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Coit Tower
One of the most iconic buildings in San Francisco is Coit Tower. Most people know this as the fire hose building.
The hike to the tower is treacherous. I walked from the Embarcadero BART station to Coit tower. There are many, many hills that you will have to walk up to get to the hill that Coit Tower is on. However, once you make the hike up to Telegraph Hill, you will get amazing views of the city. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and so much more!
Visitors can go to the top of Coit Tower to get a 360 view of the city. For residents of San Francisco, it's $6 to get to the top. For non-residents, it's $8. Visitors can purchase tickets at the gift shop on the lower level of the tower. If you happen to go inside, check out the murals on the walls, they are beautifully fascinating. I didn't go to the top of the tower as I was on a time constraint, but plan on going back to make it to the top.
About Coit Tower: Coit Tower was designed for Lillie Hitchcock Coit after she bequested people use her money for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city that she always loved. Coit was a patron of the city's firefighters, but contrary to what everyone thinks, the tower was not intended to resemble a fire nozzle.


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or 4 payments of with More info
Are your screens clogged with mineral deposits? Try the helpful cleaning tips in the operation manual to remove them...but if you've had your screen for a very long time, it might be time to replace it!
Compatible with the Green Star, Green Power Gold, and discontinued Green Life juice extractors.

subset: commoncrawl


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My name is Brianna Logan and I am so excited to use my skills in real world design situations, for real world companies. So far I have loved working in app design and doing UX. I have a minor in Sociology, and enjoy looking at how people think and the reasons behind their actions, so I incorporate that into my design work as much as possible. I also enjoy print and packaging, because I like being able to see my designs as a physical object.
My interests include roller skating and playing roller derby. I also love the outdoors, and go hiking and backpacking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest whenever I can fit it in. Watercolor painting is another passion of mine, and I love to paint the outdoors and all the evergreen trees I am surrounded by.
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Doctors are about 15% less likely to refer a patient for a cancer screening in the afternoon than in the morning. more...
September 15 , 1935 : Germany adopted the swastika as the official Nazi symbol as the Nuremberg Laws took effect. more...
Learn something new every day
More Info... by email
Skin that lacks proper moisture can be unsightly and uncomfortable. If you are have dry or dehydrated skin, you may have spent a considerable amount of money and hope using beauty products that claim to fix the problem but which only resulted in disappointment. To find the best hydrating moisturizer, you need to consider the product's water content, know your alcohols, and consider your skin type.
If you are looking for the best hydrating moisturizer, you need to read the ingredient label of any products you consider and make sure the first ingredient listed is water. This natural element is one of the most important elements in healing and maintaining healthy, hydrated skin. Products that contain specialized water are highly recommended, such as those that use spring water. This is because the elimination of harsh components in the water can result in healthier skin.
Since you are trying to hydrate your skin, you do not want to put chemicals on that dry it out at the same time. This means that you need to be knowledgeable about your alcohols. Many people try to completely avoid any alcohol content because they believe all alcohols cause dryness. Some, such as ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, and methyl alcohol, will do so and should, therefore, be avoided. However, others, such as cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, and lanolin alcohol, may help your products work better.
Choose a hydrating moisturizer with more natural ingredients than chemical ingredients. There are many natural ingredients that have a reputation for being excellent skin care agents. These include items such as aloe, coconut oil, and shea butter.
Make sure the product is designed for your skin type. When shopping for beauty products, you need to consider all of your needs. If you have sensitive skin, you need to purchase a hydrating moisturizer that has been formulated to eliminate and reduce irritation. It may be a bit more difficult to find a suitable product when you have to consider several needs but rarely is it impossible.
Choosing the best hydrating moisturizer requires you to consider the part of your body that needs moisture. Although many products are labeled "body moisturizer," they may not be suitable for all parts of the body. It is almost without exception that you will need to use different products on your face than on the rest of your body. Furthermore, the skin on your feet is so thick that dry feet often require products developed especially for that area.
Post 13
Why do you think hydration products are made to look different and more expensive from other products on store shelves? What about them, if anything, merits a higher price tag?
Post 11
@Sunshine31 - Moisture surge is my favorite hydrating gel. It really makes my skin feel soft without adding too much oil.
What I love to do is put a jar of this hydrating gel in the refrigerator and when I finish working out and take a shower, I apply some of this on my face and it feels amazing. The coolness from the gel is really refreshing. I absolutely love it.
Post 10
@Orangey03- I think that if you have combination skin and have some dry areas on your face you are probably better off getting a water based hydrating moisturizer instead of an oil based moisturizer because the oil would be too rich and it would tend to cause you to break out.
Clinique has a whole line of hydrating moisturizers for combination skin along with richer creams for those with drier skin.
But a great way to moisturize your skin naturally is by eating a lot of foods with Omega 3 fatty acids like salmon and nuts. You can also get fish oil supplements and after a few weeks your skin will glow and will feel a lot smoother. I got this tip from a television show and it really works.
Post 9
If you are older and suffer from dry, aging skin, you can find plenty of products formulated to provide intense moisture to your body. My mother's skin gets painfully dry in the winter, and without the right moisturizer, her knuckles crack and bleed.
She found a product that is supposed to act like an invisible glove over your hands. It is for people like her who have to put their hands in dishwater and clean every day and who suffer the pain of dry skin.
She says that it both protects and nourishes the skin of her hands. Even if she goes a day without washing dishes, she puts the moisturizer on just because it feels good and smoothes out her wrinkles.
Post 8
I spend a lot of time out in the sun, so any moisturizer that contains plenty of aloe is ideal for me. It soothes my parched skin, even when I don't have a sunburn.
The sun and wind work together to chap my skin. I always wear sunscreen, but I find that it dries my skin out sometimes. I buy the spray-on kind because it is more durable, but it really saps my skin of moisture.
After I shower, I apply the aloe lotion, and I feel soothed right away. This lotion has a cooling effect. When I don't use it, my skin looks tough and wrinkled.
Post 6
For the skin on my elbows, knees, and the soles of my feet, I use a body butter moisturizer. It's more creamy and thicker than a regular lotion, and it seeps into the thick skin of rough areas like these.
I prefer the scented kind. I have to use an unscented lotion on the rest of my body because of my sensitive skin, but my rough patches can handle the perfumed body butter.
I love the invigorating scent of peaches. Maybe it's mental, but the peaches and cream scented body butter actually seems creamier than some others I've tried.
Post 5
I use a sensitive skin moisturizer on my face, and the label lists spring water as the first ingredient. The moisturizer has the consistency of mousse, but it feels like a juicy cream when it spreads across my skin.
I don' t know how the company came up with this texture trick, but I love it. This moisturizer keeps my skin hydrated all through the night, and I wake up with a face that looks more youthful and fresh.
If I use this moisturizer every day in the winter, I can avoid the flaky, dry skin that usually develops around the corners of my nose. I put it on in the morning under my makeup to stay hydrated during the day, and I reapply it at night after showering.
Post 4
I have tried all different kinds of skin moisturizers and have found those that I like best have shea butter in them.
This leaves my skin feeling so soft and luxurious. I have used expensive, high-end moisturizers and ones that are cheaper from a retail store.
Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference in those that cost a lot compared to those that are cheaper.
For my skin those that are most hydrating have a thick feel to them, go on smooth and don't feel greasy. I think this is why I like the shea butter, because this is how it feels on my skin.
Post 3
I am trying to make up for some sun damage I did to my skin when I was younger. This means using a good natural moisturizer that also has some sunscreen in it.
As I have gotten older I notice that my skin does not have nearly as much natural oil that it used to. When you are a teenager, you don't like that oily, shiny skin because it can cause acne and your face feels shiny all the time.
Now I would love to have some of that natural oil in my skin. I try to keep my skin soft and smooth by using moisturizer every day.
I will apply it when I am done showering
in the morning before I put on my makeup. My makeup also goes on much smoother and more even if I have moisturizer on first.
When I remove my makeup at night, I also apply moisturizer before going to bed. Even though I don't need the sunscreen at night, I use the same moisturizer for both morning and evening.
By having a moisturizer with sunscreen in it, I feel that I am protecting my face every time I am out in the sun.
Post 2
@manykitties - If you don't want to go through the whole trial and error thing you can also check out reviews of products from a blogger you trust. I follow several beauty blogs and so far they haven't steered me wrong in terms of which products to try out.
Right now I actually have two favorite moisturizing products. The first is John Varvatos Hydrating Facial Moisturizer which is a bit of a treat as it is more of a luxury product, so I use it sparingly. For regular use I like Jergens Naturals Hydrate Daily Moisturizer with jojoba oil. It does a great job of keeping my skin silky smooth and it is really affordable.
Post 1
One of the hardest products to find is definitely a good hydrating face moisturizer. I have tried several different kinds and finally settled on using Sea Breeze Naturals Hydrating Moisturizer. I find that it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily or too dry.
One of my favorite things about my hydrating facial moisturizer is that it smells fantastic and doesn't hurt my sensitive skin. I actually tried a few brands that made my skin even more dry, or they made me itch like crazy. I guess you just have to try several products to really get the best one for you.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK!


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ServLife Global Community Banquet
You are invited to ServLife International's first annual Global Community Banquet on Saturday, April 22 at 6 pm at the Ivy Tech Culinary Center (2820 N. Meridian St., 46208). There is no charge for this event, but you will have the opportunity to make a generous gift towards the work of ServLife during the banquet.
Seating is limited. Please RSVP by April 7 if you plan to attend.


