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Author: jedi34
Story: Flying Free
Part: 11: Introducing the Team
Rating: Teens
Setting: AU
Status: Completed
Reviews: 5
Words: 5,541
Updated: August 16, 2013, 2:03pm
11: Introducing the Team
AN: Hello again, everyone! Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm fine, but I'll have to go back for another go round in October, so cross your fingers.
As always, I'd like to give a shout-out to my friend Arnel for all her great work on this story.
I would also like to give recognition to two of my favourite fanfic authors whose individual stories have had a great impact in shaping several scenes in this chapter. The first is "Seeking the Truth" by Been_Reading and the second is "Easier to Be" by Hgfan1111. Two great authors and two fantastic stories. If you've read either of those stories before, you may notice several of their concepts repeated here.
Finally, in my story outline it comes to a dividing point here. I can end the story or continue on with some plot twists during the World Cup. My beta votes to carry on — any thoughts from my dear readers?
This is a special British League Quidditch Update brought to you by WWN / W3 productions.
With regular season now behind us, all thought turns to the Quidditch World Cup. We have several good teams competing this year as always.
Last year's World Champions, the Bulgarians, return their entire team including superstar Seeker Victor Krum. The Irish also look to be strong as well.
However, the English National team led by Hamish MacFarlan looks to make a play at the Championship with a fantastic Chasing squad and Harry Potter at Seeker.
The teams report to training this week and the first matches are just two months away!
Ginny Apparated to the location she had been given to meet her teammates for the English National team, the Queerditch House. She still couldn't believe that her fellow players had voted her here and, given the way the season had ended, she was ready to put everything behind her and start fresh!
Ginny sighed to herself. She wasn't ready to put everything behind her. There was still the matter of Harry, and she wasn't sure if she was going to kill him or snog him when she finally saw him.
Ginny looked around after arriving and found herself outside a large, stately mansion. It looked like a castle or estate that the Muggle nobility would live in. The grounds seemed extensive, with lots of greenery, and she saw at least three full-sized Quidditch pitches down behind the house.
It was beautiful.
Ginny swung her bag over her shoulder and steeled herself. She was going to find Potter.
Ginny walked through the main doors and found, to her surprise, a witch sitting behind a receptionist desk in the main entryway.
The witch looked young, no more than nineteen, with pretty blonde hair.
"Oh, Miss Weasley," she said as she stood up and offered Ginny her hand. "It's so good to finally meet you. You've been a big inspiration to me this year, with everything that you've had to overcome to get here."
Ginny shrugged self-consciously and shook her hand.
"Thanks, it's always great to be appreciated. What's your name?" Ginny asked her with a small smile.
"Oh my goodness," the young girl said, red staining her checks. "My name is Kate Allistor. Please excuse me! I wasn't even this nervous when I met Mr Potter."
"You've seen Harry today?" Ginny asked her with interest, leaning forward.
"Oh yes, he was one of the first to show up, I believe he's already gone to his room," Kate answered as she returned to her seat.
"Now, the women's rooms are up and to the left," she gestured to a sweeping staircase on the left side of the entryway. "Your room has your name on it and if you leave your bags here I'll have the elves take them up for you.
"You have a team meeting in thirty minutes with Coach Jones and then a two-hour walk-through down on pitch one."
Ginny barely noticed what the witch was saying, as she eyed the other staircase on the right.
"Kate, I don't suppose those stairs goes up to the men's rooms, do they?" Ginny asked with what she hoped was nonchalance.
"Oh yes, but I'm afraid to say, Miss Weasley, that you're not allowed up in the men's wing. Coach Jones is very strict with the players — no distractions is what he told me!"
Ginny looked back at Kate and sighed — it wasn't worth pushing at moment.
"Up to the left? Team meeting in thirty minutes. Got it, Kate, thank you."
Ginny left her bag with Kate and made her way to her room. She could wait a little while longer.
As Ginny left her room to go to the team meeting, she paused and once again was overwhelmed by her surroundings.
Her "room" was actually a suite that was almost as large as The Burrow. It had three bedrooms, a kitchen, two baths, and a large common area. Of course, the common room had the latest MirrorVision already installed and its own fireplace.
The fireplace wasn't connected to the outside Floo network, but you could travel to other fireplaces on the estate grounds. Everywhere except other players' rooms, which Ginny had found out the hard way when the fireplace spit her back onto the couch after she had tried to go to Harry's.
She had banged her elbow on the table as she fell — just one more thing to pound Potter about when she finally saw him. Git.
Despite her emotional turmoil revolving around Harry, where she was and what she was doing began to overwhelm her as she approached the doors to the team meeting room.
She was at the World Cup training facility. She was playing on the English team! Holy hell.
Ginny felt her hands shake as she made her way inside.
The rest of the team was already in attendance and Ginny paused a moment to take in her surroundings.
The room was very nice, with expensive leather couches and chairs strewn throughout. A large buffet table had been set up across the back of the room and several witches and wizards stood in estate livery to serve when needed.
Her teammates seemed to be spread out, quietly chatting to one another, and they all glanced at her as she made her way inside.
She had chosen her appearance and wardrobe carefully. Relaxed, but not too informal — decent and comfortable, but also showing off her curves. She wanted Harry to feel it when he saw her.
Thinking of Harry, her eyes quickly found him as she made her way fully into the room.
He was seated by himself in the corner and to her surprise his Glamour was back in place.
She quickly turned and found the Harpy Beater, Gwenth Gargin, approaching her.
"Oh, Ginny, I didn't have a chance to talk to you before the game. I didn't know they were going to do that, they never told me, I wasn't in on it…" she rushed out.
Ginny quickly pulled the woman into a hug to silence her.
"Gwen, it's fine. I'm fine and the Minister is taking care of it."
"I know," the other witch moaned, her hands fluttering around nervously.
"I just didn't want you to think that I was in on it. I really respect you and, well…"
Ginny gave her a tight smile just as the young witch from the reception area walked into the room.
"Great, everyone is here!" she said brightly. "If we could all just find our seats, we have a few things to go over before the team walk through.
"First off — Formal introductions! I'm Kate and I'll be your team Mum while you're here and throughout the cup. My job is to help the team bond, get to know each other and just generally help out."
Kate sat down in a chair at the front of the room.
"I'm sure you all know each other pretty well after playing with and against each other, but we have a pretty unique mix this year so I thought it would be good to do some introductions."
She looked pointedly around the room, as everyone looked at each other.
"Right then, I'll go first," said a well-built but older man that Ginny recognized as the team captain.
"I'm Hamish MacFarlan, but you can call me Ham. You all know this already, but I'm the team captain this year, so give me any lip and I'll break your nose," he said with a good-natured smile.
"I've been playing Quidditch for seems like forever, but in reality this is my ninth year in the league. I was team captain for the Cup last year and we made it to the semi's before being knocked out."
He paused and gathered his thoughts for a moment, glancing around the room.
"I thought I had the scoring title locked this year, until this wee thing over here," he said looking at Ginny, "blew me away in the playoffs."
Hamish smirked at Ginny as she blew him a kiss.
"I'm married and have three children, and I think playing Quidditch is the most brilliant career a bloke could have."
Everyone sat silently and continued to look at him for several seconds after he finished.
"Er…I'm done."
"Great!" Kate exclaimed. "Who's next?"
Someone in an Arrows shirt stood up next, and glanced around the room.
"Right. I'm Matt Jones from the Appleby Arrows. I've been in the league for four years now and this is my second Cup appearance and first league title."
Matt looked over at Harry and gave him a thumbs-up. Harry smiled slightly in response, but otherwise didn't react.
"I'm also married, but no kids yet. My wife is a Quidditch reporter for WSPN and we met on the road when she was covering one of my games."
Matt gave a wide smile and pulled a picture out of his robes. "She's quite the looker."
"Okay, all right," Oliver said standing up and pushing Matt back in his seat. "That's enough of that, thank you very much."
"My name's Oliver Wood and I am a Keeper for Puddlemere United. I was also on the Cup team last year and I'm ready to take it all the way this year.
"Not married, but I know many of you here," he glanced quickly over to Harry, "and some I sure hope I'll get to know better."
"To the Cup!" he said with a mock toast.
"Here, here!" was the general response from the assembled witches and wizards.
"Great!" said Katie with sickening enthusiasm that made Ginny want to gag. Kate seemed like a nice enough girl, but this rah-rah attitude was going to wear thin quickly.
"How about our last Chaser?" she asked, smiling at Ginny.
"Hi, everyone. My name's Ginny Weasley," Ginny said easily, standing up from the chair she had been sitting in.
"I'm sure most of you know me from all the off-season exploits this year," Ginny shrugged with a self-depreciating smile, and a chuckle ran around the room.
"I'm a rookie. I took some time off after Hogwarts and now I'm here."
Ginny sat back down and stood back up. "Oh — I have six brothers so don't get fresh unless you want to get pounded," she said, laughing.
"So no boyfriend, then?" asked one of the men who hadn't introduced himself yet. Ginny thought he was a Beater from the Tornados.
His question caused Ginny to glance at Harry involuntarily. She quickly looked away, her face turning red. "Um… you know, I'm not actually sure."
Ginny sat back down in the uncomfortable silence, as her teammates glanced uneasily between Harry and herself.
"Great!" Kate said again, her enthusiasm only slightly less than before.
"And our Beaters?"
"I'm William Hastings from the Tornados," said the man who had asked Ginny about her boyfriend as he quickly stood.
"Third year in the league and first Cup appearance. I'm very excited to be playing with such great players. Single, and looking," he said, winking at Ginny and causing her face to heat up.
"I'm Gwen Gargin, a Beater from the Harpies — I played with Ginny," Gwen said with forced brightness from her seat on the couch.
"I think it's important for everyone to know that I had nothing to do with the incident at the end of the season. That was the other Beater and Miss Jones. I hope that I can earn all of your trust and be part of this team."
