text:
Chapter Two
Chapter Two
It was late, she was bored, and the demon population wasn't exactly working to remedy that. Figures. Local baddies rarely accommodated her schedule. So for the umpteenth hour in a row, she found herself staring at newly lain graves in the hope of seeing something shift.
But no. Apparently all the deaths in the last day had been natural. Furthermore, there had been nothing more from Glory, her mother seemed to be doing well, and Dawn, despite her rampant teenage hormones, had managed to keep out of trouble for forty-eight hours.
Buffy was in a holding period to end all holding periods.
Which meant, naturally, something bad was coming.
Hooray for positive thinking.
Granted, Buffy rationalized as she made her third uneventful sweep of Restfield Cemetery, only two days had passed since the trauma that was the big troll.
Even that had been over before it started. Lousy trolls.
Buffy sighed and glared at the nearest grave. One little demon. That was all she wanted tonight.
Well, what she really wanted was to go home, soak, and cuddle with the boyfriend that had left when life became too real, but that wasn't happening.
Okay, so that wasn't what she really wanted. But she wanted to want it. The place Riley had in her heart was vacant, yes, but not unmanageable. It hurt that it didn't hurt more, and then it just hurt all over. As though her non-indifference-but-close was enough to warrant his leaving. As though every nasty thing he'd said was true.
She had known that, of course. On some level buried under heaps and heaps of denial, she had known that.
But he was Joe Normal. He was what she was supposed to want.
Sometimes, like now, life sucked beyond the telling of it.
And there were no demons to take it out on.
Buffy sighed again, gave the grave one last glare, and officially threw in the towel. There was no point in wasting a perfectly good chick-flick night wandering aimlessly around the cemeteries.
If Riley were here, they could spar. Or make love. Of course, neither one of those activities scored high on the relaxing scale. Fighting Riley had always aggravated her because she couldn't unleash her everything and just be…her. The Slayer. She was always afraid she was going to hurt him. Or break him.
And the other…
Their bedroom life the past year had gone seriously downhill. To his credit, he had started their physical relationship as a very attentive lover, but time progressed and the newness of their relationship had fizzled to a dull static. And he'd become Joe Normal on a whole new plateau.
His plateau, of course. She'd never asked him to do more in bed, too afraid it would damage his precious male ego. Thus, Buffy had become a pupil in one of the oldest arts of her gender. A self-taught pupil, of course. It wasn't as though there was a how-to manual, and she certainly couldn't ask her mother.
"Mom…how do you fake an orgasm?"
And Riley had never known the difference. And yeah, that hurt. It hurt when it didn't hurt enough and it hurt that she was not giving him what he needed. Because she knew that he loved her. Despite everything else, he loved her. And she had pushed him away because she didn't—she couldn't—feel the same.
It wasn't because he wasn't Angel. God, if that wasn't the king of all revelations. Angel wasn't what she wanted anymore. From the few times that they had talked since he'd abandoned her for Los Angeles, he had turned into someone she didn't know. Naturally, there was a part of her that would always love him. He had been her first, and no girl ever really let go of her first. It wasn't possible. But she wasn't dumb enough to believe that he was The One anymore. And she had long ago stopped fantasizing that he would one day come to his senses and rescue her from the woes of slayerhood.
That would never happen. She knew it now. She had known it for a while.
But Angel wasn't the reason that she couldn't give Riley what he wanted. And that was what bothered her. On the surface, Riley had been everything she should want. He wasn't. And he never had been.
Whistler had been right all along. In the end, it was only her. And it would be that way forever. After all, what could a girl whose death was always licking her heels offer anyone? A few good rolls in the sack, if that. A hearty kiss farewell before—boom—massive deadness.
There were times that being the Slayer caught up with her.
A surprisingly cool breeze flitted through the cemetery and Buffy shivered, crossing her arms.
That was when she heard the unmistakable signs of a struggle. At once, her spirits lifted. Perhaps the evening's hunt wouldn't be a total waste.
The scene upon arrival, however, took the wind out of her sails. Spike was beating the tar out of some newly risen fledgling, and apparently having a marvelous time doing so, if the ear-to-ear grin was an indication of anything.
"Great," she muttered. "The first vampire I've come across all night and he's spoken for."
The sound of her voice apparently startled the fun-stealing vamp to the point he halted abruptly and whirled to face her with wide eyes. Weird. She'd flabbergasted him simply by showing up.
Not good. Stopping to talk to your mortal enemy during a fight was not good.
"Spike!" Buffy snapped, dragging a stake out of her back pocket. "You're—"
Too late. Baby Vamp seized the opportunity to slam him into the side of the nearest mausoleum. Spike barely had time to grunt before his nose was full of Baby Vamp elbow and his head smashed against the stone wall.
That was all the excuse she needed. Buffy hurled herself enthusiastically into the line of fire.
Snooze you lose, blondie.
"Oi, Slayer!" Spike called. "Find your own! I saw him first!"
"Sorry, Bleach Boy," she retorted, words stressed between punches. "Finders…keepers…"
There was a disgruntled mumble. She couldn't blame him for being irritated, seeing as this particular vamp was a laughably easy slay that she was trying to drag out into an epic battle. After all, there would be no more fighting after he bit the dust.
Bah. The woes of slow nights.
Even going easy on the newb, the fight didn't last nearly as long as she would have liked. All too soon, Buffy was staring at a fading cloud of dust, sighing to herself and shoving her stake back into her rear pocket. As an afterthought, she turned to Spike.
The way he looked at her these days was…weird. She'd thought she'd been imagining at first, but faced with nothing else to distract her, she had to admit something had changed. Not that it meant much, seeing as the peroxide pest was always up to something or other. If she knew him half as well as she thought she did, she would be foiling some supremely retarded plan come the next two weeks or so.
Nights like this, she hated the chip. Not that she would ever admit it. While killing him remained on her list of favorite threats, it was currently at the bottom of her to-do list. Still, she did wish they could go at it the way they used to. Despite his notable flaws, he was one of the worthiest adversaries she had ever faced.
And she was so tired of fights she knew she could win.
With Spike, it hadn't been about winning so much as dodging the bullet. The chip made it easy to forget just how close he'd come to killing her on multiple occasions, but when she saw him in motion, it all came back.
"Bloody perfect," he muttered, dusting himself off appropriately. "You know how long it took me to find a fresh one?"
"Hey, you're lucky I came along."
"To what? Distract me?"
"No…" Buffy frowned, jutting out her lip. "Okay, okay. So he was a baby vamp. That didn't mean there wasn't a Spike-dustiness ending to this story in the loom."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Even if that were the case, since when are you one to care, Slayer?"
"Since the days of my boredom have reduced me to contemplating ending your sorry existence if patrol doesn't pick up."
"Heard that one before. Gets a little stale after a while. You do know that, right?"
She sighed and fell into step beside him. Staying to chat was likely not the best idea, but she wasn't in the mood to be wall-put-uppy Buffy tonight. Chatting with Spike would at least kill time. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I gotta say it. You know. To keep you in line."
"Right." He huffed. She didn't have to look at him know he was smirking at her, and it egged at her senses that she knew him so well. "'Cause it works like a bleeding charm. Fuck, Slayer, you must really be bored."
"God, you have no idea. The vamps are a no-go and have been on the side of avoidy for a couple nights." She flexed her shoulders. "That's forever in Buffy-years. I've reduced myself to watching Jackie Chan films and pretending it's me kicking ass."
"After only two days?" Spike shook his head again, reaching for his cigarettes. "That is sad."
"Excuse me. I believe your television schedule revolves around Passions and Passions reruns wherever you can catch them. Don't lecture me on sad."
"Well, seeing as you're so close to losing your marbles, I gotta say, I'm glad it was you who killed ole Henry back there." When she looked at him, he shrugged, lighter finding the end of his cig. "Hank. Harm told me about him. Got sired by some of her old lackeys. The ones you didn't off in the Rescue-The-Bit, Take Thirty-Five showdown a couple weeks back."
Rescuing Dawn from Harmony. That had been before Riley left.
As if he sensed the direction her thoughts had taken, Spike stopped suddenly and pivoted to face her. "Look," he said, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you. Timing never seemed right, and honestly, I don't know what there is to say. Only that I gotta get it out there so you get me, right?"
He had serious-face. This was never good.
"Yeah, okay," she said, feeling suddenly very self-conscious. "What's the what?"
He shifted, visibly uncomfortable. "It's about what happened last week…with Captain Cardboard an' the vamp brothel. I just—"
Immediately, Buffy held up a hand and stepped back. "I really, really don't wanna talk about this."
He made a move to reach for her and she bristled.
What is it with him and being touchy feely?
"Look, I don't wanna rub the salt in anything or what all. That's not what I have to say. It's just…you need to hear this."
"I don't need to hear anything from you, Spike. Ever."
There. That was a bit more like herself. Being nice to the Bleached Wonder always led to badness. Who knew when he would seize the initiative and leap into her bubble? After all. Spike preferred to make himself comfortable wherever it was inconvenient for others.
He was exceptionally talented at rubbing her the wrong way.
Especially nights like tonight.
"Yes you bloody do," he insisted, grabbing her wrist and whirling her around to face him.
For a beat, she wondered how or why she allowed him to get so close. Her body itched with the need for another fight and she wondered if her Slayer senses would be satisfied if she popped him in the nose. Had he not looked so serious, she would have put the hypothesis to test.
"And the sooner you accept that," he continued, "the happier the lot of us'll be."
He observed her wearily, head cocked, those endless eyes of his—that she was so not noticing, thank you very much—made something inside her shift.
Why? Why was he suddenly looking at her like that?
"Buffy, I didn't take you there that night to hurt you, no matter how it mighta seemed."
At that, she rolled her eyes. Since when did Spike care about hurting her? Wasn't that his life's mission? His prerogative? "Right. Because hurting the Slayer is nowhere near Spike's lot in life. Or unlife. Please. I'm so not worrying with this now. Goodnight."
"Not hurting the Slayer, you daft bint. You."
She knew he hadn't meant to say it like that by the telling widening of his eyes and therefore ignored it. Safer that way.
Yet he kept talking.
"If I wanted to hurt you, you'd feel it. I don't work that way, and you know it."
He had a point there. Spike hadn't resorted to striking so personally in a long while. There was that day in the sun when he'd suggested that she wasn't worth a second go, and that remark had been no more hurtful than the jab she'd made about Dru when they'd run into each other at the frat party. When Spike wanted to hurt, he hurt in the all-out sense. He talked big, of course. A recent evening rendezvous to the Bronze rang as proof enough of that, but anything more was too Angelus. And if there was anything Spike was not, it was Angelus.
Huh. Weird.
Time to go home.
"Right. I get it." She turned to leave again.
"You do not. You're just—"
Buffy heaved an aggravated sigh. "Look, what happened—when I said I didn't wanna talk about it, I meant as in the really. You're not exactly my ideal chatting partner, thus when I do open up, it definitely won't be to you. But…" She stopped, holding up a hand. "What happened…it was…I'm glad I found out. Even if it did hurt, I needed to know. And yeah, I guess that's…it was important, despite your motive."
"My motive was to show you what was going on under your nose, love. Nothing more. Didn't figure you'd want your boy—"
"Again with the not chatty. You've said your piece and I'm going home. This is me dropping the subject. Okay?"
He sulked a bit. "Calling quits already? Come on, Slayer. I'm sure if we put our heads together and tag-team this bloody two-bit town, we can find some action worth lookin' in on."
Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh yeah. Because my stealthy self couldn't pick up one tail, and this is sort've my calling. But two of us, especially a notably loudmouthed bleached chip-head—right. We'll be rolling in the vamps. Stakes all around."
"You're a bloody riot."
"I do stand-up on the weekends."
"Better stick to your…" Spike threw a pointed, nearly accusing glance at the darkened sky. "…night job."
"Not that I have a choice."
