Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced that they will increase the conforming loan limit to $424,100 from the previous $417,000. This is it the first increase in the conforming loan limit since 2006.
The super conforming high balance loan limits went up as well. San Diego Counties new high balance loan limit is $612,950.


text:
Ala-Suolijärvi–Oivanjärvi est un lac situé à Posio en Finlande.

Présentation
Selon SYKE, les deux lacs Ala-Suolijärvi et Oivanjärvi de même niveau sont considérés comme un lac unique nommé Suolijärvi–Oivanjärvi et numéroté (65.392.1.001).

Le lac Ala-Suolijärvi–Oivanjärvi a une superficie de 55,885 kilomètres carrés et une altitude de 242,5 mètres.

Le lac compte 237 îles dont la superficie totale est de 531 hectares, soit environ 8,7 % de la surface du lac.
Les îles les plus étendues sont Porosaari (95 ha) et Seimisaari (83 ha).
Parmi les autres, 38 îles font plus d'un hectare et 195 plus d'un are.

Références

Annexes

Liens externes

Liens internes
 Lacs de Finlande

Lac à Posio

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


YSL Luxurious Mascara £25 - I got this on a whim after a makeover in House of Fraser back in December or November of last year, I felt really bad that I just didn't like the new foundation on my skin so bought this mascara in a Christmas giftset instead. I've never really found a mascara that has wowed me in all areas, my old faithful and favourite Stila Glamoureyes can go a bit grey towards the end of the day and everything else either makes me lashes look like spiders legs (I have insanely long eyelashes that don't need any lengthening whatsoever) or it barely looks as though it's on there. When the MUA was applying this to me I wasn't overly hopefully that I'd like it, I wasn't too bothered as it wasn't what I'd gone there for and I didn't feel as though I needed a new mascara. However when I looked in the mirror I was so pleasantly surprised. It gave me thicker lashes without making them too long and spidery, it's also SO black. The depth of colour is something that I seriously took for granted before I became a self confessed beauty addict, black was just black right? Wrong. A good, thick black mascara can be like gold dust and one that starts off black and actually stays like that for all eternity is even rarer. As it was in a gift set I thought I'd treat myself, I've never had such a high end mascara before and I really, really liked the way it made my lashes look. It's not too wet that it makes a mess all over my face but at the same time isn't dry and clumpy, it's also pretty easy to remove (something I have a bit of a gripe with is how easy a mascara is to remove, I don't like pulling all of my lashes out at the end of a long hard day). I don't have to reapply this on a day- to-day basis unless I'm going out for a meal or something in the evening as it holds the curl and lift well. I'll slick an extra coat on if I am headed out after work and it just revamps the "oomph" a little bit and makes it look even more dramatic. The packaging is also adorable, the rose gold mixed with the yellow gold and the luxurious YSL logo is also super handy, simply line it up to know that it's perfectly air tight and sealed to save it drying out too quickly. The only downside that I have to this product is a really petty one, and that's it's name. I just feel as though they could have gone to greater efforts than "luxurious mascara". Call me strange but I love the names that brands come up with for their products and it's something that really makes it stick in my mind, I've had to google the name of this mascara every time I've written about it because for me "luxurious" is pretty forgettable as far as a name goes! Of all the gripes to have with a product however, it's a pretty pathetic one and definitely something that I can overcome given that this is hands down the best mascara I have ever used.


text:
Rockwell is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include:

 Dick Rockwell (1920–2006), American comic strip and comic book artist, nephew of Norman Rockwell
 Francis W. Rockwell (politician) (1844–1929), American politician
 Francis W. Rockwell (1886–1979), American Navy Admiral
 George Lincoln Rockwell (1918–1967), American politician and Neo-Nazi leader
 George Lovejoy Rockwell (1889–1978), American vaudeville performer and radio personality
 Irvin E. Rockwell (1862–1952), American politician
 Julius Rockwell (1805–1888), American politician
 Lew Rockwell (born 1944), American author and political consultant
 Norman Rockwell (1894–1978), American painter and illustrator
 Porter Rockwell (c.1815–1878), American bodyguard and frontiersman
 Sam Rockwell (born 1968), American actor
Stuart W. Rockwell (1917–2011), American politician
 Thomas Rockwell (born 1933), American author and son of Norman Rockwell
 Willard Rockwell (1888–1978), American businessman and engineer
 William W. Rockwell (1824–1894), American politician

English-language surnames


Italian Lollo lettuce (pick as you go), Cherry tomatoes, basil, coriander.
Basil, Cherry Tomatoes, Spring Onion, Lettuce, and Italian parsley growing behind.
The plan is to plant all my kitchen herbs on the ground around these pots.


ValiantFans.com Board - Since 2004 • View topic - Anyone here collect Megos?
Post subject: Anyone here collect Megos?
Hey guys, I finished all my 80's toy collections in 2017 so I started to collect the Star Trek and Planet of the Apes Megos. I was not born until 10 years after these came out but boy are they nice. Anyone else here collect either of these lines?
Post subject: Re: Anyone here collect Megos?
Since that time, the only Mego I've ever bought was an Iron Man one. I had a brief fascination with wanting to collect these years ago, but directed it to the Mego Pocket Heroes line instead, which was probably for the better. I have a decent, small collection of those.
I remember the vintage Mego line pricing went through the roof in the late 90's, early 2000's, and although some of them are pretty pricey today, I think the market on them began a stabilizing decline which began with the Marvel Famous Covers line and then continued to stabilize as companies began releasing all of the repro and basically homage Mego stuff that's out there today.
Still, the Mego line was a very cool piece of toy collecting history.
Can't say that I really collect them, but I still have my old figures from when I was a kid. Very well worn and played with it, so I mainly keep them for sentimental value. They were some of my favorite toys growing up. Watched an episode of Big Bang Theory a couple of years ago where a Mego Spock talks to Sheldon and thought it was so cool to see the figure again.
I had a few when I was a kid. I didn't have a lot of toys when I was young, but I did have a few Megos.
Would love love love to have some.
I got into them recently and at least the Star Trek crew was rather cheap. I was able to get most on damaged cards for $60 and under. Some of the aliens are expensive, but not what they were in years past due to the Diamond select repros that were put out.
I got into them recently and at least the Star Trek crew was rather cheap. I was able to get most on damaged cards for $60 and under.
Wow, that's actually pretty awesome and a good plan. You got a brand new Mego collection by buying damaged carded examples.
My thumb's up here is assuming that you opened them, yes?
I didn't open them yet, but once I get all the characters I will to put them on display. I also started the Planet of the Apes line as well. Very detailed figures for the time. Never had any as a kid but enjoying them now.


Located at the south east entrance of False Creek, Central is recognized as one of Vancouver's premier landmark developments. This exciting new development is within close proximity to downtown Vancouver and provides excellent signage and high vehicle and passenger exposure.
Being immediately adjacent to the Main Street SkyTrain Station, Central is in the heart of the thriving retail hub undergoing significant expansion and improvement.


Situated in the shadows of Citi Field in Queens — the home ballpark of the New York Mets — Willets Point, aka The Iron Triangle, is a series of junkyards and auto body shops that has been neglected for over 75 years by the city of New York. Though all the owners pay a hefty property tax, the local government has refused to provide adequate sewers, street lights, and sidewalks. The extreme neglect by local officials has forced the area to become a blight making it eligible for eminent domain.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has decided to move forward with its ten-year plan to buy up the entire property, whether the owners like it or not, in order to build luxury condos, a hotel, and a convention center—putting thousands of workers out of a job. Though the NYCEDC has offered educational classes, the pay rate associated with the degrees is insufficient as a replacement salary.
Joe Ardizzone was born here and remains the only resident and voting person in the district. After 76 years of residency in the house he was born in, he continues to fight for his rightful land and the lives of the surrounding workers.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
//
// The MIT License(MIT)
//
// Copyright(c) 2014 Demonsaw LLC
//
// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
// of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
// in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
// to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
// copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
// furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
//
// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
// copies or substantial portions of the Software.
//
// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
// IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
// FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
// AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
// LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
// OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
// SOFTWARE.

namespace DemonSaw
{
	using DemonSaw.Component;
	using System.Windows;
	using System.Windows.Controls;

	public partial class RouterEditWindow : Window
	{
		// Variables
		private DemonSaw.Entity.Entity _entity;

		public RouterEditWindow(DemonSaw.Entity.Entity entity)
		{
			_entity = entity;

