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Character Contest #1: Wild West
Hidden 5 mos ago → 5 mos ago Post by BrokenPromise
BrokenPromise : 3
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BrokenPromise
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I think we could all work on our presentation. I've had the pleasure of Rping with a whole slew of people. Some of them were great writers who made me interested in their characters, while others had a lot to learn before they could do the same. What I've found interesting is that a roleplayer's ability to write posts doesn't have any sort of bearing on how good a job they do filling out a character sheet. I've been bamboozled time and time again as great characters come from poor sheets, and sometimes the opposite is true. Clearly, filling out a character sheet takes an entirely different skill set than writing a post.
Alright fam, here's how this works. For the next 5-6 months I'm going to host a character creation contest. Each month, I'm going to post a mock OOC for a fake RP. It will include details about the setting, lore, and rules your characters MUST conform to. Obviously it's all going to be a bit light, as we won't actually be playing said RP. But once you've looked over the OOC, you can make your character. It's pretty much just like a real RP, only it'll never actually start. Instead, a voting thread will open up where the community will vote for its favorite. Once the voting period is over, a winner will be declared. If there is a tie, I will break said tie with my own vote.
Without further ado, how do you guys feel about the wild west?
G O L D R U S H
Being born with a pair of beady eyes was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Lee Van Cleef
Welcome to Ashfork! The only town within miles of the old Sanjay volcano. It's been long extinct and people are coming from all around to get their hands on the precious minerals that lay inside. Of course, Ashfork's isolated location also makes it a perfect place for ranchers to build their ranges in solitude, and outlaws like to come here to lay low for a while. But I think you've come at a bad time friend. Lot of weird sorts have started moving into town, and now people are starting to turn up dead! Every morning there's always a few people laying in the street, covered in stab wounds. I hope that doesn't scare you away, most of us are alright people!
But say, what brings you here anyway? Are you one of them miners, or are you the ranching sort? You're not an outlaw are you?
THE SETTING AND PLOT
Your roll in this RP can be anyone living in or moving to Ashfork. You can be the bartender at the saloon, the sheriff, a dancing girl, a rancher, a gold tycoon, or that quiet gambler who never shows his back to anyone and totally isn't an outlaw. The sky is the limit, so long as the character makes sense given the scenario. The only group of people that would be off limits would be wild Indians.
Your goal is to uncover who or what is killing people so willy-nilly. Or at the very least, you need to stay alive. As a secondary objective, you should try to get as rich as you can. That's why most people came here, right?
The RP takes place in frontier-era America, some time in the mid-late 1800's. The story revolves around the going ons of the people of Ashfork, which is a fictional town located near the US's northern border. The population is usually somehwere in the 300-400 area, but the recent gold rush has sent that number spiraling into the thousands. The land surrounding it is pretty flat, aside from the giant Sanjay volcano off in the distance. It performed it's last eruption a long time ago, and the land is covered in green as far as the eye can see. So long as you don't look too high up the volcano, which always has snow on it's peak. During the colder seasons, inhabitants of ashfork can tell when winter is coming by how much of the mountain is covered in snow. It's currently mid spring, and lots of people are funneling into town to start up a mining operation. The news of this mineral-rich target has somehow made its way across the globe, and even foreign miners are showing up to lay claim to part of Sanjay. Of course, the large influx of people is providing Ashfork natives with ample opportunities to serve them and line their own pockets.
There have been a few sightings of wild Indians, but they are few and far between. Some speculate that they live in and around Sanjay, but no one has been able to confirm this yet.
Most of the Ashfork natives are your standard American frontiersmen and woman, while a few of them are American Indians who chose to live here for one reason or another. However, the miners(?) coming into Ashfork have traveled from all over the globe to get their hands on all that gold and silver lingering in the volcano. Most of them do not get along very well with each other. Racial discrimination and all that.
Ever since the miners got here, people have started turning up dead. And no one has even built a mine shaft yet. When the sun rises every day, more bodies are discovered. Nobody hears the victims cries, and there doesn't appear to be anything linking the victims together aside from a few stab wounds. What is a bit disturbing is that the number of people who are killed every night seems to grow. Yet no one has actually seen the killer(s?). People gossip about this "night of knives," but their lust for gold keeps them from running off. Everyone will have to work together if they want to stay alive. But it's hard to cooperate when everyone is competing with each other for gold.
Q: Did you have a specific year in mind? or at least a specific decade?
A: Mid-late 1800's is as specific as I'm getting. If you like having 100% historically accurate backgrounds, you are free to pick a specific year for your character as long as it's in that time range. But I'm not going to disqualify anyone for difficult to spot inaccuracies or anything like that.
Q: Can I use images for a description? Any limits to how crazy I can get with a character sheet?
A: Given the nature of the contest, it would be preferable that no one used images in their character sheet. And while you are free to pretty up the character sheet with different formatting code, remember that this is a character contest. A pretty sheet with an ugly character won't win.
1: ~ This is a "vanilla" western setting, so no magical powers, elf ears, sci-fi pistols, etc.
2: ~ This is a contest. While it would be most ideal to have a bunch of characters that are all different from one another, no one will be omitted for filling the same "archetype."
3: ~ While a CS will be provided, you may edit it however you see fit.
4: ~ New characters are mandatory.
5: ~ Simply post your submission in this thread once it is completed. Deadline is the 19th at about the time this post was made.
6: ~ Feel free to ask questions in this thread as well. I could use the feedback.
THE CHARACTER SHEET
The character's name, silly!
How old are you now, how old are you now...
Your job, you bum!
Waddaya look like?
Quirks, aura, hobbies, stuff like that.
Tell me about your characters deep dark past.
...and for the easy copy/paste.
[color=orange]Name:[/color]
[color=orange]Age:[/color]
[color=orange]Occupation:[/color]
[color=orange]Appearance:[/color]
[color=orange]Personality:[/color]
[color=orange]Bio:[/color]
9x Like
Briza,
Exit,
Frizan,
HaleyTheRandom,
Liseran Thistle,
Mae,
Malice,
Odin,
ayzrules
Hidden 5 mos ago → 5 mos ago Post by ayzrules
ayzrules Tree-Hugger Extraordinaire
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Quick question! In the future, will you be allowing other people to "submit" new challenges? Or do the voted upon winners get that privilege? Asking b/c there was a very similar sort of challenge thing on a site I used to be on where the "GM" for each round picked the winner, then winner got to be GM for the next round
Either way, I'm super hype for this!
(ohhh also did you have a specific year in mind? or at least a specific decade?)
Hidden 5 mos ago Post by BrokenPromise
Quick question! In the future, will you be allowing other people to "submit" new challenges? Or do the voted upon winners get that privilege?
@ayzrules
I might take suggestions in the future. For now though I'd just like to see how things go.
did you have a specific year in mind? or at least a specific decade?
Mid-late 1800's is as specific as I'm getting. If you like having 100% historically accurate backgrounds, you are free to pick a specific year for your character as long as it's in that time range. But I'm not going to disqualify anyone for difficult to spot inaccuracies or anything like that.
Hidden 5 mos ago Post by ayzrules
@BrokenPromise
Cool ok thank you! And I was mostly asking because Victorian era fashion varies so much within even just a couple years but I'll just go with sometime after the bustle became a thing :D
Hidden 5 mos ago Post by Briza
Briza ❤
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Bio 5 hrs ago
Samuel J. Foster [+]
S a m u e l J. F o s t e r
Every man dies. Not every man lives.
— William Wallace
A p p e a r a n c e :
The only distinguishing feature on Samuel J. Foster is that his nose is longer than the usual snub; and it's seemed to keep him out of trouble; or maybe it's his indistinguishable features that have kept him pinned as a wall flower when it comes with appearances. Whatever the case, Samuel's only been caught in one scandal, and the rest is just smoke easily stomped out with a good pair of leather boots.
To be more precise, plain dusty brown or black leather boots with high waist knickers tucked into the shaft. It's hard to tell the color with the amount of wear and tear the pair has seen through the years, and it's amazing they're still together. In fact, Samuel thanks God every damn day they don't ever need much repair.
Speaking of legs; Samuel's are the long and sturdy sort with a slight bull curve, and his back is finely tuned; it's easy to tell through his musty seeming white shirt and black jacket when he bends his waist properly, all good and ready to snipe another wild game in the head. His hands are large and square with blonde hairs that travel up his strong arms. He has one of those bodies with square shoulders and a neck that's long, but at least, it stands up straight to hold an average looking face to a more handsome degree than if he was a slouched man.
Samuel wears the sort of clean shaven, square-jawed face only a man with a few secrets would hold. However, despite only having a few secrets, it's obvious that they are important ones, and he is not about to let himself slide from the railing for being such a goody two shoes. If anything, he'd rather keep his sins to a bare minimum and most importantly, to himself. His small hazel eyes tell a lot about him, like he minds who he watches, and he makes sure not to contemplate on any one person for too long lest their own actions will start to tarnish his soul. It's that sort of astuteness that keeps him looking keen, because all the fellows know him as a practical man with enough money to live far better than he does. Hell, he wears a tailored suit that even though it could be bursting at the seams, he wouldn't be too prideful to not be buried in it. God forbid something happened to him, let alone his suit, with the wear he wears those two boots of his.
P e r s o n a l i t y :
If honesty was based on how a man crossed his diagonals over his zeros, Samuel would be considered a man who never told a lie, but typography is not always accurate. This is true of Samuel's first appearance. He has a studious tender look with a rough side that's worn on the age of his attire and occupation. The combination leaves him with the indistinguishable look of being average. He's usually seen with some sort of positive attribute on his face. He is not one to let his comrades down, but that's probably why he is not always the most honest fellow. He has a dark side that he hides, and sometimes the darkness is the inevitable truth. It takes a charlatan to keep such a persona afloat, and since Samuel isn't the most charismatic man, it's probably safe to assume a lot of his frustration is taken out during his line of work since he's rarely seen getting too easy going at the pubs.
It also takes a strong man to keep the dark truths from seeing the light of day. Samuel may only be an inch over six feet, but his keen persona takes his burly stance to a status that keeps him from having to roll with too many punches, since its rare to ever have any thrown at him. It helps he doesn't frequent the places where the brawls happen. However, he's never been called a flamboyant man for skipping these places. (At least, to his face.)
There are other negative parts about him that genuinely have a raise for concern such as some suspicious relationship with former Russian resident Mikhail Nuchovich's wife. Of course, after all the tragedy surrounding the incident, there were too many things with a ability to be spoken against the truth. Granted, this did cause for some darkness to lay a resting head on the broad shoulders of the Western man. He may not have been perfect, but by golly, he sure ain't all that toxic either. Therefore, with all his good intentions, he always plans to use them to the best of his abilities whether he fails sometimes or not... Just wait until you see how he rides his horse and sling his gun; and you'll be darn tootin' sure to believe there's a heart of gold in him.
B i o g r a p h y :
Big Game Hunting is known as a cruel sport, but with Samuel James Foster, the son of James Raymond Foster Jr., Hunting's a right of passage into manhood. Every year, his father would travel up to Northern States and hunt the Northern Game. The ones in California gave him wealth, but exotic ventures were never without their royalty. One year, Samuel had the honors. It was one of those moments that defined him as a person. One part of him died, while the other part of him flourished. He remembers wanting to cry at the way they were cruelly slaughtered, while the other part of him wanted to honor his father, the man his family missed every year when he left for Ashfork, only to come home with enough fur to make all of his absence a dream. There wasn't any way Samuel was turning around. He'd run from other things, like monsters in the Californian woods or his older sister's friend that never seemed to give him the right sort of mind like her other friends did. (Probably, because he was older and always had a scowl on his face.) Samuel choked back his childish fears, and he shot his first antelope. It was the worst and messiest job he ever did, at least with killing animals.
Around 1843 or 1844 (when the Mexican-American Civil War was just beginning to awaken), Samuel began friending some of the Russian fur traders during Hunting Season in the none other than Ashfork. These hunters and traders had some other thing about them that drove his curiosity. He supposed it was their way of life or he something, but more importantly, one of the guys Mikhail Nuchovich was good friends with some pretty Russian gal named Ester. She had not just a timeless look to her, but she was fluent in not just Russian and English but Greek, Arabic, and Latin, as well. He thought she was really pretty and quite a fine young gal if he ever knew how to properly recognize one, and right when he thought about getting serious with her, she disappeared with some mysterious Russian man named Ivan Kiglay, without a word. She left some cryptic note behind, but it made little sense and spoke more to his friend Mikhail, who at once took up his most of his personal belongings and left to Russia, leaving behind his wife, Olga and two children Sasha and Kisa in Samuel's care.
Mikhail's wife birthed Mikhail's third child Andrei during the man's absence. Of course, there was stipulation that the child was even his. Letters from Mikhail promised his return and his absolute loyalty to Samuel's word, despite rumors trying to spread against his wife. He wrote that he had been caught in business that would not allow him to return for some time. However, in 1849, almost exactly a year into the promising Gold Rush, Mikhail made his way back to the States for Russian Nativity. The man looked as if he had seen a ghost or been through some turbulent times. Although, when questioned, Mikhail explained the wonders of innovation that Rus was undergoing.
The Nuchovich family's life went back to normal upon Mikhail's return, despite Mikhail seeming strangely unstable mentally. He denied anything was wrong, and many of the folks thought it was the rumors revolving around the third child Andrei. Despite all, it was Samuel that Mikhail was found to trust the most with his intimate information, and Samuel made sure to make the best of what was left of their estranged relationship. However, it was the sudden death of Andrei that caused the biggest storm. The cause of the death was strange, and no one had any clear answers. It was assumed the boy wandered out and was murdered by whomever was murdering all the townsfolk. After the incident, Olga completely lost her use for the States and demanded that they go back to Russia. She claimed that if they had moved to the States for a more profitable life, they had now less than when they had arrived. Mikhail seemed more paranoid over the incident than at a tragic loss, but he agreed with his wife — the wild west was too wild.
Mikhail promised Samuel that he would keep in touch, and with that, Samuel was left to himself, again. To make matters a bit more devastating, Mikhail never wrote back, but Samuel decided he didn't really mind too much that he never heard from them. It was better to keep that door closed as he saw the prospects of other possible relations flourish and diminish with the mass migration and mass murders. He was beginning to suspect the Russians were behind this and not the Indians, but then again, what did he know? At age twenty-seven, he's just the goody two shoes Samuel J. Foster, single and free with no care in the world now that his only son had been stabbed dead in the middle of the night, right?
T L ; D R :
S a m u e l J a m e s F o s t e r
27 ▪ Male ▪ Blonde ▪ Hazel Eyes ▪ 6'1"
Hunter	▪ Positive ▪	Tepid	▪	Serious ▪	Modest
Ride 'em hard, Sammy.
Gwynbleidd,
MissCapnCrunch
Thanks for entering the contest early Briza!
Just a reminder that you must submit your entry before the 19th, around 7-9 PM GMT. It could be later if I get home late from work... but don't count on it!
1x Thank
You are very, very welcome, @BrokenPromise. I look forward to the other entries.
Hidden 5 mos ago → 5 mos ago Post by Calle
Calle Rainbow Writer
Rainbow Writer
Here is my character!
William McDougal [+]
William McDougal
Bartender/owner of the saloon
William has a somewhat round face with black hair and a black beard which he keeps short. His body shows the evidence of a life of abundance. With a wife who can cook well, a love for strong alcohol, and a low physical activity, chubby is the word of choice.
He usually wears a light-brown waistcoat over a white shirt, with a silver watch in one of the pockets, secured to the waistcoat with a silver chain. His pants match the vest and his boots are of a fine quality leather. His eyesight has gotten worse over the years, so when he needs to read or write he wears spectacles.
