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Hi guys! Wow, this chapter took a little while or what?! Hope you loooove it! Please remember to REVIEW REVIEW and REVIEW some more! I'm always looking forward to hearing what you guys think or want to let me know. Special thanks to, Sarah1324, Megan, Chocolate Dream, bob, casbreathemusic, Galadriel Numenesse, thehgirl13, Caramel March, and last but not least, the very literate monkeyCsaw! Please look all of them up and review their stuff (well, not bob and Megan, but thanks guys for reviewing anonimously) because they are all super awesome!
Anyway, I've found a perfect musical equation for Makenna's swerving feelings toward Jordan.
Demi Lovato's Lightweight
Glen Hansard's Take the Heartland
Yeah, both of those are extreme in their genre, so I thought that would be perfect to describe her awkward mixed emotions toward the sexy Jordan Aderi =3.
"Shit." I stated sullenly, pushing Jordan away from me. My body still longed to be so close to him, but I had to ignore it and begin on the tumultuous process of restarting my brain. It'd been fried from the time that our bodies had collided. I could tell that he was upset, and that he'd hoped he could finally pull a move on me. But why had Christina come in just then, like she had planned it all out in her head? Maybe I was being paranoid, but I seriously had a feeling that I was about to get threatened. "Shit, shit shit SHIT!" I groaned.
Jordan looked on as I roared and walked away from him, pacing in a quick-stepped circle around my discarded backpack, his thick arms crossed over his lean chest. His spicy fragrance still filled my senses, gradually calming me down. It was an extremely lucky break that no one stepped into the bathroom after that, because Jordan took it into his own hands to wrap his arms around me, which made my pulse jump again.
I took a step back from him guardedly, looking him up and down. I couldn't touch him without all of my thoughts fizzling and dying, and right now was the time that I had to keep my head straight. Jordan seemed confused that I was willingly panicking, and he shot me a look that told me so.
"No, no," I whispered to him, shaking my head vigorously as he came closer to me, like his touch could solve my problems. Something deep inside of me tried to convince me the same thing. "I can't."
I looked up at him pleadingly, staying a safe distance from him but unable to run away. "I've known you for less than two hours! I hallucinated about talking to a giant cat because I got hit in the head with some freaking rock, and now I'm imagining your damned voice in my head!" He looked around helplessly, trying to touch me but I avoided his every ploy to do so. I couldn't stand anything that wasn't normal. And I had a really great reason.
My birth had eaten up all of the life from inside of my mother. When I was conceived, and every day after, my mom took another drink of alcohol just to stay sane. She was the perfect mother that any girl would dream of until I turned about nine years old. The drinking began to affect her body in different ways. The chemical that had kept her even-headed while drinking the alcohol had worn off, and the depression that overwhelmed her with my birth, along with the mysterious disease, came back in an uncontrolled rush.
Instead of being the best Grade-A mother and wife anyone could hope for, she became an outrageous, abusive, drunk. She was now accustomed to drinking a lot each day, except now anger fueled it past what it used to be. It was horrible. Only Rhea noticed each day when I came to school with new scars. My father acted like it wasn't happening, like he wasn't stuck with a daughter who depended on a mother instead while he went off to work. She acted like a freaking picture of an angel whenever he got back, and he still had eyes only for her. He could have cared less about a scrawny thing like me.
Anyway, that's how Rhea and I met. She was the only girl that knew that I wasn't trying to be invisible. She had an Aunt who was abusive (not necessarily the level Mom had degraded to), and more or less understood my pain. We quickly became best friends, and it became somewhat almost normal to be beaten up by my mom only to go to school when innocent Rhea had a Band-Aid ready for me.
The beatings went on and escalated until my Dad became my hero again and noticed what was going on in his house while he was at his job. He had come to my rescue about two years ago. Neither of us had heard from my mother since.
All of a sudden, Jordan launched himself at me, closing me in to another one of the walls, a growl rising up from a hollow in the center of his chest. I felt it rumble the floor of the room, vibrating through me and causing my arms to shake.
His eyes showed me no mercy as they tried to appeal to me, hands propped up on the bathroom behind me, so depressingly near, yet he refrained from touching me. That still made me fell defenseless; being this close to him made my insides melt. I shook with the tension of our body heat mingling together in between us, and my knees felt weak. I would've collapsed if I wasn't trying to avoid the Jordan that was all around me.
"You will come with me, and I will try to explain everything to you," Jordan hissed in my ear slowly, muscles bunched as he held himself over me. His nose delicately skimmed my cheekbone, and I think I almost whimpered. Get a hold of yourself! I yelled in my head, attempting to crawl backwards up the wall to get away from him. My nails gouged out a layer of paint, but they didn't get me anywhere. Heavy breaths began to escape from my mouth. He was still too close! I couldn't understand anything that was happening! Everything was muddled. All that made sense was I should be frightened of this behavior, but I wasn't. Something made me numb.
"I'm not going anywhere with you! Sick bastard!" I panted, putting my hands on his chest, like I couldn't seem to resist. An electric current rocketed through me, warming me, drawing me closer to him, chest against chest, both heaving with the pressure that filled the room. Our bodies hummed in unison- so he felt it too? I tossed him off of me as quick as I could even though it tore me apart, escaping to the far side of the room, where his presence didn't overwhelm me as much.
Was I hallucinating from the shock or were Jordan's ears becoming slimmer and pointier on the side of his head? I could begin to see the tips coming out from beneath the shaggy blonde hair. His green orbs flashed at me angrily as he looked me up and down, appraising me. It looked like he couldn't hold something back anymore and was now furious at me for making him loose it in a bathroom. Abruptly, he turned heel and walked a few more paces away jerkily, like he could barely remember how. He scooped up my backpack faster than my eyes could follow, which made my jaw drop.
The protests died on my lips as his head whipped back around. Thin white fangs protruded from between his lips, looking dangerous and glinting in the fluorescent lighting. His nose had lengthened and become sharper, more angular. Feline eyes glowed at me, and a muffled gravelly voice hissed at me, "Hop on, princess, before I Change fully into a cat and rip you to shreds." His ears became even sharper, and his hair, unkempt from our previous encounter, began spreading down his tense shoulders. It all seemed like a mirage, created to keep me very, unerringly quiet. From across the room, I heard his bones popping as he groaned, face contorted into familiar inhuman features, set in a grimace.
"There's someplace that I want to show you," Jordan grabbed my upper arm roughly before I could say anything, and slung me over his shoulder. He got down on his hands and knees, pelt twitching. I barely had time to snatch my backpack up from the ground and try to open my mouth before he interrupted me.
"What the fuck are you doing on the…"
"What I really want you to understand is…" As he realized that we were talking on at the same time, his fist slammed into the ground and it made the room jerk. My body paralyzed as I saw the claws elongating out from his cuticles, making the skin of his hands unusually thick like the pads of a paw. All that I could think was, How the hell do I get out of here?!, but it was as if I was glued to the spot. He was shaping up to be a beautiful, ethereal nightmare that screwed my life and pulled at my heartstrings- and I could say that without knowing him a full day yet!
Suddenly, with me observing only out of sheer horror, Jordan began to Change. Muscles bubbled underneath the skin as clothes were replaced with a spotted pelt, muzzle elongating from his face, eyes becoming more feral than before. His ears rose to the top of his skull, and his spine stretched as it gained new lengths, whipping out as a tail from his body, bones covered by a silky layer of tawny brown, black, and spots of white. His shoulders roiled as I gripped him tighter, as my breath began to go whooshing out of my system. I couldn't even register that I was hyperventilating then. I was too dumbstruck by the impossible scene in front of me. His shoulders slimmed out considerably, but delivered their strength back to stocky legs that curled into large, flat paws. My knees pressed together against a lithe ribcage as I was drawn to place my hand on the top of his head.
The feeling was a little too natural- like I was used to riding on top of some man-boy-leopard-thing! I felt outraged, yet I couldn't stop my ministrations following the pattern of Jordan's fur.
Do you believe me now?
With a shriek that could shatter all of the glass off of the Empire State Building, I leapt off of his back and slammed into the ground. I still hadn't expected that anyone could enter my head. It was freaky! Unlucky for me, my head hit the edge of the sink on the way down, and that was when I realized that I was breathless. I could no longer inhale, and I felt like I needed to puke again.
For the fucking second time, I fell into a deep, mind-shattering darkness. Only this time, luminous eyes followed into my dreams.
. . .
When I came-to A-FREAKING-GAIN, my head registered no pain whatsoever. I felt uncharacteristically calm after my second freak-out in the bathroom today. However, I really didn't want to get up yet. I curled up onto my side, snuggling into something warm, firm, and soft. An unpleasant sensation filled me, and I waved it off until I recognized it as a hand prodding me gently.
Opening my eyes slowly, I was blinded when all that I could see was sunlight. I blinked it away reluctantly, holding a hand up to shade my face, hoping I would be able to visualize something soon. My hand was caught on something though, something large and warm that seemed unenthusiastic in the proposition of letting me go. Exasperated, I tugged it out eventually, earning an angry grunt from the thing I was securely tucked into.
Clearing the blur from my eyes, I saw that I was curled up into Jordan's luxurious human chest. One of his arms was wrapped around the crown of my shoulder, the other resting on his stomach. I'm sure that I was holding hands with him, probably resting on his thin stomach. His shirt was conveniently missing. Through the fog of waking up, I was able to think, Like I didn't see that one coming. It seemed like something that he would do to me.
