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And so the time comes again for The Quietus Jovian Bow Shock Prize, our alternative to the annual Chicken Cottage Mercury Prize (formerly The Holland And Barrett Mercury Prize, Werthers Originals Mercury Prize and before that the Mmmm Danone Mercury Prize). That award is all well and good, and this year we're especially pleased to see our old mucker East India Youth nominated, alongside FKA Twigs and Polar Bear, who surely must win something, one day, else they'll just stop turning up and Seb Rochford will forsake his drums for a life of monastic quietude. Given that he plays for half the artists under the sun, the affect on contemporary music will be catastrophic. Anyway, our place is not to slag off the Mercury Prize (formerly The Holland And Barrett Mercury Prize, Werthers Originals Mercury Prize and before that the Mmmm Danone Mercury Prize), but to celebrate twelve of the British-made albums that we've been loving over the past year.
A couple of omissions, you might think: East India Youth's TOTAL STRIFE FOREVER isn't in there not because we released it (it was the lovely people at Stolen) but because he was featured in the Jovian Bow Shock Prize 2012 shortly after he'd first given John a copy of that LP at a Factory Floor gig - evidence here, along with the er original artwork. The other glaring omission, you might argue, is Grumbling Fur's Preternaturals which, personally speaking, is my favourite album of the past 12 months by far. As we did release it (AVAILABLE HERE GIVE US SOME COIN) we're leaving it off, but do have a listen and enjoy the photograph of John and I enjoying the album in the manner to which we have become accustomed here. We did actually enter the Mercury Prize with said album... presumably the judges were having a funny turn when it came up for discussion. The Jovian Bow Shock Prize winner will be announced later this year, with the prize being a special Quietus Hamper, contents especially selected by ourselves with the winning artist in mind. Past victors Carter Tutti Void had a vegetarian meal at Rasa, Stoke Newington, while last year we put some meat on Fat White Family's bones by sending them a Chinese takeaway. So with out further ado the nominees for The Quietus Jovian Bow Shock Prize 2014 are...
Bong - Stoner Rock
(Ritual Productions)
"It is a tongue-in-cheek dig at our usual classification as stoner rock and what the term has come to represent. The idea is to create our own definition of 'stoner rock' by creating an album so utterly stoned and repetitive to be a million miles away from the usual definition. Those who know Bong already will get both the humour and the philosophical redefinition... those who don't know us will either get it when they listen or will never understand Bong at all." - Bong
The Bug - Angels & Devils
(Ninja Tune)
"Still possessing that knack for unearthing pop from the most shadowy of places, here he's pinpointed a zone where the furious party impulses and black humour of early incarnations of The Bug are threaded through with vulnerability and tenderness, and where sound system wreckers coexist alongside tracks that battle through the city while enclosed in their own space, hood up and headphones on. As a result, the urban world it evokes feels distinctly contemporary. Listening to the MCs pick their way through the volatile, ambiguous and ever-shifting terrain of Angels & Devils you can't help but feel echoes of our own increasingly fraught efforts to negotiate our own individual roles and opinions in a society whose battle lines are being constantly redrawn and reframed." - Rory Gibb; read the rest of the review here
Daniel Patrick Quinn - Acting The Rubber Pig
(Self-released on Bandcamp)
"Where have all the awkward bastards gone, the square pegs in round holes, those who willfully follow difficult paths, to their own detriment, in a time where society at large, not just music, is increasingly conformist, commodified, and keeps calm as it carries on? In a careerist age, there seem to be too many who'd compromise rather than jack it all in if they can't realise their vision. Daniel Patrick Quinn, then, is a rarity in his generation." - Luke Turner; read the rest of the review here
FKA Twigs - LP1 (Young Turks)
"FKA twigs has managed to explore this existential condition of the performer, succeeding in accepting, diverting, turning and owning the male gaze. At the same time, she explores the strangeness of the dom, sub and switch that exists in all relationships, as they sit on a sliding scale between old-time monogamy, the letters pages of Cosmo and the hardest BDSM. That she's done this on such an uncompromising and weird album - and one which is now flying so far into the mainstream - is surely one of the most exciting things to happen in pop music for quite some time." - Luke Turner; read the rest of the review here
Ibibio Sound Machine - Ibibio Sound Machine
"Rather than simply resting on the reliable universal appeal of the group's dance orientated origins, Ibibio Sound Machine are trying something new, and while it doesn't always astonish, the high points showcase some of the best and most hypnotic arrangements from any band playing anywhere in the world today. At under forty minutes, an album of groove-based music in a foreign language doesn't have much time to make an impact, but it certainly does leave you wanting more. It's clear this is just the very beginning, and that Ibibio Sound Machine have a hell of a lot more to give." - Tristan Bath; read the rest of the review here
Leyland Kirby presents V/VM - The Death Of Rave
(History Always Favours The Winners)
"With The Death Of Rave reframed as a personal document, the mood becomes closer to muted, resigned frustration, making it a tactile pleasure to wallow through. Kirby's inherent awareness that those nights had to end sometime is expressed as a bitter aftertaste - a metallic, hollowed-out roar of sound, burning off whatever dancefloor fuel was once present to leave behind impressionistic smears of smoke and choking ash. This obscuring of the once-vibrant source tells its own message: it speaks to the challenge, if not the complete futility, of gazing backward as a mechanism for salvaging a future in which dance music's infrastructure can escape its current strictures. Twenty years since 1994, in their own way these eight suites - cropped from that original 200 or so - feel as much like postcards of a bygone era as The Caretaker's delicate manipulations of decaying 78s from the 1920s and 30s." - Rory Gibb; read the rest of the review here
Manic Street Preachers - Futurology
"For a band so often accused by their cynical detractors of failing to walk it like they talk it, there's something gloriously vindicatory about seeing Bradfield, Wire and Moore doing exactly what they said they were going to do here. Manic Street Preachers, a quarter-century since their first release, are presenting a face to the world as heroic as those in any Soviet constructivist propaganda poster. And Futurology is more than just THAT version of the Manics, and one of THOSE albums. It's a bona fide, solid-as-granite masterpiece." - Simon Price; read the rest of the review here
Perc - The Power And The Glory
(Perc Trax)
"Perc nails that feeling of loose - and slightly panicked - musical progress that was at the heart of 1993 darkcore/jungle without giving way to twee homage or neatly packaged nostalgia. Assuredly warehouse, and pleasingly warped... The Power And The Glory: a pinpoint-focused derailing of the rotten apple cart, a masterpiece of the hard arts." - Harry Sword; read the rest of the review here
Ronika - Selectadisc
(Record Shop)
"Musically I'm drawn to making feelgood music that takes you away from yourself, because the hard times have been pretty full-on. I'm drawn to dancefloor escapism and physical abandonment. Some of the lyrics reflect my struggle with the illness - like in 'Clock', it goes; "Lightning always hits the heart, to make it start", because when a major crisis happens in your life, I feel it happens to make you wake up and realise what's really important." Ronika speaking to Al Needham; read the rest of the Ronika interview here
Simon Fisher Turner - The Epic Of Everest
"On its own merits, Epic Of Everest is a remarkable exercise in ambient aurora, a gloriously slow awakening of an electronic dawn. The album could easily be tagged as a polar cousin to the KLF's Chill Out, with its similar usage of delicate waves of sound, punctuated by brief fragments of conversation, the braying of Tibetan llamas and E-Bow guitar yawning and seeping through the sunlight. The album is divided into sixteen tracks but is best experienced as an unadulterated whole, an expansive and complex exercise in glorious ambient electronica with these very parameters stretching out into infinity." - Colm McAuliffe; read the rest of the review here
Sleaford Mods - Divide And Exit
(Harbinger Sound)
"Sleaford Mods force you to confront your own fecklessness, your own role and contribution to the English malaise. Sleaford Mods'd probably think I was a twat, and that's what I love about them. Yet you can't write these off as misanthropists. It's hard to place, maybe in the earnestness that's at the back of Williamson's voice, definitely in the humour, but it's as if with all this energy and anger (an attack is always more powerful when it's made by someone on something they love) Sleaford Mods want to do right by this country. There's not many you can say that of, in the spring of 2014." - Luke Turner; read the full review here
Teeth Of The Sea - Master
(Rocket Recordings)
"The album ends on a truly emphatic note with the rapturous 'Responder', ten minutes of bliss that evolves from slow-burning, broiling noise textures into a floor-pounding dancefloor epic buoyed by an infectious back-beat and raucous trumpet blasts. With its gnarly opening and sweeping final segment, it neatly condenses the various moods, textures and sounds of Master into one track, signing off on the highest of peaks. If Fuck Buttons hadn't gone stadium-sized, and instead expanded on the brittle edges of their superlative debut Street Horrrsing, they might have ended up sounding as weird, majestic and abrasive as Teeth of the Sea do on Master. One thing's for sure: these tracks probably won't end up soundtracking a major sports event." - Joseph Burnett; read the rest of the review here


