text:
The Inhibitor Check (1st place winner- Writer's Digest 2019 Popular Fiction Competition)
February 5, 2020 unboundchris short story, short story challenge, Uncategorized Leave a comment
The spiders legs tapped against the glass furiously, repeatedly striking against the walls of the invisible prison that held it with inscrutable wrath. Eva kept her eyes focused on it from above, a chill that spread like sheet lightning streaked across her limbs and she shivered at the sight. She had never seen the creature in real life before, and although it was smaller than the circumference of her palm, it filled her with a primal dread, and yet, she could not take her eyes off of it. She watched it's angry twitching, watched its desperate escape attempts, she watched it until her eyes blurred and she felt something drip on her cheek. Trapped. She took a letter from the increasing pile of bills, and slid it carefully under the glass, and brought it to the window. It must of escaped from the Botanical Facilities in the centre of the city, but that was miles away, and she was sick of looking at it. She opened the window, and felt a welcome breeze saunter into the flat. The ground was a million miles below, her disgust began to grow into general sickness, almost like the building was growing beneath her, the floor descending further and further away. She extended her arms with the glass and paper stretched before her, and quickly shook them, upending the glass towards the earth below, and retracted her arms back into the warm room and shut the window again as if it might somehow be blown back into the room. She had no idea if the creature would survive such a fall, but in this moment, she didn't care. She tried to sigh the queasy feeling out her stomach, but instead spread it to her lungs. She took a glance out of the window to the world ahead. The towers of Barge-London stood silhouetted against a golden canvas, but beyond that, she could see the infinite ocean beyond, with shards of sparkling light dancing on an azure stage below the stunning backdrop. The sea beyond had always calmed her, from the top of the high-rise she and Mason shared. From where the building stood, only the flats near the top could see beyond the reaches of the port-yards and factories at the edges of the City, they were fortunate to get it, even if it was falling apart. Luck. Her eyes began to focus again, and suddenly obscuring the view was a woman, who looked like she had been crying all day, hadn't changed out of her pyjama's or bothered to wash, and had all but given up on everything, she had become a stranger to even her own reflection. She turned to the mounted wall clock. 17:39. Mason would be home any minute now.
She had to tell him she was pregnant.
Mason let the keys jangle in his hand. In his left hand he held a heavy shopping bag, filled with groceries, including curried-chicken instant ramen- which had always been Eva's favourite hangover snack, and a seafood one for himself. He tried to shift the bag onto his wrist, while he tried to select the right key with his other hand. Finally, he let himself in.
"Hellooo" He said rhythmically, as he did every night he came home, never waiting for an answer. He threw his back pack onto the floor with a comical sigh, and took the recyclable bag to the kitchen, passing the silent living room. The room was beginning to darken, strands of orange light reached in, gently caressing the large Tele-screen that was front and centre of the living area. The flat was small, but they took pride in it's presentation, Eva always made sure the cushions were just so, and that attention to detail made him beam with pride. As he passed he saw a mound of golden locks, hiding behind the sofa. He set the bag down on the counter, and slowly made his way to the back of the sofa, and found the most beautiful woman in the world, even if she was still in her pyjama's. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, and felt her body shift, moving slightly towards him, and he kissed her on the top of the head. He slowly moved his arms so he wrapped himself around her neck, with his head resting atop of hers, and her hand reached to squeeze his forearm. He stayed there for a minute, not saying a word. He could tell she hadn't made a point to shower, but he still loved the way she smelled.
"How are you feeling, hun?" He said finally. She made an incoherent grunt, muffled by his arm. He smiled, and looked to the coffee table in front of them. An ash tray sat, full of discarded butts and an almost-empty packet of cigarettes, when only a couple were sitting there when he left for work. She was smoking again, which was a good sign, she couldn't even handle a single one last night. Cigarettes had been cancer and toxin free since before either of them were born, but he still hated the smell. He kissed her head again, and moved to the kitchen, and felt her reluctantly release his arm.
"So, if you're feeling hungry, I got you that gourmet meal I promised." He said with a wry smile, walking to his bag of procured goods, looking back to see if she had looked back. Slowly, he saw her face lifted up to look at him. Her eyes looked raw and red, but brimming with curiosity. He lifted out her large pot of ramen, with a Ta-Da! Her expression never changed though, even when he brought out the bottle of her favourite white wine. He held it in hand, and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, and walked over to the sofa. The room was darkening, and the orange stained the room, painting it in a dream-like haze. He sat down heavily, with a broad smile next to her. He felt the weight of his day crawl up his legs and back, and released a long sigh, staring deeply into her hazel eyes, that seemed to shimmer in the dusk. No matter how hard his day at the foundries were, no matter how many corners seemed to mould, or the cheap apparatus seemed to break in their shitty apartment, she managed to always make him feel like everything was going to work out fine. He set the glasses on the table, and opened the bottle of cheap white, and generously poured for both of them, and took his own, relaxing in the twilight. He looked at her serenely, but she didn't move for the glass. His other hand gently stroked her arm, but she just looked down.
"Everything alright, babe?" He asked, concern growing in his belly. She still didn't say anything, she just reached for her glass, her finger trailing the rim, but did not drink.
"So, how are you feeling? Were you sick again today?" He didn't want to admit it, but truly he wanted to know if she would be at work tomorrow. In the administration sector, you were only given two sick days per-annual, if she took a third tomorrow, things could be a little tight next month. Still, Eva said nothing, just watching her glass with morbid fascination, as her finger danced along the edge. Mason sighed.
"Well, I had a hell of a day. Someone left one of the service hatches open, we thought the core was starting to overheat at one point, luckily-" He started rambling, thinking about the close call this afternoon that had convinced him to buy the wine, but then she spoke.
"I found out I'm pregnant." She said quickly. The words caught in Mason's throat, and his eyes widened with horror, as he watched her gulp her wine down in one.
His mouth was agape and he stared blankly at her.
"What?" He finally managed. She didn't reply. She just stared at him with wet eyes, and wiped her mouth, and set the glass onto the table. She wanted to pick the glass back up, but resisted the urge.
"You..you..you.." He started, but never quite finished the sentence. She felt a pang of frustration in her stomach. She didn't know what to say, and obviously, neither did he. She tried to plan out the conversation in her head, like how she would re-visit arguments in her head when in the shower and plot her victory out, syllable by syllable, but that all faded. No words remained, just Mason with his mouth wide and open. She reached for a cigarette from the packet on the table but stopped herself. She had heard about people before the Inhibitors, who could cause health problems for their children if they smoked too regularly. She decided to take one anyway, and reached for the lighter. The pack was almost out, but she wouldn't be able to afford another packet this month, they were so expensive. Her reasoning was that if she got rid of them now, then she wouldn't have any more in the house to tempt her, but that logic always went out of the window when her teeth started to itch. She lit it up and inhaled deeply. Mason continued to watch, but she made it apparent from her expression that it was his turn to speak.
"You..you're sure?" He swallowed hard. "Are..are you sure?" She nodded, slightly irritated that had not been obvious.
"I took the test six times. Every-time." She said slowly, but seriously.
"But..but..it's not..how is it possible?" He said, almost desperately. The panic was clear in his wide eyes. She took another drag, and stared back at him.
The room around him began to spin. He had to set the wine down, but his hand was shaking. His breathing was short, but quick. He could feel his cheeks and ears redden, and his head felt moist. This was bad. This is really, really bad. His breathing quickened, but his lungs felt sore, empty. He stared at his glass, and it was blurry. This is bad. This is so bad. His mouth was dry.
Then she put her hand on his arm, and slowly, his breathing slowed down, and he rotated his head to look at her, the panic plain on his face. Part of him expected her to look at him with abject pity, but all he saw was understanding. So this is what she's been doing all day. He swallowed hard. He understood now. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes.
"So." He said, finally. "What do we do?"
She shook her head sadly, stubbing out her half-smoked cigarette with something akin to malice. "That's the thing Mase. I don't know." She choked at the last word, and her eyes began to stream. Mason instinctively took her into his arms, and gently caressed her as she sobbed. He shushhed her, and kissed her head.
"Hey, it's going to be okay." His lie coming out as no more than a whisper. She continued to sob.
"I..I really don't know what I'm going to do.." She said heavily.
"I guess, we'll have to book you in with the Medi-bots at the clinic." He said softly. She shuddered.
"Eugh, you know I can't stand those things. They're so cold.." She squeezed her hand on his arm, as she remembered the last cervical check-up she had with one of those walking sex-toys. Mason sighed with understanding but a little impatience.
"Babe, we're going to have to." He was right. No way could they afford a human doctor, even if they had the money to have registered for a legal pregnancy permit, which would have taken almost a year of forms, social workers, and several grand they could never save up for.
"Well..I mean, do we?" She asked, looking up at him brightly. "People have been giving birth without Medi-Bots for centuries, I would imagine. Maybe we don't really need it?" She tried to force a smile, but Mason looked away. His head was elsewhere. She laid her head onto his shoulder.
"I mean, if we keep it, anyway." She said, staring at the blank Tele-screen. The night had grown darker. The golden orange had turned a cauterised purple and red, leaving the flat in almost blackness.
"Well, that's the thing, isn't it?" Mason said after contemplating for a while. "If we do go to the Medi-Bots, we will have to register it as an illegal child, and reported to the authorities.." No-one was quite clear on what happened after registering an illegal child, and Mason was sure it was more common then the media would let on. If they faced a fine, they would be pretty screwed. Might have to move in with Eva's mother, a thought that made him feel a little queasy. If they decided, however, to separate him and Eva and incarcerate them, or take the child to social services for adoption, well the idea of going through this only to be separated from him did not bare thinking about. It might drive him insane. He squeezed her a little tighter. Of course, that wasn't the thing that was bothering him.
"If..if we do decide to keep it.." He started carefully. He swallowed. "If we do.."
"If we do?" Eva asked, raising her head. "If I do." She stared at him intently. "You think I want to go to a back alley clinic for someone to cut it out of me? Like a gypsy or a prole?" Mason could hear the anger swelling up in her voice. "It's my choice, Mason. It's my body. I thought you of all people would respect that." He looked back at her, sorrow deep in his eyes.
"If it's mine, then I should get a say too." He said quietly. He could feel tears welling up in his own eyes, and saw that hers were wet too. She rested her head on his shoulder again, and let out a moan, as if ejecting all the negativity from within. Suddenly his Smart-Watch began to beep. He checked it. It was time to take his radiation medication, as he did every four hours. The wonders of working in a foundry powered by nuclear energy. He sighed, but looked at Eva, resting so comfortably on his arm. It wouldn't do any harm to let it wait for half an hour or so.
"Besides." He said slowly. "It's not that what I'm really worried about. It's the cap." His voice was thick with emotion. She looked back at him.
Shit. She forgot about the cap.
The true meaning of the Inhibitor. 99 Million.
"Oh..yeah. Shit. We'll have to register..won't we?" She heard a chewing sound, and saw Mason biting his dirty nails, a habit he said he had kicked over four years ago. "Hey..I'm sure it's fine. Maybe it's not as bad as Dawson says-"
"Dawson says" He interrupted, as if utterly focused. "That it's the Inhibitor chips that report it to the government. Maybe it already knows.." He sounded like he was beginning to panic. Eva sighed. She loved her brother Dawson, but he was a paranoid ass at times. He had to make everything about the government a 1984 allegory.
"The Inhibitors are just to prevent pregnancy and diseases, you know this. They are not a kill switch." She tried to sound reassuring, bringing herself upright to look him in the eyes, but he was facing elsewhere, eyes inherently focused.
"You don't know that. None of us know that." He was speaking quickly, panic apparent. She had never seen him like this. "One person born, one person dies, and vice versa. That's the law right? The cap." He turned to look at her. "99 Million. No more, no less." She could tell he was serious. She couldn't tell if she was worried or just pitied him at this point.
"Yeah, but the government doesn't kill people, Mason! Not for rogue pregnancies anyway." She said, exasperated. Dawson and Mason were co-workers, and before he introduced her to Mason, they used to spend a lot of their free time getting stoned in the flat they shared. Mason had, thankfully, grown out of it, but her brother never did, and now he was a paranoid mess.
Mason sighed.
"We don't know that." He said again.
She sighed, and turned slightly away, but he moved closer to her.
"Listen, sometimes it's a heart-attack, sometimes it's an accident, but it's always random! It's like a lottery! But you know..one you don't want to win." He felt animated, the panic was puppeteering him like electricity into a deactivated 'Bot. He swallowed again.
"What if it's someone we know?" He said, more subdued this time.
"How would we know?" She said impatiently. "If it's that incidental, we wouldn't ever know, would we?" He stared at her. He knew she had meant to sound facetious, but he stared at her seriously, with complete understanding.
"You're right..what if..so what if it is someone we know? What if it's someone we didn't know? A family man, a mother of two?" He spoke quietly, as if forgetting she was even there, staring at him with plain annoyance and impatience.
"What if it's a criminal?" She asked. "Like a child molester? On death row, they keep them locked up, and execute them when a child is born. How about that?" She tilted her head, plainly watching for his reaction. He only nodded, again obscured by deep thought.
"Even if it is.." He said slowly. "Are we..condemning them to death? Are we activating some kill switch?" He drifted off a little at the end. She moved to him, grabbed his head in her hands.
"No." She said clearly, taking charge, her eyes burning into his. "No, we're not doing anything wrong here. This is going to be okay, we are not responsible for any stupid law the government has concocted okay? We're going to be okay." Her hands remained at the sides of his heads, and she kissed him deeply, passionately, the most passionate since they first went to bed together. "I love you." She said, watching his eyes with extreme focus.
"I love you too" He said, honestly, but still not smiling. The room was getting darker.
She had rested her head on his chest. She felt his chest heave, and his heartbeat slow to a rythmic beat. It was soothing, like waves on a beach.
"If it's a boy, I was thinking about the name Jack, like my dad." She said, breaking several minutes of silence. Mason snorted with laughter.
"What?" She asked, a little annoyed, but smiling at the sound of his laughter again.
"Jack?" He laughed again. "Oh no, we are not giving him an old man name. It's gotta be something cool, like Odin, or Zeus"
This time she laughed.
"Why does it have to mythological? Besides that girl at work I was telling you about is thinking about naming her child Zeus, and she's enough of a bitch as it is."
They laughed together. A beautiful, chiming sound in the dark, and they fell silent again. Finally Mason broke the silence once more.
"You think she ever thinks about it? You know..the cap?" He asked earnestly.
"No." She responded at once. "And we shouldn't either." She checked his face again, and saw he was calm. She replaced her head back onto his chest.
"You're right." He sighed.
By the time night had completely enveloped the flat, she had fallen asleep on his chest. He remembered idly twisting her golden hair gently between his fingers, but he could not remember for the life of him what he had been thinking about. So many thoughts and images twisted and reverberated in his head. He blinked a few times and shook his head, like waking from a deep slumber. He discovered he had been staring at the blank Tele-screen, silhouetted in the black. The room was completely silent, save for her rhythmic breathing gently on his chest. He let the soothing sound abound in his head, and tilted his head back, trying desperately to piece together a coherent thought. He wanted to get up, smoke a cigarette, go to the toilet, scream at the mirror, shake Eva awake and cry into her arms, but he didn't move a muscle. Instead he stared at the ceiling. He imagined what their child would look like. Jack. Maybe, if he let her have her way. Hopefully she would let him pick something much, much cooler. He thought about a miniature them, with Eva's hazel eyes, and beautiful wavy hair, and his own cheeky smile he inherited from his father. He managed a grin at that. A handsome child. Full of life and love, struggling with school and then working in the foundries like his old man. Maybe he'll find a beautiful wife, and they will patiently go through the system legally and have a son they love of their own. Maybe. Maybe it will come full circle. Maybe he will be sitting here in twenty years time with his own dilemma circulating in his head. Maybe some disaster will befall him before he even gets to that point. Maybe all of this worry, stress and evasion will be for naught. Mason clenched his fists. He thought of death. He thought about anyone he knew suddenly dropping to the floor when the baby was born. As soon as the head crowns, maybe a string will snap and a piano will fall on his boss, or a truck will carelessly slam into a mother, a sister, a wife, a husband or a son. Maybe Eva might be the one to die. A nurse is slid a hefty stack under the stable by a government man in a suit, and suddenly 'forgets' to re-enable her Inhibitor, and she passes on. Maybe someone points a silenced pistol into Mason's back as he makes his way to the hospital. As his eyes close, the baby's opens. He wouldn't mind that so much. Passing on his legacy, ending all of his own pain, but the thought of Eva trying to exist in this crazy world with a new born child filled him with shame. If it didn't, he could march into the bathroom right now, and tip his radiation medication into the disposal system. A few months of chest pain and coughing blood, and if he timed it right, he could pass just as the baby is born. He held the image of the orange bottle in his hand, hovering above the disposal system in the bathroom sink. He imagined looking into the eyes of his reflection. Imagined a man who had given up on everything, and had become a stranger to even his own reflection, but the more he stared, the more he interpreted. There was hope there, a brightness, and love, but it was hidden behind a decision; a decision to do the right thing. He blinked again, and he was staring at the ceiling still.
He really did need to use the toilet now.
competitioncreativeprosesci fishortstorywriting
Previous Post: ARBORTHERIUM
Next Post: Weird Dreams- Death of the Forest


