text: OK, so we don't condone breaking and entering. But, if you have a pal who knows someone who lives in Dunes West, by all means, take that friendship to the level it deserves: summer pool trips to the adult pool. Notice our clarification here — adult. The kids' pool, which does have a totally badass slide, isn't gonna fly in the heat of summer. You know that gator pond in Never Neverland? Yeah, that, but with kids. You need a clean, quiet, relaxed environment to truly enjoy a pool, and that's just what Dunes West's adult pool offers. —Connelly Hardaway


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The Dominican Republic's telecoms regulator Indotel has given the owners of millions of suspended pre-paid accounts 90 days in which to register their details and reactivate their number. The watchdog said that around five million lines had not been validated by the deadline of midnight last Friday and the accounts were suspended, but users now have just under three months to register their information and save their phone number before the account is deleted permanently.
The Dominican Republic was home to around 9.5 million mobile subscribers at the end of March 2014, according to TeleGeography's GlobalComms Database, with approximately eight million of these being pre-paid customers. The two largest players in terms of subscribers, Claro Dominicana (previously Verizon Dominicana) and Orange Dominicana, control about 90% of all the country's mobile voice customers between them. Orange said earlier this week that just 63% of its prepaid users had validated their accounts, but that its customer services staff were working extended hours to ensure that as many customers as possible retained their lines.

subset: commoncrawl


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Catch up on latest property news and updates. Go enlightenea.co.uk/blog
Would you like to live in the house of your dreams? Would you like to create a cozy home environment for yourself and your family?
Maybe you are looking for your ideal house but haven't found it yet? Perhaps none of the properties you've seen suit your requirements?
But I guess you will be very happy when you find the perfect house for you. Your excitement starts to build when you discover room by room that the house you are looking at is just the house you dreamed about for a long time. You are looking through the window into the beautiful garden. You take a deep breath in and instantaneously you notice the smell of the flowers and the freshness of the air. The whole of your body is filed with joy and absolute satisfaction as this the house you always wanted, and finally, after so many years looking for it – you found it.
Isn't that an amazing feeling?


