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Search for any destination, select by location or category, or choose "near me" to discover what's closest to you.
It's the most exciting way to experience the Arbuckle Mountains and Turner Falls! 777 Zip's seatbelt restraint system sends you 777 feet in reverse to a viewing tower on the mountain above Collings Castle, from which point you'll have a spectacular view of Turner Falls.
Andy Alligator's Fun Park & Water Park is an action-packed escape with fun for the whole family. Located in Norman, the entertainment facility offers speedway go-karts, bumper cars, a climbing wall, batting cages, mini golf, a full-service arcade and more.
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is the perfect place to remember the joy of falling in love with baseball for the first time. The ballpark, which opened in 1998, is home to the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Chosen CNN's top travel destination for Oklahoma in 2014, the Chickasaw Cultural Center is one of the largest, most comprehensive tribal cultural centers in the United States. Come celebrate, embrace and share the heritage that binds the Chickasaw Nation together.
Downtown Oklahoma City continues to thrive and evolve. This walkable urban area includes everything from museums, parks, shops and restaurants to sports, festivals and water adventures. Explore the uniqueness of each of its seven districts.
Prepare to get your jump on at Elevation Trampoline Park in Moore! Choose from six separate trampoline courts available for sports, open jump and more. For Junior Jumpers aged 2 to 6, there's even a special Kids Court.
Harn Homestead, claimed during the Land Run of 1889, is a 10-acre historical homestead in Oklahoma City. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Harn now serves as a museum and popular field trip destination where kids can learn about life during the territorial days of Oklahoma.
Lake Murray Water Sports and Mini Golf offers family-friendly fun for visitors of all ages. After an action-packed day of kayaking or hanging out on a party barge, relax with a refreshing sno-cone and a quick game on the 18-hole miniature golf course.
Lazer Zone Family Fun Center, located in Ada, Oklahoma, is one of the area's most popular entertainment attractions, offering bowling, lazer tag, miniature golf, batting cages and countless arcade games.
Open 51 weeks a year, Martin Park Nature Center provides a peaceful, 144-acre natural sanctuary in the midst of Oklahoma City's urban surroundings. The park is home to a variety of wildlife, from birds and butterflies to foxes, armadillos and reptiles. And for those looking to explore the area's environment, there are 2.5 miles of gentle hiking trails made of gravel and packed soil.
The Myriad Botanical Gardens act as a lush, landscaped oasis in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City. The recently remodeled gardens' 17 acres draw everyone from concert goers to families to those just looking to enjoy the natural environment.
Norman's National Weather Museum and Science Center is a burgeoning state-of-the-art facility that preserves weather artifacts and showcases scientific innovations. Watch as the history of weather research comes alive through the museum's immersive exhibits!
Major League Soccer is on Adventure Road! Catch all of the action of the world's sport in historic Taft Stadium as Oklahoma's first professional soccer team takes on teams around the nation, as part of the prestigious United Soccer League. Tickets range from $10 to $50. Check out the upcoming Home Game Schedule!
September through May is Philharmonic season on Adventure Road! The OKC Philharmonic presents a series of eight Classics concerts and six pairs of Pops concerts each season for orchestral fans from all over to enjoy. Holiday performances of "The Christmas Show!", the July 3rd Independence Day concert in Oklahoma City, the July 4th concert in Yukon, OK, and the annual Labor Day concert presented at the Oklahoma City Community College have become family traditions for thousands in Central Oklahoma and beyond.
The Oklahoma City Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the southwest and is one of only seven zoos in the entire country with the distinction of being a fully accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the American Association of Museums (AAM) as both a living museum and a botanical garden.
Located just minutes from I-35, the Oklahoma Railway Museum is a fun, outdoor attraction for locomotive lovers of all ages. Featuring freight cars, passenger cars, a real steam engine and a variety of railroad equipment and memorabilia, there's something for everyone at this free museum.
Racing aficionados must pay a visit to Oklahoma Sports Park, a half-mile, clay oval track just north of Ada, Oklahoma, where thousands of fans gather each week to cheer on their favorite drivers.
If you're in Chickasaw Country and are looking to cool off from the summer heat, there's nowhere with quite as much excitement as Pauls Valley Water Park. We're talking a 5,600 square foot multi-use pool, a giant water slide, a special children's area, a lap pool, a lazy river and much more. Talk about fun in the sun!
Floating the river is a favorite Oklahoma pastime for a reason! River Bottom Campground and Tubing in Davis makes it easy and is located just south of the iconic Smokin' Joe's Rib Ranch.
It's time to discover, explore and plan your great American road trip.
Scroll down to choose an Adventure or look around and create an Adventure of your own.Next
Choose from hand-picked Adventures, or discover over 200 top Destinations and their latest Events.Next
Click any heart to save an Adventure, Destination or Event. Then, click "My Adventures" to plan your route.Ready!


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Not many people know this but I was, very briefly, the only Goth in West Wales. This was inspired by loving The Cult, really liking pointy shoes, feeling all dark, doomy and mysterious with an intensity that no living person had ever done before me and seeing a minute of The Sisters of Mercy performing 'Lucretia, My Reflection' on Top of The Pops. It was mostly the latter. My abiding impression was a swirl of dry ice and black, a skinny dude in black jeans and a pale chick with really big hair and a bass. It was enough for me, I sprang into action and ordered Floodland from Brittania Music Club and on 5 September 1988 1537-Goth was born / crawled his way through the earth into the light.
I very quickly became obsessed with Floodland, from the cover on in, it is a brilliant LP and still one of my favourites. I can remember consuming this LP so much that I was able to amuse myself by writing out the lyrics, particularly to 'Lucretia, my Reflection' and 'Driven Like the Snow'* in my free time at school; if that made me look cool and mysteriously attractive to chicks, then that was a risk I was just going to have to take. Committing to my new style financially I bought a black shirt and pointy shoes, which I wore with the black jeans I already wore and Bingo! as far as I was concerned I was a Goth. Out went songs about shagging, fighting and drinking, in came songs about mysterious girls with cool names, wastelands, floodlands, temples and elegantly wasted, yet subtly damaged souls, oh and I started drinking cider and black. There was also a brief episode with eyeliner, but it just upset my mum.
I love this LP unreservedly. I love its cold, glassy atmosphere. I love Andrew Eldritch's lyrics which vacillate between portentious and pretentious. I love the steal from 'Ozymandias', in fact I actually squealed in a very unmanly fashion when I first read the poem, briefly wondering how a man who died in 1822 could be quoting The Sisters of Mercy. I loved the fact that their drum machine had a name and I thought Andrew Eldritch was cool as hell for living in Hamburg and because he had clearly taken van-loads of drugs at some point. I am ashamed to say that the fact the band were from Leeds had a definite bearing on the fact I chose to go to university there.
Music? it's all great but my personal favourite bits are 'Lucretia, My Reflection', which as well as prophesying the ruinous effects of the Capitalist machine and the futility of religion, just sounded like raw aural sex to me – perfectly fitting the whole, 'we're doomed along with this world, so before we quit this palsied, troubling plane of existence let us throw ourselves together and couple like the beasts of the field' atmosphere; 4:57 being ample time in which to do so. At the risk of throwing a cheap double entendre into the mix – the 12″ is even more satisfyingly. I also loved the whole big, dumb sturm und drang of the Jim Steinman-assisted 'This Corrosion'; you want excess? have more choirs, bigger choruses! The final lines from, 'I got nothing to say I ain't said before / I bled all I can I won't bleed no more', onwards still give me goosebumps 24 years later.
Best of all though is 'Driven Like the Snow', the imagery of night, snow, virginity, umm, non-virginity, lipstick on cigarettes, cars trapped in the snow, white sheets, the chosen few …. allied to the most restrained vocal and music on the LP are just overpowering. Again, like a lot of the best things I have been writing about it plugs me straight back into adolescence. Is that what I use my records for I wonder? just a great big aural nostalgic scratch n' sniff that I use to transport myself back to a time when I had a lot less responsibility and a lot more hair? conveniently forgetting about all the nonsense insecurities and angst I suffered from. Could be something in that, maybe deep down its why I cling doggedly to an outmoded format from my youth … but let's not get too analytical here. I will have occasion to write a lot more about The Sisters later.
By the way – loads of people must have liked Floodland and all the attendant singles from it, but I have honestly yet to meet anyone (away from a Sisters of Mercy gig) who professed a love for them. Maybe I've just not been hanging around the right graveyards.
My own Goth phase lasted properly for about 7 weeks – it got to be a bit of a hassle and so I bought a new Faster Pussycat T-shirt and went back to songs that were predominantly about shagging, fighting and drinking again, albeit with the odd one about snow chucked in and I still drank cider and black.
56 Down (darkly).
* the recipient of 1537 bonus points for some great, beautifully articulated swearing. The LP also gets additional bonus points for the cool photo on the lyric sheet and its generally glossy feel. I'm not sure my love for this LP is at all Platonic.

subset: commoncrawl


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Category:Existing coal mines in Mongolia
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This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Media and Democracy. See here for help on adding material to CoalSwarm.
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Some Latin American countries that trade with Southeastern states are worried that kudzu bugs may be headed south of the border, Southeast Farm Press reports.
In February, officials in Honduras discovered dead kudzu bugs in a shipping container from Georgia. This led the country to step up inspections of cargo from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, according to the publication.
The kudzu bug only arrived in the Western Hemisphere in 2009, coming into Atlanta from Asia. But since then it has spread across at least 230 counties in four states.
It's now found in all 46 South Carolina counties, more than 140 counties in Georgia, more than 40 North Carolina counties, along with parts of Alabama. Entomologists have been astounded by the insect's rapid movement.
The bugs, known in most parts of the world as bean plataspids, look like boxy brown ladybugs and emit a foul-smelling secretion when threatened. While they are known to eat kudzu, they can also ravage soybeans, along with other legumes, according to the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
University of Georgia researchers scheduled an informational meeting late last month to share with Latin American officials what they have learned about the kudzu bug since its arrival in the Southeast.