text:
Disclaimers, Apologies, and Thanks: I don't own the characters, I just love writing about them. I also don't own the rights to the lyrics quoted from "The Bitter Suite," or that speech. Apologies to Kurt Vonnegut Jr. for the title. And thanks to some ex-guards for the feedback.
The Relationship: Xena and Gabrielle are in love but express their feelings in a physical way only the slightest bit in this story; I imagine it might not be capable of breaking any laws, but you never know.
Description: This story takes place after "Motherhood," and is an examination of certain events and themes from the fifth season.
Didja like it? Miladyco@aol.com
Hubris Of Champions
copyright 8/00
by Xena's Little Bitch
"Who are you to even think you can know the difference between good and evil?"--from "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc"
It's been three days since Ares brought me back to life and I haven't seen Xena since the first day. Tonight it's warm and clear as I sit by the campfire pretending to read the scrolls we salvaged from the decimated inn, but I'm really watching Gabrielle prepare dinner. She seems too focused on the vegetables she's cutting, and she is too quiet. She looks so sad and so beautiful. The fire light flatters her. Everything does. I find myself just staring at her arms and I imagine how beautiful my mother must think she is.
"You're beautiful," I say. Perhaps that will get a response.
"Oh please," she says, looking up at me, "Your mother's beautiful. I'm just a village girl with muscles."
"No," I insist, "Xena is beautiful because she is beautiful. You're beautiful because you're you."
She blushes. "I'm no more beautiful inside than anyone else. I used to let people think I was. I let them convince me that I was somehow pure, my morals unquestionable. I'm not perfect. I have motives you wouldn't believe."
Lucky me to hit a nerve so easily tonight! Perhaps I can get a real conversation going. This is not the chatty bard from the tales. She fascinates me.
"I know you're not perfect, Gabrielle. You're just not perfect in a very appealing way."
"I guess you haven't gotten to any of the scrolls where I do terrible things yet, have you?" She pauses and laughs derisively shaking her head as if to clear it, "Then again, you must remember how I killed you just a couple of days ago. That should be enough to make you understand it's more than imperfection."
"Circumstance. Destiny. Fate. Coercion," I say vaguely.
"Let's drink to that," she says, pouring wine and toasting.
"To chance," I say. It's the first time I've toasted to anything but the Empire in as long as I can remember.
Gabrielle cocks her head almost imperceptibly as she adds the vegetables to the stew.
"Xena."
"How can you tell? I didn't hear anything."
"I can sense her. I think it's her scent but I'm not sure."
"Really? What's she doing?"
"Sometimes when she gets really angry, when she's blaming herself for things, she likes to be alone."
"Has she been nearby a lot?"
"Most of the time she's close enough to hear if we screamed. I kind of think of it like she's locked herself in her bedroom and won't open the door. We just have a unique sort of home."
"Why do you think she needs to be alone?" I know she doesn't want to talk about it. I can tell she is being patient with me, that she's answering these questions because I'm her child asking. If I were someone else I think she'd be taking my head off. Now there's an unfortunate choice of metaphor!
"Because she doesn't want me, us, to see her that way. She's too angry to communicate politely. She's afraid of what she might do."
"You think she thinks she'd hurt you?"
"She's afraid she would and when she's like this she doesn't trust herself. And she's trying to figure out what's wrong...She's proud."
"But you're more the kind who likes to talk it out."
"Yeah," says Gabrielle, smiling as if remembering something; she looks years younger, "Yeah, I'm the communicator."
"So what's up?" It's a gamble.
Gabrielle looks at me with a smile that says, "Oh, you didn't" and I smile back.
"Chatty bard," I say.
"They used to call me the annoying blonde."
We laugh and the stew is ready. It's very good, especially for the conditions, and I tell her. This is the first time I can remember ever hearing her laugh, but that I don't say.
"What do you think she's so upset about?"
Gabrielle pours more wine and leans back against a log.
"You know how when you're waging a war, you need to be focused on the strategy, the fight, the goal. How you have to put everything you have into it if you expect to win?"
"Of course. Ares taught me well. You can let no doubt into your heart, you must be fierce and unyielding. If there is even one tiny measure of uncertainty, one moment of second-guessing, that can be your downfall."
"Exactly. That's what the last year has been for us. I mean, the last year twenty five years ago."
"You can just say last year. I'll remember." I smile. She's going to talk to me. I can tell that if I play my cards right I can get her to talk for hours.
"Last year. Gods. In a way it does seem twenty five years ago sometimes. Anyway, that year was like a war. It was a war. Against foes so much stronger than we were that it seemed truly ridiculous even to consider attempting to fight them. But Xena does not accept defeat, even when it knocks her on her ass, so we were at war. We found, as the war wore on, that there was a route of sure escape. But of course we didn't take it. I don't think Xena has ever taken the easy way out in her entire life."
"We went to Chin and found that not only did the influence of the Greek Gods appear to be non-existent there, but somehow in Chin Xena was able to access great powers. She could create shields out of the air around her, and she could turn things to stone with her mind. If we had stayed there, you could have grown up safe and the gods would probably still be around."
"You and Xena would probably be dead by now, though. You've got to explain..."
"You want a story, don't you? Let me make my point...which was... That's it! After the war is over, you think. And sometimes the things that have happened, the things you yourself have done, look very different now that you're not in the heat of battle, not defending your loved ones from certain death. So I think she is thinking about those things now. I know I am. I just don't have to withdraw quite so far into myself to do it."
"Not quite so far. So tell me more about Chin." I refill our glasses.
"Chin. There was a woman who your mother loved, they met many years ago when Xena was wild and slightly crazy, and Xena ended up betraying her. She was a great philosopher and a very powerful woman. They didn't see each other for years and eventually she died, making Xena her avenger, her spiritual heir. I believe her spirit is some kind of guardian of the land of Chin, and sometimes, when it is greatly threatened, her spirit calls to Xena to act for her and protect it. Twice her spirit has sent messengers who have died upon completing their missions to alert Xena of trouble in Chin. We're going to gloss over the first time, Eve. No questions asked; you can read about it in the Debt scrolls and the one called Forget Me Not. The second time, she was pregnant with you and a monk with no tongue died in my arms in order to tell Xena that the hawk and the dove had to be made one with the wisdom. Whatever, I figured; we do what Lao Ma wants even though she's dead, so we went to Chin."
Gabrielle drinks and I think she's really jealous of this Lao Ma. I note down the names of the scrolls in my head.
"It's a long story but she's got three children, one of whom is dead by this point, two of whom are evil. None of this really matters. It was about the black powder, this powerful explosive. Once it had been invented and then outlawed. No one was supposed to know the secret. But Lao Ma's evil daughter did and was using it. Xena figured the black powder would give too great an advantage to whatever army knew how to make it, so she decided to get rid of it, even though we discovered it was easy to figure out the recipe because Joxer was able to do it in only a few hours. Yet we pushed on. Chin was at stake, Lao Ma's non-evil daughter was in danger. So Xena figured out how to use the spiritual teachings to perform incredible physical feats. In the end, and it took forever to get there so you're lucky to be hearing this version, it was our rag-tag band up against an army of 100,000 men, lead by the two evil children both of whom were now dead and in one body."
"I only believe you because I know things like this have happened to you to before. What then?"
"Xena stopped the army by turning all the soldiers to stone."
"That sounds like magic. She just killed them all?"
"Yeah. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do."
"So you think that, for instance, now Xena is thinking about how she made the decision to kill all those people, and she's thinking maybe it wasn't the right thing to do?"
"Maybe," says Gabrielle, "but I think the question is bigger than that. The question is not whether killing all those people was the right thing to do, but whether or not Xena had any right to even consider making a decision like whether or not the black powder would be used. Five years ago, when we first started traveling together, things were clear. The slaves were to be freed. The kidnapped were to be rescued. Xena could do these things to help others and she did. But she was so powerful, so much more powerful than anyone else. She was smarter and faster and braver and more confident. And she had become kind. She had a strong moral code and she had my innocent love and my clear sense of right and wrong to help guide her. She was unstoppable. She was so beautiful, so much larger than life, and everything she did seemed so perfect, so right, so wise. It was as if she could fail at nothing, as if she were never wrong. In my heart, though I knew she was flawed and hurting, I thought she was as a goddess should be. Full of love and pain and an unquenchable thirst for more. I heard a song in a tavern once about her that went 'Famed for prowess with a sword, who's as feared and as adored.' That was how people saw her. As time went on it seemed natural that our fight for the greater good was on an ever and ever larger scale."
"What's it like to be in love like that?"
"What?" Gabrielle asks, confused.
"I've just never been in love. Sometimes I wonder what it's like."
"Oh. Well, what I've been describing is more like worship. The way I love her, well, it's more complicated than that. There are days when I feel like I am so in love with her my heart will burst with the strain of not expressing it, and then there are days when I think I must be insane to even entertain the thought of the two of us together like that. So that's what being in love is like; crazy-making."
Gabrielle's attention is again caught by something I can't sense. She looks out into the dark forest surrounding our campsite.
