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Previously published as Last of the O'Rourkes
Also available in a two-book bundle with LETHAL DECEPTION
Authors have to accept the fact that a lot of our readers think we're nuts. I can live with that, and the reason is that I sometimes wonder if maybe they're not right--at least about me. For example, LETHAL OBSESSION, originally titled LAST OF THE O'ROURKES, was written because the heroine, Kat Malone, wouldn't leave me alone. She haunted me, quite literally, a constant presence sitting on my shoulder, whispering to me and saying, "Write my story. You have to tell them MY story."
You can only take that kind of harassment just so long. The odd thing is, once I sat down and gave Kat free rein to tell her story, she quit yammering in my ear. But she was right, it's a story worth telling, not only for her sake, but for Seamus O'Rourke's as well. Not every hero is a tough guy. Sometimes they're just truly nice guys who want to be left alone. At least Seamus was, until a beautiful, pregnant woman showed up needing his help. I hope you enjoy reading about Seamus and Kat as much as I enjoyed writing about them.
Kat Malone doesn't want to be pregnant. Seamus O'Rourke is not a hero. Thrown together by the death of Kat's adulterous lover and the threat of a sadistic stalker, Kat and Seamus discover unexpected truths about themselves and each other in LETHAL OBSESSION, the sequel to LETHAL DECEPTION
"...This is a wonderful, emotional romance, featuring two spellbinding characters. The heat is there, in the love story and in the solid and suspenseful plot that runs beneath...Kate Douglas has penned yet another winner..."
Reviewed by Celia for A Romance Review
Satisfaction, a sense of completion . . . satiation tempered with desire, so much like the aftermath of orgasm. It should not have been so easy . . . he fought the urge to laugh aloud, recalling his gut-clenching fear, his trembling fingers as he'd grasped the steering wheel, yanked hard and veered the car tightly to cut the other motorist off at precisely the right moment.
Precision counted. Precision and planning. He'd relish that moment forever, the shocked expression in his victim's eyes, the brief flash of recognition, the terror of impending, unalterable death.
If only he'd known . . . he'd never once imagined the gratification, the power, the unbelievable sense of control.
His first kill.
Now this pleasure . . . watching from the shadows, relishing the aftereffects of his deed, visualizing the next steps in this most thrilling game of cat and mouse.
Kat and mouse? No . . . he was the cat . . . feral, a killer. A killer who had tasted first blood.
He'd toyed with his prey long enough.
Smiling in anticipation, gliding silently through the grove of ancient olive trees, he disappeared into the shadows.
A breeze. Finally a faint breath of air, barely enough to lift away the cloying scent of incense and flowers, but sufficient to stave off the persistent nausea for another moment. Kat Malone leaned against the rough trunk of a twisted olive tree, doing her best to remain at least partially hidden in the shadows of the small grove. She watched silently as, inch by inch, the simple oak casket disappeared into the freshly dug grave, all the while wondering if there wasn't some way to speed up the process short of goosing the pallbearers. She'd managed to get through the interminably long High Mass and the equally lengthy graveside service, but she knew she couldn't last much longer.
Her skin felt clammy and her stomach churned. The old tree offered welcome support, but if she didn't find a place to sit down soon she'd probably pass out right here in the cemetery. Of course, at this point it probably wouldn't make any difference.
She closed her eyes, swayed slightly, swallowed past the foul lump in her throat.
Fingers clamped about her arm, vise-like, startling her, but steadying her as well. She looked up, up into the icy green eyes of Riley O'Rourke.
The man who'd just been buried.
No. Riley's eyes are blue . . . they've always been blue . . .
She fainted.
Her world gradually expanded from dark to light, opening like the aperture of an old camera. Her initial fear subsided, giving way to confusion. Riley held her firmly in his arms, his brisk steps carrying her back into the olive grove, out of sight of the other mourners.
No! This wasn't Riley. It couldn't be. Riley was dead, buried moments ago. Riley of the sparkling blue eyes.
I saw them bury you, damn it! She thought of breaking free of the man's steady grip, but lethargy held her arms and legs immobile. Instead, she absorbed what information she could about him. Know your enemy. One of the first rules she'd learned. An important lesson, it had saved her life more than once.
A stray thought intruded—why did she immediately think of him as the enemy?
Bemused and disoriented, Kat studied her captor. This stranger, this image of the gentle man she'd loved, was subtly different from the easygoing FBI agent. It was more than the eyes . . . much more. If possible, his hair was even darker, a little bit longer, his demeanor more intense, his scent . . . she took a deep breath, inhaling an intoxicating blend of expensive aftershave and man that made her want to shut her eyes and inhale all over again.
Geesh, Malone. Get a grip! She jerked fully awake and struggled enough that he loosed the arm under her knees until her feet touched the ground. He steadied her with one hand while his other arm lightly supported her at the waist.
She inched away, out of his reach. Confusion sharpened by a brief stab of pain followed her. Riley's dead. He's dead. He's...
"You're not going to keel over again, are you, ma'am?"
Kat shook her head in quick denial. She keyed on his voice. It was different, definitely not Riley's. Deeper . . . softer. Almost threatening.
Kat Malone never backed away from a threat. Suddenly feeling as if she were back in familiar territory, she raised her chin and brushed a wisp of hair out of her eyes. "I wouldn't have keeled over the first time if you hadn't scared the crap out of me. I thought you were Riley."
"My brother's dead."
"I'm well aware of that fact." Kat stared at him a moment, quickly assimilating the almost imperceptible differences between this man and the man she'd loved. So, this was Riley's brother. The one she'd learned about in the obit.
One more thing he'd neglected to tell her.
She sighed, closed her eyes and swallowed. "I've spent the morning watching his grieving widow and loving family and friends bury him."
"From the tone of your voice, I assume you're not a close friend of the family." He cocked his head and looked down at her as if she were some sort of bug on the ground.
She studied him a moment before answering, noting the impeccable fit of his black suit, the crisp white collar and cuffs, the perfectly knotted tie. Definitely not Riley. The resemblance was uncanny, but Riley couldn't have acted this arrogant if his life depended on it.
"Until I read his obituary," she said, watching for his reaction, "I didn't even know there was a family. At least, to be specific, a wife."
"Ah. This is beginning to make sense."
"Are there children, too?" she asked, swallowing the bile that wouldn't stay down. She'd really make this guy's day if she puked all over his shiny black shoes.
"Riley and Clarisse were unable to have children."
"I see." Kat swallowed again. "Well, it certainly wasn't Riley's fault."
Even the way he tilted his head as he waited for her answer reminded Kat of Riley, reminded her of the sweetness of the man, the humor . . . the duplicity. Kat blinked herself back to the present. "I mean, Mr. O'Rourke, that I loved your brother. I've loved him since the day I met him during an investigation we both worked on well over a year ago. I thought he loved me, too. I changed jobs and transferred out here from Pennsylvania because he asked me to. We talked about marriage, about settling down and raising a family, all the things couples in love generally discuss. Only he neglected to tell me he was already married. In fact, he never said a word about the wife. Who, by the way, must be the one with the fertility problems, because it certainly wasn't Riley."
He stared at her as if she'd suddenly grown a third eye, then lowered his gaze to her flat stomach. "Why would you say something like that?"
"I say that, Mr. O'Rourke, because I'm pregnant with Riley's child."
His reaction stunned her.
"You lying little . . . ! How dare you . . ." He clenched his fists as if he might take a swing.
Kat stood her ground. She'd stared down larger, angrier men than this, though she didn't have a clue why he was so upset. It wasn't like she was accusing him of fatherhood. "Put a sock in it, O'Rourke. I have no reason to lie. Your brother and I had an affair and I got pregnant. It happens all the time. I just didn't expect it to happen to me."
"Not to my brother, it doesn't. Just what kind of scam are you trying to pull?"
Scam? Kathleen stared intently at the man glaring back at her. What in the hell was this jerk's problem? She swallowed and took a deep breath to give herself time to think of a fitting answer. She blinked and swallowed again.
Then the need for a snappy comeback disappeared entirely. Kat leaned over and puked all over Mr. O'Rourke's fancy black shoes.
Kat wasn't certain if it was humiliation or shock that kept her quiet when Riley's brother pulled his Jaguar up in front of her little bungalow just as the fire truck was leaving. She didn't say a word when Mr. O'Rourke opened the car door for her and helped her out of the low-slung Jag. She even managed to accept, with what she considered remarkable aplomb, the presence of three squad cars and a phalanx of uniformed police officers hovering about her front door.
Then her landlord barred her way at the bottom step and refused to let her pass. Kat saw red.
"Bug off, Morton. You'd better get out of . . ." She lunged at the little weasel.
O'Rourke grabbed her elbow and stopped Kat dead in her tracks. "What's going on here?" he demanded, looking down on Mr. Morton even though the landlord stood a step above. Kat tried to jerk her arm free.
O'Rourke's grip tightened, firm but not bruising.
She glared at him.
He ignored her.
"I told you the last time this happened I wanted you out of here, lady. This time you pack your bags and get." Morton pointedly avoided eye contact with O'Rourke. He scowled at Kathleen. She noticed a tiny fleck of saliva at the corner of his mouth and wished her stomach hadn't chosen this moment to finally settle down.
She'd really love to puke on his shoes.
"The last time?" O'Rourke's gesture encompassed the squad cars as well as the smoke still drifting out of the side window of the little house. His grip on Kat's elbow tightened. He tilted his chin and looked down his rather patrician nose at her. "This isn't the first time for what?"
The patronizing look on his face fired Kat's adrenaline into overdrive. Damn, the man was infuriating! Just who did he think he was, talking to her like that? He might be Riley's brother but the two obviously had nothing in common. His disparaging attitude gave her the strength to yank her elbow out of his grasp. She flashed him one of her famous "if looks could kill" stares.
He didn't flinch.
In a brief flash of insight, she realized she really did owe him an explanation. He had, after all, come to her rescue this morning, whether she'd needed it or not. Kat took a deep breath, turned her back on her sputtering landlord and gestured toward the police captain coming their way.
"Follow me." She brushed past O'Rourke and reached out to shake hands with the officer. "Hey, Sandy." She grabbed his outstretched hand. "I take it my stalker's back?"
"I'm sorry, Kat. We had the place staked out and everything. He must've gotten in during the shift change. Torched the place this time. Really trashed things."
The landlord shoved himself in front of Kathleen again. "I repeat, Ms. Malone, I want you out of here. Today. Don't plan on getting your deposit back."
"Stuff it, Morton. You owe me twice that deposit for all the times I've caught you peeking through the blinds. I don't give freebies. Now out of my way." Kathleen was aware of O'Rourke standing off to one side quietly taking in all the commotion. She turned her back on the landlord and tried to push the image of the tall, raven-haired Irishman out of her mind as well.
Damn, he looked so much like Riley it gave her the creeps. But there was none of Riley's easygoing style, none of the loose-limbed awkwardness or easy manner she'd found so endearing.
A wave of nausea swept through her. Look where endearing got you this time, sweetheart. Well, she'd never been known for her intelligent decisions regarding men.
"You probably ought to come in and take a look, let us know if he took anything," Sandy was saying. "Be prepared, though. It's bad. Really bad." Still muttering about the damage, he turned and led the way to the front door.
Kat followed Sandy down the walk to her tiny studio behind the landlord's house and ducked under the yellow caution tape stretched across the front porch. She was aware of O'Rourke following silently behind her and had to stifle a grin when one of the officers allowed him through but restrained the fuming landlord.
She wasn't prepared for the mess that greeted her. "Oh my God." Once again a strong hand at her elbow steadied her. She heard the sharp hiss of in-drawn breath.
"You're not going to be sick again, are you?" His voice was so close she almost jumped.
She shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I'm okay."
"That's a relief. Though I wouldn't blame you if you did throw up. This kind of wanton vandalism would make anyone ill."
"Gee, thanks." She tugged her arm free of his grasp and stepped away. Damn! She'd loved this place in spite of her slimy landlord. A quiet, furnished little house that actually had some character to it. Now it was splashed throughout with painted vulgarities and threats, not done with a spray can but brushed on thickly, red paint over wallpaper and cabinets, across the appliances in the kitchenette.
Red paint. Dripping blood red paint.
A fire had melted the small plastic trash can near the sink and black soot streaked the walls. Long cobwebs hung from the ceiling, invisible until the soot had given them substance. Greasy black smears covered every unpainted surface where investigators had dusted for prints.
Sandy tapped her on the shoulder. "We'll need to get Mr. O'Rourke's prints so we can figure out which ones don't belong here."
"Different O'Rourke." Kat's hand went to her belly, consciously cradling the life she carried. "Sandy, meet Riley's brother, the other Mr. O'Rourke. Riley was killed in a car accident four days ago."
"Ah, gee, Kat. I'm sorry to hear that." He held his hand out to the man beside her. "Sandy Wilson, SFPD," he said. "Kat and I have worked on a number of cases together since she transferred to the San Francisco office. I assumed you were Riley. You look just like him . . . we only met once before. I didn't know he'd been killed. I am truly sorry for your loss. He seemed like a helluva nice guy."
"Seamus O'Rourke." O'Rourke shook hands with the officer. "Riley and I are . . . were fraternal twins, but other than our eye color we were almost identical. Your confusion is perfectly understandable." He gestured toward the vandalized kitchen. "What's going on here?"
Kat glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, surprised by the lack of emotion in his voice. He'd dismissed Sandy's sympathetic remark about his brother's death as if they discussed a stranger. This guy was definitely nothing like Riley.
"Kat's got a stalker." The police captain frowned, his frustration evident. "We figure it's someone she helped arrest somewhere along the line . . . there's been reference to a few things in his, um, writing."
Seamus glanced once again at the stained walls, the room littered with filth. Anything to take his mind off thoughts of Riley. His brother had obviously spent time here, in this room. Had most likely made love to the beautiful blonde. Maybe there, on the couch? Seamus blinked away the image just as Wilson patted Kathleen on the back. The friendly act made him bristle.
"You got someplace to go tonight, kid?" Wilson's hand still rested, much too comfortably, on Kathleen's shoulder. "You can't stay here until it's cleaned up and the fire damage repaired."
She shook her head. The thick blond hair swung softly with the slight motion. "I'll get a hotel room. Thanks anyway, Sandy."
"You know you're welcome to stay with us. Jane loves having someone to fuss over."
Kat smiled sadly at the captain and shook her head once again. Sighing audibly, she turned away to inspect the damage.
"How about you, O'Rourke? Got an extra room at your place?" Sandy watched Kat as she poked aimlessly through the mess. "I worry about her. This guy's scary and I don't think she appreciates the danger she's in. Kat's too damned stubborn for her own good."
"What? You want me to take her home? I hardly know the woman." Seamus stared at her a moment, trying once more to fathom the relationship between his irascible twin and the tall blonde.
The tall blonde who might possibly be carrying his brother's child. The odds were against it, but what if . . .
"That's your loss, then, isn't it, Mr. O'Rourke?"
Hell, now even the police captain was pissed at him. Seamus clenched then unclenched his fists, finally accepting the inevitable. "You're right. She can't stay by herself." He glanced down at his spotless black shoes and shook his head. "She's had a pretty harrowing day."
Why did he feel as if he were making the gravest error in his life? Before he could stop himself, Seamus glanced back at the captain. "She'll stay with me until she finds someplace suitable."
"Excuse me?" Kat swung around from her inspection of a pile of burned books. Ice formed on her clipped words.
"I said, Ms. Malone will come with me." Seamus stepped over the rubble and offered a helpful hand to her arm. She jerked out of his grasp and glared at him. He backed away.
"Over my dead . . ."
"It very well could be." Wilson spoke to Kat, but it was obvious his words were meant for Seamus. "The attacks are growing more violent, Kat. More personal. You can't deny that. It's risky, you being here alone and all. It was different with Riley in and out of the place like he was. This pervert could never know for certain you were alone. That's changed. If I were you, I'd take Mr. O'Rourke up on his offer."
"Well, you're not me, damn it." She glared at both men.
Seamus thought he'd never seen bluer eyes in his life. Riley'd always been a sucker for blue eyes.
Hell, Riley'd been a sucker for anything in a skirt. The legs sticking out from under her short little black number were as long and sleek as any Seamus had ever seen. Riley hadn't stood a chance.
