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About the Book
An uproarious, inspiring cookbook from the longtime editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine, in which the first lady of food spills the secret of her culinary ineptitude, while learning—finally—to cook, side-by-side with some of the greatest chefs working today, from David Chang to Alice Waters to Thomas Keller.
For years, Dana Cowin kept a dark secret: From meat to veggies, broiling to baking, breakfast to dinner, she ruined literally every kind of dish she attempted. Now, in this cookbook confessional, the vaunted "first lady of food" finally comes clean about her many meal mishaps. With the help of friends—all-star chefs, including April Bloomfield, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Tom Colicchio, among many others—Cowin takes on 100 recipes dear to her heart. Ideal dishes for the home cook, each recipe has a high "yum" factor, a few key ingredients, and a simple trick that makes them special. With every dish, she attains a critical new skill, learning invaluable lessons along the way from the hero chefs who help her discover exactly where she goes wrong.
Hilarious and heartwarming, encouraging and instructional, Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen showcases Cowin's plentiful cooking mistakes, inspiring anyone who loves a good meal but fears its preparation. Featuring gorgeous full color photography, it is an intimate, hands-on cooking guide from a fellow foodie and amateur home chef, designed to help even the biggest kitchen phobics overcome their reluctance, with delicious results.
Educator and Librarian Resources
Critical Praise
"A hilarious, inspiring cookbook from the longtime editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine, in which the first lady of food spills her secret culinary ineptitude, while learning-finally-to cook, side-by-side with some of the greatest chefs working." — Publishers Weekly, Fall 2014 Top Ten Cookbooks
"[T]his cookbook is foremost a collection of reliable recipes and straightforward advice... [that] relies on simple equipment, techniques, and ingredients." — Library Journal
"Delightful…candidly humorous… accessible…sure to motivate home cooks to head fearlessly for their kitchens and try these tempting ideas. The simple and tasteful dishes are accompanied by extremely helpful tips…Cowin's culinary education makes for a charming and important book for both would-be and accomplished chefs." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In her new cookbook, Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen, Cowin embarks on a journey to improve her cooking--and to give readers easy, smart tricks that will help them, too… The resulting cookbook is densely packed with advice that will turn anyone into a better cook." — Today.com
"In this honest, confessional cookbook, Cowin shares lessons she's learned from her magazine's staff and 65 top chefs, including things like never cutting corners, getting to know your oven's quirks, and not trusting your instincts until you're entirely sure your instincts deserve to be trusted." — The Oregonian (Portland)
"[An] entertaining (and educational!) cookbook." — Seattle King 5- TV / New Day NW
"[An] ultra-accessible guide to becoming a more than passable home cook." — BookPage
"[Cowin] promises not just cooking lessons from master chefs, but cookable recipes from them, and a few life lessons along the way. Having lived with [Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen] for over a month, I'd have to say she delivers on all counts." — Bookotron
"The end result is gorgeous, simple recipes that even a rank beginner can manage. Plus, you get to see some of your favorite celebrity chefs hamming it up in Cowin's kitchen." — NPR, Best Books of 2014
"The editor of Food & Wine magazine consults dozens of great chefs and comes away with plenty of handy tips--as well as lots of manageable recipes." — New York Times Book Review
"This cookbook is charming and encouraging-a breath of relief for all of us who worry about our skills in the kitchen." — The Kitchn
Product Details
- Imprint: Ecco
- On Sale: 10/14/2014
- Trimsize: 8 in (w) x 10 in (h) x 1.03 in (d)
- Pages: 320
- List Price: 34.99 USD
- BISAC1: COOKING / General
- BISAC2: COOKING / Methods / General
- BISAC3: COOKING / Courses & Dishes / General


text:
If you have to tell people in writing you're making a joke, it's often not a very funny one.
You must be new here...
Nonsense. I fondly remember many middle school afternoons playing D&D going into the forest and grinding against gradually larger and larger boars until I eventually hit level 20 and fought dragons.
Isn't that how everyone else played?
Check out Ryan Dancey's blog from this week. He's a major game industry consultant, former CEO of Wizards when they bought D&D and then sold to Hasbro. He's dumped a major 6-part blog or so on how D&D needs to change to compete with WOW.
Even if you think the game experiences are different, all of the business people involved are almost maniacally obsessed with how to get a slice of those millions of monthly WOW subscriptions. Everything they're doing right now has that as an objective.
http://web [mac.com]
You obviously never saw the 2nd Ed rules books and suppliments. Or the rules for systems such as Rolemaster or GURPs.
D20 is actually quite straight forward rules wise. Many table top games rely on probability matricies, d20 simplified the matricies compared with the old THAC0 (to hit armor class zero) rules and the like.
You don't sound happy...
You are a happy citizen, aren't you?
Only commie mutant traitors are unhappy...
You're not a commie mutant traitor are you?
The final bit is just cleaning up some of the more ridiculous skills out there which nobody uses.
I use the 'use rope' skill all the time, it's useful. You never know when you'll have to tie knots on a ship, tie up a bounty, climb out of a well, rappel down the side of a castle wall
It's more a matter of the value you can get out those skills. You might have an actual need for 'use rope' once every five sessions, while other skills such as 'spot' or 'diplomacy' would be used repeatedly during a session. So you have the choice of spending your limited number of points gaining ranks in a skill that might eventually be useful versus one you know will be used over and over.
The other side of this is that the people writing the adventures know that most players don't take those skills. So they don't add events that require the skills, or provide alternative ways of solving the problem. So it spirals down fast.
Obviously you have never encountered the philosophy behind Munchkin [sjgames.com]!
I can understand your other points, but I fail to see how a rulebook determines the amount of magic in your own fantasy world.In First Ed., magic items were VERY rare, and a +1 sword would be something that would be a 3-4 session campaign, but worth obtaining
When the party starts hitting level 20ish, I'd shelve the characters and we'd all roll up new characters.
We'd occasionally take the high level characters off the shelves when I'd dream up some major event for the realm, then we'd play them out in battles which affected the political landscape. The high level party would never personally meet the low level party though.
Some of the best high level games I've played have been with nemesis-parties... groups of NPCs which are nearly as detailed as PCs and h
In WoW, level pretty much is the gauge of your character's abilities, so a character that is level 70, that has crappy equipment is more often asked for groups/raids than a level 65 with excellent stuff.
WoW also has an extra (non gear related) reason why a lvl 65 and a lvl 70 may not be able to go into a dungeon together: at top level, a whole host of new raid encounters and dungeons become available to you, that can only be entered at level 70.
You wouldn't bring a lvl 5 Cleric with your party into a dungeon the GM made for level 10 for the same reason you wouldn't bring a level 65 Priest to help with the level 72+ boss Doomwalker: the level 5 and level 65 wouldn't survive for more than one minute.
While I'm still not sure if I'll drop a bunch of money on getting this new edition when it comes out I'm slightly more optimistic about this edition of the game. The designers seem to have a few good ideas in their heads; not least of which is getting rid of those bloody prestige classes. I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen that feature abused!
Still, is it enough to get me to spend money? I dunno. And the sting of needing to update the material I've written hasn't quite worn off yet. It'd be nice, though, if they could cut down to one core rulebook, or failing that have a basic rulebook handling the first few levels -- sort of a digest version of the core rules
As of right now, most of our gaming sessions (which last between 4 and 6 hours) involve at most, a dozen die rolls that mean anything, and I'd say more often than not, a session ends without a single combat
The first edition of the D&D rules I read made it clear that the XP bonus for defeating a monster was not contingent on killing the monster, and should be awarded if they use diplomacy (often with an extra rôle playing bonus) to achieve their objective. I often wondered how many DMs actually followed this advice.
Of course, if your on board with the D&D Insider your probably going to need to buy the core set. The Insider is actually the Dungeon and Dragon magazines which WOTC brought back in house, combined with a ton of digital tools such as an online game table, dungeon master tools, character creator and visualizer, and other features. That would probably be the only reason to buy the core set, unless of course you have some reason to want to see WOTC succeed, which I do. Of course that doesn't mean I'm going to buy supplements I'll never use. I'm pretty far from the completist.
This really isn't a money grab, at least not on some levels. Yeah, I'm sure Hasbro is happy about the core set, but Third Edition being tapped dry. There is nowhere else to go. I don't want to see WOTC die. If they don't release a new edition, its over. Look at whats been released lately, compendium after compendium, splatbook sequels, worthless environment books, adventures I have no interest in playing. Nobody is buying these books, nobody but completists, and there isn't enough of those to keep a company afloat. Besides, there is plenty of rules that need to be tweaked, plenty of skills that need to go, plenty of classes that need revision. Third edition was broken the day they released it, ask Monte Cook, who wrote third edition.
Its time to take what everyone learned playing third edition for the last eight years, and make the game better. WOTC deserves their coin for what they do. Of course, I'm a WOTC fanboy, what do I know.
Mater artium necessitas. [Necessity is the mother of invention].

subset: commoncrawl


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Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed the unavailability of Olivier Giroud for the rest of the year after the Frenchman underwent an ankle surgery.
The French international striker suffered an ankle injury in the closing stages of Arsenal's match against Everton. Giroud came on as a substitute in that game and scored the important equalizer in the dying moments of the match with a powerful header, but that draw came at a price for Arsenal as the 27-year-old picked up an injury.
Initial diagnosis didn't show any major cause for concern, but later it was revealed that the Frenchman's injury is serious and he was forced to undergo an ankle surgery. Giroud could possibly be out for four months and is unlikely to play this year. Arsene Wenger has confirmed this news after Arsenal's 1-0 win over Besiktas last night.
"The news is that he had surgery today and the surgery went well but he will be out – maybe to be competitive at the top, top level – until the end of December, beginning of January." – The Arsenal manager said in his post-match interview.
Giroud's injury has left the Gunners terribly short of options upfront with Yaya Sanogo being the only out-and-out striker left in the squad. The youngster is highly inexperienced and also has questionable fitness record to rely upon for such a long period. Lukas Podolski and Joel Campbell are two other options, but none of them are proven goal scorers. New signing Alexis Sanchez, who was asked to lead the line of attack in absence of Giroud in the last two matches, could continue in that role as Arsene Wenger insisted that the Chilean international was signed to play upfront.
Sanchez did score the winner against Besiktas last night, but he has mostly played as a wide forward for Barcelona and as an inside forward for Chile, it will be interesting to see how well he adapts to the role of being the lone man upfront for the Gunners. Wenger insisted that Giroud's injury wouldn't force the club to buy a new striker as he believes that the squad already has enough players to fill in that role.
"We will try to look around but we want quality and we have quality. I bought Sanchez to be a striker and I think Walcott can be a good striker as well.
"Sanogo can be a good striker, Podolski can play there and Campbell if you ask what he is, he's a striker. They are players of quality and we will see.
"We will concede in England that every time you have a problem you can't just buy. After the first of September you still have to live with it." – Wenger added.


