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Indulgence >
The Billionaire's Christmas Baby
A baby on the doorstep is the least of Hannah Woods's problems—she has to find the baby's uncle, or the child will end up in foster care. She sleuths her way to the reclusive CEO's doorstep only to find six feet of holiday sexy—and a door slammed in her face. But when Jackson comes around and urges they marry for little Emily's sake, Hannah finds herself falling for the jaded billionaire and wishing for a holiday miracle of their own..
Billionaire for Christmas Series, Book 1
By Victoria James
USD Buy today and earn 399 points!
An Entangled Christmas Classic …
Jackson Pierce didn't make his fortune entertaining every half-cocked idea, especially one involving diaper changes. Not even the cute brunette who links him to the baby in her arms can crack his icy heart.A baby on the doorstep is the least of Hannah Woods's problems—she has to find the baby's uncle, or the child will end up in foster care. She sleuths her way to the reclusive CEO's doorstep only to find six feet of holiday sexy—and a door slammed in her face. But when Jackson comes around and urges they marry for little Emily's sake, Hannah finds herself falling for the jaded billionaire and wishing for a holiday miracle of their own…
"...This story simply enchanted me. I devoured it in one sitting and even after having reached "The End", its message and its characters stayed with me. Victoria James touched me with her words and made me part of her characters' lives for a couple hours and I thank her for that. I thank her for the wonderful experience that The Billionaire's Christmas Baby was and I will definitely keep my eyes open for more stories from her, and take note Dear Readers, you don't want to miss out on this magical story. The Billionaire's Christmas Baby is a beautiful romance and an emotional story on several levels. It is the perfect...story that will leave you with a happy sigh, believing in love, goodness and happy endings." -Stella (Ex Libris) Review
"...like a Hallmark movie with a little sizzle on paper and completely warms your heart and makes you smile...The romance is hot and so is the chemistry between these two..." -Always YA at Heart Reviews
"...heart-warming and emotional holiday story...that captured my attention from the beginning...I would recommend this story to romance readers; you will not be disappointed." -HarlequinJunkie.com Reviews
"I recommend this novel to anyone who likes contemporary romances!!" -Jess, From Me to You...Book Reviews.
"...an amazing story...I absolutely fell in love with Hannah, Jackson and Emily's story. It is a must read for all those romance readers." -busbedhev, Amazon Reviews
"...this book was such a pleasure to read. I didn't want it to end but at the same time, I couldn't put it down. I will definitely be looking for more from this author." -Jacki, Amazon Reviews
Social worker Allison Barrington's home went up in smoke, literally, a month before Christmas. Now the guardian of her teenage sister, she runs to the only man in the city she can trust—and the man she's determined to resist. Ethan Dane has wanted Allie since...
Series: Billionaire for Christmas, Book 1
Imprint: indulgence
Genre: contemporary, holiday romances
Tropes: baby on the doorstep
By Claire November 10, 2015
4.5 - "Thank you for making me feel special." Stars!
Another absolutely outstanding book, by Victoria James.
Whether set in Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter she always adds just a little magic to her stories to take them to hard-to-put-down levels.
"You completely caught me by surprise."
Ethan is up n... ...more
By BookLover May 28, 2017
Really enjoyed this sweet, Christmas story. Jackson and Hannah get stormed in together over the holidays and bond over a baby that he'd like to pretend isn't his problem. Loved Hannah's tenacity. I think I would have given up long before she did in trying to get through to Jackson. So glad she ke... ...more
By Vashti August 15, 2013
4.5****
What a wonderful debut book this is by an author who I just recently discovered and inhaled all three of her books these past three days.
Loved this couple who had so much baggage in their childhood years that it determined who they became as adults.The heroine as a foundling ,then foster c... ...more
By The Translation August 17, 2015
• "She is your flesh and blood, Jackson. It was your sister's last wish." •
Ni siquiera una linda morocha que lo vincula con el bebé en brazos puede romper el corazón helado del multimillonario Jackson Pierce...
Un bebé en la puerta de la Iglesia es el menor de los problemas de Hannah W... ...more
By Angie December 07, 2015
Update from October 2014 review (12/7/2015): this is tied to another series and Jackson's business partner and Hannah's friend are the focus of their own book recently released.
I was pleasantly surprised this book was much more than the stereotypical billionaire baby holiday category romance. As... ...more
By Dalia March 17, 2014
Great debut novel by Victoria James. Emotional, sweet, heartwarming read with christmas as background. Both Hannah and Jackson are authentic characters with same miserable childhood but different attitude to life. Hannah is a social worker with a heart of gold. Too involved in the cases... ...more
By Vikki December 01, 2016
Good character development for a shorter book. Happy reading! ...more
By Stella December 28, 2012
I love the holidays and holiday romances, and still with all my incredibly high expectations and positive prejudices this story managed to surpass them all and blow me away! Yes, Victoria James' debut novel was that good and even more!
The Billionaire's Christmas Baby is a wonderfully emotional st... ...more
By Romancing the February 11, 2013
posted on Romancing the Books blog
reviewed by Crystal
review book from the Publisher
The reason that I decided to read this book is because I heard so much about it. It was all over everyone's blogs and so I decided that I would give the book a go and read it. I was so glad that I did.
This book is... ...more
By Sara December 17, 2012
4.5 Star Review:
The Billionare's Christmas Baby by Victoria James was a heart-warming and emotional holiday story filled with sorrow, love and hope that captured my attention from the beginning. I enjoyed the witty dialogue between the two main characters and the pace of the story was smooth and... ...more
By Paula November 27, 2014
I loved this book. The story had me laughing, and at times the plot was very touching.
Hannah was a social worker. She found a baby with a note from the mother, and asked her to find the baby's uncle, so he could raise baby Emily. Hannah knew she had to find him, and convince him to take Emily. Sh... ...more
By Melissa November 23, 2012
I loved this story so much. I have been waiting for entangled to put out more books in there indulgence series but it seems like forever since they did. I loved Jackson and Hannah's characters because they felt real and their background genuine. I loved the Emily element and how she factored into... ...more
By Jennifer November 25, 2012
"The Billionaire's Christmas Baby" was a very touching, moving holiday romance. The hero, Jackson, is very alpha with a tender, warm center. And the heroine, Hannah, is strong/fiesty. She's the perfect match for him. Toss in an adorable baby and a snow storm and you have the makings of a compelli... ...more
By Ⓑookish Ⓞne December 11, 2012
I was surprised I got hooked on reading this book from start to end! It was funny, sexy, romantic and had a serious side that dealt with situations that could happen to anyone. Overall, it's just one of those "feel good" books with a HEA! ...more
By Veronika May 01, 2016
The perfect holiday romance. I really enjoy the writing style of this author, so I think I'm bing-reading all of her books now. ...more
By Ellen December 12, 2012
The Billionaire's Christmas Baby is the perfect Christmas read, warming your heart and making you smile. Hannah Woods is a social worker who occasionally crosses the line, caring to much for her cases. That is what happened with Louise, a new young mother who Hannah had been working with. When sh... ...more
By Kim Reads December 14, 2013
Reviewed by Kim
for Read Your Writes Book Reviews
The Billionaire's Christmas Baby is a story I REALLY wanted to read. After reading one of Victoria James' other books, I pretty much just had to get all of her books. I must say this book did EXACTLY what I needed it to do. I've been reading like a... ...more
By Monica December 17, 2013
Christmas miracles are out of this world when two very deserving people with a horrible past can build something new and wonderful.
This story is about a woman that can't have a little girl go into the foster system when she has a next of kin. Hannah Woods knows exactly what happens in the system.... ...more
By Monique December 10, 2013
Review to come!!!!
This review originally appeared on my blog All The Bookish Love
Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I've had Christmas spirit since the start of November, but I can fully as... ...more
By Lindsey November 10, 2013
This was a sweet and heartwarming read.
Hannah has had a hell of a life and now she has a baby left at her doorstep. Figuring out what she needs to do, Hannah hunts down the very private and jaded CEO Jackson. She has to convince Jackson to adopt the little infant in order for the little girl to h... ...more
By CoffeeTimeRomance February 24, 2013
Hannah Woods is a social worker and tries the best she can to help those who are in her care. She finds a baby on her doorstep that belongs to one of her cases, and now must embark on a journey to fulfill the mother's wish to find her brother to raise the baby. What she never expects is the way h... ...more
By LJT June 25, 2016
Wow, another winner from author Victoria James. I love holiday romances, babies and stories about billionaires. So after reading the book blurb, The Billionaire's Christmas Baby became a must read. It is a wonderful book, replete with great characters, a plot that twists and turns in all the righ... ...more
By Julie December 11, 2013
Hannah Woods is a social worker dedicated to helping keep as many children as she can out of foster care. As she leaves work one night, an unexpected 'package' on the steps turns her world upside down. Trying to keep little Emily from going into the system will be more complicated that Hannah tho... ...more
By Nicola December 08, 2013
This wonderful book focusses on the very thing we tend to take for granted at this time of year amongst the craziness of shopping, wrapping and cooking. Family.
Victoria James has handled a sensitive issue with compassion and given us a story that is heartfelt, touching and romantic, with moments... ...more
By Rosemary December 12, 2013
The Billionaire's Christmas Baby is a beautiful, heartwarming story. Hannah finds a baby abandoned on a snowy winter night. It brings back all the pain of her childhood. She's determined that this child will not go into the foster care system that failed her. She will find the baby's uncle and co... ...more
NY Times Best Selling, USA Today Best Selling Author
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The Billionaire's Christmas Baby
Copyright © 2012 by Victoria James. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Hannah hated Thursday nights.
All she felt like doing after counseling a group of single, unemployed mothers was changing into her penguin flannel pajamas, and having two glasses of wine and a large bag of fat and calorie-laden potato chips while watching mind-numbing television.
Luckily for her waistline she had nixed that habit after the first two months of the workshop when she spotted an emerging muffin top over her favorite jeans. Now she only allowed herself the indulgence once a month. And she had switched to half-the-fat organic chips. There was no point in killing herself one chip at a time just because she couldn't save the world and every child who ended up in foster care—or so she kept telling herself. Nights like this tested that theory.
Hannah jiggled the key until she heard the lock click shut on the ancient church door. She swung her bag over her shoulder and tread down the shallow stairs two at a time, her mind preoccupied by the woman who hadn't attended the meeting tonight, Louise. Her pace faltered on the last step and she paused despite the chilly wind. Something felt off. She slipped her BlackBerry out of her pocket and glanced down at the display. No messages. She bit her lower lip while she stared at the lit screen; she had expected a phone call from Louise. Maybe she'd stop by her apartment on her way home.