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You are hereCrappie Forums / Crappie Fishing Reports / Tennessee / Other Tennessee Lakes / Everetts Lake (Dyer County TN) John Woods and Brian Ramm
Everetts Lake (Dyer County TN) John Woods and Brian Ramm
Brian and I fished Everetts Lake this afternoon. We caught our crappiei 13th deep in 15 to 18 foot of water. We were Jigi fishing using BnM 10 ft. Ultra Light Poles with Martin Automatic Reels and Southern Pro Jigs. It was nice just to get to fish before the next ice and snow moves in.
Woods Guide Service
Those automatics are the only way to go when jig fishing. Quick to let out and quick to retrieve. I used to use Martins, now I use the ones made by Phlueger.
Matthew Tosh Guide Service
Ph: (731) 343-2835
Nice catch guys!
T. Todd
T Todd, when are you and Brandon going to pull crankbaits with me again?
My Guide Services
John, duck season ends next weekend. I will gladly go anytime you get ready to. I am ready to get on some of those stop signs if you know what I mean haha.
T. Todd
Woods I have to use the regular old standard reel. What's an automatic?
Big Papa, I will try to get you a picture of one.
My Guide Services
Thanks for stopping by www.crappie101.com. We are the site dedicated to crappie fishingi. We bring you tips and techniques from crappie country's top pros and the everyday fisherman not to mention the most complete information on crappie lakes from all around the country.


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All Star Athletic Trainer: Danielle Smith
Healthy Roster
As the Head Athletic Trainer at Maryknoll School, a private Catholic K-12 school in Honolulu, Hawaii, Danielle Smith definitely keeps busy providing AT services to students involved in over 20 sports and 100 teams competing in three leagues. She earned her Master of Science in 2013 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and her Bachelor of Science in 2011 from San Diego Christian College.
Danielle has received many awards and recognitions throughout her career, including the Lindsey McLean Memorial Scholarship from the National Athletic Trainers' Association in 2012, the Jerry Lloyd Memorial Scholarship from the Far West Athletic Trainers' Association in 2012 and was both Valedictorian and Outstanding Kinesiology Student from San Diego Christian College in 2011.
Healthy Roster Director of Customer Success Rob Mottice is consistently impressed with Danielle's strong use of the Healthy Roster platform:
"Danielle is the lead Athletic Trainer at Hawaii's Maryknoll School and has been one of our leading Athletic Trainers in terms of quality/quantity of entries. She has logged over 2,000 treatments and almost 400 injuries for her students. She has been quick to learn and master the latest features and was one of Healthy Roster's first "super-users."
To hear from Danielle about her experiences in the athletic training field, check out her responses below:
Why did you become an Athletic Trainer?
I had a bad soccer injury when I was 11 years old that resulted in surgery, 6 months on crutches, and 1 year of physical therapy before I was allowed to run or jump again. While it was definitely a tough time, I remember there was a great sports medicine team of Physical Therapists and Doctors who helped me get back into playing soccer, a sport that I still participate in today. When I entered college, I knew I wanted to do something in Sports Medicine to help others with their injuries but wasn't sure exactly what that would look like. I spent some time shadowing in a PT Clinic, a Doctor's Office, and in the Athletic Training Room at my college. By the end of my Junior year, I knew I wanted to go to graduate school for Athletic Training.
Without sharing any PHI of course, what is your most memorable moment as an Athletic Trainer?
My first weekend at my first full-time job, I had to call EMS twice in a span of two hours for a couple pretty gnarly injuries—one of them being a tibial plateu fracture (see attachment for photo of X-ray).
What advice would you give others, either in the profession or considering becoming an Athletic Trainer?
For those considering becoming an Athletic Trainer, make sure you spend time shadowing someone in the field enough that you understand what you're getting into before you commit. It's a very rewarding job but it does come with some unique challenges. For those in the profession: when the going gets tough, remember that we grow stronger through the struggle. It's not just muscles that grow stronger with resistance; don't let your spirit atrophy.
What do you feel people outside of your profession should know about Athletic Trainers
Athletic Trainers are there to worry about the sports injuries so coaches & parents don't have to. They are sports medicine professionals trained to respond quickly in emergency situations who also are skilled athletic injury prevention, evaluation, & rehabilitation. If your school doesn't have an Athletic Trainer on-staff, ask your administration: "Why not?"
What is the key to being successful in Athletic Training?
Always remember that you're treating a person, not just an injury.


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1. Librarians have a vast knowledge of subject-specific resources and can navigate directly to different sorts of data, rather than than having to fumble their way to it via a search engine.
2. Librarians have access to proprietary databases. While it may seem like you can "just Google it", some of the best research isn't available freely on the web. Licensed databases offer company profiles, market overviews and industry reports that aren't available in other places.
3. Librarians Google better than anyone. Google indexes trillions of web pages. Trillions. You'll need a professional searcher to make sure you don't miss anything.
4. A librarian is the next best thing to a private investigator. Librarians can track down company email addresses, create executive profiles and assemble corporate timelines.
5. Because librarians are trained to do reference work, they are adept at helping users refine their queries, which enables them to provide those users with the most essential information.
6. Librarians don't quit just because something is hard to find. They keep digging, asking questions and retooling search strategies until they discover something useful.
7. Librarians are part of a loyal, tight-knit network that stretches across international borders, and they make a habit of leaning on each other for information or expertise.
8. In addition to knowing how to find hard-to-find stuff, librarians are seasoned customer service professionals who know how to make the experience of asking for and receiving information a pleasant and rewarding one.
9. Librarians are cheaper than MBAs. The Average MBA Salary is $113,000 while the average librarian salary is $47,000 (Updated to note that the average Business Librarian salary is $56,000 according to Indeed and $70,000 according to the Special Library Association) Business Librarians have experience doing company, industry and financial research. Pay the MBA for the analysis and leave the search for information to the librarian.
10. Librarians have superpowers.


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Houston construction worker escapes five-alarm fire with dramatic last minute jump (VIDEO)
Stuck on the fifth floor, the unidentified construction worker had moved out to the balcony after the fire made its way through the complex. While waiting for firefighters to bring their ladder truck near by, it became clear that they wouldn't be able to get close enough with the flames advancing so rapidly.
That's when the construction worker knew he had to leap to the floor below him. Grabbing hold of the ledge, he hung himself over the balcony and dropped down to the one underneath, slipping and falling on his way, but surviving nonetheless.
"When we saw his foot slip, it was just like uhhh, oh God he's going to fall. We thought he was going to be gone," said Karen Jones, who captured the video of the scene, to local ABC affiliate KTRK.
Soon afterwards, the ladder truck gets close enough for the worker to latch on and get onboard, but even that was just in the nick of time. Moments after successfully getting on the ladder, the wall and the roof of the apartment building start to collapse above.
"You just try and get to him," Houston Fire Department Senior Captain Hawthorn told KTRK. "And then, you don't want him to jump too soon. He waited until we got the ladder truck close enough."
The construction worker was rescued safely, with his reaction expectedly joyous.
"He just said, 'Thank you Jesus.' He was ecstatic," Hawthorn said.
As for the fire itself, local news outlet KHOU reported the flames spread across the entirety of the apartment complex in only 20 minutes, aiding by gusting winds. The building was not occupied as it was under construction, and all other workers have been identified as safe. More than 200 firefighters were needed to douse the flames, an operation that took more than two hours.
"There was a report of a couple of guys working on the roof doing welding," Houston Fire Department Deputy Chief Greg Lewis told Fox News. "When our units arrived, there was a small fire and construction workers were attempting to put it out. There was sustained wind of 15 to 20 miles an hour, and it was a wind driven fire."


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A Solid Biblical Foundation
The education ministry of Immanuel Baptist Church is designed to solidly and deliberately ground Christians in a knowledge of the Bible. All of it.
The entire course of study for our Sunday School classes is centered around the Chronological study of the Bible. You can read more about that here:
On Sunday evenings we come together as a body to have one large discipleship group. This is a time that we look at a wide array of topics in more of a classroom format. Discussion and questions are accepted and desired. There will be occasional times of smaller breakout discipleship groups for specific groups of people as leaders and church members desire for those to take place. We desire to hear from our members about what it is that they desire to study during this time.
We invite you to join us each Sunday morning at 9:30am and each Sunday evening at 5:30pm as we discover the joy of applying the Bible and all of it's truths to our lives!


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Is your channel incentive program missing a personal touch?
Your competitors are doing it, it's proven to work and it's not difficult to incorporate. So why aren't you using a personal touch in your channel incentive program?
We can guess why: You're excited about technology, big data and automation – marketing these days is often about how you can make things faster and more efficient. Technology certainly has a big role to play when it comes to customer loyalty, and can generate a lot of useful insights, but the human touch should not be forgotten. It can actually make your channel incentive program more successful.
If you're not engaging in personalisation, you're falling behind
Personalisation is making waves in the B2C space. Research from Deloitte reveals consumers want their interactions with businesses to be personalised more than ever. B2C companies are taking this on board and appealing to their customers on a personal level using tools such as social media to communicate with customers in a more human way.
70 per cent of service teams have become more focused on creating deeper customer relationships in the past 12-18 months.
And B2B companies are following suit: Salesforce's latest "State of Service" report reveals 70 per cent of service teams have become more focused on creating deeper customer relationships in the past 12-18 months, with 65 per cent becoming more focused on personalising service interactions.
So, if you've been wondering what your channel incentive program has been missing, it could be that your competitors are personalising their interactions with channel partners while you've been too preoccupied with efficiency.
On top of tech, but neglecting the human touch?
You might be blown away at the ease at which technology allows you to automate so many processes and your interactions with customers. However, you shouldn't be using tech at the expense of a human touch; you should be personalising interactions with your distributors and retailers. With an increase in automation comes the risk that your interactions become more standardised and generic. When personalised service gets lost, your buyers will be able to tell.
According to Accenture, 83 per cent of US consumers would rather deal with a human being than digital channels. And while your channel partners are B2B buyers, not your end consumers, they are people too – people who appreciate personalised service just as much as you do.
After all, only a real person can understand the underlying emotion behind a concern or a query, and respond to another person's problem with empathy. A computer can generate an automated response instantly but it lacks the human qualities needed to forge a genuine connection.
Does this mean you should use technology less?
You don't have to choose between using technology and personalised interaction: you can do both! Rather than doing one or the other, use technology to enhance your channel partners' experience of working with you.
Incorporate segmentation to personalise the experience for your channel partners.
Automate your processes, but incorporate segmentation to personalise the experience for your channel partners. For example, Deloitte recommends using data collected about the preferences of your distributors or retailers to target them more specifically with email newsletters and content that relates to their needs and interests.
If you have channel partners all over the world, you can also use geographical personalisation to send them campaigns and content relevant to their corner of the globe. The same goes for your channel incentive or customer loyalty program – segmenting your channel partners into sub-groups allows you to tailor your incentives and rewards specifically to their wants.
Take the first step towards making your channel partner incentive program more effective and get in touch with the experts at 212°F.


