Friend of the Revolution Ken sent us this link to a story about Superman using brute force against New York City police officers.
As always, Batman used his superior intelligence to sit nearby, handcuffed to a lawn chair.
Oh, Superman... it has all gone downhill for you since "Superman Lives."
On the bright side, that cop that is putting the cuffs on is going to be famous.


Drug manufacturers Teva Pharmaceutical and Prinston Pharmaceutical were recently forced to recall the important drug valsartan after the Food and Drug Administration determined that the blood pressure medication might contain carcinogens. Drug manufacturer Alembic Pharmaceuticals was not affected by the recall, as its own version of the medication was not found to contain the same cancer-causing ingredients.
When Alembic Pharmaceuticals discovered that its two competitors were out of the game, the company made the call to drastically increase the price of all its valsartan medications by more than three times what it once was.
Not surprisingly, Alembic Pharmaceuticals is hesitant to take calls from journalists. The managing director of the Indian company, Pranav Amin, said the company is only trying to create a workable supply chain and do what it needs to do in order to adjust to the changing market and take advantage of new opportunities. The company has enjoyed a period of substantial growth in the U.S. since the price hike.
Most of the price hikes for drugs and medications in the U.S. were reported in the drugs that were least prescribed. The prices remained stable, but high, while the companies had little or not competition.
Price gouging occurs when a drug manufacturer or seller knowingly hikes the prices of a medication beyond what is considered reasonable or ethical. Unfortunately price gouging is not universally illegal, and has only been criminalized in 35 of 50 states since new laws were implemented in 2008. Whether or not these laws affect sales in those states by an Indian manufacturer is unclear, and the jury is still out on whether or not the actions of company executives for Alembic Pharmaceuticals constitute price gouging at all.
Recent Drug Recall Prompts Possible Price Gouging Attempt – Axcess News.


text:
Tempsa arctata är en insektsart som först beskrevs av Walker 1857.  Tempsa arctata ingår i släktet Tempsa och familjen sköldstritar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Sköldstritar
arctata

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Area of Research: Information Systems, Management and Strategy, Marketing.
Research interests are in the areas of dynamic capabilities theory, open innovation and collaborative innovation, and business analytics. Thesis dissertation is examining knowledge acquisition methods as a form of competitive advantage through delivering new-to-the-firm innovation.
Uma Kumar, Robert Helal, Rajendra P. Mishra, Ramesh Gupta, Ian Tower, Dana Deregowska. Study of Customer Satisfaction in Distributor-Customer Dyadic Supply Chain Relationships." Proceedings of the Marketing Management Division, Vol.23. Winnipeg, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, 2000.
Martin Skaburskis, Robert Helal, and Arnold Zidulka. "Hemodynamic Effects of External Continuous Negative Pressure Ventilation Compared with Those of Continuous Positive Pressure Ventilation in Dogs with Acute Lung Injury", American Review of Respiratory Disease, Vol. 136, No. 4 (1987), pp. 886-891.
Don R. Hanson, Maryanne M. Mowen, David W. Senkow, and Raili M. Pollanen. "Supply Chain Management ." Management Accounting: Canadian Sixth Edition. Nelson, Division of Thompson Canada Limited, Canada, 2004, Section Author 810-811.


The Cirql suite is a full featured business platform. Here are some of the ways we can help you grow your business.
We provide high quality custom web development, graphic design, marketing and business support. We can provide strategic advice about a wide range of business processes supported by Cirql.
Branding is central to business success. Cirql's design team can assist with the design and production of the full range of online and print marketing strategies. Logos, business cards and letterheads complement your web and email design. Crisp, clean design that is highly readable and usable on and offline.
Cirql's email capabilities are a powerful communication tool. By fully integrating your email systems within your Cirql system you can direct more customers to your website, monitor results and respond in real time to changing needs.
Cirql's servers are located in Australia's largest and most secure data centre. With Cirql web services, everything is catered for.
Cirql provides an integrated business email solution. Set up any number of email accounts with access to webmail.
We'll contact you to establish your needs. Cirql is committed to the highest standard of service and support.
Our site wizard is a simple form that allows you to set up a fully functioning website.
Cirql's theme manager allows you to experiment with different layouts and designs. You can use a standard design and layout with your branding or talk to us to establish your exact needs.
It's yours to evaluate. During that time, you can contact us by online help, phone or email so we can help you properly evaluate all features of the Cirql system against your business needs.	We guarantee your privacy.


Stem Cell Treatment for Autism - Restoring Brain Damage!
Stem Cell Treatment for Autism – Restoring Brain Damage!
Autism is an abnormal development of brain function that affects 1 in 166 children. The actual cause of autism is believed to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors that makes some kids to be more likely to develop this condition. However, the root culprit for autism remains unknown, scientists can only guess at this point and carry out more research in this field to help thousands of affected families.
Despite stem cells controversy and obvious opposition to such treatments expressed by some religious and public organizations, stem cells treatment for autism is a necessary direction of modern scientific research that can potentially help reverse brain damage caused by multiple factors. There are two major malfunctions that need to be corrected with the help of stem cell treatment for autism, shortage of oxygen that reaches the brain and chronic autoimmune response attacking patient's own immune systems.
Modern advances in clinical studies allow autism affected children to greatly benefit from the stem cell research that offer great prospects of finally finding a cure for this life-shattering disease.
During a course of a stem cell treatment for autism a patient goes through a lumbar puncture to collect bone marrow for the purpose of harvesting mesenchymal stem cells that later get processed in a lab. Patient's own umbilical cord stem cell specimen could also be used to obtain a dose of the stem cells. The last stage of stem cell treatment for autism involves an injection of the stem cells back into the patient's spinal fluid that will later reach the brain and trigger a process of brain cell regeneration.
At this point it's hard to judge if the stem cell treatment for autism is going to be possible at a large scale and even successful at all, but let's hope that this unique procedure can help restore health to millions of autistic children in the world.
Stem cell treatment for diabetes is another innovative approach that can potentially restore function to the pancreas cells responsible for producing insulin and take millions of people off daily insulin drug therapy.
We can not help mentioning that stem cell therapy does not limit itself to a single disease or condition, it can virtually restore function to any living tissue and cell in the body, like for example stem cell treatment for heart disease, that can revive damaged heart cells after a heart attack or grow a new heart if necessary to save lives of many more people.


text:
\section{Introduction}
Chatbots are software programs that can simulate a conversation in natural language, and are a promising technology for customer services in various contexts (e.g., finance, health care and tourism). Providing personalised experiences enables the provision of more effective user services. Personalisation is the ability to dynamically adapt functionality to an individual to better suit user needs \cite{fan2006personalization}. In a chatbot context, it is accomplished through the effective processing of a user's responses, and the identification and adaptation to information in disclosed during the conversation. Despite the advantages of chatbots, this process can often led to a tension between the requirements for service quality and the need for user privacy. These are both important topics within the context of human-computer interaction \cite{williams2019smartwatch}.

Information disclosure to chatbots and factors that have an impact on it have been widely studied in the literature and the privacy concerns are often identified as a barrier to individual's disclosing information \cite{ghosh2020understanding,lee2013people,suganuma2020understanding,treiblmaier2013trust}. However, the main issues that lead to privacy concerns in chatbot interactions and the design practices that challenge data privacy principles, are often overlooked. Hence, in this study, we provide the perspective of British citizens privacy concerns surrounding the design practices of AI-based chatbots.

We conducted an empirical study with 491 participants where four main challenges or ambiguities in agent design have been evaluated. These are, third-party access to personal information, inappropriate use of information once shared with chatbots, loss of control over personal data, and finally, ambiguities regarding the deletion of personal data. In addition, we investigated the factors that help to build trust in user/human-chatbot interaction. We investigated five factors for this purpose; the gender of the chatbot, use of a chatbot avatar, the quality of responses received from the chatbot, the friendliness of the chatbot, and the grammatical correctness of the language used by the agent. Our findings contribute to the literature by providing insights from a UK perspective on the main privacy concerns particular to chatbot design. These results can help to design user-centered solutions prioritising and respecting the privacy concerns of users.

\section{Literature Review}

Folstad et al. \cite{folstad2018makes} categorised the factors perceived to affect trust in chatbots for customer service into two high-level groups; factors concerning the chatbots and factors concerning the service environment. Quality in interpretation of the user requests and advice in response to request were given as factors in the first category. They were followed by human-likeliness, self presentation (which describes the chatbot's communication of what it can do and its limitations) and professional appearance. Professional appearance in this context was defined as being thoughtfully developed and the chatbot providing grammatically correct responses. The authors reported three factors concerning the service environment; brand of the service provider, security and privacy aspects of the service, and the perceived risk associated with using the chatbot. The ability for the chatbot to correctly interpret the user requests and the  advice in the response were the most frequently reported factors identified by the participants.  Ischen et al. \cite{ischen2019privacy} investigated to what extent privacy concerns in chatbot interactions have an impact on users' attitudes and their adherence to the recommendations provided by the chatbot. In addition, findings revealed that information disclosure is indeed influenced by privacy concerns.

