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The note on the wobbly wooden sign in the middle of the humid Indonesian jungle was only a hint of things to come.
"Don't stand between a male and female orangutan."
Minutes later we discovered why.
Off in the distance, we heard a crashing sound that seemed to announce the arrival of King Kong. Tree branches swayed. Birds shrieked. The orangutans munching on bananas on a nearby wooden feeding platform stopped, looked up and immediately scattered in five directions.
Before you could even shout, "Watch out," Tom, the hulking dominant male of this particular clan, came charging out of the jungle with the force of a 280-pound linebacker.
He was on the hunt for "companionship." The female orangutans acted as if they'd been through this before. Fleet of foot, they were gone in a flash, except for one. Akmad, a 35-year-old female ape with silky burnt orange fur, was not so lucky.
Slower than her cohorts, she was within range of Tom's 6-foot arms, which he adroitly extended to grab her by the ankle as she fled.
In under two minutes flat, Tom and Akmad had done their part to contribute to orangutan population growth efforts.
Tom then let out a romantic fart, clambered up to the now-vacant feeding platform and devoured a few bananas before swaggering off to another part of the jungle where, 15 minutes later, we heard him creating mayhem among another group of females.
"Tom's back," one of the rangers announced to the small knot of stunned tourists watching the events.
That was our introduction to Camp Leakey, the principal feeding station inside Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo, where more than 4,000 orangutans survive in a protected environment. Native to only Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans are found only on the islands of Borneo (shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei) and Sumatra.
The seemingly endless, verdant jungle is filled with proboscis monkeys with their huge noses (sometimes called Dutch monkeys, after the Dutch colonists who settled in Indonesia), curious macaques, lurking crocodiles and monitor lizards the size of Komodo dragons.
Up the river
Our four-day journey began in the small town of Kumai, where my husband, John, and I had boarded a double-deck wooden boat, known as a klotok for its "klok tok tok" sound.
We were in the hands of Kres, our 35-year-old Indonesian guide, and a three-man crew headed by a 19-year-old captain, who worked for Orangutan Odysseys, a tour group we found on the Internet. They were extremely capable and knowledgeable, meeting us at the airport in Pangkalan Bun and driving us in a dilapidated car to the dock.
This vessel that putted up the river at a glacial pace would be our residence during the entire trip. The crew lived and worked on the bottom deck. We slept and ate on the covered upper deck. At night, the crew threw mattresses down on the upper deck for us and then wrapped mosquito netting around them. A long teak table was set up for dining.
As we shoved off, a spectacular, rose-dusted sunset appeared over the water, and the call to prayer wailed from a local mosque.
About 30 minutes into our trip, Kres promised us a surprise.
"This is my favorite part of the river trip," he said, explaining nothing more.
Ten minutes later, we rounded a curve of the wide, brown Sekonyer River lined with palm bushes. Every bush was inhabited by thick colonies of fireflies whose glow turned the river's edge into a tropical Christmas tree scene.
The next few days in the park would be spectacular. Dawn ushered in a chorus of croaking frogs, the whooping of a distant monkey and birds calling to each other. We were in an increasingly rare world of no cellphone towers and no wireless access.
In the beginning
Camp Leakey was established in 1971 by Biruté Galdikas and her then-husband, Rod Brindamour. It was named after anthropologist Louis Leakey, who mentored Galdikas, a German-born anthropologist, as well as his other protégés: chimpanzee specialist Jane Goodall and gorilla expert Dian Fossey.
Galdikas earned her doctorate at UCLA, and later founded the Orangutan Foundation International in Los Angeles, which is still in operation. Her work was a subject of "Born to Be Wild 3D," a 2011 IMAX documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman that examined efforts to save elephants in Kenya and orangutans in Borneo.
Camp Leakey is surrounded by dense forest, linked to the river by an ironwood causeway where boats dock. Camp Leakey originally had only two huts but grew as Galdikas' job expanded.
Galdikas came to this remote spot to study these elusive apes that live high in the trees. The orangutan population had dwindled considerably as industry and civilization encroached on their rain-forest habitat. In 1900 there were an estimated 300,000 orangutans in Sumatra, Java and Borneo. Today there are only about 60,000 on Sumatra and Borneo.
Galdikas' research mission soon turned into the rescue and rehabilitation of wild-born orangutans captured by humans for pets or sold to zoos, circuses or laboratories.
Making themselves at home
Many of the orangutans, like Akmad, were captured by loggers and housed in cages. After her rescue, Akmad became one of the first orangutan residents at Camp Leakey. She is still a regular visitor, as seen in her encounter with Tom.
Over the years, the camp expanded to include a number of rangers' homes, a museum and a library for researchers and staff.
The rangers' houses now act as an informal gathering spot for the tamer orangutans that at times appear extremely human. We saw one female orangutan, Tutut (Tom's mother), push open the back door to a ranger's house, scramble into the kitchen and steal a bottle of red hot chili sauce off the shelf.
The ranger chased after her, tussled over the bottle and finally retrieved it. Tutut clambered on all fours into the jungle.
Another orangutan was given a mug of iced tea by the ranger's wife and downed it in about two seconds flat.
As we walked down a dirt path for 30 minutes to the feeding platform, Akmad brushed up past me and scratched at my pocket, hoping to find a hidden stash of bananas or ramboutan, a spiky, skinned fruit resembling a lychee nut.
Every day at 2 p.m., the feeding platform is filled with bananas for the orangutans that have been rescued or are semi-wild.
But the feeding platform is not the only place where orangutans hang out. There are a few that serve as greeters at the boat dock, prowling for handouts. One of those was Percy, an 8-year-old that tried to jump onto our boat in search of a snack.
Shooed away by the crew, he wouldn't give up. He threw a temper tantrum, trying to tear off a tire attached to one end of the boat. Shooed away again, he ran back to the dock and grabbed a sign attached to two tall metal posts, ferociously shaking it back and forth like a spoiled boy. "Naughty Percy," the crew shouted at him.
We later learned he was the son of Princess, one of the more notorious residents in the park. She made headline news for her canoe-stealing abilities that saw her rowing a ranger's canoe down the river. The rangers took to tying down their canoes to end her mischievous ways.
This was the same Princess that played a joke on visiting Cambridge University scientist Graham Banes, as recounted in Psychology Today. He was trying to open the door to a Camp Leakey cabin whose lock was altered to keep orangutans out. When he was unsuccessful, Princess, who had been watching, made a gesture for him to hand over the key. She quickly opened the door, closed it and locked herself in to eat all the bananas inside.
Getting to Camp Leakey had been a slow slog up the river for several hours, but well worth it.
Our next two days were spent visiting other ranger posts in the national park and their feeding stations. But something was missing. None of them had anything like Tom.
Contact the writer: email@example.com


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It seems most bloggers tend to forget that running a blog is essentially the same as running a business.
Your blog posts are your products.
I know what you are thinking. "But I am not charging folks any money to read my articles."
Yes, but you are asking them to give up on something much more precious than money: their time.
And this means your readers are your customers.
And you know that terrible, terrible cliche: "the customer is always right?"
In other words, you need to do everything in your power to provide your readers with the best experience possible.
Your blog needs to reflect that fact.
This is not about how much you care about your topic, or your words, or how much time and effort you invest in your blog.
In case you haven't figured it until now, the world does not reward you based on how much time you put into something, or how much heart, but rather on your results.
And your results are always determined by how your readers feel about your blog.
1. Sure, but I blog for myself…
Stop it!
I mean it.
This line of thinking is prevalent among those who are so mentally lazy that all they can do is delude themselves into thinking that the only reason they write on the freaking world wide web is for their own self-gratification.
The same way men who can't get a date end up thinking there's something inherently wrong or evil about women.
Without readers, you have no blog.
As simple as that.
2. Sure, your blog is also about your own needs and desires…
At the end of the day, you are choosing to share your thoughts and ideas with the world because it has a positive impact on your own life.
But at times you will be forced to make certain sacrifices; sometimes you have to compromise what you want in order to write about what your readers want to read.
What happens if you somehow get bored about blogging on the same topics over and over again?
If you suddenly start blogging about different topics that your readers couldn't care less about, then you are going to alienate the vast majority of them.
People who are into self-help are not usually into supernatural fiction, the same way those who read finance blogs are not terribly passionate about sports…
Some of them are, but most of them will be taking their business elsewhere, and spend their precious time reading other blogs.
3. It's all a balancing act…
The truth is that writing only about what readers want to read oftentimes makes for a lousy blogging experience.
Also, you run the risk of hating the topics so much that you won't be successful anyways…
The truth is that you need to write about topics that inspire you, motivate you to give 110%, but do it in such a way that your readers are more than glad to offer you their time.
This balancing act takes a long time to master, and even then, as your own preferences change, you might find yourself "trapped," writing about a topic you no longer care about.
Whether you make money or not, blogging is a business.
And a business is always about solving people's problems.
Never forget that.
Because the bitter truth is that most bloggers who struggle to get other humans to read their content suffer from the same problem: they are blogging mostly about themselves.
Get a real understanding of your readers.
What is it that they want to read?
What are their biggest problems that you could solve right away?
What is some piece of information they are desperate for, and only you can provide?
Figure these things out, and then give them to your readers…

subset: commoncrawl


text:
congrats guys!
wish i knew about the rum before i went and bought a metric buttload of Crown at the Class Six yesterday.
$18/750mL is a decent sale.
Congrat winners
congrats guys!
wish i knew about the rum before i went and bought a metric buttload of Crown at the Class Six yesterday.
$18/750mL is a decent sale.
Since I have quit drinking. All that talk of booze is making me thirsty. But I am Clean and sober for almost 14hours now.
Great idea. Great contest. Congrats to the winners.
"Man needs but two things to survive alone in the woods. A blow up female doll and his trusty old AK-47" - Thomas Jefferson 1781
Congradulations to all the other winners. My daughter sure got excited.
Great giveaway guys I should have partipated but didn't have any pics of women that would be allowed on the site and I don't want people to know what guns I have so 2 strikes
Officer...The devil made me do it.....thats my story and I'm sticking to it.
We know you're new, but could you please look at the dates on ancient threads before replying to them?
"To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want 'em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot 'em."
Ted Nugent - speaking at the NRA convention April 17, 2005
you know whats funny?
everytime sombody brings up an old thread-a worth while one not a for sale for 5yr ago prices
it gets some ideas rolling again
gotta give credit to the newbies for spottin good ideas though!
Keep the change-I just want my Country back!!!


