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Daniel Brown's Work In Progress
Work on the moveable 3D version of Naomi Campbell continues. (Listen to Nick Knight's original brief where he explains how an interactive will illuminate the contours of a supersize statue of Naomi here). Daniel Brown has now produced a work in progress test for us to look at, about which he says the following:
"The work-in-progress is investigating realtime 3D technology, with the aim of allowing paint, pencil, type and special effects to be applied dynamically by the user - to give them a participation in the aesthetic-process. The 3D model has been converted into 80,000 3D pixels, each able to change colour interactively. With the final model, we're hoping to allow detail to be applied at a much finer scale, almost akin to make-up."


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Erasmus+ provides opportunities for young people to spend time abroad and widen their horizons. Here are a few tips and blogs written by Erasmus+ students.
To learn more about new teaching methods, check out the 3 specialised tools for schools and teachers at the School Education Gateway.
Planning to study abroad and want to know what sort of budget you'll need? Check out this overview of tuition fees per country:
Would you like to enjoy student life in another country but are afraid it will cost you an arm and a leg? Read on to find out how you can track down a scholarship and start the next academic year in the country of your dreams.
Better do some research! Start by checking the information on the websites below that we have selected to guide you in your choice of country, university, programme and possible scholarships.
Ok, you'll still be at school – but you'll be making new friends, improving your language skills and getting to know a whole new culture.

subset: commoncrawl


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Are You A Guilty Shopper?
By Mark Bergen
Wearing jeans and designer sunglasses, Stuti Subbaiah, a 22-year-old law student from Bangalore, had a confession: "I feel guilty when I look at some of my clothing."
She had just left the National's People's Tribunal, a three-day mock hearing in Bangalore run by several NGOs and labor unions. The purpose of the tribunal was to highlight Indian garment workers' conditions and place the international retailers on top of the supply chain on trial. In front of an audience of more than 250 observers and fellow stitchers, eight textile factory workers, all women, described harassment, forced overtime and unsafe working conditions.
Ms. Subbaiah had heard similar tales from China and elsewhere, but not in her home city. As India braces for an overhaul in its retail market, Ms. Subbaiah is in a sought after demographic. Global retailers are eying her generation, with its rising expendable income and taste for contemporary, international fashion. Meanwhile, groups that have long picked battles with garment manufacturers are turning to people like her to help confront the industry.
"I don't think people my age are that aware of workers' conditions," added Ms. Subbaiah, an intern for the Alternative Law Forum, a Bangalore-based NGO that co-sponsored the tribunal. Many garments made in India will be supplied to global brands that will then send them back, aiming for young consumers like Ms. Subbaiah.
A day before the tribunal ended, a fire at a factory in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka killed over 100 garment workers, bringing further scrutiny on the industry.
"We urgently need a consumer movement in India," said Anannya Bhattacharjee, the director of Asia Floor Wage, the primary organization behind the mock tribunal. Her group advocates for a uniform minimum wage across Asia in manufacturing, a bid to keep firms from shifting to countries with cheaper labor.
"Indian consumers are surprised to 'discover' that the fashion clothing they buy [is] being made by poor migrant Indian workers," she wrote in an email.
Environmentalists, she added, have succeeded in convincing shoppers in India of their influence by drawing attention to eco-friendly products. The labor movement has not.
A 2011 Nielsen survey suggested that India's middle class is increasingly attuned to its purchases, particularly their greenness. It found that 86% of Indian consumers placed faith in energy-efficient products and appliances, above the global average of 83%. Young Indian consumers, while thrifty, are willing to pay more for green products, adds market research firm Emergent Ventures says.
But less than half of Indians surveyed by Nielsen voiced a similar concern for the labor practices behind their purchases.
In five years, India's apparel market will expand by $23 billion, with its organized portion almost doubling, according to consultancy Technopak. International brands will see their slice in the market rise from 18% to 25%. In September, retailer H&M reportedly discussed joint ventures with as many as three firms, but a spokesman for the company told The Wall Street Journal's India Real Time that "there are no concrete plans" in the country.
Textiles, which account for a tenth of India's export earnings, are projected to expand from an $89 billion to a $221 billion industry by 2021, according to a Technopak report. The bulk of these exports are stitched in three places: Tirupur, a textile hub in Tamil Nadu, the National Capital Region, and Bangalore, where the industry existed long before outsourcing companies.
"There are huge levels of denial about what are the poverty levels in our country, what are the conditions of work," said Mary E. John, a senior fellow with the Centre for Women and Development Studies in New Delhi, and a member of the tribunal's panel.
To overcome this denial, the labor activists in Bangalore said they plan to keep highlighting the realities of the garment industry. In their final 'verdict,' the panel said the minimum wage, set in Bangalore at 4,472 rupees ($80) a month, should be nearly tripled.
Working standards in India will improve in time as international retail moves in, said Pakhie Saxena, associate director of retail at Technopak. "As the industry gets increasingly organized, it's going to move toward best practices," she said.
But Ms. John argued that it would take a more concerted effort. At the moment, activists are targeting conscientious consumers abroad, she said, adding that a strategy to boost awareness in India would materialize "once the brands come."
Mark Bergen is a freelance reporter based in Bangalore. You can follow him on Twitter@mhbergen.


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Knitting It Old School
(all photos this post copyright Splityarn. see below.)
There was a short period of time in the midst of all the baby-crazy the past three years that I had the capacity of a fully functioning adult, and I had the privilege to work on a design for Caro and Stitchy's latest project, Knitting it Old School, a book which is basically the love child of Caro and Stichy's adoration of, and fascination with, everything vintage.
Caro and Stitchy have the gift of translating fashions from the past… Not just the obvious appeal of classic patterns from the 40s or 50s (I mean really, have sweater sets ever been out of fashion completely? Anyone can do a vintage book centered on "classic"…) but also of the bold statements from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Their vision for those designs make you realize why the designs of those times were popular in the first place and show just how versatile those pieces can be.
Case in point, I had the pleasure of pattern writing Tammy George's design Snowmates for Her (Rav link).
It's a classic pullover, 3/4 length sleeves, waist shaping, fabulous neckline details (nested ribbing with contrast inner hem – love it!!!) with some funky color work detail. The bold blocks of color make me think of the late 60s. Maybe the 80s.
But there's so much you could do with this pattern! I plan on making it for myself, and maybe inserting a snowflake motif for a Nordic sweater feel. You could omit the color work completely for more of a workhorse wardrobe piece. Or you could insert a favorite line of poetry or prose for something more personal, or whimsical. (I just thought of that, and damn, forget the snowflakes. I think I want words instead.)
Anyway, the pattern is easily modified… knit top-down, raglan style, just keep increasing until it fits your bust. Then keep decreasing until it fits your waist. Then increase again until it fits your hips. The math to figure all that out is fairly simple, even if you've never modified a pattern before.
The sweater itself looks good on, well, everyone I've seen wear it.
(The wrinkles are from it just coming out of the Trunk.)
Kellee, Cassie and I have significantly different builds and body shapes, and it looks great on all of us, if I do say so myself.
Hats off to Tammy for her gorgeous design. I can't wait to have one of my very own. Believe you me, I'd have at least one already if I hadn't spent the last year pregnant, and wondering where my measurements will settle once I finish nursing.
(All pictures courtesy Caro Benna Sheridan, aka Splityarn, aka photographer extraordinaire)
Caroline #
Hi Jackie, I'm still a relatively new knitter and your book, "Field Guid to Knitting" was one of my first purchases. I loved it and still do…I want to know if the Linen Stitch pattern on pages 52 and 53 have any corrections. I found that I had to Knit 2 and Purl 2 at the end and also had to slip 1 purlwise. Have I made a mess of your pattern, please help me out here.
Thank you,
Caroline G.October 28, 2011


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First Look at Harry Potter Wizards Collection DVD Boxed Set on Amazon
Mar 03, 2012
Home Video / DVD
Retailer Amazon.com has posted images and information for what looks to be the ultimate showcase collection of Harry Potter films fans have been waiting for. The Harry Potter Wizards Collection contains a total of 31 discs, 18 of which present a mixture of regular and extended cuts of all seven films, 13 special feature discs compiling hours of extras from the series. This new boxed set, according to Amazon, contains over "5 hours of never before seen special features, in a limited and numbered edition." An animated video of the box and its contents accompanies the product page, and can be viewed right here.
While full details are scarce, a full list of films and features is as follows:
- 18 movie discs
- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Theatrical Version and Extended Cut
- "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" Theatrical Version and Extended Cut
- "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
- "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
- "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
- "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ' Part 1″ 2D and 3D Versions
- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ' Part 2″ 2D and 3D Versions
- 13 Special feature discs
- Includes multiple specially-produced, collectable [sp] memorabilia items, including concept art, a Map of Hogwarts and much more!
A release date for this product is listed as "2012," but an official release date has not yet been given.
The full retail price of this package is a whopping $500 USD, Amazon currently has it on sale for $349.99.
More details as we get them!


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I have pretty much converted to hammock sleeping full time, three weeks now, and I am using my Baby orca on my 65" wide DIY hammock. I like the temp it keeps me in my room. it get down to about 40* in there some times. So its perfect not hot mostly not cold. However if I roll over to sleep from one side to the other side the UQ will flip completely away and off of my back I don't realize till am already snuggled. I have adjusted the bungies and indefinite number of times. Looser and tighter same thing. channels taught or open (i like open better). It also doesn't help that I went into the lake after my friends cell phone, so I am extra cold right now, the lake is about 40*
Suggestions folks? I am going to try a safety pin tonight to keep it in place. on my DIY Hammock.


