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It's June.
Which means two things: The White Sox have guaranteed another losing season by going into their annual "June swoon," and it's the traditional month for weddings.
Well, I won't hazard a guess as to why things are the way they are on the South Side of Chicago. But I can share some historical insight on the latter subject.
Welcome to the June edition of Not Your Usual Caricature Artist, from Caricatures by Joel.
In ancient Rome, Juno was the goddess of marriage and childbirth. So a wedding held in Juno's month of celebration – what would have been June 1 -- was considered especially auspicious.
It is also believed that the idea of June weddings was further fortified by the Celtic calendar. Young couples would traditionally "pair off" on May 1 (May Day), to court for three months and then wed in August. Impatient youths would shorten the wait time to mid-June.
Subsequently, in Victorian times, flowers were available at that time of year for wedding décor and the scent of flowers helped to mask the smell of…body odor.
Eventually the popularity of June weddings became entrenched in the collective conscience of Western society.
After June, the most popular months to get married are September and October, presumably for the more accommodating temperatures to be found in late Summer and early Fall.
As a caricaturist, I've had my share of entertaining at weddings. It's always a popular feature with lines forming almost as long as those to get the food.
Scattered among here are samples of Sign-In Boards – a uniquely fun and customized approach to welcoming guests into the reception area.
You've probably seen them as elegantly posed and mounted photos of the bride and groom. These are lighter, more whimsical takes on that tradition.
This piece isn't a Sign-In Board, per se, but it was presented as a gift to Miami-based wedding event planner and TV personality Tiffany Nieves-Cook:
You're invited the first Tuesday of next month for more throwing of the rice from Not Your Usual Caricature Artist.


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Midland Irrigation
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If you have a need for Reticulation Contractors products or services, you will know that experience and product knowledge are vital. water pressure, dams and sewer - and all the basic essentials of Reticulation Contractors are available from Midland Irrigation, in Bendigo, VIC. You can contact us by email at any time, or by phone at 0417 35#### during business hours, for helpful and professional assistance with any and all of your Reticulation Contractors needs.
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Once again, we offer you a warm welcome to the Bookshelf of the Barn Door Book Loft.
And before we announce our winners we'd like to offer a special thanks to these Christian authors who offered a sample of their writing to our faithful readers:
Michelle Levigne who offered her Inspirational Fantasy Lorien Faxinor Chronicles #2
Marian Pellegrin Merritt who offered her Women's Fiction The Vigil
And Deborah Heal who offered her Historical Romantic Mystery Once Again
And now: We're pleased to announce this week's winners:
Tammy Cordery has won Michelle Levigne's Inspirational Fantasy Lorien Faxinor Chronicles #2
Susan Lulu has won Marian Pellegrin Merritt's Women's Fiction The Vigil
And Kay M has won Deborah Heal's Historical Romantic Mystery Once Again
Congratulations Winners! Remember, it's your responsibility to contact me sharonalavy {at} gmail {dot} com) with your address so the author can send you a book.
Be sure to check past winners posts. Subscribing by email will ensure you don't miss seeing the winners list.


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Barbara Millet + Cong Li: Fake News, Real Share: A Study of Detecting, Sharing, and Commenting of Fake News
This project aims to examine the factors that influence people's judging, sharing, and commenting of fake news. They will be using a comprehensive theoretical model to explain what groups of people are more or less likely to share what kinds of news under what sorts of circumstances. It also investigates why people share or comment on a news article, be it fake or real.
Ching-Hua Chuan + Sunny Tsai + Nick Carcioppolo: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Chatbots across Different Communication Contexts
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of chatbots and the role of emotions in human-bot interactions. Focusing on health communication, this study will shed much needed insights on the usefulness of chatbots in emotion-laden communication contexts, particularly for sensitive health issues. The findings will provide guidelines for capitalizing on the advantage of chatbots to enhance health communication outcomes.
Lien Tran + Jill Sanko + Deborah Salani +Yui Matsuda: Dwell: An Interactive Tabletop Simulation Game Teaching How Poverty Impacts Health and Healthcare Access
The purpose of this pilot research project is to create and evaluate the impacts of a role-playing tabletop simulation game (called Dwell) as a healthcare education tool and particularly on attitudes toward poverty.
Juliana Fernandes + Nicky Lewis: Negative Political Information and Life Stages: Does the Future Look Brighter When You Get Older?
Through a series of studies that will investigate how negative political information affects individuals, the immediate and long term effects of exposure to negative and positive political information will be explored, including how one's political identity might change over the course of the lifespan.
Margaret Cardillo + Caleb Everett: Strangers to Peace
Colombia seems on the brink of ending the bloody 50-year long war between the government and the jungle-based FARC guerillas. As talks between the two sides continue, 10,000 FARC fighters, many who know little but a life of jungle warfare, wonder if Colombia can forgive the carnage and allow them to re-enter civilian life. Strangers to Peace is a documentary film following three former fighters and their struggle to integrate back into Colombian Society.
Nick Carcioppolo + Michelle Seelig +JoNell Potter + Jazmyne Simmons: 90 Days
An investigation of a short entertainment education film to increase HIV status disclosure among sexual partners Status disclosure among intimate partners increases the likelihood of protective behaviors, which directly reduce transmission. This proposal contributes to disclosure research by using focus groups to evaluate 90 DAYS, a film about a developing romance and HIV status disclosure. Specifically, we explore how the film influences the concept of self-stigmatization, an important barrier to status disclosure, and evaluate its potential as an intervention to increase disclosure.
Cong Li + Michel Dupagne: 1-5 vs. 1-7 vs. 1-9 rating: Should attitude be measured with a "random" scale?
This research examines the practice of using arbitrary scale points when measuring attitudes in social sciences (e.g., 1-5, 1-7, and 1-9). Using simulated data, it is shown that different scale points may lead to opposite study findings. Three experiments will be conducted to determine when different scale points will produce consistent results and when they will not.
Wanhiu Tsai + Michelle Seelig + Ching-Hua Chuan + Weiting Tao: Solution Based Media Advocacy for Climate Change
This project will adopt a mixed-method approach to explore how information on climate change solutions is disseminated on social media, and evaluate whether actionable solutions may reduce perceived obstacles and empower publics to engage in communicative actions for combating climate change.
Jyotika Ramaprasad + Ed Talavera: Health Care Professionals and the Roma in Macedonia: A Positive Deviance Focused Video Intervention to Improve Interaction Efficacy
Based on results of prior formative research, this project will create a video intervention to foster more efficacious health care professional (HCP) – Roma interactions in Macedonia.
Joseph Treaster + Helena Solo-Gabriel + Enrique Pumar: Cuba Water: A study of the quality of drinking water in Cuba and of the condition of Cuba's rivers, lakes and shorelines
Cuba Water is a study of the quality of drinking water and of the condition of rivers, lakes and shorelines in Cuba. Because of restrictions on research in Cuba, the research is being conducted in Miami through interviews with hundreds of people who have firsthand experience within the last year of the conditions of water on the island. So far, researchers working on Cuba Water have conducted more than 400 interviews.
Alberto Cairo + Fan Yang: Is an interactive "picture" worth more than a thousand words? Evaluating the message effectiveness of data visualization.
Researchers designed and created different versions of data visualizations to present scientific information on HPV risk and vaccine efficacy. In addition, a computer-mediated experiment with a national representative sample was conducted to explore the effectiveness of these data visualizations on enhancing comprehension as well as facilitating persuasion for HPV vaccination promotion and cervical cancer prevention.
Soyoon Kim + Clay Ewing : Design and Evaluation of an Innovative Digital Game to Reduce Indoor Tanning Behavior among Young Adults
This interdisciplinary project proposes an innovative digital game titled Dreamy to reduce the use of indoor tanning among young adults and to assess its effectiveness on psychological and behavioral determinants of indoor tanning behavior. This project and follow-up studies with a consistent framework will provide a theoretical basis that explains the persuasive effects of interactive entertainment-educational games and will offer practical guidance for the design of games to address important health issues.
Cong Li + Nicholas Carciopolo: Do our friends make us feel worse? Examining social comparison effects on Facebook
This project investigates the influence of Facebook on users' emotions using social comparison theory as a guiding theoretical framework.
Sallie Hughes + Alberto Cairo: Mediating Resilience: ICTs, Media Use, and the Wellbeing Strategies of Immigrant Youth
This project seeks to understand how reception of media content and ICT connectivity influence younger immigrants whose networks of care and identity-anchoring cultures transcend US borders. This project advances research by conceptualizing resources for resilience as cross-border phenomena tapped through communications technologies as well as through media and social incorporation in the US.