"Come on. The night's young…if you're a vamp or one who hunts vamps…which you are. Where's your sense of adventure?" His eyes danced and he twitched slightly with some of that endless energy he had on tap. "There's nothing you can do at home that you can't do out with me."
There was no way not to mask the initial response that sprung to mind, given that Xander and Anya were the people she spent most days with now that Riley was gone. This meant enduring hours of Anya telling her to leave point blank so that she might engage in sexcapades with her ever-attentive boyfriend.
Yeah, that was why sex was on the mind. Buffy felt her cheeks flush.
When she hazarded a glance up and caught the proud smirk on his lips, she knew she'd been caught. It was infuriating how easily he read her. There was no one else that had such a talent.
Buffy the Ambiguity. Buffy the Ambiguity to all save one William the Bloody.
Caught in wordless, heated embarrassment, Buffy resorted to her last form of defense. She tossed him a dirty glance and made to brush passed him.
"Oh, don't gimme that look," Spike protested with a snicker. "It's your perverted little mind that thought up whatever delicious dirty you're trying so hard to not think."
Better to feign ignorance. "How did—"
"Saw your face. That was enough. And I suspect there's more to it where that came from." He laughed harder. "There, there, Slayer. We've all got our various…kinks."
"Get bent."
She pushed passed him furiously and started marching home…to no avail. Spike fought to her side and kept up rather nicely, hands buried in the pockets of his billowing duster. His lips attentively tended to the cigarette and she was a little wigged at how much his nicotine habit had stopped annoying her. Smokers were nasty. Smokers were not to be associated with…ever. And yet, around Spike it was nearly expected. As though he wasn't entirely there if he wasn't puffing away at something.
They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, and just as she was starting to debate the pros and cons of staking him for good, he started blabbing again. "Are you sure…about the rest and everything? It got really nasty there at the end."
Buffy felt a breath catch her in throat and went frigid. "We're talking about Riley again?"
"I just…if I'd've known—"
"It hurt. He ran away from us. From our problems." Buffy heaved another full body sigh and directed herself to a headstone. They hadn't even made it out of the cemetery.
Of course not.
Once more, it occurred to her that spilling her innermost thoughts and insecurities to the man previously dedicated to her demise was not of the good, but for tonight, she was tired of playing by the rules. She was tired of so much. It was late and he was here. He was Spike, yes, and he was the proud bane of her existence, but some random voice within her psyche whispered that he would listen, and furthermore, that he would understand. Talking to Xander was a no because he had been there at the end and seen everything. He had given her the inspirational last speech about saving the one good thing in her life. He would put on his sympathetic face, but he didn't truly feel sorry for her.
Willow was similarly a no. When Oz had walked out on her, it had ruined her completely. It had ruined her on an Angel-leaving level. Even Buffy couldn't remember grieving the loss of her one true love as much as her friend had the departure of her first and only boyfriend. For that, she couldn't talk to Willow. Oz had meant more than Riley. Willow had loved Oz.
Buffy had not loved Riley. And she saw that now.
Spike was not exactly a yes, but he wasn't a no, either. He was here and that was good enough.
And if he breathed a word to anyone, she could always shove something wooden and pointy through his chest.
"Sometimes," she said softly. "Sometimes I feel like…my problems. Like something's wrong with—"
"Don't even finish that sentence." The note in his voice surprised her. Warmed her too. "It wasn't you that made him go out for suck jobs."
"No, but I pushed him away. I've been so focused on Mom and Dawn and—"
"The things you shoulda been focused on?" he suggested softly. She didn't reply. "Buffy, your mum just had a bloody serious operation. If you weren't there to be his snuggle-bunny, it was his fault for—"
"That's what I thought. Apparently no one else did. People seem to forget that I have every day slayage and Mom-taking-care-of and Dawn-sitting to tend to. All at once, mind you! Oh no, everyone's big on the 'it's Buffy's fault' train."
"Everyone is wrong," Spike said gently.
"You can't know that."
"I do."
It was hard to argue with a man who sounded that certain, even if that man was a vampire with a mean streak a mile wide. Not to mention the total lack of patience. There was probably a list somewhere—categorized alphabetically—detailing every nasty thing the Scourge of Europe had done or thought about doing. But now, standing with him, that stuff was disturbingly easy to forget.
"It's funny how little details slip your mind, Summers," Spike drawled, "like how I know slayers on a whole pretty damn well."
Her eyes narrowed. Then again, on other days, remembering what he was came naturally. "Yeah. Need to know your enemy, right?"
"If that was the case," he replied, "you woulda been six feet under a long time ago."
Buffy arched an eyebrow.
"Maybe not by me."
She snorted. "Maybe."
"You know I've come close, love. What's saved you from a nasty death thanks to yours truly is the same thing that saves you every bloody night." He paused as though waiting to see if she'd challenge him on this, but she didn't. In truth, Spike probably did know her better than Angel. "And the fact that I'm still trying to figure you out is all the better for you. Your local nasties'll never make a bloody dent. Lord help us all if someone ever gets to the core of that onion."
Buffy blinked. Had Spike just paid her a compliment? She hated it when he did that. When he acted as though he were all Average Joe going about his merry way. As though he wasn't what he was.
It made it harder to hate him, and that was something Buffy enjoyed keeping filed under the Simple heading. Hating Spike was supposed to be like breathing. Natural. Instinctual. Basic. He wasn't supposed to go all Vamp-Casanova on her.
Except he'd caught her on a night when she'd desperately needed to hear just that. That smidgeon of reassurance that what had happened to her—to her and Riley, to her and all her relationships—was not entirely of her doing. She was the Slayer first and foremost, and she couldn't have the average life. Or the average boyfriend. It was nice that someone was acknowledging that.
Even if that someone was Spike.
"Do you mean it?"
Again, the air grew still. Buffy had known many silences. Too many to count. Never one with Spike.
Spike had never had a quiet note in his life, especially where she was concerned.
He made as though to touch her but withdrew almost instantly. It must have been her face, which she realized had crunched into a scowl. Could he blame her? There was no friendly touching where Spike was concerned. There should be no touching period, save the necessary punch.
"Yeah," he said finally. Still quiet. "I mean it. Christ, Summers, you're near impossible to get close to. I should know. Tried foiling everything you threw at me from day bloody one, and that was three years ago. You've outdone yourself. And whatever this new bitch has on you…what's her name?"
"Right. If she knew what she was getting herself into, she'd be making tracks." He smiled as though he was proud. "As it is, I'm sure you'll see that she gets her ass right and properly kicked."
"What about you?"
"Me? Oh, I'll be there. Count on it. You think I get my rocks off by watching from the sidelines?"
"I don't give much thought to how you get your rocks off at all."
He seemed surprised for a moment, then grinned. "Like the way your mind works."
Another compliment. This one all but made her spine vibrate, and at once she came back to herself—to the moment she was sharing with someone she shouldn't be with.
What the hell was she thnking? There was no part of this that could result in the area code of good. The last time she let Spike this close, they had been under a spell and doing anything but talking. He didn't look like he expected anything of her, but there was a line between them that could never be crossed. She had placed it there long ago.
Freakish space becoming an issue.
"I-I should…umm…" Buffy frowned and stepped back. "I've—uh—gotta be heading home."
The response was automatic. Spike nodded and stepped back. "Right then. Toddle on off. I'm sure your pals have gotten into some tragic accident without your supervision."
"What's up with you, Summers? You're all…I dunno…anxious." He ran his tongue across his teeth, eying her suggestively. "Not very becoming to a Slayer. Is it because you've stepped down from your almighty horse? Treating me like one of yours? I'll admit it's a little disconcerting, but I'm not complaining."
At that, she scoffed. "Well, up until now, you were acting like a person. Sorry for the lapse. Sometimes I have to be reminded. Trust me when I say that it won't—"
It took a minute to realize he had seized her arm and another to register how close he was—again. Buffy's heart leapt, then leapt again when she realized he could probably tell he'd gotten to her.
"I act like a person more than you like to notice," he said thickly. "Some words of wisdom, love, keep your eyes open. I might just surprise you."
Step away. Don't encourage him. Go home like you should have the minute you saw his exceedingly annoying platinum head. Don't encourage him.
"Is that so?"
"More than your precious Scoobies, that's for certain."
"Spike, it's late, go home."
"And especially now that the whelp's arm is all rot and busted." He ducked his head to smother a grin. "Only Muck-For-Brains would pick a fight with a bloody troll."
The instinctive need to defend her friends swelled within her. "He was defending the woman he loves!"
"Who happens to be a very prominent and powerful ex-vengeance demon."
But there was no arguing with that. Two years ago, the very same troll-loving Anyanka had been happily exacting pain and suffering on every vaguely male-shaped body she came across. Joining the human race again had certainly done a number on her, but when push came to shove, she was the same old Anya.
A point Buffy had though to bring up with Xander more than once, but hadn't because it wouldn't achieve anything. Demons weren't demons if they had a pulse and paid taxes.
And yet, she heard herself reciting the same old excuse anyway. "She's changed."
"Hmmm…how stunningly original."
"She's not like that anymore."
"Oh, so she can be forced to adapt, but yours truly is shunned from the crowd?" Spike turned away with disgust and began to pace. "It's all right for those with a pulse to get a little sympathy and compassion and sodding understanding every now and then, but when I go out of my bloody way to—"
"What the hell are you blabbing about?"
"You! You and the rest of you sodding do-gooders. Treating me like the outed man when I haven't touched a drop of human blood in over a year."
"But you would if your chip was removed."
Spike's brows arched. "Oh, and the former demon's so above it that she wouldn't go back to ripping men's heads off if her wanker of a boss begged her to return? You forget, love, Anya's killed a helluva lot more blokes than I have, and she enjoyed it every bit as much. Maybe more. What does it take to get in your good graces?"
"Since when have you wanted it?"
He shifted, and she saw he was suddenly uncomfortable.
"Man's got eyes, doesn't he? Your precious vamp-loving soldier's run off and he's taken his militia men with him. Way I figure it, I'm sorta stuck like this. Might as well make the most of it."
"Yeah, not buying that. You've made no small game about how very much you want us all dead."
"And I guess your lovable demon-turned-pulser made the transition like that." He snapped his fingers. "No attempts to regain her nasty streak? Her powers? Everything she'd been for the better of a thousand years and more? Please, Summers. I've only been around for a fraction of the time Anya has, and I bloody well know that—"
"We can't trust you."
"I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to cut me a little slack is all."
"Why should I?"
He blinked at her. "'Cause I asked nicely?"
"I'm going home. For real this time."
"Right. You do that."
"I am."
And that was that. With a haughty toss of her hair, Buffy set off for home, relieved when he didn't follow. The encounter already had her spiraling down a bizarre influx of otherworldly emotion that she wanted to ignore with every fiber of her being. It had been a long night, and given Spike's weird chattiness and compliment-giving, she didn't think she'd find sleep anytime soon.
That couldn't happen again. Tonight was an aberration. A fluke. She'd be back on form tomorrow.
And he better know it.
Which was why, she reasoned, it made sense to turn her ass around and walk back to him. He was still there, of course. Watching her like the creepy predator he was.
A beat. "Stay away from me."
He smiled. "'Course. I'll get right on that."
She should have berated him, should have called him on it, but she didn't, because then they'd start talking again and be back at square one, which kind of defeated the purpose.
She didn't belong here.
Except a part of her worried that she did.
If you are under the age of 17, please use your head and do not read fics that are labeled "NC-17". Parents, I cannot control what your children are reading, so please be advised that the majority of the fics archived here are NOT suitable for those under the age of 17.
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I am in no way making any profit from this site. This is for pure entertainment purposes only.
Concept: (c)bringonthebloodshed.com (2004), Code & Design: (c)Diabola (2006), Graphics: Selene & Always