Gwen sat down with a sad face, and again an uneasy silence hung in the room.
"Oh…erm…okay — moving along," Kate said with what was the first real noticeable dent in her excitement.
"Finally, last but certainly not least, our Seeker, the great Harry Potter!" Kate gasped with eyes shining.
Harry scowled at her introduction and stood up.
"My name's Harry Potter, and I am a rookie in the league. First year playing Quidditch at all, really, depending if you count back yard games or not."
Harry ran his hand through his hair and grimaced at his teammates.
"You all know I had an incident during the league Championship, but it's over now and I'm ready to play. That's it," Harry finished, sitting down abruptly.
"Is that it, lad?" Hamish asked gently. "Surely there is something else you can tell us, about yourself?" Hamish smiled at Harry with gentle encouragement.
"Um…" Harry stood back up, looking very uncomfortable. "The charms that were reported on were just my Glamours for, you know." Harry shrugged and looked at the ceiling. "Not much else to tell."
"You have a girlfriend, Harry?" William said, brazenly glancing at Ginny, causing Hamish to frown at the Beater.
"Not, not really," Harry said shooting a furtive glance toward Ginny whose mouth was slowly opening into a surprised O shape.
"You spent a lot of time with Ginny…." William continued, smirking at her.
"Ginny is not my girlfriend!" Harry snapped.
"What!" Ginny shrieked, jumping to her feet.
"That's right," Harry continued, looking directly at her, "We're just friends."
Ginny totally forgot where she was and whom she was in front of. All she could think of was the enormous, giant, prat of a git-face who was standing in front of her.
"How many of your other friends have you shagged in the last year, Potter? Tell me that!" Ginny screamed, taking a step toward him.
"That's not… what I mean is… God damn it, Ginny!" Harry yelled, then turned and stormed out of the room.
Ginny quickly realized that her teammates were staring at her with shock and she again felt her face heat even as tears began prickling her eyes.
"So!" Kate jumped up with obviously forced brightness. "That's everyone then. Don't forget. you have a team walk-through in thirty minutes and your first practice scrimmage against the reserve squad is tomorrow at seven in the morning."
Everyone began gathering their things and preparing to go down to the team walk-through; Hamish walked over and stood next to Matt and Oliver.
As Ginny fled the room in embarrassment she heard Hamish mutter under his breath to Matt and Oliver, "So much for team unity, boys, I think we might have some problems here."
The next afternoon saw a weary team trudge into the mansion in quiet discouragement.
Kate was waiting to meet the team and immediately didn't like what she saw. She quickly corned Hamish and Matt as they made their way to the men's stairs and ushered them into a side room.
"What happened out there?" Kate asked, her mind turning. It was her job to keep the team's morale up and she was obviously failing.
"We had a terrible practice, lass," Hamish sighed, seating himself on a char facing Kate.
"Weasley was out of sorts, which caused the Chasers problems syncing with each other."
"Potter was also distracted, completely misreading several break outs and interference chances," Matt continued for Hamish.
Hamish frowned and stared at the ceiling deep in thought.
"Potter was so out of sync with Weasley that he actually damaged our own chances at scoring more than he helped, plus he never even sniffed the Snitch all day…"
Hamish trailed off again and Matt sighed, picking up the story:
"Toward the end of practice Gwen sent a Bludger toward a reserve, who dodged and the Bludger hit Ginny in the knee."
"She wasn't hurt," Matt assured Kate when she gasped and covered her mouth, "but Gwen went all to pieces and started crying about the Championship game and how she wasn't involved."
"Coach Jones is mad as an angry Hippogriff," Hamish said. "If things don't improve quickly we might see some reserves joining us here."
"Let's tackle the problems one at a time, shall we?" Kate said, turning very business-like. "There seems to be two issues: Gwen's problems with the Championship game and Harry and Ginny, correct?"
Kate waited until the two men nodded in surprise.
"I was top of my class at Hogwarts, gentlemen, I'm more than a cheerleader," Kate sniffed, causing Hamish and Matt to look at her with a new respect.
"The problems all seem to focus on Weasley, so we either fix them or remove her from the team."
"I would hate to see her go," Hamish said slowly. "How can we fix this?"
"I think Gwen will pull through this," Matt said carefully. "She just needs to see Ginny playing well and being all right in general. I'll work with her on some drills and give her some one-on-one pep talks."
Hamish looked at Matt with an unspoken question in his eyes.
"We went to Hogwarts together and dated — a long time ago!" Matt said with a faint blush. "Anyway, Gwen will listen to me."
"So, how do we deal with Potter and Weasley?" Kate asked herself softly.
The next afternoon, after another horrendous practice, Kate made her way up the women's stairs and gently knocked on Ginny's door.
"Hi, Kate," Ginny said with some surprise after opening the door slightly. "I didn't miss a team function, did I?"
"On no, Ginny!" Kate said brightly. "I just thought it would be good for us to talk."
"Look, Kate, I'm really not in the mood…" Ginny started to close the door, but Kate stopped her, a hard look on her face.
"Ginny, I really must insist. I'm the team Mum and I'm not doing a good job. Please let's discuss this."
Ginny sighed and relented, opening the door wider and making her way to her common room.
"Ginny," Kate said delicately after she had seated herself, "the first two practices haven't gone well."
Ginny snorted at the understatement and gave Kate a wry smile.
"Why do you think that is, Ginny?"
Ginny frowned and peered out the window, taking her time before answering.
"It's mostly my and Potter's fault. I'm distracted, so I'm throwing off all the Chasers, and Harry and I are so out of sync that it's actually causing problems with overall team strategy."
Ginny turned and looked at Kate, rubbing her Bludger-bruised knee self-consciously.
"I think Coach is going to replace me," Ginny said, her voice soft with sadness.
"He hasn't said anything to me yet, so I think you have some time." Kate answered honestly. "What happened with you and Potter? I take it you two were an item, and we all know what happened in the Championship."
"I don't know what happened, Kate," Ginny said heavily, jumping up and beginning to pace. "After the Championship game, Harry was injured, and he just stopped talking to me. He totally refused to even see me!" Ginny was getting heated now.
"The bloke tells me he loves me, then drops me like a hot Quaffle!"
"The nerve!" Kate said, getting heated herself. "Thinks he's too good for normal folks?"
"Actually, I think it's the opposite," Ginny said quietly.
"So you two haven't spoken?" Kate asked neutrally, quickly reassessing the situation.
"No." Ginny sat back down with her head between her hands.
"But you would like to, correct?" Kate asked.
Ginny raised her head and stared at Kate with tears prickling her eyes again. "More than anything."
"Very interesting, Ginny. Let me see what I can do."
By the end of the week, the team was almost in disarray. There was one practice left in the week, and Coach Jones had made it clear that if he didn't see dramatic improvement, someone was going to be off the team.
Kate had reported to Hamish and Matt her conversation with Ginny, and together the three of them had launched a plan.
"Remember," Kate had told them. "I can only take the wards down on the stairs for a few minutes so we have to time this exactly right."
"Not to worry, love," Hamish smiled. "I've got this."
After Thursday's disastrous practice, Hamish pulled Harry aside on the way into the mansion.
"Harry, this can't continue. I'm going to get cleaned up and then I'm going to meet you in your room in half an hour, exactly. Do not be late." Hamish glared at the younger man, then turned and walked to his room.
Harry was too stunned at having the normally jovial Hamish speak to him in such a tone that he missed the small smile playing on Hamish's lips as he disappeared into his room.
Exactly half an hour later, Hamish and Harry were sitting in Harry's common room.
"Hamish, I know I haven't been playing well…" Harry started after they both sat down opposite each other.
"Not playing well!" Hamish exclaimed. "Merlin, Potter! You're throwing off the entire team.
"I'm going to only tell you this once — go talk to Ginny."
Harry jumped up like a wounded animal, backing into the corner. "No! I can't, Ham, you don't understand."
Hamish sighed and stood up, slowly walking to the window and peering out. He discreetly checked the clock on the wall, then walked over to Harry and clapped him on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry, lad."
"It's all right, Hamish, I did this to myself."
"Aye, lad, you did."
"What are you…" Harry never finished his thought as Hamish pulled out his wand and Stunned the surprised Harry Potter right in his own room.
Harry awoke groggy and confused. What in Merlin's name had happened?
He sat up and realized he was on his bed in his bedroom at Queerditch House. His eyes widened as he realized that Ginny was next to him, apparently unconscious.
"Ginny!" he exclaimed, moving quickly to her side.
"Ginny, are you all right?"
She seemed to simply be sleeping, her breath falling regularly with her face scrunched up in an adorable, beautiful way.
Ginny's eyes fluttered open and it took her a moment to get her bearings. Finally, she sat up and looked at Harry with wide eyes.
"Harry? What am I doing here?"
"I don't know," Harry answered, quickly getting off the bed and moving away from her. "Let me see what's going on… er, the door's been sealed."
"What!" Ginny jumped up and made her way to the door. It didn't budge when she threw her slight weight into it.
"ATTENTION, POTTER AND WEASLEY!" a loud voice echoed through the room.
Harry began to panic as he felt for his wand — it was gone.
Harry snarled and cursed, turning and beating on the door again.
"Did you set this up, Ginny?" he turned his anger at her. "This is the worst day of my life!"
"Me?! Listen, you stupid prat, I wouldn't lock myself in a room with you ever again if you were the last bloke in Britain. I bloody HATE you!"
Harry stopped, shocked. His whole world began crashing around him. "You hate me?" he whimpered.
"YES!" Ginny shouted. "First you accuse me of leaking your secrets, then you half-arse apologize, then you wouldn't let me come see you after you were hurt…"
Ginny trailed off as anger turned to grief and the tears began to flow. "I was so worried about you, you were hurt so badly, we thought you were going to die and you just… didn't care!"
Ginny turned and flung herself face-down on the bed, sobbing as all the hurt from the past year bubbled up.
