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Adhikari, Benu
3Aldred, Peter 2Chen, Xiao Dong 1Adhikari, Raju 1Barrow, Colin 1Bi, Chonghao 1Chen, Jie 1Devahastin, Sakamon 1Gao, Fei 1Ghandi, Amir 1Haque, M. Amdadul 1Jayasundera, Mithila 1Joshi, Matina 1Kar, S. 1Kasapis, Stefan 1Li, Dong 1Lin, S. X. Q. 1Mao, Zhihuai 1Mujumdar, Arun 1Panozzo, Joe
2Proteins 2Sodium 2Spray drying 2X ray diffraction 103 Chemical Sciences 107 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences 109 Engineering 10904 Chemical Engineering 1Adsorption 1Bacteria 1Bacteria (microorganisms) 1Biomaterial 1Bovine serum albumin 1Cell Culture 1Chemical composition 1Ciprofloxacin 1Coagulation 1Concentration (process) 1Critical micelle concentration
Drying and denaturation characteristics of α-LACTALBUMIN, β-lactoglobulin, and bovine serum albumin in a convective drying process
- Haque, M. Amdadul, Aldred, Peter, Chen, Jie, Barrow, Colin, Adhikari, Benu
Authors: Haque, M. Amdadul , Aldred, Peter , Chen, Jie , Barrow, Colin , Adhikari, Benu
Relation: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Vol. 62, no. 20 (2014), p. 4695-4706
Description: Drying and denaturation kinetics of aqueous droplets of α-lactalbumin (α-lac), β-lactoglobulin (β-lg), and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were measured in a convective drying environment. Single droplets having an initial droplet diameter of 2 ± 0.1 mm and containing 10% (w/v) protein concentration were dried using conditioned air (65 and 80 °C, 2-3% RH, 0.5 m/s velocity) for 600 s. The denaturation of these proteins was measured by using reversed-phase HPLC. At the end of 600 s of drying 13.3 and 19.4% α-lac was found to be lost due to denaturation at 65 and 80 °C, respectively. Up to 31.0% of β-lg was found to be denatured, whereas BSA was not found to be significantly (p > 0.05) denatured in these drying conditions. The formation and strength of skin and the associated morphological features were found to be linked with the degree of denaturation of these proteins. The secondary structure of these proteins was significantly (p < 0.05) affected and altered by the drying stresses. The β-sheet and random coil contents were increased in α-lac by 6.5 and 4.0%, respectively, whereas the α-helix and β-turn contents decreased by 5.5 and 5.0%, respectively. The β-sheet and random coil contents in β-lg were increased by 7.5 and 2.0%, respectively, whereas the α-helix and β-turn contents decreased by 3.5 and 6.0%, respectively. In the case of BSA the β-sheet, α-helix, and random coil contents were found to increase, whereas the β-turn content decreased. © 2014 American Chemical Society.
Guest Editorial: Special Thematic Issue on Drying of Proteins and Enzymes
- Adhikari, Benu, Devahastin, Sakamon, Mujumdar, Arun
Authors: Adhikari, Benu , Devahastin, Sakamon , Mujumdar, Arun
Relation: Drying Technology Vol. 31, no. 13-14 (2013), p. 1439-1440
Description: The idea of publishing a special issue on proteins and enzymes was conceived during the 18th International Drying Symposium (IDS2012) held in the historical city of Xiamen, China (November 11-15, 2012). It appeared to us that a number of scientists and engineers were enthusiastically undertaking research in various aspects of drying of proteins and enzymes. Professors Arun Mujumdar and Sakamon Devhastin encouraged me to explore the possibility of bringing at least one special issue that would depict contemporary research undertakings in the broader theme involving proteins and enzymes. We were somewhat unsure in the beginning whether or not the required number of high quality mansucripts could be garnered for one issue in the time constraint we had in mind. Editorial
The adsorption and release characteristics of CPFX in porous starch produced through different drying methods
- Gao, Fei, Li, Dong, Bi, Chonghao, Mao, Zhihuai, Adhikari, Benu
Authors: Gao, Fei , Li, Dong , Bi, Chonghao , Mao, Zhihuai , Adhikari, Benu
Description: The drug adsorption and release characteristics of porous starches produced through hot air drying, spray drying, and vacuum freeze drying were investigated using ciprofloxacin as model drug. A UV/visible spectrophotometer, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, differential scanning calorimeter, and X-ray diffractometer were used to determine the drug adsorption/release, drug/starch interaction, glass transition, and crystallinity of porous starch samples. The amount of ciprofloxacin adsorbed in three different porous starches was 5.58%, 8.91%, and 11.43%, respectively. The ciprofloxacin-loaded porous starches had glass-transition-related endothermic peaks between 55°C and 65°C and melting-related endothermic peaks between 120°C and 150°C. Up to 75% of the loaded ciprofloxacin was released from the freeze-dried sample within 30 hrs. The freeze-dried porous starch also showed higher ciprofloxacin loading rate, higher glass transition temperature, and higher ciprofloxacin release rate. A two-phase dynamic drug release model was found to satisfactorily fit the release kinetics of ciprofloxacin (R2 > 0.995). © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Drying kinetics and survival studies of dairy fermentation bacteria in convective air drying environment using single droplet drying
- Ghandi, Amir, Powell, Ian, Chen, Xiao Dong, Adhikari, Benu
Authors: Ghandi, Amir , Powell, Ian , Chen, Xiao Dong , Adhikari, Benu
Relation: Journal of Food Engineering Vol. 110, no. 3 (2012), p. 405-417
Description: The drying and survival kinetics of Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris in a convective air drying environment were measured using single droplet drying experiments. Tests were carried out at five different drying temperatures (45-95°C) at a constant air velocity (0.5 m/s) and within 2.4-11% relative humidity. The effect of protective agents (10% w/w) of lactose, sodium caseinate and lactose:sodium caseinate (3:1) was also evaluated. The thermal inactivation kinetics parameters in convective air drying and isothermal water bath heating were determined and compared. The results showed that the final temperature attained by the droplet affected the survival of the bacteria significantly, however, most of the bacterial death occurred in early stage of drying while evaporative cooling kept the drop temperature relatively low. At higher droplet temperatures (≥65°C) the bacterial cultures were inactivated by both dehydration and thermal stresses. At lower droplet temperatures (≤55°C) the rate of change in droplet moisture content had much stronger effect on the bacterial survival. Lactose and sodium caseinate, as protective agents, enhanced the survival of bacterial cells significantly at all the test conditions. The lactose:sodium caseinate (3:1) mixture synergistically enhanced the survival of the bacterial cultures. The death of these bacteria followed first-order kinetics during convective single droplet drying as well as during isothermal water-bath heating. However, the inactivation energy in convective single droplet drying (181.3 kJ/mol) was much higher than the inactivation energy in isothermal water bath heating (16.8 kJ/mol) within the medium temperature of 45-95°C. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Physicochemical and functional properties of lentil protein isolates prepared by different drying methods
- Joshi, Matina, Adhikari, Benu, Aldred, Peter, Panozzo, Joe, Kasapis, Stefan
Authors: Joshi, Matina , Adhikari, Benu , Aldred, Peter , Panozzo, Joe , Kasapis, Stefan
Relation: Food Chemistry Vol. 129, no. 4 (2011), p. 1513-1522
Description: Lentil protein isolate (LPI) extract was converted into powder by freeze drying, spray drying and vacuum drying. Differences in particle size distribution, protein subunit composition and colour and surface morphology were observed amongst the three drying methods. Spray and freeze-dried LPI powders exhibited higher solubility (81% and 78%, respectively) compared to vacuum dried powders (50%). The spray dried powders showed a low water absorption capacity (0.43 ± 0.02 g/g) compared to freeze (0.48 ± 0.02 g/g) and vacuum-dried (0.47 ± 0.01 g/g) LPI powders. Spray and freeze-dried powders displayed better gelation ability and higher gel strength, compared to vacuum-dried powder. Both spray and freeze-dried gels showed typical viscoelastic gel characteristics, with G′ dominating over G″ and very low loss tangent. The holding time required for gelation of vacuum dried powder at 90 °C was significantly longer, compared to spray and freeze dried powders. Hence, drying methods used for preparation of lentil protein isolate powders can affect physicochemical and associated functional properties. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The effects of proteins and low molecular weight surfactants on spray drying of model sugar-rich foods: Powder production and characterisation
- Jayasundera, Mithila, Adhikari, Benu, Adhikari, Raju, Aldred, Peter
Authors: Jayasundera, Mithila , Adhikari, Benu , Adhikari, Raju , Aldred, Peter
Description: The effects of proteins and low molecular weight surfactants (LMS) on spray drying and powder characteristics of model sugar-rich foods have been studied. Fructose and sucrose were selected as model sugar-rich foods and sodium caseinate (NaCas) was selected as a model protein. Sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL) and Polysorbate 80 (Tween-80) were chosen as model ionic and non-ionic low molecular weight surfactants. The feed solutions for spray drying had 25% solid concentration in all. To achieve identical powder recoveries of the order of 80% much higher NaCas:fructose ratio (30:70) was required compared to NaCas:sucrose ratio (0.5:99.5) which corresponded to 7.89% and 0.13% of sodium caseinate (initial bulk concentration), respectively. There was no change in powder recovery when the SSL concentration was increased from 0.01% to 0.05% in fructose-NaCas-SSL solution and also addition of 0.01% Tween-80 into fructose-NaCas solution did not affect the powder recovery (76.7 ± 2.3%), however, it was slightly affected with the increase of Tween-80 to 0.05% (69.0 ± 1.9%). At NaCas concentration above critical micelle concentration of NaCas (3% w/w), the presence of up to 0.05% low molecular weight surfactants had either no effect or minimal effect on the surface coverage of the droplets/particles and also on the powder recovery depending on the nature of the low molecular weight surfactants. The surface protein coverage and the recovery of the powder in sucrose-protein systems were very sensitive in the presence of low molecular weight surfactants due to being below the critical micelle concentration of NaCas. SSL displaced 2.0% and 29.3% of proteins from the droplet surface of sucrose-NaCas-SSL, respectively, when its concentration was varied from 0.01% to 0.05% thereby reducing the powder recovery from 75.5% to 30%. The addition of 0.01% Tween-80 in sucrose-NaCas solution resulted in a 48.2 ± 1.5% reduction in powder recovery and at 0.05% concentration, it displaced a substantial amount of NaCas from the droplet surface and no powder was recovered. These phenomena are explained on the basis of surface-glass transition temperature, dynamic surface tension, nature of surfactants and glass transition temperature of sugars used. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy results showed that the powders of sucrose-NaCas, sucrose-NaCas with 0.01% SSL and all powders of fructose were amorphous. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The impact of various drying kinetics models on the prediction of sample temperature-time and moisture content-time profiles during moisture removal from stratum corneum
- Kar, S., Chen, Xiao Dong, Adhikari, Benu, Lin, S. X. Q.
Authors: Kar, S. , Chen, Xiao Dong , Adhikari, Benu , Lin, S. X. Q.
Relation: Chemical Engineering Research and Design Vol. 87, no. 5 (2009), p. 739-755
Description: An attempt has been made here to model the moisture transport kinetics across porcine stratum corneum. Samples of porcine skin were dissected in the form of 'thin layers' (i.e. stratum corneum) of dimensions of 11.3 × 11.3 mm (70-200 μm thick). These layers were dried in a laboratory convection air dryer at 37 °C (normal human body temperature). The changes in weights of the samples were noted. The weight loss data was then converted in terms of moisture content (dry basis) and were monitored over time. Thereafter they were fitted against an empirical equation notably the Page model (Model 1) and the solution generated by the Fickian diffusion equation (Model 2). The current paper demonstrates the effectiveness of these two models in prediction of the sample temperature during drying. Furthermore, it also demonstrates the variation in spatial distribution of moisture content within the skin sample when moisture content and temperature dependency are introduced in the diffusivity. Such findings are important especially when developing skin multi-compartment physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models to assess transdermal permeation of various hydrophilic penetrants. © 2008 The Institution of Chemical Engineers.


