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Alright folks chapters will be updated here whenever i can
Novel version :
Chapter 0
Chapter 1: A Teacher's First Day: The Test, Part I
Here I am, sitting at my desk in the teacher's lounge, preparing for my first homeroom lesson with my class and going over the small pile of papers I'm holding one last time. I had a notebook of sorts and a greater pile of the same kind of papers as the one I'm holding on my desk. If I'm being honest, I'm a little excited and nervous about how it's going to go. But I'm more worried about how the students are going to take the entire situation in.
As I was thinking along these lines, a man approached right besides me. The man's name is DEW. Well, it is an abbreviation of "Da Evil Within"(his name), which took over as his nickname. He put his hand on my shoulder, which surprised me a little.
"Hey, Azer, you feeling nervous?" he said excitedly, while grinning.
"Ahaha, just a little if I'm being honest." I replied.
"Bahaha, don't worry too much about it, you'll be fine, you're more fit for being a teacher than any of us here. Especially with your chalk throwing accuracy." He said jokingly while laughing really loudly and striking a pose as if he's throwing something.
"... I'm not going to throw things at my students." I said, unamused.
At that moment, the school bell rang to signify the beginning of the school day. It was about time I started walking to class.
DEW looked at his watch and said, "Oh, looks like it's time to go now." Regardless of the fact the bell just rang.
"It seems so." I said, as I stood up and took the pile of paper in front of me and the notebook, and started going out of the teacher's lounge.
Right as I was about to leave the room, he said "Yo, good luck out there." And I then looked at him for a short while. Then I gave out a confident smile and made a pose with thumbs up in one hand, and the other on my hip, implying that "I got this". I then closed the door behind me, and started walking towards class 2-C, which I was assigned to.
As I got closer to the class, I could hear all the kids talking and all the noise you would expect teenagers to make. There was laughter, gossip and general loudness. I open the door, and was greeted by a class consisting of a girl wearing a cone like a hat, a guy with a sword, a girl with a motorcycle, a cyborg and a guy sitting in the corner, possibly re-evaluating his own life choices, among others. As I went inside, all the attention turned to me, but I suspect they were more curious about the pile of paper I was carrying rather than me. Or perhaps a little bit of both. I stopped in front of the teacher's table, cleared my throat and began talking.
"Ahem, Everyone please sit down, class is starting."
"Ye~s..." Some of them replied, rather halfheartedly. Although there were some more enthusiastic ones in the bunch too. All the students who were previously standing started walking to their seats, and those already at their seats simply waited for me to talk.
After they all sat down, I began explaining what it is they are up to from now on.
"First of all, nice to meet all of you, my name's Azer Moli, and I'm going to be your homeroom teacher from today on."
"Nice to meet you!" Some replied back to me.
I took out notebook, which has all of the class' names, and said "Alright, let's start this off with a roll call."
I then opened the notebook and started the roll call.
And then there was silence. I tried calling out the name again, yet there was still no reply.
"Alright, looks like he's missing then." I said, then kept on with the roll call. "Damanos?"
"Here." He replied. I kept on reading the rest of the names, until I got to the final few.
"Yowid?" There was no reply. "Guess he's also missing." I then went on. "Z. C.?"
"Here…" He replied unenthusiastically.
"Here." He replied.
I closed the notebook, "Alright, I guess that is all of you. It seems 3 of your classmates are missing today." I said as I put the notebook away. "It seems I have to do 'that'..." I thought. I took out my phone and sent a message to the staff's whatsapp group.
"Ah, and kids, please do not use your phone in class. This one is a special case." I said, cheerfully.
"Huh?" Some of the students replied in confusion. It is not surprising, since I have yet to explain what's so "special" about it.
Shortly afterwards, 3 frozen students got teleported into the back of the class. In one of the ice cases, the student was saluting proudly and pointing somewhere(?) and the others look like they were running away in terror(?).
"She… Overdid it. How am I going to explain the situation to them now…?" I thought to myself, "... And what happened for them to end up like that?" I asked myself in confusion.
"WHAT THE F…?!" some students reacted after it happened. I could hear all the whispering and the confusion at what just happened. It's as expected though. I thought it was appropriate to start explaining the situation now.
"Ahem, as you guys just seen, this is not your average school. Everyone in this school has a special… Power. That includes the teachers and… You."
"Bullshit." Said the student in the front row, 4th seat from the left, whose name is Nysta, as he stood up.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"All of this is bullshit. Like fucking hell I'll believe any of this supernatural retardness." he started walking to the door of the class. "I don't how you pulled that ice sculpture trick but find some other dumbass to believe your nonsense." He said while walking, and making a gesture as if he's throwing something or flipping a table.
His reaction is expected, but his attitude is probably the worst I have seen yet.
I then used my telekinesis powers to raise him upwards as he was walking, and he ended up walking on the air as if he hasn't noticed the lack of ground underneath him. "That's why I wanted to ease them up into it…" I thought to myself.
Relinquisher, the guy holding the sword sitting diagonally from Nysta, whistled in an impressed manner as he watched him go up in the air.
"Well, I'll be…" Said Oben, who sat right besides Nysta, as he watched the same scene.
"Huh?" He said as he finally noticed he's no longer on the ground. "Whoa?!?" He reacted in confusion to his situation.
I then crossed my arms. "Does this prove it to you? Also..." I gave a stern look at him. "... watch your language when you're talking, I am still your teacher." I started lecturing him.
He then ignored everything I just said, and started struggling in the air, "YO, WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT'S GOING ON?!" he yelled, then he started flailing his arms around randomly, "WHERE ARE THE STRINGS?! THERE AREN'T ANY FUCKING STRINGS!!" he kept on making a fuss.
"Yes, there aren't any strings, now would you watch your-" I said, getting closer to snapping at him.
"Yo, fuck that shit, let me down, you fucking bi-" He said to me with the most disrespectful tone imaginable and pointed at me.
I was done at that point, and I ended up cutting him mid sentence, saying "Alright, then. Before you finish that sentence, let me help you fully acknowledge the fact I'm holding you in the air and can do as I please right now."
He paused for a second, before replying "... Fuck." after finally calming down.
"Now that you understand…" I said. I then put him back in his chair, still lecturing him to watch what he's saying. He had an annoyed look on his face, as if he did not care one bit, which just annoyed me more.
I could hear a few giggles in the class, as this situation seemed to alleviate a bit of the pressure from some of the students. Although the rest were still on guard about the situation they are in. And then the student sitting in the second row, third seat from the left, who is named Zeando, raised his hand.
"Um… I never noticed being able to do anything like that. Don't you think you got the wrong person here?" He said. Afterwards, some students reacted with "Yeah!" or "Me neither!." Although others were apathetic about this.
"No, you most definitely have a power in you. We've done our search and approached all of you specifically because we found you to have a power." I replied.
"Are.. You sure?" He asked, rather hesitantly.
"Now look. Even if the test we had is not 100% accurate, it is still better that all those that 'passed' it are here." I said. I then pointed at the frozen people in the back of the class. "You see that? That's something one power can do. It is not unusual that you can freeze or burn an entire city alone. Would you like to imagine something like that happening out of your control? Do you imagine all the people who'll die? Some of these might even be your families and friends." I explained.
"I see..." It seemed as though he understood the severity of the situation.
"See? As far as we're concerned, all of you are ticking time bombs. It is our job to defuse you before something goes horribly wrong." I said in a serious tone. "Do not worry, we'll do everything we can so you won't go nuts with the power or some other generic shounen plot line like that." I said, with a smile and a positive tone.
"I-I see…" He replied, having his face lit up, as if I flipped some switch in him.
"Speaking of freezing things…" Said the student in the corner near the window, whose name is Shin Ryuu, he then pointed at the frozen students. "Are they going to be fine?" he said worryingly.
"Hm…? Yeah, they will unfreeze eventually. Probably." I replied.
"... 'Probably'? They will unfreeze, right?" He said, really not convinced by my words.
"Yeah, don't worry, abilities like that have something like 'effective range,' we'll talk about it more in depth later." I explained.
"Ok, then…" He seemed hesitant about that, but looks like he's no longer too concerned about that.
"Hey, hey!" Zeando said, enthusiastically "What's 'effective range'? Also, are there any sort of limits to abilities, like with your telekinesis-thing, is there a limit to the weight or how large the object you can lift? Also, what type of abilities can we have?" He started listing all the questions you can ask, pretty much. I was slightly surprised to see him so enthusiastic. But that seemed to have at least triggered some interest for the the rest of the students, so things seemed to go relatively smoothly.
"Now, now, as I was saying, together with the normal subjects, you will also be studying the general theory of powers, which includes stuff like 'effective range' or general limitations. Those of you who awaken your power will, in addition, partake in practical exercises to control it. As for types..." I turned away from the class, took a chalk and started writing on the blackboard. After I finished writing "Test to Classify your Types!" I stared at it for a second and said "Wow, it feels weird writing with a chalk. It's been ages since I used one."
"Yeah~ So weird~" Said Gnag, the girl with the cone-hat in the front table, right besides Nysta.
"The fuck does it matter?" Said Nysta.
"Yo, why aren't we using one of those marker boards they use nowadays?" Said Relinquisher, having a perplexed look on his face.
"You know, I have no clue actually. For the retro look?" I replied. "Either way, this is our first order of business, actually. Discussing what types and classifying your powers."
"What… Jumping straight into it so soon? Not even gonna let us digest the entire situation first?" Said Disastrous, sitting in the left corner on the front row, while leaning on his hand in a tired manner.
"Ahaha, I understand how you must feel, but bear with me here." I said cheerfully.
"Ri~ght…" He replied.
"Alright, I'll try to keep it brief since, as mentioned before, you have a lot to think about." I said, and I then cleared my throat and started explaining "Within the typings, there are a lot of ways to classify the powers, such as 'Self Enhancement' and 'Area of Effect' powers, and also 'Elemental' as shown with the 3 frozen students in the back of the class. And all that other stuff you've probably seen in games and movies and all that."
"Are you seriously going to explain it that way?" Said Zeando, having a slightly disappointed look.
"Well, I'm not going to list every stereotype here. That would probably take hours." I replied.
"Alright, point taken." Zeando replied.
"Now where was I?" I attempt to recollect my thoughts. "Right. For most of these types, it's difficult - or in some cases, impossible - to determine that power's type without seeing it. However, as Zeando, right?" I look at Zeando to confirm his name, and after he gave me a look of slight confusion then I kept talking - "As Zeando mentioned, most, if not all, of you had no clue you had a power, much less using it. However, we're going to need to know anything we can about your power in order to give you the proper knowledge and help you. Luckily, there is a noticeable trend with those powers. Can you guess what it is?" I then waited for the students to try and answer.