Sociable is one of the first things people would call him. William enjoys tending the bar at the saloon, listening to the patrons, talking to them, and laughing with them. He is generally a good-natured, calm and patient man, but every man has his limits and he keeps a revolver on his belt and a shotgun under the bar for when those limits are reached. And anyone laying a finger on his wife or daughter will soon learn his broad figure doesn't contain just fat, he is capable to fight and will do so when his loved-ones are in danger. In a saloon with drunk men, and an increased amount of outsiders with different backgrounds, it regularly happens he must break up fights or throw people out.
Speaking of the different backgrounds, William will serve all customers, regardless of the colour of their skin or the shape of their head. As long as they can pay for their drinks, they are welcome in his saloon. His grandfather would certainly not agree with that attitude, but William prefers profit over xenophobia. As he likes to say "Money is money, it doesn't matter what hand it comes from."
Being good-natured and easy to talk to, the patrons often confide into him and he will keep whatever they tell him to himself. Breaking their trust is bad for business after all, although he is less worried about that with outsiders. Any information the miners share with him is available for other miners, for a price.
He accepts bribes when offered, depending on what they are for. If they don't go against his own morals, he has no issue taking them.
When it comes to card games, they happen frequently in the saloon. When people get drunk and things get heated, he will intervene before they start breaking things. And while he can generally tell who cheats at cards, he usually only intervenes when he knows a victim really can't afford to lose, or when the cheater is an outsider and the victim is a local. Maybe he doesn't care what colour the hand carrying money has, but he does care more for the people of Ashfork than he does for the outsiders who are only interested in the riches of the volcano.
He enjoys playing poker himself, with a group of trusted friends, but they never play for money.
The McDougals have lived in Ashfork for several generations. Williams father, Duncan Sr., owned the saloon before him, and before that the saloon belonged to his grandfather, who had bought the saloon from the old owner.
As a child William often went out with his older and younger brother, Duncan Jr. and Angus, playing in the area and riding on horseback to explore the surroundings, while his sister Mary stayed at home. When his brothers were old enough and had earned enough money, they left for the big city. William hasn't heard from them since, he stayed at Ashfork, working at the saloon of his family.
While Mary never went to play with him and their brothers, he has a good bond with her. They trust each other and will turn to each other when they need help.
During his childhood he made many friends, but only a few good friends and those were still his friends when they reached adulthood. To this day he and his friends get together twice a week after the saloon closes for a friendly game of poker.
Thus far William hasn't made any enemies.
William fell in love with the Sarah, daughter of the blacksmith and a year later married they got married. Two of their four children survived their first three years of life. Their oldest child, a daughter, is called Lily-Ann, combining the two names of their mothers, their son got named Robert after Williams grandfather.
After his marriage his father retired and left him the saloon. He died a year later. His mother died a few years after that, but was able to help Sarah through her first pregnancy.
His children are old enough to help in the inn, his daughter Lily-Ann helps her mother with cooking, cleaning, and playing the piano, while his son Robert assists at the bar. Both know how to use a revolver and a knife and carry those with them.
William is already preparing his son to take over the place and Robert is eager to learn all the tricks of running a successful saloon.
Gwynbleidd
Yay, another entry!
Final reminder, anyone else who wants to enter has (less than) 24 hours to do so. You must submit your entry before the 19th, around 7-9 PM GMT. Only way it's getting extended is if I get home from work late.
Hidden 5 mos ago → 5 mos ago Post by Gwynbleidd
Gwynbleidd Summon The Bitches
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Summon The Bitches
Seen 1 mo ago
Kathryn E. Gamble [+]
Kathryn Elizabeth Gamble
Saloon Girl
A smokey eyed temptress. Her raven hair is as dark as her heart, and sweet promises glitter behind an emerald gaze that burns with seduction. Such promises will forever be unkept. Men look upon her body as a curvaceous temple of desire, inspiring their lust with the most effortless of motion. She may be slight of stature, but adeptly hidden is size of mind, hidden behind fair skin and the distraction of long legs. There can be no doubt that she too has the voice of an angel, moving hardened men to tears during dark and lonely nights... but, a cautious man is wise. The Devil often hides behind spellbinding beauty.
Elusive as the wind drifting through a clenched fist. Kathryn's mind is her own, and always her own. No man, or woman, shall ever enter past the gates of her spirit to understand the truths she keeps strictly locked. The door is closed, but mystery is welcomed.
Despite her distance, the lady of loose morals does not shy from conversation. On the contrary, conversation is her home, her kingdom, and her safe haven. It is land she owns without deed or title, territory that Kathryn knows like the hills and rivers of her Georgia homeland. The intimate secrets of desire, want, and dreams; she knows them. She knows their shape, and their form. Like a practiced musician, she plucks the chords at will. Sometimes kindly. Sometimes with malice. But, most often she does so in order to get what she wants.
Intimate with the tongue, and a stranger of the heart. A man never knows Kathryn, not truly.
There was not a man who did not desire her, and there was not a woman who did not wish to be her.
Kathryn Gamble was the youngest daughter born into the Gamble family, and she was also the favorite. The reasons why were self-evident. She was beautiful beyond compare, as graceful as God intended women to be, and blessed with conversational skill that made her the delight of high society. In every manner, Kathryn was the true image of a Southern Belle. It was her destiny to live a good, long, and happy life.
Destiny, however, is not always agreeable.
When the Northern Aggressors burned their way south during the last years of the war, Kathryn's Georgian home was among the many that turned to ash. Her parents were killed, and she became separated from her sisters. Whatever wealth and status that she once had was as much rubble as her lavish estate. Death and loss was not all that scarred the young woman. The absence of her wealth, and her wealth alone would have been a kindness...
A soldier's touch is not remembered fondly.
In desperate straits, a woman of pleasant looks turns to the darker side of living. It was not so bad, or so she would say. Just men. Men she could predict. Men she could handle, and use. Sometimes, Kathryn felt as though life in a saloon was akin to life at an extravagant party. This time, though, there was less class and proper attire. It was what it was, and what it was was money for her purse.
When she acquired enough, Kathryn turned west with an eye on the promise of gold. She took residence in Ashfork, and went back to her Saloon ways. There were men of interest there, and men of means. Perhaps, with their help, the Gamble name would mean something again.
But first, Kathryn needed them in order to stay alive.
CS is kind of a mess since I'm doing this last minute in a rush, but here u are. hopefully im not too late lol
Theodora Shockley [+]
THEODORA SHOCKLEY
"Many a gentleman had likened his first meeting with her to downing a very strong cognac when one was expecting to imbibe fruit juice—that is to say, startling and apt to leave one with a distinct burning sensation." -Gail Carriger
Theodora Shockley, neé Lorrazzo. Close friends, and close friends only, may call her Teddy.
A G E
O C C U P A T I O N
Well, technically, Teddy is unemployed, but anyone who has ever interacted with her knows that she's not the kind to just sit back and let her husband take care of everything. She's his partner in business, if anything (though "partner" might be too, er, friendly of a word), and is definitely not afraid to make her opinion heard on how dear Frankie ought to be spending her family's money.
A P P E A R A N C E
Picture [+]
Teddy is certainly not considered pretty, back at home in London-first of all, her father was Italian, meaning that she has a rather....swarthy complexion (honestly, though. Italian, of all things? Even French would have been better!). She is also taller than what is considered proper for a woman, at around five feet and nine inches, which is also something she suspects that she inherited from her godforsaken father-her mother is quite petite.
In fact, Teddy is fairly certain that all her physical characteristics were from her Italian father. She has an unruly mane of dark, curly hair that falls halfway down her back (which is usually arranged in whatever hairstyle is currently in fashion; typically the latest updo out of Paris. Updos, she finds, are quite convenient when one's hair has a tendency to get in one's eyes), expressive eyebrows, and a nose that is slightly too large for her face, which happens to be rather square-ish. Her features are more "strong" than "delicate", an effect that is certainly not aided by her olive-colored complexion. None of her three step-brothers have this problem, of course; all of them look like her mother, meaning that they are blonde and blue-eyed with milky complexions.
Well, whatever. Teddy doesn't dwell on what she can't change. She does believe in following all the current fashions, of course, as any proper Englishwoman should, even if she follows the current fashions a tad too closely (she's by no means a creative person, after all). Teddy favors darker colors and more sensible ensembles, and she has a somewhat peculiar love for parasols-they're quite useful for whacking people upside the head with, is her defense. She carries herself with an air of brisk authority, as if she were a self-righteous matron twice her actual age, and has the unfortunate habit of brandishing her parasol about as if it were a sword or some kind of weapon that actually had any effect on people other than her silly, foppish step-brothers.
P E R S O N A L I T Y
Teddy is practical and pragmatic and gets things done. She values efficiency and a good work ethic, and she is not afraid to speak up in order to get her point across. Teddy is a veritable battle-axe of a woman-she will get what she wants, even if she has to constantly harangue an unfortunate soul to do so. Teddy never takes no for an answer; she is the indomitable Theodora Shockley, and she will do what she came here to do, albeit in the most polite way possible.
Ever the realist, Teddy has no patience for people with dreamy delusions of what life actually is. Still, though, she wouldn't say she believes that people are inherently evil, and she does, after all, have morals. She is a stickler for proper manners and etiquette, and will be very offended should somebody behave in an impolite way towards her...and really, Teddy tries her best to be as polite as possible, but sometimes it just doesn't work, you know?
Blunt and straightforward, Teddy says what she wants, when she wants to. Of course, the wording may be perfectly proper for a high society tea party, but the underlying meaning would be perfectly clear. She doesn't have time to deal with anybody's nonsense, and she has the unfortunate habit of interfering in everyone's business; she's quite the meddler. Teddy considers herself to be a rather logical and rational person; she has not one bit of creativity in her, which has never bothered her in the slightest. Instead, she tries to look at things objectively and analyze all the possible courses of action. Teddy can be surprisingly perceptive, despite her lack of subtlety, and quite observant-she'll always notice when somebody is wearing last season's fashions, for example.
Teddy is about as covert as a sledgehammer. She has no regard for one's "finer feelings" and "sensitivities"-she says what she means, head-on, without any subtlety whatsoever. She always insists on being perfectly civil, though, even if her civility is tinged with a bit of good old-fashioned sarcasm. She has a breezy, brusque way of going about her business, and she can and will order other people around with the expectation that they'll do as she says. Teddy is very grounded, and very matter-of-fact, and she hates feeling like things are out of her control.
Lastly, Teddy is very, very prosaic. Unimaginative, uninspired, whatever you want to call it-the fact of the matter is, Teddy has no creative skill whatsoever. She likes to dance, yes, but that doesn't mean she is going to be creating variations on the waltz anytime soon. She can't sing, can't paint, can't play a musical instrument...and if she's writing anything, it will be just as blunt and matter-of-fact as she is. Teddy can't stand flowery metaphors and embellished allusions to ancient Greek classics; she would rather jump off a cliff than read some of the romance novels that are currently popular.
B I O G R A P H Y
Theodora's father, a certain Rodrigo Lorrazzo, was, quite unfortunately, of Italian descent...an affliction that could not be cured, to be sure, though he did die. Teddy never met him; something about a carriage accident during the first months of her mother's pregnancy. Ah, well. Life goes on.
Her mother, now called Cecilia Lintwyll, was a proper young lady, in the most typical sense of the word, and she had the blonde hair and blue eyes and delicate features to pull it off. However, Teddy certainly did not take after her mother in neither appearance nor demeanor, much to Cecilia's chagrin. Teddy thinks her mother is a twit-why does that woman insist on complaining to her about her nose, and her complexion, and her general....Italian-ness? It wasn't Teddy who decided to marry an Italian and have a daughter, for goodness' sake.
It wasn't long after Teddy was born that her mother re-married. It was not proper for a woman as young and pretty as Cecilia was to be already a widow, especially not during the London season, when she could have been mistaken for any one of the debutantes despite the fact she had already found (and lost) a husband. And so Teddy had a stepfather by the time she was three months old, and she had three stepbrothers (one was only a year and a half younger than her, and the other two were twins. Very irritating twins) by the time she was five.
Of her three stepbrothers, Teddy was the closest to Vincent (or "Vinnie"), who grew to be a bit of a dandy in his own right. Teddy finds the twins silly and foppish, even if the older of the two is more rakish than strictly proper. Teddy likes Vinnie, and she tolerates the twins. It could be worse.
As a child, Teddy was a voracious reader, and she took an interest into altogether unladylike topics such as science-imagine her mother's horror when she found her daughter reading such forbidden topics as geology! Teddy wasn't quite sure why Cecilia almost fainted at the sight of her studying a book on rocks; what were the rocks going to do, jump out of the pages and kidnap her?
Of course, when she was of the age to debut, Teddy's forceful personality immediately repelled any potential suitors...not that she particularly minded. A couple years passed, and Teddy became a spinster in her own right once she reached the wizened age of twenty-five. Contrary to her mother, Teddy found that she rather liked being unmarried. She was free to take tea wherever she pleased, with whoever she pleased, and heavens' forbid that she have children. Teddy was certainly not the mothering type, as any one of her acquaintances could tell you.
Throughout the years, Teddy's meddling nature earned her both friends and enemies. She likes to think that she's quite friendly with some of the dandies Vinnie knows, in all their high-heeled, frock-coated glory; and indeed, her brother's friends do love to give her invaluable advice on the newest fashions out of Paris. Teddy's mother thinks she's a little too friendly with them, of course, but Teddy has always waved aside her concerns aside.
"Mother," she once told Mrs. Lintwyll, gravely, "if you are worried that one of dear Vinnie's friends may try to make impolite advances on my virtue, you needn't worry. I should believe that they are too preoccupied with making impolite advances on each other to have any interest in me."
That had sent poor Cecilia Lintwyll into a fit of hysterics, giving Teddy ample time to escape her mother's dainty, well-manicured clutches.
Teddy finally got married when she was twenty-seven. Her stepfather had seemed quite proud of himself for arranging the match, and Mrs. Lintwyll was ecstatic...though perhaps a tad less so when she found out that Teddy's husband-to-be was a scrawny, balding seventy-year-old man (from America, of all places. America!).
Teddy, for her part, was nonplussed. The wedding was a fine affair, in Teddy's opinion-the food was quite divine-and Vinnie had found her the most beautiful Worth gown to wear at the altar. As for her husband? Well, Frank Shockley was a perfect twit, but Teddy didn't mind. He'd married her for her money (her Italian father had been quite wealthy, if a bit eccentric, and, well...Italian), that much was clear, but he was also a small, sniveling man who seemed to perpetually have a cold. He was so pathetic that Teddy almost felt sorry for him.
Teddy soon learned that dear Frankie's dream was to become a real estate tycoon back in America. Teddy wasn't sure why he was trying to accomplish such a goal at seventy years old, but she was perfectly fine with having the opportunity to explore America, even if it meant leaving her beloved tea houses all the way back in London. Teddy didn't know that much about America, besides the fact that they liked to fight other people-how perfectly gauche; why fight somebody when you could simply shame them into doing something?-but what put Teddy off the most about Americans was their utter lack of quality tea. Teddy didn't know how she would survive without her tea.
In any case, her dear husband has decided that Ashfork would be the location of his new luxury hotel (built using Teddy's money, naturally), and so Teddy has accompanied him to the tiny frontier town. It is not particularly to her liking; besides the fact that they have no tea, Americans are also quite impolite, and their accents are atrocious-but Teddy has agreed to stay in the States for the remainder of the year, so she doesn't really have a choice. The only thing she can do is hope and pray that her dearest husband succumbs to the cold that constantly plagues him-the sooner the better.
@ayzrules We're not using pictures, so that will be removed before it is posted in the contest. But you did make it in time, haha!
And that's it folks! The voting thread will go up very soon. Thank you to everyone who participated!


