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Please don't maul me. I wrote this shortly after the AQW Zombies! Release. It was very late at night and I was quite bored, so my brain thought, "WHAT A GREAT TIME TO WRITE A STORY!"
Just keep an open mind and try to enjoy the story. Have fun. Laugh! (whether its at the story or my silly ideas, I don't mind, as long as I can make you laugh! :D )
Note: I imagined this is DragonFable style/a more anime-esque style, not AQW. Keep that in mind when you're reading.
Artix grumbled as he headed back to his camp. This war was getting WAY out of hand. There were practically zombies everywhere; it was frustrating! And that's coming from someone who enjoys killing zombies! He sat down near the fading fire in the middle of his makeshift camp and sighed. 'What more can we do? We're all getting close to our limits already, but we have to keep pushing! The people need us.' He though dejectedly. He pressed his palms against his temple as if he could push back the oncoming headache. He didn't even notice the fire in front of him flicker out or the heat from it slowly dissipate from his skin. He suddenly felt a tickling in his chest which soon turned into a burning pain. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain and switched from sitting to kneeling over, coughing loudly.
His right hand quickly flew up and pressed against his chest as he hacked. He cracked his eyes open as they watered and looked around. The green fog had drifted into his camp and surrounded him, quickly making its way into his lungs and chest. He coughed again and saw small red speckles of blood in the grass; his eyes widened considerably. For once in a while, he was scared, scared of what might happen to him. Usually, he'd charge into battle without a single worry about what may happen, but now that something was happening, he wasn't sure what to do. Not being able to actually learn paladin magic meant that he couldn't heal himself and fend off the zombie gas, and healing potions could only do so much; even the ones Alina made weren't strong enough to reverse death itself. He was broken from his thoughts by another coughing fit, this one shaking his entire body. His arm wobbled under his weight as he coughed, threatening to give out. He honestly didn't want to faceplant into the dirt because he doubted that would help his condition, most likely make it worse as it would lower his face deeper into the toxic cloud.
His arm just about gave out when he began to hear footsteps heading his way. Someone was running to him, but he couldn't lift his head up enough to see, he was too weak. He felt hands grab his sides and he was flipped over and pushed onto his back. "Relax." The voice was feminine, but his vision was blurring now. He saw red, silver, and gold, but that was just about it. No finer details. The fire beside him was relit, weird, he didn't even remember it going out. The heat flowed down to his face and brought some of the color back as he blushed. The fog began to die down as the heat and light spread, and he began to breathe a little more easily. His chest still burned, and he hadn't noticed it until now, but he could feel his heart rate pulsing in his ears; it was a little too fast for his comfort. His vision sharpened a bit and he could see his apprentice, Taini, leaning over him. She was slowly waving her hand in front of his eyes. "Please be alive." She muttered. Oh yeah, she couldn't see his chest rise and fall through his armor. He blinked twice and smiled at her. A small smile, but still a smile. He saw her sigh and lower her hand, and then felt something fiddling with the clasps on his armor. He tried to shift away; it made him slightly uncomfortable when people messed with his armor. It's not like there was something wrong with his chest, or that he had some gross scar on his chest, it was just a comfort thing. She growled and hissed out at him, "Do you want to die? I need to heal you, so sit still!" She was obviously frustrated, so he stilled himself and took some deep breaths. She finally got his chest plate off and removed the armor on his arms and hands as well.
He was completely exposed on his upper body. When he looked down, he shivered. All of his upper body down to the middle of his stomach was slightly discolored. He was pale, greenish and pale. He looked up at Taini, his fear showing through his eyes. He was about to say something when Taini shushed him. "Just be still and let me work. We can talk when you're in better condition." He hushed up and allowed Taini to resituate him. His head was now on her lap so if he coughed up anything, he wouldn't choke on it. Then Taini began to heal him. The weird thing about Taini's magic was that it worked better on contact than from a distance. Sure, she could flash heal him, but it might not heal everything. With close contact, the magic may work more slowly, but it's more thorough and bound to catch everything. Taini gently pressed her hands to his chest, a yellowish glow appearing around them; Artix felt his chest tingle where her hands were pressed and he sighed as the burning feeling slowly ebbed away from his lungs. "Augh!" he shouted as he felt a stabbing feeling in his heart. She must be only focusing on his lungs and not his chest as a whole. He bit his lip as a single tear slipped down his cheek. The fog that got inside him must be eating away at his heart now rather than his lungs, trying to kill him as quickly as possible. He felt her hands readjust and soon the stabbing pain slowly dulled. His entire upper body felt numb. He wasn't sure if he was in pain all over and his nerves killed the connection so he wouldn't feel it, or if her magic was just all over him now. He honestly didn't care anymore, as long as the pain was gone. He felt one of her hands gently brush the tear away from his face like how a mother would to comfort her child. She was so gentle sometimes.
He turned his head to look at her, but she didn't feel him looking at her, she was too busy concentrating on his chest. Eventually he spoke up, "Taini," he groaned. She looked over to him, now very attentive and aware of him looking at her. "You need to go help the others." She frowned at him and he could sense her about to argue with him. He quickly raised his hand to hush her. "I'm fine now; you need to go help the others. Please." She no longer looked angry, but worried and scared. He saw that her eyes were wider than usual. "But...but...I'm not entirely sure you're fully healed." She stammered. "I feel fine, and there," he stopped for a second to cough, "...there are people who need you more than I do right now." She still didn't move. "But what...what if you pass...pass away...while I'm gone...?" Her eyes were really watery now. He sighed. "I didn't think it'd come to something like this but," he raised his right hand and held out his pinky, "I promise not to die while you're gone." He smiled up at her, almost chuckling. It was so childish and silly, but then again, a lot of meaningful, memorable things they did were childish and silly. She looked at the gestured offered to her for a second before reaching up and wrapping her pinky around his, squeezing them together as if they were hugging each other. Her eyes close as a small smile bloomed on her face, the tears that had gathered in her eyes slowly slipping down her cheeks. "You idiot," she laughed quietly. She cupped his face in her hands and lifted his head up, lowering hers down as well to plant a small kiss on his forehead. He looked up at her and blushed. "You better keep your promise." She said, trying to look intimidating.
(Switches to Artix POV here.)
I couldn't help but chuckle. Taini looked up to the sky and saw storm clouds gathering above us. She quickly bent down and wrapped one of my arms around her shoulder, hoisting me up to stand and began to walk me towards my tent. I tried to walk with her, rather sluggishly, to escape the impending rain. When we got in the tent, she gently laid me down on my sleeping bag and brushed my hair out of my face. Again she said, "You better keep your promise." And stood up to leave. As she exited the tent I heard her mumble, "Or you'll regret it." And with that, she was gone. I sighed and turned onto my side. That was a close call with the fog; if she hadn't come back when she did, I might have turned. I shuddered, it was too close. Soon enough, I felt my eyes drifting closed and I allowed sleep to take me.
(Normal POV)
Taini arrived back at the camp, beaten and battered; tired from the fighting. She had saved many people and hid them in an underground hideout for now. She still had no idea when they'd actually be safe though. Her feet dragged as she neared the small tent. 'Darn Artix for putting his sleeping bag closer to the door.' She mused, but to be honest, she honestly didn't care where she slept at this point. She didn't even care if she ended up collapsing on top of him; she'd explain later. She quickly got to her sleeping bag, collapsing onto her knees. She still had to change from her armor into her pajamas. She had already learned better than to sleep in her plate armors. She glanced over at Artix to see the lower half of his armor outside his sleeping bag. Turns out he had the same idea. His eyes appeared closed, so she'd just have to take the chance. There was no way she was going out in the rain to change. She quickly removed her armor and slipped into a lose fitting black tank top and cloth shorts. 'Much better!' she mused. She quickly slipped into her sleeping bag and glanced over her shoulder again. Even after staying with Artix in the Necropolis while she was in early paladin training, she still never got used to the strange positions he slept in. Right now he was on his stomach, his head facing her direction while also being partially smushed against the ground, his right leg and left arm sticking out of his sleeping bag while his other arm and leg remained tucked in. To add on to his strange positions, he also snored. It wasn't that loud, but it was noticeable. Taini sighed, stretched out, and slowly slipped into her sleeping bag. She was soon out cold.
Artix awoke comfortably the next morning. He felt relaxed and almost had completely forgotten about his near death/reawakening yesterday. He sighed and snuggled closer into his pillow. His wonderfully soft, fruity smelling pillow. He noticed that in his sleep he had wrapped one of his legs around this pillow...Lore, this is a long pillow! A body pillow perhaps? Did Taini even bring a pillow, because if so, this has to be her's. He also felt his hands tightly gripping the pillow in front too. It's just so comfy! It was then he realized 3 things about this pillow: 1) The part he was gripping in the front were actually 2 separate parts... 2) This pillow was breathing. 3) Pillows don't breathe...;
His eyes snapped open and he found his face buried in a mass of curly red tendrils. That explains the fruit smell. That also explains the two lumps in the front he's gripping. He blushed bright red when he realized exactly what those 'lumps' were and remember he also had his leg entangled with hers. Her back was up against his chest, and she either didn't mind him being cuddled against her like this or she hadn't woken up to find them like this yet. He began to try and move his hands away from his friend's chest when he heard her yawn and she stretched her arms. He felt her stiffen up against him and watched as her head slowly turned to gaze down at his hands.
'Thisistheendthisistheendthis istheendthisistheendthisisth eendthisistheendthisistheend thisistheend-' he though, waiting for her to blow up and yell at him. He felt her take a deep breath before trying to turn and face him, quickly detangling their legs also. When she rolled over, she didn't look angry, not at all. He knew how it worked with women though, the less angry they seem on the outside, the angrier they are on the inside. He quickly began to ramble on about how 'it was just an accident' and how 'he was asleep and couldn't control his hands' when she pressed a finger to his lips to shut him up. He could still see the sleep lingering in her eyes, a sign of exactly how late she stayed out. "Accidents happen," she groggily said, and then held her pinky up, "We both promise not to tell anyone about this little mishap?" she said with a tired smile. Artix chuckled and quickly wrapped his pinky around her own, mimicking the little pinky hug they did yesterday. "Of course." He smiled.
Hope you enjoyed it. Its silly and lame, I know. Hopefully my other stories will be better. XD


