father.


text:
2009 overall record: 9-4
2009 conference record: 5-3
Returning starters
Offense: 6, defense: 8, punter/kicker: 2
Top returners
QB Jacory Harris, T Orlando Franklin, WR Leonard Hankerson, WR LaRon Byrd, DE Allen Bailey, LB Sean Spence, LB Colin McCarthy, P/PK Matt Bosher, CB Brandon Harris, RB Graig Cooper (injured)
Key losses
OT Jason Fox, C A.J. Trump, TE Dedrick Epps, RB Javarris James, S Randy Phillips, CB Sam Shields, LB Darryl Sharpton, DT Joe Joseph
2009 statistical leaders (* returners)
Rushing: Cooper* (695 yards)
Passing: Harris* (3,352 yds)
Receiving: Hankerson* (801 yds)
Tackles: Sharpton (106)
Sacks: Bailey* (7)
Interceptions: Harris, Phillips, Micanor Regis* (2)
Spring answers
1. Depth at running back. The running backs had arguably the best spring of any position group and proved they're still deep, despite the loss of James and not having Cooper, who is recovering from a torn ACL. Lamar Miller, a redshirt freshman, was tough to bring down in the open field, and had good speed. Storm Johnson, a true freshman who enrolled early, picked up the offense quickly and ran hard. Damien Berry showed the same form he had at the end of the season when he finished strong, and Mike James returned to running back from fullback.
2. Deeper at QB. What a difference a year can make. After both backup quarterbacks transferred a year ago, this position has the best depth it's seen under coach Randy Shannon. A.J. Highsmith, Spencer Whipple and Stephen Morris all moved the ball this spring. Highsmith seemed to be the front-runner for the No. 2 job behind Jacory Harris, as he took most of the first-team reps with Harris out.
3. Defensive line shines. First-year defensive line coach Rick Petri's group was one of the Canes' bright spots this spring. The defensive ends go about three deep on each side. Adewale Ojomo, who missed all of last season with a broken jaw, is back, and the tackles were solid.
Fall questions
1. Wanted: tight ends. Miami only had two tight ends this spring, but the Canes will add four in the fall, including Chase Ford, a junior college transfer. Richard Gordon and Billy Sanders will finally get some competition. Gordon has the most experience and he's a senior, but he only played in one game last year. He was granted an extra year of eligibility and should have a bigger role this season. Sanders, a redshirt freshman, was on the scout team.
2. Transition at center. Tyler Horn isn't a rookie, but it's unclear how he'll adjust to his new role in taking over for A.J. Trump. Horn was the top option at center this spring with true freshman Shane McDermott, an early enrollee, behind him. Horn has been there for three years, and it's his job to lose.
3. Stuck in the middle. Who will take over at middle linebacker? Miami is still working out its depth issue here. Kylan Robinson started to emerge there in the spring, and Shayon Green was another option. At the end of spring, Colin McCarthy was still at strong side and Sean Spence was at weak side, but Shannon could make some moves to get the best group of linebackers in there. That could mean McCarthy moves to the middle. In the past two years, Shannon liked to put an older player there (Glenn Cook, Darryl Sharpton), but McCarthy played the majority of the spring at his usual spot. The return of Spence and Jordan Futch from injuries should help Shannon figure out the right combination.