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The Functioning Vacation Visa makes it possible for young people, from 17 to 35 years old, to go abroad for at least a single year in one particular of the six countries that signed agreements with France: Canada, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. You can opt for winter sports insurance coverage coverage or eve a natural disaster cover. If you are going on a trip to indulge in winter sport activities, it is sensible to take insurance coverage appropriately primarily based on the activities. A ski holiday is no exception to the reality that risk can be faced in any kind and uncertainty is the truth of life. Normally this is the time period the seller has the choice or appropriate to sell the agency.
Backpacker travel insurance covers you in the exact same way as the common travel insurance coverage does. Holiday insurance packages tailored to diverse situations and there are several travel agencies and insurance coverage companies. It is less complicated to get cheap tesco holiday insurance on the web and at low price, and when it is suitable for your each and every need to have.
Numerous low-expense carriers rather have been automatically adding holiday insurance on to their customer's bargain flights and alternatively only providing them the alternative to 'opt out' if they do not wish to receive the travel insurance coverage provided. An Annual insurance coverage strategy can be quite beneficial for individual or business trips or vacations. A tax attornery or CPA are the ultimate authorities on the topic, even so, take a look at spreading payments for the sale of your agency more than a number of years.
If you have a private injury, accident and sickness insurance policy, it could cover you against a assortment of potential misfortunes. You can uncover all the data you require in one particular spot and saves going to numerous distinct travel insurance coverage websites to get the greatest quote. One issue with finding a inexpensive holiday insurance deal is that it can be tough to find specifically what a policy covers.
It fees a lot more than single trip travel insurance but offers the same and further rewards. This type of insurance provides coverage for loss of personal belongings, healthcare expenditures, home damage, or third celebration liability that can take place even though vacationing. Ease in comparison and time saving choice proves to attract travelers to use online approaches to buy travel insurance coverage.


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This is the example of Perdigões. In this image of the early nineties, the olive trees were not yet removed, the ploughing for the vineyards was not yet done and the spectacular areal image that revealed Perdigões set of enclosures was not yet taken. But the ploughing could have been avoided if this picture, available in the net, was carefully studied: part of the two outside ditches are perfectly visible in the south side of the site, near the road.
Of course, Google didn't exist then and large projects of agriculture were not submitted to impact studies.
Another example is Outeiro Alto. This site is now preserved in an island inside a water reservoir.
But it is interesting to see, in a Google Earth image of 2003 that vegetation defines the "flower" shape of the enclosure. A very thin suggestion of an enclosure (now easier to interpret, after the site has been discovered in the course of the construction of the tank), but a regular practice of analyse this kind of images, especially when the first evidences of prehistoric material are recorded, may be proved worthy.
And could this be a new one found this afternoon? Possibly. We shall see.


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Buffalo dominoes
July 18, 2011
During the eight-hour drive from Yangon to Myanmar's Delta region, I'd seen lots of beautiful water buffalo hanging out in mud by the side of the dirt roads, flicking their ears lazily. Farmers across the delta rely on them to help plough their land, so they're a common sight.
From inside the truck, I'd decided the buffalo were adorable. But standing right next to an extremely grumpy pair the following morning, they seemed rather less cute, and their horns considerably bigger (and much pointier).
The buffalo belonged to Aye Myint, a 53-year-old farmer who lives in Tha Pyay Kwin village in Myanmar with his wife and two children. He told me he grows rice and breeds chickens on his small eight-acre farm, using the two buffalo he bought at a buffalo market arranged by Mercy Corps last year.
"Before Cyclone Nargis in 2008 I owned five buffalo, but they all died in the storm," Aye Myint said. "Without buffalo I couldn't farm, so I had to rent a power-tiller from another much richer farmer instead. It was very expensive and no good for my land. It was too heavy for the soil and didn't work well.
"I much prefer buffalo as I can grow more rice with them. Because of the tiller and because I only have a very small farm, I didn't make much money. I didn't really make enough to cover our daily essentials, so I couldn't afford to save up for my own buffalo too."
Cyclone Nargis had a huge impact on the delta and more than 90 percent of water buffalo there were killed in the storm. Without buffalo to plough and with no seeds in reserve, farmers struggled to make even a fraction of their usual harvest in 2009. So Mercy Corps helped farmers like Aye Myint by providing grants, training, seeds and even buffalo markets to get things back on track.
The great thing about Aye Myint's buffalo is that they won't just help him — they're buffalo dominoes.
He's part of a group of five families who all share the benefit. Together they agreed that Aye Myint and his family would be the first in the group to get buffalo, but that he'll give 60 baskets of the rice from the first harvest the buffalo help with to the group. With the profit from the rice, the next family will buy their own buffalo. And that family will give 60 baskets of rice from their first harvest to the next family so they can buy buffalo, and so on until all five families have the buffalo they need.
It's a fantastic way to make the most of a small amount of help from Mercy Corps; for the price of two water buffalo, five families will get the income they need to look after their children for years to come.
Aye Myint chuckled as I kept my distance from his grumpy buffalo and told me: "Mercy Corps helped me by giving me money to buy a pair of buffalo at the market they set up close to our village. It was a big help and now it's much easier to grow my rice and make enough money."


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The Best Of The 2017 Met Gala: PHOTOS
Last night celebrities showed off their best dressed and creative styles at the Met Gala.
This year's theme for the gala was: Rei Kawakubo, the designer of Comme de Garcons. Dubbed Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between, features womans-wear clothing that starts back at 1981 to today, which means we could expect some pretty creative themed outfits from our favorite a-listers. We rounded up some of our favorites from the night, check them out below.
Kylie Jenner and Donatella Versace complemented each other perfectly. Jenner wore a nude Atelier Versace dress, featuring amazing floral floral embellishments and fringe. Versace, who told press her dress is about purity and power of design, wore a metal mesh, one shoulder gown.
It's Rihanna …. do we need to say more. She's a walking art every day, so you know she's going to look spectacular at any Met Gala
Selena Gomez can do no wrong. The producer/actress/singer donned a custom creation from Coach. But it was her accessory that stole the show – The Weeknd, who had zero problem showing affection on the red carpet. Looks like both celebs were also able to avoid the super awkward moment of running into their exes (Bella & Justin)!
Candice Swanepoel wore a daring, black strapless. And what goes better with a black dress than a sexy cat-eye? Oh yeah, nothing.
Jennifer Lopez took away anyone's blues with this gorgeous ensemble.
Joan Smalls was trendy AF by pulling off a fake lip ring and wearing a sexy split, red dress. Its glamorous deep plunge and thigh-high slit made it red carpet approved. We also can't get enough of her never-ending earrings.
Kendall Jenner had no problem showing some skin. The Jenner sister wore a sheer La Perla couture dress with a revealing slit on both the bottom … and the top.
When you and your hubby are both co-chairs of the gala, you have to look better than good, and that's exactly what Gisele Bundchen did by wearing a backless silver dress. Her hot date wore a matching velvet blazer and black slacks.


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Just wow.
One of the most impressive parts of Denali is the so-called 17k ridge as it averages at about 17000ft in altitude.
Here you can see some climbers coming up the first part of the ridge, shot from just below the so-called Washburn's Thumb, a rock named in honour of Bradford Washburn, the pioneer of this route and great photographer.
In the back you can see nearby Mt Foraker, seldom climbed and even rarer is a successful ascent.
Scanned from Provia slide, shot with EOS3
(1 comment, add yours: click the link above the image, or share using the buttons.)
7 summits • Landscapes • Mountains • North America • People
URL: http://exposedplanet.com/climbers-on-17k-ridge-denali-alaska-2/


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The second study conducted on the Communicating Mindfully course found that students increased in mindfulness, communication skills, emotion regulation, and… Read more CM Study: Increased Emotion Regulation, etc.
Conference was a huge success!
NHTI's Mindfulness in Society sold out a month in advance, and we have been receiving words of appreciation ever since.… Read more Conference was a huge success!
Please join us for NHTI's Mindfulness in Society Conference: What is it? A day-long conference with talks, workshops, and a panel… Read more
TEDx Talk: Addressing Misconceptions of Mindfulness
With the spread of mindfulness, I am finding the misconceptions have shifted a bit (maybe some of you have noticed… Read more TEDx Talk: Addressing Misconceptions of Mindfulness
Center for Mindfulness MBSR Teacher speaks about the Mindful Communication Certificate at NHTI, Concord's Community College:
To hear Margaret Fletcher's comments, click here For more information, click here
Mindful Communication Certificate
NHTI, Concord's Community College now offers a mindful communication certificate that can be incorporated into nearly any degree program: See… Read more Mindful Communication Certificate
CM meditations on Insight Timer
I am proud to announce that the first four Communicating Mindfully meditations are now available on both versions of the… Read more CM meditations on Insight Timer
Podcast: Mindful Communication in Business
Victor Jimenez's interview style helped some important points about mindful communication surface during this podcast. Thanks, Victor! Here is the… Read more Podcast: Mindful Communication in Business
Interview with former Congressman Paul Hodes
Click the following link to listen to the interview:
Doing What's Right—for Your Business and Your Employees
Mindful Communication Training: We All Benefit This essay was originally published in themindfulglobe.org I have been teaching Communicating Mindfully… Read more Doing What's Right—for Your Business and Your Employees


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Miss this guy & his partner in crime Fundo Butthead McGee! They are good people.
November KinkLive.com Cam Show Schedule! - November 4, 2012
Hey guys! I'm finally starting to get pretty consistent with answering tweets, messages, and most importantly!!!! Following through with things I tell you I am going to do. I haven't in any way perfected it… but hey! A week later ain't bad for me. "There's nowhere to go but everywhere." So here's my KinkLive.com cam shift schedule for the duration of my trip back home to California.