He was propped up against a mossy green tree, and the sun's rays were dappling through the outstretched branches, draping us in a lime green light. A layer of beautiful, thick grass was what we were laying on, and tiny dandelions spotted the woods surrounding us. The heavy oak branches draped in lichen and sprouting new springtime growths were intertwined with each other, covering us in an elegant canopy.
For a second I was confused. I didn't know any forest that was near the school, did I? Was I dreaming about snuggling with Jordan in a bountiful forest while that monster in the girl's restroom demolishes my body? At the smug look he shot me, I decided that what I thought was doubtful.
"Are ya finally awake, Makenna?" Jordan's voice rang out in the tranquil silence of the grove of trees, causing a flock of birds to erupt in flight, a ruckus of a noise that startled me more than his voice did. Face flushing a bright beet red, I tried to scramble away from him, but I didn't get far because he stubbornly wouldn't let me go. I squirmed next to him uncomfortably, trying to escape. When he wouldn't let me on his own, I sighed and resigned, flipping over so I was also sitting against the cool bark of the tree, hand reuniting with his of its own accord.
"How the heck did I get here?" I disregarded his neutral question, airily looking around at the scenery instead, even though I was really trying to wrap my mind around what had happened in the bathroom.
Jordan let out a boisterous laugh. "So no, 'Good afternoon, babe!' from you, is there?" I flashed him the most pissed off look that I could manage, but it was tough drawing my eyes away from the nice scenery around me. In a place like this, it would be hard to have any negative feelings, even with Jordan here. It magnified the emphasis of the rightness I felt near him, and I was frighteningly calm that I liked being near this new boy. Instead, I let out a harrumph. His face then became deathly serious, and he brushed off my hand, standing up slowly only to look down at me. "I brought you here so I could tell you about everything about me. We don't come from this universe, Makenna."
I stared blankly at him, not really hearing anything that he'd said. Here, with him, I felt mute. My brain was vapid when I touched him, unsubstantial, thoughts devoid of any real depth. It was all raw magnetism that flew me to my feet, eyes narrowing at him.
"I know you aren't human." I said to him, blue eyes searching his face angrily, looking for a hint of trickery. He made me so mad. It seemed that he wanted to be an open book in front of me. There were no feelings that he wanted to shield, and that scared me. That just wasn't a natural thing to do. The admiration towards me was clear on his face. Jordan didn't seem too worried that I would run away on him. On the other hand, I was more than worried that I would bolt from this gorgeous predator before I could stop myself.
My shapeshifter snorted. "Is it that obvious?" he shook his head, chuckling softly. Jordan reached out sluggishly, toward my hand. He held it like he was afraid to break me, but looked at me like I was a revered object. "Anyway," he paused and led me a few paces in another direction, "there's a place that I have to take you to tell you all of this."
I was filled with a banal halcyon peace, like I would go along with anything that he said to me. The inside of me rebelled, and if it ever got out of this trance, I'd probably go psycho on him. I don't know if I was depending on it coming out, or waiting for some other part of me to block it out. "Is it far?" was all that I could ask.
His grip on my hand tightened and he pulled me forward. I practically floated after him.
"No," he said simply.
Jordan led me through the grassy forest at a pace I was comfortable with, telling me when to turn in the green maze, until we found an area he seemed satisfied with. It was a small, oval-shaped field half-open to the sky. Shafts of light beamed in at an angle, sending the dust motes right into my eyes. Arches of interlocked maple trees surrounded the grove, and a massive Oak tree towered over the other foliage. Covered by moss, it was hard to discern the bark from the leaves. The sight was really amazing- now I knew why Jordan wanted me here. He had a guess that it would most likely keep me quiet while he was explaining those "things" to me.
Dammit. That made sense.
The roots of the huge tree spread out wide, knotting into gnarly ridges the closer you got to the trunk. Jordan sat down, motioning for me to do the same. I plopped down into a dip between two roots, covered with the soft grasses. This place would be comfortable if we had to stay awhile. I would wait if an explanation was behind all of this… stuff that happened today.
He cleared his throat carefully, making sure that I was paying attention. Hand bunched in the grass, I asked him, "First of all," I took in a breath of the sweet scent of the crushed grass that had stained my palms, "Where are we? And how did you get me here?"
"I thought that the answer to the second question would be self-evident." He smirked at me, pointing behind him. I blushed furiously. So he'd carried me on his back all the way out here? I must really be this guy's foible. Besides his possessive anger issues. Well, that was even directed towards me. Maybe it was all about me, in his head. I wonder what could've made him this way… "And to the second, we are in the Grove of Tehkaryu, the past ShadowMaster."
I tried to open my mouth, but he silenced me with a look.
"Please ask the questions later. This is going to be a bit difficult for you to process." Obediently, and very unlike myself, I snapped my mouth closed. Jordan's green eyes glowed here, I noticed suddenly. They matched the color of the leaves of the tree that grew high above us, which was spectacular but strange. I held in the ShadowMaster query though, which made him nod in approval.
"I know that this won't make sense, but you saw in the bathroom. I don't come from the place that you call Earth. I come from an alternate plane called the ShadowLands. Those two planes, Earth and the ShadowLands, overlap each other directly. Something, though, causes the two to only interact at certain lines that intersect perfectly, small ruins that we call portals." Jordan rolled his eyes at me, before quickly melting into the form of a huge cat once again.
For some reason, I didn't freak out like the last time. His transition from human to beast was flawless and fast. I wondered if I'd caused him to change differently the first time or if he'd forced a slow process on his own. He seemed really in control of this animal, and I had to be impressed that it wouldn't have free rein.
One of the portals was on your roof, he continued in my mind, making me stir. With a whirl, he reverted back to the blonde boy I was becoming more used to, throwing me a wink. "But I think I totaled it by pouncing through your window. After a while, a portal can become broken, and the lines of our worlds will shift until they find a place to line up over again.
"The ShadowLands are governed by different sets of rules. One rule is to try not to murder every creature that gets in your way. The second would be to not cross the ShadowMaster while he is forgoing his will. The last is, if you are a ShadowCat, don't let the lust for your partner overtake you. You might know the ShadowCats better as shapeshifters. Or were-cats." He pointed at himself using his thumb, not able to suppress the cocky grin from spreading over his face.
"I'm one of the more powerful solitary ShadowCats that you would see ever, when you are ready to be taken into my lands. You are the key to me getting out of here, anyway."
I felt my face go slack as my insides boiled. How could I get him back into his imaginary fucking universe? Hopefully, I stared up at him with persuasive wide eyes. "Is there any way to send you back there now?"
Jordan regarded me with a new level of respect. "So the Grove doesn't curb your tongue entirely then, huh?" Propping himself up with his hands on his knees, he sneered at me evenly. "Funny as fuck, princess. Too bad I have to help you Ascend, then?"
I snorted at him. The spell that had captivated me into following him was no longer there. I was myself, not myself hidden behind some giant cat. I would be free to run as I pleased, but I wanted to find the answer to all of this madness. "Ascend to what? I haven't stooped as low as you yet."
He drew himself up to his full height, eying me like I was a piece of prey he thought he could play with. Hell no he didn't just look at me like that. Taking two broad steps toward where I stood, he looked down at me doubtfully, a crease forming where his mouth turned down. "As low as me? You think that I want to be on Earth with you?" I gulped. His chest was equal with my head, but I had no urge to push it away. All thoughts flew out of my mind as I studied the way the sunlight danced off of his smooth skin, and watched as it moved when he motioned his hand off to the side.
"How… how did I make you come here exactly?" I tried not to let my voice tremble but it just wouldn't work when he was near. My eyes traced his face hungrily, and I saw his jaw clench painfully as he saw me do so. He backed off, though I didn't really want him too.
"If you really want to know then," Jordan's voice seemed to have become a little huskier, and I saw his Adam's apple bob as he addressed me. "Just wait until I make you grow up."
That knocked me out of my reverie for sure. "I haven't grown up? I haven't grown up?! No, you listen to me were-cat! If I didn't have to grow up when I was nine years old, then I would still have a mother and father who would even look at me!" I stalked towards him, all nine years of pent-up rage beginning to tear me apart at the seams. "It's been a shitty two years since my Mom moved out and my Dad checked out from home permanently! All he does now is work, work, work. I am forced to do everything for myself! Do you hear me, Jordan?! Everything.
"I learned how to clean, cook, and sew since my Mom started beating me almost to death! I've been my own mother! Do you know what that's like?"
I saw his mouth open, eyes almost black with bitterness, but I didn't let him continue. "Of course you don't." I continued, turning around and ranting at a tree instead because I felt hot tears sting my eyes. I was full of more shame and resentment than any one creature should ever be. "You're mister freaking-assed perfect all of the time."
I realized that I was done when I heard myself gasp for air. When I could breathe again, I noticed a clicking noise coming from behind me, and slowly twisted my body back around. Jordan was ogling at me in amazement.
"What?" I snapped, crossing my arms around my chest, sensing as his gaze aroused a herd of goosebumps to parade down my arms, making a shiver run down my spine.
He let out a stiff laugh, awkward and full of more meaning than I thought one person could urge into a laugh.
"Nine years, nine months," he mused, shaking his head. "The unattainable is mine?"
"What is yours, Jordan?" I asked, voice becoming more soft as I approached him warily, afraid he would affect me like he did before. "What are you talking about?"
His head snapped back up to me, and he seemed worried.
"What I'm trying to say is," he paused, voice laden with emotions unknown, "Makenna." He approached me, catching me in his arms, making me almost delirious with pleasure. He held me against him softly, grabbing my chin with tender fingers, making us meet eye to eye. Squeezing me against him, I detected a hint of conceited self-assurance in his tone.
"You are not human."
Oh how I love writing cliffhangers. =D


