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Great limestone walls towered over the grasslands, reaching like blades into the clear sky. Songbirds danced through wildflowers thick with plump insects. Metal clashed in defiance of the peaceful atmosphere. A raucous cheer shook the training circle as Finora stumbled to catch her balance. She drew a gauntlet across her lip and glanced at the blood that smeared the iron fingers. Her opponent had found a gap in her defenses—an admirable feat. But as he boasted his would-be victory to the throng of other recruits, she spotted his weakness. For the third time since their match had begun, he exposed his left side. His buckler pointed at the sand uselessly.
Finora struck like a viper while his leering comrades distracted him. Her fist impacted under his ribs hard enough to dent his armor. She dropped into a crouch and kicked his leg from under him. He flailed like a doll and landed on his back. Winded, he grasped for the sword that had fallen just beyond his reach, but then froze and looked up at the woman who had bested him. Finora's sword touched his neck, the cold tip announcing her victory.
With a triumphant smirk, she threw her buckler to the sand and spun on her heel to face the officers who lined the fence opposite the recruits. Two lieutenants muttered to their captain as the latter regarded her calmly. He was a broad-chested man with thick brown hair and a beard he hadn't trimmed in days. His brown eyes sat below an unyielding brow. He had a strong jaw and neck, along with an almost regal bearing that commanded the respect and obedience of all who sought a military career. Finora had heard countless stories of Captain Kyr Rondera's accomplishments both in the city guard of Raitom and in the war. He was a legend among his people and abroad.
"I cannot argue your skill, Finora Kaiyta," Kyr called. The way he casually leaned against the fence stoked a fire in Finora's chest. She held up her guarded mask as she lifted her chin. He wouldn't… "I am afraid that I cannot override my superiors in this," he continued. "Your persistence is commendable, but you will not find your place here amongst Raitom's military forces."
Finora took a rebellious step forward. "I am stronger, faster," she cried, "than any of these men! I have bested them all. Why would you turn away your most skilled prospect?"
"Tradition, girl." Kyr canted his head. He seemed more curious than antagonistic, but Finora didn't care. She had worked too hard, trained too long, for him to give her gender as the reason that she couldn't join the greatest military outpost in all of Camriiole.
"Tradition paints you a fool," she snapped. She ignored the tense excitement that surged through the recruits behind her. Kyr's eyebrows lifted with amusement, but the gesture only angered her further. "Where I come from, skill and a capacity to learn and grow determine one's lot in life. Not the weight which lies between one's legs!"
But her argument struck a solid wall and could not breach their obstinacy. She departed the outpost as she had every day for two weeks. She retrieved her weapon from the quartermaster and left behind the buckler and thin sword they had loaned her for sparring purposes.
She had already explained her reasons to them. The story she had woven had carried with it the stubborn diligence one could expect of a woman like Finora. She had told them of a man from a village far to the north, who had dreamed all his life about going away to Raitom to join their prestigious military. He had stumbled upon a family before that had ever happened, and so he had relayed his imaginings to his most attentive daughter. He had abandoned his dream, but Finora now carried his drive to pursue a military career. She had trained obsessively for years.
None of that had mattered to these stubborn pigs. The captain's final decision had been nothing more than a convenient excuse. His superiors—a council of five elderly bureaucrats—would do anything he suggested. What did a handful of old clerks know that surpassed the great Captain Kyr Rondera's expertise?
No, he had all but taunted her with his response. Only one last thing remained to win his favor. If she challenged the captain to a duel and won, then he would have no choice but to accept her application to join. To deny her even then would let shine his bigotry.
And then she would leave and find another way to fulfill her personal mission.
Finora traveled south until she found her camp off the main road, where a copse of trees grew alongside a bend in the river. The path between Raitom and the north training outpost saw no activity during the summer, so her campsite had remained undisturbed. She changed into her leathers, setting aside her metal armor to clean later.
By dusk, low clouds blanketed the heavens and carried a cool breeze from the north. To the far northwest, the sky was black despite the orange and red glow of the setting sun. The storm would reach her camp sometime in the night, so she reinforced her tent with stray rocks and the metal pieces of her armor. She was grateful for the presence of the trees. They could act as a wind screen when the storm arrived.
She could have avoided exposure to the storm and simply returned to Raitom, but the City of Swords was more than a day's walk from the northern outpost. Even a horse couldn't reach the outpost before late afternoon, and this little copse of trees was the best form of shelter out here in the plains.
Finora spent much of the night fighting to keep her tent in one piece. Everything she owned lay in a pool of water by the time the roaring winds and torrential rain subsided. Only a few hours remained until dawn when she finally collapsed onto her soggy bedroll. A few hours of sleep were better than none, she reasoned. So she closed her eyes and opened them a moment later. The morning sun snuck through a tear in her tent's east wall only long enough to wake her. The light then vanished behind the clouds and did not break through again.
Finora donned her driest clothes and toted her campsite in her sodden backpack. Regardless of the outcome of her challenge, she would not spend another night on this road.
The gate guard allowed her entrance to the outpost, where a few trees that lined the road south lay mangled in mud and roots. A thin track cut across the field, a crooked and tumultuous path that hadn't been there yesterday. The outpost's limestone walls stood mostly undamaged except for a few cracks where thin chunks had fallen.
Inside, debris littered the ground. All the training circles had disappeared beneath broken planks of wood and clods of mud. Some of the fences still stood, but most lay scattered and splintered. The grounds teemed with recruits as they tried to restore order after the storm's chaos.
"It was a cyclone."
Finora turned her head toward the captain's voice, but her gaze lingered on the destruction. "I see that," she replied. "Are they common here?"
"Common enough." He shrugged and hooked his thumb on his belt. Like Finora, he had set aside his heavy armor and wore simple leathers. "I knew you were relentless, Kaiyta, but it is early and you are here. I trust that means you spent the night in the rain and wind."
She wondered if she looked as disheveled as she suddenly felt, but she just shifted her backpack on her shoulder and looked at him. He must have slept as well as she had. He appeared weary, but in good spirits. No one had been injured in the storm, then.
"I have returned one last time to challenge you to a duel," she said quietly, turning her gaze back to the mess. A recruit knelt before a broken fence, using tools to fix it with salvaged materials. "But I suppose you do not have time for that now."
"You suppose right." Kyr brushed his hand over his beard, contemplative. His gaze lingered on the woman before it drifted to the recruits who toiled over the restoration of the training pits. "But stay. Help us restore our outpost and we will have our duel this evening. The damage is not great enough that twenty strong soldiers cannot piece this place back together by then."
For all their previous harsh judgment, the men were grateful for Finora's presence. She was just as tireless now as she had been in her military pursuits. The lieutenants barked their orders to maintain organization, but all the officers assisted their subordinates with the manual labor. In time, they worked into an efficient system of cleaning and gathering and rebuilding. The grounds weren't as pristine as they had once been, but late afternoon arrived and the outpost returned to its proper function. The recruits laughed and celebrated the swift restoration.
Finora returned to the far western corner of the interior wall, where she had stowed her backpack. The day had been long and difficult, but adrenaline banished her weariness. The duel would take place soon, if Kyr held true to his word. And then she would fight for her place amongst the other recruits one last time.
She inhaled deeply through her nose and let her gaze drift longingly west. She would not return home for many years, whether she won or lost this duel. If she won, then she would know the kind of man that Kyr Rondera was. And if she lost, she couldn't go back home immediately. She refused to return in failure. Somehow, today or some other day, she would show everyone who she was. She would assure her family that they had rightly placed their faith in her.
Finora left her armor plates in her backpack. The leathers would have to suffice, for this battle would require more than just strength and stamina. She also needed the flexibility to respond to the captain's attacks as swiftly as possible, so she couldn't don the restricting metal armor.
She attached her sword's scabbard to her back, buckling the strap across her torso from one shoulder to the opposite side of her belt. The sword was large enough that she had to hold the hilt with both hands, which was a definite disadvantage against a warrior accustomed to fighting with both a sword and shield. But she knew how to fight Kyr's renowned brute strength.
She was quicker.
He met her as she made her way across the grounds after a quick supper of trail rations. His charming smile and polite manner disarmed her for only a moment before she threw that hard mask back up over her face. She folded her arms as he addressed her cheerfully.
"You worked diligently today, Kaiyta," he remarked, again hooking his thumb on his belt. "But I expect you are ready to move on to other matters, no?"
"Are you going to accept my challenge or not?" she demanded.
He lifted his eyebrows and some of his mirth faded. "I have already accepted it, good woman. If you prefer to skip formalities and pleasant conversation, so be it." He pivoted on his heel and gestured to the nearest training circle. "By all means."
Guilt gnawed at her stomach, but she pushed it aside and approached the indicated circle. The layer of clouds had thinned over the last few hours, leaving spots of blue throughout the sky. Finora hopped over the mended fence, one hand on the top plank, and took up a position on the far side opposite Kyr. The captain followed her into the circle. When he drew his sword with a slow, metallic ring, his two lieutenants joined them. Most of the other recruits followed suit, spreading out around the fence so each had a favorable view of the fighters.
Finora studied the captain with a frown. "Where is your shield?" she observed.
He rolled his shoulder. "I see your weapon of choice and wish to make it an even fight," he answered. He twirled his weapon in one hand and moved his right foot back, taking a defensive position. "Draw, Kaiyta."
She was unsure if his decision was favorable or not. He had changed into his armor, at least partially, so he was still slowed by the cumbersome metal, but without the shield, he suffered less restriction in maneuverability.
No matter, she thought. I will just need to watch him a bit closer.
She drew her large sword and held it expertly in front of her, angled in such a way that it cast a reflection from the sun as the orb of light peeked around patches of clouds. Silence settled over the grounds in anticipation of the duel. Even the birds and insects quieted.
Finora attacked first. Her long brown hair whipped around her face as she darted forward. Kyr lifted his sword to deflect her attack, but she had feinted. She bent her right knee and swung her fist at his abdomen. Just when she thought she had struck the first blow, pain shot through her left side and she tumbled into the hard sand. She rolled and quickly sprang back to her feet, holding her sword before her defensively. Kyr shifted in the sand. His expression was light and friendly.
He had kicked her and she hadn't even seen him move. She shook her head lightly. She had to pay closer attention if she wanted to win this duel.
He lunged at her then. She ducked to the left to avoid his fist, and then raised her blade to parry his near-simultaneous attack with his sword. Her larger weapon knocked his away easily, the momentum opening his right side more than he had intended. She fell into the direction of her swing and buried her elbow into his ribs. He grunted and stumbled back a step, partially winded.
But he did not relent. His sword cut through the air so fast that she barely lifted hers in time to stop it. And then his arm wrapped around her shoulder and he threw her to her left, trying to knock her off balance. She hooked her leg around his to stop him, and then arched her back and hit his mouth with the back of her head.
Kyr spun around and drove his elbow into her side, ignoring the blood that trickled from the corner of his lip. She cried out in surprise and pain, but then grasped his arm and twisted her body, her leg still locked around his. He lost his balance and they both tumbled to the ground. Murmurs rose from the gathering around them, but their audience was rapt, unable to look away from the display of skill from both of the fighters.
Finora wrestled with the captain, their swords discarded. She punched his jaw and tried to pin him into the sand, but he was strong. His muscles taut, he fought her grip and finally wormed his hands around her wrists. He heaved her up above him and then threw her aside. She rolled once through the sand, her head striking the ground and momentarily clouding her vision. He twisted his body and leapt after her. He drove a knee into her stomach as he leaned down and grasped her wrists above her head. They panted as they glared at one another, their hearts racing.
Kyr's expression softened with amusement. "Your eyes are fierce, Kaiyta," he taunted. "Blue and beautiful and deadly. I pray I am never truly your enemy."
"We are not finished yet, Captain," she hissed.
She struggled violently against his grip, gasping for air as his knee dug harder into her belly. A shout burst from her lungs as she twisted and brought her knee up to dislodge his leg. His balance swayed and she finally knocked him to the side. She freed one hand and strained to reach her sword.
Her fingertips just brushed the hilt of her weapon when their audience erupted into a flurry of panicked cries. Kyr's grasp on her other wrist disappeared and she scrambled to her feet, hauling the heavy sword with her. The captain stood opposite her and they both locked their eyes on a new enemy.
A dragon the size of a small inn crashed into the east wall of the outpost, raining stone upon the grounds. The beast lifted its long, sinewy neck and roared. The sound was chilling, deafening. The recruits scattered in a frenzy of screams. None of them had the skill or knowledge to face such a terrifying beast.
The dragon's slender body was covered in a sea of inky black scales that rippled over its muscled body. The frills that lined its spine were crooked and short, with torn membranes stretched between each one. Horns jutted out from its jaw and brow, swept back to create an overall sleek profile. It stood poised, cold yellow eyes watching with satisfaction as the men became frightened children before its glory. Long black talons dug into the limestone wall, etching deep lines into the surface whenever it shifted. Its tail coiled over the edge of the wall.
"Get them all out of here!" Kyr suddenly cried over his shoulder. Finora glanced back, but her gaze didn't linger on the retreating lieutenants, for the captain had already jumped over the fence in front of her. He shouted at the dragon and drew its attention. "We warned you last time, Varixi! You will not know mercy twice!"
The dragon's laugh sent a shiver through Finora's body. Slowly, the woman climbed over the fence. She didn't take her eyes off the dragon.
"Mercy!" Varixi howled. "Your guardian is not here, little bug. There will be no mercy this day!"
The dragon spread its wings wide and dove from its perch. Kyr bolted to his left to avoid its pounce, but the creature's talons knocked him into the dirt. Two jagged slits appeared in his breastplate, but no blood seeped from the damaged metal. The captain regained his footing and ran straight to the dragon, his sword angled down. Varixi sneered at him, but missed when she snapped her long jaws at him. Kyr rolled through the grass and thrust his sword up into the dragon's neck. The creature shrieked as the sword tip bored between two scales, but the blade didn't catch. Kyr pulled it free easily and leapt over the dragon's foreleg to escape another wild swipe of claws.
Varixi spread her wings and hissed as she stepped aside so she could locate him. But then she bellowed with rage when another blade plunged deep into her shoulder. She whipped her neck around and focused a single eye on Finora, who released the hilt of the blade she had buried behind the dragon's shoulder blades. The woman scowled.
"Hard to fly like that, is it not?" Finora goaded.
Varixi's slitted pupil narrowed until it almost disappeared within the yellow inferno. The dragon's roar this time was crazed. Finora gritted her teeth, but she knew that she had just thrown kindling over an already raging fire, and had then become the target of that searing fury. She had meant to distract the beast, though. That damned captain had to realize that.
The dragon lashed out at Finora. It swung its claws and gnashed its teeth, but it was slower now that a blade as long as a human had lodged into its shoulder. Finora avoided most of its wild attacks, but one finally made purchase and sent her skidding across the ground. She curled her knees to her chest and gasped, pressing her hands to the deep gashes spanning her left side. Blood seeped onto her hands and her vision swam.
The dragon spun. Its wild eyes settled on Kyr, who stood so close that the creature's hot, rancid breath washed over him. The captain smirked, and then drove his sword straight into the dragon's yellow eye. With a sickening slurp, the blade sunk into the dragon's eye socket. It slid through the soft tissue until it pierced the brain. A tremor shook the dragon's body, and then it fell and did not move again.
Kyr raced to Finora's side and dropped to one knee next to her. She had sat up and had already peeled her leathers away so she could press fresh fabric to her wound, torn from her sleeves and trousers. He heaved a relieved sigh and looked up when one of his lieutenants arrived with medical supplies. She accepted the lieutenant's offer of aid, especially a bottle of whiskey.
"You are far too stubborn to die from a wound like that," Kyr offered. She squinted up at him and he smiled. "Not the smartest thing you have ever done, I would wager."
She grunted as the lieutenant slapped a thick paste over the gashes covering most of her ribs on that side. Slowly, some recruits began to gather around them in a wide circle, while the braver men drew close to the dragon's corpse with a mixture of awe and lingering fear.
"You mean giving you every opportunity to end the bitch?" she growled. "Perhaps not the most enjoyable, but it was smart."
He chuckled and stood. "Go back to Raitom," he told her.
She looked up at him with wide, perplexed eyes. "You cannot be serious!"
He hooked his thumb on his belt. "I am absolutely serious," he went on. "You have been coarse and at times altogether unpleasant since you first arrived here, Kaiyta. You have been persistent to the point of madness. And you held your ground against a dragon. You stood with me and fought when you had no obligation to do so."
He leaned down and smiled faintly. "So go back to Raitom and heal up. Then join us here. I think we will all have much to learn from you."
Finora started to answer, but the lieutenant chose then to tighten a bandage around her torso. She could scarcely breathe through the needed constriction. So she lay back on the grass and closed her eyes. The pain had abated after several mouthfuls of whiskey, but her side still throbbed. The cuts hadn't reached her bones, and the dragon had missed her organs, so she just needed time to recover.
The woman exhaled slowly. She had done it, after all. Her victory against their prejudice shone as bright as her pleasure that her actions had led to the dragon's death. Pride swelled in her chest, but she quelled it under the reminder that she still had so much to do and learn. Next time, whether she faced a dragon or a man, she would not leave the battle as injured as she had this time.
She opened her eyes. Kyr still stood nearby. He spoke quietly to both of his lieutenants and occasionally indicated the dead dragon.
"Captain," Finora coughed. Kyr turned his head. "We still need to finish our duel…"
A smile spread across his lips, but she ignored his response and just relaxed in the grass again. The gentle breeze that tousled her messy hair was warm and soothing. The birds and insects returned to their songs.
Background Music: "Cloaking Device" by Miguel Johnson.
Header Image by: Samuel_Manopo.


