Tell those you know about Leprosy and those wokking for the curing and caring for people suffering from leprosy. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Sun, Feb 1, 2015, is World Leprosy Day. Join Christians around the world in standing for people affected by leprosy who face oppression and stigma every day.
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text:
Q: Tesseract "Error in pixCreateNoInit: pix_malloc fail for data" trying to run this function within a function based loosely off of this, however, since xPDF can convert PDFs to PNGs, I skipped the ImageMagick conversion step, as well as the faulty logic with the function(i) process, since pdftopng requires a root name and that is "ocrbook-000001.png" in this case and throws an error when looking for a PNG of the original PDF's file name.
My issue is now with getting Tesseract to do anything with my PNG files.  I get the error:
Tesseract Open Source OCR Engine v3.05.01 with Leptonica
Error in pixCreateNoInit: pix_malloc fail for data
Error in pixCreate: pixd not made
Error in pixReadStreamPng: pix not made
Error in pixReadStream: png: no pix returned
Error in pixRead: pix not read
Error during processing.

Here is my code:
lapply(myfiles, function(i){

shell(shQuote(paste0("pdftopng -f 1 -l 10 -r 600 ", i, " ocrbook")))
mypngs <- list.files(path = dest, pattern = "png", full.names = TRUE)
    lapply(mypngs, function(z){
    shell(shQuote(paste0("tesseract ", z, " out")))
    file.remove(paste0(z))
    })
})

A: The issue was the DPI set too high for Tesseract to handle, apparently.  Changing the PDFtoPNG DPI parameter from 600 to 150 appears to have corrected the issue.  There seems to be a max DPI for Tesseract to understand and know what to do.
I have also corrected my code from a static naming convention to a more dynamic one that mimics the file's original names.
  dest <- "C:\\users\\YOURNAME\\desktop"

  files <- tools::file_path_sans_ext(list.files(path = dest, pattern = "pdf", full.names = TRUE))
    lapply(files, function(i){
      shell(shQuote(paste0("pdftoppm -f 1 -l 10 -r 150 ", i,".pdf", " ",i)))
      })

  myppms <- tools::file_path_sans_ext(list.files(path = dest, pattern = "ppm", full.names = TRUE))
    lapply(myppms, function(y){
      shell(shQuote(paste0("magick ", y,".ppm"," ",y,".tif")))
      file.remove(paste0(y,".ppm"))
      })

  mytiffs <- tools::file_path_sans_ext(list.files(path = dest, pattern = "tif", full.names = TRUE))
    lapply(mytiffs, function(z){
      shell(shQuote(paste0("tesseract ", z,".tif", " ",z)))
      file.remove(paste0(z,".tif"))
      })

A: Background
It sounds like you already solved your problem. Yay! I'm writing this answer because I encountered a very similar problem calling tesseract from R and wanted to share some of the workarounds I came up with in case anyone else stumbles across the post and needs further troubleshooting ideas.
In my case I was converting a bunch of faxes (about 3000 individual pdf files, most of them between 1-15 pages) to text. I used an apply function to make the text from each individual fax as a separate entry in a list (length = number of faxes = ~ 3000). Then the faxes were converted to a vector and then that vector was combined with a vector of file names to make a data frame. Finally I wrote the data frame to a csv file. (See below for the code I used).
The problem was I kept getting the same string of errors that you got:
Tesseract Open Source OCR Engine v3.05.01 with Leptonica
Error in pixCreateNoInit: pix_malloc fail for data
Error in pixCreate: pixd not made
Error in pixReadStreamPng: pix not made
Error in pixReadStream: png: no pix returned
Error in pixRead: pix not read
Error during processing.

Followed by this error: error in FUN(X[[i]], ...) : basic_string::_M_construct null not valid
What I think the problem is
What was weird for me was that I re-ran the code multiple times and it was always a different fax where the error occurred. It seemed to also occur more often when I was trying to do something else that used a lot of RAM or CPU (opening microsoft teams etc.). I tried changing the DPI as suggested in the first answer and that didn't seem to work.
It was also noticeable that while this code was running I was regularly using close to 100% of RAM and 50% of CPU (based on windows task manager).
When I ran this process (on a similiar batch of about 3,000 faxes) on linux machine with significantly more RAM and CPU I never encountered this problem.
basic_string::_M_construct null not valid, appears to be a c++ error. I'm not familiar with c++, but it sort of sounds like it's a bit of a catch all error that might indicate something that should have been created wasn't created.
Based on all that, I think the problem is that R runs out of memory and in response somehow the memory available to some of the underlying tesseract processes gets throttled off. This means there's not enough memory to convert a pdf to a png and then extract the text which is what throws these errors. This leads to a text blob not getting created where one is expected and the final C++ error of : basic_string::_M_construct null not valid  It's possible that lowering the dpi is what gave your process enough memory to complete, but maybe the fundamental underlying problem was the memory not the DPI.
Possible workarounds
So, I'm not sure about any of what I just said, but running with that assumption, here's some ideas I came up with for people running the tesseract package in R who encounter similar problems:

*

*Switch from Rstudio to Rgui: This alone solved my problem. I was able to complete the whole 3000 fax process without any errors using Rgui. Rgui also used between 100-400 MB instead 1000+ that Rstudio used, and about 25% of CPU instead of 50%. Putting R in the path and running R from the console or running R in the background might reduce memory use even further.

*Close any memory intensive processes while the code is running. Microsoft teams, videoconferencing, streaming, docker on windows and the windows linux subsystem are all huge memory hogs.

*lower DPI As suggested by the first answer, this would also probably reduce memory use.

*break the process up. I think running my processes in batches of about 500 might have also reduced the amount of working memory R has to take up before writing to file.
These are all quick and easy solutions that can be done from R without having to learn C++ or upgrade hardware. A more durable solution probably would require doing more customization of the tesseract parameters, implementing the process in C++, changing memory allocation settings for R and the operating system, or buying more RAM.
Example Code
# Load Libraries
library(tesseract)

dir.create("finished_data")

# Define Functions
ocr2 <- function(pdf_path){

  # tell tesseract which language to guess
  eng <- tesseract("eng")

  #convert to png first
  #pngfile <- pdftools::pdf_convert(pdf_path, dpi = 300)

  # tell tesseract to convert the pdf at pdf_path
   seperated_pages <- tesseract::ocr(pdf_path, engine = eng)

  #combine all the pages into one page
  combined_pages <- paste(seperated_pages, collapse = "**new page**")

  # I delete png files as I go to avoid overfilling the hard drive
  # because work computer has no hard drive space :'(

  png_file_paths <-  list.files(pattern = "png$")

  file.remove(png_file_paths)

  combined_pages

}

# find pdf_paths

fax_file_paths <-  list.files(path="./raw_data",
                                    pattern = "pdf$",
                                    recursive = TRUE)

#this converts all the pdfs to text using the ocr
faxes <- lapply(paste0("./raw_data/",fax_file_paths),
                       ocr2)

fax_table <- data.frame(file_name= fax_file_paths, file_text= unlist(faxes))

write.csv(fax_table, file = paste0("./finished_data/faxes_",format(Sys.Date(),"%b-%d-%Y"), "_test.csv"),row.names = FALSE)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Install latest pip and virtualenv
=================================

We have problems with the latest binary package of pip and virtualenv.
Packaged version of pip can be old and virtualenv can also contain its
own version of pip. Issues include downloading packages from a local
pypi mirror that include a wheel package for pip.

The element follows the instructions from the pip website here:
http://www.pip-installer.org/en/latest/installing.html on how to install
the latest version of pip. That is to download get-pip.py and run this
file.

We use source-repositories element to download the file so it will be
cached and can be overridden to use package if that is required.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home | Company News | Talk of Rusal sanctions ignites fears of 2018 delivery premium surge
Talk of Rusal sanctions ignites fears of 2018 delivery premium surge
by Stuart Burns on December 21, 2020
Company News, Public Policy
alexkich/Adobe Stock
Aluminum buyers will have read a recent announcement in Bloomberg with a sense of panic, if not déjà vu, as the specter of Rusal sanctions reportedly looms again.
"Aluminum Surges on Concern U.S. May Reapply Rusal Sanctions" ran the headline, reminding buyers of the chaos that ensued in 2018. At that time, the Trump administration applied sanctions against Oleg Deripaska, owner of En+ and, therefore, Rusal Aluminium. The decision effectively banned Rusal metal from the U.S. market. Furthermore, it banned, by extension, metal from any suppliers of product based on Rusal primary metal – much of Europe and parts of Asia.
Rusal sanctions Part 2?
By way of context, Rusal is the largest aluminum producer in the world outside of China. The company accounts for some 6% of global supply.
The firm is the largest supplier in Europe and still retains the position of being in the top five to the U.S. market.
Back in 2018, when Rusal stood on the outside looking into the Western world's metal markets. Physical delivery premiums, particularly the Midwest Premium, skyrocketed to nearly $500 per metric ton. (Although, it has to be said, the Midwest Premium was already somewhat elevated before the Rusal sanctions by earlier, more Chinese-focused tariff action.)
There appears to be a number of factors at play this time around.
The resolution of the 2018 sanction against Deripaska was that he should step back from control of En+ and Rusal. The outcome came as part of a complex deal brokered by Rusal's chairman Greg Barker at the time.
Deripaska sold or transferred ownership of his shares, reducing his position to a minority holding of 45%. There remains some skepticism that he stepped back completely from the business, but third part monitoring supports his compliance with the terms of the Barker agreement. However, all sides at least had a negotiated resolution that appeared to give credence to U.S. concerns that he should no longer have control and, therefore, action against Rusal could be lifted.
The current situation has arisen after European officials alerted U.S. authorities that Deripaska personally oversaw a media campaign led by En+ company executives to undermine China's reputation in Africa. The campaign reportedly also aimed to spur opposition to Chinese imports into Europe. If correct, the campaign has been pretty successful. The E.U. brought several hefty anti-dumping cases against Chinese semi-finished product and reduced imports in 2020. It must be said for the record that, and I quote, "Rusal vigorously refutes in the strongest terms any suggestion that it violated the terms of its agreement with OFAC." Considering the speculation in the article to be "totally false, groundless, and untrue," a statement by the firm Dec. 17 states.
Incoming U.S. administration
The stars are not exactly aligned for Rusal currently.
President-elect Joe Biden is unlikely to roll back Trump-era trade restrictions in the short term. Incoming Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, is not said to be well disposed to the oligarch, either.
Bloomberg reported a Senate Intelligence Committee report released in August described Deripaska as a proxy for the Russian state and its intelligence services. That's not exactly a tag likely to garner favorable treatment.
Market impact
So far, the news' market impact has been muted.
The LME and SHFE prices have not responded to the news overnight, although the LME did surge when the Bloomberg article came out during the day.
Of more concern could be delivery premiums. Like the LME metal price, delivery premiums have been on the rise since mid-November (further back for the metal price). Both have been on an upward trend. The weakening dollar, recovering automotive and general industrial demand, and a shortage of metal in the supply chain — resulting in some level of panic buying of semi-finished product — have supported the prices.
Buyers should keep tabs on the Rusal issue. If the U.S. takes action, it would almost certainly result in significant upside risk to the metal price and, particularly, delivery premiums. However, one has to hope lawmakers learned their lesson back in 2018 and will seek to find a less contentious and market-distorting solution than a return to outright sanctions.
Stay up to date on MetalMiner with weekly updates – without the sales pitch. Sign up now.
This Morning in Metals: U.S. Steel releases Q4 2020 guidance
What will 2021 look like for commodities, equities and the dollar?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Billionaire Boy's Club (BBC), an investment group, was in reality a cult-like group led by Joe Hunt, a charismatic sociopath who preached the Paradox Philosophy, a Machiavellian approach to life. After losing millions in investment scams gone awry, Hunt turned to kidnapping and murder as a way to solve the BBC's and his growing financial problems. Ultimately, Hunt and three other members of the BBC were sentenced to life without parole; another member lives under an assumed name. This well-written book describes a tragedy--bright, well-educated, privileged young men led astray by their greed and weakness of character into a life of crime. Already the subject of a 60 Minutes segment and a TV miniseries (the script of which was based on Horton's Los Angeles magazine article), this fascinating story of rich kids, money, and murder will be very popular. Recommended.
- Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.


