text:
iTK Technologies: Detecting and Preventing Accounts Payable Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
CIOREVIEW >> Enterprise Resource Planning >>
Matthew Palmer, CEO and Alex Geraldo, CTO
Then Matthew Palmer and Alex Geraldo laid the cornerstone of iTK Technologies back in 2003, they decided to push the envelope of ERP innovation by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-based technologies. The goal was to help organizations efficiently manage the application and technical infrastructure of their ERP systems and enhance their usability. In due course, iTK expanded the same AI, ML-based capabilities to streamline and secure the finance and accounting functions, especially procure-to-pay processes, across Infor Lawson and other leading ERP platforms. "We discovered that finance operations were replete with fraudulent transactions, which were difficult to detect within an ERP application. Procure-to-pay processes are often riddled with duplicate payments, occurring due to simple keyboarding issues or OCR errors but costing companies big time. To this end, we apply AI and ML to the problem and resolve it in an elegant, simple way," explains Palmer, CEO at iTK Technologies. Today, iTK serves more than 160 customers across the healthcare, retail, government, services, and manufacturing sectors, with real-time detection and prevention of potential fraud, waste, and abuse.
iTK is migrating from pure ERP services to become a data science software company with—RTM 10—a data science-based managed service offering that can be fine-tuned for many critical processes and operations in both IT and Finance. When it comes to procure-to-pay processes, RTM 10 can be geared toward identifying duplicate invoices and potential fraudulent "ghost" vendors. "We think it's a great way to use our AI- and ML-based high-performance platform in the procure-to-pay space. Over the last three years, we have created two new modules, namely, duplicate invoice detection and vendor file maintenance in this space with our managed services offering. Moreover, our duplicate payment detection process is based on American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) guidance," notes Bruce Beck, VP of Marketing at iTK Technologies. With a subscription-based offering, the company enables its production customers to detect duplicates and resolve them between their buyers and vendors.
The iTK-Fleetcor Partnership: Facilitating Automated Payments
The efficacy of RTM 10 in the procure-to-pay space is even more pronounced as it can seamlessly integrate with any ERP system. iTK has recently partnered with Fleetcor—the leader in automated B2B payments—to automate payments in a hassle-free manner. Fleetcor lacked the technology to connect to ERP systems apart from Microsoft Dynamics and SaaS Oracle applications. As such, Fleetcor's customers were challenged with creating the interface to their payment system for facilitating automated payments. iTK can eliminate this problem with its "any ERP connect capability," which enables RTM 10 to connect to any ERP system. "We've delivered this capability to the Lawson marketplace but we will be making it available for SAP, Oracle, and other ERP systems as well," comments Palmer.
Together, Fleetcor and iTK will serve customers jointly and streamline the complicated accounts payable functions.
Bruce Beck, VP of Marketing
While Fleetcor will automate the payments at the backend, iTK will clean up the vendor master file data and duplicate invoices at the frontend to seamlessly issue automatic payments. After Nvoicepay (subsidiary of Fleetcor) pays the vendors, a file is returned enabling all payments—check, ACH, and credit cards—to be reconciled. With this, iTK has the capability to tremendously reduce the time to go live for an organization from weeks to hours. Additionally, customers can choose to automate all their processes, or they can also pick and choose according to their needs and preference. Through the partnership, the duo aims to take the burden off the accounts payable departments and equip them with clean vendor master data to better execute their processes and eradicate fraud, waste, and abuse.
We think it's a great way to use our AI- and ML-based high-performance platform in the procure-to-pay space
"The beauty of it is that it allows us to leverage our technical services expertise with leading data science-based products," remarks Beck. The company's SaaS-based software knits together and uses Google TensorFlow, Tableau, and other open-source capabilities. With growing customer demand for such robust capabilities, iTK has made the software available on a three-year subscription plan that includes new releases, maintenance, and round-the-clock phone support.
Excellence at the Core
With RTM, users are witnessing a 95 percent confidence level in the accuracy of duplicate invoice detection. To illustrate, Beck cites their ongoing collaboration with a large hospital in the Midwest. Within the initial three and a half months of their engagement, iTK successfully managed to help the client attain 95 percent accuracy of their invoice data. iTK analyzed and detected over $3.5 Million worth of leaked payments. Using substantial model data, iTK helped the client understand the major cause of the problem—numerous duplicate invoices being sent repetitively. iTK set the priority list by detecting the ones causing the worst damage and accordingly developed monitoring processes to identify duplicates well before the payments were processed. This helped the client save huge amounts of money.
"We see our business not just growing in the future but also changing more to data science-based services, helping customers isolate issues in their ERP and solve them. It is across procure-to-pay processes that we have found our sweet spot for the next couple of years," says Palmer.
iTK Technologies
Matthew Palmer, CEO and Alex Geraldo, CTO and Bruce Beck, VP of Marketing
iTK Technologies is a leading provider of ERP Implementation and Managed Services that ensures real-time detection and prevention of potential fraud, waste, and abuse. The company serves more than 160 customers across the healthcare, retail, government, services, and manufacturing sectors, with real-time detection and prevention of potential fraud, waste, and abuse. iTK is migrating from pure ERP services to become a data science software company with—RTM 10—a data science-based managed service offering that can be fine-tuned for many critical processes and operations in both IT and Finance. When it comes to procure-to-pay processes, RTM 10 can be geared toward identifying duplicate invoices and potential fraudulent "ghost" vendors
https://www.cioreview.com/itk-technologies


text:
Family members grieve as they wait for answers about deadly Alcoa fire
by: Erin Barnett
Posted: Apr 24, 2018 / 06:53 PM EDT / Updated: Apr 24, 2018 / 06:53 PM EDT
Family members of David Morgan, one of six victims killed in a house fire in Alcoa on Sunday, said they still have many questions.
Morgan and his two young sons, Aiden and Jaxsen, died in the fire according to family members.
"David was a lot of fun. He laughed all the time and had a beautiful smile," said Angel Wilburn, Morgan's stepmother.
Previous story: Investigators still working to determine cause of deadly Alcoa house fire
Wilburn said she is holding onto good memories as she mourns the loss of her grandsons.
"It's just tragic what happened. We are very broken over it and probably never will fully heal over it," said Wilburn
Morgan's aunt Shirley Rupert said part of that healing will be knowing more about the fire saying there's still so many questions weighing heavy on their hearts.
"I want to know what happened to David and those babies, and it breaks my heart more that we don't know," said Rupert.
Investigators were back at the home Tuesday. Detectives with the Alcoa Police department told WATE the investigation is ongoing so no further information could be released at this time.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We've heard it before, and we're repeating it again: User Experience (UX) is the defining concept soaking through the porous imagination of web developers across the world. Getting our human intuitions to match pleasurably with a website or app design is, by now, the standardised pulse behind every development project. And touch technology is making users feel all the more empowered with whatever's in their hands.
In the heady days of boxy, complicated computer design, people had to undergo a massive learning curve to comb through the internet, and some still find aspects of browsing difficult and ponderous. Touch screens respond to common sense – flick a page down, rest your finger on this link, scroll to the right or left. They're much easier for a tech novice to pick up.
When there's a keyboard and mouse stained with dust or unidentifiable spots of 'something', your fondness for a shared computer tends to drain away. Touch screens, by contrast, are built to stay fairly hygienic, resisting grease and accumulated dirt more-so than their cumbersome forebears. This makes them perfect for public displays in restaurants, bars, hospitals and a host of other, clean-minded venues.
It's an accepted truism that, in the age of high-speed broadband, a couple of seconds' frustration will turn people away from your site in a flash. Like a magician's worst trick, they'll vanish in a puff of cyber-smoke, never to be seen again. At least, this might've been the case before we could tap and scroll to our heart's content, flying lightning-quick around a website. Never underestimate the convenience of a rapid thumb.
Unlike the required keyboard, hard-drive and monitor that collate for standard computer usage, touch devices are a lot smaller, ridding themselves of the bulk associated with old-school browsing gear. People can take them wherever they go: the park, the shops, the esteemed business conference… therefore, a user has more choice at their disposal for sifting through your virtual creation, without upsetting a tight space.
The great majority of touch screen devices last for years at a time. This obviously depends on how well the device is looked after, but there's a much reduced chance of technical malfunction than, say, a set of PC keys that's been hammered to death. And this can only be a good thing for the user experience.
Do you see, now, why touch technologies win hands down, every time? If you're striving for an ace in the UX deck, we can't recommend touch screens and functionality enough. The Code Guy has an abundance of ideas for integrating a touch system with innovative software and web solutions.


