text:
Chapter 12 – Camp Laurence
Louisa May Alcott2016年06月22日'Command+D' Bookmark this page
Beth was postmistress, for, being most at home, she could
attend to it regularly, and dearly liked the daily task of
unlocking the little door and distributing the mail. One July
day she came in with her hands full, and went about the house
leaving letters and parcels like the penny post.
"Here's your posy, Mother! Laurie never forgets that," she
said, putting the fresh nosegay in the vase that stood in 'Marmee's
corner', and was kept supplied by the affectionate boy.
"Miss Meg March, one letter and a glove," continued Beth,
delivering the articles to her sister, who sat near her mother,
stitching wristbands.
"Why, I left a pair over there, and here is only one," said
Meg, looking at the gray cotton glove. "Didn't you drop the
other in the garden?"
"No, I'm sure I didn't, for there was only one in the office."
"I hate to have odd gloves! Never mind, the other may be
found. My letter is only a translation of the German song I
wanted. I think Mr. Brooke did it, for this isn't Laurie's
Mrs. March glanced at Meg, who was looking very pretty in
her gingham morning gown, with the little curls blowing about her
forehead, and very womanly, as she sat sewing at her little worktable,
full of tidy white rolls, so unconscious of the thought in her
mother's mind as she sewed and sang, while her fingers flew
and her thoughts were busied with girlish fancies as innocent
and fresh as the pansies in her belt, that Mrs. March smiled and
was satisfied.
"Two letters for Doctor Jo, a book, and a funny old hat,
which covered the whole post office and stuck outside," said
Beth, laughing as she went into the study where Jo sat writing.
"What a sly fellow Laurie is! I said I wished bigger hats
were the fashion, because I burn my face every hot day. He said,
'Why mind the fashion? Wear a big hat, and be comfortable!' I
said I would if I had one, and he has sent me this, to try me. I'll
wear it for fun, and show him I don't care for the fashion." And
hanging the antique broad-brim on a bust of Plato, Jo read her
One from her mother made her cheeks glow and her eyes fill,
for it said to her . . .
My Dear:
I write a little word to tell you with how much satisfaction
I watch your efforts to control your temper. You say nothing
about your trials, failures, or successes, and think, perhaps,
that no one sees them but the Friend whose help you daily ask,
if I may trust the well-worn cover of your guidebook. I, too,
have seen them all, and heartily believe in the sincerity of
your resolution, since it begins to bear fruit. Go on, dear,
patiently and bravely, and always believe that no one sympathizes
more tenderly with you than your loving . . .
"That does me good! That's worth millions of money and
pecks of praise. Oh, Marmee, I do try! I will keep on trying,
and not get tired, since I have you to help me."
Laying her head on her arms, Jo wet her little romance with
a few happy tears, for she had thought that no one saw and
appreciated her efforts to be good, and this assurance was doubly
precious, doubly encouraging, because unexpected and from the
person whose commendation she most valued. Feeling stronger than
ever to meet and subdue her Apollyon, she pinned the note inside her
frock, as a shield and a reminder, lest she be taken unaware, and
proceeded to open her other letter, quite ready for either good or
bad news. In a big, dashing hand, Laurie wrote . . .
Dear Jo,
What ho!
Some english girls and boys are coming to see me tomorrow
and I want to have a jolly time. If it's fine, I'm going to pitch
my tent in Longmeadow, and row up the whole crew to lunch and
croquet – have a fire, make messes, gypsy fashion, and all sorts
of larks. They are nice people, and like such things. Brooke will
go to keep us boys steady, and Kate Vaughn will play propriety for
the girls. I want you all to come, can't let Beth off at any price,
and nobody shall worry her. Don't bother about rations, I'll see
to that and everything else, only do come, there's a good fellow!
In a tearing hurry,
Yours ever, Laurie.
"Here's richness!" cried Jo, flying in to tell the news to Meg.
"Of course we can go, Mother? It will be such a help to
Laurie, for I can row, and Meg see to the lunch, and the children
be useful in some way."
"I hope the Vaughns are not fine grown-up people. Do you
know anything about them, Jo?" asked Meg.
"Only that there are four of them. Kate is older than you,
Fred and Frank (twins) about my age, and a little girl (Grace), who
is nine or ten. Laurie knew them abroad, and liked the boys. I
fancied, from the way he primmed up his mouth in speaking of her,
that he didn't admire Kate much."
"I'm so glad my French print is clean, it's just the thing
and so becoming!" observed Meg complacently. "Have you anything
decent, Jo?"
"Scarlet and gray boating suit, good enough for me. I shall
row and tramp about, so I don't want any starch to think of. You'll
come, Betty?"
"If you won't let any boys talk to me."
"Not a boy!"
"I like to please Laurie, and I'm not afraid of Mr. Brooke,
he is so kind. But I don't want to play, or sing, or say anything.
I'll work hard and not trouble anyone, and you'll take care of me,
Jo, so I'll go."
"That's my good girl. You do try to fight off your shyness,
and I love you for it. Fighting faults isn't easy, as I know, and
a cheery word kind of gives a lift. Thank you, Mother," And Jo
gave the thin cheek a grateful kiss, more precious to Mrs. March
than if it had given back the rosy roundness of her youth.
"I had a box of chocolate drops, and the picture I wanted to
copy," said Amy, showing her mail.
"And I got a note from Mr. Laurence, asking me to come over
and play to him tonight, before the lamps are lighted, and I shall
go," added Beth, whose friendship with the old gentleman prospered
"Now let's fly round, and do double duty today, so that we can
play tomorrow with free minds," said Jo, preparing to replace her
pen with a broom.
When the sun peeped into the girls' room early next morning
to promise them a fine day, he saw a comical sight. Each had
made such preparation for the fete as seemed necessary and proper.
Meg had an extra row of little curlpapers across her forehead, Jo
had copiously anointed her afflicted face with cold cream, Beth
had taken Joanna to bed with her to atone for the approaching
separation, and Amy had capped the climax by putting a colthespin
on her nose to uplift the offending feature. It was one of the
kind artists use to hold the paper on their drawing boards,
therefore quite appropriate and effective for the purpose it was now
being put. This funny spectacle appeared to amuse the sun, for
he burst out with such radiance that Jo woke up and roused her
sisters by a hearty laugh at Amy's ornament.
Sunshine and laughter were good omens for a pleasure party,
and soon a lively bustle began in both houses. Beth, who was
ready first, kept reporting what went on next door, and enlivened
her sisters' toilets by frequent telegrams from the window.
"There goes the man with the tent! I see Mrs. Barker doing
up the lunch in a hamper and a great basket. Now Mr. Laurence is
looking up at the sky and the weathercock. I wish he would go
too. There's Laurie, looking like a sailor, nice boy! Oh, mercy
me! Here's a carriage full of people, a tall lady, a little girl,
and two dreadful boys. One is lame, poor thing, he's got a crutch.
Laurie didn't tell us that. Be quick, girls! It's getting late.
Why, there is Ned Moffat, I do declare. Meg, isn't that the man
who bowed to you one day when we were shopping?"
"So it is. How queer that he should come. I thought he was
at the mountains. There is Sallie. I'm glad she got back in time.
Am I all right, Jo?" cried Meg in a flutter.
"A regular daisy. Hold up your dress and put your hat on
straight, it looks sentimental tipped that way and will fly off
at the first puff. Now then, come on!"
"Oh, Jo, you are not going to wear that awful hat? It's too
absurd! You shall not make a guy of yourself," remonstrated Meg,
as Jo tied down with a red ribbon the broad-brimmed, old-fashioned
leghorn Laurie had sent for a joke.
"I just will, though, for it's capital, so shady, light, and big.
It will make fun, and I don't mind being a guy if I'm comfortable."
With that Jo marched straight away and the rest followed,
a bright little band of sisters, all looking their best in summer
suits, with happy faces under the jaunty hatbrims.
Laurie ran to meet and present them to his friends in the
most cordial manner. The lawn was the reception room, and for
several minutes a lively scene was enacted there. Meg was
grateful to see that Miss Kate, though twenty, was dressed with
a simplicity which American girls would do well to imitate, and
who was much flattered by Mr. Ned's assurances that he came
especially to see her. Jo understood why Laurie 'primmed up
his mouth' when speaking of Kate, for that young lady had a
standoff-don't-touch-me air, which contrasted strongly with the
free and easy demeanor of the other girls. Beth took an observation
of the new boys and decided that the lame one was not 'dreadful',
but gentle and feeble, and she would be kind to him on that
account. Amy found Grace a well-mannered, merry, little person,
and after staring dumbly at one another for a few minutes, they
suddenly became very good friends.
Tents, lunch, and croquet utensils having been sent on
beforehand, the party was soon embarked, and the two boats
pushed off together, leaving Mr. Laurence waving his hat on the
shore. Laurie and Jo rowed one boat, Mr. Brooke and Ned the
other, while Fred Vaughn, the riotous twin, did his best to
upset both by paddling about in a wherry like a disturbed water
bug. Jo's funny hat deserved a vote of thanks, for it was of
general utility. It broke the ice in the beginning by producing
a laugh, it created quite a refreshing breeze, flapping to and
fro as she rowed, and would make an excellent umbrella for the
whole party, if a shower came up, she said. Miss Kate decided
that she was 'odd', but rather clever, and smiled upon her from
Meg, in the other boat, was delightfully situated, face to
face with the rowers, who both admired the prospect and feathered
their oars with uncommon 'skill and dexterity'. Mr. Brooke was
a grave, silent young man, with handsome brown eyes and a pleasant
voice. Meg liked his quiet manners and considered him a walking
encyclopedia of useful knowledge. He never talked to her much, but
he looked at her a good deal, and she felt sure that he did not
regard her with aversion. Ned, being in college, of course put
on all the airs which freshmen think it their bounden duty to
assume. He was not very wise, but very good-natured, and altogether
an excellent person to carry on a picnic. Sallie Gardiner was
absorbed in keeping her white pique dress clean and chattering with
the ubiquitous Fred, who kept Beth in constant terror by his pranks.
It was not far to Longmeadow, but the tent was pitched and
the wickets down by the time they arrived. A pleasant green field,
with three wide-spreading oaks in the middle and a smooth strip of
turf for croquet.
"Welcome to Camp Laurence!" said the young host, as they
landed with exclamations of delight.
"Brooke is commander in chief, I am commissary general, the
other fellows are staff officers, and you, ladies, are company.
The tent is for your especial benefit and that oak is your drawing
room, this is the messroom and the third is the camp kitchen. Now,
let's have a game before it gets hot, and then we'll see about
Frank, Beth, Amy, and Grace sat down to watch the game
played by the other eight. Mr. Brooke chose Meg, Kate, and Fred.
Laurie took Sallie, Jo, and Ned. The English played well, but
the Americans played better, and contested every inch of the
ground as strongly as if the spirit of '76 inspired them. Jo and
Fred had several skirmishes and once narrowly escaped high words.
Jo was through the last wicket and had missed the stroke, which
failure ruffled her a good deal. Fred was close behind her and
his turn came before hers. He gave a stroke, his ball hit the
wicket, and stopped an inch on the wrong side. No one was very
near, and running up to examine, he gave it a sly nudge with his
toe, which put it just an inch on the right side.
"I'm through! Now, Miss Jo, I'll settle you, and get in
first," cried the young gentleman, swinging his mallet for another
"You pushed it. I saw you. It's my turn now," said Jo
"Upon my word, I didn't move it. It rolled a bit, perhaps,
but that is allowed. So, stand off please, and let me have a go
at the stake."
"We don't cheat in America, but you can, if you choose," said
Jo angrily.
"Yankees are a deal the most tricky, everybody knows. There
you go!" returned Fred, croqueting her ball far away.
Jo opened her lips to say something rude, but checked herself
in time, colored up to her forehead and stood a minute, hammering
down a wicket with all her might, while Fred hit the stake and
declared himself out with much exultation. She went off to get her
ball, and was a long time finding it among the bushes, but she came
back, looking cool and quiet, and waited her turn patiently. It
took several strokes to regain the place she had lost, and when she
got there, the other side had nearly won, for Kate's ball was the
last but one and lay near the stake.
"By George, it's all up with us! Goodbye, Kate. Miss Jo
owes me one, so you are finished," cried Fred excitedly, as they
all drew near to see the finish.
"Yankees have a trick of being generous to their enemies,"
said Jo, with a look that made the lad redden, "especially when
they beat them," she added, as, leaving Kate's ball untouched, she
won the game by a clever stroke.
Laurie threw up his hat, then remembered that it wouldn't do
to exult over the defeat of his guests, and stopped in the middle
of the cheer to whisper to his friend, "Good for you, Jo! He did
cheat, I saw him. We can't tell him so, but he won't do it again,
take my word for it."
Meg drew her aside, under pretense of pinning up a loose
braid, and said approvingly, "It was dreadfully provoking, but you
kept your temper, and I'm so glad, Jo."
"Don't praise me, Meg, for I could box his ears this minute.
I should certainly have boiled over if I hadn't stayed among the
nettles till I got my rage under control enough to hold my tongue.
It's simmering now, so I hope he'll keep out of my way," returned
Jo, biting her lips as she glowered at Fred from under her big hat.
"Time for lunch," said Mr. Brooke, looking at his watch.
"Commissary general, will you make the fire and get water, while
Miss March, Miss Sallie, and I spread the table? Who can make good
"Jo can," said Meg, glad to recommend her sister. So Jo,
feeling that her late lessons in cookery were to do her honor, went
to preside over the coffeepot, while the children collected dry
sticks, and the boys made a fire and got water from a spring near
by. Miss Kate sketched and Frank talked to Beth, who was making
little mats of braided rushes to serve as plates.
The commander in chief and his aides soon spread the
tablecloth with an inviting array of eatables and drinkables,
prettily decorated with green leaves. Jo announced that the coffee
was ready, and everyone settled themselves to a hearty meal, for youth
is seldom dyspeptic, and exercise develops wholesome appetites.
A very merry lunch it was, for everything seemed fresh and funny, and
frequent peals of laughter startled a venerable horse who fed near
by. There was a pleasing inequality in the table, which produced
many mishaps to cups and plates, acorns dropped in the milk, little
black ants partook of the refreshments without being invited, and
fuzzy caterpillars swung down from the tree to see what was going
on. Three white-headed children peeped over the fence, and an
objectionable dog barked at them from the other side of the river
with all his might and main.
"There's salt here," said Laurie, as he handed Jo a saucer
of berries.
"Thank you, I prefer spiders," she replied, fishing up two
unwary little ones who had gone to a creamy death. "How dare
you remind me of that horrid dinner party, when yours is so
nice in every way?" added Jo, as they both laughed and ate out
of one plate, the china having run short.
"I had an uncommonly good time that day, and haven't got
over it yet. This is no credit to me, you know, I don't do
anything. It's you and Meg and Brooke who make it all go, and
I'm no end obliged to you. What shall we do when we can't eat
anymore?" asked Laurie, feeling that his trump card had been
played when lunch was over.
"Have games till it's cooler. I brought Authors, and I dare
say Miss Kate knows something new and nice. Go and ask her. She's
company, and you ought to stay with her more."
"Aren't you company too? I thought she'd suit Brooke, but
he keeps talking to Meg, and Kate just stares at them through that
ridiculous glass of hers. I'm going, so you needn't try to preach
propriety, for you can't do it, Jo."
Miss Kate did know several new games, and as the girls would
not, and the boys could not, eat any more, they all adjourned to
the drawing room to play Rig-marole.
"One person begins a story, any nonsense you like, and tells
as long as he pleases, only taking care to stop short at some
exciting point, when the next takes it up and does the same. It's
very funny when well done, and makes a perfect jumble of tragical
comical stuff to laugh over. Please start it, Mr. Brooke," said
Kate, with a commanding air, which surprised Meg, who treated the
tutor with as much respect as any other gentleman.
Lying on the grass at the feet of the two young ladies, Mr.
Brooke obediently began the story, with the handsome brown eyes
steadily fixed upon the sunshiny river.
"Once on a time, a knight went out into the world to seek
his fortune, for he had nothing but his sword and his shield.
He traveled a long while, nearly eight-and-twenty years, and
had a hard time of it, till he came to the palace of a good old
king, who had offered a reward to anyone who could tame and train
a fine but unbroken colt, of which he was very fond. The knight
agreed to try, and got on slowly but surely, for the colt was a
gallant fellow, and soon learned to love his new master, though
he was freakish and wild. Every day, when he gave his lessons to
this pet of the king's, the knight rode him through the city, and
as he rode, he looked everywhere for a certain beautiful face,
which he had seen many times in his dreams, but never found. One
day, as he went prancing down a quiet street, he saw at the window
of a ruinous castle the lovely face. He was delighted, inquired
who lived in this old castle, and was told that several captive
princesses were kept there by a spell, and spun all day to lay
up money to buy their liberty. The knight wished intensely that
he could free them, but he was poor and could only go by each
day, watching for the sweet face and longing to see it out in
the sunshine. At last he resolved to get into the castle and
ask how he could help them. He went and knocked. The great
door flew open, and he beheld . . ."
"A ravishingly lovely lady, who exclaimed, with a cry of
rapture, 'At last! At last!'" continued Kate, who had read
French novels, and admired the style. "'Tis she!' cried Count
Gustave, and fell at her feet in an ecstasy of joy. 'Oh, rise!'
she said, extending a hand of marble fairness. 'Never! Till you
tell me how I may rescue you,' swore the knight, still kneeling.
'Alas, my cruel fate condemns me to remain here till my tyrant
is destroyed.' 'Where is the villain?' 'In the mauve salon. Go,
brave heart, and save me from despair.' 'I obey, and return
victorious or dead!' With these thrilling words he rushed away,
and flinging open the door of the mauve salon, was about to enter,
when he received . . ."
"A stunning blow from the big Greek lexicon, which an old
fellow in a black gown fired at him," said Ned. "Instantly, Sir
What's-his-name recovered himself, pitched the tyrant out of the
window, and turned to join the lady, victorious, but with a bump
on his brow, found the door locked, tore up the curtains, made a
rope ladder, got halfway down when the ladder broke, and he went
headfirst into the moat, sixty feet below. Could swim like a
duck, paddled round the castle till he came to a little door
guarded by two stout fellows, knocked their heads together till
they cracked like a couple of nuts, then, by a trifling exertion
of his prodigious strength, he smashed in the door, went up a
pair of stone steps covered with dust a foot thick, toads as big
as your fist, and spiders that would frighten you into hysterics,
Miss March. At the top of these steps he came plump upon a sight
that took his breath away and chilled his blood . . ."
"A tall figure, all in white with a veil over its face and a
lamp in its wasted hand," went on Meg. "It beckoned, gliding
noiselessly before him down a corridor as dark and cold as any
tomb. Shadowy effigies in armor stood on either side, a dead
silence reigned, the lamp burned blue, and the ghostly figure ever
and anon turned its face toward him, showing the glitter of awful
eyes through its white veil. They reached a curtained door, behind
which sounded lovely music. He sprang forward to enter, but the
specter plucked him back, and waved threateningly before him a . . ."
"Snuffbox," said Jo, in a sepulchral tone, which convulsed the
audience. "'Thankee,' said the knight politely, as he took a pinch
and sneezed seven times so violently that his head fell off. 'Ha!
Ha!' laughed the ghost, and having peeped through the keyhole at the
princesses spinning away for dear life, the evil spirit picked up
her victim and put him in a large tin box, where there were eleven
other knights packed together without their heads, like sardines,
who all rose and began to . . ."
"Dance a hornpipe," cut in Fred, as Jo paused for breath, "and,
as they danced, the rubbishy old castle turned to a man-of-war in
full sail. 'Up with the jib, reef the tops'l halliards, helm hard
alee, and man the guns!' roared the captain, as a Portuguese pirate
hove in sight, with a flag black as ink flying from her foremast.
'Go in and win, my hearties!' says the captain, and a tremendous
fight began. Of course the British beat – they always do."
"No, they don't!" cried Jo, aside.
"Having taken the pirate captain prisoner, sailed slap over
the schooner, whose decks were piled high with dead and whose
lee scuppers ran blood, for the order had been 'Cutlasses, and
die hard!' 'Bosun's mate, take a bight of the flying-jib sheet,
and start this villain if he doesn't confess his sins double
quick,' said the British captain. The Portuguese held his tongue
like a brick, and walked the plank, while the jolly tars cheered
like mad. But the sly dog dived, came up under the man-of-war,
scuttled her, and down she went, with all sail set, 'To the
bottom of the sea, sea, sea' where . . ."
"Oh, gracious! What shall I say?" cried Sallie, as Fred
ended his rigmarole, in which he had jumbled together pell-mell
nautical phrases and facts out of one of his favorite books.
"Well, they went to the bottom, and a nice mermaid welcomed them,
but was much grieved on finding the box of headless knights, and
kindly pickled them in brine, hoping to discover the mystery
about them, for being a woman, she was curious. By-and-by a diver
came down, and the mermaid said, 'I'll give you a box of pearls
if you can take it up,' for she wanted to restore the poor things
to life, and couldn't raise the heavy load herself. So the diver
hoisted it up, and was much disappointed on opening it to find
no pearls. He left it in a great lonely field, where it was
found by a . . ."
"Little goose girl, who kept a hundred fat geese in the field,"
said Amy, when Sallie's invention gave out. "The little girl was
sorry for them, and asked an old woman what she should do to help
them. 'Your geese will tell you, they know everything.' said the
old woman. So she asked what she should use for new heads, since
the old ones were lost, and all the geese opened their hundred
mouths and screamed . . ."
"'Cabbages!'" continued Laurie promptly. "'Just the thing,'
said the girl, and ran to get twelve fine ones from her garden.
She put them on, the knights revived at once, thanked her, and
went on their way rejoicing, never knowing the difference, for
there were so many other heads like them in the world that no one
thought anything of it. The knight in whom I'm interested went back
to find the pretty face, and learned that the princesses had spun
themselves free and all gone and married, but one. He was in a
great state of mind at that, and mounting the colt, who stood by
him through thick and thin, rushed to the castle to see which was
left. Peeping over the hedge, he saw the queen of his affections
picking flowers in her garden. 'Will you give me a rose?' said
he. 'You must come and get it. I can't come to you, it isn't
proper,' said she, as sweet as honey. He tried to climb over
the hedge, but it seemed to grow higher and higher. Then he
tried to push through, but it grew thicker and thicker, and he
was in despair. So he patiently broke twig after twig till he
had made a little hole through which he peeped, saying imploringly,
'Let me in! Let me in!' But the pretty princess did not seem
to understand, for she picked her roses quietly, and left him
to fight his way in. Whether he did or not, Frank will tell you."
"I can't. I'm not playing, I never do," said Frank, dismayed
at the sentimental predicament out of which he was to rescue the
absurd couple. Beth had disappeared behind Jo, and Grace was
"So the poor knight is to be left sticking in the hedge, is
he?" asked Mr. Brooke, still watching the river, and playing
with the wild rose in his buttonhole.
"I guess the princess gave him a posy, and opened the gate
after a while," said Laurie, smiling to himself, as he threw
acorns at his tutor.
"What a piece of nonsense we have made! With practice we
might do something quite clever. Do you know Truth?"
"I hope so," said Meg soberly.
"The game, I mean?"
"What is it?" said Fred.
"Why, you pile up your hands, choose a number, and draw out
in turn, and the person who draws at the number has to answer
truly any question put by the rest. It's great fun."
"Let's try it," said Jo, who liked new experiments.
Miss Kate and Mr. Brooke, Meg, and Ned declined, but Fred,
Sallie, Jo, and Laurie piled and drew, and the lot fell to Laurie.
"Who are your heroes?" asked Jo.
"Grandfather and Napoleon."
"Which lady here do you think prettiest?" said Sallie.
"Which do you like best?" from Fred.
"Jo, of course."
"What silly questions you ask!" And Jo gave a disdainful
shrug as the rest laughed at Laurie's matter-of-fact tone.
"Try again. Truth isn't a bad game," said Fred.
"It's a very good one for you," retorted Jo in a low voice.
Her turn came next.
"What is your greatest fault?" asked Fred, by way of testing
in her the virtue he lacked himself.
"A quick temper."
"What do you most wish for?" said Laurie.
"A pair of boot lacings," returned Jo, guessing and defeating his
"Not a true answer. You must say what you really do want most."
"Genius. Don't you wish you could give it to me, Laurie?"
And she slyly smiled in his disappointed face.
"What virtues do you most admire in a man?" asked Sallie.
"Courage and honesty."
"Now my turn," said Fred, as his hand came last.
"Let's give it to him," whispered Laurie to Jo, who nodded
and asked at once . . .
"Didn't you cheat at croquet?"
"Well, yes, a little bit."
"Good! Didn't you take your story out of The Sea Lion?"
said Laurie.
"Don't you think the English nation perfect in every respect?"
asked Sallie.
"I should be ashamed of myself if I didn't."
"He's a true John Bull. Now, Miss Sallie, you shall have
a chance without waiting to draw. I'll harrrow up your feelings
first by asking if you don't think you are something of a flirt,"
said Laurie, as Jo nodded to Fred as a sign that peace was declared.
"You impertinent boy! Of course I'm not," exclaimed Sallie,
with an air that proved the contrary.
"What do you hate most?" asked Fred.
"Spiders and rice pudding."
"What do you like best?" asked Jo.
"Dancing and French gloves."
"Well, I think Truth is a very silly play. Let's have a
sensible game of Authors to refresh our minds," proposed Jo.
Ned, Frank, and the little girls joined in this, and while it
went on, the three elders sat apart, talking. Miss Kate took out
her sketch again, and Margaret watched her, while Mr. Brooke lay
on the grass with a book, which he did not read.
"How beautifully you do it! I wish I could draw," said Meg,
with mingled admiration and regret in her voice.
"Why don't you learn? I should think you had taste and talent
for it," replied Miss Kate graciously.
"I haven't time."
"Your mamma prefers other accomplishments, I fancy. So did
mine, but I proved to her that I had talent by taking a few lessons
privately, and then she was quite willing I should go on. Can't
you do the same with your governess?"
"I have none."
"I forgot young ladies in America go to school more than with
us. Very fine schools they are, too, Papa says. You go to a
private one, I suppose?"
"I don't go at all. I am a governess myself."
"Oh, indeed!" said Miss Kate, but she might as well have said,
"Dear me, how dreadful!" for her tone implied it, and something in
her face made Meg color, and wish she had not been so frank.
Mr. Brooke looked up and said quickly, "Young ladies in America
love independence as much as their ancestors did, and are admired
and respected for supporting themselves."
"Oh, yes, of course it's very nice and proper in them to do
so. We have many most respectable and worthy young women who do
the same and are employed by the nobility, because, being the
daughters of gentlemen, they are both well bred and accomplished,
you know," said Miss Kate in a patronizing tone that hurt Meg's
pride, and made her work seem not only more distasteful, but
"Did the German song suit, Miss March?" inquired Mr. Brooke,
breaking an awkward pause.
"Oh, yes! It was very sweet, and I'm much obliged to whoever
translated it for me." And Meg's downcast face brightened as she spoke.
"Don't you read German?" asked Miss Kate with a look of surprise.
"Not very well. My father, who taught me, is away, and I don't
get on very fast alone, for I've no one to correct my pronunciation."
"Try a little now. Here is Schiller's Mary Stuart and a tutor who
loves to teach." And Mr. Brooke laid his book on her lap with
an inviting smile.
"It's so hard I'm afraid to try," said Meg, grateful, but bashful
in the presence of the accomplished young lady beside her.
"I'll read a bit to encourage you." And Miss Kate read one
of the most beautiful passages in a perfectly correct but
perfectly expressionless manner.
Mr. Brooke made no comment as she returned the book to Meg,
who said innocently, "I thought it was poetry."
"Some of it is. Try this passage."
There was a queer smile about Mr. Brooke's mouth as he
opened at poor Mary's lament.
Meg obediently following the long grass-blade which her new
tutor used to point with, read slowly and timidly, unconsciously
making poetry of the hard words by the soft intonation of her
musical voice. Down the page went the green guide, and presently,
forgetting her listener in the beauty of the sad scene, Meg read
as if alone, giving a little touch of tragedy to the words of the
unhappy queen. If she had seen the brown eyes then, she would
have stopped short, but she never looked up, and the lesson was
not spoiled for her.
"Very well indeed!" said Mr. Brooke, as she paused, quite ignoring
her many mistakes, and looking as if he did indeed love to teach.
Miss Kate put up her glass, and, having taken a survey of
the little tableau before her, shut her sketch book, saying with
condescension, "You've a nice accent and in time will be a clever
reader. I advise you to learn, for German is a valuable
accomplishment to teachers. I must look after Grace, she is romping."
And Miss Kate strolled away, adding to herself with a shrug, "I
didn't come to chaperone a governess, though she is young and
pretty. What odd people these Yankees are. I'm afraid Laurie
will be quite spoiled among them."
"I forgot that English people rather turn up their noses at
governesses and don't treat them as we do," said Meg, looking
after the retreating figure with an annoyed expression.
"Tutors also have rather a hard time of it there, as I know
to my sorrow. There's no place like America for us workers, Miss
Margaret." And Mr. Brooke looked so contented and cheerful that
Meg was ashamed to lament her hard lot.
"I'm glad I live in it then. I don't like my work, but I get
a good deal of satisfaction out of it after all, so I won't complain.
I only wished I liked teaching as you do."
"I think you would if you had Laurie for a pupil. I shall
be very sorry to lose him next year," said Mr. Brooke, busily
punching holes in the turf.
"Going to college, I suppose?" Meg's lips asked the question,
but her eyes added, "And what becomes of you?"
"Yes, it's high time he went, for he is ready, and as soon as
he is off, I shall turn soldier. I am needed."
"I am glad of that!" exclaimed Meg. "I should think every
young man would want to go, though it is hard for the mothers
and sisters who stay at home," she added sorrowfully.
"I have neither, and very few friends to care whether I live
or die," said Mr. Brooke rather bitterly as he absently put the
dead rose in the hole he had made and covered it up, like a
little grave.
"Laurie and his grandfather would care a great deal, and we
should all be very sorry to have any harm happen to you," said
Meg heartily.
"Thank you, that sounds pleasant," began Mr. Brooke, looking
cheerful again, but before he could finish his speech, Ned, mounted
on the old horse, came lumbering up to display his equestrian skill
before the young ladies, and there was no more quiet that day.
"Don't you love to ride?" asked Grace of Amy, as they stood
resting after a race round the field with the others, led by Ned.
"I dote upon it. My sister, Meg, used to ride when Papa was
rich, but we don't keep any horses now, except Ellen Tree," added
Amy, laughing.
"Tell me about Ellen Tree. Is it a donkey?" asked Grace
"Why, you see, Jo is crazy about horses and so am I, but
we've only got an old sidesaddle and no horse. Out in our
garden is an apple tree that has a nice low branch, so Jo put
the saddle on it, fixed some reins on the part that turns up,
and we bounce away on Ellen Tree whenever we like."
"How funny!" laughed Grace. "I have a pony at home, and
ride nearly every day in the park with Fred and Kate. It's very
nice, for my friends go too, and the Row is full of ladies and
"Dear, how charming! I hope I shall go abroad some day,
but I'd rather go to Rome than the Row," said Amy, who had
not the remotest idea what the Row was and wouldn't have asked
for the world.
Frank, sitting just behind the little girls, heard what they
were saying, and pushed his crutch away from him with an impatient
gesture as he watched the active lads going through all sorts of
comical gymnastics. Beth, who was collecting the scattered
Author cards, looked up and said, in her shy yet friendly way,
"I'm afraid you are tired. Can I do anything for you?"
"Talk to me, please. It's dull, sitting by myself," answered
Frank, who had evidently been used to being made much of at home.
If he asked her to deliver a Latin oration, it would not
have seemed a more impossible task to bashful Beth, but there
was no place to run to, no Jo to hide behind now, and the poor
boy looked so wistfully at her that she bravely resolved to try.
"What do you like to talk about?" she asked, fumbling over
the cards and dropping half as she tried to tie them up.
"Well, I like to hear about cricket and boating and hunting,"
said Frank, who had not yet learned to suit his amusements to
his strength.
My heart! What shall I do? I don't know anything about them,
thought Beth, and forgetting the boy's misfortune in her flurry,
she said, hoping to make him talk, "I never saw any hunting, but
I suppose you know all about it."
"I did once, but I can never hunt again, for I got hurt leaping
a confounded five-barred gate, so there are no more horses and
hounds for me," said Frank with a sigh that made Beth hate herself
for her innocent blunder.
"Your deer are much prettier than our ugly buffaloes," she
said, turning to the prairies for help and feeling glad that she
had read one of the boys' books in which Jo delighted.
Buffaloes proved soothing and satisfactory, and in her eagerness
to amuse another, Beth forgot herself, and was quite unconscious
of her sisters' surprise and delight at the unusual spectacle
of Beth talking away to one of the dreadful boys, against whom she
had begged protection.
"Bless her heart! She pities him, so she is good to him,"
said Jo, beaming at her from the croquet ground.
"I always said she was a little saint," added Meg, as if
there could be no further doubt of it.
"I haven't heard Frank laugh so much for ever so long," said
Grace to Amy, as they sat discussing dolls and making tea sets
out of the acorn cups.
"My sister Beth is a very fastidious girl, when she likes to be,"
said Amy, well pleased at Beth's success. She meant 'facinating',
but as Grace didn't know the exact meaning of either word,
fastidious sounded well and made a good impression.
An impromptu circus, fox and geese, and an amicable game of
croquet finished the afternoon. At sunset the tent was struck,
hampers packed, wickets pulled up, boats loaded, and the whole
party floated down the river, singing at the tops of their voices.
Ned, getting sentimental, warbled a serenade with the pensive
refrain . . .
Alone, alone, ah! Woe, alone,
and at the lines . . .
We each are young, we each have a heart,Oh, why should we stand thus coldly apart?
he looked at Meg with such a lackadiasical expression that she
laughed outright and spoiled his song.
"How can you be so cruel to me?" he whispered, under cover
of a lively chorus. "You've kept close to that starched-up
Englishwoman all day, and now you snub me."
"I didn't mean to, but you looked so funny I really couldn't
help it," replied Meg, passing over the first part of his reproach,
for it was quite true that she had shunned him, remembering the
Moffat party and the talk after it.
Ned was offended and turned to Sallie for consolation, saying
to her rather pettishly, "There isn't a bit of flirt in that girl,
is there?"
"Not a particle, but she's a dear," returned Sallie, defending
her friend even while confessing her shortcomings.
"She's not a stricken deer anyway," said Ned, trying to be
witty, and succeeding as well as very young gentlemen usually do.
On the lawn where it had gathered, the little party separated
with cordial good nights and good-bys, for the Vaughns were going
to Canada. As the four sisters went home through the garden, Miss
Kate looked after them, saying, without the patronizing tone in
her voice, "In spite of their demonstrative manners, American girls
are very nice when one knows them."
"I quite agree with you," said Mr. Brooke.