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RENT 17 - I HATE YOUMOBSTER FOR RENT (Romantic Comedy)
Note: The information below about the Triad Organizational Structure came from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triad_(underground_society)
SANDARA's POV
I stole a glance at him and immediately glued my eyes on my lap. We were both sitting in silence at the edge of the bed after that whole commotion. How can I look at him after this?! All I can think about is that monstrous bulge rubbing my face! And I even squeezed it! KYYAHH!! I swear, it's so freaking huge as if a tree branch is hidden under there!
My whole body oddly felt warm and my cheeks are already crimson red that I'm practically a giant tomato. I can't even apologize properly, heck I can't even move! Everything that transcended between us is a total shock for my heart. I'm honestly surprised that I'm still in once piece. For a moment there, I thought all my internal organs will crawl out and abandon me.
I stiffened when I heard his heavy sigh.
"Are you alright?", he suddenly asked and softly touched the strands of my hair that he cut.
"Y-Yes", I mumbled without looking at him.
"You sure? I actually thought you were going to leap towards me and canoodle me senseless", there was a playful tone in his voice.
I remained silent. I just can't trust my mouth anymore. From my peripheral vision, I saw him getting closer. I was paralyzed while waiting for his next move!
"I have to warn you, though...", he whispered on my ears, his breath sending shivers down my spine (and somewhere else!)
"I'm too rough for a to handle. I might rip you in half", he added.
BOOM! <- Ovaries explosion!
GAHD! Stop it, Jiyong! I'm already pregnant with your child!
"You have no idea what I want to do to you right now, babe", his lips slightly brushed my jawline. I squirmed on my spot, firmly closing my legs together.
I really need new ovaries..and uterus..
"You'll be for my name..."
Let us all pray for my soul...
"But I won't do it"
WHY NOT?! I bolted my head sidewards and saw him evilly smirking at me. Hang on a sec, why am I even considering such things? He's hypnotizing me!
"You want me, don't you geek?", he cocked his eyebrows and leaned back while planting his palms on the bed, displaying his still huge and plump Destruction despite his zipped jeans. *Gulp!
"No, I don't! JERK!", I crossed my arms and snappily whipped my head on the other direction. Plump....Huge...Bulge....Nyam Nyam... GAAHH!! BRAIN, STOP IT!
"Good. Because I will never do it with you. It will just complicate things", he flatly said. . Breathe Dara, breathe. What is this painful feeling?
"Good. Because I don't plan on doing it with you, either!", I snarled at him. Damn you, Kwon Jiyong! You're too full of yourself. It's Donghae that I like! No, I love Donghae! You're just leading me on! This strange feeling will go away once the rent period lapses, I'm sure of it!
"Glad we're on the same page", he muttered after staring intently at me. I thought I saw something in his eyes but it quickly disappeared.
"Glad you're not taking advantage of me anymore", I retorted.
"Same cannot be said for you. I thought you were going to bite my weapon a while ago. You should have seen your deranged eyes", he started walking towards the door. GRRRR!!!
"Hey, where are you going? The food is here", I called out.
"Eat it. I'm not hungry"
"Where are you going?", I asked again.
"Some place"
"You're going to..your woman, aren't you?", oh my goodness. WHY CAN'T I STOP MY FREAKING MOUTH?!
He glanced back at me, his hands still resting on the doorknob. My gut feeling tells me that I hit the bullseye. I just knew he had to see his other clients or other women judging from his current state right now. He's a man after all. But, why does it freaking hurts like hell? Is it my ego? My pride? I don't know. Damn it.
"No", he simply said and quietly left. I literally wanted to kick myself right now. Why am I even acting like a jealous girlfriend? For all I know, he can be going back to his suite or probably just going to check something about company matters.
But what if he really is going to another woman?
Tch. Why am I always thinking about him and other girls? Frankly, it's none of my business. What I should be worrying about is Donghae.
The thought of my drinking buddy brought memories that seem so distant now. Life was simple then. I'm admiring him without him knowing it. I feel giddy whenever he does or say something and I share my experiences with Bommie. Now, I always get this confusing feeling that is somehow so painful to bear - brought about by Jiyong.
I started dialing Donghae's number but all I got is his voicemail. I wanted to say a lot of things. I wanted to tell him that I miss our drinking sessions. That I miss seeing his smile. That I already finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist. That we still need to choose the characters to cosplay for the next Comic Con. That I miss us.
But the call disconnected before I can even say anything.
TOP's POV
Our boss stormed in our suite and immediately barked his instructions.
"Guard Dara. I'll just go to one of my concubines here in Shanghai", he said with furrowed eyebrows. And what's that swell in his pants? Omo.
"Boss, what happened?", Youngbae asked.
Jiyong heaved the deepest sigh and furiously grabbed some weapons. He latched it in his body and donned a jacket.
"Dara gave me a fcking again", he bluntly answered while grabbing the car keys. I'm not even sure if he realized what he just revealed!
I was trying my very best not to collapse on the floor and die of laughing but it is proving to be a big challenge. My face was contorted in all directions as I tried to suppress my laughter. I'm absolutely positive that Youngbae, Daesung and Seungri are having a hard time to keep a straight face as well.
"Don't think you already won, hyung", he told me and slammed the door shut.
On cue....
"HHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!", all four of us are sprawled on the floor while laughing maniacally at our boss' misfortune. I was rolling from one side of the room to the other while holding my tummy! GAHHD!! I'm dying!!
"Blue...balls..pain.....HAHAHHAHA!!", I don't even know who's speaking because our voices were so high-pitched from too much laughing like we've inhaled helium.
It was minutes of non-stop laughter! Oh my goodness, Sandara Park! How can you reduce us to a useless lump of giggling meat?!
Damn, I pity our boss. His face is a mosaic of pure pain brought by a serious case of . Oh women, how many times do I have to tell your species that blue balls is the kind of torture that no man deserves. It will make the lower half of his body numb and screaming for mercy. Any man will pay any amount of money or do anything just to make that horrible pain go away.
My junk can't take that much torture. It will certainly disengage from my body and will start attacking the whole city like a freaking Godzilla on the loose.
"Okay..I'm calm..I'm calm...HAHHAHAHAHHAHA!!", we were laughing like hyenas whenever we look at each other. It's just so hilarious!
OTTOKAE!! I can't breathe!! HAHHAHA!! I can't imagine a like Sandara Park can bring such excruciating pain to a crime boss like Jiyong! ANDDDD..Jiyong just lets it go instead of just ramming his thing inside her like what we would all do in a similar situation.
"Fck, man! Blue balls!", Daesung exclaimed while gasping for air.
"It's plain ruthless!", Youngbae chimed in.
"And retarded!", I said as another round of laughter filled the room.
Okay, enough of this. I shall now give my prophecy.
It's just a matter of time that our boss will finally realize that he's falling for Sandara Park. But here's the problem, the Dragon Head does not seem too thrilled about the duo. Come to think about it, they're like the Mafia's version of Romeo and Juliet! GAH! I'm getting excited on how this whole K-Dramaish story will unfold!
Anyway, Dara and Jiyong are probably going to banter again after this. Here's my theory, they're just trying to protect themselves from each other. Their situation is complicated and not very ideal, after all. But despite their constant fights and bickerings, they still tend to gravitate towards one another. That, my friend, is romance waiting to happen.
Oh God, I'm such a genius I'm falling in love with myself.
TOP, Youngbae, Seungri and Daesung were lounging inside one of the VIP rooms in the Sky Casino while their men are playing poker on the main floor when an attack was made by one the Triads' enemies. Since they're in China, which is the seat of the Triads Main Headquarters, a lot of Triads' rivals converge there to try to take them down. This is also the reason why most of the high ranking Triad officials do not reside in China.
"Amateurs", TOP said as another sniper bullet hit the wall.
"The other guests are being evacuated", Youngbae said while crouching beside him. They were all sitting on the floor with their backs leaning on the wall.
When sniper bullets began showering their room, Youngbae immediately informed the security to vacate the premises. Since the casino is also owned by the Triads, the staffs already know what to do in cases like these. They already have a cover story and are quick in their actions.
TOP and Daesung snickered when another two bullets were fired and hit the table.
"Can you believe these guys? There are two snipers on the rooftop and neither can even hit a limb", TOP cockily said while munching some chips.
"Hyung, quit playing around and shoot them. We still need to help our men in obliterating those who might be attacking on the main floor", Youngbae exasperatedly reminded him.
"Oh, let our men handle those crazy motherfckers", he dismissed him and continued chilling.
"Aren't you forgetting something, hyung? You really need to get out of this room and guard someone, remember? What if one of these clowns managed to track where we're staying?", Seungri butted in.
"Guard someon-..FCK! Sandara Park!", TOP immediately opened the black case and mounted the spotting scope on the M24 SWS sniper rifle. He aimed the rifle at the top of the building across the casino where the shots were being fired and steadied his form. With deadly accuracy, he shot the first sniper. The man jerked back and was not seen within the cross-hairs of the scope again as his body hang lifeless at the edge of the building. He then angled it to the second one and he, too, faced the same fate.
Even though TOP ordered some of their men to guard Dara, he can never be too sure. GD will absolutely wipe him out of the face of the planet if anything happens to her. Sky Casino is located just a few minutes away from the hotel so it's dangerous if Dara decided to go out and roam around.
"DAMN IT! I'm not used to babysitting a woman!", TOP complained as he scurried out of the room. Youngbae, Daesung and Seungri followed suit while laughing at their hyung.
[ In the condo unit of one of GD's women... ]
GD stared at the ceiling as his woman snuggled close to him. After doing it with one of his concubines, he still doesn't feel satiated. It's as if there's a big void within him.
"God, that was so hot", she cooed while stroking his body. He smirked and stared at the girl. He then ravished her lips like a beast and trailed his hands on her soft skin.
"Another round?", his eyes glinted of lust.
"Must you really ask?", she teased and glided her legs against his.
"J-Jiyong?", Dara knocked on GD's suite but no one's answering. She tried several times but to no avail.
'Now what?', she thought. She wanted to invite him again to eat dinner with her but it seems he really left. She went back inside her room and stared at the food that she set up on the table.
She sighed and was about to sit when she heard knocks on the door.
"Yes?", Dara opened the door slightly with the chain still latched securely and stared at the man dressed in black; wearing a trench coat and mask to cover his face. As if the mask is not good enough, he was also wearing sunglasses (at night?) and was covering his face with his hands.
'Creepy', she thought.
"Uhm...Sorry, I knocked on the wrong room", he said and immediately left making Dara frown in confusion. When Dara finally closed the door, TOP heaved a sigh of relief and took off his sunglasses. Fortunately, the goons that attacked them in Sky Casino didn't know that they're staying there. There's also a big possibility that those retards don't even know that a unit from Triads Seoul Chapter has visited China.
TOP just needs to make sure that Dara will stay in her room and not roam around. It's better for her to stay in her suite where he can thoroughly guard her.
TOP's POV