"It's something we wish for?" Said asphyxiate, in the 4th row 3rd table, raising his arms excitedly.
"It's completely random?" Said Echo, 3rd row 5th table, lying on his arms, and yawning after saying it.
"Some convenient bullshit for the writer to use to progress the plot?" Said Nysta, leaning on the back of his seat, holding his head with his arms.
"... No. It is actually that the power usually reflects the user's personality." I said.
"coughbullshitcough." spewed Nysta almost immediately.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"Nothing." He quickly replied.
I swear, this guy is just testing my patience at this point.
"You are always stressing 'usually' and 'mostly,' does it not always happen?" Said Zeando, with a curious look on his face.
"To every rule, there is an exception." I replied.
"... Except that rule, right?" Zeando pointed out.
We both just stared at each other shortly before I said "... Don't be a smarty pants."
"Alright, alright…" He replied, giggling to himself, followed by few others who understood the joke.
I then returned to my explanation, "... So the power usually reflects the user's personality. So all that's left is finding classification that we can derive from people's personalities. Therefore, we came up with something simplistic for now, which is 'Offensive' and 'Supportive,' and those classifications are easier to work with when it comes to dividing by personalities."
"Question! Are we gonna be fighting or some other shounen type-thing with our abilities? 'Offensive' and 'Supportive' make it sound like something from a video game!" Said Diez, 2nd row left seat.
"I will say that some abilities are only utilized for combat, so yes, those who fit that criteria would be sparring on occasion. The sparring will be supervised by a teacher and will only happen with a teacher's approval." I answered. I then looked at the rest of the class and said "Any more questions? Is everything clear so far?."
I could murmurs of "Yeah…", "I guess…" and some other unsure responses. Although I'm sure they caught on to the gist of it.
"Alright then, to finish off, all of you will be having a test right now. Well, all of you except the 3 ice blocks." I announced.
"WHAT?!" Everyone responded without missing even a moment.
To be continued...
Extra 1: Chilling at the Top
Up there on the rooftop of the OMF High School, there were 3 students sitting at the top. The first one is Baka Dynasty, who is now infamous as the "Eternal Peeing Weirdo" after an incident on the opening ceremony, although he doesn't know it. The second is Sloan, a laid back guy who likes having a good time. And the third is YoWid, who's just there. They met up randomly at the rooftop and hit it off smoothly from there.
Those 3 are supposed to be in class and learn the "unique" facts about this school, although they will be learning about it all: the hard way.
YoWid is lying down and enjoys looking at the sky, right besides Sloan, who's sitting by the door. Baka is just standing in front of them looking at the newly built fence.
"Hmm, was this fence always here?" Said Baka, rather curiously.
"Nah, they only built it because 2 guys fell from here at the opening ceremony or something." Said YoWid, who was at the rooftop that day and could confirm it.
"Hmph, what a bunch of morons." Said Baka in response. Although Yowid and Sloan immediately thought "it was you…" as he was saying it.
At that moment, the school bell rang.
"We ought to bounce fam" Said Sloan.
"Nah, I don't wanna go to class. YoWid?" Replied Baka as he turned to face YoWid.
YoWid only took out his phone and put on some music, as to signify he's staying.
"Damn, sick beats brah!" Baka jumped in excitement,
"Word." Replied Sloan in acceptance.
Meanwhile, at the principal's office
Ayame is sitting and smoking her cigar as she goes through some paperwork, as she was going over Baka's profile after the incident at the opening ceremony.
"Baka Dynasty, huh? I have a feeling he'll be keeping me very busy." She sighed and smoke came out of her mouth. She then got up and walked over to the open window in her room. At that moment, her phone rang as Azer sent out her message that those three are missing from her class.
"God…" She got slightly short tempered and froze her cigar when she noticed Baka's name.
At that moment, YoWid turned the music to maximum volume. Although it wasn't much, it was loud enough so Ayame could hear it, and turned her attention to the rooftop's direction. She could make out, just barely, Baka's silhouette in the distance, dancing. She threw her frozen cigar to the trash can, and made a phone call.
"Hey, teleport me to the school building's rooftop, quickly." She said.
"Roger that." Replied the guy. She then vanished in a bright light.
When she reappeared at the rooftop, she found Baka twerking to one of Miley Cyrus's songs. She was shocked enough she didn't notice Sloan and YoWid who were right behind her near the door. But they noticed her.
"Hii-" YoWid attempted to scream, before having his mouth covered by Sloan in a quick motion and he also turned off the music at the same time.
"Sshhhh…" Sloan signaled YoWid to remain silent, and, most importantly, calm.
"What… The hell… Are you doing…?" She said, about to regret asking.
Baka then snapped back into shape, and turned around to find Ayame - and also his new friends attempting to make a run for it. YoWid made the buddhist prayer sign and was whispering "RIP Baka." He did not enjoy that much. He then came up with a plan. He quickly saluted for Ayame, as a soldier would for his commanding officer.
"GOOD MORNING MA'AM." He said, with a glimmer in his eye. His action was done so quickly he surprised all of the present. However sincere he looked, all he had in mind was dragging those two down with him.
"Whoa, where did that come from?" Ayame said in surprise.
"You are the principal, therefore it makes sense for me to greet you!" He said.
"... Are you really that same Baka?" She uttered in shock.
"YES. NAME'S BAKA DYNASTY, 16 YEARS OLD. AT YOUR SERVICE." He said with enthusiasm quickly followed with him pointing at the other two "By the way, those two are Sloan and YoWid and they wanted to skip class. I'm just here to bring them back."
"You dirty liar…" Were YoWid's thoughts. Sloan just figured it's his best shot to just run for it, and YoWid followed.
"Oh, that's perfect then. Although..." Ayame said, she then froze the entire rooftop, together with Baka, YoWid and Sloan, "... I'm not in the mood for a game of tag right now." She said, playfully. She took out her phone and called the same guy.
"Hey, I'm still at the rooftop. Come teleport them to class 2-C." She said.
"... You know you didn't have to do that, I could've just teleported them from a distance." He said.
"Well, why didn't you then?" She was in the mid point between angry and confused.
"It was amusing to see how COLDBLOODED you can be, ahahahaha..." He said to tease her.
She froze her phone. "... I'll kill you." She thought to herself.
EXTRA 2 LET'S MEET AZER MOLI(feat. Dr. Professor Baka)
Hello, I am Professor Doctor Baka and welcome to Let's Meet a Character. In here, after every chapter I will analyze someone to give you guys a better understanding of that person's abilities and role in the story by interviewing them.
Let's all welcome our first victim participant: our amazing homeroom teacher, Azer Moli!!!
[insert fake clapping clip here]
Alright, teach. Since this is an extra and we don't have much time, I will only ask you 3 questions. Are you ready?
Azer: Yes, I'm ready.
Baka : Great, now to the second question.
Azer: Wait, that counted?
Baka : Do you like bananas?
Azer: How is that even relevant?
Baka: And that's it, that was all the time we had for this extra. See you guys in the next episode of Let's Meet a Character!
Azer : …………….
Azer Character's profile
Age: ???
Weight : ???
Height: 162cm
Strength: 3.5/10 (Muscular power)
Wisdom: 8.5/10 (Intuition and Willpower)
Intelligence: 9/10 (Learning ability and Reasoning)
Dexterity: 5/10 (Coordination and Agility)
Special Power: Telekinesis
Essence Lvl: 3200
Chapter 2: A Student's First Day: The Test, Part II
"Aaah… It's been awhile since my inner algorithms threw so many exceptions at once…" I thought to myself as I'm facing my current predicament. So much stuff happened lately, I find it hard to keep up. I am Metal Heart, and starting today I am a "student", that much is a given.
On the first day of actual school and stuff, the homeroom teacher went on and said all of us are superheros, which I can understand me, having my body be what it is. Speaking of, the doctor recently upgraded my gear, I wonder what horrifying adjustments he made to me. Last time, I had tea pouring from my nose. I shrug at the thought.
We have been provided more details regarding the aforementioned "powers".
- they become ineffective at a certain range. No indication whether it's constant or variable.
- It is different for each individual. Little to no indication to its effects prior to usage.
- Powers have varying degrees of types distribution. Assumed it is akin to the different genres books have.
- "Personality" is a tell to a rather limited array of types, although even that is inaccurate. It is unknown how effective it is.
Although, personally, when I heard that there are supernatural elements involved, all I could think about is the inevitable eventuality I'll be chased by some horrific creature from the underworld that tries to eat me. I'd try to tell it that I'm not tasty and am going to give it a stomachache(which, let's face it, I probably would), but it would eat me anyway. Scary.
It would be great if that was all there was to it, but...
"WHAT?!" The entire class sounded at once.
"... Yes, a test." The teacher replied calmly.
I start breaking down after I heard these words. Sparks and electricity keeps flying out of me, and it causes some real concern for the safety of those sitting around me and so, ...Itano and ...Insane Soul, those who sit directly to my right and left, jumped as far away from me in shock. Insane Soul bumped into ...Z. C. Overload as he jumped back.
"KYA?!" The teacher screamed in surprise.
"WHOA?!" Said Itano.
"WHAT THE FUCK..?!" Insane Soul said, almost at the same time as he bumped into Z. C. Overload.
"BAH!! Hey, what gives?!" Z. C. Overload reacted immediately, showing signs of mild hostility.
"S-Sorry, but... This guy's suddenly self-destructing or something…" Replied Insane Soul.
Asphyxiate turned to me worryingly. "AH! METAL!!" He started closing in on me. Sparks flying everywhere preventing him from getting too close. "Metal! It's ok! I'm sure it's not that bad! We'll be fine!" He attempted to calm me.
"ERROR! ERROR! CAN'T FIND 'TEST' CLASS DEFINITION!" I uttered, for lack of choice.
"IT'S OK METAL! RIGHT, TEACHER?" Asphyxiate started panicking a little so he passed the ball to the teacher.
"Eh…?! Y-Yeah, it is not a knowledge test…" She started explaining
"CAN'T FIND…" I repeated myself.
"STOP USING THAT WORD!" Asphyxiate said in panic.
"Eh? Then it's not a knowledge exam...?" She corrected herself.
"Ah, found 'Exam' Class." I said, all the sparks stopped flying around.
Asphyxiate sighed in relief, "Phew. You got this, then?" He said.
"Yes! Creating Exam Object… Running function Deep_Depression()..." I said as I leaned on both of my hands. "Ah… What am I going to do… I haven't studied at all…" I said out loud.
"Ah, then you don't got this, apparently…" Asphyxiate said.
"Ahem..." The teacher cleared her throat. "Like I was saying, this is not a knowledge te-... Exam. There are no wrong answers here. This is just a small thing to see what sort of person you are." She explained.
