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[FIN] Lessons in Pazaak
Dust and grit swirled around her; it crunched beneath her boots and between her teeth. She spat and flipped her Bothan visor down, squinting under the glare of the too-close sun. She couldn't remember what planet she was on -- she could barely remember her own name.
She hunched her shoulders under the long coat and decided it didn't matter -- her name, the planet's name -- this was her last attempt.
Swimming in the reflection of the yellow sun's heat, a tiny settlement shivered in her vision. Nestled between sand dunes, only the peaks of strangely slanted roofs could be seen. The exile hooked her lightsabres to her belt, pulled up her hood and set off towards the only signs of habitation she could detect on this sand-pit of a planet.
She lost track of time, each step feeling exactly like the last -- hot, painful, futile. She turned her face down, away from the scouring wind and sand and watched her feet leave prints that blew away before the next step had even begun. She staggered, and thirst tore at her throat, but she left her life-support kit in her pack. Her need would be greater later.
How long had she been trudging through this scalding, clutching sand? Her body was limp with exhaustion when she finally raised her eyes to discover a wall looming before her. No matter how she leaned back, she couldn't seem to see the top of it in the dust clouds that hovered overhead.
Closer inspection revealed a small portal, just above her head. She reached up and rapped sharply on it with dry, cracked knuckles. After a moment, it slid open and, although she could see nothing through the tiny space, a rough voice addressed her from the other side of the wall.
'Wat's yer bizniz?'
'I have an appointment to keep.'
'Wat's d'password?'
? There had been no mention of a password. The exile fought to keep her temper in check -- and failed.
'I have no need of a password,' she snapped.
'You have no need of a password,' repeated the voice obediently, and a small door appeared in the wall and opened.
He had said that she would know where to go -- that it would be unavoidable.
The narrow streets of the tiny settlement were completely abandoned, but she could feel eyes on her from every window -- barely more than slits sliced into the permacrete walls. She kept her face lowered, deep inside her hood.
She listened.
She tamped down her rage -- but the pain and futility of her search rose up inside, choking her. Countless worlds, countless seedy space ports, barren seas -- to her amazement, she felt a panicked sob rise up from her chest. She ground her teeth around it and swallowed it.
There is no emotion, there is only peace.
When her hands stopped trembling, she began to walk. A flash, like the sun reflecting from one of the distant rooftops, caught her eye. With nothing left to follow, she turned and started off in the direction of the setting sun.
Time slipped away from her again, leached by exhaustion, thirst and pain. When she slipped out of her haze, she realized with a start that she was no longer alone. Her heart leaped and, turning to the footsteps that shuffled behind her, she kept the eagerness out of her face.
She needn't have bothered.
While she could make out only shadows in the covered doorways that lined the streets, two figures were clear in the twilight. Two young, ragged louts had her neatly penned at the end of a closed alley, their darkened teeth wet in shifty smiles.
' 'Ey, marster Jedi, can ye 'elp out some thirsty laddies?'
She licked her cracked lips as her eyes narrowed and assessed the situation. The young men were definitely in a bad way, their skin blackened and split, their eyes yellow with jaundice. But they, both of them, moved with the cunning purpose of a starving hssiss.
'I can give you water,' she replied, her voice low and harsh.
'Oh, marster Jedi, we thinks ye can give us more'n dat,' the larger of the two leered. 'Th'likes o' ye don't come by dis way very offen. We canna be lettin' ye go away unwelcome-like.'
'My friend here,' he gestured to the smaller of the pair, who tilted his head to the side, his neck cracking and popping with the movement as he grinned, ' 'E don't like Jedi much. 'E'd much rather let ye bleed out onna street, here. Me? Oi'd like ta shows ya some fun, first.'
The young men approached, low to the ground, in slow fighters' crouches. The exile stared at their emaciated forms and was unwilling to heap more suffering on them. She reached for the Force and willed them to be still.
They kept moving.
Aghast, she watched the galaxy's life energy disappear into the two fiends. The smaller one smiled even wider, unnatural lips loose with joy.
'Y'see? Dat wat Oi loves about ye Jedis,' slobbered the larger one. 'Y'feeds us.'
'Now, m'friend, here. 'E's still bitter-like, abouts our families bein' sucked up an' burnt awa' by da Jedis from the skies. But Oi sez we can has our fill before we burns ya.'
The two shuffling forms circled in the growing shadows. Where she should feel rage, hatred and hunger from them, there was only emptiness. The exile stilled her breath and calmed her heartbeat. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, weighing tactics and calculating advantage. She would lay even odds that her lightsabres would be as useless as Force powers against these two -- and she was spent and weary.
Wisdom had its uses.
The exile dropped a flash grenade and, with a quick twitch of her hand, activated the stealth generator at her waist. As her two opponents clutched their eyes and howled, she folded her body through a tiny gap in the alley and slid down a narrow passageway.
Blind, lost and confused, she moved as silently as she could. She could hear the enraged shrieks of her pursuers echoing from the settlement's high rooftops. She gasped as she heard more voices take up the call, then groaned as she encountered another wall.
Muttering a string of curses that she hadn't used since she was 'General' to a rag-tag group of Republic soldiers, the exile searched the walls for any niche, any crack, that might act as a foothold to climb, but the sandy permacrete was unyielding. Her fingers scrabbled across the wall's surface as her breath came in dry sobs.
A miracle! One slab of the wall felt -- different. The dimensions seemed big enough for it to be a door -- an escape. If she could just get back to her ship, she could wash this place from her memory. She pressed on the wall to no effect. She poked and pulled until her fingertips were slick with blood. She felt an indented groove, perhaps a lock of some sort, but couldn't seem to focus on its mechanism.
I was never any good at this stuff. I never had to be. He was always there.
She slammed her palm against the stubborn door.
What have you left me to?
To her dismay, the grunting howls of her pursuers were getting closer. They'd discovered her escape route! She sobbed again, and pounded on the door. 'Open, dammit!!' she whispered. 'Please, open!!'
'Just say the word ...'
The filthy little planet tilted beneath the exile's feet at the sound of that voice, so cocky and sure. She spun. Even in the gloom she knew that lean form, that arrogant pose.
She wasn't sure if she saw his grin in the darkness, or if she just knew the familiar sight of it so well that it manifested in her mind's eye.
'Let me take care of this,' he said and turned to the tiny door. In less than a heartbeat it was open. He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. Then he shut the door behind them.
"... I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room." - Ray Bradbury
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The darkness inside was blessedly cool. She stood, knees weak, gasping in the chilled air. His arm was still around her, supporting her. She should move. She knew he could feel her trembling, but it was all right. With him, it was all right, because he knew.
He had always known
. It was she who had been blind.
Straightening, the exile steadied herself. His hands dropped away and she felt bereft. The sickly green glow of a gleam emitter sputtered into life, and she saw his grey eyes watching her.
Damn. You look like bantha fodder.
Somewhere, deep in her belly, a knot eased.
Flattery will get you nowhere, Atton, she replied, her voice calm and modulated.
You hurtin?
The question startled her, but she took a quick inventory. Less than I would expect, actually. She raised her eyes to him and nodded. It feels better in here.
His eyes never left her, but she couldnt read him. Of course.
You have been hiding from me, she chided.
Yeah, well, you started it.
She smiled. Oh, Light, it felt good to smile.
Yes. I guess I did.
She studied his face in the sputtering green light.
It had been so long. I missed you.
He was smiling, too. His hand reached for hers and he began to walk, the path leading steeply downwards, deep into the planet.
Atton. What is this place? Why here?
Cmon gorgeous, you dont think I chose this hole, do you? Not a glass of Juma or Twilek dancer to be had!
Of course, she sighed.
It makes sense, though, if you want to think about it.
No, I dont. Not really
. But she allowed him to continue.
Those walking Force vacuum nightmares on the surface, theyre perfect for deflecting the attention of anyone who might be looking for a Jedi who doesnt want to be found.
The horror of those empty souls came back to her. Those people, Atton, what are they? What do you know about them?
He paused in their descent to slant a strange look at her.
I know as much about them as you do, he said. Maybe some kind of strange Sith Force experiment, maybe just collateral damage from the Jedi Civil War or even echoes of Malachor V its hard to say these days, whats caused that kind of injury.
Still, they descended. The lower they went, the cooler the air became. After a while, the walls became slick with moisture. She wanted to lean her face against the chilled stone and cool her thoughts as well but they walked on.
His long fingers wrapped around hers were her only connection to real time and space. She could feel the calluses on his palm, where a blasters hilt would rest, and the strong muscles and tendons that could finesse a light-sabre better than anyone shed ever known. She focused on that hand, the solid feel of it, remembering it the way he flipped a pazaak card carelessly as they plotted their next move on Nar Shadda, the way his fingers manipulated the delicate workings of a lock or a frag mine.
The way he had touched my cheek, only once, before we left Korriban.
She knew she should be focusing on her task at hand, but dammit, she could barely remember what it was. She hadnt seen him for so long, couldnt she just enjoy this moment?
Maybe we can walk like this forever.
But, too soon, the rounded a final bend in the twisting cavern and faced another door locked of course.
Why dont I just let you deal with that one, she said, fighting the upward pull on her lips.
He grinned, but didnt reply. Instead he produced a key card. Cant be breaking in
we go, can I?
And she laughed.
Looking pleased with himself, Atton swung the large door inward. Here it is, sweetheart. Sanctuary. For now, at least.
She peered through the doorway, slightly confused. The small room was laid out like a cockpit similar to the Ebon Hawk, actually. Holocron stars sped across the walls that had been carved almost to resemble the windows.
She raised one pale eyebrow at him. He raised his hands in mock defence.
Hey now, dont look at me. Im not the interior designer. Strange, I admit, but it could be a hell of a lot worse.
Yes, I suppose it could. She walked past the two worn pilots chairs, her fingers drifting lightly over the worn upholstery. This feels familiar, comfortable.
Then its doing its job. Atton sat in the port-side chair where he belonged and leaned back, his feet up on the console.
Dont put your feet on the console, she muttered, and laughed again as she realized that hed echoed her familiar words, that hed provoked those words.
She sat across from him, the seat feeling like it had been made for her. So, what do we do now?
He smiled again, and held up his pazaak deck.
We wait.
"... I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room." - Ray Bradbury
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She bit her lip as she pulled her pazaak deck from her pack in a cloud of dust. She shot a sheepish look at Atton and attempted without success to brush years' worth of dirt and neglect from the cards. Not one had escaped the ravages of time and travel bent and dog-eared, the deck looked disreputable indeed. Her old friend looked pained as he noted the damage.
You should treat your side deck with more care than that. Your side deck is what you bring to the table. Its what separates you from every two-bit wannabe huckster this side of Nar Shadda. He grimaced as he watched her endeavour to smooth out a +3/-3 card that looked like it had been used to prop a blast door open. Without that deck, youre stuck with whats dealt to ya.
I know, I know, she said, feeling foolish. It its just that I havent played in a very long time.
Yeah, I know.
She glanced up and caught his gaze, only for a moment, and then his nimble fingers were dancing over the game deck, shuffling the cards in a blur of motion. When he looked up again, his cocky grin was back in place.
All right, lets see how rusty you are.
She lost the first four games happily.
Four, six, three, six, stand. Five, nine, four, four, flip the +/- 4 for 18. Stand. Lose to 19.
Time disappeared in the whir of shuffling cards and Attons casual banter. She floated in the sound of his voice.
Seven, one, one, four, three, five for 21.
After she dropped the fifth game in three straight sets, he gathered up the cards and sighed. Youre not even trying, he reproached.
Maybe youre just too good for me.
He threw back his head and laughed. And she felt pleased with herself.
Not even a shell-shocked Hutt is gonna believe that one, sweetheart. Now, cmon, concentrate. Youre not even looking at your side deck.
Come on!
Puzzled at his change of tone, she complied. Her hand was actually pretty helpful three +/- cards of various denominations, a -2 and a 2/4 switch an interesting arsenal. She gave him a quick, hard smile. All right flyboy, you asked for it.
He laid down a 7 in front of her, and a 4 in front of himself. She nodded once, and he added a 6 to her pile and an 8 to his 13 and 12. She nodded again 8 and 7.
I think Ill stand here, he grinned.
Dammit! She tossed down her precious -2 side cards to tie the set and glared at him.
He raised his hands in front of himself. Hey now, sometimes luck is just luck! She felt his low chuckle deep in her chest where it vibrated pleasantly, so she scowled and gestured for him to deal again.
He did.
Two, six, three, four, eight for 23, 2/4 switch card for 11, eight for 19. Stand.
This time, she won handily. He managed to steal one set before she took the hand. There was approval in his smile. Much better. Now I know youre paying attention.
She allowed herself a small half-smile and shifted in her seat, trying to alleviate a persistent cramp that had been building up in her back. A flare of pain crackled from her hip to her shoulder and she gasped.
He looked up, his grey eyes taking in everything.
Youve changed your hair.
I what?
Your hair. Its longer and not pinned back so severely. Do you want another card?
She shook her head, trying to follow him. She glanced down at the 5 sitting before her. Yes, of course, another.
He dealt her another 5, and added a 3 to the 10 in front of himself. She nodded sharply, one hand massaging the ache in her back. He dealt a 4 to her and a 7 to himself. She sighed and nodded, grimacing as he dealt a 7 to her hand.
She focused on her side deck and placed a -6 card down and nodded to Atton again. This time, he dealt a 5 for the tie. She huffed with impatience and pinched the bridge of her nose as he shuffled again.
Why did you hide from me? she asked suddenly. A looming headache was becoming a dull roar behind her eyes.
His eyes seemed sad as he regarded her. Youve been hiding from me since day one, he accused.
I know
I know
but you know why, now. Dont you?
Eight and eight for 16. Plus four could give me the 20. Draw for three. Stand at 19.
His slow smile could have broken her heart. I do.
Suddenly, she was loath to give up any more of her side deck cards and her cautious play allowed him to win the next two sets. Are you just going to give this to me? he asked, concern in his eyes.
Im not giving it to you, she protested. I just I just cant
He stared at her with blatant disbelief, so she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Fine. Just deal.
She managed to win two sets in a row, but exhausted her side deck to do so. With no resources left, she gave up the winning set to Atton.
, you see? She was startled at the petulant note that wound its way through her words. She resisted the urge to clamp her hands around her mouth and over the sound.
The exile reshuffled her side deck and dealt five more cards to herself +/-2, +4, -3, +/-1 and +3. Her headache had drifted up over her skull and seemed to be setting up house in the right side of her face. She glowered at the cards. She glowered at him.
No. You didnt.
Didnt you want me to find you?
No. I didnt want you to need me.
Six and nine is 15. Plus four, stand at 19. Nine and two, plus six, flip the +/- 3 for 20.
They tied three more sets before Atton stole a win. Thats it. You made me work for that one!
She bit down on her own simmering frustration as she took inventory of her depleted side deck only two cards left. Atton had one in his.
A 9 floated down in front of her, a 4 in front of him. The barest twitch of her finger and a 7 joined her card and an 8 his. She laid down her +4 card for 20 and waited. Atton drew another 4 and then 10.
He said nothing, but watched her intently as he dealt again. Her skull felt like it was cracking open.
Eager to end this round, she drew aggressively and gave Atton another set.
He dealt again, this time dropping a 10 in front of the exile and a 6 for himself. When he added a 9 to her hand she leaned back in her seat and watched him. He pulled a 5, then a 4 and another 2 17 and 19 were laid out on the table. Attons eyes didnt leave hers as he drew the 3.
She stood.
And fell to her knees.
She saw his face as she fell, his eyes full of pain.
It reminded her of something
some time
but it was ripped from her head by the agony that knifed down her back, through her hip and into her legs. She clutched at her head as her vision swam and shifted.
Atton was there beside her, his arms holding her up and his fingers in her hair. He whispered in her ear, but she couldnt make any sense of his words.
Its not
to lose is it?? You play well, you play
, and still you can lose.
His lips brushed her temples as she trembled on the cold, stone floor.
But you cant be angry at the cards, you know. Were all dealt from the same deck. If you start being angry at the cards or the other players youll lose for sure.
Her fingers clung to the front of his familiar jacket, scrabbling blindly for him. Atton? Atton! Please, I cant
I cant
You have to, sweetheart. Im sorry. Im so sorry, but you have to.
His arms felt solid around her. She tried to calm her thoughts, calm her voice. But the chains of panic kept winding their way around her mind, around her words.
Let me stay with you here, Atton. Please. She hated the note of pleading that twisted through her. But she couldnt stop. I thought Id be all right without you. I thought I could go on. But every damned time I turn around, youre
not there
. Youre driving me crazy!
His fingertips stroked her face, trailed over her eyes and down her cheeks, following the trail of tears that flowed from her sightless eyes.
Im always here, Cora. Every time you look for me, Im right here. His voice vibrated through his chest and into her spine. Youll always be right here with me, playing pazaak, where they cant reach you.
Atton. I cant see you anymore. Why cant I see you?
She swore she could feel his breath ruffle through her hair, her long hair, silver curls matted to her face with blood and sweat.
Remember to look at your side deck. The cards you bring to the table and the choices you make, thats where youre different. Thats where you can make a difference.
No. Please, no Atton! Dont leave me now
Revan heard the scream and it pleased her.
"... I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room." - Ray Bradbury
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White light screamed electric murder through the exiles brain. She arched and twisted away from it, but could not escape the cruel tendrils that tunnelled under her skin and ruptured her veins. She could no longer separate her own body and mind from the pain.
She had no name.
She was only blood and bone and laceration.
Thought and memory and mutilation.
Suffering was eternity, beyond the confines of time.
She heard a low, pitiable whimper and understood that the sound came from her own throat, even as a fresh barrage of screams came tearing through it.
She had been screaming forever.
Through the miasma of her fear, a new touch penetrated. A hand, fingertips cool and dry, softly stroked her forehead. She turned her face toward the caress, blue eyes long since gone, searching.
No sound escaped her lips, through the blood and bile, dust and grit. But she was heard.
Ah, Cora. You are a marvel. After so much injury, still you hope. The voice, like the hand, was soft and cool low feminine tones, so familiar. I had high expectations of you when you arrived, old friend. You never disappoint me.
Four, six, three, six, stand. Five, nine, four, four, flip the +/- 4 for 18. Stand. Lose to 19.
Dry lips pressed a kiss to her cheek, smearing blood and tears. I knew you would return to me, my general. You always followed me.
Revans voice. Revans call. Revans confidence and clarity of purpose. Yes, she had followed. She had dreamed of the salvation of the galaxy. She had followed her to the darkest of places. Again.
Seven, one, one, four, three, five for 21.
Im so glad youre here, Cora. All this power, can you feel it? The Star Forge pales in comparison ah, but, you never felt the Forge, did you? You left us. You ran.
Soft fingers stroked her hair, healing her, chasing away the white-hot pain. Those lips whispered into her ear. But I forgive you, Cora. I do. Its not your fault. They used you as a tool, as they used me. As Kreia used us both.
The hands disappeared. But the voice remained like a healing balm soothing, coaxing. Revans voice. And they had all followed.
Ah, Cora the exile they have left you to your fate, havent they? Let you wander the galaxy until you meet your doom. But I found you first. I have saved you.
Her mouth cracked and brittle worked through the pain to deny, to beg. She didnt know. She didnt care.
Two, six, three, four, eight for 23, 2/4 switch card for 11, eight for 19. Stand.
Shhh come, little exile. I know how to make the pain stop. You have always trusted me, Cora. Were we not the best of friends?
Her mind filled with images of the dark-haired girl who had danced in the grass fields of Dantooine the lithe figure who had embraced passion and embraced them all. Laughing brown eyes, mischievous freckles Revan had called on them to save innocent lives. She reached for the memory, reached for the girl.
The image rotted away.
Mika? I wanted to save you. I wanted to
Let me take your pain away. Please, Cora. Im so alone here. The power here, it can make you whole again.
Revans voice could not be denied.
Eight and eight for 16. Plus four could give me the 20. Draw for three. Stand at 19.
She reached, and reached again, the grasping fingers of her soul scrabbling for purchase in the girl she had loved.
Mika! Where are you?
I am here, little exile. Im waiting for you to come to me.
Six and nine is 15. Plus four, stand at 19. Nine and two, plus six, flip the +/- 3 for 20.
You must hurry, Cora. Your friends they can feel you. Theyre coming for you. We dont want to kill them, do we? We want to save them. We want them to come with us.
Yes, Mika. Save them. Save me!
She reached again, down through the darkness, the foul, the putrid. She reached for the taint and embraced it
Save yourself!
and was thrown back, through the worlds, through the stink, back into pain.
Damn you for a fool, Cora Saris! That voice, it
. You cannot even fathom what youre up against, what youre giving up!
Her muscles stretched and snapped against the solid force of the dark power that surrounded them. Her limbs twitched and jerked. Her bones shattered. She screamed again and forever
Its not
to lose is it?? You play well, you play
, and still you can lose.
We were both fools, Cora, but I
. This power, this malice, it turns the universe! You are too weak to see it. A pity. Your friends will see it, however. When they see what Ive done to you, they will feel this current of fury, of hatred and know how to use it. They will not turn away. It has already begun.
Tiny tendrils, too fragile to survive in this lightless place Mical, Bao-Dur, Mira, the only ones left straining for her. They would die. They would fall. Her missing eyes could not weep.
But you cant be angry at the cards, you know. Were all dealt from the same deck. If you start being angry at the cards or the other players youll lose for sure.
She had come here for love. She would die here for love.
I have a message for you, Mika.
There was something. A glimmer in the shadow. Shade in the unrelenting white.
Carth Onasi is waiting for you
A shudder, too small to feel, shook the galaxy.
Something small and pure flared and struggled.
Remember to look at your side deck. The cards you bring to the table and the choices you make, thats where youre different. Thats where you can make a difference.
She reached out through the Force, blind in the murk. She touched them all, as she always had. She said farewell and left them, ties snapping through the cosmos like whiplash.
The flash of silver, a star plummeting, she dove through the bond that had linked her with Revan for decades. She brought her pain, she brought her love. She wrapped herself around that tiny spark and gave her everything to it.
So defiant. So small in this darkness. She heard Mika weeping and knew they would drown together in this place. Their fear would feed this place.
Revans laughter blistered her skin.
Her hand was actually pretty helpful three +/- cards of various denominations, a -2 and a 2/4 switch an interesting arsenal. All right, flyboy. You asked for it.
She tore herself in two.
Still holding on to the glimmer that was Mika Revan, the exile ripped through the universe, shredding the fabric of reality. The Force all of it trembled before the wound that was Cora Saris.
And she drank it in.
The hole in her being, the nothing that had lurked within her since Malachor V turned itself inside out and took her with it. Even the darkness of that place was no match. From a very long way away, she heard Revans outraged howls as all the anger, all the despair and hatred all the power leeched into the exiles self and was met with the strength of five billion screams.
She said farewell to the light and she inhaled it all.
She swore she could feel his breath ruffle through her hair ...
Thats it, sweetheart. Pure pazaak.
"... I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room." - Ray Bradbury
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Thanks to everyone who read and commented. Your input has been really helpful to me!
If you've read this and enjoyed it, please comment
I would love some help when it comes to making this piece - and my writing in general - better and clearer...
"... I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room." - Ray Bradbury
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Woodstock, one of Cape Town's oldest suburbs, is located within the City Bowl and within easy access of the city centre.
From Woodstock, visitors have views of the harbour to the north and Table Mountain to the south. Companies are encouraged to set up shop here to boost both the commercial and residential property markets. This has ensured that Woodstock is abuzz with activity. It's not Cape Town's most upmarket suburb, but it is authentic and vibrant, which can be partly be attributed to the fact that it escaped the trauma of apartheid's Group Areas Act and was always a racially mixed area.
One of the suburb's most exciting spots is the Old Biscuit Mill (+27 (0)21 462 6361) at 373-375 Albert Road. The converted mill houses a number of quirky shops selling jewellery, ceramics and stationery, among other things, and hosts the weekly Neighbourgoods Market. Sample delicious organic fare or buy one-of-a-kind clothing at this Saturday market. For art lovers there is also a gallery in the complex. If it's theatre you're after, make a beeline for the nearby Theatre in the District (+27 (0)79 770 4686).
After a long day of shopping and taking in the sights, head for one of the restaurants on Roodebloem Road, which offer a range of fare, from stylish Italian to family friendly.
- Phone: +27 (0)21 487 6800
Cango Caves
29km from Oudtshoorn, at the head of the picturesque Cango Valley, lies the spectacular underground wonder of the Klein Karoo - the Cango Caves. Situated in a limestone ridge parallel to the well-known Swartberg Mountains, you will find the finest dripstone caverns, with their vast halls and towering formations.
Southern Suburbs
The Southern Suburbs are a tourist's delight. The area, which stretches from the slopes of the Table Mountain range to the False Bay coast, offers natural attractions and a vibrant nightlife.
St James
Just a little further on from Cape Town's well-known Muizenberg beach is St James. Home to a cluster of well-known and oft-photographed bathing boxes on the beach, St James is a picturesque area that offers beachgoers respite from the westerly wind.
Llandudno and Sandy Bay
Only 18km from the Cape Town city centre, an arc of fine white sand gives away the secluded location of one of Cape Town's most beautiful beaches, Llandudno.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
What are the pros of installing G
- Google Analytics
- Webtrends
- Quantcast
.. and several other user behavior tracking frameworks all in same website? Don't they give same set of results?
I just know installing all of them will slow down the sites, but why people keep doing this?