I was sprawled on the hallway where the elevators are located, earning curious glances from the hotel guests. I was bored to my skull so I started to amuse myself by pushing the elevator button and scaring the crap out of the people whenever the elevator opens. I've attained the highest pinnacle of success when it comes to driving people nuts, I tell you. My wicked mind is unparalleled! MWAHHAHAHAHAHAHA! <*insert thunder and lightning here>
I pushed the button again and got ready for my next prank. I lied on my stomach facing the elevator door with my limbs spread apart like a murder victim. I angled my face sideways and stared at the elevator with lifeless eyes and with slightly opened mouth.
I remained immobile as the elevator door opened and....
The elevator door closed. So fun!! I can do this all night!
I was thinking of what to do next when I heard a door open. I peeked on the hallway and saw Dara getting out of her suite wearing a flowy dress down to her knees and a slight makeup.
Oh boy. Is she going to the hotel bar? Nooo!! I can already imagine our boss strangling the life out of me if he finds out that Dara went alone in there especially with all the other mafia lords hanging out in the bar.
She MUST stay in her room until boss gets back.
I immediately put on my mask and my shades and strode towards her. She stood rigid on her spot when she saw me approaching. Then, she resumed walking while casting her eyes downwards, trying to avoid me.
"Stay in your room", I blurted out when we were near each other. It was too late when I realized how spooky I must've looked and sounded. Dara bolted her head at me with a petrified look on her face.
"E-Excuse me?", she asked.
Crap! I scared her. I really don't know how to do this! I need my Daddy Youngbae!
Ah, I got it! I need to say PLEASE.
"Please stay in your room", I said. There, I said 'please'... But...But...Why does she look more frightened than before?
"Hey!", I called out when she hurriedly walked away from me. Damn it! She must stay in her suite! Boss will kill me if she roams around with that cute dress and all!
I blocked her path while thinking of a good plan on how to make her go back to her suite.
"I will call security if you don't stop!", she exclaimed frustratedly.
, I have no choice....
I started unbuckling my belt and ping my pants. She was paralyzed in fear as she gawked at me.
"W-What are you doing?!", she shrieked in terror.
"Back to your room!", I yelled and started threatening her with my ness as I dangerously held the front garter of my brief.
"Go back to your room! TO YOUR ROOM!", I screamed while running after her with ed pants.
"HELLPPPP!!!", she screamed as she locked herself inside her suite.
Oh my freaking goodness. Please don't tell me I would have to guard Sandara Park every damn time that boss is out. I might just go crazy.
"Boss, the hired assassins are now on their way to Seoul. They somehow managed to escape by creating a diversion. They leaked the information on the Triads' rival gang that some of the members will be in Sky Casino"
"Good. We've received words from the Alliance that the recent killings of the low ranking Triad members are causing disarray among the high ranking members, just as we planned. The crime bosses would have to show themselves to avenge their sworn brothers, regardless of their ranks. Soon, we'll be able to bring the Dragon Head down, as well as the other secret society's leaders", the voice said.
"We're really sorry, ma'am. The situation is now under control", the security staffs informed Dara. Hidden from her line of sight, Youngbae, TOP, Daesung and Seungri were huddled in a corner. The three were snickering at their hyung's foolishness.
"Okay, thanks", she said and closed the door. The whole ordeal drained her energy. She's not in the mood to go out and drink anymore.
Dara strode towards her bed and sat there, feeling a bit restless since GD still hasn't arrived.
'Where is that jerk?', she thought.
She then grabbed her phone and dialed GD's number.
"What? I'm out", he lazily answered. She was taken aback by GD's cold tone. She thought she's already used to his uncaring attitude but it seems she's extra-sensitive tonight.
"Uhm, I'm just wondering what time you'll get back", Dara asked.
"I don't know"
She pouted her lips and remained silent.
"Anything else?", GD asked nonchalantly.
"I-I...W-Well..No..Nothing...", she managed to stay.
"Okay", GD hung up while Dara remained transfixed on her position, her phone still pressed on her ears.
She bit her lips as memories of that night when they shared a kiss suddenly filled her mind.
'This strange feeling will go away', she assured herself and stared at the picture of her and Donghae that she stored in her phone.
GD sat up and started gathering his clothes. After hearing Dara's voice, he felt the sudden desire to get back to the hotel.
"GD, where are you going? Just stay here for the night", the woman wrapped her arms around his torso and kissed his nape.
Without even glancing back, GD headed towards the door, completely ignoring the girl's protests. He then pulled out his phone and dialed TOP's number.
"Anything to report?", he asked as he stepped on his car and placed the phone on speaker.
TOP began reiterating the events during his absence including the rival gang's attack that they managed to subdue and the hired assassins that somehow escaped their watch according to reports from Triads Shanghai Chapter.
"And Dara?", GD asked.
"She stayed inside her room", TOP quickly answered while eyeing the snickering trio on the corner and giving them the finger.
"We need to get back to Korea as soon as possible. Contact the Straw Sandal and inform him of what happened. Also, make sure that the Red Pole's units will be dispersed immediately to track those assassins"
"Yes boss"
GD dropped by the Triads Shanghai Chapter Headquarters first to properly thank their sworn brothers before heading back to the hotel.
The crap that he has to deal with are piling up every single day. When he gets his hands on those damn assassins, they will beg for their instant death.
GD quietly sat on the bed and stared at Dara. He brushed the strands of hair off her face and d her cheeks. She looks like an angel.
He then stared at his reflection in the mirror. A deep sigh escaped his lips. All he can see is a ruthless man unworthy of happiness.
When GD finally left the room, Dara's eyes fluttered open.
'Is he not sleeping here?', she asked herself. Somehow, it makes her a bit uncomfortable. Minutes pass by but sleep seemed to be so elusive and she doesn't know why.
She immediately shut her eyes when the door opened again and GD was about to enter. She heard some shuffling as GD took off his shirt and heard his footsteps going towards her.
"Goodnight, geek", he whispered and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Warmth spread through her system when he felt his lips on her skin. It was soothing and comforting.
She slightly opened her eyes and stared at his retreating back heading towards the couch. How can he be so cold and sweet at the same time? She just smiled inwardly and tried to get some sleep. Figuring out Kwon Jiyong is useless, he will always be a big mystery to her.
'Goodnight, jerk', she thought.
JIYONG's POV
"Puh-leaasseee. With a cherry on top", Dara puffed her cheeks and blinked her round eyes rapidly at me.
"Bambi eyes won't work on me, geek", I scoffed at her. You will never believe what she wanted me to do. We were walking along Tian'ai Street (Sweet Love Street) when a brilliant idea popped her mind. She wanted us to have couple rings. Couple Rings?! The fck! Unbelievable. Women are so cheesy.
It was bad enough that I indulged her on her request to visit this damn street which is, by the way, making my skin crawl. Too many delusional couples are roaming around thinking that their love will last forever. Gwark.
"Come onnnn!! The Annual Company Acquaintance Party is already next week. It will be great if we have couple rings!", she excitedly exclaimed.
"Jiyonnnnggggg....", she clasped her hands together and looked expectantly at me.
"No", I said with finality. There is no way in hell anyone can make me wear a couple ring. Haven't she learned her lesson when I refused to get a lock in Namsan Tower?
"I said NO", I firmly said.
Dara's lips twitched and her nose scrunched in defiance . She then started stomping her feet as she marched away from me.
I shook my head in amusement as I followed her. She's really funny.
"We're going back to Korea tonight", GD told her but she remained unresponsive. They were having their lunch in a restaurant at Yongfu road. He specifically chose the garden seating so that Dara can still enjoy the view outside. He took her to various tourist attractions but she doesn't seem thrilled unlike yesterday.
Dara has been silent since they left Tian'ai Street and would only nod or shake her head whenever he asks something. He closely watched her as she filled his plate with food before getting some for herself. GD smiled inwardly at her gestures. Despite being in a foul mood, she's still thoughtful and caring.
They finished their lunch and walked towards their next destination in complete silence.
TOP peeked from his hiding place with furrowed eyebrows. Lover's Quarrel? He looked at Seungri but the maknae just shrugged his shoulders. He then strode towards Youngbae.
"What's happening?", TOP whispered closely on Youngbae's ears.
"Oh my God! Hyung! Some distance, please?!", Youngbae almost jumped a few meters away from TOP, completely creeped out with him after whispering directly on his ears. He rubbed his arms in disgust.
"What's happening?", he repeated, ignoring Youngbae's grossed out look.
"What do you mean?"
"They barely talk to each other. What happened?", TOP asked worriedly.
"Why do you care so much?"
"Uh, Twenty...wait for it....Fcking Million Won? Hel-lo", he rolled his eyes like a b!tchy woman, making Youngbae grip his gun under his jacket. Seriously, TOP's cause of death will be his bullet if he continued acting like a retard.
He just shook his head frustratedly and continued tailing GD and Dara, leaving TOP behind.
"Daddy Youngbaeee!!!"
The two were still bantering when Daesung received a text message from GD. He nudged Seungri and showed it to him. The two high-fived and quickly ran away.
SANDARA's POV
"Hey geek, wait up", Jiyong called out.
I continued ignoring him as I took steady strides. It has been long established that I hate this jerk but today, I especially hate him SO MUCH. I don't have a clue where he ran off last night then this morning, he vehemently refused my plea to get us both couple rings! Is it really too much to ask? I just want us to appear like real loving couple when we attend the Annual Company Acquaintance Party! He even said it's cheesy! Can you believe it? I'm literally scarred for life.
I want the couple rings!
"Yah, geek"
I'm not really a demanding person, you see. I really don't ask for anything. I'm not very picky either. Wrap a potato and give it to me as a birthday gift and I assure you that I will treasure it for as long as I live. Only when I'm with Jiyong that I found myself acting childishly. My emotions are magnified when it comes to him. Odd, I know. When he does a simple act like kissing me goodnight, my happiness is beyond the acceptable level. When he's flirty with other girls, I get so furious to the point that I can imagine myself harvesting people's heads like a psychopath. When he refuses to do something that I really really want (couple rings! wah!), it pains me. I don't know when this weirdness started and frankly, I don't want to entertain the silly ideas that has been bugging my head. 'He's my rented boyfriend', I kept telling myself. 'I like Donghae I like Donghae I like Donghae', I've also been repeating those phrases like a mantra.
I stopped and glanced back at him. Jiyong stopped and glanced back. I ignored him and started walking aimlessly. I didn't hear him calling me anymore so I stopped and turned around. He stopped and stared at me. I frowned at him, he frowned back at me. I pouted my lips in annoyance and.....HE POUTED HIS LIPS! Ottokae! He's so cute when he does that!
I chewed on my lips to stop myself from smiling and he did the same! Oh, I know what's happening here. He's copying me!
I raised my right hand and he raised his left hand. Like a mirror image, eh? Okay, jerk. Let's play this game. I gave him an evil smile and he flashed me his y smirk.
I placed my hands on my waist and moved my hips to the left, and he did the same. Kekekekkee! I started swaying my hips and he still copied me. I pushed my hips forward and he did it too. My eyes immediately darted to his bulge, as if it's calling me!
GAHH! No Dara! FOCUS!