Harry stood where he was for a moment, and then sat on the bed next to her, slowly stroking her back. He had never been good with crying women.
"Ginny, I'm sorry," Harry said with feeling. "I didn't stop to think about how this would have impacted you."
He brushed her hair over her ear as Ginny remained face-down in the pillow.
"All I could think about was myself and how things had changed and that you wouldn't want to ever see me again."
Harry fell silent when Ginny didn't respond. The two sat there in silence, Harry stroking her back and Ginny crying herself out.
After a while, Ginny turned her tear-streaked face up to Harry. "Why would you think I wouldn't want to see you? You saved me, I told you I loved you, and you abandoned me."
"Ginny," Harry said, his voice trembling, "you saw me; you saw what I really look like. I had lived so long with the Glamours that I had forgotten how bad the scars really were. How could you love someone like that?"
Anger overtook Ginny and she sat up and slapped Harry in the face as hard as she could. His eyes widened, but he made no other movement. His lack of response infuriated her further and she slapped him again. He finally caught her arm on the third go round and growled at her, "Please stop doing that!"
"You know me, Harry!" Ginny screamed. "How could you think I could be that shallow? I loved you and you threw it away out of vanity?"
"I thought you would give me the broom. If I avoided you, if I could avoid hearing you actually say the words, then it was like it wasn't going to happen, and I got to live in a happy fantasy for a little while longer.
"I just, Ginny, I'm scared. I'm a wreck — a beast. You deserve so much more."
"Harry," Ginny said, beginning to calm down. Taking his hand, she looked him full in the face. "Isn't that for me to decide?"
Ginny realized that although Harry had acted in an unforgiveable way, he had been driven by his fear, fear of her rejection and his own past pain. Her heart ached for the man in front of her who struggled to accept and understand what love really entailed.
Harry squirmed under her penetrating gaze. "You said loved — as in past tense…" he finally managed. "Does this mean I've totally bollocked it up? Are you giving me the broom for good?"
"I don't know, Harry," Ginny sighed, fully sitting up beside him. "You're a prat and an arse and a terrible git — but for some reason I still love you."
Harry relaxed as the tension he wasn't aware he had been carrying dissipated and he leaned into her.
"Harry," Ginny asked tentatively, in a small girl voice, "do you still love me?"
Harry turned and the fear and vulnerability on her face broke his heart. He had put that there.
"Oh, Ginny! I love you with all that I am. I truly am sorry. I just didn't know how you would react to me."
Harry leaned in to kiss her, but Ginny gently pushed him away.
"I don't understand," Harry said with a confused frown.
"No more secrets, Harry," Ginny said and gently ran her fingers down the smooth skin of his Glamoured face.
"Harry," Ginny said suddenly sighting up straighter, "how are your Glamours back? Kingsley told me that they weren't working anymore."
Harry shrugged in embarrassment. "The curse scars are hard to cover, it took me a while to find the memories of how Dumbledore got the charm to anchor."
"So now you can take them down and put them up whenever you want?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Good," she responded forcefully at his nod. "I either get all of you or none of you. I can't do in between anymore."
Ginny felt him tense again at her side. "Please don't ask this of me, Ginny. Please, I beg you."
"It's too late, Harry. Either you love and trust me or you don't. I've made my choice and it's you. Now I'm just waiting for you to do the same."
Harry stood and paced around the bed, stopping every few minutes to glare at Ginny.
Ginny sat calmly, all previous grief and fear banished, as she patiently waited on him to make his choice.
Eventually Harry stopped pacing and came to rest directly in front of her, his posture slumped in defeat.
"Just remember that you asked for this, Ginny, and I tried to stop you."
Ginny remained silent, and finally Harry closed his eyes. He shimmered for a moment then re-solidified — without his Glamours.
Ginny's first instinct was to gasp, but she managed to hold it back. Although she had seen him in hospital, she had been distracted. Now there was nothing between her and the real Harry.
Ginny slowly stood and reached out. Her fingers lightly tracing the scar that ran from his eye, down his face to his jaw.
Harry shivered at her touch, but didn't push her away or open his eyes. She brought her other hand up and traced a scar that ran down his neck and disappeared under his shirt.
Ginny leaned forward and slowly kissed the scars on his face — one by one. Moving closer, she pushed back his hair and placed a kiss on his famous curse scar.
Harry's eyes shot open. His entire life that scar had been a symbol of pain and suffering and never an object of affection.
Ginny continued down his neck, the side of his mouth, gently tracing and kissing all his scars and lightly rubbing his crooked nose.
Without speaking, she reached down, grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head.
Harry sighed softly as the remainder of his scars came in full view.
Ginny took a quick step back and look at him in his entirety. "Simply beautiful," she whispered.
She quickly stepped forward again before he could react, and began to trace the scars down his torso, back, and side.
Harry looked at the top of her head in amazement as she bent down and kissed the scar running horizontally above his nipple.
Ginny was determined to make every one of those scars a source of love, and she would do it if she had to kiss them a thousand times.
"Ginny?" Harry said timidly.
"Yes, Harry?" Ginny asked, not stopping her exploration of his body.
"So, er, what do you think?"
Ginny slowly stood erect and gazed into his eyes.
"I think you sacrificed a great deal for us — for me," she said softly. "I think you are beautiful. I love the real you so much more than the fake you."
Harry cupped her face with his palm. "Ginny, I don't understand."
Ginny sat down and patted the bed next to her. Harry obediently sat.
"You probably haven't had a ton of people love you for just you, have you, Harry?"
Ginny waited until he shook his head in the negative.
Ginny rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his leg.
"Your scars are a testament to your spirit, your nobility — they just confirm to me what I already knew about you — who you are and how you love with your whole heart."
"But I'm broken and scarred."
Ginny put a finger to his lips. "Sometimes we can live with scars, Harry."
"And sometimes we can't!" his voice was almost a scream.
"What if I can't do it, what if I can't stand?" he pleaded.
"Then I'll be here to carry you, Harry, until you're ready to walk on your own."
Tears rolled down Ginny's face at the look of relief Harry gave her. He finally, truly realized that she loved him and what that love meant.
"Harry," she whispered, "you can wear your Glamours in public, but not with me in private. Not anymore. Especially not when we make love."
Ginny leaned over and kissed him deeply.
"Make love?" Harry said, bewildered.
"You bet your arse, Potter. Now get out of those jeans and get over here," Ginny said as she rolled to the middle of the bed while pulling her jumper off.
Harry smiled at the wicked look on her face. The scars really didn't matter. She loved him. It was amazing. It was breathtaking. It was indescribable.
It was the best day of his life.
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ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- In the Rockford Public School District, the Better Schools, Brighter Future campaign could be getting a big boost from a local business. Alpine bank says if the community can raise $50,000 for the campaign in about two weeks, it will match the donations. The committee is trying to raise money to help promote District 205's bond referendum that will appear on the ballot next month. If approved, the referendum would pay for upgrades to all of the district's school buildings. Alpine Bank's chairman says it's really an investment in our community.
"We say all the time that Alpine Bank is as healthy as the community it serves, and that's true for other local businesses as well. And so, it's very much in the interest of everybody in this community to get behind and support this referendum for District 205," said Rob Funderburg, Chairman of Alpine Bank.
You can donate money between now and October 26th at any alpine bank location.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Against the backdrop of battlefield uncertainty, diplomacy also seemed to have made little perceptible progress. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton repeated calls for the ouster of Assad, but said there had been no "great breakthrough" in talks she held Thursday in Dublin with her Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, and Lakhdar Brahimi, the special Syria envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League.
"It was an important meeting, but just the beginning," she said, speaking in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before flying back to Washington.
The bleak assessment came as government and rebel forces were locked in sustained battle, particularly to the south of Damascus, where in recent days the airport has been caught up in fighting for the capital's suburbs and has been closed to civilian flights for days at a time.
Apart from its importance as a logistical center, the airport, some 12 miles south of Damascus, also holds symbolic value. Its loss would boost the rebels' ability to depict Assad as isolated and beleaguered.
Nabil al-Amir, a spokesman for an insurgent military group attacking the airport south of Damascus, said rebels "who have been putting the airport under siege decided yesterday that the airport is a fair target," Reuters reported.
"The airport is now full of armored vehicles and soldiers," al-Amir said, seeming to suggest that it was firmly in government control. "Civilians who approach it now do so at their own risk."
News reports also suggested that government forces were seeking to bring in reinforcements for a counterattack designed to reverse rebel gains on the fringes of the city.
The rebel threat seemed to deepen the uncertainties of the military campaign for Damascus, where visiting reporters say that the sound of government artillery fire pounding outlying suburbs is clearly audible from the city center -- once a haven of tranquility even as the uprising against Assad evolved from peaceful protest in March 2011 to civil war.
Activists said government forces backed by tanks were heading toward two southwestern suburbs, covering their effort to advance with rocket and mortar fire.


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Bray: Seriously? She can't even be in the same room as you!
Shan: For the sake of the General, we have to try, I can help her with the link, and i think she knows this.
San: She is special, but do you think she can do something like this?
Shan: There is a Prophecy, that all Wraith has heard of, but never thought would come to pass after the Ancients left this Galaxy.
Taoth: What kind of Prophecy?
Shan: "The Change of the Galaxy will come with the Child of two of the carrier of the Ancient, it will bring down the Darkness that will shroud the Galaxy, and all life will prosper once again"
San: And you think this refer to Cara?
Shan: My Queen told me this story countless of times during my upbringing. What this child could do. The Prophecy says the child will know when this Dakrness is close.
San: And Cara can, with you and Hybrid Mel, even though she's onlt taken over Mel's mind.
Taoth: Only? Look at me! Is this a thing you call only? She's wrecked chaos all morning! I was lucky I managed to get away.
San: You think she will kill?
Taoth: She has already done it. I don't know why she hasn't done it already.
Bray: She's playing around. She was going for the Master has taken over the base thing.
Taoth: What I don't understand is why?