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Be My Eyes is a free app that connects blind and low vision people with sighted volunteers and company representatives for visual assistance through a live video call.
Be My Eyes is used by more than 80,000 blind and visually impaired people and enables you to lead a more independent life by giving you access to a network of sighted volunteers. By the tap of a button, you can get connected to a sighted volunteer, who is ready to provide you with visual assistance for the task at hand. You can request assistance at any time of the day, from anywhere, and it will always be free.
VIEW is open to everyone in the UK who is teaching or supporting learners who have vision impairment, and is the professional association of Qualified Teachers of Vision Impairment (QTVIs). VIEW is a registered charity, working to improve the education experience and outcomes of children and young people with vision impairment – from the early years, through school to further and higher education.
Sightsavers are preventing avoidable blindness in some of the poorest parts of the world by treating conditions such as cataracts. They are also fighting to eliminate debilitating neglected tropical diseases such as trachoma and river blindness.
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Henshaws charity supports people living with sight loss and a range of other disabilities to achieve their ambitions and to go beyond expectations. Henshaws dedicated staff and volunteers are the fuel of the organisation; they provide support, advice and training, enabling people and their families to build skills, develop confidence, help each other and look forward to a more positive future.
If you would like to work with Traveleyes and join our growing network of partners then hit the button below, get in touch and let's share the adventure!


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Home » Residencies
On a regularly scheduled basis, the Council reviews and revises its standards, requirements, and procedures. In order to facilitate these reviews, the Council appoints ad hoc educational policies, standards, requirements, and procedures committees. The Council's current schedule includes review of publications related to residency education (CPME 320, Standards and Requirements for Approval of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residencies and CPME 330, Procedures for Approval of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residencies).
As part of the review process, the ad hoc committee reviewed the requirements for residencies utilized in numerous professions. Input to the process was provided through a survey of the residency community of interest, which included current program directors. The Committee has met several times since 2018 to review the input from the communities of interest and to create Draft I of the revised CPME publications 320 and CPME 330. At the Council's October 2020 meeting, Draft I of CPME publications 320 and CPME 330 was approved and widely disseminated to the community of interest for comment
The Council is continuing with its revision of CPME 320, Standards and Requirements for Approval of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residencies, and CPME 330, Procedures for Approval of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residencies. At its April 2021 meeting, the Council agreed to send Draft I of the CPME 320 and CPME 330 documents back to the Residency Ad Hoc Committee to create Draft II.
The ad hoc committee met in-person September 25–26 and created Draft II of these documents. Draft II is expected to be submitted to the Council at its April 2022 meeting.
April 2021 Update
The Council, at its April 2021 meeting, reviewed the comments from the community of interest, the questions from the town halls, the responses to the online survey, and resolutions passed at the APMA House of Delegates on Draft I of the revised CPME publications 320 and 330.
At its April 2021 meeting, the Council reviewed the documents and elected to create two tracks to assist in continued revisions of the documents:
Create a blue-ribbon panel of experts in competency-based assessment and education, comprised of members of the academic, podiatric, and graduate medical education communities, to study clinical competency and milestones, and make a recommendation to the Council on the implementation of milestones in residencies in podiatric medicine and surgery.
Send Draft 1 back to the ad hoc committee for further revision, accepting modifications to the document for Standards 1 - 5, and incorporating suggestions and recommendations from the community of interest with particular focus on Standards 6 and 7:
Through the ad hoc committee, implement additional suggestions from the community of interest related to mandatory rotations and residents documenting adequate training in outpatient podiatric experiences.
Through the ad hoc committee, focus on comments from the community of interest and revise the sections of the document related to wound care MAVs, in-training exams, resident well-being, and the possible addition of educational requirements for biomechanics and other didactic activities.
The two tracks will take place concurrently but separately.
The decision to create the blue-ribbon panel acknowledges the importance of milestones to the community of interest. The panel will study clinical competency and milestones and make a recommendation on the educational benefit and best way these could be implemented into PMSR and PMSR/RRA programs, given the variety of resources available at the sponsoring institutions.
Once the ad hoc committee and the blue-ribbon panel have concluded their work, they will submit their documents and/or recommendations separately to the Council for approval at its next scheduled meeting. Following approval of each by the Council, the documents will be sent to the community of interest for another feedback period. The two tracks may not conclude, be approved, and implemented at the same time.
April 2021 CPME Statement on CPME 320 and CPME 330 Revisions
Draft I Documents
CPME 320, Standards and Requirements for Approval of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residencies
CPME 320 Draft I Document
Substantive Changes to CPME 320 Draft I
CPME 320 Substantive Changes Presentation - With Narration
CPME 320 Substantive Changes Presentation - Slides Only
CPME 330, Procedures for Approval of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residencies
CPME 330 Draft I
The Residency Ad Hoc Advisory Committee Meetings
The Residency Ad Hoc Advisory Committee

