text:
Privacy & Personal Data Protection
There is no "one size fits all" privacy regime that will work for every company, every organization and every country. Differences in legal systems, legal values and political philosophy means that what works for one organization may not suit the other. But optimal privacy regimes do share some characteristics - they are flexible, robust and allow the interplay of technology, legal issues, business practices and government policies to put agreed privacy principles into everyday practice.
As an in-house project legal counsel, I provide strategic services in relation to the development of privacy regimes including processes, structures and methodologies that encompass both legal and business aspects. Targeting both policy makers and corporations, I provide strategic advice and planning services including the development of privacy toolkits aimed at balancing the values of individual privacy with the drive for an open and competitive companies and economies.
Examples of privacy-related work that I provide includes
preparation of codes of conduct for companies and organizations
contracts related to transfer of data
seal programs for companies as part of an assurance program.


This Internet-Draft will expire on June 23, 2008.
destinations of wider than organization-local scope.
externally initiated connection if its security policy permits.
R1-Rn:  Insert summary of recommendations R1-Rn here.
Hagino, Kurt Erik Lindqvist and Fred Baker.


On behalf of Safe Kids Cobb County, we would like to express our gratitude for your donation. Your donation will help enhance our programs or purchase safety equipment for families that are in need. Safe Kids is a non-profit organization led by WellStar and Cobb Public Health. All donations are tax-deductible.


Life is more than collecting random items to fill the most basic needs of clothing or housing. We all need to clothe ourselves and live somewhere. How you choose to do that is an opportunity to express who you are.
I couldn't agree more. Developing your personal style is an opportunity to express yourself. It's an opportunity to be intentional about the things that are important to you. It's an opportunity to live the way you were designed.
I am passionate about living the way I was designed. I am creative, resourceful and caring. My gifts and talents are focussed on revealing who I am. I use them in the creative industries. Whether it is designing a bespoke piece of furniture for a difficult space, editing a wardrobe or producing images for a community campaign, I am all about communicating with more than words.
I live in Kingston Beach, Tasmania and listen to the waves breaking on the sandy shores of this beautiful community while I work at home in my studio. I am married to a gorgeous guy, Brad, and we work together in a company called "Making it Home". We have two teenaged sons, whom we adore, and a cat called Molly who has us all wrapped around her furry paw. Our life is full of projects; work, school and home. It's hectic, at times chaotic, creative and always filled with love.
"Beth has a lovely, gentle manner and our time spent together was a lot of fun. She has an amazing eye for fashion and knows instinctively how to style you to suit your body shape. She deftly matches items together.
"Beth came on the scene and added the PIZZAZZ to our interior! She was wonderful to work with and had fantastic input. She is very sensitive and understands the connection between a home and its caretakers. She was able to work within our budget and use our personalities to incorporate ideas into the decor. Her talents and skills are boundless. She is able to use what she has available and turn it into something remarkable.
We highly recommend Beth as someone who is honourable, reliable and wonderful to work with.


I remembered you sayin' something about it once. I thought you could maybe read it out loud to kill time or something.
This scene is the exposition because it is when the Socs beat up Johnny. The setting takes place in the 1960s and the characters are Ponyboy, Johnny, the Greasers, and the Socs.
This scene is where Ponyboy and Johnny get into the church which then becomes there new home. Johnny went to the store for there food for the week.
This is the resolution of the story because it is when Ponyboy is reading Johnny's letter and he learns that he has to move on.