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I have a confession to make.
I have a washer and a dryer inside my van.
It's kind of embarrassing. I mean, why on Earth would any sane person tote around a washing machine and a dryer in their van when laundromats are readily available? Or why not wash clothing by hand?
I have my reasons. To rattle them off quickly, I'm a weirdo magnet and hanging out at a laundromat makes me a sitting duck, I've had too many clothes ruined by spilled bleach at a communal laundry facility, and I'm far too much of a wuss to wash my clothing by hand.
So, for those of you wondering if having a washer and a dryer inside a van is possible, Yes! It's possible!
Possible, yes. Practical? Probably not. But you know me, I'm not going to let practicality stand in the way of my dreams.
I'm trying to figure out what questions you might have about my washer and dryer. If you have any questions that I haven't covered, feel free to ask in the comments.
What model do you have?
- Washing machine: The Laundry Alternative Miniwash
- Spin Dryer: The Laundry Alternative Nina Soft Spin Dryer
What's a spin dryer?
A spin dryer works by spinning clothes around really fast inside a drum and letting centrifugal force extract the water. The one that I bought gets clothes drier than the spin cycle on a standard washing machine, but by no means dry. I still have to hang my clothing up and let it air dry afterward.
How do you power them?
I plug them in to my 2000 watt inverter, which runs off my solar powered electrical system.
How much power does it use?
- Washing machine: 150 watts
- Spin Dryer: 136 watts
I can do four loads of laundry in the middle of the day, and according to my battery monitor, it only uses 2% of my battery.
How much can you wash at one time?
The mini washing machine can wash one complete change of clothes for a standard size adult female. To give you a better idea, here's a photo of everything I can fit in one load.
Does it save water?
Not really. It uses the same washing mechanics as a standard top-load washing machine, so the clothes have to be fully immersed in water in order for the agitator to be able to spin freely. A side load-washing machines uses much less water (per pound of clothing) than either a mini washing machine or a top-load washing machine.
Where do you get water?
For now, while I'm at my parents' house, I just use their water. On the road, since I have a 30 gallon fresh water tank, I'll be able to fill up wherever water is available. I also have a water filter, so if I really need to, I can filter water from a lake or a stream and use that.
You're staying at your parents' house and you still do laundry this way?
Yes, since I spend most days at home taking care of my dad (bedridden, dementia), I don't have a lot of laundry. And since California is desperate to save water, I figure it's a good way to recycle water. I let the grey water from both the washing machine and the spin dryer drain directly into the garden.
Does it take up a lot of space?
In a van, yes, the two units take up more space than I thought they would. However in a tiny home or a Class A RV, I imagine you'd have more than enough room for both units.
Can I use these indoors?
Yes, technically you can. However, transferring sopping wet clothing from the washing machine to the dryer can be very wet. In my opinion, it's more convenient to do it outside.
Does it really get clothes clean?
As far as I can tell, yes. I haven't tried washing anything with deep stains yet.
How do your clothes look when they come out?
Synthetic fabrics look great, however, thinner knits come out looking wrinkled. A standard heated tumbler dryer tends to shrink worn clothing back into their original shape, whereas the spin dryer does not do that—stretched out clothing remains stretched out. The spin dryer also does not have the ability to collect lint like a standard dryer does, so lint and hair tend to remain stuck to the clothing.
If, for some crazy reason (sarcasm), you're not on board with the idea of carrying a mini washing machine and a mini dryer around in your van, there exists a plethora of laundry options:
- Bucket and a plunger/hands – Cheapest, simplest option.
- Bucket and a Mobile Washer – Works better than a plunger.
- Scrubba wash bag – This is basically a dry bag with a few plastic nubs inside to help scrub the dirt out.
- Dry bag – This was originally designed for keeping packed clothing dry on water adventure trips; you can use them just like a Scrubba bag, but dry bags don't have the plastic nubs inside.
- The Laundry Alternative Wonderwash – This is basically a container with a water-tight lid; you tumble the entire container over with the help of a hand crank.
- Wonder Washer – Smallest electric mini washing machine I've seen.
- Mesh bag – Put your sopping wet clothing in a mesh bag, and twirl the bag in a circle, letting centrifugal force work its magic.
- Salad Spinner – I hear this works okay, but not great.
- Vapper dryer – This is basically a plastic bag and you place a hair dryer at the bottom. Seems like a good option for RVers who stay at RV parks and have access to shore power.
- Trash bag and a rubber band – Rig this up just like a vapper dryer and save yourself $19.
Washing + drying:
- Laundry Pod – This has a salad spinner-like design, but this is a step up because it has a drain.
- Panda Compact Washing Machine with Dryer – The most compact mini washing machine/spin dryer combo I've seen. Great for an RV if you have the room (but you'll still need a drying line).


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Images Courtesy of Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein hosted a private dinner on June 23, 2014 in honor of the brands' Mens Creative Director, Italo Zucchelli, to celebrate his Spring 2015 runway show in Milan.
The dinner was held at Carlo e Camilla in Segheria, one of the city's most exciting new restaurants. In addition to the editors and notables in attendance, those wardrobed in Calvin Klein Collection included actor Luke Evans, Los Angeles Laker Nick Young with musician Iggy Azalea, New York Giants' Victor Cruz, actor Jesse Metcalf and, Italian fashion blogger, Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad.
Each of the men wore looks designed by Mr. Zucchelli, while Iggy Azalea and Chiara Ferragni wore Calvin Klein Collection designed by Francisco Costa, the brands' Women's Creative Director.