text:
United Way of McPherson County is working to build a stronger community by addressing issues related to health, education and income. We believe conversations and intensive listening are the best ways to understand the real problems and move beyond short-term solutions. Community change can be accomplished through broad participation and collaboration. We encourage McPherson County residents to be involved with their community through giving, advocating and volunteering. By working together we can make a larger impact on the issues at hand.
Mother's Day was always very simple in my childhood home. My mother was a single parent and we had limited financial resources. My traditional gift to my mother was a hand-written note complete with bright flowers and the words, "Happy Mother's Day." Sometimes I would add a drawing of a bunny of a frog, features of my limited artistic ability.
As I grew older, the original card was often accompanied with a homemade treat. By the time I was 12 years old, I would attempt to make cookies and cakes without supervision. Sometimes the results were edible, other times not. And that's when you discover the true meaning of motherly love!
Mothers are the best at encouraging their children to explore their culinary interests. They are also the best taste testers, always careful with their words in an effort to encourage a child no matter how bad the cooking adventure. I remember a time when I decided to make fried chicken but we did not have any corn oil. The clever 14-year-old that I was, I opted to substitute with olive oil. I filled the frying pan half full of olive oil, depleting my mother's supply, and proceeded with making the crispy fried chicken.
I will never forget the intense, overpowering flavor of the olive oil. My first bite was shocking as I did not expect the strong, tangy flavor. I look over at my mother to watch her reaction. My beautiful mother remained perfectly poised and ate her entire piece without hesitation. But even for my Italian mother, the intensity of the olive oil had to have been overwhelming.
Looking back, I laugh at the amount of olive oil I used. I also regret depleting her supply knowing now that olive oil was a luxury in our home. But mom never got angry about my wasteful cooking venture. She just encouraged me to make another meal.


