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It has been nearly 8 months since I began my orthodontic treatment, otherwise known as "braces". I am writing this post for other adults out there who have had an interest in braces. While I am still wearing my braces, my current belief is that this has been a good decision and I am happy to date that I went through with it. That being said, there is a LOT a person is not told when he or she signs on the dotted line.
First off, my orthodontists have been amazing and I highly recommend them. Dr. Lee and Woo have an amazing staff, answer all my questions, and use state of the art techniques and equipment.
I decided on ceramic brackets, which, with the wires that thread between brackets, ends up giving a look similar to having a retainer. The price was around five grand, with an estimate of 18-24 months for the course of the procedure. Insurance covers a small amount (around one thousand dollars), and flexible spending money can be used for the rest. I got braces because my bite was horrid and my teeth wore in the wrong way. I had been told by every dentist for years that I should get braces, and I finally had the financial means and the geographical stability to get them.
Now I will share the less than wonderful parts of my experience, the downside to braces that most adults would want to know. While the doctors were open about having some pain and possibly undergoing surgery to correct a misaligned jaw, there were unpleasant parts of the process that I never expected.
First, in order to prevent my top front teeth from hitting the brackets on my bottom front teeth, hard ceramic-like bumps were placed on my bottom molars. This made it so that my teeth (if you include the bumps as part of that) only made contact in two small places in my mouth. This made it incredibly hard to eat. These "speed bumps" as they were referred to were put in the same day as my braces (brackets and wire) were put on, so this was all a lot to get used to. I also had rubber band spacers put in between my top molars in order to prepare my mouth for….
The Palatial Expander:
(flattering pic, no?)
The palatial expander is a piece of hardware put into the top (usually) of the mouth in order to widen it. It can be used in place of surgery, even for adults who have the tops of their mouths fused (good reference here). But let me say, it is very unpleasant. Basically every night or every other night, you crank it open more. You literally move apart bone. But that is not the worst part. It also takes up a LOT of space in your mouth. I had this put in about a month into my braces. I was barely intelligible the week after the expander was installed, which was particularly inconvenient since I had a conference I was exhibiting at for work. Fun, fun! Plus, it is hard to eat and even breath sometimes; I wake up in the middle of the night because my breathing is off. The expander prevents your tongue from touching the top of your mouth, which keeps that part dry (my mouth did adjust) and really influences how you speak and eat. It is also a place where more food can get stuck, already an issue with braces; my housemate joked I could get a whole shrimp stuck up there… for three days! Even though I have had the expander for over six months now, my voice is still not completely normal or adjusted. So basically, the expander is horrible. However….
The palatial expander is in place of surgery, where they break your palate and then go about fixing your bite. I am not a fan of having surgery if you do not have to, so the palatial expander was a better option, warts and all.
I also had the option of having surgery to set my jaw back. My lower jaw grew too far out, leading to misaligned teeth and a very bad bite. I went to two surgeons, one who was ready to take my cash and grab the knife (fancy Palo Alto office, no less) and the other who was a lot more cautious. I decided against surgery, and my orthodontist agreed (after treatment had gone about six months) that is wasn't a must. I was happy another surgical option was off the table.
The most recent new thing at the orthodontist was that they changed my braces wire to a thicker wire, in order to move the teeth more. The day after this switch, my teeth were more sore than they were the day after I first got braces. Ouch! Tylenol and some light meals did the trick, and my mouth adjusted pretty quickly.
I'm now set to have the palatial expander take off this week (yay!), with several more months of braces ahead. I can already see progress in my bite– I now understand how one's rows of teeth are supposed to work and line up! So I am happy to date with my experience, though it has been unpleasant at times.
Oh, one last thing: appearances. I definitely felt weird about having braces at first. People still aren't used to seeing adults in braces. But I definitely have gotten use to them, and smile full force now– except right after a meal 🙂 I do think I look younger, however, and it unfortunately is what it is.
If you have any questions about my experience, please ask!
*** Update on October 29, 2012***
I recently got asked some tips on products that make having braces a little easier. I highly recommended Oral-B's Superfloss (helps get plaque off the area that attaches to your teeth), and a Waterpik. They make life a lot easier and leave your mouth feeling a ton cleaner 🙂


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subset: commoncrawl


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Music Catalog
« Blimps
Burning Society
You need flash to listen to this!
A collaboration with my brother "DJ Breed" who has been DJing for almost a decade. He contributed his vocals for this epic orchestral drum n' bass track. The idea being that this could be used for a set opener at the famous "Burning Man" event that takes place each year. This combines music composition with grungy drum n' bass music.
Visit On Newgrounds: - LD - Burning Society


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Skeletal remains found behind Jeffersonville church
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- A church groundskeeper made a shocking discovery behind a Jeffersonville church Friday afternoon when they found skeletal remains.
The remains were found in a wooded area. Police are looking into missing persons cases, and that includes the case of a man who lived a street away.
For much of the afternoon, Jeffersonville Police had the entrances to Faith Lutheran Church blocked off at the intersection of Allison Lane and Lutz Lane. They were called there after a church groundskeeper made a startling discovery.
"He was cutting grass on the backside of the property and noticed something in the wooded area," said Det. Todd Hollis with the Jeffersonville Police Department. "He went to investigate and saw what he though were human remains and contacted the police department."
Police say the remains were found a couple hundred yards behind the church, and it's hard to tall at this time who the person is, or how they died. They are investigating all missing persons cases, including the case of 27-year-old Stephen Reedy.
"We will look very closely at that case, yes," Hollis said.
Reedy was last seen in Sept. 2011, walking away from his nearby Beech Grove apartment and into the woods after he was served an eviction notice. He was once a manager at the 10th St. Dairy Queen and his former coworkers were alarmed when he went missing.
"We just could not believe it," said Shauntelle Fountain, Reedy's former co-worker. "He came to work on time and came in whenever a manager called him in. He never had any problems with customers, workers, or anyone we knew of. He was just friendly and a really good person."
The fact that police are looking into whether the skeletal remains belong to Reedy have his former coworkers upset once again.
"My stomach is all knotted up right now," Fountain said. "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. It doesn't sound real."
Police say the skeletal remains were taken to the Medical Examiner's Office and we should know more in this case sometime next week.@
Copyright 2013 by WDRB News. All rights reserved.


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Skylar Peak: Electrician, surfer, youngest Malibu city councilman
Flashing a toothy grin under sun-tipped strawberry-blond hair and blue-green eyes, Skylar Peak embodies the celluloid ideal of a waterman as he swaggers into Malibu Kitchen on Cross Creek Road for a late-morning shot of joe.
But this Malibu favorite son and certified surfer dude — who really does shout "Waddup?" and wave a shaka sign at friends from the window of his white GM pickup truck — has more on his mind than going off the lip at Big Dume or getting shacked off Indonesia. In April, the 28-year-old electrician, concert promoter and surf and stand-up paddle board instructor to the stars became the youngest person ever elected to Malibu's City Council.
He garnered the most votes among seven candidates, nabbing 24% of the total, and could well become mayor in a year. "I've been selected as a leader in my community," he said. "I hope I can make the right decisions."
Invoking the argot of surfdom, he provides a clue as to what he thinks is "right" for Malibu: "I'm not that stoked about development."
In his black T-shirt, green sweat pants and flip-flops, he gives a surfer's "stinkeye" to the Lanvin and Missoni boutiques that share the Malibu Village shopping center with Malibu Kitchen. "These don't belong here," he said. But then he grinned, looked around at his familiar surroundings and added his mantra: "It's all good."
Read the full story by Martha Groves: On Malibu City Council, surfer Skylar Peak fights waves of change
- Tags: Our Work :: Video :: California :: Los Angeles
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Volt-Like Cadillac ELR To Hit Dealerships In 2013
One common knock against the Chevy Volt is its high price, coming in at a whopping $40,000 (give or take) before tax credits. If only GM had launched the Volt as a Cadillac, people might complain less.
Well GM is doing just that, and the Volt-like Cadillac ELR is set to hit dealerships starting in 2013.
The Luxury Hybrid For American Tastes
The Chevy Volt is GM's freshman effort at building a plug-in hybrid, and the company is reportedly set to break its sales record this month…though the Volt factory is also going offline for 4 weeks. It is still an up-or-down car, though a Cadillac version could be just what the doctor ordered.
Details are short, though it was revealed that Cadillac will also be getting a new CTS sedan, as well as an all-new Escalade. That pretty much cancels out any environmental good the plug-in hybrid ELR could do, though the $60,000 price point could mean that GM might actually start profiting off of its Voltec technology.
So Much Potential, So Much Profit?
That said, rumors are also swirling that an all-new Volt on an all-new platform is just a few more years out. The new, unnamed platform will no doubt have the Voltec architecture worked into it, which should save weight and give the Volt/ELR a longer range than its current 35-mile rating. Rumors are also swirling that the Cadillac ELR could get 20-inch rims and, even better, rear-wheel drive.
Yet we may not have to wait too much longer for such improvements. The ELR will reportedly wear an evolved version of the Volt's current drivetrain. That could mean a more-efficient gas generator, more powerful electric motors, and more efficiency from front to back.
But I think the biggest difference will be that Cadillac badge. After all, if you're going to spend that much money on a hybrid, shouldn't it be a little more prestigious than a Chevy?
Source: The LeftLane News


