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Podcast on books covering South Asia
Striking back at the Empire – Annu Daftuar
karthiknach February 8, 2018 February 8, 2018 Uncategorized
The Chaos of Empire: The British Raj and the Conquest of India
by Jon Wilson
Public Affairs, 584 pp., 2016.
Divided into fifteen chapters, covering a lengthy timeline from 17th to mid-20th century India, The Chaos of Empire: The British Raj and the Conquest of India, is an ambitious historical project. Jon Wilson presents a narrative of the history of modern India that challenges the romantic notion that the Raj was an efficient and orderly empire and discusses a rich variety of events and instances that indicate the real, violent and chaotic nature of British imperialism in India. His work highlights the importance of some of the most pressing questions concerning the politics of representation – What is the dominant narrative of modern Indian history that has been produced and perpetuated in the historiography? What stories of the empire were told to us? Were they accurate portrayals? In readable language, Wilson argues that we have been presented with a narrative of Indian history that celebrates the high-handedness of British Empire but which does not capture the reality of chaos and unprecedented violence imposed by the Raj. He writes, "Too many historians and writers assume the anxious protestations of imperial bureaucrats were accurate depictions of stable structure of authority. The result is mistaken view of the empire."
Throughout the book, the author tries to undermine oft-repeated claims of colonial infrastructural 'munificence' by underlining the chaotic, uneven and disorderly nature imperial rule. The chapters on "Forgotten Wars" and "Passions of Plassey" effectively enlist instances of the unprecedented scale of violence on Indian people. Subsequent chapters throw light on how various systems, mechanisms and technologies introduced by the English in the name of "improving" Indian society were also failures. Major irrigation works, advances in modern banking (pioneered by Indians through other private forms of credit before the British arrived) or even the advent of railways did little to enhance substantiate the colony's economic profile. Wilson argues that they were driven more by selfish personal interests for money making or speculative profiteering, surveillance and to maintain and consolidate British power in the subcontinent.
Wilson's narrative draws on a wide chronological canvas – detailing important milestones in the construction of the colonial edifice. The book, however, does not engage with gender politics in its narrative of modern Indian history. It doesn't challenge Indian history's preoccupation with mapping a masculine colonial public sphere – an arena that was not only dominated by male leaders, political or otherwise, but also involved several women. Women, then, are rendered either redundant or merely passive agents in the larger sweep of historical events. This notion is clearly noticeable in the third chapter, "Forgotten Wars" – the only chapter that does discuss a woman but does so to show how non-Asian woman's life sat at cross-roads with the otherwise masculine narrative of Indian history.
At a deeper level, it is not the about the white English woman (or her contributions per se), but her three marriages to East India Company employees that plays a key role in shaping the Anglo-Maratha politics of 18th century Western India – a crucial juncture for the East India Company's alliance diplomacy that sought to establish an effective bridgehead over the subcontinent. Katherine Cooke, the white English woman in question, is shown merely as a soapbox over which the British and Maratha forces negotiate their politics. And that is how she features in the book. Her life circumstances are determined by political and economic status of her husbands and their antagonistic relationship amidst intense political rivalries. On the one hand, she was celebrated for upholding her Victorian values of womanhood against Indian 'avarice' (while she was captured by the Maratha forces although no detail is provided) and on the other hand, she battles East India company lawyers for her dead husbands' assets when East India company insisted that it was company assets and not her husbands that she was fighting for. As a reader, I was left wanting to know more about how gender and race influenced the complexities of political relations in this context and at what moments was Katherine's race valued more than her gender and vice versa.
Not only is it important to discuss the participation of women in political affairs of the Raj, it is also important to read how values of masculinity and femininity shaped the politics of imperial Indian history. For the English traders and imperialists, politics was a masculine field, which they often associated with values of aggression, strength, and authority. They demonstrated this through fortification along the Indian coastlines for building maritime dominance, by developing different systems of absolute control over the physical landscape (railroads, administrative centers) as well as the everyday life of the Indian subcontinent (creating disciplined subjects through revenue collection systems, writing, education etc). Traditionally feminine values of nurturing and cooperation, reciprocity, and sensitiveness, which the author claims were an intrinsic part of Mughal empire were undermined under the East India company and British Raj. Not only did the British want to demonstrate their masculinity by exploiting and dominating the Indian physical landscape (seas and land) but any sign of "weakness" or "fragility" – or signs of effeminacy as brought out most eloquently by the historian Mrinalini Sinha – was perceived as an act of emasculation. The result was a greater urge to be more aggressive and authoritative to keep things under control signified in not just violent reprisals on protests but also realigning spaces that undergirded the ruling dispensation.
For instance, the book points out that prior to the East India Company, Indian society comprised of various autonomously functioning societies under the Mughal regime. The Mughal regime created its authority by building alliances with communities, forging a federated system of patronage to bolster the power of the Mughal 'centre'. Authority exercised by the Mughals was different from their English successors which was hyper-masculine and totalitarian but also constantly insecure about the security of their ability to wield power while unwilling to share that power with the people over whom they came to establish their rule. The British definition of authority was associated with, as the author points out at various moments in the book, "passion" for conquest, "rage" to redeem "lost honor" every time they were defeated in a war, and "anxieties" to create an empire that is under the control of its masters. Even if they used "softer" methods such as incorporating more Indians in administrative functions and bringing in liberal and modern ideas to India, they were never implemented with the intention to reform Indian society but by the need to strengthen imperial power.
Wilson has made use of a wide variety of historical sources ranging from personal narratives to archival data and unique secondary historical sources that bring to life a vivid picture of early colonial commerce and trade in addition to other technological undertakings. But he challenges the grand vision of the empire by revisiting the diaries and self-authored books by the same grand personalities. The reader ultimately ends up reading about the lives and accounts of either white male colonizers (Warren Hastings, Lord Curzon, James Mill among others) or prominent nationalist political figures (Gandhi, Nehru, Lala Lajpat etc.) which does not allow for a full decentering of the empire as viewed from its most oppressed subjects. Nonetheless, the book is provocative enough to invite further conversations on Empire and its past and future – especially now as Britain tries to move away from the European continent while still trying to fully acknowledge its complicated legacy on the two other continents that it exited more than half a century ago.
For these reasons, the book is likely to invite plenty of opportunities for scholars to engage with the enduring theme of what constitutes the 'Empire' and how it sustained for so long despite the glaring contradictions within it.
Annu Daftuar is a PhD candidate for Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
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There was some success for Ballymena Road Club – Chain Reaction Cycles – riders at opposte ends of the country last weekend.
Ryan Bankhead finished ninth in the Tour of the Ards peninsula road race, while Eileen Burns winning the women's race at the "Danny Boy" events promoted by Roe Valley cycling club at Feeney. Martin Ruddy finished tenth in the over 50's "masters" race at Feeney.
Recalling his race, Ryan Bankhead explains: "All was going well until 30 minutes into the race when I had a touch of wheels with Frazer Duncan, resulting in me breaking a front spoke.
A solid wheel change by neutral service had me up and running but facing a hard chase back on as, with the race all still together, I knew the task was going to be difficult. After 20 minutes of hard chasing I made contact with the back of the bunch. I made my way through the bunch to find the break had gone.
Six riders escaped who included Damien Shaw, Dave Watson, Craig McAuley, Mark McKinley, Sean Featherstone and Ali Macauley.
In the run into the finish Shaw left the break in pursuit of a solo victory. Dave Watson led the rest of the break in for second with Craig McAuley taking an excellent third. This still left me with a chance of seventh place, but my earlier chase meant the legs were starting to feel the fast 26.3mph average. The final few miles saw attack after attack but I followed the wheels then kicked for the finish, I ended up third over the line in what was left of the bunch. This gave me ninth overall and FIRST A3 rider. All in all it was a good day considering my earlier mishap.
It was a good day too for BRC with strong performances from all its riders, Hall Booth, Matthew Brennan, Clifford Grant and Karl Taylor," concluded Ryan.
Ballymena Road Club- Chain Reaction Cycles - are looking forward to their first big promotion of the season – the Wallace Caldwell memorial road race - which is scheduled to take place at Galgorm this Saturday 21st March.
The Ballymena Road Club entrants are Clifford Grant, Matthew Brennan, Ryan Bankhead, Hall Booth, Karl Taylor and Michael Carroll.
The race starts from Galgorm at 11am and follows a route to Ahoghill, Portglenone, Maghera, Garvagh, Ringsend and then the tough climb to the Cam forest. Then it's a fast downhill sweep to the outskirts of Limavady before turning right and the even tougher climb up to the Springwell forest. Then it's on towards Coleraine before turning right on to the Garvagh road and left through Aghadowey to the Brown Trout.
The final miles take in Kilrea, the outskirts of Rasharkin and on to the Lisnahunshin road and on through Killyless before descending Ballyconnelly road to the Galgorm finish at Wrightbus, a total distance of 74 miles. The event starts at 11am and usually finishes just before 2pm.


