text:
in-app purchase
Angry Birds Go Will Be Stuffed With In-App Purchases, Some As High As $100 - Gamers Cry Fowl
Jeremiah Rice
2013/11/27 3:48pm PDT Nov 27, 2013
The Angry Birds franchise has thus far been on the lighter side of the free-to-play model - the original game launched free and ad-supported on Android, and later versions added small charges for HD versions and a few in-app bonuses like the Mighty Eagle. But it looks like Rovio is pulling out all the stops when it comes to the upcoming kart racer, Angry Birds Go. Pocket Gamer reports that gamers in New Zealand (where the game is getting an early launch on iOS) are finding it positively stuffed with in-app purchases.
[New Game] Marvel's Avengers Alliance Jumps From Facebook To Android Bringing Turn-Based Combat And In-App Purchases
2013/11/21 10:24am PDT Nov 21, 2013
Do you dream of leading Earth's Mightiest Heroes into battle... in the fashion of a 1992 JRPG? The Marvel's Avengers Alliance is for you. This game got its start on Facebook before jumping to iOS, and now it's here to grab a few Android users before they go back to re-watching the Captain America DVD.
The game is a lot like Marvel's War Of Heroes, except with a more story-focused campaign and no collectible card game pretense.
[New Game] Dig Out Your Plastic Monster Toys: Activision Unleashes Skylanders Battlegrounds Onto The Google Play Store
2013/11/05 4:53am PDT Nov 5, 2013
For the uninitiated, Skylanders is a series of kid's video games that use collectible (read: expensive) real-world toys to unlock and enhance the power of the digital characters. The games have been smash hits on consoles, but so far Activision's only concession to the Play Store has been Cloud Patrol, a basic turret shooter that leaves a lot to be desired. The new Skylanders Battlegrounds, a more conventional action-RPG, should make much better use of the property.
Here's The Best Google Play Game Review You'll Read All Week
2013/10/27 7:34pm PDT Oct 27, 2013
The rise of free-to-play games littered with in-app purchases is a contentious one to say the least. More traditional gamers tend to prefer the old model, with a paid and complete game and perhaps a free demo, but the freemium model has proven too lucrative for most game publishers to ignore. Android user "Mattayx" left the following review on the international version of FIFA 14:
Well done, Matt. EA has been particularly heavy-handed with its freemium games lately, with big titles like Real Racing 3, Madden 25, and FIFA 14 laying it on thick.
[New Game] ARC Squadron: Redux Docks In The Play Store To Revive Your Star Fox Memories
2013/10/17 4:15am PDT Oct 17, 2013
Remember the first time you played Star Fox on your Super Nintendo? Remember how your mind was blown by 3D graphics and intuitive gameplay, so much so that you ignored the fact that woodland creatures were engaged in mortal space combat? I wish that I could say that ARC Squadron will rekindle that feeling. It won't. Nintendo made five more Star Fox games. This is the age of Facebook and in-app purchases.
[Bug Watch] Too Many In-App Purchases Will Break The Play Store App And Prevent Installation
Bug Watch
There seems to be a peculiar bug in the Play Store app that causes it to freeze when you try to install apps with a large number of in-app purchases. Perhaps you would prefer to take this as a sign from the sages at Google that in-app purchases are a bad thing. However, there are plenty of valid reasons to have them. It takes a lot of IAPs to trigger this, but we've confirmed it happens on multiple devices.
[New Game] Layton Brothers Mystery Room Brings Whodunnit Investigations To The Google Play Store
2013/09/06 4:59pm PDT Sep 6, 2013
The Professor Layton series has been lighting up the sales charts on the Nintendo DS and 3DS for six years, and now the spin-off of the addictive puzzle games is available on Android. Following an English debut on iOS three months ago (which isn't too terrible, all things considered) Layton Brothers Mystery Room is now available on the Google Play Store as a free download.
You play as Scotland Yard's Constable Lucy Baker, assistant to Alfendi Layton, son of Professor Layton.
Audio Glow Music Visualizer And Live Wallpaper Updated To 2.0 With Swipe Controls And A New Visualization Style
We featured Audio Glow when it launched in November of last year. This ultra-stylish music visualizer takes the basic visual component of classic hi-fi systems and gives it a fresh coat of paint. It's gained quite a following thanks to eye-popping visuals and a huge degree of customization. Today's version 2.0 update adds some interesting options, most notably the new "Glowing Strings" visualization, below.
This nifty option is available as a $1 in-app purchase for the main Music Visualizer app, but the developer has kindly included a 5-minute preview that you can check out before buying.
OnePlus 6/6T get screen recorder and June security patch in latest OxygenOS update
Magic 2014 Review: Satisfying Card Strategy, If You've Got The Hardware (And The Cash) [Update]
Magic 2014 is the new and updated version of the less headline-friendly Magic: The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers, gracing Android for the first time. It's a digital translation of the uber-popular Magic: The Gathering card game, a staple of schoolyards and table gaming for the last two decades. Magic 2014 is a free download (though it needs a massive 1.2GB of space), but requires a $10 in-app purchase to unlock the full game.
Google To Cease Payment To Argentine Developers, Pull Apps Due To Economic, Governmental Issues
Liam Spradlin
Google, citing "ongoing challenges," will be ending the distribution of paid apps from Argentina in the Play Store effective June 27th, "at which point the apps will be unpublished."
Google's official statement on the issue (published on its Developer Support site) doesn't go into too much detail regarding the "ongoing challenges" involved in distributing paid apps from Argentina, and an email sent to developers (reported by Celularis) doesn't offer any more information, though both suggest that Argentine developers who are legally able to do business in another country transfer their applications to a merchant account registered in that country.
Page 3 of 5‹Prev12345Next›


text:
Q: Annotations won't appear on MapView I'm having trouble getting my annotations to display on my map view. Nothing is displaying right now. What is wrong with my code ?
Here is my base map view controller:
import UIKit
import MapKit
import CoreLocation

class MapViewController: UIViewController, CLLocationManagerDelegate, MKMapViewDelegate {

let goldenWordsYellow = UIColor(red: 247.00/255.0, green: 192.00/255.0, blue: 51.00/255.0, alpha: 0.5)

// Map View outlet declaration
@IBOutlet weak var mapView: MKMapView!

// Hamburger button declaration
@IBOutlet weak var menuButton:UIBarButtonItem!

var locationManager: CLLocationManager?

/* Really ugly code where I declare all of my static data */
let coordinatesARC = IssueLocation(locationName: "ARC", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49416565895079, longitude: 44.22928743712073))
let coordinatesJDUC = IssueLocation(locationName: "JDUC", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49507761001587, longitude: 44.22838027067406))
let coordinatesStaufferLibrary = IssueLocation(locationName: "Stauffer Library", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49615049362183, longitude: 44.228418710213944))
let coordinatesWalterLightHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Walter Light Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49166584014893, longitude: 44.22794205814507))
let coordinatesDupuisHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Dupuis Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.4927065372467, longitude: 44.22867241054762))
let coordinatesHumphreyHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Humphrey Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49212718009949, longitude: 44.22688879714365))
let coordinatesBiosciencesComplex = IssueLocation(locationName: "Biosciences Complex", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49117231369019, longitude: 44.226327562781904))
let coordinatesBMH = IssueLocation(locationName: "Beamish-Munro Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49271726608276, longitude: 44.228195760533175))
let coordinatesBotterellHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Botterell Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49160146713257, longitude: 44.22447468258034))
let coordinatesEtheringtonHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Etherington Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49390816688538, longitude: 44.224282471751785))
let coordinatesJefferyHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Jeffery Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49605393409729, longitude: 44.22590855555731))
let coordinatesEllisHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Ellis Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49602174758911, longitude: 44.22636984774898))
let coordinatesMackintoshCorryHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Mackintosh-Corry Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49697124958038, longitude: 44.22677731951135))
let coordinatesChernoffHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Chernoff Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49884343147278, longitude: 44.22436704459368))
let coordinatesLeggetHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Legget Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49749159812927, longitude: 44.22362126170883))
let coordinatesLeonardHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Leonard Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.50065660476685, longitude: 44.22429016019697))
let coordinatesVictoriaHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Victoria Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49863958358765, longitude: 44.22550492192426))
let coordinatesStirlingHall = IssueLocation(locationName: "Stirling Hall", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49767398834229, longitude: 44.22463613919133))
let coordinatesWestCampus = IssueLocation(locationName: "West Campus", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.51471138000487, longitude: 44.22438242146097))

override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()

    // Hamburger button configuration
if self.revealViewController() != nil {
    menuButton.target = self.revealViewController()
    menuButton.action = "revealToggle:"
    self.view.addGestureRecognizer(self.revealViewController().panGestureRecognizer())
    }

    // Setting the Map type to standard
    mapView.mapType = MKMapType.Standard

    // Configuring locationManager and mapView delegate
    locationManager = CLLocationManager()
    mapView.delegate = self

    // Set the center of campus as the first location, before we show the actual user location
    let initialLocation = CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 44.226181, longitude: -76.495614)
    let latitudeDelta:CLLocationDegrees = 0.015
    let longitudeDelta:CLLocationDegrees = 0.015
    let span = MKCoordinateSpanMake(latitudeDelta, longitudeDelta)

    let coordinateRegion = MKCoordinateRegionMake(initialLocation, span)

    mapView.setRegion(coordinateRegion, animated: true)

    let ARCAnnotation = MKPointAnnotation()
    ARCAnnotation.title = coordinatesARC.locationName
    ARCAnnotation.subtitle = coordinatesARC.locationName
    ARCAnnotation.coordinate = coordinatesARC.coordinate

    mapView.addAnnotation(ARCAnnotation)

    // Adding all annotations to the map view
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesARC)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesJDUC)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesStaufferLibrary)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesWalterLightHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesDupuisHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesHumphreyHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesBiosciencesComplex)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesBMH)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesBotterellHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesEtheringtonHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesJefferyHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesEllisHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesMackintoshCorryHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesChernoffHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesLeggetHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesLeonardHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesVictoriaHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesStirlingHall)
    mapView.addAnnotation(coordinatesWestCampus)

 mapView.showsUserLocation = true
    locationManager?.startUpdatingLocation()