"Is it Xena?"
"Yeah. I think she's close enough to hear and I don't want to be talking about this like this. Okay?"
"Yeah, it's okay. Wanna go to bed?"
I set my bedroll next to hers, closer to the fire. She is the one who will protect us if we need protection during the night. It is strange enough to be older than this woman I think of as a mother, who thinks of me as her child suddenly full grown. Like the legend of Athena's birth, a woman sprung straight from Zeus' head. And stranger still, this way of non-violence that seems so right to me now, puts her in danger, when I know I am at least her equal in battle. Sleep comes to me quickly, but I imagine less so to her.
I dream of storms and messengers, black cats, lightning bolts and dead trees. All kinds of signs. None of them clear to me. I did not fear them but I wake up breathless. The morning is hot and I can hear the grunting noises of Gabrielle's work out from the other side of the clearing. When I read the older scrolls I can't believe this is the same person. The love I feel for her is so strong it seems too strong sometimes. It's almost like part of me is in love with her for Xena, like it is so much a part of her that I inherited it like my height. Or maybe I just see that thing that apparently people have always seen in her and thought was goodness and purity. Maybe I am the only one who sees it for what it is: strength.
We go bathing before breakfast.
"Stop staring at me!" says Gabrielle, laughing as she takes off her orange shorts.
"I'm sorry. Your body is just beautiful. That's all. Nothing personal." Promise. No matter what.
"Gods!" She dives into the water and I follow.
We wash ourselves slowly and I casually ask, "Do you know who that woman was, the one who touched Xena's stomach and made me?"
Gabrielle looks at me curiously. "You don't know?"
"No, I don't. Just that she was golden and magnificent, like an angel."
"Like an angel," repeats Gabrielle, shaking her head, "She was an angel, Eve, you're right about that. Right after her stint in hell. I'll tell you the rest over breakfast."
"Thanks, Mom."
I say it on purpose and get a short splash-fight for my trouble. I hope Xena would be proud to see how I'm cheering her up and making her share her feelings.
Gabrielle makes breakfast and begins the story quietly.
"Once upon a time there was a young girl. She lived in a village. One day a warlord came and burnt the village to the ground, killing the girl's family and leaving her alone. She vowed to take vengeance on the warlord. She studied for years and became a great fighter. But her focus on revenge and only revenge twisted her heart and her mind until she was quite crazed. Finally she was ready and caught up with her enemy. But by this time her enemy had reformed, was no longer the cruel warlord but a hero on a quest for redemption."
"Are you telling me that that woman was Callisto?" I am incredulous. Gabrielle nods. "The woman Xena killed, who worked for Ares and for Hera and for Dahok--she was the angel who sired me?"
"Yes. Have some more tea," she says, "Did Ares tell you about her?"
"Yeah, it was part of my warrior education. To know the strengths and weaknesses of the greatest warriors who had come before me would enable me to avoid their failings."
"What did he tell you her failings were?"
"She was too single-minded, it made it easy for people to use her because all her cards were out on the table, they knew what she wanted and that she was willing to do anything to get it. And she was crazy, but according to Ares that was less of a problem."
"What did he say about Xena?"
"That you were her weakness. You made her soft and you took her focus away. Before you, she was perfect. After you, she was always torn. You wanna know what he said about you?"
"He said you were the best because you had control. He said your strength in battle was surprise--no one expected you to be half as good as you were, so you could get in close and--zang! Your perceived weakness was your strength and there's no better weapon than the least expected one."
"You really paid attention to him."
"He was my hero for a long time. I thought there was nothing that he didn't know. He never told me how Callisto became a god."
She says she'll tell me on the road and we pack up camp. Callisto. I just take it in and wait to hear more. We're on a wide, flat road for a change, as Gabrielle begins her story.
"I sing the short version of the story of how the warrior queen Callisto became a god. Three years ago, or twenty-eight, the legendary Xena died. As she was Xena and all, she was given the opportunity to return to this life, which she took. The opportunity had been a quest that lead to ambrosia, with a renegade Amazon bent on vengeance on our trail. Of course we prevailed, but somehow she ended up getting her hands on some ambrosia and becoming a god."
"What was her name and why was she after you?"
"Velaska. She had wanted to be the queen of the Amazons, my Amazons, and she wasn't the right woman for the job."
"Your Amazons?"
"Read Hooves and Harlots and The Quest. This is the short version, remember? The perfect size for weary travelers," she says, stopping to rub her foot.
"I'm sorry. Please continue."
"Okay...Velaska was a god now and wanted to kill me because I chose to take my rightful role. Xena was alive again but we were no match for her powers. Xena decided we needed the help of an immortal and Callisto was immortal and imprisoned nearby, so Xena made a deal with her and we defeated Velaska, and Callisto managed to eat some of the ambrosia. We trapped them in lava. Callisto got out later, but that's another story."
"You created gods."
Gabrielle trips on a root and says she guesses that's true.
"And then you destroyed them."
"Well, we thought we did, anyway."
"So you're saying that to save your own lives you took the chance of making two evil goddesses, and you lost."
"Well, we're alive. And if Callisto hadn't become a goddess, chances are we would never have had you."
"Gabrielle, I killed thousands of people. I know you care about me, but the death of so many innocents is never justifiable."
It's quiet for a moment.
"She even killed the horses," whispers Gabrielle.
"She imagined that everyone wearing the symbol of the green dragon would turn to stone. The soldiers were on horses that bore the standard of the dead Emperor."
"Why didn't you let the other gods deal with Callisto and Velaska?"
"I don't think it occurred to us. Xena was the hero, the strong one, the one who fixed everything for everyone. She would fix this too. The Xena you know, the one who weeps and prays? This is not the Xena I have known. The Xena I have known would not say 'Pass the water' if her hair was on fire."
I laugh. "Can we stop and fish for lunch?" I ask.
She looks at me, and she seems calmer than she has in days. She tilts her head to the side and nods, smiling, "Yeah."
I wouldn't have suggested it if we weren't near a river, so we walked down a steep incline to the riverbank, creating makeshift fishing poles as we go.
By now I can tell from Gabrielle's subtle signals when Xena is near, and I keep quiet about it.
"We were traveling near Thessaly," she says out of nowhere as she casts her line, "and we wandered into the edge of a terrible war that had become a slaughter. And with luck so amazing I still can't fathom it, we found our friend Ephiny alone in the woods on the verge of giving birth, her husband killed for sport by soldiers. We stood there in the forest, outraged yet again by the casual cruelties of the world, and then she said it, 'I'm going to find a safe place for Ephiny to have her baby, and then I'm gonna stop this war.'"
Gabrielle pauses for effect and to recast. Sometimes I feel like there are so many stories about my mother that it will be impossible to ever hear them all.
"She found a safe place and delivered Ephiny's baby, and she stopped the war."
"And she brought me back from the dead."
"You mean she got you killed?"
"No, I got myself killed. She brought me back."
"You're wrong!" Xena's voice rings out from somewhere in the woods, "I got you killed and you brought yourself back!"
"Come out here and say that to my face!" Gabrielle yells into the forest. Our fishing poles are forgotten now in the mud.
"Admit I'm right!" Yells Xena.
"Never!"
"Isn't it more to the point that you stopped the war?" I yell.
"Gabrielle died, Eve!" she screams from the forest. I can tell by her voice that she's moving around so we don't spot her. "I risked her life and Ephiny's and Xenan's. It was my hubris! Don't you understand? Gabrielle didn't like war and so I had stop it. I knew I could stop it. That's all I thought about. Not about the risk! And I didn't learn my lesson! It is my enormous pride that has been my downfall. Don't listen to Gabrielle's lies any more. I am no hero!" I can hear as she takes to the trees, moving away so swiftly that she knows we'll never catch her.
"Guess you were right," I say, smiling at Gabrielle and picking up our fishing poles. Parts of me are shaking. I have never heard Xena speak like that before. So much pain.
"I'm not all that hungry anymore, Eve. Can we just keep moving?"
"Of course. Where are we going?" I've managed to avoid asking her this so far because she hasn't mentioned it and I'm afraid that she doesn't have an answer.
"We're heading towards Thrace to see who's still alive."
Their families. My families. They say I knew my grandmother but I don't remember. The tone of her voice is so sad. I think she figures they're dead. I'm not sure she really wants to know it for a fact.
We walk for hours in silence. The sun colors the sky orange and pink as we set up camp, and collect wood, and do all the things she usually does with Xena. I catch a rabbit and she makes stew. The stars are out by the time we eat.
"Do you know what we did this year? I mean, that year?"
"What?" Seems the safest answer.
"It didn't seem this way at the time. I mean, Eve, it really was like everything was unconnected. We didn't think about what we were doing, but the scope of our influence became truly immense. We decided, one way or another, who would or would not rule in Chin, Egypt, Rome, the Amazon Nation, and the Heavens themselves. It is shocking to me when I pause to think about it; we were given the opportunity to rule half the world that year. We were continuously presented with situations in which we were asked to or felt compelled or seemed destined to help, and we did. We made choices that were not ours to make. Yet somehow we were able to make them and they stuck."
"Wow," I say.
"Yeah, wow," she says,
"Why do you think that was?"
I can tell Xena is near. Gabrielle is tense but continues.
"So much had happened by then. We had won every battle we engaged in for years, though sometimes at enormous cost... When I first met her I thought she was invincible, and nothing has ever happened to change my mind."
The look on her face as she gazes into the fire tells me how deeply she still believes this.
"She's like magic to you, isn't she?"