Trophy foods reviews Learn 4,000+ Cooking Terms, Culinary Arts Food Definitions Chef Phrases in the Food Dictionary.
Elected members of the legislative assembly odisha They do. really do, and I never do a good enough job of pointing their efforts out. So here are a few new products to check out. Davin Risk's new print on demand photo book I. Order Online Free Viagra Drug Treatment Centers. Treatment centers, intervention Help for drug abuse and addictions. Order Generic Viagra Fast Delivery Free Drug Card.


text:
"""Moya interfaces."""

from ._exposed import exposed_filters, exposed_elements

from ._filter import filter
from ._macro import macro
from ._view import View

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home / Health / Science Says That Dogs Want to Help You When You're Sad
Science Says That Dogs Want to Help You When You're Sad
Man's best friend is exceptionally attuned to your feelings.
By Diana Bruk
If you've got a dog, you know that these magical creatures are far more emotionally intelligent than they get credit for. You also know that when you're feeling blue they magically appear, as if they sensed the exact moment when you started feeling sad and needed a cuddle. Well, if you believe the latest research on the subject, it turns out that they really do possess such powers.
A small study published in Learning & Behavior shows that not only do dogs notice when a person needs help, they are quick to rush to the human's assistance. The researchers placed people into a small room and made it seem that they were trapped, and asked some of them to say "help" in a distressed tone while imitating crying noises at 15-second intervals, while others were asked to say "help" in a normal tone while humming "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
The dogs could hear their owners through clear Plexiglass, and while there was very little difference in the amount of dogs that came to the aid of their owners, there was a big difference in the speed at which they did so. Those whose owners sounded distressed opened the door within 23.43 seconds, whereas those whose owners seemed calm took 95.89 seconds on average. These results indicate that man's best friend is exceptionally attuned to our feelings, and that the desire to help us is firmly ingrained in their very being.
Of course, the study had its limitations, most notably in that it was only comprised of 34 dogs. It's also difficult to do a true study of emotional intelligence in such controlled conditions, because if dogs are as emotionally intelligent as we think they are, they'd likely be able to differentiate between a fake sob and a real one.
"The other limitation is that half the dogs in the humming condition opened [the door], as well. It is likely that some of the opening is just from dogs wanting to be with their owners," Emily Sanford, a graduate student in psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of the study, told CNN.
Still, the study indicates that, when there's any indication that we need their help, dogs selflessly rush to our aid.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
"I think this study is important because it helps to show us how dogs might respond in an emergency situation," said Julia E. Meyers-Mano, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Ripon College and co-author of the study. "It also continues to build support for the attentiveness and concern that dogs show for human emotional states. That gives us a better understanding of both dogs and empathy."
Other recent studies have indicated that dogs possess the same social intelligence as toddlers, which is proven by their ability to engage in "cooperative communication," which is the technical term for communicating using physical gestures in the absence of verbal ones. But this study shows that dogs are unique from toddlers because they don't just recognize your emotional state, they also respond accordingly.
The proof is in the pudding. Earlier this month, a six-month-old golden retriever named Todd received a hero's welcome at a baseball game after valiantly defending his owner from a rattlesnake. And other studies have shown that the reason that dogs are so loyal derives from an evolutionary instinct that was cultivated centuries ago. In a compelling thread on Reddit, the overwhelming reason that people gave for deciding against suicide was that they knew it would destroy their pups.
So when you have a dog, you know you are truly in the presence of man's best friend.
And for more feel-good stories of very good doggos, Meet the Adorable Dog That Waits for His Owner's Train All Day Long.
To discover more amazing secrets about living your best life, click here to sign up for our FREE daily newsletter!
Diana Bruk
Diana is a senior editor who writes about sex and relationships, modern dating trends, and health and wellness. Read more
Animals • Pets • Science
5 Easy Kitchen Moves
Take every meal and cocktail hour to the next level with these tricks that take only minutes.
Amazing Low-Cal Steak Frites
Make a classic steakhouse meal that's unbelievably low-calorie.
5 Ways Cool Dads Make Family Dinner a Lot More Awesome
Because the most routine get-together should feel way less routine.
The Single Most Effective Way to Boost Your Sex Appeal
Self deprecation is the most lethal weapon in any ladykiller's arsenal.
25 Ways to Transform Yourself into a Sex God
Bonus: You'll also be a much, much healthier man.
The Ultimate Smoothie for Boosting Your Sex Drive
A shake a day keeps the Viagra away.


text:
Vodafone and AT&T are proving that partnerships mean prizes in IoT
Written by Jamie Davies
The IoT world is nothing new in telecommunications, but it's becoming clear that the players which can negotiate the largest geographical footprints will be in the strongest position to exploit it.
Although there will be plenty of opportunities for IoT potential to be realised in the domestic markets, the big prizes will be realised across international borders. Multi-nationals are the ones with the budgets to invest in this embryonic and largely unproven segment, but to work alongside these companies the telcos will have to prove they have the networks to support the ambition.
Unfortunately, many telcos are limited to their domestic markets. This will make the prospect of partnerships and collaboration all the more important moving forward when offering IoT services.
"Extending our collaboration with AT&T to offer NB-IoT roaming helps our customers to easily deploy their connected devices between the U.S. and Europe," said Vinod Kumar, CEO of Vodafone Business. "We want to make technology adoption simpler for our customers to help them achieve their business outcomes and by pushing forward the standards and linking up our IoT network with AT&T's, we're doing just that."
"For the IoT to live up to its promise, it must be global," said Chris Penrose, Senior Vice President of Advanced Mobility and Enterprise Solutions for AT&T. "More and more of our enterprise customers are launching IoT applications across multiple countries. Working with Vodafone we can offer our customers simplified deployments to help scale their IoT plans across the U.S. and Europe."
Vodafone is arguably in one of the strongest positions worldwide to capitalise on the IoT trends. In terms of the global presence, few can compete with the breadth of Vodafone assets, as you can see from the map below.
The global presence is not necessarily a unique selling point for Vodafone, as any company with ambitions to be a global enterprise services telco will have something similar. Each of the big players in the enterprise services market, including AT&T, will have partnerships in place to emulate this scale, however when these agreements were initially negotiated, we suspect IoT services were not included.
In owning assets in a notable number of markets, Vodafone has a head-start. It does not need to negotiate as many partnerships for global IoT services as its competitors, though it certainly does need to fill in some very notable holes. The US being one of them.
The US is a significant market for anyone involved in the telco world. Vendors will want to supply equipment to some of the largest single networks, while enterprise service telcos will want to tap into the bank accounts of the multi-nationals which fuel the worlds' largest economy. In partnering with AT&T for NB-IoT as well as LTE-M and other elements, Vodafone has a physical presence in the country it can point to.
The same can be said the other direction also. Although it might be one of the largest telcos worldwide, owned assets at AT&T are limited to the US and Mexico. This is not good enough if you want to be in discussions with multi-national corporations, you need to be able to meet their global ambitions.
Alongside this agreement with Vodafone Business, AT&T has also recently announced partnerships with the three Canadian telcos to expand its presence into the uppermost half of North America.
Partnerships are not the most exciting part of the telecommunications industry, but in the world of IoT where bigger usually means better, they are critical. Those who can most effectively build their presence outside of the assets which are owned by the telco will look like the most attractive IoT enterprise service providers.
Tags: AT&T, featured, IOT, NB IoT, partnership, vodafone
Industrial IoT World
IoT World Europe Summit
More gloom at Vodafone as service revenue slides in Europe
BT cloud migration rumbles on with Kyndryl
EU suggests making tech giants pay into 5G and fibre fund
BT looks to HAPS to nail down rural coverage


text:
Russula pleurogena är en svampart som beskrevs av Buyck & E. Horak 1999. Russula pleurogena ingår i släktet kremlor och familjen kremlor och riskor.   Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Kremlor
pleurogena

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Swapping the source of an image based on a boolean value Here's my models:
class Product(models.Model):
  title = models.CharField(max_length=120)

class ProductImage(models.Model):
  product = models.ForeignKey(Product, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
  image = models.ImageField(upload_to='products')
  thumbnail = models.BooleanField(default=False)

html template:
       {% for product in products %}
        {% if product.productimage_set.all %}
          {% for image in product.productimage_set.all %}
            {% if image.thumbnail %}

            {% endif %}
          {% endfor %}
        {% else %}

        {% endif %}
       {% endfor %}

What I am trying to achieve is to use the image that has a "thumbnail" field equal to true by default, but if a Product have an image but none with "thumbnail" equal to true, it should use any image with foreign key that is matching this product, but if a product doesn't have any image then just use a template image.
I have tried using {% else %} after checking if image is a thumbnail, but If a product have more than one image, then it would show them all.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


