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The eagerly anticipated solo record from former Girls frontman Christopher Owens eeks closer to release.
Slated for a January 2013 release, Lysandre has been quite some time in the making with all eleven songs composed during a Summer tour all the way back in 2008. Described by Owens as "a coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story.", the record was written pretty much in one sitting after a chance meeting with a girl of the same name in France at a festival.
Lysandre tracklisting:
1. Lysandre's Theme
2. Here We Go
3. New York City
4. A Broken Heart
5. Here We Go Again
6. Riviera Rock
7. Love Is In The Ear Of The Listener
8. Lysandre
9. Everywhere You Knew
10. Closing Theme
11. Part Of Me (Lysandre's Epilogue)
Hear an extract from Lysandre played acoustically from a bath in Las Vegas, recorded during a Matador Records meet-up back in 2010 using the player below.
For more on Christopher Owens visit:
Official Website -- Facebook -- YouTube -- Soundcloud
- Christopher Owens will release Lysandre on Turnstile Music on 11th January 2013


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People compare their published books to eBooks all of the time. They are pretty much the same until you compare what they do. Both the printed version and the eBooks on line have text and pictures on them. But when you compare them to what they had to do in the olden days, which was use stone for their books, then we come to a totally different conclusion.
We have come a long way from the old days. They used to carry around stones, then scrolls, and then what we know today as books. So as the years went on the ways in which we saw the text became lighter and a lot more convenient for us readers. Even since the time of books things have gotten a little easier. When books were first being published they had to be written by hand, but now we have the printing press which can publish books faster than writing the books out by hand. Now even in these days we can access books on the internet for pretty much any thing that we need them for. So as time goes on we have made many advancements in how we publish books.
Why make things more complicated than they already are?
Which format should you publish your book in? This is a very important question to ask your self if you are thinking about publishing a book of any kind. The smart thing to do would be to publish your book on eBook. Why you may ask? Because most people use the internet to find what they are looking for these days so you may end up making more money if you publish your book on eBook.
Are cattle and eBooks similar?
Cattle and books have some things in common that most people do not think about. They both have to have some sort of mark on them to show who has written it or owns it. Not only do you do this to show others that it is yours, but also so that people will know your mark on certain things. There are of course some people out there who will try to remove your mark from your items and try to sell them as their own. But if people know your mark they will know that it is yours and will do something about the person trying to sell it as their own.
Why are the lights off?
There are basically two ways you can advertise, passive and aggressive. If you choose to do the aggressive advertising you need make sure that you have a catchy slogan that people will remember. After you have come up with a catchy slogan it is time to start the passive advertising. This is done to inform the people about the branding of your product.
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Queensland government has announced a Cox Architecture-led team has won a competition to design the proposed North Queensland Stadium in Townsville. Cox Architecture will collaborate with local practice 9Point9 Architects for the project.
The design of the stadium features a roof form inspired by a native variety of the Pandanus plant. The roof will be resistant to cyclonic wind conditions and will cover 80 percent of the stadium's 25,000 seats. The design also provides the stadium with the flexibility to expand its capacity to 30,000 seats in the future.
The stadium will have an open grassed terrace at the north end, which will allow views to the city and neighbouring Magnetic Island. It will also have a range of arrival plazas and landscaped greens.
"The stadium design is an expression of tropical Queensland and North Queensland in particular," said Richard Coulson, project director at Cox Architecture. "It combines structural, functional and operational aspects of international modern stadiums with engagement of the environment that is quintessentially Queensland."
The Cox Architecture-led team was selected following a two-stage competition for the stadium. The concept design was chosen over rival proposals from BVN, Hassell and Populous. Other local practices involved in the competition were Tippett Schrock Architects, Architects North, i4 Architecture and Stephen De Jersey Architect. Cox Architecture also produced an indicative stadium design for a 2013 feasibility study by KPMG.
The $250-million project will be the first to be delivered under the federal government's City Deals scheme. It is jointly funded by the Queensland Government ($140 million), Australian Government ($100 million) and Townsville City Council (land and enabling infrastructure) and is supported by the National Rugby League ($10 million).
The stadium will be the new home of the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league team. Construction of the stadium is scheduled to start in mid-2017 and the project is due to be completed in time for the start of the 2020 NRL football season.


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Alabama State University Team Page
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State tennis team will host South Alabama here on the campus of ASU at the Olean Black Underwood Tennis Complex Tuesday, March 13 at Noon.
"Well, the ladies have done their best this season," head coach Anuk Christiansz said. "We're just trying to finish out this season and start comparing for next season, with a complete roster."
The Lady Hornets (0-9) were downed in their last competition against Savannah State on Saturday 0-7. ASU has played down all season and look to regroup at the end of the season. Alabama State has been hampered with injury throughout this season, but still contending the best they can.
Alabama State tennis teams will travel to Baton Rouge, La. on Friday, March 30-April 1 for the second of its Southwestern Athletic Conference Round-ups.


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CREATE GREENER COMMUNITIES, PREPARE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE: 2007 Vancouver Island Green Infrastructure Leadership Forum set the stage for "Living Water Smart, BC's Water Plan", and was the genesis for capacity-building programs that have rippled through time in changing the way local governments view creeksheds
"Look back to look forward. What have we learned? How do we pass that understanding (of what we have learned over the past 10 years) onto successive generations of land use, infrastructure and asset management professionals who do their work in the local government setting? How can we help them make informed choices that benefit from past experience? These are just some of the questions that guide the work of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia," stated Kim Stephens. In 2010, the responsibilities of BC's Green Infrastructure Partnership were rolled into the Partnership for Water Sustainability.


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Marriott International, Inc. today announced the opening of Four Points Dallas Arlington Entertainment District. Catering to the needs of today's everyday traveler, the hotel offers approachable design, stylish comfort and all the brand's popular extras including a 24-hour fitness center, heated pool, fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and the Best Brews & BBQ™ program, detailed below.
Asset managed by Cimarron Hospitality, Four Points Dallas Arlington Entertainment District, previously under the name Holiday Inn Express Arlington Six Flags, offers 102 spacious guest rooms, over 750 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 24-hour fitness center, business center and fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. Guests will enjoy full-service dining at the hotel pub and the brand's iconic Best Brews and BBQ program, which serves guests refreshing, curated local beers and seasonal BBQ-style appetizers. Deep Ellum IPA from Deep Ellum Brewery is the Best Brew at Four Points Dallas Arlington Entertainment District.
Four Points Dallas Arlington Entertainment District is just a short drive from Six Flags Over Texas, AT&T Stadium, and Globe Life Park. It is also within driving distance of both Dallas and Fort Worth and is roughly eight miles from DFW Airport (DFW) for a convenient trip.
"Designed with the everyday traveler in mind, Four Points Dallas Arlington Entertainment District will be a convenient stay for anyone looking to enjoy the world-class attractions of Arlington," said Callette Nielsen, Vice President & Global Brand Manager of Courtyard, Fairfield, Four Points, and SpringHill Suites."Accessible to families and business travelers alike, the friendly design of the property will make anyone's stay comfortable."
Owner of the Four Points Dallas Arlington Entertainment District, Rohit Dand, stated, "We are honored to be an exciting addition to the Marriott International Family by bringing the fast growing Four Points brand to the Arlington Entertainment District. We look forward to welcoming guests to our hotel and continuing our tenured relationship with Marriott International!
Four Points is the most globally distributed brand in Marriott's Classic Select category, boasting nearly 250 hotels in more than 40 countries and territories. The brand has more than 120 signed hotels in the pipeline, with nearly 50% of Four Points' current portfolio of rooms located outside of North America, and over 65% of its signed pipeline expected to open outside of North America.


