text:
The company sought to completely change how we interact with computers, but now Leap Motion is selling itself off.
Apple reportedly tried to get their hands on the hand-tracking tech, which Leap Motion rebuffed, but now the hyped nine-year-old consumer startup is being absorbed into the younger, enterprise-focused UltraHaptics. The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal this morning; we've heard the same from a source familiar with the deal.
The report further detailed that the purchase price was a paltry $30 million, nearly one-tenth the company's most recent valuation. CEO Michael Buckwald will also not be staying on with the company post-acquisition, we've learned.
Leap Motion raised nearly $94 million off of their mind-bending demos of their hand-tracking technology, but they were ultimately unable to ever zero in on a customer base that could sustain them. Even as the company pivoted into the niche VR industry, the startup remained a solution in search of a problem.
In 2011, when we first covered the startup, then called OcuSpec, it had raised $1.3 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund. At the time, Buckwald told us that he was building motion-sensing tech that was "radically more powerful and affordable than anything currently available," though he kept many details under wraps.
As the company first began to showcase its tech publicly, an unsustainable amount of hype began to build for the pre-launch module device that promised to replace the keyboard and mouse for a PC. The device was just a hub of infrared cameras; the magic was in the software that could build skeletal models of a user's hands and fingers with precision. Leap Motion's demos continued to impress; the team landed a $12.8 million Series A in 2012 and went on to raise a $30 million Series B the next year.
In 2013, we talked with an ambitious Buckwald as the company geared up to ship their consumer product the next year.
The launch didn't go as well as planned for Leap Motion, which sold 500,000 of the modules to consumers. The device was hampered by poor developer support and a poorly unified control system. In the aftermath, the company laid off a chunk of employees and began to more seriously focus its efforts on becoming the main input for virtual reality and augmented reality headsets.
Leap Motion nabbed $50 million in 2017 after having pivoted wholly to virtual reality.
The company began building its own AR headset, all while it was continuing to hock tech to headset OEMs, but at that point the company was burning through cash and losing its lifelines.
The company's sale to UltraHaptics, a startup that has long been utilizing Leap Motion's tech to integrate its ultrasonic haptic feedback solution, really just represents what a poor job Leap Motion did isolating their customer base and its unwillingness to turn away from consumer markets.
Hand-tracking may still end up changing how we interact with our computers and devices, but Leap Motion and its later investors won't benefit from blazing that trail.


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Envisioned by Pete Thomas, actualized by Edward Pillinger, and refaced by Norbert Stachel; this PPT mouthpiece lives up to its 'Power' moniker. But is this particular piece I'm reviewing actually representative of the model as conceived by Pete? I suspect that it's not quite the same as factory spec.
DISCLAIMER/REMINDER: As a general rule, the sound you get from any mouthpiece is dependent on a number of factors. These include the players physiology, the horn, the reed chosen, the mouthpiece and most importantly the players sound concept. The sound concept is the internal tone each player hears in their head. If you prefer a darker tone then no matter what your body will find a way to darken the tone. Consider how Don Menza can sound like Webster, Coltrane, and Hawkins just by hearing the sound in his head. His well practiced body then makes changes to give him the desired tone.
DESIGN: This piece is made of a beautiful translucent resin created by Ed Pillinger called Onyxite. The eye catching material makes it stand out immediately. As soon as I had this piece on my horn the other sax players in the big band had questions. The barrel shape of the body is larger than your typical Berg Larsen but smaller than a vintage pickle barrel bari piece. As I had to default to a Rovner ligature though the Rico H provided by the mouthpieces owner worked fine the Rovner gave a bit more grab on the reed.
The modifications to this piece were done very well. Norbert Statchel clearly knows his way around refacer's tools. The table was flat and the tip rail was even and smooth. The level of craftsmanship used in the modifications was quite high.
TONE: Having listened to Pete play his on YouTube I was geared up for a full bodied experience. I prepped myself to enjoy the warmth and presence of a Otto Link on steroids combined with big helping of Berg Larsen tone. What I actually got when I paired it with a few reeds choices was a bit more towards Dukoff Power chamber combined with Rico Metalite with a pinch of Runyon Bionix. In other words it was bright, loud and somewhat hard to control.
On close examination I believe what has happened is that in opening the tip of the mouthpiece the floor of the piece was brought closer to the reed and shrinking the area behind the tip rail. This area is of prime influence to the tone of a mouthpiece. So instead of adding a bit of rollover to the area behind the tip to warm the tone it looks to have been left the same as created. since the person I borrowed the piece from purchased it already modified it is not possible to know if the option of working the baffle was available and not selected or never considered.
Reed friendliness: I usually use Légère reeds or as of late Forestone reeds. This mouthpiece was a bit unruly with the Légère but worked well with the Forestone and Rico Jazz Select Unfiled. The larger tip opening required me to use a half step lower than my normal strength in order to get responsive articulation palm notes that were not out of tune.
VALUE: As this particular piece as modified does not work well for me I can say that original PPT mouthpieces are an excellent value. Whether you buy them new or used they seem to be under represented in the marketplace. Also adding to their value is the fact that Pete Thomas donates all profit from direct sales from his site to charity. This act of giving increases the value of these piece tremendously. Pete's Fundraising Information Page
TAKE AWAY: The original PPT as purchased at Pete's page may be one of the top 10 value per dollar spent on bari mouthpieces. This modified piece however is an acquired taste. It's loud to be certain and quite powerful but forget about playing this piece in a big band. This is a power player and can fend off electric instruments as well as any charging predators. (please don't attempt to defend yourself from a charging predator with a saxophone).
[huge_it_gallery id="3″]

subset: commoncrawl


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These last few days were cold and rainy. Even though they were the perfect time to enjoy the smell of hot roasted chestnuts in yout chicken :D, i felt the need to do something to cheer me up. So I started doodling and made this embrodery patterns for you to download and sew!
This is an original artwork by SkyTurtle so please don't use this pattern in any commercial purposes. Do use it to give a personal and happy feeling to the objects around you 😀
I specially reccomend them for pillows, scarfs, or tshirts.
So I present you:
The lazy bear,
the curious flowers,
the shy tulip,
and the floral organic, more abstract pattern.
Instructions for use:
- Choose the right embroidery floss needle, and the fabric you want to embroider on.
- If the fabric is light, use fusing interface.
- Print out the patter.
- If the fabric is white of of a pale colour, put the paper against a window and trace the pattern with a pencil (it will wash). If not use carbon paper to trace the pattern onto your fabric. If you have an inkjet printer you can try ironing the paper – with the print facing the fabric. (Be aware that your patter will be fliped on your piece of fabric!)
- Get cozy, get a cup of tea, put some nice music and start embroidering! 🙂
I would love to see your work!


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Connie DeCinko
Member since May 20, 2009
- Profile: /members/3448-connie-decinko.htm
- Comments: 3
Recent Blog Comments By Connie DeCinko
Ask Ben: Selecting Parts of a Date/Time Stamp In SQL
Posted on Dec 1, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Problem is, datePart is not recognized in CF Query of Queries. Any other simple way to get the same results? I need the day, month and year as seperate columns in my QofQ results.... read more »
Ask Ben: Displaying A Blog Teaser (Showing The First N Words)
Posted on Sep 24, 2009 at 6:43 PM
Ben, could this concept also be applied to a text edit box where you wish to limit the user to a certain number of words or characters? Most scripts I've found fail as they include html tags in the character count.... read more »
Handling 404 Errors in ColdFusion (via IIS Throwing 404)
Posted on May 20, 2009 at 5:39 PM
So clarify please... should I or should I not be using this example as my IIS 404 error handler? Is this page going to be hit for every 404 including missing images, etc.?... read more »


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03/04/2019 04/04/2019
The European Migration Forum – the dialogue platform on migration, asylum and migrant integration - met for the fifth time in April 2019.
Participation in the Forum meeting is by invitation only - The deadline for submitting your expression of interest to participate in the European Migration Forum 2019 is over. We thank you for your interest. For any other information you may contact the Forum Secretariat at eu-migration-forumeesc [dot] europa [dot] eu.
Join the discussion online: #EUMigrationForum


text:
You are currently logged into the {0} website. Would you like to logout and instead login to our United States website?
Power over Ethernet (PoE) lets network cables carry electrical power to any device on a network without an outlet or an adapter. It allows one cable to provide power as well as connect a device to your network.
The way it works is simple. Ethernet cable that meets CAT5e (or better) standards consists of four twisted pairs of cable, and PoE sends power over these pairs to PoE-enabled devices. In one method, two wire pairs are used to transmit data, and the remaining
two pairs are used for power. In the other method, power and data are sent over the same pair.
When the same pair is used for both power and data, the power and data transmissions don't interfere with each other. This is known as "phantom power." Phantom power is accomplished by power being transmitted on the data conductors by applying a
common voltage to each pair. Data transmission is not affected since twisted-pair Ethernet uses differential signaling. The center tap of the standard Ethernet pulse transformer is then used to extract the common-mode voltage.
Security cameras, digital signage, video conferencing systems and wireless access points are examples of PoE-compatible devices.
To get the best PoE performance, you need to effectively dissipate heat and keep a cool, stable temperature in your cables. As the temperature of a cable rises, the electrical performance can be degraded. Higher heat dissipation is crucial to increase
physical performance and longevity.
The temperature rating of a cable
indicates the temperature the insulation/jacketing material can sustain.
Cables used for PoE have to have a temperature rating higher than 60°C.
Common temperature ratings for cables are 60°C, 75°C and 90°C.
generation can be the result of conductor resistance in PoE
applications. To improve conductor resistance, choose a cable with a
larger conductor size. A CAT6A cable has a larger conductor size than
CAT5e cable, providing less resistance. The greater the conductor size
of the cable, the more it can reduce conductor resistance.
pair copper cables for PoE applications are typically F/UTP (four
twisted pairs surrounded by some form of shielding in a cable jacket).
UTP (unshielded twisted pair cable) is not recommended for PoE
applications since it cannot dissipate heat as effectively.
and environmental conditions can have a substantial impact on PoE
performance. To avoid increasing temperature, steer clear of
circumstances which could confine heat within a cable such as large
bundles, bundles in close proximity and construction or installations
that are not within accepted guidelines.
loss can be a critical factor when considering the safety and
performance of the cable to be used for PoE. Insertion loss can be
calculated as the ratio of "received to sent" signal power. More power
can result in greater insertion loss levels with rising cable
temperatures which may lead to damaged cables.
Your high-performance network depends on the right cabling solutions to deliver speed and power when and where you need it. CAT6A cable is considered future-proof technology that can meet the needs of healthcare, educational institutions, the
military and more.
By understanding and mitigating risks, demanding quality cables as well as choosing a reputable manufacturer, you can ensure your infrastructure will stand the test of time.
Click to learn more about CAT6A solid copper wire cables.
Reach every data and electrical device with our PoE Network Extenders
Shop our PoE Network Switches


text:
GenTwenty Interview
G20: How has Yetti Says developed in the past year? How has your writing and voice changed following your rebrand in 2014?
Yetti: Wow, since the last time we spoke, YettiSays has definitely grown quite a bit. I feel as though my audience is more of women my age (mid-twenties), though I do get a few comments and notes from ladies just beginning their journey into the madness that is adulthood.
With the rebrand, I am a lot more free with my words and thoughts I choose to share. I am able to discuss things I would have never been able to do under And So She Writes.
At Ys.Com, there's no room for people pleasing; there aren't any filler posts that do not adhere to the mission statement of the blog. It's pretty much dramatic, passionate, self-aware, sometimes ridiculous, but always phenomenal Yetti from here on out, and it is beyond refreshing.
Read more here.


