The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East and is the birthplace and spiritual home of Islam. It is also one of the most difficult places on earth to visit so a period working here grants rare access.
From the ancient, rock hewn archaeological site of Madain Saleh, to the world-class diving off the Red Sea coast, the mudbrick ruins of Dir'aiyah and the Asir Mountains of the southwest, this is a country of beauty and contrast. And then there is all that desert - most famously the Empty Quarter - an eery expanse of undulating dunes.
Jeddah, the Red Sea port is relatively cosmopolitan, as is capital Riyadh. Here elegant cafés and restaurants jostle with shops ranging from traditional souks to upmarket malls with the latest designer ranges.
The Saudi Embassy advises women to dress conservatively in public. This means wearing ankle-length dresses with long sleeves and strictly no trousers. In many areas and particularly in Riyadh, women are pressured to wear an abaya - a head to toe black covering. A woman traveling with a man who is not her husband, sponsor or a male relative can be arrested.
Given that the accommodation is paid for, and that rates of pay are excellent, many expats choose to work in Saudi Arabia for a period to save money and return home having done exactly that. Being located in the Middle East also means many holiday destinations in Africa, India, Australia and South East Asia are much closer than from Europe.The official language is Arabic but English is widely understood and always used by Pulse staff in their place of work.
Al Ahsa is a traditional oasis region in eastern Saudi Arabia. With a history that stretches back around 2000 years it is also the greenest place in the Eastern part of Saudi and filled with numerous swaying palm trees. It's conveniently situated close to the causeway to more Westernised Bahrain, which is a relatively short drive away.
Dammam can be found in Saudi Arabia's Eastern province. Once a cluster of fishing villages it has morphed into a thriving, modern city, fuelled by its oil industry and sea port. It boasts ancient sites and tax free shopping and, lIke Al Ahsa, is situated close to the causeway that takes you to the more liberal Bahrain.
Jeddah, popularly known as 'The Ancestor of Women', is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia. It's less conservative than Riyadh, has a nice climate thanks to its coastal location and is a good base for Muslims who wish to relocate as it acts as a gateway to Mecca. Jeddah also has good tax free shopping and a cosmopolitan mix of inhabitants.
Situated in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, Madinah is the second holiest city in Islam. With a population of around 600,000 people, you won't be able to live or work here unless you are Muslim. Its name means "City of the Prophet of Allah" and it was to Madinah city that Muhammad fled when he was driven out of Mecca.
Old and new co-exist in bustling capital Riyadh, once a mudbrick settlement that now rises shimmering from the desert around. You can visit historical sites in the morning, sleek shopping centres in the afternoon and dine at excellent restaurants in the evening. For those relocating with children, Riyadh has a range of excellent international schools.


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text:
Q: Alter input value with template binding I have an input component for time. I want to perform some input modifications to keep time inside limits.
This is an excerpt from HTML markup
<input
        (change)="hoursChange($event.target.value)"
        (keypress)="onlyNumHandler($event)"
        (blur)="onBlur('hours')"
        [ngModel]="hours"
        [readonly]="readonly"
        [disabled]="!dateVal"
        placeholder="23"
        type="text"
        matInput
    >

Here dateVal is a Moment instance.
And this is my function to alter hours on input
hoursChange(val: string): void {
        const numVal = Number(val);

        if (isNaN(numVal) || !isFinite(numVal)) {
            this.hours = '00';
        } else if (numVal > 23) {
            this.hours = '23';
        } else {
            this.hours = val;
        }

        this.dateVal.set({
            hour: Number(this.hours)
        });

        this.changeDate(this.dateVal);
    }

The problem here is that I cannot make it work on input. It alters input value only on blur.
If I change (change) on (input) it alters the value only once when it hits max limit.
The trick is that function sets everything successfully (i.e. hours prop is at it should be and moment object has the proper hours set), however the input value shown is still not 23 but 999 (in case of 999 input).
I don't know if it matters, but I've enabled ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush.

An approximate behaviour I'm observing https://stackblitz.com/edit/angular-hjlded

A: So I would suggest another approach is to pass the element ref to the function then update it's value: Stackbliz Example
Pass the element ref in template:
<input
        #input
        //Pass the element ref into hoursChange(...)
        (ngModelChange)="hoursChange($event, input)"
        (keypress)="onlyNumHandler($event)"
        (blur)="onBlur('hours')"
        [ngModel]="hours"
        [readonly]="readonly"
        [disabled]="!dateVal"
        placeholder="23"
        type="text"
        matInput
    >

In your TS
  hoursChange(val: string, input ): void {
    const numVal = Number(val);

    if (isNaN(numVal) || !isFinite(numVal)) {
      this.hours = '00';
    } else if (numVal > 23) {
      this.hours = '23';
    } else {
      this.hours = val;
    }
    //Change via element ref
    input.value = this.hours;

    this.dateVal.set({
      hour: Number(this.hours)
    });
  }

Explain for the problem:
If you look at the source code of the ngModel directive,in line 221 the ngOnChange trigger function isPropertyUpdated() - which is the condition for ngModelChange event to emit the changed value and update viewModel, that function declared inside shared.ts file in line 153.
And I believe that function isPropertyUpdated() going to return false except for the first time change event fired - which cause the binded variable from your component.ts through [ngModel] to template actually work onetime only (the first time change event fired).
And I think it happen when the banana in the box [(ngModel)] is splitted which make the model become looseIdentical and still i have not found the answer that satisfied me yet about angular looseIdentical definition. But I hope the above informations could help you with this.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


research, as well as your own first-hand observations from your London Walk.
influenced by certain architectural and social agendas.
research. Your research should include multiple resources, books, journals, etc.
to a high standard (look on JSTOR, not Wikipedia).
Domus, Log, The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians etc.
research materials, and include a bibliography of your references.
walk on February 20th/21st 2017.
and add others in London of note, in the sessions following your walk.
and aesthetic values these projects were promoting.
potential structure of the essay.
footnotes do not count in this total number.
photographs, as well as research material.