text:
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.
At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.
Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.
Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (Pbuh) as saying: The strong-man is not one who wrestles well, but the strong man is one who controls himself when he is in a fit of rage.
AUTHOR: Islamic Voice
Islamic Voice is a monthly Islamic magazine published in Bangalore. It is the largest English language Muslim publication in India. It is a comprehensive magazine, places a relatively high emphasis on social issues and strives to have a broad appeal. Since 1987, Islamic Voice has covered its fascinating namesake without fear or favour, with insight, accuracy, thoroughness and a well rounded perspective on a variety of subjects - be it the economy, politics, lifestyle, the arts, entertainment, travel, science, technology or health. That's why Islamic Voice is the country's most widely read publication, a position it has held for more than a decade. And that's why it makes sense to subscribe to Islamic Voice.
We represents all Muslim sects and shades of thought from all over India. We focus on "our" triumphs which, mostly, go unreported as well as constructively addresses our failures and shortcomings.
Editor-in-Chief: A.W. Sadatullah Khan
Genre: Current Affairs associated with Muslims
Subjects Covered:
Human Rights I Analysis I Special Reports I Issues I Book Reviews I National I International I Newsmakers I Community News I Islamic Perspectives I Classifieds I Opinions
Focus articles on:
Education and Children I Inter-faith Relations I Matrimony I Muslim economy I Muslim Perspective I The Muslim world I Society I Travel I The Western viewpoint I Women in Islam
Special focus on Faith and Law:
Fiqh I Hadith I Quran