text:
Brand Name : trubond
Model Number : QC-J-0001
Certification : CE ASTM ISO GREEN LEAF SGS
Place of Origin : CHINA
Price : 5-18USD/M2
Payment Terms : L/C, D/A, D/P, T/T
Supply Ability : 250000m2/Month
Delivery Time : 10-15 DAYS
Packaging Details : Wooded case
Surface treatment : PVDF Coated,Brushed,PE Coated,Anodized,Printing
Usage : Outdoor,Indoor,Decoration Materials,interior/ exterior wall cladding,Advertising
Function : Fireproof,Antibacterial,Anti-Static,Mould-Proof,Mould Proof
Color : Customer's Requirements
Size : Customized
Panel thickness : 3mm,4mm,5mm,6mm
Core : Unbroken,fireproof core(FR grade A2 B1)
product name : aluminium composite material
Supply Ability
Supply Ability:
Packaging & Delivery
Packaging Details
Wooded Case
Lead Time :
10-15 Days
|Aluminum composite panels
|Alu,Coils thickness:
|Panel Thickness :
|Width :
|1220mm,1250mm,1500mm,1550mm, 2000mm,more can as the customers demand
|2440mm,3660mm,4880mm,More than can as the customers demand
|Standard size :
|Surface Treatment
|PVDF coating , PE coating, NANO coating, FEVE coating
|Protective film
printing the OEM brand logo. or our TRUBOND logo
1, Quality: Guarantee time, PVDF coated 20 years. PE coated 10
2, Time: 10-15 days delivery time
We have our own coils coating factory for our ACP. So we can control the delivery time once make orders.
3, Money: Free to made color chart for you.
The color card 100pcs for one container, 10pcs samples per order color.
4, Free OEM
Trubond Offer free OEM production for you
Make the OEM protective film design for you if you have your own brand for your ACP market.
5, Accessories: Provide all installation accessories.
6, Raw Materials Control
Trubond holds the commitment to environmental protection and refuses to use inferior materials to save costs. We enforce strict control to the content of heavy metal in raw materials and adopt the latest EU standard. We have been ROSH certified which proves that our aluminum composite panels (ACP) have no harm to human body and environment.
5 years
Trumony technolog Co.,ltd is a professional manufacturer and exporter of Alumium composite panel,aluminum solid panel has over 5 years' experience of production and more than 5 years' experience of export.
Various product
Aluminum composite panel,perforated aluminum panel,Aluminum honeycomb panel, Aluminum core panel
1, 000 TEU/year.
Our factory is located in Zhejiang province, covering an area of 70, 0000 square meters and 6 standard workshops, equipped with 10 production lines, annual output is about 600,0000 sqm, annual export is more than 1, 000 TEU.
Over 500 customers.
Till now, we have served more than 500 customers in 80 countries, such as UK, USA, Australia, Spanish, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia and Burma etc.
500000 sheet in stock
The Largest ACP Stockholder in the World, 3 warehouse from China, Indonesia and UK.
24 hours
Please contact us if you are looking for a trustworthy source. Each of your inquiries will be taken into account and get our response within 24 hours.
2000m Width Decoration Wall Sign Board ACP Aluminum Composite Panel Images


text:
1949 Sheppard Ave W, North York, ON M3L 1Y8
Toll Free: 800-747-1692 Local: 416-747-9525Email Us
- 1949 Sheppard Ave W, North York, ON M3L 1Y8
Vibrant Hand TiedIntercat-481909
Brightly colored blooms in bouquet. Vase not included.
All items featured on this site represent the types of arrangements we offer and may vary depending upon availability in certain regions. Substitution Policy


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East Bengal announce domestic squad for ISL 2020/21 seasonOctober 21, 2020
Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/east-bengal-isl-2020-21-season-squad-announced-6806834/
East Bengal on Tuesday announced a 22-member strong domestic squad including their latest signings — India striker Jeje Lalpekhlua and defender Narayan Das — for the 2020/21 Indian Super League season.
Bolstered by the arrival of Jeje, the squad comprises the likes of seasoned India players Balwant Singh, Narayan Das, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, and Md. Rafique among others.
Lalpekhlua is a two-time ISL champion with Chennaiyin FC, having spent six years with them.
The 29-year-old striker arrives after recovering from a surgery in May 2019 when he aggravated a knee injury and did not feature in the sixth edition of the ISL.
"Every footballer in India wants to play for East Bengal one day. It is such a big institution. I am thrilled to join East Bengal in its first year of taking part in the ISL," Jeje said.
"I am hungry to play football again after a prolonged break due to injury. I cannot wait to don the red and gold colours and give my best every time I take the field," he added.
Jeje, known for his prowess in front of goal, is Chennaiyin FC's their leading goal-scorer in all competitions with 25 strikes to his name and was pivotal to the club's title triumphs in 2015 and 2017-18.
The forward made 76 appearances in all competitions for Chennaiyin FC.
Balwant, 33, spent the last two seasons with ATK making a total of 23 league appearances for the club.
"I don't have to emphasise how big SC East Bengal club is. It's indeed an honour to be wearing the famous Red and Gold jersey. I will give my 100 per cent to bring success and glory to the club and happiness to all its super passionate fans," said Balwant.
Balwant won the Federation Cup with Churchill Brothers before joining Mohun Bagan in the 2014-15 season, helping the club win the I-League.
In the ISL, he played for Chennaiyin FC in the first two seasons and later moved to Mumbai City in 2017-18. He has won the ISL trophy twice, once with Chennaiyin (2015) and then with ATK last season.
Narayan played all 18 matches for Odisha FC last season. He last played for India in the Asian Cup.
Lyngdoh, 34, had stints with ATK after signing for the reigning ISL champions in the 2017-18 season. The Meghalaya-born midfielder had to spend most of the time on the bench nursing a ruptured Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) on his left knee.
Lyngdoh was with Bengaluru FC last season, a club he helped win the I-League and two Federation Cups during his first stint with them.
"This is a club with a lot of history and I am stoked to be part of that legacy in its hundredth year," Lyngdoh said.
Md. Rafique will be making his comeback to SC East Bengal, having joined the club in 2014 which saw him making loan moves to ATK and Kerala Blasters. He joined SC East Bengal from Mumbai City FC.
Goalkeepers: Sankar Roy, Debjit Majumder, Md. Rafique Ali Sardar, Mirshad Kootapunna
Defenders: Gurtej Singh, Narayan Das, Samad Ali Mallick, LalramChullova, Mohammed Irshad, N Rohen Singh, Abhishek Ambekar, Rana Gharami
Midfielders: Sehnaj Singh, Bikash Jairu, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Yumnam Gopi Singh, Wahengbam Angousana, Md. Rafique, Moirangthem Loken Meitei, Surchandra Singh Chandam
Forwards: Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh.


text:
COLUMBIA, Mo. — A Missouri man who admitted burying his wife's body and misleading authorities for more than a year about her whereabouts was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder.
A jury found Joseph Elledge guilty in the killing of 28-year-old Mengqi Ji, whom he married after she moved to the U.S. from China to study at the University of Missouri.
Elledge reported Ji missing in October 2019, prompting months of extensive searches. Her remains were found in a park near Columbia, Missouri, in March.
Elledge was charged with first-degree murder, but Circuit Judge J. Hasbrouck Jacobs told jurors they could consider charges of second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and first-degree or second-degree involuntary manslaughter. Elledge was acquitted of the first-degree murder charge, KOMU-TV reported.
First-degree murder requires the state to prove that Elledge killed Ji intentionally after deliberating about it, and Elledge's intent was central to arguments throughout the trial.
During closing arguments on Thursday, Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Knight told the jury that Elledge was a "stone cold killer" who was guilty of first-degree murder because he intentionally killed his wife.
Elledge's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, argued that his client was awkward and made "unbelievably dumb" decisions after she died. But he said Elledge never intended to kill his wife and should never have been charged with murder.
During his trial, Elledge said Ji's death was accidental. He said she fell and hit her head on Oct. 8, 2019, after he pushed her during an argument and he found her dead in bed the next morning. He said he panicked, put her body in the trunk of her car and did not report what happened while he tried to decide what to do.
He did not tell anyone, including Ji's mother, about her disappearance.
On Oct. 10, with the couple's young daughter in the car, Elledge drove to Rock Bridge State Park about 5 miles south of Columbia, where they lived. There, he dug a grave and buried Ji at a site a half-mile from where he proposed to her. He then returned home and reported her missing.
Prosecutors used social media posts, audio tapes and a journal Elledge kept to document the couple's volatile relationship. The evidence showed them frequently yelling at each other and arguing, with Elledge often criticizing his wife for her appearance and for how she treated him.
Elledge said that in the days before her death, he discovered Ji had been exchanging sexually suggestive messages with a man from China via social media. He also testified that the couple's relationship suffered because of tension caused by her parents who moved from China to live with them after their daughter was born in October 2018.
The couple met in 2015 at Nanova, a company that makes dental products, where Ji was Elledge's supervisor. They began dating the following year and eventually traveled to China, where he asked Ji's parents for permission to marry her. The couple married in 2017.
Ji earned a master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Missouri in December 2014. Elledge was a student at the university when his wife died.