The Spring/Summer season of 2018 will see the emergence of our trend Urban Planet, which has perhaps my favorite color palette for the year. It doesn't contain my favorite color, but as a collection of colors it's hard to beat.
The Urban Planet palette has a real pick-me-up look to it, a happy feel. This maybe because it's essentially a story of metallics and they are always a favorite. Metallics have been are ever present and it seems fitting that they should now have their own trend for this summer season.
We visited the Surface Design Show back in February, a show that exhibits the latest in design and innovation for both interior and exterior surface applications. From flooring to wallpapers, lighting, stoneware and much more, this years' show was an inspiring experience, with impressive new sustainable materials and interactive design concepts.
In this post, we have reported on some of the key themes seen at this years 2017 Surface Design show, if you would like a more in-depth trend report or the latest interior trend report please do not hesitate to get in touch!
Designers across the globe are trying to reduce the ecological effect of their work, architects and interior experts are choosing to look to new realms & frontiers in search of new, sustainable materials.
Some of the surface textures in these materials are very special and they feel beautiful to touch. Through the continued improvement in the management of industry processes (food, fashion etc) these by-products are readily availability and therefore have negligible impact on our environment.
If you'd like to know more about how Trend Intelligence could inform the future of your product development for interiors, email Phil, or call him on )7896088996.
You can also follow Scarlet Opus on Pinterest, Instagram & Facebook.


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The Legend Of Synthwave (Deluxe Edition)
GameChops ran a crowdfunding campaign on Bandcamp for a vinyl release of the The Legend Of Synthwave Zelda arrangement album.
The release will be a 45RPM 2LP on purple translucent colored vinyl. It will be housed in a jacket with artwork by Onsta.
The campaign ran from November 26 to December 26, 2021 and it is scheduled to release in May, 2022.
Paprium Original Soundtrack
As part of the Kickstarter for porting the game Paprium developer WaterMelon offered backers to also back a vinyl release for the remixes and guest contributions to the soundtrack.
The soundtrack will be a single LP, although no further details have been announced at this point.
The campaign ran from October 21 to December 20, 2021. Rewards appear to be scheduled for a December, 2022 release.
Disco Elysium OST
British Sea Power, the band behind the soundtrack to Disco Elysium, have confirmed that the soundtrack will be released on vinyl. It was later formally announced by iam8bit.
The release is a 3LP. It features artwork by Anton Vill and Alexander Rostov.
Preorders opened on December 11, 2020.
This is the open edition on black vinyl, which is housed in a triple gatefold jacket. It released in early December, 2021.
Deltarune Chapter 2 Soundtrack
Fangamer have confirmed that they will be releasing the soundtrack to Deltarune Chapter 2 on vinyl.
It is scheduled to release in 2022, but there are currently no further details on this release.
Channel 3 Records have released the soundtrack to Phogs! on vinyl.
The release is a single LP. It is housed in a heavy-stock single-pocket jacket with artwork by Caitlin Smith. It also includes an enamel pin and a drink koozie.
Preorders opened on November 3, 2021 and it began shipping out later the same month.
This is the "Phantastic Phog" bundle variant on clear with red and blue splatter colored vinyl. It also came with a slipmat and a plush. It is limited to 50 copies.
Laced Records are releasing the soundtrack to Death's Door exclusively via Devolver Digital's merch store.
The release will be a 3LP on black vinyl. It will be housed in a wide-spined single-pocket jacket with printed inner sleeves featuring new artwork by Frits Olsen.
Preorders opened on November 30, 2021 and it is scheduled to release in August, 2022.
Beasts Of Maravilla Island
Kitty On Fire Records are releasing the soundtrack to Beasts Of Maravilla Island on vinyl.
The release will be a single LP on green and clear "cornetto" pinwheel colored vinyl. It will be housed in a regular LP jacket with artwork by Joanna Yu.
Preorders opened on November 4, 2021 and it is scheduled to release in 2022.
Resident Evil 7 Original Soundtrack
Laced Records have released the soundtrack to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard on vinyl.
The release is a 180g 4LP set. The records will be housed in individual sleeves within a gatefold box set featuring new artwork by Boris Moncel and Capcom.
Preorders opened on March 31, 2021 and it was scheduled to release in September, 2021. However, it was delayed and began shipping in November, 2021.
This is the standard variant on black vinyl.
Celeste: Complete Sound Collection
Ship To Shore PhonoCo. have released a complete collection of music made for Celeste. The release includes the full unabridged original soundtrack, the B-Sides remixes, the Farewell soundtrack, and Madeline's Grab Bag.
The release is a 6LP set with an etching on side L. It is housed in a slipcase boxset with metallic foil printing and individual printed inner sleeves with new artwork by Nina Matsumoto. It also includes liner notes by Lena Raine and all the remix artists.
Orders opened on November 26, 2021 and it released in late December, 2021.
This is the Ship To Shore-exclusive variant on clear with purple, blue and white splatter colored vinyl. It also includes a slipmat.
Last Day Of June Original Game Soundtrack
Music On Vinyl have released the soundtrack to Last Day Of June on vinyl.
The release is a single 180g LP. It is housed in a gatefold jacket with game art and includes an insert with credits and composer comments on the songs.
Preorders opened on October 7, 2021 and it is scheduled to release on November 19, 2021.
This is the "flaming" orange marbled colored vinyl variant. It is limited to 500 copies available exclusively via Burning Shed.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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(-) American Museum of Natural History (1)
(-) College of Exploration (1)
(-) Colorado State University (1)
Butler University (1)
Denver Museum of Nature and Science (1)
Exploratorium (1)
Literacy Volunteers America of Monroe County (1)
Miami Museum of Science / Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science (1)
Science Museum of Minnesota (1)
Seacoast Science Center (1)
University of Maryland / Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS-M) (1)
Exploring Earth Systems: Expanding Data Visualization Experiences for Museum Learners
American Museum of Natural History offsite link · New York, New York
The American Museum of Natural History, in association with several NOAA entities, will be creating a suite of media products employing visualization of Earth-observation data as well as associated professional development programs to expand educational experiences in informal science institutions nationwide. Interactive versions of the visualizations will also be disseminated via the AMNH website. Visualization assets will be distributed to NOAA for utilization on climate.gov and Science on a Sphere.
The American Museum of Natural History, in association with several NOAA entities, will be creating a suite of media products employing visualization of Earth-observation data as well as associated professional development programs to expand educational experiences in informal science institutions nationwide. Interactive versions of the visualizations will also be disseminated via the AMNH website. Visualization assets will be distributed to NOAA for utilization on climate.gov and Science on a Sphere. The creation of training programs and educational materials for informal education professionals will enhance the experience and efficacy of the data visualizations as tools to understand and build stewardship of Earth systems.
PI: Vivian Trakinski
State: New York County: New York District: NY10
Partners: NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) / Climate Prediction Center · NOAA Research · NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory · Institute for Learning Innovation · Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) Chicago · New York University (NYU) · NYU Center for Advanced Digital Applications ·
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)
Colorado State University offsite link · Fort Collins, Colorado
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a citizen science program where thousands of volunteers across the country measure and report the amount of precipitation that falls each day in their own neighborhood. In the next three years CoCoRaHS will use strategies from the "Citizen Science Toolkit" and align activities to the "Essential Principles to Climate Science" to engage thousands more participants in collecting, reporting and exploring precipitation. Evapotranspiration measurements will be added to teach and demonstrate the hydrologic cycle in action.
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a citizen science program where thousands of volunteers across the country measure and report the amount of precipitation that falls each day in their own neighborhood. In the next three years CoCoRaHS will use strategies from the "Citizen Science Toolkit" and align activities to the "Essential Principles to Climate Science" to engage thousands more participants in collecting, reporting and exploring precipitation. Evapotranspiration measurements will be added to teach and demonstrate the hydrologic cycle in action. Through strong NOAA partnerships with the National Weather Service, the National Climatic Data Center, the Earth Systems Research Lab and the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center, precipitation data quality and accessibility for professional users will be enhanced. The CoCoRaHS network will be constructing training, data entry and visualization tools utilizing Web 2.0 concepts, cyberlearning tools and hand-held device applications with a goal of increasing participation and expanding the volunteer network into broader, younger, more diverse audiences.
PI: Chris Kummerow
State: Colorado County: Larimer District: CO02
Partners: NOAA National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center · NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) / National Centers for Environmental Prediction · Denver Museum of Nature and Science · Birch Aquarium at Scripps · Cornell University / Cornell Lab of Ornithology · Oregon State University / PRISM Climate Group · Colorado Division of Water Resources, State Engineers Office · University of South Carolina (USC) / Department of Geography · National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) · National Avalanche Center · U.S. Department of Agriculture Headquarters · Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) ·


Hickinbotham's experienced design consultants take the dilemma out of colour selections and decorating.
Weigh up the pros and cons between buying an existing dwelling or building a brand new home.
If you want to stop renting and start owning, home ownership is easier than you think.
Since ancient times, builders of homes and ships have incorporated a 'lucky coin' in the body of the building.


