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Full Description
A digital cordless answerphone that allows you to personalise that handset to your own liking. The Gigaset C430A Twin is a digital home phone that has not only been made for its superior sound but for its modern elegant design.
- Large 1.8 TFT colour display with two colour schemes to choose from
- Easy personalisation options for ringtones, screensaver and sound profiles
- Large phonebook with search function for up to 150 entries each with full name, 3 numbers, ringtone and birthday reminder
Made to be personalised, the C430A Twin allows you to personalise your handsets by choosing the handsets wallpaper and then way the phone works. You can choose a screensaver for each handset, set individual ringtones for different contacts and even silence unwanted or anonymous ones.
The answering machine on the C430A Twin makes it easy to get the message, even when you're out. With a recording time of 30 minutes, callers will be able to let you know what's on their mind. You can set your own greeting, or use a pre-recorded message, while you'll be informed of any pending messages by the display on the base station or by a message signal on the handset
The design of the phone is great as well, the large 1.8" colour screen makes for easy reading and navigation around the menu. The Navigation menu has been made so its easy to use with its large fonts and icons. The silver finish to the handset means that the amber backlit keypad stands out in low lighting and the colour display also looks great when the phone is use in low lighted rooms.
Every contact, every number! The Gigaset C430A Twin has a massive 150 phonebook, where you can not just save the name but also up to 3 numbers such as Mobile, Home and Work. You can also assign the "VIP" to contacts allowing for the personal ringtones per contact. The HSP (High Sound Performance) guarantees a crystal clear sound even when using the handsfree speakerphone.
The additional handsets only need to be plugged into power outlets in the home, no extra phone line is needed as each handset is coded to the main base station. When having more then one handset you can make use of the intercom and call transfer features that are on this phone.
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User Manuals
Will be sent either by Royal Mail, DPD or Parcelforce, this can typically take between 2-4 days. Free Standard Delivery is to the Mainland UK only, for all non-Mainland UK orders shipping will be charged and the rates can be found below.
Next Working Day (UK Mainland Only)*
For customers wishing to upgrade their delivery to Next Working Day will be charged £4.99. Your order must be placed by 2pm in order to qualify for the Next Working Day service which will be sent via Courier. All orders placed on a Friday after 2pm or on Saturday/Sunday for Next Working Day will be delivered on the following Tuesday


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Sarah J.Maas is one of my favorite authors , so I wasn't surprised of how much i loved this book, and yes I'm a big fan of YA novels , don't judge me!
This book was a "Beauty & the Beast " retelling , i don't usually enjoy fairytales retellings , i didn't like "Cruel Beauty " but i loved this one . The author took us to the beautiful world of faeries, the world building was very detailed, impeccable and magical. I want to live there so badly!
The first half of the book focused more on the romance that was bordering on new adult, it had a lot of humour. I felt like it was very slow in the beginning and it took me a while to get into it but it was very enjoyable nonetheless.
The second half however was where the magic happened , it's action filled , always leaving you waiting for the next move , and mind blowing , it felt like i was reading an entirely different book!
The plot was clever and perfectly executed , i wasn't disappointed.
I liked all of the characters, even the evil ones :
"Feyre" , our human lead character, she was strong and badass, even more so in the second half of the story
"Tamlin" , The High lord of The Spring Court, i loved his relationship with "Feyre" . It was funny and sometimes sweet (even sexy at some point)
"Lucien" a High fae who lives with "Tamlin" his story was a bit heart breaking , i believe he is everyone's favorite character, he is too funny and witty!
"Rhysand " , Our beloved villain , and the High lord of The Night Court ,
i loooove him *_* , i enjoyed everything he did, here's how i see him:
we had some character development when it came to her sister , and we were left with no real cliffhanger, just enough to keep us wanting to know what's going to happen next.
I recommend it to everyone! Especially YA lovers , you're in for a treat.

subset: commoncrawl


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Canada NewsWire
CALGARY, Sept. 20, 2017
CALGARY, Sept. 20, 2017 /CNW/ - Manitok Energy Inc. ("Manitok") (TSX-V: MEI) is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously announced three-cornered amalgamation pursuant to an amalgamation agreement (the "Amalgamation Agreement") dated effective September 12, 2017 among the Corporation, Corinthian Oil Corp. ("Corinthian") and 2065718 Alberta Inc. ("Acquireco"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Manitok (the "Transaction").
Pursuant to the Transaction, Manitok has acquired, through Acquireco, approximately 180 boe/d of production (25% oil and liquids) with related oil battery and gas gathering system, as well as over 120,000 acres of land including 100,000 acres of net undeveloped land primarily located in the Heathdale area of southern Alberta. The production is mainly from the Colony, Glauconitic and Detrital formations, on which Manitok has identified additional exploitation opportunities. In addition to the production and land, there is approximately $2.9 million of net working capital, including $2.0 million of cash, which will increase Manitok's liquidity, and not less than $5.0 million in total tax pools. Based on the engineering report effective December 31, 2016 prepared by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd., independent qualified reserves evaluator of Corinthian, the total proved plus probable reserves associated with the Heathdale property is approximately 1.85 million boe (24% oil and liquids).
Under the Transaction, Manitok acquired through Acquireco, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Corinthian ("Corinthian Shares") in exchange for common shares of Manitok ("Manitok Shares"). Acquireco and Corinthian amalgamated under the name "Corinthian Oil Corp." pursuant to the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Manitok. In connection with the Transaction, an aggregate of 43,979,927 Manitok Shares were issued to the Corinthian Shareholders at a deemed price of $0.070486665 per Manitok Share. For further details regarding the Transaction please refer to the Corporation's press release dated September 13, 2017.
A copy of the Amalgamation Agreement will be available under Manitok's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
About Manitok
Manitok is a public oil and gas exploration and development company focusing on Lithic Glauconitic light oil in southeast Alberta and Cardium light oil in west central Alberta. The Corporation utilizes its expertise, combined with the latest recovery techniques, to develop the remaining oil and liquids-rich natural gas pools in its core areas of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated benefits of the Transaction to Manitok.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Manitok, including expectations and assumptions concerning the prevailing market conditions, commodity prices, and the availability of capital.
Although Manitok believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Manitok can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, risks associated with adverse market conditions, the inability of Manitok to complete the Transaction at all or on the terms announced, not obtaining the required court, shareholder and regulatory approvals and the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general (e.g., operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserves estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses; and health, safety and environmental risks), uncertainty as to the availability of labour and services, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, unexpected adverse weather conditions, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, capital market conditions and market prices for securities and changes to existing laws and regulations. More information about certain of these risks are set out in the documents filed from time to time with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, available on Manitok's SEDAR profiles at www.sedar.com.
Barrels of Oil Equivalent
The term barrels of oil equivalent ("boe") may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. Per boe amounts have been calculated using a conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet (6 mcf) of natural gas to one barrel (1 bbl) of crude oil. The boe conversion ratio of 6 mcf to 1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Given that the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil as compared to natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Manitok Energy Inc.
View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2017/20/c2904.html
For further information on Manitok contact: Manitok Energy Inc., Massimo M. Geremia, President & Chief Executive Officer, Telephone: 403-984-1751, Email: [email protected], Or view Manitok's website at www.manitokenergy.com.Copyright CNW Group 2017
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Ever notice how often people in business are referred to
in the media, and refer to themselves as, 'decision
makers'? You gotta love it. I get that businesses want to
talk themselves up as decisive, bold, robust, confident
and shrewd (I think that covers most of the bases) but do
the rest of us have to buy into it too? Here's something
we could do by way of countering this 'business-knows-
best' mentality that so infects and indeed corrupts our
social thinking. Every time you see or hear the word
'mother' in relation to, say, some story about education
or children, substitute 'decision makers'. For example:
'Decision makers are up in arms about funding cuts to
preschools.' Or: 'Most of the unpaid work in society is
done by decision makers at home.' I would hazard a bet
that, when it comes to decisions that really matter in
life, far more of them are made by mothers than by
businessmen. Conversely, when it comes to business
news, try replacing 'decision makers' with 'people who
don't matter as much as mothers,' eg, 'A survey shows
that 85% of people who don't matter as much as
mothers think the Reserve Bank should hold the line
on interest rates.' I suggest this stratagem purely for its
educational value, not wishing to imply for one moment
that really serious stuff like breaking down trade
barriers and creating investment opportunities isn't
being dealt with maturely and responsibly by people who
don't matter as much as mothers.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Decision makers
Posted by Denis Welch at Friday, July 23, 2010
1 comment:
- ak said...
Spot on. And insofar as most of the decisions by people who don't matter as much as mothers actually have a deleterious effect on the latter, it is probably more accurate, and certainly less a mouthful, to use the term championed by Hone Harawira.
- July 24, 2010 at 12:54 PM
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Asphyx - Last One On Earth (CENTURY MEDIA - LP 1992)
Just when you thought that Asphyx couldn't get any better - think how great "Embrace the Death" and "The Rack" were - they recorded something like "Last One On Earth" and left me speechless. This could be their best album in entire discography (although the impressive comeback LP, "Death the Brutal Way" dethroned it recently!!)! Impossible, you say? Of course everyone may have his own opinion, but to me this third album is the ultimate asphyxiation! Already the front cover makes me love this LP, definitely it's one of the best graphics in the history of death metal, probably also one of the most blasphemous ones. Decaying zombie priest, with this huge cross on his neck... and jesus weeping in agony... Come on, I can see Deicide envying.
The history says that the album could have been much different as it is, since Martin van Drunen recorded his vocals without knowing that the rest of the band wanted someone else (Ron van Pol) to sing and write the lyrics for the album. It's so weird, as van Drunen entered the studio, recorded all the vocals and left, without even seeing anyone else from the band! Luckily rest of the Asphyx (Daniels and Bagchus) decided to keep all the parts done by Martin... Anyone wonders what this album would be like if Ron van Pol recorded everything? Would it be better? I sincerely doubt that. Van Drunen has impressive voice, as always raw and screaming like maniac, what fits well to the Asphyx music. And I may not like all his lyrics, but I have to admit, I think he was one of the best death metal growlers at the time.
What do I like best about "Last One on Earth"? Well, let's be honest, musically this album doesn't bring anything new into the explored Asphyx style. The band already showed all their capabilities on the previous LPs and so this third album doesn't differ stylistically from them at all (maybe is bit faster, but that's it). But its strength lays in composing some of the best songs in band's career. It's all played in mid paced tempos mostly, but the feeling and aggression in these riffs are incredible. This is the kind of death metal I love; not overly complicated nor too melodic, not too complex or whatever, but music, which brings certain moods in the first place - be it something very dark, obscure, morbid or satanic or something, where you can smell the rotten stench floating around... Anyway, death metal with feelings, not mechanical bullshit. Asphyx is great at playing something like that, they may be the masters of this shit. And "Last One on Earth" stands as one of the best death metal albums in the history of the music, if we speak about the old school style.
To begin the album with such a track as "M.S. Bismarck", the success is guaranteed. I fuckin enjoy this song a lot, with this killer mid paced riff that opens it. This song is one fuckin moshpit killer, with the tempo and aggression uprising more and more; until that doomy part, where you still bang your head, as it also brings so much energy. Not bad as for the song about submarine he, he! Another favourite track of mine from side A of the vinyl is the title song. It is fuckin brilliant. Much slower than the "submarine anthem", it is so massive and heavy that the walls crack. And when at the end I hear this slow riff with mournful keyboards in the background, I get thrills like hardly ever. Pure masterpiece. And finally Eric Daniels plays some of his fantastic guitar leads here; I though he forgot how to do it! "The Krusher" is also all about the slow, brutal riffing, only at the end the song speeds up a bit. Surely this version of "The Krusher" sounds better than the one from "Crush the Cenotaph" EP. Oh, and if you're in need for some faster, more intense playing, "Serenade in Lead" is a pure slaughter, which doesn't slow down even for a second.
Side B brings attention with "Streams of Ancient Wisdom" especially. This is the old song originally from the "Mutilating Process" (1990) and also from "Embrace the Death" album. These archaic sounds still shred to pieces and even though I may prefer the other versions of this song, the one from "Last One On Earth" also kills. Another brilliant song from this side the vinyl is "Asphyx (Forgotten War)". Man, this is just classic Asphyx song, with the obscure riffs, either slow and heavy or mid paced and more violent... But the morbid atmosphere is there. From the other tracks, "Food For the Ignorants" is similar to "Serenade In Lead", just straight forward and relentless riffing, with only one slightly slower part in the middle, which is one god damn crushing headbanging riff.
So, as you see, Asphyx again delivered some great death metal anthems and the quality of their material didn't disappoint. Even though I really love "The Rack", "Last One On Earth" has one thing that makes this album a winner. It's the production; Asphyx went to different studio, Harrows in Holland and definitely got better, more aggressive sound than the one from Woodhouse. I may understand that to some this music may sound too primitive or too slow, but this is death metal I like. Asphyx rules and so does "Last One On Earth".
Best tracks: "M.S. Bismarck", "Last One On Earth", "Streams of Ancient Wisdom"
Final rate: 94 / 100