text:
Abbeville Debt Repayment
Managing your debt can get out of hand and may result in grave consequences. But have no fear! Optimal Debt Solutions is at your disposal to help you manage and be of assistance in your debt repayment process.
We know that when in dire need of financial help, most of us may resort to getting loans to satisfy our financial necessities. However, loan repayments can be difficult for some as varying situations, and unexpected turn of events may cause you to fall behind on your debt repayment. But before your situation became the worst possible scenario, an effective debt repayment plan should be established and put into action.
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Setting Up Your Debt Repayment Plan
Before anything else, one must understand what it means to be in debt and know the possible ways to manage loan repayment plans. A repayment plan can help give you the motivation since you will be able to see real progress. This can also better keep you on track with the task of making each debt gradually disappear.
With the help of our debt repayment experts, financial stability can be achieved in no time. We will be assisting you as you take these necessary steps on the route to financial comfort:
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Rank your debts from the ones with the highest to the lowest rate. Doing this can help you save the most money. Ranking your debts in the order you want to pay them off can help better keep your momentum going as you repay your debts. The important thing is you stick to the list that you made.
Extra money to pay your debts
Now, if possible, you may need to find means of procuring extra money to pay your debts in a faster way. You need to identify how much extra money you have available to pay toward your debt each month. Cutting back in other areas is recommended for you to be able to put aside the money for your debt repayment plan. Applying for a part-time job can also help you earn more extra money. More importantly, stick to a strict monthly budget to pay off your debt more quickly.
One debt at a time
Focusing on paying off one debt at a time can help your debt repayment plan succeed. By putting all of your extra money on one debt, while paying the minimum on the other payments, you will slowly but surely finish repaying each of your debts over time.
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After you are finished repaying the first debt on the list, you will need to move onto the next one. You need to do this while slowly continuing to pay the minimum balances of all your other remaining debts. When you first start your plan, looking at your list of loans and debts may make it seem like such a long way to go that could last forever. But as you continue to work down your list until you have crossed out all your debts, you will realize how quickly you can pay off the next debt.
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Learning to take control of your finances is no easy task, but for the sake of financial freedom and comfort, this is necessary for you to prevent plunging back into debt. When you can finally be responsible with your money, your future self will be extremely grateful.
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Abbeville's Premier Debt Repayment Company
Generally, most people struggle with debt. Whether it is a small or big debt, proper financial management and efficient repayment plan are crucial to be at play. In situations where you find yourself in more debt than you can carry, paying off your debts one by one must be your utmost priority.
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text:
Benjamin I of Constantinople
His Holiness Benjamin I (Kiriakou) (Greek: Βενιαμίν A') (1871-1946), was the 266th Successor to the Apostle Andrew and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1936 to 1946.
Early life
He was born in the village of Stypsi in Lesvos in 1871 and later studied at the Theological School of Halki. In 1912 he became Metropolitan of Rhodes, and in 1913, Metropolitan of Silyvria, and then later, Metropolitan of Philippolis. In 1921 he was elected Metropolitan of Nicea and in 1933 as Metropolitan of Iraklion.
Election controversy and patriarchate
Following the death of Patriarch Photius in 1935, his most likely successor was considered the then Metropolitan of Chalcedon, and later Patriarch, Maximus. However, the Prefect of Istanbul eliminated (as was his right) Maximus and Joachim from the election. It is believed this may have occurred as a result of a relationship between Iakovos, Metropolitan of Imbros and Tenedos, who was trying to promote his own candidacy for the Patriarchate and the Turkish Interior Minister and Deputy of Canakkale (of which Imbros and Tenedos were a dependency). However, on January 18, 1936, the Holy Synod instead elected Metropolitan Benjamin by a vote of 7 to 6. The contentious nature of the election would prove to make relations within the Patriarchate difficult. His enthronement was marred by hostile episodes.
Hitherto, patriarchal elections were announced by the City Prefect, however Patriarch Benjamin's election was announced by both the Turkish President and the Prime Minister, as well as the Minister of the Interior, who all sent congratulatory letters.
Despite the unfavorable conditions of his election and the outbreak of World War II, his reign can be characterized as having consolidated the Patriarchate during a difficult period in its history.
During his tenure a synodal tome declaring the autocephaly of the Church of Albania was issued (April 3, 1937), the Carpatho-Russian Uniates of the United States returned the Holy Orthodox Church and finally, the autocephaly of the Church of Bulgaria was recognized, healing the schism of 1872.
Also during this time, in 1941 a great fire destroyed the Patriarchal Palace in the Phanar. A new Palace was erected in 1989 by P. Aggelopoulos. Patriarch Benjamin died on February 17, 1946 after a long illness.
Also noteworthy is the fact that Patriarch Benjamin was the first patriarch to be granted formal permission to publicly wear his clerical rason by the Turkish state.
- Patriarch Benjamin I of Constantinople at Wikipedia
- Πατριάρχης Βενιαμίν at Wikipedia (Greek)
- Benjamin
- History of the Diocese Rhodes In Greek
Benjamin I of Constantinople | ||
Preceded by: Gerasimos |
Metropolitan of Rhodes 1912 - 1913 |
Succeeded by: Apostolos I (Triphonos) |
Preceded by: ? |
Metropolitan of Silyvria 1913 - ? |
Succeeded by: ? |
Preceded by: ? |
Metropolitan of Philippolis ? - 1921 |
Succeeded by: ? |
Preceded by: ? |
Metropolitan of Nicea 1921 - 1933 |
Succeeded by: ? |
Preceded by: ? |
Metropolitan of Iraklion 1933 - 1936 |
Succeeded by: ? |
Preceded by: Photius II |
Patriarch of Constantinople 1936-1946 |
Succeeded by: Maximus V |
Categories > People > Clergy > Bishops
Categories > People > Clergy > Bishops
Categories > People > Clergy > Bishops > Bishops by century > 20th-century bishops
Categories > People > Clergy > Bishops > Bishops by city > Bishops of Rhodes
Categories > People > Clergy > Bishops > Bishops by city > Patriarchs of Constantinople


