Remember when WhatsApp turned on its Read Receipts feature last week and caused panic all over the world? Well, the company wants nothing to do with your lover quarrels or business disputes — "He ignored my WhatsApp messages!" isn't a court-accepted argument, it seems. So to avoid becoming the second largest cause of divorce, WhatsApp is preparing another update to its app that should make the new feature optional.
Version 2.11.444 (which is only available on WhatsApp's site for now) has a new menu under Settings, Privacy. A checkmark for Read Receipts lets you enable the option or turn it off. In that case, WhatsApp will no longer show other people when you read their messages, but it will also stop you from seeing the blue checkmarks for all of your conversations. That's WhatsApp's way of keeping things fair, like it did with the Last Seen status — you can't lurk in the dark and snoop on other people. Groups chats won't be affected, other participants will always know when you read a message.
As is customary with WhatsApp, this version is available through the service's website first. It may hit the Play Store soon or you may have to wait for a few more bug fixes to see it there. We've also been told that this version adds heads-up notifications on Android 5.0 Lollipop, but since I only use Whatsapp on my KitKat-running LG G3, I wasn't able to verify that.
Update: Here's a screenshot of the new heads-up notifications on Android Lollipop, courtesy of +Christian S. Many commenters are also reporting that profile photos are showing up in circles on Lollipop, as opposed to squares (with slightly rounded corners) on previous Android versions.


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Tech industry joins lawsuit against Muslim ban
Matthew Flamm
AppNexus joined other New York companies including Shutterstock, Etsy, Foursquare and Via in the lawsuit.
Just days after more than 400 New York-based tech industry leaders signed a letter opposing the Trump administration's Muslim-focused travel ban, nearly 100 tech companies have joined a suit that two states—Washington and Minnesota—have brought to stop the ban.
A host of top New York companies have added their names alongside West Coast stalwarts Apple, Google, Uber Technologies, Microsoft and Netflix (and some nontech giants like Levi Strauss). They include AppNexus, Shutterstock, Etsy, Foursquare, e-hail car service Via and Tech:NYC, the trade group that produced last week's letter to President Donald Trump.
The suit they're joining as friends of the court is now before a federal appeals court in San Francisco. The Justice Department is challenging a federal court ruling in Washington state that last week suspended key parts of the executive order nationwide.
The Trump administration maintains that the order, which blocked Syrian refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S., is necessary to improve vetting procedures in the interests of national security. The administration has also stressed that most of the restrictions are temporary.
Filed Sunday night, the amicus brief makes a business case against the order. Most of the protests and demonstrations that erupted across the country the day after the order was issued Jan. 27 were focused on human rights as well as diplomatic and national security issues.
Immigration is of particular importance to the tech industry, which is global by nature and relies on access to international markets for sales and the recruitment of talent.
Trump's order, the amicus filing says, will be a blow to these companies' bottom line.
"The Order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world's best employees," the motion introducing the filing states. "It disrupts ongoing business operations. And it threatens companies' ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States."
Companies are also finding out that it's bad business even to be perceived as insufficiently critical of the Trump administration's approach. Last week Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, facing protests from employees, Uber drivers and customers who were deleting the company's app, resigned from a business advisory council that was working with the president. Uber faced a backlash for continuing to provide service during the protest at Kennedy Airport that objected to Trump's executive order; some taxi drivers had suspended service in deference to the demonstration.
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Sponsored Content: Conference Centers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Like two Vikings in the sun, the rhinos faced each other, horn to horn, their stony mantles gleaming like armour. Safe from our howdah, we thought a battle would ensue but the creatures just sized up each other and calmly lumbered across to graze in the vast open grasslands. Nearby, a herd of swamp deer and hog deer nibbled away while a few breakaways lay curled, dozing in a cradle of reeds. Along the fringe of a marshy lake, a sounder of wild pigs rummaged for a meal. In the distance, wild water buffalos coated in mud froze like errant children caught in the act by the school principal. A lone Adjutant Stork surveyed the scene from a tall dry tree stump.
Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Eastern Himalayas, Kaziranga in Assam stretches along the flood plains of the Brahmaputra River, which sweeps its northern boundary while the NH-31 runs along its southern edge, flanked by tea estates. The dense network of ponds, streams, beels (small lakes), grasslands, tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests have resulted in a rich tapestry of life. The unique topography and biodiversity environment prompted UNESCO to declare Kaziranga a World Heritage Site in 1985. Yet, its history as a protected zone goes back to a much earlier date.
When Mary Curzon, wife of the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon visited Kaziranga in 1904, she couldn't sight a single rhinoceros. Utterly dejected, she coaxed her husband to initiate conservation in the area. The Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created on in 1905 covering 232 sq km. By 1974, it had evolved from a wildlife sanctuary into the Kaziranga National Park spanning an impressive 430 sq km. Often drawing comparisons with Africa for its wide open tracts, rich natural bounty and quality of wildlife viewing, today, this riverine habitat is known as the Land of Giants. Besides being a safe haven for the world's largest population of the great one-horned rhinoceros, Kaziranga supports a notable number of elephants, tigers and the large Asiatic Water buffalo.
The presence of numerous jungle lodges and luxury resorts, and the option of jeep drives, elephant safaris, river cruises, sightings from machaans (observation towers) to nature walks on the park's periphery makes Kaziranga one of India's top wildlife destinations. About 15 species of India's threatened mammals abound the region. In the leafy canopies of the forest's southern slopes, animated hoots announce the presence of India's only ape, the Hoolock Gibbon. Kaziranga supports nearly 450 species of birds including the Bengal Florican, several species of geese, pelicans and teals, while its water reservoirs draw over 100 species of migratory birds from as far as Siberia.
Wild Grass, one of the oldest jungle lodges in the region and the swanky Diphlu River Lodge run by Assam Bengal Navigation, stand apart for top quality wildlife experiences – from bird trails with expert to boat cruises tracking river dolphins along the Brahmaputra. With delicious rustic meals at riverside camps, visits to traditional weaving units and cultural evenings under starlit skies with traditional Bihu dancers and drummers, it's easy for anyone from six to sixty five to have a good time. Summer trips with kids can be hot and humid, so don't forget to pack sunblock, hats, good footwear, earthy-coloured cotton clothes, snacks, water, a pair of binoculars and a good book on birds to identify and tick them off the checklist! The park remains closed between June-September.
How to get there: There are regular flights such as Jet Airways (www.jetairways.com) and Air India (www.airindia.in) connecting Guwahati to Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai. Kaziranga National Park is a five and a half hour drive from there.


Cars on British roads are pumping out 10 million tonnes more CO2 than owners have been led to believe, according to latest research by HonestJohn.co.uk.
The consumer motoring website analysed 100,000 Real MPG submissions from readers and found that fewer than two out of every 10 cars achieved advertised MPG and CO2 figures in everyday driving.
The 10 million tonne spike in CO2 is the equivalent to an additional 5.4 million new cars on Britain's roads - which is the same as the emissions from every new car registered in 2014 and 2015 combined. The research also shows that the gap between the claimed official figures and Real MPG has grown every year since 2011. It demonstrates that while CO2 emissions have been falling on paper, in the real world they have remained largely stable.
As a result motorists are finding it increasingly difficult to predict how much fuel their car will use, with the UK's average shortfall now accounting for 2,404 million litres of unleaded and 1,751 million litres of diesel annually. In turn, this produced an additional 5.55 billion kg of CO2 for petrol and 4.69 billion kg of CO2 for diesel.
The Lexus NX is the worst performer overall, achieving a pitiful 65 per cent average of its official MPG figure. The Land Rover Discovery Sport is the second worst – 65.1 per cent – while the Mercedes-Benz SLK is third with a disappointing average of 67.2 per cent.
Real MPG invited car owners to submit how many miles their cars actually do to the gallon, covering all major makes and models. Unlike official (laboratory tested) fuel consumption figures, Real MPG gives real life comparative data and allows car owners and buyers to see how much on-the-road fuel a vehicle really uses.
Real MPG was launched in 2011 after HonestJohn.co.uk received thousands of complaints from readers that their cars could not match the 'official' EC fuel economy figures.
The best performers were mostly older cars, with the Jaguar XK coming out top with an impressive 108.9 per cent of its official fuel economy rating. Second place went to the Toyota MR2, which returns 106.7 per cent of its official figure. The Jaguar XJ (2003 – 2009 model) was third, with 106.6 per cent.
HonestJohn.co.uk managing editor Dan Powell said:"Car emissions made all the headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2015, but the Volkswagen scandal is only half the story. The combination of inaccurate fuel economy figures and CO2 ratings make it extremely difficult for motorists to understand how much fuel a car uses or how polluting it will be.
What are the best best Real MPG cars of 2015?