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368 W. Huron St.
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Next, they incur the financial stress of their inability to work or go about paying their daily living expenses because of some type of legal claim. As their attorney, you have the responsibility of pursuing their legal claim but also of getting the client compensation for their legal claim.
While the claim is pending your client may be unable to pay their rent or other daily living expenses like providing for their families. You will receive phone calls from the client inquiring how long the case will take, when can it be settled, and what you can do to move the case along. This puts additional pressure on the attorney as the defendant or their insurance carrier sit back and try and wait the process out as long as they can to gain an advantage.
In the interim, your client gets more desperate, puts more pressure on you and in turn a case can be settled before you can get maximum value or worse yet they hire another attorney in hopes of getting the case resolved quicker.
At Advance Case Loans LLC, we understand your dilemma. We work with you and your client to help alleviate the stress and pressures of waiting out the litigation process. Our rates are competitive in the marketplace.
As a licensed financial institution, we offer the additional protection to you that we are complying with the laws of the State of Illinois Department of Financial Institutions. We try and work with your clients to help them get through this stressful time by providing financial assistance to those who are in need with the only collateral being their legal claim.
We make every effort to work with you and your client to make sure our loan does not interfere in your claim, but rather assist you, the attorney, to maximize the results. We understand what you, the attorney, have to do to achieve successful results.
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Mitchell and Webb Sound: Identity Theft
"Sit down Mr. Coleman, I am afraid I have got bad news about your
I am very sorry to say that someone's stolen your identity.
Oh God! Do you know who it was?
Well they said they were you, but
So, what happened?
Well it was on the bank website, someone logged in and committed identity theft electronically.
I see. Did they take anything else?
Oh good, so all the money is still there.
Its just my identity that's gone. None of your money?
Well no they did, they emptied your account. Its identity theft.
They took all the money. That sounds more like a bank robbery.
No No if only. Cause we could take the hit. No no, it was actually your identity that was stolen primarily. It's a massive pisser for you.
Identity Theft
But, its actually money that's been taken.
From you
Kind ofr
I don't know what you want from me, other than my commiserations.
No, you see, it was your identity, they didn't just …they said they were you.
And you believed them?
Yes they stole your identity.
Well, I don't know cause I think I have my identity, whereas you seemed to have lost several thousands of pounds. In the light of that I am not clear why you think its my identity that was stolen, rather than your money.
I know look a bit like that Mr. Coleman, but the sad part is that absolutely nothing has been taken from this multi billion pound, whereas what they have taken from you – a small business with a wife and children – is your whole self.
Hold up! Put the money in the bag.
You mean their identities.
Just give us the money.
Damn you, masquerading as dozens if not hundreds of customers. How dare you steal their identities?
Rights, lets move it.
Oh the humanity!"


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Leveling the Playing Field
Posted by Mary Caraccioli | Filed under Lifestyle, Personal Development, Sports Business, Videos
Golf is the game of business. This program, First Tee, is fantastic because it makes the game available to kids who have limited or no access to the sport. It also helps grow the game of golf by expanding the demographics of both participants and spectators.


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clodronate(redirected from Clodronic acid)
Also found in: Wikipedia.
clodronateOstac®, Bonefos® Metabolism A biphosphonate used to manage osteoporosis, Paget's disease of bone, cancer-induced hypercalcemia in Pts with prostate CA, myeloma and other CAs by regulating osteoclastic activity Therapeutic effect ↓ pain, risk of Fx, new bone metastases. See Osteoporosis.
Patient discussion about clodronate
Q. why is it bad to walk outside with wet hair after you have taken a shower , when it's clod out side? what can happen to me if i will do it ?
A. I've done this several times. The few times, my mother told me not to, I caught a cold.More discussions about clodronate