}

func mapView(mapView: MKMapView, didUpdateUserLocation userLocation: MKUserLocation) {
    mapView.centerCoordinate = CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 44.226181, longitude: -76.495614)
}

 func checkLocationAuthorizationStatus() {

    if CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() == .AuthorizedWhenInUse {
        mapView.showsUserLocation = true
     } else {
        locationManager?.requestWhenInUseAuthorization()
        }
    }

override func viewDidAppear(animated: Bool) {
    super.viewDidAppear(animated)
    checkLocationAuthorizationStatus()
    }

override func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
    super.didReceiveMemoryWarning()
    // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}

Here is my map view controller extension:
import Foundation
import MapKit

extension MapViewController {

func mapView(mapView: MKMapView, viewForAnnotation annotation: MKAnnotation) -> MKAnnotationView? {
    if let annotation = annotation as? IssueLocation {
        let identifier = "pin"
        var view: MKPinAnnotationView
        if let dequeuedView = mapView.dequeueReusableAnnotationViewWithIdentifier(identifier) as? MKPinAnnotationView {
            dequeuedView.annotation = annotation // NOTE: 2 options here for the "annotation" at the end of this line. I choose the first one but am in doubt.
            view = dequeuedView
        } else {
            view = MKPinAnnotationView(annotation: annotation, reuseIdentifier: identifier) // NOTE: another unsure choice for the "annotation" right before the comma
            view.canShowCallout = true
            view.calloutOffset = CGPoint(x: -5, y: 5)
            view.rightCalloutAccessoryView = UIButton(type: UIButtonType.DetailDisclosure) as UIView
        }

        return view
    }
    return nil
}

func mapView(mapView: MKMapView, annotationView view: MKAnnotationView, calloutAccessoryControlTapped control: UIControl) {
    let location = view.annotation as! IssueLocation
    let launchOptions = [MKLaunchOptionsDirectionsModeKey: MKLaunchOptionsDirectionsModeWalking]
    location.mapItem().openInMapsWithLaunchOptions(launchOptions)
}

}

And here is my class:
import Foundation
import MapKit
import AddressBook
import Contacts

class IssueLocation: NSObject, MKAnnotation {

let locationName: String
let coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D

init(locationName: String, coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D) {

    self.locationName = locationName
    self.coordinate = coordinate

    super.init()

}

var subtitle: String? {
    return locationName
}

var title: String? {
    return locationName
}

func mapItem() -> MKMapItem {

    let addressDictionary = [String(CNPostalAddressStreetKey): locationName]

    let placemark = MKPlacemark(coordinate: coordinate, addressDictionary: addressDictionary)

    let mapItem = MKMapItem(placemark: placemark)
    mapItem.name = locationName

    return mapItem

A: This issue is with your coordinates.
Your code:
let coordinatesARC = IssueLocation(locationName: "ARC", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49416565895079, longitude: 44.22928743712073))
let coordinatesJDUC = IssueLocation(locationName: "JDUC", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: -76.49507761001587, longitude: 44.22838027067406))

Corrected code:
 let coordinatesARC = IssueLocation(locationName: "ARC", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 44.22928743712073, longitude: -76.49416565895079))
let coordinatesJDUC = IssueLocation(locationName: "JDUC", coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 44.22838027067406, longitude: -76.49507761001587))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Toolversed writers work hard to ensure that the content they provide is useful and thorough. Their goal is to ensure consumers have all the information they need to make those important purchasing decisions. Every review on the Toolversed website is a reflection of the pride we have in our writers' efforts.
We've created the Toolversed Marketing Scholarship for undergraduate and postgraduate students that have a desire and talent for producing exceptional content. Students in all areas of study are eligible to apply for the scholarship. Those who are pursuing degrees in the Information Sciences, Marketing, Communications and Business may be particularly interested in applying.
To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be actively enrolled in college or accepted for the upcoming quarter or semester. Proof of this enrollment and/or acceptance is required at the time the application is submitted. Read the 'How to Apply' section below for the rest of the scholarship application requirements.
Students interested in participating in the Toolversed Scholarship Program will need to submit an article about a product that they have had experience using. This article should be thorough and reflect first-hand knowledge of the product's features, advantages, disadvantages and other helpful information. Required word count is 700 words.
How the product performed in real world applications. Did the product perform the way it was expected to?
How does the product compare to the competition?
What recommendations are suggested to consumers interested in purchasing this product?
Write a 1000 word article on a tool you have first-hand experience with.
** By submitting your article, Toolversed has permission to use it for marketing and/or promotional purposes.
Applications will be accepted through December 31st.
The winner will be selected and the check mailed by January 15th.
Please Note: The $1000 Scholarship Award is sent directly to the college or university you are attending.
The Toolversed Marketing Scholarship is awarded on an annual basis.


text:
Early morning duplex fire likely caused by smoking materials
Karen Madden
Wausau Daily Herald
WAUSAU - An early morning fire at a duplex was likely caused by careless use of smoking materials, according to officials.
A caller reported a fire in a duplex in the 500 block of Chicago Avenue at 12:36 a.m. Tuesday, Wausau Fire Battalion Chief Jeremy Kopp said. The fire started on a porch on the second floor in the back of the duplex, Kopp said.
Firefighters contained the fire to the outside of the duplex, Kopp said. The four adults and two children living in the two units should be able to return to their homes relatively soon, Kopp said. Some damage was done to the doors that will need to be fixed, there was some smoke damage and the utilities will need to be turned back on before the families can return, he said.
All six residents were able to get out of the duplex before firefighter arrived, Kopp said. Firefighters left the scene at 3:10 a.m. Tuesday.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
All posts tagged "Democratic Party"
Kanye West Ruins Friendship With Beyonce and Jay-Z After Political Rants
The final nail in the coffin… Beyoncé and Jay-Z have had it with Kanye West and have severed all ties to him […]
Flavor Flav Reveals He Spent Nearly $1M A Year On Drugs For 6 Years
Before sobering up, Flavor Flav recently said he spent almost $1 million on drugs...
Classic Hip-Hop Albums Released in February Are you looking for throwback classic hip-hop albums?...
Beyoncé Renaissance World Tour!
Beyoncé, Queen Bey, is heading out across the world Beyoncé announced her Renaissance World...
Cam'ron Opens Up About Rejecting $300K For His Pink Fur Coat
Cam'ron shared why he rejected $300,000 for his classic pink fur coat. The audacious...
Trevor Noah On MCing The Grammys For A Third Time
Trevor Noah recently spoke about hosting The Grammys again and what fans can expect...


Beautifully landscaped home located on a cul-de-sac in the Terrace of Kings Point.
The lovely home is impeccable maintained. Covered front entry welcomes you. Tiled foyer with views of secondary bedrooms, formal dining and living area. Dining with Wood flooring and a splash of vibrant color for elegant dining. Plantation shutters.Private study with double sided fireplacde. Open living, kitchen and breakfast room makes entertaining a breeze. Living room with a wall of windows overlooking the back yard. Gas log fireplace & Built-in entertainment center with abundance of shelving. Kitchen with breakfast bar to accomodate a number of guests. Breakfast room with Built in Cabinetry. Kitchen offers island, extensive granite counters, Glazed cabinetry, Stainless appliances-convection oven, & gas range. Spacious laundry with cabinets. Garage recently updated with epoxy paint. Private master retreat with spacious bath. 2 secondary bedrooms and bath. Covered patio with views of the yard.
Based on information from #6019-piney-birch-court-kingwood-texas-77345-55237546 as of April 4th 2019, 5:21:36 am.


text:
Next day streaming of NBC shows like Law & Order and SNL will jump from Hulu to Peacock next month
Colorado bear takes hundreds of 'selfies' on wildlife camera trap
A curious bear has become the surprise star of wildlife cameras in Boulder, Colorado, snapping hundreds of "selfies" in what appears to be an...
Renaissance Fusion raises $16.4 million to build nuclear fusion technology in Europe • londonbusinessblog.com
Comply with Renaissance fusion, a Grenoble-based start-up that has been working on nuclear fusion for the past few years. The company recently raised...
AirPods are now earbuds – The Verge
Lately I've been using my AirPods to hear nothing.My use of Apple's AirPods Pro and other wireless noise-canceling earbuds has changed since I first...
If you're used to getting full Saturday Night Live and Law & authority on Hulu, that's all going to change on September 19. From then on, NBC's next day premieres on Peacock will come as part of the streaming service's plan to consolidate NBC content on its home platform.
Peacock ended his content-sharing deal with Hulu in March to prepare for his plans to exclusively secure more of his own content. This includes shows like A Chicago, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyersand The voice.
The platform is already streaming next-day episodes of Bravo, owned by NBC, including: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Below Deck, top chef, and Southern charm. NBC also made one of its longest running shows, Days of our livesexclusive to Peacock, but it has struggled to keep people employed for more than just the Olympics, the NFL, and The office.
Peacock's subscriber base remained steady at 13 million in the quarter
To bolster its offering, NBC signed a deal with Universal Pictures last year to get the studio's films on Peacock 45 days after they premiere in theaters in 2022. Peacock also owns the rights to the film. John Wick franchise and will debut a John Wick prequel in 2023.
In addition, it has two versions of Jurassic World Dominion — the original movie and an extended version — which will be available and streamed exclusively from September 2nd Halloween ends starring Jamie Lee Curtis the same day it hits theaters on October 14.
In July, NBC's parent company Comcast reported that Peacock's subscriber base remained steady at 13 million, despite having "extraordinary programming" during the quarter. Peacock has only managed to add 4 million paying subscribers since the end of 2021.
Despite a lack of meaningful subscriber growth in the previous quarter, Peacock president Kelly Campbell remains optimistic about the future of the two-year-old service. "We feel really good about the trends we're seeing in our subscriber journey right now," Campbell said in an interview with Deadline. "As we bring our content exclusively to Peacock the next day, we will be rolling out some special subscription offerings to ease that transition for consumers."
Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The edgethe parent company.
Previous articleWhat the movie 'Sliding Doors' taught me about business?
Next articleMelbourne edtech raises $3.3 million to help schools improve student performance and wellbeing
Good job! Bulgaria's first offshore wind turbine will be used to produce gas
1 Next day streaming of NBC shows like Law & Order and SNL will jump from Hulu to Peacock next month
1.1.1 Colorado bear takes hundreds of 'selfies' on wildlife camera trap
1.1.3 Renaissance Fusion raises $16.4 million to build nuclear fusion technology in Europe • londonbusinessblog.com
1.1.4 AirPods are now earbuds – The Verge
1.1.7 Good job! Bulgaria's first offshore wind turbine will be used to produce gas
1.1.10 Mirantis acquires Shipa • londonbusinessblog.com
1.1.11 Renaissance Fusion raises $16.4 million to build nuclear fusion technology in Europe • londonbusinessblog.com
1.1.12 AirPods are now earbuds – The Verge
1.1.13 Good job! Bulgaria's first offshore wind turbine will be used to produce gas