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LOUIS Thompson's dramatic late winner propelled Swindon Town to within a point of the League One play-offs as Sheffield United were beaten 2-1 at the County Ground.
Thompson came off the bench to net his first professional goal to see off Nigel Clough's side after Michael Doyle had cancelled out Miles Storey's 18th minute opener.
Town manager Mark Cooper made two changes to the side which beat Tranmere Rovers 2-1 at Prenton Park on Tuesday night. Troy Archibald-Henville returned to the starting line-up in place of Raphael Branco and Lee Cox found himself on the pitch from the first whistle of a Swindon match for the first time since February 21, 2012, as Massimo Luongo missed out with a sore calf.
After a quiet opening quarter of an hour, Town took the lead in the 18th minute. Ben Gladwin picked out the run of Storey with an excellent throughball and the young striker scored for the second match in a row with a delicious finish, high to Mark Howard's right.
The visitors were woeful in the first half but enjoyed two glorious chances to level the tie in the 36th minute. Firstly, Wes Foderingham saved well from Connor Coady low to his left and then got up high to his right to keep out John Brayford's header when the centre-back was left unmarked at the subsequent corner.
After the break Sheffield United improved and, as Town sat further and further back, the away side equalised in the 59th minute. Stefan Scougall and Kieron Freeman combined down the right to see up Doyle for a simple tap-in at the back post.
Foderingham made another sensational stop to prevent Coady from prodding home for the Blades in the final minute of the regular 90 and it proved crucial, as Swindon counter-attacked and Nathan Byrne fed Thompson to scrambled the ball beyond Howard.


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Dragon Age: Origins has several main quests which have to be completed in order to complete the game.
Main quests EditJoining the Grey Wardens Tainted Blood The Grey Wardens' Cache After the Joining The Tower of Ishal Lothering and the Imperial Highway Broken Circle The Arl of Redcliffe Nature of the Beast The Urn of Sacred Ashes A Paragon of Her Kind The Landsmeet The Battle of Denerim
Ideal order Edit
Although the game itself allows you to visit Denerim and Orzammar immediately after leaving Lothering, you're not meant to do so until much later in the game. Unfortunately BioWare does not make this clear at all. Going to these higher-level areas too soon is a contributing factor to some players reporting that the game is "too difficult" for them even on Normal mode. BioWare meant for the Bounty Hunters outside Orzammar as you approach it for the first time to be a "gating encounter" to scare you away if you're still too low level for the intended challenge level of Orzammar. Likewise for the Ser Landry encounter (the duel in the back alley) in Denerim. Both encounters will be doable, if not downright easy, if you come to these areas well after level 10 as intended by BioWare. However, lower-level players may find these locations rewarding in both experience and higher-tier items.
The preferred order to visit each area is as follows, based solely on the lower and upper limits of BioWare's hard-coded challenge scaling for each area. It is of course perfectly legitimate to follow a different order for roleplay reasons or because you want to add a specific companion or items to your party sooner. However, you might find that some areas are too difficult if you visit them too soon, and conversely some areas might be too easy if you visit them too late. For example, Redcliffe Village/Castle has an upper limit of level 10–11 for normal enemies and below, level 12 for lieutenants, and level 14 for bosses.
- See Challenge Scaling in Dragon Age: Origins for details.
- Ostagar and Korcari Wilds
- Lothering
- Circle Tower
- Redcliffe Village and Redcliffe Castle
- Brecilian Forest
- Haven
- Denerim and Orzammar in either order you prefer
- Landsmeet and the rest of the game
The Circle Tower is best done first for two reasons: You reap the early-game benefits of acquiring permanent stat boosts from essences and fonts found throughout the Fade during the Lost in Dreams quest; and you can recruit the dedicated party healer there and at a certain point in the Redcliffe Castle later on, you can get the mages' help with the quest.
Although many players and the Prima Strategy Guide lump the Arl of Redcliffe quest arc and The Urn of Sacred Ashes quest arc together as if they were two halves of the same major quest arc, this is not the case. Arl of Redcliffe takes place in Redcliffe Village and Redcliffe Castle, which are designed for players at level 6+. The Urn of Sacred Ashes takes place in Haven and is designed for players at level 8+. So the intended order, based on challenge scaling, is to go to Redcliffe for the Arl of Redcliffe quest arc at level 6+, then Brecilian Forest for the Nature of the Beast quest arc at level 7+, and then to Haven for The Urn of Sacred Ashes at level 8+.
As for The Stone Prisoner, Return to Ostagar, or Warden's Keep, you can and should hit those at any level ASAP after Lothering (or you may opt to visit at a later level if you want to get the highest-grade Warden Commander Armor Set, though, as its quality is level-dependant. However, if you want to upgrade the W-C Armor simply drop it in the Party Storage Chest and come back to get it at a higher level. The same rule applies for Cailan's Armor Set. All items acquired in Warden's Keep or Ostagar are scale-able items. After finishing these quests, you will still be able to return to Lothering (in case you need to buy certain items or complete unfinished quests). You won't be able to return to Lothering when you finish any of the main quests.
Another option is starting Orzammar early for the Key to the City "ring", giving +2 to all attributes. You need to have a group strong enough to take out the bounty hunters and then Loghain's embassy at the doors of Orzammar. As experience shows, it can be done directly after Lothering. You can finish it later.