text:
Notes: The US Army called for a light armored vehicle for training purposes and Marmon-Herrington's T13 model won with an order for 38 vehicles finished in 1938. The M4 never made it into combat and was used mostly in State Guard units.
Date Introduced: Early '38
Users: United States
Vehicle Chart: We use the M20 Scout Car vehicle chart from the Fury on the Fatherland supplement to represent and just modify where needed.
Crew: 2 (commander & driver) and 4 passengers.
No Radio: The M4 was not fitted with a radio and will suffer the No Radio penalty as such.
Open-Topped: The M4 is an Open-Topped vehicle and will be bound by those rules as such.
Tarpaulin Cover: All Open-Topped models are equipped with tarps as basic kit.
Snow Chains: Snow chains were fitted to the tires of vehicles to help them better grip onto icy surfaces. If a vehicle has snow chains then it will receive a -1 bonus to any Bog Checks made on icy or snowy roads. Availability is a 10 or less.
Poor Cross-Country Mobility: Due to the poor performance of the M4 it will suffer a +1 to all Bog Checks in rough terrain.
State Guard Use: The possibility of the outdated M4 to find its way into a State Guard unit is quite high thus the Availability for a single vehicle is a 10.
Game Piece: I am not aware of any 1/48 or 1/50 scale toys or kits for this vehicle so if you find one let me know.
Wt Sz HF TF HS TS HR TR HT TT Sd Ld TR Ty Smk HMG CMG AAMG Gun AP APCR HEAT HE HE Size4 M 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 --- --- AC --- --- --- LCMG-15 --- --- --- --- --- ---


text:
The Article Summarized
EMarketer's predicts a strong growth of the mobile peer-to-peer payment industry.
According to eMarketer's mobile banking and payment forecast, the number of mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps will continue to grow by double digits through 2021. This Year, the transaction value of mobile P2P payments in the US will reach $120.38 billion, a 55 percent increase. If this trend persists, this value is expected to double by 2021. In 2017, 63.5 million US adults will use a P2P payment app at least once a month. This corresponds to nearly a third (32.6%) of all smartphone users.
The introduction of Zelle
In particular, the introduction of Zelle - a network of over 30 banks (including the Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase) and credit unions that will allow banking customers to transfer money within the network – is expected to increase in the use of P2P payment- Apps. The network will be gradually introduced over the next 12 months.
The trend of P2P
A desire for convenience, on-demand payment and the widespread use of smartphones have driven the trend towards P2P Payment. A double-digit growth in users as well as volume of transactions is expected, as consumers familiarize themselves with mobile payments and as more players enter the market. This year, the total US proximity mobile payment transaction value is forecast to grow by 78.1% to 49.29 billion dollars. On average, users will spend $1026, surpassing for the first time the 1000 dollars mark.


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Free Pixel To Vector Converter – 2
Free Pixel To Vector Converter – 2 is a free Various design resource made by Dribbble user Michael Tzscheppan. As far as I can tell, its license is Unknown.
Helpful hint: Dribbble users are nice. If the license is unknown, it is usually because they forgot to mention it explicitly; not because they were being stingy. Ask nicely and they will probably allow you to use it.


text:
Hazel and Holly — Tormented Love
Previous: Of Mushrooms and Men
Hazel awoke on a cold stone floor with a pounding headache. She pushed herself upright and looked around, surprised to see she was still in her father's workshop. She must have fainted, probably from all the smoke. Had something gone wrong with her spell?
No, the spell had worked. There had been a bright light close to Ash's chest. That had meant something.
She got to her feet and started across the room, but it was like shadows had solidified around her, clinging like tar that made her movements heavy and strained. When she stopped, the shadows receded, but as soon as she tried to walk again, the shadows returned like night-tempered chains. Her father had done this. He had trapped her here.
Why? Of course he'd been displeased with her poking around where she didn't belong, but then why leave her there? Why not throw her out? Lock her in her room? Both seemed like more reasonable actions to take against a trespasser than leaving her exactly where she wasn't supposed to be.
Hazel conjured a beam of prismatic light and combined it with a sharp gust of air, but the shadows remained. Unsurprising, she supposed. Ash was a necromancer, she'd need to use necromancy to undo his spell. She took a moment to think, then worked a corrupted version of a Weaving Unraveling spell and tried to pull the shadows apart. But the shadows remained, as strong as ever. She tried corrupting the prismatic light and gust of wind, but that didn't work, either. Hazel tightened her jaw as she pushed down her frustration. Should she try summoning a familiar again? She didn't know how that would help, but she was running out of ideas.
Before she had a chance to try, the door opened and her father stepped inside. Hazel eyed his chest, but the light that had been there before was gone.
Ash stood before her, his expression unreadable. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look pleased, either.
"I don't really blame you," he said after a while. "I grew up in the Grove, just as you did. My mind was also filled with the ignorance and lies that pervade the region. I do not blame you for wanting to… undo what I've done. I don't blame you for not understanding. But I would be lying if I said your actions haven't wounded me. I had hoped…" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Perhaps I've been foolish in thinking it would be easier. That, once you saw what I could offer you, that you would want my help."
"Help with what? Necromancy?"
"Realizing your true potential."
She shook her head. "I don't need your help. Not with that."
"We are so alike, Hazel. I was just as you are when I was your age. Gifted with certain talents, then crippled with the uncertainty that followed. What I struggled to find was that there is more in life than what the people in the Grove can offer. You don't have to struggle as I did. I can help you."
Hazel took a deep breath as she struggled to keep calm. "I told you, I don't need your help."
Ash smiled and shook his head. "Even now, the similarities between us are striking. You are willful and stubborn, just like me. You refuse to compromise, just like me. You show an unflagging determination to reach a goal you have set for yourself—doing whatever it takes to succeed in it, for good or ill." He exhaled a short laugh and smiled again. "Just like me."
"I am nothing like you!"
His expression sobered and he clasped his hands together and arched his head as he regarded her. "Yes. Perhaps my own willfulness has prevented me from seeing that you are, in many ways, also like your mother. You, like her, are much too quick to dismiss that which you don't understand. You put too much faith in the lies you have been raised with."
"What lies?"
"The lie that Necromancy is a separate form of magic, one to be ignored and never discussed. That those who practice it are somehow… tainted. That is what you think, isn't it?"
Hazel said nothing.
Ash nodded as if she had answered. "What the people in the Grove don't understand is that Necromancy is the only magic. Every other discipline, Wyr, Hearth, Weaving, and Wild, they are all aspects of the same thing. Pieces of the same pie. The Lords of the Sun and Trees and the Ladies of the Sky and Sea are all aspects of the same being—the Shapeless One, the Keeper of Stars and Souls. Refusing to accept this is as absurd as refusing to accept that the sun is bright and the night dark."
"It sounds to me rather that someone thinks he's more important than he really is, and extends that importance to his magical discipline of choice."
"This isn't about me, Hazel."
"Oh, I think it is. Because you keep ignoring what I want, choosing instead to believe whatever suits you best!"
Ash remained quiet a moment. "You know, I sometimes wonder how I might have reacted if a mentor had come to me and offered to teach me of Necromancy and all that I struggled to learn in my life. I wonder if I would have accepted such an offer. I've never much cared for accepting help from others. I've never liked the sense of obligation it gives me, the sense that I owed them something. You, perhaps, know what I mean?"
Hazel knew exactly what he meant, but she remained silent.
"But when I look back now," he continued, "I can see how much my life would have benefitted from such a mentor. Much of what I've learned of Necromancy, I learned on my own. I used to hold a sense of pride in that—not everyone could say the same. But now I wonder if that pride was misplaced. I can't help but wonder if I'd had some help, how much more I might have accomplished in my life, of what I might have accomplished for my family. Perhaps, if I'd learned more, I could have saved your mother from ever perishing in the first place."
Hazel tensed. She felt as if they had tread upon unsteady ground and she needed to choose her words carefully. "People die. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. It's just the way life is. You need to let her go."
"The way life is," Ash said, his voice dangerously flat. "You say that as if it's something we must accept. Life is malleable, as are the laws that dictate it. I refuse to bend to life's fickle whims. As should you."
"It's not fickle, it's just the way it is. Why can't you accept that?"
"And why can't you accept that life is what we make of it? We can manipulate souls and spirits, Hazel. The very essence of life! With enough time and practice, we could make life bend to our whims!"
"You've lost your mind. Do you hear yourself? Do you know what you sound like?"
"I hadn't wanted to do it like this. I had thought that with enough time, you would come to understand the world as I do, that you would see it as I do, because, given who you are, how could you see it any other way?"
"What are you talking about?"
His expression turned resigned. "You are right, in a way, about life. There is one aspect of it that is not malleable, that can not be manipulated, or changed, or reversed. I've tried. But it inevitably binds us all, and eventually, we all return to it."
Hazel's breathing turned heavy and ragged. Despite everything Ash had done to her and her mother, Hazel had never been frightened of him. Until now. "Father, what are you talking about?"
He fixed his gaze on her in a way that made Hazel wonder if he had ever truly seen her prior to that moment. It was like he saw straight to her heart—straight to her soul—and the tenderness he held in his gaze for her at that moment made her want to weep.
"I'm talking about love, daughter. It is life's greatest strength and greatest weakness. It hinders us as much as it bolsters us. But love's fire burns incredibly hot. Perhaps, within such a fire, a temperament for the greatest witch of our time might be forged."
Before Hazel could say anything else, Ash returned to the door, opened it, and Hemlock and Verrin stepped inside.
Hazel cried out and clapped a hand over her mouth. Her outburst surprised her, as did the warmth and joy that filled her heart to look at Hemlock. He wasn't supposed to be there, and yet, now that he was, she was grateful beyond words.
Hemlock remained quiet at his gaze met hers. He didn't look angry or disappointed, as she had expected. Instead he looked tired, relieved, but also strangely enlivened. His eyes held a spark in them she hadn't noticed before, and it made her heart quicken to have such a gaze fall upon her.
Swallowing, she said, "You're not supposed to be here."
"Neither are you," he said.
Ash stood alongside Hemlock. "Perhaps your greatest failing, my daughter, is your continual misjudgment of a given situation. You insist on underestimating yourself and others. You choose to see things as you want them to be—or perhaps even believe them to be—instead of how things actually are." He placed a hand on Hemlock's shoulder, and Hemlock stiffened as his expression tightened. "Take our mutual friend here. You chose to believe you could leave someone you love behind. That once you did, it would be the end of it. You would go your way, he would go his. That is what happened here isn't it? I'll admit I've had to puzzle out a few of the gaps from what I've seen in the mirrors." He paused as he glanced between Hazel and Hemlock, but when neither said anything, Ash continued.
"Perhaps you chose to believe that you didn't love him, or he didn't love you. Or perhaps you underestimated the bond of love that ties you together. I've certainly made that mistake. Whatever you chose to believe, it put you at a disadvantage, and so now we find ourselves here, together, at a crossroads of sorts, don't you think?"
Hazel tried to walk towards Hemlock, but the shadows constricted and kept her from taking more than a step. Hemlock's face darkened and he tried to go to her, but Ash tightened his grip on his shoulder and Verrin cast a spell that summoned a tall, lanky woman with hair like midnight and crystalline skin. She put a bony hand on Hemlock's arm, causing him to wince as he paled, and he went still.
"What do you want?" Hazel said. "Why are you doing this?"
"I want what I've always wanted from the day you were born, Hazel. I want you to be true to yourself, without fear, without reservation. I want you to achieve your potential. I want you to recognize, as I do, how great your potential truly is."
"What does any of that have to do with Hemlock?"
He smiled even as his brow furrowed in a quizzical manner. "Even now you refuse to see this situation for what it is. You underestimate the significance of this moment."
Hazel clenched her hands in an effort to keep calm. "Then why don't you tell me?"
"You have been holding yourself back, Hazel. You have preconceived notions of what it means to be a Necromancer that don't sit well with your other preconceived notions of who you think you are. Perhaps you are afraid of what others will think of you. Perhaps you worry you will never be able to return home. Perhaps you worry about something else entirely. But one thing is clear: the right situation can push all of that aside and force you to see yourself as you truly are. And there is no coming back from that."
A dreadful understanding unfolded itself for her, and Hazel's fear turned sharp and acrid. "Let him go."
"You've held me in such disdain for all of these years, accusing me of ruining your mother. But did you ever once put yourself in my shoes? Did you ever, just once, imagine what you would have done, had you been in my situation?"
The conjured woman dug her pale fingers deeper into Hemlock's arm. His pallor turned waxy and his lips blue. The skin under his eyes darkened and he would have slumped onto the ground if not for the woman and Verrin holding him up.
"Let him go!"
"I never wanted this for you, daughter. I never wanted for you to witness what it's like to watch someone you love waste away before your eyes. I would have protected you from this, if you would have let me. But you are my daughter. I should have known you would choose the harder path, just as I always have. It was wrong of me to have expected anything different."
She fought against the shadows, but the harder she pushed, the harder they solidified around her. This couldn't be happening; never before had she felt so helpless. The woman tightened her hand again, and Hemlock's pallor worsened. Hazel hunched over and let out an enraged scream.
Next: Familiar Fellowship