Thank goodness Riley and Clarisse had reached a mutual agreement in their marriage long ago. Clarisse had her affairs, Riley had his and no one got hurt.
Yeah. Right. Seamus hadn't given Riley's women much thought. Now that he'd actually seen one, touched her, looked into her angry blue eyes, he was suddenly aware of the human toll.
This woman had most likely gone into the relationship with her heart wide open. Riley'd always been a silver-tongued devil, the kind of man women loved to love. Usually, though, the women he chose were worldly enough to understand that for all his flowery words and lofty promises, he'd be gone the moment the winds changed.
But not this one, this tall, cool blonde with crystal blue eyes and the face of an angel. She'd believed his brother, believed in the dream. Not only had she believed—if what she said was true, she'd accomplished the impossible.
She carried Riley's child. The child neither brother had ever imagined would exist.
It changed everything. This angry woman, obviously a cop of some kind, had accomplished something Seamus and his brother had never, not in their wildest fantasies, dreamed could happen.
If she was telling the truth, she was pregnant with Riley's child.
Hope blossomed where only loss had survived. If she was telling the truth . . . Stunned with the potential of his changing reality, Seamus finally accepted unimagined possibilities.
He was no longer the last of the O'Rourkes.
At least her stalker hadn't found the new toothbrush she kept in the medicine cabinet. It was about the only thing he hadn't ripped, burned, painted, pissed or defecated on in her home. Kat squeezed her eyes shut. Her stalker. She had to quit thinking of him like that . . . proprietary, almost as if he belonged to her. Hell, nothing belonged to her anymore. The bastard had methodically destroyed what few personal belongings she'd brought to San Francisco during the past three break-ins at her last two residences. She couldn't let herself think about the past, the small treasures she'd lost, the mementos she'd never be able to replace.
It was almost as if he was systematically removing every trace of Kathleen Margaret Malone from the planet. When all her things were gone, she'd be next.
Without warning, Kat leaned over and threw up in the sink.
Shuddering, she raised her head and stared at herself in the mirror. The fingers of her left hand traced the firm contours of her belly and ordered herself to get a grip. He hadn't killed her yet.
Kat rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth. Carefully she washed her face and hands. She knew she'd never feel clean as long as she stayed in this house, but still she lingered. She was very aware of Seamus O'Rourke waiting, probably impatient as hell, in the main room. Why did he bug her so much? Her rational mind appreciated the fact he'd offered her a place to stay until she could get something more permanent, but the rest of her brain found him overbearing and arrogant as all get out. As irritating as Riley'd been easygoing.
However, unless she wanted to spend the next few nights in some motel room, Kat figured she might as well take him up on his offer of a place to sleep. At least until she could find an apartment. Hopefully, one with a decent security system and a landlord who didn't get his kicks staring through window blinds.
Riley'd never mentioned a brother. Now that she thought of it, Riley hadn't mentioned a lot of things. Her mind kept straying back to the wife. The tall, gorgeous blonde wearing the designer suit, standing less than grief-stricken at her husband's graveside. She'd been leaning heavily on the arm of an equally gorgeous man. From the vibes Kathleen had picked up, she didn't think Riley would be mourned too long from that quarter.
Well, damn it, she'd mourn him. He'd given her the best months of her life. She'd even been excited when she found out she was pregnant, though she'd been almost four months along before the changes in her body, the slight thickening of her waist, the persistent nausea, had made her suspect anything. Kat grimaced at her pale reflection in the bathroom mirror. "You always were a bit slow on the uptake, Malone." She glanced down at her flat belly, amazed there could be a new life growing there. She still couldn't think of it as a real baby, a child she would someday hold in her arms. In her mind it was just "whatsit." An anonymous little thing that made her feet and waist swell in what felt like equal proportions. An intruder that activated her barf reflex on a regular basis.
She'd waited almost a month to tell Riley.
To be honest, she hadn't believed it herself. They'd been so careful with protection, the thought of pregnancy hadn't entered her mind. She'd planned to tell him, though, that last evening when Riley had called and said he was on his way over. Planned to tell him, not certain if he'd be upset or thrilled.
Still not certain if she was upset or thrilled.
She'd been hurt when he didn't show up, but not worried. Riley'd broken dates before but he always had an acceptable excuse, a reason, she realized now, that usually made her feel guilty for mistrusting him. After their missed dinner engagement she'd spent the next three days in court giving a deposition on that damned hijacking case . . . and then she'd picked up the morning paper.
Picked up the paper and read that Riley James O'Rourke, beloved husband of Clarisse, brother of Seamus, son of the late Mary and Alfred, was dead.
Another head-on collision on the freeway. Just one more messy accident to tie up the rush-hour traffic and inconvenience hundreds of tired commuters trying to find their way home. With his death, everything in Kathleen Margaret Malone's world suddenly shifted. The tiny being growing inside her no longer had a father. The future Kat had nearly fantasized into reality had suddenly, like so many of her dreams, disappeared into thin air.
Once again, she faced the world alone.
She picked up the foamy toothbrush and realized her fingers were steady. In fact, she felt almost preternaturally calm, as if this were just another day in a humdrum world, or as the old cliché went, the first day of the rest of her life.
Which it was.
She took a deep breath, rinsed off the toothbrush, stepped out of the tiny bathroom and walked into the studio beyond. Seamus O'Rourke turned and nailed her with a piercing gaze. Kat hesitated, then took another deep breath. She'd faced down killers, disarmed smugglers, even caught a murderer or two. Riley's brother actually seemed to think he could order her around. Kat almost smiled with her recovered sense of self. She was not a victim. Never had been, didn't intend to be. Seamus O'Rourke appeared to be under the impression he was calling the shots. It was going to be interesting when he finally figured out she'd been letting him get away with it all morning.
Kat met his glare with one of her own, then tucked her toothbrush into the breast pocket of her suit and picked up her handbag.
It was time for Mr. O'Rourke to learn that life, as he expected it, was about to change.
He turned his head as the dark green Jag sped past, though he doubted the bitch would recognize him, especially in this nondescript Buick. Of course, it wouldn't do to be spotted right now, right here . . . not with red paint staining his slacks. Too bad they were ruined, but it was worth the loss. Turning the key in the ignition, he took a deep breath and grinned in anticipation. This was too good to be true. Another O'Rourke, identical to the first. A sobering thought, though. He hadn't known there was another one. Success depended on knowledge. Knowledge required study.
He pulled in behind the Jag and followed at a discreet distance. There was no rush. None at all. After all the months of planning, of dreaming about this moment, he'd never once considered how much he would enjoy himself.
Smiling broadly, he followed the dark green sedan through the rolling streets of San Francisco.
"Make a list. I'll send the housekeeper out for whatever you need for the next couple of days, at least until you're in condition to shop for yourself."
Seamus turned off the ignition and stepped out of the car before Kat had a chance to respond. She'd been fuming throughout the entire ride from her house to his. By the time he opened her door and reached down to give her a hand she was ready to explode.
She ignored him, stubbornly folding her arms across her middle. Damn him. She'd wanted to drive her own car, but do you think he'd take her by the cemetery to pick it up? "I'll do my own shopping as soon as you take me to my car. I'm not getting out until you do."
"Your car will be delivered within the hour. I've already sent for it."
"How?" She glared out of the corner of her eye. He glared back. "You don't have the keys."
"I took them out of your purse."
"You what?" She unzipped her bag and scrambled through the garbage that seemed to collect in there of its own volition. No keys. "You had no right to go through my bag."
"It was done under the watchful eye of the police captain. In fact, it was his idea. He didn't want you driving, not after the emotional strain you've been through. Now please get out of the car."
She figured she could sit here a while longer to make her point, but it wouldn't prove a thing. Besides, if she didn't find a bathroom soon she'd probably wet her pants. It was truly amazing what pregnancy did to a perfectly healthy body. She didn't see Mr. O'Rourke taking lightly to pee stains on his expensive leather upholstery. She swung her legs around and stepped out of the car before Seamus could once again offer his hand. For some reason it felt like a victory. A very small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
A strident voice in the back of her mind reminded Kat she was the one supposedly calling the shots. She pushed the voice aside, grabbed a tight hold on her tiny victory and followed Seamus into the house.
"This will be your room." Seamus opened the door and stepped back, waiting for her comment of appreciation, her acknowledgment of the tasteful decor.
Instead she brushed by him and headed directly for the bathroom, as if she'd been here a thousand times before.
"You're not going to be sick again, are you?" Please, he thought. Not here. He glanced at the toe of his shoe, wiped clean after this morning, and wondered if he'd ever wear this pair again.
He heard the toilet flush, the sound of running water, then she was standing in the doorway wiping her hands on one of his grandmother's delicate hand-embroidered towels. "Thought I was gonna pop." She tossed the towel on the counter behind her. "Nice room." Kat looked around as if she'd just stepped into a Motel 6. She dumped her bag on the bed and slipped her fitted black jacket off her shoulders, then casually removed a lethal-looking pistol from a previously unseen shoulder holster.
Seamus thought for a minute he might be the one to throw up. "What in God's name is that?"
"It's a pistol, nine-millimeter Ruger, to be exact." She carefully unfastened the holster, slipped the harness down her arm and folded the whole contraption into a neat bundle. "Riley carried a gun. You knew that. We have very similar jobs, the same kinds of risks. So what's the big deal?"
"Riley wasn't pregnant," was all he could think to say.
"Well of course not." She rolled her eyes. "Look, if it's a problem, I'll leave. I can find a room in town, but the gun stays with me. I've had three attempts on my life in the last year alone. You saw what my apartment looked like."
"Just what is it you do, Ms. Malone?" He knew, as with Riley's work with the FBI, she was some kind of investigator, at least that's what the police captain had alluded to. Somehow, though, the reality of a loaded gun tucked neatly under the arm of this tall, slim blonde with the look of a fashion model and the mouth of a street walker wasn't all that easy to digest. Neither was the stark image of the weapon lying on his grandmother's crocheted bedspread.
"I'm a field agent for the Department of Transportation. Or was, that is, until I barfed in my partner's car on stakeout. I've since been assigned desk duty for the duration of my pregnancy." She flashed him a dry but tired smile. Seamus had the odd sensation of having been punched in the gut while tumbling down Alice's rabbit hole.
Not a particularly pleasant feeling, but Lord Almighty, the woman was magnificent when she smiled. "That doesn't tell me what you do, though, does it?" He struggled for a sense of balance. "Do you have to carry a gun?"
"You are an uptight fish, aren't you?" She smiled again, and once more he felt dizzy with the glory of it. "I guess, to be perfectly explicit, my job requires me to track down crooks within our transportation system. Truck drivers embezzling goods, smugglers bringing things in or taking them out of the country, mob activity, whatever illegal actions someone can think of that affects how goods are moved." She smiled again, holding her hands out as if for understanding. "When you deal with crooks, it's a good idea to at least match their firepower."
"I see. I guess you surprised me. To be quite honest, you don't look the part."
"No, actually, I look like a hooker. A high-class hooker is how my supervisor describes me, but still a hooker. I think that's what got me the job in the first place. I do a lot of undercover work."
She said it with a twinkle in her eye, but her play on words still made his palms sweat. Leave it to Riley to fall for a street walker, or someone who made her living looking like one. "Is that how you met my brother? Working undercover?"
"No. I met Riley on a job in Utah. My partner was the one working undercover. I was his backup. We were out from the office in Pittsburgh. Riley was brought in from the San Francisco bureau. We hit it off." She glanced down at her perfectly flat middle. "Yeah, you might say we hit it off real well."
"You don't act like a woman in love." Her choice of words grated over raw nerves. Seamus stepped closer. "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you're carrying Riley's child, not some other man's bastard? Hell, how do I know you're even pregnant?"
Seamus knew how to use his size and presence, but instead of backing away from him as he expected, she stood her ground. Her stubborn poise infuriated him. Seamus felt his muscles tense, knew his control was ready to snap.
"Good Lord, O'Rourke. You think I go around puking on people for fun?" Her tired reply undid him.
He practically shouted at her, "My brother was the one with the fertility problems, Ms. Malone. Didn't Riley tell you? It wasn't Clarisse's fault they couldn't have children. It was his. Now you come along out of the blue and tell me you're pregnant and Riley's the father and you expect me to just swallow your story?" He reached out for some inexplicable reason and raised her chin with his fingers. "Hell, you don't even look pregnant."
He wasn't sure what he expected to see, but it certainly wasn't the flash of vulnerability followed by a rush of blazing anger. "I don't give a rat's ass whether you believe me or not, O'Rourke." She slapped his hand aside. "I may look like a whore but I don't act like one. As for mourning your brother, well, it's difficult to mourn a man who didn't exist. I fell in love with Riley O'Rourke, a fun-loving, sweet-talking Irish devil who promised me the stars, who swore undying love and said we'd always be together. I don't have affairs with married men, Mr. O'Rourke. I didn't fall in love with a liar and a cheat. That man can go to hell for all I care and I'll not mourn him."
He felt like a deflated balloon, all the fight gone out of him. "Sadly, Ms. Malone, neither will I." Seamus bowed his head and turned to leave the room. Guilt twisted his gut and clamped a cold, hard fist over his heart. He'd spent his life covering up for his twin, pulling him out of one scrape after another, making excuses for him, compromising his own values to save Riley's tail, wishing him dead more often than not.
One thing he'd learned, Seamus realized. He'd never wish anyone dead again because the guilt was almost unbearable.
He would, however, do one more thing for Riley. He took another long look at Kathleen Malone. She stood in the middle of the room he would always think of as "Gran's room," one hand protectively covering her flat stomach. Silently Seamus vowed he would watch over her. He'd watch over the sassy blonde with the face of a saint and he'd be there for the child she carried. Riley's child. As close to his own as any child would ever be. That brief flash of vulnerability had told him more than any lie detector, any blood test, ever could. There was no reason to doubt her word.
She did indeed carry Riley's child.
He took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "You must be tired." He paused, one hand on the doorknob. "Why don't you rest. Come down when you feel like it and have some dinner. If you like, I can take you into town later to shop for a few things to replace what was . . . damaged. Or take your own car. It's entirely up to you."
"You're damned right it's up to me." She held his gaze a moment, clear-eyed and steady, then abruptly turned away and stared out the window.
Women. Seamus glared at her rigid back, searching unsuccessfully for the trace of vulnerability he was certain he'd seen earlier. Shit. You try to be nice . . . He turned and stalked out of the room.
The door clicked behind him and Kathleen burst into tears. Damn, it had been one hell of a day. And damn it again, but she didn't want to cry. But her hormones were totally screwed, she was tired and pregnant and sick to her stomach and Riley was dead.
She hadn't been telling the truth when she said she wouldn't mourn him. She would. She'd miss his laughter and kindness and the plans they'd made. Plans he'd obviously never intended to keep, damn him. And damn his insufferable brother Seamus as well. For being kind, for worrying about her, for giving her refuge when she needed it most. She didn't want to owe him a thing. Nor did she want to be intrigued by a man who epitomized all the uptight personality traits she despised. A man who looked exactly like the one she thought she'd loved.
That man obviously never existed at all.
Damn. Damn. Damn it all to hell.
Kat stripped her clothes off and crawled between the sheets, too tired to shower, too emotionally exhausted to care. One hand rested protectively over her belly, protecting her child. Riley's child. The child Seamus told her was impossible. Later, she thought. She'd worry about it later.
Oh, this was actually fun . . . and so easy. There was no need even to stop the car. He merely noted the location and glided quietly past the mansion.