text:
This resource is no longer available
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Richard Marx was right here waiting when passenger went 'crazy' during flight
Eighties pop star Richard Marx has insisted he is "no big hero" after he reportedly restrained a disruptive airline passenger during a flight.
The 53-year-old singer was pictured on social media helping cabin crew tackle the passenger on the Korean Air plane travelling from Hanoi, Vietnam to Seoul, South Korea.
Marx's wife Daisy described the four-hour ordeal on her Instagram page, claiming the passenger went "crazy" and "started attacking the flight attendants and passengers".
She wrote: "When he started pushing the female staff and pulling them by the hair, (Richard Marx) was the first to help subdue him.
"This went on for four hours. I feel horrible for the abuse the staff had to endure but no one was prepared for this.
"They never fully got control of him. They didn't know how to use the Taser and they didn't know how to secure the rope around him (he got loose from their rope restraints three times)."
US star Marx, who had a string of hits in the 1980s and 90s including Right Here Waiting, posted on Twitter that the crew were "completely ill-equipped to handle situation".
He wrote: "Daisy and I are home safe and sound. No big 'hero' move at all. Just did what I would hope anyone would do in same situation. Thx 4 concern."
In a statement to NBC News, Korean Air spokesman Nathan Cho wrote: "According to the response protocol, Korean Air's flight attendants have subdued the unruly passenger and tied him up with ropes.
"The unruly passenger has been turned over to the police after arrival at Incheon Airport."
Press Association


text:
Food Additives Affect Behavior
On average 30% of foods in our daily diet are processed foods. These are foods that come in a box or a can and have many ingredients that are hard to pronounce, containing food starches, gums, preservatives, and colorings. Many processed foods have to be enriched, adding inorganic minerals and vitamins to compensate for the nutrition lost in the processing of the food. Some people believe enriched foods are good enough, and we will be able to absorb their nutrients sufficiently to benefit from them. But what about the great increase in type II diabetes in the past few years, seen especially now in children? What about the increase in Attention Deficit Disorder and behavioral problems in schools? Adults are now getting symptoms of Alzheimer's more quickly than before, and are suffering from chronic diseases earlier in life.
The first suggestion I tell parents who are struggling with a hyperactive child is to stay away from any food colorings, especially the added colorings in juices, cereals, snacks, and vitamin supplements. These food colorings affect the functioning of the nervous system. Our liver cannot break down these chemicals and they affect our neurotransmitters, and eventually our thinking ability. It is amazing the amount of food coloring found in processed foods. Significant increases in hyperactivity occur after getting 20 mg. of food coloring per day, which is much less than the amount found in many processed foods today.
When food additives are added to natural foods both physical and behavioral problems can occur. The three most common symptoms found when we get too many food additives are headaches, anxiety, and upset stomach. Common food additives to watch out for, beside food colorings, are preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine. Preservatives are found in all processed foods, and even in some of the natural foods such as fruits and vegetables. It is difficult to get all fresh food unless you grow it yourself. Preservatives prevent spoilage of food so that it can be transported from the farm or factory to our grocery stores.
The FDA generally regards each of these food additives as safe, at least in small quantities. But when combining them in foods and then looking at the potential cumulative effect, we have to realize that the more preservative and food additives we get on a daily basis, the more our liver has to detoxify. That is why headaches and bloating are common symptoms of too many food additives.
Among the many factors that shape the lives of children, nutrition often plays a critical role. What children eat during their growing years has a great effect on the way they think, learn, and act. Many studies have found, for example, that children with higher intakes of antioxidants, B vitamins and minerals do better in school than those children whose diets are lower in these nutrients. Others studies show that children who are exposed to too many environmental chemicals or heavy metals in the air and water have more trouble learning and remembering, and have more nervous system disorders.
The Feingold program is a children's nutritional program that recommends a diet based on foods that do not contain artificial flavors, preservatives, and food colorings. Numerous research studies found that symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder improved between 50 and 70% of the time while children followed this nutritional program.
One study, published in Lancet in 1985, showed that 79% of hyperactive children had symptoms improve when food chemicals were removed from their diet. Then when the food chemicals were re-introduced the symptoms returned. Sugar was found to have a similar detrimental effect as food chemicals. In controlled studies done at juvenile correctional facilities in the 1980s, they found that behavior improved in 47% of the 12 facilities that took part in the Feingold program, which included over 8000 juveniles.
Many health issues are caused by lack of bioavailable nutrition in our diet. Our digestive system tries to absorb nutrients from the foods we eat. Depending on the state of the food - baked, broiled, microwaved, or the additives added, our body can actually get more stressed eating foods that are hard for our liver to metabolize. This is why the National Cancer Institute keeps raising the number of fruits and vegetables recommended daily to prevent cancer, and keep our immune system healthy. This is another reason we are seeing earlier signs of indigestion and heartburn in children. The foods we put in our body have so many preservatives, and chemicals, and not enough real nutrition to be beneficial.
Dr. Jane Oelke, N.D., Ph.D. is Naturopath and Doctor of Homeopathy in Southwest Michigan. She is the author of "Natural Choices for Fibromyalgia" and "Natural Choices for Attention Deficit Disorder". She is a professional speaker on a variety of natural health topics, and can be reached at [email protected] and http://www.NaturalChoicesforyou.com
Being Proactive With Your Health Decisions
In today's world, there's a definite need to be proactive in protecting our health. But that assumes there's something you CAN do to protect it.
Using Calcium and Magnesium for Constipation
Calcium helps reduce constipationUsing calcium and magnesium in the right quantities can prevent or relieve constipation. They can support the health of your colon and keep you regular.
Serious About Wanting To Improve Your Familys Healthy Eating Lifestyles?
Dr. Christine Wood, M.
Calorie Deficit
I am sure you have heard you have to build more muscle so you can burn more fat. I'm sure you have also heard that you have to put your body into extreme calorie deficit in order to lose weight.
The Best Way to Consume Vitamin C
Eating orange mean absorbing vitamin C to our body, is that right? Probably yes because orange is rich with this nutrient. Vitamin C is a very essential nutrient for human body because its play a great role as a powerful antioxidant.
TsuNoni - Green Tea Meets Noni
East Meets WestAsian cultures have realized the medical benefits of green tea for centuries. Those who drank it lived longer, healthier lives.
Antioxidants - Your Best Defense Against Disease and Aging
Studies support the benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. This is due to their high antioxidant value.
Improve Your Health With Fiber!
Your fiber intake is a critical factor in weight loss and general well-being. Health professionals advise that adults should eat at least 25-35 grams of fiber each day.
Building Better Bones
"It is a bone-deep change you are going into, my beloved," counsels Grandmother Growth. "You must open to your very marrow for this transformation.
Aggressive Behaviour Seems To Be Triggered By Early Age Diet
The fact that diet directly affects behaviour is no news, on the contrary, this reality has been perceived a very long time ago, as the old saying "a man is what he eats" proves. Studies have been performed to ascertain the degree in which this happens.
Food Selection for Gastric Bypass Patients
Dieters who dejectedly complain they are figuratively "stuck" with their excess fat may be surprised to learn there is a scientifically-accurate truth to their statement. Fat cells -- which are created when the body is unable to convert excess calories to energy -- are permanent.
What To Eat When You Are Sick
Did you know that the food you eat when you are ill can help your body to recover? Or succumb to the full-blown illness?What foods should you AVOID?And what should you be eating if you have a cold or colitis or cancer?Learn more at: http://www.XTherapist.
Do You Know What You Are Eating?
With all the news about Splenda of late and the FTC, I had a client ask me the other day, "so what's the deal with Splenda, it's just sugar that has been processed!". I asked him if he knew what Splenda was and he said no.
Chew Your Food
I am going to share with you possibly the most important piece of advice you will ever receive about nutrition. This piece of advice is not about supplementation.
Fat Burning Compatible Foods
Fat burning compatible foods seem to be a popular topic around the gym these days. We also hear a lot about negative calorie foods which are considered a part of fat burning compatible foods.
Blueberries: Healthy and Easy on the Tummy After WLS
All of my life I believed the best way to eat blueberries was with a muffin wrapped around them. No way could plain off-the-bush berries taste good.
True Health - Following Your Inner Knowing
Your Non-Conscious Mind is 98% of your full power. Over the last couple lessons we taught you how to use your conscious mind to actively create the directions for your non-conscious mind to follow.
The 7 Best & The 7 Worst Food For A Long Life
The above foods contain high antioxidant capacity. These foods were chosen because of discovery of the most powerful phytochemicals and anthocyanins, which illustrate strong inhibition of chemocarcinogens.
You Are What You Eat
Your magnificent machine is, in fact, a symbiotic collection of diverse, yet related sub-systems, coordinated and operated by a three pound mass of wrinkled gray matter known as your brain. Yes, our bodies are a true miracle, a wonder to behold.
Fat: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
When it comes to planning a healthy diet, fat is a complex subject. It's useful to understand some basic information.


