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The four cheapest ways to spend next winter on Colorado's slopes
To reiterate an old axiom used often at Balance Sheet HQ: Skiing is only expensive for poor planners.
If you don't want to pay close to $200 for a lift ticket for the 2016-17 season, plan ahead and act now, a full eight to nine months before the season begins.
The spring pass deals have sprung and it's an all-out blitz by the resort world to make a dent in the gold standard of season passes: Vail Resorts' incredibly popular Epic Pass.
The largest resort operator in North America last week announced a $10 price increase for its Epic Pass, which now costs $809 and delivers unrestricted access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Park City in Utah, California's Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood, Australia's Perisher and three urban Midwest ski areas. The company, in a second-year of the free-candy-for-kids strategy that has helped grow its season-pass dominance, is offering free skiing for Colorado's elementary school students with its Epic SchoolKids pass. Epic SchoolKids provides four free days at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone.
Vail Resorts sells more than 350,000 Epic Passes every year, an amount that likely exceeds the cumulative total of all other season passes sold in North America. The rest of the resort industry is escalating its season-pass game, largely with deals that unite partners in an organized effort to combat the Epic Pass.
Within days of announcing the Epic Pass pricing, the deals from Vail Resorts competitors started flowing. A mingling of several private and public resort operators slashed the 2015 price of their M.A.X. Pass by $100 for 2016-17, offering five days at each of 25 ski resorts across North America for $599.
Winter Park and Copper Mountain are teaming up again, offering a free kid pass with the purchase of an adult pass. That deal is good for the $499 Rocky Mountain Super Pass +, which offers unlimited skiing at Winter Park, Copper Mountain and Eldora plus six days at Steamboat and three days at Crested Butte, as well as the $399 Winter Park- or Copper Mountain-only pass. (Math: A family of four skis all season for $798 to $998.)
The 2016-17 Mountain Collective Pass also included a kids' pass deal, with $1 children passes with the purchase of a $379 adult pass. The Mountain Collective provides two days at 12 resorts, including Idaho's Sun Valley, Utah's Alta / Snowbird, Mammoth, Aspen / Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Taos and Squaw Valley / Alpine Meadows.


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The Anchor Inn was built in 1925, a full restoration was completed in 2005 and the Inn has enjoyed many, many updates that continue to this day. The Inn offers four elegantly appointed suites ranging from studio, one bedroom and two bedroom units.
All are tastefully furnished and have complete kitchen and dining facilities, private entrances and convenient access to our secluded tropical plunge pool courtyard and traditional Old Florida sitting porches.
Features include:
|An island landmark since 1925.
- Free Wireless Internet Service
- Complimentary Laundry
- Non-smoking Suites
- Outdoor Heated Pool
- Full Kitchens in all Suites
- Central Air Conditioning
- Cable Television
- Close to the Village and Beaches
|Tropical plunge pool.
Boca Grande is a village without a stop light, and no doorstep mail delivery. It's a state of mind as much as a place.
|Whidden's Marina
The Anchor Inn is located in the heart of the Historic District and is within easy walking distance of restaurants, boutique shopping and the Gulf of Mexico. Golf carts are the preferred mode of transportation to all points of the island.
Gasparilla Island remains an undiscovered tropical escape. In less than two square miles, it combines uncluttered beaches, outstanding fishing, a multitude of wildlife, lush tropical landscape and a small village that caters to those who have chosen its way of life.
|Porches, porches and porches.
Gasparilla Island is conveniently located in southwest Florida with shopping, entertainment, and a variety of beach and outdoor activities to make your visit to Boca Grande one you will cherish forever.
You will find a wealth of information here at anchorinnbocagrande.com to help plan your stay on our island. Spend a few minutes with us. You're also welcome to give us a "like" on Facebook.
You'll find a comprehensive collection of links to just about everything Boca Grande. And, of course, there's our (unofficial) visitors guide to the island where we share a few local "secrets" about this truly remarkable place in the sun we call home.
|Boca Grande Lighthouse.
We also encourage you to check out the Anchor Inn's reviews on TripAdvisor.com.
Questions? The folks at Parsley-Baldwin Realty will be happy to help. Just give them a call at 941.964.5600.

subset: commoncrawl


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Denver's budget is a financial blueprint that maps the many services the City provides and how those services are funded. Services include police and fire protection, snow removal, street maintenance, recreation programs and parks and libraries.
Because of the economic downturn and a structural imbalance between expense growth and revenue growth, the City has closed $450 million in budget shortfalls over the past four years. The 2013 gap is expected to be $94 million.
The City appointed a Structural Financial Task Force to explore various options to eliminate the budget imbalance. The Task Force issued 29 recommendations in January, saying that to maintain quality services and create a sustainable Denver, we must permanently eliminate the budget gap.
Mayor Hancock studied the recommendations and is seeking your input to help deliver Denver's future for generations to come.
Using the interactive tool (which you can reach through the button on the right), provide Mayor Hancock with your preferred combination of cost-saving and revenue enhancing measures to balance the budget and close the gap.
|Public Meeting #1
Thursday, March 22
The EXDO Hall, 3545 Larimer St.
|Public Meeting #2
Saturday, March 31
Cook Park Recreation Center, 7100 Cherry Creek Drive South
You can also email us at email@example.com with your suggestions and input.
January 23, 2011 - Mayor Hancock thanks Structural Financial Task Force for Final Report
February 3, 2012 - Mayor Hancock Outlines Structural Financial Task Force Next Steps
March 22, 2012 - Mayor Hancock Launches New Website to Gain Input on Denver's Financial Future
Contact Mayor Hancock or request a meeting, his attendance at an event, a letter or a proclamation.
Do you have ideas on how to fix Denver's budget gap? Click below to learn more, and then let us know: what would you do to fix Denver's budget gap?


