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2009-11-10: Question And Answer Period
Roleplay Logs » Volume 04: Convergence » 2009-11-10: Question And Answer Period
Date: Nov. 10, 2009
Lena learns a bit more about her 'freak' people from Felix, and Tiago wins a fight for once! Sort of.
"Question And Answer Period"
Downtown, NYC - Lower East Side
It's getting dark earlier now but that isn't a bad thing, especially in this part of town. With the sky dark and the street lights on, the broken pavement and garbage are less visible. There are kids running around in the time between being released from school and dinner, adults sitting out on stoops sharing cigarettes and passing gossip between them. Lucky Joe's Diner is turning a brisk trade in greasy meals, a warm golden glow cast out of its windows and onto the sidewalk; it's towards this last location that Lena is walking.
The teenager's progress is slow but steady. She's wrapped in a Salvation Army find of an old man's winter coat, with ratty knitted gloves covering her hands and her eyes hidden behind a pair of tackly plastic sunglasses. Her hair's been brushed forward to hide the bruise on her forehead.
He was heading for the diner. He really was. But….Fel's been playing a game of cat and mouse through the city, losing and being re-found by his tail. Takes a spook to catch a spook. He's in his own overcoat, bag over his shoulder, and glancing back. No point in pretending he doesn't know they're there. The Fed's expression is utterly unrevealing, tightlipped, save for the glitter of adrenaline in his eyes. He doesn't see Lena, not yet.
The issue with wearing sunglasses at night is that, even if you're cool enough to pull it off (and she is!), it makes it difficult to actually see anything. That means Lena's almost upon Felix by the time the dimensions of the shadowy figure, the face that gradually becomes clear, tickles at her brain's warning system. It also means that hiding the fact that she's recognized him becomes impossible, due to surprise. The girl comes to a halt directly before the diner's front door and stares at the agent, eyebrows disappearing behind the shades as they knit down over her eyes. "What the hell, man? What are you doing here?"
He was looking back over his shoulder, and the startled expression he turns on her is momentarily fierce. There's even the abortive twitch of one hand, as if for an instant he contemplated going for a weapon. The pale eyes behind the glasses are fierce, before they soften into more genuine surprise. "I eat here," he says, very drily. "And at the moment, I'm trying to lose a tail, if I can."
Lena is close enough to catch the nuances of that subtle shift of expression. Naturally, she recoils from the man, sliding back a step and lifting a hand as well. "You eat here? Jesus…someone's following you?" There's a pause while the brunette performs a very obvious looking around at the street. Her cheeks shift following that movement, indicitive of a wince. "You should maybe…I dunno. Dress down when you're around here, so you don't stand out so much. There." A finger is stabbed at a nearby alley. "That cuts through to the other street, if you wanna duck in and hide."
"They've eyes on me," Fel says, quietly. "They'll see if I try that now. I have to look normal. I'll lose them while I eat. There's a window in the bathroom," he adds. Like…he's thought this all out before? There's a man in a dark overcoat across the street. Looking in a shop window, at least nominally….but there's that indefinable air that indicates he's far too aware of his surroundings.
"They?" Not entirely unfamiliar with spotting the law trying to fit into a setting, Lena's head turns in the direction of that gentleman over there. Then she flaps a hand, dismissing the situation. "I don't even wanna know what'd get one spook a tail. Not like I don't have enough problems," she says grumpily, reaching for the diner's door handle. It's pulled open, allowing a rich miasma of smell to roll out over the pair. Butter and onions and thick coffee, oh my.
In she goes, not bothering to see if Felix is following. The shades stay on, but the gloves are removed finger by finger and shoved into a pocket as Lena goes for a booth.
And …."Jesus fuck, it's like the -Matrix-," Fel says, with a feral, angry flash of teeth. Makes him look more like a weasel than ever. Because there's a pair of suits in one of the other booths with the patient, wolfish eyes that only cops on the prowl have. He stops for a moment, like things are about to get violent. And then, after a heartbeat, decides against it, and follows Lena to a booth, scowling.
Wait…did he…? Lena is in the process of struggling out of that ridiculously large jacket, movements slow and achey, but she freezes completely in order to stare at Felix. Presumably. It's hard to tell with the shades. "Wait…wait, what are you…? Ah, christ, why are you sitting with me?" she groans. Arms are folded on the table and her head placed on them, face hidden. It gives her voice an echoing quality when she speaks again. "…why me? Why is my luck so shitty? Don't drag me into your problems, man."
Fel drops into the seat across from her, making the vinyl wheeze. He glances around the dining area quickly, as if to see just how many are arrayed against him. "What kind of freak are you?" he demands, under his breath, not even looking at her directly.
Lena's head lifts too quickly upon hearing that question, leaving her to sag back against the cushion and press a hand to her temple. There's another wince behind the dark lenses. "Uh uh, no way," she hisses at him through gritted teeth. "You think I don't know what you're trying to do? I'm not talking to you when the place is full of…whatever the hell you guys are. I'm not stupid, I saw this on Law & Order." A finger is levelled accusingly at the agent. "You're following me, aren't you?"
His gaze swings back to her….and it's about as welcoming as glacier ice. Cold, contained, unpleasant. "Whatever they are, they aren't Bureau," he says, calmly. "And they aren't NYPD, either. You're wanted for the little fracas last night in the bookstore. I'm not arresting you because I'm -not- local police anymore, and because I have a creeping suspicion we have something in common. A genetic anomaly that gives us abilities most people don't have." He's not talking about the ability to tie a knot in a cherry stem with his tongue, either, is he?
It's a safe bet that it isn't the first time that Lena's received a look of that magnitude, which may explain why she scowls right back at the man, unphased. "Forget you, this is a set up. You're probably wearing a wire and…what?" The teenager's head turns slightly in the direction of that other table, color draining from what's visible of her face. "…I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do," It's a statement, not at all a question. "And I suspect, as well, that it had something to do with the trouble you were in last night." The waitress approaches, Fel pauses, puts on a faint smile, and orders coffee and pie. Not cherry, pecan.
Lena's head turns slowly back around until she appears to be fixed on Felix again. Her lips are colorless, pressed into a thin and disapproving line. "You don't know shit. Last night, some drunk dude nailed with me a chair when he was trying to hit Chi," she says flatly. That, at least, has the ring of truth. "The guy was bothering some other chick in the other store. Tiago doesn't like it when guys bother girls. It pisses him off."
Felix lays his hands calmly on the table. "It does me, too. I don't usually work 'em over that bad, though," he adds, tone more mild. "And you're lying. No one that I know of can control the way their pupils react when they try," he explains. And then offers, with a lift of his brows, "Well, at least you're not a replicant."
"What the fuck, dude? My pupils?" The frustration mounts. "I have a goddamn concussion, it's the second time I got smacked in the head this week. I couldn't see straight till this afternoon." Lena folds her arms, having ignored the waitress. Someone is doing an excellent job of ruining the grumpy child's appetite. "You think I don't know what that means? And no, I'm not."
"Yes," he says, absentedly, with another glance around. "These guys….they're after me because of that. Think about it. I'm a badged government agent, and they'll try and disappear me anyway. It's happened before."
Lena shrinks down on the bench, a hand returning to massage her temple. "Jesus fucking Christ…and you just decided it'd be a great idea to sit down with me, huh?" the brunette mutters. "Thanks for that, asshole. It's not like the cops aren't already looking for me." Temper fouled, Lena finally reaches up to take off the glasses in order to better glare at Felix. Revealed is a truly glorious black eye. "So what. You sneak out and leave me to get grabbed, huh?"
He shakes his head. "No," he says, quietly. "I think….we both sneak out at once. Unless you'd rather go first."
"You know what? You go ahead. I'm going out the front door." Having decided her course of action, Lena begins to fight her way back into that jacket. The glasses are pushed into a pocket with the gloves, leaving her better able to see. Or run, as the case may be.
He slips her a card, covering the motion with doctoring his coffee with sugar. "Wise of you," he says, quietly. "I also work for an organization that helps people like us. If you run into trouble, call me." It's not his actual business card - there is no Bureau seal on it. Just a phone number, and nothing else.
"Help?" The preparations to leave are put on hold as Lena retrieves that card, sparing it a look before it too disappears into a pocket. The look she gives Felix is narrow, troubled. "Do…do you know a girl who can…she can move stuff. She was going to talk to me, I'm supposed to…" But no. Distrust and paranoia wars with curiosity, leaving the teenager to bite the rest of that remark off. "Tell me you aren't fucking with me. Setting me up for…whatever."
"I don't think I know a telekinetic, specifically," Fel says. "And I am not. I swear on my daughter's life," He's in deadly earnest, as he meets her gaze.
Lena tucks her chin down against her throat, staring for a time at the surface of the table. "Jesus," she finally murmurs in complaint. "My head hurts." She closes her eyes and scrunches her face up in a look of heavy concentration. "I can't believe I'm doing this. You're a fucking cop. Okay…I got a lot of questions. How long do you think it'll take to lose those assholes?"
There's the flick-flick-flick of his gaze around the room, before it clicks back to her. "Hour or so," he says, quietly, before primming up his mouth again.
The nice thing about oversized jackets? Big pockets. Lena pulls a few napkins from the dispenser on the table and lays them flat over her thigh, producing a pen from a pocket. It doesn't take long to write down an address or make the pen disappear again; the napkins are wadded up afterwards and dropped on the table. She thinks she's so clever. "There. You show up there after you drop them, okay? If you got gloves, I'd put them on before you grab those. And I swear to god, if this is a set up…"
Threat delivered, the girl buttons up her jacket and slides to the edge of the bench. A breath is taken, and released in a louder remark. "Fuck you, man! I don't do that shit!" Lena stands then and proceeds stompily towards the front door.
His grin….is really more of a leer. And thoroughly unpleasant. Well, he's got the creepy bad lieutenant thing down, that's for certain. He palms the napkins, makes a noise of protest as he raises his hands to her. A whole set of censorious stares skewers him, and he refuses to blush, looking around defiantly. Hey, who hasn't offered to pay for a little company, now and then? With that, he heaves himself up as well, heads for the bathroom.
Felix's retreating back is treated to a last call of, "Asshole!" Then the bell over the door sings as Lena pushes her way out and heads up the street.
One hour later, give or take a few minutes…
The door to apartment 1209 is opened, revealing Lena there holding a baggie of ice to her forehead. Her eyes are bloodshot; the headache is worse. Felix isn't going to be greeted by a smile, alas. She just backs up wordlessly to allow the agent entrance into the apartment, padding down the hallway into the living room. The TV is on, turned to the Cartoon Network with the volume cranked all the way down. The door to Tiago's bedroom is closed.
"Keep your voice down, okay? Chi's sleeping…he's gonna be pissed if he wakes up and you're here." Lena collapses on the couch, tucked into the corner against the arm of it, and sighs. There are no preliminaries to the interrogation. "What'd you mean by people who help?"
"There's a group, called the Company. Formerly Primatech Paper," Fel says, quietly. "They are….were…a front. They deal with people with abilities. The Evolved. Mutants. Whatever you want to call them. Kind of a double-edged sword. They had ties to the government. But….that's no longer true, and now the government is hunting those who can do those oh-so-unusual things. We're not exactly La Resistance," he admits, with a grimace.
Lena points to one of the empty chairs to indicate that the man is free to sit, if he so wishes. "Primatech? That sounds familiar…" Evolved. Mutants. It would be enough to make her head spin if it weren't already throbbing. The teen winces and shifts the icepack against her forehead. "So…this company, whatever, it tries to look out for the people being hunted. And you're being hunted," she goes on, frowning. "I'm not. I didn't even know this shit was going on until those two guys hit Mr. Ling's store. I…I mean, I'm a freak, okay, yeah, I admit it. But I don't do anything with it."
She might have invited The Man into their private sanctuary, but she isn't about to spill the beans on the illegal uses of her particular abilities.
"On one level, that's good. You don't register as a threat," Fel's in his overcoat, over his suit, shoulders a little hunched, looking at Lena over the rims of his glasses. "On another level, it won't protect you. Didn't me. I was a fucking government agent even then, and it didn't stop them. Yes. We're not currently very organized, we're on the run ourselves. But it's better than nothing."
Suddenly, an ominous rustling starts up from the other side of Tiago's door. There is what sounds like a distinctly bear-like growl as the man awakens in his man-cave and shuffles to his feet. "Lena?" Comes his muffled voice from the bedroom. "Where're…oh. Cartoons again, huh? I had the best dream, baby…" And suddenly, the bedroom door swings open.
…Revealing Tiago. All of Tiago, in the buff with a lazy smile on his face and a fist rubbing his eye. "You should come ove-…" Wait. Wait for it… "Huh…why is there a dude in my…fuck!" Yeah. Needless to say, the bedroom door is slammed shut right afterwards.
"Fuck…okay, so why haven't you been disappeared yet then? They were right there, they've been following you. How come they haven't just grabbed you? What can you do?" Lena sets the icepack on the small table beside the couch and frowns at Felix, awaiting an answer.
An answer's going to have to wait, though. Those stirrings are heard, prompting a look of utter panic. "Oh shit, it wasn't supposed to wear off—Chi!" She's on her feet, hands clapped over a gaping mouth. "Chi! It's okay! Don't get pissed off!"
Felix has fallen silent, as Tiago's appearance. He doesn't look particularly shocked. IF anything, his expression's gone a little dry, a little amused. "The Company has before. I think they're hands off thus far because I am a government agent. An FBI agent goes missing, the other Feebs start flipping over rocks. I manipulate motion."
Pissed? Pissed. Tiago is beyond pissed. As he rummages through his room, searching for clothing - any clothing - to throw on he is murmuring under his breath in Portuguese. In the end, he ends up throwing the door open again, the tag of his shirt sticking out of his collar as he's put it on inside out. "What didya say? Who the fuck is this muther fucker, and why's he is my…" But then, he catches a better sight of Felix. His eyes squint carefully. "You're that cop. Aint you. Well, you can get the fuck out - we didn't do anything. You can go and ask around - we aint in trouble or nothin', so kindly leave us alone. Why the hell didya wake me for this, Lena!"
Lena is already on her way to the door by the time it opens again. Sure, Felix can probably take care of himself. But she positions herself between Agent and Brazilian anyway. Her hands are raised, her expression nervous and earnest, as much as the black eye allows. "I didn't wake you up! I thought you were, um…sleeping. Look, Chi. I asked him to show up here, okay? He's…he's like me, right? He moves shit with his brain. And he's answering the questions we had about the crazy stuff happening. Please calm down?"
The girl looks over her shoulder at Felix. "You don't have to go, really, he's gonna calm down and then we can talk, right? No one saw you come here?"
"No one. I shed my tail in Grand Central," Fel states, with complete assurance. "And at the moment, I'm not really a cop. I'm a Fed, and I am not here on any kind of official business," He pulls off his glasses, lazily polishes them with the silk of his tie. Ah, class, thy name is Ivanov.
Tiago is glowering at not only Felix, but Lena at this point in time. And though his eyes are hazy and tired, they do seem to harbor some sort of latent, classist sort of anger within them. "You didn't want ta wake me!" He parrots back to the girl, in an accusatory fashion. "This shit was secret! Why, huh? What you got ta fuckin' hide? Were you gunna fuck 'im after?" Yes, it's out of line - but perfectly acceptable what with the lad's current ire and frustration. Only then does he turn to glower at Felix. "I don't fuckin' care what you are, you're all the fuckin' same. Corrupt, know it all sons of bitches. Didn't I fuckin' tell ya ta get outa my apartment?"
Silence. Absolute shocked silence. Then Lena draws herself up and aims a finger right at Tiago. It should be noted that she is glove-less. "Either you calm the hell down or you're going back to sleep." In direct contrast to the raised voices of just a few seconds ago, the girl's voice is low, and flat. "There are some things you don't fucking say. I invited him here and he's staying. If you don't like it, you go out for a couple hours." Poor Felix is overlooked for the moment.
Fel immediately lifts his…right hand, of all things. There's a band there, woven of three different shades of gold. "I'm married. And faithful to my wife," he says, as if the ring were a cross to ward away vampires with. "And I don't make a habit of fucking those I intend to help. Nor am I corrupt."
Tiago takes a step back. Two, even. He's staring down at Lena, at that finger like he's never seen her before. "…You're threatenin' me. /Me/. You're fuckin' threatenin' me! Well, fuck you!" Angry, he stalks right by her, shooting Felix a dark glower as he stomps his way over to the bathroom.
Lena is in no mood. Tiago's remark might have stung a few days ago but she's reached the end of her rope. She glares at the young man, watchful and silent until he disappears into the bathroom, then runs a hand over her face. "He's from Brazil," she explains to Felix. "They're like…the worst tempers on the planet. But he's really a good guy. Got me out of a shitty situation, got us set up here…I probably would've died. Look, you wanna sit down? I promise he's not gonna do anything and you're the first person who's like answered my questions instead of just…danced off."
Felix unbuttons his overcoat, but doesn't shrug it off. He nods, sits, expression flattened out into that perfect, neutral calm. "Thank you," he says, politely. The suit underneath is tailored to hide the bulge of the pistol riding under his shoulder.
"I guess maybe I should thank you," Lena admits. "But don't think I'm going to apologize for the things I said to you before. People like you, you're…you know. Chi's right about most of you." She crosses her arms, elbows cupped in her hands, and paces towards the kitchen. Then back again. Felix can project calm, Lena will fidget. "You said you didn't know anyone who could move stuff but you didn't say you could. Is that why they want you? You're like…super powered?" As opposed to say Lena.
"When I do something worth thanking me for," Fel says, letting his eyes half-lid behind his glasses. "I won't pretend every cop on the Force is a white knight. I almost got routed into IA, myself. And yes, I have an ability of my own."
Lena's ramblings finally bring her back to the couch. She sits on the edge of it, looping her hands over her knees and looking subdued. "You're answering my questions, right? Last week, I thought I was the only person like me. Then the world went crazy and all of a sudden, there are…whatever you called us. Mutants. They're everywhere." Pause. "Is it like in the movies? The government's grabbing everyone for experiments?"
Felix makes a very wry face. "I don't know how much of it is like the movies," he admits. "But yes. There's some government organization that is taking up the Evolved. I'll answer what questions I can."
"Yeah, I know it's not like the movies. It's worse, 'cause it's fucking real. I don't want to end up in a room somewhere. I can't even do much." The misery of the situation has sunk in and Lena collapses under it, sinking back against the cough. She studies Felix for a little while. Under any other circumstances, he'd look a little funny, sitting there in their run-down living room. "I met a girl," she finally volunteers. "She said they had her for awhile. Locked up. And those guys, the ones who burned down the convenience store…one was dressed like he got out of a prison. Is the Company helping them get out?"
"One of the Company's functions was to deal with those too dangerous or too malicious to be let free. A de facto prison, since nowhere else can hold them. They held me, originally. I won't pretend the Company is entirely innocent, either. But….this isn't them. These mass round ups," he states, firmly.
"Wait, hold up!" Lena's forehead rumples. "So they were the fucking kidnappers, and now the government is? Why is this all so goddamn secret? Why doesn't someone just go on the news and tell people what's going on, so we can't be kidnapped?"
Felix lifts a brow. "Who would believe? And there'd be mass panic. Imagine if the entire populace was behind having us rounded up and shipped somewhere in cattlecars. Humans've slaughtered millions for ephemeral things like differences in pigment and creed. What do you think they'd do?"
Lena exposes a certain naivete by dismissing that possibility with a flip of her hand, although her expression remains troubled. "Who wouldn't believe if they saw it happen, right in front of them? And…and that wouldn't happen. I mean, the normal people are like…look at Chi. He knows what I am and it didn't bother him any. Lots of people would be like that, right?" But it's hard to convince even herself. "When did…what did you call it? Mass round ups. When did those start? What're you guys doing to stop it?"
"What we can. I've helped free a few," he states, scratching at his scalp nervously. "And people are….easy to fool. Willing and complicit. Who enjoys having their entire worldview turned upside down? A few months gone, I think. I'm not as in the loop as I was." His lip curls in a sneer. "I was trying to live a normal life."
Speak of the devil, and he will come. The bathroom door swings open dramatically, kicked out, and out stalks the furious, looming figure that is Tiago. His brows furrowed, his body tensed, he stares at the pair in HIS living room, as if defying them to continue. "What th'hell are you still here? I wasn't jokin' none. Get out." His voice is completely unrelenting, although the grogginess of it has disappeared at this point in time.