Explanation: Tonight a bright full Moon will fade to red. Tonight's moon will be particularly bright because it is reaching its fully lit phase when it is relatively close to the Earth in its elliptical orbit. In fact, by some measures of size and brightness, tonight's full Moon is designated a supermoon, although perhaps the "super" is overstated because it will be only a few percent larger and brighter than the average full Moon. However, our Moon will fade to a dim red because it will also undergo a total lunar eclipse -- an episode when the Moon becomes completely engulfed in Earth's shadow. The faint red colour results from blue sunlight being more strongly scattered away by the Earth's atmosphere. Tonight's moon can also be called a Harvest Moon as it is the full Moon that occurs closest to the September equinox, a time signaling crop harvest in Earth's northern hemisphere. Total eclipses of supermoons are relatively rare -- the last supermoon lunar eclipse was in 1982, and the next will be in 2033. Tonight's supermoon total eclipse will last over an hour and be best visible from eastern North America after sunset, South America in the middle of the night, and Western Europe before sunrise.


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10 Co-op Games From E3 2018 We Can't Wait to Play
Irwyn Diaz
Published on June 20, 2018 Irwyn Diaz
Home » Features » 10 Co-op Games From E3 2018 We Can't Wait to Play
The Super Smash Bros. series makes its highly-awaited return, this time on the Nintendo Switch, bringing literally everyone back for one big smorgasbord of a battle. Fighters such as Snake and Bayonetta are back and better than ever with a bit of tweaking, and even the stages have been modified for this ultimate edition of the series.
While Smash has always had a very competitive party aspect to it, players can actually team up and take on others for a smashing good couch co-op experience. Free-for-all is always a fun option during parties, but you can designate different-colored teams and compete to score the most KOs on the battlefield. Up to eight players can join in on all the fun, and you can split groups in 2v2s, 4v4s, 1v3s, or whatever pairing you want to work with. The Nintendo co-op fighting game is slated to launch this December on the Nintendo Switch.
If you're itching to step back into the chaotic kitchen, Overcooked 2 is going to be cooking up a storm later this year. This couch co-op game has you and up to three other friends scrambling through the kitchen to make orders and deliver them on time, and if that ticking timer isn't enough to freak you out, you've got a whole lot coming in the kitchen.
The sequel that was announced during the E3 2018 presentation featured a slew of new maps that'll have you cooking in the most absurd stages ever created, so good luck trying to create that salad while you're trying to stay afloat in your hot air balloon kitchen. It's all about splitting tasks and getting work done amidst all the chaos going on (just like in your real job) in this crazy co-op game. Overcooked 2 is slated to launch this August on the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Madden NFL 19 is the newest entry in the football series, offering precise controls on the playing field. Players have the option to create and customize their own draft classes, design their gameplay strategies, and dominate the playing field with more positional archetypes. With so many options to choose from, players can enjoy the co-op features the game has to offer.
New to Madden 18, and continuing in Madden 19 is MUT squads which brought co-op to the popular fantasy team building mode. With local and multiplayer co-op, Madden NFL 19 is looking like a very promising game for sports fans. The football game is slated to release this August on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee
Strap up and get ready to return to Kanto in Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee on the Nintendo Switch. This charming remake adapts plenty of ideas from Pokemon Yellow while integrating some popular features from the popular mobile app, Pokemon GO. Players will be able to travel with their mons', battle trainers, and catch Pokemon with updated visuals and some new mechanics. Catching new Pokemon plays out exactly like Pokemon GO, and you can even use the new Pokeball accessory for a whole new catching experience.
Unlike Pokemon Yellow, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee feature a neat little couch co-op experience that lets you share the fun with a friend. By splitting the Joy-Con another player can join the game with a completely different avatar and travel alongside your character. On top of that, you can work together to catch wild mons' using the Joy-Con's motion controls. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are a new take on the original games that aims to add a few new surprises for newcomers to the series.
What better co-op game to play during a party than Super Mario Party? Nintendo's bringing this series to the Nintendo Switch, but is taking a slightly different direction with how things work. Super Mario Party is taking a lot of cues from the series's roots, opting for a traditional board game playing field, complete with a variety of crazy mini-games.
Nintendo's taking things one step further with the Nintendo Switch hardware, allowing players to link two consoles together to create a wider, multi-monitor environment for a completely new co-op experience. While players can choose to compete against each other, they can also form different teams and compete to earn the most stars by successfully completing mini-games and making their way around the board game. Super Mario Party is slated to launch this October on the Nintendo Switch.
EA has brought in the sports games during their E3 2018 presentation, including the latest entry in their soccer series. Aside from updated visuals, FIFA 19 is set to include the UEFA Champions League, which is a tournament that lets players pick out their personal European club. On top of that, the iconic Ultimate Team mode is also getting a slight touch up thanks to the Champions League. While EA still hasn't confirmed a way to play co-op with Ultimate Teams, there's a pretty big chance that we'll see a lot of ways to play online and local co-op multiplayer. FIFA 19 is slated to launch this September on the PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Bethesda recently unveiled the new Fallout game during their E3 2018 conference, offering players a new multiplayer experience set just after the nuclear explosion. Coming from Vault 76, it's your job to start rebuilding civilization from the ground up, but you aren't alone in your quest. As a first for the series, Fallout 76 will offer a co-op experience in a shared world.
All of the other humans from the Vault are real people, and it's up to you to decide if you want to work together or just flat out attack them. Most of the multiplayer details are still under wraps, but we do know that Fallout 76 will support both a PvP and PvE mode. Moreover, you won't have to worry about losing progression since you can carry your character over to other servers without losing anything, even if you die. While the latest Fallout game can be played alone, it's the co-op aspect that really seems to set it apart from the other titles in the series. Fallout 76 will be launching this November on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Microsoft took some time out of their E3 2018 conference to reveal the latest entry in their popular racing series, Forza Horizon 4. The new game includes plenty of exciting new features, with one of them being a vast open world where everyone actually plays on. In this shared environment, players can easily slip into the co-op mode within the game's world and start racing with other players without having to tinker with too many menus.
You can also create custom races and tweak the seasons to your liking, letting you make some pretty awesome race tracks with your friends. Forza Horizon 4 will also be including some co-op Forzathon challenges that you can undertake together with other players in your server. If you've been looking for a car co-op experience, you should definitely keep your eye out for Forza Horizon 4. You can pick up a copy for Forza Horizon 4 once it launches this October on the Xbox One.
With games such as Disney Infinity off the market and Skylanders taking a hiatus, it just feels like the toys-to-life genre just didn't cut it in the video game industry. Still, that didn't stop Ubisoft from testing the waters and creating a new game called Starlink: Battle for Atlas. Unveiled during their E3 2018 presentation, Starlink is all about navigating your own ship and destroying enemies known as the extractors, who come prepared with their own deadly arsenal of firepower and giant shields. Players can explore each of the seven planets in the game, and since it's toys-to-life, you can even attach toy ships to the controllers that each have their own abilities.
One interesting thing about Starlink is that it supports couch co-op multiplayer. Players can link the game with a friend and take on enemies together through a split-screen display. Ubisoft has yet to delve into further details about other co-op modes, including competitive play, but it's still nice to know that you can bring a friend along on your adventure. Starlink: Battle for Atlas is slated to launch this fall on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4.
Unravel 2
A charming platforming adventure, Unravel 2 tugs at the heartstrings with an amazing couch co-op experience. Here, you and your partner take control of these adorable yarn creatures fittingly called Yarnys who are off trying to solve puzzles. Using their thread, you can create a multitude of items that can be used to cross over gaps, swing across gaps, jump towards ledges, and so much more. At its core, Unravel 2 is all about cooperation and learning from one another as you find a way to work around being bound together. If you've missed it, EA announced that Unravel 2 is playable now on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One during their E3 2018 presentation.
Related Topics:Co-op, e3 2018, Multiplayer, MultiPost
DNF Duel's Music Track "On the Sea" Carries You on the Oceanic Express