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As we begin the second full week of the new school year, we have a number of CPD opportunities planned at DHS. Read on and make some notes in your diary!
15 minute forums (15MF)
The 15 minute programme was kicked off in style last week by James Gardner (@Langnut), who introduced 'Edmodo' to staff. The forums for the rest of the term are listed below:
19th Sept – The Big 4: Questioning, Feedback, Independence & Challenge – Shaun Allison @shaun_allison
- 26th Sept – Learning through sketching – Chris Woodcock @c_woodcock100
- 3rd October – Developing Skills Based Learning – Tobi Stathers
- 10th October – Using eLearning safely – Pete Kelly @petek1974
- 17th October – Students as bloggers – Chloe Gardner @ChloeMuriel
- 24th October – Questioning Techniques – Lucy Darling @DarlingDurr
- 7th November – Effective and manageable marking – Shane Borrett @BorrettShane
- 14th November – Developing Independence – Rebecca Owen
- 21st November – Demonstrating progress in a lesson – David Brading @davidbrading
- 28th November – Support and challenge for low ability students – Harriet Schuler
- 5th December – Using Socrative for quick and easy assessment – James Gardner @Langnut
- 12th December – Developing literacy skills in all subjects – Sam Down @SDown4
- 19th December – Using questioning effectively to deepen learning – Steph Holt @sholt12
Leadership 15 minute forums
This Wednesday (18th September) will see the first L15MF. These will take place during the first 15 minutes of each SLT meeting (Wednesdays 3.30pm – 3.45pm). Leaders from around the school will be sharing ideas and resources that they have been developing in their area.
This week, Sam Down and Emma McCann (Maths) will be sharing the 'KS3 Learning Logs' that they have introduced to students this year – as a way of students monitoring and reviewing their own learning. All welcome.
Student Led CPD
Towards the end of last year, one of the 15MF was led by students. A group of students took teachers on a tour around the school, pointing out what they thought made for a good learning environment. The blog can be read here.
This Thursday (19th September) a group of students from the Student Leadership Team will be leading the 15MF again.
They will be sharing with us their thoughts on what makes for effective questioning, feedback, independence and challenge – the big 4. This is just the starting point for many different aspects of student led CPD that will be taking place throughout the year, this year.
Learning Innovators
Our 4 'Learning Innovators' will be kicking off their research projects over the next few weeks:
- Stuart Axten (PE) – @StuartAxtenDHS – What AfL teaching strategies really make a difference to student learning?
- Shane Borrett (Maths) – @BorrettShane – How can we best support the learning of low ability students and ensure they make progress in line with expectations?
- Jody Chan (Science) – @JodyEChan – How can 'flipped learning' be used effectively to deepen learning?
- Rebecca Owen (Science) – How can we develop independence in students and what is the impact of this on learning?
At the moment they are currently considering what evidence they will gather and use to answer their research question. Please feel free to get in touch with any thoughts, ideas or useful resources.
This is the Japanese method of CPD – otherwise known as 'Lesson Study'. It involves a group of teachers (3-4) identifying an issue; planning a lesson together (in detail); one teacher delivering the lesson (whilst the others observe); reviewing and discussing the lesson together.
More details here http://lessonstudy.co.uk/
This is something that I want to develop this year across the school – get in touch if you're interested.
Last week every member of staff at the school was paired up with a colleague for their first coaching session of the year. Further details about coaching here.
The feedback from staff has been great – I include a few thoughts from staff about their first coaching session:
I enjoyed doing the coaching. It was really good to just discuss things with
a colleague from a different department and share thoughts in depth. In the past
it would have just been a couple of minutes talking but having a whole session
was good.
Coaching……What a good idea! Constructive use of time.
Helpful to have protected time to reflect and share experiences – we both have agreed on an area to develop
I found the coaching really useful – it was good to be paired with another NQT. Whilst I was aware of the areas I need to develop, establishing action points and working out how I am going to meet my goals makes it all much clearer.
I feel it was really productive and successful. Thanks for coming up with this one. It's not often that whole school ideas have equal impact with associate staff and this is
something I feel should be productive all round.
I thought, after my initial thoughts of how silly or useless I would seem, it was really good. We discussed issues that were on our minds and it meant that we could talk through/work through potential problems/concerns and then look at how we might approach improving/changing these.
I enjoyed the coaching session yesterday and found it beneficial to talk about what my targets are in my role with someone who I had not yet met before.
I found it really interesting. Hard not to offer solutions but to encourage your partner to find their own and that will be the challenge! Us teachers like to fix things not just Listen!Nice to have a dialogue with someone outside of normal working relationships too


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The Magic of Social
An IBM CEO Study says social makes for better employees and better business processes.
Gartner also weighed in with its Magic Quadrant for Social Software -- identifying leaders and encouraging social vendors to work as an enterprise layer.
Marketing Automation Acquisitions
Breaking news: Pardot acquired by ExactTarget for US$ 95 mil -- marketing automation maturity is coming...and no doubt, further acquisitions.
Got Smart Engagement?
Our recent "Smarter Web Engagement" webinar was a great success -- you can now watch the webinar on-demand.
Social Business Tweet Jam - Oct 24th
Get ready for our #SocBizChat Tweet Jam on October 24th. You can check out the Tweet Jam questions and panelists here.
Learn how the 5th version of this platform delivers an all-in-one social publishing solution.
> Learn More Today
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Featured Events (all events | post your event)
- Oct 21 -- IBM Information On Demand Las Vegas 2012
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Events for October 3, 2019
Events Search and Views Navigation
7:00 am
Sitting meditation. Open to all. 9-10am.Find out more »
6:00 pm
Zazen, Teisho & Dokusan
Join us for sitting-meditation in rounds of 25 minutes with 5 minutes of walking meditation in between. Most weeks, Henry gives the Teisho (dharma talk) at 6:30. Meditation continues until about 8:15 or 8:30. Dokusan interviews are available with Henry during the meditation periods after the teisho. When Henry is away we have meditation at […]Find out more »


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Recent Posts
Monthly Archives: July 2013
So, my ex boyfriend texted me today. It's so nice to know that even a text doesn't spark any interest in him. He is a goood guy sometimes.. But I would never want to be with him again. If he … Continue reading
The Best
So I was laying in my bed, feeling bad about tonight. I had just been woken up by Ben when he got back from the movies so I was crabby…. And I got the best phone call I could have … Continue reading
I miss my roommates so much right now. I can't wait to get back to them. They're all together and their snapchats make me tear up.
I've lost myself. I have always been so strong and able to tell people to go away if they were treating me or anyone else badly. Bethan told me tonight how angry she is at me for the way I'm … Continue reading
"No matter what happens it will have been worth the trying"


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The Affordable Care Act put in place complete medical insurance reforms that have improved access, affordability, and high quality in health look after Americans. Whereas the access to basic health care providers could be very poor for people who find themselves not financially robust. Treatment and care won't cowl you for prognosis and solely covers you for remedy as soon as the situation has been identified by a advisor. You pay both a monthly price for coverage and fees based on the care you obtain. Besides being a physician or specialist surgeon, there are many different jobs in well being care that do not require you to complete 10 years of schooling. If you are recognized with cancer, you'll be in skilled fingers for as long as you have got Bupa medical health insurance. There are limits on the docs and hospitals you'll be able to select, you make a co-cost for every service and you'll have a deductible. You can turn into an authorized patient care technician by completing a program at an accredited faculty.
Our health insurance permits you to simply form elements of your policy to help fit your needs and your price range. The corporations who concern insurance insurance policies rely on most individuals using less service than they are paying for. In the top, we all must pay for the wealthy system of perks and comforts of those who have been entrusted with our well being. If you have been part of an organization medical insurance scheme however you're leaving it now, you'll be able to still preserve your Bupa medical health insurance. Preferred provider organizations or PPO's are a mixture of the payment primarily based plan and an HMO. The whole costs of any medical care is negotiated between the doctor and the HMO so the costs are lower. While this does not imply you directly help care for sick people, you indirectly help them by ensuring the healthcare facility is properly run, and that sources are appropriately used.
They could occur at any stage of medical work: assessing the danger of disease, understanding its causes, and effectiveness of intervention to stop or cure or in any other case management well being downside or its prognosis at an individual or at group stage.
As a Bupa medical insurance customer you will be entitled to a range of reductions with some of the UK's greatest names in health and wellbeing, leisure, travel, home entertainment and retail.
Talk to your doctor or well being care skilled about your treatments and tests. This distorts the quality of care and offers incentive to finding new companies to promote. Before you want well being care or hospital providers, search info and tips on health care. A holistic method is just not being adopted by illness control packages at the group level on account of which quality care is just not reaching the needy. The Affordable Care Act is working to make health care extra affordable, accessible, and of a higher quality for households, seniors, businesses, and taxpayers alike. This signifies that there are jobs in well being care associated to data know-how.


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Comment • reviews • Nordic Noir • whimsy
'Good morning! Yes it's time for a new newspaper.' That's the way Britain's newest newspaper introduced itself…in 1964. In those days, the new Sun was a stablemate of the Daily Mirror. Now the Mirror has a new sibling: the New Day. The old new Sun struggled until it was taken over by Rupert Murdoch; the New Day launches into an incredibly difficult market. Can it survive?
The New Day says it is the first national newspaper for thirty years (which it is if you don't count Eddy Shah's five-week wonder from 1988, The Post). Like most new newspapers it says that it will be 'unbiased' and won't take a party line. Indeed, it is openly pitching itself as a Mail or Express but with less bias, hatred and loathing.
So is it any good? It's hard to judge a newspaper on its first edition (it tries far too hard to shoehorn its name into too many stories – yes, we understand you're building your brand but there's a limit!), but here are a few things that stand out:
It will be interesting to see how The New Day settles down. Anything that contributes to a more informed citizenry is a good thing. We'll be following the new newspaper's progress with interest.