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Daniel T. Zanoza, director of a group called Republicans for Fair Media, has written a breathlessly overwrought column about the upcoming Day of Silence to protest anti-gay discrimination. The absurdity begins from the very first sentence:
On April 18th, a number of public schools across the country will hold a so-called "Day of Silence."
Bzzzt. False. Public schools do not hold or sponsor the Day of Silence; students in public schools do. It is student-organized and student-led and is not, in any way, an official school event. Some schools may have teachers and administrators who approve of the event, others may disapprove of it, but the Day of Silence is organized and led by the students themselves. The same is true of the "Day of Truth" that has been organized by religious right groups as a response to the Day of Silence.
The day was originally promoted by an adult homosexual advocacy group, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) with the intent of ending discrimination against students who were allegedly harassed because of alternative sexual lifestyles.
I like that. They were "allegedly" harassed. Because if you admit what anyone who has spent any time in a high school in, oh, the last 50 years, knows – that harassment of anyone perceived to be gay, much less those actually gay, is extraordinarily common in secondary schools – then they might have to recognize that there is a legitimate reason for the Day of Silence and that it has to do with raising awareness of harassment and bullying, not with trying to turn people gay.
Though I do not support special rights for homosexuals, I do believe the concept of silence in our schools concerning the subject of homosexuality is appropriate. In fact, I feel there should be silence 365 days a year–when it comes to the discussion of how individuals have sex. Wouldn't it be wonderful if school children were not bombarded with propaganda from special interest groups, like GLSEN, which promote unhealthy and, some times, deadly lifestyles.
See, there's that problem that the anti-gay right has: mention gay people and the only thing they can think about is sex. The Day of Silence has nothing to do with how anyone has sex; it has to do with how people like Zanoza treat people based solely on with whom they have sex (or at least to whom they are sexually attracted). It has to do with people being mistreated, discriminated against, dehumanized and often beaten and abused, and all because a group of bronze age nomads claimed that their god didn't like people like that.
When someone speaks to a student who is observing the Day of Silence, they are handed a card that says the following:
Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?
Notice that nowhere does it mention anything about who is having sex with whom or in what manner. It's about harassment, prejudice and discrimination. A whole lot of teenagers have been the victims of such harassment, or they've seen their friends victimized by it, and they're trying to take a positive step to end it. No one in their right mind could possibly deny that such harassment and prejudice exists and is damaging and destructive to a great many young people.
To any reasonable person, even one who thinks that homosexuality is sinful, young people standing up for their friends against harassment and bullying is a very good thing. Even if you believe that homosexuality is a bad thing, no decent human being would be in favor of seeing them bullied, mistreated and beaten up, as so many are every day. But people like Zanoza would rather not think about that, so they have built up this cognitive filter – anal sex colored glasses.
Mention the word 'gay' and the only thing they can think about is anal sex. Say anything at all about the need to protect kids who are bullied and abused on the basis of their sexual orientation, perceived or real, and the only thing they can think is "you're telling kids to go have anal sex." The translation is automatic and pre-cognitive; they simply don't hear anything about the real problem of harassment and prejudice because it is automatically transformed into "we should tell kids to screw people of the same sex" before it ever reaches their brains.
Some say we are living in a changing world, but who is doing the changing and for what reason? Children's lives should not be complicated as they try to understand why Johnny has two "mommies." It is sad when children are subjected to such psychological trauma. Our nation's young people should not be forced to share the collective guilt created by adults who put sex above the welfare of their children.
I've got news for you, Daniel; our nation's young people are way ahead of the curve on this one and they're teaching their parents a thing or two about tolerance. And they know from personal experience with people they care about that there is no "psychological trauma" to finding out that hundreds of thousands of other young people around this nation are already being raised by gay parents. They know, because they've seen it for themselves, that their friends who are gay or who have gay parents are just like them.
They know that their gay friends have all the same problems they have. They get crushes and they get their hearts broken, they're awkward and insecure just like every other teenager, they struggle or they excel at their schoolwork. But they've also seen those friends have to struggle not only with their own identity but with how others respond to it. They've seen those friends deal with the sometimes paralyzing fear of being honest about who they are in the face of rampant bullying and prejudice, and often in the face of parents who will disown them if they don't pretend to be something they're not.
And a lot of those kids have, to their great credit, begun to rally around their friends. They've begun to speak up for their friends and support their friends so they can feel strong enough to speak up for themselves. This is a very healthy thing and it doesn't have a damn thing to do with who is having sex with whom or how. It has to do with kids learning the importance of friendship, equality and basic decency.
The only ones in this situation who are "putting sex above the welfare of children" are those, like Zanoza, who look at a gay teenager and think of them only as someone who has sex in unapproved ways. They are putting their own twisted sexual insecurities and outdated moral judgments ahead of the welfare of the untold number of young people who are daily victimized as a result of the attitudes of people like Zanoza, people who see only the emotional trigger of 'sex' when they should be seeing a human being with the same needs we all have.
And there's a simple reason why Zanoza and those like him are in such a full freakout mode over things like this – because deep inside they know that they've already lost. Survey after survey shows it and they know it. Young people today simply don't carry around the bigotry of their parents and grandparents. They grew up in a culture where it's increasingly okay to be an openly gay person. They know gay people. They've made friends with them. And they know they're no different from the rest of us.
The same thing happened on our previous racial divides. In the wake of the movement to integrate the schools, young people actually got to know people of other races and they became friends with them. And once they got to know them as something more than Rorschach tests upon which to project their insecurities, they understood that racial divisions were artificial. Kids just aren't bigoted by nature; bigotry has to be taught. When you're in the sandbox, all that matters is that you've got a pail and the other kid has a shovel and together you can build something; what color the other kid just doesn't matter.
That same dynamic is now going on with respect to sexual orientation. Gay people have always been around us, but in previous generations we didn't know they were gay because it was so unsafe to be open about it. But now that's changing and when someone finds out that someone they already know and like is gay, they go from being that abstraction onto which one can project their fears to being real people, with real fears, real dreams, real problems – just like us. And bigotry fades.
You can deny it all you want, Daniel, but deep down you know it; you've lost. It's all over but the shouting. To paraphrase Dick Cheney, the anti-gay insurgency is in its last throes (and this time, it happens to be true). That's why they're reacting with such zealous fervor, because the ideological hegemony their bigotry once enjoyed is on the way out. Once again, the promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are being extended where they were previously denied. And there's nothing they can do to stop it.