text:
The next update just landed, and is available to download. The patch notes (written by Sam) is:
General Changes
Bug Fixes
General Changes
- New Adventure: Sweet and Sour
- Attention Adventurers! Lemongrab is up to his old tricks and is using the Bloon invasion as a distraction while he invades the Candy Kingdom. Put a stop to his plans in a brand new, 4 map adventure! You can find this new challenge in the Candy Kingdom after completing the Lemongrabbed adventure.
- Brand new ally, the Monkey Farmer, has been added to the Store! Place him in a game to automatically collect any dropped loot so you'll never miss out!
Bug Fixes
- Fixed Wolf Pack and Fire Wolves powers not working correctly on multi path maps.
- Fixed Warrior Bubblegum's Candy Copters not attacking bloons correctly
- Fixed unclear text regarding Cosmic Essence
- Fixed Ad rerolling not working correctly
- Fixed Sam's Lightning attack audio issue
- Fixed Tuxedo Jake's range boost not applying correctly
- Fixed Ball Blam Burglerber and Cryojet affecting DDTs incorrectly
- Fixed Jake Suit conflicting with some items
- Fixed lock when accepting save conflicts
- Fixed UI issues in Choose Goose's store

subset: commoncrawl


text:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Kids involved in crime are getting attention that goes right to the top of the Tennessee state government.
It comes in the form of what is called a "blue ribbon task force" on the state's juvenile justice system.
The group will be made up not only lawmakers, but prosecutors, child advocates and law enforcement officers who deal with juveniles.
"I hope from this we are going to come up with ways to insure public safety and help the families of juveniles as well as juveniles themselves," said Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell, who co-chairs the task force along with Senate Republican Majority Leader Mark Norris.
While no one is saying the system needs to be revamped and replaced, it does need "tweaking" as another top lawmaker said who is not part of the task force.
There are many questions raised by anyone who has come into contact with the juvenile justice system.
What happens to these violent juveniles?
Can they be reached before becoming young criminals?
"Some of our laws are antiquated, we certainly need to look more at rehabilitating and turning young lives around so we are going to look at what the latest research shows," added the Speaker.
Researchers from the Pew Charitable Trust will be sharing their latest data that has been used as a basis for legislation in several other states.
One of them told the taskforce Wednesday that locking up juvenile offenders doesn't work well in some the other states it surveyed.
Community supervision works better and saves money said the Pew researchers.
"We want to focus our energies early in the process on the data and research," said co-chair Sen. Norris.
The juvenile task force plans to meet several more times this year before recommending new legislation for lawmakers in January.Click here to see the task force's presentation.


text:
Reuters editor in trouble for blaming Trump for Gazette massacre
People like Roy (is it COCK or Cox, I am not sure) are very dangerous people. They are like the fool that yells FIRE in a packed movies theater just to see a stampede and get their rocks off.
They run their mouth with little knowledge of the situation and do not have all the facts. When they do have the facts, they twist, manipulate and turn them to try to satisfy their own delusional fantasies and be noticed.
After the fact, they do a mea culpa because they realized they made a mistake and made a complete fool out of themselves.
Not to mention; one of these days; all of the Boulder Rolling fools may come face to face with THE MAN and have to be accountable for their reckless behavior and rhetoric. I can guarantee, if nothing else, PDT has a very good memory and WILL get his day in court.
A top editor at Reuters apologized on Thursday night after blaming President Trump for the deadly Capital Gazette shooting in a now-deleted tweet that was sent during a "state of emotional distress," but he might still be disciplined by the international news service.
Reuters Breakingviews Editor Rob Cox admitted that he "responded emotionally and inappropriately" after being called out for jumping to conclusions prior to the facts emerging. Police said the suspected gunman, eventually identified as Jarrod W. Ramos, targeted the newspaper after a lengthy feud regarding a 2012 defamation lawsuit.


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Schwarzkopf Professional's Shaping Futures program is a an impressive feat when looking at the numbers – the brand, which partners with non-profit organisation SOS Children's Villages, has brought the program to 25 countries, educated more than 1200 disadvantaged young adults, utilised the skills of over 200 volunteers and conducted more than 60 training classes. These figures are just the beginning, with more Shaping Futures programs to be introduced into additional locations around the globe. Importantly, the effects go far beyond numbers, truly changing the lives of underprivileged young people and giving them hairdressing skills we sometimes take for granted in ourselves. So the question remains – how can you help?
"By teaching disadvantaged young adults in developing countries how to cut hair, we want to give them a new start in life and the prospect of a lasting future," explained Simon Ellis, International Creative Director of Schwarzkopf Professional. "With our global network of hair professionals, our emphasis on training, and our pool of resources, we are in an ideal position to offer skills that can make a difference to the lives of aspiring hairdressers, whatever their backgrounds."
"Long term sustainability is key for the initiative," he continued. "To achieve this, it is our ultimate target not just to train our students, but also to secure job placements in local salons on completion of their training. Our cooperation with Salon Naturals in India is a perfect example for the type of long-term, mutually beneficial collaboration we are aiming for in each country."
The program dates back to 2008 when Japanese Schwarzkopf Professional employees established the course in Cambodia, teaching basic hairdressing skills to those in need. The initiative has since grown to include Peru, India, Morocco, Latvia, Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, Russia, Slovenia, Tunisia, South Africa, Philippines, Jordan, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Romania, Hong-Kong, Thailand, Bolivia, Mexico and Argentina. It consists of a six week course in five modules – consultation, cutting, dressing, colour and form. Students meet with local salon owners during their training, enabling them to seek employment after their education.
Hairdressers who take part not only experience an incomparable global journey, but also use their hairdressing superpowers to truly change the world and help those in need. If this sounds like your calling, hop online and take the first steps to truly making a difference.
For more information visit www.schwarzkopf-professional.com/shaping_futures
Click here for Styleicons|TV.


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27th January 2015: Sara Amanda, an activist and journalist will make some striking public confessions in Birmingham.
In her one woman show titled "Confessions of a Former Drama Queen", Ms Amanda will stage what she describes as "a brutally honest and darkly hilarious performance chronicling one woman's crazy journey of self-development."
She has hinted that she will lay "bare the traumatic events that drove her to the brink of disaster but ultimately provided the motivation that helped her to take her place in the history books."
Ms Amanda is strongly encouraging women to attend the show.
The event will also feature live P.A's from "Shak Attack Danger" & "Sic'Nis".
"Confessions of a Former Drama Queen" will be held at The Sunflower Lounge, 76 Smallbrook Queensway, B5 4EG Birmingham, on 19th February 2015 from 20:00 to 23:00.
Click here to buy your ticket.


