text:
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Home >  WaveUtilities > MakeONFilter.m

MakeONFilter

PURPOSE

MakeONFilter -- Generate Orthonormal QMF Filter for Wavelet Transform

SYNOPSIS

function f = MakeONFilter(Type,Par)

DESCRIPTION

 MakeONFilter -- Generate Orthonormal QMF Filter for Wavelet Transform
  Usage
    qmf = MakeONFilter(Type,Par)
  Inputs
    Type   string, 'Haar', 'Beylkin', 'Coiflet', 'Daubechies',
           'Symmlet', 'Vaidyanathan','Battle'
    Par    integer, it is a parameter related to the support and vanishing
           moments of the wavelets, explained below for each wavelet.

 Outputs
    qmf    quadrature mirror filter

  Description
    The Haar filter (which could be considered a Daubechies-2) was the
    first wavelet, though not called as such, and is discontinuous.

    The Beylkin filter places roots for the frequency response function
    close to the Nyquist frequency on the real axis.

    The Coiflet filters are designed to give both the mother and father
    wavelets 2*Par vanishing moments; here Par may be one of 1,2,3,4 or 5.

    The Daubechies filters are minimal phase filters that generate wavelets
    which have a minimal support for a given number of vanishing moments.
    They are indexed by their length, Par, which may be one of
    4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18 or 20. The number of vanishing moments is par/2.

    Symmlets are also wavelets within a minimum size support for a given
    number of vanishing moments, but they are as symmetrical as possible,
    as opposed to the Daubechies filters which are highly asymmetrical.
    They are indexed by Par, which specifies the number of vanishing
    moments and is equal to half the size of the support. It ranges
    from 4 to 10.

    The Vaidyanathan filter gives an exact reconstruction, but does not
    satisfy any moment condition.  The filter has been optimized for
    speech coding.

    The Battle-Lemarie filter generate spline orthogonal wavelet basis.
    The parameter Par gives the degree of the spline. The number of
    vanishing moments is Par+1.

  See Also
    FWT_PO, IWT_PO, FWT2_PO, IWT2_PO, WPAnalysis

  References
    The books by Daubechies and Wickerhauser.

CROSS-REFERENCE INFORMATION

This function calls:

reverse	reverse -- Reverse order of elements in 1-d signal

This function is called by:

IWaveletTransform	WAVELETTRANSFORM 1D inverse wavelet transform

IWaveletTransform2D	WAVELETTRANSFORM 2D inverse wavelet transform

WaveletTransform	WAVELETTRANSFORM 1D wavelet transform

WaveletTransform2D	WAVELETTRANSFORM 2D wavelet transform

<address>Generated on Mon 08-Mar-2004 09:02:18 by m2html © 2003</address>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Aboutgeochallenge2018-10-18T13:47:39-04:00
The United States Geography Olympiad was founded in the summer of 2012 as a nationwide competition to test the geography skills of American students and to help foster geography education throughout the United States. The competition aims to reward students who have devoted themselves to studying their world, and its countries and peoples, as a thorough knowledge of geography is essential to being an educated citizen today. Aside from fostering an appreciation of knowledge of our world, the United States Geography Olympiad is the official qualifying competition for the International Geography Olympiad (aka iGeo), and by competing in it, Varsity Division students will have a chance to become members of the American team to attend iGeo. The 2019 iGeo will be held in August 2019 in Hong Kong; the members of Team USA will be selected at the Varsity & Junior Varsity National Championships of the United States Geography Olympiad on Friday, April 26, 2019 in Arlington, VA.
The USGO has been open to all primary and secondary students, regardless of age since its founding. For the 2018-2019 School year, the USGO features four divisions: Elementary School, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, Junior Varsity, and Varsity. Elementary School and Middle School aged students can also compete in the Junior Varsity Division.
The US Geography Olympiad is a division of International Academic Competitions, which organizes tournaments and competitions in a variety of subjects for students in over 30 countries around the world. See our website at www.iacompetitions.com for further details. You may also wish to explore another competition we run that you or your children or students can compete in: the International Geography Bee.
Staff and Co-Founders
President: David Madden, Living Full-Time on the Road Since February 2016
The President and Co-Founder of the United States Geography Olympiad is David Madden. Madden also founded the National History Bee and Bowl in 2010, since which time thousands of students throughout the USA have competed. He is also the founder of the International History Bee and Bowl for students outside the USA and the International History Olympiad for all students around the world. Madden also attended the 2012 International Geography Olympiad in Cologne, Germany as an official observer from the United States, and then coached and chaperoned the first ever Team USA at iGeo in 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. He was head coach of the 2014 Team USA in Krakow, Poland, on which the iGeo world champion, James Mullen of California, competed. He is most interested in the impact of geography on geopolitics, as he holds degrees in International Relations from Princeton and the Free University of Berlin in Germany. He has competed in a number of geography competitions in the past, and is also a 19 day champion on the US quiz show, Jeopardy!
Vice-President: Enrico Contolini, Lakewood, CO
The Vice President and Co-Founder of the United States Geography Challenge is Enrico Contolini. Enrico is originally from Italy, visited many places and now lives in Colorado with his family. He is the father of four children and coached his daughter Isabella to victories in the Colorado Geographic Bee in 2010 and 2011, where she was also the top female competitor in the USA both years. He is a geography enthusiast and researcher. He is especially interested in raising awareness about poverty and orphans in developing countries. "Geography means 'to write about the earth'. Ultimately, we study the earth to make it a better place for the people who live on it; all of them! Almost half of the world population lives in poverty (less than $2/day). To improve their life, we need to understand their living conditions, background, language, culture, environment, etc. I hope the US Geography Olympiad will help many US students learn more about the world and its people." You can read more about him and contact him through his blog at: http://smeeko.blogspot.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What's one thing you have to always have on your pizza no matter what?
For me, gotta be something spicy. Like jalapeños or red pepper!! Has to have spicy to it!
I don't mind just doing half the pizza.
Tomato sauce. I really can't stand the white sauces some pizzas have.
Awww. Hehe fair enough. Never thought to have it on chicken wings. Chicken pesto pasta is awesome.
however, they must have been kept fresh using 'My Excellent Patented Stay-Fresh Technology', as seen on TV!
Sauce of some form. Dry cheeze bread when I ordered a PIZZA is some major disappointment bs.
is that a miniature pepperoni?
Green peppers, I like the taste. I add hot peppers if I want to hate my life in five hours after eating it.
Agree I like em hot n spicy.
Any kind of spicy substance.
Onions, green peppers and meat. I don't like pizza that much.


It was originally incorporated as Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications headquartered in London, England until Sony. W200i Cell Phone pdf manual download. United States: Charlotte ( Nc) Nagaoka Guinea- Bissau; Czestochowa, Brazil; Bissau, Japan; Cachoeiro De Itapemirim Poland.
Sony Ericsson Cell Phone Owner' s Manual. ( Japanese: ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ) is a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1 Ericsson, headquartered in Tokyo, as a joint venture between Sony , Japan wholly owned by Sony. The Sony Ericsson C902 was released during the second quarter of.
Duisburg - Germany. It is a java based feature device running on Sony Ericsson' s proprietary A200 platform.


Finally got the glutInit function working (and, in fact, enough of GLUT to do a "hello world" with it). I even went to the extreme of adding a test case to ctypes that deals with a similarly structured argument set. The problem, it turned out, was that I was using the auto-generated wrapper, which had set various argtypes on the function, and those were confusing ctypes something nasty. The raw ctypes function worked perfectly well.
Also merged PyOpenGL's maintenance branch back to head so that Charles can do development on the head (which was where he was working anyway). Checked OpenGL-ctypes into CVS, but unfortunately I was one level too high in the directory tree when I did it, so the repository is now filled with empty, pointless directories :( .


In a deep dish or small baking pan combine flour, salt and pepper. Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour mixture.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat melt 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange chicken cutlets in the pan and brown, about 3-4 minutes a side. Remove chicken from the pan and keep warm in the oven.
Pour lemon juice, white wine, and capers into the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the good brown bits. Reduce the liquid by about half. Stir 1 tablespoon butter into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, in another large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 clove minced garlic over medium heat. Wilt spinach in hot oil. Season with salt. Stir ½ the lemon caper sauce into the spinach.
Spread remaining olive oil and butter on bread and top with minced garlic. Toast under the broiler, 2-3 minutes. Dunk bread in remaining lemon caper sauce.
Assemble sandwich by layering chicken with spinach on top. Serve immediately.


text:
std::vector<QRect> mapClearData[7][16];

const romaddr_t ptrMapClearL  = {0x12, 0x9C7E};
const romaddr_t ptrMapClearH  = {0x12, 0x9CEE};
const uint      ptrMapClearB  = 0x12;
const romaddr_t mapClearStart = {0x12, 0x9D5E};

void loadMapClearData(ROMFile& rom, uint map, uint width) {
    for (uint level = 0; level < 16; level++) {
        mapClearData[map][level].clear();

        uint8_t bytes[4] = {0};
        romaddr_t addr = rom.readShortPointer(ptrMapClearL, ptrMapClearH, ptrMapClearB,
                                              (map * 16) + level);
        if (!addr.addr) continue;

        do {
            rom.readBytes(addr, 4, bytes);

            addr.addr += 4;

            uint screen = bytes[0] & 0xF;
            uint x = (screen % width * SCREEN_WIDTH) + (bytes[1] & 0xF);
            uint y = (screen / width * SCREEN_HEIGHT) + (bytes[1] >> 4);

            mapClearData[map][level].push_back(QRect(x, y, bytes[2], bytes[3]));

        } while (bytes[0] < 0x80);
    }
}

void saveMapClearData(ROMFile& rom, const leveldata_t *levelData, uint num) {

    romaddr_t addr = mapClearStart;
    // get address to write clear data to based on how many rects were written
    // for previous levels
    for (uint map = 0; map < num; map++)
        for (uint level = 0; level < 0x10; level++)
            addr.addr += 4 * mapClearData[map][level].size();

    for (uint level = 0; level < 0x10; level++) {
        std::vector<QRect>& rects = mapClearData[num][level];

        if (!rects.size()) {
            rom.writeToShortPointer(ptrMapClearL, ptrMapClearH, {0, 0}, 0, NULL, num * 16 + level);
            continue;
        }

        rom.writeToShortPointer(ptrMapClearL, ptrMapClearH, addr, 0, NULL, num * 16 + level);

        uint numRects = rects.size();
        for (std::vector<QRect>::const_iterator i = rects.begin(); i != rects.end(); i++) {
            uint8_t bytes[4];

