text:
CDISC Launches Task Force to Rapidly Develop Standards for COVID-19
Ann P. White
CDISC Standards Supporting the Research Community during an Unprecedented Time
Austin, TX – 27 MARCH 2020 - CDISC has launched a task force to rapidly develop guidance on standardizing COVID-19 research data with the participation of several member companies. This guidance will be released in the form of an Interim User Guide and will be made freely available on the CDISC website. Researchers around the world can leverage the User Guide to represent data in studies pertaining to COVID-19 to expedite the regulatory review process, reduce time to market, and drive operational efficiencies within their organizations. US FDA is aware of and observing the work of the task force.
As part of its work, the task force will also address controlled terminology necessary to represent changes in current inflight studies where patients acquire COVID-19 or where the ability to assess patient conditions are impacted by the pandemic. These best practices will be available to CDISC members.
Implementing CDISC standards allows data to be structured effectively and easily analyzed, leaving more time to focus on discoveries that will have invaluable impact on clinical research and global health. CDISC will leverage our existing work on virology and infectious disease therapeutic areas to expedite development.
"CDISC clinical data standards ensure that safe, effective pharmaceuticals and vaccines come to market faster," said Peter Van Reusel, CDISC Chief Standards Officer. "We are utilizing all available resources to ensure standards of the highest quality are available for those researchers leading the effort to halt novel coronavirus. For this task force, we are bypassing our normal development timeline to ensure this User Guide is available within 45 days."
"It is largely business as usual at CDISC. Staff and volunteer teams are working remotely. Our work remains essential to supporting the development of potential treatments for COVID-19 as well as all other human health problems," stated David R. Bobbitt, CDISC President and CEO.
"CDISC's focused efforts toward the rapid development of standards for COVID-19 are aligned with CDISC's mission to enable information system interoperability to improve medical research," said Jonathan Zung, Executive Vice President, WCG and CDISC Board Chair. "CDISC is particularly well-prepared to develop these vital clinical standards during this time of uncertainty. We appreciate the hard work of our staff, volunteers and CDISC's executive team to ensure quality global data standards are available to develop treatments in this pandemic."
"Now is the time to be bold and to support researchers more than ever, and we invite other member companies with a COVID-19 vaccine or interventional product to join this effort," said Bobbitt. "CDISC will continue to support our membership as they work tirelessly to discover critical breakthroughs. We made a major investment last year in CDISC Library and API, which can be accessed remotely to deliver CDISC standards metadata to software applications that automate standards-based processes. We are seeing an increase in demand for the API from commercial tool developers around the globe."
"As a founding member of CDISC, Roche has supported CDISC's mission since its inception. We are pleased to collaborate on developing these new clinical data standards to drive research forward for COVID-19," said Jonathan Chainey, Global Head, Data Standards, Roche. "Roche is currently using CDISC standards to pursue testing to relabel Actemra for novel coronavirus. We hope our Actemra product can offer help to those suffering from COVID-19."
CDISC recognizes industry organizations are making important business continuity decisions as trials will become more difficult to manage. We are ready to assist the research community however necessary during this uncertain time. We continue to offer such resources as online education courses and the CDISC Library API, which allows remote, cloud-based access to CDISC standards. Please contact membership@cdisc.org if your organization needs any specific help with a COVID-19 study or access to the API.
CDISC remains committed to representing our community of members, partners and other stakeholders, and advocate for data standardization with all regulators, including US FDA, Japan PMDA, and China NMPA. We are grateful for our members whose support allows us to develop our standards, which serve the global research community.
ABOUT CDISC
CDISC creates clarity in clinical research by convening a global community to develop and advance data standards of the highest quality. Required by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), recommended by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and adopted by the world's leading research organizations, CDISC standards enable the accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of data. With the help of CDISC standards, the entire research community can maximize the value of data for more efficient and meaningful research that has invaluable impact on global health. CDISC is a 501(c)(3) global nonprofit charitable organization and is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with hundreds of employees, volunteers, and member organizations around the world. www.cdisc.org.


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The fake news aimed at Jeremy Corbyn by the Establishment would have us believe that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has shied away from condemning human rights abuses in Iran.
Trash right-wing sites claim that this is because he appeared years ago on the Iranian English-language station Press TV (PTV) and had received a significant sum of money for doing so.
Yesterday, the SKWAWKBOX exclusively exposed fake news that repeated time and again by almost every mainstream media outlet that Corbyn appeared on PTV over a period of four years and accepted £20,000 for doing so. That turned out to have been a single year and a sum of somewhere between £1 and £5,000 – far less than Corbyn gives away each year to charity.
'Early Day Motions' (EDMs) are a means by which MPs can express their opinion – positive or negative – on matters of particular currency or interest to them.
Jeremy Corbyn has signed EDMs condemning human rights abuses no fewer than fifty-one times.
Fifty-one times in isolation only tells part of the story, however. Without the context of how that compares to the behaviour of other MPs, it's not entirely clear how significant that is.
Jeremy Corbyn has put his name to more motions condemning Iran for human rights abuses than any other currently-serving MP except one.
Current MPs are one thing, but what about an all-time comparison? After all, MPs in the 1960s and 1970s would have been hearing about human rights or the lack of them under the regimes of the Shah and then Khomeini.
In the all-time comparison, Corbyn ranks seventh. Only six MPs in history have been more active in Parliament in standing up for human rights in Iran.
The attempts to smear Corbyn over Iran are the fakest of fake news.
Yet again, we see evidence that the main source of fake news is the Establishment and the 'mainstream media' that support it. Especially when it comes to Jeremy Corbyn.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Φώτο: Shutterstock
Investments to reach 80% RES coverage under new national energy plan
Newsroom ENGLISH EDITION
The country's revised National Plan for Energy and Climate foresees a significant upscaling of the objectives both for the penetration of renewable sources and for the storage and saving of energy in relation to the existing plan.
Renewables, energy storage and conservation are the three pillars on which the revised energy planning up to 2030 is to be based, and which is to be officially presented by Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas in the next few days.
The country's revised National Plan for Energy and Climate was discussed by the relevant interministerial committee on Monday and, according to sources, foresees a significant upscaling of the objectives both for the penetration of renewable sources and for the storage and saving of energy in relation to the existing plan.
According to the same sources, the official positions of the leadership of the foreign ministry are:
The installed power of RES units (photovoltaic, onshore and offshore wind, hydroelectric) is to increase to 28 gigawatts compared to 19 gigawatts, foreseen by the existing plan.
Energy storage units critical to security of supply and maximising penetration of RES are projected to reach 8 gigawatts.
80% of electricity demand in 2030 will be covered by RES.
Energy efficiency targets are upgraded with emphasis on buildings and transport.
Natural gas is kept as a transition fuel until full decarbonisation is achieved.
Gerapetritis: Greece hopes to get investment grade by first half of 2023
Minister of State underlined in an interview that government's hope is indeed that Greece will achieve investment grade status in the first half of 2023, while adding that all the indicators are good.
Νew office and hotel projects to change the urban profile of Athens
Grivalia Hospitality, Dimand and Prodea Investments, which will accompany the greatest urban redevelopment of Europe at Hellinikon by Lamda Development.
Dendias expresses Greece's desire to promote Greek investments in Ghana
Foreign Minister said that Greece is looking forward to the organisation of a forum to promote Greek investments in Ghana, referring to the presence of Greek companies that are already doing business in the country, such as the Mytilinaios Group.
Subsidy for electricity to nearly double in January to 840 million euros
The amount of the subsidy is January starts at 0.33 euros per KW hour for monthly consumption of up to 500 KW hours, irrespective of income, covering nine in 10 households and 87 pct of the hike in prices.
Αgreement for a new gas-fired power plant in Alexandroupolis
Construction of the new 840 MW gas-fuelled power plant will begin in the first quarter of 2023 and finish in 2025 according to the agreement of Public Power Corporation (PPC) S.A, DEPA Commercial and Damco Energy.
Staikouras holds series of contacts, investors confirm interest in Greece
Staikouras represented Greece at Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings, took part, as a speaker, in international conferences and fora and held meetings with representatives of investment and banking groups who expressed and/or confirmed their investment interest in Greece.
Ch. Staikouras: The six priorities of the greek economy
For the maritime industry, becalmed markets no more!
Inflation drops to 7.2% in December but food prices rise 15,5%
Best use of recovery funds key for Greece to achieving investment grade
New 10-year Greek bond attracts strong investor interest
M. Brandenburger (Lidl): Greek suppliers cover 60% of our turnover