"And now they're moving in on you? Shit." Lena hauls her feet up onto the edge of the couch, locking her arms around her knees against her chest. "I'm…I'm sorry, man. About your kid. And your wife. That's…that's gotta be scary…oh, jesus. Chi." She looks up at him, sapped of the furious Pekingese energy exhibited before. Now it's all gloom and doom. "Please, don't. Did you hear what he said? The government's kidnapping us. People like me."
Felix looks over with no particular startlement or fear in his expression. His gaze swings back to Lena, and he doesn't rise. "We can go elsewhere. I shouldn't be tailed, at least for the rest of the night. And my wife and daughter are safely in hiding," There's a little glimmer of smugness, in his face.
Tiago is about to drawl on about how he doesn't care, how he's the /man/ of this house and pays them bills and all, but he's suddenly sidetracked. His mouth, still open in that half sneer, closes, and he ends up furrowing his brows heavily and pursing his lips into a tight frown. "…What d'you mean, the government's kidnappin' you?" Beat. Petulantly, his gaze swivels over to Felix. "…Who /are/ you, anyway. And how d'you know you can trust 'im, Lena?"
Lena hugs her knees more tightly, as if she could hide from the look on Tiago's face by hunkering down behind her legs. "They're taking people like me. Rounding them all up. That girl said she'd got away from them and now this guy…Felix, right? They're after him too, I saw them, Chi. It…it didn't smell like a set-up." Pause. "He swore on his kid's life," she adds, almost meekly. It might be that's an apology for the threat earlier.
"My name is Felix Ivanov, and she doesn't know if she can trust me," Fel supplies, with a funny exaggerated casualness. As if it's all the same to him if they do or don't. "I am an FBI agent, but that doesn't seem to have protected me from being singled out for surveillance by some other agency."
Tiago's next question is immediate - it follows a very deliberate pause, a very pronounced suspicious glance. "Why d'you want ta help us out. What you got in it for you." It's not even a question so much as it is a demand, for in the man's world no action is devoid of an ulterior motive. Licking his lips tentatively, his eyes narrow and he takes a step closer to them. "Why're they takin' people like you? What agency is this?"
Lena shoots a one-eyed glare at Felix. Don't tell the angry Brazilian that there is no reason to trust the spook in his living room! That's about all the ire she can muster though. "He got grabbed, Chi. By this other group that's…trying to help now, I guess. He knows what it's like. I dunno why…in the movies it's always for experiments." The Agent is going to have to field that one, and she looks from her roommate to the man in question, waiting.
"I don't actually know what agency. My clearance level isn't that high. Experiments does seem likely. To determine our capabilities, see what sort of threat we do represent," Fel says, quietly. "Because that's part of my job. And because the more of us that are free, the better we'll do. Listen. Let me show you something," He tugs at the collar of his suit jacket, removes his tie and stuffs it in the pocket of his coat, and opens the throat of the pale blue Oxford shirt he's wearing - trying to expose some point on the back of his neck.
Tiago lets out a short bark of dry laughter, although he is anything but amused judging by his expression. "You're workin' for the government that's tryin' ta track you down. Fuckin' priceless. You're all a bunch of hypocritical ass holes." He has nothing but nice things to say about the authority figures in this country, obviously. "It's real easy ta say nice shit like that. Look - I can say it too. I was grabbed for my superpower. Now I'm fightin' them off! Rar!" His point made, he /is/ rather curious about what Felix seems to want to show him. Eyes squinting, he shuffles closer to catch a better look.
Lena lets out a puff of air, cheeks swelling with the breath. "This is serious, Chi. I could end up in a lab somewhere, with my brain in a jar! He's the only one who's answered my questions!" And to think she's supposed to be the paranoid one, while Tiago's the charmer. Of course, even Lena can't argue that Felix might be telling them lies… "What's he got?" Curiosity compels the girl to get off the couch and circle around the chair, closer to Chi, to get a look at Felix's neck.
Just below and to the left of the nape of his neck is a weird double scar. Like someone tried to…staple him? "Do you see the mark?" he asks them, even as he ducks his head to let them get a better look. At least he doesn't have long hair. "That's an isotope tracking mark. If you meet someone and they claim to have been employed by the Company because of their powers, they'll have that scar."
Tiago shoots Lena a truly irritated sort of look, scowling in her direction. "If you think I don't take this shit seriously, then you don't know me at all." It's short and concise, spoken with little to no emotion. Peeking over, the sight of the scar takes him aback slightly. There is is. Irrefutable evidence that /something/ is going on. Despite himself, he can help but wish he /didn't/ actually see it. "…Tracking. So they can like, track ya here, right now? And…and they're the good guys, yeah?"
Lena is in trouble, and she knows it. Her shoulders end up around her ears, chin tucked down while she regards the mark and ponders its implications. "Jesus," she remarks faintly. That will be her one contribution before retreating to the couch again. There she will curl up, choosing this time to hug one of the cushions to her stomach.
"The system is offline," Fel states, with the charming lack of affect of an android. "And no," he adds. "There are no white hats in this fight. Just shades of gray." He straightens, glances from one to the other. Apparently feeling they're in need of further demonstrations, he reaches into his suitjacket pocket, comes out with a quarter. He displays it to them on his palm, like a stage magician starting a trick. And then flips his hand to drop it. It doesn't drop to chime against the floor, though - he removes his hand, and it's caught in midair, hovering.
And what does that actually mean? Well, Tiago needs clarification as he blinks, a handful of times, to Felix. "…So…they /can't/ track you usin' that thing, then." Beat. He watches the pseudo magic show, not with awe, but with a calculated sort of grimness about him. It's looking like he can't just write off Felix as a liar any longer. "…Okay. Fine. So, pretendin' you're who you say you are…what can ya do ta help? What does she got ta do?"
Lena's eyes shift towards Tiago, the expression in the good one indescribable. There's a little nausea, a dash of hope, maybe a hint of surprise. But before he can catch her looking, she returns to observing the sideshow. Coin-floating…for some reason, it makes the girl crinkle her nose. "There needs to be some good guys. We're fucking good guys," she says without a hint of irony. "How do we know if I've been tagged, too?"
"Do you have the mark? There may be other systems, I don't know," Fel admits, without a twitch of shame. "You'd've lost time." He flattens his palm under the coin, lets it sink oh so slowly down to his hand. "Be ready to run," he says, simply. "I'm not Superman, I don't have a sanctuary for you. I'm not even in contact with other agents of the Company, at the moment. We're not some all-powerful monolithic organization. We're also on the run."
Tiago licks his lips gingerly. "Ta run, you say. We need ta be prepared ta leave everythin' behind and run…/again/." Fuck. He had just gotten the apartment the way he liked it, too! Lost in his introspective musings, the man recoils a little, thrusting his hands into the pockets of his baggy sweats before, finally, his eyes shoot upwards with a new sort of determination. "Well…I still aint sure why you're here. But…thanks. I'm sorry I freaked out at ya. But you gotta understand, it's been…" Sigh. "It's been one hell of a fuckin' week." His eyes cut over to Lena. "She…well, she knows how ta contact you, yeah? I aint tryin' ta be rude now…but I think maybe I got ta talk ta her. One on one. You know, personal-like."
Lena claps a hand to the back of her neck, sitting bolt upright and looking rather terrified at the thought. "N-no…I'm not, I can't be. Drugs don't work on me, they couldn't have knocked me out, right?" She looks to Tiago for confirmation, reassurance. Funny, that she can't seem to find any of that in the young man's show of confidence. A talk, huh? She'll just…sink back against the cushions and looks pale. "I…yeah, I got his card. Thanks for…thanks for telling us, Felix. You're okay for a cop. Fed." Whatever.
"Believe me, I do understand," Fel says, voice very dry. "And thank you. Call me. We'll figure out a safe way to contact each other."
Tiago nods to Felix solemnly, absolutely ignoring Lena for the time being, and he continues to walk forward to escort the cop out. "We will, sir. Y'can count on it. Thanks again. She's right, you seem like a good guy. I…er, I don't know much of what I can do ta help, but I'm like…here and shit." Beat. "Oh and…if you can like, forget about me jumpin' out naked and stuff, I'd be super grateful. Ahem. Stay safe, man." The door is opened respectfully for Felix.
"Yeah…good luck," Lena puts in, from her safe spot on the couch. Behind the pillow. "We'll call you, definitely."
And Fel vanishes into the hall, without a further word. Work here apparently accomplished.
The door closes behind Felix's departing back without further ado. Silence hangs over the apartment, heavy and suffocating, only broken by the soft click of the lock turning in place. And if that wasn't bad enough, the look that Tiago gives Lena once he turns around ought to be enough to make the Evolved want to curl up and die. For once, Tiago is in the right. And by George, he's going to milk it for all its worth.
Lena curls up but she isn't dead yet. For all that she might wish she were. She huddles behind the cushion, her one good eye peeping over its tacky green edge with definite apprehension. The silence drags out, longer and longer, until finally it's broken by a rather childlike explanation. "I, um, went out earlier. While you were sleeping. Things got kinda weird after that."
She drops that like a penny into a pool and waits to see what ripples take shape.
"I figured." Tiago deadpans, his expression curled into one of wry, dark amusement. "I'm pretty sure the Feds don't take fuckin' house calls. He was all up in our grill, but didn't know shit about me. So /obviously/ you had ta be the one ta go out and fish him up then drag him over." Can you taste the bitter dripping from his words? He is silent for a moment longer, considering what exactly he wants to do next before he moves towards the woman, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm pissed at ya. And I shouldn't even be tellin' you this. I should do that bullshit thing that you always do and pretend ta be fine and then cuss you out after."
"I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd be safe to talk to him alone. I knew you'd be in the next room, so I'd be okay? I…I had to talk to him, Chi. He knew stuff we need to know." Lena's arms tighten around the pillow and she sinks down, until it looks like she's either about to melt into the couch, or slide right off of onto the floor. "I know you're mad and you're right to be mad, but…I thought this was important."
Tiago fixes his unrelenting, unforgiving stare on her. It's terrible, the way his usually warm green eyes seem to have chilled over, taken over by a foreign, clinical man. In fact, his entire disposition in general seems to make him look like a different person altogether. The Tiago that Lena and everyone else knows is young, vibrant and immature - this present Tiago is anything /but/ that. "So you disappear while I'm fuckin' knocked out. And you know what, at first I never thought you'd so shit like that…but now I'm wondering if /you/ were the one ta put me ta sleep in the first place. You fuckin' /threatened/ me, in front of someone else. You undermined me, made me out ta be some fuckin' joke in front of a fed, and then /threatened/ ta put me in my place." He is darkly silent, but only for a moment. "I could hit ya, you know. Ta put you in your place. I could beat ya, but I don't. And I don't /threaten/ ta either. So how come its fucking okay for you to do it."
Lena flinches. There's nothing attractive about it, the cringing back, the way her expression transforms from merely apprehensive to horrified. Is that what she did? Treated him the way she used to be treated? "Chi, I…I wouldn't, I didn't…I swear to god, I didn't. I shouldn't have said that, you just…when you said I brought him back here to fuck him, I just snapped, I'd just found out that the government's taking people like me, and I…" It's a spastic, sputtering recitation and at the end of it, the girl sets the pillow aside in order to stand up. She only means to walk by him towards the kitchen, looking numb. A glass of water is in order.
"You did." Tiago has no sympathy for her. None at all. He's had a lot of time to think thing over, while he was holed up and freaking out in the bathroom, and he has a lot more cause to be upset than she ever did, and she /tortured/ him for days on end. "And then you started acting like I was a dumb ass. Like I don't take your fuckin' situation seriously, like I don't fuckin' care about you. I've done /everything/, I've given up /everythin'/ for you. I go out there ta work every day so that we can live like this, I watch ya and protect ya all I can. I mean, fuckin' hell. I was the one that got you out of Miami, remember that? Remember Jose? And remember that I did all this shit without ever gettin' anything back, that I couldn't even touch ya until a month ago, when I 'forced' myself on you." It's clear, he's dumping all of his grievances with their relationship on her at this moment, having taken advantage of her screw up. "So maybe you can stop actin' like an entitled bitch and show some appreciation sometime. God, I swear, sometimes it feels like /you're/ the one doin' me favors by stickin' with me. Like I'm the one that always has ta fight so hard for everythin'."
The tap is turned on in the kitchen, a glass held under the water, but instead of drinking it, Lena holds it to her forehead and closes her eyes. "I said I'm sorry," she mumbles, too upset to worry about silly little things like proper enunciation. The Southern accent is thick and heavy. "I'm sorry. I shouldn'tve said that to you in front of him, Chi. I fucked up, okay? But I'm not doin' you any favors by sticking around and I never acted like that, not once. Jesus fucking christ. You think I'm not grateful? Like, really?"
"Yeah. You did. Jus' like I did, and guess what? I had ta sleep on the fuckin' sofa. So yeah, welcome ta the fuckin' doghouse." Please tidy up after you leave it, as Tiago undoubtedly will be habituating it soon, as per the natural order of things. Out of steam for the time being, the man makes his sullen retreat, looking incurably solemn as he returns to their bedroom behind him. The fact that he keeps the door open is encouraging at the very least, though.
He's allowed to make that exit, given the last word. Hell, he's earned it after putting up with Lena and her baggage for a full month. So she lets him go. After a few minutes, the pipes gurgle as the water is poured out, glass tinks as the cup is returned to the cabinet. Floorboards creak (she's crossing the living room towards the hall), then creak again (back from the hall to the living room), and the springs on the couch protest when she sits on it again.
Then, very distinctly in the near silent apartment, is the vwwwwip of shoelaces being pulled up tight, followed by the rustle of Lena's old winter coat being pulled on.
Who knows what Tiago was doing in that dark, dismal place known as their bedroom, but he magically emerges just as she gathers her belonging to do her little disappear act. At first, he doesn't recognize the signs of her desire to flee, doesn't register that the trainers plus the coat can only mean one thing. But as he peers at her retreating back, it occurs to him - and frankly, he gets rather irritated. "Are you fuckin' serious! You were the one who heard all that bullshit about kidnappin' and whatever, and you're /still/ wanting ta go outside! Fuck you, no you're not! You aint takin' a step outside this apartment, Lena! Fuck, the last times ya did, you got hurt, and that was with me ta protect you!"
"The last time I did, I found someone to answer our questions," she corrects him in low tones. Lena has to stop to do up the snaps of her coat and then draw her gloves on; walking plus additional action are a little beyond her at the moment. As she adjusts the fingers, she throws a look at the man. There's no anger in that look. Maybe a little of frustration, but mostly she's looking glass-eyed. Shell-shocked. "I'm not sitting in here while you grind your teeth in the other room. I'm not gonna sit here and think about how fucked up things have gotten. I can't take anything to turn my brain off for awhile, so I'm going to the arcade, okay?" Bright lights and tinny music are a decent substitute for drugs or liquor.
"I wouldn't be bringin' that up, Lena. 'Cause you found a bull answer for /some/ of our questions, but you also managed ta fuck me over big time. You're /not/ going outside." Tiago repeats dryly, his lips pursing into a tight line as he moves forward swiftly to cut her off and stand between the woman and her only method of escape. The look on his face is determined and resolved. "God, why can't ya just fuckin' listen ta me?"
Wait, what? He's standing in her way? This new, determined Tiago earns himself a stare when the line is drawn in the sand. "…" It shouldn't seem possible that a human being could make that sound but Lena pulls it off somehow. The wordlessness lasts only a moment though before the girl lashes out. With words, thankfully. "Fuck you up? You mean after you accused me of sleeping with another guy? While you were in the next room? Knowing I haven't fucked around with anyone but you since Jose 'cause of what I am?" Lena takes a testing step forward, her eyes locked with his. "I'm listening to you and I don't like it much."
"You let a fucking cop in my house! /My/ house! Do you realize, Lena, how much stolen shit I've got here? D'you realize all the drugs and shit? D'you realize the fact that I'm /fuckin' illegal/, huh? Did that cross your mind once, at all? He coulda arrested me - no fuck that, he coulda /deported/ me! You don't bring cops here! Ever!" Tiago points out, highly defensive, he arm crossing over his chest as he stares her down, not moving a muscle as she approaches him. "Yeah you know what, this bein' super power thing is impressive. Okay. It's dangerous - whatever. But that don't mean that the non-special shit counts for any less. Jus' 'cause we now can get barbecued by convicts means not bein' arrested is any less important. And okay, whatever, so the cop wants ta help you out. But what if he wasn't so cool, huh? What if once he realized that I can't do jack squat, that I'm a fuckin' loser, that he didn't want ta help me, jus' you. What if he took me away?"
"He wouldn't!" Lena protests. "He doesn't give a shit about any of that! I closed your door, cleaned up the place. But he doesn't care, Chi, about any of that. See, it's good you're not a whatever. A mutant! It means to people like him, people like the ones…snatching people, you are less important. And that's gonna keep you safe, okay? You're safe. That's what matters." Seeing that he is not about to back down and kindly remove himself from the way, she eases backwards a step. Blinking rapidly, to keep her eyes clear. "Just let me go, Chi. You're not just pissed about tonight. It's everything. Let me go."
"What're you, deaf? I said you ain't goin' anywhere. You might as well take off that stupid coat, or else put me ta sleep, 'cause I aint movin' otherwise." Tiago declares mulishly. And indeed, standing there with his arms crossed, his chest broad an expansive, the man is resembling something of a brick wall in his stoicism. "And you don't know he wouldn't. You didn't know, and you put everythin' we had at risk. Fuck, Lena, you're not /stupid/. You know how bad people can be! He coulda been playing you the entire fuckin' time. He's said it himself, didn't he? There aint no such thing as good guys. He aint no good guy."
Lena's expression suffers a cramp when he brings up the earlier threat. Again. Without a word, she turns on her heel and stomps back down the hall, shedding the coat as she goes. The gloves stay on, that might be reassuring.
Could it be, he's won this round?
It would appear so. Lena ducks into their bedroom, appropriates a blanket and reappears a moment later. Then it's off to the couch with her, where she kicks off her shoes and lays down with the aforementioned blanket pulled over her head.
For the first time since he's woken up tonight, Tiago shows hesitation. His brows furrow, and he peers back at his defeated girlfriend with a conflicted expression. In the end, he finds that all he can really do is swallow thickly as his mentally wars it out. On the one hand, he wants to run to her, to comfort her. But on the other - she has made him suffer much worse. She needs to be taught a lesson. In the end, he ends up dragging his feet back towards the bedroom, though he pauses right beside the couch that the girl has curled up in. "…I'm jus' tryin' ta look out for you, Lena." He grumbles under his breath, justifying his seemingly harsh tactics. "You might hate me right now, but I'm only doin' it 'cause I love you and I couldn't stand it if anythin' happened ta you…"
They have such a healthy relationship. There is a suspicious silence under that blanket, a stillness that comes holding the breath completely. Lena is waiting for Tiago to move on and stop rubbing it in. But as his justifications continue, a low trembling starts. And then there's a hitching breath. A sniff. A thick voice that mutters, "…don't hate you," before the covers are pulled more tightly around the lump that's probably the teenager's head.
Tiago pauses at this, his eyebrows screwed together in thought as he considers what the appropriate response should be, or if there even is one. In the end, he lets out a slow, deliberate sigh and undoes the arms crossed over his hands, dropping on arms to reach over and touch what he estimates to be her shoulder through the barrier of the blanket. "…Well…jus', don't pull that whole disappearin' act until after I wake up. I get too worried when I dunno where you are."
Crying is such an insidious weapon. Not that she ever intends to use it that way, generally detesting the whole cry-baby weak woman act; she has better ways to get what she wants. Also, Lena loathes the way her nose gets all big and puffy when she's been acting like a girl. So she remains safely hidden under the blanket and does her best to sound as if she weren't quietly indulging in some hormonal misery. "I'm not goin' anywhere. I'm goin' to sleep."
"Okay. Okay, good." Tiago offers, licking his lips tentatively as he gives her one final pat of support before retracting his hand. He's left to shuffle uncomfortably on his feet for a couple of seconds, unwilling to leave her alone during such a vulnerable situation, but still seeking that bit of revenge and, on a nicer side, dimly aware that she'd rather suffer in peace. In the end, he offers this. "…Don't…don't cry, baby. I…uh. Yeah."
"I'm fine," Lena insists in a low, nasal tone. Her nose is stuffed up now but god forbid she sniff to clear it. It'd ruin that whole I'm not really crying act. She remains motionless under the blanket, neither turning away or softening towards him. "Go to bed, Chi. I'll be here in the morning."
Tiago adopts a sheepish kind of look, before lowering his eyes to his feet. "Well…okay. Good night. I - uh - sweet dreams." And he, finally, ends up shuffling off in the direction of their bedroom.
felixlenatiago