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Warriors have no picks in draft
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) If Kevin Love is on his way to Golden State, Warriors GM Bob Myers isn't telling.
With his team one of the many that has had discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves about Love, Myers declined Friday to speak specifically about the possibility of adding the three-time All-Star to a team that won 51 games last season. He said it was ''unlikely'' that the Warriors would make a significant trade before the draft Thursday, but also acknowledged that things could change on that front at a moment's notice.
''I will say if you asked me last year at this time would we be in a situation to grab an (Andre) Iguodala, I would have said the same thing,'' Myers said. ''I could get up from this (press conference) and five minutes later my phone rings and it's a deal that I hadn't thought of, and all of a sudden you're going down that path. Right now it's unlikely.''
The Timberwolves are considering moving the face of their franchise because Love can opt out of his contract after next summer and has made it clear to the team that he plans to sign elsewhere after missing the playoffs for the first six seasons of his career.
Flip Saunders, the Timberwolves' president and coach, has received interest from a number of teams, including the Warriors and Celtics, who could send Minnesota their two first-round picks in this year's draft - Nos. 6 and 17 - and a player or two in exchange for Love. The Rockets, Bulls and Cavaliers are among the other teams who could be interested in one of the best power forwards in the league.
Saunders is believed to be looking for a package highlighted by proven young veterans who could help the Wolves, who won 40 games last season but have missed the playoffs for 10 straight years, avoid yet another rebuilding phase.
The Warriors could send 23-year-old guard Klay Thompson, former All-Star forward David Lee and a first-round draft pick to the Wolves for Love and Kevin Martin, or Saunders could try to get the Warriors to include swingman Harrison Barnes in the deal as well.
Saunders also could elect to keep Love on the roster, make a couple of moves once the free agent market opens on July 1 and try to convince Love to change his mind next season and remain with the team.
Rumors about a potential trade involving Love picked up steam when former NBA player and current sports talk radio host Mychal Thompson, Klay Thompson's father, went on air earlier this week and said a deal appeared imminent.
Myers smiled when asked about it.
''Things are reported and immediately reported based on that initial report,'' Myers said. ''Sometimes things pick up speed. It's nice to be relevant, I suppose. But to be honest I prefer things not to be out there that are not actually accurate.''
New coach Steve Kerr spoke when he was hired about his desire to add ''a stretch 4'' - a power forward who could rebound and shoot 3-pointers - and Love is the best one in the league at the moment. He averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and shot 37.6 percent on 3-pointers last season and was voted a starter on the Western Conference All-Star team.
But one thing Myers is weighing is the possibility of making a big move and risking upsetting the chemistry of a tight-knit team versus staying the course and getting the young players on the roster to develop.
''I have a strong belief, as does our organization and ownership, that the more familiar you are with each other as teammates, the more chance you have to become ... the sum of the parts is better than each individual,'' he said. ''We believe in that. And that would lead you to think that grow organically is the best way to do it. But that doesn't preclude the organization, myself, from exploring anything. You have to. It's your job.''
If the plan to make any changes to their roster this offseason, it's not likely to happen as a result of the NBA draft.
For the second straight year they don't have a single pick in the draft. They traded their first-rounder to Utah last year as part of a deal to acquire Iguodala. The second-round pick was sent to Minnesota as part of another three-team deal.
''I don't think that we're necessarily in need of a pick,'' Myers said. ''Everything's pretty fluid so I never want to rule it out but I think it would be difficult to get one this year.''
AP Basketball Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.


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sire: Mack K's Knight Ranger
dam: Georgie Girl's Kizzie
Photos above taken May 2006. Young man riding her is 6'2".
Mitch Layne in Southest Missouri.
Email or Phone: 573-738-3513
Visit our Site
Born April 1, 1999 - An 8 year old sorrel mare with flaxen mane & tail.
She is a big mare standing at 16'1 hands.
She has good gait and has been trail ridden many times.
She is registered in the MFTHBA and the PSHR.
Her Pedigree
See her pedgree by clicking here or by clicking the pedigree thumbnail below.
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Wandsworth Borough Council held their regular meeting on 21 April, which included considering a list provided by the Officers and Servants Committee on employees of the council who were serving with the Forces or who had transferred to work in the arsenals or some other war-based work. The difference between Council "officers" and Council "servants" seems to have been largely down to the type of role they held and how senior it was. Clerks seem to have counted as "officers" and road-sweepers as "servants", although other references to staff make a distinction between permanent and temporary staff. The actual list is not included with the Council minutes or the minutes of the Committee, although the Council would have had to have kept careful records of staff who had joined up as they had promised to keep their jobs for them and to pay them the difference in their salary (for example, the salary books for Putney Library show them doing just that for William Mills) and when the Wandsworth Battalion was formed later in the year the file shows that the council produced a list of men who were eligible for military service but had not joined up. The Committee was concerned over being able to continue the full work of the Council, given that many staff were now serving, and proposed to the rest of the Council that a list of staff who were considered essential should be created.
The Council also decided that a section of the Wandsworth Cemetery should be set aside for members of the Forces who died in the 3rd London General Hospital or any of the other hospitals in Wandsworth. The War Office was to contribute to the cost of each interment. Wandsworth Cemetery is officially recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a war cemetery, there are five war plots from the First World War, with 477 graves Commonwealth War Graves across them and other parts of the cemetery. A further 115 war graves were added during the Second World War. There is more information and full details of all graves on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site.
Wandsworth Council minutes, ref: MBW/1/15