text:
Many people believe a home or building inspection is only relevant or necessary at the time of a real estate transaction(buying or selling your home). However, this is simply not true!
Over the years, time, weather, daily wear, and remodeling or repairs completed can eventually have an effect on or cause important systems to fail unexpectedly. Often times, these conditions can develop suddenly and are hard to detect. Seasonal or annual inspections are a smart and proactive approach that can help alleviate this fear through early detection and preventative maintenance repairs, which will protect the value and integrity of your investment.
Hire an inspector to perform a seasonal or annual property inspection, to remain informed on the current condition of your home or commercial building, even if the property was inspected at the time of purchase.
Remember: You can't expect what you don't inspect
We treat our Seasonal & Annual Inspections like we treat our standard Home Inspections:
- Full 300-Point Property Inspection
- Video and / or Pictures for Samples
- On-Site Digital Reports
- Same-Day Emailed Reports
Here is a short checklist of some of the things we include in our Seasonal/Annual property inspections:
Exterior Inspections of you home &/or property.
- Settling cracks in concrete or asphalt sidewalks, driveways, and patios could cause unevenness and trip hazards
- Deck repairs such as loose steps or handrails, rotted wood decking, and flaking paint
- Moss/Algae buildup on siding, windows, or doors
- Evidence of rodent tunneling in grounds, bird nests, or wasp/mud dauber nests on siding/soffit/downspout extensions, on light fixtures, and under decks
- Exterior Shell: Cracked caulking, loose or missing brick mortar, loose flashings, gaps in siding, construction gaps all can lead to water entry
- Debris in gutters, leaking downspouts, improperly sloped or sagging gutters
- Safety reverse sensors on garage door
- Overgrown trees/vegetation
- Leaning fences or retaining walls
- Overall lot drainage and grade(Everyone knows I am big on this one)
- Sagging overhead wires(electric main, if overhead)
- Spigots and exterior gfci outlets
Interior Inspections of your home &/or property.
- Sloping floors, settling cracks in drywall, moisture stains in ceilings or walls
- Smoke/CO detectors as needed
- Loose handrails, bunched carpeting, uneven flooring
- Failed/fogged/cracked window glass
- Cracked/Loose outlets or switches
- Plumbing leaks(under sinks, behind toilets, behind washing machines)
- Water pressure/speed of drains
- Clogged dryer vents
- Mold under sub floors in crawl spaces and basements
- Flaking Paint may contain Lead
- Test all appliances(Furnace, A/C, water heater, dishwasher, disposal, sump pump)
- Fireplace(cracked firebrick panels, soot buildup in flue, missing screens, doors, loose mantel
- Furnace Inspection/service by HVAC technician
- GFCI outlets resetting/tripping in Kitchen, Bathrooms, and Laundry room
- Debris/dirt in HVAC ductwork
Attic Inspections.
- Mold in roof sheathing
- Rodent or Wood Destroying Insect entry/nesting
- Lack of or damp Insulation
- Damaged Framing/Structure integrity
- Electrical Hazards(loose/spliced wires, open junction boxes)
Well Water.
Test for:
- bacteria
- lead
- nitrates/nitrites
Septic Tank Systems.
Hire a licensed Septic contractor(new law in La Porte county for all real estate transactions) to pump and visually inspect inside of septic tank and drain field
Radon Testing:
The EPA recommends testing your house for Radon every two years as levels can fluctuate.
3 Home Inspection Services For Free
Certified Is Giving 3 Services Away For Free!!! Each Home Inspection Now Includes A FREE Mold, Pest, and Infrared Thermal…
More Ice Damming Dammit!
Well, I'll be damned! It's an Icicle and ice dam fest out there nwi. With all of this snow accumulation…
The Dangers of Residential Stairways
Improper handrails, steps, and guardrails are among the most common safety hazard violations home inspectors encounter on a daily basis.…
Signs of Pests in Crown Point
If you've ever seen the demise of Christopher Walken at the hands of that notorious home-spoiling mouse in 1997's Mouse…
Better Commercial Inspections with ASTM
As Northwest Indiana continues to grow, particularly in areas like Crown Point that hold vast potential for new businesses, our…
The Importance of Smoke Detectors
In April of 2019, the Chicago Tribune published a story regarding the death of two women following fires that started…