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San Francisco: Delarosa
Described as 'Roman-style,' the pizzas are cooked in a fast-burning wood-fired oven at 986°F
2175 Chestnut Street, San Francisco CA 94123 (map); 415-673-7100; delarosasf.com
Pizza Style: Wood-fired, Roman-style
The Skinny: Roman-style crust is neither flavorful nor thin enough to impress, but high-quality toppings more than make up for it
Price: Margherita with burrata, $15; summer squash pizza, $15
The third time's often a charm (usually in games of rock-paper-scissors). With pizza, at least when considering San Francisco's mini pizza empire comprising Beretta, Starbelly, and Delarosa, the third doesn't quite make the cut. Delarosa, while still a great exemplar of the power of seasonal, fresh ingredients on pizza, falls short of its two predecessors.
This isn't to say that Delarosa is not good. It is—very, and the Marina restaurant is almost always packed to the gills. However, when considering their pizzas, I continually find myself drawing unfavorable comparisons to the Italian-style classics of Beretta and the winning California pies at Starbelly.
What's New On Serious Eats
Really, the problem here is the crust. Described as "Roman-style," the pizzas are cooked in a fast burning wood oven at 986°F. While the crust showed some nice bubbling at the edges and browning underneath, there was little to no char to the taste, leaving it almost anemic in flavor. Furthermore, the oven did not produce the cracker-y texture of Roman crust, even though it was noticeably thinner than, say, Starbelly's bread-y sourdough crust.
However, my disappointment in the crust aside, the toppings here are as stand-out as at Starbelly. The Margherita pizza ($15) was taken to a new level with the addition of burrata. Creamy, milky, and saltier than I expected, the burrata was luxurious on its own, and revelatory when combined with fresh tomato sauce. This was a simple combination that allowed the stellar ingredients to shine, and we gobbled it up.
A summer squash pizza ($15) was a prime example of Delarosa's attention to seasonal, local ingredients. Zucchini, yellow squash, and sweet onion were showcased against a layer of salty but subtle provolone. The crust on this pizza had even less flavor than the Margherita's, but I wasn't bothered considering the sprinkling of creamy, tangy goat cheese. It brought out the sweetness of the vegetables without dominating their flavor, and led to a combination of toppings good enough to render most crusts irrelevant.
Perhaps it isn't fair to compare Delarosa to its sister restaurants. It puts out very respectable pizzas, and while their Roman-style quality may be lacking, the care and attention given to their toppings makes trying their pizza very worthwhile. As pizza is only one section on a rather extensive menu, you will likely be very satisfied with your experience there, even if the pies aren't necessarily the star of the show.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


text:
Stately stone house located in a natural setting that is ideal for rural tourism enthusiasts; with all the comforts for enjoying a few days' rest.
Restored country house with an extensive garden, 'hórreo' (stone granary), stone tables and benches for picnics, car park, two furnished living rooms-dining rooms, kitchen with stone oven and wood-burning stove. Fully equipped with all kinds of electrical appliances: washing machine, dishwasher, microwave oven, crockery, sets of glasses... Entire house or rooms available for rent.
Located in the municipality of Silleda, in northwest of Pontevedra province (between Santiago and Pontevedra). This area features ideal conditions for enjoying active tourism activities.
From Santiago via the N-525 road or the AP-53 motorway (towards Orense). At Lamela, follow signs for Cervaña. The house is 200 metres away.
7 double rooms, with television and heating. Capacity for 14 persons.
, Accessible WC, Airport nearby, Animals accepted (ask for details), Barbecue / Grill, Bus access, Car park, Caravan access, Common TV, Cooking facilities, Cots, Dining room, Dividable halls, Electrical socket, Electricity, Emergency lights, Extinguishers, Garden/Terrace, Gas canisters, Green spaces, Hairdryer in rooms, Historical building, Hot water, Hot-water showers, Individual heating, Laundry, Lounge, Medical service, Motorbike access, Nearby river beaches, Postbox, Public transport access, River fishing, Smoking prohibited, Telephone, Television in rooms, Translation of documents, Trekking, Vehicle access, Video/DVD in rooms, WiFi internet access, WiFi internet access in rooms


text:
100 Proof Stud Cover Reveal
Sometimes life smacks you right in the kisser with a whole lot of ohhhh craaaaap.
Just ask Darcy Walker.
100 Proof Stud picks up four months after No Brainer's cliffhanger ending, and Darcy discovers the aftermath pales in comparison to the crisis her heart is in. All of a sudden it's raining men, and this teenage heroine's personal life turns her inside out.
Before she can sort out her feelings, she chases a spray-painting vandal and stumbles upon a case of identity theft right in her own backyard. Darcy jumps into the fray headfirst to prove she can hang with the big boys.
But it's not just to hang…nope, she's chasing reward money.
Tapping her band of misfit brothers for help, she turns Valley upside down trying to unearth the criminals. Problem is, the cloak and dagger goes high-octane, and she raises the bar on "crazy" in the process.
Bullets ring out…dead bodies appear…and Darcy rubs shoulders with the ultimate sociopath. In the midst of murder and mayhem, will she finally follow her heart or build a fortress of lies around it? Will she even get the chance?


text:
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa visits Meet the Press to update David Gregory on the latest developments in his panel's investigation into the Benghazi attacks.
A top GOP critic pushed back Sunday on charges that Republican efforts to investigate last year's Benghazi attack are designed to inflict political damage on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Hillary Clinton's not a target," said House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa on NBC's Meet the Press. "President Obama is not a target."
Issa, who heads a panel probing the assault on the diplomatic outpost that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, said he will seek depositions from Benghazi review board heads Ambassador Thomas Pickering and retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The interagency process of modifying talking points in the wake of the attack scrubbed the fact that the incident was "a terrorist attack from the get-go," Issa said Sunday.
"The American people were effectively lied to for a period of about a month," he charged. "That's important to get right."
Ambassador Thomas Pickering responds to Congressman Darrell Issa's claim that the diplomat should testify on the Benghazi incident.
Issa's committee held a high-profile hearing last week on the Benghazi attack. The California Republican claimed Sunday that Pickering - the man who led an independent review of the attacks on behalf of the State Department - refused to testify at that hearing.
Pickering flatly denied that he was unwilling to appear.
"I said the day before the hearings I was willing to appear, to come from the very hearings [Issa] excluded me from," Pickering told NBC's David Gregory. "We were told the majority said I was not welcome at that hearing; I could come at some other time."
Issa said he was unaware of Pickering's late notice, which the ambassador said he communicated through the White House, but added that a private deposition - which he intends to formally request Monday from the ambassador - is the more appropriate way to begin the inquiry.
"The fact is we don't want to have some sort of a stage show," Issa said.
Issa spokesman Frederick Hill said in a statement that Oversight committee Republicans never received a request for Pickering to testify.
"We challenge him to name the White House official who he was in contact with and the White House official whom he falsely says relayed his interest in testifying to Chairman Issa," Hill said.
Republicans have been dogged in their questioning of the administration's response to the attack, with leaked documents revealing last week that officials at the State Department suggested edits to talking points that erased references to terrorist groups.
While Hillary Clinton has stated publicly that she was not involved in that editing process, criticism of the former State Department chief and much-discussed possible presidential candidate has been a strong subtext of the Benghazi debate.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein discusses remarks on the House probe into the Benghazi attacks and details amendments made in markup to the Senate immigration overhaul.
Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, said on Meet the Press that Issa's panel has deliberately put Clinton's ambitions in its crosshairs.
"My concern is when Hillary Clinton's name is mentioned 32 times in a hearing, then the point of the hearing is to discredit the Secretary of State, who has very high popularity and may well be a candidate for president," Feinstein said.
Likely 2016 Republican candidate Sen. Rand Paul excoriated Clinton in a speech Friday in key campaign state Iowa, saying her role in the Benghazi episode "should preclude her from holding higher office."
"I think that's nonsense," Feinstein said of Paul's claim. "And I think the American people will think that's nonsense."
This story was originally published on Sun May 12, 2013 11:28 AM EDT


text: Showcasing the best of the ever-expanding Rhode Island culinary scene, the Eat Drink RI Festival returned to Providence for an expanded four-day all-local food festival. The Festival, now in it's third year, was held Thursday, April 24th through Sunday, April 27th and featured a star-studded line-up of over 80 chefs, farmers, bartenders and producers including . . .