text: (far too long CC list removed) I'm afraid you're mixing a lot of stuff in your mail. However, you didn't give us more solutions to the current problem. By chance, this solution is appearing as the name "Republic of Macedonia" seems acceptable to the people who raised this issue : the Macedonian localisation group. I will just answer a very few key points where you have wrong view on the way the Debian Installer works. And I'll add some comments in the part talking about Konstantinos. > For example: > suppose Debian used 'Macedonia' for Republic Macedonia, > and suppose that people in Florina (in Greek Macedonia (i hope)) > want to install Debian Sarge. > They start the installer, > see they have the possibility to choose 'Macedonia', > and choose that. > Thereby getting the whole installer in a slavic language > that they not only may not understand, > but which they associate with > 'having stolen one of their important groupnames'. That is simply impossible. In Debian Installer, you first choose the language. People in the above situation will choose "Greek" as language and will then have the opportunity if choosing a country only if they're doing an "expert" installation. This is because, there is currently only one supported language_country combination in Debian (a locale) for Greek : el_EL for "Greek in Greece". Maybe some day, another locale with Greek as language will exist (for instance el_CY for Greek in Cyprus). Then the uses will get a "short" list with the "supported" countries and an "other" choice. If people are doing an expert install, they will have the full world country list...and MK will be listed there the way the Greek translator will have translated it. In that case, I'm pretty sure he will choose a non ambiguous name. On the other hand, people living in MK will probably choose "Macedonian" from the first screen (if the translation is made some day) and it will be obvious that this is the slavic language named "Macedonian", codename mk. > Debian can not use 'Macedonia' for Republic Macedonia. If this becomes the country name in ISO-3166, Debian *will* use it. At the moment, using "Republic of Macedonia" seems a better choice. > To the ones that called Kyrie Margaritos a 'seller of his country' : Konstantinos Margaritis.....I think he will not like having his name misspelled... To the ones that did this, they're simply crappy narrow-minded nationalist jerks. Kostas (his favorite nickname) is currently the one who did the most for Greek localisation in Debian and he proved several times that he does this because he loves his mother language and his country. So accusing him to "sell his country" is just so deeply stupid that someone using this as an argument just deserves to be ignored. I have kept the greek localisation list CC'ed because I suspect that these insults thrown at Kostas came from there (unfortunately I can't read Greek so the list archives weren't useful for me). If some people there are responsible for these insults thrown at Kostas, they should really re-consider their involvment in Debian (because doing so made them lose a lot of credit) or prepare an apology.