Gabrielle looks at me curiously and crinkles her nose, "Yeah. Like magic. We got used to the adoration from people, the look they'd get in their eyes when they saw us fight or do some amazing feat. It was almost like being a god. And even when we died, we came back. Again and again. I remember the day I stood on the dock and Aphrodite came to me when I whistled for her. All Xena had to do was whisper his name and the god of war was by her side. These had become the facts of our life, so when Xena turned up pregnant without good reason, and then found out she was to bear a child that meant the end of the gods, well, it didn't seem as far-fetched or suspicious as it should have. We took it for granted now, almost, that the rules were different for us. Wherever we went we seemed to attract the attention of the most powerful foes."
At this point it is almost as if she is talking to Xena through me. These are things they should be saying to each other; they are the secret things you keep in the back of your mind and don't dare say to anyone.
"So you understand that when we heard the baby would bring about the end of the gods, we figured, somehow that makes sense, that our baby would have that power. But we didn't have time to think, we were suddenly at war. There was a baby to protect; our baby, and now, because of us, it was a pawn. Everything we did we did to protect you. We forgot the bigger picture. We forgot everything but to protect you at all costs. We forgot about the greater good, we forgot about each other. All we saw was you in danger."
"We were used!" Xena's voice comes out of the trees above and to our right.
"Tell me!" I yell to her.
"That god manipulated us for I don't know how long--maybe even as early as India! He knew I'd do whatever I had to to protect my baby. And I fell for it! I believed my baby was the most important thing in the world. I thought I was holy! Hear that, Gabrielle! Xena, Destroyer of Nations, holy! I bought the whole thing. Gods. How can you even stand to listen to my voice?"
"Come here and sit by the fire," Gabrielle says.
"It doesn't mean you're not still heroic, Xena," I call out, "Just because you made mistakes."
"Made mistakes?!?!?!" She screams. Gabrielle puts her head in her hands and stares at the ground. Now Xena's just letting it all out, "I consciously decided to make a man fall in love with me, knowing I would probably end up killing him; it was the strategy I chose from more than one option. I don't know if I can call that a mistake. Do you know what a hero is, Eve? A hero is someone who helps others. Someone who is willing to put themselves at risk to help strangers simply because it is the right thing to do. Someone who follows this code all the time! Anyone will fight when their loved ones are in danger, but a hero fights for anyone who needs fighting for. This god took that away from me by tricking me into fighting for him! And I didn't notice. All year I fought for my family and my friends--you were there Gabrielle--tell her--what strangers did we help?"
"Just Daphne," Gabrielle whispers.
"What?" Xena bellows.
"Just Daphne!!!"
"Like I said, I'm no hero. And do you know what--after all we did, we still lost the war! Aphrodite and Ares were the heroes! They were able to look past their blood ties and do the right thing. You'd both be dead if not for them. All I am is the person who got you killed."
It's now or never so I make my move. I've picked out her location and I'm up in the tree next to her in seconds. I grab her and knock her out of it, falling with her to the ground and landing on top of her. I hold her down as she glares at me.
"I'll let you up if you stay here with us a while."
"I don't make deals."
"Do you take requests? Will you please stay?"
"Fine," she says, pushing me off her. She sits directly across the fire from us and stares at the flames.
Gabrielle pours a cup of wine and carries it over to Xena, then sits down next to her on the ground. Her whole demeanor is different now that Xena is here. She's more gentle, and she's completely focused on her. I watch her stroke Xena's hand as she passes her the wine, and then she sits right next to her, so close they are touching.
"Remember when we used to fight giants?" Xena asks, drinking.
Gabrielle smiles and presses her head against Xena's shoulder, "Yeah, I remember. With mirrors and sling shots and flying parchment."
"And I had the gall to try to bring the power of Zeus to earth."
"It worked, as I recall."
They smile at each other and I can feel the tension leave all our bodies.
"Xena, do you remember the first time we found ambrosia?"
"Of course. Sumerian treasure."
"And remember how we talked about it, what you said when I asked you why you didn't want to take it?"
"Yes. I said I didn't want to be a god. I wanted to just be human."
"And isn't that all we have proven this year? That after everything, every heroic deed, every mistake, every battle, every twist and turn, we are only human? I know you like to focus on your warlord days, all the terrible things you did to people. But before that, Xena, before everything else, you were a hero. You didn't run or give in or cower in fear. You fought for what you believed in. That's still who I see when I look at you, that young girl who tried to save everybody. But Xena, no one can save everybody."
"I'm tired," whispers Xena, her voice a world of sadness, "I'm sorry, Gabrielle. For not being your hero...and for hurting you. You're right; all I saw was Eve. And even now I am selfish, because I regret hurting and disappointing you more than all the rest of my sins combined. There are just so many things I want to be because of you, and for you."
"I want us to live a simpler life, Gabrielle, with smaller choices. A life where at the end of the day I know where I stand."
"That's a wonderful idea, Xena. Let's go to bed," says Gabrielle tenderly. They lie down on her bedroll, the fact that I am here completely forgotten, as it should be. I may be purified or whatever, but I don't see myself moving out of ear shot yet.
I listen to the sounds of their bodies settling into each other, the leather creaking, sighs from them both that tell me they are holding each other now. I did this--they are lying in each other's arms because of me! My first good deed!
"You've got to take me with you," I hear Gabrielle whisper, "teach me everything you know. You can't leave me here in Poteidaia; I want to go with you. I've studied the stars, spoken with philosophers, and every few years my gift of prophecy kicks in--I could be very valuable to you. Take me with you. I want so much to be like you."
"And I wanna be like you," Xena whispers, her voice husky with emotion.
Five and twenty-five years later, even I can hear exactly what they're saying; after all that we have been through, my love, I feel about you exactly as I did the day we met. I hear more rustling around and then the unmistakable sound of kissing. Kissing, wow! Bonus points for Evie! Gabrielle moans and I turn over and wrap a shawl around my head to block my hearing.
I don't presume to know the difference between good and evil, but I've learned that love can heal, and seen it proved true today. Was it fate, the journey from Cirra to Hell to me? I may never know. Xena and Gabrielle are together; that's enough for me tonight.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
County Gray Bar Menu
Iowa Pesticide Applicators Have More Time to Complete Recertification
Submitted by ldwright on Mon, 03/30/2020 - 15:27
March 30, 2020, 9:37 am | Kristine Schaefer
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has waived the deadline for pesticide applicators to meet recertification requirements, following a proclamation by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds March 22.
The waiver allows Iowa pesticide applicators who were certified as of Dec. 31, 2019, to retain their status through Dec. 31, 2020, and temporarily allows commercial certified pesticide applicators to continue to operate under a current company license without having to immediately submit proof of training or testing.
Applicators still need to meet pesticide certification standards by Dec. 31, 2020. In-person examinations required to renew a pesticide applicator certification must be completed by Dec. 31, 2020. All pesticide applicator certifications remain on a three-year certification.
If a commercial applicator re-certifies by attending a Commercial Continuing Instruction Course (C-CIC), this schedule remains unchanged, according to Kristine Schaefer, program manager for the Pesticide Safety Education Program at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
The ISU Extension and Outreach Spring C-CIC programs were completed as scheduled. Fall C-CIC programs will restart again in October. More information is available on the ISU Pesticide Safety Education Program website.
Applicators will still need to attend a C-CIC in 2020 if they plan to recertify by training.
Private pesticide applicators with certifications that were current up to Dec. 31, 2019, will be able to purchase and apply restricted use pesticides for the 2020 growing season. Private pesticide applicators whose certification expired Dec. 31, 2019, and planned to recertify by testing now have until Dec. 31, 2020, to meet that requirement.
Private pesticide applicators who plan to recertify by attending Private applicator Continuing Instruction Course (P-CIC) programs and were unable to participate in a 2019-2020 P-CIC will now have until Sept. 30, 2020, to attend the 2019-2020 CIC program, according to Schaefer.
More information regarding 2019-2020 P-CIC programs will be communicated as it becomes available. The 2020-2021 P-CIC program will continue as scheduled and run from Dec. 1, 2020, to Apr. 15, 2021.
Iowa pesticide applicators do not need to wait until the end of the year to apply for recertification and are encouraged to submit a request once they have completed testing or training requirements.
This waiver does not apply to individuals who are not certified. To become certified, a potential pesticide applicator will still need to pass the appropriate exam(s). ISU Extension and Outreach will work with IDALS to help provide testing sites once testing activities resume.
Pesticide company/business license requirements remain unchanged.
Original photo: Sprayer in action.
Crops, Environment, Farm Management
Kristine Schaefer
Pesticide Safety Education Program
schaefer@iastate.edu [node:read-more:link]
Counties Main Menu
About ISU Extension and Outreach: Sac County
County Extension Council
4-H & Youth
Sac County 4-H & Youth
Iowa 4-H Program
Yard & Garden/Horticulture
Families & Healthy Living
Food, Nutrition and Health
Upcoming Statewide Events
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, (800) 262-3804, 2150 Beardshear Hall, Ames, IA 50011-2046
Copyright © 2021 Iowa State University | Contact Us | Policies | For Staff | State & National Extension Partners | Website Log In
4-H Staff Login