Sparky Sin Claire BDSM Chat
Sun, Nov 4 4-7 PM PST
Mon, Nov 5 4-7 PM PST
Tue, Nov 6 4-7 PM PST
Wed, Nov 7 4-7 PM PST
Sun, Nov 11 2-5 PM PST
Mon, Nov 12 2-5 PM PST
Tue, Nov 13 2-5 PM PST
Wed, Nov 14 12-3 PM PST
Hope to see you guys at a show you're able to make! There is a slight possibility that I will schedule up to 7 more shows that would fall on the following dates, if I decide to stay longer (tentative leave dates are the 18th or 30th:
Sun, Nov 18 (TBA)
Mon, Nov 19 (TBA)
Tues, Nov 20 (TBA)
Wed, Nov 21 (TBA)
Sat, Nov 24 (TBA)
Sun, Nov 25 (TBA)
Mon, Nov 26 (TBA)


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Part 4
This story contains MSG, traces of nuts (or is that just the author?) and should not be viewed by anyone that is allergic to that. Mmm, nuts. Oh, and beware the angst, have a double-helping of hot, dripping, sweaty angst. Enjoy!
"Why cant I see him?" Tainui was getting increasingly frustrated with the unresponsive New Home warriors standing guard outside his room. He knew damned well they could understand him, they had the small translation disks hanging from their ears just like Two-Talon and Hunts-In-Grass did. "Why am I being kept a prisoner, I'm not one of the bad guys for fucks sake! Bah, you guys are useless!" He turned and faced the mirrored wall on the far side of the room and glared at his reflection for a couple of minutes before throwing himself into the sleep-webbing in one corner.
He was still brooding a few hours later when the two warriors stepped aside to let another Vanguard enter the room. Looking up he saw the familiar figure of Hunts-In-Grass, some metal bracing attached to one of his well-muscled rear arms. Jumping to his feet he met the young warrior near the doorway. "What's going on, bro? When can I see Andrej? Why are they holding me prisoner here? Where's -"
Hunts-In-Grass held up a hand interrupting the human in mid-question. "New Home thought us traitors, bringing Original Home invaders here. Took time explaining they follow us here, that we not know they follow us. Come, Two-Talon wants talk with you."
As they exited the room, Tainui turned around and gave the two New Home warriors the finger. They didn't react to his gesture, just watched him impassively with their unblinking black eyes as they followed a short distance behind him. Shortly before they arrived at what Tainui presumed was the infirmary the two taciturn warriors broke off and disappeared down another corridor leaving him and the younger warrior alone. "So where is Andrej, when can I see him?"
Stopping, Hunts-In-Grass turned to the human and gently grasped his shoulders with his two forward arms. He hesitated slightly before answering. "Patience. First we see Two-Talon."Dropping his hands, the young warrior turned and led Tainui into a large, well-lit room where a rather battered looking Vanguard struggled to his feet to greet them.
"Man, you look like shit. Are you OK?"
Both of two-Talon's right arms were in metal braces, as was his left leg and most of the horn on the right-hand side of his head, not much more than a jagged stump remained. Several patches of artificial skin were also evident on the scaley hide that wasn't covered by the light-blue medics skinsuit. "This one will recover, thank you for concern." Moving closer to Tainui, Two-Talon reached out with his left forward arm and gently stroked the human's face with his talons folded back out of the way.
A little surprised, Tainui looked at the Vanguard medic's face closely and saw dark tears well up around the four eyes. Two-Talon lowered his hand and turned around, self-consciously wiping them away. "What's wrong? Is Andrej OK?"
Sharing an unreadable look with each other, the two Vanguard gestured towards the doorway. "Come, we go see your mate," Hunts-In-Grass nodded at him.
With a growing feeling of unease, Tainui turned and exited the room, Hunts-In-Grass and Two-Talon close behind him.
The flight aboard the fast little scout ship only took about an hour, but to Tainui it seemed like days. Neither of his two companions were particularly talkative and they both seemed quite nervous, if his interpretation of their body language and facial expressions was correct. The only other occupants of the scout were the two New Home warriors he recognised from their earlier guard job duties, and they weren't saying anything much, either. When the scout touched down on a small plateau on the side of a large mountain range, the unease Tainui was feeling started developing into a sickening fear when he saw the smashed up remains of the shuttle that had been his home for the past few weeks.
Wrapping his arms around himself to try and keep warm, he walked slowly up to the largest section of the wreck and stood silently for a couple of minutes letting the numbing realization sink in. He heard the two reptiles come up and stand behind him, silently watching. Still facing the wreck he spoke quietly. "Where?"
They led him to the front of the wreck where there was a pile of stones half covered by the drifting snow. The two Vanguard been at the crash site the day before with an armed escort to salvage the shuttle's datastack and to bury Andrej. An engineer had cut the mangled bulkhead away so they could get at the body. Hunts-In-Grass stepped forward to stand directly behind the shivering human and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Your mate said -"
"Save it!" Tainui whipped around and spat the words angrily at the warrior, his face a twisted mask of rage and despair.
Storming back to the scout Tainui threw himself into the support webbing inside, curling up into a ball of barely contained misery. The two New Home warriors turned to stare at him in surprise from the cramped cockpit before turning back to the controls. Hunts-In-Grass and Two-Talon climbed in shortly afterwards and sealed the hatch, motioning for the warriors at the front to take off. As they flew back to the base, Two-Talon reached out an arm in an effort to comfort the human but stopped when Tainui snapped at him.
Darkness had fallen and it was getting quite late when Two-Talon got an unexpected visitor to his quarters. Looking up from the datapad he was studying, he was surprised to see Tainui standing in the doorway and wondered how long the human had been standing there. Putting aside the datapad, he patted a space on the sleep-webbing beside him and waited as the human hesitated for a moment before joining him.
They sat in silence for a few minutes while Tainui stared at the floor. He finally looked up at Two-Talon. "What was your partners name?" he asked quietly.
"Was called Tusker."
"You were together for a while?"
"Hrrr... eleven years," Two-Talon sighed, wistful.
Tainui smiled sadly and nodded. "I only knew Andrej for a few weeks, but I still loved him. Was that too quick you think?"
"Cannot always control who we love, time means nothing for the soul."
Tainui was silent for another couple of minutes. "Does it ever stop hurting?"
Two-Talon didn't answer, instead he pulled the smaller human into an embrace, wincing slightly as Tainui pressed against the bruised ribs on his chest. Wracked with sobs, Tainui clung to him and cried out all his hurt, frustration and loss. When Hunts-In-Grass entered the room a bit later, he found them asleep together, the medics arms, legs and tail wrapped protectively around the human - the same way any Vanguard would do with a frightened spawnling.
Tainui woke slowly, not recognising where he was for several moments as he blinked in the bright pink light of an early-morning New Home sunrise streaming in through the window. He could hardly move, sometime during the night Hunts-In-Grass had joined them on the sleep-webbing and he found himself sandwiched between the two slumbering reptiles, their various arms, legs and tails wrapped around him.
As he lay there, warm in the cocoon of reptilian limbs, he studied Two-Talon's face. The medic's jaw was relaxed and slightly open, his long tongue draped over one of the small tusks on his lower jaw. Two large nostrils at the end of his scaley snout expanding and contracting slightly as he breathed, eyelids closed over those four enigmatic black eyes. His feathery ears laying flat against the top of his elongated and vaguely equine head. Reaching out, Tainui stroked Two-Talon's ear gently - it was quite soft compared with the scales covering most of the rest of his body.
For all their vast physical differences it still seemed like they shared a sort of bond which made him feel a little better. Even with the loss of Andrej still fresh and raw in his mind, Tainui couldn't help but sympathise with the large alien and the loss it had also suffered recently. However with the developing friendship between the two reptiles, it looked like things were on the up for the medic at least. Sighing, Tainui turned over and was startled to see that Hunts-In-Grass's eyes were open and looking straight at him.
They lay there staring at each other for a minute or two until the reptile pulled him closer with his two fore arms, turning him over then spooning up against his back. Nervously, Tainui waited to see what Hunts-In-Grass would do next, but all the reptile did was start a very low pitched rumbling deep inside its chest which made his whole body tingle pleasantly. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to relax back against the warrior. Lulled almost back to sleep he opened his eyes as the rumbling started to intensify a bit, Two-Talon had woken up and had also started the deep rumbling. Tainui's whole body now vibrated gently between the two purring reptiles and he enjoyed the almost massage-like feeling for a few more minutes until both Vanguard stopped.
"That was cool, what were you doing?"
"Instinct. Adult Vanguard soothe injured, frightened spawnlings this way," Two-Talon explained after stretching his jaws open in a wide yawn.
Getting unsteadily to his feet, the medic turned and looked out the window before limping over to the cleaning pool in the corner of the room. After gingerly lowering himself into the water he turned and looked at Tainui with what almost looked like a smile on his craggy features. "This one thinks young warrior likes you."
Hunts-In-Grass snorted and made his way over to the pool to join the medic. Tainui watched them clean each other for a couple of minutes before turning to look at the view out of the window. "So, you guys gonna show me around this alien planet or do I have to go exploring by myself?"
"We go soon. You not allowed by yourself yet. We also talk about future," Hunts-In-Grass replied while sloshing around in the pool trying to stop Two-Talon from wriggling around so much.
"Why aren't I allowed out by myself?"
"Base leaders orders. She not sure what threat you pose."
"Threat? Me?"
"You. You are alien, no? Apparently alien is security risk. New Home defences still nervous after Original Home attacked when we arrived."
Tainui shrugged and walked over to the pool where he undressed and jumped into the hot water with the two Vanguard, watching as they cleaned each other. "You're like a couple of baboons," he commented to the two Vanguard.
"What are they?"