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


How Much are Taxes around D/FW?
or to estimate your maximum loan amount given a term length, fixed monthly payment amount and interest rate.
Or the amount you can borrow given a certain interest rate and specified fixed monthly payment.
Interest Rate: The annual interest rate of the loan in percent.
Period: The length of the loan in either years or months.
Monthly Payment: The amount you will have to pay each month for a given loan amount, term, and interest rate. Excludes taxes and property insurance (and mortgage insurance).
You can get a rough estimate of PITI (including taxes and insurance) by increasing the interest rate by the tax rate (about 2.4%) plus the property insurance premium (about 0.7%). So, add 3.1% to the interest rate as a cheat.
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Posted in Postmodern theory, Sociology
by Alexzander Mazey
'We lived once in a world where the realm of the imaginary was governed by the mirror, by dividing one into two, by theatre, by otherness and alienation. Today that realm is the realm of the screen, of interfaces and duplication, of contiguity and networks. All our machines are screens, and the interactivity of humans has been replaced by the interactivity of screens. Nothing inscribed on these screens is ever intended to be deciphered in any depth: rather, it is supposed to be explored instantaneously, in an abreaction immediate to meaning, a short-circuiting of the poles of representation.' – Jean Baudrillard, Xerox and Infinity
When once video games represented a virtual plane without consequence, today they inform an entire social structure where, like the shopping malls before them, the future is realised, 'the sublimate of all real life, of all objective social life, in which not only work and money disappear, but also the seasons, those distant vestiges of a cycle which has at last also been homogenized!' (The Consumer Society, Jean Baudrillard.)
Where gaming screens once sat in complete communication as social nodes found in the visual communication of the arcade, with its neon lights and artificial standing, presently, still concerned and embedded within those things exterior to the virtual, arcades collect the same dust bunnies as we do. Nonetheless, the arcade has gone inside and intimate and as inescapable as the shopping mall fired off into the virtual, and yet lowering down its tendrils from above in the form of internet optics and the foggy haze of wi-fi mists; all the promises of interconnectivity realised by the world of video games.
'In the face of extreme reality we are defenceless. But this is only a beginning. We are the aborigines, the anthropoids of the virtual.' Writes Jean Baudrillard in Cool Memories V: 2000 – 2004. It is today platitudinal to mention how such games come to us as precursors of this virtual ontology where we exist, contemporarily speaking, as anthropoids. It was once said 'chased from the real by the violence of history', myth finds refuge in cinema; but today myth resides in the virtual also, where the spectator's participation within the mythology is realised through a profound coexistence. It is no longer enough to pronounce the anthropological standpoint on screened ecstasy as a pastime for entertainment's sake alone. Something else appears.
Life today occupies the earliest signs of vaporous liminality; the threshold between the social and the virtual, where, in words taken from The Consumer Society, '[w]ork, leisure, nature and culture: all these things which were once dispersed, which once generated anxiety and complexity in real life, in our 'anarchic and archaic towns and cities', all these sundered activities, these activities which were more or less irreducible one to another, are now at last mixed and blended, climatized and homogenized in the same sweeping vista of perpetual shopping.'
Video games mimic the signs of perpetual shopping, of loot boxes, downloads without end, gacha and sign-values transposed onto elsewhere worlds, all wound-up by the promiscuity of click-bait advertisement. In the industry of video game entertainment, there is always an orgasm waiting to happen. The virtual plane which finds itself embedded in cultural output is today made increasingly successful by epidemics and disasters, (which are themselves often virtual), and yet the most commercially achieved products still remain disconnected from any 'already dead and rotting' referentialism, holding no illusory allegiance in geopolitical terms, revelling in the vestiges, the fading landscapes of old-world capital.
Yes, the complexity of life is eviscerated in video games. This is no better realised than in the clouded-fantasy world of 'Teyvat', which offers neither high fantasy nor intrusion, replacing the complexity with a cold mythology from which we provide the heat. It is unsurprising how Genshin Impact, the video game developed and published by the Chinese game developer and animation studio, miHoYo, has found recent controversy precisely in the way it provides ontological subsidence. Here, cultural dissension defers the seriousness of our reality.
As propagandists turn their gaze away from Russia and Iran and onto China, stoking the geopolitical sensitivities that exist there, we have today seen increasing racial hatred against Asian people, exacerbated by certain Covid-19 narratives. Diverting attention from these issues, we have recently observed a failed attempt by social media to boycott miHoYo's Genshin Impact. Despite the otherwise positive reception of this video game, these advocates of what we might call the contemporary manifestations of cancel culture have used moral sanctimony and its indistinguishable performativity to promote racist stereotypes regarding the backwardness of the cultural production that occurs outside of the Americanised landscape. Clinging onto the lost referentials of empire, virtue performativity (un)wittingly continues the job of American capitalism and the imperialist narratives that accompany it.
Capturing a glimpse of the corpse in the mirror perhaps Genshin Impact cuts too close to the bone, especially for those players who play – and pursue playing – only to feel something in their objection towards it. This is the irony of our culture today, not participation without enjoyment, but instead the desire to find the absence of enjoyment within participation, which in turn finds its own thinly veiled pleasure.
The virtual represents the emergence of a strong culture; and as Baudrillard writes in America, 'strong cultures […] reflect back to us the image of our degraded one, and the image of our profound guilt.' As one sinks time into a virtual plane, we know, as all gamers know, it is best not to feel guilty, to not even entertain guilt as a value worth pursuing, not anymore. Nonetheless, the reflected image becomes as our own degraded reality, we know this: the fantasyland of Genshin Impact – existing within this virtual elsewhere known as 'Teyvat', after all – is a world made up of simulacra. The xeroxed cultures of a Chinese-themed metropolis, 'Liyue' and its European counterpart found in the 'Free City' of 'Mondstadt', provide familiar hyper-medieval-fantasy textures that are nonetheless rendered through both residue and absence. Some geographies are best understood through the aesthetics of their disappearance. 'Mondstadt' is picked clean of anything other than the necessary aesthetic outlay of cathedrals and windmills, whilst 'Liyue' exists as a wide expanse of windswept pagodas. There is nothing immoral here; the game only comes to represent as a development within Baudrillardian transaesthetics, or perhaps no development at all.
Figure 1. A View from Qingce Village, 2021. This quiet village sits in the shade of Wuwang Hill.
(Genshin Impact, miHoYo).
In the essay on Transaesthetics, taken from The Transparency of Evil, Baudrillard provides the following:
'By its liberation of form, line, colour, and aesthetic notions – as by its mixing up of all cultures, all styles – our society has given rise to a general aestheticization: all forms of culture – not excluding anti-cultural ones – are promoted and all models of representation and anti-representation are taken on board. Whereas art was once essentially a utopia – that is to say, ultimately unrealizable – today this utopia has been realized: thanks to the media, computer science and video technology, everyone is now potentially a creator.'
Caught within the inescapable mise en scène of this virtual plane society, we might push Baudrillard's analysis beyond 'potential creator' to encompass ourselves as mandatory participants. Recall the totalising nature of participation within contemporary society, of feeling included, of being inclusive – which is to say inclusivity – caught between never quite sure if you even wanted to be here in the first instance, and never quite sure if an outside existed, anyway. Nonetheless, pushing these virtual and technologically achieved geographies to the edges of the map, as with empire and the conquests of imperialism before it, inclusivity becomes as a supreme being, it is the inclusivity of an entire ontological position with no outside. Rejoice. You will be included. What better thing than to have God notice you.
And like all societies, 'Teyvat' remains governed by an assortment of these seductive Gods. Within the game's lore, these Gods are known in Genshin Impact as 'Archons', an attractive bunch who rule with two parts apathy and one part benevolence. Playable archons, like the tone-deaf bard 'Venti' exist inside mortal vessels whilst summoning their power through elemental mastery. Only in this virtual utopia, the satellite utopia of planet earth, could Gods be made flesh. Through an ironic fate, it would be a Chinese video game developer which trumped the 'brilliant superstructure' of New York City in terms of hyperreality, since 'Teyvat' embodies a world not where travellers find ''Every special effect', to quote Baudrillard's America, but where they find a virtual plane whose 'superstructure' is only effect. This is the astrality of virtual worlds not only 'bathed in artificial light' but existing as the artifice themselves, a closed circuit of artificial feedback where nothing genuine escapes, as with Teyvat's tale of two cities, 'Mondstadt' and 'Liyue', for example, fulfilling 'all the special effects of mixing races and empires.'
Perhaps Baudrillard was wrong to limit the cities of the future to the (horizon)tal where cities will instead come to exist virtually; aestheticized beyond even the signs of violence, and the violence of history. None of this is to suggest 'Teyvat' today exists as a replacement for the city in contemporary terms, but as a blueprint for the cities of tomorrow, where colour and time are eviscerated beyond the point of even a nostalgia for the terrestrial referential of the seasons. Seasons do not exist on the virtual plane; it is perpetual sunlight where weather is realised as a transaesthetic accompaniment. When such a feature as the seasons appears in video games, it is only to draw attention to the difference of colour and texture, to mimic the passing of time in a world without it.
Here, there is no consequences to weather; no floods or virtual disasters, walking out to Teyvat's 'Stormbearer Mountains' one may stand and watch the lightening fall with all the strength and grandeur of its sign which is nonetheless artificial. It is the spectacle of weather, a visual performance where every true quality of rain disappears as if evaporated before landing upon the sands of the desert, which is itself green; greener than green. miHoYo, intuiting the esoterism of the hyperreal – as with all successful video game developers – have themselves developed as the high priests of artifice. 'There is nothing immoral here.' To repeat Baudrillard's words, taken from The Transparency of Evil, referring here again to the transaesthetics which proliferate themselves 'beyond good and evil' – it is perhaps even wrong to call this trickery. To perceive video games as a dishonest representation of our society and its culture is to ignore the ontological conditions built by way of mythology and fiction.
Observing 'Stormbearer Mountains', caught after the calm of the storm, caught within the moment of another totalising tranquillity, one cannot help but realise how 'we manufacture a profusion of images in which there is nothing to see.' As with the blue firmament above, or the more green-than-green grass, which rolls horizontally as the hills hint towards themselves, these 'present-day images – be they video images, paintings, products of the plastic arts, or audiovisual or synthesized images – are literally images in which there is nothing to see.' Baudrillard continues in the essay on Transaesthetics, 'They leave no trace, cast no shadow, and have no consequences.' As with Teyvat's weather and all its many vistaed locations, 'the only feeling one gets from such images is that behind each one there is something that has disappeared.'
What better embodiment of an aesthetics beyond morality than the playable character, Barbara, who is both a deaconess at the Church of Favonius in 'Mondstadt', and idol superstar with her own fan club, her own range of popular energy drinks, and so on. There is nothing in existence blonder than Barbara's complexion, (more blonde-than-blonde) and nothing more revealing than the cohabitation of her interests towards religious devotion and idol superstardom, (in the K-pop sense of the term), which appears perfectly reasonable, without vanity or shame. What is revealed in the hitching of the sacred onto the fate of the superstar, and the fate of the commodity?
Figure 2. The Rooftops of Mondstadt, 2021. Top Right: Church of Favonius.
'It is often said that the West's great undertaking is the commercialization of the whole world, the hitching of the fate of everything to the fate of the commodity. The great undertaking of the fate of everything to the fate of the commodity.' Within The Transparency of Evil, Baudrillard continues, 'That great undertaking will turn out rather to have been the aestheticization of the whole world – its cosmopolitan spectacularization, its transformation into images, its semiological organization. What we are witnessing, beyond the materialist rule of the commodity, is a semio-urgy of everything by means of advertising, the media, or images. No matter how marginal, or banal, or even obscene it may be, everything is subject to aestheticization, culturalization, museumification.'
Name something more marginal than the sacred, something obscener than its aestheticization, like all the rosary giftshops lined-up outside St Peter's Basilica, Barbara represents the virtual personification of this aestheticization on the virtual plane, stripped even of the obscenity, today religion becomes as a narrative device whereby everything behind the image of sacrality has disappeared. All the pretence of religion as truth has disappeared by way of its aestheticization. The Puritans perceived this outcome, as do those contemporary religions of the world who still condemn idolatry.
'Liyue' exists as the idolatry of a lost referential. Existing as a mythologised ideal as it does, which is to also say a brave new satellite of utopia, 'purged […] of its history', this city finds representation as a transaesthetic Shanghai. As Baudrillard writes in America, 'Everything is destined to reappear as simulation.' When it comes to this timely reappearance, we should perhaps consider Baudrillard's essay on Xerox and Infinity, 'artifice is in no way concerned with what generates, merely with what alters, reality.' The 'museumification' of culture within the virtual plane is certainly an alteration of a profound reality. Such alteration is observed everywhere online, from vaporwave art and retro nostalgia, to the more oblique formulations found in Genshin Impact. The entirety of 'Liyue' is effectively a vision of the Chinese megalopolis before the Cultural Revolution, where the Four Olds are preserved in both cuisine and architecture, especially. This is not without its irony, which is revealed conspicuously (with a tongue lodged firmly in its cheek), through the playable 'God of Contracts' – 'Zhongli' – who, pointing to his position in the city of 'Liyue', projects himself as a 'bourgeois parasite'. The enemies of twentieth century China live on in the virtual dimension, thoroughly subjected to a 'museumification' as if the virtual world would stand as a final punishment whereby true retribution would deny even the spectacle of its violence.
Figure 3. Catch of the Day, 2021. Photograph taken in Liyue Harbour.
Walking the road from 'Mondstadt' to 'Liyue', one becomes aware of being drawn 'ever closer to the surface of the screen', a gaze, in words again taken from Baudrillard's essay, Xerox and Infinity, 'strewn across the image' baptised by the promiscuity and 'tactile pornography' of two-dimensional waifu in situ of the virtual plane. The portcullis that separates the city of 'Mondstadt' from the wilderness of 'Wolvendom' is as a door to a dream, an entryway indiscernible from even the dream, as if the threshold to a great theme park has opened up a second time to reveal the banality of its own shadow. I went in search of astral Teyvat, the virtual biodiversity of sweet flowers and sunsettias, cobblestone surfaces, the visuals which cascade from the mountains with all the cosmic programming of liquid water. Caution: Objects in this screen may be closer than they appear!
Alex Mazey's Sad Boy Aesthetics is now available from the award-winning Broken Sleep Books.
Baudrillard, Jean. (2010). America. New York: Verso
–. (2006). Cool Memories V: 2000 – 2004, trans. Chris Turner. UK: Polity
–. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation, trans. Sheila Faria Glaser. US: The University of Michigan Press
–. (1993). The Transparency of Evil, trans. James Benedict. London: Verso Video Games
Genshin Impact (standard edition). 2020. Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch. miHoYo: Shanghai, China
← Interview with Jean Baudrillard: from popular culture to mass culture
Baudrillard, Globalization and Tourism: or the dialectics of the nothing? →
1 thought on "Genshin Impact: Deciphered in Any Depth"
yo252yo says:
Awesome piece, I enjoyed it a lot.
I don't know if genshin is THE BEST representative of hyperreality, but it's definitely out there. You can literally gamble your way to owning a god as a little plaything.
I feel that I could write forever on this topic xD I just wanted to point out that the "consumer-friendly sanitized" version of culture in Genshin is something you see very frequently in japanese contemporary media that Mihoyo founders are extemely inspired by. You can find plenty desacralized gods and nuns in anime. This influence might be worth digging into ^^^ ^