			InitializeComponent();
		}

		#region Window
		private void RouterEditWindow_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
		{
			// Router
			ServerComponent server = _entity.Get<ServerComponent>();
			RouterName.Text = server.Name;
			Address.Text = server.Address;
			Port.Text = server.Port.ToString();
			Passphrase.Text = server.Passphrase;
			RouterName.Focus();
		}

		private void TextBox_GotFocus(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
		{
			TextBox control = (TextBox) sender;
			control.SelectAll();
		}

		private void RouterEditWindow_Okay(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
		{
			DialogResult = true;
		}
		#endregion
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Nova Scotian woman becomes first Passive House Verifier in Canada
Home < News < Nova Scotian woman becomes first Passive House Verifier in Canada
(Dartmouth, NS.) – Natasha Pearce, a Nova Scotia Community College graduate and Program Manager at Efficiency Nova Scotia, has become Canada's first Passive House Verifier.
Already a Certified Passive House Consultant through Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) this additional certification will allow Pearce to lead the adoption of Passive House standards across the province, specifically in the multi-housing and commercial building markets.
Passive House is an emerging building standard in Nova Scotia that applies energy efficient techniques with comfort. From homes to commercial buildings, these structures use approximately 85 per cent less energy to heat than those built to regular building codes, but look and feel like regular buildings.
Nova Scotia is already leading the way in Passive House construction, having completed several projects. A multi-family home in Truro, built in partnership with Housing Nova Scotia and Passive Design Solutions, won the 2016 Bright Business Innovation Award . The annual heating cost for that home is just over $240, and there was no increase in construction costs.
Pearce sees many more opportunities for results like these in Nova Scotia.
"Now more than ever building or renovating to a Passive House standard makes sense," says Pearce. "You only have to speak to the occupants of these homes to see that there are multiple benefits, the most common being how comfortable they are in their home year-round. My hope is to assist larger buildings in understanding this standard and help them realise not only the energy savings but the other benefits of adopting the Passive House standard, like helping the environment while increasing comfort."
Having environmental leaders like Pearce in Nova Scotia is one of the reasons the province has emerged as a leader in energy efficiency and climate change mitigation.
"There are many passionate people working in the energy efficiency industry in Nova Scotia," says Stephen MacDonald, CEO of EfficiencyOne. "We're lucky to work with Natasha at EfficiencyOne and see first-hand her dedication to making our province a better place every day."
More than 1,000 professionals like Pearce work in the energy efficiency industry. The industry has created stable, full-time jobs throughout the province and is helping Nova Scotia reach their climate change goals.
Efficiency Nova Scotia is operated by EfficiencyOne, an independent, non-profit organization based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Since 2010, we've helped more than 225,000 program participants save energy and money. Efficiency Nova Scotia is your go-to place for energy saving programs and services.
To learn more, click to watch Why Energy Efficiency?
ssmith@efficiencyns.ca,


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Annette Huller has over 20 years of experience working in civil litigation law firms. For much of her career, she worked as the executive assistant to multiple equity partners in a large law firm.
Now, as the Office Manager at Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, she is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm. Annette is proficient in multiple facets of business operation, including billing, finance, general office management, and strategic planning. She also maintains relationships with our clients and vendors, which improve our legal services and representation of our clients.


Raj is a joy to work with. Very knowledgeable in a myriad of graphic and web technologies, he was my right hand when it came to designing our products. This included conceptual wireframes, usability, design mockups. He carried this out with aplomb, dealing both with strategic analysts and with the customers to ensure the UI was perfect and worked as envisioned. He also produced all the graphic artifacts and programmed them in Adobe FLEX. Using the Flex Framework he took lifeless graphics and made them come alive. He actually created working mock-ups so that the visionaries could see how the applications works and the programmers would know what needed to be done. In addition to the SaaS applications, he ran our web-site which has over 3,000 pages including the Blog, email systems etc. All in all Raj is a very talented person who is able to logically apply his skills to business problems and make the visions come alive. I highly recommend him; he is great to work with and is a dedicated IT professional.
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Raj is a dedicated web developer, has keen eyes when it comes to finding flaws and room for improvement. His work shows a great attention to detail.
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Trapeze hired Raj as a web developer for a 6 month contract. Raj collaborated with our web team on many websites including implementation of Drupal CMS. Raj is very personable, a good communicator, and worked very well with different design and management staff in our studio. I enjoyed Raj's pursuit for clean coding and semantics, a desire to develop to current standards, best practices, and attention to delivering a quality end product. Raj has excellent people skills and was a good candidate for client presentations and support. I look forward to working with Raj again on future projects.
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text:
pipette test tubes lab
Tour and Miller on a Design Perspective in Origin of Life
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1394-JamesTour-BrianMiller-pt-2.mp3
Today's ID the Future is Part 2 of an extended interview between synthetic organic chemist James Tour and physicist/engineer Brian Miller. Here the conversation turns to the challenge and necessity of quickly evolving error-correction mechanisms in origin-of-life scenarios and the way origin-of-life researchers slip information and design into their origin-of-life work in the lab. Miller also makes a case for the research benefits of studying cells from a design perspective.
biological-and-science-background-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
circulatory system. fine tuning of water for life, embryonic development, fine tuning, fine tuning of metals for life, fitness of nature for life, Intelligent Design, metals, mitochondria, Origin of Life Research, periodic table, Robert Williams, The Wonder of Water, Water
Michael Denton and the Fine Tuning of Chemistry for Life
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1377-MichaelDenton-elements.mp3
On this ID the Future, biochemist Michael Denton draws from his groundbreaking new book, The Miracle of the Cell, to explore a fine-tuning design argument centered on the periodic elements essential for life. Twenty elements—and water, too—appear to have been precisely fine-tuned in advance for highly specific biochemical roles. Without their precise properties, cellular and animal life would be impossible. "Words fail," says Denton, to describe the "almost eerie sense" that someone very powerful knew in advance the roles and capacities required of various elements to carry out the astonishingly sophisticated activities that make cellular life possible. Denton says that this fine tuning provides an independent line of evidence that life is the result of intelligent design.
violin and bow.jpg
Intelligent Design, Life Sciences
ATP, ATP Synthase, cell membrane, DNA, Francis Crick, Goldilocks examples, Goldilocks Zone, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, James Watson, membrane potential, nerve transmission, prior fitness in nature, Robert Clark, Rosalind Franklin, selective stickiness, teapot analogy
Michael Denton Talks Finely Tuned Chemistry and ATP Synthase
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1373-MichaelDenton-bonds-ATP.mp3
On this ID the Future, biochemist Michael Denton delves further into his revelatory new book The Miracle of the Cell. Here he discusses finely tuned chemical bonds. Cellular life would be impossible if strong bonds weren't just so for some cellular functions, and if weak bonds weren't just so for others. Each type of bond exists in a Goldilocks zone, neither too strong nor too weak for its purposes. They're tailored to fit. Denton also explores the miracle enzyme known as ATP synthase and some of the fine-tuning particulars of this life-essential molecular complex.
intelligent-evolution-flannery-996x1600-1
Evolution, Intelligent Design
Alfred Russel Wallace, anthropocentrism, BioLogos, Charles Darwin, Darwin Devolves, Darwinian theism, Darwinian theists, Darwinism, Deborah Haarsma, Edinburgh University, Edmund Grant, Evolution, evolutionary theory, Francis Collins, freethinkers, HMS Beagle, human exceptionalism, Intelligent Design, intelligent evolution, Janet Brown, Karl Giberson, Kenneth Miller, Michael Behe, mind/body, philosophical materialism, Plinian Society, Theism, theistic evolution, Theory of Evolution, Tom Wolfe, William Dembski, World of Life
Michael Flannery on the Origin of Darwin's Worldview
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1368-Keas-Flannery.mp3
On this episode of ID the Future, science historian and host Michael Keas talks with fellow science historian Michael Flannery about the newly updated book Intelligent Evolution: How Alfred Russell Wallace's World of Life Challenged Darwin. Flannery tells of Darwin's involvement in the Plinian Society, a "freethinkers" group at Edinburgh University where he studied medicine as a teenager. It was there that he first encountered radical philosophical materialism, the worldview that laid the philosophical foundation for his work in evolution. Flannery also speaks of Alfred Russel Wallace's "intelligent evolution" and how it differs from Darwinism and from today's theistic evolution — what Flannery prefers to call "Darwinian theism."
periodic-table-science-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
DNA, erythrocytes, Evolution: a Theory in Crisis, fine-tuning, infinity, Nature's Destiny, periodic table of elements, Privileged Species, quantum tunneling, red blood cells, RNA
Michael Denton Discusses The Miracle of the Cell
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1367-Anderson-Denton-1.mp3
On this episode of ID the Future, Eric Anderson speaks with biochemist Michael Denton about Denton's new book The Miracle of the Cell, part of his continuing Privileged Species series exploring nature's fine tuning for life. New research keeps unveiling ever more ways in which this fine tuning exists, from the cosmos to the atoms of the periodic table, even to the subatomic level of quantum tunneling. As for the cell itself, It is as if scientists are discovering a "third infinity," says Denton.
Beautiful nature scene with blooming chamomiles in sun flares
anthropic coincidences, atmosphere, blue light, carbon-based life, carbon-dioxide, complex life, cosmic radiation, damaging radiation, electromagnetic spectrum, Encyclopedia Britannica, fine-tuning, fitness of radiant energy, gamma radiation, Lawrence Henderson, main sequence stars, oceans, oxygen, photosynthesis, plankton, radiant energy, seas, sun, sunlight, Usain Bolt, UV radiation, visible light, Water, water vapor
Michael Denton: Remarkable Coincidences in Photosynthesis
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1366-denton-coincidences-photosynthesis.mp3
On this episode of ID the Future from the vault, we listen in on a few minutes from a lecture given by Australian biochemist Michael Denton, author of the brand new book The Miracle of the Cell. In this segment, Denton explains the "remarkable set of coincidences" that makes the creation of oxygen through photosynthesis possible. From the specific energy of visible light to the unique properties of water, this degree of fine tuning for life shouts intelligent design.
Violinist tuning a violin
Intelligent Design, Science
Alfred Russell Wallace, anthropic coincidences, atmosphere, Bridgewater Treatise, carbon, cosmic fine tuning, fine-tuning, Fred Hoyle, Intelligent Design, Lawrence Henderson, Nature's Destiny, oxygen, photosynthesis, Privileged Species, sun, sunlight, The Fitness of the Environment, UV radiation, Water
Dr. Michael Denton on Evidence of Fine-Tuning in the Universe
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1365-Denton-Fine-Tuning.mp3
On this year 2012 episode of ID the Future from the vault, Australian biochemist Michael Denton discusses various ways the universe is uniquely fit for carbon-based life, and perhaps even human life. Denton argues that when it comes to evidence of fine-tuning in the universe, the more you look, the more you find. Tune in to discover what he has found that has led him to the inference that our world is intelligently designed. Denton is author of the new book The Miracle of the Cell, where he brings his fine-tuning arguments up to date with a fascinating dive into the extraordinary fine tuning of the chemical elements of life.
different-species-of-birds-in-the-wild-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
__edited, Charles Darwin, Cicero, common sense philosophy, Darwinism, David Hume, Francis Hutcheson, Natural Theology, Plato, Problem of Evil, Scottish Enlightenment, self-organization, self-organization principle, skepticism, theodicy, Thomas Reid, William Paley
New Book on Thomas Reid's Common Sense Design Philosophy
On this episode of ID the Future, Jay Richards speaks with James Barham, who's just edited a new edition of Scottish Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Reid (1710-1796), Lectures on Natural Theology. Read More ›
Ant action standing.jpg
__edited, Darwinian Theory, Joan Didion, Kitzmiller v. Dover, npr, Robert Crowther, Scopes Monkey Trial, Stephen Meyer, storytelling, teleology, worldview
Scott Turner on Purpose in Nature, Part 1
Turner argues that modern Darwinism has reached a scientific dead end, unable to tell us what life is, treating many of its features — including purpose and desire — virtually as illusions. Read More ›
swimmingfishpixabay
__edited, authentication, communication, cryptography, explanatory filter, information theory, specification, Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, William Dembski
Dembski's ID Filter — the Sea His Critics Swim In
https://episodes.castos.com/id/IDTF-1350-Dembskis-ID-Filter-Sea-Critics-Swam.mp3
Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:17:55 | Speakers: Eric Holloway, Robert Crowther
On this episode of ID the Future, Robert Crowther interviews Eric Holloway, Associate Fellow at the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, about Holloway's recent article answering a common criticism of intelligent design theory. The criticism centers on William Dembski's explanatory filter for detecting design, especially Dembski's crucial innovation, which was to include specification as the filter's final step. Critics say specification is an ad hoc addition, conjured up by ID theorists for no good reason except to prop up ID theory. No one else uses it, they say. They're wrong, says Holloway. Dembski accurately formalized a filter we use so often that we're like fish in the sea. We are unaware of it because it's ubiquitous. To Read More ›