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Currency Displayed in
Air Rex Struts and Bags setup with Air Rex Management system. Complete plug and play management. Bag Pressure auto adjustment using Air Rex management controller. AirRex suspension kit is a hugely popular addition to 'kitted' GT-R's.
Key Features:
Please call for further information.
This product hasn't received any reviews yet. Be the first to review this product!
All prices are in EUR.


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That might not be a particularly exciting title for a blog post. The last couple of days our Lift Maintenance team conducted "Dynamic Testing", commonly called a "Load Test", on Black Mountain Express. In Colorado, chairlifts need to go through a dynamic testing process every seven years. Believe or not, we just finished our seventh winter with BMX. For the testing Rob brings in a few engineers and lift people. They load boxes full of water on the lift to simulate it being fully loaded with people. They start, stop, speed up, slow down and do just about everything they can to simulate different situations that the lift may encounter. Then engineers break out their laptops, run all kinds of numbers and follow a rigorous process to make sure the lift operates the way it is supposed.
We also took the opportunity to increase the downloading capacity from 25% to 50%, something that helps summer weddings and other events that have people riding down the lift. That upgrade also require a dynamic test so we combined the two projects.


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Product Description
They have a number of LED lights to illuminate your tank from the inside, or that are great for nocturnal viewing of your fish.
This bubble wand also act as an airstone when connected to an air pump (not included), to provide an illuminated air curtain of bubbles for an interesting underwater feature.
What's really special about this light is that is flexible so can be moulded around features, ornaments, decor and rocks etc.
When connected to an air pump (not included) it will create a high volume of bubbles that circulate and aerate the water for a healthy aquarium,
Comes complete with a plug in power supply transformer and UK 3 pin plug, 1.2m of cable, suckers to attach the wand to the inside of the tank if required, and full UK instructions.
- Utilizes low wattage, energy saving LED lamps
- Low voltage transformer
- Sucker attachments
- Streamline design, quick and easy installation
Aquacadabra acts as credit broker/intermediary and not as a lender. Credit products are provided exclusively by Klarna Bank AB, which is authorised and regulated by the Swedish Financial Services Authority, with limited supervision by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Who should my customers contact if they have questions?
All existing customer loans have been automatically transferred to Klarna and your customers have also been notified directly. There will be no changes to existing terms and conditions and customers do not have to take any action. From 1st January 2019 Klarna became the lender on all new loan applications.
Should your customers contact you regarding any questions they may have, please ask them to visit: https://www.klarna.com/uk/CBRF or, if they have any other servicing needs about their loan agreement they can call us on 0333 321 6080.
Delivery & Returns
We really want you to be happy with the product that you've received. If however, when the goods arrive they're not what you want, then no problem - we have a 60 day no quibble return guarantee. Just let us know that you're going to return the item(s) by contacting us (stating your Order Number) and complete the returns packing slip that will have been included with your delivery. This will help us to quickly identify the item that you have returned (unopened and unused) - and we'll put a refund through for you.


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Blue Hydrangea
Sold, Oil & Acrylic on canvas, 48x48, 2018
There is a Big Hydrangea plant in front of my house and every year it fills with beautiful blooms. But the interesting thing is that almost every year the blooms are slightly different color, from pink to blue to magenta. First I thought I have been imaging it. But it's been real. So this year I had deep blue Hydrangea and I mixed them with some colorful Poppies I bought from Farmers market and the result is this beautiful painting


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Prime Commercial lot with easy access to I-20.
Users may not reproduce or redistribute the data found on this site. The data is for viewing purposes only. Data is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS or NTREIS.
Listing information last updated on May 28th, 2020 at 3:30am CDT.


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As I was walking in Sephora a few weeks ago I stumbled upon this pink box that had a few liners, apparently the ones that sell the best at the store and me as an eyeliner lover of course bought it. It has six of them, some are smaller than the actual product, more like a sample of the original and some are the actual size.
There's a liquid eyeliner from the Sephora brand, this one is black with glitter, in my case I like to use it on top of one that sets better because this one will fade quickly, but the glitter is a must have.
Next one is a black liquid one too, from Eyeko. This one REALLY stays and is very easy to put on, very manageable so you get it right.
Last one that is liquid is from Stilla and it's my absolute favorite, I already owned it and didn't knew that it was part of the box so when I found out I was ecstatic. This one has a really fine tip, it's very easy to put on, almost no mistake and it last a lot, basically perfection!
There's also the Stilla smudge stick, I use this more for a smokey look and sometimes apply the wing with a liquid one, one thing I really like about this one is that it's waterproof and it doesn't smudges too much that it looks messy.
There's a Make Up For Ever waterproof crayon in black, I'm not such a fan because it's very smudgy and it's more like a dark grey, I like my liners deep black.
Lastly there's this double "Glide-on line pencil" as it says and I've learned to love this. It has too sides, one is brown "Demolition" and the other one is black "Perversion". They have a very good stay, I prefer to use them with an angled brush to create a smokey outline of the eye, more dramatic, this one is from Urban Decay.
It is a great buy, for $22-$25 that it cost me you get six great products and if you haven't tried them before you get to do so and maybe find one you really love and then go get it.
Looks like these can be achieved with this kit. The look on the right is more of a smudge cateye, you can do this with one of the crayon ones and the one on the right can be easily done with one of the liquid ones.
These are basically my go to looks for everyday makeup and I kick it up a notch when going out. I hope this helps! 🙂


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Yellow Cab Nanaimo is Nanaimo's premier taxi service, offering comfortable, affordable rides across Vancouver Island.
No matter if you're backpacking around Vancouver Island alone or in a large group, Yellow Cab Nanaimo. offers a taxi cab or van to best accommodate your visit. When entering or leaving the city be sure to take advantage of our airport transportation service to help you get to your destination safely. For a package or document that needs to be delivered quickly, search no further than the courier service at Yellow Cab. Call Yellow Cab Nanaimo at (250) 751-1111 for speedy and efficient taxi service. Yellow Cab is Nanaimo's fast, friendly and reliable taxi cab service. No matter your destination, we will get you to where you need to go safely and on time, every time. For your next visit to Nanaimo, be sure to call Yellow Cab Nanaimo at (250) 751-1111 for quick and friendly taxi service. Promotions & Special Offers -Senior Citizen Discounts Available -Handicap Access Vehicles Available Specialties -Transportation Service -Variety of Taxis -Safe and Reliable Service
24 / 7 / 365
Double Dee's Designated Drivers. Nanaimo Designated Driving Service
Professional Driver Service in Nanaimo & Oceanside. Designated Driving Personal Drivers Airport/Ferry Home Security Checks Senior Driving


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Friday, June 14, 2013
[Daegu June Festival] Enjoy Daegu International Musical Festival(DIMF)!
A warm summer, at Daegu where it is especially hot! A 'hot' festival will be held.
That performance is none other than~!!!
'Daegu International Musical Festival(DIMF)', which people from all around the world look forward to and enjoy!!!
Starting with the Eve Party this past 15th~ the Musical Festival will go on at Daegu's major performance halls and in downtown until July 8th!
♣ 7th Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF)
▶ Time : 6. 15 (Sat) ~ 7. 8 (Mon)
▶ Location : Daegu's major performance halls and downtown area
(Daegu Opera House, Suseong Artpia, Ayang Art Center, Bongsan Cultural Center,
Daegu Culture & Arts Center, Keimyung Art Center, Kolon Field Concert Hall etc.)
▶ Programs : K-Musical concert, Officially invited works, creation supported works,
free entry works, College Musical Festival, side events etc.
▶ Questions : 053-622-1945
▶ Official website : http://www.dimf.or.kr/main.do
Celebrating its 7th anniversary~ DIMF has prepared a handful of various programs.
This coming summer~ enjoy a cool summer with DIMF. ^^
- TIP on how to enjoy DIMF 100 times better
First, enjoy performances at a 40~50% discounted price with DIMF performance package.
※ Packages can only be reserved until June 14th by calling the DIMF office
Second, be quick to make reservations for the College Musical Festival beforehand on the DIMF website!
Especially because it is a free performance, you should make reservations on the website prior to the event, and exchange with tickets on the spot.
작성자: visitdaegu2011 시간: 5:30 AM
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Microsoft ended Mainstream Support for Windows 8.1 on January 8, 2018. This is a sad time at CoolGeeks because 8.1 has been a linchpin of our infrastructure for years.
What is that? You like the dreaded Windows 8?
No, we, as with all sane and rational humans, hated Windows 8. But Windows 8.1 is NOT Windows 8, especially with Update 1 installed and all subsequent Windows Updates.
Mostly, it is NOT Windows 10 with that stupid invasive Cortana or the alarming amount of data farming sent to Microsoft servers (and where ever else we will never know) intrinsic in the OS.
Windows 8.1 Update 1 should have been called Windows 9, but MS could not use that name supposedly to avoid conflicts with products and code bases referencing the 90s era Win9x releases. Apparently due to stuff like this in legacy code
if(version.StartsWith("Windows 9"))
{ /* 95 and 98 */
} else {
Whatever dude.
The semi-official word is simply "Windows 10, because 7 8 9." — because 7 ate 9. We know this of course because this dude wore this shirt
Which supposedly some nerdy, nerd nerd (Kevin Gosse) with a knack for decoding threaded binary messages overlaid across a dude's nipples was able to discern these sentences
- There are 10 types of people in the world
- Windows 10, because 7 8 9
- Congrats on being one of the first
- Windows Insiders help us develop the future. Talk to us @ Windows
Congrats for that uber geeky fashion analysis. Maybe it is time for him to get back to reverse engineering screencaps from Mr Robot episodes.
Regardless, we did not get a Windows 9 and probably never will. Microsoft even made a trade show booth t-shirt themselves to commemorate this
OK, to the point: Why is/was Windows 8.1 with Update 1 (effectively Windows 9), The Best Windows Ever?
- It was fast to boot. Let us face it: the newer kernel and startup sequence brought to us with Windows 8 was faster
- It had the Start Button
- After login, you could configure it to drop directly to the desktop without forcing the tile menu on you
- We got proper shutdown, restart, and logout selections in places you would kind of expect. Still, doing the lower-left to upper-right mouse'ing from Start Button to Tile Shutdown was a lot too much
- Overall the interface was cleaned up in lots of places and made the overall experience feeling much more responsive compared to Windows 7
What is more important: Windows 10 brought us stuff CoolGeeks did not need: Cortana and the stupid, stupid Settings dialogue where yet another intermediate configuration tool was inserted between the user, the Windows Control Panel, and popup dialogues to configure actual settings.
We had an aneurysm a few versions back when they added the "View by category" default instead of the expected "View by icons" in the Windows Control Panel. Little did we know how convoluted it would eventually become.
In the end, probably too much time had passed between the public debacle of Windows 8.0 and Microsoft's need to re-invent its relationship with users in the age of Siri, Echo, and whatever else "always-on" computer overlord monitors were coming of age.
Soo many people failed to upgrade to Windows 8 and then get the free upgrade to Windows 8.1, and then patch to Update 1, and then patch to a current level of MS patches that they were never even exposed to the Best Windows Ever.
Yes, it was worth the effort. No, we do not like Windows 10.
The dirty little secret is that CoolGeeks has not used Windows as a primary desktop for over 20 years.
We are first and foremost, LINUX lovers


