text:
2013 another eventful, successful year for W&M
Editor's note: These are just a few of the many newsworthy things that happened at William & Mary this year. For more stories, see W&M News' 2013 story archive.
It's been another eventful and successful year for the Alma Mater of the Nation.
Rankings and records
The university once again landed at the top of several national rankings, including the annual report of top colleges compiled by U.S. News and World Report. In that listing, William & Mary was ranked as the top public college for its commitment to undergraduate teaching. The university also remained number six among public colleges overall and moved up one spot to 32nd among all national institutions.
Two other reports praised William & Mary for being a top value. The Princeton Review listed William & Mary as the fourth-best value in the nation among public colleges, and Kiplinger's also just ranked the university the fourth-best value in the nation.
The university's graduate programs were also acknowledged in national rankings, with the William & Mary School of Education catapulting 11 spots to 32nd in U.S. News & World Report's graduate school rankings. Also in that report, W&M's U.S. colonial history program was ranked third nationwide, and the William & Mary Law School was ranked 33rd among law schools in the country. Bloomberg Businessweek lauded William & Mary's Mason School of Business for its part-time MBA program, ranking it 40th in the nation.
Another report revealed W&M to have the highest percentage of undergraduates participating in study-abroad programs of all public colleges in the United States, and yet another showed that the university had more graduates enter service careers over the first decade of the new millennium than any other national college.
Two other reports this year reaffirmed W&M's commitment to diversity and progress in that area. The university was once again named to Victory Media's "Military Friendly Schools" list for its support to military members, veterans and their spouses on campus. Additionally, a report by The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education showed W&M to have the smallest gap between white and black students' graduation rates among selective, public colleges and universities.
The university also set some records this year, including a few in fundraising. With $104.3 million in gifts or commitments during fiscal year 2013, W&M had its most successful year for private giving ever. In addition, the university set a record for cash gifts in fiscal year 2013 after receiving $70.04 million, including realized bequests.
Finally, W&M set a record for Fulbrights this year when 14 recent alumni received the prestigious U.S. student grants – more than any other college or university in Virginia.
Academics, scholarship and research
In the spring, William & Mary's Board of Visitors approved "The William & Mary Promise," a new operating model that provides vitally needed resources to secure the future of Virginia's distinctive "public ivy" while markedly enhancing affordability and access for Virginia students. Highlights of the new model include: a four-year tuition guarantee, relief for "middle-income" families, less debt for W&M graduates, tuition capped at Consumer Price Index for returning Virginia students, additional Virginia students, ensuring academic excellence and securing a "public ivy" future.
In December, the Faculty of Arts & Sciences voted in favor of new general education requirements for the undergraduate program, capping a year-long process. The new general education curriculum, called College Curriculum, will systematically link all four undergraduate years at William & Mary from start to finish.
Much of the research activity at W&M this year centered around Big Data. The Department of Mathematics was awarded an $880,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a new program called EXTREEMS-QED, which will support undergraduate research in computational and statistical theory and techniques in the study of large data sets. Over in physics, Professor John Delos has been analyzing data collected from monitors in neonatal intensive care units in order to improve that monitoring. His work, which is being conducted with researchers from the University of Virginia and UVA Health System, is being funded by the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. And, in October, AidData, a research and innovation lab based at William & Mary, released the third version of its data portal, expanding the capacities of the site.
William & Mary and the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) continued exploring their relationship this year by entering into a pilot partnership. As a result of that partnership, EVMS and W&M faculty participated in a joint retreat and two rounds of Collaboration Grants were awarded. One of those grants resulted in a headline-grabbing project in which W&M's Jon Allen and EMVS' Aurora Esquela-Kerscher studied a nematode that was found in Allen's own mouth.
In the classroom, technology continued to make an impact. Gene Roche was appointed as the first director of university e-learning initiatives in September, charged with overseeing the dozens of e-learning initiatives taking place across the university. In the Mason School of Business, students got a chance to take a new "Solving Creative Problems" course in the Miller Design and Innovation Studio, which was specifically designed to help students develop creative, divergent thinking skills. Meanwhile, Arts & Sciences students had a chance to learn business principles through a new "boot camp" program.
This year's two Tack Faculty Lectures gave the campus community – as well as the public – a chance to hear from W&M's expert faculty members about the geology of Virginia and the mysteries of zooplankton. Students and alumni also organized the university's first TEDx event this year, hosting speakers from the campus community on a variety of topics around the theme of "historically innovative."
Campus life
The campus of William & Mary experienced some changes in 2013 as several building projects were completed.
In the spring, the university announced the purchase of the Hospitality House, which was converted into student housing and renamed One Tribe Place. By the start of the fall semester, One Tribe Place was ready to take in its first students, and several other projects came to completion, too, including the new fraternity housing area, the expansion of the Sadler Center's dining area and the renovation of Tucker Hall. A planned expansion of the Alumni House was also unveiled this year, along with plans for new arts facilities.
But waiting for those new facilities hasn't slowed the arts down at W&M. Students participated in multiple theatre, music and performances throughout the year, including "Sitayana" and a reconstructed Paul Taylor piece. Students and professors alike also exhibited their art, and the Muscarelle Museum of Art hosted an exhibition of rare Michelangelo sketches, drawing visitors from around the world.
The campus community continued to impact the community, both locally and globally, this year. For instance, over at the Law School, the Puller Clinic became the first law school clinic in the country to be asked to join the Department of Veterans Affairs' Fully Developed Claims Community of Practice. William & Mary was also one of just two universities asked to pilot the Diplomacy Lab program for the U.S. State Department to help policy makers address pressing world issues. The campus community also continued to engage in service throughout the year, doing things like providing Thanksgiving meals to families in need and collecting shoes to be used in micro-enterprises in developing countries. Faculty, staff, students and alumni also responded when disaster struck in the Philippines, raising funds and awareness for those affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
Tribe athletes continued to make the university proud, earning multiple awards and setting records. The baseball team won a school-record 39 games last spring, the final two during the NCAA regional tournament against Mississippi. Jump ahead to the fall soccer season, where a spectacular 10-day stretch in which the Tribe defeated No. 1 Creighton and No. 1 North Carolina, sandwiched around a victory over nationally ranked Elon, provided the impetus for an invitation to the NCAA tournament.
Other highlights from Tribe Athletics this year include: The football team finished the fall with a 7-5 record, with 10 players earning 12 All-Colonial Athletic Association postseason awards. The women's tennis team claimed its 22nd CAA title. Under first-year coach Tyler Thomson, the Tribe was ranked as high as No. 25 nationally. Men's gymnasts Landon Funiciello and Neal Courter earned All-American honors on rings and vault, respectively, at the NCAA Championships at Penn State in April. The winter cross-country and track seasons were highlighted by sensational freshman Emily Stites, who won the USAT&F Junior National Championship and captained Team USA at the World Cross-Country Championships in Poland. Classmate Meghan McGovern was eighth at the U.S. Championships, and also ran on Team USA at the NACAC Championships. Additionally, Elaina Balouris qualified for the NCAA 10,000 meters and in the semifinals in Greensboro, ran school-record 33:43 to advance to the national finals. In that race in Oregon, Balouris finished 10th to repeat as an All-American in the event after improving nine spots from her first appearance in 2012. She also won CAA women's cross-country athlete of the year for the second consecutive time in December. Indoors on the men's side, Bob Smutsky broke the freshman record at 200 meters and qualified for the IC4A Championships. Both men's and women's teams swept CAA titles for the first time since 2004. In the fall, Trevor Sleight won CAA cross-country rookie of the year, and coach Steve Walsh captured coach of the year honors for the fourth consecutive time. Three senior athletes – field hockey's Taylor Hodge, men's tennis player John Banks and volleyball/women's basketball star Jaclyn McKenna were elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Notable names
Several William & Mary alumni made headlines this year by taking on some of the top jobs in the nation. James B. Comey '82 became the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Ellen Stofan '83 was named the chief scientist of NASA; and Mary Jo White '70 became chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Multiple others came back to their alma mater throughout the year to serve as speakers.
Award-winning actress Glenn Close '74 visited W&M in October with her husband, David Shaw, to receive the Cheek Medal Award for their contributions to the arts. The two also saw the opening of an exhibit of Close's costumes in the Muscarelle Museum of Art – an exhibition in which Close's own student costumes were included.
Emmy-winning producer Nancy Gunn '88 spoke at Opening Convocation, and W&M Chancellor and former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates '65, L.H.D. '98 spoke at the Charter Day ceremony. Gates returned to W&M over Homecoming weekend, meeting with faculty, students, staff and alumni and participating in the parade and other events. The university also announced that Gates, who was the first Secretary of Defense to serve under presidents of both political parties, was donating his personal papers to William & Mary.
William & Mary also saw other big names on campus this year, including actor Michael Cera at the launch event for the Global Film Festival's 2014 theme; neurodiversity speaker and advocate John Elder Robison who is now a scholar-in-residence; former FBI director Robert Mueller at Commencement and Julianne Malveaux at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day commemoration. Nationally-known recording artists Gavin DeGraw, Good Old War, Kendrick Lamar and Big Boi also performed at W&M in 2013.