"Oh, then we got nothing to worry about~" Asphyxiate said cheerfully, "Aren't you glad?" He turned to me as he said that.
"Yes." I replied. As I said it, I noticed ...Shin Ryuu giving me a funny look.
"Yes. In fact most of the exam consists of multiple choice questions, so there's nothing to worry about~" The teacher said cheerfully, as to calm us down. It worked for most of the class as they sighed in relief, although for other(such as myself) it did not do wonders. "Oh, and as you'll finish the test, we'll have a physical examination so hang in there~" She added.
"Eh~" Some people were somewhat disappointed.
"How annoying… I just wanna sleep…" Said ...Disastrous Master as he yawned out loud.
"Hehehe… A physical, you say…" Insane Soul said as he grinned and got back to his seat.
Meanwhile all I could feel was feel the funny stares some of the other kids were giving me.
"Psst, hey, will you be fine, Metal?" Asphyxiate whispered to me, still not back to his seat.
"Of course I will be, why, is there a problem?" I answered in a monotonous robotic voice, rendering Asphyxiate almost speechless. I was screaming "Help me!" internally.
The teacher clapped her hands together, "Alright, then! Let's start the exam then, shall we?" She said cheerfully.
All the tests were passed on to everyone and soon after everyone started answering. However, back on my side of things…
"Ah… What am I going to do… I haven't studied at all…" I said to myself, as I leaned on both of my hands. Seriously, this is the only function in Exam Class. Is this the doc's way of saying "cheating is bad" or was he just lazy implementing everything?
As I looked around people seemed shocked or somewhat surprised, although I had no clue why. I then looked at the paper in front of me to start putting in my answers. When I looked at the test it had only one question, no matter where I looked. I guess I really did worry for nothing.
Question #1: What is it you like to do in your free time?
- Hang out with friends.
- Play video games.
- Watch TV.
- Other: ______________________
"That's a rather simple one… Although I do like playing video games and hanging out with Asphyxiate… Let's just put it in 'other' then!" I thought to myself.
As I filled the "Other" line with "Playing video games with friends" I watched as ink simply appeared slowly on the paper to form another question. I start breaking down after I saw that. Sparks and electricity keeps flying out of me. Itano and Insane Soul jumped as far away from me in shock a second time.
"BAAH?! NOT AGAIN!!" Insane Soul yelled.
"Seriously, stop that!" Itano said.
"Like, seriously, can you not?" Said Z. C. Overload, bothered by all the sparks flying around.
"METAL!" Asphyxiate yelled.
"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP BACK THERE ALREADY?! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO CONCENTRATE HERE!" Yelled ...Nysta in anger.
"Yo, chill man. The guy is having a mental break down, give him a break." Said ...Relinquisher in an attempt to calm Nysta down. "Besides, I wouldn't think you'd be so interested in this." He said curiously.
"A mental brea-… Intere-..." Said Nysta in what seemed like pure shock.
While Relinquisher and Nysta had their argument in the front of the class, the rest took this opportunity to catch up on with each other and started conversing and Asphyxiate tried to calm me down.
"Man, this test is weird…" Said Maika, in confusion.
"Weird? This is AMAZING!" Said Gnag in excitement.
"I know, right? I was so surprised at first!" Said Maiaku.
There was quite a commotion going on in a short amount of time. While all that was happening, Asphyxiate just about managed to calm me down, and then the teacher clapped her hands a few times.
"Students! Please calm down and go ba-..." She said as she just realized nobody is paying attention to her.
"They were VERY quick to forget we're dealing with supernatural powers here. No, seriously, how can you forget that so fast. It's physically not possible." As these thoughts circled in my mind, all the students have risen into the air.
And the teacher, with an "innocent" smile, said, "Students… Will you please sit down and continue your test?"
Everyone just realized their position(even if for a short while, probably) and just noded in agreement simultaneously. It was quite a spectacle, actually.
We then went back into position and went on with our test. So did I, although I wasn't happy about the fact I can't see any of the questions before I have to solve them, but so long I'm prepared, I should be fine.
Question #2: Which of these items would you take if you suddenly found yourself on a deserted island?
- Phone.
- Survival Kit.
- Other: _________________
… I mean, I am kinda a phone on my own so the first option is a bust. Survival kit won't REALLY help me with the whole Robot thing, so c is a bust too. And I don't even need to be scared of not being found because of that tracking bug the doc installed in me, so 3DS it is, to help me pass the time until the doc gets me. Yeah, let's go with that.
And so went on the rest of the test, with the massive number of questions(standing in 139 questions) it took 2 hours 12 minutes and 35 seconds until finally everyone finished the test. There started another commotion after the last test was handed to the teacher.
"Alright, it seems like we still have a bit of time before our physical, so take as some free time to breath. Quietly." Said the teacher.
"Yes~" Some people answered.
"HOLY SHIT, that was retardedly long…" Said Nysta in irritation.
"Bahaha, you're so weak, Nysta~" Said Relinquisher teasingly in response.
"I swear I will kill you one day." Nysta said back to him.
As he said that, his body has risen to the air, in a familiar fashion.
"... Huh?" Nysta reacted.
The teacher came closer to Nysta, and she was not pleased in the least.
"... What did you say?" She said.
"Uh…" Nysta replied with lack of confidence.
"I will say this once. Death threats are not taken lightly here. Should I remind you that, given enough time, you'll be capable of destroying cities? These words are not a laughing matter here. I'd advise you to take those back." She said, with a tone unlike until now.
"..." Nysta looked at her, speechless. "You're right. I should make these threats after I reach that level at least." He then replied.
"... Alright, you're staying after class to clean the place." She said, really pissed off.
"WHAT?! WHAT DID I DO?! I'M INNOCENT!" Nysta replied, in shock.
The class started giggling at what happened. It's as if they got used to the idea of superpowers almost instantly. Well, I'm not one to talk, but still.
"Yo, don't you guys think this is weird?" Said Echo while leaning on her hands.
"What do you mean?" Asked Relinquisher.
"It's like, we got used to the idea of supernatural crap so easily, like, c'mon, aren't we supposed to be a little more freaked about the situation?" Echo replied.
It seems like I'm not the only one to think this is strange. I'm actually curious as to their reasons.
"Hmm… I can see where you're coming from, but…" Said Relinquisher as he thinks to himself.
"I still think this is all bullshit. Can't argue with randomly floating around though." Said Nysta as he slowly floated to his seat.
"... You are rather stubborn, aren't you?" Said Echo unamused by his response.
"Fucking deal with it." He answered back.
"ALSO, SUPER POWERS ARE COOL!" Yelled Misty from across the room, surprisingly.
"YEAH, TOTALLY!" Insane Soul yelled right after her.
Relinquisher nods in agreement, "Hm, yea super powers are cool, as you can see." He said.
Is this guy serious right now? At least I have some sort of excuse to not worrying about this, mainly because the "worry" function wasn't implemented, but still.
"Is that the entire basis for this? Super Powers are cool?" Echo said in slight disbelief.
"Hm? Yeah, I guess." He answered.
"... You sure have a strange way of thinking." Said Echo.
"The best way!" Relinquisher answered back.
At this moment Asphyxiate turned to me and said to me, "Hey… What do you think about this situation, Metal?"
"I think everyone are being pretty reasonable about this." I said out loud in a monotonous voice. Of course I didn't mean it, but sarcasm is hard to convey with this voice system.
The teacher looked at us, then sighed, "Well, it looks like it became a topic for discussion among you. Frankly, I'm curious too. You all seemed to accept this awfully… Fast." She said.
"Bullshit, I'm not even close to accepting it." Said Nysta.
"Says the guy who was so into doing that test." Said Relinquisher.
"What? I told you, it's not what you think already! At first I was considering putting all the answers as 'c' for 'cancer,' but then I decided to put some more creativity into every bullshit I write so I used the 'Other' option. It is now a work of art." Nysta answered back proudly.
I honestly cannot decide whether this guy is trying to be funny or he's just stupid.
"Nysta, making fun of cancer is not funny. Don't do this anymore." The teacher said unamused.
"I'm not making fun of it, I'm making a statement." Nysta said without flinching an inch.
Yeah, he's stupid.
"Alright, you're cleaning the class after school for the rest of the month." She quickly replied.
"WHAT?!" He yelled in shock.
"Keep talking, and I'll raise the bars." She answered.
At this point he was shaking from what I assume was frustration. Seriously, he had that one coming. The class was just laughing at his predicament though.
"HAHA, what an idiot! I can't believe you actually did it!" Echo proclaimed.
"HAHAHA I KNOW, RIGHT?! THIS GUY IS INTERESTING!" Said Relinquisher.
"SHUT UP! I WILL-..." Nysta began to say before being interrupted.
"NYSTA!" Said the teacher.
"GODDAMMIT!" Nysta yelled in frustration.
Then the school intercom sounded and a voice came out of it, "Class 2-C, class 2-C please get prepared for your physical" It said.
"Oh, look at the time." Said the teacher, looking at her phone.
"So after the physical, are we done?" Said Disastrous Master while yawning.
"Yes," She said cheerfully, "After the physical, you are free to go to your dorm rooms."
Everyone just stared at her in confusion.
"Uh, teach…" Said Zeando.
"Yes?" Answered the teacher.
"... Why did you feel the need to specify 'our dorm rooms'?" He asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Oh. OH! I almost forgot all about that! Silly me…" Said the teacher.
"Uh… So what you're saying is…" Zeando said hesitantly.
"That's right, starting today, all of you will live right here in the dorm of the school." She said cheerfully.
"WHAT?!" Everyone said simultaneously in shock a second time today.
And so ends the report of the thrown exception that crushed Metal_Heart.exe.
Message: Looks like I can't come to you to fix me up when an exception crushes my program. DOC, WHAT DO I DO?
Number of exceptions encountered: 203.
Number of exceptions resolved: 202.
Date of crush: September 1, 2010.
Time of crush: 12:03:25.78
Press Enter to send report...