text:
Panopticon (en.wikipedia.org)
92 points by hardmaru 5 days ago | hide | past | web | 42 comments | favorite
keiferski 5 days ago [-]
Even if you disagree with his methods or conclusions, Foucault has some pretty interesting thoughts and arguments on the panopticon and is somewhat responsible for revitalizing interest in it in the 1970s.
For Foucault, the real danger was not necessarily that individuals are repressed by the social order but that they are "carefully fabricated in it" (Foucault, 1977), and because there is a penetration of power into the behaviour of individuals. (Foucault 1977).
Kind of chillingly accurate how that is when used to describe social media.
http://www.moyak.com/papers/michel-foucault-power.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_and_Punish
paulgerhardt 5 days ago [-]
Whenever I think of the Panopticon I default to Foucault's metaphorical embodiment and not Bentham's literal one.
With Shenzhen's new 5G/gigapixel systems rolling out in the subway, grocery stores, cross walks, apartment entries, and even KFC's I realize both can be true.
Bartweiss 4 days ago [-]
Foucault's work on this is fascinating and still well worth reading, but to some degree it's already been eclipsed by reality.
The essential breakthrough of panopticon was using uncertainty as a multiplier, pushing people to act in fear of surveillance far more often than they're actually surveilled. That's an accurate description of getting dog-piled for a random tweet, but it increasingly doesn't reflect modern surveillance or even sousveillance.
A government can tap webtraffic to monitor everyone who searches for privacy tools, or put up a Great Firewall with known holes and track the people who bypass it. Lately, even random individuals can automate things like finding everyone who liked a tweet they disagree with, then searching their profiles for anything that might spark outrage. Even the ubiquity of videocameras represents a change from Foucault's era, since so much that's not a problem at the time is recorded and scrutinized later.
A lot of his ideas about the psychological impact of panopticon still apply, since consequences for this sort of thing are not applied consistently. But it seems important to note that observers who used to be constrained by perception are now constrained by agency, and so can more actively select which misdeeds to react to.
mikece 5 days ago [-]
" The concept of the design is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single security guard, without the inmates being able to tell whether they are being watched."
Maybe I'm weird but my thoughts immediately go to office design and allowing a manager to observe any/all employees without them being able to tell. Maybe THIS is the real point (or at least a "happy" side product) of open-floor-plan offices?
jellicle 5 days ago [-]
The typical factory design was always a two-story-high room, large and open, with the manager's office on the second floor and having large windows looking out over the factory floor. Manager can see you, but because of the angle, you can't see him. Open-plan people haven't cued into that yet, I suppose because of typical office buildings that only have 9 or 10 foot ceilings. But advances in camera technology should allow a single ceiling camera to be positioned over each cubical looking straight down without a lot of additional expense.
parksy 5 days ago [-]
You can see this design pattern in many places. A supermarket chain I once worked at has the managers office elevated above the store with a one way mirror, so they can see out and no one can see in. It works. You never know if the manager is watching. I'm sure it deterred thieves as well as prevented staff from slacking on the job.
The same concept for years here was used in traffic light cameras, although they're really commonplace nowadays, in the past the traffic authority only had a relatively small number of actual cameras, but the camera boxes at intersections were fixed in place. You would never know if the camera at any particular time was in there, so everyone slowed down, took their time, and behaved at those intersections regardless.
Then there are satellites orbiting overhead. Maybe not a concern for you and I, but real-time, high resolution footage of basically any location on the planet is at the fingertips of many countries' agencies. You don't know if anyone's looking at you at any time, but just knowing that up there in the sky could be hidden eyes watching is a massive deterrent if you're trying to, I dunno, secretly mobilise an army, or move piles of drugs to a secret warehouse.
The US government invested a lot of time and money designing blimps that would be equipped with sensitive radio receivers and gigapixel cameras, that can float at high altitude virtually invisible to the naked eye while powerful onboard computers use image recognition to classify and track every moving object within a city (oddly called ISIS - Integrated Sensor is Structure).
The best part is you don't need to actually build and deploy these things, or if you do you don't need total coverage, just the very shadow of a threat of being observed secretly from afar is an really economical approach to getting large masses of people to fall into line. Knowing that it's possible is enough to raise the question of whether or not it's already been done.
From a supermarket to space, the panopticon pattern is nested and stacked under, over and around us in ways that we sometimes barely even recognise or know exist. Probably not a big issue for the most part if you're not up to anything nefarious, undoubtedly in many instances it's of benefit to productivity and society at large. But sometimes governments can turn nefarious, or you get an asshole boss, and then it becomes a problem for people.
So yeah I don't think you're weird thinking that open plan offices resemble a panopticon, though to make it work the boss needs his own side entry and a way of looking out while no one can look in. Add a loudspeaker so they can yell at people on the floor if they think they're being slack, and you have a warehouse I once worked in.
I do seriously doubt many of these workplaces made a conscious decision to build a panopticon, but it's apparently a natural product of a distrusting, cunning intellect.
eskaytwo 5 days ago [-]
Rather tangential, but the band ISIS had an album called Panopticon.
panopticon 4 days ago [-]
Even more tangential, but that's my namesake.
biosphere 4 days ago [-]
Excellent album
thunderbong 5 days ago [-]
I couldn't figure out how the prisoners were not able to see whether they were being watched or not. Reading through the article though, it is left as an open engineering solution.
I found the following bits valuable -
> By Blinds, and other contrivances, the Inspectors concealed from the observation of the Prisoners
Since this is also tied up with the surveillance society which we seem to be heading towards, I find the following point very important -
> Bentham's inspection principle applied not only to the inmates of the panopticon prison, but also the manager. The unaccountable gaoler was to be observed by the general public and public officials. The apparently constant surveillance of the prison inmates by the panopticon manager and the occasional observation of the manager by the general public
have_faith 5 days ago [-]
I guess it's more that someone could just lean over and observe you at any time. You might not see a pair of eyes now, but turn your back and try something against the rules and a pair of eyes might suddenly appear.
kiriliponi 5 days ago [-]
There's a VR game called Panoptic based on the concept, it is worth checking out. The final version is to be released in a few weeks.
http://panopticgame.com/
(disclaimer: I know one of the person developing it)
amelius 5 days ago [-]
> The metaphor of the panopticon prison has been employed to analyse the social significance of surveillance by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in public spaces.
Or how about the comparison with Google et al tracking our every move online?
Udik 4 days ago [-]
Missing the point. The modern panopticon is not Google tracking you, or the surveillance cameras that only prevent very grave anti-social behaviour.
I propose that the modern panopticon are Facebook and Twitter, where anything you say, in any conversation and context, stays recorded forever and can be used against you at a later time- so you may damn well be very careful. And the irony of it is that the hidden guards are no one else than our collective selves.
prepend 5 days ago [-]
McSweeny's wrote a funny short story about an office switching to a panopticon [0].
I find these designs interesting. I used to want to simulate societies in structures like this. Then I saw stuff like the Real World, and more recently The Circle on Netflix. I realize that people are very different, and the chaos of the hoi polloi is not something that interests me in a way that doesn't bum me out.
It would be cool to run a Monte Carlo of lots of different combinations until I find a mix of people who thrive in this kind of situation. Or at least one where I want to participate.
[0] https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/our-open-plan-office-fai...
malux85 5 days ago [-]
Religion is a panopticon for civilizations who aren't technologically advanced enough to run surveillance by machine intelligence
This gets at something significant, but I think there's a sense in which it's backwards.
Religion promises to surveil you all the time. This stretches far beyond any one faith: the Abrahamic God is omniscient, karma is a direct consequence of each action, Anubis measures the whole of your life by the weight of your heart. Even Santa Claus, who is absolutely a religious figure to children, "sees you when you're sleeping" and "knows when you're awake".
Panopticon relies on the threat of surveillance. You could be surveilled at any moment without knowing it, resulting in constant self-consciousness. This is the logic of security cameras and secret police. If Santa corresponds to a god, panopticon is more like Elf on a Shelf. That's not just anecdotal, it's made very clear when a kid does breaks a rule behind a closed door because "then the elf can't see me".
The claim made by religion is far bolder. You might commit or witness an unpunished crime and realize that it's possible to misbehave without judgement, but you can't sin sneakily or find an example of someone getting away with sin unpunished. However, religion's claim isn't necessarily more coercive. Panopticon threatens arbitrary judgement. You might commit a venial sin and trust that a life of piety will outweigh it, but panopticon judges you on arbitrary moments. Even a minor, widely committed crime like speeding carries some risk of a harsh punishment.