text:
Acting Commissioner Douglas O'Donnell
More In Our Agency
IRS Organization
Do Business with the IRS
Douglas (Doug) O'Donnell serves as Acting Commissioner of the IRS. As Acting Commissioner, Mr. O'Donnell presides over the nation's tax system, which collects approximately $4.1 trillion in tax revenue each year representing about 96% of the total gross receipts of the United States. In this regard, since this revenue funds most government operations and public services, the continued success of our country depends upon a successful IRS. Mr. O'Donnell oversees an agency of about 80,000 employees and a budget of more than $12 billion.
Mr. O'Donnell became Acting Commissioner following the completion of IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig's term on November 12, 2022.
He has spent more than 36 years at the IRS in a variety of roles most recently as Deputy Commissioner, Services & Enforcement from May 2021 until beginning his Acting Commissioner role. As Acting Commissioner, he will work closely with IRS senior leaders to continue work on the Inflation Reduction Act provisions, including efforts related to IRS transformation and other new tax law. In this role, Mr. O'Donnell will also oversee preparations for the nation's 2023 tax filing season and the agency's ongoing compliance work supporting the nation's tax laws.
Prior to becoming Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, Mr. O'Donnell served as the Commissioner of the IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) Division for nearly six years. In that role, he led tax administration activities for corporations, subchapter S corporations, and partnerships with assets greater than $10 million, and he was responsible for administering the tax law that affects individuals with international activity. He served as the U.S. Competent Authority in administering the operating provisions of tax conventions and on sensitive and controversial issues related to treaty negotiations. Previously, Mr. O'Donnell filled a variety of other roles including Deputy Commissioner (International) in LB&I as well as other executive positions including Assistant Deputy Commissioner, International; Director, Competent Authority & International Coordination; Director of International Compliance, Strategy & Policy; Deputy Director, Pre-Filing and Technical Guidance; and the Director of Field Operations, Heavy Manufacturing and Transportation Industry.
Mr. O'Donnell began his career with IRS in 1986 as a revenue agent in Washington, DC, and he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 22-Nov-2022