Extra 1 - INTRO-DOC-TION
In a rather badly lit room, in fact, there is only a small lamp on a desk making up any sort of lighting, and quite a lot of trash-looking scraps of metal and other electronics. There sits a guy in a lab coat, working on something with great intensity. That is the doctor or engineer who apparently made Metal Heart. He seems to be mumbling some things as he works.[/size]
"Put this screw right there… This pipe here… That air freshener right about here and-" Said the doctor as he's focused in his craft.[/size]
At that moment, a tiny robot entered the scene, he had small carving behind his head saying "MH-895." He is nicknamed Mini MH for the sake of simplicity. Mini MH ran towards the doctor holding a piece of paper.[/size]
"DOC, DOC! Metal sent in a new bug report!" He said in a monotonous robotic voice.[/size]
"Put it in the pile over there. I'll read it later." The doctor answered as he pointed to his left.[/size]
"... You mean the same one you told me was just random garbage to throw?" Asked Mini MH.[/size]
"You know it." The doctor answered. He then realized it's still there "Wait, it's still there? Didn't I tell you to throw those like, ages ago?" He said.[/size]
"It's been exactly… 5 minutes and 24 seconds." Said Mini MH.[/size]
"... Don't patronize me, I didn't make you to be a smartass on me." Said the doc, being slightly annoyed.[/size]
"Actually, yes you did, says so right here in the comment string: 'is maed to be a srcastic little bitch.' With the typos and all." Said Mini MH.[/size]
"BAHAHAHA YES! I DID IT! I FINALLY PULLED IT OFF AFTER 2 YEARS! AHAHAHA!" The doctor turned around and started laughing hysterically, raising his hands up in triumph.[/size]
"... Cannot understand what's funny, doc." Said Mini MH.[/size]
"That's fine." He stopped laughing abruptly to answer and went back to working.[/size]
"I'll put the bug report on the pile over there, then." Said Mini MH as he went on to put the bug report onto the gigantic pile of bug reports.[/size]
As Mini MH turned to go back he then asked the doc, "By the way, what are you building there?"[/size]
"Oh, this? It's my new upgrade to Metal." He answered excitedly.[/size]
"Upgrade?" Asked Mini MH.[/size]
"Yes, It's going to make his farts smell like roses." He said.[/size]
"... Doc, robots do not have the bowel function humans nickname 'fart.' Hell, we don't even eat." Said Mini MH.[/size]
"Oh yeah? Then explain that exhaust pipe in your bottom back region." Answered the doc.[/size]
At that moment, Mini MH did a paff sound, akin to the sound old cars make when their exhaust pipe exhales the last bit of smoke when the car stops. There was a silence for a short while.[/size]
"... Doc, is that the only reason you-..." Mini MH began saying before the doc interrupted him as if he was waiting for that question.[/size]
"Yes." He answered nonchalantly.[/size]
"Ok then, I'm outta here. Good luck with that, and I hope you'll actually fix Metal Heart." Said Mini MH.[/size]
"Of course, I'll DEFINITELY install that on him." The doctor said confidently.[/size]
"That's not what I meant. Have some responsibility for your creations and maintain them properly." Said Mini MH.[/size]
"I know, I know. Stop worrying. After all, Metal heart is my greatest creation." He said sentimentally.[/size]
END OF EXTRA[/size]
Extra 2- Lets Meet Ayame (Featuring Doctor Professor Baka)
Hello and welcome to Lets meet a Character.[/size]
Since Skillz is out COLD (heh) due to the last chapter, I (Shin) will be doing this segment today.[/size]
And of course, I have to deal with today's guest… Sigh... 'Ight, let's do this shit. Today's guest is actually our principal, Ayame.[/size]
Ayame comes in[/size]
Ayame: Alright, I'm here. One thing before we start though.[/size]
Shin: Yes?[/size]
Ayame: Don't ever make snow or cold related puns around me. Ever.[/size]
Shin: ... Looks like bringing a coat was the right choice, since it's freezing here already. It seems like Skillz actually did some preparation, so I'd feel bad if he won't use it.[/size]
Ayame: Skillz?[/size]
Shin: Ah, I mean Baka. Alright, so question 1 is… Uh…[/size]
Ayame: … What's wrong? Just read it out loud.[/size]
Shin: I… Alright… Ahem. D-do you wanna build a snow-? [/size]
(Ayame freezes her seat)[/size]
Shin: HIIIH! I SWEAR IT'S NOT ME![/size]
Ayame: GIVE ME THAT![/size]
(Ayame grabs the questionaire)[/size]
Question 1: Do you wanna build a snowman?[/size]
Question 2: It doesn't have to be a snowman.[/size]
Question 3: But really, do you wanna build a snowman?[/size]
Ayame: …[/size]
Shin: UM, FIRST OF ALL, chill, it was Skillz who-...[/size]
(Ayame freezes everything but Shin.)[/size]
Ayame: One more word and I'll make you an ice sculpture.[/size]
Shin: You can't do that, I'm still needed in the main story![/size]
Ayame: Whatever, I'm out![/size]
(Ayame storms out of the room)[/size]
Shin: …….. Goddamit Skillz. Well this is all for this month's question time. This is probably the last time I'm this. Even though he'd still be frozen next time, probably…… Sigh… Fuck me.[/size]
Ayama Character profile[/size]
Age: ???[/size]
Weight : ???[/size]
Height: 169cm[/size]
Strength: 7/10 (Muscular power)[/size]
Wisdom: 9.5/10 (Intuition and Willpower)[/size]
Intelligence: 8/10 (Learning ability and Reasoning)[/size]
Dexterity: 5/10 (Coordination and Agility)[/size]
Special Power: [/size]Building snowmen[/size] Ice powers[/size]
Essence Lvl: 7650[/size]
Chapter 3-http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1083777
Cnapter 4-http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1090278
Chapter 5-http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1097914
Chapter 6-http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1102635
Chapter 6b-http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1106143
Chapter 7 -http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1114082
Chapter 8 -http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1124654
Chapter 9 -http://onemangaforum...ject/?p=1132429
Edited by Baka-Dynasty, 07 December 2016 - 04:58 PM.


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This weekend I stitched on Happy Day. Yesterday I was at my sis'. There's a funny thing my little niece said about this WIP. When I was stitching the boy's hat, she confidently said "I know what you're making, a jellyfish!" and she went on and on questioning about how big is this cartoony aquarium, is that going to be crab (the red blob), bla bla. So the bad aunt in me kept her thinking yes, see there's the roof of a mini castle. I held off stitching the red shirt 'til I got home this morning. That girl has a weird affinity with jellyfish, she's the only one in the entire family stung by a jelly, and no display of hysterics at that, weird (maybe because she grew up with Spongebob, haha). She asked me if she could have this xstitch when finished since her sister already got 3 (ooops, it's actually 4, little niece doesn't know about the birth sampler from long time ago, hah!). Now I got myself in deep trouble (that's what you get when you lie!) must find something jellylike to stitch! Yesterday, she was also reading for her book report and asked if I could stitch her a bookmark... so maybe I can dig up some free small jelly patterns to stitch, smart eh?
Okay, I'll worry about that in the future. Meanwhile, here's my progress:
Thanks for visiting. Happy Stitching!

subset: commoncrawl


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Support Active Learning
Bridging the gap between in-class lectures and real-world experience can be a challenge. Multimedia (sound, images, animation) and computer-based simulations can be valuable tools to elucidate abstract concepts and help students participate actively in their learning. Other tools can be used to connect your students with professional and research communities in your field.
Common Goals
- Provide students with active learning experiences.
- Help students understand abstract or complicated ideas.
- Show students useful applications of theoretical ideas.
- Connect students with other professionals in the field.
Options for supporting active learning are suggested below.
Electronic Discussion
Email, distribution lists and newsgroups can help you and your students access and involve professionals who work in your field. For example, you could encourage your students to use email to consult experts directly as they develop a term paper.
Add hypertext or images to your course Web site that link directly to the Internet resources of other research institutions, relevant companies or people that your students may find useful throughout the quarter and beyond. You might want to provide students with links to professional organizations and Web sites for conferences in your discipline. Planning Considerations.
Catalyst Portfolio Tool
The Catalyst Portfolio Tool allows students to collect, annotate, arrange, and display on the Web a variety of digital artifacts that illustrate their accomplishments. By creating a portfolio project for your students, you can encourage them to take responsibility for their learning. Portfolios can also be published to the Web for others to view, potentially opening up the audience of the individual student's assignment to the general public. Get started.
Catalyst GoPost tool
GoPost allows you to create a threaded, Web-based discussion board for your students to compare notes, discuss assignments, and work together online. Messages can be posted and read with any Web browser. Students can attach their work to posts, reflect on others' work, and post a response. In addition, students can also post links to relevant Web sites, or attach files to their posts, such as audio and video files. You have control over who has access to the GoPost forum, and you can even allow students to use alternate screen names to make them feel more comfortable. Planning Considerations
Visual Learning
You can bring the "real world" into your classroom or Web site by illustrating your argument with diagrams, photos, maps, video clips, and a variety of other visual resources. For example, your students can explore thousands of photographs of cities and buildings as they study history, architecture, geography, or other related topics. Planning Considerations.
Simulations are the next best thing to "real" experience with applied course content. They offer access to what is otherwise too small, too dangerous, or too expensive to handle. For example, your students can learn about the powers of ten through simulations.
Wikis are Web sites that can be browsed and easily edited by anyone with Internet access and a Web browser. They can be a very useful tool for student collaboration and cooperation. Not only can students easily collaborate on a project using a Wiki, they can also easily make it public and invite experts in the field to react to their contribution.
Campus Resources
- Learning Technologies Workshops – UW-IT offers workshops to help you use the tools you need to address the diverse learning styles of your students. Participation in these workshops is free for all UW instructors, employees, and students. Advance registration is required for some workshops.
- Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) – CTL offers a variety of resources and services designed to promote effective teaching and learning. The center is open to all UW faculty and teaching assistants.
- Carlson Center for Educational Leadership – The Carlson Leadership and Public Service Center administers a variety of experiential learning resources and programs, providing opportunities for students to extend their classroom learning through service, research, and internships. For more information, please contact: (206) 543-2618 or send an Email to: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Since the "gang" and I are planning to go to Mangalawa Island next month (instead of Anawangin-Capones-Nagsasa), we are now preparing the things that we will be needing for that day.
Last Sunday, Basha and I went to MOA to buy our rash guards. We may be a little late in buying them but what the heck! We got them in colors that we wanted for a lesser price. Throw in the SPF 50 protection as bonus and we were able to cross out one item in our bucket list.
Next stop was Mystic Brew in BF Resort, Las Piñas. We boarded a van and alighted Casimiro to take the trike going to our destination. It was Axl who got me curious about the said café so I grabbed one of my frequent travel buddy, not to mention the most gorgeous. O ayan ha, quota ka na, Basha! (pinilit nya ako isulat yan).
|dito na kami ☺
|playing around
|having crazy photos in their cozy rest room..
|picture first before eating...
|Bash and her Pasta Pronto and Mystic Brew
|Hmmmmm what potion to take? lolz
|Dahil payat ako sa pic na ito, I used it as my DP in FB... this is what you called "Angulo" lolz
|Left: Chulapa-cabra Right: Pasta Pronto
|Left: Chili-mint Coffee Right: Butter Brew


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Good morning! Stopping by this morning with a card using some newly released Reverse Confetti stamps and dies for a sweet baby card - perfect for either a boy or girl - or especially when you don't know!