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GC Home | Register | Shop | Learn | Business | Around Town | Info
By Karen Booy
As published in CRAFTLINK Newsletter
While at an SCD (Society of Craft Designers) convention, I received the best advice for building my craft business. It came from my crafting mentor and guru, Marie Browning. I am not sure if she realized how much her simple advice affected my life and my business, but the repercussions of what she said resonates with me daily. Her advice? "Karen, just be yourself!" We were talking about designing of course and Marie pointed out that the best designers had a "look" -- it was fresh, unique and not quite like anything or anyone else. As Marie and I walked from one designer showcase to another, I saw what she meant. Certain showcases just "popped" out at you, these designers had just expressed themselves, and their designs reflected that, while others just didn't have any "personality".
Start to think like a designer
The majority of crafters do not see themselves as a designer, they purchase patterns, create the product and then take if off to the craft sale. Are you one of these copycat crafters? Well it is time to start thinking like a designer. When you purchase a commercial pattern - use it as a starting point. Instead of shopping to re-create the design look for ways to incorporate your style (you may want to give this some thought and ask yourself "What is my style?"). Start by choosing a color scheme and then go shopping for paint, fabric and accents to match. Follow the basic design of the pattern but add your own embellishments this could turn a regular heavenly angel into a gardening angel. Think about changing the pattern's style and transform a country bear into a Victorian one. Make the pattern larger or smaller. Tall and thin, Short and fat. I think you get the idea. Start to flex your creativity muscle and soon you will find that soon all your products will be of your own design.
Just remember this: If you craft according to the designs of others you may arrive at a craft sale and have to compete with several other exhibitors who have done the same!
Action Plan -- Be daring - be different - be yourself
Take one commercial pattern and experiment with it. Try to recreate it using different materials. colors or styles. Don't be too critical, just play at it and have fun. Then let your craft sit over night. The next day look at it with fresh eyes - you may be surprised at how good a designer you actually are!
Remember creativity is like exercise - the more you do it - the less it hurts! Let me know how your creativity experiment turns out.
Crafting like crazy.
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Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan has stated he thinks the tsunami-induced crisis at the Fukushima nuclear reactors could in the worst case "ruin eastern Japan," and that he is "incredibly knowledgeable about nuclear power."
His comments to a cabinet advisor were reported by Jiji, Japan's major news agency:
"In the worst case scenario possible in the current situation, we must consider the possibility of eastern Japan being ruined."
Consequently, he is said to consider Tepco to be insufficiently alarmist, saying "their sense of crisis is extremely weak."
Perhaps worst of all, he reportedly considers himself an expert on nuclear power – "I'm incredibly knowledgeable about nuclear power."
He does hold a degree in applied physics, but has only worked as a patent attorney and then as a politician, so his level of expertise in fixing broken reactors is doubtful at best.
Tepco's handling of the crisis has been less than reassuring, but the international consensus amongst experts on nuclear power and various nuclear energy bodies is that a nuclear explosion is impossible and Chernobyl-level contamination of a large area unthinkable.
The actual situation at the reactors has seen various explosions, fluctuating levels of radiation leakage and reactor temperature and pressure, and is evidently far from under control.
Concern generally centres on small amounts of mildly radioactive vapours being blown over a wider area – just what would possess Kan to make such mass-hysteria inducing prognostications of a nuclear wasteland engulfing half of Japan is not clear, but it is unlikely to be common sense and good judgement.
Assuming, of course, that he and Tepco do not know something about the crisis nobody else does.


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The NCAA has come to your game room in a whole new way. This complete set of 2 table tennis paddles and 6 balls will have you palying in no time. Perfect way to show your team spirit to your friends the next time you invite them for a game. 5-ply wood paddle featuring laminated tapered handle Pip-in rubber facing and sponge foam backing. Get yours today!
- 2 x 5-ply wood paddle with pip-in rubber facing
- Laminated tapered handle
- 6 white table tennis balls
- Official NCAA team logos and colors
- Officialy Licensed
- by Franklin Sports
Usually Ships within 2 business days!


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At Solunus, Inc. we have a passionate team of experts doing some really exciting work with cloud, mobile, and social. http://www.solunus.com/about-our-company
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Pligg is an open source content management system that lets you easily create your own user-powered website.


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Storing canned food
There are limits to how long food quality can be preserved
Why? Several factors limit the shelf-life of canned foods.
- Cans or metal lids on glass jars can rust. When rust is deep enough, tiny holes open in the can or lid that may let spoilage agents in. Shipping accidents that dent or crush cans cause problems.
- Can corrosion. Food reacts chemically with the metal container, especially high-acid food like canned tomatoes and fruit juices. Over several years, this causes taste and texture changes. It eventually lowers the nutritional value of the food.
- Temperatures over 100 degrees F are harmful to canned foods. The risk of spoilage jumps sharply as storage temperatures rise. At prolonged storage temperatures above 75 F, nutrient loss in canned foods increases. Light can cause color changes and nutrient losses in foods canned in glass jars.
To store canned food wisely, follow these guidelines
- Store in a cool, clean, dry place where temperatures are below 85 F (between 50-70 F is good) but not freezing temperatures.
- Rotate foods so the oldest is used first. Try not to keep canned foods more than 1 year.
- Use canned meats and seafood within 3 years of the date on the package.
- Use low-acid canned foods like vegetables and soup within 3 years of the date on the package.
- Use high-acid foods like fruit, pickles and tomatoes within 2 years of the date on the package.
- Canned fruit juices can be stored up to 1 year.
- Foods stored longer will be safe to eat if the cans do not show signs of spoilage or damage, but the foods may deteriorate in color, flavor and nutritional value.
Never use foods from containers with these spoilage warning signs:
- Loose or bulging lids on jars.
- Bulging, leaking or badly dented cans (especially along the top, side and bottom seams).
- Foul odor.
For more information, call AnswerLine at 800-854-1678.
- North Dakota State University. (2012). Food Storage Guide.
- Greater Pittsburgh Community Bank. (2012). Shelf life of food bank products.
Reviewed in 2018
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Couple's passion for renovations brings HGTV crew to LaSalle
HGTV shot "sizzle reel" over Easter weekend
A LaSalle couple's passion for renovating could lead to a transformation in their careers as well.
Leslie Biggley is an art teacher by day, but becomes an amateur home designer by night. She has 36,000 Instagram followers and her work is starting to get noticed.
HGTV sent a production team to her 4,000-square-foot ranch over the Easter weekend to simulate a 24-hour renovation project.
Her husband, Matt, a guidance counsellor at Tecumseh Vista Academy, helps out with her pastime.
When they bought the house two years ago they quickly realized it was a fixer-upper, he said.
"It was a flat-roof house in kind of a mid-century modern style, which we absolutely loved," Matt explained. "The problem was ... there were a lot of issues in the ceiling with mold from all of the water that had been sitting up there for so long. We never intended to peel off a roof, tear down walls and get involved in a renovation of that scale."
HGTV's visit will result in a "sizzle reel" to see if the couple has what it takes to star in the pilot for a TV series.
While the possibility is exciting, Matt said the couple are already planning their next project.
They've listed their home in LaSalle and have purchased a 130-year-old house in Kingsville.
"We hate the word 'flip,' and we never consider ourselves flippers," he added. "I think we really truly love houses and love making beautiful spaces that people appreciate and enjoy."