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Made of 100% Combed Cotton Knit. You'll love the clever animal sayings and motifs ~ These women's pajamas are fun for chic chicks! Shortsleeve t-shirt features raw-edge contrasting trim and a roomy fit. Comfy pants have a drawstring and elastic waistband; no pockets or fly; roomier than yoga style pants. Print is permanently dyed into fabric and will not fade or run. Machine wash cold with like colors. Non-chlorine bleach when needed. Tumble dry low. Remove promptly. Warm iron as needed. Sizes run as follows: XS (2-4, bust 32"-34", hips 35"-36", waist 24"-26"), Sml (6-8, bust 34"-36", hips 37"-38", waist 27"-28"), Med (10-12, bust 36"-38", hips 39"-41", waist 29"-30"), Lrg (14-16, bust 39"-41", hips 42"-43", waist 31"-33"), XL (18, bust 42"-48", hips 44"-45", waist 34"-35").
Questions on Lazy One Chill Out Penguin Womens Fitted Shortsleeve PJ Set
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text:
Can someone give me a real-world scenario of a method/function with a string argument which came from user input (e.g. form field, parsed data from file, etc.) where leading or trailing spaces SHOULD NOT have been trimmed?
I can't ever recall such a situation for myself.
EDIT: Mind you, I didn't say trimming any whitespace. I said trimming leading or trailing (only) spaces (or whitespace).