text:
Show Recent Some Love
By Sam Lipsyte
Illustration by Gary Taxali
Audio: Sam Lipsyte reads.
At this juncture, in this environment, only an ogre could defend Mike Maltby, and Isaac was not quite the ogre type. Maybe more on the order of a jerk, according to Nina. As a human being, a woman, and his life partner, she added, she felt it was crucial that she make this distinction. All men, yes. But not all men in all ways.
Environment, climate—this was code people used for how you really ought to watch your mouth, not to mention your ass. This wasn't passing weather. These were the new conditions, like dribbling ice caps, or jagged rips in the atmosphere. There was no quick fix, and no going back.
Ask Isaac, it was definitely for the best. History's ceaseless cavalcade of dickheads was undeniable. A shame, maybe, that a few non-predator guys got mashed up in the gears of the thing, but, hey, wasn't this an omelette-making enterprise? And compared with the atrocities going on since forever for everybody else? Please. Still, a tiny part of Isaac felt a nanosurge of sympathy for Maltby, who'd given Isaac his start, and had also been, weirdly enough, for a brief time, his stepfather.
But you just couldn't pull the kind of shit Maltby had pulled in the executive suites of what had been, until a few months ago, Maltby Media Solutions. Even if you were Maltby. Especially if you were Maltby. Because it wasn't about sex. It was about power. And sex. And probably a few other things.
Isaac had never been one of the Maltby bros. Mostly he detested them. That kind had always treated him like a weenie. Even Maltby had, come to think of it. Especially Maltby, who'd leer after Lenore Vinson, the vice-president of H.R., when she left the conference room, and look to Isaac for—what? Confirmation? Validation? Was this a parking lot?
"What's your hot take on that one, kid?"
"Yeah, attractive," Isaac might mumble.
"Moron. Attractive. Try the fucking Bronko Nagurski of punishingly luscious women on my payroll."
Maltby was famous for his mastery of sports arcana, especially as it pertained to the leatherhead era of American football, as well as for his penchant for striking, counterintuitive analogies. They'd been a big part of his success in advertising. But Isaac wondered if Maltby's string wasn't a little played out.
Actually, Isaac had stopped wondering this months ago, after Maltby stepped down as chief of the company he'd sold to a conglomerate the year before. He'd announced he would spend time in contemplation of his mistakes, embark on a "listening and absorbing tour." He would "marinate," he said, in the complaints of the current and former employees who had accused him of lewd comments and handsiness in hallways and cubicles, this after years of rumored affairs with underlings and interns. There was also the surreptitiously recorded toast in which Maltby, out at a restaurant with his old fraternity pals, suggested that for women at his firm the road to good employee evaluations was "paved with spit-lubed tug jobs." The shareholders made a suggestion of their own: remove Mike Maltby and rechristen the company Haven Media.
The story got heavy play on the trade sites, and Isaac, the ex-stepson whose career had benefitted from the mentorship of a monster, waited, perhaps irrationally, for the axe to fall. A few times he indulged in the literal side of the formulation, pictured the arc of the executioner's blade, its glint in the noonday sun, and Isaac's shaved head plopping into a basket, his final physical sensation slightly splintered wicker pressed against his cheek.
Nina wanted to know why he kept touching his face.
Isaac's mother sat in her pilled peach robe in her rent-controlled living room and delighted once more in having been ditched by her second husband for a longevity consultant and part-time Pilates coach.
"Dodged a hurricane," she told her only child. She sipped Cran-Grape and Stoli out of a plastic "Moana" cup left over from the birthday party she'd insisted on throwing for her granddaughter.
"You mean bullet," Isaac said.
Anna patted the loose copper coils of her hair. She'd let herself go gray, once, a few years ago, for several weeks. Nearly been hospitalized for it, she liked to say.
"Don't tell me what I mean. Does this moment resemble a bullet? All the craziness going on? Or is it more like a hurricane? How about you tell me?"
"It's not just some storm," Isaac said. "It's the way things are now."
"Thank God."
"Right? I'm ecstatic about it."
"I don't completely believe you."
"Well, you should. I welcome this more than anyone."
"Hey, man," Isaac said. "I have a daughter."
"I know damn well you have a daughter. And don't call me 'man.' "
"Sorry, Mom."
"Molly's party was a big hit, don't you think?"
"It was. Her friends' parents e-mailed and said they loved you."
"Why couldn't they e-mail me directly?"
"We're just all on these lists, Mom. From the school. But they had a fun time. Said you were a real . . ."
"A real what?"
"A character?"
"I don't remember that term."
"At what point do we become characters? It's like we're not real anymore. I guess it's better than the alternative."
"Being invisible?"
"More like . . . Well, as long as Molly liked the party."
"She loved it."
"Why isn't she here now?"
"It's a school night."
"You asked me to come move the bed so you could get the sweater box."
"And did you?"
"Yes. Look, the box is right over there."
"And yet," Anna said, "you feel bad for old Mikey Maltby. You think he got a raw deal."
"Can't I feel bad for him but also think he got what he deserved?"
"So you came here for permission to feel things?"
"No, I came to move the bed."
"O.K., then. Let's do it already."
"Dementia isn't funny, Mom."
"Who is Mom?"
"He called me, you know."
"Mike?"
"I told him I could give him a modicum of emotional support but not one iota of moral support."
"That was nice of you, considering. You don't dole out the modicums readily."
"In the olden days, as I recall, you had your charming pigs and your not so charming pigs. Mike was on the spectrum there. We had some good times. He made me laugh. His days are over. But you pet the horse before you shoot it."
"I thought he was a pig."
"Well, you know, my mind is not what it once was. The Sudoku helps."
"Though the vodka might cancel out the Sudoku."
"I'd need to see a study."
A homeless couple had set up camp on the large granite ledge that jutted from the wall of the church on Isaac's block. It was the middle of June, and they'd laid out a narrow mattress with crisp-looking sheets. They looked to be in their late forties, about Isaac's age, but maybe they were younger, prematurely aged by whatever substances he'd seen them inject—more than once, hunched against the church wall—into their arms, or hands, or feet.
The woman had indigo stars inked on her cheek and temple. The man was tall, with a frizzy ponytail and a crinkled, spotted face that might have been handsome once. He often went shirtless in the heat, and Isaac had to admit the old junkie was ripped. Who needed a gym membership when you could get the same results living the life of a destitute skag fiend?
Isaac chuckled to himself and imagined cracking that joke with Nina and some of her friends from college, or even out with his advertising chums, then winced.
Isaac didn't know the names of the couple, but he'd come to call the man Stoma, because that was how he signed the announcements he wrote, or more accurately carved with a certain elegance into torn squares of cardboard, and propped up in his shopping cart. Tonight's proclamation read, This is our stuff. Touch it at your peril. Trust me, I will catch you if you do. Everyone gets caught sooner or later and I can't wait. Then you will see exactly what I am bringing to the table. —Stoma
Isaac appreciated the last sentence especially, took a photograph of the sign with his phone.
The couple were gone, but the bed was made with hospital corners and a thin brown blanket. They'd even stacked a few splotched and tattered paperbacks beside it. Beach reads.
The shopping cart was a jumble of plywood planks, busted electronics, empty plastic water jugs, and cushion foam. Isaac heard a grunt, turned and watched Stoma and Stars drag themselves over the chipped stone wall that circled the park across the street, trudge through traffic toward the ledge. They both wore canvas shorts and bleached-out polo shirts, and if you squinted, ignored the face tats and sun damage and drug scorch, you could picture them cavorting on a tennis court in the Hamptons. Or maybe that was the scene out there now. What did Isaac know? Maybe they were about to invite him for a set of Canadian doubles.
"What's up, pal?" Stoma said, walked up to where Isaac stood, laid a swollen hand, pocked with small sores, on the shopping cart.
"Oh, hello," Isaac said, and his tone, with its high, slight whine of riskless civility, made him, he figured, the more likely Hamptonite, as though he were greeting Stoma in some vacation-town supermarket, both of them just back from the ocean, relaxed, pleasantly melancholy, dawdling down aisles in salt-encrusted swim trunks for a twilight resupply of wine and fresh corn. Or was it the shopping cart that made him hear it like that?
"What are you doing?" Stoma said.
"I was just reading your sign."
"Who said you could?"
"It's a sign. Didn't you put it up for people to read?"
"Not you."
Stoma dropped into a shallow combat crouch, dipped his arm into the cart, rooted around in stereo parts and chunks of foam until his hand came up with a piece of metal pipe.
"You'd better go," Stars said.
"Don't talk to this yuppie cocksucker, Beth. He's the kind of asshole that pushed all the decent people out of here."
Yuppie. Cocksucker. Who still spoke like that? And who was still named Beth? Also, hadn't this particular spot witnessed straight-up gentrification since the Dutch? He was pretty certain he'd read this in one of the real-estate brochures Nina worked on.
Still, what was Isaac going to say? That, in his estimation, the term "yuppie" had lost descriptive traction decades ago? That, as far as Isaac was concerned, no consensual sex act between adults should ever be stigmatized? How else to respond? Should he mention his belief that Beth was the drabbest diminutive of Elizabeth?
None of it would fly.
"Get lost, fucko!" Stoma said, waved the pipe.
Isaac backed off, pivoted, trotted around the corner to his building, to the safety of his lobby.
"Hey, let's go for a drive—the leaves are a truly disappointing shade of brown."
So it seemed there was, after all, a table, and Stoma, as promised, had brought much to it, including his rage, his suffering, his courage, and, most impressive of all, an efficient bludgeoning device. To the same metaphorical raised surface Isaac had brought nil, zilch, zero, nada. He was lucky to be home, to have one, a haven.
"What's another word for 'modern'?" Nina said, peered up from her laptop.
"Contemporary."
"Too cheesy."
"State of the art."
"Too techie."
"Fucko."
Isaac opened the fridge—dins recon. Nina was on deadline for copy about some new condos for oligarchs downtown. Luxurious this, artisanal that. Innovative living in a historic district.
He could do the air-chilled cutlets. With the kale in the crisper.
He noticed Molly on the sofa, most of her under the cushions, just her head, her phone hand, sticking out.
"Sweetie, what are you doing?"
"Be quiet, Daddy. I'm filming."
She posted videos to her feed several times a day, and just this morning Isaac had noticed the exhortation she'd affixed to the latest ones: show recent some love.
"Would you eat bulgur if I made some?" Isaac said, to no one in particular. Maybe to God.
Later, he loaded the dishwasher, while Nina wiped the counter. Molly sat on a stool with her phone and an oatmeal cookie. She was making an instructional video about how to eat an oatmeal cookie.
"First, hold the cookie like this."
"Molly," Isaac said. "Grandma was really thrilled you let her throw you that party."
"She was good at charades," Molly said, stared into her phone. "But she dropped my cake. But it landed right side up, so it was O.K."
"We heard," Nina said, turned to Isaac. "Did you guys talk about Mike again?"
"He called her."
"Really? Any news?"
"Why do you care?"
"I actually have mixed feelings. When he was your stepfather, and we were first dating, he was very kind."
"He was always a big fan of yours. Told me I'd be an idiot to let you get away."
"Poor guy. I mean, not really. He deserves to go down. His whole game was really pernicious and destructive. And just selfish."
"But he was very sweet to me. And helpful."
"Yes. The same."
"So, there it is. But now it's up to men like you."
"Up to us to do what?"
"To not behave that way."
"But we don't. That's what makes us men like me."
"Standing next to a villain and hoping people will notice the difference is not the same as being a hero, Isaac."
"Who said I was a hero?"
"Nobody. I'm just saying. And don't be certain they won't come for you one of these days."
"I'm not certain of anything. But I can't figure out what it would be for."
"I'm sure it's something."
"You are?"
"If you're following along at home," Molly said, "just lift the cookie to your mouth. Like so."
"Anyway," Isaac said, slipped the detergent pod into the plastic chamber in the dishwasher door. "I saw Stoma today. He got pissed I was reading his new sign. Threatened me with a lead pipe."
"Sounds awkward."
"Did you hear what I just said? A goddam lead pipe. It wasn't awkward. It was scary as hell."
"How do you know it was lead?"
"You said lead."
"What you'll want to do now is bite the cookie. Chew the cookie. Chew it good."
"Chew it well," Nina said.
"Chew it well. Taste the oatmeal wellness."
"O.K., maybe it wasn't lead. Maybe it was iron. Maybe it was bronze. Maybe it was made of crushed diamonds. The point is the pipe, weaponized. Not the material."
"Those two," Nina said. "They are really toughing it out. And they work so hard with their shopping cart, and storing their stuff, and taking it out at night. Always busy. Like pioneers. I hope they find help."
"Toughing it out?" Isaac said. "Come on. They are high all the time. They feel much better than we do. Oh, yeah, her name is Beth. Can you believe that?"
"What's wrong with Beth? That's a fine name."
"I mean, sure, they have a hard life, but I see them just lounging on that mattress, too. Doing the Times crossword."
"You sound angry about it."
"We barely make rent."
"But we do make rent. And we have rent. It's like you think they're getting away with something."
"Just so you know, we're only going to be able to afford one month of day camp for Molls."
"I hate day camp," Molly said. "I like night camp."
"We've talked about this, Isaac," Nina said. "It's going to be O.K. I'm getting a raise."
"Me, I wouldn't mind just lounging on a mattress out in the sunshine and doing the crossword all day."
"It would take you all day."
"Funny. Still, you want innovative living in a historic district? Talk to Stoma and Little Beth Starface. They'll lay it all out for you. Call your buddies for a photo shoot."
"I am calm. I'm the calmest yuppie cocksucker on the block."
"Mommy," Molly said. "Don't call your buddies."
"I'll film them. I'll film Doug and Beth for you."
"Doug?"
"That's his name."
"Sweetie, how do you know that?" Isaac said.
"I've talked to them."
"Molly," Nina said. "What do you mean you've talked to them?"
"They're nice. They gave me—"
"They gave you what? What did they give you? Molly, did they hurt you? What did they give you?"
"What kind of book?" Nina said.
"I don't know. It was boring. It was about these bad people chasing each other through an airport. I didn't really understand it."
"It's a pretty lowbrow literary scene over by the ledge," Isaac said. "I mean, it's not exactly the fucking Bloomsbury group."
Nina looked at him.
"Well, it's not."
Isaac spent the next morning writing up notes for a client meeting on Monday. His team was working on a promotional film for SisterBoard, a local philanthropy that arranged tech training for disadvantaged girls. He'd met with SisterBoard's staff to plan the shoot, but some of them had caught wind of the Mike Maltby scandal and intimated they might seek another agency. Isaac begged them to hold off, assured them that the culture had really changed at Maltby Media Solu—Or, rather, Haven Media. That the leatherhead era of workplace harassment was over. That the monsters had been driven from the field.
"It's amazing how rejuvenated the whole company is now that Mike is gone," he told the SisterBoard reps. "An evil cloud has lifted."
"Aren't you related to him?" a woman said.
"I was his stepson for a while. Nearly twenty years ago. Those were dark times."
"You mean . . . Did he . . . ?"
Could you throw somebody under the bus if that person was already there, mangled, beneath it?
"It wasn't a pleasant period for me."
That part was true enough, though it had less to do with his mother's marriage to Mike Maltby than with Isaac's protracted betrothal to Jägermeister, Adderall, and multiplayer video games. But that was then. This was now-ish.
"I'm so sorry," the woman said.
"I appreciate that. And please give us a chance to make you a fantastic product. In this environment, especially, it's important that we demonstrate what high-quality work we can do without the hindrance of men like Mike Maltby."
After lunch, Isaac got an e-mail from Lenore Vinson, in H.R., asking him to stop by her office around five. It was Friday afternoon, the optimal pink-slip window. Why else would Lenore want to see him now? So this was it. He'd known it in his gut all along, felt foolish for thinking his fate was otherwise. Isaac scanned his work area, wondered what might be worth the effort of stuffing into a Bankers Box. Not the cactus. Not the mini-hoop. Maybe the poster from the old French movie, that bold illustration of a knight plunging head first off his charger, his face subsumed by the torrent of blood that poured out like a rich, red gush past the raised visor of his helmet.
Mike had given him the poster when he started. It was an iconic image, Mike had said, and he hoped its energy would fill Isaac with inspiration.
Inspiration was maybe not the word for what Isaac understood himself to be filled with as he stepped into Lenore's office.
"I'm taking the Bresson poster," he said, settled into the chair diagonal to her desk. "It was a gift and has sentimental value."
"Taking it where?"
"Wherever I end up, I guess."
"Are you leaving us?"
Isaac took a breath. "Am I?"
"Nobody's asking you to."
"Then why are we meeting?"
"I just wanted to check in. See how you were doing. It's been a difficult time. I'm just trying to connect with everybody. Make sure people are O.K."
"For the record, Mike's behavior made me sick. And why did he always have to bring football into it? Red Grange. Walter Camp."
"Isaac. Is there something you'd like to share?"
"Lots of things."
"Then why don't you?"
"Because I'm afraid if I share them I won't get them back."
"Interesting. Sort of."
"He was only my stepfather for a few years. I didn't love him like a father, or anything. I had a father. A good one. But he died. Still, Mike was decent enough to me."
"And to your mother?"
"Not so much, after a while."
"But he was always a good boss."
"To you he was a good boss."
"Right. To me. I should have been clearer on that. It's a difficult time, as you said."
"My advice? Going forward? Don't be a bystander."
"Of course. And your gratitude is noted. Also, don't let SisterBoard get away. If you do, then it's not really a workplace-culture issue. It's a you-sucking-at-your-job issue."
He'd never wanted to be a bystander. Or an ally, really. Passerby was more like it. He should have kept moving, travelled light, just his laptop and his pills and a dream of oblivion. Jägermeister was widely available. But he never went far enough, just toggled between boroughs, and at some point he'd tarried, put down roots. Still, everything had turned out O.K. He had a job, a partner, a kid. He loved the last two, didn't hate the first.
Going forward, he would be more grateful.
He hoped Lenore would note the uptick.
He almost didn't recognize Maltby at first, thought maybe some sidewalk Bible loon had snatched at his shoulder outside the Haven offices.
"Isaac, it's me!"
His former stepfather had grown not the wild beard of a hermit pariah but something severely groomed, pervy. His suit was pressed but his trademark white collarless shirt bore a yellow mustard stain. Maltby, a fit man who often conference-called from the treadmill, had always eschewed street meat, but he must have examined his books, his grim future as an earner. Or else he had just decided to screw it all, lunch on boiled wieners.
"Isaac," Mike said. "Come. Get a drink."
"I can't."
"Just get one drink with me."
"I don't know if I can."
Isaac looked back at the building to see if any Haven folk were among those streaming out into the warm evening.
"O.K., you don't want to be seen with me out here. Fair enough. Meet me at McShane's in fifteen."
Mike knifed into the rush-hour crowd.
Later, when Nina asked him why he hadn't simply blown Mike off, Isaac said something about friendship and honor and sticking by people who have stuck by you, even if it was just to help them comprehend their crimes.
But as he trailed Mike to the bar he sensed that curiosity might be an equal draw. How could this man still be showing his face around the city? It was so brazen, exciting.
They sat in a dark corner of McShane's, a fake Irish pub frequented by nobody they knew, but which had become a secret hideaway for Mike over the years. Given the mood, the situation, it seemed to Isaac that they should be hunched over double bourbons, but Mike ordered a flight of craft ales. That counterintuition again. Four small pours sat before him, in their flimsy wooden raft, dutiful liquid lieutenants of varying shades of amber.
"I'm most intrigued by this imperial I.P.A. from Tremont," Mike said. "The best ale in the country is coming out of the Bronx."
"I still haven't met another guy your age so into the fancy suds."
"Are you joking? I was into beer before anybody. Since back in the eighties. I've told you this a million times."
"It's true, you have," Isaac said.
"I was instrumental in creating the idea that all the commercial domestic lager was crap. You'd call it a meme now. I may have called it a meme then."
"It is crap."
"As you well know, that has bubkes to do with it."
"Mike, how are you?"
"Terrible. But your mother has been a real rock for me."
"She has?"
"We talk several times a day. She's pretty much the only person in my corner. I should never have left her. But what about you? How are you holding up? How are things at my company?"
"Mike . . ."
"I know, it's not mine anymore. Hasn't been for a while. I should never have left your mother and I should never have sold Media Solutions to those pricks. Didn't get nearly what it was worth, either. And, to be candid, I lost a lot of what I did get with dumb investments. Bad advice from maybe no longer such savvy guys. My problems started long before those ridiculous harassment charges. Though that's what sent Talia out the door. Not that she wasn't already packed. What are you looking at?"
"You have a mustard stain on your shirt."
"Some tourist bumped into me. Can you believe it? That's my day."
"You didn't eat a hot dog?"
"No, Isaac, I didn't eat a hot dog. What's wrong with you?"
"How's your sex life?"
"I hope you're keeping Nina happy. She's a wonderful woman. Bright and foxy. You're very lucky."
"My sex life is none of your business. Never has been."
"Nina's like the Knute Rockne's Four Horsemen of Notre Dame of really vivacious, luscious women that I know."
"This Scotch ale is deeply overrated. Don't care for the chocolate notes. It's good to see you, Isaac."
"I need to get home, Mike. To the four horsemen. Or one of them."
"That's good. Listen, buddy, I've been talking to Anna, and we both agree it's time for me to respond to the madness. To be honest about my part in things, yes, absolutely, but also to put them behind me and get going with my professional life again. We think you can be a major help with this."
"Can I order a margarita with an astronomical amount of salt?"
"I've listened and learned. I really have. I'm from another time. But now I'm ready to be from this time. And I need you. You can ease me back into some projects. Some freelance stuff. Don't worry, I get it. Keep me away from the clients. Keep my name out of it. For now. I know this will take a little while."
Isaac just stared for a moment. At the man. In his still very expensive suit. Clutching a small glass in his large, tan hand. "Are you insane?" Isaac asked.
"What do you mean? Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Yes, Mike, I heard. Now hear this: you are done. Like the dinosaurs. It's over. Whatever toys you've managed to collect you get to keep. But you don't get to play in the sandbox again. Ever."
"What the hell? Are you nuts? I gave you a life."
"You gave me a job. And I turned out to be pretty damn good at it. And my success didn't require daily doses of bullying and groping to fuel it."
"Are you kidding?"
"I am not," Isaac said.
Mike stood, tugged down on his suit jacket, slotted his empty flight glasses back into their holders.
"Listen, Isaac, I don't know exactly who the fuck you think you are, but I'll tell you what you're not. You're not a real person, all right? You're not a dynamic individual. You're not a font of creativity and innovation. No, you're a weak, backstabbing pussy. And you want all those cunts over there to think you're some kind of good guy, but the truth is you're just too scared to ever let your feelings or desires show. And you're glad to see me go down not because it's about time the oppressors were punished but because it kills guys like you to see guys like me enjoy our fucking allotment of years on this planet. Because it is utterly impossible for you to enjoy yours. I never did anything so bad. I never forced anybody to do anything. And don't tell me about power in the workplace. That's all that exists in the workplace. That's all the workplace is for. For some people to exercise their power to do what they want, to create what they want, to profit how they want, and to experience pleasure and joy, or at least a momentary cessation of anxiety, how they want. All kinds of people. All kinds of power. What the hell do you think capitalism is? Or America. And that's the dark horrible truth. Maybe it's too late for you to gain anything from this knowledge, but you would do well to make sure Molly understands. Because this world is getting more savage, more unforgiving, every fucking day. See you around."
"That I very much doubt," Isaac said.
Maltby's shoulders sagged. He grinned. "Don't doubt it too much, buddy."
"Come on, Isaac. Lighten up. Listen, you, Nina, Molly, and me are all invited to dinner at your mom's house next Wednesday. I was supposed to tell you. But I forgot. Got all worked up. Sorry about that. We'll continue this conversation next week."
"You can't expect me to break bread with you after that speech, Mike."
"So don't break bread. Just have dinner. It's family."
"You're not my family."
"Sure I am. The family of man."
There was no way Isaac would ever sit down with that bastard again. Or not for a very, very long time. Not until Mike Maltby knew his own crimes as well as he knew the crimes of others. Because that was the disturbing thing. Guys like Mike were blind and stupid and egotistical and cruel and selfish, but they weren't always wrong about people. Certain people. The Mike Maltbys of the world didn't understand women, for example, but they understood the Isaacs, shared some of the same craven strains. They were just stronger, meaner.
Isaac gripped a pole, swayed on the uptown 1. He pictured himself swaying on the uptown 1 and weeping. After a few moments, he wept. They were man tears, white tears. But, if you licked them, were they not salty? He looked around. Nobody appeared to notice his misery. Good. He did not want to be a burden. He remembered what Nina had said about standing next to villains. It seemed obvious, but maybe not obvious enough.
Near the corner, on their ledge, Stoma and Stars, or Doug and Beth, were stretched out on their mattress under a tulip-patterned sheet. Doug perused a soggy paperback. Beth smoked something gooey off a swatch of tinfoil. Their shopping cart, nearly empty now, looked a little bent. There was still light in the sky but the moon hovered low and yellow over the park.
Isaac passed the pair without more than a quick glance, but stopped when he noticed the cardboard placard lashed with twine to the stop sign on the corner: Hey, Fuckos— Today is my birthday. I have lived fifty years on this shitball. You will not believe me, but I have no regrets. Sorrow, sure. But no regrets. I'm angry that some asshole stole our stuff. I will have my swift vengeance and it will be unpleasant, like a hammer from the sky, or a festival of blood and fury. Please help out if you can. —Stoma
"Enjoying my sign?"
"I'm sorry. Is it O.K. for me to read it?"
"I guess so."
"I'm Isaac."
"That's great for you."
"What should I call you? Doug?"
"I think you know my daughter. Molly."
"I know a lot of people."
"You gave her a book."
Stoma pulled the sheet off his legs, slid from the mattress to the sidewalk. He was barefoot, seemed even bigger than before.
"Do you remember meeting me?" Isaac said.
"I don't remember meeting you. But I remember wanting to bash your head in with a lead pipe."
"Right. So it was definitely lead?"
"I don't know, man. It was a pipe. Do you have a problem? Are we some kind of affront? I see the way you look at us."
"I don't look at you."
"Every time. What if I stood in your bedroom and just watched you?"
"You'd get pretty bored."
"Are you a wiseass?"
"Are you a dumbass?"
"Hey, what's up with Beth?"
Stoma wheeled and Isaac pointed to where she sat on the mattress, the foil and a plastic lighter loose in her lap. She rocked back and forth, her eyes rolled up, a rope of spit hanging off her lip.
"Beth? Baby?"
She said nothing, pitched forward, as though about to tumble, righted herself.
"She's fine. And how do you know her name?"
"I live around here. I keep my ear to the ground. Stop giving my daughter shitty novels."
"How long do you think you guys can keep going like this?"
Stoma looked over at his sign, as though considering some tweaks.
"We're not hurting anyone," Beth said, still rocking, but with a new composure, her lips wiped, her eyes miotic, blue. "We're not stopping anyone from living their dreams."
"Just ourselves, really," Stoma said.
"Don't you want to get help?"
"We tried help," Beth said. "It's not very helpful."
"But isn't it hard? Your life?"
"Fuck yeah, it's hard!" Stoma said.
His exuberance, the sharp shock of it, silenced them all. Beth began to nod again.
"Well," Isaac said. "Happy birthday."
Stoma lifted his sinewy arms. "Do I get a present?"
Isaac pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet, handed it over.
"That's it?"
"I'm not rich."
"Compared to us you are," Beth said.
Isaac pulled out another twenty, gave it to Stoma, who folded both bills neatly and slid them into his jeans pocket.
"O.K., then," Isaac said. "Are we even?"
It just sort of popped out of him. He had no idea what it could mean.
Stoma laughed, turned back to his mattress, slipped out the pipe. "Did you hear that, Beth?"
"He asked if we were even."
"I heard him."
Stoma took a few steps toward Isaac. "I think you're right," Stoma said. "I think the pipe is definitely lead."
"Looks it."
"How about this? How about I let you know when we're even?"
Isaac eased himself sideways toward his building. Because he had a building to ease himself toward. To pass into. To sit in, a by-sitter, on standby.
Someday soon he'd be a character, like his mother, or Stars and Stoma. Like everybody else.
Either nobody was real or everybody was. That was the problem. Or maybe it was the solution.
Night had come. A car hissed by. Isaac swivelled back toward the ledge.
"Yes," he said. "Please. Please let me know. I'd be really grateful."
"Don't hold your fucking breath," Stoma said, and Isaac wondered what else exactly he was supposed to do. ♦
Sam Lipsyte teaches writing at Columbia. His new novel, "Hark," will be out in January.
The Blessings of Aging
Residents of a retirement community talk about the many upsides of getting older.
This Week in Fiction
Sam Lipsyte on the Double Meaning of "Character"
The author discusses "Show Recent Some Love," his short story from this week's issue of the magazine.
By Willing Davidson
The Dungeon Master