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BEFORE entering into the details of the construction of the Great Apennine Tunnel itself, this page will deal briefly with the remarkable line on which it is situated. This railway is known as the Bologna-Florence "Direttissima."
The expression "direttissima" has no counterpart in English. It means "the most direct" and, when applied to a railway, indicates a line which has the maximum possible number of straight stretches, curves of very large radius, absence of level crossings and the minimum possible gradients. A "direttissima" is built without fear of natural obstacles through which it has to pass.
One is reminded of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, who, on granting the concession for the railway from St. Petersburg (Leningrad) to Moscow, prescribed the route by taking a ruler and drawing a straight line on the map between the two capitals of his empire. The "Direttissima" Bologna-Florence is the second line of this kind which Italy has completed during the last few years. The other "Direttissima" is that from Rome to Naples.
Italy's peculiar geographical features have a great influence on the construction and working of her railways. With the exception of the northern parts, the country is a narrow strip averaging about ninety miles in width and extending for 600 miles in length. The Apennine mountain-range traverses it in a longitudinal direction. The construction of railways has accordingly developed mainly along the rugged coast lines ; the trunk line from Bologna via Florence to Rome being the only line of importance which runs in the centre of that narrow strip.
It must be remembered that whereas the northern parts of Italy are highly industrialized, the centre and south of the country are mainly agricultural. These latter provide the northern provinces with agricultural and dairy produce, and maintain at the same time a vast export of such products to all European countries.
All this traffic moves towards the industrial districts of Lombardy and Piedmont, and across the frontiers at Chiasso, Brenner and Tarvisio, and is carried over a system of lines which include the Florence-Bologna via Pistoia (the Porretta) line and the line via Faenza-Florence and via Sarzana-Parma. All these lines have steep gradients, narrow curves, and the stations possess little accommodation. They were built many years ago when railway engineering was still in its infancy, and when the traffic carried was but a small percentage of what it is to-day. The mountainous character of these lines makes it in many instances almost impossible to double the tracks or to enlarge the stations.
This difficulty of reconstruction applied particularly to the Porretta line from Bologna to Florence via Pistoia. The line was built during the years 1856-62 by the famous railway constructor Protsche, and for many years it was considered to be one of the finest examples of railway engineering in Europe. In those days Italy was still divided into a number of independent territories, kingdoms, and duchies. Florence was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
The route of the Porretta line was chosen not only for technical reasons but also for strategical considerations. The length of this line is almost eighty-two miles. Bologna lies at an altitude of 148 ft., and the highest point of the line is reached at the station of Pracchia at an altitude of 2,021 ft. above sea level. The distance from Bologna to Pracchia is forty-six miles. On the southern slope the line descends rapidly towards Pistoia which lies at a distance of fifteen and a half miles from Bologna, at an altitude of 206 ft. The difference in altitude being 1,815 ft., the average gradient is 1 in 45 and reaches on certain stretches, even in tunnels, as much as 1 in 35. Many curves have a radius of less than 330 yards, and the whole line from Pracchia to Pistoia is an almost uninterrupted sequence of tunnels. The time taken between Bologna and Florence was two and three-quarter hours by steam-driven express trains, and even with electric traction it took two and a quarter hours to complete the short journey. Freight trains were limited to 480 tons, so that not more than 180,000 trucks could be handled annually.
The inadequate capacity of this line was realized soon after its opening, and when Italy had been united in 1870, the ever-increasing traffic called for better means of communication between the north and the south. Various proposals were suggested for the doubling of the track and the enlargement of the stations, but the consequent expenses would have been so great that they did not warrant the execution of any of these projects, which, generally, offered only a makeshift solution. A commission was appointed to report on various projects submitted for the construction of a new line. In 1908 Parliament approved the construction of the "Direttissima," voting at the same time the necessary credits of £6,000,000 sterling.
The project of the "Direttissima" Bologna-Florence line included the construction of a tunnel eleven and a half miles long through the Apennines. This part of the project necessitated long and exhaustive investigations and studies covering a period of two years. During the surveys several alterations in the route were made, and consequently the approach to the entrances of the tunnel had to be changed.
One of the results of the survey was to show that the original estimate of £6,000,000 would not be sufficient. A second provisional estimate for £7,000,000 was made. The provisional project was approved in 1911, and the elaboration of the definite project in all its details was taken in hand. Work on the line began in 1913. This was on the section between Bologna and Pianoro. The new route extended from Bologna to Prato, a station on the old line eight and three-quarter miles from Florence, where the new line joins the Porretta line. The distance between Bologna and Prato is just under fifty-two miles, and the line is laid with a double track. The highest point is at an altitude of 1,058 ft. The maximum gradients in the open are 1 in 85, and in tunnels 1 in 125, with the exception of the Great Tunnel, where gradients are 1 in 500 and 1 in 175. The curves have a radius of 880 yards on the Bologna and of 660 yards on the Florence side. The distance from Bologna to Florence is sixty and a quarter miles, whereas via the Porretta line it is over eighty-one miles. The difference is about twenty-one miles, but the value of the new route, from the working point of view. is enhanced out of all proportion to this reduction of distance, by reason of the considerable lessening of the gradients. The journey from Bologna to Florence now takes sixty-six minutes, while freight trains of 950 tons weight can be hauled over the new line with the same tractive effort as was required for 480 tons over the old line.
The "Direttissima" branches off the Bologna-Ancona line immediately on leaving Bologna. It turns southwards, crosses the river Savena by a masonry bridge of seven arches of 46 ft. span, and continues on the right bank as far as Pianoro. Shortly after this station the line crosses the Savena by a bridge of six arches (five spans of 50 ft. each and one of 20 ft.) and enters the Monte Adone Tunnel, which has a length of 7,694 yards.
Having left this tunnel, the line enters the Setta Valley near the station of Vado and, having passed through another tunnel, negotiates the valley by means of an imposing viaduct-bridge of fourteen arches, of which seven are of 65 ft. 7 in. span and seven of 82 ft. span. The line continues on the left bank of the Setta as far as the station of Grizzana. A large number of tunnels and viaducts was necessary on this track. There is a viaduct over the Scopa with twelve arches of 50 ft. span ; another over the Casone with fourteen arches of 40 ft. span, and a third across the Quercia with eleven arches.
All these viaducts, as well as the others on the line, are masonry constructions, for which Italians have always been famous. Beyond the station of Grizzana the line crosses the Farnetola Valley by a viaduct of twelve arches, of which eleven are 66 ft. and one of 40 ft. span. Here the Pian di Setta Tunnel begins, which has a length of 3,334 yards. On emerging from the tunnel the Brasinone river is crossed by a viaduct of three arches of 83 ft. span and two of 66 ft., and after a short tunnel the Setta is crossed by a skew bridge with three arches of 66 ft. and three of 40 ft. The line continues on the right bank of the Setta, crosses the river again over an oblique bridge of five arches of 40 ft. span, and enters the Great Apennine Tunnel. From this it emerges near the junction of the rivers Fiumenta and Bisenzio, crossing the latter, and continuing on its left bank as far as the station of Vernio. After having crossed the Bisenzio twice the new line reaches the station of Vaiano and finally joins the old one at Prato.
The double track is laid with rails of 59 ft. 1 in., each length weighing 102.1 lb. per yard, and there are thirty sleepers to every length of rail. The total quantity of ballasting amounted to 655,000 cubic yards.
The new line is electrified on the direct current overhead system at 3,000 volts. The contact wires are fed by five transformer stations along the line, where the high-tension current is stepped down to the required voltage. The high-tension current is supplied at 60,000 volts from the hydro-electric power plant which the State Railway Administration has built on the Apennine mountains near Pracchia. For the purpose of storing up the necessary volume of water a vast reservoir has been built by the construction of a dam 300 ft. high, and the plant is one of the finest examples of hydro-electric plants in Europe. The "Direttissima" is also connected with the powerful transformer station of Bologna—San Viola, where high-tension current at 120,000 volts is received from hydro-electric plants in the Alps.
It will be appreciated that considerable engineering feats were involved in these subsidiary operations.
The Monte Adone Tunnel has a length of 7,694 yards. The track runs straight with the exception of a length of 650 yards, which is on a wide curve with a radius of 2,200 yards. The tunnel was driven from both ends, and as no particular difficulties were encountered it was completed within five and a half years.
The Pian di Setta Tunnel has a length of 3,334 yards. It runs straight for about 1,820 yards, and then on a curve with a wide radius. Difficult conditions of soil were encountered and heavy emanations of methane gas (marsh gas) had to be overcome. Progress was slow, and thirty yards a day was the maximum. Work was begun in 1921 from the northern side, and in 1925 from the south. Advance headings met in 1928.
The "Direttissima" joins the old line, as previously mentioned, at Prato. The impossibility of enlarging the existing station necessitated the transfer of the station 700 yards farther south. A magnificent new station building was erected, and a large modem station was laid out.
The following figures give an idea of the magnitude of the construction of the "Direttissima," the total cost of which amounted to £12,200,000 sterling. Embankments represent a volume of 192-1/2 million cubic feet; seventy-five and a half million cubic feet of cuttings were excavated , the excavated material from the tunnels amounted to 101-1/4 million cubic feet, the masonry work in the tunnels to sixty-four million cubic feet. The consumption of electric current required for the plants and installations was 101,340,000 kilowatt hours.
The line contains forty bridges, the total length of which is two and three-quarter miles ; thirty-one tunnels with a total length of twenty-two and a half miles, thirty-one and a half miles of embankments, and nearly seven miles of cuttings.
But the most outstanding feature of the "Direttissima" is the Great Apennine Tunnel, the length of which is 20242.21 yards—eleven and a half miles. Although it is 1,546 yards shorter than the Simplon Tunnel, the longest in the world, the Apennine Tunnel may be considered as the greatest example of tunnel construction in existence, for it is built for a double track, whereas the Simplon has single-track tunnels.
Seldom—if ever—has the construction of a railway tunnel been fraught with so many serious difficulties. All the elements seemed to combine to prevent the completion of the tunnel ; treacherous soil, water in endless quantities, explosions of poisonous gas, and outbreaks of fire—one after the other, often combined. It was a struggle between Titans, on the one hand the elements, on the other—man. And man conquered.
A monument erected on the square outside the station of Bologna bears ninety-seven names and the inscription "E TENEBRIS LUCENT." On April 21, 1934, the King of Italy unveiled the monument in commemoration of the opening of the "Direttissima." The ninety-seven names are those of the men who sacrificed their lives on this battlefield of progress.
The magnitude of the tunnel construction necessitated a vast amount of preliminary work. The nature of the soil through which the tunnel was to be bored had first to be investigated. Seven shafts were sunk at intervals to below the tunnel line, some of them to a depth of 1,300 ft. By doing this it was possible to ascertain the nature of the ground and its composition.
The geological formation of the Apennines differs from that of the Alps. The Alps, where so many famous tunnels have been constructed, are of solid rock, and the boring did not present any particular difficulties. The Apennine mountains on the route of the "Direttissima" consist mostly of clay and sand schists. A worse soil for tunnel construction could not be found. It was clear from these surveys that construction would be very slow if it were undertaken in the usual way from both ends. It was, therefore, decided to create two further points of attack by sinking, about midway at Cà di Landino, two inclined shafts to the level of the tunnel. The two shafts were sunk at a distance of 400 ft. from one another at an inclination of twenty-seven degrees. Their length is 1,683 and 1,605 ft. respectively, and their section is 170 sq. ft. They were connected at the bottom by a wide gallery in which the necessary machinery and pumping installations were erected.
In each of the shafts a cable railway was built for the conveyance of men and the transport of material. The trucks had a seating capacity for thirty men, and the trolleys were built for loads of 2.2 cubic yards. During the later stages of the construction a more powerful driving plant was installed ; this was capable of hauling two trolleys each of 1.9 cubic yards. The hauling machinery was driven by three 75 h.p. motors of 720 revolutions per minute, each of the three pulleys being operated independently by one motor. The hauling ropes had a diameter of 1-3/4 in. The cable railway worked on the "jig-back" system with one ascending and one descending car, which leave the terminals simultaneously and pass each other midway. To allow for this the shafts were widened in the centre. At the sides of the track a staircase was built for emergencies. The shafts were lined partly with bricks and partly with concrete. The construction of the shafts required the excavation of 41,000 cubic yards.
Before the construction of the Great Tunnel could proceed the problem of transporting all the machinery, material and plant had to be solved. Both entrances of the tunnel were a long way from any village, and farther still from any railway station. The existing roads were ordinary country roads, unsuitable for heavy lorry traffic. Furthermore, there existed the possibility of snowstorms or torrential rainfalls rendering the roads impassable. The solution was found in the construction of two service railways. One line of seventeen miles was built from Sasso, a station on the Porretta line, to the northern entrance of the tunnel. The second line of thirteen and a half miles was laid from Prato via the Bisenzio Valley to the southern entrance of the tunnel. The lines had a gauge of 3 ft. 1-3/8 in. The laying of these lines called for a number of constructional works, some of which are of considerable importance.
The rolling stock for the service lines consisted of fourteen steam locomotives and 216 trucks, by which two and a half million tons of material were transported. The cost of the two lines, including rolling-stock, amounted to £480,000.
The two service lines provided transport facilities only to the two entrances of the tunnel, and in order to bring the entrance to the inclined shafts at Cà di Landino within easy reach, an aerial ropeway was built from the northern tunnel entrance. The length of this ropeway was over five miles, and the difference in level between the two terminal stations 865 ft. The system of the aerial ropeway adopted was that of two carrying and one traction rope. The carriers had a capacity of 8 cwt., and the hourly capacity of the line was twenty-seven and a half tons. The total quantity of material transported by this ropeway was 75,000 tons. The boring of the tunnel started at the north portal in July, 1920, and at the south portal a few months earlier.
At both entrances of the tunnel, and at Cà di Landino, the State Railway Administration built villages to house the thousands of workmen, engineers and their families. The villages were completely equipped ; there were churches, schools, hospitals, maternity homes, kindergarten and cinemas. An aqueduct ensured the supply of fresh water, and electric light was supplied during the first few years by an oil-driven power plant. Later, a line was constructed to convey the current from Prato to Cà di Landino and to the two entrances, where the required voltage was obtained in the transformer stations.
The arrangements for the power supply were on a vast scale. Power was generated by eleven Diesel engines varying from 120 to 400 h.p. Their total capacity was 2,540 h.p., of which 600 h.p. were installed at the southern, and 720 h.p. at the northern entrance. There were 1,220 h.p. at the inclined shafts. Electric current was supplied over a 30,000 volts line from Prato, which had a length of twenty-eight and a half miles. Cà di Landino was connected with Bologna by a 30,000 volts line, and during the latter stages of the construction a second line, nineteen miles long, was built from Prato to Cà di Landino to carry 2,000 kilowatts. The transformer stations had a total capacity of 11,270 kilo volt amperes.
In view of the great length of the tunnel careful provisions were made to ensure the supply of fresh air to the farthest working points. The ventilation plants were installed at the two portals and at the two shafts. As the headings proceeded, an auxiliary ventilating plant was installed within the tunnel. Fresh air was supplied at 850 cub. ft. per second. The average daily rate of fresh air driven into the tunnel by the powerful ventilators was fifty-eight million cubic feet from the north entrance, fifty million from the shafts and thirty-five million from the south.
On account of such large volumes of air it was necessary to divide the completed and lined sections of the tunnel by a temporary brick bulkhead running longitudinally. Two ducts were formed, the fresh air being driven through one side, the used air escaping through the other. The ventilating plant at either of the portals consisted of two Sulzer fans, each of 850 cub. ft. capacity and driven by 145-170 h.p. motors ; at each of the shafts two Cerpelli fans of 650 cub. ft. each were installed. The auxiliary plant at either heading consisted of a set of fans of 210 cub. ft. driven by 45-55 h.p. motors. These auxiliary fans drew the air from the main ducts and drove it through metal pipes of decreasing diameters to the working faces.
For the transport of men and material inside the tunnel a narrow-gauge railway was laid, over which ran compressed-air locomotives. Two types of locomotives were in use, a smaller one of 40 h.p. for the advance headings and a larger one of 80 h.p. for the completed sections of the tunnel. The air was compressed in the machinery hall and was delivered through steel pipes laid within the tunnel. At certain intervals cocks were fitted in the pipeline from which the locomotives drew their supply. The compressor plant also provided the compressed air required for driving the pneumatic hammers and drills.
The presence of gas and the danger of explosions and fire continually worried the engineers in charge. Gas emanations were encountered during almost the whole time of the construction. The gas consisted of ninety-seven per cent of methane which, on account of its low specific weight, rose to the highest points and accumulated behind timbering. Methane is poisonous and, when mixed with air in a given proportion, becomes highly explosive on contact with an open flame or when a detonator is fired. All possible precautionary measures were taken. Specially constructed safety and gas-detecting lamps were employed. These changed colour in accordance with the amount of gas present, and indicated by the length of the flame the proportions of the components in the gas. Trained men were employed to inspect the upper parts of the headings. When gas was found, it was set on fire by distance-controlled fuses. Salvage crews had been trained in anticipation of any serious outbreak, while a permanent supply of water was ensured by the laying of a special pipeline. The water was kept under a high pressure, and along the tunnel a number of pumps were installed and connected with the pipeline.
The irruptions of gas were serious at times. Gas issued at the rate of 4-1/2 cub. ft. per second at a high pressure. Fresh air had to be pumped at the rate of 1,350 cub. ft. per second to the danger spots to dilute the gas and render it harmless. The measures proved efficient, and there were only four explosions which caused any serious interruption of work.
Outbreaks of fire were more serious. One, at about three miles from the north portal, stopped work in the affected zone for seven months. This outbreak occurred during blasting, when an onrush of gas occurred and the timbering took fire. Despite all efforts the fire could not be extinguished. On the next day another heavy explosion occurred at the same spot. The ventilation bulkhead was destroyed for over 1,100 ft., as well as the cabin of the ventilation engineer. The upper and lower headings, which intercommunicated, were filled with heavy smoke, for, owing to the collapse of the bulkhead, the whole ventilation system had been damaged.
An heroic crew drove up on a compressed air locomotive to the burning timbering. The men flooded the area and checked the fire. Only then was it possible to ascertain that the lower heading had collapsed through the burning of the timbering. The temperature had reached 212 degrees. The temporary bulkhead was rebuilt, and also the ventilating cabin. Meanwhile, in the part of the upper heading where the fire continued unabated, three powerful hydrants protected the scaffolding which was erected to replace the wooden timbering with steel shores. Three fine-mesh wire nettings were put up at a distance of 3-1/2 ft. from one another. But the fire continued furiously for two and a half months.
Matters became worse through emanations of gas in the lower heading, they issued from a gas-filled cavern below the tunnel. The whole lower heading became filled with gas and hindered all efforts to extinguish the fire. It was decided to flood the heading to a depth of 14 ft. at the back of a wall which was put up across the heading. In order not to protract the stoppage of work in the northern part of the tunnel, a by-pass tunnel was constructed at 50 ft. distance from the tunnel, over a length of about 700 ft. This by-pass was bored at a short distance in front of the cross wall, and it joined the track of the tunnel beyond the flooded section so that work could proceed. Over 330 ft. were completed beyond the flooded area during this time. Five months after the outbreak the flames had disappeared, and it took another two months to repair the damage.
Fire and gas were not the only obstacles. Water was also a most stubborn enemy ; it was present everywhere, seeping through the roof. through the sides, breaking through from underground caverns, spouting from the drill holes, bursting forth in the form of cascades at the rate of seventy-five gallons per second, and flooding the headings by torrential downpours.
The original surveys had revealed that water would be met with in limited quantities, and at first this was so. Three reciprocal pumps had been installed, but with the progress of work more and more water appeared, and the original pumping plant had to be increased until twenty-seven electric pumps with a total capacity of 215 gallons per second were at work. During the period from May 1925 to March 1930, 4,735 million gallons of water (corresponding to an average of 3,366,000 gallons a day) were pumped from the tunnel, a quantity that would be sufficient to fill an artificial lake of 1-1/4 miles in length, 3/4 mile wide and 33 ft. deep.
The most violent incursion occurred at a point 6,320 yards from the southern portal, when the waters broke through in the form of a cascade at the rate of 66 gallons per second. The canal built in the centre of the tunnel to collect the waters was insufficient ; the lower heading was flooded and work interrupted. To stop the flow of the water a brick wall, 10 ft. thick, was built and nine steel pipes of 6-3/4 in. diameter were let in to drain off the water. Simultaneously seven pipes of smaller diameter, 15 to 30 ft. long, were driven through the wall, and first a cement mixture and then a mixture of cement, wood and metal scrap was forced through under pressure. But this method, which had previously proved successful at other points, failed this time. The wall was again demolished and where art and science had failed the indomitable will power of the men working waist deep in the floods succeeded.
Despite all precautions water continued to trickle through over almost the whole length of the tunnel. In the Apennine Tunnel, where the line is electrified, even a small amount of water upon the overhead contact lines might cause serious trouble, and a dangerous situation would arise if the accumulated water were to freeze and icicles form, To waterproof the crown of the tunnel was a matter of vital importance. This was done over a width of 22 ft. along the whole tunnel. A mixture of cement and sand, under pressure, was injected into a number of holes. The face was then roughened, cleaned with steel brushes, and washed by jets of water under pressure. All joints between bricks or masonry were cleaned of the adhering mortar by pneumatic tools. The waterproofing mixture was then applied in two coats to a thickness of 1 in. To ensure perfect execution, this work was done by hand instead of using cement guns.
The method of driving the tunnel was as follows : First a bottom heading, 13 ft. 1-1/2 in. by 10 ft. 6 in., was driven over a given distance and the narrow gauge railway laid in it. Next, a top heading, 8 ft. 2-3/8 in. by 6 ft. 6-3/4 in., was driven corresponding to the line of the crown. Between these two headings a horizontal division, about 7 ft. thick, remained, which represented the floor of the upper heading. Vertical shafts bored through this division provided communication between upper and lower headings for the purpose of removing excavated material from the upper heading. The spoil was shot through these shafts directly into the trucks in the bottom heading. The top heading was afterwards widened and extended as far down as the springing of the arch. The centring was then set in to keep the arch in position, and the arch excavated to its full dimensions. When the arch was in position the horizontal division between the two headings was removed and the bottom heading excavated to its full dimensions. During this work the arch was supported by timbering. On completion of the side walls the inverted arch was set in.
Although the geological survey had made it clear that the soil was of the most difficult kind for tunnel construction, the difficulties which were encountered on certain sections were never expected. The swelling clay soil had given trouble on the northern side, but heavy timbering, sometimes steel centring, the reduction in length of the working sections and the method of completing the lining overcame the difficulties.
At a point about one and a half miles from the north portal, however, a serious situation arose. The pressure of the swelling clay was greater than any timbering could withstand. The strongest pieces of 25 in. diameter were shattered to splinters, the strongest steel shoring was bent and gave way. Stronger timbering, steel constructions—combinations of both—were tried. Repeatedly they crumbled beneath the seemingly infinite power. But man conquered again. A new method of tunnel driving, which will no doubt be adopted in future in similar circumstances, was created. The so-called "Italian" method consisted of driving the bottom of a circular section with a diameter of 14 ft. and lining the circumference with rings composed of staunch wooden wedges like keys. The resistance of this cylinder-like structure was powerful enough even in this instance. When deformations occurred in the lining they were easily repaired by driving wedges into the cracks of the lining. Advance headings met in the northern part in November 1929 and in the southern part in December 1929.
A feature of the tunnel is the large passing station constructed about mid-way between the bottom of the inclined shafts. Its purpose is to permit fast trains to overtake slow traffic. The station consists of a vast hall which is 505 ft. long and 29-1/2 ft. high ; the diameter of the arch is 56 ft. At either end of this station sidings were built in independent tunnels which join again with the main tunnel. The length of these sidings is 1,470 ft.
The section of the tunnel varies according to the nature of the ground. The radius of the crown extends from 14 ft. 6 in. to 14 ft. 9 in., and the height between crown and the inverted arch from 24 ft. 3 in. to 26 ft. Also the thickness of the lining varies. At the crown it is from 1 ft. 9-1/2 in. to 3 ft. 3-1/2 in. and at the inverted arches from 1 ft. 3-3/4 in. to 2 ft. 7-3/4 in. In the passing station the lining of the crown is 4 ft.
The magnitude of the tunnel construction may be judged from the following figures : The excavated material amounted to 69 million cubic feet, the masonry work (linings) to 16 million cubic feet. The consumption of electric current was 110 million kilowatt hours, 981 tons of dynamite were used for blasting, an average of 8-1/2 million cubic feet of compressed air was used for traction purposes and for driving the drills and pneumatic hammers ; the average number of men working inside the tunnel was 1,300, and the average number working outside in the yards was 550. The cost of the tunnel was £5,100,000, or £252 per yard.