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Valentines Day. I feel as though, like most things these days, celebrating this divides the nation.
Why do we need one day to show the person we love how much they mean to us? Shouldn't we be doing that everyday? Isn't your anniversary the day which is best suited for showing your undying love?
I mean, I get it. Like totally. But another excuse to get a date night in the diary – what's not to like about that? When everyone is so busy with life, especially in London, I feel that maybe sometimes we do need a reminder to put some time aside for the ones we love. And for all the single people reading this, that doesn't have to be romantic partners – I can't wait for my date night with my sister on Saturday.
So on Tuesday, Alex and I decided to have an early Valentines Day date night – nothing flashy, just a cute evening for two consisting of a meal out and a film at the pictures. In my mind, one of the best date nights, simple yet fun.
I'm sure I've mentioned a couple of times that I live close to the O2 Centre on Finchley Road, the shopping centre home to numerous restaurants and a Vue cinema – everything we needed for our date night in one place!
Having never been to Wagamama before, I was keen to introduce Alex to what he was missing out on, and of course I had the hidden agenda too, looking to satisfy my own cravings for noodles.
Up there on the top floor of the O2 Centre, The oriental restaurant was relatively busy for a Tuesday night. In fact, it seemed much busier than other restaurants in the O2, obviously a firm favourite.
With a Contemporary almost European feel with lots of sharing tables, low hanging singular lights and an open kitchen, the atmosphere is pretty relaxed.
The menu, filled with plenty of rice and noodle dishes as well as the odd salad, has plenty to offer, with meat lovers, vegetarians and gluten free diners in mind – great for a fussy eaters like Alex too. The drinks menu was almost just as comprehensive with several alcoholic options and a variety of soft drinks including several fresh juices – the tropical juice was a great choice, a mix of mango, apple and orange, it was delicious.
The only down side to having date night at Wagamama is that I always forget that the dishes come out as and when they're ready, so you're not guaranteed to be eating at the same time. Luckily ramen tends to stay really hot (due to the hot broth it's served in), so I waited for Alex's dish to arrive before digging in.
The Chilli Chicken Ramen, noodles in a spicy chicken broth topped with tender pieces of grilled chicken which pulled apart easily, red onion, spring onions, plenty of beansprouts, chilli, coriander and fresh lime, definitely satisfied my craving.
I could tell Alex had a little food envy (well who wouldn't?!) but Alex's Chicken Katsu was absolutely delicious.
Coated lightly in a panko breadcrumb coating, the chicken was smothered in an aromatic, almost creamy, curry sauce and served with sticky rice and a side salad. Although he didn't really touch the salad (the horror of it, I was tempted to eat it myself), I could tell he was enjoying his first visit.
Ok so I was a little greedy, and a little way into our mains a portion of the Ebi Katsu, a coated prawn side dish, arrived.
A little forgotten about, being so engrossed in our dishes and discussion, they almost surprised us with their appearance, but were thoroughly enjoyed – juicy and plump, each prawn had a light coating and was delicious by itself, the chilli and garlic dip adding an extra kick of heat. In fact, Alex enjoyed this dip so much that he added a little to his Chicken Katsu – spice advocate right there!
With the cinema not far (literally a 1 min walk to the other side of the O2 Centre), it meant there was no rushing about, which was fab as that's one thing I hate.
Now as it was date night, and Alex always gets to choose the films, he let me choose this time and I have to tell you, I chose a corker!
Armed with mixed popcorn (you have to have sweet and salted!), a Diet Coke with lime from the new self service machines at Vue which I love, and a Ben & Jerry's milkshake for Alex, we settled into our comfy standard seats on the back row – our choice when ordering – ready to watch Hacksaw Ridge.
Now you might think that it's an odd choice for a girl, on an early Valentine's Day evening out, but I was intrigued by the story line – the story is based on WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa and refuses to kill people due to his religion. I might not be your usual girl, I love a war film especially when based on a true story, but I can definitely pick a good film – there's a reason this is rated 8.4 on IMDB!
Honestly, I cannot rate this film highly enough. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't say too much. You might find the beginning a little slow as they set the story, but I was soon on the edge of my seat, sweaty palms, anxious and totally engrossed. Being 2 hours 19 minutes I thought it would feel like such a long film, but it flew by, with me wanting more at the end.
We munched and sipped our way through parts – what's a good film without awesome snacks?– and I was pretty jealous of Alex's milkshake. He went for a Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Bun one and it was insanely good – creamy with a strong cinnamon flavour shining through.
By the end, we were ready to hit the hay after an awesome early Valentine's Day at the O2 Centre, Finchley Road. With everything under one roof, a great choice of restaurants and a HUGE Vue with 10 screens, there's bound to be something on to suit everyone – and we sure enjoyed our early Valentine's Day.
Are you celebrating Valentine's Day this year?