text:
OBD 18650 Battery Wraps
Tax included.
18650 ODB Wraps
Package contents
- 4 x 18650 ODB Wraps
- We recommend using a hairdryer when applying the new wrap. The old wrap MUST be removed first! Take care not to lose the insulator ring from the positive end.
- Damaged batteries can be dangerous, scrapes and tears in the wrap can cause direct shorts, potentially leading to battery venting and even fires. Re-wrapping cells is not only cheap, its effective and very easy to do.
Product Information
- Length:74mm
Shrinkage ratio:48%
Flat diameter:29.5mm(before shrinkage)
Shrink diameter:approx.18.5mm
Wall thickness:0.1mm (before shrinkage)
Suit: For Li-ion 18650 18500 Batteries only.
High quality
Durable design

subset: commoncrawl


text: Because of our extensive collection, we feature all available merchandise online only and no longer offer a printed catalog. Our website is updated daily and new inventory is added frequently. If you do not see your item or size available, then we unfortunately do not have this item in stock.


text:
In one photo, a man holds up a CVS receipt so long it towers above his head. Another features a woman who jokingly uses the paper strip to keep track of her figure. She's down to her target waistline: half a receipt.
The drug store chain's remarkably long receipts — some, jammed with coupons, are said to reach 6 feet — have become a social media sensation, sparking more than 8,000 Twitter posts that range from gentle ribbings to scathing reproaches. They include photos that employ children, dogs, and even pianos as units of measurement of the scroll-like slips.
Some tweets call out the Woonsocket, R.I., company for wasting copious amounts of paper ("In the age of going paperless, [CVS] has gone clueless," wrote @Bookwyrm76). Others try to one-up each other with Twitter's version of a Comedy Central roast ("My CVS receipt just came out with the entire Torah printed on it," read a tweet from @CompChristopher). There is even a Twitter parody account — @CVS_Receipt.
The Internet frenzy has not only caught the company's attention, it has convinced CVS to reduce the length of receipts, which are often stretched by discount coupons and cash credits for customers with CVS ExtraCare reward cards.
CVS said last week that the typical length of its receipts will be chopped by 25 percent in coming weeks. Early next year, shoppers will be given the option of electronically sending all coupons and rewards directly to their cards.
"We actually saw what happened as more than a meme," said Rob Price, the CVS chief marketing officer. "Rather than treating it as an advertising problem or communications opportunity, we saw this as insight we needed to reflect on and act on."
Price would not disclose the average length of a receipt. But he did concede they have grown longer over time as the CVS rewards program expanded.
Speaking like a well-trained marketing executive, Price said, "Of course, our championship shoppers are going to get championship receipts."
But John Deighton, a professor at Harvard Business School and a specialist in marketing and consumer behavior, said there is more to the lanky printouts than consumer savings.
Like many businesses today, CVS is swimming in consumer data and the company's rewards cards allow it to track every purchase. CVS receipts, each personalized by the discounts they offer, are evidence of how assiduously CVS monitors customer activity.
"This is big data working right there in your face," Deighton said.
Long receipts may be ripe for online sniping and amusing smartphone photos, but Deighton said they are cheaper than the alternative. Price said CVS receipts use less paper than traditional direct-mail marketing, though the company did not offer any numbers.
The act of handing over a receipt and announcing the savings on each purchase also gives the company a chance to make a personal connection with customers, he said.
CVS said its ExtraBucks — essentially cash credits earned with purchases — is the most popular bonus, but the company would not say what percentage of coupons included on receipts actually get redeemed.
Price said the increasing influence of social media — and the speed that information can travel — has pushed the company's consumer-response operations into overdrive.
"It has amplified and accelerated the way that we always have interacted with customers," he said. "It's part of how we're evolving as a business and how the customer is evolving."
Twitter and other sites have also amplified consumer clout, said Wayne St. Amand, executive vice president of marketing at Crimson Hexagon, a company that tracks social media engagement.
"If consumers have the ability to publish their thoughts and feelings, and their clamor is echoed by thousands, tens of thousands, or millions in a few weeks, companies must listen and respond," St. Amand said, "or it could create a crisis for them."
Taryn Luna can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @tarynluna.


text:
RecurDyn is an interdisciplinary, computer-aided engineering (CAE) software package whose primary function is the simulation of MultiBody Dynamics (MBD). RecurDyn simulates both rigid and flexible body dynamics by combining traditional rigid MBD with cutting-edge finite element technology for modeling flexible bodies. In addition, RecurDyn also includes a tightly-integrated controller design tool, design optimization, particle dynamics for granular materials, and durability and fatigue analysis. RecurDyn also supports co-simulation with various other computer-aided engineering software tools. RecurDyn includes a seamless co-simulation environment for coupled simulations with computational fluid dynamics solver, Particleworks from Promotech, allowing for detailed analysis of the interaction of fluids and multibody systems.
The base component of RecurDyn is RecurDyn Professional. RecurDyn Professional provides the capacity for all pre- and post-processing, simulating, and and analyzing rigid body systems. It also includes a complete customization environment. RecurDyn Professional is required to use any additional toolkits. Toolkits add functionality to RecurDyn Professional, including GUI features and solver code specific to the field of the toolkit. RecurDyn Professional includes RecurDyn Modeler, the pre- and post-processing environment, RecurDyn/Solver, and RecurDyn ProcessNet, the customization environment. RecurDyn Professional provides rigid body analysis. It includes a library of algebraic, idealized constraints and a library of rigid-to-rigid body contact algorithms.
RecurDyn Professional can perform various kinds of analyses: Dynamics Statics Position, Velocity, and Acceleration at the initial time Design Studies and Design of Experiments.
RecurDyn Modeler is RecurDyn's powerful, yet simple and intuitive GUI. It is a complete pre- and post-processing environment for rigid Multi-Body Dynamics (MBD). It provides the ability to create models, set up all model parameters and data, and initiate and control the solver, display simulation output in both plots and through animations, and create and manipulate output data files.
RecurDyn Modeler allows for models to be created graphically with simple mouse and keyboard commands to rapidly position bodies, define joints, force elements, contact, and other elements visually and intuitively.
Body can be imported into RecurDyn Modeler directly from CAD
Body can be created using various body-creation tools in the GUI. Supported CAD file formats include:
RecurDyn Modeler can be extended for many purposes including flexible bodies, media transport systems such as printers and roll-to-roll media handlers, tracked vehicles, and others through various additional toolkits.
RecurDyn Solver is the class-leading solver for Multi-Body Dynamics. RecurDyn Solver is based on advanced computational and numerical technologies, making it incredibly fast, stable, and robust, even for systems that contain very complex contact conditions. RecurDyn Solver included with RecurDyn Professional simulates rigid body systems. It can be extended to provide additional capacities through toolkits. For example, RecurDyn can be extended to simulate flexible bodies, media transport systems such as printers, elasto-hydrodynamic bushings, and mechatronics control systems through toolkits. RecurDyn Solver combines these systems into a coupled system of equations that are solved simultaneously rather than through co-simulation, which makes RecurDyn Solver faster and much more robust.
RecurDyn/Solver for rigid body systems provides the implicit Generalized-Alpha method and DASSL for numerical integration of differential equations. RecurDyn/Solver can perform both static analysis as well as dynamic analysis.
RecurDyn ProcessNet is a powerful, script-based customization environment that is built into RecurDyn Professional. RecurDyn ProcessNet allows users to create their own GUI features for RecurDyn Modeler that can manipulate model data, create customized dialog boxes and UI features, automate tasks, and encapsulate domain knowledge and best practices. RecurDyn ProcessNet can access and manipulate both pre-processing data as well as post-processing data.
RecurDyn ProcessNet uses Microsoft.NET for the scripting environment. Scripts can be created using C#, Visual Basic.Through RecurDyn ProcessNet, users can dramatically extend the functionality of RecurDyn Professional to meet their unique, individual needs.
RecurDyn Professional includes a library of contact elements. The contact elements are of various types. General contact elements process contact for general geometric shapes. General contact elements for both 3D cases, as well as cases in which contact can be processed in a 2D plane for increased computational efficiency. Primitive contact elements offer the ability to process contact between simpler, analytical contact shapes, such as boxes, spheres, cones, cylinders, as well as other shapes. Primitive contact elements are extremely efficient for cases in which the geometry matches these analytical shapes. Additionally, various toolkits extend the contact library, adding additional contact technology specific to these toolkits.
Subsystems are collections of bodies, joints, force elements, contacts, and other elements. Subsystems can then be imported into other models and into other subsystems. Or subsystems can be simulated independently. This can simplify modeling by allowing the elements of a model grouped and reused.Subsystems are collections of bodies, joints, force elements, contacts, and other elements. Subsystems can then be imported into other models and into other subsystems. Or subsystems can be simulated independently. This can simplify modeling by allowing the elements of a model grouped and reused.
RecurDyn Professional contains sensor elements that can be used inside a model for many purposes, such as to aid in analysis of the results or to provide input to mechatronic control system simulations. There are many different kinds of sensors. For example, there are sensors to measure the distance between geometric features of bodies, to indicate if a body is in a specified region of space, provide the position, velocity, or acceleration of specific points on a body.
RecurDyn allows users to write simple programming expressions that are executed and evaluated during the simulation of a model. Expressions are text strings like sin(5*time) that can be used for many purposes in RecurDyn, such as to specify the position of a body that varies with time, to specify a reaction force, or to create a user-defined constraint equation. Expressions are written directly in RecurDyn Modeler, and provide a very simple but very powerful way for users to control parts of a model or generate data that can be analyzed after a simulation.
For a technical question please feel free to contact us. Our team will do its best to help you as fast as possible.
Phone: +49 (0)89-322-098-22 Mobile Phone: +49 (0)151-546-171-74
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Working Days/Hours: Mon - Fri / 9:00AM - 6:00PM
Get all the latest information on Events, Sales and Offers. Sign up for our newsletter today.