text:
Better treatment for brain cancer revealed by new molecular insights
Nearly a third of adults with the most common type of brain cancer develop recurrent, invasive tumors after being treated with a drug called bevacizumab. The molecular underpinnings behind these detrimental effects have now been published in the July issue of Cancer Cell. The findings reveal a new treatment strategy that could reduce tumor invasiveness and improve survival in these drug-resistant patients.
"Understanding how and why these tumors adopt this invasive behavior is critical to being able to prevent this recurrence pattern and maximizing the benefits of bevacizumab," says study author Kan Lu of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive type of tumor originating in the brain. GBM tumors express high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein that promotes the growth of new blood vessels that provide nutrients that allow tumors to expand. In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration approved bevacizumab, a VEGF inhibitor, for GBM patients who don't respond to first-line therapies. Although the drug is initially effective, up to 30% of patients develop tumors that infiltrate deep into the brain, making surgery and treatment difficult.
To study how bevacizumab can lead to adverse effects, senior study author Gabriele Bergers of UCSF and her collaborators focused on hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a protein that controls the growth and movement of cells, because they previously found a link between VEGF and HGF in GBM cells. In the new study, they found that VEGF inhibits the migration of GBM cells by decreasing HGF signaling through its receptor MET. Moreover, tumors were much less invasiveand survival improvedin mice with GBM tumors lacking both VEGF and MET rather than just VEGF alone. The results suggest that MET plays a critical role in GBM invasion when VEGF is blocked.
"These findings provide a rationale for therapeutically combining VEGF and MET inhibition so that patients can benefit from bevacizumab without developing more invasive tumors," Lu says. Because the VEGF and HGF/MET signaling pathways are active in a variety of tumors, this combined treatment strategy may also be applied to other types of cancer.
Explore further


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Cryptographic Solutions for .NET Developers: Hashing and Encryption
Cryptography is an important part of many applications. Even if your application doesn't process credit card data or military information, it is likely that your application will need to store secrets such as usernames or passwords.
Cryptography allows you to store and transmit sensitive data in such a way that outsiders cannot read the data. Assume that you would need to send a password from a client application to a server over the Internet. Without cryptography, you would need to send the password in plaintext; in other words, fully readable. If somebody would listen to the network traffic, he or she could easily steal your password.
Luckily, mathematics and cryptography help you make the job of the malicious listener much more difficult. With the process known as encryption, you could convert the password into non-intelligible data known as ciphertext, and make it very hard to convert it back to the plaintext version.
Another tool is hashing. Hashing is way to calculate a fixed-length "fingerprint," the hash, of some input data in such a way that no two inputs produce the same output (hash value). This means that each time the input changes, the hash changes as well. Also, the hash is always of fixed length, and is not related to the input length.
There are different ways to encrypt and hash data. Different algorithms are needed because there are diverse needs for encryption and hashing. Sometimes you want to be as secure as possible, but sometimes you want to trade a little security with encryption speed or simplicity, for example. The names of these algorithms are often short acronyms. For example, some of the most common algorithms are named RC2, RSA, AES, and SHA.
.NET Support for Encryption and Hashing
The .NET Framework contains extensive support for cryptographic needs, and in this article you will learn basic encryption and hashing along with C# code examples. Before firing up Visual Studio, you should first understand some of the most common needs for cryptography.
One common need is to store or send information in encrypted format to keep your data out of prying eyes. For example, you might want to transmit accounting information from one machine to another, or store sensitive sales data in a database. Encryption would help here.
Secondly, you might need to store a password in your applications. This need can be twofold: You could either have the need to access other systems, or you might need to verify that a user's password is correct while he logs in to your application. In these cases, you could use both encryption and hashing.
Most classes in the .NET Framework related to cryptography can be found from the System.Security.Cryptography namespace. From this namespace, you can find classes that implement many common cryptography algorithms, such as AES, RSA, SHA, and MD5. All the implementation classes inherit from certain abstract base classes, such as SymmetricAlgorithm, AsymmetricAlgorithm, and HashAlgorithm.
To use these implementation classes, you first need to be able to select the correct algorithm for your needs. For example, to use password-based encryption, select symmetric encryption algorithms such as AES or RC2. Or, if you prefer asymmetric algorithms needing both public and private keys, select RSA, the only option in the basic class library. For hashing purposes, you could select MD5 or SHA, for instance.
Because many parts of the .NET Framework work with streams, it is not surprising to find that the cryptographic classes also can utilize streams. Speaking of streams, there's a special class called CryptoStream, which is very central to using cryptography in .NET. You will become familiar with this class when you look at the example application in the next section.
Example of Encryption with RC2
I've written two sample applications using .NET cryptography that work as a pair: RC2Encrypt and RC2Decrypt. These applications are simple console applications that take a filename and a password as input, and then encrypt or decrypt the given file with the RC2 algorithm. RC2 is the name of one of those encryption algorithms that .NET supports. You can download both these sample applications.
Console application parameter handling aside, the most interesting method in the encrypting application is the EncryptFile method, shown here:
using System.IO; using System.Security.Cryptography; private static void EncryptFile(string filename, string password) { // parameter checks bool ok = CheckParameters(filename, ref password); if (!ok) return; // start encrypting the file RC2 rc2 = RC2.Create(); byte[] initvector = new byte[8] { 83, 123, 28, 95, 70, 231, 117, 156 }; byte[] key = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(password); string outputFilename = Path.ChangeExtension(filename, "rc2enc"); ICryptoTransform transform = rc2.CreateEncryptor(key, initvector); FileStream input = null; FileStream output = null; CryptoStream crypto = null; try { input = new FileStream(filename, FileMode.Open); output = new FileStream(outputFilename, FileMode.Create); crypto = new CryptoStream(output, transform, CryptoStreamMode.Write); // encrypt file data CopyStream(input, crypto); } finally { if (crypto != null) crypto.Close(); if (output != null) output.Close(); if (input != null) input.Close(); } Console.WriteLine("File encrypted."); }
The EncryptFile method takes a filename (with an optional path) and a password as parameters, creates classes to help in the encryption process, and then copies the input stream (the source file) to the output stream (the output file). Walk through the code.
After initial parameter checks (such as that the file exists), two byte arrays are created: one for the so-called key, and another for the initialization vector (or iv for short). These two-byte sequences are very important in the cryptography process: Unless the combination of both the key and the initialization vector are exactly the same when encrypting and decrypting, the decryption of the previously encrypted data won't work and you might get a CryptographicException with the message "Bad data." Thus, it is important to keep both known when you attempt decryption.
Now, take a look at the code inside the try block in the listing. Here, two file streams are initialized, one for the input file (plaintext) and another for the to-be-created ciphertext file; in other words, the encrypted file. Thirdly, an instance of the CryptoStream class is created.
The CryptoStream is a special stream class that needs a stream object, a transformation, and a mode that tells whether the given stream should be read or written. Of these parameters, the transformation requires the most thought. Simply put, it is the encryption algorithm that you want to use to encrypt the data. This parameter is needed because CryptoStream can be used with many different algorithms, not just one.
Page 1 of 3
This article was originally published on July 27, 2007
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Members of the Cyprinid family of carps and minnows are the Cobitids; the loaches. All are from clear, swift streams in primarily Southeast Asia, with a few species in Europe.
First, nomenclature. Cobitidae, which is the family loaches belong to, means 'sardine' in Greek, though as purely freshwater fish and looking nothing like the marine species, who knows why the original descriptor dubbed loaches that. Loaches differ from the barbs and Rasboras by having at least three to six pairs of barbels around a downward-facing mouth, catfish-like. There are 18 genera and roughly 110 species of loach, though only a handful are available in the hobby.
All commonly available loach species have a switchblade-like spine under their eyes. It is used purely for defense; to avoid being eaten. The spines are almost always erected when frightened; for instance by capture at the fish store. Be very careful with netting loaches, as a spine can be caught in the net, and the flesh around it can be easily torn.
Also, all Botia species click; that is, they make sharp clicking noises when food hits the water, they are playing, finding each other in the dark, or someone is in their favorite spot. So don't be surprised if you hear odd clicking noises in the middle of the night. It's just your loaches being themselves. Only the members of the Botiine group click; to my experience other loach species do or can not.
Loaches are not scaless fish; their scales are tiny and closely knit, giving the illusion that they are scaless. That being, they are still highly vulnerable to salt and medication, as they can easily burn the loach's body. No salt should ever be used with loaches, as the 'cure' can be fatal.
Acclimation should be by the drip bucket method, at least two cycles, as shock because of poor or hurried acclimation often brings on disease.
All loach species in the hobby are benthic fishes, that is, they spend most if not all of the time on the substrate. Some do roam a bit in the bottom third of the tank, most notably the smaller species. However, primarily, as noted by the downward facing bewhiskered mouths, they spend most of the time on the substrate, sifting through it for tidbits.
Now, some species.
Ubiquitous when the word loach is mentioned is Chromobotia macracanthus; the Clown Loach of Myanmar, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
Very common in shops as they are captive bred in Southeast Asia and the Czech Republic via hormone injection, it's their looks that make Clown Loaches popular. A yellow-orange body is bisected by three broad blue-black stripes, the first going through the eyes. In exceptionally well-kept specimens, the pectoral, anal and caudal fins are splashed with blood red.
Though they are popular, few are aware just how large Clown Loaches get. Given the space, which they very much should be, Clown Loaches grow to 16 inches long, and get considerably more bulky as they grow. A 16-inch Clown Loach is a great big fish, and at that size it's easy to pick out the sexes, as the females are truly huge.
How fast do they grow? Properly housed and fed, a Clown Loach can grow up to an inch every six weeks when small (say 1.5 inches). They slow down a bit after they hit six inches, but within two and a half to three years, will be pushing a foot long. Within five or six, they can and will be 16-inches long. Clown Loaches can also live at least 20 years to my knowledge. The size is immaterial; Clown Loaches must have spots in their tanks they can jam in all together. Small and large Clown Loaches get along perfectly, and all will rest together in some tight spot.
Despite the potential for a quite a large size, Clown Loaches don't bother other fishes, unless they are small enough to eat. They are great snail eaters, and a tank with a group of six or more Clown Loaches rarely if ever have snail problems.
Planted tanks with driftwood are perfect for a group of Clown Loaches. At the very least get six of them, with more being better, as Clown Loaches do best in groups no matter their size. Plants in the tanks with a school of large specimens must be deep rooted as they can accidently dig up them up in their foraging. All Clown Loaches will nibble soft-leaved plants.
Rather nocturnal in nature, floating plants should be used to dim the light so you'll see your loaches most all day - though they are most active in the mornings and evenings. They do best in the soft and acid tank, say pH 6.8 and gH between 4 and 6. Clown Loaches are adaptable to a point, but going over pH 7.5 and moderate hardness is ill advised, as they are far more vulnerable to disease in such waters. They like their temps to be between 78 and 83 degrees.
For best results, the water must be very well filtered with the water volume turned over at least six or eight times an hour. They frolic when given a good, Oxygen-rich current in their tank, like that generated by power heads. They often rest at odd positions on leaves or the substrate, rolling over on their sides for a snooze.
Worms are beloved, with frozen bloodworms a favorite, as are live California Black Worms if you can find a clean source of them. Insect larvae, either live or frozen, are happily eaten. Fresh vegetables like Cucumber and Zucchini, with the latter lightly blanched, will give your Clown Loaches the vegetation they need and keep them away from your Cabomba. etc. Feed vegetables daily, and your Clown Loaches will thank you for it. Two or three types/brands of pelleted foods, including those designed for catfishes, can be given occasionally, but frozen foods and vegetables should be the main menu.
Scattered accounts of captive breeding Clown Loaches in home tanks surface occasionally, and in every account, the loach group were kept alone in a thickly-planted tank, and the parent fish were at least six inches long. They were fed properly, and basically left alone.
The following Spring, the loaches were removed, and the plants pulled up. The baby Clown Loaches were found around the roots of the plants.
Much smaller and thus suited to smaller tanks is perhaps my favorite loach species; Botia striata - the Striped or Zebra Loach of clear water streams in India.
Topping out at an adult size of four inches, Striped Loaches are smaller-bodied than the former, and even at four inches, are still rather slender fish, though the females are a bit rotund. A creamy-orange body is covered from nose to tail with pairs of close, black stripes, with a silvery-white between them. Stripes are on the otherwise clear dorsal and tail fins as well. The eye, which is bisected by a line, is bright yellow-orange.
As above, striata are great snail eaters. Also, they MUST be kept in groups of no less than six as otherwise they are nervous, uncomfortable fishes that hide all the time and soon die. You'll see them all day if you keep more than six as you should. They do need several hiding places built in to a layout if one is thinking of adding this species to a future aquarium. The hiding places should be of a size the Striped Loach clan can all jam into it together. Like most Botia, they DEEPLY enjoy the company of their fellows in tight hidey-holes, as it gives them ease and security.
A planted tank with driftwood is all but essential for a group of Striped Loaches. They won't long tolerate water over pH 7.0; soft and slightly acid is where they do best, as do most of the plants in the hobby. They can be kept between 73 and 80 degrees. Mine are kept at 77 in a tank with pH 6.8, gh 4 water. I've found them to be quite durable, as they are well into their sixth year in my care.
Their water should be very clean, and highly Oxygenated, with no less than 8 mg/l of O2. As they are from swift waters, a decent linear current would benefit them, and filtration should be able to turn the tank volume over at least six times an hour.
In feeding they are easily satisfied. Sinking pellets designed for catfishes can be staple, but frozen foods like bloodworms and mosquito larvae should be fed nearly every day. Mine adore live Daphnia and Mysis, though the frozen equivalents may work. Veggies, especially Cucumber, are happily nibbled and quite beneficial to them. Quality pelleted foods, including one consisting of vegetative components, can substitute one meal every day. As above, small meals given often are best, as Striped Loaches are grazers. Three to four small meals a day is recommended; no more than they can eat within 30 seconds per meal. As quick as they eat, they can usually finish within 10. They click, but at their small size, it isn't nearly as loud as say, a group of six-inch Clown Loaches are.
I'm not aware of any home breeding of this species.
On to Part 2