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


For the next two weeks, my class will be learning plated desserts. Basically, it's like several components to make one dessert. We have a new chef this week: Chef En Ming Hsu. I'm pretty sure Chef Ming Hsu has won more awards than any other female pastry chef in the world. She was the team captain of the United States pastry team that took the gold medal at the World Pastry Cup in Lyon, France in 2001. Her background is incredible; I feel so honored to have her as an instructor. She flew in from Las Vegas just to teach our class.
We made a few things yesterday, but nothing is complete yet. We carved a pineapple and cooked it in a saucepan with brown sugar, butter, and vanilla bean until caramelized. Then we roasted it in pineapple juice and water. I'm not sure what we're doing with the pineapple next.
This is a tuile dough that we made, and I think we're baking with it today. It's a honey-wheat tuile made from whole wheat flour, honey, confectioners' sugar, egg whites, and butter. I learned that we should store our whole wheat flour in the refrigerator, because of the oils - it will make it last longer. Whoops. I have not been doing that.
We also made a vanilla chiboust, which is an Italian meringue folded into pastry cream and piped into molds. I don't have a picture because they weren't done yet. You'll see a picture tomorrow!
5 comments on "Day Sixteen"
I really enjoy reading these recaps of your time in school...looks like you are learning some amazing things!
Tuile dough? Like the cookies? Can't wait to see that.
I always put my ww flour in the fridge, but I tend to forget it's there and wonder if it's still good. No one ever told me exactly why I needed to refrigerate it, now I know.
I love, love, love pineapple that has been slowly cooked in sugar and vanilla. Add a little brandy to that bad boy and serve it over goat cheese cheesecake. YUM! (At least, that's how I did it). Thanks for the tip on the whole wheat flour!
You are totally making me want to go to school for something FUN!


text:
Michael Kors to acquire Jimmy Choo for $1.35bn
Global fashion and luxury accessories retailer Michael Kors Holdings has signed a $1.35bn agreement to acquire footwear and accessories company Jimmy Choo.
Michael Kors noted that the acquisition will enhance its position in the global footwear and accessories segment and strengthen future growth opportunities.
The transaction has received approval from the boards of directors of both companies.
Michael Kors chairman and CEO John Idol said: "We believe that Jimmy Choo is poised for meaningful growth in the future and our company is committed to supporting the strong brand equity that Jimmy Choo has built over the last 20 years."
After the deal is completed, Jimmy Choo CEO Pierre Denis and creative director Sandra Choi will be retained in their respective roles.
"Our company is committed to supporting the strong brand equity that Jimmy Choo has built over the last 20 years."
The agreement will give Michael Kors greater access to Asia and other global markets, as well as have the potential to create long-term operational synergies.
The deal is expected to close in Q4 of the current financial year, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals
Last month, Michael Kors announced plans to close between 100 and 125 stores over the next two years, due to declining sales and revenue.
Its total revenue came down 11.2% to $1.06bn from $1.2bn in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, while for the fiscal ended 1 April this year, its total revenue decreased 4.6% to $4.49bn from $4.71bn.
Jimmy Choo has a network of more than 150 exclusive stores worldwide. As of 1 April, Michael Kors Holdings operated 827 retail stores, including concessions.
Image: Outside view of the Jimmy Choos boutique at Woodbury Common, New York. Photo: courtesy of Chaosdruid via Wikipedia.
Retail Sales of Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Hard Discounters in the United States of America: Market Size, Growth and Forecast to 2021
Retail Sales of Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Hard Discounters in China: Market Size, Growth and Forecast to 2021
Jimmy Choo PLC (Inactive)
Capri Holdings Ltd