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DPH Update: 97 Additional Positive Cases; 8 New Deaths; 96 Additional Recovered
The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing eight additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is providing an update on the number of positive cases and recovered individuals. All data reported through the daily updates are based on data received as of 6:00 p.m. the previous day.
In total, 398 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. Individuals who have died from COVID-19 ranged in age from 21 to 103 years old. Of those who have died, 211 were females and 187 were males. A total of 176 individuals were from New Castle County, 76 were from Kent County, and 146 were from Sussex County.
The most recent deaths announced today ranged in age from 40 to 91. Three individuals were female and five were male. Two were New Castle County residents, four were Kent County residents, and two were Sussex County residents. All eight individuals had underlying health conditions. Three individuals were residents of long-term care facilities.
To protect personal health information, DPH will not confirm specific information about any individual case, even if other persons or entities disclose it independently.
The latest Delaware COVID-19 case statistics* cumulatively since March 11, provided as of 6 p.m., Saturday, June 6, include:
• 9,942 total positive cases
• New Castle County cases: 4,070
• Kent County cases: 1,511
• Sussex County cases: 4,346
• Unknown County: 15
• Females: 5,479; Males: 4,445; Unknown: 18
• Age range: 0 to 103
• Currently hospitalized: 103; Critically ill: 20 (This data represents individuals currently hospitalized in a Delaware hospital regardless of residence, and is not cumulative.)
• Delawareans recovered: 5,792
• 59,055 negative cases**
*Data are provisional and subject to change.
**Data on negative cases are preliminary, based on negative results reported to DPH by state and commercial laboratories performing analysis.
Additional demographic data on COVID-19 cases and deaths, including race/ethnicity, more age-specific data and rates information by ZIP code, can be found on the Division of Public Health's My Healthy Community data portal.
Delaware is considering patients fully recovered seven days after the resolution of their symptoms. Three days after symptoms resolve, patients are no longer required to self-isolate at home; however, they must continue to practice strict social distancing for the remaining four days before returning to their normal daily routine.
Information about testing events, including community testing sites and free-standing sites operated by the health care systems and hospitals, will be listed on the testing section of the Delaware coronavirus website at: https://coronavirus.delaware.gov/testing/. Please note for saliva-based testing events that while long-term care facilities are listed on the Curative registration site, they are not community based testing sites. The long-term care facility registrations are not open to the public nor to family members of long-term care residents.
If you are sick with any of the following symptoms, stay home: fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue, chills, shaking with chills, loss of smell or taste. Other symptoms such as headache or digestive symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or lack of appetite) have been identified as potential symptoms related to COVID-19 and may prompt further screening, action or investigation. If you are sick and need essential supplies, ask someone else to go to the grocery store or the pharmacy to get what you need.
If you believe you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or have symptoms of illness, make sure to distance yourself from others, particularly vulnerable populations. Older adults and people of any age with serious underlying medical conditions – including serious heart conditions, chronic lung conditions, including moderate to severe asthma, severe obesity and those who are immunocompromised, including through cancer treatment – may have a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
DPH Community Health employees recently started conducting contact tracing and case investigations in the community. DPH field teams of two will personally visit individuals for whom DPH has no phone number to advise them they have a positive test result for COVID-19, or have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The DPH employees will have state employee identification and most likely will be wearing a shirt that identifies them as a DPH employee. They will also be wearing a mask, gloves, and may even be wearing a face shield. They will request permission to ask the person a series of questions, but will not request to enter the home unless they are unable to maintain the individual's privacy outside the home. Contact tracers do not ask for bank account or Social Security information. An individual's information will not be shared with any person or organization, and will only be used to help DPH monitor a person's health status through additional phone calls to that person to help stop the spread of the disease. DPH does not release any personal information to the public. For additional information about contact tracing, visit https://coronavirus.delaware.gov/contact-tracing/.
Individuals who have complaints about individuals violating public gathering restrictions should contact state or local law enforcement. Concerns that a business may be violating operating restrictions should be directed to: firstname.lastname@example.com. Questions related to business re-openings or operations as businesses reopen should go to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Individuals with questions about COVID-19 should call Delaware 2-1-1, or email firstname.lastname@example.com. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can text their ZIP code to 898-211. Hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Medically related questions regarding testing, symptoms, and health-related guidance can be submitted by email at email@example.com. Questions regarding unemployment claims should be emailed to: email@example.com.
In addition, the Division of Public Health asks any Delaware health care, long-term care, residential, or other high-risk facility with questions or concerns to email: firstname.lastname@example.com or call the DPH Call Center at 1-866-408-1899 and press ext. 2.
DPH will continue to update the public as more information becomes available. For the latest on Delaware's response, go to de.gov/coronavirus.


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Continuously growing meat production in Russia since 2006th helps to actively develop and earn suppliers of resources for meat production. «Megamix» – is a new big player on the premix market. The company controls 30% of the premix segment and claims the first place in Russia. In the last four years company's earnings have doubled to $110 million. In the interview to "Agro-investor" Sergey Vlasov, co-owner of the Megamix holding talked about the company's plans to increase production capacity and build the facility in the Western Europe.
According to Sergei Vlasov, Russia will never produce all of the necessary components of the feed.
"Firstly, it is economically impractical. Today, the world market for the production of feed additives is two or three European countries and China. At the same time, 99% of the world market is not worried that they don't produce all those components. Some are manufactured by Germany, France, and Switzerland. They and China provide the entire world demand for feed additives. Methionine and lysine are produced in Russia, and it may well be that in coming years we will see one or two more components necessary for the production of animal feed, which will be localized in our country. If we are talking about the production of certain feed additives, then the market is full of them today. China alone can cover the entire need of our country in feed additives, including vitamins».
According to the expert, the "Weight" of imported ingredients in the cost of the premix is 86% of its price. In such conditions, the price formula is highly dependent on the policy of currency regulators and the financial markets. At the same time, we must not forget that the prices for ingredients often also show significant growth and the prices for premix also changes. It is likely that the feed market will grow at the same rate as the consumer that is, livestock.
At the moment there is a certain closeness of the country from external markets. Livestock breeding is successfully developing, and this trend is likely to continue. The swine and cattle market has a serious potential in Russia.
Source: Agroinvestor