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Why is
味わわせる often pronounced as
味あわせる? What makes the former form unnatural, and what is the mechanism that changes it to the latter form? In the first place, what it the
-waw- attached to
aji (besides the obvious answer that it is an affix that derives a verb)? Are there other words (inside or outside of Japanese) that follow the same phonological pattern?
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Why is
I can only speculate that this is a kind of onbin to ease pronunciation. The two medial approximates /w/ are only separated by a vowel. Approximates, also known as semi-vowels, share some similarities with vowels. The reduction of one in rapid speech is small while still understandable. The reduction of the first rather than the second is similar to baai <> bawai, which tries to avoid repeating the same vowel twice.
I would not say that the former is necessarily unnatural. Rather that in spoken language the former takes more effort to say and as such sounds stiff or formal. See above for speculation for the mechanism.
As you already said, it is just an affix that attaches to nouns to derive verbs. Etymologically it is suggested to be 這う・延う, but evidence is minimal. There are both yodan and shimo nidan versions.
If you are asking for other words with the same affix waw-, then yes.
And then there is the nominal forms (cf ajiwai), though the corresponding verbal forms do not seem to exist:
These are more verbal than affix, but for reference, there is also:


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Haha. Crap defence like .
Haha. Crap defence like .
I know SRL88 it's shocking! I am slowly getting through this season but Minecraft has got me hooked again
Continuing Our Tradition
Squad | Results 1 | Results 2 | League Table
The squad is of high calibre and has gelled well, I have hardly changed the squad over the course of the last 6 months to try to make us consistent. I would think it is working, hardly won every game except for 4, we are consistently win! Our first defeat came late in February when the Champions League draw handed us Chelsea, the team we faced last year in the final of the Champions League. To say that I was not impressed might be a slight understatement! We fought well be on the night, away, we couldn't handle them. However we did manage to key away goal which might end up seeing us through!
Domestically it has been a complete white wash, we have dropped points once.
Transfers | Board Overview
We are nearly breaking even this year before the Champions League TV money! Financially we are having a wonderful season which stands the club in good stead!
Sun, Sea, Sand and Goals
Results 1 | Results 2
Not a bad start to my career as Spain manager, a win over Brazil and a thrilling 3-3 draw with Holland which we were ahead for most of! We part of my first few games in charge. I am using the flair and attacking ability of the Spanish side to its full potential and it seems to be working well. I just wish we could have a good regen keeper who can take over from De Gea soon.
Impressively dominating Russia.
Thanks delta too bad that 2 games later I lost
Pretty amazing in the league dude.
very impressive in the league
Thanks AcidBurn and acidmonkey! Its not going as well now
Bloody hell, you're dominating the league! Are you ever going to move on?
Yes Scarman this is my last season in charge of the Blue White Navys, my contract is up and I won't be renewing it. So get ready for some new adventures!
Flamers, I hear that you are doing YouTube videos of Minecraft now...... *blatant plug* ........ I've heard that you are doing Sea of Flame II, which is an awesome map...... *very blatant plug* ........ looking forward to seeing how you get on dude........ *extremely blatant plug*
Seriously, any of you who are fans of Minecraft, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txmRp...88FUAAAAAAAAAA
Thanks Crouchy <3
Nice start with Spain .
Thanks SRL88! It could be better, we haven't quite played to our potential.
Nearly a 500% pay rise but I have made my mind up I am leaving at the end of the season...
Loose Ends
A good team that I am proud to leave behind, it pains me to do so but I feel that it's only fair that the next manager has the best chance possible to go on and succeed with Zenit like I have.
Russian Premier Division Results | Russian Super Cup | Russian Cup Results | Friendly Results | League Table | League Position Graph
What a campaign! A near prefer season in one of the worlds richest and high quality leagues. With two losses all season I can't complain at the performances that the squad put in. Even in games where the first team have been injured, suspended or exhausted the backups have stepped up and taken the strain and done a good job. I think we might have set a record for the fewest amount of goals conceded in a season as well, 8 in 30 games, fewer than 1 in 3.
In the Russian Cup we played well, not having a great deal of opposition until the final where we met with out great rivals CSKA Moscow, 14 days earlier they had seen us off 1-0 in Moscow on the last day of the season. However with my main striker back from injury and a cup to play for we turned on the style, a cracking 5-2 final saw us win the domestic treble again and 5 trophies this season!
Champions League Results | European Super Cup | World Club Cup Results
After last seasons successful campaign I was sure of some good progress this season. When the groups where drawn I was confident that we could make it through, Ajax, Stuttgart and Standard. Only Stuttgart posed any threat to us but a home win and away draw was easily enough. Going into the 1st Round draw I was expecting someone like Galatasary. But no. Chelsea. The team that we had to beat last year in the final to win the Champions League. Simply we crumbled, our home performance was shocking, there is no other way to put it. Normally our home record is incredible, I think I have only lost 10 times or so at home in my whole time at Zenit in all competitions! But it wasn't to be. However for consolidation we did manage to win the European Super Cup and the World Club Cup.
Transfers | Board Overview
Nothing major in transfers really, I am not a big spender and probably never will be. The board are chuffed with me even if I won't sign a new contract!
A comfortable league win .
SRL88 Its the highest points total for a 12 month season
Nicely done. CSKA weren't chumps either. Off you go then.
Thanks delta! Now off into the job market I go... German 3rd tier sounds good
You lost twice and conceded a goal once every 4 matches(roughly) not sure anyone will want to employ you with that kind of form.
Good luck dude.
How about trying to turn a minnow from the Polish second tier into a national powerhouse? It's a much bigger challenge than the major Eastern European leagues (or elite Western European leagues) because of the lack of prize money, tiny budgets and disparity between the strength of the top few clubs and the small minnows.
I don't know why you added Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia if the aim was to recreate the USSR. None of those nations ever fell under the rule of Stalin, nor are they even described as 'Eastern' nations.
That aside, I enjoyed reading through your career and will be following from here on.
Last edited by Thomasmc135; 10-04-2012 at 17:29.
Well there was Czechoslovakia.
Acidburn I know, I almost bottled it and nearly got relegated with that form
Niebiescy I will, in Germany. There are a couple of clubs I'd love to manage who are hoovering around the 2nd/3rd tier of German football and I'm sure they'd accept the Spain manager
Thomasmc135 as delta says Czechoslovakia. Also they may not have been USSR but they certainly sympathised with Stalin and the USSR and I wanted to manage there (The last reason might be the main one.... )
They were known as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (think that's how you say it in English as I only know the name in Czech) which meant they were basically a puppet Soviet regime. In Czech the name is Československé Socialistické Republiky. It wasn't technically part of the U.S.S.R, but it was essentially the same people who had the ultimate control over the country. The Soviets pulled the strings and controlled the people in the same way as elsewhere.
Not a bad way to leave the Motherland!
Thanks Ak22, I try my hardest
Plunging Into The Depths...
Chemnitz a recent history: After being suck in the 3. Bundesliga since the start of the game Chemnitz managed promotion to the second tier of German football in 2017, however they have never finished higher than 7th. They have been stuck in the mid table for several years and with the poor start to this season they have brought in Spains World Class manager Matthew Beale to try and reform the club and challenge for promotion.
Squad | Results | League Table
Most of the real stars of the squad are foreign, but as this isn't Russia it doesn't matter too much! When I arrived there was no assistant and only one scout so these are my assistants day one views upon the players and could very well change in the future. From what I can work out the old manager was a bit unlucky, often losing by a single goal. I will try and instil in them my defensive style that I played at Zenit and try and drag them up, kicking and screaming, from the bottom of the table.
Transfers | Board Overview
The previous manager was a bit busy in the transfer market! I will be shopping around for some deals in January to strengthen a side while and in very real danger of relegation. I once again join a club spending vast amounts more than they earn as well.
Been waiting for an update on this, good luck dude.
Its been several months I have had to sim to find a job that I would even consider taking, then 2 come at once
Anzhi is too similar to Zenit in terms of funding and competition. Chemnitz looks like a more challenging job and also offers you more in the long-term. I'd go for them if Germany is your goal.
But with Anji I get unlimited money But I wanted to move to Germany and thats why I did
You made the right choice. Unlimited money in a small league is fun for about 2 seasons and then it becomes dull. Chemnitz could be a great challenge for 5+ years if you want to stay there that long.
Chemnitz will be my club until I win a Champions League title with them It would have been fun trying to beat my Zenit squad (especially as the wonderkid was sold to Real for £20m!)
Chemnitz should be fun.
You're crazy in my opinion. I would have picked Anji any day. But then I've never been at a club with anything like unlimited money, despite playing the series since 00/01. I always start at the bottom (and edit my rep to '1') but never have the patience to play more than about 8 seasons. The biggest club I ever got to was Fiorentina!
I know I may be ToffeeViola but its more fun being the little guy. After last tears mammoth save with KFK this is rather short currently and I want some time to build a club.
Somewhat surprised you didnt take the Anji job but I can understand any reason why you didnt. Best of luck with your new adventure though .
Good luck with Chemnitz! Always good to have a change after dominating a league for so long
Anji would have been fun though
I know Anji would have been fun but this is for keeps SRL88 and Scarman
The Beginning of an Era
Squad | Results | League Table
Well I haven't been here long but from what I can grasp so far we are under performing. I have managed to bring in a goal keeper an a free who is by far the best player in the side and a left winger so we can play wide which I prefer. We have climbed 2 places so far since I have joined and we also were leading Dortmund going into half time in our friendly! Overall I am pretty happy with the side, a couple of good signings in the summer and we can push forward.
Transfers | Board Overview
The main news is that one of the clubs better players has been sold. For a club that is in a bit of financial trouble £200 000 is a lot of money for a player who was leaving on a free in 6 months time. Other than that I am trying to trim the squad down a little and get it on budget while improving the quality.
Recurring Problems
Although we haven't lost we do seem to have a habit of drawing games, often having to come from behind. I have been playing with the tactic and the latest version debuted in the Germany game. I think it would be safe to say that it worked. 6-1 is an impressive score.
Bringing Back Efficiency
The squad isn't too bad, it isn't massive but it seems big enough and good enough to do what I want it to. A few more central midfielders wouldn't go a miss though.
Results 1 | Results 2 | League Table | League Position Graph
Not a bad start to my campaign, I have a nearly 60% win record which isn't too shabby if I do say so myself. I took over the club with the real threat of relegation and we ended up with 2 games left still with a mathematical chance of getting a playoff spot! I am happy with how the team is now playing and we should do well next season.
Transfers | Board Overview
In and out, we have been busy in both aspects of the transfer market this season. I am trying to slash the wage budget by getting rid of dead wood, which there seems to be a lot of. We aren't perfect financially but the great end to the season has greatly helped us.
Complete Control
Board Expectations | Media Expectations
I have been a bit ambitious, I have chosen to not go with the easiest option but to push for promotion this season which is something that I feel well can do.
The squad isstill strinking but I have a new transfers ready and waiting to hopefully give us a little more depth.
Transfers | Board Overview
No transfers thus far and still keeping an even keel on the finances.
Breaking Under The Pressure
Well, for one of the best teams in the world we played SHOCKINGLY in that Turkey match. We conceded a very soft goal and then a wonder goal in the 118th minute sent us out. We were dreadful. However other than that match we have been playing imperiously!
Last edited by Flamers; 27-04-2012 at 09:58.
I think you can probably get that promotion.
Terribly unlucky to go out to Turkey, but even the best have their off days. Very impressed with your progress at Chemnitz after such a short time, especially all the improvements you've been able to make to your facilities considering you've still got 40 million in the bank. Based on your form towards the end of last season promotion is definitely a chance, wouldn't surprise me if you had it sorted with a few games to spare either
Good luck with your season aims fella.
HAHAHAH I just worked that out arinceo, not to self, proof read posts better. Its fixed now, I wish I had £40m....
Thanks deltablue and SRL88, I hope I can get promoted as the club really needs the extra money. I don't want to get promoted too soon though and end up being a yo-yo club...
I am sorry to all of those who might have bet upon my death. Sadly you have lost out. I am in fact alive but my exams and other things in my life have been prioritised over FM therefore I chose to play on without writing an update. Sorry <3
Real life is more important than FM.
It is when real life is going to be your career. If you guys want me to do videos on it and can get 20k views per video then FM will be my life. Until then RL > FM
Good luck on your exams Flamers! I've got most of mine done, just an AS economics repeat on June 20th and then I'm finished school and off to Uni in Sept hopefully
This was a good read, you were very successful
I have now finished my exams but I am about to move back home and I have a YouTube channel to try and keep updated... If it is any help, German Cup semi finals and currently 2nd in the league