I need to take advantage of this. Hmmmm, what else should I do? I should do something that he can't so I'll be the winner! Something that he wouldn't do? Hmmm.. Ah, aegyo! He seemed to be the type who can't stand acting cute. Okay, FIGHT! I puffed my cheeks and poked it with my forefinger. He paused and looked at me. Hahahaha! I knew it! He wouldn't risk ruining his badass image. Hah!
All of a sudden....he puffed his cheeks and did an aegyo too!!
OMG, my heart! Is he trying to kill me with his cuteness?!
I winked at him and slowly my lips. He winked at me and slowwwwly.....his...lips..
GAAAHHHHHHHH! TAKE ME TO THE HOSPITAL! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!! *fans self
I tried so many things but he kept on copying me, no matter how ridiculous my actions are. It's so fun! We look like a couple of lunatics as we flail our arms around, sway our hips and talk gibberish while twirling our tongue out! HAHAHHAHHA!!!
"Girl, beat him! Don't give up!", I didn't realize that a crowd already gathered around us. It became rowdy as everyone tried to coach me. Good thing I still remember my Chinese lessons somehow. The girls were cheering for me while the guys were cheering for Jiyong. It's battle of the es!
"Do this! Do this!", the ladies yelled and gave me instructions.
"Young man, don't back down!", the guys encouraged him.
"What a cute couple!", the old people gushed.
Hahahahaha! My gosh, they're really rooting for us! Jiyong and I were doing all kinds of silliness while the crowd cheered on the background. Both of us didn't want to back down.
And then...like a light shining from heaven...the GREATEST idea was bestowed upon my mind that I can almost swear my head literally lit up.
Why haven't I thought about this earlier? I know what to do that he won't be able to do. Like a predator gloating at its prey, I stepped forward wearing a smug grin on my face. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion but he did the same. He stepped forward and we were both face to face with a small distance between us.
Then...I placed my hands on his s and squeezed them! The bystanders erupted in chaos as the girls screamed with delight and pumped their fists while the boys ran behind Jiyong and were practically shoving him to uplift the 'Dude Flag'.
I smiled in triumph while my hands are still rested on his s. Hah! Of course, he's not going to do it! He may be a jerk but I'm still a girl and he wouldn-...wait.. Why the hell is he smirking?
His eyes gleamed of menace as he slowly lifted his arms. My breath was caught on my throat as I gazed at him with pure horror. He then hovered his hands above my chest!
No way!
"Don't you dare...", I hissed.
"Don't you dare", he repeated, still copying me.
"DO IT! DO IT!", the guys cheered.
"NO WAY!", the girls screamed.
And without warning, he placed his hands on my s!! AND SQUEEZED THEM! GAHHH!!
"KWON JIYONG!!!!!!!!!!!!", my thundering voice dominated the place and Jiyong quickly ran away after the guys patted his back. I ran after him having only one mission in mind - completely wiping his seeds from the gene pool! GRRRR!!
"JERKKK!!!!!", I roared in anger! I swear, I will destroy your Kwon Jiyong!
We were so chaotic as I chase him around the streets of Shanghai. He was having a ball laughing at my expense while I'm already panting for my life.
I stopped and placed my hands on my knees as I gasped for air. He stood in a far distance while looking at me, still wearing a smug grin on his face.
"You..wait...there.....", I yelled in between panting.
"Tired, geek?", he screamed back since he's a few meters away.
I was about to lunge on his direction but I tripped! I really thought my face will fall flatly on the street but a pair of hands suddenly wrapped on my waist and pulled me up.
"T-Thank you", I thanked the man in Chinese and tried to take a step back but he held me firmly on the waist while smiling at me. He then said something that I can't fully understand. I just picked up the words 'cute', 'kiss' and 'payment'. Omo.
"Back off, man", Jiyong materialized behind me and yanked me away from the creepy guy. The man does not seem to be happy with his sudden intrusion and grabbed a fistful of Jiyong's shirt.
I gasped in horror and was about to slap his face to help Jiyong. Suddenly, the creep was kneeling on the street with his face twisted in pain while Jiyong was holding his arm in a very weird angle. His face was devoid of emotion as he stared at the guy who was already begging for mercy.
"J-Jiyong, let him go"
"No way. He said something very unpleasant to you", he then applied more pressure on the man's arm who instantly yelled in pain.
"Oh, stop it. You did something more distasteful to me! Let him go", I slapped his wrist and he immediately lets go of the creep who cowardly scurried away.
He was still fuming as he glared at the retreating guy.
"Jiyong..", I called out. He turned to me and his features immediately softened. I felt my heart melting from the sight of his worried face.
"Are you alright?", he suddenly asked.
"Yes", I replied while looking intently at him. I was taken aback when he roughly gathered me in his arms.
"H-Hey", I tried to push him but he wouldn't let me go.
"God, Dara. You make me want to kill people", he sighed exasperatedly and pressed me closer against his body. My knees are starting to buckle and I would've collapsed if not for his tight hug.
"You jerk, why did you touch my s?!", I blurted out to cover the loud thumping of my heart.
He then drew back, still holding me in his arms, and stared at me, obviously bemused.
"You squeezed my 'weapon for destruction' so let's call it even", he chuckled.
"Jerk!", I angrily huffed as my face flushed in embarrassment. I pushed him forcefully and he finally lets me go while laughing.
"I HATE YOU!", I declared and was about to march off when he suddenly grabbed my hand and slipped something on my finger.
I held up my hand with furrowed eyebrows and gasped in surprise with what I saw. A ring! I stared at him in shock as he raised his hand to show me the identical ring that he's wearing.
"You just ruined me, babe. I hate you, too", he then bit his lips and averted his gaze.
Oh my God.
"THANK YOU!!!", I squealed with delight while bouncing up and down and wrapped my arms around his neck. He was still biting his lips when he hugged me back, entwining his arms around my waist.
"Thank you", I whispered and without even thinking, I tiptoed and reached for his lips, giving him a gentle kiss. I quickly withdrew and stared at him. His eyes were squinted from smiling and he leaned down and gave me soft kisses all over my face. I didn't protest for I'm too consumed with happiness that I couldn't even begin to describe. He pulled away and looked at me. It felt like time stood still. The setting sun behind him made this magical moment more glorious than it already is. It was overwhelming. We both smiled and gave each other a quick peck on the lips.
"Say goodbye to Shanghai, babe"
"GOODBYE SHANGHAI!!!", I screamed and threw my arms up in the air.
"Maknae Line scored this time", Seungri smugly said. GD texted them a while ago to buy couple rings made of white gold and engrave their names inside. As soon as they got the rings, they inconspicuously tossed them to GD when Dara was still in a foul mood and walking ahead of him.
TOP was kneeling on a nearby tree, almost in tears while looking up in the heavens with hands clasped together, thanking everybody up there including Santa Claus and Superman for the good fortune that he was about to receive once the rent period lapses. If everything goes well, he sure will win the Twenty Million Won! He just needs to make sure that GD will not go to the dark side again and be his usual jerky and badass self to sabotage everything.
He sipped from the straw while his eyes were focused on the two forms hugging across the street.
'Interesting', he thought. Luck must be on his side.
He tilted his head and bit the straw, pulling it out from the glass. He then started chewing the straw like a kid. With his innocent face and beautiful smile, he's a real charmer. But his deranged eyes will make anyone doubt his sanity.
He extended his arm and pointed his forefinger at the unsuspecting GD and Dara.
"Bang...", he whispered, imitating the sound of a gun. He then chuckled to himself as he continuously chew the straw protruding from his lips.
WRITER's NOTE:
I love reading your comments! Thank you for the encouraging words!
awwww Jiyong you cutie! Come here! Rawr!
Hello to Gdmaedara from Morocco and to my lovely Portugese readers boyfriendloveforyou and xxadriaxx! (thanks for promoting the story to your friends, hahhaha!)
Here's an updated list of the readers from all over the globe! WOOT WOOT! Thank you for reading! And thanks for spazzing with me on twitter (and on the comments section!)
Hello to Gdmaedara from Morocco!
Hello to yeahimawesome and mrskwonjiyong from Japan! (edit: mrskwonjiyong - Filipino reader ^_^ )
Hello to confuzion from Finland!!
Hello to rikkiFUFU, Julia2345 and SakuraLovesDaragon from New Zealand!!
Hello to BlackFlower29 from Senegal!!
Hello to kyuholic13 from Bangladesh!!
Hello to ellesor and lianeee from Guam!!
Hello to cougar from Faroe Islands!!
Hello to iamporshie from Montreal, Quebec!!
Hello to Hmong Readers! - dolleexiong, TurtleLove_
Hello to all Korean Readers!! - choco_choding, minlovemin
Hello to all Japanese / Korean Readers!! - OhMyGhee
Hello to all Korean / Filipino Readers!! - heerinkim
Hello to all Russian Readers!!! - hyotiger
Hello to all Portugese Readers!!! - boyfriendloveforyou and xxadriaxx
Hello to all Estonian Readers!!! - yourspine, Katttts
Hello to all Dutch Readers!!! - Atsume, KimNaNa (@LittleJoeun at twitter) and her dog http://yfrog.com/odvforkj <-cute!
Hello to all Swedish Readers!!! - isabel, ho-aegi
Hello to all Brazilian / English Readers!!! - xxadriaxx
Hello to all American Readers!! - nehakpoplover4ever, neufneuf, KpopSaranghae, TurtleLove, sarahmin, rheerheex, elf15vitamin, kittyxluvlee, sunflowery, DinoMadness, Kimjade, bkc412, RainBowSkirts
Hello to all Saudi / American Readers!! - 21ruba
Hello to all Aussie Readers!!! - PeachCherryProposal, kirstie and bigbangdonut, GuiLunChunElla9, raizeljoyce, jctyxx, texlauraloo, wjc912, ebomtaro
Hello to all Canadian Readers!!!- MandeeGee, misskeoni12, secretseven
Hello to all British Readers!! - danlyy, shah234, MaiMai36
Hello to all Irish Readers!! - WooMinAh
Hello to all British / Filipino Readers!! - browneyesmouse04
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Hello to all Mexican Readers!! - simplebeez
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Hello to all German Readers!! - FlippyLanLan
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Hello to all Maldiviain Readers!!! - LilyoftheValley
Hello to all Bruneian Readers!!! MaiLullaby
Hello to all Indian Readers!!! - SuperJ13 (from Switzerland!), raymin, Alep-GD1
Hello to all Barbadian Readers!! - Kaelz_, OKseesee <- representing all the way from Caribbean!!! hahahha!!
Hello to all Chinese Readers!! - Lijiax15 (@rebeccax15 from twitter)
Hello to all Chinese / Canadian Readers!! - baby2bee
Hello to all Filipino Readers!! - JAMLilover, crisxoriginal, skulljazz09, KpopLoverHaruHaru, sunxmuse, alexaSaclao, Majo401, mimi_chan18, thet67, gelai8134, mareyna2012, mstofai, chocolatelove00, chenchen, doushenka101, kamiru, liquidskin, hellotrisha, celinema, kyoran_chii, dark_butterfly, kazeryu23, lovanine16, FhateForever (male reader! *claps claps), mrsfishie15, XLR8gurl_heart, tabichoom, daydreamer76, raizeljoyce, Eiyrreanne, Reisha, hwangminchan, chriszlchye, LeeJinKiOnewLover18, daragonfever09, skye05, imyourshupahgirl, rhoseannjin, coolgal26, parisbartender, kumocho, Pasta-, dragonstarmedia, littlemisskpoper, ayakasakagami, khymAF, liane19, woodaraluv, leeeb90, sapphireblue15, tsukiness, fatmaeuz, luckypyo, laurenmeg10, crissy23, akishaire, awinnerlikeme, @MultiAeronautix in twitter, marielovesjapan, butterinaluvs2NE1, posh93, jinnielee, LeeHyejin (from Korea!), oOminchieOo (male reader again!!), bb-love, aikqoOh08fti, JaMhe27, no0nespeciaL_xD, alexg23, angel_1212, jiyongismine-, aurenmeg10, DARAnayad, ldsg06, GD_abby, bubblyvan, mrskwonjiyong
Hello to all Filipino / Japanese Readers!! - AyaLoveDaragon
Hello to all Chinese / Filipino Readers!! -tonichua
Hello to all Filipino / Australian Readers!! - POPPIN_K-POP
Hello to all Filipino / Spanish Readers!! - cn_ara
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Hello to all Thai Readers!! - @punsiripun from twitter
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Hello to all American, Chinese and Indian Readers!! - nehakpoplover4ever and her friends!
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Hello to all Hong Kong Readers!! - PurpleBerryJam, Julyoften
follow me on twitter: huntress2021
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Lotsa Love
huntress ^_^