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Romantic Shorts presents a frank and honest story of attraction and true love. Through the eyes of cheeky Jenny Tanger, Christine Benson takes the reader on a ride with a melt-your-heart romantic bathed in an Oklahoma sunrise. And who doesn't love a story with a happy ending? Even if it's not quite the ending you were expecting…
Welcome. And enjoy!
Body Art
by Christine Benson
When I ran out of toilet paper at five-thirty in the morning, I could tell it wasn't going to be a good day.
It was Tuesday, my day off. I had dragged myself out of bed to pee and, sure enough, that did it for the TP. At that time of day, you really don't feel like running out to the store to stock up, but I figured I might as well do it now. I am good at making myself do what I need to do. Even when I don't want to.
I work at a salon. I do some hair, but mostly makeup. A lot of my clients are brides wanting to look good for at least one day of their married life, which I can understand. Kerry, one of the other hairstylists at the shop, says the only benefit to being married is being able to let yourself go a little bit. I think it's kind of sweet, though – lifetime commitment, "I do," and all that. And if you get to let yourself go, so much the better. Maybe that's what love is all about.
The salon where I work is called Numbers. The name might not make much sense at first, but it does if you know Jo, the owner. She likes hair okay but what really gets her fired up is the bottom line – numbers. And I will say, Jo's done pretty well for herself. I'd like to see the numbers on her tax return.
Me, I do all right. I have to give a share of my take to Jo, but I can't complain; I get by. Like I said, I do lots of brides. Jo or Kerry will do their hair, and then I take a run at their faces. It's pretty interesting work, actually. But don't confuse "pretty interesting" for "pretty" – some of these brides are no prize by anyone's standards. Kerry likes to kid me that I might as well work for an undertaker, since corpses probably look better than some of these girls.
Like this one girl who came in, Sharrisse. She was barely sixteen and, well, she was crazy. She was really tan (tanning's a very popular hobby here in Tulsa), and she'd just gotten a tattoo of her future husband's name on her butt. I know because she showed me. She called it "body art." "Ass art" is more like it, I remember thinking at the time.
Sharrisse and her boyfriend were on their way out to Eureka Springs, the big marriage place in these parts for people in a rush. And her mom didn't know a thing about any of it. This chick was so young and so jacked up on meth and God knows what all that Kerry was even wanting to call her mom and let her know what was going on. I didn't really care if she called or not, but Jo put her foot down.
"We don't interfere in our customers' lives here at Numbers," she said, real serious like.
Except with how they look, I thought, but I didn't say it out loud since I figured Jo was probably right as far as general shop policy goes.
Still, I almost wish we had stepped in that one time. Sharrisse, I think, could have used some motherly guidance. I doubted their marriage would even last six months. I wouldn't have laid money on it, that's for sure.
But I'm getting off track. Sharrisse still crossed my mind quite a bit, maybe because I could relate to her a little. Not because I'm crazy (though I do have my moments) but because we looked a lot alike. Long brown hair with moderate gold-toned highlights, dark eyes and lips so pale they look weird without the exact right shade of lipstick. Kerry said we looked like sisters.
And of course I got Sharrisse the exact right shade of lipstick. I am a professional after all. I even gave her the tube to take with her, because I was worried it would wear off during the ride to Eureka. She seemed like a pork rinds and Slurpee kind of girl, and I knew that lipstick didn't stand a chance. But I bet she made a beautiful bride.
There I go, rambling again – it drives Jo crazy the way I jump around in my stories. So like I said, it was five-thirty in the morning, and already I could tell it was just going to be one of those days. I pulled on a sweatshirt, stuck my feet into some black flip-flops and headed out for QuikTrip. I yelled, "Bye Presley" as I shut the door behind me. That's my cat.
When I stepped outside, it was almost completely dark. It kind of freaked me out. It was only March, and we'd been having real warm weather, but I guess the sun didn't feel like getting up just yet. It was throwing out some feelers, though. A glow of light, so faint at first you thought you were imagining it, then these pink and orange waves of light, radiating up from the skyline, backlighting the trees in silhouette. It was actually really pretty. I couldn't think of the last time I'd seen the sun rise. Maybe never.
Nature, I thought. It's not so bad.
And then I thought how weird that it was that all those mornings I'd been off in dreamland, snoozing, that same old sun had just kept on rising. Coming up every morning, going down every night, no matter what the hell I was doing.
It jarred me a little, thinking about it. Not like I think I'm the center of the universe or anything, but to realize I had no effect whatsoever on nature, the sun, basically the whole planet, was pretty freaky. I felt weird all of a sudden, like I knew too much, like Adam and Eve after they ate the apple. Blissful ignorance, I guess they call it, and I was wishing I was ignorant again. The sunrise was pretty, but it irked me that that sun didn't care one bit what I did. And it pissed me off even more that not only did I have to run out at some ungodly hour just to buy TP, but I had to have this unrequested "revelation" at the same time.
Yup, I could tell when I first got up that it wasn't going to be a good day, and now I could tell even more. I told myself that I'd be back home in my bed in fifteen minutes, tops, and then I could fall back asleep and forget all about the sunrise and what it did or didn't mean.
As I started up my car and pulled out of my driveway, that sun kept on coming, streaking like wildfire, sending colors across the sky and finally showing its face, peeking up over the skyline. I was driving right into it and it didn't care, it was shining in my eyes and I had to hold my hand up to block the glare.
Fuck that sun, I thought, fuck it all the way.
I'm not at my most amenable in the morning, and that sun glaring in my eyes wasn't helping things any.
It's a straight shot from my house to QuikTrip, less than a mile, so naturally the sun was in my eyes the whole way, and I was glad to turn into the store parking lot. Even though it only took me a couple of minutes, by the time I got to the store the sky was pretty much light. One good thing, I figured, was the store wouldn't be too crowded this time of day, and I should be able to run in and grab my "bathroom tissue" and be out of there in no time.
There were only a couple other cars in the parking lot, and I even debated about leaving my car running, but in the end figured I better not. My Sunbird was twenty-nine years old and the inside door handles were coming loose, but I didn't want some psycho road rage kid to snag it on me just because I'd been too lazy to take the keys out of the ignition. QuikTrip could attract some pretty wild characters, and I doubted that the rest of the people there at this time of day were good-hearted, clean-living twenty-three-year-old cosmetologists who'd run out of toilet paper. I turned off my engine and on a sudden feeling I even locked up the car, even though I don't usually.
Yeah, I just had a bad feeling. This morning was coming on strong and strange, and I didn't like it.
When I walked into the store, the guy at the counter said, "Morning."
I took a look, and he was kind of cute. He looked to be in his thirties, and he was a little pudgy, but he had brown eyes and full lips, maybe a little Mexican in him, just real kind of passionate-looking. There was another guy back there too, stocking some soda or something. He was also cute, but he looked to be about fifteen and had red hair and he was too short for me. I'd been noticing guys a lot, spring fever, I guess, and also I'd just broken up with my boyfriend Jace a few months ago. So even though I was grungy and morning breath and wearing flannel boxers and no makeup (which for me as a cosmetologist is a big deal), I automatically went into flirt mode.
"You're up early," I said to the Mexican guy, kind of moseying up to the counter and playing with some lighters by the cash register.
"So are you," he said, smiling a little. "You been up all night?"
I thought, what the hell was I doing, juicing on some QuikTrip dude who had to be a good ten or twelve years older than me. But I kept on doing it.
"Pretty much," I said. "I haven't seen you here before. But I guess I'm not usually in here at this time."
"I work the two a.m. to ten shift," he said. Now he was smiling real sexy at me. "I don't think you've been up all night. You look like you just got out of bed."
I swear, the words just popped out of my mouth. "Doesn't mean I haven't been up all night."
I was definitely a freak. Talking trash to this punk. Ridiculous. It was that sun, it had turned me crazy.
I looked away and headed over to where I thought the toilet paper would be. I know he thought I was trying to act cool but really I was trying to find the normal me again. Plus I was embarrassed after that flirt talk to buy a bunch of toilet paper, and was even wondering if I should go to the Albertson's down the way to get it. The checkers there are mostly women; not much chance of trashy bedroom talk coming out of me there.
As I was in the process of making this hugely important decision, I figured that in the meantime, I'd get a Diet Pepsi Slurpee, even though it might keep me from falling back asleep. But I wasn't even really tired anymore. Then I noticed they had fat-free strawberry frozen cappuccinos, and I'm trying to eat healthier these days. It really does show in the skin.
I was almost done filling up my cup when I heard the cute guy at the counter say hello to someone, and I automatically turned my head to see who'd come in. As you can tell, I was in a strange frame of mind, and I had this bizarre thought that it might be someone about to rob the store. So I looked towards the door, and that's when I saw him.
No, it wasn't Jace and it wasn't Elvis, though that would've been cool. It was this amazing-looking guy. He was just wearing jeans and a white t-shirt but I could tell his body was hard. He was wearing black biker boots and had this long, shiny blonde hair that was all different shades of gold and instantly made me think of the sunstreaks shooting across the sky while I was driving. He was in his late twenties, I figured, and I was sure he wasn't here to buy toilet paper. And at that point, neither was I. No way I was buying that shit in front of him.
I vaguely heard him say "Hey" in response to the friendly Mexican checker who, believe me, was no longer looking so good.
And then he turned my way and I saw his eyes, so clear and so blue, like the sky to his sunstar hair. I felt faint but somehow stayed standing. Holy crap. Is this what I was missing out on every day by sleeping in?
I wondered what he was buying. Then, sure as sugar, he looked at me. I mean right at me. This time I really did feel like I was going to faint. I also had completely forgotten that there was anyone else in the store and I was wearing boxers and no lipstick and hadn't curled my hair. What I didn't forget was that I wasn't wearing a bra and for some reason I felt like he could tell. Well, hell, of course he could tell. I certainly wasn't looking too well put together. Not like a makeup artist at all.
All this time I was still looking into those eyes of his. This was sure turning into more than just a TP-run to QT. Strange as it sounds, I was really thinking this could be it. It.
He had walked right up to me and I could smell him. He wasn't sweating or anything, he just had this manly bad-ass biker smell. It was turning me on. I mean really turning me on. I've always been partial to bikers.
Then he spoke. "What's your name? You look familiar."
My name. Damn. What was my name.
"Jenny Tanger," I said with kind of a sigh of relief. I hadn't completely lost it.
"I swear I know you from somewhere. Maybe Hibiscus? You been there?"
That was this Caribbean bar and grill right down the street. It was all right. I preferred a placed called the Blue Rose Café.
"Not lately," I finally answered his question. This guy was going to think I was an idiot, waiting five minutes to answer him every time. I was getting kind of excited, though. He was totally hitting on me, I could tell. I'd been waiting to find a good rebound guy after Jace. I'd been thinking maybe someone a little younger, like 20 or even 19. This guy was older, though, maybe 25, 26, but I didn't mind. Thank God I didn't have any bad zits. And I was pretty sure I'd put on some cherry Chapstick before I went to bed last night. Maybe my lips still had some color.
He kept on with the "Don't I know you from somewhere?" thing, naming a few different local clubs. And he kept staring at me, like he was thinking really hard, trying to place me. I liked it. Just his looking at me made me feel sexy even though I knew in my head I must look like crap. And I couldn't remember if I'd brushed my teeth – probably not. I'd rinsed with Listerine last night, hopefully it was still working.
Finally I interrupted him. "Look, I don't think I've ever met you before. I'm pretty sure I'd remember."
He took that pretty matter of factly, not like a compliment, which I thought was cool. Finally he let it go.
"Maybe it was in a dream," he said, and one side of his mouth curled up just a little bit. It was real cute.
"What's your name, dreamer boy?" I said. I seemed to have gotten hold of my senses. In other words, I could talk again.
"Joey," he said.
I smiled. Such an adorable name for such a hot, tough-looking guy, and for some reason it kind of rang a bell. But like I said, no way I'd ever forget this guy, so this had to be the first time I'd met him.
He proceeded to get a cup of coffee from the self-serve coffee pot. I stood there while he filled his cup; there seemed to be an understanding that our conversation would continue. I was also thinking how completely off-base I'd been in forecasting the day. This morning was turning out so fantastic I almost couldn't believe it. Jo and Kerry were never going to believe it either. Meeting Mr. Universe over a frozen cappuccino machine at QuikTrip! Ridiculous.
We walked up to the counter and he paid for my drink. Naturally I'd forgotten all about the toilet paper. In fact, I was feeling so sexy I didn't think I'd ever have to pee again.
We stepped out into the parking lot and just stood there for a minute, drinking our drinks and squinting into the bright sun. I offered him a taste of my Slurpee. He took a sip from my straw, and a shiver ran down me as I thought about his lips touching the same surface that mine just had.
Then he looked into me and smiled real wide. "You up for a ride?"
A flash of excitement hit me as I connected his offer with the shiny black and silver Ducati in front of me. I'd only been on a motorcycle once before, with a guy I was dating named Cal who was a drinker and had skinny legs but a gut hanging out over his jeans, on all sides. I broke up with him after we took that ride on his Harley, it was just too gross grabbing onto his fat middle. And he wasn't even divorced yet from his wife, so I think that was probably a smart move all around.
"Yeah, I'll go for a ride!" I said. I didn't even bother trying to act cool, I was just so excited. "It's my day off. Nowhere I have to be."
We tossed our drinks in the trash and got on that motorcycle of his, he didn't have any helmets and I didn't ask. That's one convenient thing about Oklahoma – no helmet law. Riding with him was so different it felt like the first time I'd ever been on a bike.
We turned left out of QuikTrip, leaving my pathetic old Sunbird behind. We headed over to Riverside Drive and went south, just cruising on down the road, and then we hooked up with the highway. The sun was fully up by now, and it sure was a pretty day. The sky was bright, bright blue with puffy clouds, not too hot, and the wind was blowing in my face and whipping back my hair as I clutched onto this hard-bellied stranger. I pressed my cheek against his back and closed my eyes and for a minute I felt like I was flying.
We rode like that for maybe an hour, kind of aimlessly, just cruising, and it didn't even seem weird, none of it, from QT on down the line, it just felt like it was all natural.
