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How To Make White Bread? I have always wondered about it. The thought of the smell of white bread alone is nostalgic for me because it magically transports me to my childhood days, when we lived closed to a bakery and we were welcomed by the aroma of the baking white bread in the air even a couple of feet away from the store.
Those days I never even thought that one day I will be using an oven to bake leave alone baking something as complicated as a white bread. Yes I didn't think that an easy white bread recipe existed. I didn't think that baking with yeast is easy, even after I started baking other treats regular.
I have always had yeast-o-phobia. Couple of years back, when I started baking, one of the first recipes I had tried was making Naan at home. I gathered all the ingredients with so much excitement and prepared everything as listed in the recipe, put the naan inside the oven and was eagerly waiting to taste it and all my excitement shut down once I tasted it.
It smelled "yeasty", tasted "yeasty" and nothing like what I had expected.
So my experiment with yeast stopped way back in 2006. Somehow I didn't feel like baking with yeast again until recently. So I always only tried eggless quick bread recipes and vegan quick bread recipes.
I didn't let my husband to photograph the steps involved because I didn't want to jinx anything. All the craziness was well worth it because the bread turned out AWESOME!
One day I decided that I'm going to overcome this yeast fear and decided to try a basic white bread recipe. I Googled and picked this recipe. I Googled and picked this recipe because it looked pretty easy to follow and I had the Rapid Rise Yeast or Instant Yeast and not the Active Dry Yeast some of the other white bread recipes called for. I followed everything in the recipe with utmost reverence and I was so serious like I was doing some surgery or something.
I can definitely say that it was the best white bread recipe! The bread was soft and fluffy, just like the freshly baked white bread we used to get in the bakery near our home. The kitchen smelled exactly like that bakery which made it even more thrilling! So if you are like me worried about how yeasted breads will turn out, you don't have nothing to worry, try this "no-fail" rapid rise yeast bread recipe. This recipe for white bread is eggless to begin with. I haven't made any changes to make it egg free.
Another advantage of this easy white bread recipe is that you can bake it into dinner rolls too. This white bread recipe will yield 2 regular size loaves. You can either make 2 loaves or the entire batch as rolls or one loaf and the other portion as rolls. Whichever method you choose to follow let me assure that you will end up with fluffy white bread.
Beginner's White Bread Recipe
|Prep Time
|Cook Time
|2 Hr
|27 Mins
|2 Loaves
- 5 and 1/2 to 6 cups All Purpose Flour
- 3 tablespoons White Sugar
- 2 envelopes Rapid Rise Yeast ( I used Fleischmann's)
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups Water
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt in a large bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, heat water, milk and butter until very warm. Use a candy thermometer to see if the temperature is between 120F-130F (approximately 48C-54C).
- Stir the milk mixture into the flour/yeast mix.
- Use an electric mixer at medium speed and beat for about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.
- Stir in another cup of flour, beat again for 2 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl as needed.
- Stir in enough of the remaining flour (2 and 1/2 to 3 cups) to make a soft dough. I used about 2 and 3/4 cups of flour. (See My Notes)
- Lightly flour the surface you will be working on and knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.
- Cover; let rise 10 minutes.
- Divide dough in half. Roll each half to 12×7 inch rectangle. Beginning at short end of each rectangle, roll up tightly. Pinch seams and ends to seal completely.
- Grease two 8×4 inch loaf pans and place the dough seam sides down.
- Cover using plastic wrap; let rise in warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. (See My Notes)
- Meanwhile around the 30th minute or so, preheat the oven at 400F/200C for about 15 minutes.
- When the dough has doubled in size, bake it for 25-30 minutes or until done. Remove from pans; cool on wire rack.
- Like always you have to wait for the bread to come to room temperature before you can cut it into slices. If you prefer eating warm bread then just apply some butter and tear it off and enjoy.
- The bread looked exactly like bakery breads at least on the inside. The texture was perfect; light, airy and fluffy. I hadn't done a neat job on sealing the edges after rolling the dough, so my ends were not perfect. The bread tasted great too. It's been a while since I tasted freshly baked bread and God does it taste fantastic. It's the best! How did we end up liking the factory made bread? I realized that bread baking is one of the "if I can do it you can do it too" stuff. So no more excuses, gather all the ingredients and bake a fresh loaf this weekend. You just have to just check the expiry date on the yeast and you are good. Also a pick a candy thermometer while you are at the dollar store.
- The quantity of flour you end up adding depends on the type of flour you are using, the moisture content etc. So add it in small increments until you feel it's right.
- I read elsewhere that, when a bread recipe or any yeast recipe mentions to wait until the batter rises double in size or for a specific amount of time, look for the size and not the time. Sometimes the dough may need more time to double in size than mentioned in the recipe and you may not get the desired result if it does not double. After baking this bread, I did try my hands on dinner rolls and I just waited for the time mentioned in the recipe rather than for it to double in size and the dinner rolls came out look pathetic. The taste and texture was quite good but not as perfect as the bread. That's when I looked for a reason and found that the time does not matter. I'm just a beginner baker and this is my understanding. Experts please share your tips and opinion.
- I also read that, to get neat slices, you have to put the bread on either side and then slice it rather than the usual top to bottom slicing. I didn't know it while slicing my first loaf and did the top to bottom slicing. For the second loaf I followed the trick and it really worked.
- If all you have is Active Dry Yeast, then follow the instructions given for using it. The original recipe is here.
- To make it vegan use non-dairy milk and margarine (I don't recommend this for health reasons, organic coconut oil/avocado oil is a better option).
- The recipe also suggests that you can use up to 2 cups of whole wheat flour in place of all purpose flour, though I have not tried this yet.
Update: Using the same dough, we can make pull-apart white bread as well.


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Baseball Team Rides in the City's First Gasoline-Driven Truck
The Ironbrew Bottling works owned the first gasoline driven truck in Rockford-a two-cylinder Rapid dated 1906. Members of the old Maroon baseball team are passengers in the truck, among them Hal Carlson, later a big league player, and Hilding Nelson, who played with the Three-I league. Everett Russ, son of E.T. Russ and part owner of Russ and company, is in the driver's seat, and beside him is his sister Gertrude, now Mrs. Theodore Nells, 315 N. 3rd st. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle in Rockford, pictured at the rear of the truck, is manned by Carl Bladstrom.
Source: Register Republic June 16, 1952 p.46

subset: commoncrawl


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December 2014 by Frank Perretta, Carrie MacIntosh
Frank and Carrie contributed their business and employment law expertise in an article for Corporate Counsel on utilizing retention and read more.
Construction Attorneys Greg Korbel and Stephanie Rocha Provide Legal Update to California Constructor
November 2014 by Greg Korbel , Stephanie Rocha
Click here to read Greg and Stephanie's article from the November/December 2014 issue of the Associated General Contractor's of California publication, California Constructor. read more.
Managing Partner David Kornbluh Writes on CA's New Mandatory Sick Leave Law for the National Law Journal
November 2014 by David Kornbluh
In his article for the National Law Journal David explains the new sick leave legislation, read more.
November 2014 by Frank Perretta
Frank contributed his commentary to an article on Law360 exploring attorney success stories and tips in using sanctions motions. Frank said, read more.
September 2014 by Peter Kline
Peter was recently featured in a Q&A on Law360, highlighting his significant experience and expertise in complex commercial real estate transactions. read more.
Latest Posts
- Recent Changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act: Congress Takes Aim at Litigation Reform
- Recharacterizing State Tax Payments as Charitable Contributions
- Assembly Bill 1278 Prevents "Dead Beat" Contractors from Starting New Companies
- New California Law Affords Brokers Greater Flexibility in Managing Client Trust Accounts
- 2018 American Arbitration Association Construction Conference
- New Tax Law Expands Use of 529 Plans for Elementary and Secondary Schools
- Choosing Between an S-Corp and LLC?
- New CA Law Imposes Direct Liability on Contractors For Wage Claims By Subcontractor's Employees
- Labor and Employment Bills AB 168, 450, and 1008: What Employers Need to Know
- Miller Morton a Proud Sponsor of the Housing Industry Foundation's 2017 Fundraising Campaign "Kicking Out Homelessness Kickball Tournament"


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Michigan Makes the Top 10 List of Most Bigfoot Sightings in the U.S.
When it comes to bigfoot sightings, Michigan is one of the hot spots in the United States.
SEE ALSO: Hunter Captures Interesting Bigfoot Video on Michigan Trail Cam
According to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, Michigan is in the top 10 of the most bigfoot sightings in the country.
Michigan comes in strong with the 8th most bigfoot sightings in the U.S. Since the mid-90s there have been 225 "credible" bigfoot sightings in the state.
These Are The States With the Most Bigfoot Sightings:
1. Washington -708
2. California - 459
3. Florida - 337
4. Ohio - 318
5. Illinois - 302
6. Oregon - 257
7. Texas - 253
8. Michigan - 225
9. Missouri 166
10. Georgia - 139
The most recent sighting took place in Mackinac County where wood knocks were heard at night. Before that, in January of 2021, coyote hunters in Menominee saw an upright figure at night with glowing yellowish eyes.
Michigan Counties With the Most Bigfoot Sightings:
1. Delta - 11
2. Oscoda - 10
3. Marquette - 9
4. Ogemaw - 8
5. Manistee, Rosscommon, and Washtenaw - 7
I will be totally honest, I want to believe that Bigfoot is real. The idea that there's this giant, hairy ape-like creature living among us is something that's fascinated me since I was a little kid. But with no solid proof...it's nothing more than a legend. I mean sightings are cool and all but a sighting isn't proof.
In this day and age, if bigfoot was real, I think we'd have that solid proof by now. However, I really hope that I'm wrong.
If you or someone you know have had a sighting in Michigan, you're asked to report it to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.


