text:
"Such a curious place…So strange a place. So unmagical. And with such great effort to achieve the unmagical. Bless them."
—Leonard Cohen, Live at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Tari Ann Merrin loved Las Vegas. She did not love Las Vegas the way most people do, as a weekend spectator, a passive member of the desperate, debauched carnival. She loved all of Las Vegas, end to expanding end, desert to shrinking desert, mountain to mountain, and she loved it as blurry, black-and-white photos of a gasping train depot, a stop at a spring house along the road to California and she loved it in sepia and Technicolor and HD. She loved its 1950's homesteads and modern suburban sprawl and fourth-generation high-rise casinos. But most she loved it into the future. Because that is where Las Vegas really lives, in the dream of what it will be.
From the age of seven she knew that her life path lay in development and demanded to be taken out to see the bulldozers and cranes chewing at the land, erecting desert-colored houses. She stole flags that demarcated coming sewer and electric lines, mounted them on her walls like pennants. Through high school she worked for a grounds-keeping company that serviced homeowners' associations. Sometimes she filed paperwork and billed clients. Sometimes she spent after-school hours and long, hot summer days scattering gravel in yards and plucking thorns from the fat pads of decorative walkway cacti. She found these actions felt like devotional practice—prayer, and the kneeling and standing that comes with prayer.
She met Brad in Bar Green Mix Canary. His skin was evenly tanned and his features well arranged.
He said he worked at a country club and was training to be a professional golfer. He also toyed with high-stakes poker and day trading.
She said she worked at Caspian Lakes.
"Oh, Sweetie. I'm thinking about getting a place out there. Maybe you can talk to your boss and get me a deal?"
Tari Ann watched the dance floor and guessed which women were working and which were just there to have a good time.
"Or maybe I can by you a drink," said Brad.
"Yes," she said. She drank it and then, with a pen that had Caspian Lakes Marketing and Construction, LLC inscribed up the shaft, sketched a map of the community on a napkin.
"Lots are available here." She made quick circles on the layers of thin paper spread between her fingers. "For you, I'd suggest the six-bedroom with the recessed front. Very popular."
She handed him a business card.
"CFOO. Wow," said Brad.
"This street here has yet to be named. Any suggestions?" She often asked buyers this.
He glanced again at her card.
"Tari Ann Street. That's what I'll vote for," he smiled, his teeth bleached and the tilt of his head practiced. "But you deserve an avenue."
"Keep the pen," she said.
Tari had come of age at the crescendo of the boom, when Las Vegas transitioned from a few houses surrounding entertainment strips to the national epicenter of the house-flipping game, 1.5 million people buying and selling, five-thousand residents in and three thousand out each month, the entire city buzzing like the floor of a stock exchange.
Tourism and cards, while integral to Las Vegas, were not, she knew, the future. Real estate, the purchase and sale of land and structure, that was the heart of the gamble.
"Even here, people want to be able to touch the things they have," she had told her college advisor. She skipped Hotel Management and Gaming Studies and got herself a MBA with a specialization in New Venture Management.
Brad purchased.
Construction would begin the next week.
They had drinks and dinner.
He called again. They golfed. He was very good.
Brad said, "Have you considered New York?"
Tari looked out over the fairway. Transplant, she thought. Transplanted citizens populated most of the city. The next move, where to go when their bank accounts bulged, how to get out, remained a key topic of conversation for these transplants. Tari knew that, in her native city, home ownership did not indicate home.
"New York lacks possibility," she said.
Tari Ann lived up near Celine Dion, at the western edge of Las Vegas's zoned land. She chose to not weigh in on the debate about building into the protected areas just west of her doorstep, not the right moment in her career to take on either the Bureau of Land Management or the Vegas citizenry. She could not, however, drive past the flat desert rising up into the tremendous red boulder mountains without imagining multi-million dollar homes speckling the land, a few cresting over the top of the bare hills. She would show these fresh, new houses at dusk, the rocks glowing pink and orange in the last of the sun, the city emerging below as an island of lights.
Besides the four-bedroom near Celine, she owned a condo far south on Las Vegas Boulevard, above the H&M in the Town Center outdoor mall. When tourists did not rent it off Craigslist she spent the weekend there. She partied at the mall bars, rose in the morning to jog the labyrinth of stores, touching the steps of the IMAX Cinema before turning to make her way back through the quiet, squinting against the harsh morning sun reflected out of plate-glass shop windows.
Under Tari's direction the planned community of Caspian Lakes had begun to inflate up out of the desert eleven miles east of the city, on the border of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Caspian Lakes' high-end, pre-fab houses clotted the cul-du-sacs that trickled from a central ring road. The ring road circled Caspian Lake, a backhoed pit filled with water borrowed from Lake Mead, itself a bi-product of taming the mighty Colorado River with the Hoover Dam. Her contractors, replaceable and, thus, efficient, threw up buildings in a few days.
In an average week she and her team sold six to ten Caspian Lakes residencies and she felt the community digging its hooks into the desert. Most people bought them as a second, third or fifth home. To this majority clientele Tari referred to the cluster of houses as an oasis, conjuring ideas of travel and rest. To young people looking at Caspian Lakes for permanent residency, she spoke of fresh starts, a school that they could be instrumental in designing, safety and the natural environment: the lake, the mountains. For retirees, Tari Ann described fall concerts, the band floating out on the lake, cool breezes. "We have a water show here every week. The lake is equipped with fountains and we use the same designer as the Bellagio. Dancing Waters right here in your front yard." She also said multi-generational and exclusive. The floor managers at Caspian Lakes Casino told her which slots were loose and Tari Ann took interested buyers into the faux-hardwood and velvet parlor, sat them down and made sure they had enough free plays to come out ahead of the nothing they put in.
Tari Ann's team sold so well not just because they used the right words, offered their clients champagne and free money, but also because Tari loved Caspian Lakes and instilled this love in her employees. She loved this satellite of Las Vegas erected out on the martian desert, Vegas extended as far as the BLM would allow. She was happy to gaze out at the lake, a dream realized, a lake made of a lake made of a river through the ingenuity of humans. She loved her carefully designed downtown street lined in dimly lit, cast-iron lamps and the two parks where families and lovers lay on manicured Astroturf and children played under industrial-sized sunshades angled against each other like sails. Sometimes when summer windstorms came out of the desert she imagined the buildings and the awnings catching that wind, lifting up and floating away, the Nina or the Pinta or the Santa Maria, off to find new lands to claim in the name of Las Vegas.
She continued to answer Brad's calls but she did not think about him when he wasn't there and she did not sleep with him until he showed her the bill of sale demonstrating that he had sold for a 50 percent markup.
"In only three weeks," she said. Her voice had gone husky. "Lots still available." She took off all her clothes and opened her legs.
"Who bought?" she said in his ear while they thrust together.
"A lonely, loaded, old couple from Lincoln, Nebraska. I want another one."
"A few left. Prices are up. You can have one if you can afford it." She bit his shoulder. He smacked her ass.
Brad arrived at her office, a model home at the entrance to Caspian Lakes, in a polo shirt and kakis. Tari Ann did not kiss him and sent him out to the golf cart with another agent.
"I thought you would show me," he said.
"That is not really appropriate, is it?" she said. "We can have lunch after your tour if you like."
In the Bistro Barn, one of Caspian Lakes' premiere dining experiences, they ate tapas from a steel table.
"I should play it cool, but I love the lot," said Brad.
"You'll have great parties," said Tari Ann.
"I thought it might be a nice place for a family." He tilted his head and tapped his fork on the edge of his plate. "All the neighbors look married with kids."
She pursed her lips and looked away. "Parties."
"Parties," he said.
She said nothing. Vegas, while known for its easy divorces, married young. Most of the people she knew from high school lived with their kids and construction worker husbands and had paid for their weddings with tips from cocktailing and dealing lingerie blackjack. Tari Ann had too much to do to get married. She did not need to get married. She had Las Vegas.
Brad tapped his plate again.
"Why is it called Caspian Lakes? Will there be another lake?"
"Sounds better. Between you and me, it's the last lot. I'd jump on it."
"Isn't it a sea, anyway?"
"Fresh water."
The next time Brad called she intended to not pick up. But he didn't call and then the bubble she had been standing on burst. The housing market tumbled. The bulldozers and nail-guns grew silent outside the Caspian Lakes office. She smiled and talked about how there was nowhere to go but up. A hiccup, that's all. Can't keep Vegas down.
When he did call he had become unspecific in her memory. Her cell phone sat on up on a stack of books on her bedside table: Igniting the Fire of Future, 47 More Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and This Isn't Going to Work Out: Ending Employer/Employee Relationships.
"My house is finished. I guess you know that. Can I give you a tour?"
She felt giddy as she drove from the management office to his house. A celebration. A home finished, not a house abandoned.
He had a bottle of gin waiting. She brought a box of condoms.
"The economy," he said.
"It will be fine," she said.
"Gas prices."
"Can't keep Vegas down."
"My buddies are thinking about selling."
"Look at that view. The Vegas Valley."
The market did not improve. In the mornings she read the short-sale notices as if they were obituaries and sometimes she moaned and sometimes she screamed and everyday she felt her body smashing down a tall mountain, ledge after ledge. Every morning she went to work in fresh suits and perfect make-up.
Then Caspian Lakes emptied. In her upstairs office, what would have been the master bedroom with en-suite bath, a styrofoam-backed real estate map of Caspian Lakes lay spread out on a table. The map had once been a mosaic of green, yellow and blue flags—lots sold, lots with homes under construction, lots with complete houses and full or part-time residence. Now swaths of orange, homes abandoned to banks, waved up from the table.
The casino shut. SUV loads of the elderly arrived and circled the building, knocking on doors and peering in the tinted windows until they found the small "closed" sign and went away in confusion. Most of the boutiques pulled out, but Amber at the Wine Shoppe stayed afloat. She remained as the sole employee, twelve hours a day, selling cheap cabernet to the financially strained and several-hundred-dollar malbec to the unaffected while calculating the cost of keeping her stock at a healthy temperature. Friday night concerts persisted but hardly anyone drove around Caspian Lakes Rd. the rest of the week.
She saw Brad on Sundays for drinks or golf.
"We could just have sex," she told him.
They perched up on abnormally high stools, the tables supported on long, spindly legs. He looked around the murky bar, lighted mostly by covered candles, for a waitress. The waitresses wore black and Tari could only see them when the exposed skin of their arms or thighs reflected a small flame, like a mirror catching moonlight.
He hooked his finger in the air and thrust his chin up to catch the attention of a waitress. Then he took out an envelope and slid it across the table.
"It's a spa pass."
"A woman I give lessons to is friends with the owner." The waitress arrived and he ordered another drink, flirting in a way that Tari recognized as unconscious, the smile, the wink, but it still annoyed her.
"I could get another pass, if you want, for a girlfriend. Or they have this couple's thing," he told her.
When she didn't say anything else he said, "Well, anyway, she's a sweetie, this woman, but her stroke is terrible." He held his arms in front of his chest and tweaked his sleeves straight. "I'm giving up the Caspian Lakes house."
"Excuse me," said Tari. She stepped down off the high stool and walked away from the tall table. In the bathroom she locked a stall door and cried a little. Then she took a pen out of her clutch and wrote the housing market made me consider him on the plastic coating the metal wall. The ink from the ballpoint pen came out in uneven lines so the message was legible only to Tari. She read it again and then scratched it out. He loves me and the housing market makes me have a headache. Her pen gave out so the message read H l v me d h. She kicked the wall and threw the pen in the toilet. The force of the flushing water was not strong enough to wash it away. She kicked the toilet.
At the table a fresh drink waited for her.
"Abandonment?" she said.
"It doesn't affect you, anyway. It's me and my credit report."
"It affects the value of other properties. It affects…Las Vegas," she said.
"Don't use the word 'promise.' Jesus. I'm finished with my drink. You?"
Amber from the Wine Shoppe stopped by the office.
"I'm cutting my hours. Can't do it. Closing at six."
"Six," said Tari.
"It's just not worth it."
Tari Ann drove to Lake Mead and walked beyond what had been Echo Bay Beach to the lake's edge, down the long strip of gravel, past a few scrub bushes, where the water had drained away into people's showers and lawns. She squatted down and looked across the lake at the thick ring of mineral deposit marking the original water levels, now so far above the waves. Tari Ann felt thirsty. She felt alone.
"The war is lost," Tari said. "No, the war has moved on." She swept the Caspian Lakes Residencies map off the table. "Would you like to get naked?"
Brad unbuttoned his shirt and she pulled off her dress. She kissed his shaved chest and then pushed against it to make him lie on the table.
"Jacket," he said. She retrieved a condom from the pocket while Brad got out of his pants. She put her knee on the tabletop and hoisted herself up, his hands lifting and steadying her hips. He lay down again and she put his penis in her mouth, inattentively sucking and licking, until he was hard. She opened the condom.
"Are you ready?" he said.
She rolled it on and straddled him, sinking down, guiding him inside. She ignored the maple laminate grinding her kneecaps.
When they finished she remained astride him for a moment, contracting the muscles in her pelvis until he shrank and slipped out. She rose up, still on her knees and then climbed off the table. The tiny wood pins that had held the orange flags aloft on the map sunk into the carpet and the flesh of her feet. Tari bent one knee, looked over her shoulder and brushed the wood and plastic from her foot and then did the same with her other leg.
"I'm going to Mexico," she said. "I've done some research."
She went to take a shower. Brad knocked on the sliding glass door. She leaned back, the water pouring through her hair, sounding like wind as it hissed out of the fixture and hit the tile. Brad knocked again and she grabbed the thin metal bar affixed to the door, gliding it open a little.
They showered in silence, moving around each other, in and out of the water and then toweled off and dressed.
He stood behind her while she applied mascara.
"But, Las Vegas," he said.
"Moving on." She popped the brush back into its tube and screwed it shut with two quick twists.
The Costa Maya was almost full. Selling everything, her house, her condo, her shares, cashing in her retirement and talking to investors she knew, Tari financed a smallish piece of land with an eighth of a mile of beach, found a silent Mexican partner to sign the documents and got ready to build.
When questioned about her credentials she said, "Of course I can run a resort. I'm from Vegas. Besides, fifty percent of the units are set aside as condo purchase. It's going to be magic."
Hired men pulled out the trees, bared the earth and founded the first buildings. She fought the wet air, striding around the property, over the winding pathways outlined with ribbons of pink and yellow and red plastic supported by slivers of wood hammered into the ground. Visions of stucco walls, palm trees and sod, buffets and swim-up bars appeared before her. She drew in sharp breaths when she reached to touch a spiky palm frond or single-paned window and the mirage dissolved, leaving her in an expanse of lumpy dirt, cement floors still cradled in wooden frames occasionally checkerboarding the brown soil.
"Faster," she said. "Let's do this thing. Vamos. We need some parrots."
The marketing team kicked around the name Lil' Vegas but decided that would not endear the resort to their target clientele: Non-Americans. Americans were out of money. They presented Tari Ann with a logo for Little Vegas instead.
"Little," she said. "Who ever wanted Vegas to be little?"
She fired them and informed the board of her actions in the same email as she proposed a new name: Mayan Vegas.
She wrote, "Here's a tag: Why choose? The economy is tough. Why choose? We offer individuals and families all the vacation they want—Las Vegas and the Mayan Riviera. I've had it translated into six languages, in case people like the idea."
People loved the idea.
Tari rented a short single-wide trailer home and parked it near the beach. In the front she had a computer, filing cabinets and a tiny table where she held meetings with the foreman and phone conversations with investors and architects. In the back a twin bed folded out of the wall, butting up against the stove, refrigerator and sink. She tried to take on the habit of siesta and, in the afternoon, lay on the bed listening to the grind of the generator. Inevitably, she remembered a phone call or email she needed to make or send and sat up, reached to the front and back of the trailer, got her phone or leaned her forearms on the table to type and, after a few minutes, abandoned the siesta. Outside she could see workers sitting in the shade of their trucks, eating huge meals out of coolers and playing dominos. She wanted to scream at them. Stop looking so comfortable. I've only got a few months to build Las Vegas.
In the evenings construction stopped with the sun. As the swollen clouds on the horizon fell dark, the men drove off in pickups or walked to the road to catch the bus.
She found it difficult to remember the names of the workers, Marco, Mario, Michael, Manuel. Las Vegas, they said, the s's trickling out in slow, lazy rivers and the v settling somewhere close to b. Nevada they said with both a's soft, low hills instead of pronouncing the first a as a sharp fall from a cliff, the way true Nevadans knew how. They said Mexico with a he in the middle that made the word a laugh, familiar.
The humidity gave her a rash. Her skin broke out as if she were thirteen.
She wore her makeup thick to cover the chapped skin on her neck and the zits on her face. Streams of sweat streaked the makeup down onto her suit collars.
She could not go to her parents' house for dinner every two weeks. She could not say she remembered when the Mayan Riviera had been nothing but a few palapas shading hitchhiking hippies. Occasionally she drove her leased SUV up to the Ocean Mar Yucatan Resort and had a drink with the managers. They wanted to discuss home and the differences between home and Mexico.
She said, "Do you find the time-share more profitable than outright condo sale?" Or, "I'm thinking llama-drawn carts for the Mayan wedding packages."
She looked over the umbrellas and fruit skewers spiking out of her drink and forced smiles.
The managers went to get new drinks and did not return. She stayed at the table, shifting, shifting the coasters and napkins to mimic a perfect resort layout until the imperfectable design set her teeth on edge.
A few times she picked up guys from the schools of wristbanded tourists meandering through the Ocean Mar's Mayan Market Bar & Gift Shop and took them back to their rooms or to plastic-strapped chaise lounges on shadowed pool-sides.
Mostly at night she stayed in her trailer, an armed guard walking the premises, the screams of the parrots terrifying. She worked through the evenings, emails, budgets, Mayan Vegas emerging from the pressure of her fingers on the keyboard. She sent the board progress reports, We are on target! highlighting achievement and indicating entities that had tried to screw her over. We are glad you're there, wrote the board. This is the level of expertise we had hoped for.
Sometimes her concentration broke and she became aware of other things, the constant crash of waves, the almost imperceptible grit of sand rolling between the sheets and her legs.
The night the men finished the first building, twenty rooms, five with a pool view, she emailed photos to the new PR consultant, sat cross-legged in her rumpled sheets and mashed headphones into her ears. Conversación viente y ocho: Raúl pregunta dirreciones a la tienda de ropa. Tari said, cuadra, isquierda, norte, camiso, and then yanked on the headphone cord. The tiny speakers pulled out of her ears and she heard silence, her windows shut, the air conditioner paused. She listened for the sound of the armed guard walking by. She thought his name was Eduardo or Hector and she felt how small and flimsy the trailer was, tin and vinyl and pressboard. She took out a tube of concealer and flopped the sponge across her face. She opened her screen door and yelled, "Hey."
"Hey," she yelled again.
Across the dark she saw the glowing end of the guard's cigarette.
She went out to him and knelt, ran her hands against the ground, until she felt leaves brush her palm.
"Here," she said. "Here," and pulled up the plant. "See?" She showed it to the man.
His body was thick and squat and he had a semi-automatic rifle strapped across his chest.
"Here," she said. "Come down here. You don't do anything all night." Tari pulled up the delicate leaves of another small plant. "These are weeds. We must stop them."
The man stepped back from her.
"Jesus Christ," Tari said and went back to her trailer, shutting the door tight against the night and the plants creaking up out of the earth.
The doctor in Cozumel spoke some English. He had her defecate into a tiny petri-dish.
"You have parasites," he said.
About the flakey white skin around the edges of her mouth he said, "Fungus. No make-up."
Tari Ann emailed Brad.
"I was thinking about that golf-course idea. Would you be interested in coming down to teach? I need someone with your talent and personality."
The board president visited three days before Mayan Vegas expected its first paying customers. Construction still raged and troops of maids walked across the pitted earth in their sturdy, low-heeled slip-ons, learning about bed making and vacuuming from their bilingual manager, in half-finished rooms and on mattresses stacked in impermanent metal storage units. The chef and his staff practiced the buffet—breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner—feeding the workers. Tari Ann's stomach bloated.
She put concealer on her splotchy face and went out to meet the car. She hustled the president through the still unpainted entrance building.
"The Mayan Strip," she said, sweeping her arm out in front of her.
They walked up the quarter-mile path serpentineing through the shrunken Las Vegas attractions. A twenty-foot-tall Stratosphere, etched with Mayan glyphs, doubled as a climbing wall. New New York New York had a few feet of roller coaster track laid in a ring around it. Farther up a small gondola floated in a small pool. A man with a pole and in a Mariachi outfit stood at the helm.
"Get in. Get in," said Tari.
She pushed the president up the two steps and he awkwardly lowered himself into the rocking boat. Tari flipped a switch and a motor started up, making a current that the mariachi man used his pole to fight. The man sang Guantanamera over the sound of the motor, the gondola bumping the side of the pool.
"Oh. Yes," said the president, unsure where to look. When the man started in on the ay ay ay ay's of Canta y No Llores, the president said, "That was nice," and fled the boat.
They paused in front of the mini-MGM, what appeared to be an empty zoo exhibit.
"I'm glad you are here," said Tari. "The lion has been a problem with customs. What about using a person? Kind of a Cirque thing. Cheaper. Or iguanas. Think about it. Let's show you your room."
She took out her concealer.
Tari Ann believed in Mayan Vegas. She believed in the design, each small building a Vegas experience made intimate. A few go-go dancers in Caesar's Casa, three black jack tables at the Mandalay Bahía, Paco Suza Illusionista, family friendly from noon to eight, adult themed from eight to one, performed atop the indoor Eifel Tower at Parisíto and video poker machines in each building. Labor was inexpensive enough to have someone at every door who could say, Sorry, we are full. You will enjoy El Grupo de Hombres Rojo at the Treasure Cay.
Watching this American in his Hugo Boss pin stripes she felt, for the first time, that the buildings might be small, not intimate, that a climb on her Stratosphere could not compete with the huge walls at Club Med or a bungee jump off the real building.
She found a foreman and told him, "You. All of you need to know that to have a return you must invest. I am watching." She tapped the side of her head, near her eye.
Brad arrived. His tan was perfect and his shoulders broad. Tari Ann rubbed on more concealer. She took him to his room and shut the door, but the sound of hammering and electric saws still came in.
"Vegas cannot question itself," she said.
He put his hands on her hips.
"I don't think I can," she said and tried to suck in her ballooned stomach.
Brad pulled out some papers covered in elaborate script.
"It's a deed. For a piece of the moon," he said.
"I don't have a space ship."
He walked to the window and touched the frame.
"Is this legally binding?" she asked. "Tari Ann? What's that?"
"On the far side. A crater. It seemed more right than a sea. Look on the satellite photo. Next to Izcak."
"We can't build on the moon yet. I'll show you the golf area."
There was a putting green and a small corridor of driving range.
"No course," said Brad.
"We've got a lot to do. Our funding. All those trees. They aren't even mine. I've got a conference call. The chef will make you whatever you like but say it in Spanish."
She smeared concealer on her face.
She could feel Brad staring after her and did not breath until she heard his club swish though the air, crack against balls.
In the first week tourists trickled in. They came for the grand opening deals, Germans and Italians wading through the pools. They hunched over video poker machines and took meringue lessons on the beach. There were not many of them, not the drunken herds in Speedos, shelling out for the sight-seeing tours and the taxies that promised kickbacks to Mayan Vegas, not what Tari Ann had expected and she sent staff to the Cancun airport to clack together coupons for free shows and drinks in the faces of tourists waiting to be put in vans and whisked to other resorts.
"Like this." She wrenched the wrists of her employees. "Want it. I'll know if you don't. Say it: Our all-inclusive can include you."
Brad taught a few lessons. Private or couples. The area was not big enough for anything else.
She had her trailer pulled into the jungle skirting the resort and lay there at night, her stomach cramped, till she rose to hunt weeds.
By the end of the first week Tari had sold none of the rooms as vacation condos. The authorities had come three times and extracted huge cash bribes to keep quiet about the blackjack tables. The gondola leaked from smashing against the pool wall and the Stratosphere had a crack running down the middle of the poured cement.
"We'll put some steel cable around it. It's fine. Tie pillows to the boat. Call it a dream boat."
It was noon. Brad sat at a row of video poker machines in the dark of Caesar's Casa. No tourists came in and the go-go dancers lounged on the stage, chatting. Tari closed her eyes, angry that she could not remember how to say stand up in Spanish. At her hip a walkie-talkie crackled and she hoped someone would need her. Brad put a dollar in a machine.
"It accepts dollars," he said.
"And Euros."
"I'm not going to make it pro."
He taped the computer screen.
"You know, you told me there would be a course here. I thought there was something I could be a part of. And that you might be asking me to come."
"I did."
"You asked a golf teacher. The money's better in Vegas."
"Vegas is dead," she said. "Vegas lives here now."
"Honey my ass."
"I've had an offer from a place in L.A. They need a sales exec, too," he said. "You've had some setbacks."
"You don't see it. You've never seen it. You talked about New York, about L.A., on our first date. You're like them all. The oldest living things in the world grow in the desert and in the mountains of Vegas. Bristlecone pines. Scrubby and hard as a rock and four thousand years old. Nothing grows like that here. Here I go to sleep and in the morning a tree has shot up outside my window. But those pyramids. All those Mayan pyramids, they got built and everyone was sacrificed on them and they were telling the calendar back when the bristlecone started. That desert? How can people stay there? Where it is so slow? Everyone goes. The Indians and the prospectors and the Mob, for God's sake. But here. Maria. Are you Mayan? Of course she is. You know how the desert smells in the rain. Creosote. Growing a centimeter a year. Spiky plants with tiny leaves, little nothing bushes five-hundred years old out next to a freeway. Out behind the Golden Nugget. Creosote are clonal. They grow in rings, a single plant sending branches farther and farther out. The center dies but that land inside, the water, the space for roots, the creosote claims it. There is a bush in the Mojave that is twelve thousand years old. And only so big. How can Vegas live in such a place? Those tortoises all wrinkled like old men and haven't done anything but sleep in their holes for twenty million years. Vegas can't be there. But people that understand don't forget all those slow, hard plants. How to not wait for paradise. Here. Here is the place. Here, where every morning the land is new."
She snatched out her concealer.
The walkie-talkie said, "Incoming."
She yanked it off her belt. "Roger."
She walked from the casino and outside a van opened its doors and four tourists, ooing and ahing the Mayan Strip, stepped out.
"Thank you," she said to the driver whose name was Rudolfo or Rodrigo. She bent to pull a weed and then turned to the visitors.
"Welcome," said Tari Ann. "Welcome to Mayan Vegas. If you have a dream we will make it come true."