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What do you give as a stocking-filler to someone who loves cheese and wine? A book on cheeses, of course – especially one with a chapter on pairing wines with cheeses.
That's why I was delighted when I came across Alex and Léo Guarneri's A Year in Cheese. I knew Damon would love it.
Although the book isn't solely about French cheeses, the brothers run the Androuet cheese shop in London's Spitalfields, having moved to London from Paris. Their shop is the UK arm of an eight-strong network of fromageries in France.
Cheese, they argue, is seasonal. "It's really just like fruit, vegetables and meat," they say. "Every cheese has a time of year when it reaches its best."
The bulk of the book is divided into the four seasons.
In spring, cheeses such as goats' curd and Brillat-Savarin are at their freshest and most flavoursome. Summer is the top season for cheese, the brothers say, and this is when mozzarella and Fourme d'Ambert are best eaten.
Autumn is the time of semi-hard cheeses, including Tomme and Cheddar, while in winter, bolder cheeses such as Comté – Damon's favourite – and Reblochon come into their own.
"In winter, bolder cheeses such as Comté – Damon's favourite – and Reblochon come into their own"
Each chapter is packed with recipes to enjoy throughout the year. This could be a worthy successor to Edd Kimber's Pâtisserie Made Simple, which I gave Damon last year and which he used every month. I can only hope so.
With our future plans involving a possible venture into cheese and wine professionally, a year in cheese may well turn out to be a lifetime…


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Comprised of 16cm, 18cm and 20cm saucepans and 20cm and 28cm frying pans, this 5-piece set lets you quickly and easily cook a variety of meals. Made from heavy gauge aluminium, the pans in this set are equipped with a superior diamond non-stick inner coating, which reduces the need for oil.
A unique, granite-reinforced ice-textured exterior gives the pans added durability while also creating a visual feature for your kitchen, while riveted cast-steel look handles provide safe and comfortable handling. Suitable for all hob types, the pans in this set are also oven-safe up to 280 degrees, as well as dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.
1 year standard warranty.
Extend your warranty online for FREE and receive an additional 9 years.
Ratings Summary
5 out of 5
2 reviews