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Evol Ecol Res 5: 297-303 (2003) Full PDF if your library subscribes.
Allometric scaling of ant foraging trail networks
Joseph Jun,1,2 John W. Pepper,1 Van M. Savage,1,3* James F. Gillooly4 and James H. Brown1,4
1Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, 2Center for Complex Systems Research, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, 3Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 and 4Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed.
e-mail: email@example.com
The aggregation of individuals into colonies raises important questions about scaling of structure and function. We model the metabolic benefits and costs of two-dimensional, fractal-like foraging trails, such as those used by ant colonies. Total area foraged by the colony and, consequently, resource flow to the nest and rate of colony metabolism, increase non-linearly with number of foragers (F) as F 2/3. Since the cost of foraging increases linearly with F, the model predicts an optimal number of foragers and, therefore, total foraging area that maximize colony fitness or energy allocation to reproduction. The scaling of foraging may influence evolution of coloniality.
Keywords: allometry, coloniality, foraging, optimal networks, social insects.
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Science and technology have spread their wings almost everywhere across the human race. From online payment of our various bills to purchasing groceries online, and seeing jam-packedroads through GPS before leaving office are some of the things that most of us do these days. With all these advancements in the various areas of our day-to-day chores, the fields of banking and insurance are also not untouched by the technology.
Gone are the days when people used insurance policy agents to understand insurance policies. With the availability of web aggregators in the insurance sector, people nowadays can easily compare different life insurance plans online. Additionally, they can purchase a suitable insurance policy from the insurance company's website just like they purchase anything else from an e-commerce website. However, these are a few examples of the advancements that both science and technology have brought to the insurance sector.
There are so many other changes as well that the technology has shown in this industry, let us discuss a few of them:
Producing New Business:
Unlike food items, the products of an insurance company are very few. So, to sell a few products and generate new customers, it needs to increase the in-house sales team. However, the advancements of technology and involvement of digital marketing in insurance sector have made this task much easier. Search engine optimization and the use of SEO Reporting means that getting the word out about your business and determining its effectiveness has never been so easy. It is simple and less expensive to reach out to a vast magnitude of insurance buyers through digital marketing than personally contacting the customers. That is why a Digital Marketing Agency is of immense value to the insurance industry.
The number of insurance buyers attracted through holdings, TV advertisements, and banner promotions can easily be achieved by PPC campaigns of advertisements and at more affordable rates. In this way, technology has greatly reduced the customer acquisition cost.
Quick and Easy Policy Underwriting:
The two major factors that decide the growth of any insurance company are – policy underwriting and the efforts that their policy agents put in to evaluating and satisfying a customer. Traditionally, meeting customers, explaining the nitty-gritties of a policy, solving the queries of the customers, and convincing them require a lot of time and great efforts. It is because, in traditional method, agents have to meet their clients physically, and hence travel a lot to close even a single deal.
Nowadays, Life insurance plans are clearly explained online by the insurance companies. Customers can understand the various policy terms and compare multiple policies online without any interference. However, for any query, a customer can chat online with the agents. In this way, agents can quickly and easily decide the policy underwriting for a customer. Additionally, they can respond to many customers in a day and zero down on their prospect customers without much physical work.
Obtain Increased ROI:
ROI or return on investment is one of the major targets of most of the companies in order to gain profit. Generally, most companies take loans from one or more investors at high rate of interest. Technology is one thing that helps people largely to reduce the working capital and provides a great opportunity to insurance companies gain more profit online.
It is now possible for an insurance company to attain better profit margins through various online activities, robotic process automation, and electronic funds transfer. And, this all is possible because of the involvement of reliable technology in the insurance sector.
Engage and Retain Ideal Customers, and Improve Brand Value at a Much Lower Rate:
Companies spend a lot of money on building their brand value and on marketing & advertisement. Additionally, companies spend huge capital on advertisements for retaining its brand value. However, with social media, it is now possible to do all with lesser money than what companies have been spending on traditional marketing methods. Companies can now use Facebook, Twitter, Printerest, Instagram, and other social media platforms to advertise and promote their brands.
Another biggest advantage of using these social media venues as marketing platform is that companies can target prime customers through analytics tools and other marketing insights provided on these portals.
Cut Down the Operation Overheads:
Every company thinks to save some money by reducing expenses wherever possible. Generally, operational overheads are one of the major concerns of organizations, in order to reduce additional expenses. And, in this process, more and more companies, such as fortune 500 organizations, have in-house resources to oversee their operational overheads. This department searches for new ways to reduce the operational overheads while helping the business processes.
Additionally, process automation is also being incorporated into the insurance industry by which employees and workforce cost can be reduced. The replacement of humans with technology will go a long way, as it is cheaper and more reliable to store, process, and retrieve documents electronically than employing a big team of clerks to perform all the paper work.
Moreover, companies will not require more and more space to store all the papers, as everything will be on computers or stored on clouds. Resultantly, an insurance company does not have to have so many branch offices in various parts of the country just to maintain paper work and resolve customer queries physically. Today, it is because this all can be performed from a few offices only. In this way, technology in the insurance industry will greatly reduce the operational cost.
With the above mentioned changes, that insurance industry has seen or will see that due to the involvement of technology, there can be various other significant advantages as well. Advantages as in reduction of human resource intervention, availability of insurance policies online, and easy underwriting process, will be readily available. Most of the customer queries can easily be resolved online and that too in a much lesser time. Also, customers do not need to contact insurance agents for most of the insurance issues.


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Bike crated after having chain, sprockets and tires replaced. Alfred on left did the work. At right is service manager Miles who made things happen, and even forklifted the bike on the truck personally.
Pre-crating: Windshield & luggage removed, mirrors removed, handlebar clamps loosed and bars swung down, triple clamps loosened and fork tubes slid up. After crating I stuffed everything into crate except for my clothes bag and tank bag.


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Dock Ellis
"Did we blow it yesterday or what?" says Admin.
"Missing the 42nd anniversary of Dock Ellis' no hitter?" Spence says. "A no hitter he threw for the Pirates against the Padres, June 12, 1970. Lots of no hitters in baseball history – "
"As opposed to perfect games – "
" – but only one like his. Dock didn't realize he was pitching that day and so indulged in some LSD before the game. His recall of events was unusual. 'The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes, I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder.'"
"Rest in peace, Dock."
Welcome Lee, a first-class digger.
Tags: baseball, Dock Ellis, LSD
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 13th, 2012 at 6:56 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


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One of the significant benefits to opting for a regular oil change is to ensure the smooth functioning of the car's engine. Oil change requires the installation of new engine oil filter and removal of the old oil from the engine. In this case, the old oil is replaced with a clean and new oil that can serve to be extremely beneficial.
- A long life of the engine
When dirt and debris accumulate onto the car's oil filter, it puts a lot of pressure on the engine of a car. This leads to the heating of the car engine and causing damage. Apart from this, the other two significant reasons for engine damage include wear and tear. Frequent oil change helps to lower the chances of friction, thereby improving the longevity of the vehicle.
- Improved gas mileage
Frequent oil change does have a positive impact upon the gas mileage. The oil change leads the oil filter to have new and clean oil that lowers friction. Damage due to friction mostly happens because of old and dirty oil. Since the new oil enhances the lubrication, the friction of the vehicle is reduced. This allows and promotes the smooth functioning of the vehicle. As a result, the gas mileage of the vehicle is improved.
- Improved performance of the engine
Oil change does not only enhance gas mileage but the functioning of the engine too. The clean oil enables the internal engine parts to run smoothly and properly. This contributes to the improved mechanical output. This not only contributes better gas mileage but also better engine performance.
- Clean engine
Oil change helps to keep the engine clean and in proper condition. When the vehicle functions, it is normal for dirt and debris to accumulate into the internal parts of the engine. This can further harm the functioning of the car. Frequent oil change helps to remove the dirt particles from the engine. It keeps the engine lubricated and the motor quality becomes efficient.
- Clears the Vehicle Emission Test
Regularly changing your engine oil can help a lot in clearing the vehicle emission test. This is because there won't be any build up of dirty oil into your vehicle that can damage the environment. The dirty particles get released into the atmosphere thereby bearing harm. So if you change your oil in time, you are polluting the atmosphere very less.
Experts at www.chevronfastlube.com can help you with the benefits of getting your oil changed frequently. To improve the longevity of the vehicle, oil change must be performed regularly. The better ways you find to take care of your car, the more service it will be able to offer you!