text:
Zimmerman's attorneys filed a motion in circuit court saying Zimmerman cannot get a fair trial because Lester used "gratuitous, disparaging" language in a bail order last week. Friday's filing also says Lester has advocated for Zimmerman to be prosecuted for additional crimes, offered personal opinion about evidence and has threatened their client with contempt charges.
"Mr. Zimmerman has lost faith in the objectivity of this court and has a reasonable, well-founded fear that he will not receive a fair trial by this court," the document said.
Zimmerman's attorneys particularly took issue with two of the judge's comments: "Under any definition, the defendant has flouted the system," citing the definition of flout, and "The defendant has tried to manipulate the system when he has been presented the opportunity to do so."
In response, the state attorney's office said the state objects to Zimmerman trying to disqualify Lester and it will file a response to the motion early next week.
Zimmerman, 28, was released from jail a week ago, one day after Lester set bail at $1 million.
Zimmerman had to post 10% of the $1 million — or $100,000 — to meet the requirement for release.
An initial bond of $150,000 was revoked last month after Lester learned that Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, had failed to disclose more than $150,000 in donations from the public.
For nearly a month, Zimmerman stayed at the home of a friend, a federal air marshal, to stay out of the public eye, his lawyer Mark O'Mara told CNN.
The judge's order last week said that the reset bail of $1 million was not intended as a punishment but as an amount that assured the court that Zimmerman would not abscond.
In his ruling, Lester wrote about the first bond hearing and noted an undisclosed second passport kept in Zimmerman's safe deposit box.
"Notably, together with the passport, the money only had to be hidden for a short time for him to leave the country if the defendant made a quick decision to flee," the judge said. "It is entirely reasonable for this court to find that, but for the requirement that he be placed on electronic monitoring, the defendant and his wife would have fled the United States with at least $130,000 of other people's money."
In its filing Friday, the defense team said the court had reached a "bold" conclusion that Zimmerman was preparing to flee the country to avoid prosecution, but that his plans were thwarted.
Also Friday, Lester denied Zimmerman's motion seeking reconsideration of an order allowing for public disclosure of statements from a person identified only as "Witness 9" and telephone calls recorded while he was being held in Seminole County Jail.
The witness statements and some of the calls will be available at 11 a.m. Monday, the state attorney's office said.
He is charged with second-degree murder in the February 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, a Sanford neighborhood watch volunteer, acknowledged fatally shooting the unarmed Martin after calling police to report a suspicious person. Zimmerman said Martin attacked him.
A timeline of events
In April, Seminole Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler approved a motion to disqualify herself from the case and Lester took her place.
O'Mara had asked Recksiedler to step aside because her husband is a law partner of Mark NeJame, an Orlando lawyer and CNN legal analyst. Recksiedler concluded that the arguments individually were "legally insufficient" to force her recusal, but the "totality of the circumstances" made her decide to hand the case to another judge.


text:
Miracle by Chance
By tenderangel
©Copyright - by Jeannette Gardner (December, 2007)
A Story of Love Destined to Be!
This is a 'true story' about how I met my Husband on a dating site on the Internet. It's the unbelievable story behind it that's truly amazing of fate and destiny!
I used to hang out at a country bar called the Club Palomino. I loved listening to good bands there, and dancing to their country rock music. I used to drag my friend out to see my favourite band playing called Cheyenne, who were amazing and always packed the place. My friend and I used to get up and dance to their songs. I was interested in the rhythm guitar player in the band, to me, he was the best looking one, and I loved his voice along with his rhythm guitar sound. Yes, I had the 'hots' for him and would goggle eye him playing his guitar/singing while I was on the dance floor, or just standing at the bar listening and staring. I've always had this thing for bands as I play guitar too, and always wanted to play in a band. They played there for a long time and were the best band at the Club Palomino. I would go there as much as I could just to hear them play, and of course, always watching my favourite player. The sad part about it was I used to see him with a blonde girl, not knowing if she was his girlfriend or wife.
After seeing them playing there for a long time, the Club Palomino closed down. Yes, the club had been sold. Wouldn't you know it, a huge townhouse sub-division was put up and the club was gone. So were all the bands and my favourite band, Cheyenne.
When I first found out about the club closing down, I wanted to approach Cheyenne; particularly the rhythm guitar player and ask where they would be playing in the future. But I didn't have enough courage to do that. I guess things happen for a reason.
As time went on I met someone and got married. That was a mistake. Eventually we got a divorce. I started going out to bars, again, got tired of it and not meeting anyone decent enough. I wasn't crazy about the bands playing at other bars either. Later, a friend told me to join a particular dating site on the Internet, which I thought I would never do. But, I thought I would check it out for fun as I heard so much about it through people even meeting their soul mates from that site. Surprisingly enough, I had a few dates, meeting in public places, but just didn't find the right one and thought I never would from a dating site. I sort of gave up on it until one night after getting home from a bar, which I hated, I went on my computer. For some reason I logged in that site again which I was really glad I did. I got an interesting email from a guy and liked his picture. I was also touched by his email and that he was also interested in my picture and profile.
From then on we started emailing each other quite a lot from that site. We seemed to have so much in common through our emails. We continued writing and eventually got on MSN, and chatted for quite some time. He was Bulgarian and I was Hungarian, how common was that! We discovered from our MSN chats that we had so much in common. It was really amazing. Our families even lived in the same town of all places. We chatted every night as often as we could.
And then, a miracle happened! We started chatting on our computers about music. Wow! We also liked all the same music and we both wrote songs. I told him I liked country music and used to frequent a particular bar about 15 years ago, which had closed down. Of course he asked me the name of the bar back then. I told him the Club Palomino. He was really surprised and told me he used to play there. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not! He said he would send me a picture of his band that played there. I thought, 'yeah right' to myself as I waited patiently in front of my computer for the picture. Lo and behold, a huge picture came up on my screen: CHEYENNE, CLUB PALOMINO. I freaked! I couldn't believe it! It was him in the picture with Cheyenne. The guy I was interested in who was the rhythm guitar player in my favourite band. I was so shocked that I went crazy seeing this picture! It was just unbelievable! Like a miracle happened suddenly! Like a fairy tale! We carried on chatting every moment we had for some time, and eventually he gave me his phone number. We started talking on the phone every night. It was just amazing all the things we had in common about everything! Yes, it was too good to be true!
After about three weeks of talking on the phone every night, chatting on the computer and exchanging pictures, we decided to meet. I was brave enough for him to pick me up at my mother's place as I developed this trust in him, by his voice and his honesty. I met him downstairs in front of my mother's apartment building. He got out of his car, and the first thing we did was look at each other and started laughing and laughing like crazy, and couldn't stop laughing! He took me to the local Canadian Legion where we talked, had a drink together (still laughing) and we got more acquainted. Eventually we went into another room and sat down at a table. After a while, he asked me if I didn't mind if he got up on stage to do a solo. Hey, a man singing with his guitar was like being in heaven. He got up on stage and started playing his guitar and singing in front of an audience. That did it for me. I was hooked! And the guy I admired 15 years ago was performing in front of my eyes, and, was my date! I was in heaven!
We dated for about two years and it was absolutely wonderful. Eventually we bought a condo. Then, the final surprise! After moving into our condo, we looked out the window and to our astonishment what did we see? The office building of the dating site we joined, of all things! What a coincidence that was! We have been together since 2003, playing music, and still laughing! We are just two peas in a pod!
He met my friend who I was with at the Club Palomino 15 years ago, and he also remembered seeing us dancing while his band Cheyenne played. He also remembered me standing at the bar at times. I used to watch him go to the bar for his coffee and I know our eyes met each other's at that time. It sure is strange crossing one another's paths some 15 years ago—and now, being together in a different time in the future, and remembering!
And by the way, that blonde girl he was with at the Club Palomino, was the girl he eventually married which lasted eight years. He went through a brutal divorce. He did tell me that when I first saw him at the Club Palomino 15 years ago, that I should have approached him and told him she was 'bad news'. It's funny how life is, it just wasn't meant to be back then.
Fate brought us together. We met our 'soul mates'! We got married on Nov. 21, 2009.
Recommend Write a ReviewReport


text:
Each Feather Fan is SOLD INDIVIDUALLY - If you require a pair, please order a QTY of 2.
Marabou Feather Fans are handmade with soft Marabou Feathers. When fully open, this fan measures 11x20 inches. This fan has 21 decorative plastic staves, each connected with a color coordinated tassel tied metal ring. Marabou feathers are applied to the fan staves leaving approx 4" of stave showing at the bottom.
SIZE: 11" x 20" (with 21 staves)
This is our best selling feather fan - available in a rainbow of colors. We're sure to have just the right color for you!
SEE THIS LISTING FOR MORE COLORS >>> https://www.etsy.com/ZuckerFeatherPlace/listing/515518875/small-marabou-feather-fans-photobooth
SUGGESTED USES: Feather Fans make great Costume Accessories, Home or Special Event Decor Accents, Display, Feather Fan Dancing for Burlesque, Stage or Screen. They also make great props for Photography, Stage and Theater. The smaller feather fans make unique Party Favors.
VISIT OUR HOME PAGE https://www.etsy.com/shop/ZuckerFeatherPlace
for more feather, sizes, styles and color options
Our products are made with natural materials, therefore each item will have unique differences and variances.
Zucker Feather Place is an eco-friendly company. With the exception of natural molting, all the feathers we sell are by-products of other industries and would have otherwise been discarded.
We Ship Internationally please call or email us direct:
573-796-2183 (Mon-Fri 8:30am - 4:30pm CST)
1-2 business days
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Just contact me within: 3 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 7 days of delivery
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Zucker Feather Products, Inc. 28419 Hwy. 87 California, MO 65018 573-796-2183
YES! Wholesale and Bulk Purchases are available!
Please email us or visit the site listed below to open an online Wholesale Account.
Wholesale purchasing privileges are reserved for established
businesses that distribute feather products or produce products
for distribution from feathers to the retail market.
Call >> Our wholesale department at 573-796-2183
Visit >> https://www.zuckerfeather.com/customer/account/login/
Share the love and tag us on Instagram @thefeatherplace! We are always on the lookout for fun and unique #feather #DIY decor, fashion and craft projects! #FromCostumetoCouture we want to see how you are using feathers!
We Ship Internationally please call or send us a Direct Message for more information 1-573-796-2183 (Mon-Fri 8:30am - 4:30pm CST)
The ZuckerFeatherPlace is an eco-friendly company! With the exception of natural molting feathers, ALL the feathers we sell are Biodegradable Cruelty Free By-Products of other industries and would have otherwise been discarded.