For this card I used the Onesie Confetti Cuts without the coordinating stamp set to die cut little plaid onsies, then added a touch of Antique Linen distress ink to the edges to help them pop a little more and give them a finished edge. I stamped the hearts from Cute as a Button on vellum and heat embossed in white, then fussy cut out and adhered with a dot of liquid adhesive to the onsies.
I used cream cardstock for my cardbase - I was going to use yellow, but the cream had the same effect, just a bit softer and I liked it better! Heat embossed the sentiment, added a frame cut in white using All Framed Up Confetti Cuts, and mounted the onsies with foam adhesive.
I am also linking this up to this week's Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Make for the Border:
Here are the Reverse Confetti products I used on this card - click on the picture if you want to learn more about any of these items!
Product links are all below - including affiliate links where possible, which simply means if you use one of the links below that I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!!!


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"To Judge a Nighthawk!" Writer: J.M. DeMatteis Artist: Jerry Bingham Inker: Mike Esposito Letterer: Diana Albers Colorist: Bob Sharen Originally published: January 1981 The art in this is a really mixed bag. A lot of panels are very uninteresting, especially the backgrounds, and look like they've been crapped out really quickly. Some, though, are surprisingly […]
Entries Tagged as 'Spider-Man'
Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1 101 (Story 1)
April 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · 1981, 3.0, Bob Sharen, Daredevil, Diana Albers, Jerry Bingham, John Marc DeMatteis, Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1), Mike Esposito / Mickey Demeo, Nighthawk, Spider-Man, Spider-Man / Spider-Lizard (Peter Parker)
Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1 100 (Story 1)
April 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · 1.0, 1980, Annette Kawecki, Bob Wiacek, Carl Gafford, Chris Claremont, Colossus / Proletarian, Frank Miller, Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Invisible Girl, Karma, Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1), Mr. Fantastic, Mystery Menace (Alicia Masters), Professor X, Spider-Man, Spider-Man / Spider-Lizard (Peter Parker), Storm, Thing, Wolverine
Karma! Writer: Chris Claremont Co-Creator: Frank Miller Embellisher: Bob Wiacek Letterer: A. Kawecki Colorist: Carl Gafford Originally published: December 1980 The 100th issue of Marvel Team-Up! Spidey and the Fantastic Four! Surely it must be amazing? I hope… This issue was apparently inspired by Ithacon '79. Given the quality level the last time a story […]
Spider-Man Vol. 1 Annual 014
March 28th, 2010 · No Comments · 1980, 4.0, Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Annual, Ben Sean, Denny O'Neil, Dormammu, Dr. Doom, Dr. Strange, Frank Miller, Joe Rosen, Spider-Man, Spider-Man / Spider-Lizard (Peter Parker), Tom Palmer
The Book of the Vishanti Co-Creators: Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller Inker: Tom Palmer Letterer: Joe Rosen Colorist: Ben Sean Originally published: 1980 Despite the title on the cover (and, subsequently, this post), this actually is an Annual for Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1. I'm not sure why they left out "the amazing" on the cover. It […]
Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1 099
March 27th, 2010 · No Comments · 1980, 2.0, Baron Brimstone, Ben Sean, Jerry Bingham, Joe Rosen, Machine Man / Robot X-51 (Aaron Stack), Mike Esposito / Mickey Demeo, Sandman, Spider-Man, Spider-Man / Spider-Lizard (Peter Parker), Tom DeFalco
And Machine Man Makes 3 Writing: Tom DeFalco Pencils: Jerry Bingham Inks: Mike Esposito Letters: Joe Rosen Colors: Ben Sean Originally published: November 1980 I liked Machine Man in the MTU Annual I just read, so I was excited about this team-up between him and Spidey, fighting Baron Brimstone and Sandman. By the way, I […]
Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1 Annual 003
March 27th, 2010 · No Comments · 1980, 3.5, Al Milgrom, Bruce D. Patterson, Dave Humphrys, Frank Springer, Herb Trimpe, Hulk, Iron Fist, Joe Rubinstein, John Costanza, Ken Klaczak, Luke Cage / Power Man, Machine Man / Robot X-51 (Aaron Stack), Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) Annual, Mike Esposito / Mickey Demeo, Nightshade, Roger Stern, Spider-Man, Spider-Man / Spider-Lizard (Peter Parker), Torpedo
Monster in the Meadow / Payoff / Heroes for Hire / The Men and the Machine / Confrontations Writer: Roger Stern Pencils: Herb Trimpe Inks: Mike Esposito, Bruce Patterson, Frank Springer, Al Milgrom, Dave Humphrys, Josef Rubinstein Letters: John Costanza Colors: Ken Klaczak Originally published: 1980 As tends to be the case with annuals, this […]


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Reviews Home
Fiction by Title
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Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson, Bantam Spectra, 1993, 572 pp.
When the first colonists arrive on Mars, they will be very startled at the first deviations from this book that they discover. "That's not like Kim Stanley Robinson predicted!"
Why is Red Mars such an addictive read? At first glance, the book seems filled with the kind of rapturous hard science fiction that has sometimes been called technoporn, which is not my favourite kind of book. However, Robinson is a clever writer, and other apparent flaws of the book, like soap opera characters, all resolve into something much different. My admiration for this book has only increased now that I have read it for the second time in light of the subsequent books in the series, Green Mars and Blue Mars. Not only does Robinson situate his story deftly on its own terms within this (rather long) book, but he creates an astonishing, intelligent epic across the whole trilogy. Even knowing what was going to happen, I found myself just as hooked on the experience of reading Red Mars the second time as when the future of the Mars colony was unknown to me. Despite his unassailable research, I don't think Robinson is trying to predict the future. Like many other utopian works in science fiction (although categorizing Red Mars and its sequels as such is indeed debatable), the book is more interested in writing, in the postmodern sense, a desirable version of the future. The book's overall success only makes Robinson's rendering of reality more likely.
Red Mars tells the story of the first hundred colonists on Mars and their perspective and the subsequent events. The book opens with a chapter, "Festival Night," taken from the middle of the book, chronologically speaking. Frank Chalmers incites some rioting and the assassination of John Boone. The rest of the narrative follows a strict chronological order, beginning with Ares leaving Earth orbit. John Boone was the first man on Mars, and decided to be a colonist as well, making Chalmers, the American leader, envious. Maya Toitovna leads the Russian contingent, which includes Nadia Cherneshevsky and Arkady Bogdanov. Survival takes up a good deal of the concern of the first half of the book, along with the John-Maya-Frank love triangle. Events get much more politicized after John's death, and with heavier influxes of colonist from all over Earth. This book ends with a revolution, and some spectacular scenes of disaster. The surviving characters undergo tremendous hardship and are bonded even more firmly to their home planet, leaving lots of conflict for the two subsequent books.
The characters are mostly interesting, and served well by Robinson's decision to write each of the eight Parts of the book from a different person's point-of-view, with two repetitions (Frank and Nadia). Conflicts become at once evitable and inherent in the characters -- we see so clearly the opposing perspectives and how firmly each person is entrenched in their own. Ann Clayborne is a diehard opponent to terraforming, and when we get to the final Part of the book and find that it is her part, it is fascinating to see how she thinks. Robinson has an uncanny ability to capture the justification that goes on inside the human head, and how facts are filtered through our personalities. And -- shock, gasp -- even in science. From one of my favourite characters: "Science was many things, Nadia thought, including a weapon with which to hit other scientists" (137). Sometimes Robinson uses a disturbing kind of shorthand for some of the smaller characters -- Phyllis is a fundamentalist Christian and later sells out Mars to the ravening transnational companies -- but on the whole, he uses conventional traits for his own subversive, fascinating purposes. See the relationship between Nadia and Arkady.
In terms of its ideas and science, Red Mars is big, ambitious, and keeps all of its promises. I'm not the kind of reader who checks the author's calculations, but I do need to be convinced, and Robinson went far beyond that. It's impossible to convey the scope and confidence of his writing in a review -- I can only say that I would surprised if someone told me about a scientific error anywhere in the book. On a facetious level, Red Mars could be described as an account of a game of SimMars. But because Robinson does not ignore the political/ethical implications of the events, he avoids the typical flaw of most engineering-textbook science fiction. Namely, the claim to amorality which is a profound statement of morality on its own. While I don't think the book is truly utopian, Robinson never closes his eyes to the greater significance of anything from terraforming to methods of resistance to longevity treatments. I admire his skill at tying scientific advancements to realistic consequences more so than any specific extrapolation -- Red Mars' extraordinary balancing of various elements makes every single part synergistically more interesting. My only quibble is that Robinson seems to ignore how insanely fast information technology would be developing, but this solitary flaw doesn't detract from his careful attention to every other aspect of the future.
I'm looking forward to re-reading Green Mars and Blue Mars, relieved of the false burden of expectations. I know that Robinson builds on the staggering achievement represented by this book, and that the potential of the series shown here is more than fulfilled. Red Mars is the beginning of a remarkable, heartening journey into the new, into the possibilities of tomorrow.
Last modified: May 18, 1998
Copyright © 1998 by James Schellenberg (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Buy the latest issue of Challenging Destiny online from:
Buy back issues of Challenging Destiny online from:
For the latest information on availability: Where Can You Buy Challenging Destiny?


text:
Professionals, Far North Coastal Ltd and its salespeople are all licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008, and operate under the REAA Code of Professional Conduct and Client Care. You can download and read the full code from the Real Estate Agent's Authority website: www.reaa.govt.nz
We welcome your feedback whether offering a suggestion or observation, expressing satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service you have received from our agency or any of our Professionals salespeople.
Initially we encourage direct discussion with the salesperson who you have been dealing with or our management team. Should you prefer, you can place your feedback in writing using the forms provided below and forward this to the office for follow-up and contact with you. Complaints Form
Once completed, please feel free to hand your feedback to any of our staff or forward it to our office using the contact details on the form. If you wish there is the opportunity to contact our National Group - see www.professionals.co.nz
You can also contact the Real Estate Agents Authority directly at any time in respect of a complaint. Details of their complaints process and their contact details can be found on the Authority Website.
We thank you for your communication and taking the time to make contact with us.
Michael & Diane Healy
Professionals Far North Coastal Ltd
170 State Highway 10, Coopers Beach
Telephone: 09 406 1005
Facsimile: 09 406 1025
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
The Entrepreneur House ~ Chiang Mai
Oct 26, 2017 to Nov 06, 2017 from Thursday, 11:00 AM to Monday, 05:00 PM (ICT)
Venue details will be announced soon. Stay tuned!