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Home News Briefs Burke Capital recruits Belanger as MD
Burke Capital recruits Belanger as MD
Burke Capital has hired Greg Belanger as managing director of its technology consulting practice. Previously, Burke was president of Comerica Bank's technology and life sciences division.
BURLINGAME, CA–(Marketwired – Mar 1, 2017) – Burke Capital Corporation CEO Jim Burke announced today that Greg Belanger has joined Burke Capital as managing director of its technology consulting practice. As president of Comerica Bank's Technology & Life Sciences Division, Belanger catapulted the group into national spotlight for its innovation and market penetration before retiring from Comerica Incorporated in October 2016. Under his leadership, the division became one of the premier technology and life sciences banking practices in the country.
"We are very excited to have Greg join our team. He has an impeccable reputation in the industry for his financial and strategic leadership skills. We are seeing many opportunities in the technology sector for our cash planning and governance services," Burke said. "Greg's primary responsibility at Burke Capital is to expand our key relationships with the venture capital and private equity community. These investors appreciate the guidance of experienced business professionals in their portfolio companies."
Belanger is a proven senior executive with broad experience in business leadership, strategic planning, channel marketing and executive development. He has assisted clients in technology, life sciences and middle market business segments.
About Burke Capital Corporation
Burke Capital Corporation is one of the region's most highly respected catalysts to business prosperity. For over 20 years, Burke Capital Corporation has provided capital, expertise and management to enable significant client performance gains, often in very challenging times. For more information, go to burkecapital.net or call us at (650) 579-5699. The company's corporate headquarters is located in Burlingame, California.| 1021 Burlingame Avenue, Burlingame, CA 94010 |135 Main Street, 9th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105