text:
В список высших учебных заведений Бурятии включены образовательные учреждения высшего и высшего профессионального образования, находящиеся на территории Бурятии и имеющие действующую лицензию на образовательную деятельность. Список вузов приведён в соответствии с данными cводного реестра лицензий, в список филиалов включены организации, участвовавшие в мониторинге Министерства образования и науки Российской Федерации 2021 года. По состоянию на 10 марта 2022 года в Бурятии действующую лицензию имели 5 вузов и 2 филиала.

Филиалы вузов, головные организации которых находятся в иных субъектах федерации, сгруппированы в отдельном списке. Порядок следования элементов списка — алфавитный.

Список высших образовательных учреждений

Список филиалов высших образовательных учреждений

Примечания

Бурятия
Высшие учебные заведения Бурятии
Списки:Бурятия

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Equal Opportunity (1)
(-) Natural Resources and Environment (7)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (1)
Bureau of Land Management (4)
(-) Department of Agriculture (7)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (1)
Department of State (1)
Department of the Interior (7)
Environmental Protection Agency (1)
Federal Aviation Administration (1)
Federal Communications Commission (1)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (1)
Forest Service (6)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1)
(-) National Park Service (7)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1)
United States Coast Guard (1)
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (2)
Released on Feb. 26, 2020
Native American Issues
Examples of Certain Federal Requirements That Apply to Cultural Resources and Factors That Impact Tribal Consultation
Federal agencies are required, at times, to consult with tribes on infrastructure projects, like pipelines, that may harm tribes' cultural resources.
Released on Jun. 7, 2005
Revenues Could Increase by Charging Allowed Fees for Some Special Uses Permits
The National Park Service routinely issues permits for special park uses, such as special events or commercial filming and still photography.
Agencies Need to Assess the Impact of Personal Watercraft and Snowmobile Use
RCED-00-243
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the use of personal watercraft and snowmobile use on federal lands, focusing on: (1) the extent to which personal watercraft and snowmobiles are used in federal units that are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Fish and Wildlife Service...
Released on Aug. 14, 2000
Lessons Learned From the Cerro Grande (Los Alamos) Fire
T-RCED-00-257
Published: Aug 14, 2000.
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the circumstances surrounding the Los Alamos wildfire, focusing on: (1) the events leading up to the prescribed fire and how it was managed; and (2) what fire management policies or practices need to be improved.
Five-Year Bibliography 1991-1995
RCED-96-165W
GAO published a list and abstracts of its natural resources-related reports and testimony issued from January 1991 through December 1995, regarding such issues as: (1) land and natural resources management; (2) the National Park System; (3) national forests; (4) concessioners; (5) recreation activities;...
Improvements Needed in Managing Short-Term Concessioners
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the federal government's oversight of concessioners operating on federal recreation lands under short-term agreements, focusing on the government's policy and practices for: (1) evaluating short-term concessioners' performance; (2) ensuring that short-term...
Improvements Needed in Managing Concessioners
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the: (1) laws and policies governing recreation concession operations on federal lands; (2) total number and types of concession agreements; (3) total return to the government from concession operations; and (4) federal recreation resources management...


text:
// Copyright (c) Microsoft. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT license. See LICENSE file in the project root for full license information.

namespace Microsoft.Azure.Devices.Client
{
    using System;
    using System.Linq;
#if !WINDOWS_UWP && !PCL
    using Microsoft.Azure.Amqp;
    using Microsoft.Azure.Amqp.Framing;
#endif
    using Microsoft.Azure.Devices.Client.Extensions;

    internal static class TrackingHelper
    {
        // TODO: GatewayId is not assigned to anywhere in this class. Likely a bug!
        static string GatewayId = string.Empty;

        public static string GenerateTrackingId()
        {
            return GenerateTrackingId(string.Empty, string.Empty);
        }

        public static string GenerateTrackingId(string backendId, string partitionId)
        {
            string gatewayId = TrackingHelper.GatewayId;
            return GenerateTrackingId(gatewayId, backendId, partitionId);
        }

        public static string GenerateTrackingId(string gatewayId, string backendId, string partitionId)
        {
            string trackingId;
            trackingId = Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N");
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(gatewayId))
            {

                gatewayId = "0";
                trackingId = "{0}-G:{1}".FormatInvariant(trackingId, gatewayId);
            }

            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(backendId))
            {
                backendId = backendId.Substring(backendId.LastIndexOf("_") + 1);
                trackingId = "{0}-B:{1}".FormatInvariant(trackingId, backendId);
            }

            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(partitionId))
            {
                trackingId = "{0}-P:{1}".FormatInvariant(trackingId, partitionId);
            }

            trackingId = "{0}-TimeStamp:{1}".FormatInvariant(trackingId, DateTime.UtcNow);
            return trackingId;
        }

#if !WINDOWS_UWP && !PCL
        public static string GenerateTrackingId(this AmqpException exception)
        {
            return exception.GenerateTrackingId(TrackingHelper.GatewayId, string.Empty, string.Empty);
        }

        public static string GenerateTrackingId(this AmqpException exception, string backendId, string partitionId)
        {
            return exception.GenerateTrackingId(TrackingHelper.GatewayId, backendId, partitionId);
        }

        public static string GenerateTrackingId(this AmqpException exception,string gatewayId, string backendId, string partitionId)
        {
            if (exception.Error.Info == null)
            {
                exception.Error.Info = new Fields();
            }

            string trackingId;
            if (!exception.Error.Info.Any() || !exception.Error.Info.TryGetValue(IotHubAmqpProperty.TrackingId, out trackingId))
            {
                trackingId = GenerateTrackingId(gatewayId, backendId, partitionId);
                exception.Error.Info.Add(IotHubAmqpProperty.TrackingId, trackingId);
            }
            return trackingId;
        }
#endif
        public static string CheckAndAddGatewayIdToTrackingId(string gatewayId, string trackingId)
        {

            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(trackingId) && trackingId.Contains("-B:"))
            {
                return "{0}-G:{1}{2}".FormatInvariant(trackingId.Substring(0, trackingId.IndexOf("-B:")), gatewayId, trackingId.Substring(trackingId.IndexOf("-B:") + 3));
            }
            else
            {
                return GenerateTrackingId(gatewayId, String.Empty, String.Empty);
            }
        }

#if !WINDOWS_UWP && !PCL
        public static string GetTrackingId(this AmqpException amqpException)
        {
            Error errorObj = amqpException.Error;
            string trackingId = null;
            if (errorObj.Info != null)
            {
                errorObj.Info.TryGetValue(IotHubAmqpProperty.TrackingId, out trackingId);
            }
            return trackingId;
        }

        public static string GetGatewayId(this AmqpLink link)
        {
            string gatewayId = null;
            if(link.Settings.LinkName.Contains("_G:"))
            {
                gatewayId = link.Settings.LinkName.Substring(link.Settings.LinkName.IndexOf("_G:") + 3);
            }
            return gatewayId;
        }
#endif
    }

}


Want to join the Nudge team? We're looking for a senior accountant / supervisor!
Nudge are looking for an amazing senior accountant / supervisor to bring their own magic to the Nudge team.
So why join Nudge? Nudge loves having conversations with start-ups and small businesses about making better business decisions. We have some amazing clients that believe in what we offer and have jumped on board including Jack Delosa @ The Entourage, Darcy Naunton @ York Butter Factory, Lorraine Murphy @ The Remarkables Group and Matt Beech @ ShoeString. We also have been featured in @BizSpark_AU, ShoeString, StartUp Smart and Kochie's Business Builders and want you to get involved.
Currently a senior accountant / supervisor and want to make a name for yourself?
Are you studying / or recently completed your CA or CPA?
Get in touch at @nudgeaccounting or support@nudgeaccounting.com.au.


text:
file(REMOVE_RECURSE
  "CMakeFiles/MergeIntervals.dir/main.cpp.o"
  "MergeIntervals.pdb"
  "MergeIntervals"
)