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By Jeremy G. Schneider, MFT
Many parents want to have compassionate children, kids who have the ability to care for others, to listen to other people and help them feel better. We teach them about manners, we teach them how to share. We model how to be good people, how to care for others. But it might amaze you to learn that a study spanning 26 years has found that the single most important factor in developing empathy in children is the involvement of their father.
The study by Koestner, Franz, and Weinberger published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that fathers who spent time alone with their children handling all childcare issues like changing diapers, feeding, putting them to bed, etc. for at least two days a week raised children who went on to become the most compassionate adults.
That's pretty incredible!
We fathers have an instrumental role to play when it comes to helping our children develop an understanding and awareness of the people around them, the ability to think of other people and care for them. These are vital skills for developing healthy relationships that will help our children for the rest of their lives. Can you imagine a good marriage without compassion? Can you imagine being a good parent without compassion, without empathy?
This ties in nicely with something I believe very strongly. Fathers, to develop strong healthy relationships with their children, need to "take over" parenting tasks such as feeding, changing diapers, getting kids dressed and most importantly putting them to bed. Often these are tasks that the mother does alone and in better situations they are something that the couple does together. But for a father to develop a very strong relationship with their children, his children need to see him take care of them by himself. He needs to consistently have days or times where only he feeds them, where he only changes them or gets them dressed or takes them out and where he only puts them to bed.
I think putting your children to bed is probably the most powerful in terms of impact because going to sleep engenders such issues for children. Fear of the dark and separation anxiety are just two examples of the struggles children have with going to sleep. Putting children to bed gives children a chance to see Daddy can take care of them just as well as Mommy can. I also have found that it is very valuable to be the one who takes care of them when they wake up in the middle of the night. Again, if you can show your children that when they need you, you can be there for them, you will be able to develop an even stronger relationship with them. For fathers whose partners may be unwilling to give up putting your children to bed, you can try to work out a compromise where you alternate nights or set a schedule of Mon-Wed for one and Thurs-Sun for the other. If you each do it individually then the parent who isn't putting the kids to bed will get some down time without children or spouse, which can be very nice.
Not only does putting your children to bed give you a chance to be there for them when they need you, it also gives you incredibly special, intimate time with them. Time that, according to studies like this one, allow your children to develop a very strong, healthy sense of compassion and empathy so that they can experience the kind of relationships with others that you helped to create with them.