text:
The Stuff of Legends: Washington Irving and the Legend of New York State.
Hey, everybody. It's time for this year's Scary Tale Fandom post. I held a poll on Twitter to decide which subject I was going to post about this year. Granted, I probably should have alerted people to the fact that the poll was going up, considering almost no one voted on it. But still, I got one vote and that was for the stories of Washington Irving. Now, I bet you didn't expect the title card for "The Stuff of Legends" to come back for this, but I'll get back to that in a moment.
I'm actually pretty excited about this one. The reason is because both Washington Irving and his two most famous stories I'm going to talk about are from my home state of New York. "What's the big deal?", you ask. "Lots of stories happen in New York". Well, while it's true that a whole lot of media in our modern world takes place in New York City, not many take place in the rest of New York State. The city tends to overshadow the rest of the state to a great degree these days. But "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" are from the Catskills and Tarrytown respectively. Heck, Washington Irving's writing comes from a time before New York City was even all that big and important to begin with.
But first, some background. Washington Irving was born in New York City in 1783. He was the youngest of 11 children of Scottish-English immigrant parents. Irving was trained as a lawyer and worked numerous jobs, but usually preferred to indulge his creative impulses. In the years 1819 and 1820, a series of short stories and essays were published that would eventually be published as The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Two of these stories are the ones I'm going to talk about here.
Washington Irving clearly had an interest in folklore like many other writers did. However, rather than being a folklore collector like some other literary sorts, he instead used lore to embellish and enrich his own literary works. Or, at least, he seemed to. It gets a bit complicated as I'll tell you in a moment.
The stories he used here are ghost stories, which are a type of legend. They have a sense of time and place that is very specific. Some have real, historical figures in them. But they might, and often are, more fiction than history. That's why I've chosen to make this post "The Stuff of Legends".
Let's take a look at the story of "Rip Van Winkle" for instance. The story concerns a man named Rip Van Winkle who prefers hunting and fishing and helping other people with their problems than dealing with his own. One day, he goes out squirrel hunting to avoid his shrewish wife and comes upon a little man carrying a keg of alcohol. He helps him and gets to place where the little man's friends are drinking and playing ninepins. Rip starts to drink himself, falls asleep and awakens to find the world changed. It turns out that he was asleep for twenty years. All his friends are gone and the British colonies in North America have had a revolution and gained their independence. The story itself is solid. It serves as a good exhibition of just how much has changed in the Americas over the course of one man's lifetime (even if he slept through most of it). The fantastical elements that facilitate this, the "magical machinery" if you will, stem from an old Catskill legend. The legend states that while searching for the Northwest Passage, the explorer Henry Hudson sailed upriver for miles until he got to the Catskill Mountains. Taking some men, he went into the mountains until he stumbled on some little men playing ninepins and drinking. Hudson and his crew joined in but felt some side effects from the booze they were drinking. For one, it transformed the men for a short time into creatures a lot like the gnomish people they were drinking with. For another, it put them to sleep. Not for as long as Rip Van Winkle was asleep, but for a while. Hudson and his men left, but it's said that whenever the "Catskill Gnomes" go bowling, they're joined by the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his men.
This legend appears to be the real deal. The story of "Henry Hudson and the Catskill Gnomes" is recorded in all sorts of places separate from Irving's story of Rip Van Winkle. The version I know best is on the American Folklore website right HERE.
The other New York story Irving's famous for, might be a different situation.
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is by this time a seasonal favorite. Every Halloween there are numerous movies, books and TV specials that invoke the story. The story is about a schoolmaster named Ichabod Crane who comes to the small Southern New York town of Sleepy Hollow outside of Tarrytown. Crane is an unusual fellow. Thin as a rail, but a big eater. Very learned but also very superstitious. Crane's head is turned by the wealthy and beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. Katrina, though, has another suitor in the form of the strong, jovial, boisterous town hero Abraham Van Brunt aka "Brom Bones". One night, Crane attends a party at which tales are traded of the "Headless Horseman" or "Galloping Hessian". The Horseman was a Hessian soldier working for the British during the American Revolutionary War. He lost his head to a cannonball and ever since then his ghost rides at night searching for his head. One story states though, that he cannot cross a certain bridge. On the way home, Crane loses his way and runs into the Headless Horseman. Crane does all he can to get away from the spectral rider, but before he can cross the fateful bridge something happens and Crane disappears. Brom goes on to marry Katrina and it's heavily suggested that he actually dressed as the Headless Horseman and scared Crane away, though it's never stated outright.
Now, my impression was always that the story of the Headless Horseman was a genuine piece of folklore from Sleepy Hollow, New York. The other parts regarding Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones and Katrina Van Tassel may have been invented by Irving, but the Headless Horseman strikes me as a real ghost story probably adapted from events during the Revolutionary War combined with lore carried over to the colonies by Dutch settlers. But I'm not sure it is.
I went looking for instances of the "Headless Horseman" story separate from Washington Irving's story of the Crane-Van Tassel-Bones love triangle and they were decidedly scarce. Almost every source I find name drops either Washington Irving or his three characters. The one exception is American Folklore, which has a version of the story HERE. Now, it's not to say that the Headless Horseman isn't a figure in folklore. But it's just as likely that Irving borrowed such a figure from somewhere else and transplanted them to Upstate New York. There are plenty of such figures. There's the dullahan from Ireland. There's the Wild Huntsman in Germany. There's even something similar in the story of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight".
Now, I could be entirely wrong about this. The Horseman could be an entirely real part of New York State folklore and the problem is just that Irving's story has outpaced the original legend in terms of popularity. But it's not something I can confirm. At least, not without a whole weekend freed up, access to the archives for the greater Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow area and a few phone calls to the New York State Folklore Society. I'm certainly not going to do it in connection to this blog post that I've just been kind of poking at for a few days in between work and the rest of my life.
There's still a lot to love about the story, though.
The descriptions of the Hudson River Valley area in Autumn are fantastic. While the story may not have been expressly devised as a "Halloween story", the fact that it has become associated with the holiday isn't a surprise. The supernatural aspect of the story certainly fits and the descriptions place it in the most lovely part of Autumn you could imagine. The whole combination automatically evokes late October.
Another thing I like is how Irving is capable of writing characters who kind of shift with your perceptions. This is connected to what I refer to as the "Brom Bones Conundrum". Allow me to explain. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" hinges on the conflict between Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones over Katrina Van Tassel. The story expressly follows Crane as its "hero". Crane is a smart, bookish schoolmaster who likes to eat. He also strikes quite the humorous figure with the way he's described, lank with big ears, nose and feet. He seems like the kind of character that readers like myself, seeing as I'm rather bookish as well, would like to get behind. Or at least, the kind of hero that people would think is goofy and harmless. But then, there are the things that attract him to Katrina Van Tassel. Almost all of Crane's interests in the young Miss Van Tassel are material. He liked how much land her family has, how much wealth they have and how much food is in her family's storehouses. Truth be told, Ichabod Crane's kind of a gold digger. And while marrying for wealth may have been common in ages past, it certainly isn't the kind of thing that would make someone the romantic hero of a short story. Brom Bones on the other hand, is brawny, boisterous and loves playing practical jokes on people. Again, for someone like myself who doesn't quite understand the appeal of athletics and dislikes being the butt of pranks, he's easy to cast as the villain. Yet, he's also considered to be the town hero. Brom Bones is probably one of the people that the good folk of Sleepy Hollow would turn to if there was ever an emergency. And he supposedly means no harm with his jokes. We don't know what attracts him to Katrina but the truth is he probably is a much better match for her than Ichabod is, if for no other reason than he's a local boy who knows the land and people better and would be much better at managing the estate that she's bound to inherit. When I first read this story in high school I was so sure that Ichabod was the hero and Brom was the villain. Now that I've encountered it again, I'm hesitant to put those labels on either of them. Ichabod doesn't seem so much like a hero as a silly, foolish character prone to superstition and greed. Also, while I'm still hesitant to brand Brom Bones a hero, I certainly wouldn't consider him to be the villain of the piece. And all it took was a reread.
Well, that's all I've got for now. It's back to hiatus for me after this. You can still find me posting over on Universes Beckon, though.
Until next time I see you, take care. And Happy Halloween!
Posted by Adam Hoffman at 7:39 PM 2 comments:
The Stuff of Legends: Washington Irving and the Le...