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|Bluebird atop a Christmas tree
We're best known at The Rocks for growing Christmas trees, but there's more to the property than neat rows of fir trees lining the fields. With some 1,400 acres of managed farm and forest lands, The Rocks is home to countless wildlife species, including turkey, bear, deer, and an array of songbirds and raptors who nest here or simply pass through seasonally.
|Northern Goshawk
Earlier this week we were visited by a flock of bluebirds, who perched in the Christmas trees, pretty as any ornament. Killdeer are summer nesters in our fields. After we mow the fields to keep the grass low between our trees, we often see Northern Goshawks and Kestrels, which both assist our Christmas tree cultivation efforts by hunting voles, which can damage and kill trees by eating the roots and bark.
With trails through open fields and woods, The Rocks is a popular place for birders. So, if you're coming to one of our tag-your-own tree weekends this fall, or simply looking for a pretty place to explore amid the blaze of fall color, bring your binoculars along. You might see something unexpected!
The Rocks Estate is the North Country Conservation & Education Center for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pleat Pants — Alfresco Stripe
or make 4 interest-free payments of $73.75 fortnightly with More info
High waisted trousers with front pleats and back darts. The pants have a front fly and press snap closure. Straight legs cut off at the ankle, and feature front side diagonal pockets and back patch pockets.
Designed, pattern made, cut and sewn by Mimi Holvast in Australia, with great care and attention to detail. All fabrics and trims have been sourced in Australia.
100% Cotton in Alfresco Stripe
Sizing is regular for this style, but has been designed to be worn somewhat oversized to maximise comfort and practicality. Please see our sizing page, or get in touch for more specific garment measurements — firstname.lastname@example.com.
Please chose your size by the closest waist measurement for your best fit:
Extra Small — 67cm
Small — 72cm
Medium — 77cm
Large — 82cm
Extra Large — 87cm
To reflect the small scale nature and sustainable ethos that Mimi Holvast values, this item is made to order, or batched to order. Please allow up to ten business days for orders to be dispatched. If you need your order in a rush please get in touch — email@example.com