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The offices of the Paper Crown fashion line are jammed with an MTV film crew as producers walk around in headsets and speak in whispers. The second floor suite in Los Angeles' Westwood neighborhood is decorated with a zebra skin rug, an ornate table with lion's claw feet, and mannequins in half-finished gowns. Reclining on an overstuffed antique sofa is Lauren Conrad—reality TV doyenne, best-selling author, and fashion impresario—in a bright print shirt, high-waisted slacks, and high heels of her own design.
Conrad, who blasted to stardom in MTV's reality series about precocious Orange County teens, Laguna Beach, and its spin-off, The Hills, is embarking on one of the more unusual stunts in the short history of unscripted television. To cement her reputation as a businesswoman, the 24-year old is trying to distance herself from her reality TV alter ego. The chosen vehicle for this transformation? Yes, a new reality show—her third in seven years. Conrad's yet-unnamed series, which will make its debut early this year on MTV, will follow her quest to become so successful as a businesswoman that she has to eventually cancel her show. As her agent, Max Stubblefield, puts it: "Lauren's new businesses will feed on the show—which will feed on the new businesses." Conrad insists she would love "for the cameras to go away. This show is a vehicle to get there. I would love to become a big, natural brand."
Despite being famous for little more than once having been a teenager, Conrad—known as "LC" by her legions of adoring adolescent fans—may already be the millennials' answer to Martha Stewart. She's the author of four best-selling books, including Sugar & Spice, which continues the chronicle of a fictional young woman dealing with the travails of reality stardom. She's coming off a successful campaign as the exclusive spokesperson for Avon's (AVP) Mark cosmetics. Since 2006 she has had endorsement deals with toy company Hasbro (HAS), leather goods maker Linea Pelle, and AT&T (T). Her fashion line for Kohl's (KSS), LC Lauren Conrad, has been a "consistent top performer in our women's category," says Donald A. Brennan, a senior executive vice-president for the retailer. Her slightly more upscale line, the Lauren Conrad Collection, was sold in more than 500 stores before she discontinued it last year to focus on Paper Crown. She's even done her own "Got Milk?" ad.
Unlike many reality stars of her generation, Conrad's public introduction involved neither a sex tape nor a friendship with Paris Hilton. In 2004 she was cast as the star of MTV's alpha-kid show Laguna Beach and wooed fans with her estimable sanity. During five seasons of the show's sequel, The Hills, which followed her as a student at Los Angeles' Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising,Conrad maintained a nearly Churchillian composure in the face of juvenile male behavior and back-stabbing female frenemies. Her constant disappointments in love and her ability to eschew various Hollywood rites of passage—Asian symbol tattoos, collagen lip injections—made her a favored cover girl of women's magazines and a good-girl role model. "She was always going through that relationship saga of trying to find the right guy," says Adam DiVello, creator and executive producer of The Hills. "It was very Carrie Bradshaw."
All along, Conrad's ambition was to leverage her exposure into a miniature lifestyle empire. By 2009, The Hills had become MTV's most successful show, with Sopranos-esque DVD sales of 2 million, a thriving mobile streaming content business, and a deal with iTunes.
MTV also initiated a reverse product-placement scheme in which it offered clothes—similar to the styles Conrad wore on the show—for sale on its SeenON!MTV e-commerce site. That year the site produced $20 million for the network.
Conrad, who made $75,000 an episode, as first reported in In Touch Weekly, says she didn't get a penny of the ancillary revenue and left the show after the 2009 season. She says she also felt restricted by DiVello's decision to edit out the ways in which her rising stardom affected her life. And that, she says, "was a dealbreaker." As a result, her new series will function as a "weekly 30-minute commercial," she says, for the LC brand. To ensure this, Conrad is an executive producer, hoping to capitalize, as Stubblefield puts it, on "more potential upside."
She's also putting her own capital at risk. Conrad has invested "a large amount" in Paper Crown, she says, to retain complete creative control. "This is mine to lose," she says. "I've learned that when you are not your own boss, you always have to meet in the middle." As a designer, Conrad says, she's often reminded that Kohl's target customer exists in, as she puts it, the "broader market." When she was designing the Lauren Conrad Collection, "I didn't always have the final say," she admits, "because someone else was financing it." Perhaps as a result, The New Yorker referred to one of her collections as "sub-Old Navy."
Conrad describes Paper Crown, which launches this year, as "more upstairs" than her previous work. With pieces ranging from $65 to a $390 chiffon wrap dress, Conrad says she's trying to design "very chic, clean pieces that have good fit and good fabrics" to be sold at upscale boutiques. Will consumers shell out nearly $400 for a dress designed by a hopeful soon-to-be-erstwhile reality star? "I'm afraid of failure, always," says Conrad. "There's been many, many times I questioned myself." That said, given the strength of the LC brand, she hopes to see revenue from Paper Crown in about a year.
Conrad's longer-term goal, she says, is to create "my own business in replacement of the partnerships I have." It will be, she predicts, a retail fiefdom encompassing books, clothes, and beauty products. As she ticks them off, the young mogul pauses, having momentarily forgotten something. "Oh yeah," she says, "and a TV show." At least for now.
credit - Karl Taro Greenfeld @ businessweek.com
~Kelli at Hills Freak
Click here and here for photos of Lauren & Maura McManus Filming Lauren's New Reality Show
Click here for photos of Lauren & Amy Nadine
Filming Lauren's New Reality Show
Click here and here for photos and a video of Lauren & Gary Samuelian Filming Lauren's New Reality Show
~Kelli at Hills Freak
Click here and here for photos of Lauren & Maura McManus Filming Lauren's New Reality Show
Click here for photos of Lauren & Amy Nadine
Filming Lauren's New Reality Show
Click here and here for photos and a video of Lauren & Gary Samuelian Filming Lauren's New Reality Show