In a 12-week test running through early July, 40,000 male mosquitoes are being released each week with the eventual goal of preventing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika and dengue.
Near Key West, Fla., mosquito-control officers are trying something new. They're releasing more mosquitoes.
Instead of trying to kill the mosquitoes directly, a losing battle in Florida, a Kentucky company called MosquitoMate has infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with a strain of Wolbachia bacteria that makes the males disastrous dads. When these males mate with uninfected wild females, their offspring die before hatching.
The Florida trial is the latest in worldwide tests of two conceptually opposite approaches to using Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes as disease control officers. The better-known tack is to render mosquitoes less able to carry disease but leave them free to do what mosquitoes do. The approach now being tried in Florida would instead try to stomp down their numbers.
The first salvo in this new battle began on the afternoon of April 18, when staff of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District worked their way along some streets on Stock Island. At 20 predetermined spots, workers opened fat cardboard tubes packed with male mosquitoes shipped overnight in a cooler from Kentucky — 20,000 mosquitoes in all. Blowing gently at one end of the tubes encouraged males to lift into the air and whine off in search of the island's wild females.
Wolbachia bacteria make these males biologically incompatible with uninfected females. Over time, flooding a neighborhood with bad dads should shrink the local population of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes.
That species "is very difficult to control," says Andrea Leal, executive director of the control district. Ae. aegypti is the domestic cockroach of mosquitoes, sticking inside, under or near human homes, where heavy pesticide use is restricted. Larvae can grow in mere bottle-capfuls of rainwater, so saucers under potted plants or puddles in a crumpled tarp can become a public health menace.
Ae. aegypti can spread yellow fever and chikungunya viruses, as well as Zika, which broke out in Miami last year. The mosquito can also carry dengue, a painful disease better known in tropical countries that has made appearances in Key West over the past decade, including one case in 2016.
Infecting mosquitoes with certain strains of Wolbachia bacteria can sabotage the spread of such viruses, though biologists are still exploring how. One proposed scenario: Wolbachia compete with viruses for precious resources inside cells, such as cholesterol.
Forms of Wolbachia are found naturally in various ants, butterflies and many other arthropods. But no form of the bacteria had taken to Ae. aegypti, so researchers have gone to years of trouble working out how to coax bacterial strains from other insect species into the troublesome mosquito.
Scientists were able to infect mosquitoes with the bacteria without genetically modifying either species, a plus because a recent proposal to release genetically modified mosquitoes as pest control in nearby Key Haven stirred fierce protests (SN Online: 8/5/16).
The bacterial infection technique that finally worked was simple in concept, though not so simple to execute, says entomologist Stephen Dobson at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Researchers just used a vanishingly slender glass needle to poke the bacteria into mosquito eggs.
Each cardboard tube shipped overnight from the insect supplier MosquitoMate in Kentucky holds a thousand males carrying a common bacterium that disrupts insect reproduction.
That method developed the lineages of mosquitos now being released twice a week on Stock Island. One advantage of the test's population-crashing approach, says Dobson, also MosquitoMate's CEO, is that workers puffing a thousand insects out of a shipping tube near someone's yard are releasing only males, which don't bite. "People might accept that more," Dobson says. To replace the mosquito population with a safer one — the better-known strategy — requires releasing females, too, which Dobson points out, "bite people and drink their blood."
That vampire route has advantages, though, argues Scott O'Neill of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He leads an international nonprofit collaboration called Eliminate Dengue (SN: 7/14/12, p. 22), which works in developing countries with vast areas at risk of disease but minuscule budgets. Instead of suppressing mosquitoes and risking a comeback, he chose an approach that relies on the bacteria to spread and maintain themselves.
The bacterial infection can sweep into a population extraordinarily fast. But for it to do so, he says, his group has to release females, too. Wolbachia-carrying males have no problem siring bouncing baby mosquitoes if the mom also carries the bacterium, and the young then carry the bacteria, too.
With mosquitoes doing the work, "we can sort of march across the landscape," O'Neill says. One of the project's first release sites, in Australia, still hums with Wolbachia-carriers six years later with no need for additional treatment. "We have a very lousy business model," he says, not sounding very sorry.
Eliminate Dengue is marching over swaths of five countries, including Brazil. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, the project is treating about 150 square kilometers over the course of two years and aims to protect 2.5 million city-dwellers for years to come.
The biggest roadblock to bacteria-based mosquito control hasn't appeared yet, and researchers don't know if it will. If viruses such as Zika or dengue evolve a way to thrive in Wolbachia-infected cells, the benefit could dwindle away.
O'Neill hasn't seen signs of resistance yet, but he has a plan if he does: The project could release mosquitoes with a new combination of Wolbachia strains to spread through a population and replace ones that are losing effectiveness. The Eliminate Dengue team has already developed mosquitoes infected with just such a combination of bacterial strains, he says.
This possibility of developing resistance, much as some pests develop resistance to pesticides or antibiotics, is reduced with the MosquitoMate approach, Dobson says. The suppression approach shouldn't leave survivors in which viral evolution could take place.
For now, Florida will be a high-profile test for the approach — but it won't be the first. MosquitoMate has tested two other species of bacteria-carrying mosquito: Ae. polynesiensis on Pacific Islands to combat lymphatic filariasis and its elephantine swellings, plus the aggressively biting tiger mosquito, Ae. albopictus, which can render U.S. backyards uninhabitable as well as spread viruses.
The company has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for approval to sell booby-trapped tiger mosquitoes as a biopesticide in the United States. The third of MosquitoMate's saboteur insects, Ae. aegypti, was first deployed last year in Clovis, Calif.
After the California test, the group made some tweaks in hopes of creating at least a 7-to-1 ratio of bacteria-carrying Kentucky males to native Floridian rivals. That's the initial result that Leal, of the mosquito control district, is focusing on for this year.
Keys' residents would love to see a big drop in the mosquito's numbers, too, but Leal says that's the next stage. For now, getting enough of the dud dads out there mating with female mosquitoes will be a big accomplishment.


We have an active community, nice staff members and friendly people to chill with. Join us if you wanna meet new people to play with or just have fun.
Currently being the main game, Z1 Battle Royale, Fortnite and Rainbow Six Siege, we still provide a large variety of games to play with other members such as: Pubg Mobile, Apex Legends, GTA V and more!
Hey guys! Next round of Steam item giveaway is coming on Friday!!!! You dont wanna miss it. And even if you are not playing, you can sell the item on steam market. So watch out the #🎉giveaways channel at this time !!!!!!


Let us whisk you away in style to America's cultural capital, Chicago.
Sit back and relax in our comfortable seating. Our inflight entertainment system will keep you occupied for the entire flight, and our friendly cabin crew are on hand if you need any assistance.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the main airport for the Chicago area. As one of the busiest airports in the world, O'Hare serves over 200 destinations worldwide, and has been voted the top airport in North America for more than 10 years. With this accolade, you can expect great facilities, including plenty of shops, bars, restaurants, airport lounges, business facilities, a health club and a sauna.


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More Brownback Speculation
The AP did a story last night noting that John McCain and Mike Huckabee were both angling for Brownback's endorsement yesterday, or at the least the goodwill of his supporters, by offering up nice comments about the senator. Notes the story:
While McCain has a voting record similar to Brownback's on cultural issues, McCain prompts skepticism on the right flank of the party because he isn't a high-profile crusader against abortion rights and gay marriage. Brownback's backing could signal to Christian conservatives that they can trust McCain. ...
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher, is another favorite of religious conservatives. But like Brownback, he has struggled to rally that voting bloc around his candidacy. He, too, could benefit from Brownback's backing. ... It's harder to imagine any other Republican in the field getting a Brownback nod, although former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is a possibility. The Kansas senator has bitterly criticized Romney, and Giuliani is disliked by many religious conservatives because of his abortion rights and gay rights positions.
I don't think any of this is crazy. But I'd keep three things in mind as you think about this stuff:
1.) If Brownback were to endorse Romney or Giuliani, it would have real "juice" as they say, given their problems with social conservatives and Brownback's credibility in those circles. If, on the other hand, Brownback were to endorse Huckabee or even Thompson, I'm not sure how much it would benefit them (and, therefore, him). Brownback doesn't have much actual support among voters to throw their way, and their credibility problems with social conservatives are much smaller (or, as in Huckabee's case, virtually non-existent). McCain fits somewhere in the middle here, I think. But at this point his problem isn't so much suspicion among conservatives--though he definitely arouses that--as a lack of money. I'm not sure how Brownback helps there.
2.) If you were going to endorse someone in the primary, I'm not sure why you would endorse someone who didn't have a decent shot at winning. Particularly if you were a politician as ambitious as Brownback (see this profile for more on that). As it stands, Giuliani or Romney is likely to be the nominee. Unless that changes, I'm not sure why Brownback would consider endorsing anyone else.
3.) Now compare the two front-runners. The case against Giuliani seems open and shut: He's pro-choice, he's fairly sympathetic to gay rights (though less so than he used to be), he's been married three times. Romney, on the other hand, at least says the right things on social issues and, so far as I know, has lived an exemplary personal life. Moreover, while Brownback has attacked the sincerity of Romney's abortion conversion, it's important to remember that Brownback himself had an abrupt conversion on the issue during his first run for congress, something that inspired considerable skepticism at the time. So Brownback of all people might be forgiving of a conversion that looks politically-timed. (I think the reason he wasn't more forgiving on the campaign trail was, well, exactly that: He was on the camapign trail.)
--Noam Scheiber