Even though the privacy concerns or perceived risk are a well-known factors that have impact on trust to chatbots, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study that investigates the issues behind perceived risk in user-chatbot interactions. However, some design practices in AI-based chatbots introduce several challenges to design privacy aware solutions. In their study, Saglam and Nurse identified open issues in agent design from a data privacy perspective where GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has been used as privacy regulation~\cite{saglam2020your}. The lack of algorithmic transparency, the difficulties in managing consent, and the difficulties in exercising the right to be forgotten, are some of the open issues raised.

In this current study, bearing in mind the nature of chatbot technology and the challenges they provide for assuring data privacy, we prepared a survey where participants were asked to evaluate their concerns regarding deleting their personal information, third-party sharing, and losing control over their personal data. Our results contribute to formulate privacy concerns in chatbot design taking into account the design practices of this technology.

\section{Method} \label{section:Methodology}
We implemented a survey on the SurveyMonkey platform and asked participants to provide their opinions on two issues; potential risks that result in concerns in chatbot interaction and the factors that lead them to trust a chatbot. Before those questions, we posed questions to collect informed consent from the participants.  Demographic characteristics of the participants (age group, gender, and educational level) were also collected. The chatbot-centered questions used a 7-point Likert scale and asked the following questions:

\begin{itemize}
    \item To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
\begin{itemize}
  \item After using a chatbot, I would feel that others know about me more than I am comfortable with.
  \item After using a chatbot, I would worry that any personal information that I shared with it could be inappropriately used
  \item After using a chatbot, I believe that I would have control over who can get access to any personal information that I shared with it
  \item After using a chatbot, I would worry about how to delete any personal information that I shared with it
\end{itemize}
\item How important are each of the following factors in determining whether you trust a chatbot or not?
\begin{itemize}
  \item The gender of the chatbot
  \item Whether the chatbot has an avatar (picture or visual depiction)
  \item The quality of responses received from the chatbot
  \item The friendliness of the chatbot
  \item The grammatical correctness of the language used.
\end{itemize}
\end{itemize}

\subsection{Participants}
This study's ultimate goal is to explore the perspective of British citizens on the privacy concerns of chatbot interactions. Therefore, we recruited participants using Prolific\footnote{https://www.prolific.co/}, which allowed us to reach a representative sample of UK citizens based on gender, age and ethnicity. We included six attention checking questions and excluded the participants who failed in more than one attention question.

Within the 491 valid participants 49.7\% self-identified as male, and 10.4\% being aged between 18 and 24, 19.2\% between 25 and 34, 15.9\% between 25 and 44, 18.9\% between 45 and 54 and 35.6\% being 55 and over. When considering the highest-level of the participant's education 15.5\% achieved a GCSE-level of education\footnote{Typically taken at 15 years of age}, 28.1\% achieved an A-level or equivalent\footnote{A subject-based qualification between typically forming the period from leaving compulsory education to pre-university education}, 34.4\% achieved an undergraduate degree, 18.7\% a postgraduate degree and 3.3\% a doctorate.

\subsection{Analysis}
The analysis conducted for this study was a mixture of descriptive and quantitative statistics. Proportional-odds logistic regression models \cite{polr} were built to model the effects of age, gender and education. Ordinal regression, such as the proportional-odds logistic regression used in this study, is a common approach to modelling problems where the dependent variable (in this case, the Likert response) is ordinal. The model coefficients provide an insight into the effects of these variables on how participants rate their concerns or levels of trust.

\section{Results}
\label{section:Results}
\subsection{When to worry?}
We asked our participants to evaluate three main concerns: privacy concerns around others knowing more than they are comfortable with after chatbot interaction; worries around inappropriate use, and how to delete personal information. We also asked their beliefs on whether they would have control over who can access their personal information. The results from this are shown in Figure~\ref{fig:data_privacy_concern}.

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.7\linewidth]{agency_overview-1.pdf}
    \caption{The responses from the data privacy concerns.}
    \label{fig:data_privacy_concern}
\end{figure}

Our findings reveal that UK citizens are most frequently concerned about how to delete personal information. Followed by concerns about whether the data would be inappropriately used.

When we perform a logistic regression analysis to examine the influence of user factors (age group, gender, education) on these concerns, we found no interaction from the gender or education variables. However, the proportional odds logistic regression model results revealed a significant age effect in the top three concerns. This effect is shown in Figure~\ref{fig:age_effects_concerns}. The logistic-regression models show statistical significance (at a 5\% significance level) for both the 45 to 55 age group and the over 55 age group.

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.45\linewidth]{how_to_delete_age_effect-1.pdf}
    \includegraphics[width=0.45\linewidth]{inappropriate_used_age_effect-1.pdf} \\
    \vspace{0.6cm}
    \includegraphics[width=0.45\linewidth]{know_more_than_comfy_age_effect-1.pdf}
    \caption{The effect of age on the data privacy concerns.}
    \label{fig:age_effects_concerns}
\end{figure}

\subsection{When to trust?}
When we analyse the responses given to our second question surrounding what engenders trust, we observe that there is a preference for `technical' quality in chatbots above other characteristics (see Figure~\ref{fig:trust}). This preference demonstrates the impact of the grammatical correctness and quality of the response over more `socially-driven' elements such as an avatar's presence, an interpreted gender or concepts such as `friendliness'.

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.7\linewidth]{trust_overall-1.pdf}
    \caption{The responses when considering the characteristics which engender trust.}
    \label{fig:trust}
\end{figure}

When we performed the same logistic regression analysis on this data, we again found no significant effect from either the participants' education level or the self-described gender. However, when we consider the participant's age, we again begin to see some interesting effects. When we consider the response quality, we can see no significant effect from the participants' age. There was also no age effect associated with the gender presented by the chatbot. The effect of age on the importance of the response's grammatical correctness was significant, although small for those in the highest age bracket, and the remaining age-groups exhibited no significant differences. The remaining two characteristics, whether an avatar was present and the `friendliness' of the avatar, did have an effect from the age of the participant. These characteristics are shown in Figure~\ref{fig:age_effects_characteristics} with those under 45  considering these characteristics more important when engendering trust with a chatbot.

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.45\linewidth]{avatar_present_age_effect-1.pdf}
    \includegraphics[width=0.45\linewidth]{friendliness_age_effect-1.pdf}
    \caption{The effect of age on the chatbot characteristics that engender trust.}
    \label{fig:age_effects_characteristics}
\end{figure}

\section{Discussion and Conclusion}
This study aimed to investigate users' privacy concerns and to understand features that are important to build trust in services mediated by chatbots.

The first emerging issue is the feeling of the loss of agency over data provided to a chatbot, with significant concerns over the ability to delete data and concerns around how the data would be used. The chatbot effectively decouples the individual disclosing the data from the final users of the data. This decoupling reduces the user's saliency of the value gained to the user from each disclosure; this has been shown to reduce the desire to disclose data \cite{lee2013people}. Hence, we should reduce this gap where possible and ensure users perceive they maintain agency over their data. The significant effect from the age of the respondent is an important observation. Suppose we are looking to build inclusive, digital systems that responsibly support citizens and user-bases. In that case, designers should be aware that these age groups may have more significant concerns in their use of chatbots. A system that explicitly addresses these concerns early in the interaction is likely to enable better disclosures and outcomes for all users.

The second emerging issue was the chatbot characteristics that engender trust in a chatbot. The factors which had the most significant effect were the response quality and the grammatical correctness of the responses. These factors represent the most salient cue to a user about the `competence' of the designer, builder and operator of the chatbot. It is perhaps not surprising that this engenders trust in the chatbot --- and it is noteworthy that this was consistent across all users independent of age, gender and education.

However, there was an age effect associated with the effect of two of the chatbot's characteristics. We identified that those under 45 were significantly more likely to use an avatar and the chatbot's `friendliness' when deciding whether to trust a chatbot. This separation between those over 45 and those under 45 appears several times in this dataset. We hypothesise that this relates to the Xennials, who had an analogue childhood but a digital adulthood. These individuals will have had the introduction to technology with a very un-human interface, which is likely to lower their expectations of machine interfaces. Those who have had a digital childhood and indeed come to computing where there are many more rich interfaces such as touchscreens and pervasive technology in the home perhaps set a higher expectation on these rich interactions. All of these issues are areas we are looking to explore in more depth.

A final comment would be orientated around the effect of participants age, particularly on the value placed on chatbots' characteristics. There are significant differences in the effect of avatars and the perceived `friendliness' of chatbots, particularly between those aged 18-24 and those aged over 45. If we are to base our understanding of how to design systems from an evidence-base driven by this younger cohort, we risk creating systems that are not effective for all ages.

\section*{Acknowledgements}
This work is funded by the UK EPSRC `A Platform for Responsive Conversational Agents to Enhance Engagement and Disclosure (PRoCEED)' project (EP/S027211/1 and EP/S027297/1).

\bibliographystyle{splncs04}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Packed 36 packs/case. Price includes shipping. No additional charges should not apply.
Note: You must purchase only this item. Adding additional items to your cart will not allow this to ship via post office due to the fact it barely fits in the quick ship box. Price includes $14.95 Priority Rate box rate.