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Is Hacking Kinect Okay?
Since going on sale in early November, most gaming magazines have focused on reviewing Microsoft's controller-free motion-capture interface as it relates to the games released for the XBox 360. Less covered are the ongoing efforts of those dedicated nerds to unravel the strings of code that allow the device to interact with the console, so they can repurpose their Kinect controllers for non-sanctioned uses. Much more attention was given to those people attempting to crack their iPhones, which might suggest that reporters think more people care about using cell phones than an expensive console accessory, even one attached to a local company.
However, to get back to the original purpose of this blog, this story leads to a series of questions about the intended manipulation of the $150 Kinect device for other purposes:
1) Is this use prohibited by Copyright law?
Possibly. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act has a section titled "Circumvention of Copyright Protected Systems" which would probably apply here. It states that no person shall "circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title." The code which powers the device and the code which allows the device to interact with the XBox 360 are both copyrightable and protected by Microsoft, as well as being presumably trade secrets and guarded very strictly. The average user would not need to know the actual code that allows the device to operate, just how to interact with the graphical user interface provided by Microsoft. Technically, figuring out how to do this is one violation, while publishing or making the tools to do so available to the public are each separate offenses under the DMCA, so the magazine offering $3000 to the first engineer to provide open source drivers which allow Kinect to work with any USB interface instead of an just XBox could potentially be subject to several violations once they publish that information. (Except that Microsoft apparently told the magazine directly that they would not get in trouble for offering the bounty…)
2) Is this use barred by the Terms of Service?
Most Assuredly. In one of the articles linked above, a Microsoft spokesperson is quoted as saying that the company would not "condone the modification of its products and that it would work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant." This is in keeping with most companies who have restrictive Terms of Service in order to "control the user's experience," in part for their own protection.
3) Even if against the rules, should this use be allowed?
Yes. Very yes. I also firmly believe that as long as the information is not used maliciously, information should be shared and used to promote innovation. The DMCA also allows researchers an exception in their investigation of new technology, and permits copyright holders to go after infringers or not, as with other copyright violations. Reverse engineering to figure out new technology is generally accepted as a learning tool within the computer programming community. What's more, less than two weeks after the above quotes from Microsoft spokespeople, the company appears to have softened their stance towards having users operate Kinect with open source software.
This is fairly smart on Microsoft's part, as their customer base is generally made up of the very people that are passionate about their products, and interested in doing geeky things with them. Learning from the music industry's mistakes, Microsoft does not look like they will be going after students, engineers, researchers, and end users who each bought the product in order to allow other users to do cool things with their new toy.
Going back to the risk analysis from last week's workshop, if the first question is "Will the Copyright holder find out about what I am doing?" the second question is "Even if they find out, will the Copyright holder care?" (And what's the worst that could happen?) Even if what these engineers are doing is against the literal text of the Copyright Act, and even if Microsoft seemed poised to clamp down hard on all the research and information sharing that was going on, it looks like Microsoft, the Copyright holder, does not care if users allow Kinect to operate open source, on various platforms. Microsoft can still go after these people, and probably will if they start publishing how to create a Kinect-like device for less than $150, but the research and collaboration shown by the engineering community is, for now, an unofficially authorized use of Kinect.
Actually, at the beginning of this post I misspoke about how much coverage there has already been about the Open Kinect bounty. BBC News , NPR, Wired, Ars Technica, the EFF, and other online sources have already written about it at length, making this comment really nothing more than a brief look at some of the legal views underlying the potential viewpoints of those involved.
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By Anne-Marie	– November 23, 2010
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Home Perspectives Malaysian government shocked by scale of opposition rally
Malaysian government shocked by scale of opposition rally
Abdar Rahman Koya
Just when prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was basking in glory after the usual praises poured on him at the end of the ruling UMNO's general assembly, he was jolted by a mammoth opposition-backed rally in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on November 10. That tens of thousands of protesters heeded the silent invitation to join the rally calling for major reforms in the way elections are conducted, after countless threats and warnings from the prime minister and police chiefs, sends a signal that the people's resentment of the UMNO is even more than it was thought to be.
A few weeks before, it had seemed that Abdullah's government was finally carrying out reforms which he had implicitly promised when he took over from Mahathir Mohammad four years ago. In October, an opposition activist who had been detained under the dreaded Internal Security Act (ISA), after the crackdown by Mahathir in 1998, won a suit against the government for wrongful detention and torture. A few days later an NGO activist, who was prosecuted for exposing the authorities' mistreatment of Bangladeshi migrant workers, won a libel suit against a pro-government newspaper for malicious articles against her. About a week later, a former aide of Anwar Ibrahim's who became one of the victims of Mahathir's anti-Anwar campaign during the reformasi period, had his conviction for perjury (a common charge against aides of Anwar Ibrahim who testified in his trials) quashed.
Then, on November 10, the biggest anti-government rally took place, only a day after UMNO's glitzy conclusion to its general assembly amid a presidential address laced with warnings and threats. Hours earlier, thousands of police had imposed what was practically a curfew in the capital, closing almost all major entry points to the city and causing hundreds of thousands to be stranded in some of the worst traffic jams the city has ever seen.
The police action brought back memories of the unceremonial dismissal of then deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, when weekend after weekend thousands of anti-government protesters would gather in the city's streets to defy police arrest and brute force. This time the protesters –" this time easily numbering anything between 40,000 to 60,000, more if one takes into account the thousands who were prevented from crossing the border –" had only wanted an hour to march to the palace to hand over a memorandum calling on the king to endorse calls for electoral reforms.
It is safe to say that no Malaysians, not those who joined the rally nor the opposition leaders, have any doubt about the futility of making such a petition to the king, or for that matter to any of the nine sultans the country maintains. At the height of the country's political crisis, when the courts were used openly by Mahathir, there was not a whimper of concern from Malaysia's constitutional monarchs, who have adhered strictly to their ceremonial status. Even when their own status of legal immunity was stripped during the constitutional crisis of 1993, these rulers were quick to put their signatures to the amended bill, which concluded a powerful campaign in the government media to humiliate them by revelations of their crimes and misdemeanours. With that recent history over them –" as well as other histories of their predecessors who surrendered their powers under pressure from then colonialist British –" to think that they would now act on something that remotely touches their interest is laughable. Little wonder that some cynics have argued that the rally on November 10 was a waste of energy.
Yet the truth is that petitioning the king was not the only reason, nay, it is not at all the reason for the people to come out in droves. The real reason, and this became apparent by the sheer number of young people who turned out, was to send a signal to Abdullah's government, and the UMNO party, which had just concluded its rhetorical congress, that they are not afraid of the threats to arrest them, and were there to assert their right to peaceful assembly, a taboo phrase in the government media. The fact that the rally organiser, Bersih ("clean"), a loose coalition of sixty NGOs as well as political parties, was comprised of a plethora of voices that represents all ideologies and races, was also appealing to most people, many of whom will not bother to vote in any case.
The aftershock was plain to see: government leaders, through the tightly controlled media, immediately went into denial mode about the strength of the protest, only to be caught out by the internet, which exposed the claim that the rally had failed. Satellite television channels such as Al-Jazeera and the BBC also gave UMNO leaders a taste of their own medicine, by headlining news of police high-handedness in their hourly bulletins and questioning Malaysia's brand of 'democracy', much to the annoyance of UMNO officials.
What has the rally achieved? Besides winning the numbers game, the successful turnout reinforces the leadership role of the Islamic Party (PAS), which will be useful in the unlikely event that opposition parties unite again, even for electoral purposes. Two other opposition parties and the NGOs that make up the Bersih coalition have no choice but to accept that the rally would have failed without PAS's backing. It also silenced, at least for the time being, calls by some secular (read anti-Islamic) elements within the opposition camp to isolate PAS over its Islamic ideology. In addition, Anwar Ibrahim has been helped to look better. Even if it was true that his political ability was in doubt, the huge protest seems a slap to his former colleagues in UMNO who had tried to portray him as a spent force.
The government is taking pains to tell the public that the Bersih rally was a ploy by opposition parties to create a "smokescreen" in preparation for their defeat in the impending general elections. With a firm grip on the public media and election rules, the opposition's defeat is a foregone conclusion. While challenging Anwar to be "man enough" to fight his battle in elections and not on the streets, Abdullah's government is not even prepared to give him the opportunity to contest, fearing his return to parliament. This scenario, perhaps more so than many others, is one that Abdullah wants to avoid, hence the rush to call elections before April 2008, when Anwar's legal ban on political activity ends.
The protest on November 10 was a "smokescreen" tactic by the opposition in preparation for yet another defeat in the elections –" a smokescreen which most Malaysians have no trouble believing, especially when the ruling parties' dirty tactics are legendary in every elections.
But smokescreens are not only an opposition game. The government too has been planning many such tactics as the country experiences one of its worst economic and social upheavals. Sharp price-increases as well as rising economic difficulties of lower-middle-class income-earners are issues set to dominate the coming elections. Countering this, the government embarked on a few grand ceremonies, announcing "growth corridors", in order to attract foreign investors. However nice it sounds, it has attracted criticisms for its repercussions in the long run, not least from Abdullah's predecessor-turned-critic, Mahathir. Crime, something which Malaysia was not known for just a decade ago, is soaring. Defying its own police statistics, the UMNO-led government has blamed these on the millions of foreign workers, who mostly do jobs shunned by the locals. Pandering to xenophobic voices within UMNO, Abdullah announced a 'zero tolerance' on migrant workers, only to expose his ignorance to how the country's economy runs.
In the meantime, the scoreboard shows the score opposition 1: government 0. How long this is going to remain so is irrelevant, even if general elections are held, contested, and won again by the ruling coalition. For now, the opposition has proven its political weight without the need to participate in sham elections.
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Abdar Rahman Koya, a free-lance writer from Malaysia, gets featured on Media Monitors Network (MMN) with the courtesy of Crescent International .
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Five years ago, when Westside Gathering, Montreal, pastor David Manafo invited local pastors to pray weekly about the results of a demographic study on West Island, "a vision of how we could work together started to form," he says. Those prayers led to the formation of WIN, a group of churches that pray together twice a month for their neighbourhoods, promote each other's outreach initiatives, and collaborate on community projects.
As a fourth-year art and design major at Trinity Western University, and exhibition and public activities manager at The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford, B.C., Diana Hiebert is both exploring her own creative ability and empowering community artists to do the same. She participated in last year's Sand and Polish: Making Things New exhibition, organized by Artisan Church in the Vancouver Public Library's Moat gallery, and is currently working toward her graduation exhibition at TWU.
I've never worked on a farm or in agriculture, but I know the key principle of the industry: everything needs water to grow. Very little thrives without it – plants, trees, even humans.
Visiting Jubilee Mennonite Church on a Thursday evening, one discovers a flurry of activity – youths waiting to be shepherded into vehicles for an evening at Birds Hill Park, young adults putting up a new basketball hoop, adults working in garden plots, young children playing in the yard and basement – but Anna Marie Geddert, director of community ministry at Jubilee Mennonite Church (a member of both Mennonite Church Canada and the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches), has it all under control.
In Mennonite Brethren circles, we often talk about community hermeneutics, and affirm it as the primary way of reading and understanding the Bible. Yet most Sunday mornings, one person stands up and tells everyone else what a certain text means. Is there another way?