From his arrival in Dunfermline and after hearing about the disbanded Regimental Pipe band of 153 Regt RCT. RSM Stuart Bowie has been determined to resurrect the Pipes and Drums.
This determination has resulted in the new "154 Regt RLC Pipe Band" which is taking part in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2017.
Kev Harraughty was chosen to have the Honour of being the "Lone Piper" on the Castle Battlements for the first night of the Tattoo.
The Band's uniform is Red Macduff Tartan which has been the official tartan of the Pipes and Drums since 1937. The official designation of the Regiment's Tartan is No16 Red MacDuff (Ancient).
There are no doubt many whom Stuart would wish to thank for their help and backing, not least the members of the band for their hard work and support which has seen this become a reality.
In one of the biggest events of 2017, 154 (Scottish) Regiment RLC made history as the first ever Pipe Band from the Corps, or any of our forming Corps, to perform at the world renowned Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2017.
The concept of a band was first mooted in 1934, when it was realised that if the unit was to compete with other Regiments in attracting recruits, the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) of the Highlands needed to have a band of its own. The Commanding Officer; Lieutenant Colonel Tom Harris Hunter, suggested a brass band, however, the Adjutant at the time; Captain Bertie Duckett, suggested that a Pipe Band would be more appropriate for a Highland unit.
The current Regimental Pipes and Drums were reformed in 2017 at the request of its Regimental Sergeant Major; WO1 Stuart Bowie. It has led to a significant manning uplift in line with Op FORTIFY and has proven to be the most efficient recruiting tool for the Regiment in a number of years with all of its ranks being RLC tradesman.
The Pipes and Drums continues to grow and are looking forward to further success and high profile events throughout 2018 and onwards.


When God (or anyone at all) makes a promise it is for one purpose only, to provide certainty about a future that is either hopeless or so uncertain as to make life just too scary for living. Whatever might happen between the moment of the promise and the delivery on the promise, the one to whom the promise is made is invited to want and to trust the promise more than anything else. Thus the promise creates a series of demands without which the promise fades into irrelevance. Since the reliability of the one making the promise is the only assurance offered, the making of a promise invites the creation of a relationship of trust and demands trustworthiness in the maker of the promise. When we talk about God and his promises, we use the word covenant.
The first reading for each weekend of Lent holds up for consideration a covenant, a promise made by God in former times. We used to talk of the Old Testament as if there were but one covenant; lately, the tendency is to see four or five covenants in the OT. This year, the first covenant mentioned is that made with Noah.
The Creator had grown weary of the sinfulness of his creatures. So, he decided to undo his creation by allowing the waters above the heavens and the waters below the heavens to come together once more. In effect, he un-created the very possibility of life that was the work of the creation's second day. Only light would remain! Noah, the only just man in the world, and his wife and sons and daughters-in-law (chain salvation!) were spared, along with a sampling of creatures that would be needed for life to return after the flood.
God does not undo creation without hope; his love of life is not killed by human sin; His commitment to his own creative work is a kind of 'fundamental covenant' that underlies all of our obligations to respect for life. Thus, the flood, like the waters of Baptism becomes an end to sin and the start of new life!
The deluge happens, the waters recede and Noah and his family and the animals emerge from the ark to begin creation anew. And God promises, with the sign of the rainbow that he will never again destroy the world by water.
The Fathers of the Church used to see the ark as a pre-figurement of the Church, the safe place for those who had been saved from the sinful world outside. The reference to forty days of rain gave them another 'magic number' to use in talking about Lent as a death to sin and a promise of new life. The promise that life would never be destroyed again was a 'natural' foreshadowing of the promise of a 'supernatural' resurrection.
Ironically, in more recent years, as the issues of drought and pollution and global warming come to the fore, there is a tendency to turn the covenant of life-preservation, into a call for more responsible use of the water we have and the water others need.


Japanese style Toasty Green or Kabusé Matcha Genmaicha, is a unique blend of half-shaded green tea leaves and organic roasted brown rice (Genmai), topped off with fresh organic matcha powder. The brewed tea results in a heavenly dark green brew, with delicious roasted and nutty character. This is one of the highest quality genmaicha's available.
The infusion is warming, comforting, and very gentle on digestion. It is a perfect choice to have along with meals.


Brent Knoll is a 137-metre-high hill on the Somerset Levels, in Somerset, England.
The hills size and isolated position means that it dominates the landscape and can be seen or many miles, and can also be seen from all the major roads passing through Somerset. Before the Somerset Levels were drained, Brent Knoll was an island, known as the Isle of frogs, that provided a safe haven from the water and marshes. Brent Knoll has an extensive history which is bookmarked throughout the village.
It is located halfway between Bridgwater and Weston-Super-Mare and is a stone throw away from the Bristol channel. At the base of the hill are two villages, East Brent and Brent Knoll which have a range of pubs where you can have a bite to eat after you've walked up the hill. This is a walk along country footpaths that is very steep at the top, where some steps are included. This walk is not for the faint hearted but if you make the effort the rewards are spectacular. Use stout walking shoes in dry conditions, if the ground is very wet, wellies might be a better option.
If you fancy some food after you walk, Brent Knoll Carvery is one of the best carvery's in the area and is open 7 days a week, they also offer takeaway carvery's if you don't want to sit in the restaurant.


What are hashtags and how can you use them effectively?
If you have anything to do with social media, the chances are you will have heard of hashtags. These are a word, or a short group of words, after the # sign. If someone searches for a specific hashtag, they will find all of the posts containing them.
Hashtags are on all forms of social media these days and they should not be ignored, instead you should seek to understand them, their uses and how they can expand your reach, target your market and get your content found.
Brand hashtags are used for your own business. For example, Nike has #makeitcount. To use this strategy, produce a brand hashtag that defines your business and add it to all your posts, the more momentum the hashtag gathers the more people will use it and over time it will become associated with your brand.
This strategy can also be used for particular campaigns to raise profiles. For example Coca-Cola used #holidaysarecoming over the Christmas period.
A trending hashtag is a topic that has become popular, with the most people using the same hashtag. For example, #friday often trends on a Friday. Trending hashtags change all the time and the top ten can change in a matter of minutes. It can be useful for a business to tap into trending hashtags as many people will be looking at it, however you must be quick and it's important not to spam it.
So, how can you find out what hashtags are trending? Different social media platforms have different ways of displaying this information; Twitter displays it on the left hand side of the homepage, Facebook to the right.
So there you have a whistle stop tour of the world of hashtags. Of course, you can delve much deeper, but by following these simple steps your social media posts will become much more effective and visible.
By creating interesting content that speaks of topics your users are interested in, you'll be able to better show how interested you and your company are in the bigger picture. You invite conversation and have more immediate interaction with your followers on topics of interest.


Thanks to modern advances in medical technology, laser treatment is not only safe and effective but comfortable, too. Targeted laser treatment can precisely remove unwanted hair, address a number of unattractive skin conditions, and encourage collagen growth for a younger look and skin tone. Call (843) 734-0549 if you have questions or to book an appointment at Transformations Aesthetic Solutions.
BOTOX® Cosmetic, Versa®, Refyne®, Defyne®, and other anti-aging treatments are among the most popular non-surgical options for improving appearance. Our selection of dermal fillers and injectables is extensive, with multiple formulations available to help you look younger.Call (843) 734-0549 if you have questions or to book an appointment at Transformations Aesthetic Solutions in our new state of the art Little River, SC practice.
Eliminate stubborn fat that resists all efforts through diet and exercise. We offer CoolSculpting fat-freezing procedure is the only FDA-cleared treatment. Are you a good candidates for the CoolSculpting procedure? Call (843) 734-0549 if you have noticeable bulges in certain areas they'd like to get rid of. Many people want a non-surgical alternative to liposuction.
The simple reality is that most insurance plans won't cover cosmetic skin treatments. You should check the language of your specific policy and call their toll-free number to be sure. And in some circumstances, such as when the treatment is required to treat a deformity, skin treatments may be covered.
However, you have to expect that insurance will not cover the cost of your procedure. This being the case, you have several options at Transformations Aesthetic Solutions.
We accept payment in most traditional fashions, including cash, checks and major credit cards. If those aren't options for you, we will discuss financing your skin treatment through Greensky Patient Solutions or CareCredit.
If you live on the Grand Strand and are considering cosmetic treatment.
Please contact Transformations Aesthetics Solutions today.