The U.S. Coast Guard Academy, located in New London, Connecticut, invites applications for two (2) part time (32 hours per week) temporary Lecturer of Marine Science positions in the Department of Science. These positions are expected to begin on or about August 11, 2014 and end on or before May 23, 2015.
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is a highly selective federal military college providing a rigorous undergraduate program. In addition, the Coast Guard Academy provides the professional education and training required to prepare young women and men for careers as commissioned officers in the U. S. Coast Guard, the nation's oldest continuous sea‐going service, which is well‐known for its humanitarian missions. The Academy offers B.S. degrees in eight academic majors: Naval Architecture/Marine Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Marine/Environmental Sciences, Operations Research/Computer Analysis, Management, and Government; the Academy is staffed with over 110 full‐time civilian and military faculty. The attractive riverside campus is home to a nationally representative and diverse student body of about 1,000. The Academy is located near the shoreline of southeastern Connecticut, midway between New York and Boston, and is within commuting range of regional as well as other national colleges and universities in the CT/RI/MA tri‐state area. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Visit www.cga.edu for more information.
The successful candidate will teach Atmospheric and Marine Science, Meteorology, and/or Physical Oceanography courses and perform other collateral duties as assigned. Teaching load will be 9‐12 contact hours per semester.
Candidates must possess a Masters degree in a discipline related to the field of Oceanography, Marine Science, or Meteorology. A Ph.D. is preferred. Candidates should have undergraduate teaching experience, preferably full time. Professional experience will also be considered. Excellent interpersonal, teaching, and communications skills are essential. Classroom experience teaching and mentoring diverse student populations, and/or experience promoting diversity initiatives ‐ including efforts at creating communities of inclusion ‐ is highly desirable.
Download full description and application instructions HERE.


My wife's case was handled so well, settled for much more than expected.
Nice to have law on your side for a change.
These guys know what they're doing, very professional and respectful.
I always recommend them to friends and family.
Thank you guys for taking such excellent care of my car accident case. Everything went smoothly and my recovery at the end was much more than I was expecting. I am definitely going to recommend their services to friends and family! This is probably one of the most trusted law firms in Glendale, not looking for another auto accident, but would love to use your services again. Good luck to your firm!
My wife's case was handled so well, settled for much more than expected. Nice to have law on your side for a change.
I am very glad that I had the privilege to have a deal with this professional group of lawyers. Harout and Vilen are very responsible and professional in their job. They do everything possible to satisfy their clients. They are very attentive and caring. They always called and kept aware of everything and were very consistent. I would strongly advice to contact them if you want to succeed and also if you want to honest professional. I am very thankful to them for my case.
Having personally observed the great team at Glendale Law Group with their clients, I can confidently say that these are attorneys who will be loyal to you and fight for you. Vilen and Aroutin communicate with their clients in a way that makes each one feel at ease. They are personable, honest, and trustworthy. It is very obvious through their work and dedication that they truly care for each one of their clients. Glendale Law Group assures their clients quality, efficiency and results. Do not pass up the opportunity to have a firm like Glendale Law Group on your side.
I highly recommended them for all your legal needs.


Effective December 14, 2016, our product prices will change as listed below.
* Prices are listed in US Dollars.
** Single units are packaged with a USB cable, utility screwdriver, and a battery (if applicable). "Kits" are packaged with a set of 5 loggers, a USB cable, and a utility screwdriver. Alkaline batteries for the X16-1D and B1100-2 are not included with kits due to the additional shipping weight incurred (more cost effective to source batteries locally). Please contact us if you require the additional accessories in your purchase.


Happy Mothers Day Images: Hello everyone, We wish you Happy Mothers Day 2019 to you & your family. If are you searching for Happy Mothers Day Images? Then you are at the very right article. Today we are going to share with you Happy Mothers Day Images, Happy Mothers Day 2019 Images, Mothers Day Images Free Download, Mothers Day 2019 Images, Mothers Day Images 2019, Happy Mothers Day Images for Facebook, Mothers Day Pictures & Mothers Day Wallpaper for Desktop & Mobile. Celebrated throughout the nation, Mother's Day is all about the nurturing bond between a child and a mother. Being a mother is the toughest job for a woman. Right from the time when she conceived the baby until that time when the baby turns into an adult, the duty of a mother is seamlessly difficult.
Mothers are primarily responsible for loving their children and making them into good humans of society. They show compassion, care, protection, and strength towards the child and give them everything in life. Even if the mother gets sick, she has no room for relaxation. She would continue to care for her child throughout her life irrespective of her age group, profession, and health status. Sources of Wiki.
So this year let's make mother's day more special by giving her a real token of appreciation. Falling on 12th May 2019, mother's day is expected to be celebrated more enthusiastic early then the rest of all the years. Since it is a Sunday, the working children can also dedicate their entire day to helping their mothers and greeting them through Mother's Day images and greeting cards.
Mothers Day Images Download: More than any other relation, a child nurtures the relationship with his mother. Unparalleled love and care can be given by no one else in this world, but only a mother. No matter whether you have the most loving husband, wife, sister or father, yet the place of a mother is an irreplaceable one. She is the creator and deserves all the gratitude from you throughout her life.
A mother's day is a perfect occasion to greet her through Mother's Day images, free animated cards, and gifts. The cake, decoration and a small party at your place on Mother's Day would make her feel more than happy.
Mothers Day Images 2019: Give her a tight warm hug in the morning and make her day all the more special through a beautiful handmade Mother's Day greeting card. Additionally, you can give her some flowers and a gift that she likes the most. In case you are not able to meet her personally, just order some flowers from gifts, Cakes, and chocolate online to get delivered to her doorstep. A mother feels happiest when she is pampered by her own children. A small digital Mother's Day image would further give her a charming day. The special occasion would turn more enjoyable and memorable for a mother through those colourfull flowers and digital images at her disposal.
Happy Mothers Day Pictures: Everybody loves to give surprises to their spouse, but, what about a mother? Doesn't she deserve that Royal treatment from you? Definitely, she does deserve everything in your life. Make her day special by booking a seat at the best restaurant in the town. Ensure that she and her favourite delicacy and holiday is the happiest on 12th May 2019.
Since many children would have planned to make the day more special, the best would be to Reserve a table beforehand. After all, it is quite disheartening to face these disappointments on such special occasions.
Alternatively, you can go out for a family picnic and do whatever your mom enjoys the most. Drive her to the unique destination along with your father and greet her repeatedly so that she feels the importance of the occasion.
Mothers Day Pictures: Moms are also human beings. Just like us, they also look forward to getting some compassion and love for their children. A beautiful flower and some attention are enough for a mother to feel enormously happy. It's not only the materialistic things that can make a person happy. But sometimes just a few words and gestures are enough to do the best.
Thanks for visit this site. We hope you liked our collection of Happy Mothers Day Images | Happy Mothers Day 2019 Images. Don't forget to share this article with your friends, family members & loved ones on social media sites, like on Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Plus, Hike, Viber, Pinterest, Twitter etc. Again we wish you Happy Mothers Day 2019 to all mothers in the world.