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This has been an issue that has been on my mind for a while now. Why have the Sharks struggled to win the Currie Cup in recent years, despite having teams with good players. What has made the Bulls so successful since 2002? In my opinion it is not just about the ability of the players. The difference in tight high-pressure games is more often than not in the mental department.
This post is intended to stimulate discussion, I would like to hear what people think about this.
So, here goes, I am going to highlight 10 points which I believe to be vital components to a championship winning team (in no particular order):
1. Talented players: The first obvious requirement is that the team needs to have players which are talented. This is why no one is thinking that a team like Griquas is going to win the Currie Cup. However good their win was last weekend, they simply do not have the quality of players to mount a serious challenge in the Currie Cup. To be fair to the Griquas I think if they did fantastically well, they would make the semi-finals. Back to the point, a team needs to have players which are up to the task of winning trophies in terms of their ability and experience and temperament.
2. Depth: One thing which is inevitable in modern sport is injuries. Thus the ability of a team to deal with these injuries is vital in winning a championship or not. These "second-string" players then need to be managed very carefully so as to keep team spirit up as well as ensuring that when injuries do occur, the players in the wings are better equipped to step up to the plate and perform well. This is a fine line for management to tread, but their role will be discussed a little later.
3. Senior players: The senior players play a huge role in the psyche of the whole team, these are the guys who provide leadership to the younger guys. If your senior players do not have a good attitude and self-discipline, this will rub off on the younger players. The senior players also have a vital role of providing an example in how they follow the leadership of the captain and coaching staff but at the same time taking their own measure of responsibility. The senior players also need to have the ability to step up and be captains when required.
4. Captaincy: A captain is the guy who gets to lift the trophy first, and this is for a reason. He is the one man who represents his team towards the referee, media and supporters. Obviously the captain needs to make the right decisions on the field. But, on top of that, he is responsible for creating a good impression of the team to the referee and to do this, he needs to communicate effectively with the referee, a good example of this would be Sean Fitzpatrick. The captain also needs to inspire and motivate his teammates, there are different ways of doing this, examples being the big talker in francois pienaar and the quiet lead-by-example character of Gary Teichmann. It is no coincidence that teams often struggle when their captains are unavailable. But, as mentioned above, a championship-winning team will have senior players able to step into the void. Thus leadership development is also important.
5. Captain-coach relationship: It is valuable for the captain and head coach to have a good relationship. This improves team morale as the core leadership of the team are on good terms. There needs to be a large measure of trust between the coach and captain. The coach needs to be clearly in charge of the team but at the same time willing to listen to the input of the captain.
6. Coaching staff: These are the guys who more often than not get criticised when the team is performing badly and rarely get the credit when the team is doing well. That said, a good coach in my opinion is one who stays relatively anonymous and stays more in the background. The role of the coaching staff is to manage players properly, ensuring they are mentally and physically prepared for the game at hand. It is important that they have a proper relationship, without being too unaproachable or too familiar with the players. Among their most important roles is deciding upon game strategy, and to win trophies the right strategy for the right game needs to be employed.
7. Big match temperament (BMT): This is an area in which teams like the Sharks and All Blacks have seemed to struggle in recent years, with the All Blacks lack of BMT peculilarly coming around during RWC play-off matches. BMT is the ability to perform at optimum when the situation requires, a good recent example is Morne Steyn slotting the last minute penalty to win the series against the British and Irish Lions. The Bulls seem to have cultivated a group of players with BMT, and this is probably one of the reasons why they have been so successful post-2002. Obviously BMT is vitally important in winning tight play-off games, and a championship winning team needs to have developed some sort of ability to win the difficult games, as BMT is often the factor which separates two evenly-matched teams, and can even result in a team of lesser playing ability beating one with more talent.
8. Confidence: In my mind, this is very closely related to BMT and often comes from winning the big games. It is important that the line between confidence and over-confidence is not crossed. This can be disastrous. So, this factor in a championship winning team is simple, you have to believe you can win. However dodgy the circumstances were, this is a factor the Bulls had in the 2007 Super14 final and the Blue Bulls had the belief during last years final, when they nearly stole the trophy at the death. Luckily for Sharks supporters the Sharks also had enough self-belief to pull it through.
9. Ruthlessness: This is where a team, when on top, twists the knife and does not allow the other team back into the game. However good the Sharks were in last year's Currie Cup, this characteristic never materialised much with the possible execptions of the Griquas game in Kimberley and The Lions game at the Coke tin. Teams that have had this characteristic is the Australian cricket team of a few years ago, no surprise they were so successful in that time. This is strangely something that South African teams seem to lack, and not just rugby teams. In short, do not let your opposition back into the game when you're on top, and you will have an excellent quality required for winning multiple championships.
10. Good fortune: This has been commonly known as "the bounce of the ball" but as Gary Player said: "The harder the practice, the luckier I get" This factor also refers to picking up long-term injuries or not during a campaign. But, I would say this factor would more likely rule out a term ( more on the injury front) than help a team into a winning position. Another unfortunate aspect of this factor is the role that referees can play where key decisions they make can determine the outcome of a game, even a championship, and this is a factor which out of the players hands.
So, these are my thoughts on the main factors which may determine whether a team wins a Currie Cup or indeed any other championship. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I have not discussed each factor in a lot of detail. This is because my goal with this post is to stimulate discussion.
And, yeah I know, the Currie Cup is not won in July, but I figure it will be more fun to debate these things now.Tweet