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Root River Golf Club consists of nine holes of challenging but fair golf on the north side of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Come experience tight, tree-lined fairways, generous and moderately sloping greens, and the best clubhouse in Sault Ste Marie with Barsanti's Restaurant.
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Democracy and Dictatorship – Different Yet None Is Ideal. Custom Democracy and Dictatorship – Different Yet None Is Ideal Essay Writing Service || Democracy and Dictatorship – Different Yet None Is Ideal Essay samples, help
Shimon Peres, the current President of the State of Israel, once said that "television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable". Although it is hard to agree with him completely, his words represent the problem that many nations and billions of people found themselves facing: what is better, democracy or dictatorship? It is only when we know the key differences between them that we can make wise choice. In order to do this, let us compare both forms of government in such ways: who holds the power and how they rule the country; and how efficient are countries under both forms of government.
One of the main differences between democracy and dictatorship lies in the way the country is ruled. In case of dictatorship, the power is usually concentrated in hands of a single person (it is also called 'autocracy'). The ruler has the absolute power. That means he is not restricted by anything, including laws and opposition. While it is obvious that unrestricted power can be very dangerous, it has its advantages. Namely, it gives the ruler a chance to pass and implement any rules he/she wants. A dictator does not need to consider other opinions, have a guarantee that necessary changes will be implemented, and he/she can oversee the whole process. Such a power can be useful in some situations. For example, if country is recovering from war, dictatorship could prevent its falling back into war by taking necessary precautions without the need to consider a variety of opinions. Country recovering from an armed conflict has a 44 percent chance of falling back into war within five years (Jimenez, 2011). Therefore, it is sometimes of a crucial importance to act quickly and firmly, and there is no denying the fact that dictatorships manage crisis situations better than democracies. As Sir Trevor Nunn, an English theater, film and television director, once said:
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"In a way, I have to have a dictatorship. I can't be told that I'm wrong. That conflicts with what I was saying earlier about listening. It isn't to do with receiving criticism and responding to other views, it's who has that last decision" (Dictatorship Quotes").
Meanwhile, in the democratic state the power is divided among citizens. Citzens have an equal say in important matters, and they can control their leaders through fair elections, free media, decentralized and local governance. Democracy provides citizens a freedom of choice, the most important single thing. As Corazon Aquino once said, "It is true you cannot eat freedom and you cannot power machinery with democracy. But then neither can political prisoners turn on the light in the cells of a dictatorship"). Ideally, every single point of view is taken into account and the whole country does not rely on a single person's opinion. Although it is true that such a system can be clumsy and it does not always produce the best results, the fact that it relies on a group decision preceded by negotiations makes it more efficient in the long run. While dictators can lead the country out of war, they are hardly great decision-makers in the peaceful times. To always make efficient choices, not only they have to be wise enough, they also need to be rational and not materialistic. Democracy implies a proper check and balance mechanism, and without it consecutive implementation of bullet-proof decisions is just miraculous ("Dictatorship is the best path to development").
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This leads us to the problem of efficiency of the countries under both forms of government. As was mentioned earlier, dictatorship responds better in crisis situations. Kenneth Arrow, the Nobel Prize winner in 1972, showed that no voting scheme can produce a rational government. While democracy is a preferred form of government, there is no theoretical basis in saying that democracy best reflects preferences of citizens. Therefore, democracies do not always outperform dictatorships. Some researches show that countries that are economically but not politically free (like China), perform better than the countries that are free both economically and politically (Hasset, 2007). Harry S. Truman once said that, "whenever you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship". It implies that under democracy the government is not going to pass and implement laws in the most rational way as it has to take all opinions into account. Nonetheless, it is not true that all dictatorships are efficient. In fact, dictatorships often underperform badly. Case in point: Burma. Burma used to be "the richest country in Southeast AAsia, awash in rubies, oil and valuable timber" (Szczepanski, n.d.). Though, as a result of a few decenniads of mismanagement, Burma is now among the poorest countries of the world. From 1962 to 2011, military junta had absolute power in the country; it ignored international condemnation, sanctions and accusations of human rights abuses ("Burma profile"). In 2007, increased prices of diesel and petrol caused anti-government protests. In 2008, the Burmese constitutional referendum was held and as a result of it, the general elections of 2010 were held under the new constitution. Since then, the country is moving towards democracy. In 2011 National Human Rights Commission was established and an opposition leader Aung San Su Kyi was finally released from house arrest. The democratic reforms proved to be efficient as Burma's bid for ASEAN chair in 2014 was approved. The visit of the United States' Secretary Hillary Clinton to Burma in 2011 was the first one in more than 50 years ("Burma"). Although Burma is still to resolve a lot of issues, like the release of hundreds of political prisoners, democratic reforms helped the country to recover from decades of mismanagement. As Charles E. Wilson once said:
"No one should suffer from the great delusion that any form of communism or socialism which promotes the dictatorship of the few instead of the initiative of the millions can produce a happier or more prosperous society" ("Dictatorship Quotes").
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One could have assumed that once people gain the freedom and learn to use liberating modern technologies to good effect, they would abandon dictatorship altogether. Clearly, that is not the case. Moreover, some people tend to think that even modern technologies are not so liberating after all. There is a famous quote by Henry A. Wallace, the 33rd Vice President of the United States: "It has been claimed at times that our modern age of technology facilitates dictatorship". This should remind us that we have to know the key differences between those two forms of government. We should understand that neither dictatorship is without its advantages, nor democracy is flawless. While the latter is still a preferable choice, it is not as simple as "democracy is good, dictatorship is bad".
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|Interpretive panels look at Lincoln and the issue of slavery through the political cartoons of the Civil War era and particularly the 1860 presidential election.
The national traveling exhibition Looking at Lincoln: Political Cartoons from the Civil War Era will be on display at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn., now through March 30. Included in the exhibit is select editorial cartoons from the local Felsenthal Lincoln Collection. The exhibit is free and opens to the public Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday 1-5 p.m.
A special program on Abraham Lincoln will be presented Sunday, March 25, from 2-4 p.m. The program will include Lincoln's second inaugural address delivered by Ken Jones, Associate Professor of Biology at Dyersburg State College. Jones is widely known for his one-man portrayals of the sixteenth president.
|Ken Jones, professor at Dyersburg State, will present his portrayal of Lincoln in a one-main show featuring Lincoln's second inaugural address Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m..
The exhibit, developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York, explores images, especially cartoons, as a way of investigating Lincoln in the context of his times. These cartoons are vividly biting; they invite us to put aside twenty-first century assumptions and look at events through the eyes of people living in the era. Among the highlights are: a California printing of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln and political cartoons relating to the election of 1860.
The theme of the exhibition explores the Civil War and issues of slavery from the standpoint of political cartoons. These cartoons appeared in newspapers and were sold individually. Artists and citizens who created these images lived in a century in which racism was deeply ingrained in American life.
As a companion, the exhibit also includes editorial cartoons from the Felsenthal Lincoln Collection. These cartoons from the 1950s and 60s use Lincoln as comparison for current events of the day. Believed to be the largest individually owned collection of Lincoln memorabilia in the Southeast, the collection was donated to the citizens of Haywood County by Morton Felsenthal upon his death in 1983. Felsenthal spent his lifetime collecting books and memorabilia concerning Lincoln. Many of the original cartoons on display were signed by the artist and include personal notes to Felsenthal.
The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is a tourist information center and home to three regional museums located at Exit 56 off of Interstate 40 in Brownsville. For more information about the Center, visit www.westtnheritage.com or call 731-779-9000.