text:
This Spring's Harvest / The Voertman Awards / North Texas State University 1979
Description: This poster created by an art student for the annual Voertman Award Competition and Exhibition depicts a tractor harvesting the year's crop. The colors are red, yellow, gray and black. The juror is listed on the poster as Ron Gleason, Director of the Tyler Museum of Art.
Date: 1979
Partner: UNT College of Visual Arts + Design


text:
Army To Seek Death Penalty In Court-Martial Of Fort Hood Suspect
Saying today that he has "referred the case to a general court-martial for trial," the commander at Fort Hood has also decided to pursue the death penalty in the case against Maj. Nidal Hasan, the psychiatrist charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder for the deadly November 2009 shooting rampage at the Army post in Texas.
The Associated Press notes that "Hasan's lead attorney, John Galligan, had urged the commanding general [Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell] not to seek the death penalty, saying such cases were more costly, time-consuming and restrictive. [But] two Army colonels previously recommended that Hasan be tried in a military court and face the death penalty."


text:
Sorry this post is coming so late to you today! I was distracted by freedom and a package of Twizzlers. And Batman. (It's finals week. Class let out yesterday and I don't have anything again until Friday morning. It's sort of a problem.)
First up today: I want to dye my hair this summer–it's something that I've wanted to do for years but never actually had the guts too–so now I'm taking a poll to see what color I should go for.
I'm planning on using a dye from this line of temporary dyes (so it'll last for like a month): http://www.clairol.com/en-US/box-convertor-page.aspx?collectionid=72
I'm deciding between:
Blond: 6 linen (medium cool blond)
Brown: 26 hot cocoa (medium bronze brown)
Auburn: 16 spiced tea (light auburn)
Second up: One last reminder from me to fill out the character form for This Is a Book to help Mel and me create some new, wacky characters to use in our genre-bending novelish masterpiece!
Third up: this week's Wordy Wednesday is a continuation of my notes from the Writer's Digest Conference East a few weeks ago. If you haven't read my notes from the past two weeks, you can check them out by following the following links:
Part 1: Going from Aspiring Writer to Published Author
Part 2: Publishing Short Stories
This week's topic is Perfecting Your Craft.
The First Draft is the Easy Part – Revision Demystified [4-6-13]
Speaker: Stuart Horwitz
– Three most important words: scene, series, and theme.
– Like NaNoWriMo, the first draft is quantity over quality
– How to Generate Material:
o Count your words—you can't simultaneously create and know the worth of what you're creating—so count your words, rather than the quality of them
o Find a neutral audience, like a writing group, beta reader, independent editor, etc.
o Don't try to organize everything.
o Don't count your hours, because you can get distracted during them (hello, Facebook). Count your words. But make sure you have enough hours scheduled to get that number of words.
– "You count the words, you make the time."
– Listen for the sound of your own voice.
– Have fun—"the most important way to generate material"
o Find all your scenes, put them in the right order
o Define (1) where something happens, (2) where, because something happens, something else changes; (3) make sure it's capable of series, (4) is in service of the overall scene, (5) is necessary to the novel.
o Brainstorm all of your scenes by giving them each a name—the only catch is that you can't look at the book. Go through the list of scenes, highlight the good ones in green (good enough)—highlight bad scenes in fuchsia. "A bad scene is sort of like a bad relationship; you have to fix it before you can move on." Highlight in blue the scenes that you forget—examine why they weren't important enough for you to remember. Highlight in brown the scenes you still need to write.
o You should always be writing.
o Print out a list of your scenes, cut them up, try to put them in order—this helps you get new ideas and understand your story better, etc. Examine how the scenes react and interact to create emotional pay off. This is called "series."
– SERIES: The repetition and variation of elements that work so that their repetition and variation make the book better.
o A scene MUST be capable of series.
o Every time a series occurs, it's an iteration of the series.
o A character, relationship, saying, etc can be a series.
o "Series is how a person becomes a character, an object becomes a symbol, and a theme becomes the philosophy of the book.
o Series can be abstract or specific.
o The series reveal your narrative arc. "SERIES is the new PLOT."
o Iterations of series create tension—variations of series release this tension.
o Series—interact, inform each other in complex ways.
o Write out all the series—cut them down until you just have the most important one, in one sentence—that one sentence is your book's theme.
o Put your theme in the center of a target. Take our subthemes (your other series) and place them around it on the target, the distance depending on how connected they are. Ultimately, you're going to want to place everything on the target, from characters to series to scenes.
– Kill your darlings.
– The tyranny of the first draft—you think anything you've already created is better than what you will create in the future. This isn't true.
– Short narrative parts are "links." Connective tissues between the actual scenes. An example of a link is the "voiceover link," in which your narrator talks directly to the reader.
o Old-school did "scene and summary"—that was classic literature. It's different now.
– You should have at least 60 to 70 pages written before using this method of revising.
– "Spend time thinking about what you've done before trying again and again to do it."
Twenty-One Revision Techniques [4-6-13]
Speaker: Cheryl Klein
– Revision = Re-visioning
– VISION: go back to the big picture of the story and figure out EXACTLY what it is, what you want it to be.
1. Know how you work best
2. Take time off from the project and work on something else in the meantime
3. Before you look at the MS again, write a letter to a sympathetic friend saying:
a. What is the book about? What is sacred about it? What's at the core? What would you refuse to change no matter what?
b. What do you want to do with the book—to be funny, dramatic, etc?
c. What is the book about from a thematic/philosophical sense?
d. All the things you love about it.
e. What you suspect/know needs work.
4. Write the spine of the story in one sentence.
5. Write the flat copy—a 250 word summary that gives away the ending.
6. Creative stuff—look at word frequency using www.wordle.net
a. Make a collage or playlist
b. Choose touchstones (words, pics, or mascots) that represent a character or feeling or idea
7. Change the font, then print out and read the entire MS on. the. page. Take notes as you go.
8. List the first ten things each significant character says or does; include internal thoughts for your POV character.
a. "The man reason for rewriting [is] … to discover the inner truth of your characters."
b. What is the character's joy? Pain? What do they want? What will they do to get it?
9. Is your inciting incident actual action? How close can you get it to page one?
a. Where are the turning points in the story?
b. Work backward from the climax: do at least three plot developments support it?
10. Chart plotting/book mapping: Map out your book.
a. Plot-oriented mapping: make a spreadsheet with: chapter number, title, POV character, setting, word count. – At the bottom, justify the existence of each plot relative to the other plots and themes.
11. Chart plotting/book mapping: Map out your book.
a. Character-oriented mapping (for each significant character): Desire (conscious, unconscious), strengths, obstacles to reach desire, three actions they take to achieve desire, and overall contribution to plot or protagonist this character makes.
12. Book map (outline) the action of the book scene-by-scene.
a. For every scene, ask: What do the characters in the scene each want? What is the conflict in this scene?
b. For every scene, ask: What is the new info we learn in this scene?
c. Each scene should have:
i. Initial action
ii. But (or) therefore (or) meanwhile
iii. And then
13. Mini-map
a. Provide a 1-to-2 sentence summary of the action in each chapter. Do you have a lot of talking/thinking/action scenes in a row?
14. Compare the vision you articulated in #3-5 with the results of #7-13 and compile a "To Do" list of things you want to accomplish in a revision.
a. Don't be afraid to think BIG, but take time to listen small.
15. Set a deadline for completing each state of revision and a reward for each one.
16. Work large to small
a. Wording's the last thing; major plot/character changes are first.
17. Once you're reasonably satisfied you have the big stuff done, highlight the following in different colors to find your balance, what each scene is conveying to the reader, etc:
a. Action
b. Description
c. Internal narration
d. Dialogue
Highlight each character's dialogue in a different color—read through for:
a. Consistency
b. Voice
Cut adverbs, other than said, feel, etc—"I felt sad" should be replaced with "I was sad" (stronger language)—Remove passive voice. Use active voice. What's dangerous is not one particular practice, but an excess of that practice. "Unhelpful babies"—kill your babies when they're getting in the way of the larger plot you need to achieve. Watch your emotional tone.
18. Check your first line for resonance—needs to promise drama.
a. Last line—fermatas—last line of every chapter or scene should be a note you want to sustain in the reader's mind.
19. Read the book aloud, or—better yet—have someone read it aloud to you.
20. Keep a copy of EVERYTHING. Never permanently delete anything.
21. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. KEEP CALM AND REVISE ON.
The First Ten Pages [4-7-13]
Speaker: Paula Munier
– You have 140 characters to capture your reader's attention. You have 140 characters or 25 words to get an agent or editor's attention. That's a single line, paragraph, page, or scene.
– "The first page sells the book. The last page sells the next book." – Old saying in publishing
– Take your favorite ten books off the shelf, read just the first page, and see if you can do the same thing they did.
– First and last page should reflect one another.
– The two most important pages are the first and last.
– The first two weeks as an agent, Paula got 1,000 queries—and they keep on coming. That's a lot of queries to try to stand out from. But good material will stand out.
– 1 in 200 queries is worth asking for material from
– Most writers can't write a good synopsis—most agents will not hold that against you
– If an agent requests something and the synopsis—they will read the "something" before the "synopsis" generally.
– Reasons Agents Stop Reading:
o Nothing happens
o I've seen it before
o There's no strong voice telling the story
o I'm bored
o I'm not connecting with any of the characters
o I can't tell what kind of story I'm reading
o Don't care what happens next
o The plot is unbelievable and/or full of clichés
o The dialogue doesn't sound like "real people"
o There are typos, spelling, and/or grammatical errors
– Agents, editors, readers—they're a sucker for voice—a strong voice can save you
– Make sure your title fits your genre
– You want the reader to be asking questions
– Don't go for the cheap joke if it's not authentic
– Invest in your project—get a line editor
– Top Ten Reasons Agents Keep Reading:
o Something happens (aka: inciting incident)
o Strong voice
o Level of craft is high
o Characters make you FEEL something
o Writer has gained the agent's confidence
o Don't know what happens next
o Something unique about story/storyteller
o It's clear what kind of story is being told
o There's a market for this type of story
o The prose is clean, clear, and concise—the 3 Cs of Prose
– Never open a book with weather. But if you have to start with weather, make it;
o Bad weather
o Propel your plot
o Affect your hero in a bad way
o Set the tone
o Speak to theme
– Avoid prologues
o If you need a prologue, don't call it a prologue—use a time reference instead ("Five years earlier," etc)
o Try to use a device like a newspaper clipping, diary entry, etc instead
o Apply a different format to set it apart from the rest of the book (italics, breaks, etc)
– Do not start with a dream
o So many stories have done this, pulling it off in an original way *now* is tough
– Don't start with a character alone, thinking.
o If you do this, he'd better be doing something compelling at the same time, like:
§ Committing a crime
§ Finding a corpse
§ Planting a bomb
§ Etc.
– Don't start with a phone call (especially in the middle of the night)—also, tweets, voicemails, etc.
– DO Start with:
o Voice
o Setting
o Action
o Character
o Conflict
o Scene
o Theme
o Tone
– You have to:
o Move the plot forward
o Establish genre
o Highlight voice
o Describe setting
o Reveal character
o Set the tone
o Speak to theme
– Most of all START WITH A SCENE.
– You HAVE to have a killer first line.
– Scene 1 Checklist:
o What actually happens?
o Why will the reader care about/relate to the characters?
o How do you want the reader to feel? What have you done to evoke that emotion?
o Have you used all the elements of fiction at your disposal—setting, plot, character, theme, etc?
o Have you chosen the right POV/voice?
o Does the dialogue ring true?
o Are the story questions strong enough to keep the reader reading?
o Is it clear what kind of story you're telling?
o What makes this story different from the others of its ilk?
o Is the scene well-written and well-edited?
– If you can't think of what makes your story special, you've got a problem—you want your story to be "just like [insert successful novel name here], but different because [insert kickbutt reason here]."