"Baboons. Monkeys. Y'know, eat bananas and fling shit at each other? Masturbate in front of school-kids at the zoo? Ring any bells?" The two reptiles just looked at him silently. "I guess not then." He turned around and rested his chin on his crossed arms while staring vacantly out the window, wondering what was to become of him.
A few minutes later a pair of familiar looking New Home warriors turned up and stationed themselves outside the door. "Oh look, it's Dumb and Dumber," Tainui frowned at them.
"Actually, warrior on left called Lightning, warrior on right called Thunder, " Hunts-In-Grass said as he gave Two-Talon a hand out of the pool then shook himself dry. At the mention of their names the two warriors turned to look at Tainui and bowed their heads to him. Tainui , who had been about to laugh out loud, bit his tongue and climbed out of the pool to get dressed.
As they made their way over to the base command centre with the two New Home warriors bring up the rear, Tainui spoke quietly to Hunts-In-Grass. "Are they really called Lightning and Thunder?"
The young warrior huffed with amusement. "Hrrr... Yes, they are bonded warriors, famous on base. They inseperable from when spawnlings. When elders tried seperating them, Lightning moved very quick to defend Thunder. He would not let elders near her. Thunder roared and growled very loud when seperated. To keep her quiet they not try seperating again!"
Two-Talon, who had been listening in on the conversation, turned his head to look curiously at their escort when Thunder poked her tongue out and proceeded to lick her snout slowly in a suggestive manner at him. Lightning huffed loudly with laughter as Two-Talon tripped over his feet in shock, then he turned to Thunder and smacked her in the shoulder with one of his rear arms and grumbled something the others couldn't quite make out. Hunts-In-Grass who hadn't seen the exchange between Thunder and the medic, glanced at Two-Talon curiously. "You look worried, are you alright?"
"I hope so!"
Once they reached the command centre, their escort led them to a large and mostly empty room then stationed themselves at the only exit, standing impassively. They didn't have long to wait when another Vanguard strode purposefully into the room and approached them. She was wearing one of the translation disks similar to the one being worn by Hunts-In-Grass and Two-Talon but when she spoke Tainui couldn't make out what she was saying - she had disabled it before entering the room.
Not wasting any time with pleasantries she stood in front of them looking quite angry. "So - our security outpost has been destroyed and the Original Home bastards now know where we are. Did you know we lost nearly 7000 good warriors and engineers during those battles? Not only that, but you bring aliens here! We have no idea what sort of risk they pose. Give me a good reason why I should not just kill them and have you executed!"
Lightning and Thunder had gotten closer while the leader was speaking and had drawn their projectile-rifles. Two-Talon put himself between Tainui and the two armed warriors while Hunts-In-Grass stood there somewhat surprised at the leaders reaction. "Wait, you know very well the forces from Original Home arrived at the outpost before Two-Talon and the aliens even got there! They risked their lives to save me from the wreck of the Sirius-Defender."
"Sensor readings and datastacks are easy enough to fake."
"Sure, but then why involve the humans? If Two-Talon is some kind of Original Home spy then why bother dragging a couple of aliens along with him that are only going to attract attention?"
"I am still not convinced," the leader glared at Two-Talon and Tainui before returning her gaze to the young warrior. "Where is the other alien - what did you call them?"
Hunts-In-Grass hesitated a few moments before replying and the leader noticed a look of genuine sadness that briefly flashed across his face. "Humans and the other one did not survive the crash - it was this one's mate."
"I see. Hrrr... That is unfortunate," She sighed, her expression softening. "Now that Original Home know where we are it means we are in for a rough time. Generations of Vanguard have made incredible sacrifices to make New Home what it is today - it looks like they are not going to stop any time soon. Oh, do not look so worried, I will not be sacrificing you three, at least not for a while."
"Thank -"
The leader cut Hunts-In-Grass off. "Do not thank me just yet. I have not made up my mind what to do with you and your... human - not entirely sure I trust any of you. Still, no point in keeping you confined to your quarters any more, you are all free to go - do not try to leave the base however. Looks like you could do with some more time to recover from your injuries anyway. Are you and the medic...?"
"I am hoping so, yes."
"Very well. Until I come to a decision I am going to have Lightning and Thunder keep their eyes on you. Leave me now."
Hunts-In-Grass tilted his head back, exposing his neck in submission before indicating for Two-Talon and Tainui to follow him out of the room. Just before Tainui left, the leader turned on her translator disk and stepped in front of him preventing him from leaving. "There is storm coming and this one fears for her people. This one is sorry about loss of your mate." She gave him a small bow before striding out of the room.
Lightning and Thunder looked at each other a little surprised before holstering their weapons and following the alien out the door. Tainui hurried to catch up with his two companions as they headed back to the barracks.
"What was that argument all about? Your leader looked rather pissed off with us."
Two-Talon put an arm around the human's shoulder in a companionable way and glanced back at the two armed warriors behind them before responding. "Hrrr, Understandable. With Original Home attacking same time we turn up, not surprising she is suspicious. You must understand, she leader not just of defense force but whole of New Home in time of crisis."
"But Hunts-In-Grass is from New Home, why would she be suspicious of him?"
Hunts-In-Grass interrupted the conversation, huffing with laughter. "Hrrr! This one thinks she worried of evil medic influences!"
Letting go of Tainui, Two-Talon lunged playfully at the young warrior who easily sidestepped him. "You wait young warrior! When this one no longer requires medical braces he influence you with long hard evil!"
Walking behind them, Lightning rolled his eyes at Thunder who just bared her teeth in a smile.
Later the same day Tainui approached Hunts-In-Grass, who was taking the opportunity of a break in between teaching Two-Talon about various aspects of New Home society to stretch his muscles. "Hey, you got a minute bro?" He asked quietly.
The young warrior turned to him and snapped his jaws shut. "Got a minute? You humans have strange way of saying things. But yes, what is it?"
"I need to go back to the crash site, there's some... Things I need to do there."
Hunts-In-Grass snapped his jaws shut again, understanding. "Of course. When you want to go?"
"Uh, now if possible?"
"Wait, this one back soon." He disappeared down a corridor for a couple of minutes before coming back with one of the two warrior guards. "Thunder will take you. Do you require assistance?"
"Nah, this is something I need to do alone. But thanks."
Hunts-In-Grass walked with Tainui and Thunder to the scout ship launch-bay. Lightning, who was staying behind, watched them go through narrow slitted eyes, uncomfortable at being seperated for long from Thunder. Once they got to the scout, Hunts-In-Grass stopped and hunkered down beside Tainui until they were eye to eye. "You need to know this before you go. Your mate told this one to tell you he loved you."
"What! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"Tried telling you at crash site."
"Geeze mate, you got a lot to learn about timing!" Tainui stormed up the ramp and smacked the hatch closure mechanism with a closed fist. "Let's go," he muttered to Thunder who had watched the exchange through the open hatchway as she prepared the scout for departure. Now he fucking tells me, Tainui thought to himself as the New Home warrior piloted the scout towards the mountains in the distance.
Hunts-In-Grass watched the scout ship disappear off into the distance before making his way back to the barracks. As he approached the entrance, Lightning glared at him and fingered his projectile-rifle suggestively as he waited by the entry. "Oh go fuck yourself," Hunts-In-Grass hissed angrily at the other warrior as he passed through the entrance.
Thunder glanced at her passenger occasionally as she piloted the scout ship to the crash site. Although she was a little skitterish at being seperated from Lightning she understood the alien's motives for returning. She and Lightning had been there assisting Hunts-In-Grass and his medic friend in burying the dead alien when they returned to the wreck a couple of days prior. Hunts-In-Grass hadn't handled dealing with the human very well and would obviously have a tough job in making amends when the human returned after this trip, but he was still young - he'd learn.
Touching down a short distance from the wreck, she turned to Tainui and indicated the exit - now that they'd arrived, the human seemed reluctant to leave the ship. After a few moments Tainui got up and left, closing the hatch behind him. She watched as the alien approached the burial cairn and sat down beside it after removing the snow accumulated since their last visit. After a few minutes the alien got stiffly to his feet and started over towards the wreck of the shuttle and started looking for something. On their previous visit they'd stripped the wreck of any useful components so she wasn't too concerned that he would find anything dangerous. Puzzled she watched as the alien started picking up some rocks that had been dislodged in the crash and carry them over to the cairn.
Tainui had just finished making his fourth trip to the cairn when he heard the hatch on the scout ship open and then the footsteps of the female warrior crunching through the snow towards him. He laid down the rocks he'd been carrying and turned back to get some more when she fell into step beside him as he returned to the wreck to gather more. Not saying anything she made several trips with him, carrying some larger rocks that he wasn't able to move himself and heaping them on the cairn.
Satisified with the size of the mound of rock and soil, Tainui sat down beside it and turned to smile at Thunder who was now standing behind him. She reached out and gave his shoulder a brief squeeze with a forward arm and trudged back to the warmth of the scout ship without saying a word.
"That's better isn't it Andrej? You wont get covered in snow anymore and you'll be able to look at the view all day." Indeed the view from the small plateau was quite impressive, looking out over a large brown plain far below. Glacier-fed rivers winding like small blue ribbons across the expanse, disappearing into the haze - he couldn't make out the large lake that lay closer to the city where they were staying from this distance. "Well you aint missing much at the moment, we're just hanging around the base waiting for something to happen. Hunts-In-Grass is giving Mr Lizard school-lessons about some boring shit and the president or mayor or whatever-she-is of the place is grumpy with us. Not to mention the goon-squad baby-sitters we've been given."
He glanced over to the scout ship but couldn't see through the front viewport as the sun was setting and reflecting off it back towards the wreck, bathing the area in a red glow.
"Nah, she's OK I guess." Tainui sighed and was glad he'd brought a coat this time, the cold wind was beginning to pick up as the sun sank towards the mountains behind him. "I just dunno what to do now, bro. Not gonna be seeing earth again I don't reckon, so stuck here with Mr Lizard and his boyfriend. Now he's got someone else I guess he's not gonna want me hanging around for much longer." He closed his eyes and turned his face towards the sky, letting the wind ruffle his hair.