San: I think I do.
Bray: Huh?
San: We had been talking about it, make a program to simulate an attack on Atlantis, so that everyone knew what they was excpected to do.
Taoth: And this Master was the main badie?
San: Yes. But this was after Hybrid Mel! She can't have known.
Shan: If a Queen is able to gain access to a human mind, she will have all the knowledge.
San: But she's not a Queen, she's a hybrid.
Shan: But is a Wraith none the less. Wouldn't have felt the presence if she wasn't and even if she's not a Queen, she will follow the command of a Queen.
San: A Queen would just have set the self destruct and be done with it. Mel want something else.
Bray: I just thought of something. Shan, if the Queen told you this story, and Hybrid Mel is with a Queen, what do you think her next move would be?
Shan: You don't think?
Bray: What if this was just an elaborate plan to get to Cara! You said so yourself, she is the key to the destruction of the Wraith!


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Well its award season and everybody loves a little trivia. We also all love how much the horror genre gets overlooked by the Oscars. We are after all just a bunch of freaks. So I've cobbled together a little list of Actors and Directors who not only became famous after starring in horror movies but also won themselves an Oscar. So here we go in no particular order.
Jennifer Connelly (Phenomena 1985)
Getting a gig with Dario Argento isn't exactly slumming it but who would have guessed the young lady would go all the way to the Academy Awards. Phenomena is a bizarre film that almost seems like an extended hallucination. The roll on Phenomena wasn't her first but it was her first starring roll and big break. She would go on to win an Oscar for her supporting roll in A Beautiful Mind.
Renee Zellweger (The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre AKA Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The next generation 1994)
Dear god I hated this movie. Is it bad it was the first Texas Chainsaw I ever saw? Renee Zellwegger could have easily vanished after this forgettable blot on the TCM legacy but she pulled out a win for best supporting actress for 2003's Cold Mountain.
George Clooney (Return to Horror High 1987)
Clooney has made a lot of movies and it stands to reason he'd grab an Oscar for at least one of em. Before his super fame he was in the fun little horror flick Return to horror High. It's also said he had a small cameo in the notorious Grizzly 2: The predator but I cannot confirm that! Years later he'd get best supporting actor for 2005's Syriana.
Jack Nicholson (The Little Shop of Horrors 1960)
This is a pretty famous cameo that a lot of horror fans are aware of but it's just great to see a young spry Nicholson hamming it up for the camera. He worked a lot with schlock master Roger Corman so he did a lot of genre films in the early days but Shop of Horrors is defiantly one of his best. He's gotten a few Oscars but his first was for 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Clint Eastwood. (Revenge of the Creature 1955)
Universal's sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon had its moments but none of the iconic charm of the first film. What the movie did have was a cameo but a young fresh faced fellow by the name of Clint Eastwood. He's picked up a lot of awards over the years but he did nab best picture and best director for 1992's Unforgiven.
Peter Jackson (Brain Dead/Dead Alive 1992)
For my last entry I'll do a pretty famous one that I just couldn't pass up. Also, I know I'd get a lot of comments about why I left it out. Largely considered one of the goriest-most ridiculous movies ever made; Brain Dead or Dead Alive as it's also known will leave you speechless. Jackson of course started earning Oscars for the Lord of the Rings movies.
Well that's that. There are a lot of other actors and directors who've dabbled in horror and went on to earn Hollywood's top honour. Leave some comments behind if you know of any more. Now if only we had a real horror awards show (no scream awards don't count) Until next time, thanks for reading!


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I am using a sblive sound card in FreeBSD. When I watched TV earlier, I had my input piped to my output. I did cat /dev/dsp0 > /dev/dsp1 and it didn't work at first, but suddenly it just worked and I didn't have to do cat on the devices anymore. This was with OSS 3.99.1h.
If i try to do the same with 3.99.1i, i just get noise on my speakers.
How do I get the same funcionality with 3.99.1i as I had with 3.99.1h?
and it got broken for me again
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Talk:Express Car Service
| This talk page is for discussing the Express Car Service article.
This includes commenting on the article, questioning whether it is correct, or adding suggestions for improvements
Questions about GTA games, not about the wiki page itself, should be asked at Community:Questions.Remember to always add your signature to the end of your comments/replies using four tildes:
Depot or Company?
Is "Express Car Service the name of the taxi depot or the taxi company? If it is the name of the depot, then what is the name of the taxi company. But, if it is the name of the taxi company, what is the name of the taxi depot?--MrLanceVanceDance 07:12, 1 August 2011 (BST)
- "Express Car Service" will be the name of the company/service, and this is their depot. Since their name only features on the depot, it's fine for them to share an article. See Turtle Head Fishing Co. for another example. However, I agree that this should be made clearer in the article. gboyers talk 09:45, 1 August 2011 (BST)
Let's see here...
Will move to merge this article into Express Car Service when an updated screenshot of the depot's exterior is uploaded. That will keep the topic nicely contained in one page as there isn't very much to talk about anyway.
Since the entirety of this article's Description section is taken completely off Express Car Service's Description section, that won't be needed. That leaves the Trivia section, which contents can in fact be integrated into the Express Car Service's Description section with proper writing. Looks pretty straightforward. - ZS (talk) 13:40, 29 October 2011 (BST)


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From developing cyber security software programs, to building complex wireless mobile devices, to creating social networking or gaming platforms, the work of computer scientists is as diverse as it is in demand.
In this program, you will learn how to design, develop and test computing systems for a wide variety of purposes. You will become proficient in various operating systems, programming languages and techniques, and computer architecture, with many opportunities to practice your software development skills on real-world projects.
Students have the flexibility to specialize in an area that best supports their interests and career goals. For example, you may focus on computer networking, cyber security, computer graphics, gaming and virtual environments, bioinformatics, software engineering, or many other areas.


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In recent years, Spanish clubs have been producing midfield talent in abundance. And no club has produced better talent, in quantity or quality, than Barcelona.
With the help of their famed academy – La Masia, the Catalans have affirmed their status as the best in unearthing supreme talent.
However, with the riches the Blaugrana already have in their ranks, many players fail to get noticed at the Nou Camp.
One such player is their young midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
Even though he has impressed time and time again for his club, playing time has been hard to come by due to the direct competition for starting places with players such as Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas.
And as a consequence, one just gets the feeling that Thiago has to move to a new club in order to fulfill his full potential.
Here's why top Premier League sides should be trying to sign the Spaniard.
Last season, Thiago started 15 matches for the Blaugrana, with a further 12 appearances from the bench. And even in these limited appearances, Thiago still managed five assists and more than 1700 completed passes in La Liga.
And his range of passing and peripheral vision is what has been sorely lacking in many Premier League clubs throughout last season. To accentuate just how impressive Thiago's season was, we compare the Spaniard's statistics with those of highly rated midfielders such as Manchester United's Tom Cleverley and Arsenal's Jack Wilshere, who play in similar roles.
Even though he has started fewer matches, the Barcelona man has completed far more passes than Wilshere or Cleverley. Whereas Thiago completes an average of 65 passes per game, the other two find themsleves lagging behind, at less than 50 completed passes per game. Thiago's pass success rate is also impressive at 91%, and has all the makings for being a top orchestrator of the game for various Premier League sides. Thiago's ability to producing through balls and long balls for launching counter attacks has also been found to be superior to those of either Wilshere or Cleverley.
And if he was impressive for Barcelona, he has been even more so for the Spain under-21s in the ongoing European championships.
At liberty to control the pace of the game to his liking (as a result of the absence of Xavi and Iniesta), Thiago has excelled and has been one of the best players in the tournament so far. In three matches so far, he has produced a mind-boggling 27 accurate long balls, 240 passes, one assist and has a passing accuracy of 93%, with only Italy's Marco Verratti having statistics that even come close to comparison with those of the Spaniard. As Spain look to land another European under-21 title, many people will be keeping a watch on their captain who really has led from the front.
A classical schemer of the mould of Thiago was what many Premier League teams lacked over the course of the last season, with the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and even champions Manchester United often found to be short of ideas in midfield.
The solution to this problem could be Thiago, as he both has the attributes as well as the quality to fit in seamlessly with any of these teams.
A supreme passer who is also adept at holding onto the ball as well as dribbling past opposition, Thiago also does not shirk his defensive responsibilities, and has always supplemented Sergio Busquets in the holding midfield for Barcelona. If he continues his current form (and he has not given any indications of not doing so), he would also be an upgrade to most of the players who ply their trade in the centre of the park in Premier League's top teams.
And with the player likely to come for less than £20 million, he could represent the ultimate transfer coup for many Premier League sides. Manchester United seem the most likely side to be interested in the youngster - after recent reports have suggested David Moyes will enter the market for the Spaniard.
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More than two years after unfurling its flag, a Ridgecrest program has been tapped to receive an award for its service in honoring community members serving in the U.S. military.
By Jack Barnwell
More than two years after unfurling its flag, a Ridgecrest program has been tapped to receive an award for its service in honoring community members serving in the U.S. military.
The Ridgecrest Military Banner Program was nominated for and is set to receive an 2012 Award of Merit from the Kern Council of Governments on March 7 in Bakersfield.
The Ridgecrest program was awarded the honor "for displaying banners throughout the community honoring local residents who are actively serving in the armed forces," according to a Dec. 21 KernCOG press release.
Among those signaled out were former Vice Mayor Jerry Taylor, Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce CEO Nathan Ahle, Terry May from Medicom and Mike Chierotti of Factory GraphX.
Taylor said it was great to see the program honored.
"It is great that Ridgecrest is being honored with this award for their patriotic support of those that are working hard everyday to protect this great country and to keep us free, the soldiers serving this country," Taylor said Monday.
The product of the program has been seen on several street light poles and other fixtures throughout town, bearing the faces and names of those who serve in the armed forces.
Banners are created for those that live in Ridgecrest, the Indian Wells Valley or the Trona area, or who have relatives living in the area.