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subset: commoncrawl


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Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., a division of Siemens AG (SI) recently entered into an agreement with pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. (PFE) to design, develop and commercialize diagnostic tests for therapeutic products across Pfizer's pipeline.
Under the agreement, Siemens will be one of Pfizer's collaborators to develop and provide in vitro diagnostic tests for use in clinical studies. Siemens will provide clinical diagnostic solutions for hospital and reference laboratories to enable diagnostics development. Focused on advancing personalized medicine, the Siemens Clinical Laboratory will develop companion diagnostic tests under the master agreement.
This is a win-win situation for both the companies. By teaming up with Pfizer, Siemens is likely to achieve the goal of developing innovative solutions for better patient care and thus shape the future of diagnostic medicine in a much more effective manner. On the other hand, the agreement enhances Pfizer's commitment to develop new precision medicines to address clinical needs and strengthens its market position.
Siemens Healthcare is one of the leading solutions providers to the medical industry, with products ranging from hearing instruments, diagnostic imaging systems, therapy equipment, and intensive care units to clinical and administrative IT solutions
Siemens, the parent company, is a German industrial conglomerate with interests in information services, automation and controls, medical equipment, power generation, transportation systems, automotive electronics, and lighting.
Siemens currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other companies in the industry that are worth mentioning include Daktronics Inc. (DAKT) and Garmin Ltd. (GRMN), both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Read the Full Research Report on SI
Read the Full Research Report on PFE
Read the Full Research Report on DAKT
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The Paradise Warrior Retreat collaborates with the Tristar Gym in Montreal on April 6 and 7, putting together one of the most exclusive MMA training
The Ultimate Fighting Championship's plan to stock up UFC 158 with a plethora of welterweights is already looking like a good idea, as Rory MacDonald
Take a deeper look back at UFC on Fox 5's Rory MacDonald vs. BJ Penn and Shogun Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson with the Fuel
UFC president Dana White led the calls for BJ Penn to hang up the gloves for good following his recent loss to Rory MacDonald, but
Rory MacDonald asked for it, and now he'll get his wish. Following a dominant win over B.J. Penn at UFC on Fox 5, Rory MacDonald
Rory MacDonald, with a win over B.J. Penn, continues to establish himself as one of the hottest prospects in the welterweight division. Is he the
Check out the Fox's video highlights of the UFC on Fox 5 fight between Rory MacDonald and BJ Penn from Saturday night's show in Seattle.
Rory MacDonald wants a rematch with Carlos Condit, and for his part Carlos Condit is happy to accept the fight if the UFC wants it.
Rory MacDonald is fighting for a few different reasons, but one of them isn't for the adoration of the fans.
Rory MacDonald talks about his dominant win over B.J. Penn, what he thought about the boos from the Seattle faithful and what he wants next
It was clear after Rory MacDonald defeated B.J. Penn at UFC on Fox 5 he only had one fight on his mind.
Rory MacDonald served everyone notice that he has officially arrived with his one-sided win over BJ Penn, and then he immediately called out Carlos Condit
The war of words between BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald heated up at the UFC on Fox 5 press conference on Thursday in Seattle.
There seems to a be a line forming of fighters that want to welcome Nick Diaz back to the Octagon when he's eligible to return
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Rory MacDonald is participating in additional drug testing ahead of his fight against BJ Penn at UFC on Fox 5, and admits it can be
Rory MacDonald is very familiar with Georges St-Pierre's next opponent, Carlos Condit, but he says he didn't need to offer up any advice to help
While it's not a done deal yet, signs are starting to point towards a UFC on Fox 5 slot for the welterweight showdown between B.J.
UFC president Dana White drops the bomb on unsuspecting reports: Rory MacDonald is out of the BJ Penn fight at UFC 152.
Rory MacDonald and B.J. Penn still want to fight one another despite their bout being canceled for the upcoming UFC 152 card in Toronto.
Just when UFC 152 finalized its trio of headlining fights, one of the top Canadian competitors is off the show
Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald both adamantly state they will not fight each other at any point, but are they headed down the same road
BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald will become the first two UFC fighters to submit to random blood and urine drug testing for eight weeks ahead
What is driving BJ Penn out of retirement into a UFC 152 showdown with Rory MacDonald?
Sometimes all it takes is the right opportunity and a fighter will jump on it, sometimes even drawing them out of retirement.
It's the age old debate of teammate vs. teammate, and the latest comes about as rising star Rory MacDonald gets closer and closer to the
Rory MacDonald would love another crack at Carlos Condit, but mostly he just wants to stay healthy so he can be much busier in 2012.
As much as anyone, Rory MacDonald wants to face the big names in his division, but he's happy to prove himself as he moves up


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Welcome to ANINE'S WORLD
A platform where I share inspiration about fashion, lifestyle, career and beauty, and where you get a glimpse of my personal life. Follow my journey as Creative Director for ANINE BING and catch daily doses of the life in the studio and how I work as a designer. Combining Scandinavian sartorial with Los Angeles ease, my ambition for the blog is to inspire you as I share insight into my everyday life where fashion meets business.


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Diane Mehta What's your take on being creative while working for big companies?
Daan Roosegaarde I'm a kind of hippie businessman, if you will. I'm looking for a balance between poetry and pragmatism, which I think should be the role of the designer/artist—to move away from opinions and to work towards proposals.
Mehta How did your collaboration with Heijmans Infrastructure on the Smart Highway come about?
Roosegaarde Our collaboration was typical of all the big companies who come to us and say, "Can you think about the future of our products?" And I generally respond, "No, we can work together to think about your process." With Heijmans, I forced them to work with us for three years and to come up with not one idea but three ideas.
Mehta Heijmans is an old-fashioned, traditional road manufacturing company.
Roosegaarde Right, which is the weird part about developing the Smart Highway with them, because it's pretty progressive and sustainable. But Heijmans had a big problem—8,000 people and a shrinking business. China's coming and they can do it cheaper. Heijmans needed to innovate and didn't know how. That's of course what we do at my studio, but we have no idea how to make roads. It's a kind of West Side Story of two gangs who don't really belong to each other but who have a common love or interest.
Mehta How did you end up with glowing paint for the Smart Highway?
Roosegaarde When I walked into the Heijmans offices, they were looking at putting solar panels on street lights to make them 10% less worse. I said, "Please stop, that's completely B.S. Throw everything away. I forced them to look at jellyfish for an hour. For me, it was all about how do they live under water and create their own light? They don't have solar panel or an electricity bill. What can we learn from their bioluminescence? That's when our studio went back to the drawing board and came up with the idea for glowing paint. The paint absorbs energy from sunlight and releases that energy by glowing in the dark at night.
Mehta Tell me about the "Yes but" chair.
Roosegaarde After several months of working with Heijmans, I discovered that some of the ideas we were considering they already had in their archives in the basement. There just wasn't a culture to accept those ideas. In a process like that, a lot of people are enthusiastic while others are more skeptical. They start every reply with the words "Yes but." I became so frustrated that I made a "Yes but" chair for them. The chair has voice recognition, so when you sit on it and say those horrifying, destructive words, you get a pretty intense little shock on backside of your butt. So these are the kinds of things we make to upgrade reality.
Mehta Does anyone actually sit in the chair?
Roosegaarde Of course! They're scared of us now. I like it.
Mehta Now you're figuring out how to use the photoluminescent paint for an entirely different project.
Roosegaarde We know our paint glows for eight hours. I figured, since we know so much, why not merge it with something different? So now we're teaming up with biologists. There are a lot of dark spaces in the world—and a lot of very bright spaces where those particular lights are bad for nature or animals—so we'd like to make more organic light.
Mehta How does it work?
Roosegaarde Like a jellyfish, what we develop would create its own light because it would be bioluminescence-based. As an artist and inventor, I'm very interested in making proposals of how our world should look. There's dream or ideology, but there's also a desire to build and make things happen. They're artworks and designs but they're also proposals for a future world.
Mehta How does your creative process evolve?
Roosegaarde It starts with an obsession. I'm a voluntary prisoner of my own imagination. I was into fashion, so I made the Intimacy dress that turns transparent when you get aroused. Then I was into clubbing, so I made a dance floor that generates electricity through movement. Then I got into highways.
I'm pretty determined, once I come up with an idea, to team up with people who make it happen. So we start with an idea, make a prototype, and usually clients and money come after that. Ours is the soft capital, the story. We then find a context in which to operate and make our own mark, not the mark the client wants. So a client might say, "We want something green." After three months, they'll say, "We like grass." They're trying to figure out what they want, and that's why they come to us.


text:
Servingtone Surname Ancestry Results
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South Sound gas prices have fallen more than five cents a gallon since this time last week and appear, at least for now, headed below $4 a gallon.
According to the News Tribune's Gas Deal Finder, the average price today was $4.053 in the Tacoma area.
Gas prices here hit 4.11 a gallon last week before dropping again.
But prices have descended this fall before only to bounce upward again. On September, 26, for instance, local prices averaged $3.97 a gallon, but they moved upward in response to refinery and pipeline problems in California.
Some local motorists report huge differences in prices at local stations. The lowest price in the area is $3.82 at a Bonney Lake Fred Meyer. That compares with $4.29 a gallon for gas in nearby Buckley. That's nearly 50 cents a gallon difference.