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My wife is English and she regularly travels home (once a year on usual) and we have NO problem communicating with facetime or skype. Wifi is prevalent in the EU due the the small size of the countries, and they are years ahead of us with wifi access as well ( a surprise to most Americans).I would imagine rudimentary Spanish might be necessary connect to wifi networks though.On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 12:47 PM, Joanne Finnegan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:I don't know a whole lot about traveling overseas, and did not use Whatsapp so don't know how that would change anything for messaging, but I did travel to Scotland and Ireland last fall and had a lot of warnings from friends about cell phone usage.I would highly advise that each student, or the person paying for the plan, check into all the ins and outs of their plan and their specific phone. I called Verizon directly to find out what I needed to turn off on the phone and exactly what an international plan would provide. Even with an international plan, which I added for around $45 without needing a different sim card, text messaging pictures could have added a lot of additional charges. I had to think carefully before using text messaging the way I do at home. A friend of mine told me that, even with the International plan, she texted pictures back and forth from Italy when a new baby was born in the family and had a $1000 bill when she got home!Here is a list of questions Apple provides for their products: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201643As for wi-fi, I know Scotland and Ireland may have better access than Spain, and our hotels were mostly 3 or 4 star, but we had free wi-fi in all of our hotels even if it was only in the lobby or public areas. Our tour bus also had free wi-fi, as do many busses and trains in Europe though it may not be speedy or dependable.Joanne--On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 8:16 AM, Erica Zimmer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:A shared google album is a great idea. They could also download an app called WhatsApp to instant message and send photos when they have wifi.On Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 3:09 PM, Raymond Ballou <[log in to unmask]> wrote:KarenThey will either need to-use wifi only ($0)-have an overseas service plan ($$$$)-have an unlocked GSM phone that will accept a local SIM card (they come in 3 sizes) ($$)They could also rent a mifi/hotspot/jetpackI would imagine wifi in spain is fairly good but not as common (number or freeness) as people are accustomed to in the US.ROn Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 3:00 PM, Karen McCalla <[log in to unmask]> wrote:Hi all,We have a group of students traveling to Spain in the next few weeks. The teacher going along says that she's heard that there are some ways that kids could be sending/sharing photos with people at home while they are overseas from their phones. Everything I can find seems to confirm that students won't be able to use their phones at all on European networks unless they purchase a new SIM card and international plan through their carrier.If you've had students traveling overseas recently, have they discovered any cool ways to share photos with folks at home (that don't require a new SIM card and phone plan)? She's also heard that there are some ways to rent international phones. Has anyone ever done that (personally, or for a school trip)?Thanks for any help you can provide!
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South Royalton School
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802-763-3233 fax--Erica ZimmerELL/Technology Integration SpecialistRutland Central Supervisory UnionTwitter @NerdyMaestra
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Manage your Subscription to SCHOOL-ITJoanne FinneganEducator/Technology Integration Specialist--Russell Gregory
Technology Integration Specialist
Swanton Elementary School24 Fourth StreetSwanton, VT 05488
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Millie | Acton MA Newborn Photographer
Receiving this in an email made my day.
"Oh. My. God. I just LOVE all the photos! I love how you captured our family in such a natural way. I often feel so different looking at us in pictures because we put on a good camera smily face than when we are off the camera. Just love your style and how you were able to capture such precious moments."
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120 Year Anniversary of Bruny Island Race
This year marks 120 years since the first Bruny Island Race, then called the Ocean Race, was run on 19th March 1898. It wasn't a sure thing that the race could be organised by the Derwent Sailing Club (RYCT) as outlined in the below article, published in The Mercury newspaper on Monday 21st March 1898, with prize money being the biggest hurdle. But the race was undertaken by 8 starters with close racing and some challenging conditions :
Please note: the following article is exactly transcribed from the original article published in 1898 with only minor spelling corrections. It is believed the finishing times are + 1 day.
The ocean yacht race has been the theme of general discussion in yachting circles for weeks past. Enthusiasts were anxious that the proposal when mooted should be converted into a reality as soon as possible, but there was a difficulty to be surmounted in the matter of providing prizes. This happily, was overcome by some subscribers donating the first prize, the second and third being made up from the money received for entries. It was decided that the race should be sailed under the auspices of the Derwent Sailing Club, which is entitled to more liberal support than it is accorded because to its officers the public are indebted in no small measure for keeping the yachting spirit alive in the Southern portion of the Island.
The ocean race is the first of its kind held In Tasmania, and, so far as can be ascertained, in Australia. The prizes are rather small, but endeavours will be made to make the event an annual one, with much increased awards. Such contests as these are calculated to go a long way in keeping yachting to the front. On this occasion, only cruisers on the Derwent Sailing Club's register were eligible to compete. A desire has been expressed that next year the race should be open to yachts in any part of the island on the register of Tasmanian clubs. The latter condition would be likely to make the event much more popular and would tend in a far greater degree to a better class of boats being added to the clubs' register.
Saturday last was the day fixed for the inauguration of the ocean race, and if people were anxious for it to start they were equally, if not more eager, for it to be concluded. Earlier in the week it was resolved to send the yachts away at 9 a.m., but out of respect to the memory of the late Chief Justice (Sir Lambert Dobson), whose funeral was appointed for Saturday forenoon, the committee of the Derwent Sailing Club postponed the departure of competitors until noon. Shortly before this hour a number of enthusiasts assembled on the Esplanade, off which was the starting point, and the hoisting of the Derwent Sailing Club's ensign on the staff de-noted that the course was round Bruny as arranged, the yachts returning by way of the channel. The race was a handicap one. The starting of all the yachts together and deducting time allowances on completion of the race is far better than doing otherwise, all yachts thereby being on equal terms as regards the wind and weather.
There were eight starters, and the following were the handicaps: – Gift, 42ft , scratch; Clytie, 40ft, and Niobe 35ft 1 hour; Ella, 33ft, and Surprise, 28ft 6in , 2 hours; Viking, 21ft, 3 hours; Maysie, 25ft and Sunbeam, 28ft, 3 1/2 hours. The Coquette, which was the only other entry, was placed in the same category as the Maysie and Sunbeam, but did not compete.
At noon the signal to start was given Niobe and Viking were first to cross the line, followed by Ella and Clytie, then Maysie. Gift, Surprise, and Sunbeam came to the line later on, the first named crossing it 10 min after those first away The Sur-prise and Sunbeam lost a little time in passing outside the buoy, having to be called back to go inside. These two were 4 min behind the Gift. The wind was S.E. Mr. Duffy, the signalman at Mount Nelson, kindly supplied the times of the yachts passing the Iron Pot as follows: -Gift, 3 55 p.m.; Niobe, 3 55; Ella, 4 3; Clytie, 4 5; Sunbeam, 4 25; Maysie, 4 40; Viking,4 42; Surprise, 4 45.
A very even race ensued with Niobe, Clytie, and Ella for first place to Derwent light. Light S.E winds then prevailed, and all boats but Maysie got on western shore, with Gift leading. Cape Frederick Henry was passed by the Niobe at 10 45 p.m. , very little wind all night; Fluted Cape at 3 50 a.m. , and Friars Rocks at 6 40 a.m. Surprise and Gift were well ahead, the other boats close together in the following order: -Sunbeam, Niobe, Clytie, Ella, with Viking and Maysie well behind. A smart N.W. breeze, with confused sea, prevailed to South Bruny light, on the lead to which the Niobe, Clytie, and Ella passed the Sunbeam. The Niobe exchanged signals with keeper at 8.35 a.m.; moderate but buffing winds to Partridge Island, passed at 10.45 a.m. by Clytie, Niobe, and Ella all close together, and well ahead of Sunbeam, Viking, and Maysie. A splendid race ensued to Three Hut Point between Niobe, Clytie, and Ella, with hard N.W. breeze in heavy squalls. A lengths difference between the three boats at jetty, which was passed at 12.20 p.m. Ella lost ground by trouble with her jib-topsail, Clytie being in the lead at King Horn Point, passed at 1.20 p.m. Heavy S.W. squalls with rain struck the boats off Barnes Bay, causing them to take in their topsails and lower mainsails on deck. The Pilot Station was passed at 2 20 p.m. by the Niobe. The breeze moderated, and squaresails and topsails were carried, bringing the little vessels along at a good speed.
The yachts passed the winning buoy in the following order: – Gift, 3h. 5min. 30sec. ; Surpirse, 3h. 40min.; Clytie, 3h. 47min. 25sec. , Niobe, 3h. 57min. 6sec. , Ella 4hr. 16min. 10sec. , Sunbeam, 4h. 46min. 12sec. , Viking, 5h. 36min. 5sec. , Maysie, 5h. 37min. 3sec.
Deducting time allowances the position of the yachts as regards prizes stand thus: -Sunbeam, £12 1, Surprise, £6, 2 , Maysie, £3 3; Viking, Ella, Clytie, Niobe, Gift.
The Sunbeam was sailed by Mr. Percival Douglas, the crew consisting of Messers. J. Douglas, D. Addison, and L. A. Evans
The sailing committee comprised Messers H.W. Knight (Commodore), J. W. Tarleton and J. E. Philip, assisted by Captain Milford McArthur.