From Blade Runner (1982) to Ghost in the Shell (1995), makers of science fiction films like to model their cityscapes after Hong Kong because of its unique urban landscape: a densely packed, constantly evolving city, where old meets new and cultures clash – making it the perfect setting for cyberpunk tales.
Hong Kong got its own cyberpunk movie: Dragon's Delusion.
Most Chinese people are familiar with the stories of Qu Yuan and Qin Shi Huang. The former, a patriotic poet from ancient China's Warring States Period (475-221BC), was exiled and eventually committed suicide by jumping into a river. The latter conquered all the country's states and was the first emperor to unify China.
But the two historical figures take on new life in Kong's sci-fi animation project, which is set not in the future, but in 1960s Hong Kong.
In the story, Qin, who was historically well-known for his obsession with finding the elixir of life, holds the key to immortality: he has created cyborgs, which allow him to continue to rule as emperor forever. Qu finds himself trapped in the body of one of these robots, Mr. D, and asking the question: what does it mean to be human?
For fundraising details, visit the Kickstarter page for Dragon's Delusion.


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Airbags Move Out Of Cars And Onto...Skiers?
Skiers and snowboarders can already benefit from airbags, albeit a different type of airbag than you'd see in a car. Avalanche airbags from companies like Snow Pulse and Backcountry Access are designed to inflate in the event of an avalanche, helping the victim to stay afloat on the snow and protecting his head and neck from blunt force trauma.
If Italian company Dainese has anything to say about it, skiers will also have access to a more traditional type of airbag designed to protect them in the event of a crash. The company's D-Air wearable airbag was originally designed for motorcycle racing and will soon launch in a street and racing version.
With its motorcycle version well in the works, Dainese has moved some of its focus off the asphalt and into the mountains in signing an agreement with the International Ski Federation (FIS) toward adapting the motorcycle-based D-Air system to the ski slopes to protect skiers from high-impact crashes.
The motorcycle version is essentially a vest with a series of sensors like accelerometers, gyrometers and a GPS. When those sensors detect a crash, the pressurized system delivers an airbag much like a car. The airbag is deployed as fast as 45 milliseconds and protects the riders neck, shoulders and collarbone, augmenting the head protection provided by the helmet.
While it might seem like a skier could just pick up a motorcycle D-Air and be protected, the company will need t recalibrate the system based upon ski data. The system is sensitive enough to decipher between a normal fall and a dangerous crash and it will need data specific to skiing to provide the same level of protection to ski racers.
Once Dainese perfects its formula, maybe we could see personal airbags for every dangerous sport and activity.
Via Gizmag
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BomBoard: Open Water Excitement On A Low Budget


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ASU football safety Marcus Ball retires from football citing medical reasons
Doug Haller
The Republic | azcentral.com
Midway through Wednesday's practice, ASU safety Marcus Ball walked through the Kajikawa practice-field gates. Even though his teammates had worked for nearly an hour, Ball wasn't dressed in football gear. It soon became clear why.
Later that afternoon, the senior defensive back -- expected to play a big role this season -- announced his retirement for medical reasons. Since his sophomore season, Ball said he had experienced "uncontrollable seizures" that kept him off the field.
ASU coach Todd Graham said Thursday that this had been a challenging situation for Ball.
"Man, your heart goes out to him,'' he said. "He's a great young man, a great person. He's had, obviously, some medical difficulties and issues. He still will be very much a big part of our team. He'll be a student coach, helping us with the secondary, but I just wanted to say how proud I am of him. There are lots of things in life that are unfair, and that's sure one of them."
For the first time, Ball on Wednesday explained his issue publicly:
"Those who know my story know that I've now been battling with uncontrollable seizures going on 3 years and was diagnosed epileptic my sophomore summer," Ball wrote on his Twitter page. "Those who don't, I want to make it clear that I am now retiring from football so I can live a better quality of life."
Ball joined ASU in 2013 and positioned himself to make an immediate impact, fighting for a starting spot as a true freshman. A broken collarbone suffered during the Camp Tontozona scrimmage, however, ended that quest.
As a redshirt-freshman, Ball played in eight games. As a sophomore, he appeared in 11, battling his condition along the way.
Last year, Ball had a breakthrough of sorts. After spending most of his career bouncing from spur linebacker to safety, he found a home at bandit safety, starting six of the last seven contests. He finished as ASU's second-leading tackler.
Entering this season, Ball was expected to play a significant defensive role, but it was clear from the start of preseason practice that his condition may not allow it. On the practice field, he was either restricted from contact or a non-participant. A week before the season opener, defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said he wasn't sure what to expect from Ball given the senior's health.
"My health and my family are first in my life," wrote Ball, who recently became a father, "but I make it clear that Arizona State University has put me in a position as well as it can do with others to succeed in life!!"
Ball is the third starter of last season's secondary to leave the program. Safety Armand Perry also retired for medical reasons. In addition, cornerback Kareem Orr transferred to Tennessee-Chattanooga.
MORE ASU FOOTBALL:Breaking down ASU's 2017 football schedule


text:
import { adminFetch } from "../common/fetch";

export const fetchAdminDiagnosticsCacheRest = () => adminFetch('/rest/admin/diagnostics/cache');