# Per-language clean rules from dependency scanning.
foreach(lang CXX)
  include(CMakeFiles/MergeIntervals.dir/cmake_clean_${lang}.cmake OPTIONAL)
endforeach()


text:
Architecture and Architectural Technology >
Master of Architecture (Professional) >
Building Conservation (ARCH8629)
15 (0.125 EFTS)
To develop a critical understanding of the history, theory and practice of building conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Students must be admitted to the Master of Architecture (Professional) programme to enrol in this course.
28 Jul 21 - 1 Sep 21 Lecture Wednesday 10:00 - 12:00 Mt Albert (170-1064)
22 Sep 21 - 27 Oct 21 Lecture Wednesday 10:00 - 12:00 Mt Albert (170-1064)
Note: This course is offered as part of Master of Architecture (Professional).
Creativity reigns supreme: designing sustainable outdoor spaces
Patricia Morrison wanted to study Architecture – until she discovered Landscape Architecture. "I didn't even know it existed!" she says.
Architecture and Architectural Technology
Taking his business to the next level
Dylan Huang, Director at Archiland Architecture, says his time at Unitec was pivotal in shaping his architectural career.
Archiland Architecture: A multi-faceted partnership
Dylan Huang, former Unitec student and now Director at Archiland Architecture, says the company's relationship with Unitec is a successful and multi-faceted one.
Page last edited: 23 Jan 2016


text:
Cassava Sciences, Inc. Loss Submission Form
The Law Offices of Vincent Wong announce that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas on behalf of investors who purchased Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA) securities between February 2, 2021 and August 24, 2021.
According to the Cassava lawsuit, throughout the Class Period defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) the quality and integrity of the scientific data supporting Cassava's claims for simufilam's, a small molecule drug designed to treat Alzheimer's disease, efficacy had been overstated; (b) the scientific data supporting Cassava's claims for simufilam's efficacy were biased; and (c) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements during the Class Period about the Company's business metrics and financial prospects and the likelihood of Food and Drug Administration approval were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
If you suffered a loss in Cassava you have until October 26, 2021 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn\'t require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.


To get full advantage of Windows 8 you have to go through change settings. One of these is to enable sync app licence, so that all apps you have chosen would be working for you whether you are working from anywhere on any PC with your Microsoft Account. For solution you have to force sync app licenses to the cloud.
At first connect your Windows 8 PC to Internet.
Click Win Key + C along with.
Next, Click on App Updates.
A box will be launched. You will have to slide Automatic download Update of my Apps to Yes.
Right below this option click on Sync License. In a few seconds it will be done.
After completion of this tips successfully you will get all your Windows 8 apps whether it is free or paid on every computer. Actually it will sync with your registered account, and when you log in with your Microsoft username on any PC these apps will be with you.
Launch your Charms search by clicking Win key and C along with.
Press on Settings and next on Change PC Settings.
Now slide the Sync your Settings to on.


Do you love to refinish furniture? Then you could get in on a business that's in big demand. And with that big demand could be big bucks.
But turning your skills into a business may seem a bit more daunting. However, as you're tempted to make it harder than it is, we are going to help you make it a bit easier.
We will show you 7 ways to get your furniture refinishing business off the ground.
There are different options here.
a. You can operate from your workshop at home. People can call you there and you can set up appointments to look at their furniture repair.
b. You can be a mobile service, operating right out of a cargo van or a passenger van that could be adapted into one. Then you give people your cell phone number so they can contact you.
Talk to property managers, movers, hotels, restaurants, furniture stores, schools, business owners, hospitals, government offices – any place you can think of that could potentially need your services. If you have some business cards, hand out as many as you can.
In any of these places, furniture gets moved often, and sometimes gets damaged in the process. For that reason, they need repairing.
You might also want to talk to antiques dealers and designers to see if you can advertise your business with them, and get some referrals.
You could go to auction sales, and buy some pieces for a good price. You do refinish or repair them and display these as examples of your work. If your work is real good, people will notice.
You could also take these same finished pieces and sell them. You could either advertise them locally, or list them online. You might even earn a decent living from this alone.
What is their reputation? Do they do good work? Can you find reviews or talk to customers who have done business with them?
2) find something they're not doing that people want, and give it to them.
You might not find this person in your town. The only ones who could potentially advise you are the competition. That's out.
Try going to another city and talk to a furniture refinishing person there. If they're tight-lipped, try someone else until you find a willing participant.
There is a chance that there might be a furniture refinishing and repair business that is going out of business. If that is the case, maybe you could consider buying it.
They might have a decent sized shop, and all the tools you need. They might have a long-standing reputation as well. It might be worth it.
If you have a good-sized budget, maybe franchising could be an option. There may be more formalities to take care, but there are some advantages as well.
You're buying into an established name. They have the reputation, the training and the marketing to back you up. All you need to do is supply the work.
Despite how daunting it may have seemed to you at first, you can make this happen. We hope you have success in applying these 7 tips to get your furniture refinishing business off the ground.


text:
import logging

from django.urls import reverse
from django.http import HttpResponseRedirect
from django.views.generic.base import View
from django.views.generic.detail import DetailView
from paypal.standard.ipn.views import ipn

from getpaid.models import Payment

logger = logging.getLogger('getpaid.backends.paypal')

class OnlineView(View):
    def post(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
        return ipn(request=request)

class SuccessView(DetailView):
    """
    This view just redirects to standard backend success link.
    """
    model = Payment

    def render_to_response(self, context, **response_kwargs):
        return HttpResponseRedirect(reverse('getpaid-success-fallback', kwargs={'pk': self.object.pk}))

class FailureView(DetailView):
    """
    This view just redirects to standard backend failure link.
    """
    model = Payment

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You are currently browsing the Images and stories from the Gulf of Maine – David Olken Photography blog archives for May, 2012.
Two of my photographs "Water Street Blues" and "After the Storm" will be on display May 5 to June 24 as part of "outwitting history – a juried exhibition" at the Zullo Gallery Center for the Arts in Medfield, MA. The opening reception is Friday, May 18 from 6 to 8 PM.
The inspiration for the exhibit was the book "Outwitting History" by Aaron Lansky, which documents the author's quest to collect and protect Yiddish books, which turns into a mission to help preserve the dying culture of an aging immigrant population. Artists to the exhibit were asked to submit work based on their own personal cultural legacy.


ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday found a common cause in their shared unease at U.S. President Donald Trump's actions on Iran, climate change and international trade.
Officials from the Netherlands and Australia today formally stated that they are convinced Russia was responsible for the deployment of the "Buk" anti-aircraft missile system that shot down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (ML17) in 2014. The announcement came a day after a Dutch-led joint investigation team released a report on their findings, which concluded the missile had belonged to the Russian Army's 53rd anti-aircraft brigade, which was based outside the city of Kursk, north of the Ukrainian border.
Physical evidence collected by investigators, along with radar track and flight recorder data, pointed to the use of a specific warhead type associated with Buk surface-to-air missiles. Paint transferred from fragments of the missile to the aircraft's fuselage was matched with recovered parts of the missile.
Russia has long denied that any of its military equipment ever crossed the border into eastern Ukraine, and the Russians presented several alternative scenarios—including blaming the downing of the airliner on a Ukrainian Air Force pilot. The Russians at first claimed to have radar evidence proving their allegation, but the country then said it was lost—only to claim they had found it again just two days before the Joint Investigative Team's 2016 press conference. The separate target that Russia claimed to have identified on radar was actually part of ML14's fuselage breaking away after the missile detonated.
A good way to separate trustworthy journalism from less-reliable reporting is by assessing whether you are being shown something or told something. It works for politics, too.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau often tells us that he is really keen on doing more business with China. Then he shows us what he really thinks by blocking state-owned China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. from purchasing Toronto-based Aecon Group Inc.
Keep that in mind the next time a federal official tells you about all the great things they want to with China. If Trudeau doesn't trust Beijing enough to pour concrete, how is he ever going to negotiate a free-trade agreement with President Xi Jinping? Answer: He's not.
That means the job of nudging Canadian companies to look seriously at places other than the United States will continue to rest with people like Benoit Daignault, the chief executive of Export Development Canada, the Crown agency that returned $1 billion to the federal treasury at the end of its latest fiscal year.
The reason that trade diversification in the short term will be shaped by people like Daignault because Daignault himself won't be around for much longer.
I assumed the good feelings about what he's accomplished at EDC — increasing the number of clients to about 10,000 from 7,000 might be the most impressive — would be offset by the most uncertain trading environment since at least the 1980s.
When Daignault took over from Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz as the head of EDC in 2014, the Group of 20 nations still were making regular pledges to support free trade. They failed to keep their resolve and protectionism is back with a vengeance. Trudeau's decision to block the Aecon purchase is only the latest example. It will trouble free traders because it reinforces an emerging tendency around the world to interfere with trade and investment under the guise of national security.
Last month in Washington, the International Monetary Fund's David Lipton told an audience that he was concerned about this trend because virtually any investment in modern technology could be described as a security threat, as much of it involves sensors and data gathering.
The security excuse also is problematic because the reviews are opaque and governments tend not to disclose the specific threats that prompted their decisions to reject international takeovers. Navdeep Bains, the minister responsible for the decision, is very chatty on social media, but his Twitter account hadn't uttered a character on the Aecon decision, which took officials three months to make.
I talked to Daignault before Trudeau's tilt in the direction of protectionism, and before U.S. President Donald Trump triggered a security review of his own on whether imports were endangering the U.S.'s ability to remain self-sufficient in the production of automobiles. Still, the story was the same: the uncertain future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the possibility of a trade war between the U.S. and China, and concerns about Canadian competitiveness raise lots of questions about where we're headed over the next few years.
To my surprise, Daignault wasn't all that troubled by any of these things.
He handed me a chart that showed purchasing managers in every major economy plan to increase spending in the months ahead. While politicians thunder, and observers fret, most executives and entrepreneurs are going about their business — and global business is as good as it's been in more than a decade, including in North America, the region most affected by the chaos in Washington.
"You have a lot of volatility represented in the papers, but we also have to realize it's not all trade between Canada and the U.S. that happens under NAFTA, and No. 2, NAFTA 1.0 is still happening and it is still a very good deal," Daignault said.
Of course, trade uncertainty is more about the future than the present. Michael Sabia, president of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, told me and a couple of other journalists at the C2 Montreal business conference this week that the unknowns around NAFTA are hurting investment, so the sooner talks end, the better.
Daignault has been talking to lots of executives who are spooked by NAFTA. His message to them is rather blunt: Stop making excuses. Only a handful of industries are facing dramatically new rules, and the new trade agreement with the European Union offers lots of ways to hedge against NAFTA risk. And waiting for perfect clarity means the competition will be more intense because all the other Nervous Nellies will be making their moves.
That's why Trudeau's decision to kill the Aecon deal without a credible explanation was so problematic: it highlights only the risks and costs.
"If you want to diversity trade, engagement with China is the right one," Daignault said.
How many companies were scared off this week from ever doing so?
Southampton boss Mark Hughes signs a new three-year contract after guiding them to Premier League safety.
Five weeks into the IT crisis, the bank says experts from IBM will remain "for as long as it takes".
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – S&P 500 companies have returned a record $1 trillion to shareholders over the past year, helped by a recent surge in dividends and stock buybacks following sweeping corporate tax cuts introduced by Republicans, a report on Friday showed.
DUBLIN (Reuters) – The people of Ireland are set to liberalize some of the world's most restrictive abortion laws by a landslide, an exit poll showed on Friday, as voters demanded change in what two decades ago was one of Europe's most socially conservative countries.