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This astonishing photograph shows San Francisco's Bay Bridge being struck by a whopping NINE bolts of lightning.
Captured through a rain-streaked window by Phil McGrew, it certainly puts paid to the myth lightning never strikes the same place twice.
McGrew admitted he wasn't brave enough to venture outside to capture the storm on Thursday night, but was delighted with his shot.
He told the Daily Mail: "When I looked at my camera, I had a few that were just dark, and then some were very bright where I had just missed the strikes. Then I saw this one, it was incredible."
Lightning Strike! Matt Wilks Survives Being Hit Twice Thanks To £3 eBay Umbrella Hat
Scroll down for a gallery of lightning bolts bombarding Albuquerque, New Mexico, last week
Phil McGrew/North News
Lightning bolts bombard Albuquerque, New Mexico


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Nauticam EM5 with viewfinder
Posted 07 November 2012 - 02:02 AM
I'm thinking to move to Oly OMD EM5 with a Nauticam housing, and one thing I would like to use is a external straight viewfinder (Inon or Nauticam). I'm been suffering on internet, trying to find any photo of how the VF fit on the housing, and if the LCD screen is covered or not by the VF-
If somebody is using this rig, could be useful if give me their comments and could be great if paste a photo of this rig
Olympus OMD E-M1, Naticam housing, 2x S&S D1, Oly 60mm , 12-50mm & 12-40mm, Pana 8mm & 7-14mm
Posted 07 November 2012 - 03:04 AM
You need to order a special back window for viewfinder that can accommodate either Inon or Nauticam viewfinder.
I am using the Nauticam 45 viewfinder, which is very nice !!
Posted 07 November 2012 - 05:20 AM
here is a link to a picture of the special back window that Edmond mentioned (I have no connections with this company). At the Photokina here in Germany Mr. Lai from Nauticam demonstrated that this window is easily exchangeable by the user.
As you can see, with this window a certain part of the LCD is blocked when no external viewfinder is mounted.
Edited by Jock, 07 November 2012 - 05:20 AM.
Olympus OM-D EM5, Inon Z240 and Nikonos RS, Ikelite SS200
Posted 07 November 2012 - 06:47 AM
Here is a picture of the Nauticam NA-EM5 with a 45 degree viewfinder that Phil Rudin posted this photo on another board.
Here is a shot he took of the Nauticam NA-NEX7 with 45 degree viewfinder. It is not the EM5, but it will give you another view of the magnifying viewfinder on these small housings.
(Wetpixel would not let me link to the photos here.)
Alan Dewey
Reef Photo & Video
n2theblue at reefphoto.com
S.D.I. Scuba Instructor
S.D.I. Underwater Photographer Instructor
Posted 07 November 2012 - 07:03 AM
...external straight viewfinder (Inon or Nauticam)...
Just to clarify this part of your question, yes, with the LCD window changeout (which is pretty easily done and requires no tools) you can then use our 180º VF. You could use the Inon as well, but it would require an adapter or conversion to the Nauticam format.
Chris Parsons
Nauticam USA / Zen Underwater
innovation at nauticamusa
Posted 07 November 2012 - 07:18 AM
Now it's clear that is mandatory to change the LCD window.
Seeing the housing with 45ºVF of Edmond's photo, It`s appears that you loose the whole view of the LCD window with this VF. It's is correct?
Any photo of Nauticam 180ºVF installed in the EM5 housing ? Same effect in the LCD window?
Olympus OMD E-M1, Naticam housing, 2x S&S D1, Oly 60mm , 12-50mm & 12-40mm, Pana 8mm & 7-14mm
Posted 07 November 2012 - 07:42 AM
It does cover the LCD screen a little, but, once you use it, you will not be using the screen. I have done two dives and shot 200 images and videos, and not once have I felt the need to look at the LCD screen. Remember that the EVF can show you all the settings so even if you have to go change a setting in a menu there is no need to use the screen. I believe that, because of the more compact dimensions of the EM5 housing (ie the viewfinder is close to the ldc screen) that even the straight finder will also block the screen somewhat.
You might want to consider the 45 degree unless you already have the straight finder. The EM5 housing is very compact, such that using the 45 degree finder is no effort at all as you are not moving a huge bulky housing underneath you. It's hard to describe but very evident in use. I have no issue using the 45 for wide angle shots. For macro, it is far superior to the streaight finder as you can have the camera below you and stay off the bottom.
- dawallace99 likes this
Posted 09 December 2015 - 05:26 PM
GuyHarrisonPhoto, I have an OMD EM-1 in a Nauticam housing and just bought a 45 degree viewfinder for it. Got it installed but am having trouble reviewing my photos on the back of the housing window (won't let me view it there). I can only "review" them through the Nauticam viewfinder.
Is there a setting that will allow me to "review" (when hitting the 'review' button on the back of the housing) on the back of the housing window? It's a pain to have to review all your photos through the Nauty viewfinder
Edited by dawallace99, 09 December 2015 - 05:27 PM.
Posted 10 December 2015 - 11:27 AM
To the left of the viewfinder/window is the LV button (a button with a TV looking image on it). It switches between the EVF and the LCD screen. When you press the Review button, if the image is displayed on the LCD, press the LV button and the image being reviewed will switch back and forth between the viewfinder and the LCD. When you press the Review button to exit, you may have to press the LV button the switch back to EVF mode.
Bob W


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University of Vermont
2011-12 Online Catalogue
Pathology (Master of Science)
General Requirements
Specific Requirements
Requirements for Admission to Graduate Studies for the Degree of Master of Science
Satisfactory undergraduate or graduate course work in chemistry and the biological sciences. Microbiology and immunology are also recommended but not required. Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination, general (aptitude) section. Persons interested in a Ph.D. program may wish to consider the interdisciplinary program in Cell and Molecular Biology in which Pathology participates.
Minimum Degree Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
ANNB 311 (three credits), PATH 305 (three credits), BIOC 301- BIOC 302 (six credits); additional approved courses; thesis research (six to fifteen credits).
- Colleges and Schools: Graduate College. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. College of Medicine.
- Departments and Programs: Pathology Department.


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By Michael Kolarcik, SJ
Special to Catholic News Service
The stories recounted throughout Genesis are all about relationships: God and humanity, husband and wife, parent and child, and brothers –- many brothers. It's interesting to notice the movement from the first set of siblings to those at the end of Genesis. We move from the most violent at the beginning to reconciliation at the conclusion.
First, Cain kills his brother Abel. A son of Noah acts with disrespect to his father in front of his brothers. Ishmael and Isaac become permanently separated (but I like the touch where both of them come together to bury their father Abraham, Gen 25:9). Jacob and Esau compete to the point of threatening death, but become almost reconciled.
Finally at the end, covering Chapters 37-50, longer than any other family story in Genesis, the story of Joseph and his eleven brothers is mostly about seeking reconciliation.
All because of a special place that Joseph had in his father's heart, tremendous jealousy swelled up in the older brothers. Joseph received a special tunic from their father and he did not wear the special status well before his brothers or before his parents. The conflict in this family is one each generation must face. How do you treat those who are your equal but more gifted? How do you treat your equals who are less gifted than you? Joseph at seventeen does not yet know how to use the gifts he is given for the service of others. The brothers do not know how to recognize and foster the gifts in their younger brother.
The conflict reached a breaking point. The brothers stripped Joseph of his special tunic, threw him in a pit, sold him to a caravan heading to Egypt and returned the blood-smeared tunic to their father. "Here is a bloodied tunic, see if it is that of your son!"
Lost to his family, Joseph goes through test after test until he emerges as one who has learned to use his gifts for the benefit of others. For this reason he was placed in charge of Pharaoh's government.
The story might have ended here except that we want to know how these brothers will act if they have to face each other once again. Sure enough, Jacob sends his 10 sons to Egypt in search of food during a famine while keeping the youngest son Benjamin at home. Joseph, who is not recognized by his brothers, forces them to undergo a trial to see whether they too have learned in their lives to care for those weaker than they.
Just as Joseph had undergone two tests (in the pit at the hands of his brothers and in the dungeon at the hand of Potiphar's wife) so too do the brothers undergo two tests, first with Simeon then with Benjamin. Judah emerges as the one who offers himself to save the life of his youngest brother.
With this sacrifice, Joseph can contain himself no longer and reveals his identity to his brothers with great weeping and joy. As he sends them off to bring their families and their father Jacob to Egypt, Joseph gives to each brother a set of clothing. He gives to them that which they had long ago stripped from him.
The gift of clothing to each and five sets to his brother Benjamin, points to the concrete way Joseph wants to assure his brothers that they are all reconciled once and for all. But it is not easy. In the end, it will be the brothers who finally clothe Joseph after he dies in the clothing of embalmment with the promise to bring his bones back to the promised land.