text:
LAShTAL
The Aleister Crowley Society
Kenneth Grant
Robert Anton Wilson
Sabbatic Craft
Email LAShTAL
Encyclopedia Thelemica
Lairs and LocationsInformation on the main geographical centres and buildings which were and continue to be relevant to Aleister Crowley's life and work. Even today, some represent temples of "Mecca" proportions to some Thelemites.
Cefalu, SicilySituated in Cefalu, Sicily this property was used as Crowley's Thelemic ideal, in the 1920's. Now a boarded up ruin some of his vibrant wall artwork can still be seen though it is decaying at an alarming rate. The Abbey never lived up to its idealistic image as presented in "Diary of a Drug Fiend". From arguments, through death and finally to expulsion.
Boleskine House, ScotlandThe main geographical and spiritual centre connected with Aleister Crowley is Boleskine House. Situated in the Highlands of Scotland this house still retains a fascination with many connected with Aleister Crowley and Jimmy Page. "Let the Magician, robed and armed as he may deem to be fit, turn his face towards Boleskine, that is the House of The Beast 666" – Liber V vel Reguli.
Ivy Cottage
Media ArticlesPresented here are articles from a wide variety of sources concerning Aleister Crowley and Thelema. The older articles, from 1910 to 1950, are taken from the Yorke Collection, housed at the Warburg Institute in London. Although the (c)opyright of these articles rests with the sources and authors, a considerable amount of work has gone into transcribing, hosting and presenting these articles. Much of this work was undertaken in the early 1990s by Doug Brown, to whom a great deal of gratitude is owed by modern students of Thelema, especially for his highly influential crowleyana.com website. The crowleyana.com archive has been absorbed into lashtal.com I would ask all journalists/researchers to identify lashtal.com as a source and to keep the webmaster informed about works that use extracts from the site. It's possible that I could be of further assistance. If you have any relevant articles not included within this archive I would appreciate an electronic copy or scan. Please feel free to email me with any submissions or comments.
Works by Aleister CrowleyAll works by Aleister Crowley reproduced here do so with the kind permission of the copyright holder.
Thelemica Geographica
Site Change Log
LAShTAL Gallery
LAShTAL Forums
Aleister Crowley an...
Aleister Crowley and Ashdown Forest
(@lashtal)
Owner and Editor Admin
Joined: 17 years ago
I recently received an interesting email with which I regret that I was unable to help. Given the knowledge of members here, I thought it might be worth seeing if anyone could help...
I wonder if your readership might be able to help me with a Crowley related conundrum?
I live in the environs of the Ashdown Forest in Sussex, famous for Winnie the Pooh among others legends. In recent times, the area has become a gathering point for many esoteric groups including Mormons, Scientologists, Rudolph Steiner, etc. I am aware that the area - especially Ashdown Forest has a collection of ley-lines that are quite powerful, and may account for the concentration of energies in the area.
As you may know Aleister Crowley and others (rumours include Rudolph Hess, author Ian Fleming and also Winston Churchill) performed a ritual against the Nazi's as part of 'Operation Mistletoe' "somewhere" on Ashdown Forest during WW2. There is an internet report that says that the ritual took place in a disused church on the forest. I am aware of such a site which is near Wych Cross, but was wondering if anyone can confirm this is the exact location. It would appear possible. The locals around here pay reference to the "Witches' Grave" which is close to the church.
http://www.cdhistory.org/cdhsdoc2.asp?Id=272
Owner and Editor
(@los)
"lashtal" wrote:
As you may know Aleister Crowley and others (rumours include Rudolph Hess, author Ian Fleming and also Winston Churchill) performed a ritual against the Nazi's as part of 'Operation Mistletoe' "somewhere" on Ashdown Forest during WW2.
I was under the impression that this was a myth -- or at the very least a dubious and unconfirmed story -- whose origins lie in the book The Secrets of Aleister Crowley. For those who don't know, this was the book written by a guy who called himself "Amado Crowley" and pretended to be Aleister Crowley's secret illegitimate son, to whom Aleister taught all the secrets that he kept hidden from everyone else. The only problem is that there's no evidence for any of the stories Amado tells about meeting his "father" and, as another thread on lashtal pointed out, there are a ton of problems with his claims: http://www.lashtal.com/forum/http://www.lashtal.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9
So, in short, the story's origins lie in a book that we have good reason to be suspicious of.
Now, I haven't read Amado's book, but I do recall reading GM Kelly's amusing review of it some years ago, and a quick google search brought up this link ( http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/7069/amado.html ) and extract:
"GM Kelly" wrote:
The story, to be brief, starts off with Crowley insisting that his very young son, that would be Amado of course, be permitted to attend the secret meetings representatives of the British government were having with Aleister Crowley. Naturally Crowley got his way and Amado had a ringside seat for the merry event - or so Amado would have us believe. Never mind the fact that he would have never been permitted to attend secret government and military meetings, especially during a time of war. However, as the story goes, early in 1940 E.V. Crowley, with the cooperation of "a bishop and Dean of the Vatican's Diplomatic Corps", working with MI5, performed a top secret ritual, the description of which only made me laugh and which was hardly befitting the magical artistry of Aleister Crowley.
Supposedly Rudolf Hess' flight to Britian was the result of this absurd ritual Amado describes. He wrote on page 130 that "no explanation [for Hess' flight] fits as well as mine. In fact, no other explanation has ever been put foward." Yet I am sure many World War II scholars have given an explanation for Hess' actions, and certainly we do not need to accept a story about a goofy pseudo-magical ritual to explain such a simple matter.
An article in the Fortean Times ("The Magical Battle of Britain") says, "it would seem that Crowley's Ashdown Forest working is more than likely pure myth." (link: http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/4435/the_magical_battle_of_britain.html )
Later in the article, there are a few more details and reasons not to think the story is true:
"Fortean Times" wrote:
But there are also stories of a more active war effort on the part of the Great Beast (below left), largely circulated in the 1990s by the late, self-styled 'Amado Crowley', who claimed to be Aleister's son. These include accounts of him and 'dad' performing wartime rituals, including a rite held in Sussex in 1941 and intended to bring Rudolph Hess to Britain. [2] Hess had a profound interest in 'ley lines', various forms of mysticism and astrology (in another life he might have been a Fortean Times subscriber!), and his mysterious flight to Britain in May 1941 was allegedly influenced by astrological propaganda, via deliberately false charts distributed in Germany by British agents.
'Operation Mistletoe' was purportedly cooked up by James Bond creator Ian Fleming during his time in Naval Intelligence, and was intended to use Crowley's occult powers to lure the Deputy Führer to Britain. The ritual, held in Ashdown Forest, involved a large number of soldiers dressed in ad hoc magical robes, and either a burning dummy in Nazi uniform or a symbolic model aeroplane which flew down on a cable stretched from a church tower to a nearby tree, accompanied by considerable pyrotechnics and much ritual chanting. (In some versions of the tale, two German SS officers, codenamed 'Kestrel' and 'Sea Eagle', had been somehow duped into attending the Ashdown Forest ritual and reported back to Hess that the Order of the Golden Dawn was alive and well and waiting to take power once peace was established).
Cecil Williamson (a former intelligence officer and subsequently the first owner of the Museum of Witchcraft) also describes this ritual in what appears to be confirmatory detail, but in previous correspondence with Gerald Yorke (one of Crowley's literary compilers and later the Dalai Lama's emissary to Britain) Williamson remarks that he'd never met Crowley. Therefore, if Williamson was at Ashdown Forest then Crowley couldn't have been; and if Williamson was not there, how can he claim to give a firsthand account? [3] The most parsimonious answer appears to be that Williamson is regurgitating Amado's tale as if it were his own. More tellingly, there is not a single reference to any such event in Crowley's own voluminous magical diaries and no independent account has ever arisen; nor can any record of soldiers being deployed be found in the National Records Office or Military archives, while the physical geography described in the tale does not fit current or past maps of the area. All in all, it's extremely unlikely that anything like the event described ever happened, in Ashdown Forest, or anywhere else. [4]
I'd be interested in learning if there are more details or any other evidence.
belmurru
(@belmurru)
Churton mentions it, referencing Amado. The only thing he adds to mix is a diary entry that mentions a ritual but gives no location or purpose for it:
"New Year's Day 1941
Crowley made a surprising diary entry: 'Used ceremonial after so long abstinence. It went very well. P.S. Too well! Started three fire accidents!' There is no mention of where this magick was performed or why.
It has long been rumoured in the small world of British occultism that at least one magical ritual was performed to ward off German invasion. In one version, a witches' coven in the New Forest sacrificed an old, terminally ill man. In another, a ritual in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, performed by Crowley with Canadian soldiers and secret service backing, aimed to encourage Rudolf Hess, Deputy Leader of the Nazi Party, to fly to Britain, by psychic force."
Aleister Crowley, The Biography, p. 383. His only note to this passage cites Amado Crowley, The Secrets of Aleister Crowley, Diamond Books, 1991.
jamie barter
(@jamie-barter)
There was also the "Operation Cone of Power" in which Gerald Gardner participated, although no mention is made of whether A.C. may also have been in attendance (unless astrally of course). His Wikipedia entry describes it:
According to Gardner's later account, one night in September 1939 they took him to a large house owned by "Old Dorothy" Clutterbuck, a wealthy local woman, where he was made to strip naked and taken through an initiation ceremony. Halfway through the ceremony, he heard the word "Wica", and he recognised it as an Old English word for "witch". He was already acquainted with Margaret Murray's theory of the Witch-cult, and that "I then knew then that which I had thought burnt out hundreds of years ago still survived." This group, he claimed, were the New Forest coven, and he believed them to be one of the few surviving covens of the ancient, pre-Christian Witch-Cult religion. Subsequent research by the likes of Hutton and Heselton has shown that in fact the New Forest coven was probably only formed in the mid-1930s, based upon such sources as folk magic and the theories of Margaret Murray.
Gardner only ever described one of their rituals in depth, and this was an event that he termed "Operation Cone of Power". According to his own account, it took place in 1940 in a part of the New Forest and was designed to ward off the Nazis from invading Britain by magical means. Gardner claimed that a "Great Circle" was erected at night, with a "great cone of power" – a form of magical energy – being raised and sent to Berlin with the command of "you cannot cross the sea, you cannot cross the sea, you cannot come, you cannot come."
Clearly something seems to have happened along these lines in wartime, in at least one incident, although precise details are sketchy. Maybe more details and information will arise in due course, and it is still conceivable that some of the younger attendees may still be alive.
Norma N Joy Conquest
steve_wilson
(@steve_wilson)
An awful lot of research has been done into this supposed ritual. Wicca's own historians tend to lose interest when they delve very deep, because of the considerable evidence that it wasn't really a witchcraft rite. Rolla Nordic claimed to have been there but stated "we didn't call it witchcraft then" so G Gardner's claim that it was a "grand sabbat" looks like wishful thinking. It seems to have been a visualisation perhaps enhanced with spiritualistic. rosicrucian, druidic and co-masonic elements. All of those were present amongst the local population,who included a lot of middle and upper class "refugees" living in their country retreats full time.
William Thirteen
(@williamthirteen)
given that Rudolf Hess' flight resulted in the Nazi's suppression of German okkultists in the "Aktion Heß", perhaps AC's plan was to kill two birds with one stone and eliminating some of his continental competition along with weakening the Reich. I mean, as long as we're wandering the caves of confabulation 😉
"steve_wilson" wrote:
This is interesting supplemental information Steve, however it's not quite clear whether the working you're referring to here is the one in the Ashdown Forest or Gardner's one in the New Forest, and also whether in some way "Operation Mistletoe" and "Operation Cone of Power" may refer to the same single action. There also seems to be a divergence between on the one hand the former working's attempting to entice Rudolf Hess to fly across the Channel, and the latter one saying "you [Hess and/or the Luftwaffe] cannot cross the water".
I don't have my copy of Amado's The Secrets Of Aleister Crowley at the moment – not being a tract I consult very often, it's buried deep in a storage box somewhere – but I've a vague feeling that in his description of the Operation he gives there he makes mention of Old Mother Clutterbuck, which may provide some sort of a connection with Gerald Gardner's involvement. However I may be mistaken, and leave it up to someone with a copy directly to hand to verify if that is the case.
N Joy
I spent part of the weekend digging out Amado's oeuvre from some boxes and skimmed through particularly The Secrets of Aleister Crowley again, the process thankfully shortened by previous annotations. My, among other things I had forgotten quite how anti-gay the fellow was! And whatever else you can say about Amado, if nothing else he certainly seems to have been blessed with a vivid imagination in parts and dare I say the occasional bit of waspish (& quite witty) humour – for example:
"What about the Freemasons?" asked Aleister. "Can you keep them off my back?"
The Admiral shook his head regretfully. "God could, no doubt. But up to now, He has chosen not to."
"Which God are we talking about?" asked Crowley. "Beaverbrook or Northcliffe?" (pp. 114-5)
As I thought, Amado did mention Dorothy Clutterbuck (whom Gerald Gardner stated initiated him in the Craft, q.v.) however it appears it was (also) the code name by which A.C. chose to be known for some reason:
[...] "Our boffins want you to have a cover name, some other way of referring to you without betraying your true identity. It makes very good sense. Walls have ears, as they say. We have a special list and I can easily allocate you one from that. Unless of course, you have some name you wish to propose."
Crowley thought for a moment and then said: "Old Mother Clutterbuck."
The admiral's eyebrows shot up and he lifted his head slowly.
"May one ask why?"
"It was a comic character in the only pantomime I ever saw as a child. It is a very fond memory. And think how funny it would be for civil servants trying to pronounce it with their usual gravity."
"Quite!" The man coughed. "My name is Triton, by the way. Mr Louis de Wohl is known as Cassandra. As for our chief", he waved an invisible cigar, "he is known as Johann Sebastian Bach or JSB for short." […] (p.114)
A propos this further, Amado later went on to observe:
[…] Legend has it that Gardner was made a witch by "Old Dorothy Clutterbuck", who mounted rituals in the New Forest to thwart a German invasion. I have already explained how the ritual happened elsewhere, for a different reason, and that "Old Mother Clutterbuck" was a pantomime dame whose name my father adopted. (p.145)
The relevant Chapters of the admittedly rather intriguing episode are 16 through 21 appearing on pages 105 though 146. To save anyone ploughing through the whole thing (assuming they happen to have the book as well), I have attempted to give a brief précis summarising the key pints of the episode as follows (any emphases in bold throughout are mine alone):
"You come highly recommended by a certain Mr Maxwell Knight, an important figure in the country's secret services. [Legend has it that he was the 'M' upon whom Ian Fleming based James Bond's chief.] Mr Churchill sought his advice, you understand. Consequently he has asked for you by name." (p.114)
It took about four hours to reach R.A.F. Tangmere travelling by official car from London. We were due to meet two German officers; code-named ' Kestrel' and 'Sea-Eagle'. The whole thing had been set up by the Roumanian Mission in London and its counterpart in Lisbon and was all very hush-hush. […] (p.116)
The dramatis personae, apart from A.C. and of course Amado, were (as mentioned by in the FT piece previously) "Kestrel" and "Sea-Eagle";
When I delved more deeply, many years later, I learned that the professor was Karl Haushoffer, a significant figure in German occult circles, and the doctor [sic] was Joseph Retinger, who held high office in German Freemasonry and who later joined the Polish Free Forces in London. (p.117)
"Triton" (who may have been Naval Intelligence Admiral Godfrey or even possibly Admiral Louis Mountabatten – Amado does not make that one clear); "JSB" (who may have been Maxwell Knight or possibly Ian Fleming - he does not make that clear either); and "Cassandra", or Louis deWohl the astrologer. Also happening to be in attendance was a certain bishop:
[…] The bishop's face was wreathed in a huge smile as he clapped his hands on my father's shoulders. "Oh, Mr Crowley," he mused with a slight sigh. "I think you would be surprised at how much I do realise." To everyone's shock he bestowed a different occult blessing on the speechless magician and embraced him.
This may bewilder readers today as much as it bewildered us then. The Bishop's name was Angelo Roncalli and help is provided by a book from a reliable Catholic source. In THE Broken Cross, Piers Compton states that Roncalli became a member of the Illuminati sect whilst he was on diplomatic service in Turkey. He later became the Patriarch of Venice, being given the red hat while on a visit to France by President Auriol. In 1958 he was elected Pope John XXIII. On his pectoral cross he even bore the sign of the Illuminati – an all-seeing eye in the centre of a triangle. (p.122)
Apparently Maxwell Knight and possibly Ian Fleming were also in attendance as well at "Operation Mistletoe" itself; as Amado remarks about 'M':
He was directly involved in the operation but much more than that – he had a profound, personal interest in occultism and was terribly excited to watch the ritual unfold. (p.128)
The Ritual itself was (in part) described in the following terms:
It was Pythagoras, I think, who said he could tilt the earth if given a long enough lever and a fulcrum. What Aleister Crowley did as regards the subsequent history of the world was every bit as momentous.
The high ritual took place at a spot in Ashdown Forest, Sussex. I must not say where exactly. Despite all the security, word did get out but in a twisted version, and ever since, the locals have been pestered by weird people. Crackpots come, even some [neo-]Nazis, apparently to suck up any magical energy that might still linger. It was Gerald Gardner (about whom, more later) who shifted the story to the New Forest. That would have been further away from the target we were aiming at, and along the wrong Nexus, vis-à-vis Germany. The ceremony itself was long and complex. I have lost a great many of the details mainly because certain items were so dazzling and prominent. For instance, I have a very vivid memory of a dummy, dressed in Nazi uniform, being sat on a throne-like chair. I had to sit with my back to this, and a large mirror was raised in front of me. The result was I could see my own face quite close, and the dummy's face over my right shoulder.
Most of the people there wore occult robes of one sort or another. At Crowley's orders, even the contingent of soldiers had them over their customary battle-dress. I say robes, but in most cases they were mere lengths of sheeting. Each of them had a runic symbol cut out of coloured felt and stitched to their breast. The mass of people moved around the dummy and me in two circles. The outer one turned deosyl and the inner went widdershins. This movement wasn't just a regular, monotonous rotation either. At certain moments, or at given signals, they wove in and out of each other. It reminded me of the furry-dance I had seen in Cornwall, or the figure dances in the film of 'Gone With the Wind'. It was all timed with great precision, and each time the dancers stopped, and faced inward, the runes on their robes spelled a different set of messages which were all aimed at the dummy.
Aleister explained that the gist was quite close to the short phrases I had to yell out, each time the dancing stopped. They were not in English or German but they signified things like: You are the one appointed, and You are the hero armed in gold. There was a lot more like this, but all of it in a similar vein. Strange names and weird titles cropped up from time to time and I recall how irritated my father got when I had difficulty with the word "Thule".. […]" (p. 123)
This can be viewed as priceless stuff, but all factors considered, there may indeed be something in what he says regarding an actual Ritual of some sort which did take place:
Why has none of this ever come out? It's quite a puzzle, isn't it? Not once in fifty years [N.B., this was written in 1991] has anyone said a word. Yet other matters have been revealed and some of them, once closely guarded secrets, have been made into films like 'The Dam Busters' and 'The Man Who Never Was'. They were hush-hush too, but they came out in time, when there was no longer the slightest reason for keeping them under wraps. Evidently, there are people who felt it absolutely crucial to go on keeping the Crowley/Hess story under wraps, even today. As far as they are concerned, it is still a very hot potato! […] (p. 128)
Incidentally the reason for enticing Rudolf Hess to Scotland was apparently for him to meet the Duke of Hamilton (whom he asked for by name upon landing) in a scenario where he (Hess) would proceed to be made "King of Scotland", while the Duke of Windsor (ex-Edward VIII) and his consort Mrs Simpson both as Hitler's buddies would be reinstated to the English throne.
There are clearly some aspects of fact amongst other parts which are clear fantasy – and one day perhaps we may find out exactly which parts are which – but in the meantime I think it would make a good film, at least as entertaining as The Eagle Has Landed!
yours conspiratorially
First to clarify, I was talking about GG's claims about a New Forest ritual, not about the Ashdown fantasy.
As for "Old Mother Clutterbuck", this was Gardner'sjoke. Dorothy Fordham (nee Clutterbuck) was a middle-aged middle-class woman who wrote twee nature poetry that Wiccan historians have combed for evidence of paganism, without realistic success. That Aleister Crowley ever heard of her is dubious, but it was a well known story by the time Amado was on the scene.
Most interesting further information on Old Mother Dorothy Fordham Clutterbuck, Steve!
But is GG's claim about the New Forest ("Cone of Power") ritual any less "fantastic" than the Ashdown Forest ("Mistletoe"?) one, which according to the OP does at least seem to have some basis upon an actual historical event which occured in wartime between May 1940 and May 1941 of some description?
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Togston (Northumberland)
Searchlight base at Hadston Carrs, Togston. Photo by Glasgow University.
Togston is a small coastal parish in mid-Northumberland and despite its small size there is a range of archaeological and historic remains.
Although there are prehistoric sites known in neighbouring parishes, none have been found in Togston. The earliest remains belong to the medieval period when there may have been a village at Togston and Togston Tower once stood to defend and protect the inhabitants. Later, in the 16th century, a defensive farmhouse, or bastle was built here and when more peaceful times came it was remodelled, becoming Togston Hall.
The area changed more in post-medieval times as developments in industry and farming were felt. A possible windmill stood at Hadston Mill, a dovecote at North Togston and Togston Colliery. Some of the wealth from these ventures was spent on building country houses such as Togston Hall. A reminder of modern conflicts is a searchlight position at Hadston Carrs.