Chef and restaurateur Jackson Boxer is opening a second restaurant with his business partner and chef director Andrew Clarke.
St. Leonard's will open on Leonard Street in Shoreditch this May, and will be the second shared venture for the pair.
The menu will be inspired in part by South West France, following a series of dinners Clarke developed at his solo restaurant, Bastien. Other influences will be drawn from the rustic style of cooking both chefs learned from their grandmothers.
A regularly-changing menu will include a raw bar of fish, vegetables and crustaceans; and larger plates such as whole roast duck and ribs of veal, cooked over a log-fired hearth.
Much of the vegetable produce will come from Pound Farm in West Sussex, where the duo have been developing the menu.
The 70-cover restaurant will feature an open kitchen based around the log-fired hearth, and an adjacent ice bar.
A 50-cover bar will serve snacks, charcuterie and shellfish, alongside a 200-strong wine list; a cocktail menu; and a cognac and Armagnac-focused spirit list.
A 12-cover private dining room will be available for private hire and for catered daytime meetings.
Jackson is currently chef patron of Brunswick House and executive chef for the Chess Club in Mayfair.
Andrew Clarke joined Brunswick House as chef director at the beginning of 2016, following a series of stints at high-profile kitchens including Salt Yard, The Square, St. John, Anchor & Hope and The Swan in West Malling.
Clarke is also co-owner of Clapton neighbourhood biker café Jim's Café, alongside award-winning bartender Tony Congliaro and The Black Skulls.
Since assuming his role at the restaurant, Brunswick House has received consistently positive reviews from the likes of Fay Maschler, Jay Rayner and the late AA Gill.


Building a meaningful career starts with self-understanding and knowing your career options. Watch the Major Decisions 101 video if you are undecided on a major. If you have declared a major, but are uncertain about what career paths you can pursue, watch the Exploring Career Paths video. Both videos will provide you with valuable tips and resources to further develop your career plan.
Once you've watched the video, use this Explore Majors/Careers Checklist as a guide.
Use Focus2 to assess your career planning readiness, work interests and personality type. To learn more about how to use Focus2, download the Focus2 Guide and watch the Focus2 video.
Develop career readiness skills over the course of one semester by completing the Explore Careers Badge, part of the Career Readiness Passport Program.
Wondering what it's like to work in a particular occupation or pursue a graduate degree? Consider talking to SJSU alumni who have made it to your dream career or workplace and can share their journeys. Log in to to arrange an informational interview with an alumni professional today.


This error may occur when attempting to delete old queries that have been used in the filters of post parameters. This error will still show if the post parameter has been deleted while the filter was still set to selected and using the query.
Go to Accounts Payable, Query.
Receive error: Query 'Query name' is used for filtering (Post Parameter ) and cannot be deleted.


The ID which an author assigns to a piece of content at creation time may laterturn out to be inappropriate.
Navigate to the folder containing the piece of content which you would like to rename.
To retrieve a list of the content you have authored, see View personally authored content.
In the "Folder contents" view of the folder, check the box next to the content object(s) which you would like to rename.
The system will display a form listing each selected content object, with input fields for the new ID for each. Supply new IDs, and click the "OK" button.
The content has now been renamed; you will be redirected to the folder contents listing with a notification message to that effect.


After a tough competition between design studios, ad agencies and design schools in China, CAFA won the bid to design the prized Olympic medals and a series of thirty-five pictograms for the Paralympics.
"We worked together and narrowed our selection from a large number of ideas and submitted them to the Beijing Olympic Committee. The committee then narrowed the field further and we put together a team of the best students, postgraduates and faculty members to finalise the design.
Wang said his role as design director for the games came about in October 2006, after a lot of the design work had already happened.
"For a long time, the 2008 Beijing Olympic committee didn't have an art director or a design director," he said. "When I became the director the first thing I had to consider was how to unite everything.
"Our slogan – One World, One Dream – is a very good one and in an ideal world the slogan and images should have been developed together as one region, one voice and one image.
Wang also said that design education is changing in China, as students are encouraged to explore China's cultural identity – both traditional and contemporary. "We realised that we needed to let our students find their own voices and language," he said.
"And I encourage students to learn from ordinary people. We have done research projects where we send students out onto the street and into the countryside to document what people put on their front door or in front of their small restaurant; they look at the signage, the advertisements.
Its name means 'peasant' in Catalan. It's old and insular, because it was born more than a century ago on a small Spanish island. It despises life on the fast track. It does not follow fashion but focuses on comfort above all.


A fascinating ethnic map of 1920 Paris, and the suggestion that the metropolis was colonised by the provinces rather than vice versa.
France's shockingly recent 'pagan' past (from the word paganus, not coincidentally Latin for 'rustic') is resurrected in Graham Robb's The Discovery of France, a fantastic study brimming with fascinating portraits, meticulously reconstructed scenes and bizarre facts about a country before it was centralised, homogenised and tamed by its rationalist hub, Paris.
Catalan, Basque and Galician separatists perversely smear any attempt to end local state intervention in one's personal freedom to choose one's language as Jacobinism. The Jacobin Club, whose legacy was the imposition of French as the national language, was of course the invention of Breton deputies. If it has any heirs in contemporary Spain, the regional nationalists are the most obvious candidates.
How have Rafael Ramos, Josep Maria Casasús and other disgraces to journalism been able to survive so long at La Vanguardia?