text:
Maunakea Astronomy Jobs
Home and Jobs Listing
About the Employers
About Maunakea
Maunakea Observatories and Organizations
Akamai Workforce Initiative
The Akamai Internship Program offers college students an opportunity to gain a summer work experience at an observatory, company or scientific/technical facility in Hawaiʻi for a total of an 8-week program. The program has placements for students from community colleges and four-year universities from a wide range of majors. Recent graduates are also eligible.
www.akamaihawaii.org • employment listings/policies for Akamai Workforce Initiative
Canada France Hawaii Telescope
The Canada France Hawaii Telescope Corporation hosts a world-class, 3.6 meter optical/infrared telescope atop Maunakea on the island of Hawaiʻi. We are at the forefront of astronomical research, operating state of the art CCD and infrared mosaic cameras and echelle spectrometers, and are currently undertaking extensive scientific instrument and facility development projects. EEO Employer.
www.cfht.hawaii.edu • employment listings/policies for Canada France Hawaii Telescope
East Asian Observatory JCMT
The EAO (East Asian Observatory) is formed by EACOA (East Asian Core Observatories Association) for the purpose of pursuing joint projects in astronomy within the East Asian region. In the era of very large scale astronomical instruments, East Asia will be competitive internationally by combining their funding resources, their technical expertise, and their manpower. The intention of EAO is to build and operate facilities, which will enhance and leverage existing and planned regional facilities. The intention of EAO is to raise funding and to build an observatory staff, separate from that of the EACOA institutions. As partners of the EAO, the EACOA institutes will help to establish the funding and to oversee the governance of EAO. The communities represented by the partners in EAO would have full access to all EAO facilities.
www.eaobservatory.org • employment listings/policies for East Asian Observatory JCMT
The Gemini Observatory consists of twin 8.1-meter diameter optical/infrared telescopes located on two of the best observing sites on the planet. From their locations on mountains in Hawai'i and Chile, Gemini Observatory's telescopes can collectively access the entire sky.
www.gemini.edu • employment listings/policies for Gemini Observatory • 2 available opportunities with Gemini Observatory
Huina Internship Program
The Huiana Internship Program focuses on Hawaiʻi Island youth as the labor force of the future. With the strategy to develop the workplace skills of our island high school students, the internship program places high school students in 60-hour internships that are tied to their career pathway interests.
hiwedohawaii.org
Maunakea Shared Services
Maunakea Shared Services (MKSS) provides operational and logistical support for shared services to all observatories and the facilities at Halepōhaku. MKSS operates the Visitor Information Station at the 9300 ft. elevation, provides free stargazing, Hawaiian cultural and scientific programs to the public. MKSS supports the ranger services under the direction of the Center for Maunakea Stewardship.
mkss.ifa.hawaii.edu • employment listings/policies for Maunakea Shared Services • 1 available opportunity with Maunakea Shared Services
NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
The IRTF is a 3.0 meter telescope, optimized for infrared observations, operated and managed for NASA by the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy. Observing time is open to the entire astronomical community, and 50% of the IRTF observing time is reserved for studies of solar system objects.
irtfweb.ifa.hawaii.edu
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observator Submillimeter Array Hawaii
The Submillimeter Array (SMA) is an 8 element radio interferometer. SMA explores the universe by observing millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths invisible to the human eye. SMA is a joint project of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
lweb.cfa.harvard.edu • employment listings/policies for Smithsonian Astrophysical Observator Submillimeter Array Hawaii
Subaru Telescope
The Subaru telescope on Maunakea is Japan's premier optical-infrared telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. The telescope is one of the world's largest and most technologically advanced telescopes with an effective aperture of 8.2 m. Through the open use program astronomers throughout the world have access to Subaru's excellent image quality.
www.naoj.org • employment listings/policies for Subaru Telescope • 2 available opportunities with Subaru Telescope
TMT International Observatory LLC Thirty Meter Telescope
TMT is a non-profit collaboration between the University of California, the California Institute of Technology, the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the countries of Canada, India, and Japan. Sited at Maunakea, the TMT would solidify the position of Hawaiʻi as a World leader in research in astronomy and astrophysics.
www.tmt.org • 1 available opportunity with TMT International Observatory LLC Thirty Meter Telescope
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at UH Hilo is currently implementing a professional, state-of-the-art 0.7-meter telescope for educational purposes in the Halepōhaku area. Telescope time will also be made available to local kids, teachers and the general community of Hawaiʻi.
hilo.hawaii.edu • employment listings/policies for University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy
The Institute for Astronomy is one of the world's leading astronomical research centers. Its broad-based program includes studies of the Sun, planets, and stars, as well as interstellar matter, galaxies, and cosmology. IFA operates the University of Hawaiʻi 2.2-meter telescope atop Maunakea.
www.ifa.hawaii.edu • 3 available opportunities with University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy
Very Long Baseline Array
The VLBA is a system of ten radio-telescope antennas,each with a dish 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter and weighing 240 tons. From Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the VLBA spans more than 5,000 miles, providing astronomers with the sharpest vision of any telescope on Earth or in space.
science.nrao.edu • employment listings/policies for Very Long Baseline Array
W. M. Keck Observatory
The W. M. Keck Observatory operates two 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes on the summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The twin telescopes feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectroscopy and a world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics system which cancels out much of the interference caused by Earth's turbulent atmosphere. The Observatory is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a scientific partnership of the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and NASA.
keckobservatory.org • employment listings/policies for W. M. Keck Observatory
ʻImiloa Astronomy Center
'Imiloa is a community outreach, multi-service organization of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo dedicated to serving local and visitor communities through quality education programs strengthened by the core academic offerings of UH Hilo. Our programs and services include, but are not limited to PreK-12 grade programs, after school programs, day camps, Hawaiian language and culture based enrichment programs that focus on local science research, cultural advancement and environmental stewardship. ʻImiloa brings together members of the Hawaiian and astronomy communities to share a common vision for the future, bringing information about the cultural and natural history of Maunakea to students, teachers, our local residents, and visitors from around the world. 'Imiloa links to early Polynesian navigation history and knowledge of the night skies, and today's renaissance of Hawaiian culture and wayfinding with parallel growth of astronomy and scientific developments on Hawaiʻi Island.
imiloahawaii.org
Log in or sign up to post Maunakea jobs for your organization