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"Miracles or Coincidences" is a recollection of the author's journey and how the M.I.R.A.C.L.E. steps can transform the reader's life.
REDHEAD, Australia (PRWEB) October 30, 2013
Many people consider miracles to be a thing of a bygone era. But author Geraldine Moran presents a fresh look at an age-old topic in her new book "Miracles or Coincidences: Miracles Do Happen!" (published by Balboa Press). Moran posits that miracles happen in the world constantly, but it is up to individuals to recognize and harness the power of those miracles – something she desires to help readers accomplish through this book.
"Geraldine explores in one book the secrets that have taken me years of searching to find. Read and follow the (M.I.R.A.C.L.E.) steps and watch the doors of your wildest dreams open wide," said Fiona Jones, bestselling author of "Mr. Millionaire."
An excerpt from "Miracles or Coincidences":
"Throughout civilization we have seen great achievements, and our times are no different, and we are still trying to find the way to complete our own lives on this planet. Take the initiative in your life and not only will your own life change, but like those ripples of so many before us, we can inspire the future."
"Miracles or Coincidences" is a recollection of the author's journey and how the M.I.R.A.C.L.E. steps can transform the reader's life.
"Miracles or Coincidences"
By Geraldine Moran
Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 224 pages | ISBN 9781452581309
Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 224 pages | ISBN 9781452581286
E-Book | 224 pages | ISBN 9781452581293
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Geraldine Moran is a success coach with a wealth of life experiences under her belt. She started her professional career as a lawyer, then moved to psychology and gained a master's degree in analytical psychology. Geraldine works as a catalyst for change and helps people drive beyond their perceived limits and achieve their goals. Helping other people has been at the heart of Moran's motivation. She founded and is CEO of a nonprofit that assists at-risk youth and she co-authored one of the books in the Paul Blackburn's "Monkey See Monkey Don't" series.
Balboa Press, a division of Hay House, Inc. – a leading provider in publishing products that specialize in self-help and the mind, body, and spirit genres. Through an alliance with indie book publishing leader Author Solutions, LLC, authors benefit from the leadership of Hay House Publishing and the speed-to-market advantages of the self-publishing model. For more information, visit balboapress.com. To start publishing your book with Balboa Press, call 877-407-4847 today. For the latest, follow @balboapress on Twitter.


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Navy Lawyer's Guantanamo Leak Trial Begins
The military trial has begun for U.S. Navy lawyer Matt Diaz, who is accused of leaking classified information to a civilian human rights lawyer. Diaz gave the names of 550 Guantanamo detainees to an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The prosecutor told the jury that on Jan. 2, 2005, Lt. Cmdr. Matt Diaz sat in his office at Guantanamo Bay late at night, logged into his classified computer — and called up a spreadsheet: 39 pages containing the names of all 550 detainees at the prison camp, along with their serial numbers, nationalities and other data.
The prosecutor stood in front of the jury and held up a Valentine's Day card with a picture of a droopy-eyed Chihuahua.
"The accused cut the document so the nation's secrets would fit inside this card," he said. Diaz dropped the envelope in the mail on the last day of his six-month assignment at Guantanamo, the prosecutor said.
The defense team acknowledges that Diaz sent that Valentine to Barbara Olshansky, a civilian human rights lawyer.
But the defense lawyer told the jury, "Diaz did not send classified information — even if the government intended to classify it."
The defense says that because the document was not marked "Secret," it was not classified. That's half of the argument. The other half is about intent. For Diaz to be guilty of the crime, he has to have intended to harm the United States or advantage another country. His lawyers say Diaz had no such intent.
The first witness was Olshansky, the human rights lawyer who received the Valentine from Diaz. She heaved a big sigh as she walked to the front of the courtroom.
Olshansky said that when she got the Valentine, she didn't know what the document was. There was no indication that the spreadsheet came from the government. But the postmark was from Guantanamo, so she wondered whether the names were detainees.
The roster is public now, but it wasn't two years ago. Olshansky had been asking the government for the names, hoping to name the detainees in her lawsuit on their behalf. But the Pentagon had been resisting.
Olshansky testified that she didn't know the information was secret, but she gave it to the judge overseeing her detainee lawsuit. It then went to court security personnel, who conducted an investigation.
After fingerprint and computer analysis, the arrows pointed to Diaz.


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Designed by KJH Web Design
© www.dover-kent.co.uk 2000 - 2016
Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom
Biggin Street
Biggin Street takes its name from the Biggin Gate in the old
town wall
. The street runs from the site of this gate (at the
north-west corner of
St Mary's
Churchyard) to the Maison Dieu.
The Biggin Gate was demolished in 1762 as the old gateway
was so narrow an 18th century stagecoach could hardly pass
through. Two of the town's oldest and most historic buildings,
Maison Dieu
Maison Dieu House
, are on Biggin Street,
together with the town's
War Memorial
For centuries Biggin Street was the main road out of the town
to Canterbury and London, although in places it was very
narrow. In the last week of May 1893 a traffic census was taken
in the street during which time 9,440 ordinary light and heavy
vehicles, 908 cycles and bath chairs and 446 horses, passed
along the street. Of this 10,794, all passed through the
narrowest part of the street, 6,749 continued up past the
Maison Dieu, with the remaining 4,045 turning up Folkestone
Road. This number would not have been so bad if it was spread
evenly over the day but most of the traffic was crowded into
two hours every day.
The street was so narrow in places that a hand cart parked in
the road or a goods vehicle delivering to a shop could cause a
line of traffic to build up the length of the street. The decision
was made by the Corporation to widen the road by demolishing
the buildings on the western side of the street and rebuilding
further back allowing a more convenient width of road. Many of
these late Victorian buildings survive, and Biggin Street now
forms the main shopping street of the town.
A Brief History of Dover
The Arms of Dover
The Origin of Dover's Name
Roman Dover
The Cinque Ports
The First World War
The Second World War
Dover in the Census
Map - Roman Dover
Map - Town Walls
Map - 16th Century
Map - 19th & Early 20th Century Maps
Map - First World War Bombs and Shells
Map - Second World War Bombs and Shells
Map - Dover Tramways
Dover Castle
Fort Burgoyne
The Western Heights
Archcliffe Fort
The Admiralty Pier Turret
Dover Harbour
Dover Corporation Tramways
The Seafront
Sea Bathing
The Promenade Pier
Granville Gardens
The Hippodrome Theatre
The Granada Cinema
The Odeon Cinema
The Lord Warden Hotel
The Burlington Hotel
The Grand Hotel
The Dover Stage Hotel
Connaught Park
Kearsney Abbey
Louis Bleriot
Hubert de Burgh
King Charles II
Charles Dickens
Queen Elizabeth I
King Henry VIII
Admiral Keyes
C H Lightoller
Admiral Ramsay
Charles Rolls
Thomas Tallis
The Unknown Warrior
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Matthew Webb
Duke of Wellington
People of Dover
Dover in Literature, Diaries and Song
About this Website
Library and Museum
Links and Places to Vist
Books About Dover
Email Us


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No Bads Allowed is currently looking for well geared and experienced applicants of the classes below. We are a progression oriented guild on the Kilrogg server who managed to clear all of Hyjal and BT 4 weeks after forming. Our first and foremost goal is always to doing better as a guild and a raid, personal goals will always be tertiary to the goal of the whole.
We offer a few perks to full time members including: all enchants (including gold for helm and resist enchants), repairs paid on progression nights, and MOST consumable.
Raid Times: Tuesday - Friday, 5:30pm - 9:30pm, Pacific Time
Looking For:
Arms Warrior x1
Enhancement Shaman x1
Mage x1
Resto Shaman x1
Those are high need classes, but if you feel like you would be a good fit, feel free to apply and we can probably make room for you.
We are looking for people who want to raid, we do not want bench warmers or people who show up 30 seconds before the raid starts and log the second it ends. We need dedicated raiders that want to be part of a team, have a desire to see Kil'jaedan dead and will do whatever it takes to accomplish this goal.
As mentioned above, if you are a well geared, experienced and quality players, we want an application from you. We can always make room for great players who have the same goals that we do.
You can post an application at http://nobadsallowed.com/forum/index.php. Our website is a work in progress (old one died) but you can find a bit more info about us there. Additionally, you can contact Staver, Bobthecow, Citrate or Jenaveeve in game. Any guild member can also provide information or point you in the right direction.