text:
The Sirrus Orb
K. Allen Cross
ISBN-10: 1-55404-595-9
The Sirrus Orb - a mysterious artifact of unsure origin. Some say druids made it. Others claim it was crafted in the Abyss. Eric Carvon is the human warrior commissioned to retrieve the Orb for a powerful wizard. The raid Eric leads to capture the orb goes foul, and he is thrust into a world where he doesn't belong. Searching for the wizard who tricked him into the disastrous raid that killed all his men, Eric learns of the true evil trying to drive the races apart. He must also put his trust in the very elves he had been trying to destroy.
Eric must face harsh truths, the worst being that everything he had fought for previously was a carefully plotted lie.
The Sirrus Orb (Excerpt)
The well-kept manor, ringed by a tall stone defense wall, sat atop the long ridge of an ancient roadway, and looked down upon the village in chaos below. Hidden in brush near the elven manor's curtain walls, Eric Carvon squinted through the smoke rising from the burning elven village below. Half of his men were fighting elves in the village, helping to draw out the soldiers guarding the manor. Many elves raced out to save the villagers, but not all.
Eric signaled the remaining half of his men to break cover. Rising out of the heavy brush, they swarmed the manor. A cry from above told them the elves were waiting. Three cobbled-together ladders were slammed against the rear twenty-foot manor wall. Caught in the crossfire of arrows between his men and the guards protecting the fortress above, they climbed like mad men. Gaining the top of the ladder, Eric peeked over into the compound.
An arrow whizzed by his head so close, its feathers grazed his red hair. A second arrow smacked into Eric's chest plate. The thick mail-covered leather stopped it from penetrating. Eric jerked out the arrow and returned it with his bow. The elf to his right dropped like stone over the wall. His men hurtled themselves over the wall onto the rampart and hunkered down behind protective stone.
Eric signed his men closer. "You four work your way down into the compound and go help Jack get those damn gates shut. The rest come with me to kill off the elves on the walls. Let's move!"
Pulling himself up, Eric ran a few steps and then stopped to shoot at an elf that had his bow drawn down on them. As soon as his arrow was on its way, he ran toward the next tower. Section by section, Eric and his men cleared the walls of elves. They had no more than done so, when peasants and elven soldiers began filling the courtyard to escape the slaughter in the village. Scrambling down into the fray, Eric's men descended upon the harried elves.
The chaos of screaming peasants and fighters filled the air, as did the smell of sweat, fear and blood. Eric let go two more arrows, killing two more elves. His quiver empty, he drew his sword and waded into the battle. Although none of the elves wore armor, they gave stiff resistance due to their sheer numbers.
Eric and his men beat and slashed the desperate defenders as the gates slowly closed. Finally, the cross-timber fell into the slot, locking out the rest of the village fighters.
Having a chance, Eric dragged a sleeve over the sweat running into his eyes. Seeing a pack of elves still fighting in the courtyard, Eric commanded, "Spread out behind that hay wagon and pick off the last of those little rats. Make every arrow count."
The shock of an impacting arrow filled Eric's mind as if it were a thunderclap. His arms recoiled under the force of it, burning pain swept up from his right thigh. Remaining motionless, he noted the elf's shaft protruding from his leg. The arrow had found his flesh through a gap in his chain mail.
Eric turned to confront the enemy that had shot him. As he did, one of his men shot. The elf recoiled to sprawl on the ground not twenty feet away, an arrow through his head. The cries of anger died out, as did the sound of snapping bow strings. In the wake of the moans of the dying, came an eerie silence as the last clusters of fighting ground to a halt.
Gritting his teeth, Eric jerked out the arrow. Pain blazed in his leg as he watched the blood pool and run. For the first time in a good while he took a head count of his men lined up behind the wagon. He had started out with fifty men pouring over the back wall. Only four grim faces started back at him. Suddenly the pay for this job did not seem enough, and he began to wonder if the job had been a trap all along.
Slowly, Eric looked over the wagon. From one side to the other, the entire courtyard was a seething mass of wounded and dead. The odds had been terrible, perhaps five to one in the elves' favor. Many of his men lay dead and dying by the gate, their brown leather and dull silver mail easy to pick out from the homespun of the elves. They had won the manor compound, but the cost had been heavy on both sides.
Hearing a pair of pounding feet behind him, Eric lifted his sword and spun to square off with another challenger.
His second in command, Ramon Hawker, came to a stop in front of him, pushing aside the offending sword. The man wore studded leather armor and a grim face with tangled black hair that reflected his dark demeanor. "By the Gods! It's me, Eric!"
Letting his sword fall like it weighed a ton, Eric limped forward a step. "By the Gods is right. How many men do we have left?"
Ramon's black eyes and grim face shone with pain as he spoke. "I have two men left."
Eric closed his eyes and shook his head against the pain. Six men left out of one hundred. It was almost more than he could bear.
"We have the five we left in back -"
Eric shook his head. "They're dead. Elves coming out of the manor got them."
"We're down to eight men?" Ramon asked with wide eyes.
"Six. Rufus and Jack are mortally wounded."
For a moment no one moved. Eric felt sick; he had known each man by name, knew where and when each man had joined his group. They were men desperately seeking to wipe the evil elven animals off the face of the land. Getting paid to do that was like getting paid to drink ale. Seeing so many of his men lying dead, it didn't seem worth the pay, or the cost in lives. But still, he had a job to complete to collect the rest of his pay, and collect he would.
Taking a ragged breath, Eric looked at the stone three-story manor standing silent in the burning sun. The shutters were closed, and most likely barred. There was no sign of movement. If any elves lurked inside, they were hiding in ambush.
"Where are your men?" Eric asked.
Ramon wiped the sweat dripping off his bloody nose. "Brand is watching the back door. Jacob is guarding the front."
With a nod, Eric limped toward the front doors of the manor.
Ramon tried to open the massive double doors, but they were barred from the inside. Eric and Ramon battered the door with their swords as the other men stood back to cover them. Concentrating on a single board, they chopped until it gave way to the pounding, exploding in a rain of splinters. Ramon slipped a hand in and flipped off the cross bar.
Carefully, Eric cracked open the door and looked into the dim shadows for any elves ready to oppose him. A foyer of polished wood floors traveled into the dimness, broken only by a coat rack to his right and wall candles marching into the distance in puddles of light. Holding his shield before him, Eric shoved the door wide open and moved to the side so Jacob had a clear field to shoot.
There was no response from within. Only the endless hall, filled with the stench of smoke and overlaid by the smell of lemon and bee's wax polish on the floor. One by one, they entered. Eric signaled silently to leave a guard at the door. Slowly they made their way down the hall and halted at the first opening.
"They're hiding somewhere-waiting for us," Ramon whispered, as he peered into a large room that looked to be the great hall.
Eric nodded and limped in, motioning them to follow. A long table near one wall had been knocked over as if upset in haste. Other tables showed the remains of the noon meal, with silver goblets and silver plates. Rich tapestries hung on the walls, glittering in silver and gold threads. Thick rugs adorned the steps of the high table, where jeweled goblets winked in the dim light over crisp white tablecloths. The small scale of the furnishings seemed oddly out of place, making Eric feel like he was entering a place built for children.
Two of his men started for the goblets. Eric motioned them back, his eyes fixed on an open stairway leading to the second floor. Slowly, they climbed the stairway, which gave way to a hall vacant of life in both directions. The door straight ahead was open, showing empty weapons racks. All the doors were open, at least in part, except one at the end of the hall.
The dead quiet of the place suggested that they were alone. Eric didn't believe it. Elves were like cockroaches; you never quite got them all.
Eric posted Jacob to watch the stairway entry. In a hushed voice he said, "Ramon, come with me. The rest of you search the top floor. That should be the servant quarters."
Using the railing for support, Eric limped his way down the hall, and let Ramon open doors, one by one. Bedchambers, sitting rooms, dressing rooms, and what looked like guest chambers and dressing maid rooms, opened before them. At each door Ramon threw open, Eric expected a hoard of elves to come charging out. Yet, the rooms yielded nothing but the sounds of their own feet and creaking leather as they moved.
Opening still another door, Ramon gave a snort of dismay. This room looked like a little girl's bedroom. It was richly lined in pink silk, offset with a quilt embroidered with bright satin flowers on the bed. A dollhouse and several dolls were strewn about, as if the occupant had left in a hurry. It amazed Eric that elves went through so much trouble to give the impression that they were real people. Sickened by that insight, he shut the door quickly. He wanted to get the Orb and burn this place to the ground.
"Where do you think they would hide it?" Ramon asked, and opened still another door.
Eric motioned to the end of the hall. "My guess would be the chamber at the end of the hall. It would be the best defended room on this floor."
Ramon opened the last three doors quickly, finding nothing. Eric felt Ramon stop behind him as he faced the closed door at the end of the hall.
Slowly, Eric opened the door. Clearly, this was the bedchamber for someone of import. Royal blue silk wrapped the chamber in a shimmering cocoon of muted tones, setting off accents of delicate gold chairs padded in velvet. The large canopy bed was made of dark wood. Four posts carved with leaves and flowers, accented with gold leaf and inlaid jewels made Eric draw in a breath. Miles of silks and velvets lay over and above the bed-enough rich fabrics to clothe all of his men for a year.
Over by a dressing table, filled with crystal and gold vials in a rainbow of colors, Eric noted a small gold object on the floor by an inner door. He grabbed Ramon's arm and pointed as he realized it was a slipper. The foot was still in it.
Together they advanced to find a female elf crumpled against the door. Her eyes stared sightlessly at the wall in front of her. The soft blue gown she wore was crusted with dry blood down the length of both sides from an arrow taken deep under the left arm.
Ramon motioned at the corpse. "That's the one we saw running, the one I shot. She looked like she was trying to hide something."
Together they stripped the clothing off the body, searching for the Orb. They found nothing.
With a loud growl, Eric got to his feet, limped over to the bed and sat. His leg was a savage pain that throbbed with every beat of his heart. The exercise of stripping the elf woman had set the wound to bleeding freely again. He jerked a pillow off the bed and ripped the blue silk covering into two pieces. Making a pad and binder for his wound, he tied it around his thigh. He lifted his leg to lay it straight on the bed. That at least took the edge off the pain long enough for him to think.
Eric frowned at Ramon and asked, "This is the one you shot in back of the manor?"
"Yes. She was running through the walled garden," Ramon explained, pointing to her wound. "I saw the arrow go in."
Eric looked down at his newly made bandage. It was already wet with blood. "She could not have gone far. A mortal wound like that would bleed freely. I saw no blood in the hall. "
Ramon jerked off his helmet. "So how did she get here?"
Draping a hand over his raised knee, Eric held up two gauntlet encased fingers. "Two things. We know she could not have gotten here alone, not with that kind of wound. And, she did not come down the main hallway to this bed chamber."
Grinning like wolf, Ramon smacked a fist into his other palm. "Of course! There is a secret entry somewhere."
Eric nodded. "And she had help. Take that candle there and search the dressing room behind you. Walk carefully. Look for a blood trail," he said.
Ramon disappeared into the dressing chamber, following the spots of blood on the floor. His voice drifted back out, "There's a trail here, a huge blood stain on the white carpet. Other drops lead to a dressing table." Eric eased his sore leg to the floor and got to his feet.
They tore the dressing chamber apart, pulling out every dresser drawer. Then they pulled the dresser away from the wall. They found gold and silver jewelry, and a string of white stones, but no Orb. Moving over to another table, Eric froze as he noticed the candle on the table dancing, like it was being disturbed by a draft.
A six-foot by three-foot mirror, framed in gold, stood behind the delicate dressing table that was filled with vials of oils and soaps. Eric stared at the man that filled the entire reflective surface. A sulking brow hooded his rich hazel eyes, locked with his image in an accusing gaze. His red hair looked like a dark wound where it was plastered to his head with sweat, blood and dirt. A nick under his nose bled into his encrusted beard. From his wide shoulders to his narrow waist, he was covered in the liquid gore of his trade. Even to his own eyes, he looked like a monster, the kind about which mothers spun frightening tales to their children.
Monsters such as elves were part of his world-evil things to be slaughtered on sight. All his life he had been taught that they were something to be eliminated, like rats in a barn. But an image came to him: the gentleness and detail of an elf child's bedchamber. If elves were creations of evil, why did they fight like men? Why did they bleed like men? The frown deepened as he refused to think about such things. He drew his silver-encased sword and hefted it at his own image as if to defend himself from his thoughts, from asking too many questions. The anger rose inside him and he lashed out.
Eric smashed the mirror. Pieces of glass exploded all over the room, causing Ramon to duck behind his arms and swear savagely. "What in the hell?" he exclaimed.
In the empty frame of the mirror, Eric noticed a seam in the wall panel. A quick look under the dresser showed a pool of blood. He tossed the table out of his way to crash on the floor, spilling its contents into the mess. Glass crunching and popping under his booted feet, he inspected the wall.