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Venture Capital Deals
Secret, an app that lets people anonymously share "secrets" with their iPhone contacts, has raised $10 million in new VC funding at a $40 million pre-money valuation, according to TechCrunch. Google Ventures led the round, and was joined by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. www.secret.ly
OwnCloud Inc., a Lexington, Mass.-based provider of an open-source platform to sync, share and view data and files, has raised $6.3 million in Series A funding from General Catalyst Partners andDevonshire Investors. www.owncloud.com
Omnidrone, a Spanish mobile social gaming startup, has raised $2 million in new VC funding fromNokia Growth Partners, London Venture Partners and Kibo Ventures. www.omnidrone.net
TreSensa, a New York-based mobile game distribution company, has raised $2 million in Series A funding. Caribou Asset Management led the round, and was joined by angel investors Jason Glickman and Andrew Reis (Tremor Video co-founders), David Pecker (American MediaCEO) and Ben Barokas (AdMeld founder). www.tresensa.com
TutorGroup, a China-based online language learning platform, has raised an undisclosed amount of new VC funding from SBI Group (f.k.a. Softbank Finance Group). This comes just weeks after the company announced nearly $100 million in Series B funding from Alibaba Group, Temasek and Qiming Venture Partners. www.tutor-group.com
Private Equity Deals
Alliance Laundry Holdings, a portfolio company of Teachers' Private Capital, has completed its previously-announced acquisition of Primus Laundry Equipment Group, a Belgium-based provider of commercial washer-extractors, tumbler dryers and related equipment under the Lavamac and Deli brands. No financial terms were disclosed. http://www.alliancelaundry.com
Ardian has received numerous bids in excess of €1.2 billion for French food ingredient maker Diana Group, according to the FT. Suitors include CVC Capital Partners, Euroazeo, Pamplona Capital Management, Symrise AG (Germany) and Ajinomoto (Japan). http://www.diana-group.com
Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group are among interested suitors for Russell Investments, the fund management and indexing unit of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., according to Bloomberg. Seattle-based Russell could be valued at around $3 billion in a sale. http://www.russell.com
Drilling Tools International (f.k.a. Directional Rentals Inc.), a Houston, Texas-based portfolio company of Hicks Equity Partners, has acquired Reamco Inc., a Lafayette, La.-based maker, renter and refurbisher of downhole drilling tools and related products. No financial terms were disclosed. http://www.drillingtools.com
GS Capital Partners and Vestar Capital Partners are "nearing a deal" to buy Hearthside Food Solutions, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based white label snack-maker, from Wind Point Partners for more than $1.1 billion, according to Reuters. Rival bidders had included BC Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners. Barclays is managing the process. http://www.hearthsidefoods.com
HGGC Capital has agreed to acquire Serena Software, a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of enterprise IT management solutions, from Silver Lake. The deal is valued at approximately $450 million. http://www.serena.com
TPG Growth, Hony Capital and producers Robert Simonds and Gigi Pritzker have launched a new film studio that will finance, produce and self-distribute 8 to 10 star-driven theatrical films for the global markets per year. The new studio does not yet have a name, but did say that it expects to invest "well over" $1 billion in new film production over the next five years.
A10 Networks Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of application networking technologies, has set its IPO terms to 12.5 million shares being offered at between $13 and $15 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $826 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol ATEN, with Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan serving as lead underwriters. The company reports a $27 million net loss on nearly $142 million in revenue for 2013, compared to a $90 million net loss on $120 million in revenue for 2012. Shareholders include Summit Partners (19% pre-IPO stake) and Mitsui & Co. (12.8%).www.a10networks.com
Akebia Therapeutics, a Cincinnati-based developer of small molecule drugs to treat anemia and cancer, has set its IPO terms to 4.91 million shares being offered at between $14 and $17 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $283 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol AKBA, with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse serving as lead underwriters. Shareholders in the pre-revenue company include Novartis Bioventures (25.1% pre-IPO stake), Venture Investors LLC (11.3%), Satter Investment Management (11.1%), Kearny Venture Partners (10.4%), Novo AS (10.2%), Triathlon Medical Ventures (8.7%), Athenian Venture Partners, AgeChem Venture and Sigvion Capital Fund.www.akebia.com
Dorian LPG Ltd., a Stamford, Conn.-based owner and operator of LPG shipping vessels, has filed for a $287.5 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol LPG, with J.P. Morgan and UBS to serve as co-lead underwriter. Shareholders include Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG) and SEACOR Holdings (NYSE: CKH). The company's stock is currently traded on the Norwegian OTC List. www.dorianlpg.com
Globoforce Ltd., a provider of cloud-based social recognition software for organizations use to engage their employees, has set its IPO terms to 4.41 million shares being offered at between $16 and $18 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $457 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol THNX, with J.P. Morgan listed as left lead underwriter. The company reports a $3 million net loss on $84 million in revenue for the first half of 2013. Shareholders include Balderton Capital (41.5% pre-IPO stake) and Atlas Venture (31.4%). The company is based in Ireland, with U.S. offices in Southborough, Mass.www.globoforce.com
Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings Inc., a Midvale, Utah-based outdoor sporting goods retailer, has filed for a $201.25 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SPWH, with Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs serving as lead underwriters. The company reported $28 million in net income on $527 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending Feb. 2, 2013. Seidler Equity Partners holds an 82.8% pre-IPO ownership stake. www.sportsmanswarehouse.com
Wesfarmers Ltd. (ASX: WES), an Australian conglomerate, is planning to float its insurance brokerage business, according to the Weekend Australian. The IPO would value the business at around A$1.12 billion. www.wesfarmers.com.au
Tencent (HK: 700) has agreed to pay $215 million to acquire a 15% stake in Chinese e-commerce company JD.com. As part of the deal, Tencent also agrees to subscribe to JD.com's IPO for an additional 4% post-IPO position. JD.com filed for a $1.5 billion IPO back in January. Shareholders include Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital. www.jd.com
Bouygues Telecom, a unit of French conglomerate Bouygues SA (Paris: EN), has agreed to sell its mobile antenna network and some of its wireless spectrum to Iliad SA (Paris: ILD) for up to €1.8 billion. The deal is contingent on Vivendi agreeing to sell its SFR mobile business to Bouygues Telecom (there are other bidders), which would then do the Iliad deal in order to satisfy regulatory concerns. www.bouyguestelecom.fr
Chiquita Brands International (NYSE: CQB) has agreed to acquire Ireland-based fresh produce producer Fyffes PLC (ISE: FQ3) for approximately $526 million in stock. www.chiquita.com
Classified Ventures LLC, a group of five newspaper publishers, is seeking to sell Cars.com for upwards of $3 billion, according to the WSJ. Moelis & Co. will manage the process. www.cars.com
Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) has agreed to acquire the global rights to the K-Y lubricants brand fromMcNeil-PPC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). No employees or fixed assets are included in the deal, nor were any financial terms disclosed. www.rb.com
Unilever PLC (NYSE: ULVR) has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Qinyuan Group, a Chinese maker of water purifiers. No financial terms were disclosed, but Unilever did say that Qinyuan generated around €140 million in 2013 revenue. www.unilever.com
United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) has agreed to acquire National Pump, a Beaumont, Texas –based specialty pump rental company, for approximately $780 million (including $765 million in cash). The deal also includes an additional $125 million in possible earnouts.
Swander Pace Capital has agreed to sell Pineridge Bakery, an Ontario-based provider of specialty fresh and frozen private label and branded baked goods, to Switzerland-based ARYZTA AG for $340 million. www.pineridgebakery.com
IHH Healthcare Bhd (Malaysia) is exploring a bid for Australian hospital operator Healthscope, which is being sold for around $5 billion by The Carlyle Group and TPG Capital, according to the WSJ. Carlyle and TPG also are considering an IPO for the company. www.healthscope.com.au
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Obama's Enablers in Chief
Three Republicans voted for stimulus.
"I have worked with my colleagues -- Republicans and Democrats -- to cut wasteful spending in this bill and focus taxpayer dollars where they will do the most good." -- Sen. Kent Conrad, one extremely relieved man.
"[The stimulus is] much more focused on jobs after Senator Susan Collins of Maine, I and a bipartisan group of senators cut $110 billion of non-stimulative spending . . ." -- Sen. Bill Nelson, if possible, even more extremely relieved....