text:
Confusion and Stable Data
In regard to life, L. Ron Hubbard delineates the anatomy of confusion, illustrating why a stable datum is far more valuable than a line of logic. In regard to auditing, phenomena that occur between auditor and preclear, both in and out of the auditing room, can be understood in terms of confusion and a stable datum. One who knows this technology is poised to achieve far greater success as an auditor, preclear and in life.
Svenska English Deutsch Dansk Español (Castellano) Italiano Español (Latino) Ελληνικά (Greek) Français Nederlands Magyar Русский (Russian) 繁體中文 (Chinese) 日本語 (Japanese) Portuguès Norsk Hebrew
More About Confusion and Stable Data
I'm going to talk to you now about confusion and stable data. And these are extremely important things in the mind, in the world, in the pc and in the auditor. —L. Ron Hubbard
Here is the breakthrough technology that can resolve any and all confusions—but from a new perspective. For this is the stable datum applied to both life and auditing.
In regard to life, Mr. Hubbard delineates the anatomy of confusion, illustrating why a stable datum is far more valuable than a line of logic. In regard to auditing, phenomena that routinely occur between auditor and preclear, both in and out of the auditing room, can be understood in terms of confusion and a stable datum. Viewed from this perspective, auditing and the auditor-preclear relationship take on new meaning, for these fundamentals lie at the foundation of every successful session.
Here, then, are discoveries about the very woof and warp of existence. Whether or not an individual is aware of these principles, they are in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One who knows this technology—and particularly, who understands its whys and wherefores—is poised to achieve far greater success as an auditor, preclear and in life.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only)
Synkkis Kyyneltya
"Strange... I had no brace for the aberrant nature of this power."
Profession: Mercenary Tactician
Profile: Synkkis
OoC Alias: Cyril/Lucien/Landrik/Freya
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Sept 18, 2014 1:25:48 GMT -6
Post by Synkkis Kyyneltya on Sept 18, 2014 1:25:48 GMT -6
Resting on a crate, boots in the mud, a young Ilian man with tattered clothes finished a hearty meal of dumplings, pork, and a bit of bread to clean his plate. He had paid well for this meal, for it could've been his last. His pockets were stuffed and his rucksack that had more than its share of mending patches holding it together was as well. He had already paid for his meal with the gold he had acquired in Bern. The metal weights seemed worthless to him and were merely a burden most of the time, but the only way he could talk to people for things without much trouble was with the damn paperweights. Such was life in the area.
The Spine, as referred in common tongue by those who traveled it often, was a mountain range that extended from Ilia to Nabata. It had an arm that extended out to preserve the border between Ilia and Etruria. This jointed area was dominated by sheer cliffs and unreachable peaks. It was home.
Grunting from the added weight, the man made his way to the other side of town. His hood patched with a dark bit of cloth with a strange insignia on it covered his snowy white hair, but the animal skull strapped to his shoulder certainly identified himself from a far to anyone who ever wanted to know. Men like him were known as hermits, hunters, and in-land mercenaries. In Elibe, this was a bit of an insult to anyone with aspirations for greatness.
Synkkis Kyyneltya had enough of that greatness. The strings of fate pulled him along, but he loved his homeland. Now, he was going to defend it. Setting his rucksack down in front of a sunken-face gray bearded man, the old man took no time to hesitate about explaining the details to the mercenary. "Alright, boy. I suspect you're ready. I'd send someone with you, but all of our men of fighting age are down in Bern right now." he said, trying to reassure him.
Silent, the Shaman reached into front right pocket and pulled out a note that had a small twine string around it. "I only know what was written on the summon. Folk around here seem afraid - as if they'd seen the ghosts of the mountains visit them out of season." he explained, twirling the note in his hand.
With a concerned sigh, the old man just shook his head in disappointment. "It's true, lad. The dead have been seen walking on the ranges above the village. We reckon it's only a matter of time 'fore they attack." the elder looked away, twiddling with his thumbs. It seemed as if he had more to say, but wasn't sure if he should say it. Synkkis let the moment slide for now. He was more focused on the talk of undead.
"So, we've got them up here in Skaven? It's too hard to navigate here directly from the south towards Ostia. It's strange, as if someone were behind it." he deducted which only made the old man sweat more. He replaced his note and rested his hands on his belt. "Well, how many summons did you send for?" the Ilian asked, trying to look up at the heights from where he stood. He didn't see any figures up there at the moment so far away, but to him that didn't mean much. "I need to know if I'll be getting any help."
The old man wiped the palms of his hands on his trousers and stood up, looking Synkkis in the eyes. "I asked for help from the Ilian government, but they dismissed us. I sent for requests to nearly everyone I know, but without the travel coming in from the West, we just aren't that important anymore. It'd be a blessing from St. Elimine if anyone else would come to our call of aid. I'm lucky you were so close." he said with his true feelings pouring out with the round-about thanks he expressed to the odd purple-cloaked man. Synkkis only replied with a smile, but that was enough for the old man. He didn't need niceties to be thankful for what was given.
"Don't worry about it anymore. Make sure everyone is inside before dark and all of your doors and windows are locked is all I ask. I'll figure something out. I may head out tonight to get a better lay of the land over here in these parts." he said, now looking back to where he was scanning before.
"Well, there's another thing too. There were some valuables up there that I dropped and ran from when I first encountered the horrid beasts. A lot of my livelihood are in those chests. I suppose you can figure what I'd like for you to do." he said, doing his best to try and convince the Shaman to take up the request.
"Possibly. I'm more worried about the beasts themselves. None of y'all will have a livelihood if they manage to get into town with numbers." he said plainly and with honesty. "Still, I'll wait around here to see if anyone else will join me tonight." Bah. Hope. He had to anticipate not a lick of help, Ancestors protect him.
Last Edit: Feb 6, 2015 21:40:47 GMT -6 by Synkkis Kyyneltya
A travelling strategist seeking to perfect the Elder Arts. Analytical and reserved.
C - Selibas
C - Alaric
Lynessa
Manakete
"I am glad Ilia doesn't have summer..."
Profession: Tavern owner, housewife
Dragon Element: Ice
OoC Alias: Mana
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Sept 19, 2014 14:32:47 GMT -6
Post by Lynessa on Sept 19, 2014 14:32:47 GMT -6
Lynessa landed on the snowy ground after she made sure no one was in the vicinity. The pair of blue wings on her back was engulfed in faint light, gradually disappearing as if it had never been there. Having ability to fly was convenient but she had to be careful not to be seen. At least not spotted from close. Running her fingers through her hairs to move the violet strands away from her eyes, the ice dragon looked at the town which was still pretty far from where she was observing. In her right hand was the metal rod she had just purchased recently while a small note was in the left hand. The summon wasn't personally directed to her, she had obtained it from a patron of her inn who had received it from someone else. The ice dragon came here to investigate the situation, although she would always lend her strength if needed. Using her metal rod as walking stick, she carefully walked on the snow. She smiled, enjoying the improved balance and the sense of safety from holding the rod. It would take ten or fifteen minutes to reach the town with her pace.
It was a nice town although maybe a bit quiet. Maybe because most of the men had gone fighting somewhere. Not surprising. Ilia had been pretty busy lately so the mercenaries, who made up probably more than half of Ilia population, had been dispatched to battle. She didn't really like it, though. Thanks to the Bern subjugation war, the safety within Ilia territory had deteriorated because most of its forces was in Bern fighting rebels.
Lynessa didn't know who had sent the note so she just walked toward the designated place. The sender should be there, right? After strolling around for a few minutes she saw an old man and another man with white hair. Well, she couldn't be sure if they were the people she should meet, the note didn't explain much. Whatever. Sighing, she decided to approach them. The violet-haired woman purposely held the note high so those people could see it.
Last Edit: Sept 19, 2014 14:43:42 GMT -6 by Lynessa
Mana's alt
Fight for what you believe in, preferably without dying.
Profile: Victoria
OoC Alias: Marshall
Post by Victoria on Sept 20, 2014 12:33:41 GMT -6
Victoria's gaze was constantly switching between the path ahead of her and the note she held in her hand as she wandered around her unfamiliar surroundings, her lance leaving a line in the snow behind her as the bottom of it dragged behind her. This was a process that she had been doing for a while now, but it was becoming more frequent as she came closer and closer to her destination. Of course, she hadn't been personally invited to join whoever was going to show up at this place. She had simply found the discarded summon stuck against the fence, held there by the blowing of the wind. Curious, she had picked it up and read it, following the directions on the note to lead her to the correct place. The walk there was a pretty long one, at least an hour or so, but the lengths that Victoria would go to in order to get herself into trouble were pretty amazing sometimes.
After a few more minutes of getting lost, she managed (by some miracle) to stumble upon the place specified in the note. From the entrance, she could see a few people in there, some of hem talking and others... not talking. Deciding to poke her nose into everyone else's business, Victoria stepped out of the doorway for a second. Leaning her lance against the wall beside the door, she took up a position beside the lance and poked her head through the doorway, stowing the note away as she did so. She would try to listen in on the conversation before deciding if it was worth it to stick around for longer or not. Perhaps she could have done so simply by examining the note longer for more details, but that would take the thrill out of it. At least, that's how she decided to justify not reading the note fully.
The two standing under the awning of the old man's building looked outwards. The old man sat in a comfortable rocking chair well-crafted and very much looking home made. Synkkis stood and just leaned against one of the simple wooden pillars with his arm. The young man picked his teeth clean with his tongue. He could feel his blood warm with the fresh meal.
From ahead on the path, a violet-haired woman, appeared and held up a note that fluttered in the ever-changing wind. Her hair looked much more vibrant than his own tattered cloak did even when it was brand new and he immediately took note of her face, followed by her attire. Very pristine and clean for this harsh environment. The summon must've come from a city, but that assumption didn't bother him. Anyone who would stick their neck out for this depopulated village was valued to the utmost.
Across the muddy path from the hole-in-the-wall tavern that Synkkis just ate his fill from, he saw a girl who also had purple hair, but it was much darker. In all actuality, the rest of her outfit was purple as well. How lucky of Synkkis that he'd be treated with the sight of his favorite color at nearly every turn today. Was it good luck of some sort? He tried to not get too superstitious, but it was perhaps a good omen of some sort. Not wanting to bother the girl too much, he nodded his head and then focused his attention to the woman who was clearly there to go on the short expedition.
He waved his free hand back and forth, notifying the woman that he also understood what her note was and meant for. As she came in closer, the Shaman pulled out his own note as he had shown the old man.
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Nov 1, 2014 0:13:41 GMT -6
Post by Synkkis Kyyneltya on Nov 1, 2014 0:13:41 GMT -6
A certain chill swept across the steep, yet small valley. Naturally the clouds full of snow ahead had not dropped a single snowflake, but seen in the break of clouds, the Shaman spotted a large cluster of dark spots with flickering red lights that were haunting in appearance. The Ilian uncharacteristically wrapped his cloak around him as he felt a chill shoot up his spine.
"Ah, so ye'd seen 'em. Ye got yer work cut out ta cleanse them peaks of such unholy evils." the old man groaned with sorrow in his voice. "I'd go up there meself if I wasn't so unfit to fight..." he reminisced of his younger days. Synkkis could tell the man hadn't much embraced his old age, but has learned to live with its limitations.
"We certainly could've used your help - but I understand. Try to help those who have stayed understand that you're doing all you can here. It may assist in bringing in others in case we fail. I'm sure you know all about preparing for the worst." the tactician commented, not taking his eyes off the break in the clouds. The clouds then concealed the horrors, breaking Synkkis' eye contact. This set him to a state of action. He unfurled his tattered cloak and crossed his arms. He shouted to the others who had held the papers in their hands. "I'm leaving now! If you are to join me, then follow! If not, that is of your own volition. The chances of success are slim. Cunning, strength, endurance, and teamwork will be necessary if we are to even survive reaching the summit. Whether I am to venture myself or with companions..." The Ilian drifted off, not really finding the inspiration to continue speaking. He never cared for saying anything to rally the spirits of others. He was now much more interested in just getting the job done.
Synkkis wasn't entirely sure he'd survive this. He had always been on the bad end of jobs, although he had managed to survive all the way up until now.
He started marching up the muddied trail to the mountains that contained the undead. The plentiful amounts of fir trees were loaded with snow and a frozen creek ran alongside the narrow path. The cold seeped into everything here. However, his upbringing and the warm food that sat in his belly did him excellently in that moment to push him along.
Passing multiple markers primarily used by hunters, Synkkis could really tell that the mountains had been evacuated. The trail was now harder to find without recent tracks. The occasional cabin would be vacant with all of the livestock and belongings taken with whomever was living there.
The winds started to pick up here, the wind chill burning the exposed flesh of the unprepared. Anything that may have been wet or soaked bit into the bones if left unattended. Jagged rocks protruded from the earth, making the climb difficult and then nearly impossible. Just beneath the cloud cover, it looked as if they were climbing straight into the heavens. What greeted them at the summit was nothing but a supremely dense fog.
'By the grace of the Gods I didn't run into any trouble so far. Those monsters won't leave me a moment of peace once they take notice of the intruder in their midst...' Synkkis thought, as he took a knee and packed all of his gear ready for combat. His thoughts were interrupted by a howling sound that was joined by others. Unseen, Synkkis caught a stray gray wolf run through the mist. With how it was acting, he could tell it was on the hunt. "An opportune beginning. Nature guide me to my prey." Synkkis said to himself as he ran crouched over to the animal's tracks.
Last Edit: Nov 1, 2014 8:12:01 GMT -6 by Synkkis Kyyneltya
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Dec 5, 2014 0:22:47 GMT -6
Post by Synkkis Kyyneltya on Dec 5, 2014 0:22:47 GMT -6
Creeping forward with stealth as to not alert his opportune allies, he managed to get in closely to hear the panting of the wolves mixed with the unearthly groans he couldn't pinpoint the location of. To make himself ready, he unlatched the cover on his satchel where two worn black books were held side by side. The man placed his fingers on the one he was familiar with as he continued to listen.
The movements were now spattered with the sound of beastly combat. Growls, yelps, barks and howls pierced the air as the tactician was sure blood was being spilled. Using this distraction, the man bounded between the large rocks and made himself hardly seen in his cover. Heading off to his right, he almost stumbled into the skirmish as an area of low ground had essentially become an arena with bloodstains and the stiff, lifeless bodies of the slain. Three wolves had two revenants surrounded and all were wounded to some degree. There were more seriously wounded, but none would survive the night.
The three coordinated their strikes at once and leaped forward, one of the wolves meeting a quick death, piercing his skull with the talons of one of the rotted figures. They both were hit, however, and the one weighed down with the fresh kill fell to the earth. They frantically went for his neck and tore his head clean from his torso. They hadn't a moment to rest before the sluggish monster was upon them once more. Synkkis, watching with both interest and the thrill of the sport, was also hesitant. He certainly could control his magic well enough to land devastating blows that could fell a beast in one hit, but he could not accurately strike with confidence. This was a moment for these warriors as a lone soul was their witness.
The creature lashed out at the wolf that had not the remains of a ripped neck in its jaws and was wounded gravely in the leg. In his distress, he backed away to lick his wounds. Distracted, the other wolf leaped through the air and also landed a killing blow with its fierce teeth puncturing the monster's neck. It was with relief Synkkis saw the tough and wild inhabitants win out against the invasive foe.
He spoke too soon.
Three more revenants, one looking much more grizzly than the others stumbled into the pit from the far side. The wolf was quick to slay one of the revenants before it had a clue as to what was going on, but the other two were able to make themselves aware in no time at all. The large monster stomped its way towards the fit wolf, their attacks being a flurry of movement as they parried and dodged each others' moves. The beast was able to land a few strikes, but nothing of great significance to the undead. The other, unhindered, slowly made his way to the injured wolf and sliced a great gash through its chest, leaving it to bleed out on the snow-speckled grass.
This was the time for Synkkis to strike with determination. Quickly drawing his tome forward, he summoned a great ball of jet black fluid that lit like oil in a purple flame. It seeped into the ground and arose all around the stumbling horror in tendrils. He was too slow to avoid the devastating blow. Crushing the monster, Synkkis threw his attention back to the brute of a revenant. The two were still in battle, the wolf fighting with all of its might. The shaman was uncertain if he could hit the fiend or it'd miss and hit his ally, but it was not a moment to contemplate such action. The Gods would guide his hand. Summoning another sea of tendrils forth from around the two, his prayers were answered. The hulking mass fell to its knees and toppled over with a shattered skull. The wolf was still on the enemy, his jaws locked around his unmoving arm.
Not knowing if his ally would turn on him, he slowly backed away to the edge of the bloody battleground not turning his back until he was out of sight. Noticing the surroundings due to a small break in the fog, he saw that the sound of battle drew most of what was up here into the fight. He could move further along in relative safety than he anticipated. The omen was true, it was a good start after all.
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Dec 25, 2014 20:58:43 GMT -6
Post by Synkkis Kyyneltya on Dec 25, 2014 20:58:43 GMT -6
The surroundings were painfully quiet, with only the wind singing its tune and nibbling at his exposed skin. The thick fog persisted and it constantly made him worry as he tried gazing through the fog. He would have intermittent moments of panic when he would see a rock in the distance that looked like a figure, but wasn't, and then moments of 'Damn it all! If they are to come, then let them.'. It would rotate constantly as he knew better than to be caught off guard. As far as he could see, it was only him. That left him weak in case something were to happen. To help himself, he made small marks in the landscape with either a branch, stacked rocks, or something that he knew to look for.
He reached an area of small cliffs. Not impossible to navigate, but certainly not easy. He figured the enemy would have not passed this natural barrier, so he decided to double back and try to cover a little more ground. In the patchwork of snow, he was able to make out a large collection of footprints. The enemy. Was it the ones from before? Moving closer, he could see that they were recent. Following the tracks he only found himself returning to the area where the small battle was fought.
The Shaman sighed heavily, his breath condensing and being carried away by the wind. He latched his leather book case close and instead reached for his pipe. Loading it with a bit of rich tobacco, he struck a match and lit the simple wooden pipe. He clenched the stem in his teeth as he put away such fire-making accessories and took a few puffs to calm his nerves. Simple pleasures like this made him appreciate being alive.
A strange wheezing sound that he almost dismissed as the wind caught his attention while he had the small sack in his hands. He looked downwards to see one of the torn undead still moving and once it had realized the dark mage in front of it was something living to strike down, it seemed to spring to life if such a thing were possible. Caught off guard, Synkkis dropped his pouch and stumbled backwards. He was too slow in his reaction and was caught across the shin.
Falling down, the man struggled and grasped at his tome bag. His nervous fingers fumbled with the simple clasp and the crawling monster was only a moment before he would be upon him again. Just as he managed to get the satchel open the revenant was within striking distance. Out of a primal reaction, he kicked the beast in the face, stunning it for only a second. It was futile enough as it had wrapped its filthy arm around the same leg and scratched him once more in the same area, causing him intense pain. Managing to free himself from its grasp, Synkkis backed up onto a small ledge. It would have been no issue if not for the gravity of the moment as well as his wound, but he had no other escape. He rolled over the three foot drop and landed on his shoulder quite hard, being spun around and having a rock strike him in his back - yet it halted him from rolling any further. Mere bruises, yes, but he still had a fiend to kill. Snapping himself from his daze, Synkkis reached for his pouch.
It was empty.