The experience at The Entrepreneur House is absolutely priceless. Day to day you interact with other online entrepreneurs that are very driven and smart business people. Spending a long amount of time with them alters your business and your mentality about business. Goals are set, new businesses are formed, new partnerships will develop, greater profits margins are achieved, and the productivity sky rockets for those at the event!


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Bodybuilding Secrets 2005 Year End Update: Where In The World Has Tom Venuto been (and what's next?)
Saturday, December 17th, 2005. Holy Hypertrophy! Has it really been a month and a half since I wrote my last blog entry? Wow, man. Those 6 weeks just flew by! The whole year flew by! But you didn't think I was finished blogging forever did you? Based on my Bodybuilding Secrets email box filled with "where are you" and "what happened to your blog" messages, a lot of people thought I had blogged off into the sunset. Well…I'm BAAAAACK, and it's time to get BIG! MUSCLE MASS SEASON has begun!
So where HAVE I been? What HAVE I been up to? Just took a little vacation, that's all. But hey, I deserved it! Don't yell at me for not blogging for a while – a blog like this is time consuming, hard work! Work hard, work hard, work hard… then PLAY HARD! With me being the "recovering workaholic" that I am, I figure I have several YEARS of "play time" to catch up on… and believe me, I will catch up – and this was how I started…
Technically, I took two vacations…
First, after my last competition of 2005, I took a "vacation" from training. Yes, despite rumors to the contrary, this gym rat really does take time off. It's a must after competitions, but I even recommend that my clients take a full week off after every 12-16 week cycle of hard training. It's difficult to do sometimes because when you're really in the training groove, you have this fear of slipping backwards.
The thing is, muscles don't shrivel, nor does fat accumulate that quickly and even if they did, when you come back from a good rest, your body is far more responsive and you often experience the best muscle growth and fat loss you've had in months or years.
So… take a tip from a muscle head from New Joisey – If you've been dieting and training like an animal for half a year non stop, TAKE A BREAK will ya! It's okay! You have permission 🙂
The second vacation, now THAT was a "real" one. I actually got onboard one of those little metal tubes with wings, with teeny little chairs never designed to fit a normal human, let alone a bodybuilder with quads, lats, deltoids and biceps.
You'd think I'd fly somewhere really exotic like the Caribbean or some Greek island, or at least Hawaii. But nooooo. Where does a muscle head like me go for vacation?
Come on, guess….
Come on, It's not a trick question…
If you can't get this one, there is no hope for you….
Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock…
Time's Up
Okay… The answer is…
If you said "MUSCLE BEACH," then BINGO! You win!
Yeah, Southern California. Santa Monica. I was walking distance from the Santa Monica beach, pier and third street promenade and just a few minutes driving time to the Mecca of Bodybuilding – GOLD'S GYM, Venice California!
I was in heaven! I was Thisssssssssss close to moving out there! East Coast, you almost lost me!
Why? Well, for one thing, an artic air mass just blew into the New Jersey and New York City area and the temp plummeted down into the teens. There's already snow on the ground and the weather man says another storm is on the way. These Northeast winters are for the birds. Penguins, that is. I will trade my snow shovel for a surfboard any time.
Believe it or not, the surfboards were out in Sunny Southern California last month. I couldn't believe THE WEATHER! 85 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky all week long! I was lying on the beach – in late November!!!! When I asked the "locals" about it, they said it was in fact, unseasonably warm because the "Santa Ana" winds bring in hot air from the desert. Usually it's only 75 degrees or so in November… "only 75" Heh.
Did I mention, I almost didn't come home? I'm not joking, I almost moved out there. My friend Rob "The Former Fat Guy" Cooper has a signature file on all his emails that says, "Palm Trees Are God's way of saying, LIVE HERE!" I Love that! (but then I bust his chops and ask him, "Then what the heck are you doing in Canada!")
It wasn't just the Southern California weather I love – California has a totally different energy than the East coast, and especially the New York City vibe. Cali is WAAAAAY more laid back (it's even more laid back in Northern Cali).
This place was also like heaven for a muscle head like me. It's no wonder bodybuilders have made the pilgrimage to Venice, CA for nearly a half a century.
The first day I arrived, I trained at World Gym on Washington Blvd in Marina Del Rey. Eddie Giuliani was there; I don't know him personally, but I recognized him from all those classic photos of him with Arnold. The gym was actually smaller than I thought, but it was awesome – just what the doctor ordered. I loved it. Training in an outdoor weight pen with the sunlight and open
air streaming in absolutely rocks! No way on the east coast.
At Gold's Gym Venice, it was a scene right out of the pages of the bodybuilding magazines. And when I say "scene" I mean that in every sense of the word. This is where people go to see and to be seen. A mix between Hollywood types, Venice Beach Hippies, Pro athletes and hardcore Bodybuilders. Honestly, there was such a buzz in the place, it was almost too distracting to work out. But maybe that's just because it was my first time there and I was a little "star struck."
There was IFBB pro, Bob Chicherillo, 20 inch biceps and all, the next bench over from me! Training guru to the pros Charles Glass was there taking his clients through the paces… Mike O Hearn, fitness model, natural bodybuilder and powerlifter was there doing deadlifts. He's one strong dude by the way! I saw him deadlift 500 pounds for 5 reps… easy. Top natural bodybuilder and TEAM UNIVERSE champ Tito Raymond was also there, busily training his clients.
Did I mention I saw one of the barbarian brothers? Not sure which one (they're twins you know), but I think it was David Paul. These are the guys that got tons of publicity in the muscle mags in the late 80's and early 90's, even though they never competed, simply by virtue of their inhuman strength and muscle mass paired with their unique and flamboyant personalities.
What serious veteran bodybuilder can forget those classic Muscle Mag International photos of one Barbarian brother standing on top of the weight stack while the other barbarian repped out on cable tricep extensions, screaming at the other one, "COME ON, PUSH IT!!!!!" until his swollen arms nearly exploded! Or the picture of David CURLING 150 pound dumbbells! Insane!
While I was just finishing a chest and bicep workout at Golds, I bumped into pro sports and celebrity trainer extraordinaire TR Goodman of Pro Camp Training. TR trains movie stars like James Caan, Ray Liotta, Owen Wilson and more pro athletes than I have space to list. I met TR earlier in the year at a seminar in Washington DC and knew he was from LA, but didn't realize he was based out of Golds Venice until I saw him there. If you're an athlete looking for a sports trainer in Venice California, TR's your man. His private studio is in the same building as Gold's Gym on Hampton Drive.
I also bumped into – almost literally, on the street by coincidence – Jackie Lee. Jackie is one of the "ageless role models" profiled in the e-book I co-authored with Jon Benson, Fit Over 40: Role Models For Excellence At Any Age. Jackie was inspired by Rachel McLish, the former Miss Olympia, and took up weight lifting about 20 years ago when she was in her 50's. She hasn't stopped since. She is now 72, but she looks 52, and let me tell you, she is a ball of fire!
In addition to being a bodybuilder, she's also a figure competitor, yoga instructor, personal trainer, actress, acrobatic dancer, and motivational speaker! If you want to see proof that you're only as old as you think you are, then you can read more about Jackie (and more than 50 other "ageless wonders" like her) in the Fit Over 40 e-book at www.fitover40.com
I also had a chance to connect with peak performance guru, NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist Pete Siegel. Pete's a good friend of mine from Marina Del Rey, just a hop skip and a jump from the hotel where I was staying. Any time I have a chance to meet or speak on the phone with Pete, I jump at the opportunity. Talk about a power-motivator! You think Anthony Robbins is motivational, talk to Pete for 5 minutes and you'll be ready to take over the world! Actually, over chicken breast, broccoli and yams at Koo-Koo-Roos, Pete and I decided to split the world evenly between the two of us!
Speaking of the food out there in LA… Fuggedaboudit! I chowed down at the famous bodybuilder's restaurant THE FIREHOUSE every day – sometimes more than once! The Firehouse literally has a menu just for bodybuilders: Egg whites, chicken, fish, lean beef, buffalo…. Rice, yams, potatoes, oatmeal, pasta, fruits, veggies and any other bodybuilding food you can think of.
You even get to mix and match – "pick one protein, and pick one carb." – OR if you're on a bulking program – "pick one protein, two carbs!" – OR… get a load of this – "pick two proteins, one veggie." Yeah, you guessed it – that's the "cutting program." Not only was the food great and 100% bodybuilding diet friendly, the service was amazing! I must have had four different waiters, waitresses and servers at my beck and call. Bodybuilding Secrets.Com gives the Firehouse Restaurant in Venice two enthusiastic thumbs up!
DAMN, how come there's no restaurants like that here in Jersey???
Even the local diners out there had bodybuilding food. Here in Jersey, you ask for 6 egg whites and 1 whole egg and they look at you like you're an alien… then they charge you 15 bucks and serve it to you dripping in grease. In Venice and Santa Monica, egg whites are actually a choice ON the menu.
What am I doing still living in New Jersey??? Sigh….. Alas, I bought a new condo here just a couple months ago. But California is definitely calling to me… Southern Cal, Northern Cal… whichever, just a matter of time.
I almost forgot. I mentioned bumping into pro trainer TR Goodman right? Well, so he calls me up one night and says, hey man, whatcha doing? Want to go check out a movie screening? I said" sure, what movie?" He says, "LA DICKS." I said, "THAT kind of movie? You perv!"… He said, "No no no, dicks as in detectives – it's a new indie flick about two Los Angeles detectives, don't know if it's any good but… something to do."
So we go to Culver City Studios to a private screening, experiencing the joy of Los Angeles traffic on the way, and we somehow make it through the whole movie. On the way out the door, TR says, "I wonder if Jimmy is still on the set?"
I said, "Jimmy who?"
He says, "Jimmy Caan… James Caan." (As in The Godfather, Misery and Las Vegas!)
So TR takes me over towards one of the Culver Studios sound stages, and lo and behold, there is James Caan standing right in front of us! TR Introduced me to Jimmy, then we went inside to watch them film a scene from The TV series Las Vegas!
The set was amazing. They built en entire casino – you'd swear you were really in Vegas. After the filming was done, we hung out in Jimmy's trailer for little while before calling it a night. Beats the Universal City Studio tours eh? (Yes, I DID go there too. I didn't just lift weights and lie on the beach all day… had to do at least a little bit of "tourist" stuff!)
If that wasn't cool enough, TR said he was going to introduce me to Ray Liotta the next day, but Ray had to cancel his training appointment. Bummer
there, but it was pretty cool meeting James Caan. (Coincidentally, I named one of my blog entries a few months ago after the Scene in Caan's movie Misery – It's called the "Quad Hobbler"… if you missed it, go back to the archives here and check it out: The Quad Hobbler (leg training that will make you limp!)