Turquoise Oval Ring by Tom Wood at Couverture & the Garbstore.
A modern approach to classic jewellery inspired by Scandinavian minimalism and functionalism. Tom Wood handcrafts high-quality unisex collections made from solid silver combined with natural stones. The Turquoise Ring is a fresh take on the classic signet style featuring an oval stone set in a sterling silver ring.
- Colour of stone may vary.


All Saturday morning CLE's are from 9:00 am - 12:15 pm. Registration begins at 8:30am.
Many myths abound regarding Medicaid and Veterans benefits eligibility. This CLE will detail the complex eligibility criteria for Medicaid for elderly clients, both in and out of nursing homes. The CLE will detail strategies commonly used by elder law attorneys to protect assets legally. The CLE will also detail the Veterans Benefits available to elders facing chronic care, and their intersection with the Medicaid system. Even if you are not an elder law attorney, knowing what pitfalls to avoid in advising an increasingly aging population will give the attorney valuable information.
The program will further delve into the subject of elder care with the issue of elder abuse. The CLE will explain what constitutes elder abuse, neglect (including self-neglect) and financial exploitation, how to recognize the "red flags" of elder abuse, the duty to report, and what measures Adult Protective Services can take under APS law and/or guardianship law, to reduce the risk to vulnerable older adults.
As our families and clients age and begin to face nursing home stays and chronic disease management, knowing the way the long term care system works is critical. When a loved one or client goes into a nursing home, they do not always understand their rights under federal and state law within that system.
Speakers: Rachel A. Kabb-Effron, Esq. and Kelli Kay Perk, Esq.


