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Homebuyers Info
The American dream is alive and well to all those who choose to pursue it.
Congratulations! You have decided to make your dream of owning a home into a reality. You are going to embark on a journey toward the American dream of becoming the owner of your own home. As with any journey toward a prized goal, you may encounter problems along the way. Stewart Title is here to help you leap the hurdles, navigate the obstacles or smooth the snags that might impede your journey.
Before you begin, let's look at some important issues that will provide you with the answers and the steps that will make your journey a pleasant and rewarding experience.
How much home can you reasonably afford?
Before you begin the search for your dream home, decide how much you can comfortably spend. Mortgage lenders most often will take into consideration all of the following:
- The size of your down payment
- Your job stability
- Existing debts
- Credit references and,
- Payment history.
Knowing your credit status and how credit agencies rate your credit also may be a deciding factor, especially when you begin talking to lenders. There are three main credit-reporting agencies that will, for a small fee, send you the most current credit report on file.
- Experian
- Equifax
- Trans Union
Lenders usually use the following two qualifying guidelines to decide how much of a loan you can manage:
- Your monthly housing expenses — mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, etc. These expenses should total no more than 28 percent of your monthly gross income.
- Your monthly living expenses and any long-term debts — utilities, car and school loan, child support, health and car insurance, etc. These expenses should be no more than 36 percent of your monthly gross income.
Choosing the right mortgage
The next step in your journey is choosing the right type of mortgage for your individual financial needs. While there are some people who can and do pay cash for a new home, most are like you, and this is where your lender's skills and knowledge will take effect.
Pre-qualifying before house hunting puts you ahead of the game. Your research into how much home you can afford has provided you with the knowledge of already knowing the standard of mortgages for which you qualify. Quite simply, you are shopping for a loan from a mortgage lender.
First, review the major kinds of mortgages you may encounter. The following list contains the mortgages you are most likely to see. Again, ask questions; your lender will be happy to explain each type of loan arrangement and satisfy all your concerns.
Fixed-Rate Mortgage (FRM)
This is the standard mortgage model. It is the oldest and most easily understood type of mortgage. Its primary attraction is that the interest rate and the amount of payment remain fixed for the life of the loan, typically either 15 or 30 years. However, if rates fall, the holder cannot benefit from the new, lower rate except by refinancing.
Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM)
With this kind of mortgage, the interest rate you pay rises and falls along with other rates charged throughout the economy. Therefore, you, the borrower, assume the risk of rising rates, and you stand to benefit should rates fall.
An essential question to ask about an ARM is whether there are limits on how much your rate can be raised, both at each review and over the whole term of the loan. Without limits, known as "caps," you'll have no way to predict how much your rate (and thus your monthly payments) might change.
Convertible Option
FRM and ARM represent the primary options available to homebuyers today. The convertible mortgage represents something of a compromise between the two. It is designed for those who want the advantages of the ARM, but also want to limit the risk of rising rates.
Under this arrangement, the buyer starts out with an ARM, but has the option of converting to an FRM at specified points during the loan term. You may want to ask the lender these questions: When can you convert? How often can you consider the option? Are there any up-front fees involved? Will you have to pay more for an ARM with the conversion feature than for an ARM without it? Are there additional fees due if and when you decide to convert? Find out the lender's conversion rate. Graduated Payment Mortgage (GPM)
A fixed-rate GPM starts out with low payments, usually below that of a fixed-rate and possibly that of an ARM, but rise gradually (usually over five to ten years), then level off for the remaining years of the loan.
Growing-Equity Mortgage (GEM)
This option is designed for borrowers who want to pay off their mortgage as soon as possible. Therefore, the interest rate remains fixed, but the amount of the monthly payment increases according to a prearranged schedule, with the higher payments going to reduce the principal balance. This mortgage can be appealing to someone who is expecting regular income growth and wants to build equity quickly.
Fifteen-Year Mortgage
Like the GEM, the fifteen-year mortgage enables borrowers to repay their loan more quickly, which means they build equity faster and pay less interest over the life of the mortgage.
Biweekly Mortgage
Another option for people who want to repay their loans sooner is the biweekly mortgage. Instead of making a single mortgage payment each month, borrowers who choose this option make two equal payments monthly.
Federal Housing Administration Insured Loans (FHA)
FHA, also known as the Federal Housing Administration, operates under the control of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and has the primary responsibility for administering the government home loan insurance program. This program allows buyers who might otherwise not qualify for a home loan to obtain one because the risk is removed from the lender by FHA.
What is an FHA Loan?
In 1937, under an act of Congress, the Federal Housing Administration was established to provide American families with a unique opportunity to become homeowners. Formerly, a homebuyer's options were limited only to short term loans ranging from one to five years in term. Borrowers had to put as much as 40 to 50 percent down on the property and pay off the entire loan balance by the end of the term. FHA revolutionized the mortgage industry at the time by offering the 30-year mortgage and made the possibility of home ownership available to Americans nationwide. Throughout the years, a variety of programs have spawned from this revolution to make that American dream of home ownership easier, more affordable and attainable to Americans.
There are several notable FHA home loan programs available.
- Standard fixed rate (FHA 203b)
- FHA adjustable rate mortgage (FHA 251)
- FHA 2-1 buydown (FHA 203b, FHA 251)
- Energy Efficient Mortgages Program
Payment Problems
Should one fail to pay, FHA insures mortgage loans made by approved lending institutions. The FHA insures a variety of mortgages, including FRMs, ARMs, GEMs and GPMs. Down payments are low — 5 percent or less. The FHA doesn't set the interest rate on loans it insures, so you'll need to shop around for the best rate.
The FHA limits the amount it will insure to whichever is less: 95 percent of the local average home price or 75 percent of the loan limit set by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, a large buyer and reseller of mortgages.
Veterans Administration Guaranteed Loans (VA)
VA loans have most of the advantages of FHA loans, and then some, but they also have eligibility restrictions. They are available only to veterans of the armed services, those currently in the service and their spouses. VA loans are typically half a percent or more below market rates, and they can be obtained with no money down.
Finding the perfect home
You are now ready and armed with your pre-qualification or pre-approval to find the home of your dreams. Your journey has brought you this far and now your real estate agent will provide you with as many homes as you care to see.
However, do you know what kind of home you are looking for? Do you know what neighborhood in which you wish to live? What kind of schools will your children be attending? Is shopping important to you or are you looking for that home on the golf course or near the water? Would you be comfortable in a condominium, a townhouse or even a pre-fabricated home? All these questions and more regarding amenities and specific features will be among those your real estate agent will ask. She will be much more capable of finding the right home for you if she knows as much about your requirements, needs and desires as possible.
To help your real estate agent with this process, make three lists — a need list, a do-not-want list and a dream list. Factor in your current housing needs, likes, dislikes and possible future changes in your life and lifestyle, such as more children, less children, parents moving in or out and other major life changing factors.
Your needs list may include:
- Number of bedrooms
- Number of bathrooms
- Bath in the master bedroom
- Separate dining room
- Garage
- Basement
While your do-not-want list may include:
- Small bathrooms
- No counter space
- No windows in kitchen/bathroom
- Tiny yard
- Insufficient closet space
- No garage
For your dream list, write down all of the features you would love to have in your home, which may include:
- Fireplace
- Swimming pool with Jacuzzi
- Greenhouse
- Breakfast nook
- Two stories
- Skylights
Closing the Deal
You've finally found the home of your dreams. You're ready to put your money where your mouth is — but wait — before you sign on the dotted line, before you spend the money your lender has provided and before you start thinking about interior and exterior design, find out a few things first. Those things may help you negotiate a better, lower price than what the owner is asking.
Find out the selling prices of similar properties to use as a guideline to set your sales price. These comparable properties should:
- Have sold no more than six months earlier
- Be around the same age and condition
- Have close to the same number of bathrooms, bedrooms and square footage
- Be in a similar location and on a similar lot
- If you still don't feel comfortable setting a price, consider having a professional appraisal done. Appraisers look at what the home is worth today and how the neighborhood may affect future property value. They provide a realistic figure for the true market value of the property
Once you, your real estate agent and the owner have come to an agreement on the sale price of the house — Put it in Writing.
Don't reveal your strategy and don't make oral offers. You know you want this house, but don't hand over your money until you are sure the seller is legally capable of conveying a good title and meeting other conditions. Yet the seller doesn't want to surrender the deed until you've paid for the property.
Now what?
With your real estate agent's assistance, offer the seller a written contract setting out the commitments and promises that you and the seller need to agree on and fulfill in order to make the sale. A well-drawn contract should protect all parties.
The first contract you submit should be comprehensive and include everything of any importance. Keep in mind, once the seller accepts the contract, it may be too late to add or change anything. In some states, there may be standard real estate contracts. However, you should make sure that your contract includes at least the following:
- The offering price
- Down payment
- Legal description of the property
- Method of conveying the title
- Fees to be paid and who will pay them
- Amount of deposit
- Conditions under which the seller and buyer can void the contract
- The settlement date
- Financing arrangements
- A list of appliances, furnishings and personal property being sold with the home
Earnest Money
After you have come up with an offer price, the next step is to determine how large a deposit you want to make with your offer. You want the "earnest money deposit" to be large enough to show the seller you are serious, but not so large you are placing significant funds at risk.
One recommendation is to make sure your deposit is less than two percent of your offered price. The reason for this is that if your deposit is larger than that, the lender will pay particular attention to how you came up with the funds. You might have to provide a copy of a canceled check along with a bank statement showing you had the money to begin with. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you have a short escrow period or are barely coming up with your down payment, it could pose an inconvenience.
Another reason to limit your deposit is "just in case." Although significant problems are the exception and not the rule, they do occur. "Just in case" there is a nasty or prolonged dispute between you and the seller, the less money you have tied up in a deposit, the fewer funds you have placed at risk.
As with practically everything in real estate, there are exceptions to this rule, too. During a hot market, there may be multiple offers on the property that interests you. A large deposit may impress a seller enough so they will accept your offer instead of someone else's, even when your unknown competitor is offering the same price or slightly higher.
Since large deposits do impress sellers, you may also find that by making a large deposit you can convince the seller to accept a lower offer. More money up front may save you money later.
When it comes to buying your new home, everything is negotiable. Your real estate agent can be very helpful with this process. A partial list of what's negotiable when purchasing your new home may include:
- Price
- Financing
- Closing costs (except where specified by financing or law)
- Occupancy (When can you get the key and move in?)