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Ocho y Medio has conducted a successful editorial work related to the world of cinema. Known mainly for its editing screenplays, it has expanded its publishing catalog with the addition of other collections that guide cinema and audiovisual media lovers:
* Colección Espiral: Collection of screenplays.
* Colección Fahrenheit 451: Collection of texts about cinema.
* Colección Furtivos: A collection to fly away from the world of cinema.
* Colección Cautivos del Mal: Biographies & Memoirs studies.
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QuantumClean® and ChemTrace® to Exhibit at SEMICON Europa 2017
20 Oct, 2017, 21:02 BST
Validated Ultra-High Purity. Maximum Productivity.™
QUAKERTOWN, Pennsylvania, Oct. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Global Technologies' companies, QuantumClean and ChemTrace, will exhibit at SEMICON Europa 2017 at Munich's Messe München from November 14 - 17 (booth B1-1749).
"Our semiconductor cleaning, coating and analytical testing centers help our customers REDUCE cost-of-ownership. Analytically validated ultraclean parts result in FASTER chamber recovery and LONGER Mean Time Between Cleans. Optimized cleaning methods and proprietary recoating technologies EXTEND part life. Fast part turnaround times REDUCE inventory costs. We are the only firm to offer ultra-high purity chamber part cleaning validated by a Certificate of Analysis from an accredited laboratory — ChemTrace", explains Scott H. Nicholas, President and CEO.
"ChemTrace offers rigorous quality assurance standards and are independently ISO 17025 certified. We validate cleanliness on thousands of semiconductors parts, annually. Also, ChemTrace performs microcontamination analysis of wafers, cleanroom materials, ultra-pure water, high-purity and complex chemicals", states Surjany Russell, Director of Sales.
We welcome your visit to the QuantumClean and ChemTrace booth to learn more on how our service offerings can bring improvement to your operation by solving critical process chamber manufacturing challenges.
About Quantum Global Technologies®, LLC
ChemTrace® and QuantumClean® are divisions of Quantum Global Technologies, LLC headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA.
QuantumClean is the global leader in sub-10nm outsourced process tool chamber parts cleaning and coating services, tool part life extension and process tool part optimization solutions to the semiconductor wafer fabrication, OEM and OPM industries.
Founded in 2000, QuantumClean operates innovative Advanced Technology Cleaning Centers® built on the premise of providing customers process improvement through consistently cleaner parts® that exceed industry standards. These solutions dramatically reduce our customers' total cost-of-ownership. With 1,300 employees in 18 facilities located in 8 countries, QuantumClean provides unsurpassed cleaning capability and convenience worldwide. quantumclean.com
For over 20 years, ChemTrace has provided independent and analytical verification of process tool chamber part cleaning effectiveness. Recognized as the leading reference analytical testing laboratory for the semiconductor, solar and related industries, ChemTrace has the solutions for FAB, OEM and OPM's critical cleaning issues and requirements. With more than 100 employees in 5 labs located in 3 countries, ChemTrace offers unsurpassed microcontamination analysis. chemtrace.com
Media Contacts
QuantumClean: Meg Cox, +1-215-892-9300, email@example.com
ChemTrace: Robin Puri, +1-503-251-0979, email@example.com
QuantumClean, ChemTrace, Advanced Technology Cleaning Centers, ATCC, Process Improvement through Consistently Cleaner Parts, Single Part Chemical Clean and SPCC are all registered trademarks of Quantum Global Technologies, LLC.
ACS, Atomically Clean Surfaces, Alternative TWAS, Analytical & Engineering Services, C-Coat, Cleancoat, Cleaning, Coating & Testing Center of Excellence, Environmentally Clean Process, ECP, Final Surface Finish, FSF, QGT, M-Coat, PartSmart, PT3, QualClean, Selective Deposition Removal, SDR, Service Request form, SRF, Solution Based Chemistry, TechBriefs, The Perfect Order, The Perfect Qual, The Perfect Process Transfer, Tight-Coat, V-Clean, VeriClean, Waterless Acid, Y-Coat, Z-Coat, Smart, Lean, Clean and Green, Center of Excellence and Validated Ultra-High Purity. Maximum Productivity are all trademarks of Quantum Global Technologies, LLC.
Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/587678/Quantum_Global_Technologies_LLC_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Quantum Global Technologies, LLC