            // byte 0: screen
            bytes[0] = (i->y() / SCREEN_HEIGHT * levelData->header.screensH)
                     + (i->x() / SCREEN_WIDTH);
            // and last rect flag
            if (--numRects == 0)
                bytes[0] |= 0x80;

            // byte 1: Y/X coords
            bytes[1] = ((i->y() % SCREEN_HEIGHT) << 4) | (i->x() % SCREEN_WIDTH);

            // bytes 2-3: width/height
            bytes[2] = i->width();
            bytes[3] = i->height();

            // write it
            rom.writeBytes(addr, 4, bytes);
            addr.addr += 4;
        }
    }
}

MapClearDelegate::MapClearDelegate(QObject *parent) :
    QItemDelegate(parent)
{}

QWidget* MapClearDelegate::createEditor(QWidget *parent, const QStyleOptionViewItem&, const QModelIndex& index) const {
    QSpinBox *editor = new QSpinBox(parent);
    int col = index.column();

    editor->setMinimum(0);
    switch (col) {
    case MapClearModel::columnX:
        editor->setMaximum(16 * SCREEN_WIDTH - 1);
        break;

    case MapClearModel::columnY:
        editor->setMaximum(16 * SCREEN_HEIGHT - 1);
        break;

    default:
        editor->setMaximum(255);
        break;
    }

    return editor;
}

void MapClearDelegate::setEditorData(QWidget *editor, const QModelIndex& index) const {
    int val = index.model()->data(index).toInt();

    QSpinBox *box = static_cast<QSpinBox*>(editor);
    box->setValue(val);
}

void MapClearDelegate::setModelData(QWidget *editor, QAbstractItemModel *model, const QModelIndex& index) const {
    QSpinBox *box = static_cast<QSpinBox*>(editor);
    box->interpretText();

    model->setData(index, box->value());
}

void MapClearDelegate::updateEditorGeometry(QWidget *editor, const QStyleOptionViewItem& option, const QModelIndex &) const {
    editor->setGeometry(option.rect);
}

MapClearModel::MapClearModel(QObject *parent) :
    QAbstractTableModel(parent),
    level(0),
    rects(NULL)
{}

int MapClearModel::rowCount(const QModelIndex&) const {
    // return number of rects for this stage
    if (rects)
        return rects->size();

    return 0;
}

int MapClearModel::columnCount(const QModelIndex&) const {
    return 4;
}

Qt::ItemFlags MapClearModel::flags(const QModelIndex&) const {
    return Qt::ItemIsEnabled
         | Qt::ItemIsSelectable
         | Qt::ItemIsEditable;
}

QVariant MapClearModel::data(const QModelIndex& index, int role) const {
    switch (role) {
    case Qt::DisplayRole:
        if (!rects)
            return 0;

        int col = index.column();
        int row = index.row();
        QRect rect = rects->at(row);

        switch (col) {
        case columnX:
            return rect.x();

        case columnY:
            return rect.y();

        case columnWidth:
            return rect.width();

        case columnHeight:
            return rect.height();

        default:
            return QVariant();
        }

        break;
    }

    return QVariant();
}

QVariant MapClearModel::headerData(int section, Qt::Orientation orientation, int role) const {
    switch (role) {
    case Qt::DisplayRole:
        if (orientation == Qt::Horizontal) {
            switch (section) {
            case columnX:
                return QString("X");

            case columnY:
                return QString("Y");

            case columnWidth:
                return QString("Width");

            case columnHeight:
                return QString("Height");

            default:
                return QVariant();
            }
        } else {
            return section + 1;
        }

        break;
    }

    return QVariant();
}

bool MapClearModel::setData(const QModelIndex &index, const QVariant &value, int role) {
    if (role == Qt::EditRole) {
        int row = index.row();
        int col = index.column();

        QRect& rect = rects->at(row);

        bool ok;
        uint val = value.toUInt(&ok);

        if (!ok) return false;

        switch (col) {
        case columnX:
            rect.moveLeft(val);
            break;

        case columnY:
            rect.moveTop(val);
            break;

        case columnWidth:
            rect.setWidth(val);
            break;

        case columnHeight:
            rect.setHeight(val);
            break;

        default:
            return false;
        }

        emit dataChanged(index, index);
        return true;
    }

    return false;
}

bool MapClearModel::insertRow(int row, const QModelIndex &parent) {
    if (rects && (uint)row < rects->size()) {
        beginInsertRows(parent, row, row);
        rects->insert(rects->begin() + row, QRect());
        endInsertRows();
        return true;

    } else if (rects) {
        beginInsertRows(parent, row, row);
        rects->push_back(QRect());
        endInsertRows();
        return true;
    }

    return false;
}

bool MapClearModel::removeRow(int row, const QModelIndex &parent) {
    if (rects && (uint)row < rects->size()) {
        beginRemoveRows(parent, row, row);
        rects->erase(rects->begin() + row);
        endRemoveRows();
        return true;

    }

    return false;
}

void MapClearModel::setRects(std::vector<QRect> *newRects) {
    if (newRects) {
        beginResetModel();
        rects = newRects;
        endResetModel();
    }
}