- Painting (Will the seller repaint a portion of or the entire house?)
- Repairs (Will the seller repair the roof, plumbing, windows, etc., and what kind and quality of repairs will be made?)
- Yard (Will the seller remove unwanted trees, bushes — put in desired landscaping?)
- Fixtures (Which lights, fans, appliances, etc. stay and which go?)
- Wall coverings (Do the drapes stay or go?)
- Furniture (Will the seller include certain pieces?)
- Prepaid taxes and insurance (Will the seller credit you with these?)
Negotiation gives you — the buyer — incredible power in making a favorable transaction. As in any negotiation, be prepared to do some give and take. Let your real estate agent help you and work with you and the seller to come to the best possible terms for everyone.
As an added precaution, you also should have a professional inspector go through the house to look for potential problems. Even though you have made a complete walk-through, asked the right questions and discussed the offer with your real estate agent, a professional may see things that would be easy for you to overlook. Even if they are not things the seller is expected to repair, at least you will have foreknowledge of any potential problems.
Once you receive the inspection, you will want to allow yourself sufficient time to review and approve the report. If you do not approve the report, you may negotiate with the sellers on which repairs should be performed and who should pay for those repairs. Otherwise, you can cancel the purchase without penalty, provided you have included timetables in your offer. Allow a maximum of ten to fifteen days to receive the report and five days to review it.
One more thing, it is absolutely essential that you include a closing date as part of your offer. This way both you and the seller can make plans for moving and the seller can make plans for buying his or her next home. This also allows the time needed to renegotiate after reviewing the professional inspection report.
Though most transactions actually do close on the right date, remain flexible to avoid delays that may create difficult problems.
For example, if you are renting and need to give the landlord notice that you are moving out, you may want to allow some flexibility in your time line. Otherwise, if your purchase closes a few days late you could find yourself staying in a motel with your belongings packed in a moving van somewhere while you pay storage costs.
You're almost at the end of your journey. Soon, your dream will be a reality and you can begin living in the home of your choice. And, now that you and your seller have come to a mutual agreement, you are ready to sign the contract and put down your earnest money (money indicating the seriousness of your offer). There are all kinds of people and services involved behind the scenes to make this happen before you put the key in the lock.
First, you'll want to close the deal. The road to closing is short, with only six major steps. These steps generally are handled at your title company office. Participants at this meeting are you, the buyer, the seller, your attorneys — if you have them, your real estate agent, escrow agents and anyone else who may have an interest in the transfer of title.
And of course, the final step — moving in! Congratulations — you have now accomplished the American dream of owning your own home! Live long and prosper!


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Bank of America Corp. is impeding an investigation of its loan modification practices by negotiating settlements with borrowers who must agree to keep them secret and not criticize the bank in exchange for cash payments and loan relief, Arizona officials say.
The Arizona Attorney General's office is asking a court to block those aspects of the settlements and require the bank to turn over all the agreements. The bank denies any wrongdoing.
One 2011 accord involving a borrower facing foreclosure who defaulted on a $253,142 mortgage included a $5,000 payment, plus $7,500 for legal fees, and the defaulted payments were waived and the loan was modified to a 40-year term with a 2 percent interest rate, court documents show. The terms of the original loan and the borrower's complaint about the lender weren't described in the documents.
[ipaper docId=79536678 access_key=key-230tup2numiwbhfeybli height=600 width=600 /]© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Little Krishna Thea Lakshmi — the baby Padma Lakshmi gave birth to on Saturday — is going to grow up with a dad in her life. Page Six has learned from a friend of Adam Dell that Dell is delighted to be the father to Krishna. The stunning "Top Chef" host has never identified the father, but Dell's friend said he's happy to as sume paternal responsibility and is looking forward to spending time with his daugh ter. Adam, the younger brother of computer maker Michael Dell, did not return our calls.


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|Arabella Doreen Figg
|Biographical information
In or before 1964[1]
|Blood status
|Marital status
Married or widowed[2]
|Physical information
|Hair colour
Grizzled grey flyaway hair
- Harry: "Why didn't you tell me you're a Squib, Mrs. Figg? All those times I came round your house - why didn't you say anything?"
- Mrs. Figg: "Dumbledore's orders. I was to keep an eye on you but not say anything, you were too young. I'm sorry I gave you such a miserable time, Harry, but the Dursleys would never have let you come if they'd thought you enjoyed it. It wasn't easy, you know…"
- — Harry Potter and Arabella Figg in the summer of 1995.[src]
Mrs. Arabella Doreen Figg was a Squib, a dealer of cross-bred cats and kneazles,[3] and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She lived on Wisteria Walk in Little Whinging, in a house that smelled strongly of cabbage; she also owned and extensively photographed at least four part-kneazle cats, named Mr. Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws and Tufty.[4] She lived near Harry Potter and the Dursley family, and used to babysit Harry in the 1980s and the early 1990s, mainly to keep an eye on him for Albus Dumbledore. As Dumbledore had believed Harry was too young to understand his place in the wizarding world, Mrs. Figg kept her true identity a secret throughout most of Harry's childhood, and he knew nothing about her affiliation to the wizarding world until after he and Dudley Dursley were attacked by dementors in 1995. Mrs. Figg supported the Order to the best of her abilities, but probably did not fight at the Battle of Hogwarts. She most likely survived the war and continued cross-breeding and trading part-kneazle cats.
First Wizarding WarEdit
It is possible that she became a member of the Order of the Phoenix in the First Wizarding War, although her most notable contribution to the cause was taking up residence in Little Whinging, most probably on Albus Dumbledore's orders, to keep an eye on young Harry Potter. This may have begun prior to the end of the First War, initially in order to watch over the Dursley family.
She was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone when Petunia Dursley mentioned she fell and gave herself a broken leg.
Between the warsEdit
Arabella Figg lived in a Muggle community, working undercover for the Order of the Phoenix. Most of her job involved watching Harry Potter and ensuring that no harm came to him from Lord Voldemort. During times when the Dursley family went on holiday, they left Harry Potter with Mrs. Figg, who once gave him an ancient chocolate cake as a "treat," but most often bored him senseless with pictures of her part-kneazle cats.[4] She made sure he didn't particularly enjoy his time with her, and took care never to reveal her heritage to either Harry or the Dursleys, to ensure that the Dursleys would not withdraw Harry from her care.[5]
Second Wizarding WarEdit
Dementors in Little WhingingEdit
In 1995, Harry and his cousin Dudley were attacked by dementors in Little Whinging. Figg sensed the distinct presence of the Dementors and despite, as a Squib, being unable to actually see them, she was still able to describe the Dementors in front of the Wizengamot during Harry's trial. Not trusting Mundungus Fletcher to effectively fulfill his duties of following and protecting Harry, she charged Mr. Tibbles with the task,[5] and upon discovering Mundungus had abandoned his post, she eventually tracked Harry and his cousin Dudley down herself, to discover they had just barely survived a dementor attack. As the three walked back to the Dursleys, with Harry half carrying Dudley, she revealed that she was not a Muggle, as previously believed, but a Squib, and moreover, a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Before returning Harry to Privet Drive, she apologized for the way she had been forced to treat him while he was growing up.[5]
Harry Potter's trialEdit
Mrs. Figg was also a witness at Harry's trial before the Wizengamot, regarding his unauthorised use of magic as an underaged wizard. She arrived in her bedroom slippers, and her description of the Dementors was unimpressive, as she described them as "big and wearing cloaks." However, she ultimately managed to convince Amelia Bones and various other unbiased members of the Wizengamot with her accurate description of a Dementor's presence. Despite Cornelius Fudge's attempts to discredit her on the basis of being a Squib, Mrs. Figg, along with Albus Dumbledore, managed to persuade the Ministry to clear Harry of all charges.[5]
Albus Dumbledore's funeralEdit
During the Battle of the Astronomy Tower in 1997, Albus Dumbledore was killed by Severus Snape, who sided with the Death Eaters. Figg attended Dumbledore's funeral in 1997, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[6]
Battle of HogwartsEdit
As she could not fight due to her lack of magic, it is unknown if she participated in the Battle of Hogwarts, though she may have assisted or aid the fighters along with Argus Filch and Madame Pomfrey in some non-magical capacity.
Later lifeEdit
It is most likely that she survived the Second Wizarding War, and maintained her involvement in the "roaring trade" of cross-bred kneazles and cats.
Physical AppearanceEdit
Arabella Figg is described as a batty old woman with grizzled grey fly away hair, almost always seen wearing a hairnet and tartan carpet slippers.[5]
Personality and traitsEdit
In Harry Potter's youth, the Dursleys left him in Mrs. Figg's care at least once a year,[7] and during their time together, she given to making him look endlessly at photos of "all the cats she'd ever owned".[4] In 1995, she admitted that, though she didn't enjoy it, she had intentionally kept Harry bored and miserable, as the Dursleys would never have left him with her if they thought he enjoyed it. Though Harry only thought of her as his "batty old cat-obsessed neighbour"[5] before discovering she was a Squib, she appeared to be a clever woman with a bit of a temper. She physically attacked Mundungus Fletcher when he left his post of watching Harry Potter, and prior to that, had been quite sarcastic, even slightly insulting, during her conversation with Harry. She appeared nervous, even timid, during Harry's disciplinary hearing, though that was likely due to the stigma surrounding being a Squib, as well as the fact that she had to testify before the entire Wizengamot. Regardless, she was a brave, vigorous woman, who, despite her lack of magical ability, did her best to support the Order of the Phoenix.
Albus DumbledoreEdit
Arabella Figg knew Albus Dumbledore at least since the time of the First Wizarding War. After Lord Voldemort's first downfall, Dumbledore trusted Figg with the task of watching Harry Potter during his time at the Dursleys' house. Figg appeared to respect Dumbledore and consider him a great wizard; when Harry was surprised that she knew Dumbledore, she replied that "everybody knows Dumbledore." Figg and Dumbledore both participated in Harry's trial before the Wizengamot in 1995.[5] She later attended Dumbledore's funeral[6] at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in 1997.
Harry PotterEdit
- Harry: "So, Dumbledore's ... been having ... me followed?"
- Mrs. Figg: "Of course he has. Did you expect him to let Harry Potter wander around on your own after what happened in June? Good Lord, boy, they told me, you were intelligent ..."