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The difficult work of journalists exposing crimes in Afrin
Northern Syrian journalists said international media are silent on the genocide carried out by the Turkish army and mercenaries in Afrin
Journalists working in Northern Syria talked to ANHA about the reality of the occupying Turkish state and its mercenary allies and its effects on human rights violations in Afrin.
Noting that the occupying Turkish state's attacks in Afrin turned in fact into a full occupation, Free Press Union co-chair, Azad Sipan Can said: "Many states, beginning from Russia, have planned this occupation together. Some states gave arm support to Turkey, while other remained silent as it was in their own interests".
Sipan Can added that those who have conscience cannot remain silence watching the crimes committed and still being committed by the Turkish state in Afrin.
"The occupying Turkish army and mercenaries are carrying out massacres every day leaving hundreds of civilian victims. Remaining silent on this is not an option".
Sipan Can said: "The Turkish state does not respect the rights of journalism, does not allow journalists to publish the facts, but instead arrests and persecute journalists. For this reason, - Can added - Turkish army do not allow the press to go to Afrin and follow the crimes they have committed".
Journalist Cano Şakir spoke about the inhuman policies of the Turkish state against civilians in Afrin.
"The crimes and rights violations carried out by the Turkish state in Afrin since March - he said - have not occurred elsewhere in Syria. Every day from the region we get news of death. Unfortunately, though, the silence on what is happening in Afrin is deafening".
Cano Şakir described what people are living in Afrin as a genocide.
"Every day there are reports of yet more death. - he said - This is genocide. Despite the fact that some international human rights organizations have condemned the policies of the Turkish state in Afrin, there are many more world media that have remained silent and have not produced any reports".
Cano Shakir said that journalists working within the framework of the Free Press Union (YRA), are increasing the role of visual and written documentation on the people living in Afrin.
Shakir ended his remarks by saying that the international media are actually silent on what is happening in Afrin because they are linked to state politics. He added tha covering up the crimes committed in Afrin actually amounts to a political decision and could not be accepted.


text: Cannot find a song I've been working on for two weeks in Logic Pro X. This is completely strange. I'm always hitting save. I looked in my latest Time Machine back up and it's not there. I put a lot of time and work into this arrangement and can't find it. Has this ever happened to any one before? I typed the title in Spotlight and it doesn't come up either. When I open Logic and go to Recent Events, where all my other arrangements are listed, it's not there either.


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With rates starting from 2.04% on its new STB0 product tier, Secure Trust Bank is now offering its cheapest ever mortgages.
The new tier is available to clients who have no CCJs in the last 36 months, but Secure Trust Bank can consider clients with more recent telecoms, utilities or mail order defaults. Fixed rates are available for two, three and five years, the maximum LTV is 90% and the standard arrangement fee is £1,499.
On a gtwo-year fixed rate, prices start at 2.04% up 65% LTV and are available for 2.14% up to 70% LTV, 2.24% up to 75% LTV, 2.44% up to 80% LTV, 2.84% up to 85% LTV and 3.74% up to 90% LTV.
The cheapest available three-year fixed rate is 2.44% up to 65% LTV and the cheapest five-year fixed rate is 3.24% up to 65% LTV.
Products on STB0 are also available for £0 product fee, with rates available from 2.84% up to 65% LTV on a two-year fixed rate, 3.14% on a three-year fixed rate and 3.84% on a five-year fixed rate.
Tony Hall, sales & marketing director at Secure Trust Bank Mortgages, said: "The launch of our STB0 product range marks the introduction of our cheapest ever mortgages, but it doesn't change our commitment to use individual underwriting and flexible criteria so that a strong case never goes ignored.
"This means that we can help brokers to place cases that might prove too difficult for other lenders, such as the recently self-employed, contract workers, applicants with complex income and older borrowers."


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We are pleased to announce that Christi Clark will be assuming the role of Executive Director of Insight Memory Care Center! Having previously served as our Director of Education and Support, and most recently our Assistant Director, she brings a depth of understanding to the mission of Insight, along with exceptional service to participants and families, and a strong reputation within the community.
We are incredibly grateful to Joel Bednoski and his years of service to Insight, playing an integral role in bringing Insight to our wonderful location at Pender Drive. He is assisting in a smooth transition of duties this summer, and is happy to leave Insight in such capable hands. We are all looking forward to welcoming Christi into this new role!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Christi directly at 703-204-4664 or email@example.com.
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Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:34:12 -0000
To: AM-GLOBAL
From: Divyamshu Deva
Subject: Baba Story: I Misused My Sadhana Begotten Powers
"Maneri gahane tumi a'cho, a'cho prabhu sada' jege a'cho…" (Prabhat Samgiita #4380)
Baba, You are always remaining in the depths of my mind– You never leave me. You always remain awake. You go on working day and night, beyond the time. You never stop. Baba, whatever You want to do, You go on doing.
Baba, this whole expressed universe is Your eternal game. You are ever-present: beginningless and endless. You are ever-intoxicated in Your divine flow. You are the Goal of everyone– everyone wants You. You are remaining with one and all.
Baba, those who are trying to come close to You by their virtuous deeds and shravan, manan, nididhyasana, & dhyana, only they are able to come to You. Only they are able to realise You and have Your grace and proximity. Baba, You are grace-Personified…
Note: Family Acarya Babanji of Bihar had many personal experiences with Baba. Here below is Ac Babanji's first-hand account of what happened when he went to one village and did AM pracara.
It was the beginning of 1960, and Baba told me to go out and do pracara. So I went to one village in Monghyr district and organised a tattva sabha (small spiritual meeting). Taking Baba's name, I gave a talk on Ananda Marga philosophy. Thereafter, by His grace, many persons became inspired and 20 people took initiation.
After that, one person approached me and he was extremely angry. I came to know that he was a disciple of another guru and he was furious because some of that guru's followers from the village had just taken AM initiation after my talk.
The person exclaimed, "Do not teach meditation to disciples of my guru."
I quietly told him, "I do not know who is disciple of whom. I did not ask anybody anything about that. I simply taught those who expressed interest and requested me to teach them AM meditation."
He then challenged me, "If you show your power then you can teach meditation here, otherwise leave this village immediately!"
I explained, "Spiritual power is not to be displayed or exhibited."
But then I thought I should try convince this person, otherwise his mandate will completely hinder and negate my pracara efforts in this area.
I told him, "Okay, come and sit by me."
I took Baba's name and put my right hand on his head and told him to concentrate. I closed my eyes. He sat there and tried to meditate. He was quiet for some time and then after about 20 minutes he opened his eyes and grabbed my feet.
He exclaimed, "I realised what I wanted! I have been following mu guru for the last 12 years and he did not give me anything. But today I got everything I wanted."
I could see that he was very inspired and thankful. He was now supporting me.
After that experience, when I sat for sadhana, I felt totally distracted. Sadhana was suddenly extremely difficult for me. My mind was wandering here and there – it was impossible to concentrate. And the absolute worst part was that I felt no attraction for Parama Purusa. Earlier, whenever I would sit for sadhana, I would immediately feel a strong devotional pull towards Him, by His grace. But now that was gone. I was feeling totally lost and alone, completely frustrated and despondent.
In that utterly desperate state, I reached Jamalpur.
As soon as I was called to see Him, Baba scolded me, "Whatever sadhana you had you destroyed and now you have become a beggar. Why did you do this?"
I understood immediately that this was all because of displaying my sadhana power.
Seeing Baba's disappointment, I was full of remorse. I accepted my mistake and requested Baba, "Forgive me I will never do such things again."
Then Baba graciously blessed me and my sadhana came back to its normal flow. I never did such type of a display again.
From all this, I got the lesson that every Ananda Margii has sadhana begotten powers, whether they know it or not. But that shakti (energy) is for our spiritual growth and development. It is part of our inner journey towards Him, and not to be used for any crude, external display.
By the above story as told by Ac Babanji, it is clear that as the Sadguru, Baba watches over us always and keeps us safe. He does not want our sadhana begotten powers to be used as that will plunge us onto the path of degradation.
It is just like if a small child is playing in the kitchen, then the parents will keep a strict watch to ensure their child remains safe and out of harm's way. Similarly, Baba watches over all His children to ensure they do not fall from the path by using their sadhana powers.
To use such powers is nothing but to fall into the fateful clutch of maya. Indeed, maya wants you to misuse your powers and remain in her clutch. The allurement to use such powers comes exclusively from her, i.e. avidya maya. This Baba has described in His book, Elementary Philosophy.
You may have heard that avidya tantrikas practice for only a few days to get certain siddhis. But for Ananda Margiis, even after years of practice we often do not perceive that we have power because Baba keeps those powers under lock and key. He does not want His disciples to misuse them and thereby destroy their spiritual future. Baba wants us advance ahead and reach the goal whereas to display such puts one in reverse gear.
In those Jamalpur years of the 1950's and early 1960's, many sadhakas got powers by doing sadhana. This was needed in order to show them that meditation is not just some useless or impotent endeavor. Baba wanted them to take sadhana seriously. And they developed powers that were tangibly and visibly perceptible to all.
But when they used their powers as a form of self-display etc, Baba graciously made the system that His disciples will not perceive their power – it will be hidden. Still this is the case today. This is Baba's special way of protecting us and keeping us moving toward our ultimate goal, Parama Purusa.
Baba says, "People use the power that comes from sádhaná in order to win the admiration of others. The exhibition of one's supernatural powers would make others extol, respect or even worship one. Others would look upon one as a great devotee (sádhaka). This is the only reason behind the display of one's powers. A desire to command respect and devotion from others is only being entrapped by vanity (mána) and pride (mada) of avidyámáyá. The use of power for such objects is the pursuit of avidyámáyá, and the pursuit of avidyámáyá leads to degradation. Hence any use of supernatural power brings one under the control of avidyámáyá, which inevitably leads to a fall and to degradation." (Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, Intuitional Practice and Its Necessity)
Note: EARLIER STORY TOLD BY AC. BABANJI
Here is an earlier Baba story as recounted by Sri Baban ji.