subset: commoncrawl


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Foursquare's Plan for Making Money: Promoted Specials
Foursquare is planning a new way to make money from its 20-milllion strong, location-sharing network.
The company will launch a redesigned app in July that allows merchants to buy placement for their promotions, Foursquare cofounder and CEO Dennis Crowley told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.
Foursquare already allows businesses to use the platform to promote specials on their own venue pages. What Crowley has in mind is a bit different.
"We'll essentially be offering promoted placement of specials within our redesigned app, targeted using the same technology that powers Explore, and some other premium features," a Foursquare spokesperson tells Mashable.
To redeem the specials, users will still need to check in.
"We're getting really good at connecting people with places, and connecting those places with people," Crowley said in the interview. "Instead of serving up places we think you might be interested in, we can do the same things for businesses, and [tell them] these are the folks that are most likely to come here, based upon their check-in habits, based upon the places they've been to and their friends have been."
Crowley also described a new product that will guide users to places that they or their friends have been to once they arrive in a city.
Some have questioned the value of check-in services like Foursquare. A December 2011 study from Forrester Research found that just five percent of U.S. adults use any location-based check-in services, which suggests that that checking in has a long way to go before reaching the mainstream.
And compared to the breakout success of photo-sharing app Instagram, which passed 50 million users last week, or video-sharing app Viddy, which now has more than 26 million users, location-sharing may seem tired.
But Crowley told the WSJ that there's a good reason location-sharing hasn't caught on with the same fervor as some other social apps.
"Video sharing and photo sharing are fundamentally different than location sharing," he said. "People are still warming to the idea of location sharing. We are inventing this category, or really pushing it forward."
NOTE: This article was updated to include a comment from Foursquare.


text: I'm purchasing a Nikon D50 body soon, and I already have a sigma 28(ithink)-200mm lense. I really like Macro photogaphy, and I'll have around $200 to spend on a lense after I buy the D50. What are some choices in my price range that will give me pretty good quality prints? Also, I have an option to buy a Nikon D50 (refurb) with a Tamrom 28-80mm and a 70-300mm macro. Will tamron give me good quality? Would it be better to stick with my Sigma and buy a different macro lense? Thankyou, Kyle Oh, I just found the Lens Babies... they look like they can have some pretty cool effects... They seem like they have a close focusing distance... Also, could they take normal straight macro shots too? I've only seen the tweaked ones.