text:
You are here: Greenwich / Andrew Gilligan / Cutty Sark Disaster: The £11 Million Nail In the Coffin
Cutty Sark Disaster: The £11 Million Nail In the Coffin
February 10, 2010 By Andrew Gilligan
LAST weekend, in my paper, the Telegraph, I was finally able to tell the full story of the terrible disaster that is the restoration of the Cutty Sark. As you can read:
- the chief engineer, Professor Peter Mason, has resigned, saying the project will damage the ship and should be stopped.
- the project has run massively late and overbudget, with its main funder cutting off payments for most of last year amid deep concerns about its management and financial controls.
- the Cutty Sark Trust has issued a series of misleading statements about progress on the project.
I only regret that I did not nail the story down sooner. I heard in the autumn that there was something badly wrong - and indeed could guess that to be the case from just looking at the ship (which has shown absolutely no signs of visible change for at least the last year) or the hoardings which surround it (where a succession of promised reopening dates has come and gone.)
But guesswork and off-the-record hints aren't enough, nobody would talk on the record, Mason was still in place at the time, other stories intervened. The result is that on Thursday of last week, before I could publish, a deal had been stitched together to throw another £11 million of public money at the fiasco and proclaim it "rescued."
So hastily was this deal done - maybe they knew the press was sniffing round - that it was actually announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport before the biggest of the funders, Greenwich Council, had even agreed to pay its share. The press release was issued on Thursday morning. The relevant council meeting did not even begin until 2pm the same day. The meeting was only even put on the council calendar the night before, giving no-one the time to consider the proposals or to object.
Don't get me wrong. I love the Cutty Sark, I badly want to see it restored and I would be happy to spend even the colossal sum of £46 million if it achieves that end. But as its hurried and secretive birth suggests, the latest injection of funding is not going to "rescue" the Cutty Sark. It is going to prop up a fundamentally flawed scheme, run by a fundamentally flawed group of people, which could end up destroying the ship altogether.
The scheme's key flaw is its desire to raise the ship eleven feet off the ground, in order to fit a lucrative, glassed-over function space underneath. Steel legs, punched through the hull, would hold it in place. The supposed justification is to better show off the ship's lines, but the Cutty Sark Trust gave a hint of its true motive when, in 2008, it told the Telegraph magazine that "the ultimate aim is to transform [the ship] into a corporate hospitality venue to rival Tate Modern."
The raising, known as the "iconic scheme," means that the lower half of the ship's sides will appear to be swathed in glass. The objection is not just that this will look awful, though it will. Steffan Meyric Hughes, of Classic Boat magazine, says it is "undignified" and makes the Cutty Sark look like a "fairground attraction."
It's not just that it will compromise the integrity of the ship, though it will do that too - a new entrance will be cut into the hull, and a new lift will be installed to comply with disability access regulations (the previous entrance was level.)
No, the main objection is, in Mason's words, that "the lifting support system will do damage to the fabric of the ship. It will have quite an impact on it. They should not lift up the ship. I've turned against that after what I've seen and I'm not happy." Computer simulations were what turned Mason against the plan - simulations that showed the ship would be put at risk.
Researching the issue more, speaking to some experts and reading the words of others, I could not find a single person in the world of classic ship restoration who believes the plan presently being followed by the Cutty Sark Trust is anything other than a ghastly mistake.
Julian Harrap, the architect behind the restoration of Brunel's SS Great Britain, said: "They are actually putting the artifact itself at risk, and that's a fundamental issue." The director of National Historic Ships, Martyn Heighton, said: "This is an extremely delicate object and you don't try out something new on the Cutty Sark."
The Trust itself defends its scheme - but it is no longer trust-worthy. As my Telegraph piece catalogues, the Cutty Sark Trust has over the past two years repeatedly misled the press, saying for instance that the scheme was proceeding smoothly when funding had in fact been cut off and most work stopped, or claiming that the shortfall was only £5 million at a time when they knew it was at least 50% more. We can no longer take their assurances seriously.
Nor can we put much faith in their project-management skills. Even excluding delays caused by the fire in May 2007, the claimed reopening date has also been put back, by my count, at least five times. The original post-fire opening date, announced in June 2008, was March 2010. Then it slipped to summer 2010, then the end of 2010, then spring 2011.
In last week's press release a new reopening date of "in time for the Olympics" (July 2012) was given, itself a further postponement of up to18 months. But in the space of just six days, even that deadline has shifted once more to the right. This week's issue of Greenwich Council's propaganda organ, Greenwich Time, states merely that the Cutty Sark "could be restored in time for the 2012 Games."
You won't read any of the other facts outlined above in Greenwich Time, of course. There's a concerted outbreak of emperor's new clothes at work here, with even the Tory opposition on the council nodding the £7 million through. But for a council which is proposing cuts of £26 million next year, £7m is a huge amount of money - made up of £3 million from general funds, £2 million of section 106 "planning gain" cash which could have been used on something else, and £2 million purloined from the Cutty Sark Gardens landscaping works.
If they actually want to see the Cutty Sark restored before the Olympics, the council, and the other funders, should make their bailout conditional on a complete clear-out of the Cutty Sark Trust, and on the scrapping of the crappy "iconic" scheme, with its absurd attempt to make an historic artifact into a contemporary icon. Doing a straightforward, boring restoration would be cheaper, simpler and less risky.
But yes, you guessed it - Greenwich has actually made its £7 million conditional on exactly the opposite, saying it will not pay unless the "iconic" scheme goes ahead. The serious risk, therefore, is that they are throwing good money after bad. This really could end up another iconic Greenwich embarrassment and a British heritage tragedy.
Filed Under: Andrew Gilligan Tagged With: Cutty Sark, Greenwich Council
Ian Fraser says
Thanks for writing this. It's so refreshing to see there are still journalists out there who are prepared to cut through the PR flim flam and tell it like it is.
Jamie Hodge says
Andrew, do I read this correctly as the council have allocated £2m from the previously announced £2.4m to renovate the 'gardens' (otherwise known as a lot of cracked concrete) that surrounds the Cutty Sark?
If this is right then does this mean that the gardens renovation/ redesign will no longer go ahead?
If so this is terrible, the setting as is is just a barren wasteland and I really welcomed the news that it was to be dramatically improved- if it will no longer go ahead this will seriously undermine the huge amount of money to be spent on the CS renovation…
Suzana says
As JH above pointed out – this is the worst news yet!
I walk past the CS everyday to get to the Clipper on the Pier… its all so depressing – the CS Gardens feels like its part of a an old Council Estate, the Cutty Sark looks completely abandoned with loose covering flapping in the wind and the path to get to the Pier – OMG – somebody help.
It seems to me that Greenwich Council is once again taking no responsibility for the mess it has allowed to grow in Greenwich with no hope of recovery in site!
Lets have a public vote – am sure 90% will support your suggestion to get the CS back to its original state and spend the rest beutifying the currenly derilict CS Gardens and Pier.
Richard Young says
All I want is for this beautiful ship to be restored and either kept in the dry dock where she has been or I think it would be a wonderful idea to have her afloated as a static attraction.Forget this daft idea of suspending the ship….save the money and spend it on a first class restoration.Its a no brainer,in fact it seems there is a lack of brain power in this whole fiasco.Its time this story went 'national news'.I think the nation needs to know the truth about this as soon as possible.
Nigel Fletcher says
Andrew, I must take issue with a couple of points. As the opposition spokesman for culture, I don't think it's fair to characterise our view as" nodding the £7 million through". For a start, it was a Cabinet Committee decision, with only the ruling Labour members able to vote, so the movement of my head up, down or side-to-side had no material effect on what the Council decided.
What I did do was attend the meeting to give our view to the Cabinet members and Senior officers of the Council. I told them (as I had in private when they sprang the news on us) that the request for funding, and the references to management concerns at the Trust were alarming, to say the least. It is a vast sum to ask taxpayers to provide (coming after so much previous lottery money), and I wanted to know why we were in this position.
It appears the management issues which prompted the HLF's concern go back to the Spring of last year. Since then, the Council has apparently been working with the Trust to put in place proper controls (which now seem properly tight), and the negotiations to assemble the final funding package started at that time. None of this was made known to the public or to us on the Opposition side, which is why I was so alarmed when it came out last week.
I'm far from overjoyed that taxpayers are having to cough up to cover past lack of proper financial controls, but the position we arrived at was that funds already pledged (private donors, DCMS and HLF) would also have been at risk if the full project didn't go ahead, and millions would have been wasted just to put the ship back in one piece. So witholding the cash would have had serious consequences, and could have left us with a very expensive shipwreck in the middle of Cutty Sark Gardens for the forseeable future. On that basis we agreed committing the funds was the right thing to do, albeit in less than ideal circumstances.
As you will have seen from my quote on Greenwich.co.uk and in this week's News Shopper, I have said as Greenwich residents we now need to see some return for our money – ideally a proportion of funds from future revenue going to small local heritage projects. As a funder the Council now has more leverage, and we should be getting a better deal for the taxpayer. I will be pushing this to be written into the funding agreement.
Nigel: you don't seem to be addressing the point that at the end of all this (according to experts in the field) we still might end up with an expensive shipwreck except it will be on stilts. The exorbitant funding is only part of this… its the decision to put the ship at risk which is most worrying.
andrew gilligan says
Nigel, you're missing the point. The point is that the current scheme is already a shipwreck – quite literally, in the view of its chief engineer – and the rescue money should have been made conditional on fundamental changes to it.
Because it wasn't, this really could end in yet further demands for money and in disaster. You did nod it through – you issued a statement supporting the council's action. Your job is to scrutinise the council's actions, but you allowed them to bounce you into backing a fundamentally flawed scheme.
Rod says
The story was well known back in the Autumn, when skilled shipwrights (who were deeply critical of the corners being cut on the project) and other workers were being made redundant, and told several people in the Gypsy Moth what was happening. I was told about this the following day by someone with an important and responsible role in the community who has been known to me for years, and who heard the story direct from the sacked workers. No-one was prepared to go on the record at the time, more's the pity, so the scandal remained buried until now.
Andrew – I totally accept we were "bounced" in the sense this was sprung on us with two days' notice, when the options were literally to agree the funds or pull the plug on the whole thing. That's not the right way for Labour to treat the opposition, but we're sadly used to it in Greenwich.
The fundamental changes you refer to – ie scrapping the plan to raise the ship and simply returning it to its previous condition- would have led to the HLF and other donors withdrawing their funds. That's the reality of the position they're in – it's all or nothing. You can criticise the fact they're in that position, and you're clearly not a fan of the scheme, but that plan is the basis of the funding they've secured (and spent) already. So there was little choice – but the funding agreement still has to be written, and as I said I'm pushing for extra assurances to be included.
You've seen my full statement, and you can see it's hardly a gung-ho endorsement of the situation. You rightly say "Your job is to scrutinise the council's actions" and if you'd been at the committee I hope you'd agree I did that, having also demanded (and received) briefing on the full sorry story before the meeting. I'm personally angry at being kept in the dark until then, and that this type of "bailout" situation creates such a negative impression of all heritage spending. It should be part of a proud and unashamed strategy to invest in celebrating and protecting our history, rather than an emergency funding splurge. The questions and concerns over the design are things I will certainly take up with the Trust, are I think it's fair to say they are now aware of how many people are looking over their shoulder.
Tim Barry says
Well done for bring this to the public attention. I think in the current economic climate it will be sensible to keep the project simple – less risk and therefore more control over cost.
This whole thing about raising the boat has not been at all well explained. Even now, I can find only a couple of references to it on the Cutty Sark web site – the front page has a small impression picture from beneath the ship http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/index.cfm
And the venue hire page (hire from 2011 folks…) talks about the area under the ship http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/index.cfm?fa=contentGeneric.ogiwticmifhukfnf
I'm willing to believe that if you throw enough money at doing this, you could do it in a way that doesn't damage the ship (and Lord knows money is being thrown). But I am mystified as to why I can't find pictures of what it is going to look like. Do they have something to hide?
Nigel, I'm glad to hear that the funding agreement has still to be written because it gives a faint chance of pulling this back. The fact is that there was no need for the decision to be made this quickly – the reasons for urgency given by the council are spurious. The real reason was to avoid scrutiny and to fall in line with the Government's preferred announcement timetable. You should have opposed the bailout until you were happy that it was actually going to work. I repeat – there is no point in a "solution" that does not work.
As I understand it, it is not the case that the HLF funding is conditional on the "iconic scheme." The only funders whose cash is conditional on this are Sammy Ofer (£3.3 million) and Greenwich Council. The Trust is keen not to sacrifice the Ofer funding, but given the vastly increased overall cost of the project that now seems like the tail wagging the dog. It would almost certainly be cheaper and quicker simply to restore the ship and not raise it on legs, so Ofer's contribution might not even be needed.
Benjamin A. Zabriskie says
I am a Cutty Sark fan from South Carolina, USA, and an admirer of this majestic ship. I have been studying the Cutty Sark for about three years as I try to build two models of her. Recently I wrote the Cutty Sark Foundation and told them that I would rather see the Cutty Sark rot in dignity that be displayed according to the current destructive plans.
Andrew – the deadline, as explained to me, was set by the HLF, who would have pulled the plug if it hadn't been confirmed by the end of this month. We would certainly have opposed it if we hadn't been given firm evidence that financial and management controls had been overhauled, but I have spoken to those involved and am satisfied on that specific point. Why on earth the HLF didn't insist on the same robust mechanisms in the first place is a major issue which needs to be investigated.
You and I disagree on the merits of the scheme – I support it, and think it will greatly enhance the presentation of the ship. It would be cheaper not to do it that way, but there is then the question of how the ship's ongoing costs would be covered into the future without a new visitor offer (or indeed a new Ofer). I am however concerned to hear of the structural questions, and want to pursue those.
Incidently, I should have said at the outset – well done on a good piece of investigative reporting. It is right for these concerns to be discussed, and I only wish there had been more openness from the start. I always think these issues look much worse if information is withheld unnecesarily.
John Sankey says
I was fortunate to be able to visit the Cutty Sark, which my grandfather sailed on, in 1955 when restoration was just beginning. My next visit was in 1962 as a post-grad student, and was greeted by those huge holes gashed through that beautiful hull. As far as I was concerned, the soul of the Cutty Sark was broken when it was turned into a cheap exhibition hall. That was straight vandalism. Exhibitions belong in exhibition halls, not inside genuine historical artifacts. I never went back after I saw that.
I've been in touch with the current conservators, and was praying that she would be made whole again. It seemed that conservators at last had infuence. Those holes were to be filled in, the teak decking thrown away in the 1970's was to be replaced with authentic teak…
Now I hear that new holes are to be gashed through her to support another exhibition hall. Not only that, but the erroneous colours she was restored to in the 1950's are to be maintained.
I had been saving to attend her re-opening. This makes it sound as though I'll never want to revisit after all.
It's a loss that I'll not even try to put into words – I can't.
It was HRH the Duke of Edinburgh who championed for the Cutty Sark to be brought to Greenwich back in the 1950.`s I think all could say it has been a huge success for the ship and Greenwich.The current situation must be causing HRH huge distress ,and of course he will be damned if he says anything, and damned if he does not..
My beloved late father was a Surgeon Commander in the Royal Navy so I grew up with wooden boats.I have owned and sailed small wooden boats all of my life.All who have ever "played" with wooden boats will know that whatever budget one has in mind to replace a plank or even rebuild a boat will usually double and then some.
All of you ,who have embarked on a house project will know what I`m saying.
I am not a qualifed anything. I have run several business `s employed people and I hope honoured anything I have taken on.If one wishes to build anything one has to plan the foundations first and have a standby plan if things go array.It saddens me to see this miss management ,and everyone blameing everyone else.Some twenty years ago I lost all my money in the last down turn,so I`m no stranger to DISASTER .I have tuned things around without carping.
Lets just sort out The Cutty Sark for Greenwich and honour HRH the Duke of Edinburgh`s vision.
Nigel – I know that's what the council told you, but according to the HLF it's not true. There was no such deadline. They agreed to resume funding last August. Even the deadline you quote is three weeks away – time enough for a bit of scrutiny, surely? And how can you support a scheme that will, in the opinion of its own chief engineer, damage the thing it's supposed to be rescuing?
Wolfe says
Thanks, Andrew, for getting this sorry story into the national press. Some of us have been banging on and on about the mess the project is in for months in the hope that exactly that would happen.
Nigel, the points about the very real risks of raising the ship deserve far greater scrutiny. Almost no-one, who knows anything about the methods involved is in favour of the idea. The only real reason for now doing what so many experts have warned against is to provide a venue for corporate entertainment. Bearing in mind that Cutty Sark was, and still could be, a national monument, should the creation of somewhere that will appeal to companies looking for a place to drink and eat canapes really take precedence over proper renovation and preservation, regardless of the possible income?
Wouldn't it also be useful to see a comparison of the projected cost of raising the ship and not raising it before making decisions on funding? Finally, as you have mentioned, the secrecy surrounding the project has been frustrating and now, it appears, was designed to prevent anyone knowing about the hash that has been made of the job so far. If you could give us some idea of what the"firm evidence that financial and management controls had been overhauled" actually is, we would be less likely to believe that those who have been wrecking Cutty Sark should be left to continue doing the same…
A very useful debate on this thread, and plenty of issues I will be following up. At the end of the day, as Andrew says in his article, we all love the Cutty Sark. Robert is absolutely right in his comment that the priority is to get it sorted out so we can have something we can be proud of.
Dead right on all points – you and I were trying to get this out in the open last Autumn.
"the secrecy surrounding the project has been frustrating and now, it appears, was designed to prevent anyone knowing about the hash that has been made of the job so far." At some point in the not-too-distant future someone with authority needs to look into this whole issue of where the money went and the subsequent cover-up. Balfour Beatty have some pretty big questions to answer.
If you could give us some idea of what the"firm evidence that financial and management controls had been overhauled" actually is, we would be less likely to believe that those who have been wrecking Cutty Sark should be left to continue doing the same…" I second this – please give us details.
On the face of it (given that we have been and continue to be kept so much in the dark) it would appear to me that this project should be taken away from the Cutty Sark Trust, who seem to have lacked the knowledge and experience to run this. Having farmed it out, they seem to have been unable to control their project managers, and have apparently colluded in the cover-up.
Megad says
I am afraid that the proposed elevated position, as displayed in the Council propaganda sheet turns the old queen of the seas into a tart in a window. If one needed any more proof that the "heritage" industry does not value its charges, this is it. Tacky plastic souvenir anyone?
I think this whole thing needs a Channel 4 News airing.
Maybe we could all prompt the news media with an email pointing out our concerns.
If there really is a serious issue here, then the sooner it becomes higher profile,the sooner a solution might be found..if there is one.
In the current issue of Private Eye
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=in_the_back&issue=1266&GUID=139
And still the cock-ups continue. The trust recently spent £1m on recycled teak for the deck. The specification was for planks 3.5 inches by 5 inches, at lengths ranging from 18ft to 36ft, "machined to a decking profile". The correct sizes were vital to ensure that deck planks matched up with bolt holes in the iron frames; but when the timber arrived much of it turned out to be 5 inches thick, of random width, and at lengths between 6ft and 8ft. Since the project managers had signed off on the delivery and pronounced themselves satisfied, they couldn't ask for a refund when a visiting shipwright pointed out the mistake. They now have £1m of teak sitting uselessly at an airfield in Wiltshire.
Astonishingly no naval architect or shipwright is overseeing the restoration – which may explain why more emphasis is placed on creating an "iconic" leisure venue than on giving the old girl a sympathetic refit.
It's also why Greenwich council stumped up an extra £7m five months ago. Justifying this extravagance, at a time of budget cuts elsewhere, council leader Chris Roberts raved that "the difference between the iconic scheme the council has supported and simply putting the ship back together as was could not be greater". Indeed – the main difference being that in the view of most experts his iconic scheme will damage the fabric of the ship.
Greenwich Council Meeting: 24th February 2010 | Greenwich.co.uk says:
[…] answer to a question from Cllr Paul Webbewood (Lib Dem, Middle Park and Sutcliffe) to reject recent criticisms of the plan to suspend the famous tea clipper 11-feet off the ground as part of its restoration. He […]
Cutty Sark to reopen on April 26th | Greenwich.co.uk says:
[…] Sark has been, controversially, suspended three metres in the air, creating a new public space below it for visitors. The space […]