- — Arabella Figg and Harry Potter in 1995[src]
Mrs. Figg was tasked with watching over Harry Potter after he was sent to live in Little Whinging, and the Dursleys regularly left Harry with her when they wanted to exclude him from their outings.[4] Though it was difficult for her to have to do so, she made sure to show Harry an incredibly dull time, knowing the Dursleys would otherwise never leave Harry in her care. In 1995, Harry learned that Mrs. Figg was a Squib when Mundungus Fletcher failed to fulfill the duty he was given of following and protecting Harry, leaving Harry and his cousin Dudley to be attacked by dementors. Mrs. Figg also testified in Harry's defence during his trial before the Wizengamot, and later attended Albus Dumbledore's funeral.[6] It is possible that Harry and Figg remained in contact after the Second Wizarding War.[5]
Dursley familyEdit
Mrs. Figg's relationship with the Dursley family is largely unknown, though they evidently thought she was no different from their other neighbours, as they allowed her to take care of Harry occasionally while they were gone. In 1995, Mrs. Figg apologised to Harry for deliberately making his earlier visits as boring as possible, since she believed that if he'd actually enjoyed himself, the Dursleys would have stopped letting her look after him from time to time.
Order of the Phoenix membersEdit
- "Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!"
- —Mrs. Figg to Harry Potter, in response to Fletcher abandoning his post[src]
Figg knew many members of the Order of the Phoenix. She met Sirius Black in 1995, when he informed her that Albus Dumbledore was re-instating the Order.[8] It is possible that she had previously met other members, such as James and Lily Potter.
She was also quite familiar with Mundungus Fletcher, a petty criminal and member of the Order, who addressed Mrs. Figg as "Figgy." When Mundungus left Little Whinging to purchase stolen cauldrons in favour of watch over Harry Potter, Figg was furious; she both verbally and physically assaulted him, whacking him with a shopping bag full of canned cat food and calling him a "useless, skiving sneak thief".[5]
- Figg may be variation of fig, a fruit-bearing tree. In Biblical times, the fig tree was important to Roman and Hebrew cultures as a valuable source of food and medicinal ingredients, and its flowering signified the end of winter.
- In addition, fig leaves are associated with concept of a "poorly concealed secret," with common usage in classical sculptures and paintings of nudes.[9] This may be a reference to the fact that Mrs. Figg was a Squib concealing herself as a Muggle, which was arguably poorly done, given her reputation of being quite eccentric.
Behind the scenesEdit
- Arabella Figg is portrayed by English actress Kathryn Hunter in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
- In the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Mrs. Figg lives on Privet Drive, across the street from the Dursleys, instead of on Wisteria Walk.
- The tent that Mr. Weasley borrowed for the 1994 Quidditch World Cup reminded Harry of Mrs. Figg's house: crocheted covers on mismatched chairs and a strong smell of cats.
- In the book, Mrs. Figg is depicted as bitter, making slightly insulting comments to Harry and Dudley, and even going as far as to physically attack Mundungus Fletcher with bags full of canned cat food. In the movie however, she only makes one somewhat insulting comment towards Harry, questioning his intelligence when it had not occurred to him that Dumbledore would have him watched after Voldemort's return. She also hardly shows any sign of rage toward Mundungus, while in the book she goes into a fierce tirade about him.
- Although Figg makes her first true appearance in both the book and film versions of Order of the Phoenix, the omission of earlier references to her in the films makes the revelation of her being a Squib working for Dumbledore somewhat sudden.
- While there are no direct references to a "Mr. Figg," the fact that Arabella is consistently referred to as "Mrs. Figg" may indicate that she has a husband who is simply never mentioned, or from whom she is estranged; it's also possible that she is a widow.
- It is interesting to note that while Dumbledore tells Sirius to round up "the old crowd" during the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, he specifically mentions Arabella Figg.[8] Much like the Thestrals, Harry doesn't make the connection until the next book.
- In the consoles versions of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Figg was omitted from the cutscenes despite being a playable character. In the portable versions however, she does not appear.
- Arabella shares her initials, "AF", with Argus Filch; another squib.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Consoles and PC versions)
- J. K. Rowling Official Site (Mentioned only)
- Pottermore
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ Dumbledore mentions her as one of "the old crowd"; the original Order of the Phoenix was disbanded after Voldemort's downfall in 1981, and she had to be at least 17 to join it, meaning she was born in or before 1964.
- ↑ She is called Mrs. Figg; "Mrs." implies that she either is currently married or has been married and is widowed.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Extra Stuff: SQUIBS" from J.K. Rowling's Official Site (via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- ↑ In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry ends up going to the zoo for Dudley's birthday, he's grateful that he probably wouldn't have to look at pictures of Figg's cats for another year
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fig+leaf


text:
DA: Oceanside man arrested in $18,000 theft of unemployment benefits
An Oceanside man stole more than $18,000 in unemployment benefits by hiding a job with a nonprofit that paid him more than $90,000 a year, Nassau County prosecutors said Tuesday.
Joseph Antonacci, 47, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of third-degree grand larceny and faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted, authorities said.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Antonacci received New York unemployment benefits of $405 weekly from March 2010 to June 2011 and also got a weekly supplement of $25 from the federal government from March 2010 to December 2010.
In the meantime, he had taken a position as a facilities director for the nonprofit Educational Alliance in Manhattan, where he was paid a salary of $3,653 every two weeks, authorities said.
Rice said Antonacci never reported his new job to the state Department of Labor, as required, "and continued to fraudulently receive unemployment insurance benefit payments totaling approximately $18,370," according to a news release.
At arraignment Tuesday, Antonacci's bail was set at $10,000 cash or bond. He is due back in court May 13.
Prosecutors said Antonacci also is facing charges in Manhattan that he stole from fellow employees and his employer.
The labor department discovered the theft in late 2011 during a review of its records and referred to the district attorney's office in November 2012, Nassau prosecutors said.


text:
So I finally got my ass out of the wagon and did a little drawing.
Unfortunantly DMSCVs oekaki kinda errored on me and I couldn't save it, but I DID get a screenshot of it!
Kinda okay, though very stressed. I was going to go to bed after finishing it... and that was forty minutes ago. :p
Oh, and I did this as well, 's in my avvie:


text:
Security is a puzzle. We love puzzles.
Compliance Approach
Our clients' proprietary information is held in the strictest of confidence at both the data security and call center level. The Results Companies is very active in the regulation policies of the American Teleservices Association, the Direct Marketing Association, SOCAP and the FTC/FCC and TCPA regulatory rulings. We are a PCI Level 1 Certified and HIPAA-compliant organization and we maintain stringent compliance guidelines set forth by those agencies as well.
Data Centers and Security
- Centralized and redundant NOC(s) for all points of termination.
- Call data securely stored in redundant databases or file systems with strong physical and logical access controls.
- High degree of monitoring and alerting for all critical infrastructure, systems and applications.
Networks and Security
- Firewalls, private circuits and VPN tunnels are used to segregate information by client need and to ensure no blending of data.
- Intrusion detection is deployed to all centers to alert on known attacks in real time.
- Wireless networks are forbidden to be connected to any trusted network. A zero tolerance policy is enforced for unauthorized wireless usage.
Workstations and Security
- Workstation operating systems and software are standardized, hardened and centrally managed to maintain proper control of the client environment.
- All removable media is controlled or restricted (USB/CD/DVD drives).
- No proprietary or confidential data is stored on production workstations.
- Secure connectivity is used for client applications and data sources.
- Workstations are protected by Norton anti-virus software.
Transmission Security
- Proprietary and confidential data is protected by industry-standard and approved encryption such as AES and 3DES.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
- All data centers and call centers have facility-specific BCP & DR plans.
- These plans are updated as needed and tested at least once annually.
To contact The Results Companies concerning anything security or compliance related, please email us.


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This article was originally written in English. Text in other languages was provided by machine translation.
Adobe Flash and AIR are ubiquitous platforms to develop rich internet applications. Flash is used for browser based applications and AIR is used for developing native platform applications. Both platforms have considerable support for globalization. Globalization enablement features like locale aware formatting/parsing, collation, case transforms, localization and multi-lingual text rendering are supported by both these platforms. But some more globalization features like text normalization, transliteration, Unicode character properties, encoding conversions, charset detections, Unicode string utilities etc are still missing in the Adobe AIR and Flash platforms. One of the primary reasons for not adding all these features inside the Adobe runtime platforms is the size of the software.
To overcome the size limitation issue, Adobe AIR and Flash can invoke the services of external dynamic libraries through ActionScript. There are some well known external libraries which have rich globalization support like ICU, GNU glib, Verisign IDN library to name a few. Fortunately the upcoming Adobe AIR 3.0 (now available as Adobe pre-release) has a wonderful feature called ActionScript native extensions, which is about ActionScript programming interface for a native code library like MS Windows DLL, Os X FrameWork, Android JAR or shared library or iOS static library. Please see Adobe AIR3 beta site http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplatformruntimes/air3/ on how to download and take part in the Adobe AIR pre-release. Please make a note that this native extensions feature is available _only_ in Adobe AIR platform, not in the Flash platform.
In this blog, I demonstrate a sample (Download air_icu ) application to invoke ICU from an Adobe AIR application on Windows platform. Readers are reminded that this is only illustration sample software and by no means production quality software. Hence readers must exhibit discretion in using this software as it is. The sample illustrates ICU word breaking, sentence breaking, utf-conversion and Unicode character property verification.
You will need the following software to build an ICU extension for AIR platform.
- MS Visual Studio 2010 (to build AIR native extension DLL coded in C/C++)
- Adobe Flex SDK 4.5.1 (http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Download+Flex+4.5). Download this to C:Flex4.5.1.
- Adobe Air 3 Beta2 download (To build Adobe Actionscript extension) from http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplatformruntimes/air3/ . Unzip this in to C:Flex4.5.1. This step overwrites the AIR related components in Flex4.5.1 sdk with latest Adobe Air3 beta2. Also keep a copy in C:air3_beta2 folder.
- The Adobe pre-release Flash runtime web site has more information, documentation and samples on how to use ActionScript extensions. The 'product details' tab in the http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplatformruntimes/air3/ web page has a FAQ on how to join the Adobe pre-release program.