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Don't Try To Rewrite The Past
Date: April 14, 2020Author: Michilín 0 Comments
Being an imperfect relationship is hard. Very often we choose to ignore signs that seem obvious to everyone else to try and continue to be faithful for the person that we have a devotion to. Often it is only after a breakup that we get to stop and think about the different things that weren't right and see that we are better off out of that situation. One of the finest lines in all of media comes in the Netflix TV series Bojack Horseman, "When he look at the world through rose tinted glasses, all the red flags just look like flags", and never has a statement been more true. Sometimes it is difficult to properly articulate or represent this idea, and then other times a song comes out that sums up the sentiment perfectly. The most recent single from Blanchardstown R&B artist AIS is an excellent example of this.
In recent years, AIS (known off stage as Aisling Moore) has developed recognition by gigging around Dublin by gigging around open mics around the city of Dublin before joining the house band of Berlin D2, the band Dirty Sexy Money. In recent years, she has become a member of Irish funk-pop group, Free Ice Cream, while also starting to further hone her own songwriting. Hurt Sometimes is the first sample of what we are to expect from the performer into the future.
This is a fantastic song. There is a fragility and honesty to the vocals throughout the track as she recounts her experiences of being in an unhappy relationship and how being out the far side has helped give her a better perspective. Throughout the track, AIS lets the listener in on the complicated feelings that can still linger after a breakup and even though you know it's the right decision there's still some part of you that is clinging on to the past and will to give it another try. It is something that will resonate with a lot of listeners, and this stands as testament to the quality of songwriting on show.
The accompanying instrumentation on the track is another expertly utilised resource to create the sense of confusion and turmoil at the heart of the song. The early stages of the song are driven by an acoustic guitar riff before being joined later by thumping drums and distorted vocal overlays – the listener is almost placed inside the side of our protagonist as she tries to make sense of her thoughts. It's powerful songwriting.
We've all been there.
AISAisling MooreBerlin D2Bojack HorsemanDirty Sexy MoneyFree Ice CreamHurt Sometimes
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Keith Fitzhugh Turns Down NY Jets to be Train Conductor
Mark Berman Opposing Views
If you asked any man whether he would rather be a professional athlete or a train conductor, 99.99 percent would choose professional athlete without hesitation. Well, we've found the .01 percent.
When that hypothetical question was actually posed to Keith Fitzhugh, he chose to stay on the rails.
The New York Jets have lost two safeties to injuries over the past two games, and have just two left on their roster. So they reached out to Fitzhugh, who had been in training camp the past two pre-seasons -- but cut both times -- he said thanks, but no thanks.
It seems Fitzhugh is now gainfully employed as a conductor for the Norfolk Southern Railroad, a job that helps him support his struggling parents.
''I've got something now where I know every two weeks I'm getting a paycheck,'' Fitzhugh told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. ''That's what helps out the most right now. I don't knock the Jets at all. I highly appreciate them.''
The 24-year-old Fitzhugh knows people will think he's crazy, but he disagrees.
''You don't hear this too often and some people might think it's not a good idea,'' Fitzhugh said. ''Some people might think it is. I don't know. I just have to look out for what's best for me and my family.''
Fitzhugh's father is disabled and unable to work, while his mother has been struggling to make ends meet.
''To sacrifice what he did for his family is the most unselfish thing I've heard by a player in sports,'' said Daniel Rose, Fitzhugh's agent. ''It's really impressive.''
In addition to being cut twice by the Jets, the Ravens also signed and released Fitzhugh. He's said that's a sign.
''I was released three times. That's a lot,'' he said. ''I just don't want to give up what I have now and say that I'm there for a couple of weeks and then I'm released again. Then, what am I going to do? It's really tough. It's the nature of the business.''
Fitzhugh admits he still has football dreams, but there are other things that are more important.
''I know the Jets have a great opportunity of making the Super Bowl, and that's one dream that every child has is to play sports and make it to the Super Bowl or get to the World Series,'' Fitzhugh said. ''But, there's a time when you have to think, 'Hey, you've only got one Mom and Dad.' They won't be here forever, and while they're here, you've got to cherish that time.''