text:
by Ryan Barnard-Stoker October 10, 202111:10 am October 5, 2021
Photo by Daniel Jensen on Unsplash
"Jess!" Van screamed.
"Death is on your doorstep, Jess!" Van laughed.
Shadow let out another sigh.
"Who the hell is this?" Jess asked as she opened to door.
"Mr. Van calls me Shadow."
"You named him like a dog. Great Halloween costume. Too bad it's May, but I love it. I want a costume exactly like that, Van! Come, have a drink, you guys!" Jess said.
Van grabbed Shadow by his cloak and dragged him to the kitchen.
"Is—he–does he know?" Jess asked.
"Yes—yes, he's fine with it. He's kind of surrounded by death every day," Van said.
"With death? Of course," Shadow said.
"I'm guessing you got rid of the body?" Jess asked.
"That's kind of where Shadow comes in," Van said. "This may be the last night you ever see me."
"She knows about the body?" Shadow asked.
"Of course, I know. I'm the one who killed her," Jess laughed.
"So, you are not the killer, Mr. Van?"
"I'm just an accomplice. I get rid of the bodies. But I must have been pretty wasted last night because I don't know what I did with the body. She's the one who kills them," Van said as he pointed at Jess.
"Yeah, we work together. Him and me. People make me so angry sometimes. Except for Van," she said as she hugged Van and gave him a drunken kiss on the forehead.
"So how many has Van killed?" Shadow asked.
"None," Jess said. "Thought you of all people—or things without faces—would know that."
She took another swig of beer and stared at the faceless man.
"How did I get this so wrong?" Shadow asked.
"Not sure. I pay Van well to get rid of them. Oh, he makes a few mistakes, but he has learned how not to get caught. He's one of the best now."
"One of the best? There were others, you know?"
"Knew, they are no longer around, they couldn't keep their mouths shut."
"Let me step outside for a minute. I don't breathe air, but I think I need some right now. I will be right back."
"There is a lock on the door, Shadow. From the inside."
Shadow gave Jess a wave and walked through the front door. A few minutes passed and Shadow walked back in, through the window this time.
"Mr. Van, I would like to speak with you in private," he signaled for Van to walk into the Kitchen with him.
"Ok, let me grab another beer first," Van said as he grabbed a cold one from the fridge and opened it with his key chain bottle opener.
"I have a proposition for you. I thought you might be interested."
"Proposition—from you?"
"Yes, you could stay—alive. We could work something out."
"I'm listening," Van said.
"We need to take Jess, but they informed me she will only go with you. She does not trust anyone else."
"Ok. And if I do this, I get to live?"
"Oh yes. You would get to live a long, long life. Live to a nice old age."
"Do I have to sign anything, a contract?"
"It's not like it is in the movies, Mr. Van. They informed me I was wrong. You are no killer. But the unwritten contract states that if the wrong name is chosen, they must be reaped just the same as the genuinely guilty."
"That doesn't sound good to me Shadow. I…"
Shadow interrupted.
"But—if you lead her to the gates, you will get to live."
"And how do I do that?"
"It is simple. You take her into the forest by the river. That's where the bad people live. —Used to anyway, easier to dispose of bodies in those parts. But you know that already. There will be a door. You will go through that door, with her," Shadow said as he pointed at Jess.
"Are you talking about me?" Jess asked.
Van shook his head from right to left rapidly.
"Then you will find the Ferryman. I already worked it out. You give him Jess's coin and he will let you paddle the boat to the gates. Together the Ferryman and I will wait for you on the riverbank for you to hand deliver Jess to the doorway. All you have to do is paddle back and return the Ferryman's boat."
"I just get her to the gates?"
"And the coin for Jess?"
"You will know it when you see it. Usually, people spit it out. Sometimes it comes out of an ear, or in rare cases—eyes or nose. I call it the first taste of the afterlife," he laughed.
"What does it taste like, Mr. Shadow?"
"Metal—I guess. It doesn't matter what it tastes like. The Ferryman and I will wait for you on the riverbank by the door to the living."
"How will I find the entrance to where I am supposed to go from the forest?" Van asked.
Shadow placed his hand over Van's head. Van felt a jolt of energy hit him like the time he had accidentally been tased by his sister. He opened his eyes after he had collapsed on the ground. Looking around the room, he was hoping to get some clue of how much time had passed. He focused on Jess's face.
"You have been out for at least an hour!" Jess said.
"We have to go now, Jess! Where's Shadow?"
"He said he left to go back to the forest and that he had the wrong guy."
"Oh—that's good—right? Anyway, we need to make sure I disposed of the body, got rid of the evidence."
It took little convincing to get Jess into the car. It was still dark outside, but it was already approaching the early morning hours. It would be light outside soon. They retraced the steps Van said he made the night before, even though he really didn't remember. Van led Jess deep into the forest until they heard rapids nearby. With his flashlight, Van pointed at the tree that once had bloody handprints on it. Behind the tree was a cave. Inside the cave was a door blocking the entrance. It looked like one of the fancy doors from fairytales. The ones that were on castles that belonged to the richest of kings. It was taller than some trees that surrounded it.
As they got closer, they could hear whispers coming from the other side of the door.
"What's behind the door?" Jess asked impatiently.
"Maybe we should check it out. That could be where I put the body," Van said. "I really don't remember."
She gave the door a little shove, and it creaked open. The voices got louder and there was a blackness on the other side. Without thinking, and without warning, she ran through the door. Van knew the plan, so he pursued her into the cave, deep into the darkness. He walked slowly and carefully until he hear her voice.
"Come here," she said.
In the darkness, Van continued to follow her voice. The sound of rapids grew louder. There was fog everywhere. They moved forward until they couldn't move any further. The tips of their shoes were getting wet by the blackest of rivers. Both quiet, they watched as a boat that looked like a canoe with a man standing on the back of it pulled up to the bank. The man was wearing a black bodysuit. His face was white like powder, making him visible in the darkness. His eyes were shadows, sunken deep into his head.
"Who has the coin?" the man asked softly.
Van watched as a bulge showed up in Jess's throat. She made a slight gagging sound and then coughed a gold coin into her hands.
"She has it," Van said.
"Don't speak. Hand it to me," the man said.
Jess handed him the coin. He scanned the river and stared at them with empty black eyes and then dove headfirst into the river. He didn't even make the slightest of splashes.
"Where did he go?" Jess asked. "Who are these strange people? Shadow and then this guy."
"It's an adventure Jess. We have to find the body," Van said as he boarded the boat.
Jess hesitantly followed. Van picked up the Ferryman's ore and paddled upstream. It was effortless, especially for someone who had never paddled a boat before.
"Be careful," Jess said.
"This is unreal," Van said.
After rowing for a few moments, they saw a dock come into view. What were whispers moments earlier were now becoming screams and laughs. Van tied the boat to the dock with a rope that was already on the boat. There were two large men standing on each side of another door. The door was open, and there were shadows and whispers, yells, and screams, mixed into a cacophony of inaudible dialogue. The darkness on the other side of the door was just the same as the one they walked through from the cave in the forest. Jess got off the boat first, and Van followed. They both walked toward the men.
"Did you check the list," one faceless man asked the other.
They looked a lot like Shadow, no face, no features, just suits with black ties.
"We have a Van, on the list. Are either of you Van?"
"That's a mistake, sir. Check the list again," Van said.
"What the hell?" Jess said. "You are trying to get rid of me?"
"Why would I do that?" Van asked.
Jess shoved Van into the arms of one of the faceless men. They both grabbed him with such a strength that he felt stuck and destined to be pulled into the door. All he could do was stretch out with his upper body.
"Let me go!" he screamed.
Van stretched as hard as he could, grabbed a rock with his right-hand and smashed one of them in the shoulder. Just like Shadow, there was no reaction, but it was enough of a disturbance for them to let go for a moment. He jolted at Jess and grabbed her. He pushed her toward the two men. They grabbed her and Van got to the boat and quickly untied it from the dock.
"No! Van! He's not letting me go," Jess screamed.
Van looked at her for a moment. Then he jumped into the boat and rowed his way back downstream.
His right arm was turning black where one man grabbed him. But he was alive, and that was all that mattered. Soon, he would make it back at the banks of the living. Just as Shadow told him. The Ferryman and Shadow were waiting for him by the banks in front of the door to the living. The Ferryman had a slight smile on his face, after all he was the only being other than Van with a face. Powder white and gloomy, the Ferryman had a smirk on his face when Van arrived. As he pulled up to the bank, he watched as Shadow transformed into a man. Eyes, a nose and even a mouth appeared, but his voice was the same old Shadow.
"You are the best," Shadow said as he clapped his hands slowly.
"You are a man now?" Van asked.
"Was—is? I am still not sure. But I am living."
"You can disguise yourself as a human? Why didn't you show your face earlier?"
"About that—I have waited for so long to have someone like you to come around. You were the best at getting rid of bodies. You were the best at getting rid of clues… You were the best at getting rid of all the evidence."
"Ok – what does that mean?"
Shadow and the Ferryman looked at each other and laughed. The Ferryman then looked at Van.
"It means, Mr. Van, that you delivered a soul to the door of whispers and you survived."
"Ok, that's what you asked me to do – for my life. So, I could live a long time."
"That is right Mr. Van. You will get to live a long life. You have earned your new position as the best who ever lived. You are a perfect match for such a position, just as I was many, many years ago."
Van looked down into the dark river and stared down at the water. The river was not so dark anymore. He could see everything, like it was daytime. Everything except the reflection of his face. His face vanished, but his voice remained.
"No, no, no," Van said.
"Oh, panicking doesn't get your old life back. Don't be so sad, you earned the job. A real participation trophy with the reward of a long life," Shadow said as he tossed a coin to Van.
Van caught it and dropped to his hands and knees. The boat rocked under his weight.
"The coin is your eternal ticket. Don't lose it!" Shadow said.
"Look at it this way. You have all the time in the world to work on coin magic, sleight-of-hand, Mr. Van," the Ferryman laughed.
"I was speechless when it happened to me too, Mr. Van. You will know what to do when the time comes. The orders come in daily—not that time matters anymore. And with this new life, I think I am going to enjoy me a beer now. Good luck," Shadow said as he walked through the door to the living and slammed it behind him.
Copyright © 2021 by Ryan Barnard-Stoker
Tagged with: fiction humor reaper short fiction short scary story short story
Ryan Barnard-Stoker
Follow Stories by Ryan Barnard-Stoker on WordPress.com