(Calvin and Hobbes, of all things, takes this on quite insightfully. Calvin theorizes Santa relies on panopticon rather than omniscience, and changes his plans accordingly: https://imgur.com/VUhe8vG.)
Social media is a panopticon, recreating patterns we used to associate with inquisitors and town gossips. (What would Mrs. Grundy say - if she happened to find out?) Mostly, no one's watching closely, and unless someone actively documents what you say it can be deleted later. But anyone tweeting an offensive joke might get cancelled, regardless of their good works, if someone happens to notice.
Data processing is, or soon will be, religion made manifest. A sufficient power can surveil everyone at once, weigh up all their deeds, and choose who to punish. And full-take storage means the end of safety; what's recorded and found blameless today can be evaluated again in 10 or 50 years under different rules. That's pretty much unprecedented, and I don't think we've grappled with the implications.
Waterluvian 5 days ago [-]
The problem with this, which I learned about in grade school with bullies, is that it works only if the people are rational actors. If they don't understand the principles at work or don't care, the whole thing falls apart. You just need inmates who roll the dice or don't care, or bullies who cannot contemplate mutually assured destruction and your strategy completely falls apart.
itronitron 5 days ago [-]
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
https://www.academia.edu/11274021/Cipolla_-The_Basic_Laws_of...
dredmorbius 5 days ago [-]
Direct download: http://www.academia.edu/download/36859613/Cipolla_-The_Basic...
nspassov 5 days ago [-]
This is a great book, thanks for sharing!
pure-awesome 5 days ago [-]
People may call it "stupid" but as a meta-strategy or species strategy or whatever, it's actually pretty effective.
There are actually plenty of adversarial situations in which it's beneficial to give yourself a handicap in order to win. If you're playing "chicken" (where you drive cars at each other and whoever turns away first loses) you can blindfold yourself and remove the steering wheel. If you're doing Mutually Assured Destruction, you can set up an automatic retaliation system which you are unable to pause or cancel. By removing some of your options, you can effectively signal to your opponents so that they are forced to respond to your strategy.
Similarly, it can be beneficial to act "irrationally", because if your opponents are rational actors, they won't even try the strategy against you. E.g. If I know you will "irrationally" come for revenge after the fact even to your own detriment despite the fact that it won't fix anything, I might not try something against you in the first place.
>> it can be beneficial to act "irrationally"
I have seen this pursued with gusto as a career development strategy on occasion and it works rather well unfortunately. The basic approach is to be so outlandish, unprofessional, and unreliable that capable and rational colleagues will pick up the slack, confident that the crazy person will be quickly gotten rid of due to their bad behavior, however that very rarely happens. The irrational actor ends up being promoted because they are the most visible person on the project as everyone else is in hiding in anticipation of a shit-storm.
raxxorrax 5 days ago [-]
I have seen that too. Some even got promoted to break in some hardened structures in companies.
It can have appeal to some. And there is the fact that the standard 100% professional corporate culture is extremely unappealing and in contrast to such behavior.
IAmEveryone 5 days ago [-]
That sounds more like an application of signaling theory, I e. "They must be very smart to be allowed this behavior".
The canonical example for OP is the "mad man" strategy Reagoj supposedly followed.
atoav 5 days ago [-]
Why does this remind me of a certain english speaking nation editing the EU?
The UK strategies appear to come from Dominic Cummings, whose blog reading list indicates they're a fan [0] of the Rationality philosophy, and who has apparently made this exact behaviour an explicit part of the political strategies of the UK government on the grounds of game theoretic expected value etc.
[0] Other people more qualified than me to discuss the matter have argued variously that he is merely a fan — superficial familiarity but missing the point — or that he is reflective of the wider Rationality movement.
recuter 5 days ago [-]
People can be made rational.
For the sake of discussion; One could watch new inmates like a hawk for an initial probationary period and enact disciplinary action should they reveal themselves as described.
In fact, taking the idea to its (awful) logical conclusion, randomly enacting disciplinary action in the initial period regardless of inmate behaviour would prove effective. "Beatings will continue until morale improves" I believe is the saying.
catalogia 5 days ago [-]
I think rationality is something that needs to be deliberately exercised, particularly when in emotionally stressful situations. Even if you can teach a thick headed bully to be rational, that doesn't mean you can count on him not having moments of irrationality. In truth, I doubt anybody can manage to remain rational at all times.
eps 5 days ago [-]
This ain't gonna work well.
If there's a pattern, it will be identified and exploited. New inmates being under closer observation or duress is a pattern, easy to spot and easy to test.
hyfgfh 5 days ago [-]
Did I hear Office Concept?
Toenex 5 days ago [-]
Isn't this how some public transport works (at least in the UK)? There's only a limited number of inspectors on the trams in Manchester so I probably won't get stopped but I don't know where they will be. I think the outcome is that the punishment has to be significant enough otherwise people work the probabilities.
(Note I always buy a ticket because I can afford it and want successful public transport.)
dreen 5 days ago [-]
Funny story, London buses have traditionally had only one entrance at the front (apart from bendy buses), which made the driver also function as a ticket inspector. The new Routemasters introduced by mayor Boris Johnson have ticket touch points at each entrance and many people abuse this and get free rides. Johnson promoted those buses heavily and stated they would have a second person working inside as a ticket inspector like they used to have back in the day, but TFL said that this was never an option or even point of discussion, and there is no way to pay for the second employee in every bus. A single bus fare is £1.50 , a day ticket is £4.50 and fare evasion can cost up to a few hundred, but many people still use the new buses for free.
My experience is that most European cities have transit systems like this, whereas most American cities require you to pay before entering the system. I wonder if anyone has analyzed this from a sociological perspective.
xallace 5 days ago [-]
or any Mass surveillance state like North Korea, China, Stalin-era Soviet Union, DDR (East Germany)
they had limited resources but high enough punishment to keep the population in check
gerikson 5 days ago [-]
The DDR spent considerable resources on internal security.
The Stasi museum in Berlin is well worth a visit. After the Helsinki agreement to limit physical abuse, prisoners were subjected to psychological isolation instead.
Some Stasi jailers wrote academical treastises on how to handle enemies of the state.
cyberferret 5 days ago [-]
I always associate this word first and foremost with the device in Asimov's short story sequel to "Marooned off Vesta".
EDIT: Oops, in the story it was "anoptikon" which was a play on the misunderstanding in the first story that the company was talking about "an optikon" when referring to the device.
silence_tool 4 days ago [-]
In my country we have a jail with this design, it's weird when you notice the similitude.
https://goo.gl/maps/xZcMWFsin3p6W6u68 (use the satellite view)
Keloran 5 days ago [-]
I thought this was going to be related to the sculptures in Lancashire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticons
ajxs 5 days ago [-]
A while ago I registered a very corny vanity domain: http://panoptic.online/
I'll see myself out.
basilamer 4 days ago [-]
Was playing the game Control last night and got to a mission/area called Panopticon. I thought "huh what a cool made-up word". Cool to know this a real thing.
rubyn00bie 5 days ago [-]
Obligatory (IMHO): https://selforganizedseminar.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/fou...
I don't know how you can even begin to talk about the Panopticon without mentioning Foucault.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Café Rosetta is a local institution for food, coffee and community in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.
Run by and for people who love the Keweenaw, Café Rosetta is an independent, family-owned cafe located in the historic village of Calumet, Michigan. Whether you're a hardy local or a visitor exploring this amazing area, we aim to fuel your Keweenaw adventure with the finest coffee and espresso, made-from-scratch meals, and plenty of inspiration for experiencing the wonder of Copper Country.
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Over the years and while traveling the country, I gained experience in coffee, and always hoped to one day run a coffee shop. A few years ago, I heard from a friend about a café going up for sale in our local village of Calumet. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to continue the legacy begun by the previous owners, while working with my family to create something of our own, that we could be proud of.
I've spent time in many cafés and coffee shops throughout the country, but only a few really stand out in my memory. These are the places where everything is delicious and everyone feels welcome, from neighborhood regulars to people who are just passing through. Since our opening of Café Rosetta in 2013, my family and I have worked steadily toward the goal of being that place, one where every cup of coffee is exceptionally good and everyone who comes in the door feels welcome. Along the way, we have been lucky to work with employees who love what we do and take pride in creating this experience along with us.
We are proud of creating something that a lot of people really enjoy—an unpretentious and friendly gathering place where memories are made and adventures are planned over a cup of amazing coffee and delicious local food.