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Sunday, December 30, 2007
David Hicks Freed
David Hicks should never be remembered as an "innocent man", but it needs to be held up for the public record that David Hicks spent 5 1/2 years in jail without being charged or convicted. What got his freedom was that he came to an arrangement with the US and Australian governments and was allowed to be repatriated and held in incarceration until after the election.
You can tell this by the way the media have been labelling him these past few days. Words like "terrorist supporter" or "friend of Osama Bin Laden" are used... not "convicted terrorist" or out and out "terrorist" nor "prisoner of war" nor any other term that may be legitimately labelled against a man convicted of crime.
Instead we get this media dance and use of flowery language that tries to portray him as evil yet he is in reality an innocent man. (Remember, we're all innocent until proven guilty!).
Yes, David Hicks is a man who was perhaps misguided, stupid, money hungry or a little of all three. Yes, he was captured during a gun battle with US soldiers in Afghanistan (you remember, the place BEFORE Iraq). But other than being an active participant in a war, what has he done wrong? And if he has done something criminal, why wasnt he charged and found guilty.
So, now we have what can be best described as a man who would be suffering from the side effects of the brutal torture in Guantanamo Bay and he will be pursued and lured with media money. He cannot before 1 March talk to the press as part of his deal and he must report to a police station 3 times a week... why, who knows...
The media, particularly Terry Willesee on SkyNews, seemed indignant that he didnt apologise in his written statement. Why should he apologise? I did note in his statement he thanked alot of people, but I think those that he didn't thank stood out more than anything else. No thanks for Mr Howard or Mr Downer who assured us for the past 5 years that they were doing "all that they can" to get Hicks released. No thanks for his US Military legal advisor's - Major Mori - who seemed to be a bumbling fool rather than a competent lawyer and was after all a paid member of the prosecution being the US Army.
So, in short, we wont be seeing the Hicks case disappear in the short term. The media circus as 1 March approaches will be huge. Hicks' pleas for peace and quiet from the media will fall on deaf ears and he will have trouble adjusting to an Australian society that is very different from when he would have left Australia...
All I can say is good luck!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Christmas Wrap...
Christmas Day was spent at my sister in laws Lyn and all of Niki's family gathered for lunch. We had a hot lunch this year with baked potatoes, broccoli & cauliflowers and beans and carrots. Hot turkey and cold ham accompanied this and we basically stuffed ourselves. We even got a game of road cricket in and the girls swam in their new swimmers and using their new goggles & snorkels despite it being overcast and cool...
Before lunch however, the girls woke us up at a respectable time of 7am to open presents and the girls got what they have been asking for for weeks: Kate a PlayStation 2 with Singstar and Brooke got a Nintendo DS Lite with games.
There were other presents, but this was the main game for our girls and they were very excited.
Boxing Day was my family over to our place and we had a cold lunch after I had gone down to the Fishmarkets... I left the house at 5:15am to be there at 6 and I picked up about 3kg of prawns and 8 Balmain Bugs.... very yummy.
Funniest thing of course was my family all belting out songs on the Singstar... lets just say we all hum the national anthem!
All up a better Xmas than last year... to be able to spend each day at one place was much better rather than driving like a mad idiot!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Merry Xmas To All
Yes, I am busy and all that, but not to end on a heavy note, I would like to wish all my regular readers and passers by a Merry Happy Xmas and a safe and enjoyable New Year. Today is my last day at work and so given I wont be attached to a PC all day, my posts will be sporadic over the break… I am intending to be back at work on 14 Jan, but as I alluded to yesterday, that may change between now and then…. So unless something radical happens in the world, Lime Kettles will die down a bit for next few weeks.
But come 2008, I will be back on deck where you can read all about my stubborn opinions and irrelevant diatribe once again!
Merry Xmas,
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Xmas Wind Down?
My life is frantic at the moment… work is going through a huge shift at the moment and I can't really say too much at the moment, but the company is looking to change its strategic direction… that is management speak for all bets are off!
In addition, with that added distraction, a major contract needs some urgent attention and my earlier note here that I may have to head overseas in January is looking like that could be January 2. I think I will find out today / tomorrow (well I have to, its farking Xmas for those here in my office who seem oblivious to that).
In amongst all this hectic work load, the usual Xmas fare of lunches and drinks continues unabated… somewhere you're supposed to get some sleep!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Force Moves In Mysterious Ways
When Cultures Collide
Plane Troubles
After having a two day business trip to Melbourne, when it comes to getting home you really do wish to be able to teleport back…
Yesterday though I had "one of those days"…
- Booked on the 6pm flight, I miss the check in window by 4 minutes (I had luggage… if I didn't I could have gotten on).
- Was rebooked into the 6:30pm flight and I go to the gate to wait…
- Boarding time was supposed to be at 6:10pm, but nothing seems to be happening.
- 6:40pm, I observe all the flight crew walk off the plane… not a good sign.
- 6:45pm… announcement that due to mechanical difficulties, the flight is CANCELLED. Please proceed to Gate 21 for re-ticketing… I join a stampede from Gate 24 to 21!
- I am booked into the 8:30pm flight and I head to the Qantas Club lounge… lounge is packed and I have to queue to get a bite to eat and a drink!
- Boarding was supposed to be 8:10pm… no word however.
- 8:30pm, we're invited to go to the gate… Whilst we were told it was to be Gate 7, it has been moved to Gate 1. Confusion reigns.
- Get to Gate 1… it is closed. Nobody is boarding.
- 8:40pm… commence boarding, I am actually 3rd person to board and get my seat.
- At this stage, I have finished the novel I bought on Sunday and now have nothing to read.
- 9pm, plane backs away from the gate… much apologising is taking place over the PA system.
- 9:15pm… we take off.
- 10:30pm… we land… seemed to be "descending" for ages. Flight time was announced to being 53mins but it clearly has taken longer.
- 10:45pm, after I had a window seat, it takes an age to get off and get to the baggage carousel. No bags…
- 11:00pm… My luggage isn't there and after everyone goes, myself and about 10 other passengers are informed that our luggage is on the flight landing now… they split the 6:30 luggage over two flights.
- 11:30pm… I have my luggage… I am in a cab… at this time of night and the fact he is a speedy driver it only takes 45mins to get home… Cab fare $190.
- 12:30am… zzzzzz
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Flight Cancelled!
Quick Line From Melbourne...
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Odd Game of Cricket
We won the toss, batted and yours truly played OK to score 19 before I nicked one to the keeper. What I didnt realise then that my score of 19 would be the sides highest score as we were bundled out for a paltry 89.
We're coming first playing the team running 5th and we bat horrendously!
But... we then bowled and had about 2 hrs left in the day and BAM! We rolled em for 68 and we took the last wicket in the last over of the day... we've taken first innings points and can look forward to some batting practice next week!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Rushing... Rushing...
Well, Xmas has hit with a vengeance. One last week of work, I have to go to Melbourne, the Xmas lights are not up yet, the kids need photos with Santa, the lawn mower is ready to be picked up and I only have Saturday morning as a window of opportunity to mow the lawn – which is at record high levels due to the rain – and guess what…
The doctor believes I have torn my "meniscus cartilage" and I am booked in to see the orthopaedic surgeon for an initial consultation in January. The Doc feels that they will send me for an MRI and then probably "trim" the offending flap of torn cartilage. Joy Oh Joy.
Because I am spending Mon / Tues / Wed in
But when I get back, I have a Xmas drinks on the Thursday and then the last day of work on the Friday will apparently be basically a lunch and not much else…
Also, yesterday, at the office we were debating the merits of sending a delegation of people to
Talk about rushed!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Concert Success
The concert last night went extremely well… the girls danced very well and made us all very proud. They had to spend the whole night backstage so we had to sit through the Drama group's rendition of "Oliver" before we could see them but then they were able to go onstage and take their bows and Kate could see us up the back and was waving hugely.
Then when it was all over, despite being told to wait for Niki to pick them up from backstage, they had run up the aisles to us and both were bouncing around very excitedly. Brookie especially was jumping around in her Jester's costume and couldn't stop giving hugs and kisses to everyone.
Poor Niki though was worked to the ground after she had spent a considerable amount of build up time (weeks!) either doing costumes herself or ferrying other kids around who's mums were also doing costumes and then spent all of last Saturday and Sunday at rehearsals and the photography sessions and then yesterday at Panthers for 12 hours solid for more rehearsals and then the big show itself… Mum of the Year in my mind!
Thanks to Mum & Dad and my mother in law Beryl and niece Lizzie for coming out to see the girls too… they really appreciate it!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Dancing Concert 2007
Whilst I have been living my life recently there has been a strange culture in my household known as "Dancing"…
My girls are into dancing in a big way and whilst I am at work, Niki is invariably taking them to dancing lessons nearly every night of the week. Ballet, Tap and Jazz and Troupe… these are words that are constantly bandied around the dinner table and I am, due to my working life, invariably unaware of the finer details that goes into these lessons.
But all that comes to a head tonight with the annual Christmas End of Year Dance Concert and the girls have been busy rehearsing and even this year Niki has been flat out with making props and costumes. It has been a constant underlying current of activity at our place that I hear about all the time but rarely get to see…
It is though a very big event and the Evans Theatre at Panthers Leagues Club tonight will be chockers as the parents, extended family and friends of every kid cram in to see the fruits of the years work. For Kate and Brooke, my parents and Niki's mum and sister attend and that is replicated for every kid… so there is easily 1000 people in this theatre. And do you think my girls are nervous? No way! I left this morning and Brooke's hair was already in curlers and Kate has an appointment at the hairdresser today and its all ready to go.
I had the privilege last Sunday to go to the dress rehearsal and what makes this year different from the past 2 years is that Brooke is in 3 dances herself rather than one and for the first time the girls are on stage together at the same time. Also, without being too boastful or biased, they both are front and centre in their respective dances and Kate has a small solo bit as well… so its all very exciting.
I will be leaving work after lunch today and heading home early to make sure to get there on time… even though I thought I would hate the dancing when I had 2 daughters, I have to say that nights like these make you very proud.
Good Luck Girls!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Gang-Rape: A 'childish experiment'...
This story is horrendous…
Seems as though a 10yr old had consensual sex with 6 people,… 3 of which were aged 17, 18 and 26.
Yet the judge seems to think it was just a 'childish experiment'…
WTF is going on here? The girl is 10 years old. She cannot give consent. End of story.
The underage participants need to be dealt with via the children's court, but one guy was TWENTY-SIX years old!!
How can this be condoned?
Oh, they're Aboriginal… um… yeah…. Move along, nothing to see here….
You know you're from Sydney when....
Funnily enough, I know / associate with most of these:
-You were there:"And the winner is....SYDE-NEY!". And where do I start with the 2000 Olympics? (Not to mention the 4 years' build-up prior)
-You know not to try getting a taxi anywhere near the 3am changeover time.
-You've walked the city streets looking for a taxi (in a drunken mess) at the 3am changeover time.
-If you live on the Northern Beaches, crossing the bridge is for special occasions only, and a mission at that.
-Comparatively, Shire-ites experience this feeling in crossing Tom Ugly's. (For the ignorant: Tom Ugly's links the Shire with civilisation)
-You've hugged the "free hugs" guy who spreads the love at Pitt St Mall
-You know the dude who stands at the corner or George and Market Streets outside Myer, pleading for money for his "Supreme Court Trial".
-You're familiar with the old guy who sells those material bracelets around Town Hall & outside the George St cinemas. But never bought one.
-You know who the "Chasers" are.
-You'd like to be chased by the Chasers (unless you're a right wing freak and have something to be ashamed of)
-You've never done bridge climb, and you're never planning on it.
-"At night, rave near the guard's compartment, naked with a blue light" means something to you.
-You went on multiple school camps at Narrabeen
-In what could only be described as some form of punishment, you went on a school camp to Canberra, complete with visit to Parliament House and that damn lake with the big fountain. Thanks to this trip, however, we know never to bother going to Canberra AGAIN.
-The best trips were always the school camps to Jindabyne!
-Still on school: you grew up in Sydney if a pedophile and kiddy fiddler disguised as a giraffe who called himself "Harold" visited your primary school under the pretence of sexual education. Hello, he had a van; With no windows. Blindingly obvious he was a fiddler.
-"No hat no play" being drilled into your head made you the UV-aware person that you are today.
-You can understand just what the train guards are saying on the PA announcements (For the record, it's usually: Stand clear, doors closing")
You haven't been to the zoo, except on a primary school excursion where you threw stuff at the animals. (or alternatively.. zoo? what zoo?)
-You've been to PBH at some time after dawn.
-You know if you went to Scruffy Murphy's, you should either (a) hang your head down in shame or (b) never tell a soul you were there...
-You've never seen Kings Cross in daylight.. unless its on your way home. Same goes for Taylor Square and that stretch of grass near the fountain, otherwise known as "Trash Island". And the adjacent fountain, "The Communal Douche"