No! Not now. Not in this moment. Where was his tome? Even the other one which he knew he could not use to any effect at this point wasn't with him. Looking around he found the advanced tome not too far away, but his copy of "Ältere Kunst" was on the ledge above. At that same time the rotted skull of his attacker peeked its head over the ledge and glared at him with glowing red eyes in a terrifying hunger now that he had drawn blood. Its bloody claws grasped onto the ledge as it itself would also tumble down towards him. Would this be the end?
A howl was heard from not far away. Synkkis couldn't pay any mind to it. He shuffled and grasped desperately at his gray tome with "Vitleysingur" written on the front of it. It had a splattering of mud and snow on it, but was absolutely not soiled. His hand grasped on it, the blood of his boiling as he could feel the power emanating from it. He was ready to kill. He had to. Using it could mean his own end, but he didn't have the option. He flung the old book open, trying to piece together the means of summoning the unholy magic. Whatever he did didn't seem to have an effect. The best thing it was useful for now was to be thrown. He reared back, preparing to toss the tome at the creature's head. He knew he was terrible at throwing, but he had to try. What else was there to do?
A growl erupted from behind the creature. The look of shock now took hold of the former man's face as he was dragged backwards accompanied with the combined unearthly sounds of beastly combat that was shared just earlier in the pit. The clear victor now stood on the ledge, Synkkis looking up in awe. It was the wolf he had saved earlier or at least he thought so. What were the Gods trying to tell him? Why didn't they let him die a grueling death like so many others had? There had to be purpose in himself being spared. Trying to stand up, he put too much weight on his injured calf and tumbled over once more, splashing into the slushy mud. "Verdammt nochmal..." he cursed, picking himself out of the filth. Looking back, he saw the wolf had left. It was actually his luck he wasn't attacked as well. He couldn't do much of anything to protect himself.
This time he was able to raise himself with the assistance of the three foot ledge. He picked up his other tome and stuffed both in his satchel. He had the strength to pull himself on top of the ledge, but he lay for a moment to again gather his strength before he would attempt getting up again. Looking to his left the motionless and gutted torso of his attacker lay with his hollow eyes looking off into the distance. Out of spite, the snow-haired man shoved it over the small ledge. He took in his small victories whenever they came. He rested a little more until something started to nudge his side. Jolting, he slipped his hand into his satchel and looked to be what it was.
The wolf had returned and it jumped back out of reach of the Shaman. Up close he could see it was well built and had extremely bright eyes known to the creatures of the region. In its mouth was his pouch he had dropped earlier. It set the small sack down and nudged it towards him with its muzzle, still keeping out of reach. Bewildered, Synkkis let go of his tome and instead reached over for his pouch. Inside he had a vulnerary as to which he opened. Breaking eye contact with his savior, he looked at the condition of his leg. His pant leg below his knee was absolutely shredded, but gods be praised his boot wasn't harmed. Funny how he thought of such things when he was bleeding himself. He pulled the blood-stained tan trousers out from the boot and rolled it up, making the wound visibly clear. It was bad, but it wasn't too bad. He would survive it.
He pulled a roll of gauze bandages out as well as his canteen from his pack. He took a swig of the refreshing mountain water and then cleaned the excess blood from the wound. With his open vulnerary, the Ilian sprinkled the painful medicine over his open wounds. They would scar for certain, but he didn't think too much about it. Wanting to get it over with quickly, he dashed the rest of it on there and rapidly bandaged his calf. That would hold him until he could get back to civilization. His mission was on hiatus for now. He bought time for the small village and with that he was satisfied.
Laying back down, he felt the dizziness from losing a bit of blood as well as looking at his own wounds made him queasy. He took in a little more water and rested for a moment. When he looked to his side he saw the wolf was sitting there - waiting. What did the creature want? His debt was repaid. He could go on his way. Synkkis had only done what he did because he had a job to do. The wolf should've understood that. Clearly it didn't. It sat there, albeit at a distance, but it waited. It reminded him of folk tales of Fenrir, a wolf that would eat the world, and his two sons Sköll and Hati.
"So, do you have something to say? If you mean to kill me, then make it quick. I'd rather to kill you here and now." the Shaman said challengingly, yet his body language making it apparent how weak he was. "I suppose I will let you live just as before." he said, laying to rest once more.
Last Edit: Dec 25, 2014 21:01:20 GMT -6 by Synkkis Kyyneltya
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Dec 27, 2014 3:43:00 GMT -6
Post by Synkkis Kyyneltya on Dec 27, 2014 3:43:00 GMT -6
In a lucid dream, Synkkis groaned as he turned. He felt like he was falling with no real grasp on the world around him. Looking beneath him, he could see a landscape of broken stone that was rushing towards him. The jutting rocks came closer, but he fell through a gap into a pit of darkness, the walls disappearing from view.
Slowly reaching him from both sides, two walls approached. They looked like tomes. They looked like his. Yes, one was his Flux tome and the other was the Luna one. He reached out to touch his familiar Flux tome. He felt the leather and cloth and cords of twine that made the cover. It smelled just like his and even gave him the buzzing and numbing feel whenever he touched it. As he was to touch it, he felt his weight shift as he was now on all fours on top of his book. Looking upwards he no longer saw his other tome. Instead it was a dim light like the Sun, but it still hurt his eyes to look directly at it.
He looked towards and he was no longer on his tome. He stood in the cold, muddy, grassy earth. He remembered his task and as such began to walk. The fog was still thick - actually thicker than before. Deciding to run, he brushed past a few boulders until an opening in the ground came upon him and he fell in. It was the pit from earlier, but it was empty. All around he tried to look for any signs of the battle. Bones? No. He wished the light would shine brighter. He looked up and it was no longer there. A dome of brick and stone was above him. He looked around him and it was the inside of a mausoleum. He was sitting in an open coffin, with others around him. Frantically, he jumped out of his place and backed into a wall. The stone placements and their coffins drifted away from him into the darkness, only the wall behind him giving him any sense of place.
He felt his weight shift again, laying with his back on the stone. Except the stone was warm and felt like it was covered in cloth. It was actually soft. Turning on his side he looked ahead and saw his old love interest, Jadey, in the same bed as he. She was a source of warmth for him. He went to brush her cheek with her hand, but she covered her face with the covers and turned away. The covers themselves flew into the darkness around him, like a rag being tossed down a well.
Synkkis was drifting once more. Nothing around him. It was actually frightening. Would he ever get to feel warmth again? Where was he going? The uncertainty scared him more than any foe on the field ever could. He felt like he was falling once more with the wind blowing all around him. Trying to catch his bearing he looked to wherever he thought was down. All that met him was the face of a wolf with its teeth showing, blood and tattered clothing clung to its maw and it waiting for him with its jaws agape. He looked upwards, trying to escape. Swim away, although one could not swim through the air. Just any means of getting away.
He kept falling. Nothing consumed him. The wind brushing past him was still now. It was actually warm. Above him he saw a flickering flame with no source. It lit up against a surface he couldn't make out until it touched and sparked. The flame raced across the dome, lighting up the evening sky. He was cold, but he also felt warmth. He felt blessed.
The Shaman's eyes slowly opened, the same sky from his vision being above him. What peace he felt. It actually brought tears to his eyes. The Ilian couldn't keep from smiling as the tears in his eyes obscured his vision of the wonderful sight. He wiped the tears away with his gloved hands.
"Eh, lad. I'd be grateful if I were ye as well. Yer lucky we found ya." the old man from earlier made himself known, actually startling the comparatively young man from his solace. "We actually reckoned you'd died up yonder. A wolf came an' guided me up to where you were. It's gone now, eh." the old man grunted, feeling the grooves in his walking stick where there were a single set of teeth marks in it.
Synkkis lay quiet for a little more, thinking of the wolf that had saved him. He again wiped the tears from his eyes before he answered the old man who had also saved him. "I'm just appreciative I'm still above ground. I owe you that." The snow-haired Shaman said honestly, his heart quivering still.
Dismissing his soft sentiments, the old man retorted coldly. "Pshaw, ye don't owe me. I saw what had gone on. Our problem has been solved for now thanks to you. As long as ye don't take payment, we're even." The old man looked away and chewed on a bit of jerky.
Thinking on it, Synkkis couldn't ask for any. He was afforded something that money couldn't buy. It humbled him, but here he was in the moment. He had to get back to reality. He still had the tender feelings within, but he didn't want to do a disservice to the man who had saved him. "I'd never ask the sort after what you did. Still, I thank you." Synkkis said. Sitting himself up from what he now saw was a bed of pelts that was underneath the awning he had met the old man in the first place. From what moving what he had done, he felt his leg in pain. He had to take care not to open any of his wounds.
"Rest, lad. Rest. Ye got time. I'm sure ye can move around tomorrow, but be patient. I'll have me daughter help ye wit anything ye need. I can't bend over well much anymore." the old man spoke, breaking the silence. He leaned over and pulled out two small sacks, tossing them to the Shaman. "One 'a them's yers. Ta other one's jerky I'd been makin' since yesterdee. Ye earned it, lad. Chow down." he offered, now instead of sounding so cold as before. Synkkis could not answer as he stuffed his mouth and opened up his other pouch to gleefully find all of his belongings were inside. Looking to his side he instantly recognized his familiar rucksack with his bedroll strapped onto it. Next to it was his belt and sash. He couldn't ask for more hospitality.
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Jan 16, 2015 20:00:54 GMT -6
Post by Lynessa on Jan 16, 2015 20:00:54 GMT -6
Lynessa has finished with scouting the outskirt of the village for the last time. She couldn't say for sure that the danger was completely gone but it seemed Synkkis had done the village a grea service. The human shaman actually won her respect for going there alone, even almost sacrificed his life. White breath came out of her nostril as the ice dragon walked back to the village, toward where that old man tended the town's hero. There was a little regret here. She would have gone helped him if he hadn't been in such hurry. His offensive method unsettled the violed-haired woman, though. In her mind, it was more preferable to stay around the village and not venture too far. He had produced result indeed but Lynessa wasn't sure if she could leave the village defenseless. That concern was one of the reason she hadn't followed him. Cold maybe, but she had believed that was the best course of action for that time. It seemed that had been a mistake, though.
It wasn't hard to find where Synkkis was resting. The old man who spread the summon was there too, beside him. He seemed well although he probaby should have tended inside a warm building, she thought.
"You are awake..." she muttered as she approached the men. "I was a little afraid you wouldn't." They might not know each other but Lynessa was always kind to everyone so she genuinely concerned. Also, she had soft spot for brave and heroic men. Smiling gently, the dragon walked slowly until she stood beside him.
"How are you feeling?" she asked. "I am sorry I couldn't help. I should have followed you..." she added.
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Jan 16, 2015 21:08:28 GMT -6 via mobile
Post by Synkkis Kyyneltya on Jan 16, 2015 21:08:28 GMT -6
The wind that whistled its tune didn't bother him too much anymore beneath the layers of fur from the assorted animal pelts. In actuality, it lulled him to sleep. He imagined he looked like a baby with jerky in one hand, his unlit pipe in the other, and his mouth wide open in a deep sleep covered head to toe in his covers. He was simply exhausted from his excursion. A well deserved rest.
His dreams were less intense and easily forgotten, but what stuck out to him was the wolf that he had encountered. Synkkis just could not make sense of the illusions no matter what. Regardless, he had an urge to see the wolf again, even if he had no real love or passion for the beasts of the world. A stark contrast to his older sisters and his mother who all flew Pegasi.
Somehow feeling the presence of someone coming, he slowly awakened. He felt so embedded in the pelts that it was akin to waking from death. His bed being like a coffin to set aside until the ground thawed and he could be buried. Given how close he was with death, it could have very much been the case. The wounded shaman yawned and stretched, feeling the blood circulate and also being reminded of his wounded leg; at which he grimaced.
The woman from before, something a bit foreign about her, had returned. He had perhaps counted on her to assist him in his excursion, but him showing any anger or disappointment would've been counterintuitive. Besides, she made sure the village itself was safe during his foolish journey. What good would that have been if it was attacked while he was gone?
The dark mage sat up with tired eyes and nodded, trying to show he was ultimately alright. Feeling the jerky still clutched in his fingers, he bit off another piece. Cold jerky. Hmm.
"Yes, I'm fine. I may not be able to be 100% without the aid of a healer for some time. Traditional medicines will have to do for now. Thank you." the snow-haired Ilian said honestly, trying to comfort any fears she had. "This village is much too poor and far away from the Elixirs enjoyed by more professional armies and raiding parties."
Rubbing the color back into his face, the young man flipped through his hides to dig out his pipe. Once found, he stuck the mouthpiece through his teeth and just enjoyed the residual taste of his burnt tobacco. Enough to perk him awake a bit. "What I'm really hoping is that there aren't any more. I'll have to do some more scouting to confirm that. Did you find anything of significance during your rounds?" he asked, leaning back on his pack that served as a pillow.
"Glad to hear that," she replied, smiling. Lynessa looked at the wounded shaman. She felt intrigued by his exotic attire. It was rare to see someone with bones, face paint, and tattoos as accessories. Quite intimidating, honestly. Maybe he simply had unique taste or something? Or maybe all mage...dark mage...dressed like him? Shrugging, Lynessa shook her head lightly as she thought, "Nah, it can't be. Too creepy..." The dragon refrained to make any remark on this subject, feeling it would be impolite to criticize his taste.
"Well..." Lynessa crossed her arms and looked to the distance. "I can't say for sure that those creatures have been completely eradicated. I mean...some stragglers might still be up there. But I think you should know better than me." She didn't intend to say he had done poor job. After all, Synkkis had done more than enough to protect this village. But it was difficult to think that one man had cleaned this area from undead completely. Some might have escaped his attention or found another way to this village...hopefully not. "But I assure you there isn't any of those monsters in the vicinity of this village. I guess we should be safe for a moment," she answered confidently.
"However, I must say this is very unfavorable situation for us. This village is too defenseless. The area is too wide for us to cover, especially with our lack of manpower. Are you sure we won't be getting reinforcement soon? Not even from Ilia military or the other villages?" Lynessa didn't want to make situation more grim but someone needed to state the fact, to remind them not to get careless.
Feeling the prying eyes of the mature looking woman, Synkkis couldn't help but shift his eyes away from meeting her gaze. Something about her eyes had a very piercing aura to them. In a way it felt as if she could crush him with just her eyes, although she wasn't being hostile. Very few people he knew that were like that. Looking in the distance, the early setting sun crested the peaks from the West. The sunlight penetrated the rafters of the porch and kept Synkkis in the shadow of the wooden planks above him. It would soon be too cold to sleep out here, even with all the pelts he had.
Acknowledging the woman's concerns, he entirely agreed with her. He absolutely had to check again to ensure the risen had finally returned to their rest and that there weren't more. With his leg as a mess for the next few days without a healer, he would be extremely limited in his movement. At least he still had his tomes and a secure mind. "I have no idea, but until we comb over the summit multiple times will we know for certain. We have to assume there are."
Hearing her report of the area just outside of the village being safe, gave him a bit of ease. He prayed it would stay the same. How would one pray to the old gods anyways? It didn't bother him. They seemed to interject whenever they pleased regardless. "Good." he interjected before she continued.
It was easy to remind Synkkis of how overall suicidal this task was with so few volunteers. With a grave sigh, Synkkis spoke. "The other villages know this is a risky area and are doing what they can to fortify themselves for this threat. The Ilian military had empty promises of making a presence, but things are going unfavorably for them in Bern from what I heard on my way here. It may be a week before they finally show up if at all. I can't truly rest having my own village safe while a neighbor's is left to the wolves." Did he really say that? Was that really the real reason he was here? Even the Shaman did not know that. It all sounded pleasant for anyone else, but there were so many conflicting and turbulent feelings Kyyneltya had for not only doing these sorts of things, but his life in general. Everything fluxed and nothing was set like a stone. It really didn't matter where he was from, nor where he was going - all that made a difference was that he was here now.
Synkkis grunted and slowly pulled his legs out, trying to be as careful as he could with his right calf. He braced on his pack as he got himself up. He lost his balance a bit, but caught himself. Again looking at his bandaged wound he was eternally grateful his boot wasn't mangled. The snow-haired man hobbled over to one of the supports and leaned against it. "Did you ever meet the townspeople? The only inn-like structure here is the horse barn. Luckily for us, there are some vacancies." he asked, limping his way over towards the long and shabby building.
Lynessa only smiled and gave the shaman a slight nod after he had presented his assumption. While he was correct about having to comb over the summit several times to be sure, she wondered if she could simply sniff the air to find the exact location of those monster then destroyed them. The violet-haired woman chose not to share the thought with Synkkis because aside that there was a fair chance she might fail finding the location, that wasn't something a normal human could do. "Maybe only once, if we are lucky..." That was good enough. Not too much information shared but she could give him some hope.
What a complicated situation. No one could blame the other villages for trying to protecting their homes. In fact, the reason she had come alone to this place was because her village couldn't spare any manpower. Sure, her husband had offered to come but he was still sick so the ice dragon had insisted to him that she could do it alone. However, she had never expected that the situation in this village would have been this bad, too defenseless. At least, there should have been some watchmen. And the military...It was true that they probably had their hand busy with the rebellion in Bern. It wouldn't be easy for the military to send soldiers to every villages in danger without disturbing their grand plan.
Lynessa watched Synkkis got up, almost rushing in to help when he lost his balance. She then walked with him toward the building, matching his slower pace.
"Yes, I share your feeling. You seem to possess noble heart, young man..." Lynessa seemed quite pleased with Synkkis' determination to help this village. It was something rare these days, after all. Risking one's neck to save another might be considered foolish by some people but Lynessa always liked and respected those fools. "Be careful, though. No one will want you die protecting their village," she said. The ice dragon wasn't sure she should reprimand him. But the shaman seemed to be quite reckless, proved by him going up there alone.
"Only the old man who sent letter. I went to scout the area as soon as I arrived here," she replied to his question. "By the way, sleeping in horse barn, huh? It reminds me of my adventures when I was younger..." she muttered. Lynessa's expression softened when he mentioned the horse barn. The ice dragon was quickly filled with nostalgic feeling.
Sunset in the Karpati (CLOSED, Ilians Only) Feb 6, 2015 21:40:04 GMT -6
Post by Synkkis Kyyneltya on Feb 6, 2015 21:40:04 GMT -6
Remarks on his actions stirred him. He thought nothing of such things while he was up there, yet that's the image he reflected on those here. Looking back, he didn't regret doing any of what went on while he was fighting the undead. He was going to die someday, sometime. It didn't bother him too much. Still, he was grateful for being here. The constant stimuli that washed over him with the wind in the air and the pain of his leg - it was good to be alive.
He let the woman's comments pass, letting the words to be as they were. He didn't have much to say as a response, nor would he want the discourse that would follow. The mysterious woman instead answered his previous questions, breaking the conversational silence in the constant whistling of the evening wind.
"Yeah, I became mildly acquainted with them before I set out myself. Still, this barn is much better than having to carve a home out of a snow-drift - especially given the time of day." Synkkis remarked, opening the door to the stable. There was a simple oil lamp that hung from one of the rafters. He quickly went about lighting it. The old, yet reliable piece gave off a bit of light, but it was still difficult to make out details. It'd just have to do.
The young man found a comfy spot in the common area with more hay than they needed to keep warm. "We can arrange our strategies in the morning. I'm not too much use with my leg as is, but in a few days I should be ready to climb the mountain again." he said confidently, his posture forward even as he sat down. Kyyneltya didn't look like too much right now, but his spirit for the hunt wouldn't keep him bed-ridden forever.