Want to read the New Testament but don't know where to start? This course will discuss background, content, and growth of the New Testament and give you all the necessary tools to help you read the New Testament for yourself! Led by Matt Scruggs; three Sunday evenings, June 22, 29, July 13. No participation or materials fee required. Bring a Catholic version Bible if you have one, or copies can be made available.


Ahoy! To be a pirate . . .
It's time for a nice trip!
Martini? I'd like one, please!
Hearts , hearts , hearts !
It's always worth to play badminton. This sport is good for all your problems.
Keep your balance and don't let your body say "enough". Be on your guard.


text:
Home INDIA
Binance And FTX Worst Hit Exchanges As Losses Climb Almost Two Billion Combined
The last 48 hours have seen unprecedented happening in the world of cryptocurrencies. According to Larry Cermak, VP of Research at @TheBlock__, the interest in futures exchanges has tanked dangerously by 20% in the last two days – from $18 billion to about $14.4 billion. The two exchanges which have seen the most severe carnage are Binance and FTX. Almost two billion combined in losses.
He tweeted and said, "The open interest on futures exchanges has gone down by about 20% in the last two days – from $18 billion to about $14.4 billion. Two exchanges that lost the most are Binance and FTX. Almost two billion combined."
The open interest on futures exchanges has gone down by about 20% in the last two days – from $18 billion to about $14.4 billion.
Two exchanges that lost the most are Binance and FTX. Almost two billion combined. pic.twitter.com/YfgOVUNnWP
— Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) January 22, 2022
It has been a bloodbath in the last 48 hours. 185,450 crypto investors lose all their funds as Bitcoin drops to $36K. In the past 24 hours Bitcoin plummeted by more than 9% and was trading at $35,5K in the early hours of Friday.
The worst fears that experts previously echoed have come true. The experts have warned that concerns of pending interest rates hike and crypto ban proposal set in place by the Russians could push the price of BTC below $40K. The carnage has been fairly widespread, and ETH also saw a massive tanking of values by 8% in the last 24 hours. It was trading as low as $2,860 for the day, according to data seen from the FTX exchange.
It has been a bitter winter for the Number One crypto coin, BTC, which saw an erosion of $200 billion worth of crypto assets. Altcoins also posted double-figure losses, and Crypto market liquidations surpassed $881 million. 185,480 traders were liquidated for the day, with assets worth over $715 million.
The most severely hit was Binance, with $173 million, 91% of which were long positions. In second place was the Asian-focused exchange Okex, with $170 million in longs.
I Invested $30,000 In Crypto For My Ex-Girlfriend & THIS Happened
Russian Banks Begin Testing Digital Ruble Payments – Finance Bitcoin News
Top 10 Performing Cryptos Of The Week, 13-20 February 2022
Former FTX CEO SBF Arrested, Faces Slew Of Charges
SALT Lending converts $64M debt – plans to restart in Q1 2023


text:
Byhalia football say goodbye to teammate hours before game
By | August 31, 2018 at 10:35 AM CDT - Updated September 4 at 4:53 PM
Mitchell's #66 is painted on the field at Byhalia High School. (Source: Facebook/Byhalia High School)
BYHALIA, MS (WMC) - Byhalia High School's football team took the field Friday afternoon in remembrance of their teammate who died during a game last week.
Visitation for Dennis Mitchell was held Friday for family and friends to say goodbye to their loved one.
"We love him. He will always be loved," Amanda Tadlock, whose son plays on the Byhalia team, said. "They're all one unit. The whole team is one unit, and they are all heartbroken."
Mitchell's visitation was from noon to 6 p.m. at Serenity-Autry Funeral Home in Holly Springs.
Tadlock said Mitchell touched many lives, including her own. She went to Mitchell's wake Friday to show him and his family how much people cared for him.
"He was a sweet boy. He was fun (always) laughing. Just carrying on with the other kids, but it's left a big hole in all of (their) hearts," she said. "Not only do we have that spot to fill that he played, which no one can fill it like he filled it, (but) it's the hole in our hearts that's going to always be there.
Tadlock was there a week ago at the game in Clarksdale when Mitchell collapsed after a hard hit on the field.
"Everybody was just scared and trying to do the best they could to try and bring him back. It was very, very heartbreaking," she said.
The football team was supposed to play at Center Hill this week, but both schools agreed to play the game at Byhalia to honor the 16-year-old.
The field has been painted with Mitchell's number 66.
He collapsed on the sideline last week after receiving a big hit. He had a seizure and later died.
Teachers Brittany Holland and Brenda Young collected money for the Mitchell family at the game.
"Warm. Funny. Always full of life. Always had others laughing. He was a really, really good kid," Young, who taught Mitchell last year, said.
"I think you just come together as a community, show support and be there for one another," Holland said.
Jacob Wilson, 11, who was actually at the game to cheer for the opposing team, made it a point to donate to the Mitchell family.
"I feel their pain. I lost my mother 3 years ago," Wilson said. "You know, I just feel their pain because they've lost someone very close to them and it tears them apart. Tears me apart to see this happening to someone else."
Byhalia players held up Mitchell's jersey and his helmet on the sidelines. In the stands, his friends wore custom T-shirts.
"We're the class of 2021. We're real close. We like to stay together. Losing Dennis is like losing family," student Devlynn Mitchell said.
Mitchell's funeral will be held Saturday at Byhalia High School's gym. His family will lay him to rest in Memphis.
Copyright 2018 WMC Action News 5. All rights reserved.
Friday Football Fever: Week 12 match-ups and scores
Published October 25, 2019 at 6:13 PM
Friday Football Fever: Week 9 match-ups and scores


Medicine and Technology: TRUE mobility at work?
Who needs a tablet PC if you can just carry your desk on your shoulders? Can you imagine the world if everyone had one of these? I can just picture people crashing into others as they walk down the hallway. You'll need some rugged notebooks.
I think I'll stick with my Tablet PC or UMPC for now. I'll pass on developing further shoulder and neck pain.