text:
5 Reasons Final Fantasy Failed Worse Than Any Franchise Ever
Mark Hill ·
Gamers recently went chocoboshit over the announcement that Final Fantasy VII is being remade. I enjoyed the blocky classic that taught my teenage self that brooding loners are too the cool ones who get all the girls, but I'm not optimistic about the remake, considering there hasn't been a good Final Fantasy in a decade. And that shows in its sales, which have been going down faster than all the women who find me irresistibly attractive for writing long essays about fictional magic teenagers. Maybe the FFVII remake will be great. But it will take a lot more than a polished throwback to the glory days to save the franchise, because ...
It's Drowning In Pointless Spinoffs
It's hard to explain the appeal of Final Fantasy to non-players. Just look at this screenshot:
Anyone who played FFVI suddenly wants to play it again just for that opera, while everyone else is wondering how their junior high poetry ended up floating over a drab castle. You need to know the context, which I'll try to explain even though I done don't word too good no more since the ol' accident.
Before "Final Fantasy" got slapped on everything short of Tonberry vibrators, it used to have a specific meaning. Every year or two a Final Fantasy game would come out, and every time it would deliver the same experience. You'd get a brand-new setting, cast, story, and combat system, but enough familiar elements that it was easy to jump right in. Fans could debate which the best was, even though it's obviously IX, but there was always a consistent level of quality. You knew Final Fantasy meant 20 to 40 hours of solid gameplay and story.
If that doesn't sound like a big deal, remember that they were coming out when an average game's story was a few hours of "Kill all those bad guys. OK, now kill all those bad guys." The idea of a game taking a breather for an elaborate con centered on an opera blew little kid minds. It didn't matter that it looked primitive. Your imagination filled in the blanks.
Sometimes against your will.
They're not masterpieces. IV brings so many characters back from the dead that comic book fans would roll their eyes. Most villains are cackling maniacs who are evil for the sake of it. There are plot holes and conveniences galore. But they tried. They told stories about war and love and friendship and betrayal when "Hold down the trigger until the aliens are defeated" was considered profound. It was an early sign that games could accomplish something serious.
Then the rest of the industry matched, then surpassed, that level of storytelling. Our standards rose, and Square took a good look at these new expectations and boldly ... decided to stop trying and just cash in on cheap nostalgia. They took all their beloved characters and slapped them into universally reviled mobile games that exist only to milk loyal fans with insulting transparency.
"Get a brief reminder of your fleeting CHILDHOOD? $0.99."
It took 14 years for the first 10 games to come out, during which there were a handful of well-regarded spinoffs. Since X was released in 2001 there's been one mediocre main installment and one awful installment, one mediocre MMO and one completely bungled MMO, and more forgettable spinoffs than there are people on the planet. Crystal Chronicles, Crystal Defenders, Dissidia, Dimensions, Theatrhythm, Explorers, Record Keeper, Flan Fuckers ... the list goes on and on. "Final Fantasy" isn't a sign of quality anymore; they're words that make you think, "Oh God, what stupid bullshit have they come up with now?"
No successful franchise, especially a game franchise, is immune to spinoffs. Mario has played every sport known to man. But no franchise just stopped giving a shit as abruptly as Final Fantasy did. Mario's extracurricular activities usually have thought and effort put into them. Final Fantasy's spinoffs are lazy money grabs with about as much original thought put into them as a BuzzFeed article. Oh, and Mario isn't the new spokesperson for Louis freaking Vuitton.
Lightning returns (to sell you an overpriced purse).
They Forgot How To Write A Coherent Story
FFIV is about a knight who saves the world and atones for his sins. V is about stopping an evil sorcerer. VI is about overthrowing an evil government. VII is about overthrowing an evil corporation. VIII is a gay romance gone wrong. IX is about a war with a sinister plot behind it. Tactics is about a war with a sinister plot behind it, but on a grid.
I is about giving your heroes funny names.
There's far more to all of these, of course -- VI ends up being about an evil clown, VII ends up being about a misguided male hair model, and so on. But the basics can be summed up with ease, and then the intriguing details slowly unfold. Even X, where the big twist is that fantasy Peyton Manning is the collective dream of a dead civilization, starts with a lost dude fleeing a giant monster. Now I'm going to try to sum up the opening hours of XIII. If your nose starts bleeding, don't worry -- that is normal.
XIII begins in Cocoon, where citizens of Bodhum are being Purged by PSICOM, soldiers of the Sanctum, for coming in contact with a fal'Cie from Pulse. The fal'Cie are turning people into l'Cie, who have a Focus, but if the l'Cie fail to complete their Focus they're turned into Cie'th. Our hero, Lightning, teams up with members of NORA to rescue her l'Cie sister from the fal'Cie Anima, and the story continues naturally from there. Did you get all that? If so, please explain it to me.
There was something about how dudebros are the worst, right?
XIII throws more made-up and unexplained words at you than a cat playing Scrabble. It's like taking the third season of Game Of Thrones, which assumes you have preexisting knowledge of the universe, and airing it as the first. When XIII came out, some fans defended it by saying it really "opens up" at the 20-hour mark. You know, like how they tell you what Jedi, The Force, the Rebels, and the Empire are 70 minutes into A New Hope. Or how The Lord Of The Rings explains what Hobbits, the One Ring, and Sauron are on page 350. If your 50-hour game has 30 hours of fun locked behind 20 hours of incoherent garbage, you've made a bad game.
That's why VII doomed the franchise even as it launched sales into the stratosphere. VII was the first to use CGI cutscenes, but instead of realizing that a restrained 47 minutes of CGI could complement competent game-making, the lesson Square took away was "beautiful cinematics produce sales." Then they crammed more and more cinematics into their games until XIII collapsed under the weight of eight and a half hours of them.
Ironically, the best Final Fantasy game to come out recently isn't a FF game. Bravely Default, the game Square released when they wanted to make a traditional Final Fantasy but realized that well was thoroughly poisoned, is a simple but engrossing fantasy about four kids saving the world. Bravely Default was a surprise sales hit, but one that Square apparently learned nothing from considering that everything we know about the upcoming Final Fantasy XV sounds like overwrought nonsense.
I'm sure it will take only 10 hours to explain why those knights have guns, though.
They Forgot How To Tell A Story In A Single Game
Final Fantasy's storytelling problem is compounded by what I call the Fabula Nova Crystallis Excelsior Flapjack Boogaloo Conundrum -- they've become incapable of telling a story in just one game, and the more games they expand a story to, the dumber it gets. Square first dabbled in this with X-2, where players who enjoyed Yuna's world-saving journey of self-discovery in X could now follow her pop music and fashion career. Then came IV: The After Years, which was thrown together with as much care as its bad sitcom title implies. "If you enjoyed the original classic, why not pay us for a tedious spinoff that adds nothing to the characters or story?" Square asked, and gamers happily said yes because the world was still young then.
X-2 was at least aware of how goofy it was, but its success set the stage for bloated disasters. If you want the full XIII experience you need to play XIII, XIII-2, Lightning Returns, Type-0, and whatever else they decide to shit out under the laboriously named Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy subseries. That's 135 hours of gameplay! Not counting side quests! Jesus, I just want to fight an evil wizard! If only there had been a sign that strategy would backfire.
On an unrelated note, which of the over 100 Mega Man games is your favorite?
Are you looking forward to re-experiencing VII's nicely self-encapsulated story? Well, too goddamn bad, because now you need to play Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge Of Cerberus to get the full experience. Oh, and watch Advent Children and Last Order. Drag out a simple plot point with unnecessary backstory, save the world you already saved, but this time do it as an emo vampire, and watch the doodles on your junior high math book come to soulless life! You don't have anything better to do with your time, do you?
Be careful, the box is edgy.
Then there's the fact that these games feel like grim death marches through a thousand LiveJournals. Games like Crisis Advent Nova Zero Breaker Breaker aren't fun; they're exhausting. Earlier games had serious stories, but they also had fights with a self-proclaimed member of octopus royalty and an angry old man chasing a bard around for trying to bang his daughter. XIII has characters that give endless, rambling, whiny speeches about their emotions as filtered through Philosophy 101. XIII has a character named Hope learn the meaning of hope. If Square made a Batman game, Bruce Wayne would give a 40-minute speech on bats, and then Bane would say that humanity's true bane is feelings.
To put it another way, VI has a character declare, "My life is a chip in your pile! Ante up!" which makes you want to go punch a villain's stupid evil face in. In XIII, Lightning's explanation of her name is "Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys," which risks putting a permanent cringe on your face. Who wants to grind through multiple spinoffs with a character that joyless?
Gaming Has Matured, But Final Fantasy Has Regressed
Before the release of Lightning Returns, the developers revealed a huge innovation that promised to revolutionize the series: They made Lightning's breasts bigger and perfected their jiggle physics. Jesus, no wonder she's so mopey. Here's Lightning in XIII:
This is the cover of the rap album she releases in Chapter 9.
Kind of under-dressed for combat, but otherwise nothing unusual. XIII may have been a dumb game with a tremendously boring heroine, but at least its tedious self-seriousness kept Lightning from being a sex object. Here are some of the costumes she can wear in Lightning Returns:
"Lightning. It flashes."
They're not all that bad, but come on. She even looks like she's been forced into them at gunbladepoint. And they're not cosmetic -- each costume has different abilities, so switching to fantasy prostitute mode might help win a fight. I'd be embarrassed if someone walked in on me playing that. X-2 pulled the same nonsense. Here's Yuna and Rikku in X:
And here they are in X-2, which isn't about their quest to stop a fabric thief:
You can play dress-up with them too:
They look like they should be picking up johns at the Gold Saucer. Look, I'm a grown man. If I want to see an attractive woman wear revealing clothing I'll go on a date, have her lose interest in me because I can't shut up about video games, then secretly follow her home and watch her through the window while she changes. I don't want characters who are barely old enough to drink virtual alcohol shoving their pretend tits at the camera.
Gaming's always pointlessly sexualized heroines, but Final Fantasy used to be an exception. Let's look at Terra in VI.
The total babe with the green hair.
Oh, right, she's just a bunch of pixels. They didn't make her hot because they couldn't, right? But here's how she and the other heroine were portrayed in the manual, which you actually had to read then:
You're clearly getting a mysterious fantasy adventure, not bouncy anime boobs. And when the series progressed to 3D, they kept it classy while other developers worked on perfecting their low-res strippers. Here's VII's Aeris ...
If you're thinking of telling me that her name is Aerith, you can get the hell out.
... VIII's Rinoa ...
... and IX's Dagger.
Even Tifa, who was clearly designed to have sex appeal, looks like she's ready to hit the gym and knock a punching bag around, not be ogled by some lonely artist.
For well over a decade, Final Fantasy heroines looked like actual people while, say, Tomb Raider used Lara Croft's tits as a selling point.
Square Enix Europe
Actual promotional image for Tomb Raider II, which came out the same year as FFVII
and definitely had someone masturbate to it.
Actual promotional image for Tomb Raider III, which came out months before FFVIII
Now the Tomb Raider reboot is praised for having a strong female lead, while Final Fantasy, well ...
Good luck fighting in that!
What the hell happened? It's not like they're trying to attract new young fans going through a very special time in their lives, because kids are all about mobile gaming. But older gamers who were happy to play through dignified adventures when they were hormonal teenagers aren't suddenly looking for virtual skin now that they're adults. It's no secret that Final Fantasy struggled to adapt to rapid changes in gaming demographics and development. But it's pathetic that the only solution they could come up with was to design a bunch of stripper outfits and hope someone would be interested. Well, Lightning Returns flopped, and the franchise feels lost and directionless while the industry moves on without it. At least Louis Vuitton is letting Lightning wear clothes.
Quina's Victoria's Secret promotion has been less successful.
Creators And Fans Have All Stopped Caring
The collective shrug that greeted Lightning Returns was the latest sign that Square now views its FF fans the way a pick-up artist views women: mysterious others that can never be understood, only tricked and manipulated. The new VII is far from the first FF remake. The first six have been ported, updated, remade, and re-released so many times I'm pretty sure you can play IV on your toaster. Sometimes legitimate love and care is put into them, but recently Square has been giving fewer fucks than a nun at a chastity convention.
In 2014, remakes of III and IV were released on Steam after previously popping up on the DS. They were both well-received for making smart modern updates while still keeping the charm and feel of the original. You could quibble about semantics, but in the end they were fun, well-made games.
Hey, remember when Cid survived being a suicide bomber? This game is so goofy, you guys.
Then, in 2015, Steam got the half-assed, widely reviled mobile version of V that looks like a child made it in Flash. And they wanted $16 for it.
"Hey, why does my hair and art style look completely different in my close-up?"
They ignored the backlash and did the exact same thing with VI, releasing the mobile version that had a game-breaking bug, typos in their own made-up words, and entire essays written about how ugly, lazy, and sloppy it is.
"LOCKE SMASH PUNY CITY BENEATH CARTOON HEEL."
It's not like there weren't other options -- V and VI both had well regarded Game Boy Advance remakes -- but slapping the ugly, bug-riddled port onto the Steam store was just easier. And easy money seems to be all that motivates Square anymore.
Even by the standards of first-world problems, "The re-release of my beloved childhood game is ugly and overpriced" is difficult to make people care about. And, honestly, you shouldn't care. I find it hard to, and I just wrote 3,000 words on the subject. There are countless better games you can buy for 16 bucks. Square released this junk because they still think slapping Final Fantasy onto something is a license to print money. But it's not -- III and IV sold better than V and VI on Steam because they actually had thought and effort put into them.
Square might figure that out and the Final Fantasy name might mean something again, but it's OK if they don't. The originals are still classics. Indie developers are making the kinds of games that Square shaped their childhoods with, and they put more passion into them than Square's shown for a long time. Maybe it's a sign of how far the industry has come that we don't need Final Fantasy anymore -- there are more than enough other games telling good stories now. And hey, at least Dragon Quest is still going strong, right?
Mark has a story collection and a website and thinks you should check out The Amber Throne if you're a Final Fantasy fan.
Learn about more of the twisted interconnected workings of the Final Fantasy series in 5 Disturbing Details You Didn't Notice In Famous Video Games, and check out the fan remake with better graphics than the best Final Fantasy game ever in 5 Ingenious Ways Hackers Are Improving Famous Video Games.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see why Phoenix Down is the hot new drug in The Terrifying Fallout Of The 'Final Fantasy' Universe | 8-Bits, and watch other videos you won't see on the site!
Also follow us on Facebook, and give that clicking finger a few extra reps. GO HARD OR GO HOME!
There are angels, and they are not beneficent or loving. Check out the first two books in Robert Brockway's Vicious Circuit series, and pre-order the third, Kill All Angels, available December 26th.