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Willie Mason says his father's unsuccessful fight against cancer is the reason he wants to step an Auckland boxing ring for charity.
Rugby league star Willie Mason says his father's battle with cancer is the reason he's stepping into the boxing ring in a charity fund-raiser.
The former Australia and NSW forward will headline a Fight for Life boxing event in Auckland when he fights a yet-to-be named All Black in December in support of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.
"Whenever I hear the word 'cancer', it sets me back for a second or two," said Mason, whose father, Ian, died from the disease 15 years ago.
While it wasn't prostate cancer his father succumbed to, the 32-year-old Mason said cancer was cancer for anyone who had suffered a loss like his family did.
"So, when I heard the charity was a cancer awareness one, the decision to get inside those ropes was an easy one," said the Newcastle Knights player.
"If I can convince blokes to go and get checked and save their kids from having to go through what I went through in 1997, then every second inside the ring would have been worth it."
The Fight for Life event is been billed as a "battle of the codes" between rugby union and league.
Among those who took part last year were present and past All Blacks Liam Messam, Christian Cullen and Carlos Spencer, dual Australian international Wendell Sailor and Kiwis hooker Issac Luke.
Mason knows he isn't the most popular person in New Zealand.
In 2006, he angered Kiwis fans when he appeared to disrespect the haka before what turned out to be a spiteful trans-Tasman Test in Auckland.
He hopes his decision to get into the ring for charity will gain him a bit more respect on this side of the Tasman.


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The MOD lets you create new soundscapes for your music and use them live when you record and gig.
The MOD Duo is the first multipurpose pedal. It's hundreds of music pedals in one powerful little box. You won't have to buy a new pedal every time you want to experiment or spend another penny on pedals just to see how they'll sound - you'll download them from the MOD's interface.
With the MOD Duo any musician can freely install hundreds of effects and other audio apps from independent developers.
We are doing to music pedals what the smartphones did to the mobile phones! Any developer can create apps for you to use in your MOD Duo. Teaching Apps? Collaborative plugins? You name it.
You can create, load and share virtual pedalboards to achieve any tone that you can imagine – and download anyone else's shared pedalboards in a few seconds.
Download an entirely new effect and start using it without spending a penny. Share your exact tone with a buddy three thousand miles away – and know that you're both getting the same great experience.
- (2016-04-11) Hey! How is it going? We are back in Berlin after this amazing weekend at #Musikmesse and we want to show you this #modtutorial which explains how the MOD Duo exactly works. For more videos and information go to www.moddevices.com by MOD Devices
- (2016-08-25) Mod Devices - MOD-Duo - Unboxing and first impressions.... by EytschPi42
- (2016-09-03) MOD Devices at start up night Berlin, showing the amazing things MOD Duo can do! by MOD Devices
- (2016-10-29) The Mod Duo Pedal from Mod Devices by intheblues
- (2017-01-19) MOD Devices Duo Smart Stomp Box at NAMM 2017 by Nevada Music UK
- (2017-02-03) Mod Devices Mod Duo - NAMM 2017 by SoundOnSound
- (2017-02-23) Let Adam & Gianfranco show you how to get some awesome thick guitar tones using the MOD Duo's harmonizer plugins. Want more awesome tips & tricks like this? Of course you do! Join our free webinar series which starts this evening at https://mod.easywebina by MOD Devices
- (2017-06-30) Review - Mod Duo - Baixo by klebersh
- (2017-10-17) Expo Music 2017 - MOD DUO by klebersh
- (2017-11-06) MOD DUO - Joe Satriani Tone ?Friends? by klebersh
- (2017-11-30) MOD DUO - Banda Hot Rocks ?Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming? (Deep Purple) by klebersh
- (2017-12-06) MOD DUO - Conheça tudo que ele faz em 1 minuto. Kleber K. Shima - MOD Devices by klebersh
- (2018-01-06) MOD DUO - MOD Devices mod duo tablet ipad bluetooth by klebersh
- (2018-02-07) MOD DUO - MOD Devices with Fishman Triple Play - Kleber K. Shima by klebersh
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- (2017-10-11) Mod Duo Review by Premier Guitar
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By Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — After more than a day of being grounded, flights from the United States to Tel Aviv have been cleared for takeoff.
Those flight restrictions were put into place on Tuesday after a missile fell just a mile from Israel's main airport.
Rae Merlin and her daughter Liana were spending time in Philadelphia with family and friends.
But for the last two days they had their lives put on hold as they waited for the okay to catch their flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Tel Aviv so they could go home to Ra'anana.
"It's nerve-racking because we really want to get home. We're really worried for everybody's lives and it's a tragic situation over there we really hope it will end soon," says Merlin.
Shavit Veredvaruach was working as a summer camp counselor in Buffalo, New York.
"I'm nervous for my family who's under rockets and for my friends who are in Gaza but I'm sure everything will be okay eventually," says Veredvaruach.
But as the fighting escalated in Israel, she knew she must return home, but not before stopping in Philadelphia to see some family.
She says what was meant to be a two-day trip turned into four days of worrying.
"Nerve-racking, I had so many panic attacks I've been on sleeping pills mostly," she says.
There is one daily flight that leaves from Philadelphia International to Tel Aviv and its run by U.S. Airways.
A worker with the airlines says that Thursday night flight was completely booked.
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Marciso Mariso
September 23, 2008 ,
3:04 pm ]
My Name is Marciso Mariso


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First edition of Friday Night Lights
Posted by Metro Desk September 7, 2012 06:19 PM
A busy first Friday of football and we're spread out across eight different games.
Dorchester 36, New Mission 0 - The Bears looked good in their opener, having little trouble with New Mission which was playing its first ever varsity football game.
Latin Academy 26, South Boston 20 (OT) - LA ran out to a 20-0 lead before host Southie scored 20 straight points to send the game to overtime. The Dragons won in overtime.
Blue Hills 24 East Boston 0 - At the half host Blue Hills has a commanding lead. Vincvent Burton has one touchdown.
Originally published on the blog The High School Sports Blog.


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Displaying a slide about going "back to my roots," Garriott said his company planned to make "AAA games, meaning the games we find compelling to create and play, but distributed through social media." Why that medium? "The power is in that you don't have to make a decision to buy it, you play it by clicking on a link, nothing to pay for up front, no real installation and only if you decide you really want to play it will we decide how to eventually charge you money for it."
Later, in response to an audience question, he explained his strategy a bit further. "Since everybody else is doing Flash and Java games, I can kick their ass pretty easy."