text:
Democrats Lose Enthusiasm For Health Law
Sure, it's just one poll of many, but October marks a crummy month for sentiment about the federal Affordable Care Act.
For the first time since President Obama signed it into law in March 2010, more than half of those polled — 51 percent — told researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation they had an unfavorable view of the measure overhauling health care. Only 34 percent said they viewed the law favorably, a post-passage low.
And both those numbers were due primarily to waning support among Democrats, who, until now, have been highly supportive of the measure.
"The public is in a sour mood, including Democrats who drove this month's more negative views" toward the law, said Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman. "I doubt underlying views about the ACA have really shifted much, but the public's mood has shifted and made poll respondents more negative about almost anything we ask them about."
While slightly more than half of Democrats (52 percent) still say they have a favorable view of the law, that was down 13 percentage points from 65 in Sept. Similarly, only 27 percent of Democrats now say they think the law will make them better off, down from 43 percent the month before.
Republicans, on the other hand, remain steadfast in their intense dislike of the measure. More than 8 in 10 have an unfavorable view of the law, with 63 percent saying their view is very unfavorable.
Meanwhile, despite the heated debate among the Republican presidential candidates about whether former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's health plan was or was not the foundation for the federal health law, it appears neither Republicans nor Democrats have much of a clue when it comes to that state's novel law. Massachusetts in 2006 became the first in the nation to require most people to either have insurance or pay a tax penalty.
Yet three-quarters of Democrats and 70 percent of Republicans said they didn't know enough about the Massachusetts law to express a favorable or unfavorable view of it. Similar majorities said they didn't know enough to say if the Massachusetts law is working well, or whether it's similar or different from the federal measure.
There is some slightly bad news for Romney, however. Of the Republicans who did express views on his landmark achievement, only three percent said they had a favorable view, compared to 23 percent who view it unfavorably, and only 3 percent say it's working well, compared to 18 percent who say it's not.


text:
(NewsUSA) – With remodeling season in full swing, homeowners looking to re-side their homes are increasingly deciding between vinyl siding and fiber cement. While both products can look great, there are significant differences in the more pragmatic issues of durability, ease of maintenance and cost of ownership.
Fiber cement siding is made from a mix of wood pulp and Portland cement that's formed into long boards or shingles. Because of its rigidity, fiber cement must be handled very carefully during shipping, delivery and installation to prevent damage. To preserve the manufacturer's warranty, your contractor will need to repair or dispose of damaged planks; failure to do so will compromise performance over time, such as allowing in moisture, which can lead to rot or spoil the finish. A leading database for contractors estimates fiber cement's total installed cost at $300 per 100 sq. ft., unless you choose factory-painted products for additional cost.Vinyl siding, including insulated siding, is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is derived from salt and natural gas, and is engineered for optimum stability, while remaining lightweight and flexible to make it more durable. It's the only exterior cladding with a product-certification program administered by an independent, accredited quality-control agency that ensures products and colors meet or exceed industry standards; and a certified installer program with validation by an independent, third-party administrator to ensure that installers demonstrate knowledge of industry-accepted application techniques.Designed to protect and beautify any home from the moment it's installed, vinyl siding costs about $100 less per sq. ft. than fiber cement, according to the contractor database. Once it's installed, there are no maintenance costs aside from periodic cleaning with garden hose, a soft bristle brush and a bucket of soapy water. Homeowners with fiber cement will need professional services every few years to re-caulk seams (or else risk voiding their warranty). And homeowners (or their contractors) will need to repaint, or at the very least, touch up their factory-finished coating.To complement the siding, vinyl and polypropylene siding manufacturers sell a variety of trim and accessories to reproduce or create classic architectural styles — column wraps that give a home that Craftsman look, cornice and dentil molding typical of Georgian homes, decorative brackets, shutters, and more. Fiber cement is limited to planks and shakes, so finding complementary trim and accessories (or matching color) can be a challenge.Homeowners choose vinyl siding more often than any other exterior cladding — and for good reasons, says Jery Y. Huntley, president and CEO of the Vinyl Siding Institute Inc. Vinyl siding's lifetime value, installation advantages, ease of maintenance, accessories and warranties are why it is the number-one cladding choice in the U.S. and Canada.For more information, visit www.vinylsiding.org.Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
Officials in Nigeria's northern Kano state say parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated against polio may be prosecuted.
The government order issued this week comes as the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, has been pressuring Nigeria's northern states to promote vaccination against the highly contagious disease. Officials began a four-day immunization campaign in Kano on Thursday, with the goal of immunizing six million children.
Parents caught disobeying the order could face jail time.
The World Health Organization says a polio outbreak began spreading in the second half of 2008. Efforts to contain it have been complicated by rumors that the vaccine is harmful to children.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.


text:
After a year of deliberations, a special committee convened by the mayor proposed a new student-assignment system in Boston Monday evening that would allow more children to attend school in their own neighborhoods while allowing an element of choice.
The recommended system, which would represent the biggest potential change in the process in more than two decades, would guarantee that parents registering their children for kindergarten will have at least six schools to choose from, including at least four of medium or high quality.
Twenty of the 27 members of the mayoral-appointed External Advisory Committee endorsed the proposal, which handily beat out three other finalists.
In an interview, Helen Dajer, a committee cochairwoman, called the recommendation a "dramatic, bold move" and said the proposal "improves equitable access to quality schools."
Superintendent Carol R. Johnson will present the recommendation Wednesday night to the School Committee, which has final say on implementation. The School Committee plans to hold community meetings on the recommendation before scheduling a vote.
"The advisory committee has done an excellent job," Johnson said in an interview, reflecting on the process leading up to Monday night's vote.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino proposed changing the student-assignment system last year, during his state of the city speech, proclaiming that students who live on the same street should have a greater chance of attending the same school.
Menino said this would help build a stronger sense of community in the city's neighborhoods and would provide parents a greater sense of confidence about which schools their children might attend.
Under the current system, enacted in 1989, the city is divided into three massive student-assignment zones, each offering parents a choice of about two dozen schools.
Menino applauded the advisory committee for undertaking a thoughtful process in coming up with its recommendation, as he reiterated his commitment to changing the student-
assignment system.
"Our schools have made great progress in recent years and are now showing results that some once said were impossible to achieve," Menino said in a statement. "Now is the time for us to take the next step and give our families a more simplified, predictable way of choosing a neighborhood school for their children."
But Councilor John Connolly, who is scheduled to announce his candidacy for mayor Tuesday, said in an interview that the recommendation did not go far enough.
"The advisory committee did a great job, but they were limited by the plans the School Department put on the table. The plans don't fully address [increasing] quality schools and didn't guarantee families a seat close to home."
The recommended system was developed by a doctoral student and professor at MIT and specialists from other institutions. It does away with the traditional practice of drawing school-attendance boundaries on a map.
Instead, a complex algorithm would generate a list of schools from which parents could choose based on a variety of factors, such as distance from school, school capacity, and MCAS performance.
The complex system attempts to address an issue that repeatedly surfaced during advisory committee discussions over the past year: How to ensure that all students have equitable access to medium- and high-performing schools while trying to shrink the geographic region from which parents could choose schools.
In a city where many parents and school advocates and some advisory committee members feel there are not enough good schools, it was a tricky balance to strike.
As part of its recommendation, the advisory committee urged school officials to devote more resources to bolstering school quality, an effort that Menino and Johnson have vowed to pursue aggressively.
The three proposals that failed to secure the advisory committee's endorsement were a 10-zone plan, an 11-zone plan, and a slightly altered version of the approved MIT proposal that would have offered a notably higher number of school choices.
The committee also recommended separate student-
assignment proposals for special education, English language learners, and middle schools.
Many advisory committee members believe the recommendation will allow so many more students to attend schools closer to their homes that they urged the School Committee to consider in two years the possibility of eliminating a practice of giving students within a "walk-zone" of a school a special priority in school assignments.
Massachusetts Advocates for Children, a Boston nonprofit, expressed disappointment in the proposals.
"Under the current model and the proposed models, the disparities between those neighborhoods that have access to quality schools and those that in many cases only have access to underperforming schools are large and significant, especially when accounting for race and socio-economic status," the group said.
James Vaznis can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @globevaznis.