Home » necklaces/pendants » Terra Pendant - 1"
Oxidized silver and gold pendants pop by Jenny Reeves have lots of sparkles and lovely different colors. Designs include four stones-aqua chalcedonies, chrysoprase, jade and Ethiopian opal.
Recycled Sterling Silver includes 23K gold and 2mm champagne diamonds in 18K bezels. Oxidized sterling silver chain adjusts from 18"-20" and 1" in diameter.


After a freshman season marred by injury and a sophomore campaign that ended with a losing record, sophomore guard D.J. Harvey is considering transferring from Notre Dame, according to ND Insider. Harvey, who entered the NCAA transfer portal Saturday, has not ruled out remaining with the Irish, but has opened himself up to the possibility of finishing his collegiate career elsewhere.
In his opening season, Harvey played in 19 games, averaging 5.8 points per game and collecting a total of 56 rebounds. He suffered a season-ending left knee injury against Louisville on Jan. 16, 2018 after playing seven minutes, and sat out the remainder of the school year and the majority of summer ball before returning in late fall.
In the 2018-2019 season, he started in all 29 of the games he appeared in, averaging 10.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 25.9 minutes. The sophomore faced a setback with his injury against Louisville on March 3 and did not play the remainder of the season, missing the final two regular-season matchups and the entirety of the ACC tournament.
Harvey has yet to comment.