text:
Tuesday 21/01/2020
18:30 - 19:30
Loading Map....
We meet at Total Fitness for a group run. There are generally 3 groups split according to ability and goals.
All abilities are welcome.
Coaches: Sally Napthen and Dave Taylor
Each week the run will vary, 5k timed run, hill reps, distance run (8k), interval training, speed work.
The focus is on self improvement with support from colleagues and coaches.
Price: Free
Notes: Open to all


text:
Love the Right to Free Speech, Hate the Speaker
As I predicted after oral argument last October, today the Court ruled 8–1 (Alito dissenting) in favor of free speech at the expense of giving a legal victory to a repugnant group. While the Westboro Baptist Church hates what they view as both the sinner and the sin, the Court properly rebuked the Phelpses while correctly expressing utmost devotion to their right to propagate their wayward message.
Stepping aside from the emotions and bizarre facts, this case implicates all sorts of legal issues aside from the First Amendment. A private cemetery can and should remove unwanted visitors for trespassing — but the Phelpses didn't enter the cemetery. A town can pass ordinances restricting the time, place, and manner of protests — but the Phelpses stayed within all applicable regulations and followed police instructions. Violent or aggressive protestors can be both prosecuted and sued for assault, harassment, and the like — but the Phelpses' protests did not involve "getting up in the grill" of people, as their lawyer put it during oral argument.
As the brevity of Chief Justice Roberts's opinion confirms, there's very little to this case and the Phelpses' actions, ugly and objectionable as they are, are as constitutionally protected as a neo‐Nazi parade. If people don't like that, they can change state laws to put certain further restrictions on protests near funerals or other sensitive areas — or federal laws in the case of military cemeteries — but they shouldn't be able to sue simply for being offended.
See also Josh Blackman's parsing of the opinion's highlights.


text:
What you will learn
How you will benefit
Hardware Requirements:
Software Requirements:
Instructional Material Requirements:
The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.
The need for cutting edge, professionally-designed interactive media keeps growing, and that means qualified graphic designers are in high demand. In this nationally-recognized course, you'll prepare for a dream job in the graphic design field by mastering Photoshop, the world's most popular application for creating and editing graphic images.
You'll begin with basic graphic design techniques and build your skills from the bottom-up, mastering the terms and processes that professional graphic artists rely on. You'll learn the rules and standards for effective graphic design and discover innovative strategies. This knowledge of graphic design will help you select graphics that convey the desired message, style, and tone for a variety of clients. Additionally, you'll discover how to correctly package a project for printing and production.
Laurie Ulrich has been writing about and teaching people to use Microsoft Office for more than 20 years—including personally training thousands of students, writing hundreds of training manuals, and authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books on subjects including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access. Her books include 2000-page epics that document every button, bell, and whistle, as well as friendlier introductory and troubleshooting books for new users. Her most recent publication on Microsoft Access is Access 2016 for Dummies. In addition to writing and teaching, Laurie runs her own firm, Limehat & Company, providing training, marketing, graphic design, and web development services to clients throughout the world, with a focus on helping growing companies and non-profit organizations build their brand through effective promotions, outreach, and education.
Randy Rolen has been a professional Graphic Designer for 32 years. After working as the Senior Graphic Designer in high tech companies for many years, he started his own design firm in 1993, and began to specialize in web based design, including websites and banner advertising. He has also been teaching online since 2002.
Some Title


text:
Benefit Cosmetics has launched a new blush palette called Cheek Parade and it's a showstopper!
The future is female
Nak Haircare
A few weeks ago I attended the Proefparade, where I left with a bag full of goodies, including a haircare set by the Austrialian brand Nak. Nak is an Australian hair company that provides hair care and products, for professional as well as consumers and the brand is inspired by the Australia: the environment, sun and blue skies, oceans and majestic landscapes. Sound great, right? Check out my experience and review!
Quarterlife Chronicles
Beauty Proefparade 2017
I don't often get the chance to visit blogger events due to my work, so I was happy when I was invited again to the Beauty Proefparade. An event that's filled with beauty brands presenting their (new) products! Check out my report:
OOTD // Velvet & Faux Fur
Hi! I have a complete new look for you today, wearing my new faux fur jacket and velvet trousers by Topshop,
Broderick's Cookiebars
So I was sent three bags to taste and test out last week, lucky me! And they were so good and yummy, let me tell you more about the Broderick's mini bars.


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Love turned to Obsession can kill. Bad Romance is a story about a hotel receptionist, Andrea who is deeply in love with the TV and movie star Sam Lloyd Pascual. One day, Sam Lloyd Pascual checked-in to the hotel where Andrea is working. Starstrucked and mesmerized by this, Andrea did everything to deliver excellent good service to Sam Lloyd Pascual.
Bad Romance
Labels: Foreign Movies, Movies


text: Adam Lehman is the ColdFusion Specialist at Adobe Systems, Incorporated based out of Washington, DC, and has been a ColdFusion developer for over a decade. Prior to joining Adobe, Adam was the Senior Web Engineer for the U.S. Department of State, where he managed a team of developers, architected enterprise ColdFusion-based applications, and founded and managed the Department of State Adobe Developer User Group for over two years. His background also includes several years designing and programming e-learning applications for Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.