text:
24.5: The Advisor & Conductor in Soñadora Light
Posted byelmwynn January 11, 2022 January 12, 2022 Posted inthe glorious sixTags:alpha, atienna imamu, cadence morello, jericho, louise, olive chance, renee, scorpio, werner waltz
Atienna is in Cancer acting as an advisor to the Virgoan Diplomat Dimka who has gotten his foot in the door of Cancerian affairs. While there, Atienna becomes familiar with the Duke of House Lune Aldéric Échecs and his brother Albertine. She also discovers that chlorowheat has found its way into Cancer as well. Her concern is not this, however, but Louise Bonnefoy whose house she invades in search of clues. While she does find Louise's personal journal, she also encounters Aquarian spies in the residence. This further sparks tension between Caner and Aquarius. Atienna also cares little for this and sets her attention on finding Louise.
Secoursonne, Cancer
Lueur de Fée.
That was the name of an infamous waterfall located at the very heart of Cancer. According to the texts, the waterfall geysered out right into a river beneath which flowed a vitae-stream that supplied its reserves to more than two thirds of the country.
It was also the location named a multitude of times in Louise's journal which Atienna had continued to peruse through after taking it from Louise's place of residence. The waterfall was in fact mentioned 156 times precisely, as Werner had readily counted. One passage had read—
Lueur de Fée. If I ever have a child, I'll certainly name them this! The most wonderous, magical, beautiful place in the world!
Another passage had read—
I wonder if faeries actually live at the Lueur de Fée. They say that Cancer—the Ancestor not the country—used to go to the falls to communicate with spirits wandering beyond death's door but I think it's much more romantic to imagine them speaking with faeries.
Louise's apparent obsession or admiration of this 'natural' wonder paired with the constant trickling of water and the Cancerian chatter in the background of her radio broadcasts painted a certain picture to Atienna—Louise was most likely there.
Atienna herself had much time to research the waterfall since she was on a technical lockdown as the result of an internal investigation by both Cancerian law officials and the International Relations Department of Ophiuchus. She wasn't the main subject of the investigation, of course—even though she'd been directly involved in the affair. 'Fortunately'—although the word seemed tactless and cold—everyone Aldéric had invited to his estate was a suspect. The flint that ignited the investigation was the organized group found trespassing in Louise's estate. Rather, it was the Aquarian spies found invading a Cancerian duchess's estate—or so the headlines like to put it.
And so Atienna found her subject to a familiar line of inquiry once more by men and women in suits—peacekeepers and not. Even some of the peacekeepers were familiar to her.
"Fancy seeing you again," said one of the Ophiuchian agents whom Atienna recognized as having previously come down to Aquarius following the Zatenminye Caverns incident. "Work as an advisor still seems to bring its own troubles, doesn't it?"
Yes. No. I didn't see anything. I really don't know. I was in the bathroom at the Duke of House Lune's estate at the time.
Atienna merely had to answer simply. She didn't even need Cadence's influence to help in that regard. Well, perhaps it was just that those helpful aspects of Cadence had already been ingrained deep inside her. Either way, with everything Cadence was dealing with concerning the children and Alpha, Atienna didn't wish to add to her stresses and troubles. Werner's either. And yet the troubles seemed to keep piling up…
"Are you nervous?"
During an interview in the middle of the first week of the investigation, Atienna was asked this not-so-unusual question by the attending peacekeeper. What was unusual about it, however, was the flippant tone with which it was proposed.
The interview—rather, the interrogation—was being held in one of the duke's many private rooms at his estate. His maids and butlers had emptied it out of most of its extravagant furniture leaving only a lacquered wooden table and two chairs on opposing sides. The murals of Cancerian wilderness and swirling reservoirs, however, remained steadfast on the walls, giving the room a liminal and empty feeling.
Atienna regarded the peacekeeper who sat across from her carefully. He was a tall man with a high nose—mostly likely of Aquarian origin. His eyes were sharp, his brow prominent. A serious peacekeeper, indeed, but—
"It wouldn't be sensible to be nervous while I'm in the presence of and under the omniscient gaze of someone who has invested in my survivability, don't you think?"
The peacekeeper—rather Scorpio's offshoot—spread his hands and smiled. "That you are right, Miss Atienna Imamu."
Werner synchronized in with her sharply then, shadowing in like the moon. She glanced at him half-curiously, although she was comforted by his presence.
Scorpio gestured to her. "I hope this hasn't put too much of a damper on your investigations into Louise. You do remember the deadline."
"Oh, I'm very aware of the deadline," Atienna replied, "and I appreciate your attentiveness… though I do have to wonder—is that deadline coincidentally in line with the coming of the 'syzygy'?"
Scorpio arched his brow and then nodded. "Indeed it is, so we should prepare a celebration. Mark your calendar!"
How Talib-like, Atienna thought.
Humming, Scorpio moved to pick up the paper set in front of him and scanned it. He sighed a moment afterwards and threw the paper back down. "These questions make me want to claw my eyes out. 'What are your opinions on Aquarius? What are your opinions on Cancer? What were you doing on the night of February 28th?' I mean, really?"
"They are quite roundabout and evasive," Atienna agreed.
"And you're very familiar with that, aren't you?"
Scorpio's smile thinned for a moment before he pulled out a pen from his pocket. Werner tensed at the sight, but Atienna relaxed as she saw the saint candidate begin to fill out the questions on the sheet.
"Let me do you a favor and save you the time," he said.
"Oh, you're quite generous."
"I'm all about giving people what they want," Scorpio returned after he finished his scribbling and set down his pen. He reached into his pocket once more and set something on the table in-between them. A pair of suppression cuffs. "I know Jericho has probably sent you one of these already but we can't be too cautious, right? Even with your prowess, Queen of the Night."
When Atienna wasn't being interrogated by Cancerians or Ophiuchians, she was perusing the Lune estate's plentiful library for information about the waterfall. The bookshelves here were mahogany and matched the large Sagittarian rug fitted right beneath the low-v-light chandelier. There was not a single speck of dust on any surface. Unfortunately this merely highlighted the fact that the books themselves were so evidently rarely-touched.
Werner approved of her thoroughness in her research but pressed her on their deadline. He was quite gentle with his words despite the fact that she could see that he clearly thought she was stalling and stretching the matter out. Was it because of that protect, protect, protect due to Scorpio or his leniency showing due to their connection? Atienna wondered.
Stalling on the other hand? Perhaps she was. But one couldn't remain in place forever—especially when one had already made a decision. And so, when the peacekeepers concluded their investigation and returned to Ophiuchus, Atienna had no more excuses left.
In-Transit, Cancer
Atienna had been worried how she would manage splitting off from Dimka and Sefu in order to pursue Louise. Fortunately, however, a little bit of discussion with Aldéric resolved that issue. With Cadence's help, all Atienna had to do was drop a quiet 'oh, this place is a bit stuffy, don't you think?' and a 'I've always wanted to visit that one famous Cancerian waterfall…' and Aldéric immediately booked a weekend trip to the location. He, of course, cordially invited Dimka as well and brought along several other diplomats and 'friends'—mostly women—whom were invited to the initial party. Albertine invited himself.
As expected, Aldéric wholly rejected the idea of taking a train—even a luxury one—to their destination. Atienna wondered if he thought it was too far beneath him or if 'riding with the common man'—as he put it—simply made him feel uncomfortable. Olive had a few choice words to say about it.
And so, instead of taking a v-train, they travelled by v-ehicle. Atienna rode with Aldéric and Albertine alongside Sefu and Dimka. Albertine had his own driver much to Sefu's evident relief. The arrangements, however, made it so that Sefu, Aldéric, Dimka, and Atienna herself had to share the space in the backseat of the v-ehicle, while Albertine manned the front with the driver. Despite the extravagant design of the car and its leather seating, it was quite a tight fit. Thankfully, Aldéric opted not to smoke or bring out his chlorowheat and instead chatted idly with Dimka about v-ehicles and the like. Atienna was grateful for this as it meant that she had more time to pour through her book on the rather interesting history of the falls. Or at least she tried to.
V-ehicles had rapidly evolved in these past few months, Aldéric was saying, and vr-fueling stations dotted every town, city, and place in-between. He and Dimka marveled at the innovation with Dimka even allauding how rapidly Cancer had picked up the v-ehicle boom. Aldéric returned the praises ten-fold.
Was this truly diplomacy? Atienna wondered as she listened to them chatter on. Or an exchange of reassurances? She didn't have quite long to ponder the idea because it was during this time that Tau revealed the criteria for saint candidacy to Maria, Jericho, and Cadence and the three ELPIS leaders debated on the possibility of their being a seventh True Conductor to their group.
It sounded quite fairy tale-like in Atienna's opinion. Or perhaps it was more akin to something like a somber tragedy given that all six of them had no knowledge—or 'memory' as the ELPIS leaders said—of this mysterious seventh. A sad story indeed. But it was a distant event and only seemed to hold importance in the way it applied to Olive's research on improving Lavi's condition.
The drive to the waterfalls was quite a long one so it left Atienna with much time to think on the topic. Every so often, however, they would have to refuel the v-ehicle at a vr-station or find recluse at a rest stop.
During one of their rest stops at a vr-station, Atienna opted to remain inside the v-ehicle while Dimka, Albertine, Aldéric, and Sefu went to relieve themselves. The driver opted to remain inside the car as well, but the two of them hadn't exchanged words as of yet so Atienna didn't feel pressed for conversation.
"So," the driver drew suddenly, stretching his arms out across the length of the locomotive. "Anything interesting in your readings, dear Atienna?"
"Scorpio," Atienna greeted, offering a pleasant smile. Much to her surprise, Werner did not appear at her side. She supposed it wasn't too surprising though given the time of night. He tended to turn in earlier for rest recently. She wondered if it was the cold. Either way, it was deserved. "It seems as if we keep meeting each other for casual conversation like this."
"Although I did say that you were quite like Libra," Scorpio hummed, "I have to admit you're a much more entertaining conversationalist. Perhaps even more so than the other five."
"Oh, I doubt I'm that entertaining," Atienna returned, knowing full well that the latter part of his sentence was intended to rile her. "Although I appreciate the company, from what I understand, you have your hands quite full."
"Yes, well…" Scorpio sighed melodramatically and leaned back in his chair. "Who am I to stop the will of the people? They're dissatisfied with the current state of affairs—be it regarding their country, their neighborhoods, each other, or themselves." His eyes narrowed as he said the last word, and he held up three fingers. "What do people do when they're dissatisfied? One, they run and hide in one shape or another—sometimes not in the way most people think. Two, they struggle and fight for what they believe is right. And three—" He pointed back to her. "—they become frozen in place and wait for the world to change around them. A useless endeavor. Really."
"And which one are you, Scorpio?"
Scorpio remained silent for a moment before he smiled. "Oh, you know the answer to that! You know everything."
"Oh, I don't know everything. I do wish I did though," Atienna said. "And… I was more so referring to the… confuddle with Alpha and his plans to raid Ophiuchus than any other generalizations…"
"Hm, oh yes. Leona was quite surprised when my dear partner brought that subject up to her—not so much surprised about Alpha but about the fact that Jericho had brought it to her attention. We're quite aware that Alpha's been moseying around Signum stocking up supplies. The Ophiuchus raid was a surprise though, I have to admit. Although… It wouldn't be the first time he's trying to break into Ophiuchus."
Scorpio leaned forward against the wheel.
"I never quite liked Proteus. He always thought he was so suave in his apathy. He touted knowing everything and not caring for everything, but I see him for what he truly is. A hypocrite in search of an answer. I'm sure you're familiar with the idea, Atienna."
"Is that how you see me as?" Atienna queried before she pressed curiously—"And what answer is Alpha seeking exactly?"
Scorpio's eyes narrowed. "Ophiuchus."
"Ophiuchus—"
"Miss Imamu." Scorpio smiled cordially as he peered at her through the rear-view mirror. "You're quite shrewd, managing to uphold your role as an advisor and a True Conductor hunter like this. Somehow still not making a choice."
"I commend you the same," Atienna responded quickie, "for upholding the guise of a peacekeeper, a chairman, a saint candidate, and all the people you've planted your spores in all at once."
Scorpio opened his mouth to retort but the passenger door opened and Albertine re-entered the v-ehicle.
The driver shut his mouth and flashed a smile. "Monsieur Albertine, how was your smoke?"
Lueur de Fée, Cancer
Atienna heard the waterfall before she saw it. The drawn out yet quiet roar, like muffled static on one of Werner's radios. A low rumble only a few notches below the rumbling of the v-ehicle's conducting engine. A resonating sound.
The first sign of it that she saw was the fog that rolled on from down the road. The fog itself was not gray but colored instead with various shades of red, green, and blue. Most likely, it was reflecting the light from the nearby vitae stream or had taken up some stray vitae particles itself.
The driver slowed the v-ehicle to a stop as they neared the top of a cliff that seemed to oversee the waterfall in question. There were several other v-ehicles already parked along the side of the road there, and a handful of people stood pressing against the fence at the edge of the grassy cliff.
Aldéric took Atienna's hand, then her waist, and led her to the fence. Sefu seemed quite displeased with the fact but tailed them anyways alongside Albertine and Dimka. As Atienna neared the fence and peered down the cliff, she let out a quiet breath and reached out for the others. Jericho, Cadence, and Olive were the only ones to answer her call, and together they admired the sight.
Despite the darkness of the sky, the waterfall was illuminated all the way up its length in splashes of greens and blues and reds. The waterfall itself was a large and almost monstrous thing, torrenting down into the wide river below it without relent. The river itself served as the source of light. No, that wasn't quite right. The source of light lay deep inside the river, piercing up through its depths and spreading its luminesce through its waters.
A vitae stream flowing hot right below the river. How fascinating to see it with one's own eyes.
From this angle, it looked as if the vitae stream was trapped beneath a thick glass that fractured its glow against the cliff-faces, trees, and everything near it.
"This is what Cancerian beauty is!" Aldéric exclaimed to Atienna's left as he pulled her close.
Cadence and Olive shared looks—the former with an amused smirk and the latter with an unamused scowl
"I agree. It's quite beautiful, no?" came a quiet voice to Atienna's right.
She glanced absentmindedly in the direction and froze as she registered the profile of a familiar man with distinctly Cancerian features. Blonde hair tied into a loose pony-tail and a well-fitted blue suit with a plaid design.
Reneé…
Olive's guilt seized Atienna's chest.
"Chevalier Reneé LeBlanc?" Aldéric gasped. "Is that you?"
Reneé offered a bow in response and began to take each of their hands and place a kiss upon it. Afterwards, he offered Aldéric a respectful nod. "It's a pleasure to see you both here, Aldéric, Albertine."
"What are you doing here?" Albertine's brows rose.
"Well, I am on vacation," Reneé responded good-naturedly. "I had to attend a meeting in Sagittarius in place of a couple of our officials, so now I'm just relaxing."
"Oh, right… that…" Aldéric hummed. "Sorry for shoving that responsibility on you. I had a party to host, you see? Diplomacy and whatnot." He gestured to Dimka. "This is my good friend Dimka. A diplomat from Virgo.