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When I viewed the elaborate research life cycle model we had for today, I was a bit overwhelmed by how many tasks there were. I think many faculty feel the same way–especially since a lot of these tasks are more of a kind of necessary housekeeping for the main show, which is research and writing. Scholars don't want to have to be bothered by housework any more than absolutely necessary; the research and thinking (let's not forget that) and writing are quite demanding enough.
So here's a better answer for Emily's excellent question about what role can librarians play. We can assist with the housekeeping, make it as painless and efficient as possible. We can offer guidance on how to manage files, documents, notes, and on the new tools that come out every day. Scholars don't want to have to think about their tools; they want to be able to just use them. We can help them get to the point where they know the right tool to use and how to use it without having to think too much about it.


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Hi there, Welcome to my world of love and food!
I am not a trained chef, but here I stand. My background is in furniture design, but for as long as I can remember I have always chosen to surround myself with friends and food. I'd offer to whip up the occasional sandwich with whatever I happened to have in my pantry, but nothing fancy!
Five years ago, a switch flipped when I lost someone very dear to me alongside a drawn out divorce. The ensuing feelings of anger and loss weighed heavily on me and in order to distract myself from the grief, I started cooking and found myself completely immersed in the process. Cooking, especially amongst friends, helped me channel my loss into something positive. The kitchen became my sanctuary and it quickly became evident that I needed to share my culinary discoveries with loved ones, and eventually with all of you.
My first official adventure as a chef was experimenting with a relish recipe I had always liked. I researched the many benefits of medicinal herbs and spices, tinkering with the ingredients until I had something both mentally and physically curative: a creation I was truly proud of on so many levels. Sweet, spicy, and packed with nourishment, the resulting product turned out to be the perfect addition to my kitchen. Turns out my friends thought so too. The feedback was so enthusiastic and encouraging from so many that I made another batch, and another…
What began as a therapeutic culinary adventure morphed into a passion, and eventually into this distinctive and delicious relish that I have decided to offer not only my friends, but to all of you. Thank you for supporting my journey and to so many of you who encouraged my potential as a "real chef" along the way. I couldn't be more excited to present the official launch of my burgeoning relish collection, Relish the Love – get it?
I truly believe cooking and eating should be about playfulness and fun, and that's what this is all about. From the colorful, Bollywood-inspired packaging to the vibrant flavors contained within, Relish the Love is a celebration of love and life!
Relish the Love is an example of how tough times can bring the best in you. I would like to expand Relish the love to others who might be going through a crisis and don't have a way to get out. I envision being able to work with women in India or Morocco who have great relishes that we can sell under the Relish the Love brand. She would be able to make residual income while doing something she loves to do. I can only do this if I make my first product" Bombay to Goa" which is sweet spicy eggplant relish successful.
Relish the love is a condiment company that will produce relishes, chutneys and jellies from around the world. My mission will be to use the best ingredients and educate the consumers about eclectic condiments and healing properties of the spices within. The first product offered by Relish the love is " Bombay to Goa," a savory, sweet and piquant relish made with eggplant. It can be used as a dip, with your favorite cheese, in stews, a top pasta, as a poultry glaze, in scrambles and quiche, or simply smeared on a crusty baguette.
My target market are adventurous souls with eclectic palettes who enjoy a little spice in his or her food. It includes vegans and health conscious consumers who understand the healing properties of spices. Being an all-natural, vegetarian product with so much flavor it works as a perfect addition in the vegetarian kitchen.
I currently get orders online, have a few restaurants buying from me and more stores that would like to carry my relish. My issue is cash flow and initial investment. Right now I have been purchasing inventory at retail prices so my costing doesn't allow me to sell in to super markets etc. which are the key to making this company successful .
Your support will allow me to buy jars, labels etc in bulk at a lower cost. At this point since I buy a couple hundred jars at a time I pay 73 cents per jar and 23 cents per label. If I buy these jars in thousands my cost for the jar goes down to 50 cents reducing my wholesale cost by $1.25 which is huge when a larger distributor is involved. With your help I will be able to work with larger distributors and increases my profits.
Relish the Love is an example of how tough times can bring the best in you. I would like to expand Relish the love to others who might be going through a crisis and don't have a way to get out. I envision being able to work with women in India or Morocco who have great relishes that we can sell under the Relish the Love brand. She would be able to make residual income while doing something she loves to do. I can only do this if I make my first product» Bombay to Goa» which is sweet spicy eggplant relish successful.
See Campaign: https://zip.kiva.org/loans/17165
Contact Information:
Kiva Zip, Equity, United States, English, Food, Food and Beverage, Industry verticals, Regions, Types of Crowdfunding deal, Language, New York
Source: ICNW