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Problem: You need to deploy an OS to a computer that isn't connected to your network.
Solution: Use MDT to create a bootable image for a DVD or external drive.
WHAT YOU NEED: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010, steps from last month's Solutions Plus
Step 1: Create selection profiles.
Step 2: Create your media.
Step 3: Update your media.
Step 4: Prepare your media.
Step 5: Use your media on the client machine.
Optional: Customize or automate your media.
DIFFICULTY: Three out of five
The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010s "Media" feature lets you deploy a complete OS, including applications, drivers, and packages from a DVD (size permitting), external hard drive, or universal flash device (UFD—a USB storage device with flash memory) without any network connectivity at all. You could mail the media to Meghan, the manager of the branch office who is also (in her spare time) the resident IT person. All she has to do is boot from the media, answer a few questions (which can be automated), and voila OS deployment completed in accordance with your corporate standards.
In this article, I'll show you how to create a Lite Touch bootable ISO image that contains the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) components needed for an OS deployment. I'll begin by showing you how to create a selection profile, Media, and finally how to automate the clients deployment wizard.
This article assumes you've performed steps one through five from April's article, "XP to Windows 7 Migration with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010," InstantDoc ID 103607. If you've completed these steps, you should have the following:
- A deployment share created by accepting all defaults (F:\DeploymentShare)
- An imported Windows 7 x64 full set of source files (accepting default settings)
- Created the following folder structure in the deployment workbench:
Operating Systems / W7 / x86
Operating Systems / W7 / x64 (Windows 7 full set of source files reside here)
Task Sequences / Standard Client TS
- Created a task sequence in the Task Sequences / Standard Client TS folder Task sequence
- Updated the Deployment Share (F:\DeploymentShare)
Name=Windows 7 64-bit (accept defaults except you should provide an Admin password)
Step 1: Create Selection Profiles
Creating media requires the use of a selection profile. A selection profile lets you group MDT components (OS, applications, drivers, packages, and task sequences) into a single container. That selection profile is specified in the media, identifying which MDT components should be included. To create a selection profile from within the MDT's deployment workbench, follow these steps:
- Expand the Advanced Configuration node.
- Right-click Selection Profiles and choose New Selection Profile.
- On the General Settings page, give the selection profile a name. (I named mine SAM—short for Stand Alone Media.) Input your comments to document what's included in this selection profile, then click Next.
- On the Folders page, expand Operating Systems, then W7, and choose the x64 folder. Then expand the Task Sequences node and choose the Standard Client TS folder and click Next. The Folders page should look like Figure 1.
- The Summary page lets you review your settings (make any changes necessary by clicking the Previous button). When you're done, click Next. The Progress page flashes by and then the Confirmation page appears. Click Finish on the Confirmation page.
Figure 1: Selecting the MDT components for your Selection Profile
Step 2: Create Media
Once you have a selection profile, you can create your new media. To create media from within MDT 2010's deployment workbench, follow these steps:
- From the Advanced Configuration node, right-click Media and choose New Media.
- The New Media Wizard opens to the General Settings page. In the Media path field, type the folder name where you'd like to store the new media (the folder must already exist—MDT won't create it for you) or click Browse and navigate to a folder. I navigated to the F:\ drive, where I created a new folder named SAM. (The selection profile name and media name don't have to match, but I've found that after you have a few of each, it's easier to track if they do.) Click OK then input your comments and choose the "SAM" selection profile you created earlier from the drop down list, as seen in Figure 2.
- Review your settings on the Summary page. If all looks good click Next. The Progress page shows the steps performed to create the new media and when completed disappears. The Confirmation page appears. Click Finish to end the New Media Wizard.
- The new media will be displayed in the details pane of the deployment workbench named MEDIA001. (You can rename MEDIA001 just like you rename a file in Windows Explorer.)
Figure 2: New Media General Settings Page
Step 3: Update Media
Now that you've created the media, you'll need to update the media to generate a bootable ISO image containing your media. Before you update the media content, be sure you have enough hard drive space to store the new .ISO file. The Update Media Content Wizard doesn't check for available hard drive space before it generates the Lite Touch bootable .ISO, so you can run into trouble if there isn't enough space to store it. The size of the .ISO file is determined by which MDT components you've included in your selection profile. You should be safe with at least 10GB available. To update the new media from within the deployment workbench follow these steps:
- From the Advanced Configuration / Media node, right-click MEDIA001 (in the details pane) and choose Update Media Content.
- The Progress page displays the steps performed by the Update Media Content Wizard and when it's done the Confirmation page appears.
- Click Finish on the Confirmation page.
Updating Media is a little different than updating a deployment share. When you update a deployment share, you see an Options page that lets you choose how you'd like to update the deployment share (update existing files or create all new). This page is lacking when you update media. I'll show you later how to force a new .ISO to be created instead of updating the existing .ISO, which is helpful if you ever have a corrupt .ISO that needs to be rebuilt.
The Update Media Content Wizard generates a Lite Touch bootable ISO file named LiteTouchMedia.iso in the F:\SAM folder. Now that you have the LiteTouchMedia.iso, what can you do with it?
Step 4: Prepare Media
Burning the LiteTouchMedia.iso to a DVD is as easy as right-clicking the .ISO and choosing Burn disc image if the .ISO resides on a Windows 7 machine. Otherwise you need to find .iso burning software like CDBurn or DVDBurn (Resource Kit utilities). You can also put the media on a UFD or external hard drive, but the steps are a little different. Preparing the external device requires formatting the hard drive or UFD, so be sure there's nothing on it that you want to keep. To put your LiteTouchMedia.iso on a UFD or external hard drive, perform these steps on a Windows Vista or later OS (you'll need the DiskPart utility):
- Open an elevated command prompt (right-click the command prompt and choose Run as administrator), then type diskpart.
- At the DISKPART> prompt, type these commands:
List disk
(Record the number of the external device in the Disk ### field. Mine is Disk 2, as shown in Figure 3.)
Figure 3: Results of DiskPart list disk command
Select disk
create partition primary
select partition 1
format fs=ntfs
Close the command prompt.
- Your external device is now ready to copy the required files from your media. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to your Media folder's Content folder (mine was F:\SAM\Content). The Boot and Deploy subfolders need to be copied to the external device. But wait—you'll also need to copy the protected system files autorun.inf and bootmgr, which are hidden by default. If you don't see the protected system files in the F:\SAM\Content folder you'll need to change the View Properties for the folder. Edit the View Properties by first going to the correct folder (F:\SAM\Content) then, from the Organize drop down list, choose Folder and search options.
- From the Folder Options, View tab, remove the check from the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) advanced setting. When asked if you're sure you want to display these files, click Yes and then OK.
- Copy the entire contents of the F:\SAM\Contents folder (Boot and Deploy folders, autorun.inf, and bootmgr) to your external drive or UFD.
Now you're ready to test your new media. If you burned your LiteTouchMedia.iso to a DVD, place the DVD in the drive and boot the machine, being sure to press a key when prompted to boot from CD/DVD. Testing your media from an external hard drive or UFD device can be more complex. The machine you want to boot the external device from must be capable of booting from an external hard drive or UFD. You may have to edit the system's BIOS to set it to boot from the external media. Editing the BIOS is different on various types of computers—on one computer you may have to press F2, while another may require pressing F1. However you access your boot options, make sure you've listed the external device as a boot option. Plug in the device and turn on the computer—it should boot directly from your media and offer you the following Media client experience.
Step 5: Use the Media on the Client
Whether booting from DVD, an external hard drive, or a UFD, the client experience is the same. Follow these steps to deploy your Windows 7 x64 OS image:
- The first screen presented is the boot menu. By default, all media supports 32- and 64-bit platforms, as shown in Figure 4.
- Select Litetouch Boot \\[MEDIA001\\] (x64) \\[EMS Enabled\\] and you'll see the Welcome Windows Deployment Wizard. From the Welcome page, you can Exit to Command Prompt which comes in handy for troubleshooting failed deployments. If you receive network errors, you can run an ipconfig from the command prompt to ensure you have a valid IP address, subnet mask, and so on, or to review the logs generated by the MDT deployment process. The logs can be found in different places depending on how far the deployment has gotten. Prior to creating the C: volume and formatting it, the log files can be found in X:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS. After the deployment process has created and formatted the C:\ volume, you'll find the logs in C:\MININT\SMSOSD\OSDLOGS. Lite Touch deployment assumes you have a DHCP infrastructure. If not, or if you want to set static IP information, click the Configure with Static IP Address button. (If you configure your static settings and click OK, reopening that page will wipe everything clean, so no double-checking here.) You can force a reboot by clicking the Reboot button in the bottom left corner. The top selection is the one you want—click Run the Deployment Wizard to install a new Operating System to begin the deployment.
- The Select a task sequence to execute on this computer page lists the task sequences available based on the platform you chose from the boot menu (x86 or x64). If you selected Litetouch Boot \\[MEDIA001\\] (x86) \\[EMS Enabled\\], only task sequences that deploy 32-bit OSs and task sequences that don't deploy an OS, such as the Sysprep and Capture task sequence are listed. (Sysprep and Capture task sequence syspreps a machine and creates a .wim image ready for deployment.) If you choose Litetouch Boot \\[MEDIA001\\] (x64) \\[EMS Enabled\\], the list of task sequences will include 32-bit and 64-bit task sequences along with task sequences that don't deploy an OS. Choose the Windows 7 64-bit task sequence you created while following along with last month's article and click Next.
- Give the computer a name on the Configure the computer name page and click Next.
- Join the machine to either a domain or a workgroup on the Join the computer to a domain or workgroup page and click Next. You'll need to provide credentials if you're joining the machine to a domain.
- If you've captured the user's settings and data and stored them in a network location, you can specify that location on the Specify whether to restore user data page (provide the UNC path \\ServerName\SharedFolderName). If you didn't capture the user's settings and data, select Do not restore user data and settings.
- On the Language and other preferences page, select your language, time and currency formats, and keyboard layout from the drop down lists provided.
- Select your time zone on the Set the Time Zone page.
- Enter the password you would like for the local administrator password on the Administrator Password page.
Figure 4: Media Boot Menu
10. The Specify the BitLocker configuration page lets you enable or disable BitLocker and choose where to store the BitLocker recovery key. Choose your level of security and click Next.
11. The Ready to begin page has a Details button that will show all the choices you made in the deployment wizard. If you'd like to make changes, click the blue circle with the back arrow in the bottom left corner to go back to the page you'd like to change. When you're ready, click the Begin button to start the deployment process.
Once the deployment has completed successfully you'll see the Operating system deployment completed successfully page. Mine took only 20 minutes, but your time may vary depending on the speed of your deployment server and target machine.
Optional Step 1: Customizing Your Media
Up to this point, I've shown you the default behavior for creating and deploying Media. But what if you want to deploy only 64-bit images, or you'd like some (or all) of the pages in the deployment wizard to be automated? In this section, I'll show you how to customize the supported platforms (x86 & x64) and automate the deployment wizard.
As you've seen, the LiteTouchMedia.iso supports 32-bit and 64-bit OS deployments. This is done by providing two Windows Preinstallation Environments (WinPEs) in the LiteTouchMedia.iso. You can customize these WinPEs by choosing specific types of drivers (network, video, mass storage, etc.) and optional fonts (such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) to be included. You can also create a Lite Touch bootable .ISO image that contains only a 32-bit WinPE or a 64-bit WinPE. Providing support for only one platform reduces the size of the .ISO image, though not by much, and speeds up the boot process because when you only have one WinPE, there's no boot menu—it simply boots into the only available WinPE.
To create a Lite Touch bootable ISO image that supports only 64-bit image deployments, you'll need to edit the default properties of your media (MEDIA001). To edit the properties of MEDIA001 from within the deployment workbench, follow these steps:
- Expand the MDT Deployment Share / Advanced Configuration node and highlight Media.
- In the details pane, double-click MEDIA001 (or right-click and choose Properties). The Properties window of MEDIA001 has six tabs, as seen in Figure 5.
- The General tab shows Media identifier (media name), Comments, and Media path, all of which are read-only fields. Both platforms (x86 and x64) are selected by default. To create a 64-bit-only Lite Touch bootable ISO image, remove the checkmark from the Generate x86 boot image box. Give the new Lite Touch bootable ISO image a name (I named mine LTM64.iso) and click OK.
- Next you'll need to update your media. In the details pane, right-click MEDIA001 and choose Update Media Content. When the Media is updated click Finish (this can take a few minutes).
Figure 5: Properties window of MEDIA001
Creating a 32-bit Lite Touch bootable ISO image is performed the same way, just de-select Generate x64 boot image, give it a new name, and update MEDIA001. I'm giving each Lite Touch bootable ISO image a new name because once you've generated a Lite Touch bootable ISO image, it can't be modified to support different platforms. Therefore, it's best to select your supported platform before you update MEDIA001. If you must make a change after you've updated MEDIA001, you can either create a new Lite Touch bootable ISO image by giving it a new name or delete the original LiteTouchMedia.iso from the F:\SAM folder. The new Lite Touch bootable ISO image file will be created in the F:\SAM folder.
You can modify your x86 and x64 WinPE settings, such as the drivers and language packages that are injected into your WinPE. If you chose to support only x86, the Windows PE x86 Settings and Windows PE x86 Components tabs are what you'll want to configure. If you chose to support only x64, you'll want to configure the Windows PE x64 Settings and Windows PE x64 Components tabs. The settings and components tabs for each platform are identical, they simply pertain to their specific platform. The settings tabs let you configure a custom background or size of the scratch space (scratch space is used as temporary storage space in RAM). The components tabs let you choose a specific selection profile that contains drivers and packages to inject into your WinPE. The default selection profile is All Drivers and Packages, but you can streamline this by selecting the types of drivers you want injected. The four types are network, mass storage, video, and system-class drivers, as Figure 6 shows.
Figure 6: Components that may be injected into your WinPE
The Rules tab contains a list of settings that dictate which pages of the deployment wizard appear and which don't during the deployment process. The settings in this tab are stored in the file F:\SAM\Content\Deploy\Control\CustomSettings.ini. The default settings are:
The Rules tab also has an Edit Bootstrap.ini button in the bottom right corner. Clicking this button displays the following:
This file is read by the MDT deployment wizard to locate the root of a deployment share—but you're not using a deployment share, right? I'll show you how we can use the BootStrap.ini file (F:\SAM\Contents\Deploy\Control\Bootstrap.ini file) to help in automating your Media.
Optional Step 2: Automating Your Media
Automating your Media lets you decide which pages of the deployment wizard are displayed and which are not. You automate Media by editing the Rules tab (or the CustomSettings.ini and Bootstrap.ini files). To fully automate your deployment so someone need only boot from the DVD or other media, follow these steps from within the deployment workbench:
- Expand the MDT Deployment Share / Advanced Configuration node and highlight Media.
- In the details pane, double-click MEDIA001 or right-click and choose Properties.
- Click the Bootstrap.ini button and add the new line SkipBDDWelcome=YES like this:
Close Bootstrap.ini saving your new settings. To completely automate the deployment wizard, change the Rules tab to look like this:
TimeZoneName="Eastern Standard Time"
[email protected]
There's a lot more you can do with automated settings, such as joining your target machine to a domain. To join a machine to the Deploy.com domain using the Rhonda user account (which only has permissions to join machines to the domain and create computer objects—it's not a domain admin account) with a password of [email protected] and storing the newly created computer object in the Workstations OU (that you created), you would add the following settings:
For a complete listing of all settings that can be automated, refer to the MDT 2010 documentation's "Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Reference - Providing Properties for Skipped Windows Deployment Wizard Pages," which is accessible by clicking Help in MDT. As you become more familiar with MDT 2010, you'll probably be creating and deleting a lot. I'd like to make one more point on deleting media. Deleting media only removes them from the deployment workbench. The complete folder structure (along with the Lite Touch bootable ISO image created) doesn't get deleted. So if you delete a media and wish you hadn't, just right-click the Media node and choose New Media. In the Media path field, click the Browse button and navigate to the old folder. Then choose the selection profile from the drop down list, click Next twice, and Finish on the Confirmation page. You'll be ready to go again in no time.
I hope this article helps you get a little more familiar with the Media function provided in the MDT 2010.