text:
Wind and solar are set to surge to almost "50 by 50" – 50% of world generation by 2050 – on the back of precipitous reductions in cost, and the advent of cheaper and cheaper batteries that will enable electricity to be stored and discharged to meet shifts in demand and supply.
Bloomberg NEF (BNEF) recently published its annual long-term analysis of the future of the global electricity system – New Energy Outlook (NEO) 2018. The 150-page report draws on detailed research by a team of more than 65 analysts around the world, including sophisticated modeling of power systems country-by-country, and of the evolving cost dynamics of different technologies.
This year's outlook is the first to highlight the huge impact that falling battery costs will have on the electricity mix over the coming decades. BNEF predicts that lithium-ion battery prices, already down by nearly 80% per megawatt-hour since 2010, will continue to tumble as electric vehicle manufacturing builds up through the 2020s.
"We see $548 billion being invested in battery capacity by 2050, two thirds of that at the grid level and one third installed behind-the-meter by households and businesses," said Seb Henbest, head of Europe, Middle East, and Africa for BNEF and lead author of NEO 2018. "The arrival of cheap battery storage will mean that it becomes increasingly possible to finesse the delivery of electricity from wind and solar, so that these technologies can help meet demand even when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining. The result will be renewables eating up more and more of the existing market for coal, gas and nuclear."
NEO 2018 sees $11.5 trillion being invested globally in new power generation capacity between 2018 and 2050, with $8.4 trillion of that going to wind and solar and a further $1.5 trillion to other zero-carbon technologies such as hydro and nuclear.
This investment will produce a 17-fold increase in solar photovoltaic capacity worldwide, and a sixfold increase in wind power capacity. The levelized cost of electricity, or LCOE, from new PV plants is forecast to fall a further 71% by 2050, while that for onshore wind drops by a further 58%. These two technologies have already seen LCOE reductions of 77% and 41% respectively between 2009 and 2018.
"Coal emerges as the biggest loser in the long run. Beaten on cost by wind and PV for bulk electricity generation, and batteries and gas for flexibility, the future electricity system will reorganize around cheap renewables – coal gets squeezed out," said Elena Giannakopoulou, head of energy economics at BNEF.
The role of gas in the generation mix will evolve, with gas-fired power stations increasingly built and used to provide back-up for renewables rather than to produce so-called base-load, or round-the-clock, electricity. BNEF sees $1.3 trillion being invested in new capacity to 2050, nearly half of it in 'gas peaker' plants rather than combined-cycle turbines. Gas-fired generation is seen rising 15% between 2017 and 2050, although its share of global electricity declines from 21% to 15%.
Fuel burn trends globally are forecast to be dire in the long run for the coal industry, but moderately encouraging for the gas extraction sector. NEO 2018 sees coal burn in power stations falling 56% between 2017 and 2050, while that for gas rises 14%.
The bearish outlook for coal means that NEO 2018 offers a more upbeat projection for carbon emissions than the equivalent report a year ago. BNEF now sees global electricity sector emissions rising 2% from 2017 to a peak in 2027, and then falling 38% to 2050.
However, this would still mean electricity failing to fulfill its part of the effort to keep global CO₂ levels below 450 parts per million – the level considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to be consistent with limiting the rise in temperatures to less than two degrees Celsius.
Matthias Kimmel, energy economics analyst at BNEF, commented: "Even if we decommissioned all the world's coal plants by 2035, the power sector would still be tracking above a climate-safe trajectory, burning too much unabated gas. Getting to two degrees requires a zero-carbon solution to the seasonal extremes, one that doesn't involve unabated gas."
BNEF's New Energy Outlook is underpinned by the evolving economics of different power technologies, and on projections for electricity demand fundamentals such as population and GDP. It assumes that existing energy policy settings around the world remain in place until their scheduled expiry, and that there are no additional government measures.
Among the other highlights of NEO 2018 are high penetration rates for renewables in many markets (87% of total electricity supply in Europe by 2050, and 55% for the U.S., 62% for China and 75% for India). It also highlights a shift to more 'decentralization' in some countries such as Australia, where by mid-century consumer PV and batteries account for 43% of all capacity.
NEO 2018 also analyzes the impact of the electrification of transport on electricity consumption. It estimates that electric cars and buses will be using 3,461TWh of electricity globally in 2050, equivalent to 9% of total demand. About half of the necessary charging is forecast to be done on a 'dynamic' basis, taking advantage of times when electricity prices are low because of high renewables output.
This analysis draws on BNEF's latest Electric Vehicle Outlook, published on May 21, which predicted that EVs would account for 28% of global new car sales by 2030, and 55% by 2040. Electric buses are expected to dominate their market even more decisively, reaching 84% global share by 2030.
More information on BNEF's New Energy Outlook 2018 can be found here.
Filed Under: Energy storage, News