- ICU 4.8 binaries (http://site.icu-project.org/download/48). Download windows 32bit VC2010 zip. Unzip the libraries to any folder. My sample downloaded to C:icuicu4.8.1win32 folder.
1 Building ICU extension for Adobe AIR
Adobe AIR t native extensions, also known as 'ane' or 'ANE' files are archived packages. These consist of
- ActionScript wrapper classes calling into external DLLs
- The external DLLs
- XML file describing details of external DLLs
The archived ANE files are used just like SWC libraries in integrating into an AIR application. In other words, ANE file is a library and it has public ActionScript APIs.
Covering all details about the ActionScript extension is too much for this blog article, but I will explain the steps to build this sample and run. Below are the sequential steps and commands.
1.1 Building Windows AIR ICU Extension DLL
1) The AirIcuExtensionWin folder has the Visual studio solution 'AirIcuExtension.sln'. Open this in MS VS2010.
2) The file AIRIcuExtension.cpp has the necessary code needed to interface with Adobe AIR 3 beta 2. It also has the wrapper routines calling ICU C functions.
3) This is a DLL project and the build output is AirIcuExtension.dll
1.2 Building ActionScript Library
1) Build the actionscript library using the below command.
C:Flex4.5.1bincompc.exe -source-path src -include-classes com.adobe.extensions.AirIcuExtension -external-library-path C:air3_beta2frameworkslibsairairglobal.swc -output binAirIcuExtension.swc
The file AirIcuExtension.as in the folder srccomadobeextensions has the public class AirIcuExtension which calls the ICU routines. In this sample, calling ICU sentence breaker, word breaker, normalizer, utf-conversion and Unicode character property have been illustrated.
1.3 Packaging ActionScript native extension
Open the binAirIcuExtension.swc is a zipped archive. Open it using WinRAR or WinZip program and extract the library.swf file in the swc package into the AirIcuExtension/bin folder.
The folder srcresources contains file extension.xml, AirIcuExtension.dll and ICU dlls icudt48.dll, icuuc48.dll, icuio48.dll and icuin48.dll. The file external.xml defines the external library details to AIR runtime.
For simplicity, place the AirIcuExtension.dll, ICU dlls and extension.xml files in AirIcuExtensionbin folder. All these files are packaged into a zipped archive called AiricuExtension.ane using the following command.
C:air3_beta2binadt -package -storetype pkcs12 -storepass <passwd> –keystore <AIR certificate> -tsa none -target ane AirIcuExtension.ane extension.xml -swc AirIcuExtension.swc -platform Windows-x86 library.swf AirIcuExtension.dll icudt48.dll icuin48.dll icuio48.dll icuuc48.dll
Using Adobe FlashBuilder4.x or C:air3_beta2binadt program, one can make an AIR certificate.
The output is an archive file AirIcuExtension.ane in the AirIcuExtension/bin folder.
1.4 Building the Test program AirIcuExtensionTest.mxml
Now that we built and packaged the native extension package AiricuExtension.ane, we are readu to use this and call ICU services in a test program.
The folder AirIcuExtensionTestsrc contains the test file AirIcuExtensionTest.mxml. The descriptor file AirIcuExtensionTest-app.xml has the details of native extension. Using the mxml compiler, AirIcuExtensionTest.swf is built as follows in AirIcuExtensionTest folder.
C:Flex4.5.1bincompc.exemxmlc +configname=air -external-library-path ..AirIcuExtensionbinAirIcuExtension.ane -output bin-debugAirIcuExtensionTest.swf — srcAirIcuExtensionTest.mxml
The output swf file AirIcuExtensionTest.swf is placed in the bin-debug folder.
1.5 Building AIR package for executing AirIcuExtensionTest
The final step is to package the above AirIcuExtensionTest .swf and AirIcuExtension.ane files into an AIR executable folder. Execute the following command
C:air3_beta2binadt -package -XnoAneValidate -storetype pkcs12 -storepass <passwd> –keystore <AIR certificate> -tsa none -target bundle AirIcuExtensionTest.air AirIcuExtensionTest-app.xml AirIcuExtensionTest.swf -extdir ….AirIcuExtensionbin
The output of the above command is a folder AirIcuExtensionTest.air. Inside the folder, there is AirIcuExtensionTest.exe. You can execute and see the output.
2 Conclusion
The sample illustrated how to invoke ICU from ActionScript. The AIR ICU extension is easy to build using the publicly available Adobe Flex SDK and AIR3 Beta 2 SDKs. It will be much easier to do all this in the future Adobe Flash Builder IDE using GUI. The advantages of this feature are
- AIR developers looking to develop international applications for desktop or mobile have the full power of ICU at hand. Many Unicode features, encoding conversions, IDN conversion utilities, string processing, transforms and many more international features can be easily coded.
- The native ICU extension once built can be used any any developer as it is a library.
- The Actionscript APIs calling ICU can be coded using the same signatures as ICU C++ API. This eliminates the learning curve.
- Since ICU is in native code, performance is not compromised.
- Since it is ICU, developers can expect cross-platform behavior in AIR programs.
- Since the extension is a AIR library, ICU updates can be easily re-packaged in to the ane file.
In the future once AIR3 is released, a full fledged ICU native extension with proper API definitions will be a great globalization project.


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Ecommerce Websites Case Study: Search
Ecommerce websites: Competitive Retailing On Google's "Oxford Street"
The success of the Discount Mobility Plus ecommerce website is proof positive that the grey market is every bit as savvy as the iPhone generation when it comes to comparative shopping online. Mobility products are not luxury purchases and, once a shopper has decided what features they need and want, they'll shop on price and visit ecommerce websites to do so.
Impact Web Solutions realised that the challenge for Discount Mobility Plus would be as much about attracting visitors to the ecommerce website as it would be about designing an ecommerce website which communicated compelling value for money messages in a reassuring and trustworthy environment.
Shoppers searching for discount mobility scooters, wheelchairs and walking aids will find Discount Mobility Plus' ecommerce website on the first page of Google thanks to Impact Web Solutions' search engine optimisation campaign and the care we took with redirection to maintain page ranking from the old ecommerce website.
Once they arrive on the site, a search tool helps comparative shoppers jump straight to the product they're looking for, product variations allow them to choose a product colour. Visitors can then select location and the ecommerce website will automatically update the all-inclusive prices to reflect local shipping costs. Regardless of location, customers are billed in sterling so, for a helpful indication of the local currency price, this ecommerce website links to a currency converter.
Discount Mobility Plus can instantly react to competitor activity and update products, price, discounts and offers instantly, on their ecommerce website at no extra cost. In common with many of the ecommerce website we create for clients, we incorporated a related items feature to increase basket value and profitability.
Find out how Impact Web Solutions can help grow your business
Discover how we've transformed the online business of clients like you in our ecommerce case studies:
Case Study 2 – Browse
Case Study 3 – Personalise
Case Study 4 – Buy
Or find out more about how we can transform your business when you click on one of the links below:
- View our ecommerce packages – an ecommerce website tailored to suit your business
- Ecommerce website features – feature rich ecommerce websites to transform your business
- Find out how a really effective ecommerce website could be helping you
- Make an enquiry now to find out how, as an ecommerce web design company, we can grow your business.
Ready to transform your business? Call Impact Web Solutions on 0116 275 8456


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NOAA's CHAMP is funded by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, which focuses mostly on three threats facing coral reefs today: climate change, effects of overfishing, and land-based sources of pollution. You can find more about the CRCP here. Below is brief introduction to land-based sources of pollution as they affect coral reefs, taken from that site.
Impacts from land-based sources of pollution (e.g. agriculture, deforestation, storm water, impervious surfaces,coastal development, road construction, and oil and chemical spills) on coral reef ecosystems include increased sedimentation, nutrients, toxins, and pathogen introduction. These pollutants and related synergistic effects can cause disease and mortality in sensitive species, disrupt critical ecological functions, cause trophic structure and dynamics changes (i.e. eutrophic conditions), and impede growth, reproduction, and larval settlement.
It is now well accepted that many major coral reef ecosystem stressors originate from land-based sources, most notably, toxicants, sediments, and nutrients. Within the United States and its jurisdictions, there are numerous locations where coral reef ecosystems are highly impacted by watershed alteration, run-off, and coastal development. The importance of identifying the extent of and reducing these effects has now become crucial, as land-based pollution and coastal development put 22 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of coral reefs on Earth at risk. The April 2004 Report of the US Commission on Ocean Policy highlighted the need for "an ecosystem and watershed-based management" approach to ocean pollution, and identified both "the astounding decline of coral reef ecosystems" and "an urgent need to address the identified, major factors causing coral declines."
The suite of problems facing coral reef ecosystems from land-based sources of pollution is broad and includes sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants from a variety of land-based activities that are transported in surface waters, runoff, groundwater seepage, and atmospheric deposition into coastal waters. There is compelling evidence that the sources have increased globally as a result of human-induced changes to watersheds. On the US islands in the Pacific and Caribbean, significant changes in the drainage basins due to agriculture, deforestation, feral grazing, fires, road building and other construction, and urbanization have in turn altered the character and volume of land-based pollution released to adjacent coral reef ecosystems. Many of these issues are further exacerbated due to specific characteristics exhibited in tropical island areas, all of which create unique management challenges when addressing issues related to land-based sources of pollution. A few examples include: high levels of rainfall; extreme weather events (hurricanes/ typhoons); highly erodible soils; limestone hydrologic features (Pacific atolls); and in some high islands, (American Samoa, Hawai`i), steep slopes abutting the coastal zone.
Sedimentation, including higher levels of suspended sediment in overlying waters, is commonly acknowledged to be one of the primary causes of coral reef ecosystem degradation. The combination of suspended, re-suspended, and deposited sediment act to limit coral growth, feeding patterns, photosynthesis, recruitment, and survivorship, as shown by numerous studies in a variety of settings. Other impacts of sediment include directly smothering and abrading coral. Although some corals can flourish in turbid water, such reefs are typically less diverse and are more restricted in depth ranges than those in clear water. To underscore this point, the US Commission on Ocean Policy reported that "pollution and run-off from coastal areas also deprive reefs of life-sustaining light and oxygen" and many Local Action Strategy (LAS) groups of the US Coral Reef Task Force have identified land-based pollution to reefs as a major area of concern.