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Elf Pleasurebydamppanties©
A big thank you to Uncle Meat for going through this story and editing out all my stupidities and putting in the good things.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Get. Set. Aaaand... GO!"
People scurried off in different directions, looking for the gifts hidden around the house.
Kelly leisurely downed the last of her drink, and only then did she stroll away. The host was beginning to give her polite, interested looks. Well, she could pretend to join the treasure hunt even if she couldn't cook up much enthusiasm for the childish game.
She shouldn't have come to this party anyway. She had a deadline for a magazine article on Monday, and all this time she was wasting could be put into that article. The editor would gladly chew her head off if she was late this time. Amy, her roommate, had dragged her here under the assumption that she would enjoy a little fun and cheer on Christmas Eve, especially as she had been moping around the apartment since Alex dumped her.
Kelly stumbled going up the stairs. God! These high heels were killing her. No idea why she allowed Amy to talk her into wearing them. She wasn't used to them. And the stupid red skirt. It was so short that it was almost indecent. Well okay, other people her age had been wearing the same thing, but she was not really comfortable in clothes that didn't do a good job of covering her. She promised herself that she would stay another half hour and then she could leave without causing offence.
Up the stairs and she came to a little terrace that was barred by a door with fancy metal work. Unlike the rest of the house, it was not lighted like a bloody Christmas tree. She took the absence of lights and the barred door to mean that the guests weren't supposed to go there, so she promptly opened the door and entered. At least she would be alone.
Closing the door quietly behind her, Kelly wandered onto the dark terrace. As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she saw a long settee in the far corner. She walked over to it and flopped down. Very comfortable. She massaged her aching back and kicked off the heels, lying down contentedly.
A few minutes later she turned onto her side to get into her usual position of knees tucked up to her chin, when her eyes caught something glittering in the other corner. She stared for a minute at the place, wondering whether she had been mistaken. No. There it was again. Kelly debated whether to get up from the comfortable spot and prod into what was there or just let it be, but curiosity won. Slipping her feet into those blasted heels, she made her way over to it.
Oh No! It was a present. The very thing she had tried to get out of. She fumed for a bit on her rotten luck and wondered whether to pretend she had never seen it. But, well, curiosity prompted, and she got down to opening the damn thing.
It was quite large, almost up to her waist. It was wrapped in shiny paper; that was what had glinted at her. She picked at the cello tape with her nails, but got frustrated with the time it was taking and tore open the wrapping. A box inside with a vertical opening on the side facing her. Kelly laid the box down on its side and opened it.
"About time, really. I swear I was going to suffocate in there."
Kelly jumped back. A little chocolate-coloured arm poked out of the box and then a little... something... got out. Kelly thought about backing away a little more. If only her legs would obey her. The Thing looked around and spied Kelly. Then It gave her the sweetest smile ever. Without thinking too much, Kelly smiled back.
This probably encouraged the little thing because it started to speak in a child-like voice. "Hi. I'm an elf. You know, those things that help Santa with the presents and everything? And it's such a tiresome job too." It looked a little sad. "That's why I decided to do this," It whispered, bowing Its head.
"Do what?" Kelly asked.
It looked at her. "Well, run away," It mumbled. "I wrapped myself up in this box – I should have used a bigger one now that I come to think of it - and how I got here is a long story better left untold."
Kelly was quiet. She didn't know what to say. She tried to remember how much she had to drink.
"I'm Fabian."
It was looking up at her shyly and one little hand was offered to her. She took it and shook it.
"Are dwarfs called Fabian? I mean, don't they have cuter names? Like Pookie and Cuddles and things like that?"
It looked offended. "I'm not a dwarf," it shot out indignantly. "I'm an elf. Elves are different. Dwarfs are... well, dwarfs. And what's wrong with being called Fabian?"
"Err... nothing. Nothing, of course. It's just that it's a kind of a grown up name."
"Well, I'm grown up too." Fabian pulled himself up to his full height. Which was about half of Kelly's.
"Yes. I can see that." Kelly was having a hard time believing this. But what the hell? She would play along. "So, umm... there's Santa Claus?" she asked.
Fabian glanced to his left and right with horror. "Where?" he squeaked.
"Oh no. Not here. I mean, does he exist?"
She could see that she had offended him again. "Of course he does. Do you actually think the things you were told as a kid were untrue? I wonder why all you grown-ups have to deny his existence. I think it's got something to do with power and control. You don't like anything magical. You like to think you're the boss. The ones who can buy presents and give them to people and hog all the love and affection from them. Why can't somebody else do the same? What do you have against Claus anyway?"
Fabian stood glaring at her. He seemed to be waiting for an answer.
"Well, I don't know. I hadn't thought about it much. I guess he could exist but then everybody says..." she trailed off.
The only response was a disparaging 'Humph'.
"I hadn't believed in elves either but now I do," Kelly offered, and that seemed to mollify him a little.
He gave her a half-smile. "I'm sorry if I sound surly. Being cooped up in a box for... I guess it's been three days... it does take its toll on you. And then I was so afraid that someone crazy would open this box and think I was evil or something and try to kill me. You have to worry about these things nowadays. I mean, mankind has gone wild. They can't stomach anything magical these days." Fabian stopped speaking and gave her a shy look from under his eyelashes. "And well, I had also been hoping I'd be opened by a pretty girl."
Kelly blushed. "Th... thank you. I really don't know if I could be called pretty."
"You are," Fabian insisted. "And thank you for opening me. If there's anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask."
"You're welcome. I don't think there's anything..."
"Ummm... there's something you could ask for. I don't know how to tell you really." Fabian seemed embarrassed.
Kelly's curiosity was piqued. "What? You can tell me. It's okay."
"Well... it's just that I know about you."
"What do you mean you know about me?" Kelly was puzzled.
"Don't take this the wrong way Kelly. I kind of know that you've split up with your boyfriend and well, you're lonely... and that you... errr... you know, do things when you're alone."
Kelly felt the heat creep all over her, and she was sure she would be a nice shade of crimson by now. She was thankful that the terrace was dark. She decided to play dumb and hoped, oh how she hoped, that this part of the conversation would just go away. "What do you mean things?" she whispered. She prayed that he wasn't talking about that.
"You... errr... pleasure yourself. When you're alone. It's nothing to be ashamed of really. I know you are not a person who would sleep around casually and then what else can you do when Alex leaves you? There has to be a release. It's quite okay to do it."
Kelly was shocked. A minute passed, during which she opened and closed her mouth like a stunned goldfish. "Well," she said and stopped. "Well," she tried again. "You... you know it? I know it's not bad but you don't really expect somebody to know something that personal about you. How did you know anyway?"
"Oh Kelly! I'm an elf, remember? A magical creature. I know all sorts of things. For instance, the host down there was lusting after you and was imagining all sorts of kinky adventures featuring you and him."
"Ewww... okay. Fine. But can you please not tell me?" Kelly was thoroughly disgusted. "He's married!" she added as an afterthought.
"As if that would stop him," murmured Fabian, half under his breath. "Well anyway. I know about your, ahem... self pleasure, and what I was saying was that maybe if I could help you out there, I would really like that."
Kelly looked at him suspiciously. "Is this for real?" she asked nobody in particular. "What do you mean - help me out there?" she asked.
"Well, you know, I could give you some loving which would really take you into ecstasy, and beyond; if you'd like that, that is," he said casually.
Kelly was speechless. This elf was offering to...? No. It couldn't be.
"You have understood me perfectly Kelly," he said. And when she stared at him, "I can read your thoughts."
Suddenly Kelly felt vulnerable. Someone who knew so much about her and could read her thoughts too would have a lot of ammunition with which to hurt her. And Kelly had learnt that people did use those things to hurt you when you expected it the least. She closed her eyes and was about to refuse when Fabian spoke up again.
"You don't need to fear me Kelly. I just want to help you. Heck, I'm in the business of making people happy. I like doing it. You can consider this a one time thing – unless you want more; but we'll talk about that when we come to it. Right now, I promise I'll only do what you want me to do. And I'll know when, and if, you want me to stop. I will stop. Promise."
Another thought crossed Kelly's mind. She couldn't have sex with an elf, for God's sake! He was... well, he was a totally different species! She looked at the child-like chocolate coloured thing standing in front of her and almost made up her mind. Her thoughts were interrupted again.
"Ummm... excuse me. We will not be having sex as such. I mean, I will just see to it that you are sated. There are other ways Kelly." Her befuddled brain was past thinking about other ways right then, so he clarified. "Oral sex."
By now Kelly was in a daze, and she was beginning to have severe doubts about whether this was for real. Fabian seemed to be waiting for a decision, but she had almost convinced herself that she was dreaming or hallucinating and that it would be really silly of her to reply to a proposition from a figment of her imagination. She turned to go.
He caught her wrist from behind. "You know you want it, Kelly," he whispered.
And then she felt herself being propelled to the couch, where she was gently made to sit down. Fabian kneeled in front of her and reverently parted her legs. The heels had elevated her legs a little, so her knees spread wider than if she hadn't been wearing them.
With a glance at her, Fabian folded Kelly's red mini-skirt up to her waist and started licking the inside of her knees. Short, wet wipes with his smooth tongue, and Kelly started to enjoy it. If this was a dream, it was going on too nicely and she wasn't in a real hurry to come out of it. She leaned back onto her elbows on the wide couch and closed her eyes.
Fabian swept his hands up and down the back of her legs, from her ankle to the back of her knees. The touch was light. His hands were perfectly smooth. Nothing like a man's rough palms. The gliding hands and licking tongue on her legs excited Kelly and she could feel herself getting wet down there. She thrust herself down imperceptibly.
He understood and started moving up ever so slowly with his tongue. The hands moved up to where his tongue had been a moment ago and Kelly was overcome with the anticipation of what was to come. Get on with it, she wanted to shout, but this sweet torture was something else altogether.
When he got to the panties covering her pussy, he tickled her with a pointed tongue and a current shot through Kelly. She shivered convulsively. Her elbows gave away and she fell down backwards onto the settee. Her hands went to her nipples which had begun to poke out through the top she was wearing. She played with them almost impatiently, rubbing and pinching them with her fingers.
Fabian had thoroughly soaked her panties with his saliva, and now he traced her pussy lips with his finger, all the while blowing warmly onto the sodden cloth covering it. The effect was incredible. Kelly raised her hips off the couch and pushed herself toward his finger.
"Ohhh God! Yessss."
"You like that, Kelly?"
"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes." She repeated that word like a mantra as Fabian's finger became harder and more insistent. Kelly's hands worked feverishly on her breasts. Kneading, pulling, squeezing. Her hips moved on their own accord, seeking, moving toward more of Fabian's touch. It wasn't enough. She was crazed by her escalating senses and needed more.
"Fabian, please," she panted.
"More?" he asked.
"Yesssss," she hissed out between clenched teeth.
"Glad to oblige," he quipped as he proceeded to move the thin, soaked material of her panty to one side and expose her to the cool night air. She squirmed as the coolness hit her but Fabian's fingers were there instantly there. Rubbing her and providing the warmth.
He bent down to her smooth, shaved pussy and licked it all over once before settling his mouth down on her clit. Taking the tiny thing into his mouth, he started to lick and suck it alternatively. Simultaneously, two of his fingers entered her dripping pussy and Kelly's hips started moving immediately to the in out rhythm he established.
It wasn't long before the easy rhythm changed into frenzied thrusts and Kelly felt a tightening in her lower stomach, a sign of impending orgasm. She screwed her eyes shut tightly and concentrated on the different emotions bombarding her. The feel of the hard fingers going in and out of her. The delicious suction and subsequent lapping at her clit. Her hands working furiously at her breasts.
The tightening in her stomach turned into a feeling like she was being sucked inwards. A mighty vacuum built up inside her, and Kelly's whole body tensed for a second before she felt as if she were blown apart from inside. Energy raced through her veins, reaching throughout her entire body. Every pore seemed alive, and her pussy convulsed around Fabian's fingers repeatedly with the effect of the powerful orgasm.
The feeling died slowly and the energy crept out of her limbs, replaced by a sweet lassitude. Kelly didn't know how long she lay there like that. She was brought back to her senses when a faint breeze made her realise that she was lying there uncovered, and she hastily got up and adjusted her clothing.
Fabian was sitting some distance away, watching her. She felt almost naked with the way he was scrutinising her. They had just had something very personal, and she was not used to the rituals afterwards. Alex, her ex, had always moved away or gone to sleep. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the ground.
"You are beautiful, Kelly." It was in the most sincere voice she had ever heard.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"I..." Fabian paused, probably unsure of how to put it. "I hope you liked it."
"Yes." She paused. "Yes, I did. Thank you."
"I should be thanking you for letting me," he said. "Elves just get off on giving others happiness," he said with a trace of humour in his voice. "And that was the best display of pure bliss that I have ever seen," he added more sincerely. "Thank you."
Kelly looked up at him. "I don't know what to say, Fabian. This is just so... so..." she seemed at a loss for words. She shrugged and shook her head from side to side with her inability to verbalise the incredible situation.
"I know. I know it's hard to believe. You don't even have to believe it if you don't want to. Just think of it as a good dream tomorrow."
Kelly sat there with her arms wrapped around her and mulled it over. "What if..." she started. "...I want to... errr... meet you again?"
The elf smiled. "You just have to call me. Speak out my name and I'll know. Elves have this ability, you know. Just like I can read your mind, I'll hear you when you call me, wherever I am. And I'll come. I promise."
With that, Fabian took one long look at her, turned and skipped away into the darkness. Kelly shivered in the cool night air, and then slowly walked back into the noise and normality of the party.
* * * * * * * * * *
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It might not be very well known among console shmup fans, but this currently ranks as my favourite shmup of all time! Tyrian is outstanding in so many ways. When you first launch the game, you can choose to either play the story mode, where you play through all the levels while collecting credits to upgrade your ship and choose which specific weapons you want, or you can play the simpler arcade mode where you just collect weapons in the maps themselves like a traditional shmup. There are 5 episodes in all, making this one of the longest shmups I've ever seen. The gameplay is absolutely phenomenal: not only is the collision detection extremely forgiving, but you don't die in one hit. Your ship has two types of "health bars", a blue shield bar that automatically heals itself and a standard brown armor bar that starts depleting only when your shields are exhausted. It might sound a little lame but it works extremely well and really minimizes the frustration, especially because the game does get really hard and intense at times. The graphics are great and the hand-drawn artwork looks amazing, and the futuristic MIDI music is also superb. If I had to make a comparision, I'd say the gameplay is slightly similar to that of Blazing Lazers (Turbografx), but much better and more polished. Another great thing about the game is how most of the levels tend to be very diverse, with different objectives and styles of play. The game also has a lot of secret levels that can be unlocked by doing some specific things in each map, so that the outcome becomes different every time you play, greatly extending the replay value. There are so different types of weapons that I lost count, and each level has a different set of enemies and often completely different graphics. I cannot stop saying good things about this game, and to top things off, you can play the game with a friend either on the same computer or online! Tyrian really elevates the shmup genre to the next level, and is in my opinion one of the greatest games ever made. No shooter fan should miss out on this one, especially since it was released as freeware.
Grade: A+
Tyrian (PC)
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About the Game: Punch Club
In Punch Club Game, you will play the role of a man whose father was brutally murdered right before his eyes and now he is determined to find the killer of his father at any cost. So, now what you have to do is – acting in his place and train hard. You have to eat chicken and have to punch dudes hardly in their face to earn ranking in the Punch Club. And thus you will go ahead to discover your father's killer.
It is mainly a boxing tycoon management focused game which is composed of several branching storylines. Here your aim and goal is completely clear, you need to level up your ranking. But how you are going to do it- is completely up to you. You can approach in the legitimate way to climb the rankings. But in this case, you have to wait quite a bit longer to level up your rank. You can take the shady route of moding the resources too to level up your ranking quickly. You can purchase this game from the Android store for a fee and you can also use this site to get it.
More Information About Punch Club
It is strategy focused Android game which was released on 15th March, 2016. It is an English language based game and the setup file size is 77.2 MB. This game was developed by the tinyBuild and it is available in the apk mod.
Punch Club v1.12 Android Apk mod Tool
You can use this Glitch Free mod apk to earn unlimited Punch Club bucks and gold coins.
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We all have a vision in our mind's eye of how we are perceived by the world. But, as humans we can serve as notoriously poor judges. I find that organizations can suffer from the same biases — leadership may envision the organization as "caring" or "innovative" — yet their behavior throws a fly in the ointment. As an entity, we have to own up and consider that what we'd like to be, and what we really put out there — may not jibe.
Where organizational culture is concerned, this reality gap can become quite critical — affecting many elements that contribute to success. (Think of attracting talent, etc.) Ultimately, the same criteria that we apply to exceptional leaders, works for the larger, collective organization as well. (Consider the attributes of trust, integrity and character.)
Displaying what we are truly "made of", is established through small, yet meaningful exchanges with our employees and customers. These actions are critical in cementing (and communicating) a healthy organization culture. Often organizations profess to being one thing — but when you peel away the layers of PR and slogans — they are in fact, another. Grandstanding rarely works, as actual behaviors often tell the story with far greater power.
Where employees are concerned, discrepancies of "talk vs. actions", can create a wide rift as they move through their tenure within the organization. This is exactly how we lose our most valued employees, as we make implicit promises that we just cannot keep.
A few ideas for that:
- Recruit with integrity. The old adage of "don't make a promise you cannot keep" holds here. Respect the talent, that may walk through your doors. If you cannot deliver what they are seeking, don't spin the story in your favor. Utilize realistic job previews (RJPs) whenever possible — you'll avoid numerous issues later on.
- Treat others as you would a customer. I can't think of anything I hate more, than an organization that puts on one face to make a sale, yet treats those that have contributed to that opportunity as "less than". Enough said — it's reprehensible. Eventually top talent will cycle out of your organization for this very reason.
- Get the real story. Ensure that you really know how your organization is perceived from all vantage points — minus the "spin". Get real in a hurry, and pay attention to the signs of a misaligned culture, before a myopic view hurts your long-term goals.
Have you ever experiences an organization that seemed to have a "split" personality? Share your story.
Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. She is the Director of Thought Leadership at Kilberry Leadership Advisors, Toronto. She is also serves as an Influencer at LinkedIn.