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|From The Land Of The
An Old Monk's Story
Shurna Robbins
© Copyright 2004 by Shurna Robbins
They say he has brain damage. Understandable - since he spent 18 years in Chinese prisons and re-education camps - Gutsa, Shigatse, Sangyip, Drapchi. The interview is limited to an hour. With a Tibetan translator and short questions that means 30 minutes. It isn't nearly enough time.
Down the hallway, a curtain is pushed back; the door behind is open, revealing a room in shadows. The winter sun provides light and heat. Thousands of mantras have been chanted in this room; hands fingering a string of wooden beads.
He turns towards me. Loose skin droops over his eyes. Brown spots sprinkle his cheeks. Thupten Tsering's gaze welcomes me; a smile tugs his lips.
The man introducing me says Tsering la will be coming soon and leaves the room. Tsering la is the translator provided by Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet, an NGO for ex-political prisoners, located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. I sit down on the cot facing him. We are alone.
For several moments, we look at each other. I say, "Tashi delek" - greetings. His hands are clasped together as in prayer. He says, "Tashi delek." This is the extent of our conversation.
Thupten looks at me unblinking. I look at him. I smile. He smiles. I laugh - happy. He laughs too, a tinkling - whispery laugh, revealing straight upper teeth, with a few missing on the bottom. Greetings and smiles finished, I check my watch. Where is that translator anyway?
Thupten twists a prayer wheel sitting on the table and mutters something. "Om Mani Peme Hu-mm, Om Mani Peme Hu-mm." He looks up and nods his head toward me. It is my turn to try.
I twirl the prayer wheel and it spins as I stumble over the words, "Om-m Mani Uh-la-la." After some time, the translator appears.
As Thupten speaks, his arms move back and forth, restless fingers gesturing. He looks out the window, as if seeing again - the grassland and wildflowers where his family had grazed yaks, sheep, and goats so many years ago. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this 78 year-old man.
"When the Chinese first came," says Thupten. "They said there is going to be freedom as we enjoyed in the old society. Some people believed what they said."
There were only a handful of foreigners, including Chinese, living in Tibet before 1949. That changed after World War II, when a communist army marched into the eastern province of Tibet. If ten Chinese soldiers were killed, a hundred replaced them. The Tibetan army and Khampa guerilla fighters were armed with old rifles, swords and knives; they slowly gave ground to the Red Army.
Meanwhile in another part of Asia, the war against communism was being fought in Korea but who knew about Tibet? Or for that matter - about Inner Mongolia or East Turkestan? For centuries, the Himalayas had protected Tibet from invaders and world politics. Now, as Tibet was invaded there was no one coming to their aid.
"By 1959, all of Tibet was under Chinese occupation," says Thupten. "Each passing day they got more aggressive. After sometime it became intolerable to live with the Chinese."
It was 1966 and the Cultural Revolution had already started when Thupten tried to escape the country. He was carrying incriminating documents on China's campaign to wipe out their culture. Thupten was hiding in Gyantse, trying to find a way across the border when the Chinese found him.
The Cultural Revolution was intended to assimilate socialism across the Motherland. The traditional way of life was to be done away - customs, culture, habits, thinking, to be replaced with the new society.
Holy texts, religious idols, monasteries were destroyed. Anything yellow and maroon, monastery colors, were burned. Children attended Chinese schools and sang their songs. Mao's Little Red Book became the new bible. Friends and neighbors accused each other for real and imagined crimes. They must love the Party and be grateful for liberation. Those who resisted were sent to labor camps for re-education.
Thupten was sentenced to seven years. Because of time constraints, the details of prison life were filled in with other prisoner testimony who shared the same experiences - interrogations, torture, beatings, executions, suicide, and hard labor. Monks and nuns were targets for thamzings - struggle sessions.
Palden Gyatso, a fellow prisoner, describes the notorious thamzing in his book, Fire Under The Ice. "The thamzing always started with verbal condemnation and usually developed into beatings…anyone who did not participate with the required enthusiasm was sure to get a visit from Party officials."
Thupten recalls, "Thamzing sessions would get so severe that prisoners were driven to their death-bed, and shortly before dying, the prison authorities would send them to the hospital." One monk from Sera Monastery "was hung from a rope and suffocated with rags stuffed in his mouth."
Work assigned to Thupten included fertilizing the vegetable garden. Another prisoner explains, "We had to take out the waste in wooden buckets from the latrine and bring it to a pit… close to a vegetable garden. While transporting the waste we were not allowed to wear gloves or cover our mouths. As we fetched the feces from the tank, the pool of feces became shallower, so we had to go deeper into the tank… At times when there was no water so we had to go from the waste tank to eat our midday ration without washing our hands."
Prisoners were tortured individually and in groups. A prisoner's hands are tied behind the prisoner's back, the rope is wound around the neck, and they are hung from the ceiling for hours. A group of prisoners are gathered outside; they must balance a bowl of water on their heads while looking into the sun. If the bowl falls, the prisoner is beaten; if the bowl stays balanced, his reward is poor eyesight.
During the winter, guards would pour water onto the ground where it froze into a sheet of ice. Prisoners stood barefoot as the ice adheres to their skin, ripping off when they are allowed to move. Then there are the electric cattle prods - inserted into the mouth or anus, or if female - the vagina.
Executions demonstrated how futile it was to resist China's authority; Thupten witnessed nine men executed. More prisoner testimony describes the procedure. They were "lined up in front of ditches and shot so that they would fall in these ditches. If they were just injured, they would then be shot once more at close range. Some prisoners even after being shot two or three times did not die, and in the end they would simply be buried alive.
"The victim's families would be informed of the execution in the form of an invoice made out for the number of bullets fired and the length of rope needed to tie the prisoner up."
In 1972 - Thupten's seven-year sentence came to an end; he wasn't released. He was sent to a labor camp for another five years instead.
During Thupten's 12 years incarceration, communism was being fought in Vietnam; China was admitted to the United Nations; Richard Nixon became the first US president to visit China; nuclear military bases were built in Tibet, a strategic position against India. Then Chairman Mao died.
My thoughts are interrupted as Tsering la says it is time to go. I was so absorbed in his story, I lost track of the time. But Thupten doesn't seem tired; there is still so much left of his story.
While my request for another interview is translated, I wait, hoping. To be here, I took a train for two days, a bus to the wrong town, then a private jeep to Dharamsala. I need more time. Thupten says, "Rey" - yes.
The next morning in a local shop, I consider the possibilities, incense, books, music. Nothing seems right. He has his own room, rosary beads, prayer wheel, tea, and freedom. What do you give a 78 year-old monk? Then I see it, a small-framed picture of the Dalai Lama, a cherished possession to a monk - illegal in occupied Tibet. It will look nice on his coffee table, next to the bottles of medicine. It was 90 rupees. Sold.
When Mao died, a more relaxed era of Chinese occupation emerged. China promoted their compliance with UN human rights policies. People who disappeared in the 1960's into prisons and labor camps were coming home. Monasteries were being rebuilt and limited numbers of monks and nuns were returning to monasteries and nunneries. Moreover, the borders were opened and tourism was born into a previously secluded country. Tibetans who had escaped years ago were allowed to visit their families. Freedom was an illusion.
Seven million Chinese civilians were now living in Tibet, making Tibetans a minority in their own country. China was rewriting Tibetan history. The best education and jobs were reserved for the Chinese. Under-educated and under-employed, Tibetans were becoming marginalized. For the first time, there were Tibetan beggars in the streets and youths forming gangs.
In this uneasy climate, Geshe Jampa Gyatso obtained a visa. Jampa had escaped in 1959 and later immigrated to Italy. Sixteen Italians came with him on a pilgrimage to Lhasa – the spiritual mecca of Tibet. One evening he had dinner at the house of his cousin - Thupten.
Someone showed footage of old Tibet. One thing led to another, and the Italian visitor was videotaping Thupten and Yulu Dawa, another dinner guest, about their life under Chinese occupation. When Jampa and the Italians left, they didn't have trouble getting the tape through Customs. Thupten doesn't know what became of the tape after that, but five months later, they were arrested for spreading counter-revolutionary propaganda. Thupten got six years, Yulu Dawa got ten.
He was sent to Drapchi - a prison synonymous with torture, starvation, suicide, and death. Thupten could not know political unrest stirring in the streets of Lhasa would spill over into Drapchi.
People were demonstrating in Lhasa. Each demonstration triggered another bigger uprising. For the first time young Tibetans, born under Chinese occupation, were demonstrating in the streets.
It all started in September 1987 when 21 young monks from Drepung Monastery marched around Barkhor Market chanting "Long Live His Holiness Dalai Lama" and "Free Tibet." Everyone knew they would be arrested so few people joined the monks as they circled Barkhor Market.
A few weeks later in October, the monks from Ganden Monastery, once home to 5000 monks, staged their own larger protest. More people set aside their reservations and joined the demonstrating monks;14 were killed; dozens more were arrested.
The next demonstration started on the last day of Monlam Prayer Festival in March 1988. People in schools, homes, and shops looked out their windows and doorways, saw monks and nuns protesting, they dropped what they were doing, and rushed into the street. On rooftops, police filmed the demonstrators; in the streets, police fired teargas into the crowd.
One year later, again during the Monlam Festival, protestors took to the streets of Lhasa. This time the police force could not disperse the crowds - there were too many. Three days later, they called in the army. Marshal law was declared. Arrests and interrogations continued for months afterwards. Jails and prisons were filling up. There were not enough solitary confinement cells for the instigators.
Nothing like it had ever happened in Drapchi before. The first protest began when Lapka Tsering arrived at Drapchi. Lapka was head of the political activist group - Snow Lion - when he was arrested. He had massive internal injuries from repeated beatings. Cellmates begged prison officials to send Lapka for medical treatment. Eventually, Lapka was taken to the hospital. According to witnesses, "Blood and froth started coming out of his mouth and he became very weak. The following day he died. The Chinese authorities issued reports saying that he had died of peritonitis," - inflammation of the abdomen lining. He was 19.
Prisoners were incensed. One young activist tore his bed sheet in two and made banners. "We mourn the death of Lhakpa Tsering," and on the other side, "We demand improvements to the conditions of political prisoners." Four prisoners walked outside holding the sheets like banners. When they stepped into the courtyard, 150 prisoners lined up behind them. "We marched like soldiers," Gyatso writes. "We were dizzy with our own daring and courage."
Five months after this protest, there was word that an American delegation was visiting Drapchi prison. Fresh meat, fruit and vegetables appeared in growing rations. Buildings were spruced up. They decided to write a letter- documenting the prisoners who had been tortured, the methods of torture, and the account of Lapka's death.
On the day American Ambassador James Lilley arrived, Thupten was ill so he was resting in his cell. "I saw them through the window," says Thupten. "He (ambassador) was carrying a photo of Yulu Dawa and asking where he was." Amnesty International had adopted Yulu Dawa's case.
Two other prisoners were also excused from work. Thupten remembers they "took permission from labor to go to the dispensary. As they were going to the dispensary, they saw the people." While Yulu Dawa and the ambassador were talking in the courtyard, those two prisoners decided it was the right moment to get the letter to the ambassador.
With the letter in hand, one of them ran up to the ambassador and thrust the petition into his hands. The Chinese interpreter saw what happened, grabbed "the letter from the ambassador hands and handed it to the jailer. I saw the jailer through the window reading something. When the delegation left, the soldiers surrounded us and beat us senseless."
There are five primary routes Tibetans use to escape - all leading to Nepal, a tiny country squeezed between two giants - China and India. Pakistan and Bhutan also border lower Tibet but ancient trading routes make Nepal more accessible. Yet even the simplest route requires a guide to find the way through the Himalayas and vast open spaces, to evade Chinese and Nepal border patrols, and steer clear of Maoist guerilla strongholds in Nepal countryside.
Two years after Thupten's release in 1993, he made plans to leave the country again. "There were two guides, altogether 32 people. It was a mixed group of people, monks, nuns, lay people, children. From Lhasa we came in a vehicle to Gyantse. We disembarked from the vehicle and then we walked 20 days."
He never knew the route he took since the average Tibetan does not have access to maps, trekking books, or a compass, much less a GPS; but most likely they traveled through the Mustang region, a remote - freezing - dangerous place. Often guides get nervous and abandon the people they are transporting. If this had happened in Mustang, Thupten and everyone in his group would certainly have died.
What must it have been like at age 70 and 18 years imprisonment? The air is difficult to breathe crossing passes between 16,000 to 19,000 feet. There are no sunglasses to protect the eyes from the snow's glare. Holding onto a rope crossing a river, knowing he couldn't swim if he fell; continuing on afterwards soaking wet. Avoiding villages for fear of thieves, and spies, knowing they would not replenish food supplies; sleeping outside - tied to a tree so as not to fall off the mountain.
"We reached Nepal. Just before Pokhara - we met the Nepali police. They asked where we were going. We said we were fleeing Tibet."
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has a verbal agreement with the Nepal government to allow refugees to transit through their country, but Nepal is a nation in trouble. It is torn between an unstable government, dire poverty, Maoist uprisings, and its own human rights violations. Moreover, the Chinese reward Nepalese police for the return of Tibetan refugees. If Thupten's group had reached Pokhara, they would have found in the Tibetan settlement there, safe transport to Kathmandu and UNHCR protection.
The Nepalese police handed them over to the Chinese police. Thupten was sure he was going back to prison, but they interrogated him and let him go. He never found out why.
Less than two years had gone by when once more Thupten tried to leave Tibet, but he didn't think he was strong enough to trek through the Himalayas another time. Friends helped him find an experienced guide, a man who could carry him for 10,000 Nepalese rupees. There were only three in their group - practically invisible.
"At night we used to sleep in the forest. It was too cold. We crossed mountain passes. There was no food, no tea." They made it to a place where they could catch the bus to Kathmandu. "We saw police when we took a bus to Kathmandu. I kept praying all the way." After three tries spanning 30 years, Thupten had succeeded.
Like so many refugees before him, Thupten fulfilled a lifelong dream to meet His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, but it hasn't been enough to quiet his mind.
Suddenly, the translator stands up and leaves the room. Hmm - I glance at Thupten; he is still looking at the doorway Tsering la exited. Then he looks at me, smiles and laughs that lovely soft laugh. He envelopes my hands in his; hands that have scooped sewage into buckets; hands that held on tight as he was carried across the mountains.
I walk up the steep hill leading back to the village center. Indian and Tibetan children play some ball game in the narrow street. Old and young Tibetans, nuns and monks, walk through the vegetable market. I hardly notice them because in my mind I see Thupten Tsering spinning his prayer wheel, chanting in his whispery voice, "Om Mani Peme Hum-m. Om Mani Peme Hum-m..."
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Write some code that will read in two integers, $n$ and $d$. "Pretend" that $n$ is the numerator of a fraction and $d$ is the denominator. Have your code prove that the fraction can be reduced to lowest terms if you divide both $n$ and $d$ by the greatest common divisor of $n$ and $d$. Note that gcd(n,d) is an available function you can use (ex: print(gcd(25,100)) displays 25).Type your code here:
Lua referenceSee your results here:


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TITLE – The Knight and The Princess
The Entangled Past Series Book 3
AUTHOR – V.T. Do
AUTHOR – V.T. Do
GENRE- Contemporary Romance
RELEASE DATE – October 20th, 2021
Show up, get decent grades, then graduate so I could leave this town and it's painful memories in the past. But, I guess my life wasn't meant to be easy.
She's supposed to be nothing more than a blip on my radar. Forgettable. Insignificant.
Only she's not.
She gets under my skin in the worst way possible.
But I shouldn't want to keep her.
I'm the reason her father is in prison.
I'm the reason she has nothing and no one left in this world.
She should hate me.
Only, the more time I spent with her, the more I realized I don't want her to hate me.
Gage Walker is my obsession.
My muse. My savior.
All my problems disappear whenever I'm in his arms.
I should let him go.
He's not good for me.
He's not good for anyone. Not with all the baggage he carries, not with his scowling face and not with his grumpy disposition.
Yet, when I look into those green eyes of his, none of those things mattered. Not even the fact that he is the man responsible for everything that I've lost.
I can't let him go. I don't know how, so I won't.
Gage Walker will be mine.
Author Bio
V.T. Do grew up in beautiful Colorado with words on her mind and dreams in her eyes. Writing has always been the best way for her to express herself, and she has been doing that for as long as she can remember. When she's not writing, you can find her talking to herself, daydreaming, hunting magical creatures, and reading. She is the author of The Young and the Sinner, book 1 of the Entangled Past Series, Dirty Professor, book 1 of the Dirty series, and The Mess You Left Behind, an enemies-to-lovers romance, now available on Amazon's Kindle.
Author Links


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Being a parent of an English Language Learner (ELL) can be challenging, especially if that parent is trying to learn a new language and understand new cultural situations too.
Teachers have a vital role to play in helping their students transition into an English-speaking school environment as smoothly as possible, as do their parents who can help them develop English and academic literacy at home. The strategies outlined below detail how and where parental assistance can be instrumental to help the students develop behaviors that will pave the way to academic success in not only one language, but several.
Don't be afraid to use the student's native tongue
This tip may be the most important since it is the bridge between the student's learning situations – that is, the connection between his or her primary language and culture, and new language and culture. Parents (and teachers if relevant!) should be encouraged to converse in their mother tongue and explain unfamiliar words and concepts to the child in the language they are familiar with, so that they can continue to build his or her literacy skills in the primary language while practicing and developing their English and academic skills.
Establish a homework routine
Encouraging parents to establish a good study routine at home can make a significant difference to the child's learning. All the child needs is a quiet environment, created by removing or minimizing any potential distractions, along with a good selection of stationary supplies, such as pencils, books, and paper. It's important too that they are there, and take the time to answer any questions their child may have too. If parents don't know the answers, reassure them that they can help their child find resources to support them with answering, or simply write their questions down so that you can talk through the answer in school. Even if the parents do not have a good level of English themselves, they can still promote a good work ethic at home by ensuring their child's homework assignments are completed on time.
Study the same thing in new ways
Home study is vital for ELL students: it really helps them to absorb the new language more quickly, and if their parents are learning too, provides a really good role model to the children. What's more, it doesn't need be dull. Encourage parents to pick a fairy tale that the child is familiar with, or one of their child's favorite stories to read together. Although your student may not understand all of the words at first, he or she should be able to follow the plot of the story and will pick up new vocabulary and grammar along the way. Encourage the adult to ask questions about the story's plot, characters, etc., to test the child's understanding. They could also try watching films together in the new language or even play games that involve language, such as Scrabble, Boggle or Bananagrams, to practice and learn language at home.
Use creative outlets to practice and learn language
A fun way for parents and children to practice and learn language together is to engage in joint creative activities. The family could make a scrapbook together, for example, featuring things that have taken place in your new home, city, and/or country and write all the captions and titles in their new language. Does your student like to paint or write? Their parent could get them to draw a picture or write a story about it. The possibilities are limitless!
Encourage involvement in extra-curricular activities
Extra-curricular activities, such as being a member of the school's newspaper or sports team, provide additional meaningful opportunities to develop language skills and the chance to socialize, so parents and teachers should encourage the children to get involved where possible. Such activities can help students link the ideas, strategies, roles, and responsibilities they experience in the classroom with those beyond the classroom. Understanding and using language and practical skills across settings is important in learning and achievement.
Engagement with teachers and the school
Encouraging parents to positively engage with their child's teachers, and volunteer in class where possible, will give them more opportunities to keep up to date with their child's linguistic, academic, and social progress in school. Seeing first-hand what is going on in school will give them a better idea of how they can support their child at home. Showing a keen interest in what happens at school and developing a partnership approach with the school will help the student to succeed in his or her new learning environment.
We hope these tips have helped. If you have any additional suggestions that could help others, we'd love to hear them! Just email us on email@example.com.


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8920 114th Ave Pleasant Prairie WI 53158-1405 | $6,745,000
Room Dimensions
- Full Baths: 0
8920 114th Ave Pleasant Prairie WI 53158-1405 - Incredible Freeway Service Business District. Intended businesses for this site are: cluster of hotels, restaurant, gasoline station and freeway convenience store. This land is zoned to serve the needs of freeway travelers as well as the community.
- Lots for Sale
- Status: null
- Est. Acreage: 17.1
- School District: Kenosha
- High School: Indian Trail Hs & Academy
- County: Kenosha
- Property Taxes: $7,992
- Property Tax Year: 2018
- Postal Municipality: Pleasant Prairie
- Listing Company: Stanich Realty, LLC
- Zip Code: null
The information which is contained on pages with property data is obtained from a number of different sources and which has not been independently verified or confirmed by the various real estate brokers and agents who have been and are involved in this transaction. If any particular measurement or data element is important or material to buyer, Buyer assumes all responsibility and liability to research, verify and confirm said data element and measurement. Shorewest Realtors is not making any warranties or representations concerning any of these properties. Shorewest Realtors shall not be held responsible for any discrepancy and will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this site. REALTOR *MLS* Equal Housing Opportunity