Finally he pulled off at a rest stop and we stepped off the bike. He ran his fingers through that shiny hair of his that wasn't even tangled from the wind, unlike mine, and again the one corner of his mouth turned up slightly. "I feel like I just snatched you out of your bed."
I was smiling, too. "You did. Usually I don't let a guy see me looking like this till we've been together six months, at least."
"I guess I got lucky," he said, and it didn't seem like he was being sarcastic. He looked at me another second, and I felt all warm inside, glowing, and I didn't even care that he hadn't even kissed me yet. I already felt so close to him. Joey.
He kind of exhaled, a little sigh. "I've got to get to work before too long."
"What kind of work?" I was really curious, I couldn't imagine him sitting at a desk in some office doing some stupid job.
"I fix bikes. I have a shop."
Too cool. A bike shop.
"Well, it's still early," I said. "What about breakfast?"
I wasn't even hungry, I just wanted to sit over a table and look at him. And hear about him too, I'm not all superficial, don't get the wrong idea. But stuff like this doesn't happen to me every day, and it was amazing being swept off my feet at QuikTrip. I didn't want it to be over yet. Can you blame me?
"I'll eat some breakfast with you," he said, this time smiling full out. His teeth were white and even. He even looked like he'd brushed them this morning, unlike me.
Still, I smiled back. I'd never felt like this before. Joey. I kept thinking his name and then I said it. "Joey." I liked how it sounded coming out of my mouth. Again, it sounded almost familiar for some reason but then again, not like it was an uncommon name or anything. I was probably just thinking of that guy Joey, the actor, whatever his last name is, the cute one.
"Jenny," he said back to me. And it was so sweet, the way he said it, that I leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth. It tasted like cinnamon and sugar.
He pulled back for a second and looked at me, those blue eyes burning into my heart, and for a second I was afraid he didn't like me or that my breath was just really bad.
Then he said, "You're really beautiful," and he traced my lipstick-less lips with his finger. I just stood there staring at him while he did it. He was the beautiful one. My eyes were too heavy and dark and my lips were too pale, but right then I didn't care. I did feel beautiful. And this time he kissed me, and we didn't stop kissing for a while. I felt like I'd known him for so long. And the way he was so tender and so sweet, it seemed like he'd known me forever but hadn't seen me in a really long time. It felt like he'd missed me.
Eventually, of course, we stopped kissing. It was the most romantic rest stop I've ever been in, though, I'll tell you that. We got back on his bike and this time, when I wrapped my arms around him, I felt possessive, like he was mine. It was a the best feeling in the world. We cruised down that highway, wind in our faces, and for the first time ever, I felt like I had a soul – and that soul was on fire.
I was hungry by the time we pulled into the back of Brookside by Day for breakfast. Hungry for food and for him. I wanted pancakes soaked in syrup. And oatmeal, for some reason I was dying for oatmeal, thick and gooey, with nuts and dried cranberries and chocolate chips.
We walked up to the entrance of the café. He reached in front of me to grab the door, and his T-shirt slid up on his arm. That's when I caught a glimpse of tattoo-blue – a little heart, and I could just make an "Sh." Immediately I got this really sick feeling in my stomach and, yeah, in my newly-discovered soul.
Because I knew what the rest of the tattoo said.
I stopped and looked at him stupidly as he stood there, holding the door, and I wanted to cry.
Finally I said it. "Sharrisse."
He started. Then he glanced kind of self-consciously at the "art" on his arm, and finally looked back at me, letting the door slam shut. His blue eyes looked, well, bluer.
He smiled, but it was a sad smile now.
"Now I remember. That salon, that's where I've seen you before. You did her makeup. For the wedding."
I remembered now, too. The tattoo I'd seen when Sharrisse proudly pulled up her tight little skirt and flashed her skinny butt at me. He'd come to pick her up afterwards, but I was busy working on a walk-in who was going to the prom. I had to ask even though I wasn't sure I wanted to hear.
"Are you still together?"
He looked at my lips and my eyes and then up into the sky. "No."
The way he said it told me everything I needed to know.
"Tattoos can be removed," I said. "Even 'body art.''"
He looked down, not saying anything. And suddenly it was gone, all of it.
We passed on breakfast and got on his bike, and he dropped me back off at QuikTrip, where my car was. I went in and bought a four-pack of toilet paper and smiled at the Mexican guy. Then on a whim I drove over to Numbers.
Ordinarily Jo would be pissed that I wasn't dressed nice, but the shop didn't open till eight and it was only around seven-thirty. Hopefully she wouldn't even be in yet.
She was, though.
"What are you doing here?" she said when I walked into the shop. She was at the cash register doing something with the credit card receipts. Before I could answer, she said, "Jen, I know it's your day off, but you don't need to be in here looking like a slob."
"Relax," I said. "We're not even open, and I'll just be a minute. I need to get Sharrisse Jones's number."
She remembered the name, I could tell. She looked at me hard, those black eyes just beaming into me. She could be a real bitch when it came to running the shop.
I didn't care, though, I stared right back at her.
"What are you thinking, Jen?" she said. "You don't need to be calling customers. We don't need to get involved."
I ignored her and went over to our customer sign-in book and flipped through. It was a big book, it went back to when the shop first opened.
I found Sharrisse in there pretty quick, and then I used my cell phone to call. It rang a few times, and then a male voice said, "Hello, Hibiscus."
"I'm looking for Sharrisse Jones?" I said, confused. Then I realized it was Hibiscus, the bar.
"I think she left her cell phone here last night. I picked up because I thought it might be her calling."
Apparently Sharrisse was leaving her cell phone in bars. Not a great sign. I hoped she wasn't still doing meth.
I asked the guy, "If I call right back, can you let it go to her voicemail?"
"Sure," he said, and hung up.
I stood there a minute, looking at the phone. I didn't have to do this. I knew where he worked. I could just forget about all of this and keep riding with him. Joey.
It was just that goddamn tattoo. And the fact that it was still there.
Hell, I thought, what was the point anyway? Sharrisse might be back for her phone, she might not, my message wasn't going to change anything, I knew that. I guess the point was, I wanted to do something.
So I called the number again, and this time after a few rings her voicemail kicked in: "Yo! This is Sharrisse Jones, it's so great to hear from you and I'm so bummed I missed your call. You better leave me a message!"
The greeting made me want to puke. This was the chick Joey was still pining for. This.
I said, "Hey, Sharrisse, it's Jenny Tanger from Numbers Salon." I hesitated a second. "I think he misses you, Sharrisse. Joey. I think he misses you a lot." I know, I know – a useless message if I've ever heard one. But I couldn't think of anything else to say. So I clicked off the phone.
And I thought of that fucking sun, going on and on.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Romantic Shorts thanks you for joining us for Christine Benson's Body Art. Please feel free to visit Christine Benson's Romantic Shorts Author's Page to learn more about this talented writer. You can leave a comment for Christine, other readers, or Romantic Shorts using the reply form below, our contact form on our Contact Us page, or by sharing this story with friends and family using the share buttons below.
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The family of race-bred ATV's in the Can-Am stable has just become a bit bigger, with the pair of fire breathing engineering marvels that are ready for battle. There are two very different DS450's to look at so sit still and be patient as we tell you about the new kids on the block.
Back in the early years Can-Am brought racing talent clammering to get a chance to ride the industry's best motorcycles. Today we have MX/Motocross ATV racing and XC/cross country ATV racing to draw that same passion.
What you get Box Stock
In stock form the DS450 contains many features that are still included on the 2009 versions. The base model has upgrades that can make racing a little less expensive for amateurs to get into, and can be updated to get more-advanced riders up through the ranks. There is the Rotax 4-TEC electronic fuel injected engine that takes its design from the Rotax v990 used in road racing bikes. This engine has been tweaked to withstand the tough off-road riding styles of cross country and motocross racing, and with EFI you'll notice a sharp and crisp throttle response that makes the Rotax engine rip to life. This engine is also ready for race-tuning right out of the box.
The front suspension on the stock DS450 gives up 9.5 inches of travel with 10.2 in the rear. This will all change though with the race-ready MX and XC versions. The front suspension is also called the R-type double A-arm design by Can-Am and it really soaks up the bumps, along with tracking straighter.
Both front and rear shocks as you'll remember form last years DS450 are KYB made and High Pressure Gas shock or HPG for short. These shocks are compression and rebound adjustable with a threaded preload adjustment. This makes getting the ride comfort at any speed on the track or trail worked out beautifully.
Having a lightweight rear swinger, hollow axle and extended reach hubs gives the rear of the DS450 less un-sprung weight and that translates to a faster response and more stable handling for the machine. The brakes are also designed by Wilwood who manufactures braking systems for high speed race cars. They have the developmental power to stop the world.
Can-Am has designed what they think will revolutionize the industry, in that the inverted dual piston caliper is mounted inside the disc instead of outside like typical ATV brakes. This allows the kingpin axis and ball joints to be extended into the wheel farther. This engineering helps reduce wheel scrub and steering kickback.
Can-Am DS450x MX
So starting with the MX side of things, let's look at what Can-Am claims will catch the industry off guard.
Go to Page 2 for video and more details...
Can-Am DS450x MX
Of course the stock DS450 will make its return for 2009 but this is where things change - and its called the DS450x MX. This quad has been specifically designed for the motocross racer in mind. The sleek lines and low center of mass makes the DS450 MX a potent motocross machine.
The front suspension is where the intense motocross styling is first noticed. The A-arms are two inches wider than its stock form, which gives the DS450 MX a 50-inch wide stance and gives relief the racers wallet from the price of expensive aftermarket A-Arms. The Camber and Caster is fully adjustable on the MX model so getting the race ready quad steering control dialed is easier than ever. Both front and rear suspension travel is identical at 10.7 inches. The shocks on the MX version are Kashima coated to reduce friction and shock fade. You get quality nerfs with nets and ITP quadcross tires mounted on ITP T-9 beadlock wheels on the rear and standard rolled edge rims in the front.
The rear axle in the DS 450x MX is adjustable as well. Removing or adding spacers on the axle can change the width of the rear wheels. The adjustments can be made from a narrow 46 inches on out to 50 inches in half-inch increments.
On the styling side of things you can easily remove the headlights and the fenders are easily changeable as well.
With the highlights on the MX side of Can-Am's DS450x MX we also see many little things that make it an awesome value. The DS450x MX is even factory-equipped with a tethered kill switch, which is required by most racing series.
Can-Am DS450x XC
The DS450x XC version has very similar features but is designed for a more woods-friendly ride. The front end is a modest 46 inches wide, so the machine will walk through the tight stuff with ease. An anti-vibe steering stem is also part of this package and its +1 as well. Riders can keep some cash in their pocket, as most would add this feature before serious competition.
The shocks on the DS450x XC are very similar to the MX version but these are limited to only 9.6 inches of travel in the front and 10.5 in the rear. The Suspension is also fully adjustable with compression, rebound and preload adjustments, but unlike its MX brother, it only has caster adjustability on the front A-arms. Nerfs are also supplied in this package, with the addition of heel guards. If you are uncomfortable riding with nerfs (and brave with your feet), they can be removed very easily.
The rear axle is adjustable so when the track allows, you can still get more width in the rear wheels by simply adding spacers.
When we think of woods racing, we also think of stumps and rocks that destroy your ride - right? Well, Can-Am thought of that as well and with factory-installed skids on the belly and rear swinger it is protected right from the showroom. They even thought about your hands and controls, as Can-Am gives up hand guards on its XC ride.
With all these features it's a sure thing that riders can keep their minds on the race, already having the basics they need to be competitive.
Go to Page 3 for Ride Impressions...
A New Fan of Motocross
Riding is always the fun part of our product introductions, and I discovered some things about myself that made me fall in love with one of these machines...
Our first ride of the morning was on the DS450x MX.With a few adjustments I found a very comfortable ride position. The bars needed to be moved forward and up just a bit so I could feel more in control while standing in the attack position. The suspension also needed some tweaking to get my weight more evenly sprung.
Once on the track I noticed how smooth the power delivery was and the motor had to be twisted up just a bit to get into the power range. Once I made several laps I began to get brave and took some chances that I wouldn't normally take. The quad just seemed to fit my riding style and I started to get some air for the first time.
The DS450x MX felt very nimble and controllable in the air. The lightweight construction made it feel like I could throw the quad anywhere I wanted and recover with little to no problem. As my ego took over I found myself jumping farther and higher. I have to explain that I have never felt comfortable enough on any quad to jump long distance and quite frankly the height of these jumps would normally make me a bit sick. So as I began trusting the DS450x MX more I found out what it was like to ride a motocross style ATV - and I liked it.
With jumps checked off my "to do" list, next it was the whoops section of the course. The DS450 likes to go fast, and figuring this out is helped me become confident in opening up the beast. I was hitting the rhythm section like a Pro in only an hour of riding. Its truly amazing how a quad setup can change how you feel about a specialized form of racing. The cornering was great and this quad seemed to handle high-speed corners very well. Smooth and agile with plenty of power was my final thought on this version of the new DS450x.
Cross-Country Confident
The DS450x XC wasn't much like its MX counterpart even though it had many of the same features. The power seemed to be more responsive and snappy but this could be gearing as well. The power came on quicker and needed a bit of harnessing to make the ride smoother.
The suspension was set a bit harsh but that's also very adjustable and I'm sure with a few days of riding we could have worked that all out with no problem. The cross country version of this machine handled well and made some tight trails with ease, but I think it needs to be a bit lower. I love the fact that it comes with a tether kill switch and hand guards from the factory. I'm also a big fan of the factory ITP beadlock wheels all the way around on this model. These guys researched and hit a home run with these little features.
Overall I was very happy with both machines. As technology and the factory engineers actually listen to the riders and see what is commonly being done via after-market products, the units coming out to our tracks will be more and more ready to race, right off the trailer.