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The process of litigating a personal injury claim can be an incredibly stressful experience. The physical consequences of an accident can disrupt your social life, create conflict with your work and family responsibilities, and can have a dramatic effect on your mood. Further, to attempt to litigate a personal injury claim when your finances are minimal or uncertain is particularly trying. With this in mind, good counsel – at the very least – should consider your financial vulnerability while excellent counsel should take steps to try and relieve the financial pressure placed on you as a result of your injuries.
This blog post discusses the controversial issue of litigation financing with a focus on resources available to personal injury victims and the risks associated with litigation loans.
I believe very strongly that before looking to any other option, prudent counsel should first look to see what resources their clients have to address their financial distress. There is no reason to look into an alternative – and possibly precarious – line of financing when there are still interest-free options available.
Typically, this requires that exploring the existence of funds that might be available from your various policies of insurance. For instance, a client with access to ICBC Part 7 benefits should have these maximized before looking to other options. Moreover, private insurance plans should be sourced and accessed to the fullest before looking to other options.
It might be possible for you to receive an advance payment voluntarily from your insurer or as a result of a Court order.
It's important to note that the law compelling advance payments via Court order is not very plaintiff friendly. In practical terms, the only time a plaintiff may apply for an advance is:
This means that in most instances an advance can only be obtained if an insurer can be convinced to do so voluntarily. Not surprisingly, insurers will try to negotiate onerous terms into these advance agreements. It's important that your counsel guard against any unnecessary or improvident concessions.
Litigation lenders are not loan sharks, however, some are not far off. Litigation lenders typically charge rates that range between 20% and 30% once the magic of compound interest is taken into consideration. That is a pretty healthy return considering the low risks involved to these lenders. To draw a comparison, the old Vancouver Stock Exchange seemingly involved greater risk and rarely (if ever) produced consistent returns at this level.
How are these lenders able to charge such high rates? Basically, these lenders enjoy an environment of high demand with very few competitors. Traditional lenders like banks and credit unions do not have the flexible capital structures needed to allow them to service this market. These companies are simply filling the vacuum created by the absence of traditional lenders.
More distressing, private interest charges on disbursements are not recoverable at trial (See MacKenzie v. Rogalasky 2014 BCCA 446). The interest that may be claimed on applicable heads of damages is confined to what is permitted under the Court Order Interest Act. While the Court Order Interest Act provides the Court with the jurisdiction to depart from mandated rates, this is not something any plaintiff should expect to happen. Therefore, if you opt to arrange a high interest loan with a litigation lender you need to understand you are exposing yourself to high rates of interest that are not recoverable as part of your law suit.
As an alternative to litigation lenders, occasionally personal injury lawyers will provide loans to their clients. However, there are very strict regulations on this type of financing.
The BC Code of Professional Conduct for lawyers (the BC Code) requires that if a lawyer is going to charge interest on disbursements, then the lawyer must:
The BC Code also makes it very clear that if a lawyer intends to charge interest on expenses other than disbursements such as medical costs and living expenses, then the lawyer must:
Often a client have no other option but to turn to their lawyer for financial assistance. Lawyers should not necessarily be disinclined to assist their clients, but clients and lawyers must give careful consideration to the factors discussed above before entering into a formal loan agreement.
If you are looking for advice regarding a personal injury claim, please contact a lawyer at Murphy Battista LLP for more information.
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Information provided in our blog posts is not intended to be legal advice.
The outcome of every legal proceeding will vary according to the facts and unique circumstances in each individual case. References to successful case results where the lawyers at Murphy Battista LLP have acted for clients are not necessarily a guarantee or indicative of future results.