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7 June 2019 | 3 min read
No Magic Bullets: Reclaiming the Transformatory Potential of e-Commerce for Women's Empowerment
The hyper-liberalization of digital trade can be more grievous and devastating for women in the Global South than in any other previous round of trade globalization. Developing countries need to come together to hold firmly to the 'right to regulate' digital trade, rejecting the dominant policy rhetoric on gender and e-commerce.
By Nandini Chami
With the announcement of the Joint Declaration on Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment at the WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017, the issue of seizing the digital opportunity for women's entrepreneurial freedom gained traction in global trade policy circles. Under the aegis of this non-binding framework for promotion of gender-responsive trade policies (signed on to by over 120 governments), a series of seminars/workshops have been organized at the WTO. These aim to facilitate exchange of learnings/insights on effective integration of women entrepreneurs in digitalising global value chains. Further, key global institutions such as the UNCTAD, WTO, and the International Trade Centre have all launched their own independent efforts for promoting women's access to the digital marketplace.
A common thread uniting these disparate initiatives is the underlying assumption – articulated by Jack Ma at the WTO Public Forum 2018 – that that inclusive digital trade is about leveraging the digital opportunity for small businesses, women, young people, especially those in developing countries, and making trade rules easier and simpler. But is this overarching euphoria about the ideal of a liberalized, global digital marketplace justified? Evidence increasingly points us to the opposite conclusion.
Powerful e-commerce platform companies that provide the essential infrastructure for buyer-seller interactions in the digital age are continually mining data and digital intelligence about their members to game every facet of market exchange – from product search results to demand-supply matching and price determination. A market where the terms of participation are unilaterally set by the platform owner is proving inimical to the interests of small business.
Dominant platform companies charge steep membership fees/commission rates of nearly 40% and use deep discounting practices to expand their user base. Small size enterprises in developing countries, with low output levels and limited capacity to bear inventory and customer service overheads – usually, women-run – cannot survive on these terms.
In a 2018 public consultation on the impact of e-commerce platforms in India, a woman trader observed how big e-commerce can easily wipe out small businesses: "Amazon is like the Guppy fish in the pond. It will bide its time and swallow up everything until no one else is left. While we hope to have made a small margin at the end of each day, the platform cares only about turnover. Doesn't matter if it is running on losses."
Exiting and striking out on one's own to establish an independent online presence is not a viable option. As research in the tourism sector in Indonesia (forthcoming) has found, small, women-run, home-stays are often faced with a Hobson's choice: to stay independent and be resigned to low volumes of business or enlist on TripAdvisor and bear the brunt of their unfair terms.
Amazon is like the Guppy fish in the pond. It will bide its time and swallow up everything until no one else is left. While we hope to have made a small margin at the end of each day, the platform cares only about turnover. Doesn't matter if it is running on losses.
Platform models are also taking over the agriculture and food retail sector, displacing traditional value chains and orchestrating a new market environment. From agro-inputs, to credit and logistics, markets are centrally controlled.. There are serious concerns here about how livelihoods and economic well-being of the majority of women in the global South are bound to be affected in the longer term.
The promise of e-commerce for women's empowerment can be claimed only if countries take on a catalytic role in the digital marketplace. Firstly, competition law frameworks must be overhauled to prevent monopolies. Regulators also need to consider measures to tackle unfair use of algorithms by platform companies, for instance prioritizing their own products over other vendors.
Governments in the developing world must not sign away in trade deals their right to determine the extent to and conditions under which their domestic markets will be opened up to transnational platform companies. It should be possible, for governments, to impose a local sourcing quota for women's producer organizations as a licensing conditionality for operating in specific domestic markets.
And finally, governments need to think of platform marketplaces provisioned as public goods to support small entrepreneurs – women producers/ micro-entrepreneurs/ artisans/ service providers and so on. Such interventions can create new digital infrastructure where techno-design principles operate on positive discrimination.
Ironically, Jack Ma's 'easy and simple' digital trade paradigm, touted as the harbinger of gender inclusivity, completely displaces this very policy space that can establish a truly empowering e-commerce agenda for women.
Blocking the policy autonomy of developing countries to institute necessary measures for equity and inclusion in the name of trade-distorting protectionism, rich countries in the WTO seek to stall many critical provisions. These include mandatory disclosure/sharing of source code and algorithms for public scrutiny; market access conditionalities on transnational e-commerce platforms; and the introduction of data localization measures.
This hyper-liberalization of digital trade, and its hard-coding into binding rules through multilateral/ plurilateral processes can be more grievous and devastating for women in the global south than in any other previous round of trade globalization. Developing countries need to urgently find a way to come together to hold firmly to the 'right to regulate' digital trade, rejecting the dominant policy rhetoric on gender and e-commerce.
#digital divide
#fair trade
#gender divide
Nandini Chami
Nandini is the deputy director at IT for Change. Her work largely focuses on research and policy advocacy in the domains of digital rights and development, and the political economy of women's rights in the information society. She is part of the organisation's advocacy efforts around the 2030 development agenda on issues of 'data for development' and digital technologies and gender justice.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The city of Lithonia is one of the smallest cities in Georgia, with only a total land area of 0.8 square miles. Lithonia is a small suburban city with a population of only 2,187. It has major quarrying industries and mining industries, as most of its topography consists of rock and granite. As for its education system, there are a limited number of Schools in Lithonia which provide sufficient educational programs to its students. However, there are a number of good vocational training programs and Degree Programs in Lithonia that are relevant to the field of medicine, science, business, and architecture. All private and public schools are run under the supervision of the education board of Georgia.