text:
June was a blur! There was lots of swimming, Father's Day, and a family wedding. I had several doctor's appointments, work was extra busy, and Landon sat all by himself for a haircut. Where does the time go? It seems like days are long but months are fast!
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Debt Summary
Woo hoo! We are under $150,000! Doesn't that number still seem so huge? It does, but we started out at almost $185,000. Getting under $150,000 is a great milestone!!
Last month I mentioned using money from our snowball for a pool ladder, but that actually came out of the June snowball. I was doing our report so late into the month that I didn't realize it. Other than that, we didn't take anything extra from our snowball. It felt like a tight month (even though we have plenty of money in the bank) because we were trying NOT to take any more out of our snowball payment.
We paid for a wedding gift and a small amount of clothing for me. I had nothing to wear to the wedding because I still can't fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes (sigh), and I also didn't have much to wear for summer. I shopped at the thrift store first and found several great deals. Then I also went to Kohl's with the help of a 30% off coupon. Overall I spent less than $120.
We paid close to $1500 in our snowball payment this month. Obviously I COULD have used some of that money to cover the clothing, but I didn't want to! I want us moving forward on our debt as much as possible. So I re-allocated money from the Christmas category and will have to work to put it back by December.
|Type of Debt
|Expected Payoff
|Student Loan
|Credit Card
|Credit Card
|Credit Card (HE Loan)
|2018 – September
|Credit Card (Student Loan)
|2018 – November
|Credit Card (Student Loan)
|2019 – April
|Auto Loan
|2019 – August
|Student Loan
|2020 – April
|Student Loan
|2021 – January
|2022 – January
Debt Percentages
The unsecured debt (balance transfers) and auto loan figures are starting to look manageable! In just a few months, the unsecured debt number will be practically cut in half!
Our average interest rate went up from 4.1% to 4.2% because we are paying off a 0% debt right now. It will continue going up each month while we work to pay off our balance transfers before the 0% rate expires.
We have received several more balance transfer offers, and I've REALLY considered moving our auto loan to a 0% card. On the surface, it seems like it would always be a good idea to eliminate interest. Once I did the math, I determined it would only save us around $300. Our interest rate is 3.79%, and of course the amount of interest we are paying decreases every month. It didn't seem worth it to go through the effort and put the added pressure on ourselves to save only $300. What if we have another emergency? Keeping a little flexibility is more important than $300 right now.
Payoff Progress
Method: Modified snowball method using Undebt.it
Our progress moved from 30.3% up to 33.8%, and we lowered our debt balance by $2,529.43 this month! The next debt to be paid off is coming up in September. It's right around the corner, but it feels SO far away. It's hard to be patient when we're finally seeing the end in sight.
Wasted Money?
We paid $519.69 in interest for June, so it's SLIGHTLY less than May. The debts we are working on right now are at 0%, so we won't see dramatic changes in our interest until 2019. At least it's going down. I want to chop that number, but I just need to be patient and stick with the plan.
More Wasted Money??
Our dining out spending has been consistently over budget. I feel like I keep talking about it every month, and we keep overspending. Ugh. Do we increase the budget? We could….but that doesn't really align with our goals. I think the real issue (as I mentioned last month) is boredom with our meals and lack of proper meal planning and meal prep. I need to make that more of a priority and enlist help from the hubs.
We spent $213.05 on dining out in June, so that's $113.05 over budget. We had to take that money from other categories that are probably more important categories. If you asked us if we would rather put gas in our cars or eat out, of course we would choose gas…so why do we keep robbing the gas category?
Bonus Money?
We cashed out credit card cash back earnings in the amount of $182.47 in June. This is one thing that saved us and helped us cover the clothing and the dining out overspending.
We don't WANT to use the cash back to cover overspending. I want it to be EXTRA money. I want to use it for debt payoff, a family fun activity, or even to get ahead on our true expenses. I don't work so hard to optimize our cash back in order to eat that money!
July will be better. July will be better. July will be better. Say it with me. July will be better. It's funny how much the overspending annoys me given our current financial picture compared to a couple years ago. We have come SO FAR. We have savings. We aren't adding to our debt. We're making good progress. I just don't want to ignore the overspending issue because I don't want it to get out of hand again. It's a slippery slope!
Are your finances harder to manage during the summer? What's your biggest challenge right now? Share in the comments!


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The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) held a working group meeting on September 14, 2016 to discuss Proposed Rule 1430 – Control of Emissions from Grinding Operations at Forging Facilities. This proposed rule will reduce toxic metal particulate emissions and associated health risks from metal grinding operations at forging facilities. The rule will apply to facilities that press and grind metal parts for industrial applications. SCAQMD has identified 37 potential forging facilities that will be affected. SCAQMD is currently conducting ambient monitoring and site visits at various forging facilities to determine toxic metal particulate emissions from typical activities. General requirements of Rule 1430 will include emission controls, source testing, enclosures, housekeeping, monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.
For more information regarding compliance with this proposed rule, please contact our Irvine office at (949) 567-9880 or click here.


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On Revenue-Optimal Dynamic Auctions for Bidders with Interdependent Values
Constantin, Florin
Published Versionhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88713-3_1
MetadataShow full item record
CitationConstantin, Florin and David C. Parkes. 2009. On revenue-optimal dynamic auctions for bidders with interdependent values. In Agent-mediated electronic commerce and trading agent design and analysis, ed. J. Collins, 1-15. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. Previously published in Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing 13: 1-15.
AbstractIn a dynamic market, being able to update one's value based on information available to other bidders currently in the market can be critical to having profitable transactions. This is nicely captured by the model of interdependent values (IDV): a bidder's value can explicitly depend on the private information of other bidders. In this paper we present preliminary results about the revenue properties of dynamic auctions for IDV bidders. We adopt a computational approach to design single-item revenue-optimal dynamic auctions with known arrivals and departures but (private) signals that arrive online. In leveraging a characterization of truthful auctions, we present a mixed-integer programming formulation of the design problem. Although a discretization is imposed on bidder signals the solution is a mechanism applicable to continuous signals. The formulation size grows exponentially in the dependence of bidders' values on other bidders' signals. We highlight general properties of revenue-optimal dynamic auctions in a simple parametrized example and study the sensitivity of prices and revenue to model parameters.
Terms of UseThis article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAA
Citable link to this pagehttp://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4039773
- FAS Scholarly Articles [17492]
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)


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Related Products
Passive DC signal isolator
Signal isolator for electrically isolating the 4 to 20 mA measuring/supply circuit of a measuring transducer with 2-wire connection.
The device fulfills two functions simultaneously. - It provides for electrical isolation and - it transmits the supply power component of the signal, i.e. auxiliary power, to the measuring transducer without feeding anything to the circuit itself. Accordingly, the isolator does not include any auxiliary power terminals. Certain variants of the SINEAX Si815 are FSK compatible (frequency shift keying). They are used for dialog-capable "intelligent" measuring transducers with FSK technology and HART or a company-specific protocol.
- Electrical isolation between input and output: prevents the formation of parasitic voltages and currents and eliminates grounding problems with interconnected and intermeshed signal lines.
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Moran & Company is the apartment expert, but not just because our professionals focus on apartments. It's because we are experts in all aspects of multifamily transactions, including ground leases, portfolio sales, complicated partnership structures, buy/sell provisions and all types of nuances potentially impacting value.
Neptune Marina
The Assignment
Neptune Marina is a development site on the water in LA's Marina del Rey. It is fully entitled for the development of 526 apartment units and the redevelopment of 174 boat slips. Like all sites on the water in the Marina, the Neptune site was encumbered by a ground lease with the County of Los Angeles. That ground lease was originally executed in 1961 and, at the time we marketed this deal in 2016, had a remaining term of only 44 years. California state law forbids any governmental entity from signing or extending any lease beyond a date which is 99 years from its original execution which coincided with the 1960 expiry date. So developers and their investor partners could not count on a routine extension of this lease.
The Challenge
Neptune Marina is, without doubt, one of the most desirable apartment development sites anywhere in the country. However, the project was a very large project (estimated to cost over $300 million to build) that had to be developed with a prevailing wage agreement in place and would ultimately be subject to an affordable agreement for 15% of the units. Any prospective developer would be responsible for guaranteeing a very large construction contract and delivering market returns to his investor partner while there was still enough term on the land lease to provide debt liquidity to current and subsequent investors. Moran not only needed to find a developer partner with the track record and financial strength to support their guarantees under the contract. But that developer needed to come with an equity partner and construction lender in order to prove its ability to perform. Because of the seller's long term ownership of this site and long term negotiations with the County over lease extensions and other County requirements, the new developer needed to "partner" in some way with the seller.
The Solution
Because there were a limited number of developers that we believed had the track record and balance sheet sufficient to stand behind the necessary construction loan guarantee, Moran & Company recommended that we take this opportunity to a short list developers and present it to the decision makers from each development entity in their board room in a road show format. Each developer was walked through the merits of the site as well as the way in which the land lease impacted risks and returns. We highlighted the challenges of getting a construction loan this large and the credit required to execute such a construction contract. Through those discussion, we were able to discern which developers had the appetite and resources to partner with the seller, provide the construction guarantees and bring debt and equity to the table.
The lease on Neptune Marina was assigned to the new development entity in October of 2016.