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Build mobile app by yourself. Forget the uncertainty and the frustration of getting different quotes. You do not have to acquire complex technical background, neither. With adiante apps, you create your mobile app within a minutes with a simple web interface. Then you see the results in your mobile.
Create multiplatform apps for Android and iPhone
Using our mobile app previewer you can preview your mobile app in your phone
Even once it is published, you can modify your mobile app and the changes will be instantly available to your users.


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Hi everyone! I am going to repost this a few times this month so everyone has a easy chance to enter. So here goes:
My August Giveaway has ended, and Congrats again to Cynthia and Yolanda!
This month is going to be special! Why?? Well tomorrow is my birthday and to celebrate, I am giving out more prizes! Here they are:
Handmade Tree Of Life:
Mini Portable Folding Photo Studio Box Backdrop softbox USB LED light:
USB Mini Computer Vacuum:
Ladys Eiffel Tower Watch:
What do you think of these gifts?
Remember, starting today, you can enter once a day every day in Sept. All you have to do is click the blue a Rafflecopter giveaway
When you click the blue link, you just enter your first and last and email address.
You can come back to this post each day, and I will be adding the link in my posts this coming month!
Best of luck! Thank you for following my blog!


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Informing on inflammation
ANN ARBOR, Mich.Cancer recurrence is one of the greatest fears of cancer patients next to metastasis, and it proves especially worrisome when some cancers seem to be treatment-resistant from the very beginning. This is seen often in patients diagnosed with HER2 breast cancer, because despite the effectiveness of cancer treatments such as Herceptin, almost half of all HER2 cancers prove resistant to the treatment from the onset, and nearly all develop some resistance over time.
Some of the latest research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center indicates that the activation of an inflammatory pathway is to blame, a pathway that involves interleukin-6 (IL-6), a protein known to contribute to the inflammation typical of rheumatoid arthritis. In mouse studies, the researchers were able to prove that inhibiting the cytokine can overcome the tumors' resistance.
"It already was known that the most common molecular change associated with developing resistance to HER2-targeted therapy was the down-regulation of a tumor-suppressant gene called PTEN," says Dr. Max S. Wicha, Distinguished Professor of Oncology and director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. "That had been already described, so in our paper we genetically engineered cells that were sensitive to Herceptin by knocking down the PTEN gene. And that's how we discovered that when we knocked down the PTEN gene, just like in human cancers that become resistant, the cancers became completely resistant to trastuzumab (Herceptin) in mice. And these cancers then began produce tremendous amounts of the cytokine IL-6."
IL-6 turned out to also be responsible for regulating cancer stem cells, says Wicha, who is senior author for the study. The cytokine was found to fuel the cancer stem cells, making the tumors even more aggressive. Fortunately, not only does IL-6 interact with a receptor, which can be blocked, an antibody already exists to block the receptor. The antibody tocilizumab, which is owned by Roche, was originally developed (and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Wicha notes that the antibody has proven to be very well tolerated, with few side effects. Mice that were treated with both the inhibitor and Herceptin immediately after the onset of cancer never developed Herceptin resistance.
"So what we found was that tumors that are resistant to HER2-blocking agents that activate IL-6 are very inhibited by the blocker of the IL-6 receptor, and it knocks down the cancer stem cells," says Wicha. "So we now have a non-toxic therapy that we think might be very valuable to treat trastuzumab-resistant breast cancers."
Wicha says that it appears the inflammatory pathway can be either turned on naturally or as a defensive reaction to cancer treatments. Some cancers, he notes, have endogenous resistance, a lack of the PTEN gene, from the very beginning, and some have IL-6 activated from the onset as well, while others lose the PTEN gene as they are treated with Herceptin. The models, Wicha says, show that the IL-6 receptor "is actually involved in both acquired and de-novo resistance and there's also data in humans that some of the human tumors have PTEN deleted right from the beginning, and others develop PTEN-silencing as the tumor progresses."
"There is evidence that patients with a lot of IL-6 tend to do poorly. What we found now is that in many of the Herceptin-resistant breast cancers, the IL-6 inflammation loop is driving the cancer stem cell," lead study author Dr. Hasan Korkaya, research assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School, said in a press release.
Moving forward, the researchers are developing a clinical trial to test the IL-6 inhibitor with Herceptin, a trial that will most likely begin in 2013.
"We're currently in conversation with Roche, they're very interested in our research and we're working with them to design a clinical trial that will be using the IL-6 receptor antibody in combination with a HER2- targeted agent to try to overcome resistance to these HER2-targeted agents," says Wicha. "So hopefully we're going to be moving this into the clinic very soon."
Patients with higher levels of IL-6 in their serum seemed to do much worse than those with lower levels, Wicha notes, and as such the researchers will be using IL-6 as a biomarker in their clinical trials. Additionally, he adds, the inhibition of IL-6 could also serve to deal with the issue of cancer cachexia, or weight loss. IL-6, Wicha notes, has already been established as a main mediator of tumor cachexia, and the team found that when given the IL-6 inhibitor, the mice used in the study "started putting on weight, they looked better." They will be examining this further in the clinical trials as well.
Wicha adds that IL-6 seems to be involved in a variety of cancers, including head and neck, liver and pancreas cancers.
The study, "Activation of an IL6 Inflammatory Loop Mediates Trastuzumab Resistance in HER2+ Breast Cancer by Expanding the Cancer Stem Cell Population," was published online by Molecular Cell, and will appear in the Aug. 24 issue of the same publication.
Code: E08081203