text:
Are you guys sitting down? Because what I'm about to tell you may BLOW YOUR FREAKING MINDS.
Okay, are you ready? Here it goes: noted swaggy bro crackhead, Justin Bieber, may be getting a little too big for his britches. Yeah, I KNOW, right!?
Reports Billboard:
If you really don't enjoy the type of music I make and that's not you, OK. But don't say I'm not talented. If you haven't noticed, I wasn't made-I was found.
They say there's a sophomore slump. I didn't have one. It was really good to see [2012's Believe] at the top. When I was going on all these different talk shows when it was the No. 1 album of the year, just hearing that: No. 1 album of the year, Justin Bieber? That's a really great feeling.
Move over Mariah Carey and Nikki Minaj, there's a new diva in town!


text: 3.2.2 is working like a charm for me, even on my 500Mhz laptop. You might try using top or ksysguard to see what your CPU usage is like. Also, perhaps you've got a memory leak somewhere. Use free to check your memory usage. On Monday, May 3, 2004 6:28 pm, Matt Rechkemmer wrote: > I've been using KDE with Sid for sometime now, however, since the upgrade > from 3.2.1 to 3.2.2 KDE has been horrendously slow. Sometimes, I'll click > on a "launcher" icon, and have to watch it get stuck; same behavior with > the K Menu. > > Here's a screenshot of the aterm launcher (the tux icon) getting stuck: > http://tiberius.trancell.org/stuckkde.jpg > > My box isn't particularly slow, 2.0GHz, 256MB RAM, GF4, so the sluggish > behavior, puzzles me. I've ran fc-cache as the user and as root, with no > effect. > > Is there anything else I can do, to improve KDE performance? > > Thanks, > > Matt