text:
When studying homology, I have been told that there is a result called the Snake Lemma that via induction affords us with a long exact sequence of homology groups. I am wondering if the methods/thinking used to prove this last fact can be adapted to prove an analogous result for cohomology groups. In particular, I am trying to work through the following exercise:
Let $U$, $V$ be open subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$. Take it on faith that there are $C^\infty$ functions $f, g$ on $U \cup V$ such that $f+g =1$, and $f$ (resp. $g$) vanishes outside a closed subset of $U \cup V$ that is contained in $U$ (resp. $V$). How would I construct an exact sequence of cochain complexes: $$0 \rightarrow \Omega^* (U \cup V) \rightarrow \Omega^* (U) \oplus \Omega^*(V) \rightarrow \Omega^* (U \cap V) \rightarrow 0. $$ From this exact sequence, how should I attempt to deduce a long exact sequence of cohomology groups? Will induction be of service here?
Any constructive input would be appreciated (also, any text sources that you think would be good for me to read related to this result would be great too!).


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Are there any tools availible for tracking users clicks on a website, both internal and external? Preferably one that is free and can track a series of clicks from a user (Example, user clicked 'blog' then 'archives' then a particular article)
I personally use https://www.crazyegg.com/ they have a great service. For funneling you can use http://www.kissmetrics.com/ but it has a pricey tag on their service.
Not too sure about internal trackers.
If you are looking for free Google Analytics is your best bet. It not only gives you a what links where clicked on by name, but it also gives you what links were click on the page using a simple heat map. I say simple because it won't tell you where on the link that the user clicked on each page, just what % of the clicks on each link on a page. It doesn't matter if the clicks are inside or out I believe.
If one you want something more complex, then you will need Crazy Egg or Kiss Metrics as Thorn007 stated.
Some server side tools:
I recommend open source (PHP - based on Zend Framework) web analytics Piwik. It is now at version 0.8 and recently get server side tracking API so you can still track those who use noscript or old mobile phones. It's also plugin based so you can explore the list of available 3rd party plugins or build your own. It does click tracking but may not present it easily enough for you, so maybe you do need to write your own plugin for this (don't forget to share it though ;)
If you don't mind spending some money then I recommend getclicky


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The Harlem Globetrotters are coming to Dallas this Friday and Saturday to play at the American Airlines Center. When they break for halftime on Saturday, forty-five children and youth from Bonham will take to the court to perform. The kids are members of the All-Star PIP team from Bonham. When they take the court, they will dribble, spin and show off other basketball handling skills in a carefully planned routine set to music.
"We are really excited about this opportunity," said PIP Coach Shannon Massie.
PIP stands for Players in Progress. This year marks the second year the basketball program has been in Bonham. Other schools in the Texoma area with PIP programs include Trenton, Ector, Dodd City, Whitewright, Denison and Tom Bean.
Massie said she wanted to bring the PIP program to Bonham in order to help students strengthen their basketball skills. "The PIP Program also encourages positive character traits in the kids," continued Massie. "For example, PIP teaches kids to keep going even if they make a mistake and encourages team work and cooperation too."
When Massie is not coaching PIP, she is the Vice-Principal at IW Evans Intermediate School in Bonham. When students participate in PIP, she often notices an improvement in their self esteem and self-confidence, in addition to the improved basketball handling skills.
In all, about ninety students in grades pre-K through 8th grade participated in the PIP program at Bonham this year. Players were divided into two groups that took turns performing during halftime of the high school girls and boys varsity basketball games. When Bonham coaches accepted the invitation to perform at the Globetrotters game, they faced the difficult task of selecting an All-Star team because there was only room to bring about half of the group.
Tickets to the Globetrotters game are still available on-line at www.harlemglobetrotters.com..
For those who cannot make it to the game on Saturday, the All-Star team will perform their routine again on Feb. 8 between the boys' junior varsity and varsity basketball games at Bonham High School.
For more information about PIP, check out www.pipsyeah.com.


text:
My job let me always release a new version of the program to a satellite server, then in the running server, I use
yum update program to update the program.
However, due to unknown reason, in most of times, even if I upload the program to the satellite server,
yum update program can't get the update soon. I always have to wait, keep retrying, etc.
So anyone can tell me how to write a script, so
- it keeps retrying
yum update programif no update available
- if update is available, then the update in yum is forced
- after successful update, the script quits.


text:
Crown Prince Salman addresses the nation on National Day
September 23, 2013
In his address to the nation on the 81th anniversary (83nd according to the Hijra calendar) of the founding of the modern Saudi state, Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz highlighted the achievements enjoyed by the nation under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The Saudi people, he said, enjoy the safety, security, development and stability that come through determination and the utilization of the state's resources for the common good. "I am pleased to share with citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia their joy on the 83rd anniversary of the National Day, which is a dear anniversary for the unification of our country," he said. "The stability of countries is one of the most important factors of prosperity and progress of civilizations . . . Stability ensures the application of laws and preserves rights. It prepares a safe working environment and production that stimulates growth, encourages investment, and creates more opportunities for jobs, expansion and development."
Crown Prince Salman stated, "Ensuring stability and its permanence does not come through wishful thinking, but through hard work for the achievement of justice by organized systematic work." As a result of the Saudi government's tireless efforts to promote the rule of law through institution-building and legislation, he said, justice and order have prevailed in the Kingdom. "All those who bet to destabilize our country have lost in the first round, and all those who bet on the weakness of the loyalty of citizens to their country have failed since the first day," he said. "They have forgotten that the pillars of the state have been in common with the values of individuals, that this country has been built by the hands of their ancestors who have achieved unity and maintained it in a country that continues the application of Sharia, achievement of justice and preservation of the rights."
While acknowledging that the Kingdom has faced its share of security, economic and other challenges, Crown Prince Sultan welcomed the reforms offered by King Abdullah since his ascension to the throne. "The state is striving tirelessly to achieve the well-being of citizens and is looking for shortcomings in housing issues, providing jobs and health care, education quality and efficiency of the work of the services departments," he stated. "So, let us give it time and opportunity and let us help it to develop with sound criticism, advice and opinion and not with destructive attack. "
The Crown Prince concluded, "It will be no secret if I tell the dear citizens of the Kingdom that the concerns of citizens, especially the young people of them, today occupy the largest space and enjoy the greatest attention by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who greatly cares for their issues, which include concerns such as providing decent jobs, raising the level of income and facilitating decent housing and full health care for themselves and their children. Therefore, focus and investments in current projects and future plans are directed to address these issues and overcome these challenges. I pray to God Almighty to help us all do what is good, and to bless all of our work."