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Making music fun for young children!/
Music lessons aren't just about learning scales and passing exams.
Improvising (making music up on the spot) plays a very important part in my music lessons. For example, children love creating story boards for animals. We might make up music for the weather, for the life cycle of a frog or for a haunted house! Inspiration comes from all sorts of places.
This is Alice's 'dolphin' improvisation, inspired by a cuddly dolphin toy that I brought along one week. Alice is 5 and a half! Through music making and creating musical sound effects, she has developed the confidence to explore the piano in a relaxed and playful manner.
Rhiannon Harman, Founder and Music Co-ordinator, Discover & Be
Discover & Be offer music tuition for children and adults in the Haywards Heath, Uckfield and Lewes areas. Take a look at our page dedicated to music tuition to find out more.


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Kit comes complete with billet aluminum handle assembly and cables. The cables are "U-Cut-to-Fit", designed with specially extruded liner for extended life of the cable, with billet aluminum fittings and stainless steel inner wire. Trunk release kit includes cable stop and 15 feet of outer housing and 16 feet of inner wire. Requires cable-operated latches.
WARNING Cancer and Reproductive Harm: https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/


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Our Team
William Trainer
CEO, President & Director
Mr. William Trainer is a key founder of Grande West Transportation and has served as President and Director since its inception in 2008. Mr. Trainer has over 25 years experience importing and exporting heavy machinery, and has successfully pioneered and brought several new products to the Canadian market. William has also owned and managed heavy construction equipment dealerships throughout Western Canada.
Joseph Miller
Director & Chairman
Joe Miller has been a director of the Corporation since December 4, 2012. Mr. Miller has over 30 years experience in the construction field and manages a BC-based, construction company with projects across North America and the South Pacific. Joe specializes in ground improvement, bringing new technologies to use around the world. Mr. Miller brings a vast knowledge in negotiation skills and customer relationship building to the Corporation. Joe is also a Director on several other boards and brings a broad base of experience in management and innovation skills.
Dan Buckle
Chief Financial Officer
Dan is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with more than 15 years of diversified experience and leadership in finance. Most recently he was the Finance Director and Corporate Secretary for Fortress Paper. Previous to this he was a manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Andrew Imanse
Andrew Imanse joined Grande West as a director in October, 2015. Andrew Imanse is a retired President of the Thor Bus Group and was instrumental in developing the bus market for Thor Industries. Mr. Imanse has been a prominent figure in the bus industry for over 20 years. Prior to his role in the bus industry, Mr. Imanse worked in the recreational vehicle sector as a senior executive for several companies, including Vice President of Canadian Recreational Vehicles and Housing Division of the Bendix Corporation.
Christopher Strong
Mr. Strong is a senior executive with over thirty years of experience with startups, acquisitions, IPOs, turnarounds and sales. In addition to previous roles as CEO, he has also served as audit committee chair, CFO and numerous other finance-related positions earlier in his career. Mr. Strong is a former U.S. Navy Officer and received his MBA in finance from the Wharton School of Business.
Keith T. Parker
Keith T. Parker is President and CEO of Goodwill of Georgia, one of the largest non-profit organizations in the southeast. Prior to joining Goodwill, Mr. Parker spent his career in transit as CEO at MARTA, VIA Metropolitan Transit and a senior role at the Charlotte Area Transit System.
John LaGourgue
VP, Corporate Development, Director
John LaGourgue joined Grande West in June, 2016 and brings with him over 20 years of management, sales, financial and investment experience in public and private companies. John has served in senior management and directors' roles for public companies since 2009. Mr. Lagourgue manages the Company's capital markets strategies and corporate communications.
John Wang
VP, Engineering Manager
Mr. John Wang has over 25 years of experience in project engineering and design consulting throughout Canada and Asia, and has been an Officer of Grande West Transportation since 2008. Mr. Wang has played a vital role in the designing, testing and manufacturing of the Vicinity Bus. John has extensive knowledge of the import/export business and Chinese, as well as north american business practices.


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ST. LOUIS - The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis announced the following changes to its board of directors, effective Jan. 1:
Patricia L. Clarke, president and CEO of First National Bank in Raymond, Ill., was elected to a three-year term on the St. Louis Fed's board of directors.
Daniel J. Ludeman, president and CEO of Concordance Academy of Leadership in St. Louis, was elected to a three-year term on the St. Louis Fed's board of directors.
Kathleen M. Mazzarella, chairman, president and CEO of Graybar Electric Co. in St. Louis, was named deputy chair of the St. Louis Fed's board of directors. Mazzarella was appointed to the board in 2015.
Rakesh Sachdev, former president and CEO of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation in St. Louis, was named chairman of the St. Louis Fed's board of directors. Sachdev was appointed to the board in 2014 and served as deputy chair in 2015.
Suzanne Sitherwood, president and CEO of The Laclede Group in St. Louis, was appointed to a three-year term on the St. Louis Fed's board of directors.
Also serving on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis are: D. Bryan Jordan, chairman, president and CEO of First Horizon National Corp. in Memphis, Tenn.; Cal McCastlain, member at Dover Dixon Horne PLLC in Little Rock, Ark.; John N. Roberts III, president and CEO of JB Hunt Transportation Services Inc. in Lowell, Ark.; and Susan S. Stephenson, co-chairman and president of Independent Bank in Memphis.
The St. Louis Fed is a corporation chartered under the Federal Reserve Act, and is governed by a board of directors, whose nine members provide oversight of Bank management. Members of the board of directors of the St. Louis Fed and the advisory boards of its three branches in Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis, Tenn., are familiar with the economic and credit conditions of their respective regions. Their observations – along with the economic data and information gathered and analyzed by St. Louis Fed staff – help ensure that conditions of Main Street America are represented in Federal Open Market Committee deliberations in Washington, D.C. Information about our governance can be found at https://www.stlouisfed.org/about-us/our-leadership/bank-governance. For a listing of all directors, see https://www.stlouisfed.org/about-us/our-leadership/board-of-directors.


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Another case. This one saying ADA does cover web. Abstract courtesy of SE DBTAC Gregg -- ------------------------------ Gregg C Vanderheiden Ph.D. Professor - Human Factors Depts of Ind. Engr. & BioMed Engr. Director - Trace R & D Center University of Wisconsin-Madison firstname.lastname@example.com < <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com> mailto:email@example.com>, < <http://trace.wisc.edu/> http://trace.wisc.edu/> FAX 608/262-8848 For a list of our listserves send "lists" to firstname.lastname@example.com < <mailto:email@example.com> mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com> Judge Rules That Inaccessible Website Violates ADA October 15, 2002 A federal judge ruled that the Atlanta mass transit agency violated the ADA by constructing a website that was inaccessible for people with visual disabilities. This is one of the first cases to decide that the ADA requires online access for people with disabilities. This decision came as part of a court order in a class action lawsuit filed by Atlanta-area people with disabilities against the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). The plaintiffs in this case complained about numerous problems they experienced with accessibility in MARTA, including difficulties in obtaining schedule and route information in an accessible format. This information is available on the MARTA website, but people with disabilities had to rely on cumbersome Braille schedules or through MARTA's telephone service. MARTA staff testified that the <http://www.itsmarta.com> MARTA website (http://www.itsmarta.com) is not yet accessible for people with visual impairments. Since June 2002, MARTA has been working to improve the accessibility of its Internet site, but people who use screen readers to access the site still cannot get complete access to schedule and route information. Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. stated in his order that "MARTA can do a better job of making information available in accessible formats." The judge stated that although MARTA did provide information to people with visual impairments over the telephone, this service was not equivalent to that provided over the Internet to non-disabled passengers. Although MARTA is attempting to correct accessibility issues on its Internet site, Judge Thrash found that "MARTA must deliver on its promises". "Until these deficiencies are corrected," the judge stated, "MARTA is violating the ADA." The judge ordered MARTA and the plaintiffs to work together to fashion a court order to remedy the violations of the ADA, including the accessibility of the MARTA website, but did not order MARTA to make any specific changes to its website. The <http://www.gand.uscourts.gov/documents/1001cv3255TWTinj.pdf> court's order can be found in Adobe PDF at http://www.gand.uscourts.gov/documents/1001cv3255TWTinj.pdf. The following summary was prepared by the Southeast DBTAC and has not been reviewed by any enforcement agency. The Southeast is authorized by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to provide information, materials, and technical assistance to individuals and entities that are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) under grant number H133D010207. However, you should be aware that NIDRR is not responsible for enforcement of the ADA The information, materials, and/or technical assistance are intended solely as informal guidance, and are neither a determination of your legal rights or responsibilities under the act, nor binding on any agency with enforcement responsibility under the ADA.Received on Thursday, 24 October 2002 14:01:50 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 16 January 2018 15:33:42 UTC