Hannah pulled her collar up, but instead of walking toward her car, she put her keys and BlackBerry back in her pocket and slowly turned to look at the church. The old stone structure stood like a comforting beacon, illuminated in the yellow glow of the old-fashioned street lamp. Snow fell like powdered sugar through a sifter and the faint scent of cedar was laced through the crisp late November wind. She knew this scene perfectly.
But something was different tonight.
A small cry rang out as clear as a singing bird at dawn. Hannah's eyes followed the sound. Her heart jerked when she spotted a Moses-like basket with pink lining sitting on the stone porch. Had she walked right by it? The massive oak doors towered over the tiny bundle like a giant tree protecting a nest of baby birds. Hannah tried to swallow past the painful ball of dread in her throat.
She knew that basket. She had bought it.
The distraught cries from the baby lying in the basket snatched her from the present and catapulted her back to a past she rarely dared to visit. She stared at that basket, its image becoming blurred by her tears. She fumbled back up the steps with trembling legs and knew with every ounce of her being and in every goose bump that taunted her arms whose baby that was. And what it meant.
Hannah took a deep breath and looked down into the basket, struggling for control. She stumbled onto her knees before the baby, the stone steps tearing through her sheer nylons, but she didn't notice and didn't feel a thing because her eyes were on the baby. Pink blanket, pink fuzzy sleeper, pink hat; the ones she had picked out for her and given to her when she was born.
Her skin was pale with blotches of red from her crying and the chill of the winter air. Hannah struggled to peel off her gloves with fingers that felt like rubber. She reached out and picked her up and felt a surge of relief when Emily stopped crying. Hannah held her close, with shaking arms, enveloping the infant in the folds of her coat. She rubbed the baby's back, nestling her own face into the tender spot of impossibly soft skin at the base of her neck. She took deep breaths and let the baby's angelic purity calm her.
Snow swirled around them as Hannah sheltered and warmed the baby. Minutes trickled by slowly, until Hannah finally stopped rocking Emily and looked into her wide, porcelain blue eyes wondering what had brought her here, but deep down she already knew. Louise was gone. Emily's mom was gone.
Hannah rose slowly, knowing she'd have to notify the police and knowing that she was going to have a hell of a battle on her hands with the child protective services office tomorrow. She wasn't going to play this one by the books. She had been there when Emily was born, and she was going to do whatever she could to make sure she didn't go through the foster care system.
She cradled the baby with one arm, ready to take out her BlackBerry and call her contact at the police station when she spotted something attached to the inside of the basket. She crouched down and read the note. It was scribbled on the back of a grocery receipt, in thick, black marker:
"I'm sorry, Hannah. I can't do this anymore. It's too hard. This life is too hard. Please find my brother, Christopher James. Please find Emily's uncle. He will raise her."
Acid burned her throat and Hannah fought the bile that threatened. This couldn't be happening. She had just spoken with Louise yesterday. How had she missed the warning signs?
Hannah held the infant closer to her chest. Emily's breathing became calm, her steady heartbeat a complete contrast to Hannah's erratic one. What have you done, Louise?
She buried her head against the baby's soft hair, and the tears that had been threatening finally triumphed for the heartache that Emily would one day face knowing that she'd been abandoned. She knew the depth of that pain. Hannah knew that kind of pain could never be erased.
Hannah pounded the volume button on her car stereo so hard her index finger bent backward painfully. She rubbed her throbbing finger, glaring at the now black display. It was so not going to be a Merry Christmas. The odds were stacked against merry and highly in favor of miserable.
She had lied to her boss, co-workers, and broken some of the cardinal rules in child protective services to be here. While other people were decorating their homes, doing Christmas shopping, and attending holiday parties, she was sitting in a cold car, spying on a man from behind a snowdrift with a sleeping infant in the backseat.
But she'd finally tracked him down, and after three miserable, long weeks, she'd found baby Emily's uncle. Now all she had to do was knock on his door and introduce him to Emily.
Oh, and then convince him to adopt her.
Right. Great plan, Hannah.
If she had any sense of self-preservation she'd throw her car into reverse and hightail it out of Northern Ontario. She would brave the nightmare road conditions over convincing a man who had turned his back on his family for over a decade to drop everything and adopt his niece. But she knew she couldn't do that. Hannah turned in her seat to check on Emily who had been sleeping contentedly in her car seat.
Hannah glanced back at the rustic log cabin in front of her. She had everything rehearsed. She would approach the situation with compassion and honesty. She could do this. She had to do this. Hannah bit her lower lip as she peered through the peephole she'd created in her windshield. Her half-full cup of Starbucks holiday blend, long since abandoned, sat in the cup holder beside an empty baby bottle.
She ducked as she spotted movement in the house. Luckily, she was almost sure that the man hadn't noticed her silver Jetta buried in the snowdrift in the driveway. As soon as she had exited the highway and pulled out onto the back roads she'd felt like a moving snowman on wheels. When she finally found the cabin, located in nowheres-ville, she had drifted down the unplowed drive, saying a silent prayer she wouldn't hit the parked Range Rover.
Gurgling from the backseat jolted her. She had to go in before Emily woke up. It's now or never, Hannah. She turned on the engine one last time, blasting the heat on high before she had to leave the car.
She slipped her lucky red wool knitted hat with its oversized pom-pom onto her head with a decisive tug—she'd need all the luck she could get. She had a good ten minutes before she had to worry about Emily getting cold, but she added a few more layers of blankets onto the baby, who was already bundled in a bunting bag, hat, and mittens. Hannah reached over to the passenger seat, her hands blindly seeking out her purse and mittens, while her eyes stayed riveted on the cabin. She tucked the vintage Santa tin filled with homemade, sparkle-laden sugar cookies under her arm. No one could resist her Christmas cookies.
She hoped Louise's brother, once Christopher James, now Jackson Pierce, was the type of man to appreciate homemade cookies. His name change had added a few extra days to her search, but thanks to her friends at the police department and her own bit of ingenuity, she'd found him at this cabin. There was no trace of Christopher James when child services had looked for him, but Hannah knew the details of his past, and knew this man would want nothing to do with Louise's baby. She'd been pretty shocked by his identity. He was the founder and CEO of one of North America's largest computer software companies.
Hannah opened the door and the wind whipped snow onto her face as she struggled to get out quickly before the cold air infiltrated the car. She stepped into at least three feet of snow and fought the urge to yelp out loud as it made contact with her feet. So much for waterproof boots. Careful not to fall and drop the cookies, she walked as fast as she could, her feet feeling like lead as she reached the front porch. She glanced around the house and confirmed what she'd suspected from the inside of her car—there was no Christmas wreath on the door or Christmas lights. Or anything remotely Christmas-y at all.
It was an omen. A bad one.
She gave herself a mental shake, forcing herself to calm down. Hurry up, Hannah.
She took a deep breath of icy air and knocked. Her thick red mittens made it sound more like the paws of a furry animal thumping on the door…maybe he couldn't hear the muffled knocking against the sound of the storm. She was about to yank off a mitten when the door swung open. Her hand froze in midair, and the only thought she could process was why oh why did she have to be wearing the hideous red hat?
Jackson Pierce was at least six foot two inches of raw masculinity—the type of man who looked as though he belonged to no one, shared with no one. The kind that would normally make her run in the other direction. His hair was the color of expensive cognac, slightly mussed but clean cut, with eyes a few shades deeper. He was tanned, in that natural, not-from-a-tanning-salon sort of way, with dark stubble across a firm jaw and chin. Jackson was not what she expected.
Definitely built and definitely mouth-watering… if you were into that sort of look.
And she was not.
He frowned at her. "Are you lost?"
Hannah realized she must look like an idiot standing on his porch not saying a word. She lowered her arm, straightening her shoulders, and tried to project the image of the calm, cool, collected professional she usually was. "No, no. Not really."
In the six-hour car ride and the twenty minutes of stalking in her car outside, she'd had everything rehearsed. She had even practiced her speech in front of Emily and had earned a few enthusiastic gurgles. But now, in front of him, she couldn't bring herself to say the words she'd carefully planned. He raised his eyebrows, bracing his shoulder against the doorjamb. His fitted navy Henley shirt outlined his muscular arms and wide chest. The cold air obviously wasn't bothering him in the least.
"Do you need help?" His voice. Sort of like smooth silk and rough suede. Unfortunately, his carefully enunciated question also implied that he thought she was mentally challenged.
It was now or never. She cleared her throat and was sure to maintain eye contact.
"Are you Christopher James?" she blurted out, deciding to use his real name at the last minute.
His brown brows snapped together. He pushed away from the doorjamb, and stood straight up. Suddenly he looked much more intimidating, and not at all nice.
"I'm Hannah Woods. Look, I'm sorry to bother you—" She took a deep breath. "I'm here because of your sister, Louise." Self-preservation was a skill she'd learned early in her life, and right now her instincts were telling her to run in the other direction.
"I don't have a sister."
Hannah cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I know that—"
He scowled. "What? What do you know?"
"I know that you changed your name and—"
He slammed the door in her face and Hannah was in disbelief. She stood still and stared at the black door. One thing was for sure—Jackson Pierce or Christopher James or whatever his name was, was definitely not a Christmas sugar cookie kind of man. What had she been thinking anyway? That she could shove cookies down the man's throat while having a heart-to-heart about his sister and abandoned niece?
Tears began to blur her vision as she stared at the bare door, the reality of her situation setting it. Emily's temporary foster placement with Mrs. Ford would end soon and after that Hannah would have very little control over what happened to the baby. Hannah had fought vigorously to have the woman be Emily's interim guardian. Mrs. Ford was one of the best foster parents she'd ever come across. Hannah had gone to visit Emily every day after work. Spending time with the baby had become the highlight of her day. Hannah had been able to sleep at night, knowing the baby was in good hands while she searched for her uncle. It was Mrs. Ford's faith in her that allowed Hannah to take Emily to find her uncle without going through the child welfare office. There was no way Hannah's boss would have given her approval.
Hannah clutched the tin tightly to her chest and tried to ignore the lump in her throat that she suspected was due in part to feeling like a moron and in part to desperation. She would not cry. She did not cry. Before the night she'd found Emily, she hadn't cried in years. What was she going to do? The man she had gambled on was nastier than a man that good-looking had any right to be. And to top it all off, she was in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard with a two month old baby and only her car for shelter.
She squinted against the wind, looking at the car. She had to make a move and fast. She pictured little Emily being removed from Mrs. Ford's care. What if they didn't find permanent placement for her? Emily could have years and years of being shuffled around, never having a home of her own. Hannah knew all about that. She wasn't going to let that happen to this baby.