In addition to sediment, land-based sources of pollution to coral reef ecosystems include pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, pathogens, and excess nutrients. These pollutants can cause or exacerbate the deleterious effects of watershed transport of pollutant constituents onto coral reefs. Excess nutrients, including dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage, wastewater, and fertilizers, promote the growth of algae that compete with juvenile and adult corals for space on benthic reef surfaces and can affect success of coral settlement and in extreme cases can result in eutrophic conditions in reef waters. In addition, land-based inputs may both directly contribute land-derived pathogens and/or exacerbate the effect of in situ pathogens on coral reef ecosystems.
Finally, the local impacts of land-based sources of pollution work in synergy with global and regional threats such as climate change, land use practices, and freshwater inputs, magnifying the effect of both types of stressors. In particular, the potential for increased frequency and intensity of storm events associated with climate change could exacerbate run-off of sediment and other pollutants.


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This article is a realm page for the Shattered Hand US realm (server)
This is a community maintained page and does not represent official World of Warcraft history or occurrences. Information and events here are for community documentation of server particulars, history, or opinion.
|Battlegroup info
|Battlegroup »
Ruin (US) »
PvPShattered Hand
- Shattered Hand (PvP, US, EST)
Shattered Hand is a Player versus Player server for Blizzard's MMORPG, World of Warcraft. The Shattered Hand server was one of the original servers included with the release of World of Warcraft and was originally one of the highest population servers in the US. The server was listed as an East coast server before Blizzard removed the timezone listings. Shattered Hand is both rich in culture and history, and filled with accomplishments for both factions. Tensions still run high, old jokes still are made, and forum trolls still come and go but Shattered Hand has and always will remain a server with an incredible community lush in culture and enjoyment.
These events do not necessarily appear in chronological order.
The Race to Molten Core
Not much is known about the early days of Shattered Hand but Shattered Hand started out as any other server, guilds of common friends were formed and merged. These guilds soon raced to be the first to complete the Molten Core. Competition was at its peak and guild rivals were only beginning to heat up as each guild promised newly recruited fresh level 60s fame and glory. It was not long before three superpowers emerged from the Alliance faction; Death and Taxes, Drama, and Skyfang. Few horde guilds could compare to the might of the Alliance however, pioneering for the Horde were the guilds Relentless, Transcend, and Revered. These guilds were among the first to achieve permanent Hall of Fame status as they tackled encounter after encounter and were the first people privileged with the epic rewards from the Molten Core. It was during the days of Molten Core that a Skyfang mage, Sayuri, would achieve the world's first complete Arcanist Set.
The First Bloodscalp Exodus & the Stronghorn Incident
With the introduction of the new outdoor raid bosses, Azuregos and Lord Kazzak, the horde quickly felt the pressure of the Alliance as they were continually stomped day after day by the power of the Alliance. The Alliance guilds ran free and caused chaos to already disgruntled Horde players. Shattered Hand became one of the first servers to open character transfers to the much smaller server, Bloodscalp (which ironically is now larger than Shattered Hand). Largely frustrated by the population imbalance, many Horde fled to Bloodscalp, in hopes of avoiding being ganked (killed) by higher level or multiple alliance players. During one of (if not) the first Azuregos kills for the Horde, a quiet druid named Stronghorn ninja'ed (stole) all the loot dropped by Azuregos. Truthfully, at that time, Stronghorn was not aware of game mechanics and more importantly, the loot system. Though he did technically ninja loot those items, his actions were unintentional. At this point, an action of this proportion was unheard of, thus forever coining the term Stronghorned: to have items off a mob stolen by an individual from a party or a raid. Stronghorn was then recruited and glorified by the Horde guild Order of the Dead (OTD). OTD was already hated for being rumored to have an alliance with Skyfang, the most hated guild by both factions, and one of the most powerful Alliance guilds on the server. OTD soon felt the pressure of such actions from other Horde and fled to Bloodscalp during the First Exodus. With them, went some of the most notorious characters and ninjas on Shattered Hand. Among them was Trollwizard, an accused ninja and early forum troll. Although there is no proof (from the lack of screenshots) that Trollwizard even ever existed. Not all players left on bad terms, such as the Horde guild Desk Chair Lamp among other players.
All Hell Breaks Loose
April 19th introduced the Player versus Player Honor system, ending the uneasy truce in contested territories. Night after night, Horde capital cities became stomping grounds for Alliance players. The Horde capital city bosses were considered as "farming status" for Alliance guilds. The Plaguelands, Felwood, Everlook, and Tanaris became hotspots for the fighting. Also, located in the zone of Hillsbrad Foothills, the Forsaken city of Tarren Mill became the biggest 24/7 war zone of endless combat. Most of the time, the Horde fought courageously right at their borders, backed up with an army of Forsaken guards. However, at times, the power (and numbers) of the Alliance was too much, forcing a total defeat of the war-torn city. This was due to the large unbalance that occurred on many PvP servers, favoring Alliance by nearly 2 to 1. Inspired by Nydectyre's ramblings emerged the self proclaimed "Warchief of the Horde" Dave, a level 60 Orc Warrior (although many felt Xilrasis humbly deserved this title). Dave attempted to rally supporters in the defense of major Horde cities to fight back the Alliance. However, Dave was also greatly criticized on the forums for his persona and because of his involvement with OTD. Dave reluctantly left with the Second Bloodscalp Exodus but he will always remain one of the most memorable characters in Shattered Hand history.
The Introduction of the Battlegrounds
The pleas of the Horde were heard and on June 7th, the PvP Battlegrounds were introduced. At last, the Horde was able to fight the Alliance on equal playing fields. However, the might of the much superior geared Alliance still could not be overcome. In the epic 40 versus 40 man battleground, Alterac Valley, Horde found themselves fighting a losing battle night after night. This discouraged Horde from participating in PvP activities all together. It was soon realized that organized PvP was the only option which gave rise to true PvP guilds; Enmity for the Horde and Liberi Dorum for the Alliance. However, today, neither of these guilds remain in the state they were formed. These guilds gave rise to the highest ranked players, including the infamous rogue Pilois, the first High-Warlord, and the first legit Grand-Marshal, Kupcha. Other notables from Enmity included the emote spamming hunter Nark, and Pilois' flag running sidekick, Gosushanks. Also, there was Trinstin, the Guild Master of Liberi Deorum, a well known mage who since transferred to Kil'Jaeden along with Kupcha and the rest of the guild and Purefury a warlock who later joined Drama.
The Exploitation of Cairne and The Split of Skyfang
On a daily basis, Jubei, the infamous leader of Skyfang, and his guild would invade the Horde city of Thunderbluff to kill the NPC boss Cairne Bloodhoof in order to gain honor, mostly uncontested. What made Jubei's case so extraordinary was that he would solo tag Cairne and order his guild in a separate raid group to kill Cairne for him. This allowed Jubei to receive absolutely incredible amounts of honor for almost no work. Of course, this action was an extreme topic for debate on the Shattered Hand forums. During this time the use of "level one alts‿ to bash other players anonymously became extremely popular. Among them was Undeadmage, one of the biggest trolls to date. Jubei continually received much verbal abuse from both factions for his action. Eventually, Blizzard made it more difficult for Jubei to exploit Cairne for honor. These actions and many other factors soon led to the split of Skyfang. Some of the most skilled and best geared Skyfang members left the guild Skyfang, led by Moki, to form Indomitable. This left Skyfang extremely crippled leaving the spot of Shattered Hand superpower to either Death and Taxes or Drama, which only Blackwing Lair would reveal.
Blackwing Lair Era
Many, many more guilds progressed in Molten Core on Shattered Hand however, very few progressed in Blackwing Lair. Much like the early days of Shattered Hand, Drama and Death and Taxes raced to be the first to complete BWL. Their hours of commitment led Drama to be the first worldwide guild to clear Blackwing Lair by defeating the final boss Nefarian. Death and Taxes, one night later, also defeated Nefarian, becoming the 2nd US guild to clear Blackwing Lair, thus putting Shattered Hand on the map once again. Continuing the tradition for the Horde, Relentless became the first Horde guild to kill each boss in BWL. Other horde guilds that cleared BWL include Transcend, Hellborn, Warcraft Gaming Faction and The Myrmidons.
Shattering of Shattered Hand
Spring 2006 has been a real nightmare for the players of Shattered Hand. Many guilds have lost numerous veteran players and casual players and a few big guilds even disbanded. One of the reasons why so many players left (around 100, if not more, level 60 players) is the lag. Instances like Molten Core and Blackwing Lair were nearly incompletable because of the amount of lag players had to deal with. During peak hours, players would have to wait five to ten minutes simply to load their character page, then they'd have to deal with a red latency bar until 11pm or so. Many posts were made on the general and technical support forums on www.worldofwarcraft.com, but seemed to be ignored by the blues.
- A video demonstrating this lag was made by one of the server's more notable members to aid in the cry for help:
afterwards, more of these videos followed: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=468203855083151326&q=lag+shattered+hand&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1921861458488418709&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6062480911619231169&hl=en http://video.google.com/url?docid=-6062480911619231169&esrc=sr2&ev=v&q=lag+shattered+hand&vidurl=http://video.google.com/videoplay%3Fdocid%3D-6062480911619231169%26q%3Dlag%2Bshattered%2Bhand%26hl%3Den&usg=AL29H20h-6DyfpV8g0PVzriSp_aG1A1N9g
The server latency came back to normal a few weeks later after character transfer to the realm Korgath was enabled. Most notable losses were the large Alliance guilds Death and Taxes and Drama and the Horde Guild Transcend.
Naxxramas Era
With the departure of both Death and Taxes and Drama, the title of #1 Guild was up for grabs. Many Alliance guilds would battle for server domination of the new 40 man instance Naxxramas. Among them were WarEnsemble, Indomitable, and Relentless. Throughout the majority of the Naxxramas era, Indomitable and WarEnsemble would claim many server first kills. Many guilds spent significant time progressing on Thaddius, with WarEnsemble beating the rest to the kill. Indomitable would claim server first kills up until Sapphiron at which point WarEnsemble would overtake them by killing Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad on the same weekend for the first and only Naxxramas clear that Shattered Hand has seen, making them the Shattered Hand superpower of vanilla WoW. The only other guild to Kill Sapphiron was Servants of Justice very late in the running and worked on Kel'Thuzad up until The Burning Crusade, unsuccessfully. On the Horde side of Shattered Hand, Relentless was the only guild that made significant progress into Naxxramas, clearing the instance up to the Four Horsemen.