-You've swum in the fountain at King's Cross
-A trip to Mt. Druitt warrants a pillow in the car
-You don't like Bondi, but would choose Tamarama, Bronte, or any of the Northern Beaches any day. Maybe not Cronulla if you're anything other than Anglo-Saxon.
-You know that the "Bra Boys" are anything BUT cross-dressers.
-You can pronounce and spell the following:
Coogee, Woolloomooloo, Wollongong, Parramatta, Woronora, Warawee, Waitara, Yagoona
-You know that Turramurra and Tamarama are two different places.
-You know what "Glamarama" is actually the name for. And you know why.
-The sight of drag queens does not phase you.
-If the train is expected in ten minutes or less you figure CityRail is having a good day!
-The beauty of the harbour does not surprise you
-Riding the ferry is not for leisure or pleasure, but a mode of transport.
-However...You don't even use the ferry as a form of transport because its too frickin' slow.
-You know what tzatziki, baklava, hommous, yum-cha, pad thai, dolmades, tabbouleh and pide are and you've eaten all of them.
-You know how to say hello (and possibly some swear words) in at least one language other than English. Most likely Croat/Serb/Bosnian/Macedonian, Greek, Arabic and possibly Indonesian or Chinese.
-You've ever "studied" for exams at the State Library
-You wanted to kick that stupid man dressed in a donkey suit in Pitt St Mall.
-You laugh at or console anyone who's ever lived/had to live/from/been to Canberra.
-You see a guy wearing pink, and don't automatically think he's gay
-You know straight men can drink soy lattés, too.
-You treat Baristas like they are your dealer. Coffee is your drug.
-You've heard the following uttered from a dog statue: "Hello my name is [dog] (what is his name?), I was once the dog of the great Queen Victoria........If you toss a coin in I will thank you. Thank you. Woof Woof!"
-You NEVER catch the monorail and think it's a useless, expensive-to-catch piece of crap. "Class A" waste of space. After all, it's not an episode of "the Simpsons", is it? ("Monorail....Monorail....MONORAIL!"). Monorail= so 80s
-You know it might be quicker to walk from Central to Circular Quay at any given time than catch a bus down George St or a train
-You know where all the 24-hour drinking establishments are.
-You're scared that when you walk past Town Hall steps at any given time, two dozen emo children are going commit mass suicide, declaring "It's a cruel, cruel world, maaaan"
-You think: what is it with P-Plated Subaru WRXs on George St Friday and Saturday nights. And Industrie shirts with the collars up.
-Fireworks just don't get you excited anymore. (Come on people, we have them for ANY thing). And just in case anyone is thinking of doubting this fact, here's a short list of the occasions for which the City of Sydney has/ has had fireworks.
-Australia Day (Granted)
-Anzac Day
-NYE (times 2)
-The Sydney Harbour Bridge's birthday
-Queen's Birthday
-ANZAC Day
-When the QE2 departed Sydney Harbour (yay, let's fanfare a bunch of people who could afford $100,000 + for a cruise and spend taxpayers' money doing it!)
-The Easter Show...oh not just one night, but each and every night!
and, my all time favourite reason for fireworks,
-The Australian Idol Grand Finale (EVERY YEAR!!!).
-Football Games (mainly Origin or Finales)
-NEW for 2007: APEC Summits. Only on the condition that we, as Sydneysiders whose money is being spent on them, don't look at them.
-The Easter Show is something that s only okay to go to until you're 16, and only after that if you're taking your OWN kids.
-You think Showbags at the Show are a waste of money
-It's not called the Underground, the metro, the tube or the subway, but it's just called "the train".
-You've been to at least one "Big Day Out"
-You drank in Hyde Park, underage,on at least one year of the Mardi Gras.
-You know it's pronounced Circular "Key" not "Kway"
-You hate the State Labor Government, but somehow they still keep getting elected. They promise change; it doesn't come. Then they get re-elected.
-You wear a scarf/gloves/beanie/puffer jacket when the temperature hits below 18 degrees.
-You've accepted the (annoying) rule that no thongs are allowed to be worn into clubs. But you'll always try to sneak in anyway. Or beg.
-You have just accepted that all bouncers are pricks.
-You know what I mean when I say "The Shire"
-You say "Wog" and don't think of it as derogatory. And neither do the wogs around whom you say it.
-If you live in the Western suburbs, a night out in the City is a big deal. So much so, that you're forced to get a HOTEL room in which to stay the night...hahaha.
-If you live in the City, you'd never go into the suburbs.
-The word "Westie" is used as an insult.
Back to Work...
After the birthday festivities, it was back to work today and I was crammed in the train today like a sardine. Ended up having to sit in the 5 seats facing each other and then got caught with a mix of guys and girls who sit like guys and girls with the legs splayed or not… so by the time I got to Central my left leg had gone to sleep big time. When you get 5 people on a train facing each other and each with bag(s) and umbrella's it sure makes for an uncomfortable journey.
The reason it was cramped was because we only had 6 cars instead of 8… I just don't understand why the car numbers fluctuate? Do they forget to attach them at Lithgow or something?
And the wet weather just is now getting me down… bugger the farmers and drought. Travelling in the hot humid weather with rain is not pleasant. One day here or there is OK, but this weather has been going on for ages now…
mmm…. Boring post that one hey ;-)
Monday, December 10, 2007
Happy Birthday To Me!
Birthday today… but it's a working Monday… bugger.
But still, I had a good weekend… and a big surprise this morning when Niki & the girls woke me up at 5:30am this morning with bacon & eggs for breakfast! I had my alarm set for 5:15, and when I instinctively hit snooze, Niki grabbed the phone, woke the girls and they made me breakfast before I had to get up and have a shower. So there I was in the dawn light with Brooke dozing beside me, Niki looking sleepy and Kate wide awake bouncing around whilst I ate my brekkie! However, they all soon crashed when I did get up and when I checked on them later, Niki, the girls, Zoe the dog and Charlie the cat were all asleep on the bed.
For pressies, I did very well as well. Mum & Dad bought me a brand new 19" widescreen monitor for the PC! My old 17" flat screen got fried in a storm some time ago and I had been using a 15" CRT in its place, but now I am looking at 19" widescreen! Very impressive! A huge difference. Thanks mum & dad, it's a beauty!
Now the rule I have with birthdays is that I like to get things that I don't need… I don't like to get shirts or socks and those sort of presents. If you need clothes – buy them, but gifts in my book should be non-essential nice to haves. However this causes Niki all kind of angst as she says she cant buy me music or DVD's because I download them, she was going to get me an iPod, but I bought one in Singapore, and she has no idea about my gaming hobbies and knows that most of the stuff I get comes in from the US or UK.
But she told me she went down to the local gaming store – The Tin Soldier at Penrith – and she was very worried about it. I wasn't and nor should she as she and the girls gave me a miniature painting workstation and a magnified desklamp with halogen lights! The workstation was flat pieces of 3mm MDF that had to be put together with glue and I was up until midnight putting it together and whilst it doesn't look as neat as the ones on their website I put together the corner unit and one of the paint racks and now I have somewhere to store all my paints and brushes etc. The lamp is great as well as I always paint hunched over under a 75W bulb and get sore eyes…
So all up a great set of presents that fit my criteria of "fun stuff" and whilst today is a work day, I will be heading home as early as I can today….
Friday, December 07, 2007
MySpace Bullying
As a tech user and a blogger and a parent of two kids who are all ready computer savvy – they send and receive emails to friends who have moved away – I am always conscious of stories like this one.
Seems very sad that a parent would do such a thing and that this sort of bullying can get out of hand… I have no real comment to make about all this that hasn't already been said in the press, but for the sake of putting this stuff up here and to be aware of your childs internet habits and usage. Never let your kids surf the net alone… always keep the PC in full view of the main house and whilst you don't need to spy on your kids, you should be aware of who they are chatting to on MySpace or MSN etc etc.
The whole reason I try to keep up with technology (and this blog is an example of this) is that I don't want to be blindsided by something when my kids are old enough to be doing things without my knowledge. Kids will always do that, but I want to know what the latest technologies involve and what they entail.
This caused a wave of issues not long ago, when the press were reporting high phone bills because parents were blindsided by SMS bills from their kids. You don't see that much anymore because to kids, texting is now secondary… its chat logs and forum boards now… and because that doesn't cost as much, you as a parent can get caught out by this because its not hitting you in the wallet.
Anyway, beside all that… this is another classic of the Ugly side of people…
Birthday Weekend!
Its my birthday on Monday and I will soon have to up my age on my profile here by one more digit…
35 years old… half way to 70… for some reason it seems a bit more of a milestone age than 30 did. I am now in my "late 30's".
Still, I like to think of myself as young and I do still play cricket (badly), like to go out with the boys (and really pay for it the next day) and I still get very little sleep like I did when I was a uni student… but the body is finding that harder to deal with.
This year for me has been a bit of a milestone… I have changed jobs, feel a little bit more financially secure (yet I still am trying to work out where it all goes!) and I have seen my little Brookie go to school which changed the whole dynamic of our household. Its been a tough year on the health front with Niki & I having our ups and downs and even Kate had to have orthodontic work done.
So this weekend, I am kind of keen to have just a nice birthday… nothing outrageous… play a bit of cricket on Saturday, Mum & Dad are coming over Saturday night where we will eat in because Brooke will be in curlers for her Sunday dancing and refuses to leave the house "looking like that!". She's only 6 and is already conscious of looks and being fashionable!
Monday itself will be a working day, but I will be home early and to be honest I don't know what we're doing!
So, happy birthday to me!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Rain Rain Go Away
Well I am. Firstly another rainy day this morning brought tears to
little Brookie's eyes as it dawned on her that today was the day that
Kindergarten Girls were allowed to use the play equipment at lunch but
because of the weather, that would likely to be not happening.
To rehash a quote of the famed ozjesting "rain makes my babies cry".
Then coming into work today, I missed my train because I had to park too
far away and then got caught in an all mighty downpour which resulted in
the trains grinding to a halt due to "multiple signal failures and track
Actually it was a bit surreal as somewhere east of Strathfield, we had
to crawl along the tracks that were about a foot under water! Never
seen anything like it as the railways with all their ballast and pipes
are generally well drained...
And my grass continues to grow unabated... my broken lawnmower remains
unfixed (did I tell you my new lawnmower died on its 2nd use?) and I am
sure I saw a family of pygmies running through there this morning! ;-)
Seriously though, the rains have brought plenty of frogs and our cat -
"Charlie The Grey, Hunter of Glenbrook, Slayer of Lizards and Toads" -
has been having a field day including bringing in one of these frogs for
us to enjoy in the house... thanks very much Charlie!
Anyway, Gmail continues to be inaccessible at the office and I am
sending this in Plain Text from my work email... hope it works,
otherwise this post will be deleted!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Damn Work IT
I could email from my work account to the blogger mail-post thingy, but when I do that I get my work's email disclaimer (which names my company) and I have no idea how to do that...
If you know how (in Outlook 2003) to turn off your company email disclaimer, can you let me know...
This is important... having to log in to Blogger will really change my timing of postings and will result in me being less likely to (or inclined) to shoot off a quick posting re a funny link...
Damn IT Depts!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
From what I can see today, our economy hasn't packed it in and there are not suddenly 100,000 people out of work. Reading the papers today, there have been a number of damning articles on how we, via the negotiations of ex Liberal Minister Robert Hill were able to allow our carbon emissions to INCREASE between 1990 and 2012 as opposed to the rest of the world requiring their emissions to decrease.
And now they're saying that we'll over shoot the target of the allowable 8% increase by 1%... and now we will have to pay by being further under the hammer in the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol.
But, that should teach us a salient lesson on putting people more in tune with making an economic profit in charge of a subject matter that required a bit of long term vision for the greater good.
Well done Mr Rudd for doing something on Day 1 after years of stymieing by your predecessor.
Getting back into it...
I have a tread mill at home (gathering dust) and the dog is keen for walks so every night I will do one of three things - go to the gym, walk the dog or walk on my treadmill.
Monday, December 03, 2007
He's not mucking around...
So it was off to the pub and a couple of beers and then out to dinner with friends...
Then Sunday was a big Xmas BBQ and I forgot the camera, but the day was excellent and we didnt end up leaving until after 6pm... Jumping Castles, a BBQ, a wading pool for the kids, a bit of one touch soccer of grown ups vs the kids and waaay too many beers... (Niki was driving!)
But my good mood came acropper last night. After getting home, I decided to give the lawn a quick mow. My lawnmower (which was Dads previously and was some 20+ years old) died yet again last week and instead of getting it repaired yet again, I went to Bunnings and bought a new one. Brought it home and it worked fine last week.
Looking to run the mower quickly over the backyard - 7pm on a Sunday night - I pulled the cord and felt something crack and the cable became stuck and would only pull back about 30cms. One farking mow and its done something to itself. All my good humour went out the window. Now I have to find the receipt and get it repaired via Bunnings (which I presume will take months) or I can take it to the local lawnmower place and pay for it myself.
Not sure what to do with that, but the grass is still growing!
Saturday, December 01, 2007
More dumb Americans...
And watch for the last line... "You tricked me!"
Let me tell you sweetheart, it wouldn't be hard!