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Athena Scientific is a small publisher specializing in
textbooks written by professors at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and used in their courses.
Instructor Resources
Reinforcement Learning
and Optimal Control
by D. P. Bertsekas
| Introduction to Probability
by D. P. Bertsekas and J. N. Tsitsiklis
| Convex Optimization Theory
by D. P. Bertsekas
Dynamic Programming
and Optimal Control
NEW! Vol. 1, 4th Edition, 2017
by D. P. Bertsekas
| Introduction to Linear Optimization
by D. Bertsimas and J. N. Tsitsiklis
| Convex Optimization Algorithms
by D. P. Bertsekas
| Nonlinear Programming
NEW! 3rd Edition, 2016
by D. P. Bertsekas
| Network Optimization:
Continuous and Discrete Models
by D. P. Bertsekas
| Convex Analysis and Optimization
by D. P. Bertsekas
with A. Nedic and A. E. Ozdaglar
| Neuro-Dynamic Programming
by D. P. Bertsekas and J. N. Tsitsiklis
| Parallel and Distributed Computation:
Numerical Methods
by D. P. Bertsekas and J. N. Tsitsiklis
Dynamic Programming
NEW! 2nd Edition, 2018
by D. P. Bertsekas
| Constrained Optimization and
Lagrange Multiplier Methods
by D. P. Bertsekas
| Network Flows
and Monotropic Optimization
by R. T. Rockafellar
| Stochastic Optimal Control:
The Discrete-Time Case
by D. P. Bertsekas and S. Shreve
The first six (counting left to right) are textbooks currently used on a regular basis in M.I.T. courses. The next four have been used in graduate courses at M.I.T., and were developed through instruction in these courses. The last four deal with research issues in optimization, computation, and control. All books are well suited for self-study or in-class instruction.
Click on any individual book icon for information on that book, or click here for a complete list.
Order by email, by mail, or by FAX, three or more different books in a single order, and you will receive an automatic discount of 10% from the list price.
Please contact us for special shipping, discount, and other arrangements for courses in universities outside of North America.
Software related to our publications. This software is copyright-protected, but may be freely downloaded and used for nonprofit research or instructional purposes.


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[Column: On The Spot] In Westlake, La., a majority-white town with a population of 5,000, the first African-American mayor was elected and sworn into office December 29, 2006.
The next day Mayor Gerald "Wash" Washington, 57, went right to work in the office he believed he would hold for the next four years at City Hall. He learned how to set the alarm system, made up letterhead stationery with his name and picture on it and lowered the American flag at half mast in respect for the late former President Gerald Ford.
That very same day, newly elected Mayor Gerald Washington was found dead with a single bullet in his chest lying straight on the ground in the Mossville parking lot – his former high school alma mater, approximately15 minutes from City Hall and in another jurisdiction.
Let's say, God forbid, here in New York the morning headlines read – MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG FOUND DEAD—LISTED A SUICIDE. What would your first thoughts be? Then in that same hypothetical article, you read about the mayor's family accusing the New York Police Department (NYPD) of conducting a poor investigation i.e., no fingerprints taken from the mayor's vehicle before it was detailed and the New York Fire Department (NYFD) being called in to wash down the crime scene before any forensic evidence was collected. What questions would you be thinking? If they are not in the line of a, "Cover-up," you're not thinking at all. These are exactly what happened with reference to Mayor Washington.
Many questions could be raised in the handling of Mayor Washington's death. He was not an ordinary Citizen, he was the mayor. His adult children Germaine Washington-Broussard and Geroski Washington questioned their father's death being ruled a suicide by Dr. Terry Welke, Calcasieu Parish coroner who is a Forensic pathologist. Sheriff Tony Mancuso had "confidence" in his staff's so-called investigation, however, his office refused to make any comments to the Black Star News.
Mayor Washington was a former Vietnam Veteran, a 32-year businessman and served 12-years in the City Council and gets disrespected at death. "This is the mayor. How do you rush to judgment and do a sloppy investigation; and if it is a suicide – why haven't you done all the tests and things to confirm that it is a suicide? There was no note. No finger prints. It's very disturbing," says Germaine, Washington's daughter, referring to the sheriff and coroner's office.
Someone in Louisiana want the world to believe, Mayor Washington campaigned to become the mayor, won the election, took time to be sworn in, went to City Hall to begin his leadership and then just decided it was time to go—and committed suicide. The billion dollar question is why? Something smells.
"My father was doing an external independent audit. He wasn't using the same audit firm the city of Westlake former mayor used for 24-years. My father was fixing to get to the bottom of this and that's the reason I believe he was assassinated," stated Mayor Washington's son, Geroski referring to Westlake's money trail. Mayor Washington had been auditing the City's books.
When the family learned there were no fingerprints taken or any forensic work done at the crime scene and the sheriff's office kept changing their story, they called for a probe of Mayor Washington's death. "The thing I can't understand everybody I called, Rainbow PUSH, National Action Network, NAACP, Urban League, Congressional Black Caucus, congress people, senators, everybody keeps telling us, 'We are coming to the family we knew your father personally,' 35-days later nobody has shown-up yet," added Geroski who went on to say, "Maybe it's too small of a town and it's not enough cameras down here. I don't know."
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco who knew Mayor Washington personally sent in the State Police on January 3rd to take over the investigation. "The governor sent top people from the State Police who are investigating this death. The governor said, she is going to make sure her team does everything that they can do to find out what happened," continued Germaine, the daughter.
The State Police had taken Mayor Washington's body to Baton Rouge for a second autopsy and continue to interview friends and family members of the mayor. Mayor Washington's wife Mary was denied access to identify her husband's body at the crime scene and when his son and daughter came to town, they too were turned away. "We never saw our father's body for seven days and on two different occasions the coroner's office refused our visit. It wasn't until the State Police took over the investigation that we were able to view the body," noted Geroski, the son.
The information Mayor Washington's children gave to the media and general public was how the police and fire personnel and the coroner handled their father's death. His daughter appeared via telephone on WLIB 1190 AM with Imhotep Gary Byrd here in New York to tell this story. Their account should have sparked loud cries for an outside independent investigation and the agencies involved should have been put on notice and made a subject to the investigation as well.
Not taking anything from the Louisiana State Police, but clearly with the information given, and in the interest of justice – this elected official's death warrants some kind of action from the Federal government. "If this is what you do for an elected official, I don't even want you to tell me what you do for the average good Citizen who gets up everyday, pays his or her taxes and abides by the laws," added Germaine. "We reached out to the Department of Justice, but the more people who call the better." The DOJ has not returned their calls.
Time is of the essence and we may never know what happened to Mayor Washington due to the mishandling or criminal tampering of a crime scene. Is there hope? "The case would have been wrapped up, but someone with new information came forward, we are going to check it out," stated Lawrence McLeay, spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police.
No timeline has been given as to when their investigation will be completed.
There have been no press conferences relating to this death and the family is rightfully getting bitter about the way this whole ordeal has unfolded. The family is also in the process of collecting funds for a reward to get more information about the death of Mayor Washington.
The Black Star News will continue to update this story as it develops.
Columnist's note: If you have any investigative news tips you know where to find us. If you tuned in to Black talk radio WLIB 1190 AM with Imhotep Gary Byrd's, "Mind flight," which once aired Monday thru Thursday mornings from 12:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M., and are like most of us – 'tired of being dumbed-down because of a lack of news and information in your community and around the city.' Tell WLIB management, "I want to listen to the old Black talk radio program listed above. One day is a disservice to our communities," contact: Deon Levingston, Vice President and General Manager, WLIB Radio, 3 Park Avenue, New York New York 10016; telephone – 212-592-0426. Send me your response and any reply and I will print it in this column. Let's stay informed.
Watch Manhattan cable channel 34 or www.mnn.org channel 34 every Sunday at 7:30 P.M. for news updates and other articles. You have any comments contact Winkfield for his consideration regarding covering your own story. Email: email@example.com or email@example.com; call (212) 481-7745. Write to: On The Spot, Post Office Box 230149, Queens County 11423. Together we can get the justice everyone just talks about.
To comment on this article, or to advertise with us, or to subscribe to New York's favorite Pan-African weekly investigative newspaper, or to send us news tips, please call (212) 481-7745 or contact email@example.com
I think you have "Filtered HTML" turned on here. If you switch to "Full HTML," it will probably...
Black Star News has been producing stellar investigative journalism since 1997, including focusing on police brutality and other abuses targeting marginalized communities. We have broken several major stories. We welcome news tips to email@example.com and email@example.com
We need your advertising support to produce strong journalism, especially during periods of economic instability, so please contact email@example.com for advertising rates and long term packages.
Black Star News has been producing stellar investigative journalism since 1997, including focusing on police brutality and other abuses targeting marginalized communities. We have broken several major stories. We welcome news tips to email@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.com
We need your advertising support to produce strong journalism, especially during periods of economic instability, so please contact email@example.com for advertising rates and long term packages.
All content is copyright Black Star News © 2011. All rights reserved.


text:
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler appears ready to play Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
Cutler went through a full practice on Friday despite knee and neck problems and was officially listed as probable. The Bears ruled out receiver Earl Bennett (concussion), cornerback Tim Jennings (shoulder) and Brian Urlacher (hamstring) for the second straight week.
Defensive end Shea McClellin (knee) and defensive tackle Henry Melton (chest) are doubtful, while running back Michael Bush (ribs), linebacker Geno Hayes (knee) and defensive tackle Matt Toeaina (knee) are questionable.
Linebacker Lance Briggs (knee, hip), tight end Kellen Davis (knee), defensive tackle Stephen Paea (foot), offensive tackle Jonathon Scott (shoulder), guard Chris Spencer (knee) and cornerback Charles Tillman (shoulder) are all probable.
The Bears (8-5) have dropped four of five.