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Bring a track to Massachusetts sign now
The following is a petition to get a quarter mile drag racing track in the state of Massachusetts. With street racing on the rise, people are looking for a place to race their cars. Racing is not a fad. It is not a phase. People race for a living and it is here to stay. As the deaths from street racing continue to rise, people are looking for a safe place to race their cars. With tracks over an hour away from Boston, it is essential that we get a track in this state to assure the safety of everyone on the road. At all tracks there are hired paramedics and EMTs to make sure that everyone involved are as safe as possible. Please sign the following to show your support of a racing track in Massachusetts.
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Fragmentation has well-known serious consequences for biodiversity, but what about consequences for people? Most landscapes that are heavily fragmented, like agricultural or urban areas, are not only managed for biodiversity, but also to provide benefits, or ecosystem services, to people. What are the effects of fragmentation on things like pollination, pest regulation, water purification, or even recreation? This is a critical question if we want to manage human-dominated landscapes for both biodiversity and ecosystem services.
In a recent study, I, along with a number of co-authors, tried to answer this question conceptually. The core of our framework is that service provision depends on supply, demand, and flow. First, an ecosystem has to be able to generate or supply a potential benefit for people. This supply often depends on biodiversity. Second, there has to be demand by people for this service. Finally, people have to interact with the ecosystem to gain the benefit. This final step is what we call an ecosystem service flow. These flows depend on the movement of organisms, matter, and people across landscapes.
As an example, think about a local park where people go bird-watching. This recreation service depends on the park's capacity to support a diverse bird community (supply), people that enjoy birds and like getting up early (demand), but also on the ability of people to access the park (flow). Similarly, pollination depends on natural habitat that can support pollinators (supply), crops that depend on pollination (demand), and the ability of pollinators to access these fields (flow).
We argued that fragmentation can impact service flows both negatively and positively. Roads, pipelines, and land clearing can impair the ability of organisms to move across landscapes, with potential negative effects on biodiversity and service supply. However, fragmentation can also intersperse people and ecosystems and put them in closer proximity to each other, potentially increasing flows. These contrasting effects mean that the consequences of fragmentation are likely to be very diverse. We therefore need to think carefully about how landscape changes impact the flows of multiple ecosystem services.
A critical next step is to test our conceptual framework. As part of a larger research project in the agricultural landscapes in southern Quebec, I found that the size and isolation of forest fragments affect their ability to supply a number of ecosystem services, including pest regulation. In turn, field sizes and hedgerows influenced pest regulation flows, altering the ability of insect pests and predators to move across the landscape. Currently, I'm working in Brisbane, Australia, to understand how urban landscape structure affects the supply of carbon storage, flood regulation, and microclimate regulation and the flow of these services to urban residents.
While scientific understanding of service flows is critical, equally important is integrating this knowledge into landscape-scale decision-making tools and mechanisms. Only in this way can we create truly multi-functional landscapes that remain connected to support people and biodiversity.
Mitchell, M.G.E. 2016. Fragmentation and ecosystem services: connecting a fragmented landscape with human wellbeing. Decision Point 94: 10-11.
Mitchell, M.G.E., E. M. Bennett, and A. Gonzalez. 2014. Forest fragments modulate the provision of multiple ecosystem services. Journal of Applied Ecology 51(4): 909-918.
Mitchell, M.G.E., E. M. Bennett, and A. Gonzalez. 2014. Agricultural landscape structure affects arthropod diversity and arthropod-derived ecosystem services. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 192: 144-151.
Mitchell, M.G.E., E. M. Bennett, A. Gonzalez, M. J. Lechowicz, J. M. Rhemtulla, J. A. Cardille, K. Vanderheyden, G. Poirier-Ghys, D. Renard, S. Delmotte, C. H. Albert, B. Rayfield, M. Dumitru, H. H. Huang, M. Larouche, K. N. Liss, D. Y. Maguire, K. T. Martins, M. Terrado, C. Ziter, L. Taliana, and K. Dancose. 2015. The Montérégie Connection: linking landscapes, biodiversity, and ecosystem services to improve decision making. Ecology and Society 20(4): art15.
Mitchell, M.G.E., A. F. Suarez-Castro, M. Martinez-Harms, M. Maron, C. A. McAlpine, K. J. Gaston, K. Johansen, and J. Rhodes. 2015. Reframing landscape fragmentation's effects on ecosystem services. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 30(4): 190-198.


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BESTie is back after promotions for their debut song, with Love Options. It has been 5 months or so, from the top of my head since the band debuted and seriously, this band is becoming one of the best rookies of the year. On that note, though, welcome o the new look KPOPreviewed. Every year now, I have changed the layout and I thought this theme had a bit of brightness to it, whereas my past few themes and layouts did not, they were mainly dark. I also thought the home page looks awesome and puts all the feature images to work really well. So do you guys like it? Hahahaha…. But enough me, onto the review.
The song is really addictive. Like, as soon as I heard it, I literally fell in love with the song and had it stuck in head continuously. It has that modern yet retro feel and theme to it. It seems like something that would've come out in the 90's but was upgraded for the 2010's. I have to say, though, it is much better than their debut song. The chorus is really catchy, and also that "Do, do do~" part as well. Got that part stuck in my mind for a very long time. The raps in this song are really cool and the vocals were superb. The song itself seems to talk about how insecure a girl is about her love life. But still, a really good song.
To me, the music video is quite dull. Everything in the video fits the song lyrics perfectly, however, the video was not that appealing to me. I watched it for the song only I guess, not for the video itself. It lacks the energy that the song has and has carried throughout the whole song. The song has really cool elements to it. The song talks about a guy who has money and would the girls things. From what I see, the girls have what they want, the shoes, diamonds, fame but they seem to be bored of what they have. I think they realised that the guy they are with are not really perfect and start singing about their "ideal" guy, I also love the pop culture reference with the "Keep Calm" poster in one of the scenes. I also love the mock video with that guy from their debut video in there as the panda who goes crazy. I will link it in the playlist below for you guys. ^^
The dance is really amazing and I love every aspect of the dance. It is quite feminine for me, but it is still a great dance.
8.5/10. Really good comeback from such a rookie group. Thier performances have not been cut that much compared to other artists, which is a sign that they are being loved by fans.


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Not sure who's writing the Economist's Charlemagne column on Europe these days, but this observation in an article on Nicolas Sarkozy made me laugh out loud:
At the end of the Brussels summit on December 11th and 12th, Mr Sarkozy declared that the meeting would "go down in European history". In ways he found "fantastic", he had shaken up the EU's habits, tripling the usual number of summits, and pushing his peers towards "less talk and much more action". The word immodest does not do justice to Mr Sarkozy on such occasions. He does not so much brag about his achievements as offer a running commentary about the wonder of being himself. Being in charge of Europe had been "fascinating, fulfilling and rather easy," he commented at one point.


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As a yoga teacher, part of my preparation for each class is to come up with a focus or intention for the practice. This is typically offered through some sort of inspirational reading or compelling offering. My inspiration for the intention or focus for my classes is usually around something that I am currently working on in my life.
I figure, how can I ask my students to work on something if I am not working on it myself?
In the past, I tried surfing the net to find things to inspire me and was not having great success. So I started to search for inspirational quotes to use as my muse. This has proven to be very successful in putting together an offering for my yoga classes. The quotes and readings I use to open my yoga or meditation sessions are becoming so effective that students come up to me after class and ask for a copy of my offering. In fact, this happened recently as I facilitated a guided mediation for my fellow co -workers.
The guided meditation was inspired by a quote that I came across by Nick Vujicik, an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs.
I am honored to share this inspirational tool with you to use when you encounter those times in life when things just aren't going as planned. If we can learn to reframe the way we think and act when we are struggling in life, perhaps we can turn these struggles into the greatest triumphs of our life!
When great demands and struggles happen in our life, it is through our own self-realization and spiritual growth that we are able to experience the triumph that Nick Vujicik references.
It is the struggle that inspires us to move forward in a positive direction. Our challenge becomes whether or not we able to view the struggle as an opportunity, and not as an obstacle.
Are you willing to acknowledge and accept that the struggle you are experiencing today is the strength you are building for tomorrow? For without it, you would never have discovered this strength. The struggle becomes one of our greatest blessings.
Struggle, it makes us patient, sensitive and open. It teaches us that the world is full of struggle, which means the world is also full of others seeking to overcome the struggle. We are not alone in this.
Beyond the struggle is success, failure turned inside out. It is the silver lining to the cloud of doubt. It is the positive that flows from the negative.
A beginning – A struggle – A victory
So no matter how difficult things may seem, stick to the path, steady as it goes. Hold true to who you are at every turn of the road, and every step of the journey, for you never know how close you are to the triumph, or to the reward.
Every worthwhile accomplishment in our lives - big or small - will certainly possess a fair amount of drudgery and triumph.
The road you choose is less important than not choosing a road at all. How you climb the mountain is more important than reaching the top. How you show up in the world, how you will be remembered is not measured by your accomplishments, yet more importantly by the way you achieved those accomplishments. How you see yourself is what matters the most.
The most amazing people in the world are the ones who have known defeat, survived the struggle or suffered a loss, and when all the dust settles they emerge from the depths, victorious.
Embrace your struggle and triumph!
About the Author, Will Zecco
With over 40 years' experience as an entrepreneur, business owner, coach, inspirational speaker and teacher, Will has faced many challenges and struggles. One of his biggest struggles was getting out of his own way. His greatest success has been overcoming the fear and doubt around his ability to look past the struggles of life, choosing instead to view each one as opportunity to grow. Will's journey into the practice and teaching of yoga has played an important role as he steps onto the next part of his path. Will serves the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts as both the Manager of the Entrepreneurial Support Center, as well as a Business Coach for students and graduates, inspiring them to discover their gifts and then take them out into the world. Through Will's desire to step into and claim his gifts, he has turned life's struggles into positive energy and success, achieving his greatest triumph in the process.