text:
Use of Acupuncture before and after embryo transfer
This report describes outcomes for all patients who attended the London Bridge Fertility, Gynaecology, and Genetics Centre in London over a two-year period and who had acupuncture. In the acupuncture group, positive pregnancy rates/ET were 44.6% comparing favourably with the non-acupuncture historic control group. When they analysed outcomes in different age groups, they discovered that acupuncture intervention was particularly effective in woman in the 35-39 and the over 40 groups.
"Use of Acupuncture Before and After Embryo Transfer"
Nick Dalton-Brewer, David Gillott, Nataly Atalla, Mohamed Menabawey, Pauline Wright, & Alan Thornhill
The London Bridge Fertility, Gynaecology and Genetics Centre, London, UK
All IVF cases in which acupuncture was administered before and after embryo transfer at a large private infertility centre were reviewed for a 2-year period. All patients were treated by the same practitioner (NDB) using Traditional Chinese Acupuncture (TCA). Patients received acupuncture to the protocol developed by Paulus, W.E., Zhang, M., Strehler, E., El-Danasouri, I., and Sterzik, K. (2002). Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy. Fertility & Sterility, 77, 721–724: Liver 3, Spleen 8, Stomach 29, Pericardium 6, GV 20 were manually stimulated five times over a 40-min period, at Bridge, approximately 10–20 minutes prior to embryo transfer. Embryo transfer was carried out under ultrasound guidance as per routine at Bridge. Ten minutes following embryo transfer acupoints Spleen 6, Stomach 36, Spleen 10, Large Intestine 4 were manually stimulated five times over a 40-min period before discharging the patient. Ear points 34, 55 and 58 were used in both treatments and not stimulated.
A total of 71 patients underwent 74 cycles involving acupuncture before and after embryo transfer. Overall, positive pregnancy rates/ET were 44.6% comparing favourably with the non-acupuncture historic control group. When analysed by maternal age at time of treatment, biochemical pregnancy results for acupuncture treated women were as follows: <35 years−52%; 35–39 years – 45%; 40–45 years – 35%. Results for women aged 35–39 years and those over 40 years were markedly better than controls suggesting that acupuncture intervention of this type may be more effective in older women. No side effects or complications were experienced by women receiving acupuncture. Acupuncture is a safe, adjunct therapy in IVF and in other randomised clinical trials has been shown to significantly improve outcomes when used at the IVF centre before and after embryo transfer. Our preliminary data are encouraging and suggest that a trial involving older women may be effective.
Cover Thumbnail:
Dalton-Brewer N et al
2010 Vol 12 No 4 212 - 255
Human Fertility
Condition Term:
IVF/IUI Services