"You reckon they've got bands here on New Home? I could go back to being a roadie, whaddya think?" He laughed softly and opened his eyes, looking at the mound in front of him then at his hands lying in his lap. "Nah, me neither mate. Time for a career change. Sounds like things are gonna go to the dogs here shortly anyway, might see if there's something I can help out with when I go back."
He picked up a small stone beside him and tossed it slowly from hand to hand. "It's not fair, Andrej. Was supposed to be you and me against the galaxy. Don't know if I can do this by myself." He stood and threw the stone as hard as he could off the edge of the plateau, the sun glinting briefly off it before it arced out of view. Putting a hand into his pocket he drew out a folded sheet of paper and straightened out the worst of the creases before placing it on top of the cairn, weighing it down with a rock. He'd spent several hours and dozens of sheets of paper until he got something he was happy with - written with words he would never be able to speak in person to the boy he loved.
Blinking back tears he made his way back to the scout ship and opened the hatch, pausing briefly and turning back to face the mound, whispering the words echoed in the letter. "Goodbye Andrej - I love you too."
Once they'd landed, Tainui headed back to the room he'd been allocated in the barracks. Lightning was extremely happy when he saw the scout ship coming into land, so much so that he only spared a brief growl for the human when it appeared a few minutes later with Thunder in tow. When Tainui got to his room he didn't bother with the lights and stripped in the dark before clambering onto the sleep-webbing. He'd barely settled in when he was startled by a large shape sillohetted against the doorway, rumbling and hissing at him. "Are you not joining us tonight?"
"Oh man, don't creep up on me like that! Nah, it's OK, I'm tired and just want to sleep."
"Hrrr... Hunts-In-Grass told this one about what happened. He didn't mean to hurt you. We both worried for you."
"I'm touched."
Feeling awkward, Two-Talon hesitated. "You sure you wont join us? We -"
"Look mate, just leave me alone, alright? Go back to your boyfriend who loves you," Tainui said somewhat more bitterly than he intended to. He knew he'd gone too far when the reptile hissed loudly and walked out the door. "Shit! Wait... Oh fuck it," he muttered too late as Two-Talon was gone.
Running naked down the corridor he got to the medic's quarters and saw the door close just as he arrived. Pressing the door activation panel it flashed and beeped at him indicating it was locked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." There was no response so he pounded on the door, yelling. "Please Two-Talon, let me in, I'm sorry OK? I'm really sorry!" A door further down opened and a rather annoyed looking Vanguard poked its head into the corridor, hissing at him. Two-Talon still didn't respond. "Shit!"
On the way back to his room he came to a decision. Quickly putting on some clothes he went looking for one of his minders. There were two strange warriors guarding the exit to the barracks, Lightning and Thunder were no where to be seen. They looked down at him curiously as he spoke. "Gah, I feel really stupid saying this! Can you please take me to your leader?"
"It is late. But she keeping strange hours at moment, might be around. Follow, this way." One of the warriors holstered his weapons and beckoned to him as he started walking towards the command centre.
"Why did you put your weapons away? Aren't you afraid I might try to attack her or something?"
Huffing with laughter, the warrior looked at Tainui over his shoulder. "Hrrr! There is good reason she leader, she rip you apart before you get chance to blink. Besides, what you do, bite her ankles to death? Hrrr!" He carried on walking, chuckling to himself.
Tainui was lead to the same stark briefing room as earlier and told to wait. He didn't have to wait long until the leader came striding into the room with the warrior taking up station beside the doorway. After adjusting the translator disk she wore in her ear, she stood in front of him in a rather intimidating manner and looked down at him expectantly with her unblinking eyes.
"Sorry to disturb you this late, I know you're busy."
"Yes, this one is busy. What do you want?"
"Uh, well I'm probably stuck here, don't think I'm ever gonna get home again. I know you've got some trouble coming and, uh, I was like wondering what I can do. Y'know, to help?"
Straightening up with surprise she cocked her head to one side and considered the question for a few moments before responding. "This one unsure, you tell this one - what can you do?"
Tainui hadn't really thought through the options before making the decision to offer his assistance and was suddenly at a loss for something to say. The leader rocked back onto her haunches and regarded him thoughtfully. "What is your name, human?"
"Tainui Rauwhero."
"This one is Dark-Mist. Alright, you make very... Generous offer. Let this one think overnight. Report here in morning when you ready and we will try find role for you." She nodded to him and left the room.
Tainui walked back to the barracks with the New Home warrior beside him. Before they reached the entrance the warrior turned to him and fixed him with a speculative gaze as they walked along. "This one thinks you not make good warrior. Perhaps you make good meal? Cannot possibly taste worse than Rank meat."
"Hey, don't you lizards have some sort of ethical dilemma with eating something that can talk back?"
"Some Vanguard might, this one does not."
"I'd give you indigestion and that's a promise." Tainui ducked into the barracks building, still not quite sure whether the warrior had been joking or not. Not exactly the most cheery sort of conversation to end a crappy day on, he thought to himself.
After a night of somewhat disturbed sleep, Tainui got up and had a long soak in the cleaning pool. As he lay soaking he thought back to the first time he and Andrej had shared one of these pools aboard the Victorious-Hunting and what they had got up to in it. Primal instincts in the face of danger leading to them rutting like animals, splashing water all over the room. His now throbbing cock reminded him that he was still alive and parts of him needed some attention.
Sitting on the edge of the pool he closed his eyes and leaned back with one arm for support while squeezing and pulling on his cock, stopping occasionally to cup his balls. He continued slowly jerking himself, sliding his foreskin over the bulging head of his cock. As he got into it more he lay flat on the ground with one leg out of the pool, foot flat on the floor so that he could slide his finger over the wet, hairless pucker of his arse as he jerked his cock. In his mind's eye he pictured Andrej's naked body glistening with sweat as he plunged hard and deep into the writhing youth pinned beneath his muscled body. The earthy scent of two young men fucking hard and wild - the groans of mixed pleasure and pain, the slaps of moist skin against skin.
Feeling himself nearing the point of no return, Tainui jammed two spit-slicked fingers as deep as he could into his tightly clenched hole, crying out at the pressure while his other hand moved in a blur up and down the pre-cum dripping and rock-hard brown length of his cock. Ramming his fingers in and out of his spasming hole he arched his back and yelled wordlessly, seeing stars as the universe and everything in it came jetting out in stringy gobs from the depths of his balls.
"Oh FUCK YEAH," he moaned and realized he was still seeing stars. Dizzily sitting up he looked around and saw a patch of blood on the floor where his head had been. He put a hand to the back of his head and it came away sticky with blood - he must have smacked his head into the ground when he came. Damn, that was some orgasm, he thought to himself. Slipping back into the water to clean himself off, he milked the remaining cum from his cock with a sigh. "Looks like just you and me from now on little buddy."
Lightning and Thunder were back on duty outside the barracks when Tainui emerged for which he was thankful, no sign of the other creepy warrior from the night before. The sky overhead was full of dark clouds emitting a baleful reddish-orange glow from the unseen sun as they scudded across the sky. A faint smell of ozone was in the air and a warm, humid wind had sprung up. Reminded of what Dark-Mist had said to him the day before about a gathering storm, Tainui jogged over towards the command centre, Lightning accompanying him while Thunder remained on station.
Dark-Mist was already waiting in the briefing room when he arrived, studying the readout on one of the large monitors attached to one of the walls. She finished reading and turned to face him, nodding a greeting. "Thought about your offer last night, this one did. Also some research into records from medic's shuttle datastack. All very, hrrr... Educational," she huffed with amusement and Tainui blushed a shade darker than normal. "You not suitable as warrior -"
"So everyone keeps telling me," he muttered under his breath.
Dark-Mist pretended not to hear him and carried on speaking. "And you don't seem much of medic either. Research shows this one that humans are unstable war-like aliens. This one thinks you could be useful as engineer."
"An engineer? As in build bridges and fix engines you mean? I dunno. I'm pretty good with my hands, but much past that is doubtful."
"Oh no, engineers much more than build or repair. Engineers also design."
"Right. You Vanguard are pretty far ahead of us in tech, so dunno if I could design much that you don't already know."
"New Home settlers come from Original Home over many generations. Our ideas taken from their ideas with few innovations. When Original Home attackers come in force we need new ideas they do not know."
Dark-Mist tapped a couple of commands on a small datapad she was carrying and the large view-screen flickered and showed a grainy recording of a space battle that looked alarmingly familiar to Tainui. She tapped away some more and several of the ships were highlighted on the screen. They were pretty battered looking and were shortly overwhelmed by the other ships - which didn't look as if they were in much better condition. "Recent attack was small force already damaged from attack on outpost. We defeat them with few losses. Next time they come they not damaged and likely much greater force. Original Home long distance from here so have time for prepare. But we do not have resources to defeat larger force."
Dark-Mist blanked the screen and faced Tainui again. "Many many Vanguard make sacrifice to make new life on New Home. Vanguard free here. New Home has few laws, few traditions other than ones we choose to make. This one wants New Home to stay free."
"OK, OK, I'm sold. I'll be an engineer if you think it'll help."
"This one found wonderful expression you humans use - this one wants you to provide container of filthy magic."
"Container of...? Oh!" Tainui couldn't help laughing, causing the leader to look slightly annoyed if he read the expression on her face correctly. "Sorry, I think ya mean bag of dirty tricks."
"Hrrr, yes, you are indeed correct. Alright, after doing calculations, this one thinks we have approximately six years before new attack force arrive. Possibly sooner. If attacking New Home too expensive then they might think again after that." Dark-Mist closed her eyes and rumbled a sigh, suddenly looking old and tired. "This one can hope. Just want to raise clan spawnlings and tell stories around fire."