Jerry Matthews is the first to admit that he came along in the golf course design business at just the right and the right place.
He entered the field in the 1960s when his father, W. Bruce Matthews, was capitalizing on a boom market, becoming the most prolific course architect in the state of Michigan.
Then a decade after Bruce retired in 1979 and turned his Lansing-based firm over to Jerry, another course-building boom hit.
In the 1990s, no state opened more new golf courses than Michigan, and that made Jerry Matthews a very popular and busy man. Of his 81 courses listed on Golf Advisor, all but three are in the Mitten State.
"I like Michigan and I was really lucky to come along with my dad at that point in history," Jerry Matthews said. "There was so much work and I was learning so much."
Those building blocks positioned him for enormous success. In 1991, for example, of the eight new courses built in Michigan, five were designed by Matthews. In three dizzying years the middle of the decade (1995-97), Matthews opened 17 new courses.
One of them, Timberstone in Iron Mountain, remains Matthews' best work, ranked no. 3 in the state by Michigan Golf Magazine and followed by several other Matthews designs -- no. 14 Elk Ridge in Atlanta, no. 24 The Majestic at Lake Walden, no. 26 Buck's Run in Mt. Pleasant, no. 43 Mistwood in Lake Ann and no. 50 Hawk Hollow in Bath.
Matthews traces his start in the business to age 12 when he began working on his father's maintenance crew at Green Ridge Country Club. He got his bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from Michigan State, but had other ideas as he earned a master's degree in urban planning.
But Matthews came back to work for his dad and forged a successful career building courses that follow natural contours.
"I'm not a bulldozer guy," Matthews said. "I'm not knocking that, but I just like to take what's there and see what I can do."
Later in his career, Matthews turned his attention to renovation projects and perhaps his most innovative work, Northport Creek, a solar-powered course designed to minimize the impact on the environment.
Matthews has a simple explanation for rarely venturing outside of Michigan.
"I learned I'd rather be here than spending so much time in airports or on planes," he said.


"Is that supposed to be a selling point?"
So, Turnbull survived his thirtieth Newspoll. Now he's after Julia Gillard's record and the media can start a whole new countdown. Yes, when Rudd called his Australia 2020 summit it seemed a long way off. However, when Turnbull made his comment about Abbott losing 30 Newspolls in a row, I'll bet he never thought he'd see 30/30.
To be fair, the Coalition haven't lost sixty in a row; there were a few in Turnbull's first year where people still thought he'd actually do something. "He's waiting until after he wins the election," people rationalised. Later it changed to, he's waitng until Tony Abbott leaves Parliament or he's waiting till Hell freezes over, before those who thought he'd be a breath of fresh air had to concede that even if he had complete authority all he'd do is erect statues of himself and insist that all art galleries have a section devoted to his best selfies.
"You mean about Turnbull?" I asked.
Note: It should be clearly stated that the above conversation is a work of fiction. like much of this government's achievements. I have no contact with anyone from the Liberal or Labor parties and any similarity to anyone living or dead is just a really big coincidence. No, really. And I haven't been told that the election will be called for August unless the leadership spill leads to a complete meltdown. That's just another coincidence when it happens.
Going by the polls 48% of Australians are prepared to vote for the L/NP, Malcolm Turnbull and much more of the L/NP's callous, corrupt and criminal policies and behavior. Turnbull gave the L/NP 2 things, time and money. Firstly, Turnbull was far more palatable to the voting public then Abbott. Changing leader gave the L/NP time, an extra 4 years in government that gave them more time to implement some horrid policies, stack the judiciary,commissions, boards, departments, challenge in court outcomes that was not agreeable to the L/NP using taxpayer funds and either under fund or wipeout those bodies that were not susceptible to L/NP ideology. Secondly, Turnbull was not a drain on L/NP coffers to fight the last election. He paid handsomely to be Prime Minister which allowed other monies to be spent electioneering in other seats. Turnbull has done his job and achieved the parties objective. That is to make governing for Labor near on impossible. Labor will not be given enough time by the media to unravel the vipers nest created by the L/NP and the L/NP know it. The next leader of the L/NP will be similar to Abbott as the L/NP know how good a negative, divisive, lying, conniving, bombastic and corrupt opposition leader is. The results prove it as well as having a complicit and feral media helps.
A federal ICAC would help Labor but will Labor have the numbers in the Senate to get that through?
Well observed and placed. Labor is the party that actually develops and implements ideas and changes that move the country forward. Policies that have helped make the society a much better place for the majority of citizens and residents than it would have been otherwise. Just wonder where it would have been IF it wasn't always dragged backwards and delayed by the right. Time is wasted, money is wasted and above all, so much of the country's humanity is wasted as a result of the reactionary right's maneuverings.
It's not quite like that ajogrady. Around 35% give and take solidly vote for the L-NP and abut the same number give and take solidly vote for Labor. That's their primary vote, and it's been about a 50/50 split that way for a long time. That's no accident either, as our political system is rigged towards a two major party system.
The rest, around 30% is made up from preferences and true swing voters.
To shift the ideological core has been nigh on impossible for many decades now. Children of ideologues are indoctrinated by their parents to believe their ideology is the only one that is right. They rarely or never question why this supposed stated fact is correct. I stopped trying to debate ideologues a long time ago, just as I stopped trying to debate religious advocators.
The core, especially at the idealogical extremes, is now fracturing around the edges, sometimes with people moving to even more extreme galvanisers, but also with many retreating to a middle ground. It's that middle ground both major parties are fighting for but with Turnbull being stymied by his extreme right as they thrash about in their death throws.
I'm not so sure – quite often children do develop a different political viewpoint to that of their parents'… during their rebellious years until they dovetail back into conservative voting patterns – usually when they start a family and are neck deep paying off a mortgage. Well, revolution is coming.
Wasn't the plain packaging of cigarettes also a major Labor achievement…?
Gee, helvityni, apart from the plain packaging what have Labor ever done for us?
Weren't Labor in power when the GFC hit? So they must be responsible for it. Thank dog that the LibNats came in to rescue us from that disaster.
This 'invisible hand of the market' stuff is complete nonsense. Only the gullible, the stupid and the ideologically driven believe it. The successful operation of any economy, and the prosperity of all who work within it, have always been determined by the interventions of governments, especially central governments. It is only by means of the mechanism of government deficit spending (aka surpluses in the non-government sectors) that the private sector is able to save, invest and spend, leading to overall prosperity for the nation. Federal government deficit spending injects net financial assets into the real economy. No other entity can create and introduce net financial assets into the economy in this way.
Quite! The LNP only exists to disrupt, degrade and destroy anything and everything the ALP proposes and achieves.
Note: It should be clearly stated that the above conversation is a work of fiction. like much of this government's achievements. I have no contact with anyone from the Liberal or Labor parties and any similarity to anyone living or dead is just a really big coincidence. No, relally. And I haven't been told that the election will be called for August unless the leadership spill leads to a complete meltdown. That's just another coincidence when it happens.
Not only do I believe you have placed a bug in every corner, corridor, water-closet and water-cooler of parliament house, but you have some kind of deal going which enables you to read my thoughts!
Rossleigh, it sounds like you have recorded a local Young National$ Party meeting held in a corner telephone box because the active membership can only join when they are over 65 years of age.
@economicreform: I agree, if PRC can achieve 6%+ per year economic growth with central government planning then why are the "western democracies" happy with a mere 2% economic growth?
I am 82, support progressive policies and read the AIM Network, Crikey and the NY Times. My 'children', all over 50, read the Australian and are negative about ALP policies. Where did I go wrong?
Rosemary, you did not go wrong with your children. Murdoch's media sheets, and the Australian in particular, operate for the express purpose of manipulating (aka indoctrinating) the perceptions and beliefs of their readers. Most of their readership is comprised of the average person in the street, and that readership has very little real knowledge or understanding of what is happening in the world. They are ripe for the ideological kill.
What a good read, Rossleigh.
Very amusing way of portraying the clowns we see running around throwing buckets of confetti at the labor children. The children believe it has substance and duck. But they remember the message of the clown without any mitigation for the confetti. Maybe a miracle could change the pattern???
Wonder what bill's interview would be?
"We have no plans to do anything at this stage!" finita colloquium??
I met you and your ex nearly 50 years ago.
My mum (88) loves the australian. I keep telling her its crap but my comments fall on deaf ears. Well done Rossleigh.
By the way, we have just had weather (southern oz) that was so effing far from normal in mid april. Yesterday was a day you would expect in mid summer or early march at the latest. I wonder if the australian will report this anomaly and will labor get the blame for climate change and/or the rent seeking greens.
I'm afraid that this crazy weather is the new normal.
Coalition campaign launch a real shocker.
Enter your email address to subscribe to The AIMN and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Development and Wordpress management by CanberraWeb.


why would it work for one binding but not the other?
In my opinion firstly you could remove site from IIS and try to host again and create virtual directory.
Check that can you access site with second hostname without error.