The Burning Crusade
With the release of the The Burning Crusade, raid content was put on hold as players raced to level 70. Many of the former 40 man alliance guilds were remade to accommodate 25 man raids. Indomitable would reform as Royalty, Revolver would reform as Zombie, War Ensemble would reform into Haze and Revelation, and The Hammer Clan would reform as Skill Overload under new GM - Drakul (Halthor) . A <Relentless> Shaman, Calypso would be the first level 70 on the server while <Haze> warrior, Enf, and <Skill Overload> Rogue, Killars, tied for server first 70 as they turned in a quest at the exact same time to simultaneously hit 70. The race for the first 70 Blood Elf Paladin was a heated one, however, <The Myrmidons> Yamamoto (now in <Relentless>), succeeded in being the first Horde Paladin on Shattered Hand.
Bugout's Pugouts supplied gear to many alliance throughout the first years of The Burning Crusade. Bugout was a level 70 Human Paladin and part of Shattered Hand since release day. This ended abruptly with the drop of Ashes of A'lar in November of 2008. Even though the mount was on reserve, Bugout was harassed off the server. The pug scene would never be the same again and many credit this to the downfall of Shattered Hand's alliance.
In the early stages of The Burning Crusade, Haze , Skill Overload and Relentless continued to dominate PVE progression on their respective sides. Haze killed Nightbane, having killed every boss in Karazhan at least once, with Skill Overload close behind clearing Karazhan in its completion first. Haze had the head start in 25 man raiding killing High King and Gruul first. Relentless, on the other side, has been the only guild to kill both of the new outdoor raid bosses (Kazzak/Doomwalker). The guild leader of Haze later joined Death and Taxes of Korgath and Haze split soon with many players going to Pare Bellum and Head in Hands.
Soon after the Gruul hot fix, having most guilds being able to kill him easily. The the new race was to Magtheridon, which Skill Overload would succeed in being first in, Skill Overload killed Hydross first. Relentless swept the rest of the first kills in SSC and completely dominated Tempest Keep, clearing all bosses, including Kael'thas Sunstrider first.
Relentless thriving off their Tempest Keep success wasted no time in the next instances of Black Temple and Mount Hyjal. They would be the first to kill every boss in Black Temple and Hyjal and ultimately clear it in early September of 2007. As of 1/14/08, multiple guilds on Shattered Hand, both Horde and Alliance have cleared all available content. After a few major guild disbands, each side currently only have two guilds with Black Temple fully cleared. On horde side, Relentless and Hellborn, while on the alliance side, Skill Overload and Pare Bellum have killed Illidan. For the Alliance, Servants of Justice just have Illidan remaining however the closest guild behind them, progression wise, is Royalty, who have yet to clear Mount Hyjal. On the horde side, the race is much closer. With the recent departure of Warcraft Gaming Faction from the raiding scene, the horde are still waiting for the next guild to down Illidan. Newly formed Apophasis (formed by Lelaine) is cruising through content, currently working on the Essence of Souls fight in Black Temple. Immediately behind them is Seeds of Despair / Fossils of War who are one of the four horde guilds (Relentless, Hellborn, Apophasis, SoD/FoW) to have killed Archimonde, and are currently progressing in Black Temple. Following SoD/FoW is Uncontrolled, still awaiting an Archimonde kill.
Guild named "Method"
A newly formed guilded named Method (formed by Acid, Ajanti and Caliberx) started to breeze through content by clearing Serpent Shrine Carvern and Tempest Keep in their first two week of raiding. They then went on to Black Temple by clearing 4/9 on their first night, and 3/4 Mount Hyjal on their first night in that raid. Unfourntately Method disbanded a short time after their progression and never cleared Black Temple or Mount Hyjal. The rumors of the guild disbanding spread quickly, it was said that one guild member who goes by the name of BigTexas spread rumors that the Guild bank was robbed. Bigtexas was later found in lower city with a dagger in his back, the mystery of the end of Method still goes unsolved.
Warglaive of Azzinoth
It should be noted that despite Relentless having killed Illidan for months before Hellborn achieved this feat, the first Warglaive of Azzinoth to drop for the Horde fell for Hellborn, and went to Lunarrs (High Warlord - troll Rogue), who then got the 2nd Warglaive (main hand) merely another week or two later. Since then, Relentless completed their own rogue, in the hands of Raeph. Two extra main hand warlglaives have gone to Khrono (DPS Warrior) and Rodamer (Rogue), and Delt, once a member of Seeds of Despair, joined Relentless, bringing his pair of warglaives. Seeds of Despair tied the world record for the fastest set of Warglaives, getting Delt his set of warglaives in a mere 5 kills. A second offhand dropped off their 8th kill, which went to Skiazo, who still awaits a mainhand. The horde has been rather lucky with warglaives, obtaining a total of 14.
Raeph (Rogue - Relentless) - Both Delt (Rogue - Relentless) - Both (obtained with Seeds of Despair) Lunarrs (Rogue - Hellborn) - Both Pilico (Warrior - Relentless) - Both Khrono (Warrior - Relentless) - Main Hand Rodamer (Rogue - Relentless) - Main Hand Lelaine (Warrior - Apophasis) - Main Hand Instigator (Rogue - Evade) - Main Hand Skiazo (Rogue - Seeds of Despair) - Off Hand Bokoni (Rogue - Hellborn) - Off Hand Dieselboy (Rogue - Hellborn) - Off Hand Archaen (Rogue - Evade) - Off Hand
Sunwell is now open, Relentless is leading the way with the server server first downing of the Kil'jaeden on June 30, 2008
The Departure of Skyfang
In August 2007, Skyfang endured it's final split on Shattered Hand when a group of guild members led by the paladin Midorin parted ways amicably with Skyfang to form the guild Project Mayhem. This group included two Skyfang Guild Officers and several active players, as well as bringing some previously inactive and disenchanted Skyfang players from the Naxx and BWL era back into the game. Skyfang leadership subsequently decided to make a change and remaining guild members transferred to the server Anub'arak. Speculation is that their reputation for an unfair loot system and lack of diplomacy led to them being unable to recruit new members even on such a high population server as Shattered Hand, so they transferred to an obscure low population server hoping their reputation wouldn't follow them [1]. Regardless, Skyfang leaves a long history on Shattered Hand behind and many prominent guilds left on the server which began as Skyfang splinters.
The Raid on Stormwind and Ironforge
In January 2008, Satsloader of Hit List guild starts up a 40 man raid group that turns into over 140 world PvP hungry Horde looking for blood. The raid starts in Stormwind and then turns into a Ironforge takeover. This raid then went on to get Shattered Hand's server first dead city leaders. Both city leaders were killed in one night.
Sunwell and Beyond
Sunwell proved to be the challenging instance that many hardcore players had been waiting for, after the joke that Black Temple & The Battle of Mount Hyjal turned out to be (especially post-nerfs). Relentless dominated the race through sunwell, killing Kil'jaedan on June 30th, 2008 (38th kill worldwide). Behind them, Hellborn struggled for a number of months on the M'uru encounter, finally killing M'uru on August 28th. Hellborn would spend the better part of two months working on Kil'jaedan, often having attendance problems. Hellborn was never able to reach phase 5 of Kil'jaedan, until patch 3.0.2 hit, introducing new Wrath of the Lich King talents, along with nerfing all bosses health by 30%. Hellborn killed Kil'jaedan in two attempts once attempting him post-3.0.2, making the kill on October 15th, 2008. Behind Hellborn was Seeds of Despair, who despite having a nearly completely reformed raiding core and only beginning Sunwell in June, killed Felmyst on August 17th and were progressing on Twins, when suddenly due to a lack of attendance near the end of the summer, began losing players and ultimately stopped raiding. Evade is currently active in Sunwell, killing both Kalecgos and Brutallus (September 15th, 2008) before 3.0.2 launched. At the time of the patch, Evade was progressing on Felmyst, however once the patch launched, Evade went into Sunwell and achieved their first kills of Felmyst, The Eredar Twins, and the M'uru encounter, all in a single night of raiding, a task which took even Relentless nearly two months to complete. Evade reached phase five of Kil'jaedan on their first night of attempts. This, to say the least, has brought major speculation onto the difficulty of Sunwell in its current state, with new talents and abilities, along with the 30% boss health nerf. Many "hardcore" raiders consider any Sunwell guild-first kills post-3.0.2 to be a complete joke after seeing the overwhelming ease guilds are having with bosses that previously took even the worlds top guilds months to kill, now downing in only a few attempts.
One can only imagine that many players have their eyes set on November 13th, the date in which Wrath of the Lich King is scheduled to hit store shelves. A new expansion will surely bring fourth a new tier of top raiders and top guilds. We can only wait to see if there is a group of players who can band together and challenge Relentless for the position of best guild on Shattered Hand.
Wrath of the Lich King
By the minute Wrath of the Lich King was released, players sprinted towards 80 and the chance at nabbing the server firsts. Daiki and Marthastewrt of <Relentless> were simultaneously the first at level 80 in the server, both respectively earning their matching class and race first achievements (Tauren Druid and Undead Priest).
Many new guilds formed, as well as older guilds shifting around or transferring. The Brotherhood transferred to Tortheldrin. Hellborn split in two; most of the hardcore raiders formed Downtime, while the more casual players stayed. Raiding Robots formed from remnants of other Alliance guilds such as Parabellum, Royalty, among others.
Naxxramas, Malygos, and Sartharion
Relentless dominated both this era and the Ulduar content, gathering Realm Firsts for Naxxramas, Sartharion, and Malygos. Relentless was also first with downing Sartharion 3D.
The guild scape remained largely unchanged in Ulduar. Absolute, Downtime, and Relentless constantly battled for server firsts on normal modes, with Relentless being the first to down Yogg-Saron. Hard modes saw competition mainly between Downtime, Relentless, and Raiding Robots. Relentless got server first for hard-more Yogg-Saron & Algalon. Raiding Robots downed Algalon a month later, and Servants of Justice a month after them.
The first guilds to complete Heroic: Glory of the Ulduar Raider were Relentless, Downtime, and Raiding Robots.
The only guild to achieve Alone in the Darkness is Relentless (97th world, 45th US).