subset: commoncrawl


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Title: Stuffing Author: Edgar Wallace * A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook * eBook No.: 1301771h.html Language: English Date first posted: Apr 2013 Most recent update: Apr 2013 This eBook was produced by: Roy Glashan Project Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editions which are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright notice is included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particular paper edition. Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this file. This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg of Australia License which may be viewed online at http://gutenberg.net.au/licence.html To contact Project Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.net.au
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THERE are several people concerned in this story whom it is impossible within a limited space to describe. If you are on friendly terms with the great men of Scotland Yard you may inspect the photographs and finger-prints of two—Harry the Valet and Joe the Runner.
Lord Carfane's picture you can see at intervals in the best of the illustrated weeklies. He was once plain Ferdie Gooberry, before he became a contractor and supplied the army with odds and ends and himself with a fortune and a barony.
In no newspaper, illustrated or otherwise, do the names of John and Angela Willett appear. Their marriage at a small registrar's office had excited no public comment, although he was a BA of Cambridge and she was the grand-niece of Peter Elmer, the shipping magnate, who had acknowledged his relationship by dictating to her a very polite letter wishing her every happiness.
They lived in one furnished room in Pimlico, this good-looking couple, and they had the use of the kitchen. He was confident that he would one day be a great engineer. She also believed in miracles.
Three days before Christmas they sat down calmly to consider the problem of the great annual festival and how it might best be spent. Jack Willett scratched his cheek and did a lightning calculation.
'Really, we ought not to spend an unnecessary penny,' he said dolefully. 'We may be a week in Montreal before I start work, and we shall need a little money for the voyage.'
They were leaving on Boxing Day for Canada; their berths had been taken. In Montreal a job was awaiting Jack in the office of an old college friend: and although twenty-five dollars per did not exactly represent luxury, it was a start.
Angela looked at him thoughtfully.
'I am quite sure Uncle Peter is going to do something awfully nice for us,' she said stoutly.
Jack's hollow laugh was not encouraging.
There was a tap at the door, and the unpleasant but smiling face of Joe the Runner appeared. He occupied an attic bedroom, and was a source of worry to his landlady. Once he had been in the newspaper business, running evening editions, and the name stuck to him. He had long ceased to be associated with the Press, save as a subject for its crime reporters, but this the Willetts did not know.
'Just thought I'd pop in and see you before I went, miss,' he said. 'I'm going off into the country to do a bit of work for a gentleman. About that dollar, miss, that you lent me last week.'
Angela looked uncomfortable.
'Oh, please don't mention it,' she said hastily.
'I haven't forgotten it,' said Joe, nodding solemnly. 'The minute I come back, I'll bring it to you.' And with a large and sinister grin he vanished.
'I lent him the money because he couldn't pay his rent,' said Angela penitently, but her husband waved her extravagance away.
'Let's talk about Christmas dinner. What about sausages…!'
'If Uncle Peter—' she began.
'Let's talk about sausages,' said Jack gently.
Foodstuffs were also the topic of conversation between Lord Carfane and Prince Riminoff as they sat at lunch at the Ritz-Carlton. Lord Carfane emphasized his remarks with a very long cigar.
'I always keep up the old English custom of distributing food to the poor,' he said. 'Every family on my estate on Christmas Eve has a turkey from my farm. All my workers,' he corrected himself carefully, 'except old Timmins. Old Timmins has been very rude to me, and I have had to sack him. All the tenants assemble in the great hall… But you'll see that for yourself, Prince.'
Prince Riminoff nodded gravely and tugged at his short beard. That beard had taken Harry the Valet five months to grow, and it was so creditable a production that he had passed Chief Inspector Mailing in the vestibule of the Ritz-Carlton and had not been recognised.
Very skilfully he switched the conversation into more profitable channels.
'I do hope, my dear Lord Carfane, that you have not betrayed my identity to your guests?'
Ferdie smiled.
'I am not quite a fool,' he said, and meant it.
'A great deal of the jewellery that I am disposing of, and of which you have seen specimens, is not mine. I think I have made that clear. I am acting for several of my unfortunate compatriots, and frankly it would be embarrassing for me if it leaked out that I was the vendor.'
Ferdie nodded. He suspected that a great deal of the property which he was to acquire had been secured by underhand means. He more than suspected that, for all his princely origin, his companion was not too honest.
'That is why I have asked that the money you pay should be in American currency. By the way, have you made that provision?' Lord Carfane nodded. 'And, of course, I shall not ask you to pay a single dollar until you are satisfied that the property is worth what I ask. It is in fact worth three times as much.'
Lord Carfane was nothing if not frank.
'Now, I'm going to tell you, my dear chap,' he said, 'there will only be one person at Carfane Hall who will know anything whatever about this little transaction of ours. He's an expert jeweller. He is an authority, and he will examine every piece and price it before I part with a single bob!'
His Highness heartily, but gravely, approved of this act of precaution.
Lord Carfane had met his companion a few weeks before in a highly respectable night club, the introduction having been effected through the medium of a very beautiful lady who had accidentally spilt a glass of champagne over his lordship's dress trousers. She was so lovely a personage that Lord Carfane did no more than smile graciously, and a few minutes later was introduced to her sedate and imposing presence.
Harry the Valet invariably secured his introductions by this method. Usually he worked with Molly Kien, and paid her a hundred pounds for every introduction.
He spoke no more of jewels smuggled from Russia and offered at ridiculous prices, but talked sorrowfully of the misfortunes of his country; spoke easily of his estates in the Crimea and his mines in the Urals, now, alas! in Bolshevik hands. Lord Carfane was immensely entertained.
On the following evening, Harry drove down in Lord Carfane's limousine to Berkshire, and was introduced to the glories of Carfane Hall; to the great banqueting chamber with its high raftered roof; to the white-tiled larder where petrified turkeys hung in rows, each grisly corpse decorated with a gay rosette…
'My tenants come in on Christmas Eve,' explained Lord Carfane,' and my butler presents each one with a turkey and a small bag of groceries—'
'An old feudal custom?' suggested the Prince gravely.
Lord Carfane agreed with equal gravity.
The Prince had brought with him a large, heavily locked and strapped handbag, which had been deposited in the safe, which was the most conspicuous feature of Ferdie's library. The expert jeweller was arriving on the morrow, and his lordship looked forward, with a sense of pleasurable anticipation, to a day which would yield him 400 per cent profit on a considerable outlay.
'Yes,' said Ferdie at dinner that night, 'I prefer a combination safe. One can lose keys, but not if they're here'—he tapped his narrow forehead and smiled.
Harry the Valet agreed. One of his greatest charms was his complete agreement with anything anybody said or did or thought.
Whilst he dwelt in luxury in the halls of the great, his unhappy confederate had a more painful task. Joe the Runner had collected from a garage a small, light trolley. It was not beautiful to look upon, but it was fast, and under its covered tilt, beneath sacks and amidst baskets, a man making a swift getaway might lie concealed and be carried to London without exciting attention.
Joe made a leisurely way into Berkshire and came to the rendezvous at the precise minute he had been ordered. It was a narrow lane at the termination of a footpath leading across the Carfane estate to the house. It was a cold, blue- fingered, red-nosed job, and for three hours he sat and shivered. And then, coming across the field in the blue dusk, he saw an old man staggering, carrying a rush basket in one hand and an indescribable something in the other. He was evidently in a hurry, this ancient. From time to time he looked back over his shoulder as though he expected pursuit. Breathlessly, he mounted the stile and fell over rather than surmounted it.
Stumbling to his feet, he saw Joe sitting at the wheel of the van, and gaped at him toothlessly, his eyes wide with horror. Joe the Runner recognised the signs.
'What have you been doin'?' he demanded sternly.
For a few minutes the breathless old man could not speak; blinked fearfully at his interrogator; and then:
'He's fired me,' he croaked. 'Wouldn't give me no turkey or nothin', so I went up to the 'All and pinched one.'
'Oh!' said Joe judiciously.
It was not an unpleasant sensation, sitting in judgment on a fellow creature.
'There was such a bother and a fuss and shouting going on…what with the safe bein' found broke open, and that foreign man being caught, that nobody seed me,' whimpered the elderly Mr Timmins.
'Eh?' said Joe. 'What's that—safe broken open?'
The old man nodded.
'I heered 'em when I was hiding in the pantry. His lordship found that the safe had been opened an' money took. He sent for the constable, and they've got the prince locked up in a room, with the under-gardener and the butler on guard outside the door—'
He looked down at the frozen turkey in his red, numbed hand; and his lips twitched pathetically.
'His lordship promised me a turkey and his lordship said I shouldn't have—'
Joe Runner was a quick thinker. 'Jump up in the truck,' he commanded roughly. 'Where do you live?'
'About three miles from here,' began Mr Timmins.
Joe leaned over, and pulled him up, parcel, bag and turkey.
'Get through into the back, and keep quiet.'
He leapt down, cranked up the engine with some difficulty, and sent the little trolley lumbering on to the main road. When he passed three officers in a police car speeding towards Carfane Hall his heart was in his mouth, but he was not challenged. Presently, at the urgent desire of the old man, he stopped at the end of a row of cottages.
'Gawd bless you, mister!' whimpered Mr Timmins. 'I'll never do a thing like this again.'
'Hi!' said Joe sternly. 'What do I get out of this?'
And then, as the recollection of a debt came to him:
'Leave the turkey—and hop!'
Mr Timmins hopped.
It was nine o'clock on Christmas morning, and Angela Willett had just finished her packing.
Outside the skies were dark and cheerless, snow and rain were falling together, so that this tiny furnished room had almost a palatial atmosphere in comparison with the drear world outside.
'I suppose it's too early to cook the sausages—by the way, our train leaves at ten tonight, so we needn't invent ways of spending the evening—come in.'
It was Joe the Runner, rather wet but smiling. He carried under his arm something wrapped in an old newspaper.
'Excuse me, miss,' he said, as he removed the covering, 'but a gent I met in the street asked me to give you this.'
'A turkey!' gasped Angela. 'How wonderful…who was it?'
'I don't know, miss—an old gentleman,' said Joe vaguely. 'He said "Be sure an' give it to the young lady herself—wishin' her a happy Christmas".'
They gazed on the carcase in awe and ecstasy. As the front door slammed, announcing Joe's hasty departure:
'An old gentleman,' said Angela slowly. 'Uncle Peter!'
'Uncle grandmother!' smiled John. 'I believe he stole it!'
'How uncharitable you are!' she reproached him. 'It's the sort of thing Uncle Peter would do. He always had that Haroun al Raschid complex—I wrote and told him we were leaving for Canada tonight. I'm sure it was he.'
Half-convinced, John Willett prodded at the bird. It seemed a little tough.
'Anyway, it's turkey,' he said, 'And, darling, I adore turkey stuffed with chestnuts. I wonder if there are any shops open
There was a large cavity at one end of the bird, and as he lifted the turkey up by the neck, the better to examine it, something dropped to the table with a flop. It was a tight roll of paper. He shook the bird again and a second fell from its unoffending body.
'Good God!' gasped John.
With trembling hands he cut the string that bound the roll
'It's money!' she whispered.
John nodded.
'Hundred dollar bills…five hundred of them at least!' he said hollowly.
Their eyes met.
'Uncle Peter!' she breathed. 'The darling!'
Mr Peter Elmer, the eminent ship owner, received the following day a telegram which was entirely meaningless:
Thank you a thousand times for your thought and generosity. You have given us a wonderful start and we shall be worthy of your splendid kindness.
It was signed 'Angela'. Mr Peter Elmer scratched his head.
And at that moment Inspector Mailing was interrogating Harry the Valet in the little police station at Carfane.
'Now come across, Harry,' he said kindly. 'We know you got the money out of the safe. Where did you plant it? You couldn't have taken it far, because the butler saw you leaving the room. Just tell us where the money is, and I'll make it all right for you when you come up in front of the old man.'
'I don't know what you're talking about,' said Harry the Valet, game to the last.
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text:
Simply put, there are two ways to turn Conditional formatting On and Off. The manual way will take you to the Home/Conditional Formatting/Manage Rules… window where you can delete the rules you want. But then there is an elegant way of doing this, that makes you look like an Excel Guru and that's the one we will be learning here. We will achieve this with the use of Conditional Formatting. It's funny and slightly "cannibalistic" since we will use Conditional Formatting to turn Conditional Formatting on and off, but it's a very efficient and elegant way of doing this!
So here it is, the whole article will get you there in three stages. If you are already familiar with some just jump ahead to the part that interests you. The three parts will be:
Here the original rule is the one we wish to turn on and off. In our case, let's take a look at the following example in Excel. Note the Data Validation dropdown in cell B1. It can quite as easily be a simple cell where you manually put in "Yes" and "No". Now on to our rule no. 1.
Our goal is simple, to highlight the top 10 values. So we select the cells and go to Home/Conditional Formatting/Top Bottom Rules/Top 10 Items
In the dialog box that follows, you can change the number of Top items and the format of the cell, but I will just go with the defaults.
So now we have our first rule. It must be said, you could do as many rules as you like, and you will still be able to turn them all on or off with one click.
Now here we will do a rule based on the value of the Data Validation Dropdown in cell B1 as visible on the first picture in this post. We will now create a conditional formatting rule based on a formula. We will do this like this. !!First we select the same range of cells as we did for the first rule!!. Then we select Home/Conditional Formatting/New Rule…
…and in the dialog box we will write
In the "Format values where this formula is true:" input box and set no specific format at the bottom. It's important that we set no specific format, since this rule will only work as a switch.
Now this has created the second rule for us, but at this point it has no effect on the previous rules. To achieve this, we must go to Home/Conditional Formatting/Manage Rules… In the dialog box we get, there are two sections demanding our attention. You can see them outlined and numbered in the following picture.
Our first goal is for the Formula rule, to be the first of the bunch… You can achieve this by selecting it and clicking the up-arrow button in section marked with 1. As for the second goal, this will be the magic one. You check the Stop If True Checkbox. And this checkbox says, if the first rule gives true (in other words, if we select "No" from the dropdown in B2), then no other rule will be checked and applied. This also explains, that there can be many more rules bellow, and they all would not be applied in quite the same manner. This truly is a big step to eternal happiness!
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Highlighting Weekends can be hard in Excel. So just for fun, ...
Ever wondered if your could use conditional colouring on Excel ...
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Simple and elegant — very cool!
Reblogged this on Argee's Office Help.
conditional formatting button disabled please help me?
I'm guessing the file format is incorrect, or the file is read only or Excel is in compatibility mode… Try to save the file as "Any name".xlsx (so to the new excel format) and it should work.
Thanks a lot.
Thought, the formula wouldn't it be =$B$2="No"
Thanks a lot for the good trick.
Yes, you're right. The reason I went for the "Hot-Dog" formula, was to emphasize that the formula must return a TRUE or FALSE. The condition itself would suffice.
I appreciate the comment.
Excellent, thanks for the knowledge
I like tricky, gadgety do-dads – and this fits the bill!
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you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is fantastic, let
alone the content!
this is actually a WordPress Chunk Theme which I customized a bit… This blog was "born" on May 13th 2014, so it's in it's infancy 🙂 Just wanted to share this Excel Tricks and knowledge with those that are interested in Excel, so I started this blog. I am glad you like it 🙂
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Today it is 98 degrees with expectations that the temperature will reach over 100 later this week! I have been playing with a variety of astrological configurations to see if I can come up with some astrometerology that makes sense for me, with no luck.
Then I read John Townley's August forecast:
Summer may have been late in coming for some, with July skies still replete with both earth and water, but as August moves in it all dries up, so anything you need done with your feet on the ground or some semblance of sensitivity should be taken care of by the end of the first week. Within the four days Aug. 4-8, Mercury moves out of watery Cancer into Leo and Mars flees earthy Taurus for some Gemini air, gracelessly squaring Venus backing out of Virgo into Leo, leaving the sky earthless and – except for Uranus – waterless. Hot and thirsty, pedal-to-the-metal summer has arrived. Only the Moon provides the occasional respite, with retro Venus herself in a last uncertain embrace with Saturn as he finally makes his move to Virgo.
Meanwhile, all the planets conspire to flee Mars, who dominantly becomes the bucket handle of action, swinging the rest of the sky for the rest of summer and all the way through the fall, where he turns retro and bogs down after going a bridge too far. Impetuosity rules, then reaps its usual rewards after tripping over two eclipses, one kicking near Saturn at his last lordly Leo degree with Regulus, and the other right opposite explosive Uranus, as August passes into September. Labor Day/Bank Holiday weekend falls right at the heart of the action. Lots of surprises, especially for those who forgot to check their brakes, which could be most of us.
Jupiter, meanwhile, is at the root of both the early recurring grand trines (with Saturn and Pluto) and the T-crosses with Mars and Uranus which expand to a full-blown grand cross at both eclipses. Things are wired tight like that all month, and daily aspects are a frantic hourly dance between the best and worst of possibilities. Definitely a month of extremes, with shrinks as usual on vacation
I had forgotten that we are in a cycle now that is primarily air and fire, with very little earth and virtually no water with the exception of Uranus in Pisces. Because Uranus is so dry by nature, it tends to dry up the water signs it passes through, particularly now that it is retrograde.
Extremes indeed, both outside and in!
When a birthchart lacks the element of water it shows an individual who has difficulty navigating through the emotional realms. It rarely signifies someone who is unemotional; in fact, quite often (depending on the ascendant which defines the exprssion of the personality) an individual who lacks the water element in their birthchart can be quite emotional. One might even say overemotional, particularly with a water sign rising. Without water in their chart they lack a conduit for which emotions to flow through, and they can therefore become overwhelmed by their emotions. Those with air signs on the ascendant who have no water in their chart can be cold and unsympathetic, disconnected from the ebb and flow of the emotional realms; with fire signs the personality is hotter but still dry. Like North Carolina!