The minute she had picked up that baby outside the church she knew it was for a reason. Louise believed in her. And Louise believed in her brother. There had to be more to this man than what she'd just witnessed. She owed it to Louise. She had to honor Louise's wishes, no matter how miserable of a man Emily's uncle was. She couldn't chicken out now.
Hannah took a deep breath, straightened out her not at all fashionable hat, and knocked on the door again. She didn't know what she was going to say, but Jackson Pierce was not going to get rid of her that easily. Adrenaline and panic intertwined and wove their way through her body as she gave herself a mental pep talk. She wasn't a quitter. Emily needed her.
There was no answer.
She ripped off her mitten and pounded. Hard. But there was still no answer.
Fine. Jackson Pierce thought he was stubborn? Well, he was about to meet his match. She lifted her foot and gave the door a swift, hard kick. Just as she was about to give it another one worthy of a champion soccer player, he whipped open the door. She struggled not to fall backwards as she almost lost her balance. She quickly lowered her foot, composed herself, and forced a smile on her face.
He didn't smile back.
"Look, Mr. Pierce, this is a matter of life or death."
He raised his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed. "Whose death?"
She frowned at him. "It's really a matter of life, actually."
"What's your name again?"
"Hannah, Hannah Woods." She was relieved by his more reasonable tone. The life or death line was always a winner at getting someone to take her seriously.
"Do you realize, Hannah Woods, that you are trespassing on private property?"
Okay, so maybe that line didn't work on Mr. Pierce. She felt her insides twist into a knot as she stared into hostile brown eyes.
She nodded carefully. "Yes, I realize that. I don't usually do this sort of thing, but your sister Louise died…"
He cursed loudly. "And let me guess, she left a pile of bills?"
She shook her head. She was about to explain when he cut her off.
"I don't associate with money-grubbing, junkie friends of my sister. So get your ass off my property and—"
"I'm not a friend of your sister's."
He leaned forward so that his face was a few inches from hers. "I don't care," he hissed. "I don't care if you were a friend of hers or a friend of the frickin' Pope. I. Don't. Care. So get the hell off my property."
He stepped back and this time he slammed the door so violently that she actually shuddered. It took her a few seconds to process what had happened.
Jackson Pierce was a jerk.
In all her imaginings about how this was going to unfold, him yelling at her and slamming a door in her face, twice, wasn't what she'd envisioned. She'd thought he'd at least hear her out. But he hadn't even given her a chance to tell him about Emily. She knew deep down, under that nasty temper, there had to be a good man. Louise had told her all about him, what a good brother he'd been. But that had been a long time ago, and Louise had made so many mistakes. He had obviously never forgiven her. When he hadn't been at the funeral Hannah assumed it was because he didn't know she had died. But now, after witnessing his palpable anger toward anything Louise, she wondered if he just hadn't cared to show up. So where did that leave Emily?
Hannah stood unmoving on the porch, the harsh wind hammering snow and ice up and down her body as though it too were taking a turn at trying to knock her down. Her car was already buried under the snow and must have lost most of its heat. She wasn't a quitter, but it was obviously time to think of a Plan B. She needed to get moving. But where the heck were they going to go at eight o'clock at night during a blizzard?
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Pierce," she grumbled to herself, as she carefully climbed down the porch steps, still holding her Santa tin filled with cookies. She could sit in her car and gorge herself on cookies until she came up with a plan. Luckily, she had two cases of baby formula in the trunk.
So much for the lucky hat. Maybe she should rip it off and then stomp on it. She was exhausted and cold and now, thanks to Jackson Pierce, miserable. She trudged through the snow as quickly as the wind and snow would allow, her sights on the car. Emily was going to need to eat again in under an hour, and the last thing she wanted to do was pull over in the middle of nowhere to give her a bottle. Maybe she could try and knock on the door of that charming bungalow at the end of the street—it had been adorned from top to bottom in Christmas decorations and lights. Surely, whoever lived there wouldn't turn a woman and a baby away in a blizzard.
What kind of a jerk would let a woman go out alone during a blizzard anyway?
What kind of a jackass yells in a woman's face and then lets her drive away in the middle-of-nowhere Northern Ontario, during a blizzard, at night?
Jackson looked out the window at the petite brunette as she tried to brush the snow off the windshield. But every time she did, the wind would blow on even more snow. By the looks of her, one strong gust might carry her away too. Even that grandma hat she was wearing was all white with snow.
He continued to stare out the window, his fists jammed into his jeans pockets. Guilt was ripping a jagged hole through his gut, as he recalled the shocked look in her eyes. He'd been an ass. He rarely lost his cool, and yet, a few minutes ago he stood yelling at this tiny slip of a woman at his front door. Would it be so bad to let this Hannah woman spend the night? How much of a threat could a woman who barely reached the top of his chin with the pom-pom be? He'd find out what she wanted and then make it clear that he had no intention of speaking to anyone about his family. Then tomorrow morning, when the storm was over, she'd leave. Easy. Done.
Jackson shook his head as she disappeared into a giant mound of snow. With a rough sigh, and a few of his favorite curses, he shrugged into his leather, sheepskin lined jacket and flicked on the outdoor lights. One way or another, women were always complicating his life. Even when he was trying to get away from them, they found him.
"Hey!" he called out, approaching her. The snow was past his shins and showed no sign of slowing. He squinted as snow and ice pellets beat into his face and eyes. She either couldn't hear him above the wind or she was purposely ignoring him.
She didn't bother to look at him when he reached her side. She kept brushing off the snow with angry bursts.
A cloud of snow hit him in the face. He wasn't so sure it was an accident.
"Look, you can spend the night here. Leave in the morning when the storm is over."
She paused and went back to fruitlessly wiping off the windshield with one arm, while clutching a round container like a football under her other arm. He spotted a Christmas wreath attached to the front bumper of her car. He tried not to groan out loud at the absurd ornament. He had never actually met anyone who went to the trouble of decorating their car for Christmas. She was working on her side windows, still ignoring him. Stubborn was the last thing he needed right now.
"Well, we both know you can't get anywhere with this weather tonight." He felt the ice pellets drumming against the back of his neck like a bunch of nails. She continued to pay no attention to him. Enough was enough. He walked over and grabbed the scraper from her hand. She glared at him and yanked it back.
"I'm not staying here. You're mentally unbalanced."
"What were you thinking coming here alone, at night? Obviously you intended on staying." He tried to pry the scraper out of her hand again, but it was as though that giant red mitten was super glued to the damn thing.
"Stop being a bully. I didn't think it would take me over six hours to drive up here. I never planned on staying here, so stop flattering yourself. I don't like you. I don't trust you. So leave me alone and let go of my brush!"
She yelled that last part and he let go, his hands up in the air in a surrender motion. He wasn't going to beg her to stay here.
Jackson watched as she fell backwards into a mound of snow. A tin flew in the air and what looked like cookies fell out. Uh-oh.
"My cookies!" She sputtered out and struggled into a sitting position in the snow.
He watched her collect the array of brightly colored cookies in the white snow and an odd feeling of regret came over him. Of all the absurd… Jackson felt he had no choice but to kneel down and help.
He cleared his throat, momentarily forgetting the cold. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"
"Save it," she snapped and he ignored the tears he thought he heard in her voice. Not tears, please no. He found a cookie and noticed with dread that it was shaped like a Christmas tree and covered with green sparkly looking things.
Jackson tried to place the ruined cookies gently in the tin, as though there was still some hope of salvaging them. She, on the other hand, tossed them in with a force that suggested she was royally pissed. At least she wasn't crying. Finally, she placed the lid over the round tin, banging Santa's happy face shut with her giant red mittens.
Jackson stood up and held out his hand. She glared at his hand and stood on her own. He shouldn't be surprised. He could have sworn he heard the word jerk, but with the howling wind he couldn't be sure.
"Sorry about the… cookies," he said awkwardly.
"Whatever. You're not exactly the milk and cookies type of guy anyway. You're more of the nails and arsenic type."
He had to stifle his urge to smile at her insult. The cookies had been for him. The fact that he had hurt her feelings was oddly unsettling. Added to that was the fact that she had baked for him. No one baked for him, unless of course they were paid to. He wasn't about to analyze his sudden sentimental reaction to a box of cookies. Besides, he wanted to get inside.
"Hannah, you can spend the night here."
She frowned up at him. "I'd rather sleep in my car."
Jackson gritted his teeth. It was damned irritating dealing with someone more mule-headed than he was always accused of being. Cookies or not, this was supposed to be his time away from stress…from civilization. This cabin was his anti-Christmas sanctuary, a place where there was no talk of family. No talk of Christmas. The only evergreens were outside and not one of them had a single damn light on them, just the way he liked it. But now he was being forced to harbor some strange woman who knew a hell of a lot about him and who had something to do with his sister.
He watched as she continued to brush the snow off her pants with one hand and hold that tin with the other. "Look, I'm not going to let you sleep in your car during a blizzard."
She stopped her swiping and cocked her head to the side. "Well, I guess you should have thought of that when you slammed the door in my face. It's not exactly the best way to make a guest feel welcome."
Jackson opened his mouth and then shut it, not knowing what to say. He was not a man used to being argued with. He had gotten used to the quick "yes, sirs" that he received from his employees.
She shot him a dirty look as she walked past him. He caught her arm. For a moment nothing happened and then she turned into steel beneath his grasp. Her eyes widened and she stared at him. He was trying to decipher the expression when she jerked her arm from his grasp. He noticed her breathing was shallow and rapid. That confidence she had shown only seconds before was gone. This woman felt threatened by him. His exes could say a lot about him, but violent was not an adjective used to describe him. He abhorred physical violence, and he'd never touched a woman in anger.
"I can't let you stay out here. I have a guest room," he said, trying his best to sound patient and calm.
She stared at him for another minute, then raised her eyebrows as she spoke. "Are you going to yell at me again?"
He shook his head sheepishly. He felt like he was being reprimanded like a small boy. Her face relaxed and she gave him a slight nod. "Fine. I've met crazier people than you and I know how to handle myself. I'll stay."
He stared at her incredulously. She'd called him crazy.
"On one condition," she said raising her chin and folding her arms.
"Condition?" She had barged in on his vacation and now she was negotiating terms of her stay?
She nodded once, the pom-pom bopping with the motion.
He gave a brief nod, why the hell not, it seemed he had very little control of the night anyway.
"No yelling in front of the baby," she said over her shoulder as she opened the back door of her car. Her head disappeared into the car and he stared numbly after her. Maybe he hadn't heard right, but then he heard an odd noise.
"Baby?" he finally managed to choke out through a throat that seemed to be filled with tar as she emerged from the car holding a baby seat.