New guilds rose up from the ground and became front-runners in progression when 3.2 hit. The Alliance side was fairly quiet, with the biggest change in Absolute disbanding after some drama. Raiding Robots, SoJ, Forged, and Disciples of the Blade all remained at the top of Alliance progression. The Horde side saw quite a few major shifts. A few core raid members from Relentless formed a new guild named Meifumado. After much internal drama about leadership, recruitment, and server reputation many core raiders from Ad Valorem decided to split and form LAGGED.
Alliance guilds Raiding Robots, Servants of Justice, and A X I S were the first three guilds on the server to clear Trial of the Crusader normal mode.
Relentless and Downtime constantly battled for server firsts in heroic ToC, with Downtime ultimately defeating Anub'arak and getting the Realm First achievement as well as earning Tribute to Insanity the same lockout (World 49th, US 24th). Relentless downed Anub'arak a week later, but only earned the Tribute to Skill achievement. Only two other guilds have achieved Tribute to Insanity: Meifumado almost two months after Downtime and Raiding Robots two weeks after Meifumado.
Icecrown Citadel
The release of Icecrown Citadel saw much competition between Downtime, Relentless, Meifumado, and Raiding Robots for realm firsts on normal mode.
Downtime was the first to defeat Arthas on both 10-man and 25-man. Shortly after, Relentless and Meifumado merged all their members into Stygian. Downtime remains the first guild on the server to complete all three wings prior to Lich King on Heroic Difficulty. Downtime was the first on this realm to defeat Lich King on 25 man Heroic, logging it on July 9, 2010.
Downtime continued their raiding dominance in Cataclysm, logging every realm first (Al'akir, Nerfarian, Sinestra). Shortly after killing Sinestra, Dons, the GM and raid leader of Downtime called it quits from WoW. Shortly after Downtime would stop raiding all together. Downtime will be remembered as the underdog guild that fought hard for their achievements. Some of the Downtime members we can't forget are: Durga (Co-GM), Syntaxmonster, Cream, Dono, Saph, Broadzilla, Meks, Knifewrench, Malazarr, Tatt, Dieselgirl, Frostyqt, Misao, Synergy, Hotforms, Emelya, Yurq, Beasted, Joobie, Emporervader, Virikae, Sck, Spoiledmilk, Guily, Troglodyte, Blossoms, Akirha, Novx, Qbear, Eteo, and Mentor.
Who will take over the reigns of the top guild on Shattered Hand-US?
Guilds, Websites, and their GM's
Current Guilds
<Disciples of the Blade> - http://www.disciplesguild.com (GM - Altek)
<Forged> - http://forged.shatteredhand.net/ (GM - Decimes)
<Hymn> - http://www.hymnguild.com/ (GM - Eloyn)
<Illuminatì> - http://www.illuminati-guild.net/ (GM - Elvine)
<Imperium Domini> - ImperiumDomini.guildomatic.com (GM - Bará/Internalwar)
<Omen> - http://s3.invisionfree.com/Omen_WoW (GM - Jonaas)
<Raiding Robots> - http://skilloverload.com/raidingrobots (GM - Rit)
<Servants of Justice> - http://www.servantsofjustice.com/ (GM - Cloak)
<Shades of War> - http://www.shadesofwar.com/ (GM - Warriortripp)
<Teh Alliance> - http://teh-alliance.webs.com/ (GM - Junkturtle/Shyguylie)
<Zombie> - http://zombie-gaming.com/ (GM - Punkface)
<Anatidaephobia> - http://feartheduck.wowlaunch.com - (GM - Noxy)
<Enclave> - http://www.enclave-gaming.com/ - (GM - Vinceypoo)
<Apophasis> - http://apophasis.wowstead.com/ (GM - Draek)
<Chimera> - http://chimeraofsh.guildlaunch.com/ (GM - Driconix)
<Downtime> - http://downtime.shatteredhand.us/ (GM - Dons)
<Enmity> - http://enmity.mmoguildsites.net/ (GM - Hellvetica)
<Evade> - http://evade.dkpsystem.com/ (GM - Endlessness)
<FUBAR> - http://getfubar.wowstead.com/ (GM - Jedek)
<Game Thèory> - http://gtguild.wowstead.com/ (GM - Brooklyne)
<Harvesters of Sorrow> - http://www.harvestersofsorrowguild.com/ (GM - Incineration)
<LAGGED> - http://lagged.wowstead.com/ (GM - Rk)
<Meifumado> - http://www.meifumado.net/ (GM - Mengke)
<The Myrmidons> - http://www.myrmidonsguild.com/ (GM - Ruwa)
<Relentless> - http://www.sh-relentless.com/ (GM - Dranlo)
<Solace> - http://www.solace-gaming.org (GM - Feardread)
<Umbra Tutela> - http://www.ut-gaming.org (GM - Humantractor)
<Vindication> - http://www.vindicationguild.com (GM - Suddendeth)
<Ye Ole Hangmen> - http://www.hangmen.guildomatic.com/ (GM - Solunais)
Old/Disbanded Guild list
[Addo Abyssus] - http://www.addoabyssus.com (GM - Grayclaw) - Retired
[Asylum] - http://mentaldurahit.com (GM - Cilverce/Reides) *ASYLUM DOWN*
[Aussie Raiders] - http://www.aussieraiders.com (GM - Realmslayer)* AR down*
[Clan Cuato] - http://www.clan-cuato.com (GM - Cuatolover)
[Crusaders of Valor] - http://www.crusadersofvalor.com/ (GM - Letocovngton)
[Darkness Hellfire] - http://www.darknesshellfire.com (GM - Laynie)
[Daylight Fading] - http://www.daylight-fading.com {GM - Warhowl)
[Defenders of Infinity] - http://infinity.wowstead.com (GM - Fuschia) (Transferred to Exodar)
[Elusive] - http://www.dd-guild.org (GM - Magius)
[Evolution] - http://www.evolution-sh.com (GM - Stormknight)
[Fear and Loathing] - http://www.fearloath.com (GM - Ravistis) *FEAR AND LOATHING DOWN*
[Foehammer] - http://www.foehammersh.com (GM - Jaraxlejax)
[Forgotten Lords] - http://forgottenlords.guildportal.com (GM - Pugnacious) *FORGOTTEN LORDS DOWN*
[Finished]-http://Finished.wowstead.com (GM-Feliandi Co-leaders; Recurrent, Ysondra)
[Havok] - http://www.havok-sh.com (GM - Trizzie/Smapp)*HAVOK DOWN*
[Heinous Misfortune] - http://heinousmisfortune.guildomatic.com/ (GM - Balister)
[Highborne] - http://highbornesh.guildlaunch.com/ (GM - Osada)
[Honor and Loyalty] - http://www.honorandloyalty.com/ (GM - Gerrardcap)
[Liberi Deorum] - http://shatteredlegacyguild.com (GM - Trinstin)
[Murder and Retribution] - http://MaR.guildomatic.com/ (GM - Pocketninja)
[Na Fianna] - http://nafianna.org (GM - Antaine)
[Order from Chaos] - http://www.ofcguild.com/ofc/ (GM - Trannie/Rammstein)
[Pare Bellum] - http://www.pare-bellum.com (GM - Warbar)
[Phoenix Order] - http://phoenixorder.tt.cx (GM - Gospel) *PHOENIX ORDER DOWN*
[Project Mayhem] - http://www.wowprojectmayhem.org (GM - Midorin)
[Pwnage Platoon] - http://www.pwnageplatoon.com (GM - Sulli)
[Ramen]- www.ramenguild.cjb.net (GM - Abbey)
[Rampant Fronting] - http://www.rampantfronting.com (GM - Mzo)
[Reborn] - (Phoenix Order Split) - (GM - Cyinide, Istorvir, Succubix, Crunker)
[Revolver] - http://revolver-gaming.com/ (GM - Punkface) *REMADE AS ZOMBIE*
[Riders of the Apocalypse]- http://www.rotaguild.org (GM - Cuukey) *RIDERS OF THE APOCALYPSE DOWN*
[Royalty]- http://www.royaltyguild.com (GM - Moki)
[Rüne] - http://www.guildofrune.com (GM - Beltane) *REMADE AS SNARF*
[Skill Overload] - http://www.skilloverload.com (GM - Halthor/Telcontarx)
[Snarf] - http://www.guildofsnarf.com (GM - Beltane)
[Substance] - No website listed (GM - Cremated)
[The Brotherhood] - http://www.thebhood.com (GM - Mercator)
[The Cult of Sol Invictus] - http://www.cultofsolinvictus.co.cc (GM - Shepard)
[The Unholy Crusade] - http://TUC.wowstead.com (GM -Policy/Thalious/Ysondra)
[The Saxons] - http://www.saxons-guild.net (GM - Skizzle) *THE SAXONS DOWN* (Faktion ruined it)
[World Defense Channel] - http://www.wdcguild.com (GM - Aellerian/Federer)
[Apophasis] - TBA - (GM- Draek)
[B E E R (Battle Evil Elven Rule)] -http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=207895&TabID=1754486 (GM - Itsnoc)
[Da Ninja] - http://www.daninja.com (GM - Duckdodgers)
[Ego]- http://s6.invisionfree.com/ego_guild07 (GM - Gorre)
[Enmity]- http://enmity.mmoguildsites.net/home (GM - Stagger)
[Evade] - http://www.evade-sh.com (GM - Endlessness)
[Fossils of War]- http://www.fow-clan.org/ (GM- Bever)
[Hellborn]- http://www.hellbornguild.com (GM - Jedah)
[iRaid] - http://iraid.guildportal.com/ - (GM - Apokolicious)
[Iron Curtain] - http://www.TheIronCurtain.net
[New Age of Craft] - (GM - Diggidog) (Has been Reborn)
[Panther Moderns]- http://www.panther-moderns.com (GM - Kazallo/Lupus(It's never Lupus))
[Relentless]- http://www.relentguild.com (GM - Dranlo)
[Revolver] - http://www.revolver-gaming.com (GM - Punkology)
[Sanctuary] - http://www.sanctuaryguildsh.net (GM - Wråth)
[Seeds of Despair]- http://www.seedsofdespair.com/ (GM - Cadberry)
[TaeGukGi] - http://www.taegukgiguild.com (GM - Shinigami)
[Uncontrolled] - http://www.uncontrolledguild.com (GM - Masimo)
[Warcraft Gaming Faction]- http://www.clanwgf.com (GM - Undaunt)
[Ye Ole Hangmen] - http://hangmen.guildomatic.com (GM - Wulfy)
- ^ Ebathory "Realm Forums > Anub'arak" World of Warcraft Forums, September 9th, 2007


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Announcing the Finalists of our Puff Pastry Contest!