Summary: Use these cloud adoption Test Lab Guides (TLGs) to set up demonstration, proof of concept, or dev/test environments for Office 365.
TLGs help you quickly learn about Microsoft products. They're great for situations where you need to evaluate a technology or configuration before you decide whether it's right for you and before you begin the design, planning, and rollout to users. The "I built it out myself and it works" hands-on experience helps you understand the deployment requirements of a new product or solution so you can better plan for hosting it in production.
TLGs also create representative environments for development and testing of applications, also known as dev/test environments.
Create a simplified intranet running in Microsoft Azure infrastructure services. This is an optional step if you want to build a simulated enterprise configuration.
Create an Office 365 Enterprise E5 trial subscription, which you can do from your computer or from a simplified intranet running in Azure infrastructure services.
Install and configure Azure AD Connect for directory synchronization with password hash synchronization. This is an optional step if you want to build a simulated enterprise configuration.
Configure and test secondary authentication using a text message sent to your smart phone for an account in your Office 365 subscription.
Configure and demonstrate federated authentication with the accounts of an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain.
Configure and demonstrate Office 365 Cloud App Security, which lets you create policies that monitor for and inform you of suspicious activities in your Office 365 subscription.
Configure and demonstrate Advanced Threat Protection, which is a feature of Exchange Online Protection (EOP) that helps keep malware out of your email.
Add example data and demonstrate Advanced eDiscovery, which lets you quickly find and analyze the data that is stored in Office 365, including email and documents.
Demonstrate how you can use Office 365 Information Rights Management to protect the data in sensitive documents, even when they are accidentally posted in the wrong document folders.
Demonstrate how the Azure Information Protection client can be used to classify documents with various levels of security.
Demonstrate how to create a SharePoint Online team site that is isolated from the rest of the organization for sensitive or highly confidential resources.
Create a simulated intranet connected to an Azure virtual network in a hybrid cloud configuration.
Create a single-server SharePoint Server 2016 farm in the Azure virtual network and test connectivity and administration from the simulated on-premises network.
Build a single-server SharePoint Server 2016 farm in Azure infrastructure services.
Build a single-server SharePoint Server 2016 farm in Azure infrastructure services and access it from a simulated intranet.
Create dev/test environment for Microsoft 365 Enterprise with these articles.


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My first concrete encounter with the poet Arvo Turtiainen, the kind of encounter where the poem comes alive and declares itself to be electricity, sound, flesh, part of the atmosphere, took place at Christmas 1967. The poet's work Hyvää joulua ('Merry Christmas') had just been published. My parents received it as a present from my big sister's boyfriend, then a strict radical. There is a slight sense of apology about the greeting the giver scrawled in the book: 'This is not a Christmas Present, not a protest, but an opinion.' For my parents, low-ranking civil servants who had been through the war and embraced middle-class values, Turtiainen did not really exist, preferably not, at least. With a sotto voce cough the book, unread naturally, was slipped on the dark side of the bookshelf, whence I was welcome to take it as far as possible from the living-room.
and telling dirty stories by your bed.
should the world be changed for you?
My first impression was that there wasn't anything particularly monstrous about him. I have already said that his age was hard to determine, but there was something about him that tempted one to apply the word 'elderly' to him. He was up in years, no doubt about that, but in a rather special, indefinable way – which made it hard to infer, at least from his outward appearance, what stage he had reached in terms of normal human life. It had to do with something outside of time. He was tall and a little more raw-boned than the average person, and this made one wonder, looking at him, what kind of body his very fashionable clothing concealed his suit and tie conformed to the latest style. This was certainly not the misshapen and monstrous creature I vividly remembered from Mary Shelley's description.
And where was the pen, the fountain pen, black, chubby; the one which pumped the ink straight up from the bottle?
There were three gold-coloured bands on the cap of the pen, and its nib, too, was golden, It had been given to her in a case lined with black velvet, and there was a groove for the pen, and a depression for the ink-bottle; and the bottle was narrow -necked, with curving sides, and the ink in it was not bright blue, but dark, so that words written in it looked old, written a long time ago; one forgot that one had written them oneself, one read them like the words of a stranger.
even in this my 59th summer.
I contemplate the apple tree in the middle of the field.
into arms more slender, where the fruits ripen.
the succulent, faintly sour fruit.