Typically, a $150 donation is requested to cover half the cost of a banner, but the program provides financial assistance where needed.
Taylor emphasized that many people helped or sponsored the program over its existence.
"Since starting this program over two years ago, I have had a lot of help from many people, including Heather Spurlock and Nathan Ahle at the Chamber of Commerce, Jan Bennett of the Nexus Foundation, Terry May of Mediacom, Mike and Michele Chierotti of Factory GraphX, and numerous sponsors from SCE, The Exchange Club, VFW and Women's Auxiliary, Jewelry to Go, Cosner-Neipp Corporation, and numerous other private donors," Taylor said.
Ridgecrest Vice Mayor Chip Holloway, who nominated the banner program, said the program was a great asset to the community.
"Since day one I think the program was natural for our community and creates a sense of pride for everyone in Ridgecrest," Holloway said in an email Tuesday.
Holloway credited Taylor with the program's success over the two years.
"Jerry Taylor deserves a great deal of credit because many ideas never come to fruition due to the lack of a champion," Holloway said. "Jerry has been diligent in promoting the program but he would also be the first to admit the help of the Chamber, Terry at Mediacom and Mike over at Factory GraphX was instrumental in keeping the program going strong."
Ahle, CEO of the Ridgecrest's Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber played a small part in the role. Ahle received an award of merit from KernCOG in 2008 for his work as the Daily Independent's managing editor.
"This is Jerry's award," Ahle said at the Daily Independent Tuesday. "JerryTaylor and Terry May and Mike Chierotti and his team over at Factory GraphX deserve all the credit."
He said the Chamber's only role was providing the paperwork.
"It's part of our mission to promote the community and we're very happy for them," Ahle said.
Holloway said it was good KernCOG saw the value in the program.
"I am glad they (RMBP) will all be recognized for their efforts and I hope the community will continue to support it with dollars," Holloway said. "The program relies a great deal on donations and volunteers without them in can not be sustained."
Holloway encouraged anyone that could to make a donation to the program by calling the program at (760) 375-8331.
Taylor said the program paid homage to all those in the area that serve in the military.
"It is such a rewarding program to allow everyone in Ridgecrest to see those that are serving us all everyday as they drive down the local streets of Ridgecrest," Taylor said.


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23 February 2010|
|Article Index
|Konaki KO-NA3601 Amplifier
|Page 2
|All Pages
Okay, let's face it, unless you are independently wealthy or raking in big dough through some high paying job, we all have to spend our audio budgets wisely. And this situation is exactly what the folks at Konaki completely understand. For several years they've been turning out great quality products at relative bargain prices, with the motto, "Quality does not have to be expensive." To prove the point, they recently sent us an early sample of their budget oriented, but high performance Class D subwoofer amplifier, the KO-NA3601. Priced at only $199.99 (USD), the amplifier is purported to provide a lot of bang for the buck. Let's take a look and see if it delivers.
When I opened the box, I found the Konaki amp shipped inside of a velvet-like drawstring bag, which protects it from dust and scratches during shipping. Pulling the amp out of the bag, I discovered a small heatsink with four thick horizontal fins down each side, and a flat top. The heatsink is finished in gloss black powdercoat, with a diamond cut Konaki badge on the top. Following a currently popular styling
cue, the corners of the small heatsink are rounded, and to see just how small it was, I measured it at a diminutive 8.5 x 6 x 2 inches, so the KO-NA3601 is certainly small enough to allow it to be mounted
in virtually any available area. The amp is designed to be mounted via 4 traditional slotted mounting tabs that will accept up to a #10 screw. Mounting screws and a wired remote control are included. The amp is a traditional Class D design, and is capable of driving load impedances down to 1 ohm.
All of the wiring connections are made on the opposing ends of the amp. One side is occupied with the power, ground, turn-on and speaker connections, as well as a pair of 40A ATC fuses. The opposite end of the amp has a pair of RCA input connectors, a 1/8-inch jack for the wired remote level control, and a pair of LEDs to indicate power-on and protection status. I know what you're thinking, if that's it, where are the adjustments?
Well, considering that improperly set amplifier controls create the vast majority of sound quality complaints as well as amplifier failures, the creative minds at Konaki decided to mount them on the bottom side of the amplifier, where they can't be easily messed with by every would-be expert who happens to stick his nose in the trunk.
Once the controls are adjusted and the amp is bolted down, there are no adjustments possible without un-mounting the amp. Sure, this is a bit unconventional, and I know some will complain about the inconvenience, but in the long run it just may result in a better sounding, more reliable installation. The bottom mounted controls consist of adjustments for input sensitivity (gain), a -12dB/Oct Low Pass filter adjustable from 40-180Hz, and a variable frequency Subsonic filter, which adjusts from below audible frequencies to a high point of 50Hz.
Since I had the amp upside down in front of me, it was a perfect opportunity to remove the bottom cover and examine the guts of the amplifier. What I found inside was a well built double sided PCB, using predominately 0% tolerance surface mount parts. The terminals are plenty beefy for an amplifier of this power level, and all the parts were well placed and soldered.
The power supply uses a pair of TO-220 case MOSFETs, as does the output section. Power supply capacitance is handled by three 25V 2200µF high temperature caps, and the output section has a total of 6600µF of capacitance. In the interest of reliability, these are also of the high temperature variety and have a working voltage of 50V. Output filtering on a Class D amplifier is crucial to good performance, and the KO-NA3601 is equipped with a quality inductor and high speed poly caps to remove the switching noise generated by the high efficiency Class D design.
Read on for Results
After replacing the bottom sheetmetal, I connected the amp in my listening room, driving a pair of 4 ohm woofers wired in parallel. I turned the subsonic filter off since I was using a sealed woofer system, and then set the low-pass filter to about 80Hz. After a couple of tweaks to the crossover frequency and increasing the gain settings, I sat down to hear how well this teeny little amp would perform, and I have to say I came away relatively impressed. The KO-NA3601 had plenty of authority to drive the 12-inch woofers to loud volumes, and sounded fine in the process. The bass was well controlled and deep, quick transients sounded natural without a lot of ringing, and generally speaking the amp sounded just fine indeed. While it's not going to be mistaken for my 2,000 watt reference amplifier in terms of power, I was very pleased with how well it drove the woofers, even at "enthusiastic" levels, and playing difficult tracks with a ton of dynamics. If I could make one small improvement, it would be to give the amp a bit more gain, as I needed it adjusted nearly wide open to keep up with my main amp. But once set-up, it's amplifiers like this that can make us re-think the "just how much do I really need" question. I'll wager this amplifier has more than adequate performance for all but the most demanding listeners.
After my listening session ended, the amp was transferred to the electronics test bench, and put through our usual series of tests. Here again, when you consider the low price and the very small package size, the amp performed quite well. Power levels were what I expected after examining the internals, although my precise measurements fell a bit short of the power specs quoted in the owner's manual. In fairness, however, the amp and manual I received were very early production and may not be a final version. I mention this because more accurate power specifications were provided in the technical data I received with the amp. Due to this discrepancy, I have left the manufacturers rated power as "TBD" in the specifications below. In any case, the differences only amounted to a bit over one decibel anyway.
Other specs like signal-to-noise measured good as well, a testament to the design and layout of the amp. Where amps like this really excel though, is in terms of efficiency, and not just at full power. A really well designed Class D amplifier will be efficient at fractional power levels as well, and the little Konaki did very well in this regard, measuring better than 46% efficient at only 10 watts of power. This is very good, considering most Class AB amplifiers will struggle to hit 15% efficiency at 10 watts. To test the reliability, I deliberately dead shorted the outputs, ran it at very low voltages, ran it to thermal shut off and was generally abusive, and the amp simply protected itself when I got too stupid, and worked perfectly again when the problem was corrected.
Small amps are increasingly popular, and as small as it is, I believe this one will be no different. The performance is terrific for the low price, especially if you are driving it with strong input voltage. The design and construction, as well as my abusive testing lead me to believe this amp will be reliable as well. Overall, the Konaki amplifier represents a very good value, which was precisely the target Konaki was aiming at when they designed this product. If you're in the market for a budget priced amp with mid-level performance, check this one out at a dealer near you.


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Archive for Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Stages of support
A mom's work is never done
Mothers are supportive of their children, whether they're cheering along the sidelines at a soccer game or getting a costume lined up for a school play.
Before those days come, though, there are the first stages of motherhood.
And a Tonganoxie group is available to offer support for mothers even before their babies are born.
Mommy to Mommy is designed to provide information, education and encouragement for both new and experienced nursing moms, as well as for mothers-to-be who may not be sure breast-feeding is right for them.
"We're not really conditioned toward breast feeding in our society," said Polly Slater, certified breast-feeding educator and facilitator for the group. "We're more pushed toward formula."
The group's first meeting was last month and although attendance was minimal, she hopes more mothers and expectant mothers will take advantage of the free support group. Mommy to Mommy Tonganoxie meets at 11 a.m. the third Wednesday of each month at Tonganoxie United Methodist Church, 328 E. Fourth St. in Tonganoxie.
"There are so many misconceptions and so much misinformation about breast-feeding floating around. It's crucial to provide a safe, nurturing environment where moms can have their questions answered by someone who may have faced similar issues or had similar experiences," Slater said.
The support group was initiated through a Kansas Parents as Teachers grant for which the United Methodist Health Ministries applied. Keystone Parents as Teachers, for which Slater works, also is sponsoring the group.
Reservations are not required and all mothers and their babies are welcome, Slater said.
Support for stay-at-home mothers
For stay-at-home mothers, support can be hard to come by, said Laura Beth LeRoy.
That's what the Moms Offering Moms Support, or MOMS, Club is designed to remedy.
"I know that I felt very alone when I had my child, because none of my friends had babies, none of my neighbors," said LeRoy, who joined the club shortly after giving birth to her son four years ago. She is now president of the MOMS Club of Shawnee West. "So it was just a way to find someone in the same place and the same season of life that I was in."