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The Best Alien Horror: From E.T. to Dark Skies
By stuartthamanbooks May 29, 2021 ( 2 )
Aliens. A classic genre spanning… well, actually not much. You usually get horror or sci-fi. Maybe some thriller tucked away among the ranks. And if the genre of 'masterpiece' exists, Cocoon sits right there. I just love Wilford Brimley and his immortal moustache. As much as I cannot get enough alien sci-fi, I have an unhealthy obsession with alien horror.
But when it comes to alien horror, what's the best? Which movie wears the crown?
Let's go back in time to the dreary epoch of 1982. But wait, I wasn't born then. So fast forward to about 1995 or so when I saw E.T. for the first time. I was a wee lad. I snuck into the basement and—mostly from between my terrified fingers—watched the best Drew Barrymore film ever made. And it scared me senseless. In all honesty, it probably planted the seed for my love of horror and obsession with aliens. But is it the best alien horror? Of course not. It isn't a horror movie no matter how damaged my psyche was for years to come. However, what it is is an excellent template for what makes alien horror work.
Defining Alien Horror: What We Can Learn from E.T.
What makes the best alien horror? It's simple: take the elements of E.T. and put them into a horror film. That's how you get 2013's Dark Skies. And yes, I know the movie has a lot of detractors. That's fine. Everyone's opinion is valid, and I'm only here to espouse mine.
We'll start with some of the mainstay elements of the genre, lifted from E.T. in such a wonderfully horrific manner:
The 'first contact' trope: instead of a cute, friendly alien, we get nightmare fuel.
The 'no one will believe us' trope: instead of hiding your best friend, you have to convince the police and everyone else you aren't patently insane.
The 'empathic connection' trope: instead of feeling the alien's emotion, we're now marked for death and branded with cryptic runes while we sleep, essentially binding us to the aliens.
The 'mad dash ending' trope: instead of fleeing the government and rushing to save the life of an alien, we are abandoned by the government and rushing to save our own life from the aliens.
Essentially, Dark Skies gives us all the good elements of a standard alien sci-fi twisted until it fits the shape of horror.
Is that enough to make the movie so great? No, but the movie still holds up phenomenally well. Why? Because everything about it is realistic. Good horror grounds itself in realities the audience recognizes. While the entire plot of E.T. is pretty easy to dismiss as fantasy, Dark Skies is not.
Alien Horror: Are we Alone in the Universe?
The answer for why a more realistic approach works lies in psychology. I taught the subject at both the high school and college levels until very recently, so I feel like I have a bit of a grasp on the scientific angles at play.
Dark Skies primes us from the very beginning with a quote from Arthur C. Clark:
"Two possibilities exist… Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."
That quote alone is beyond unsettling. Think about it. Either Earth houses the only life in the universe, or it does not. No third possibility exists. It is hard to fathom being truly alone. Imagine exploring dead planetary system after dead planetary system for millions of years. The humans of the future would go insane with isolation. Imagine we are not alone. It could mean eradication in the blink of an eye when we're finally discovered, through war or disease. Or it could mean centuries of unending wars with alien civilizations. No one knows, and the unknown is just as terrifying as being alone.
Starting with the quote sets the entire tone for the movie, and that tone is realism. The viewer is drawn in and forced to consider the movie's plot as though it was happening to us. After all, the possibility is whether we are alone, not they. One of the brilliant things done by Dark Skies is getting the viewer to really consider the possibilities.
Everything that happens in Dark Skies is rooted in reality, not sci-fi, which preys on our minds in a very real and psychological way. For instance: think of the various goings on with the family's kitchen. Did they leave the door open? A home invasion? An animal? Sleep walking? All are real possibilities. Aliens? Also a real possibility. By framing all the strange occurrences as plausible and not immediately supernatural, the movie continues to prey on our fears. It makes the supernatural natural.
The event (trying not to give too much away if you haven't seen it) with the photographs? More realism. Unruly kids offer a completely believable explanation. The birds? Again, could be entirely the result of biology.
When the movie really ramps up the scare factor is when the shadows start to appear. I have the sneaking suspicion that they're based on the very real phenomenon of sleep paralysis, another thing that can wreak havoc with viewers. Sleep paralysis can cause sufferers to see shadow-like humanoid hallucinations right at the edges of their sleep. Anyone familiar with the diagnosis will immediately feel the terror in a very visceral way as they watch.
And the realism doesn't stop there! Even when the more ridiculous things start to happen like one of the children showing massive bruising and the family finding cuts behind their ears. Again, there are rational explanations rooted in known science for both of those phenomena. But imagine the terror as a parent trying to explain to a doctor why your son has mysterious bruises all over his chest. That's brutal.
The icing on the cake for Dark Skies is its inevitability. The parents find an expert and get his advice, but all he can say is that they're screwed. I'm a firm believer that horror movies with happy endings are pretty lame, and Dark Skies delivers the tragic ending in beautiful fashion. The characters know what will happen. And they know they are powerless to stop it. Think of it: you know the enemy is coming, you know the consequences will be dire, and you know there's absolutely no hope whatsoever. The end. Roll credits.
Through and through, Dark Skies is a brilliant movie. I've seen it at least a dozen times, and every single scene still gives me goosebumps. When you consider the very real possibility that we are not alone in the universe, it isn't too hard to imagine that first contact will happen just as the movie portrays it. Or… that it has already happened. That it is happening right now all over the world.
And that it could happen to us.
Categories: Media AnalysisTags: alien, alien horror, dark skies, et, horror, horror movies, horror tropes
WandaVision is My Favorite Horror from 2021… so far
By Shannon Lewis August 12, 2021 ( 3 )
Anonymity in the City: Crime, Spiritual Vacancy and the Loss of Selfhood in Less Than Zero and American Psycho
By Liam Heitmann-Ryce June 10, 2021 ( 7 )
The Horror of Suburbia: What is "Universal" Horror?
By Shannon Lewis May 13, 2021 ( 8 )
The Symbolism of Mushrooms – Slow Burn Horror
The Symbolism of Dead Animals – Slow Burn Horror
August 10, 2021 • 6:12 am