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|Sighting Report
|Occurred : 9/15/1999 21:05 (Entered as : 09/15/99 21:05)
Reported: 9/16/1999 11:16
Posted: 3/11/2003
Location: Rushville, IL
Shape: Light
Duration:45 minutes
|4 orange lights luminating in sky and disappearing
I reported a sighting of a fireball for 9/15/99, I'd like to correc it to 9/14/99 at 20:50. Due to my our sighting on 9/14/99, we told 2 of our friends about it. We decided to hang out and see what might happen the next night, 9/15/99. Around 20:45 we saw approx. 5 jets circling our area, this occured until 21:05. About 21:05 while we searched the northern night sky, it was clear, our friend noticed an orange light luminate and another orange light luminate. The first one disppeared and then the second disppeared. Of course, we were excited. Within 15 minutes we saw the same thing but with 4 orange lights. Within another 15 minutes we saw orange lights luminate and then disappear. We attempted to take pictures but won't know if they came out. None of us have ever seen anything like this before.


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Back in the old days news outlets used to try to have people associated with a political position represent that position. In other words, they used to have conservatives represent conservative positions, liberals represent liberal positions, etc. It just seemed reasonable to have the people who actually held a particular political standpoint present that standpoint to the public.
But, that was then. Now, with the ascendancy of the right over national politics, there is no reason to waste valuable space in major media outlets allowing those who are left of center to express their views. There are plenty of conservatives who regularly express their views in the opinion and news sections. Why not let some of them also express the views of those who are left of center as well?
This obviously was the position taken by the Washington Post when it decided to have Robert Pozen, a finance industry executive and advocate of Social Security privatization, tell liberals what their position should be on Social Security. David Leonhardt highlighted Pozen's "liberal plan" in his NYT blogpost today.
The gist of Mr. Pozen's proposal is to leave benefits mostly unchanged for the lowest wage earners while reducing benefits and raising the retirement age for middle income workers like school teachers, construction workers and fire fighters. By reducing the benefits for those in the middle, Mr. Pozen wants to make Social Security more "progressive." Naturally liberals who were troubled by high-living nurses and plumbers will rally behind this bold effort at redistributing income.
In keeping with this spirit, suppose that we had a media that tilted as much to the left as the current outlets tilt to the right. Obviously, people like me would have the opportunity to lay out what the conservative position should be on reforming the income tax code.
So, here's the outline of my proposal which the Post will be running next week. It will leave income taxes largely unchanged on the bottom 98 percent of taxpayers. We will raise the marginal tax rate to 50 percent on incomes between $250,000 and $10,000,000. Then we would have a zero tax bracket for income over $10,000,000. This means that the richest of the rich will pay considerably less under the Baker plan than under the current tax code. This should accomplish the upward redistribution that is central to the right's political agenda.
I can't wait to see my column in the Post and highlighted as a conservative plan for tax reform in Leonhardt's blog.


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Sonam Kapoor wore Chopard, platinum gold diamond cluster earrings and a pear-shaped diamond ring at Cannes Film Fesival.
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Toys R Us ditch boys and girls categories
Toys R Us are putting an end to categorising toys into boys and girls categories. This means that they'll be selling toys and it'll be up to your child which ones they want. It is a good move, which ultimately won't change much in the way of shopping habits, but still, it is nice to open all the toys up to children.
This of course, came about after pressure from a group called Let Toys Be Toys and, thanks to them being campaigners, it means that some people will automatically be against whatever it is they're saying - that's how humans work. Group A says "CHANGE THINGS!" Group B complain and reply with "LEAVE EVERYTHING ALONE!"
Either way, you'll now search for toys by age-group, brand, or type of toy, rather than gender. Of course, some parents will think that this is going to make shopping for their children more difficult, but really, buying toys for kids is a nightmare regardless of how it is offered to you.
Obviously, television commercials and marketing won't be changing the way they do things, which means Toys R Us changing their system won't mean that girls will stop being ushered toward dolls, and boys toward diggers, but it is something. And of course, parents will influence what they want their children to play with, but all the same, if you shop at Toys R Us, the shelves will no longer categorise things into things for girls, and things for boys.


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"Magnolia Pictures, Madman Entertainment and Optimum Releasing have pre-bought documentary "Not Quite Hollywood" for the US & UK. Billed as "a high-octane thrill ride" through Australian genre cinema of the 1970s and early 1980s," "Not Quite" splices together a story of the movies made in Australia in the aftermath of the introduction of the R-certificate which saw censorship go from repressive to progressive…" (full details)
"The producers of a Salvador Dali biopic proclaimed at Cannes that they plan to shoot the entire film with Panavision digital 3-D cameras. Mora and Rawley are searching for thesps to play Dali from age 20 to 80 and plan to begin shooting in the fall. Philippe Mora write and directs…" (full details)
"Jean Reno and Jean Dujardin will co-star in the $20 million sophisticated comedy actioner "Cash" for TF1 International. The pair play the heads of rival criminal gangs, while Valeria Golino plays a cop chief trying to stop their antics. Alice Taglioni co-stars and scribe Eric Besnard directs. Shooting began on the Riviera the week before last……" (full details)