The international club for stay-at-home mothers and their children offers socializing activities such as book clubs, craft nights and play dates. Members also take part in community service projects.
"The idea of the club is that just because you're home with your child doesn't mean you should be socially isolated," said Nancy Bolyard, president of the MOMS Club of Shawnee East.
Area chapters also include the MOMS Club of Olathe-East and the MOMS Club of Lansing/Leavenworth.
"I know it's been a great source of advice for mothers. When we get together, we'll exchange tips on potty training and picky eaters and, also, sometimes it's just nice to have that sounding board," Bolyard said. "It's nice to have somebody who knows what you're going through when you're sweeping the Cheerios up for the fifth time that day."
More information about the MOMS Club and how to join a chapter can be found at momsclub.org.
Mom's always there
On the bad days, when she can do little but lie down, Ronda Sirkovic picks up the phone and calls her mother.
Her mother, Mary Lakey, lives not far from her west Shawnee home, in Basehor, and they see each other almost every day. But when it's bad, she just wants to hear her mom's voice.
"She's always been, I don't know, like my breath," said Sirkovic, 40. "She just breathes life into me."
When Sirkovic was growing up in Tonganoxie, Lakey was the one who told her every day that she could do whatever she wanted if she put her mind to it. Mary told Ronda that she didn't want her to be a bus driver like Mary was; she wanted her to choose from a world of possibilities.
She saw Ronda had a knack for art and math; she enrolled her in art classes when she was 5, and she sat down and solved math problems with her daughter for practice.
"I just remember loving to do math with my mom," Sirkovic said, "and, I mean, how many kids can say that?"
When Ronda wanted to quit the engineering program at Kansas State University, discouraged by poor grades, her mom told her to stick with it, that she was going to get that degree. And when she graduated in 1994, she had more than a dozen job offers.
When Ronda became a senior project manager at JE Dunn Construction, leading the company's construction of the new Federal Reserve Bank headquarters in downtown Kansas City, Mo., and other projects, Lakey was not surprised.
"She always was such a good kid, from day one," Lakey said.
In 1999, Sirkovic was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Lakey followed the advice she'd given to her daughter countless times: "Get it done. Just get it done." She organized a team, called "Wings for Ronda," to take part in the annual Walk MS fundraiser. The team raised nearly $6,000 this spring.
Both mother and daughter say the other is defined by her determination.
"I ask her where she gets it from, and she always says, 'my mother,'" Lakey said.
Last fall, Sirkovic had to retire from JE Dunn, no longer able to keep up with the stresses of the job. Her mom threw a retirement party, inviting her family and friends from work.
When Sirkovic has a bad day, Lakey will come mow her lawn, help her 10-year-old son with his homework or cook dinner.
"I just wish I could give her some of my oomph some days," Lakey said.
Sirkovic says she thanks God for her mom every day. And when she feels at her worst, she knows she can pick up the phone and make a call to get the "oomph" she needs.
"I don't care how old you get," Sirkovic said. "There's just something about your mother."
Never stop being a mother
Jennifer Brooke Reeves was an intelligent girl. A singer and pianist, she had performed in musicals while at Bonner Springs High School and at Starlight Theater and Theatre in the Park.
Adopted at 6 months old from Korea, she was a daddy's girl who loved peanut putter on doughnuts.
"She was a good person, and she cared a lot about others and loved to have a good time," her mother, Gayla Reeves, said.
Reeves experienced something all mothers hope they never have to — the death of a child. Though Jennifer has been gone 16 years now, her mother said her family keeps her memory alive.
"You don't get over it," Reeves said. "You don't go on, you move forward."
Jennifer was 22, working in Lawrence while taking a year break from schooling at Kansas University. She planned to return to school and get a degree to teach high school music.
It was a minor car accident, only 15 miles per hour, but Jennifer was wearing only the lap belt part of her seat belt, and her airbags didn't deploy that day Jan. 5, 1996.
In the years since Jennifer's death, Reeves said she and her husband talk about their eldest daughter daily. Reeves has four granddaughters now, and she makes sure they know about their aunt.
"We get by and we talk about Jennifer; we don't hide it," Reeves said. "I have three children, one is just living in a different place."
The Reeves had the steeple of their church lit in Jennifer's memory, donated a weeping willow to the cemetery in her name, and for 13 years, they donated funds for a scholarship at the high school in Jennifer's name — now, they plan to take those funds to put into savings for her nieces' college funds.
Three times, in five-year increments, they have purchased a memorial ad in The Chieftain near the date of her death.
"You don't want people to forget; she's still here to you," Reeves said.
"What's really going to be hard is when 22 years have gone, and that was as long as we had her," she added. "That's going to be hard."
Visiting Mom
Esther Funk has been looking forward to Mother's Day for more than a month.
Funk, a resident for eight months of one of Vintage Park at Baldwin City's assisted living apartments, gets daily visits from her daughter Robin Johnson of Lawrence, and another daughter, Bonnie Bulmer of Ottawa, visits each weekend. But her other five surviving children, some of whom live as far away as Texas, can't visit the 84-year-old former Ottawa resident as often.
Things will be different Sunday. Although she won't see them all, Funk will spend time this Mother's Day with a good number of her children and 48 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"I'm excited about it," Funk said. "I get to go on a little outing.
"I'll get to see my grandchildren. There are some of them I really enjoy."
Johnson said the family will take her mother to a gathering at Bulmer's home in Ottawa. It will re-create the Sundays and the Mother's Days the family knew in the past when they would gather for a large dinner after church.
Shelley Ausherman, activities director for Vintage Park at Baldwin City, said Funk's day would be similar to that of other residents as families take the mothers out for a Mother's Day lunch or short home visit.
The holiday concludes a week of activities observing the day, Ausherman said.
"We give them a gift in the morning," she said. "They will have something special on their plate when they come out for breakfast.
"We do a little reminiscing throughout the week in our groups, remembering their Mother's Days and their mothers, too."
Nicole Murry, activities director at Baldwin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, said Mother's Day was an important day at the skilled nursing home and one of the busiest visitor days of the year.
"We get a lot more grandkids and more extended families," she said. "They (residents) look forward to all holidays, and Mother's Day is very important."
Outings are difficult for the facility's long-term care residents, so staff allows families space and privacy to visit their mothers, Murry said.
As at Vintage Park, observances start before the holiday.
"We host a Mother's Day luncheon on Friday before the holiday," she said. "We invite family members to come have lunch with their moms.
"We have somebody come sing for us. A Mary Kay representative will be here to do hand treatments on the ladies."
— Staff reporters Shawn Linenberger, Melissa Treolo, Matt Erickson, Caroline Boyer and Elvyn Jones contributed to this story.
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Garnier Triple Nutrition Conditioner
131 reviews
59% would repurchase
Package Quality: 3.6
Price: $$
Package Quality: 3.6
Price: $$
INGREDIENTSWater, Cetearyl Alcohol, Elaeis Guineensis Oil / Palm Oil, Behentrimonium Chloride, Pyrus Malus Extract / Apple Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Fragrance, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine HCI, Butyrospermum Parkii / Shea Butter, Citric Acid, Olea Europaea Oil / Olive Fruit Oil, Saccharum Officinarum Extract / Sugar Cane Extract, Benzyl Alcohol, Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, Persea Gratissima Oil / Avocado Oil, Ribes Nigrum Oil / Black Currant Seed Oil, Linalool, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Extract / Lemon Peel Extract, CI 19140/Yellow 5, Camellia Sinensis Extract / Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, CI 15985/Yellow 6, F.I.L. D35637/3
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Start your review
on 12/18/2017 10:46:00 PM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Other, Not Sure
Hair: Black, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
Not bad for a conditioner. Nice thick consistency with good slip, but I don't think it was as moisturizing as it claims. The scent is really strong; my roommate loved the scent and I find it tolerably fruity, but others may find it overpowering. I have wavy hair and while I don't think it got rid of frizz enough, I did feel like it protected my ends well from damage. I wouldn't repurchase it unless I had no choice; there are some nicer conditioners at the same price.
on 2/6/2017 7:39:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Green
I smell this conditioner ALL the time. It smells super duper yummy and fruity. Garnier always makes great smelling products in my opinion, they don't seem to strong for just shower use. Anyway, this conditioner INSTANTLY softens my hair. After washing all the product buildup out, my hair feels tangly and hard. This conditioner is a miracle worker, I kid you not. A second later I could run my fingers through my hair. I am very picky about products that weigh my hair down(it's curly and short- what do you expect?) But this never has! Makes my hair feel so health but not weighed down. Just be sure to rinse completely.
on 11/10/2015 6:16:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Coarse
Eyes: Brown
Makes my thick temperamental hair so sleek and shiny! Haven't found a conditioner that works as nice as this one in my experience. Though the slickness of it on the shower floor will nearly make you break your neck and it seems to be loaded with silicones. BUT it's been a few months since I started using this and my hair is just as soft and as nice so I'll go with it until I find a good silicone-free substitute.
on 9/25/2015 2:22:00 PM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Grey
I have tried a lot of salon products and keep coming back to this. For my hair, it's comparable to Redken All Soft at a fraction of the cost. I'm pretty sure it's a "cone-free" product as well, and that it leaves my damaged hair so soft without silicone is pretty amazing.
on 7/10/2015 10:13:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Grey
This is the conditioner I always go back to and trust to do a good job! Having curly hair, I need a lot of moisture and slip in a conditioner and this has just that. My hair comes out so soft and conditioned and the slip is absolutely amazing! I just coat my hair with this and finger detangle gently and all the tangles just come right out instantly. Best conditioner I've ever tried :)
on 4/15/2014 7:56:00 PM
Age: 44-55
Skin: Other, Other, Not Sure
Hair: Other, Other, Other
Eyes: Other
The conditioner is best used with the shampoo, imo. I got this free as part of a three part set as a giveaway at the drug store. I'm always a little wary of Garnier Fructis products because they are LOADED with silicones, but this product is different. It has lots of fruit oils which are light and leave the hair light and super shiny. I still have to use the heat seal for protection, but the conditioner itself is rich enough to coat the hair with 1 tablespoon. Wow - because my hair is super dense, thick and wiry. I like the fact that it does not clump in the hair but spreads out evening and is instantly conditioning and makes a comb through super easy. It rinses out quickly and I could see the shine in my hair before I even dried it. I did still use my heat seal but my hair turned out super shiny, no discernible smell (a good think) and easy to press out. This. is a yay for me
on 4/6/2014 3:21:00 AM
Age: 36-43
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Black, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
Best conditioner
on 3/8/2014 7:36:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Oily, Fair, Neutral
Hair: Black, Wavy, Fine
Eyes: Grey
Man, it's such a shame what they did to this conditioner. I really used to love it.