text:
Discussion in 'Canada' started by Anonymous, Aug 17, 2012.
Seems hard to stay on topic.... make an effort ?
Symbolic role only.
It's a simple bargain between the monarch and her subjects:
- we give her constitutional powers, on the single condition that she promises never to use them.
And when a government behaves like utter twats, such as Ausfailia in 1975, there's someone who can be an adult and send the kiddies to bed without supper until they learn how to play nicely. Also, there's someone not involved in daily governance who gets to deal with that ceremonial shit that takes so much time from those heads of state who are also heads of governments.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/U...ng plane political reasons/7182901/story.html
http://www.vancouversun.com/Video RCMP says kicking handcuffed stun technique/7308034/story.html
Oh god . . . Typical, dumb as a rock American! Always showing off the feeble joke of an education their good ol' land of plenty stuffed down their forever open pie-holes
. . .
Let's hope for them to soon be smote! XD
Question: does the Queen of England still maintain a legal authority over the Canadian government?
Oh, she does?
Yeah, thought so.
As a Canadian socialist in the Maple Crown court I welcome our ceremonial overlords because the whole concept is just so gosh darn inscrutable to Americans.
Question (no, srsly this time): Is "the Maple Crown" actually a thing? Because that is just so cute an idea. You guys should totally send the Queen of England a crown made out of maple leaves. Dawwwh, Canadians.
View attachment 10673398-autumn-woman-with-crown-of-fall-maple-lea
^I fucking love Canada right now.
Ok wtf Canada is made out to be stupid in American media....it's not right!! I hate how are gov. Is so far up there ass and we get mocked! The us is the leading terrorist country and here is Canada sucking its blood hungry ass...our RCMP are a joke and sic should be brought down! How about the hwy of tears! And a possibility they are connected to human trafficking and murder! Not so far off if we look at all the beatings they give on cam
Elton John has no power here.
If that bitch were your queen, you'd seriously kick some ass!
There, fixed that right up for ya
Aw gee thanks, ya knoow!
Hacker group policing the police, expert says
GB is the big island, and consists of Wales in the West, Scotland in the North, and England in the South
GB + Northern Ireland = The UK
Northern Ireland is that part of Ireland that the Brits managed to conquer and hold.
Wales, Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland = The UK
(Incidentally, the 4 provinces each field a team in the Football World Cup, so the UK fields a total of 4 teams, whereas most nations field only 1 team.)
Mounties snooped on Occupy
http://www.globalnews.ca/mounties s...ters in nations capital/6442801338/story.html
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text:
Active Kids MyPlate Spanish Poster
Spanish translation
Get up, get moving, and have fun with the Active Kids MyPlate Spanish Poster! Fruit and vegetable Garden Heroes characters encourage and promote healthy food choices and 60 minutes of daily physical activity with this sports-themed and kid-friendly USDA MyPlate food guide poster. MyPlate is the USDA food symbol that replaced the food guide pyramid.
18" x 24" Laminated
This item is also available in English #LZ-410211
Active Kids MyPlate Spanish Poster
Regular price $15.95


text:
Introduction: Turn a Broken Knife Blade Into an Expanding Foam Trimmer.
I'm a little bit (cough) OCD so as I built my house if I saw a crack somewhere I filled it with Great Stuff.
I think I used about 300 cans of it and I needed a way to trim it flush since I was using it around all my outlets and doors and windows plus a few places that are probably uncommon to use it like around the 1/2 inch gap I left between my Oak tongue and groove floors and the wall to allow to expansion contraction.
This turned out to be a big time saver later when I was sanding and putting polyurethane on the floors since there were no cracks to collect that fine saw dust that allows seems to get blown around as soon as you begin the finishing process.
Step 1: OCD's Throw Little Away...
Somehow I had a large meat knife I guess it was with a broken handle. I probably meant to make a new handle for it but I happened to find it just when I was doing a lot of spray foaming and I got to looking at the blade and decided to make a tool from it so I could trim expanding foam flush to a surface and hopefully in a fairly fast manner.
I ended up sawing the handle part of the steel blade of probably with a grinding wheel on edge but I don't actually remember since I bumped my head a while back and seem to have misplaced a few or more thoughts but if I had to do it now I would use a grinder so in all likelihood that is more than likely what I did.
Sorry to Digress...
I found a scrap of angle iron about an 1/8 of an inch thick and about 1" by 1" and sawed a piece off about three inches long.
I lay the blade flat on the workshop floor set the piece of angle iron on top where the shank would normally be and welded it solidly to the blade. I started by just tacking the corners because I wanted it to stay flush and welds can put a twist to your project you really don't want so I tacked the corners and then ran a bead all around and cooled it with a wet rag as I went.
Since I wanted this to be both a lefty and a rightly tool I got my grinder and ground an edge to what would normal be the back side of the knife turning it basically into a dagger. I use my spool sander to get a pretty good edge on it and I ground off the distortion on the opposite side where the weld was made and used the spool sander on that as well to make the face touching the wall very smooth.
I had some odd sized piece of oak laying around and found a piece about an inch wide 2 inches high and about 7 inches long. I use my table saw and ripped a slot in the center of the one inch side about 3 inches long. It took a little fine tuning but I got a good fit on the piece of angle iron with the wood handle, then when I was sure it fit I clamped it and drilled a 1/4 inch hole through the handle and through the angle iron and drove a piece of dowel rod with glue through it.
I drilled a second hole also through the angle iron then unclamped it and added a few more just because and then I used my belt sander to shape the wood handle so it felt comfortable to hold.
I tend to not worry excessively about accidents since I keep having them but looking back it probably would have made more sense to fit the handle, then use the belt sander, then put in the dowels since basically I had to hold onto a sharpened knife handle as my table heavy duty tried to snatch it from my hand so use your best judgment and don't get hurt.
Step 2: Not for Use by Children Under Five
It's pretty obvious how you use it one tip is to be sure it's completely dry since running into gooey spot gums the blade up and makes it stick and what you want is to make long smooth cuts either by slicing or using a sawing method. The smoother the blade face and the sharper the edges the cleaner your cuts will be,
When I put my Oak floors down I left a gap around the perimeter since the main room has a 47 foot span and that makes for a lot of expansion and contraction as the season flash by. I wanted this sealed tight mostly because Florida has a lot of bugs and I figured it would be flexible if the floor felt the urge to stretch when the humidity climbed.
Since the foam expands just as seen on TV it will stick to the bottom half inch of wall board and be about that high above the floor. Trial and error taught me to first make a cut the entire length of the wall starting with the blade flush to the floor. I then used a 12 inch sheetrock trowel and slipped that into the cut then put the blade flush to the wall and used the steel trowel to stop me from cutting any deeper than the floor itself. You just walk the trowel down the wall and you'll end up with a pretty sharp inside corner and since the blade didn't penetrate below floor level no gaps we're made that the really small bugs might find a way into.
When I was doing around my doors and windows I found it pretty easy to end up with long strips of expanding foam that I could quickly gather up and tuck in a large box. When the box got full I took them up to the attic and dumped them where I would eventually spray blown in insulation so this may sound trivial but I used close to 300 cans of Great Stuff ended up with probably a roll or two of insulation that would otherwise end up in the trash.
Other places I used Great Stuff was here and there I foamed sections of the plumbing drain lines especially around drops or 90's and it went quite a long way in making my plumbing silent as far as not hearing water running inside a wall if someone uses the shower on the top floor.
I like Quiet.


text: Come Lord! do not delay. Pardon the sins of your people.There are Propers which are not directly from the Scriptures; this is an example. But you can even see a hint of the end of the Book of Revelation (22:20): Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus. We long to see You; we beg for your forgiveness.


text:
The Green Goblin's Hideout
Search this site
Norman's Biography
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Dark Reign (Ch. 14)
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Norman's Fast Facts
Goblin Art Gallery
Comic Book Appearance Lists
The Green Goblin Cover Gallery
The Osborn Timeline
The Hideout's Featured Articles
Norman Osborn's Family Tree
How to make a Goblin
The Goblin's Kill Count
The Goblin's Arsenal
Norman and Jonah
Norman and Flash
Norman and Doc Ock
Norman and Deadpool
Norman and Tony Stark
m'boy m'boy!!
Therapy Sessions
Osborn Industries vs Oscorp
With great power comes great responsibility?
Osborn's chest scar
The Goblin Glider
Gwen's death revisited
Outside the 616 Universe
Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin in Alternate Universes
My Hideout
Spectacular Spider-Man #259-261
Plotter: Roger Stern
Co-Plotter/Writer: Glenn Greenberg
Artist (cover): John Romita
Artist (interior): Luke Ross
Published: July 1998 to September 1998
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text:
Status: First-time applicant
Pre-MBA industry: Strategy and Operations in Technology Industry
Years of experience at time of matriculation: 5
GMAT/GRE score: 760 (V: 50 Q: 42)
Undergraduate GPA: 3.5/4.0
Career Gap: 5 months
Admitted to: Kellogg MMM, Sloan
I worked with Kathryn Lucas and Melissa Chan for my 2017 R1 bschool applications. I would recommend them to anyone hoping to succeed with the demanding application process.
INITIAL CALL – Unlike some other admission consultants who basically snoozed through the 30-minute initial assessment call, Kathryn dedicated over an hour listening to my "story" and providing feedback. A few weeks later, when I abruptly lost my job and was unsure if applying to bschool 2017 R1 cycle was even possible, Kathryn spent the next few months answering several emails and fielding calls from me as I tried to figure my life out. She was there for me every step of the way as I recruited for jobs and helped me assess if the job was a right fit for me and my post-MBA goals. She also did all this free of charge.
RESUME – Melissa and Kathryn helped me restructure my resume so that it was layman friendly and captured a bigger story about myself. Bschool resumes aren't job-hunting resumes, and so they needed to be written to highlight certain things that a regular resume wouldn't highlight. This fact gets easily missed, and SOP was very helpful in educating me about this and guiding me through recrafting my resume.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION – Letters of recommendation are a tricky thing to handle due to sheer amount of work you're asking other people to do for you. A lot of applicants struggle with streamlining this process. SOP's LOR framework is AMAZING. There are a lot of tricks and nuances to the LOR process that would be lost on the usual applicant; working with SOP definitely opened my eyes to all those nuances.
ESSAYS – This area is where Melissa was most invaluable. I'm not an inexperienced writer, and I have friends who are good writers. One would think that by leveraging the skills and network I already had, I could churn out decent essays. Wrong. Bschool essays are a special beast. Not only do you need to get the mechanics correct, but what kind of story you tell and the way you tell it is very hard to nail down correctly. Melissa asked thought-provoking questions that helped me draw out interesting and personal aspects of my story, while pushing me to be disciplined about editing out extraneous information that didn't add to my application. I went through over a dozen drafts of each essay, and when I was flailing about navel-gazing, Melissa helped me forcibly steer the essay back on track. A lot of Melissa's critical feedback was (amusingly) on-point. Melissa was also good about letting my essays reflect my voice. I have a particular writing style and voice, which Melissa recognized, and she didn't try to force me into writing in a way that wasn't me.
INTERVIEW – Doing a comprehensive run through with Melissa was helpful because it illuminated areas I needed to practice. For interviews, I would also recommend applicants to reach out to people at the schools they're interviewing at to practice school-specific questions.
END RESULTS – I applied to 4 schools, admitted to 1, and waitlisted at 1. I'll be working with SOP through the waitlist process and figuring out next steps. I am relieved and excited because I really questioned my chances when I embarked on this process.
SUMMARY (the tldr version) – I think almost every bschool applicant could benefit from engaging with a good admissions consultant. I have friends at all the top bschools, who went through the application process, and their feedback/advice was nowhere as comprehensive and nuanced as what I received from working with Melissa/Kathryn. Just on the essay part alone, the revisions I received from friends were completely lightweight relative to the revisions I received from Melissa. Also, no friend is going to work with you through a dozen drafts of essays, resumes, etc. (or maybe I need better friends). That being said, Square One Prep goes beyond merely good to superb. They'll help you towards success, and through the process, you'll learn a lot about yourself, personally and professionally.
If you're applying to bschool, call Square One Prep. Your first call with Kathryn will be illuminating and will tell you that you're in capable hands.