The Office Manager will work with the Director, Texas office staff, and D.C. finance staff to develop and implement office management strategy for the Texas office. The Office Manager will be responsible for daily office management, maintaining common space, and providing administrative support to other staff members.
Assist staff with materials and other needs for participation in events.
Prepare and code check requests for the Texas office and track contractor payments.
Work with staff during legislative sessions to track status of legislation of concern to the Texas office.
Ensure common areas are maintained professionally.
Represent Public Citizen to the public, and vendors.
Provide support to the Communications Specialist on social media postings.
Education: High school diploma. College coursework or degree not required but will be considered.
Knowledge: Office management, budgeting and accounting, social media. Knowledge of the issues we work on (energy, the environment, ethics) is beneficial but not required.
Work Experience: At least two years' experience in office management. Nonprofit experience beneficial but not required.
Skills: Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines. Written and oral communication skills, including editing skills. Nonprofit budgeting and grant reporting. Fluency with software including Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher), Google (Docs and Sheets), and social media (particularly Facebook and Twitter). Familiarity with general office equipment (including commercial copiers).
Capabilities: Self-motivated, works well with a wide range of people in a fast-paced environment, works independently or as part of a coalition, manages multiple projects and work under pressure, adapts to changing situations on a daily basis; desire to learn about and advance progressive causes. Occasional travel in Texas is expected.
Competitive non-profit salary commensurate with experience and great benefit package.
Send a letter of interest and a resume to Adrian Shelley, ashelley@citizen.org.
Public Citizen is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, LGBT candidates are encouraged to apply.
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1971 to represent the public interest in Congress, the executive branch and the courts. We fight for openness and democratic accountability in government; for social and economic justice in globalization and trade policies; for clean, safe and sustainable energy; for strong health, safety and environmental protections; for safe, effective and affordable medicines and health care and for the right of consumers to seek redress in the courts. We have six divisions based in our Washington, D.C. offices and an office in Texas.
The mission of Public Citizen's Texas office is to empower citizens to be effective advocates for the environment and against corporate and governmental irresponsibility. Since 1984, the Texas state office has worked to combat global climate change, promote the use of clean renewable energy, reduce the use of coal, and get environmental policies enforced to reduce air and water pollution. We work with numerous partner groups, including other national nonprofits and local organizations. Public Citizen has achieved important victories in Texas on energy efficiency, renewable energy and air quality issues over the past 31 years. Among recent victories, we were involved in legislation that led to Texas' wind boom; we helped draft energy efficiency legislation that led to Texas being the first in the nation to have an efficiency portfolio standard; we helped pass Texas building energy codes in 2001 and we have developed programs to reduce toxic and diesel emissions.


Philip Sportel attended the Ontario College of Art and Design and began directing music videos in his final year of university. Since then he's been nationally recognized for his work, being nominated for both a Juno and an MMVA for directing and taking home the Prism Prize, Canada's national prize for music video direction. He continues to direct, with a new focus on branded content and narrative.


The practice has been awarded, shortlisted and recognised by a variety of respected institutions for excellence.
We are patons of CRASH Charity, a unique, practical charity that assists homeless and hospice charities with construction related projects. We are assisting them with various projects.


Our third child was born at home. We had originally planned to give birth at the Maternity Center in Bethesda, MD; when we learned the due date was in January, (and given how unpredictable Maryland weather can be in the winter!), my husband and I decided to have a homebirth. Good choice!
I had 16 days of on-again, off-again labor -- nothing difficult, just enough that each day I thought, "This is it!" -- and then it would stop again. It was very frustrating. The night our daughter was born, we had been out getting haircuts for the entire family. It had been a terrible day, weather-wise -- rain, then snow, then sleet on top of that. We put the other kids to bed, and went to bed ourselves, just thankful to be in the house and out of that horrible weather. I awoke around 1:00 a.m. with contractions again; my immediate thought was that I was going to lose yet another night of sleep from these "non-productive" contractions. I sat in bed, watched the clock for an hour, and wondered if I would ever sleep through the night again! My husband woke up around 2:00 a.m., asked if I was OK, and when I told him I was having contractions, his reply was, "Again?"-- and then he fell back asleep! Around 3:00, he woke up again, started timing contractions for me, and we just sat in bed and talked. At 4:00, he decided that since he was up anyway, he might as well go get a shower, since his neck was still itchy from the haircut. As soon as he got in the shower and couldn't hear me, my contractions all of a sudden sped up from 12 minutes apart, to about 2 1/2 minutes apart. When he got out of the shower, I was calling for him to call the midwife, call the birth assistant, call our friends to come take care of the kids, call EVERYBODY!
He quickly called the midwife and reached the answering service. While we waited for the return call, we were busily trying to get the waterproof sheet on the bed. The midwife called back about 15-20 minutes later, and she and my husband were calmly chatted on the phone, trying to decide where I was at in labor! Meanwhile, I was saying, "Tell her to get off the phone and get over here!", but nobody was taking me too seriously! While they were talking, I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom, and so headed off by myself. While sitting on the toilet, I passed a huge amount of mucous and bloody show with the first contraction, with the second contraction my water broke (right there in the toilet -- very convenient!), and then I stood up to come back into the bedroom. With the next contraction, I grabbed the edge of the sink and the window ledge, leaned over, and the baby's head started emerging, just that quickly! My husband dropped the phone, ran into the bathroom, somehow managed to help me down onto the floor, and caught the baby right there on the bathroom floor! She was all wrapped up in the cord -- around her neck, over and around her arm and armpit, and then around her leg -- but the cord was VERY long and loose, and there were no problems. She started crying almost immediately, and it was unbelievable to watch her whole body take on that pink color as she began breathing on her own.
At some point, my husband helped me get into bed. The birth assistant, Gail, arrived first (nearly 45 minutes after the birth, due to the horrible road conditions). She "caught" the placenta, and just kept an eye on things until the midwife arrived. The midwife arrived shortly thereafter to do the newborn baby assessment, after-birth checks on everyone, and do a few minor repairs.
I'm SO glad we decided to have her at home; if we hadn't, she probably would've been born in the car in that awful weather! It was an awesome experience, definitely not as we planned it, but incredibly exciting! Many year later, catching that baby is still one of my husband's fondest memories!


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Can the Pentagon connect with the Internet of Things?
By Sean Lyngaas
If the Defense Department is to take full advantage of the Internet of Things, experts say an as yet elusive common language for the countless and far-flung devices on defense networks must emerge.
The Internet of Things -- a catchall term for the increasing connectivity of a vast array of devices, from cars to thermostats -- is a phenomenon that government officials and business executives are trying to tap for strategic advantage and profit. According to Juniper Research, the number of such devices will more than double from 13.4 billion in 2015 to 38.5 billion in 2020.
The automation inherent in such connected devices is integral to DOD's "third offset strategy," an expansive undertaking by defense officials to shore up what they see as their dwindling technological edge over adversaries.
"When you are operating against a cyberattack or an electronic warfare attack...or missiles that are coming screaming in at you at Mach 6, you're going to have to have a learning machine that helps you solve that problem right away," Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said Nov. 7 while explaining the strategy.
But taking advantage of machine learning will require an organizational shift in the military, said retired Gen. James Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The next necessary stage for the Pentagon in command-and-control networking will be moving from thinking about "how many men it takes to run a machine to how many machines a man can control," Cartwright said Nov. 10 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
There's an understanding at the Pentagon that "it's time to move the department to [a] mature stage of partnering with these machines," Cartwright said. The only way to do that is through "a common language that allows us to partner with all of these self-aware, self-learning entities out there."
What a common protocol for military-owned devices would look like and whether it should be organized along domain or mission lines have yet to be determined, Cartwright said.
A recent CSIS report advises U.S. officials to develop standards and protocols that would allow swifter integration of new technologies at DOD.
"One of the key weaknesses of legacy DOD systems is their lack of interoperability," the report states. "This significantly limits the ability to integrate new platforms into DOD's digital ecosystem and to leverage existing systems in innovative ways."
In a panel discussion following Cartwright's remarks, Curtis Dukes, director of the National Security Agency's Information Assurance Directorate, made a related point about the lack of standards governing the Internet of Things.
There is a dearth of standards dealing with how information from deployed devices is collected, shared and acted on, Dukes said, adding that NSA is evaluating potential solutions. If a standard "shows promise, then we would work with [the National Institute of Standards and Technology] to actually push that as a...national standard but then also get it into an international standards organization."
Connected devices pose a significant challenge to NIST, the government's IT standards-setting organization. Ron Ross, a fellow in NIST's Computer Security Division, has said that the IOT leaves public and private computer systems essentially indefensible.
Federal officials can implement as many security controls as they want and hackers will still "have a slice of that pie that will always be accessible because there are things that are off our radar due to their complexity," Ross said in April.
Sean Lyngaas is a former FCW staff writer.


This is a 3D action-adventure video game demo. In each level the main character, Nyangi, has to find some rare African artifacts from extinct African tribes. Each artifact has a mysterious story behind it.
Couldn't get this to load at all.


Holding her niece, Jenni Carr ('17) takes a break from coloring with the toddlers. The AP Psych students spent all of seminar on Thursday, March 2nd, playing with kids and testing various theories. My niece is pretty small, so she didn't know how to do most of the things they wanted her too, but I think the older they got it went a bit better," Carr said.


In March 1942 General Douglas MacArthur departed Corregidor, a tiny fortified island in Manila Bay, the Philippines for Australia. He left behind disheartened troops saddened at his departure. However, upon arrival in Australia General MacArthur made his famous promise "I shall return." MacArthur kept his promise and returned victoriously in October 1944. Roughly 2000 years ago another group of disheartened men gathered around their departing general. Before leaving He also promised He would return victoriously. We often think of the return of Christ from our point of view. This sermon examines Christ's return from His point of view!