Since it seems to be almost impossible to find the updated ingredients online, I'll try to post them from the bottle when I get the chance. For now, I do want to note that isopropyl alcohol--rubbing alcohol--is now the sixth ingredient, just behind fragrance and amodimethicone, and significantly ahead of any of the so-called "nutritive oils." At concentrations this high, it doesn't so much as aid in the absorption in the oils as it does just kind of dissolve them.
on 2/4/2014 2:31:00 PM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral
Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Brown
Best drug store conditioner EVARRR. So glad I tried this! Thought I'd have to use Matrix Sleek Look or Nexus Pro-Mend forever becasue I was spoiled by them. This is totally on par in my opinion!! Will repurchase forever.
on 1/24/2014 12:51:00 AM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Blue
FUN FACT about this conditioner for anyone who also uses Garnier's box haircolor...the little conditioner packet in the box is this stuff. That might be a well-known thing, but I'm still excited about it. Anyway...
I was in search of a 'cone-free conditioner and the only one I had on hand was leftover conditioner packets from my Garnier box haircolor days (like 4 months ago). I saved them up since I used a higher-end conditioning masque when I colored my hair in the past.
My hair has never felt better! I color my hair every 4 weeks and use heat tools, so it takes a bit of a beating, but this has helped! I normally get a greasy scalp within 24 hours of washing and recently became a redhead (which means only washing 2x a week), but ever since I started using this, I haven't even had to touch my dry shampoo between washes! My hair is softer, actually feels stronger and healthier, and does not get greasy, which might be partially due to no longer having silicone build-up in it. It just feels like it's finally getting the moisture it's been deprived of because of my usual dimethicone-heavy conditioners.
However, recent reviews I've read indicate that Garnier got stupid and reformulated it with a silicone as one of the top ingredients :( Sometime within the past year or two, which is an absolute shame, hopefully there are still some of the old formula bottles out there. Be sure to check the ingredients if you buy, just in case---especially since Garnier has a tendency to residue/grease up shower and tub floors like no other, at least every product of theirs that i've come in contact with. I will probably use it as a weekly conditioning treatment and nothing more because of that, IF I can get my hands on an older formula bottle.
UPDATE 2/9: I just found a bottle of the old formula 2 days ago, so they are still out there! Just checked the ingredients and the 'cone (I believe amodimethicone is the one) wasn't in there. I'd suggest a place that might not be super popular with selling beauty products (I found mine at a local grocery store). Good to know the older formula isn't completely gone yet!
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Don't forget low budget porn outfits specialising in "amateur" couples.
Just don't do anything in the "privacy" of your own home that could be construed as indecent exposure, and you'll be fine.
There are already many civilian radar devices that are used frequently by law enforcement and fire fighters. This is a better version of it, and the article itself is nothing less than enthusiastic about the range of uses for it.
What I see happening more and more is that people are fearing technology because of what "bad people" will do with it instead of embracing new technology and the possibilities it brings.
A technology site filled with Luddites. Irony at its finest.
I think a lot of people are just afraid that the 'law' is becoming too proactive. Our society (at least in the US) likes the idea of treating a house as a 'black box' where only the external features are noticed. If there is a problem inside the box, people come out and interact. Now, law enforcement can peer into that private box whenever they want..
Even though the technology has a lot of non-scary uses (rescue), it is easy to imagine it being used by every cop to peer right into the very center of our private lives while we are in our homes. So ya.. it is scary.
Some might read that as "probable cause." Though this is not quite the same thing, there was one "sting" operation that was run by some people (and I believe it was mentioned here on slashdot before) who decided to rent a house and grow some evergreen trees inside it. Within a day or so, "anonymous tips" informed the police that there was marijuana being cultivated at that location. The reality was that the police was using some sort of heat sensing device and was patrolling neighborhoods with it to look for "grow houses." In short, they were on a fishing expedition.
Video of said bust: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dc9_1228632109 [liveleak.com]
Small article and clip of local news coverage on it (might want to turn the sound down, some dope cranked it way up for the video). http://reason.com/blog/2008/12/06/gotcha [reason.com]
Don't forget the grounded copper mesh in the walls to prevent Big Brother and The Man from snooping on the electronic emissions from inside your abode. And some sort of active or passive insulation in the walls to block infrared snooping.
Seriously, this sounds like good business to start up. First sell it to the rich fuckers as part of personal "security" and go from there...
The proles will never revolt.
No only that, the majority of those now possessing firearms will turn out to support and suppress the opposition to the New American Fascist Regime. Which will come to us in the guise of a superpatriotic telegenic populist defending us from the threat of the day.
Aside from the "superpatriotic" you've just described Obama to a T.
The only question left, as far as I can tell, is will our new overlords claim to be right/fascists, or left/totalitarians. Whatever they claim, in practice I see the "traditional" left and right here in the U.S. as two sides of the same coin: power-mad politicians desperate to tell you what to do, what to say, and what to think.
We've always been at war with Eastasia
Another step closer to a bloody second American revolution.
Yah. A handful of low IQ militia hicks and paranoid conspiracy theorists vs. a military force which can roll over entire nations in roughly 2 weeks. That'd be one heck of a contest! For some reason I'm getting the mental image of a sloth being tossed into a cage full of tigers
On the other hand, if you taped it and called it "Survivor America", your ratings would be off the charts!
I said, "nt".
law enforcement can peer into that private box whenever they want
When they peer into the basement, chances are, they'll see a hand moving rapidly
What? I'm referring to basement spring-cleaning, in time for the festive season! After all, we geeks really enjoy doing housework, don't we?
Except if it was collected "in good faith"... like searching a car because you think you smelled marijuana. And of course, everything law enforcement does is in "good faith".
Can I get root access to your servers? I promise I won't turn over the contents to the cops!
the article itself is nothing less than enthusiastic about the range of uses for it.
Sad, isn't it? At least I think so. Like someone's sig said, Orwell was an optimist.
What I see happening more and more is that people are fearing technology because of what "bad people" will do with it
Unfortunately the very worst people run the world's governments. Tech that the powerful can have but I can't have IS bad tech [kuro5hin.org]. You don't think your government will let you build one of these to look through your governor's walls, do you? Hell, many governments won't even let the population have firearms. The fault isn't technology, it's technology that you posess and I can't.
I'd only embrace this technology if legal safeguards are in place, and considering that my government is a whooly-owned subsidiary of the corporations, I doubt that will happen. If you say "tech is tech" you're wrong. No irony, just your own misunderstanding of the bigger picture.
Let's not mention FLIR (forward looking infra-red) allows law enforcement to see through walls anyway with remarkable resolution.
They still need a warrant to use it, but let's just say there's a possibility that what goes on in your bathroom won't just be between you and god.
"...what goes on in your bathroom won't just be between you and god."
Police: And from now on, stop playing with yourself.
Kent: It *is* God.
Let's not mention FLIR (forward looking infra-red) allows law enforcement to see through walls anyway with remarkable resolution.
They still need a warrant to use it
Here's the trick, isn't it? As far as I can tell, our justice system for criminal offenses is still relatively transparent. People still get cases dismissed because the cops did something wrong, such as not obtaining a warrant. If they're busting into your house with a warrant already, I see no sense in complaining about what technology they may or may not use to prepare. Especially with the potential benefits against being surprised by the visitor to your house, or the ability to detect weapons before they're encountered (preventing unintended injuries). Or even just the ability to make sure you're home before busting in your door thinking you're avoiding them.
Basically, complain about the search and seizure, complain about not obtaining warrants, but don't complain about the specific technology used unless there are concerns about safety (taser) or efficacy (too many false-positives).
Of course, the big reason why fire departments want this is because FLIR doesn't work on a burning building, this will let them identify breathing victims to minimize their risk and let them rescue as many as possible. The benefit for police is more marginal, though still significant. But if you're worried about cops having the capability to lok into your house, they already do (and SCOTUS have said it requires a warrant).
What will stop the cops from cruising down the street looking into peoples' houses, spotting illegal activity, telling a judge that they received an anonymous tip, obtaining a warrant, and then legally raiding your home.
While that may be an issue for some technologies (FLIR), it really isn't one here. It seems this technology can only detect movement, even as minute as breathing. So, unless you can think of an illegal activity that can be detected purely by number of bodies in a house, you're late to the party and going after the wrong technology.
Again, the issue is with illegal searches, which this technology doesn't even do much to facilitate, especially compared with stuff in use already.
FLIR can't see through walls, only heat differences. I have used several heat based targetting systems, it can only show you temperature differences of what you see. There are some things you can see through.. like fog, camouflage, stuff like that. But step behind a tree and *poof* gone from view. Not sure why anyone would need a warrant to use FLIR? Is it illegal to own a system for personal use?
The law is generally constrained by the bounds of human observation, to protect the expected privacy of presumably legal citizens.
If they can't tell you are growing pot by just standing on the sidewalk(plant in the window, odd smell from the garbage can) or from visual observation in a helicopter(giant patch of plants in a corn field), they technically aren't allowed to find out with fancy gadgets either.