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What a collection.
I especially like how so many of these attractive guys have kept their pit hair and pubes. So natural. So hot!
FUCK. ME!!! Who are these two?
"A person's truth is so simple that most ignore it to concentrate on what they think are deeper truths." - Kaji Ryoji - Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Why can't I see any images posted by pornoboy, anyone else I can see, only his images comes out blank on my screen. Can someone help please?
Same story again, images posted by Pornoboy not available, server rejects access. PLease change your server, this is a public threat and not for a few selected who can access your server!!!
Never any trouble with the images here.........not knowing where those of you who are having problems are from maybe your isp is blocking them?
FYI. I see pornoboys' images clearly.
This is probably the hottest gay sex video I have ever seen. (Hope, it is alright to post links here.)
^ WOW! When you can get your Guy THAT Boned, you know that he's definitely INTO You! ... Or, soon will be!
WISDOM is the Knowledge you've gained ... After you could have used it! _Me
wow wow wow


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David Hall got an unexpected call a week ago Tuesday, just after 9 p.m. On the line: the Presidential Inauguration Committee. Would he be willing to be a co-chair for the inaugural celebration? Citizen co-chairs are people whose stories help illustrate the president's first-term accomplishments. The president wanted him there because of Hall's efforts to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell.
The president. Wow. Hall said yes. Less than a week later he found himself in the Oval Office, sitting across from President Barack Obama.
Hall lives in Washington, D.C. now, but his path to the White House began in Anchorage, in 2004. Back then, he was an Air Force veteran and the top cadet in his Air Force ROTC program at UAA, headed for pilot training, which was his dream. He was also gay and dating Jack Glover, another cadet.
They were discreet. Most people thought they were best friends, but they did confide in another student about their relationship. Eventually that student told their superiors. Military lawyers began an investigation. Both men were discharged. (Glover was also a promising cadet. He ranked third in their class.)
Hall was in the Air Force for five years before he entered the ROTC program at UAA. During his service, he completed assignments in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. In 2002, he earned a slot in highly-competitive pilot training. He grew up in the Army and had always wanted to wear a uniform. He still remembers what it felt like to wear his flight suit for the last time.
"(The discharge) was horrible, very upsetting," Hall said when I talked to him by telephone Tuesday. "I think I looked at it and decided, 'Well what am I gonna do now? I can sit here and have a pity party or I can move on.' "
After their discharges, Hall and Glover moved to Washington. Hall took a job with what is now OutServe-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an organization that advocates for equality for gay people in the military. Glover found work with the Department of Commerce. They both became plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging DADT. Though their relationship ended, they remain close friends.
The lawsuit made its way through the courts, but they eventually lost, he said. That was 2010. The same year, Congress voted to repeal DADT. The president signed it into law. The repeal went into effect in 2011.
"Both of the senators from Alaska signed on to that," Hall said. "I met with them several times to talk about the repeal."
That would be Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich. Rep. Don Young did not support the change.
At the White House last week, Hall met first with Michelle Obama. You might have seen him. He's in a photo with her that went viral -- not because of anything to do with him, but because it was the first time she was photographed with a new hairstyle.
"Her new bangs," he said, laughing.
The White House was like a living museum, he said, with antique furniture and china. He found the president to be "very down to earth," he said. He met with the president along with other citizen co-chairs.
"I think he tried to put us all at ease and talk to us as normal people."
It was humbling, he said. Exciting. All that. He thought about the small town, Hanceville, Ala., where he went to high school.
"I would have never thought in a million years that one day I would be standing in the Oval Office talking to the president and thanking the president for the work he did for gay people."
On Monday, Hall was escorted to a place in the seated section at the inauguration, where he had a good view of the president as he spoke. It was amazing to hear Obama mention marriage equality for gay people in such an important speech, before millions of people, he said.
"It just shows how far I think our country has moved on this issue," he said. "It was one of the things I had always told people and one of the things I always believed, really, getting rid of Don't Ask Don't Tell would really help our country move forward."
There is still work to be done for gays in the military, he said. Partners married in states where gay marriage is legal are not entitled to the same benefits as married straight couples in the military. There are also people who were not honorably discharged under DADT and do not have the benefits that come with military service.
Hall tried to re-enlist in 2011, after the repeal, but was unable to because of a knee injury. I asked if he considered himself an activist. He said no.
"It's more of, you know, I just see there is something wrong and just making sure it's corrected, that everyone is treated fairly in this country and everyone has the same shot."


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A team of daring Chinese researchers, digging into the ancient mysteries of the origin of their country, have come to the inescapable conclusion that 12,000 years ago an interstellar, supreme alien race used much of the northern and central Chinese regions as massive Earth bases.
Hundreds of strange pyramids cover parts of China
One such base may be the astonishing pyramid structure that sits near the apex of Mount Baigong in the western province of Qinghai, the Xianyang pyramid.
China is the focus of legends, myths and stories of alien visitations and many of them center on the Xianyang pyramid.
Local villagers claim their distant ancestors spoke of sky great ships that navigated the heavens and used the pyramid as a landing, refueling and resupply site.
The hypothesis regarding extra-terrestrials is "understandable and worth looking into, [but] scientific means must be employed to prove whether or not it is true, Yang Ji, one of the scientists and a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences explained to reporters.
While the scientific exploration team agrees, all indications are that aliens used the giant structure as one of its primary Earth bases.
The anomalous pyramid rises almost 200 feet above the countrysidethe surrounding area littered with mystifying pipes, bizarre artifacts and unworldly odds and ends.
Chinas state-run Xinhua agency sent a nine man team to investigate the pyramid and report back on their findings.
The team discovered pipes running from the caves and deep into the ground slanting down into the earth towards what?
The agency tersely says: The pyramid has three caves with openings shaped like triangles on its façade and is filled with red-hued pipes leading into the mountain and a nearby salt water lake.
Above the caves are dozens of pipesall of various diametersthat mysteriously run into the mountainside beneath the towering pyramid. All the pipes match the color of the surrounding rocks, a murky reddish-brown.
Elsewhere, more pipes, many lying shattered are scattered littering the ground in every direction. Some of the pipes follow the bank of a salty lake while others dip into the water and plunge beneath the lake bed.
Although the pipes' purpose is offically classified as unknown, some of the Chinese scientists are leaning towards the idea that the structure truly is the remains of some advanced outpost or starbase.
The pyramid complex stretches out much farther than what is visible and evidence suggests a highly technological network of pressurized pipes supplying water and possibly fuels.
Since the ancient site dates from at least 10,000 BCEand is perhaps twice as old as thatno humans could have engineered it as no serious human culture existed that long ago.
Qin Jianwen, the head of the publicity department of the Delingha government, says fragments of some of the pipe material were taken for analysis. The pieces were found to be mostly silicon dioxide and calcium oxide, although more than eight percent of the metal could not be identified.
"The large content of silicon dioxide and calcium oxide is a result of long interaction between iron and sandstone, which means the pipes must be very old," Liu Shaolin an engineer who did the analysis explained.
How old? Some are guessing 12,000 years maybe much, much older.
That such structures exist fits neatly into the unofficial history of Chinaa history most scholars choose to ignore.
Some historians have called the early Chinese culture an "enigma wrapped in a mystery."
Tales of China's ancient days are crammed with stories about the "sky people" and the "god-men" who came from the stars using the Earth as a base for exploration. Along the way these beings taught some of the primitive peoples they met the basics of technology, engineering, farming, and the complex structure of the universe.


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"STORY" IS THE NEW "CONTENT." As buzzwords go, story isn't entirely bad -- for years I've pushed clients to be storytellers. I've berated the descent of story into a furtive sea of "content," stripping all emotion from human pursuits.
I love this post and its irreverent attitude. It is quite refreshing in this day and age when 'storytelling', 'branding', and 'content' are such pervasive buzzwords and hyped as the cure-all for everything.
There are great reminders in this article that great business stories are not sanitized, and that there is danger in always crafting a happy ending. Only sharing your 'success' stories eventually undercuts your believability. We know there have been mistakes, trials, and tribulations along the way and we want to hear about those too.
Why? Because it makes you human. As the author Gary Goldhammer says, storytelling is about people. Brands aren't about Hollywood actors, and "companies are not logos. There are human beings behind them all."
There are more insights here in this quick post -- reading it is almost like hitting the 'reset' button when we forget the fundamentals of storytelling after getting caught up in the hyped-up excitement about story branding, social media, content creation, and technology.


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The Chattanooga City Council unanimously approved a major City Hall reorganization, but not without a warning to Mayor Andy Berke.
"If it succeeds, good," said Council Chairman Yusuf Hakeem. "If not, it's your baby."
Hakeem told the newly sworn-in mayor that he "got what he wanted," and now Berke must make his plan to reform how city government functions work.
The City Council voted 9-0 to approve eliminating four departments and creating three others. The Education, Arts and Culture; Neighborhood Services; Parks and Recreation; and Human Services departments were dissolved.
The council approved creating the new departments of Youth and Family Development, Economic and Community Development and Transportation.
"Tonight, before you, we have something that is bold," Berke told the council.
Employees have a chance under the new system of government to provide better service and reach full potential for the city, he said.
"We need to unleash their power," Berke said.
Council members spoke for a few minutes during committee meetings about the reorganization.
"I tip my hat to you," Councilman Chip Henderson said. "You aren't just warming up leftovers."
Chief Operating Officer Andrew Kean offered more details about the reorganization. He said Memorial Auditorium, the Tivoli Theatre and the city's golf services would move under General Services. Parts of Education, Arts and Culture would move to Youth and Family Development.
Land Planning and the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency would now report to Economic and Community Development.
Public Works would be in charge of sewer, city engineering, citywide services and park maintenance.
Chief of Staff Travis McDonough said the changes are necessary. "It gives the taxpayer the best government at the best value," he said.


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Orlando Freedom wide receiver Jeff Badet, who was scheduled to take one last official visit to NC State this weekend, is shutting down his recruiting and he'll be deciding from three schools: Kentucky, Wake Forest and Iowa State.
The former USF commit has visited both Kentucky and Wake and Badet said he's had enough conversation with Orlando-area players at Iowa State, like Dr. Phillips linebacker Alton Meeks, that he is comfortable with what he knows about the Cyclones without a visit.
The frontrunner is Kentucky.
"When I went to Kentucky I wasn't paying too much attention to the campus and the school stuff and all of that. Wherever you go they try to make the school look good and make everything sound real good," Badet said. "So I spent time bonding with the players and that was a huge plus. When I got there a quarterback named Max [Maxwell Smith] was my host and he showed me around and we had a real good time.
"And then there were other people and that bond was a plus to me because I felt like I was back at home with my friends from Freedom. That's why I like Kentucky so much."
He also spent some time talking about play calling with offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Neal Brown.
"I got to meet with Coach Brown and he showed me how they would use me on offense," Badet said. "The plays they run are really familiar. They run some of the same plays we ran on the Freedom offense and so I wouldn't have to worry about memorizing new plays too much."
As for Iowa State, he liked the fact that the Cyclones really hit the state of Florida hard with recruiting.
"They have a lot of guys from Florida on the team and Alton Meeks talks to me every day about the school," Badet said.
The one thing that jumped out at him at Wake Forest was "the opportunity to come in a play right away," he said. "I had a real good visit at Wake and Coach Elrod (quarterbacks coach Tommy Elrod) is a real good guy and it was real nice they gave me a chance to come in and check out their school."
Badet said he will make his decision next week but is not sure what day.
Chris Hays is the Sentinel's recruiting coverage coordinator and can be reached at email@example.com. Follow us on Twitter at @Os_Recruiting and Facebook at Orlando Sentinel Recruiting and now on Pinterest at Orlando Recruiting.