Nigel Hing is like any other college student. He often can be found up late in his apartment. Unlike most students, he's not trying to cram for tomorrow's hard test. He's making pasta.
Hing, a senior finance major from Malaysia, makes pasta from his apartment behind the Kum n' Go on University Avenue. He started his business, named Asianpasta, about two weeks ago, and plans to sell his Asian-Italian fused creations to fellow Drake students. Hing's idea is to serve drunken students who just want good homemade food at 1 in the morning. His business hours will be from 10pm-2am.
Hing's friend and housemate Ying Chyi Gooi, a senior majoring in actuarial science, says he was the one who gave Hing the idea. Hing cooks pasta for his friends all the time, according to Gooi.
Gooi also said that Hing is often coming up with many entrepreneur-like ideas, such as a photography business and a finance business that would help students with their money woes. When mentioning the photography business, Gooi mentioned the fact that he is the photography friend, while Hing is more of a businessman. So Hing would be relying on his friend to do the photography work if the business had taken off.
Instead of photography though, Hing decided to pursue Asian-inspired pasta.
So Hing goes to the store and buys pasta noodles that he believes are recognizable to his customers, and then goes home to give them an Asian twist.
Making the pasta is the easy part, according to Hing, but the hard part is getting the word out about his new business.
Hing plans to price the meals at four dollars a plate, with an extra two dollar charge if you call in and want it delivered to your dorm or apartment. He plans to keep the business small at ten plates sold per day.
To some, trying to keep your business from growing to its upmost potential might seem a little crazy, but to Hing, this pasta business is just a hobby. As a finance major, he plans to go into finance markets in the future.
He did say that the business has a possibility of growing though, and they may end up making pizza in the near future.
Starting a business in such a small community as Drake can be a challenge, and Hing addressed that.
Despite the challenges though, Hing keeps his head up. He always has a smile on his face, and a willingness to try.
That willingness to try is what gets entrepreneurs off their feet, according to Professor Thomas Swartwood, a professor of entrepreneurship at Drake who has taught Hing a couple of times.
Swartwood also gave advice to anyone seeking to become an entrepreneur like Hing.
Hing definitely has the idea, and he's seeing if anyone else cares about it.
Asianpasta has a Facebook page, and from there anyone can find the ordering form. Or you can call 515-441-2216. A plastic fork and paper plate will be included, so dishes don't need to be washed. It usually takes them about fifteen minutes to prepare the meal, so prep time is appreciated. It is a cash only business.
It's too early to tell, but hopefully Asianpasta gains a lot of customers, whether they're drunk or not.


Soft color, fresh, full of flowers, three-dimensional, handmade flowers, natural and realistic.
Thick silk material, clear lines, realistic vein texture, rich and delicate.
Uses: wall hanging decoration flower arrangement, wedding layout landscaping, engineering landscaping design.


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VideoCultureFeaturedSocial MediaVideos
By Software Geek On Feb 19, 2021 Last updated Mar 21, 2021 534
Windows sound effects may sound annoying to some users but this time, it may change their mind. Yes, there is an a cappella version of Windows sound effects for Windows XP and Vista. The Korean a cappella music group called Maytree released an accurate rendition of it on Tik Tok that took more than 1.3 million likes. The trending video has a total length of 30 seconds and contains popular Windows sound effects such as startup, shutdown, error, recycle, USB connect and disconnect for USB devices. Now, try to close your eyes and listen to these sound effects, then comment below which one came close to the original.
a cappellaWindows sound effects
Software Geek


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SpaceX sends another batch of 60 Starlink sats into space on record 10th flight for Falcon 9
Dogecoin to the moon: SpaceX accepts Dogecoin as payment for lunar mission scheduled for next year
Published on 09 May 2021, 13:00 Asia/Kolkata
elon musk,
falcon 9,
satellites,
spacex,
starlink,
starlink internet,
starlink mission
SpaceX has had a busy 2021 so far – not only did it successfully land a Starship prototype for the first time (following failures with earlier models), it also launched a host of Starlink satellites into space, successfully launched the manned Crew-2 mission with NASA, and bagged a $2.9-billion deal from NASA.
On Sunday, Elon Musk's visionary space company kept up the good work, deploying yet another batch of 60 Starlink satellites into space.
Sunday saw favorable weather conditions around Cape Canaveral. "It is possible that there will be some cumulus clouds out over the water during the launch attempt," the 45th Weather Squadron said. "At this time, these clouds do not appear to pose a significant threat for liftoff."
What makes Sunday's launch all the more significant is that the satellites were launched using a 229-foot tall Falcon 9 rocket, dubbed B1051, for a record 10th time. This is the same rocket that previously launched Crew Dragon's first demonstration mission to the International Space Station, the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, SXM-7, and six Starlink missions. It is also the 27th mission for the Starlink constellation, which currently consists of some 1,500-plus satellites. Starlink has already been in high demand, and Space X said that it has received about 500,000 pre-orders in regions ranging from the high latitudes of North America to Europe and the United Kingdom.
"First time a Falcon rocket booster will reach double digits in flights," Musk tweeted on Saturday before the launch.
The liftoff occurred without any major hitch, and the 162-foot first stage separated approximately nine minutes after liftoff, landing on the drone ship 'Just Read the Instructions', which will take it back for checkouts and refurbishment. The Falcon 9 is equipped with nine Merlin engines as well. The satellites were deployed without any trouble after an hour of liftoff, and they will be joining the other Starlink satellites already in orbit using their onboard ion thrusters over the next few weeks, after separating themselves from each other. This is the second instance of SpaceX launching a fleet of Starlink satellites into space this week, after the launch on Tuesday.
If you, like me, wish to join the Starlink beta program, head to Starlink.com to sign up.


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Remodeling a toilet will be quite hectic. After a significant redesign, this modern area boasts a surprising tub, model-new self-importance and custom-constructed cabinets that take advantage of the house. You might be able to shift the self-importance a number of inches, but different elements-rest room, sink, and sink/tub-remain firmly in place.
Wall tiles are three"x6″ honed, carrara marble with inset hexagonals for.. Bathing amenities are spatially and functionally the same in small bathrooms as in large bathrooms. A curved glass countertop offers a sense of spaciousness, while hand-utilized 1-inch Bizazza glass tiles mimic the swooping curves of the fixtures.
Because of this, it would be best to consider all of these elements in the identical mode of thought, fairly than sequentially and piece-meal. A slipper tub turns a utilitarian lavatory into a place to calm down and luxuriate. Is your private home in need of a bathroom remodel?
Cabinet pulls, shower heads and taps are available a wide range of finishes, which allows you to add bits and pieces of personality into bathroom designs of all kinds. Explore our Bathroom Guides for more bathroom concepts and initiatives. She additionally opened a wall to create a gorgeous master suite.
Mild blue partitions create a calming impact, and with general less clutter, all the space feels bigger. Fully enclosed steam showers with a number of showerheads are a luxurious that is becoming more standard in new homes and transformed grasp loos. In case you've obtained the funds, you won't regret implementing this pattern into your lavatory transform.


Ecommerce Business is expanding as days passes, According to estimated report in 2019 there will be around 2 billion people world wide buying and selling online. So for what you are waiting now it's time to start an eCommerce business. If you are thinking about starting an eCommerce business or going to sell online then you should know 10 things before starting ecommerce business.
After deciding what to sell online you need to choose a perfect business name, As brand name play's an important role in any business but in eCommerce business company is know by its main name. Name should be catchy and easy that can be understood by your consumers. After deciding name of you eCommerce business you have to register it. Registration is necessary for every eCommerce business.
As you are going to buy domain according to name which you selected but it can be happen that your domain name may not be available because thousands of domains are sold daily. You don't have to worry just select the best domain name which justify you brand ( don't think to change brand name, just start eCommerce business with related name). For example: You want to buy adarshart.com but this is not available so you can choose artadarsh.com which can be best alternative and justify you brand name.
Your website design play an important role, Your eCommerce website should be user friendly and if you want somethings different from other online product sellers then you must add some new to your site. Your must be developed manually for getting best outcome. You can check the design and data of big sites like Amazon, Filpkart to get an idea.
You should select business structure because if you didn't do so then your business will be selected as sole proprietor. Sole proprietor is risky because it's owners have unlimited liabilities if business is sued then court will have authority to seize all assets of owner (including all personal assets like house, land etc).
After deciding business structure you should register your eCommerce business structure according to proper guidance. Lawyer can be best option for doing such stuff.
Employer Identification Number (EIN) is unique number of your business which will help you to open business bank account and will help in paying taxes. This step is Important and can follow perfectly according to guide lines. As every business have to pay taxes but EIN is necessary for doing so.
Ecommerce business have to follow all the rules which other businesses do. It doesn't mean that if any one is starting eCommerce business then he will be far from the all legal licenses and permits. A BIG NO! Starting eCommerce business also required all the licenses and permits for selling products. Its required all the information like City, Country, Full address, contact and many legal requirements. Your all licenses must be approve before starting business. You have to consider this step as important and should complete before start your ecommerce site.
Ecommerce business have a lot competition it become mandatory to provide better quality of products with best selling price but this will only be possible if you have right vendor to business with, Not for short period but for long.
Earlier Marketing= more curiosity for your site among people, You should marketing of your ecommerce site earlier. Marketing should be that much powerful that force people to wait ecommerce site. Proper coming soon should be there with timer till launching date. This tip can help getting more consumer to site and will fulfill the purpose to start ecommerce website.
As technology is much ahead there are plenty of marketing tools available which can be used in ecommerce business. Software save our time by which we can give attention to other factors as well. Software should be use for Emails marketing, accounting, project management etc.
This might be little tricky for newly business to know how much stock will be needed. You have to pay attention in how your sale is increasing by considering that you have to stock the inventory in warehouse if available or in empty place where you have to put stock safe.
Once your eCommerce business have started then days will go faster and faster but never forget to pay all the taxes and renewal of all legal stuff and permits. You can make a deadline in your calendar for the same.
Start eCommerce business today but follow above tips.
The above 10 tips will help you to start eCommerce business.
Every person who is going to start eCommerce site should know about these tips then should go ahead to start an eCommerce business.