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Google redesigns Adwords for mobile-first
Home / Blog / Google redesigns Adwords for mobile-first
in: News,Tools
One more Google service has officially been Google analytics redesigned, and it's about time. That's right, Google is redesigning their entire Adwords platform.
It's been around eight years since the last redesign, and a lot has changed since then. The mobile market has exploded, for one. Therefore, Adwords needs to reflect that, both in its user interface, and in the data it presents to users.
So Google went and interviewed hundreds of its own customers to see what they wanted out of their product. Adwords is a huge source of income for Google, so they really want to get this right. They're not just, say, taking away the reverse chronological timelines on a widely used service even though their users keep begging them not to (see Twitter and Instagram)…they're smarter than that.
So what's changing? The user interface has traditionally focused entirely on the ad words that people have bought, and provides little context at first glance. The new version is intended to provide an overview of how each campaign is doing at first glance. Then, if you want more details, you'll be able to click through, of course.
The other big change is that the interface will be built with, you guessed it, Material Design. They're doing this with every service, so it's no surprise. And it is good news. Whatever you think of the aesthetics, Material Design does lend itself to better usability, when it is implemented correctly.
This will result in a better experience all around, though users on mobile devices should see the biggest changes—consider the fact that the last iteration of Adwords was developed before we even had the first iPad.
Naturally, few users currently have access to the new version. They intend to keep iterating their new design for the next year, slowly rolling out access to all users, and taking feedback along the way.
And that's why, out of all the companies who know way too much about each of us, Google is by far the most user-friendly.
The Importance of Professional WordPress Maintenance July 18, 2017
Need a Website or a Web service? June 26, 2017
The importance of a quality press release in SEO June 21, 2017


EVOLVE's second WrestleMania weekend offering of 2015 started off strong with the non-title match between EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway and the allegedly departing Uhaa Nation. This was a far better choice for the opening slot than the technical mat exchange between Gulak and Thatcher at EVOLVE 39. It's not that that match was bad, it just wasn't the exciting hook an opener tends to be.
Galloway and Nation spent the early minutes slugging away at one another (because big lads) before leaving the ring. There we got an early highlight as Galloway sidestepped an Uhaa moonsault from the apron and gave him a tilt-a-whirl back onto the ring's edge. Back in the ring Galloway went all Randy Orton and worked over Nation with stomps and a sleeper before 'The One Man Nation' managed to fire back with some clotheslines, rolling German suplexes and a splash from the top rope.
Galloway kicked out of the cover that followed and scored with a power bomb, a German suplex into a turnbuckle and Roderick Strong's sick kick. Uhaa kicked out of all that and the two exchanged a few right hands before Galloway got dropped with a power bomb.
Like the previous evening's Galloway match this one ended with a surprise double arm DDT. Galloway went for it and got it seemingly at random and got the win with it. Clearly this was done to get the move over for Galloway's unification match against Johnny Gargano at Mercury Rising, a match he addressed after his victory. He waffled on a lot but basically his message was that he and Gargano would have a great match at Mercury Rising, which I'm sure they will. He's a passionate, shouty promo is Galloway. That helps when he's repeating the same message two nights in a row.
Match two saw Tommy End, with Chris Hero in his corner, take on Timothy Thatcher. Both men were popular with the crowd but they were easily more into Thatcher. The crowd went wild for him, presumably because he's announced as being from Sacramento, California. We're also assured he's English.
The match was all about Thatcher's mat wrestling being deployed against End's striking. Thatcher's had success early on but End's striking came into play in the match's second half. He smacked Thatcher with a kick to the temple, flooring him until the count of eight. From there a dazed Thatcher was dominated by End's strikes, although End found himself in the frustrating position of being unable to finish Thatcher off. He unleashed his impressive bicycle knee strike but it wasn't enough: Thatcher caught him in a Fujiwara armbar for the tap out victory.
After the match Hero entered the ring and bad mouthed Thatcher. Thatcher ignored him and walked backstage. Hero kicked the bottom rope in frustration then left to allow End to soak up some well-deserved cheers. This was another good showing from End.
Drew Gulak (with five unnamed seconds) versus TJ Perkins followed that. The mat-based 'Legal Eagle' against the nippy flyer could have been a disaster but it wasn't. They went out of their way to keep things fast and avoided sticking with submission holds for too long. TJP's submission abilities helped too, he clearly knows how to blend his flashier moves with hold into counter hold exchanges. Gulak won with the ankle lock after a series of reversals. Nothing occurred with the five nameless lads Gulak brought to ringside. They were just there to get over Gulak's new serious competitor gimmick.
Ethan Page v AR Fox was an exhilarating affair. It was the usual flash and sizzle from Fox (a stark contrast to his maddeningly bland character) and Page kept up fine, which was the most that could be asked of him in this situation. Fox survived a spinebuster onto the apron, a back breaker on the floor, a lifting reverse DDT, and a Tower of London onto the apron before coming back with a springboard Codebreaker, a Lo Mein Pain and a 450 splash to win.
After the match Page talked about how he'd let Johnny Gargano (the man who'd endorsed him) down by losing, which brought Gargano out to the ring. The Open the Freedom Gate champ gave Page a pep talk before bringing up the EVOLVE title v DG USA title match. Again he promised that he'd win that match and leave a double champion, though this time there was a greater emphasis on his history in the company and his contributions getting it to its current state. He offered more reasons as to why we should believe he needs to win the match with this promo than he had at EVOLVE 39.
The Chris Hero v Biff Busick grudge match followed that. Their issues first surfaced at EVOLVE 33, where Biff Busick had talked about his efforts in the 2014 style battle tournament and mentioned Chris Hero as someone the current generation of wrestlers wish to surpass. It was intended as a compliment, an acknowledgement of Hero's accomplishments within wrestling. But Hero took offense and an argument erupted. A few more followed with the final one coming the night before this at EVOLVE 39 where Busick vowed to choke Hero out with the stranglehold.
They had the stiff battle that was to be expected. Busick stayed true to his promise and spent most of the match attempting to apply his stranglehold finisher for long enough to choke Hero into unconsciousness. He applied the hold several times but never managed to submit or blackout Hero. That brought about a shift in approach and he started blasting the former King of Wrestling with suplexes. Hero weathered the storm and then smashed Busick with half a dozen elbows and a Tombstone piledriver for the victory. This match just outdid the main event to nab match of the night honours for me.
The card's lone tag match followed that. It saw the recently (and fairly half-heartedly) reunited Ronin team of Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann take on the new look Premier Athlete Brand of Brian Cage and Caleb Konley. I was again impressed by how good Cage is and felt that it was another strong showing from Konley, who has improved a great deal over the last year.
Gargano was good but not at his best, quite possibly because he was saving himself for his showdown with Scotland's own Drew Galloway the following evening. Considering how much that match has been built up it was an understandable move by the Open the Freedom Gate champ. That left Swann to deliver the thrills and spills. He accomplished this but injured himself in the process, necessitating the match being called to a finish early. Confusingly Konley tapped to the Gargano Escape before the referee announced that he'd ruled the match in the PAB's favour due to Swann's injury.
Had this run its intended course I imagine it would have ended up an inoffensive and fun, though ultimately forgettable, tag bout. But instead it will be most remembered for the peculiar ending. Though, on the bright side, that could be used as part of a Ronin v Premier Athletes story in the future.
The main event saw former WWE Superstar™ PJ Black take on Ricochet in a battle of the high-flyers. They set a breakdown speed and stuffed the match with spots and kept the psychology and lining sequences light (which was to be expected). The story of the early going was basically that Ricochet was a little better than Black, countering or immediately recovering from whatever Black threw at him. This included a great mid-air recovery off a monkey flip, a kip up immediately after a shoulder block, and a drop kick counter to a cross body.
This forced Black to up his game and he started getting an increasing amount of offence in on 'The Future of Flight'. It wasn't enough to get him a victory though. Following a surprisingly vicious exchange of strikes Ricochet got a two count off a top rope reverse hurricanrana then finally put Black down with a nasty power bomb and the 630 splash.
Unfortunate and unavoidable incident in the tag match aside this was another very good offering from the EVOLVE crew. Of the two cards presented this weekend I think this was the stronger. 39 took a little longer to get going with the three more technical matches kicking things off. 40 started with a rowdy bout that drew you in and kept improving right up until the tag match hit (and, again, at least part of the reason that match disappointed was beyond anyone's control). Ricochet versus Black was a superior main event. Black showed he could have been an asset to WWE and Ricochet again proved he deserves all the success he's had.