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Strange Doings on the Sun
Sunspots, Which Can Harm Electronics on Earth, Are Half the Number Expected
Nov. 10, 2013
Something is up with the sun.
Scientists say that solar activity is stranger than in a century or more, with the sun producing barely half the number of sunspots as expected and its magnetic poles oddly out of sync.
The sun generates immense magnetic fields as it spins. Sunspots—often broader in diameter than Earth—mark areas of intense magnetic force that brew disruptive solar storms. These storms may abruptly lash their charged particles across millions of miles of space toward Earth, where they can short-circuit satellites, smother cellular signals or damage electrical systems.
Based on historical records, astronomers say the sun this fall ought to be nearing the explosive climax of its approximate 11-year cycle of activity—the so-called solar maximum. But this peak is "a total punk," said Jonathan Cirtain, who works at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as project scientist for the Japanese satellite Hinode, which maps solar magnetic fields.
"I would say it is the weakest in 200 years," said David Hathaway, head of the solar physics group at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Researchers are puzzled. They can't tell if the lull is temporary or the onset of a decades-long decline, which might ease global warming a bit by altering the sun's brightness or the wavelengths of its light.
"There is no scientist alive who has seen a solar cycle as weak as this one," said Andrés Munoz-Jaramillo, who studies the solar-magnetic cycle at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.
To complicate the riddle, the sun also is undergoing one of its oddest magnetic reversals on record.
Normally, the sun's magnetic north and south poles change polarity every 11 years or so. During a magnetic-field reversal, the sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, drop to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity. As far as scientists know, the magnetic shift is notable only because it signals the peak of the solar maximum, said Douglas Biesecker at NASA's Space Environment Center.
But in this cycle, the sun's magnetic poles are out of sync, solar scientists said. The sun's north magnetic pole reversed polarity more than a year ago, so it has the same polarity as the south pole.
"The delay between the two reversals is unusually long," said solar physicist Karel Schrijver at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, Calif.
Scientists said they are puzzled, but not concerned, by the unusual delay. They expect the sun's south pole to change polarity next month, based on current satellite measurements of its shifting magnetic fields.
At the same time, scientists can't explain the scarcity of sunspots. While still turbulent, the sun seems feeble compared with its peak power in previous decades. "It is not just that there are fewer sunspots, but they are less active sunspots," Dr. Schrijver said.
However, the sun isn't idle: After months of quiescence, it unleashed vast streams of charged particles into space five times in as many days last month, and flared again last week. Even so, these outbursts exhibited a fraction of the force of previous solar maximums.
The Sun Erupts with Major Flares
A solar flare appeared as the bright flash on the left part of the sun on Oct. 25. NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory/
By comparison, a Halloween solar storm in 2003, near the peak of the last solar maximum, was the largest of the Space Age. Even though it mostly bypassed Earth, the storm disabled a Japanese satellite, sent astronauts aboard the International Space Station scrambling for radiation shelter, disrupted drilling for oil and gas in Alaska, scrambled GPS navigation and forced the U.S. Defense Department to cancel military maneuvers.


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This three quarter sleeve crop top is hand made, dyed, and printed to order, it's made from an organic cotton and hemp blend jersey and hand dyed with low impact, non toxic dyes. I hand screen each Flower of Life print after making and dyeing your top, you can also choose to have a gold print (silver is pictured). You can choose from the size chart or leave your personal measurements.
Please allow up to two weeks for production and Dyeing of your top, I make each top to order. You can feel free to message me with questions or to see current wait times.
Flower of life crop top
Hand made from a certified organic cotton and hemp jersey that has a 5% lycra content


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Early Education is the Foundation For all
Early Education is the Foundation for All produces a strong foundation for future success of children. Research indicates the most significant structural component of daycares is the level of the teacher's personal education and specializations. Through this program, Champions provides 24 hours of Preservice training, which is intensive, face-to-face teaching of state laws and basic child development knowledge that must be known to adequately teach birth through five years old. Champions offers high-quality professional trainings on classroom management, lesson plans, differentiated learning models, and other specialized trainings to enable daycare teachers to handle challenging child behaviors. Since 90% of the brain develops by age 4 and quality early education is the foundation for all future learning and long-term success, Champions for Children provides the 24 hours of high-quality face-to-face training required by law to be alone with children in a daycare. During these 24 hours, the clients learn over 100 state laws, ways to address challenging behaviors, activities for proper development, and many more skills essential to a successful learning environment.
Autism Education and Resources
Autism Education and Resources, formerly East Texas Autism Network, is now a program of Champions for Children of Smith County. It is a resource for parents and caregivers who are either concerned that their child may have Autism Spectrum Disorder, but has not been diagnosed, or whose child has been diagnosed. If a child has not been diagnosed with ASD, Champions coordinates the process of obtaining a diagnosis and helps the family establish a network of resources to help their child reach his/her highest potential. This often involves multiple sources of doctors and care professionals including but not limited to therapy centers, intervention services, respite care, social services, school administrators, and medical staff. When a centralized care plan develops, it helps families move ahead and put more focus on the positive qualities and gifts of their child while hope and empowerment grow for both the child and their caregivers in the long-term. For children already diagnosed with ASD, Champions supplies resources and tools to assist parents with daily and future needs.
Road to Mental Wellness and Succes
Road to Mental Wellness & Success, a program of Champions for Children of Smith County, identifies issues in a child as early as possible and offers therapy by a licensed professional counselor to correct problems before they escalate to major disasters, including harm to self or others. Research shows that children who have social and emotional issues in Kindergarten are 80% more likely to require special education and 7 times more likely to be suspended or expelled at least once by 4thgrade. Over half of adult mental illnesses show signs in childhood. Ignoring undesirable behaviors of young children can create long-term negative effects. Champions' LPC offers play therapy, social groups, and individual sessions. Counseling can help children and parents with depression, divorce and separation issues, focus in school, test anxiety, low self-esteem, mental illness, communication, and more. Our counselor provides therapy to children ages 3-19 and their families.
Make a donation to support these programs. Our promise to you is that 100% of your designation will go to these programs
and not to cover United Way admin thanks to our Community Pillar Sponsors.


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Last updated 9/4/14
Suggested donation: $100, $250, or $500 per person. Payment methods: Mail checks to: "Friends of Maile Shimabukuro," 87-162 Liopolo Street, Waianae, HI 96792. Credit card or PayPal electronic payments accepted here or via electmaile.com (click on "Donate" button). Or pay at the door with check or cash.
Map: Click here.
Parking: $3 flat rate evening parking at Ali`i Place OR $3 parking with validation at
Bishop Square (across the street).
Donations: We are seeking donations of
champagne, beer, cocktails, juice, soda, desserts, pupus and silent auction items. Event volunteers also sought.
Contact: Colleen Teramae if you are interested in helping, at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Information / RSVP: Email firstname.lastname@example.com or text / call 808-349-3075.
Jeff Rasmussen: Facebook


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I'm fast, but not that fast:
— "Dad, how many days until Christmas?"
— "About 6 months sweetheart."
— "But how many days?"
— "About 180 da… wait… Siri, how many days until Christmas?"
— [Sexy monotone voice] "It's one hundred seventy-eight days until then."
… so I put the tools at my disposal to work for me: I could work things out in my head, but there's an easier way. An easier workflow.
In a similar fashion, I could frantically hammer away at my keyboard only to repeat the same customer service information that's been asked many times before (and which will certainly be asked many times over in the days to come)… or I could get a game plan together and have the previous answer(s) at my fingertips, ready to go – cut with the very same cookie cutter.
It feels really good to work smarter and save time. This brief post is about setting up a simple system (in WorkFlowy) to capture the insightful solutions and information that we already have in our head – so that we don't have to type them out all over again, from scratch.
The backstory
Over the last 7 days, I answered 63 questions as an "Evernote Expert" on the "Directly" customer service platform. Suffice to say, I did it all for you, WorkFlowy peeps (The things I do for love, acceptance… and money).
Look, mum – no hands!
Let me brag about a couple of my testimonials:
The thing I wanted to draw attention to was the part where it says, "Insanely fast response…" Really and truly – many of my responses are faster than is humanly possible. I have a "quick and dirty" little secret that helps me to get the job done.
Recycle and reuse
(1) Copy-paste is the name of the game: I copy both the question and my answer from the customer service platform and paste them into WorkFlowy:
(2) In addition, I include a tag in the list title's note – something to indicate the nature of the issue at hand. In the above case, #language.
(3) I also tag my lists with a time tag (5 minutes above), so I can use rawbytz's WorkFlowy Count bookmarklet to give a sum total of how much precious time I've spent answering CS questions on any given day.
The mother ship
I've created a tag index just under my list title. I like to keep things alphabetized – which is not that difficult when you're adding new tags one at a time.
Hit and run
Whenever I see a question I know I've answered before,
- I hop, skip and jump along to WorkFlowy
- Click on the appropriate tag in the above tag index (which filters for any lists tagged with the same tag)
- Copy the relevant information I need
- Paste the information into the new question I'm answering
- Give myself a pat on the back
Tinker with the real thing
Here's the actual list I've been using. You can click on any tag in the tag index if you're curious to see all the moving parts of this dead-easy, no-brainer setup.
Q&A Template
For each new question entered into WorkFlowy I duplicate a simple Q&A template which I keep at the top of the outline: Alt+Drag your bullet to a new location:
- Add your most recent answers to the top of your list, right under a tag index (if you have one).
- Make use of rawbytz's WorkFlowy Count bookmarklet to keep track of time spent.
- If you don't have a tag for everything, simply use WorkFlowy's search box. It will help you find what you're looking for lightning fast.
Get EXCLUSIVE bite-sized WorkFlowy updates: tips, tricks & news about FREE online workshops with Frank Degenaar. Sign up here.