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


No one wants to pay list price for storage and with the rapidly falling prices of NAND, SSDs for instance are getting more affordable by the day it seems. We've set up this page to highlight some of the best deals available on SSDs, hard drives, NAS systems and more, but only for products we trust. Consider this a curated list of deals that's largely based on our consumer storage leaderboard that highlights our favorite products in each category. If you find a great deal, let us know about it.
Note that we constantly update the prices of on-going sales listed below, so keep checking back!
Overall, the Ultra Slim portable hard drive is a great addition to their Backup Plus line, featuring a premium design and useful bundled software.
A simple and easy-to-use portable hard drive that offers an inexpensive way to add an additional 1TB to your supplemental storage.
The Lexar JumpDrive line would aptly serve most media enthusiasts or professionals looking to quickly transfer large data libraries.
The Samsung 850 EVO 2TB is a fantastic consumer SSD, offering the best of both worlds: market leading capacity and best-of-class performance.
Those looking for a desktop hard drive with good performance will be pleased with the WD10EALX.
The SanDisk Ultra microSDXC memory card is a great option for consumers looking to maximize the storage capabilities on their latest Android or Windows phones or cameras.
VMware Fusion is software that virtualizes all types of operating systems (from lesser-known Linux distributions to the latest Windows 10 release) and their application programs so they can be used on Macintosh computers.


I am working my way through the rest of the Easy Wood Tools products. This month I tried the Easy Detailer while turning a spindle and making a bead and cove with some other details which one might use while making a candlestick or a Windsor chair leg or a stair spindle. It works like a champ.
I started with a piece of rough limb which had been lying around the shop for a good while. It was very dry and still had the bark on it, so I squared off the ends on the chop saw and then punched a hole in each end with the awl to give the drive head and the live tailpiece a place to bite. I mounted it in the trusty Oneway and turned the speed up pretty fast once I found it was balanced. As you can see in the attached video, I rounded it off with the Easy Wood Tools Full Rougher, which is turning into my tool of choice when I need to rough something out quickly and easily. It is certainly my preference over a large roughing gouge since it does not bounce around when cutting and I don't have to worry about sharpening. If it gets dull, simply rotate the tip to another side and keep on cutting.
Watching the instructional videos on the Easy Wood Tools web site is the best way to learn to use the tools. I was interested to see how they use the Easy Rougher to start making a bead and/or a cove by using the corner to start a groove. You know already my apprehension about skew chisels and using this tool to start a groove is certainly a better option than my skew technique.
After getting a bead or a cove started, the Easy Detailer is a marvelous tool. It has a slightly rounded point at the end of a triangular cutting head and lends itself nicely to making coves and beads. I was able to dig pretty deeply into a cove and the only limitation was the size of the tool. They make a smaller one which would be really nice on a finely detailed candlestick, for example.
All in all, the Detailer is a fine tool and very easy to use. In addition, the Easy Finisher has a round cutter which may fit the bottom of your cove and make cleaning up any roughness a real "easy" task.
Take a look at the video attached and see if the Easy Wood Tools from Highland fit your needs. Give them a try, and I feel sure you will like them.
The more I use these tools the better I like them. I was having a difficult time cutting a bowl from Eucalyptus. This tool made short work of it and it came out extremely nice. Great job guys!!


Welcome to your Thursday edition of Sunday's update. I'm going to try to come up with a way to write these quicker.
I looked at two apartments. One was a little disappointing, and the other was good but a little more expensive than I wanted. On Saturday my plan was to maybe look at another one if it's available. Possibly I wouldn't end up moving, especially since I waited kind of late to get started. In that case I'd try again next year and plan things better.
Sunday I watched Incredibles 2. I'd heard it was a great movie, and I agree. But half the reason I went was to see the short at the beginning, Bao. Debates like this one about people's possibly culture-related confusion over it had made me curious how I'd react. It turns out I loved it, and I cried. I also felt that politicizing the story would kind of ruin it. But I probably will read about the cultural issues eventually, because I care about wrapping my mind around that stuff.
I finished Steven Pinker's How the Mind Works. It was a very helpful overview of important ideas in evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind, with lots of references for further research. I used to think evolutionary psychology was way too speculative to be useful, but now I think it's at least a helpful way to think about designing an AI: When you have to start from scratch, how might you develop an intelligent agent step by step? One difference, though, is that we can make our agent less klugey. In fact, Kluge by Gary Marcus will probably be my next cogsci book.
One issue I'd like to pursue as a branch off of Pinker's book is the structure of human motivation apart from any evolutionary roots. Pinker stresses the point that even though our genes' "motivation" is to replicate themselves in our offspring, that's not the motivation of the minds our genes produce. The genes create a mind that, for example, loves its family members for their own sake and not because they carry similar genes. But most of the book was about tracing human activity back to its evolutionary benefits. I'd like to look at mental computation in terms of the mind's own motivations.
A few years ago Nintendo released an emulated version of the original NES system called NES Classic. It sold out really fast, which made everyone mad. Well now they've re-released it, and when I got the notification, in a mild panic I jumped on the order button. My order arrived last week, so now I can relive my imaginary childhood in which I had the original console. Like I did with the SNES Classic, I've added the included games to my game backlog.
Now I can pretend I'm 8 again! … Playing Nintendo at my friend's house because I didn't have one.
My online friend Matt recommended I listen to NT Wright's Simply Christian before Surprised by Hope. It was short, so I did. I thought it was a very good overview of basic Christian thought and practice. Some reviewers have docked it points because it can't settle on an audience, but I didn't worry about that because I selfishly only care about what I can get from it. And I found it very thought provoking.
The main ideas I gleaned from it were a set of organizing principles for navigating the Christian life. The main one was to live as points of intersection between heaven and earth. This was the idea behind the Temple and the Incarnation, and now it happens in the church. A second was the image that believers are meant to be penciling sketches for the masterpiece of God's new creation. This expresses the already-not yet status of God's kingdom. The last was that all of this is meant to be understood by means of love, rather than mere clinical analysis.
I'm listening to these two Wright books back-to-back, so now I'm on Surprised by Hope.
I've continued my YouTube explorations of music theory and composition. One of the highlights was this documentary on Allen Forte, whose book on tonal harmony opened my eyes to the world of serious music theory.
My YouTube wanderings are following my typical pattern where I get interested in something, explore it, feel lost in the swirl of details, and then start mapping the territory. With music I'm nearing the mapping stage. This is good, because enthusiasm and random wandering don't necessarily amount to learning.
On Monday I foolishly passed up the chance to go to a Jacob Collier concert right here in my area. It started at 6:30, and I found out about it at about 2:30 that day. Somehow there were still tickets available. But I rarely (1) go to concerts, (2) make last minute plans, or (3) impulsively spend $25-$50, and at the time I didn't know if I cared enough about his music. So I skipped it. I regretted it the very next day seeing photos from the event on Twitter. But he was here last year too, so maybe he'll be around again.
I set up my LMMS installation so I can easily record my noodling at the keyboard. There's still a little latency I want to reduce, but even with that I can use this setup to study my musical experiments and improve my performance skills.
This entry was posted in Apartment, Cognitive science, Life maintenance, Movies, Music, Spirituality, Updates, Video games. Bookmark the permalink.
I loved The Incredibles 2 and the short film at the beginning!
I'm so sorry that your parents deprived you of video games when you were young. But think of all the things you learned, drew and imagined because you weren't spending time on a machine that really taught very little. Love you.
Cruel I may have been, but it has made you a stronger, better man!