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Japanese materials handling specialists DAIFUKU have been awarded a contract to supply a new automated picking system for home delivery organic produce merchandiser Riverford Organic Farmers Ltd.
As part of the project DAIFUKU will supply pick-by-light technology for ambient, chilled and meat products with a conveyor system to transport picked goods between the different zones.
Intelligent software will look at the customer orders to be picked and determine how many boxes will be required to fulfil the order. The pick-bylight displays will help the pickers to select the required products quickly and efficiently from the pick face.
The investment will help Riverford to improve their operational efficiency, reduce packaging and maintain their position as a value add supplier of home delivery produce.
The project will be implemented by Daifuku's specialist team and strategic partners with work on site planned to start early in 2017.
Robert Wood
Tel: 01908 288780
Email: email@example.com


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EdSource (Highlighting Strategies for Student Success) recently published an article penned by Jane Meredith Adams titled "Understanding social and emotional learning: a quick guide". According to the article, "To improve education, California is asking schools to improve the way they meet the emotional as well as the academic needs of students." We are so grateful [Read More…]
Self-Regulation Helps Kindergartners
From a recent article published in EdSource: A new study from New York University researchers Clancy Blair and C. Cybele Raver links a kindergarten program that specifically promotes "executive functions" – such as self-control, paying attention and planning – with academic improvements that persist beyond kindergarten. If this study is of interest to you, you might [Read More…]


text: Full_Name: Quanah Gibson-Mount Version: 2.4.19 OS: NA URL: ftp://ftp.openldap.org/incoming/ Submission from: (NULL) (184.108.40.206) When configuring a replica using syncrepl, it should be possible to have an option that sets the keepalive used for the tcp connection between the replica and master. Support for this was added to libldap, but no corresponding support was added to the syncrepl stanza. I'd suggest a keyword like "keepalive" for configuring this, based in seconds.


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Microsoft's move to acquire Nokia's handset business, which has already cleared regulatory hurdles in the United States and Europe, is running into some resistance in China.
China's Ministry of Commerce has submitted the multi-billion dollar acquisition to "a second-phase anti-trust investigation," stated the Global Times, citing news first reported in The Economic Observer newspaper based in Beijing. Typically, deals of this type sail through the approval process within the first 30-day phase.
Microsoft and Nokia expect the deal to close in the first quarter of 2014.
People with inside knowledge told the paper that the delay stems from concerns from Chinese phone makers, including Lenovo, Xiaomi and ZTE. They worry that once the transaction has closed, "Nokia will charge them high patent fees for the usage of valuable technology on handsets," the report said.
Further reading
To date, Nokia has been charging patent fees for only a few of China's phone manufacturers, adhering to "a loose system for patent protection in China." Once Microsoft scoops up the Finnish device maker's hardware unit, the fear is that the company will pursue "official patent licensing contracts with all domestic users or even charge them higher."
Nokia's fees are roughly 2 percent of a device's full price. In 2014, the Chinese mobile device market is forecast to generate $1.1 billion in patent licensing income for 2014 Nokia.
Nokia has signaled that the company plans to expand its licensing programs to generate revenues after it hands off its handset business to Microsoft. Mark Durrant, a Nokia spokesperson, is quoted telling Reuters that once his company no longer has its "own mobile devices business, following the close of the [Microsoft] transaction, we would be able to explore licensing some of those technologies."
Microsoft announced Sept. 2 that it was acquiring Nokia's hardware division for $7.1 billion, after reports of an earlier failed bid during the summer. Nokia Chairman and interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa said in a statement that following a "thorough assessment of how to maximize shareholder value," his company's leadership accepted Microsoft's offer.
Flush with billions of dollars and freed from building Windows Phones, Nokia would turn its focus toward "enabling mobility through its leadership in networking, mapping & location, and advanced technologies," he added. Nokia shareholders approved the sale Nov. 19.
In an email to Microsoft staffers, CEO Steve Ballmer said the move was "a smart acquisition for Microsoft, and a good deal for both companies." He added the software giant was gaining "incredible talent, technology and IP."
Ballmer added, "We've all seen the amazing work that Nokia and Microsoft have done together." Nokia and Microsoft formed a strategic partnership in 2011, which resulted in Windows Phone bumping Symbian as Nokia's principal smartphone OS.
While Windows Phone is a distant third behind Google's Android and Apple's iOS in the global smartphone market, Microsoft and Nokia are making steady gains in some regions. In Latin America, Windows Phone is quickly closing in on iOS. In Italy, Microsoft has already surpassed Apple.


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Panasonic FZ70 vs Canon SX50HS, both megazoom camera features class leading optics and excellent core specification, take a look at the major difference,
Sensor: The Canon SX50 HS features 12.1MP CMOS image sensor, Panasonic FZ70 features 16.1 megapixel High Sensitivity BSI MOS sensor, In general back-illuminated sensor, BSI CMOS sensor gives better low-light performance when compared to normal CMOS sensor.
More ISO range in Canon: Canon offers more ISO range upto 80-12800, Panasonic FZ70 limited from 100-6400.
Better Lens in FZ70: Panasonic FZ70 features 20% more wide coverage and 10X + optical zoom compared to Canon SX50HS, Due to the bright lens you get less noise in your images when compared to SX50 HS.
Image Stabilization: The Canon SX50 HS features Hybrid Image stabilization, Intelligent IS to automatically select from six different modes to optimize image stabilization for the given situation: Normal, Panning, Macro (Hybrid) and Tripod IS for stills; and Dynamic, Powered, Macro and Tripod IS for video.
Panasonic FZ70 comes with POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), works on Still an d Video both.
Continuous shooting Speed: The FZ70 can record up to 9 fps in a 3 shot burst, 5 fps with one-shot AF, or 2 fps with continuous AF. In Canon SX50 HS at Normal mode you get: approximately 2.2 shots/sec, High-Speed Burst HQ (6MP approx) enables continuous capture at 13fps for up to 10 frames.
Video: Canon Capture high-definition 1920x1080p with stereo sound at 24fps and HD recording at 30 fps, Panasonic FZ70 features Full HD 1080i video recording at 60 fps is supported in the high quality AVCHD codec for fluid, well-detailed movies and 1080p video at 30 fps is also available in the Internet-friendly MP4 format.
Display: Panasonic FZ70 incorporates a 3.0″ 460k-dot rear FIXED LCD monitor and a 0.20″ 202k-dot electronic viewfinder for live view monitoring, The Canon SX0 HS camera features a 2.8″ Vari-Angle LCD monitor with a resolution of 461,000 pixels and an electronic viewfinder with approximately 202,000 pixels.
Verdict: If you are looking for a megazoom camera, we recommend you to buy Panasonic FZ70, you get 60X lens, BSI CMOS sensor, Fast Continuous shooting speed and Better Video mode.
The Panasonic FZ70 price is $399, Available at Amazon and B&H store.
The Canon SX50 HS price is $369, Buy Canon SX50 HS from Amazon


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Who We Are
We are a company that focuses on well-designed and well-crafted composite wall panel and decorative surfacing materials. We invest in state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and equipment to create the best possible product on the market. The result is outstanding value and innovation for architects and designers all across North America.
Driven By Design
We have carefully developed over 43 authentic and bold yet elegant surface selections featuring natural wood grains, stone surfaces and artistic patterns to enhance interiors, millwork and furniture. Panasphere products are used to enhance high-end hospitality, retail, commercial and selected residential applications.
Design oriented thinking
Our inspiration from nature and our passion for design – drives our culture, our longlasting collaborations with clients, partners and employees and the materials we create. Along with our values and beliefs – we grow and approach new opportunities in a way that is distinctively Panasphere. We value thinking that goes beyond perfunctory solutions, to a deep understanding of the scope of the projects and the human and aesthetic impact of the work we do. Ultimately, our difference is the belief that innovative thinking, coupled with experience and skill, drives instinctual design and creates a stronger and more productive connection between people, their structural assets and their environments.


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The Rosetta Mission has been writing a new chapter in what we know about the formation of life.
The ESA teams involved are now preparing for the last part of this amazing journey. Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko has recently reached the perihelion - that's the closest point to the Sun in its six and a half year orbit. It's an important scientific step - as increasing solar energy warms the comet's frozen ices, turning them to gas and dust. To stay safe, Rosetta has been forced to move further from the comet.
The Rosetta mission has been extended by nine months - until September next year. It's hoped this will further boost the enormous amount of data that's already been collected.