Our summer chevron print invokes memories of summer afternoons spent in the shade of a tree. With light hues to make your tan pop, this multi colour wonder is a summer must. Our Sleeve Tri Suit is designed to ensure maximum comfort, aerodynamics and ultimate style when you race. Featuring back mesh pockets, italian tri chamois and UPF 50+. We also have a lockable zip so there are no wardrobe malfunctions on the course. We can guarantee that you will get some extra compliments on course wearing this suit!


If implemented, the restrictions might make it impossible for Norwegians and Finns, as well as outside Russians, to visit the two border towns and adjacent areas, without special permission.
«Having reviewed Your request, the Administration of the Pechenga Rayon does not have any objections against the proposed extension of the border zone under the condition that Russian legislation with regard to the residency and free movement in the zone of the local population is not violated», a letter from the municipal government reads.
The letter from Pechenga Administration to the Murmansk regional Security Committee.
The letter is signed by Ruslan Zhukov, Acting First Deputy Head of the Pechenga Administration, and addressed to Andrey Ignatenko, deputy head of the Murmansk regional Security Committee. It was signed on 13th July this year and became public after Bloger51 published a copy of it. The letter shows that local authorities express their consent with the proposed extension of the border zone.
The Barents Observer has not been able to get a comment from the Pechenga municipal administration on the issue. FSB Border Guards in Murmansk writes in a response that the question is for FSB Border Guard in Karelia to answer. The FSB headquaters in Petrozavodsk is in charge of Russia's northern landborder to Finland and Norway.
Karelian FSB has not responded to questions from the Barents Observer on the issue.
In a comment to newspaper SeverPost, regional Governor Marina Kovtun underlines that she is against the closure of the Pechenga municipality.
«For many years, we have been developing cross-border cooperation, this is not what we have been working for», she says.
The Government of Marina Kovtun has actively strengthened relations with neighboring Norway and Finland. Every year, Murmansk hosts several international events in the area, among them the annual Border Days.
The positive dynamics in local cross-border cooperation have been spurred by the successful introduction of visa-free Local Border Traffic in year 2012.
Norwegian border officials are not informed about the suggested border zone extension.
«No, we are not aware of such plans,» says Chief of Police in Finnmark, Ellen Katrine Hætta to the Barents Observer.
Last autumn, some 5.500 migrants came across the border to Norway. The flow of of refuges and migrants on the Arctic route through the Pechenga region suddenly stopped on November 30th. The migrant flow then turned towards Finnish Lapland where more than 1.000 migrants crossed the frontiers before they also there suddenly stopped coming on February 29th.
Since then, not one single asylum seeker has crossed the borders from Russia's Kola Peninsula to either Norway or Finland.
Russia's internal border zone has over the years been revised several times, and included both the actual border zone (pogranichnaya zona) and the so-called near-border zone (prigranichnaya zona). In the 90s and 2000s, a checkpoint at Titovka marked the near-border zone, and people needed to show passport before continuing further. Non-Russian citizens not holding a Norwegian passport or legal entry documents to Norway could here risk being stopped.
Until 2010, FSB could deny foreigners to enter the near-border zone, including to the towns of Nikel and Zapolyarny. Traffic in transit from the border to Murmansk along the E105 / M18 main road was only allowed three days in the week for all foreign registered vehicles. In a period, Norwegians even needed a special permission issued by FSB border guards to make stopovers in Nikel or Zapolyarny.
Then, in the period from 2012 to late autumn 2015, the Titovka checkpoint allowed most people through and there were few restrictions on movements for foreigners. Norwegians can freely travel in Pechenga, except the military closed areas. In the border zone, outside the barbed wire fence and towards the actual borderline to Norway, people are only allowed in transit on the road if their papers allow them to cross the border to Norway.
Researcher Arild Moe with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo believes the flow of migrants in the border regions on the Kola Peninsula likely has strengthened FSB's desire to take a few steps back from the liberalization of the border regime seem over the last few years.
«I believe FSB has been against the liberalization of the border regime, particularly since 2012, but other concerns have until now carried more weight. The influx of migrants in the border region in the autumn of 2015 has likely strengthened the position of FSB,» says Arild Moe to the Barents Observer.
Moe has recently co-authored an article with Lars Rowe analyzing Russia's role in last year's Arctic migrant flow.
"Asylum stream directed by crime elements"


The mission of the LBUSD Female Leadership Academy is to empower young women and increase their graduation rates and their entrance into institutions of higher learning. The program seeks to develop successful leaders by addressing the multi-faceted issues facing young women.
Your first step to get help paying for college.
Major resource on student financial aid from U.S. Department of Education.
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The net price calculator the 9 UC campuses.
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Federal Work Study Program (FWS) Students can receive part-time employment FWS funds at approximately 3,400 participating post-secondary institutions.
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We meet in room 1306 every Thursday at 3:00 pm. You will be notified of special events and guest speakers.
Field trip to the Long Beach GreenPort Festival and Women's Conference. The Female Academy members toured the port's latest features and celebrated an 80% reduction in pollutants. After attending sessions at the Women's Conference and participating in discussions on top women's issues, the girls topped the day at the nearby Reef Restaurant, overlooking Alamitos Bay. A very successful day!