text:
Bets & Dares
Consensual
Hostile Takeover
By Dreadlocks
Story Categories: Forced Surprise Time for a Change
Story Tags: Girl in a Barbershop humiliation Lesbian Theme makeunder masturbation short haircut Status reduction
Views: 7,426 | Likes: +60
New Boss, New Job
Anne Hanover sat nervously behind the desk she had occupied for just over three years, ever since she had inherited control of her father's company. That was about to change. She glanced down at her Cartier watch, shaking her head at the foolish extravagance. Had she known that the finances were on such shaky ground, she never would have been so cavalier.
It was only at the previous month's board meeting that she discovered the shady investments her finance team had made. It was then that she learned of the bid to take over the company. Shen Lu Enterprises was an international firm, worth billions, and standing up to them would have been expensive and foolhardy.
Hostile, in terminology only, Shen Lu at least had no intention of breaking up the company. It had taken her father thirty-three years to build the paper manufacturing company from a small three-room operation into a multi-million-dollar company. Now, in less than thirty-seven months, everything he did lay in ruins at her feet.
Anne tried not to take on all of the blame, although being the CEO, it was her responsibility to know what went on inside the walls of her own company. The trust in her CFO and his cronies had been her biggest mistake.
Now, she was about to meet the newly appointed CEO of Hanover Mills, and she worried what might lay in store, not only for her, but many of her executives. Of course, the first to go, and by her hand, was Bradley Milks. 'How appropriate a name,' she thought. He had 'milked' the company for hundreds of thousands of dollars, sheltering it outside the country and well out of reach.
Expecting at least a knock, she was surprised when a tall dark woman entered, pushing through the door as if nothing could stop her. Anne was caught off guard, standing to address the apparent impertinence.
"You must be Miss Hanover." The woman assumed, setting her leather satchel down on the opposite side of Anne's desk.
"I am, and you are?" Anne tentatively held out her hand, but it was ignored as the woman pushed to her side of the desk. Not knowing what else to do, she stepped to the side, whereupon the woman immediately sat, in the chair she had just been warming.
"Have a seat, Miss Hanover." The woman indicated one of the club chairs on the opposite side of the desk. Still flustered, Anne obliged. "My name is Yuja Shen, but you may refer to me as Miss Shen." Seeing the bewildered look on Anne's face, she continued. "I am the new CEO of Hanover Mills."
"Miss Shen." Anne managed, although she was more than a bit shaken by the abrupt manner in which she was treated.
"I imagine your first concern will be whether you will still have a job." Yuja offered, dragging her brief across the mahogany desktop, roughly.
"I would be lying to say it was not a concern of mine." Anne winced, not wanting to reveal just how much of a concern it had been. Her thoughts immediately went to her waterfront condominium, and her Mercedes, not to mention the lifestyle she had grown accustomed to.
"You will be happy to learn that I have decided to keep you on as my personal assistant." Yuja smiled with the offer. "Of course, my company has supplied me with several lieutenants, so your duties will be strictly personal."
Anne regarded the woman closely for the first time since she had arrived. She was truly striking. Although she was of Asian descent, her features were decidedly western, as though she had had work done to create them. Her long blonde hair was most certainly not her natural color, but it looked very good on her.
"Personal Assistant?" Anne questioned. "What will that entail?"
"You know the deal, Miss Hanover. A woman in my position needs someone to do her bidding, run errands, pick up dry-cleaning, that sort of thing." Yuja remarked, bitingly.
"What if that's not what I want?" Anne pressed, not sure where it might go.
"Well, you are certainly free to go, but that is the only position I am prepared to offer you at this time." Yuja pressed the button on the intercom. "Miss Hanover would like to go, Miss Brooks. Can you see she is escorted off the property?"
Barbara Brooks slipped into the room, taking a position directly behind her former boss. She didn't enjoy doing what she was about to do. Anne had hired her, after all. Now she was about to kick her out of, what had only weeks before, been her company. "I'm sorry, Miss Hanover."
"What if I accept your offer, Miss Shen?" Anne sighed, left with few other options.
"Off the table." She motioned for Barbara to escort Anne out of her office.
"Please." Anne practically begged.
"Can you leave us for a moment, Miss Brooks," Yuja said, softly. Once the secretary was out of the room, Yuja circled around the desk and stood. "Beg."
"What?" Anne managed, almost in shock.
"Get down on your knees and beg, Miss Hanover." Yuja stepped forward so she was only a foot away.
Anne didn't know what possessed her, but she found herself sliding out of the chair and onto her knees. Overwhelmed by her own actions, she struggled over what to do next, so she blurted out the only thing that came to her addled mind. "Please, Miss Shen, may I please have the job." She knew her face must have turned fifty shades of red.
"You're not very convincing. Bend down and kiss the tip of my shoe." Smirking, Yuja put her right foot forward, expectantly.
Shocked by the demand, Anne's mouth opened. She knew she wanted to say something, anything. Instead, she watched in horror as her body bent to the will of this woman. Anne could feel her control slipping away as she pursed her lips, touching them to the polished leather tip of Yuja's Louboutins.
"Good. Now say it, Miss Hanover. Beg to be my personal assistant." Yuja smiled, as Anne continued to grovel.
"Please, Miss Shen, I'm begging you to make me your personal assistant." Anne managed, her mouth still only inches away from Yuja's foot. The sudden realization of her submission was horrifying to her.
"It's not an easy job. Are you sure you're up to it?" Yuja pressed, knowing how cruel she was being. 'This was the CEO of this company,' she thought, 'and here she is, begging for a job that no one in their right mind would want.'
Without being asked, Anne kissed Yuja's shoe. "Please."
"Very well. Let's have a look at you." Yuja relented.
Anne, completely deflated, slowly got to her feet. She stood, while Yuja walked around her, performing an impromptu inspection.
"These clothes are not practical. Take the rest of the day and buy some clothing more suited to your station. Try Target or Walmart." Yuja suggested, totally serious. Anne winced at the notion of wearing cheap clothing, but after what she had just stooped to, even those were probably more than she deserved.
Anne felt Yuja pull at the oversized bun at the top of her head. In the next instant, Anne's waist-length hair came tumbling over her shoulders. No one at the company had ever seen her with her hair down. She blushed at the idea.
"Also, impractical. I like my assistants to have hair that is short and neat. Have it cut by tomorrow, and do not disappoint me." Yuja demanded.
Anne's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She had worn her hair long since she was a child. Now this woman wanted her to cut it off. "Can't I just wear it up?"
"I don't think you understand, Miss Hanover. As my personal assistant, you do exactly as I say. There is no bargaining." Yuja felt this was a good opportunity to instruct her new charge on the breadth of her authority. "You are to go to a barbershop immediately."
"A barbershop?" Anne was almost weeping.
"Am I not being heard? When you get there, call the switchboard and ask for me. Is that clear, or do I need to rescind my offer already?"
Anne shook her head, adamantly. "Perfectly clear, Miss Shen."
"Good. Now get going!" Yuja pointed towards the door. Once Anne was gone, Yuja sat back in her chair and chuckled to herself. "I wonder if she'll actually go through with it." Picking up her cell, she called her father.
Anne rushed out into the parking lot, still dizzy from her experience at the hands of Yuja Shen. She looked at her car, still parked in her personally labeled spot, wondering how she would ever afford it on the salary Miss Shen would be paying her. Then it occurred to her, that she had no idea what the job paid. Surely it was lucrative enough to keep her relatively comfortable.
A Random Barbershop
As daunting as it was, Anne climbed into her Mercedes and set about looking for a barbershop. As she drove away from the plant, she deviated from the route she normally took, heading into a seedier part of town.
She had never been inside a barbershop and had no idea what to expect. She knew they were normally reserved for men, and she worried that they would have no idea what to do with hair such as hers.
As she rounded a corner, she spotted the telltale pole spinning away, its red and white stripes the only clue as to the nature of the place. Tucked between a hardware store and a pizzeria, she eyed the place suspiciously. 'Is it even open?' Anne wondered.
Parking her car in the first available spot, Anne sat for a moment, contemplating what she was about to do. For a moment, she thought about driving away. 'Was any job really worth this?' She wondered.
Before she could think about it for too long, she forced herself out of the car and up to the door of the barbershop. Anne wasn't sure how long she stood there, but it was long enough for one of the men to take notice.
"You lost, Miss?" The man asked.
Anne looked at him, panicked, not sure what to do. "I need a haircut." She finally said.
The man looked her up and down, seeing the waist-length blonde hair that billowed away from her in the breeze. She seemed confused. "There's a salon right down the street, lady."
"No. It has to be a barbershop." Anne managed, her hands shaking with nervous anticipation.
"If you say so." The man opened the door wider, allowing her space to slip around him.
Once inside, she didn't know what to do. She looked around at the strange environment. A long row of chairs lined one wall, all facing three large swivel chairs. A row of plate glass mirrors lined the wall, and made the place look larger than it was. Another man sat, his feet up and a newspaper opened to hide his face, the smoke from what must have been a cigar, drifting up and over his head.
"Have a seat then, I guess." The man said. His hair had either been shaved off, or he was naturally bald. Judging by the shine on his head, Anne figured it was a combination of the two. Suddenly remembering, she pulled out her phone, dialing the number she knew by heart.
"Hanover Mills, how can I help you?" The young woman's voice asked.
"I need to speak with Yuja Shen, please." Anne directed, the man looking at her impatiently.
"May I ask who is calling?"
"This is Anne Hanover." She said, having never had to navigate the company switchboard before.
"Miss Hanover. I'm sorry. Just one minute." The phone clicked, and then began to ring.
Yuja was just adjusting a few things on her new desk, having disposed of Anne's personal effects, when the phone rang. "Yes, Miss Brooks?"
"I have Anne Hanover on the line. Do you want to take the call?" Barbara asked.
Yuja chuckled. No one had ever actually taken things this far before. She had tried this at every other company her father had put her in charge of, but no one had gotten past the begging part much less this. "Yes, I'll take it." Yuja cleared her throat. "Yuja Shen."
"Miss Shen? I'm here. I'm at the barbershop." Anne's voice shook audibly.
Yuja had to cover the receiver to stifle a laugh. Struggling to compose herself, she spoke. "Hand your phone to the barber."
The man stood and looked at her for a moment before taking the phone, holding it up to his hairless head. "Yes?"
Anne could hear some talking on her phone, but it was unintelligible. She could see the man's eyebrows go up in surprise before he handed the phone back to her.
"Miss Shen?" Anne waited for a moment, but she had already hung up.
"Alright then, young miss. I've got my instructions." He turned the chair in her direction, throwing a red and white checked cape over his shoulder. "Get in the chair." He said, with more authority. "Your boss says I'm not to take any guff from you."
She walked, straight-legged to the chair and climbed onto the chrome footplate. Off-balance for a moment, she fell back into the large chair, which enveloped her completely. Anne wasn't a tall woman, her slight frame and delicate features made her look like a child in the oversized chair.
"You're a pretty girl. Why're you doing this?" The man asked, as he wrapped the cape around her shoulders. "Hold your hair up." He demanded, tersely. Taken aback by the authority the bald man seemed to wield suddenly, Anne obliged. She felt a stretchy piece of crepe paper wrap around her neck, only to be held fast by the cape, gathered almost too tightly around her neck.
"Miss Shen likes her personal assistants to have short hair." Anne sighed, as the man pulled her hair out as if to inspect its length.
"Yes, she made that quite clear." The man admitted, pulling a pair of scissors from his pocket.
Anne felt the barber gather her hair and tug downwards, her head pulled back with the pressure. Then the cold steel of the scissors rested menacingly against the top of her neck. She felt, more than she heard the 'crunch' of the blades as they dug into her precious hair, the sensation seeming to translate to her skull. Each time the blades closed, the pitch of the crunch grew higher until her head flew forward, released from the burden of her hair.
Walking around her, the barber carefully laid the impressive length of hair on the counter. After securing it with some rubber bands he had scavenged from a drawer, he returned. "Your boss said I could keep the hair. Hair like that, probably worth a few hundred bucks."
Anne reached back from under the cape, feeling the blunt ends of her drastically abbreviated locks, annoyed over the idea of this guy profiting from her misery. "Are we done?" She asked.
"Done?" He chortled. "We're just getting started, sweetheart."
She watched, frozen, as the barber lifted a set of clippers from under the counter. Attaching something to them he rotated the chair, so she faced the enormous mirror.
"Your boss insisted that you watch." He reported, as the clippers whined to life behind her.
Anne felt the vibration of the clippers as they touched the nape of her neck, the warm steel pressing upward until the pitch shifted lower. As they climbed the back of her head, the shock of what was happening started to hit her. Anne could hear the hanks of hair hitting the floor as they tumbled away from her head.
Each pass of the clippers seemed to pull away just before reaching the top of her head. With no hair to cover it, Anne could feel the air moving against the back of her head. It was the strangest feeling she had ever experienced.
Slowly, the barber moved to the sides, removing the hair behind and then in front of her ears, leaving them naked for the first time in her life. She thought how ridiculous it was that she could see her ears, the tips pink from her embarrassment.
When the clippers fell silent, the only hair left on Anne's head was a longish tuft that stood out at angles from her crown. She stared into the mirror, thinking how hideous she looked.
Changing the little metal attachment on the clippers, the barber began to comb her hair upwards, running the whirring blades over the teeth with a sickening 'zzzzzzip'. Each time, more and more hair tumbled over the cape and to the floor.
Anne wasn't certain when her perspective changed. Perhaps it was after the man began to peel away what remained of her hair. She wasn't sure. Suddenly, the whole thing seemed incredibly amusing. She watched, mesmerized as the barber pared the last remaining hair on her head, shorter and shorter, and then, shorter still.
Eventually, even those hairs seemed to stand up for being so short. She began to see the glimmer of her scalp in a strip at the center of her head, the hair that remained taking on a horseshoe shape.
Then it struck her. What she was feeling wasn't amusement at all, it was sexual arousal. Anne shook her head, confounded by the notion that something so incredibly humiliating could be arousing to her.
Beneath the cape, she slowly inched her fingers under the hem of her skirt, until they rested against the decidedly damp crotch of her panties. Appalled by the realization of this seemingly misplaced excitement, she was even more shocked when her errant fingers began to stroke her engorged clitoris through the now transparent material.
"Hold very still now." The barber insisted, seeming to freehand the clippers over the center of her head. More and more of her snow-white scalp was revealed, until she felt the hot metal of the clipper blades against the top of her head.
Anne's finger pressed against her nub so hard that she thought her eyes might tear up. She just couldn't let what was about to happen, to happen there. But as she felt the warm lather being spread over the sides and back of her head, she knew she was in serious trouble.
Little by little, the razor denuded a wide swath of skin over her freshly exposed ears, and well up the back of her head. The sensation of the blade on her scalp was so different and so erotic, that there was very little she could do to stop the inevitable from occurring.
With Anne gasping suddenly, the barber took a step back until he realized what was happening. He smiled, knowingly and continued with the recon haircut he was instructed to give the young lady in his chair.
Anne was beyond embarrassed. Her face, but most especially her ears glowed a bright red as the barber un-caped her suddenly. Anne looked down, caught with her hand well up her skirt. The sudden movement of the cape spread the unmistakable scent of her arousal around the shop.
"Looks like somebody had a good time." The barber chuckled, as Anne struggled to cover herself.
Anne raised her hand to her head, the short sharp bristles that ringed the top of her head the only hair remaining. The sides and back had been shaved as slick as glass, and she paused for a moment as her fingers slipped over its newly exposed surface.
Bowing her head, Anne examined the wide strip of scalp that was nearly shaved in the center of her head, moving her fingers to feel the minute stubble that remained there.
"They call that a landing strip." The barber pointed out, with a grin. Snapping out of her trance, Anne reached into her purse. She pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to the man, who took it greedily. "Thanks for the hair, by the way."
Anne looked over at the long swath of hair that graced the man's counter, and then to the floor, where a sea of blonde surrounded the chair where she'd been sitting. Suddenly, a rush of embarrassment swept over her, and she dashed out of the shop, sprinting for the relative safety of her car.
What Just Happened?
Anne sat there, stunned for a few moments, not really believing what had just happened. Adjusting her rearview mirror, she confirmed the fact that she looked like a deranged marine, her impeccable makeup seeming out of place beneath her severely cropped scalp.
She drove, not even conscious of her route, but she did manage to find her way back to her condo. Not thinking, she immediately exited the Mercedes and made her way to the front entrance.
"Hold up!" The man's voice called, sternly. "This is a private residence."
Anne looked over at the doorman, who she had come to know as Stanley. They had never been friendly, but she was surprised he did not recognize her. Perhaps, in her present state, she should not have been all that surprised.
"I live here, Stanley," Anne said, walking over to his desk.
Suddenly, the man's eyes grew wide. "Miss Hanover. I'm sorry but…"
"It's quite understandable, under the circumstances," Anne admitted, unconsciously running a hand over the prickly bristles that rimmed the crown of her scalp. She nodded to the man, who was still in a state of shock. Embarrassed, she quickly made her way to her condo.
Once safely inside, Anne sighed with relief. She was unaccustomed to being ashamed of the way she looked. This haircut, especially considering her delicate feminine features, was beyond humiliating.
Despite having been covered by the cape, Anne could feel the tiny bristles of hair that had managed to get under her clothing. She stripped out of the Dillard tweed suit and her Victoria's Secret lingerie, swiping at her skin, but still feeling the uncomfortable itch of the errant hairs.
She stepped into the shower, the hot jets of water feeling incredibly refreshing after such a harrowing day. The real surprise came when the jets of water hit her freshly exposed scalp. For a moment, she was in sensory overload, as the strong stream bounced noisily off her head, the massage almost too much to bear.
In short order, however, that familiar sensation returned between her legs. She thought back with palpable embarrassment to the episode in the barber's chair as the barber caught her masturbating.
Now, with no one to watch, she was free to explore her true feelings. Her fingers slipped between her folds, and the immediate response was undeniable. She had never been so easily stimulated in all her life. While her right hand pleasured her below, the left slipped up to rub against the harsh bristles that now represented the totality of her once-glorious blonde mane.
The sides and back of her head were especially smooth, to be sure, as the water lubricated the surface. But, it was that crown of spiky bristles that really tickled her arousal. She felt them poke into her skin, so short that even the water failed to soften their resolve. No, they were determined to stand straight out from her scalp.
She reached for the expensive shampoo that rested on the alcove, but hesitated. 'No need for that anymore,' she thought. Instead, she simply ran the bar of Ivory soap over her head, cleansing it as she would any part of her body. Continuing to soap up, she realized that her pubic hair was now the hairiest part of her body.
She giggled with the realization that she sported more hair down there than on her head. "Well, that won't do at all," she said out loud. She reached for the multi-blade razor she reserved for her legs and underarms and began to stroke downward into her bush.
Slowly, the curly blonde fleece relented, revealing the smooth skin beneath. As if on a mission, Anne relentlessly attacked the well-manicured thatch of pubic hair, until it was all circling the drain in a soapy tuft.
Once again, her fingers explored the now hairless mound, slipped effortlessly and unimpeded into her pussy. This, coupled with the strangely erotic haircut she now sported, was all it took to send her over the edge, exploding into a nearly debilitating orgasm. She ended up on her knees, on the hard marble tile, the water cascading stiffly against her militarized head.
Exhausted from her self-gratification, she emerged from the bath. Her arousal sated, she was once again faced with the sober reality of her situation. She had lost her position as CEO, been forced into being a menial personal assistant, and then degraded further by Yuja Shen, who had demanded she rid herself of her treasured hair.
Let's go Slumming
Remembering the tasks still ahead of her, Anne donned her most casual outfit and headed for the closest box store. She vowed to visit the first one she came to, which just happened to be Walmart.
Anne did her best to ignore the stares and snickers as she wandered the aisles of the discount department store. 'How ridiculous I must look," she thought. Every once in a while, she would catch her reflection in a pillar mirror, and shudder. Her face seemed to be constantly flushed, and the tips of her ears were no less pink. 'Does everyone know how humiliated I am? They must.' Anne resolved.
After having filled the cart with clothes that she would normally not be caught dead in, she made her way to check out. At the register was a young woman, her hair dyed a bright blue, and styled in a punk sort of way, the sides shaved and the top spiked into a sort of mohawk.
"That's a gutsy style you've got there." The girl commented.
Anne ran her hand over the provocative bristles and smiled. "Thanks."
"Can I feel?" Then, without her permission, the woman reached out, running her hand over the smoothly shaved sides and eventually over Anne's horseshoe of stubble. It was one thing for Anne to feel her head, but to have someone else's hand run over the newly exposed skin was almost too much. Anne unconsciously gasped with the attention. "Sensitive, isn't it?" The girl grinned, winking to Anne, knowingly.
"Yes. Sorry." Anne mewled.
"Don't be sorry. Glad to help." She bubbled, taking Anne's credit card for the purchase. "My name's Candy, by the way." She handed the receipt to Anne, who quickly shoved the paper into her purse and practically ran out of the store.
Arriving back home, she lugged the three bags of frumpy clothes into her condo and set about putting them away. If she was going to do this, she was going all out. Anne removed the expensive blouses, gowns, and skirts from her closet, replacing them with the ill-fitting stuff she had just purchased.
Emptying her drawers as well, all of the expensive lingerie was out, replaced with the cheap cotton panties and bras Walmart had in stock. Last to go were her shoes. All of her Ferragamo and Jimmy Choo jewels found the box she was filling, replaced with the cheap faux leather pumps and off-brand sneakers she had managed to buy.
Dragging the box of expensive adornments into the basement, she sealed the box with tape, labeling it: Old Me. Was it possible she was embracing the idea of her extreme reduction in status? All Anne knew was the entire process was making her wet.
Pulling the receipt from her purse, she laughed at the total cost of her wardrobe makeover. The entire thing cost a fraction of just one of her old suits. It was then that she noticed the writing on the back of the paper.
"Call me, bitch! 555-2233. Candy!"
7 responses to "Hostile Takeover"
Congratulations Mlle Claire!
This is your 60th story here!!! I was waiting for this moment.
Thank you for all your stories, I've read not all of them (I think), but enjoy the new ones.
Hope to read many more (e.g. more in the style of Curiosity) in the future, without retrains for the prudish Google.
Jude Lister says:
I loved her public humiliation and the severity of her haircut. A horseshoe is a very fetishy style that I always relish seeing.
The Indian Storyteller says:
Lovely Story..would like to read second part 😊
asianbarber says:
I love this story so much! The shaved recon style is just so incredibly erotic. One interesting direction I think would be fun to see this taken is more about Yuja, and her own fetish explorations. Maybe she'll end up with a recon of her own at the hands of Candy? 🙂
klaatu48 says:
Really loved the angle of how she enjoyed the humiliation of this all, and how into it the barber got. Looking forward to seeing this story develop, if you opt to continue it.
Dreadlocks says:
23rd January 2022 at 12:02 am
Thank you for the kind comments. They are always appreciated. This one is a rework of a story I've been kicking about for a while. A bit dark, more so in the second part, which is already up. Already working on a lighter tale.
Stacey Summers says:
23rd January 2022 at 6:46 am
Fantastic story Dreadlocks. Being female with a hair fetish is difficult. Glad to know I'm not alone out there.
Keep the stories coming.
© 2022 The Hair Story Network. All rights reserved.