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Steve dion commented 2016-05-25 22:34:35 -0400
Trudeau is a delusional mental case.
Canadians are saying overwhelmingly that they want a referendum on any changes to our electoral system. Brian is joined by Darrell Bricker, Lowell Green and Rick Smith on the issue.
Also on the show Alison Azer whose children were abducted by her ex-husband and taken to the Middle East. Dave Tripp from the 3 in the Key podcast on the Raptors and more on Bruyere's research initiatives.


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When President Kennedy told the nation to start building nuclear fallout shelters in 1961, Russians had a goofy leader who wore ill-fitting suits and waved his shoes at people. What with Boris Yeltsin's overworked liver and the last spate of Kremlin coup rumors, soon they could have Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a man so goofy he gets thrown out of--not bars--entire countries.
The CIA thinks Russia has about 27,000 nuclear warheads.
Even with the CIA's pathetic recent track record, it might be time for Chicago to dust off those shelters. Sure, today's thermonuclear devices create giant craters that would make a shelter at ground zero of little more use than CIA estimates. But . . . how can we put this delicately . . . what else have you got?
Fallout shelters. You probably don't take them seriously, but Chief Frank Moriarty has to. He's deputy coordinator of the Chicago Fire Department's Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Services.
"An airburst would be the first thing," says Moriarty pensively. "That would knock out all your communications. Now you're a sitting duck for the incoming--your radar is knocked out, your air defense won't work. You're a sitting duck." He pauses. "And they'll destroy you."
In other words, Moriarty thinks you should take shelters seriously, too.
"There's a great apathy and a false idea that we're out of all danger of a nuclear attack, and that's not so," he counsels. "What we have at play in the world is a lot of foreign powers, once part of the Soviet Union, and a lot have nuclear arsenals. And the danger is [nuclear weapons] proliferating to third world countries and enemies of the U.S."
Moriarty paints his gloomy scenarios in a low, deliberate voice. To post-cold war ears, he can sound eerily like General Jack D. Ripper from Dr. Strangelove. In fact, his views aren't so far from the foreign policy mainstream. In a recent speech, defense secretary William Perry said that "it is possible that Russia will emerge from her turbulence as an authoritarian, militaristic, imperialistic nation, hostile to the West."
The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control believes nuclear weapons are "a very real physical threat," according to research analyst Jordan Ritchie. "There are several countries in the world where development of nuclear bombs is a viable option, so we think it's a major threat," he says. "We still need to be vigilant because of countries like Iran and the development of technology to deliver the bomb."
"And another thing you should be aware of," Moriarty mentions, almost as an afterthought. "The more sophisticated nuclear powers like Russia may have possession of neutron bombs, because it does a foreign power no good to invade a country when it's all destroyed. They'd rather kill all the people."
Now maybe you're more interested in those fallout shelters?
Chicago's frenzied early cold war efforts to find atomic cover resemble a plot synopsis for a Road Runner cartoon. This is due at least partially to the close involvement of then fire commissioner Robert Quinn, best known today for setting off the city's air raid sirens to celebrate the White Sox pennant in 1959. Quinn was Chicago's acting or actual civil defense director for much of the 60s, and his famous '59 siren blast was a seminal moment in Chicago civil defense history.
"The 5 minute wail of more than 100 sirens at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday sent thousands rushing into the streets and caused near panic in almost every section of the city" reported the Tribune. So many Chicagoans rushed to their phones that the lines went dead, which didn't help. An Illinois Bell spokesman thought there may have been one other historical event that generated more calls--the death of President Franklin Roosevelt. Even then, those calls weren't all simultaneous.
Quinn said he thought the sirens were to have been authorized by a City Council resolution that read, in part: "Be it further resolved that bells ring, whistles blow, bands play and general joy be unconfined when the coveted pennant has been won by the heroes of 35th St."
Afterward, Quinn insisted it was the public's own fault if they were worried, because they didn't understand the warning system. A real take-cover siren would have been a series of wails, or a constant wailing up and down for three minutes, he said, not the steady wail that he had set off.
When President Kennedy called for shelters, wild plans began immediately for the world's biggest atomic bomb shelter: an underground city carved from a south-side quarry. Coincidentally, it was a short walk from Mayor Richard J. Daley's Bridgeport home. The scheme called for capping the quarry and boring into its walls to create the city, including a nuclear reactor for electricity.
Quinn pronounced the quarry site ideal. "People will have a different feeling about the possibility of bomb attack or radiation fallout when they know they've got some place to go. There won't be a defeatist attitude about survival under hydrogen bomb attack," he said, adding later, "It's another first for Chicago."
Chicago's American visited the quarry in November 1961 and reported that excavation was proceeding "at the rate of a small apartment building every 24 hours." Still, the underground city never got off the ground, so to speak. In a plan only slightly less wild, the quarry was briefly considered in 1985 as a site for the new Comiskey Park.
The abandoned downtown freight tunnel system was swiftly nixed as shelter space for Loop workers. Chicago's public works commissioner said the tunnels were waterproof, not counting "natural and almost unstoppable seepage and condensation," which was simply pumped out.
But the Sun-Times soon learned that a 1960 feasibility study of the tunnels had found them unsuitable. "A blast in the vicinity of the Chicago River would cause the tunnels to crack and flood," said the regional civil defense director. We know now, of course, that it doesn't take a nuclear bomb.
Patriotic Chicagoans who rushed to build personal bomb shelters were, for a time, outlaws. They needed building permits to build shelters, but they couldn't get them: the City Council had adjourned for the summer without approving the ordinance listing shelter specifications.
Federal, state, and city civil defense plans in 1961 called for Chicagoans to evacuate before a nuclear attack, if there was an adequate warning. The helpful motto was "Disperse or Die." Quinn disagreed with his own plan, calling evacuation impossible. After he pushed the air raid siren button, he told the Tribune, Chicagoans were "on their own."
In 1962 the Cuban missile crisis prompted Mayor Daley to put the city's civil defense network on a 24-hour alert at its center in the basement of a fire station at 4911 W. Belmont. It is fortunate indeed that the center never saw action. The center had an emergency gasoline generator and a short-wave radio in case power lines blew down. However, the radio depended on a 150-foot tower that we can surmise also would have been blown down by a nuclear fireball. If so, civil defense planned to use two mobile bus centers with short-wave radios.
During the missile crisis, police were given these helpful instructions: "Get the number of bombs, ascertain the megatons, notify communications, advise which areas are safe and unsafe, alert units."
Throughout the crisis, civil defense workers answered calls from a worried public. A typical question was, "If there's a bombing, what kind of food should I eat?" And the answer was, "Something that doesn't require much cooking."
Through all the false starts and wacky ideas, shelters were somehow being established. By 1967 the city claimed 1,482 shelters with room for 1,798,892 people. Unfortunately, they were poorly equipped. Chicago's American conducted a shelter survey that year after the city's civil defense department spent only $120,000 of its $370,000 budget. It found outdated food and medicine, useless Geiger counters, and 500 shelters completely unstocked. The civil defense department was allowed ten employees but hired only five, not even using the other openings for patronage. Civil defense director Quinn, who was still fire commissioner, didn't bother collecting his $15,000 civil defense salary. He was unavailable for comment.
In 1966, a shelter survey by Chicago's American had advised terrified citizens fleeing a nuclear holocaust to bring an ax and a dipper to the fallout shelters. The ax was for breaking in, since most shelters were located in buildings closed at night. The dipper was for getting water out of toilets, since most of the shelters' water containers didn't contain any water.
You've seen the ominous black-and-yellow fallout shelter signs, camouflaged by grime on a brick alley wall or tacked up more prominently, for instance, just under the glowing blue Citibank sign at Madison and Dearborn. But which fallout signs signal a building that still harbors a shrouded, forgotten shelter, and which buildings that do contain shelters have lost those classic signs?
"My only inventory, I have 10,000 buildings listed, and out of that a good number are probably not suitable anymore," says Chief Moriarty unhappily. "To be sure, it's not the responsibility of [city] government to identify these buildings." An accusing edge creeps into his voice. "It's the Illinois Emergency Services Disaster Agency, Mr. Curtis Caldwell. He made a request for me to send him a list of all the buildings that would be suitable. I have a staff of two, a minimal budget, and he gets federal funds to do it."
Caldwell, survivable crisis management engineer for the ESDA, sees things differently. "The local governments are responsible for updating" fallout shelter lists, he says, and ESDA's federal funds for surveying shelters were cut off in 1992.
Moriarty sounds bitter when he recalls past ESDA field surveys of the shelters. "They usually got somebody's kid on vacation from school to do the survey, and somehow they never get into Chicago," he says. "They go to the south suburbs, they go to the north suburbs, they never seem to get into the city."
"We didn't actually do any in Chicago," Caldwell admits. "We had to follow what was under a federal document, the Nuclear Attack Planning Base, which mapped out all the target areas in the country down to the kill-tonnage targeted at the area. We surveyed outside those areas, so we concentrated on the suburbs."
Moriarty doesn't think much of the Nuclear Attack Planning Base. The NAPB, he notes, "says Chicago will take 12 hits. That's two psi, two pounds per square inch, and everything will be incinerated. So there's not the slightest possibility that there will be any survivors. So they've pretty much written off the city of Chicago."
"No," says Caldwell, "we just didn't [survey Chicago] because under the NAPB, Chicago would be evacuated and everyone would be moved out to the suburbs and collar counties. That's the way the plans are formulated. So we concentrated on the areas that would not be affected."
According to those plans, says Moriarty, "you have deteriorating relations with a foreign power and increasing danger of a nuclear exchange. There's usually about two weeks of warning time in which we'd tell our population to assemble in certain areas where we'd have temporary housing set up for them. It's ludicrous. That's what the Pentagon has come up with for us."
Caldwell sounds uncomfortable when asked for a list of Chicago shelters. "We really don't like to give out individual shelter locations, because we don't really have an agreement with those building owners," he explains. "Early in the 60s when they did the shelters originally, they did sign agreements, but obviously those are outdated."
"Sure, I'd be happy to," says Moriarty when asked for a list of Chicago shelters. He says there are fewer than 1,000 fallout shelters left, as distinguished from general shelters for lesser disasters like the aftermath of a tornado. Apparently, though, things haven't changed much since the Chicago's American surveys.
"Equipment that was part of the shelter system once has been either lost or destroyed," says Moriarty. He's not sure if any of the shelters are supplied. "Some of them are, it's difficult for me to determine. Once in a while someone will call up and say, "What should I do with this box of supplies?' and I'll say, "Throw it out.' You might have the old water buckets and the plastic lining for them to dispose of human waste. Those things are still around. Some have blankets, very few. The few that I've found I've disposed of."
So it's probably still a good idea to grab an ax and dipper on your way out the door. On the brighter side, Moriarty expects a new $2 million siren system to be installed by next year. That will be handy: Contrary to the old saying, you can hide, but first you have to run.
As a public service, we would like to alert our readers to their nearest fallout shelter. Notwithstanding the Reader's reputation for long articles, space considerations preclude us from listing all the approximately 1,000 fallout shelters in Chicago. Instead, we've culled a short excerpt of Loop shelters from Chief Moriarty's list.
There's the Chicago Federation of Musicians, 175 W. Washington; Saint Peter's Church, 110 W. Madison; the Sherman House, 112 W. Randolph; Strombolt's Pizzeria, 41 N. Wells; the Victory Pipe Building, 170 N. Franklin; the Showmen's League, 300 W. Randolph; City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle; the Paperback Center, 6 N. Clark.
Since that list doesn't seem to have been updated for a while, take a hint from Ameritech and phone first.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Illustration/Peter Hannan.
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Hello Global Citizens and Math Brains! I am posting links to some learning opportunities that you may like. All of these are OPTIONAL and will not be turned in or graded, but since I have had a lot of you ask for ideas of things to practice over the summer, I though I would share some ideas with you!
Social Studies: Here are some links for topics you may find interesting.
Latitude and Longitude – This video explains with useful animations latitude and longitude, which confuses lots of kiddos. Understanding how lines of latitude and longitude are used will help you in future social studies and geography classes.
Crash Course Videos – This channel has many videos that cover European and world history, economics, and technology. The videos are animated, short, and interesting.
Durham Media Center – Here you will find instructions for logging into the Cobb Digital Library, where you can access multiple resources covering many topics. These resources are available to you 24/7 as a CCSD student.
National Geographic Channel – National Geographic has a TON of videos, some are short clips and some are full length, that cover a broad range of topics relating to history, current events, environmental issues, science, and culture.
Math: Listed below are links to integer games. Some of these I have already shared, some are new. You may need to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the game, and depending on your device you may need to enable Adobe Flash. On the Jeopardy games, click the picture of the Jeopardy money board to start the game.
Here are some videos for mental math tricks. If you like impressing people with your big, juicy math brain these are for you!
Multiplying numbers in your head
Want to prepare for 7th grade? Set up a Khan Academy account. https://www.khanacademy.org/. This is free, but you need permission from your parents and you will need to use their email to set it up. If you struggled with 6th grade math concepts, you should choose the 6th grade math mission. If you were successful with 6th grade math, you can choose the 7th grade math mission. Even if you don't finish this mission, what you practice will help you for the next school year.
Good luck and have fun! Let me know if you need any help. Have a wonderful summer. 🙂