A soft thump sounded behind a door disguised to look like a wall panel. Eric turned, waving Ramon to silence. Putting his ear to the door, he listened for any noise. He heard what sounded like a shuddered breath. Working his sword into the seam around the false door, he pushed and heard a latch give. The door popped opened.
Raising his sword, Eric accepted a candle from Ramon and ducked under the low doorway. The weak candlelight showed not a passageway, but a whole room appointed as a secret bedchamber. This one was draped in red silks. Using a silent signal, Eric motioned Ramon to follow the blood drops on the wood floor.
With the light of a second candle, Ramon scrutinized the trail of drops as they lead along one wall to a second low door. Ramon opened the door, and shook his head. He pantomimed a straight narrow staircase leading to the back of the manor. Closing the stairwell door, Ramon leaned against it and slid his sword free.
Eric nodded his understanding and swept the dark chamber with his keen eyes. The chamber was about twelve feet wide and a little longer. At the far end was four-poster bed, complete with canopy, two chairs and a small table. A silk screen painted with colorful birds stretched over one corner to hide the privy pot. Eric leaned forward to look under the bed and then under the screen. There, almost hidden totally in shadow, was a small pair of bare feet.
The mysterious helper of the dying elf had not disappeared or turned to dust, after all. Eric nodded at Ramon and pointed at the screen with his sword.
"We know you're behind there. Come out now if you want to live," Eric announced.
A gasp sounded from behind the screen. The sound caused him to tighten his leg. Pain shot all the way up to his heart causing his hands to tremble and his temper to flare.
"Last chance!" he barked. "Come out now or I'll split you open like a ripe melon!"
A shaking hand appeared from behind the screen, followed by a blonde head. The elf woman peeked out slowly out, gazing up at him with huge, pleading eyes. "Please don't kill me," she said in a tiny voice.
Eric grabbed her arm and hauled her the rest of the way out. Her long dress was a maid's outfit, done in royal blue and with a white apron sewn down the front that was dusty and bloody. She gazed at him with wide eyes as she trembled in his grasp.
"The Sirrus Orb," he demanded. "Where is it?"
"I don't…I don't know," she whispered with a shake of her head. Her bosom heaved with ragged breaths.
Eric had never seen an elf with breasts so large. Certainly the amount of cleavage spilling over the top of the low cut blue silk was leaving little to his imagination. It might be all her under that shimmer of silk. Then again she might be hiding the Orb. Misreading his intentions, she tried to cover herself and shook her head hard enough to send her blonde hair whipping about her face.
Eric tossed his sword to Ramon and slammed her against the wall. Her head bounced off the stone. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she went limp in his arms. Swearing under his breath, Eric gathered her up close to his body. He did not think he had been that rough with her. She must have fainted.
Her weight strained his wounded leg as he hauled her over to the bed. He eyed her carefully. Did she have the orb on her? There was only way to find out. With a single motion, he ripped her dress down the front to her navel. Pearly white breasts sprang free of the fabric, as if relieved to be free of their imprisonment. A second tear opened her chemise, baring the entire front of her flesh to him, but no orb rolled into his hands.
Eric tore her dress to the hem, and searched for hidden pockets or pouches. He found nothing hidden anywhere, but his eyes kept wandering back to her lush body. Unlike other elves he had seen, she didn't look starvation thin. No, this elf was soft, smooth and well rounded, with the lush curves of a human woman.
A different kind of need arose inside Eric as he rolled her over. This elf had an hourglass figure and sweetly full bottom that shimmered in the candlelight. In the back of his mind, he knew he should not be drawn to her. It had been far too long since he'd had a woman, and her body was calling to him. Suddenly, he remembered Ramon was in the room with him. Swallowing hard, he drew his boot knife and sliced off a strip of her chemise to bind her hands.
"Go make sure we have guards on both doors. I want every room in this place checked," Eric said in a rough tone.
Ramon eyed him curiously. "Do you want someone outside this room?"
"Yes, you," he snapped. "Once she wakes up, we're going to get information."
Ramon nodded and left.
Trying to ignore the elf's body, Eric arranged her to lay flat on the bed. Ripping the bedding into strips, he spread her legs wide, tying each to a corner post. Next he took a long strip of sheet and tied one end around her neck, and the other to the delicately carved head rail to prevent her from moving.
Again, doubt lingered in his mind. The strip of sheet hid her pointed ear from view, making it look like he was doing this to a human woman. He focused on her face, her upturned eyebrows and almond shaped eyes, to help remind him what she really was.
Before Eric left, he stood the bed table against the inner door. He didn't want to stop someone from entering, only to know if they did. He crunched through the glass in the dressing chamber and righted a chair outside the elf's view. Easing his weight down, he made sure it was going to hold, then put his aching leg up on the edge of the overturned table.
As Eric waited for the elf to start screaming for help, his thoughts drifted to the men he'd lost. Every one was a good and decent man. He knew over half of them had some form of family to care for. Not all had their own women, but men like Russ Potter, Deke Cartwright, and Hans Smith, had aging mothers or siblings to watch out for. Sure, he would make certain the families of these men got their share of the gold, and he would probably carry an extra bag of booty to split up for them, but what would those old people and children do next season?
Their lot was a double-edged sword, and both sides cut deep. Honest work was hard to come by, as the land was poor from warring against the elves. His men were faced with two choices: either stay home and starve with your family, or become a mercenary and die in some god-forsaken elf village. Most would not even get a proper burial. The elves had done more than just fight soldiers. They had destroyed entire families.
"Esta belani?" came a small cry from the elf.
Eric kept silent and listened as she called out in an increasingly alarmed voice. Hearing her pitiful cry almost make him relent, and let her go. The elven words stopped him. That was an elf in there. The saying he'd heard many times, ran through his head: What you do to an elf doesn't matter, so long as you kill it after you're done.
"Wayla nieta, provo esta!" the elf wailed with a sob in her voice.
The pounding of running boots came to him as she cried out. Eric got up as Ramon appeared, brandishing his sword. Eric waved for him to put it away, and touched a finger to his lips for him to be quiet.
Eric peeked into the bedchamber. The elf was crying out, trying desperately to free herself. He motioned Ramon closer. "Do you remember that barkeep who tried to keep the ale and our money?" he asked quietly.
The corner of Ramon's lip twitched up in a grin. "Sure do. I think we scared ten years off his life."
Eric returned his grin. "Same thing here. Be as mean as you can be."
Ramon glanced at the elf. "Right. I'll be right in."
Ducking through the low doorway, Eric groaned to get her attention. Upon seeing him, she began to flail so hard, he wondered if she was going to choke herself. Eyeing her with the lust he felt, he sat by her. Grabbing her head in both hands, he made her look at him.
"Are you worth fifteen pounds of gold?" he asked.
Her face went vacant as she stared back at him. "What?"
"Are you worth fifteen pounds of gold? If you're not, Ramon will want his money back," Eric explained.
Her jaw worked up and down. "I…don't belong to anyone," she said weakly.
"I found you. You're mine. I don't think you will be a very good slave, so I am selling you."
"Dom Hur," she whispered as she tried to sink into the bed.
"And if you're worth more," he prodded, "then I'll buy you back just to whip you for lying to me."
"Iscatani!" she cried.
He slapped her hard enough to get her attention. "Talk so I can understand," he growled at her.
Her whole body was shaking as she stared up at him. "I don't want to die," she whimpered.
Ramon came in and rubbed his hands together as he gazed greedily at her. "Ahh, yes. This is my prize?"
Eric kept his eyes fixed in the elf to note her reaction. "This is the one."
"Great, fifteen gold and she's all mine, right?"
"That's the deal."
Walking over to the foot of the bed, Ramon swept her with his eyes, settling his gaze on her chest. He pulled his boot knife and knelt between her legs. "Perfect, and such nice trophies, too."
The elf gasped and cried, "Dom Hur! Please, no!"
"Hey!" Eric snapped, jabbing a finger at Ramon. "Not until I get my gold!"
Sheathing the knife, Ramon gave a huff. "Fine, I'll be right back." He got up and took a step to leave. Eyeing Eric, he asked, "You're not going to sell her to Jacob, are you? He got the last one. There's nothing left after he gets finished with them."
"She's all yours. Right after I see the gold," Eric insisted.
Ramon eyed the elf with an evil grin, and said, "Don't go away, my sweet little toy."
"You can't do this!" the elf screamed.
Wincing from her piercing voice, Eric glared down at her. "You have become a piece of property. Get used to it."
Her shaking helped the tears run down to pool in the cup of her ear. "Please don't sell me. Not to him!" she pleaded.
Eric shrugged. "You're worth nothing to me if I keep you. That is, unless you have something I want."
She swallowed hard then gazed at him with eyes full of fear. "What do you want?" she asked, lips trembling.
Eric made a show of scanning the room to be sure no one else was present. "The Orb of Sirrus," he stated.
The elf's face took on a look of understanding. Her face firmed up into a mask of defiance. "I don't know where it is."
"Who was that woman you helped up the stairs?"
She hesitated a moment too long. "What woman?"
The elf's ribs thrust out from her tied hands pushing against her back. Eric traced the bottom edge of her ribs with his fingers. "It would be a very bad idea to toy with me. You came up those stairs right there, and helped a woman in a light blue dress. She had an arrow in her. Who was she?"
Relaxing in defeat, she stared at the ceiling. Her tone became hollow. "My mistress, Lady Jenalisa."
"And where did you find her?"
"We were in the-" she clamped her mouth shut.
Eric traced a finger hard and fast from her ribs to her belly button, which made her suck in a breath and her eyes go wide.
"You will tell me," Eric said smoothly, "or else Ramon will not use a finger when he has his fun."
The elf turned her head, her jaw set as she swallowed hard. Tears slid over her reddening face.
Eric saw Ramon waiting in the doorway, and motioned him to stay back. Cupping her chin in his hand, he made the elf look at him. "If you don't talk to me, I'll sell you," he warned.
"You are going to kill me anyway!" she wailed.
Eric turned her face toward Ramon. Leaning down to speak into her ear, he asked, "Imagine what he will do. Why did she hide you?"
In a sudden fit of rage, she forced her head up at him with eyes that bore daggers as she wailed, "She knew she was dying, you murdering bastard! Lady Jenalisa was showing something you can never comprehend-compassion!"
"And she brought you up from the garden, just to hide you here."
"Yes! You killed the kindest, most noblewoman I ever knew, damn you!" the elf screamed.
Eric got up and left her to her wailing sobs. Scratching his ringing ear, he looked at Ramon. "We'll go down these stairs and search the garden. Are we alone here?"
"As far as we can tell, but there are probably more of these secret rooms hidden in the cellars."
Feeling something on the corner of his lip, Eric wiped his mouth and discovered blood. Right. He'd seen the cut on his nose in the mirror. "Have the men look for food and some ale while they get their booty. I'll carry an extra sack of gold for whoever finds the Orb. We'll meet in the foyer."
Ramon eyed the crying elf, and spoke loudly. "I still get her for fifteen, right?"
"Maybe," Eric mused, eyeing her. "Depends on what she's worth to me."
Eric waited until she had calmed down, and then freed her legs. He felt her cold gaze on him as he cut the cloth loose from the head rail. He expected her to attempt to flee, or start kicking him. She lay as if she were still tied down, her chest heaving with each breath.
Eric jerked on the length of sheet still tied to her neck. "Get up."
"Why?" she spat. "So you can kill me somewhere else?"
"Lead me to the Sirrus Orb, and I will not kill you."
Blasting out a sarcastic laugh, she sneered, "No, you'll sell me to one who will. Just drive a sword through me and be done with it!"
"I thought you didn't want to die?"
"I don't, but that is better than letting some human slice me up for fun," she said with acid in her voice.
Eric pulled up on her cloth leash. She stayed limp, making her head nod forward. Becoming angry with her, he asked, "Do you enjoy lying there naked?"
"Why don't you take advantage of me?" she snarled back at him.
Eric pulled up harder so her shoulders were now hanging free. "Don't toy with me," he warned.
Red faced from the pressure on her neck, she maintained her glare. "I have nothing to lose; you've already taken away everything and everyone I hold dear."
Eric let out a snort. "Like elves are capable of love!"
"Don't you want to see if I'm worth more than a handful of gold? Or maybe it's true that human men aren't really men at all," she spat.
Dropping the leash, he planted his hands on her small shoulders, pushing her down. "Do you really want me to show you?" he growled.
Fear returned to her eyes. Her voice however, retained its hard edge. "If it'll pay for a clean death, yes."
Touching her, even in anger, was causing Eric's passion to swell. Getting up, he moved to the foot of the bed. Grabbing her ankles, he forced her legs up and to the sides. "If that's what you want, you'll get it," he assured her.
Eric held her down with one hand as he used the other to remove his codpiece and armor, flinging them to the side. Then he worked his trousers free. Her eyes brimmed with fresh tears and she turned her stare to the ceiling.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a tiny voice reminded Eric that she was an elf. With her body before him and his need fueled by anger, he refused to listen. It wouldn't matter now if his men were watching. He couldn't stop himself. Not now, when the passion of battle had turned into another kind of passion. Gazing down on her, his heart pounded in his ears as he knelt on the bed.
Also by K. Allen Cross
Rapid Descent
Twilight's Princess