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Predators Good or Bad A Country Struggles with the Return of the Wolf
They are scenes one might normally expect to see in the Serengeti. But Franz Graf von Plettenberg has the privilege of watching them from his elevated hunting stand in the forests of eastern Germany.
In his case, though, it's a deer (rather than a gnu) that is walking calmly through the heath, even though the evil killer, a wolf (instead of a lion), is within sight, heading for the forest. It's as though the potential prey can sense that this wolf has already eaten his fill.
Plettenberg, a forest ranger, is responsible for close to 35,000 hectares (86,450 acres) of state-owned forest and open country. His territory also includes a military training area that became famous as the home of Germany's first wolf pack in 150 years.
Plettenberg likes the wolf, because it helps him deplete game populations, an important service because too many deer damage the forest. They love to eat the shoots of tender young seedlings and peel off the bark of larger trees and shrubs -- none of which is good news for someone interested in making money with timber.
There are, however, many hunters who don't share Plettenberg's point of view. They see the newcomer as a rival challenging them for prey and for control of the forest. "Until now, when hunters have been challenged to justify what they do, they've argued that it's up to them to do the work of wolves that no longer existed in German forests," says Plettenberg. But now that wolves have returned, hunters are complaining that they are driving away game.
Meet One-Eye and Sunny
It's been 10 years since the first pair of wolves crossed the border from Poland and appeared in the sandy and isolated heath of the Oberlausitz military training area in the eastern state of Saxony, where they mated and raised their pups. Two females emerged from this family, which in turn found partners and, since then, have reliably produced new litters year after year.
The two females, which were captured, sedated, fitted with transmitter collars and released, were officially named FT3 and FT1. Scientists have given them more endearing names since then. One female, which has a slight limp and, on the blurred images taken by camera traps, has a dark spot where an eye used to be, was named One-Eye. Today One-Eye sports the belly of an older female between her thin legs. Wolves living in the wild rarely live much longer than One-Eye's 10 or 11 years.
The other female, One-Eye's sister Sunny, has been equally productive. Sunny and One-Eye will likely go down in history as the primordial mothers of Germany's new wolf population. Their clan has been largely responsible for a bounty of some 158 pups. Many of them have died, while others have migrated into the wilds of Eastern Europe. Alan, a son of One-Eye, made it as far as Belarus. Nevertheless, some wolves have remained in Germany and established new families.
Today, close to 90 specimens of Canis lupus are roaming through the eastern German states of Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. One female, Zora, made it almost as far as Hamburg, where her trail disappeared.
A Stroke of Luck
By now, it is clear that wolves are here to stay. No one is prepared to make a reliable prediction, but it is quite possible that the predators will advance into the Central German Uplands, including the Harz Mountains, as well as the Taunus, Eifel and Westerwald, three low mountain ranges in western Germany. In these areas, as well as in Bavaria and the southwestern states of Baden-Württemberg and Saarland, they could encounter their cousins from Italy and France -- which, from a genetic standpoint, would be a stroke of luck for the German wolf population.
A wolf from the Mediterranean region was spotted in Bavaria as recently as this spring, and one of the Italian wolves even made it as far as the central German city of Giessen, where it was hit by a car. It hasn't been seen since. In July, one of the southern wolves triggered a camera trap in France's Alsace region, only 60 kilometers (38 miles) from the southwestern German city of Freiburg. Germany's Federal Agency for Nature Conservation estimates that the country could support as many as 440 packs.
Germany is becoming a home for wolves. The gray predators are on the increase throughout Germany as they are across the Continent. It's just that not all of the country's human inhabitants are happy about it.
No other animal has as many friends and foes, or is the source of so much friction. The presence of wolves is turning upright citizens crooked and driving otherwise well-mannered conservationists berserk, triggering a wave of harassment, denunciations and lawsuits. Politicians, biologists, forest rangers, hunters, farmers and even city dwellers are involved.
Near-Mythical Creature
The church once saw the wolf as the devil incarnate, and fairy tales, from Little Red Riding Hood to The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids, taught children to fear the wild creature. Wolves were treated as vermin: shot, poisoned and bludgeoned to death. Canis lupus was hounded into near-extinction throughout Central Europe, turning it into a near-mythical creature that existed only in fairy tales.
There is no justifiable basis for our fear of wolves. The predators usually do not attack people, unless they are rabid or have been emboldened as a result of being fed. But rabies is considered eradicated in Germany, and so far Germans have not been crazy enough to offer the animals bowls of freshly slaughtered meat on their doorsteps.
But the debate over wolves is rarely pursued by means of logical arguments -- neither in Saxony nor other places where wild wolves are likely to be roaming forests and fields in the near future.
The situation in the Lausitz region south of Berlin is a case in point. It illustrates what happens when the gray predators have come to stay, and how irreconcilable their fans and enemies still are after more than a decade.
Now the two opposing mindsets have a new reason to be at odds. Saxony's environment minister, Frank Kupfer, recently announced that wolves would in the future fall under the law which regulates hunting, which would mean that hunters, too, would be responsible for the protection of the animals. This has triggered outrage among many conservationists, who feel that hunters are nothing but potential wolf murderers. In their view, hunters abide by three rules when it comes to wolves: shoot, shovel and keep quiet. In fact, since the wolf became indigenous to Germany again, seven animals have been shot, most recently in the Lausitz region in May.
The Warring Camps
Hunters, for their part, accuse the so-called "wolf protectors" of idealizing the predator. And why should conservationists be so upset in the first place, hunters ask? After all, they argue, the new hunting laws still don't permit hunters to shoot wolves, so their protected status would remain unchanged.
The real question revolves around who ultimately determines how many wild animals human beings will tolerate in an environment they have largely cultivated and developed.
Conservationists and wildlife biologists have long felt relatively strong, after having won numerous battles. The wolf is strictly protected, and Saxony has a wolf management plan based on European Union guidelines that is so exemplary that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and, to some extent, Bavaria have already copied it. The government has come to terms with sheep farmers, who are compensated for dead sheep and receive subsidies to install fences and assistance in acquiring special dogs to protect their herds.
Hunters, on the other hand, feel short-changed and are unwilling to cede control over their forests to wolves or conservationists. For this reason, the hunting lobby has convinced Kupfer to place the wolf "under the protection of game laws," as it is phrased. When asked to expound on the issue, Kupfer tends to stress the word "protection."
Swedish environmental journalist Henrik Ekman has written a book describing what it was like when the wolf began to roam through Scandinavian landscapes once again, and about how its enemies demonized the animal while its friends welcomed it with open arms.
All it takes is to substitute German for Scandinavian place names to recognize that the same thing is happening in Germany. In the Lausitz region, the roles in the drama have already been assigned.
Ilka Reinhardt, one of two full-time wolf observers in the Lausitz region, opens the window of her SUV and sticks her head out. She has folded in the side-view mirror because it blocks her sightlines. With the wind ruffling her chin-length brown hair, she scans the ground next to and in front of the vehicle, while crawling along at 25 kilometers per hour (15 mph). Reinhardt is looking for tracks.
There are plenty to be found, crisscrossing the vast sandy soil of the Oberlausitz military training area.
"Hooves," Reinhardt mumbles, "hooves, and more over here." She is referring to the hoof prints of roe deer, red deer and wild boar. Suddenly she slams on the brakes. "There!" Is it a wolf track? "Can't use it," she says. "He was running." When a wolf is walking or running, its tracks are indistinguishable from those of a domestic dog. But the predator does betray its presence when moving at a trot, because it places its paws in a row, like pearls on a chain. Reinhardt nudges the gas pedal and moves on.
She and her colleague, Gesa Kluth, are responsible for monitoring the wolves in the Lausitz region and in Saxony-Anhalt. They drive or bike around the area, carrying tape measures to measure paw prints and the distances between them, sample bags for wolf feces, which is analyzed for genetic research purposes and to study the animals' diets, and memory cards for camera traps.
The goal is concrete, reliable evidence. Sightings reported by hikers are as useless as the running tracks. Only when Kluth and Reinhardt have obtained hard evidence, such as clear photos from the camera traps, can they record statistics on new pups or sometimes even entirely new packs.
But counting wolves is more than just science. It has also become a profoundly political act. It can safely be assumed that there are few biologists in Germany whose research is as controversial as that being undertaken by Reinhardt and Kluth.
Reinhardt thinks about her nine years with the wolves, about the discussions and the night watches over threatened herds of sheep, and she talks about the time Kluth was attacked by the tabloid Bild, which accused her of wasting taxpayer money on her work. She also mentions the letters calling for the wolves to be shot. A local hunter, the spokesman for a small group of wolf haters, has been stirring up public opinion for some time with his scaremongering tactics, saying things like: "Only when we find the first child's school backpack at a bus stop, without the child, will people finally wake up."
"I'm tired of it," says Reinhardt. "Hey, I'm a biologist. I just want to do my job." She closes the barrier to the military training area behind her, marking the end of another workday. On this day, at least, she managed to find pup tracks in a pack's territory.
Heinz Baacke characterizes the monitoring of Canis lupus as "balderdash." Why should it be left solely up to the wildlife biologists, asks Baacke, who represents the state hunters' association in Saxony. After all, he says, hunters have eyes, too. "When I'm sitting on a tree stand," he says, "I don't exactly shut my eyes when the wolf walks by!"
Baacke already suspects that Kluth, Reinhardt and their assistants are deliberately undercounting the wolf population. For him, it's obvious that they have an interest in keeping the official numbers low. "All I can say is this: The fewer wolves there are, the more they need protection," the bearded hunter says. He likes to wear the appropriate outfit, which includes a felt hat and a green loden coat, when he goes deerstalking with his wirehaired dachshund Belina.
Conservationists, on the other hand, worry that hunters would count each wolf they see several times. In the Lausitz region, a pack covers a territory of about 250 square kilometers (97 square miles), which is more than four times the size of Manhattan. Given their range, the animals are likely to run past several tree stands in a single night. Biologists claim, for example, that sloppy monitoring was to blame for no one noticing that the Iberian lynx was becoming a critically endangered species in Spain and Portugal.
Baacke admits that hunters haven't exactly been eager to report sightings or kills. He is quick to attribute this to "psychological reasons," saying that hunters have felt sidelined. "Of course, they felt terribly offended."
This will change as soon as the wolf is placed under the protection of game laws, says Baacke, because then hunters will feel obligated to report kills and collect feces. "After all, they're the group that's most affected by the wolves," he says, because hunters must share their prey with the animals.
Then Baacke ventures into the world of metaphors. Hunters, he says, are like bulls. And conservationists are like oxen -- namely impotent.
There was a lot of blood on the pasture a week ago. Silvia and Klaus Münster are sitting at a table covered with oilcloth. There are plastic flowers in pots lining the steps leading up to their house in Steinitz, a town in Saxony. The smell of chicken feces is in the air and there are chickens parading around the yard, clucking away. A rooster is crowing so loudly that Silvia Münster has to raise her voice to be heard.
"It's not a sight you can easily forget," she says, with her arms crossed. "There wasn't much left of the Cameroon sheep" -- nothing but scattered body parts.
The Münsters probably won't even be compensated for the four animals they lost in the massacre, because the pasture wasn't completely fenced in. "We didn't expect them to get through the reeds along the ditch," says Silvia Münster. "The people who showed up seemed to think it was funny. It was just an invitation to dinner, the woman said, the one with the dog."
The woman with the dog was Ilka Reinhardt, who investigates sheep killings to determine whether a wolf was to blame or just a feral dog. Her Longhair Weimaraner is trained to follow wolf tracks. He found parts of the sheep's bodies that had been dragged away, leading Reinhardt to conclude that it was indeed a wolf.
"It's outrageous, the notion that the wolf is more important than people," says Silvia Münster. She is not a fan of Reinhardt and her colleagues. "They're the ones who brought him here, the wolf, for scientific purposes, for observation purposes!" She refuses to be dissuaded from believing this theory of wolf reintroduction -- one that is widespread in the Lausitz region.
And then her taciturn husband speaks up: "I'm not afraid of the wolf. I'd beat him to death."
The gray predator's biggest fan club, the "Society for the Protection of Wolves," has about 1,000 members, while another group, the "Friends of Wolves Living in the Wild," has 200. That makes more than 10 wolf protectors per wolf in Germany, not to mention organizations like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The officials of these organizations travel around Germany in the hope of changing negative views of the predators.
On this particular evening, the Society for the Protection of Wolves is holding an event in the state of Saarland, which the friends of Canis lupus refer to as a "state expecting the arrival of the wolf." The event is an informational gathering in the Neuhaus barn, a cozy place with rustic walls and wooden tables, north of the state capital Saarbrücken.
The environment minister, a member of the Green Party and the head of the state forestry agencies are there. Hunters were invited, but none showed up. Instead, a group of like-minded people listens to a presentation by a representative of the Society for the Protection of Wolves, who spends two hours raving about the wolf as a fairy tale-like creature. He also mentions the "really cute children's books" his organization sells to instill an affection for the animals among little children.
The minister leaves after an hour, but the rest of the audience sit patiently in their seats as Werner Freund, a mumbling, geriatric 78-year-old, gets up to speak. He owns a wolf zoo in the Saarland town of Merzig. He shows a film depicting the captive wolves licking the "catch" -- as he calls his mouth. Whenever the local butcher has some offal to spare, Freund, as the leader of the pack, gets the first bite. It's great to feel like a wolf, he says.
A Revitalized German Ecosystem?
Passion, politics, feuds and agitation -- it isn't the animal itself that gets people so excited. It's the burden of the narrative people have created for this predator. The wolf has become a symbol, while defending or hating the creature has turned into a religion.
Conservationists used the wolf as Europe's answer to the Giant Panda, as a heraldic animal of sorts. It represents the return of the wild, and the last chance to heal the gaping wound that the most brutal of all animals, Homo sapiens, has inflicted upon nature. For conservationists, the wolf has finally returned to his rightful place at the top of the food chain, and their hope is that this will help restore the forest ecosystem to its original state. Almost as if Eve had never taken a bite out of the forbidden fruit.
But for many hunters, farmers and sheepherders, the predator's return represents a step back in the history of civilization. They argue that man has tamed nature for millennia. And now they are suddenly expected to share the forest with a predator once again? Why should they even raise livestock, they ask, if only to witness wolves slaughtering their sheep and goats in a bloodthirsty frenzy?
A large-scale study published in Science concludes that the expulsion and annihilation of large predators was "arguably humankind's most pervasive influence on the natural world."
The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone Park in the United States has been a success story. The wolves have depleted the massive herds of elk that have existed for decades, allowing trees and shrubs to return to stream banks. Beaver populations grew and built dams, creating habitats for rare species of birds and other animals. Vultures benefited from the remains of wolf kills. An entire ecosytem was revived.
'Nurtured and Cherished'
Is a similar outcome possible in Germany? Most scientists are skeptical, because of the more pervasive presence of man in Europe.
According to one study, a wolf pack consumes about one roe deer a day, along with two wild boars and one red deer a week -- a sizeable take -- in an area of 100 hectares. Human beings, on the other hand, bag twice as many deer and four times as many wild boar within the same area.
Canis lupus will find it more difficult to play his traditional role in such a tamed ecosystem -- unless hunters turn over the field to wolves completely. But for that to happen, more hunters would probably have to take a deep look into the eyes of the gray predator.
Biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber once described how that feels. He wrote that he was "immediately transfixed" by the experience, during a hiking trip through the Ethiopian highlands.
"When I looked up, the wolf was staring directly into my eyes," Weber notes. "I froze, and what happened next can only be described as our having exchanged looks. The predator's black eyes were trained on me, as if he were staring from the depths of the other. At the same time, however, I saw a reflection of myself in those eyes: a solitary wanderer in the silent mountains."
When Weber reflected on the fascination that this moment with the Abyssinian wolf had had for him, he concluded that mankind, while surviving in the wild for hundreds of thousands of years, had come to a deep realization, one that endures to this day, that he could only exist because of the existence of the wild.
Today's Homo sapiens, in the form of a hunter, finds it difficult to experience this self-reflection, or to find his place in nature. A hunter in the Lausitz region puts it this way: "Here I am, the fool who has to stop hunting deer, just so the wolf can be nurtured and cherished."