text:
Hidden Forge: Lucem Ac Tenebras
Chapter 8 Volume 1; What's the Matter? Scene Eight
The same old high-pitched ringtone startled Ian from his sleep. At first, he kept his eyes screwed shut due to the annoyingly bright light filtering through the window above his bed. Even so, he shut off the alarm out of habit.
Eh? I never leave my blinds open… Ian thought. Oh, right, I'm in someone else's home.
Realizing he lay in an unfamiliar bed, he grabbed his phone to check the time. Of course, it read 6:31, a minute after his alarm. In spite of the smartphone's age, it certainly did its job.
"Only seven percent battery left…" Ian muttered. Even though he did not exactly need the phone in this world, the low battery symbol still stressed him out. After shutting it off, he slipped it into a side pocket of his backpack which leaned against the headboard.
Feeling more refreshed than usual, he hopped off the bed and stretched his arms into the air. With a silly grin plastered on his face, he anticipated an interesting day. Supposedly, Gaelan would be teaching him more about the world and Dark Matter before getting into the actual blacksmithing element of his apprenticeship.
Before he could go anywhere, a faint odor tickled his nostrils. He pulled his shirt to his nose. Twitching at the smell, he remembered he had worn the same sweaty clothes for two days already. Immediately, he changed into a clean set of clothes and placed the dirty ones behind his backpack. Hopefully, there would be an opportunity to take a bath sometime soon.
Then, he exited his room, descended the narrow stairwell, and walked outside. From what he had been told the previous night, there was an outhouse somewhere in the backyard. Barefoot, he trotted over to the wooden shed as soon as he saw it. As he approached it, he realized, I feel way younger for some reason. I don't even feel pain in my knee from that injury a few years ago… Did the Dark Matter do it?
Once he finished his business in the outhouse, he stepped outside to see Bianca only a few meters ahead wearing a white nightgown.
"Ah…" Bianca practically froze solid when their eyes met.
"Good morning, Bianca," Ian greeted with a friendly smile. Apparently, the girl was six years younger than him based on the dinner conversation. However, the way they celebrated birthdays in this world differed from Earth, so he could not be totally sure. Either way, she almost looked like a child in his eyes, the key word being 'almost'.
"Ah, um… good morning, Mister Ian," Bianca replied quietly, her purple eyes darting to and from Ian's face. A noticeably curious glint displayed itself in her gaze. Obviously, she did not feel comfortable around him yet. In fact, Ian wondered if she felt nervous around all strangers due to her father's steady overprotectiveness.
"It's fine to just call me Ian. Putting a title in front makes me feel old," Ian said.
"Oh, sorry," the girl sheepishly replied, "Since you are older, I thought it would be proper…"
"Haaah…" Ian sighed. It hurt a little to be seen as old by a young woman only a handful of years younger than himself. Although, he probably would have experienced the feeling sooner if he had bothered to exert effort in expanding his social life over the past few years. Moving on, he said, "Call me whatever feels most comfortable, then."
"Uuu~" she whimpered cutely, "Sorry, it seems like I bothered you, mist-, er, um… Ian…"
Perhaps it would have been better to ignore the prefix in the first place. This girl was dangerous. That whimper actually succeeded in pricking his heart.
"Well," Ian said, casting away the urge to feel attracted to a girl several years younger, "I'll let you go. I'm going to go relax for a few minutes before your dad starts teaching me anything."
Yeah, that's a good way to put it…
"Okay, um… Ian… Actually, do you mind if I just call you Mister Ian?" Bianca asked, shifting her weight in a manner displaying unease.
"Uh, sure…" Ian replied somewhat passively.
"Also," Bianca added while Ian began his retreat to the house, "breakfast should be ready in a little while."
"Oh, thanks," Ian replied, leaving the girl to her business.
A half-hour or so later, Ian once again exited his new bedroom with a refreshed smile. His remaining clean clothes now hung neatly in the wardrobe and many of his belongings now lay safe within dresser drawers. All the while, he continued to look forward to the interesting things he would learn, but at all times kept the thought in the back of his mind to be more cautious around Bianca in the future. Otherwise, he worried he may end up losing his hard sought after apprenticeship.
In the kitchen, Bianca pulled a dish similar to a quiche from the oven that took up a large portion of the wall at the front of the house opposite the stairwell that led to the upstairs bedrooms. Plenty of wooden pantries lined the wall opposite the dining room. Beneath her bare feet, the wooden floor creaked with each step.
While she sliced the quiche into triangular pieces, the sound of feet trodding down the nearby stairwell distracted her, causing her to slice her finger ever so slightly. Since the cut looked no worse than a papercut, she decided to ignore it.
Looking at the stairs, she saw Ian duck under the doorway to the kitchen. He nodded at her.
"Um, I'll get you a plate," Bianca said while stepping toward a nearby cupboard. "My parents probably won't be up for a little longer, so it's fine if you just go ahead and eat."
"Thanks," Ian replied casually, "Don't mind if I do."
While Ian focused on his food, Bianca studied his face. For some reason, she could not read beyond his physical expressions no matter how hard she tried. Normally, she would be able to react to a person based on their thoughts, but doing that with Ian proved to be impossible due to a thick fog of murky darkness clouding his mind.
Later, when Gaelan started teaching Ian about basic magic theory, Bianca watched from a distance out of curiosity toward this stranger. Questions filled her mind. What kind of person knew nothing of magic at that age? Where did he come from? How should she act around someone if she did not know their thoughts?
Eventually, she came to the conclusion that she would simply have to grow accustomed to Ian over time. Maybe she would see past that cloudy darkness sometime in the future.
Throughout the day, Ian received a crash course on things he would need to know as Gaelan's apprentice. His new mentor covered everything from the basics of magic to the basics of currency. Supposedly, Innate Gifts fell into three main categories – low, medium, and high – and it mainly applied to elemental affinities and resistances. Currency even followed a similar tier system. Two shillings equaled one copper, sixty copper equaled one silver, and ten silver equaled one gold. Supposedly, the two systems correlated in terms of value as the tiers increased, though Gaelan said it was purely coincidental.
Around midday, Gaelan pulled out some books and said, "If you're going to help at my shop, you'll need to learn to read."
A few minutes passed as the man attempted to explain the foreign characters. Before long, Ian realized he would struggle to learn from Gaelan in this aspect. As such, he interrupted his mentor by saying, "Please stop. You explained the magic and stuff really well, but you suck at teaching this."
"Tch. Do you want to learn or not?" Gaelan fumed, pride visibly smashed.
"Haaah… I do," Ian answered, "but is there anyone you know that could teach me quickly rather than blather on about how 'this' means 'that' and is similar to 'those' and so on and so forth?"
"Maybe I should grind you up and feed you to my chickens?" Gaelan threatened with a frightening smile.
"You have chickens?" Ian asked in an attempt to evade the threat. Honestly, he couldn't tell if the guy was serious or not.
"Yes, we do," Gaelan answered, "You didn't hear them this morning?"
"Hmm… you're less fun to mess with than Aria…" Gaelan complained. Then, he said, "Speaking of Aria, she may be able to teach you. She reads all the time and teaches her younger siblings, so she could probably do it… for a price."
"Might be worth asking," Ian muttered while flipping through the pages of a book with a sore look on his face. "Free would be nice, though…" he added, resting his cheek on his palm. Apparently, a bit of stubble already started growing.
"You'll never get anything free from that girl," Gaelan said, crossing his arms, "unless she owes you a favor or something."
Since midday just passed, Ian figured he should have enough time to run to the Visitor Center and back.
Going there is becoming a regular thing, isn't it? Ian brooded. Then, facing Gaelan, he said, "I guess I'll run over there now, unless you wanted to add something else before I leave."
In response, Gaelan shook his head and said, "Be quick about it. If you're late for dinner, I won't leave you any food. That'd be detrimental for you since we'll start smithing tomorrow."
"Awesome!" Ian excitedly exclaimed. He stretched, palms reaching for the cloudless blue sky. From there, he waved and said, "Alright, see ya later, Gaelan."
In return, Gaelan saluted nonchalantly with two fingers.
During the walk to the Visitor Center, he thought, As long as the portal is still in that cave, I should head back to Earth to see if I'm still employed… If not, I'll need to quit and collect my final paychecks in order to keep up on rent. Then, I'll need to find a way to bring in some income in both worlds that won't require my presence over there.
As he left Gaelan's property, he turned right and headed straight toward the main market street about a kilometer away. From there, he took his time meandering toward the Southern Gate. During the trip, he sulked over his lack of money. Several shops sold tasty-looking treats he had never encountered before, and his tongue cried out to taste them.
At some point, he caught a glimpse of the royal castle in the distance. In a way, he wondered how much the monarchy affected the daily affairs of the people in comparison to the government of Earth, which lorded over every aspect of the citizen's lives behind the scenes.
Before long, he arrived at the Visitor Center once more. Upon entering, he saw Aria sitting on a stool behind the counter with chin resting in one hand while setting a book down behind the counter with her other hand. The cover looked different from the one he saw yesterday. How much did this woman actually read?
Noticing Ian, Aria smiled and asked, "Did Mr. Marlow send money with you?"
She didn't even say hello…
Aloud, Ian answered, "No. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I see…" Aria replied, sighing, "Well, welcome back, I guess. Remind that old man to pay me back when you go back there."
Yep, there was no way he would be getting free lessons.
"Uh, sure…" Ian replied. Walking up to the counter, he hesitantly asked, "May I ask you for a favor?"
Tilting her head, Aria brushed her hair away from her eyes and answered, "That depends on what it is."
"Hmm… how do I put this nicely? Well, basically, Gaelan wanted to teach me how to read Common, but he's terrible at it, so I decided to ask you instead." For some reason, his instincts told him not to mention the idea originated with Gaelan.
A prideful glint flashed across Aria's eyes as she replied, "I may be able to do it in the mornings before work. How much would you be able to pay me, though?"
Although she did not give much outward indication of it, she felt inwardly excited at the prospect of teaching this young man. Not only would she be able to observe his growth, but she would also be able to see Bianca more often. Either way, it was a win-win situation.
"Could I give you an I.O.U.?" Ian hesitantly inquired.
"A what? An eye-oh-you?" Aria asked in return, a confused expression plastered on her face. Apparently, I.O.U.'s did not exist here.
"It's like a contract stating I will eventually pay you back at some point," Ian explained. "We would each sign off on it to show we agree to it."
"Oh, that could work, I suppose," Aria thoughtfully replied, understanding radiating from her eyes. However, she looked slightly conflicted as she muttered, "Although I prefer my money up front, I think I could handle it."
"Would two copper per lesson be alright?" Ian asked, almost begging.
"That's a bit on the low side, but I'm no professional, so I can't complain."
"Nice!" Ian exclaimed. Without realizing it, he pumped his fist in celebration, causing Aria to giggle at the strange gesture.
A minute later, Aria produced a surprisingly detailed 'contract' to be signed by the two of them. Although Ian could not read it, save for the number four, he figured Aria did not seem like the type of person to scam him twice… probably.
After he signed it, Aria gave a gentle smile and requested, "Could you tell Gaelan I'll be coming over the morning to start teaching you? Wouldn't want to miss out on Bianca's cooking."
"That soon?" Ian asked in surprise.
"Is there an issue?"
"I doubt it," Ian replied, placing his hand on his chin. "He's going to start teaching me actual blacksmithing tomorrow, so I guess we can split the lessons equally."
"Lessons from me in the morning and learning from that old geezer in the afternoon?"
"Uh, yeah," Ian replied.
"Don't forget to let him know I'll be there in the morning, then, and every morning after that, too." Aria reminded him.
Having overworked himself in the past, Ian concernedly asked, "Won't you get worn out?"
"Oh, are you worried about me?" Aria retorted with a sly grin.
"Haaah… nevermind… See you in the morning," Ian grumbled while waving farewell.
"Bye," Aria replied, chuckling.
And so, Ian's life in Regnoras truly began.