Tainui waited for her to continue but she seemed to have lapsed into a state of melancholy silence. Just before he was about to clear his throat she stirred and shook her head. "Alright, you will need Vanguard engineer training. There is engineer specialist clan in Whiterock city. Will mean seperation from warrior and his medic. This is problem?"
"No - no I don't think so. I suspect the bridge I burned last night isn't easily repaired," he said sadly. "So does this mean you now trust me and I wont need those baby-sitters anymore?"
Dark-Mist blinked at him as her translator disk choked trying to translate some of his strange phrases into something she could understand. Eventually she seemed to get the idea of what he was saying. "You will not require baby-sitter as you will be too busy. Training not easy but you are resourceful this one thinks. Will arrange transport, prepare quickly. Show this one has not misplaced faith."
"Before you go, I just wanna know what made you decide to trust me?" She gave him a toothy smile and left the room without replying, Lightning accompanying her leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Later that day Hunts-In-Grass hunted in vain for the human. The room he had been allocated was empty and all the human's belongings were gone. The only sign that he had ever been there was a small patch of blood on the floor near the cleaning pool which was worrying. When he went outside the barracks to check with the two warriors they were missing as well. The night before Two-Talon had returned to their room in a filthy mood after going to speak with the human and he wouldn't say what had happened. Two-Talon also prevented him from opening the door when Tainui wanted to come in and apologise.
After questioning a few other warriors around the place he learnt that the human had been seen boarding a transport earlier in the day with all his gear, but they didn't know where it was headed. After having seen the blood-stain, he was at least relieved that Tainui was still alive and probably not seriously injured.
"He is gone," Hunts-In-Grass said as he came lumbering into their quarters. Two-Talon looked up briefly then returned his attention to the datapad he was reading. "No, I mean really gone! He is no longer on this base. A warrior I talked to said he saw the human boarding a transporter with all his gear earlier in the day."
That got Two-Talon's attention. "Are you sure? He might have just gone back to the crash site again."
"With all his gear? On a transporter?"
"No, I did not think so either." Two-Talon got to his feet and made his way out of the barracks with Hunts-In-Grass close behind him. "Where are Lightning and Thunder? I thought we were still supposed to be under guard."
There was no sign of either warrior, although Thunder's namesake rumbled ominously overhead from the boiling clouds. When they arrived at the command centre they found Dark-Mist near the entrance talking with another Vanguard in an engineers skinsuit. As they got closer the two broke off their conversation and turned to face him.
"We cannot find the human. Do you know his location?"
The leader bowed gracefully to the engineer and dismissed him before answering Two-Talon. "He asked to be assigned to duty, I granted his request."
"He what? What duty? Where?"
"That is not your concern."
"But I am the one responsible for bringing him here! I should be looking after him, especially after -"
Dark-Mist interrupted, pulling out a small data-pad and handing it to him. "This may answer your questions, the human asked me to give it to you before he left. Now if you will excuse me." She walked into the command centre and disappeared.
A few large drops of water hit the ground at their feet as a stiff breeze started blowing. This was accompanied by a bright flash, followed a few seconds later by an extended rumble of thunder, making the command centre building rattle beside them.
"Come, let us look at this back in our quarters," Hunts-In-Grass put an arm around Two-Talon's shoulders and led him back to the barracks, the rain becoming heavier on the way.
Once inside their quarters, Two-Talon connected the datapad to the wall-mounted viewing panel and turned it on. The screen flicked a few times then showed some chaotic movement before the image stabilized showing Tainui backing away a couple of metres till most of him was in the frame. They could make out a couple of his backpacks beside the doorway to his quarters in the picture.
"Uh, hi guys. At the risk of sounding like a dumb movie cliché, I'll be gone by the time you get this. Not very good at speeches so I'll keep it short. Two-Talon mate, I am so sorry about last night, I said something dumb without thinking. I know you were trying to be kind and it wasn't fair of me to say what I did. Just going through a bit of a rough patch myself - you probably know how I'm feeling. Still, no excuse for what I said and I hope you'll forgive me. Dammit -"
The image shifted suddenly and went dark as the datapad fell off whatever Tainui had rested it on. More chaotic movement and the sound of footsteps followed as the human picked it up and held it facing him, his face filling the screen.
"Sorry 'bout that. Stupid thing fell over. Anyway, I've asked your leader for something to do so I don't feel so useless and she's found me a job. You and Hunts-In-Grass look like you're happy together which is cool, I'd just get in the way." An unidentified Vanguard spoke behind Tainui and he turned to listen for a few moments before turning back to the datapad. "Shit, gotta go, that's my ride. It's a strange new world out there and you guys have enough to worry about without me around. Hunts-In-Grass, if you're watching you better be good to him or I'll hunt you down and do something horrible to you. Two-Talon, please please forgive me." The picture wobbled around a bit then went blank.
Two-Talon powered off the viewing panel and went over to stand beside the window watching the storm lash the base outside, rain beating relentlessly against the plexiglass. Hunts-In-Grass came over to stand beside him. "Are you alright?"
Two-Talon shook his head. "I do not know. I really do not know."
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Hideo Baba: "Starting March 26th, we'll be digitally distributing Tales of Graces f on PlayStation Network. I strongly urge anyone unfamiliar to the series to give it a shot. An epic adventure of unimaginable proportions awaits you. We will have two versions of the game available next week; the Standard Edition ($34.99) and Knight Edition ($54.99). The Tales of Graces f: Knight Edition will come bundled with more than 10 DLC items to help new adventurers on their quest including increased stats, health and currency.
In addition, the western release of Tales of Xillia on PS3 is right around the corner — it'll be out this summer."


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Email Version, Section 2, Sunday 04/22/2001
The SplitTrader.com Sunday 04/22/2001 2 of 2 Copyright 2001, All rights reserved. Redistribution in any form is strictly prohibited. - Your World Leader for Trading Stock Splits on the Internet - Posted online for members at: http://www.SplitTrader.com To view this email newsletter in HTML format with imbedded charts and graphs, click here: http://www.splittrader.com/htmlemail/042201_2.asp ================================================================= In This Candidate Newsletter: ============================= Watch List Plays - New - Updates - Drops Monday's Candidate Play-of-the-Day -GTK Weekly Play Results (04/09 - 04/13) ============================= ************************Advertisement************************* Tired of waiting on trades to execute? Does your broker offer Stop Losses on Options? Trade instantly with Stop Losses at PreferredTrade Inc. Stop Losses based on the option price or the stock price. Move your trading into the next millennium with PreferredTrade. Anything else is too slow! http://www.sungrp.com/tracking.asp?campaignid=2087 ************************************************************** ========== Watch List ========== The following stocks are on our radar screen. We are watching them for further developments before we add them to our Current Play list. Splits to Watch WM - Washington Mutual $50.39 -3.01 WHY WE LIKE IT: With Wednesday's surprise rate cut, banks should be kicking it into high gear. Banks have been holding their own in this down market on anticipation of lower rates, so now that we have witnessed the fourth rate cut this year, buyers should not hesitate to enter this group. WM has been forming an ascending triangle formation and looks ready to test the upper triangle. In addition, its 50-dma has been offering strong support for the last month. POTENTIAL TRIGGER EVENT: If WM can close above $55.87 on volume of at least 3.3 million shares, we will gladly move the financial services company over to our Current Play list. SUNDAY'S UPDATE: WM fell off a cliff on Friday, which is a little surprising given the 50-bps cut in rates on Wednesday. It is not too encouraging to the overall market that the financials are now suffering. As for our play, we are now just $0.39 away from saying bye-bye to WM, so we are not holding out much hope at this point. However, should WM muscle its way back through its 50-dma, it could pull off a recovery and make it on our Current Play list. Candidates to Watch AYE - Allegheny Energy $47.15 -0.24 WHY WE LIKE IT: Allegheny Energy has just come off a "V" bottom and is consolidating at the $46 level on lower volume. This is generally healthy price action and gives the stock time to shake out weak shareholders before going higher. In addition, with gas and oil priced continuing higher, earnings for the energy group should be coming in on the high side this quarter. Rounding off our reasons for being bullish on AYE is the fact that the company just announced that it would expand into the New York metropolitan area in order to serve a greater portion of the Northeast. POTENTIAL TRIGGER EVENT: We need AYE to close above its previous high of $49 on volume of at least 400,000 shares before we will shift it to our Current Play list. SUNDAY'S UPDATE: AYE sold off yet again on Friday. As money continues to play musical chairs between defensive sectors and tech, we will expect these slight down days in AYE. The good news was that the sell off came on just average volume of 300,000 shares. In addition, the 10-dma continued to provide support. However, should AYE keep slipping, we will keep monitoring it only as long as it continues to stay above its 100-dma at $44.89. === LLL - L-3 Communications Hldgs. $83.90 -2.96 WHY WE LIKE IT: LLL has come off its highs, but has found good support and appears like it is gearing up for another run higher. LLL has been holding above its 50-dma for the past week, which is a good sign that buyers are again stepping into the stock. In addition, although the stock has come back, its RSI is still over 50, indicating that it has been outperforming the overall market. The supplier of secure communications systems has also just formed a joint venture with Thales to produce surveillance systems for the avionics industry. POTENTIAL TRIGGER EVENT: We would like to see LLL close above resistance at $90 on volume of at least 500,000 shares before we will shift the stock over to our Current Play list. SUNDAY'S UPDATE: LLL was turned back from the $87 level yet again on Friday. This area of resistance has obviously become a convenient place for sellers to dump shares. If LLL can't muster enough buying interest to get us over this crux by mid next week, we will move on to other