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Banking On Banal Exchanges
I went into my bank today. I had to go into my bank, as it was not possible for me to withdraw the low remaining sum from an ATM.
I cannot be the only person who has noticed an increase in the level of overly-friendly "customer service" provided by the counter staff, and how it is directly proportional to the financial mess that the banks have left the entire country in. I do not want to be engaged in this transparent distraction technique by some excessively-polite, smiley do-gooder. This is a business transaction, not a social interaction. I do not want you to try and be my pal.
It began with the blonde woman marching up and down the queue of four people, enquiring if we are "just paying in?" I am not sure how much time it would really save, in such a small queue, to be directed to the faster-payments thing. At least it is keeping her in a job, even if it does mean that I have to reveal the nature of my business in such a way that the earywigging people around me become aware of private details. I resent that. If she would just hold her horses, the reason for my presence would be made quietly known to the teller.
As bad luck would have it, I was called to one of the two tellers at the low desks. I was not really in need of a seat, and having to sit down when making the quickest of withdrawals is an unwelcome chore. I aim to be in such unpleasant places for the briefest amount of time, and needing to sit in order to be at eye level feels like they have added an element of captivity, not comfort. Worse still, the teller had evidently been a model student in his customer-facing training. He wanted to know if I was having a good day.
If this question felt in any way sincere or unscripted, I would be less annoyed by the persistence with which their staff always ask it. Instead, I find it to be intrusive – it is no concern of any stranger's whether I am having a good day, a bad day, or an indescribably mediocre day. It has no bearing on whichever of my affairs I am in the process of conducting.
Bank staff are singularly bad for this. I will happily converse with the checkout staff in my local supermarket, with the conductor on the train, or the ticket office staff, and with just about anybody else who conveys any genuine warmth during the course of our encounter. By way of example, my supermarket staff unfailingly ask me if I "need any help with packing?" I always reply in the negative, and if I am in a reasonable mood I jokingly add "but you can help me pay if you like." This usually elicits a smile and, more than that, everybody declines with good humour but in a different way. My point being that I am not above a casual conversation and a smile, provided there is some human depth to it. The banks, perhaps to nobody's surprise given the crisis they created, lack humanity.
I find myself, then, entering into terse and largely one-sided dialogues with courteous but target-focussed individuals, whose individualism is denied them by their corporate masters and by the script they have rote-learned and from which they must not stray. If they thought about what they were asking, then they might stop and ask something else instead – something relevant, something less personal, or something that did not immediately lend itself to having its stupidity highlighted.
"Are you having a good day?" I was asked.
"So-so," I replied.
"Could be better?"
By definition, if my day can be described as so-so then yes, it could be better. I neglected to point this out, instead telling him matter-of-factly:
"Better if I wasn't taking out the last of my money."
"Okay," he said without listening, checking the balance of my account. "You have nine pounds thirty." He began counting it out, continuing the line of questioning.
"Are you up to much today?"
Drily, I answered "Not with nine pounds thirty."
He smiled. It was the smile of a man satisfied that he has done as his job requires of him. It was a smile that did not belie any indication that he had appreciated my attempt at injecting a little bonhomie into his day. Perhaps the possession of a sense of humour is seen as subversive. They trained him on which questions to ask, but not in how to respond adequately to the answers.
The Work Programme: Still Not Working.
I haven't written about the complete waste of time that is The Work Programme in a while, and this is largely because they appear to be doing less work than the unemployed people it is their sole duty to help.
I can say this with reference to personal experience, as – after they changed my advisor at Easter – I have had approximately three meetings in four months. It is supposed to be fortnightly, and they are supposed to be helping me conduct intensive searches for jobs and/or training, but due to a combination of Bank Holidays and the absence of my new advisor (who booked me in for a meeting on a day he had off as annual leave, and cancelled the latest one), I've barely been there.
In truth, I'm happier this way – I find the entire enterprise to be a mammoth waste of resources, and it is becoming increasingly clear to me that, if you are educated and literate, have no dependents or dependencies, and are aged 24 or over, then you are FUCKED no matter how strong your work ethic or desire to escape. They have no idea how to deal with you, or what to do with you, and so far have found me three months' work that ended after seventeen days, and proposed numerous other jobs that have consistently failed to materialise. Fucking timewasters.
Recently, as evidenced by a blog I wrote here previously, they held a mandatory Jobs Fair event, at which there were no suitable vacancies available. Specifically, they had employers offering too few contracted hours to sustain anybody with rent to pay (based on THEIR OWN calculations), and others offering zero-hour contracts. The latter is a massive gamble, because monthly outgoings remain steady even if earnings fluctuate greatly – from lots, to literally nothing. You run the very real risk of not making anything, let alone enough to pay bills or eat.
One of the companies offering zero-hours contracts there was G4S, the security/stewarding company.
You may recognise their name as part of the first Olympics fiasco (I say first: others seem inevitable) – they were awarded something like £280m to provide staff, and failed. So now they are drafting in the army instead, and will lose approximately £60m of what seems like an unjustifiably large sum to begin with.
It has been reported that in Glasgow, G4S have lost the confidence of the police, who will now assume responsibility for security at Hampden. From the linked article:
Strathclyde Police's decision comes after the force said on Monday that extra officers were being drafted in because G4S confirmed it was not able to meet its commitments at Hampden Park and training venues in Scotland.
This company has been paid a massive amount of public money to employ people, and Christ knows there's no shortage of willing unemployed people and certainly not in Glasgow. So fuck knows how they managed to squander it so spectacularly – when there are folk crying out for jobs. It's all zero-hour contracts though, so I guess people are reluctant to risk everything on nothing.
Give me Independence as soon as possible – Labour did fuck all for us, the Tories were contemptuous of us before and now it's not just Scotland they are destroying. They've all proved they can't govern us effectively, so it is time for us to have a go ourselves. The one thing that Independence offers, which they can't, and don't, is hope.
Without hope, we truly have nothing.
A Little Luck And A Lottery Result.
The main reason that I believe life is absurd, accept it as such, and just embrace it, is that there are so many examples of things that are inexplicable any other way, things that can't easily be defined within the confines of our collective knowledge. I'm not talking about things to which we attribute meaning either – the phone rings just as you're thinking about the person on the other end: that's because we discount all the times that the phone rings and we aren't thinking about the person who has made the call. I see as absurd the almighty coincidences that are much harder to explain away, like the one I'm going to document here.
I play the lottery (a term I use to also include the EuroMillions game) on occasion, maybe three or four times a year. As someone who studied and enjoyed studying maths at school, and who remembers when the lottery first started and when – as an exercise in fourth year – we were shown how to mathematically prove the much-publicised assertion that the odds of winning were fourteen million to one, I am fully aware of the futility of my playing pattern. Specifically, I remember learning about probability, and the chances of (for example) rolling any given sequence of numbers on a die – the odds increase with every roll. So the chances of me picking the winning combination of numbers – already astronomically high – are magnified significantly by the chance of me then also choosing the right week to actually play those numbers. If I changed my numbers too, that would further increase the odds of ever winning. So far, to nobody's surprise (least of all my own), I have won nothing – literally nothing.
The numbers I play are usually consistent, save for the difference in draws – six numbers for the original game, five and two stars for the EuroMillions game. Usually, because every now and then I forget which combination I play – the past few times I've played as a main number one that is also a star, and so I could play it there and add in the omitted sixth number from the regular game. I only realised this recently. All of my numbers relate to birthdays of two members of my family – days, shared month, years – and one additional number which I chose for reasons I can't remember, but which relates vaguely to the house I grew up in. There wasn't a great deal of thought went into my numbers – I didn't want to think then over-think my choices – and I never actually checked the year of birth of my Grandma, just guessed at what I thought it might be. I was wrong.
At a family meal on Sunday, my sister asked my dad what age my Grandma had been when she died. This reminded me, prompting me to ask what year she had been born. He thinks it was 1922, making my rough guess two years out.
When I was at the supermarket on Tuesday, I passed the lottery desk on my way out the store, then doubled back on a whim and put a line on – changing that one number. Later that night, I got three numbers came up in the draw, and won just over a fiver.
This is just one small example in a lifetime of other occurrences, equally freakish – in all the years I've played the wrong number, I haven't won a thing. The week I change it accordingly, I win something. There's probably some rational explanation in the grand scheme of things, but at this level we've no way of knowing what that might be – easier to just take it in stride. And hope for a bigger win next time.
Time Is Money, And Tattoos.
Life is absurd. Statement of fact. I called my blog this because there are so many incidences that are beyond the realms of comprehension, it is easier to just embrace the fact that crazy things happen all the time, rather than try to fully understand them. Here is one such coincidence, which has flummoxed me. Some background information is required.
A few months ago, I decided on a whim to finally investigate getting my first ever tattoo. I figure now I'm 30, the folly of youth is somewhere behind me. Trevor, the drummer in my favourite band, Combichrist, is a tattoo artist, and I asked him to quote me a price to get some work done on their forthcoming UK tour. His fee of $150/hour in cash, while not particularly unreasonable when you consider his portfolio and his standing, was sufficiently off-putting for someone with only an idea and no real money. Even with a favourable exchange rate, I'd need the cash (as opposed to credit card) and have to pay commission. Then consider that I have no idea how labour-intensive a tattoo is, how quickly it can be done, or in fact very much at all about the actual procedure involved. All I know for certain is that I want my first tattoo to hold meaning, and I'm extremely relieved that at no point in my twenties did this desire for a tattoo manifest itself this strongly – otherwise I might be permanently inked with the name of a band I no longer listen to.
Caught up in the idea, I immediately set about thinking of something appropriate but simple – filled with meaning, but achievable within an hour-long session. The Combi logo seems hack, and I realise now that I don't want to be marked with the name of a band who look set to become huge – fine for the first few years, and then you look like you jumped on the very bandwagon you helped start rolling. I decided instead, in a sudden epiphany, that my first tattoo should involve the word "Glasgow" – my home for the past eight years, and when I moved here I discovered that I was always a Glaswegian, I'd just been trapped in Hamilton for 22 years. In describing this choice of tattoo, I would say: I'm a part of it, and it's a huge part of me. I combined some Google image searches, and quickly came up with something I liked.
My closest and most trusted friend is a girl I have known for the entirety of our adult lives, and last night in the course of sending her an email I mentioned, for the first time, this notion that had taken me some months back. It didn't relate to the rest of our conversation, apart from me saying that I've just booked up to see Combi four times on this tour, and neither of us is tattooed (which surprises many), but as she is my barometer of good/shit I ran my design past her. Her response, condensed, is that I should re-think the border I have chosen, and replace it with something that holds significant meaning. "I don't think your tattoo design is finished yet would be my concluding remark if I was to make one which I have in fact just done."
I realised, lying in bed reading this at 4am, that she is right. This is partly why we are friends and why I run things past her. I had hastily created this design and then chose the best of five similar ones I threw together one afternoon. Sure, the actual name of this city is as significant as any one place can be in a man's life, but the rest of it came from what was at hand at that particular time, drawn from half a dozen pages of search results. There is still two months until the tour, plenty of time to plan further the artwork I want indelibly drawn on me, and although I am happy with the result generated so far, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is finished or doesn't require additional work. Even though it isn't financially viable right now, and though I did some research and came up with a few designs, one of which I like a lot, there's still the possibility of creating something even better. All of which might be blindingly obvious to some of you, but which I was obviously blind to. That's the thought I fell asleep to, tattoos and Glasgow and the resolution to put further thought into my design and make it truly personal.
Tonight, I finally got round to putting away some of the stuff that I dug out of boxes last week, stuff that has been in storage at my dad's since I moved out of my first Glasgow flat – long-lost treasures like my craft materials, black kilt socks, and a hip flask. I put this last item in the drawer with my other good-but-scarcely-used items, among the neckties, the kilt socks and pins, the other hip flask, the cufflinks, and the watch I've never worn. It was a present from my youngest sister, sometime when she was still working in a jewellers, but I'd stopped wearing a watch at that point as I didn't like having the extra weight on my wrist and used my phone to tell the time. It has sat in various drawers all of the years since, during which time the battery has gradually died. As you do when confronted with some rarely-seen item of clothing or jewellery, I took it out and put it on, noticing that it could do with having a link or two removed and contemplating whether I have the skills and the tools for the job. Idly trying to wind it, I removed the plastic display insert from the box, looking for the instructions to confirm the method of setting the time. I don't really want to break a watch that is as pristine as a watch can be. What I found was so unexpected that I have no explanation for it, and when I phoned my sister to ask her if she can tell me more, she can't even remember ever giving me a watch.
"Are you sure it was her gave you it?" asked another friend. I am certain – I don't own an abundance of jewellery, and I remember precisely how I acquired that little which I have: a watch for my 21st, which I chose and which has been broken for years and no longer has the metal strap attached; this watch my sister gave me, year unknown; my grandpa's wedding ring, the replacement for the one he lost in the Mediterranean Sea; a gold chain that was my 18th birthday present, and which hasn't been worn in over a decade; and a pair of cufflinks which my dad gave me in anticipation of my need for them at my sister's wedding. That's it. And at no point do I remember secreting money in any of them.
When I lifted out the plastic insert, there was a flap in the bottom of it with thick folded paper – I presumed instructions – inside. It came as a surprise to find that it is actually $130 US dollars in ten-dollar bills. I have no recollection of hiding money in there, and I have only been to America twice – in summer 2005 and February 2006. Both times, I took Travellers Cheques and only a handful of notes. The cheques were slipped inside the covers of various books I had taken with me, stored with my passport, and generally kept in a few different locations. Some were in my suitcase, some in my wallet, some in my backpack – all sound hiding places, and ensuring that it would take extremely bad luck to leave me without anything. When I did run short of money, towards the end of my ten-day stint in NYC in 2006, I figured I had spent more than intended or had done some poor accounting. In 2009, when I had moved into and from six flats, and finally unpacked all my boxes of books, I found an uncashed Travellers Cheque inside the back cover of the novel I had been reading at the time. I certainly can't explain this wad of notes in the watch box.
For a start, it's a watch I have never worn, and so I can't imagine why I would have taken it on a transatlantic journey. The plastic insert has been sliced open, unevenly, and I am not given to destroying my belongings in such a way – if this was my chosen hiding place, I'd be far more inclined to keep it aesthetically pleasing by keeping the insert intact then folding the notes flat and hiding them under it. To damage something in otherwise excellent condition, to make uneven slits in the base instead of neatly cutting along the seams, to then secrete a bundle of notes inside it instead of keeping the notes flat – none of this strikes me as my natural choice. Then there is the fact that there are thirteen notes here, and I have explained on here previously that I have a lifelong aversion to that number. To place 13 ten-dollar bills in one place, to my mind, would be tempting fate.
I actually checked the notes against the light, looking for watermarks (which I found), but sense tells me nobody would go to such lengths to hide Monopoly money. There are only two possible explanations: 1) I put this money here for safekeeping, for reasons and in circumstances now wholly eradicated from my memory, or; 2) fuck knows. The money was hidden there by person or persons unknown on its way to, or before being returned unused to, the reputable jeweller who then sold it on? That seems implausible, and yet the rational option (that I did it) is alien to me in numerous ways. I have to accept that I will never know for certain, but there is one notable upside. Specifically, $130 dollars, in cash, is almost exactly enough to pay for a tattoo…
I would say this is really weird, this casual talking of and rethinking my tattoo (which hasn't been spoken of in months) then suddenly finding funds for it completely by chance, because it is. But life is so overwhelmingly absurd anyway that it's just another inexplicable coincidence to be taken in stride.
And if you ever hid 130 bucks in a watch box then lost track of it, please don't contact me.
What's In A Number?
I'm writing this because I don't like the number thirteen. I'm not scared of it, or by it, I just don't like it – it is an ugly number.
This is pretty irrational – how can a number be ugly, or aesthetically pleasing? I don't know, but I do know that I like numbers that are multiples of 5. I can't have the TV or the stereo volume set to an odd number, with the exception of eleven – the level at which the stereo gets set at night when it is too late for twelve (or higher) but too early for the winding-down levels of eight or nine. Eleven and nine are the only acceptable odd numbers for the stereo volume to sit at, and only late at night or early in the morning when I don't want to disturb my neighbours. I wish they showed me the same consideration.
Anyway, my point in writing this is, I can't have the number of blogs posted sitting at thirteen – so this will be the fourteenth.
When I studied Psychology, for one year as part of a degree I later dropped out of, we discussed phobias. Our lecturer was a funny guy, who would anthropomorphise animals when telling us of practical experiments and tests, and he made the classes hugely entertaining by telling us, for example, how you can make pigeons superstitious. To listen to him, his style was comparable to Eddie Izzard's, so his classes were informative, interesting, and often hilarious.
This particular day, we were all encouraged to shout out things people might be scared of, which he then listed on an overhead projector. Someone said spiders, so he drew a crude one, then a thread coming from it leading up and off the sheet of acetate. He positioned the sheet in such a way that, when he pulled it towards him on the projector, it looked like the spider was animated and descending from the top of the screen. Simple, but quite funny. "Vertigo," someone else shouted, and he asked if they were okay sitting at the top of the lecture hall, or if they wanted to come down the front to a seat at floor level.
In amongst the list of other fears, the number thirteen inevitably cropped up. He started to write this down, but in a deliberate gesture he stopped, rubbed it out, and wrote instead "12 + 1" – just in case anyone was scared of seeing it written down.
The really stupid thing though, given that I don't like the number thirteen, is that it was the street number of the house I grew up in. I lived at number thirteen for twenty-three years, and I still have family living there.
Like I said, irrational.