While growing up on the South Side of Chicago, S.F. Bose read all of the Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew mystery books. Inspired by those books, she and her friends scoured their neighborhood looking for missing persons, blackmailers, and murderers. Unfortunately, it was a peaceful part of the city and the budding private investigators couldn't find a single criminal.
As an adult, S.F. Bose worked as a technology manager for many years, but her true love remained reading mystery books and writing stories. After leaving corporate life behind, she decided to take the leap and wrote Murder in Mystic Grove. When not writing, she enjoys puzzles, cooking, gardening, and thinking up creative ways to murder people.


Breaking news related to hydrogen energy with an insightful piece by me.
This week I was going to write a piece on the electrolysis of methanol. Instead though I want to share an email conversation that I am having with the editor of a well known magazine that is devoted to hydrogen energy. I like to abuse myself occasionally by contacting people in the scientific/hydrogen community and trying to explain a few simple concepts in relation to hydrogen. It is cheap entertainment. I changed the name of the person involved to protect their antonimity [and myself from a lawsuit ;-) ].
So enjoy the exchange and see if I get my point across effectively. Also check out story #2 in the news links for a special surprise.
>the right to reject pieces, and we can't pay anything.
Oh, yes, I meant your writing about H2 has been going since 1973.
Yep, large grain of salt, best way to approach things. I didn't really give you much of an explanation there I know and no, I wasn't talking about regenerative fuel cells. I mean using H2 fuel to produce H2 fuel. I am working on the presenting papers at the moment but haven't yet. Haven't tried to till now either. Still, I could give you a better explanation I suppose.
If you look at the reactions: 2H2 + O2 --> 2H2O and 2H2O ----> 2H2 + O2 you see two sides of the same coin and as long as you are using just those reactions then it is true that an amount of energy that is required to separate water is equal to the amount that is released when the two are combined and so in that instance, no, you couldn't use H2 fuel to produce H2 fuel. But that is not the case if there is another element on one or both sides of the reaction which also plays a part in the reaction even if that third element is not present in the final product of the reaction.
Which is less than the energy that it took to produce the H2 in the electrolysis cell. Bummer, eh?
But let's look again at out battery/electrolyzer setup. In our experiment we considered only the electrolysis cell in relation to H2 production. What about the dry cell though? That is pretty basic too. In the dry cell the electrolyte attacks the zinc canister (anode) and zinc oxide is produced. This oxidation reaction releases electrons which race around the wire connecting the zinc anode to the carbon rod cathode and powers whatever load is between the two. When these electrons reach the carbon cathode the reduction portion of the reaction takes place. This reaction is 2H+ + 2e- ---> H2. Hydrogen is produced at the carbon cathode of the dry cell. As the cell operates more and more H2 builds up at the cathode and this is what makes the battery get weaker with extended use. Then, once the circuit is broken (turned off) the depolarizer in the electrolyte converts this H2 into water. This step is unnecessary though and you technically could collect this H2 as well. Then your battery/electrolyzer combination would have produced DOUBLE the H2 that was produced in our first example and when you use that amount to power a fuel cell you would either get the same voltage and double the current (.8v x 1a = .8w) or if you used two fuel cells you would get double the voltage (.8v + .8v = 1.6v) at the same current or 1.6v x .5a = .8 watts of power produced. If we look again at our first example we see that the battery we used produced .75 watts of power. We used that .75 watts to electrolyze water and then used the H2 produced by the battery/electrolyzer in fuel cells and produced .8 watts of power. That is more out of the system than was in it originally (GASP!). And it all follows plain old scientific laws. Why? Because H2 is not energy, it is an element and the energy produced when combining it with O2 comes mostly from the O2. H2 has very little energy of it's own.
So you see you in fact can use H2 fuel to produce H2 fuel and, if done correctly, you can produce more H2 fuel than what you are using to produce it. And all of that can easily be proven from a high school chemistry textbook. So how do you think I could get that published? Call Nature Magazine? "Um, excuse me Mr. Editor, I would like to prove that you can get more energy out of a system than you put into it by using a high school chemistry textbook"......CLICK.....hello? hello?...We must have been cut off. (hehe) Or submit that to a big hydrogen expo? Well I have but I won't be holding my breath until the response comes. And yet it is all true, simple to understand and easily verified from available literature or by actual experiment. Sigh. Big grain of salt indeed.
How will this exchange turn out? I don't know yet but I think it illustrates how hard my job is. Try approaching the established hydrogen industry with such a simple concept and you won't even get a foot in the door. They act as though you are insulting their intelligence by suggesting something so impossible. But at the same time it is something so damn simple that any chemist should know it. Of course you aren't taught it this way but that shouldn't matter. The facts are what they are and that simply doesn't change no matter how long you ignore them.
E! Magazine is your source for cutting edge environmental news.
the concept of a Hydrogen car we have christened "Aspire"
at some point, please could you take the time to try later.
system might be ideal for small family farms and be an alternative to methane producing biodigesters.
Society's Report that the initiative harms science, the moon may actually benefit humans because it contains 10 times more energy than all the fossil fuels on earth.
Foundation in Wiscasset, placing the state firmly on the map as a leader in renewable energy innovations and technology.
contenders to be the site of the plant, which has an estimated overall cost of $1 billion.
corporate partners to develop a new wind energy cooperative in Poland.
structure under a swooping canopy in the San Bernardino County town will dispense hydrogen for fueling experimental cars.
consortium has received a $3 million grant award from the U.S.
Today, Alternate Energy Corp. announced it has recently filed for provisional patents for its hydrogen production technology.
combustion engines to those powered by hydrogen fuel cells, your car may make money for you while it's parked.
How to build an infrastructure of filling stations for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles? Design conventional internal combustion engines to use hydrogen, too.
officials attended elaborate ceremonies -- in Los Angeles, Washington and Berlin -- at three recent ribbon-cuttings.
Do you want to read more about hydrogen in The Charlotte Observer? If so, Mooresville hydrogen guru Stan Thompson has a postcard for you.
Mazda is following BMW with a research programme looking into running today's engines on hydrogen.
to pay for technologies to produce synthesis gas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) from natural gas in a single step, a key component of fuel cell development.
China plans to double its energy consumption as its economy quadruples by 2020, officials said.
December 1997 is finally to go into effect in February.
will tell Asian chief executives today.
Each cell in a fuel cell stack has two bipolar plates and a polymer membrane ... Surface channels in the plates distribute hydrogen and air to the membrane between .
With 1,085 listings of the fuel cell industry.
Japanese market researcher Fuji Kaizai announced yesterday the findings of its report.
required to view the simulation.
Clean and plentiful energy: Utopian myth or technological reality? Hydrogen is touted by many as an environmentally benign solution to the impending energy crisis.
copyrighted by the source from which it originates. My story's are also copyrighted from the date they are published.