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I've come a long way in the last few years... I've learned how to figure out what's important to me. I learned to express my self and to be more open, I learned how to fear less and love more. I'm in the process of becoming a more holistic, authentic person. Still, I've carried a vague sense that something, some part of me is still missing... calling me.
What part of you is missing?
Imagine if what you've been seeking all this time was under your nose? How do you go about identifying what exactly that is? Well, how about looking in the one place you're not looking, the one place you never look. Ever. Why? Because when you're 'there' you're nowhere else. Whatever your doing there is so meaningful it has your undivided attention.
In my case, recently I have conceded the war of attrition with my mind and decided to turn instead to my heart with this question 'What part of me is missing?' What part is yearning to belong?', just rest it gently there, don't force an answer. Just let it come. Doing this was like turning on a magnet, I gave myself to the charge of a larger force.
I put my trust in my heart and gave myself to it's pull. I began spending my time a little differently. I began to play and one day I caught myself doing something I've instinctively been doing all my life... and for the first time I noticed... this is it.
This is where she lives, my missing part.. I found her.
She is to be found in how I 'spend' time when I am unburdened from the need for that time to be 'spent wisely'... I go within. I tend to my inners like a gardener would to roses. I soak up whatever is spilling over and and I pour it out. I empty my cup so that I can drink again. That's what I do, I nourish and comfort my soul through freedom of expression. I Write, I paint, I scribble and I play. I work things out, I find ways to communicate, to connect to the world, I express my heart, passionately. It's how I speak my truth. It's where I am in touch with my voice.
It is my secret part... the one I created but kept hidden. She's been doing this a lifetime, right under my nose and she has become skilled at maintaining her secrecy.
How did I discover this?
In april of this year, something in me spontaneously decided to 'make' a birthday present for a friend. I had some art supplies in the office and so that's where I went about making it. That piece didn't work out, but I didn't stop...something was ignited.
Over the course of the past three months, if I'm to be found anywhere in my spare time, it's here. My creative space has since taken on a personal, soul nurturing feel. The way I have been using this room is changing.. I'm feeling more bonded with my space and it evoked in me the need to nest. I started transforming my room into a nook... moving out of it what can live elsewhere and bringing in what belongs. In doing so, I instinctually went about the house gathering 'twigs' for my nest. It was then I noticed it. The sheer volume of evidence has overwhelmed me...
Around me began to assemble the symbols of what gives my life meaning. Love notes Terry and I write to each other, handwritten letters from friends, trinkets my family and friends have gifted me over the years, cards of encouragement and love, all carrying the same message: You are loved, you are enough. Then there are my own scribblings and expressions of creative yearning over the years, revealing a conflicted theme between love and fear... a need to know there was nothing to fear and that no love could be so great that it couldn't be true.
This is the narrative of who I really am, weaving together for the first time. I've never seen it all in one space. It's profound.
I've realised that having a love this big, when part of you feels undeserving, creates a fear... that it may be wrong. It's not wrong.
I know what's happening here... that part, the banished part of me who felt undeserving of expression, of love, is also the one who loved to play, but who felt bad about it because somewhere along the line she picked up the message that she didn't have a right to play. How mistaken she was, I have never 'seen' her before… but now I do. I found her, I have embraced her and she has been unburdened. She has decided now to belong.
It's all coming together.. it's making sense. This room is different now, here I'm connected to something soulful... the work I do in here has heart.
This is no longer a place of exile, it is a fertile place, of retreat, re-claimation, recovery, renewal... it is my Soul Nook.
Always, Amanda <3
This is the final of a four part post series 'Discovering your Soul Nook'
Read the rest of this series by following the links below. Don't forget to follow my blog if you like what you've read!
Part 1, Where do You Belong
2, Finding Your Hidden Strength
and 3, Where do you step forward


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Girl Guiding
Girlguiding UK is the United Kingdom's largest voluntary organisation for girls and young women. Being a Guide encourages girls to develop by undertaking challenges and pushing the boundaries of their experience. The JTYAF is proud to be able to support young people from North East Forest and North East Minster Divisions of the Guides which include the following districts:-
Ferndown District
Guide Units – 1st Ferndown, 3rd Ferndown, 2nd St Leonards
Brownie Units – 3rd Ferndown, 4th Ferndown, 1st Longham (URC), 2nd St Leonards
Rainbow Units – 1st Ferndown, 3rd Ferndown, 1st St Leonards
Verwood District
Ranger Unit – Verwood
Guide Units – 2nd Verwood, 3rd Verwood
Brownie Units -1st Alderholt, 1st Verwood, 2nd Verwood, 3rd Verwood.
Rainbow Units – 1st Alderholt, 1st Verwood, 2nd Verwood
West Moors District
Ranger Units – West Moors,
Guide Units – 3rd West Moors
Brownie Units – 1st West Moors, 3rd West Moors, 1st Three Legged Cross
Rainbow Units – 1st West Moors
Colehill District
Ranger Unit – Colehill District
Guide Units – 2nd Colehill
Brownie Units – 2nd Colehill, 3rd Colehill
Rainbow Units – 1st Colehill
Corfe Mullen District
Ranger Unit – 1st Corfe Mullen, 1st Sturminster Marshall
Guide Units – 1st Corfe Mullen, 4th Corfe Mullen, 1st Sturminster Marshall
Brownie Units – 1st Corfe Mullen, 2nd Corfe Mullen, 3rd Corfe Mullen, 6th Corfe Mullen, 1st Sturminster Marshall
Wimborne District
Guide Units – 1st Wimborne, 1st Gaunts
Brownie Units – 2nd Canford Magna, 1st Gaunts, 1st Merley, 1st Wimborne, 3rd Wimborne, 5th Wimborne
Rainbow Units – 1st Merley, 1st Wimborne, 2nd Wimborne, 1st Gaunts
Application process
Complete an application form and submit it to your Guide Leader for endorsement. It must then be submitted to the District Commissioner for consideration.


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|Sighting Report
|Occurred : 2/20/2008 19:35 (Entered as : 2/20/08 19:35)
Reported: 2/20/2008 5:49:00 PM 17:49
Posted: 3/4/2008
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Shape: Light
Duration:30 SECONDS
|orange and redish lights off the coast of myrtle beach
Pulling into the blockbuster on 72nd ave, I got out of the car and my friend said something and yelled look. I turned to the moon becuase I thought the lunar eclipse was starting and he said no to the right and there were bursts of redish orange lights in very abnormal durations back and forth... Not sure what it could have been but it was over the ocean any help would be nice was very curious as to what it could have been. We thought it was that satelite, but got home and saw it hadnt been shot down.


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15 Benefits that Being in a Serious Relationship Gives You
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Here's a startlingly radical fact for you. In 2014, Colorado saw about 55 new breweries open. Fifty-freaking-five. That's almost as many breweries as opened in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine (in 2014) combined. And those states aren't lacking great breweries. We continue to love the beer scene on the front range, and we had the chance to visit with Fiction Beer Company, a new brewery in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver, CO.
Just like the rest of the American frontier, Colorado imparts a sense of scenic grandeur that is both inspiring and humbling. In every sense of the word, it's huge. The landscape is, for the most part, untamed. The Rockies sit proudly on the horizon, dominating your view of the western sky. The waterways snake down from the mountains with confidence, carving waterways into the land that extends for hundreds of miles in either direction. Makes us want to drink a beer.
Have you ever sat down in your favorite comfy chair, cracked a fresh beer, and had a good long read?
What a silly question...of course you have! It's a lovely experience after all. In actuality, we can't really think of a better way to kill some time, enjoy a good book, and dig into a great beer. Ryan and Christa Kilpatrick themed their entire business around this idea, and I think you'll agree with us when we say that it just makes sense.
The more we spoke with Ryan Kilpatrick about his brewery, the more we realized that underneath that calm exterior lay a ferociously pragmatic and shrewd small business owner waiting to attack at a moment's notice. A native New Jerseyan (ite?), Ryan found his home in Colorado from his college days near Fort Collins. He recalls coming from New Jersey and counting Miller Lite and Yuengling as his "local beers". With a chuckle, he noted that these were heady days when New Belgium and Odell Brewing were small (try getting a brewery tour now at this fabled breweries). So often were his visits to these local watering holes that he was soon allowed to take his family and friends on his own version of a brewery tour, pointing at mash tuns and fermentation tanks behind the glass. In our opinion, this continues to be the most attractive quality of a local brewery...a mental ownership of the business and its place in the community.
After his millionth visit to his favorite Colorado breweries, it was game over. He had to own a brewery (authors note - this next anecdote is probably our favorite part of the story). He walked into the local homebrew shop, bought his first extract kit, and then asked the shop's proprietor about the other equipment he needed to purchase. The shop was out of the necessary brewing equipment, but the owner told him to head over to Lowe's and grab a turkey friar. What a genius idea right? Ryan bought two (They were 20 bucks each...who wouldn't?) and literally turned himself into a brewer from there. Extract batches led to all-grain batches, and the beer affair got hot and heavy.
His wife, Christa, was (and is) a driving force behind the brewery in every possible way. She manages most of the administrative, marketing, and staffing duties for the brewery. It was her idea to name the brewery "Fiction", for their mutual love of literature. With a three-year old at their side, and another child on the way, Ryan and Christa are able to manage the brewery's success on an already-full plate of responsibilities.
A small business owner's head is never quite settled. Just like all of us trying to create something new, there's always something you could be considering. Fiction brewing is, according to Ryan, already exceeding his expectations. They've got plans to open their porch soon, which will double the current 70-person capacity. They'll need to get more fermentors as well. They'll need to figure out their staffing requirements. 1000 more ideas every 5 minutes, and only so much time in the day to make it happen. All in a day's work, and thank god that work produces some great beer.
And what about the beer? You'll obviously be checking that out yourself, but the brews coming out of Fiction are a nicely balanced grab bag of seasonally-inspired libations, stalwart classics, and the classic "whatever-sounds-good-to-me" approach. Have you tried the Asian Kit Kat inspired Green Tea Dark Chocoloate Stout? What about the Donut Porter inspired by the irreverent and wonderful Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Whatever strikes your fancy, you'll probably get something you want at Fiction. Oh yeah...bring your kids too. They've got high chairs.
Our time speaking with Ryan about his new brewery was a refreshing reminder on what it takes to make a brewery work. Here's a guy with an undergrad in Psychology, one (almost two) children, and a full-time job outside the brewery. Both Ryan and Christa built a keen awareness of their community into the taproom, and can be counted on to support neighborhood events focused on literacy and reading. Make sure to stop in next time you're in the area.
Published in April 2015