text:
Get that vehicle ready for winter with these great offers from Kirby Firestone Urbana.
Kirby's Firestone is a full automotive service center. Specializing in tires, brakes, oil changes and just about any other of your vehicle's needs. They do everything minus body work! Rated #1 Service Center in Champaign County!
Check out recent reviews here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/kirbys-firestone-service-center-urbana


text:
The pen is mightier than the sword, but the IBM Model M keyboard, properly applied, can knock teeth in. There are a few more IBM keyboards even better suited to blunt force trauma – the extremely vintage beam spring keyboards made for terminals and desktop publishers. Being so very old, there's no easy way to connect these keyboards to a modern system, so when [xwhatsit] wanted to make his work, he needed to build his own controller.
The beam spring keyboards use capacitive switches, and with 122 keys, the usual method of reading capacitance – putting a capacitor in an oscillator – would be far too slow to be of any use in a keyboard. There is another method of reading capacitance: measuring the current going through the capacitive switch. This can easily be accomplished with an LM339 comparator.
[xwhatsit]'s keyboard controller uses this capacitive sensing circuit to read the four rows of keys, with a few shift registers taking care of the columns. An ATMega32u2 is the brains of the outfit, running LUFA to translate the key presses to USB.
If you're lucky enough to have one of these ancient keyboards, [xwhatsit] is selling a few over on the usual mechanical keyboard forums. There's also a controller for the Model F keyboard using the same basic circuit. If you need one just drop him a line or grab the gerbers and roll your own.