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At some point, every little girl grows up, and there will likely come a day when she brings a boyfriend over to meet you. Even if you don't always see eye to eye, making your daughter's boyfriend feel comfortable in your home can be the foundation for maintaining a close and open relationship with him throughout the duration of their relationship.
Step 1
Welcome him at the door. Don't wait for your daughter to enter your house before greeting her and her boyfriend. Meet them at the door and be ready to give him a handshake, or if you feel comfortable, a hug.
Step 2
Tell him that you are glad to see him. Although this may seem obvious, making the effort to let your daughter's boyfriend know that he is a welcome guest in your home can help to lower his guard.
Step 3
Engage him in conversation whenever you can. You may discover that you share common interests and hobbies that can give you the opportunity to spend time together.
Step 4
Avoid getting too involved in their relationship. Although you may only have your daughter's best interest in mind, give her and her boyfriend the privacy and space that they need to make their relationship work.
Step 5
Don't be rude, brash or insulting to your daughter's boyfriend. While this too may seem like common sense, even if you are just joking with him, insulting and rude behavior may make your daughter's boyfriend feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in your home.
Step 6
Invite him back before he leaves. Extending your home to your daughter's boyfriend can make him feel welcome and wanted whenever he visits.
- Avoid touchy subjects such as religion, politics, when he intends to marry your daughter and if he and your daughter are sexually active.
- Although first impressions carry a lot of weight, you can always try to make amends and become more engaging during future visits.
- George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images