"A pleasure." Reneé nodded at Dimka before turning back to Aldéric. "And, I am a chevalier, Aldéric. I don't mind it. My purpose is to honor and serve the people of my country. Say, how about I serve you a little bit more and take you to dinner?"
Reneé invited them to dinner at a restaurant at the foot of the falls. A portion of the restaurant extended out into the river which was where Reneé had them seated at. Atienna felt a bit uncomfortable with the affair but she quite enjoyed the peaceful serenity of the view.
Once the dinning activities were well under way, she discovered through conversation that Reneé happened to be staying at the same inn that they were planning to stay in. It also appeared as if Aldéric, Albertine, and Reneé shared some sort of history. It didn't seem to be any deeper than surface-level, however, so Atienna gauged that they were merely acquaintances through the Cancerian courts.
Reneé seemed to have gotten better since Olive had encountered him earlier in the month. The man's eyes were less shadowed under, and his laugh seemed louder and clearer. But appearances were deceiving. Atienna wondered exactly what was happening to Hilton beneath the Serpens Establishment.
Upon nightfall, Atienna snuck out of the inn they had found seclusion in and slinked towards the waterfall with Louise's journal in her hand and two pairs of suppression cuffs hidden at her hip. There was a specific passage in the former that denoted a particular location around the waterfall—
They say that if you enter the cave behind the waterfalls at midnight and make a wish, it will come true. Oh, I hope it's not one of those curses where your wish is granted in some terrible way. That's why I have to make a smart wish. Remember, Louse. Be smart!
The atmosphere closer to the waterfall was a bit odd. It wasn't cold despite the winter season and the rush of the waterfall, yet contrarily it wasn't warm either despite the pulsating glow of the vitae stream. It felt to Atienna like she was stuck in a rift between two worlds.
She quickly crossed a metal bridge that connected one side of the river to the other and continued across the rushing waters. Despite the elevation above the waters, the bridge was still quite slippery. Atienna managed it, however, and passed over slowly, stopping only to marvel at the psychedelic glow beneath the black waters.
Upon reaching the other side and walking up to the cliff-face there, she noted with mild relief and surprise that there was a small opening between the falls and the side of the cliff.
As she drew nearer to the lip of the divide, a light, happy, fluttering laugh rang in her ears. It wasn't an unusual laugh. There was nothing particularly special about it. Really, it was a simple sort of sound. At first, she'd thought she'd misheard the sound since it was so simple and since the waterfall was roaring so loudly, but—there it was again.
Tucking behind the falls along the slippery rock as she followed the sound, Atienna took note of how the light from the adjacent vitae stream still somehow managed to pierce through the downpouring waters and into the cavern. The luminesce painted both the cave's obsidian walls and the small pool within it in shades of blues, pinks, purples, and greens.
It was quite mesmerizing, and Atienna would have liked to admire it more if it weren't for her current task at hand. She was certain Jericho would be fond of a sight like this and perhaps would even want to sketch and paint it in one of his journals. Pondering this, Atienna scanned the cavern more carefully—
A young woman with straw blonde hair and wearing a loose summer's evening dress stood in the shallow pool facing the waterfall. The spray of the waters had misted her hair in droplets causing it to sparkle with the light from the vitae stream.
Louise Bonnefoy.
Atienna froze in place, somehow still surprised at the sight of the woman despite having expected to find her here. Her hand moved to the suppression cuffs hidden at her waist, but she then paused as a hand ghosted her own.
Atienna considered this and supposed it would be best to approach this as a pacifist. Best to talk things through before raiding with a fist.
With that in mind, Atienna pulled out from the shadows and cleared her throat. "Louise…? Is that you?"
Louise startled, turned, stared. Then, her cheeks flushed and her lips curled. "Oh my saints!" She threw up her hands. "Is that who I think it is? Is that Atienna Imamu?" Without showing any hesitation or suspicion, she ran up to Atienna and wrapped her in a warm embrace. "I haven't seen you in forever! I was actually thinking about you just the other day!"
Atienna returned the gesture and pulled back. "Whatever are you doing here?"
"Extreme tourism, of course!" Louise laughed. "I've always wanted to visit this place since I was young, but never really had the thought to try it until now. They say if you make a wish here at midnight, it'll come true! But first you have to swim from one side of the river to the other on a crescent moon night! And guess what kind of night it is tonight?"
Swimming across the river?
"This is what extreme tourism is all about!" Louise proclaimed, swinging her hand widely around. She abruptly clasped them over Atienna's. "Oh—wait, why are you here, Atienna? Are you also going in for a wish?"
Atienna held Louise's gaze. "I'm actually here as an advisor with a new diplomat. Dimka. He was invited here to Cancer by the Duke of House Lune after they met each other at a ball…. He invited me here too."
Louise's brightness dimmed, and she paled.
"Louise… You're the duchess, right?" Atienna pressed. "They say you're sick which is why you haven't showed your face to the public, but—"
"Is my title more important than who I am?" Louise interjected with a whisper. She tensed. "You didn't tell them about me, did you? Mention me?"
How curious.
"Of course not," Atienna drew carefully, sitting down and guiding Louise to a seat beside her as well. "I figured it was something more private… It was just that when I was there at the estates, everyone seemed very worried about you, Louise—"
"Oh, Atienna, you're such a good person." Louise let out a sigh—seemingly one of relief. She seemed to catch herself and quieted. "And oh, don't worry about. I'm certain everyone is relieved that I'm no longer there. It gives them an excuse not to have to fiddle with the court politics… It gives them something to talk about." Louise then placed a hand to her cheek and stared into the distance. "Oh, I know they care for me and miss me, but…" She dropped her hand and stared into the pool. "How much of my happiness do I need to sacrifice for everyone else's—"
"Louise…?"
Atienna shot up to a stand at the familiar voice resonating from behind as did Louise. Upon turning, Atienna found a trio of men standing at the very entrance of the cavern by the waterfall. Sefu, Reneé, and Aldéric.
Atienna tensed. "What are you doing here?"
Aldéric glanced at her briefly. "Well, I… went to see you in your room and you were gone. I got worried. Your guard did too. So we went searching together and…"
Sefu crossed the distance and came to Atienna's side immediately. "What are you doing here, Atienna?" His gaze flicked between her and Louise. He whispered, "Is this… one of those things?
"Aldéric…" Louise's faint whisper ghosted Atienna's ear.
Aldéric remained frozen in place, staring intently at Louise as if unbelieving.
Atienna looked between them, heart hammering. Perhaps this was the moment she'd been waiting for. To have someone other than herself bring Louise in instead. Ah, yes. This would work out, wouldn't it? Now that Aldéric was here, maybe he could convince Louise to return. If she returned then…? Perhaps this was why Atienna had been so eager to have the duke come along. After all, she'd read clearly in Louise's journal—
Aldéric is such a nice person. He's been so kind to me since we were children. Can I really leave him behind? Really… He's only been kind to me… His proposal… I feel terrible. He's probably not doing it because he wants to…
"You're alive," Aldéric breathed. After a moment, he closed the distance between them and held her by the arms. "You're…" He pulled her into an embrace. "Alive."
Louise stiffened in his hold, and Atienna took a step back with Sefu.
This was quite a curious development.
Aldéric silently whipped off his jacket and threw it over Louise before shivering in the cold. Louise immediately took it off and handed it back to him. Aldéric accepted it in confusion.
"Aldéric," Louise finally drew, "please don't tell anyone you saw me here."
"Why?" he pressed. "Was I not enough for you? Was the pressure of the courts too much? What was it? Why didn't you say anything? Why did you just…? Do you know how worried—"
Louise squirmed. "They said you'd proposed to the Princess of Leo…."
"Well, yes, of course! You know how it is!" Aldéric shook his head incredulously. "The government asks us to do something and we do it. The courts, the performances—that's all it is! A performance. I've only met Ilunaria once!"
Louise flushed lightly but would not meet Aldéric's eyes.
How odd, Atienna thought in wonder. So their relationship went deeper than what was in the papers and Louise's journal. Of course, that wasn't too surprising. Words were never able to capture everything, after all. Atienna supposed she would never be able to ascertain the depth of their relationship, but it was certainly a curious thing.
"I just want to have fun, Aldéric…" Louise whispered, pulling away from him. "I wanted to leave—"
"Fun?" Aldéric gestured around the cavern wildly as he slipped from Common into Cancerian. "You mean this? You can see all of this as the Duchess of Etoile too!"
"You know it's not like that at all…" Louise returned in the same language. "A chess piece…"
Like a bird in a cage.
"We're living lives of luxury, Louise." Aldéric shook his head. "Men, women, money, land—we ask for it and we'll receive it. We're lucky. We should act responsibly with that luck."
Oh? That was unexpected.
"Are you saying even if you have all of these things," he continued, "you can't do your duty as a duchess and smile and wave to the people? You don't want it? Do you know the heartache you've put people through?"
Louise quieted. "You know it's not like that…"
Aldéric quieted too before he asked, "Do you care for me, Louise?"
Louise looked up in confusion. "Of course I do, Aldéric."
"Do you love me, Louise?"
"Of course I do, Aldéric…" Louise glanced away. "But more than that… I just want to be free from all of it, Aldéric. I am free with…"
Much to Atienna's surprise, Aldéric didn't recoil in rage nor hurt. Instead, his hand ghosted Louise's cheek. "Are you happy like this, Louise? That's all I need to know."
Atienna regarded Aldéric in surprise. She had not expected to hear that question from his lips. Appearances really were deceiving. But now that those words had been spoken out loud, Atienna knew that there was now only one outcome.
"Of course I am."
Aldéric dropped his hand.
The waters roared in the silence.
Aldéric turned to Atienna then with an extended hand. "Miss Imamu, would you please accompany me back to the inn for some wine? I've been in search of you all night."
How disappointing.
Gaze lingering on Louise who was looking to Aldéric with gratitude, Atienna accepted the gesture and allowed the man to guide her to the mouth of the cave. Sefu and Reneé followed behind them—one man more clearly confused than the other.
"Reneé—no, Hilton…?" Louise stared at Reneé wonderingly. "Is that you…?"
Reneé paused, turned, merely placed a finger to his lips, and continued to follow on behind.
Once they were outside the cavern, Aldéric stopped short and turned to them abruptly. "Please don't mention this to anyone. Not to Dimka. Not even to Albertine." His tone was hard despite the fact that he was rubbing circles into her hand.
"You are asking me to lie to the diplomat of my own country?" Sefu challenged. "I don't even understand what this is."
"It's not a lie. It's the price for that woman's happiness."
In the end, Sefu and Reneé conceded while Atienna merely nodded and offered a polite, shy smile.
Ah, she thought, so it appeared as if she would have to unfortunately become the villain to Louise's story on her own merit.
How troubling…
At the thought of the other five, however, it seemed a bit less so. But that in itself was troubling in an entirely different way.
Atienna visited the waterfall again the next evening after everyone had turned in early for the night at the inn. She was somewhat more honest this time with her departure and told Sefu—and Sefu only—that she would be wandering around the falls for the night. She managed to convince him to stay put and to tell the others that she was unwell if they requested her.
Olive synchronized in with her lightly as Atienna traversed the distance from the inn back to the falls. He didn't speak but she could feel the apprehension, disappointment, and nausea curling in her stomach.
When she finally arrived at the cavern behind the rushing falls, she found Louise sitting and dipping her toes into the pool inside. Louise was not alone, however. Sitting at her right was none other than Reneé LeBlanc.
Olive squirmed at the sight of him as usual and a wave of guilt crashed through Atienna's entire being.
Louise noticed her first and waved wildly. "Oh, Atienna! I was hoping you'd visit before you left!" She gestured to Reneé. "I was just telling Reneé here about our adventures in Aquarius and the Twin Cities a couple months ago!"
Reneé turned and studied Atienna before slowly rising to a stand. His eyes were narrowed. "I thought your name sounded familiar, Madame Imamu."
Louise looked at him curiously as she also rose. "Oh, do you know Atienna, Reneé?"
"She was with you in the caverns, was she not? And I heard over dinner that you were in Capricorn too," Reneé continued. "You showing up at all these places and now here where Louise is…"
Atienna eyed the conducting glove on the man's hand.
Reneé LeBlanc regarded her with contempt as he pushed Louise behind himself. "You're part of that True Conductor group that made that deal with the saint candidates, aren't you? And Louise is…? You're planning to take her."
"T-Take me?" Louise stammered. "You mean 'kidnap'? Atienna will? Oh no, Reneé! You've got it all wrong. Atienna and I—"
Atienna met Louise's gaze and offered her a sympathetic look. Louise quieted immediately.
"It would be dishonorable to my status as a chevalier to let you do this." Reneé brought his gloved hand to his chest. "Even if you're a fair maiden, if your heart is rooted in selfish evil then I have no choice but to stop you here and now with force."
Saints. Does he think he's in theater? came Olive's thought, but… I understand where he's coming from.… Atienna—
In a flash of light, Reneé conjured both a thin blade and a pistol. Atienna tensed as did Olive which was Atienna noticed something occurring on Maria's end of things.
Alpha, pounded Maria's and Jericho's intertwined thoughts. The One. Him—
Olive's eyes widened, indicating that he could feel it too, but—
Reneé fired off his pistol before Atienna could reach out to Maria. The bullet grazed her ear and cracked into the cavern wall behind her before ricocheting and flying past Reneé's own head. Louise let out a yelp of alarm and stumbled back before ducking behind a large boulder.
Is he crazy?! Olive thought in alarm.
Atienna didn't have time to answer because Reneé continued to fire off several more rounds. She ducked behind a formation of rock and pressed back tight against it as his bullets chipped away at its surface. She reached out to Werner as the smell of gunsmoke filled her senses, but he didn't answer her call—
"Reneé conjure me a conducting blade!" Louise shouted suddenly.
What? Oh. Hideyoshi, was it, perhaps? Atienna wondered, peering around her cover towards Louise who had peeled out of her own cover. Hideyoshi had to be a Projector then. This was quite useful information. However—
As Reneé looked over to Louise in confusion and appeared to start his conjuration of the requested item, Atienna ducked out of cover and darted to Louise's side. Reneé fired his pistol at her alarm, but it appeared as if he was much slower than he was when he'd fought in Hapaira and Die Hauptstadt. He stopped firing as soon as Atienna reached Louise's side.
Atienna took the opportunity to deliver a swinging kick to the side of Louise's head. Although Louise managed to bring her arms in time to block the blow, the kick sent her flying back against the cavern wall which she cracked her head against. She fell to the ground a moment afterwards unmoving.
Before Atienna could think to move towards Louise or duck for cover, she felt the cold press of a pistol against the back of her head. For him to be bringing a ranged weapon so close—Atienna thought—he truly wasn't thinking straight. She let out a quiet breath, studied where Reneé's shadow fell against the flower, and then swung her leg out. Her foot contacted the man's hand and sent his weapon flying.
When she whipped around, Reneé had already conjured another gun but Atienna easily swiped this one away with another kick as well. He merely conjured another one. Another kick. Again, again, again, again. Reneé was almost back against the wall now. But then—Reneé started swinging his blade as he started conjuring another pistol, forcing Atienna backwards.
This wasn't too good a development, was it?
Olive, Atienna thought faintly as she extended her hand.
Olive didn't hesitate—