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Port Stephens is enjoying another strong summer tourist season with many accommodation houses and holiday parks having recorded "high to very high" percentage occupancy rates over the Christmas/New Year period. While bookings continue to fluctuate two weeks into the January school holidays, many accommodation operators are relying on the "short lead time" and "last-minute" tourists to fill their rooms. Destination Port Stephens CEO Eileen Gilliland said the entire industry was feeling for operators affected by fires. "I would like to express my deepest sympathies to families who have lost loved ones, to the tourist operators who have lost business and pay respect to the brave firefighters," she said. "We are all feeling for our colleagues and their communities. In Port Stephens we are very fortunate to have not been affected, although the visitor information centre has received calls from potential visitors asking about the extent of smoke in Port Stephens." Will Creedon, owner of Alloggio which looks after hundreds of rental properties operating under Port Stephens Accommodation, Winnings Holidays and Holidays Port Stephens, said they have been extremely busy this holiday season. "So far bookings have been as good, in not better, than previous seasons. Many visitors on short breaks are taking advantage of the Port's waterways, dunes and national parks," he said. "The international market remains fairly strong, with Korean tourists making up for the shortfall of Chinese visitors, who are slightly down on previous years." Mr Creedon said that current conditions pointed to continuing good numbers leading into the Australia Day weekend. "We have seen in the past few years the redevelopment of the Country Club, Bannisters and Seabreeze Hotel giving visitors the chance to rediscover the attraction of Port Stephens." Port Stephens Council's holiday parks have had an occupancy rate in the high 90 per cent over summer, with visitors to Halifax and Shoal Bay holiday parks enjoying the newly renovated amenities. A spokesperson said that the council's three pet friendly parks at Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and Halifax were experiencing strong bookings. "Our guests absolutely love the option to bring their pets. We get a great response from our grey nomads in particular, as they are travelling the country with their pets." Leanne Jenkins, from Mantra Nelson Bay, said that the peak period from December 20 to January 10 was healthy at 93 per cent occupancy. "In saying that, we've had many cancellations due to the fires in the weeks leading up to Christmas."
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/c.elias/e197521a-5078-4db4-9cca-1e5095f34cae.jpg/r0_235_4256_2640_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
January 16 2020 - 10:00AM
Accommodation rates strong in Port Stephens
Charlie Elias
HIKING: Port Stephens accommodation rates are very strong for the summer holiday tourist season, and hiking has been a popular pastime. Picture: Destination Port Stephens
Port Stephens is enjoying another strong summer tourist season with many accommodation houses and holiday parks having recorded "high to very high" percentage occupancy rates over the Christmas/New Year period.
While bookings continue to fluctuate two weeks into the January school holidays, many accommodation operators are relying on the "short lead time" and "last-minute" tourists to fill their rooms.
Destination Port Stephens CEO Eileen Gilliland said the entire industry was feeling for operators affected by fires.
"I would like to express my deepest sympathies to families who have lost loved ones, to the tourist operators who have lost business and pay respect to the brave firefighters," she said.
"We are all feeling for our colleagues and their communities. In Port Stephens we are very fortunate to have not been affected, although the visitor information centre has received calls from potential visitors asking about the extent of smoke in Port Stephens."
Will Creedon, owner of Alloggio which looks after hundreds of rental properties operating under Port Stephens Accommodation, Winnings Holidays and Holidays Port Stephens, said they have been extremely busy this holiday season.
"So far bookings have been as good, in not better, than previous seasons. Many visitors on short breaks are taking advantage of the Port's waterways, dunes and national parks," he said.
"The international market remains fairly strong, with Korean tourists making up for the shortfall of Chinese visitors, who are slightly down on previous years."
HOLIDAY TIME: Water activities are some of the many attractions to Port Stephens during the summer holidays. Picture: Destination Port Stephens
Mr Creedon said that current conditions pointed to continuing good numbers leading into the Australia Day weekend.
"We have seen in the past few years the redevelopment of the Country Club, Bannisters and Seabreeze Hotel giving visitors the chance to rediscover the attraction of Port Stephens."
Port Stephens Council's holiday parks have had an occupancy rate in the high 90 per cent over summer, with visitors to Halifax and Shoal Bay holiday parks enjoying the newly renovated amenities.
A spokesperson said that the council's three pet friendly parks at Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and Halifax were experiencing strong bookings.
"Our guests absolutely love the option to bring their pets. We get a great response from our grey nomads in particular, as they are travelling the country with their pets."
Leanne Jenkins, from Mantra Nelson Bay, said that the peak period from December 20 to January 10 was healthy at 93 per cent occupancy.
"In saying that, we've had many cancellations due to the fires in the weeks leading up to Christmas."
Discuss "Accommodation rates strong"
Surfest wildcard battle back at Birubi Beach
'Concealing evil': Appeal to speak up over suspected murder
Hunter Photography Prize 2020: a look at some of the entries
Council agreement with Lagoons Estate owners
Power outages after downpour
Gate access a fire concern
Port Stephens Examiner


* AULDJO, John (d. 1857). Narrative of an Ascent to the Summit of Mont Blanc. London: for Longman, Rees, et al, 1828.
4to (294 x 229 mm). 15 lithographed plates (7 on india paper mounted), 2 folding maps (one hand-colored, outer margin of one map repaired on verso), folding panorama, facsimile letter, 1 chart, 2 hand-colored folding tables. (Lacking half-title, some minor foxing and pale spotting.) Contemporary half black calf, marbled boards, spine decorated in gilt and blind (lightly rubbed).
FIRST EDITION, LARGE-PAPER COPY. This account of the author's early, successful ascent of Mont Blanc "was a classic of alpine literature, a vivid narrative of the pleasures and perils of mountaineering illustrated by Auldjo's own sketches" (ODNB). Neate A75; Perret 0183.


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Ceramics by Virginie Besengez
I thought we'd head to France today in search of a little creative inspiration, visiting the work of Virginie Besengez, a ceramic artist based in the idyllic setting that is Wambrechies, which can be found on the map just north of Lille. As an artist Virginie has been known to dabble in both porcelain and stoneware, with her clean and contemporary white vessels providing a nice contrast to those of a more rustic and primitive nature. This is perhaps best represented here in the circle of cups that can be seen in the fifth image below, which I personally think works great as a subtle visual juxtaposition.
Although I really enjoyed these it was the last image in this post that initially attracted me to Virginie's portfolio. Those closest to us will know that we've recently been dabbling in a little pottery of our own over the last few weeks, and I've developed a new found respect for creating such flawless forms. This last trio really spoke to me not only for the difficultly it takes to create each, but the balance of character and function that Virginie has found within these. They've certainly got a quirky feel to them that I can't entirely put my finger on, it's not quite as obvious as someone like Eva Zeisel for example but I'm sure they would provide ample personality in the kitchen and around the home as sculptural pieces.
Another project of Virginie's I really enjoyed was her cup town that I'm sure was an enormity of an undertaking. If you haven't noticed this already it's in the seventh photo, with the third image being a closer view of this series. The closer inspection of these is perhaps a good reference point to note the style of creating that Virginie uses, opting to shape her pieces to match her imagination opposed to exact measurements. She uses the simple rule that if the piece feels like it has the perfect balance then that's the way it's meant to be, which I thought was quite refreshing.The few things that do inform Virginie's work include the architecture found in the north of France and the austere aesthetic of Flemish still-life. She enjoys the urban landscape found locally and is always striving to bring new ideas into her work that will set her apart from her peers. If you'd like to learn more about the artist and perhaps see some further imagery of her work I'd recommend a visit to her dedicated webpage, the link for this of course will be left just below. Enjoy!
www.virginiebesengez.fr


The maintenance, assembly and testing of Subsea Rental tooling as specified in shop work packs.
Accurate sign off of shop work packs for full quality control of work carried out.
In this role you will follow an individual work plan, meet day-to-day short-term objectives, and resolve issues through immediate action or short-term planning.
3 year plus experience in Subsea maintenance environment.
High level of HSE awareness with certification in slinging and lifting, pressure testing, manual handling.
Ability to read and understand drawings and engineering part specifications.
Assemble Rental Tooling in accordance with drawings, engineering part specifications and assembly procedures as stipulated in shop work packs.
Participate and co-operate with risk assessments when requested. Notify supervisor of any risks immediately.
Flexibility to adapt to changing schedules and priorities.
PC proficiency in Excel, Word, Power Point, etc.


L-56 The only capper with native inspired inlay offers the possibility of extended pleasure maintenance. After each hit close the cap and refer to it every ½ hour or so. 8/16" bowl, 2 7/8" wood stem + 1 1/8" mouthpiece = 4" length.