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Chinese space station crashes back to Earth
Tiangong-1 said to have largely burnt up during re-entry
China's first ever space station burned up over the southern Pacific Ocean -- ending months of speculation over where and when it would fall.
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, most of Tiangong-1 (meaning "Heavenly Palace") was incinerated when it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere at 8:16 p.m. ET on April 1st.
Global attention over the space station's fate began in 2016, when engineers lost contact with it. After initial speculation, a senior Chinese official confirmed to state media that Tiangong-1 had "ended its data service" and would fall back to the Earth.
China had repeatedly tried to assure everyone that Tiangong-1 would largely burn up after entering the atmosphere -- and any remaining debris was extremely unlikely to cause any danger. It's a view shared by experts around the world, including the European Space Agency, which said you were way more likely to get hit by lightning than space debris.
Usually, space agencies guide old satellites and space stations to make sure that any debris falls safely into the Spacecraft Cemetery -- a remote part of the Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of New Zealand.
But this time, because China had no control over Tiangong-1, there was no way to know exactly where it would fall until right before it happened.
According to Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, it crashed north of the Spacecraft Cemetery, to the northwest of Tahiti.
Tiangong-1 -- approximately the size of a school bus -- launched in 2011 to help its astronauts and engineers practice docking missions.
Under the original plan, it was supposed to retire in two years -- the last time it hosted astronauts was in 2013. But China decided to keep it in orbit beyond its original retirement.
Losing control of Tiangong-1 is an embarrassing hiccup in China's space ambitions, but it hasn't dampened the country's goal to set up a bigger, permanent space station sometime around 2022.
The country's second space station Tiangong-2 -- launched in 2016 -- is still in orbit, and successfully docked with the country's first cargo spacecraft last year.


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The Rangers are out on a west coast swing and wasted no time Saturday getting on the board early.
After winning the opening faceoff, the Rangers dumped the puck in before Mika Zibanejad intercepted the Ducks' attempted breakout pass. He found himself in all alone with John Gibson, made a move to his backhand and went top shelf to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead just 10 seconds into the contest.
Mika Zibanejad: Duck Hunter 🦆- Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) December 14, 2019
(via @NHL) pic.twitter.com/nxLIcHe20j
Artemi Panarin, who had a hat trick in Thursday's win over the Sharks, scored in his fourth straight game to make it a 2-0 Rangers lead less than four minutes into the game.


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The pride flag is a well-known symbol of solidarity for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community, so why isn't it flying at buildings of all levels of Canadian government throughout entire year?
Saskatoon city council voted in favour of raising the pride flag at City Hall on Feb. 10 in response to anti-gay laws in Russia, which happens to be the host country of this year's Winter Olympics. Saskatoon followed other cities in Canada who were also making this symbolic gesture.
That said, the notion to raise the pride flag in Saskatoon is only due to Russia's stance on LGBTQ issues. While this is a positive move, it sparks other questions for inquiry.
Why is it that LGBTQ issues primarily only come to the forefront of the news when they appear in a negative context?
Pride Week takes place once a year in many major centres across the globe and arguably is the only permissible time that gay pride gets to be highlighted as something positive in many communities.
The rest of the year it seems that LGBTQ communities are more likely to be defending their rights, regardless of what the circumstances might be. As a result, the pride flags tend to fly only when oppression is in the air.
Even on our own University of Saskatchewan campus, Huskies men's hockey coach Dave Adolph voluntarily outed himself as someone who used gay slang in an email. While I appreciate that Adolph dealt with his mistake honorably, the issue of using gay slang was only illuminated because of something negative that had happened.
Perhaps it takes these kinds of mistakes to create positive changes in any situation and context, but I refuse to accept the idea that something bad has to happen in order for us all to learn and change constructively. Good results can come from good circumstances too.
I'd rather live in a world that celebrates gay pride 365 days of the year because being a part of the LGBTQ community is something awesome. Being gay is an honour and don't you forget it.
I don't want to see the City of Saskatoon or our Canadian government raise their pride flags only when defending gay rights becomes an issue. We are better than that. We are prouder than that.
Keeping the pride flag raised at every level of Canadian government all year would demonstrate that we as Canadians are proud of our LGBTQ communities, in good times and in times of turmoil. We're not just proud when we need to be; we're proud all the time.
After all, Canada is a leader in many regards the world over. Perhaps if we show our gay pride throughout the year, other countries will follow suit. How wonderful would it be for tourists of Canada to visit cities with pride flags flying high? Imagine what kind of message that would send.
And really, it is just a flag. But it's a flag that symbolizes the rights of those who are often identified as "different," seeing as how members of LGBTQ communities fall outside the hegemonic ideal of having a heterosexual sexual orientation. If you don't think it's necessary for pride flags to fly at all times, maybe reevaluate how homophobic many people still are.
In fact, it's ironic that pride flags have gone up all over the country because of apparent homophobia is Russia, when I'm sure homophobia exists in our own city.
Of course it's important that Canada take a stand against a Russian government that doesn't support LGBTQ rights, but it's also important for Canada to continuously support it's own LGBTQ community throughout the whole year.
Mayor Don Atchison argues that Saskatoon has an "open and embracing and inclusive community," according to an interview in the StarPhoenix, but where has Mayor Atchison been at all of Saskatoon's Pride Week festivities since he's been mayor? One more reason to keep the pride flag flying high — it might add some color to the view from Mayor Atchison's office.
While Canada supports its LGBTQ community on paper — legalizing gay marriage in 2005 — what appears on paper isn't always what's executed in practice. At least as Canadians we have the laws in place to protect us all.
If our own elected mayor doesn't attend the one pride parade per year, I'd think that there are others within our "inclusive" community of Saskatoon that have similar attitudes. Even if Atchison is positive toward the LGBTQ community, his inaction sends a message that is more often than not interpreted negatively.
While leading a parade full of rainbow flags, drag queens and condom-filled treat bags might not be for everyone, I'd hope that someone in a leadership position like Mayor Don would at least come and watch the event take place.
So yes, I think it's amazing that as a country and city we are showing our own protest against Russia's anti-gay laws by raising our pride flag at city hall. But I also believe we should keep our pride flags flying to show our continuous support for our own LGBTQ community.
Graphic: Rhea Lonsdale


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Outsourcing your Accounting Services
How many hours do you really have in one day? Of the 24 hours in a day Americans spend approximately 1 hour and 14 minutes for eating each day, according to an April 15, 2011 article from Forbes magazine. The average American sleeps 6 hours and 27 minutes a night. The average US commute time is 51 minutes round trip. Don't forget bathroom trips which account for approximately 15 minutes per day. At this point you have just spent 8 hours and 7 minutes of your 24 hours just performing basic necessary tasks. The average work day in the US is 8.7 hours. We are now down to 7 hours and 12 minutes of "other" time (yes, the total calculated equals 24.1 hours due to rounding). This is time that could be spent with your family, working on a hobby or building and supporting a business.
I don't know about you, but once I leave the office for the day the last thing I want to do is what I have just spent the last 8.7 hours doing. I love my job, but I want to spend my final 7.2 hours doing something fun. If you are running a business, there are aspects of your business you enjoy focusing your attention on. However, when you are finally "off the clock" do you want to focus on other tasks within your business that need to be performed to keep it running at a successful level?
In researching this topic, accounting and financial services were actually one of the first services that businesses started outsourcing. In fact, outsourcing accounting services is the top priority for Chief Financial Officer's (CFO's) for several Fortune 500 companies. Obviously, the cost reduction aspect is the most attractive reason to outsource services. Companies no longer have to fork out money, time and resources to a room full of employees. Think about this. Companies are paying on average approximately $40,000.00 per employee in payroll. This does not take into account health benefits, staff costs to process human resources activities related to the employee, furniture, computers, utilities, etc. Your cost per employee could easily double to $80,000.00. Now, add a room full of employees, each performing a different task from payroll to payables to receivables. You are now easily in six figures that absorb any profit your business may be seeing.
The other chief reason CFO's are outsourcing accounting services is that it is more efficient. This efficiency is decreasing the time it takes for businesses to close their books at the end of the month, quarter or year. The cycle for receivables is shorter than using in-house accounting. Payables are less likely to be past due since the outsourced accountant is monitoring cash flow cycles for their client.
OK, I know what you are thinking. My business is not large enough to outsource accounting services. Heck, I am my CFO. I understand that, so think about this. The average person spends 16 hours a day on the Internet. If employees are spending 8.7 hours at work, 8.2 on essential human performance and 7.2 on their own time, when are they spending 16 hours online? Some of that time bleeds over into the work day. Your employees are already not spending the time they are working for you, actually working for you.
Many business owners feel they are losing control by outsourcing accounting services. Here are some facts for you to ponder. Outsourced services are actually managed more stringently than in-house services. Why? Because this is what the outsourced firm do, and they are responsible for providing deliverables to their client. In-house employees may only be trying to hold onto their job and tend to take longer to perform tasks in an effort to show their value. The outsourced firm also provides cleaner metrics to business owners that allow them to make more informed decisions for their business as a whole. This objectivity allows the outsourced accountant to coach the client on sensitive matters.
Outsourcing allows the business owner, and the businesses employees to focus on their core competencies. If you are running a landscaping business, you want to focus on activities related to landscaping, not bookkeeping. Finally, remember that accounting team that costs your business over six figures a year? With an outsourced accounting firm your costs just went down significantly since you only pay for the services you use and the time it takes to do them. You also get a team of people supporting your business.
In addition to the standard accounting services you are getting services that go beyond. Your business now has a resource that can explain what the figures in your finances actually mean. You have a resource that can assist you in creating a realistic budget. You have a resource that can track forecasting. You have a resource that can design and implement internal controls of the finances within your organization. All this information provides business owners with benchmarks and baselines to track and manage the financial performance of their organization.
Outsourced Accounting Services save your business time and money. They are scalable to utilize only the services your business needs. They cut your overhead significantly since you are not paying employees, you are not paying extra utilities, desk charges or computer charges or software licensing fees. You have more time to spend on your business instead of in your business. You also have access to clearer information to make decisions that increase the profitability and performance of your business.