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Pricing - custom
Unsurprisingly, customisation is priced differently to our other features.
Consider what you want to customise:
- Features/functionality (things that people can do)
We can add in existing WordPress plugins or, if what you want would rely on FixturesLive data, we can develop our own.
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If our existing Themes aren't enough for you, we can recommend a design agency that can produce what you need.
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We can make a variety of changes to suit you
Contact us and we'll be happy to talk you through the possibilities.


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Bridge The Gap To Your Business' Future
Really Simple Salesforce Solutions to Help You Convert Leads to Business Faster.
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© 2017 Salesforce.com, Inc. Used with permission.
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Case for Utopia
an easy essay by Peter Maurin
Praying the Our Father with Carmelites and Catholic Workers
Mark Kelso's thesis
Manna in the Wilderness Newsletter:
Issue (PDF)
Grounded in WORKS OF MERCY
Cultivating COMMUNITY
Practicing ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE
Wednesday- Saturday: 6:00 a.m.
Morning prayer at Catholic
Worker. Map
*Wednesday-Saturday: 6:30 a.m.
Breakfast served at G & McWilliams
Streets to the poor and homeless
(about 150-200 people). Map
Closed: Nov. 22-24, Dec. 26-29
Wednesday: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Hospitality Day, we invite 20 homeless men home for showers, to wash clothes,
& for a great lunch.
Thursday: 9:00
a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Vigil for Peace in front of the Federal
Courthouse, 333 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Map
Thursday: 10:30 a.m.
50 Bag lunches delivered to homeless.
Thursday: Christ the King Hot Dog PartiesJoin at 6 a.m. for morning prayer and 6:30 a.m. to serve
*Second Saturday of month:
Knights of Columbus pancake
breakfast to the homeless.
Third Saturday of month:
Deliver food boxes to homes in need.
32nd Annual Christmas
Breakfast for the Homeless
Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018 - Knights of Columbus members will provide pancakes, eggs, and sausage.


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Feminists just in from the weekend's convention of the National Women's Political Caucus appear convinced that the women's vote will be sought more attentively, and mean more than ever, in 1984.
Punctuating the anti-Reagan mood among the 800 delegates to the San Antonio convention, a New York Times/CBS poll released over the weekend showed the gap between the number of men and women supporting the President - the so-called ''gender gap'' - had widened to 18 points.
''We weren't just talking to ourselves this time,'' says Kathy Wilson, chairman of the National Women's Political Caucus. Indeed, the convention of the 73,000-member organization grabbed headlines as the five leading Democratic presidential hopefuls attended the convention.
Further, Ms. Wilson, a Republican with close ties to the party, got some press of her own when she addressed President Reagan by way of the convention platform, asking him not to run for reelection. The consensus among caucus members, a third of whom are Republicans, was solidly enough against Reagan that the organization may decide for the first time to endorse a presidential candidate, without threatening a division within the bipartisan ranks, she says.
Organizers say it is ''historic'' that so many Democratic presidential hopefuls found the feminist gathering important enough to attend.
Betty Heitman, co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, disagrees, suggesting it would be routine for any presidential candidate to attend. She does acknowledge, however, that the Democrats, as well as the Reagan administration, have been courting the women's vote as a result of evidence of a ''gender gap.''
''I think we have a gender gap'' primarily because of the administration's failure to communicate the President's good record on women's issues and appointments, Ms. Heitman says. But she adds that ''you can't lump women into one mass and say they're going to vote the same on any issue . . . they think for themselves. Everyone tends to vote pocketbook issues, though.'' And, she says, the President's handling of the economy has been good for everyone.
But the Democrats are welcoming the notion of a women's vote, and will play directly to the liberal heart of women's interests, which center on issues such as the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights.
''The Democrats will have a women's plank in every campaign plan (state and federal),'' says Ann Lewis, political director of the Democratic National Committee and a founding member of the caucus. ''The women's vote has been a debatable issue, but now it's recognized and can become negotiable'' politically , she says.
Because of the gender gap, political candidates will give women as a voting bloc more attention as elections approach, says Ethel Klein, who teaches government at Harvard and is writing a book on the gender gap. She says political observers can expect to see stepped-up voter registration among women, more women hired on campaign staffs, and issues that will be given a women's slant.
''The next step is to see what they (candidates) say about women in front of the AFL-CIO or before the Democratic National Committee,'' agrees Dotty Lynch, a consultant with Sen. Gary Hart's presidential campaign.


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The Senate ratified a tribal-state compact Thursday that allows the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to build a $500 million casino complex in Taunton.
The Senate ratified a tribal-state compact Thursday that allows the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to build a $500 million casino complex in Taunton.
The vote came with just five days to spare before a July 31 deadline that could have ended the tribe's dream of casino riches.
"It's an exciting, historical day," tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said moments after the vote. "It's one more step toward the tribe having a destination resort casino in Taunton and bringing jobs to Southeastern Massachusetts. It's an exciting and victorious day."
The vote leaves just federal hurdles, although they are significant ones, in the way of an Indian casino in the Silver City. Under the compact, the tribe will pay the state 21.5 percent of gross gambling revenue in exchange for the state's assistance in clearing the most significant of procedural challenges — having the U.S. Department of the Interior take 146 acres in the city's industrial park and 170 acres in Mashpee into federal trust.
Only one senator spoke before the vote.
"It is a benefit to residents and citizens everywhere in Southeastern Massachusetts and to the commonwealth as a whole," Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, said.
Many of the senators appeared to be still outside the chambers when the roll call vote began after nearly an hour's recess. The vote was 27-9 in favor of the compact, which already has been approved by the House and signed by tribal leaders and Gov. Deval Patrick.
Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, who used a parliamentary procedure last week to delay the action, voted against it, as did Sen. Michael Rodrigues, D-Fall River. Some Southeastern Massachusetts legislators have criticized Patrick for not including a deadline for the tribe to get its land approvals, but tribe leaders have said that would have been a deal breaker.
Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, and Sen. Daniel Wolf, D-Harwich, who represent the Cape and Islands, voted for the compact.
Patrick has called the agreement a "good deal" for the state. Administration officials said Thursday that the focus now shifts toward helping the tribe get its federal approvals. One of the state's legal advisers on the compact, Holland & Knight, has registered to lobby in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the tribe's land-in-trust application.
Cromwell praised Patrick, legislative leaders, the tribal council and tribe elders for their efforts in getting the deal done before the deadline.
"We've never taken our focus off Washington, but the good news is we have a compact with the commonwealth, and there is great support from the (governor) and the legislative branches to ensure we move together to get land in trust."
The governor hailed the landmark vote and thanked both chambers of the Legislature for approving the compact.
"This is an important milestone and a good deal for both the commonwealth and the tribe," Patrick said in a statement. "It respects the inherent rights of the tribe, while adhering to the principles set forth in the Expanded Gaming Act."
Patrick said his administration will turn its "attention to the federal government and final approval of the compact and the tribe's land in trust application."
There is no set deadline for the tribe to file all of the documentation that goes along with its application, Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, said earlier this week. But it's in the tribe's best interest to provide that documentation as soon as possible so the application can move forward, she said.
The tribe will have to convince the federal bureau that it is getting value in return for the revenue it will share with the state.
It is against federal casino laws to tax Indian casinos, and the Wampanoag deal with Massachusetts is considered by experts to be the most lucrative deal for a state ever negotiated. The bureau must sign off on it.
The tribe must also convince the bureau that a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, known as the "Carcieri decision," does not apply to them. In that ruling, the court called into question the authority of the federal government to take land into trust for tribes recognized after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.
The tribe's land-in-trust application, obtained by the Times Monday, does not include the tribe's Carcieri argument and is missing other key submissions. But the Mashpee Wampanoag, recognized in 2007, will likely argue that the tribe was under federal jurisdiction before 1934, a distinction made in the high court ruling.
In exchange for the casino revenue, Patrick has also agreed to work with the tribe to secure aboriginal hunting and fishing rights and to help with land claims in and around Mashpee.
The land-in-trust application is no "open and shut case," but strong support from a state is unusual, if not unprecedented, and should go a long way with federal officials, said Steven Light, an Indian gaming expert at the University of North Dakota.
"Everything has moved very quickly. It would be a much more difficult road for the tribe if there had been more obstacles along the way and if it had taken a lot longer to get where we are," he said. "The demonstration of enthusiasm and support at the state level, with the local level, makes it much easier to smooth the way to the end of the road."
The tribe has been dismissed many times by casino critics — only to bounce back.
In 2007, an administrative scandal within the tribe appeared to derail a Middleboro project funded by South African casino moguls Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman.
But the tribe voted in Cromwell and Vice Chairman Aaron Tobey Jr., negotiated a severance agreement with Kerzner and Wolman and walked away from Middleboro. The tribe is now financed by Arkana Ltd., owned by the same family that owns Malaysian casino giant Genting Group.
Although a deal in Fall River also fell through and Massachusetts took four years to legalize expanded gambling, the tribe is the first to reach a casino deal in the Bay State since the Expanded Gaming Act was passed in November.
Now the tribe has Patrick, a good friend of President Barack Obama, advocating for their federal application. "The alignment of federal, state and tribal interests, as well as the relationship between Patrick and Obama, bodes well for the tribe," Light said.
The tribe also has the benefit of having former U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, as one of its lobbyists — something that also should help in Washington.