What does Schema Therapy look like in practice?
Schemas are beliefs and feelings about yourself and the environment, which get in the way of reaching your goals. Unhelpful schemas are self -perpetuating, long standing and resistant to change. For instance, a child who develops the schema "I'm not good at doing new things" will almost never challenge this belief, even as an adult. Instead, the child adapts their behaviour to accommodate the schema, and the schema is perpetuated largely because the child avoids activities that might challenge the schema. Subconsciously accepting your schemas, repeatedly blocking or escaping painful thoughts and fighting back by overcompensating for painful beliefs all serve to perpetuate maladaptive schemas.
An assessment phase in in which some general schemas are explored to identify the schemas you operate under.
A behavioral change stage which involves proactively replacing negative, habitual thoughts and behaviours with new, healthy thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Schema Therapy is not a short-term therapy. Changing the way you think and act takes considerable effort and practice.
What issues is Schema Therapy best at addressing?
Schema Therapy is typically used for lifelong patterns, or when there is no improvement after trying after therapy techniques. It can also be used to treat chronic depression, personality disorders and other psychological issues.
Read more about Schema Therapy here.


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News from anyperk A wide array of domestic and global news stories; news topics include politics/government, business, technology, religion, sports/entertainment, science/nature, and health/lifestyle.
Apr 14, 2015, 11:30 ET AnyPerk Accelerates: Hires Shirley Tafoya, Former President of Travelzoo North America
AnyPerk, which helps companies create places where people love to work, announced today that Shirley Tafoya, former President of North America at...
Apr 02, 2015, 11:30 ET AnyPerk Expands Platform To Easily Reward a Job Well Done
AnyPerk, which helps companies create places where people love to work, today announced that it is expanding its platform to let managers easily show ...
Feb 17, 2015, 11:00 ET AnyPerk Named One of Fast Company's 50 Most Innovative Companies
AnyPerk, which brings delight and recognition back into the everyday lives of employees at companies of any size, announced today that Fast Company...
Feb 03, 2015, 07:00 ET AnyPerk Closes $8.5 Million Series A Round, Validates the Business Impact of Employee Happiness
AnyPerk, which brings delight and recognition back into the everyday lives of employees at companies of any size, announced today it has closed $8.5...
Jun 23, 2014, 11:30 ET AnyPerk Closes $4.5 Million Seed Round
AnyPerk, which brings delight and recognition back into the everyday lives of employees at companies of any size, announced today it has received an...