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Q: new line in Random Access File in java Whenever using the 'writeBytes' method of RandomAccessFile in java,it writes the text in the same line in the file. How can I get to a new line with RandomAccessFile only? (No BufferedReader).

A: You can write a line separator. In order to get the correct line separator for the currently running operating system, you'll have to look for the line.separator property. Something along these lines:
randomAccessFile.writeBytes(System.getProperty("line.separator"));

A: Try this:
 RandomAccessFile file = new RandomAccessFile("e:\\demo.txt","rw");
 String originalString = "First line \nSeconf line \n";
 String updatedString = originalString.replace("\n","\r\n");
 file.writeBytes(updatedString);

A: System.getProperty("line.separator");

Try writing a new line to the file before anything else, as it will start writing where your last write left off.

A: new line character has an ASCII value of 10 . You can store this value in in a Byte and then use the "writeBytes" which will result in a new line.

A: String data = "New Line";
RandomAccessFile raf = new RandomAccessFile(myFile);
raf.writeBytes("\r\n" + data);

This will add a new line (windows style / CRLF) before the "text".


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text:
BohaterOn: awards for promoting Polish history presented at grand gala
mmj/kb 15.12.2020, 09:17
A historical reenactment group "Zgrupowanie Radosław" was awarded the Gold BohaterON award for the promotion of Polish 20th-century history and historical education, at a gala organised on Monday under the patronage of Poland's President Andrzej Duda and public broadcaster TVP.
The promotion of Polish 20th-century history along with patriotic and historical education are seminal tasks in which accomplishment is recognised by the BohaterON award given to people and institutions excelling in the said dimensions.
The Gold BohaterON in the non-profit organisation category and the Gold BohaterON audience award went to the historical reenactment group "Zgrupowanie Radosław".
The founder and commander of the Historical Group "Zgrupowanie Radosław" Tomasz Karasiński said that the activities of the group were a duty that would be continued to uphold the memory of the Warsaw Uprising.
"First and foremost, we bow before our heroes who are not here with us today anymore and who have been passing away moving on to the last watch in the hereafter ever more often recently. It is thanks to them this remembrance will live on in the young generation because it is thanks to them that we can meet with the youths and pass this memory on onto next generations," Mr Karasiński said, adding that "we express one-word gratitude saying: duty. This duty always begins for us on August 1 (the date of Warsaw Rising outbreak) and concludes on July 31. And I do think it will remain this way forever and ever."
The Silver BohaterON went to the Orlen Foundation, whereas the Bronze BohaterON was handed to Freedom and Democracy Foundation (Fundacja Wolność i Demokracja; WiD).
The WiD was nominated to the award for organising the Wolven Track Run, which commemorates members of the anti-communist resistance movement known as the Indomitable Soldiers.
Meanwhile, in the "journalist" category, the Silver BohaterON went to the history and special service team of Polish Radio's Polskieradio.pl portal. The award was granted for the designing of the internet portal that covered one of the most important battles in world history – the Battle of Warsaw 1920.
The Deputy Head of Radio Information Agency (IAR) Krzysztof Kossowski stressed that the www.bitwa1920.gov.pl website was translated into six languages and became one of the main tools for the popularisation of the knowledge about the Battle of Warsaw in Poland and worldwide. He also recalled that the website premiered a month before the centenary of the Battle of Warsaw.
"To date, we have noted several thousand visitors [to the site] from all around the world. We are glad that the foreign language versions have been noticed and appreciated abroad. We have received large support from the Polish Radio for Abroad and Polish embassies, which benefited from our project as from the official website telling about what the Battle Warsaw was," Mr Kossowski said.
Other categories of the award were: a "public person", a "teacher", a "firm", an "institution" and an "aficionado".
The name of the award refers to the pan-Polish campaign "BohaterON - turn on history!", the goal of which is to commemorate and honour the participants of the Warsaw Uprising and to promote the Polish history of the 20th century.
The BohaterON has been carried out ever since 2016 by organisations from Wrocław: Rosa Foundation and Sensoria Foundation.
The head of the BohaterON Award Committee Piotr Gliński, the Culture, National Heritage and Sports Minister, said that the awards were a tribute to all those who contributed to the nurturing of Polish history and its heroes in a significant way.
Mr Gliński added that nurturing the knowledge about the events and people important for the history of Poland was a collective duty and a great challenge. He also stressed that the BohaterON awards proved that there were firms, NGOs, institutions and private persons who looked after the historical truth through public, social and professional activities.
source: TVP.INFO


One of my 3 words for 2016 was Learn and one area in particular that I wanted to focus on is social media and LinkedIn, since it's key for B2B marketing and sales. But, I've also wanted to explore how marketing can help with social selling as I believe this concept has the potential to change not only how we generate qualified leads but how marketing works with sales.
As I go through the process of learning more about social selling, I'll share those insights on this blog (see some older posts on LinkedIn here and here) which will also help me meet one of my other goals for 2016 which was to Teach ;).
Hootsuite on their blog says "Social Selling is the use of social media by salespeople to generate revenue. The two big keys are that it's used by salespeople and it's about generating results (revenue).
But regardless of the definition, I see several areas where marketing can help from content to personal branding and social listing to discovering new opportunities. That's because many of these items have been done by marketing before and in most cases (but not all) marketing may be more savvy on social media.
84% of B2B decision makers begin their buying process with a referral.
90% of employee's social audience is new to the brand.
Even after just this short overview, I think it's clear that if you're not considering social selling as part of your strategy then you should look into it, which is what I plan to do over the next few posts. I'll also explore the areas where marketing can help sales with social selling in more detail.
But, in the meantime, since social selling is somewhat new, let me know if your company has started the social selling journey and if marketing is helping or is it done by sales only?


Last weekend, my normally peaceful house turned upside down and I love it! My family came over for crab party and photography for our project.
The next day, the TALK girls (made from combination of our initials) came for an impromptu baby shower. It's a weekend of parrtyyy!
We haven't seen each other for what must be months. Though it didn't felt that long because we're often updating each other on Whatsapp. But being with each other face to face is so different.
We got to touch baby bump and play yoga with cute little Zara. Now I understand the word 'monkey see, monkey do'. She really does imitate everything! It was so cute!
As I'm not a mother (yet), I didn't realise the length that a mother will go to give the best to their babies. When ask what snacks I can buy for baby Zara, Carmen only asked for fruits.
So I got some bananas and a small little Zara had three! Chocolates are not allowed. I served some dehydrated vegetables too. Mama and baby are happy.
We got some things for Patty, the mama-to-be. I bought a pair of really pretty shoes in Korea. It's fuchsia pink and decorated with sparkly diamante. I can't resist it.
But when I showed it to Mama Charles (the Boyfan's Mom) and she says it's too huge. Silly me didn't realise that a baby feet is that tiny. Oh well, it's the thought that counts and baby Araluen will get to wear it in time.
We had a simple lunch which I made in about an hour (on top of setting the table, etc). Initially I wanted to make fish and chips, along with homemade mayo. But it's not safe for pregnant ladies to have raw eggs and the weather isn't the best. It had been so hot and hazy.
So I decided forget about mayo and cut down on fried food. So we had simple grilled fish (I bought Siakap), mushy peas, begedil (a recipe from my cookbook) and homemade lemonade.
I planned to make kiwi coulis to drizzle on vanilla ice-cream but we ate too much snacks in between chatting. Zara kept on feeding us food that were on the coffee table! Oh, put a few girls and a baby together – you'll be much informed and stuffed silly from chit-chat and food!


This Raya 2018, Christy Ng collaborates with prolific Malaysian starlet, Syatilla Melvin to produce a limited edition capsule collection comprising of several shoe designs & a signature handbag. Steal Syatilla Melvin's style with these very versatile Sophia Strappy heel.. This 2 inch court heel comes with a simple and elegant design to easily match your wardrobe. The wide yet slim low slanted heel and the fully padded footbed ensures you stay comfortable all day long. This heel also comes with microfiber lining for extra comfort. This shoe comes in 5 colours and is perfect for work or casual.