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April 2009
- College News: Satellite Teaching Facility
- College News: Blood Bank
- Young Alum Profile: Ashley Shelton
- Research: Leela Noronha
- Student Activities: Pedal for Pets
In Brief
- November 2015
- August 2015
- April 2015
- January 2015
- November 2014
- August 2014
- April 2014
- January 2014
- November 2013
- August 2013
- April 2013
- January 2013
- November 2012
- August 2012
- November 2011
- August 2011
- April 2011
- August 2010
- April 2010
- November 2009
- August 2009
- April 2009
Bridging Passions and Stages, Purposes and Phases:
Behind the Scenes with Dr. Leela Noronha
Dr. Leela Noronha grew up in rural West Virginia and spent a lot of time on her grandparents' farm, and her parents were in the human medical field. Veterinary medicine, it seems, was a natural bridge between the worlds she knew and loved.
But exactly what path in the wide-open field of veterinary medicine was not readily clear. As an undergraduate biochemistry major, Dr. Noronha had the opportunity to do research, and she worked for a period with Pfizer, as a technician conducting cancer research.
"Research has always been appealing," said Dr. Noronha. "I enjoy basic research because it answers questions on so many levels—from the genetic level to the systemic level. I struggled, though, with whether I should continue my research career or pursue my veterinary degree."
Ultimately, Dr. Noronha decided that to be the most effective veterinary researcher, she needed to first solidify her skills and gain a perspective for various animal health and welfare issues and challenges that face pet owners. She graduated from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 2001 and spent four years in mixed animal private practice outside of Washington, DC.
"Being responsible for clinical cases complemented my formal veterinary education and expanded my understanding of medicine in ways that laboratory experience could not," said Dr. Noronha. "I am a better scientist today because of my enhanced appreciation of health and disease. Patient care also furthered my education in the 'bench-to-bedside' process of medical science. Clinical experience provided me with a critical knowledge base from which to pursue my ultimate career goal of being a biomedical scientist participating in translational research programs."
Ready to immerse herself in the challenge and discovery of research, Dr. Noronha came to Cornell in 2005 and enrolled in the graduate program in Immunology. Funded by a training grant for comparative medicine, the program is designed to bridge the valley that often forms between practical medicine and research. Through this program, she completed three rotations, all with equine experts at the College:
- With Dr. Doug Antczak, Dorothy Havemeyer McConville professor of equine medicine, she studied mechanisms of maternal-fetal tolerance, performing ectcopic trophoblast transplant surgeries in horses;
- With Dr. Klaus Osterrieder, former Cornell professor of virology, she studied immune evasion by Equine Herpes Virus-1, evaluating expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules in virus-infected cells;
- With Dr. Bettina Wagner, assistant professor of immunology, she generated a panel of monoclonal antibodies, performing mouse immunization, hybridoma fusion, and clone evaluation, as well as flow cytometry and cell sorting.
Today, Dr. Noronha works with Dr. Antczak, combining her passion for horses with her desire to conduct research, and explains that she has a particular interest in equine immunology.
"Dr. Antczak's lab offers tremendous resources," said Dr. Noronha, explaining the Dr. Antczak has been an inspiring mentor. "The horse whose DNA was used to sequence the equine genome is here; Dr. Antczak maintains a unique herd of horses that have been specially bred to be homozygous at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region of their genome, which enables interesting immunology studies; Don Miller has developed an equine microarray, a very powerful tool to study gene expression; and I have access to reagents that help probe cell activity."
Dr. Noronha is using these tools to study the immunological tolerance of a mother to her fetus. During pregnancy, the mother tolerates – and even nurtures – an organism comprised of her own and foreign genetic material. Dr. Antczak's lab has raised this question: why does the mother not reject this foreign tissue as bodies frequently do with organ transplants?
"With transplants, doctors wait for the perfect genetic match," said Dr. Noronha, adding, "and, still rejection is an issue and the recipient must take immunosuppressant drugs forever. The goal of our research is to gain a detailed understanding of the immunological mechanisms of maternal-fetal tolerance. Such information can lead to applications in fields as diverse as infertility, contraception, transplantation, cancer, and auto-immune diseases."
More specifically, Dr. Noronha's research with Dr. Antczak will help researchers understand how to nurture some foreign materials (like organ transplants) and how to eliminate other foreign bodies (like cancer tumors).
Dr. Noronha's work is funded with a National Research Service Award, granted by the National Institutes for Health. She is one of three women equine researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine to hold such a prestigious award that is designed to bridge a researcher from mentorship to independence.
"Ultimately, I want to be an academic researcher at a vet school where I can do basic research in partnership with clinicians and the veterinary community," said Dr. Noronha. "Basic research—my research—has the power to help humans and animals. While the application might not be readily apparent at the molecular or experimental level, it is at the root of delivering the life-saving drugs that clinicians need to serve their patients."


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Artificial Intelligence: Armageddon or Nirvana?
"I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary, and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things." –Douglas Adams I recently read Tim Urban's blog post "The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence," and it blew my mind. You see, if artificial intelligence (AI) evolves to the point described in Urban's story, then AI machines will become way more intelligent than the smartest humans on the planet. This notion gives some people nightmares…
Link to Full Article: Artificial Intelligence: Armageddon or Nirvana?
Artificial Intelligence: Armageddon or Nirvana?


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Greenpeace scientist Dr. Rianne Teule measures radioactive levels of a device from the nearby Tuwaitha nuclear facility. The device, abandoned on a roadside, contains yellow powder that is 1000 times background levels of radiation.
We are calling for a full assessment of the situation at Tuwaitha and other nuclear sites in Iraq. Find out what we discovered on our trip in June and July 2003.
One member of the Iraq team writes, "How do you tell someone they can't stay in their own home anymore? How do you look someone in the eye when you know that what little they have, they should abandon, even though they have nowhere else to go? We had to do that today. Another day looking for nightmares, another day finding them..."
1 - 10 of 5156 results.


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Even when I was running 30 plus miles a week last Fall while marathon training, I didn't lose weight. And no, it isn't muscle. Running requires increased food intake (fuel) so, ideally, everything balances out. I confess to rewarding myself while training with some ice cream, cake, french fries and chips…sometimes all before noon!
While I don't eat like that every day, I don't run 30 miles every week either and a cookie (or two or three) here, a slice of pizza (or two, no not three) there plus lower weekly milaege has added up to some "winter weight" .
So, it's time to do a little spring cleaning of my diet and take a few pounds off. I find it very difficult to diet while seriously training so this is a good time. I am getting in daily exercise but not training hard enough to need excess fuel.
Anyone care to join me in a weight loss challenge? We have 10 weeks until Memorial day!


text:
The Cobweb Orchestra is a multi-award* winning open-access community orchestra based in the North of England.
We welcome players of all standards to our weekly meetings at eight venues between the Scottish Borders and North Yorkshire, and to our programme of study days, residential courses and concerts throughout the region and as far afield as Italy and Hungary.
We are a friendly and welcoming group that exists so that people can enjoy playing music together. It is open to anyone who wants to come along and join in, whether they have just started learning an instrument, have been playing for years, or haven't played for years.
* Gramophone Award for Music in the Community 2011
Voluntary Arts England EPIC Award for Innovation 2011
The Cobweb Orchestra
Registered Charity No. 1118758


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GEF Research Impact Award
Award Announcement
GEF Research Impact Award
Deadline: Wednesday, March 15th, 2017
The GEF Research Impact Award recognizes outstanding student achievement in Psychology research and scholarship, and is awarded annually in the spring to the UTM Psychology Graduate student who has published the most significant paper in the preceding calendar year.
This award serves to showcase the high quality of graduate research in Psychology at UTM, and acknowledge the student productivity and innovation that contribute to U of T's standing as a world-renowned researchuniversity.
- Submissions must be peer-reviewed published articles presenting original work (e.g., new data and results, equations/theories, resources or methods).
- The student must have taken a leading role in the published work either as first author or co-first author.
- The majority of the research in the paper must have been conducted while the student was in UTM Psychology. Present and former students are both eligible to win the award so long as their paper was published in the preceding year.
A student can submit any paper published in the preceding year. Along with the paper submission, a letter of nomination from the student's supervisor or a faculty member in the department must be included.
Papers will be judged on demonstrated:
- Significance/implications for theory, practice, and policy
- Originality, innovation, and potential impact
- Appropriateness, application, and rigor of methodology
- Quality of data collection/analysis and research findings
The winner, plus two runner-ups, will be selected by a committee of three faculty members and one graduate student representing the breadth of research interests in UTM Psychology. Recognized students will receive a cash-prize ($500 and $100 for first place and runner-ups, respectively) and winners will be listed on a plaque displayed on the GEF Research Impact Award board. Nominees are expected to attend the award ceremony in March.
Paper and a short letter of nomination should be submitted to the GEF Research Impact Committee by Wednesday March 15, 2017. Send entries to firstname.lastname@example.com.
If you have questions about this award, please contact Samantha Mahabir at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Ashlyn Swift-Gallant
Swift-Gallant, A., Coome, L. A., Ramzan, F., & Monks, D. A. (2015). Nonneural Androgen Receptors Affect Sexual Differentiation of Brain and Behavior. Endocrinology, 157(2), 788-798.
Diana Peragine (Director, GEF Research Impact Comittee)
Dr. Brett Beston (Judge, GEF Research Impact Committee)
Dr. Norman Farb (Judge, GEF Research Impact Committee)
Dr. Loren Martin (Judge, GEF Research Impact Committee)


text:
Hi everyone! Linda here and I'm so excited to be with you here today as a special guest for Noor! Design U.K.
When the lovely Tracy asked me if I would like to join the team for a guest spot I couldn't wait to get creating and I was sent a bunch of lovely goodies to play with.
The With Love papers caught my eye right away with their lovely tones and I knew just the image to use with them and duly coloured her with some distress ink markers in complementary shades.
I went for a bit of a love letter theme here and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
Love this pretty butterfly die, I've listed all my items at the end of my post.
The Love Mail stamp from the Paper Art Valentine set really went well with my chosen theme, I used the Kraft Art leaves, but wanted them white, so I slathered them with plenty of gesso.
I do hope you like my make for today and I will see you again next week for some more inspiration!


text:
Report NEP-HME-2012-09-16This is the archive for NEP-HME, a report on new working papers in the area of Heterodox Microeconomics. Frederic S. Lee issued this report. It is usually issued weekly.
Subscribe to this report: email, RSS or Twitter.
Other reports in NEP-HME
The following items were announced in this report:
- Allen N. Berger & Thomas Kick & Klaus Schaeck, 2012. "Executive Board Composition and Bank Risk Taking," Working Papers 12004, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
- J. H. Ll. Dewhurst, 2012. "The Distribution Dynamics of Output Multipliers in Scotland 1998-2007," Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 270, Economic Studies, University of Dundee.
- J. H. Ll. Dewhurst, 2012. "The Growth in Inter-connectedness in the Scottish Economy, 1998-2007; a disaggregated analysis," Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 271, Economic Studies, University of Dundee.
- Johansson Magnus & Rani Jeanne Dang & Rick Middel, 2012. "Actions driving and legitimizing radical innovations in a large firm," Post-Print halshs-00727515, HAL.
- MARUKAWA Tomoo & KOMAGATA Tetsuya, 2012. "Catch-Down Innovation in Developing Countries and the Strategy of Japanese Companies: The Case of Karasawa Seisakusho, Ltd. in the Chinese electric bicycle industry (Japanese)," Discussion Papers (Japanese) 12029, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
- Tony Dobbins & Alexandra Plows & Huw Lloyd-Williams, 2012. "Labour precariousness and make do and mend after redundancy at Anglesey Aluminium: critiquing Human Capital Theory," Working Papers 12007, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
- Vivas-Augier, Carlos & Barge-Gil, Andrés, 2012. "Impact on firms of the use of knowledge providers: a systematic review of the literature," MPRA Paper 41042, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Liqiu Zhao, 2011. "Markups and Agglomeration: Price Competition versus Externalities," Working Papers VIVES Research Centre for Regional Economics 22, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business, VIVES Research Centre for Regional Economics.
- Kozo Harimaya & Takao Ohkawa & Makoto Okamura & Tetsuya Shinkai, 2012. "Sales-Maximization vs. Profit-Maximization: Managerial Behavior at Japanese Regional Banks 1980-2009," Discussion Paper Series 94, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised Sep 2012.
- John Schmitt & Janelle Jones, 2012. "Bad Jobs on the Rise," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2012-23, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
- Dan Bogart, 2012. "Profiting from Public Works: Financial Returns to Infrastructure and Investment Strategies during Britain's Industrial Revolution," Working Papers 121304, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics.