text:
The mission of the S.H.O.E.S. (Sharing Her/His Own Experiences Supportively) Program is to introduce our community to personal stories of University of Idaho sexual assault survivors/victims and their families. By supportively revealing these experiences our intention is to increase awareness, create community, and build intolerance for rape supportive behaviors within our campus culture. B.E.A.R. paw prints will serve as a guide to encourage a collective journey of education and awareness toward holding student rapists accountable for their actions.
© 2016 National Sexual Violence Resource Center – Founded by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
This site is supported by Grant/ Cooperative Agreement No. 1UF2CE002359-03 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


text:
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Home › Scene › Book, Marked! ›
Book, Marked!
Nearly 1,000 stylish socialites hit Silver Street Studios for a bash celebrating the launch of the 2014 Social Book. The event, produced in collaboration with PDV Special Events, took on a street carnival theme, and boasted colorful decor and bright lights inside the newly converted warehouse space. Social Book owners Scott Evans, Jeff Henry and Sami Shbeeb welcomed some of the 2014 honorees, including Lisa and Michael Holthouse, and Jana and Scotty Arnoldy. Meanwhile, guests noshed bites from French Corner Catering and boogied to tunes from the Richard Brown Orchestra's new string quartet, accompanied by a DJ. –Photos courtesy of PR Boutique


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text:
What are the differences between Calories, calories, and kcals?
Why do we have different terms to describe the same concept?
In what cases is it useful to use one unit of measurement over the other?
One calorie (with a lower case c) is the amount of energy required to heat 1 gram of water by 1°C. A kilocalorie is 1000 calories, and Calorie (with a capital C) and kilocalorie (Kcal) are synonyms. On food labels, nutrition facts are in terms of kilocalories/Calories. (Wikipedia)
Just like with grams vs. kilograms, units are used in a way that the number most readable. Putting nutrition labels in calories would take up quite a bit of extra space. I'm not sure how the Calorie/kilocalorie synonym came about, but I can guess it was for convenience. We use kilocalories much more frequently than calories for every day measurement, and kilocalories is quite a cumbersome word.
It is still confusing, because both terms (with and without the kilo- prefix) covers the same amount, and it is only a capital letter that differentiates beween 1 and 1000.
This would be equal to having Gram (with a capital letter) and kilogram being the same, and gram being 1/1000 of that. I hopy everyone can see how stupid that would be, and this is exactly how stupid the Calorie term is.
There should only be calories and kilocalories. Calories (with a capital letter) does not fit in.
Besides, most food products list the energy contents at kcal and not Cal, which give the same short numbers. You never need to see 70000 instead of 70 even if Calories are dropped.
A kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories. I discovered this a while back. Although the labels on food packages display energy as calories, the actual metric is supposed to be kilocalories.
So that apple you may have just ate has 70000 calories or 70 kilocalories.


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I have lost my mouse functionality, and I have to work without it on my Ubuntu PC for a couple of days. I am OK with doing my stuffs without it on my computer. But I'm having no good time with web browsing at all. If I want to select a link I have to press tab several times, If I control mouse with Numpad then mouse moves really really slow (and it is useless). So, at the moment I do my stuffs on my PC and do web browsings with my laptop. Is there any way to solve this? I am using Ubuntu 12.10
You should be able to control the acceleration settings of the mouse in the "Mouse Keys" tab of the "Keyboard Preferences" (source):
Ubuntu 12.10
Settings > Universal Access > Pointing and Clicking > Mouse Keys (disable)
Alternatively, you may be interested in these:
provided you're using Firefox, addons like these might be worth considering:
which I don't use anymore (at least not currently and not in the foreseeable future)
and of course the indispensible (?) keyconfig extension:
which I've been gratefully using for donkey's years.
I've had a problem with this ages, but finally found the solution:
From this link:
Of course you can play with the values as necessary.
Solved it straight away. Hope this helps someone in future.
Good way to learn some keyboard shortcuts search Ubuntu.com for keyboard shortcuts
An other handy option is using any game controller mapped with xboxdrv to your convenience.
After all I found an add-on for firefox named VimFx and one for chrome named Vimium. You can do a lot without mouse, easily. Here are its shortcuts, that if you are a vim user, then most of them you already know!
Dealing with URLs
Navigating the Page
Working with Tabs


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Only if they're spotted. Then you hold them in your mouth.
Only if they're spotted. Then you hold them in your mouth.
This thread right now.
The guy that looks like Rev that cleans our floors isn't here tonight, it's some big bald(ing) fat guy.
His cover really was blown I guess, and Used pulled him out.
Maybe they switch places you did say this new guy was FAT
I've been compromised. Jake was sending Usedtabe threatening emails telling him to stay away from me because of his jealousy issues, and I had to resign as a result.
Shout outs to Usedtabe killing himself 2 seconds into a match.
I saved that shit. Gonna fuck around in theater mode tomorrow to put something together.
God damn Jdawg kept me up too late talking about politics, video games, life, cars, Supernatural and movies.
It's a shame that discussion got awkward earlier, because it had potential. The only problem is everyone has their own definitions of the terms. You'd have to agree to what those words even mean in order to broach the larger question, which is a task people have struggled with since forever.
I'm talking about after everybody left and it was just a party consisting of me in campaign and Jdawg in who knows what. That politics talk earlier on was a bad idea.
I wouldn't say so, what was being discussed just had to stop because someone got hard-headed and in turn someone got hot-headed.
The Maths were there, some of us just don't want to believe them.
Jdawg did start raising his voice to talk over ya. But he's young so he might not have realized it really.
I've been in his position, about 7-8 years ago. I ran a newspaper route before work to make ends meet and would get sucked into AM Talk Radio. I was naive to buy into everything because of the slick presentation and a few good points that were made instead of just agreeing that there were good points and listening objectively. But if you've never listened to it you wouldn't understand how much they preach about being under constant attack from "Liberals" and the "Liberal Media". It literally makes you want to treat any political discussion as a battle for your side, and a win helps your cause immensely. I'm not trying to dismiss Jdawg's position I just know where's he's coming from though I've moved on from that politically.
imo. I could be wrong and just supplanting my own experience for his.
I still love the dude. Can't hate him. I sent him a message apologizing for getting heated and he's cool with it.
It's impossible to not love Jdawg. I found the diamond in the Xbox Live rough.
This sucks. Work is way too slow today.
Going to Walmart today and getting some Doritos and diet Mountain Dew. DOUBLE XP FOREVER.
Love my emblem:
Wish I could put symbols in the call sign. And need to pick a better shade of purple, nigga looking gay with just pink on.
Fuck man, am I going to have to get this dew and get wetwork tonight?
Man what a bunch of cheaters with double xp.


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Narrow your search
CNET is able confirm that the new PS3 can output both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio in bit stream format.
We've selected standout products that represent some of the best values in the home audio arena.
Samsung has issued a firmware update for both the BD-P2500 and BD-P2550, enabling onboard decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio on both Blu-ray players.
Samsung is delaying the firmware update adding DTS-HD High Resolution to many of the company's Blu-ray players, instead promising DTS-HD Master Audio by the end of the year.
Samsung announced that its upcoming Blu-ray player, the BD-P1500, will be "BD-Live ready," but have backtracked on the promise that it will decode DTS-HD Master Audio.
If you've been waiting for DTS-DH MA support to be added to the PS3 before you buy one, happy days are here, because Sony bringing the high-end audio system to its console
The latest firmware update on the PS3 will add DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, plus a major overhaul to the PlayStation Store.
XStreamHD uses a satellite dish to pull in movies featuring 1080p HD video and DTS-HD Master Audio--plus the system is packed with tons of other enthusiast-friendly features.
Dolby and DTS' new utra high resolution formats still haven't proven themselves.
According to a Samsung representative, Samsung's new Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player will have onboard decoding for all high-resolution audio formats, including DTS-HD Master Audio.
A tasty selection of new releases from Radiohead, Johnny Cash, the Rolling Stones, Brian Eno and many more.


text:
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and honoring Columbia Law School students who have demonstrated a serious commitment to public interest law. Professor Ted Shaw will receive the Distinguished Graduate of the Year Award. By invitation only. Contact email@example.com with questions.
© Copyright 2016, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.
For questions or comments, please contact the web administrators.
435 West 116 Street, New York, NY 10027 — 212-854-2640


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I have document library with column
LinkFilename which renders link to document, where text is the name of the file. Is it possible to modify column is such way, that it will still render link to document but the text will be coming from another field (eg.
I have document library with column
Yes it is possible, when you select a field and go to further properties [as shown in the below article], you can choose which field should make the link and which to appear as text... These options are available when the field is supposed to work as HyperLink
Data View Web Part, The Basics - Add a Hyperlink
I hope this helps
It could be accomplished by customizing the Rendering of a Field on a List View using XSLT
Below is described solution using SharePoint Designer (SPD).
In SharePoint Designer (SPD) open view page (AllItems.aspx) in Designer Mode. Select list item in List View that have to be customized (Name column) and then click Customize Item as shown on picture below
Switch to Code Mode and find template code for rendering
Inside template replace the line for rendering FileLeafRef value:
with the following one:
After you save your changes your page should look like this one:


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Heather Van Every >> See More Playmates
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"Automation Error Unspecified Error" ... err Error
By Tim Dexter-Oracle on Sep 10, 2012
One the best error messages I have seen in a long time and I've seen some doozies!
There have been a fare few internal emails flying over the past week about issues with the template builder for MSWord not working. The issue has been found, so if you are hitting some behaviour similar to this:
I have installed BI Publisher Desktop 188.8.131.52 for 32 bit. I have to load the data from XML to RTF Template. As per instruction when I click on tab Sample XML nothing happen.
When I click on any other tab from BI Publisher menu, I am getting one error in pop-up menu "Automation Error Unspecified Error.
I am unable to open any of the tab of BI Publisher menu including help.
Have no fear, it's for once, not a BIP issue but a Microsoft one! Check here for what you need to do to resolve the error.