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It's Tuscany meets the OC. Somewhere beyond the trellised colonnades and beyond the ocean, the juiciest—orange and ripe—of Southern California sunsets bids farewell to another exquisite experience at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa. But there is another one coming, and another one—there seems to be no end to a stay's potential in such a place.
This Dana Point property, just a short drive away from Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano, is armed with all the distinctive St. Regis luxuries we've come to know and obsess over. There are fire pits for chilly nights and fountains adding soothing sounds to the evening, trams taking guests to the oceanfront 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed golf course and beach beyond, and of course, some of the most indulgent guestrooms and suites this side of paradise—large, cushy, and infinitely difficult to leave behind. In the Presidential Suite, there are fireplaces and a piano, too, as well as the biggest of bathrooms and a tub where not two but almost four can easily fit.
Despite a recent change of ownership, the resort, which is still managed by Starwood, "has not skipped a beat," says director of sales & marketing Michael Mustafa. "We're in tremendous shape and have maintained our five-star, five-diamond service level." The St. Regis Monarch Beach is the only property in California to hold those two honors, in fact.
This might be one of the easiest properties to sell to your luxury clientele.
the california touch There is a decidedly fun feel to this very elegant resort, no doubt in part to Mustafa, who has come up with Pure Seduction Thursdays, when the social scene heats up in the property's main bar and the most eclectic of Southern California characters saunter in for some dancing and imbibing. There is also Martini Mondays, with live music and drink-and-food pairing, and Tea and Tini Saturdays—a rascally twist on high tea.
One of the most exciting aspects of the St. Regis Monarch Beach, in fact, is that it's very much in tune with its community and draws much attention from the locals. Last year, says Mustafa, their annual tree-lighting event drew 1,800 people, and they expect similar numbers come Nov. 29. The holidays will bring their usual flurry of activity, including its Gingerbread House Academy, which takes place Dec. 5-20.
You can't really visit any St. Regis without having a food fling. Among the six restaurants here, one of the most popular is Motif. "Our Sunday brunch has quite a following," says Mustafa, referring to the weekly event loved for its pancake stations, lobster, champagne and many other surprises (Sunday brunch starts at $78 pp). The resort is also home to famous Stonehill Tavern, brainchild of chef Michael Mina, which offers sophisticated tavern fare and Mina's signature variations on a particular ingredient. The restaurant's new "Classic Tavern Suppers" offer a different $39 pp, 3-course tasting menu five days a week, starting with Fish & Chips on Wednesdays and wrapping up with Seafood Stew on Sundays.
surf butlers & spa Time spent at Spa Gaucin at St. Regis Monarch Beach is an affair to remember—a full submersion into luxurious pampering with services that rival any other you may have heard about—an Espresso Bath Soak, perhaps, or a Tuscan Shirodhara, in which warm grape seed oil is dripped onto one's forehead to create inner calm and relieve nervous tension. Friends can indulge in a number of packages such as Women Who Wine, which combines antioxidant wine facials and Mediterranean massages with a tasting of organic wines (priced at $395 pp, not including lunch or guestrooms). Even outside the spa, the property's surroundings inspire wellness, for which guided meditations, walks and guided "beach boot camps" are popular activities. Guests may also take their turn at an outdoor lap pool (one of several in the resort) with an underwater sound system or at the yoga strap wall in the fitness center with the help of a certified trainer. Moreover, Spa Gaucin Cafe serves decadent-healthy dishes made with all organic ingredients such as a watermelon and mint gazpacho and grilled Tasmanian trout.
Surf's up at St. Regis too, except here clients get a "surf butler" to help them out. Surf butlers provide individualized lessons and a bit more—they'll set clients up with the right-sized wetsuit and surfboard, check the water temperature and surf conditions for the day, offer on-land instruction—if necessary—or keep it simple with bodyboarding lessons instead. A 1-hour lesson is $85 for overnight guests.


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Thank you for interest in the "Simple Strategies for Building an Inclusive Work Environment for People with Disabilities" Webinar hosted by Springboard Consulting, LLC.
Please be sure that you are registering from the computer you will be using to attend the webinar. Your IP address will be captured at the time of registration ensuring that the webinar Log-in link will be unique to you.
To register, select from the options below, add to cart, follow the billing process, and check-out. You will receive an email confirming that we have received you registration. Webinar information and instructions will be sent three-days prior to the event.


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November 01, 2012
Yeah!!!!! It's the first day of November and I am sooo ready for the fall! In celebration of the harvest season, I'm happy to share this darling fall engagement of Taylor + Jennifer. The gorgeous background of this shoot is the University of Arkansas, where the couple met!
CREDITS // photography: Ashley + David Photography // makeup: Bo Senesomxay