Deltona's Premiere Carpet Cleaning Service!
Your dirty carpets have met their match: You will not find a more professional carpet cleaner in Deltona. Our outstanding quality and service comes to you at a mid-level price. We know there is more to providing professional work than just getting good cleaning results. A smooth and pleasant experience is equally important. We know that an attentive and friendly office staff, showing up on time, and thorough and careful workmanship are important to you.
The training and experience of our internationally certified service technicians is unmatched. They are familiar with solving the toughest spot and carpet challenges. Each job is unique and they will explain any unusual conditions that may exist.
We value you and your schedule. We provide an on-time arrival guarantee. We go out of our way to be on time. In the rare event that we miss our arrival window, we will give you a $25 gift card for the inconvenience.
A large part of our family of customers have been with us for years. Whenever future cleaning needs arise, we will be happy to serve you again. If you should ever have any carpet questions or would like some guidance or resolving spot or spill issue, please don't hesitate to give us a call.
A convenient appointment or an answer to your question is waiting for you when you call. We look forward to the opportunity to provide you with outstanding carpet cleaning along with top quality service.


I've not been good with taking photos, it's just hard to remember to snap photos when you are living at 90MPH. I'm hoping things slow down after the end of May, school ends in early June and my kids are going to be gone most of the summer at camp + grandparents. Plenty of time to rest right? Or shop. Or go to Disneyland!
Those are my favorite looks from the last couple of weeks. I still can't get over the Prada dress find….I know it's just a simple pink sundress, but I LOVE IT. It was really windy yesterday and it held up pretty well, I didn't flash anyone!
Did you attend Emily's tea party? Sadly I was in Vegas for a business conference, but I was totally there in spirit! I also ordered a pile of stuff during friends and family weekend…which I shall have to debut at some point.