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Interview for Attack the Noise
I recently did an interview for the new web site Attack the Noise. The interview covers all kinds of topics from gear, writer's block to staying inspired and facing challenges. Head over to Attack the Noise to read it. Big thanks to Kevin for having me on the site!
Read Attack the Noise's interview with Mr. Bill.
Follow Attack the Noise on Facebook


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When I returned home from the hospital I remember looking in the mirror and just being in utter shock. I looked so frail and broken. I hadn't taken a real shower in almost two weeks, my skin was a weird yellow color from the iodine, the bags under my eyes matched the hallows of my cheekbones that now protruded from my face, and most importantly the mouth that once never stopped smiling was now straight and pursed. I was damaged goods. All 5'11" of me had dropped down to almost 80 pounds while being hospitalized, which is nearly half of what I weighed four years prior. While in the hospital they learned that I suffer from gastroparesis, a stomach disease bought on by my spinal cord injury. Basically, my stomach takes much longer to digest food, so naturally it will require smaller amounts of food at a time so my digestive system doesn't get overworked. This disease will be life-long and it is something I struggle with every day. Eating used to be my favorite thing to do. Forget hobbies, eating was my only pass time. You mix Greek and Polish and what do you get? An eater. The doctors were relentless when it came to advising me to gain weight. It's extremely difficult to put on weight due to my condition, though. With gastroparesis you're not supposed to eat a lot, if any, greasy or fatty foods, because they take a lot longer to digest and are harder on your stomach. I recall one doctor saying "go home and just eat a bunch of cheeseburgers and junk food". I just looked at her like the fool she was. I was just diagnosed with gastroparesis and she's recommending the absolute worst diet for someone with the disease. At Northwestern, nonetheless. Needless to say, I didn't take her advice. Instead, I started eating a lot healthier, which made my stomach very happy. I knew this wouldn't help put weight back on fast, but being skinny is better than having a flare-up and winding up in the ER. Slowly my body started becoming healthier and I managed to put a little more meat on my bones. My new body was just another thing I needed to learn to love.
One day my mom sat down with me and asked what my vision for the next couple of years looked like. This took me by surprise, but the first two things that came to mind were school and living in the city. Living in the city would be easier in my mind because you don't need a car, there's basically anything you need right outside your front door and getting around alone seemed to be much easier for a wheelchair bound person. The suburbs were not ideal for my situation. By now my stepdad had moved out and cut ties and my brother moved back home. The divorce was back on and our house was going up for sale. It was a time for change, for everyone. Things at home were going better than they had in years, raising all of our spirits. My mom knew how badly I was craving independence, and she saw my hidden potential. Her confidence in me was undeniably reassuring. Yes, there were a lot of things that could go wrong, but I couldn't let the fear of the unknown stop me from achieving my goals and living my life. Moving out on my own was something that excited me more than it frightened me.
Over the course of the next few months my mom and I were on the hunt for the most handicap accessible building we could find. I needed an elevator, hardwood floors, a big enough bathroom, ect. I was shocked when I saw how little housing options they had for the disabled, especially in such a huge city! Granted, I can adapt to pretty much anything. How the hell do handicap people who live in boo-foo survive? In the end, we managed to nab the perfect spot! It was so beautiful and I couldn't believe this would be my new home. A few months later I was living in my new apartment feeling more free than ever. It was about a five minute walk..*cough*.. I mean roll, down to the beach and all the parks. There were shops, restaurants, farmer's markets, bars, museums, street parties and so much more for me to enjoy! When I was living at home I was confined to my bedroom in the basement because our house had more stairs than Swallow Cliff! During the two years I lived at my parents I was bound to my bedroom, the garage and a tiny living space we remodeled into a small kitchen area downstairs. Now, I had the entire city of Chicago at my fingertips and I couldn't be happier. Everyone could tell the difference in my spirits. My mom would say, "boy.. nothing seems to bother you anymore, you're always happy". I suppose that's what a little independence can do for a gal.
Living on my own came with a whole new set of challenges, but I was ready for them. Even though house chores that used to take me only five minutes or so now took about an hour, I was so elated to be able to do them I didn't mind. Little things like learning how to open different doors to more complex situations like doing laundry all needed to be mastered. You literally have to re-learn everything you were ever taught, and that takes a lot of time. Something that used to take little to no effort now is a chore that takes a considerable amount of time and effort. Doing dishes sitting down while trying to reach over the counter is another big pain in my ass, but I just think back to the days when I couldn't even wash my own hands and this gives me a nice little reality check. So, next time you don't feel like doing simple tasks, imagine doing them sitting down with only about 5% hand function and maybe that will put a fire under your ass. I've accepted that my life will come with more obstacles than others, but in the end, they will only make me a stronger person. The struggles I've encountered while living solo have made me more independent, self-reliant and strong-willed. All of the good in my life definitely outweighs the bad, and I make a great effort to thank God every day for all the blessings in my life.
About a month or so after moving into my new place I met this girl on the rooftop. When people ask why I'm in a wheelchair my response will vary depending on the manner in which they asked me. This girl after a few minutes of talking with me asked if I had stolen the scooter I was riding (I ride a scooter on the streets because it's much easier). I don't think I've ever laughed harder in my life. Stole a wheelchair? Is this what everyone who saw me in the electric scooter thought? I didn't know if she was serious… I would have to be a real scumbag to steal somebody's scooter! I laughed for a good minute, then proceeded to tell her that I did infact need it. She felt terrible, but after I told her that was the best way anyones ever asked me that, her embarrassment subsided. How could I take offense to something so hilarious? As months passed we eventually became great friends. I finally made my first good friend after becoming a glider! And she finally made her first wheelchair friend! Making this new friend made me come to the realization that people would still accept me into their lives even though I'm disabled.
Pretty soon I had a group of friends (some new, some old) that all got along and treated me as an equal. This is what I wanted; to start a new life in a new city with new people. I needed change more than ever, and it happened! Life is going fabulously; moving to the city on my own was one of the best decisions of my life. It isn't always easy, but with each challenge comes a lesson. I give my mom an endless amount of gratitude, because if it weren't for her I would have never experienced these amazing life changes. Anything from financial support to coming over after work to help clean my tub, she's there no matter what. I can't imagine what it was like for my family when my accident happened, but we've all pulled through and came out much stronger people.
A little place I like to call home…


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Grand Staunton Chess Set and Wooden Box - Tournament Size Weighted Pieces and Walnut Board - 19 in
As of 2019-09-21 12:06:09 EDT (more info)
- stock arriving soon
Product Information (more info)
Manufacturer Description
This set meets the World Chess Federation's (FIDE) height, weight, and proportions standards for tournament play. The wooden tournament Walnut board measures 19 inches with 2 inch squares in dark brown and natural. Walnut is a hard wood which is highly desired for its rich, dark hues. This chess set is walnut which promises premium quality, luxury and durability. The gracefully formed tournament pieces are solid Shesham and Kari wood in traditional French Staunton style and have a 3.75 inch king with a 1.37 inch base diameter. Felt bottoms make the weighted pieces glide smoothly across the beautiful board surface. The pieces have been made by expert craftsman and are hand polished and come in a lovely wooden box with felt lining for safe keeping. This tournament set is a perfect blend of traditional appeal and fine quality. Modern chess was invented in Europe, based on an Arabic game (Shatranj) that was based on an Indian game (Chaturanga). During the Middle Ages it spread across Europe and evolved into the game we know and love today. Chess is a game of infinite variations and possibly the most challenging strategy game ever created, it has lasted through the centuries and is played in every corner of the world.
Product Features
Staunton style chess pieces are weighted & handpolished - crafted from sheesham & kari wood King measures 3.75 in. with 1.38 in. diameter base - pieces collectively weigh 2.2 lbs. Walnut veneer board with rounded corners Board measures 19 x 19 x 0.5 in. with 2 in. squares Includes 32 chessmen in wooden box with latch - box measures 11.75 x 9.25 x 2.75 inches