text: Super lightweight, fast-absorbing body oil provides a long-lasting shimmery glow while deeply moisturizing your skin. Enjoy an instant dewy and golden finish that accentuates every skin tone. Now, you can keep your summer glow all year round. Sweet almond oil and sunflower oil smooth and soften your skin, and prevent its premature aging, while Spanish lavender minimizes the signs of aging. Shea butter, rich in vitamins A and E, delivers nourishment and lasting moisture. Illuminating golden particles derived from natural mineral pigments enhance your natural skin tone and bring in maximum radiance. Enriched with natural antioxidants that fight free radicals, the oil leaves your skin protected, healthy and luminous.


text:
Pluto now has three moons
I find it amusing that people have big heated debates about the definition of a planet. The problem is that you can't really define a planet; if we used the definition "anything bigger than pluto" then we'd have to count all the Kuiper belt objects that we are going to discover soon that are bigger than Pluto. So that's a bad definition. I think the best thing to do is to just not have a definition of a planet; planetoid is the term astronomers use to describe anything just about any rocky piece of crap in the solar system (comets, planets, asteroids are all planetoids). I think we should just define a planet as "mercury through pluto" and be done with it. Maybe if (when) we discover a nice earth-sized ball of ice way out in the Kuiper belt or Oort cloud (which is actual pretty likely), then we can add an eleventh (that is, assuming that the IAU doesn't strip 2003 UB313 of its rightful place among planets!)


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Whether you're looking to stay connected on summer camping trips or prepping your emergency kit for a natural disaster, having a little extra capacity to charge your essential electronics should be at the top of your preparedness list. The days of the noisy gasoline generator are over, and portable power is more accessible than ever – if you know where to find outdoor power innovators. Our friends at Goal Zero are one of the originators of portable solar power. From car camping lighting systems to deep backcountry solar panels, they've got the very best batteries, solar panels, and lanterns to keep your campground and emergency gadgets topped off all year long.
Related: Seiko Astron Solar Watch | The Best Tents of 2016
Nomad 7 Plus $100
All new for 2016, the Nomad 7 Plus generates enough power to keep your phone or GoPro running for your entire time on the trail. New for this version is a junction box that connects your electronics to the panel. It has a solar power indicator, which enables you to angle your panel to get the most power efficiency possible. It has multiple loops for lashing to your pack or tent, and features a built in kickstand so you can set it up and forget it while you get your basecamp built.
Yeti 400 $460
For more power intensive activities, you need a powerful battery. The Yeti 400 is Goal Zero's professional grade power station, sized for car camping portability. USB and AC outlets are the output backbone, letting you keep everything charged. We regularly use ours to keep DSLRs and laptops charged on the road, and it pulled double duty this spring during an extended power outage due to a late spring storm. We pair it with a pair of Nomad 20 panels ($200) for the ultimate solar power generator kit. We're taking it along for our big summer road trip through the Pacific Northwest, so stay tuned for more information as we fine tune our basecamp power generator.
Lighthouse Mini 60
From car camping picnic tables to romantic backwoods picnics, having the right ambience with your lighting is important (and also helps with your twilight selfie game too). The new Lighthouse Mini has a dimming feature, and you can run only half of the light when you don't need full power, or are saving battery (it will run 500 hours in low power mode). It also acts as a battery backup and will charge your phone while lighting up the back of your car while you search for that missing sleeping pad in the trunk. This is easily the most indispensable little camping gadget we've owned in years.
Editors' Recommendations
- Honor Earth Day with Jackery's Solar Generator Pro Family
- This Company is Reaching Net-Zero With CO2-Based Products


text: Manchester Craftsmen's Guild is a non-profit multi-discipline art, education and music organization that was founded in 1968 by Bill Strickland. It offers programs in ceramics, photography, digital arts, and painting to over 500 young people each year, as well as 3,400 additional students in the Pittsburgh inner-city school district. Ninety percent of the students receive high school diplomas, of which 85% go on to enroll in college or secondary education. Its programs also include MCG Jazz, MCG Youth, and the Denali Initiative. The space in Pittsburgh's North Side neighborhood of Manchester features a 350-seat concert hall, an art gallery,classrooms and workshops. MCG Jazz hosts live musical performances, has a recording studio and maintains its own record label, which has won four Grammy Awards.


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If you're thinking of something cozy and warm this winter season, this trend is for you. Rustic flower arrangements are the perfect way to make your house really feel like home.
Wooden Accents
Wooden box vases are a great way to create a rustic environment. The naturalness and beauty of the wood makes it perfect for bringing the outside world indoors. It also allows room for creativity since it fits in nicely with any home decor.
Warm Tones
Winter isn't always the brightest time of year, so bring some happy colors into your home. These warm tones make for a cozy room on a cold day!
Rustic Additions
Preserved Eucalyptus and Lotus Pods are perfect additions to a rustic arrangement. The beautiful brown and red tones create a vintage feel that makes a great gift this winter.Bring all the warmth into your home this season with these rustic flowers. Find a local florist today!
Whichever way you choose to incorporate rustic elements into your next flower arrangement, your local florist will create something spectacular that you'll be proud to send!


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Police: Woman critical after crashing on California beach
PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say an 18-year-old woman is in critical condition after her car went over a cliff and landed on a San Francisco Bay Area beach several hundred feet below.
The woman crashed on Mussel Rock Beach in Pacifica on Wednesday night. Firefighters helped extract her from the vehicle, and she was taken to Stanford University Medical Center by a California Highway Patrol helicopter.
Pacifica police Capt. Chris Clements said investigators don't know yet what caused the crash. Video from a CHP helicopter shows the SUV on its side and rescuers on the beach.