text:
pcretest [options] [source] [destination]
pcretest was written as a test program for the PCRE regular expression library itself, but it can also be used for experimenting with regular expressions. This document describes the features of the test program; for details of the regular expressions themselves, see the pcrepattern documentation. For details of the PCRE library function calls and their options, see the pcreapi documentation.
- -b
- Behave as if each regex has the /B (show bytecode) modifier; the internal form is output after compilation.
- Output the version number of the PCRE library, and all available information about the optional features that are included, and then exit.
- -d
- Behave as if each regex has the /D (debug) modifier; the internal form and information about the compiled pattern is output after compilation; -d is equivalent to -b -i.
- -dfa
- Behave as if each data line contains the \D escape sequence; this causes the alternative matching function, pcre_dfa_exec(), to be used instead of the standard pcre_exec() function (more detail is given below).
- -help
- Output a brief summary these options and then exit.
- -i
- Behave as if each regex has the /I modifier; information about the compiled pattern is given after compilation.
- Behave as if each data line contains the \M escape sequence; this causes PCRE to discover the minimum MATCH_LIMIT and MATCH_LIMIT_RECURSION settings by calling pcre_exec() repeatedly with different limits.
- -m
- Output the size of each compiled pattern after it has been compiled. This is equivalent to adding /M to each regular expression. For compatibility with earlier versions of pcretest, -s is a synonym for -m.
- -o osize
- Set the number of elements in the output vector that is used when calling pcre_exec() or pcre_dfa_exec() to be osize. The default value is 45, which is enough for 14 capturing subexpressions for pcre_exec() or 22 different matches for pcre_dfa_exec(). The vector size can be changed for individual matching calls by including \O in the data line (see below).
- -p
- Behave as if each regex has the /P modifier; the POSIX wrapper API is used to call PCRE. None of the other options has any effect when -p is set.
- -q
- Do not output the version number of pcretest at the start of execution.
- -S size
- On Unix-like systems, set the size of the runtime stack to size megabytes.
- -t
- Run each compile, study, and match many times with a timer, and output resulting time per compile or match (in milliseconds). Do not set -m with -t, because you will then get the size output a zillion times, and the timing will be distorted. You can control the number of iterations that are used for timing by following -t with a number (as a separate item on the command line). For example, "-t 1000" would iterate 1000 times. The default is to iterate 500000 times.
- -tm
- This is like -t except that it times only the matching phase, not the compile or study phases.
If pcretest is given two filename arguments, it reads from the first and writes to the second. If it is given only one filename argument, it reads from that file and writes to stdout. Otherwise, it reads from stdin and writes to stdout, and prompts for each line of input, using "re>" to prompt for regular expressions, and "data>" to prompt for data lines.
When pcretest is built, a configuration option can specify that it should be linked with the libreadline library. When this is done, if the input is from a terminal, it is read using the readline() function. This provides line-editing and history facilities. The output from the -help option states whether or not readline() will be used.
The program handles any number of sets of input on a single input file. Each set starts with a regular expression, and continues with any number of data lines to be matched against the pattern.
Each data line is matched separately and independently. If you want to do multi-line matches, you have to use the \n escape sequence (or \r or \r\n, etc., depending on the newline setting) in a single line of input to encode the newline sequences. There is no limit on the length of data lines; the input buffer is automatically extended if it is too small.
An empty line signals the end of the data lines, at which point a new regular expression is read. The regular expressions are given enclosed in any non-alphanumeric delimiters other than backslash, for example:
White space before the initial delimiter is ignored. A regular expression may be continued over several input lines, in which case the newline characters are included within it. It is possible to include the delimiter within the pattern by escaping it, for example
If you do so, the escape and the delimiter form part of the pattern, but since delimiters are always non-alphanumeric, this does not affect its interpretation. If the terminating delimiter is immediately followed by a backslash, for example,
then a backslash is added to the end of the pattern. This is done to provide a way of testing the error condition that arises if a pattern finishes with a backslash, because
is interpreted as the first line of a pattern that starts with "abc/", causing pcretest to read the next line as a continuation of the regular expression.
A pattern may be followed by any number of modifiers, which are mostly single characters. Following Perl usage, these are referred to below as, for example, "the /i modifier", even though the delimiter of the pattern need not always be a slash, and no slash is used when writing modifiers. Whitespace may appear between the final pattern delimiter and the first modifier, and between the modifiers themselves.
The /i, /m, /s, and /x modifiers set the PCRE_CASELESS, PCRE_MULTILINE, PCRE_DOTALL, or PCRE_EXTENDED options, respectively, when pcre_compile() is called. These four modifier letters have the same effect as they do in Perl. For example:
The following table shows additional modifiers for setting PCRE options that do not correspond to anything in Perl:
/f PCRE_FIRSTLINE
/<cr> PCRE_NEWLINE_CR
/<lf> PCRE_NEWLINE_LF
/<crlf> PCRE_NEWLINE_CRLF
/<anycrlf> PCRE_NEWLINE_ANYCRLF
/<any> PCRE_NEWLINE_ANY
/<bsr_anycrlf> PCRE_BSR_ANYCRLF
/<bsr_unicode> PCRE_BSR_UNICODE
Those specifying line ending sequences are literal strings as shown, but the letters can be in either case. This example sets multiline matching with CRLF as the line ending sequence:
Details of the meanings of these PCRE options are given in the pcreapi documentation.
Finding all matches in a string
Searching for all possible matches within each subject string can be requested by the /g or /G modifier. After finding a match, PCRE is called again to search the remainder of the subject string. The difference between /g and /G is that the former uses the startoffset argument to pcre_exec() to start searching at a new point within the entire string (which is in effect what Perl does), whereas the latter passes over a shortened substring. This makes a difference to the matching process if the pattern begins with a lookbehind assertion (including \b or \B).
If any call to pcre_exec() in a /g or /G sequence matches an empty string, the next call is done with the PCRE_NOTEMPTY_ATSTART and PCRE_ANCHORED flags set in order to search for another, non-empty, match at the same point. If this second match fails, the start offset is advanced by one character, and the normal match is retried. This imitates the way Perl handles such cases when using the /g modifier or the split() function.
Other modifiers
There are yet more modifiers for controlling the way pcretest operates.
The /+ modifier requests that as well as outputting the substring that matched the entire pattern, pcretest should in addition output the remainder of the subject string. This is useful for tests where the subject contains multiple copies of the same substring.
The /B modifier is a debugging feature. It requests that pcretest output a representation of the compiled byte code after compilation. Normally this information contains length and offset values; however, if /Z is also present, this data is replaced by spaces. This is a special feature for use in the automatic test scripts; it ensures that the same output is generated for different internal link sizes.
The /L modifier must be followed directly by the name of a locale, for example,
For this reason, it must be the last modifier. The given locale is set, pcre_maketables() is called to build a set of character tables for the locale, and this is then passed to pcre_compile() when compiling the regular expression. Without an /L modifier, NULL is passed as the tables pointer; that is, /L applies only to the expression on which it appears.
The /I modifier requests that pcretest output information about the compiled pattern (whether it is anchored, has a fixed first character, and so on). It does this by calling pcre_fullinfo() after compiling a pattern. If the pattern is studied, the results of that are also output.
The /D modifier is a PCRE debugging feature, and is equivalent to /BI, that is, both the /B and the /I modifiers.
The /F modifier causes pcretest to flip the byte order of the fields in the compiled pattern that contain 2-byte and 4-byte numbers. This facility is for testing the feature in PCRE that allows it to execute patterns that were compiled on a host with a different endianness. This feature is not available when the POSIX interface to PCRE is being used, that is, when the /P pattern modifier is specified. See also the section about saving and reloading compiled patterns below.
The /S modifier causes pcre_study() to be called after the expression has been compiled, and the results used when the expression is matched.
The /M modifier causes the size of memory block used to hold the compiled pattern to be output.
The /P modifier causes pcretest to call PCRE via the POSIX wrapper API rather than its native API. When this is done, all other modifiers except /i, /m, and /+ are ignored. REG_ICASE is set if /i is present, and REG_NEWLINE is set if /m is present. The wrapper functions force PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY always, and PCRE_DOTALL unless REG_NEWLINE is set.
The /8 modifier causes pcretest to call PCRE with the PCRE_UTF8 option set. This turns on support for UTF-8 character handling in PCRE, provided that it was compiled with this support enabled. This modifier also causes any non-printing characters in output strings to be printed using the \x{hh...} notation if they are valid UTF-8 sequences.
If the /? modifier is used with /8, it causes pcretest to call pcre_compile() with the PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK option, to suppress the checking of the string for UTF-8 validity.
Before each data line is passed to pcre_exec(), leading and trailing whitespace is removed, and it is then scanned for \ escapes. Some of these are pretty esoteric features, intended for checking out some of the more complicated features of PCRE. If you are just testing "ordinary" regular expressions, you probably don't need any of these. The following escapes are recognized:
\a alarm (BEL, \x07)
\b backspace (\x08)
\e escape (\x27)
\f formfeed (\x0c)
\n newline (\x0a)
\qdd set the PCRE_MATCH_LIMIT limit to dd
(any number of digits)
\r carriage return (\x0d)
\t tab (\x09)
\v vertical tab (\x0b)
\nnn octal character (up to 3 octal digits)
\xhh hexadecimal character (up to 2 hex digits)
\x{hh...} hexadecimal character, any number of digits
in UTF-8 mode
\A pass the PCRE_ANCHORED option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\B pass the PCRE_NOTBOL option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\Cdd call pcre_copy_substring() for substring dd
after a successful match (number less than 32)
\Cname call pcre_copy_named_substring() for substring
"name" after a successful match (name termin-
ated by next non alphanumeric character)
\C+ show the current captured substrings at callout
\C- do not supply a callout function
\C!n return 1 instead of 0 when callout number n is
\C!n!m return 1 instead of 0 when callout number n is
reached for the nth time
\C*n pass the number n (may be negative) as callout
data; this is used as the callout return value
\D use the pcre_dfa_exec() match function
\F only shortest match for pcre_dfa_exec()
\Gdd call pcre_get_substring() for substring dd
after a successful match (number less than 32)
\Gname call pcre_get_named_substring() for substring
"name" after a successful match (name termin-
ated by next non-alphanumeric character)
\L call pcre_get_substringlist() after a
successful match
\M discover the minimum MATCH_LIMIT and
MATCH_LIMIT_RECURSION settings
\N pass the PCRE_NOTEMPTY option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec(); if used twice, pass the
PCRE_NOTEMPTY_ATSTART option
\Odd set the size of the output vector passed to
pcre_exec() to dd (any number of digits)
\P pass the PCRE_PARTIAL_SOFT option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec(); if used twice, pass the
PCRE_PARTIAL_HARD option
\Qdd set the PCRE_MATCH_LIMIT_RECURSION limit to dd
(any number of digits)
\R pass the PCRE_DFA_RESTART option to pcre_dfa_exec()
\S output details of memory get/free calls during matching
\Y pass the PCRE_NO_START_OPTIMIZE option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\Z pass the PCRE_NOTEOL option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\? pass the PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK option to
pcre_exec() or pcre_dfa_exec()
\>dd start the match at offset dd (any number of digits);
this sets the startoffset argument for pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\<cr> pass the PCRE_NEWLINE_CR option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\<lf> pass the PCRE_NEWLINE_LF option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\<crlf> pass the PCRE_NEWLINE_CRLF option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\<anycrlf> pass the PCRE_NEWLINE_ANYCRLF option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
\<any> pass the PCRE_NEWLINE_ANY option to pcre_exec()
or pcre_dfa_exec()
The escapes that specify line ending sequences are literal strings, exactly as shown. No more than one newline setting should be present in any data line.
A backslash followed by anything else just escapes the anything else. If the very last character is a backslash, it is ignored. This gives a way of passing an empty line as data, since a real empty line terminates the data input.
If \M is present, pcretest calls pcre_exec() several times, with different values in the match_limit and match_limit_recursion fields of the pcre_extra data structure, until it finds the minimum numbers for each parameter that allow pcre_exec() to complete. The match_limit number is a measure of the amount of backtracking that takes place, and checking it out can be instructive. For most simple matches, the number is quite small, but for patterns with very large numbers of matching possibilities, it can become large very quickly with increasing length of subject string. The match_limit_recursion number is a measure of how much stack (or, if PCRE is compiled with NO_RECURSE, how much heap) memory is needed to complete the match attempt.
When \O is used, the value specified may be higher or lower than the size set by the -O command line option (or defaulted to 45); \O applies only to the call of pcre_exec() for the line in which it appears.
If the /P modifier was present on the pattern, causing the POSIX wrapper API to be used, the only option-setting sequences that have any effect are \B and \Z, causing REG_NOTBOL and REG_NOTEOL, respectively, to be passed to regexec().
The use of \x{hh...} to represent UTF-8 characters is not dependent on the use of the /8 modifier on the pattern. It is recognized always. There may be any number of hexadecimal digits inside the braces. The result is from one to six bytes, encoded according to the original UTF-8 rules of RFC 2279. This allows for values in the range 0 to 0x7FFFFFFF. Note that not all of those are valid Unicode code points, or indeed valid UTF-8 characters according to the later rules in RFC 3629.
By default, pcretest uses the standard PCRE matching function, pcre_exec() to match each data line. From release 6.0, PCRE supports an alternative matching function, pcre_dfa_test(), which operates in a different way, and has some restrictions. The differences between the two functions are described in the pcrematching documentation.
If a data line contains the \D escape sequence, or if the command line contains the -dfa option, the alternative matching function is called. This function finds all possible matches at a given point. If, however, the \F escape sequence is present in the data line, it stops after the first match is found. This is always the shortest possible match.
This section describes the output when the normal matching function, pcre_exec(), is being used.
When a match succeeds, pcretest outputs the list of captured substrings that pcre_exec() returns, starting with number 0 for the string that matched the whole pattern. Otherwise, it outputs "No match" when the return is PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH, and "Partial match:" followed by the partially matching substring when pcre_exec() returns PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL. For any other returns, it outputs the PCRE negative error number. Here is an example of an interactive pcretest run.
$ pcretest
PCRE version 7.0 30-Nov-2006
re> /^abc(\d+)/
data> abc123
0: abc123
1: 123
data> xyz
No match
Note that unset capturing substrings that are not followed by one that is set are not returned by pcre_exec(), and are not shown by pcretest. In the following example, there are two capturing substrings, but when the first data line is matched, the second, unset substring is not shown. An "internal" unset substring is shown as "<unset>", as for the second data line.
re> /(a)|(b)/
data> a
0: a
1: a
data> b
0: b
1: <unset>
2: b
If the strings contain any non-printing characters, they are output as \0x escapes, or as \x{...} escapes if the /8 modifier was present on the pattern. See below for the definition of non-printing characters. If the pattern has the /+ modifier, the output for substring 0 is followed by the the rest of the subject string, identified by "0+" like this:
re> /cat/+
data> cataract
0: cat
0+ aract
If the pattern has the /g or /G modifier, the results of successive matching attempts are output in sequence, like this:
re> /\Bi(\w\w)/g
data> Mississippi
0: iss
1: ss
0: iss
1: ss
0: ipp
1: pp
"No match" is output only if the first match attempt fails.
If any of the sequences \C, \G, or \L are present in a data line that is successfully matched, the substrings extracted by the convenience functions are output with C, G, or L after the string number instead of a colon. This is in addition to the normal full list. The string length (that is, the return from the extraction function) is given in parentheses after each string for \C and \G.
Note that whereas patterns can be continued over several lines (a plain ">" prompt is used for continuations), data lines may not. However newlines can be included in data by means of the \n escape (or \r, \r\n, etc., depending on the newline sequence setting).
When the alternative matching function, pcre_dfa_exec(), is used (by means of the \D escape sequence or the -dfa command line option), the output consists of a list of all the matches that start at the first point in the subject where there is at least one match. For example:
re> /(tang|tangerine|tan)/
data> yellow tangerine\D
0: tangerine
1: tang
2: tan
(Using the normal matching function on this data finds only "tang".) The longest matching string is always given first (and numbered zero). After a PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL return, the output is "Partial match:", followed by the partially matching substring.
If /g is present on the pattern, the search for further matches resumes at the end of the longest match. For example:
re> /(tang|tangerine|tan)/g
data> yellow tangerine and tangy sultana\D
0: tangerine
1: tang
2: tan
0: tang
1: tan
0: tan
Since the matching function does not support substring capture, the escape sequences that are concerned with captured substrings are not relevant.
When the alternative matching function has given the PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL return, indicating that the subject partially matched the pattern, you can restart the match with additional subject data by means of the \R escape sequence. For example:
re> /^\d?\d(jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|jul|aug|sep|oct|nov|dec)\d\d$/
data> 23ja\P\D
Partial match: 23ja
data> n05\R\D
0: n05
For further information about partial matching, see the pcrepartial documentation.
If the pattern contains any callout requests, pcretest's callout function is called during matching. This works with both matching functions. By default, the called function displays the callout number, the start and current positions in the text at the callout time, and the next pattern item to be tested. For example, the output
0 ^ ^ \d
indicates that callout number 0 occurred for a match attempt starting at the fourth character of the subject string, when the pointer was at the seventh character of the data, and when the next pattern item was \d. Just one circumflex is output if the start and current positions are the same.
Callouts numbered 255 are assumed to be automatic callouts, inserted as a result of the /C pattern modifier. In this case, instead of showing the callout number, the offset in the pattern, preceded by a plus, is output. For example:
re> /\d?[A-E]\*/C
data> E*
+0 ^ \d?
+8 ^^ \*
+10 ^ ^
The callout function in pcretest returns zero (carry on matching) by default, but you can use a \C item in a data line (as described above) to change this.
Inserting callouts can be helpful when using pcretest to check complicated regular expressions. For further information about callouts, see the pcrecallout documentation.
When pcretest is outputting text in the compiled version of a pattern, bytes other than 32-126 are always treated as non-printing characters are are therefore shown as hex escapes.
When pcretest is outputting text that is a matched part of a subject string, it behaves in the same way, unless a different locale has been set for the pattern (using the /L modifier). In this case, the isprint() function to distinguish printing and non-printing characters.
The facilities described in this section are not available when the POSIX inteface to PCRE is being used, that is, when the /P pattern modifier is specified.
When the POSIX interface is not in use, you can cause pcretest to write a compiled pattern to a file, by following the modifiers with > and a file name. For example:
/pattern/im >/some/file
See the pcreprecompile documentation for a discussion about saving and re-using compiled patterns.
The data that is written is binary. The first eight bytes are the length of the compiled pattern data followed by the length of the optional study data, each written as four bytes in big-endian order (most significant byte first). If there is no study data (either the pattern was not studied, or studying did not return any data), the second length is zero. The lengths are followed by an exact copy of the compiled pattern. If there is additional study data, this follows immediately after the compiled pattern. After writing the file, pcretest expects to read a new pattern.
A saved pattern can be reloaded into pcretest by specifing < and a file name instead of a pattern. The name of the file must not contain a < character, as otherwise pcretest will interpret the line as a pattern delimited by < characters. For example:
re> </some/file
Compiled regex loaded from /some/file
No study data
When the pattern has been loaded, pcretest proceeds to read data lines in the usual way.
You can copy a file written by pcretest to a different host and reload it there, even if the new host has opposite endianness to the one on which the pattern was compiled. For example, you can compile on an i86 machine and run on a SPARC machine.
File names for saving and reloading can be absolute or relative, but note that the shell facility of expanding a file name that starts with a tilde (~) is not available.
The ability to save and reload files in pcretest is intended for testing and experimentation. It is not intended for production use because only a single pattern can be written to a file. Furthermore, there is no facility for supplying custom character tables for use with a reloaded pattern. If the original pattern was compiled with custom tables, an attempt to match a subject string using a reloaded pattern is likely to cause pcretest to crash. Finally, if you attempt to load a file that is not in the correct format, the result is undefined.
Philip Hazel University Computing Service Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Last updated: 26 September 2009 Copyright (c) 1997-2009 University of Cambridge.