Fisherman's Market at The Central is a gorgeous place. As you ascend the escalator into the primarily white hall filled with beautifully presented seafood, you'll feel like you've just floated up to heaven.
There are so many Japanese buffets in Singapore (see my list of almost 40 Japanese buffets here), but this one is positioning itself as a premium Japanese-Western-Asian seafood buffet.
The name may be similar to Manhattan Fish Market, which is also at The Central, but there is no relation. Fisherman's Market is a Japanese brand set up by Create Restaurants, a conglomerate with 110 F&B concepts in Japan. This is their first endeavour in Singapore.
I will have to say, I absolutely love the soothing decor of white, wood and glass. There is ample space and a high ceiling for one half of the restaurant. Double-storey floor-to-ceiling windows give you a grand view of the Singapore River and Clarke Quay. Of course, I was too distracted by the food to take a photo of that view until it was too dark.
The food does look amazing. Seafood on ice - oysters, prawns, mussels, etc...all of which I did not try, but I heard raves about the oysters and scallops from others.
Everything is neatly and compactly arranged, so it does not look like an overwhelming lot, but there are up to 90 dishes available! I wasn't even able to try a quarter of the stuff there.
As with a buffet this size, there is definitely something for everyone, but it will also be tough to do everything perfectly.
I appreciate that the tempura is fried only upon order. Every table is given a few clip tags, which you present to the stations (there's teppanyaki and tempura) and they will bring your order to your table once it's done. No waiting necessary. How nice.
There are various kinds of sushi available, all done by native itamae. The Japanese sushi chefs do manage a bit of English, and can tell you what ingredients are used.
The hot mains are fairly decent. The kids loved the pasta vongole bianca (what is it with kids and pasta?) and seafood fried rice. However, the chili crab and black pepper crab did not have much meat in them, so it may be more worthwhile trying other items than cracking those shells.
The dessert station may look small, but it holds some of the best goodies here. We all loved the DIY soft-serve ice cream machine, and I am glad to say the ice cream tastes way better than McDonald's (which now has this almost artificial milk powder flavour).
Don't miss the creme brulee - it's divine! Super rich and eggy too. You can ladle some of the "Macedonia" fruit cocktail mix onto your ice cream too. The tapioca pearls in the coconut milk are a little undercooked though.
The buffet is dinner only, but there is also a la carte downstairs for lunch.
Thanks to Word of Mouth and Create Restaurants for the invitation.
This place looks amazing. which would you choose: Todai Seafood buffet or this one?? I wish I had more time to try everything!
Anonymous: I'd say Todai has a much bigger spread, for just a little bit more. This one seems very pretty and dainty.
Kenny: yes, and it stays so true to the Japanese aesthetic!
The food at Fisherman's Market is really pretty bad. had it on sat . the food stations were empty n took long time to fill. n the raw food such as the salmon n oysters r bad. nt fresh n cold to take.
I agree with the previous anonymous comment. It's really quite bad. Had it last fri. Even tho e oyster are freshly opened, they dont taste fresh. Curry fish head, clam chowder and even the chilli crab sauce are watery hence not much taste. Pretty much like Sakura buffet's standard but at 2 times the price.
Oops, about to go and try this Wednesday with my family. Thought they should be good because it is operated by Japanese company. What a pity, have to find another place where the oysters and sashimi are fresh since they are raw. Any suggestions where I can go and find really fresh oysters and sashimi?
I like the platter meal consisting of a little bit of everything. I will check the place out.


SPECK Pumps (UK) Ltd is the UK Subsidiary of SPECK Kolbenpumpenfabrik in Germany.
It is the UK agent for the SPECK pumpen centrifugal pump range and is able to supply products from the whole SPECK group of companies. It stocks a large quantity of High Pressure Triplex pumps and accessories.
Centrifugal, vacuum and swimming pool pumps are available to order. It offers a fast, courteous, and helpful service to trade customers from all areas of industry.


text:
The Present — June 20, 2017
10 Living Philosophers and Why You Should Know Them
Sure, the old Greek guys from 2,400 years ago get all the glory. But these living philosophers have a ton to say about life, the universe, and everything as it relates to right now.
Scotty Hendricks
Copy a link to the article entitled http://10%20Living%20Philosophers%20and%20Why%20You%20Should%20Know%20Them
Share 10 Living Philosophers and Why You Should Know Them on Facebook
Share 10 Living Philosophers and Why You Should Know Them on Twitter
Share 10 Living Philosophers and Why You Should Know Them on LinkedIn
It can be easy to think that all the good ideas have already been thought; after all, philosophy have been going on for more than 2500 years. But that isn't true! There are still some genius philosophers out there, of course. Here, we give you ten living people with ideas worth learning about.
One of the most cited philosophers of the modern age, Chomsky has written extensively on linguistics, cognitive science, politics, and history. His work has had an effect on everything from developmental psychology to the debates between rationalism and empiricism, and led to a decline of support for behaviorism. He remains an active social critic and public intellectual, including here on Big Think.
"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously"
Zizek is a modern Marxist who has commented extensively on culture, society, theology, psychology, and our tendency to view the world through the lens of "Ideology". He has devoted a great deal of time to updating the idea of Dialectic Materialism. He is also a frequent Big Think contributor.
"Humanity is OK, but 99% of people are boring idiots."
Cornel is an American philosopher who focuses on politics, religion, race, and ethics. Hardly shy for the camera, West is often seen on television talk shows and even had a cameo in the Matrixfilms. His work has expanded on the ideas of W.E.B. Du Bois on more than one occasion, and continues to focus on the issues of being an "Other" in modern society. His Big Think videos can be found here.
"The Enlightenment worldview held by Bu Bois is ultimately inadequate, and, in many ways, antiquated, for our time."
Martha Nussbaum
An American philosopher at the University of Chicago, Martha has written about subjects as diverse as ancient Greek philosophy, ethics, feminism, political philosophy, and animal rights. Along with Amartya Sen, she alsodeveloped the Capability Approach which inspired the United Nations Human Development Index.
"Now the fact that Aristotle believes something does not make it true. (Though I have sometimes been accused of holding that position!)"
Alasdair Macintyre
Alasdair Macintyre is a Scottish Philosopher who has written on ethics and morality, political philosophy, theology, and the history of philosophy. His most popular book, After Virtue, helped to fuel a resurgence in Virtue Ethics. His thought shifted from a Marxist view in his early work to one that combines his former Marxism with his new Catholicism and Neo-Aristotelian insights.
"We are waiting not for Godot, but for another—doubtless very different—St. Benedict."
An American philosopher, cognitive scientist, and one of the so-called Four Horsemen of New Atheism. He has written on free will for decades, and supports the compatibilist view. He has also written on how philosophers think, explaining how the idea of the "Intuition pump" can both mislead and enlighten us. He also has very many interesting interviews with Big Think.
"The Darwinian Revolution is both a scientific and a philosophical revolution, and neither revolution could have occurred without the other."
Philip Kitcher
An analytic philosopher working at Columbia University, Dr. Kitcher has done extensive work on the philosophy of science itself. His work has focused recently on the criteria for "good" science, and the philosophy of climate change.
"A great scientific theory, like Newton's, opens up new areas of research… Because a theory presents a new way of looking at the world, it can lead us to ask new questions, and so to embark on new and fruitful lines of inquiry."
A modern consequentialist who puts his money where his ideas are. Author of The Life You Can Save, a book on how utilitarianism demands altruism from you right now, he went on to create an organization dedicated to the idea. He has also written on animal rights, and is a vegetarian. His stances on euthanasia and quality of life have been the cause of a great many protests over the years, often preventing him from speaking. His Big Think videos help explain his philosophy.
"We are responsible not only for what we do but also for what we could have prevented."
An Indian philosopher and Nobel Prize laureate who was worked for decades in welfare economics, capability theory, and on the questions of justice. He often writes on the need to view the implementation of philosophical ideals in degrees of success, rather than as "existent" or "non-existent". His work went on to inspire Martha Nussbaum, and they continue to compliment each other's work.
"Democracy has to be judged not just by the institutions that formally exist but by the extent to which different voices from diverse sections of the people can actually be heard"
An American philosopher who has written on gender, politics, ethics, the self, and cultural pressures. She developed the theory of gender performativity, arguing that no gender exists beyond actions used to express a gender role. Her Big Think work can be found here.
"There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very "expressions" that are said to be its results."
Alasdair MacintyreAmartya Sencapability theoryCornel WestDaniel DennettEthicsideologyJudith ButlerLinguisticsMartha NussbaumMarxistmodern philosophynoam chomskypeter singerPhilip KitcherphilosophyraceSlavoj Zizekvirtue
Stendhal syndrome: Can beautiful art make you mentally ill?
People who visit Florence seem strangely susceptible to Stendhal syndrome, which is blamed on an overwhelming sense of awe.
How virtual reality will change how we see ourselves and therapy
From boosting empathy to improving therapy, virtual reality is poised to change our ideas of the self.
Newspeak: Why silence defeats "thought crimes" in Orwell's 1984
In Orwell's dystopian novel, the government uses Newspeak to control thoughts by controlling language. But thoughts do not require language.
Radicalization: The strange psychology behind fusing yourself with one cause
For some people, there is only one thing to live for. They commit their entire being to that thing. They are dangerous.
The cruel and brutal philosophy behind Pokémon
Pokémon has people wandering the world to enslave wild and magical creatures so they can fight in painful blood sports. What's fun about that?
He's on fire! How the hot hand helped Golden State become NBA champions
A streak of seven made 3-pointers in a row helped Eric Gordon defeat Kyrie Irving in the final round of the 2017 NBA three-point contest. Image credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images. […]


Stacked hipped and gabled rooflines create architectural interest. The entry leads straight ahead into the living room, where the glow from the fireplace adds to the light streaming through windows. The efficient, counter-lined kitchen opens to the window-lined dining area, and features a snack bar that serves both the living room and the nook. A formal dining room sits nearby. Both wings are devoted to more private areas, with the left wing housing the impressive master suite, a study, and a secondary bedroom, and the right wing, two more secondary bedrooms and the utility area. This home is designed with slab and crawlspace foundation options.


The debate over taxation and the economy is an argument that is as old as the nation itself. In our previous episode, historian Robert McElvaine argued that the tax reform of 2017 reflected the types of conservative policies that helped bring about the Great Depression. In this episode, we turn to the Manhattan Institute's Brian Riedl to get a different perspective on taxation and its role in the economy since the 20th Century. Riedl explains the evidence that led him to advocate for small government, and breaks down why the 2017 tax reform is not quite as conservative as some commentators have suggested.
Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a member of MI's Economics21, focusing on budget, tax, and economic policy. Previously, he worked for six years as chief economist to Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and as staff director of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth. He also served as a director of budget and spending policy for Marco Rubio's presidential campaign and was the lead architect of the ten-year deficit-reduction plan for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.
The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network. Click the Osiris logo to learn more about Osiris and our excellent partner podcasts in the network.