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I'm a new user of UBUNTU and using a Dell latitude D630. When I browse to site that have some flash animation (mostly advertisements), the temperature of cores increase dramatically (I check with sensors, in the worse case it was 104C for one core and 93 for the other core) and if I don't close the website it will shutdown the laptop. Do you have any suggestion or solution for that?
PS: as an example for crashing sites you can see "tabnak.ir", a news website with lots of ads.


text:
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Our Chapter website greenbay.tu.org
Enter TU's 6th Annual Sweepstakes and win a dream fishing vacation for two to Patagonia or one of 45 runner-up prizes. Enter by July 8th and you'll be eligible for a chance to win our early bonus prize – a $500 SIMMS gift card!
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Become a TU Life Member at our rolled back price and receive your choice of three Scott rods.
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Id like to know how bayern munich are 272million in debt when they had no debts last season, What have they spent 272million on? It says they owe the bank 272million and i cant find out why.
Id like to know how bayern munich are 272million in debt when they had no debts last season, What have they spent 272million on? It says they owe the bank 272million and i cant find out why.
Stadium I would guess. Though there is apparently an issue with them not generating enough income.
As far as i know they are not moving stadium, And they never spend big money. They win the league every season and have decent sponsors so i cant see why they would lose this amount in 1 season :S
They have moved stadium a couple of years ago. I imagine the debt should have been there in last years game but it was missed out by accident.
It says id be paying 2.6million per month for that debt, I cant see how im gonna go a couple of seasons paying out all that plus wages and not go bankrupt :S
It is definately an issue. It has been mentioned recently that Bayern start to put almost every player on the transfer list around 2nd season, to cope with the debt. They'll start to offer you bargains such as package deals with 2 players for insanely low amounts and stuff like that.
SI have been notified and it should really be fixed in next patch.
Omg...another issue. Patch, patch, patch!
FC Bayern have bought Allianz Arena from the city of München.
On my game there was, out of 30, 27 players i think that was put up for sale. Bayern had won the league with finances secure. Didn't really look into the finances in detail.
They offered me Klose and Lucio which made me check the Bayern team, and there they were; transferlisted.
Was eyeing a few bargains there but i was too late. They had been snatched already.
I would imagine missing out on the champions league last season cost them a few quid (ok, not £272m worth but still). Though to counter that I read that Bundesliga teams earn the most through shirt sponsorship of any league, presumably Bayern would have the best deal?
As far as i know most of Europe's top teams are in debt IRL , Man Utd for example are in hundreds of millions in debt so its pretty realistic
They shared the Allianz Arena with the other local team 1860 München, but had to buy their half of the stadium...
...and still made profit this season.
Well I just fired up a Bayern game last week, and despite selling players, spending only 15 million in transfers, which most of which was made up by selling players, and still being 200k under my salary budget, 3/4 of the way through my season, I'm 35 million euros in debt.
I'm not really sure why either. If it's a bug it's a bug, but it's a killer, considering Bayern are one of my favorite clubs. I'm paying about 3 million euros in loan debts a month which certainly doesn't help. I've made it to the second knockout round of the Champions League but still, I'm just not making any money. Then again, maybe this could make managing Bayern more of a challenge and a little more fun.
What really killed me was the winter break. Over the break when I wasn't playing any competitive matches I lost 15 million euros in one month. And I didn't make any transfers during the winter either.
(And I'm on the 9.3 patch)
You can also use the editor that comes with FM to remove any debt but you'd have to start a new game for this to work whereas you can just continue your current game with FMRTE
I started a Bayern game recently and encountered the same problem. I avoided a financial crash by negotiating new contracts with the top earners such as Ribery, Toni, Klose.. if they don't accept lower wages just wait until their contract almost ends and try it again. I also didn't sign any new players.
As for the debts: In Germany Bayern are known for their responsible handling of finances, so I believe their debts can only come from their new stadium which is valued at about €340 mio. But in RL they still manage to have balanced finances each season. I believe another issue are the high wages.. In FM2009 Bayern pay €90+ mio wages per season which is about the same like AC Milan. I doubt that it is like this in real life.
Holy mother... way to drag up a thread
Bayern go into monthly losses because of the extortionate wages which they're paying AND the monthly loan installments for paying off the Allianz Arena build. On a Monthly basis you will incur losses, simply because your wage bill is something like.. £7million per month + £2.9million for the loan installment, so call it £10million.
What you need to understand is that Bayern's finances even themselves out in Summer when your massive Sponsorship Money comes in, your Prize Money, your TV Revenue from the Champions League and your Season Ticket money.
Comparing real-life Bayern and Football Manager Bayern is fruitless. Bayerns real-life banks know that the summer money will keep Bayern going strong and it does, every season, and they're rated in the top 10 richest clubs in the world by Forbes. What the game doesn't understand is the income that comes in the summer will bail you out of debt as a result of the monthly losses. The game doesn't see the future, it merely sees the "now".
So to avoid going into debt, get rid of the dead wood at Bayern. There's too many people on stupid wages (whether thats accurate or not is a matter for the Bayern Data thread) but its your job as manager to tackle their finance problems and not bury your head in the sand, take a peek at the finances and ponder why you're £30mill down in the new year


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August 20, 2010
The American Psychological Association (APA) has awarded New York University neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux a Distinguished Scientific Award for "his success in reinvigorating the field of emotion by uncovering the neural mechanisms of emotional learning."
LeDoux has worked on emotion and memory in the brain for more than 20 years. His research, mostly on fear, shows how we can respond to danger before we know what we are responding to. It has also shed light on how emotional memories are formed and stored in the brain. Through this research, LeDoux has mapped the neural circuits underlying fear and fear memory through the brain, and has identified cells, synapses, and molecules that make emotional learning and memory possible.
APA noted that in "applying the tools of modern neuroscience"—including human brain imaging—"LeDoux revolutionized the way psychologists view emotional learning and the importance of unconscious versus conscious processes." The association added that his "neuroscientific findings have led to novel ways to treat anxiety disorders."
In addition to numerous publications in scholarly journals, LeDoux has published books that present his work to a wider audience, including The Emotional Brain (Simon and Schuster, 1998), which focuses mainly on emotion, and Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are (Viking, 2002), which casts a broader net into the areas of personality and selfhood.
In 2006, LeDoux and his colleagues formed a band, the Amygdaloids (@amygdaloid), named after the brain's amygdala, which is known to be critical to the acquisition, expression, and processing of fears. The band plays original tunes about mind, brain and mental disorders ("Mind-Body Problem," "Memory Pill," "Brainstorm," "Mind Over Matter," "How Free Is Your Will?") with the objective of increasing awareness of mental health issues through promotion of research via music. For more on the Amygdaloids, go to www.amygdaloids.com. Its inaugural CD, "Heavy Mental," was released in 2007. A new CD, "Theory of My Mind," was released this summer, and features Grammy winner Rosanne Cash on two tracks.
LeDoux obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees from Louisiana State University and his doctorate from the State University of New York, Stony Brook. LeDoux is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the New York Academy of Sciences as well as the recipient of numerous awards, including the Fyssen Prize in Cognitive Science, the Jean Louis Signoret Prize, given by France's IPSEN Foundation, the Satiago Grisola Chair Award from Spain, and the APA's Hebb Award.
This Press Release is in the following Topics:
NYUToday-feature, Arts and Science, Research, Sponsored Awards, Faculty, Awards
Type: Press Release
Press Contact: James Devitt | (212) 998-6808