In the gloom of nature, a man with a hunting rifle was walking through sparse forest. The hunter's face was a little pockmarked, but he was handsome and, for the time being, still young. At this time of year, a whiff of mist hung in the forest—from the warmth and moisture of the air, the breath of developing plants, and the decay of leaves that had perished long ago. It was difficult to see anything, but it was good to walk alone, to think without meaning, or to do the opposite—to stop thinking altogether and just droop. The forest grew on the slope of a low hill; large boulders lay between the small thin birches, and the soil was infertile and poor—clay here, gray earth there—but the trees and grass had got used to these conditions, and they lived in this land as best they could.
Sometimes the hunter would stop for a moment; then he would hear the many-voiced drone of the life of midges, small birds, worms, and ants, and the rustle of the lumps of earth that this population harried and shifted about, so as to feed itself and stay active. The forest was like a crowded city—not that the hunter had ever been to a city, but he had been trying to imagine one for a long time. Once, he had passed through Petrozavodsk, but even that had been only in passing. Screeches, squeaks, and a faint muttering filled the forest, perhaps indicating bliss and satisfaction, perhaps indicating that someone had perished. Moist birch leaves shone in the mist with the green inner light of their lives; invisible insects were rocking them in the steamy damp rising from the earth. Some far-off small animal began to whimper meekly in its hiding place; no one was doing it any harm there, but it was trembling from the fear of its own existence, not daring to surrender to its own heart's joy in the loveliness of the world, afraid to make use of the rare and brief chance of inadvertent life, because it might be discovered and eaten. But then the animal should not really even have been whimpering: predators might notice and devour it.
The hunter began to feel bored in the forest. He sat down beside a tree stump and held his rifle between his legs, ready to hand; he wanted to kill some animal or bird, whatever appeared. It enraged him that he didn't know science, that he didn't travel in trains with electricity, that he hadn't seen Lenin's mausoleum and had only once smelled a whiff of perfume, from a bottle that belonged to the wife of his boss, the director of Section 10. It was his lot to wander about in a misty forest, among insects, plants, and a general absence of culture, while luxurious trains hurtled into the distance. "Animal or bird—whatever shows up, I'll kill it!" the hunter resolved. But, as before, there was nothing around—only the rustle and hum of petty, frail creatures that weren't worth a battle. Beneath the hunter crawled diligent ants, burdened like respectable little people with heavy loads for their households. They are vile creatures, he thought, with the character of kulaks. They spend all their lives dragging goods into their kingdom; they exploit every solitary animal, big and small, that they can dominate; they know nothing of the universal common interest and live only for their own greedy, concentrated well-being. Once, the hunter had happened to see two ants dragging an iron filing from the railway line: it seems that ants even need iron. The hunter stamped on some of the nearest ants, then moved away, so as not to enrage himself further. He was like his father: his father also got angry whenever he went out hunting, waging war on the birds and the beasts as if they were ferocious enemies, expending every last bit of malice in his heart while he was in the forest, and then returning home a kind, sensitive family man. Other hunters weren't like this at all; they wandered tenderheartedly through the grass, killing animals with love and caressing flowers and trees with trembling pleasure, while at home, among people, they lived lives of irritation, longing to be back in nature, where they could feel that they were the ones in charge, thanks to their rifles.
Fyodorov picked up his rifle. Something had stirred in the short grass nearby. He walked a little way in that direction and found a small hare—still a baby. He was sitting there almost humanly, rapidly chewing a blade of grass and using his tiny front paws to steady it. Then he wiped his face and began to take quick breaths of the clean, healthy air. Most likely, he was exhausted from having to find nourishment for himself; probably his parents were dead and he was living alone, an orphan. The hare did not notice the hunter, or did not understand his significance. He urinated, leaped up, and disappeared. Fyodorov didn't kill him; the hare was too small, almost useless as food, and it would have been a shame, because the hare was only a child, yet already a true worker. Let him go on breathing.
Soon afterward, Fyodorov came out into a clearing. The same chubby little baby hare was burrowing in the earth with his paws, trying to dig up some rootlets or a cabbage leaf that had been dropped on the ground last year. The hare's concern for his own life was inexhaustible, and his desire for food was constant. After eating whatever was there in the ground, the hare defecated a little and played with his tail. He then began to bat one of his paws with the other three; after that he played with the remains of some dead bark, with bits of his own droppings, and even with empty air, trying to catch it between his front paws. Finding a puddle, the hare had a good drink, looked all around with moist, conscious eyes, then lay down in a little pit to one side, curled up into the warmth of his own body, and dozed off. He had already tasted all the delights of life: he had eaten, drunk, breathed, inspected the locality, felt pleasure, played a bit, and fallen asleep. Sleep was good, too: animals nearly always have happy dreams. Fyodorov still remembered the surprise he had felt when, as a child, he had cautiously watched sleeping dogs, cats, and chickens. They had made chewing motions with their mouths and produced blissful sounds, sometimes half opening eyes blind with sleep and then closing them again, stirring a little, and moaning because of the sweetness of their own existence.
The hunter approached the little hare, picked him up, and tucked him against his chest. The hare let out a squeak but did not wake; he just curled up tighter and pressed himself against the man's body for warmth, even though he was hot and damp already.
On Lobskaya Hill, like a constellation of impoverished stars, stood a hamlet of four little huts. The huts were small, poor, and unpainted, but they were cozy to live in, and so they seemed adequate, even spacious. The hunter went into the poorest, humblest hut. Its wooden roof had rotted and was covered with ancient moss. The lowest logs were now buried in the earth, as if returning to their birthplace, and from these logs, from the very lowest part of the hut, were growing two new weak branches, which would one day turn into mighty oaks and eat with their roots the dust of this dwelling that had been exhausted by the wind, the rain, and the human race. The hut stood on its own patch of land, which was walled off by stakes, stones brought from the shore of Lake Onega and piled up haphazardly, and rusty sheets of roof iron, probably carried here from some distant town by a gale. But this wall no longer held; the stones were falling down and the stakes had keeled over. One might have thought that this was the home of a struggling widow with small children, but, no, not at all—a complete and healthy family lived here. Were they slovenly, then, or always quarrelling? Far from it: the oldest man in the house, Aleksey Kirillovich, Fyodorov's father, was making a career for himself at the sawmill and hoping to build a new home soon; then he would leave the hut to be consumed by the roots of the young oak. The old man was counting on life's taking a turn for the better; he had resolved to say a fond farewell to the past and forget it.
Inside, the whole family was sitting together. The old father was putting the radio into action—a single-valve wireless he had won about a month before. In actual fact, he was buying it from the trade-union committee, paying for it in installments, but at home, for the sake of his wife, he'd said that it had been given to him as a prize. The old man worked as a guard at the mill, yet even he wanted honor from his family and dreamed of becoming renowned throughout the nation. But his old woman soon discovered just how honorably her husband had been awarded his radio—how can you keep the truth from an experienced wife?
Fyodorov put the little hare down by the stove and took his ten-month-old daughter in his arms. She could already stand up and was learning to move around on her own feet: in fifteen years' time she would be ready to marry and would get down to having children herself—but for now let her just rest and grow in her parents' arms.
And he turned on the wireless straightaway, so as to hear that other world that lay beyond them, where universal history was happening and you could listen to the voices of the movers of fate.
The old man turned off the wireless, and went on listening affectionately to his wife. He couldn't be bothered to argue with her; it was best to let her run out of steam on her own. Then she'd turn kinder again.
But the old woman went into action. She grabbed the hare baby, who was huddling against the oven fork beneath the stove, and began dragging him across the floor with her left hand as she beat him with her right, first on the behind and then on the ribs—it hurt more there, so venting her rage was all the sweeter. The hare trailed along the floor, suffering this calamity in silence, until the old woman came to the end of her dark strength. Then she picked the hare up and flung him outside—he was no use to them, and she did not want him soiling the hut. The hare hid in the grass, lamented a little in his own way, then tidied his fur, crept through a gap in the fence, and disappeared into the forest, putting aside his recent grief for the sake of future life.
Fyodorov's wife took the little girl from him—it was time to feed her. She was already dozing. She had watched the hare long enough.
The old man and his son felt their faces, which were indeed a bit pockmarked. Not that this would cost them anything: they didn't lack people who loved them. Should Aleksey Kirillovich die, there would be at the very least two people weeping for him: his wife and his son. And that was enough.
The head of the family turned on his machine. First, the wireless came out with a moral admonition, then tender music began to play. The old woman put her right hand to her cheek and looked wistful; then she began to smile. She would have liked to be kind all the time, but that was not possible—everything would get eaten up, drunk, or worn out, the men would stop working, and the whole family would die of want. The hut and its land would be taken over by forest, and the hare would come out of the bushes and soil what had once been a dwelling of the human race.