text:
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text:
Local Author Speaks at GHC
October 13, 2011 – Kristin Kimball, author of the 2011 Rome-Floyd County Community Read book, The Dirty Life, visited Georgia Highlands College to talk about her book and her experience on the farm.
Kimball, in her book THE DIRTY LIFE, tells the story of two loves: one with farming, and one with a man. She travels to Pennsylvania for an interview and meets Mark, a handsome farmer with a flair for culinary courtship. Driven by love and longing for a home, she follows him to northern New York, where they transform a neglected piece of land into a sustainable farm powered by horses and supported by year-round community-supported agriculture (CSA) memberships. While learning animal husbandry, nose-to-tail cooking, and maple syrup and cheese making, Kimball also learns to cope with the harsh realities of an agrarian lifestyle.
The community read program is a cooperative project that involves GHC, Berry, Darlington, Rome-Floyd Library, and many other community partners; and seeks to foster literacy, encourage dialogue and build community in Floyd County by inviting citizens to read and discuss the same book and participate in programs related to the book and its themes. As the name suggests, the goal of "One Book/Many Voices" is not only to engage the community in shared reading of a common book, but also to encourage discussion and provide a forum for a range of views and perspectives on both the book and the issue that it raises.


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Special Music Drama Coming June 9th
- Written by Bob Gabrielson
- Published in News
(5/16/13) A special music drama, The Unforgettable One: Johannes Brahms, will be presented Sunday, June 9th at 2 p.m. at the United Methodist Church (UMC) located at 100 N. 4th Street in Black River Falls.
It will be open to the public at no cost, but a free-will offering will be taken during intermission to raise funds for the Wisconsin Center for Music Education, which serves as a catalyst for innovation and growth of music education throughout the state. The event is sponsored by the UMC Choir in honor of current and former Jackson County music teachers and has been made possible with financial assistance from the Lunda Charitable Fund.
Set in Germany shortly after Brahms' death in 1898, the play will feature the following performers: pianist and Black River Falls native Sue (Iliff) Haug, director of the School of Music at Penn State; actress Jane Cox, professor and stage director for Iowa State University Theatre; and violinist Jonathan Sturm, professor of music history at Iowa State University and concertmaster of the Des Moines Symphony. All three performers have received numerous awards and recognition and are highly respected nationally within their fields.
Haug will play Clara Schumann, the great concert pianist who championed Brahms' works; Cox will play the role of Marie Schumann, the eldest daughter of Robert and Clara Schumann; and Sturm will play Joseph Joachim, a famous violin virtuoso and close associate of Brahms. The script, written by Cox, is based on the letters and biographies of Johannes Brahms. She also designed the costumes for the two Schumann women.
The following Brahms' pieces will be performed: Romance in F Major, Op. 118, No. 5; Excerpt from Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Allegro; Scherzo, from the F.A.E. Sonata for violin and piano; Romance in C Major for violin and piano; Romance in G Minor, Allegretto; Adagio from Sonata in G Major for violin and piano; Intermezzo in Eb Minor, Op. 118, No. 6; Allegro from Sonata in A Major for violin and piano, Op. 100; and Intermezzo in Eb Minor, Op. 118, No. 6.
Born and raised in Black River Falls, Sue Haug joined the Penn State faculty in 2005, after serving 30 years on the faculty at Iowa State University, including 15 years as head of the Department of Music. She says that working with playwright and actress Jane Cox to create this music drama has been one of the great delights of her career. "This is the second of three we have done together, but it is probably my favorite because the music of Brahms is so glorious and so satisfying to perform," she says. "It is such fun to reconnect with my Iowa State colleagues to prepare for this event and to perform it in the town where I grew up is very special."


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Welcome to Ultimate Subaru Message Board, my lurker friend!
|Welcome to Ultimate Subaru Message Board, an unparalleled Subaru community full of the greatest Subaru gurus and modders on the planet! We offer technical information and discussion about all things Subaru, the best and most popular all wheel drive vehicles ever created.
We offer all this information for free to everyone, even lurkers like you! All we ask in return is that you sign up and give back some of what you get out - without our awesome registered users none of this would be possible! Plus, you get way more great stuff as a member! Lurk to lose, participate to WIN*!
* The joy of participation and being generally awesome constitutes winning
** Not an actual guarantee, but seriously, you probably won't regret it!
Serving the Subaru Community since May 18th, 1998!
Mechanic in Portland Oregon
Posted 22 December 2004 - 09:54 PM
Posted 22 December 2004 - 10:08 PM
Also is their a quality subaru mechanic in the portland Oregon area, thanks
Posted 22 December 2004 - 11:00 PM
Posted 22 December 2004 - 11:43 PM
Posted 23 December 2004 - 12:32 AM
Posted 23 December 2004 - 12:37 AM
Send richierich a PM; he has an excellent shop in Portland.
Also, if you look up his profile I think he has a website for the shop. I'd post it if I could remember it.....darn senior moments.....
Posted 23 December 2004 - 12:51 AM
The page is still under construction, but it has some basic info on it.
I have taken afew of my cars to Richie and I find him to be the most reasonable/ethical mechanic I have ever encountered.
Posted 23 December 2004 - 02:09 AM
If you're interested, let me know
Posted 23 December 2004 - 11:54 AM
Posted 23 December 2004 - 05:30 PM
Richie is great, he's a member of this board and does quality work. I would check him out.
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|Send News. Want a reply? Read this. More in the FAQ. News Forum - All Forums - Mobile - PDA - RSS Headlines Twitter
Techland announces Project Hell, an upcoming first-person hack-and-slash game that started off as an internally developed modification for Dead Island, their zombie adventure (thanks G4tv). Some details and artwork can be found on SharpenYourAxes! the game's official development blog, where word is:
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|2008-09-01, 10:25
|Link #1
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
Zwei!! 2! Now with added Yukana and Wakamoto.
The latest game from Falcom looking forward to it, also the trailers.
Wakamoto voicing the trailers, not sure if he'll be doing some major character in the game. Yukana will be voicing Alwen the lead female character. Also get a load of trailer ending extras. XD
|2008-09-01, 10:43
|Link #2
Falcom whore as I am, I'm really looking forward to this. Not as much as I would be if it was Legend of Heroes 7 or Ys 7, admittedly, but still. The engine is definitely the one used in Gurumin, which I loved, but looks a lot more colourful, and everything else is looking like Falcom-standard fun. I have the original Zwei, I've never played it though.
|2008-09-01, 11:22
|Link #3
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
I think this will be a massive improvement upon Zwei!! (For the record I didn't think Zwei!! wasn't terribly good) and even Gurumin for that matter (which on the other hand was great). It seems like they used the same engine for Gurumin but improved on it alot and given Falcom's recent track record for gameplay I have good hopes for this game.
Even if the game doesn't meet expectations the rule of thumb still applies for Falcom, even if the game isn't good the music will be amazing. Its no Ys/Legend of Heroes, but that gameplay trailer makes it look like they adapted some stuff from Oath in Felghan's style of gameplay into the Gurumin formula.
On a sidenote I found it funny I instantly recognized Yukana's voice sounds exactly like she does in Full Metal Panic as Tessa and Code Geass as C.C.
|2008-09-01, 13:33
|Link #4
Shame most here won't play it because of the lack of an English version, though. Wakamoto can only go so far in selling people
|2008-09-01, 15:48
|Link #5
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
Back on track I do wish there would be a translation effort for some of the Falcom games they really do deserve one. I think only Sora no Kiseki 2nd and Oath in Felghana have received one, well Ys6 too but it got kind of butchered. Thats pretty much a shame because Ys Origins was absolutely amazing.
|2008-09-01, 21:04
|Link #6
And yeah, I loved Origin too. Actually having protagonists with character and a plot, even if it was nothing deep, was a refreshing change for the series, as were the different gameplay styles. Plus the boss battles were even more awesome than Felghana's. It's been translated but the guy who did the hacking for the Felghana patch is being a drama queen so who knows if it'll ever be made into a patch and released.
|2008-09-02, 10:03
|Link #7
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
To be honest I really didn't like FC at all, nothing happened it was literally a giant introduction to SC. SC was amazing, 3rd I heard had a really messed up story though but I don't know whether thats true. I did think 3rd played better than SC though which is a shame if its true.
With Ys Origins I found everything about it close to perfect except the graphical downgrade from the previous two games probably. But gameplay exceeded my expectations and Thor is a complete utter badass. Not to mention I absolutely loved how the separate sidestories managed to all meld into Thor's route and the extra final boss was a pleasant surprise. The remix of Termination alone was possibly one of the most amazing songs in that entire game next to the main theme.
|2008-09-02, 11:39
|Link #8
I don't know about a graphical downgrade in Origin though, it seemed a decent bit sharper to me, and other than that about the same. Shame Falcom are seemingly so against widescreen though, I'm quite content with the current graphics engine but the black borders are a bit annoying. Have a feeling they might be improving it though, would explain why the gap between Origin and Ys 7 seems like it'll be pretty long in comparison to previous ones (was about a year and half between 6 and Felghana, Felghana and Origin, and judging by their release schedule I'm not really expecting 7 until mid next year.)
|2008-09-03, 05:45
|Link #9
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
With SC I was just lucky somone has already written a mostly complete translation/summary faq of the important parts of the game so I'm slowly slugging through it while making out the basic gist of the story. However the problem is although FC and SC have both received alot of attention 3rd has been completely ignored so I have nothing really to base on except word of mouth and guessing from the little bits I do understand.
As for what I mentioned about the messed up aspect of 3rd. What I heard was the Liber Arc core at the end of SC which assume to be that cube in 3rd's opening just sorta ended up fusing with Kevin and because of that the story takes place in an imaginary world of sorts. Some clarification on that would be nice though since that sounds outright confusing. I know the floating city in SC had the ability to turn wishes into physical existance but if 3rd took place in a non-physical world that sounds very sidestoryish to me. One thing though I'd really like to know though is did 3rd explain at all how Kevin managed to remove the Sacred Mark from Joshua in SC?
Also to me Origins was smoother and sharper which helped with how hectic some boss fights got., looking at 4th boss battle mainly. But I can't help thinking that Oath in Felghana and Ark of Napishtim had more "wow, check out the view" moments. Origins only really impressive moment was the bridge just before the battle with Jenocross.
|2008-09-04, 10:55
|Link #10
Not like anyone seems to be reading this thread anyway, but just in case seen as this is big bits of the endings of both SC and 3rd I'll use spoiler tags. Both of these are relying pretty heavily on my kinda poor memory though, I feel like replaying them sometime soon so if I'm wrong I'll amend them. My Japanese is a lot better than it was a year ago now anyway
|2008-09-06, 14:04
|Link #11
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
On a sidenote I rather like Riese.
|2008-09-07, 08:25
|Link #12
|2008-09-07, 14:29
|Link #13
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
|2008-09-09, 22:14
|Link #14
Spoiler for Big spoilers from the near the end of the 3rd, you have been warned.:
Actually just restarted replaying FC now, intending to work my way through all of them again and actually finish 3rd this time. Lost count of how many times I've laughed out loud just in the first few hours.
|2008-09-10, 14:06
|Link #15
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
Only soundtracks that have ever done that for me would be Ys Origins, Oath in Felghana, Falcom Live 2008, Etrian Odyssey 1&2 Super Arranged, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 Orchestration, Rockman Zero Telos and Physis and the aforementioned SC + 3rd.
I do wish someone would pick up
|2008-09-24, 22:47
|Link #16
So let's actually say something about Zwei 2! Been playing it for quite a few hours today, even though I only really intended to do so briefly then get back to my SC replay.
Anyway, it's pretty fun so far. The artstyle is nice and colourful, and while its widescreen seems to be stretched it doesn't stretch too badly, so I'm playing my monitor's native 1280x800. They seem to have gone to some effort to try and give everyone in the world some personality too like in Gurumin - there are 2 main towns so far and everyone has loads of lines of dialogue, and at least 3 main pieces of information about them that're recorded in your character chart. Ragna's a pretty likeable guy, with plenty of fighting spirit and not a trace of any kind of angst. Arwen is... well, she's your typical sheltered princess with a little bit of dere. She's not really tsundere though. The food system is back from Zwei 1, which really does encourage you to conserve your food as much as possible - I'm not entirely sold on it yet, but I quite like it - HP is precious because you want to avoid recovering it, and likewise you don't get overlevelled too fast. I was trying to see how long I could last on level 1 but only got to just before the first major boss Oh, and the music is up to standard on the whole. There are a few weak tracks, including unexpectedly the major boss theme. The vast majority at least fit as they should, with quite a few standing out. I really like the mini boss theme (lol the sign outside where the first mini boss is "If you're L1, you'll die in a few seconds. Really!") for example, and the underwater palace area one, and the ones that play when Ragna gets attacked at the beginning (激情に駆られて especially). I'm deliberately trying not to listen to any that haven't played yet though, so I can't comment on anything past the middle of the second set of areas.
So yeah, while it'll hardly sate my urge for Legend of Heroes 7, this game looks like it'll be a worthy addition to the collection and I look forward to playing it more.
|2008-09-25, 08:04
|Link #17
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
I'm still actually waiting to get my hands on it, have to say though I was pretty surprised at the low specs required. Hopefully I'll be able to navigate this game, I was never really sold on Zwei since it played abit too much like a MMO for my liking sometimes and I'm hopihn Zwei 2 will play differently.
|2008-09-26, 02:46
|Link #18
Pretty sure I'm maybe 2/3 of the way through now. Can't say how it compares to Zwei because I've barely played it though. I'm enjoying it so far either way. The boss battles remind me of a mix between Gurumin and Felghana - if you stay either below or at the recommended level pretty much all of them will give you a run for your money if you don't use too many food items. Some are just evil.
|2008-09-26, 13:46
|Link #19
Lost in your Eyes~~~
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: UK
I'm wondering whether my Laptop would be able to handle it the specs are fine except the graphics card is the weak point. Though if what you say is true it seems I might have to put Zwei 2 to the side till when I get round to setting up a new Desktop which may be a while...
Ys > LoH :P *flees*
|Thread Tools