'Anki Overdrive' Bringing Modular Tracks and New Cars to AI Racing Game - iPhone.MY - Daily News On Mac, iPhone, iPads, iPods and more!
Anki today announced a sequel to its innovative iOS-compatible Anki Drive slot car racing game. Called "Anki Overdrive" and set for launch in September, it will include brand new cars, a customizable track – courtesy of magnetically interlocking track pieces and "bridges" that adjust track height – and even jump ramps (via Re/code).
Originally debuted on stage at WWDC 2013, Anki has slowly grown support for the original Anki Drive by adding new cars and track support but keeping the same basic static roll-out mat technology. The sequel, which the company plans to announce today at the New York Toy Fair, will retain the same basic concept of using a smartphone to control a physical toy car around a track, battling against an A.I. opponent or other players.
The Anki Overdrive starter kit, which will retail for $150 and come with two cars, will include 10 modular track pieces that the company says can create up to eight different track options out of the box. They'll also be selling "expansion packs" that will give users the ability to add four way intersections, U-turns, and jumps into the mix. Those expansion packs will cost between $10 and $30, and additional cars will be around $50.
The team has boosted the software component, as well. Talking to Re/code, Anki co-founder Hanns Tappeiner said when the cars interact with a new, user-made track, they'll drive slowly and cautiously as they "map" the track to their memory, after which they'll begin speeding up. Tappeiner also highlights the potential for user imagination in weaving tracks around everyday household objects, not just limiting users to designated objects provided by Anki.
Tappeiner and I combined the pieces from two of the starter kits to make one criss-crossing mega-track stretching across a conference table. As advertised, we were able to use the stuff already on the desk — soda cans, water bottles, computer cables — to buttress the rising and falling pieces of the track.


* First node is identical to an inner node ("P"-Shape).
* This is considered okay.
* Last node is identical to an inner node ("b"-Shape).
* Both endpoints join at one inner node ("8"-shape).
* This is considered to be an error.
* Closed way contains a spike.
* Closed way with barbell shape (a-b-c-a-d-e-f-d).


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Top Islamic State leader killed in U.S. raid in Somalia, officials say
James Gunn to fans of CW's canceled 'Doom Patrol' and 'Titans': It wasn't me
HomeNewsWorldRare, green comet to pass by Earth starting this week
Rare, green comet to pass by Earth starting this week
(NEW YORK) — If you're looking at the night skies over the next month and make out a tiny green light in the sky, don't panic, aliens haven't landed.
A rare, green comet is expected to pass by Earth this week and will be visible in the night sky for nearly a month, according to NASA and astronomers.
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered last March when it was already inside the orbit of Jupiter. It is distinguishable by its green glow.
NASA scientists said the comet is expected to make its closest approach to the sun, or perihelion, on Jan. 12, and will be visible to stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere. Those in the Southern Hemisphere should be able to view the comet in February.
"Comets are notoriously unpredictable, but if this one continues its current trend in brightness, it'll be easy to spot with binoculars, and it's just possible it could become visible to the unaided eye under dark skies," NASA wrote on its "What's Up" blog earlier this month.
The comet will shift to the northwest on the horizon throughout January and it will make its closest pass of Earth between Feb. 1 and Feb. 2, according to NASA. During that time, the comet will be 26 million miles away from the planet, according to astronomers.
The comet will be close to Mars roughly a week later, according to astronomy charts.
Scoreboard roundup — 1/10/23
Krispy Kreme debuts three Biscoff cookie butter doughnuts


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We go the extra mile for our Lake Tahoe clients because we want them to be happy in their new homes. Our goal is to provide every client with the house of their dreams, so if you have something in mind give us a call today.


text:
Cannon House Office Building
Title: Cannon House Office Building
Subject: Congressional office buildings, United States House of Representatives Library, Nathan C. Wyeth, Longworth House Office Building, Russell Senate Office Building
Collection: Beaux-Arts Architecture in Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill, Carrère and Hastings Buildings, Congressional Office Buildings, Government Buildings Completed in 1908
The Cannon House Office Building viewed from near Independence Avenue and New Jersey Avenue SE
Location within Washington, D.C.
House Office Building
United States Capitol Complex
Carrère and Hastings
The Cannon House Office Building, completed in 1908, is the oldest congressional office building as well as a significant example of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture. It occupies a site south of the United States Capitol bounded by Independence Avenue, First Street, New Jersey Avenue, and C Street S.E. In 1962 the building was named for former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Joseph Gurney Cannon.[1]
Cannon Tunnel 3
2015 Renovations 4
View of building from Capitol dome
The first congressional office buildings were constructed immediately after the turn of the 20th century to relieve overcrowding in the United States Capitol. Previously, members who wanted office space had to rent quarters or borrow space in committee rooms. In March 1901 Congress authorized Architect of the Capitol Edward Clark to draw plans for fireproof office buildings for both the House and Senate adjacent to the Capitol grounds. In March 1903 the acquisition of sites and construction of the buildings were authorized. In April 1904 the prominent New York City architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings was retained. Thomas Hastings took charge of the House Office Building project, while John Carrère oversaw the construction of an almost identical office building (now named the Russell Senate Office Building) for the United States Senate. Their Beaux Arts designs were restrained complements to the Capitol.[1]
The Cannon Building was occupied during the 60th Congress in December 1907. By 1913, however, the House had outgrown the available office space, and fifty-one rooms were added to the original structure by raising the roof and constructing a fifth floor[note 1] that is visible only from the enclosed court. Originally there were 397 offices and fourteen committee rooms in the Cannon Building; the 1932 remodeling resulted in 85 two- or three-room suites, 10 single rooms, and 23 committee rooms.[1]
Cannon Building rotunda
Architecturally, the elevations are divided into a rusticated base and a colonnade with an entablature and balustrade. The colonnades with thirty-four Doric columns that face the Capitol are echoed by pilasters on the sides of the building. The Cannon Building is faced with marble and limestone; while the Senate's the Russell Building's base and terrace are gray granite.[1]
Modern for its time, the building initially included such facilities as forced-air ventilation systems, steam heat, individual lavatories with hot and cold running water and ice water, telephones, and electricity. Both the Cannon Building and the Russell Building are connected to the Capitol by underground passages.[1]
Of special architectural interest is the rotunda. Eighteen Corinthian columns support an entablature and a coffered dome, whose glazed oculus floods the rotunda with natural light. Twin marble staircases lead from the rotunda to an imposing Caucus Room, which features Corinthian pilasters, a full entablature, and a richly detailed ceiling.[1]
Cannon Tunnel
Construction of Cannon Tunnel, c. 1904
The Cannon Tunnel connects the Cannon House Office Building to the Capitol. The tunnel is lined with artwork from the annual Congressional Art Competition for high school students.[2] Branching off the entrance to Cannon Tunnel is a separate tunnel to the Longworth House Office Building, and entrances to a cafeteria, shoe shiner/cobbler, and a Legislative Resource Center. Unlike the tunnels from the Capitol to the Senate Office Buildings and the Rayburn tunnel, the Cannon Tunnel has no subway line, and is primarily a pedestrian pathway.[3]
In January 2015, a top-to-bottom renovation of the Cannon House Office Building began. Completion is expected to take ten years and cost $752.7 million. Initially, renovation will be focused on upgrading the building utilities, but will progress on to a wing-by-wing exterior and interior reconstruction. According to Bill Weidemeyer (Superintendent of the House), the building "is plagued by safety, health, environmental and operational issues that are rapidly worsening. Many of the buildings systems are original from the 1908 construction."[4]
^ Technically in Classical architecture, an attic.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Cannon House Office Building, Architect of the Capitol".
^ a b c d e f "The Cannon House Office Building".
^ Yager, Jordy (February 9, 2010). "An A-mazing Guide". The Hill (Washington, DC). Retrieved 27 April 2015.
^ Young, Michelle (July 25, 2014). "The Underground City Beneath the U.S. Capitol and Library of Congress". Untapped Cities. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
^ Klimas, Jacqueline (January 18, 2015). "Cannon House Office Building begins $752M renovation". The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Retrieved 27 April 2015.
Cannon Renewal Project FAQs, Architect of the Capitol
Ghosts of DC blog: Three Bits of Trivia About the Cannon House Office Building
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WorldHeritage articles incorporating text from public domain works of the United States Government
Carrère and Hastings buildings
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Washington, D.C., United States Senate, White House, United States House of Representatives, Thomas Jefferson
Beaux-Arts architecture
World War I, New York City, Second Empire architecture, Baroque Revival architecture, Modern architecture
United States Senate, United States Capitol, United States Capitol Complex, United States House of Representatives, Library of Congress
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Nathan C. Wyeth
Chicago, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Switzerland, France
Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C., United States Capitol Complex, United States House of Representatives, United States Capitol, United States Senate
Russell Senate Office Building
Virginia, United States Senate, Washington, D.C., United States Capitol, Pennsylvania