Deep green sparks leapt at her fingertips and erupted into embers that flurried out into bright flames. They shot out towards Reneé who just managed to bring up his hand in alarm. His conducting glove and conjured blade melted into nothing as did the sleeves of his suit. He let out a yelp, crawled over to the pool, and dunked himself into it. Afterwards, he pulled himself out, curled on the floor, and groaned in pain.
Atienna's stomach churned at the sight.
Still, Reneé pulled himself up to his knees and crawled towards her. So unlike the man Atienna remembered the others encountering. She took a step back in alarm but he had already wrapped his arms desperately around her leg.
"You can't take her," Reneé pleaded. "You can't put her through this. You don't know what it's like being in that place! Under their eyes!"
Hilton, was it?
Atienna… Olive again. W-We can stall somehow. It's still a couple more months before the deadline, right? We can stall and try to figure something out—
"I'm sorry, Reneé, Hilton…" Atienna murmured. "I have to protect the people in my own world. I can't do both." Olive, we have to do this. Think of Werner, Maria, and Cadence—
"Yes, you can!" Reneé urged. "How can you say something so cold-hearted? Do you really not feel anything?"
Atienna shook her head uncomprehendingly as she looked down at him with sympathy. "You don't even really know her—"
"I don't have to know her!"
What startled Atienna was not Reneé's exclamation nor the burning desperation in his eyes. No, what startled her was that such desperation resonated out from Olive as well. The same exact tone and thought. That was their reality, it seemed.
Olive was a kind boy despite his sharp tongue. Atienna was quite proud of him for it, although she wondered if she was the opposite of him in that regard. In the end, however, there was a choice to be made.
"She's a Cancerian duchess," Atienna informed the three quietly. "She's someone who's of high status. They'll want to keep her in the public eye. She won't be brought to wherever Hilton is… I'm sorry. Really, I am…."
Reneé gazed up at her with aghast before she slammed her fist against his head. He cracked to the ground unconscious and she quickly slapped suppression cuffs over his wrists. After resting for several seconds, Atienna paced over to Louise's side and gently pressed her extra pair of suppression cuffs over the woman's wrists as well.
Atienna pulled both Reneé and Louise out from the cavern. She turned Reneé into a local clinic and propped him up in the waiting room before removing his suppression cuffs. There couldn't be anything else he could do since he was under Scorpio's eye, after all. Afterwards, she proceeded to bring Louise to a small rest shed a little ways away and remained there for a moment to catch her breath.
Olive kept silent the entire time. Atienna found her gaze constantly attracted to Louise's eerily peaceful face, indicating to her what Olive's thoughts were on the situation.
It was only after this that both she and Olive were able to reach out to Maria. They found her sitting on top of a small building that stood high enough to look over the seaports in the distance. In the courtyard below the building rushed men and women in white lab coats.
A hospital, Atienna realized.
Jericho was already synchronized here with Maria—or perhaps he hadn't yet left her side.
Memories of the conversation and clash with Proteus, Dominic, and Nu rushed at Atienna slide-by-slide, feeling-by-feeling. Cadence and Werner synchronized immediately after Atienna was able to grasp the full weight of the situation—the former panting heavily and the latter somewhat dazed and distant.
"I… I'm sorry…" Olive whispered, breaking the silence.
Atienna let out a breath. "Oh, Maria…"
"The kids…" Cadence stared blankly at Maria before her gaze drifted to Werner. "Where were ya, Werner? I was callin' for ya the entire time—"
"I apologize for my absence and neglect. I retired early for the day," Werner responded with a tight expression."I shouldn't have. I should've been here. That was my mistake."
"It's… alright, Captain." Cadence held her hands up in the air. "If ya need ta rest, then rest. I doubt the outcome woulda changed much anyway…"
"It was my battle, yes?" Maria seemed to agree. "But maybe I shouldn't have cheated, no?"
Cheated? Did she mean with using Jericho's conducting? What a peculiar thing to focus on. Or perhaps that focus was a distraction. Even so, Atienna wasn't so sure if Maria would have been able to win the skirmish against Dominic without Jericho's assistance.
Maria looked up to Atienna, gaze piercing. "You have so little faith in me, my dear Atienna?"
It wasn't that… but—
"Maria, I warned you about Veles's departure," Werner interjected. "I understand that at the time that situation was beyond your control, but it may have been preventable to some extent. This issue has come up repeatedly—"
"Werner…" Atienna murmured. This was a bit harsh, wasn't it? Especially after everything that had happened.
"We need to address this issue so it doesn't happen again, Atienna. I apologize if I seem cold but this is a necessity." He hesitated then reached out and placed a hand on Maria's shoulder. He said nothing else.
"No, you're right, Werner. I have lost my ship, my crew, and…" Maria looked over to Cadence. "My dear Cadence, I'm sorry… about the children… it's not the circumstances—yes?"
Cadence remained silent for a moment. Atienna could feel it there—the discomfort, the disappointment, the fear, the apprehension, the circumstances. After a pause, however, Cadence flashed an easy smile. "It's alright, sunshine. We just gotta work with what we've got now… Plus ya managed ta beat the hell out of that Nu."
She should have attempted to incapacitate him so we could bring him into an interrogation, came Werner's wandering thought as he eyed Maria, but perhaps this isn't the right moment to bring the issue up to discussion—
"You can tell me, Werner," Maria interjected. "I made a mistake, no? Many mistakes? If you do not tell me them, then how will I learn?" She stared out past the dark horizon. The sea was barely visible there. "Conta said something earlier about mistakes, I think… Or was it something else about strength? I can't remember…."
Werner was quiet.
"You hide nothing, yes, Werner?" Maria returned her attention to the man and smiled faintly. "Because you are strong. Because you are with me."
There was a stretch of silence.
"Our goal will remain the same," Werner said after a beat. "We will continue focusing on places where we suspect Alpha will appear." He added more gently to Maria, "I don't like to speak in certainties, but I'm sure Lita and the other children will not bleach their vitae." He nodded at Atienna next, but Atienna was somewhat unnerved by the distance in his eyes when he spoke—although she supposed she was a hypocrite for thinking so: "On our other objective: good work, Atienna, Olive."
Olive tensed at this and looked away from them both.
Atienna rang Leona a half hour later to inform her of the successful capture of Louise, but it seemed as if Leona was already well aware of the fact. Scorpio's eyes no doubt.
"Bring her to the nearest train station. I'll send someone to retrieve her," Leona said over the line. "Good work."
And so Atienna did just that, taking up a residential taxi to bring Louise to the station. She hid Louise's cuffed hands with an overcoat the entire time and informed people who asked that the woman just had too much to drink and that she was taking her home for the night.
Once Atienna arrived at the station, she sat Louise down upright on a bench overlooking the tracks and sat down beside her. She used her body to support the woman, causing Louise's head to fall onto her shoulder.
Warm.
Are you alright, Atienna?
Atienna looked to her other side and found that Werner had synchronized in almost fully next to her. The concern in the man's eyes was both reassuring and concerning.
You did what was necessary.
Oh, I know, Werner. Atienna studied her bare hands which were beginning to crack in the cold. I know that much.
Werner's gloved hands ghosted over her own, and she could almost feel the illusory warmth. You need to wear gloves, Atienna. The temperatures in Cancer sometimes drop as low as the temperatures in Capricorn at night.
Atienna glanced back at him and offered a wan smile. She could faintly see his bedroom in the distance. It appeared as if he was staying up late to talk to her. Ah, the sentiment. This was her reason behind her actions, she thought to herself.
This is only a temporary measure.
Temporary until the syzygy? Well, Atienna supposed she was fine with that. But now that she was finished with this task, she wondered if she should return home now. Home. She glanced down at Louise at the thought.
"I have to say that I'm quite impressed that you've managed to find Louise."
Atienna looked up at the voice and found Albertine's v-ehicle driver standing at the edge of the station platform. Scorpio.
"What will happen to her now?" Atienna asked quietly, rising to a stand after gently setting Louise down.
"I didn't think you cared." Scorpio turned and arched a brow. "What do you think will happen to her?"
"She's a Cancerian duchess, so she's important to the public eye. In that case, you would merely keep an eye on her." Atienna paused as her mind turned. "But… she's also a runaway, so she's no longer in the spotlight. No one knows where she is and her family and the government continue to pretend that she's sick in order to keep her out of the public eye… so… in that case…. from your perspective, it would be best to keep her in Ophiuchus."
"And you're okay with that?"
Scorpio's smile grew as he closed the distance between them in one heartbeat. "Oh, Atienna. You really do know everything, don't you?"
The moon became unveiled from behind the clouds up above. A crescent.
Atienna tensed beneath his gaze, heart hammering, sweat dripping down her back, as Werner drew closer to her. "I… don't know everything."
"I'm…" Atienna hesitated before she finally spoke the words she'd always known—the words Scorpio had known that she'd always known— "… glad I don't."
Scorpio's smile split white and wide across his face, and he spread his arms even wider. Then—he brought them down around her, wrapping her in a tight and warm embrace.
"There you go," he whispered as he patted her on the back. "You've finally got it."
Atienna felt her stomach clench but she did not move. Werner had gone quiet, so she was left in Scorpio's embrace in silence. And the embrace stretched on and on for what seemed like eternity. The seconds ticked by in her mind, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest, hear his breathing, feel the warmth of his breath tickle her ear—
Finally, it boiled over. A heat rose from the pit of her stomach and climbed up her throat. She wasn't quite sure whether it was from Scorpio's ease at embracing her or at her own ease at being embraced by him. Whatever it was, it had reached boiling point.
Atienna tore herself from Scorpio's grasp and shoved him all the way back. He stumbled back at this and flashed her a look of confusion paired with a smile of understanding. Atienna held his gaze for a moment before turning on her heels and briskly walking away. Her ears rang, her heart hammered, the cold winter air swirled in her lungs.
She stumbled forward and forward until she suddenly found herself at the very edge of a cliff that oversaw the waterfall. From this angle, the lights from the natural wonder twinkled beautifully. It truly was a shame of what had to happen to make the vitae stream glow so vibrantly.
Atienna collapsed onto all fours into the thin snow that had formed along the grass there and fisted it in her hands.
Clink, clink, clink.
A flash of white lit up the very top of the waterfall briefly. Chains snaking through the sky.
Iota? And if Iota was here then…
Atienna crawled to the edge of the cliff and squinted. Just barely, she could make out two other shapes dancing across the top of the falls with Iota in the darkness.
But the distance was too far to reach.
Atienna blinked and the white lights were gone—almost as if she'd borne them from imagination after witnessing them in the others' memories. Dazed, she gazed back down the waterfall towards the river and vitae-stream that flowed below it. From this particular angle, she realized, the entire river seemed to be glowing, throbbing like a human vein. Vaguely, Atienna was reminded of the roots of Virgo's Great Tree. She then recalled a particular passage from Louise's journal.
They say the best view of the Lueur de Fée is from a hidden cliff just a little bit beyond the main train station outside the area. They say if you look at the river from that point, you will never know a greater happiness. Oh, I want to see it so badly!
How beautiful, Atienna agreed.
Great Tree, Virgo
"What do you see, Lita?"
Lita tried not to tremble as Alpha placed a hand on her shoulder. "What is that…?"
"Another reason to excise yourself from the cycle."
WAIT A DIDDLY DARN MINUTE, DEAR READER.
Sorry awoieureiw had to make sure I got your attention. They may or may not be a change to the update schedule and it all depends on the votes on THIS POLL right here! the poll also has some quick and fun extra questions too aside from scheduling ones. I'll share the results with y'all in a week or two!
24.4-2: The Pirate & The One in Blanca Light
3 thoughts on "24.5: The Advisor & Conductor in Soñadora Light"
Readerbreather says:
INTERESTING CHAPTER. Atienna is just… *interesting* in general.
The conversations between Scorpio and Atienna were also very interesting. Like, they spoke with each other like they were business associates/acquaintances… which they kind of are. But they kept passive-aggressively jabbing at each other. A battle of passive aggression lol xD The scenery with the waterfalls and the black cavern was a really nice setting. Plus Atienna meeting up with Louise again in a cave gives me thoughts. I feel like that's some sort of symbolism. Caves. Hiding. Escape. Hmmm.
F Renee in this chapter and F for Louise too. Alderic was surprisingly not entirely an asshole.
> "They are quite roundabout and evasive," Atienna agreed.
Lol. xD
> "Although I did say that you were quite like Libra," Scorpio hummed, "I have to admit you're a much more entertaining conversationalist. Perhaps even more so than the other five."
Atienna was mentioned being similar to Libra before because she's indecisive and doesn't move unless necessary. Atienna has the sass that Libra lacks I guess xD since Libra just yeets Scorpio around.
> "What do people do when they're dissatisfied? One, they run and hide in what shape or another—sometimes not in the way most people think. Two, they struggle and fight for what they believe is right. And three—" He pointed back to her. "—they become frozen in place and wait for the world to change around them. A useless endeavor. Really."
75% sure that the 'run and hide in one shape or another' is referring to Werner and his chlorowheat because Scorpio is aware of it (the perfume and 'take care of yourself' line in Werner's first chapter in this part), while the third is at Atienna.
> "Is that how you see me as?" Atienna queried before she pressed curiously—"And what answer is Alpha seeking exactly?"
Oh? Ophiuchus the person or the country? REEE TELL ME SCORPIO
>"You hide nothing, yes, Werner?" Maria returned her attention to the man and smiled faintly. "Because you are strong. Because you are with me."
HE HIDES EVERYTHING :sob:
>"And you're okay with that?"
This entire scene bruh. Like ATIENNA. AHHHH.
Some things that kept being mentioned in this chapter were 'freedom' and 'happiness.' More like the happiness at the cost of others' happinesses which Louise brings up directly.
> "How much of my happiness do I need to sacrifice for everyone else's—"
Alderic surprisingly takes a more mature and altruistic approach to this saying that since they have so much power and wealth they have a *responsibility* to do what the government and people want. Versus Louise who opts to run away. Ignoring the fact and looking at her actions from a more positive perspective. Alderic sacrifices his own happiness even though he's such a sleaze.
Louise & Alma. Cvetka & Atienna. Breaking free from a cage & caging other people. Parallels. Choosing your own happiness over other people's and becoming the villain to another's story.
Atienna's so interesting because at the end of the chapter we're left wondering like? Is she upset because she had to turn in Louise? Is the end encounter with Scorpio her finally dropping her facade of non-caring? Or is she upset that she doesn't feel as upset as she should? Is she upset that she's 'getting along' with Scorpio well? Maybe not because she knows why she's doing this. For the other five. But appearances are deceiving.
She's so distant to everything (which was brought up at the very end) that I'm not sure if she even knows herself. But she did say "I'm glad I don't know [everything]" in this chapter too so maybe she prefers it that way.
None of the main players in this chapter are morally 'good' aside from Renee/Hilton who tried to defend Louise. Louise, Alderic, Atienna, and ofc Scorpio.
I wonder what's going on with the Great Tree :eyes:
ALSO. DONT SWITCH OUT YOUR FAV MC FOR WERNER 2022!! HE DID NOT FIGHT THE GOVERNMENT, A SAINT CANDIDATE, AND REVEAL HIS TRUE SELF TO BE SWITCED OUT LIKE THIS. DONT FORGET WERNER LIKE THEY FORGOT SHION!!! RAAAAA
I meant don't switch Werner out as your fav MC*