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
package fi.vtt.dsp.service.serviceregistry.auth;

import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;

import fi.vtt.dsp.service.serviceregistry.auth.token.Agent;
import fi.vtt.dsp.service.serviceregistry.auth.token.AgentType;
import fi.vtt.dsp.service.serviceregistry.impl.dao.DAOGeneralSystemFault;
import fi.vtt.dsp.service.serviceregistry.impl.dao.DAONotFoundFault;
import java.util.logging.Logger;

public abstract class ResourceAuthorization extends BaseAuthorization {
	private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger
			.getLogger(ResourceAuthorization.class.getName());
	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_MODIFY = true;
	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_UPDATE = true;
	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_DELETE = true;

	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_MODIFY = false;
	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_UPDATE = false;
	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_DELETE = false;

	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_GUEST_MODIFY = false;
	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_GUEST_UPDATE = false;
	private static final boolean DEFAULT_AUTH_GUEST_DELETE = false;

	public ResourceAuthorization() throws DAOGeneralSystemFault {

	}

	protected boolean authorizeAdminUserModify(String userId) {
		return DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_MODIFY;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminServiceModify(String serviceId) {
		return DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_MODIFY;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminServiceInstanceModify(
			String serviceInstanceId) {
		return DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_MODIFY;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminUserUpdate(String userId) {
		return authorizeAdminUserModify(userId) || DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_UPDATE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminServiceUpdate(String serviceId) {
		return authorizeAdminServiceModify(serviceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_UPDATE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminServiceInstanceUpdate(
			String serviceInstanceId) {
		return authorizeAdminServiceInstanceModify(serviceInstanceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_UPDATE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminUserDelete(String userId) {
		return authorizeAdminUserModify(userId) || DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_DELETE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminServiceDelete(String serviceId) {
		return authorizeAdminServiceModify(serviceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_DELETE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeAdminServiceInstanceDelete(
			String serviceInstanceId) {
		return authorizeAdminServiceInstanceModify(serviceInstanceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_ADMIN_DELETE;
	}

	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredUserModify(String userId) {
		return DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_MODIFY;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredServiceModify(String serviceId) {
		return DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_MODIFY;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredServiceInstanceModify(
			String serviceInstanceId) {
		return DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_MODIFY;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredUserUpdate(String userId) {
		return authorizeRegisteredUserModify(userId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_UPDATE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredServiceUpdate(String serviceId) {
		return authorizeRegisteredServiceModify(serviceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_UPDATE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredServiceInstanceUpdate(
			String serviceInstanceId) {
		return authorizeRegisteredServiceInstanceModify(serviceInstanceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_UPDATE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredUserDelete(String userId) {
		return authorizeRegisteredUserModify(userId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_DELETE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredServiceDelete(String serviceId) {
		return authorizeRegisteredServiceModify(serviceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_DELETE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeRegisteredServiceInstanceDelete(
			String serviceInstanceId) {
		return authorizeRegisteredServiceInstanceModify(serviceInstanceId)
				|| DEFAULT_AUTH_REGISTERED_DELETE;
	}

	protected boolean authorizeGuestModify() {
		return DEFAULT_AUTH_GUEST_MODIFY;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeGuestUpdate() {
		return authorizeGuestModify() || DEFAULT_AUTH_GUEST_UPDATE;
	}
	protected boolean authorizeGuestDelete() {
		return authorizeGuestModify() || DEFAULT_AUTH_GUEST_DELETE;
	}

	private boolean authorizeAdminUpdate(AgentType type, String agentId) {
		boolean authorized = false;
		switch (type) {
			case USER :
				authorized = authorizeAdminUserUpdate(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE :
				authorized = authorizeAdminServiceUpdate(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE_INSTANCE :
				authorized = authorizeAdminServiceInstanceUpdate(agentId);
				break;
			default :
				break;
		}
		return authorized;
	}

	private boolean authorizeRegisteredUpdate(AgentType type, String agentId) {
		boolean authorized = false;
		switch (type) {
			case USER :
				authorized = authorizeRegisteredUserUpdate(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE :
				authorized = authorizeRegisteredServiceUpdate(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE_INSTANCE :
				authorized = authorizeRegisteredServiceInstanceUpdate(agentId);
				break;
			default :
				break;
		}
		return authorized;
	}

	protected boolean authorizeAdminDelete(AgentType type, String agentId) {
		boolean authorized = false;
		switch (type) {
			case USER :
				authorized = authorizeAdminUserDelete(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE :
				authorized = authorizeAdminServiceDelete(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE_INSTANCE :
				authorized = authorizeAdminServiceInstanceDelete(agentId);
				break;
			default :
				break;
		}
		return authorized;
	}

	private boolean authorizeRegisteredDelete(AgentType type, String agentId) {
		boolean authorized = false;
		switch (type) {
			case USER :
				authorized = authorizeRegisteredUserDelete(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE :
				authorized = authorizeRegisteredServiceDelete(agentId);
				break;
			case SERVICE_INSTANCE :
				authorized = authorizeRegisteredServiceInstanceDelete(agentId);
				break;
			default :
				break;
		}
		return authorized;
	}

	public boolean canUpdate(Authentication auth) throws DAOGeneralSystemFault,
			DAONotFoundFault {

		if (isResourceNotFound()) {
			return true;
		}

		Agent agent = getAgent(auth);
		String agentId = agent.getId();

		boolean authorized = false;

		switch (agent.getRole()) {
			case ROLE_ADMIN :
				authorized = authorizeAdminUpdate(agent.getType(), agentId);
				break;
			case ROLE_REGISTERED :
				authorized = authorizeRegisteredUpdate(agent.getType(), agentId);
				break;
			case ROLE_GUEST :
				authorized = authorizeGuestUpdate();
				break;
			default :
				break;
		}

		return authorized;
	}

	public boolean canDelete(Authentication auth) throws DAOGeneralSystemFault,
			DAONotFoundFault {

		if (isResourceNotFound()) {
			return true;
		}

		Agent agent = getAgent(auth);
		String agentId = agent.getId();

		boolean authorized = false;

		switch (agent.getRole()) {
			case ROLE_ADMIN :
				authorized = authorizeAdminDelete(agent.getType(), agentId);
				break;
			case ROLE_REGISTERED :
				authorized = isUserAuthorizedToModifyService(agentId, service);
				break;
			case ROLE_GUEST :
				authorized = authorizeGuestDelete();
				break;
			default :
				break;
		}

		return authorized;
	}
}


text:
Q: Android: change background of ImageButton dynamically and show it I implemented ArrayAdapter for ListView, where each row contains TextView and ImageButton.
The background image of ImageButton depends on some condition, two options are available:
public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
            View vi=convertView;
            if(convertView==null)
                vi = inflater.inflate(R.layout.item_with_button, null);

            File f = new File(PATH_TO_FILE);
            if(f.exists()){
                imbutton =(ImageButton)vi.findViewById(R.id.btn_image);
                imbutton.setBackgroundResource(R.drawable.done);
            }else
            {
                imbutton =(ImageButton)vi.findViewById(R.id.btn_image);
                imbutton.setBackgroundResource(R.drawable.download);
                imbutton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
                    public void onClick(View v) {
                        String url = URL;
                        new DownloadFileAsync(pos).execute(url);
                    }
                });
            }
...
return vi;
}

If file exists, then I set "done" image on ImageButton. If file doesn't exist, I set "download" image.
After user clicks on ImageButton, the file downloads and I need change respective image.
The problem is that getView is called only if user scrolls ListView down  until this ImageButton dissapear from the screen and then scroll back. After that button appears with new background image.
However, I can't invalidate button to display new image at the moment.
I used this class for async downloading: http://www.java-samples.com/showtutorial.php?tutorialid=1521
I tried make something like currentbutton.invalidate() in function
@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String unused) {
       activity.dismissDialog(DIALOG_DOWNLOAD_PROGRESS);
}

but without success.
How can I invalidate ImageButton to display its new background image?

A: Try this one:
https://github.com/thest1/LazyList
And after press the button load the image to a specific ImageView with you reference in getView.

A: You could call notifyDataSetChanged in the onClick listener to force a refresh on the list.
I haven't tried it though, so I'm not sure if it'll work without making any explicit changes on the adapter(i.e. adding, removing or updating items on it).
I'll check it later and write any further suggestions if it doesn't work out of the box.
EDIT: Actually you need to call notifyDataSetChanged in the onPostExecute method of the AsyncTask you are using, not in the onClick listener.

A: you can try pass to your AsyncTask , the Button view clicked to your AsyncTask :
new DownloadFileAsync(imButton).execute(url);

and then , in your method onPostExecute() , you can call :
this.btnClicked.setBackgroundResource(R.drawable.done);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Internet-Based Electronic Commerce Going Smoothly for Pennsylvania Utilities, Says Official of Group 8760, State's Leading Supplier of EC Solutions
July 11, 2000 • Birmingham, Alabama
The launch of Internet-based electronic commerce in Pennsylvania's deregulated energy has been a success, an official of Group 8760 said today. Group 8760's GISBAgent®, certified by the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB), is the leading electronic commerce solution for Pennsylvania's deregulated electricity market.
"Based on a poll of our customers and their trading partners, this initiative appears to have gone smoothly," said Jim Buccigross, vice president of Group 8760's energy practice.
Buccigross, chairman of the GISB Executive Committee, added that "GISB standards have been proven in the natural gas industry, and it's clear they will meet the electronic commerce needs of the electricity marketplace as well."
GISBAgent® is a GISB-certified electronic delivery mechanism for inbound and outbound Internet electronic data interchange (EDI) and other file transport between trading partners over the Internet. In October 1999 the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission mandated that all energy companies participating in the state's Customer Choice program be able to carry out EDI over the Internet by July 2000.
Four of the seven electric distribution companies in Pennsylvania's deregulated marketplace -- Pennsylvania Power Co., GPU Energy, Duquesne Light Company, and UGI Utilities -- have selected Group 8760's GISBAgent®. PG Energy, a Pennsylvania natural gas utility, and FirstEnergy, Pennsylvania Power's parent company, have also chosen GISBAgent® .
Pete Byrne, GPU's project leader, said, "GPU Energy has already converted nine of its energy suppliers to the Internet, and we have sent over 8,000 Internet EDI transactions since go-live on July 3. We are testing with additional Pennsylvania suppliers and are planning to use the Internet for transactions with our New Jersey suppliers as well. GISBAgent® will be an integral part of GPU Energy's overall electronic commerce strategy."
Additional information on Group 8760 is available on the Internet at http://www.8760.com or by contacting Helen Markland or Jim Mark at 205-250-8053.