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I was going to call this recipe "rotten banana muffins" but thought that if I wanted ANY traffic on this one, the word "brown" seemed a whole lot safer. And more appetizing. And could mean several things besides the fact that I'm asking you to use rotten banana's for maximum BANANA flavor….No questions asked.
You will love these because they're super moist, super banana-y (is that a word? yes, it is now), and they're ready in a flash. You can add nuts, omit them, add chocolate chips, craisins, or nothing at all, and these are just as good "as is" as they are all dressed up. Don't forget the cinnamon though. There's something about that cinnamon that really brings it home for me. I cannot explain it. I've made these without the cinnamon and with and I prefer with cinnamon.
ROTTEN BANANA PEP TALK: Let's talk briefly about these bananas. In order to get the most flavor out of your banana's you're going to need to let them rot. On the counter. Until they're pretty dang sad. I learned this "technique" from watching a show about the Momofuku Milk Bar Banana Cream Pie. The baker featured on the show brought out these dark brown/black banana's and went on and on about how the best flavor was in those rotten things. It makes sense. Ethylene gas makes things ripe, the more gas, the more ripe. Too much gas, too much ripe, then you've moved to rotten. Rotten can be good. Think: blue cheese. You can get this by leaving them on the counter until they're putrid OR when they're getting to the mostly brown and almost no yellow stage, throw them in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to use them. I had some (sadly, I didn't think you'd like a photo) and pulled them out of the freezer a few hours before I wanted to use them. They defrosted on the counter with no issues and were basically banana goo-making them perfect for use. If you like texture in your muffins, then by all means, use a less ripe banana as well to get some "chunks" in those beauties. You won't hear me complain. EVER.
Rotten banana talk: OVER. Let's make some muffins
You'll need:
30 min.
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
- 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt (any fat, chobani is my personal fave)
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 c. mashed VERY ripe bananas
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- **chocolate chips, craisins, nuts, etc… go wild kids. go wild….**
- Pre-heat oven to 350
- Line 12-15 muffin cups with liners or use non-stick spray
- In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients: eggs, yogurt, oil, vanilla.
- Mix in sugar.
- Mix in baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and flour and mix until just combined. Don't over-mix.
- Fold in any additions: nuts, chips, etc….
- Portion into cups until 2/3 full.
- Bake for 15-20 min. or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and cool on cooling rack.


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how do I know when I'm late? I came off depo and have bled alot since...I know I dont have a 28 day cycle.. Id guess from a 20-25 tops. here I am at cycle day 27 if I dont start my period tmro. does this mean I'm most likely late since thats the longest I've went in over a year without bleeding?
Asked by Anonymous at 11:40 AM on Jan. 30, 2012 in Trying to Conceive
Answer by mummy22kids at 11:51 AM on Jan. 30, 2012
Next question in Trying to Conceive
4th month TTC... Next week is testing week.. if I dont start AF.
Next question overall
Just saw the preview for the new season of army wives in march. Anyone else...


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Yes, this is human. (Via VK)
Look out, old Human Barbie. There's a new, younger Human Barbie, and she's only 16 years old.
Meet Lolita Richi. According to The Daily Mail, she's only been doing the Human Barbie thing for a year but already has a bunch of fans and is totally natural and not a robot sex doll.
Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, now living in Tukmenistan, Lolita claims that she's never had any plastic surgery, and her 20 inch waist and 32F breasts are totally natural. No photoshop. Not even dieting.
What has two thumbs and might be a robot sex doll? (Via VK)
"I had great features to start with and I just improved on them," Lolita told the Daily Mail. "My big breasts are natural although I sometime wear a push-up bra to enhance them. I have a gorgeous figure so I don't even have to diet. I just eat whatever's available in the fridge whether that's sausages or fruit."
Do robots eat sausages?
"I started wearing affordable contact lenses and make-up," she continued. "My mother used to be an actress so I borrow her wigs."
Really, Lolita? The only thing you've done to change your appearance is eat sausages and wear colored contacts? The rest was just left up to mother nature?
My engineer programmed me to say YOLO when my sensors detect fun. (Via VK)
That's so rude. At least the old Human Barbie, Valeria Lukyanova, had the decency to claim that she attained her dollish figure by being a breatharian. You know, those people who believe they can survive on only air and light. It's kinda like being a plant, but without all that fattening dirt.
Not that Lolita wouldn't take extreme measures to look perfect if she hadn't had the good fortune to be born (constructed) as a perfect human (robot sex doll).
As she told the Daily Mail, "I think that all women should be well-kept and immaculate. If a girl doesn't have beautiful eyes then they should wear contact lenses to sort it out. If they have a crooked nose, then she must do something about it, whether that's plastic surgery or not."
That's plastic surgery. That's how you fix a crooked nose.
Thank goodness her only imperfection was her lively real human eyes which could be easily fixed into dead doll eyes with contacts.
Thinking about looking like I'm not thinking. (Via VK)
Even though Lolita plans to become famous from her Barbie appearance, she also plans to become a psychologist, because there are people out there with real mental problems.
But not her. They don't program robot sex dolls to be crazy.
Or do they? (Via VK)
(by Myka Fox)


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Atlanta's a good place to be right now. "People are finally moving back to the city; the energy's back," says chef and restaurateur Angus Brown, who owns the popular Octopus Bar with partner Nhan Le. "There are also more and more [urban] farmers popping up and they're growing really cool stuff; not just collard greens and tomatoes, but bamboo shoots and young ginger." Early next year Brown and Le will introduce the city to their newest concept, a 40-seat restaurant called Ama, and will shutter their other eatery, the highly acclaimed Lusca, to fucus on the new project. We talked to Brown as he surveyed his new building about why he's moving and how he's seen the Atlanta food landscape change.
What can people expect from your new restaurant?
There's a development in Atlanta called the BeltLine. It's similar to the High Line in New York: an old rail path that's been reused as a walking path and park. We're going to be on the path, right across the street from Ponce City Market, an old brick Sears building that has been turned into a food complex similar to Chelsea Market.
It's going to be called Ama. Ama were free divers, predominately women, in Japan. It goes back like 2,000 years. They basically just wore loin cloths and dove for pearls and lobsters and oysters and sea urchins. We're going to sell a lot of wood-grilled seafood and oysters at Ama, so I thought it was a perfect name for us. It's going to be our main spot.
What brought you to the BeltLine area?
Our two restaurants, Octopus Bar and Lusca, are on opposite sides of Atlanta. Ponce City Market is kind of in the center of the city and it's really booming. For years people were living outside the perimeter of Atlanta. Over the past 10 years a lot of the cool buildings were torn down to build shitty condominiums, but we're starting to reuse these old buildings. People are finally moving back to the city; the energy's back. It's a good place to be right now.
How have you seen Atlantans' tastes change since you opened Octopus Bar in 2011?
You know, we're lucky. With Octopus Bar, right out of the gate we were serving things like sea urchin and people were really into it. I'm originally from Atlanta, but I left when I was 15. I moved back four years ago. That was kind of the first year that we started to have local farmers markets. CFM, Atlanta's community of farmers markets, wasn't really around until a couple of years ago. Now there are more and more [urban] farmers popping up and they're growing really cool stuff; not just collard greens and tomatoes, but bamboo shoots and young ginger. There's a lot of foraging too, which I don't think was really happening before. Atlanta is basically a wooded area and outside of it there's lots of streams that are very conductive to awesome mushrooms. So now I'm having farmers coming to the back of my restaurant trying to sell me 20 pounds of chicken of the woods mushrooms. I used to cook in Oregon in early 2000 and that was common day there. Now all the chefs here are getting into it.
Why do you think farmers changed from growing collard greens to bamboo shoots?
I think chefs are looking for that kind of stuff. They're exploring different foods like Szechuan and Japanese rather than just sticking to like the one food they were brought up training on. I came up working in French restaurants. I saw a lot of it and I just kind of focused on that. But the interest is there more and more.
I wasn't really living in Atlanta until four years ago, so I would come back for the holidays and constantly see the city that I left changing. I almost feel like it went really far and people are kind of dialing things in and getting back to more simple and straightforward stuff now. People were really excited and now they're getting focused.
Is traditional Southern food in decline?
Nah, when I think of Atlanta food, that's still what I think of. I think the restaurants that do those things really well are still some of the most exciting spots in town. There's a soul food spot called Busy Bee Café that's been open for 80 years. It's still in the food that we do. Like we are doing a field pea dish right now with chilies and bacon, which reminds me of the old-school Southern food that I grew up eating but it's definitely got a little more to it.
Your restaurants have extensive bar programs. Is there a lot of pressure on chefs to focus on drinks now?
Yeah, absolutely. The bar is defiantly pretty high in Atlanta. Cocktails were one of the things that people were really getting into before they were into food. It's almost like the food renaissance here started secondary to that. Now we have all these great distributors and are trying to sell really niche and boutique stuff that's a little more interesting than oaked Chardonnay. People are getting into cool sake programs, things like that.
Octopus Bar is known for being a favorite hangout of the industry crowd, people who work in bars and restaurants. How do you keep it so friendly to them?
Octopus Bar is basically a patio that has a tarp roof on the side of a Vietnamese restaurant. It was just supposed to be temporary, but it took off. It's in East Atlanta, where a lot of cooks and artists live. And it opens at 10:30 P.M., so we don't even get started until many of them are getting off work. They have a chance to get a full, interesting meal past 12 A.M. rather than just pizza and chicken wings. The first couple of months if someone sitting in there wasn't a buddy of ours, we'd be like 'who the fuck is that?' At Ama we're also going to sell food until 1:30 A.M. without any pretension. It feels good in there. We're able to enjoy what we do and have a good time.
Alyson Sheppard writes about restaurants and bars for Playboy.com. Find her on Twitter: @amshep