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Q: C# array pathfinding for a tower defense game so i have an array displaying zeros and ones like this, which makes a level:
int[,] map = new int[,]
    {
        {0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,}, // The level of the game in an array
        {0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,}, // zeroes relate to a grass texture
        {0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,}, // ones are path textures
        {0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,},
        {0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,},
        {0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,},
        {0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,},
        {0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,},
        {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,},
        {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,},
        {0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,},
    };

currently i have enemies following this array by using hard coded waypoints like the one shown below:
waypoints.Enqueue(new Vector2(2, 0) * 40);

i was wondering if there was a way to tell the enemies to follow the "1"s without hardcoding the waypoints so that i could implement a custom map editor into my game and the enemies would always know to follow the ones in the array

A: Try something like this

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Cell cells = new Cell(11,13);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 0, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 1, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(1, 0, 2, 1, 2, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 3, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 4, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 5, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 6, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 7, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 8, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 9, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 10, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 11, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 0, 12, -1, -1, -1, -1);

            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 0, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 1, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(1, 1, 2,  1,  3,  0,  2);
            cells.SetCell(1, 1, 3,  2,  3,  1,  2);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 4, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 5, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 6, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 7, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 8, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 9, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 10, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 11, -1, -1, -1, -1);
            cells.SetCell(0, 1, 12, -1, -1, -1, -1);
        }
    }
    public class Cell
    {
        static List<List<Cell>> map = new List<List<Cell>>();

        public int value { get; set; }
        public int row { get; set; }
        public int col { get; set; }
        public Cell next { get; set; }
        public Cell previous { get; set; }

        public Cell() { }

        public Cell(int nRows, int nCol)
        {
            for (int row = 0; row < nRows; row++)
            {
                List<Cell> newRow = new List<Cell>();
                map.Add(newRow);
                for (int col = 0; col < nCol; col++)
                {
                    Cell newCell = new Cell();
                    newCell.next = null;
                    newCell.previous = null;
                    newRow.Add(newCell);
                }
            }

        }
        public void SetCell(int xValue, int xRow, int xCol, int nextRow, int nextCol, int previousRow, int previousCol)
        {
            value = xValue;
            row = xRow;
            col = xCol;
            if (value == 1)
            {
                if(nextRow != -1)
                   map[row][col].next = map[nextRow][nextCol];
                if(previousRow != -1)
                   map[row][col].previous = map[previousRow][previousCol];
            }
        }

    }

}

A: It might be more flexible to use a "shortest path" graph algorithm like A* or Dijkstra's algorithm for your enemy's path finding.
That way your map definition just needs to encode where enemies start, where they are allowed to travel and where they want to go, and these things can change during the game.
E.g. your enemies could take a different route when something blocks their path, or do something (self destruct?) if they have no way to get to their destination.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tag Archives: My Face for the World to See
Alfred Hayes – My Face for the World to See (1958)
This wasn't the best reading year for me. While I was very lucky with my nonfiction choices, more than one novel was a dud. Imagine how happy I was to see my faith in literature fully restored before the end of the year. Alfred Hayes' novel My Face for the World to See is just marvelous. A perfect gem of a novel. I couldn't fault a thing. I discovered it a few years ago on Guy's blog here, but forgot all about it until Jacqui reviewed another of Hayes' novels, The Girl on the Via Flaminia.
Alfred Hayes was born in London but moved to the US as a child. In 1943 he was drafted and spent time in the US army, in Italy. In Italy he contributed to some of the most famous scripts of Italian neo-realist cinema – Rosselini's Paisà and de Sica's Bicycle Thieves. The following ten years, he worked as a screen writer in Hollywood, writing scripts for people like Fritz Lang, John Huston and many more.
While The Girl on the Via Flaminia, his earlier novel, is set in Italy, My Face for the World to See is set in Hollywood.
Before starting the review, I'd like to share the opening paragraphs, which set the tone and the mood of the novel.
It was a party that had lasted too long; and tired of the voices, a little too animated, and the liquor, a little too available, and thinking it would be nice to be alone, thinking I'd escape for a brief interval, those smiles which pinned you against the piano or those questions which trapped you wriggling in a chair, I went out to look at the ocean.
There it was, exactly as advertised, a dark and heavy swell, and far out the lights of some delayed ship moving slowly south. I stared at the water, across a frontier of a kind, while behind me, from the brightly lit room with its bamboo bar and its bamboo furniture, the voices, detailing a triumph or recounting a joke, of those people who were not entirely strangers and not exactly friends, continued. It seemed silly to stay, tired as I was and the party dying; it seemed silly to go, with nothing home but an empty house.
With hindsight, it's amazing to see how perfect this beginning is. It captures the tone and the mood of the novel, as well as the narrator's character. The narrator – he's never named – is a successful, rich script writer, who spends some months of the year, in Hollywood, far from his wife and kid, who stay in New York. He's successful but it doesn't seem to mean much to him. He could be part of a crowd but he stays outside. There's one person one could call a friend, the host, but other than that, he seems like the ship he watches – passing by, detached. At the same time, he's the guy who is eternally watching, witnessing. A couple of moments after this short intro, he's again a witness – this time to the near-suicide of a young, pretty wannabe actress. He saves her and this act is the beginning of a terrible mistake. While he may think he's just being friendly when he contacts her again, it dawns on the reader that loneliness and boredom – also mentioned in the first paragraphs – might be the true reasons.
From that moment on, the reader gets to witness an awful Maelstrom of an affair. The beginning is somewhat sordid and the end disastrous.
I absolutely loved this novel because of the tone and the mood. And the writing style. It's pared down and economical, not one superfluous word. It's also chilling at times, because the narrator never fully engages with anything that happens. It's almost as if he's never really there. And the more he is withdrawn, the more the girl seems to sink deeper and deeper into her despair. I felt so sorry for this girl. A typical pretty small town girl who comes to Hollywood with big dreams, which a crushed instantly. She was hoping for "My Face for the World to See", but what she gets instead is the wrong male attention. Almost all of her lovers seem to have been married and, invariably, it ends badly and she tries to console herself with alcohol. There's a scene with a cat, who she loves dearly, that's utterly heartbreaking.
I think one reason why I loved this so much is because it reminded me of Dorothy B. Hughes fantastic novel In a Lonely Place, which made my best of list in 2016. I'm sure Hayes knew the book and certainly knew the movie with Humphrey Bogart. Even though My Face for the World to See isn't a crime novel, it has all the trademarks of a noir like In A Lonely Place. There's the melancholy mood, the jaded, lonely people who try to connect but fail, love affairs that turn bitter within weeks.
Of course, Hollywood is the perfect setting for a story like this and one can easily see that Hayes knew what he was writing about.
I'm not entirely sure I will write a best of post this year, but if I do – My Face for the World to See will be on it.
Alfred Hayes, American Literature, Books, My Face for the World to See, Novel	17 Comments


text:
Q: Rewrite domain url for php script with .htaccess php or js script works correctly only on domain1.com
Can I fool them with .htaccess to think I use domain1.com while actually having domain2.com in url? That is having $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME']; return domain2.com
RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(?:www\.)?domain2.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ http://domain1.com%{REQUEST_URI}

These instructions aren't quite working.

A: There is an alternative that is not related to htaccess but you can create an index.php in your root of domain 2 and redirect it to domain1 like this:
<?php
$uri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
header('Location: http://domain1.com'.$uri);


Literally translated, the Japanese word Seitai means 'to bring the body in to order'. In good health the body can be considered as existing in a "Seitai" state whereby the body is functioning at its optimum level. In a healthy body, internal organs, muscles, ligaments and the skeletal system are balanced and in harmony. Seitai Therapy is a method of body work which is a modern development of ANMA, a traditional Japanese process of healing many centuries old. Seitai therapy works by stimulating the body by means of acupressure points or 'tsubo's' using the thumbs, fingers and elbows. It works on the principle of any pain that manifests in the body, either at these pressure points, or along the bodies energetic meridian system, is representative of an underlying disharmony within the body. Such disharmonies are often a result of organ weakness, disease or the result of trauma. Whatever the reason the body will outwardly display symptoms within the musculo-skeletal system.
Seitai works by directly stimulating a special selection of 'master' points over the whole surface of the body in a set sequence. These points are selected because of their ability to quickly provide direct stimulation to the internal organs and systems of the body. Thus strengthening them and restoring their functions so that they may heal disharmonies themselves. Patients often feel invigorated, warm and clear-headed as the body begins tore-address its imbalances.
Seitai was developed by Kiyoshi Kato during the last century in Osaka , Japan and is involves combining elements of Shiatsu and manipulation techniques.
Seitai pays attention to the importance of both skeletal and soft tissue structures; its principle is to restore the proper skeletal frame by manipulating soft tissue structures. But Seitai is different from chiropractic because it never involves direct hands-on adjustments of the skeleton, and, as per the soft tissue relaxation, Seitai uses methods different from massage, taking into account the entire muscle structure and origin/insertion of the muscle and pressing muscle fibers vertically.
Seitai therapy is based upon the fact that human body is designed to heal itself. If you restore your shape as it should be, the self-healing power should be maximized. Once the skeletal deformity is almost corrected by the treatment, the self-healing power will take care of the rest of the correction.