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Who: Rihanna
Where: 2012 Brit Awards held at the O2 Arena London, England
Why we like it: Rihanna sparkled in this daring Givenchy Spring 2012 Couture embellished halter gown. The singer replicated the lookbook styling with a pair of long leather opera gloves. She also wore Solange Azagury-Partridge earrings and Givenchy Diamante peep-toes.
Image: WENN.com


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The Owen County softball team had a couple of days early last week when the weather played havoc with their schedule. As a result, they got a little rest. They needed it because they finished the week with single games on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before playing three more on Saturday.
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The Smyrna Middle School track and field teams recently finished their season in which the team as whole was a success but the athletes themselves broke some school records.
The Smyrna Middle School track and field teams recently finished their season in which the team as whole was a success but the athletes themselves broke some school records.
The boys team finished the season with a 3-1 record while the girls team ended the year 2-2. The highlight of the season has been the fact that the athletes set 15 new school records.
For new coach Carolann Brennan, she is proud of her athletes on the team.
"It's an awesome accomplishment and something to be proud of. As a first year coach, I am proud of the individual success of my athletes, but I am most proud to have watched all my athletes come together as a team that always demonstrated respect for each other and sportsmanlike conduct when representing Smyrna Middle School," Brennan said.
Brennan, who ran track in high school, said the team was very strong in the field this year and had the speed to perform well in the sprints. She also credits the team's success to the help of her assistant coaches Karen Brooks and Tara Turcotte-Leyanna.
With a team of mostly 8th graders, Brennan said the athletes have a lot of raw talent that needs to be developed into stronger skills. But this raw talent didn't stop the team from setting school records including the 4x100 relay teams, high jump, long jump and discus.
Most of the records were set early in the season but some were set last week. Season standouts for Brennan were the boys 4x100 relay team of Corey Jackson, Evan Rooks, Kyree Fountain and Jarren Jenkins who set a school record with a time of 48.6 seconds. Seventh grader Jerren Carter set the record in discuss at 113'8.5". Highlights of the season on the girls side include Alisha Bessix who set a record in the triple jump (30'2") and 400-meter (67.3), and Jasmine Akins, who set records at the 100-meter (13.0) and as part of the 4x100 relay team (54.8).
Corey Jackson, who's on the boys 4x100 team, said it helps to have a coach like Brennan.
"I think knowing that Mrs. Brennan is more like one of those coaches you can play around with and also she's serious that it helps you get the job done," Jackson said.
Maureen Iplenski likes Coach Brennan because "she doesn't care if you win or lose."
With the season over, Brennan has enjoyed her first year as a coach.
"I like coming out here with the kids, it's just fun…most days," Brennan said. "I like their looks when they cross the [finish] line."
Email Jennifer Dailey at email@example.com.