text:
The Spark Angels
The Spark Angels offer a friendly, professional and FAST repair service for all of your tech gadgets. Apple iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Huawei, iMac, MacBook and most other laptops & computers including a huge 12 months warranty
Spark Angels offers a friendly, professional, and FAST repair service to all your tech gadgets. Apple iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Huawei, iMac, MacBook and most other laptops & computers including a huge 12 months warranty We will repair your Apple iMac, MacBook, iPhone, iPad & Many other devices FAST! If yours is smashed, faulty, broken or water damaged - give us a call. We repair LCD, touch screens, battery problems, smashed backs & many other different problems!
Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located 83 miles (134 km) north of London and 15 miles (24 km) north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ketter's people (or kinsfolk)".In the 2011 census Kettering's built-up area had a population of 63,675. It is part of the East Midlands, along with other towns in Northamptonshire. There is a growing commuter population as it is on the Midland Main Line railway, with East Midlands Railway services direct to London St Pancras International taking about an hour.
Applebee's Grill + Bar, Avis Car Rental, Beavertown, Belmont, Berkley Heights, Berwin Park, Blackhawk Park, CAT Scale, Captain D's, Commons at Kettering, Dairy Queen (Treat), DayLight Realty LLC, East Kettering Recreation Club, Edgemont, Gionino's Pizzeria