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Monday, 14 June 2010
Guerlain Meteorites Summer 2010 Edition
6 comments:
Hi! I came upon your blog a few days ago while I was deciding between Teint Doré and Teint Beige and needed comparison photos. I've since bought Teint Doré but feel like I made the wrong choice (but it hasn't arrived yet). As you own both, which do you think is a better choice for an all-over powder? I bought Teint Doré based on their description - for people with a yellow cast on their skin when they're tired, but now I'm sort of regretting not getting Teint Beige cuz it has all those nice apricot and pink and champagne colours in it that I think would be more radiant looking. If it helps, I have golden undertones and my MAC foundation shade is NC30. Do you think I should return the Teint Doré for Teint Beige?ReplyDelete
Hi, I think you should wait for Teint Dore to arrive and see it for yourself. ;)ReplyDelete
I personally prefer Teint Beige myself, but I am a lot lighter than you, having said that though, these powders are pretty much colourless anyway, Teint Dore isn't dark on your skin, just has a slightly bronzy sheen.
Hmm, now that you say it's a bronzy sheen, I think I might go to a Guerlain boutique and look at them myself (considering that i live in Paris, I don't have an excuse not to go =P). I have tons of stuff that would give me a bronzy look, I want *the* glow, the famous glow from that everybody's talking about that even MSFs can't give me! Maybe Teint Rose or Teint Beige will give that more than Teint Doré. By the way, I recognise your username from MUA! I wanted to swap for a few of your products but never contacted you because I didn't have any of your wish list items.ReplyDelete
- Sutira30 June 2010 at 12:53
From Guerlain website, Teint Dore looked so beautiful. But looking at your picture here, I'd better stick with Teint Rose (same old Mythic). The new container is also much better.ReplyDelete
Anitacska, which brush do you use with the Meteorites? And how do you compare these with the Voyage Compact?
Hi Sutira,ReplyDelete
I use Guerlain's Meteorites brush (like this one: http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_123382838499_-1?breadcrumb=Home~Beauty~Make+up )
Obviously the Voyage Powders are in pressed form and these are loose powders, they also apply more sheer I think, but Voyage Powders aren't exactly full coverage. ;) With Voyage Powders you basically pay for the compact since the powder itself "only" costs about £30 (you can buy refills). Also they are obviously more travel friendly.
- Anonymous16 April 2011 at 07:10
I've been thinking about trying them out for the last TWO years! I was just never able to justify the price for the subtle effect you'd get...I feel like I'm going to get it soon though.ReplyDelete