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Now I'm not lie and tell you that my results are guaranteed, but I am going to tell you exactly what I did to make an extra $3,225 in less than 60 days. Now my results are not that amazing only because I have people on my team who made $10,000+ in their first 60 days.
But regardless I am still grateful because a lot of people join the work from home industry and it literally takes them 6 month+ to generate at least $3,000. So I'm grateful and extremely humble (also be aware that this isn't the only source of income I make).
I'm gonna lay it out in 3 easy steps, and you can take those steps and amplify it in your current business for equal or greater results, or you can just bypass this and keep doing the same old thing (even if the results suck).
Step 1: YOU ARE A NOBODY right now, people join these programs not because the company is completely awesome but because they like the way YOU presented the information or your personality. So make yourself available for people to get to know you, stop hiding behind the computer and start doing VIDEOS.
I know you got a big forehead, you talk with an accent, you only wear those super hero t shirt, you got a birth mark the size of Texas on your face, etc
All those so call negative's you got going on, you can use them to your advantage. I'm not America's next top model and I talk with an accent but guess what I got people joining my company left to right. Why because they come across my youtube video, and they like my personality. Shocker right, so do videos and get your name out there.
Step 2: SOCIAL MEDIA DO & DON'T please stop using social media such as facebook, twitter, etc like a spammer. I mean really think about it, do people log into their facebook to see a post about a job opportunity. The come to see your lifestyle and to see what you're up to. GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT show them the lifestyle of a work from home individual. I'm always showing pictures of me at the park with my kids, or shopping even at publix not just the mall. I mean you don't need to have fancy cars or house to show your lifestyle. No matter how bad you think you got it, trust me there's somebody who wish they could be spending time with their kids at the park.
Step 3: STOP SHOVING YOUR LINK DOWN PEOPLES THROAT ya I said it, whether it's online or offline stop chocking people with your link. I get facebook messages all day and the first thing they say is "hey I have a great opportunity I think you would like, here's my link check it out" No "hi, how are you". Do I click on the link?? No would you??
Ya that's what I thought treat people like how you want to be treated, I actually take the time to get to know who my prospects are beforehand. And as hard as this may sound but I actually WAIT FOR THEM TO ASK FOR MY LINK.
So these are my 3 main steps that I use to make my income online and based on the projection my income is going to double in the next 30 days. HOW??? Simply because I'm going to amplify the tactics that are working for me.
*here's a secret if you are doing something and you are getting great results from it, instead of trying something different just do MORE of what is currently working, even if that means paid advertisement.
*check out my youtube video as an example of what you could do
*If you want to see what I do for a living, click on this link >>> See what I do to make an extra $3,225 a month in less than 60 days.
Tips and Advice brought to you by Casthra Demosthene, add me on facebook.


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Anglais : dissertation sur un film edward au mains d'argent
Tim burton, 1990.
Edward Scissorshands is a fantasy film. Edward Scissorhands is not a common boy. Creation of an inventor, he received a heart to love, a brain to understand but his designer died before have been able to end his work and Edward meets himself with blades of metal and instruments sharp edges by way of fingers. He lived alone in a castle cut besides by the world. A beautiful day, Peg Boggs, a representative in cosmetics, discovers the young man and invites him to live in her home.
Edward's role is played by Johnny Depp, the actor signs here one of his best role! Other actors are Winona Ryder (Kim Boggs), Dianne Wiest (Peg Boggs) or still Vincent Price (The inventor).
But under fairy's tale is outlined a serious portrait of " American way of life " and its conformity. The town in colors pastel (caricature of suburbs " middle class ") shows itself sectarian and locked into its prejudices. Beautiful lesson of tolerance on the respect for the difference, Tim Burton signs here a leader of work who criticizes the refusal of the difference and the difficulty becoming integrated!
The main subject is the difference, taken back by Frankenstein, but treated in a little bit different, more modern way. The inhabitants are not frightened by Edward, the time of the fears is spent, safe for a person, seeing in Edward the devil. On the other hand, they are not still capable of understanding him nor of being really interested in him. They are especially middle-classes, artificial, trying to take advantage of him without interest by his personality. It is nevertheless the man who remains completely to discover: very wise, he has never lived in society and has no experience of life (what gives the opportunity to Burton to deliver some successful funny scenes). He never expresses himself, never announces his feelings, what does not nevertheless mean that it lacks it, as proves him its comportment, its glance and the evident but silent


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"Matriarchy" In Germany: Merkel transferred power to "Merkel 2.0"
At the meeting of the Christian Democratic Union in Hamburg, the deputies of the ruling party of Germany elected the Saar Land Prime Minister and the CDU General Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Early on the morning of December 7, the 31st Congress of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) started in Hamburg to name the new chairman. Angela Merkel left this post, but retained the chancellorship.
In her place claimed three people. There is no such thing in the history of the CDU. The exception is 1971. Then, for the post of head of the conservative party, Helmut Kohl fought with Rainer Barzel.
The advantage in the election campaign was originally on the side of Friedrich Merz, who is in charge of the CDU and is a long-time "foe" of Merkel. In 2002, Merkel cleared her way to the chancellery, relegating Merz from the post of head of the CDU. Seven years later, a 63-year-old politician quit MPs and started doing business.
Merz, unlike competitors who were under the direct command of Merkel, could afford to confidently criticize the Chancellor not only on the issue of migrants, but also on social policy. The head of the branch of the largest American investment company BlackRock Germany stands for a liberal model of the economy and is against increasing the social responsibility of the state. The success of Merz was also partly affected by the fact that his candidacy was supported by the most experienced of the current German politicians - Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble.
Another favorite was considered CDU Secretary General Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. The 56-year-old Prime Minister of Saarland was considered by many to be Merkel 2.0 or mini-Merkel because she promised to continue the middle course of the Chancellor, including on the issue of refugees, although Kramp-Karrenbauer allowed herself a number of harsh statements. She urged to send migrants convicted for rape in Cologne directly to Syria and to prohibit them from entering the Schengen zone. The general secret of the CDU has drawn attention to herself for speaking out against same-sex marriages, because, in her opinion, they do not lead to reproduction. As a mother of three children, Kramp-Karrenbauer equates homosexuality with incest. She advocates more active support for poor and single mothers.
The least chance of winning was predicted for the Minister of Health, Jens Shpan. He represented a new generation in the CDU, at the age of 22 he became the youngest member of the Bundestag, to which he was elected in 2002, when Merkel and Merz were playing the "king of the hill".
Shpan is a critic of Merkel's migration course, but he supports open discussions on same-sex marriage, because he is an open homosexual himself.
Merkel hopes that the new CDU chairman will support her now and will continue her course after 2021. But one should not forget that Merkel herself was the favorite of Helmut Kohl and his successor as party leader, but in the end did not leave a stone unturned from his political principles, leading the party into liberalism and towards greater US support.
And in the three years that remained before the new election of the Chancellor, much can change - in the Federal Republic of Germany, in Europe, and in the world as a whole. And in the head of Kramp-Karrenbauer, who will be better able to understand foreign policy issues. At the same time, there are no guarantees (on the contrary, there are reasonable doubts) that the CDU will succeed in winning the elections of 2021 and even that Merkel will succeed in sitting out in the Chancellor's chair before that date.
However, the preliminary results are such that Merkel's "political funeral" is still being postponed. She managed to impose the party of her successor - or even, as detractors believe, her "full copy".
Which, however, will have to act quite cautiously: the vote showed that the delegates at the congress had split almost evenly, and if something happened, the scale could lean in the other direction.
In the sense - in the direction of some other politician and potential chancellor.