text:
Love is in the air with sultry mother india summer
Authoritarian, Cruelty
Kazrataxe
First Meeting (A Study in Light and Dark) She met him at the airport. She recognized him at once as he stepped through the "Arrivals" gate. Without saying anything she went up and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply a kiss he was returning with the same energy. A few people began to applaud. "My, granddaughter," he said "is very affectionate," and laughing pulled her to him and they kissed again.
"Let me get my bag, and we can get out of here. By the way, your name wouldn't be Sarah, by any chance, would it?" Her answer was to poke him in the ribs with her elbow. After picking up Don's bags, Sarah led the way to her car. Don put his bags in the back and pulled her to him. He pushed up her top and kissed her breasts. Sarah was looking around to see if anyone was watching. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him close.
"Come on, Babe," she said breathlessly, "Let's get to your hotel before we get arrested." Don let her top down and held her face in his hands. He kissed her on the nose, and said, "You really are real, aren't you?" "You better believe it, and I love you too. Can we go now, master? Please!" She decided that she really liked it when he laughed. She drove to a hotel where Don had booked a small suite of rooms. Sarah felt strange checking in with him. She felt lots of eyes judging her.
She was tempted to fall to her knees and give Don a blow job right then and there so that they would have something to talk about when they went to their suite, but she was a good girl, and behaved herself. "Everyone downstairs thinks you are a whore that I rented for the weekend," Don said when they were in their rooms.
"It's OK, baby." "No, it's fucking not, and I am going to do something about it, but not right now." He started to undress her. She started to pull off her pants when he stopped her. "Let me do it," he said, "I want to undress you piece by piece." When her boots were finally off and the jeans were on the floor he had her stand before him. His eyes were moist as he looked at her for the first time. "You are so fucking beautiful," he sighed, "and you belong to me." "Yes, sir," she responded, "I love you and I belong to you.
I am yours." Her eyes teared up as she spoke aloud these words for the first time to her owner and lover. Don started removing his own clothes, "Then," he said, "I think I am entitled to a test drive before I take possession." "Oh, yes, Sir," Sarah responded happily as she jumped on the bed while pulling him on top of her.
"No foreplay, babe," she breathed, "I'm so hot and wet right now just put it in, please!" Don, being above all else, a gentleman obliged. Soon he was riding her in an up and down motion like they were long lost dancers.
She moved and bucked but he would move with her. Finally she just let out a cry and gave up as he entered her secret place where he came, and came. Both bodies were pressed together in one spasm of, there is no other word for it, pure bliss. When they had separated, and were resting on their pillows, she sat up and moved her head toward his groin.
She looked at him questioningly and he nodded his consent. She began to clean him with the devotion that only one who has given herself to another could know. "This is really real," she thought as she licked some of the combination of her own cunt juice and cum from his cock.
"And I am pleasing my owner," her heart big black dick rams a tight pussy. Don suggested that Sarah might light to wear one of the hotel robes, and he would order up a light supper.
Without waiting, he picked up the phone, and ordered food for the two of them, and then asked that the manager be sent up to his suite. The manager arrived before the food. Both Don and Sarah were in robes. The manager introduced himself and asked how he could be of service. "The young lady and I are lovers. Does the hotel have a problem with that?" "No, sir," the manager replied, a bit startled.
"Then why did she have to be humiliated by the smirks of your staff in the lobby while we were checking in," Don asked milf caught cute teen sucking off cock of her boyfriend a low voice that was sharp enough to cut paper.
Sarah reminded herself that it was probably best not to annoy him. "I should demand that your staff appear before us here and apologize, but I think that would just embarrass the young lady more. You and I know that the only reason that your staff thought that it was all right to laugh at us is because of my age. If we were the same age and checked in, there would have been teen japanese doll and her first hardcore ass fuck in close up problem.
Now, son, I got this here lawyer that is about my age too, and he gets real pissed when hotels I stay in engage in age discrimination. So I would say we got ourselves a bit of a problem here. Any suggestions?" "On behalf of the hotel I would like to apologize to both of you, and would you and the young lady consent to being the guests of the hotel for the duration of your stay?" "Why thank you, son.
We do accept. And you have a nice day now, you hear," Don said as he escorted the manager from his suite. "You hear?" "Just came out that way. That wasn't a con. I was really pissed. It's not that I mind you being humiliated, but I damn well better be doing the humiliating. Speaking of which, should I have you nude and kneeling when they bring the supper table in?" "Oh, please, sir, no sir, really I mean it sir, no, please." "OK. Come here." She came to him and he just held her to him for a long time.
She thought that he might have been crying, but she wasn't sure. The food and table arrived and the staff who set up the dinner for two behaved in a professional manner. Don tipped them with cash, since there was no bill to sign. When they were finished (Sarah didn't eat much), Don sat the wine bottle on another table, and pushed the dinner table outside into the hallway.
They moved a couple chairs close to a picture window, sat, relaxed and drank their wine. "I am so happy right now," Sarah said as she pulled her feet up to the chair so that she was half kneeling half sitting. She looked and saw that Don was very hard and looking at her. "How," she started to ask. "Little blue pill. It's not for everyday, but I think that this counts as a special occasion." "May I suck on it, sir," Sarah said in a little girl voice.
"You are a good girl. Yes you may. You may even finger yourself, but no coming. Understand?" Her response was a grunt and a nod as she was already sucking devotedly on his cock. She remembered that he had written that he liked his women to look him in the eyes while they worshiped his cock, she looked up to see him smiling down on her with a pleased look a master whose girl-slave was performing well.
"Did she really want to be owned that much," she asked herself. "I am owned that much," she answered. She reached for her clit. She loved the smell of maleness. She loved the meatiness of his cock in her mouth.
He looked down at her, and said, "Stop." "Go to the bed and kneel beside it. Remove the robe. Go." Don went to one of his cases and returned with a thin bamboo walking cane.
Without saying anything he struck a pillow on the bed with such force that the sound made Sarah flinch. "I like to mark what is mine," he said rather unpleasantly. "I assume that despedida de solteras maduras en miami mamando have no objection." "No, sir," Sarah answered meekly.
"I wasn't asking, cunt, I was assuming." "Lay down on the bed on your stomach. You can muffle your scream with a pillow. Stretch out your legs to the corners of the bed.
You will not be tied. If you move to defend yourself, your next move will be out the door. Do we fucking understand each other?" Sarah was sobbing. Just minutes ago he was the tenderest of lovers, and now this. Now he was going to hurt her, not because she deserved to be hurt. He was going to hurt her because he wanted to.
She looked at the bamboo cane. "This is not going to be fun," she thought. "We understand each other, sir." Don started stroking her backside with the cane. He enjoyed the way that he butt cheeks would tighten and release.
Then he gave her ten light strokes to the back of her legs. These were hard enough to leave a mark but not so hard as to be seriously unpleasant. In fact, Sarah rather liked it. It was almost like a massage. She enjoyed the heat in the back of her legs and butt cheeks. "This next one is going to hurt," Don said, "I would start biting that sweet milf gives wet blowjob hardcore mature if I were you." Sarah tensed for the coming blow.
Nothing happened. She remained tensed waiting. Finally she had to relax her muscles. It was at this moment that he brought the cane down on her backside with all of his strength. Sarah was blinded by pain. The pain of the strike was a white heat that blocked out everything else from her consciousness.
There was nothing in her universe but white hot pain and her screams into a pillow. She was aware that Don was fingering her, and that her legs were kicking up and down as she cried. She turned and looked up at him with tear stained eyes, and saw that his face was covered with pleasure.
She reached for his cock. It was hard and twitching. He traced a finger across her new welt. She almost cried out. He moved her hand away and told her to turn over. When she obeyed, the pain from that last strike did make her cry out. "Hummm, it will probably hurt even worse while I fuck you while that is still fresh, but let's move on. I am going to leave two more marks. I am going to leave one like the one on your backside on your stomach and another on your breasts." Sarah knew better than to ask him not to do this.
It began to strike her that while this was a man who, without any question loved her, at the same time considered her to be his property to do with as he pleased. She also knew that he was determined to establish his ownership of her.
She knew that she had said that this is what she wanted, and that she had offered herself to him, but what she did not want was two more hard strikes from that bamboo cane. She had never felt anything like what had happened to her butt. She really did not xx story ebony film star herheroine anymore. She re-positioned herself so that she would be easier for him to reach.
It was like he was reading her mind. The moment she moved, he laughed. Only it wasn't the pleasant laugh that she loved. This was the laugh of a tormentor laughing at the tormented. Sarah felt she was sinking into something that was way beyond her ability to deal with.
"Here's the deal," Don said, "I am going to do one strike just to the top of your nipples. I want you to lay there with your hands flat on the bed. If you are a good girl, and don't move your hands to your tits, you only get the one strike. But if you touch those tits, you lose, and we have to do it all over again until we get it right.
When we have got that right we will move on to your belly with the same rules. Now, are you ready to play?" "Could I have something in my mouth, master," she asked.
Don went to his bag and returned with a penis gag, which he attached to her mouth and head. He propped her head up on the pillows so that she could look down at her breasts.
"I want you to watch this," Don said, "You are not to close your eyes or look away." She nodded. Don didn't tease. He brought the cane down with such force that it bit into her skin. Again Sarah saw light and almost passed out.
She also sat up and cupped her breasts. Only the gag stopped her from licking them.
"You lose that round. You know I am not hitting your tits as hard as I hit your ass. Got different material there, but I did get a nice mark there." Sarah was watching a red welt form just above her nipples. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. The pain was close to replacing her thoughts. But she remembered that it was going to happen couple smoking cigarettes during fucking. She lay back, and waited.
And it did come again with the blinding white light of agony. She did not move her hands. The tops of her breasts were crisscrossed with two perfectly defined welts. Then, without warning he brought the cane down on her belly. Only the gag muffled her scream. She sat up, but she did not touch herself.
She looked at Don with only fear in her eyes. Don removed the gag and waited. Sarah knew that he was waiting for something from her, but she didn't know what. Then she did. She moved to the floor and keeled before him. She kissed his penis in obeisance, and looked up at the face of the man who hurt her so much for his own selfish pleasure. "Thank you, master," she said with a sincerity that scared her.
"Thank you," she sobbed, and then she returned to ministering his cock. While he was fucking her this time, it was not love making, it was a battle. She lesbian veronica vain with vannessa phoenix and lilith shayton that he was trying to devour her, as he grabbed her wounded breasts with his hands and teeth.
Sarah felt like a wounded animal that had been caught by a predator. She hurt. She was fucking for her life.
She had to toss him off, but when she would move her pelvis up, she would feel the welt on her ass, and he would meet her thrust and drive it back. With every stroke, it was as if he were punishing her. He was beating her down with his cock. Every move she made was met and defeated, till she just lay there as he had his way with her defeated cunt and body.
She had never felt so empty and fulfilled at the same time. He came like a victorious warrior who had just taken what was his by conquest. She came like a wrung out rag doll. She had never felt so deliciously used. It hurt for her to move, but it was a good hurt. Something inside of her had broken free. She had proven something to both of them. She bent her head, and began to clean him. He was a worthy owner indeed. Don stroked her head, "I love you so much," he said.
She lifted her head for a moment, "I know," she replied and continued sucking and licking him clean. She did not see the attractive patient fucked by uniformed doctor reality blowjob in his eyes as he continued to stroke her head.
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ivy, but never in our garbage.
a class loathe to admit us.
couldn't do enough for the Fatherland.
pearls, their cold, unapologetic sources.
resigned and wedded to their branches.
know. I could never tell them apart.
only by the good graces of Jesus Christ.
don't find out about my background.
sold, until they lost their profit margins.
again, the varieties of living and undead.
had even fewer customers to inspire us.
Jane Rosenberg LaForge is the author of "With Apologies to Mick Jagger, Other Gods, and All Women,'' published by The Aldrich press. Her two chapbooks of poetry are After Voices (2009) from Burning River of Cleveland; and Half-Life (2010) from Big Table Publishing Co. of Boston. She has been nominated for a Story South Million Writers Award; and twice for a Pushcart Prize, once for fiction and once for poetry.