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Fayette County resident and attorney Angela Hinton Fonda was recently awarded the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service, presented by the State Bar of Georgia and the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism. She was the 6th Judicial District recipient at the 11th annual award presentation Feb. 16 at the State Bar Center in Atlanta.
"Although I am deeply humbled for being selected for the Justice Benham Award for Community Service, I regard it as an affirmation of the values of Fayette County," Hinton Fonda said. "I was, and am, honored to have been chosen to serve with the wonderful members of the Fayette County DFCS (Dept. of Family & Children's Services) Board. Fayette residents are kind and generous in times of trouble. I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute to our community in such meaningful ways and I am proud to call Fayette County my home."
Hinton Fonda last week commented on her service with Fayette County DFCS and on some of the aspects of of that service that put an undeniable human face on those receiving services.
"In the course of my service on the Board, I discovered that children who were aging out of foster care were sent off to college, trade schools or independent life with their belongings in trash bags. What a humiliating message for those children. I thought about what it must be like to arrive at school alone, with no one to fret over whether your room will be comfortable or whether you have enough study snacks. The absence of a parent can be explained, but the indignity of bringing everything you own in trash bags has no easy explanation," Hinton Fonda said. "Community leaders and churches donate backpacks and school supplies for grade school and high school students but there is, generally, no collection for students aging out of care. After getting an assessment of needs from Fayette DFCS, I got community members to buy brand new suitcases for the college students. We put a set of towels and an alarm clock with a battery backup in the bags and gave them to DFCS to pass along. The point was to give the newly-independent young people the appearance of normalcy, and a few 'life tools,' for this new phase of their lives. I anticipate an expanded effort in the coming months."
Hinton Fonda was nominated by therapeutic counselor Connie Biemiller Thomas for her work on the Fayette DFCS Board and on behalf of families and children in crisis and based on a career-long history of community service and involvement in Fayette County and in Chatham County, her previous home.
In addition to her work with the Fayette DFCS board, Hinton Fonda led a Leadership Fayette project with the assistance of the Southside Chapter of the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers to collect career-appropriate clothing for women at the Promise Place domestic violence program.
"We received donations from as far away as Alpharetta and the donations included shoes, purses, and scarves, all of the 'uniform' elements of a successful interview candidate. It is my hope that the clothing will be a confidence booster to the recipients as they build independent lives," Hinton Fonda said.
Since 1998, the Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service have been presented to honor lawyers and judges in Georgia who have made significant contributions to their communities and demonstrate the positive contributions of members of the State Bar of Georgia beyond their legal or official work.
Bar members have served a wide range of community organizations, government-sponsored activities, and humanitarian efforts. Their fields of service include: youth athletics and mentoring programs, literacy programs, social and support services, church and religious activities, politics, conservation and the environment, promotion and support for legal aid programs, community development, health, education, sports, recreation, and the arts.
The awards recognize the commitment of Georgia lawyers to volunteerism, encourage all lawyers to become involved in community service, improve the quality of lawyers' lives through the satisfaction they derive from helping others and raise the public image of lawyers.
Hinton Fonda serves as Atlanta senior assistant city attorney and holds a J.D. from Duke University and a B.A. cum laude State University of New York at Albany.
Among her many accomplishments with the Georgia Bar Association and the American Bar Association, Hinton Fonda also affiliated with the Promise Place Women's Shelter, the Arts Leadership League of Georgia, the Georgia Association of Woman Lawyers and the State Bar Fee Arbitration Panel.