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text:
Changes in German IP laws
SYNTHESE DE JURISPRUDENCE : ITV Broadcasting Lt... Vers la modernisation du système européen des m...
AUGUST 2013: CHANGES IN GERMAN IP LAWS
The German parliament has adopted some major changes in the German IP laws. The most important changes will be explained here-below:
1) German Patent Law
a) Filing of patent applications in foreign languages
It has been already possible to file national patent applications in foreign languages. The periods for filing the German translation have been amended. Generally, three months after the filing date, a translation has to be filed. For French and English applications, the translation may be filed up to 12 months after the application date, latest 15 months after the priority date. However, for special cases, the Examiner may request prior to that date a translation.
Further, the legal consequence in case of not filing of the translation has been amended. If no translation is filed, the application is now deemed to be withdrawn. Thus, it is now possible to keep the priority right of the German patent application, even without filing of a translation.
Unless the Examiner requests a German translation, it should now be possible to obtain from the German Patent and Trademark Office a first opinion with respect to patentability based on an English application text, with relatively low official fees (300 EUR for a search request and 350 EUR for an examination request). The applicant may then decide whether it is worth to file a German translation to further prosecute the application in Germany.
Please note that these changes are not applicable for the PCT national phase in Germany. For PCT national phases, the translation has still to be filed with the end of the 30 months period.
b) Search Request/Examination Request
The search report will now include a written opinion. Further, in case of non-unitary inventions, the Examiner is only obliged to search for the invention or groups of invention first mentioned in the clams. Please note that no additional search fees can be paid.
The written opinion should give the applicant a more detailed view whether the Examiner considers the application as patentable. The applicant can then, based on the written opinion, decide whether he is interested to proceed further with the application in Germany by filing an examination request.
As you may know, according to German Patent Law, a search request has not to be filed prior to the examination request. Further, the examination request can be filed up to seven years after the filing of the patent application.
c) Oral Proceedings during prosecution
Oral proceedings have to be held before the examining section, in case the applicant has requested them. Previously, the examiner could reject the request in case he considered the oral proceedings as being not necessary.
This gives the applicant a further opportunity to bring forward his arguments. As you may know, the oral proceedings in prosecution before the German Patent and Trademark Office are in Germany more informal compared to the European Patent Office as only the Examiner in charge of the file and the Applicant or his attorney are present in the oral proceedings.
d) Opposition period
The opposition period is extended to 9 months. Further, the oral proceedings of opposition proceedings will now be public.
This will give to the opponents a longer period for the search for prior art. On the other side, the Applicant knows later whether a third person intends to raise an opposition against a granted patent.
e) PCT-Applications
The calculation of the national fee has been clarified.
The number of claims relevant for the calculation of the claim fee when entering the national German phase is based on the original application documents of the international patent application. Presently, each claim above the tenth costs 30 EUR.
In case that during the international phase the number of claims has been increased, the claims fee for that number of claims has to be paid. If the difference between the increased number of claims and the number of original claims is not paid, the amendments are ignored.
f) Exceptions to patentability
The exceptions to patentability have been further clarified in view of the decisions of the EPO in the Broccoli and Tomato cases (G2/07 and G1/08), with respect to essentially biological processes.
Please find here-below the amended section of the patent law:
Patents shall not be granted in respect of:
1. plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals and plants or animals which were exclusively obtained through such processes (The amended portion is underlined).
g) Entry into force
Most of the new regulations will enter into force in the beginning of 2014.
2) German design law
The German design law has been amended to include separate nullity proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office. The request for nullity will cost 300 EUR. This amendment should reduce the costs for the proceedings and provide more quality in the decisions.
The request has to be filed with the German Patent and Trademark Office. The appeal against decisions of the German Patent and Trademark Office is treated by the Federal Patent Court.
It is still possible to raise a counterclaim with respect to the nullity of a design during infringement proceedings.
The new regulations will enter into force in the beginning of 2014.
3) Online File inspection (for all IP rights)
The German Patent and Trademark Office will, from promulgation of the law ongoing, provide online file inspection for patents, utility models, trademarks, and designs. Please note that old files, which have not already been scanned, may be preferentially scanned on demand.
This is only a short overview over the patent law changes. If you have any questions regarding this matter, feel welcome to contact Jacob Klinkisch (German Patent Attorney).
Date de publication: Août 2013