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Redeem these discounts in-store with just your smartphone!
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The regent honeyeater is Australia's most threatened songbird. Once common throughout the south-east (including suburban Sydney and Melbourne), the population has crashed since the 1960's due to extensive land clearing. It is now on the verge of extinction, listed as critically endangered under national and international legislation. Best available data suggest that fewer than 400 individuals remain and population decline is ongoing.
Regent honeyeaters exploit flowering events to feed on a select number of Eucalyptus species, with a strong preference for highly threatened Yellow box Eucalytpus melliodora and Mugga Ironbark Eucalyptus sideroxylon. Current knowledge suggests their movement and settlement patterns reflect high spatiotemporal variability in the timing and intensity of flowering events in their preferred food trees. The birds nest during the Austral spring/summer and can form small breeding aggregations where habitat conditions are suitable. They are territorial and aggressively defend their nesting area.
Regent honeyeaters are highly mobile and extremely elusive. With its small population size (<400) and massive range (>600,000 km2) finding this species, let alone studying it, presents a world of challenges. There are very few places where the bird can be reliably detected between and within years. This has severely limited attempts to understand why the regent honeyeater has declined so severely and rapidly, particularly among other co-occurring nectarivore species that persist at high abundances in similar environments.
We are currently undertaking national-scale monitoring throughout the species' range, in order to substantially improve our knowledge of the regent honeyeater's habitat requirements, nesting success rates and causes of nesting failure, as well as their movement patterns and social ecology. Our primary project aims are:
1) Collect ecological evidence to enhance and direct current and future conservation actions (such as habitat restoration, land protection and captive release) for regent honeyeaters;
2) Track the flower and nectar phenology of dominant Eucalyptus feed trees across the species' range to improve our understanding of regent honeyeater movement, habitat selection, competition and social dynamics;
3) Devise innovative ways to prevent the extinction of wild regent honeyeaters that explicitly account for the species' unusual ecological attributes and requirements;
4) Undertake cutting-edge genetic analyses to understand and manage the impacts of rapid population decline on the genetic make-up of the regent honeyeater population;
5) Determine how the population decline could affect the song repertoire of the regent honeyeater, particularly individual males.
National scale
Despite it's iconic status and the urgent need for conservation advice, no standardised range-wide monitoring protocol exists for the regent honeyeater. To date, our entire understanding of population size and trajectory is drawn from haphazard landscape-scale surveys and, crucially, incidental sightings from members of the concerned public.
Strategic and standardised monitoring of the regent honeyeater population across its full extent of occurrence is vital for (i) deriving robust population estimates, (ii) identifying critical breeding and foraging habitat, and (iii) directing effective conservation action. Importantly, a holistic national-scale approach to monitoring allows for comparisons between and among known breeding landscapes, across space and through time. Such information is currently unavailable, but will be essential for (i) understanding interactive and emerging threats to the species' survival, (ii) tracking variation in the abundance and availability of critical foraging and nesting resources, and (iii) forecasting the impacts of climate change on regent honeyeater distributions and population persistence.
Further to a holistic approach, monitoring for this rare and highly mobile bird must be targeted. A monitoring program tailored specifically to the species' ecology is crucial for maximising return (i.e. sightings) on investment (i.e. search effort). With fewer than 400 birds spread across an area the size of France, strategic site placement is key. In turn, we have gone to massive efforts to gather the most up-to-date knowledge on regent honeyeater ecology and used all available sightings data to construct highly sophisticated species distribution models to design our new national regent honeyeater monitoring program.
Using these models, we have identified areas of priority habitat for the regent honeyeater based on predictions of high suitability across multiple years and varying climatic conditions. We have established over 1,000 sites in these priority areas, including all regions defined as "key breeding areas" in the updated Regent Honeyeater Recovery Plan. Surveys are repeated five-minute point-counts to record regent honeyeater presence-absence and abundance at each site. Surveys take place during the breeding season when we record the distribution and abundance of the regent honeyeater population in both breeding and foraging habitat across their known range. During each survey, we also record all other birds detected and score flowering of potential food trees on a scale of 0 to 4, where 0 = no flower, 1 = light, 2 = moderate, 3 = heavy and 4 = very heavy. This provides a broad-scale measure of food abundance during the breeding season.
Local - Landscape scale
We have developed a monitoring strategy that is successfully locating birds at multiple scales. Our surveys are providing a reliable guide to the location of nesting events. To date, we have monitored 49 nests, from which we will (i) quantify rates of nesting success, (ii) identify the causes of nesting failure, and (iii) elucidate the importance of the nectar resource to nesting birds. This knowledge will be used to inform management actions to enhance the breeding success of wild regent honeyeaters.
For the 2016/7 season, we have up-scaled our monitoring efforts in the Capertee Valley, search and monitoring birds at the landscape-scale. These data will enable us to study habitat associations between regent honeyeaters and its competitors (including the hyper-aggressive noisy miner), and effectively guide immediate and future management of competitor populations at critical regent honeyeater breeding locations. These monitoring data will also be used to examine landscape-scale changes in flowering phenology to determine how nectarivores differ in their distributions, and their dependence on nectar, through time.
To date, we have colour-banded 42 regent honeyeaters, providing us with very useful movement and survival data. DNA samples have been obtained from all banded birds and are currently being processed in the ANU laboratories to form a key component of a population genomics study. Regent honeyeaters have a song repertoire that is highly variable between individuals. Hence, we have recorded the song of every individually-identifiable male regent honeyeater to examine the implications of song variation for fitness. We have also commenced satellite tagging of noisy friarbirds to investigate their role as a potential surrogate for macro-scale nectarivore dispersal patterns.


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Soakage (source of water)
A soakage, or soak, is a source of water in Australian deserts.
It is called thus because the water generally seeps into the sand, and is stored below, sometimes as part of an ephemeral river or creek.
Aboriginal water source[edit]
Soakages were traditionally important sources of water for Australian Aborigines in the desert, being the most dependable source in times of drought in Australia.
Aborigines would scoop out the sand or mud using a coolamon or woomera, often to a depth of several metres, until clean water gathered in the base of the hole. Knowing the precise location of each soakage was extremely valuable knowledge. It is also sometimes called a native well.
Anthropologist Donald Thomson wrote:
- For a white man the difficulty in this country is that there is no way in which he can find the wells and soaks unless he does so by chance, and certainly nothing to indicate that the well is there, nor as a rule, even when the terrain and at least its superficial geological formation, the lie of the country, is examined, is there anything to explain the presence of water when he does find it
- A lifetime of experience, backed by the traditional knowledge that is handed down from generation to generation, enables these people [the Pintupi in this instance] to judge, without having to visit a well that they know, whether it will still contain water and whether, if dry, with the sides fallen in and the well full of debris, it is worth cleaning out.[1]:85
Cleaning and maintaining the well[edit]
Wells were covered to keep them free from fouling by animals. This involved blocking the well with dead branches and uprooted trees. When the wells fell into disrepair, people would bail the well, using the coolamon to throw slush against the wall. This would set like a cement wash and help to hold loose sand, preventing it from falling into the water.
Wells could be up to fifteen feet deep, with small toe holds cut into the walls.[1]:23
Recording well locations[edit]
Donald Thomson writes:
- Just before we left, the old men recited to me the names of more than fifty waters – wells, rockholes and claypans ... this, in an area that the early explorers believed to be almost waterless, and where all but a few were, in 1957, still unknown to the white man. And on the eve of our going, Tjappanongo (Tjapanangka) produced spear-throwers, on the backs of which were designs deeply incised, more or less geometric in form. Sometimes with a stick, or with his finger, he would point to each well or rock hole in turn and recite its name, waiting for me to repeat it after him. Each time, the group of old men listened intently and grunted in approval – "Eh!" – or repeated the name again and listened once more. This process continued with the name of each water until they were satisfied with my pronunciation, when they would pass on to the next.
- I realized that here was the most important discovery of the expedition – that what Tjappanongo and the old men had shown me was really a map, highly conventionalized, like the works on a "message" or "letter" stick of the Aborigines, of the waters of the vast terrain over which the Bindibu hunted.[2]
White explorers and the wells[edit]
In the nineteenth century, both Warburton and Carnegie recorded that they had run down Aborigines with camels and captured and chained them to compel them to reveal their secret sources of water. This action left a lasting impression on the desert Aborigines, who would have handed accounts of this down through successive generations.[1]:7
In the 1930s, when H. H. Finlayson made his journeys through the desert by camel, he noted that a gelded male camel, after a hard three-and-a-half-day journey in intense heat without water, drank 150 litres (33 imperial gallons) by actual measure without stopping, and fifteen minutes later, another 45 L (10 imp gal).
This sheds light on the resentment built up among desert Aborigines against explorers for the exploitation and, by enlarging well entrances and digging out springs, the devastation of their precious water supplies to satisfy camel teams.[1]:135
Don McLeod also tells a story of clashes over soak water at the time of the gold rushes in Western Australia:
- During the time of the Laverton rush, the Blackfellows tried to keep their meager water supplies hidden from the knowledge of white prospectors since their horses and camels quickly exhausted the limited soaks.
McLeod relates a story told to him by an old prospector by the name of Long, observing an Aboriginal man and woman:
- The man took the throwing stick he was carrying and worked it into the sand. He then broke off a hollow reed and, placing it in the hole he had thus developed, lay down on his stomach and appeared to suck up something through the reed. His companion repeated his movements before they quietly moved on...
- Without delay Long, with the aid of a shovel, proved the existence of a soak of sweet water, from which he replenished his supplies...Only a few days later in the same place, another prospector had the same Blackfellow bailed up, threatening to shoot him unless he revealed a source of water. This was certainly not an untypical bush encounter. However, [they were] interrupted by yet another prospector riding a camel. The Blackfellow took advantage of the confusion and threw a spear into the bush and escaped.
- On the diggings, a hue and cry was raised over this alleged murderous attack and a party was quickly organised to set out and teach the Blackfellows a lesson - for daring to protect their water. Mustering what guns they could, the punitive party went out to what later became known as Skull Creek, and shot every Blackfellow they could find. The bodies were buried in shallow graves.[3]
See also[edit]
- ^ a b c d Thomson, Donald, Bindibu Country, Nelson Publishing, Melbourne, 1975.
- ^ Thomson, Donald F., "The Bindibu Expedition: exploration among the desert Aborigines of Western Australia", The Geographical Journal, vol. 128, part 1 (March 1962), pp. 1–14, [143]–157, 262-278. [Q 306.0899915 THO]
- ^ Don McLeod, How the West was Lost, self-published, Port Hedland, 1984, pp27-28
External links[edit]
|Look up soakage (source of water) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