The majority of Middle School sports/activities are offered on either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday depending on the sport or activity. However, there are one or two activities offered on one day per week only. See sign-up sheet for specific information.
Participation in the Sports/Activities Program is optional for Middle School students. However, attendance is required for students who elect to participate in sports/activities.
Students may also elect to participate in the Saturday Intramural Tennis, Soccer, and Basketball programs.
Certain activities may have costs attached. These will be made clear on the trimester registration forms.


text:
Q: Variational formulation of a pde Let $f\in\mathcal{S}(\mathbb{R}^n)$, $a\in(-1,1)$, and:
$$ X_f=\{V\in C^\infty(\mathbb{R}^n\times(0,\infty))\cap C^0(\mathbb{R}^n\times[0,\infty)): E_a(V)<\infty, V(x,0)=f(x),\forall x\in\mathbb{R}^n\}, $$
where:
$$ E_a(V):=\int_{\mathbb{R}^n\times(0,\infty)}y^a|\nabla_{x,y}V(x,y)|^2\,dx\,dy. $$
I want to prove that if $U\in X_f$ is a classical solution of:
$$ \text{div}(y^a\nabla_{x,y}V)=0,\quad\text{on }\mathbb{R}^n\times(0,\infty),$$
$$ V(x,0)=f(x),\quad\forall x\in\mathbb{R}^n,$$
then we have that:
$$ E_a(U)=\min_{V\in X_f}E_a(V).$$
How i can prove this fact? I have no idea, any help is appreciated.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Randella Bluehouse
National Indian Council on Aging: Then (Creation of NICOA) and Now (The Affordable Care Act – ACA)
The first National Indian Conference on Aging was sponsored by the National Tribal Chairman's Association (NTCA) in Phoenix, Arizona on June 15-17, 1976. Close to 1,500 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people representing 171 tribes came together to speak of their needs and present recommendations for action to improve the quality of their lives. The meeting was coordinated by the National Tribal Chairman's Association and led by President Wendell Chino.
First members of the National Indian Council on Aging
Then: Creation of NICOA
In his address to the conference attendees Mr. Chino spoke at length about the history of contributions the American Indian/Alaska Native elders have given to this great country. He consistently reminded American Indian/Alaska Native and the US Congressional leaders that American Indians/Alaska Natives have a unique status as they are specifically mentioned in the US constitution. Robert J. Miller author of Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny, explains the following:
American Indian tribes have played a major role in the development and history of the United States and have engaged in official, diplomatic governmental relations with other sovereign governments from the first moment Europeans stepped foot on this continent. Indian tribes have been a part of the day to day political life of the United States and continue to have an important role in American life today. Tribes continue to have a government to government relationship with the United States and they continue to be sovereign governments with primary control and jurisdiction over their citizens and their territories. It is no surprise, then, that the relationship between Indian people, tribal governments and the United States is addressed in the United States Constitution.
This important gathering led to the creation of the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA). NICOA carries on the mission to advocate for improved comprehensive health, social services and economic well-being for American Indian and Alaska Native Elders. NICOA is a membership organization governed by a 13-member board of directors composed of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Elders representing each of the 12 Bureau of Indian Affairs regions, and a representative of the National Association of Title VI Grantees.
Prior to the 1976 National Indian Conference on Aging, recommendations were formulated by the Session on the Elderly Indian at the 1971 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA). The recommendations were endorsed and reconfirmed by the participants in the 1976 National Indian Conference on Aging. These recommendations were:
1) Not terminate Indian tribes (which means abrogating treaties with the result that Indian tribes would no longer be federally recognized),
2) Establish an Indian desk within the Administration on Aging,
3) Amend the provision within the Older Americans Act to permit funding from the federal government to flow directly to Indian Tribes (and Alaska Natives). These tribes would no longer have to go through state agencies for funding,
4) Increase AoA funding to adequate amounts in order to serve American Indians and Alaska Natives,
5) Create grants that fund research programs that look at existing laws and policies that serve the elderly Indian population.
Now: The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Now over 35 years later we ask ourselves have these issues been addressed? Of the issues presented above, numbers 1, 2, and 3 have been attained but 4 and 5 remain persistent, unresolved issues. But hopeful improvements are on the horizon. The Affordable Care Act has permanently reauthorized the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. This will allow the Indian Health Service (IHS) to make important improvements in their provision of care. The Indian Health Service is chronically underfunded but now American Indian/Alaska Natives will have more choices about the care they receive.
Many American Indian Alaska Native Elders receive Medicare benefits and will not need to take part in the Health Insurance Exchange process, they are already covered.
Enrollment in the Health Insurance Exchanges begins on October 1st but there are no deadlines for AI/ANs, they can enroll at any time. They can visit any IHS hospital, Tribal Clinic or Urban Indian Health Clinic.
Currently the Department of Health and Human Services is struggling with the definition of American Indian/Alaska Native. They are aware of a problem with the inconsistent definition of the word "Indian" in the Affordable Care Act. A uniform definition of "Indian" shall allow AI/ANs access to federally supported health care, including the ACA exchanges, Medicaid and IHS services. It also prevents unjust tax penalties from which AI/ANs should be exempt.
Policy makers, Tribal leaders and stakeholders are working to understand the implications of the act on American Indian people. To learn more, check out these resources: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Indian Health Service, and the National Indian Health Board. Our status as American Indians/Alaska Natives is unique. But we have to come together and find fair, equitable solutions as providers of services and offer advice to our Elders directly and through our partnerships with the Diverse Elders Coalition, the Aging Services Network and interested stakeholders.
One thing we learned from our Indian Elders is that they accept the process of aging. Mr. Chino observed, "Indian people have never been ashamed of growing old. They merely accept it as a fact of life because they understand the forces of life and the forces of nature that all and everything that lives, also decays."
There's so much to digest here but I just want to say that engaged input from interested policy makers and advocates is vital for our momentum on this movement to educate our American Indian/Alaska Native Elders. Thanks to those who have been laboring on these issues for all you have done thus far. You are respected and valued for your efforts. This is an exciting and important task as we work for the future good health of all American Elders everywhere! If you are or know an American Indian/ Alaska Native Elder, encourage them to join NICOA to help continue educating policy makers about diversity in aging.


$250 REWARDS JUST SIGN A LEASE WITH WATCHUNG VIEW APARTMENTS!
Watchung Apartments offers residents a park like setting, hardwood floors, tiled bathrooms, laundry facilities on each floor, on-site parking, air conditioning, free heat & hot water and cooking gas.
Visit Watchung View Apartments today and let our professional management staff show you our apartment homes.


This simple monogram looks like you spent hours fussing over it, but it's a snap with the use of pre-made blanket binding.
Using your sewing machine, ruffle the entire length of the binding, except for the last 18" or so.
With your iron on low setting, iron the last 18"to get out the wrinkles and creases.
Use these smooth pieces to cover the bottoms of the letter. Study the letter and figure where you won't be covering the letter with ruffle, it will need smooth fabric. Mine needed it on the bottom, bottom of the T and top of the T.
Cut you ruffle pieces to size by wrapping it around the front and sides of the letter. Starting at the bottom of the letter, apply a generous amount of glue and add a layer of ruffles.
When you get to a new point, just cut the ruffles to size again, keeping the ruffles wrapped around the edges. Finish the top off by overlapping the edge just a bit. Your ruffle stitches will show at the top row.
You're done! I don't know what girl wouldn't love this hanging in their room!


Our 3/4 sleeve Gail spot stitch front top in spun rayon is the perfect work top. Featuring scoop neckline, spot stitch detail at front, and ribbed cuff and hem. Team it together with your favourite cropped pant to finish the look.


text:
Football must come out
Published 8 August, 2018
Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Max Pixel
Andrew Quinn
"Men's football is a bit behind culturally, and should take inspiration from others. The women's game is a great example."
I have felt quite empty for the last few weeks. I've found myself not knowing what to do in the evenings as I sit and flick through television channels as I long for what I had less than a month ago. The World Cup is over, and the void has not been filled yet for many. I had a great month of watching my favourite sport on TV, but others are not so welcome to enjoy the beautiful game. Russia and Qatar, hosts of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, are two countries which are not completely safe for LGBTQ+ people. This underlines that perhaps inclusion is not important for the leaders of the world's most popular sport.
However, in Scotland, there is a movement to get more lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people involved in sport. The Scottish LGBT Sports Charter is a massive part of this.
The code was developed with the desire for "Scotland to be a country where everyone can take part, enjoy and succeed in sport at all levels whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity." It recognises that there are barriers for LGBT people in sport, and is "about working together to take visible steps to remove these barriers." Many different Scottish governing bodies of sport are signatories, ranging from Judo Scotland to the Scottish Handball Association, and big-hitters like the Scottish FA and Scottish Rugby. More than half of Scottish senior football clubs have signed the charter, showing commitment to changing the problem of a lack of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender representation in sport.
Although we are moving in the right direction, there is still massive progress to be made. The Interim Report of the Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football reveals that there is a "historical and a persistent culture of homophobia in football" according to Leadership, Equality and Active Participation (LEAP) in Sports Scotland and Equality Network. It is still okay to be homophobic and class it as "banter" or "patter". This does not encourage young LGBTQ+ people to get involved in the sport, and means "the beautiful game" suffers as a result.
Some people use homophobic terms because they genuinely hate gay people, but most Scots are not homophobic. Most just don't realise how hurtful these slurs are, but if they had team mates who were out as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, it might challenge their ideas. They would see that it is not okay to use these derogatory terms, and would see the pain that they cause. Moreover, there are many talented young LGBTQ+ sportspeople who do not get involved in sport due to this culture. Obviously, this affects the quality of players for national teams, because currently a whole group is not participating.
We have come a long way since the days of Justin Fashanu, Britain's only openly gay footballer, who was verbally abused by fans across the country and even disowned by his own brother and fellow professional footballer John, who said that he wouldn't get changed in the same dressing room as him. Yet, 20 years after the tragic suicide of Justin, Britain's first black million-pound footballer, there are less than a handful of openly gay footballers in the men'sgame. What are the reasons for this?
Anton Hysén, son of former Liverpool player Glenn Hysén and midfielder for Swedish fourth-tier outfit Torslanda IK, is only the second active professional footballer to be openly gay. He reckons that homosexual players are afraid of fan reaction. The abuse from the terraces can be brutal at times, and sometimes football supporters are not the most progressive thinkers. However, having a gay player in your team would help change attitudes. If a gay footballer scored the winner in the Champions League final, his sexuality would be forgotten; no supporter of his team would complain and it would enlighten those who might never have given a real thought into their views on homosexuality. There are rumours of secretly gay players in the game, and with so many players, it is impossible that there is not at least one LGBTQ+ person in the men's major leagues. Why, then, do they keep their sexuality a secret?
Often there are calls for these footballers who are hiding their sexuality to come out. There is a real shortage of LGBTQ+ role models for young people in football, and if there were some big-name LGBTQ+ footballers, it would surely encourage more young people to get involved in the sport. However, the idea of coming out is part of the problem. To come out makes homosexuality seem abnormal or a novelty. It appears that you are doing something different which should not be the case. It makes a big deal out of homosexuality and grabs headlines which it shouldn't because to be gay is not out of the ordinary and we shouldn't treat it so. It's not the norm for someone to come out about their sexuality if they are straight, so to come out as gay is proclaiming heterosexuality as standard and homosexuality as irregular. Obviously, this is not what the players want, so it is preferable for them to keep their private life private, and not talk about their sexuality at all.
Gareth Thomas, former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain said when he came out in 2009 that he didn't "want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player, first and foremost I am a man." Clearly, we need to change homophobic culture in sports first, and then we may see more openly gay footballers, who haven't had the need to come out because there is no big reaction to their sexuality. This can be by advising children in football teams that it is not okay to use homophobic slurs as insults or as "patter". If we teach our children to be open-minded, they will lead the way for the future.
Men's football is a bit behind culturally, and should take inspiration from others. The women's game is a great example. In 2012, both England Women's coach and captain (Hope Powell and Casey Stoney) were gay women. They are obviously a big inspiration for lots of young girls who play football, and they help normalise attitudes towards homosexuality in general. Tom Daley has won medals for team GB at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and Billie Jean King is one of the greatest tennis players of all time; they are both hailed as LGBTQ+ icons. Change will come for the most popular sport in the world, and it may take time, but the way in which we can do it is by talking, and highlighting to children that being gay is not strange, it is normal. When we do this, and it will happen, the game will be even stronger.
Proud Jags: tackling homophobia on the terraces
Inclusion is their goal – the supporters seeking to welcome LGBTQ+ community into football
Scottish football clubs say no to homophobia
United Glasgow: the football team making a real difference.
Glasgow City football kit makes female role model statement
It's time for Scottish football to start thinking about life without Rangers
Legend has it than in the aftermath of the great Wall Street crash of 1929 a journalist conducting an interview with a veteran financier asked if it was still possible to make a small…
English Football Association hosts friendly birthday matches