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The historic Napa Valley Opera House could be said to have it all: gorgeous 130-year-old architecture, an illustrious and colorful history, a multimillion-dollar renovation and a strong reputation as the reigning destination for music and comedy in the Napa Valley. The one thing the opera house hasn't had since it reopened in 2003 is its own resident theater company.
That is about to change.
"When we first started thinking of launching our own theater company," says Barry Martin of Napa's Lucky Penny Productions, "one of our dreams was to someday call the Opera House our home, but we figured that would be three to five years down the road."
This week, after a couple of shows staged in various Napa locations, Lucky Penny launches its first full season at the Opera House, with Neil LaBute's incendiary battle-of-the-sexes comedy The Shape of Things. Directed by Martin, the show has just five performances and is driven by a creative online marketing campaign (anchored by a tasty video "trailer" featuring the cast delivering some of the play's more delicious lines). Expectations are high for the company's get-to-know-you show at the Opera House.
"We are incredibly fortunate," says Martin, a community outreach coordinator for the city of Napa and a one-time Napa Valley radio station manager with a lifelong affinity for all kinds of theater. "Our first show at Lucky Penny established us as a company that sells out its shows," he says, referring to 2009's two-week production of Sam Bobrick's romantic comedy Baggage, performed inside the Napa Wine Train's station. The show drew great word-of-mouth buzz and established Lucky Penny (named for a song from the movie Waiting for Guffman) as a certifiable presenter of crowd-pleasing entertainment.
Baggage was followed up with a production of Norm Foster's Looking, performed in the Cafe Theater at Opera House. "Those shows," Martin explains, "established our reputation, and now people know that to get seats for one of our productions, it's a good idea to get tickets early."
When Martin and Lucky Penny cofounder Tyler Bartolucci were asked to plan a full season of shows inside the main theater, there were a few immediate challenges to deal with.
"The Opera House is a busy place," Martin laughs, "so there was no way we were going to be able to do traditional three-weekend runs of our shows. We know we'd have to do one-week runs of four or five days in a row." Usually, in the case of those traditional multiweek runs, a theatrical show is expected to start off slow, and then build its audience through positive buzz and print and internet reviews. With just five consecutive performances, that's a luxury that Martin and Bartolucci will not have. Fortunately, Lucky Penny's reputation having been established with their first two shows, the cast and crew are gambling that the new shows will build up enough mo' before the shows even open.
"It doesn't hurt that The Shape of Things is a fairly well-known play," Martin says. "It's relatively new," he adds of the 2001 play, made into a film directed by LaBute, starring Paul Rudd, Rachel Weisz and Gretchen Mol, "and it has a strong following among young people. What we are hoping for is to find a way, with the shows we do, to satisfy the tried-and-true theater audience while also attracting younger audiences who don't routinely consider theater as one of their entertainment options."
The Shape of Things tells the story of three art-school students whose lives are changed when one of them becomes romantically linked to another student who sets out to perform a complete makeover on him. How much should a person be willing to change for the woman of his dreams? That's the question at the heart of LaBute's play, and with dialogue that is both wicked and hilarious, LaBute has established himself as one of the most entertaining provocateurs in the business.
In setting to challenge local audience's view of what theater is, Martin hopes to build an eclectic, pan-generational audience for future productions. "Let's just say that we aren't content to do the same things everyone else is doing," Martin laughs. "By being different, we intend to become the next big thing in Napa."
'The Shape of Things' runs Feb. 17&–21 at the Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main St., Napa. Wednesday&–Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2pm. $25. 707.226.7372.
Museums and gallery notes.
Reviews of new book releases.
Reviews and previews of new plays, operas and symphony performances.
Reviews and previews of new dance performances and events.


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If you ask college kids what fake id they have most will say Illinois. In the past Illinois was one of the worst states to have as it became known as a popular state to fake. In 2017 everything changed when Illinois updated their license design.
The new Illinois drivers licenses have been completely changed. Instead of the dated PVC ids they changed to using thin paper with micro perforations.
What does this mean for me?
In simple terms this means that the new Illinois id is extremely rare. To see a real one let alone a fake one is very unlikely so to bouncers these ids must be real since no one could have possible faked them yet. Until now.
The moment these ids came out we had our team get a copy and make a template. We are one of only 2 sellers to currently produce the new Illinois id and the competitions product sucks! If you are interested in purchasing an Illinois fake id we are the best choice.
Best Place For Fake IDs: Howl at the Moon
This casual bar is pretty well-known for its unique concept of dueling piano bars. It has two complete sets of musical instruments and the band members play different music styles. They also take song requests from customers- they don't even require tips. It has overflowing talents on stage which basically guarantees a great musical experience for King Of Fakes customers. Howl at the Moon frequently holds raffles where a lucky customer might win free appetizers, a large bucket of beer or a happy hour. This bar accepts table reservations online which is pretty convenient if you have a fake Illinois id. This place is intimate but large enough to dance around in.
Even though there's a cover charge of at least $10, the food and drinks here are not that expensive. It serves several different flavors of their best-selling 'bucket of paradise'. Even if the bars get crowded, the bartenders will not make you wait that long- they're very fast and efficient and rarely ask for id. The staffs here are really skilled and accommodating for patrons under 21 with a Illinois fake id.
Although this bar caters to all ages if you have a King Of Fakes ID, majority of the regulars are college students. With talented and versatile musicians performing on stage, strong drinks, and an overall entertaining and chill atmosphere, Howl at the Moon is the perfect choice for an awesome night out with friends or a date with someone special. Because a lot of college students are coming in every night and it has a pretty fun and entertaining vibe, it's not that hard to meet someone amazing in this bar if you have a Illinois fake id.


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My Galaxy Tablet 10.1 froze up today and I can not get it to restart. Its has a full battery when plugged into my computer it says will not start.
This may help: http://www.technipages.com/samsung-...
The only way to get the 10.1 into recovery mode, is to press and hold the volume down button in and then press and hold the power button, release the power button after you see the Samsung logo but do not release the volume button.
Make sure it has a charge, and it is completely off when you try. You should end up with a screen with two icons on it, let me know if you get it.


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Calling the Liberal nomination process "open" is like saying someone is "a little bit pregnant" — a physical impossibility. There is no middle position, and no amount of rhetoric from Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau can change that.
Trudeau recently told a group of Liberal candidates that "(O)pen nominations in our communities have allowed tens of thousands of Canadians to participate directly in contested nominations."
Unfortunately, many are also not sticking around — disillusioned by a process that they see as rigged and leader-driven.
Two recent examples include the dust-up between David Bertschi and Andrew Leslie in Ottawa-Orleans, and the fracas between Harjit Singh Sajjan and Barj Dhahan in Vancouver South. At the Leslie nomination, supporters of the rival camps actually came to blows over the charge that the party had blocked former leadership rival Bertschi from running against the favoured Leslie — putatively over the issue of repayment of campaign debts, but more likely because Leslie is seen as the stronger candidate. Berstchi claimed this was "backroom, strong-arm politics" and issued a libel notice to the party, paving the way for a defamation lawsuit.
In Vancouver South, Dhahan's supporters had equally harsh words for party brass and the leader. "The Liberal Party, especially Justin, is in bed with extremist and fundamental groups. That's why I decided to leave the Liberal Party," said Kashmir Dhaliwal, ex-president of the Khalsa Diwan Society, a Sikh society founded in 1902. Dhaliwal alleges the party has been "hijacked" by the World Sikh Organization, who favoured Sajjan, and claims that 4,000 members loyal to Dhahan will now tear up their cards.
How did it come to this? Open nominations were supposed to reinvigorate the Liberal party by reaching out to a greater pool of candidates and pruning deadwood from the ranks. But there were problems from the beginning — allegations that Trudeau loyalists and 'star' candidates were getting preferential treatment in terms of information and the setting of nomination dates, or were simply seeing their rivals declared ineligible to run.
The high-profile race in Trinity Spadina, the seat of former NDP MP Olivia Chow, saw Trudeau openly favour star candidate Adam Vaughan while the party kiboshed the nomination papers of Christine Innes, who is now suing the party.
Lower-profile races such as Ville-Marie, Hamilton-West-Ancaster-Dundas and Brantford-Brant were tarred by resignations and accusations of dirty tricks. In Brantford-Brant, for example, the less-favoured candidates were informed by email that the registration deadline was only two hours away. Candidates are also appealing the results of nomination races in two recent races in New Brunswick. And with half their candidates yet to be nominated, more trouble is sure to follow.
While this is no doubt discouraging to the Liberals, one is tempted ask why anyone is surprised. The Liberals have never been a 'grassroots' type of party. That title belongs to the former Reform party and, to an extent, the current Conservatives — though they're having a host of nomination troubles of their own.
The difference between the two parties, and between the Liberals and the NDP as well, can be best observed on the convention floor. Liberal gatherings are notable not for their obsession with democracy or policy, but for their focus on power. The last Liberal policy convention in Montreal was almost risible for its lack of debate: Delegates were probably too busy networking to care.
One of the key aspects of the Liberal party's strength at the ballot box is its ability to come together around the question of power — shape-shifting to surround the electorate's political center of gravity, wherever it happens to be at the time. At the candidate level, this translates into a need for electable candidates … process be damned.
It's also natural for leaders in any party to want to surround themselves with loyalists. What better way to secure loyalty than by securing a nomination?
On top of this, all parties have become obsessed with weeding out bad apples — with good reason. They all know how toxic they can become if they're left to ferment and explode. Think of Conservative candidate Randy "to heck with the courts" White in 2004. Think of Wild Rose candidate Allan "lake of fire" Hunsberger in 2012. Think of PQ candidate Pierre Karl "I want a country" Peladeau in the last Quebec election. (Maybe it's better not to think about that last one.)
So why not be honest about it? Why claim openness where none exists? Probably because it sounds good. Admitting that the leader of a political party wants to win at any cost doesn't sound very democratic, inclusive, or any of the other things the Liberals want to appear to be.
Still, that's the reality — even if Trudeau doesn't want to own up to it. Reminds me of a joke: How do you know a politician is lying? His lips are moving.
Tasha Kheiriddin is a political writer and broadcaster who frequently comments in both English and French. In her student days, Tasha was active in youth politics in her hometown of Montreal, eventually serving as national policy director and then president of the Progressive Conservative Youth Federation of Canada. After practising law and a stint in the government of Mike Harris, Tasha became the Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and co-wrote the 2005 bestseller, Rescuing Canada's Right: Blueprint for a Conservative Revolution. Tasha moved back to Montreal in 2006 and served as vice-president of the Montreal Economic Institute, and later director for Quebec of the Fraser Institute, while also lecturing on conservative politics at McGill University. Tasha now lives in Whitby, Ontario with her daughter Zara, born in 2009.
The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author's alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.