Click here to visit their web site and pick out a baseplate that fits your car. Roadmaster makes six styles.
Pick out the baseplate, then come back to our web site and enter the part # in our Baseplate # box.


The heady days of summer may have gone, but it has left its mark on us all. Allotments across the land are filled with delicious veggies, eagerly waiting to be picked.
I've always enjoyed this time of year, but then I'm a man that's likes the seasons. I don't think I would enjoy living somewhere with the same climate all year round.
The mornings now have a noticeable nip in the air, as the sun takes longer to rise, and the evenings are drawing in at a quickening pace. Yet, as Sophie mentioned in last week's blog, it's the time to enjoy the wonderful colours of autumn. Whether it's an orange sunset, a blushing leaf, or the vibrant colours of a pumpkin, nature's colour palate right now is magical.
But this is also a time for reflection, of slowing the pace, and remembering the thrills and spills of summer just gone. Soon, it will be time to put away the vegetable trug and begin the mulching, fleecing and manuring.
Personally, I've had a fantastic summer. All but one crop (damn you melon!) succeeded. I think this year, there were no real gluts and everything arrived at a steady pace. Flowers bloomed and our garden adventures thrived. Not only did we attend some great garden festivals, get to film events, and interview some gardening celebs, but I also made my live TV debut! I'm very excited to announce I'm now a Guest Presenter on the QVC channel where I'm proud to represent Suttons. You'll regularly catch me talking all things gardening on Richard Jackson's Garden Show.
So, what's next? There is a change in the air, plans are forming at Agents of Field HQ. Soph and I are on this journey together, and we're gonna make sure we enjoy all the sights along the way. Something is coming. It's all good I promise, and all will be revealed in time.
But for now I'm just going to sit here on my allotment and enjoy the view.
Wonderful picture of you and Sophie. Also, congrats on the new show. Looking forward to hearing about the good changes coming your way.
That first picture is excellent! I know that is not what you wrote about, but it really is excellent!
A climate without pronounced seasons is not as boring as you might think. As mild as our climate is here, we really do get a brief period of time that is NOT summer! Seriously! Every year at about the same time, the weather gets a bit cooler, and then a bit of water mysteriously falls from the sky! It is not really as terrifying as it sounds. It is just what happens in the not-summer season. I think it might be called 'winter' or something like that. You can check the spelling. It is the reason our homes have roofs on them.
We have clouds today in the San Diego area. It is also not hot. Seems to be something like autumn, but without leaves to take.
Ah, San Diego, the great rival of San Jose. I love San Jose, but it is such a bland city. It really should be as pretty as San Diego is. It should also be more populous than San Diego is, not because San Jose needs to be more crowded, but because San Diego just does not seem to be as big.