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We believe that we are a prophetic people who are willing to risk and accept change to witness the message of Christ to the Modern World. We feel called by God to be a parish not turned in on itself, but a parish that reaches out beyond its boundaries to be a servant to the people of God.
We see ourselves as a faith community with a strong sense of its mission. We have a Pastor and Pastoral Team who are able to share leadership of the Parish and willing to delegate responsibility in such a manner to continue the development of a committed lay leadership that will assist in carrying out the message of the Gospel.
|Mass Times
|5:00 pm (Sunday vigil)
|8:00 am (Bilingual)
10:30 am & 12:30 pm
|Monday - Friday
|8:00 am
|First Monday
|8:00 am (with Anointing)
|First Friday
|6:00 am & 8:00 am
|Holy Days
|8:00 am (7:00 pm, or vigil)
|Communion Services
|Monday - Friday
|6:00 am (except for First Friday)


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February 27, 2013
Joe Buglione
Heidi Paullus
from Intermountain ESD in Pendleton OR
GTKY - Trading Cards
- Describe yourself using a trading card - real person
- Blog reflection with our kidblog "How can you use the Trading Cards app in your classroom?"
- Kidblog class/URL for the app : kidblog.org/ncce2013
Activity: Where is the Writing?
- Click here to use this following form, 5 words with commas
Basic iPad functions -
- keyboard functions
- record and listen, edit
- with quickrecorder
- select word to dictionary
- Miriam Webster Dictionary app
- FreeSaurus Thesaurus app
- Just write at a5.gg
Activity: Learn site words / vocabulary
- Create a flashcard list of terms: Bitsboard, Phonics Genius
- Reflection write about Bitsboard and how you can use this in your classroom.
- Vocab with Camera - Piccollage, Phonto, Storykit
- Reflection write about Piccollage and how you can use this in your classroom.
Activity: Brainstorm
- Concept Mapping - Total Recall
- NCCE 2013 offers me ...
- Word Walls - iBrainstorm
- Play jumbline
- Learn one word you did not know, use it in a sentence
- Flick your sentence over using iBrainstorm Companion
- Reflection write about these concept mapping / brainstorming tools and how you can use this in your classroom.
Activity: Digital Stories
- Story board with a5.gg
- Digital Story Telling; prompt "If you give a kid a camera" : Story Kit, Scribble My Story, Book Writer ($), Creative Book Builder ($)
- Digital Video Creation; prompt "This afternoon at NCCE..." : Videolicious, imovie ($)
Activity: Workshop Reflection
- Recap two highlights of what you learned and how you plan on implementing them in your classroom or job. Use Tellagami to record your reflection, save movie to your ipad, and if challenged upload it to your reflection blog.
Activity: A Creative Conversation
- Collaborative Writing - Google Story Builder
- In groups of 2-4 with one ipad, write a short conversation using the blog characters as the names and personalities, to address the prompt "What do you want to take back to your school after attending NCCE?"
- Reflection write about how you can use Google Story Writer in your classroom.
Activity: Comics
- Create a Comic Strip - Toontastic, SockPuppets
Points to Ponder:
- Conventions : Post is denied by students if conventions are not correct. EdModo, Kidblog
- Journaling with Noteability ($), Evernote, or iDiary
- Blogging with KidBlog, or Blogger: continued reflective posts throughout work session reflecting on various activities.
- Giving them a reason to write: what motivates them? who is their audience?
Thought Provoking Articles:
Web Resources:
- Read Write Think
- Word Hippo - Find synonyms, antonyms, and more
- Google Drive - The app allows for simple modification of Google Docs, and in a collaborative environment. More advanced editing still might need to be done via Safari.