expansive feel. Light fixtures from Restoration Hardware. Cabinetry by Wright-Ryan Construction.
Not so the guest accommodations at the summer homes Connie Prince and her husband, Florida State Senator Jack Latvala, own in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Here, the guest digs are designed to be every bit as luxurious as those of the owners.
tile mosaic.Over two years, Prince kitted out seven and a half baths between the main house and guesthouse. She had remodeled homes before and knew what she wanted. Moreover, working with Sarah Steinberg of Steinberg Custom Designs in Cumberland and contractor Adrian Keating of AJ Keating Construction in West Bath, was a meeting of the minds.
Though the baths are all different, they are united by Prince's aesthetic: elegant and refined, with a touch of sparkle—think glass accent tile—or a dash of whimsy.
The jewel in the crown of the guesthouse is the stunning second floor bath, nicknamed the "Honeymoon Suite." Siena Silver Light travertine tiles flow to a dramatic claw-foot tub set beneath a window. Above, a glass bubble chandelier floats from a vaulted wood ceiling.
"It's a long, narrow bath, and I wanted to minimize that effect," Steinberg says. "I wanted to draw people's eyes right to the tub and vaulted ceiling. We were so excited when we found the bubble chandelier. It's exactly what we wanted. It's like champagne bubbles coming out of the tub." The Wanderlust chandelier is from Fogg Lighting in Portland.
"Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, my grandmother had a claw-foot tub and I always loved it," Prince says. "I'm not a tub person, but I knew I would need a tub in one of the houses, especially for the grandchildren." Like most of the bath fixtures in the two houses, the classic Iron Works Historic tub, model K-710-S in white, is by Kohler.
The "Heavenly Bodies" bath was named after the blue and cream shower tile mosaic.
The Siena Silver Light tiles and one-by-one-inch Creme Brulee Blend accent tiles are from Old Port Specialty Tile in Portland, and the Crema Marfil honed marble countertop with ogee edge detailing is by Morningstar Stone and Tile in Topsham. Both companies supplied tile and countertops, respectively, for all the baths.
As with the kids' bath, tile was the springboard for the design of the guesthouse first floor en suite. The blue, green, and gray border around the room is Bubble Listello tile in Moonstone. The effect is sophisticated and of the period of the original house. "The pale seafoam-green and white is a more elegant, more adult take on the beach feel," Steinberg says.
The room is large and handicap accessible, with a wide doorway and a zero-threshold shower. Perfect Pebble Mosaic in Flores Green on the shower floor lends a beachy vibe. The mahogany cabinetry in this bath and the cabinetry throughout the guesthouse was designed and built by AJ Keating Construction. The countertop is Calacatta Oro honed marble, and the floor and shower wall tiles are 12-by-12-inch Cavalli honed marble.
The upstairs guest bath is called the "Heavenly Bodies" bath, after the name of the custom mosaic in the shower. The blue-and-white color scheme was inspired by the Blue Bahia countertop. Bright blue and soft beige penny rounds in the shower and on the floor look casual yet align with the age of the house. The blue bubble glass knobs are a fun touch. "The trick to making a small bath interesting is in those little details of tile and hardware," Steinberg says. The bathroom cabinetry in the main house is by Wright-Ryan Construction of Portland. The walls are painted in "Muslin" by Benjamin Moore.
Prince's own master bath was the most challenging of all due to its odd rooflines and different ceiling heights. It was originally a long cedar closet with a fireplace run and no plumbing. Its present spaciousness is a combination of smart construction and clever design tricks that rely on mirrors to give the illusion of depth.
"I told Sarah I wanted classic with a bit of romance," Prince says. "We used every inch of space and it worked out perfectly." Even with double vanities and a makeup area in between, "The bath feels light and airy," she says.
Penny rounds add period detail while providing interesting texture and a nonslip surface.
The Wanderlust chandelier crowns the "Honeymoon Suite" bath in the guesthouse.The result is a room that is quietly luxurious, with the serene hues of a beach at dusk. The floor, shower walls, and countertop are Crema Marfil marble. The floor tiles are a custom Djinn pattern mosaic. The shower floor and accent tile is Vihara half-inch square mosaic in Karuna Silk. Rohl faucets and bath fittings are from Redlon and Johnson in Bath.
"What Connie has done says, 'I'm glad you're here; I want you to have a wonderful time and relax. I want your bedroom and bath to be so enjoyable that you want to stay.' As a guest you wouldn't feel slighted in the least to be given any one of these bedrooms or baths. That speaks volumes about Connie, how she treats all her friends and family," Steinberg says.