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Friday, December 23, 2016
After winning the mono hull fast handicap fleet at the last Grand Prix Dave Hall and Paul Constable will be hoping the event will once again be a windy affair. After the last Sail Juice event at Datchet where the light winds favoured the non-trapeze boats Dave and Paul in their Fireball are looking forward to a blast around Grafham Water.
The Grafham Grand Prix takes place on the 2nd January. Dave can be contacted at Hyde sails at email@example.com and 07525 271500
Photo credit: Champion


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Summer Flyer Bundle Vol 2 – This bundle of flyers / posters can be used to promote an electronic music event or any summer event. The perfect summer flyers and templates for your party. The flyer templates have a vintage and retro style perfect for a deep house or house music event, or a modern style for a night club beach party.
This Bundle Contains:


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Routes : North America : United States : North Carolina : Western : Hound Ears : Caffeine Wall : The Caffeine Sea
The Caffeine Sea - V7Average Rating : 0.00 out of 5
Route sequence (left to right): 9
Route Summary | Ascent Notes (0)
Premier Sponsor:
Description:Do the 'Caffeine Traverse' right to left and finish up on 'Three Bears Traverse' (the one across the crimpers on the center of the wall) - starts right and traverses left along the thin low holds.
Descent Options:Walk off the back and arouind.
Submitted by: howieehrlich on 2001-11-21
Last Modified: 2010-10-11
Views: 338
Route ID: 7985