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Groupon co-founders Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell show their true dedication by doubling their investment in Lightbank, and backing it up with an investment in social networking aggregator Cloudbot.
Also, Groupon swears by its "trust and transparency" at a New York advertising conference, and the company launches a Droid app in New Zealand.
Read more:
- Lefkofsky and Keywell double their investment in Lightbank. (Chicago Tribune)
- Lightbank investors invest in startup Cloudbot. (Chicago Tribune)
- Groupon tells an Advertising Week audience it lives by "trust and transparency." (Wall Street Journal)
- Groupon New Zealand launches Droid app. (Voxy)
- Today's Deal: $19 for $40 Worth of Vitamins, Supplements, and Health Products at GNC


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Members of the Collin County chambers of commerce, as well as elected officials, community leaders, and business professionals, participate in a two-day program in Austin every other year to kick off the new legislative session. Over 200 representatives from across the county meet with legislators and area elected officials to learn more about the important issues facing our county.
The two-day program begins with a luncheon featuring updates on the current legislative session presented by elected officials, followed by additional speakers, break-out sessions, and a reception. The following day will include a trip to the Capitol to be introduced in the House and Senate chambers and meetings with local legislators.
The next Collin County Days will be held March 26-27, 2019 at the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel. CLICK HERE to make your room reservations by Monday, March 4, 2019. CLICK HERE to register for Collin County Days.


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Refinancing at Renewal to consolidate your debt
Studies have shown that some of the best ways that we learn is through stories about other people and their experiences. With this in mind, we have included below two recent success stories about clients of ours who saved thousands of dollars in interest and reduced their monthly debt payments significantly, if you would like to learn how we did this for them and how you can too please read on….
When your mortgage is coming up for renewal we have three choices:
- Renew with your current lender
- Transfer your mortgage to another lender for better rates and terms
- Restructure your current mortgage to consolidate some personal debts
Within this article we are going to focus on how we can help you significantly lower your overall interest rate not just on your mortgage but also by consolidating your personal credit card, vehicle, and line of credit debt debt into your mortgage.
Before we start working through some savings and structuring examples the most important thing to know is that the Government of Canada limits all lenders to a maximum refinance amount of 80% of the value of your home. For example if you have a home worth $500 000 then 80% would result in a maximum available financing of $400 000. If you are currently above or at this 80% loan to value amount then unfortunately your options are very limited and the below scenarios are not for you.
So now that we have determined that you have enough equity in your home to consider these refinancing options, lets look at a couple of past client solutions:
Scenario one: Consolidating credit card and vehicle debt
With this client we were successful in reducing their annual interest costs by approximately $9490 and we also lowered their monthly household payments by over $1865. This restructuring literally cut our client's monthly payment obligations in half!
- Home value of $500 000
- Current mortgage of $305 000 – monthly payments of $1411 with a remaining amortization of 25 years and a renewal offer of 2.79%
- Credit card debts of $55 000 – monthly minimum payments of $1650 and annual interest of ~$9900
- Vehicle loan remaining of $16 000 – Monthly payment of $525 and annual interest of ~$1500
- Total monthly payments of $3586
With these clients we approved:
- New mortgage of $376 000 with an interest rate of 2.69% and remaining amortization of 25 year
- Monthly mortgage payments of ~$1721
- This new mortgage repaid all of our client's credit cards and their vehicle loan
- Total monthly payments of $1721
- Total monthly payment reduction of $1865!
- Total interest saved of per year of $9490!
These clients received the equivalent of a new lease on life, their payments were cut in half, their interest cost was significantly reduced, and they were able to start saving more money for the future along with using some of their savings to accelerate their mortgage payments and pay off their mortgage even faster. Just imagine being free of half of your monthly obligations – it is an amazing feeling.
Scenario two: Minor credit card debt and a new line of credit for investment
This client situation is a little bit different and we were also able to be quite creative with them so that we could not only reduce their monthly interest and debt payment costs but also give them access to a secured line of credit that they plan on using for investment purposes.
- Home value of $475 000
- Current mortgage of $220 000 – monthly mortgage payments of $1196 with a remaining amortization of 20 years and a renewal offer of 2.79%
- Credit card debt of $14 000 – monthly minimum payments of $420, annual interest of $2520
- Desired the ability to access funds for investment purposes from their current home
With these clients we approved:
- New mortgage of $234 000 with an interest rate of 2.69% and remaining amortization of 20 year
- Monthly mortgage payments of ~$1260
- The new mortgage repaid all of their credit card debt
- A new secured line of credit for $146 000 at prime +0.5% with interest only payment only on the funds that are currently owing. This line of credit also came with full banking privileges including online access, a debt card, and cheques.
- Total monthly payments of $1260
- Total monthly payment reduction of $356
- Total interest saved of per year of $2100
This scenario was a little bit less dramatic than the previous example however the long term benefits for these clients is equally significant. We were able to free up more than $4200 in annual credit card payments along with allow them to access over $140 000 for future investment. This future investment could include providing the funds for a down payment on a rental property or other stock market based investments that have the ability to significantly improve our client's long term financial future.
How we can help you:
The above examples are just a couple of the many scenarios that we have had the opportunity to work with our clients on to help them significantly improve their and their family's financial situation. When you are renewing your mortgage, if you owe less than 80% of your home value this is an excellent time to consider all of your options. The timing is perfect because at renewal you do not have the same restrictions and penalties that you would have if we restructured your mortgage in the middle of your term. We want to help design a custom solution that works well for you, within this solution we can refinance your mortgage to consolidate credit card, line of credit, student loan, and vehicle loan debt along with accessing secured line of credit funds for you for future investment. Please contact us directly today via phone, online contact form, or online application.
Other topics that clients like you were interested in:


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Article #1 From: http://fnord.no/sysadmin/security/vpn-with-ssh
Article #2 From: http://realprogrammers.com/how_to/set_up_an_ssh_tunnel_with_putty.html
Poor man's VPN with SSH
SSH has port forwarding, dynamic forwarding, and now also IP forwarding. This allows you to create connections out through a firewall, and allow other connections in and out through your SSH-connection, originating at your SSH server. Read on for a few examples of use, and make sure you have the blessing of your security team.
Local forwarding
With local forwarding, you open a local port, and forward it to another host and port from the remote server.
Often used with forwarding to single webservers, proxies, Citrix ICA servers, VNC servers, and Windows Remote Desktop (RDP).
Example with local forwarding
Connect to a server at work, forwarding a connection from port 10080 on my laptop to important.server.example.org.
ssh -L 10080:important.server.example.org:80 [email protected]
I can then open my browser to http://localhost:10080, and do my stuff. Some web applications, though, can be tricky enough to expect a hostname, and for that you need to edit /etc/hosts or equivalent, or you can read on for dynamic forwarding.
Remote forwarding
With remote forwarding, you open a listening port on the remote side, and forward it to another host and port from the local server.
Example with remote forwarding
One useful scenario is to help family members who have PC trouble. For instance: Mom has a problem, calls me, and wonders if I can help, and then clicks an icon on her desktop that does the following thing:
- Starts Remote Desktop or VNC
- Connects to my SSH server, with remote forwarding from <vncport1> on the SSH server, to localhost:<vncport1> on her PC.
ssh -R 5801:localhost:5801 [email protected]
What I do, is:
- Connect to my SSH server, with local forwarding from <vncport1> on my laptop, to <vncport1> on the SSH server, which again connects through the remote forwarding to localhost:<vncport1> on mom's PC.
ssh -L 5801:localhost:5801 [email protected]
- Start a VNC client, and connect to my localhost:5801 on my laptop. This port is now connected through my ssh session, to mom's ssh session, to her PC.
Dynamic forwarding with SOCKS
OpenSSH's client has the ability to do dynamic forwarding to act as a local SOCKS server, both for SOCS4 and SOCS5.
Many programs have built-in SOCKS support, so if you enable this, and configure it to use localhost:<socksport> as a SOCKS proxy.
For programs with no built-in SOCKS support, you can use "tsocks", to intercept networking calls, and work through the SOCKS server.
Example with dynamic forwarding
ssh -D 1080 [email protected]
Then I configure Firefox, for instance, to use the SOCKS server at localhost port 1080, and all my web connections will go through the SSH connection, and appear to be initiated from myserver.example.com. Much easier than with local forwarding, and works great for remote administration of things from home where you use different hostnames and ports, and perhaps also unroutable IP addresses.
IP forwarding with TUN
Now we're talking. This is the real thing, we get IP forwarding through a point-to-point interface. This exists only in newer versions of OpenSSH, and is not very well documented yet. Unfortunately, this also includes this document until I have more time to research further.
Example with IP forwarding
ssh -w 0:1 [email protected]
Where '0' is the local device tun0, and '1' refers to the remote device tun1. On each side, one needs to set an IP address for host-to-host contact, and add routing and perhaps also NAT for network access.
Beware, as careless use of IP forwarding between sites may have a serious impact on network security, and may make others very angry if used without permission.
Setting up an SSH tunnel with PuTTY
What follow is how to set up as SSH tunnel using PuTTY with the MySQL port (3306) forwarded as an example. After completing this how-to you'll have port 3306 on your local machine listening and forwarding to your remote server's localhost on port 3306. Thus effectively you can connect to the remote server's MySQL database as though it were running on your local box.
This how-to assumes your MySQL installation has enabled listening to a TCP/IP connection. Only listening on 127.0.0.1 is required (and the default as of MySQL 4.1). Although beyond the scope of this how-to, you can verify the server's listening by using
mysql -h 127.0.0.1 rest of options
on the server. Look for
bind-address = 127.0.0.1
skip-networking = 0
in your
. Also, a trouble-shooting guide.
To achieve the same with PostgreSQL simply use PostgreSQL's default port, 5432.
psql -h 127.0.0.1 rest of options
to test;
and the manual as pointers for configuration.
Set up the tunnel
Create a session in PuTTY and then select the Tunnels tab in the SSH section. In the Source port text box enter 3306. This is the port PuTTY will listen on on your local machine. It can be any standard Windows-permitted port. In the Destination field immediately below Source port enter 127.0.0.1:3306. This means, from the server, forward the connection to IP 127.0.0.1 port 3306. MySQL by default listens on port 3306 and we're connecting directly back to the server itself, i.e. 127.0.0.1. Another common scenario is to connect with PuTTY to an outward-facing firewall and then your Destination might be the private IP address of the database server.
Add the tunnel
Click the Add button and the screen should look like this,
Save the session
Unfortunately PuTTY does not provide a handy ubiquitous Save button on all tabs so you have to return to the Session tab and click Save,
Open the session
Click Open (or press Enter), login, and enjoy!
Here for reference is an example connection using MySQL Adminstrator going to localhost: note the Server Host address of 127.0.0.1 which will be transparently forwarded.
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Silent Tears….
Tears are that asset of human beings which are around all the times. If one is happy, they come to increase that happiness. If one is sad, they still come to share that pain, let it flow down from the eyes from the heart. It doesn't matter that what you are, how rich/poor you are, tears in all the eyes are of the same color and forever will be in this entire world. Tears, something which say hundreds of stories even without using a single word even! Tears, which can melt hearts made of stone as well. Tears, seeing which in the beloved's eyes, one can kill and even can get killed! Tears, seeing them in that special person's eyes appears that the whole world has no meaning, has no importance! Tears, some one who never leaves you, doesn't matter what! But at times, even these most faithful friends choose to sit back and enjoy the pain of the beholder.
When tears come through the eyes, at least that pain stored in the heart flows down with them. Though it doesn't help at all, pieces of a broken heart which always is a gift from someone who doesn't value it but values the entire world out there, flows through these tears. It all happens when that drop of a tear flows down from the eye. But what if when the eyes appear to be dry yet hiding oceans of these tears in them? Ever felt how it feels when one is not able to breathe under water or when someone is chocking your throat? Ever saw someone smiling from his face but having eyes which look so lonely and are dry yet crying? Tears, even when not flowing out from those eyes, may still be there! At that times, the pain touches its peaks and one just feels that why is he being punished to be alive yet die with every breathe? At times, tears stop from coming out of these eyes knowing that this world would make fun of them. Even those who gifted these drops of pain, at times, may go a step ahead and would say this even that there is no time that they have for these useless tears since they have many better things to do like making a good, bright career! And in that important process, there is no place for a useless, worthless item called tears! Just don't be fooled by this illusion that just because you can't see someone's eyes wet, there is nothing in them! You may never know, waves in the oceans of "silent tears" may be touching skies even!
I shall close by putting here two lines of Ahmed Faraz. They are in Hindi and I shall put this version first and will also translate in English. First, the Hindi version,
Yehi soch kar uski har baat ko sach maana tha Faraz,
K itne khoobsurat lab jhooth kaise bolenge!
And the translation in English is,
Just for this reason, assumed all what she said as truth "Faraz",
How come such pretty lips can speak a lie?
Isn't Faraz just great!