text:
Anthony Whishaw RA, Come Dance With Me, 2013-2015.
Book extract: Anthony Whishaw RA is celebrated in a new monograph
By Richard Davey
Richard Davey celebrates the independent spirit that characterises Anthony Whishaw RA's paintings in this extract from a new monograph.
From the Summer 2016 issue of RA Magazine, issued quarterly to Friends of the RA.
Every April since his election to the Royal Academy in 1980 Anthony Whishaw has stood in his studio, surrounded by his paintings, and finalised his selection of the works he will be submitting for the year's Summer Exhibition. April 2015 was no different. In November 2014 Whishaw had already decided on Come Dance with Me (2013-2015; pictured), a three-metre-long canvas he had been working on since 2013. Now, with just a month to go before the submission deadline, he had to decide on the others. With every Royal Academician allowed to submit up to six pieces he could have entered another five, but in the end he selected just three more.
The four paintings Whishaw chose challenged the modernist narrative of linear progression, in which artists focus on one defined series of work at a time, and in which one idea flows neatly into the next, always looking forward rather than back. Whishaw doesn't work in this way. The walls of his Kensington studio are covered with paintings that use a variety of visual languages and explore a range of subjects. Paintings of trees and Mediterranean seascapes, abstract colour fields and chiaroscuro still-lifes jostle for attention with no sense of hierarchy or obvious evolution. Whishaw started some of the paintings here 30 years ago, yet he is still adding to and altering them. On their reverse can be seen crossed-out dates that record a lifetime of continued reflection in which nothing is finished until it actually leaves the studio and is no longer in his possession.
The Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition also challenges the modernist narrative by offering a visual miscellany of paintings, prints and photographs that vie for the viewer's attention, with abstract works hung next to more traditional figurative works, still-lifes next to portraits, landscapes next to architectural drawings, just as in Whishaw's studio. In 2015 Come Dance with Me was hung high on the south wall of the RA's largest gallery surrounded by the work of his fellow Royal Academicians. This large, abstract painting is a celebration of line and colour, its ribbons of pink, red, turquoise and blue weaving sinuous patterns around the picture surface to suggest a series of joyful, dancing rhythms. Nearby was St Paul's Multiview II (2009–10), a painting that combines elements of cubism and abstraction, collage, realism and topographical architectural drawing. The composition's fractured space sends the viewer's gaze ricocheting around multiple viewpoints, sometimes sliding off steeply angled geometric planes of colour, sometimes being drawn into distant views of Wren's iconic dome.
Anthony Whishaw RA, Flying Above II, 2011-2015.
Whishaw's two other paintings hung amid the dense grouping of small works in another gallery. Like his depiction of St Paul's, Flying Above II (2011–15; pictured) has an architectural focus. As we look down on the rooftops of a Spanish hilltop pueblo, the towers of a church rise out of a blue-and-green mist, with roofs and chimneys tumbling around them in a cubist cascade of multiple viewpoints. Some of these architectural features are painted with a hard-edged clarity while others are left as mere suggestions, half-glimpsed through the fog. Mirrored Flowers (1998–2005) employs multiple viewpoints too, but that is where the visual similarity ends. Using elements of both abstraction and figuration to create a fantastical Escher-like composition, the work contains conventional landscape elements, with hints of sea and sky, fields and fences, flowers and stars. Yet it is also a fantasy, with two horizon lines, multiple perspectives, and two dark curving lines that evoke the mirror of the title, pulling the viewer, Alice-like, through the surface into a tilting, twisting pictorial space that is at once rational and incoherent.
For those wanting to pigeonhole artists into schools or '-isms', Whishaw's eclecticism can be frustrating. His paintings defy classification. Despite being a Royal Academician, and exhibiting widely in group shows with other major British artists, he has never been one to follow trends, or to align himself with a particular stylistic group. He resists art-historical categorisation or contextualisation, pursuing his own unique path and commitment to his materials. One moment he is exploring cubist constructions of space, the next, trompe-l'oeil playfulness. His use of photocopies and collage, and his application of plastic cups, plastic flies and other objects to his picture surfaces, suggest that he is someone with contemporary concerns and an interest in experimentation. And yet his subjects are often traditional or come from his everyday experience, focusing on architectural details and picturesque scenes reminiscent of the 19th or early 20th centuries. His disregard for stylistic boundaries and subject hierarchies has all the hallmarks of postmodernism, and yet Whishaw's art is without the knowingness and parody of much contemporary work.
The four pieces Whishaw submitted to the Summer Exhibition in 2015 had so little in common in terms of style or content that they could easily have been mistaken for the work of four different artists. But it is this very commitment to diversity rather than uniformity, and a refusal to be defined and restricted by labels, that unites Whishaw's prolific output. Even in his 80s he still wants to explore the boundaries of paint, and to push its ability to inspire, delight, evoke memories, shock and excite, as he has always done – not by focusing in and narrowing down his work into an identifiable visual signature, but by constantly trying new things, hoping to be surprised and intrigued by what might emerge.
Richard Davey is a writer and a visiting fellow at the School of Art and Design, Nottingham Trent University.
As well as free entry to all of our exhibitions, Friends of the RA enjoy one of Britain's most respected art magazines, delivered directly to your door. Why not join the club?
Anthony Whishaw RA
9 eyebrow-raising moments from the Summer Exhibition
From the time we rejected Banksy to Turner's "gunshot in the gallery", the Summer Exhibition has regularly ruffled the feathers of British art in its 253 years. Here are some of our favourite moments!
10 expert tips on visiting the Summer Exhibition
Faced with more than a thousand artworks, how can an art lover make the most of their annual pilgrimage to the Summer Exhibition? Veteran critic Mark Hudson draws from his professional experience to offer 10 useful pointers.
David Hockney: to Normandy via Yorkshire
Edith Devaney, curator of our upcoming David Hockney exhibition, explores how the artist harnessed springtime to explore the drama of nature, the process of grief – and the power of hope.
Mary Moser and Angelica Kauffman: the RA's founding women
Angelica Kauffman and Mary Moser were the only two female founders of the Royal Academy. Here, we take a closer look at their careers and the challenges they faced within the RA.