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Astarta Holding, one of Ukraine's biggest agribusinesses, said
that its dairy operations had been hurt by the country's crisis, but downplayed
the threat to its other divisions £ despite unveiling a 93% slump in profits.
The sugar-to-cereals group unveiled earnings of E3.46m for
the first half of the year - down from E52.3m a year before.
However, with revenues rising 14.5% to E188.0m in revenues,
Victor Ivanchyk, the Astarta founder and chief executive, termed the results "encouraging"
nonetheless, with the loss down to a non-cash E78.0m foreign exchange loss reflecting
the 50% slump in the hryvnia this year.
Mr Ivanchyk said that the group's own operations - "located
far from the sites of battle" in eastern Ukraine, where separatists are fighting
government forces £ were continuing business "uninterrupted".
Sugar, grain results
In its crop growing unit, the group achieved a small rise to
5.0 tonnes per hectare in its wheat yield, and a 60% jump to 4.8 tonnes per
hectare in its barley yield, with lower prices blamed for a 32% drop to E31.0m
in divisional revenues for the half year.
In sugar, historically Astarta's top earner, revenues were
flat at E93.7m, with a recovery in sugar prices making up for a 13% drop in
sales volumes.
"Russia's ban on food imports from Ukraine will have little
or no-impact on the sugar business in Ukraine because the Russian sugar market
has been closed to Ukrainian producers for several years as a result of high
import duties," the coopany said.
The group also highlighted initial revenues of E41.5m from
its soybean processing plant opened in Globyno in east central Ukraine at the
start of the year.
Dairy setback
However, Astarta acknowledged that Russia's ban on dairy
imports from Ukraine, and the regional tensions, had undermined its beef and
dairy farming division, which fell to a loss of E10.9m, compared with earnings
of E1.90m a year before.
"Ukrainian hryvnia depreciation, [the] Russian import ban on
Ukrainian cheese, and [the] decline in living standards following the
deteriorating economic situation hurt this segment the most," the group said.
While both production and sales rose 14% by volume, lower milk
prices, in euro terms, left divisional revenues down 7.0% at E18.3m.
'Much tighter credit
The group also acknowledged the threat to its prospects from
the Ukraine crisis, and impacts such as the halving in the hryvnia against "major
foreign currencies" and a foreign exchange controls.
"The international rating agencies have downgraded sovereign
debt ratings for Ukraine.
"The combination of the above events has resulted in a deterioration
of liquidity and much tighter credit conditions where credit is available."
Astarta shares, which are listed in Warsaw, rose 0.8% to
38.00 zloty in morning deals.


text:
About Us
The Baton Rouge Film Commission (BRFC) acts as a liaison for all film and video projects working within the city of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge parish. In partnership with the Office of The Honorable Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Visit Baton Rouge, our office works to make our area the most film friendly location in Louisiana!
The mission of Visit Baton Rouge, is to increase visitation to and awareness of the Baton Rouge Area, therefore enhancing economic impact. In keeping with this mission, Visit Baton Rouge supports the Baton Rouge Film Commission in its efforts to promote Baton Rouge as a major destination for film production.
We provide:
- Initial location scouting assistance based on script
- Assistance in Securing Competitive Rates on Housing and Accommodations through its partnership with the Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Free Permits
- Assistance in Finding Production Office Space
- Liaison Services between production companies, the community and local government throughout the entire production schedule


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Oprah Winfrey set up a girls' school in Africa and left the administration and running to sexual predators. She had no idea.
Its all right, folks. She's cleaning up all the spilled milk. In the past fortnight, Winfrey has personally devoted her resources to investigate charges of sexual molestation and physical abuse. This is typical when one gender has to look at one gender all the time. They never learn from what happens in state penitential institutions.
The South African police and the Sexual Offences Unit and Child Protection are supposed to be conducting investigations. In a country where bribery and corruption is rampant, how comforting can that be? Oprah belies her trust in them when she hired her personal task force of P.I.s. to leave every stone unturned in the investigation.
Or rather, Oprah does not want to be seen as negligent or a hirer of lesbian sexual predators. She's got her back covered.
Oprah organized an emergency meeting at the school to apologize to the parents of the children. Typically, her tears and exhortations moved the gullible parents and they readily exonerated Oprah from blame.
Theatrics aside, Oprah has her personal nightmare of sexual abuse replayed before her.
Poor girls.
Love or hate Oprah? Drop a comment for your entry into this contest here.
Other cases of celebrities involved in crime are in – Celebrity Crime.
Source: Dlisted, The Socialite's Life.