text:
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Editorial: 13 personal health and longevity science headlines for 2013 →
ACE and Angiotensin II: The "Double Agents" that Play Multiple Roles in the Molecular Story of Life
Posted on 29. December 2013 by James Watson
By James P Watson, with editorial assist, a little rounding out and a few comments by Vince Giuliano
I am convinced that actions in the Renin-Angiotensin cascade can be a major cause of inflammation, aging, and cancer. Exogenous antioxidants, Bucky balls, and polyphenols can do little if anything to stop actions in this pathway which can be major drivers of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and aging. Actions in this pathway may explain why all of the clinical trials to date of polyphenols such as curcumin, ECGC, resveratrol, isothiocyanates, Vitamin E, beta-carotene, etc. have failed or display mixed results. We must learn to understand this system better.
Image source Human angiotensin
Image source Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)
The molecular story of life has over 300 major "actors" that talk the language of intercellular communication. Some of these "actors" only speak one language. Most play the "hero" or the "villain" but not both. No single "actor" can fit into all of the acting roles required for intercellular communication, but if there were some "actors who could play multiple roles", the best two would be Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) and Angiotensin II (ANG). These two molecules can play 10 roles. They also are "double agents" who can work for the enemy and the "good guys" at the same time. The roles appear to be very important and quite diverse, for example, assisting a sperm to find an egg during conception.
Specifically, Angiotensin II can play the role of a hormone, a neurotransmitter, a cytokine, and a growth factor. ANG (Angiotensin II) can make blood clot or prevent blood from clotting. ACE can cause systemic hypertension or can cause a local plaque to form in a specific blood vessel location. Working together, ACE and ANG can cause vasodilation or vasoconstriction, depending on which Angiotensin receptors are present on the target cell surface. Likewise, ACE and ANG can exert a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effect in the immune system, depending on which Angiotensin recptors are present in the target immune cells. The double roles are reminiscent of the double roles of oxidative stress and free radicals – they can do good or harm. ACE and ANG increases oxidative stress in the vascular system and can therefore accelerate aging and hardening of the arteries via one receptor type on the target cell, but can do the opposite with another receptor type. ACE and ANG can increase oxidative stress in other tissues and drive cancer formation via one receptor type, but in other cells, the pair can trigger an anti-oxidant response. As the cartoon dog Peanuts says, ARGH!!!
As a result, these two "actors" appear to be "Double Agents" in the Molecular Story of Life. Here is a list of all of the ways that this pair of molecules can signal:
1. Hormone – ACE and ANG circulate in the plasma and exert effects at distant sites via 7 different receptors (AT1, 2, 3, etc.).
2. Neurotransmitter – ANG is a neurotransmitter in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, activating AT1 receptors.
3. A growth factor – ANG is a key growth factor in skin wound healing via AT1R (controls keratinocyte & fibroblast migration).
4. An angiogenesis factor – ANG induces expression of VEGF and induces angiogenesis via AT2R, but requires hypoxia, bradykinin, the B2 bradykinin receptor, and nitric oxide .
5. A vascoconstrictor and a vasodilator– ACE and ANG exert a potent vasoconstrictive effect via ATR1 receptors, but have a vasodilator effect via the ATR2-7 receptors. Thus their effects are "cell-specific" and "tissue-specific."
6. A pro-thrombotic agent – ANG stimulates thrombosis via inducing expression of the thrombin receptor, release of PAF (platelet activating factor), or by stimulating platelet aggregation and adhesion.
7. A cytokine – ANG stimulates cell proliferation via Akt and MAPK pathways (ERK1/2, p38, and JNK).
8. A driver of aging and inflammation – ANG can chronically up regulate reactive oxygen species via AP-1 and NF-kB.
9. An anti-inflammatory pathway – ACE and ANG can have an anti-inflammation, and anti-oxidative effects via the AT2 receptor.
Molecular Biology of Angiotensin II (ANG)
ANG is made by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) which comes in two forms: testicular ACE (tACE) and somatic ACE (sACE). Angiotensin II works primarily via the angiotensin 1 receptor (ATR1) and the angiotensin 2 receptor (ATR2), but there are actually 7 AT receptors in humans. ATR1 and ATR2 have almost diametrically opposed effects. For instance, ATR1 induces vasoconstriction, whereas ATR2 induces vasodilation. ANG induces ROS via the AT1 receptor, but induces anti-oxidant effects via AT2 receptor. ANG increases growth via the ATR1, but decreases growth via ATR5-7. Thus, Angiotensin II is a pleiotrophic factor for many reasons. Here are a few diagrams showing of how ANG and ACE work.
Image source: "Overview of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). AGT indicates angiotensinogen; Ang, angiotensin; ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; AT1R, angiotensin type 1 receptor; AT2R, angiotensin type 2 receptor; MasR, Mas receptor."
Picture source Some receptor-mediated effects of angiotensins 1 and 2
1. CO, NO, H2S, Prostacyclin (PGI2), and Endocanabanoids are biological antagonists of Angiotensin II
Whereas angiotensin II promotes vasoconstriction and thrombosis, there are several antagonistic pathways that counteract this. In the past, prostacyclin (PGI2) produced by cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and nitric oxide (NO) produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS) were the only substances known to counteract Angiotensin II.
Now we know of at least 5 major substances that counteract (antagonize) the effects of Angiotensin II as follows:
1. PGI2 => PGI2 works via a smooth muscle cell 2nd messenger, cAMP
2. NO – NO works via a smooth muscle cell 2nd messenger, cGMP.
3. H2S – H2S works via a smooth muscle potasium ATP channel, Katp
4. CO – CO works via a smooth muscle cell 2nd messenger, cGMP
5. Endocanabanoids – Anandamide works via a smooth muscle cell receptor, CB1R
Now we know that both carbon monoxide (CO and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are "endothelial-derived relaxing factors" (EDRF). H2S is made from L-cysteine by the endothelial enzyme cystathionine gamma-lyase (CSE) and works via K+atp channel and endothelial hyper polarizing factor (EDHF). CO is made from heme breakdown via the enzymes heme oxygenase-1 and 2 (HO-1, HO-2) and work via a cGMP 2nd messenger.
The following diagrams are characterizations of factors involved in vasodialation and vasoconstriction including angiotensin:
Picture and legend reference: Physiopathology of splanchnic vasodilation in portal hypertension
"Figure 2 Molecular pathways associated to splanchnic vasodilation. Vasoactive molecules involved in the regulation of vascular tone in the arteries of the splanchnic circulation. Nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), prostacyclin (PGl2) or hydrogen sulfide (H2S), generated through different pathways in endothelial cells, cause vasodilation in vascular smooth muscle cells by either activating soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) to generate cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), by stimulating adenylate cyclase (AC) and generation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) or through the opening of KATP channels. Also, anandamide activates endothelial cannabinoid 1 receptors (CB1R) provoking vasodilation. AA: arachidonic acid; AC: adenylyl cyclase; Akt: protein kinase B; BH4: tetrahydrobiopterin; CaM: calmodulin; CSE: cystathionine-γ-lyase; COX: cyclooxygenase; eNOS: endothelial nitric oxide synthase; HSP90: heat shock protein 90; IP3: inositol triphosphate; TNFα: tumor necrosis factor α; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor."
Picture source: Hydrogen sulfide: a new EDRF "Molecular basis for endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation. With different substrates, NO, H2S, and PGI2 are produced from the endothelium by NOS, CSE, and COX-1, respectively. They are released from the endothelium and act on the adjacent smooth muscle cells to induce relaxation. NO and H2S are also produced in smooth muscle cells. For brevity of description, smooth muscle production of these substances is not included in this diagram. NOS, NO synthase; CSE, cystathionine -lyase; COX-1, cyclooxygenase-1; AA, arachidonic acid; EDHF, endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor."
picture reference: http://district.bluegrass.kctcs.edu/ron.wasielewski/110studentAps/regulationOfVascularTone-color.jpg
2. Angiotensin II is a very strong inducer of ROS which explains the role of angiotensin in cancer development. Such ROS can be inhibited by the polyphenol caffeoylquinic acid (CQC)
Angiotensin II may be the greatest "driver" of systemic ROS as seen in aging, cancer, and disease. Angiotensin II induces the transcription of several protein components of NADH oxidase and NADPH oxidase. NOX produces a lot of superoxide and are bound just below the plasma membrane of the following types of cells:
endothelial cells,
vascular smooth muscle cells,
adventitial fibroblasts.
NOX produce a lot of superoxide in the phagosomes of the following types of cells:
neutrophils,
macrophages.
The downstream targets of this ROS include activation of all of the Redox sensitive kinase pathways to induce many genes via NF-kB and AP-1. The targets of ROS activation are:
A. Akt – this is a potent driver of cancer,
B. The 3 MAPKs:
1. JNK,
2. ERK ½,
3. p38.
These pathways can induce cell proliferation, hypertrophy, and cell migration.
About CQC
The polyphenol from the Taiwanese folk medicine plant, Elephantopus mollis, called 3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (CQC) can do the following:
1. Inhibits the Angiotensin II-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle
2. Counteract this ROS-induced endothelial cell stress
3. Minimizes the ROS-induced impairment of EDRF induced blood vessel relaxation
4. Prevents the Cu++-induced oxidation of human LDL
5. Acts as an antioxidant
Reference: 3,4-Di-O-Caffeoylquinic Acid Inhibits Angiotensin-II-Induced Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Migration by Downregulating the JNK and PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathways
Picture source: "Figure 6: Proposed molecular target of CQC to inhibit Ang-II-induced proliferation and/or migration of rVSMC. Arrows indicate the main biological end points preceding cell proliferation and migration in response to Ang II. ROS activate hypertrophy and proliferation in VSMC. In response to the growth factors Ang II or PDGF, ROS are endogenously produced by VSMC and stimulate MAPKs and Akt. Our data documented that CQC inhibited Ang-II-induced rVSMC proliferation and migration. The anti-atherosclerotic property of CQC may act by downregulating the Akt, JNK and in part of ERK1/2 pathways by Ang II. AT1: angiotensin type 1 receptor; GFR: growth factor receptor; Gq: Gq protein."
3. During Evolution, the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) underwent duplication at the origin of Chordata, just before the "Cambrian Explosion" in a number of species. The ancestral, unduplicated form still exists in the testes, tACE, and is used by sperm for navigation to the egg.
As a result of evolution, the ACE enzyme underwent duplication and now forms a plasma membrane dimer where the two pieces fit together in a "tongue-and-grove" fashion. Thus, the somatic form of the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (sACE) exists on plasma membranes as a dimer. Here are some illustrations of this:
Reference for next two images: The Central Role of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme in Vertebrate Pathophysiology
The unduplicated ancestral version of ACE still exists in the testes. It did not undergo evolution. Here is a picture of the testicular form of ACE:
4. Testicular ACE is a Redox Sensor and a Mechanosensor – It is used by sperm as a "GPS" for navigation from the testes to the fallopian tube. Here is an illustration of how important testicular ACE is as a mechanoreceptor on sperm:
Picture reference
The key physical feature that led to figuring out that Testicular ACE is a redox sensor is that it has 7 evolutionarily conserved cysteines. Six of these cysteines form disulfide bonds to nearby intramolecular cysteine residues. These 6 cysteines form a "disulfide bond zipper" for the lid on the active pocket. One cysteine acts as a "latch" for the pocket. These 7 evolutionarily conserved cysteines are depicted in yellow in the diagram on Testicular ACE above. Testicular ACE appears to mainly exist in the oxidized form, which is required for disulfide bond formation. Testicular ACE is very resistant to even exhaustive redox reduction. A 900-fold redox reduction of tACE only decreased the activity of tACE by 78%. Thus it appears that the oxidized form is the active form with the disulfide bonds intact.
Testicular ACE has an active site with a "lid" on it. This allows it to function as a mechanosensor. Here is a picture of this:
5. Somatic ACE (sACE) is a Redox Sensor and exists in a dimeric form in the plasma membrane or as a soluble dimer in the plasma. The plasma form is active in the oxidized state and exists with 90% of plasma sACE oxidized and 10% of plasma sACE reduced.