Enterprise communications and collaboration players Cisco, Unify, Interactive Intelligence and others launched and/or re-introduced highly unified (single pane of glass) collaborative experiences at Enterprise Connect.
While these solutions have made great strides combining all known collaborative modalities (voice, video, messaging, email, etc.), but the real magic awaits interoperability with both cloud services and the platforms upon which they run.
Honestly, I've lost count of how many times I've made the flight down to Orlando, Florida to visit with and learn from unified communications (UC) players Cisco, Unify, Microsoft, Avaya, and many, many more. Each year at Enterprise Connect, these industry movers look to both take the pulse of their enterprise customers (current and potential) and of course check up on what the competition is up to. Over the years, many things have changed technologically, particularly of late thanks to the cloud, disruptive ideas like WebRTC and asynchronous collaboration.
At the same time, many things remain maddeningly the same, such as the re-re-branding and re-re-launching of software and services. I get it, really. Vendors must look to the horizon. They can only push the enterprise customer forward with the promise of what is to come. But I must admit some frustration with the way this marketplace currently favors "uber, do-it-all, single pane, highly unified" user experiences — especially when the proposed outcome is the creation of a developer ecosystem. That is asking for and expecting a lot. Developers go where the apps are of course, especially when those apps are open and running in the cloud.
Therefore, what I'd like to see at next year's show isn't a new user experience or a news of a forthcoming, in-house cloud platform. I'd like to see the software we have equipped with a consistent and open API, and I'd like to see it running on someone else's platform, let's say Microsoft Azure, Salesforce.com Salesforce1, IBM SoftLayer, SAP HANA Cloud, Google Cloud Platform, and Oracle Cloud Platform. That's where the apps are; that's where the developers are. They're already assembled, looking for an opportunity to bake collaboration and communications capabilities into their existing or planned line of business apps. In short, UC players should go to the developer ecosystems already already established rather than attempting to invent their own.
Avaya's expanded partnership with Google makes for a perfect case in point and something all UC vendors should monitor closely. Building on earlier work to run Avaya contact center software on Google Chromebook devices, the company announced and demonstrated this week its IP Office customer engagement solution running on Google Cloud Platform. Admittedly, this new solution (Customer Engagement OnAvaya Powered by Google Cloud Platform) isn't intended for developers right now. It really gives Avaya the ability to reach the midmarket with a cloud-based hosted contact center service. But that's just one route to market. Eventually, this service will find a home amid the sizable ecosystem of Google developers building apps on Google's cloud using its sizable business apps portfolio.


text:
The Art of Fashion show in Rancho Santa Fe set for Sept. 15
Models on the runway at the 2019 Art of Fashion show.
(Vincent Andrunas)
The Country Friends Art of Fashion, the nonprofit's tribute to fall and philanthropy, takes to the runway at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe on Sept. 15. Sure to be a sell-out, the show features selections from the fall-winter collections of South Coast Plaza's leading luxury retailers including Oscar de la Renta, Isabel Marant, Monique Lhuillier, Bally, Lafayette 148 New York, Max Mara, Moncler, Ralph Lauren, and Saks Fifth Avenue, with informal modeling by Camilla at a Champagne reception which opens the event.
Award-winning ABC 10News Anchor Kimberly Hunt emcees the Art of Fashion, co-chaired by Keilene Hayward, Sandy Nolan, and Melissa Wilkins. The event honors The Country Friends volunteers for their long commitment to the 68-year-old nonprofit which raises funds to benefit San Diego County charities through events and its Consignment Shop in Rancho Santa Fe.
"You know it's fall when a giant open-air tent takes shape in a park across from The Inn," notes Suzanne Newman, president of The Country Friends. "What's amazing is that this annual event has been held for more than 65 years." For the past 18 years, The Country Friends has partnered with South Coast Plaza, raising crucial funds for many nonprofits." The TCF Board of Directors selects charities each fall after careful review and site visits. Since it was founded in 1954, The Country Friends has donated more than $14 million to those in need with special emphasis on women, children, the elderly, the military, and the disabled.
Funds are raised through sponsors, patrons, a live auction, an opportunity drawing featuring designer handbags, clothing, and jewelry, and 10 percent of sales at South Coast Plaza mini boutiques set up on The Inn's lawn, offering fashion, fragrance, and accessories. Participating boutiques this year include Buccellati, Camilla, Furla, Jo Malone London, Max Mara, Mulberry, Oscar de la Renta, and Vitra Eyewear.
Top prize in the live auction is an "Ultimate Antarctic Adventure" from Scott Dunn Luxury Travel, valued at $38,390, a 12-day cruise for two aboard the Sylvia Earle, Aurora's newest, state-of-the-art expedition ship. Additional prizes include a $12,500 pair of amethyst and diamond drop earrings from John Matty Co., a $12,500 getaway to the luxurious Conrad Punta de Mita in Mexico's Riviera Nayarit paired with two roundtrip tickets from Alaska Airlines, and a $6,500 facial rejuvenation package from Allurant Medical Spa.
Linda Sansone & Associates sponsors the Champagne reception which opens the event, with light bites from The French Gourmet, opportunity drawing displays, and the ever-popular photo lounge. After the runway show, guests gather on The Inn's Croquet Lawn for a three-course luncheon featuring a roasted beet salad with butter lettuce, heirloom cherry tomatoes and pumpkin seeds followed by pan seared local halibut with sauteed kale, sweet white corn puree, broccolini and roasted pepper coulis. Dessert is a key lime tartlet. A vegetarian option is also available. The Art of Fashion concludes with "Sip, Shop, and Support," the opportunity to continue boutique shopping.
"Couture" sponsors include Les and Deborah Cross, Hoehn Jaguar Land Rover, Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa and the Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa, Warren Family Foundation, and Wells Fargo. "Fashionista" sponsors are Dr. Melanie Palm of Art of Skin MD, The Mirandon Foundation for Hope, Nani Pua Skin Care, and Torrey Pines Bank. "Designer" sponsors include Keilene Hayward and Stephanie Wilbur, Performance K9 Training & Boarding, and SKY Facial Plastic Surgery, Inc. More than 50 individuals and companies are Art of Fashion "Patrons," including John and Marci Cavanaugh, who are also hosting a patron party prior to The Art of Fashion.
The Art of Fashion Committee includes: Alicia Armstrong, Anahi Arata, Andrea Naversen Wait, Ben Beard, Bonnie Wright, Chris Carlisle, Christina Macone-Greene, Dayna Shultz-Sarazin, Deborah Cross, Elia Surran, Irina Shkov, Jean Waters, Laura White, Laura MacKinnon-Chapman, Lezlie Reynales, Linda Block, Linda Royster Cook, Maggie Bobileff, Marci Cavanaugh, Marian Tsvyk, Marla Zanelli, Mia Park, Rebecca Fisher, Rita Lancaster-Hannah, Stacie Barba, Stephanie Wilbur, Valerie Parker, Vivian Capozza, and Yvette Letourneau.
The Sept. 15 event runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, or to become an Art of Fashion sponsor, contact The Country Friends at (858)756-1192, extension 4, or admin@thecountryfriends.org.
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The HP Slatebook X2 ships with Android 4.2.2 and includes a keyboard tray with a going price of about 480 bucks. So, it's pretty much an Android-based netbook. However, the tablet portion can, of course, be detached from the keyboard. It's pretty light as a tablet, but the side that plugs into the keyboard tray has a couple of really uncomfortable edges that really sours the experience when handling it. The same edge also has an awkwardly placed microSD card slot and a headphone jack, as well as dual speakers-- that even though they face the user, aren't very powerful-sounding. But they're decent enough. It has a serviceable front-facing camera and an okay back camera-- neither of which will set your world afire. The power and volume buttons are located on the back, which surprisingly works pretty well. And as long as you know where to feel, they're pretty easy to find. When attached, like I said before, it feels like a Netbook Circa 2010 design running Android. We've seen this before with the Asus Transformer line, but this one doesn't really push that ideal four at all. The keyboard still feels too small and cramped. However, I do appreciate the extra wide touchpad. The keyboard does pack in a lot of features, though, with its own headphone jack, full USB port, full HDMI port, and a full SD card reader. Also, the keyboard has its own battery, so you're getting extra battery life if it's attached. The screen resolution is 1920x1200, which on a 10-inch tablet these days is good, but ultimately unimpressive. There's also a very noticeable yellow tint to the screen that really sticks out when looking at websites with white backgrounds, and when compared to tablets that handle color better like the Nexus 10. The X2 comes with only 16 gigabytes of storage, which feels low for a $480-tablet-- even one with a keyboard. There also doesn't appear to be any GPS hardware, which is kind of a weird omission. The X2 is not an exceptional tablet. It's also not an altogether bad one. It's just that 480 bucks feels a little too expensive given the overall quality of its offerings. Check out my full review at CNET.com for more info. I'm Eric Franklin, and this has been the first look at the HP Slatebook X2.