This doesn't stop them from running "FLIR training" over town and amazingly receiving "anonymous" tips a
Thermal IR imaging isn't magic.
First off, "FLIR" is kind of a misnomer. It stands for "Forward Looking InfraRed," but that just means that it, well, looks forward... like a camera. When thermal IR detectors were first invented, they were expensive, bulky, cryogenically cooled devices. As a result, making a high resolution grid of them was impractical. Instead they made a single row of them, mounted them to the bottom of an airplane, pointed them downward, and used the forward motion of plane itself to form
I have a simple answer to that : I live out in the exurbs where there is basically no real crime. And, yet, the police helicopters (at a cost of so many hundred dollars per hour) buzz by all of the time. I don't think they are looking for donuts. And you think it is luddism to worry about exactly how they are wasting the taxpayer money, and whether it is a threat to the ordinary citizen ? Exactly what century do you think you are living in ?
Police helicopters on the ground are a wasted investment. Part of that "hundreds of dollars an hour" is depreciation, which would happen anyway. If there isn't a crime, then they should be used for training.
A technology site filled with Luddites. Irony at its finest.
You've got it totally wrong.
We're not Luddites, but rather paranoids whose fears have been justified by questionable government actions in the last 8 years.
No one here is unhappy about the technology itself (in fact we are excited), we just know that the government will attempt to abuse our rights under their perverted interpretations of "freedom" and "national security."
A technology site filled with Luddites. Irony at its finest.
Hardly. A technology site full of people who understand the implications and uses of technology better than your average non-techie. A site full of people who understand "Technology is not a panacea."
From the waiver, which was linked to in TFA:
"The EMMDAR steps through two hundred frequencies, spaced two megahertz apart from 3101 MHz to 3499 MHz, one at a time. It transmits on one frequency for 75 microseconds with a peak instantaneous power of 31.6 milliwatts, followed by a 17.5-microsecond "off time" between frequency steps. The complete cycle repeats every 18.5 milliseconds, resulting in a duty cycle for each frequency of 0.41%."
Notice, this things emits a maximum of 0.0316 watts, which is somewhat l
All right, how about this one:
This thing emits a maximum of 0.0316 Watts, which is nearly 19 times less than a cell phone that no one thinks twice about using jammed 24x7 against the side of their brain.
Sorry, wrong article.
or just walls that block or confuse it
The server manager will upload a new hack that prevents wallhacking. In the mean time, keep voting the cheaters off the CS server.
Oh, wait, this is real life?
Tinfoil may work, but radar-disrupting radio waves would work better. Dollars to donuts it'll be illegal.
Tinfoil may work, but radar-disrupting radio waves would work better. Dollars to donuts it'll be illegal.
That expression might not be the best idea anymore. Bought a donut lately? I haven't seen a good one under a buck in a long time!
Yeah, it's gotten a bit quaint. I'll bet donuts were a penny apiece when that phrase was first coined.
It still works, in fact, it gets better each time inflation reduces the value of the dollar.
Just think of it as "I'll bet [your] dollars to [my] donuts"
Instead, the L-3 CyTerra device sends pulses on 200 different frequencies, one at a time, ranging in sequence from 3101 to 3499 MHz at 2 MHz intervals.
The system is sensitive enough to detect the chest motions of a person who is unconscious but breathing, or the slight swaying of a person trying to stand perfectly still
It's not *that* hard to do - with a perfectly ordinary 10GHz intruder detector radar you can easily hear the Doppler shift in returns from slowly-moving objects. With clever DSP and a lower frequency you could probably resolve rather finer detail than you can by listening for the beat note.
3.5GHz translates to a ~8cm wavelength (maybe a bit less with the speed of light being slower in air). Resolving features that vary in amplitude of say less than 2cm (breathing and swaying) requires VERY accurate phase detection and time measurement equipment. Which translates to some very fast hardware doing phase correlation etc.
That doesn't require particularly fast hardware for phase correlation at all. It's all relatively easily done in a small FPGA. Not cheap (if you consider a few thousand dollars
Yeah, what he said, plus they're using frequency-hopping, which if sequential might be used like a chirp [wikipedia.org] signal in sonar to gather more information than would normally be available to a unifrequency pulse.
Also we could create devices that look for patterns of radiation and emit jamming or stealth or confusing radiation in response to thwart being seen through the walls. Something like the radar detectors. These devices should be legal. And since the idea has been posted publicly, (i.e. here in slashdot by yours truly) any patent to such devices should specific to that device, not a broad based patent like one-click. Unless patent application for such a device has already been filed.
Police and private parties might use a passive device at their own discretion. But an active device, that actually illuminates the target would violate expectations of privacy and should not be deployed without court supervision.
What the fuck? Even the use of a passive device violates expectations of privacy. We don't live in glass houses, nobody expects to be visible through solid walls.
These devices should be legal. And since the idea has been posted publicly, (i.e. here in slashdot by yours truly) any patent to such devices should specific to that device, not a broad based patent like one-click. Unless patent application for such a device has already been filed.
Uh, no. Radar jamming is as old as radar. Ain't no way it should be patentable - and any patent for jamming specific kinds of radar systems is just as bogus because the overall idea isn't patentable, so narrowing it down a specific frequency or a specific pattern of transmission doesn't make the idea any more unique. A subset of the obvious is
The system described is an active device, not passive. An active device emits radiation and listens to echo. A passive device just listens to naturally occurring radiation emanating from a source. Police and private parties might use a passive device at their own discretion. But an active device, that actually illuminates the target would violate expectations of privacy and should not be deployed without court supervision. It should be treated like wiretapping, no need to inform the targets but the police s
The Supreme Court ruled that thermal devices require a warrant in Kyllo v. United States [wikipedia.org]. I'm sure this radar system will follow precedent.
I'm sure this radar system will follow precedent.
In other words, it'll be abused until someone rich enough (or well connected enough) to afford the lawyers to appeal all the way to the supreme court gets the cops slapped down, and then they'll just abuse it more carefully.
That is the real precedent our government has set for over a century of telegraph taps, wiretaps, internet traffic capture, infrared cameras and soon, this.
Police and private parties might use a passive device at their own discretion.
The case of Kyllo v. United States [wikipedia.org] "held that the use of a thermal imaging device from a public vantage point to monitor the radiation of heat from a person's home was a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, and thus required a warrant." Presumably the ruling would hold true for other forms of electromagnetic radiation as well, such as radar.
This is a 3 GHz or 9 cm radar (3.101 to 3.499 GHz using frequency stepping), and would be very easy to block. It would not, for example, go through most screen doors.
That makes it less of a threat than the 100 GHz radars also used to "see through walls."
When will we be able to get drywall and ceiling tiles with imprinted or embedded dipoles to block this foolishness ?
I believe this and other "see through wall tech" (UWB radar) can filter out most stationary stuff (doppler effect).
So if you want a wall that blocks it, keep it moving enough.
Or shake/flap/wave a solid/film enough or have moving liquids in the way e.g. water walls at an angle with big bubbles going up all the time, and/or "waterfall" walls. Not sure which is cheaper to run.
Or have big fans spinning slowly all the time. Or any cool stuff that shows up as a false blip in the motion detectors in those Alien mo
The article is misleading with regard to the primary use of this device. The device was developed for military use in urban combat situations.
EMMDAR: ElectroMagnetic Motion-Detection And Ranging [cyterra.com]
It was developed because infantry were holding up standard handheld mine detectors (AN/PSS-14 [cyterra.com]) that use ground penetrating radar against walls trying to determine threat levels in neighbouring buildings or rooms. Troops would then interpret the audio tones to determine rooms contents.
This device simply makes that technology smaller and more accessible and includes DSP algorithms to display potential threats (i.e. movement) on a graphical display.
Other common uses for this device is search and rescue, both military and civilian. Of course the FBI and SWAT is going to want this technology. Any time law enforcement is going to assualt a building, this device is going to prove invaluable in saving lives.
Nobody is going to pratically use this device for random checking of homes.
Nobody is going to pratically use this device for random checking of homes.
Well, as long as YOU say they won't, I guess we have nothing to worry about. Whew, thanks for providing that iron-clad guarantee that this will not be abused (unlike every other spy device ever constructed by anyone, anywhere).
The basic idea of using high frequencies across a wide spectrum as well penetrating radar of a sort has been known for quite awhile, even if the "simple matter of an implementation" may have lagged behind. The FCC was really worried about this becoming possible over approved UWB (Ultra WideBand) frequencies... thus, they put really serious power level limitations on UWB radios approved so far. Not that strictly nefarious use of such technology necessarily follows FCC guidelines anyway. But if nothing else,
A new category on www.pornhub.com
The Supreme Court is not going to let this just slide on by. This type of technology has been dealt with. See KYLLO V. UNITED STATES (99-8508) 533 U.S. 27 (2001) [cornell.edu]. The decision was summarized as:
Where, as here, the Government uses a device that is not in general public use, to explore details of the home that would previously have been unknowable without physical intrusion, the surveillance is a "search" and is presumptively unreasonable without a warrant.
Since we hold the Thermovision imaging to have been an unlawful search, it will remain for the District Court to determine whether, without the evidence it provided, the search warrant issued in this case was supported by probable cause–and if not, whether there is any other basis for supporting admission of the evidence that the search pursuant to the warrant produced.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed; the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
Yeah, because we've always followed the rulings by the supreme court to the letter of the law! *cough*DomesticSearchAndSeizureByBorderAgents*cough*
The feds seem content to break every law they can until someone exposes them. Conveniently, Iraq and Afghanistan were ruled by the Dept. of Justice to not be internationally recognized foreign nations so the Geneva Convention wouldn't apply. Notice the change in terminology from Prisoner of War to Enemy Combatant. We can not trust any organization that has power
I just put the finishing touches on my tinfoil lined apartment.
...there can be no public or private virtue unless the foundation of action is the practice of truth. - George Jacob Holyoake