text:
Stephen King's take on the Trump shutdown is as blunt as you'd expect
There's no love lost between these two.
Image: Leigh Vogel/WireImage/Win McNamee/Getty Images/mashable composite
By Sam Haysom 2019-01-17 10:08:51 UTC
Stephen King is certainly not one to mince his words — and that goes double when it comes to Trump.
The horror master spent a large chunk of 2018 berating the President on Twitter, and — judging by his tweets so far in 2019 — he isn't planning to stop any time soon.
SEE ALSO: How Stephen King's tweets saved book reviews for a local paper
On Wednesday night, King addressed Trump's government shutdown — and, as usual, he didn't hold back.
Thanks to the Trump Shutdown, government workers are queuing for donated commodities. He is this country's shame.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 16, 2019
The part about "queuing for donated commodities" refers to the 800,000 federal workers in the U.S. who have spent the shutdown either working for free, or who have been granted a leave of absence, per CNBC.
On Wednesday, Trump signed legislation which guarantees workers affected by the shutdown will receive back pay.
WATCH: Ever wonder how the universe might end?
Topics: Celebrities, Culture, Donald Trump, Politics, shutdown, Stephen King


Decaying social network MySpace announced today in a message posted on its website that it lost nearly 13 years worth of user files after a botched server migration operation.
Word spread over the weekend after a user on Reddit's r/technology Subreddit made a post outlining how, last year, they noticed that all of their music uploaded from 2015 and before had disappeared.
"Until this is resolved the option to download is not available".
Millions of photos, videos, original songs, and other content items, uploaded to MySpace servers during its heyday are now gone forever, lost in a massive server migration that went horribly wrong, according to a sad admission by MySpace's administration, issued Monday morning. "We apologise for the inconvenience and suggest that you retain your back up copies". "I apologize for the inconvenience this may be causing".
MySpace has come in for widespread criticism after they admitted to losing over 12 years worth of music, images and videos uploaded to the site between 2003 and 2015.
Over 50 million uploaded pieces of music have been deleted from Myspace.
In 2006 MySpace was the most visited Internet site in the U.S, and helped launch the careers of music stars such as Lily Allen, the Arctic Monkeys and Kate Nash.
The platform has waned in popularity since it was founded in 2003 but in its prime it attracted millions of users.
CNN has contacted Myspace's data protection officer for comment.
"I'm deeply skeptical this was an accident", Baio wrote.
But that might have been erased, along with some 50 million songs.
MySpace was bought by NewsCorp in 2005 for $580m (£437m). However, it was sold 6 years later for $35m to ad targeting firm Specific Media.
A teenager, whose name can not be published, appeared in court on Monday and was charged with distributing that footage. Gun City owner David Tipple said Tarrant bought the weapons and ammunition between December 2017 and March 2018.
More than 3,300 hourly workers were laid off indefinitely, representing about 7 percent of GM's hourly US employees. A small portion of the laid-off workers have found jobs at other GM plants far from the OH plant that was closed.
The Season 1 Battle Pass will have the standard 100 levels to work through, with each one giving you some sort of reward. While it was also revealed that the much-rumoured Octane Legend is coming with the Apex Legends Battle Pass.
Meanwhile, hundreds of flights were canceled at Denver International Airport, and almost 40 were grounded in Colorado Springs. Winds of more than 100 miles per hour have slammed into San Augustin Pass, New Mexico, and Pine Springs, Texas.
Westbrook insisted that the fan was yelling racist taunts at him and he refused to apologize for threatening the fan. Jazz owner Gail Miller addresses the crowd following Monday's incident involving Russell Westbrook and a fan.
The social network released the information as politicians and commentators called for more to be done to police live-streaming. In August, a shooting at a Madden 19 video-game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, was captured on live video.
The apps were removed from the Google Play Store after the Check Point researchers informed Google of their findings. On the one hand, it throws away one of Android's identifying features and requires a bit of thumb exercise to use.
The massacres took place from 1.40pm this afternoon at the Masjid Al Noor and Linwood Masjid mosques. Another said: "This isn't about a Swedish man who makes video entertainment for a living".
Along with the glossy black finish, the smartphone is available in two different choices for color gradients - blue and red. The smartphone has a dual camera setup with the Sony IMX 586 48 MP primary camera and a 5 MP depth sensor.
Elsewhere, Canadian Bianca Andreescu and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine are scheduled to play in the other semi-final on Saturday. Until Kerber stopped her, Williams had won four matches in a row for the first time since previous year in the desert.
Dutch PM Mark Rutte has commented on the shooting, stating that the government is holding crisis talks following the incident. Tram traffic in the area was halted, operator Qbuzz was quoted as saying by the ANP news agency.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the shooting a terrorist act, saying it was the country's "darkest day". While a preliminary list of the victims has been shared with families, Bush said their bodies have not yet been released.
Auburn is the 5 seed this week and the Tigers have won six straight, including wins over Missouri and SC in this tournament. In the win over the Gamecocks, Auburn's lead scorer was Jared Harper with 27 points, six assists and six rebounds.
Their statement of March 18 said in part: "While the physical impact of Idai is beginning to emerge, the human impact is unclear". Many families now lack basic supplies like food and water, with the situation likely to get even worse as flood waters rise.
Gilas Pilipinas was put in Group D of the tournament, along with powerhouse Serbia, Italy, and Angola. The city of Guangzhou will host Group C while Foshan will play host to Group D team.


Source: Proceedings : Ninety-seventh Annual Meeting of the American Wood-Preservers' Association ... Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 20-23, 2001. Granbury, Tex. : The Association, c2001: Pages 65-67.
One end of each piece of brick molding (about 35 mm long) was dipped in a water-repellent preservative (WRP). Following the WRP treatment, the sections were divided into two groups and painted with one of two different primers formulated to be typical of factory-applied primers. Each of the primed groups was further divided into four groups to determine the effect of primer weathering on paint service Iife. The primed moldings were exposed without a top coat for about 0,3,6, or 9 months 15 km west of Madison, Wisconsin. Alkyd-oil or acrylic-latex top coats were field-applied and the moldings were evaluated over 3 years for flaking and cracking of the paint. It was found that pretreatment of the specimens with WRP greatly improved the paint performance. Weathering the primer decreased the paint performance for the alkyd-oil top coats without the WRP pretreatment but not for the acrylic-latex top coats. The acrylic-latex top coats had better service life than the alkyd-oil top coats.
Williams, R. Sam; Ross, Alan S.; Sotos, Peter; Cheeks, Chuck. 2001. Water-repellent preservative treatment of brick molding prior to factory priming improves paint service life. Proceedings : Ninety-seventh Annual Meeting of the American Wood-Preservers'' Association ... Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 20-23, 2001. Granbury, Tex. : The Association, c2001: Pages 65-67.


text:
Shining Series artist releases his art book 'Tony's Artworks From Origin' tomorrow
August 13, 2017 by George
Regardless of what you think of Tony Takas art since taking over the Shining franchise's art duties all the way back in 2004, he seems to have acquired a massive following in Japan. While the Shining series has had trouble selling copies of their games, it seems that Japan responded positively to Tony Taka's character designs. So much so that there is a ton of Shining series merch being sold, more so than the actual games. Tony Taka has even released a couple of Shining related art books as well, this will be more broad artwork he has done in the past.
AmiAmi will be selling the "Tony's ART works from Origin" book which is set to feature various character designs from his career including magazine covers and vocaloids he has designed, including a long form interview looking at his history these past 20 years. The book will come in A4 page format, will have a hardcover backing and clear slip on box. The book will set you back 5,000 yen ($46), will have 100 pages and feature 80 illustrations. The details of the book also brag that about 30 of the character designs in the book got made into figurines. Good for you Tony Taka, I guess.
Hit the jump to check out preview pages of some of the artwork that will be in the book:
[Via AmiAmi]
Here is the book and the slip on cover:
SEGA bringing its Shining spin-off arcade game Blade Arcus from Shining EX to PS4 and PS3 Shining Ark gets Shining Wind character cameo New Valkyria Chronicles II art book hitting Japan SEGA is already working on the next Shining project Shining Blade gets two Japanese commercials
Art book Japan Shining Ark Shining Blade Shining Hearts Shining Resonance Shining series Shining Tears Shining Wind Tony Taka
4 responses to "Shining Series artist releases his art book 'Tony's Artworks From Origin' tomorrow"
Robbie says:
Why on Earth would anyone bitch about Taka's art? His character designs are the only good thing to come out of modern Shining games.
Draikin says:
Well, that's sort of the problem. The criticism isn't so much geared towards Tony Taka's artwork (aside from how similar the characters from different franchises tend to look), rather it's the approach SEGA took with the franchise. Ever since Tony Taka became involved, the series has started to focus more and more on the otaku market, using fanservice to drive sales of DLC, figures, artbooks and a ton of other content. You can't blame Tony Taka for doing what he does best, but in capitalizing on that SEGA pushed the series in an increasingly niche corner. More so than other JRPG franchises, which as a result still have a (growing) presence in the West (the Tales series is a good example). For example, Shining Resonance had 16 DLC packs, ticking all the otaku boxes: school setting DLC, hot spring DLC, swimsuit DLC… By the end, they were just selling recolored version of previous swimsuits. These low-effort attempts at draining just a bit more money from fans in Japan seem rather cynical, and it speaks volumes about SEGA's (lack of) ambition with the series.
So what it comes down to is that Tony Taka's artwork has simply become symbolic for SEGA's strategy with the recent Shining games. That's not his fault, of course, but at the same time those who played the old Shining Force games would like to see the franchise returns to its roots.
Tony fan says:
Honestly, Tony Taka's anime art girl illustrations are beyond better than any other artist ive ever spent my time researching. His perspective on a tall , long hair, large breast, small shoulders, wide hips and big thighed female is perfect, infact, flawless (google tony magazine 1, look for the blonde elf with her legs spread open to understand what i'm talking about). And yes, Sega is very shady, they don't even share their motion speed for their MMD videos plus other bad things i've heard about them. Though until just now I didn't know they were using Tony's work. And I disagree with the individual who degraded and shamed Tony's work, if that guy can find a better artist, he can reply to this comment, Tony's work is atleast relatively realistic, the girls are very exquisite, some may think otherwise, but that may be because they set their expectations through the roof.
Tony's art is really f-ing boring. Find some of his art from 15 (!!!) years ago and compare it to current. Nothing's changed. Still the same pastel colors and boring, static poses with the same set of 3 facial expressions. I'm fairly sure that if it wasn't for his porn drawings and the inclusion of subtle vagina and nipple outlines in artbooks etc. he wouldn't even be 1/4 as well known as he is now.
TdsbW GkN IKhXiXP LPQdTkL


Getting TypeError: <type 'str'> from arcpy.mapping.ListLayers()?
I want to do simple task, using arcpy to turn on the label, I use this code (I'm googling it and change the path with my own mxd path) but it failed and returns an error.
I have many layers (100 layers/feature class/ file geodatabase) and I want to label those layers then I convert those layers into annotation and after that I convert them to DWG CAD (point and annotation), but I want to do that automatically (especially when do labeling and turn on those label), because it will be wasting time if labeling those 100 layers 1 by 1.
A variable that references a DataFrame object.
so you are trying to set data_frame to a string instead of a DataFrame object.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged arcpy arcmap layers typeerror or ask your own question.
Getting IndexError: list index out of range from arcpy.mapping.ListLayers() in Python Window of ArcMap?