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The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 10 Episode 21
Watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 10 Episode 21 Online
Episode Title: Episode 21
Watch The Aquarium Full Series Online. Go behind the scenes at the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere – Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium.
Watch Cake Full Series Online. A handcrafted assortment of bite-sized content served up to viewers as a tasty treat for the mind. Featuring a diverse array of narratives from storytellers…
Watch The Stand Full Series Online. In a world mostly wiped out by the plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil, the fate of mankind rests…
Watch Will and Grace Full Series Online. Will Truman and Grace Adler are best friends living in New York, and when Grace's engagement falls apart, she moves in with Will….
Watch For The People Full Series Online. Brand new lawyers work for both the defense and the prosecution as they handle the most high profile and high stakes cases in…
Watch Westworld Full Series Online. A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined…
Genre: Science Fiction, Western
Watch I May Destroy You Full Series Online. Set in London, where gratification is only an app away, the story centers on Arabella, a carefree, self-assured Londoner with a group…
Watch Salvation Full Series Online. An MIT grad student and a tech superstar bring a low-level Pentagon official a staggering discovery that an asteroid is just six months away from…
Watch Speechless Full Series Online. Maya DiMeo is a mom on a mission who will do anything for her husband, Jimmy, and kids Ray, Dylan, and JJ, her eldest son…
Watch Quarry Full Series Online. The story of Mac Conway, a Marine who returns home to Memphis from Vietnam in 1972 and finds himself shunned by those he loves and…
Genre: Action & Adventure, Crime, Drama
Geordie OGs
Watch Geordie OGs Full Series Online. After shooting to fame on the reality show, where the cast drink themselves into oblivion during wild nights of partying in Newcastle, Marnie Simpson,…


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Baby Born On Dance Floor Of Nightclub Gets Free Entry For Life
The Uniquely Difficult Market No Startup Has Been Able to Crack
Inside The Growing Trend Of Low- And No-Alcohol Beverages
As the year winds to a close, a growing trend might make the tradition of Dry January more popular than ever: the rise of low- and no-alcohol beverages.
The global nonalcoholic beverage market is expected to reach a record value of $1,650.28 billion by 2024, according to a recent report from Zion Market Research, while the consumption of alcohol around the world fell 1.6% in 2018, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. Terms like "sober curious" are becoming more prevalent, and last month, Whole Foods declared that zero-proof drinks are one of the top-10 food trends for 2020.
Influencing the rise of this trend is a cultural shift toward wellness.
"As health and wellness are on the mind of the consumer, more and more things that are attached to it, such as low-alcohol and no-alcohol products and consumption, tend to rise with it," Devon Bergman, CEO of Social Standards, a consumer analytics company, told ABC News.
Even conversations on social media are shifting. Over the last two years, there has been an 85% increase in online discussions about low‑ and no‑alcohol drinking and a significant decrease in conversations about casual and heavy drinking occasions, according to Social Standards Consumer Analytics. Bergman said the consistent rise in consumer interest around low‑ and no‑alcohol beverages suggests the idea of moderation isn't just a fad; it's a trend.
And big beverage companies are catching on.
Laurent Grandet, lead analyst for food and beverages at Guggenheim Securities, said that significant players in the alcohol industry are expanding their low- and no-alcohol options as the light beer business is declining.
This year, Heineken and Hoegaarden released nonalcoholic versions of their beer to the U.S., and this summer, Anheuser-Busch's O'Doul's brand refreshed its look, enlisting the help of three artists in LA, Chicago and New York City to design limited-edition cans that Fast Company called "pure Instagram bait."
Anheuser-Busch, who is the leader in the low- and no-alcohol beverage space, has even set a goal that at least 20% of their global beer volume will come from the products by 2025.
"We know a growing number of consumers are taking interest in non- and low-alcohol products from brewers," Adam Warrington, VP of corporate social responsibility at Anheuser-Busch, told ABC News, adding, "We are committed to meeting this growing demand."
Anheuser-Busch has also been investing more heavily in a message of moderation. Last year it launched a "Drink Wiser" campaign, encouraging consumers to be mindful drinkers and "Hydrate Between Buds."
They've put even more star power behind this year's campaign with Lakers guard Danny Green, a two-time NBA champion, and Anthony Anderson, the Emmy-nominated actor and executive producer of ABC's "Black-ish."
Anderson told ABC News that he wanted to be involved with the campaign because of the message.
"My beliefs and the things that I feel we should be doing as far as the public … this 'Drink Wiser' campaign checked off all of the boxes, and I was just happy to be a part of it," Anderson said.
But the trend isn't just changing how companies are targeting their consumers, it's also shifting how consumers are socializing and it's inspiring alcohol-free bars. The number of businesses selling mocktails or nonalcoholic cocktails in the U.S. has increased by 130% from October 2018 to October 2019, according to Square and the amount of money spent on Mocktails has increased 600%.
"We've hit a tipping point where there are enough people who are reexamining this stuff, and now there's some language around it, like 'sober curious,' but I think what's really happening more than anything is that companies and alcohol brands have started trying to cater to that market,"
Source: www.goodmorningamerica.com
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A number of key pests can impact turfgrass in Maryland. Being able to identify these key pests and understanding the biology is important to effectively preventing or controlling outbreaks. Once detected, documentation should include mapping on an area map and recording the date of the outbreak. Though pest pressure will often exist when conditions are favorable, the severity is often greatly reduced by using cultural, biological, and genetic techniques. As a rule, healthy, well-managed turf better withstands pest outbreaks and recovers more rapidly than unhealthy turf. See Diagnosing Common Lawn and Athletic Field Diseases (2003, University of Maryland) as a reference to turf diseases in Maryland.
Identify key pests on key plants.
Determine the pest's life cycle and know which life stage to target (e.g. for insect pests, whether it is an egg, larva/nymph, pupa, or adult).
For diseases, correctly identify the disease pathogen. This often involves sending samples to diagnostic clinics.
Consider site-specific pest control measures rather than blanket applications of pesticides.