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8 girls, each from different parts of Poland. One common goal – chasing the Northern Lights 🙂 Everything took place 350 km north of the Arctic Circle, near the Norwegian Tromso. Accommodation reserved, car for 8 people also arranged. The only thing left was to embrace warm clothes and go to the far north.
Tromso, where the Arctic adventure begins
Tromso, also known as the "Gateway to the Arctic", the largest city of Northern Norway, this is where our adventure began. I could admire the snow-covered mountains and the city on the island of Tromsoya already from the plane. The first impression I had, it's not as cold as I thought because of the North Atlantic Current. Despite that it was nice to hear how the snow squeaks under the shoes on the way from plane to the airport building. Tromso airport is located about 3 km from the center of Tromso. The cheapest way to get there is to fly from Gdansk or London with the low-cost airline Wizzair.
Tromso – what to do
Among the most interesting things to do in Tromso is to take cable car or hike up to Tromsdalen viewpoint – Fjellheisen . The cost of the ride up to 421 m above the sea level is 210 NOK return. Departures are held every half hour (more here). From there, you can go farther up Floya (671 m above the sea level) – about 4 km in both directions. Fjellheisen and Floya offer beautiful views of Tromso and the nearby mountains. Definitely a place worth recommending!
Another attraction, and at the same time the symbol of Tromso is the Arctic Cathedral – Ishavskatedralen, known also as the Church of Tromdalen. The shape resembles piling up ice blocks and is visible from almmost every point in Tromso. Admission costs 50 NOK. You can go there also to one of the many organ concerts. More information you can find here.
Center of Tromso
The main street of Tromso is Storgata, where you can find numerous wooden houses, restaurants and shops. There you can also visit the most famous and oldest pub in Tromso – Ølhallen. It belongs to the Mack brewery (Mack Bryggeri), which in 2015 lost the position of the northernmost brewery to the brewery Svalbard Bryggeri.
On Storgata Street there is also one of the oldest cinemas in Europe . Verdensteatret was created in 1916 especially for silent movies.
Not on Storgat Street itself, but nearby the Polar Museum (Polarmuseet) is located. It is an ideal place for anyone who would like to learn more about Arctic expeditions. Once Tromso was an important base for the famous Arctic expeditions, this led to the city being known as the "Gateway to the Arctic". Admission to the museum is 60 NOK.
Festivals in Tromso
The main square in Tromso is Stortorget. We were lucky because the International Snow Festival took place there on our last day. The space in the center of Tromso was filled with ice sculptures, which were additionally beautifully highlighted. So there was a sculpture showing friendship between a dragon and a polar bear made by team from Thailand, an arctic cupcake from Finland or the heart of a snowman who liked it in Tromso so much that he left it there.
Other festivals in Tromso:
- Tromso International Film Festival
- Tromso Northern Lights Festival – music festival
- Sami Week – a feast of Sami, an indigenous population living in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula. On February 6, they celebrate The Sami National Day and because of that lots of different activities are held. Among the others Norwegian Championship in Lasso Throwing or the Norwegian championship of reindeer racing.
- Soldagen – the sun feast takes place on January 21, the day the sun rises after the polar night for the first time. Residents of Tromso celebrate this day by eating a skoleboller – buns with custard and coconut.
Accommodation by Lyngen Fjordcamp
Lyngen Fjordcamp, where we stayed, is located in the quiet town of Nord Lenangen on the Ullsfjorden fjord. The perfect place not only in the winter, but also in the summer. The cottage is fully equipped and you can use the traditionally wood-fired sauna. There is also a hot tub for an additional fee. In the end, we didn't take advantage of jacuzzie because of the strong wind, but I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to admire the night spectacle involving aurora in hot water.
The location of the cottage meant that you didn't have to go too far to see the power of the northern lights. I will never forget my excitement when I opened the door to the terrace, and saw it, an amazing aurora lighting up the night sky! What a beautiful view! Seeing intensively green aurora with flashes of other colors definitely count among one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.
How to get to Lyngen Fjordcamp
To get to this place, you have to go from Tromso to the east and take the ferry (cost 122 NOK). This almost 100 km ride offers beautiful views of the nearby mountains. The last ferry from Breivikeide to Svensby departs during the week at 22:30. Sometimes we had the feeling that ferry doesn't leave on schedule but maybe it was because of the weather contidions or sooner if it was filled up. Here you can check ferry schedule.
Lyngen Alps
The Lyngen peninsula itself, where our base was located, is dominated by the Lyngen Alps. This untouched, pristine area, covered with glaciers is ideal for both winter and summer tourism. There are numerous trekking trails, and in the winter you can enjoy the scenery on cross-country skis or snowshoeing.
Snowshoeing in the Lyngen Alps
From Xlyngen we rented showshoes with poles for 200 NOK. We headed towards Lyngstuva, the furthest point of the Lyngen peninsula. The whole trip is about 6 km in both directions. On the way there is a place for a bonfire, toilet and a kind of shelter which protects from the wind ad rain. The day we went it was very windy and we didn't manage to reach the end of the trail where the lighthouse is located. Around it is a small cabin, where you can spend the night (space for 2-3 people). It is a pity that we didn't make it there, because at the end there is a view of the fjords of Hamrefjorden, Ullsfjorden and Lyngen and the nearby islands. The trail is quite easy, but it offers beautiful views.
The trail we had the opportunity to get to know is only one of the many available on the peninsula. Below you will find links to websites where you can check other interesting trekkings.
Visit Lyngenfjord
Useful website to plan trekkings
Recommend trekkings
Kvaløya Island
The island of Kvaloya, or "Whale Island", is a beautiful island west of Tromso. To get there, all you need is a 20-minute drive across the Sandnessund bridge. This fifth largest island in Norway has a lot to offer throughout the year. During our all-day trip we had the opportunity to admire the fjords, beautiful snow-covered peaks and reindeers! Wild reindeers that are so easy to miss. Especially when their antlers look like the bushes, as it was in our case. We also went for a short walk towards the Nattmålsfjellet summit (297 m above the sea level), from where there was an amazing view of the Ersfjord and Kaldfjord.
Is it worth going to the area of Tromso?
Definitely yes! This was my first such winter trip to the north and the views absolutely fascinated me. This fairy-tale frosty land has lots of to offer and it seems to me that everyone will find something for themselves. When we were there, just after Soldagen, the day was still not too long (sunrise 10:24, sunset 13:28), but fully used. Each day was accompanied by colors of pink and blue, which made the place magical. Most importantly, we've been able to watch aurora every day! A phenomenon that every time gave me goosebumps all over my body. It is difficult to describe these feelings when a spectacle with Green Lady suddenly begins in the sky. The Aurora changed shapes, disappeared to appear in a completely different place in a moment. Sometimes it was more intense, sometimes just a cloud in the sky.
What I have described is just an example of how you can spend your time in the area of Tromso. Besides chasing the northern lights, you can also go on a visit to the Saami reindeer farm, take part in an organized dog sleds or discover new places on cross-country skiing.
Would you go on such a trip?