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The Figline Estate expands over approximately 140 hectares of one of the most striking areas in the Tuscan countryside: the Chianti region.
A property of the Ferragamo family, the Estate is composed of one main villa, which dates back to the Renaissance, and six farmhouses, recently restored with utmost attention to every detail. All of the properties have been furnished with Salvatore Ferragamo fabrics, remaining faithful to the authentic Tuscan style. A Renaissance chapel and the farmers' crafts museum complete the Estate.
Villa della Torre is an independent 15th Century villa, recently redecorated, respecting the need for practicality and comfort, it is built on two levels in addition to the tower. On the ground floor there is the large entrance with dining area, the lounge with fireplace, and a guest bathroom. The kitchen and the breakfast room complete the ground floor. From the breakfast room there is access to the loggia, ideal for al fresco lunches and dinners. On the first level there is: reading area, the blue double bedroom with en suite bathroom, with bathtub and walk-in closet; a yellow double bedroom with en suite bathroom, with bathtub; the twin bedroom with en suite bathroom, with bathtub. In the tower there is a twin bedroom overlooking the Estate with a spacious wardrobe and a bathroom with shower. All the property has terracotta tiled floors, and beamed ceilings.
On the ground floor there is a residence for the gardener, note that this does not face the property in any way that might disturb the privacy of the guests.
All the bedrooms of the villa are air conditioned through fan coils.
This is a nice 4 bedrooms villa located close to Florence and not far from the highway what allows the customers to move easily around the Florence and Chianti area. The villa with its 4 bedrooms and 3,5 bathrooms is perfect for a family holiday.
The property can only be booked from Saturday to Saturday.
Pricing Information:
Included in the Price: Utility bills: electricity, water, gas for domestic use; air conditioning; final cleaning; swimming-pool and garden maintenance; Internet wi-fi; swimming-pool; private parking.
Excluded from the Price: Heating charges (meter reading); City tax .
Security Deposit: A deposit of 1.000,00 € is requested at check-in. It will be returned after check-out in full, subject to deduction for damage caused.
This apartment for rent is not a hotel, agritourism, B&B or similar, and therefore by law, extra services similar to those you may find in these types of accommodations, such as a reception, concierge or security, receiving mail, provision of meals and drinks, cleaning and change of linen during your stay, and amenity kits with soaps etc. are strictly prohibited.
APE energy certification level: G 132.5 kWh/m2 per year
Several parking spaces available.
The Estate is located around 1 km from the town of Figline Valdarno, where all the essential amenities (shops, banks, restaurants, post office, and hospital) can be found. The location is particularly convenient as it allows you to reach Florence in 30 minutes (28 km).
More facilities:
Air conditioning
Park (500 m²)
Swimming pool (13 x 6 m)
Satellite TV
Fully equipped kitchen
Coffee machine
Various serving dishes
Bedroom, bathroom, and pool linens
Booking conditions
- Inclusions Initial cleaning
Available methods of payment:
Wire transfer
Credit Card
- Check-in time: 16:00 - 19:00
- Check-out time: 09:00 - 11:00
- Cancellation Policy The full rental amount paid will be retained.
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Villa Il Gelsomino 14 More info about
Reggello, Florence
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Villa Accioly 11 + Villa Pozzo Antico More info about
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SPECIALISTS IN FINDING YOUR PERFECT HOME Email us!


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NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- The annual Bra-Ha-Ha at the MacArthur Mall Show and Auction wrapped up in Norfolk over the weekend.
13News Now Traffic Reporter Ashley Smith emceed the event.
Designers submitted just about 300 creative bra designs. All of the money raised goes towards the Chesapeake Regional Health Foundation to help the brave women fighting breast cancer, and for underinsured women to receive free mammograms.
13News Now won the "Best Business Bra" award.
You can check out the exhibit at the mall all week.
Congrats to #13NewsNow! The #TGIT bra WON the Business Category at last night's @TheBrahaha Awards Show & Auction at @macarthurcenter! pic.twitter.com/kUUIkoAYaW— Ashley Smith 13News (@13AshleySmith) October 3, 2016
PHOTOS: Bra-Ha-Ha 2016 winners


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PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Chef Bob Hirasawa from Farm Fresh brings some Asian-inspired dishes to The Hampton Roads Kitchen: Hibachi Beef Teriyaki, Sunomono (Cucumber Salad), Coconut-Pineapple Rice and some delicious desserts you can only find at Farm Fresh.
Farm Fresh
Locations Across Hampton Roads
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Hibachi Beef – Teriyaki
Serves 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour (Marinating) Cooking: 15 minutes
Flat Iron Steak 1 each
Teriyaki Sauce:
Soy Sauce 1 Cup
Sake Wine ½ Cup
Chicken Stock ½ Cup
Brown Sugar ¼ Cup
Chopped Garlic 2-3 Cloves
Fresh Ginger Juice 3 Tbs.
Thinly Sliced Scallions 2 Stalks
Toasted Sesame Seeds 2 Tbs.
- In sauce pan, combine the Teriyaki Sauce ingredients, mix well and heat to low boil, reduce heat and simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Allow sauce to cool to room temperature.
- Pour over Flat Iron Steaks, marinate for at least 1 hour to overnight.
- Heat grill or broiler.
- Remove beef from marinade, transfer marinade to sauce pan and heat to simmer and allow marinade to simmer and thicken while you cook the Flat Iron Steaks.
- Cook Steaks on a charcoal or gas grill or under a broiler.
- Once steaks are cooked to your liking, allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. (Slice across the grain of the steaks)
- Pour some of the sauce over the steaks, save the rest to be served on the side.
- Garnish with Sliced Scallions and toasted Sesame Seeds.
Cucumber Salad (Sunomono)
Yield: About 4 Portions Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cucumber (thinly sliced) 2 each
Carrot match sticks ¼ cup
Salt 2 tsp.
Rice Wine Vinegar 1/2 Cup
Mirin 2 Tbs.
Sugar ½ Cup
- In bowl sprinkle salt over cucumber slices and mix well, let sit for 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly with cold water. Add carrot sticks.
- Combine rice vinegar, mirin and sugar, pour mixture over cucumbers and carrots mix well, allow to sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
Coconut-Pineapple Rice
Yield: 8 servings Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes.
2 Tbs. Canola Oil
½ Cup Diced Onion
2 Cups Uncooked Long Grain White Rice
2 Cans Coconut Milk
1 Cup Pineapple Juice
1 Cup Crushed Pineapple
1 Cup – divided Toasted Coconut (reserve for garnish)
- In large pot, heat Canola Oil over medium-high heat.
- Stir in Onions cook for 5 minutes until Onions turn clear.
- Add the Rice, stir, then the Coconut Milk, Pineapple Juice and Crushed Pineapple.
- Stir and bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, cover.
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and add ½ of the toasted Coconut.
- When ready to serve, top each serving with toasted Coconut.