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Go Beyond Brand Loyalty. Build Brand Love.
by Decca Design
A lot of people may say they aren't brand conscious. The truth is, most of us are. Whether it's our shoes, our cars, our phones, or even our morning coffees, we're pretty loyal to our favorite brands. So what makes us obsess over the things we want? The answer might surprise you. It's love.
Yes, the very same feelings and reactions that bring people together also draw consumers to brands in an emotional way. In his book How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market, Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman says 95% of purchasing decisions take place in the subconscious mind. In other words, purchase decisions are based less on thinking, and more on feeling.
The three components of brand love
Loving relationships are a product of three things—chemistry, needs fulfillment, and compatibility. The same is true about brand-customer relationships. Chemistry generates the sense of excitement and irrational desire. Needs fulfillment checks off the right boxes. And compatibility—also known as "brand loyalty"—is what leads to lasting relationships.
Moreover, marketing scientists have found that as consumers build emotional attachments, they rely on "emotional shortcuts" to simplify purchasing decisions. For example, customers may order Coke without even considering the alternatives.
Harnessing brand love
Marketers can now access the consumer subconscious by using compatibility matching algorithms similar to those used by dating sites. And highly interactive survey tools are able to isolate consumers' emotional relationships on an unprecedented scale. Unlike traditional quantitative survey methods, today's "emotional data" gives marketers new insights into consumer behaviors, like suspending price sensitivity, engaging social media, or even tuning into a specific TV series.
To increase and harness consumer love for their brands, marketers should understand the drivers of love for their category and brand. Next, they should know what's most important to their target consumers. And, finally, they should determine how they can differentiate their brand from the competition to deepen the emotional connection.
Based on What Drives That Crazy Little Thing Called Brand Love by Jeff Meleski.
476 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 / 408.947.1411 / © 2022 Decca Design. All rights reserved.
Material contained on this website may be copyright material of Decca Design or protected by other intellectual property rights. It may only be reproduced with the expressed permission of Decca Design. All information contained on this website has been prepared using information believed by the author to be reliable and accurate, but Decca Design makes no warranty as to accuracy and completeness.


text:
SparkleFormation.dynamic(:sqs_queue) do |_name, _config = {}|
  outputs.set!("#{_name}_id") do
    value ref!(_name)
  end

  resources.set!(_name) do
    type "AWS::SQS::Queue"
    set_state!(_config.delete(:state) || {})

    registry! :resource_config, :config, _config,
      delay_seconds: 0,
      maximum_message_size: nil,
      message_retention_period: 3600,
      queue_name: nil,
      visibility_timeout: 30

    registry! :resource_properties, :config
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
March 26, 2018 By rnrachicagoadmin
Condominium Owners' Privacy Ordinance Passes Housing Committee
Alderman Hopkins and Alderman Reilly presented testimony in support of "Home Rule Authority" to protect condo owners' privacy before the Committee on Housing and Real Estate on March 26, 2018.
The Committee on Housing and Real Estate met today at City Hall for a hearing on the Condominium Owners' Privacy Ordinance. The ordinance passed unanimously through committee. It now goes before the City Council this Wednesday March 28, 2018.
Introduced at January's City Council, Alderman Reilly and Alderman Hopkins co-sponsored this ordinance ,which invokes Chicago's "Home Rule Authority," overruling a section of the Illinois Condominium Property Act that was enacted into law by the Illinois State Legislature on January 1, 2018.
Alderman Hopkins and Alderman Reilly took issue with a particular section of the Act that forces condominium owners to disclose personal information, such as email addresses and cell phone numbers, upon request from a third party.
The "Home Rule Authority" measure will protect homeowners associations from being required to share unit owners' private information unless there is a majority vote from the entire association to disclose such information.


text:
Eku Wand (* 25. Oktober 1963 in Düsseldorf als Uwe Wand) ist ein deutscher Gestalter, Mediendesigner und Multimedia-Regisseur. Wand ist Professor für Mediendesign und Multimedia an der Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig mit dem Forschungsschwerpunkt Interactive Storytelling.

Leben
Eku Wand studierte in den 1980er Jahren an der Hochschule der Künste, heute Universität der Künste Berlin, Visuelle Kommunikation. Nach Mitarbeit als Art Director für Computer Animation und Videoproduktion bei der Berliner Cinepool gründete er 1991 zusammen mit Paulus Neef die Firma Pixelpark, heute Digitas Pixelpark in Berlin, war dort einer der Geschäftsführer und Creative Director. Pixelpark gehörte Anfang der 90er Jahre zu den ersten Multimedia-Agenturen in Deutschland und war Wegbereiter der New Economy. Neef und Wand wurden später als "Internet-Pioniere" eingestuft.

Mit Pixelpark realisierte Wand beispielsweise das interaktive Verkaufsförderungs-Terminal (Kiosksystem) MusicMaster für die Warenhauskette Karstadt, das es Kunden ermöglichte, über berührungsempfindliche Bildschirme auf über 60.000 Musik- und Videotitel zuzugreifen. 1995 beteiligte sich der Bertelsmann-Konzern an Pixelpark, die Firma wandelte sich in eine AG und ging 1999 an die Börse, geriet ab 2001 in wirtschaftliche Turbulenzen und gehört heute zur internationalen Agenturgruppe Publicis.

Wand verließ bereits 1993 Pixelpark, weil ihm die Entwicklung zu stark in eine rein kommerzielle Ausrichtung und das Wachstum der Agentur zu schnell ging und er gründete das Multimediastudio eku interactive, das er bis heute betreibt. Hier konzipierte und produzierte er interaktive New Media Projekte, gestaltete grafische Benutzeroberflächen und Internetseiten für Unternehmen unterschiedlicher Branchen, wie Bertelsmann/Telemedia, Burda Verlag, Daimler-Benz, BVG Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, GASAG AG, Lufthansa Informationstechnik, Victoria Versicherungsgesellschaft und Volkswagen AG.

Als Autor, Regisseur, Produzent und Verleger entwarf und realisierte er Edutainment-CD-ROM-Titel und Computerspiele als Eigenproduktionen im Selbstverlag. Darunter den preisgekrönten interaktiven Dokumentar-Thriller "Berlin Connection". Das innovative Projekt einer "digitalen Schnitzeljagd" verbindet dokumentarisches Material mit Fiktion und Adventure Game. Des Weiteren produzierte Wand zusammen mit Dietmar Arnold, Erster Vorsitzender der Berliner Unterwelten, die interaktive Multimedia-CD-ROM-Dokumentation "Berlin im Untergrund – Eine interaktive Zeitreise unter den Potsdamer Platz".

Zu seinen bekanntesten Werken zählt die animierte Visualisierung von Gedichten des österreichischen Dichters und Schriftstellers Ernst Jandl, die 130 mal auf Filmfestivals und in Ausstellungen gezeigt wurde. Wand erhielt für seine Mediengestaltungsprojekte Auszeichnungen und Preise auf der IMAGINA, SIGGRAPH, Prix Ars Electronica und Europrix.

Die künstlerischen Mediendesign- und Multimedia-Arbeiten von Eku Wand waren auf Medienfestivals und Ausstellungen vertreten und dauerhaft ausgestellt, unter anderem im Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris, im Technischen Museum Wien und im Deutschen Hygiene-Museum in Dresden.

Nach Lehrtätigkeiten und Gastprofessuren in den 90er Jahren in Berlin (UdK), Zürich (SfGZ), Köln (KHM) und Weimar (Bauhaus-Universität) ist Wand seit 2001 Professor für Mediendesign/Multimedia an der Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig (HBK). Seit 2007 ist er dort Senatsbeauftragter für die Deutsch-Indonesischen Hochschulkontakte mit dem Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). Bandung ist seit 1960 Partnerstadt von Braunschweig.

2007 bis 2014 leitete Eku Wand das Institut für Medienforschung (IMF) an der HBK. Seine Lehr- und Forschungsschwerpunkte umfassen User Experience Design, Design Thinking, Interactive Storytelling, Narrative Environments sowie Game Design insbesondere Serious Games, Virtual Reality und Social Media. Wand ist als Juror bei Expertengremien tätig und war u. a. Mitglied der Jury des LeadAward, Webcuts Award, World Summit Award, Serious Games Award, der iF Design Awards, beim Deutschen Designer Club DDC sowie des German Design Award.

2009 bis 2014 entsteht unter der Federführung von Eku Wand die Exzellenzinitiative für die Games-Branche. In dieser bundesweit einmaligen Kooperation gehen die Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig und die Fachhochschule Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel mit der Games Academy in Berlin und Frankfurt am Main gemeinsam neue Wege in der Ausbildung von Computer- und Videospiel-Entwicklern.

Zwischen 2011 und 2017 etablierte Wand die indonesische Bürgerinitiative "Save Bangka Island", die das Ziel hatte, Eisenerzabbau auf der Insel Bangka (Nord-Sulawesi) zu verhindern und sie als Naturreservat zu erhalten. Wand gestaltete Motive, organisierte mediale Auftritte und orchestrierte eine langfristig angelegte Kampagne in Social Media Plattformen und Online-Medien.

2013 bis 2017 verlegt Eku Wand seinen Lebensmittelpunkt nach Indonesien und gründet mit einem deutschen Partner die Social Media Management und Marketing Agentur PT. tewa international.

Auszeichnungen und Nominierungen
 1991: Prix Pixel-INA Award, Beste studentische Arbeit, IMAGINA, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
 1991: 4. Computer-Generated Film Festival, Genf, Schweiz
 1991: Electronic Theatre, SIGGRAPH, Las Vegas, USA
 1991: Finalist, Computer Graphics, London, England
 1991: Internationales Festival für Animation, Berlin, Deutschland
 1991: WRO / Sound Basis Visual Art Festival, Breslau, Polen
 1992: Silber BIMA-Award für Business-Presentationen, British Interactive Multimedia Association, London, England
 1992: Finalist Award für Interactive Multimedia, New York Festivals, New York, USA
 1992: Deutscher Spezialpreis, The 15. Tokyo Video Festival (by JVC), Tokio, Japan
 1992: Silber-Award in der Kategorie Multimedia, 3. ITVA-Festival, München, Deutschland
 1993: Ehrende Anerkennung, Prix Ars Electronica, Linz, Österreich
 1998: Multimedia-Preis der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, 11. Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Deutschland
 1999: 2. Platz, Cin(E)-Poetry Festival, San Francisco, USA
 2002: Nominierung, Europrix Multimedia Award – Excellence in New Media, Salzburg, Österreich
 2002: Spezialpreis, Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin, Deutschland
 2008: Bester Kinderfilm, Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin, Deutschland

Werke
 "Gedichte von Ernst Jandl" (Regie und Produktion). Computeranimation, Berlin 1989.
 "Mediascope 1992" – Multimedia in der Anwendung. 2. Interaktive Multimedia-CD-ROM für Apple Computer Deutschland, Pixelpark, Berlin 1992.
 "Berlin Connection" – Ein interaktiver Dokumentar-Thriller. Interaktive CD-ROM, eku interactive, Berlin 1998, ISBN 978-3-935709-00-2.
 "Berlin Connection: Gefährliches Spiel". Krimi, Hartmut Mechtel und eku interactive, Berlin 1999.
 "Geruch und Gedächtnis" – Ergebnisse aus der Neurobiologie. Interaktive Medieninstallation für 7 Hügel Ausstellung, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 2000 und permanent im Deutschen Hygiene-Museum.
 "Berlin im Untergrund" – Eine interaktive Zeitreise unter den Potsdamer Platz. Interaktive CD-ROM, eku interactive, Berlin 2001, ISBN 978-3-935709-02-6.