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Finally, Army To Get Its Dhanush
by Yusuf Unjhawala - Apr 16, 2016 07:59 AM
Bhim
Production of the indigenously developed howitzer to begin.
On 27th April 2015, India's Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, informed the parliamentary consultative committee on defence that :
"the indigenously designed and manufactured 155mm x 45mm caliber artillery gun, Dhanush, has successfully met all technical parameters during the winter and summer trials".
Mr Parrikar said that "Dhanush incorporates many improved features than the guns which the Army is possessing at present".
Series production will start at the Gun Carriage Factory in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh at the rate of 3 guns per month. In March 2013, the defence ministry had placed an order worth over Rs 1,260-crore for acquisition of 114 Dhanush subject to its clearing the trials. The order will be completed within 3 years. The total requirement for this gun for the army is put at 414 and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) will be in a position to ramp up production to 100 guns a year to complete the order by 2020.
The Dhanush is an upgraded version of the scandal hit Bofors FH-77B that India bought in the 1980's. Perhaps the effect of the scandal was so immense that India for a long time forgot it had to transfer the technology for the gun till sometime in the last decade. The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) used the blueprint of the original Bofors gun to make an upgraded, and practically, a new gun for the Indian Army.
The original Bofors gun used by the Indian Army is a 155mm/39 caliber gun with a range of 28 kilometers. The Dhanush developed by OFB is 155mm/45 caliber gun with a range of 38 kilometers. Caliber of a howitzer signifies the length of the barrel of the gun with respect to its bore. '155mm/39 caliber' means a gun with a bore diameter of 155mm and a barrel length of 155×39 which is equal to 6045mm. A 155mm/45 caliber gun will have a barrel length of 6975mm.
The longer barrel length helps the shell of the gun to travel longer distances. The Dhanush can outgun the original Swedish Bofors 155mm howitzer in range, accuracy, reliability, angle of fire and shoot-and-scoot capabilities. Equipped with computerised fire control system, the Dhanush can fire 8 rounds a minute.
The Dhanush was first test fired in December 2011. It has about 80% indigenous content with the barrel being made by OFB. Six prototypes of the guns have been produced. The Dhanush has been tested in the deserts of Rajasthan for the summer trials where the temperature was 45*C and in Sikkim for the winter trials where the temperature was -15*C.
The Dhanush suffered a temporary setback in August 2013 when the barrel of the fourth prototype burst during tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan. Investigations revealed that the reason was not due to any problems with the quality of the barrel but due to the defective ammunition that was fired. The shell used for that test was 12 years old.
The Dhanush will be the first 155mm artillery gun acquired by India in over 25 years but it will only plug small gaps in the operational requirements of the Indian Army as only 200 of the 410 Bofors guns which performed outstandingly well in the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan remain. The Indian army's 1999 Field Artillery Rationalization Plan envisioned the need to acquire 2,800-3,000 various types of 155 mm howitzers by 2027.
India has since early 2000s tried a number of times to acquire them for the Army's requirement for 1580 155mm/52 caliber towed howitzers.
After many trials, in 2003, the three competitors Bofors FH77 B05, Soltam of Israel and Denel of South Africa, failed to meet Indian Army's specifications. In 2004, the three once again squared off with improved guns.
Soltam was eliminated when it suffered a barrel burst and Denel was out due to allegations of corruption. This left only the Bofors in a single vendor situation and soon enough another allegation of bribery eliminated it from the tender.
In 2007, India again issued a tender for towed howitzers which again got clouded with allegations of corruption. In 2011, another tender was issued and this time BAE, the owner of Bofors refused to participate citing relaxed technical and performance requirements which it felt reduced the chances of its superior gun which it improved for the Indian Army.
UPA government's cancelation of tenders at the whiff of corruption and blacklisting of major vendors made sure India did not acquire any guns.
Things are looking brighter with the Dhanush clearing trials. Work on version 2 of the Dhanush is already in progress. It is going to be an upgraded version from the current 155mm/45 caliber to 155mm/52 caliber. This is a parallel program that the OFB has undertaken on its own and will compete with the Advanced Towed Artillery System which is a 155mm/52 caliber howitzer which is being developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in association with Indian private sector companies.
Acche din for the Indian Army ahead as far as its need for 155mm howitzers are concerned.
Yusuf Unjhawala is Editor, Indian Defence Analysis, an online forum on defence and strategic affairs of India. He comments extensively on defence and geopolitics.
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During my time in seminary, I learned about the "new rhetoric" and the use of story or narrative when it comes to preaching sermons. Stories can be powerful. They can also be overdone.
Stories seem to dominate us today, especially social media. Instagram has stories. There's Facebook stories. Snapchat is, essentially, the "story" format.
Of course, none of these short now-you-see-them-now-you-don't videos are "stories" in the literary sense. Nevertheless, they seem to be here to stay, at least for a while.
People post stories all the time, but what do they say? I don't mean each individual micro-video. Rather, I'm looking at the larger picture.
What do the "stories" we upload say about us as individuals? As a society? As humans?
I sometimes wonder, in the push to create more content and to stay relevant, if we're not actually saying less as we post more. It seems the adage "more is less" doesn't apply to "stories." We keep uploading more and more, yet saying less and less.
To put it another way: as we tell more stories, what story are we actually telling?
I asked a coworker that question and her answer is probably right on point: it says we're more interested in being entertained than actually growing as individuals.
Basically, the story we may be telling is that we're becoming more and more vain.
Is that the story we want to tell? There's got to be a better one.
I've read numerous articles on how to use stories. They range from narcissistic self-glorification to actually telling stories (using them like playwrights use acts and scenes). Overall, many of the ideas revolve around marketing oneself.
Some ideas, though, looked at a more altruistic, and, I believe, ultimately a better way to use stories: we should use them to help others become better people.
When creating stories, many people focus on themselves and their life. Maybe we should start using stories to encourage and motivate each other. We can offer a quick challenge to inspire others to serve Christ and their communities. We can offer sage advice on how to deal with various situations.
Maybe, just maybe, we could share a quick word from Scripture!
You're ultimately free to use your stories however you choose. I just want you to think about what your stories ultimately say about you. Are they really telling the story you want to tell?