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Pocket as many pool balls as you can before the time runs out!
Let's play darts! Compete against real opponents in this stunning multiplayer darts game. 'Darts of Fury' is an action-packed, modern darts game made for darts newcomers and fans alike.
Pick up your darts, join Sparrows League and face your first challenger. Take aim, swipe to throw and compete against real opponents from all over the world. Earn XP to climb up the Leagues and aim for League promotion to unlock better darts, faster flights, tougher challenges, and bigger rewards. Can you reach the legendary Eagles league?
Set in a stunning and crowd-packed arena, Darts of Fury is unlike any darts game you've ever seen before. Perfect for both darts newcomers and fans. Interactive dartboards highlight your targets, freeing you to concentrate on achieving the perfect throw. Meet 'Shot Bot' - your very own checkout guide drone. She'll guide you around the board, calculating the safest path to that winning checkout. Big screen action, explosive celebrations, interactive dartboards, and digital oches combine to launch darts into the 21st century.
Customize your darts with endless combinations of barrels, shafts and flights. With 80 darts, hundreds of flight designs and shaft stickers, you can show off your unique personality to League challengers. Earn coins in League matches to upgrade to slimmer, faster darts and increase your chances of getting that elusive perfect '180'.
In League, play 'Tower X01' - an explosive take on the classic '01 game. Race to score the most points and be the first to checkout without going Bust! In Training, test your accuracy under pressure in the fast paced 'Round The Clock'. And stay tuned for more of your favorite darts games coming soon.
There are no awards for this game!


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BACKGROUND IMAGE: iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
SanDisk FlashSoft 3.2
SanDisk FlashSoft 3.2 server-based caching software has advanced algorithms to identify frequently accessed data for caching on solid-state devices.
SanDisk Corp.'s FlashSoft 3.2 server-based caching software won the award in our storage system software category by ranking in the top three for each of the six judging criteria -- a feat unmatched by any other finalist.
Our judges' scores placed SanDisk FlashSoft 3.2 first in ease of integration, and ease of use and manageability; ranked it second in performance and value; and tied it for second in innovation and third in functionality.
"FlashSoft has one of the most efficient server-side caching software [products] on the market," praised one judge.
SanDisk acquired FlashSoft in February 2012. The software's advanced algorithms identify frequently accessed data for caching on solid-state devices. FlashSoft directs I/O for the hot data to host-based flash drives, eliminating the network hop to the storage array. The product supports solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash hardware from different vendors and interfaces such as PCI Express, SAS and SATA.
The product requires no modification to applications, server operating systems or existing storage infrastructure, and accelerates the performance of Windows and Linux application servers.
The 3.2 upgrade improved scalability by permitting up to four separate caches on a single server, increasing the maximum cache size from 1 TB to 2 TB, and raising the number of volumes supported by a single cache from 255 to 2,048. The new version also added support for concatenated SSDs for larger caches, heterogeneous SSDs for caches of varying priority and write-back caching with SSD mirroring.
"Large cache capability, broad support and mirrored write-back make this universally deployable in enterprise data centers," one judge said.
One SanDisk FlashSoft customer moved to the 3.2 version to be able to split the cache into separate sections. The feature allows the storage vendor to provide disk-specific caching in its multi-disk storage node. If a disk is hot-swapped or fails, the product can manage the cache for that disk independent of the other drives in the chassis.
Next Steps
JetStream Software uses FlashSoft technology


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Dermatology Rosacea
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Bennettswood · Box Hill Central · Burwood · Houston · Wattle Park


text: Shark Tagging Trip Join Aquarium staff and Captain Sampson on the water for a day of shark tagging off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. Tagging sharks provides scientists with information on stock identity, migration and abundance, age and growth, mortality, and behavior. Registration is closed for all 2015 shark tagging trips. Go to full Calendar


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Peter Menzel's telephoto lens compresses the naked bodies of New York artist Spencer Tunick's production of nudes lying on the desert at the Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Burning Man is a performance art festival known for art, drugs and sex. It takes place annually in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nevada, USA.
- Filename
- USA_BMAN_30_xs.jpg
- Copyright
- ©Peter Menzel, www.menzelphoto.com
- Image Size
- 1024x680 / 407.4KB
- Contained in galleries


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Choosing which beauty box to subscribe to is HARD. Really hard, essentially your putting your faith in a company to give you a good return on £10-£13 a month for 5-6 product samples. I'm always asked which beauty box I'd recommend, and I can't honestly answer that question. Seeing as contents vary from month to month there is no real way of me saying "this service is better than this one" as every month the samples are different, its all down to personal preference and your taste.
One month could be an amazing beauty box the next could be a terrible one, They are incredibly unpredictable. However one persons rubbish is another ones treasure. For example I know I don't like Carmine, I got the first box, thought it wasn't for me and unsubscribed, I then resubscribed and got another two boxes which I didn't like (I didnt even post about them so it says alot!). So Carmine has beens eliminated for me. However I know a lot of people love Carmine as they tend to give out make up samples (which I don't want).
At the end of the day your the only one that can decide which box you feel is right for you. The more I think about it the more I realise beauty boxes are a bit of a waste of money. Especially if you cant afford to waste money each month on things you might not like. Sometimes I think I should have spent that tenner on one product I wanted rather than 5 that I probably wont use. I see alot of people commenting on the beauty box Facebook pages requesting Nars or MAC stuff in their boxes, but you have to realise that beauty boxes aren't an excuse to stock up on high end products. They are samples for you to try and see if you like. Beauty boxes aren't trying to give you products for cheap, they are giving you a sample in the hope that you'd like it and go on to buy full size. Would you rather have a full size MAC eye-shadow (£12 or £10 if you wanted one in a pan!) that you know you'll love because you picked it yourself or risk that money on 5 you might not?
I don't think beauty boxes are for everybody. I subscribe to (and pay for) Feel Unique and then get Glossy Box and Jolie Box sent for free for me to review. I know for a fact that if I wasn't getting the two free I wouldn't be paying for all three. That'd be over £30 a month I'd be essentially gambling away. I wouldn't personally recommend subscribing to more than one box. I do know that if it came down to only choosing one box, I wouldn't know which I'd choose to keep. Its worth checking through reviews to get a "feel" for the types of brands and contents each beauty box service puts in. But in reality there really is no way for me to say which is the best, or which one might be right for you.
Would be great if you could leave in the comments which box (if any) you subscribe to and why you personally picked that box!