text:
Q: How to delete the empty TAGS while publishing XML in Informatica Target I am publishing a XML as Informatica Target and I am getting empty tags in the published file. I have already treid the below mentioned settings but still empty tags are coming.
XML null content representation-> No Tag
XML empty string content representation->No Tag
XML null attribute representation->No Attribute
XML empty string attribute representation->No Attribute
and below mentioned Custom Properties
WriteNullXMLFile=No;SuppressNilContentMethod=ByTree;

A: In session properties go to config object tab.
In custom properties field write this
WriteNullXMLFile = No;SuppressNilContentMethod=ByTree

A: I came across this in a KB. Please check if this is applicable in your case.
When the attribute of an element in the mapping is projected and not the element itself, then when the null is passed to the attribute, the attribute will be suppressed. However, the empty element tag will still be created in the target XML filebecause, the Null Content Representation=No Tag will be in effect only when the element is projected.
Solution
To suppress the empty element tags, project these elements in the mapping and pass the NULL value

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Dr. Zielinski has privileges at both Texas Health Cleburne and at the local outpatient surgical center. Texas Spine and Neurosurgery has a local satellite clinic in Cleburne where we see patients from Alvarado. Patients can be treated locally with all of their conservative therapy care options. If a patient needs surgical therapy, they are able to undergo their procedure in Cleburne. There is no longer a need to drive for hours in order to obtain first class care for your back or neck.
Dr. Zielinski appreciates the local support he has from the Alvarado community and wishes to continue to develop first class spine care in Alvarado in the future.


By 1979, the gay community in Alberta was developing its political activist muscles. With support from GIRC in Calgary and GATE in Edmonton, Red Deer formed its first gay organization called the Gay Association of Red Deer (GARD). 15 people showed up to its incorporating meeting on February 24, 1979. GARD quickly took Red Deer's newspapers to task for failing to let them advertise.
In the lead up to the Alberta Provincial Elections on March 14, 1979, activists in Calgary and Edmonton crashed political forums, asking repeatedly about the lack of human rights protections for gays in legislation. They were successful in getting the provincial New Democratic Party (NDP) to declare its support for gay rights: the first Alberta political party to take that stance. In addition, GIRC sponsored an all candidates' forum on March 12th at the Old Y. They were successful in getting five candidates from city centre electoral divisions to attend.
Q: What is the Tory Party doing about the recommendation by the Alberta Human Rights Commission to include sexual orientation in the Individual Rights Protection Act?
A: It is under consideration.
Q: What is the Conservative party's policy on the gay rights issue?
A: That's a caucus decision, they will decide.
Q: What is you own position on this?
Lougheed took his party on to a commanding victory in the election – 74 of 79 seats – but gay power was on a roll. On April 21st, the Alberta Lesbian and Gay Rights Association (ALGRA) was created in Edmonton at the conclusion of the first ever Alberta Gay Conference. 20 delegates from Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer met to coordinate efforts in human rights, rural outreach, public education, government lobbying and inter-city communication. Doug Young from Calgary and Clare McDuff Oliver from Edmonton were elected to represent ALGRA at the national level on the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Rights Coalition's (CLGRC) Executive Coordinating Committee.
This entry was posted in Gay history and tagged Alberta Lesbian and Gay Rights Association, ALGRA, bisexual, Calgary, Canadian Lesbian and Gay Rights Coalition, Clare McDuff Oliver, CLGRC, Doug Young, Edmonton, GARD, GATE, gay, Gay history, GIRC, history, human-rights, lesbian, Old Y, Peter Lougheed, queer, Red Deer, TD Square. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Palm Strengthens Its Connections
By David Weiss
Call it a case of dueling handhelds. Right on the heels of Handspring's unveiling of the Visor Edge, Palm has come out with two new handhelds to pique the interest of both Palm and Mac fans.
Palm's latest PDAs sport a new expansion slot for memory and peripherals, a universal connector that -- when it catches on -- will work with all cradles and peripherals, and an updated Palm operating system. But the first thing Mac users notice may be a perfectly ordinary connector: a USB cable that finally lets Mac users HotSync with their Palms right out of the box.
The $399 m500 and $449 m505 might sound like variations on the m105, announced by Palm earlier this month. But the m500 series features a new shape that more closely resembles a Palm V.
The latest handhelds are thin and wrapped in a metallic case. They ship with 8MB of RAM. The m505 comes with a color display; like the Visor Prism, it supports 16-bit color for more-vivid pictures than the 8-bit color Palm IIIc has. But unlike the Prism, it's no larger than its monochrome counterpart.
Parlez-Vous Mac?
For the Mac community, Palm's move to a native USB cradle is very good news. Previously, Mac users had to shell out an extra $40 for a converter, enduring a less-than-intuitive method for connecting the Palm to a Mac. Combined with Palm's decision to put Mac software on the accompanying CD -- a practice it began with the m100's release in August 2000 -- it's clear the company has listened to Mac users.
David Christopher, director of product marketing in Palm's Consumer Markets Group, confirms that he's heard much criticism of Palm's past Mac support. "Mac users have told us that they'd like to see us go USB, and that they'd like to see a much better out-of-the-box experience," he says. "With the new products, we think we've addressed this need."
Mac users make up about 10 percent of Palm's current customers. With USB cradles, Christopher says, Palm hopes to attract many more. The company has also tried to woo the Mac customer base by rewriting all of the documentation to make it Mac-friendly, clearly describing all Mac-related topics.
Mac friendliness aside, the SD slot marks the most groundbreaking of the new features in the m500 series. SD, or Secure Data, is a storage format similar to SmartMedia and Memory Stick, though it's smaller than both those formats. It can store 64MB of data.
As with the Visor's Springboard slot, peripherals can be built to fit the SD specification, so the slot can accommodate devices such as MP3 players, GPS receivers, and Bluetooth modules. Disks or peripherals that fit the SD specification can initiate events when you plug them in -- another Springboard similarity. But Palm's SD slot is so thin that it doesn't add any bulk to the handheld. Also, the SD spec isn't a proprietary format -- a number of manufacturers use it for digital cameras, printers, and MP3 players.
OS Update
The latest Palms ship with Palm OS 4.0, which supports the SD slot, 16-bit color, and USB. The new OS could also breathe some new life into your cell phone. Any cell phone with an IR port combined with a Palm will be able to act as a wireless modem, turning even the least-expensive Palm into the equivalent of the Palm VII. (If your phone doesn't have IR, you can get the same effect by using a cable.) With Palm OS 4.0, you can also dial your phone directly from the PDA.
The new OS also has a greater variety of security preferences, so you can lock down your PDA whenever you turn it off, for example, and encrypt or hide individual records. A new Attention Manager feature allows you to view more than one alarm at a time, solving the problem of one alarm "stacking."
Palm OS 4.0 supports time zones, a long-requested feature. And it's savvy enough to import vCard and vCal files into Address Book and Calendar, respectively.
The new OS includes Clock and NotePad applications (formerly available only on the m100), a new calculator, Palm Reader, MGI Photosuite, and Documents to Go, along with the Mac desktop component.
Handheld Rumble
Palm is introducing the m500 series at a time when it could be facing tougher competition from Handspring. Executives at Handspring made it clear last week that they're targeting the Visor Edge at the Palm V-buying crowd.
So what do Palm executives think of the latest Visor? "It's a nice product," Christopher says. "But it's almost the opposite of what we're doing. The Edge is a small device that has no expansion, unless you add bulk to it, whereas we're making a smaller product that does have expansion. Even as it is, the Edge is bigger. We think we've designed the most wearable, elegant, expandable product in the marketplace."
The m500 will be released in late April. The m505 follows in May. You can order both now at the Palm Web site.
Talk about this and other Palm-related stuff in our Portable Macs and Handhelds forum.