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Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
Mohammed Morsi v Mubarak
Mohammed Morsi - Whos he then? "Egypt's first democratically elected president" see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18371427
Mubarak - Whos he then? "ruled Egypt for 30 years" See here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12301713
Whats going on?
Mohammed Morsi is Sentenced to Death : http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/egypt-sentences-mohammed-morsi-dea...
The court ruled on Saturday that the sentencing of Morsi and 105 others will be referred to the grand mufti, the highest religious authority in Egypt, for confirmation.
Many of those sentenced were tried in absentia. The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2.
Widespread condemnation
Mohamed Soudan, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, told Al Jazeera the decision was "farcical".
"They're insisting on issuing these verdicts against anyone who participated in the January 25 Revolution ... all of the verdicts fail to meet international standards of law ... they are farcical and will be dismissed as a failing of the coup," said Soudan, who fled Egypt for the UK after Morsi's overthrow.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised Egypt over the decision and accused the West of hypocrisy, according to the state-run Anatolian news agency.
"While the West is abolishing the death penalty, they are just watching the continuation of death sentences in Egypt. They don't do anything about it," Erdogan was quoted as saying.
Human rights group Amnesty International said the trial was a "charade" and based on "void procedures".
"Condemning Mohamed Morsi to death after more grossly unfair trials shows a complete disregard for human rights ... he was held for months incommunicado without judicial oversight and that he didn't have a lawyer to represent him," the organisation said in a statement."
Ohm Ohm Ohm
Mubarak - What did he do? see here: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/118321/Opinion/Catastrophes-M...
"The despotic regime that the people revolted against was not protected except by a police apparatus that practised detention, torture, and abuse against the defenceless. Mubarak's regime did all it could to suppress the revolution, by teargas, bullets and bloodshed"
"Three decades of corruption and wastage of what previous generations and governments had built — lost through horrifically corrupt privatisation deals — are nothing but illustrative of the true nature of the Mubarak regime. That regime transformed gradually into a corrupt order that crushed and drained Egypt and pushed it towards regional and international marginalisation. Social injustice, which resulted in fields of wretchedness, poverty, slum areas, marginalised and street children, was not a false claim against the Mubarak regime. Laxity and miserably low rates of savings and investment and subsequent huge increases in the number of unemployed who suffered from being deprived of earning their livelihood with dignity were but some of the manifestations of the catastrophes of Mubarak's rule and the influence of the evil entourage that surrounded him like a ring of fire.
The blatant and flagrant corruption in the granting of lands allotted for agricultural and industrial development at ludicrous prices and with minimal fees to cronies and hardened corruption figures, and allowing them to sell it for enormous sums, for the sake of crooked profiteering, came at the expense of Egypt and its people."
Whats it got to do with us? - Dont' know. But its important. The repercussions of the death of the first democratically elected leader of Egypt together with the resurgence of the political rise of the Mubaraks could eventually hit home.
The Arab Uprising or 'Spring' : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12482291
Now about the Magna Carta ....
14 Comments
Egypt: 'Al-Nahda'
Submitted by Captain Qahn on
"Prosecutors alleged that the Brotherhood had hatched a plan in 2005 to send "elements" to military training camps run by Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Revolutionary Guards in Iran. Upon their return, they joined forces with jihadist groups in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and helped create the instability that triggered the 2011 revolution and plagued Egypt afterwards, they said. The sentences for Morsi and his co-defendants were confirmed by a court in June."
The Dark Side of Tourism ... Karnak, ouch.
Counting our blessings.
Egypt, Putin, Aida
Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
More progress: http://www.rt.com/business/311127-egypt-new-suez-canal-ready/
The new route, which has been dubbed Suez Canal Axis, is now ready for navigation and will formally be opened on August 6, according to officials in the city of Ismailiya. It runs along the existing 146-year-old canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.
"We have finished work on time and even before the specified time…We call on all the international maritime carriers to use the current and the new Suez canal. Your navigation is safe," retired Admiral Mohab Mameesh, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said at a news conference on Wednesday, adding that the new canal can be used by all types of vessels.
The $8-billion project was launched in August 2014 and supervised by the military after President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi ordered the construction to be completed within one year."
Orders, eh?
"Other than reducing the waiting period for ships from about 20 to 11 hours – with Mameesh calling the improvement "Egypt's gift to the world" – the newly-constructed two-way route promises to nearly triple revenue from the Suez Canal to over $13 billion per year by 2023.
Moreover, ambitious plans for a massive international industrial and logistics hub near the new canal will help boost the Egyptian economy, eventually accounting for up to one third of GDP"
As part of the project, the creation of a Russian industrial zone has been agreed upon by President el-Sisi and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin."
Aida? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3w4I-KElxQ ... does it have a plot?
Seedy Secrets
Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
Hmmm ... something else off the radar
just what were they not saying?
"The shipments were conducted secretly to avoid any security problems.
"We wanted to make sure that the publicity around this deposit is not taken by someone for different purposes," Koch told an Associated Press journalist visiting the Svalbard Seed Vault, just 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the North Pole."
Apologies .... multitasking.
Breaking - Off The Radar
Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
"It's NOT confirmed that this flight has crashed. It descended 5000 feet before Flightradar24 coverage was lost."
Up date:
"The crash site was discovered hours later in a desolate mountainous area of central Sinai, Egypt's aviation ministry reported.
All passengers and crewmembers are presumed to have been killed in the crash, Egyptian sources told Reuters."
In Da Hood ...
Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
The Bear Has New Claws
Submitted by Captain Qahn on
RAF Fylingdales must be going ballistic ;-/
Wot an awful sound.... cripes only knows wots at the other end of those beasties.
Shiver or Duck.
EU Ponders ... assymetrics, lack of integration and poor intelligence. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34880941
Submitted by Captain Qahn on
Puppy Power
Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
"In a gesture of support, Russia's Interior Ministry has decided to send a German Shepherd puppy to the French police that lost a seven-year-old Belgian Shepherd service dog, named Diesel, in the Saint-Denis raid against the suspected mastermind behind the deadly terror attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives last week.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has forwarded a letter to his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve, expressing sympathy in relation to the deadly attacks in Paris."
"I assure you of our readiness to cooperate against crime and terrorism," the minister wrote.
"The puppy is called Dobrynya after a Russian epic knight, who is a symbol of strength, kindness, bravery and selfless help. The puppy will be sent to France as a sign of solidarity with the French people and police in fight against terrorism," ministry's spokesperson Elena Alekseyeva wrote on her Instagram page.
Awe ... Melted.
Freeze Frame
Submitted by Capt. 'Bob' on
Egypt's Economy Boosted
Submitted by Capt. 'Bob' on
Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
Ah yes .... http://tass.ru/en/society/838554
Who could forget Countess Krak & Soltan Gris
lol, did they steal the plot for Avatar ...
Oh well, never mind - wood? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnRbXn4-Yis
Now't going on locally ...
Ooops. RWCE ... http://www.scarborough.gov.uk/home/community-and-living/community-asset-...
Egypt Explored - None Shall Sleep
Submitted by Mortal Mindy on
"One of the first things my explorer friend told me was even disarmingly: "We are not like Indiana Jones as some people imagine. We don't have a whip, we don't consult miraculous algorithms nor do we whisper to stones … "
"...Each discovery is the result of the geological knowledge and insights of a great team...."
"The IEOC, historically the driver of exploration activities in Egypt, for the first time in forty years was about to run out of areas to explore. Uncertainty, as Mao Tse Tung would have said, is an excellent opportunity to try to reconstruct the portfolio with more or less limited investment (the competition would be low), pending an improvement in the conditions for investing in the country...."
Eh? The Italian bit ;-0
"The intuition of trying something other than the typical game used in the Nile Delta; of applying the discoveries of offshore Israel to Egypt; not stopping at the "data package" as it was, but going beyond; following the regional paths of gas migration and using geological references already tested in other countries (Libya, Venezuela and Kazakhstan), these are typically Italian attitudes and the result of Eni's worldwide experience worldwide. Our competitors are perhaps more organised, with richer and more numerous teams, but they don't know how to discard as we do … "
"storyteller at Eni" ? Ahem.
A bit of Yorkshire's Russell ..
Mind the Gap
Submitted by Capt. 'Bob' on
There's now't wrong wiv a roundabout :
Roundabouts & Revolutions
Submitted by Benefitz Betty on
Square pegs ... tis all part of the Nanny state
...doeth protest too much


text:
It bothered the Rev. Henry E. Green that, for some African-American boys, going to jail before they reached the age of 20 seemed to be an accepted rite of passage.
He watched sadly, correcting wherever and whenever possible, the young boys walking the street with their pants hanging below their buttocks.
Green, then the senior pastor of Mt. Hermon AME Church in Miami Gardens, had a dream. He wanted to build a school where boys could be taught, at a young age, how to grow up to be responsible men.
Before he could bring the dream to fruition, Green was appointed presiding elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Tampa District of Florida. But before he moved on, Green shared his dream with the Rev. John F. White II, who succeeded him at Mt. Hermon, 17800 NW 25th Ave.
White accepted the challenge to make it possible.
"We praise God for Rev. Green and his vision," White said. "We've tried to pick up the mantle and carry it forward."
He and his congregation organized the Mount Hermon Community Education Corporation in 2007 with the mission: To save the children.
Salvation would come through developing and mentoring urban youth by providing quality education and educational support programs in economically disadvantaged communities.
"The vision was to focus on early education," said the Rev. Paul Wiggins, an associate pastor at Mt. Hermon and executive director of the corporation.
The establishment of the Richard Allen Leadership Academy is the corporation's first endeavor.
Wiggins said there has always been "a lot of negative stereotypes" of African American men, adding, "We wanted to make a positive impact on our young boys' lives. We believe that the biggest impact can be made if we start working with them during their early years. We tend to lose them by the third grade."
Starting the academy was not easy but, with prayer and perseverance, Florida's first all-boys public charter school opened in the fall of 2008 with 83 boys in kindergarten through the fifth grade, housed in classrooms provided by the church.
The four male and two female teachers are certified and have been especially trained to work with boys, said Principal Frances Young.
"We have also discovered that the power of a hug," Wiggins said. "For many of these boys, hugging is fairly new to them. We also get their parents in to help resolve a problem when the situation calls for it. Young men need to know the consequence of doing wrong." Nicholas Hanks, 9, understands that all too well. On the day a reporter visited the school, Nicholas was asked to leave the classroom because he broke a rule against speaking before asking permission from his teacher. "Now," he said, "I have to write down what I should have done correctly. I should have raised my hand before asking the teacher a question."
In a nearby classroom, retired music teacher Willie Williams volunteers his time to teach music to the boys. This day, the children are learning a song that teaches them to say "hello" in 12 languages.
Single parent Tiffany Howard welcomes the school and the way it is structured. "The teachers are stern, but kind. And I like that the classes are small and that the teachers are willing to give you information on your child's progress," she said.
Howard's son, Tadarryeo D. Herron Jr., is 6. "As a single mother, I need that kind of structure in his life," she said. "The dress code teaches them to be neat and presentable. My son even tucks in his undershirt. He will not take his shirt out of his pants and has to have a belt. I also like it that, in addition to discipline, the school teaches the boys how to be gentlemen. My son opens the door for me everywhere we go."
Sandra Rutledge likes the school so much that she has enrolled her second grandson. Her elder grandson started out in the fourth grade. "Dehvon was having so many problems in school. I was at my wits end," Rutledge said. "We didn't know what to do with him. We considered boot camp and boarding school. Then, one day, I was telling Mrs. Young about my grandson's problems and she told me she was starting an all-boys charter school and why don't I send him there. That was our answer."
Dehvon spent two years at the school and now is in the National Honor Society. "He just needed a teacher to care for him and work with him," Rutledge said.
White, too, is excited about the school and is leading the church into expanding the initiative. "Soon, we will close on a piece of property just west of the church, where we plan to build a Family Life Center, which will house the academy, as well as an all-girls charter school, a day care and an infant and toddler care area."
Wiggins and Young, run the school with a stern but loving hand. Young is a retired Miami-Dade public school teacher. "We found her sitting in our pews. She thought she had retired," Wiggins said.
The boys enrolled in the academy come from Miami-Dade and south Broward. Although the school is free, public school parents must provide transportation, if needed.
Now in its third academic year, the school has 97 pupils, with room for another 11. It has already made some impressive accomplishments. In its first year of eligibility (2009-2010), the school earned an FCAT score of "C" and has had two graduating classes from elementary to middle school. Some 82 percent of the fourth graders passed the FCAT writing exam with a score of 3 or higher, Wiggins said.
"Last year we became a charter member of the National Elementary School National Honor Society and inducted 11 boys," Young said.
To register a boy or for more information about the academy, call the school office, 305-623-3174.
Photo: Anthony Stuart instructs a 2nd grade class.