The heat bags measure 6" by 12", are made of cotton fabric and are filled with 100% flaxseed and a blend of organic lavender, chamomile and peppermint. Flaxseed, being an herbal seed, will not create a food type smell when the bags are heated in the microwave, as can be the case with grain filled heat bags.
Heat a bag in the microwave for relaxing your aches and pains and soothing your daily stresses. We even use our heat bags to warm up the sheets on cold winter nights. Keep a bag in the freezer, for bruises, headache, fever and hot flashes.
Please be aware that these uses are suggestions only and NOT intended to be a substitute for medical care. Once purchased, "A Touch of Glass...and then some" assumes no responsibility for customer use or misuse of this product.
Heat Bags are priced at $15.95 each, or 2 for $27.00.
1. Choose the applicable Quantity option from the drop-down.
2. Enter your choice of fabric in the Fabric Selection box and click on Add to Cart. Please be aware that these heat bags are made to order. Certain fabric choices may be limited and you may be asked to choose an alternative.
3. From your shopping cart, choose your preferred method of payment.
4. Submit payment and your order will be on its way to you as soon as possible. Thanks !
For INTERNATIONAL ORDERS, please contact me with your order and DO NOT use the checkout option on the website. Your shipping and processing charges will be calculated according to location and you will be sent an invoice with instructions to complete your payment.


I'm Joshua, not George! George, my dad, opened this shop on Hawthorne in 1961. We've been fixing shoes, bags and all sorts of leatherware in SE Portland ever since. Bring us your worn and broken items, and we'll put new life into them.
Originally from Arkansas, George Thrower came to Portland and opened up George's Shoe Repair on Williams and Russell in 1957. In 1961, George moved the shop to Hawthorne. Though it's moved locations several times over the years, George's Shoe Repair has remained on Hawthorne where it's been a staple in the community for decades.
In 2017, after 60 years of running the shop, George passed the business on to his son, Joshua, a Portland native who spent years as a professional dancer. George still comes to visit sometimes, but it's Josh's shop now!