A little motivation for me to take care of my skin and do my hair more often than once a week;) I really love all the do it yourself scrubs I have been seeing around the web. They are a natural and healthy way to take care of yourself without spending to much money! Double score.
Also, my friends, I promised myself I wouldn't enter any contests for a while but much to my own dismay I spasticly entered Refinery29's "Next Style Blogger" contest! Biting my nails over this. So, again, I am asking for your vote. Luckily this is really easy to do so. Just click the heart next to my photo in the contestants section (its easier to find me under the "popular contestants" tab for now)! You can vote for more than one blogger if you have a few faves like me! Thank you ever so much!
I've got to try to do that braided up-do. So fun and intricate looking. Also, that scrub looks great… marking that down on my growing to-do list too! Thanks for sharing, Anna!!!
I wish I could rock the side pony! Looks so great when you can pull it off!
Uh, do I have to have facebook to vote? =( I tried, but it said login with facebook, which I don't have.
I love the first hair do... but would need someone to do it for me because I'm awful at that sorta thing.
Love this post! I've been obsessively pinning all of the DIY scrubs I see too!
Way to go girl! Definitely have my vote.
You totally have my vote! :) Obviously.
this is the perfect time of year to try out a scrub! must try that one.
That side pony is gorgeous! Love it.
I love that braid - what a great DIY tutorial - need to try that. And I need a haircut, too. Those bangs look tempting.
i love that side pony! it's so perfect and it works so well with her outfit and style. sometimes, and i mean sometimes - my hair will do something good and i can kind of make that look happen.. but it's more frequent than not!
Just cast my vote Anna! Good luck, and thanks for the comment on my post today. Made me smile.
So, this might just be because I'm hair-do challenged, but why do you need to curl the hair before you braid it? Either way, looks gorgeous!
I made sugar scrubs for Christmas the year before last and they were a huuuge hit! Peppermint is also great in the mornings!
I use a burt's bees oil scrub that I love. i most certainly will vote for you! I never do my hair. It is always up in a pony tail.
The side pony is one of my favourite hair styles! And I'm going to try that facial scrub recipe too! Thanks Anna!
I love the curly side pony. I did it on my blog.
Just voted for you Anna! Congrats!
I would love for my hair to look so perfectly wavy in a side pony like that last pick!!
Good Luck again on the contest!!
voted for you lovey!! and i love that braided up-do! saw it on pinterest the other day and immediately wished i hadn't cut my hair! haha.
Well if I had long hair, I would definitely want to try #1 and #3, but the body scrub is definitely doable, I love it! And I'm headed to go vote, good luck!
Wish I was talented enough to do my hair like the first pic. I'm sure I would screw it up though! Voted for you love!
Cannot wait to try the braided do!
the hair! i'm so interested in trying the hair tutorial.
will def vote for you Anna!
That braid is amazing. I'm going to have to try it out tonight! Good luck with the blogger contest!
Yes pls to the hair and scrub. Want to see pics when you try the hair!!
Oh to have thick, luscious hair to be able to do this style - love it! Oh, just off to vote for you too :) Bon chance!
Love that braided up do. Gorgeous!
I love these tutorials! New follower!
Good luck on the contest. Love the hair style, so pretty!


text:
Enlisted sailors on Navy warships are at higher risk of COVID-19 than officers, study finds
Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are more likely to spread among enlisted crew members on Navy ships, a new study released...
By Gina Harkins, Military.com November 13, 2020
Editor's note: This article by Gina Harkins originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community
Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are more likely to spread among enlisted crew members on Navy ships, a new study released this week found, due to the sailors' tight living and workspaces.
Enlisted sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt were more likely than officers to have confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, a study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine found.
Not only do enlisted personnel make up the bulk of the Roosevelt's crew at about 90%, but they also "sleep in open bays packed with dozens of tightly spaced bunks, work in densely populated areas, and congregate in gathering points such as the gyms and galleys," the study states.
"These conditions probably facilitated the transmission of [the virus], as evidenced by the higher likelihood of COVID-19 among enlisted crew members than among officers," researchers found.
Sailors working in closed spaces — including in reactor, engineering, supply or weapons departments — were more likely to have the illness than those who spent more time in open-air conditions, the study found. Some of the first positive COVID-19 cases on the Roosevelt were from the reactor department.
The findings match what experts have said about the likelihood for the virus to spread faster indoors than outside, where it can dissipate. The study also found that those in the medical department who wore personal protective equipment had a somewhat lower "attack rate" despite the personnel being exposed to infected patients in small spaces.
Aside from tight quarters, disease spread by pre- and asymptomatic crew members was another big challenge.
"Nearly half of those who tested positive for the virus never had symptoms," the study found.
A separate military study on COVID-19 among Marine recruits at Parris Island in South Carolina also highlights the challenge of catching asymptomatic cases. In a study of more than 1,800 recruits there, daily temperature checks and symptom monitoring failed to identify all the positive cases.
Fifteen of the 16 recruits who tested positive for the virus within two days of their arrival showed no COVID-19 symptoms.
"Most recruits who tested positive were asymptomatic, and no infections were detected through daily symptom monitoring," the study says, which could mean that temperature checks and symptom screenings in some colleges, theme parks and workplaces won't catch all positive cases.
Researchers say the lessons from the Roosevelt and Parris Island studies can be applied to some civilian settings where people live or work in tight quarters, such as college dorms, nursing homes or meat-packaging plants.
The studies' findings might point to the need for quarantine periods to last longer than two weeks, a doctor wrote in the medical journal following the report, considering that cases were still emerging among Marine recruits at Parris Island more than 14 days after they arrived.
"The results of this study show that the ability of screening procedures to detect infection before and after quarantine needs to be strengthened," the paper states.
This article originally appeared on Military.com
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I forgot to post this on the 1/1/2019. My word for the year is EMBODY. Hence the less screen time, more "in the physical world time." I felt it last weekend. An hour-long walk with my neighbor, a visit to the Kehinde Wiley exhibit at SLAM, a trip to the BOOKSTORE, two actually, a massage! On Sunday, I went to a bris to celebrate a new baby and then brunch with a dear friend and then my daughter's recital. She was awesome.
My intention of embodiment is all about connection. Connecting, rooting. It's gonna be a fabulous year, I can already tell.
I bought a REAL camera! I love it. I did it because now I can't use that as an excuse to be tied to my phone 24/7. I love it. Did I say that already?
Here's the thing… it's not like I don't have stuff to do. I don't sit around and watch TV. I'm pretty good about being "productive." I find myself "scrolling" in the in-between's – like waiting for a meeting to start or after I've completed a project and before I start the next one. So whatever found time I have is in increments of 5-10 minutes. What could I be doing with that time instead? Stretching? Meditation? A walk around the block?
Yep, total mindless habit. And if I had NOT logged out, I surely would have spent at least five minutes scrolling through the feed. I deleted the Facebook app on my phone but somehow, can't quite go cold turkey on Insta yet.
Yesterday, we got back from a 7-hour road trip. No smartphone, no Google maps. My 17yo daughter gasped out loud when I told her.
She looked at me like I was dangerous.
I can understand that for someone who has no memory of traveling without the blue line, this probably feels dangerous.
Observations: 1) my kids don't know how to read maps 2) I don't really need any map at all to go somewhere I've been going for twenty-five years. I was just using Google as a blankie.
For the past 8 months or so… I've been feeling the tension between the pressure to be present on social media versus the desire to be present in my physical world. Serendipitously, I chanced upon Vitamin Water's Scroll-free Year Challenge, which asks the question of what you would do without a smartphone for a year. It felt like the sign I was waiting for.
Even if I don't HAVE TO give up my smartphone, what would my life look like without the endless scrolling? It would be an interesting experiment, at the very least. Perhaps I would just find some other mindless activity to replace the scrolling and it wouldn't make any difference at all other than I'd have to run by an ATM occasionally.
I'm gonna at least try. And document how it goes.


text:
(-) Task Force Report
Arctic Imperatives
Overview "The United States, through Alaska, is a significant Arctic nation with strategic, economic, and scientific interests," asserts a new Council on Foreign Relations-sponsored (CFR) Independ…
Task Force Report by Thad W. Allen, Christine Todd Whitman, Esther Brimmer, and Anya Schmemann
U.S. Education Reform and National Security
The United States' failure to educate its students leaves them unprepared to compete and threatens the country's ability to thrive in a global economy and maintain its leadership role, finds a new Co…
Task Force Report by Julia Levy, Joel I. Klein, and Condoleezza Rice
Global Brazil and U.S.-Brazil Relations
July 12, 2011—Over the course of a generation, Brazil has emerged as both a driver of growth in South America and as an active force in world politics. A new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)-sponso…
Task Force Report by Samuel W. Bodman, James D. Wolfensohn, and Julia E. Sweig Latin America Studies Program
"The continued failure to devise and implement a sound and sustainable immigration policy threatens to weaken America's economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security," co…
Task Force Report by Jeb Bush, Thomas F. III McLarty, and Edward Alden
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
In his April 5 Prague speech, President Obama called for the United States to lead international efforts toward a world free of nuclear weapons. A new Council on Foreign Relations-sponsored Independe…
Task Force Report by Charles D. Ferguson, Brent Scowcroft, and William J. Perry
Confronting Climate Change
Against the backdrop of increasing attention to energy and climate change in the presidential campaigns, recent failure of the Senate to advance the Lieberman-Warner climate bill, and preparations fo…
Task Force Report by Michael A. Levi, David G. Victor, Thomas J. Vilsack, and George E. Pataki
No relationship will be as important to the twenty-first century as the one between the United States, the world's great power, and China, the world's rising power. China's development is directly tr…
Task Force Report by Frank Sampson Jannuzi, Carla A. Hills, and Dennis C. Blair
Promoting U.S. Economic Relations with Africa
In 1997, Washington paid unprecedented attention to Africa and its continental rebirth. Both then-First Lady Hillary Clinton and then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright toured the continent. Presi…
Task Force Report by Peggy Dulany, Frank Savage, and Salih Booker
Rethinking International Drug Control
Despite the growing severity of the drug abuse problem in the United States and evidence that supply-control programs are ineffective, the supply-side approach to drug control has endured. This task …
Task Force Report by Mathea Falco