Smith sets the standard for high-performance sunglasses and goggles. Designed for those who require maximum durability and functionality, Smith has come to redefine performance eyewear.
For over 40 years, Smith Optics has been providing athletes with some of the finest innovations in performance technology. Between the the Turbo Fan air management system and the 5X Anti-Fog lens in goggles to the interchangeable sunglasses of the Slider and Pivlock and that ChromaPop polarization, Smith offers it's avid athletes everything they need for proper eye protection without compromising vision or clarity.
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2015 was a great year for "teaching like an artist"! I presented at a few conferences, wrote a lot of posts, finished a book and put it into practice on the job more than ever. I've seen many teachers and students inspired by these principles I love to highlight.
Several themes show up on this blog, but reflection took the center stage in 2015. I'm thrilled with that because it's always my goal to give teachers and students something deep and meaningful to ponder when I present to them.
Here are the top posts related to reflection questions for teachers. They are suitable for PD activities, a PLC or as a personal reflection exercise.
Finding Strength to Do the Real Work of Teaching - These survey results and thoughts became the #1 post of the year!
Reflection Journal Template and Resources - This is my student reflection journal created in Google Apps. It's suitable for many grades and subjects.
I challenged myself to post on one of my blogs every day in the month of October. The goal was to highlight conference sessions I was presenting with two friends in early November. We called it The Way of the Google Drive. Writing these posts was a great way to focus in on the heart of my message. I am grateful to see others found these top posts to be of interest.
Art and Risk - Trying something that "might not work" can make it more exciting.
Student Opinions of Our Inquiry Based Learning Activity - What students learned from that exciting project was the best news of all!
Doing the Real Work of Art - Some see hard work as a sign something is wrong. Maybe it means you're on the right track.
Like Never Before - I almost forgot I wrote this post way back in February. It highlights the story that grew into The Way of the Google Drive months later.
Two Years of Teaching Like an Artist - A quick look at where I was and what I've learned since the summer of 2013.
My most popular page of the year (not counting the main blog page) has been the one about my Teaching Like an Artist daily journal. Please check it out to see how you can get a free digital copy!
My free digital journal guide, 31 Days of Teaching Like an Artist.
In this post I raise one such question: How do you keep going when teaching gets tough? I'll answer it myself first, then I'll present the answers I received from an informal survey I gave to my extended PLN on Twitter.
The second step of The Way of the Artist is to do the work to make your dream into reality. There is no way around it. Some days great art demands sheer effort to push through. Everything else has to be put on hold. The final product becomes a work of art, in the truest sense of work.
Good teachers know that real teaching also demands that kind of effort.
I reject any advice for success that promises an easier path. I've spoken with teachers who think they're doing something wrong when it requires so much. I say it might be a sign they're on the right track.
Certainly it's not always exhausting. But it's a challenge to lead our students through deep, personal learning experiences within the constraints of a largely outdated system. We often discover it takes more from us than we expected to give. And while we keep the classroom going daily, we must constantly improve our craft to keep pace with the change of our times.
I have so much respect for those teachers who, in these circumstances, do this hard work and regularly make a positive impact. I like to ask them what the do to press on even when the job gets tough.
Of those I know personally, they've told me things like they rely on God or they stay focused on the students. Many seek affirming relationships. A few press on, carefully tracking the years or days to retirement.
I don't have classes of my own anymore, but I still face discouragements and challenges common in education. The task of encouraging people (most often adults or young adults) to learn and to stretch wears me down at times. After more than 20 years in education, I learned, whether in the good or tough times, I need a daily routine to keep the right attitude for success.
My mornings start about 90 minutes before I have to leave for work. I believe teaching is a calling from God, so I start my day with a spiritual focus. I have a responsibility to teach in this place and time where I find myself, even when it doesn't seem to fit me. I take time to read the Bible and pray. Through periods of depression and the many years I felt out of place teaching high school math, this is what got me through. I will continue to point to this foundation for any success I might achieve in my career.
My routine usually continues with a short workout. Through it I listen to worship music or other uplifting songs. Music is a passion and creative outlet that energizes me in profound ways.
I also make time for professional development and the big picture of education by going through Twitter and blogs I follow.
A shower and my 20 minute drive to work provide the opportunity for the big ideas to come. The visions and insights I get then stem from and fuel my passions. Whether on the job or as a side project, they can keep me excited for weeks at a time. When the daily job is tough, I look forward to what I might accomplish in the bigger picture through conferences, training and more.
As others will say below, I also rely on conversations with colleagues. I benefit greatly from continuing those conversations with my wife, who lets me express everything without the professional restraints required in the workplace!
Almost all of the responses are from classroom teachers at different grade levels. Everyone except the last person still works in schools.
The themes of their answers are evident. Teachers get through the tough times by focusing on the positive things that are working and we rely on each other.
They also bring up a couple other less common practices that are great to consider.
What are one or more things you do to keep pressing on when the work of teaching gets you down?
There is always a good news story happening in a school. I focus on that.
Remind myself that I don't have to keep teaching - usually the reminder reminds me that I actually do like it. Focus on the good things that happened that day and tell people about it.
Talk with a friend or - even better - a fellow teacher about it.
Read a book or watch something that takes me away from my life so I can have a more objective view of my struggles when I 'return' to my life.
Focus on taking care of myself. Making myself a priority makes me feel like the world won't end due to the fact I'm having a hard time.
Sometimes when I get so mad at my students that I want to yell, I speak in an accent instead - it works!
Find ways to laugh with co-workers & maintain a good sense of humor. Seek support of colleagues, both nearby in my building and virtually in my PLN.
I surround myself with positive colleagues who help me keep things in perspective.
I remind myself of the sense of accomplishment I always get after finishing a tough project, telling myself I've gone through harder tests and succeeded. I remind myself of how far I've got so far.
I pursued National Board Certification. It helped me refocus my energy and find my joy again!
Go visit the kindergarten class - It makes me appreciated my older kids.
Take a break from marking and do something fun.
Devote the opening thirty minutes of every day to my PD -- If I'm sitting at my desk working, nobody knows what I'm working on.
Set up doable tasks for my breaks -- Grade four essays, populate my online class calendar for next month, etc.
Look for small successes. Always be positive!
I talk to other teachers.
I put things into perspective and tell myself if i only reach one person, then I'm doing a good job.
Try to see things from a student's perspective.
Know and believe I can make a difference.
Having a supporting learning network is huge; but having a will to improve above all else keeps me going!
This final response is from someone who eventually found their place in education outside of the school setting. Many of us have considered such a move and there's certainly nothing wrong with the decision to leave. Obviously the conventional path of a teacher is not the only road to success and fulfillment.
I used to scroll through teaching jobs overseas - I had taught English in China right after college and traveled a lot so these bookmarks with job posting were my little escape route after a horrible team meeting.
When the teaching got me down so deep that I could no longer see the ladder up, I turned in my letter of resignation. It was relief and joy that I felt (I even went shopping and bought a new Coach purse!).
Image by Bart Everson from here.
My free daily journal, 31 Days of Teaching Like an Artist.
My math students weren't always thrilled with my idea of a good question in that subject! From my career and college class to my teacher professional development sessions, though, I've received a lot of thanks and appreciation for thought provoking questions I've raised.
Good questions at the right moment can make a tremendous impact on our lives. In searching out the answers, we experience the excitement of discovery. They help us see the wonder that is around and within us.
I like to ask teachers questions that remind them why they chose a career in education. I want to awaken dreams and that vision they once had of making a big difference. Questions can draw us back to those moments and give us a fresh perspective on the daily challenges we face.
Some of these are suitable for small group discussion or sharing in pairs. Others are probably best for each teacher to write a response individually that no one else will read.
1) What is your favorite advice that you share with students?
This might be something you have told students for years or something you recently started saying. It might be that thing that they say in a mocking voice, to make their classmates laugh when you're not in the room.
Is there a particular way you say it (or otherwise present it) to help them remember it?
Why is this advice particularly meaningful to you or how did you come up with it?
Do you have a story to tell about how students have received it or what difference you have seen it make?
2) When did you first realize you wanted to be a teacher?
What do you remember about that moment? Explain it in detail.
Who did you first share that dream with and what was their reaction?
How does the vision of yourself that you had in your mind then compare to the reality that you see in your classroom each day?
Did you believe that those early moments of the dream to teacher were, in some sense, a calling? Explain.
3) Imagine writing a letter to yourself as a first year teacher. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself?
I thought of this question after reading Austin Kleon's book Steal Like an Artist. See my own letter to myself here.
What struggles and successes did you experience that first year that relate to this advice?
Would you try to talk yourself out of the job (maybe even just a little) or encourage yourself to stay in it?
Did this activity bring back a memory or make you think about your work in a new way? Explain.
4) What are your three favorite books and why?
When did you read these? If it was years ago, do you think they'd affect you the same way if you read them now for the first time?
Do you recommend them to your students or colleagues?
What is the most recent book you've read that had a big impact on you? Explain.
5) Imagine your retirement party. Three people stand up to pay a tribute to you and your work. Who would these people probably be and what would they say?
This is a spin on Stephen Covey's excellent Funeral Exercise in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the most memorable, emotional moments that took place in my classroom was the day I had high school seniors work through that exercise.
Also imagine you give a closing speech to the friends and colleagues in attendance. What message would you most want to leave them with? What story would you almost certainly share?
The purpose of this type of exercise is to know what you're aiming for. What did the activity reveal about the mark you want to leave?
How well have you done so far at making that mark?
What changes could you make in the remaining years of your career to be sure you have this desired impact on your students and colleagues?
You can get a link to download your free copy of my journal 31 Days of Teaching Like an Artist by subscribing to my monthly newsletter.
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This is a slightly edited version of a post I wrote a few years ago for my other blog. The original was inspired by Austin Kleon's book Steal Like an Artist. In it he gives advice about creativity by thinking of what he would tell his younger self.
After 21 years in public education, what would be the most important tips I'd tell myself? I boiled it down to the list of six things below. They're personal, but I think others can find some application in them for their own situations.
To set the scene I have to admit that the first half of my teaching experience was rough for me. I did not enjoy much about teaching high school math. There was plenty to be thankful for and a lot of students liked my classes, but dealing with difficult students and seeing my inability to reach all of them was tough. I felt like a failure many days.
Here's my list of what I'd tell my 25-years-old self, in that first year.
1) Be realistic about what you're getting into. The students you will be asked to teach are coming in with poor math skills and a poor attitude toward the subject. Very few of them will see math class as the positive experience that you did. Be prepared for this! Set realistic goals of what you can accomplish in those first years as you are learning to be a good teacher.
2) Take the work seriously, but don't forget about the relationships you are building everyday with your students. You tend to get focused on the job and forget about people, but they are most important. Even the difficult ones will respect you for your hard work if they also know you care about them.
Years after the class is over you'll see some of them. They'll remember that you cared and worked hard more than they ever will the details of lessons, rough days, all those assignments or the grades they got.
4) Keep up on the technology. You're kind of a traditionalist and in the debate of calculators versus no calculators you'll be tempted to keep it old school. Instead, remember that many kids can learn the concept better if they come at it differently than you did. It doesn't have to be all pencil and paper and a ton of steps.
Keep an open mind on that and use technology to give them a conceptual understanding useful for problem solving. When the principal asks you to try more with technology, do it. Doors will open for you and you'll enjoy the change as the best years of your career.
5) Assign creative projects, even in math. Your department will focus almost exclusively on the state MEAP test, but don't let that drain your classroom of creativity. You'll be busy and it will be easier to just keep it simple and routine, but things like the video assignment, personalized story problems and the artistic projects are vital. Keep developing those assignments. Add a new one every semester so that when students think back to your class, they remember those things they made. You'll like it best when students say you're not like the other math teachers.
6) Remember that you felt called to teach. In frustrating times you'll think you should have gone into programming instead of working with kids who don't want to be there.
All those visions of being an amazing teacher will be shattered by reality and you'll think you misunderstood what you were supposed to do with your life. But just like you did that day when you got the unexpected call and they offered you the job, trust that God knows what he's doing. You are supposed to be there.
You won't reach everyone personally or with the math, but you'll connect with many students. You'll remind them that life is exciting when chasing a dream. They'll take notes when you talk about what true success looks like and many will thank you. Among other things, you were called to pass on those messages. Let them flow through all aspects of your work.
You and many others will be thankful for the lesson.
Reader Survey - And chance to win a free copy of my journal!
Looking for a way to "stay inspired to inspire others"? This book could be for you or a colleague.
You can receive a digital copy of my Teaching Like an Artist reflection journal guide just by filling out this survey. You'll also have a chance to win a free paperback version. If you want more information about the book, please see this page.


With 12 years in active medical practice, and 27 years in the managed care field, few medical professionals have the combined breadth of operational and policy management experience that Dr. Jim Cross has had. Jim has extensive experience in the development and implementation of clinical policies, as well as the acceptance of coding schemes and payment rules to establish and implement reimbursement rules for payers. He is known for his oversight of the Clinical Policy Bulletins at Aetna and his working knowledge of using vendors to implement coding/payment rules into various claim systems, working to bring clinical integrity and consistency to these reimbursement tools that are crucial to managing medical cost.
Jim's background includes key leadership roles with several payer organizations including Travelers, MetraHealth, United Healthcare and Prudential Healthcare (acquired by Aetna). Before leaving Aetna in 2016, Dr. Cross was Vice President and Head of National Medical Policy and Operations, responsible for clinical policy and reimbursement/payment policy for the company and many national clinical programs.
Jim received his M.D. degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School and did his pediatrics residency there.


Etiya uses the building block of future technology, artificial intelligence based solutions, and enables automation between service and operation processes. It allows service providers to be able to offer personalized services and propositions through emotional, contextual predictions and recommendation mechanisms.
The Artificial Intelligence Solutions within Etiya's integrated portfolio transforms future scenarios that businesses need into an innovation. It provides services by placing Natural Language Processing, Prediction and Recommendation Analysis scenarios at the centre of its work.
Etiya Artificial Intelligence Solutions presents innovative and experience oriented approaches for the digital transformation of your corporate processes and cost advantages.
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Etiya Artificial Intelligence can easily integrate its ability into different products within its portfolio.
Natural Language Processing allows for the presentation of personalised services and campaigns through the understanding and results that come about via the analysis of customer data.
Etiya's Natural Language Processing solution can analyse and process words within texts with its developed language knowledge ability and algorithms. It can use the processed structured data according to the scenario needed in order to increase the productivity of work processes and provide automation.
Etiya Natural Language Processing solution, which responds to the diverse structural and meaningful aspects of the Turkish, English and French languages, can determine the meaning of a text through processing sentiment analysis, behavioural and demographic data, together.
Etiya allows for several solutions and services at the level of Natural Language Processing.
The customer data that is processed with data analytics is modelled according to your business goals and thus can be used to add value to your services.
Data analysis processes can be discussed in terms of three different stages: descriptive, prescriptive and predictive. Whilst the descriptive processes evaluate past performance, prescriptive analytics uses rules and algorithms to determine the potential outputs.
The most complicated and powerful aspect of an analysis is predictive. The predictive process cannot only determine what will happen and when, but can also determine why it will happen.
Etiya's Prediction Solution presents predictive recommendation through the use of pre-learning methods in order to use deep learning systems and suitable algorithms that can help gather information regarding your customers' preferences and behaviours.
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With Etiya Artificial Intelligence based Recommendation Solutions it is possible to create meaningful recommendation through the processing of structural data regarding the comprehensive analysis of past data belonging to customers and their past behaviour.
By analysing your customers' past behaviour, evaluating which products they like, you can determine the product/service that your customer is most likely to purchase based on their preferences and then you can recommend it in real time.
You can generate the best campaigns/offers for your target customers and deliver with a seamless customer experience through matching up the best time, product and benefit for your customers.