This book studies Dalit movements in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, their mode of organization, engagement in politics and contribution to processes of democratization and egalitarianism.
Questions discussed include: How can democracy be preserved under conditions of extra-institutional mobilization? What is the current situation of Dalits in Tamil Nadu and why and in what manner do they resort to protest? How are egalitarian and democratic ideas initiated at the local level? How are the action concepts of social movements manifested in the everyday lives of their members? and What will be the impact of the entry of the Dalit Liberation Panthers into electoral politics on democracy in Tamil Nadu as well as India?
Hugo Gorringe is Lecturer in Identity, Department of Sociology, University of Edinburgh.
This book should help to revise the large (and sometimes repetitive) literature on non-Brahmin politics in the state and contribute to the current debate on the 'democratization of democracy' in India…. An original and valuable study that tells us a lot about growing Dalit activism, undoubtedly one of the most significant developments in India today.
Gorringe has written an important book which impressively documents the hardship and discrimination Scheduled Castes contiue to encounter in India…. The book attempts to document the suffering of the Dalits, and their ill-treatment at the hands of higher castes…. While providing a sympathetic account of the movement, it is to the author's credit that he also notes the failure of the movement to address gender inequalities in Dalit society at large and in the movement itself and also on the cult of leadership practised within the movement…. [This] is a useful addition for the understanding of how democratic politics works in India at a regional level.
This case study addresses the implications of extra-parliamentary movements for democratic institutions and offers a finegrained study of the ways in which movement leaders within a stigmatized community appropriate constitutional, social, and symbolic resources in the interest of their community's greater inclusion within both political and civil institutions. Scholars interested in social movements, in processes of change in hierarchical relations, or in South Asian studies will find the book of particular value.
This remarkably useful book on dalit political movements combines detailed interviews with front line dalit activist, with a perceptive facing dalit political mobilisation. The battery references is impressive….This book is urgently needed because very little research exists on dalit movements in Tamil Nadu.


Gordon was a long-time competitive distance runner who discovered Pilates in 2000, began teaching in 2003, and joined Pilates on 10th in early 2006. Following rehabilitation from an automobile accident, Gordon became fascinated with the design structure of the human body, leading him into Rolfing (structural integration), yoga and finally Pilates. Gordon sees the human body as a superstructure of interconnected elements. Much the way a suspension bridge depends on the integrity of every cable for its strength, so it is with the human body. Should one muscle be slack and not carry its load, another muscle will be overloaded, pull the body out of alignment, causing imbalance and eventually failure and injury.


This yummy mix is the perfect addition to a cool fall night by the fire! Taffy Town's Harvest treats mix includes Cran-Raspberry, Candy Corn, Caramel Corn, Pumpkin Pie, Maple, Pomegranate & Caramel Apple flavors. Taffy Town's salt water taffy is the perfect addition to any fall gathering or even Thanksgiving dinner!


The Lex Band is a thin platinum eternity band from the Art Deco Era, circa 1929! The ring features step cut diamonds that are channel set in a platinum ring. The diamonds combine for approximately 1.50 carats. The top of the ring has an original inscription that reads "JWA to JMP April 6, 1929". The ring is size 5 and cannot be resized.
The diamonds in this ring are super chic! The band is thin so it can pair well with almost anything and we LOVE when we come across a ring with an original date!


Nowadays our frenetic lifestyle does not give us the proper time to care about our make-up long enough. We know that a well-dome make-up is essential for our peace of mind (and lips), essential to make us feel better and beautiful and highligh our strenghts (and hide our weaknesses). Sometimes we tend to forget about what makes us feel better and just focus on how to solve our problems as fast as possible.
But we don't need that much time to put our make-up on, 5 minutes are more than enough! Women are multitasking, so get ready for this new ultimate guide to fast make-up.
So just start timing this steps, 5 basic steps, and in 5 minutes you'll be so fab that everyone will notice you.
After the average beauty routine ( micellar water, serum and cream) it's time to apply the foundation. You can choose a compact one, cream one, fluid one or mineral, it depends on your kind of skin (if you have an oily skin then it's better to use foundation powder , if you have a dry skin then use the creamy one), the important thing is to apply it with delicate touches and use the right quantity. You must apply it on your nose, chin, front and under your eyes and then blend it outward.
Apply a little quantity of product on the back of your hand and then gently tap it on your skin to get a natural effect. Start from the centre of your face and then go to the neck and jaz.
If you love strong make-up then draw a line with your eyeliner after putting the eyeshadow on, if you prefer a blurred effect then do the opposite. Use mascara to enlarge your eyes. If you love a simple look then mascara is enough for you!
lipstick or lipgloss? Matt or shimmer? It depends on you: if you want a bit of sparkle then opt for your favourite lipgloss, if you prefer to sublimate your look with some matt then use your best lipstick.
Here's our last advice: use a bit of powder on the t zone (front, nose and chin) to definitively hide your imperfections.
Previous PostPrevious 5 ways to stop torturing your nails!


text:
State Finds Problems with City Hall's Handling of Boston 2024 Records
Despite what the city's Law Department says, emails must always be included in public records searches.
By Kyle Scott Clauss· 8/8/2015, 9:48 p.m.
In June, Boston magazine asked, "Does Boston City Hall Have a Public Records Problem?" Last week, the state appears to have offered an answer: "Yup."
State Supervisor of Records Shawn Williams ruled in favor of Joel Fleming, Dan Currie, and No Boston 2024's Jonathan Cohn, who filed a joint appeal alleging the city's former Chief of Government Services Maribeth Cusick failed to comply with the state's public records law while conducting searches for records responsive to the now-defunct Boston 2024 Olympic bid.
"Attorney Cusick contends the City must only search for email records when directed to do so by a requester. The law, however states otherwise," Williams ruled in his August 3 decision, obtained by Boston. "'Public records' is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption."
In April, Cusick wrote to Williams arguing that because a search of the city's email system is time-consuming and diverts significant staff time, "the City only conducts such searches when specifically requested, and generally charges $0.88/email to account for the search, segregation, and review time associated with such." This did not fly with Williams, who—in the case of Fleming's request for records concerning property taxes in relation to Boston 2024, as well as two sections of Joinder Agreement—said it's "unclear whether the City conducted a complete search."
"I find the City erred in omitting email records from its response to the requests for public records by all three requesters," Williams wrote.
Williams has ordered the city to provide Fleming, Currie, and Cohn with written responses making reference to records requested, records provided, and any remaining records that have yet to be provided, "regardless of physical form," by Thursday. Copies must also be sent to Williams' office.
"The Law Department will review the decision," Laura Oggeri, Mayor Marty Walsh's spokeswoman, said in a statement Saturday night.
Though the United States Olympic Committee pulled the plug, the Boston 2024 saga is hardly over. You can read Williams' decision below.
Mayor Marty Walsh
Best of Boston 2022
The Hopeless Romantic's Guide to Dating in Boston
How Parents Are Finding Baby Formula in Boston
The Mayor, the Muckraker, and the Bombshell North of Boston
Jane Swift and Me, 20 Years Later
Can This Man Blow up the Status Quo without Destroying Boston?
The Lego Group Moves to Boston!


text:
Q: Is MessageSourceAware a special case or can I inject other dependencies in a similar fashion? Using Spring, one can define classes that implement MessageSourceAware. The container will then inject a MessageSource automatically (see the tail end of this documentation).
Is this a special case or can I use this concept to inject other dependencies too? For instance, can my classes implement the following interface:
public interface MyServiceAware {
  void setMyService(MyService service);
}

and then somehow be auto-wired with a suitable bean?
Note: I am using XML configuration exclusively at the moment and I'd be reluctant to move to Java-based annotations.

A: The *Aware interfaces are handled by a BeanPostProcessor that is automatically registered in the application context (org.springframework.context.support.ApplicationContextAwareProcessor).
You could create and register your own postprocessor to handle MyServiceAware beans.
Remember also that the XML configuration does support autowiring for appropriately configured beans.


What goes better with cold brews than slow braised chicken, carnitas, buffalo or Colorado lamb tacos. Nothing - except maybe a side of Serrano re-fried beans, Mexican street corn or fresh hand cut papas fritas... Come in and spend some quality time with us at the Breckenridge Tap House - Cheers!
Enjoy a beer from one of our 37 taps, one of hundreds of Tequila and Whiskey selections, a glass of wine or one of our hand crafted cocktails all under the roof of our historic building built in 1873. Make the Breckenridge Tap House one of your stops when you are in town.


text:
Q: Css calc() behavior in IE My purpose is to put inner div in the middle of container.
The example in
fiddle:
The main problem is that inner div is shifted right in IE (Firefox and Chrome shows it fine) because of using css calc() rule.  If I uncomment constant width in example above width: 156px, it works.
But it doesn't with calc(). Is there any way to fix it for IE?
P.S. as I know IE8 and lower doesn't support calc(), I was trying it in IE9.

A: Try this new fiddle, there where a couple of errors in your CSS. Here ya go:
http://jsfiddle.net/tuwd3tqg/1/

First off though, you where using position: absolute, and I don't know why. Second, you where using top and right, for those you must use position: relative. Third you where using right, which I changed to margin-right, and the items have to be float: right to use right.

EDIT
If you would like text aligned in the center add the following property to your wrapper text-align: center. Here is an updated fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/tuwd3tqg/2/

A: give your class
.column {
   text-align: center;
}