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RRP €195 SOLACE LONDON Knitted Top Size 4 Colour Block Short Sleeve Cropped
|STYLE: Other Tops
|COLOUR: Black
|ACCENTS: Colour Block / Knitted / Cropped
|MATERIAL: Viscose
|NECKLINE: Funnel Neck
|OCCASION: Casual
|DEPARTMENT: Women
|SLEEVE LENGTH: Short Sleeve
|COUNTRY/REGION OF MANUFACTURE: China
SOLACE LONDON Knitted Top Size 4 Colour Block Short Sleeve Cropped - From POPPRI on eBay
• Model height 5'9" (175 cm) weight 123lbs (56 kg) and wearing size 4
• Model height 5'9" (175 cm) weight 123lbs (56 kg) and wearing size 4
Colour: Black, red, white
Tag size: 4
We keep responsibility for every purchase step, so we choose only reputable and time-tested partners for our items delivery. With over 100 000 shipments delivered all over the world and 99.9% of them delivered on time, we have enough experience to make sure you will be happy with your delivery as well.
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text:
Soya Beancurd (Delicious Soy Pudding) Recipe
Notes:Use your favorite soy milk. Because sweetness levels vary between brands, sweeten to taste. Place sliced bananas in bottom of serving dish to make it a banana soy pudding.
About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Easy Artisan Bread. You can also watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. She presently lives in Singapore working on her new baking cookbook, and as a recipe developer for HungryGoWhere Singapore. Check out her blog: shophousecook.com . Follow Yvonne on Twitter.
- Yield:4 (3/4-cup) servings
- Active time: 10 minutes
- Total time:4 hours
- 3 cups soy milk, divided
- 2 1/2 teaspoons (1 packet) gelatin
- sugar to taste (see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place 1 1/2 cups soy milk in medium saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over top and let sit 5 minutes to allow gelatin to soften.
Heat soy milk over medium heat, stirring, just until gelatin dissolves (do not boil soy milk). Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups soy milk and vanilla. Sweeten to taste. Pour into serving bowls and chill until set and very cold, 3 to 4 hours.
This Recipe Appears InSingapore Stories: Soya Beancurd (Soy Pudding)
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text:
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Matt Lux' tag.
…right here:
Doug Andrews "Absaraka Runoff" – This tongue-twister title is singer/songwriter Doug Andrews' first. Recorded in a small cabin at the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming, Andrews carved out this minimal guy-and-guitar eight-track disc entirely on his own. The result is reminiscent of a stripped-down James Taylor. This genre isn't my usual musical fare, but the quality that Andrews puts forth is undeniable.
Nickel Eye "The Time of the Assassins" – This isn't Nickelback, Nickel Creek or the Plugged Nickel (that's for all you Columbus kids). This is Nickel Eye, as in the solo project of The Strokes' bassist Nikolai Fraiture. Get it? Nikolai? Nickel Eye? Heh… yeah. Anyway, "The Time of the Assassins" is a departure from The Strokes' sound, but I'm still not overly excited by what it offers. The album's shining moments come in the form of its musical guests, with appearances from Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner on "Dying Star," and piano key pounder Regina Spektor on "Where the Cold Wind Blows."
Pronto "All is Golden" – The recipe for Pronto is nothing short of intriguing: Wilco pianist/keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen fronts the band, and is joined by percussionist pal Greg O'Keeffe. Over time, the duo welcomed numerous friends into the studio including Matt Lux (Iron & Wine), Jim Becker (Califone) and Erik Paparazzi (Cat Power), among others. All this talent pools together to form thirteen tracks of piano-fronted pop that I can't help but tap my foot to. Not all of it is my speed; some of it crosses the Ben Folds line a little too much for my tastes. (Sorry, Kevin and Laura!) Still, Pronto manages to become its own thing, which is more than I can say for most bands out there.
The BPA "I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" – A while ago, maybe even three or four months back, I saw this beautiful and brilliant video to The BPA's David Byrne-fronted single "Toe Jam."
Okay, seriously… let's watch that again. And this time, keep an eye out for the cameo of Fatboy Slim himself as he swings his huge, monstrous wiener around.
Whew… anyway, that video quickly became one of my favorites (for obvious reasons), so when I got the CD in the mail the other day I was excited. The BPA stands for the Brighton Port Authority, and is essentially Norman Cook (Fatboy) and Simon Thornton, with a whole slew of musical guests. The twelve-track disc has some absolute gems ("He's Frank (Slight Return)" with guest vocalist Iggy Pop; "Dirty Sheets" featuring Pete York; and "Spade" featuring Martha Wainwright) and some complete misses ("Superman," which is fronted by Thornton himself, and "Superlover" featuring Cagedbaby). Of course, "Toe Jam" is great, but there is one huge mystery surrounding this album: Lateef the Truthspeaker is listed on both the CD and BPA's website as being a musical guest, yet he doesn't appear on one song on the album. Did I miss something? Is there a hidden track I can't find, or did I get an incomplete version? Where is Lateef? I want answers!!! Still, it's pretty good. Oh, and a special sidenote: The BPA has created a pretty great backstory for itself, saying that all of this music was actually recorded in the mid-seventies by Cook and Thornton, and only recently found in a box during a renovation of the dockside warehouse where The BPA's recording studios once existed. It kind of reminded me of the story of Marvin Pontiac. It doesn't add or take away from the music itself, but it definitely makes the story more fun.
Hot Chip "Made in the Dark EP" – Hot Chip hands over four tracks from last year's "Made in the Dark" full-length to jazz-rock pioneer Robert Wyatt and Geese (Emma and Vince from The Elysian Quartet) to create this four-song EP. Wyatt brings a soft hand to the mix, adding minimal lyrics and instrumentation to the already-airy tracks "Made in the Dark," "Whistle for Will" and "We're Looking For a Lot of Love." But the more dance-friendly track "One Pure Thought" gets a complete makeover, giving listeners something more reminiscent of Air than Hot Chip. If you're a Hot Chip fan, you'll like these new takes on last year's hits.
In between my toes,


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Realistic Dragon Sculpture!
This dragon figurine is a handmade resin casting of our hand sculpted original dragon, so it will be durable enough to last a lifetime with proper care! It is available in any colour combination you want, and is handpainted to your specifications.
This dragon sculpture is 4.5" tall, 2.5" wide, and 4" deep.
What I need to know:
♥ Your required by date (if within 4 weeks)
♥ Your colors for the dragon
♥ Your accessories and the color of your accessories (if wanted)
Every sculpture is made to order cast from our original sculpture, so it might vary slightly from the examples shown.
Thank you for your interest in my cake toppers! www.mycustomcaketopper.com
Right now I accept Paypal and Direct Checkout, which allows for credit card, debit card, or Etsy Gift Card.
Shipping in and from Canada is very expensive. I do everything I can to keep the weight down and your shipping prices down. I always ship my items with the fastest, insured and most economical shipping methods possible, which can vary depending on location. If you have a shipping method you prefer, please contact me ahead of time and I will create a listing just for you with the modified shipping method included.
Within Canada and US I ship most of my work with Canada Post, tracked packet. This typically takes 6 - 15 business days to arrive. It includes a tracking number and insurance. Please note that delays can happen at customs.
There are 3 options, Canada Post is the standard shipping (6-15 business days), you can upgrade to Expedited (6-8 business days) or upgrade further to UPS (6 business days). I highly recommend UPS I have never had a problem with them.
If the shipping turns out to be less than what I charged I will refund you the remaining balance (if remainder is $3.00 or more)!
All shipments are insured against loss. Damage will depend on how it's been damaged. Please hang on to all packing materials and send me pictures right away.
Please make sure your shipping address on Etsy matches your address on PayPal. If not, please send me a convo before purchase or write me a note in the 'note to seller' checking upon check out.
Please keep in mind that all customs fees and taxes are the buyers responsibility.
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Once work has started on a custom topper the deposit can not be refunded.
I take pride in my work and I want you to be completely satisfied. I package each topper as safely and securely as possible. Rare accidents and delays can happen during shipping which are out of my control.
Please open your topper carefully. If your special topper is damaged in shipping, take a picture of the topper and the damaged packaging (outside box and inside box if damaged), email it to me within 3 days of receiving, we will figure out the best solution. Please be sure to keep all of the original packaging material. If it's something minor you can try a dab of super glue, which I'll walk you through. Don't hesitate to contact me with questions.
If you have any problems with your order, please contact me, I know we can work out a solution.
If you have a special item in mind, don't hesitate to contact me, I love doing custom orders!
Price quotes on custom work are valid for two weeks. If waiting longer to order, you will need a new price quote as my prices are subject to change with the increase of material costs.
TAKING CARE of your topper:
Caring for your topper is really easy! First keep it out of direct sunlight, this will help to preserve the colors. Second if you can keep dust off of it, then great, keeping in a cabinet is best! If you can't then dusting with a dry cloth will work. And most importantly don't drop your topper!
Taking care your cake topper is actually really easy. When the cake is gone and your ready to go home with your topper just wash it off with a lightly damp cloth using water only. Do not use any chemicals on your topper, including spraying perfume near it. If your topper gets dusty just wash it off with that lightly damp cloth using water only. Keep out of reach of small children and pets and avoid dropping your topper to ensure it's long life. Keep out of direct sunlight to ensure the colors will last.
Every Topper comes securely wrapped in layers of tissue paper in a white gift box and a ribbon. The gift box is further secured within a shipping box and various wrapping materials.