Veröffentlichungen

Literatur

Weblinks
 Website von eku interactive
 Medien von Eku Wand / eku interactive im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
 Video Gedichte von Ernst Jandl
 Profilseite bei Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig
 Bürgerinitiative Save Bangka Island
 Website von PT. tewa international

Einzelnachweise

Designer
Kommunikationsdesigner
Spieleentwickler
Musiker (Berlin)
Unternehmer (20. Jahrhundert)
Unternehmer (21. Jahrhundert)
Hochschullehrer (Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig)
Pseudonym
Deutscher
Geboren 1963
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In the Charlotte Patmore-directed footage above, we see Krule being haunted by visions of his saxophonist Galgo Salvadores.
Check out the video above and share your thoughts below.
In related news, Thom Yorke has released his Suspiria soundtrack.


That's why we freaked out (in a good way) when we realized that there are actually enough bits and pieces of Minecraft merchandise and stuff that can build a bedroom in its entirety.
Now, I don't know about you, but I like when my room has a theme to it. It's Halloween, there's going to be monster string lights and a green light bulb; Christmas, also monster string lights and a green light bulb.
BUT, if you're a Minecraft fan, "Minecraft Bedroom" is probably an aesthetic you didn't know you could have. Surprise! You can, and I'll show you how right now.
I mean, obviously. The fact is, though, that it looks like it is. ThinkGeek is a company that keeps geeks in the front and center of all of the products they have, which means they're not just going to create a Minecraft light that has patterns on it (not that there's anything wrong with that), but that they're gonna go all out. You'll actually feel like you're in your favorite game everytime you go to bed at 5am because you've been up playing it all night. That said, if you're in the wrong frame of mind, entering your bedroom and seeing pixels might be the last thing you want before bed. On the other hand, it might just enhance your trip. In which case, you do you.
Honestly, if you guys read our Minecraft clothing article, you'll already know that the love I personally have for Creepers is second to none. (Legit think the only thing I like more than them is Ursula in the Little Mermaid). There's also so many puns you could use if you had this as part of your Minecraft bedroom set. Creeper comforts, for one. I'm a Creep, I don't sleep here, for another. I'll let you do the rest because it's way more fun when you've got the bed covers actually in front of you.
The beauty in Minecraft decals — and I say that as a plural because there's so many of them that it was hard for me to pick which one I liked the most — is that they give off the same sort of illusion as the 3D graffiti art some people do. If you haven't seen the pits of hell that somehow look as if they're legitimately carved into the earth but are actually just paint on a street, I super recommend googling 3D street art. It's like a Patrick Hughes piece you can walk on. (Or pose beside if, like me, you're scared of infinity walkways). But back to Minecraft bedrooms, on the same tangent, the decals look as if they're chipped into your walls. Who doesn't want Steve there?
Comfiest, too. This TNT cube cushion is perfect for a bunch of different things. You can use it as part of the scenery, sit on it; put your feet up on it, leave your games controller there when you remember you haven't eaten in 24 hours because Minecraft. It's a familiar feeling to most of us, don't worry about it. Then, you can put your plate/bowl on it. There's nothing you can't do with a cushion this big and between us? I feel offended I don't have it in front of me right now.
There's a lot of Minecraft posters that are suitable for a Minecraft bedroom, but this one was so clever in its execution that it felt wrong not to include it here. When the zombie pigmen were first introduced, the fact they dropped porkchops was dangerous to those of us who, I don't know, may be vegetarian. Mainly due to the fact that pixel pork chops look so much more delicious than actual pork chops. Lucky for us, the update that made them drop rotten flesh makes starting a pigman war much less desirable, and this Minecraft poster looks freakin' awesome.
What if all the hordes in the Nether weren't antagonistic at all? What if all they really want in life is a cuddle? (I mean, same). It's not out of the realms of possibility. It's so easy to be easily unimpressed and maddened when the world feels as if it's — and is literally — being ripped from under your feet. If all they want is love and a squeeze or two, preferably when it's nighttime and cold outside, and we're in the position to give it to them… Just imagine what a Creeper could do to help you build. All I'm saying.
And that was a terrible pun. Until I was researching cool products to share with you guys, I had no idea you could get stickers or covers for your light switches. Given the one I've got in my bedroom is covered in the paint I used the last time I decided I wanted to change the color of my walls, it's about time I had one of these too. Didn't I tell you at the beginning that a Minecraft bedroom was totally within reach? If this light cover doesn't prove that, then I'm not sure what will!
Unlike the Creeper comforter, this set is made for a single bed, making it ideal for kids bedrooms and single people who gave away their double bed to make more room for wardrobes. (What? No, I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about the other girl deciding which Star Wars pop vinyl she wants next…) This set has character faces on in pixel stylings, making it kind of the ideal companion for the TNT cushion up there. Picture it. Go on.
My advice is to get the Creeper one if you've got your heart set on the TNT cube cushion, but if not or you just want both, it's not going to do anything bad to your Minecraft bedroom. Not at all. These would look good on a couch too, whether it's in your room or in another. The best part about most of this stuff is that it could work in any room. Yeah, even the Creeper comforter. (Come on, like lying on the couch under a duvet isn't the best way to live).
11. This Ender Dragon Plush is Huge, but it's Not Going to Burn Anything!
Just promise to cuddle, take care of it, and love it forever. Ender dragons are quite like us human beings when they're given the chance to be. Huge human beings with scales and wings, but if you ever saw Dragonheart, you'll remember just how big a dragon's, well, heart can get. Ender is no different. He wants to fly around your Minecraft bedroom, he wants to snuggle at night. You'll never need a relationship again!
Crate, granted, is a word that's used loosely, but its pixel style goes super well with almost every single product featured in this list! It's one of those things that, if you have nothing inside of it, you don't have to have it out, so even if you're not a Minecraft fan, you could have it. (How could anyone not be a Minecraft fan, though? I refuse to believe that's possible).
Unlike a bunch of different color changing night lights, this magical potion bottle cycles through eight different colors rather than a maximum of five. All you have to do is tap the lid! I get it, though. It's confusing that one minute it's a health potion and another a fire resistance one, but the… potion bottle doesn't actually help you like that. It just keeps the mobs away.
15. When in Doubt, Throw a Creeper On It!
That's my personal Minecraft motto, much to the chagrin of anyone who likes to play Minecraft to avoid destruction. Still, regardless of your play style, this microfiber Creeper throw blanket is so warm and cozy that all you can do if you have it is basking in its glory. My only warning is, it's so cozy, you might never want to stand up again.


Sea Isle City - I agree with a spouter that most of the charming and historic places in Sea Isle are gone, but, unfortunately, it's too late and there's nothing left to preserve. And, the officials won't be happy until every old building is demolished. It's overdue for a change.


The A narrative for this week, had Leslie assemble a plan to get some of the Parks Dept.'s funding again, using Anne who is apprehensive about going out with new full-time cast member Rob Lowe who controls such things. The Parks and Recreation Division additionally hires quite a few part-time employees during the summer time and winter seasons. What's so spectacular about Parks and Recreation is that whereas it's a scripted, fictional sitcom, the characters showcase more simply identifiable traits than seen on most Actuality Television, the mainstay of the mediums productions and the supposed mirror of ourselves.


Having had a constant flow of visitors to our Open Studio in September during the Peckham Festival, it was so enjoyable that we have decided to open the studio again on the next two Wednesdays 11th and 18th October from midday to 9pm.
We do hope you will be able to drop in during these times to see the exhibition about the role of community action and local businesses over the last decade in the transformation of the town centre. It also covers the waste, recycling, reuse and repurposing of buildings, spaces and materials that are an emerging feature of the transforming economy. Members of the Peckham Vision team will be present to respond to queries and glad to discuss the issues.
For those who have followed Peckham Vision's news over the years, much has shown that the planning system creates hard work for anyone who wishes to follow it and take part in some way. It is a system clothed in technical language and mystery to most people who are not planners, architects or developers. Peckham Vision has teamed up with Community Southwark and Southwark Law Centre to develop a series of events to demystify this whole area to help citizens to play a real part in shaping their neighbourhoods.


Petrophysical experiments on two Icelandic geothermal rock samples at simulated in situ reservoir conditions are analysed to delineate the effect of temperature on seismic velocity and attenuation. A goal of the present work is to predict the effect of the saturating pore fluid on seismic velocity using the Gassman equation, which has been modified for this purpose. To include the temperature effect in the equation, two assumptions are made: (1) the grain/mineral and dry bulk moduli are independent of temperature; and (2) the temperature dependence follows solely from the thermophysical characteristics of the saturating fluid through the fluid bulk modulus and fluid density. Laboratory measurements show that P-wave velocities decrease with increasing temperature. This change is related to the thermophysical characteristics of the saturating fluid; at higher temperatures bubbles and thermal microfractures are formed affecting seismic velocities. The measurements also show that at low temperatures seismic attenuation decreases with temperature due to the rapid decrease in the fluid viscosity. On the other hand, at higher temperatures the attenuation increases because of the generation of bubbles and thermal microfractures. Although having data from only two samples and that no measurements on dry samples were done, thus limiting the generality of the claims that can be made, the study presents a plausible approach to relate changes in seismic properties to geothermal system temperatures.
DeMatteis, R.; Vanorio, T.; Zollo, A.; Ci, S.; Fiordelisi, A.; Spinneli, E.
Dvorkin, J.; Nolen-Hoeksema, R.; Nur, A.
Flóvenz, O.G.; Spangenberg, E.; Kulenkampff, J.; Árnason, K.; Krlasdóttir, R.; Huenges, E.
Gurevich, B.; Galvin, R.J.; Brajanovski, M.; Müller, T.M.; Lambert, G.
Jones, T.; Murry, W.; Nur, A.
Kern, H.; Popp, T.; Gorbatsevich, F.; Zharikov, A.; Lobanov, K.V.; Smirnov, Y.P.
Mavko, G.; Mukerji, T.; Dvorkin, J.
Milsch, H.; Spangenberg, E.; Kulenkamp, J.; Meyhöfer, S.
Pan, Y.; Christensen, N.I.; Batiza, R.; Coleman, T.L.
Punturo, R.; Kern, H.; Cirrincione, R.; Mazzoleni, P.; Pezzino, A.
Sato, H.; Selwyn-Sacks, I.; Murase, T.; Muncill, G.; Fukuyama, H.
Scheu, B.; Kern, H.; Spieler, O.; Dingwell, D.B.
Vanorio, T.; Matteis, R.D.; Zollo, A.; Battini, F.; Fiordelisi, A.; Ciulli, B.
Vanorio, T.; Virieux, J.; Zollo, A.; Capuano, P.; Russo, G.
Vasheghani, F.; Lines, L.R.; Embleton, J.
Vinciguerra, S.; Trovato, C.; Meredith, P.G.; Benson, P.M.
Vinciguerra, S.; Trovato, C.; Meredith, P.G.; Benson, P.M.; Troise, C.; Natale, G.D.
Wang, Z.; Batzle, M.; Nur, A.M.
Jaya, M., Shapiro, S., Kristinsdóttir, L., Bruhn, D., Milsch, H., & Spangenberg, E. (2010). Temperature dependence of seismic properties in geothermal rocks at reservoir conditions. Geothermics, 39(1), 115-123.
Jaya, Makky S., Serge A. Shapiro, Líney H. Kristinsdóttir, David Bruhn, Harald Milsch, and Erik Spangenberg. "Temperature dependence of seismic properties in geothermal rocks at reservoir conditions." Geothermics 39.1 (2010): 115-123.