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Step one: Mix up paste and spread it on fabric in a thin layer. We used a combination of rice flour and wheat flour. Some were left with a simple paste layer, others we marked into the paste with various tools. The unmarked pieces will, with any luck, become allover crackle patterns.
Step two: The next morning we "cracked" our dry pasted fabrics, then painted over the tops with acrylic and fabric paints—the plan being that the paint seeps into the cracks and marks onto the fabric and the rest of the fabric is protected from the paint by the paste resist.
Reva and Beth are painting over the dried paste resist.
Again, we spread them out on the sunny deck to dry and headed into Bend for another adventure. We found Starbucks and then a beautiful quilt shop that we had never been to before. We were happy to leave a few dollars at Quiltworks and bring home some beautiful fabrics and threads. Our lunch at the Pine Tavern turned into a marathon. We waited for more than an hour for our food, but it was outstanding once it arrived and they apologized for the delay with complimentary desserts. Again, plenty of good, often hilarious conversation. We do the eating/conversation part so well!
Step three: When we got back to Black Butte our creations were dry and we began the arduous task of cracking and scraping the dried paste off our fabrics. The paste can be removed more easily by soaking the piece in water overnight and then washing the remaining paste out, but we did not want to make a big gooey mess in the rental house or try to dispose of all that gummy, sticky wet paste. And—we wanted to be able to see what our fabrics looked like before we left. So we scraped with a spoon and picked with our fingers and revealed at least some of each piece to admire. Soaking and finishing will happen back home.
Here are areas with resist removed.
It was a great getaway with friends—wine, good food, laughs, stories, games of Draw Something and Mexican Train and the beauty of the pines and the aspens and the mountains of the High Desert country of Oregon.
I feel refreshed.


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Opening Night:
Saturday 15th of February, 4.00 – 6.00pm
In 2001, Australia participated in the invasion of Afghanistan in response to the September 11th attacks in the United States. What began as a mission to hunt down Al Qaeda became instead a protracted fight against Taliban insurgents. In Australia's longest war to date, more than $7 billion has been spent, more than 25,000 Australians have served with 40 of our best killed in action and more than 200 seriously wounded – not to mention the countless more suffering from psychological injuries.
The limited media coverage of Australia's involvement in this conflict resulted in a disconnection between the public and the armed forces. This body of work by Sydney artist Caroline McGregor began… "as a cry for the public recognition of the effort our young men and women who were risking their lives on the other side of the world. Initially titled "Just Give a F@*k" (a line that came from Matt Gallagher's book KABOOM – Embracing The Suck in a Savage Little War which read "I don't care if you support the war or not, just give a fuck!"), WARRIOR seemed to more honourably pay tribute to these young men and the sacrifices they have made on our behalf. As a nation we tend to look the other way and not share responsibility for the situations they found themselves in, but as a wise man once aptly put it "We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
Salerno Gallery
Address: We are moving!
Post: P.O Box 823, Glebe NSW 2037
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Exhibition Period Opening Hours: Further details will be announced late 2015 on this website and our facebook and instagram pages.
Salerno Gallery offered artists a prime street frontage exhibition space in the ever vibrant inner city suburb of Glebe, with a bright airy atmosphere and 24 hour exposure to Glebe Point Road, it provides a versatile space for artists and curators working with any medium of art for solo and group shows.
After more than five amazing years in Glebe it is with mixed emotions that we announce Salerno Gallery will be moving to a new space. Glebe has been absolutely wonderful […]
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I worked with artist Karen Garrett de Luna to create these visualizations of motion capture data.
Karen choreographed a series of movements that were performed in a motion capture studio. I then built custom software tools in Processing to visualize the captured data.
Working with Karen, we refined the output to fit her vision for the project. The final series of prints act as delicate signatures of the body's movement through space.


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GeForce series Drivers are part of the NVIDIA series of graphics Drivers for PCs and Notebooks. Use the links below to go directly to the …Read more
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Windows 10 users often complain about display issues after upgrading to Windows 10. If you have an NVIDIA Graphics Chip installed and you are seeing some errors, …Read more
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Windows 10 is a relatively new operating system and Microsoft is offering several updates to fine tune the user experience. Some users, however, have complained …Read more
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Some common issues faced by users after upgrading to Windows 10 are: problems when watching videos problems playing games slow PC issues Other display issues …Read more
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Download VGA Drivers Updates It is recommended you update your VGA Drivers regularly in order to avoid conflicts. Driver updates will resolve any driver conflict issues with all devices and …Read more
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Fix Video and Graphics Card Drivers problems The main producers of Video and Graphics Card Drivers are NVIDIA, ATI and Intel. For Laptops and Notebooks some manufacturers, such as Toshiba, Acer, ASUS and Dell, use their …Read more
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How to fix or update Graphics & Video Card Drivers This post will help you if you are experiencing any of the following: Recurring Graphics and …Read more
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Recommended NVIDIA GeForce Drivers Updates It is recommended you update your NVIDIA Drivers regularly in order to avoid conflicts. Driver updates will resolve any Driver …Read more
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Several situations may require an AMD Driver update: You have an old Driver installed and a newer Driver version is needed so that you can …Read more


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Agency ContactJoanna WenEmail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxPhone: xxx-xxxxxxxxxxFax: xxx-xxxxxxxxxxWebsite: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
JinHui Industrial Park,LiXin town,East City district,DongGuang City,ChinaDongGuan, GuangDongChina, 523000Web Page Link: https://www.toboc.com/aslichinatestequipmentcoltd.aspxD&B D-U-N-S Number: 1234567890
Rapid-Rated Thermal Cycle ChamberThermal Shock Chamber/application: Cold Thermal Shock Test Chamber is used to test the capability of material structure or composite materials to withstand the continuous environmental changes between extremely high temperature and low temperature during a short period, and therefore understand the chemical changes or physical damages caused by expansion from heat and contraction from cold in the shortest possible time. It is applicable to metals, plastic, rubber, electronics amongst other materials. The test result can be used as a reference or basis for product improvement. Shock Chamber/features: 1.It is divided into three zones: high temperature zone, low temperature zone, and testing zone. The test sample is in static mode.2.Using touch-control graph control as operation interface, easy to operate.3.Applying wind route conversation to the shock meth`od to distribute temperature to the testing zone for cold and thermal shock measurement.4.For high temperature shock or low temperature shock, max. time is up to 999H, and max. circulation cycles are 9999 times.5.The system can be used for automatic Circulation Shock or manual selective shock.Heat shock testing/technical parameters:1.Model:TS-80E2.Internal Dimension WxHxD (mm):400x350x3503.External Dimension WxHxD (mm):1400x1800x14004.Temperature of Heat-Storing Slot/Heating Time:RT~200?/About 45mins.5.Mechanics:P.I.D+S.S.R+ Micro-computer balanced temperature control system.6.Temperature of Cool-storing Slot/Cooling Time:RT~-75?/ About 100mins.
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Everybody loves achievements. But what's the point of accomplishing something if you've got nobody to share it with? That's why we have trophies in video games and replay cameras – everybody loves to share their accomplishments. But in real life it's a bit different – you don't have anyone but yourself to keep track of your progress in everything you do. And nothing is recorded for you unless you have somebody with a video cam standing on the sidelines.
Well, tt-i has decided that achievements are important things in real life and has just launched the new "Buddy" EagleEye. This high definition video camera is lightweight and comes with a mounting bracket so that it can be easily mounted to a helmet or headband. The next time you're out doing kick flips over cliffs and cycling down a rocky mountain pit – you can be sure that you've got footage of yourself doing it.
The EagleEye records video in 180p HD with H.264 compression, and stores it on an SD card for easy playback via a computer or HDTV. It has a battery life of 2.5 hours which should be enough for most purposes, and has a rain-proof LCD display that lets you preview your video clips while out in the field. It is built with a streamline design, which makes it ideal for skiers, skaters, racing drivers, bikers, and basically anybody who wants to record themselves doing something (nobody's going to stop you from recording yourself scoring maximum points in Guitar Hero). The tt-i EagleEye is available now for $269.