text:
At least the administration was embarrassed, releasing its decision late on Friday to minimize publicity.
The Obama administration has decided to impose import duties of 35% on imports of low cost Chinese passenger and light truck tires (U.S. to Impose Tariff on Chinese Tires, Wall Street Journal). These are scheduled to drop to 30% in a year, and 25% in another year.
Here are eleven reasons this is a bad idea:
- It limits competition in the U.S. tire market, and it will increase costs to U.S. consumers. Tires will cost more.
- It will increase the costs of making things in the U.S. Things made with tires (cars and trucks) will cost more.
- It will increase the costs of our exports. Anything we make with these tires and then export will cost more.
- The tax is imposed only on tires from China. Foreign producers in other countries, who will not be subject to this
tax, will benefit. Actually, this will limit the damage done to U.S.
consumers and producers, but then, what was the point?
- It is counterproductive to impose a tax on consumers, increase the prices they face, and reduce their incomes and consumption, during a serious recession.
- This is a regressive tax, it will fall proportionately harder on poor and middle-income people than on the rich.
- The world has been struggling to avoid the reductions in demand
associated with protectionism during this recession. This action
undercuts these efforts.
- The Chinese can retaliate with respect to other U.S. goods.
- This may violate administration promises not to impose new taxes on persons with lower incomes ("Middle class families will see their taxes cut – and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase.").
promise probably was only meant to apply to the income tax, and was
itself a bad promise in any event. But what is the value of the
promise to taxpayers if the protection it offers only applies to one
tax and not to others? This new hidden and regressive tax on U.S.
wasn't the place to start breaking the commitment.
- We need Chinese help on a lot of issues, its not worth imperiling that for 5,000 jobs (see below). As Jonathan Weisman noted in the Wall Street Journal story on this issue: "The United States needs China to help float a U.S. deficit expected to reach $1.56 trillion this year. Mr. Obama is also likely to seek new sanctions against Iran to combat its nuclear program, and China's vote on the United Nations Security Council is pivotal."
- Holding workers in industries making low cost tires doesn't keep them in an industry in which we are likely to be able to compete internationally. Even if you think industrial policy is a good idea, this is bad industrial policy.
The request for the tariffs (tax increase) was pressed by labor interests, but oddly, according to the Wall Street Journal story above, not by the tire industry: "Notably, the tire industry didn't join the case -- tacit recognition that it has long ago left the US market for the low-end tires at issue."
The number of jobs lost in recent years seems small: "Meanwhile, four U.S. tire plants closed in 2006 and 2007. Three more are planned for closure this year. There were 5,168 fewer workers in the U.S. tire industry in 2008 than there were in 2004."
Cross-posted from The Custom-House.
Edit Sept 19 - editorial but not substantive change to point 9.


text:
Marvel's big green Hulk may not be getting his own standalone movie but actor Mark Ruffalo, who plays the current iteration of the superhero, said the character will get a mini arc within three upcoming Marvel movies.
Hulk, the muscle-bound, larger-than-life green alter-ego of scientist Bruce Banner, appears in the upcoming "Thor: Ragnarok," out in U.S. theaters on Nov. 3, as a gladiator trapped on a futuristic planet and forced to fight Thor.
The Hulk will also appear in 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" and its sequel, 2019's yet-to-be-titled Avengers 4.
"We've taken the arc of a standalone Hulk movie and put it into those three movies, consciously," Ruffalo said.
Ruffalo, who has spent more time as scientist Banner than as the Hulk in the past two Avengers films, said he relished the opportunity to be in character as the Hulk for the majority of "Thor: Ragnarok."
"This movie is about just breaking free of the forms and rules, and so I got to break free from what we thought Hulk was to a slightly more fleshed-out character," he said.
The Hulk, who first appeared in comics in 1962, has had his own standalone television shows and movies in the past, notably 2003's "Hulk" and 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" films, both from Universal Pictures.
The cinematic rights to Marvel's Hulk superhero are owned by Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures, while Walt Disney Co. owns Marvel studios and is behind the current success of the superhero movie franchise.
"Ultimately Universal owns the rights there. I don't see them like hanging out together any time soon to be like 'Hey, let's do another Hulk movie'," he said.
Credit : Voice of America (VOA) | Photo Credit: AP


text:
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and environmental advocacy organization PennFuture are at odds over the state's renewable energy standard.
Pennsylvania's current Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) requires 8% of electricity generation to come from renewable sources by 2021, with a 4% mandate for this year. According to PennFuture, the DEP has told the Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC), a group charged with making recommendations to the department regarding climate change issues, not to consider a plan to increase the state's renewable energy law.
In addition, PennFuture says the DEP will exclude information on how the current AEPS mandate lowers electricity rates from Pennsylvania's next Climate Action Plan.
However, Patrick Henderson, energy executive for Gov. Tom Corbett, says that the DEP's action plan is still being developed, and therefore, it is too soon to comment.
PennFuture also contends that the DEP revealed a proposal to the CCAC earlier this year to increase the current AEPS from 8% to 10.5%. Yet, after the DEP reviewed the proposal, it informed the CCAC that it would not be used, the organization says.
Furthermore, the DEP withdrew an analysis that illustrates how current renewable energy mandates benefit consumers by reducing electricity prices, PennFuture asserts.
Henderson argues that Pennsylvania currently has a significant renewable energy standard.
'It is critical to state that Pennsylvania already has an AEPS statute – which Governor Corbett is committed to – that, by law, annually increases required uses of alternative energy through 2021,' he says. 'We also must examine the positive impact market-based approaches to energy generation is having on emission reductions across the board. Each of these factors will inform the department's approach to the final action plan. Gov. Corbett is also committed to promoting and expanding Pennsylvania's competitive electricity markets – which is one of the most effective approaches to growing and sustaining a diverse energy portfolio."
Nevertheless, PennFuture is not buying what Henderson is selling.
Christina Simeone, director of the PennFuture Energy Center and chair of the CCAC, says in a statement, 'While other states in the region and around the country recognize the multiple benefits of renewable energy and have increased the requirements in their state portfolios, DEP is telling us up front that they won't consider the idea of increasing renewable energy in Pennsylvania.
'This administration chooses to ignore the benefits renewable energy offers, including greenhouse gas reductions, cost reductions for electricity customers and economic development opportunities. The administration claims they have an all-of-the-above policy, yet their actions prove contrary."
In responding to Simeone's statement, Henderson does not mince words.
'Ms. Simeone's statement is hypocritical," he says." The reality is, in nearly three years, neither Ms. Simeone nor PennFuture has taken up the administration's offer to engage in a reasonable dialog on energy issues – preferring instead to play the role of keyboard warriors by issuing baseless press releases instead of face-to-face discussion."