Event Pics for Christian Artist's Music Association, Inc. (CAMA) - Christian Artist's Music Assoc., Inc. CAMA Inc - Christian Music Event Pics for CAMA, Inc.
Please "CLICK" on the picture for the Name, Title and Speaker topic.
& Rosie Harrell who helped tremendously with the planning of the event.
"What a bunch of great guys and so talented in their playing of instruments and writing their own songs".
We had a great time with all of you who were at the Talent Challenge along with some good food that was served by our CAMA singers, with some good ole' fellowship in the house of the Lord.
There were 8 Talent Challenge Contestants that made their way to Victory Christian Fellowship in East Palatka on Saturday, June 25th. They were . . .
singing "I Won't Hurt Anymore" and Jane Mason's titled song "Angels".
The Grand Challenge Winner was KAREN MORGAN singing "The Broken Ones"
originally sung by the Talley Trio.
Debra Hirsch, DJ Wiltse, Jamie Osteen and Lindy Norman.
Then what a great way to end the evening with the grand winner singing "Call On Jesus".
and unfortunately most of the pics were over that size.
Our judges for the challenge were . . .Theresa Reed, Helen Tippett & Joe Hirsch.
Photos are compliments of Mr. Mason / Thank You!
What a time we had on Friday night, June 27th. The CAMA singers decided to join Blessings for their "Open Mic" night. Welaka is so blessed to have Kathy and Brian as business owners who really care about their community. We think that we are giving a blessing by singing for the people who come out, but in return we receive blessings by just being there, because of the love that is there. Most of the locals go there to give readings, maybe some poetry, a song or even testimonies of the wonders of God. If you need a place to make you feel welcome, visit Kathy & Brian at Blessings on Friday nights at 5 pm. You won't leave the same way, you went in!
CAMA had a super time at the Bostwick Blueberry Festival. This is the 2nd year that CAMA singers have brought the gospel of Christ to the Bostwick Community. We met other singers that we seen last year and we also talked to many of you we have not seen before. We are so glad that we were a part of this grand harvest celebration and thank all of those that volunteer their efforts like the singers and musicians, the festival coordinators, all the vendors and our dear Lord for making it a beautiful day with sunshine and a breeze that fell upon us.
Thanks to Bobbi, the entertainment coordinator for inviting us back this year.
The following picture are compliments of CAMA, Inc. and dear Claudia.
Thanks much to all of our CAMA Artist Members who volunteered their time to come out and sing.
We are sorry we didn't get pictures of Randy Rodger, Cross Fire Rock Band, Joe Doty, & Old Time Way.
Double-click on any photo below that you want to enlarge.
We had a great time of witnessing at CAMA's Third Street Stage location. The singers were delighted to sing some great songs in the Christian walk and we had others that sang oldies too. We got to meet some interesting people and it even opened the door for us to meet Roy who had a hat story, which was the story of Jesus from birth to death. It may be you would hear a song in the future about the hat and what it symbolizes and why the story is so important.
Our CAMA Singers got to sing some great songs from Dottie Rambo to Jackie Valezquez, to the Crabb Family and from Righteous Lite Gospel, 2 songs that were written by Bud Atkinson, the Georgia Songwriter and more.
music on 5 separate music stages. We hope to see you next year.
We had a great time at the Welaka Spring Fest this past February.
With great food, good music and just overall fun for the entire family.
Brian the owner of Blessings Christian Bookstore in Welaka set the stage for all of the singers and musicians that day and we really appreciate him providing his equipment and for asking CAMA to participate again this year.
The CAMA Singers that participated were Lindy Norman, Debra Hirsch and Nancy joined in a couple of songs to make the CAMA Trio.
singing for the CAMA Quartet.
Please join us next year for a great celebration in Welaka.
Here are some of the pics of the singers/musicians and some of the winners from the cake / pie contests.
We had a fun time at the CAMA Christmas party fellowshipping with one another and sharing pizza, salad and desserts. Then came the gift giving/taking event and we had a great time spending time with all of you who attended, and missed those of you who couldn't make it. Please mark your calendars for next years party, we want to see all of our CAMA Artists, Sponsors and Honoraries attend, just go to our Calendar of Events Tab.
2010 Caroling the Ravines (Event Pictures are below) This was our first year at the "Caroling the Ravines" and what a time it was. Righteous Lite; Jamie Osteen & Nancy Suter took the stage all decked-out in our Carolers costumes to sing the most popular and inspiring Christmas songs and sang the song from our extended Songwriters family; Bud Atkinson's "God Come Down", that is on our "SNOW SONG" CD Album. The lyrics give you a picture of God actually letting His presence be know through the little Baby Jesus.
The ravines were beautifully decorated and we encourage other Singers and Musicians to get involved next year and tell everyone about it. They had trams and wagons departing at various intervals to tour the lighted ravines with Carolers and vendors.
We were so fortunate to share the stage with talented people like .... Stage 1 Dance Studio and Daughters of the King along with outside entertainment with The James Brothers, Holy Word Revival Center, Saint Johns Lutheran Church, Lee Kelly & Bill Snyder and George DeLoach, and beautiful keyboard music by Dan Masters.
We invite all of you back to the ravines next year to donate items for our local food banks and charities.
The CAMA Singers were invited to sing for the women's organization again this year and we had such a good time with friends and new & old acquaintances.
Weezie Overpeck could not make it due to an illness in the family.
We had such a great time with family, friends, sponsors, artist members and board members at our annual meeting & concert on October 23rd. There were 53 in attendance and received sponsorship renewals, and donations for the food, CD and love offering. And the food wasn't bad either and thanks to all of those who donated food for the event.
It was such a pleasure to present to the attendees one of the great songwriters of our time, Dottie Rambo. What a God-gifted and spirit-filled person she was, and we hope that you all enjoyed the history of Dottie's life and you will remain as a listener of her wonderful music. Dottie you will not be forgotten.
THANKS much to the First Baptist Church of Interlachen, Pastor Tony & Dan Darcey their music minister for helping out with the program and members of the congregation for helping to advertise. We were truly blessed and we pray all those in attendance were blessed.
On Friday, Nancy and Jamie Osteen traveled to the Gold & Platinum Award-Winning Big Mama Recording Studios in Seymour, TN. What an exciting trip we had and our God was with us all the way. The Lord always knows what His children are all about and this was a very special time for both of us being that we have dreamed about having our very own personal CD Album recorded, and HE made that come true for us.
We know there are some of our CAMA Artist Members who would have like to have been there, but just remember God isn't through with you yet.
Our Itinerary: We left FL on Tuesday, and arrived in Pigeon Forge, TN around 7:30 pm at the Laurel Crest Resort. For the next two days we visited the area and found the studio on Friday to make our way into the recording booth. And yeah, there were mountains everywhere!
Gretchen, what a sweet lady, at the studio was so helpful and was so accommodating and then we met Jason Alley who was our production engineer. Jason was just great and was so easy to work with and was really positive about our singing and helping us with the details.
Jamie and I will be planning a CD RELEASE PARTY together sometime in November at one of the local churches and we expect all of our family and friends to be there to share with us, and all of those who just love music and are excited for what the Lord is doing in our lives. This is a really important time for both of us in knowing we are using our music as a witness for our Lord. Keep visiting our Web site for more information on the release party. It will be a great time of fun, fellowship and music.
We thank God for this experience and for the opportunity to help make these CD's become a witness to Him through His music. How awesome it was to see all the platinum/gold records on the wall from many famous & great musicians and artists of the past, and of today like Dolly Parton, BJ Thomas, Kirk Talley, Larry Gatlin, Loretta Lynn, The Talleys, Charley Pride, Archie Campbell, The Kingsmen, Porter Wagoner, and more. It made us feel a part of that heritage of music and to know that many people whether Christian or non-Christians had passed through those doors and how even in business we can bring each kind together in one likeness, as Christ can do.
Our checkout from the resort was Saturday morning and we ventured to Cleveland, TN where Jamie attended "Steve Hurst School of Music" which is a Southern Gospel music school on the campus of Lee University for those who would like to further their music ministries. Jamie updated me periodically throughout the week to share what she had learned and to let me know she had met the Talley's and Mark Trammell, the Tribute Quartet, Triumphant Quartet, and so on. Her next-door roomate Jennifer had traveled with the Bowlings in singing. Overall she had a great time and learned a lot.
THANKS SO MUCH TO GRETCHEN & JASON of Big Mama Recording Studios we had a great time in Seymour TN and to STEVE HURST for his dedication to Lord to encourage Southern gospel singers, but most of all THANK YOU FATHER GOD FOR GIVING US THE MEANS TO CONTINUE YOUR MINISTRY THROUGH US!
W.O Brown & Lee Grooms. We had a great time!
Christian Artist's Music Association Inc. (CAMA) Event Pics for CAMA, Inc.