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Product details
Multifunctional Opti Free Replenish lens solution for all soft lenses. Used in the system TearGlyde in conjunction with tears creates a protective shield on the lens humidity. Ensure adequate hydration and comfort throughout the day.
OptiFree Replenish is the ideal solution for all people who wear lenses all day for several hours and having therefore frequent problems with discomfort resulting from podraznienienia and dry eyes.
Replenish OptiFree is desired to hygiene all soft contact lenses. Ingredients potent disinfectant but at the same time gentle to the eyes guarantee the purity and safe use of lenses. With TearGlyde lenses are optimally hydrated - up to 14 hours.
OptiFree Replenish uses innovative moisturizing TearGlyde. It brings tears moisture that collects on the surface of the lens, protecting them from drying out for 14 hours - six hours longer than the other fluids present in the market!
This allows you to maintain visual acuity at the same level throughout the day. The lenses are properly moisturized, which protects the eyes from irritation and redness. In addition, safe and gentle to the eyes ingredients thoroughly clean the lenses with protein deposits, while neutralizing the various microorganisms.
Ingredients: Polyquad - 0.001%, Aldox - 0.0005% .Tearglyde
|Expiration date
Minimum expiry date.
12 months from date of purchase
|Use within
Time (from opening), after which the solution will lose its properties and you need to open new bottle.
90 days
Once you open the bottle.
|Pack size
300 ml
|Pack contains
Contact lens case,
Product information in English


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Guavas are a group of tropical trees in the Psidium genus that produce delicious fruit. Guava paste, juice, and preserves are important in the cuisines of Caribbean and southeast Asian countries, and the fruits are eaten fresh or cooked. Today, the common guava (Psidium guajaba) is grown in places as far apart as Florida, Hawaii, India, Egypt, and Thailand. Properly pruning a guava tree is an important part of its care. If you're wondering how or when to prune guava trees, this article is for you.
How Do I Prune My Guava Tree?
Guava is a shrubby tree that grows densely and will attempt to spread horizontally along the ground. You can, therefore, choose to prune guavas into the shape of a tree or a bush, or even grow them as a hedge.
If you prune your guava in bush form, branches will emerge from near the ground. If you train your guava into a tree shape by selecting a single trunk, the fruiting limbs will emerge from 2 feet (61 cm.) off the ground and up. In either case, it's best not to allow your guava to grow taller than 10 feet (3 m.), or it could blow over in strong winds.
Now, let's learn how to prune a guava properly to encourage its healthy growth and maximize fruit production.
Guava Tree Pruning Techniques
Three types of cuts are used on guava trees: thinning cuts, heading back, and pinching. Thinning helps counteract the tree's dense growth to let light and air into the inner branches, which helps them stay healthy and productive. It also makes the fruit easier to reach. To thin, simply remove some of the branches by cutting them at their base.
Pinching means removing the growing tip of shoots. Heading back means pruning individual branches to reduce their length. These techniques allow you to control the horizontal spread of the tree. Guava flowers on new growth, so these cuts also induce the tree to produce more flowers and fruit.
It is important to prune established trees regularly to prevent them from spreading away from the original planting location. Guavas have become invasive trees in some regions of Florida, Hawaii, and elsewhere. Remove any suckers that appear at the base of the tree or above the roots and cut back branches that spread too far.
When to Prune Guava Trees
Prune guavas three to four months after planting to train them to the desired shape. If you are pruning yours to a tree shape, select a single trunk and three or four lateral (side) branches. Remove all other shoots. Pinch back the tips of the selected side branches when they are 2 to 3 feet (61-91 cm.) long. This will encourage them to produce additional branches.
After this, prune your guava tree annually to maintain its symmetry and remove excessive growth. Guava tree pruning should be performed in late winter or early spring. Diseased branches and suckers can be removed at any time of year.
Commercial growers also conduct severe "crop cycling" pruning to delay fruiting on individual trees in the following season. This practice allows a planting to produce fruit over a longer period.


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Shipping Policy
All orders shipped to an address in the USA receive FREE shipping.
Coffee orders are typically shipped within 2 business days (at the latest) and should arrive within 5 days (usually less) from the date of your order. The beans are packaged and/or ground one day prior to shipment for maximum freshness. Coffee orders are shipped from our California & Illinois fulfillment centers.
Other items may ship as soon as 1 business day and as late as 5 business days and typically arrive between 5-8 days after placing the order to USA based addresses.
All orders are shipped from the USA but may be sent from more than one of our distribution & fulfillment centers, so your order may arrive in more than one package and not necessarily on the same day. Tracking information will be provided once the item is in transit.


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TDLC Trainee Boot Camp 2009: Motion CaptureAugust 22, 2009
Speakers: Mehrdad Yazdani, Mary Mullane, Cuong Tran, Sameer Saproo
Run Time: 31 minutes
Mehrdad Yazdani (UC San Diego, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department) Mary Mullane (UC San Diego, Psychology Department) Cuong Tran (UC...
Neurocognitive Modeling of Perceptual Decision Making
Thomas PalmeriFebruary 8, 2014
Speakers: Thomas Palmeri
Run Time: 26 minutes
Thomas Palmeri is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and director of the CatLab at Vanderbilt University.
For over a decade, TSN has been delivering the stories of science told by the world's leading thinkers. What are they exploring and why? Why did they become scientists? How do they see science as part of the larger culture? And what lies ahead?
Our new podcast, Talking Science on TSN brings you their conversations with Roger Bingham from the TSN archive and fresh from the bench.
Find the podcast on your favorite podcast app, Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS.
The Science Network has been available free of charge and without advertising for the past decade.
Gifts from Patrons, Benefactors - and people like you - have made this possible.
As we celebrate TSN@10, we acknowledge past and present donors, including:
Diane and Rob Zeps
Mary Jane and Robert Engman
The National Science Foundation
The Glenn Foundation
The Dana Foundation
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The ResMed Foundation
The Swartz Foundation
Richard C. Atkinson
Shalom M. Blitz
Peter Farrell
Ernest W. Moody
Jennifer A. Moores
Gerry Ohrstrom
Andrew and Erna Viterbi
Leaning In with Sheryl Sandburg
A conversation about digital culture and women in science and technology
How Neurons are Born
Fred 'Rusty' Gage


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Visakhapatanam. 07 December, 2015. The 8th edition of INDRA NAVY conducted in the Bay of Bengal commenced. INDRA NAVY is a bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian and Russian navies and epitomises the strategic relationship between the two countries. Initiated in 2003, the exercise has matured over the years with increasing scope, complexity of operations and level of participation.
The primary aim of this exercise is to increase interoperability between the two navies and develop common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations. The scope of INDRA NAVY- 15 includes wide- ranging professional interactions during the Harbour phase and a diverse canvas of operational activities at sea across a spectrum of maritime operations. During INDRA NAVY-15, the Indian Navy will be represented by INS Sahyadri an indigenous frigate, INS Ranvijay, a guided missile destroyer and INS Shakti a Fleet Support Ship. In addition, a submarine, INS Sindhuvir, the P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Dornier Short Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and other integral rotary wing helicopters are scheduled to participate in the bilateral exercise.
The Russian Federation Navy (RFN) will be represented by VADM RYABUKHIN ANDREY Deputy Commander of the Pacific Fleet and ships from the Pacific Fleet, based at Vladivostok. RFN ships Varyag (cruiser), Bystry (destroyer), Alatau (rescue ocean going tug) and BorisButoma (fleet tanker) are expected to arrive at Visakhapatnam on 06 December 15 to participatein INDRA NAVY-15. The exercise will be progressed in two phases viz; the Harbour Phase (07-09 December 15) at Visakhapatnam and the Sea Phase (10-12 December 15) off Visakhapatnam. The Harbour Phase would encompass table-top exercises and planning conferences ashore, prior progressing to sea .The Sea Phase would include various facets of fleet operations. INDRA NAVY-15 will help to further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability, and also enable sharing of best practices between both navies. The exercise will be another milestone in strengthening maritime security cooperation between the two navies and will also serve to reinforce the long standing bond of friendship between the two countries