An important role in ensuring a comfortable living and healthy climate in the house is played by thermal insulation. In a correctly insulated house, there is comfortable warmth in the house in the winter, the house is protected from heat in the summer and there is a balanced indoor climate throughout the year without major fluctuations.
Baumit open positively influences the indoor climate and brings warmth in winter and summer. Even in a well-built dry house, a four-person family produces up to 20 L of water per day in normal household operation. The high vapor permeability of the Baumit open thermal insulation system greatly helps to eliminate this operating humidity without undue heat loss. The system has the same vapour permeability as a brick masonry and thus forms, together with brick masonry, a homogeneous, highly diffused open casing of the house that permanently permeates excess water vapor from the interior outwardly.
Due to the special properties of the Baumit openContact adhesive, it is possible to insulate older buildings with increased moisture and salt content in the masonry. After removing moist and damaged plaster, after removing the causes of moisture, the additional hydro insulation can be done by insulating the house. The Baumit open system continuously removes moisture and any salts in the masonry are deposited in the space between the masonry and the insulating board. With Baumit open insulation, you can also insulate older buildings, protect them from adverse climatic conditions and extend their life span.
Baumit open insulation consists of mutually compatible, diffusion open components of the highest quality.
The heart of the system are the facade insulation boards based on polystyrene. High vapour permeability is ensured by a patented system of holes in the insulator, which ensure rapid drainage of water vapour from the structure. The air enclosed in the openings after proper adhesion and coating contributes to effective thermal insulation. The "perforated" polystyrene thus isolates as well as the insulator without perforation, but has a multi-pass ability to pass the water vapour through. The advantage is its simple processing and a favorable price when compared to mineral insulating boards.
An alternative to white insulating panels are the gray insulating panels Baumit open reflect with infrared absorbers and reflectors, which allow for a better insulation effect of more than 23%.
The white high viscosity adhesive Baumit openContact adhesive is very flexible and weather-resistant. It has excellent processing properties.
Surface treatment Baumit NanoporTop is extremely resistant to dirt and algae formation.
Vapour-permeable, natural white, mineral-based and fibre-reinforced dry powder adhesive and basecoat render. Specially developed for Baumit OpenSystem.
Grey insulation panels with excellent thermal insulating properties.
Anchoring - adhesive anchors Baumit StarTrack bring many advantages: no thermal bridges, no blurs in he place of plates of split anchors, one type of anchors for different thickness of insulant.
Adhesive - the white adhesive Baumit openContact, high viscosity, flexible and weather-resistant with excellent processing properties.