It was night, and Ivan Alekseyevich Fyodorov was beginning his day's work. Section 10 was in the middle of nowhere, and there was little to be done in the way of loading or unloading. Fyodorov examined and cleaned his switches and inspected the crossovers with his lantern. He was always afraid for them—the locomotives gave them quite a pounding, and one day the metal might crack. If Fyodorov could have become an engineer, he would have invented some better kind of switch—a switch that a train would pass over smoothly. He knelt down and crawled from the switch rails to the frog of the crossover, sliding his hand along the running surface and the head of the rail and feeling for possible corrugations or dents, or burrs shaved off by the wheels of the locomotives. He could find no damage—one small indentation, but nothing dangerous.
Fyodorov cleaned off the old grease and applied generous quantities of new grease to all the areas of friction, the thicker the better. He had noticed that, when a heavy train passes over, a well-greased switch rail has some play, as if swimming in the grease. Let it play, then—play protects! If something isn't stressed, it won't be tormented and it won't break.
When he first began to work on the railway, Fyodorov had treated metal and machines as he treated animals and plants—with caution and foresight, trying not only to get to know them but also to outwit them. Then he had realized that such a relationship was insufficient. Being with metal and machines required a great deal more sensitivity than being with wild animals or with plants and trees. You can outwit something living and it will yield to you; you can wound it and, being alive, it will heal. But machines and rails don't yield to cunning—they can be won over only by pure goodness—and you can't afford to wound them, because they don't heal. A break is mortal. And so Fyodorov behaved sensitively and carefully at work; he even avoided slamming the door of his little cabin, closing it silently and delicately, so as not to disturb the iron hinges or loosen their screws.
The railwayman on duty phoned the cabin: Fyodorov was to check the switches and signal "Line clear" so that the express could pass. Fyodorov knew the time of the train, anyway. He was already looking into the forest, along the dark cut where the track lay. There was no moon, and the stars were high and faint, but the rails shone clear and far, as if they were gathering, out of the poverty of darkness, the light that had been scattered in the gloom. Fyodorov lay down with his ear to the rail and heard the metal's eternal song—its response to the flow of the air and to the noise of leaves and branches. The rails were singing in tune—the whole stretch was intact and healthy. But gradually this steady wavelike hum was joined by a vague extraneous mutter. Then this mutter grew more distinct and insistent; it was almost articulating words. This language was being sung by a young voice, and there were no false notes, no sounds of jangling irritation—proof that there were no cracks in the rails and that the metal had not been worn away at the joints. The switchman lifted his head from the rail, blew his nose, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and adopted a serious, dignified expression. Bound for Murmansk, an express was hurrying through from the south. The locomotive's calm light rose up from the horizon, chasing the darkness forward through the forest, lighting up deep-blue living trees, bushes, mysterious objects invisible during the day, and the figure of a switchman, watching over the track in darkness and solitude. Fyodorov played a long welcoming note on his horn to signal that the section was ready for the train to enter, and respectfully held his lantern out toward the engineer, his unknown friend, the only person who was aware of him at that moment, and who would be pleased that all was as it should be.
Sucking up all the air behind it, the train gave the switch a merciless working over.
But there was no chance now of hearing music from the train or being able to make out a human being. Formerly, the water from the toilets had flowed out in a stream, but now it was thin vapor—the speed of the train tore it into prickly spray.
The thought of not hearing music made Fyodorov sad for the rest of the night. His section of track had no theatre and no library; there was only the track inspector's accordion, and the track inspector seldom visited this section and when he did he often forgot to bring his accordion, even though he had given a written promise to the local trade-union committee to take it with him wherever he went and to go to all the Red Corners and play the new repertoire, omitting the chaos that had been condemned in the Moscow newspapers. One summer, a member of the Writers Union had come and given a talk about the current state of creative dialogue among writers. Fyodorov had asked sixteen questions and had been given "The Travels of Marco Polo" as a present; the writer had then left. The book was extremely interesting; Fyodorov had at once begun reading, from page 26. At the start of a book, a writer is just thinking, and that makes it dull; the most interesting part is the middle, or the end, which was why Fyodorov preferred to choose pages at random—now page 50, now page 214. And although every book is interesting, reading this way makes it even better, and still more interesting, because you have to imagine for yourself everything you have skipped, and you have to compose anew passages that don't make sense or are badly written, just as if you, too, were an author, a member of the Soviet Union's Writers Union. Fyodorov had been so carried away by one book—"Lime," or was it "Stone"?—that he had read it from the end all the way to the beginning and had realized that it was a good book but that if you began at the beginning it would be false and ideologically suspect.
For three hours that night, there were no trains; somewhere there had been a delay or an accident. The switchman examined the switch again, checking that the express had done no damage, then went into his cabin, pulled the door to, and played a few notes on his signal horn. But this was unsatisfying. Fyodorov wanted to hear a melody in an orchestra and to watch a spectacle in a theatre, so as to have some understanding in his soul about the truth of life and to see the universal horizon.
Katerina Vasilievna took a broom and began to sweep the track around the switch. Then she cleaned every speck of dirt off the switch itself and wiped the crossover and the two blades. The switch looked spick-and-span now, like a pot or a pan belonging to a fastidious old woman.
Fyodorov reached out to his wife and carefully stroked her gleaming, pretty hair, so that she wouldn't grieve in advance.
In her mind, his wife calculated all the mysteries, losses, and gains, trying to imagine how everything would turn out. "Could you become a renowned transport worker?" she asked.
"All right, then," she agreed. "Only I'm frightened you'll stop loving me. What will become of me and our little girl then? I'm getting on now—I'm twenty-four." She fingered a button on her husband's shirt.
His wife sat down on the rail and thought everything over once more.
Fyodorov looked at his wife and wondered, Is she beautiful or not? Her hair's still black, she's young. She's not so bad.
The section director did not try too hard to hold Fyodorov back: Let the man go to a big station, let him develop himself. You can deny a man an extra ruble or one of life's comforts, but you can't deny him what he needs for his soul. You'll end up with nothing—no man and no worker.
The switchman began travelling to Bear Hill. He would be away from his family for two or three days at a time—he would stay on after his shift to watch a show, or he would go to the library and read books in the hall of culture, glancing admiringly now and then at the portraits of great writers and their various hangers-on. He would begin a book in the middle or at the end; he would read every other page or every third page, taking pleasure in the lofty thoughts of others and his own supplementary imagination. If his mind tired, he would go outside to air his head—but somewhere or other music would always be playing, either an accordion in a workers' hostel or a gramophone in the window of a room belonging to a prosperous office worker. And Fyodorov would stand there for a long time, or perhaps sit down on some nearby rock, and hear the music through to the end; he would feel happy and ready for heroic deeds. But sometimes the music or what he was reading would all of a sudden cease to act on him—or, worse, he would fall into despair or irritation, no longer able to see the bright horizon promised to him by music, by reading, by the art of imagination and the excitement of a sensitive heart. It was as if he had become stupid and his soul had stopped caring about anything. Then, after reading a book on dialectical materialism, Fyodorov understood that a contradiction was at work inside him, and this was why he was sometimes gripped by a dark, alien sadness. But, insofar as that was the truth, how sad that there was no way out from the truth.
Eventually, having worked, read books, and listened to music to his heart's content, Fyodorov would go home to Lobskaya Hill, to the hut that was turning into the roots of an oak. Katerina Vasilievna would meet him, filled with anguish and zealous fury: it was clear that her husband loved another woman, a better woman, a beautiful stranger of a wicked woman. The switchman tried to explain to his wife that a wicked woman was still a woman—and therefore not so very different from a wife.
Aleksey Kirillovich, after listening to scenes like this between his son and his daughter-in-law, would usually suggest to his son that they go out hunting, to be with animals and plants. A child is always precious, even when he's no longer young. And sometimes women are a real burden on your soul—they make you want to give up. But who knows? Perhaps that's how things have to be: after all, women are the ones who give birth to people. They're in charge of humanity; they know best.
"Find someone else, then!" the old man advised her.
At Bear Hill, Fyodorov worked even more conscientiously and thoughtfully than he had done on Section 10. Here life had more culture and there was more supervising authority, so Fyodorov's sense of himself was modest and shy—and this shyness increased his diligence. Constantly seeing powerful locomotives and precise signalling mechanisms, listening to the roar from the engines of heavy freight trains, the switchman felt that his reason had triumphed, as if he, too, were to blame for all this universal technological power and its charm. Secretly and hazily, he perceived the correspondence or kinship between music, books, and locomotives; machines and music seemed to him to have been invented by one and the same heart, a heart like his own.
"But can you do everything the way I do?" Fyodorov asked.