We left Yonezawa before 6 a.m., in January. My too-big-for-Japan family clambered into a van with half our belongings crammed into suitcases around us. Even though it was pre-dawn in the dead of winter, at least twenty people came to see us off. Smiling, waving — we were not the only ones with eyes red, tears stinging even more in the bitter air.
In the few moments we'd had to say some last words, we'd even been hugged goodbye. I hadn't hugged anyone our four years there, so the gesture had an uncomfortable weight.
My mom had always dreamed of living abroad, so when we moved to Yonezawa in 2000, I was well-studied in symptoms of culture-shock, especially for a 13 year old. My mother soon discovered Third Culture Kids by Pollock and Van Reken and had me read it, a little worried about what affect the experience might have on our future happiness. In reading it, I recognized myself.
When we moved back to the States, four years later, I was again well-studied in reverse culture-shock and anticipated it. It was kind of handy to blame it for moments of depression and desperate chameleon behavior, as I went into an undergraduate program of cultural studies. I was eager to discuss my own understanding of cross-cultural experiences, surrounded by other TCKs.
I didn't, however, want to meet the Japanese students pointed out to me on campus. Finally one day, I was finally pressured into going to an international students dinner with lots of Japanese and Korean students.
It was still picnic weather, in Pasadena, even in the fall, and everyone was friendly, happy to be together. I just felt like the epitome of white outsider, the thing I'd hated most about being in Japan. We ate outside in a summery evening as the light sank, the picnic table spread with a mix of both comfort-food of Japan and Korea, and American party staples. I only talked with the one other obvious TCK, a half-Japanese student from Argentina, both of us using Japanese stilted with disuse. When the evening had really come, and they were going to start playing games, I excused myself, with a very real headache for an explanation.
"I'm not really a party person," I reassured myself. But there was a lot more to this reaction than feeling shy, though, more than feeling that after six months my Japanese just wasn't that good.
The stages of grief, per the Kubler-Ross model, are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Not everyone experiences them in the same order, nor are they the final word on what's involved in grieving. This was obvious in my experience: soon after returning to the United States, it bothered me when my mother got weepy, reminiscing about our time in Japan. I figured that I was doing just great and that I was not letting it trouble me.
Of course, it's hardly simple and clear-cut. I was liable to be depressed anyway, and when I moved back in with my family after a year away at school, I focused mainly on missing my friends from Pasadena, seemingly a world away though I was just in Oklahoma.
When I was growing up we'd always moved again, so I just waited to be elsewhere.
I'd been in Oklahoma for three years and I was still living out of boxes. I was in my mid-20s, and had realized that this was ridiculous. I needed to at least pretend I wanted to be there. I was working and saving enough money to get myself a nice desk to write at. I realized it was the first time I'd ever picked out furniture of my very own, using my own money. It was silly how excited I was to shop online and then pick up my pretty pieces of desk at Office Depot, and put it up in my room. It was white and stained maple laminate, with plenty of shelves for books, which I accumulated at a scary pace after leaving so many behind in our move from Japan.
I left one corner open, though, and decorated it with a kimono doll and a small framed fairy-tale collage that I'd carried with me through so many moves.
It was time to stop living between places. As much as that was possible for a TCK, anyway.
Our move from Japan was one of the things that now blindsided me as unfinished business, as I did some soul-searching. Sure, I'd been angry, and in the months leading up to our move, pleaded for a different future. I'd cried that day when we actually set out, cried for a long time after the door of the van closed and we started on a long drive to Narita Airport.
But after we hit American ground? Nothing except avoidance. My Oklahoma friends hardly knew anything about my experiences because I was unwilling to bring them up. I didn't feel they knew me, but I was the one withholding information.
I set myself the goal of allowing myself to grieve. The one thing that had scared me about the articles on being a TCK had been about having a delayed adolescence, but I began mine in the silliest of ways: I started watching J-dramas. Anime. Binge-reading manga. I had always read a lot of young adult fiction, but these actually reflected my high school experience way more than any American media. I even (was this bargaining?) day-dreamed travel plans to visit Yonezawa, practicing asking how to use the train ticket machines, how to explain that I understood Japanese.
I also found there's an unusual rush to starting sentences with "When I lived in Japan…" when talking with new acquaintances.
I didn't think much of how my grief experience was unique, though, until it was challenged as a valid loss.
I dropped that line of conversation, not arguing. Text chat is a poor medium for discussing complexities. I was, however, furious.
My experience of grief wasn't valid? It had to be. It had all the hallmarks of heartbreak. It was a gut-wrenching, physically painful loss.
And one I now knew that I needed to share.
You can't go back home again—TCKs understand that better than anyone. Going and returning changes you. And is it right to grieve when that means a loss.
Thank you Bethany, I can relate and it's always helpful to see my inner thoughts worded so well.
It's awesome for me to see people relate! Felt a bit like I was going out on a limb, here, but even those who moved a lot within the US as young people seem to resonate with the idea.
I loved your story. It's always good to find people with similar experiences. You're right, going and returning rashly does change you.
Very nice! I never knew your family moved to Japan. (And whose fault is that?) Do you read Japanese . . . and whether you do or not have you ever read "The Sound of the Waves" by Yukio Mishima? Ignore the rest of his life and reputation, this was his first novel: a very pure, simple moral tale that took the literary world by storm.


It's always amazing when people go above and beyond and perform acts of kindness. People that work in the service industry are always busy; however, when they take the time to ensure their customers are happy, it makes all the difference in the world.
At the Waffle House in La Marque, Texas, an older man with was having difficulty cutting his ham. He explained to the 18-year-old waitress that served him, Evoni Williams, that his hands weren't working too well. Without hesitation, Williams took his plate and began cutting his ham. Another customer, Laura Wolf was taken by her act of generosity and posted a picture to Facebook where it immediately went viral.
Waffle House waitress Evoni Williams, 18, helps a customer with his plate after he mentions to her that he was having problems cutting his ham because his hands hurt.
Williams works at the Waffle House full-time to help save up for her education; however, thanks to her caring heart and act of kindness, she was presented with not one but two surprises. First, she was recognized for her act of kindness by the city and the mayor proclaimed March 8th, 2018 as 'Evoni Williams Day'. While that in itself is awesome, Texas Southern University also took notice of her caring gesture. To help make her education goals a reality, she was also awarded a 4-year scholarship totaling $16,000 to Texas Southern University.
To thank her for being an awesome person with a caring heart, the Mayor of La Marque, Texas awarded Williams with her own day and presented her with a 4-year scholarship to Texas Southern University.
While many acts of kindness go unnoticed, it's always great when people with caring hearts are recognized. Just like another employee helping a disabled elderly man with his meal at a McDonald's restaurant, it's employees like Williams that make a difference.
Please share this amazing waitress that made her customer's day with your friends and family.


Creating a state maternal mortality review board is part of a broader strategy to address health in New York.
The state's executive budget calls for enacting legislation to create the board.
New York currently ranks 30th in the country when it comes to maternal mortality rate.
"The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that a regular process for professional, multidisciplinary, confidential review of all maternal deaths can help identify the causes of maternal mortality, and those findings can lead to clinical and social change that can help prevent maternal mortality," the budget statement said. "The same is true for severe maternal morbidity."
Black women in New York are two to three times more likely than white women to die in childbirth. With a focus on addressing that disparity, the review board should be composed of at least 15 members including health care professionals and experts representative of the racial and ethnic diversity of women in New York, according to the budget statement.
The board would "conduct a comprehensive and confidential review of maternal deaths in the state and determine new strategies for the prevention of future deaths—a critical step toward understanding the complex issues impacting maternal health and racial disparities," the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a statement.
The budget proposal also suggests establishing partnerships with academic and research institutions as well as health care providers to build a new data warehouse.
The ACOG said it will work with the state Health Department to convene a work group focused on postpartum care.
"We look forward to the work group discussing how policies in New York can support postpartum care as an ongoing process, rather than a single encounter, to help women understand and navigate their immediate postpartum health needs and foster long-term health and well-being," the ACOG said.


text:
A Mantidactylus noralottae  a kétéltűek (Amphibia) osztályába és  a békák (Anura) rendjébe, az aranybékafélék (Mantellidae) családjába tartozó faj.

Előfordulása

Madagaszkár endemikus faja. A sziget déli-középső részén, az Isalo Nemzeti Parkban, 1000 m-es tengerszint feletti magasságban honos.

Nevének eredete

A fajt leírója, Vincenzo Mercurio feleségének Nora Lotta Fröhdernek a tiszteletére nevezte el kutatómunkája fáradhatatlan támogatásának elismeréseként.

Megjelenése

Közepes méretű Mantidactylus faj. A hímek mérete 33–35 mm, a nőstényeké 36–40 mm. Teste karcsú, pofája oldalnézetben csúcsos, felülnézetben lekerekített. A canthus rostralis egyenes. Hallószerve ovális alakú, mérete a hímeknél nagyobb. A hímeknek egyetlen hanghólyagjuk van, combmirigyük nincs. Mellső lába karcsú, úszóhártyája nincs. Ujjai végén mérsékelten megnövekedett korongok találhatók. Lábközépcsontjai különállók. Hátsó lábán úszóhártya található. Háti és hasi bőre sima. Háta barna, enyhén pettyezett. Végtagjain halvány keresztcsíkok láthatók. Hasa fehéres, szabálytalan barna mintázattal. Genetikai és bioakusztikus adatok alapján a faj a Brygoomantis alnembe tartozik.

Természetvédelmi helyzete

A vörös lista adathiányos fajként tartja nyilván. Egyetlen védett területen, az Isalo-masszívumban elhelyezkedő Isalo Nemzeti Parkban fordul elő.