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Technical Problem With This Chapter?
Author: Tarkas
Story: Legal Redress
Part: Legal Redress
Rating: Everyone
Status: Completed
Reviews: 57
Words: 5,867
Updated: December 14, 2004, 9:27pm
Legal Redress
[Disclaimer: the characters in this story are the property of JK Rowling and assorted corporate entities including, but not necessarily limited to, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Warner Bros Studios. No challenge is intended to the copyright of Ms Rowling's work, nor will any payment of any sort be accepted for this story, which is a work of amateur fanfiction.]
"The value of a thing is what that thing will bring."
"Hey, youse scunners, we got a cheap lawyer
"Cheap?" -- "Uri" Handelsman, Freaky Fables
The bell sounded and Harry laid down his quill with a happy sigh. He cast a fond look at Hermione, who was desperately trying to scribble down just a few more facts before the staff collected the four rolls of parchment that she'd already filled.
He wondered if there might be a repeat of the events when the invigilating witch tried to collect her Transfiguration exam paper; he hoped not, even though it had been funny to watch. Hermione's impassioned request to please let her just finish the sentence she was writing had been met with a friendly nod and an, "All right, dear," which the bushy-haired witch hadn't heard, having dived back into the mini-treatise that she called an answer to an exam question. The problem came because the invigilator, being from the Department of Magical Education rather than the school, hadn't realised that a "sentence" written by Hermione could, though perfect in its grammar, stretch on for most of a roll of parchment -- and this one appeared to be doing just that. Finally, when the girl had shown no signs of stopping for several minutes, the older witch had grabbed the parchment and tried to pull it away from her; Hermione had pulled back, and the two of them ended up in what could only be called a tug-of-war over the paper.
For himself, Harry was feeling rather happy, and perhaps even a little wistful. That was the end of his last NEWT exam, which meant that his formal education had now ended and, soon, his time at Hogwarts would also come to a close. There was still a week or so to go before the end of term, but that was traditionally taken up with unofficial classes on various aspects of life as an adult witch or wizard -- and certain extra-curricular activities.
Harry had a few ideas of his own about these "aspects" and "activities," and, now that Voldemort was dead and the exams were over, he was going to put some of them into practice. He'd been preparing for this ever since he'd killed Riddle and cleared Sirius' name by capturing Wormtail; he'd really wanted to get started once his Potions exam was over, but he'd waited, not wanting to disturb the other students' concentration on their remaining subjects. Of course, there were a few people who he would happily have seen so flummoxed that they failed their NEWTs, but he'd decided to be magnanimous -- after all, soon, they were going to have enough problems anyway and, if all went according to plan, they might need whatever education they'd bothered to get in the last seven years.
He grinned and strolled out of the exam room towards the Owlery. He had a letter for Hedwig to deliver to an address in Diagon Alley.
Harry rubbed his hands in anticipatory glee -- metaphorically, at least; actually, his hands were both full, one with his wand and the other with certain pieces of parchment that he had spent a lot of time and effort (not to mention more than a few Galleons) to obtain. And now he was about to put them all to use.
Here came the ferret -- and, of course, the ever-present Tweedledumb and Tweedledaft, otherwise known as Crabbe and Goyle; and there, doing their best to look as though they weren't looking forward to this almost as much as Harry was, went Ron and Hermione, the perfect bait for the trap... but live bait, as it were -- "live" as in live explosives, live power cables, live sharks...
He shot a quick glance across the corridor at Ginny, who was waiting in the opposite alcove with her wand ready and a wicked grin on her face that was all too familiar to those who knew her family well: it proclaimed, in no uncertain terms, "Weasley about to prank someone" -- or, possibly, "Weasley about to take long-overdue revenge." The latter was more appropriate in this case, because what was about to happen was no prank -- or, if it was, it was the mother and father of all pranks -- but it most definitely involved long-overdue revenge. Five or six years overdue, in fact.
He dragged his attention away from his favourite co-conspirator and back to the action; after all, it wouldn't do to mess this up by daydreaming about it rather than doing it! Not that he was expecting any trouble; Malfoy was so predictable...
Sure enough, the sight of two of "Potter's hangers-on" was more than the swaggering blond prat could resist, and the fact that the couple was holding hands was grist to the slimy git's mill.
"Oh, look, boys, if it isn't Weasel the pauper and his Mudblood tart, flaunting their pathetic relationship. You should be ashamed of yourselves: you're nothing but a disgusting blood traitor, Weasley, and no Mudblood should even be here, much less aspire to taint a pureblood family, even if it is full of penniless, Muggle-loving morons."
Malfoy would have said more, Harry was sure, but a sudden feeling that something wasn't right seemed to have got through the Slytherin's armour of self-righteous arrogance, however belatedly -- which surprised Harry: even Voldemort's downfall hadn't done much to dent the prat's overweening self-importance. Maybe he was actually acquiring a little sensitivity -- at least to possible danger to himself -- now that the Death Eaters, including his father, were dead or imprisoned. Not that it mattered: Harry knew why the stupid git had always been able to consider himself superior to far better people, and he was about to cut that crutch right out from under Malfoy's feet.
Part of what might have made Malfoy hesitate was Ron's reaction. Ordinarily, the youngest Weasley brother would have turned bright red with fury by now, and Hermione would be struggling to hold him back as he tried to get at the ferret, but that just wasn't happening. Instead, a widely grinning Ron simply took a single step to one side... leaving his sister and best mate with a clear shot at his would-be tormentors.
"STUPEFY!" rang out from Harry and Ginny as they sprang out of their hiding places, and also from Ron and Hermione, who had had their wands concealed up the sleeves of their free hands. All four hexes struck home, and the three Slytherins went down hard -- in Malfoy's case, doubly so, as both Ron and Hermione's stunners hit him almost simultaneously at point-blank range, and he flew back several feet before crashing into a wall.
For just a moment, Hermione looked rather pleased with herself, presumably for being able to cast spells with her wand in her "wrong" hand, but then she scowled and walked over to the comatose Malfoy and kicked him as hard as she could in a certain anatomical region found only in the male of the species.
"Ow! That's going to hurt when he wakes up..." Ron murmured, wincing in unconscious sympathy. He stared at Hermione in astonishment as she nodded her head in satisfaction and turned back to face him with a pleased smile.
"Um... Hermione..." he said uneasily, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but... what was that for? Why did you kick him?"
"Because he deserved it!" she replied forcefully. "I am not ashamed of my family or my boyfriend, and I will not let that arrogant, bigoted prat insult your family any more! Harry's right: enough is enough, and it's time he got what he deserves."
From the odd look on his face, Ron didn't know whether to gape at her in astonishment, burst out laughing, or kiss her. He ended up doing all three, in more-or-less that order. Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny had joined them and were pointedly ignoring their friends as they went about a rather odd "ritual" of their own.
"Got the bags, Gin?"
"Yep," she said, pulling three small, clear objects from a pocket. The objects turned out to be plastic document protectors; they were an unusual sight in a magical place like Hogwarts, but perfect for this occasion -- and besides, Harry thought it all too appropriate to use them, given Malfoy's bigotry against Muggles. He quickly opened each one and slid one of the parchments, suitably folded, into each protector, and then rolled them into tubes... and stuck one into the mouth of each of the unconscious boys.
He stepped back from the three prone Slytherins and regarded his handiwork for a few moments. Then, his voice grimly amused, he muttered, "Right, you stupid gits, you have been well and truly served... and, with any luck, so has justice."
He turned away from them and gave his three friends an unusual smile, receiving much the same from each of them in return. He offered his arm to Ginny, who took it happily, and the four headed back to Gryffindor Tower.
Harry turned in his chair at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall to watch as Malfoy stormed across the room towards him, visibly livid. He was waving a familiar-looking piece of parchment about as if he was trying to swat an attacking swarm of Doxies, and Harry smiled. The fun was about to begin.
"You screamed, Malfoy?" he quipped, thoroughly amused and not hiding it.
"What the hell is this?" the Slytherin yelled from the other side of the table, slamming the parchment down in front of Harry.
"It's what it says it is -- or can't you read?" Harry replied, pitching his voice so that he could be easily heard by everyone there. "It's a Magical Injunction -- a restraining order, requiring you and all members of the Malfoy family to refrain from certain acts until such time as a number of legal actions brought against them are resolved, in or out of a wizarding court."
"What?" the incensed blond youth squealed. "What are you talking about? What legal actions? What is all this rubbish?"
"Oh, it's not rubbish, Malfoy -- quite the opposite. This is very serious." Harry leaned back in his chair, exchanged quick, gleeful looks with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, all of whom were having trouble not laughing, and met Malfoy's furious glare with a cool, calm stare.
"It's quite simple, really: you're being sued, Malfoy -- by me and several other people -- both personally and as the current head of your family. Ordinarily, that would be your father, but he's been sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban and is therefore ineligible."
He paused and grinned maliciously. "Why am I telling you this? You're the one who's so big on old pureblooded families and their rights and traditions; you should know all this stuff. You should certainly know that a convicted criminal cannot be recognised as the head of such a family if there is another male or unmarried female member of the family in the direct line of descent.
"So you're it, as far as the Malfoys are concerned. All suits against the family are addressed to you, and at the moment there are at least six suits being brought against your family and you personally, and something like another two dozen currently in their initial stages. You should get the rest of the paperwork in a few days, and so should your sidekicks; they have their own suits to face -- and, of course, the accompanying injunctions."
"But... but..." Malfoy sputtered, incomprehension overwhelming his anger, "but why? Why am I being sued? Why these... these things?"
Harry just stared at him, finding it hard to believe that even Malfoy could be that thick -- or, more likely, self-obsessed; maybe continually being with Crabbe and Goyle had had an effect -- a sort of stupidity by association?
"Once again, it's really simple, Malfoy," Harry said cuttingly, "Ever since I had the misfortune to meet you, and, for all I know, from the moment you were born, you've tried to lord it over everyone, thinking that you can bully and insult anyone as you please, with no fear of repercussions or the consequences of being an arrogant git. And why? Because you come from an old, powerful, pureblood family -- which, when you boil away the bigotry and self-aggrandisement, basically means that you have money.
"That's all. You think you can taunt people like the Weasleys for being poor, or insult Hermione or any other Muggle-born witch or wizard, or get away with all of the other disgusting things that the students of this school have had to put up with from you ever since you came here, just because you're rich."
Harry stood up and leaned forward over the table, fixing the furious Malfoy with a glare of such intensity that the Slytherin instinctively recoiled and stumbled backwards a step or two.
"Well, no more! Enough is enough, and all your money won't help you or your goons now, because those suits are backed by someone who is far wealthier than even your family, and he is determined to see you pay for all the pain you've caused! And that's 'pay' as in damages -- punitive damages, in fact: if you've managed to read that far, you'll have seen that each one of the writs you've been served with mentions a claim or multiple claims for at least ten million Galleons on each count. The other suits are for even larger sums; that's why they're taking longer to prepare."
Malfoy's expression was now almost completely blank. All his anger and hatred, and even the fear he'd shown at Harry's challenge, had drained away as he realised the scale of what was happening and the magnitude of the threat he and his family were facing; all that was left was astonishment that he, Draco Malfoy, could be in a situation like this, and confusion as to who could possibly be doing this. It couldn't be Potter... could it?
"Who..." he began, but his voice trailed off as he found that he couldn't think of the proper questions to ask; he knew what he wanted to know, but coming up with the words was beyond him just then.
"Who's doing this? Is that what you're trying to ask?" Harry said, tauntingly, "Would you like to know the name of the person who is bound and determined to see you recognised for the stinking, egotistical bigot that you are, and to make sure that you and your moronic cronies pay for all the harm you've caused? Is that what you want to know? Well, I'd be only too pleased to tell you. All you have to do is ask... politely."
He fell silent and regarded the other boy with a gleeful grin. Malfoy, speechless, stared back. Everyone else in the Hall was watching and listening to them avidly, hardly daring to whisper, and the silence stretched out until it began to hang heavily between the two youths -- or on one of them, at least. Harry had no need to say anything, and so was quite comfortable; Malfoy, by contrast, was becoming agitated. Finally, he burst out, "Well, tell me, you stupid, Muggle-loving..." The rest of his near-scream was purely abusive and will not be reproduced here.
"Ah, ah, ah, Malfoy," Harry reproved the furious Slytherin, repressing a snicker -- or almost managing to repress it. "Manners! That could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be called polite, even for a foul-mouthed twerp like you. But I'll tell you anyway, just for the pleasure of seeing you squirm."
He paused for several seconds, again visibly amused as Draco did just that. It took considerable effort to restrain himself from bursting out laughing as he watched the blond boy struggle against his natural inclination to scream abuse and/or try to hex his tormentor -- but even Malfoy realised that doing that was not going to help him find out what he wanted to know. Harry grinned to himself and, as he'd promised, spilled the beans:
"Well, my dear Draco, the instigator of all your legal problems and the financial backer of the people who are suing you is the person who, according to Gringotts, is currently the single richest wizard or witch in the entire world; he certainly is richer than your family by something like a factor of ten, so he's got plenty of money to spend keeping you tied up in court for the rest of your miserable life!"
Malfoy's expression was a truly rare one, especially for him. Half-furious, half-terrified, he gaped at Harry in disbelief; he had trouble accepting that anyone could be richer than a Malfoy, but the idea that someone who was could do something like this to him and his family was quite beyond him.
"And that's exactly what he's going to do, because he hates your guts -- you and all the other pureblood supremacist morons, but you most of all. And the biggest irony of all is that half the money that is going to go into all this legal stuff came from one of the most bigoted, vicious, Dark-addicted families of them all -- the Blacks."
The penny dropped, and Malfoy stared at the Boy-Who-Lived in horror.
"That's right, Malfoy: it's me. Inheritor of the Black and Potter fortunes, both of which dwarf yours, and, more to the point, someone who doesn't give a damn about money -- so there's no reason not to spend it. I took care of old Moldywarts and most of his Death Tweeters -- like your precious daddy -- and now I'm going to bring a little justice to those of his supporters who managed to slip through the net after the battle. You and your goons are first on the list."
He leaned forward to whisper to the now utterly dumbfounded Draco, "I'm going to break you, Malfoy. I'd like to save time and effort, not to mention money, and do it the same way that I beat that prat Tom Riddle, but it seems that it wouldn't be legal to simply gut you with the Sword of Gryffindor; I checked, and Tom was considered a special case -- an insane mass murderer and war criminal. So I'll have to do it legally... and this is the start.