What do I need to tell my doctor BEFORE I take Antihemophilic Factor?
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What are some things I need to know or do while I take Antihemophilic Factor?
Tell all of your health care providers that you take antihemophilic factor (human). This includes your doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists.
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Use antihemophilic factor (human) as ordered by your doctor. Read all information given to you. Follow all instructions closely.
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On February 11, 2018, CBS published an article regarding the growing employment of people with autism. The article featured the tech giant Microsoft jumping aboard this trend. Because people with autism have difficulty in social situations, Microsoft has adopted a new system by which it hires autistic employees. Instead of relying upon the traditional interviewing process, which has a heavy emphasis upon social skills, Microsoft now utilizes a vetting process where the applicants are capable of showcasing their talents and engage in team building exercises. Because Microsoft has been so successful in employing autistic adults, a trend is now taking the technology market by storm. A summit was held in April of 2017 where 50 large companies came together to discuss how best to utilize the newly discovered talent within the autistic community.
People with autism are known to be natural specialists in specific skills. For example, a common talent in the autistic community is the uncanny ability to recognize abnormally complicated patterns. These facets of autism, when properly applied, can be a boon to a company that needs pattern-recognizing skills among its employees. With MindSpark, we engage in a similar process while recruiting individuals to work for us and we applaud Microsoft for providing job and career opportunities for those with autism. To read the original article by CBS, please click here.