Progressivism favours a baseline that changes for the better.
Conservatism favours a baseline that doesn't change at all.
hardlinerism preaches rigorous definition of semantics and usage that scrupulously adheres to those rigorous definitions.
naturalism preaches using and treating Lojban as a natural language: it is something to be explored through usage, and should grow organically rather than be formally defined in ways beyond what is set down in the baseline.
Naturalism and hardlinerism are incompatible, but all other possible combinations of these ideologies are attested in one Lojbanist or another.
This page was last edited on 30 June 2014, at 08:17.


text:
Case #7
A 46-year-old female visited a dental office for a routine check-up. During the oral examination, a swelling was noted on the lateral tongue.
by Joen Iannucci Haring
The patient was unaware of the mass on the lateral tongue and denied any pain or sensitivity associated with the swelling. The patient reported no history of trauma to the affected area.
Click here to enlarge image
At the time of the dental appointment, the patient appeared to be in an overall good state of health. The patient's medical history was reviewed and it included an allergy to codeine. No significant health problems were noted and no medications were being taken by the patient at the time of the dental examination. The patient's past dental history included sporadic dental examinations, extractions, and routine restorative dental treatment.
The patient's vital signs were all found to be within normal limits. Examination of the head and neck region revealed no enlarged or palpable lymph nodes. No significant or unusual findings were discovered during the extraoral examination.
Intraoral examination revealed a large swelling on the right lateral tongue (see photo). Palpation of the area revealed a soft, well-circumscribed nodule that measured approximately two centimeters in diameter. The mass was described as non-painful when compressed. Further oral examination revealed no other lesions present.
The patient was referred to an oral surgeon for an excisional biopsy. Histologic examination revealed an encapsulated tumor consisting of spindle cells organized in whorls and waves surrounding an acellular zone.
Clinical diagnosis
Based on the information available, which of the following is most likely diagnosis?
o traumatic fibroma
o neurilemoma
o neurofibroma
o traumatic neuroma
o malignant schwannoma
• neurilemoma
The neurilemoma (also known as schwannoma) is a relatively uncommon benign tumor of Schwann cells (as the term schwannoma suggests, schwann = Schwann cells; oma = tumor). Schwann cells are found in the neurilemma (outer myelin sheath) of peripheral nerves, and the neurilemoma is derived from the proliferation of these cells. As the proliferation of cells continues, the nerve is pushed aside and is not included in the tumor.
The neurilemoma is most often seen in young- and middle-aged adults. There is no sex predilection. The neurilemoma is typically slow growing and, at discovery, has been present for a long time. The neurilemoma occurs most often as a soft tissue lump of varying size.
When palpated, the neurilemoma feels compressible, well-circumscribed, and movable. The neurilemoma most often occurs in the tongue. The neurilemoma may also occur on the palate, floor of the mouth, buccal mucosa, gingiva, upper lip, and vestibule. The neurilemoma is a benign lesion and does not undergo malignant transformation.
Despite the fact that this tumor arises from nerve tissue, the neurilemoma is typically painless. In instances where the mass compresses an adjacent nerve, rather than the nerve of origin, pain may be a feature. In addition to occurring in soft tissue, the neurilemoma may also occur within bone. In such instances, the neurilemoma most often occurs in the mandible and arises from mandibular nerve tissue. A neurilemoma within bone appears as a unilocular or multiocular radiolucency on a dental radiograph and may cause pain or paresthesia.
There are no distinctive clinical features of the neurilemoma that enable the practitioner to identify this lesion based on clinical information alone. The diagnosis of a neurilemoma is based on biopsy and histologic examination. The neurilemoma has a characteristic histologic appearance and is seldom confused with other lesions. When examined histologically, the neurilemoma appears as a mass of spindle-shaped cells surrounded by a capsule. There are two microscopic patterns of tissue that may be seen, termed Antoni A and Antoni B.
The neurilemoma does not disappear spontaneously or regress with time. The treatment of choice for the neurilemoma is surgical excision. Recurrence of this lesion is unlikely and the prognosis is excellent.
Joen Iannucci Haring, DDS, MS, is a professor of clinical dentistry, Section of Primary Care, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry.
What are the implications of residual root sockets?
Dental considerations of neuroendocrine tumors and carcinoid cancer . . . really?
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Heart to Hands Award
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Peace or war?
Mar 1st, 2019
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The black, white, and very gray areas of radiology
What are the cell phone policies in your dental office?


text:
Q: Use of unresolved identifier 'path' SKShapeNode I am trying to create a constant using SKShapeNode. I have this 1 error kicking my ass for the last hour. Please help me out, I will appreciate it.
import SpriteKit

class GameScene: SKScene {
    override func didMove(to view: SKView) {

        func setupPlayerAndObstacles() {
            addObstacle()
        }

        func addObstacle() {
            addCircleObstacle()

            let section = SKShapeNode(path: path.cgPath) //this line is showing error. Use of unresolved identifier 'path'//
            section.position = CGPoint(x: size.width/2, y: size.height/2)
            section.fillColor = .yellow
            section.strokeColor = .yellow
            addChild(section)
        }

        func addCircleObstacle() {

            let path = UIBezierPath()
            path.move(to: CGPoint(x: 0, y: -200))
            path.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: 0, y: -160))
            path.addArc(withCenter: CGPoint.zero, radius: 160, startAngle: CGFloat(3.0 * .pi / 2), endAngle: CGFloat(0), clockwise: true)
            path.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: 200, y: 0))
            path.addArc(withCenter: CGPoint.zero, radius: 200, startAngle: CGFloat(0.0), endAngle: CGFloat(3.0 * .pi / 2), clockwise: false)

        }

        setupPlayerAndObstacles()

    }
}

A: The variable path is not visible in addObstacle function.
Declare it as class var if you are going to use it en other functions.
class GameScene: SKScene {
var path = UIBezierPath()
 ...
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
French Police Swoop on 80+ Extremists Who Expressed Support for Paris Beheader
Soros fund manager raped, beat Playboy models, $27M lawsuit alleges
TheBaQers - May 29, 2020 0
Two Playboy Playmates and a third woman have filed a lawsuit seeking $27 million, alleging a former fund manager for billionaire George Soros raped...
The federal government will spend $250 million over the next five years to upgrade online systems so Australians can access more government services using facial...
Jeffrey Rosen to replace AG William Barr
Attorney General William Barr resigned from his position on Monday and will be replaced with Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, according to President Donald Trump. Barr's unexpected...
Federal Reserve Will Keep Rates Near Zero Until 2022 As Recession Continues
TOPLINE The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged on Wednesday and indicated that they'll likely remain near zero until at least 2022 as the economy...
UK suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong
The UK government will suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong "immediately and indefinitely". Announcing the move, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK "wants...
The French government has launched police raids against dozens of Islamist organisations and individuals as part of "hate crime" investigations in the wake of the beheading terror attack in Paris on Friday.
The arrests, which were in addition to the 11 taken into custody in direct connection with Friday's murderous Islamist attack, were in response to over 80 reports of "hate crimes" in relation to the killing. France's interior minister revealed on Monday that police operations were launched against dozens of individuals and groups who were said to have spoken out in support of Abdoullakh Anzorov, a Muslim migrant who beheaded a French school teacher in a Paris suburb.
Source: Breitbart.com
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Maps generated by Pam using the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.
Sri Lanka ended a 26 year civil war in 2009 so it has not have time to develop much modern infrastructure. Like most old cultures they have historical remnants of very old civilizations.
Sri Lanka has been primarily Buddhist since a few centuries BC. The last photo is of a temple where tradition says there is a tooth of the Buddha stored there as a relic.
Merry upcoming Christmas. Christmas is now around the world.
We went to the Thai Red Cross to see a demonstration of how they harvest poisonous snake venom to make the anti-toxin for people who are bitten.
At the end is a map showing Tokyo, Sri Lanka and BKK which is Bangkok where we are. We will leaving here on Christmas Eve to go to Vietnam where we will spend Christmas and New Years.
We really did get that close to a wild leopard.
The last picture is of a memorial where the December 2004 Tsunami hit Sri Lanka, right at the national park where we saw these animals. That tsunami is most known for the many that died in Indonesia, but over 50,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka. According to our guide, no wild animals were killed because they all knew how to go inland.
Sri Lanka is a country that is an island off the tip of the country of India. The country is undeveloped with no tall buildings or modern shopping centers. We are on a group tour with a local guide. There is no way I would be comfortable without that guide.
At the end is a picture of where we are, which is the island that says CMB on the map. We are not really in Bombay (BOM) I just put it there so you could see India. The starting point on the map is Japan.
Malaysia is a country in SE Asia, just north of the equator. It is a Muslim country that is tolerant of other religions. Christmas decorations are everywhere and I have included a photo of a Muslim family posing in front of Christmas decorations. There is also a picture of me in a head covering preparing to visit a mosque. At the end I put a photo of where we have traveled so far.
By population density, Tokyo is the largest city in the world. All of Japan is safe and extremely clean. We have been in enough of the large cities of the world to be able to get around without too much stress. There are Christmas decorations everywhere and non-religious Christmas music playing in all of the malls.
Nagasaki is the city where the 2nd atomic bomb was dropped, killing approximately 170,000 people. The newest generation of atomic bombs are 2,500 times stronger. The USA and Russia each have over 2,000 of these in their arsenal.
The last picture is the park where the bomb was dropped.
Fukuoka is the largest city on the island of Kyushu, which is just south of the main island that Tokyo and Kyoto are on. So far, being here again has confirmed that Japan is my favorite foreign country.
Here are some photos, including seeing a Sumo wrestling national championship competition.
Christchurch was created by the British, so many of the early buildings were stone or brick to remind the colonizers of their home country. Many of these buildings had severe damage.
The residents found incredible creative ways to have life take a normal feel, even though it is clear the city is still mostly not normal. They say it will take another 10 years or so before all the cracks in the roads are repaired. And they still have not made decisions about some historical buildings about the cost vs. benefit of demolish or repair.
They used shipping containers as store fronts to get some commerce going even without a useable city center. Many are still in use .
A masonry church held together with braces while they try to find the money to repair it.
"Everything is Going to be Alright" across a government building.
Christchurch sits near the diagonally opposite side of the Pacific subduction zone that could cause the big one to happen off the coast of Oregon. This area had back-to-back big earthquakes September 2010 and again in February 2011. We spent 2 of our 3 full days in Christchurch taking their Rebuild Tour, going to the quake museum and just walking around seeing the damage.
Now, almost six years on, much of the inner city is still empty lots or fenced off lots waiting to be demolished or repaired. 70% of the central city was either destroyed or had to be demolished because the buildings were beyond repair.
A picture of a picture showing liquefaction in the suburbs. All of the gray around the house is liquified soil that came up during and after the quake. Although these houses did not fall down in the quake, over 1,000 had to be demolished and will never be rebuilt because the soil was too unstable.
Liquefaction in suburban streets, that water is not from rain - February is their August.
Notice the single story house is still standing.
Although the largest quake was 7.1 on the Richter Scale, it did damage of a 9.0 because of the way it traveled through the soil.
We were in Sydney for five nights. It is our only stop in Australia. Sydney is similar to many other large international cities, but like all other cities, has its unique features. After being in Peru and South Africa we were surprised how comfortable the locals were with leaving their cell phone on the table or their bag hanging on the chair.
The first photo is of the famous Sydney Opera House (there is a Lego set) with a cruise ship that we have previously been on leaving the harbor. The last is at Bondi Beach; it is mid spring here in this part of the world and it was about 80 degrees that day.
One of the striking differences in Sydney was how fashionable (smart in their version of English) many were dressed. Many men had suits and the women were dressed straight out of the fashion magazines, including fashionable shoes. The photo with the mom and child show an example. I often wondered who wore all those fancy clothes - now I know - the ladies in Sydney wear them.
We are in Sydney, Australia now.
The 3 baby hyenas were newborn. Yes, the monkey has bright blue testicles.
The history of this country involves many different cultures, from all of the African tribes including Zulu to the Dutch and then later the English colonizers. Plus the indentured workers or slaves bright in from India, Indonesia and Malaysia after black slavery was outlawed. The constitution recognizes 14 official languages and the national anthem is sung in 4 languages. Whites in the country have their own language called Afrikaner which is based mostly on Dutch with words from Zulu, English and other tribes.
The first picture is of a Muslim wedding. The others are ladies wearing tribal oriented clothing modified to western standards.
As you will see in later pictures, only in the protected reserves are there any big wild animals and natural landscape. It was a cold bumpy ride on an open sided Toyota Landcruiser through a small part of Kruger National Park that resulted in us seeing the following animals. You can see the type of truck we were on behind the elephant.
They are wild animals and we were not permitted to get out of the vehicle. It is pretty rare to see a lion kill, but the last picture is a pair of lions eating a freshly killed impala.
We are back from the more rural parts of South Africa so I have good enough internet to catch up on my thoughts and the pictures from South Africa.
The townships are the outlying areas around the cities of South Africa where the blacks were settled before and during apartheid. I will have a separate post about apartheid. For now, note that it has the word "apart" as it was a policy of the white minority in SA to keep the races apart in every way. Even though apartheid ended in 1994, the economic situations of many blacks is still very poor and many of the townships are what we would call slums.
The townships of Cape Town have developed unique methods of survival as the unemployment rate is near 100%. The first picture is of a group of widowed women who take the sheep heads from the slaughter houses, burn the wool off, boil the heads and then sell the little bit of meat on the sheep face to their neighbors. You have to see to believe. I am sure there are entire books on life in these townships and I cannot begin to describe it.
There are about 15 people that live in each of the rooms shown in the last picture. We were able to get these pictures because we were on a guided tour. It would be very unsafe for a tourist to go there without a local guide.
We are in the southern most area of the large continent of Africa. It is the city of Cape Town in the country of South Africa. For the first time, we are doing an escorted tour where a tour company provides the hotel, tour guide and the day-to-day activities. Yesterday we went on a tour of the most southern part of this continent, where there was only ocean between us and Antartica. Here are some pictures of our first encounter with African wildlife, including penguins. Plus a view of the Cape of Good Hope, where early European explorers had to sail around to get from Europe to Asia.
The first picture below are the flight/bus paths we took here in Peru. The next is our upcoming 2 days of travel to get to Cape Town South Africa.