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What are some inexpensive robots (less than $200) can improve one's productivity for completing household chores?
closed as primarily opinion-based by AsheeshR, Rory Alsop♦ Mar 21 '14 at 10:31
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
I've been happy with the iRobot Roomba for floor cleaning. I own 5, 4 of which are no longer working. The most recent has been very good. The others were good for a year to a year and a half, then died. Build up a habit of using it regularly, make sure your rooms are always ready for it to run (no power cords, no throw rugs) and it is easy and effective.
For any other household chore, there's too much decision making needed for inexpensive automation, IMHO. You're better off forming habits that get the cleaning done in small manageable chunks. See FlyLady (http://www.flylady.net) for some examples.
iRobot actually has 4 cleaning robots available in the store. Cleaning the floor, mopping, cleaning the pool and cleaning roof gutters.
I've owned an iRobot Roomba for a few years and just decided today, actually, that I will probably be giving it away to Goodwill. It was really nice in the beginning but became more of a hassle as time went on. One of the issues is the maintenance on the product simply isn't cost effective for the return. It's cleaning power seems to degrade after about a year of moderate use.
If you want to consider another brand of robotic vacuum you may want to have a look at Mint. I don't personally own one but it seems like a good alternative as it uses a different technology for telling the robot where to go in a room than what Roomba does. Roomba bumped into a lot of things to help find its way which ended up scuffing our baseboards and other things. Not sure if Mint improves on that or not.
Either way, my personal opinion is that robotics haven't improved both in terms of technology and cost for the home yet to really help with house chores (such as a towel folding robot, how awesome would that be?!?).
iRobot. Does your carpet cleaning.
One of the robots that helps me with my household chores is called a "washing machine".
As others have mentioned, the iRobot Roomba is an excellent example of a household robot which does meaningful work.
I've had my 520 for almost three years and since I got it, have only used my main vacuum cleaner for heavy duty jobs, like post DIY clean-up of wood chippings, plaster or concrete dust.
My Roomba uses a random walk method to clean my floors (not sure about the new iAdapt models), which works well on my squarish rooms without too many obstructions. More advanced mapping based robotic vacuum cleaners might do better on very irregularly shaped rooms or rooms with many obstructions, but I'm not convinced. I've minimised obstructions in my rooms by selecting furniture with 8+cm gaps underneath or by raising furniture to have an 8cm gap. I also recline my sofa before setting off the Roomba, so it can clean under it.
Though cleaning will work better and faster without trailing power cords and rugs in the way, the 500 series at least copes with them really well. If your rug has tassles, it will even leave them neatly perpendicular to the rug edge. *8')
I've never had a problem with my Roomba scratching or marking skirting boards or furniture, the soft touch sensors and silicone bumper strips make sure of that (cheaper models may not have these). I'm still on my first battery, but it will need replacing soon. I've replaced the side brush and filter several times, buying original replacements cheaply from Amazon sellers.
Even the most basic current (UK) model is more advanced than mine though, and can use virtual walls to get the Roomba to complete one room before moving on to the next, traversing several rooms to get back to it's base station for a re-charge.
As Dennis S. suggests, a little and often is the best way to use a Roomba. Anything other than the most basic current model is great for that as you can schedule regular cleans at times when you are out.
I can't count the number of hours my Roomba has saved me over the years, it's certainly recouped it's costs many times over. My next project is to get around to building the serial interface, so I can can instruct it from my PC and get around the problem that I was too cheap to buy a model with scheduled operations. *8')


text:
Study Abroad Home > Health and Safety > Health Information
Planning for a Healthy Year Abroad
Before a study abroad experience, all students should have a general physical done by their primary care provider and assure that all their routine immunizations are up-to-date.
Immunizations and Vaccinations
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization offer on-line information about regional and country health risks and disease outbreaks, with recommendations for immunizations. After researching the requirements and recommendations for your specific destination, discuss your choices with your physician, planning well in advance, as some immunizations are administered over a period of several months.
Students are advised to assure that all routine immunizations are up-to-date, including Tetanus, Hepatitis A and B vaccines. Students can visit the Doctor's Office Building for travel immunizations:
Doctors Office Building
3660 Vista Ave., Suites 206/207/208
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 977-6100 or toll-free, (866) 977-4440
Discuss with your prescribing physician and family how you will obtain prescription medications while abroad, well in advance of your departure. Ask your physician to prescribe a supply of medication that will last the length of your stay. You may request that your physician or pharmacist write a letter describing your medications, their dosage, and a generic name for them and the condition they treat. This letter could be useful when going through customs/immigration and in case of an emergency
Always carry a copy of your prescription and keep medications in the labeled containers in which they were dispensed.
Over-the Counter Medications
You may want to consider travelling with common over-the-counter medications, as they may be more difficult to find in your final destination.
Chronic Illnesses
If you have asthma, diabetes, allergies, or other chronic conditions, learn the vocabulary to describe your condition in the host country language, and carry a written explanation in that language, in case you are unable to communicate in an emergency. Plan to wear your medical bracelet if you own one. Saint Louis University recommends that you share your medical information with your host program for further assistance.
Emotional Well-Being
Going abroad and venturing out of your comfort zone is stressful. You should plan to use common stress reduction strategies such as exercise and relaxation to cope with all the changes you will encounter in your new host country. If you are currently seeing a therapist, discuss how you will continue your mental health care while you are abroad, and inquire with your home and host institution about counseling services that may be available to you abroad.
Culture Shock
Most students abroad experience some degree of culture shock. Culture shock refers to the stresses and strains associated with adapting to life in a new a culture. Symptoms may include: frustration, mental fatigue, disorientation about how to work with and relate to others, boredom, lack of motivation and physical discomfort. Please be aware of these symptoms and contact someone at your home or host institution if the symptoms persist or you would like to talk with someone.
Diet and Nutrition
Learn about the regional diet, eating habits and meal schedule for your destination, as it is an integral part of the culture and may vary greatly from your current practices. Learn how to explain any dietary restrictions in a culturally appropriate way.
Remain informed of food and water precautions recommended by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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Do you guys know any drawback of focusing on a text field on a web page ? It's pretty useful when you know users will use this text field more than others (like on the google homepage), but it's a bit "offensive", so I wondered if there's something bad that could happen (on mobile devices for example)
Normally the Backspace key takes you back a page as it is a keyboard shortcut for the Back button. When an input field is focused, the backspace only works within the input field. For many keyboard users (as in prefer the keyboard and avoid switching between keyboard and mouse) it therefore is a definite drawback when a site auto focuses an input field arbitrarily.
That said, I do not like pages not to auto focus on the first field when the whole purpose of the page is to fill out a form and submit it.
So I guess basically the rule for me would be: auto focus for data-entry forms; do not auto focus when input is a secondary (or even lower) item on a page.
The following is not an inherent drawback of setting the keyboard focus, but anyway an undesired effect which was caused by a combination of a focus-setting script and the behavior of certain browsers.
At least in Firefox, setting the keyboard focus can steal the focus even from the UI element belonging to the browser itself such as the address bar. Because of this, I have experienced the following small annoyance:
(In Firefox 4, it is planned to avoid this behavior by disallowing the page content from retrieving the focus when the browser UI element has the focus (the fix has been partly committed but not completely). If this fix goes in, the situation stated above will not happen with Firefox 4. I hear that Internet Explorer does not have the same problem.)
Putting the focus into a text field when the page loads prevents the up/down arrows for scrolling the page, meaning that users have to click on the page to get it to scroll. However, if the page doesn't scroll, or has only one action that requires the text box, it can be very useful.
My online banking site has several text boxes for entering specific characters from my password and pin number. When a key is pressed, the page auto-focuses the next text box. This is good normally because it means you don't have to tab between controls, but is a real pain when you accidentally type the wrong character. In this case, it breaks shift+tab behaviour - pressing shift+tab takes you back a control, but releasing shift takes you forward again meaning that you have to reach for the mouse.
Autofocus can sometimes cause problems to plugins like Vivium (which add Vim-like shortcuts to Google Chrome) as it automatically puts Vimium in insert mode, which makes navigation more difficult.
There are lots of great answers here already, but no-one has mentioned how to mitigate problems associated with auto-focus. I would advise, as an absolute minimum, that you very clearly style the auto-focussed element so that it's more obvious that it's active. The blinking cursor should be a pretty good indication, but you can be much more obvious with a thick, coloured border or similar.
Offensive may not be the right term, but it's definitely rude. I put auto-focus up there with auto-play of music or auto-launching of pop-up windows or auto-resizing of my browser. It takes control away from the user and, IMHO, that is always rude. Not to mention issues already mentioned like usability on mobile devices or accessibility in general.
Ultimately it's going to depend on what your web site does and the consequences of being focused on this area.
If your site only has the one input field (like Google) and another action is required to act on this input then I can't see a problem. It's what people will (come to) expect and if anything it helps them use the site.
If it's only one of several text fields and could be left blank then it's probably less of a user aide and might tip over to a hindrance for a significant number of users.
If you do something after every keystroke then I could see it as being an annoyance - but that's largely personal preference.
The idea, as I see it, is to reduce the need for a click when navigating to a page that requires input—from signing in to entering data.
I'm interested in this idea that it's "a bit offensve" to put the focus in a text field. Why do you think it might be offensive?
Real life example: Wordpress ruined my login routine with autofocus since wp 2.9 or something.
Before they inserted the autofocus, i'd hit the bookmark, click login with the user/pass stored on the browser and BAM!, i was in.
Now, autofocus clears my browser stored data and i have to write the username, hit tab to get the autocomplete for the password and than enter. A lot more steps.
Auto-focus is a big no-no on login pages.
People like me have a habit of entering username and password as soon as the textboxes are visible. Sometimes, what happens is that the page finishes loading when I'm in the middle of entering my password, causing the focus to go to the username textbox and then I end up typing the rest of my password into the username field.
This is a big nuisance and websites should avoid using auto-focus on such pages.


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Clips. Never lose or damage you glasses again.
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your sun visor. Easy to
retrieve one handed. Sold in set of 2 for driver and passenger.
Available in 5 different colours click the picture for details.
See our huge range of Buff
Headwear Click HERE


text:
Weather permitting Friday, work crews will close and remove the asphalt on the eastern portion East Eisenhower Road between North Fourth Street and N. Seventh Street, near Kansas 5 Highway.
Repaving the road is then scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10. That portion of the road will be closed and a detour marked from Sept. 6 through Sept. 10 if the weather holds.
For more information, contact Lansing Public Works Director John Young at 913-727-2400 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
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