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When Patrick woke up the first sensation he had was that it was incredibly bright. He felt himself breathe and then noticed not only was it bright but it was hot as well. The boy looked around and saw himself in a hospital room, with bright light shining out of the windows. The room was quite plain, only white walls, ceiling, and a white tiled floor. There was an IV attached to his arm, a variety of medical sensors at the side of his bed, and only one chair. Sitting in the chair looking straight at him was a very pretty brown-haired teenage girl dressed in a khaki blouse and skirt, with her hair tied in twin tails and red-rimmed glasses framing brilliant blue eyes. She looked at him with a smile on her face.
Patrick was still disoriented from whatever it was that he had experienced earlier, he still wasn't sure what. He looked at the girl for a moment without saying anything.
"Hello," Mari said with her crisp English accent. Patrick didn't respond at first. "Welcome back!" the girl said to him.
"Where am I?" he replied groggily.
"You're in Oz," Mary told him.
"Oh. Where's the Wizard?" he asked her.
She chuckled a little. "Well, at least you've got a sense of humor. 'Oz' means Australia," she replied.
What the hell am I doing here? "There's still something here?"
She briefly looked out the window. "As I understand it this place is the garden spot of Oz." Mari turned to him again. "You're Patrick Forrestal?"
"Who wants to know?"
"My name's Mari. Mari Illustrious Makinami"
"You're Japanese?" Patrick asked.
"Partly, on my mum's side. You're the first other EVA pilot I've met."
"Other pilot?"
"Yes. I'm a pilot as well. Mine's '05," she smiled proudly.
Oh, no. Not this again. "Where my EVA?" he asked her.
"Just out back," she motioned to the window. "You showed up just a few days ago."
"No. In Nevada. They pulled you right out before the UN could spot you."
Patrick tried to sit up in bed but his body refused to move. "What happened?"
"No one quite knows really. They've got lots of questions for you out there."
"Who's they? NERV?"
Mari thought a bit before answering. "Quite a lot's happened since you've been gone. Perhaps I should let the others explain a bit."
"I see." Patrick thought everything over for a moment, but he could feel his fists clenching from the anger that had begun to boil. To him something was not at all well. "Mari?" he said softly.
"Did you say you were a pilot?"
"Oh, yes. I've been in training for quite some time now, though sadly I've never actually gotten past the basics with the EVA. You know, syncs and harmonics, that sort of thing."
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Certainly," she smiled, wondering what this was about.
Patrick leaned as close to her as he could. "Where's your mother?"
Mari was forced aback the question. Normally she was very down-to-earth about a great many things, but the fate of her mother was one area where she was still very deeply unsettled. She laughed nervously. "What's that got to do with anything?"
The boy stared at her angrily, "I said, where is your mother?"
Mari started to get out of the chair, "I rather don't like where this is going..." Patrick quickly grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her down to where his face was and shouted "I SAID WHERE IS SHE?!"
The girl pilot decided that was enough and with a good shove pushed off his hand from her wrist. Before he could get out of the bed Mari jammed her left elbow straight into his nose. Patrick recoiled in pain and covered his nose with both hands, which he could see were dripping with bright red blood.
Mari then turned around for the door. "She's dead, if you must know!" She stopped for a moment and calmed herself down, then looked at him over her shoulder. "Right now the others in the next building think you could have murdered ten thousand people a couple of months ago. If you know what's good for you I suggest you not pull any crap like you did just now." In a huff she hurried out the door, telling the guards outside "He's up now, if you want him," and then stormed off. In the distance he could hear her curse "Bloody Yank!" as she marched off.
Sorry, Mari, but at least now I know you're legit. Patrick saw his hands covered in blood and put his head back against the pillow. A moment later two nurses dressed in blue and green camouflage uniforms attended to his new wound and got him into new clothes. After another physician looked him over and he changed the two uniformed guards walked him out of the building.
Patrick made no attempt to resist the guards, partly as we wasn't even sure where he was or what his options were now, so there was no point until he knew where he could even run to. He didn't recognize any of them as being from NERV-2 and if anything else they were much more polite than his father's men were.
The group walked across a pavement sprawl to a larger building about 300 meters away. Patrick looked around him and saw something large in the distance covered in tarps. Was that the EVA? All around him was activity, soldiers marching, military vehicles driving around and aircraft of all types flying overhead and parked and taxiing on a nearby runway. In the five minutes that they took to walk to the other building he recognized perhaps twenty different types of military aircraft from all over the world: American, European, Russian, and others. As they got closer to the larger building that was their destination he saw the flagpoles in front and noticed two flags were flying. One was the pre-Second Impact Australian flag but there was another one he did not immediately recognize: it was a white flag with a red-colored eagle on the front. When they came up to the building he had a closer look and noticed that the eagle on the white flag was not an eagle at all, but a phoenix instead.
In the other building the guards led him through a series of hallways and then through a set of double doors. A second set of guards very politely showed him into a room. Patrick looked around the room and saw that it was dimly lit, with just a chair standing in the middle.
Oh, no, another cell! Before he could back out the two guards shoved him through the doorway and swung the door shut.
Patrick came back and banged on the door, as there was no handle to pull. "Hey, what the fuck is this? Let me the hell out of there!" After about two minutes of protesting to no response he knew he was stuck there. Dejectedly he walked around the cell. Along the walls there were two doors with no handles and a large mirror on one wall. The ceiling was high and smooth, and was installed with some recessed light fixtures and speakers. The lack of a bed and toilet in the room indicated to the boy that he wasn't going to stay here for long, which could be either good or bad depending on what his hosts had planned.
The large mirror was, of course, one-way glass. On the other side of it were Admiral Vinson, General Sheffield, Musashi, and another officer who was an intelligence specialist. Looking at the boy through the window Admiral Vinson noticed Patrick was sporting a new bandage over his nose. "What happened to his nose?" he asked the interrogation officer, who just shrugged and shook his head. The specialist turned down the lights in the room and spoke into a microphone.
"Please sit down," the interrogator spoke over a loudspeaker. Patrick looked up at the speaker on the ceiling but did nothing.
A spotlight shined on the single folding chair. "Son, we're not going to hurt you. Please sit down."
Patrick felt the need to show any degree of resistance possible, even something small. "No thanks. I'll stand," he said in the darkness.
The interrogator then moved the spotlight directly onto him, increasing the brightness until it nearly blinded him. As Patrick tried to block the light with his hands, the interrogator spoke again. "Let's not make this harsh, shall we? Please...sit...down...."
Patrick sighed and took a seat in the chair. The light reduced its intensity slightly once he sat down. The interrogator started again. "Please state your name."
"You know it already. That girl knew my name!" Patrick answered.
In the other room the interrogator clicked off the microphone and looked at the commanders. Both had resigned looks on their faces, as Mari had contacted Patrick without permission. The interrogator continued. "Your nose wasn't broken when you came out of the plug. What happened to it?"
"She did that!" Patrick replied.
Sir John and Musashi both smiled, curiously wondering what would provoke Mari to clock the boy. Sheffield then spoke in the microphone. "Mister Forrestal I understand your deep suspicions, but we're only after what happened. Let's get it all out of the way, shall we?"
"Whatever!" Patrick shouted.
Sheffield then took over the interrogation. "For the record, state your full name please."
"Patrick Henry Forrestal."
"Date and Place of Birth?"
"September 11th, 2001. Las Vegas, Nevada."
Sheffield nodded to Vinson, verifying it was true. "Father's name?"
"Dr. Harrison Forrestal, PhD," Patrick said with contempt. Musashi's eyebrows went up when he heard his tone of voice.
Sir John continued. "Mother's name?"
"Dr. Margaret Rickover Forrestal, PhD."
"What were you doing at NERV-2?"
"I was the pilot for Evangelion Unit 04."
"Were you the original pilot?"
"Who was the original pilot?"
Patrick paused for a bit and then said "Erin Forrestal."
"What happened on October 25th, 2015?"
"I don't know, I lost track of the dates."
"It was the day you disappeared."
Patrick was silent and Sheffield tried again. "What happened the day you disappeared?"
Patrick just sat there and breathed deeply. In his mind the memories of that day raced through over and over. To him the visions in his mind seemed so disconnected, like he was a bystander watching another teenage boy go through it all. He really didn't want to talk about this, but knew they wouldn't leave it alone and in a way he wanted to know what happened as well. He sat there breathing hard and tried to work up his strength.
"Patrick, please..."
"I'm getting to it!" he yelled and then was silent as he tried to place it all together in his mind. "Dad put me in a cell after getting back from Tokyo-3. I was there for a long time. Then one day they knocked me out and put me in my plug suit. Next thing I knew I was being dragged over to the EVA."
"You weren't piloting voluntarily?" Sheffield asked.
"No." Vinson and Sheffield looked at each other at that remark.
"What happened next?"
"They...they bolted me in the EVA. I couldn't get out. Then they ran some sort of test on the unit. Once it reached sync threshold the EVA....um, she um....did something..."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. All I remember is seeing her."
"The EVA?"
"The ghost."
After hearing Patrick Sir John glanced at Musashi, who just stood and watched the boy through the glass. Vinson picked up his phone and called Dr. Foch, who was outside with Unit 04. "Dr. Foch?"
"Yes, Admiral."
"Did you notice anything unusual with the entry plug?" At that moment Foch was actually inside the entry plug with other technicians, examining it for damage and functionality. "Yes. I think perhaps our pilot was reluctant to go along with things." Foch aimed his phone at the Throne of Souls and pointed out the hand and feet restraints that had been wielded onto it. Vinson then showed the image on the phone to the others as Sheffield continued with his interrogation. "Prior to seeing that did you notice anything unusual?"
"Such as?"
"Anything unusual with the EVA, perhaps in the power system..."
"No. It was the same as usual. Except no power cable."
"You had the S2 engine then?"
"That's what Dad called it, yeah."
"And it was working fine?"
"Didn't need an umbilical that time, yes."
"Did you do anything prior to the test?"
"Did you give the EVA any commands or try to move it?"
Patrick took a few more deep breaths as he was beginning to lose his self-control again. He remembered now what it was like to be chained inside the plug, which had then become a prison to him.
"Patrick?" Sir John quietly asked, "we really need to know what happened. Did you instruct the EVA to do anything during the test? Patrick? Patrick?"
Patrick exploded "I didn't want to fucking be there, Okay? I just wanted it to end!"
"And so you did what?"
"I asked the EVA to stop what Dad was doing?"
"You asked it to stop the test?"
"I asked it to stop him from doing everything!"
"What do you mean?"
Patrick was becoming more emotional. "I couldn't let him do it! I couldn't let him do it to them!"
"Who is them?"
"NERV. Dad wanted to destroy NERV!"
"Destroy NERV?"
"Goddammit he was going to use the EVA and wipe out Tokyo-3!"
"So you did what?"
"I just asked EVA to stop it. I didn't care what she did!"
"Patrick, there were ten thousand people at NERV-2 when it disappeared."
Patrick absorbed that for a moment. "What?"
"When your test took place there were ten thousand staff and others at NERV Second Branch. They were never heard from again."
"What do you mean?"
A video projection came from the ceiling and played on one wall of the room. On the projection, Patrick saw an aerial image of NERV-2. He watched the video projection as a red and black energy cloud enveloped the base within thirty seconds, leaving behind a gigantic crater.
"This image is of NERV-2 immediately after your test. As you can see, the entire facility and the surrounding area are gone. There was literally no trace of any life within fifty miles of the base."
"What the hell?"
"So please tell us what happened?"
"I didn't do that!"
"But you piloted your EVA at the time of the test. You asked it to stop your father. What did your EVA do to cause this?"
"I don't know!"
"You were its pilot. It follows your commands, and only your commands. What did you command it to do?"
"I just wanted it to stop my father!"
"And so it destroyed the base and all those people!"
"No! They're not destroyed!"
"Then where are they, then?"
"I don't know!"
"But you were the one who did this..."
"I didn't kill them! The EVA said she...she put them someplace else."
"EVA said this to you?"
"Where did she put them?"
"I don't know!"
"She didn't tell you?"
"And you didn't think to ask..."
"How the hell was I supposed to even know what happened! I never wanted any of this! I just want the hell out of here!"
"Patrick, tell us what happened," Sheffield persisted.
"I fucking told you already!"
"One more time, then."
"NO, YOU ASSHOLE! I'M SICK OF THIS SHIT! GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Patrick then grabbed the folding chair and began to furiously smash it against the mirror. "LET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE! WHERE'S MY SISTER? WHERE'S MY UNCLE? WHERE'S REI? LET ME GO!!!"
Musashi said to the Admiral "perhaps I should talk to him."
"Would he recognize you if he saw you?" Vinson asked.
"Probably," Musashi responded.
"Then I don't think that's a good idea. We still don't know who or what he knows, and we need to keep you a secret just a bit longer. I wouldn't want to risk that over someone's temper tantrum." Vinson got out of his chair and headed to the door. "Whoever thought of using children as pilots was a real idiot!"
Patrick continued to smash the chair against the mirror in a blind fury. He was so sunk into his rage that he hadn't noticed Admiral Vinson had walked into the room. With one hand Vinson grabbed the folding chair, wrestled it from a shocked Patrick, and then flung it across the room. Patrick immediately backed up several steps, panting heavily. The two of them just looked at each other for a minute and Vinson thought Patrick looked very much like a caged animal, with angry eyes starting back at him.
"Son, do you know who I am?"
Oh, shit. I am so dead. "You're...you're Vance's father."
Vinson stepped closer while looking straight at him. "Why'd you shoot him, son? Did your father put you up to it?"
Patrick could feel his heart beating rapidly and his breath getting short. His head felt thick as a watermelon. "No...no...I didn't want to do it!"
The admiral again quietly moved closer to Patrick, who was sweating profusely. "Then why'd you do it then? Didn't Vance ask you to stay out of the way?"
"I couldn't let him kill her, no matter what it was...I just couldn't do it!" Tears began to form in Patrick's eyes. "We didn't come there for that! That wasn't what this was about!"
"Sorry, son. There were a lot of things that were hidden from you. Did your father tell you anything?"
"Not until I got back," Patrick said weakly. "He said this was all just a setup. He...he said he sent Vance out there to get killed so he could get this S2 engine."
Vinson paused a moment and let his mind drift over to the image of his son. For the two months after he had narrowly escaped the UN authorities after the failed raid on Tokyo-3, Vinson had led himself to believe that the Forrestals, both father and son, had worked together to entrap Vance and in fact the whole group of renegades that Vinson led. Now confronted with the son in front of him, Vinson realized that his assumptions might have been wrong.
"You didn't want to go in that thing, did you?" Vinson was now within arm's length of Patrick.
"No," Patrick was now breaking down, tears streaming out of his eyes. "I just want to go home!"
"Can't do it, son. If the UN or the others found you they'd kill you without blinking."
"Where's my sister?" Patrick asked.
"We don't know. All we know is she wasn't at the base, so perhaps she's still alive somewhere."
"My uncle?" Patrick asked again wearily.
"He disappeared the day you left without a trace. Your cabin itself was burned down." On hearing that his home was gone Patrick just stood there and quietly cried for the next few minutes. Vinson said nothing but just stood and waited for the boy to burn out the emotion.
"Take me to NERV, then," Patrick finally asked. "I'm an EVA pilot...I belong with the others." Rei, oh God please still be alive...
Vinson motioned to the mirror and then turned back to face Patrick. "You've been gone a little while, son. A lot's happened since you disappeared." The projector again focused an image on the wall and lights in the room dimmed. Patrick calmed himself down and watched the video as Vinson narrated.
"The day after you and everyone else at NERV-2 disappeared, the US government bailed out of the EVA program. They handed EVA-03 and all remaining NERV support personnel to Japan, and shut down 1st Branch. The Japanese then assigned their own pilot to the unit, designated the Fourth Child."
Patrick laughed a little, and said under his breath "I guess Kensuke finally got his wish."
"That wasn't his name. The kid was named Suzahara."
"Anyway, it didn't go well. NERV set up Unit 03 at their facility at Mashishiro. Unfortunately unknown to anyone an Angel had hidden inside of the unit while it was being transported from the US. When activated the possessed EVA used it's AT field to destroy the Mashishiro facility and promptly attacked Tokyo-3. The unit then had to be destroyed." Patrick watched in horror as the video showed EVA 01 violently tearing EVA 03 into pieces. "The pilot," Vinson continued, "managed to only lose a leg in the process."
Holy shit! Patrick thought. Shinji's just ripping him apart. That's not like him at all!
"A few days afterward the 14th Angel attacked Tokyo-3 and damaged both EVA-00 and 02, breaking into the Geo Front before being confronted by Unit 01. EVA-01 defeated the angel and then proceeded to...consume the Angel's S2 engine." They both watched as the video, taken from a covert position, showed a grainy but disturbing image of a green-glowing Unit 01 bending over an angel carcass and eating what was inside of it. "NERV then quickly harnessed the unit. The pilot was trapped inside and it took a month to recover him...not unlike how we got you back." Patrick looked with surprise at Vinson.
The video moved onto another scene. "Two weeks ago the 15th Angel appeared in Earth orbit. Units 00 and 02 attempted to attack it with positron cannons but then the angel countered by attacking Unit 02 with some sort of a mind probe. EVA-02 was intact but its pilot suffered a complete mental breakdown."
Oh my God, Asuka! No...
"EVA-00 then used a new weapon and threw it into orbit, destroying the Angel." Patrick's heart leaped as he saw the image of the blue EVA-00 running with a spear-like object and throwing it up in the sky like a Javelin. It's Rei! He watched as the spear flew rapidly to the upper atmosphere, the resulting shock wave blowing away rainclouds in its path. A moment later a spectacular explosion occurred high above Tokyo-3.
"YES! WAY TO GO REI!!!" Patrick exulted. For the first time today, he felt he could feel good about something. Rei was still there, and NERV was still in the fight against the Angels. Even after everything there was still hope. Patrick felt himself take a deep breath as he sighed in relief. He looked over at Admiral Vinson, who didn't share his elation but rather had a stern look on his face.
Oh, no...
"When the 16th Angel appeared over Tokyo-3 Unit 00 was ordered to attack it. When it got into trouble they sent Unit 01 after it. The 16th Angel took possession of Unit 00 and then tried to attack Unit 01 with it. In order to save Unit 01 the pilot..." Patrick watched the new video as a large, white tentacle-like Angel was sucked into EVA-00. "...initiated a self-destruct and destroyed the Angel along with her own unit." Patrick's elation turned into horror as he watched what looked like an energy field building around EVA-00. The Evangelion seemed to glow white and its bindings were released, revealing a giant human-like figure. The unit then exploded in a massive fireball, taking most of the inner city of Tokyo-3 with it. After the video finished Vinson quietly stood by as Patrick trembled.
Oh God, no...not her! Oh, please not her! Please...
Vinson looked at Patrick. "That happened the day you got back. They haven't confirmed that she died but seeing the video it's clear what happened. I'm sorry."
Patrick was overcome with emotion. Today already had been too much for him to take, first finding out that NERV-2 was destroyed as was his old home, and that his family was missing. For a moment he had hoped that he could at least go back to Tokyo-3 and be with Rei and the other pilots, but now he felt like someone had just ripped his soul to shreds. Patrick collapsed onto the floor sobbing uncontrollably, his mind filled with images of the girl that he had left behind, and who was now gone.
"Did you know them well?" Vinson asked him.
"I wanted to," Patrick weakly replied.
After the interrogation Musashi asked to see Sir John outside the control booth and spoke to him in the hallway, apart from the others.
"Are you sure the First Child is dead?" he said in hushed tones.
"There's no confirmation from NERV still, but it's quite obvious I would think," Sheffield said. "As to why they haven't reported her dead, perhaps they don't want to panic the other pilots."
Musashi folded his arms and bit his lip. "Perhaps not. Something else that I found down in Terminal Dogma, regarding the First Child. I think I mentioned earlier that she was cloned."
"Yes, you did."
"Then she may re-appear very soon. The important thing about her is that whatever Ikari has planned for Third Impact, she's critical to it. I don't think he would have sacrificed her in combat like that unless he had a fall-back of some kind."
Sheffield considered this for a moment. "I'll have our inside man look into this. If she's that critical and if she's still alive, perhaps we should try to 'acquire' her."
"Perhaps. Also, if you communicate with your insider can I ask him to pass along a message to someone?"
"Of course."
Go to Chapter Seven