text:
We are sorry, this product is currently not available.
Our Espere Collection Candle is made with 100% USA sourced, non-GMO soy wax and comes packaged in a beautiful amber glass jar. Vetiver is a rich, complex fragrance of smoky vetiver infused with notes of ylang & dried rose petals, topped off with cassis & bergamot. Hand crafted in small batches & packaged in Philadelphia, PA. For every candle purchased, Hand in Hand provides essential small business loans, which empower entrepreneurs in developing countries to create jobs & strengthen their communities. This product is American Made, Palm-free, Vegan, Paraben & Petrochemical-free, Cruelty-free.
Small - 2.75"H X 2.25"D X 4 oz
Large - 3.5"H X 2.75"D X 9 oz
For more ideas check out diy painted votives by forthemakers.com


text:
TT & Lipo Review
First my recommendation would be to please do all...
POD 27 Update
PO 5 Weeks 3-4 Days
6 Weeks PO Today
1. Is Ken Doll-Really swelling and will that eventually be flat
2. When I bend over and see that flubber is that swelling
3. Does my left side have a dog ear and will it fix itself or does he fix it
4. Is there anything I should be doing for my inner thighs, I didn't ever wear CG for it, will the skin go away?
5. Are my upper abs swelling too?
6. Do I need to put something in my belly button, I have noticed it is getting smaller.
7. What does he want me to use on the scar, I'm taking a variety of items purchased and going to let him tell me which to use.
7 Weeks PO Today
PO Week 7 and 1 day
PO Almost 8 Weeks and 1 week of 24-7 Scar Treatment
Easier way to wear garments
PO Week 9
Help-What is this
10 Week PO Update-3 Week Scar Treatment (with two day break)
11 Week Update
12 Weeks (whoo hoo 3 whole months)!
I'm really not seeing much of a difference in the last 3 weeks, I'm sure it is slight but there. I finally got brave enough to put on some swimsuits....not bad, I feel like my left side is still a little swollen but I can't tell, maybe it's fat.....LOL. I was hoping for a little more definition in my stomach, but maybe you actually have to exercise for that.....LOL. I have not started exercising yet, but it's on the To Do List. I don't see my PS until August 19th and so far all is well. I haven't spit any stiches, my scar is healing nicely, I can actually sneeze and cough with out feeling like I'm ripping apart. I pulled weeds from the Rose Bed Tuesday night and didn't feel any soreness at all. I ended my relationship of 8 years this week, and man has it been a roller coaster ride. I really have to watch my comfort eating.....Trying to keep myself busy and know that I deserve so much more than what I got from him. There are lots of pictures in this set, only because I got brave enough for the bikini. You will see in the Peach Suit the close one that I can pinch several inches, is this swelling? I don't have that on the other side. AND the Peach is my backyard nobody sees me suit, it has strings on the side and I couldn't believe how perfect they matched up with the scar. Happy Healing!
13 Week Post Op Update
15 Week PO Update
16 Weeks PO Update
5 Months Post Op.
5 Month Update-SWELLING
6 Month Update And Dog Ear Update
9 Month Post Op Review and Update
I can not say enough about Dr. Barnthouse. He took so much time with me, and tolerated all of my crazy questions. He is very confident in his abilities and it shows in all appointments. He took great care of me and I am definitely happy with the results and I'm only POD 12. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel in 8 weeks. I did a lot of research as to the best in the Kansas City area and out of several surgeons decided on Dr. Barnthouse, I would highly recommend him. You may pay a little more, but you get what you pay for. I am now 7 months PO and still totally crazy for Dr. Barnthouse. I went in Monday and he repaired a slight dog ear. He is absolutely wonderful, and I would recommend him to anyone and everyone! Just look at my pictures!


text:
It is a left over from the move to set_* variables used everywhere. Inconsistencies were in all the write* routines called in hypermail.c I removed the unneeded parameters and baselined it.
# What protects the "filename" buffer from being overrun?
# Except that other limits on "dir" and "datename" might warranty it,
# this kind of code just makes me nervous. :)
Good question. I'll look into it tomorrow and see if msprintf can be used instead. This seems to be the case in all the write* routines, not just writedates().
# c) I know that mprintf seems to be used. The mprintf.h file seems
# to be covered under the MPL v1.0. There is a MPL v1.1.
# Is this all okay with the GPL which some of the rest of hypermail is
# licensed or do you have seperate mprintf from the program?
This is a question that will take some research as I do not have a copy of both in front of me. Some of this is also up to Daniel as he was the one that put MPL on his submitted code. For that matter I'm not too happy with GPL but that was inherited from HP. Maybe when we have replaced all the code inherited from the original 1.02 we can decide which fits the hypermail distribution better. ;-)
# As for the new hypermail release, my comments made a couple of month
# ago still hold and I submitted a couple of replacements for the ugly
# make process in the archive subdirectory. They are based on gmake right
# now, but I would distribute them anyway as alternative.
This was reworked entirely this weekend and I'm testing it now. If things go as I hope then archive changes will be a part of the new release.
-- Kent Landfield Phone: 1-817-545-2502 Email: kent_at_landfield.com http://www.landfield.com/ Email: kent_at_nfr.net http://www.nfr.net/ Search the Usenet FAQ Archive at http://www.faqs.org/faqs/ Search the RFC/FYI/STD/BCP Archive at http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/Received on Mon 29 Nov 1999 04:46:31 AM GMT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Sat 13 Mar 2010 03:46:11 AM GMT GMT