text:
Previous Lesson
Complete and Continue
COURSE ONLY | Newbie Bloggers | How to Create and Monetize Your Blog
Introduction to Blogging
About the Facilitator
Let's Get Started Creating and Monetizing Your Blog in 6 Steps
🔶 Step 1: Pick a Blog Name
......13 Ways to Find Your Passion
......3 Questions Your Blog Must Answer or Be Doomed to Wither and Die
......The #1 Tip for a Successful Blog – Know Your Avatar
🔶 Step 2: Get Your Blog Online
......How a Blog Works
......15 Top Blogging Platforms
......How to Start Guest Blogging When You Are Completely Unknown
......Bloggers Unite! A 10-Point Guide for Blogger Collaboration
🔶 Step 3: Customize Your Blog
......Create Excellent Content
......Content is King
......How to Write a Great Story in 5 Steps
......Best Reverse Acronym Creators and Generators
......How To Use PLR Blog Articles and eBooks
🔶 Step 4: How to Write a Blog Post & Publish It
......Time to Write Your Posts
......How Long Does It Take to Write a Blog Post?
.....Check Your Topic Title Against Google Trends
......20 Places You Should Be Sharing Your Content
......Content Repurposing
🔶 Step 5: Promote Your Blog
......Build and Promote Your Brand
......20 Major Website Directories to Submit Your Blog URL To
🔶 Step 6: Make Money Blogging
......Choose and Implement Streams of Income
......The Bottom Line
Ways To Make Money
Don't Dive-In Too Soon
Display Ads
Private Ads
Giveaways & Reviews
Sponsored Posts
Affiliate Marketing
7 Amazon Affiliate Mistakes
Wrap up
The Future of Blogging
🔶 Step 5: Promote Your Blog
Lesson content locked
If you're already enrolled,
you'll need to login
Enroll in Course to Unlock


text:
DRUM EXPO 2013: Read Rhythm Magazine's Liberty Royal Blue Maple shell pack review. Just one example from a range of Liberty shell packs, kits and individual drums to choose from
Offset lugs on all but the snare drum give a unique, customised appearance to this shells comprised of 16"x16" and 18"x16" floor toms (6mm) and a hefty 24"x22" kick (8mm), a 14"x6.5" wooden snare (8mm) and 13"x9" suspended tom (5mm).
All of the shells are made from plies of USA Rock Maple - known for its warm sonic properties. A stunning royal blue polyurethane gloss finish on each shell looks stunning and adds a hint of class.
The suspended tom is fitted with a Noble and Cooley 'Coolmount' RIMS-type mounting bracket, which simply slides into position on a stand into a specially designed slot that can speed up set-up time.
The combination of the maple shell and dual ply of the Evans EC2s on toms creates a beautiful warm tone while maintaining a reasonable attack and the floor toms have the ability to create some incredibly powerful rhythmic statements and need to be played loud.
One pedal strike on the colossal kick is enough to send shockwaves from this incredibly powerful-sounding, almost sub-sonic kick. In contrast the snare is articulate and versatile; going from fat, chuggy and loose to crisp and exacting.


text:
Title: Enlightenment
Series: The Driel Series #1
Author: Liz Keel
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Fire Quill Publishing
Release Date: April 2016
Back Blurb
After losing everything, all seventeen-year-old Thea wanted was to be a normal teenager. Instead, she was attacked by a mysterious creature she thought only existed in fairy tales. Now thrown into the unknown realm of Faey, Thea is forced to determine the difference between reality and fantasy, in a world ruled by a dark elite and a society wracked by intolerance and prejudice.
With the support of her new friends and a mysterious dark haired, blue-eyed guardian watching her every move, Thea will discover that when it comes to Faey, nothing is what it seems. Will her courage and desire to save this new world from darkness be enough? Or will Thea be the next victim to fall to the dark whispers of fate…
Enlightenment, the first book of The Driel Trilogy, is a suspenseful work of fantasy that immerses the reader in a richly imagined universe governed by magic and mystery. Tautly plotted, with strong characters and high tension, it will appeal to fans of fantasy and sci-fi, as well as all those who enjoy well-written imaginative literature.
The Nightmare
No!" I screamed. It had happened again. This was the fourth night in a row I had woken up with a start, beads of sweat dampening my forehead and a sick feeling swirling in my stomach. Rubbing my face whilst trying to sit up I thought back to the same terrifying dream that had been haunting me for weeks now. Not that I expected it to be any other way. I mean, watching your parents die in a car crash will have that effect on you. The difference was that I was supposed to have died. I know it sounds crazy but there was no way I should have survived that; yet I had, and I was sure that the only reason I was still alive was because of the bright light that had emanated from my body. |
We were supposed to have been setting off on a three-month expedition around India, but only got as far as our local town in Montana before it happened. One minute I was sitting in the back of the car fiddling with my iPod and the next second I'd heard Mom screaming. I'd looked up just in time to see a car skidding along on the road before it hit us side-on, flipping us into a ditch. Even now the fear I'd felt at the time – the fear of what was to come – still swallows me whole. Time had seemed to slow down as I had watched my mom and dad being thrown around as the car had turned upside down. Our screams had been overwhelming and I'd been reaching my breaking point, when suddenly all went silent and I had been engulfed in a bright, orange glow that had blinded me. Everything after that was hazy. I remember smacking my head on the window, which had been followed by an unbearable pain that had made my skull feel as though it would explode. I put my hand to my forehead, feeling a warm and sticky liquid trickling down the side of my face. Putting my hand out in front of me, I saw it was blood, but my fuzzy brain couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. It was at that point black spots started to creep into my vision, making everything seem blurry. Then, however much I tried to stay awake, the darkness won and I slipped out of consciousness.
I awoke to an incessant bleeping and hushed whispers of 'So young' and 'Such a shame' and it was at that point I knew both of my parents were dead. Upon opening my eyes, a numb feeling began to take over as I realised I was in the local hospital with doctors giving me sympathetic looks and calling me sweetie whilst a nurse asked me who they should contact. That was an easy answer: no one. My parents had both been only children and their parents, my grandparents, had died when they were young. There was no one else.
A couple of hours later Eli turned up with his family. Who's Eli? Explaining him isn't exactly one of the easiest things to do, as our relationship was complicated to say the least. Foremost, he's my best friend, even with his over-protective nature, which I think stems from his need to look out for me, kind of like how I imagined a brother would for a sister. This would make sense as I've always been really close to his family, who seem to have been in my life for forever. Yes, it was helped by the fact they lived in the same neighbourhood as us and that he went to the same high school as me; but more than that Eli seems to have been there at all my major life events. From losing my first tooth, to falling off my bike and then taking me for walks in the forest when I needed the company, he's always been there, someone I could rely on.
And again on this eventful day, he turned up knowing exactly what I needed: for someone not to say anything, but instead just to sit with me. He completely ignored his mother's sobs as he only had eyes for me, walking quickly over to my bed and wrapping his arms around me. He pulled me onto his lap and once again I seemed to fit perfectly as he cocooned me, wrapping his arms around my back, his warmth spreading through me like a drug. We were both seniors but he looked older, probably due to the growth spurt he had had over the summer. At six foot one he was a whole seven inches taller than me and had these tanned muscular arms that were freakishly strong, probably due to his part-time job as a labourer on the local farm. His dark blond hair spent most of the time being brushed back from his forehead, as it always fell into his eyes, but it always really suited him that way. One of the things I loved most about him were his eyes, which sparkled different shades of emerald green and I swear just looking at them let me know how he was feeling. On that day they had been a dull green.
I know the way I'm describing him might make you wonder why I'm not talking about him as something more than just a friend, but that's the complicated part. You see, my feelings for him are purely platonic, but I don't think he feels the same. The way Eli looks at me sometimes…the subtle hints…the way he grabs my hand and won't let go, I think he wants something more and I'm not sure what to do about it. And however selfish this might sound, I need him in my life and can't mess up our friendship, even to see if there could possibly be something more to our relationship. What if it all went wrong?
"Hey Thea," Eli had whispered into my ear. "Mom says that when you're discharged you're coming home with us, period. No arguing." I'd squeezed him back, gratefully burying my face in the crook of his neck, unable to communicate how much he and his family meant to me. At least they would be able to keep the loneliness at bay.
We sat like that for ages, me just breathing in his woody, musky smell, wondering how I was meant to function again. He twisted strands of my dark brown hair around his fingers and occasionally stroked his thumb along the side of my chin in a soothing manner. I could hear his mother and father in deep discussions with the police officers, and heard them say it was a miracle I was alive. Tell me about it. The only other person who had been around was Eli's four-year-old sister Leela, who kept coming up with big, round, sad eyes, patting me on the leg whilst trying to get me to take Buggles, her much loved toy rabbit. She had known something was wrong and had tried her hardest to fix it in the only way she knew how.
That was four months ago, and although I've spent most of my time since then feeling numb and totally lost, I have begun to smile again and do normal things like getting up in the morning and going to school. If only these dreams would go away. There was nothing I could do about what had happened, but still my brain was making me re-play it over and over again. However, this latest dream was different.
Whenever I had dreamt about the crash, before the part where the orange glow appeared, I could see the faces of the bystanders with their horrified looks as we began to tip over. But this last time there was another face of a man who looked at me – and I mean really looked at me – as though he knew me. For some reason his eyes glowed with an intense ferocity and the sneer on his face only added to the anger that seemed to radiate off him. I couldn't work out what I had ever done to him, or why I hadn't seen him in my dreams before.
About the Author:
iz Keel lives in Surrey, England, a short walk from the beautiful Windsor Park, with her husband and their two gorgeous children. She sees writing as nothing short of an addiction and often finds herself sneaking out to her writing
shed for just a few minutes, which can often turn into hours of pure, unadulterated bliss catching up with her characters and continuing their story. In-between writing, she teaches in a primary school where there's never a dull moment! She will often be found Kindle in hand, reading a wide variety of genres but with YA fantasy and paranormal romance at the forefront of her reading list.
Although she's currently writing the second book in the Driel trilogy, other characters involving all things fantasy, paranormal and YA romance are jockeying for position, wanting me to write their story next, so watch this space!