text:
Pierre Le Moyne est un homme politique français né le  à Lorient (Morbihan) et décédé le  à Paris.

Docteur en droit, avocat à Lorient, il est bâtonnier en 1924. Il est député du Morbihan de 1924 à 1928, siégeant au groupe de l'Union républicaine démocratique.

Sources

Liens externes

Naissance en octobre 1881
Naissance à Lorient
Député du Morbihan (Troisième République)
Décès en mai 1932
Décès dans le 5e arrondissement de Paris
Décès à 50 ans

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Environmental changes in urban areas include reduced evapotranspiration of precipitation and the transformation of up to 95% of net incident radiation to heat (compare fig. 1 global radiation balance and fig. 2 urban radiation). As a result, air temperatures inside buildings also rise and lead to discomfort or increased energy consumption for climate management. A logical solution to create more comfortable air temperatures inside and outside of buildings is to green their facades and roofs, thereby "consuming" this energy by evapotranspiration.
Worldwide, the reduction of energy consumption for cooling and ventilation installations is becoming increasingly important. While political agreements announced the reduction of CO2 emissions for Germany by 30% until the year 2020, CO2 emissions due to cooling are estimated to increase by 250%, mainly because of the increased use of conventional air conditioning systems (Fig. 3).
A new European parliament directive on the energy performance of buildings (2002/91/EC), strongly encourages the implementation of passive cooling techniques to improve indoor climatic conditions as well as the immediate microclimate.
The Institute of Physics, a project of the Architects Augustin and Frank (Berlin), is a research and office building featuring several measures of sustainable architecture, incorporating elements combining decentralized water management and reduced energy consumption for cooling and ventilation. Rainwater is stored in cisterns and used to irrigate a façade greening system and ventilation units using evaporative cooling. Extra water is collected in a pond in the building's courtyard which allows the water to either evaporate or drain into the ground.
At the Technical University of Berlin, section of Applied Hydrology and section of Building Technology and Design, evaporation measurements are combined with radiation measurements. Focus is he hydrologic change in urban areas compared to naturalistic landscapes. Lysimeter measurements of the real evapotranspiration of a meadow are completed through measurements on semi permeable surfaces, greened roofs and green wall systems. Evapotranspiration measurements are placed into relation to longwave and shortwave radiation measurements (Schmidt 2005).
Evapotranspiration of a cubicmeter of water consumes about 680 kWh. This energy is transported as latent heat into the atmosphere and released as longwave radiation when the water vapour condenses as clouds. Parts of the longwave radiation is lost to space, an important global energy loss for the received shortwave radiation from the sun. A reduction of evapotranspiration in urban areas results in higher surface temperatures and higher longwave emission. Second effect is a higher sensible heat flux. The relation between sensible and latent heat flux is expressed as the bowen ratio. The bowen ratio increases by reduced evaporation rates.
The project in Berlin-Adlershof includes an ongoing monitoring of the water consumption of different plant species of the façade greening system and of resulting evaporative cooling and the effects on the energy balance of the building. Temperature and radiation measurements assist in identifying the economic and ecological benefits of the investigated climbing plants and ventilation units.
Rainwater harvesting becomes an important issue. Until 2020 another 1 billion people will live in cities (UN/ DESA 2003). The increase of urban areas forces to give high priority to decentralized measures of rainwater retention and new strategies in water supply and wastewater management. Although in the natural landscape most precipitation is evaporated or transpired, in urban areas, evapotranspiration is greatly decreased and rainwater is instead swiftly directed into the sewer system and to receiving waterbodies. The Institute of Physics Building is not connected to rainwater sewers, as one main goal of the decentralized rainwater harvesting is a retention of rainwater in order to reduce stormwater flows into sewer systems. Rainwater is stored and used for the irrigation of the facade greening system and adiabatic cooling systems. Storm water events with heavy rainfall are managed with an overflow to a small constructed pond in one of the courtyards, from which the water can evaporate or drain into the ground. To protect the ground water quality, this drainage is only allowed through surface areas with vegetation. Some of the roof surfaces are also extensively greened to assist in retaining and treating water.
Impermeable surfaces like roofs and streets influence urban microclimates through radiation changes. As a result of these changes, air temperatures inside buildings also rise and lead to discomfort or increased energy consumption associated with climate management. A logical solution to create more comfortable air temperatures inside and outside of buildings is to green façades and roofs, thereby "consuming" this energy by evapotranspiration. According to measurements taken at the UFA Fabrik in Berlin, extensive green roofs transfer 58% of net incident radiation into evapotranspiration during the summer months. The annual average energy consumption is 81%, the resultant cooling-rates are 302 kWh/(m²*a) with a radiation balance of 372 kWh/(m²*a) (Schmidt 2005).
A more demanding solution is a façade greening system which has a higher direct effect on the energy performance of a building than a greened roof. Green façades were implemented at the Institute with two objectives: 1) to passively climatize the building through shading and solar radiation and 2) to harness evapotranspiration to improve the microclimate inside and around the building. Plants provide shade during summer, while during the winter, when the plants lose their foliage, the sun's radiation is able to pass through the glass-front of the building. In the summer month July until September 2005 the water consumption for the well developed Wisteria sinensis increased up to 420 liter per day for 56 planter boxes. This represents a cooling value of 280 kWh per day for one of the courtyards.
The mean evapotranspiration between July and August 2005 for the south face of the building was between 5.4 and 11.3 millimeters per day, depending on which floor the planters were located (Figure 5). This rate of evapotranspiration represents a mean cooling value of 157 kWh per day.
In selecting the climbing plants an emphasis was placed on types that can grow in the extreme conditions of planter boxes. Of the various plants tested the Wisteria sinensis has proven to do the best. In addition a special system of irrigation and different substrates have also been applied and studied. A factor in the selection was an adequate capillary rise of the water through the irrigation and substrate systems. Another aspect studied was the providing of a layer of insulation to some of the planter boxes, to compensate for large shifts in temperature and especially to help protect against very low winter temperatures. This comparison revealed that insulation can lead to significant differences in plant growth.
Air conditioning in the Institute of Physics is achieved through seven adiabatic climatization units. These units use rainwater to cool air through the process of evaporation. This is a two step process. First, the rainwater is evaporated to reduce the temperatures of the air leaving the building. In a second step, fresh air entering the building is cooled as it passes across a heat exchanger with cooled air on its way out. This process is sufficient to maintain indoor temperatures of 21-22 °C with outside temperatures of up to 30 °C. When outside temperature exceed 30°C, indoor temperatures are maintained by a conventional cooling system.
Reduced evaporation is the main hydrological difference between urban and rural areas. Missing evapotranspiration increases the thermal radiation caused by higher surface temperatures and increases the sensible heat. New innovative rainwater projects focus on the necessity of evapotranspiration rather than infiltration.
This research is designed to generate recommendations for an optimal and economical management of the building's mechanical systems, emphasizing an innovative and sustainable relationship with the resources water and energy as well as the reduction of operating costs. The evaluation, optimization and documentation of the project results is expected to provide a basis for the long-term implementation and further development of innovative and economic technologies. Practical findings are incorporated into simulations designed to understand the transferability of these techniques to different climatic conditions and to determine applications for future projects, concerning the fields of design, construction, operation and maintenance.
The urban and global climate change is mainly resulted due to reductions in evapotranspiration. The increase in urbanization continues at a rate of 1 km² daily in Germany. The global daily loss of forests are 350 km² (GTZ 2007). This represents 1.3 % of annual loss of the remained 30% of forests worldwide. The latent heat flux and it's importance on the temperatures seems to be absolutely underestimated in all climate models.
EECCAC (2003) Energy Efficiency and Certification of Central Air Conditioners. REPORT for the DGTREN of the Commission of the E.U, 2001, Volume 1, 52 pp.
GTZ 2007: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries. Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technologische Zusammenarbeit, Eschborn. 32 pp.
UN/ DESA (2003): World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision, World Urbanization Prospects. UN, Department of economic and social affairs.


text:
Spanish REIT, Elix, invests €23.2M in 3 Madrid buildings
Elix Vintage Residencial SOCIMI (ELIX VRS) has formalised the acquisition of a 3,360m² building in Madrid for €12.4 million excluding VAT in addition to two smaller assets for €10,800,000.
For the larger asset, the fund has received an asset-backed loan from Banco Sabadell with 57.8% loan to value amounting to €7,400,000 and a 15 year duration at a fixed interest rate of 2%. The loan includes monthly amortization and three extraordinary repayments in December 2021 2022 and 2023 amounting to €843,200, €843,200 and €421,600 respectively.
The Spanish REIT was listed by KKR, Altamar and London-based Deutsche Finance Group on the 11th of July at a price of €0.95 per share and a market cap of €43 million, as published by SpanishREIT.com.
Elix Vintage Residencial Socimi, S.A., aims to create a diversified portfolio of rented residential properties located mainly in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona. Its current portfolio comprises 4 buildings in ownership and purchase agreements for the acquisition of another 8 buildings.
Allianz enters Spanish residential market with €250M off-market REIT acquisition
Por Jerónimo / 28 junio, 2021
Belgian REIT Cofinimmo buys major Spanish healthcare portfolio.
Por Jerónimo / 7 mayo, 2021
Threestones enters Asturias with a care home acquisition
Kronos continues to grow landbank: deploys €60M
Acciona pays €10.7M for 74,500sqm of land in Pozuelo
Aberdeen Standard deploys €69M in Spanish logistics & office assets
Brookfield enters Iberian student residence market with owners of Temprano


text:
The 16th Golden Melody Awards were held on 28 May 2005 at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Summary
Sales of popular music had dropped more than 60 percent since its 1998 peak, leading to a few appeals during the night for people not to buy unlicensed goods.