No doubt you will want to gain the greatest value possible from your Bowen Therapy sessions, as you will be investing both your money and your time. As previously mentioned, there is no guarantee that this modality will be effective in resolving your issue, but you would be discerning if you were to put yourself in the best position for it to be as effective as possible.
I encourage you to follow the guidelines below to maximise the effect of your Bowen treatment. If you choose not to follow these guidelines you will not be judged, nor declined treatment, and your treatment may even be successful. However you will never know just how effective your Bowen treatment could have been.
Your Bowen treatment will be more effective if you have not had a massage, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic or other bodywork session for five days before your Bowen Therapy treatment.
Please drink adequate water over the days leading up to your Bowen treatment. Ensuring your body is well hydrated will maximise the effect of the Bowen moves.
Drinking tea, coffee, cordial, soft drinks, sports drinks, or even water infused with fruit joice or herbs has a very different effect on your body than drinking plain water. Please do not include your intake of other fluids in calculating how much water you have consumed during a day.
Do not apply heat or ice to an inflamed area for 24 hours before your Bowen treatment. Apple cider vinegar is effective in reducing inflammation, and can be applied by soaking a face washer in ACV and placing it over the inflamed area. To contain the moisture, wrap it in gladwrap and then cover with a bandage. Leave it on overnight, or for at least four to five hours. Repeat the next night. If your skin is sensitive, or becomes sinsitive, to the ACV it can be diluted with water. Discontinue use if skin becomes irritated.
Most people are busy, and only have an hour to spend on a Bowen treatment. By completing the Bowen Client Information Sheet and bringing it to the first visit you will have more time for your initial treatment. Don't worry if you can't answer all the questions - we will go through it together when we see each other. Please list the pain or discomfort you would like resolved first, and then any other pain or discomfort you are experiencing. If you can, please rate it on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is no discomfort whatsoever, and 10 is so much pain you would probably pass out. It would also help if you would colour in the areas of the body that are effected, but if you get confused we can do it together at your appointment.
Decide what you would like to achieve from your series of Bowen treatments. Make some goals on pain reduction or symptom management to discuss with your Bowen therapist. Consider your pain or inconvenience levels and rate them on a scale of 0-10 so that you can compare the "before" with the "after", which will be one week after your Bowen treatment.
Whilst I prefer to work on bare skin, Bowen can be effectively performed through clothing providing it is loose fitting and of a light cotton material. There are some moves that are required to be done on bare skin. One is at the top of the backs of the legs (applicable to most treatments), and the other is at the top of the arm (applicable for treating the shoulder). Please consider what you wear to the Bowen session so that you are comfortable and the moves can be performed effectively. Blankets will be provided for warmth, privacy and comfort, and the room will have reverse cycle air conditioning for your comfort.
To prepare yourself further for you Bowen Treatment, read What to Expect During Your Bowen Treatment.


Explore, relax and unwind at Faskally.
Faskally Caravan Park was opened by the Hay family in 1954 and many of our visitors have been returning for generations enjoying the relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Today visitors can enjoy a wide range of on-site first class facilities and amenities to make sure your stay is one to treasure and that the whole family are kept entertained. Whether you want a relaxing break or an action packed adventure - there's something for everyone to enjoy.
Beyond the Park itself Pitlochry and Perthshire offer endless enjoyment for all. Traditional outdoor activities (walking, cycling, horse-riding and fishing) are all within easy reach of Faskally, but now Pitlochry has become a centre for lots of new adventures including canoeing, white water rafting, bungee jumping and geocaching.
Find everything you need for a relaxing break right on your doorstep. As well as our pool, leisure area and restaurant and bar, Faskally Caravan Park is well served by amenities.
As a visitor, you'll have access to our modern recently upgraded toilets and shower areas. We also have an on-site coin operated launderette which is open 24 hrs for your convenience and after a hard day you can relax in our indoor pool and jacuzzi, with access to our recently upgraded sauna & steam room (charges apply).
Faskally is right in the center of Scotland so there is lots to see and discover while you are here. Have a walk in Faskally woods, where the popular enchanted forest is on every October or stroll to Killiecrankie and check out the location of the famous battle, you may even see some brave bungee jumpers on the way. Whatever you decide to do while you are here, beautiful Faskally is a great place to visit.
On-site we have a well-stocked licensed shop where you'll find a huge range of snacks and beverages. Our shop also offers a range of beers, wines and spirits, including local gins.
We have action-packed indoor and outdoor facilities to keep your children amused.