Allan Dean is Professor of Trumpet (Adjunct) at the Yale University School of Music and currently performs with Summit Brass, St. Louis Brass, and the Yale Brass Trio. In the early music field he was a founding member of Calliope: A Renaissance Band and the New York Cornet and Sacbut Ensemble. Dean was a member of the New York Brass Quintet for 18 years and freelanced in the New York City concert and recording field for over 20 years before joining the faculty of Indiana University in 1982. Upon retirement of the New York Brass Quintet in 1984, Dean joined the St. Louis Brass. In 1989 he moved back to the Northeast to join the Yale faculty. At Yale, Dean coaches brass chamber music and directs the Yale Cornet and Sacbut Ensemble in addition to teaching trumpet.
Each summer, Dean performs and teaches at the Mendez Brass Institute and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in Norfolk, Connecticut. He is a frequent soloist with Keith Brion's New Sousa Band. Dean has also appeared at the Speleto and Casals Festivals, the Banff Centre (Canada), the Orford Arts Centre (Canada), Musiki Blekinge (Sweden), the Curitiba Music Festival (Brazil) and the Morella Festival (Spain). He can be heard playing both modern trumpet and early brass on over 80 recordings on most major labels including RCA, Columbia, Nonesuch, Summit and others. On early instruments he has recorded with Calliope, the New York Cornets and Sacbuts, the Waverly Consort, the Ensemble for Early Music, and the Smithsonian Chamber Players.
Professor Dean joined the Yale faculty in 1988. He previously served on the faculties of Indiana University, the Manhattan School of Music, the Hartt School, and the Eastman School of Music.
Dean lives in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts with his wife, Julie Shapiro, an artist, and his daughter, Eloisa. He is an avid tennis player and practices hatha yoga daily.


TC5- SUEDE MASH LOAFERS - TC5 CLOTHING CO.
The new Suede loafer by WWW.TC5.IN is quite the stunner. Coming in 3 colorways, my favorite of them is the Grey Fox suede as shown above. This shade of suede is absolutely stunning. It's so rich and vibrant and when complemented by a natural sole with crude stitching presents the ultimate in Summer footwear. Tc5 seemed showcased by creating this new loafer and I can imagine that sales are crushing it!
It's also amazing how far suede loafers are becoming so popular from last few years. Before only a few companies offered them and now it seems that every brand has a version of their own. Which is great, as I have always loved them. Something with just that touch of difference to it that makes these models appeal to me much more so than the rest. More for the late Summer/Autumn months, but nonetheless beautiful. And for once in my life, the dark brown suede version is my least favorite, but still a stunner without doubt!
Happy Shopping at only £25!
SUMMER IS ALL ABOUT WHITES !


text:
Early Modern (169)
Augustan (168)
Whig (157)
Your search for Gender of Author: "Male" AND Literary Period: "Eighteenth Century" AND Genre: "Prose" AND Religion of Author: "Anglican (High Church)" returned 169 results(s) in 0.005 seconds
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 1711
"The Reflections of such Men are so delicate upon all Occurrences which they are concern'd in, that they should be expos'd to more than ordinary Infamy and Punishment, for offending against such quick Admonitions as their own Souls give them, and blunting the fine Edge of their Minds in such a Ma...
"[S]trange Dis-orders are bred in the Minds of those Men whose Passions are not regulated by Vertue, and disciplined by Reason"
"I consider an Human Soul without Education like Marble in the Quarry, which shews none of its inherent Beauties, till the Skill of the Polisher fetches out the Colours, makes the Surface shine, and discovers every ornamental Cloud, Spot and Vein that runs through the Body of it."
"What Sculpture is to a Block of Marble, Education is to an Human Soul. "
"For to return to our Statue in the Block of Marble, we see it sometimes only begun to be chipped, sometimes rough-hewn and but just sketched into an human Figure, sometimes we see the Man appearing distinctly in all his Limbs and Features, sometimes we find the Figure wrought up to a great Elega...
"Ambition raises a secret Tumult in the Soul, it inflames the Mind, and puts it into a violent hurry of Thought."


I just upgraded my phone again, stayed cheap as usual, and stuck with the Tracfone service. No regrets.
I've been a Tracfone user ever since the mid-2000s, with my first phone using that service being an absolutely dirt simple model formerly known as a "candybar" style phone. There are times when I miss phones like that. A simple little brick with a crazy-good amount of battery life with next to nothing for features. No camera, no GPS, no data. Just talk and T9 style texting. And it worked. It's too bad these aren't made anymore.
2018 was the year I finally got a real smartphone, which was a Samsung Galaxy Stardust. But it was running Android 4.3, and the Chrome browser can't be updated on that old OS any longer, so I had to get something newer. That newer phone was the LG Stylo 3. It runs Android 7.0. That obviously is not the newest version, but new enough to run what I want. Bought as a refurb, of course.
All that ultimately matters with phones is texting, GPS, camera, the ability to post text, image and/or video to the internet easily, and the ability to run apps that are genuinely useful in daily life. Examples of that are weather and navigation apps.
Cheap phones can do this easily. The more expensive handsets really don't do it any better.
I am anti-contract to a fault where phone service is concerned. At any time, if I don't feel like using the service anymore, I simply stop using it and that's it. No contract is broken because none exists, and no money is spent.
One could arguably say the one drawback of using prepaid is that you run out of data allowance quickly. This isn't an issue for me since I don't use data hardly at all. But soon enough this may become a thing of the past as Wi-Fi continues to spread every year.
At the time I write this in February 2019, we're getting close to genuinely affordable unlimited data. Using MetroPCS as an example, their cheapest unlimited plan - which like Tracfone has no contract, by the way - is $40/month. And that's with taxes and fees included.
The smart way to go about this is to buy a cheap unlocked phone and use that as your handset with the service. For the moment, that's as cheap as it gets. But not cheap enough for me.
What I'm waiting for is for unlimited data plans to drop to $25/month. That's when I'll probably take the plunge and go for it.
Will the $25/month no-contract service actually happen? Yes, I'm certain it will. When? Probably by 2025. Maybe sooner.
Who will offer it first? Probably Tracfone. They do offer regular phone plans, and if there's any company who could make the $25/month unlimited data plan happen with no contract, it would be them. For single users and not bundle plans, mind you.
...what I'm using works fine. Service is as cheap as it gets, and whenever I actually need data connectivity, there are free Wi-Fi hotspots everywhere these days. Everywhere not in the sticks, that is.


Love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion on the John Lewis advert, especially its fellow retailers.
Many are so obsessed that they have taken to YouTube to parody its tale of Buster the Boxer. Here are the best homages the internet has to offer.
Aldi's Kevin the Carrot can't wait for the main event of the year… the unveiling of the department store's annual spectacular.
It took Voucher Codes £600 and six hours to produce this parody. Equal parts creative dynamism and a nightmarish vision, the "music" is the best bit.
Satirical website The Poke points out the reality of a large portion of the animal kingdom taking to your trampoline. Bit of a dampener but it could be worse – aren't foxes quite fond of squirrel?
Argos cleverly undercuts John Lewis with its budget trampoline, available for next-day delivery. Bit of shame they couldn't fork out for the proper soundtrack though.
In a homage to grumpy dads everywhere, a Robert Dyas customer goes to drastic measures to ensure the local wildlife don't get their mitts on his trampoline.


text:
Bob Gurnett
Comedian/Author
Bob Gurnett is a writer, comedian, and fun uncle based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Nebraska, Bob has used his folksy wit to delight audiences and readers for over a decade. Bob's comedy walks a tightrope between absurd and sincere, bouncing between observations on family, love, and 1950s Noir Detectives. He was nominated for Class Clown in high school and has been chasing that high ever since. Bob has written for Sterling Publishing, Chronicle Books, and Huffington Post. He produces the popular, long running Brooklyn comedy showcase, No Cool Kids and his stand up has been featured on Crom, Beast VIllage, and Hudson Valley Comedy Festivals.
View bobdoad's profile on Facebook
View bobisntfuny's profile on Twitter
View bobisntfunny's profile on Instagram
Follow Bob on Twitter
See Bob Perform Live
No Cool Kids January 20, 2021 at 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Starr Bar, 214 Starr St, Brooklyn, NY 11237, USA No Cool Kids is back at the tree house with more stories, jokes, and embarassing pictures. Hosts Bob Gurnett and Lauren Vino and their best comedy buds talk about their awkward youth, complete with photo evidence.
Pants on Fire Game Show January 24, 2021 at 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238, USA Pants on Fire is pub quiz, stand up comedy, and a game show, all rolled into one. Hosted by Bob Gurnett, Patrick Reilly, Sam Bourne, and Josh McDougal.
Branded Saloon Open Mic January 26, 2021 at 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238, USA Stand Up comedy open mic hosted by Bob Gurnett and Sam Bourne.
Branded Saloon Open Mic February 2, 2021 at 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238, USA Stand Up comedy open mic hosted by Bob Gurnett and Sam Bourne.
Read Bob's Books