If the monomeric tACE is a "redox sensor" equivalent to a gun, then the dimeric sACE is a "redox sensor" equivalent to a double-barrel shot gun. With double the number of redox sensitive cysteines, there can be a much greater ability to be oxidized or to absorb reducing agents. Two electrons could start the entire side walls of both active sites "flapping". Thus, the "disulfide zipper" on sACE is twice as long as the "disulfide zipper" on tACE.
Here is an illustration of this effect:
Illustration reference: The Central Role of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme in Vertebrate Pathophysiology
Normally Somatic ACE (sACE) exists as a plasma membrane protein, but it can also be cleaved by a plasma membrane secretase called "ACE secretase" and then it can become a soluble protein found in the plasma. This process is called "ACE shedding" and is comparable to the amyloid-B shedding seen with Alzheimer's disease. Here is an illustration of this ACE secretase:
Illustration reference: An Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme Mutation (Y465D) Causes a Dramatic Increase in Blood ACE via Accelerated ACE Shedding
"Background: Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) metabolizes a range of peptidic substrates and plays a key role in blood pressure regulation and vascular remodeling. Thus, elevated ACE levels may be associated with an increased risk for different cardiovascular or respiratory diseases. Previously, a striking familial elevation in blood ACE was explained by mutations in the ACE juxtamembrane region that enhanced the cleavage-secretion process. Recently, we found a family whose affected members had a 6-fold increase in blood ACE and a Tyr465Asp (Y465D) substitution, distal to the stalk region, in the N domain of ACE. — Methodology/principal findings: HEK and CHO cells expressing mutant (Tyr465Asp) ACE demonstrate a 3- and 8-fold increase, respectively, in the rate of ACE shedding compared to wild-type ACE. Conformational fingerprinting of mutant ACE demonstrated dramatic changes in ACE conformation in several different epitopes of ACE. Cell ELISA carried out on CHO-ACE cells also demonstrated significant changes in local ACE conformation, particularly proximal to the stalk region. However, the cleavage site of the mutant ACE–between Arg1203 and Ser1204–was the same as that of WT ACE. The Y465D substitution is localized in the interface of the N-domain dimer (from the crystal structure) and abolishes a hydrogen bond between Tyr465 in one monomer and Asp462 in another. — Conclusions/significance: The Y465D substitution results in dramatic increase in the rate of ACE shedding and is associated with significant local conformational changes in ACE. These changes could result in increased ACE dimerization and accessibility of the stalk region or the entire sACE, thus increasing the rate of cleavage by the putative ACE secretase (sheddase)."
As plasma levels of ACE become higher and higher, this is associated with worsening of a person's hypertension. A family was recently found that had a 6-fold increase in soluble, plasma ACE levels. This was found to be due to a Tyr465Asp (Y465D) substitution, distal to the stalk region in the N-domain.
Below is an illustration of another gene variant that increased shedding of ACE into the plasma. The enzyme that cleaves ACE is called a "sheddase." Increased levels of ACE in plasma are associated with higher incidences and more severe forms of hypertension.
6. Increased Shedding of ACE is associated with diseases where Angiotensin II is activated. Shedding can be inhibited with Zinc chelation therapy and increased with Antibodies against specific epitopes of sACE.
("An epitope, also known as antigenic determinant, is the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system, specifically by antibodies, B cells, or T cells(ref)." The exact enzyme (sheddase) that cleaves membrane bound sACE has not yet been characterized. It is known that the soluble, circulating ACE found in the plasma comes from endothelial cells It is believed that many different enzymes can do this, including calpains, Furin, and proteasomes. It is known that such increased shedding is key in the development of the diseases associated with angiotensin II.
Reference: Epitope-specific antibody-induced cleavage of angiotensin-converting enzyme from the cell surface The N domain of somatic angiotensin-converting enzyme negatively regulates ectodomain shedding and catalytic activity.
7. sACE can be directly inactivated by nitric oxide (NO) via S-nitrosylation with 4 of the cysteine residues on the "disulfide zipper."
Essentially this meant that it is possible to "turn off" ACE with nitric oxide "coating" of the cysteine thiols on the ACE molecule. Remember that you must start with the reduced form of sACE to do this and that 90% of the thiols on sACE are normally oxidized. Thus, it is only the 10% of sACE in plasma that could undergo this S-nitrosylation of the cysteine thiols on the disulfide zipper.
Angiotensin II and NO are "biological antagonists". Angiotensin vasoconstricts and NO vasodialates.
Angiotensin stimulates expression of all 3 isoforms of NOS (eNOS, iNOS, nNOS) to increase NO.
NO inactivates the reduced form of sACE via S-nitrosylation of the four central residues in the "zipper" in soluble, reduced form of sACE.
ROS generated by xanthine oxidase, NADPH and NADH in response to angiotensin degrade NO and diminish signaling.
This ROS-induced degradation of NO in response to angiotensin signaling is an important target for treating hypertension. This appears to be a "critical center" of hypertension.
Picture source" Dr. Caballero: A fine balance between vasoconstrictors, shown on the left, and vasodilators, shown on the right, regulates vascular tone at every moment. Angiotensin II is a very potent vasoconstrictor that also promotes thrombosis and inflammation. Although angiotensin II is not produced in the endothelium, the enzyme that activates it, known as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is widely found in endothelial cells. The opposing forces, primarily led by nitric oxide, counterbalance the effects of angiotensin II and other vasoconstrictors. Nitric oxide is one of the most important molecules, as it is the prime vasodilator and anti-inflammatory substance released by the endothelium. Prothrombotic and proinflammatory changes occur as a result of increased angiotensin II activity and/or decreased nitric oxide production or activity."
8. Angiotensin II is the most important "on switch" for the EPO gene and hemoglobin is actually the "oxygen sensor" for induction of the EPO gene via the serial interplay of NO with the Hb molecule and then the AE1 molecule, then albumin, and then finally sACE. Thus, sACE can be a Renal "critimeter"
Human EPO (erythropoietin) is "a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production. It is a cytokine (protein signaling molecule) for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow(ref)." This is another amazing property of Angiotensin II and of sACE. I knew that hypoxia "turned on" the gene for EPO directly via HIF-1alpha. They have found that Angiotensin II "turns on" HIF-1a several fold stronger than hypoxia does. The way this works is that oxygenation of hemoglobin displaces NO from the heme groups in hemoglobin. This results in these NO molecules forming S-nitrosylation of the hemoglobin cysteine thiol groups. These Hb-bound NO molecules are then gradually transferred to an erythrocyte "anion exchanger" molecule called AE1, via S-nitrosylation, which is found in high concentrations within the cell. The cytoplasmic tail of this membrane-bound molecule has lots of cysteine residues in it. These NO molecules can then be transferred from AE1 in the erythrocyte to albumin in the plasma, which also has cysteine thiols on it. These can also form S-nitrosylation with NO.
Finally, the NO on albumin can be transferred to sACE in the plasma, thereby inactivating it. This is the story of how "hemoglobin is the oxygen sensor" and sACE is the renal "crimiter." Here is the reaction:
Reference: The Central Role of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme in Vertebrate Pathophysiology
Formula reference
9. sACE plays a major role in the pathology of Diabetes, Gout, Sepsis, DIC, Malignant Hypertension, Sickle Cell Disease, and Pre-eclampsia
I find this to be very fascinating, again indicative of the multiple and very important impacts associated with angiotensins and their conversion inhibition. This point is covered in the 2004 review article The Central Role of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme in Vertebrate Pathophysiology. "Genomic epidemiologic data, increasingly supported by clinical outcomes results, strongly suggest that overactivity of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) may underlie most age-related diseases. Angiotensin II, the main product of ACE, is a pleiotropic hormone, capable of serving as a neurotransmitter, growth factor, angiogenesis factor, vasoconstrictor, pro-thrombotic agent, and cytokine. So it is perhaps not surprising that the ACE D/D genotype is associated with several major psychiatric diseases, most cancers except prostate cancer (where the D/D genotype is actually protective), most cardiovascular diseases, most autoimmune diseases, and even infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV. In a preliminary study, angiotensin II blockade appeared to hasten recovery from West Nile virus encephalitis; it may be equally useful in SARS. The ACE gene underwent duplication at the origin of Chordata, just before the "Cambrian Explosion" in the number of species. The ancestral, unduplicated form of ACE is still expressed during the terminal differentiation of human spermatocytes, suggesting a critical role in reproduction. The crystal structure of testicular ACE (tACE) was recently published. Computer modeling suggests that tACE may be activated by both mechanical forces and reducing agents. The duplicated form of ACE (somatic ACE, sACE) is expressed in areas of high fluid flow. sACE may auto-dimerize via a novel protein motif, the "disulfide zipper." The sACE dimer is predicted to have higher catalytic efficiency and redox resistance than tACE."
Angiotensin II and sACE in disease processes and aging
1. sACE plays a major role in Inflammation and Autoimmunity
Angiotensin II functions as a cytokine in invertebrates. In vertebrates, it is a pyrogen and causes a fever. sACE appears on the plasma membranes of activated macrophages and T lymphocytes when they are "angry" – the sACE is called "CD143." T-cells can stimulate the expression of sACE on monocytes in a MHC-restricted manner and vice versa. This involves cell-to-cell contact. Here is a depiction of how this works on a molecular basis:
Reference: again The Central Role of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme in Vertebrate Pathophysiology
A. Bacterial infections and Angiotensin II
Bacterial infections also involve ACE.
Bacterla infections lower tissue oxygen tension due to the bacterial consumption of oxygen.
Bacteria also produce lactic acid, lowering tissue pH and causing the pain that a patient typically has with an infection of a lactic acid-producing bacteria (Exception: urinary tract infections that produce urea).
Under the reducing conditions of hypoxia and low pH, the sACE on the surface of macrophages or T cells becomes activated by the mechanism just diagramed above..
B. Viral infections and Angiotensin II
Angiotensin II stimulates the production of the antiviral protein interferon gamma from T cells.
This interferes with viral replication.
Angiotensin also helps promote apoptosis in the virally infected cells.
C. Autoimmune Diseae
Angiotensin is a potent cytokine capable of stimulating the synthesis of other cytokines like MIF, TNF-a, MCP-1, and TGF-b.
Overactivity of ACE has a been associated with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, SLE, and fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome.
ACE inhibitors have shown clinical responses in patients with psoriasis and alopecia areata.
D. HIV
HIV infectivity and progression to AIDS are also associate with the ACE D/D genotype.
E. Tuberculosis and Leprosy
Angiotensin blockade may be beneficial in TB as well and with Leprosy
Reference: again, The Central Role of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme in Vertebrate Pathophysiology
2. sACE plays a major role in Cancer (with one exception)
Overactivity of sACE is associated with all solid and hematogenous cancers except prostate cancer in white men, in which sACE activity is actually protective.
Vascular signaling by sACE thus appears to drive most cancers.
For example, many solid cancers, including colon, have recently been shown to be initiated by Wnt, which acts upstream of beta-catenin and APC.
Wnt is activated by PKC, which is activated by Angiotensin II.
Thus, Angiotensin II production by vascular endothelial cells (sACE) is an "up stream" cause of increased Wnt signaling.
Breast cancer has recently been associated with the ACE D/D genotype in Chinese women.
Since angiotensin II promotes cell proliferation and angiogenesis, ACE inhibitors or ARBs may be useful adjunctive tx for these D/D genotype of breast cancer.
The article referenced here provides an example case of how pancreatic cancer growth can be attenuated with an ACE inhibitor.
Prostate cancer is the "exception to the rule" for ACE, but only for while men with the D/D genotype.
In black men, ACE overactivity is associated with prostate cancer as with other cancers.
In while men with the ACE D/D genotype, ACE overactivity is associated with prostatic hyperplasia but negatively associated with prostate cancer. The reason for this is that sACE is highly expressed in the glandular epithelium of BPH.
Taking an ACE inhibitor will actually make these prostate cancers in white men grow. The diagram below explains how this works.