text:
A reader asks:
My husband is from Europe and rocks the "manpris" (although he calls them "pirate pants", which cracks me up everytime!). I'd be interested to find out how guys feel about wearing these and how girls feel about guys wearing them.
I personally like them on guys, especially if they are a loose fit or cargo style. What do you think?


text: On Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 10:52:46AM -0700, Jason Thorpe wrote: >> We have things like >> >> LDADD+= -lfoo >> DPADD+= ${LIBFOO} >> >> all over the source tree. Are you suggesting that they should all be >> changed? > > I'm suggesting they should all be removed. A dynamically-linked program > does not need this dependency because the updated version of the library > will be pulled in at run-time anyway. If the API changes, the > auto-generated header file dependency will take care of it. This can potentially result in the wrong thing happening after a major version bump; e.g. suppose I change <stdlib.h> and bump libc and go to rebuild a program that only uses <stdio.h>. It should nonetheless be relinked, and won't be. Also, it'll increase somewhat the chances of getting a broken system out if someone makes a mistake with backwards compatibility. Maybe these considerations don't matter much, but they do exist. -- David A. Holland dholland%netbsd.org@localhost


text:
Re: Patrick Trainer
In reply to:
Patrick Trainer
Alice Fitzpatrick 2/27/07
Hi Alice:
Both the UK and AUS National Archives should have Patrick draft registration records and military service rcds. These should reveal his DOB, spouse's name (if applicable), possibly parent's names, and placename(s). In any event, they will show his awards and decorations, campaigns, etc - all tidbits to spice up a family history.


text:
Sandwiched: Celebrating Family & Medical Leave Act?
Are you celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), signed into law by then-President Clinton in 1993?
This law "entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons," according to the U.S. Department of Labor. If eligible, you could, for example, take time up to 12 weeks off from work to care for a spouse, child, parent with a serious health condition and have your job waiting for you when you get back. If you are a member of the Sandwich Generation, has this law helped you?
The FMLA was a signature piece of legislation for Clinton, though it has remained controversial. More than 40 percent of American workers are not eligible for FMLA. Employees of firms that employ fewer than 50 people are not eligible for coverage. Some states have lowered this cutoff, but employees of most small firms are out of luck.
There's also a required minimum number of hours worked for an employer. These days, many people piece together part time jobs that yield full time hours, but are ineligible for the FMLA because they don't have enough time with any one employer. And, the FMLA covers only immediate family, while care may be needed by other relatives. Some states have refined the law to include domestic partners, though this is not included in the federal law. (There's a lot to the FMLA, so for details visit the Labor Department's web site on the law.)
Employers don't always follow the spirit of the law. Women are more likely caregivers than men, as we've discussed this week, and some employers subtly discriminate against women in the hiring process as a result. But sometimes employees claim FMLA days for reasons unrelated to care giving. The day after the Super Bowl, for example, is the most frequently claimed FMLA day.
Has the FMLA helped the sandwich generation?
Have you personally used it to help aging parents?
Wayne Baker is a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Baker blogs daily at Our Values and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or on Facebook.
Sarah Rigg
Fri, Feb 8, 2013 : 1:45 p.m.
What's to celebrate? It's one of the stingiest family leave allowances in the western world. We're worse than Pakistan, for crying out loud. http://p.twimg.com/A2XLlmbCIAAwYTY.jpg


text:
Product Description
Made for cold water: 48-55° F/8-12° C. Your feet are the primary connection between you and your board, and you want that connection as solid as possible. With durable 3mm neoprene laminated to a merino wool liner, the R3® Wool Lined Split Toe Booties provide essential warmth while preserving a natural, flexible feel. The asymmetrical wrap construction conforms to the foot for a sure and comfortable fit, the Z-Strap closure holds the foot in place, and the split toe and heel lock maximize dexterity and performance. Seams are externally sealed to eliminate leaks. Rubber wrap on outside and the arch protects the feet, and fine-grip rubber soles give you reliable traction. Tab on cuff and pull ring on heel for easy on and off.
Información adicional
Información adicional
|El tiempo de entrega - Días laborables
|4 - 7
|422 g (14.9 oz)
|Materiales usados
|3mm neoprene lined with chlorine-free merino wool and recycled polyester jersey
|Correo aéreo premium DHL Worldwide


text: [this is not NetBSD-related; sending this to a list of people that I expect are able to write and proofread, still :-] I'm looking for someone to proofread some 100-150 pages of english, preferably a native (english) speaker. Focus should be expression, grammar and some (minor) contents. If you're interested, please contact me off-list. The text will be my PhD thesis, see http://www.feyrer.de/vulab/ for more information. Thanks! - Hubert


text:
Written: Written at the end of November and the beginning of December 1907
Published: First published in 1930 in Lenin Miscellany XIII. Sent from Finland to St. Petersburg. Printed from a copy written by N. K. Krupskaya.
Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1971, Moscow, Volume 36, page 156.
Translated: Andrew Rothstein
Transcription\Markup: R. Cymbala
Public Domain: Lenin Internet Archive. You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work, as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit "Marxists Internet Archive" as your source. • README
Dear Comrade,
According to our agreement, the material for Vol. II should have been delivered by Oct. 1, and for Vol. III, by Oct. 10.[1] The first volume has been delayed. I have already handed in 12 sheets for Volume II, another 7 are ready, and I can hand in the remainder (about 5 or 7) very soon. But I should like to know whether you really require all this material so quickly. Will you be setting it at once? Have you already sent the 12 sheets of Volume II for setting? Will publication be delayed if I send you the end of Volume II later? If it will, I can let you have the end of Volume II immediately, if you want it. But I have a plan to write, for the end of Volume II, a large work about the distribution of land in Russia (using the new statistical data of 1905) and about municipalisation (taking into account Volume IV of Capital, or Theorien über den Mehrwert, which also appeared in 1905). I think it would be of great interest for the public, and would be very timely. I have already collected nearly all the material for the work and processed part of it. I need a few weeks to finish it; I hope to be able to write the work in a few weeks.
Please, let me know, therefore, whether you want Vol. II to be delivered immediately without this new article, or to have it handed in with the new article in about a month or six weeks.
[1] In 1907, M. S. Kedrov's Zerno Book Publishers in St. Petersburg started publication of a three-volume collection of Lenin's works under the title "Twelve Years". However, they managed to issue only the first volume and a part of the second, because of intensified harassment and strict censorship under Stolypin.


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Later this summer, Satellite Party will release a self-titled album, the bands first full-length release. They swear they're "an inch from the goal line" on a major label agreement to release the material, but obviously won't say who they're in talks with.
"It's a hybrid: We combine some rock elements and elements of choir and a big healthy dose of rock'n'roll. It is lush and beautiful and sexy and loaded with energy," Farrell recently said in Billboard, describing the band's new sound.
They played Coachella recently and are hoping to play Lollapalooza again this summer. It was once Perry's festival, after all.
Ever wonder what happened to the rest of the Jane's Addiction group? Google these words: Panic Channel.
music news