Xin Qi, Lucas Waye, and Andrew C. Myers.
Fabric is a new system and language for building secure distributed information systems. It is a decentralized system that allows heterogeneous network nodes to securely share both information and computation resources despite mutual distrust. Its high-level programming language makes distribution and persistence largely transparent to programmers. Fabric supports data-shipping and function-shipping styles of computation: both computation and information can move between nodes, to meet security requirements or to improve performance. Fabric provides a rich, Java-like object model, but data resources are labeled with confidentiality and integrity policies that are enforced through a combination of compile-time and run-time mechanisms. Optimistic, nested transactions ensure consistency across all objects and nodes. A peer-to-peer dissemination layer helps to increase availability and to balance load. Results from applications built using Fabric suggest that Fabric has a clean, concise programming model, offers good performance, and enforces security.


Any custom gate design is possible in handmade steel, hardwood, softwood, low carbon footprint British recycled composite cladding, or indeed a combination of all. We will make your own bespoke design to fit the exact dimensions of your Hemel Hempstead property. We also have many existing designs to choose from.
We ensure that your Hemel Hempstead gates not only look great but operate soundly and safely as well. The engineering behind correct installations is just as important as the gate manufacturing process.
Our Hemel Hempstead gate manufacturers are pleased to coordinate and work alongside other tradesmen of your choice to ensure the custom gate installation is completed effectively and on time!
Bespoke gates manufactured by Safe & Secure Systems in Hemel Hempstead are protected by our comprehensive gate aftercare guarantee.
We have great confidence in our made-to-measure gates and want our customers to enjoy many years of trouble-free operation. Our company culture is always based around long-term customer care and we want our Hemel Hempstead customers to still be happy with your custom manufactured gate in 10+ years time.
Safe & Secure Systems Ltd believes it is always important to use an approved custom gate manufacturer when working on the entry gates to your Hemel Hempstead home or business.
Driveway gate systems manufactured by Safe & Secure Systems can be carried out fully, from initial groundwork, through to installation, fitting and final commissioning. With over 20 years in the gate manufacture and security industries, you can be assured of a professional, experienced and reliable driveway gate manufacturer in Hemel Hempstead.


text:
HomeExclusivesGet 2 Know: Young Dolph
Get 2 Know: Young Dolph
Author: Rae Mac | Thursday 19th December 2019
American rapper Young Dolph has actively been making waves in the music scene and has now solidified his name boasting a collective of over 5 million followers on social media platforms. No stranger to creating music which reflects on his upbringing and life lessons. Before taking the musical route, Young Dolph was a budding track athlete who won a scholarship at the University Of Tennessee before the release of his highly esteemed 'King Of Memphis' and 'Bulletproof'.
Rae: You're currently on tour, already you've covered Paris and Birmingham, next stop Amsterdam and Ireland. Do you find travelling contributes to your music or does the lifestyle make it challenging to keep your creativity flowing?
Young Dolph: It's all about the experience, it's all about what you learn and it's fun, you know what I mean? It's all about capturing moments, I'm going around the world, catching planes and doing different things. It's a super dope experience.
Rae: Who are your musical influences?
Young Dolph: All the artists on Cash Money, Gucci Mane, UGK, Three 6 Mafia and Snoop Dogg.
Rae: Being someone that has had to be self-sufficient from quite a young age, you've learnt valuable life lessons, but what do you feel the music industry has taught you?
Young Dolph: The music industry's taught me about resistance. Whatever you think or whatever you want to do go ahead and do it. It's also taught me to be really responsible, whatever ideas or thoughts you have, don't move slow on it. Move fast with your ideas and your workflow period.
Rae: Who would you like to collaborate within the U.K and why? Is there anybody in the U.K music scene that you're currently listening to?
Young Dolph: I really like my guy Giggs, he's what's up, and Skepta, I just be trying to listen to a lot of different type of music.
Rae: What is your advice to aspiring artists?
Young Dolph: Work hard, don't ever stop! Just keep on working, if you really believe in yourself then don't stop what you want to do.
Author: Rae Mac
@@rae__writes@@iamraemac
Get 2 Know: The Cast Of Just Mercy
Get 2 Know Dax
Get 2 Know: Banx & Ranx
Get 2 Know: Khali Best
Get 2 Know POUNDZ
Get 2 Know Jelani Blackman
Check out what happened behind the scenes of Wiley's 'Givenchy Bag' video
Get 2 Know Daina


text:
package otto

import (
	"fmt"
	"runtime"

	"github.com/robertkrimen/otto/token"
)

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node _nodeStatement) Value {
	// Allow interpreter interruption
	// If the Interrupt channel is nil, then
	// we avoid runtime.Gosched() overhead (if any)
	// FIXME: Test this
	if self.otto.Interrupt != nil {
		runtime.Gosched()
		select {
		case value := <-self.otto.Interrupt:
			value()
		default:
		}
	}

	switch node := node.(type) {

	case *_nodeBlockStatement:
		labels := self.labels
		self.labels = nil

		value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatementList(node.list)
		switch value.kind {
		case valueResult:
			switch value.evaluateBreak(labels) {
			case resultBreak:
				return emptyValue
			}
		}
		return value

	case *_nodeBranchStatement:
		target := node.label
		switch node.branch { // FIXME Maybe node.kind? node.operator?
		case token.BREAK:
			return toValue(newBreakResult(target))
		case token.CONTINUE:
			return toValue(newContinueResult(target))
		}

	case *_nodeDebuggerStatement:
		if self.debugger != nil {
			self.debugger(self.otto)
		}
		return emptyValue // Nothing happens.