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Utah Utes vs Oregon State Beavers Betting Matchup Report
Oregon State Beavers vs Utah Utes Odds
Huntsman Center features an NCAA basketball betting clash between the host Utah Utes and the visiting Oregon State Beavers in college hoops action on Thursday.
Utah will face the 13-16 Beavers, who own a 12-11-2 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Utes are 11-11 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Beavers are 9-14 favoring the OVER.
View Oregon State vs Utah Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
Utah opened as 1-point favorites in this college basketball tilt over at 5Dimes but the number may be on the move. Watch for the opening total as well at BetOnline.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 126 (Utes) and the No. 133 (Beavers) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAB power rank. A 70-68 result in favor of the Beavers has been projected by the scores prediction engine.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Utah's No. 269-ranked offense, averaging 63.6 PPG, against a Beavers defense that ranks No. 269 at 70.5 PPG. The Utes field goal percentage has averaged 43.9% so far, less than the Beavers marksmen have achieved on the year, 44.9% per game.
Defensively, Oregon State features the nation's No. 270-rated defense on the road, allowing 73.4 points per game. Utah, meanwhile, comes in at No. 275 nationally in scoring at home.
Oregon State was an 85-75 loser in its last match on the road against Oregon. They earned a push of the 10-point spread as underdogs. Roberto Nelson chucked in a team-high 31 points for Oregon State on Thursday, but they still came up short in losing 85-75 at Matthew Knight Arena.
Utah lost its last outing, an 84-66 result against Stanford on March 3. They failed to cover in that game as a 11.5-point underdog. Jarred DuBois scored 22 points in a futile effort to lead the Utes to a win (they lost 84-66 to Stanford at Maples Pavilion on Sunday).
Oregon State Beavers Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Colorado are 6-1
After playing Oregon are 3-7
After a loss are 3-7
Utah Utes Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Oregon are 2-4
After playing Stanford are 1-3
After a loss are 3-7
A few Beavers at Utes trends to consider:
Oregon State is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oregon State's last 7 games on the road
Oregon State is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Utah is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home
Utah is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Oregon State
Utah is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
Next up:
Oregon State at Colorado, Saturday, March 9
Utah home to Oregon, Saturday, March 9


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Setting Up X11
One of the best things about Linux is XFree86, the free windowing system built on top of X11R6. The current version, 3.1.1, runs on just about any hardware, so that there is very little reason why you shouldn't be running it.
Are you running XFree86? That's a different question. If you answer no, then this article may be for you.
Another great thing about Linux is that it runs on PCs, which have arguably the highest performance/price ratio of any computer family. (Yes, I know, people argue this point constantly.)
Unfortunately, there are hardly two PCs with the same hardware configuration; in the course of the PC's evolution, hundreds of different display boards have appeared, each with their own peculiar quirks. How come they can sell? Most people use DOS or a system derived from DOS, and the boards have the necessary driver software for DOS on the board. If you're running a real operating system, you don't want to use these drivers: they run in 16 bit mode, and they're slow. That's why XFree86 supplies its own drivers and incorporates them in the X server.
XFree86 drivers are a "good news, bad news" situation. First the bad news: setup can be more difficult. With Microsoft Windows, you install the board and the software that comes with it, and it works (well, you get a recognizable picture on the screen). With XFree86, things might not be as easy.
The good news is that the drivers are much faster and much more flexible. In particular, you can configure XFree86 to your exact combination of display board and monitor, if you know how, even though you need to tune it manually.
This may sound simple, or it may sound complex—and it is. Some people set up X in a few minutes, but others run into problems which make grown-ups cry. In this article, we'll look at:
How display boards and monitors work.
How to set up XFree86 to work with your hardware.
How to tune your hardware for maximum display performance.
How to fry your monitor.
I mean the last point seriously. Conventional wisdom says that you can't damage hardware with a programming mistake, but in this case, you can, and people do from time to time. When you've read the section on how monitors work, you'll understand, but please don't start tuning until you understand the dangers involved.
You don't have to be a computer expert to see the similarity between monitors and TVs; current monitor technology is derived from TV technology, and many display boards have modes which can use TVs instead of monitors. Those of us who were on the microcomputer scene 15 to 20 years ago will remember the joy of getting a computer display on a portable TV, a "glass tty" running at 300 or 1200 bps.
TVs and monitors display the picture by scanning lines across the screen. As in a book, the first line starts at the top left of the screen and goes to the top right. Each successive line starts slightly below the previous line. This continues until the screen is full. The lines don't have to be full; the picture is formed by altering the intensity of the electron beam as it scans the lines.
To perform this scan, the TV has two deflection units: one scans from left to right, and the other scans (much more slowly) from top to bottom. Not unexpectedly, these units are called the horizontal and vertical deflection units. You may also encounter the terms line and frame deflection.
The electron beam can move at only a finite speed. When the electron beam reaches the right hand side of the screen, it needs to be deflected back again. This part of the scan is called the horizontal retrace, and it is not used for displaying picture data. The actual time that the hardware requires for the retrace varies, but it is in the order of 5% to 10% of the total line scan time. Similarly, when the vertical deflection reaches the bottom of the screen, it performs a vertical retrace, which is also not used for display.
It's not enough to just deflect, of course; somehow you need to ensure that the scanning is synchronized with the incoming signal, so that the scan is at the top of the screen when the picture information for the top of the screen arrives. You've all seen what happens when this doesn't happen; the picture runs up and down the screen (incorrect vertical synchronization) or tears away from the left of the screen (incorrect horizontal synchronization). Synchronization is achieved by including synchronization pulses in the horizontal and vertical retrace periods. To ensure that they are recognized as synchronization pulses, they have different voltage levels from the picture data.
As if that wasn't enough, the video amplifier, the part of the TV which alters the intensity of the spot as it travels across the screen, needs time to ensure that the retrace is invisible, so there are brief pauses between the end of the line and the start of the sync pulse, and again between the end of the sync pulse and the beginning of the data. This process is called blanking, and the delays are called the front porch (before the sync pulse) and the back porch (after the sync pulse).
In a nutshell, that is how horizontal deflection works. Vertical deflection works in almost the same way, just slower, with one minor exception. This basic display mechanism was developed for TVs in the 1930s, when the term "high-tech" hadn't even been invented, and even today we're stuck with the low data rates that they decided upon in those days. Depending on the country, TVs display only 25 or 30 frames (pages of display) per second. This causes an unpleasant flicker in the display. This flicker is avoided with a trick called interlacing. Instead of displaying the frame in one vertical scan, the odd and even lines are displayed in two alternating half frames, which increases the apparent frame frequency to 50 or 60 Hz.


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About Mimi's Bridal and Formal Wear
Mimi's Bridal and Formal wear, one of the finest bridal shops in Mississippi, is a family owned and operated business committed to ensuring that you look beautiful on your special day. As your experienced formal wear provider, you can trust us to provide stress-free service, smart advice and incredible expertise. Our qualified consultants will turn your wedding gown search into the memorable and beautiful experience it should be.
We are happy to help you coordinate the attire for your entire wedding party. Create a look unique to your personal taste and wedding theme with a selection from one of our many lines of bridesmaid and mothers-of-the-wedding dresses. The needs of the groom and groomsmen may be addressed through our tuxedo rentals at the Tuxedo Place.
Our focus is to make your wedding dress search "Everything you've imagined" as you prepare for this special occasion.
Categories: Wedding Dress
Regions serviced:


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The Death of Angelina Lauro
Warning: This is a sad story about a 24,000-ton lady, a princess and three angels. My eyewitness account of the lady's death at St. Thomas in 1979.
On St. Thomas in March of 1979, the cruise season was still in full swing. Ships arrived every day and thousands of passengers poured into the downtown shopping area to lighten their bank accounts. Merchants and cab drivers competed fiercely for a share of the bounty.
For me, the morning of Friday, March 30 was filled with apprehension. Two days earlier, the reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania melted down, and information…


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Highway: U.S. 14 (6th Street), Brookings
Project: P-PH 0014(177)421 PCN 546N & IM 0295(40)421 PCN 04TW
Location: U.S. 14 (6th Street) from 20th Avenue through 34th Avenue in Brookings
Improvement Type: Grading, PCC Pavement, Curb & Gutter, Storm Sewer, Water Main, Sanitary Sewer, Lighting, Bridge, Signing, Signals and Pavement Markings
When: Construction is scheduled for 2017 with a tentative start date of March 20, 2017.
Upcoming Work:
Public Meeting Presentation
Planned Improvements:
Project Layout
Project Phasing Layout
4 phases of construction have been established for this project and are as follows
Traffic Affects:
22nd Avenue Closure Detour - effective May 30 for 75 days
NEW: 6th Street and 22nd Avenue Intersection To Re-open Sunday 7/23
Through traffic and over-width traffic will be detoured to I-29 and the U.S. 14 bypass. Local traffic will be detoured onto State Avenue and Sunrise Ridge Road from the south and 9th Street and Sunrise Ridge Road from the north. No Parking will be allowed along the detour routes for the duration of the closures and will be signed accordingly.
Two-way traffic will be maintained on the remainder of 6th Street during construction with one half of the roadway constructed at a time. Drivers needing to access the industrial park area are encouraged to use the U.S. 14 bypass and 34th Avenue. Please allow extra time for travel if utilizing these routes.
There will be a number of speed reductions including, 45 mph on the Highway 14 bypass along the detour route; a 30 mph speed reduction for 6th Street through the project limits and I-29 traffic speed will be reduced to 65 mph through the bridge construction limits just north and south of Exit 132.
The contractor will be installing "Business Signs" along the local detour routes to help direct the local traffic to access points for the affected businesses.
Bi-Weekly Construction Updates/Newsletters:
Prime/Concrete Contractor: BX Civil & Construction, Inc., Dell Rapids, SD
Structure Contractor: SFC Journey Group, Sioux Falls, SD
Grading/Base/Asphalt Contractor: Bowes Construction, Brookings, SD
Underground Contractor: Winters Brothers Underground, Brookings, SD
Traffic Control Contractor: Construction Signing Corp., Sioux Falls, SD
Lighting Contractor: Muth Electric, Mitchell, SD
Staking Contractor: Banner Associates, Inc., Brookings, SD
Sealing Contractor: National Sealant, Oconto, Wisconsin
Project Completion:
The contractor will have 75 calendar days to complete work and reopen the intersection of 22nd Avenue during phase 1. I-29 Exit 132 ramps will have 21 calendar days for each ramp closure to allow for removal and replacement. Interim completion for the project is Nov. 3, 2017 which includes Phase 0-2. Overall field completion date is June 30, 2018.
Project Meetings
Weekly project meetings are open to the public and are planned for every Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Brookings DOT Conference Room, 2131 34th Ave., Brookings
For more information regarding the project, please contact John Rittershaus at email@example.com or by phone at 605.688.5001.