text:
Looking for branded calendar in your company brand? We do short runs and our production is all in house so we can deliver faster and for better value.
Remember to check out all our options in the Calendar Printing range. We can help promote your business with a wide selection and pricing to suit any budget.


text:
The "sauce marchand de vin" is a French red wine thick sauce typically served with meat. Its recipe in my French cookbooks call for two main ingredients: red wine and brown stock. It also uses shallots, butter, flour and black pepper, but I understand the two ingredients cited previously are the main ones.
However, many recipes I can find online (here and there, for example) on English-speaking websites add Worcestershire sauce. Not all of them do, but I still wonder: what purpose does this extra Worcestershire sauce add? I'm not too familiar with it, but if I understand it might bring some spiciness (already somewhat covered by black pepper).
So, what do you think it brings to the recipe and overall taste?


text:
On the eve of the Battle of Britain, it was time for Churchill to pay the price for his defiance of Hitler. For the glory of the Thousand Year Reich, Hitler had decreed that his enemy, the British "warmonger" must die at the hands of his "children of the Aesir". Once this was done, and fire rained from the skies courtesy of the German Luftwaffe, Hitler would order Britain to surrender or the brigade would assassinate His Majesty.
But unlike Czechozlovakia, Poland and even France, the Eugenics Brigade failed. A small group of British heroes had stopped the unstoppable. And as Hitler's sky fire was met with equal fury by the Royal Air Force, more heroes flocked to the side of freedom's last defense, from Canada, from France and from Poland.
The tide had turned. Their finest hour arrived.
This character folio details the following characters:
Big Ben, Excalibur, Esprit, Grizzly, Illustrious, Ironclad, Repulse, Swordfish and Zbrojmistrz. They are His Majesty's Defenders. They are the Crown Guard.


text:
Approximate Size: L 3.45" x W 1.25" x H 3.4"
The Boston Terrier Jeweled Trinket Box has been cast in pewter, and enameled with select semi-precious metal platings that include 24 Karat Gold, Silver, Antique gold, Brass, and Bronze. The fine details have been painted by hand by experienced craftsmen, and it has been kiln fired for 4 to 6 hours.Individually cut genuine Austrian Crystals have been carefully selected and set by hand. It features a hinged compartment that can be used for small jewelry, coins, pills, etc. Comes in a satin lined gift box.
Please note that the product you receive may have slight color variations as each individual trinket box is painted by hand.


text:
Delayed ejaculation is a medical condition in which a male is unable to ejaculate, either during intercourse or with manual stimulation in the presence of a partner. Ejaculation is the action in which semen is release from the penis.
Most men ejaculate within 2 to 4 minutes after onset of active thrusting in intercourse. Men with delayed ejaculation may be entirely unable to ejaculate in some circumstances (for example, during intercourse), or may only be able to ejaculate with great effort and after prolonged intercourse (for example 30 to 45 minutes).
The most common causes for delayed ejaculation are psychological. Common psychological causes include:
Some factors, such as anger toward the partner, may be involved.
Other causes:
Stimulation of the penis with a vibrator or other stimulatory device may determine if an underlying physical (often neurological) problem exists. A neurological examination may uncover other nerve problems associated with delayed ejaculation.
If the man has never ejaculated through any form of stimulation (such as wet dreams, masturbation, or intercourse), a urologist should be consulted to determine if there is a congenital or physical cause.
If, however, he is able to ejaculate in a reasonable period of time by some form of stimulation, he should seek sex therapy from a therapist specializing in ejaculatory problems. Treatment usually includes both partners. The therapist will usually educate the couple about the fundamentals of sexual response and how to communicate and guide the partner to provide ideal stimulation, rather than trying to make a sexual response occur.
Therapy commonly involves a series of homework assignments wherein the couple, in the privacy of their home, engage in sexual activities that reduce performance pressure and focus on pleasure.
Typically, sexual intercourse will be prohibited for a limited period of time, while the couple gradually enhances their ability to enjoy ejaculation through other types of stimulation.
In cases where there is a problematic relationship or an inhibition of sexual desire between the couple, therapy to enhance the relationship and emotional intimacy may be required as a preliminary step.
Sometimes hypnosis may be a useful adjunct to therapy, particularly if a partner is not willing to participate in therapy. Self-treatment of this problem will probably be unsuccessful in most cases.
If a medication is believed to be the cause of the problem, other medication options may be discussed. (Never stop taking any medicine without first talking to your doctor.) This may be difficult in certain instances, especially when the medication is working appropriately to solve a pre-existing medical or psychological problem.
Outpatient treatment commonly requires about 12 - 18 sessions with an average success rate in the range of 70 - 80%.
A more positive outcome is associated with having a previous history of satisfying sexual experiences, a short duration of the problem, feelings of sexual desire, feelings of love toward one's sexual partner, motivation for treatment, and absence of serious psychological problems.
If medications are causing the problem, your health care provider may recommond switching or stopping the medicine (if possible). A full recovery is possible if this can be done.
Healthy attitudes toward sexuality and one's own genitals helps prevent delayed ejaculation. It is also vitally important to realize that you cannot will a sexual response, just as you cannot will yourself to go to sleep or to perspire. The harder one tries to have a certain sexual response, the more it becomes inhibited.
To minimize the pressure, a man should absorb himself in the pleasure of the moment, without worrying about whether or when he will ejaculate. The partner should create a relaxed atmosphere, free of pressure, rather than create pressure with questions about whether or not ejaculation has occurred. Finally, any fears or anxieties, such as fear of pregnancy or disease, should be openly discussed.


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Why is it that any mother understands a basic concept that our federal government does not?
The idea is weaning. In 2011, federal entitlement spending alone exceeded all federal tax revenue.
Hal Mason explains the federal budget dilemma in revealing terms. Why doesn't the federal government reduce spending and balance the budget? (Note: While Hal should have used 2011 numbers, Hal hit the target.)
"The answer will shock you," Mason says. "They can't — not even if they remove every department, employee as well as the military."
Say that again?
And yet it's true. Our federal government spent $3.6 trillion and collected $2.3 trillion in taxes, resulting in a deficit of $1.3 trillion.
That amount — the shortfall — exceeds the total appropriation necessary to run the entire federal government other than federal entitlement programs (mandatory spending).
This means that, in 2012, before the first highway was built, before the first park ranger was paid, before the first Coast Guard helicopter was purchased, every dime of our federal tax dollars was already spent to cover entitlements.
Before the first dollar was spent to pay for running the federal government itself, every taxpayer dollar was already gone.
Hard to believe, but don't just take my word for it. You can see these facts and figures on page 210 of the official 2013 federal budget.
The federal budget can be divided into three categories. The first category, the interest on the national debt, must be paid, and is $230 billion.
The second category, so-called mandatory programs, is $2.1 trillion. The federal government has promised to pay for these programs, which include: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, and federal pension benefits.
The third category is the actual federal government, $1.3 trillion. This category comprises security and non-security expenditures. Security encompasses our military services, and non-security involves things like the Department of Education.
Federal entitlement spending completely swamps all federal government revenue. The 2011 budget deficit exceeded the amount needed to fund the entire federal government.
Mind you, that's not a one-time expense, but a recurring phenomenon that piles on to the national debt each year. Of course, that increases the interest due on the debt each year, doubling down on the negative effect.
The frightening truth is that it is impossible to balance the budget given the current levels of entitlement spending because the entitlements alone exceed total revenue, before we spend our first dollar on running the federal government.
The way to solve our fiscal catastrophe is, first, to grow our economy and, second, to increase opportunities for people to work and earn.
Right now, the primary job of our federal legislators should be to grow our economy and provide incentives for employers to start hiring and others to start businesses.


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Blogging Tory "Hunter" serves up a dollop of "Friday Night Funnies" a couple days ago with some knee-slapping hilarity:
You gotta love this one even if you've never lived in the South. Some of you will enjoy this more than others.. Southerners can be so polite!
Atlanta ATC: "Tower to Saudi Air 511 -- You are cleared to land eastbound on runway 9R
Saudi Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. Acknowledge cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R - Allah be Praised."
Atlanta ATC: "Tower to Iran Air 711 --You are cleared to land westbound on runway 9R."
Iran Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. We are cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R. - Allah is Great."
Saudi Air: " ATLANTA ATC - ATLANTA ATC"
Atlanta ATC: "Go ahead Saudi Air 511."
Saudi Air: "YOU HAVE CLEARED BOTH OUR AIRCRAFTS FOR THE SAME RUNWAY GOING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. WE ARE ON A COLLISION COURSE.. INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE."
Atlanta ATC: "Well bless your hearts. And praise Jesus. Y'all be careful now and tell Allah "hey" for us -- "
Ha ha! Oh man, that is wicked hilarious, killing two planeloads of brown people. Tune into "Hunter" again next week when she disses feminists for their lack of compassion. Really. She's seriously going to do that.
This has been an early Monday morning "dining room table" moment.
BONUS TRACK: I have no idea where to start with the dumbassitude here. The racism, the cowardice or the historical revisionism? It's a tough call, isn't it?
Is Stephen Taylor proud yet?


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Ginger Jar Fold-Over Stationery
This listing is for a custom designed stationery set of 12 or 24 personalized fold over note cards and (optional) envelopes.
Product Description:
Cards are 6 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches, printed on high-quality 130# card stock and comes with coordinating white envelopes. Optional lined envelopes can be purchased at an additional cost. Note cards and envelopes are packaged in a white box with a clear lid tied together with a coordinating and very sassy bow ready to be given as the perfect gift!
Please provide personalization in the form of a name.
Production Time:
3-7 Business Days
Production times are estimated with the understanding orders are submitted with all necessary information. If there is any follow-up needed, this will delay production in order to ensure 100% accuracy in order details.