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text:
"I was standing on the foot bridge that crosses the creek on our farm. The water was cascading over a log in rainbow arcs of color." - John Butler
- Print framed in brushed silver frame with white matboard.
- 1 of 2 in a series.
John Butler, Vice President of Butler Design Incorporated, has created and successfully marketed artwork, wall coverings and furniture accessories for many years. A native of Seattle, he began his art career in the historic Pioneer Square District. John's creative flexibility with materials and techniques and his inclination to employ non-traditional materials in the service of traditional design and imagery soon captivated the decorative art industry. John's fusions of xerox prints and metallic and pure paints on paper enriched by embossments have brought to life imagery that ranges from leafy botanicals to pure abstractions.


text:
Product Description
PDF Copy – Full color – 28 pages – Language: English – Digital Download – Email Required
PDF Version
On the planet Anterra, a group of Anterrian warriors known as the Sacred Keepers maintain a vigilant watch over the ancient and legendary Star Bands. Weapons of immense power, once used to save the universe, now hidden away until needed again. But it's been almost 10,000 years and most beings throughout the galaxy have forgotten about these incredible weapons.
Except for the Sacred Keepers, they know that the Star-Bands are real. They stand guard over them every day, 30 Star Bands each encased in a crystal like container. For almost 10,000 years, the Sacred Keepers have been waiting for the Star Bands awakening and training for the return of the Paladins, but no amount of training could have prepared them for what came next.
L.A. Franco is proud to present to you the new sci-fi adventure series, The Star Band Chronicles and the first issue in the series, The Fall of Anterra.
PDF Copy – Full color – 28 pages – Language: English – Digital Download – Email Required
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Two men were critically burned when a makeshift stove exploded at a Chula Vista church Saturday.
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The Chula Vista Police Department said the men tried to ignite the stove with lighter fluid which caused the explosion at Calvary Chapel in the 1700 block of East Palomar Street, around 3 p.m.
When fire crews arrived the fire already was extinguished, the Chula Vista Fire Department said. It checked the building for safety reasons.
Both men were taken to UCSD Medical Center, officials said.
— City News Service
2 Burned After Stove Explodes in Chula Vista Church was last modified: August 8th, 2015 by
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IMAP/Maildir synchronization and reader support
DescriptionOfflineIMAP is a tool to simplify your e-mail reading. With OfflineIMAP, you can:
* Read the same mailbox from multiple computers, and have your
changes (deletions, etc.) be automatically reflected on
all computers
* Use various mail clients to read a single mail box
* Read mail while offline (on a laptop) and have all changes
synchronized when you get connected again
* Read IMAP mail with mail readers that do not support IMAP
* Use SSL (secure connections) to read IMAP mail even if your reader
doesn't support SSL
* Synchronize your mail using a completely safe and fault-tolerant
* Customize which mailboxes to synchronize with regular expressions
or lists.
* Synchronize your mail two to four times faster than with other tools
or other mail readers' internal IMAP support.In short, OfflineIMAP is a tool to let you read mail how YOU want to.
Upload more screenshots Please help extend the collection of screenshots. Just make a screenshot and upload it here. You don't need to register or anything.
Please help extend the collection of screenshots. Just make a screenshot and upload it here. You don't need to register or anything.
7578 other people were interested in this package here. The newest known version of this software is 7.3.3+dfsg1-1 (Information last updated about 12 hours ago.)
Upload new screenshots
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- Your screenshot should contain a typical scene when working with it.
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- Screenshots are made public and can freely be used by anyone.
- Useful programs for making screenshots are shutter, ksnapshot (KDE), gimp, xwd or scrot. See the Debian wiki for more information on how to make screenshots under Debian.
- Please set your language to english so that everybody understands it. If you don't use english by default please start your application from a shell using after setting "export LANG=C".


text:
Cool Vs. Warm Humidifier
A humidifier can make you feel more comfortable, as it raises the moisture level in a room. Some cool-mist humidifiers produce enough moisture for an entire home. Portable, tabletop warm-mist humidifiers or cool-mist ultrasonic humidifiers increase moisture in a small room.
Warm-mist humidifiers have a heating element that turns water into steam. An optional and replaceable mineral absorption pad holds the minerals left behind by the steam. A cool-mist evaporative humidifier has a fan that blows air through unheated water in a paper wick, while a cool-mist ultrasonic humidifier uses a vibrating metal diaphragm to turn water into mist.
Other than an occasional low gurgling sound, warm-mist humidifiers make little noise and kill fungi and bacteria in the hot water. Cool-mist humidifiers do not have a heating element, so they use less electricity than warm-mist humidifiers. Although ultrasonic humidifiers cost more than the other types, they are the quietest option.
You must replace a cool-mist wick at least every two months to prevent mold and bacteria growth, states I-Allergy. To prevent burns from boiling water and hot steam, place a warm mist humidifier out of reach of children or choose a cool-mist humidifier. Cool-mist humidifiers may make you feel too cool in cold weather, while a warm-mist humidifier may make you feel too warm in a warm climate.
Photo Credits
- Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images


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The George H. Kaufman Jonestown Community park offers a number of amenities to suit just about everyone. We have a large playground which was constructed by hundreds of volunteers. The park also houses 3 baseball fields, two tennis courts, a basketball court, a sand volleyball court and a long walking trail. Along the walking trail you'll find benches where you can take a load off and enjoy the sights and sounds. The park also has a number of structures that can be utilized for any event. There is a band shell, a concession stand, and a pavilion. The pavilion can be rented for just about every occasion. The park is also under 24 hour surveillance. Please note that the park is open from dawn to dusk.
Take a look at the park!


text:
Congratulations!! SGS CTS Capability Audit Passed
The FlexiThin Bookmark Magnifier it enlarges the text for a more enjoyable read. Made of paper-thin PVC, it's flexible but with strong magnification for reading small text or time table ...An ultra thin/flat magnifier that can be used as a bookmark too. Bookmark Magnifier Ruler, Wholesale Various High Quality Bookmark Magnifier Ruler Products from Bookmark Magnifier Ruler Suppliers and Bookmark ...Wholesale magnifier bookmark, ,eyeglass magnifier,eye magnifying glass,,Wholesale Industry Science,Magnifiers
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text:
The U.S. Border Patrol's RGV BORSTAR Unit unit rescued nearly 300 people in 107 rescue missions.
Over the past several days, the unit and Mobile Response Team (MRT) engaged in rescue missions in flooded areas throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The priority of the missions were to extract distressed or stranded individuals to safety. The specialty unit coordinated efforts with local law enforcement and emergency response personnel.
"While the Border Patrol mission is border security, assisting and supporting our local community in times of need is also a priority," said Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. "We will continue to support those currently affected by flooding by deploying specialty units to heavily affected areas."
The Rio Grande Valley Sector currently has multiple campaigns focused on rescues and danger awareness, such as "Operation Big Rig" and "No Se Arriegue" to combat smuggling and ultimately save lives.