"I've engaged one of the finest firms of wizarding solicitors in this country -- Featherstonehaugh, Grabclaw and Partners--" He paused momentarily as Malfoy flinched. "Ah, recognise the name, do you? I thought you would -- and I bet you remember the shady dealings that made them life-long enemies of your father. That wasn't wise of Lucius: you should never piss off a goblin; they have nasty tempers and long memories. Do you know, more than one of the partners told me that I've given them the opportunity of a lifetime -- in the form of an unlimited budget to use to hound you and your family in the courts. Mr Grabclaw himself came out and wept as he shook my hand in gratitude. That's an odd sight, a goblin crying tears of joy.
"So now they're hard at work readying those suits -- and a lot more; you'd be amazed at the number of people who would like a chance to sue you if they could afford it -- and now they can. And it won't end there: even if, by some ridiculous chance, you win one of these cases, we'll appeal -- right up to the Magical Law Lords if we have to -- and we'll keep going until the Malfoys haven't got a Knut between them to save themselves from starvation. And when we're done, I'm going to buy your precious Malfoy Manor, raze it to the ground, clean out the dungeons and magically decontaminate the entire place, and then I'm going to sell it to the local Muggle council for a landfill site -- a rubbish tip!
"I'll see you in court, Draco."
With that, he sat back down and regarded the flabbergasted Malfoy with open amusement. It took several seconds for the Slytherin to react, and it was obvious that he'd given up on any self-restraint now that Harry had told him who was behind all this. He launched into a vituperative tirade against Harry, Sirius, Dumbledore, the Ministry and all Muggle-lovers -- which, to his disgust and further infuriation, had no effect whatsoever on its recipient.
Harry's calm in the face of his insults drove Draco to become even more abusive, and he began to widen his range of targets, looking for something that would pierce that impassivity. It wasn't until he started in on Harry's friends, and Hermione in particular, that the Gryffindor reacted, and it wasn't in the way Malfoy expected. Harry began to grin, and looked at his watch as if he was expecting something...
And shortly thereafter, the silently watching staff and students in the Great Hall found out what it was: an owl with the distinctive markings of those birds in the service of the Ministry of Magic appeared in a window, swooped to pass over Malfoy, and dropped a large black envelope onto his head. The envelope bounced off, but didn't fall to the floor; instead, it rose into the air and hovered in front of Malfoy. As he watched -- in fact, as everyone watched -- it opened and a piece of parchment appeared from inside and began to unfold itself...
"Merlin's beard, what's that?" Ron whispered, the low sound of his voice carrying surprisingly clearly in the sudden silence that had come over the Hall. Hermione, to whom this baffled query had been addressed -- if Ron had actually been asking anyone in particular -- stared blankly for a moment in utter confusion until she remembered an obscure reference on page 864 of Hogwarts: A History and suddenly realised what she was seeing -- and what they were about to hear.
"I think it's what is known as a Legal Howler; they're very rare these days, but they're still a recognised method of communication... and I think we'd better cover our ears!"
She suited her actions to her words, and Harry had already done so after waving at Ginny and the others nearby to warn them. Ron, though confused, was quick on the uptake in matters involving his own health and comfort and did likewise, just in time. The letter finished unfolding and a deep voice began to speak in extremely loud, sepulchrous tones that sounded as if it was reading an important document -- which it was.
"Draco Malfoy,
"You have been found guilty of Contempt of Court, in that you did, on this date, use the word 'Mudblood' to describe Miss Hermione Granger, in direct contravention of Magical Injunction number 98/0141DM, issued by the Wizengamot Civil Claims Tribunal on the first of this month, pending the outcome of Granger vs Malfoy, the court date of which is, at present, yet to be determined.
"You are hereby fined the sum of one thousand Galleons for this offence; or you may, if you cannot pay this fine, choose to serve one month's imprisonment in Azkaban. I await your owl in acknowledgement of this letter, together with payment of the aforementioned sum to the Gringotts account of the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement; or, alternatively, your formal acceptance of the prison sentence in lieu of such payment. You are hereby advised that the final date for settlement of the fine is the last day of this month, and failure to pay by that date will be taken as tacit acceptance of the term in Azkaban, which shall be deemed to begin at midnight of that day.
"You are further advised that the penalty for each subsequent offence against this or any other of the Injunctions currently in force will double, and said increases will be cumulative for each such offence.
"Chomondeley Farquhar-Featherstonehaugh,
Magical Magistrate and Queen's Wizarding Counsel"
The letter fell to the floor at Malfoy's feet amidst complete silence -- that is, until Harry began to laugh -- hard. It didn't take long for Ron to join him, and Hermione and Ginny were not far behind. Soon, most of the students in the Hall were laughing -- even some of the Slytherins -- and there were unusual expressions on the faces of more than one of the professors that a suspicious observer might have thought to indicate a significant struggle not to join in.
One member of staff who most definitely was not going to laugh at Malfoy, especially when the laughter was the result of something that Harry did or said, was the Head of Slytherin House. He got up from the High Table and stalked towards the laughing Gryffindors with malice written all over him. Unfortunately for him, Harry spotted him coming, choked down his laughter, and stood up with a wide smile that made a strange contrast with the even-more-intense-than-usual sour look on the face of the professor.
"Ah, Professor Snape," Harry said, meeting the man halfway -- and, more to the point, so that their confrontation was out in the open where it could be seen. "Feeling left out of things, are you? You needn't; I couldn't forget you." He reached into a pocket and took out a roll of parchment, which he handed to the Potions Master. "Here's your injunction, and the summons notifying you of a special court case scheduled for next month -- a formal inquiry into your fitness as a teacher and as a person entrusted with the care and well-being of minors."
"What?!" Snape yelped, quite taken by surprise. Despite his greater age and experience, he was at least as staggered by the news as Malfoy had been -- and Harry was not about to let him take the initiative in this conversation.
"Oh, it's quite simple, just like with Malfoy; I always keep a plan simple when dealing with Slytherins..." There was laughter at that, and Harry grinned -- but for another reason: there were two ways that last statement could be interpreted, but he thought, or hoped, that the Slytherins would be too angry to see the more subtle one -- the one that he intended to claim was what he had meant, should anyone ask, since it could be taken as being a compliment to the snakes.
"The injunction basically says that, until it is rescinded, if you decide to take House points from any member or members of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, or give points to any Slytherin, you must justify that action to the Headmaster or Deputy Headmistress, in writing, within twenty-four hours, and any such decision is subject to review by them on a case-by-case basis. You can take as many points from Slytherin as you like, though -- and give them to the other Houses, but I doubt that will happen; have you ever given points to a student who wasn't in Slytherin?"
Snape was furious, but also horrified, and held his peace, knowing that saying anything at this point was likely to be extremely unwise. Harry, however, was just getting warmed up.
"That's right: from now on, no-one else will have to put up with, 'Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter, for still breathing,' 'Twenty points from Gryffindor, Potter, because you look like your father,' 'Fifty points from Gryffindor, Potter, because Crabbe and Goyle just had their potion explode on the other side of the classroom and you had nothing to do with it.' Nor will we hear, 'Ten points to Slytherin, Mr Malfoy, for answering a question in a NEWT class that wouldn't tax a first-year' -- a properly-taught one, of course.
"But then, three-quarters of your students, past and present, would regard the concept of proper teaching as something that you have barely the slightest acquaintance with, and I have several dozen wizarding affidavits to prove it, and more coming in every day. I'm going to present those affidavits to the inquiry, because that's partly what it's intended to establish, once and for all. The other part is to show that you are an officious bully of the worst sort, one who delights in terrorising children and unfairly wielding your authority, particularly if it helps you work out a grudge -- and you hold grudges for decades after the people you hate are dead!
"Which, of course, is why there's also a separate injunction forbidding you from uttering or writing any slanderous or libellous abuse, or even criticism, of a long list of people. Top of the list are, naturally, my parents, the other Marauders and myself, but it also includes all of the students at this school who aren't in Slytherin and everyone else that I could think of who you've ever sneered at in the presence of either myself or my friends -- except Voldemort and his DTs, that is.
"I'd've added a clause preventing you from having anything to do with OWL or NEWT results, but about the one good thing the Department of Magical Education has ever done is to make those exams independent of the school, so I didn't have to put that one in.
"And now we'll see what the Law has to say about you, Professor. I'd find myself a good legal firm if I were you, but you can't have mine -- it's busy. Very busy."
Harry turned away and walked back to his seat, leaving behind him a stunned Potions Master who did an extremely good impression of a statue for quite some time. Then, once he did move, it was only to turn his head in the direction of the High Table, as if in a search for help, reassurance or even comfort -- none of which he found there. Dumbledore shook his head in resignation, wordlessly conveying the message I warned you... and McGonagall had a tight, thin smile and a disapproving look -- but directed at him, not at the students.
Accepting defeat, he left the Hall, unconsciously emulating Malfoy, who had slunk out while Harry and his Head of House had been in "discussion."
Harry and the others finished a leisurely breakfast and strolled out of the main entrance of the school and down towards the lake. They parted at the beginning of the path around the lake, Harry and Ginny turning left and a protesting Ron being dragged off to the right by Hermione. He stopped protesting quickly enough, however, when she whispered something into his ear which made him join the ranks of the people who had been struck dumb by surprise that morning; but, unlike the others, he quickly recovered and broke into a huge grin. He looked after his friend and sister for a few seconds, but happily turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who rewarded him with a quick kiss.
Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were continuing a lively conversation about the morning's events and certain future plans he had for people like the Dursleys in both the wizarding and Muggle courts. That had them both laughing until Harry reached out to take Ginny's hand, thereby adding yet another Weasley to the aforementioned list, but she, too, was soon smiling, albeit a little nervously.
"Well, Miss Weasley, with those prats sorted out, I think that we might have some time to ourselves for other things," Harry said, "like... planning a wedding for this time next year."
"What?" squeaked Ginny, her eyes suddenly huge, "A wedding? How...? Who...?" She fell silent, completely dumbfounded.
"Now, Ginny," Harry said mock-sternly, "did you or did you not say to me when I told you about my plans that you'd marry me if I could get Snape off your back next year?"
"Well, yes... but..." She had been only half-serious, never thinking that he would actually take her up on a silly promise like that. Even now, she was certain that he must be joking, though part of her was praying fervently that she was wrong...
"Well, I've done that. That court case will take months, if not years, before all the evidence is presented -- Snape has no idea how many old Hogwarts students loathe him and would like nothing better than to tell somebody who'll listen exactly why -- and he'll be under that injunction until it's finished; and even if it's lifted for some Slytherin reason, I'll just slap another one on him. One of Chomondeley's granddaughters is a third-year in Ravenclaw, and she's told him all about Snape. They're very close, so the old boy is just panting at the chance to have a go at the greasy git. Together, we've come up with enough grounds for injunctions to keep him under control until he's as old as Dumbledore."
Harry stopped walking and took Ginny's other hand, gently turning her until they were facing one another and he could look into her beautiful, and rather startled, big brown eyes.
"Which means, my dearest Ginevra, that I consider myself perfectly justified in thinking that we are now engaged to be married, which, I have to say, is something that I've wanted for quite a while now, even though I didn't feel that I could tell you that -- not while Tom was around. You're not going to go back on your word, are you? I'd hate to have to sue you for breach of promise..."
"Oh... Oh!" Ginny's expressive face was a riot of emotion, spanning the gamut from fear to shock to a joyous hope that reassured Harry as nothing else could have -- save a single word. That word was not long in coming after Harry asked one final question:
"You do want to marry me, don't you -- because you are most definitely the woman I want as my wife..."
"Yes! Oh, yes, yes, yes..." Ginny cried, leaping at him. He caught her easily and held her to him firmly as their lips met in a joyously passionate kiss.
No further negotiation took place or was necessary, M'lud. The contract was eminently satisfactory to both parties, and it is expected to be completed in the near future.
~ Finis ~
[A/N: I could have called this story The Golden Rule -- not the Biblical version, but that according to The Wizard of Id: "Whoever has the gold makes the rules." And Harry has it... <eg>
Just for fun, I've used some of the more esoteric English names for the lawyers. What is really odd about these names is the way they're pronounced: for instance, "Chomondeley Farquhar-Featherstonehaugh" is pronounced "Chumley Farkwah Fanshaw." <g>]
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A high speed pursuit that started with a deputy getting shot in Montague County ended with law enforcement and the suspect exchanging gunfire at a busy highway intersection in Decatur.
The chase began at the intersection of U.S. 287 and and Highway 59 in Bowie. Montague County Sheriff Deputy James Boyd stopped the suspect, who was driving a black Cadillac with Colorado plates, on a routine traffic stop. During the stop, the suspect opened fire on the deputy, hitting him twice in the chest and once in the head. Montague County District Attorney Paige Williams said the deputy was in stable condition as of this afternoon. Wise County Sheriff David Walker said the bullet proof vest Boyd was wearing most likely saved his life.Boyd received a helicopter transport to a Fort Worth hospital for his injuries.
Messenger video by: Joe Duty
The suspect then started the high speed pursuit through heavy traffic from Montague County that ended with a fiery crash and gunfire in Decatur.
With a long trail of patrol vehicles, the southbound Cadillac blazed into Decatur on U.S. 287 at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour or faster. He swerved in and out of local traffic. At times he pointed his gun out the window and fired at law enforcement officers. White smoke poured from the back of the Cadillac as dozens of blue and red lights raced in pursuit.
Decatur Police Chief Rex Hoskins said he was shot at four times while waiting for the suspect to enter Decatur.
"He shot at me at least four times," Hoskins said. "It looks like he hit my front tire."
Hoskins said while in Decatur the suspect stuck his arm out of his moving vehicle and used some kind of automatic or semi-automatic weapon, firing approximately 20 to 30 rounds during his rampage.
Wise County Sheriff's Patrol Lt. Art Ferguson also had shots fired at him. Bullets punctured his front window, with bullets narrowly missing his head. Shards of glass scratched his face.
After entering Decatur, the suspect turned onto U.S. 380 Business at the McDonald's. He sped along the business route west until he crashed into an eastbound rock hauler at the beneath the traffic light at the intersection of U.S. 380.
"We think he was going to head east of U.S. 380, but he crashed into an 18-wheeler," Hoskins said. "At that time he leaped out of his vehicle and opened fire on deputies. They returned fire and the suspect hit the ground."
The suspect has only been described as a white male in his 30s. Investigators did not find any identification on the suspect. He was transported to John Peter Smith Hospital and was in critical condition.
If the suspect survives, he'll be facing a litany of potential charges including capital attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
Anyone with any information on the wreck or who witnessed the suspect fire at law enforcement during the pursuit is encouraged to call Wise County Sheriff's Office at (940) 627-5971 or Decatur Police Department at (940) 627-1500.
The eastbound lane of U.S. 380 at the intersection will remain closed for several hours as the investigators continue to scour the scene. Traffic is being re-routed onto Business 380, through Rook Ramsey and back on U.S. 380.