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I think patient handouts are an excellent patient communication tool to use in the office. If you have certain policies or procedures that patients don't seem to understand on a regular basis, you should consider writing a handout for it. The cool thing is that it also re-educates your staff about the issue and works as a reminder as to how they should respond to patient questions.
I know we are all thinking about using less paper in our practices, but there is still something refreshingly simple about a single sheet of paper that a staff member can pick up and show to a patient, and let him keep if he wishes.
You may already know of a few recurring issues that people are confused about, but ask your staff for examples as well.
What are contact lens evaluation fees really for?
Should you bill the vision plan or major medical insurance?
Is refraction covered by insurance?
Why should I buy my contact lenses from your office rather than the internet or big box retailers?
Can I buy my glasses on the internet?
Why do I need a retinal photograph?
What if I try progressive lenses and I don't like them – do I get a refund of the price difference from regular bifocals?
What if I re-use my old frame and it is broken at the lab?
Why should I buy glasses from your office rather than other optical stores?
It's great to think about the problem areas and how your office can communicate better, but be sure you don't overwhelm patients with paper forms and disclaimers. Pick your battles wisely and clean house if you have too many forms. Go sparingly with forms that require signatures or initials; those are more likely to feel intimidating to patients and sometimes just the education is enough.
It works best if you just write your own documents to explain what you want in plain English. Don't make the common mistake of trying to make the handout sound extra important and impressive; that approach just backfires most of the time. If you were talking to a patient about an issue, what would you say? Keep it very brief. No one is going to stand in your hallway and read a long document.
Take the time to check for proper grammar and correct spelling and have someone else proofread the document.
Realize that patient handouts, like all printed media, make a statement about your practice. You can actually improve the image of your practice with the right tools or damage it with the wrong ones. A very common problem is using a copy of a copy of a copy. This is easy to do because the original gets lost and a staff member just photocopies the last of a stack of copies. The result is text and images that are poor quality with margins that are crooked on the page; obviously a poor impression is made. It says you just don't care. I think it's best to avoid photocopiers in general. Make an effort to save all educational documents as a Word or PDF file and print copies directly from that file.
Here are some ideas for your handouts that will make your practice look up to date.
Import your practice logo as a header on all documents. A logo is much more impressive than the name of the practice or doctor simply typed at the top.
Printing text only in black and white is OK and gets the job done, but why not consider something with a graphical design and color? The new generation of ink jet printers is making color printing more affordable with larger cartridges, and many times the patient does not want to take the handout but your staff will use it as an aid.
Microsoft Word and many other programs have some easy, ready-made templates that can really make your educational documents look great. Just select a style you like and type in your text. In Word 2007, just click on the Office symbol in the upper left corner and then click "New." Instead of selecting blank document, look at the toolbar on the left and see a list of templates to choose from. Try "flyer" to start, but there are many others.
Import some photos into your document. People understand faster with pictures. If the handout is about retinal photos include an image of a fundus. If it's about contact lenses, why not use a corneal topography image or a picture of a contact lens on a fingertip or a box of contacts. Use a photo from your own office or just find a stock photo on the internet to download.
If you feel technology challenged with some of the above steps, you need to learn by doing. Have a staff member or friend help you the first time and learn as you go.