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Released earlier this year on the Xbox and PC, Psychonauts was a quirky, offbeat game set in a special summer camp for clairvoyant kids in which a group of psychic children end up in a wacky adventure filled with brain-stealing hijinks, psychic secret agents, and a little romance on top of everything else. It's rooted in the sorts of 3D platforming sensibilities we've all come to know over the years. But there's a spin to the game--its psychic theme--which adds some cool puzzle-solving to the usual platform-jumping and swinging associated with the genre. Psychonauts also bears the unmistakable mark of designer Tim Schafer (known for classic adventure games Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, and Day of the Tentacle), thanks to a hilarious array of peculiar characters and a story that never fails to entertain. Now, Psychonauts has come to the PlayStation 2, a console rife with quality platformers. However, despite this onset of competition--where there was little to none on the Xbox and PC--Psychonauts holds up to the challenge of being a platformer on the PS2 by delivering an experience that ranks right up there with the best the system has to offer.
The heart and soul of Psychonauts is Razputin--or, Raz, for short--a bigheaded, goggle-sporting psychic prodigy who sneaks his way into a mysterious summer camp that happens to be a training ground for the titular psychonauts, a group of psychic secret agents. Raz, it seems, has run away from his home in the circus and wants to become a psychonaut himself. Grudgingly, the counselors of the camp accept Raz into the group (albeit only for a day, until his father can come get him and take him home). However, it doesn't take long for strange things to start happening around camp. Raz, as well as other children, find that they're suffering from similar nightmares. Strange psychic interference seems to be popping up all over the place, and not long after that, the brains of the other campers start disappearing, leaving the campers as soulless, TV-obsessed husks. As the hero of the story, Raz is on a mission to solve these various mysteries and uncover the crazy conspiracy behind it all.
The basic plot itself reads like typical platformer fodder, but there's a lot more to Psychonauts' story than can be summed up in a single paragraph. This is largely due to the game's bizarre cast of characters, of which there are many. Raz himself is a highly likable hero; he's cute, heroic, funny, and also a little awkward at times. He fits the bill of the overenthusiastic yet not-quite-ready hero to the letter, and it's hard not to feel sympathetic to his plight. But beyond Raz, there's a great supporting cast, with roughly two dozen other characters who play parts both large and small in the story. The counselors consist of Coach Oleander, an overly aggressive drill sergeant; Milla Vodello, a somewhat ditzy and party-happy go-go girl; Agent Nein, a pale-skinned, sweater-sporting scientist of indeterminate Eastern European origin; and Ford Cruller, a mysterious old man who seems to exist in about eight different places at once. These counselors join the crazy array of campers, as well as other strange people and creatures you'll encounter, to drive the storyline, and thanks to the game's excellent design, you'll have no shortage of opportunities to get attached to them.
Initially, Psychonauts feels like a very open-ended game, especially because upon your first venture into the camp area, you'll find yourself able to just wander around, chatting it up with other campers or even just listening in on their completely insane conversations. The camp and its many areas make up a hub world, where you can access lots of different things, including a camp store, where you can buy helpful items, an underground tram that cuts down on backtracking, and all sorts of little hidden areas that yield bonus items. However, the biggest boon for the camp world is all the little bouts of dialogue you can discover. Depending on what stage of the game you're at, the conversations change up quite a bit, meaning you're not often going to hear a lot of repeats. This is great, especially because there's just so much dialogue. In some instances, you can literally just stand next to a pair of characters (while they converse for about five minutes or longer) without ever hearing the same line twice. And it's almost always really funny stuff.
However, the most interesting aspects of Psychonauts' characters don't come from their real-world conversations, but rather from their internal monologues. As Psychonauts revolves around a bunch of psychics, the bulk of your time will be spent traversing the perils of people's minds. This is where Psychonauts truly shines. You'll be able to enter the minds of more than a dozen different characters in the game, and each mind serves as one of its main levels. Each level is completely unique. For instance, when you enter the head of Coach Oleander, you'll find a war-torn landscape filled with constant explosions, plants made out of ammunition, and, for reasons not immediately apparent, lots and lots of meat. In another example, you enter the mind of a crazed security guard named Boyd Cooper, who is utterly obsessed with nonsensical conspiracies and someone called "The Milkman." His mental landscape looks like a 1950s-era suburban neighborhood that's been picked up by a pair of hands, twisted into a topsy-turvy fun house, and occupied exclusively by shadowy agents in trench coats who try to convince you that they're just simple street workers, or hedge trimmers, or grieving widows, despite their obviously ulterior motives. It's all totally weird, but it's also undeniably unique.
No two minds are exactly alike in Psychonauts, both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay. Granted, you will be spending at least some of your time in each level engaging in the usual platforming shenanigans, like jumping and double-jumping over platforms, swinging from poles, walking tightropes, and so on. When the game is in full-on platformer mode, it plays very well. The controls are tight, the camera is rarely ever a problem, and it's generally pretty easy to get Raz around without screwing up. If there's any one criticism to be mounted here, it's that the game is rarely ever that difficult, save for a few specific parts that are actually quite tough. You can't call the game a total breeze, either, but most experienced players shouldn't have any problems mastering the basic play mechanics pretty quickly.
Even though the game isn't particularly hard, at least it's not repetitive. The goals and challenges of each level are totally exclusive. In one level, you'll find yourself playing a bizarre board game against a mental projection of Napoleon Bonaparte. You'll shrink down to "fun size" to recruit new pieces to your cause, and then you'll return to your normal size so that you can move them around. In another level, you're fighting neon-tinted luchadores and a big, hulking bull in what looks like a velvet painting of a congested Spanish city. It's with this kind of variety that Psychonauts manages to achieve its high level of quality.
It also helps that the game has more to it than just a lot of jumping around. There are puzzles to be solved in Psychonauts, as well as battles to be fought, and both require use of Raz's list of crazy psychic powers. You start out only with a basic melee attack at your disposal, but as you play and collect items scattered about both the real world and mental worlds, you'll be able to upgrade Raz's rank and earn new powers, like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, levitation, invisibility, and clairvoyance. The best part is that there will be crazy situations constantly thrown at you where you'll have to change your powers regularly (as you can only have three assigned at one time). Got a piece of wood in front of you that's blocking your path? Just set it on fire with your mind. Need to get an object from one place to another? Just get your telekinesis on. Again, the game itself is rarely all that difficult, so it's not like you'll have to work too hard with these abilities to beat enemies or solve puzzles, but they're a lot of fun to play around with, regardless.
Psychonauts' main story isn't exceptionally long, and it should take players somewhere between 10 to 15 hours to finish the game. However, if you're the kind of player that likes to dig around and find hidden stuff, or just get 100 percent on everything, then Psychonauts could certainly provide you with a much longer experience. The game is chock-full of scavenger hunt items, crazy unlockable memories from each entered mind, collectible figments, and all sorts of other nutty stuff that will likely take you a long time to find and will also help you upgrade Raz a lot quicker. Plus, there are all sorts of random dialogue and story bits to be found everywhere. You'll get pretty much all you need to out of the story if you just stick to the straight-and-narrow path of the main plot, but you won't see it all.
Psychonauts' greatest achievement on the Xbox and PC was its graphical presentation. The PS2 version, while undoubtedly great-looking, doesn't quite measure up to the same level of quality. The majority of the game still has a remarkably polished look to it. The characters animate smoothly, and the textures and set pieces all look excellent. The character models are perhaps a little less detailed in this version of the game, unfortunately; it's especially noticeable during in-engine cutscenes. The incredibly smooth frame rate of the Xbox and PC iterations is also absent here, and you'll notice considerable choppiness when you're in some of the bigger outdoor areas and the generally more populated environments. Thankfully, it's little more than an annoying distraction overall, and frankly, pure performance isn't where these visuals shine; artistry is really where they come together. The whole look of the game feels like the unholy love child of Tim Burton and a Pixar animation team, and it's just wonderful stuff. Everyone has the sort of kooky, misshapen look of The Nightmare Before Christmas characters, and each is hysterical in his or her own way. We've already raved about how all the different environments, both real and cerebral, look totally unique and amazing, so we'll spare you any further details on the subject. There just aren't any other games of this type that look like Psychonauts does, and it seems near impossible not to fall in love with its sense of style.
The audio is another area where Psychonauts excels. None of these characters would be worth a spit if they weren't acted well, and thankfully, they're downright brilliant at times. Raz is voiced to perfection--to the point where you just couldn't envision another voice coming out of that kid's giant head--and every other character feels similarly on point as well. The fact that the dialogue is just so goofy and fun also helps. It's simply impossible to count all the chuckleworthy moments and the flat-out hilarious parts, as there are so many of them in this game. The soundtrack and sound effects are just as excellently produced. The music is so wonderfully suited to each specific environment that is just blends perfectly into the ambience of the level, like the Spanish flamenco that echoes off the walls of the velvet-painting level and the battle-charged theme of your fight against Napoleon. Though the sound effects rarely ever transcend the usual goofy sounds you'd hear in any given platformer, they all fit into the context of the game nicely and never sound out of place.
Especially for a game that has gone through four-plus years of development and two publishers, Psychonauts turned out remarkably well. It's pretty evident where all that development time was spent, as each and every moment just seems so carefully crafted and polished, to the point where you can't help but feel a deep appreciation for the whole experience. Players looking for a stiff challenge or an exceptionally lengthy adventure won't find it here, and, admittedly, the rough edges of the graphics don't make the PS2 version of the game the most ideal one overall. However, anyone just looking for a fun and whimsical adventure with a brilliant presentation and a fantastic story will find just that in Psychonauts.


text:
The Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan His Excellency Emomali Rahmon visited secondary educational institution #59 as part of his working trip to Rudaki district, and met with its students and district's public.
Taking part in the inauguration of a secondary school, President Emomali Rahmon toured the school and got acquainted with the carried out works here and the conditions created for study.
The four-storey building will accommodate 1,280 students. Classes will be held here in two shifts. Construction started in 2015 and finished in August, 2017. The school has 28 classrooms, in particular, chemistry, physics, biology, geography, computer classes as well as administration room and sports hall and, an assembly hall and dining room.
The construction of the school has reportedly been built by government-backed support and financial assistance of Tebian Electric Apparatus (TBEA), the Chinese manufacturer of power transformers and other electrical equipment, and a developer of transmission projects.
In his speech at the meeting with district public, President Emomali Rahmon congratulated participants on the opening of secondary school and called it a worthy gift of the President and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.