If we brought 100 iPhone owners into a room and asked them how satisfied they were with their device, we're pretty sure that the vast majority of them would answer positively. According to an accredited market researcher, that would indeed likely be the case.
Companies like JDPower spend a great amount of resources figuring out which products consumers use and how they're using them. A frequent study that's often carried out is customer satisfaction, which attempts to determine how pleased customers are about a product after they've bought it.
The runner-ups were HTC, which scored 801, and Samsung which scored a slightly lower 777, below industry average. Behind came Motorola, with a 775, and Research in Motion (maker of the BlackBerry smartphones), which scored a mere 762. All of these are good results, yet both Apple and HTC are clearly leading the pack.
The results of this study were broken down into five different categories: Overall Satisfaction, Performance, Smartphone Features, Ease of Operation and Physical Design. Apple has obtained a perfect score out of 850 by topping the chart with HTC in the second place, and sadly, most of the major smartphone manufacturers are way below industry average.
With the iPhone 5 right around the corner, customers have a new product to look forward to. Until then, however, the 1-year-old iPhone 4 seems to be doing its job just fine.


Cindy McNallie has been selling real estate for over ten years and will work hard with you to sell your current home or purchase a new home. She can give you very personal service and will always be honest and forthright with you. Call her at 716-499-1486 or e-mail her at cmcnallie@reahomesearch.com for all of your real estate needs.