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Sad Puppy - Halp!
Hi, I'm Quaternary, sorry to introduce myself with a sad puppy post. I'm monogamous for now; my husband, Rho, has a couple of longterm girlfriends, Sigma and Pi. There's been all sorts of trouble in the past, but me and Pi get along pretty well these days. Sigma and Pi were introduced to each other by Rho, and also dated each other for a while, but ended up breaking up with each other after a while. Both are still seeing Rho. Both Sigma and Pi have husbands of their own who know about their other relationships.
The problem is, me and Sigma do NOT get along at all, and have not for a long time. I thought we were making some progress in working things out, but when Rho and me announced our wedding date to her several months ago (we're married now) - Sigma took it very, very badly, saying it would ruin her life, she thought that we were horrible for each other, she said everybody she knows would think it was horrible, et cetera. (Sigma had known since the beginning that Rho and I were domestic/primary partners, and engaged; we simply hadn't set a date until last year.) After that she pointedly stopped communicating with me completely. We have exchanged nothing but small talk at a very small number of gatherings of mutual friends since then. I generally greet her when I see her, but I do not dare attempt to reestablish any sort of meaningful direct contact with her beyond that. If I do, past experience tells me that she will most likely respond either aggressively by chewing me out and sending nasty emails or texts, or passive-aggressively, by posting things online or otherwise spreading rumors amongst mutual friends. But, even if I do nothing, there will be social consequences. There have been multiple occasions where she has told people (including my husband) not to invite me to events, and/or threatened loudly and at length to leave if I showed up.
I feel really hurt at her past actions, and I am intensely uncomfortable with this situation. I don't want her to lose time with her friends, but this is a situation she is willfully creating and I'm not okay with missing out on time my own friends simply because they're her friends too. I'm also scared of being blamed by mutual friends who don't know the whole situation. I'm scared of her making it look like I was making threats, like I was issuing ultimatums about who got to go to what party - when it's the other way around.
I don't know what to do with this mess. Sigma doesn't acknowledge me as any sort of legitimate partner for my husband, much less as a domestic partner or wife. I feel dehumanized by her in almost every interaction I have with her. I love my husband very much, and I know he loves both me and Sigma (and Pi!) very much, but with all the past history there is, when I feel Sigma start pulling social strings, I have panic attacks. I can't deal with this. I feel like the victim of a junior high school bully even though we're all adults. I've spoken with my husband about these problems before, and how it has long since reached the point of harming my physical health (have experienced shakes, racing heartbeat, fevers, headaches, and exhaustion, to the point of having lost time from work because of it), but there isn't much of anything he is willing to do. He seems to feel completely powerless to solve this, and he completely shuts down when I try to talk to him about it any further. He is uncommonly affectionate, loving, and supporting in most other facets of life. But, I can't so much as get a few kind words from him if he knows I'm upset about how Sigma is treating me, no matter to what degree or in what manner I express it. It's like he becomes a completely different person. There has been talk of us all meeting together with me and Rho's therapist, but I have no idea if/when it will actually happen. I have no idea whether or not it will actually help.
What do I even do with this mess? I want everybody to be happy but I don't have some special power to make it happen without anybody else's input or support. I am tired of being pushed around and every option I look at, I'll be under intense pressure of some kind or another. Could use every kind of advice.
Ignore her. Seriously. Live your life and schedule your social engagements as you see fit without considering her at all. Mutual friends, if they know you well at all, aren't going to blame you for what she does and any lies she tells them will be revealed soon enough.
Now, that's easier said than done. You may benefit from seeing a therapist by yourself, just to settle your issues.
As for Rho going spineless in the face of the problem with Signma, that's an issue you need to take up with him and not allow him to avoid it. If he is enabling bad behavior on her part, it is his problem, too, and you can call him on his part in it. You can only decide what you are going to do, however, whatever his response. So decide what course of action you're going to take and take it--he can come along or not.
When speaking of various forms of non-monogamy...it ain't poly if you're just fucking around.
While polyamory, open relationships, and swinging are all distinctly different approaches to non-monogamy, they are not mutually exlusive. Folks can, and some do, engage in more than one of them at a time--and it's all good.
This ^
I don't care how "in love" you are with some one...there is no excuse for letting a loved one be treated with disrespect by another partner. It's time for your husband to stick up for his wife IMO. For whatever reason, you guys got married - to me that sets a precedent of being the primary couple with greater impact across a broader spectrum. Time for him to start looking after the health of his primary relationship.
Playing the Game of Life with Monopoly rules.
Monogamy might just be in my genes
Poly Events All Over
Can't agree more with AT and Mono. Ignore her. Spend your time with those you like and treat you with respect and ignore the others. Make sure you have some clear boundaries that you don't want to see her, have her at the house or have any part in her life. You never know, in time she will either be less interesting to him and move on; it could be unappealing for him to have her separate from the rest of his life, or, she could come around and reach out to you. It might be an idea to make sure she knows that option can be open in the future if she requests it.
My blog
Thanks for your responses! I don't have a lot of people IRL I can talk to about our relationships and I really appreciate y'all taking the time to write to me.
Unfortunately, never seeing Sigma at all is not a very realistic option; we both belong to some of the same clubs and volunteer organizations independently of each other and it is not possible to go to regular meetings and social events without seeing each other there from time to time. I'm not willing to give up my own involvement in those groups to please her, and I can't expect her to stop showing up to please me. It's especially rough for me in that I've only lived in this area for a few years, grew up in a completely different part of the country, and she's lived here all her life. Most of our mutual friends have known her longer than they have known me. The various organizations I belong to here are an extremely important part of my social life and losing half of them in order to avoid her would be absolutely terrible.
Rho and I already have an agreement not to bring other partners over to our place without each other's permission, thankfully.
I spoke with Rho at some length tonight about all this stuff. We weren't able to decide on much but at least he really seemed to be listening this time. Tough stuff is a lot easier to bear when it isn't compounded with feeling unheard by a significant other.
Hi and so sorry to hear about your situation!
Sigma seems to have some serious cowgirlish tendencies. How does she get along with Pi? How does her husband feel about you? What does Pi think about all this?
Starting to avoid social situations where she will be present is not the solution, it will just give her one over you, like you and everyone whose posted already pointed out. How about having a safe person to go to these gatherings with, who can support you if she starts acting out? Or very simply stating, if the abuse is about to start, that she has no right to say those things to you, and you will need to ask her to leave if she can't behave in a civil manner towards you? If the texts start flooding, NEVER answer! Turn off your phone and delete them without reading.
Me: bi female in my twenties
Dating: Moonlightrunner
Metamour: Windflower
You can still go to these places but your owe her nothing. Trying to adjust your life to accommodate her nastiness means she's already won. It's difficult, but you can just simply go about your business with head held high, knowing you didn't do anything wrong, and just don't even give her the time of day. She sounds like someone who is mentally unstable. Cultivate your own friendships and interests, and forget about her tantrums.
Ever go to a restaurant with someone and get annoyed by some loud person sitting at another table nearby? You can't even concentrate on your conversation because they're so loud and obnoxious, right? You're ready to throw something at them. But eventually, you pay attention to the person across from you because they're more important. You're involved in selecting your meal, you enjoy the food, the conversation. You engage in the things and people that matter, and live in the moment. At some point, you look over toward that other table and discover, much to your surprise, that those obnoxious people left a long time ago, someone else is sitting there, and you didn't even notice them leave! Something that you thought you just couldn't get past didn't affect you because you paid it no mind and, instead, redirected your focus.
DON'T let her idiocy eat at you and create such anxiety for you, even in your private moments. There's a saying, "why let someone live rent-free inside your head?" Now, I don't mean you should outright snub her, just don't pay her any credence. If she sees she has an effect on you, she feels some small (lame) victory at your expense. Why should her not acknowledging you as Rho's wife have any bearing on your life? You are his wife. You don't need her to acknowledge that, you've got the relationship and piece of paper. If she has a husband, and yet insists on living in such a stupid, childish, and nasty fantasy, well, maybe she needs some serious psychological help and Rho should examine whether or not he really wants someone like that in his life. As for you, just train yourself to redirect your focus. It does work!
The world opens up... when you do.
"Oh, oh, can't you see? Love is the drug for me." ~Bryan Ferry
"Love and the self are one . . ." ~Leo Buscaglia
Click here for a Solo Poly view on hierarchical relationships
Click here to find out why the Polyamorous Misanthrope is feeling disgusted.
Last edited by nycindie; 04-22-2011 at 09:01 AM.
Thank you for the sympathy, BlackUnicorn.
Sigma and Pi have a tumultuous relationship. To my knowledge, they sometimes enjoy each other's company but Pi gets very frustrated with Sigma's behavior too at times. Both Sigma and Pi have some lingering issues with each other regarding who gets Rho's time and attention when. Pi lives out of town and wants a lot of attention when she's in town (which is only maybe once or twice a month, aside from special occasions), Sigma is able to see Rho once or twice a week in addition to any friendly gatherings they both end up at. Both are highly active online and get frustrated with Rho if they feel they aren't getting enough time with him chatting online on a daily basis. Putting off one to concentrate on talking to the other is always a powder-keg waiting to blow. Weekend large-group social events where me, Sigma, Pi, and Rho are all present are an easy way to get the drama going.
Sigma isn't calling or texting or emailing me at all anymore, good or bad; if I initiate contact with her for any reason, she will probably resume, most likely with bonus negativity for messing up her apparent coping method of pretending I don't exist. What she is continuing to do that I have a problem with is channeling all relationship drama into constant and repeated texting to my husband and/or mutual friends (often including Pi). It's much easier for her to say awful things in writing than to anyone's face. She has rarely SAID much directly to me that was pointedly abusive aloud and in person, it's that she says things behind my back all of the time, and when she's in touch with me, writes nasty things directly to me some of the time.
I'm not sure who I can turn to at most of these events other than Rho, and sometimes Pi. I'm scared of dragging in mutual friends who are already tired of how Sigma is acting and don't want to have anything to do with it at all, since they're at these events for fun and this drama show is pretty pointedly the opposite of fun. Rho gets upset when Sigma does tons and tons of this stuff in short order, but usually the main result is for Sigma to get hours of his attention as he tries to calm her down, and for Rho to get defensive in turn if I complain about it myself. I could turn to Pi in an acute emotional emergency and she would understand what I was going through but we're not so close that I feel comfortable asking for her aid in dealing with Sigma on a regular basis. :-/
Hmm, a tough situation, although it doesn't have to be. But Sigma it seems has Rho pretty much where she wants him, in that she gets the attention and affection she needs with pulling the stunts she does. Is this relationship so important to Rho that he is willing to risk alienating both his wife, his friends and his other love Pi to accommodate Sigma?
She has her own baggage to deal with, but with everyone else, especially Rho, dancing to her tune and catering to her insecurities, she doesn't have to do the work required to start unpacking that.
Is it possible to get Rho on this board to explain why this woman has him so under her spell? As things now stand, I don't see any reason for Sigma to change her behavior any time soon.
Me: bi female in my twenties
Dating: Moonlightrunner
Metamour: Windflower
The world opens up... when you do.
"Oh, oh, can't you see? Love is the drug for me." ~Bryan Ferry
"Love and the self are one . . ." ~Leo Buscaglia
Click here for a Solo Poly view on hierarchical relationships
Click here to find out why the Polyamorous Misanthrope is feeling disgusted.
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Missing link
From Conservapedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ed Poor (Talk | contribs) at 15:00, 5 April 2007. It may differ significantly from current revision.
"Missing link" is the term used to indicate a missing stage in the evolution of a species. The theory of evolution by natural selection claims that each species has evolved from another by insensible stages. Therefore, a continuous record of transitional forms should exist from the earlier form to the current form, each almost indistinguishable from those immediately before and after. Where such a transitional form is absent, it is referred to colloquially as a "missing link".


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South Corona Pet Hospital
1551 E Ontario Ave # 101
Corona, CA 92881
Corona, CA 92881
No photo available for this business
Business InformationAnimal Hospitals, Veterinarians
Customer Reviews (3 reviews)
Citysearch Useron Citysearch Apr 28, 2010
I have two dogs who have both been treated by this facility numerous times over the past 3 years. They've been treated for routine visits (... (more)
Citysearch Useron Citysearch Oct 31, 2008
This is part of an email I sent out to local people I know recommending South Corona Veterinary Hospital. Just to tag on here about a GRE... (more)
Citysearch Useron Citysearch Jan 02, 2008
I've only had one occasion, thankfully, to utilize the services of the - what seems to be - very fine vet in this office. It is NOT a group ... (more)