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Concurrent Technologies Corporation Awarded $7.6 Million Contract Modification for Marine Corps Energy Program Support
Competitively Bid Task Order Increases Current Contract Value to $12.4 Million
The U.S. Marine Corps Installations Command (MCICOM) has awarded Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) a contract modification worth $7.6 million; it exercises the first option year on a previously awarded contract for services to support Marine Corps' Energy Security requirements. CTC won the original prime contract in September 2018 and is working with five small business subcontractors.
"CTC is proud to provide critical energy program support to the MCICOM," said Edward J. Sheehan, Jr., CTC President and CEO. "This contract award provides validation of CTC's best-in-class capabilities for delivering energy program and project development/execution support within the Department of Defense."
Through its role as prime contractor, CTC will support the Marine Corps' efforts across the enterprise (i.e. Headquarters Marine Corps, regions, and installations). Each level of the organization possesses unique challenges in addressing the Marine Corps' objectives to meet energy reliability, resilience and efficiency requirements. At the headquarters level, this support will help to integrate all policy and program development activities to ensure policies are updated and compatible with existing Marine Corps energy security objectives. This support will also assist MCICOM regional and installation-level commands in developing and implementing projects that enhance the resilience of Marine Corps installations while reducing the operating cost of facilities. Examples include identification of potential infrastructure upgrades, conducting energy audits, analysis of Mission Assurance Assessments, and development of projects to close gaps identified by those assessments.
"CTC and its partners look forward to continuing our efforts, which result in greater energy resilience and increased mission effectiveness at Marine Corps Installations world-wide," said Dustin Olson, CTC Program Manager.
This task order, which was competitively solicited via the General Services Administration One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS), is expected to run through March 2020. This first contract option year is funded at $7.6 million, bringing the total value of the original contract and this option to $12.4 million. The cumulative value of the original contract and all four option years is $36 million.
Read more about CTC's Energy, Resilience and Infrastructure capabilities


[Freeswitch-users] [Freeswitch-dev] FreeSWITCH now	supportsbasic.
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Is everyone at FS a joker?
module to FreeSWITCH, mod_basic is now available in the master branch.
for you.  More information available at http://freeswitch.org/node/480.


Newark, New Jersey - The former vice president of a now-bankrupt public air charter operator was sentenced to 94 months in prison today for her role in a scheme to steal millions of dollars in passenger money for future travel from an escrow account, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and Regional Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General's (DOT-OIG).
Kay Ellison, 58, of Edenton, North Carolina, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton of the District of New Jersey, who presided over the trial. Judge Wigenton also ordered the defendant to pay $19.6 million in restitution. Ellison and her co-defendant, Judy Tull, 73, also of Edenton, were both convicted on March 28, after a seven-day trial, of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting financial institutions and to commit bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud affecting financial institutions and three counts of bank fraud. Ellison is the former vice president and managing partner of Myrtle Beach Direct Air and Tours (Direct Air), which was headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with operations in Daniels, West Virginia, and Tull is its former CEO. Tull is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.
According to evidence presented at trial, from October 2007 through March 2012, Ellison and Tull engaged in a scheme to steal passengers' money for future travel from an escrow account by artificially inflating the amount of money that the defendants claimed they were entitled to receive, and by sending this falsified amount in a letter to the escrow bank telling the escrow bank to release the money. The evidence further established that to cover up their fraud, the defendants falsified profit and loss statements to make the company look like it was making money rather than losing money, and sent these falsified documents to credit card companies and banks to trick them into continuing to do business with the company.
Robert Keilman, 73, of Marlboro, New Jersey, Direct Air's former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his role in this scheme and will be sentenced separately.


I have heard the phrase many times in my life "getting back to the basics". For me that always meant simplifying things. It was usually given to me when my life became too complicated and I was losing focus or direction. I needed to go back to some of the core values in my life. I have employed that same phrase and action in my spiritual life.
Joshua Chapter 4 always comes to mind when I think of getting back to the basics. In this chapter when the children of Israel were crossing the river Jordan, Joshua was given explicit instructions by God to gather 12 stones from the river "where the priests' feet stood firm". There was a specific reason for this commandment. God was instructing them to building a memorial for generations to speak and know about this miraculous event in history. Something that would remind them of the great deliverance God had provided for them and bring them back to the basics of God's goodness.
Joshua 4: 6 & 7 says, "That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then you shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever."
When things get tough, complicated and you start to lose focus; get back to the basics! I encourage you to find a physical or spiritual memorial in your life. Something that quiets the inner storms and allows you to focus on the Spirit of God and the wonderful things he has done and the wonderful things he will do!


text:
Q: How to store database values in dictionary in C# When I receive a country name, I want to search a list of country names in my database and grab the associated id with the country name. Currently I have;
    public static int GetCountryId(string countryName)
    {
        int countryId = 0;
        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(countryName))
        {
            var listOfCountries = GetCountries();
            var match = listOfCountries.FirstOrDefault(item => (item.Name).Contains(countryName));
            if (match != null)
            {
                countryId = match.Id;
            }
        }
        return countryId;
    }

    private static List<Country> GetCountries()
    {
        string query = $"SELECT Id, Name FROM Countries";
        List<Country> cases = Common.GetCollection<Country>(Properties.Settings.Default.DbConnectionString, query);
        return cases;
    }

But, as you can see, I have to query the database every time I want to get the list of country names. I want to have it so that this list is stored in a dictionary and I can just access the dictionary instead.
Would anyone know how I could improve my code so that I don't have to access the db each time?

A: You may have a public dictionary like this:
public static Dictionary<int, string> countries = new Dictionary<int, string>();

The method fills the dictionary if its not filled before;
private static void GetCountries()
    {
        if(countries.Count == 0)
        {
              string query = $"SELECT Id, Name FROM Countries";
              countries = Common.GetCollection<Country>(Properties.Settings.Default.DbConnectionString, query)
              .ToDictionary(x => x.Id, x=> x.Name);
        }
    }

public static int GetCountryId(string countryName)
{
    return countries.Contains(countryName) CountryIds[countryName] : 0;
}

A: Modify your method like this:
private static List<Country> countries;

private static List<Country> GetCountries()
{
    if (countries == null || countries.Count == 0)
    {
        string query = $"SELECT Id, Name FROM Countries";
        countries = Common.GetCollection<Country>(Properties.Settings.Default.DbConnectionString, query);
    }

    return countries;
}

A: How about making a static constructor to populate a dictionary of Country Ids when your program is first started, so that you only have to query the database once. Then calls to GetCountryId can just use that dictionary?
private static Dictionary<string, int> CountryIds;

public static NameOfYourClass(){
    CountryIds = new Dictionary<string, int>();
    string query = $"SELECT Id, Name FROM Countries";
    List<Country> cases = Common.GetCollection<Country>(Properties.Settings.Default.DbConnectionString, query);
    foreach (country Country in cases)
    {
        CountryIDs.Add(Country.Name, Country.Id);
    }
}

public static int GetCountryId(string countryName)
{
    if(!CountryIds.Contains(countryName) return 0;
    return CountryIds[countryName];
}

A: Let's make a lazy-load for this!
private Dictionary<string, Country> _countryNames = null;

public Dictionary<string, Country> CountryNames
{
    get
    {
         if(_countryNames == null)
         {
             _countryNames = new Dictionary<int, Country>();
             foreach(var country in GetCountries())
             {
                 _countryNames.Add(country.Name, country)
             }
         }
         return _countryNames;
    }
}

public static int GetCountryId(string countryName)
{
    Country result;
    CountryNames.TryGetValue(countryName, out result);
    if (result == null) return 0;
    return result.Id;
}

private static IEnumerable<Country> GetCountries()
{
    string query = "SELECT Id, Name FROM Countries";
    return Common.GetCollection<Country>(Properties.Settings.Default.DbConnectionString, query);
}