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'Hum:' Graphic Novel Review
Hum is a graphic novel from Diablo Comics, an independent publisher based in Los Angeles specializing in horror, science fiction, and fantasy stories. Founded in 2005 by Scott "Diablo" Marcano who wrote Bio-Dome, Marcano shared writing duties with Tom Lenoci for this 2008 story. This beefy, 250-page graphic novel, available at Amazon, was illustrated by Renzo Podestra. This review focuses on the first issue, or approximately the first 40 pages.
Marcano and Lenoci tell the story of a colonized planet with a societal structure in which the blind are bound to slavery by the masters who have retained their sight. The main characters are Vol, a sighted one, who is the younger brother of Rom the Adjudicator, while The Watchman, Lum, and her daughter Zuz are blind and, therefore slaves. At a microcosm level, Vol, The Watchman, and Lum represent good people flawed and shaped by their past, yet each is trying to find peace and harmony. The writers peel back the layers, revealing that they are interconnected; Vol, as a child, watched in horror as The Watchman was burned and disfigured, and in the recent past, Vol had a failed relationship with Lum that resulted in a blind daughter, Zuz. This taboo relationship would have had political ramifications, as well as creating class disparity for this "unconventional" family. Additionally, Marcano and Lenoci establish individual voices for each character. In particular, the cadence and word choice for The Watchman sets him apart well as a mystic or person of faith.
The web that Marcano and Lenoci weave in the first issue is brilliantly visualized by Podestra. He efficiently establishes a stark, desolate landscape, yet punctuates it with the fluidity of the grass and trees, where Podestra really teases out details. The trees have no leaves and the grass is just masses of stalks, but there is promise and hope of growth – perhaps, if peace can be found between the two classes. The physical posturing of the characters solicits the ongoing tension and drain of the class divide. The majority of the issue is in black and white – excellent in representing the societal divide – however, Podestra does add color sparingly to denote Vol's disturbing nightmares and the flashback to his childhood. It breaks up the black and white and calls attention to important points in the story.
Based on reading the first issue, the visuals are, at times, minimal and stark, yet are always engaging and mesmerizing. Hum has a solid start of a story that develops a sense of concern in the reader's mind and creates a desire want to know what will happen with these damaged characters.
'Judge Dredd Mega-City Zero: Part One #1' - Advance Comic Book Review
'Heretic #1:' Comic Book Review


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Light Sculptures
When I began working with paper, wood, and light, I called my pieces "lanterns". As my creativity and skills developed, I began to focus more on the sculptural aspect rather than the functional, and to create pieces that stand alone as works of art with the light on or off. My work reflects a fascination with how nature moves on graceful paths or organizes itself in flowing patterns. Why human consciousness contemplates this with joy is a delicious mystery to me. My task is to express and illuminate in ever more novel ways the swirl of texture in marble or wood grain, the evolving folds in flowers or seashells, the fluid patterns left on sea-swept sand. I strive to create beautiful forms that will invite people out of their mental busyness to see the timelessness in passing time. Human life, too, is a whirling dance of patterns within patterns'.
In 1976, William Leslie apprenticed to Stephen White, an architect who had developed a unique form of 'lightsculpture' made from thin strips of wood bent into a frame then covered with paper soaked in polyvinyl resin and internally by incandescent light bulbs. Most of William's designs are inspired by natural forms.
William's Lightsculptures have shown in Hawaii, Chicago and California. His work has been used on the stage of the American Musical Awards and in the film Star Trek: Generations. He's been featured in the Dec. 2003 issue of The Robb Report and appeared on HGTV, the Carol Duvall Show episode #1618, since May 2004.
Recent commercial installations include Market Lofts downtown Los Angeles, Iron Wok China Bistro in Temecula and in San Ysidro, Stingaree, downtown San Diego, Bliss Restaurant in Beverly Hills, Zov's Bistro in Irvine, Tustin and Newport Beach and Irvine Fine Arts Center.
In 2007, William's wife Alessandra, an eclectic mixed-media artist and Expressive Arts Therapist, joined him in creating Lightsculptures, adding colors and exploring new possibilities.
One of William's Lightsculptures was a finalist in the 2004 Spertus Museum (University of Judaism, Chicago) Competition for representing Ner Tamid, the Eternal Light, which is now powerfully and gracefully hanging as a symbolic beacon at Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vista, CA. William's work is available also at Mixture in Little Italy, Trios Gallery on North Cedros, and Gallery of Functional Art in Santa Monica – Bergamot Station.
William LeslieWilliam Leslie's background includes degrees in physics and philosophy. He served as an infantry soldier in Vietnam and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in India. Presently, he teaches philosophy at Palomar College in the San Diego area, volunteers with Amnesty International and maintains a small studio in his home designing and producing "Lightsculptures" with his wife Alessandra for homes, restaurants, hospitals, businesses and religious institutions throughout the country.
Provided by the artist 10/2011
For more information about William's light sculptures, please visit his website here.


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Investigation still active in hunter's '07 Tunkhannock murder
Wednesday marks the sixth anniversary of the murder of Lee VanLuvender, 22, of Bartonsville, who was shot multiple times while hunting in Tunkhannock Township woods.
VanLuvender's family is still waiting for his killer(s) to be identified and brought to justice.
VanLuvender was shot between 9 and 10 a.m. Dec. 4, 2007. Other hunters discovered his body lying next to his gold Jeep Cherokee with oversized tires, which was in a parking area by the one-lane bridge on Hypsy Gap Road.
Authorities are still investigating.
Anyone who was hunting in the area at or around that time, or who has any information, is asked to contact Monroe County District Attorney's Detective Richard Luthcke at 570-517-3052, Pocono Mountain Regional Police at 570-895-2400 or Charlene Sebring, VanLuvender's mother, at 570-350-1553 or 570-629-3388. All calls will be kept confidential.
VanLuvender's family is offering a monetary reward for information leading to the arrest(s) and conviction(s) of the killer(s). His surviving relatives include his son, who's now in third grade.