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Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning Review - DashGamer
Axis Football 2020 Brings An Alright Madden Competitor | Gamerheadquarters
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Welcome to Our Practice
Dentist Clayton, MO - William H. Peterson, D.M.D.
Dr. Peterson, a dentist in Clayton, serves patients from the greater St. Louis community. Dr. Peterson is located in the Clayton Business District and is the cosmetic dentist to see for all of your dentistry needs. Dr. Peterson has a convenient locaion, freindly staff, and great services. Dr. Peterson has years of experience and will help you with all of your dental needs. Some of our services include:
Our goal is to assist you in maintaining your dental health in optimum form, function, and esthetics throughout your lifetime. The entire office team is trained to provide the finest dental care available. Part of our commitment includes regularly attending continuing education programs to remain constantly informed on the latest developments in dentistry. We believe in pampering our patients. Soft music, television, or your favorite DVDs are just a part of the office environment we have created to make your dental visits a special experience.
We respect your busy schedule and, therefore, manage our appointments efficiently. We always "inform before performing" so that you may better understand treatment.


text: We live a liturgical life in order to become like the One whom we follow from the manger to the Mount of Olives. We live a liturgical life to learn to think like He thinks. To do what He would do. To make Him the center of our lives — not our work or our money or our status. In the cycle of the liturgical year we learn about what it means to live a Christian life. We learn to distinguish the important from the superficial things of life. It's not a history book; it is the celebration of the spiritual development of the soul.


text:
The Taxi to Delhi
As the pre-paid taxi, number 594, chuntered off in the general direction of India's capital city, I noticed that we had acquired a solicitous 'friend' who had jumped in the front seat next to the driver. The friend was as voluble as the driver was silent. As we sat on the back seat, reupholstered in a thin velour with tiger stripe print, the man assaulted our ears with an endless stream of questions. How long was the visit? Where were we staying? What was our itinerary? Countries of origin? It was then impressed upon us the vital necessity of attending tourist information offices. I started to look out of the window…
Fields with cattle in, but not fields like in England. No fences and cows wander free here. Sacred beasts that they are for Hindus. A white horse, tethered perhaps. More cattle, lazing in a water hole. People hacking crops in the fields. More people beautifying what passes for a central reservation in the road – ornamental bowls on plinths, as yet empty. More people painting large stones white along the roadside. We pass a collection of empty baths in the central reservation. It's like the main road into the city from the airport is in the process of being primped to make a good first impression. Perhaps the baths and bowls will be planted up in due course. It's too late now, for me anyway, good first impressions or no; my return ticket isn't for another three weeks.
We are out of the country now, and into the city proper. Traffic runs to three lanes in each direction: no road markings, lots of vehicular weaving and no indicators of the light-winking variety I am used to seeing. Here it is all communication of intent via vociferous horn honking. The cacophony is not confined to mere matters of indication. Drivers also use them to indicate other intentions, or recognition, also irritation and other things I was unable to define. Rickshaws, both the auto and pedal variety, vie for a rickshaw-shaped space amongst monster Tata trucks, mopeds, buses, handcarts, coaches, cars, bicycles and bullock carts. Some owners have decorated their vehicles with gaudy tinselly ornaments. I don't know if this is for some recent festival, for luck, or a run-of-the-mill practice.
The taxi passes through a small settlement, not quite a slum. It is forced to slow down whilst the driver swerves round white cows ambling nonchalantly across the road. I see people living alongside dogs and pigs, piglets, children, goats. Washing is hung out to dry. We stop at some traffic lights and a woman with a bundle on her back approaches the taxi. I assume that the bundle is a baby, but I can't be certain. She asks for money. I have thought about my approach to these requests for money in advance of the trip – tourists are cash cows. I understand this and have a strategy to give something every day. The car pulls away. My western conscience pricks me and the woman with the bundle is left empty-handed.
I know at the next stop the taxi makes, there will be another hand thrust forward. This is not going to be a straightforward trip.
Posted on June 22, 2013, in Travel and tagged Begging, Delhi, Driving, Taxi. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
The farmhouse was a tall building, and this large attic with its three windows commanded on one side the view of Hyres roadstead on the first plan, with further blue undulations of the coast as far as Frjus; and on the other the vast semicircle of barren high hills, broken by the entrance to Toulon harbour guarded by forts and batteries, and ending in Cape Cpet, a squat mountain, with sombre folds and a base of brown rocks, with a white spot gleaming on the very summit of it, a ci-devant shrine dedicated to Our Lady, and a ci-devant place of pilgrimage. The noonday glare seemed absorbed by the gemlike surface of the sea perfectly flawless in the invincible depth of its colour.


text: James Mead wrote: > On 28/11/06, J. B. Rainsberger <jbrains762 / gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Suppose I have an Order, which has_many OrderItems. Suppose I want to >> write a test that checks that when I ask the Order to do something, it >> asks its order items to do that something. I tried to do this like so: >> >> def test_delegates >> order_items = [] >> 3.times { >> item = mock("order item", :do_something => nil) >> order_items.push(item) >> } >> >> order = Order.new(:order_items => order_items) >> order.do_something >> end >> >> This works with normal objects, but it seems ActiveRecord objects don't >> like someone passing them Mocha::Mock objects in their constructors. >> They check that the order items, in this case, are OrderItem objects. >> >> Is there something in ActiveRecord I can override to relax this >> behavior? I don't like having to create an OrderItem just to add a >> single stub or expectation. >> > > What we tend to do in this case is stub the collection method itself i.e. > Order#order_items. > > So you could do something like this... > > def test_should_do_something_to_all_order_items > order_items = Array.new(3) { mock('order item', :do_something => nil) } > order = Order.new > order.stubs(:order_items).returns(order_items) > > order.do_something > end > > When I have a spare couple of hours I'll be releasing a new version of > Mocha > that supports mocking of the is_a?. This will allow you to make this work > with ActiveRecord, but with the disadvantage that you are coupling your > test > to the innards of ActiveRecord. > > I hope that helps. That's not bad. I think I'd rather stub the collection than sorry about is_a?. I'll give this a shot and let you know how it goes. Thank you, James. -- J. B. (Joe) Rainsberger :: http://www.jbrains.ca Your guide to software craftsmanship JUnit Recipes: Practical Methods for Programmer Testing 2005 Gordon Pask Award for contribution Agile Software Practice


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What is a chancroid?
Chancroid is a bacterial infection that causes open sores on or around the genitals of men and women. It's a type of sexually transmitted disease (STD), which means it's transmitted through sexual contact. It's rarely seen in the United States. It occurs most frequently in developing nations.
The bacterium Haemophilus ducreyi causes this infection. It attacks tissue in the genital area and produces an open sore that's sometimes referred to as a chancroid or ulcer.
The ulcer may bleed or produce a contagious fluid that can spread bacteria during oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse. Chancroid may also spread from skin-to-skin contact with an infected person.
If you're sexually active, you may be at risk for chancroid. If you travel to or live in a country that's lacking in certain resources, you may be more at risk than people who live in places with abundant resources. These resources include:
- healthcare
- food
- shelter
- water
If you're a heterosexual male or a minority, you're risk of chancroid increases. Other risk factors for chancroid include:
- poverty
- sex with commercial sex workers
- drug and alcohol use disorder
- anything associated with higher risk sexual practices
- multiple partners
The symptoms may vary in men and women, but typically they begin four to seven days after exposure.
Men may notice a small, red bump on their genitals that may change to an open sore within a day or two. The ulcer may form on any area of the genitals, including the penis and scrotum. The ulcers are frequently painful.
Women may develop four or more red bumps on the labia, between the labia and anus, or on the thighs. The labia are the folds of skin that cover the female genitals. After the bumps become ulcerated, or open, women may experience a burning or painful sensation during urination or bowel movements.
Additional symptoms in men and women
The following symptoms can occur in both men and women:
- The ulcers can vary in size and are usually anywhere from 1/8 to 2 inches across.
- The ulcers have a soft center that's gray to yellowish-gray with defined, or sharp, edges.
- The ulcers may bleed easily if touched.
- Pain may occur during sexual intercourse or while urinating.
- Swelling in the groin, which is where the lower abdomen and thigh meet, may occur.
- Swollen lymph nodes can break through the skin and lead to large abscesses, or collections of pus, that drain.
Diagnosing the condition may involve taking samples of the fluid that drains from the sore. These samples are sent to a laboratory for analysis. Diagnosing chancroid currently isn't possible through blood testing. Your doctor may also examine the lymph nodes in your groin for swelling and pain.
Chancroid may be successfully treated with medication or surgery.
Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacteria that are causing your ulcers. Antibiotics may also help decrease the chance of scarring as the ulcer heals.
Your doctor may drain a large and painful abscess in your lymph nodes with a needle or through surgery. This reduces swelling and pain as the sore heals but might cause some light scarring at the site.
The condition is curable if treated. Chancroid sores may heal without noticeable scarring if all medications are taken as prescribed by your physician. Untreated chancroid conditions may cause permanent scarring on the genitals of men and lead to serious complications and infections in women.
If you're diagnosed with chancroid, you're also at risk for all other STDs so you should be tested for them as well. Additionally, people who are HIV positive that contract chancroid tend to heal more slowly.
You can avoid getting this disease by using condoms during sexual contact.
Other preventive measures include:
- limiting the number of sexual partners and practicing safe sex
- avoiding high-risk activities that may lead to getting chancroid or other sexually transmitted infections
- alerting all partners if you develop the condition so that they may be tested and treated as well


text:
Whenever I see them, I snag them.
There are so many things to do with nice frames.
I typcially make them into chalkboards or simply paint to use for family pics, but I had a hankering for some chicken wire.
Chicken wire is a booger to work with, but it really rocks.
I created some cute chicken wire frames with my backless frames.
I really am pleased with them.
It helps that the people in the frames are cute, too.
Can someone say Father's Day gift idea??
Linking To:


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There have been many people who have been speculated to have been the Antichrist throughout history. Nero, Hitler, and Stalin are but three who have been considered by some to be the Antichrist. And indeed any unpopular non-Christian politician is likely to be called the Antichrist by some people. The point of this article is not to speculate on any person but rather look at scripture.
There is one verse in the Bible which would seem to indicate that the Antichrist will be a Roman. In the midst of Daniel's "seventy sevens" in Daniel 9, there is a short description about what will happen in the final "seven" after the period of seven sevens and sixty sevens has been completed.
Daniel 9:26-27
26 After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
It's easy to miss the Antichrist's identity in these verses even after reading it. Here's what we know for certain: the Anointed One is Jesus and He has been put to death. This happened right after the sixty sevens which concluded on Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem.
Verse 27 seems pretty clear that Daniel is discussing the Antichrist and what he will do during the final "seven" which we also call the tribulation.
In between those two ideas we have one sentence to give us the identity or at least the nationality of the Antichrist. "The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary." Based on verse 27 that follows it, the "ruler who will come" would appear to be the Antichrist. Who are his people?
The Antichrist's people are those who destroyed the city and the sanctuary. In 70 AD the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, fulfilling Jesus' prediction that not one stone would remain atop another. The gold in the temple melted and ran between the cracks in the stone. The Romans pried apart each and every stone of the temple to retrieve the gold.
For these reasons it can be derived from these verses that the Antichrist will be Roman. This comes with a caveat though. We cannot be sure if Roman meets the narrow definition of the city of Rome (or country of Italy) today or whether it meets the broader definition of the land that encompassed the Roman Empire of Christ's day.
Likewise, the end times will see a Revived Roman Empire. Some see this being fulfilled through the European Union today (formed by the Treaty of Rome in 1960) but the truth is we have no way of knowing. The Revived Roman Empire may or may not incorporate the same area that the ancient empire did. Thus it could be possible to be "Roman" and not even be from a territory that originally made up the old empire.
There is also a possibility that the Revived Roman Empire is not even a literal Roman Empire but rather a new one that is built upon the same ideals of democracy. In such a case, some point to the United States as possibly fulfilling the position of the Revived Roman Empire. The nation was built on Roman principles of democracy and even its architecture is decidedly Roman with its columns and domes.
For these reasons we can say that the Antichrist will be Roman but we might not be able to truly pinpoint his country of origin. The most literal reading of these verses would have the Antichrist coming from Rome or at least Italy but there is certainly room for interpretation which would allow him to arise from many other locations as well.


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If you want to start a coffee business then one of the first task requirements is for you to purchase the coffee vans. Purchasing all the necessary equipment for the coffee business is easy however the complicated part comes when you have to brew a coffee that will delight the taste buds of the customers. Not everyone is blessed with the right skills and not everyone can brew the delicious coffee that will attract the customers. It requires specific skill set as well as measurement of the different ingredients that need to be treated properly in a well-defined specific manner.
This is why you need to attend barista schools or the barista academies before you start the operation of your own personalized coffee business. The barista schools have provided the home-based entrepreneurs with the perfect opportunity to gain right training as well as competent knowledge for starting their own coffee business. Barista word comes from Italian word bartender, instead of serving alcohol barista serves coffee based drinks. Let us have a look at some of the best barista schools.
The Seattle Barista Academy: This school is hands down one of the best one out there. If you want to learn about coffee the Seattle barista academy is the place to get into. Not only they give you complete knowledge about coffee but also offer one on one professional training for you to get customized training as every person is different and makes different mistakes. The instructions and information comes from top coffee professionals in a state of the art facility. Another amazing advantage of getting into the Seattle barista academy is that they give you complete experience of running a coffee shop through virtual reality experience which comes very handy if you are planning to own a coffee business or open a café.
They also teach you other important stuff like how to use commercial espresso, different methods of brewing coffee and how to tour coffee roasting facility. The Seattle barista academy also teaches about the different equipments for coffee making that suits you personally and meet your requirements. They also teach you how to set a bar and how to manage and operate stores successfully.
The Texas Coffee School: This school is a multipurpose coffee school. The Texas coffee school offers you almost every course or training on all things coffee. Along with training you in everything that enables you to make a perfect espresso shot, the school also trains you in many other things from making latte art to conducting proper coffee tasting and steaming perfectly aerated milk every time. The Texas coffee offers many different types of courses. For example there is a two day all-inclusive barista class course which offers 14 hours of preparing espresso drinks, learning recipes and maintaining bar equipment.
They also offer courses for people who want to do more than just make coffee and be barista. For these people there are courses on coffee shop management or 3 day coffee business overview course. In these classes they give you training and knowledge on how to open and run your own coffee shop successfully. Sometimes that seems scary and impossible but with the right help and tips that you get from the Texas coffee school you will see that owning a coffee business is very easy and attainable. They also make it easy for you to find the courses as you can register for the courses and can select any number of available dates. There is also information available on entire curriculum for each course so you can select a course that suits you the best.
The IBCA: The "international barista coffee academy" offers many different variety of barista training classes from latte art to the grinding of coffee basics, etc. You can be just a beginner and not an expert or intermediate level barista to take most of their training sessions. There are courses available even of very basic training in foundational level like teaching you about bar and drink basics that you can work up to intermediate and professional level classes. They will help you improve your barista skills and turn you into a skilled coffee master.
Another amazing aspect about IBCA is that they also accept people and have courses for people who are just enthusiasts and for whom being barista is just a hobby, which is very rare among barista schools. You don't have to be perusing a coffee career you might just want to make good coffee at home and you can totally get that course here. You can just register for some basic workshops and can get a little knowledge and confidence and can impress your friends at home. You can also participate in just coffee tasting if you want to acquire that skill to have coffee related conversations with people.


text:
Mybpcreditcard – Login BP Credit Card Account @ www.mybpcreditcard.com
Mybpcreditcard ( www.mybpcreditcard.com) is known to be the official website of BP Credit card. In this website, you can create a new account and register your credit card. Not only this, you can also check details like your bank balance and many more along with it. In today's world, Mybpcreditcard has become a perfect option that will help you financially. There are a number of credit cards available in the market and all those have evolved in a great way. It becomes very important for you to choose the right credit card for yourself.
Mybpcrecitcard – BP Credit Card Login
Synchrony Bank provides two credit card namely BP Credit Card and BP Visa Credit Card. As per the policy both allow you to earn cents per gallon rewards that can be redeemed instantly at the pump. After 90 days account opening you'll 25¢ off* per gallon for every $100 you spend with your BP Visa® Credit Card or BP Credit Card (excluding non-BP stations).
In this article, we will be sharing details with you like that of how you can create your account on that website, how you can set up new password and username and how you can retrieve the same in case you lose it.
How to register an account on Mybpcreditcard?
Given below are the steps that will help you in creating an account on Mybpcreditcard.com. You need to follow step by step instruction in the right way.
- Visit the website www.mybpcrecitcard.com. This is the official website of mybpcrecitcard payment
On the home page, you will find an option that says first time user? Register.
Click on the Register button.
You will be directed to the next page, here you will get an option that says "Please enter your card number and billing zip code". Make sure that you enter your card number and also your zip code correctly.
As you enter both these details, click on the continue button.
When you have done this, you will be asked to enter personal details like that of your name, your address, date of birth, email address, amongst others.
As soon as you complete all these details on the page, click on the Continue button.
You will now have to select you r username and password. While doing this, make sure that you also write down the username and password in your notebook so that you do not lose it.
When you login to this page next time, you will have to use these credentials.
When you sign in now, you can see your bank balance account, your bp account, and other details.
Official site: bp.syf.com
Detailed info: www.mybpstation.com
How to retrieve your username and password in case it is lost?
- In case you lose your username and password, the same can be retrieved by following the steps given below:
You will have to visit the official website. The link for the same is given above.
On this page, you will find an option of reset password/ find user id. This option can be seen below the big green button that says Secure login.
Once you click on that, you will be taken to reset password page.
Again, you will be asked to enter your used id and zip code.
Enter this information correctly and click on continue button.
Once this is done, you will be directed to the next page and here you can change the password as per your wish.
If you login next time, you will be able to use these credentials and do that.