When you are launching a new product whether you are a new company or large corporate, it's important to consider which business model you will go to market with. It determines your moves down the road, whether you can increase or decrease prices and how that does to your brand.
Today we will go through the Freemium Business Model, explain what it is and provide examples to show how it is applied in business.
A Freemium business model consists of two components: FREE + PREMIUM. This means that usually in the beginning it will be free for you to try out the product in its most basic form. If you decide you like the product you will have to pay for the 'premium' version of the product.
You may question WHY in the world you would want to give away your product for free, but at the very beginning when no one knows the product and how it performs, if you stood in the shoes of your prospective customers, it's normal for them to have reservations about the purchase.
The Freemium model alleviates those concerns and reservations, because now it's FREE to try!
Many apps are free to try nowadays, requiring payment to unlock premium features.
Free Consultation. Quite a few service-based businesses use this model, the rationale is that the more time a customer spends with you, the more vested they become in the potential deal/purchase, making it harder for them to walk away. So for all those ads asking you to call them for a free 1-hour consultation, these services are hoping to get a conversation started with you in hopes of converting you into a paying customer.
Free Download. This method is used commonly for phone apps and books. How many times have you downloaded an app to try it out, and then when you want to remove a watermark or to use a new feature, they are 'locked' unless you subscribe to a premium package or purchase the additional features? Free e-book excerpts are also readily available online, with authors hoping that the readers would find their books to be such page-turners they would head over to Amazon to purchase the full version.
Free Trial. Online SaaS companies often use this model to get users to sign up with a free 30-day trial to experience the benefits. Past the 30-day mark they would have to purchase either a monthly or annual subscription. If you think about it, the goal is to get you to invest the effort to get set up on their platform, so when your trial is almost over you would feel that you already invested so much time to get set up you might as well purchase a monthly subscription.
Want a free appetizer? Sure. Stay for dinner and spend more!
The goal of using the Freemium model is to get your prospective customer 'hungry' for your product, so the minimum viable version you give them access to must be a good enough 'hook' to keep them wanting more. Also, make sure that nearing the end of the free trial you issue several call-to-action messages to your prospect to convert them to a paying customer.


This is a placeholder page for Dawned Hensley, which means this person is not currently on this site. We do suggest using the tools below to find Dawned Hensley.
You are visiting the placeholder page for Dawned Hensley. This page is here because someone used our placeholder utility to look for Dawned Hensley. We created this page automatically in hopes Dawned Hensley would find it. If you are not Dawned Hensley, but are an alumni of Miamisburg High School, register on this site for free now.


Rental House Angelina will allow you to stay in one of the best places in the world in total relaxation and autonomy; it is located in a beautiful XIX century building along the main street of Maiori, welcoming and picturesque town of the Amalfi coast, short distance from the public transportation stops, both by land and by sea.
Recently refurbished, tastefully decorated and meticulously finished in detail, Rental House Angelina consists in two independent apartments: the first one ca accommodate up to 4 people and equipped with private bathroom with shower, air conditioning/heating, TV, fully equipped kitchen, towels and internet connection; the second one, indeed, can accommodate up to 2 people and is equipped with private bathroom with shower, air conditioning/heating, TV, towels and internet connection.
Easily accessible, Rental House Angelina is the perfect solution for young couple, family or a group of friends who want to spend their holiday in Maiori, enjoying all the opportunities provided: sea, night clubs, typical restaurants, hiking along the mountain paths, shopping, boat trips.
Due to its strategic position, short distance from the public transportation stops, Rental House Angelina is an ideal starting point vor visiting the other towns of the Amalfi coast (Ravello, Positano, Amalfi, Praiano, Conca dei Marini, Vietri sul Mare, Cetara, Scala, Tramonti, Furore), Sorrento, Capri and Ischia, Salerno, Naples and Vesuvius, Caserta Royal Palace, the archaeological sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum.
This structure web page has been visited 6,136 times.


Welcome to Nazareth Hospital's online Patient e-Billing service.
At Nazareth Hospital we know that everyone has busy lives and schedules. Our Patient e-Billing will help you with that busy schedule. Paying your bills online is quick and easy. Plus, you can enroll to view your bills online, change your address and update your insurance information.


The Air Max 98 "La Mezcia" designed by Gabrielle Serrano for the 2018 Nike: On Air Contest will be among upcoming Air Jordan releases 2019. Back in 2018, Nike hosted workshops for its On Air Contest in multiple cities, namely London, New York City, Paris, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. Thousands of Nike fans attended those workshops and drew inspiration from their local communities to design a variety of different Air Max and Air VaporMax colorways. Gabrielle Serrano was one of the six winners, who then proceeded to create the first samples of their designs with the help of Nike designers and developers.
Gabrielle Serrano, who is a native of Queens, came up with the concept for her Nike Air Max 98 colorway by drawing inspiration from her unique perspective of New York City. Despite being a first-generation American herself, Gabrielle comes from a family of immigrants. She also applied her experience in street photography when designing her Air Max 98 iteration. Its "La Mezcla" nickname is a Spanish word that translates to "the mix." The Air Max 98 "La Mezcla" represents the diverse cultural background, ethnicity, race, and above, the people of New York City. Gabrielle Serrano also happens to be an avid sneakerhead and currently owns more than 800 pairs.
2018 marked the 20th anniversary of the Air Max 98, but that was not the only reason she chose it to serve as the canvas for her design. Her favorite is actually the Air Max 97, but she realized that her concept could be brought to life more effectively over the Air Max 98. The uppers of the Air Max 98 "La Mezcla" represent the cultural and ethnic diversity of New York City, more specifically the varying skin complexions of the locals. The Nike Air Max 98 "La Mezcla" and also the other winning colorways from the "On Air" Contest have already joined recent Air Jordan releases 2019.
Nike Air Max 98 "La Meczla (NYC)"


text:
import City from './city';
import Chat from './chat';
import Person from './person';

export {
  City,
  Chat,
  Person,
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Published On: Mon, Jul 6th, 2015
Region | By Edition
Former FIFA vice president charged in Cayman Islands fraud case
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands - The former FIFA vice president and Cayman Islands football boss, Jeffrey Webb, has been charged with fraud and breach of trust in relation to a local hospital card payment case.
Canover Watson and Miriam Rodrigues are also facing further charges in relation to the ongoing local investigation into the CarePay Card contract, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said in a statement on Friday. While Watson and Rodrigues are expected to appear in court on Tuesday, a warrant has been issued for Webb's arrest.
Officials said they were expecting to begin extradition proceedings in relation to these charges, as Webb remains on remand in Switzerland, where he is already fighting extradition to the US in connection with the massive FIFA corruption probe.
Following months of speculation that Webb and others were also under investigation in relation to the $11 million contract award, a short statement was released on Friday afternoon by ACC chair David Baines, who is also the commissioner of police.
Watson and Webb have been jointly charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud contrary to common law, one count of breach of trust under the 2008 anti-corruption law and a charge of conspiracy to convert criminal property contrary to both the Penal Code and the proceeds of crime law. Watson's former PA, Miriam Rodrigues, has also been charged with one count of conspiracy to convert criminal property.
Watson and Rodrigues are already scheduled to go on trial in November. The Crown had successfully postponed an earlier trial in May after a trillion bytes of digital information was handed over to investigators in April in connection with the case from Watson's former employer, Admiral Administration.
Watson already faces numerous charges in relation to the case, including six counts of money laundering in relation to around US$169,000 over an 18-month period between December 2010 and June 2012, when he was chair of the Health Services Authority (HSA) board. He is also charged with conflict of interest, failing to disclose a pecuniary interest, breach of trust and fraud.
Rodrigues faces fraud and money laundering charges.
The Crown alleges Watson has direct connections to AIS and that he helped to secure the company two lucrative contacts at the hospital while he was the HSA board's chair, which forms the basis of the corruption accusations. Prosecutors say that he created the bank accounts for the firm and told the principals what to say and do, which they claim is supported by email communication.
Both Watson and Rodrigues have denied all charges.
Officials have not yet made any claims regarding the part they say Webb played in the local corruption case but it is understood that Webb was a close business associate of Watson and had a number of companies together. Watson was also a FIFA official before he was suspended from one of the organisation's committees after he was charged in the local CarePay case.
The details of the charges against Webb are likely to remain under wraps for some considerable time as he is unlikely to be returned to Cayman anytime soon. On Thursday, an official extradition application was filed in Switzerland by the US authorities for Webb, who has been detained in a Zürich jail since he was arrested with six other FIFA officials in May.
Given the circumstances, the application by the Cayman authorities will take second place when filed against the background of the US request. Webb is understood to be fighting the extradition to the United States but there has been no indication whether he will also fight extradition to Cayman.
Source: Cayman News Service
Click Tag(s) for Related Articles:
CorruptionFIFAJeffrey Webb
Labour Overview 2018: Unemployment in Latin America and the Caribbean down slightly in 2018
The global increase in cryptocurrency investment
Everything you need to know about gambling in the Caribbean
Multi-million-dollar cocaine shipment seized in eastern Caribbean sea


The following circuits show the required connections to use a RF-24G 2.4GHz Transceiver. The SPI communication requires 5 pins: CLK, Data, Data Recieved, Chip Select and Chip Enable.
The following code was written in WinAVR as a driver for this Transceiver. This code does not require any specific pins, only requiring 5 IO lines on your microcontroller.
Change the header file definitions for your IO pin configuration.