Although Taiwanese singer Jay Chou started the evening with six nominations, he did not win in any of the categories.

During the presentation for the award of Best Male Mandarin Artist, Hong Kong actress Karen Mok could be heard announcing the winner as "Wang Lixing", combining the Chinese names for Leehom Wang () and Stanley Huang (). This mistake resulted in a confusion where Wang took the stage to receive the award without realizing that Mok had made the mistake. The actual award was meant for Huang, who was a relative newcomer compared to the more popular Wang. The mistake was partially blamed on Mok's Cantonese language background, which pronounces the two characters for "Wang" () and "Huang" () as "Wong" with the same tone. The second character in both artist's names also had the same tone in Mandarin, complicating the process because the third part of the name was nearly drowned out by the audience. Wang won the award the following year at the 17th Golden Melody Awards.

Special segments
Leehom Wang and Jay Chou were interviewed and asked to comment on each other.

Chou also performed a medley piano battle with Nan Quan Mama group member Yuhao Zhan. The medley included segments from Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C minor in Book 1 of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a capriccio of Chou's song "Reverse Scales" (), and the theme song of Super Mario Bros.

External links
  16th Golden Melody Awards nominees
  16th Golden Melody Awards winners

References

Golden Melody Awards
Golden Melody Awards
Golden Melody Awards
Golden Melody Awards


Your website is a real head turner. Wow! It's gorgeous. You love it. So proud of it. Heads up! This site you love with all your heart just isn't all that into you. This stunningly designed, highly evolved digital wonder doesn't need you the way you need it. This website, the one you are so stuck on, it just lays around looking good. And -sorry to say it, but it has to be said- there's no substance. No substantial, search optimized website content. Surely you've noticed that your website doesn't get all that many visitors–and when they come they don't stay for long. You don't get many visitors because they have trouble finding you. That breath-taking good for nothing website doesn't lift a finger to help you out. Your web pages aren't optimized for search. Not one!
No Optimized Page Content? No Problem if…..
If you are a visual designer and use the website to show off your capabilities, okay. You and your site are meant for each other. You are two peas in a snazzy digital pod.
If your business is right-sized and so well known in the marketplace that everyone knows who you are, what you do and where to find you… Alright! Put your feet up on the desk and start cocktail hour an hour early.
Yes There Is a Problem if….
If you are trying to grow a business, gain authority, build a loyal following–and SELL YOUR SERVICES–you need a website to be more like a cool best friend. One that looks out for you, tells people how great you are and invites them over to hang out. And who is that best friend? It's your content. Your optimized website content. Optimized for search to bring in all those wonderful people who are just dying to meet you and do business with you. Well, eventually, do business with you if you treat them right. It starts with the quality of content on your website. Your website is the hub of all your online activities.
Don't let your no good website drag you down. You can do better. You absolutely can. Do yourself a favor. Scroll down to the page footer and click that orange button. Help is just one click away.


text:
Toronto Rock Wakes Up To Dominate Vancouver Stealth
After a first game victory at the season opener, the Toronto Rock lost the next two games on the road. They needed a win here, big time! 11,234 very loud fans came out to cheer them on.
The team looked fired up and ready to go and even scored the first goal of the game!
That early goal was most of the fun for Toronto fans in the first quarter as the Stealth scored three unanswered goals to go up 3-1 and just before the end of the quarter was up 6-2. The Rock needed to end the quarter on a good note and popped in a goal with just under two minutes to go, to end the quarter down by three.
The Rock Cheerleaders did not give up!
In the second quarter, the Rock stormed back. Rock goalie Nick Rose (Rosie!) held the Stealth to just a single goal and the Rock came away at half time tied at seven.
Both teams traded goals back and forth for 11 minutes of the third quarter but then the Rock took over and put in five in a row in the next ten minutes of play to have a commanding 14 -9 lead with 9:19 to go in the game.
It was a chippy game and by the fourth quarter the first fight broke out. It looks like Rock`s Ethan O`Conner is going down here but did a nice judo throw to end up on top!
A few minutes later was another scrap.
In the end the Rock won 17-12 and it was good to see the sportsman ship come out after such a rough game between the two teams.
I like that win or lose, the Rock always does a lap to salute the fans. It`s always more fun with a win!
Our section was cheering for goaltender Nick Rose to be named offensive player of the game having come away with three assists after setting up three fast break Toronto goals. Garret Billings was named the player of the game and very rightfully so as he scored five goals and assisted on another four for a huge night.
Here he is in a post game interview.
The Rock head down the QEW tomorrow for a big game against the 4-1 high flying Buffalo Bandits. Next Friday (Feb 7) is the next home game for the Rock. You know we'll be there!
Labels: Sport Events, Toronto Rock


Last week when we visited IrishPlayer.com, an Irish games reviews fan website, we found a notice that said the site would be closing down at the end of February 2003.
Its editor, Jamie McCormick who has being running the site sense about 1997, said on the statement that the site "has become unfeasible to maintain" and it would be "closing down in a phased basis". The notices went on to say the site would remain active for two months without updates, however when we visited the site today it was offline with only a "404 - File not found" error page in its place.
Gamire.com would like to wish IrishPlayer's editor and staff well in what ever they are now doing.


text:
Wheat Symbolism: What Does Wheat Symbolize
Balloons Symbolism: What Do Balloons Symbolize
How To Know If A Cancer Woman Likes You?
How To Tell If A Capricorn Man Likes You More Than A Friend?
nocomments
White Dove Symbolism: What Does A White Dove Symbolize?
Symbols By Nicky C Ellis September 22, 2020
Doves are portrayed as the gentlest and kindest birds ever existed. Compared to other birds (we've talked about red birds), doves carry a universal symbolism and permeate almost every culture in the globe. White doves are the most mentioned compared to those of other shades.
People looking for a fresh start in life always consider doves as the hope for a new beginning in life. Those celebrating important milestones in their lives, families or organizations often release white doves as a gesture of peace, kindness, and good tidings going forward. Read on to learn more on the white dove symbolism.
What does a white dove symbolize?
White doves are a general symbol of partnership and love. It could either be love that you are looking for or love that you already have if you are in a relationship.
Also when a white dove comes fluttering before you it could be a reminder that if you are soar to new heights in life, you need to master two things; when to flap your wings and when to let the wind carry you above.
If you are currently being surrounded by turmoil, a dove could be a sign that you need to stop, take a deep breath, and relax. During such moments, you need peace more than anything else. In fact, what you are looking for may just be around the corner.
It is not uncommon in life that you may be attracting some negative energy and things that you don't really like. During such times, the appearance of a dove could symbolize a need for purification of your thoughts.
For people passing through some problematic phases in their lives, doves could herald hope that the end of their troubles is in sight. Possibilities of new relationships, new beginnings, and fresh romance could be around the corner.
What does a white dove symbolize in the bible?
Ancient religions and cultures regard white doves differently. In Christianity and by extension the bible, doves are symbols of prosperity, love and honor.
In the story of creation as documented in Genesis 1: 2, the bible says: "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."
The Spirit mentioned here is often portrayed as a white dove. You can also find this is the Babylonian Talmud. The New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls also mention the Spirit of God as 'hovering' just like a dove.
In the flood story in Genesis 6-9, the bible mentions the dove that was sent three times by Noah to find out how low the waters had receded.
When the dove came back with an olive branch on its beak, Noah must have breathed a sigh of relief that the storm was finally over. The dove symbolized peace and that the wrath of God just like the flood, was subsiding.
The dove imagery can also be found in most of the prophetic books in the Hebrew bible. In Isaiah 38:14 the bible reads, "Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; I mourned like a dove". The symbol here is of people who have fallen away from the presence of God.
The same imagery is seen in Ezekiel 7:16 – "But they that escape of them shall escape and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, everyone for his iniquity."
Several sections of the Torah use the symbol of the dove as an atonement for sin. In the book of Leviticus 5:7, the Bible records: "Anyone who cannot afford a lamb is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the LORD as a penalty for their sin–one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering."
The excavation of the City of David and the areas around Jerusalem have shown just how significant doves were. There were probably raised in the city to be used for sacrificial offerings.
White dove with black wingtips what they symbolize
White doves with black wingtips or spots are often associated with mourning doves. With their distinctive sound, they evoke a feeling of grief or loss. While the black part represents something not so good, the white part may be a symbol of optimism.
Even though their sorrowful songs are conspicuous, mourning doves signify that there is a silver lining of hope, renewal and reason at the end of the tunnel.
Some intuition experts believe that doves with black and white coloration could be passing a message that we need to laugh hard and get all the negative energy out or dig within ourselves as much as we can.
In the uncertainly of hopelessness, these doves could be symbolic of God's providence and that your prayers are getting the attention of God. The white part which is the largest could mean that angels are watching over you. Despite the pain, suffering and feeling of being abandoned, you are not alone.
Whatever choices you've made that may seem not to be working, will be resolved in a matter of time.
What does the white dove symbolize in baptism?
As recorded in the bible in Mathew 3:16, "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him," the white dove is often regarded as the Holy Spirit of God.
It is a sign that the baptism has been acknowledged not just on earth but in heaven as well. As a symbol of purity white doves released during baptism serve as an indicator that the old is gone, sins have been forgiven and the person in question is now a new creature ready to start a life of holiness.
Much like the dove in Noah's time, the appearance of a white dove before, during or after baptism is a sign of peace between God and man and that there is no condemnation for those whose transgressions have been pardoned.
What does dead white dove symbolize
While a dove is a symbol of life and peace, a dead dove could mean a change. The change could be at a personal level such as getting into a time of turbulence or in terms of relationship where you hit a marriage iceberg.
The dead dove could also be a sign of a change in the constitution of the family such as the arrival of a newborn or your mother in law moving in to spend some time with you. Therefore, the change is not necessarily negative, it is just a different context that you are switching to.
White doves are truly magical in almost every culture. They are signs of hope, prosperity, and peace. They symbolize the end of strife and the beginning of a life of bliss. When a white dove flies over you, look at it with eyes of love and hope because something good could be coming to you down the road.
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Nicky C Ellis
Nicky C Ellis has been an editor at Dreams & Zodiac since 2019. She has an interest in numbers, symbols and dreams. She is a mom of three who spends her free time with her family and friends, or just sipping her favorite cup of tea.
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