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I am a sucker for a great rainbow of color, even in a puddle on the sidewalk. When artists incite form and language to communicate in art from a full and glowing spectrum of color, I am a captive audience. This week's six artists take the rainbow to new heights: all vast, bold and deliberate yet fleeting and delicate like the rarity of a rainbow itself.
While each form is white, as it glows it gains its own unique personality.
The divinity of silk ribbon. Yes, this is all silk ribbon.
Psychedelic projections that melt into one another like a kaleidoscope give me the chills.
Angela Kelly's frozen bubbles of water are the condensed version of many rainbows that twinkle in the background.
And Taisuke Koyama, well, this is the artist who I want to design the swimming pool in my next house! Absurdly magnificent, no?
Live with more art. Let it color your life and bring words and form to things you can't yet express but know you must! xoxo Dana
Dive into your own personalized feng shui in a modern, practical way!
Say hello to Feng Shui 101. Its the guide I made for you to create your own personalized feng shui at home, in the office, wherever you may be in 8 weeks. Its not filled with strict rules or what you must do. Its filled with information, questions, exercises and even videos and classes to help you confidently create amazing spaces with killer feng shui and live with more flow. Learn more about the 8-week feng shui adventure & grab your copy to get started right HERE !


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Cloud's usefulness is astounding, not unlike any main charcater in any RPG. His physical attack is immensely
threatening while he is no slouch on magic, either.
To get Omnislash, go to the battle arena at the Gold Saucer and earn 32,000 battle points. Exchange them for the
Omnislash. Cloud must have all previous Limit Breaks acquired in order to learn Omnislash.


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WP Fusion integrates Easy Digital Downloads (as well as EDD Software Licensing and EDD Recurring Payments) with any one of over 40 supported CRMs and marketing automation platforms.
#Syncing customer data and custom fields
When customers check out with Easy Digital Downloads, WP Fusion will automatically save their customer data to your CRM as a contact record, with their name and email address (enabled by default).
You can enable additional fields for sync from the Contact Fields tab in the WP Fusion settings, such as billing address, customer ID, and last order date.
#Custom fields
If you're using the EDD Checkout Field Manager extension, any custom fields you've added to your checkout or profile forms will appear underneath the default EDD fields in the Contact Fields list.
You can enable any desired fields, and they will be synced to your CRM when a customer checks out or updates their profile.
#Tagging customers
When editing any Download product, the WP Fusion meta box will contain options for applying tags in your CRM when a download is purchased or refunded.
These tags can then unlock content on your site or trigger followup email sequences and other automations from your CRM.
If you have EDD Recurring Payments active, you'll see additional options for applying tags based on subscription status.
If you have the Abandoned Cart addon active, you'll also see an option to select tags that should be applied when a cart with this download in it is abandoned.
#Variable pricing
You can also configure tags to be applied at purchase (or after a refund) for pricing variations.
If variable pricing is enabled, you can click "Show Advanced Settings" on any price to configure the WP Fusion settings for that variation. These tags will be applied in addition to the global Apply Tags tags for the download.
#Order statuses
You can also apply tags based on changes in order status. This can be configured in the WP Fusion general settings under the Integrations tab.
For each status you can select one or more tags in your CRM. When the order is changed to the status, the selected tags will be applied.
#Email Optins
WP Fusion includes an option to add an email optin checkbox to the Easy Digital Downloads checkout. This can be enabled by checking the box for Email Optin at Settings » WP Fusion » Integrations » Easy Digital Downloads.
You can customize the message that's displayed, as well as the tags that are applied when the checkbox is checked.
As an alternative to applying tags, you can also sync the value of the optin checkbox to a custom field in your CRM, by enabling the
edd_email_optin field for sync at Settings » WP Fusion » Contact Fields » Easy Digital Downloads.
When enabled the optin checkbox will be displayed at the bottom of the Personal Details section of the EDD checkout.
If the optin checkbox is checked, it will sync a
true value to your CRM (works best with checkboxes or email consent fields, but can be used in text fields as well).
If the opt-in checkbox is unchecked, it will be saved to the order record, but nothing will be synced. This is to avoid unsubscribing people who had previously opted in to marketing.
WP Fusion adds several settings to the Edit Discount screen with Easy Digital Downloads.
The options are:
- Required Tags: If specified, the user must be logged in and have at least one of the selected tags to use the discount.
- Auto-apply Tags: If the user has any one of these tags, this discount will automatically be applied to the cart (see below).
- Discount Label: Used with the Auto-apply Tags setting, this gives you the option to hide the discount code on the checkout in favor of a custom label (see below).
- Apply Tags: These tags will be applied in your CRM when this discount is used.
#Auto-applied Discounts
WP Fusion has the ability to automatically apply a discount to a customer's EDD cart based on their tags in your CRM. This can be used to offer discounts to existing customers or members, or with abandoned cart recovery campaigns.
The discount will be applied if the customer has at least one of the required tags and:
- is logged in to your site
- or, is in an auto login session
- or, has visited a WP Fusion cart recovery URL
By default, Easy Digital Downloads shows the discount code in use on the cart and checkout screens. Since the discount has been automatically applied, you may want to hide the discount code.
Text entered into the Discount Label setting will replace the discount code on the cart and checkout pages.
When an order is refunded in Easy Digital Downloads, the original tags applied at purchase will be removed, including the tags from price variations. You have the option to apply additional tags when an order is refunded.
#Payment meta
WP Fusion adds a meta box to the sidebar of each EDD payment showing some additional data related to the sync with your CRM.
If the Enhanced Ecommerce addon is active, you'll also see a status indication for whether or not an invoice was synced to your CRM, and the invoice ID.
To re-sync a single payment to your CRM, press the Process WP Fusion actions again button.
#Enhanced Ecommerce
WP Fusion's Enhanced Ecommerce addon (available to Plus and Professional license holders) can sync Easy Digital Downloads orders to supported CRMs and email marketing platforms.
With Easy Digital Downloads, the Ecommerce Addon will send enhanced ecommerce data for all orders, including support for downloads, download price IDs, discounts, and taxes.
In CRMs that have Products as separate entities from Orders, you can associate your EDD products with CRM products by selecting them from the product dropdown.
The CRMs supported by Enhanced Ecommerce are listed below. Click on each to learn more about the capabilities of the integration.
#Event Tracking
Using the Event Tracking addon, you can track Easy Digital Downloads product purchases as events in supported CRMs.
The Event Tracking Addon also supports EDD Software Licensing and EDD Recurring Payments. For more information, see the EDD Software Licensing documentation and EDD Recurring Payments documentation.
Events can be configured in two places. On an individual product, on the WP Fusion metabox:
Or in the Event Tracking global settings:
The available triggers for event tracking with Easy Download Digitals are:
- Purchased Download: Triggered each time a single download is purchased.
- Downloaded Download: Triggered whenever a file from this download is downloaded.
#Syncing historical orders
If you already have an existing EDD store, you can use WP Fusion to sync all historical orders to your CRM.
First configure your products with any tags you'd like to be applied when purchased. Then navigate to Settings » WP Fusion » Advanced and scroll down to the Batch Operations section.
Select "Easy Digital Downloads orders" from the list of options, and click Create Background Task.
WP Fusion will go through all of your orders, adding / updating contacts as necessary, and tagging them based on the products purchased. A status bar will appear at the top of the page indicating the progress.
After each order is processed it will be locked by WP Fusion so it can't be exported again, to prevent duplicate data from going to your CRM.