The pigs are in pens until they outgrow the pen. We can move them, and keep walkways clear, electric fence lines clear and if we move them quickly enough they do the work of lawn mowers!
We have a livestock trailer and are in the process of acquiring tags for it. Tags have taken a little bit, 2 pigs outgrew their pen and are now in an area where a pond could be. A pond would be fantastic, really. As the pigs root and wallow it is changing the landscape! This steep sided section of the property cannot be used with pens, it is too hard to move chickens on ground like that, the chickens pop out of the pen everywhere. Much time is spent gathering them back to the safety of the pen.
Ducks can use this area, if a pond were there. So for now these pigs have a project.
One electric wire holds them in. It is amazing to see them held in place by such a delicate looking piece of metal.


text:
Women's History in Childbirth - Moments Worth Recognizing
By: Cara Terreri, LCCE, CD(DONA) | 1 Comments
March is Women's History Month. Today we look at the history of childbirth through the lens of women's rights in and around childbirth, and initiatives toward improvements in maternity care and infant health. While the timeline below isn't exhaustive, we hope you are able to take away a better understanding of what has happened in the last century of childbirth-- initiatives often lead by women and birthing families themselves!
Timeline of Childbirth Rights and Initiatives
1938 - The March of Dimes was formed, initially to help eradicate polio, ultimately organized to prevent birth defects.
1952 - Dr. Virginia Apgar developed the first standardized method to assess the status of a newborn, called the Apgar Score.
1956 - The first ever La Leche League meeting held to provide breastfeeding support.
1960 - The birth of formal childbirth education created by Elisabeth Bing and Marjorie Karmel, later to become Lamaze International.
1960s - Men (dads) were finally allowed in delivery rooms to be with their partners during birth.
1960s - The use of "twilight sleep" for pain relief in birth finally ended (it also caused loss of memory for mothers and infant health problems).
1960s - First contemporary use of a doula to assist and support birthing families.
1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court outlaws the practice of private employers refusing to hire women with pre-school children.
1974 - Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur determines it is illegal to force pregnant women to take maternity leave due to the assumption they are incapable of working in their physical condition.
1978 - The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans discrimination against women on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical issues.1981: Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
1986 - The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) begins surveillance of maternal mortality.
1986 - The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) initiates a national strategy to examine and prevent prematurity.
1992 - DONA International was formed, the first organization to certify doulas for labor support.
1999 - The White Ribbon Alliance is established to strengthen the safe motherhood movement.
1999 - Childbirth Connection releases The Rights of Childbearing Women (revised in 2006).
2000s - Studies on the routine use of enemas during labor found them to be unnecessary. Routine use is phased out.
2000s - Routine episiotomy during pushing found to be more harmful than helpful in most cases and is phased out. While it is still performed in the United States, it is not done routinely in most practices.
2001 - The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) holds the first National Summit on Safe Motherhood.
2002 - Childbirth Connection releases the Listening to Mothers I survey report.
2006 - Childbirth Connection releases the Listening to Mothers II survey report.
2008 - Childbirth Connection releases the Listening to Mothers II: New Mothers Speak Out survey report.
2009 - The Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) is launched as an organization focused on ending preventable maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide.
2011 - White Ribbon Alliance launches the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, based on the principle that respectful maternity care is every woman's right. As part of this, they create "Respectful Maternity Care: The Universal Rights of Childbearing Women."
2013 - Childbirth Connection releases the Listening to Mothers III: Pregnancy and Birth survey report.
2015 - Childbirth Connection/National Partnership releases Pathway to a Healthy Birth.
2018 - Childbirth Connection releases the Listening to Mothers in California survey report.
2018 - The World Health Organization (WHO) releases recommendations "Intrapartum Care for a Positive Childbirth Experience."
Ellen - 3/18/2021 10:15 PM
Thank you for compiling this list! Very interesting, I have lived through many of these changes from the early 70's on.
Name: Please enter a name.
Email: Please enter an email address. Please enter a valid email address.
I agree This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data. You must read and accept this rules.
Please solve captcha.
I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.
I agree to receive communications by email.
Please solve captcha


What do you need to know to enjoy the episode, and what can you expect to happen during the finale?
First, a recap of the season's plot so far: Werewolves exist, some werewolves are at the beck and call of a high-up vampire, Russell, who long ago killed Eric's family. Eric plots for revenge while Tara escapes an amusing but psychopathic vampire kidnapper and Sookie fights off Bill's persistent ex. Then Sookie realizes she is a fairy, with blood that functions as vampire sunscreen, thus making her extremely desirable to all vampires. Arlene discovers she is pregnant, unfortunately not by Terry but by serial killer Rene. Jason falls in love with a were-panther/dynastic-meth-dealer. Lafayette falls in love with Jesus (a guy, not the God-figure--probably), and both explore their magical backgrounds through the use of enjoyable but illegal drugs. Jessica and Hoyt seem to be reaching a rapprochement, though Hoyt's mama will fight it by all means necessary.
1) Pam: "I don't know what it is about me that makes people think I want to hear their problems. Maybe I smile too much. Maybe I wear too much pink. But please remember, I can rip your throat out if I need to."
2) Eric to meth dealer "I'll kill all your brother-cousins first"
3) Russell's TV rant. "Why would we seek equal rights? You are not our equals. We will eat you, after we eat your children."
5) "I'm in no mood for lesbian weirdness tonight," Sookie to Pam. It's nice to see True Blood make fun of its own titillation tricks.
1) We have to get some further resolution to Eric and Russell's showdown. The penultimate episode stopped a moment before both vampires had fully fried in the sunlight - will Eric complete his revenge? Will he die trying? I certainly hope not (about the die trying part), especially since Eric's thirst for revenge was only recently introduced to the audience. It seems like an unnecessarily cruel thing to do to True Blood fans. They wouldn't dare. Would they?
2) The next crisis about to bubble up seems to be the police attack on the meth lab / were-panther lair. Based on our characters' histories, I'd guess Crystal will run off to warn her family, the police will close in, Jason will be caught in the middle, and maybe Sookie will have to rescue him. Maybe Sherriff Andy will save Jason at some point, to redeem himself.
3) Sam and Tommy may be drawn into the fight by plain old dog-cat hostility. We definitely need more than the recent chat and seduction with Tara to see if Sam is going to return to sanity. The sooner the better, because the good people of Bon Temps do not deserve the misery of their cozy neighborhood bar collapsing on top of all their other trials and tribulations.
4) Jesus was too absorbed by the V-visions for it to end peacefully. Something has to develop there, and it might not bode well for him. Is he going to be sucked into sorcerous evildoing?
1) How did Sookie's parents die? If it wasn't the water, what was it?
2) Will we ever see the beautiful werewolf Alcide again?
3) I'm willing to bet we'll end up waiting to find out whatever is in Arlene's belly... creepy or innocent as it turns out to be.
Bring it on, True Blood!


text:
Dusona nigritibialis (Gupta & Gupta), een gewone sluipwesp
 Dusona nigritibialis (Viereck), een gewone sluipwesp

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
<?php

namespace Mactronique\CUA\Service;

use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;
use Psr\Log\NullLogger;
use Symfony\Component\Process\Process;
use Symfony\Component\Process\Exception\ProcessFailedException;
use Symfony\Component\Process\Exception\ProcessTimedOutException;

class CheckUpdateService
{

    /**
     * @var LoggerInterface|NullLogger
     */
    private $logger;

    /**
     * @var string
     */
    private $composerPath;

    /**
     * Construct the service
     * @param string $composerPath
     */
    public function __construct($composerPath, LoggerInterface $logger = null)
    {
        $this->composerPath = $composerPath;
        $this->logger = ($logger === null)? new NullLogger():$logger;
    }

    public function checkComposerUpdate($projectPath, $php_path)
    {
        $resultProject = [
            'install' => [],
            'uninstall' => [],
            'update' => [],
            'abandoned' => [],
            'error' => '',
        ];

        $process = new Process($php_path.' '.$this->composerPath.' update --dry-run --no-ansi');
        $process->setWorkingDirectory($projectPath);
        $process->setTimeout(300);
        try {
            $process->mustRun();
        } catch (ProcessFailedException $e) {
            $this->logger->error('Process Fail', ['projectPath'=>$projectPath, 'exception'=>$e]);
            $resultProject['error'] = $process->getErrorOutput();
            return $resultProject;
        } catch (ProcessTimedOutException $e) {
            $this->logger->error('Process time out', ['projectPath'=>$projectPath, 'exception'=>$e]);
            $resultProject['error'] = 'Time out '.$e->getMessage();
            return $resultProject;
        }

        $sortie = $process->getErrorOutput();

        if (preg_match('/Nothing to install or update/', $sortie)) {
            return $resultProject;
        }

        if (preg_match_all('/- Installing ([a-zA-Z0-9\-_\.\/]*) \((.*)\)/', $sortie, $install)) {
            $r = $install[1];
            foreach ($r as $key => $lib) {
                $resultProject['install'][] = ['library' => $lib, 'version' => $install[2][$key]];
            }
        }

        if (preg_match_all('/- Uninstalling ([a-zA-Z0-9\-_\.\/]*) \((.*)\)/', $sortie, $uninstall)) {
            $r = $uninstall[1];
            foreach ($r as $key => $lib) {
                $resultProject['uninstall'][] = ['library' => $lib, 'version' => $uninstall[2][$key]];
            }
        }

        if (preg_match_all('/- Updating ([a-zA-Z0-9\-_\.\/]*) \((.*)\) to ([a-zA-Z0-9\-_\.\/]*) \((.*)\)/', $sortie, $update)) {
            $r = $update[1];
            foreach ($r as $key => $lib) {
                $resultProject['update'][] = ['from_library' => $lib, 'from_version' => $update[2][$key], 'to_library' => $update[3][$key], 'to_version' => $update[4][$key]];
            }
        }

        if (preg_match_all('/Package ([a-zA-Z0-9\-_\.\/]*) is abandoned/', $sortie, $abandoned)) {
            $resultProject['abandoned'] = $abandoned[1];
        }
        return $resultProject;
    }
}