text:
Q: How to code a log-in page in App Inventor 2 Using App Inventor 2, how do you make a log-in service in which I can save a specific Username and Password combination into the app database, so that when people use the app and input a Username and Password combination it is compared to the Username and Password that is saved in the database.
And if they are correct then they are moved onto another page and if they are wrong then they are asked to try again.
Here is a screenshot what I have attempted so far, but it isn't working

A: You have a lot of problems with that code. First, a problem with your TinyDB. You store the value but you never call it. Second, I wouldn't recommend a TinyDB unless the value of username and password will change. Below is how to make a username and password without a TinyDB .
Without a TinyDB:

*

*Drag in when button clicked

*Drag in an if inside that when button clicked

*Drag in an and statement

*Drag in two "logic ='s" to each side of the and statement

*In one of the equals set the username.text = "(your username)" but use it as a string using the pink string choice that is an empty " "

*Repeat step 5 with the password

*Click on the blue box on the left of the if and drag in an else. This will only happen if the password and username are wrong.

A: The main problem with this whole code is that you don't call on the info in the tinyDB.
What you need to do is fix that if then statement and setup a call block in which you call on your tinyDB to give you the username/password.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Perched on a hillside, the Levante Lux Apartments are in the centre of Benidorm, giving you easy access to great amenities. A large pool with sun loungers, a kiddie pool, and a snack bar are available for you on-site while beautiful Levante Beach is only a short stroll away. Offers are available with flights from Birmingham airport.
Los Arcos is a welcoming space with a solarium, lovely lake-shaped swimming pool, and coy bedrooms. The most talked-about part of the hotel is the restaurant that serves meat and fish dishes in the traditional a la brasa (on a wood-burning stove) style. Package holidays are available with flights leaving Birmingham airport.
With three swimming pools, sun terraces, loungers, and poolside snack bar the Cinco Plazas, it's no wonder guests return year after year. Add daily activities, a club, playground, and mini- disco for the kids, and you have the makings of a fantastic holiday. Holidays are available with return flights departing Birmingham airport.
Located in a quiet area of the Benidorm Old Town, the Hotel Benilux Park is within a stone's throw of Poniente Beach, and a short walk from the Old Town centre. Package holidays are available with return flights from Birmingham airport.
Las Arenas sits in a central location, steps from the beach and the amenities of Benalmadena Costa. Lounge around poolside, sip a drink on the sun terrace, or hit the beach for some fun in the sea.
Peace and tranquility define the comfortably furnished Hotel Regente. It's beautiful and well-equipped lagoon-like pool, and small playground for children, make this a good choice for families. Holidays are available with flights departing Birmingham airport.


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Our tech, Will, is very professional and nice. We have had him for years. He is a blessing! We love our Rainsoft system!


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