text:
On the road to a usage fee?
Proposals could alter the way state highway fund is filled
Michael Kitch,
When the New Hampshire Legislature returns in January for its new session, lawmakers will be faced with two proposals to introduce a road usage fee to stanch the drain from the highway fund that has risen from dwindling gas tax revenue as fuel economy improves and sales of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles grow.
Like the Dutch boy with his finger in the dike, Rep. Norm Major, R-Plaistow, has been trying to end the flow. He has spent the last five of his 12 terms in the House championing a road usage fee, or RUF, tied to the fuel economy ratings of light-duty vehicles. In October, the latest version of his bill, House Bill 478, was endorsed by the House Public Works and Highway Committee by a vote of 16-5.
Last session, Rep. Peter Somssich, D-Portsmouth, also proposed levying a RUF on both light and heavy vehicles based on their weight, which would be adjusted annually to keep pace with both rising price inflation and fuel efficiency. The bill was shelved in part because the New Hampshire Department of Safety was unable to estimate the revenue it would generate for want of data on the number of vehicles that would fall into the weight categories attached to the proposed fees.
Somssich said this year he will sponsor a bill basing an RUF on vehicle weights and mileage driven.
Gathering momentum
In 2015, a commission was convened to study "alternatives to the road toll for electric-powered, hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles." Major presented a proposal to introduce an RUF for all light-duty vehicles based on the fuel economy ratings assigned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With the commission's support, Major introduced his bill the following year and in the three years after, without ever tampering with its basic structure, but only adjusting the values in the formula for calculating the fee.
The bill was first referred to interim study, then tabled the following year. In 2018, as HB 1763, it narrowly carried the House on a roll call vote of 168-152, but, with Gov. Chris Sununu threatening a veto, was sent to interim study by a voice vote of the Senate. Last year, as HB 478, it was retained for further consideration by the House Public Works and Highways Committee.
Dwindling gas tax revenues
The gas tax generates 55% of all New Hampshire state revenue allocated to the highway fund and a third of all state and federal funding for the highway system.
According to data compiled by the House Public Works and Highways Committee, in 2011, when there were 1.172 million registered vehicles (driving approximately 1.27 billion miles and using 810 million gallons of gas) receipts from the gas tax totaled $125 million. By 2018, vehicle registrations had risen by 7%, to 1.258 million, and miles driven by 8%, to 1.37 billion, while gas consumption increased by less than 4% to 830 million gallons.
Despite more cars driving more miles and a 23% increase in the gas tax — from 18 cents to 22.2 cents a gallon in 2014 — gas tax revenue grew by just $1 million — from $125 million to $126.1 million — between 2011 and 2018.
Adjusted for inflation, annual gas tax revenues declined from $135 million in 1998 to less than $70 million by 2018, while construction costs have risen by 40% since 2003.
Between 2007 and 2017, the average city/highway fuel economy rating in the United States has jumped 24%, from 20 miles per gallon to 25 miles per gallon, as seen in New Hampshire. And the trend appears likely to continue.
The Obama administration set a fuel economy standard for light vehicles of 54.5 mpg, to be reached by 2025. When the Trump administration announced it would scuttle this standard, it met resistance from both major automakers and many states, including California. Instead, most major domestic and foreign automakers have announced plans to expand production of electric vehicles in the coming decade.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects gasoline consumption to fall by 18% in the next 10 years and by 25% in the next 20 years.
Meanwhile, pavement conditions on the 4,906 miles of the state highway system have deteriorated over much of the past two decades. In 2000, 82% of the miles were rated in good or fair condition. By 2014, that share had shrunk to 68% before rising to 76% between 2014 and 2019, with additional funding. However, the 10-year plan projects the onset of a downward trend in 2020 that will leave a third of the mileage in poor or very poor condition by 2023.
Likewise, the number of state-owned bridges rated in poor condition has risen during the past decade. Each year, from 2008 to 2018, an average of 20 bridges were added and 19 removed from the Red List, which now numbers 129. Meanwhile, the number of bridges rated in fair condition rose from 781 to 866, underlying a projected increase in red listed bridges to 154 by 2028.
This year, Major's initiative gathered momentum when the New Hampshire Department of Transportation was awarded a $250,000 grant to study the RUF. The grant, matched with turnpike toll credits, funds a contract with Cambridge Systematics to match the vehicle identification numbers of registered vehicles to the EPA's fuel economy ratings, a necessary step in implementing the fee. The firm will also profile the mix of vehicles in the state as well as project short-term and long-term revenues from the RUF.
How it would work
"The beauty of the bill," Major said, "is its simplicity."
He stressed that apart from restoring the revenue stream to the highway fund, the intent of the bill is to distribute the cost of maintaining roads and bridges more equitably. "It's about fairness," he said.
Or as Rep. Frank Tilton, R-Laconia, put it: "We need to make sure that the people who use the roads pay for the upkeep of the roads."
The formula for calculating the fee consists of four factors. The fuel economy ratings and the rate of the gas tax — 22.2 cents per gallon — are real values. The price of gasoline — $2.50 per gallon — and annual distance driven are nominal values. However, the bill provides that if the gas tax is adjusted, the RUF would be adjusted proportionately.
Vehicles not fueled by gasoline would pay a flat fee of $125, while all others would pay a graduated fee based on their fuel economy rating. The schedule of fees begins with a base vehicle with a fuel economy rating of 20 miles per gallon or less that travels 12,000 miles a year and uses 600 gallons of gasoline, costing $1,500 at $2.50 a gallon. The owner would pay $133.20 in gas tax and a flat RUF of $10.
All other vehicles would be ranked against the base vehicle by their average fuel economy rating, beginning with 25 mpg and increasing by increments of 10 mpg up to 50 mpg or more. The fee for these vehicles would be $133.20, the gas tax paid by the base vehicle, less their gas tax paid rounded to the nearest $25 increment.
For example, a vehicle with a fuel economy rating of 35 mpg would use 342.9 gallons of gas at a cost of $857.25 to drive 12,000 miles and pay $76.11 in gas tax, which, subtracted from the $133.20 paid by the base vehicle, amounts to an RUF of $57.09 rounded to $50.
In other words, the RUF rises as vehicles use less gas and pay less tax. Fees would rise in $25 increments, from $25 for a vehicle rated from 20 to 30 mpg to $100 for a vehicle rated at 50 mpg or more. At the same time, the higher the fuel economy rating, the less the gas consumption, the less the gas tax and the lower the operating costs compared to the base vehicle.
While the base vehicle costs $1,510 to operate in gasoline, gas tax and RUF, the vehicle rated at 25 mpg would cost $592 less. The higher the fuel economy rating, the greater the difference in operating costs.
The RUF would be collected when vehicles are registered.
'Counterintuitive'
Applying preliminary data, Major estimates that of 1,258,890 registered vehicles in New Hampshire, 522,037 — or 41% — are rated at 20 mpg or less and would pay the minimum RUF of $10. Another 654,866, or 52%, are rated between 20 and 30 mpg and would pay $25. Together, these vehicles represent 93% of all registrations and would pay 82% of the total fees. The remaining 81,897 vehicles with ratings above 30 mpg or using alternative fuels represent 7% of the total and would pay 18% of all fees.
Altogether, Major estimates the RUF would raise $26.5 million, of which $22 million would be added to the highway fund. Another $3 million, or 12%, would be distributed to municipalities as highway block grants, and $1.3 million, a dollar for each registration, would be retained by the registration agent. The bill anticipates the RUF would be introduced in FY 2022.
Major noted that in fiscal year 2019, the 1,258,890 light-duty vehicles in New Hampshire are projected to generate $110.7 million in revenue from the gas tax. If the RUF were introduced and all these vehicles were electric, revenue would jump 42%, to $157.4 million.
Somssich, whose bill remains to be drafted, said, "I agree with the need to get some revenue to the Department of Transportation," but added that he found Major's approach "counterintuitive."
In particular, he objected to what he called "penalizing people for buying more fuel-efficient vehicles." Instead, he said that since the wear and tear on roads is the result of the relative weights of vehicles and the number of miles driven, they should be the factors used to calculate road usage fees.
Somssich noted that the weight of motor vehicles is included in their registration. While some states have contemplated using tracking devices to measure mileage, raising issues of cost and privacy, he suggests that odometer readings taken at annual inspections could be added to the registration process to calculate the fee. Both weight and mileage are real, not nominal, values that accurately measure actual road usage, he said. "We should not be penalizing fuel efficiency," he stressed.
DRA reviews highlights of 2019 modernization
A toned-down legislative session?


Teamwork makes the dream work. Cliché and yet true. The fact is, our referral partners are so important and we accomplish a lot more together than apart. Help us help more clients enrich their brands. If you are a well-connected individual, salesperson or entrepreneur who would like to refer clients to us in exchange for significant commissions including residuals, fill out the form below to become a referral partner and we'll get back with you shortly. We have a generous revenue-sharing model we think you might be intrigued by. We'd love to hear your story and see how it fits with ours, so tell us about yourself using the form below.


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What's the best environment for newbies? Online/clubs/parties? What do you think?
Hello. We are a 45/48 couple, married for...
Hello. We are a 45/48 couple, married for almost 13 years. We talked about getting into the lifestyle, but we are concerned about the age. What's the average...
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Hi. We are new to the lifestyle. We recently chatted with a couple and they asked us if we want full swap or soft swap. What's the difference between these...
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Do you know any swingers clubs in Minnesota that will be holding the Halloween party?
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Guys, what underwear do you wear at a swinger club?


Web Inspirations: Got a Problem?
Do you have a problem? Does it seem like it just won't go away?
Perhaps a little more creativity is all that is needed. Let me explain.
Thomas Edison has been credited with inventing the first half of the twentieth century. And certainly one of his greatest inventions was the incandescent electric light bulb. But Edison takes no credit for making the light bulb available to the world. He was simply an inventor.
Edison's bulb did not burn for long; it gave off little light and it was too expensive. A man named William David Coolidge spent seven years improving the light bulb to make it more practical. Largely because of his work, electric light eventually came into common use.
When Coolidge finally succeeded in his efforts, he was questioned about how he was able to make tungsten work. He said, "It was because I was not a metallurgist. Had I been a metallurgist, I would have known that the task was impossible."
Henry Ford, too, built his success largely on his ability to "think outside the box." He used to say that he was looking to employ a lot of people "who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done." Sometimes, unconventional thinking and a belief that anything is possible are required to solve problems.
You may not be setting out to build a huge company or market a new invention, but you still face difficult problems that beg for creativity. Perhaps you are worried about financing an education. Or you are caring for a loved one with a long-term illness. Or maybe you simply cannot seem to get along with that difficult person you work alongside everyday. These problems, and countless others, just don't seem to go away. Most of us struggle with similar "impossible" situations. If your problem seems impossible, then your usual thinking is probably not working. How can you look at your situation differently? Who can help you consider other solutions and will never tell you that it can't be done? And most important, what would you do if you believed that anything were possible? Anything!
if you believe it can be found.
Today, what would happen if you approached your problem in a new way?


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You are here: Home > Where to Stay > Close To > Temple Meads Station
Accommodation Near Bristol Temple Meads Train Station
Are you travelling to Bristol by train and looking to stay in a hotel close to Bristol Temple Meads? Let us help you with the selection of excellent accommodation options below.
Bristol Temple Meads is the main and central station in Bristol with services to and from the majority of the UK. This includes trains from Scotland, Wales, the South West the Midlands and the North. Plus a direct line from London Paddington which takes only 1hr 45. On an average weekday there are over 100 trains from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads so you are sure to arrive just when you want to for your break in Bristol.
When you arrive at Bristol Temple Meads, take the time to admire the Grade I listed building and railway which was one of the first to be designed by famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Brunel had a big impact on Bristol and two other must-visits while in Bristol include his beautiful Clifton Suspension Bridge and the iron-hulled ocean-liner the ss Great Britain.
Staying at a hotel near Bristol train station also ensue access to the city's public transport network with many regular buses running near to the station plus a Bristol ferry stop to the rear.
Tags: Accommodation Near Bristol Temple Meads Train Station
Located close to Bristol Temple Meads, this hotel features modern rooms overlooking the city.
Guide Price From £85.00 to £120.00 Per room (room only)
Modern 131-room hotel, located close to Bristol Temple Meads railway station and the city centre
Contemporary hotel, with spacious rooms, located adjacent to the Cabot Circus shopping complex.
Being located near Bristol Temple Meads makes this modern hotel and spa perfect for business and leisure.
A great family hotel in the centre of Bristol which has a large number of rooms which have with two double beds, suitable for families. The hotel also has an indoor pool and restaurant.
Guide Price From £99.00 to £129.00 Per room (breakfast included)
Hilton Garden Inn Bristol City Centre
Contemporary 171-room hotel, with an excellent restaurant, located near Bristol Temple Meads railway station
SITU Serviced Apartments
SITU are global accommodation specialists providing corporate business and professional travellers with a home away from home.