text:
Q: Can't access certain HTTPS sites on Firefox 3.6 I have an old box that has been running for many many years, and has been functioning as a monitoring box (i.e there are a load of tv's connected to it, and on those, there are many web pages showing readouts).
This box is running CentOS 6.2, and due to the hardware configuration, seems only compatible with Firefox, and the latest version available from the repositories is Firefox 3.6.
So far, I have dozens of screens, and they are entirely HTTP at the moment, however, I now want to put (just starting with) an Outlook.com window on there (I use outlook as an example, all the others seem to have the same issue). When I navigate to the site (via HTTPS), I get the login form (the same is true of other sites), but when I try to login, I get a request timeout. Refreshing (without submitting) the page just brings me back to where I began.
Can someone enlighten me as to what is happening with Firefox that is preventing it from interacting with these pages?


After completing a similar structure in Harbin, MAD Architects is designing the new home in Beijing of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, an internationally renowned ensemble. Conceived in collaboration with the acoustics expert Yasuhisa Toyota, the complex is considered a high-priority national project and will rise up beside the Worker's Stadium in the city's central business district.
"a hidden treasure and a calm cultural vacation: a pure and sacred oasis in the midst of the bustling city, where you will be taken to another time and space".
Surrounded by a pond dotted with lotus flowers and a lush garden, the translucent façade gently emerges from the landscape like a piece of jade and the interiors were designed to encourage a spiritual dimension and a perfect appreciation of classical music. With its 1,600 seats the main hall, which is inspired by an organic landscape, is filled with wooden pods arranged to look like terraced vineyards, while the lotus theme reappears in the acoustic panels on the roof that, resembling flower petals, can also be used to project images onto.
A rehearsal hall with curved wooden walls that seats 400 is located on the southern side of the building and makes the most of its view onto the pond thanks to the adjustable sound reflection panel, which can open up the stage and let natural light flow in. Construction is underway and is expected to be completed in 2019. The complex will include a professional recording studio, a library and an exhibition gallery.


text:
Having been in Hereford since 1845 Philip Morris & Son takes its position within its community very seriously. At the heart of any community is a family and Philip Morris & Son is led by the strong family values of the Jones family. John, Bruce, Bunty and Maurice run this independent country department store, and it is with these core people at its heart that Philip Morris & Son flourishes within the city of Hereford.
Philip Morris & Son values not only its customer base and loyal members of staff, but also the wider community and environment so that it can leave a lasting legacy for future Herefordshire generations. This has been continually demonstrated by the achievement of the 'Investors in People' award which was awarded for the third time in succession in 2008. Within this page, Philip Morris & Son demonstrate their corporate social responsibility within the community and its employee base.
Investment in employees
Philip Morris & Son offers various training courses to ensure their staff are not only safe in their workplace but also so that they can offer the best customer service possible. The following are examples of the courses offered to its staff:
• Manual handling
• First aid at work
• NVQ in Retail
• NVQ in Customer Service
• BHF Steps to Excellence
• Deaf Awareness Course
• Health and Safety
Environmental investments
At Philip Morris & Son we take our environmental impact seriously. We adhere to the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Directive (WEEE) issued by the European Union as well as taking steps into our own hands by providing a recycling box for batteries; recycle packaging; use recycled ink cartridges; use recycles paper for office work; recycle office paperwork (unless confidential which is shredded then recycled), and light sensors in stock rooms.
Charity work / Donations
The board of directors sit on numerous charitable committees around Hereford, such as Hereford Round Table and the Aiding the Industrious. The partners support these and other charities by sponsoring local events such as point-to-points, Hereford Cathedral School Marches 7's, St. Michaels Hospice and Macmillan Nurses coffee mornings and the Lions Club as well as many other worthy causes.
We're on the road again!
Come and join us at Britain's biggest Game & Countryside festival where we will have plenty of exclusive show offers waiting for you!
The Great British Bake Off!
NFU Mutual and Philip Morris & Son teamed up once again to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. This year we hosted a "Made In Herefordshire Bake Off" Coffee Morning, where Philip Morris and NFU went head to head in baking cakes based on flavours and themes that are local to Herefordshire.
A HUGE thank you to all who popped in and had a slice of cake and a cuppa - We managed to raise a fantastic sum of £375! A BIG thank you to all the local cafes and suppliers who donated cakes and beverages for our Macmillan morning; Rocket Cafe, King Street Kitchen, Ascari's, No.10 Hereford, Cafe at All Saints, La Madeleine, Trumper's Tea, and Method Roastery! Also a BIG thank you Tandem Bakery for being our Bake Off judges, we hope you enjoyed our quirky cakes and bakes!
Philip Morris & Son gets a GOLD Award
For the second year in a row Philip Morris and Son receives the Feefo 2017 Gold Trusted Service Award - A HUGE thank you to all our customers for taking the time to send us your feedback!
Philip Morris & Son Blog
Stay up to date on all of the latest products, technical information and company news by reading our Blog... We also give you handy hints, tips and guides, as well as a few fun posts.
Another GOLD For Philip Morris and Son!
We've gone and done it again, we've gone and scooped up another Feefo Gold Trusted Merchant 2016 Award! Read our Feefo Gold Blog for more information. Thank you for all of your feedback, keep it coming!
Browse Philip Morris Digitally
Philip Morris & Son have gone a step further in providing the ultimate browsing experience. It's now possible to browse both shops digitally so you can now feel like you're walking around our store without even leaving your arm chair! Simply click anywhere on the image below to start looking around our store. A new full size page will open to give you the best viewing experience ever and you will see how it feels to be here!
Philip Morris & Son have a full mail order clothing catalogue published once every six months. This is designed to compliment the growth of our highly successful e-commerce site. In recent years Philip Morris and son have grown their e-commerce channel to represent 70% of turnover, and the initial launch of the catalogue has been very successful. Our catalogue features carefully selected items from our country clothing brands and focuses on leading brands such as Barbour, Musto, Schoffel, Dubarry and Le Chameau. It's distributed nationally through specialist country publications, to request the latest copy please message us to ask via our contact us page.


This is what makes everything happen. Period. This is where all of the configuration options get processed, feeds are fetched, cached, and parsed, and all of that other good stuff. This is called automatically if you pass a URL to the SimplePie constructor.
Previously existed as simplepie() since SimplePie 0.8.
See the examples on the SimplePie page (or pretty much any other page) for examples.