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Checking It Twice
Jodi Redford
Tis the season for double seduction.
The only item on Jana Colton's Christmas list this year is Kevin Monahan. Preferably naked in her bed. The delicious, hunky chef has been resisting her forever, but she's pulling out all the sexy stops this holiday. Especially since his acceptance of an out-of-state job threatens to nix her quest to rock his boxers off.
Jana has always been Kevin's personal Kryptonite, but giving in to her isn't an option. Relationships are a four-letter word in his book. He cares far too much for Jana to let his emotional baggage ultimately break her heart.
With the arrival of his best friend, Nick Pappas, the balance of temptation shifts. From their past history of sharing women, Nick knows every dirty trick it takes to lead Kevin astray, and he's not afraid to use them. Particularly since Nick's convinced that Jana is exactly what Kevin needs to be happy and whole.
Their game of seduction quickly snowballs into something that feels an awful lot like love--in triplicate. But with Kevin dead set on leaving Michigan, there's a real possibility it could be a blue Christmas for them all.
**Guest Post**
First off, I'd like to thank Fictional Candy for letting me hang out with you all today.
So I thought I'd talk a bit about exposing ourselves. No, not that kind of exposing ourselves. There will be no gratuitous flashing in this post. You can all breathe a sigh of relief now. Nope, the type of exposure I'm referring to revolves around stripping down our barriers and letting people see who we really are behind these protective shields we oftentimes wear. Honestly, is there any scarier, nerve wracking prospect than baring ourselves to others? Whether it's a figurative nakedness or the full monty, it can bring with it the same sense of vulnerability. To share our inner most thoughts and fears with someone is something that most of us don't give up easily. When we're shining the light on our true selves that spotlight can feel particularly intense and glaring.
As an author, I'm always sharing bits and pieces of myself in my books. Yes, even the scary flawed parts that I'd prefer to pretend don't exist. To a certain degree, expressing those parts through fiction and another character's life experience makes it easier when it comes to sharing my vulnerabilities, and in the process I'll hopefully connect with readers in a way that goes beyond just words on a page. One of the greatest joys I get out of my job as an author is getting an email from a reader and having them share their own experiences with me. In those instances, it's always a reminder that although it might be scarier than hell to expose so much of myself through my writing, the payoff is always worth it if it means something in the book resonated with a reader.
In my latest book, Checking It Twice, the theme of exposure plays a dominant role with all three characters. For Jana and Nick, who are both exhibitionists at heart, it's a given that they not only crave baring their bodies and their emotions, it's an inherent need that makes up a large part of the core of their identities. Kevin, on the other hand, fears exposing the demons that comprise his past, and as a result, he keeps those blinders concealing his inner self locked down tight. But at the same time, his voyeurism is essentially the link that forms his needed connection to others. It's what draws him to Jana and Nick like a moth to a flame. But it's also what he perceives as the key to his destruction, since giving in to his desire and love for Jana will mean exposing and confronting all of the very things that he's struggled to keep under lock and key.
Nick shifted his position, his free hand grasping Jana's nape seconds before his mouth covered hers in a devouring kiss that was far wickeder than the one Kevin had walked in on three days ago. He'd witnessed Nick in action too many times to count and was no stranger to the power of his seduction. Even so, those past instances were a pale shadow of the raw, animalistic hunger inherent in Nick's performance now.
He knew without any doubt Nick was seducing him as equally as he was Jana. The son of a bitch knew his weaknesses. Knew how to fucking get him. Much as it infuriated Kevin, he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
Temptation a hypnotic siren in his head, Kevin unconsciously took a halting step forward, his gut tensing. As if he'd sensed Kevin's approach, Nick coasted his hand down Jana's rib cage and caressed her hip before disappearing beneath her skirt. A moment later, he awarded Kevin with a tantalizing flash of Jana's bare butt cheek.
Lust nailing him square in the groin, Kevin hissed in a breath. Just like the other night, she was bare-ass naked under the skirt.
Nick released Jana but kept her close, his palm brushing her waist. He gazed directly at Kevin, the intent in his eyes a silent demand. Play time.
Kevin swallowed, the unbreakable chain of his addiction shackling him tight. He took several more stiff-legged steps until he was standing in front of the two individuals responsible for annihilating his defenses. Jana's breath hitched in uneven gasps. "K-Kevin…" Clouds of worry mingled with the desire dilating her pupils.
As if he'd intuited her hesitation, Nick massaged her shoulder before lightly kissing her temple. The look he offered Kevin was substantially less soothing.
"She didn't know what my plans were tonight. If you're going to be pissed at anyone for what's about to go down, make it me."
He clenched his jaw. "What makes you think anything is about to happen?"
"Because I know you. And you better fucking believe I know myself. This is who we are. A big part of what makes us tick and fulfills us. I'm not going to deny that part of myself. You damn well shouldn't either."
His muscles tensed and rigid, he watched as Nick sipped at Jana's lips again before murmuring to her softly and taking her hand. Her mouth trembling, she gave him one last pleading stare and turned to follow Nick. They headed toward the wrought-iron stairway leading to the upper level, and Kevin cursed under his breath. The motherfucker must have reserved one of the private rooms. Of course he did. There was no way in hell Nick would have risked a thirty-minute drive that might have granted Kevin a shot at cooling off.
Like a cornered beast, he tracked their journey as they ascended the stairs. Nick's palm slid beneath Jana's skirt again, providing a longer and even more mouthwatering view of her delectable, heart-shaped ass. Liquid lust boiled inside Kevin, disintegrating his willpower. No force on earth would save him now. Balling his fists in rigid defeat, he stalked after them.
They reached the landing, and Nick glanced back at him, not bothering to hide the relief and approval evident on his face. "They gave us room 208."
Kevin gestured toward the hall ahead of them, and Nick led Jana in that direction. Once they reached the right door, Kevin slid his member card into the slot and twisted the handle. He stepped into the room first and scanned its interior. Far as rooms at Arabesque went, it was one of the tamer ones. A four-poster bed with black satin sheets that were regularly replaced with each new occupant. Varying padded cushions in different shapes stacked to one side on the floor, all used for helping maintain certain sexual positions. A table occupied the opposite corner, its surface holding a gamut of unused plugs, vibrators, lubes and condoms. You name it, the club had you covered. The only major concession to kink was the sex swing hooked to a spring over the bed. Kevin couldn't take his damn eyes off it. At least not until Jana and Nick stepped into his line of vision.
Jana gnawed her lip. "Can I just remind you that I'm the only one in this room who's never been in a situation like this before? I'm kind of lost here."
Nick hugged her in reassurance. "There's no reason to be nervous."
"Easy for you to say."
Brushing his lips over hers, Nick halted her troubled words. His hands drifted to her breasts. Circling his thumbs over her nipples, he broke their kiss to watch the motion of his fingers. "Are you wearing my present?"
"Good girl. Do you think we should show Kev?"
Breath hitching in her throat, Jana nodded.
"I do too." Nick pinched the ends of the bow securing Jana's top. Giving a tug, he carefully freed the satin ribbon.
Kevin's heart raced at the excruciatingly slow unveiling. Finally the fabric gave, and the soft fullness of Jana's breasts inched the top open. Nick slid the garment from Jana's arms and let it drop to the carpet. Like a moth drawn to flame, Kevin zeroed in on the small silver hoops and dangling beads decorating her nipples. His mouth went a thousand degrees of dry. "Sweet Jesus."
"No. Sweet Jana." Giving a hum of approval, Nick gently tugged the tiny beads, making her nipples tighten. "I knew these would look fantastic on you. Are you wearing the rest of what I gave you?"
Kevin gulped. There was more? He was never going to fucking survive this.
At the ripe age of seven, Jodi Redford penned her first epic, complete with stick figure illustrations. Sadly,her drawing skills haven't improved much, but her love of fantasy worlds never went away. These days she
writes about fairies, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures, only with considerably more heat.
She has won numerous contests, including The Golden Pen and Launching a Star. When not writing or working the day job, she enjoys gardening and way too many reality television shows.
She loves to hear from readers. You can email her at firstname.lastname@example.com and visit her online at
www.jodiredford.com and her blog www.jodiredford.blogspot.com . You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Connect with Jodi:
Website: www.jodiredford.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodi.redford.3
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Jan 302014
A concise overview on designing elements for accessibility that includes those using assistive technologies as well as touch screens and small devices, which present unique considerations. For example, hover works great for mouse interactions but not well for screen reader and touch screens. So what are your options in those circumstances? Read the article tips and techniques.