prospects. That being said, ,LLL is still finding support at its 50-dma and has been selling off on lower volume, which indicates less conviction on the part of the sellers. === TTC - Toro Company $44.10 -0.90 WHY WE LIKE IT: What better time to look into a landscape equipment manufacturer than springtime. In addition, Toro's last quarter showed accelerating growth and solid fundamentals. We also like the looks of Toro's daily chart. It has been forming a bullish symmetrical triangle and looks ready to break its upper resistance line soon. We will also be watching for the MACD to roll positive and for OBV to continue on its up trend. POTENTIAL TRIGGER EVENT: We would like to see TTC first break its upper triangle line at $45, then close above resistance at $46 before we move it to our Current Play list. SUNDAY'S UPDATE: TTC slipped lower with the rest of the market on Friday, but did so on low volume of only 36,000 shares. Even as it moved lower, it put in a higher low, keeping its current up trend in tact. Its MACD is set to roll positive, given one more good push higher. Should Toro get mowed over, we will continue watching it only as long as it can continue closing above its 50- dma, now located at $43.06. Momentum Stocks to Watch BLL- Ball Corporation $47.42 -0.43 WHY WE LIKE IT: While the market has been selling off on a regular basis, Ball has been slowly but surely trending higher. This tells us that buyers are stepping in despite the market "noise". In addition, Ball resides in the aerospace arena and has been awarded additional long-term contracts that should serve to stabilize earnings going forward. The stock's RSI is also well above 50, which again tells us that when the market turns, BLL should rocket. POTENTIAL TRIGGER EVENT: We need to see Ball bounce and hold above $48 on trading volume of at least 180,000 shares before we will add the aerospace stock to our Current Play list. SUNDAY'S UPDATE: BLL took a pause on Friday, as shares slipped $0.43 on light volume of 99,000 shares. The stock met resistance near Thursday's high of $47.99 and fell back to its 5-dma at $47.10. We still like BLL's chances of making our Current Play list by next week, as we are now just $0.58 away from our trigger. === MU - Micron Technology $46.54 -1.41 WHY WE LIKE IT: With the recent surge in tech stocks, we tried to find a stock that has been basing and that has not broken out to new highs yet. MU fit the bill perfectly. The stock has been forming a base on base formation since last October, plenty of time to shake out weak shareholders. The stock now rests comfortably above its 50-dma, so momentum may have finally switched to the upside. POTENTIAL TRIGGER EVENT: If MU can close above $50 on volume of at least 10 million shares, it will be rotated to our Current Play list. SUNDAY'S UPDATE: Like the rest of the tech sector, our new Watch List stock fell victim to profit taking on Friday. This profit taking was inevitable, as the market had become overbought. That being said, we are encouraged by the fact that MU sold off on lighter volume of only 9.5 million shares. Additionally, MU's MACD is still positive and OBV is still just off yearly highs. Should MU decide to take a nosedive, however, we will monitor the computer and semiconductor maker only as long as it can continue to close above its 50-dma, now located at $41.04. ************************Advertisement************************* Tired of waiting on trades to execute? Does your broker offer Stop Losses on Options? Trade instantly with Stop Losses at PreferredTrade Inc. Stop Losses based on the option price or the stock price. Move your trading into the next millennium with PreferredTrade. Anything else is too slow! http://www.sungrp.com/tracking.asp?campaignid=2103 ************************************************************** ===================== SplitTrader.com Plays ===================== The PLAY LEGEND: SplitTrader.com Candidate Play Recommendations. Candidate Play-of-the-Day is our number one candidate recommendation for the following trading day. Updates are just that - updates on continuing plays New plays are brand new for the newsletter. Drops are closing plays that we feel have lost the advantage. You will see: Stock Symbol, Company Name, Closing Price, (change for the week) Picked at date and Change since picked Terms: BoD = Board of Directors meeting ADV = Average Daily Volume dma = daily moving average At the SplitTrader.com website, we have comprehensive profiles for each stock that we are playing or have played in the past, as well as hundreds of others. Please take the time to visit the site to view the profile of the stock(s) you wish to learn more about. ================================================================== ========= NEW PLAYS ========= NEW SPLIT RUN PLAYS 04/22/01 ============================ None NEW SPLIT CANDIDATE PLAYS 04/22/01 ================================== None NEW MOMENTUM PLAYS 04/22/01 ============================ GTK - GTECH Holdings Corp $29.79 (+0.57 Last Week) Those who are unwilling and/or unable to seek their fortunes by investing in the stock markets of the world may choose another vehicle, the lottery. Although there has been a proliferation of legalized gambling across the US, state lotteries are still the favorite choice for legislators who want to grow state coffers. GTECH has been enjoying this trend for years by providing the necessary equipment for governments around the world to set up their own "numbers" games. GTK has been in a steady uptrend despite posting earnings on April 6th that showed a decrease in profits of 6 pennies to $0.79 from the same quarter a year ago. That said, analysts believe that GTK will increase their profits for the whole year by 33%. Ever since November, GTK has been moving steadily higher and has been finding excellent support along its 40-DMA, which closed on Friday at $27.56. Three of our favorite technical indicators, the MACD, Money Flow and OBV are all steadily rising and point towards a continuation of the positive momentum. GTK may prove to be an excellent buy if it can establish a new high above $29.95 on Monday with first hour trading volume exceeding 50,000 shares. If GTK gaps up to $32.00 or higher on the open, traders may want to wait for a little pullback before initiating positions. Picked on April 22nd @ $29.79 Change since picked +0.00 Stop Loss $26.75 === HSIC - Henry Schein, Inc. $38.00 (+2.79) Henry Schein, Inc. provides a wide range of healthcare products and services to dental laboratories, physician practices, veterinary clinics, and healthcare institutions in North America, Australia, and Europe. HSIC is coming out of a large cup and handle formation that started back in July of 1999. More recently, the stock took out major resistance at $36 on March 29th after consolidating in the $28-$34 range for three months (the handle). The stock quickly pulled back to the 100-dma only to bounce back to a new 52-week high of $38.40 on Friday. We believe that the stock may be ready to possibly breakout to new highs as we approach the earnings release in early May. Going forward, HSIC has support at the 5-dma, currently at $37, with additional support at $36.36, the 10-dma. There is resistance at Friday's intra-day high of $38.40 and then the 1/22/99 intra-day low of $40. Traders may consider entry points on a bounce off of $37 or a move above $38.40 on volume of at least 250,000 shares by noon. We plan to set stops at $35 to limit potential losses. Picked on April 22nd @ $38.00 Change since picked +0.00 Stop Loss @ $35.00 ======= UPDATES ======= SPLIT RUN PLAY UPDATES 04/22/01 =============================== SOTR - SouthTrust Corporation $45.81 (+0.70) SouthTrust Corporation opened in negative territory on Friday and stayed there for most of the day. Shares of SOTR ended the session at $45.81, just one penny above its intra-day low. Volume was on the light side, with 801,000 shares crossing the tape. The stock was due for a round of profit taking after hitting an all-time high on Thursday. However, as mentioned, the move came on light volume so SOTR should be able to recover as we get closer to the 2:1 stock split on May 11th. Until then, support has come in at the 10-dma at $45.35 with stronger support at the 20-dma, currently at $44.93. Resistance is holding steady at Thursday's intra-day high of $47.20 and then possibly $48 or $50. Traders may consider starting new plays on a bounce off of $45.35 or a breakout above $47.20 on volume greater than 500,000 shares by noon. Our stops remain at $44. Picked on April 19th @ $46.96 Change since picked -1.15 Stop Loss @ $44.00 SPLIT CANDIDATE PLAY UPDATES 04/22/01 ===================================== HRB - H&R Block $53.71 (+2.36) HRB, as expected, sold off on Friday. Whether this was due to the general market sell off, or due to the relief of a heavily overbought condition in HRB we will never know. What we do know, however, is that the minor sell off did not put even put a scratch in the recent up trend. We say this since the stock failed to even come back far enough to test support at $52.85 and also because the sell off came on volume of 500,000, which barely equals the three month volume average. In addition, the stock made a higher high at $54.25 and also put in a higher low at $53.70 to keep the up trend solidly in tact. Looking at the chart, we can see that resistance has asserted itself again at the $54.25 level. In addition, support still remains at the 5- dma at $52.85, bolstered by HRB's short-term up trend line. Should this support level fail, however, HRB will likely retrace back to support at $52.30, the peak formed in early March. New entries could be considered on a bounce off of the 5-dma or a on break through resistance at $54.25 on midday volume of at least 250,000 shares. We are keeping our stops at $49.25 to limit downside risk. Picked on April 18th @ 53.25 Change since picked +0.46 Stop Loss @ $49.25 === MKC - McCormick & Company $41.20 (-0.50) McCormick & Company continues to lose momentum as investors move money out of safety and into tech. On Friday, shares of MKC fell to an intra-day low of $40.51 before bouncing back to a close of $41.20 on light volume of 103,000 shares. The stock has formed a short-term downward trend on declining volume over the past two weeks. However, MKC is currently at the lower end of its trading range so the stock may remain in the $40-$42 range until the volume picks up. In the meantime, support remains at Wednesday's intra-day low of $40.70 with stronger support at $40.41, the 50- dma. Resistance is holding steady at the 10-dma, now down to $41.74, and then the April 10th intra-day high of $42.50. A bounce off of $40.70 or a move above $41.74 on midday volume of at least 75,000 shares may be possible entry points. If tech falters again, you can be sure that money will again find its way back to safety plays such as MKC. We are keeping our stops at $38.75 to limit potential losses. Picked on March 29th @ $41.43 Change since picked -0.23 Stop Loss @ $38.75 === OMC - Omnicom Group $90.69 (+4.19) Some of last week's biggest winners were subjected to some light profit taking during Friday's option expiration action. OMC joined this group of stocks. Nevertheless, there is a strong possibility that OMC will continue its upward direction during this week's trading. OMC, a major player in the world of advertising, will likely be a strong beneficiary of last week's rate cut. An improving economy makes corporate America more willing to allocate increasing resources to their advertising budgets. To help fuel their long-term growth, Omnicom announced on Friday that it has joined a group of the largest