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My auto insurance company gave me $170 for getting married. Nice wedding gift, really. You are apparently a better driver just for having a wife.
So, quite self-consciously, Lorna has taken it upon herself to earn this amount.
"Don't get a speeding ticket."
"You should come to a complete stop here."
"See the cop hiding behind the gravel pile?"
The Marriage Discount
3 comments:
My guess is insurance companies know the human mating dance: young men re-enacting Rebel Without a Cause ad infinitum until the catch is made.ReplyDelete
You're more insurable now that there's no longer an incentive for you to peel out at every stoplight. :)
Well, let's be sure to remember that Insurance providers are rather heartless about things. They have years of statistical data that actuaries pore over. The rate they charge is a formula based on the likelihood that you will have a claim, the number of similar folk to you that are insured, the amount of the usual claim, and a profit margin. It's all what the numbers bear out.ReplyDelete
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Mnet's "COVID-19 Disinfection" At 2020 MAMA Sparks Controversy For "Being Thoughtless"
With Korea's COVID-19 cases rising, the pandemic remained a real threat at the 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA).
Though the hosting party, Mnet, attempted to incorporate some preventative steps, like spraying the area with disinfectant between each use, the caution and concern were at an all time high.
내가 뭘 본거지??? pic.twitter.com/wAXgg9karn
— 송마루(맹구)🎖🏅 (@ssong_malu_) December 6, 2020
While the idea was appreciated, Korean netizens eventually grew uncomfortable with the process. Some pointed out, "Spraying disinfectant isn't as effective as wiping down with it" and called out the "uselessness" of this extra step.
And… isn't it kind of dangerous for them to be spraying all that disinfectant like that, when the other people on stage aren't wearing masks? Disinfectant shouldn't be inhaled. I'm baffled by the proximity…
— Netizen
Others questioned the necessity of dressing the staff in a skin-tight suit and heels.
I don't think there is a single person out there who would have been like, "Why is that person not wearing something fancy?" had the disinfecting staff showed up in protective hazmat suits.
These people are trying to save lives… but let's put them in really uncomfortable full-body suits and tip-toe heels. And let's have them go at this for six hours…? Like where is your brain, Mnet?
— Netizen
All in all, netizens criticized Mnet for "pretending like they care about disinfection", when "the disinfecting staff's nonsense outfit clearly shows they simply consider act to be a part of the show."
2020 MAMA 시상식이 수상소감 후 방역하는 모습. 마스크 쓰거나 가림막 설치하는 게 낫지 않나? 소독약을 너무 가까운 거리에서 분사하면 호흡기로 다 들어가지 않나? 실루엣이 다 드러나도록 타이트한 의상을 꼭 입혀야 할 이유가 있나? 이런 식의 방역하는 시늉이 대체 무슨 의미가 있는지 모르겠다. pic.twitter.com/Cgxrq1KsTl
— 밀 (@803page) December 6, 2020
Here's how they're "disinfecting" at the 2020 MAMA. Would it not have been better to wear masks or install dividers? Doesn't spraying the disinfectant into the air like that make everyone inhale it? Was there an absolute need to dress the disinfecting staff to wear a skin-tight outfit? I have so many questions about MAMA's disinfecting process. It's like they're putting on a show, what is the point?
— Netizen
On the other hand, international fans are rooting for what has since been nicknamed "The Disinfecting Silver People".
Most argued, "Even if their method of choice may not be as effective, it should be appreciated that the show put in the effort and tried to make the most of the situation at hand."
EVERYONE GIVE IT UP TO THE MVPS OF MAMA 2020 THE DISINFECTING SILVER PEOPLE pic.twitter.com/G5JrSz7QjV
— mat #IZONE_Onereeler (@nakosbit) December 6, 2020
These disinfecting silver people have been the highlight of 2020 MAMA. They did what they had to do.
— Netizen
As for the outfit, long-time MAMA fans have come to the show's defense and claimed that "the futuristic cyberpunk-like theme" is an overarching one for all MAMAs in the past.
With a recent scare in the K-Pop scene though, netizens remain divided and sensitive about the issue.


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Customized Modern Lighting
"Designed to be Designed"
O'Blaney Rinker is excited to be representing Modulightor in the New York and New Jersey areas.
For over 40 years, Modulightor has been a favorite of many top design professionals. Known for high style, but also for a unique ability to solve lighting problems, Modulightor fixtures have that right mix of aesthetic and technical sophistication. Their customized solutions offer a variety of art lights, accent lighting, linear pendants, wall washers, sconces, vanity lights, chandeliers, and task lights for you to choose and design.
Modulightor's owner, Ernst Wagner founded Modulightor with the modernist architect Paul Rudolph. Together they developed its modular, flexible, and adaptable lighting systems — all based on Rudolph's observations on light and its relationship to space, form and surface. Paul Rudolph's original vision continues today, with every Modulightor light fixture built. The fixtures are created to your specifications in Paul Rudolph's designed townhouse in the middle of New York's decorative arts district.
Trellis 2.0
The Trellis, Modulightor's best-seller, features pendant lights that provide jewel like illumination in a configurable minimalist package. The lite light airframe construction allows designers to customize installations based on specific applications. The Trellis is excellent for low ceiling heights. The "drop" can be as little as 6″ and can be almost any dimension. Download specs >
Milam Chandelier
One of their newer products is the Milam — a fully configurable chandelier in scale, light output and finish. Can be made in custom or multiple configurations. The most typically specified mounting MM01B (suspended by stems, and hardwired through a stem—with No screws visible) Download specs >
Minilux HR Patera
Modulightor's linear pendant collection includes the Minilux HR Patera that can be specified with any number of glass elements. Highlighted here is a 48″ long fixture in Polished Chrome with a drop created from 10″ Stems. See Specs >


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This is our new weekly politics newsletter, Conventional Wisdom, covering the wild and wacky world of delegate harvesting. (Sign up here.)
I know FiveThirtyEight readers are all in a tizzy about tonight's Met Gala (what will Rihanna wear?), but there is delegate news to be attended to before spending the day clicking through photo galleries of questionable couture; without further ado, the news from the provinces.
|Donald Trump
|Ted Cruz
|John Kasich
|Hillary Clinton
|Bernie Sanders
Delegate leakage: Leading The New York Times digital front page on Sunday was a story of delegate leakage — the loss of unbound and second-ballot delegate support — and it wasn't about usual suspect Donald Trump, who's been known to lose out to delegate slates aligned with Ted Cruz at state conventions. It's starting to look like there is trouble in Cruz-land.
Cruz is generally thought to be the best at gathering the human chess pieces required to win the Republican nomination at a contested convention that goes on beyond the first ballot. But the Times reports that delegate support for Cruz is "softening" as the perceived inevitability of Trump strengthens. In North Dakota, the Cruz campaign was originally thought to have cornered the support of most of the state's 28 unbound delegates. But it now seems that he has only around 12 delegates and that confidence in him is slipping. In Pennsylvania, which has 54 unbound delegates who are directly elected by the voters, only a couple of Cruz-supporting delegates emerged from last Tuesday's primary.
Alaska: While the news out of the contiguous United States wasn't that rosy for Cruz, he's doing better in the great American tundra. Last Thursday, the Central Committee of the Alaska Republican Party (a body that sounds a teensy bit Soviet, no?) voted to allow Marco Rubio to hold on to his five delegates for the duration of the Republican National Convention this summer. This is a victory for the anti-Trump forces: If Rubio's delegates had been reapportioned, Trump would have gotten three. And even though Cruz won the state, he would have gotten only two, because of some murky, cold-weather logic — Alaska's party rules are rather vague about this stuff. Five delegates ain't much, but like a middle school couple's fight via spiral notebook in the back of math class, this is a battle that takes place in the margins.
Arizona: The state whose desert sun is beloved by cacti and feared by the dermatological community held its Republican convention over the weekend and party members voted for the 58 people who will be RNC delegates in Cleveland. Trump won Arizona in its March 22 primary and will have full delegate support on the first ballot at the national convention, but support for Cruz and John Kasich on a second ballot would be strong, should things get that far.
At the state convention, party members cast ballots through an official party website with the URL neverhillary.simplyvoting.com, and Trump is estimated to have won only around a dozen delegates — ones who would support him past the first ballot — prompting his surrogates to cry foul. According to CNN, State Treasurer Jeff DeWit "yelled as supporters around him raged at the results," saying that "Trump got cheated" and that "somebody messed with the system." Former Gov. Jan Brewer's name was mistakenly left off the online Trump slate, leading her to criticize the process, but state party Chairman Robert Graham said the rigging allegations were "laughable"; representatives of all the campaigns were present as the names of the delegate candidates were digitally put onto slates.
Sundry other goings-on:
- During congressional district conventions held this weekend, 24 of Missouri's 52 delegates were selected, with Trump technically taking away 15. But according to reports, only six of that number are actually his supporters. (Trump won the state's March 15 primary and will have the support of the majority of its delegates on the first ballot.)
- In Massachusetts, Beacon Hill toffs squirmed in their tasseled loafers as Trump won a resounding delegate victory, finding support among 22 of the 27 delegates up for selection this weekend. Massachusetts will have 42 total delegates at the national convention and will pick the remainder of its delegates on May 25; three have already been appointed by the state party. (Trump won the state's March 1 primary and will have the support of most of its delegates on the first ballot.)
- Arkansas held congressional district conventions over the weekend as well, picking 12 delegates; it wasn't clear from reports what the candidate preferences of the selected delegates were, though the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette noted that "in most cases, the winning delegate candidates had been vetted and recommended by the candidates they sought to represent." Twenty-five more delegates will be picked on May 14. (Trump won the state's March 1 primary and will have the support of 16 delegates on the first ballot; Cruz will get 15.)
- There is also drama afoot in New Hampshire, where the state's GOP is making an effort to block Trump-supporting delegates from slots on any of the committees at the RNC, including the all-important Rules Committee. Trump won New Hampshire by a wide margin, and one of its delegates is, as luck would have it, Trump's controversial campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
For now, all eyes will be trained on Tuesday's Indiana primary. If Trump wins big there and gets closer to clinching the 1,237 votes needed to win the nomination on the first ballot, the hand-to-hand combat of delegate selection could be a moot point, all sound and fury signifying nothing. The bittersweet unknowns of May have yet to reveal themselves.