Jegyzetek

Források

 Mercurio & Andreone, 2007 : Two new canyon-dwelling frogs from the arid sandstone Isalo Massif, central-southern Madagascar (Mantellidae, Mantellinae). Zootaxa, n° 1574, p. 31-47 (eredeti publikáció)

 A Mantidactylus noralottae az Amphibiaweb oldalon
 Amphibian Species of the World 6.0

Aranybékafélék
Kétéltűfajok
Madagaszkár endemikus kétéltűi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Abundance and diversity of Odontotermes spp. on the bark of mango tree in Ranchi
Anjana Verma,a Naresh Kumar Mahto,b* Chandrama Singhc& M.Prasadb
aDepartment of Zoology, Y.S.College, Ranchi University, Ranchi
*bDept. of Zoology, Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.
cDepartment of Zoology, KTCT College, Raxaul.
Received 12th January, 2014; Revised 15th February, 2014
Abstract :Odontotermes spp. are one of the most notorious wood termite which has been sampled in amazing abundance from the bark of mango trees lower trunk of Ranchi city. The termites are not easily visible from the outer surface of the soil sheet which remains spread like soil coating on the bark of the tree giving a horrifying picture.
When the soil sheet is punctured or removed in field sampling from the bark of the tree, a large number of tinny grubs being the larval form of two different species identified as Odontotermes obesus Rambur and Odontotermes parvidens Holmgren emerged out from the hidden soil chambers or tunnel collectively known as bark termitorium. On the basis of numerical counting of the sampled termite species during rainy season, the abundance proportion of these two species has been calculated to the tune of 79.33% for O.obesus and 20.67% for O. parvidens respectively in Zone I (East) whereas it was 78.41% and 21.36% in Zone II (South) of Ranchi. From this statistical analysis it can be inferred that O. obesus is dominant over O.parvidens. The larvae also differ in their shape and size and biomass organization, the dominant species being smaller and light weight while recessive one larger and heavy weight. Further statistical indices related to these termite species diversity has also been discussed in the paper.
Published in Biospectra (March 2014) Animal Science
More from Biospectra (March 2014) Animal ScienceMore posts in Biospectra (March 2014) Animal Science »
The status of Eucreadium sinhai Gautam, Singh and Singh (2012) – a critical review
Acanthosentis assamensis n. sp. from the intestine of a fresh water fish Puntius chola (Ham-Buch) and Puntius sophore (Ham-Buch) from Chatla Haor, Silchar, Assam
In vivo biochemical alterations and associated nephrotoxicity in Clarias batrachus (Linn.) due to pesticide exposure.
Life table and intrinsic rate of increase in Eutectona machaeralis Walker (Lepidoptera : Pyralidae).


text:
Back/Château l'Evangile
Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)
Due to a curious geological anomaly, a long strip of gravel was formed on the southeastern part of the Pomerol plateau. Three vineyards, including L'Évangile, share this rare terroir.
The estate is bordered to the north by Pétrus, and is only separated from Cheval Blanc to the south (in the Saint-Émilion appellation) by a country road.
The property was constituted in the 18th century by the Léglise family and was renamed L'Évangile at the turn of the 19th century.
In 1862, L'Évangile was acquired by Paul Chaperon, whose heirs, the Ducasse family, were owners until 1990. As early as 1868, it was considered the Premier Cru du Haut Pomerol (2nd edition of Cocks and Féret).
Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) acquired Château L'Évangile in 1990. The first manifestation of their influence was a more rigorous selection for the grand vin and the creation of a second wine, Blason de L'Évangile. A vineyard replanting programme was also initiated in 1998. The new configuration was finalised in 2004 with the renovation of the vat room and cellars. These efforts have been conducive to a decade of remarkable vintages.
Baron Eric
De Rothschild
Château l'Evangile
levangile@lafite.com
www.lafite.com
22 hectares
24-36,000 bottles
Sand and clay with pure gravel and a subsoil with crasse de fer (ironpan)
20 % Cabernet franc
Blason de L'Évangile


Welcome to Cheap Car Insurance Action –We are glad you are here for your insurance needs. We love Joplin and hope you can find the best price with us. If you need auto, motorcycle, home, renters, boat, and even non-owners insurance, then we can help. If you need an SR-22, we can help you with that as well. Fortunately for you, we have offices in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and Kansas.
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The proposed network would serve Gainesville and the surrounding area.
A city-commissioned survey of Gainesville residents has found current internet service leaves much to be desired, says a consultant. But city leaders may try to change that.
The Digital Access Committee, a city commission subcommittee that's been looking into ways to expand affordable internet service, met Monday afternoon to discuss the results of a study that explored the feasibility of building a city-owned fiber broadband network.
Plans to commission the study were set at the November 2017 meeting with a budget of $120,000 to $140,000. Nine meetings later, the study by CCG Consulting, a North Carolina-based telecommunications consulting firm, was complete.
The study covered engineering and construction costs and how much it would cost to pay workers to maintain services. It also included a survey that was sent randomly to Gainesville residents and those in surrounding areas based on Gainesville Regional Utilities billing records to determine interest in city-provided internet service. The study has not been given to the committee or the city commission.
Doug Dawson, CCG's president, discussed the study's preliminary findings via conference call at Monday's meeting.
He said 49% of survey respondents — he did not specify how many residents responded — would be interested in buying internet services, if the city offered it. Fifty-six percent of survey respondents said they would consider buying one gigabit from their internet service provider at the cost of $50 per month, a figure the study suggests the city could provide service for without losing money.
CCG's cost estimate for the project started at $98 million to service within Gainesville limits but could easily rise to $197 million if surrounding areas are included.
Survey respondents and other area residents were asked to participate in a voluntary speed test of their current internet service.
According to the results, about half of Cox Communications customers who volunteered to participate were getting faster internet than they subscribed for, but half saw lower speeds.
Gainesville resident Trevor Heald is a Cox Communications internet customer.
"I feel like they're overpriced, but pretty much every provider is. They kind of have a monopoly on it," Heald said. He said if there were other choices available, he would consider a switch.
Commissioner Harvey Ward is familiar with the complaints about Cox Communications, the area's largest internet service provider.
Cox Communications spokesman Cam Johnson said in an email Friday that he had could not comment without having seen the study.
A full presentation on the study is expected at the May 13 Digital Access Committee meeting.


text:
Q: Parameter Binding I'm trying to create a PowerShell script that will move XML files of a certain age to a network drive to be archived. The script thus far:
$qaprocessedpath = "Y:\SFTPSHARE\SFTPYMSQ\YS42C1Processed"
$qabackup = "\\servername\S$\xmlbackup\qa"

$max_age_qa = "-1"
$curr_date = Get-Date
$del_date_q = $curr_date.AddDays($max_age_qa)

Get-ChildItem -include *.xml $qaprocessedpath | Where-Object {$_.LastWriteTime -lt $del_date_q } | Foreach-Object {Copy-Item -Path $_.FullName -Destination $qabackup} {Remove-Item $_.FullName}

This code leads to the following error:
    Copy-Item : Cannot bind argument to parameter 'Path' because it is null.
At Y:\SFTPSHARE\SFTPYMSP\XMLBackup.ps1:52 char:132
+ Get-ChildItem -include *.xml $qaprocessedpath | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt $del_date_q } | Foreach-Object {Copy-Item -Path <<<<  $_.FullName -Destination $qabackup} {Remove-Item $_.FullName}
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidData: (:) [Copy-Item], ParameterBindingValidationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationErrorNullNotAllowed,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.CopyItemCommand

Not sure where the issue is. I'm a novice scripter, so I'm sure it's something obvious...

A: In this line
Get-ChildItem -include *.xml $qaprocessedpath | Where-Object {$_.LastWriteTime -lt $del_date_q } | Foreach-Object {Copy-Item -Path $_.FullName -Destination $qabackup} {Remove-Item $_.FullName}

Why do you have two scriptblocks following the Foreach-Object?
Try separating the copy-item and remove-item with semicolons (in the same scriptblock) if you want them both to run.  As you wrote it, the two scriptblocks are getting bound to the -Process parameter (as usual) and the -Begin parameter.


Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Aging Research Center (ARC), (together with KI). Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; Imperial College London, UK.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Aging Research Center (ARC), (together with KI). Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; Jönköping University, Sweden.
To investigate the associations between midlife work-related stress and late-life cognition in individuals without dementia from the general population. The Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) study population (n = 2000) was randomly selected from independent Finnish population-based surveys (baseline mean age 50 years). Participants underwent two re-examinations in late life (mean age 71 and 78 years, respectively). 1511 subjects participated in at least one re-examination (mean total follow-up 25 years). Work-related stress was measured using two questions on work demands administered in midlife. Multiple cognitive domains were assessed. Analyses were adjusted for several potential confounders. Higher levels of midlife work-related stress were associated with poorer performance on global cognition [beta-coefficient, -0.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), -0.05 to -0.00], and processing speed [beta -0.03, CI -0.05 to -0.01]. Results remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders. Work-related stress was not significantly associated with episodic memory, executive functioning, verbal fluency or manual dexterity. This study shows that global cognition and processing speed may be particularly susceptible to the effects of midlife work-related stress.


text:
India supports non-discriminatory n-disarmament : Indian Foreign secretary
Indian Foreign Secretary, Sujata Singh
ew York, Sep 27 Foreign Secretary Sujata Mehta expressed "unwavering" support for non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament while explaining India's stand on the issue of nuclear disarmament at the International Day for Elimination of Nuclear Weapons observed here Friday.
"India has been unwavering in its support for universal and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and other WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) consistent with the highest priority accorded to nuclear disarmament by the Final Document of First Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD-I)," Mehta said.
The International Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2013 in a resolution calling for the urgent commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons to prohibit their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer and use or threat of use, and to provide for their destruction.
Following the creation of the International Day against Nuclear Tests in 2010, the measure was the latest effort by the UN body to raise public awareness and work for deeper engagement on nuclear disarmament issues.
Mehta said that India believed that nuclear disarmament could be achieved by a step-by-step process.
"India is convinced that the goal of nuclear disarmament can be achieved by a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework that is global and non-discriminatory," she said.
"There is need for a meaningful dialogue among all states possessing nuclear weapons to build trust and confidence and for reducing the salience of nuclear weapons in international affairs and security doctrines," the foreign secretary said.
Foreign Secretary Sujata Mehta


wooden potato & onion bin / vegetable storage / potato bin / onion bin / vegetable box wooden potato and onion bin JulieEvesWoodworking 5 out of 5 stars (600) $ 49.17 Bestseller... See more What others are saying "Free Dresser Plans – How to Build A Chest of Drawers - wood workings plans" "Dresser drawer plans Dresser drawer plans To save yourself some real money when decorating your house you can buy old dated or worn furniture at yard sales and thrift stor"
This project was about building a wood potato bin. This potato bin is the ideal choice if you want to combine utility with the looks, as the cupboard has a beautiful design. You can use these bins for onions or other vegetables, as well.
Make one bin for potatoes and another, if you so desire, for onions. These plans are for a slatted storage bin that is two feet by three feet by two feet, and can be easily modified as necessary to create a larger or smaller bin.