text:
Udaan 3rd February 2017 Written Episode Update
The Episode starts with Chakor crying. She says whatever Bhaiya ji does tomorrow, I will make sure you get food, sleep in my lap now. Suraj gets stomach ache. She sings lullaby and makes him sleep. Imli and Vivaan see them and feel bad. Imli says enough of Bhaiya ji's tortures, I can't see Chakor and Suraj in this state. Vivaan gets call and tells Imli that it was call from clinic, they called me to take reports. Imli says I wish everything is fine, I will come along. He says I will get reports, you be here with Chakor and Suraj. She says yes, don't know what plan that devil made for them.
Its morning, Bhaiya ji tells villagers that today they will decide, you maybe getting pity seeing Suraj, think what tortures he did on you, I will give him food, but he is bandhua and there is a law, bandhua
will get food when he works, I think there are 3-4 wells in village, they are in bad state, Suraj will repair wells and paint them, then I will give him food. Chakor says its justice. He says Suraj did injustice, do everyone remember, Suraj has put kerosene oil in wells to keep you thirsty, he got ration stolen to keep you hungry, remember now decision is your hands, to help Suraj or not, living him hungry and thirsty or not, don't give him food, if he does not do work, he won't get food.
Suraj says I don't have strength to repair 3 wells. Chakor says give him food first and then he will work. Bhaiya ji says think what they decide. Chakor says villagers are not stone hearted, they will not stop Suraj, they will help Suraj. He says we will see. She says you are thinking wrong, villagers will surely help Suraj, he got punished already, villagers have forgiven him, everyone is not like you, we are poor but have big heart. He says you have belief, Suraj did wrong with you also, how did you forgive him. Chakor says Suraj lost his love, child and self esteem, what can be bigger repentance, you just do to do sin, you can never repent, I m sure Suraj will win in this last test, as I m with him, and my Lord is with him. He asks are you done, pravachan over? Its already 12, we will see what you and your Lord does in 5 hours. Bhaiya ji and Ragini leave.
Chakor goes to Suraj. Suraj sits to repair well. Tejaswini cries and says I think no one has forgiven Suraj. Chakor says don't worry, if villagers don't help him, they will not stop him from work. She asks Suraj not to lose courage, you can do it. She hugs him and cries. She says humko mann ki shakti dena…. She asks him to use his will power. Servant asks Chakor to get away. Chakor says I will get water for you Suraj, keep working.
Vivaan asks what, how can this happen, its impossible. Doctor says calm down, sit, we have checked it twice, same reports have come, your fertility is less, can't father a child ever. Vivaan asks how did this happen. Doctor says there are many reasons, harmonal imbalance, stress, there is treatment too, but no guarantee, if you both want a child, I advice you to adopt a child, these days, sperm donation also happens. Vivaan says no, I can't imagine my wife to have someone's child in her womb, I won't be able to accept that child, why did this happen.
Doctor says don't feel sad, I guessed this would happen. Vivaan asks what do you want. Doctor says you were on drugs since nearly 9 years, this is the big reason. Vivaan gets shocked and cries. He leaves. Chakor runs and meets Imli on the way. She asks why did you wear old clothes. Imli says Bhaiya ji crossed limit, I decided to stop him, I took my old avatar back, I will end all this, I m going. Chakor says you won't do this, wrong is happening with Suraj, if you do this, don't know what will happen, Suraj did not have food since 10 days. Imli says its enough, I can't see him in this state, don't stop me. Chakor stops her. She says if you want to do something, do what I ask you.
Suraj paints the well. Tejaswini says don't lose, you can do it. Kasturi says yes, there is still time. Chakor says anything wrong can happen, we can't make mistake, we have to think well, control anger and help me. Imli asks how. Chakor says I was going to get water, I want food for Suraj, I don't believe Bhaiya ji, he won't give him food, help me in sending goons away. She tells her plan. Imli says I have my helpers, Suraj will get food today. They join hands. Chakor says four hours are left. Yeh hounslon ki udaan hai…..plays………..
Suraj says I m getting dizzy now Chakor, I can't do this. Vivaan hits car to a tree and falls on steering. Suraj falls down.
Udaan Details
Udaan (also known as Udann Sapnon Ki) is an Indian television drama show that premiered on 18 August 2014 and airs on the Colors TV channel, Monday through Friday at 8:30 pm. The show is produced by Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and is based on his unreleased movie of the same name. It stars child actor Spandan Chaturvedi in a lead role. The first promo for the show was released on 10 July 2014.
Seasons : 1 | Channel : Colors TV| Picture Format : 576i , 1080i | Run Time : 24 Min


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Amsterdam/Prague, 16 June 2016
Multi accelerates development of Forum Prešov in Slovakia
Multi accelerates development of Forum Prešov in Slovakia Multi Czech Republic/Slovakia recently signed an agreement with Tesco Slovakia for a future right to purchase Tesco's existing building and site in the inner-city of Prešov. Multi owns the adjacent land and plans to assemble both sites for the development of Forum Prešov, a shopping and leisure centre in this key secondary city in eastern Slovakia. Construction is now scheduled to begin in 2017 ahead for an opening end 2018. Forum Prešov will be Multi's second shopping centre development in Slovakia. Just last year Multi opened its Forum shopping centre in the city centre of Poprad.
Forum Prešov
Located in the centre of the city, Forum Prešov will provide local residents and visitors with a modern shopping and leisure facility. With 31,000 sqm of lettable space, it will contain over 120 retail, leisure and service units spread over three floors. As well as a supermarket and international retail chains, Forum Prešov will also contain boutique stores, restaurants with outdoor terraces, cafés, a multiplex cinema, a large fitness centre and space for children. The centre, which will contain 500 parking spaces, will be easily accessible by both car and public transport.


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Prepare yourself for a whole new way to enjoy your favourite magazine… aspIRe. Take your reading pleasures to a new level with the aspIRe digital edition in the QNET Tools App, which will be even BETTER, COOLER, and FRESHER than ever before!
Here are some of the reasons why you will enjoy the new aspIRe digital version:
1. It's INTERACTIVE. Touch, swipe, listen and watch your favourite articles come to life!
2. It's HIP. Show your friends, prospects, business partners the latest happenings at QNET in the trendiest way possible… through your iPad or your Android tablet.
3. It's ECO-FRIENDLY. What better way is there to help the world than by reducing the use of paper and going digital?
And the best reason of all… It's QNET!
Can't wait? Here's a sneak peak of the aspIRe Issue 13's Table of Contents. Download the QNET Tools App today to stay up-to-date!
Source: A New Experience Coming Your Way: aspIRe 13 Goes Digital!