But it's usually even better to let the database do it's thing: run the query there as needed, where you pass the filter string to the database. Unfortunately,  The Common.GetCollection<T>() is hiding that ability from us. The query variable should look something like this:
string query = "SELECT Id, Name FROM Countries WHERE Name = @CountryName";

but it's not clear from the question here how to supply the @CountryName parameter value. What you should NOT do is use string substitution or interpolation to include the value directly in the query string. That would be very bad; it creates a serious form a security issued called SQL injection.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
dustin-heath-puppy-love-mm
Dustin & Heath: Puppy Love (MM)
Silver\'s Studs 12
[Siren Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Romance, M/M, HEA]
Dustin Swift and Heath Bristol couldn't have been more different if they'd tried. Dustin was a neat freak and Heath was a slob. If those differences weren't enough to challenge them, there was also the potential danger of Heath's job as a bodyguard. Dustin didn't know if he could live with the fear.
Heath thought Dustin was hot, sexy, and positively delicious. The man was a librarian and wore suits and ties to work. That should have been enough to warn Heath off. Heath wore leather, torn jeans, and skull rings. They were like night and day, but Heath decided he would give the two of them a chance. If they could learn to live with each other's quirks, he believed they could have a long and happy future together.
But can they have a future together? Or are their differences too great?
Loved Dustin and Heath story. This was sweet sexy loving story. Finding that other half that will complete your whole. Loved this
awesome story awesome series
donna b buccella
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Looking up at the man across from him, Heath couldn't do anything but stare. Dustin stared back. "Dusty, you could eat a whole raw onion and it wouldn't have any effect."
Dustin chuckled. "Good to know. Now, let's eat."
As they ate, Pip appeared and disappeared, each time dragging a toy around with him. Heath noticed the dinosaur had been replaced by a pink rhinoceros. He doubted there was any point in scolding Dustin again.
They agreed it was like dinner and a show, as Pip got into a wrestling match with the rhino. They enjoyed the distraction. Actually, Heath was relieved to have it as he entered unchartered territory.
When they finished supper, they cleaned up. There wasn't a bit of stromboli remaining. Heath took the cloth and the cleaner to wipe the table with. As he did so he felt his nerves begin to jangle again. This was it. They were going to watch a movie now. And eat popcorn.
"Come along, little guy," Dustin said as he walked through the kitchen, Pip at his heels. "Want to go out to pee?"
"I'll take him," Heath said, quickly putting the cloth and cleaner away. "He'll think I don't like him anymore."
"He's a great dog. We haven't had a pet dog in years. The dogs that live out at the barn are working dogs. They don't really care much for people, although a couple of them will chase a ball or a stick when they're in the mood."
"Unfriendly dogs, good to know. I guess I won't be wandering around the barn by myself."
"They stick with the cattle. We had several heads stolen about five years ago. Now the dogs go where the cows go."
Pip hurried outside ahead of Heath, Dustin following behind. A hand was at his waist. He didn't jump this time. The touch, as light as it was, felt good. His nipples puckered and he took a deep breath, relieved Dustin was willing to take the initiative. It was a good thing. Heath was beginning to relax into this new situation.
Because he was now in a hurry to watch the movie and eat popcorn, it seemed Pip was taking forever to do what needed to be done. When he was finished, Heath nearly ran across the yard to clean up after him.
Turning around after disposing of it, he discovered he was alone in the backyard with Pip. "Well, daddy is going to have some grown-up time with Dustin. I think it's time for you to go to sleep."
It only took placing the piece of blanket from his carrier into the bed Dustin had bought him to convince Pip it was time to sleep. He burrowed under it and didn't move another muscle once he settled in. Heath turned around, ready to put the movie in the player, and his jaw dropped. Dustin walked in the room almost completely naked, a knit blanket draped over his arm.
"I always watch movies naked, don't you?"
"Uh, yes?"
Because he didn't believe he should be messy in the other man's house, Heath excused himself to go in the bedroom. He undressed quickly and returned to the living room. There was no sign of Dustin, Pip was still sleeping, and movie previews were playing on the TV. Standing naked in the living room didn't seem a little weird—it was a lot weird. Was Dustin playing some kind of joke?
Heath went into the kitchen when he heard popcorn popping. Dustin looked at Heath with a smile. "Has the movie started yet?"
Hazel eyes skimmed over Heath with interest. "I like your tattoos."
Surprised, he blinked. His tattoos were so much a part of him that he gave them no more thought than he did any other part of his body. He knew some people were turned off by tattoos, especially if there were a lot of them. Dustin, however, seemed to genuinely like what he saw. Heath's tattoos began at the base of his neck and covered most of his torso to his waist. They covered both arms and his back. Some were dark, others were bright. He felt they represented his life perfectly.
"I have a tattoo," he said as he poured the popcorn from the pan into a large bowl. He then poured melted butter over it.
Heath's gaze skimmed over Dustin's flawless skin. "Where is it?"
Laughing, he turned around, presenting his back. Heath did a slow perusal once more and finally found the tattoo. It was about an inch tall on Dustin's right buttock. It was a sweet little bunny standing up on its hind legs, as if trying to get a better view. As far as Heath was concerned, the bunny had the absolute best view.
"Thank you. I got it during my rebellious phase."
"Does your mother know?"
Heath shook his head. "I wasn't rebellious enough to tell her. I also appreciate breathing. What do you want to drink? Wine cooler or beer?"
"Beer. Definitely beer. I'll get it. What'll you have?"
"Cherry wine cooler."
Following Dustin into the living room, Heath had to grin as he watched the little bunny move. It was the strangest evening he'd ever experienced, but he couldn't remember having so much fun with a man he was, hopefully, about to have sex with.
As soon as he sat down on the sofa, Dustin sat down beside him and spread the blanket over them both. The bowl of popcorn was placed on top of that. They had their drinks close by and the remote was in Dustin's hand.
He wasn't. Still, the evening had been filled with surprises, doing a lot to ease his nervousness. If he was honest with himself, Heath had to admit that he couldn't wait to discover what the quirky man seated beside him had planned for them.
"I'm going to fuck you until you beg me to stop."
It was a vow, a warning, and something Dustin hoped Heath was able to follow through on. "That's certainly not going to happen."
They tumbled onto the bed, their mouths locking together in a kiss so hot Dustin felt as if he was being scorched from head to toe. Grasping the broad shoulders above him, he held on as Heath proved he was a lip master.
Melting into the mattress, Dustin wondered how long he could keep Heath with him, if all went as he hoped it would. He did have some vacation time. There were also sick days he could use.
Heath's tongue dueled with his as his much larger body settled between Dustin's legs. The way he had it figured, he and Heath could stay in bed for nearly six weeks. When Heath shifted his weight and rolled, taking Dustin with him, he wondered how good he was at faking a cough because he loved being on top, too. Would his boss believe he was sick?
Their mouths broke apart. He gasped for breath as he lifted his head and stared down at the man beneath him. Heath appeared slightly smug, as if he knew where his talent lay. Dustin couldn't blame him. His balls were aching and he knew it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge.
"We need to do this," he stated, staring into gray eyes filled with lust.
"Ya think?" Heath winked. "As much as I hate to say it, I need you to get up for a minute."
"Not necessary." Leaning toward the table, Dustin snagged the bottle of lube and a condom. He handed the latter to Heath. "Will that work?"
"It will. Now, I want to stretch you, so you still have to move."
Surprised, Dustin stared. He'd only had one lover that wanted to prepare him. Having Heath doing so would make the entire experience of their first time together all the more intimate. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly and moved to Heath's side. He watched as Heath rolled the condom down the length of his cock before taking the lube and opening the bottle.
Perhaps what Dustin liked most was that they continued to face each other as Heath prepared him. He hooked his leg over Heath's hip as he reached between Dustin's legs and pressed a slick finger into his tight asshole. As one pushed into him, he had to force himself to relax. It had been so long since he had been with anyone that he hadn't quite been ready mentally for the pinch of pain and the burn as Heath added a second finger. Breathing through it, he went in for a kiss to provide additional distraction. He slid his hand over the smooth skin covering Heath's head. The man's shaved head was very sexy. Dustin explored it with the tips of his fingers, sliding them over the man's skull, down the back of his neck, to the valley between his shoulder blades, created by the thick muscles.
Pulling back, their mouths separating, Heath asked in a deep, raspy voice, "Are you ready, Dusty?" He had always disliked being called Dusty—until now.
Dustin opened his eyes and nodded. "Yes." He sucked in his breath as Heath withdrew his fingers and added more lube to his latex-covered cock.
A moment later Heath was rolling again, putting Dustin beneath him. Their gazes never broke contact. They watched each other as Heath lifted away slightly. Dustin pulled his legs back to his chest, making an offering Heath didn't hesitate to accept. Dropping his gaze, he watched as the head of Heath's cock pressed through the ring of twitching muscles. Heath pressed forward until he bottomed out, once again stealing Dustin's breath as he was bombarded by the most incredible sensations imaginable. The simple act of joining with Heath was enough for him to know he never wanted to give him up.
Knowing it and saying it were two completely different things, however. Dustin knew it. Letting go of his legs, he wrapped them around Heath's waist and grasped powerful biceps with hands that were trembling.
Heath didn't waste any time. He began to thrust and withdraw, slowly at first, and then with greater force and speed, until he was pounding into Dustin in a way that had his eyes rolling back in his head and shouting Heath's name.
Reaching for his cock, he stroked it, matching the tempo of the cock slamming into his ass. Unbelievably, it took more than he thought it would to send him over the edge. Heath must have recognized this, as he chuckled and lowered his head so he could nibble on the side of Dustin's neck.
A moan escaped him as every inch of his skin seemed to tighten. Dustin closed his eyes and focused on the incredible sensations flowing through him. He panted and moaned, beginning to twist as he reached a level of frustration. He wanted to come, but his orgasm was just out of reach.
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