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To What Extent Should Older Patients Be Included in Decisions Regarding Their Resuscitation Status?
Wilson, John
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Medical Ethics 2008 May; 34(5): 353-356
As medical technology continues to advance and we develop the expertise to keep people alive in states undreamt of even 20 years ago, there is increasing interest in the ethics of providing, or declining to provide, life-sustaining treatment. One such issue, highly contentious in clinical practice as well as in the media (and, through them, the public), is the use of do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders. The main group of patients affected by these orders is older people. This article explores some of the arguments regarding who should make the decision to implement such an order, with particular reference to older people and the unique issues they face in relation to resuscitation. The author concludes by arguing that official guidelines, while representing an ideal, are not easily applied in a typical acute setting where decisions regarding resuscitation are most commonly made, and makes suggestions as to how they may be implemented more successfully.
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i'm losing herVisitor's Question from a 13-15 year old Male
hi i am 15 and i have a crush on someone from class. i'm not popular and she is realy populair. we came along very well but now my crush is about to end if i don't do anything. My friend from class helped her with her with a subject from school (and she had a good score), i helped her also but with a less difucult subject. Now with the warm weather my friend asked her to go swimming in his pool with a couple of other friends. Now she has a better bond with that person and i'm afraid if that person asked her out, that she'll agree. how can i make her want me instead of him?
thanks for ur time
RomanceClass.com Advice
You are in a very difficult situation. Ask your friend to invite you to the pool whenever she is there. Tell him you like her. It won't hurt to do this and might make a big difference.
Life is not easy, don't take this too hard if this doesn't work out.
Good luck! George
-- from George
One of Your Friendly Advisors at RomanceClass.com
|Follow @RomanceClass
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If you still failed to uninstall AVG Web TuneUp after trying several times, you might want to read this page for instructions.
AVG Web TuneUp is a free browser extension that offers users with secure search. It's designed to improve users' online security and overall experience when surfing the Internet. I'm hereby showing you how to completely uninstall AVG Web TuneUp windows. Continue reading


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ALEC is a secret organization that recruits state legislators and corporate giants to advance the interests of corporate America, while refusing to disclose its membership or donors. It hosts expensive conferences in resort hotels and offers "scholarships" to legislators and their families if they are willing to pay their dues and become members.
In Nebraska, there are only 5 official legislative members, but several years ago there were 22. We've worked hard to bring ALEC and their agenda into the sunshine, and it will remain a large part of our work as long as they attempt to secretly influence the legislature.


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By Leslie Kantor, Vice President of Education, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
If your teen is anything like mine, it can be nearly impossible to get him away from his phone! Knowing that it's such an integral part of their lives, and that teens want to get information on their phones from trustworthy sources instantaneously, Planned Parenthood is giving them both what they want and what they need: an entertaining way to make plans for their futures, learn skills to resist peer pressure, make healthy decisions, and encourage them to talk to you — all while using their phones.
Planned Parenthood launched nine new tools designed for cell phones — and because they need different information at different ages, there is a set of tools for middle-school aged teens and another for high-school aged teens. They can be used on any phone or computer that can go online and don't require Smartphone capability.
These "apps" (actually mobile websites) were designed after listening to the needs of hundreds of teens from across the country and with input from experts and professionals. They are based on what research has shown helps teens make good decisions and follow through on them — all in a format that teens like. Digital tools like these can give young people tailored information based on their answers and reach those who aren't getting information they need in schools. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that only 9% of middle schools and 32% of high schools cover all of the most important topics related to HIV, STIs, and preventing pregnancy.
We hope that parents encourage their teens to check out these tools, and use them to spark discussions about sex and their future plans. Here are the specifics:
- Awkward or Not?": A quiz for teens of all ages that encourages them to talk with their parents about dating and sex and offers tips to start the conversation.
The tools for younger teens encourage them to wait to have sex, set goals for the future, and teach them the skills they'll need to avoid risky situations.
- "What's Your Love Personality?" or "Where Do You Stand?": Designed separately for boys and girls, these help teens think about their ideas about sex and set clear intentions to wait.
- "The Kickback": Presents videos that show effective responses to peer pressure to drink, use drugs, or have sex and then gives teens the chance to choose how they would handle similar situations and learn useful responses.
- "What's Your Plan": Helps teens identify their long-term goals and asks them to consider what impact having a child as a teen could have on those plans. This helps them focus on their future as a way to encourage them to wait to have sex, and the tool gives them the opportunity to share their plan with their parents.
The tools for older teens help them set goals, learn the benefits of consistently using both birth control and condoms to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and help them support a boyfriend or girlfriend in staying safe and healthy.
- "Fast Forward": Encourages teens to think about their long-term goals for their education, career, and family, consider what impact having a child as a teen could have on those plans, and set short-term goals to help move their plans forward.
- "My Birth Control": Guides young women through a series of questions to find birth control methods that meet their needs and help them make decisions they will stick with.
- "Been There. Done That.": Encourages teens to make a plan to use both birth control and condoms (also known as "dual use") when having sex to prevent unintended pregnancy and STIs.
- "It Takes Two": Presents videos of young people talking about the importance of using both condoms and birth control, common myths that cause people to stop using effective birth control methods, and tips for supporting a partner in using birth control and condoms.
Planned Parenthood provides educational programs in person to more than a million people each year, including teens and their parents. Parents can also find information, videos, tips, and resources on talking to children of all ages on Planned Parenthood's Tools for Parents page.
We know how important it is that teens, and their parents, have the resources they need to stay healthy and plan their future. We believe parents should always be their teens' primary sex educators, and hope these tools help you have these important conversations.
Follow Leslie on Twitter @LeslieKantor.


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CAMBRIDGE, ON, Feb. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - exactEarth Ltd. (the "Company") (TSX: XCT), the leading provider of Satellite-AIS data services, announces that CEO Peter Mabson will appear on Business News Network ("BNN") today at approximately 9:50 am ET to discuss the Company's business, strategy and outlook. A video replay of the interview will be available later on BNN's website: http://www.bnn.ca/
About exactEarth Ltd.
exactEarth is a leading provider of global maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions. Since its establishment in 2009, exactEarth has pioneered a powerful new method of maritime surveillance called Satellite-AIS ("S-AIS") and has delivered to its clients a view of maritime behaviours across all regions of the world's oceans unrestricted by terrestrial limitations. exactEarth has deployed an operational data processing supply chain involving a constellation of satellites, receiving ground stations, patented decoding algorithms and advanced "big data" processing and distribution facilities. This ground-breaking system provides a comprehensive picture of the location of AIS equipped maritime vessels throughout the world and allows exactEarth to deliver data and information services characterized by high performance, reliability, security and simplicity to large international markets. For more information, visit exactearth.com.
SOURCE exactEarth Ltd.
Image with caption: "exactEarth Ltd. (CNW Group/exactEarth Ltd.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160211_C1300_PHOTO_EN_618591.jpg
For further information: Dave Mason, Investor Relations, Tel: +1 416-985-3647, email@example.com LINKS
Browse our custom packages or build your own to meet your unique communications needs.
Fill out a CNW membership form or contact us at 1 (877) 269-7890
Request more information about CNW products and services or call us at 1 (877) 269-7890


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BY any stretch of the imagination the 1920's were a colourful decade. Two promotions and two relegations saw the club climb back to the heights of Division One and slump down to the previously unknown depths of the Third Division (North).
A championship was collected along the way and the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup were reached for the first time in 20 years.
There was the day when the players dashed between stranded trains and broken-down taxis to get to Blackburn in a Keystone cops-style caper which held the game up for half an hour and then abandoned with four minutes to go. A player from Burnley called Bob McGrory arrived at the Victoria Ground in 1921 and legend has it he thought twice about signing because he didn't like the look of the place or indeed Stoke-on-Trent in general. He signed...and didn't leave until 1952 after over 500 league and cup appearances and 17 years as manager!
There were regular derby games with Burslem Port Vale, elected to the League in place of Leeds City in 1919, and the Club became owners of their own stadium when the freehold to the Victoria Ground was acquired, culminating in the building of a new 12,000-capacity Butler Street Stand, reputedly the second largest of its kind in Britain, and pushing the overall capacity to 50,000. The decade saw Stoke finally equip themselves for big-time football both on and off the field, yet it was a roller-coaster ride throughout.
The Club finished third from bottom of Division Two in 1920-21 but a year later celebrated promotion back to Division One - for the first time since 1907 - as runners-up to Nottingham Forest. That lasted just one season and only Oldham, on goal average, kept them off bottom spot. After a mediocre 1923-24 relegation was avoided by just one point and one place the following year before the axe fell in 1926. Stoke finished next-to-bottom of Division Two and accompanied Stockport into Division Three (North) for the first time. Fortunately, it was a brief stay.
The championship was won 12 months later, with five points to spare over Rochdale and the Cub returned to Division Two where they challenged strongly for promotion for two of the next three seasons as the decade drew to its close. The highlight of the FA Cup was undoubtedly a run to the last eight in 1928, when Gillingham, Bolton and Manchester City were beaten before a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at Highbury.


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Finger Grip Machine Operator
Tend grinding machines that cut finger grips in sliding glass doors.
What does a Finger Grip Machine Operator do?
Tends one or more grinding machines that cut finger grips in sliding glass doors: Sets guide rails and stops to control length, centering, and depth of cut, using wrenches, setscrews, and measuring tape. Turns valve to start flow of water to grinding wheel, and flips switch to start machine. Positions glass on table against stops and guide rails under cutting wheel and pushes or pulls lever to lower rotating cutting wheel to surface of glass and to raise cutting wheel when groove is ground. May set micro-switch that raises wheel automatically when specified depth of groove is obtained. May install cutting wheels on spindles, using wrench. May dress grinding wheels.


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As Mindy hands over the Reality Blog to a new crop of hopeful, talented writers, she shares one last hard-won tip. Find out her secret to walking boldly forward on a new path of goals …Read More
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