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In 1976 Michael L. Fleisher wrote in the Batman volume of The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes:
It is not possible to establish Dick Grayson's age with any real precision. There were fourteen candles on his birthday cake in April-May 1942, indicating that he turned fourteen during this period, or, if one of these candles was only a "good luck" candle, thirteen. On this same occasion, curiously enough, Bruce Wayne ceremoniously spanks his young ward eight times, plus "one for good measure" and another "to grow on," but it seems absurd to suggest that Grayson was only eight years old at this time.The two data points Fleisher cited appear not only in the same story, "The Isle That Time Forgot," but on the same page of Batman, #10. Clearly DC Comics creators and editors weren't concerned about providing consistent information. They probably preferred ambiguity, letting readers imagine that Robin was whatever age they chose.
Fleisher went on to state: "The chronicles, at any rate, treat Grayson as a student of high school age until December 1969, at which time, having apparently attained college age, he departs Gotham City to attend his first year of classes at Hudson University." The comics weren't explicit about Dick being in high school until the late 1940s, though. That offers some possibility of the character aging after his initial appearance, but Dick remained a teenager for at least thirty years.
In New Teen Titans, #39 (1984), Marv Wolfman and George Pérez showed Dick talking about having been Robin since age eight. It's even possible that Wolfman picked up that detail from Fleisher's reference book. Devin Grayson followed Wolfman's lead in Gotham Knights and the prose novel Inheritance. But most writers of the period didn't see a need to specify that detail any more than stating Dick's current age. Again, there was value in ambiguity.
Of course, there are alternate continuities as well. The Dick Grayson that Tim Sale drew for Dark Victory is even tinier than the barrel-chested boy of the early 1940s. The Tiny Titans Robin (shown at top) is evidently six or seven years old. Frank Miller pounded the phrase "Dick Grayson, age twelve," through the first issues of All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. In the soon-to-resume Young Justice television cartoon, Dick started training with Batman at age nine. And in DC's current continuity, Dick was with the Haly Circus into his mid-teens. (I don't recall if the magazines have gotten more specific.)
But I don't think those details matter much. The web records many attempts to fit the events of the new DC continuity and its predecessors into solid timelines; while I admire the ingenuity and diligence of their makers, I think they're exercises in futility. With all respect to Wolfman's specific detail, exact ages don't matter so much as life stages and symbolism. Realistic aging is an unrealistic expectation for an unrealistic genre.


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Best Flight Training Courses in Hermann, MO
When deciding what is the best Flight Training for you, it is important to consider your flying and flight training goals. Once you've finished training, what kind of flying do you want to do? Are you learning to fly as a hobby? Do you want to learn to fly as a career? More importantly, are you seeking an airline career? When choosing a Flight Training, answering questions like these is important to establish which kind of school will best meet your needs.
Choosing the right flight training course in Hermann, MO is critical. All flight training courses and schools in Hermann, MO are not the same. Most large flight academies near Hermann, MO specialize in "ab initio" or "from the beginning" training for people who want to become commercial, airline, or corporate pilots. On the other hand, local Flight Training in ~ train for a wide variety of missions, including people who just want to fly for fun.
Local Flight Training Schools near Hermann, MO
The place that usually comes to mind when you think of airplanes is your local airport. If you want to learn to fly, your local airport is a great place to start. Even the smallest fields usually have at least one part-time or even full-time instructor that is fully qualified to teach you to fly. Larger fields may even have multiple Flight Training opportunities in Hermann, MO.
For the hobbyist, this is great, flight training is typically pay-as-you-go and self-paced. For those that want or need to go at a faster pace, the local airport may not be the best place to get flight training near Hermann, MO.
Local Flight Training typically offer at least Sport or Private Pilot programs, and some can train all the way to ATP. Local schools may have a few aircraft available for training and rental, and most have facilities for ground training such as classrooms, flight planning rooms, and even small flight simulators.
Recommended for people who want to fly for fun, or as a profession.
The advantages of using a local Flight Training could include access to a variety of aircraft, training close to home, lower costs than some flight academies, and access to training facilities.
Disadvantages could include limited training for advanced ratings and possible downtime of small fleets due to maintenance issues.
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University Flight Training Schools around Hermann, MO
Finally, for those looking for an airline career who don't have a four-year degree, consider an aviation degree program at one of the many colleges and universities that offer them. These programs allow you to combine the four-year degree, which most airlines require, with flight training in Hermann, MO. When it comes time to graduate, you will be a commercial pilot with a degree in hand ready to fly for the airlines.
Flight academies and college/university flight training programs near Hermann, MO have a lot going for them. If your goal is to fly professionally, this type of training may be the best option. But if you're only in the market to learn to fly as a hobby, some academies may not be able to accommodate your needs. It's best to contact each school to find out.
Recommended for people who want to fly for a career. Advantages to attending a flight academy/university program include state of the art aircraft fleets with glass cockpits, flight crew training environment, industry-standard flight simulator training, potential employment as a CFI after graduation, access to job interviews with affiliated companies, and minimal downtime due to maintenance issues.
Disadvantages could include higher overall costs, the possible need to relocate to attend an academy, less flexibility on time and scheduling, the training not as personalized.
No matter what type of flying you intend to do, it's important to talk to as many schools as possible to find out which one fits your learning style, personality, and ultimate aviation goals best.
The most important take-away is that each kind of Flight Training can provide the same result, but when you pick the best Flight Training in Hermann, MO for you, you can meet your goals quicker and more efficiently. Furthermore, there's nothing wrong with changing in the middle of your training. Don't let the fear that you might pick the wrong school for you prevent you from learning to fly; it is too much fun.
Accelerated Flight Training Courses from Hermann, MO
If you're seeking a flying career or you just want to get a rating in the minimum time, there are also larger professional Flight Training offering accelerated programs. These are typically more condensed, some as short as a few days or weeks, that is strictly planned and scheduled.
Flight Training in Hermann, MO employs plenty of professional instructors and has large aircraft fleets to accommodate the quick pace of the training. It may sound like a stressful way to learn to fly, but it is actually quicker and more efficient because it requires less repetition. These flight training programs in Hermann, MO cater to someone looking to obtain several ratings at once or those who need to get a rating quickly.
Hermann, MO Training Options
When deciding what is the best aviation training program for you, it is important to consider your flying and flight training goals. Once you've finished training, what kind of flying do you want to do? Are you learning to fly as a hobby? Do you want to learn to fly as a career? Are you seeking training for a different kind of aviation career, such as a flight dispatcher or aircraft maintenance technician (AMT)? When choosing where to receive your training, answering questions like these is important in order to establish which kind of school in Hermann, MO will best suit your needs.
With the help of ASO, gaining education in the field of your dreams has never been more practical!
What makes one flight training academy better than another? There are many things – training aircraft, quality of the ground school, the curriculum, management, the local weather – and let's not forget, the flight instructors themselves.
Aviation Schools Online wants to help you find all the answers to your questions about aviation careers training. If you're thinking about getting into the aviation industry, either as a pilot or in one of the exciting ground-based careers, we offer you a starting point to learn about what to expect from each type of career.


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OK, this is just stupid. A lawyer is trying to get the conviction of Jesus overturned. The state involved no longer exists, the man has no living kin or friends to carry the case forward, and it's not even certain the individual actually existed…not to mention that the case is 2000 years old and is only one of many thousands of similar executions carried out by Rome. Dumb, a total waste of time, something to laugh at briefly and then dismiss.
But the article goes on and on, at overtly theological length. I had just clicked through when someone sent me the link, and as I was reading this, I was wondering…what is the source here? Is this one of those wacky religious newspapers or something? No serious secular source would give a good god damn for this nonsense.
So I looked. This was from Time magazine.
As oddball as the case may be, Indidis' effort does raise a larger theological question that Christians have long debated: Why did Jesus have to die? Theologians have argued that his death was required for salvation to actually happen and that it was important for Jesus, who claimed to be the Messiah, the God-man, to experience human suffering and death.
TIME devoted a cover story to that question in 2004, when Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ premiered. Theories of atonement, the theological term for the meaning of Jesus' death, have varied throughout Christian history, and the story is a deep dive into how the doctrine of atonement changed over time:
What was the cosmic reason for his agony? What is its purpose, its divine calculus? How precisely does his death, usually referred to in this context as the atonement, lead to the salvation of humanity?
The atonement "is the centerpiece of Christianity, and it's what distinguishes it from all other religions," says Giles Gasper, a religious historian who has written a book about one of the topic's great medieval interpreters. Without at least an intuitive comprehension of atonement, a believer stands little chance of making sense of the faith's promises of redemption and eternal life.
It is a question believers will continue to ponder. But as the Apostle Paul explained, in the New Testament's Book of Romans, the atonement comes with rewards: "If we have been united with [Christ] in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his."
How does the execution of some guy lead to our salvation, and what cosmic purpose did his agony have? It doesn't, and none. Case closed. Bye.
I knew there was a reason I haven't read Time in years.


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Without going into the discussion of why HTML 5 is available today and not 2022, this article is going to give you a series of HTML 5 boilerplates that you can use in your projects right now.
HTML 5 in 5 seconds
It's über easy to get your markup to validate as HTML 5 — just change your DOCTYPE
from whatever it is now to this:
<!DOCTYPE html>
That's it! It doesn't require anything more than that.
Google are doing it already. Check out their homepage, written all in one line:
<!doctype html><title>HTML 5 - Google Search</title>
article, aside, details, figcaption, figure, footer, header,
hgroup, menu, nav, section { display: block; }

Hello World

If you want to experiment with HTML 5, the default JS Bin template is an HTML5 boilerplate for you to play with too.