text:
E650 S4e Meters
The E650 S4e combines elements of simplicity and upgradability for a highly functional polyphase meter that reduces overall ownership costs. Landis+Gyr developed the E650 S4e in response to the industry's ever-changing environment, with more features, a wide voltage range and self-diagnostics to provide function and value.
The S4e incorporates 128k of on-board memory storage for load profile, self-reads, and event logs providing an easy upgrade path without the need for an additional option board. Load profile can be configured for up to 15 channels of information from a choice of 24 different storage metrics. The build-a-meter concept provides modular growth in the S4e with software upgrades for time of use, reactive energy metering, transformer loss compensation, and load profile. The meter's flexibility also enables the addition of any combination of communication and relay option boards.
Key features include:
• KYZ with Programmable Pulse Output Value
• Demand Threshold Alert
• Voltage Threshold Alert
• Diagnostics
• Load Control
• Up to two inputs from external devices
• Pulses input to load profile
• Activate real-time rate
• Optional transformer loss compensation
• AMI friendly


text:
Casper to Run For Idaho Falls Mayor
EastIdahoNews.com Staff
Updated at
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) — Rebecca Casper announced her intentions to run for Mayor of Idaho Falls this week. She currently is an adjunct professor at BYU-Idaho and Eastern Idaho Technical College where she teaches courses on American Government. She earned her PhD from UC-Berkeley and has enjoyed several appointments in the private sector including ownership of Omnia Strategies, a political and professional consulting business. Dr. Casper has also worked in Washington D.C. as a research associate at the Brookings Institution. She currently chairs the Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Committee, and has been active in both county and regional GOP politics. She raised her kids on the west-side of Idaho Falls and has been active in her children's education having served in a variety of capacities with Idaho Falls School District 91. She is a co-founder and served as the first director of the Mayor's Scholarship Fund program, which provides awards to local students in grades 8-12. You can more information on Dr. Casper on her website: casperformayor.com
She joined Tim Lewis on Idaho's Morning News on Thursday.
Hear Rebecca and Tim, HERE:


text:
The Novato Milestones Wind Ensemble, a group with musicians of many ages, will present its fourth annual spring concert at 7:30 p.m. June 9 at San Jose Middle School at 1000 Sunset Parkway.
The event is free, though donations will be accepted at the door.
For more information, visit the group's website at http://novatomilestoneswindensemble.org.
Send us your news: We want more news items from Marin's cities and towns. Email them to our City Desk at email@example.com, mail them to City Desk, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903, or fax them to 415-382-7209. For more information about towns in Marin, visit the IJ's website at marinij.com.


text:
Double award for Duckhaven
PUBLISHED: 08:00 19 February 2013
Westward Ho! firm honoured at South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
A WESTWARD Ho! business has picked up two awards at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
Westward Living at Duckhaven Stud won a silver award in the best self-catering cottage category, and a bronze award for access.
Judges looked at more than 300 entries before announcing 61 winners at the ceremony at the Eden Project.
Westward Living owner Kathy Murdoch said: "We are so proud to win these two awards for our Westward Ho! based business. It's an incredible achievement in what is only our third year of trading.
"We have had an active focus in this area with our recent developments both at Duckhaven and Latitude 51 and it was great to see that our investment into accessible tourism has been acknowledged."