On my last day out in Sunny, Warm Southern California, I drove out to Cal State Fullerton for the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) conference. This is a great new organization for fitness professionals, which is recognizing that sports nutrition is a whole new emerging field, separate and distinct from clinical nutrition or nutrition for sedentary people (couch potatoes!) I was so impressed
by the speakers and the organization as a whole, I plan to pursue their sports nutrition certification and their body composition certification in 2006. That will be my 4th or 5th certification, I think… who's counting?
While I was in Fullerton, I worked out at IFBB pro bodybuilder Milos Sarcev's gym, formerly Gold's Gym, now called Koloseum gym. Freakin awesome. Although I might not buy my mother a membership at a joint like this, for any hardcore bodybuilder, the place ROCKED! Milos wasn't there when I was training, but I did get to meet his wife, Fitness pro Milomar Flores-Sarcev. On the way back to the hotel from Fullerton to Santa Monica on a Saturday night, I even got to learn why the locals call the freeways "parking lots." And I thought Manhattan gridlock was bad.
Well anyway, enough about my vacation. I've been forced to sit through other peoples vacation photos before, and you know "exciting" that can be… but since this was MUSCLE BEACH, I thought you might be interested, so I posted a slide show and saved it for last… in case you give a protein fart, it's at the bottom of this page.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled Bodybuilding Secrets programming:
Tomorrow I'm scheduled to start training again with my workout partner Kostas "The Greek Statue" Marangopoulos. Since my one week break after the last contest, I HAVE been in the gym training hard… but it's been very much a transitional "maintenance" phase to let my body recover (from the "beating" I gave it the last 5 months).
My strength is gaining and I'm starting to put back on some solid weight again, but I'm still really light (around 184 lbs), and the training so far last month (November) and this month (December) has been no where near the INTENSITY you are going to read about over the next 4-5 months of MASS SEASON. Then… it's onward to 3-4 months of contest dieting and training for my August 2006
2005 was like just getting my feet wet again. Now it's time to get "serious" again and achieve a major life goal of mine that has been on my dreams list for a long, long time – a national title in drug free bodybuilding.
Stay tuned, bodybuilding secrets 2006 is gonna be good!
Tom's "Muscle Beach" Vacation Slide Show
The Original Location Of Muscle Beach, Santa Monica, California
Outdoor Exercise Area, Original Muscle Beach, Santa Monica, California
Working Out On Muscle Beach, Santa Monica,California
Entrance to Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica Beach, Bike Path and Pier… Off season… not many people on the beach… but it WAS beach weather alright!
3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica… great eating, drinking, shopping… and lots of street performers
Gold's Gym, Venice, California…
…The Mecca Of Bodybuilding
Me outside of Gold's Gym Venice, CA (Photo by TR Goodman, thanks buddy!)
Motorists Beware! … Bodybuilders Crossing!
The Firehouse Restaurant, Around The Corner From Gold's Gym… Where Muscle Heads Go To "Re-Fuel!" Two Enthusiastic Thumbs Up!
Muscle Beach, Venice, California – Outdoor Weight Pen
venice Beach Boardwalk
Surfer on a skateboard.. typical Venice!
Typical Venice boardwalk boutique… "Get yer pipes, bongs and bead curtains here!" (no! I did not do any shopping in there!)
World Gym, Marina Del Rey, California – Two Thumbs up!
Marina Del Rey (also notice the "famous" Los Angeles smog in the background, looking West)
Season's Greetings from Manhattan Beach! (I'll trade this for a white Christmas, any day!)
Manhattan Beach… SURF'S UP!!!
Manhattan beach… swimming, and waiting for the next wave… no wetsuit! (It was 85 degrees at the end of November!)
Wecome to Universal Studios, Hollywood!
KING KONG in yer face! (Universal Studios Tour)
Universal Studios Tour – War Of The Worlds Set… still smoldering
My last workout of the week was at Milos Sarcev's Koloseum Gym In Fullerton. Bodybuilding Secrets.Com gives Milos's gym two thumbs up!!!
Palm Trees… God's Way Of Saying, "Live Here!"
Manhattan Beach – Living Here Does Not Suck!
Malibu private beach… Living here doesn't suck either! (until you have to pay the mortgage!)
Malibu Sunset… Do I really HAVE to go home???
End of Slide Show
Filed under News by on Dec 17th, 2005. Comment.
@ 12:22 pm
Tom, first of all, I AM on my way out of Canada (well, for the most part). I'm moving to Vancouver where I'm trading -30 degree winter weather for rain and a mild 10 Degrees. During the winter months, I'm thinking "Costa Rica" sounds good. Lots of palm trees, warm water for white water kayaking and sunny beaches for a tan and surfing (um, and women with very little clothes).
Eat, Train, Be Well
Rob "Former Fat Guy" Cooper
@ 1:27 pm
Hey Tom – It looks and sounds like you had a great time on vacation – even managing to work out a few times too!
How did you do that? Are gyms in the US cool with people just turning up? (I guess it's different for you, because your physique demonstrates that you, shall we say, know your way around a gym!).
In the UK, you can't usually just turn up at a gym and say "I'm here for a week's vacation. Mind if I workout?" without the gym attendant saying "I have to book you in for an induction and there's a two-week waiting list". Even if you can show them gym memberships cards from, like, 3 different gyms you still have to have an induction session. V.V. Frustrating!!!
Anyway, good to see you blogging again! We missed you!
@ 1:35 pm
Andrew, in the States, at most gyms you can usually just walk in and pay a daily fee then waltz right in and do your thing. Sometimes you can even get a free guest pass, especially if you know someone who is a member.
The folks at World Gym charged me only $10 for the daily fee, then were kind enough to actually refund that daily fee by applying it towards the purchase of a sweatshirt. Like I said in the blog, two thumbs up for World Gym Marina Del Rey.
Gold's charged $20 for the day, but you can't blame em – after all, it's "The Mecca." Milos's gym in Fullerton was $15 for the day.
Sometimes when I travel, I check with the hotel to see if they have any affiliation with a local health club. No such luck this time, but last year when I spent three weeks in Chicago for a training seminar, my hotel had an affiliation with the local Bally's.
I was never a fan of Bally's before – usually I make a Beeline for the nearest Golds, World or Powerhouse Gym, but this one particular Ballys in Chicago was brand new, well equipped and not all that different from any Gold's Gym.
There are some clubs in the states that don't offer daily workout fees and you can't get in unless you join or unless you are a guest of a member. Usually those are the "snooty", "hoity-toity", "high-end" clubs, like a few of them here in Manhattan, which will remain nameless!
Wherever you go… you gotta train! Push ups and sit ups in the hotel room just aint gonna cut it for a serious bodybuilder!
@ 1:38 pm
Great to have you back, Tom. Looking forward to your up coming blogs. btw, I'm training with Richie Smyth, via email and phone. He is VERY cool. Thanks for introducing me to him through your blog.
@ 7:32 pm
Great to see you back Tom. I thought you disappeared off the face of the earth. But, when I got some other newsletters from you and something about a beach in Southern CA, I figured you just took a break.
Looking forward to a new year with you.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2006!!!
BTW, it's pretty nice here in AZ (still somewhat shorts weather). No winter wonderland here.
God bless all your businesses, health, & life,
@ 4:49 pm
Hey! Yeah, my #1 role model, mentor, and go to guy is back!!I'm so glad you're back, Tom. I never had to the desire to visit California before, but after reading your blog and seeing those pictures, I'm definitely gonna check it out some day. I've always loved Florida, particularly Key West. I live in the north metro Atlanta area right now and it's in the 40's. That's freezin' cold for me. No way I'd ever live up there in the northeast near you. Can't handle that weather. After readin' this blog I just realized that James Caan was Sonny in The Godfather, one of the best movies ever in my opinion. That's so cool that you've got to meet all those people, especially the bodybuilders that were there. Awesome! I want to go to those gyms, that beach and eat at that restaurant. I'm excited for 2006 and ready to get training and eatin'! No matter where, we gotta get our workouts in! 2006, here we come! Good luck with all that you do and I'll be loggin' in. Can't wait for more! 🙂
@ 4:57 pm
Tom and all,
Wow! What a great vacation! I'm jealous. 🙂 This is my first post and I'm really looking forward to participate in this blog.
I trained hard for six years straight then I fell off the wagon for the next four leading up to now, with off again and on again workouts coupled with horrible binging. I was 210 pounds with 10% bodyfat, then changed to a current 243 with almost 30% bodfat. Yikes!
I went through some really tough times of family loss followed by depression within those four years, but I have since recognized that I needed to do something about it.
Since I bought Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM), my wife, Sophia, and I have renewed vigor and we are really looking forward to our transformations.
We have a 12 week plan and we are on our first week of our meal plan that includes your recipes; as well as, your workout regimens. The bonus recipe e-book AWESOME and we feel great already! Thank you so much for putting the information out there. 🙂
I hope all is well and God Bless us all.
@ 4:06 pm
Glad to see you back on the blog….
When you were working hard a few months back, I asked if you had plans for a poster or photos….. has that worked out?
@ 9:50 pm
Hey Tom, great to have you back. I can't wait until you start blogging your Mass season workouts. I hope Jersey doesn't lose you to Cali. I would hate to see you go, but then again I don't blame you if you do. The Firehouse is one of a kind and I wish they had it in Jersey.
One problem comes to mind though. During the plan flight were you allowed to bring your own food? How would you have done it if it was a longer flight.
Well, i'll keep checking for your new blog entries. I can't wait.
P.S. Merry Christmas and Have a Happy New Year.
@ 5:41 am
Tom, this travelogue is fantastic! YOU need to write the 'Lonely Planet' style book for the travelling Bodybuilder. Did you have to keep pinching yourself and having 'Oh my, I'm really in Golds Gym, Muscle Beach' moments? (all the while maintaining your cool by not grinning ear to ear 24/7)..
And here I thought it was winter in America..
Good to have you back.
@ 7:38 am
Hi Tom,
Are the workout blogs restarting in the New Year? I've been checking back regularly in hope!
Hope you have a great new year and come back with some great workouts for us all to feast eyes on!
@ 9:03 pm
Hi Tom_
You are sooo inspirational!! By the way…you did amazing in your last competition. No matter what you placed, you looked amazing!!
@ 11:08 am
Well everybody needs a break. But it seems you shot two birds with one stone. You went to take a break but it was on muscle beach. Just glad to see the pictures.
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Immigration law training
It was standing room only on February 2 at Robins Kaplan when the firm hosted a response-team attorney training for lawyers interested in serving people affected by President Trump's January 27 Executive Order on immigrants and refugees. The training featured contributions from the Center for New Americans, the Minnesota ACLU, and the International Refugee Assistance Project. Regina Jeffries, who opened the program by reminding attendees that the issue was not about politics but rather the rule of law, trained the attorneys in the basics of providing legal assistance to individuals and family members affected by the executive order at the MSP airport. Ian Bratley of the Minnesota ACLU provided an overview of the current status of legal challenges to the executive order. Over 150 attorneys attended.