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The Harrison Classic Dark Cloth is a large focusing cloth that can be used for 4×5 up to 11×14 (and panoramic) view cameras. The hook-and-loop along one side insures a snug fit around any size of bellows. The silver fabric outside will keep you cool while focusing and is waterproof. The black fabric inside is a soft Taslon — a synthetic fabric that has no lint. The large size of the classic dark cloth provides enough room around you and the camera back to keep things dark while focusing.
Cloth can be used for large format still photography and motion picture photography.
Reflective silver fabric keeps heat out and interior cool. Black inner fabric is lint-free.
Made from waterproof fabrics for use as a focusing cloth, a raincover, a suncover, or a blackout cloth.
Hook-and-Loop closure along one side.
© 2019 Zig Zag Rental. ALL RIGHTS RESERVERD · ZIG ZAG RENTAL


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|Session Name:
|Cloud Storage for App Developers
|Steve Marx
|Company Name(s):
|Track / Format:
|Enterprise Apps
|It's more important than ever to create apps that provide an amazing user experience across multiple platforms, devices, and even offline. Even though saving data in cloud storage is becoming ubiquitous, it's still difficult for developers to manage user authentication, syncing, and caching. In this session, Dropbox's Steve Marx will explore how to approach these challenges, highlighting some helpful developer tools.


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I have set up collabnet subversion edge server and I have installed subversion team provider for eclipse . I had a problem about connecting to my repositories but later on I have solved it somehow . Now , I want to configure LDAP with active directory but I have some problems . I get internal 500 error when I try committing a project . How can I fix that problem?
Share project was failed.
svn: MKACTIVITY of '/svn/rep/!svn/act/7c716dbe-3801-0010-8bbe-21e116bed3a7': 500 Internal Server Error (http://localhost)
svn: MKACTIVITY request failed on '/svn/rep/!svn/act/7c716dbe-3801-0010-8bbe-21e116bed3a7'