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There's yet another article on YA and boys making the rounds today, this one from the LA Review of Books. Sarah Mesle writes:
I remember that quandary every time I read an essay about gender in Young Adult literature (which, since I teach it, is often). I see, in the ongoing conversation about Bella and Katniss, our culture pondering whether YA novels support the strong daughters we all want to raise. But as we debate ad nauseum whether, for example, Bella Swan is a dangerous role model for young women, we've neglected to ask the corresponding question: what does it tell young men when Edward Cullen and Jacob Black are the role models available to them? Are these barely-contained monsters really the best we can imagine?
Sigh. I think you can imagine that I think this argument is pants. Saundra Mitchell addresses most of my concerns regarding Mesle's criticism of modern YA in a blog post over at Making Stuff Up for a Living. Namely, writers today are writing about manhood–and it's weird and dated and sexist to say they're not.
But I think it's interesting to look closely at the very limited historical sources examined by Mesle. She discusses at length Uncle Tom's Cabin, a work which is not often even retroactively labeled a young adult novel, using it to prop up her argument that bookish men were once allowed to be men whereas now "good men [are] long forgotten."
What a curiously cherry-picked example. If we're going to look at historical works for and about children and teens, what about Gene Stratton-Porter's A Girl of the Limberlost, featuring a sickly and weak Philip Ammon as our love interest? Or Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, which is all about a nurturing and self-sacrificing young man who gives up winning in a skating race so that another boy could win–as if winning wasn't everything, even back in 19th century Holland?
Or, if we're going to look at works of "historical significance" for our models, why not turn to the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for our model of manhood? At the very least–unlike Uncle Tom's Cabin–it's a novel retroactively labeled as particularly appropriate for young adults. Huck isn't a leader–he's a trickster in classic Odyssean form. He struggles not with notions of leadership but with frameworks of empathy that are in direct opposition to the prevailing social mores. He does not grow into a socially upstanding man–in fact (spoilers!), he actively rejects the notion of being "civilized" by the novel's end. Are we to think that Huck is therefore somehow not heroic?
The problem, of course, for Huck–and for us–is that manhood was not an uncomplicated notion in his day. Becoming a classical man often meant repressing emotions such as empathy and embracing one's place in the patriarchy. This era of robust manhood was also one where women had no liberty, where homosexuals were viewed as deviant, where good men could be owned and traded like property.
And people want to go back to that? Really?!
As it was for Huck Finn, for modern boys, it's not just a matter of becoming a leader (usually at the expense of oppressed minority groups). It's a matter of nuance, sensitivity, and balancing notions of privilege with realities of identity–realities which have always been complex, no matter what a narrow sampling of classic works of literature might tell you. Even so, color me satisfied with the more diverse portrayals of manhood that we get in YA today.


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Provide academic and research laboratories for the Biology, Chemistry and Physics departments.
The construction of a new 47,700 square foot science building, designed by Ashley McGraw, on the Le Moyne College campus allowed for the subsequent phased renovations of the adjacent science building.
The first three phases of the renovation were designed based on available funding and a need to complete construction of each phase during the summer. The final phase completes the remaining work in the building with construction planned to only take one summer plus one semester, minimizing down time and surge needs. The design team first completed programming and design of the entire 64,000 square foot building. A set of construction documents specific to each phase were subsequently prepared.
state of the art laboratories and teaching spaces, collaboration space, and enhanced visual appeal for the college.
The first phase consisted of the complete renovation of the east and west wings, consisting of two floors each. The second phase was the renovation of the first floor of the main portion of the building. The third phase consisted of the renovation of the second floor. A fourth and final phase included the renovation of the third and fourth floors of the facility. The fourth phase was completed in November 2015.
Critical to the project was SEAMLESS integration with the design of the connected new science facility.
Careful attention was paid during planning and design to work within the constraints of the existing building, especially the relatively low floor to floor heights and the structural constraints of the existing concrete waffle slabs.
Location: Syracuse, Ny
Photos: John Griebsch Photography