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January 3 is Festival of Sleep Day! 0 reviews (Do you like this day? Rate it!)
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|Sleep Website For Kids
Sleep Website For Kids There's a great website www.sleepforkids.org that talks all about sleep: why we sleep how sleep works how much sleep do we need dreams troubles sleeping nightmares Check it out and learn more about sleep!
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No matter if you are a novice to fishing or an experienced veteran; you should be able to find something interesting in what follows. In my years as a member on FishExplorer.com, I have found some disdain directed towards those using live bait. While I agree with some of the points made, they also tend to look down on my fishing practices. So, instead of fightin' in the muck, I decided to share some of my fishing knowledge in the hope that it will educate those seeking to improve upon their own personnel fishing skills and maybe in the process gain some respect for my methods on the water.
Bait fishing is not a thing to look down upon. Live bait fishing is the purist and most 'original' form of fishing around. While growing up on the waters of the Pacific Ocean, and fishing on day boats, it was common practice to fish with live squid. At Lake Isabella, you simply wouldn't hook into any channel cats if you didn't have some night crawlers, chicken livers, or mussels. There did, however, come a time when I simply had to change things up and step out of the comfort zone that my father had patiently helped me develop. When you fish next to a man catching fish after fish on a Rapala, it forces you rethink your strategy.
The following information is from the perspective of a shore angler and most of these techniques were developed at Pueblo Reservoir. Fishing from boat or at different bodies of water may yield different results.
The two most controversial topics when one discusses bait fishing are trash and releasing fish.
There is a perception that it's standard practice of many to leave their trash around. It boggles my mind every time I go to Pueblo Reservoir, hike a mile into the wildlife reserve, and find worm and liver containers, beer cans, water bottles, cigarette butts, and the packages that they were bought in. There is absolutely no excuse for this. A prime example of the ruin of nature would have to be Lake Puddingstone California. In 1983, this lake was a jewel set in the hills, hiking along the shore to various coves would allow you to reach your limit in the matter of an hour. Now, this body of water is a garbage receptacle. Between the trash, overfishing, and general destruction of the shoreline, it is a ghost of what it used to be. Simply there is no excuse for any angler to leave their trash, regardless of how they fish, bait, fly, or lure.
My father and the men I grew up fishing with were very content on taking a fish here and there, sometimes none where taken. All too often, people use the 'easiest' form of catching, usually by using small treble hooks or j-hooks. This practice when live bait fishing may result in higher than necessary fish mortality. Some may believe that if the fish is mortally wounded, it's ok to throw it into a cooler. However, today's regulations are such that a badly hurt fish may be legally required to be released. With that in mind, it takes some extra knowledge to learn how to not mortally wound your catch, so as to allow for its safe release. I rarely, if ever, wound a fish to the point of no return, and I will show you how to do this, also.
Special attention here needs to be given to the circle hook. I don't know when the circle hook was created and growing up I was not familiar with it. The best way to catch a fish back then was to use a larger j-hook and hide it inside your bait. You had to be very quick to react to a strike, in order to prevent the hook from being ingested and causing irreparable damage. Unfortunately, it also decreased your catch ratio greatly. Today, circle hooks are the most effective way of preventing seriously wounded fish. With a circle hook, it's important to learn to simply reel in, instead of reacting to the strike by pulling on the rod for a hook set.
In my opinion the absolute best circle hooks are made by Gamakatsu and Owner. With some knowledge of sharpening hooks, you can re-use these hooks for at least two years (or more), thus decreasing tackle costs for you. They are somewhat pricey compared to others, but they are worth it. In regards to treble hooks, I will only use large trebles when I am fishing for trophy cats. Catfish tend to play with the bait and 'sample it', allowing you more than enough time to get a hook set in the jaw rather then it being swallowed. Smaller trebles will certainly get swallowed, thus killing the fish on hook set. They should NEVER be used for any other species, especially trout.
Packing In/Out:
I had a really cool tackle box handed down to me from my father that I used for more than two decades. It had nostalgia, but it also had no room to pack out trash. These days, I have chosen to switch over to a regular old hiking bag, necessary as I fish multiple-species at any given time. However, a smaller day bag or back pack should work just fine if fewer species are targeted. Not only does a bag allow you to carry more tackle, it also allows you to ditch your cooler, store ample drinks and food, and pack out yours and others' trash.
Go ahead and see if your water bottle will fit in the bottom compartment of your box, it most likely won't. All too often, a twelve hour outing will result in the live bait angler coming up with grand excuses as to why they can't pack out their trash. It's frowned upon for a reason, and if you want that sweet honey hole to continue to be a great spot, you are best to simply 'pack it out'.
Safe Catch and Release
When handling your catch, you should always have a wet towel. It's not only useful for cleaning the nasty live bait off your hands, but it's needed for taking a photo if fishing alone. I generally try to never hold the fish by the jaws when taking a photo. You greatly increase the risk for jaw breakage. Simply lay the fish down on the towel, snap your pictures, take measurements, and release. Wet plastic that hasn't been in direct sunlight, works well too. Always wet your hands in order to not remove the VERY IMPORTANT protective 'slime' that coats the fish and protects it from infection and disease. If you do hold your fish up for the camera, always hold it gently under the belly with one hand, loosely by the jaw with the other hand, and keep the fish horizontal. When catching a larger fish that has given a great fight, you will need to release it patiently. Hold it gently near its tail allowing it to reorient itself again. It's tired. If not done properly, the fish can become unstable, swimming upside down and generally losing its ability to recover. Some fish types are more rugged then others, but this information should be STRICTLY followed for any trout, bass, or wiper.
Trout (Rainbow):
I don't typically target trout, but I will in the late winter, early spring months. Trout, for their size, are an amazing fighting fish. Unfortunately, they are also very fragile after being caught; the risk of mortality is very high if not using artificial lures/flies. The only way one can safely bait fish for trout in my experience is with a barbless circle hook. Simply crimp the barb area of the hook down with your pliers; it will disintegrate under the pressure. This will also increase catch rates.
In regards to bait, stay away from larger night crawlers, and do your best to either use 'trout worms' or worms found in the yard. If you need yard worms, run your hose for about thirty minutes in the lawn, you should get more than enough when they surface trying to escape the flooded earth. Store them in some moderately moist (not wet) dirt. Salmon eggs also work well. I generally never use power bait unless I am trying to get some kids into fish.
Using j-hooks should be avoided for the safety of the fish. If you do use them, make sure they're barbless. Check your local laws for your body of water, many areas in Colorado DO NOT ALLOW LIVE BAIT FISHING for trout.
Catfish (Flats/Blues/Channels):
Three catfish species in Colorado are typically targeted by anglers; channel catfish, blues, and flatheads. Each has very different eating preferences. Channel catfish love to scour for dead and easy to obtain food, although sometimes they will also go after live bait when older. Blue catfish will follow the same eating pattern, but will eat live bait more often than not when they mature, they also love cut bait. Flatheads are very predatory and generally only go for live bait. The times they will eat 'dead' bait is usually a good indication of a very out of balance ecosystem, and it's simply trying to survive.
There are times when a larger weight should be used while catfishing, such as one ounce egg shape weights. Ideally they should be set up to slide above your leader. This will allow your catfish to sample the bait without being spooked by a fixed weight. If fishing with a fixed weight, try to stay under half an ounce. In general, you don't need to cast far for a catfish. They tend to roam like sharks, and are very predatory near the shoreline. Catfish will follow channels and cuts to get to the shore as if traveling by freeway, so know your environment. Also, if your bait is heavy enough, you will not need any weight at all. This will increase your catch rates dramatically if you can adopt a setup that allows you to 'fly line' your bait out.
When it comes to bait, catfish will eat almost anything. Shrimp, worms, marshmallows, hot dogs, cut bait, chicken/beef liver, 'Zote' soap bars from Mexico (yes, I just said that), TV bait shrimp, live or dead minnows/shiners, gum (yes, this happened with spearmint), power bait, stink baits, insects, leeches, mussels - the list is endless. The best overall bait has to be shad cut bait.
Don't fall prey to the myth that catfish are on the bottom. You'll be astonished at what a shad under a bobber can do. Simply hook the shad in the middle under its dorsal fin with a larger circle hook. If fishing with chicken or beef liver, make sure you 'wrap' the liver to the hook using pantyhose. Although you will look very strange buying pantyhose at your local store, this allows you to cast farther, and you will have fewer problems with the liver coming off during the cast.
When you are using worms, create a "worm ball" by attaching multiple worms to the hook. Make sure you have a couple torn in half on too, so the scent will spread out.
My basic setup uses eight to ten pound mono, although braided is becoming popular. Always use a leader that is the same size as the line you are using. Catfish will roll constantly during the fight increasing the risk of your line snapping.
For trophy sized catfish, you will need to up your setup to 14-30 pound mono, even fifty pound braided if possible. The fight you will have will be intense to non-dramatic.
Fishing with your drag tightened is discouraged especially if your setup is in a pole holder. Catfish are very finicky, and will actually drop the bait if they feel the resistance, so keep the drag as loose as possible. When your spool starts to sing and you prepare for hook set, simply hold the spool tight. If using a circle hook, wait until the cat stops running, tighten down the drag, and reel in fast. Ultimately, in my opinion, try to learn how to watch your line, and leave the bail open on your spinning setup. When you do see your line going out, patiently and quietly get your rod and wait. You will need to close your bail softly, and wait for the line to straighten out. If using weight, you will have to really reel in hard to fight the counterbalance of the weight and get a good hook set with your circle hook. When done correctly, you will be ready for one of the best fresh water fights in your life.
My dad, while I was growing up fishing the Pacific, had no issues with hooking a live squid while we fished for yellow tail or halibut. The things where kind of weird, they would grab your fingers with those tentacles, bite with their beak, and even shoot ink in your eyes if you'd let 'em. My dad however, to this day, will never touch a leech. People have this very strange primordial instinct not to like leeches. I say, get over it. The leech, in my eyes, is what I like to call 'Colorado Gold' and the wipers and walleye love them. The following is an excerpt from a post made Jason Russell on FishExplorer.com:
"Although some of us do have "honey" spots, there are plenty of walleye and plenty of places to catch them. The key is to know the fish. You allude to a pea sized brain, this means that that are very instinctual and also very predictable. Some hints on walleye behavior will hopefully help you in your quest. The biggest walleye (9 lb) I ever caught was from shore, using a leech on the bottom. I prefer live leeches and jigging or slip bobber from shore. But that is also why I have two poles, one can sit with the bobber or on the bottom if it is a jig, and I can try some lures around the area to see if there are any takers. Knowing the bait fish is good too."
In regards to the fishing practice of targeting walleye and wipers, nothing seems to do better than a leech. I tend to target both by using a 'lindy' setup. This consists of a circle hook, lindy float, leader, and sliding weight in that order. This allows you to search the water column by letting out line every five or ten minutes to find where the wipers or walleye are suspended. Once you find that sweet spot, it's almost impossible to not get a strike if you are in the right spot. If you are not in the right spot, MOVE. Other methods of targeting wiper include a live minnow under a bobber, mussel under a bobber, or a night crawler (although less successful). If you are fishing from boat or shore, a 'worm spinning harness' is deadly for walleyes, mostly during dusk or dawn. It all comes down to lots of experimenting and practice to figure the pattern out. This will be discussed shortly. Just like catfish, do NOT set your drag tight when fishing for wiper and utilizing a pole holder. I know a number of men who have literally had their rods snapped in two, due to very large wiper strikes.
Bass (spotted, smallmouth, largemouth):
The state record smallmouth bass was caught at Aurora Reservoir, and it was with live bait under a bobber. The beautiful thing about fishing is that it's the ultimate American sport, the great equalizer. How many stories have you heard of a seven year old girl catching a mammoth catfish on a Barbie Doll pole? Probably a few! Bass are no different. When live bait fishing for bass, I have found the best success with the following. A night crawler rigged under a slip bobber, a minnow or shiner under a slip bobber, or a crawdad "fly lined" out and allowed to roam the bottom.
When hooking a live crawdad, simply hook it between its tail plates bottom to top, being careful to go between the plates, and to also not rupture the 'mud vein' going through the middle. If you hit the mud vein, it will soon after die, leaving you with a much less attractive offering. I also have great success with leeches on a lindy rig setup. Again however, use only circle hooks. Our bass population is in dire need of some love, and any bass mortally wounded should be taken seriously, calling in a change of tactics. Also, take some time to understand the art of 'tipping' a jig or spinner with live bait, it will make the difference sometimes between you catching, or not catching. Check your local laws for your body of water, many areas in Colorado DO NOT ALLOW LIVE BAIT FISHING for bass.
The best luck I have had to this day, in regards to live bait fishing, is a 'bait popper'. This technique is absolutely deadly for top water bass. There are some made on the market, but if you want to be inventive, just set up your own. Simply take your favorite popper, and remove the tail hook. From there, you will want to attach a one to two and a half foot leader, and a circle hook. What this will do, is entice more interest in your live bait. The bass will be 'triggered' by the top water commotion of the popper, but ultimately strike the trailing live bait. Even more interesting is when you leave the foremost treble on the popper; they will sometimes forgo the live bait and strike that instead. It makes for interesting fishing!
Planning/Record Keeping
The two most important items I own for my techniques are a topographic map and log book. There are many cell phone applications for both, but I am old and not hip with the times now. I simply keep a log book in a record keeper book, as well as a paper copy of the topographic map.
In your log book you should at the least note the following items:
What is most important about the log book, aside from what worked is what did not work. Often time's anglers become very obsessed with using the same old tactics, and this is the greatest key to folks getting 'the skunk'. By keeping an up to date log book you will know, at the very least, that you should try something different in your spot from year to year. Also, don't allow the log book to control trip plans. Just because you didn't catch something on June 26th 2011 in your spot, doesn't mean you won't on June 26th 2012; just change it up this time! Also, some very tech savvy anglers these days are utilizing GPS, to pinpoint exact locations, instead of relying on shore structure to find where the fish are at. In regards to a topographic map and fishing from shore, you want to correlate where you where fishing to the notes in your log book. I do this by writing a number in my topographic map where I was fishing and note that in my log book. It would be VERY difficult to help you understand what various terms are in regards to understanding a topographic map. The one I have helps you do this by explaining different terms in the back, but a simple Google search will do the same. The most important terms to know are:
If you are having issues figuring out what the bottom structure has to offer, try this trick. Attach a one ounce weight to the end of your line and reel in slowly after casting to your intended spot. This will allow you to 'feel' out what the bottom has to offer, without snagging and losing your gear. Remember to cast farther then your intended target so as to not spook any fish in the area. By learning this information, and the effects of wind, temperature, and current, you will seriously have the MOST important information for live bait fishing in your tackle box of knowledge. If you are fishing a reservoir that goes through extreme water level changes throughout the year, take pictures of the shoreline structure that ultimately will be submerged when the levels increase. Knowledge is power.
The biggest mistake that many live bait anglers make is refusing to move. At Pueblo, I will actually travel about one half to one and a half miles of shore, one way. By the end, I will focus on moving back towards the start of my trip. You need, at all costs, to move. Sometimes, fish just will not, in any way, be where you think they are. You need to move. I usually always use a pole holder for one pole, and keep my other pole in my hand moving my bait accordingly. You need to learn the importance of what was mentioned above in regards to structure and under water elements. As a general rule, I will never stay in one spot longer then 30-45 minutes unless fishing for catfish. In that case, I will stay for up to four hours sometimes before moving my bait or re-baiting. It all comes down to 'what' you are fishing for, and what the currents and wind are doing.
I hope all this information has been of some use in one way or another. Also, do not feel the need to solely focus on one method of fishing. Fly fishing, and bait casting are obviously effective methods of fishing. Although awkward at times, I can still be found bait casting at Pueblo, even though I am relatively new to it. The idea is to not only learn more about what you like, but to get yourself out of your comfort zone. After some years, it will pay off in spades! In the end, you will get some discouraging looks at times from other anglers when you use live bait methods. Follow the advice given above, and in a short amount of time next to them, you yourself will help them understand that you, in reality, are no different than they are. And that my brothers, is the ultimate goal, commonality and the ability to coexist. Go catch some fish, and take care of our waters.