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The Seattle Seahawks signed a new quarterback on Monday, and it wasn't Colin Kaepernick.
Seattle announced it added Austin Davis to the fold to compete with Trevone Boykin as Russell Wilson's backup. The 28-year-old was with the Broncos last season but never saw any game action. Davis has 13 career starts in his five years in the league, most of those with the then-St. Louis Rams. Davis has 13 career touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
It means, for now, Kaepernick remains without a job. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said last month Kaepernick was one of several quarterbacks the team was taking a look at.
Some have suggested Kaepernick is being "blackballed" by teams because of his protests last season in which he took a knee during the national anthem.


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Fresh Off The Boat With Eddie Huang: Taiwan (Part 1/3) (Video)
Vice releases the latest episode of NYC-based food connoisseur/restaurant owner Eddie Huang's weekly show, "Fresh Off The Boat," which follows him on his travels and documents ... well what he eats.
After his first series took him through the Bay Area, he heads overseas to visit homeland of Taiwan, making a stop in Taipei City for the first part of the three-part installment. In it, Eddie gets hopped up on betel nut, gives a survey of his favorite delicacies at Shilin night market, and goes late night fishing at a shrimping dive.
"We found ourselves in some interesting scenarios, to say the least, but they all serve to highlight an endearing sense of humor that pulsates through Taiwanese culture. If there's one thing we came away with, it was that Taiwan knows how to have fun," the video description says.
Stay tuned for the next episodes..


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Chapter 17 : Unwanted Freedom
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"The key, I found it." George repeated again the smile slowly slipping from his face.
"what? is something wrong I thought you two would be overjoyed." George said in confusion.
"don't get us wrong George we are happy, but how did you find it exactly? I thought you said it was gone for good." Hermione said recieving a solemn glance from Fred. he wasnt sure if Hermione meant what she said when she said she was happy to have found the key.
'does that mean the kiss was just a spur of the moment thing?' he questioned. Fred's head shot up at Hermione's revelation.
"George?" he said looking his twin straight in the eye.
"yea" was all he replied. Hermione looked between the two and their silent comfirmation.
"What? What is it?" Hermione questioned she really didn't like not knowing things.
"Come on Love out of bed." Fred said in response as he removed her nice warm blankets and lifted her up in his arms.
"Fred wah...? MY CLOTHES!!!" Hermione practically screamed in Fred's ear.
"Ow! Hermione, love my ear is 2 inches from your face now I dont know about you but I prefere to be able to hear things so if you mind not screaming I would much appreciate it." Fred scowled in pain as his ears rang.
"What happened to my clothes!?" she said a little quieter but still with shock, anger, and authority in her voice.
"I changed you" Fred said simply. wrong choice of words.
"YOU WHAT!?" she yelled again this time almost falling from Fred's arms.
"OW Hermione!...I said i changed them for you." he said again.
"but ..but why!?" Hermione asked blushing.
"I couldnt let you stay in those soaked clothes you'd catch a cold!" Fred said concern resurfacing. Hermione looked down at her chest and blushed quickly crossing her arms over it in a protective manner. Fred blushed.
"Dont worry..I..I didn't see anything Ii was practically blindfolded and i used magic so you dont have to worry ok?" He looked away not meeting her eyes as he finished his sentence and began to walk. Hermione sighed in relief than looked up at Fred's blushing face. she couldn't help but smile, He really was a sweet guy.
"ah..thank you." Hermione whispered. Fred nodded in response. As they entered the living room they saw George standing in the kitchen with a box.
" so it was that." Fred said in recognition. Hermione looked at the box studying it, trying to see if she could uncover its secrets by just staring at it. it was a small ebony box with light and simple decot on it. Not too extravagant, but not exactly plain either. You could definetly sense the magic from it and it was pretty strong.
"Fred, what is it?" she asked never taking her eyes off of it. Fred looked down at her in amazment. just looking into her eyes he could tell she knew it wasnt a normal box she could sense the magic, and more amazing, it was responding to her.
"That is called 'Arca Archa Secretorum'" he said as George sat it down on the table.
"box of secrets?" Hermione said translating in her head.
"yea in muggle mythology its also known as 'Pandora's box'" Fred said sitting her down in a chair and sitting himself in one close to her.
"you mean the keeper of darkness, bad things?" Hermione question. Fred nodded.
"yes you are familiar with the story correct?" he said looking over at her, Hermione nodded. Of course everyone knew the story of Pandora and her wicked box.
"well they were somewhat correct in their assumptions and somewhat incorrect." George continued.
"what do you mean?" Hermione asked turning toward him.
"well Arca Archa Secretorum once belong to a very powerful and evil wizard, Salazar Slytherin himself and when he died a lot of his belongings were scattered all around, we assumed some had even made its way into the muggles realm, when one of them stumbled upon it they got intrigued by it but didnt open it for some unknown reason. all she did was stare at it..or so we were told before. then one day out of unbareble curiousity she opened it and the dark creatures Salazar had hidden in their broke free and wreaked havoc on the world. The creatures also known as Bwbachbods were, or rather are really spiteful, nasty little creatures."
"I've heard of those, arent they the cousins to pixie's?" Hemrione interrupted. Fred nodded.
"Yes only much more , well mean."
"As i was saying!" George continued. Hermione muttered a sorry and allowed him to finish.
"these creatures would play nasty tricks and whisper into peoples ears, see they have the very nasty ability to be able to control emotions, like envy hatred and the likes, would cause humans to behave strangly."
"but why didnt they just I dont know hit them or something?" Hermione interrupted again.
"EHHHEM" George cleared his throat
"sorry" Hermione muttered again.
"As i was saying, They would cause humans to behave strangly, but the Bwbachbod can make themselves invisible, unlike their cousin pixies, so there was little the muggles could do. but of course being muggle they needed something to blame the occurances on and in doing so Pandora's box was blamed." George finished. Hermione nodded. and Fred just sat there hearing what he's heard a thousand times once more.
"And you ..have the key in there?" Hermione asked. Goerge nodded.
"well its the only place a wizard cant lose something, nor can be lost." Fred explained.
"I just forgot i had put it in here." George scratched his kneck as he apologized again.
"But its also a tricky little thing to open." Fred said grabbing Hermione's attention again.
"Why? What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well it realeased the Bwbachbod but no one really knows just how many.."
"Or what else" George said.
"could be in there." Fred finished.
"so when you do open it you got to be fast and careful." George continued.
"I mean it was a slytherin who owned this remember?" Fred said jokingly. Hermione smiled at his attempt to be funny but then looked back at the box with curiousity.
"hey, exactly how did you guys get ahold of it. If it was that dangerous wouldnt the ministry have its claws in it?" Hermione said never taking her eyes off the box.
"well we actually got it .....Where did we get it again Fred?"
"You know i can't exactly remember, George but it was in one of those old vintage like shops wasnt it?" Fred replied. George nodded. Hermione who hadnt been paying attention simply nodded too.
"So then are you two ready to get unchained?" Fred glanced at Hermione unsure once again about this but found her staring deeply at the box. Fred nodded.
"Hermione?" George asked after a moment of silence.
"What..oh ..uh yea sure." She said a little confused.
"Ok be prepared just incase ok?" George said mostly to his brother who in return nodded. George looked back down at the box and mentally prepared.
"one, two....THREE" he yelled and quickly opened the box. the feeling was like apparating to Hermione. a strong pull on her navel and sickening feeling, the magic from the box was so strong and powerful it was nearly indescribable. and before she knew it the box was closed again. George turned toward them smiling and holding a pure golden key. Hermione looked down at the chain which began to glow a golden color in response to the key. Hermione looked over at Fred in dubious manner. Was this really what she wanted?
"Ok, here i go give me your wrists." George said. both Hermione and Fred hesitated. looking over at each other. Fred smiled and nodded. At this Hermione smiled and placed their wrists in George's hand. Just as the key connected a bright white light practically exploded from the chain and key and as quickly as the light came it was gone and so was the chain.
"It's Off!" Hermione said smiling and getting up and stretching with freedom. Turning back only to find George's shocked face and Fred's solemn one.
"What? It's off. It worked..right?" she asked skeptical.
"uh yea, I guess it did didnt it." George said sighing.
"Guess the light just gave me a scare." he said stretching,
"well im off to bed you two goodnight," George said yawning as he headed down the hall to his bed.
"Fred?" Hermione said carefully.
"huh?..oh Hermione." he looked up to Hermione.
"Are you ok?" she asked worried.
"Yea why wouldnt I be?" he asked getting up, they both headed toward his bedroom.
"well you were spacing with a serious expression. It was natural." Hermione said in all seriousness.
"I just, It's just..weird I guess, the chain." he said looking at their wrists swinging near each other.
"Oh." Hermione looked down too. After a moment of staring and silence. she decided something that might strongly influence their future. she grabbed his hand. innertwinging their fingers. Fred looked up shocked into Hermine's big chocolate eyes. she smiled at him then looked away. Silence hung in the air.
"uh Hermione"
"Uh Fred" they said in unison, both stopped and stared into each others eyes.
"you go first"
"you go first" they did it again, adrupting into fits of laughter.
"Fred you go first" she smiled at him.
"OH ok...uh..well I was just...It's, well it's about,....uh...the kiss Earlier."
"Oh, yea?" she blushed as did he as they remembered.
" well i was just wondering if,..I just wanted to know if,...Hermione..."
"FRED DO YOU WANT TO DATE?" she said getting it off her chest before Fred could finish.
"What?" he asked astonished.
"Uh..Do you want to date?" she asked again this time a lot more bashful. Fred stared at her for a moment.
"Just like you." Fred said laughing.
"always straight forward " He laughed again. Hermione smiled.
"Well I am a Gryffindor after all." She smiled and laughed with him.
"of course Hermione, how could i say no?" he said laughing.
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