	case *_nodeDoWhileStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeDoWhileStatement(node)

	case *_nodeEmptyStatement:
		return emptyValue

	case *_nodeExpressionStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(node.expression)

	case *_nodeForInStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeForInStatement(node)

	case *_nodeForStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeForStatement(node)

	case *_nodeIfStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeIfStatement(node)

	case *_nodeLabelledStatement:
		self.labels = append(self.labels, node.label)
		defer func() {
			if len(self.labels) > 0 {
				self.labels = self.labels[:len(self.labels)-1] // Pop the label
			} else {
				self.labels = nil
			}
		}()
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node.statement)

	case *_nodeReturnStatement:
		if node.argument != nil {
			return toValue(newReturnResult(self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(node.argument).resolve()))
		}
		return toValue(newReturnResult(Value{}))

	case *_nodeSwitchStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeSwitchStatement(node)

	case *_nodeThrowStatement:
		value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(node.argument).resolve()
		panic(newException(value))

	case *_nodeTryStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeTryStatement(node)

	case *_nodeVariableStatement:
		// Variables are already defined, this is initialization only
		for _, variable := range node.list {
			self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeVariableExpression(variable.(*_nodeVariableExpression))
		}
		return emptyValue

	case *_nodeWhileStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeWhileStatement(node)

	case *_nodeWithStatement:
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeWithStatement(node)

	}

	panic(fmt.Errorf("Here be dragons: evaluate_nodeStatement(%T)", node))
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatementList(list []_nodeStatement) Value {
	var result Value
	for _, node := range list {
		value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node)
		switch value.kind {
		case valueResult:
			return value
		case valueEmpty:
		default:
			// We have getValue here to (for example) trigger a
			// ReferenceError (of the not defined variety)
			// Not sure if this is the best way to error out early
			// for such errors or if there is a better way
			// TODO Do we still need this?
			result = value.resolve()
		}
	}
	return result
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeDoWhileStatement(node *_nodeDoWhileStatement) Value {

	labels := append(self.labels, "")
	self.labels = nil

	test := node.test

	result := emptyValue
resultBreak:
	for {
		for _, node := range node.body {
			value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node)
			switch value.kind {
			case valueResult:
				switch value.evaluateBreakContinue(labels) {
				case resultReturn:
					return value
				case resultBreak:
					break resultBreak
				case resultContinue:
					goto resultContinue
				}
			case valueEmpty:
			default:
				result = value
			}
		}
	resultContinue:
		if !self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(test).resolve().bool() {
			// Stahp: do ... while (false)
			break
		}
	}
	return result
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeForInStatement(node *_nodeForInStatement) Value {

	labels := append(self.labels, "")
	self.labels = nil

	source := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(node.source)
	sourceValue := source.resolve()

	switch sourceValue.kind {
	case valueUndefined, valueNull:
		return emptyValue
	}

	sourceObject := self.toObject(sourceValue)

	into := node.into
	body := node.body

	result := emptyValue
	object := sourceObject
	for object != nil {
		enumerateValue := emptyValue
		object.enumerate(false, func(name string) bool {
			into := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(into)
			// In the case of: for (var abc in def) ...
			if into.reference() == nil {
				identifier := into.string()
				// TODO Should be true or false (strictness) depending on context
				into = toValue(getIdentifierReference(self, self.scope.lexical, identifier, false, -1))
			}
			self.putValue(into.reference(), toValue_string(name))
			for _, node := range body {
				value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node)
				switch value.kind {
				case valueResult:
					switch value.evaluateBreakContinue(labels) {
					case resultReturn:
						enumerateValue = value
						return false
					case resultBreak:
						object = nil
						return false
					case resultContinue:
						return true
					}
				case valueEmpty:
				default:
					enumerateValue = value
				}
			}
			return true
		})
		if object == nil {
			break
		}
		object = object.prototype
		if !enumerateValue.isEmpty() {
			result = enumerateValue
		}
	}
	return result
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeForStatement(node *_nodeForStatement) Value {

	labels := append(self.labels, "")
	self.labels = nil

	initializer := node.initializer
	test := node.test
	update := node.update
	body := node.body

	if initializer != nil {
		initialResult := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(initializer)
		initialResult.resolve() // Side-effect trigger
	}

	result := emptyValue
resultBreak:
	for {
		if test != nil {
			testResult := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(test)
			testResultValue := testResult.resolve()
			if testResultValue.bool() == false {
				break
			}
		}
		for _, node := range body {
			value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node)
			switch value.kind {
			case valueResult:
				switch value.evaluateBreakContinue(labels) {
				case resultReturn:
					return value
				case resultBreak:
					break resultBreak
				case resultContinue:
					goto resultContinue
				}
			case valueEmpty:
			default:
				result = value
			}
		}
	resultContinue:
		if update != nil {
			updateResult := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(update)
			updateResult.resolve() // Side-effect trigger
		}
	}
	return result
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeIfStatement(node *_nodeIfStatement) Value {
	test := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(node.test)
	testValue := test.resolve()
	if testValue.bool() {
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node.consequent)
	} else if node.alternate != nil {
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node.alternate)
	}

	return emptyValue
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeSwitchStatement(node *_nodeSwitchStatement) Value {

	labels := append(self.labels, "")
	self.labels = nil

	discriminantResult := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(node.discriminant)
	target := node.default_

	for index, clause := range node.body {
		test := clause.test
		if test != nil {
			if self.calculateComparison(token.STRICT_EQUAL, discriminantResult, self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(test)) {
				target = index
				break
			}
		}
	}

	result := emptyValue
	if target != -1 {
		for _, clause := range node.body[target:] {
			for _, statement := range clause.consequent {
				value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(statement)
				switch value.kind {
				case valueResult:
					switch value.evaluateBreak(labels) {
					case resultReturn:
						return value
					case resultBreak:
						return emptyValue
					}
				case valueEmpty:
				default:
					result = value
				}
			}
		}
	}

	return result
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeTryStatement(node *_nodeTryStatement) Value {
	tryCatchValue, exception := self.tryCatchEvaluate(func() Value {
		return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node.body)
	})

	if exception && node.catch != nil {
		outer := self.scope.lexical
		self.scope.lexical = self.newDeclarationStash(outer)
		defer func() {
			self.scope.lexical = outer
		}()
		// TODO If necessary, convert TypeError<runtime> => TypeError
		// That, is, such errors can be thrown despite not being JavaScript "native"
		// strict = false
		self.scope.lexical.setValue(node.catch.parameter, tryCatchValue, false)

		// FIXME node.CatchParameter
		// FIXME node.Catch
		tryCatchValue, exception = self.tryCatchEvaluate(func() Value {
			return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node.catch.body)
		})
	}

	if node.finally != nil {
		finallyValue := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node.finally)
		if finallyValue.kind == valueResult {
			return finallyValue
		}
	}

	if exception {
		panic(newException(tryCatchValue))
	}

	return tryCatchValue
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeWhileStatement(node *_nodeWhileStatement) Value {

	test := node.test
	body := node.body
	labels := append(self.labels, "")
	self.labels = nil

	result := emptyValue
resultBreakContinue:
	for {
		if !self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(test).resolve().bool() {
			// Stahp: while (false) ...
			break
		}
		for _, node := range body {
			value := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node)
			switch value.kind {
			case valueResult:
				switch value.evaluateBreakContinue(labels) {
				case resultReturn:
					return value
				case resultBreak:
					break resultBreakContinue
				case resultContinue:
					continue resultBreakContinue
				}
			case valueEmpty:
			default:
				result = value
			}
		}
	}
	return result
}

func (self *_runtime) cmpl_evaluate_nodeWithStatement(node *_nodeWithStatement) Value {
	object := self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeExpression(node.object)
	outer := self.scope.lexical
	lexical := self.newObjectStash(self.toObject(object.resolve()), outer)
	self.scope.lexical = lexical
	defer func() {
		self.scope.lexical = outer
	}()