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Clearing and Adjustment 2020
Clearing and Adjustment give you another opportunity to find the best course for you – whether you've changed your mind, your results surprised you or you're just starting to think about starting university this year.
Clearing 2020 opens on Monday 6 July but you can still contact us now on +44 (0)23 9284 8090 to discuss your options.
Why choose Portsmouth through Clearing?
1. You'll get support at every step
We have Clearing phone lines to help you through the process and find the course that suits you best.
2. You'll get outstanding teaching, facilities and great future prospects
We hold the highest possible rating for the Government-backed Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) scheme – Gold. This means our teaching, learning and student outcomes are outstanding, and among the highest quality in the UK.
3. You'll be taught by lecturers with years of experience in teaching and industry
Our expert lecturers have years of experience in teaching and industry. Many remain active in their professions, and because they're continuously developing their knowledge, they'll teach you the relevant, most-recent things you need to know, so you can hit the ground running in your career.
4. You'll practise the skills you'll use in your career
We design our courses and facilities to make sure you get experience in simulated work environments. These include our newsroom, mock courtroom, model pharmacy, forensic house and fully equipped TV studio.
Webinar: What is Clearing?
8 July 2020 at 2.00pm
Find out how Clearing works on this free, 1-hour webinar. Ask questions or just listen in.
5. You'll live in an inspiring city
In Portsmouth, you'll be spoilt for choice in your downtime. Stroll along Old Portsmouth's cobbled streets or check out the area's boutique galleries and quirky cafes. Indulge yourself at Gunwharf Quays shopping outlet or explore the past in our Historic Dockyard. Great weather? Grab some fish and chips for a picnic on Southsea Common.
6. You'll find your people
We have societies and clubs to suit everyone including anime, bhangra, breakdancing, sci-fi, water polo and even quidditch. Our sports facilities include a gym with more than 100 workout stations, various free weights areas, squash courts, football and rugby pitches, tennis courts and more.
7. You'll always have someone to talk to
Our Student Wellbeing Service gives you that extra bit of emotional support. We offer workshops, courses, advice, mental health support and counselling to guide you. We even have a group of welcome ambassadors, current students who will help you settle into life at the University.
8. You'll study at a top 21 UK University
Portsmouth has gone up in the Guardian University Guide rankings for 5 successive years. We currently rank in 21st place.
To contact us about Clearing:
- Call us on +44 (0)23 9284 8090
- Book a call back on results day
- Chat with us online (when available)
- Message us on Facebook or Twitter
You can also sign up for Clearing news and course vacancies updates.
Currently, our Clearing hotline is open from 9.00am–5.00pm (Monday to Thursday) and 9.00am–4.00 pm (Friday). The hotline will be open for extended hours from A level results day on Thursday 13 August.
What our Clearing students say
The Clearing phone line helped a lot. I could call and get an instant reply. Although it was an impulsive choice to apply to Portsmouth through Clearing, it was one of the best choices of my life.
I had accepted an offer from another university. I decided to change. I phoned the Clearing hotline and the people on the phone were nice and helpful. I loved the courses that were on offer.
More about the Clearing process
How does Clearing work?
To apply through Clearing, you:
- Find courses you want to do
- Contact universities directly to see if they'll offer you a place (you can call us on +44 (0)23 9284 8090)
- Accept the best offer for you
When you get an offer, you can accept it in UCAS Track. If you didn't apply through UCAS, many universities let you apply directly.
Jason: Clearing is an experience that loads of students go through. Talhaa: This is especially for when you don't get the results that you expected. Jordan: It's a backup plan or a support system. Lucy: But it is actually quite a good opportunity to turn that into a positive and actually look at what is happening and where you can go.
Jordan: Anyone can go through Clearing. So people who don't achieve the grades that they wanted to achieve when applying to university. Jason: People who apply for university after the UCAS deadline. Rebecca: Or simply just change their mind and want to apply for university later on in the stage.
Jason: So, first of all, you need to go on the UCAS track on results day to see if you're in Clearing. Rebecca: Have a look at the universities that you think you might like to go to and the courses that you might like to study.
Jordan: Once you're happy with your course and university you can reserve your place. Talhaa: You can find their phone number either on their university website or on the UCAS website. Jason: Take time and do research before making a decision. You could get advice from friends family and teachers.
Clearing eligibility
Anyone can apply directly to us through Clearing, even if you hold an offer from another university or you haven't applied through UCAS yet.
If you're from outside the UK or EU, you can't apply for Clearing through UCAS but you will be able to apply to us directly. Call us on +44 (0)23 9284 8785 and we'll run through everything you need to do.
To contact us about Clearing:
- Call us on +44 (0)23 9284 8090
- Book a call back on results day
- Chat with us online (when available)
- Message us on Facebook or Twitter
You can also sign up for Clearing news and course vacancies updates.
Currently, our Clearing hotline is open from 9.00am–5.00pm (Monday to Thursday) and 9.00am–4.00 pm (Friday). The hotline will be open for extended hours from A level results day on Thursday 13 August.


text:
Post a reply to the thread: Atomiswave always goes into test menu.
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Hello, I am new on the forum, I have an eurogame border with a mobo atomiswave and I have a problem when I activate the dip switc 2 of the menu.
Here is an explanatory video.
The button SERVICE "R" is thus connected no risk of button which remains pushed.
An idea of the problem?
Thank you.
Haha, damn! thanks again for the help, do you also know where I can find the AW manual online? The person I bought it from did not have the manual with the AW board.
Because DIP sw #2 is... test mode!
Glad to see it was an easy fix
No! It was set to on! I turned it off and it fixed the problem, thanks! I didn't think that if it was set to on, that it would make it always go into the test menu.
Can you explain to me why it does this?
OK. So what else could be causing the system to go into test mode... is DIP switch #2 off?
It's off in the screen, but when I push the test button, it goes to "on" and back to "off" when i release the button.
Can you also see if the test button is on or off in that screen? (I don't remember what it looks like). If you can't you should get a multimeter and check if there is continuity between the test pin on the jamma connector and a ground pin.
Atomiswave always goes into test menu.
I think the issue might be the test service button or something like that being burnt out because I can manage to get the game. But in a weird way. The game would only boot with the I/O expansion plugged in, but I cannot use the joystick I have that is plugged into my supergun or access the test menu pressing the test service button on the back of my supergun, it's as if the joystick and the service buttons don't work. If I take off the I/O expansion when the Atomiswave is on and the game is already loaded, I can just press the start button and I can play the game normally as complete functionality returns to the joystick and i can go into the test menu by pressing the test service button. If I were to turn on the Atomimswave without the I/O expansion slot plugged in, it would always go straight into the test menu and i can't get into the game at all.
So in order to get into the game and play it, i have to boot up the atomiswave with i/o expansion plugged in, then pull it off once the game is loaded. I have to do this everytime which is a minor annoyance. If i start up the game without the I/O expansion plugged in, it will just boot to the test menu as stated above.
When i'm in the test menu, I can see that all the buttons are set to the OFF position and will change to ON when the proper button is pressed. So i think the issue has something to do with the test service being burnt out.
I also have zero knowledge and skills when it comes to soldering and the such.
The game i'm playing is King of Fighters XI
The supergun I have is the slingshot model that I bought from D-Lite from the neo-geo forums
Atomiswave always goes into test menu.
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World class beaches, world class strategy seminar and world class kitesurfing. Sometimes work is a lot more than just work……
Last week we arrived in Ceara, Brazil for an extended client seminar. In collaboration with the Boutique hotel Villa Vista Taiba, Engage // Innovate has developed a strategy seminar for a Norwegian oil & gas client.
Coming from a very strong position (50 % market share) in Norway, the client has been working to expand the international business areas. Building on a strong Norwegian competence in oil & gas, emerging markets have been designated future growth areas. With operations in India and West Africa, the firm help their clients develop petroleum technology competencies to international standards. Recently, the client has begun developing business opportunities in Iran, Venezuela, Russia and Brazil.
But as always, finding the right market entry strategy for various markets, and align it with keeping the core business at home healthy, is challenging. Through a one-week strategy and training seminar in Brazil, we will assist the client in both finding focus in strategy execution at home, align board members and employees behind the internationalization drive and find the right market entry strategies here in Brazil. For client employeess and their spouses, an extended vacation is planned for a total of two and a half weeks here in Taiba, Ceara.
Hosting the event is the boutique hotel Villa Vista Taiba. Located directly on the beach, with one of Northeastern Brazil's best waves breaking directly in front of the hotel, is a sight to be seen. From our facilitator's chair, we look directly down on this amazing 'housewave'.