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Album Review: 'Wild World' by Bastille
by Brig Music
Photo: Chuff Media
by Jamie Harris
'Wild World' – Bastille's second studio album – is very experimental, with influences from dance to rock to pop. Everything is very cinematic from the album artwork to the monologues peppered throughout and (occasionally very dark) lyrics.
It opens with lead single 'Good Grief', one of the most clear cut pop songs on the album with an infectious chorus that will be stuck in your head for ages. While some bands may have gone down a one-note route following the same formula as the opening song, the joy of this album is that it then goes off on a tangent. 'The Currents' follows it with brass and string instruments, which recur in other tracks including 'Glory'.
Other tracks, such as 'Warmth' and 'Power', seem to have more of a guitar-based influence. The latter felt very reminiscent of The XX during its opening riff.
Bastille's trademark bold lyrical style is here in full force the whole way through the album but, lyrically anyway, two tracks bear great similarity. 'Two Evils' and 'Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)' both feel slightly spectral, like Florence and the Machine's sophomore album. In terms of production, though, the two tracks sound very different with the former being more nuanced while the latter has a more electronic sound.
A stand-out track on the album is 'Send Them Off!', with its hip-hop influences and big brass bombast which contrast with lyrics inspired by The Exorcist and Othello detailing irrational relationship jealousy.
Many tracks have choruses to chant along with, including 'Blame' and 'An Act of Kindness', complete with stomping bass lines to clap along to. Songs such as these give a sense that they've been orchestrated for barn-storming live shows.
Lyrics throughout are tinged with sadness and heartache as singer/songwriter Dan Smith questions the world, but they are so catchy and the production so polished that it's hard not to resist singing along. Case in point, a lyric repeated frequently throughout 'Winter of our Youth' is "I'm pedalling backwards, even if I'm pedalling alone".
With such varying styles and influences, this album shouldn't work but Smith's vocals and song writing style keeps it from losing its way. Full of crowd-pleasing anthems, this is an album that has something to say about the state of the world we live in whilst still keeping spirits high.
Brig Music
https://brignews.com/author/brigmusicblog/
Live Review: Reverend & The Makers @ St. Luke's
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jamie harris
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Live Review: Reverend & The Makers @ St. Luke's
EP review: Knife Party – 'Lost Souls' is an enjoyable but manic listen ★★★☆☆


American pop-culture artists publicized US 66 and the experience of traveling it through song and television including Bobby Troup's "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" song and the TV series in the 1960s the highway lent its name to. Route 66 became very recognized in popular culture and currently has lots of nostalgic and retro appeal.
Our company is excited to be working on feasibility and concept development for a Route 66-themed project that will be located on Historic Route 66 in a popular tourist area. The current direction is for it to include an outdoor edgy Route 66 themed miniature golf course combined with a Route 66 themed building that will house a cocktail bar, fast casual food and a variety of different social games, along with a bed and breakfast.


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State Boys Basketball: Title Games Set For 3A and 4A
Photo Credit: Sam Ekstrom
By Chris Monter - March 21, 2019
Class AAA Semi-Final: DeLaSalle 93, Princeton 54
Top AAA seed DeLaSalle had a sour taste in their mouth after seeing their six consecutive Class AAA title streak end last year when they were upset by Columbia Heights 71-69 in the semifinals. That bad taste has dissipated after the Islanders defeated Princeton 93-54 in the semifinals at Target Center to advance to Saturday's title game.
DeLaSalle (26-5) went on a 14-0 run in the first half after the Tigers had tied the score at 10-10. The Islanders led 42-30 at the half as they shot 59 percent from the field.
The Islanders scored the first eight points of the second half and went on a 20-6 run to put the game away.
DeLaSalle was led by Stanford signee Tyrell Terry and fellow senior Jamison Battle. Terry had a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds and added six assists. Battle, who signed with George Washington last fall, had a game-high 28 points. Senior guard Kameron Givens scored 19 points and junior center Jalen Travis added 14 points and six caroms in the win.
The Islanders relied heavily on getting easy looks as they had 64 points in the paint and converted 31 points off fast breaks.
Princeton, who made their first state tournament appearance since Herbert Hoover was the president (1932), had four players with more than 1,000 career points and averaged 85 points per game. However, the Islanders held them to 31 points below their scoring average.
Senior guard Adam Williams had 21 points and center Jon Stimmler added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers, who fell to 27-4.
Class AAA Semi-Final: Waseca 79, Austin 69
Waseca, the second seed, defeated third seed Austin 79-69 in the semifinals at Target Center to advance to Saturday's title game. The Bluejays (30-1) will be going for their second state title in school history and first since 1918.
Sophomore guard Ryan Dufault had 30 points, including 10 during a game-ending 21-12 run over the final five minutes of play. Andrew Morgan, a 6-foot-8 sophomore center, chipped in with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Austin (24-6) was led by senior guard Medi Obang with 28 points and five steals. Junior guard Agwa Nywesh added 11 points. Austin was hoping for its fourth Class AAA final appearance since 2013. However, the Packers haven't won a state title since 1958 during the single-class era.
Class AAAA Semi-Final: Lakeville North 47, Park Center 45
Lakeville North advanced to the Class AAAA championship game for the fourth time in eight years. However, they didn't make it easy as they survived a valiant comeback from top seed Park Center in a 47-45 win in the semifinals.
The Panthers jumped out to a 21-4 lead with 5:17 left in the first half and led 31-14 at the break.
Lakeville North (27-4) led 40-24 with 12:06 left in the game, but the Pirates started to rally. The Panthers still led 45-34 with 5:55 left but failed to score for the next five minutes.
Lakeville North had a chance to salt the game away with 9.4 seconds left, but Carter Patterson missed both free throws. Park Center had a chance to tie the game, but Manny Tamba's shot at the buzzer came up short.
Lakeville North was led in scoring by outside shooter Tommy Jensen with 16 points and four three-pointers. He paced the Panthers with 23 points and five shots from beyond the arc in their 73-48 quarterfinal win over Eden Prairie. Wisconsin signee Tyler Wahl had 11 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Jack Rusch added nine points.
The Panthers have won 15 straight games, while the Pirates saw their 20 game-winning streak snapped.
Tamba had 16 points and nine steals and junior center Dain Dainja added 11 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Park Center was also the top seed in 2013, losing to Apple Valley 74-57 in the championship game. They fell to 29-2 with the loss.
Class AAAA Semi-Final: Hopkins 71, East Ridge 47
Second seed Hopkins (26-4) advanced to their third Class AAAA title game versus Lakeville North in the past six years with a 71-47 win over third seed East Ridge in the semifinals at Target Center.
Hopkins led 26-24 at the half but continued to use a strong inside-outside game to pull away from the Raptors in the second half as they shot 73 percent from the field.
Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Zeke Nnaji made 10 of 21 shots as he finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Kerwin Walton, who missed the Royals' season-opening 74-65 loss to East Ridge due to an injury, added 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting. Andy Stafford added 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists as he made 6 of 8 from the field. Jalen Dearring added 10 points and Dane Zimmer grabbed 13 rebounds for the Royals.
Hopkins outscored the Raptors 48-26 in the paint and outrebounded them 35-27. They shot the ball much better after a slow start for both teams, making 59 percent from the field, while East Ridge shot just 35 percent.
East Ridge saw their 25 game-winning streak snapped as they scored a season-low 47 points. The Raptors had four players in double figures in their 78-41 quarterfinal win over Eastview. However, Courtney Brown was the only player to reach that mark in the semifinals as he finished with 13 points.
This will be the third time in six seasons the Panthers and Royals have met in the championship. Lakeville North defeated Hopkins 84-82 in the 2014 title game, and the Royals got revenge in 2016 with a 64-55 win.
Chris Monter
State Basketball: Quarterfinal Blowouts Set Up Compelling Semi-Finals
By Chris Monter - Mar 20, 2019
GELFAND: Set Your Eyes to Zion
By Mike Gelfand - Mar 18, 2019
Who the Minnesota Timberwolves Are Becoming
By Dane Moore - July 16, 2019
When Gersson Rosas took the stage at his introductory press conference, he declared "this is not going to be Houston North." Prematurely, this notion crushed the dreams […]


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Cuba's Unknown Dissidents
By Henry Gomez Mar 18, 2010 12:00 AM ET
Most Americans are blissfully unaware of the tropical gulag that exists just 90 miles from the United States in Castro's Cuba. The U.S. has been so generous in responding to human tragedies such as the devastating earthquake in Haiti. And yet, so many Americans have no idea that a struggle for basic human rights has been taking place in a country that neighbors Haiti so closely. President Bush made it a point of his foreign policy to attempt to call attention to the reality of the dictatorship in Cuba. President Obama, though claiming to espouse different tactics, has also called for changes to Cuba's totalitarian system. So if the power of the president truly is the power to influence, how can it be that nobody seems to know the names of Cuba's political prisoners and dissidents?
I'm 40 years old, which means I grew up during the 1980s when the world's attention seemed to coalesce around South Africa and that country's despicable policy of apartheid. It's been years since apartheid officially ended and Nelson Mandela left office as president, but the anti-apartheid movement remains indelibly etched in the American consciousness. In fact, a recent Hollywood movie, Invictus, highlighted South Africa at the end of the apartheid era. So why is it that nobody seems to know who the Cuban Mandela is? Why is it that when it comes to Cuba everyone's answer is to remove sanctions against that country's corrupt regime instead of isolating it and showing solidarity to Cuba's people?
The answer, of course, is that Cuba's dictatorship is one of the left and the tastemakers in New York and Hollywood would rather pal around with Fidel and Raul Castro than say they won't play Cuba's equivalent of Sun City.
March 18 marks the seventh anniversary of what has become known as the "Black Spring" to the select few that seem to care about Cuba transitioning to a democratic state. In 2003, Castro's thugs arrested 75 dissidents, independent librarians, and independent journalists in the biggest crackdown on independent thought on the island in years. Most were sentenced to lengthy prison terms after being found guilty in show trials that would have made Stalin proud. Today, the majority of the 75 still remain in prison, though one was recently freed in the metaphorical sense.
Orlando Zapata Tamayo was arrested on March 20, 2003, because he had the gall to stage a hunger strike against the Cuban government in an attempt to create space for civil society on the island. He was sentenced to 36 years in prison though he didn't get to serve a quarter of that. Amnesty International recognized Zapata as one of Cuba's 71 prisoners of conscience. In December 2009, Zapata began another hunger strike in prison to protest his treatment and that of his fellow prisoners. He died on February 23 of this year. Zapata's death, unlike any event in recent history, has stirred up the debate about Cuba and what it is and what it isn't. An online petition denouncing the death of Zapata is gaining traction.
But Zapata wasn't alone in his quest for peaceful change in Cuba. There are others worthy of our collective attention. One of them is Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, another Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. During that same spring Biscet was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Biscet, a medical doctor, is black like Zapata. I mention this only because the Castroite myth is that among other things the Cuban revolution was fought to liberate Cuba's black population from oppression. So Biscet's acts of dissent are magnified by his skin color. Not only is he guilty of failing to recognize the supposed legitimacy of the Castro brothers, but he's an ungrateful "worthless ni**er" as well, a cardinal sin in the tropical gulag.
Another Afro-Cuban that Americans know nothing about despite the fact that news outlets like the Associated Press, CNN, and Reuters have bureaus in Cuba is Guillermo Fariñas. Fariñas is also currently engaged in a hunger strike in an attempt to bring attention to Cuba's miserable human rights record. Apparently his story and that of Biscet and Tamayo are deemed unimportant by these media outlets. It's hard to imagine Nelson Mandela staging a hunger strike with the international media refusing to cover it.
In his 2007 movie Sicko, Michael Moore repeated Castro's talking points about the Cuban health care miracle. That same year another Afro-Cuban doctor risked his life to obtain hidden camera footage of Cuba's real hospitals, not those reserved for tourists and government officials. Dr. Darsi Ferrer gathered this footage for John Stossel and ABC News, but the most damning evidence never made it onto ABC. You see, ABC also has a bureau in Havana and didn't want to risk losing it by broadcasting, you know, the truth. Luckily a copy of the video had been made and was supplied to Fox News, which aired it. Today, Dr. Ferrer is also rotting in a Cuban prison.
In direct response to the "Black Spring," the European Union enacted a series of weak sanctions against Cuba, sanctions that were subsequently dismantled and then repealed. Still, Cuba's political prisons remain full and dissent is a punishable crime there.
It's time for the world to take notice of the incredible suffering going on at the hands of the kleptocratic Castros. Regardless of our political leanings here at home, we should be able to call a dictatorship a dictatorship. It's time for our liberal neighbors to wake up and smell the Cuban coffee. It's time for the news media and Hollywood to start telling the truth about Cuba rather than enabling the dictatorship's propaganda. It's time for Americans to stop being accomplices to the most deadly dictatorship in the history of the Western hemisphere and instead be the champions of liberty we all believe ourselves to be. It's time for Solidarity Now.