text:
From Hang Gliding Wiki
(Items listed somewhat in order of importance)
Health and Safety
- Cellphone, and/or radios adequate to summon help if needed, with the necessary FCC licenses.
- First aid kit for your vehicle (with slings and large bandages).
- Add to First-aid kit: AIR SPLINTS, arm and leg, in the original airtight packaging. They are not just for a broken bone, they can also control extensive bleeding.
- GPS and/or (in the USA) USGS maps.
- Toilet tissue.
- Extra gloves, knit hats, and more insulation than you'd hope to need.
- Change of socks.
- Sun screen.
- Bug spray.
- Survival kit (you never know).
- Fire starter.
- Trail food, Energy bars, et c.
- extra water.
- Bug net.
- Baby wipes.
Glider gear
- Radios.
- Streamer material for launch and LZs (toilet tissue works well).
- Every wrench or tool required for your glider.
- Extra rib ends that connects to the sail (in case one gets lost or broken).
- Safety Rings (for clevis pins).
- Extra rib rope /sail tension ropes (in case one gets broken).
- Tip wand (for curved-tip gliders).
- Extra Velcro straps.
- Extra weak links (towing only).
- Vario.
- Sailkote lubrication for zippers.
Tools In The Vehicle
- Extra batteries for all electrical gear.
- Swiss knife or Leatherman tool.
- Needle nose pliers.
- Common pliers.
- Electrical tape.
- Duct tape.
- Flash light (consider a hand-cranked LED unit).
- Compass.
- Heavy knife.
- High-lift jack (for serious trails).
- Jumper cables.
- Tire pump.
- Tire plugs.
- Tire chains (spring /summer for high mountains).
- Pulaski tool (axe with adz).
- Camera w/ manuals.
- Extra carabiner, hang loops.
- Shovel and bucket (to help fight fires).
- Hatchet.


text:
Elkhorn In The Moonlight
Chapter 7
Nicole dreaded the meeting she was having with Marcus at noon. She could still feel the sensation of the kiss they shared last night. Her body yearned for more of it all night long. She couldn't sleep, and felt restless. She heard her brother come home at one in the morning from the saloon. Then about three in the morning, Sierra was yipping, wanting to get out the door. Either she had to go to the bathroom, or she spotted something outside that got her attention. She got up from the bed and shoved her slippers on, and went to the door to let her out. When she opened the door, the April air was cool but felt good on her clammy skin. Sierra bolted out the door, barking as she ran. She walked out toward the picnic table and looked at the moon. She wished she'd gotten her camera. She loved taking pictures of the moon with the mountains. She coined the views as Elkhorn in the Moonlight. It was her favorite part of the day. It was even better when she was on top of the mountain at night. She could almost reach out and touch the moon.
* * * *
Pulling the sheets out of the dryer, she looked up when Debbie enter the laundry room. "Can you believe your brother came home drunk last night?"
"Yes. They were well on their way when I left the saloon." Nicole wondered if Debbie knew he'd been smoking marijuana too.
"He can't get his ass out of bed this morning, claiming he's got a hell of a headache. He'll really have one if I go in there with a spoon and frying pan and bang it a few times or go in with the vacuum sweeper."
"You could send Sierra in there, she'd climb onto the bed and lick the heck out of his face." Nicole laughed.
"Oh yeah, dog breath along with beer breath and marijuana too."
So she did know.
"It sounded like they had a hell of a time at the mine."
"Poor Luke, he apparently slipped and went down the side of the hill on his butt. No one rescued him and he had to go to his place and take a shower and get out sand-filled jeans he had on," Nicole said.
"Knowing Ronnie, he probably had something to do with that too. They were probably stoned when that happened." Debbie rolled her eyes. "Guys do stupid things. Are you doing anything special today?"
"I have a meeting with Mar….I mean, Mr. Blackhawk at noon today. I remembered where I saw the arrows he's interested in. I'll be looking at his maps to show him where they are."
"I wonder how he plans to get them. He'd have to wait until later this spring or the summer, don't you think?
"Yes, especially where these arrows are at. There's still quite a bit of snow up there."
Nicole finished the laundry and went back to her room. She pulled out the box and went through more pictures to show Marcus about the surrounding area where the cave was at, hoping to be able to provide him with some sort of landmarks. Then maybe he'll be gone to find the arrows and then gone completely out of her life. Good riddance. I mean, how can a man do that? Be married to a woman and cheat on her by kissing another one? What nerve! The worst part of it is that she not only enjoyed it, she wanted more.
She looked at her clock. Five to twelve. Guess I better head out to the picnic table. The air was a bit chilly, so she threw on her jacket. She and Sierra walked out to the picnic table, and she sat down. She watched the birds twitter and squaked in and around the bird feeder that was off the edge of the deck. Hearing a voice, she looked up and saw Marcus coming through the causeway and Sierra walked up to him. He was on his cellphone, and he stopped and bent down to pet her. He had a mail tube under his arm. He disconnected his cellphone as he approached the picnic table.
"Hello, Nicole." Marcus looked at her thoughtfully.
"Hi." She sat with her elbow on the picnic table and her chin in her hand.
"You got some more pictures for me to look at?"
How did he know? She looked at him, and he nodded his head once as if pointing at the pictures she had under her hand. "Oh, yeah. I thought I'd get you some more pictures so that you can maybe have some landmarks. Although it's been a couple of years and the area may be overgrown by now." She handed the pictures to him.
He looked at them and appeared to be studying one in particular. It was the picture she took of the entrance to the cave, where the large dead tree had wrapped its roots around it before it died. "This is a good picture." He commented and then looked closely at the other pictures before he put them down and opened the mailing tube. "So, you think you may remember where these arrows are at?" he asked.
"When did you remember?"
"I actually remembered last Friday, and I lied to you about that because I didn't want you to start drilling me about their location."
* * * *
She lied to me? That was one thing that Marcus hated more in anything else in the world, someone lying to him. If she lied about that, what else would she be lying about? Did she decide she would 'remember' just to trick him and get money from him? "Why did you lie to me about this?" He asked quietly. He kept his tone even, though he talked through clenched teeth.
"I just told you, I didn't want to be drilled about it."
"You could have told me that you remembered, but you just didn't want to talk about it then. I could have spent the weekend trying to retrieve them."
"You would have missed out on having your family visit." She pointed out to him.
"That is true. However, I wouldn't have invited them out to see me. Are you lying to me about this now?"
"No. I-I don't lie."
"But you just admitted that you did."
"Yeah, um, that's the first time I've ever lied to anyone, I'm sorry."
"I've had to say your credibility just took a nosedive."
She looked at him, her eyes showed alarm. "I-I have never lied before Friday, and I'm not lying now."
Marcus continued to stare into her eyes and at her face. She seemed genuine, and she didn't look like a person who would lie, but he'd been fooled before and being a lawyer, well, you always suspect someone is lying to you. But each client he ever had, he made it clear that if the client lied to him in any way, he'd drop them, just like that. He just didn't tolerate it. The more he thought about it, the angrier he was getting. He pulled the maps out of the tube and laid them on the table.
"Wow, these are quite detailed," she commented.
"That's what topographic maps are for." He knew his voice sounded more sarcastic than he wanted. He had to be careful. He hoped he wasn't wasting his time with her. "What part of Elkhorn mountains do you think the Sacred Arrows are?" He said with quiet emphasis.
"They are in the southeastern part of the mountains. There is no road to get to that end. You'd have to hike it through the tunnel, and past a gold mine, and over several very steep mountains before you get to it. It's about a three-day trip just to get there on foot."
"Three days?" Cripe.
"Yeah. Usually, whenever I go hiking and camping in that direction, I plan to be gone at least a week."
Marcus couldn't believe what he was hearing. She had lied to him about remembering where the location was at, he wasted three days, and now she tells him that it's a three-day hiking trip just to get there, and that means a three-day trip getting back. He'd be lucking to get back to his office in the two weeks timeframe he had planned on. Great. He pulled out the map of the southeast area and showed it to her. She leaned over and found the highway that went to the town that was between Helena and Butte. She found Mason, and then she saw the railroad tunnel. "Okay, here's the tunnel you'd have to go through. It comes out on this side of the mountain." She moved her finger to the other side of the mountain. "It comes out here somewhere, probably right here." She tapped her finger on the spot. "Right here is the old mine shaft where they used to dig for gold."
"Why isn't the rails shown."
"The tracks have been removed, and most of the bridges that held the rail line have been torn down. The only thing that exists to indicate there was even a rail line going through there are the tunnels. There are two tunnels. From here to here." She pointed at the highway and then to where she had tapped it earlier. "Then from here, to here. If you ever look at the landscape along the highway, you can see the line where the rail tracks once were. The rail line was on the west side of Highway 45 until it got here to Mason, then before Highway 45 was ever built, the rail track came off the mountain onto a bridge that led into the tunnel on the east side of Highway 45. After it got passed the mines in the area, it crossed over to the west side of the highway again."
Marcus had to admit that she seemed knowledgeable about the area. "How many mines are there in the area?"
"There are three. Winchester mine was one that my dad owned and is down the street. You pass it every time you go into Mason. The other two are on the other side of the overpass. Sandpiper mine, you can see from the highway, but Gulch mine is the one that you'd go through to get to Elkhorn mountains. The mountain ranges there are the highest, and there are a lot of vertical drops so, you'd have to travel where you can walk it. It's not something where you can just climb it and be there. You have to go in around about way."
"You have a very clear vision of where this cave is, and how to get to it?"
"Yes. I remember it clear as day, now."
"How soon can you get yourself ready for the hike?"
"What? I'm not going there. You are. I can't just take off and leave, I have work to do. Plus, it's way too cold to go there right now. The mountains in that area still have snow on them."
"You think I would just know where to go by the information that you just provided?"
"I just gave you very good information."
"Do you have the coordinates for GPS?"
"No. I don't."
"So, you think that I, who have never traveled these mountains before, would just have no problem finding that cave." Marcus's eyes narrowed as he regarded her.
"I don't have any idea how you intend to get there. Personally, I think you should wait until summer to do it. The weather in the mountains is unpredictable."
Marcus sat thinking about the situation for a second, then he said, "Name your price."
"I said, name your price. I need you to lead me to that cave, and I got to get it this week."
"You are not listening to what I say, I can't take you there. I have work to do here. I can't just get up and leave to go on a weeklong camping trip."
"You can for a price," Marcus said grimly.
"You can't buy me off to get what you want," Nicole said defensively.
"Everyone is willing to do certain things for a certain price. Will thirty thousand get you interested and willing to go?"
"I-I, thirty thousand? No, I won't be brought," Nicole stammered.
"Look, Nicole. Let's quit with the games. I'm going to go there to get those Sacred Arrows, and you are the one that is going to take me there and bring me back. I'm offering you thirty thousand for a week…week and a half of work. I think your brother and his wife can handle the motel for that length of time."
"I'm sorry." She stopped for a few seconds. "I won't be bullied. My answer is no." She stood up to leave.
"Just think about this. Like I said, thirty thousand for a week and a half of work. Think what you could do with that money. You could go to college to become a professional photographer or anything else you have an interest in. Or, you could invest your money and make more of it. I wouldn't be too quick to turn it down, Nicole. As for the weather, I know you have lived through worst weather right here in Mason and know what to expect. I would not let you go up there without your GPS, your cellphone, and letting your brother know exactly where you're at should there ever be an emergency. I'll give you until tomorrow at noon to tell me your decision, and if I were you, I'd think very seriously about this. I intend to have my way in this," he said sternly, grabbed his maps and the pictures she gave him, and walked back to the causeway and to his room.
* * * *
Nicole sat speechless. She didn't recall the last time someone ever spoke to her in such manner. He's a pompous ass. Here I felt so guilty for lying to him, and finally told him the truth, and tried to show him where the cave was, and he turned around and demanded that I take him to it and on top of that…he..he kissed me! What the hell. She got up and hollered at Sierra, "Come on Sierra, we're going for a walk." She stomped her feet into the ground as she walked toward the creek. Sierra trotted alongside her as she walked. Think about it, he says. What could she do with thirty thousand? She stopped suddenly and looked at the water rapids in the creek. Well, if she were to tell the truth, she could really use thirty thousand. She'd definitely be able to go to school and get a degree in photography, something she really loved doing. Her brother could hire someone to work the week to help Debbie. She'd have to dig her camping gear out, no way was she ever going to get into the same tent as him. Her tent was made only for one person. He'd have to bring his own or sleep outside. Wait…what the hell is the matter with me? Why am I even thinking about this outrageous proposition? Thirty thousand, that's why. That's the only reason. That IS the only reason. "Right." The idea of sleeping near him evoke all kinds of sensations and feelings she was not supposed to have. She had to run this whole thing by Debbie and see what she says. She usually has a practical and thoughtful intuition about these things. Still, he seemed to have gotten a bit angry at her when she told him that she lied originally because she didn't want to be drilled by him. He even said her credibility had dropped in his eyes. She was in a pickle and didn't know how to get out of it all or know what to do.
After she calmed down, she wandered back to the motel and went into the kitchen where Debbie was, baking some apple pies. She sat down at the kitchen table and watched her.
Debbie looked at her and asked. "Something on your mind?"
"Yeah. Can I run something by you?"
"Sure." Debbie came and sat down across from Nicole.
"I showed Marcus where the cave was that I found the arrows in. I think he got kind of angry at me because I told him that I lied to him on Friday about remembering where they were at. Anyway, after I explained to him where things were and gave him some pictures that he could use as landmarks, he told me that I was going to go with him and help him to find the arrows. When I said that I would not be going, because I had my job here, and because the weather was unpredictable in that section of mountains, he then said he was prepared to pay me thirty thousand to take him there and bring him back. I hinted that maybe he should wait until summer, but he has his mind made up that we are going, within the next few days, and that after I brought him back from the mountain, he would pay me."
"Wow. These arrows must be quite valuable." Debbie fiddled with her earing.
"They are. He says that they are Sacred Arrows, stolen from the Arrow Tipi behind the arrow keeper's house. They have been missing for some time, and he is very anxious to get them."
"What are you feeling about it?"
"I don't know. At first, I was appalled. He demanded that I go with him, and I felt insulted that he said for me to name my price like I was holding out for monetary value. After he stalked off, I was so angry that I went for a walk along the creek, and began to think what I could do with thirty thousand."
"What would you do with that kind of money?"
"I thought about going back to school and getting a degree in professional photography."
"Well, now that you've cooled down and are thinking about it, I think, you should go for it."
"What? Why?"
"Hey, this is an opportunity to make a lump sum of money, and you know around here, no one has that kind of money, and certainly not us. We're lucky to have him staying here this week, he's been the only customer this week."
"The weather had never been a deterrent for you in the past. You know how to survive up in those mountains, he doesn't, and he's willing to pay you to keep him alive and get what he wants."
"He's in a hurry to do this and wants to leave within the next day. I'd have to dig out my camping stuff."
"I think you'll find everything okay." Debbie had a knowing smile on her face.
"So, you think I should go." Nicole's brows snapped together.
"It's really your decision to make, but it is an opportunity, and you'll probably not get another like it. You could probably even look at buying yourself a house, you'd have a substantial down payment for one."
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April 2019
April 2019