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St. Louis County is divided into various land use zone districts. In each zone district there are regulations for permitted uses of land and the placement of all structures. A zoning index map of the county will help you find the correct zoning map for your property.
To find the appropriate zone district requirement sheet for your property, see the process tab below and follow the instructions. If you are unsure as to who administers the zoning for your property, consult the Administration of Zoning Map located in the tab below.
Zone district information sheets have been updated with the adoption of Zoning Ordinance 62.
St. Louis County Zoning Maps
Persons interested in finding out how a property is zoned and the uses and requirements for that property should first consult the zoning map by following the directions below:
Determine Zoning of Property: Determine how a property is zoned. You will first need to know the Township and Range number where the property is located. This can be found by looking at the legal description for the property which can be found on an abstract or tax statement. The letters "Twp" will signify the township number and the letters "Rg" will signify the range number.
Obtain Zoning Map: Once you know the township and range number, click on the zoning index map and it will bring up the zoning map for your township. For example Twp 53, Rg 18 you would go to the zoning map legend and click on the township and range box of 53-18.
Zone District Code: This will bring you to the zoning map page. Next locate the property in question on that map. There will be a zone district code. The zone district code might be one like FAM-1.
Fact Sheets: Next, click on the zone district sheets from the tab below that says FAM or whatever your particular zone district code is. By looking at this sheet, you will be able to find out what uses are allowed. Then, refer to the Dimensional District sheet that will tell you the district number. For example, 1. This will show you the acreage required for a conforming lot and setback requirements. For shoreland property, go to the Shoreland Standards to determine how far a structure must be from lakes, rivers, etc.
There are several different land use ordinances that govern development in St. Louis County outside of the incorporated limits of municipalities (cities) and towns (that administer their own zoning). The goal of these ordinances is to establish land use regulation that promotes the health, safety, and general welfare of the inhabitants of St. Louis County.
Comprehensive Land Use Ordinance 27: A comprehensive land use plan for St. Louis County
SSTS Ordinance 61: Regulates the type, installation standards and maintenance of Individual Sewage Treatment Systems
Zoning Ordinance 62: Provides for regulation of most construction and uses of land. Adopted as of June 1, 2015.
The following videos are short overviews of building, land use, and environmental topics that can help the building process: YouTube: More Landuse & Environmental Videos
Land Use Videos
Planning Reports
Zoning Administration-City
Zoning Administration-Town
911 Addressing
Land Use Permits
Ordinance 62 Zoning
Rezoning Property
Septic Systems
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County Seat: St. Louis County Court House, 100 North 5th Avenue West, Duluth, MN 55802
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