text:
Did that really happen!
What a night!. What an end to the season!.
Up to Hillside for the last match and in the favourites position for the drop. However the boys were up for this one and got into the game right from the off. ROC's lads got off to a flier getting 4 shots on the board in the first two ends only to drop a 2 and 4 to go behind. However a recovered 4 set them on their way and they pulled away to record a 22-7 win. Allan Mitchell's lads stormed to a very comfortable win and the drama unfolded on rink 4 where Phil Rae's guys held a good lead only to see it whittled back to one up playing the last. Hughie Hilson popped a beauty on the white and although the opposing skip got close with his deliveries Phil did not have to play his last bowl and recorded a two shot win. The only reverse was a battling defeat for Stans rink out on 5.
The drama was not done yet though. Hillside had needed a 5-4 win to take the title but news of Craigentinny's 5-4 win over Maitland threw dark clouds over both the home and away camps the Northern needing to better Maitlands score to remain in the division. Frantic counting, many phone calls and all was revealed. The Northern stayed up courtesy of a better shots difference! Still the drama was not over as it was revealed that Corstorphine's 9-0 thrashing of Tanfield, decided on a measure on the very last end, gave them the points they needed to complete a remarkable night and them the title.
Congratulations to Corstorphine on their achievement.
And a big well done to all who played in the NBC 2nds this year. It has been a struggle at times but we are still in the top flight and can look forward to another challenge next year!


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Does This New Virtual Reality Girlfriend Take Things Too Far?
Drawing the line when it comes to fake women in 3D games.
Japanese game developers Up Frontier showcased a shocking new game specially created for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset at the Oculus Rift Festival held in Japan this month.
The game features a young Asian woman whom the gamer can play with, not only in virtual reality form, but in semi real-life form as well. The game comes complete with a pair of fake breasts made out of mousepad material (yes, you read that right!). Users can fondle and squeeze the fake bust to their hearts' content.
For those who are itching for the chance to see, interact with, and feel a fake woman, this is the perfect combination of fake and real all rolled up into one neat little package.
However, it's not so great for the fake girl it seems. In the YouTube video below that shows the game in action, the player treats the girl like an object—prodding and groping her roughly. Upon squeezing her foam breasts, she squeals uncomfortably while the gamer barely notices her reaction.
The exchange does not look consensual.
Yet, some would argue the girl is not a living, breathing human, so what's the harm?
There may seem to be no real injury done, but it's not just the girl's uncomfortable reactions that are questionable. The game sends mixed signals about what women want and how they should be treated. Later on in the game, Askmen.com writer Kelly Hurcomb explains, the virtual girl will "round-house kick players who stray too far from her side while exploring the digital universe."
On the one hand, the girl doesn't enjoy being touched. But on the other, she doesn't want the gamer to stray from her side. What is this teaching gamers about the way women should be treated?
Lately, there's been a bigger turn toward virtual reality adult entertainment—an increase we can largely attribute to Oculus Rift. So shouldn't it be more important that virtual women are portrayed and treated exactly how real women should be portrayed and treated—with fairness and equality? Shouldn't these gamers be prompted to ask the girl if she would like to be fondled?
Up Frontier previously released a VR program, also for the Oculus Rift, that simulated a girl's lap for gamers to lie down on. This was innocent enough, but this new invention hardly seems women-friendly.
Fellow Future of Sex writer Hugo Gray brought up similar issues in a recent article on using robots to treat sex offenders. While there are benefits to using new technologies to satisfy eclectic desires, he said, we must also consider the downsides.
It's true that recent technological advances are now able to fulfill almost all of our fantasies. However, we should keep a keen eye out for the programs and games that may be hinting to users that they can treat women unfairly. There is a fine line here and this new virtual girlfriend seems to be crossing it and not looking back.
Still, poll results from the Mirror Online show almost half of readers don't believe the game encourages sexual assault against women. What do you think?
Image source: Nitori Kawashiro


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Pain is a friend of Robert Turbin. A brother, a mother, and two sisters, too.
None of that pain is related to the ligament tear in the running back's right knee that required surgery and cost him a season at Utah State on his continuing ascent toward the NFL. That was a mere injury.
Pain is something else.
It's a family tie.
It's an absentee mother who was, as Turbin says it, "addicted to drugs before I was born."
It's a brother in the same desperate circumstances, wearing down a path in and out of jail.
It's a disabled sister, Tiffany, paralyzed from the neck down by a malady suffered from birth that Turbin can't even name, a sister who is bound to a wheelchair, who cannot speak, who can only "make the sounds of a baby" and conjure noises as a means of communicating. Pain is hearing Tiffany cry and having no clue what is wrong. Is she hungry? Is she thirsty? Is she cold? Is she hot? Is she hurt? Is she sad? Is she afraid?
"Sometimes, I didn't know what to do," Turbin says. "I'd have to figure that out."
As a youngster, Turbin's room in his father's house in Fremont, Calif., was next to Tiffany's, and he'd hear her weep in the dark of night and wonder what she was feeling, what he could do to make her feel better, what he could do to make her stop.
Maybe she needed a pillow. Maybe she had a bad dream. Maybe, he guessed, her head itched and she needed it scratched. Turbin used to provide that simple relief, along with bathing her, feeding her, playing music for her, helping her however he could.
And, sometimes, he would give up and get mad.
"It was frustrating," he says. "You'd do everything you possibly could and she'd still be crying."
Although he says he too often was immature and selfish, a sense of perspective and responsibility started dawning on the young Turbin. He wanted comfort and attention, too, but necessity demanded that Tiffany receive the lion's share.
"It helped me grow up quick," he says. "You learned to help other people who needed it."
Turbin's father, Ronald, was an assistant pastor at All Nations Church in neighboring Oakland, in addition to his full-time work as a truck mechanic. Despite the troubles around him and his family, Ronald insisted that Turbin regularly attend church. Turbin played the drums in the church band, which consisted of him and his dad on the organ, accompanying the church choir.
"I grew up in church," he says. "I was there a lot."
Worship was a counterpunch to the pain, and Ronald Turbin knew that.
The senior Turbin donated much of his time to his congregation, and it was that same attitude of service that guided him through the land mines of life. The junior Turbin watched his father and learned, even if it was begrudgingly.
"He got up at 4:30 in the morning and worked hard to make a living for all of us," Turbin says. "He set the best example for me. When Tiffany was born the way she was, doctors told my dad she would be hard to take care of. She wasn't supposed to live past the age of 5. My dad's response was: 'I don't care what you guys say, I'm taking care of her.' Now, she's 29.
"When something needed to get done, he'd get it done. He always helped everyone. I told him, 'You can't be the savior of everybody. You've got to stop.' But he never did. And that rubbed off on me."
Amid the good living was the inescapable heartbreak of the human condition. There was one more blast of pain in those formative years for Turbin.
Another sister, Trina, who was a gifted athlete, a high school basketball player, was struck with multiple sclerosis in her late teens and died at 21. That blew Turbin away, but, again, his father led out by keeping hope alive.
Turbin eventually found his in sports. At first, he wanted to be Michael Jordan, but discovered in short order that Walter Payton's game was his calling: "It came naturally," he says. "I always had speed. I could juke people. I could break tackles. I could run."
It was as though the physical limitations placed upon his siblings were balanced out by their younger brother's physical prowess. He starred at Irvington High School in Fremont, and garnered the attention of numerous college programs. Most of them wanted him to play safety. One, Utah State, saw him the way he saw himself as a running back.
Probably via the comprehensive influence of his ever-charitable father, Turbin judged USU to be "the kind of team I wanted to be on to help them turn the page, to help them become a winning team."
As a redshirt junior, that's a work in progress for the 5-foot-10, 222-pound man who's fought back from the aforementioned knee surgery to become the best runner in the state, and a strong pro prospect.
"I just play," he says. "Over the course of my life, I've learned to be humble and thankful for the things I have, to appreciate what I've got while I've got it. And to remember my family and be grateful."
GORDON MONSON hosts "The Gordon Monson Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 97.5 FM/1280 AM The Zone.