text:
Winter in Brooklyn by Sam Carter
Hugo Hart walks into the December dusk to commit today's letters of application for employment to the mail. It's a hopeless waste of paper and postage, but he's honor-bound to try, for Sarah's sake. Eighty-seven rejections in three months tell him he's doing something wrong, but he cannot fathom what. Trudging down the rickety tenement stairs, he hears the Toniolis fighting like starved raccoons. The apartment walls here are so thin, that when Mrs. Tonioli sneezes, Sarah says "Bless you".
He wonders again how his wife keeps so cheerful, when he can feel his own spirit eroding day by day, like the gum around an extracted tooth. Sarah's letters from the new job she's had to take in Cleveland always somehow contrive to arrive between rejections from prospective employers or magazine-editors, and he loves them, and her, for that with helpless fierceness. His wife's letters, like his wife, are optimistic, affectionate and warm, physically so: his fingers tingle hotly when he holds the flimsy paper up before his nearsighted eyes. As the yellow teeth of the Brooklyn winter bite, Hart's taken to reading Sarah's letters in bed, wearing pyjamas, overcoat and gloves to save on expensive coal.
Now is the commuter-hour; the streets bustle and bristle. Hart tries not to glance at the Christmas store-window displays, determined not to covet what he cannot afford. Back in Manhattan, in Bloomingdale's, where Sarah worked in Millinery until losing her job, dashing dinner-suits and silk evening-gowns shimmer behind glass like exhibits in a museum of glamour. But Silverman's styles are smudged carbons of the originals; the materials and cut as cheap and poor as the customers. Sarah wouldn't be seen dead in the shoddy, gimcrack little hats they sell here; which is a shame, because Hart desperately needs to get her a gift, and could just about afford one.
Opposite the mailbox is an office-supplies shop, where Hart occasionally purchases ink or envelopes; it's inexpensive and well-stocked, though the owner's Ukrainian accent is thicker than borscht and hard to understand. The shopfront, ludicrously adorned with hand-tinted images of a corpulent Santa Claus, is brightly-lit and in the center of the display, angled stylishly atop a polished-oak roll-top desk, is a brand-new Remington No. 16 typewriter.
Hart has been wary of typewriters since catching a finger in his friend Emerson's Olivetti, but this is nothing like that rattling old mantrap. He's never fallen in love with a machine before, but the Remington is a thing of sleek beauty on four rubber hooves, its round white keys like perfectly manicured fingernails. It's a magnificence of steel and enamel, and the creamy watermarked sheet perking from its roller says:
The door-bell jingles seasonally as Hart slides his long, awkward body through the warm gap. Mr. Shuropov hurries forward, all bonhomie and effusive mustache.
"What can I do for you, my friend? More paper for letters? You need a pretty secretary! Or maybe one of my new typewriters?"
Hart removes his hat, passes an apprehensive hand over his oiled hair.
"No, thank-you. I wondered … how might one win the, ah, machine in the window?" Some sort of competition, probably. Perhaps a writing contest? Hart brightens; if he can do nothing else, he can write. He's even sold a few horror stories toWeird Tales at $6 each; the only remuneration he's received since he married and moved here.
Mr. Shuropov smiles, flashing gold. "You like the Remington, eh? Twenty dollars new. Top-of-the-range almost, beautiful thing. First prize in the draw; we pull the winner Christmas Eve." He reaches behind the counter, producing a blue book of raffle-tickets. "Dime a ticket, great Christmas present for the wife, better than sewing-machine."
"Almost the top-of-the-range?" Hart's eyes are swallowed in the blackness of the Remington. If this is second-best, his mind dazzles to imagine its superior. Truly, that would be an emperor among typewriters!
"Ah!" says Shuropov, eyes gleaming with love, "best model is the Number 92. In our Manhattan store we have it, just one. Thirty dollars, ninety-two characters. Quiet as a mouse, smooth like butter. Five-year guarantee."
Hart's infatuated, but hardly trusts himself to touch the machine. "May I?" he asks softly.
Shuropov shrugs. He closes in fifteen minutes, and though this odd, lanky letter-writer clearly cannot even afford a scarf, why not let him have his fun? He pulls out the desk-chair with a flourish, like the Plaza waiter he used to be, and fits a new page.
Tentatively, Hart presses a letter-key. The Remington springs to life at his touch, like a sensitive horse, marking the virgin sheet h. He looks up, appealing: "How do I …?" Shuropov smiles. They always type their names first. "For capitals press this one." He guides Hart's questing finger to the Shift key.
Hugo Hart, Esq.
274c Red Hook Lane
Brooklyn, NY
types Hart, stifling the giggle of delight that bubbles in his chest. He recalls playing with his model train-set as a child, the precise, absorbing thrill of it. But the Remington is not a toy; it's a tool. A man's machine, foolishly relegated to women by a blinkered, backward society. A symbol of sophistication, freedom, civilisation: for what is the written word, if not the ultimate signifier of culture?
That he should find such an instrument on the grim, shabby streets of Red Hook, where the only literature is flyposters advertising boxing-matches and fire-sales, is nigh-on a miracle. The stories he could write on this! The applications for employment! Surely any resume written on this machine would instantly be moved by reverent hands to the Interview pile? How Sarah's eyes would stretch to see the Remington perched majestically on Hart's treasured cherrywood desk! She types a little herself: with this, she could quit her job in Cleveland and Earn $$$ Typing From Home? He has seen advertisements promising such things. Perhaps he could, too? It simply cannot be impossible for a woman of her skill to teach a man of his intelligence to type. If the bubble-headed girls crowding the lunch-counters of Brooklyn can do it, so can Hugo Hart!
The soft clack of the CLOSED sign turning jerks Hart back from his rosy future. The paper's covered in fragmented sentences, the phrase Earn SSS Typing From Home (he couldn't find the dollar sign), strings of nonsense words produced in the sheer joy of pressing the keys, when his inexpert fingers faltered in the wake of his racing brain. Phnglui mglw'nafh Khatala wgah nagl fhtagn he reads; chuckles, and digs dreamily in his pants-pocket for change.
"Five tickets please," he says, breathlessly.
Shuropov tears off a strip and hands them to Hart ceremoniously. Secretly, he pities the poor sap. It's never the ones who can use it that win the prize; it always goes to someone who'll sell it in the Classifieds for half its value. If life has taught Mr. Shuropov anything about luck, it is this.
Outside, Hart flies along the black, wet streets towards the walk-up, blue tickets as warm in his pocket as if they were a letter from Sarah. He may not have found her a Christmas gift, but he has bought them both a chance (five chances!) at happiness.
Hart's joy in short-lived. He's accosted on the third-floor landing by a red-faced, red-eyed Mrs. Tonioli. Despite her name she's pure Irish, with flame-orange hair and a temper to match. She flings out a histrionic arm to stop Hart from entering his apartment: she smells of roasted chestnuts and cheap whiskey.
"Mrs. Tonioli? What's the meaning of this?"
She lays her untidy ginger head on his breast and sobs. He stiffens, but endures it.
"Oh Mr. Hart! We come back from visiting our daughter on Staten Island (you know, Marie with the education) we were only away the day, and they've burgled the whole floor. Your apartment and ours, took everything! It's a crying shame, Mr. Hart, and your poor wife away in Cleveland and nobody to mind the place …"
"They what?" His pulse judders, his breath is short. He staggers through his front-door, behind which, after a wild glance around the disordered room, he finds Mr. Tonioli fixing the lock. Tonioli is a squat Sicilian, the sort who invariably fills the labouring jobs for which Hart applies in vain. He's naturally good with engines, machines, horses, women and anything else he can charm with a touch of his broad, competent hands. For once, Hart doesn't resent his gruff neighbor his manual skill.
"Your place too?" he asks.
Tonioli nods.
"All my jewelry," laments his wife. "Vittorio's shoes and his best suit … they even took the Victrola."
Silently, Hart thanks Heaven for his and Sarah's poverty; trinkets aside, the apartment contains almost nothing of value. A swift visual inventory confirms that it's scarcely barer than when he left. He's not sure whether this gladdens or saddens him.
"I'm awfully sorry to hear that, Mrs. Tonioli," he says. "Let me know if there's anything I can do."
Tonioli rises, tries the lock and gives Hart a taciturn thumbs-up. Remembering his manners, Hart fumbles in his vest-pocket for the emergency dollar-bill he always keeps there, unfolds it with shaking hands, and offers it to Mr. Tonioli, who wards it off, laughing. Unsure of the etiquette, Hart tries to press it on him again: he's never known a tradesman to refuse a generous tip. This time Tonioli takes the note, carefully refolds it, and tucks it back into Hart's vest-pocket.
"You need it more than we do, friend," he says. He turns to his wife and circles his finger at his temple. "How you like this guy, Betty? Just got robbed and wants to give his last dollar away!"
He smacks his neighbor meatily on the shoulder, almost knocking Hart off-balance, and vanishes into his own apartment, trailing his weeping wife. From inside, Hart can hear the rattle and scratch of Mr. Tonioli mending his own lock. He's always nursed an instinctive distaste for the fellow, without ever really considering why; yet Tonioli fixed Hart's door even before his own, unthinkingly, without expecting reward or thanks. There's a tart stinging in the back of Hart's eyes; he closes his door abruptly, before he says or does anything untoward.
Item: 1 pair nylon stockings.
Item: 1 lady's hat: ivory satin, faux-pearls, and lace.
Hart can picture it, sunshadow-sharp: in fact, he'll have to from now on, because the wedding photograph in which Sarah is wearing the Bloomingdale's hat, a gift from her colleagues, has gone too.
Item: 1 wedding photograph in rhinestone-enamel frame.
The thieves probably thought the frame was worth something. Hart snorts bitterly. Surely even the most obtuse burglar could see anything of value had already been sold? Apart from his furniture, of course, which had been spared as too heavy to carry, or (more likely) too difficult to sell.
Item: 5 tins Turkish cigarettes, filter-tipped.
His favorite blend, bought when he was flush with a six-dollar story sale and hoarded against special occasions and visitors. At least the ruffians had the decency to leave his pipe and tobacco, though they'd stolen Sarah's stockings.
Item: 1 brass oil-lamp & ½ bottle lamp oil.
In the dim candlelight, Hart rubs his aching head and stares at the sad, petty list of lost things. He comforts himself that if he'd had a typewriter it would have been the first abductee. Hart has never been a violent man, but the acid rage in his chest feels like it must burn its way out somehow. He needs a drink. If only he could beg a tot of Mrs. Tonioli's whiskey … but no, his neighbors have done enough.
He rises, creaking, winkles Sarah's emergency brandy from under the kitchen-sink. One should always drink to something, so he raises a glass to the sordid, painful death of the burglar who ravaged his and Sarah's poor little apartment.
The rough liquor torches his throat, but it forces his despair and rage further off, like an ebbing fever. He walks to the window, looking down at the street. Below mill men and women, dark and fair, gaudy and drab, melancholy and gay, but all poor. Any one of them could have done it, but most are decent folks, like the Toniolis. The hell of it is being unable to tell behind which human faces lurk the heart of a beast.
He opens the rattling window and up rush the cries of hawkers and shrieking giggles of women, already half-drunk though the evening's only half-gone; the boisterous babble of new Babylon. Popcorn and beer smells, sour sweat, cheap cigars, cheaper perfume, tarmacadam: the body-odour of Brooklyn. Seen from above, the humanity thronging the streets appears herdlike, subhuman. In the country of the blind, Hart recalls, the one-eyed man is king: but this is the city of beasts, and in that fierce place Man is not King, but only a weak and lonely animal with blunted teeth.
He gulps the remaining brandy. Sarah returns home a week tonight, for Christmas, and somewhere he must find a scrap of good news to cheer her. Luckily, Sarah's best clothes are safe in Cleveland, packed in a heartwrenchingly small valise. But it's less what's been taken, than the fragile sense of safety they'd built that's been broken. He'll replace everything somehow, tell her the hat's being cleaned, the photograph-frame polished: buy new nylons, a new lamp. He'll get a job at last, or sell some furniture; everything will come right again. It is not madness to hope this. It would not be mad, at this point, considers Hart, to pray.
Sarah and he do not discuss religion. How could they? She a twice-divorced Jewess, he a lapsed Protestant with a pantheon of monsters sloshing about his skull. They have so little in common in terms of faith that he's not even sure where they might touch. But this Hugo Hart knows about any and every god: a god is a powerful thing. A god, like the genie released from a forgotten bottle, has the power to grant wishes (for what are prayers if not voiced wishes?); smite enemies; perform miracles. Perhaps what Hugo Hart needs right now is a God.
Hart barely leaves his apartment over the next days; partly because he doesn't dare, partly because he cannot afford to. Instead, he smokes, drinks coffee, writes. Not job applications, but a story which has bubbled in him like black tar since the break-in. Thieves anthropoid but not fully human; a half-bred, inbred, monstrous race older and darker than Homo Sapiens, bent on the resurrection of a godlike species of shattering evil. A New England academic's library violated in search of a powerful book; a ship lost at sea, the surviving crew mad … It's more than a single tale, it's a globe-spanning spiral of destruction, everything his nightmares have taught him to fear; Hell in the civilised shadows. He only needs look out the window at the antlike teeming Brooklyn streets to be inspired anew by dread.
Lampless, Hart finishes the story, or rather stories, by candlelight; scores of pages sprawling into three separate narratives, each more unnerving and uncanny than the last. For once, Hart the meticulous doesn't read his work back in the half-dark; frankly, he's afraid to. He crams it into envelopes as soon as the ink's dry and feels an enormous, superstitious relief as he mails them to a new magazine,Strange Stories, which claims to seek "the black, hideous, sordid and bizarre." Well, they asked for it.
The day before Sarah's return, Hart, penniless, enlists Mr. Tonioli's help to heave his grandmother's tallboy down the mice-smelling tenement stairs and into the nearest secondhand-furniture store. Mr Tonioli conducts negotiations, but still, the price they agree is miserable. Hart pats the smooth wood one last time as he leaves. It feels like sending a faithful old steed to the knacker's yard. But the clutch of dollars in his hand will re-purchase everything they've lost, except the hat and the frame; and besides, tonight one of the blue raffle-tickets might turn golden. Hugo Hart has not, after all, forgotten how to hope.
But Hart is not destined to win the Remington 16 typewriter shining like a black beacon in the window of Shuropov's; Fate does not even hand him the runner-up prize of a year's supply of paper. Instead, he shuffles home through the greasy grey snow in misery, with a grocery-sack full of wretched objects which are not even gifts, but replacements. On the third-floor landing he's accosted once again by Mrs. Tonioli, who presses a typewritten envelope into his hand.
He takes it with a wan nod; he knows the look of employment rejection letters by now. Inside, he makes coffee, lights his pipe, and prepares to add it to the No pile. He supposes his beloved cherrywood desk must be the next thing to go.
It's from Strange Stories. "We greatly enjoyed your submissionThe Cry of Khatala and would like to publish it as the cover story in our next issue …"
Folded coyly inside the letter, like the petal of a virgin flower, is a cheque for fifty dollars. $50. Fifty dollars! His prayers have been answered. His dark God Khatala has performed the miracle he'd given up hoping for. Never, not in Salem nor the darkest devil-worshipping cults of Haiti, was a demon more fervently praised!
Hugo Hart pelts out into the street and hails a taxicab. His last, folded dollar should get him to Shuropov's Manhattan store, where the fabled Remington 92 waits for him, coldly gleaming. He'll just have time to pick it up before meeting Sarah off the Cleveland train at Grand Central. Her face, lit up like in the stolen wedding-photograph, when he tells her he has a cab waiting, and that they're going to Bloomingdale's to buy her a new hat for Christmas.
© Sam Carter, 2013
Sam Carter is a reviewer and long-term student who has lived all round the world (currently in London, UK). Sam has had stories performed at Liars' League London and Hong Kong, and other work has appeared in Litro Magazine and anthologies from Leicester University and Arachne Press.
Winter in Brooklyn was read by Kate Chadwick on 4th December 2013


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Nike VR X3X Toe Sweep
Year Introduced: 2014
Type: Wedge
Head material: 8620 Carbon Steel
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