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She Said "Freeze!," He Said "Wow. Really?!?"
In this (long overdue!) episode of 1WineDude TV, I (briefly) interview (the very tall) Marnie Old, Philly's first lady of wine and co-author (with Dogfish Head's extreme beer maven Sam Calagione) of He Said Beer, She Said Wine: Impassioned Food Pairings to Debate and Enjoy: from Burgers to Brie and Beyond.
Marnie and I dined earlier this week at downtown Philly's excellent Osteria, where Marnie deftly navigated the Italian-heavy wine list to match lesser-known selections with our crazy-good fare (the perks of friendship – Marnie's been at the forefront of the Philly restaurant scene for years).
In this interview, Marnie talks about her new book Wine Secrets: Advice from Winemakers, Sommeliers & Connoisseurs, and shares a (very!) inexpensive tip from the book for preserving open bottles of wine – and it's one that I guarantee most of you haven't tried yet!
Interview after the jump. Enjoy…
(images: amazon.com)


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Should You Worry About Competition on the Internet?
Last Updated on October 22, 2020 by Jean
Don't shy away from a niche you'd like to get involved in just because you see the competition is plentiful. All that means is that you have a good idea and it's a proven moneymaker according to how many others want a part of that pie too.
Competition is a good thing because it can also prove the track record of a niche. What you want to do is bring something to the table within that niche that your competition is not offering.
For example, plenty of companies jumped on the bandwagon after the Kindle was released and began to offer protective cases in a variety of designs and colors to the public who purchased the Kindle and other electronic devices.
However, one company decided to create a niche with safety from theft in mind and created a cover that resembles an old book – protecting the Kindle from scratches and from the view of would be thieves as well. They took a niche and narrowed it down and charged ahead of the competition and are now making plenty in profits.
Any product that is specifically focused will always beat out the competition. If you want to work a niche on weight loss, you'll discover that the weight loss niche is saturated with websites, books and other products dedicated to the topic.
It's easy for consumers to get what's called 'blind eye' when it comes to anything new on the weight loss scene because of that over saturation. So what you would do is take the topic of weight loss and narrow it down to only one small aspect of the weight loss topic.
You could narrow it down by focusing only on organic weight loss products or information. You could also narrow it down by targeting only women who've given birth and now want to lose weight and get back to pre-pregnancy shape.
The trick is to take an old topic and give it a fresh twist. Think of all the magazine headlines that you read. You never see a new topic – just a fresh twist on what's already been around for centuries.
This is the part where doing your homework pays off. Once you've selected the niche that interests you, research all the competition on that niche. What are they offering? What audience are they targeting? Which audience is being left out? How can you take that niche and make it more valuable to the consumer?
One way to discover what people are looking for in a niche is by doing keyword research. You can find free keyword tools online and go through the keywords that your audience uses when searching for information about the topic. That may help give you ideas on how to narrow your focus for your niche.


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iPlayerHD introduced it's video hosting platform in April of 2008 to address a growing need by businesses and other organizations to deliver an ad-free video experience to their website vistors. While we believe it is important to use YouTube's free video hosting to promote products, services and ideas, and to use YouTube to drive traffic to your web site, we also believe that once that traffic arrives at your site, they should have an unbranded experience free of those pesky ads that appear in YouTube videos. You work hard to drive traffic to your website. Why risk losing that traffic because your visitor clicks on an ad or the YouTube logo? iPlayerHD's unbranded, ad-free video hosting platform will keep vital site visitors on your website.
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Many years ago, I was talking with an Economics professor about design patterns, how they were establishing a common language for programmers and how they were solving well known problems in a nice manner, etc etc.
Then he talked back to me that this is exactly the opposite approach he would use to his Economics students. He usually presented a problem and asked them to find a solution first, so they could think about it first and try to find ways to solve the problem first, and only after that, he presented the "classical" solution.
So I was thinking if the "design pattern" approach is really something that makes programmers smarter or dumber, since they're many times just getting the "right solution for this problem" instead maybe of using creativity and imagination to solve some problem in a new and innovative way.
What do you think?


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MasterChef challenge, day 3: A plate of nibbles
The ingredients for Day 3 of the MasterChef preliminaries were:
- Red chili powder
- Ketchup
- Manchego cheese
- Prawns (shrimp)
- Avocado
- Couscous
Ingredient notes: I was pretty sure the red chili powder specified here is not the American chili powder, which is actually a mixture of various spices, but full-on red hot powdered hot chili peppers - a common Indian ingredient. Manchego cheese is a relatively mild yet salty hard cheese from Spain. It's sort of like a young Parmesan or Grana Padano.
Now...I have to confess that I'm not overly fond of instant couscous. When couscous is steamed for a while with vegetables and things in a couscousier as it is in a proper Moroccan restaurant it can be wonderful. But I couldn't do that within the allotted 40 minutes, so I only had instant couscous. Instead of soaking it in hot water and softening it, I decided to try and take advantage of its crunchiness by mixing it with the grated Manchego cheese, to make crunchy cheesy crisps. 2 cups of grated cheese were mixed with 1/4 cup of couscous, and kneaded together into a ball. This was divided into small balls, flattened, and baked on a sheet lined with silicon paper in a hot oven (200°C/400deg;F) for about 10 minutes.
With the avocado, I went the traditional route and made a guacamole - mashed avocado mixed with chopped onion, coriander a few chopped pickled jalapeño peppers, and lime juice.
The white sauce you see is simply yoghurt mixed with a little salt and a crushed garlic - sort of like raita without the cucumber.
The prawns (shrimp) were sautéed with some chopped garlic and a sprinkle of the red chili powder, salt and pepper, in olive oil. This was fast and tasty - but then you shouldn't fiddle around too much with shrimp anyway.
The tasting verdict from the panel of judges (the eaters) was a bit mixed. The cheese crisps were probably the most successful, but it didn't quite match the guacamole. I'm not sure I'd repeat this menu, which is why I'm not writing down the recipes, but I think I'll try to refine the cheesy crisps. Also, while the cucumber slices were pretty, I think that taste-wise celery sticks would have been better as vegetable crunchies.
Unused ingredient: ketchup (I could have used it for the shrimp, but I just forgot!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider becoming my patron via Patreon. ^_^


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As more details come to light about bin Laden's life of the past few years, we're learning how the leader of Al-Qaeda communicated to his underlings through email – even though he didn't have an internet connection in his compound.
A counterterrorism official briefed the Associated Press on bin Laden's methods and turns out, it was a process to get a message out. But still, he was a prolific emailer! The AP says that since his home didn't have any phone lines or internet access, bin Laden would type out his emails offline and then save it to a thumb drive. And then:
[bin Laden]then passed the flash drive to a trusted courier, who would head for a distant Internet cafe. At that location, the courier would plug the memory drive into a computer, copy bin Laden's message into an email and send it. Reversing the process, the courier would copy any incoming email to the flash drive and return to the compound, where bin Laden would read his messages offline.
This primitive method of emailing allowed bin Laden to contact his people without being detected by the US for years. The Navy SEALs involved in the operation to kill bin Laden pulled away a hundred or so thumb drives and have email address and archives of back-and-forth communication between bin Laden and his associates. Hopefully, something will come out of it. [AP]


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WHY: NEW YORK, NY - (NewMediaWire) - April 21, 2024 - Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) resulting from allegations that Santander may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Santander securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=22671 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email email@example.com for information on the class action.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On February 5, 2024, the Financial Times published an article entitled "Iran used Lloyds and Santander accounts to evade sanctions." This article stated, in part that "Santander UK provided accounts to British front companies secretly owned by a sanctioned Iranian petrochemicals company based near Buckingham Palace, according to documents seen by the Financial Times."
On this news, Santander's American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") fell $0.24 per ADS, or 5.7%, to close at $3.94 per ADS on February 5, 2024.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827


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The continent of Australia. Home to some of the world's deadliest snakes, spiders, and sea creatures, and one very determined serial killer: Mick Taylor. He's a man with no conscience. A man who kills for pleasure. A man who may have finally met his match in the new series, Wolf Creek. It's time for Mick's bad deeds to finally get the punishment they deserve.
A follow-up to the 2005 and 2013 films, Wolf Creek: Season One delivers a gory and suspenseful story of revenge and payback as one of the survivors of Mick Taylor's lunatic killing sprees decides to hunt down and killer the killer. When her family is brutally killed by Mick during a vacation to the Australian Outback, Eve (Lucy Fry) escapes with a gunshot wound and nothing left to live for but her new desire to take down Australia's most infamous serial killer. Will her efforts be in vain, or will she succeed at preventing others from falling victim to his violence?
I vividly remember the first Wolf Creek film, specifically a scene where Mick Taylor severs the spinal cord of one of his victims. The image still resonates in my head; from the sound effects to the looks on the faces of both Mick and his victim when her spine is cut clean through (ugh!).
I was happy to see that they were able to cast John Jarratt once again in the titular role of serial killer Mick Taylor. It lends an air of authenticity to the series. I feel if they had had to recast the role that it would not have had the same impact as it does, especially since a mask or makeup aren't a key aspect of the character.
Wolf Creek: Season One delivers the goods and will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final moments of the finale. It's exciting and fun to see what happens when the tables are turned and the one who has been tormenting, torturing, and slaughtering tourists in Australia may have finally met the one surviving victim willing to go toe to toe with him and take him out at any cost.
Wolf Creek: Season One includes a number of great featurettes that include: Cinema to Series: The Legacy of Wolf Creek; Making a Television Series; Meet the Stars; Discovering the Outback; a Visual Effect Featurette; and Meet the Supporting Cast.
I really enjoyed Wolf Creek: Season One. If you enjoyed the movies, or are a fan of smart horror, you're sure to enjoy it, too!
Wolf Creek: Season One is available now on DVD!
What's your favorite moment from the Wolf Creek films or series? Leave a comment and let us know!


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