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PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
3rd May 2019 By Richard Harvey
We are delighted to confirm a number of pre-season fixtures in preparation for the club's 2019/20 Motorama National League campaign.
Andy Hessenthaler's men will first be in action at Southern Counties East League club Bearsted on July 3rd.
That will be followed by trips to Folkestone (July 6th) and K Sports (July 13th).
Three games will then be played at Crabble with Maidstone United visiting on July 16th, Gillingham on July 23rd and Colchester United on July 27th.
Ticket details for our home games will be announced on this website in the coming weeks while further friendlies will also be confirmed here first.
Bearsted (away) July 3rd at 7.30pm
Folkestone (away) July 6th at 3pm
K Sports (away) July 13th at 1pm
Maidstone United (home) July 16th at 7.45pm
Gillingham (home) July 23rd at 7.45pm
Colchester United (home) July 27th at 3pm
← GOAL OF THE SEASON
HESSENTHALER WINS LEAGUE AWARD →
13 Lee Worgan


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Blog Tour: Gilded Wings by Amy Lignor - Guest Post, Except, Giveaway
The Beloved Angel-Warrior Team from Until Next Time Returns!
When Matt and Emily are sent on their second mission they have no idea how truly dark human nature can become...
Emily never wanted to face humans again. With the heartache that went on down below, she's still trying to figure out how to save souls that don't deserve saving. The only one she wants to see again is Jason - the young man she fell in love with who became the soulmate she simply can't forget...
Matt was trained to protect and defend the souls down below. Longing to feel the heartfelt emotions that come from being human, Matt wants nothing more than to have just one life - one chance - to live and love the girl of his dreams...
The powerful team find themselves in a brand new century, living in the Gilded Age of New York City. Emily takes over the body of Anya, a young Russian girl who arrives on Ellis Island after a hideous tragedy. There she meets up with a strangely familiar young man by the name of Drew Parrish, who helps Anya survive in an unknown world of luxury, snobbery and…obsession.
What Anya's inner angel doesn't know is that the soul she loves is also back. This time around Jason goes by the name of Max Carrow. Once a quiet and kind boy, he's now part of the 'Four Hundred Club,' and wants nothing more than to be among the most admired as he climbs the shaky ladder of society's elite.
As two worlds merge, Emily and Matt struggle under the weight of their "Gilded Wings." Not only will they have to figure out who they should fight to save, but they must also face a romantic choice that could destroy them both.
Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.
Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.
She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.
Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico.
Drew sped up when the shrill horn announcing the nine o'clock Ellis Island ferry broke through his trip down memory lane. He practically ran to the barge station, catching up with the rest of the group who worked hard for the U.S. of A. Drew was called a member of the 'justice' team, but he preferred to think of himself as a member of the most elite welcoming committee in the world. He woke up every day, honored to be a part of making his fellow countrymen members of the most wonderful club in the world—a true democracy where they'd have their chance to speak and live freely.
The pit of his stomach grew warm again as Drew stood on the deck and stared up at the mammoth statue, as if he were looking at it for the very first time. Lady Liberty held her torch high; her light beamed across the water like a beacon of hope to the occupants of the multiple ocean liners that already choked the harbor. Drew knew that there were thousands of souls who waited in anticipation on those ships, staring up at the Lady and thanking their personal savior for their safe arrival. Drew bent his head and prayed with all his heart that he wouldn't have to destroy anyone's dream today. He hated that part of the job with a passion.
Leaving the boat, he walked toward the main entrance of the building as the multitude of immigrants began taking their places in line. Under the dirt and above the black circles that marked their tired eyes, hope beamed from their pupils as they waited patiently to gain acceptance into the city. As Drew walked by them he nodded at some and touched others on the shoulder, wanting to be the first to welcome them to their new home.
Gilded Wings Twitter hashtag: #GildedWings
Gilded Wings Goodreads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15725493-the-angel-chronicles-book-2
Until Next Time Goodreads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13319888-until-next-time
The Angel Chronicles web site:
http://www.the-angel-chronicles.com
The Angel Chronicles Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Angel-Chronicles/168932393209654
Amy Lignor's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/alignor
Amy Lignor's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/HelloWritersAmy
Amy Lignor's Website:
http://www.thewritecompanion.com/
Amy Lignor's Blog:
http://hellowriters.wordpress.com/
Amy Lignor's GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222068
Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com
Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176
Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks
Young Adult is Back With a Vengeance!
There are many adults who are drawn to the young adult genre. But the most amazing thing to me, and the one I'm most thankful for, is the fact that young adults are reading even more than adults! You have to give the accolades to Rowling who, with her Potter masterpiece, brought children and young adults away from their computers and had their noses once again buried in a book.
Then, we must offer thanks to the 'vampire' woman who, with Bella and Edward, had young adults AND their moms rushing to the bookstore and leaving behind the iPods, computers, cell phones, Blackberries - and any other source of technology you could think of - in order to sit down with a book and get lost in the small town of Forks.
When those doors opened, authors that'd been overlooked by an industry who truly believed that YA was not a genre that would bring about big sales - got a thrilling chance to bring their characters to life and offer them to the world.
As a devout reader, myself, I have to say that I was always into historical novels and suspense. But as a reviewer now for many, I have to say I am absolutely thrilled when I receive all the boxes from Random House filled with their YA titles to be released in the following month. I have found some absolute treasures in these boxes. Mystery, suspense, romance, Potter-'esque' fun and entertainment - the YA books are covering almost all subjects and are really hitting the nail on the proverbial head. Lately, with each shipment comes a bestselling adult author that is trying their 'hand' at YA fiction, and succeeding brilliantly, right alongside the debut authors who had their YA manuscript in their desk drawer for quite a while and were finally able to shine the light on their words.
Young adults are seen in television and movies as being so into technology that they simply have no time to read. But that is completely untrue. Especially since the Kindles and Nooks of the world were invented so that they can combine books with their love for technology. Two birds - one stone.
When I was a kid, we were ALWAYS at the library shoving our faces into Judy Blume and her peers. We loved books, and loved getting taken away into another time and another world where we could discover and learn and play…books were it! I am so happy that young adults and kids are getting back into the book realm. I know…technology is awesome and there is something new to learn about every day - but the good, old book is still the most amazing escape from high school, bad boyfriends, rotten best friends, parents who 'just don't understand,' etcetera. It is a real thrill to see that books have become as treasured as they were…once upon a time.
Until Next Time, Everybody,
Gilded Wings: The Angel Chronicles, Book 2 buy links
Kindle buy link - $2.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009K4KUMK?tag=tributebooks-20
Nook buy link - $4.95
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gilded-wings-amy-lignor/1113106076?ean=2940015537970
iBookstore buy link - $4.99
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id567467882
Smashwords buy link - $4.99
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241186?ref=tributebooks
PDF buy link - $4.95
https://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1863196
Until Next Time: The Angel Chronicles, Book 1 buy links
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0071LLL2M/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tributebooks-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0071LLL2M
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How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul?
Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.
When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans.
From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.
Labels: amy lignor, angel chronicles, blog tour, guest post
Maji Bookshelf November 20, 2012 at 2:03 AM
Interesting! Drew sounds like a character id love to meet!! Thanks a lot for sharing this dear!
Tribute Books November 20, 2012 at 8:41 AM
Janina, thanks again for inviting the angels back for Book 2. As always, we appreciate your support in helping us spread the word about Amy's YA series :)
Wow what a big book tour haha, I've never read an angel book before..
Little Book Star
HelloWriters November 21, 2012 at 7:45 AM
Well...this is the one to try LOL.
Janna: Thank you for the support! I hope you and your readers love their second adventure! Happy Holidays!!! Amy
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Heart of the Wolf by Terry Spear
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Cover Love (2): Watery Backgrounds
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