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Our blog
A look at the future of cyber security with Dr Ben Azvine
15 April 2016
Ben Azvine
Blogs by author: Ben Azvine, Head of Security Futures Practice
Dr Ben Azvine is responsible for BT's security innovation strategy and helped to lay the groundwork for BT's award winning capability for Security Threat Monitoring.
In this interview, Ben explains how the cyber threat landscape is evolving and how new developments in technology – especially Artificial Intelligence – will help us address the threats of tomorrow.
Cyber security: one of the top 3 business priorities
Tell us a little about your background and current role at BT.
Ben Azvine: As Global Head of Security Innovation at BT my role is to look 2-5 years into the future and prepare for the coming challenges. I think it is the best time in the history of technology to be involved in security because it is such a dynamic area. Security is not just a technology issue; it is also a business and board-level issue. I would say that cyber security is currently one of the top 3 priorities for business and hence we receive a lot of support from top management to accelerate technology in this field.
My background is in Artificial Intelligence (AI). I used to be a full time academic in the field and even today maintain active contact with academia through a number of visiting professorships, which allows me to talk about some of the challenges ahead and perhaps inspire bright people to work in the security field. I joined BT about 20 years ago and have spent most of my time leading R&D programs in intelligent systems. We strive to build intelligent networks and intelligent assistants that help people do their job better. Basically I like inventing things. I have approximately 50 patent and patent applications in my name. I really enjoy coming up with new things and in that task I'm supported by a fantastic team of people all over the world.
Security is not just a technology issue; it is also a business and board-level issue.
The cost and evolutions of cybercrime
How has the cyber threat landscape evolved in your opinion? Are the types of threats changing and is there any change in how these threats impact our personal and professional lives?
Ben Azvine: You only have to turn on your TV to learn about the latest cyber-attacks on individuals, companies and governments. The reality is that criminals are constantly coming up with new ways of attack, creating approximately $400 billion in annual losses. Nobody is immune. Ninety percent of companies have reported a security breach. Every second approximately 18 people are victims of cybercrime. Both the frequency and the importance of the attacks are increasing. The numbers are pretty worrying but on a positive note this is also a major opportunity for companies to invest in new security capabilities. This is a really vibrant technology right now and there are plenty of financial incentives to increase R&D investment.
What threats should worry us most?
Ben Azvine: I have seen figures that about 80% of financial crime on the internet is done by coordinated groups, but I don't think all crime is performed by financially motivated people. There are lone hackers who are in it simply to impress their friends or make a name for themselves. But worst of all are the ideologically and politically motivated hackers. Financially motivated hackers tend to go after the easiest targets, so it you can deter them by having good defences, they often choose the easiest targets. But ideologically motivated hackers go after specific targets and they don't give up. This creates a more persistent threat. We don't always hear about the damage they do but it is very significant. We have to be aware that the threat environment is evolving rapidly. Crime that can cause disruption to critical infrastructure is probably the biggest threat we should worry about.
Artificial Intelligence: predictive analytics and data at the service of cyber security
How is predictive analytics helping us protect ourselves against cyber threats? In that regard, can you tell us more about the SATURN project?
Ben Azvine: SATURN is a technology we developed here at BT labs. Like many innovations, the initial area of our focus led the creation of something far more valuable than we originally thought. Initially we were interested in creating a model that would help us understand the impact of breaches on critical national infrastructure. For example, what would the impact be on telecommunications or the road infrastructure if the electricity network was attacked? We commenced research on this about 5-6 years ago. There are basically two ways to approach this. One way is to develop mathematical models of each national infrastructure and then model how they would impact on each other.
The problem with this approach is that it is very difficult to link together the existing models of such infrastructure. Also, once you build such a model it would be out of date almost immediately because of the dynamic nature of the world. Hence, due to the rapid pace of change we decided to abandon the top down approach and use a more data-driven approach instead that looks at actual incidents in the past, collects vast amounts of data from various sources about such incidents and then link them together with the help of human experts.
There are three key elements to a security strategy: prevention, detection and response.
The challenge here is how to combine and organise such vast amounts of data. The SATURN acronym (Self-organizing Adaptive Technology Underlying Resilient Networks) refers to the principle that the data needs to self-organise so that it can be interacted with by human beings and used to spot anomalies. One of the first applications of SATURN was to investigate cable theft crime on our networks.
What makes SATURN so powerful is that it can handle any type of data. It is not limited to structured data. It handles data from social media, news feeds, and internal log systems. The data self-organises and humans subsequently interact with the data through visualisation tools, providing a holistic view of data sets and their interrelationships. People can also spot anomalies not seen before that a computer would not be able to detect.
Determining patterns and trends in your data that may indicate a threat
watch the video
We have packaged all these capabilities with our security threat monitoring solution, giving customers the means to analyse their network and systems data and spot potential security problems. For BT this has been one of the fastest transitions from idea to the development of the technology to access for customers. It only took 2-3 years because the benefits were so great. Essentially it is clever web-based software that uses AI to turn data from multiple sources into pictures that humans can interactively analyse. It enables you to detect anomalies much faster than before – from days to minutes, from hours to seconds. The computers are doing the processing but the humans are spotting the anomalies.
There are three key elements to a security strategy: prevention, detection and response. With SATURN we address detection. Here the aim is to detect an attack while it is happening, ideally within seconds of it starting. But we also want to predict the next stages of the attack. Essentially we have developed software that is trained to look for specific phases of an attack. We look for low-level signs of an attack that we can extract from our network logs. However, the data is so noisy that we cannot monitor everything. Hence we rely on the knowledge of our experts, the knowledge we have of the different types and stages of an attack, and we train our software robots to keep an eye out for these stages. This gives us time to react. By predicting the next stages of an attack, and the timings of such next phases, you will know whether you have time to respond.
Addressing the concerns about the future impact of AI
What role do you think Artificial Intelligence will play in our personal security and the way we keep our organisations safe? A lot of people seem concerned about the future impact of AI.
Ben Azvine: I think there are two future scenarios of AI: there is the scary scenario of robot domination. But there is another more positive scenario where AI is used to make our lives easier and more secure, where we 'augment' humans.
For example, an immediate benefit of AI would be in the area of authentication. AI could be used to free people from the passwords shackle. People have difficulty remembering all their passwords which creates a great deal of frustrations as they struggle to log into their laptop or phone. There has been a lot of research on biometrics and tokens but none of these solutions are very user friendly. With AI we are able to look at the way people speak, or even the way they log into their machine as a means to automate authentication.
I'm a big fan of human-centred AI where people are in control but where lots of the laborious processing and preparation are done by computers.
Machine Learning systems could also be used to learn from people by observing them with a view to automating the more routine elements of their tasks. One big prize in that regard would be to automate the response to security breaches, although I would caution that we should never relinquish control completely to robots in security. I'm a big fan of human-centred AI where people are in control but where lots of the laborious processing and preparation are done by computers.
Security in the Internet of (Every)Thing(s)
Let's talk about the Internet of Things (IoT). Installing antivirus software on your PC is a no-brainer, but what can you do when the device to be protected is a toy or a toaster? Around five billion devices are already connected to the Internet of Things and by 2020 this could rise to 25 billion. How will this be secured? Will there be new methodologies or will we need to accept more vulnerability?
Ben Azvine: I think IoT will make our lives easier and boost business. And the more data we collect the more it will help us make smarter decisions.
However, from a security perspective every device could potentially be a vulnerability. I think there are three key security challenges we need to deal with.
- Most security measures today are designed for high power, high cost devices; with IoT we need to develop cost-effective encryption and monitoring for low power, low cost sensors and devices. Essentially this is a scale issue; we will need to sell enough of such solutions so that costs decline. That will happen.
- The second challenge is concerned with trust and data integrity. For example, how do we protect our networks from spoofing attacks? How do we prevent people from intercepting messages from your electricity meter, or even worse, your pace maker? Antivirus and encryption technology is needed so that criminals cannot break into IoT communications.
- The third challenge is privacy and data protection. I think this will make or break IoT. There are so many potential points of data collection and when you put all of that together it becomes easy to identify people. I think we have the necessary techniques available to address this issue but we need to use them properly, from the start. That is a key pillar of BT's capabilities: providing a secure platform for people to store data and build apps on top of that data.
It reminds me of the early days of cloud computing. Back then we also worried about security. I am sure we will solve these issues but it will require more awareness and cooperation among device manufacturers, network operators and consumers. We need to establish best practice and promote vendors that comply with best practice. Today a lot of vendors are still making rooky mistakes such as storing passwords in firmware as plain text. Those are not difficult problems to overcome, it just requires rigour in following basic principles and best practice.
The misperceptions and reality of cloud security
Security and the cloud: what do you see as the major risks and how can they be avoided?
Ben Azvine: There is still a huge gap between perception and reality. Cloud security is much better than people believe it to be. Some people express concern about having their emails in the cloud, but they're perfectly comfortable having them on their phone or laptop which isn't password protected and can be left on a train. Cloud providers are in the business of securing their data and apps, so I would have more faith in a cloud provider than placing my data on a USB stick.
However, there are challenges:
- Firstly, we need to be able to manage the security of virtual applications and machines in the same way as we secure our physical machines. When I buy a laptop in a store I immediately install security software. I should be doing the same in the virtual domain. As providers our task is to make it easy to do so. Ideally, we should be securing applications as they are being created. At BT we have created technology that scans virtual environments and creates intelligent security.
- Secondly, as people store more data they become more vulnerable as targets for hackers. We need a simple way to add more security measures around data access. Even cloud providers should not have access to the data of their customers. Fortunately, there is good technology available to govern access to data.
- Finally, there is the issue of compliance. With data moving freely to the best available resource there is potential to create compliance issues around the geographic location of where data is stored. We need to improve trust in the cloud by giving people more control and visibility over where their data is stored.
Looking ahead: cyber security in the future
What do you see as the biggest headaches for the CISO and CIO today and in the future? Can they be expected to do a decent job when the CFO is cutting costs?
Ben Azvine: We have to change the way we think about security. A lot of the disruption and cost is due to a focus on prevention as opposed to detection. We cannot stop everything. Instead we should promote a more risk-aware culture. The traditional security model is the coconut; a hard shell that keeps you safe inside. But that model has holes in the shell; it is outdated. We should focus on the avocado model: protect the crown jewels, the stone in the middle. Spend most of your resources on protecting the crown jewels and for the rest focus on detection, monitoring and responding. That is the only way to meet the competing objectives of costs versus security.
Let's look a little further in the future. What will next-generation information security look like in your opinion?
Ben Azvine: That's my playground! I think cyber defence will become more analytical and predictive. Within a few years we will have real-time response to cyber-attacks.
The time it takes to respond to cyber-attacks will reduce dramatically. I think more human centred security measures will emerge, that will help people make decisions, both personally but also around corporate and national security. I also see a world without passwords. I have a vision of AI that authenticates you in the same way your friend authenticates you.
Quantum computing is a huge opportunity given the processing speed it promises but it is also a huge threat from a security perspective since ultra-fast computing power could theoretically be used to crack current encryption techniques. So how will we provide encryption-based protection in a quantum world? There are promising developments in the areas of Quantum Key Distribution and post Quantum Cryptography which will help meet these challenges.
To conclude, are you optimistic? Is the future bright?
Ben Azvine: Yes, absolutely. Obviously there are big challenges ahead but this is the best time to get into the field. I'm very optimistic that we will have the people to meet the challenges in the future. There is a lot of interest in the field, but we need to keep up our investment, because the bad guys are investing in their capabilities all the time too. Also, at BT I'm feeling confident. We have one of the largest security organisations in the world with 14 global security operations centres. It gives us a unique perspective.
Connect with us in our BT Let's Talk LinkedIn Group, to discuss the future of cyber security.