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Wike's Revenge and Atiku's Next Move, By Azu Ishiekwene
Premium Times September 19, 2019 Wike's Revenge and Atiku's Next Move, By Azu Ishiekwene2019-09-19T10:48:13+00:00 Columns, Opinion No Comment
My guess is that there'll be an attempt to patch things up, not necessarily because the party loves Wike or because those who consider themselves the party's true custodians can endure his arrogance today any more than they could last year. The point is, everything must be done to delay the inevitable death of the PDP in its present form for as long as possible.
The harmattan is coming early for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In one week alone, the party lost at the presidential election tribunal, and also left daggers in the backs of two of its contestants in governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa, only a few months to the polls.
As if that was not enough, one of the party's most influential members and its main sponsor for a long time, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, declared war on the PDP, inviting heaven as his witness that he will stop at nothing until the "scoundrels" in his party have learnt their lesson.
Of the raft of troubles facing the party, Wike's threat of war is probably the most serious. He described the committee set up to investigate how Ndudi Elumelu emerged as the House minority leader as "the most corrupt committee" ever set up by his party, and warned that Rivers would "fight the party to a standstill."
The party will not take Wike's threat lightly. For years shortly before and following the PDP's defeat in the 2015 election, the party almost splintered beyond recognition. Wike kept the main faction on life support. Former Borno State governor and life-time moss-free rolling stone, Ali Modu-Sheriff, was just as determined to wreck the PDP as Wike was determined to save the faction led by his stooge, Ahmed Makarfi.
Others chipped in their bit, of course. Ayo Fayose supplied noise and entertainment which was, quite frankly, all he could afford; the governors of the South-East offered dubious solidarity, for which they are famous; while in the South-South, the Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom governors were too busy quenching internal fires to care about PDP's future.
But Wike put his money where his mouth was, fighting for PDP's life all the way to the Supreme Court. To be sure, with his political foe and transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi, snapping at his heels, Wike was also fighting for his own political life as well. The party's survival and his own were, in a sense, intrinsically tied.
By the time the Makarfi faction won at the Supreme Court, Wike understandably believed he deserved the first fruit of the victory. The piper had earned the right to call the tune. And he planned to do so in a big way.
Not only did he install the chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, he cranked the machine to produce the party's presidential candidate Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and announced that the national convention – or coronation, to put it less elegantly – would also hold in Port Harcourt.
There was initial resistance to the venue – resistance which coincided with the formal announcement that former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, had switched parties and was now interested in running for the presidency on the PDP's ticket. Atiku's exit from the All Progressives Congress (APC) was followed by the exit of other heavyweights, including then Senate president Bukola Saraki, who after exiting was also touted as leader of the PDP.
His latest spat with his party may well be his ultimate attempt at revenge. Insiders say there was a "gentleman's" agreement by the party hierarchy to install Wike's man, Kingsley Chinda, as the House minority leader. The party claimed to have written the House leadership endorsing him and during a plenary in July, Chinda in fact sat in the chair of minority leader!
That was adding insult to Wike's injury. He was still grappling with the aggravation to his wound when the party whispered that it was planning to change the venue of the national convention and have it in Abuja, instead of Port Harcourt.
His response was ballistic. Nearly one year ago today, he issued the first ultimatum. Wike dared the party to change the convention venue and see if it would survive the fallout. In a strategic move, the party retreated to fight another day. The convention was held in Port Harcourt, in deference to Wike's wishes.
Yet, Wike had only won the battle, not the war. When he thought he had the convention in the bag, that in addition to installing the party chairman, lining up the secretariat with his loyalists, and hosting the convention, he was now also going to produce the party's presidential candidate, something went horribly wrong.
The old guard, comprising Nigeria's military coup platinum-medalists under the omnipresent eye of General Ibrahim Babangida, struck just one more time. The guard dispatched its most dangerous asset alive, General Aliyu Gusau, to the convention venue with just one order: deliver the PDP ticket to Atiku Abubakar.
Gusau pulled it off, flattening Wike, intrigue for intrigue and dollar for dollar. Wike had sustained the party for years, picking up every bill, including the bill for the Port Harcourt national convention, only to have someone else crowned in his home turf. It was an affront, utter humiliation hardly disguised by all the plastic smiles and contrived back-slapping during the subsequent campaigns. Wike was hurt and has been waiting patiently to get his revenge.
It is one year since. His latest spat with his party may well be his ultimate attempt at revenge. Insiders say there was a "gentleman's" agreement by the party hierarchy to install Wike's man, Kingsley Chinda, as the House minority leader. The party claimed to have written the House leadership endorsing him and during a plenary in July, Chinda in fact sat in the chair of minority leader!
But elements from the same group that peppered him during the Port Harcourt national convention, ambushed his candidate and dealt him yet another back stab.
Wike has vowed to fight back. But seriously, what can he do at this time? He sent a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, congratulating him on his victory at the tribunal. His foes on both sides – Amaechi and co inside Aso Rock and those outside – must be laughing, because they know as much as Wike does that the congratulatory letter was more spite than strategy.
It will take more than an unexpected letter from a short-changed political investor to fight PDP to a standstill. It will take more than a love affair with Governor Kayode Fayemi, such as we have seen in the last two weeks.
But the custodians of the party (and Atiku remains one of them) will do everything to extend the life of the party. Whatever its predicament, PDP would be the platform on which Atiku would run for presidency again, betting that the APC will implode after Buhari. Atiku is not done yet.
A furious blow may have damaged the party severely during its fragile, factionalised phase sometime back, but in its present state, it's improbable that the PDP would succumb to the fury of one unhappy titan.
It's not Wike's fury that will kill the PDP. It's the bad habits that it acquired for nearly 20 years when it was the ruling party and its inability to adapt. The party is used to free money and made a point to gorge itself on it remorselessly while in power.
It was either grabbing money from the centre or from the bottomless pockets of a few of its influential governors. Or from a few private businessmen for whose pleasure government captured the state. Those who wrote the cheques controlled the party, spreading their corrupting influence until the party collapsed under the weight of its own arrogance and impunity.
The party is in its fifth year out of power and most of its money taps are running dry. Two of its major sources of supply – Abuja and rogue businessmen – have dwindled, leaving only the third: one or two desultory governors in the South-South.
Wike is signaling because he knows that his days in the PDP are numbered. When his tenure as two-term governor ends, he will neither take a back seat nor let the new self-styled PDP custodians decide his fate.
By declaring war on the party early on, he is sending a message to his supporters that he might be heading in a new direction, whether or not Chinda gets his seat as minority leader. APC may be a no-go area; but who says this fight to the finish will not produce its own political hybrid?
Azu Ishiekwene is the managing director/editor-in-chief of The Interview and member of the Board of the Paris-based Global Editors Network.
aminu waziri tambuwal, Atiku Abubakar, General Aliyu Gusau, Nyesom Wike, Peoples Democractic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus
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"I want to now serve as a frontline politician"- Bagbin
August 6, 2018 Health, Medicine
Accra- Mr Alban Kingsford SumanaBagbin, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP for NadowliKaleo has stated that he had done a lot in politics and was therefore having a towering influence over other politicians in the country.
I have seen a lot in politics, especially in Parliament and former President Mahama and President Nana Akufo-Addo both met me in Parliament.
Former President Mahama is my political God-son, and he is not the only one. I have helped him along with many others from both political divides of our country to shape out their political careers.
I have served so many years from behind, and it is now time to serve as a frontline Politician.
MrBagbin, who was speaking to journalists at his office in Accra in connection with the 2020 flagbearer hopefuls of the opposition National Democratic Congress explained that he had seen it all and was capable of handling the highest position of the land.
He said although his relationship with former President Mahama was cordial, he criticised him when he was President and would continue do same if any of the aspirants went wrong.
Former President Mahama and current President Akufo-Addo met MrBagbin in Parliament as he began his legislative journey in 1993, when the fourth republic was inaugurated after the 1992 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The Minority Parties, however boycotted the Parliamentary election allowing only NDC and its affiliate the EGLE Party to annex all seats making it a one-sided Parliament until 1996.
On his relationship with President Akufo-Addo, MrBagbin said after Law School, he worked together with Nana Akufo-Addo at a Law Firm and when he was also the Chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament, Nana also served as a Ranking Member.
According to him, Nana Akufo-Addo was firm and principled.
MrBagbin said as an experienced Legislator, he continued to advise both sides of the political divide in Parliament, even to the chagrin of his side, the NDC, pointing out that he had served his country from behind for a long time and was more than deserving to lead from the front which is why he was contesting to be President.


It is one of those few things that you least expect to happen to you. And so you never feel it important to be aware of what to be done if you ever find yourself in such a trouble. But many times, unexpected events catch you off guard because troubles like misfueling happen mostly because of lapse in your concentration. Wrong Fuel Drainer assures to be a good assist if you ever do a mistake of placing wrong fuel in your car tank.
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Nope that's (HALF-GOOD)!!! Nice day!!!
Carolina Tom, A2coins and villagenut like this.
Wow, way to go on a killer day Tom. Super pumped for you!!
Nice finds, especially that half!
Nice silver finds. Good job.
Nice finds, congrats on the big silver!
Very nice outing Tom. Love that Franklin Half.
A2coins, Carolina Tom and lairmo like this.
Congrats on having a 3 silver day Tom. I love the BF. Ya gotta love it when a screamer turns out to be a big silver and not part of a can.
A2coins, lairmo and Carolina Tom like this.
FAN TRIPLE SILVER TASTIC. Nice, Tom!
Loco-Digger, Carolina Tom and Trezurehunter like this.
Thanks man. I was astonished when I saw it in the hole. Half the keepers at the site were not very good signals, this signal was way too good, so I was sure it was some nonsense. I'm still smiling. Good luck brother.
Last edited by Carolina Tom; Feb 11, 2019 at 05:35 PM.
lairmo, Loco-Digger and A2coins like this.
Nice silver! Congrats on the big Ben!


Two undefeated heavyweight prospects will put their unblemished records on the line when they fight in separate bouts on Saturday, April 13 live on SHOWTIME from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J on the undercard of the Claressa Shields-Christina Hammer groundbreaking event.
Top American heavyweight prospect Jermaine Franklin will take on former No. 1-ranked U.S. amateur Rydell Booker in the 10-round co-featured bout while undefeated Swedish heavyweight Otto Wallin will battle highly decorated amateur Nick Kisner in a 10-round clash that will open the SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION tripleheader at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
In the main event, undefeated middleweight world champions Shields and Hammer will meet to crown the women's undisputed 160-pound world champion in what is arguably the most significant women's boxing event in history.
The 25-year-old Franklin (17-0, 13 KOs), from Saginaw, Mich., is a former amateur standout and a 2014 National Golden Gloves Champion. A likely candidate to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympic Games, Franklin turned down the opportunity to compete for a spot on the team and instead chose to begin his professional career in 2015. Widely regarded as the top American heavyweight prospect, Franklin has built his undefeated record with relative ease since turning pro, knocking out nine of his first 10 professional opponents. Coming off a lopsided 10-round decision over Craig Lewis in July, Franklin aims to continue moving up the ranks of the resurgent heavyweight division in 2019 and position himself for a title shot.
Booker (25-1, 12 KOs), from Detroit, Mich., is a former No.1-ranked U.S. amateur who was once a rising heavyweight prospect with a 22-0 record. He suffered his lone defeat to former three-division world champion James Toney, who was coming off wins over Vassiliy Jirov and Evander Holyfield, in 2004. After serving a 12-year prison sentence, Booker has returned to the ring looking to get his life back on track and live up to his once promising expectations, registering three unanimous decision victories in 2018 under the tutelage of former world champion Jimmy Paul.
Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs), who will be making his U.S. debut, turned pro in 2013 and has gradually risen in the rankings by recording 20 consecutive wins. The 28-year-old southpaw, who originally played ice hockey and soccer in his native Sweden before finding the sweet science, won the Swedish Boxing Championship at 16-years-old, fought against Joshua twice as an amateur and was a member of the Swedish National Boxing Team. Currently ranked No. 5 by both the WBA and IBF, Wallin most recently won a 12-round unanimous decision over Adrian Granat in April 2018 and now has his sights set on becoming his country's first Heavyweight Champion since Ingemar Johansson in 1960.
The 28-year-old Kisner (21-4-1, 6 KOs) has competed at both cruiserweight and heavyweight since turning professional in 2010 after a successful amateur career. Among Kisner's numerous amateur recognitions, the Baltimore, Md. native was a three-time National Silver Gloves Champion, two-time Junior National Golden Gloves Champion and Ringside World Champion. He holds the distinction of being the youngest boxer in American history ever to win a Men's National Title in the heavyweight division at 17 years old. As a pro, three of Kisner's four losses have come against opponents who boasted an undefeated record on fight night. In his last bout, Kisner defended his WBA U.S. cruiserweight title with a majority decision win over Scott Sigmon.
Barry Tompkins will call the SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION action from ringside with boxing historian Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer of SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.