The Strength, Interest & Preference Form is a useful document to help students determine their own strengths, interests, and preferences. It is a conversational tool that can be used in many ways. Best practice would be to have students choose their top 3 to 5 items in each section.


After a complete debacle, the dealership made everything better than anticipated! Jonathan Corona went above and beyond to show us various vehicles and he knows everything Toyota! So impressive! Then we worked with a poorly trained sales specialist. Things went downhill quickly!!! Luckily for us James Baune was able to save the day. We worked with James and manager Nick (from home on his day off!) to correct the situation with a different sales specialist, Corey Elkin. We got an amazing deal I could not have dreamed of! They took such great care of us. They took ownership of the problem and exceeded our expectations. That shows some serious commitment to customer service and showed us their true character. I would recommend going to Jonathan Corona, Corey Elkin, and James Baune any day!!! (The other sales specialist is being educated, but Corey was phenomenal) Alison Trujillo was very organized and made the paperwork easy! What was a very horrible experience turned into an amazing deal and two very happy customers who will be sure to return! Thank you James, Nick, Corey, Jonathan, and Alison!
Going here was a great decision. I got a great deal on an awesome car and people like Romina were a lot of help.
The process buying my Tacoma was very simple and hassle free. My daughter also purchased there getting a Camry. I would recommend to anyone. No hassle No press.
Rose was awesome!! Quick and efficient.
I recently purchased a new 4Runner at Clermont Toyota. Jerry Rojas did an amazing job helping me through the process.Mike Diaz and the sales team were fantastic. Thank you so much!
Toyota of Clermont is incredibly proud to be a part of the community in Central Florida; we love being able to offer our customers an amazing selection of both new and used cars. We also take great pride in providing efficient and affordable auto services – after all, we want to make you our customer for life. That's part of the reason we do everything we can to make sure you drive home happy, just like our sister store, Toyota of Orlando. Why not come experience everything we have to offer?
We regularly provide an extensive selection of all the latest and greatest new Toyota near Orlando to our customers; you'll find popular trucks like the durable Toyota Tacoma and Tundra, as well as family-friendly SUVs and minivans – check out the Toyota Sienna, or the newly redesigned Toyota RAV4. You can even take home a sleek and sporty sedan, like the new Toyota Camry or Toyota Corolla! We also offer green options to our customers! Make the most of your eco-friendliness and become a member of the Toyota Prius family – your wallet AND the environment will thank you. Check out our great selection of hybrid vehicles.


text:
Climate News Network
Ocean warming narrows climate options
September 28th, 2013, by Alex Kirby
Sunrise at Southwold in eastern England: What is happening in the deep oceans?
Image: Brenda and Ken Bent via Wikimedia Commons
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Professor Chris Rapley is a former director of both the British Antarctic Survey and the Science Museum in London. What the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report, AR5, says about the oceans alarms him. LONDON, 28 September – The messages are ever clearer: climate change is real, we humans are the driver, and we need to act resolutely and soon to reduce the risk of serious disruption. The IPCC's latest report took over 250 experts from 39 countries to sift 9,000 pieces of scientific research and address over 54,000 comments under the close scrutiny of 190 governments. The result: a fresher and sharper image of the physical state of our planet and the changes it is undergoing. It confirms that each of the most recent three decades has been warmer than its predecessor and that the change – almost 1°C since the beginning of the last century – is significant on a timescale of ten thousand years. In the context of an unabated planetary energy imbalance, and evidence that the 93% of the energy build-up taken up by the oceans continues to accumulate, the recent slow-down in the rise of surface temperatures, much heralded by the climate dismissers, appears a minor and temporary fluctuation. In the meantime, the melting and retreat of polar ice shocks experts such as myself – with the loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica both having increased by a factor of 5-6 over the decades 1990-1999 and 2000-2009.
"…we are fast losing the possibility of restricting warming to 2°C."
The consequence? In combination with ocean thermal expansion, an accelerating rise in global mean sea level, currently running at 35 cm per century. This is already approaching one third of the rate sustained for 10,000 years during the transition from the last Ice Age to the current warm period, when sea level rose by 120 metres. The predictions? That we are fast losing the possibility of restricting warming to 2°C. We have at most half a trillion tons of carbon left that can be burned, after which we will be committed to temperature rises outside those experienced by the planet for hundreds of thousands of years. The scientists have done their job; now is the time for politicians to take a lead, and everyone to act.
Professor Chris Rapley CBE
Department of Earth Sciences
Note: The Global Ocean Commission says the IPCC report "shows that the ocean is shielding humanity from climate change impacts at significant cost to its own health". Specifically, AR5 says: – the upper part of the ocean is warming by about 0.1°C per decade – the deep ocean is warming too, and will continue to do so for centuries even if emissions are curbed immediately – sea levels are rising, currents are changing, the rapid shrinking of Arctic sea ice is freshening water around the region, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen are declining – acidification will make up to half of the Arctic ocean uninhabitable for shelled animals by 2050. – Climate News Network
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About Alex Kirby
Alex Kirby is a former BBC journalist and environment correspondent. He now works with universities, charities and international agencies to improve their media skills, and with journalists in the developing world keen to specialise in environmental reporting.
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Could you post a picture or two of your problem area?
Are you sure it's actually rubber? Is this tubing by any chance gray in color? Can you see a brand name on it anywhere?
It is greay in color but no, I don't see a brand name on it anywhere. It feels like ruber when I cut it but could be some other substance I guess.
It looks just like that and is about 1/2".
It had a connector like the one in the picture you posted but it keeps leaking with that on it. Is there anything else that can be used?
I believe you have polybutylene piping, which was commonly used in manufactured housing for a number of years. Unfortunately the stuff deteriorates over time and was eventually discontinued. It also was the subject of a large class action lawsuit a few years back.
I simply do not know enough about the stuff to make a recommendation on how to repair it. You might want to see if you can find a online forum where plumbers hang out.
Adam was exactly correct, you have polybutylene pipe.
Originally crimped with a copper ring to create the seal, the compression eventually cracked the pipe.
One of my rental properties had a flood from when the pipe burst.
Not a lot of fun, but the class action suit did replace the pipe.
The settlement period is almost certainly over.
Not to worry, you can DIY with SharkBite Conversion Coupling.
Simply press onto the end of your existing pipe and add transition pipe to the opposite side.
The new pipe could be 1/2-inch copper.
You existing pipe was not known to crack until the compression ring was installed.
So, you should not have to replace all of your pipe.
SharkBite makes an entire line of fittings.
Your Plumbing Associate can show you the correct couplings and replacement pipe.


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When I stepped on to the dock with letters in my hand I found that I couldn't mail them outside the Marine camp. A corporal was standing there and he offered to mail them for me. One of them was addressed to Phil Browning. I went on uptown with the chief of the shore patrol from the ship. We were suddenly hailed from the rear. The corporal was coming after us in a heat-defying trot. He waved the letter to Phil in front of my face and stated that he knew the guy. So he took me up to the Marine's Club and ordered me some beer and we sat and chewed the fat for a time. It came out then that I'd known this corporal in China. He is Johnny Faulkner.
I could see that he wanted me to tell him something and I knew that it wasn't about Phil. So I talked about Phil's sisters — Eleanor, Florence, and Carol. The last two are supposed to be twins although they don't look alike. Eleanor is married and in Spain. The twins are somewhere in the East. I talked about all three and his eyes lit up when I mentioned Caroline. Then I racked my brain and suddenly remembered that Carol had mentioned a Marine to me several times. Then I even recalled his name. It was the same one. Carol often acted half-peeved when I told her I didn't know every leatherneck that breathed. And I'd see Carol every time Phil came to Washington because he usually stayed with the twins. Carol had told me an awful lot about Faulkner. In fact, more than once, I suspected that she was in love with him.
Hours passed. Beer went down the hatch. We went up to the Marine camp and had a shower and then returned to the club.... I had told Johnny Faulkner all I knew about Carol and how she was getting on. Other times I wouldn't have bothered much. But you see, after you get acquainted with love, your understanding is sympathetic and your outlook softened quite a bit. So I talked about Carol, and he listened.


The Crystal Plaza in Livingston is a magnificent turn-of-the-century mansion set on five acres, designed by one of America's most renowned architects. If you're dreaming of an exceptional wedding at a luxurious venue, schedule a visit to the Crystal Venue.
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Dr. Brown attended Mount Allison University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science, Honours Chemistry degree. He then went on to study at Dalhousie University, Faculty of Dentistry where he obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree.
Patient education and encouraging a balanced lifestyle are aspects of dentistry Dr. Brown enjoys promoting. Dr. Brown strives to provide his patients with the knowledge to understand their oral health so they can make an informed decision based on their individual needs. He appreciates being able to work with the wonderful team and patient family at Lacewood Square Dentistry.
When he is not in the office, Dr. Brown enjoys spending time outdoors exploring HRM, and teaching at Dalhousie University.