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The Reagan administration recently announced its intention to postpone talks on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) until verification problems related to nuclear test limitation treaties can be resolved. The administration has failed to recognize, in public, that a complete test ban and test limitations are two different propositions. It is much easier to monitor compliance with a total test ban than with test limitations. Thus the argument that a test ban treaty must await solutions to the problems of verifying test limitations is spurious.
In truth, the administration's espoused concern about verification is a subterfuge, meant to deflect attention from the fact that nuclear testing is an integral component of the President's arms buildup.
Any arms control treaty or agreement involves the risk that signatories might choose to violate the treaty clandestinely, and succeed. In order to minimize another country's incentives and opportunities to violate an arms control agreement secretly, the United States employs a variety of means: satellite surveillance, radar, seismic sensors, electronic monitors, and human intelligence collection. These verification capabilities are designed to detect actual violations and, more important, deter potential violators by increasing the probability that noncompliance will be detected.
Each party to an arms control agreement must consider the trade-off between risks and benefits: Do the risks of undetected noncompliance outweigh the benefits of compliance? A recent Congressional Research Service report states ''. . .it is generally held that no. . .agreement is completely verifiable. The question becomes how much uncertainty can be accepted in exchange for an agreement, as opposed to demanding complete verifiability, which would preclude any agreement.''
When examined in terms of risks and benefits, the increase in our national security that the CTBT offers far outweighs the very limited risk of failing to detect non-compliance.
The risks associated with a test ban agreement are smaller than those associated with other types of proposed arms control treaties, i.e., START, chemical weapons, etc. There is general agreement that modern seismic verification capabilities permit the detection of even very low yield nuclear test explosions. The problem is to distinguish between seismic signals from smaller tests and those of natural seismic events, and thus to identify a particular seismic event as either man-made or natural. The CTBT would require the Soviets to explain all ambiguous seismic occurrences, thereby resolving the identification problem. As the size of a test exceeds five to ten kilotons, the probability of detecting and identifying nuclear explosions dramatically increases.
The most recent round of CTBT negotiations (completed in November 1980) made considerable progress on verification issues. Britain, the US, and the USSR agreed to place ten tamperproof seismic sensors on the territory of both the US and the Soviet Union. (The number to be located in the United Kingdom was not decided.) Data from these stations would be monitored by all parties to the treaty, and by an independent panel of international seismic experts.
The three countries also agreed on a framework for resolving disputed seismic and surveillance data, including on-site inspection in disputes which cannot be satisfactorily settled through additional data exchange and discussion.
What would be the consequences of Soviet testing if our verification measures failed? The yields of clandestine tests would have to be small, below approximately five kilotons, to avoid seismic detection. Five kilotons is one-thirtieth the size of the smallest Russian warhead currently deployed, and one-hundredth the size of the standard Soviet strategic warhead. Clearly, such tests would provide the Russians with little useful information about full-size weapons.
In addition, because significant military results are likely to be achieved only from a series of tests, rather than from a single test, multiple tests would substantially increase the likelihood of detection.
In sum, the chances of failing to detect Soviet violations of comprehensive test ban are very small.
The benefits of the CTBT are threefold.
First, the CTBT would severely inhibit the proliferation of nuclear weapons to the ''near nuclear'' countries (Argentina, Brazil, India, Israel, Pakistan, and South Africa). An agreement signed by the three nuclear superpowers would put heavy domestic and international pressure on these states to refrain from testing. Since all countries that have developed nuclear weapons have found it necessary to test prior to reaching full nuclear capability, the CTBT, by inhibiting testing, would curb the ''horizontal proliferation'' of nuclear weapons.
Second, concluding the CTBT would increase America's credibility in the world political community. In the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963, the US, USSR, and Great Britain pledged to ''achieve the discontinuance of all test explosions of nuclear weapons for all time'' and stated that the parties were ''determined to continue negotiations to this end.'' Therefore, a test ban treaty would redeem an American promise that has been outstanding for 19 years.
Third, the CTBT would halt the momentum of the arms race in both the US and Russia. A ban on all testing would prevent further improvements in warheads that might be used in future weapons systems. It would also establish a better climate for the current Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) and Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) negotiations.
By dropping the comprehensive test ban negotiations, the administration has discarded its most useful tool for checking nuclear proliferation. President Reagan would demonstrate true statesmanship by reversing his position and calling for an early resumption of them.


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March 14, 2014
"12 Years a Slave," the story of a free Black man kidnapped by slave traders, has won an Oscar for Best Picture of the Year and a slew of other awards. But in one important respect, the movie comes up short. Missing from the film is the slave rebellion and revolt that Solomon Northup portrayed so vividly in his book.
January 5, 2013
This year, on the 150 anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, we all need to heed the words of Sister Jayne Cortez: "And if we don't fight / if we don't resist / if we don't organize and unify and / get the power to control our own lives / Then we will wear / the exaggerated look of captivity …" And don't miss Wanda's excellent, no holds barred reviews of "Django Unchained," "Lincoln and "Red Hook Summer," plus Dr. King birthday events listing and much more


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SEM of silver crystals
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Founder and cosmetics pioneer Lydia Daïnow
In 1934 Lydia Daïnow founded her first beauty institute and a beauty school in Geneva, this lead to a very special skin care program. She developed a unique skin care philosophy that has proven itself in over 80 years of successful treatments.
In 1946 she was one of the co-founders of FREC (Fédération Romande d'esthétique et de Cosmetologie) and CIDESCO (International d'Esthetique et de Comitée Cosmetologie) and laid a leading foundation for the profession of beautician as we know it today.
She was often referred to as a role model and pioneer of cosmetic and aesthetic treatments.
"The power of nature provides us with comprehensive active ingredients for gentle regeneration of every skin type."


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2018 Sponsor list to come soon!! If you want to be a part of RFYL and get your name on these fantastic shirts (over 700 of them!) please email me at email@example.com and I'll get you the form! $250 & up, great advertising & GREAT CAUSE!!
Running to make a difference


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A high-profile economic forum in Saudi Arabia began on Tuesday in Riyadh, with the crown prince making a brief public appearance at the kingdom's first major event since the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.
73 Hits
"Both ignorant and malicious" was how the official China Daily newspaper recently described comments by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, offering a stinging insight into the current bitter tone of discourse between the countries.
32 Hits
China on Tuesday opened the world's longest sea-crossing bridge linking Hong Kong to the mainland, a feat of engineering carrying immense economic and political significance. Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a ceremony in the city of Zhuhai to open the 55-kilometer (34-mile)-long bridge linking it to the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Digital fireworks exploded on a screen behind him as leaders of the three cities watched.
1430 Hits
Catholic bishops are entering their final week of debate over hot-button issues facing young Catholics, including how the church should welcome gays and respond to the clerical sex abuse scandal that has discredited many in the church hierarchy.
62 Hits
When Israel locked up Ahed Tamimi for slapping a soldier last year, it hoped to finally silence the teenage Palestinian activist. Instead, it created an international celebrity.
97 Hits
A growing throng of Central American migrants resumed their advance toward the U.S. border in southern Mexico on Sunday, overwhelming Mexican government attempts to stop them at the border.
100 Hits
Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in eight years suffered from violence and chaos Saturday, with a multitude of attacks killing at least 36 people, key election workers failing to show up and many polling stations staying open hours later than scheduled to handle long lines of voters.
3556 Hits
President Donald Trump said Saturday he will pull the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty because Russia has violated the agreement, but provided no details on the violations.
58 Hits
Thousands of Palestinians massed Friday along Israel's frontier, with dozens approaching and breaching the perimeter fence that separates Gaza from Israel, even as Egypt stepped up efforts reach a lasting cease-fire between the territory's Hamas rulers and Israel.
44 Hits
Europe and Asia presented a united front Friday in support of free trade based on international rules and cooperation, starkly underscoring their differences with U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policy.
89 Hits
Cam Battley is a top executive at one of Canada's biggest marijuana companies, but he isn't sticking around to savor the country's historic pot legalization.
67 Hits
A member of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's entourage during several trips abroad walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul just before writer Jamal Khashoggi vanished there, a surveillance photo leaked Thursday shows, drawing the kingdom's heir-apparent closer to the columnist's alleged slaying.
185 Hits
Leaders from the European Union and Britain shrugged off a weekend negotiating debacle and previous deadlines Wednesday, giving themselves several more weeks to clinch a friendly divorce deal ahead of their separation.
33 Hits
Ian Power was among the first to buy legal recreational marijuana in Canada but he has no plans to smoke it. He plans to frame it. Canada became the largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace as sales began early Wednesday in Newfoundland.
4651 Hits
At least seven people died and nearly 80 were injured after a shuttle train linking the Moroccan capital to a town farther north on the Atlantic coast derailed Tuesday, authorities at the accident site said.
57 Hits
Despite what President Donald Trump says, scientists have long known that what's warming the planet isn't natural. It's us. They even have the energy balance sheets accounting for changes in the climate to prove it.
86 Hits
Flash floods that tore through several towns in southwest France following an overnight storm killed at least 12 people, authorities said Monday. Some residents had to be helicoptered from rooftops as the equivalent of several months of rain poured down in a few hours and turned waterways into raging torrents.
5331 Hits
A runaway hearse carrying an Ebola victim has become the latest example of sometimes violent community resistance complicating efforts to contain a Congo outbreak — and causing a worrying new rise in cases.
26 Hits
Turkish officials have an audio recording of the alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi from the Apple Watch he wore when he walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul over a week ago, a pro-government Turkish newspaper reported Saturday.
118 Hits
Britain's Princess Eugenie married tequila brand ambassador Jack Brooksbank in a star-studded royal wedding Friday at St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. It was the second wedding extravaganza of the year for the royal family, which seems to be riding a wave of popularity as the younger generation comes to the fore and the widely-respected Queen Elizabeth II cuts back slightly on her public appearances.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were greeted by hundreds of flag-waving well-wishers on Tuesday after arriving in Fiji for a three-day visit as part of their tour of the South Pacific. School children in uniform and people of all ages lined the streets and waved both British Union Jack and Fijian flags as Prince Harry and Meghan's motorcade drove past.
President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. would begin "cutting off, or substantially reducing" aid to three Central American nations over a migrant caravan heading to the U.S. southern border.
© Samoa Observer 2016
Developed by Samoa Observer in Apia


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Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5 is yet to go on sale across the globe, but the developers at XDA-Dev forum have already figured out a way to gain root access to the smartphone. The procedure would only work on the international version of the device, which features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset. A root solution for the version with an Exynos octa-core processor is yet to come.
Samsung Galaxy S5 can be rooted by flashing the CF-Auto-Root package using Odin. The tool will install SuperSU on your device before restoring the stock recovery to allow you to gain root access on your smartphone in a just a few minutes.
The source link below has the instructions and the necessary tools to root your Galaxy S5. Before continuing please keep in mind that rooting or flashing ROMs involves some risk and would usually void your warranty. So, continue with the process only if you are sure about what you are doing.
LOL!!!!! You: "I did not even read what you said...but because it contradicts 4qsr and is on the same side as my fanboysim whatever you said is true" Wow you trolls don't stop.
When you reply to someone you are supposed to use facts and not contradict and ignore what they said. Troll again?