advertising firms that will form an electronic market place that will enable their clients to better conduct their media business dealings. The new exchange should become operational during the current quarter. Moving to the technical picture, Omnicom found some resistance at $92.69 last week. Additional resistance will likely be found at the 52-week high of $97.50. Friday's pullback took the stock near our trailing stop of $89.00. Traders may want to add to positions if this support holds on Monday. A move above $92.69, with midday volume exceeding 600,000, might be a good trigger event for momentum traders to try and pick up a couple of points. The MACD and Money Flow are both outstanding. The RSI did start to turn down on Friday after approaching a level that suggested an overbought condition. Picked on April 15th @ $86.50 Change since picked +4.19 Stop Loss @ $89.00 === TARO - Taro Pharmaceutical $54.90 (+4.25) On Friday, Taro received some welcome news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA tentatively approved Taro's Abbreviated New Drug Approval for Enalapril Maleate and Hydrochlorothiazide Tablets USP. Enalpril is Taro's number one drug candidate for the treatment of hypertension. Shares of TARO traded up on the news and ended the week at yet another all time high. The stock is distancing itself from its 50-dma and is in overbought territory according to its stochastic and RSI. However, it should be noted that these indicators have remained at high levels in the past without the stock succumbing to selling pressures. Therefore, we remain encouraged by the stock's price action but are anticipating a mild sell off soon. When and if this sell off occurs, we will expect the 10-dma, now at $49.95 to continue providing support. Resistance may come in at $56.00, Friday's high, and then again at $57.00. The MACD remains positive and OBV keeps chugging higher as the stock continues on its northerly track. New entries could be considered on a successful test of Thursday's low of $50.75 or a break through Friday's high of $56.00 on volume of at least 100,000 shares by midday. We have moved our stop up to $53.00 to lock in gains should TARO decide to change course. Picked on April 10th@ $49.45 Change since picked +5.45 Stop Loss @ $53.00 MOMENTUM PLAY UPDATES 04/22/01 =============================== UNP - Union Pacific Corporation $58.85 (+1.87) Union Pacific Corporation sold off on Friday after trading to a 52-week high on Thursday. Shares of UNP hit an intra-day low of $58.80 on volume of 971,000 shares. The stock was ripe for profit taking following four days of gains. However, we are concerned about the declining volume because it does not support Wednesday's breakout. UNP has already pre-announced an earnings surprise so the stock may be at the end of its run. The company is expected to announce earnings on April 26th before the bell and we plan exit this play no later than April 25th. For now, support is the 5-dma at $58.36 with additional support at $57.37, the 10-dma. Resistance is now at Thursday's intra-day high of $59.60 and then the 7/19/99 intra-day high of $60.68. Look for a bounce off of $58.36 or a breakout above $59.60 on midday volume greater than 600,000 shares as possible entry points. We are leaving our stops at $54.50 as downside protection. Picked on April 3rd @ $57.35 Change since picked +1.50 Stop Loss @ $54.50 ===== DROPS ===== SPLIT RUN PLAY DROPS 04/22/01 ============================= PFGC - Performance Food Group $51.55 (-2.36) PFGC knocked on the door of a significant breakout all last week. Impatient traders finally tired of waiting for the next move and sold PFGC all day Friday. Granted, we did achieve a decent profit with this play, but we sure would have liked to have seen a strong rally ahead of the split on April 30th. PFGC will likely find support right around its 50-DMA of $49.31. Picked on March 25th @ $49.50 Profit/Loss +3.00 (6%) (Stopped Friday @ $52.50) Best Profit +6.03 (12%) SPLIT CANDIDATE PLAY DROPS 04/22/01 =================================== SPW - SPX Corporation $98.29 (+1.98) SPW hit our trailing stop of $98 on Friday, so we exit here with a small profit. SPW had been coming off a "V" bottom and ran into resistance at its long term down trend line. We may revisit this play again soon, as it is continues to be a good stock to trade off support levels. Picked on April 12 @ $96.31 Profit/Loss +1.69 (2%) (Stopped Friday @ $98.00) Best Profit +3.78 (4%) MOMENTUM PLAY DROPS 04/22/01 ============================= None PLAY-OF-THE-DAY =============== Sunday, April 22, 2001 ============================= GTK - GTECH Holdings Corp $29.79 (+0.57) Sunday's Comment: Although there are very few players that win the lottery, the ones that always win in this game of chance are those companies that supply the machinery to run these highly regulated sweepstakes. In addition, more and more states are now jumping on board the lucrative gravy train of starting and running a state lottery. GTECH has been enjoying this trend by providing the necessary equipment for governments in the U.S. and around the world to set up their own "numbers" games. GTK has been in a steady up trend despite posting earnings on April 6th that showed a decrease in profits of 6 pennies to $0.79 from the same quarter a year ago. That said, analysts believe that GTK will increase their profits for the whole year by 33%. Ever since November, GTK has been moving steadily higher and has been finding excellent support along its 40-DMA, which is now located at $27.56. Three of our favorite technical indicators, the MACD, Money Flow and OBV are all steadily rising and point towards a continuation of the positive momentum. GTK may prove to be an excellent buy if it can establish a new high above $29.95 on Monday with first hour trading volume exceeding 50,000 shares. If GTK gaps up to $32.00 or higher on the open, traders may want to wait for a little pullback to around $29.50 before initiating positions. Picked on April 22nd @ $29.79 Change since picked +0.00 Stop Loss $26.75 ================================================================ Weekly Play Results (04/09 - 04/13) ================================================================ Plays Beginning Price Ending Price Gain/Loss % Change ----- --------------- ------------ --------- -------- ACI $32.25 $33.00 $0.75 2.33% BJS $74.26 $75.00 $0.74 1.00% EQT $74.91 $75.00 $0.09 0.12% HRB $52.85 $53.71 $0.86 1.63% KMB $65.53 $62.50 -$3.03 -4.62% MKC $41.70 $41.20 -$0.50 -1.20% OMC $86.50 $90.69 $4.19 4.84% PFGC $53.91 $52.50 -$1.41 -2.62% SLXP $16.45 $14.75 -$1.70 -10.33% SOTR $46.96 $45.81 -$1.15 -2.45% TARO $50.65 $54.90 $4.25 8.39% THC $46.98 $43.88 -$3.10 -6.60% UNP $56.98 $58.85 $1.87 3.28% SPW $96.31 $98.00 $1.69 1.75% ************************Advertisement************************* Tired of waiting on trades to execute? Does your broker offer Stop Losses on Options? Trade instantly with Stop Losses at PreferredTrade Inc. Stop Losses based on the option price or the stock price. Move your trading into the next millennium with PreferredTrade. Anything else is too slow! http://www.sungrp.com/tracking.asp?campaignid=2119 ************************************************************** ********** DISCLAIMER ********** Please read our disclaimer at: http://www.splittrader.com/site_info/disclaimer.asp ************************************************************** ADVERTISING INFORMATION For more information on advertising in the SplitTrader.com Newsletter or any Premier Investor Network newsletter, please contact email@example.com ================================================================ Contact Us! Send questions or comments to: firstname.lastname@example.com To stop receiving this SplitTrader Update, send email to: email@example.com =================================================================
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Article Source: FendyBt2 Official Website Filed under: Sedan, Cadillac, New Car Reviews, Luxury The Cadillac Of Stopgaps As confusing as most alphanumeric car names have gotten in recent years, at least one constant has been that the letter "X" is generally indicative of a crossover. Then why did General Motors use this letter on its
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VW Beetle Convertible review coming up.
Article Source: FendyBt2 Official Website This will be my ride for the next few days. A turbo model. Unfortunately, paired with the usual DSG. So far, I think it looks great, inside and out. Feels much heavier and solid tan the previous generation. And the 2.0 Liter Turbo still sounds like a diesel in the
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Toyota's Super Bowl Ad Spot Goes… Weird: Video
Article Source: FendyBt2 Official Website A man in a bunny costume wields a purple bat Super Bowl advertising can chew up a sizable portion of any company's marketing budget, but the end justifies the means. If you can make your commercial stand out above the rest, chances are good that many millions of viewers will
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One very moving story about the effects of brain injury was shown in Louis Theroux's documentary 'A Different Brain' and centred around Amanda and her family in Cornwall.
Amanda was admitted to our Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT) centre, The Woodmill in Cullompton, Devon, in 2014. She sustained a severe brain injury after falling from a galloping horse earlier that year and landing on her head. She was placed in an induced coma in an intensive care unit in hospital and needed surgical removal of part of the bone from her skull that was exposed to her brain. She was in a coma for around three weeks.
Amanda was discharged home from the hospital, but had not received the full level of support required to maintain success, build relationships or manage risks in her home. The situation at home became increasingly difficult and it was clear that Amanda was unable to engage in family life. She often became short-tempered and intolerant of her husband and children, with apparent loss of emotional connection and empathy. Her mood was also cause for concern and she started drinking and smoking much more than she had ever done so before.
During this time Amanda also developed some concerning neurological signs, for example blurred vision, headaches and swelling of her head. She was re-admitted to hospital with worsening double vision and headaches.
She had also fallen at home on at least two occasions. Amanda then had further surgery. Subsequently there had been some excess fluid build-up and swelling in her brain. She was then assessed for suitability for further brain injury rehabilitation at BIRT's centre The Woodmill and was soon admitted to the service.
Amanda's abilities have improved, but there is still a long path ahead for Amanda and her family. Her husband, Rob, has dealt amazingly well with the challenges that have been involved, as well as raising two young children mainly on his own. In the documentary Amanda spoke about herself and Rob.
After much intensive brain injury rehabilitation including occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and a full clinical support package at The Woodmill and resulting improvements, Amanda was able to move back home with her husband and children in March 2016. The BBC programme 'A Different Brain' shows the process of Amanda moving back home and how this has brought about changes to family life with adaptations needing to be made by all the family and the journey that Rob has been through with supporting and caring for her.
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