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2014 Peugeot 108 review
We test the new Peugeot 108, one of the new city car trio that includes the Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo. Here's how it stacks up to its siblings and the rest of the class...
The new Peugeot 108 is one of the new city car trio from Peugeot, Toyota and Citroen. If our drives of the latest Aygo and C1 are anything to go by, then it may have its work cut out in this rapidly expanding class.
However, the brand seems to have got its sales strategy right, and has tried to set the new 108 apart by pitching it squarely at the female buyers who make up the majority of city car sales. That means a wide range of bright colours, three interior themes and seven styling packs that include stickers for the exterior, patterned seat fabrics and dash stickers all for an additional £350.
The 108 is slightly longer than the old 107, with a bigger boot to help improve practicality. From launch it will be available as a three-door, five-door, and (for a reasonable £850) a Top! model, with a folding fabric roof.
Unlike the Aygo, there is a choice of three-cylinder petrol engines available. The 68bhp 1.0-litre from Toyota is available as a five-speed manual or with an semi-auto 'ETG' gearbox, but there is the option of Peugeot's own 80bhp 1.2-litre Puretech engine.
Whichever motor you choose, every version emits less than 100g/km of CO2.
What is the 2014 Peugeot 108 like to drive?
The city car class has seriously moved on since the arrival of the VW Up, Skoda Citigo and Hyundai i10, and the new 108 feels decidedly stuck in its ways by comparison.
Our biggest gripe lies with the 108's refinement. Both the 1.0- and 1.2-litre engines send a lot of buzz and vibration through the steering wheel, gearstick and seat bases, and it's a near constant irritation. Ultimately, the 108 is more refined than Toyota's Aygo, but its still some way behind the class leaders.
Driving on the motorway highlights further issues. Although the engine, wind and road noise are also better isolated than in the Aygo, they're still really noticeable. On a longer motorway journey you'll arrive feeling pretty worn out by it all.
We also drove the Top! version, and with the large fabric roof pulled back, there is a lot of buffeting and roar from the wind, and even at moderate speeds we soon found ourselves quickly shutting it again to allow the conversation inside to continue at a normal level.
Of the two engines we preferred the 1.0 litre, certainly for city driving. It feels very slow and needs to be worked hard, but its five-speed gearbox has a smoother action than the loose, notchy 'box in the 1.2, and it also seems to send less buzz through the pedals at idle. Bear in mind, though, that with two or more people on board, it will struggle on steep hills.
Accelerate hard in the 1.0-litre model when joining the motorway and it really does take too long to get going. Even with your foot to the floor the 108 builds speed very gradually, and once the power does arrive at high revs the engine note becomes really strained. The 1.2-litre engine is a little better in this regard because it doesn't need to be worked quite as hard.
As with the majority of automatic city cars, we'd avoid the 108 'ETG' if at all possible. The robotised manual is slow and clunky, often getting caught out when pulling away from the lights, or when you require a burst of speed – but it does at least only have a small impact on the official economy figures.
Drive along a typical stretch of bumpy UK road littered with potholes and speed bumps, and while the 108 never crashes over them, it does jostle its passengers around. It deals better with longer crests and dips, but never settles into a composed cruise.
This firmness would be less of an issue if the body control were better, but the 108 still leans over into faster bends, and runs out of grip pretty quickly in tighter turns. As a result it never feels as planted or reassuring as a Skoda Citigo or Hyundai i10, so it never feels quite as enjoyable to drive as those cars.
The steering is light and reasonably accurate, and although there is a bit of slack movement around the straight ahead, the tight turning circle and light controls make it easy to park or fit into tight gaps in traffic.
What is the 2014 Peugeot 108 like inside?
Good in parts. Even with its tiny exterior dimensions, there's loads of space in the supportive front seats, and enough head- and shoulder room to suit most passengers. Every version bar the entry-level Access trim has a height adjustable driver's seat, but the passenger seat is always fixed, and mounted oddly high in the cabin, so you feel perched on the car rather than inside it.
Space in the back suffers from the sloping roof, though. Even teenagers will find their knees pressed hard into the seats in front, and rear headroom on the fabric roof Top! model is very poor. Things are a little better in the hard-top version, but it still feels cramped compared with the best in this class.
Cars in this price range are always built down to a price, but the dash, door cards and centre console in the 108 are all covered in hard, scratchy plastics that are a constant reminder of that tight budget. Buyers have the option to add one of three interior themes; the different-coloured plastic inserts for the dash improve matters, but they're a £100 option even on the highest trim levels.
On all but the entry-level cars, the 108 features a simple 7.0-inch touch-screen system for controlling the infotainment, and it can also link to certain smartphones (but not the latest iPhone) and project a mirror image onto the screen, allowing you to use Google maps navigation, read your messages or play music.
Our experience with the system was largely positive; the display is bright and clear, but with the roof down on the Top! model the glare from the sun makes it impossible to read, and the screen would go blank if the phone went into sleep mode.
On solid-roofed 108s this is less of an issue, though, and the on-screen buttons themselves are big, bold and very responsive. Bluetooth and DAB radio are also both standard with the screen; you'd need to buy a top-of-the-range i10 to get Bluetooth, and you can't get DAB at all.
The load bay is larger than before, and with 180 litres of space there is room to squeeze in a pair of weekend bags behind the rear seats, or a small weekly shop. Fold the 50:50 split rear seat backs down and this space expands to 780 litres, but there is a big step in the boot, and the seatbacks lie at an angle.
Safety technology was another priority, so every 108 gets hill start assist to prevent it rolling away on a slope, electronic stability control and six airbags, although it's yet to be crash tested by Euro NCAP.
Peugeot says the most popular spec will be the mid-range Active model, which comes with a plastic steering wheel and gearknob, and no rev-counter (it's a £40 option) but does have electric front windows, that neat touch-screen, manual air-con, and 15-inch steel wheels.
Splash out a little more for the Allure and you get quite a few gadgets, including keyless entry and start, a colour reversing camera, a speed-limiter, foglights, chrome details and electric and heated door mirrors.
Should I buy one?
Peugeot has given its little city car a boost thanks to extra technology and wide variety of styling options available to customers, and it's certainly an improvement on the previous model.
However the class-leading Hyundai i10, Skoda Citigo and VW Up are better in almost every area, from passenger space to practicality and performance. They're offered for a similiar price, too, although they're not quite as well equipped as the Peugeot.
The 108's biggest issue is its refinement. Both its engines are thrashy and send a lot of vibration through the controls, and wind and road noise are a constant companion.
It's for that reason that, although it's better than its sister car the Toyota Aygo, it remains a decent, well-priced alternative choice rather than a class contender.
What Car? says...
**Skoda Citigo**
1.0 VTi 68 manual
Engine size
1.0-litre petrol
Price from
70lb ft
13.0 seconds
Top speed
Fuel economy
1.0 VTi 68 ETG auto
Engine size
1.0-litre petrol
Price from
70lb ft
15.9 seconds
Top speed
Fuel economy
1.2 Puretech 82 manual
Engine size
1.2-litre petrol
Price from
86lb ft
14.2 seconds
Top speed
Fuel economy


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Even though it doesn't hit retail shelves until November 5, M.I.A. has posted all 15 tracks of her new album Matangi to her VEVO account. It's been a long time coming. The album was originally given a January 2013 release date, and then another one in April. In the interim, M.I.A. released "Bring the Noize," produced by Surkin and Switch, as the album's first single in June. It was finally given the November date after M.I.A. badmouthed her label, Interscope, on Twitter for its repeated delays.
According to Rolling Stone, M.I.A. produced much of the album herself, but also collaborated with Danja, Hit-Boy, and Switch. As for its style, Matangi is a blend of genres — except for dubstep, that is. M.I.A. recently told NME, "In the last two years it's been cool to do dark shit. Everyone's been slowing your shit down and making you slur. That's not Matangi." Instead, there's the electro-driven hip-hop she's known for in "Bring the Noize" and "Bad Girls," and the R&B-ish rhytms of "Sexodus." Check out the whole album above. (Rolling Stone)


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Virtual Reality
40 Hour Charity Live Stream In VR
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5th August 8pm until 7th August 12pm
VRRelated is happy to announce that we will be running a continuous 40-hour live stream to raise money for the blind. (Twitch.tv/VRRelated)
The 40-hour stream from 5th August 8pm until 7th August 12pm (UTC) is the work of Jomas Benfell, who took it upon himself to set the wheels in motion for the event. Virtual Reality is an exciting new technology with a plethora of applications, some already discovered, but many still to be explored.
One of the things that we know about this expansive world that we inhabit, is that each person in it, has their own trials and tribulations. So when Jomas pitched us the idea of setting up a charity stream to raise money for those unable to experience VR, we were all for it.
The stream is taking place as of the 5th August 2016, and will be held over on our official Twitch.TV channel.
So far Jomas has managed to create a healthy interest from game developers and companies within this emerging industry. And, has been working closely to set everything in place. Jomas will also be hosting the stream with friends, where they will be engaging in a range of activities based around the VR content.
"Over the past three months I've been working on a Charity Stream, I wanted to raise $50000 for the Blind Foundation. But there's much more to it, I had wanted to make it on a $0 budget, with only the support from companies and friends." Jomas Benfell.
"Over the forty hours we're planning to not only play Virtual Reality games, but we're going to make a difference. Thanks to developers we've received 107 games to play throughout the stream and we've received over 200 games to giveaway to the viewers. Thanks to sponsors we've got over 300EUD worth of G2A vouchers, the HTC Vive, a VRReady PC, a venue for the stream, everything we could possibly need. We have it all on a $0 budget as a 15 year old. I'm thankful to those that have supported and sponsored this event. Furthermore, I'm thankful to those that have dreams, all dreams can be accomplished no matter your age or how much money you have. This stream is to create a difference, to raise $50000 for the Blind Foundation, to help those that don't have opportunities like the ones I have."
Special thanks to Intel for their super quick I7-6700K @ 4GHz, Gigabyte for their GTX 1080, VRRental for the HTC Vive and DXRacer for super comfortable chairs!
All proceeds generated during the event will be donated to The Blind Foundation. You can find out more about the charity's work over at their official website. If you would like to make any donations to the cause, then please head here
Join us over on Twitch.TV for our first ever, VR live stream.
VRRelated on Twitch
VRRelated is an online portal that brings focus to all aspects of the VR market and aims to publish and deliver all things Virtual Reality Related. From VRRelated you can expect to discover News articles, Video Presentations, opinion pieces and more.
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