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When I think of Spring I think of flowers, pink (the colour), fruit and happiness, As soppy as that sounds. I LOVE SPRING! I can't wait to wear less clothes and just see everyone being happier.
This picture shows a perfect light outfit for spring. I may use this as inspiration for my upcoming trip to Paris.
I love to wear light colours in the spring, pinks, purple, orange anything that lifts moods.
Stay tuned guys... :)


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With the launch of Google's new browser – Chrome – I can't help but consider one of the basic laws of market economics:
Monopolies are good.
Back in 1997, strategy+business published an interview with Paul Romer, a Stanford economist that has been a leader in the development of new growth theory. In the article, Romer discusses how the possibility of monopoly gives incentive to the private sector to innovate new products, so that they may corner the market for a period of time and generate increasing returns on investment.
About that time (in 1997), Microsoft was considered the dominant software company and expected to run the computer world for generations to come. Since then, it's endured tremendous pressure from its destruction of Netscape and ongoing anti-trust battles across the world. I refer to Microsoft, because in the last decade we've seen Google emerge as the new leader of the information age. In leveraging their search engine technology and other innovations, they've launched Google Docs and Google Spreadsheets to compete with Microsoft Office. Their search has reorganized the way the companies build websites and deliver content. With the release of Chrome, Google is hitting Microsoft head-on in the web browser arena where Microsoft had the assumptive monopoly less than ten years ago.
From October 2007 through August 2008, the Windows operating system has gone from 92.5% to 90.6% market share, with Mac and Linux slowly creeping up. This 2% doesn't seem like alot, but ask Microsoft if they're worried. (Internet Explorer has lost 6% market share during this same period.)
Recently, Firefox nabbed 17% of the browser market and Safari grabbed another 6% according to Market Share. With Chrome now reported to have 1% of the market in just 24 hours, it seems that the monopoly is less than so nowadays.
Going back 20 years to the mid-1980s, Microsoft was the young, nimble company targeted the entrenched monopoly of the terminal computer. Seeing a pattern here?
No company, especially in the IT industry, is safe from competition. This is what drives Silicon Valley and the world to build the better mousetrap. Ten years from now, you'll be reading about how Google's dominance is fading because of some other new emerging leader. Ten years is just a single business cycle in economic terms. While monopolies appears to exist, they don't last very long. That's why companies strive to acheive them, protect them, and maximize on them, because they know that they are fleeting.
Capitalism works if you let it breathe.


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If you forgot your password fill your email address below. If you can't find the password reminder email check your spam folder too.
My hobby:
Friends, grilling, partying, now and then a book and sport.
My favorite sport
I would love to live in this city
I would take this items with me to a desert island
meine Cam
The thing I like most on me
my legs
What I like most about sex?
What do I wish in sex?


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Sounds like a lot of garlic right? This old French dish is delicious because the garlic simmers away and becomes almost sweet and tender. Each medium sized head/bulb of garlic has about 14 cloves so you will need around 3-4 heads of garlic. Break up the heads and place the cloves into a large Tupperware. Shake, shake, shake and a lot of the skins will come off. The rest are easily peeled. This recipe is a bit different because the garlic and chicken are placed under the broiler after cooking to give them a lovely golden color and crispy skin.
1 chicken quartered (if you can't figure out how to do this I am sure your butcher will help. Here I remove the breasts from the bone for easy serving but if you prefer to leave it on for more flavor that is fine)
Large pinch of salt and pepper to season the meat
40 cloves (aprox) of peeled garlic
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup white wine
2-3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons water
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cognac
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400
Place the chicken on a plate and season them with salt and pepper. Into a Dutch oven or stockpot (about 5 quart is fine) add the chicken, garlic, thyme, and white wine. Cover the pot and place into the preheated oven for 30 minutes. After thirty minutes you will check your chicken, if the breasts are cooked through and the juices run clear not pink, then you can carefully remove them. Recover the pot and place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the leg meat is also cooked through. Remove pot from oven. Place all of the chicken parts on a baking sheet. Scoop out the garlic and add that to the baking sheet as well. Brush the chicken parts and the garlic with the melted butter. (And re-season with more salt and pepper if you like)
Position a rack about 5-6" away from broiler unit. Place chicken/garlic under the broiler for about 4-6 minutes or until the garlic is golden in color and the chicken skin is crispy.
Meanwhile, remove the thyme sprigs from the pot of cooking liquid. Whisk together the cornstarch and water- add it to the pot of liquid along with cream and cognac. Place pot over high heat and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat and season sauce with salt and pepper. To serve, add the golden garlic into the sauce and serve over the chicken.


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God on the Spot – Part 4: The Provision
February 2, 2019 by Dianne Butts
Filed under Faith, Faith Articles
By Dianne E. Butts –
In Part 2, God put Himself on the spot by promising to provide a Messiah to redeem people from their sin. In Part 3, He put Himself in a narrower spot by promising that Messiah would come through a particular family's bloodline, that of Abraham and Sarah.
Abraham's grandson, Jacob, has had twelve sons and unbeknownst to him one of them, Joseph, when he was seventeen, was sold into slavery by his brothers who told their father he was dead (Genesis 37). Joseph was taken as a slave to Egypt.
But then, in Genesis 42, more than twenty years later (Genesis 37:2, 41:46, 47, 53-55) Abraham's descendants through Isaac—Jacob and his family—were in a dire situation. There was famine in the land. Food was getting more scarce all the time and Jacob feared for the very lives of his family. He was desperate. So he urged ten of his eleven sons to go to Egypt saying, "I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die" (Genesis 42:2).
The entire bloodline of Abraham was caught in that fearful famine and in danger of starving to death. God's promise to bring Messiah through their bloodline was in danger of dying with them. Therefore it was God, not Jacob or his sons, Who was ultimately on the spot to provide for them, protect them, and insure that the bloodline of Abraham survived.
God had already placed Joseph in position in Egypt to provide for them.
This was not a whoops or a lucky break. This was a fulfillment of prophecy.
When God first promised childless Abram "a son coming from your own body" and offspring as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:4-5), that same day, "the LORD said to him, 'Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions… In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here…" (Genesis 15:13-14, 16a).
This was the beginning. The famine God allowed to come on the land of Canaan forced Jacob and his family to move to Egypt.
It was to Egypt that Joseph had been taken. In Egypt Joseph had endured hardship through which God brought him into the prominent position of running that country. It was in Egypt that God provided seven years of abundance along with the wisdom of Joseph's management that provided food for all the surrounding countries when famine came.
It was in Egypt that God prepared the provision that would save the bloodline of Abraham through which God had promised to bring Messiah.
After Joseph's brothers realized it was their brother whom they'd sold into slavery who had saved them all, they offered themselves as his slaves. But Joseph said, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children" (Genesis 50:19-21).
God was on the spot to provide for the descendants of Abraham. He did so through Joseph in Egypt.


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The Hero's Journey – Part 3 – Meeting the Mentor
In the last 'Hero's Journey' blog we discussed The Ordinary World and The Call to Adventure. Now we will focus on Meeting the Mentor.
Depending on genre, the Mentor can take many forms. In the world of fantasy, the mentor is often a wizened old man who reveals the wonders of magic and always has a pithy word of advice for the protagonist. Normally they'll be a grumpy outsider, with an alternate view on the world. In Romances, this may still be the case, but the mentor could also be the cook or the master of the stables. They would invariably be from a lower social strata, enabling a different view of the protagonist's world. It could also be a married or widowed woman of character and station. This role is still prevalent in modern story telling mediums like television (see the Dowager in Downton Abbey) In contemporary novels, the mentor could be a therapist, a protagonist's secretary, or an estranged parent. And there may be a series of mentors in a protagonist's life, something that has room to develop in the larger books.
For example, in L Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy meets a series of mentors: Professor Marvel, Glinda the Good Witch, Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wizard himself. They all provide her with different lessons for her to learn.
The mentor's role has many purposes, the main being:
- Source of wisdom
- Gift giver
- Conscience
The role of gift-giver comes out most strongly in the subgenres that reflect mythology and fairytales. An example of this is Harry Potter – not only does he have multiple mentors throughout his journey, many of them bestow upon him gifts. The cloak of invisibility, his wand, clues to horcruxes, the list is almost endless. Typically the gifts are given after the protagonist has earned it, by passing a test, by learning, sacrifice or commitment. J.K Rowling manifests this most clearly in Goblet of Fire where Harry literally has to undergo trials to receive the next bit of plot driving information.
Other Mentors can act to motivate the protagonist and help overcome emotional barriers such as fear, love, jealousy etc. The challenges your characters face will invariably require some sort of agent of change and Mentors are a handy tool to enable this.
You can find the mentors in story for looking for their verbal ticks. Mentors may be ghosts that existed prior to the story beginning. They are brought into the story by character's saying things like "I remember Mother always used to say…" or "Long ago I remember Uncle Gary saying writing is a pain in the arse, why not just sit on the veranda and watch the sun go down". Mentors can hide in plain sight.
But the above all show a human bias. Mentor's can be anything. Objects, animals and forces of nature may also act as Mentors. Many stories have non-human mentors. A Monster Calls is a nice example of this, in the shape of the anthropomorphic tree. Another form of Mentor is the internal one. Some protagonists have no need or no contact with another character who can act as Mentor. Such experienced heroes and heroines carry their own Mentor in the form of their conscience and code of honor. Think about the Knights in T. H. White's The Once and Future King, think about all the characters who virtue signal to anyone they can about how they are moved by their honour to act.
Then you have the untrustworthy mentor. Keep in mind that the Mentor need not always have the best interests of the Protagonist in mind. While the Mentor typically acts as a fount of wisdom and an outside conscience for the protagonist, they may have their own agendas.
Damaged protagonists may also carry guilt around as a form of negative internal mentor.
It is important to think about why the hero's relationship with the mentor or mentors is important to the story. One reason is usually that readers can relate to the experience. We have all had inspirational people in our lives. I remember the teachers who instilled a love of reading and stories into me.
So ask yourself, who are the mentors in your story? Are they obvious or subtle? Has the author done a good job of turning the archetype on its head in a surprising way? Or is the mentor a stereotypical fairy godmother or white-bearded wizard. As with all stories, the choice is yours. You may want to do away with the idea of a guide for your protagonist. An interesting pattern to look for when you are reading is to see when the mentors appear. They generally arrive when needed either to move plot along, or to enable the hero to make their next milestone. They reflect the reality that we all have to learn life's lessons from someone or something.