Treat or treat? Well, you have shown us plenty of both for our Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry contest! We had so many creative, creepy and delicious-looking entries, but in the end we had to narrow it down to these five finalists. Check out the slideshow!
We are leaving the rest of the voting up to the Serious Eats community.
To vote: Head on over to Photograzing by clicking "favorite" on your choice. See finalists below, or click through the slideshow.
Our Five Finalists
- Pumpkin Puff Pastry Tart With Apple-Cranberry Stuffed Crust, By Juliasalbum
- Creepy Caramel Apple Caskets, By carmell
- Bacon, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato And Goat Cheese Skull Pizza, By Hungry Happenings
- Pumpkin CakePie, By CaitPie
- Little Horns, By Renu Devi
The lucky winner will score a trip to New York for a pastry crawl with the Serious Eats team. They will also receive a Cuisinart Stand Mixer and a bunch of great baking gear from Pepperidge Farm. Voting ends on October 26th and the winner will be announced on October 29th.
Check out more fun with Puff Pastry here and here!
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Buckinghamshire Railway Centre occupies an extensive site in rolling Buckinghamshire countryside. There is so much to see and do! Exhibits range from large express passenger locomotives to the humble shunting engine together with a host of smaller items recreating the golden age of steam. Check our events programme to see what is happening on the day of your planned visit – steam trains operate on certain days and we have several special events throughout the year.
Opening Times: 10.30am - 5pm (4.30pm on weekdays). Last admission 3:30pm.
We are closed during our winter season from October-April with special opening times for October and February half terms, as well as December weekends for our Christmas Special Events! Please check our calendar for opening dates.


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This isn't the way things work here.Originally Posted by Asifp
Discussions should be had here, in the public forums. And typically they will be discussions, not homework handouts.
Some people get quite angry at requests like this. I guess they imagine having to work alongside someone whose only skill is the ability to cut and paste. But I'm just an amateur and, so, I can afford to be more relaxed. My concern about providing teh codez is that I'd be robbing you of the opportunity to learn something.
Now if you are struggling with the course (and your favourite deity knows well that this happens to all of us) speak to your teachers. They have no interest in seeing you fail, and they can give practical help. Or ask here: say where you're at with the assignment, what you've done and what the results are so far. There are very talented people here (as well as the very verbose ones...) Don't overlook the resources that are available in favour of some "quick fix" which isn't going to happen.
Whatever you choose, good luck.


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Our Undergraduate Campus
George Fox University
414 N. Meridian Street
Newberg, Oregon 97132
Phone: 503-538-8383
We are Oregon's oldest and largest Christian college and serve students at a number of locations, including a residential undergraduate campus in Newberg, a Portland Center, a Salem Site, and teaching sites in other Oregon communities.
Our undergraduate campus is a 108-acre, tree-shaded property in the city of Newberg. Experience a Christian university in our natural setting. After class, you can study or enjoy a relaxing time with friends on our landscaped grounds. Chat with classmates in the rose garden, read a book in the Centennial Tower's shade, or escape down a trail in the wooded Hess Creek Canyon.
The campus has expanded in recent years to include more than 70 buildings. Our Hadlock Student Center opened in 2018 – a 48,000-square-foot facilty featuring three full basketball/volleyball courts, an elevated track, a fitness center and a rock-climbing wall.
Previously, in 2016, we opened our Canyon Commons dining hall, providing a dining experience overlooking the lush Hess Creek Canyon for up to 800. An athletic field facility, the Austin Sports Complex, is a 24-acre tract north of the campus that serves as home to our soccer and lacrosse teams.
Our facilities include science, engineering and nursing labs equipped with the latest equipment and software; the 1,150-seat Bauman Auditorium, which has such good acoustics that the Oregon Symphony records here; and excellent athletic facilities, including the Stoffer Family Stadium/Duke Athletic Center, home to our football and track programs.
Through numerous activities – sports, fellowship, study groups, Bible studies, etc. – our student body strives to create a fun, encouraging atmosphere.
Newberg, Oregon
Newberg is a friendly community close to a major metropolitan environment of 1.9 million people. It is also among the safest cities in Oregon. In a study released in 2019 by Safe Home, a community-focused safety organization, Newberg ranked No. 2 overall in its list of the top 25 "safest cities in Oregon."
Located on the Willamette River, Newberg has a population of 23,300. Historic downtown Newberg consists of a variety of stores, art galleries, coffee shops, restaurants and a retro movie theater. Newberg is also home to a drive-in movie theater – one of just 500 in the nation – and side roads lead to hillside vineyards, state parks and working farms.
The city enjoys a vibrant community spirit by bringing residents together for events such as the Downtown Art Walk, Newberg Farmers Market and Newberg Old Fashioned Festival.
For those who love the outdoors, the Chehalem Parks and Recreation District manages 11 parks in and around Newberg. The parks include Frisbee golf, basketball and tennis courts, softball and soccer fields, nature trials and much more. A $20 million renovation to the city's aquatic center will be completed in 2018.
The city is also home to a nationally renowned skate park that has 29,000 square feet of concrete surface. Prefer bikes? Next to the skate park is an expertly designed BMX track.
Surrounding Area
Oregon stretches from the Pacific Coast, over the Coast Range, through the fertile Willamette Valley, past the snowcapped Cascades, and into the high-desert country of central and eastern Oregon. Oregon is spectacular, so it's no surprise that tourism is one of the state's largest industries, along with high technology, forest products and agriculture.
Portland is a short drive from campus. The city is home to the Old Town district, the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, numerous art galleries and museums, a number of theatre groups and jazz clubs, Powell's City of Books and a world-class symphony, ballet, and opera. Other attractions include the Oregon Zoo, the Japanese Garden, the International Rose Test Gardens, and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Every June, the city hosts its Rose Festival, with three parades, a coronation, and 25 days of festival events.
Portland has 9,400 acres of parks, including Mill Ends Park, the smallest in the world. The city also offers entertainment that includes the Portland Trail Blazers (NBA), Portland Timbers (MLS) and the Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) ice hockey squad.
Snow-capped mountains are about a two-hour drive away, and Oregon's rugged coastal beaches are just a little more than an hour down Highway 18.
Regional Sites
Our Portland Center is located off I-5 near Tigard. It is home to Portland Seminary, our graduate counseling programs, and degree-completion programs for working adults. The center also offers Master of Arts in Teaching courses and our part-time MBA program.
Our Salem Site offers graduate and degree-completion programs to residents in the mid-Willamette Valley. It offers master's degrees in counseling and teaching (MAT), and bachelor's degrees in elementary education and social and behavioral studies.
George Fox also conducts classes in Redmond, Oregon , and other teaching sites throughout Oregon.


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A convicted felon has been sentenced to life in prison for stealing a gold ring from a mentally impaired man who received the jewelry after working 10 years at a fast-food restaurant.
The Waco Tribune-Herald reports jurors earlier Wednesday convicted Ruben Miguel Alaniz of Riesel of aggravated robbery of a disabled person.
Patrick Abel of Bellmead, who worked at McDonalds, testified he was walking in a park in 2012 and "being nice" when he approached a man working on a vehicle. Abel says the man took his ring, displayed a gun and drove off.
The latest news from around North Texas.
Abel's employers later replaced the jewelry.
Alaniz had an aggravated assault conviction for burning his ex-wife with a hot knife and four misdemeanor convictions. He must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.


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Dear Shri Mukherjee,
The nation is in a very serious crisis the like of which we had not seen before since we became independent in 1947.
2.As someone who had served in the Government of India for 27 years under Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh,Indira Gandhi again, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P.Singh, Chandra Sekhar and Narasimha Rao, I feel concerned over the depressing state of affairs marked by perceptions of uncontrolled corruption, policy mismanagement, inept governance and a total lack of political and administrative acumen at all levels of the political leadership and the bureaucracy.
3. My depression is rendered even more acute by the intellectual sclerosis that seems to prevail in Governmental and political circles in New Delhi marked by utter insensitivity to people's anger and incomprehension of the implications of the dangerous drift leading the nation towards a precipice with no return.
4. The youth of the nation is totally alienated. There is no inspiring, wise leadership that can give them cause for hope for the future.
5.A nation without hope is a nation without a future. Nothing illustrates more dramatically and more shockingly the total lack of leadership and wisdom than the manner in which the political leadership has dealt with the anticorruption agitation of Anna Hazare, which has wide support among the youth of the country.
6. Instead of understanding and appreciating the depth of public anger reflected in the Anna movement and taking action to mitigate the anger, the political leadership has been playing games with it, making solemn commitments to persuade Anna to break his fast in August and then ignoring those commitments.
7. One embarrassment after another---the 2 G scam, the Commonwealth Games Scam, the mishandling of the appointment of the Central Vigilance Commissioner, the failure to do the political homework before taking the important decision on allowing foreign direct investment in the retail sector etc--- has not only severely damaged the credibility of the Government, but has also earned for it the contempt of large sections of the people.
8. The shocking nonchalance of the Congress leadership in the face of the spreading confusion reminds one of the Bourbon Kings of France before the 1789 Revolution---having had nothing to learn and nothing to forget.
9. This is the time for robust and wise leadership activism. Instead we find a semi-comatose leadership in the party and the Government. The Prime Minister and the Congress leader Mrs.Sonia Gandhi--- instead of acting to dissipate the darkness engulfing the country--- have chosen to live inside a well where others can't see and hear them and they can't see and hear others.
10. There is a total drought of communications between the leadership and the people. Instead of interacting transparently and vigorously with the people, the media, Team Anna and the youth supporting them, Dr.Manmohan Singh and Mrs.Sonia Gandhi have withdrawn into a shell looking over their shoulders suspiciously at each other worrying what the other is up to.
11. Jawaharlal Nehru often used to speak of administering a shock treatment to a nation in crisis. The time for such a shock treatment has come. Only you can---- with your vast political wisdom, courage and experience--- encourage such a shock treatment in the form of a national coalition to deal with the immediate crisis before things get out of hand and pave the way for fresh, premature elections.
12. The citizens of this country with no axe to grind look up to you to lead.
With warm regards,
Yours sincerely,
B.Raman, Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
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