Fyodorov spent some time checking the work of his juniors and realized that they did things well, but not better than he did. They had no idea that machines and mechanisms are orphans and that you need to keep them constantly close to your heart. Otherwise, you won't notice when they're ill and shivering—and then before you can do anything you'll hear the sound of a crack in the switch and death.
The old man sighed, picked up his rifle, and went off to the forest to shoot something.
"I'm a backward old man," Aleksey Kirillovich said.
Just then the son, who had come home from Bear Hill, asked his mother to wind up the gramophone.
"The old ones do the work, the young ones give the orders!" the mother said. She wound up the gramophone and put on a record of some merry music. She already understood all about the workings of the mechanism.
Katerina Vasilievna gazed wistfully at her husband.
"What's the matter with you?" Fyodorov asked.
"Nothing. Only that I've got a man who's good for nothing." His wife turned away and began to cry. Other people had gramophones and jackets and husbands who were supervisors, but what did she have? Just a hut—and shared with her mother-in-law at that.
She bent down over her baby daughter's cradle and fell silent in the sorrow of her fate.
Fyodorov looked out the window, into the forest: maybe he should run away. He was certainly never going to become any kind of supervisor himself—to be a supervisor you have to think special thoughts. But then one day the forest would be cut down. And it was getting better and better, more and more enigmatic, to be a part of humanity. Great machines and prefabricated palaces for the people were being transported along the railway on flatcars; thick books lay on the shelves of the library; splendid people were travelling in trains.
During his next shift, Fyodorov read an order from the stationmaster: from now on, senior switchman comrade Fyodorov was to receive an additional fifty rubles a month, and he was temporarily being appointed a coupler—a responsible position that many aspired to.
On a quiet, brief day well into autumn, crossties were being loaded onto flatcars at a dead-end siding. A dozen men and women were carrying crossties up little plank ramps, stacking them on cars, then going back down to lift another load onto their shoulders. Thus continued the circulation of labor.
The line out from the dead-end siding climbed straight up a hill, at a steep gradient; to pull fully loaded cars out of the siding, an engineer needed to have the regulator wide open and to use the sandbox, so that the driving wheels wouldn't slip. At the siding itself, a whole team—six men and women—were lying beneath some closed cars and dozing; this team had not yet been given any cars. They had nothing to do and did not want to fritter away their strength with empty living.
Fyodorov was doing what he could for them at the station. He got an engine to bring an empty flatcar to the top of the slope that ran down to the siding, and he ordered the driver to stop; from there the car would freewheel down, and at the bottom he would stop it by placing a wedge between the rails. To keep the car from running away, Fyodorov stuck an old abandoned crosstie, which happened to be lying beside the track, beneath one pair of wheels and started to unhook the coupling and free the locomotive. But the car had rolled away from the locomotive, and the coupling was taut. Fyodorov called out to the driver, "Move up a bit!" The locomotive moved up, the coupling slackened, and Fyodorov easily slipped it off the hook.
The car began to pull Fyodorov away from the engine and down the slope. He grabbed the coupling with both hands to stop the car, but the moving wheels had cracked the crosstie he had put beneath them and the iron of the coupling was starting to burn his hands; the car was now poised at the top of the slope—and at the bottom of the slope people were working. Fyodorov dug in his heels, bracing his feet against one of the working crossties. His hands didn't matter: the skin would burn, but it would heal again afterward. His legs began to ache from the effort. He was being dragged after the car. He understood that it was no good and let go of the coupling.
Down below him, people were working—and the population of the country was small enough as it was. Who would be left to live, who would remain for him to be friends with, who would play music if the runaway car were to crush these people to death? Fyodorov knew that there were women down there, too, and that they might give birth to people who would know how to write books, or to people with good characters and fine hearts, who one day would sing an unknown song or imagine in their souls a pockmarked switchman from Bear Hill and say, "Long ago there lived in the world a poor man." He had to stop the car or else there would be fewer people, less humanity. There were animals and plants aplenty, but animals and plants were boring.
The car was gathering speed, and Fyodorov was running along beside it. He picked up planks and stakes from beside the track and flung them under the front wheels, but the car was going so fast that it crushed the wood to nothing and sped up even more. The world will be awful without them, Fyodorov thought, as he imagined the fate of the workers below him. They'll be buried in coffins with flowers. There'll be music, terrible music! He grabbed an iron crowbar that was lying on the ballast and, with precise aim, thrust it between the spokes of one of the rapidly revolving front wheels. The crowbar swung up into the air and the free end knocked Fyodorov off his feet and out of his senses, then threw him into the second wheel and smashed his head against the axle box. During the second or third revolution of the wheel, the crowbar began to twist and bend; the free end had caught against the ballast and the crossties. After digging into the sand between the crossties, it jammed between two of the spokes, went blue from the heat and tension at the point of flexion, and brought the car to a stop.
No, Fyodorov thought. That's not true.
And he stood up to see what had happened.
"Are you alive—or what?" the engineer asked.
"What about you?" Fyodorov asked, and felt that his right arm was all cold, as if ice had been tied to it and, instead of melting, was sucking the warmth out of his body, reaching with its cold to the very center of his heart.
"Let's get on the engine and go back!" the engineer said.
But Fyodorov wanted something to drink. He turned on the tap in the tender and water began to pour into his mouth, while the blood from his right arm poured into his mitten and down the inside of his jacket; it was even making its way down his leg, inside his trousers and down to his foot. He realized that he was bleeding horribly—soon he might be completely empty—and he told the fireman to lift his right arm up into the air, so that it would not all flow out onto the earth.
They brought a stretcher and Fyodorov was laid down on it. He realized that they were having trouble getting his boots off; the right boot was full of blood, and his foot cloths had swollen up. "It'll go dry and stiff in the coffin and then it will squeeze my foot," Fyodorov said to himself. And he fell asleep in order not to know his death.
His father, his mother, and his wife all went to the hospital and stood by Fyodorov, but he did not notice them gathered around him.
It was some time before Fyodorov woke up. It was quiet, he was in a big bed, and everything around him felt cultured and scientific. He did not know whether he had a right arm or not. He could see it lying beside him, but he didn't know if it was part of him or if it was lying there separately. He decided to experiment with it, and he made a small movement with his fingers. The fingers were alive: that meant that he would keep his hand and arm, and that death had been and gone long ago.
Soon afterward, all kinds of people came to visit him—the stationmaster, the Party organizer, Katerina Vasilievna, a photographer, the engineer, and two of the women who had been loading crossties at the siding. One of them brought Fyodorov a bouquet of flowers and two little cakes.
The women went off in embarrassment.
When Fyodorov left the hospital, his right hand and arm functioned only feebly and partially.
"I'll learn with my head!" Fyodorov said.
But most of the time his wife and his mother treated him kindly. The village soviet and the railway authorities gave him a thousand rubles and granted him a pension for life.
The stationmaster came to Lobskaya Hill every three or four days to visit Fyodorov and help him to study for a new job as a station duty officer. One day, a car climbed up to Lobskaya Hill and six people all arrived together, bringing him a telegram from Moscow and congratulating him on the medal he was to be awarded.
Fyodorov was unable to sleep the next two nights because of a strong flow of thought. On the third day, the stationmaster once again made the sixteen-kilometre journey to him. But, instead of getting down to the science of efficient utilization of the railway network, he said, "Pack your things—we're off to Moscow." Fyodorov did not even have anything to eat; he just drank a glass of milk, kissed his wife and daughter outside the hut, and set off.
During the days that followed, Katerina Vasilievna felt very unhappy in Lobskaya Hill; she missed her husband terribly and often wept, hiding her grief from her parents-in-law. He'll fall in love with a young parachutist! she thought. After all, they fly through the air, and I've heard they have such sweet little faces. Or maybe Comrade Kaganovich won't want to let him go—and then what will become of me? Then she remembered that her husband's right arm barely functioned and began to feel consoled: nobody would fall in love with a cripple; today's young ladies weren't stupid. But what about the medal? A medal was more important than an arm, and, anyway, her husband's hand and arm were still whole! And Katerina Vasilievna once again forfeited her hope.
Fyodorov came back a month later. He was wearing a black flannel suit; he was all serene, like a stranger, and he was driven into the village in a car. His wife sat down in front of him and put her hands out to touch her husband and the cloth he was wearing.
"Was it good there?" she asked.
"Was she beautiful?" his wife asked.
"Nothing special," the husband answered.
He took out a medal in a box and showed it to his wife. Katerina Vasilievna took the medal and hid it in her trunk.
"I'm supposed to wear it. Why are you hiding it?" Fyodorov asked.
His wife gave him back the empty box.
His mother came out with his daughter. Fyodorov took the girl in his arms to caress her and to leave his mother free to weep a little from joy.
"I was given five suits, too," Fyodorov said.
His mother sat down on the floor, and his wife on the trunk.
"And how many gramophones were you given?" the old woman asked plaintively.
"What about wristwatches?" his mother went on flatly.
Mother and wife began to cry; Fyodorov wound up the gramophone, to entertain his little daughter with some music and because he wanted to have a listen himself.
"Wasting cartridges in the forest," his mother answered without expression, through hot tears.


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