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Angela Stone runs her own successful business, Angela Stone Consulting Ltd and Styleyou Ltd. She has been contracting her services as Stylist, Personal Development Consultant and an Event Co-ordinator to companies covering many business sectors. The success of her business has grown rapidly since its establishment 10 years ago. Many corporate companies throughout New Zealand and Australia use Angela's expertise.
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Gay Rights Should Not 'Trump the Rights of Christians' to Not See Gays
Mefferd: Gay Rights Should Not 'Trump the Rights of Christians' to Not See Gays (UPDATED)
SUBMITTED BY Brian Tashman on Friday, 2/15/2013 4:35 pm
Conservative talk show host Janet Mefferd this week waded into the controversy about an Indiana high school where a group of students wanted to organize a separate prom that would specifically prevent gay and lesbian students from attending.
After lamenting that "public schools are morally bankrupt," Mefferd asserted that proms which allow all students — gay or straight — to attend actually violate the rights of Christian students who disapprove of homosexuality.
What right in particular, you might ask?
According to Mefferd, apparently the right of students not to even see gay people!
She maintained that the students' desire not to see gay students outweighs the rights of gay students to attend their own prom.
"Why should the rights of the [gay] activists trump the rights of Christians" who don't want "to see that," Mefferd asked.
Mefferd: Everything is so upside down in our society now and right and wrong have completely switched where what is really wrong is to say you shouldn't have two boys allowed to go to the high school prom. Now we can get into a big issue of the public schools are morally bankrupt at this point and we all ought to exit and just let them, let them do their thing, and that may be the ultimate answer; on the other hand, I feel for these Christian kids who are in a prom or kids who are at this high school who say, 'you know something, do we have to go down this road?' Whether the homosexual activists like it or not, and I know this isn't politically correct to say this, but not everybody wants to see that. I know that that's offensive to the activist crowd, they want us all to see it, they want us all to approve of it, they want us all to call it blessed and okay and rejoice and have parties and throw confetti in the air over this whole thing. But the fact of the matter is it's a moral issue. You will always have Christians who will disagree with this and why should the rights of the activists trump the rights of Christians?
Update 2/20: Mefferd spent a good part of the weekend tweeting at us, and a good portion of her show yesterday railing against us, claiming that we had "libeled" her with this post. Today, we received a letter [PDF] from her attorneys demanding that we remove this post and asserting that even though we had quoted her verbatim, we had misrepresented her views.
According to this letter, Mefferd claims that she was merely saying that some people object to seeing gay couples at prom, not that Christians have a right not to see gay people in general:
Ms. Mefferd's comment, in discussing a controversy in an Indiana high school about attendance by homosexual couples at a high school prom, was that 'not everybody wants to see that.' (emphasis added). Ms. Mefferd was not making a statement about homosexual people, or any other people for that matter, when making that statement, as Ms. Mefferd would have said 'not everybody wants to see them.' Mefferd's statement was about the inclusion of homosexual couples at a high school prom, and made a factual statement that 'not everybody wants to see that.'
Some people are simply ignorant and clueless. This Janet Mefferd is a very clear example of that.
What about the rights gay people to not see a christian where ever they go. If our rights don't out weight theirs then why should theirs out weigh ours. Aside from that isn't public schools supposed to be religion free? I know where I am you can't even really talk about it at school.
I am disgusted!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a tattooed,bisexual,pro-choice,pro-legalizing marijuana,pro-gay marriage,anti-war,non-vaxing,tree hugging,animal loving,book reading,animal testing free,depression battling, trying to raise a free spirit and letting her be who she is,fighting for equal rights at the same time,don't like it get over it.
I'd prefer to not ever see fundamentalists.. where's my right?
"Yes, the long war on Christianity. I pray that one day we may live in
an America where Christians can worship freely! In broad daylight!
Openly wearing the symbols of their religion... perhaps around their
necks? And maybe -- dare I dream it? -- maybe one day there can be an
openly Christian President. Or, perhaps, 43 of them. Consecutively."
― Jon Stewart
I've decided I don't want to see Christians.....now what? See how dumb that is?


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Stilgherrian (CSO Online (Australia)) — 16 March, 2012 15:58
Hacking for fun, country and a ticket to Black Hat 2012
Australia's first national cyber security competition, the 2012 Cyber Defence University Challenge, was launched today by broadband minister Senator Stephen Conroy.
The Challenge runs for 24 hours on 3 to 4 April, and will test the cyber problem-solving skills of teams of Australian undergraduates in a virtual network environment.
The ultimate prize, sponsored by Telstra, is travel and entry to the Black Hat 2012 Conference in Las Vegas in July 2012.
"The need for greater awareness of cyber security issues and for more high-skilled ICT graduates were two of the key themes to emerge from the public engagement process associated with the Government's Cyber White Paper, due for release later this year," Conroy said in a media release.
"The Challenge will raise awareness of the importance of cyber security, particularly in the university and business sectors, while also showcasing the diverse career opportunities for ICT graduates."
Undergraduates studying computer science and related degrees can register a team via their university with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
CyberPatriot is the premier national high school cyber defense competition that is designed to give hands on exposure to the foundations of cyber security. CyberPatriot is not a hacking competition. CyberPatriot's goal is to excite students about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
The Competition
In each competition round, students are provided one to three virtual machines. These machines contain several vulnerabilities, and students must clean the image of them. The virtual machines can have Windows or GNU/Linux Operating systems. They are given a set amount of time on the competition day to do so. Teams that find the most vulnerabilities pass on to the next round, and the winners of all three rounds compete in the National Championships in Washington, D.C.
GCHQ-backed competition names Cyber Security Champion
By Leo Kelion - 11 March 2012 Last updated at 15:27 ET
A 19-year-old university student has been named the UK's "Cyber Security Champion" following a competition sponsored by the intelligence agency GCHQ and several leading tech firms.
Judges said Jonathan Millican had demonstrated knowledge "years beyond his time".
The award in Bristol marks the culmination of a six-month long challenge designed to attract talented people to the cyberdefence industry.
It coincides with high-profile attacks.
Last week the FBI charged six men - including two in the UK - with computer hacking crimes which it said had affected "over one million victims".
The action prompted retaliatory attacks by the Antisec-wing of the Anonymous hacktivist movement.
On Saturday, James Jeffrey, from the West Midlands, pleaded guilty to breaking into the website of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service in a separate attack. He is accused of stealing details of people who had contacted the abortion provider.
The Sunday Times also reported that Chinese spies had stolen information of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet from BAE Systems' computers.
It said the incident had occurred three years ago and had been revealed by a BAE executive at a private dinner. The firm is not commenting. Chinese authorities denied being behind any such incident.
Sponsored degree
Mr Millican won the competition after taking part in a final series of challenges hosted by HP Labs which pitted six five-person teams against each other on Saturday.
"We're going into an age of cyberwarfare... it's very important that there are experts out there that can keep people safe"
Jonathan Millican UK Cyber Security Champion
These involved advising an online start-up company how best to protect itself against hackers during a role-playing exercise, and then reconfiguring a computer network during a 15-minute long simulated attack.
Although Mr Millican's team was beaten by a rival, judges decided he still deserved the top prize.
"He showed great leadership, strong technical abilities and also demonstrated that he understood the impact what he was doing would have on a business," said Adam Thompson, the chief judge who works for Hewlett Packard's security team.
Other judges involved were selected from sponsors, including the accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, telecoms giant BT, defence firm Cassidian and the security technology maker Qinetiq.
Prizes were tailored towards each winner. Mr Millican - a first year computer sciences student at Jesus College, University of Cambridge - has been offered a paid follow-up masters degree at Royal Holloway, University of London.
He has also been invited to visit communications intelligence agency GCHQ's Cheltenham base.
Jonathan Hoyle, director general for cyber security at GCHQ said: "It is through initiatives such as this that organisations, be they in the public or private sector, can continue to develop and maintain our leading edge in cyberspace by being able to recruit the right people with the right skills."
Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, the competition's patron and the Prime Minister's special representative to business on cybersecurity, added that she hoped such events would encourage children to put their computer skills to constructive use, rather than be tempted to take part in illegal activities.
Team Aurora takes part in the competition Finalists took part in a series of challenges held at HP Labs in Bristol
"There are people who are hacking and one of the worrying things is that they are regarded as heroes," she told the BBC.
"They are involved in the betrayal of both companies and ordinary people. We've seen cases of people's personal email addresses and passwords and bank details being posted online, opening these unfortunate individuals to crime. So they are definitely not heroes."
Mr Millican said he was most interested in the challenges posed by the more complex cyber-attacks - such as the Stuxnet worm which attacked Iran's nuclear systems or the Duqu Trojan suspected of being designed to gather intelligence from industries' control systems.
"We're going into an age of cyberwarfare," he said.
"Given all the critical systems we have in this country that are connected to the internet it's very important that there are experts out there that can keep people safe."
This was the second year the Cyber Security Challenge has been held.
Organisers are now accepting applications for their 2012/13 contest. They are planning changes to ensure that some of the youngest entrants, who typically would not make it through to the final stages, will be offered follow-up coaching.


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Habitation Clément,
Domaine de l'acajou,
Le François,
Clément has been produced in the French municipality of Martinique since 1887 and is still produced in the small town of Le François where its founder Homère Clément and his son Charles first made it.
Clément is a rhum agricole – i.e., it is distilled from sugar cane juice, not molasses. It is also set apart from other rums by its slow hydration. After leaving the still at 74% alc./vol. the strength is slowly reduced in stages of 5% alc./vol.. This process takes 2-3 months but is said to lead to a more balanced rum.
Clement Shrubb is a liqueur based on unaged and six-year-old Clément Martinique agricole rum which is blended and then aged with orange peels in 250 litre oak casks for a year....
Like the other Clément rums, this is a rhum agricole which is slowly hydrated (over eight months). It is further distinguished due to being distilled from the juice of one...
This 2016 bottling is the 16th vintage of Clément's Canne Bleue unaged agricole rum. Clément claim Canne Bleue is the only mono variety of rum in world – Canne Bleue being...
Clément V.S.O.P. Rhum Agricole Vieux is distilled from fermented sugar cane juice and aged a minimum of 4 years in virgin Limousin oak barriques and re-charred American oak...
Made by infusing young coconut flesh with Rhum Agricole. Sugar is added to sweeten.