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Canada Belleville Health-Wellness
Belleville Health & Wellness
Hastings & Prince Edward Counties Health Unit
The Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit Web site provides public health information to the residents of Hastings and Prince Edward counties in eastern Ontario, Canada.
Health Canada Online
Health Canada is the federal department responsible for helping the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. Includes info on SARS, Mad Cow and the West Nile virus.
HealthyOntario.com - Consumer health information and health services for Ontario, Canada
HealthyOntario.com provides Ontarians with a world-leading web destination for trusted health information, services and advice for healthier living. HealthyOntario.com annually receives over 2 million visits and is increasing as more people feel empowered to manage their health, discover their options, and connect to services and people that can help them on their path to wellness. HealthyOntario.com provides quick and easy access to health information. The Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion created HealthyOntario.com, which launched in October 2002, as way to demonstrate the ministry's commitment to providing trusted health information to help the people of Ontario to live healthier lives.
Natural Permanent Hair Dye
The first Permanent PPD-Free Natural Hair Dye. Nourish and protect hair as you erase gray streaks with Sanotint Light Natural Hair Colour.
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
The official Web site of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care of the government of Ontario, Canada. Information is available for the public, healthcare providers and news media.
Canada Belleville Health-Wellness


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The world's 50 most powerful blogs
The Guardian published a list of the "World's 50 most powerful blogs" yesterday. I'm sorry to report, but Don't Tell the Donor is not on the list.
I recommend checking out the list. My favorite is #44: Waiter rant.
Rant isn't quite the right word for this collection of carefully crafted stories from the sharp end of the service industry in a busy New York restaurant. 'The Waiter', as the author is known, has been blogging his experiences with fussy customers and bad tippers since 2004, winning a gong at blogging's biggest awards, the Bloggies, in 2007. It's representative – but by no means the first – of the so-called 'job-blogs', with people from all walks of life, from ambulance drivers (randomactsofreality.net) and policemen (coppersblog.blogspot.com) to the greatly loved but now defunct Call Centre Confidential. Between them they chronicle life in their trade, and usually from behind a veil of anonymity. Something about the everyday nature of The Waiter – a person we like to pretend is invisible or treat with servile disdain – deconstructing the event later with a subtle, erudite typestroke, has captured the public imagination and (hopefully) made some people behave better in restaurants than they otherwise might.I plan on filing a formal appeal, but it's always possible that we just missed the cut at #51.


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Don't hesitate to reach out!
For any view, problem, question or tip, please feel free to contact us. You can reach us out via the form in this page. Our team members will get back to you ASAP.
You can also contact us via these options:
Address: Üniversiteler Mahallesi İhsan Doğramacı Bulvarı GÜMÜŞ Blok NO:29 B K1-1
ODTU TEKNOKENT Çankaya \Ankara TURKEY


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"Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
It's weird, how the last book is the one we all look forward to the most. And it's also the one we hate the most once we have put it down. Because it is the end, the end of a long journey, with characters we loved so much, and those that we loved to hate.
"Allegiant" is the end of the "Divergent" trilogy ("Divergent", "Insurgent" and "Allegiant") written by Veronica Roth. It is the first book in the trilogy with two point-of-view characters telling the story. I am usually a fan of that, but in "Allegiant" it took a bit of getting used to. I spent half the book wondering who was telling me the story now, the voices weren't distinctive enough, so I ended up going back a lot, to see whose name was written at the beginning of the chapter. It got better in the middle, and in the end I hardly noticed anymore. In the end the two point of views were important, and that's all that mattered.
I don't want to spoil anything for those that haven't read "Allegiant", or "Divergent". So all I am saying is that this is the best end in a dystopian series I have ever read. (And I have read a fair share of dystopian trilogies).
It is a clever, fast paced throughout the whole thing. It lives up to the first two books, and does the series justice. Can't say that about all series finales.
The whole story, as the first two, is also clever in that politics and science play a big part in the plot. Things happen or have happened in their past which seem scary, because they are real. Our society is headed that way if certain things don't change, or change for the worse. Allegiant will make you think and you will question a few subjects that can potentially change your everyday life.
P.S.: keep a box of tissues close when you are headed for the end, and don't read the end in public, I made that mistake.
Meine Bewertung: 4/5
Teile den Beitrag mit deinen Freunden:


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Current Pest Problems in Arkansas Soybean - August 10, 2009
Dr. Gus Lorenz - Entomology Specialist
[Title Slide - Current Pest Problems in Arkansas Soybean, Dr. Gus Lorenz, Entomology Specialist, Number 10 - August 10, 2009, Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board]
[Gus Lorenz standing in a soybean field] I'm gonna spend just a little bit of time telling you what's going on right now, because this is a very busy insect year in soybeans. Right now we're in the middle of a boll worm flight through most of this state. We're seeing even in this area right here, there are fields right now that are being stripped by boll worm feeding on blooms and pods. We're seeing numbers way in excess of threshold. We're seeing as high as thirty boll worms on twenty-five sweeps and if you get those kind of levels they're gonna severely impact yield and you need to keep that in mind and you need to be scouting on a regular basis you need to get that sweep net out and start scouting your beans every five to seven days minimum or you're gonna get in trouble with this boll worm population. We've had the highest boll worm flight numbers that we've seen since the mid-nineties and it's time for everybody to start looking for boll worms.
The stink bug situation, this field right here, we've treated about ten days two weeks ago I guess for stink bugs. We were at treatment level and the beans hadn't even started podding yet. So that gives you a good indication of where we are headed because our soybean crop is so late, much later than normal, particularly in this area because of all the rainfall you've had. We've got a really late crop and so we're setup for a lot of the soybean pest type problems that are associated with a late maturing crop and that means stink bugs number one. So you need to be out scouting for stink bugs right now there's not a field in the state that doesn't have a stinkbug in it that I've found. We're seeing stinkbugs from south Arkansas all the way up through north Arkansas, up the River Valley, everywhere you go. We're seeing treatment level stinkbugs in soybeans so you need to be out scouting.
We've had about ten soybean scout schools this year. I've given over two hundred sweep nets away with the help of Bayer. They bought a hundred sweep nets, I bought a hundred. We've gave them away to everybody that wanted one. So there's no excuse not to get out there and sample your beans right now because this insect situation is not gonna go away it's just gonna intensify with the year.
So I encourage you to get out and check and if you don't have the time or the where with all to get out and check your beans I encourage you to find somebody to do it for you and it was too late yesterday. So get out there right now because I'm getting these stories right now, about two a day, people are calling me saying "I went out to my field to look at making that fungicide application and I don't have any flowers, I don't have any pods, they're gone and the boll worms are still there." So keep that in mind.
This is the most devastating insect pest that we have in soybeans and this is the year of the boll worm. So you need to get out and get checking right now. Does anybody got any questions?
You know what to treat with, the pyrethroids you probably wanna look at a cheaper pyrethroid. Find you a good one, a cheap one, one that's labeled for soybeans and use that lower end rate right now. I will tell you that our resistance numbers on our vile SA's is showing some increased resistance to pyrethroids but I won't let that deter me until I start hearing some feedback from people saying the pyrethroids aren't working.
So let's stick with them regardless of what you're hearing right now. Let's stick with what's worked for us, and what's cheapest, and what's gonna give us the best residual. So that's what you wanna keep in mind as you go into this season but there's no reason to not get out a start checking right now.
[Narrator] Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast is a production of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and was funded in part by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. For more information on soybean farming in Arkansas contact your local county Extension Office. [Title slide - For more information contact your local county Extension office. Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board]


text: Okay, so the jury is still out there if this is going to be the best anniversary gift ever. But I'm confident that it's going to be. My wife an I will be celebrating our first year anniversary in a couple of weeks. I was in the process of thinking what I can give her for our anniversary then suddenly it hit me. My wife and I are oDesk veterans and these past few days, she's been complaining about the monotony of what she's doing. She's also been asking me questions about SEO and IM in general and I can see that she's very interested. So I decided that as an anniversary gift, I bought two MNS for her. I bought one from chiky_cin. This will be the easy-to-rank MNS type of website. I figured that it's a good start for her. Thanks to chicky_cin for accommodating my request. For the 2nd website, I ordered one from BTB. I figured that it's a good start for her to building an authority site. I'm still waiting for the sites. chicky_cin already gave me an awesome keyword based on the niche that I requested for my wife and I just got the domain and hosting and he's now starting work. I'm still waiting for BTB to finish the keyword research. I can't wait to see the look on my wife's face once the sites are finished!


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BEIRUT – The Islamic State group has collected millions of dollars in ransom for a group of Assyrian Christians it kidnapped in Syria a year ago, Christian officials and an opposition group said Monday, as the last of the 230 hostages were freed.
The release ended a yearlong saga for the Christians – many of them women and children – during which families had no news from their loved ones.
Younan Talia, of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, told the Associated Press that about 40 remaining captives were released early Monday and arrived in the northeastern town of Tal Tamr. He said the release came after mediation led by a top Assyrian priest in northern Syria.


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Our kitty disappeared about 7 weeks ago. My friend's cat had kittens just two days later. Sunday we brought home a new kitten.
Our friends named him Tank. The boys like the name, but I really prefer people names for my pets. I think it stems from my baby need. I give them all the names I love. I really want to call him Phineas (or Finn for short) but the boys are stuck on Tank. They think it's a "cooler" name than Finn. Maybe I'll just call him Finn anyway… ;o)
He is a pretty cute and playful kitty. In fact, he's a VERY playful kitty! He plays hard and sleeps hard. He loves climbing, chasing toys and pouncing! I love his pretty pale apricot color!
the chair at my desk is his very favorite place to nap
Introducing him to Max has been interesting. Tank is unafraid of Max and Max has NO ability to play nice!
Tank prefers to play with Max through the gate across the door…
All that wrestling wears Tank (Finn) out!
I'm such a sucker for a baby!