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Home » Answer » BA 301 week 5 Assignment Oracle Corporation Strategic Philanthropy
BA 301 week 5 Assignment Oracle Corporation Strategic Philanthropy
Oracle Corporation Strategic Philanthropy
Tutor:
Oracle Corporation is listed among the Fortune 500 companies. With more than 420,000 customers and deployments around the globe, Oracle Corporation offers cloud applications, platform services and engineered systems. In 2015 Oracle Corporation was named the second largest software maker by revenue after Microsoft Corporation.Over the years it has prevailed as one of the technology companies among others.Year-in year out Oracle Corporation has worked to improve the quality of life in the communities where it carries out its business. For instance in the financial years 2013 and 2014, Oracle Corporation donated 21 million US dollars in cash to non-profit organizations to advance education, protect the environment, increase opportunity, and enrich community life.
As part of Oracle Corporation commitment to education, the corporation helps non-profit organizations around the globe to make students have keen interest in computer science and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).Notable examples are the Alice program and Khan Academy. Alice program is free program developed at Carnegie Mellon University that teach students about fundamental Java programming concepts. Oracle has funded this program since 2010. The Khan Academy offers free video lessons and assessments for students of all ages. The platform currently serves 10 million users per month and 200,000 registered teachers. Oracle Corporation has funded this platform since 2011.Through such programs, Oracle promotes innovation of new technologies which go a long way boosting the corporation itself and community at large.
Oracle Corporation also supports nonprofit organizations that provide essential health services, assist needy families while strengthening the structural support of a healthy society.This has been achieved through various ways.One of the ways is through its participation in the Stanford Medicine Corporate Partners Program. By participating in such a program, Oracle Corporation has demonstrated its commitment to improving the delivery of health care to its employees, their families, and the community at large.
Another way is through its Riders for Health initiative which is a social enterprise that targets communities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is achieved through Oracle Corporation grants that support maintenance of the involved vehicles that are used to ferry essential drugs and vaccines, conduct educational outreach among other things. Through such health programs, Oracle Corporation employees become more motivated since the corporation they work for has their interest its objectives. This translates to the employees becoming more productive which in turn translates to more products, sales and profits for the Corporation.
Oracle Corporation supports veterans, especially those injured during their service. Through its Veterans Impact Council which works to ensure that Oracle Corporation implements and sustains the relevant veteran programs. In return the Corporation benefits from the strong leadership and problem-solving skills that the veterans have acquired in their military life.When a disaster strikes, Oracle Corporation matches its employees' personal donations to disaster relief dollar-for-dollar to organizations with more roots on the ground. For instance in the financial years 2013 and 2014, the corporation contributed more than 770,000 US dollars to in aid in disaster relief activities including the 2013 floods and landslides of North India where the donations were channeled through the Indian Red Cross Society.
Such activities first of all boost the morale of their employees and this in turn leads to increased corporate production and profit. This is because the employees feel they are part of something that is larger than just a profit making Software Company.Also through such activities, consumers have a sense of loyalty to the corporation brand since they see how the corporation spends on the community at large instead of the old business as usual practices.Oracle's strategic philanthropy sets the Corporation apart from its competitors that are still stuck in the old paradigms. This is because Oracle Corporation is doing something remarkable that makes a difference to its customers. Also through such philanthropic activity, Oracle's reputation as a technology corporation has grown over the years and with a good reputation comes more investors and sales of their products since they have the good will of the community.
There are several disadvantages of strategic philanthropy. They include time, costs and decisions factors if the corporation decides to invest in the community itself. This is because the corporation has had to form employee teams, train these teams and decide how much money to give these teams for the various community projects. The corporation loses some of its employees' services as they concentrate on these activities. In the long run the Corporation has to be prepared to spend time, money and decision making power in a venture that has no direct benefit to the Corporation.
Another disadvantage of strategic philanthropy is that direct funding by the corporation makes it difficult for the corporation to change what ought to be changed at the community level.Corporation leaders may at times be uncertain about the tangible benefits of philanthropy. Among the cited concerns are failure to meet the societal expectations and inconsistent expectations from investors.Oracle's strategic philanthropy has seen a reduction in the number of investors to the Corporation. This is a result of the Corporation giving away part of its profits to the community. These giving deeds translates to reduced dividends every financial year for the investors who are in business to make profits. After a while most of these investors decide to reduce their investments by selling their shares to others parties that are still willing to invest with a Corporation has a good reputation with community.
BA 301 week 5 Assignment Oracle Corporation Strategic Philanthropy.docx


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Q: Windows Server 2003 sp2 kills ASP.NET 1.1 web apps We recently upgraded our intranet dev server (Windows Server 2003) to the latest and greatest patches, including 2k3 sp2 and the latest for each version of .NET.
We have a variety of technologies that we use, including COM+, ASP, ASP.NET 1.1, ASP.NET 2.0, and ColdFusion. So testing can be, well, interesting, as those technologies don't always play nice together.
We've already applied a hot fix to address a COM+ issue. The current problem revolves around the fact that ASP.NET 1.1 web applications simply don't work any more. Any aspx page simply throws a generic "page not found" error; static files (e.g. .html) return as normal. Identical code still works properly in our unpatched test environment.
The virtual folders are setup to run in their own application pool (separate from ASP.NET 2.0). The only google-found tip I found was to change the .NET to 2.0 for the virtual folder. It did seem to work, but I worry that it will hose the server (since that's what happened in the past when someone accidentally didn't configure an app's .NET pool correctly).
While our plan is to finish upgrading our existing applications to 2.0, it won't happen in the near term. Is there a hot fix that eluded my search? Or perhaps another work around that someone has implemented?
Additional information:
Both servers in question are 32 bit.
Here's a snippet from the IIS log for the 404 error:
2008-11-25 23:58:41 10.150.1.31 GET /revenue/MailerAdmin.aspx - 80 - 10.1.3.18 Mozilla/4.0+(compatible;+MSIE+7.0;+Windows+NT+5.1;+MPI+INTERNAL;+InfoPath.2;+.NET+CLR+1.1.4322; +.NET+CLR+2.0.50727;+MS-RTC+LM+8;+.NET+CLR+3.0.04506.30;+.NET+CLR+3.0.04506.648; +MPI+INTERNAL;+.NET+CLR+3.0.4506.2152;+.NET+CLR+3.5.30729;+MPI+INTERNAL) 404 2 1260

A: You can look here for the 404 2 1260 error. Look at the "Web service extention" folder under the IIS manager. verify that the ASP.NET v1.1.4322 is registered and allowed. If not. use the aspnet_regiis.exe tool from the .net directory.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby has been forced to conduct the fastest U-turn of his career after appearing to suggest that the NEC and International Convention Centre could be sold to wealthy Arab investors.
Councillor Whitby quickly back-tracked following an interview with Reuters news agency in which he was reported to be preparing to raise money for the cash-strapped city by selling council-owned "crown jewel" assets – a step that six years ago he described as unthinkable.
However, leading business and political figures said he was right to consider selling off the assets – just wrong to talk about it in public.
Publicity caused by his comments, with headlines in national newspapers stating that Conservative-led Birmingham is so hard up it is planning to sell its "cherished assets", prompted the Tory council leader to issue a statement within hours claiming his remarks had been misinterpreted.
He also appeared on a live radio interview to deny that any plans exist to sell the NEC, ICC or the council's share in Birmingham Airport.
The interview succeeded in opening up potentially damaging differences in the council Conservative group, where some right-wingers are in favour of selling civic buildings and other assets.
Twenty-four hours after the Reuters interview was published, Coun Whitby told BBC WM: "We are not talking to anybody about selling the NEC, The ICC or Symphony Hall.
"I can confirm those venues will remain in city hands. I'll categorically say that.
His clarification did not reject the possibility that Middle East fundholders might be invited to acquire a share in assets such as the NEC and ICC, while leaving ownership of the buildings in council hands.
In the Reuters interview Coun Whitby said he did not rule out forming public-private partnerships in order to kick-start regeneration projects, while stressing that he would continually examine all options for improving the NEC's financial performance.
Significantly, the council does not intend to ask Reuters to publish an apology, clarification or correction.
The article also reported cabinet finance member Randal Brew predicting that Arab investors are interested in funding the redevelopment of Paradise Circus. Coun Brew (Con Northfield) said afterwards that he did not recall being so specific.
Sources close to Coun Whitby's office stressed that, with the council facing spending cuts of £330 million over the next four years, almost no money-making venture was being ruled out. It was highly unlikely, however, that the local authority would ever dispose of outright ownership of the NEC.
Former CBI boss Lord Digby Jones said he felt it was going public that was the issue.
He said: "As far as I am concerned there is nothing wrong with saying to the private sector 'we would like you to buy a share in these assets from the council'.
"That gives the council money at a time when it is needed and it doesn't need to be 100 per cent – the council could keep a minority share to have some rights and a seat on the board.


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Family Dispute Leads to Multiple Shootings and Death
KimWellsMedia
One person was killed and two others injured following a family dispute which led to a shooting in the Mars Hill area. Metro police say the melee happened early Monday morning on South McClure Street in Indy. One man, believed to be the fiancee of the family's daughter, was found shot and killed in the driveway. He'd allegedly been in a disagreement with her mother that escalated into beating his future mother-in-law with a baseball bat. She was shot in the face in the dispute and another male was shot in the head and shoulder. Both were taken to Eskenazi Hospital. She's in critical condition. He's listed as stable. Police are still investigating.
kimwellsmedia Twitter: @kwellscomm 061614
106.7 WTLC News with Kim Wells	, KimWellsMedia	, Mars Hill Family Melee	, Murder in Mars Hill Indianapolis	, TJMS