	return self.cmpl_evaluate_nodeStatement(node.body)
}


text:
People walk down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Hurricane Harvey: Delivering Managed IT Services During a Catastrophe
Aldrin Brown | Aug 29, 2017
It's being called a 500-year storm and Houston, Texas-based Elevated Technologies finds itself smack in the middle of it.
As early as the middle of last week, the managed services provider (MSP) began reaching out to clients, preparing the organizations as much as humanly possible for the fury of Hurricane Harvey.
But despite the best-laid plans, the extent of damage to the state's Gulf Coast still came as a shock.
"No one really anticipated this," Jason Rorie, founder of Elevated Technologies, told MSPmentor Monday.
"I don't think anyone really anticipated the kind of flooding that Houston would be subject to," he added. "The city is basically underwater."
Task number one for the MSPs five-member team was ensuring customers' data would survive.
"We started talking really on Wednesday when they projected where it would hit," Rorie said. "First thing we did is make sure that all of our clients, all of their offsite backups were running successfully. We use Veeam and StorageCraft."
As the storm neared landfall on Friday afternoon, the MSP began instructing clients to shut down on-premises servers before those employees left for the day.
"The flooding causes power outages and once your UPS (uninterruptible power supply) batteries drain and your servers crash, that's when problems really start," Rorie said.
The hope is that once the storm passes, many of those servers can quickly be powered up and the businesses can get up and running.
That's assuming, of course, that the flooding is manageable and the boxes stay dry.
"Most of our clients, even in a single story building, the servers are elevated," Rorie said. "We don't anticipate any servers being flooded."
But for some customers with 24/7/365 requirements, shutting down servers until the storm passes represents an unacceptable interruption to their businesses.
One of Elevated Technology's customers is the Houston branch of a Dubai-based private jet-booking outfit that arranges global travel for top executives of major companies, like Nike.
"They were going to try to work through the storm," Rorie said.
"They said, 'we get what you're trying to do for us but we'll take a chance,'" the client said. "'We're going to roll the dice because we want to turn out as much work as we possibly could.'"
A great many of the support tickets the MSP has received since the storm began involve folks seeking to solve VPN access problems so they can work from home.
It's a problem with which Elevated Technology can empathize.
Despite being located on the fourth floor of an office building on the western side of the city, Rorie and all of his employees have still been forced to work remotely.
"I can get even get out of my own neighborhood," he said. "I'm talking to you from my garage, looking at the water rising in the driveway."
The company's manpower took a further hit when one of the five employees lost power at his residence.
Some reports suggest that as many as 40 percent of small businesses in the Harvey's path might never recover.
That could have long-lasting consequences for the revenues of firms like Elevated Technologies.
"That is a valid concern," Rorie said.
But by far his greatest worry stems from uncertainty about how much longer the storm will last, and how much more damage it'll wreak on his customers before it's all over.
"There is so much more potential to do damage than has already been done," Rorie said "Until the flooding subsides and clients get back to work, we won't know the full extent. "My biggest fear is it doing much more damage (because) we're going to have our hands full when everyone returns next week."
TAGS: Manage North America


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text:
Q: Vector Tiles - Geometry render issue (MBTiles) I'm having some issues regarding rendering vector tiles in GeoServer.
In the first image below, the server is rendering an image/png with parks in red.
In the second image below, the server is also rendering a pbf (application/vnd.mapbox-vector-tile) with the parks in red.
The issue is in the second image, the geometry does not look good. I should be getting the same visual on both cases right?
Am I missing something?

-- UPDATE
In black it's easier to understand the issue, we can see a black rectangle on the left side of the image.

A: Not sure if that is the problem here, but sometimes issues with vector geometries from GeoServer appear when a layer contains simple and multi geometries. If GeoServer reads a layer as one containing single geometries it interprets multi geometries not correctly and displays them not the way we expect. Example of solution:when using layer from database store and defining layer SQL view,  it's "safer" to force multi geometry type. If other type of store is used I recommend cleaning data input.
In general - I advice checking geometry types.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


gabapenten has been prescribed for hip pain after my replacement,taking 200mg,3 times a day. Helps me sleep but does not help a lot for pain. Advil works better.
they have helped more. Best wishes….
Hi @popolopo. Nice to see you back on Connect after a month or two away. I hope you are doing well! Would love to hear an update on your health. Besides the pain, how is life after the replacement?
I'm also tagging @bekie, @maryinkansas and @hols who all have experience with Gabepentin and may wish to add to the conversation.
Hi @vickiekay. I love to see you popping in again 🙂 You've been so active on Connect over the past couple of months and i'm sure users really appreciate your support and guidance.
Mayo Clinic didn't have a clue about treating my chronic pain. In fact, the Mayo doctor who examined me told me, "Nobody ever died of pain. Just go home and get over it." Fortunately, my local doctor was way better and prescribed gabapentin which has helped immensely. Had I followed the advice from Mayo I would have been completely incapaciated for the past nine years. I am grateful to be functioning normally because of the skills of my local doctor. My advice is to save your money, time, and effort and not go to Mayo, but find a local doctor who actually does understand the pathology of chronic pain.
Gabapentin helps me with my hip pain from osteoarthritis, to a degree. Since I cannot take NSAID's (aspirin, Advil, etc.) it's beneficial, for my case. Tylenol just doesn't work well for me, and I prefer not to use it long term regardless. I'm taking 600 mg in the morning and in the evening.
I had the same response to Tylenol. It did not affect my pain in the least and I am grateful not to be using it long term. I also had the same experience with ibuprofin.
Pain treatment is hit and miss. Most things I've tried work well for a little while then burn out. Gabapentin can help in my case but at higher doses where some side effects start showing up.
i saw more specialists than I can remember. The pain doc put me on a med which was closely related to one that had been a disaster for me and insisted that it would do the trick. It didn't and turned out to be almost the same as the other.
I liked the psychiatrist the best. When all else fails, send the patient to a shrink and if he complains more then lock him up in a psych ward. The psychiatrist started my interview by asking my why I was in his office wasting his time and my money when there was nothing mentally wrong with me.
Hi, Kelsey! Thank you for your message regarding my participation on Mayo Clinic Connect! I have enjoyed reading and contributing to the site. Are you the administrator? If so, I really wish that the program on which the site is written could be more user friendly – perhaps in more of a Facebook format. The threads are often difficult to follow….and then all of a sudden, after contributing, my inbox is full of comments from individuals. I happened to see the opportunity to sign up on a Mayo newsletter a long time ago and began participating.
Yes, I have had rheumatoid arthritis since 1990 when I was just thirty years old. I have been a Mayo patient since that time and have undergone numerous surgeries (34 total) and tried many medications to control the disease. I also have fibromyalgia and Lyme Disease. It has not been an easy journey at all. I was a Professor of Education at the University of Northern Iowa until I was no longer able to maintain my teaching and research schedule in 2004. It has been very difficult to accept the "disability status" but I have now reconciled that MY job is to take care of myself.
I do spend a lot of time researching health related issues, medications and alternative treatments. I have had some amazing medical doctors at Mayo and I have also interacted with many talented alternative practitioners, most of whom have really helped me.
It is great to be connected with others who are experiencing the same types of problems and who have helpful advice!
Many thanks to you for connecting with me via this site! Best wishes!
Have you talked to your psychiatrist about Cymbalta? It eliminated my hip pain all together but made me too irritable (irritating?).
That is one of the things that has helped me learn as well. Yes, I'm no more than a Novice with a computer too. I did however learn how to search items relative to health conditions and beyond (relaxation technicques, thinking,mind excercise, etc.). Looking back at your statement, through the things you noted, gave me more overall insight on the info I had originally sought and then some. Put it this way "if the answer would have been as easily attained, would we learn from it?" Since a lady next door told me "I wish everthing was perfect." I said after a conversation for a while "you no longer would see any sense in living–since with everything being perfect what would you do? how would you occupy your mind and thoughts? how would you learn, make friends, know what or how to say things–Learning is a part of our daily life, from the time of our birth. All on different stages with our growth. That is also something that will help people use and flourish through such programs as Mayo Connect. They'll ask questions constructively to meet their needs and with the help of others they'll often find the proper path to take toward their problems resolution. That is not to say "do it on your own." But use your doctor, friends, tests and resourses as a starting point to understanding the resolution to your problem.
Pain happens for a reason. When pain happens, it is to tell you that something is wrong somewhere. From that source they have begun grading the levels of pain, so as to understand their severity and ways to treat it. Like with Epilepsy an Aura is a Warning before having a seizure, so one can get to a lower place and not fall. Hip pain can relate to a fractured hip, bone or even lubrication where the hip attaches to the thigh bone. Those are the clues, it's up to us to report them and seek to ease them through the most reliable sources.
This is in response to Jay Baruch, who posted – Have you talked to your psychiatrist about Cymbalta? It eliminated my hip pain all together but made me too irritable (irritating?).
Why would I talk to a psychiatrist about anything since the psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic told me to stop wasting his time? I do not have a psychiatric condition. It would be the same as asking me if I had talked with my podiatrist about my fibromyalgia. BTW, I do use Cymbalta but it was not prescribed by a psychiatrist or for a mental illness.
Well, experience has taught me several things, being under a doctors care all my life. First, your post doesn't indicate that your condition is the type the doctor you were sent too treats. At that point, as you told us "tell the phyciatrist that you were sent to him for reasons A, B, C and if he is willing to help you through your ordeal fine. Please do it simply so that I can comprehend and ask any necessary questions. If you don't feel up to being the doctor to undertake the problem for which I was sent to you, do you have any suggestions. Would it be better to see another doctor, or even get a second opinion.
This is response to iverkay312 who posted – Well, experience has taught me several things, being under a doctors care all my life. First, your post doesn't indicate that your condition is the type the doctor you were sent too treats. At that point, as you told us "tell the phyciatrist that you were sent to him for reasons A, B, C and if he is willing to help you through your ordeal fine. Please do it simply so that I can comprehend and ask any necessary questions. If you don't feel up to being the doctor to undertake the problem for which I was sent to you, do you have any suggestions. Would it be better to see another doctor, or even get a second opinion.
This is perfect advice. Unfortunately, I did not have this experience at Mayo Clinic because the doctors had no clue as to what my problem really was. All they had to go on was that I was in extreme pain and suffering from intense insomnia. None of the doctors I saw had any specific experience dealing with someone with my symptoms with the end result being that they decided to tell me to find a psychologist who would help me wrap my mind around my issue and get over it.