text:
Legal Aid Society to file lawsuit against Bedford-Union Armory plan
Goes before City Council for vote Thursday
After more than a year of outcry and a week after the project was renegotiated, the New York City Council is scheduled to vote on Thursday on the controversial plan for developing the Bedford-Union Armory project in Crown Heights.
However, a new stumbling block has appeared — The Legal Aid Society has announced it will be filing a lawsuit against the proposal. The organization is set to unveil the litigation at an 11 a.m. rally Wednesday morning on the steps of City Hall, where it will be joined by groups including New York Communities for Change and Crown Heights Tenant Union, along with local residents.
"Despite cries from area elected officials, tenant advocates and the local community, City Hall has failed to devise a development plan that is truly affordable for local residents and one that will not exacerbate the potential for displacement as Crown Heights continues to gentrify," The Legal Aid Society said in a release.
The group is also challenging the methodology the city uses to evaluate tenant displacement in land use decisions.
The proposal, supported by Mayor Bill de Blasio but opposed by local officials and residents, originally included market-rate and affordable apartments, luxury condos, a recreational facility with a swimming pool and basketball courts, and office and retail space.
Deal sweetened
In May, joined by key Councilmember Laurie Cumbo and other city officials, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams came out against the redevelopment proposal, saying it was "not sufficient to meet the needs of Crown Heights, namely the dearth of affordable housing for residents at risk of losing the community they love."
As part of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process, Adams announced his official disapproval in September, along with a number of recommendations to improve the plan. Adams requested eliminating the luxury condos and increasing the amount of permanently affordable housing at the lowest and highest ends, along with other changes.
On Nov. 21, Councilmember Laurie Cumbo helped renegotiate the deal with the city and developer BFC Partners. The new plan eliminated 56 condos, most of them luxury.
The plan originally called for 330 rental apartments, with 115 market rate and 115 low income. The revised plan includes more than 400 rental apartments, with an increase in the number of units for low-income and very low-income families, bringing that number to 250. Rents will range from about $521 to $1,166 for a two bedroom.
The plan also includes a recreation center (with half of memberships going to neighborhood residents for $10 per month, according to The Real Deal) and 10 percent of apartments reserved for formerly homeless people.
For all practical purposes the final decision about the Armory rests with the City Council, with the councilmember representing the district taking the lead. That would be Cumbo, and the issue has become a major issue in her district.
"I am proud to have secured 250 units of low-income housing, including 10 percent set aside for families transitioning from homeless shelters, low-cost space for local nonprofits, a world-class recreation facility, a brand new medical facility for the uninsured, more than 700 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs following the completion of the Bedford Union Armory," Cumbo said in an emailed statement. "We are prepared to see this project through."
Details of the renegotiated plan provided by Councilmember Cumbo:
There will be no condo units included in the final Armory project and the property will remain entirely in public ownership. The more than 400 homes in the project will now be rental units.
In addition, Councilmember Cumbo negotiated much deeper levels of affordability for a greater number of units.
The original proposal included 67 homes that were affordable below 60 percent AMI — that's a family of four making $57,000 a year or less. The final Armory project now includes approximately 250 homes that will be affordable below 60 percent AMI.
The full affordability breakdown is as follows:
– 50 units at 30 percent AMI (inclusive of 25 units set aside for formerly homeless)
– 24 units at 40 percent AMI
– 24 units at 50 percent AMI
– 152 units at 60 percent AMI
Finally, 10 percent of the affordable housing will now be set aside for formerly homeless individuals and families. No housing for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness was proposed in the original project.
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