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Twitter, the micro-blogging service which has taken the net by storm in the last year, has been given one of the most prestigious thumbs-ups ever – a recommendation for the Nobel Prize.
While at first glance it may seem odd that Twitter has been recommended for a prize which highlights people or services which promote peace, dig a little further and it's clear to see why.
The site was a mouthpiece for the recent Iran protests, and was active in helping those in Iran get their point across, when myriad other media services were shut-down amid the frenzy.
Window for the world
It's this reason that former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications for the Bush Administration Mark Pfeifle is putting the website forward for entry into the Nobel Prize short-list.
"When traditional journalists were forced to leave the country, Twitter became a window for the world to view hope, heroism, and horror," explained Pfeifle about his choice.
"Twitter has been criticised as a time-waster – a way for people to inform their friends about the minutiae of their lives, 140 characters at a time," he continued.
"But in the past month, 140 characters were enough to shine a light on Iranian oppression and elevate Twitter to the level of change agent."
Via The Telegraph


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When Carlington Community and Health Services (CCHS) holds its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm (at the Centre, 900 Merivale Road), a short history about T.P. Maxwell, the man after whom the Centre's building was named, will be part of the evening's program.
Thomas Paterson Maxwell (T.P. to his friends and associates) was a beloved member of the education community in Ottawa and in the Eastern Region of Ontario. He was a man who made his life happen in spite of very difficult early circumstances.
Orphaned at the age of 10 in Glasgow, Scotland, T.P. later came to Canada to work on a farm just north of Kingston as an indentured servant. After working for five years with no time for school, T.P. was given nothing when he left the farm in 1891 at age 18. He then went to school for the first time while working for another farmer.
Studying and working at the same time, T.P. passed his Sydenham Public School Leaving exams in 1892 and then qualified as a teacher in 1893. Continuing to combine teaching and his own education, he earned a B.A. from Queen's University in 1913. T.P. came to Ottawa in 1914 to teach at the School of Higher English and Applied Arts at Kent Street School.
Over the years, his colleagues had many positive things to say about T.P. Maxwell and his teaching. One of the school inspectors said, "Mr. Maxwell is one of the very best teachers I have ever met." Another said, "His discipline is excellent and is secured not by force but by getting the sympathy, goodwill, and respect of his pupils and by his methods of presenting his work to them."
After 26 years as an obviously successful and well-liked teacher, T.P. was appointed Inspector of Schools for Carleton County in 1921. In the following year, his name was given to the school on Merivale Road that now houses Carlington Community and Health Services.
T.P. Maxwell retired in 1945 after almost 50 years of service to the teaching profession. He was honoured at a special banquet at the Chateau Laurier with more than 200 of his fellow teachers and associates from the Ontario Department of Education.
One of T.P. Maxwell's favorite sayings was, "If you want a helping hand, look at the end of your arm!" When we look at the end of our CCHS arms, we find members of our community. At the Centre we strive to work with mutual respect, team work, and collaboration with these community members. With the help of these many diverse hands, anything can happen!


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The problem runs deep. Officials are calling it "systemic," meaning not just a couple of isolated cases of malfeasance but a matter of culture that permeates the entire massive U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It has also been dubbed "endemic," in other words, the natural state of this organization - like a meth baby whose entire body has been poisoned because of the mother's drug habit.
"Cooking the books," as President Obama so eloquently put it, or purposefully altering the records for the timely treatment of veterans, has resulted in more than 40 deaths. That's what can be documented, but the true number is surely far greater.
Secretary Eric Shinseki is a decorated American war hero with an outstanding record for getting things done. If someone of his stature, with six years on the job, cannot wrestle this problem to ground, who can?
This isn't something that can be solved by firing the secretary. Obama won't be able to fix it. Bush couldn't fix it. Congress? Forget it. With more than 300,000 full-time employees and an annual budget of $140 billion, it is a bureaucratic behemoth that won't be tamed.
What is the source of the culture that encourages deceit to such magnitude? A main culprit is the unionization of federal employees. There are many federal worker unions, the largest being the American Federation of Government Employees under which the VA employees union falls.
The biggest problem: The system is rigged against the termination of employees. With that in place, mediocrity and incompetence are guaranteed. In fact, unionization of government employees - at any level - insures the taxpayers are going to get soaked and the quality of services delivered will continue to erode. Experts in cooking the books to present productivity in the best light are those who are promoted up the chain.
The VA barely holds a candle to our national education system - another shining example of the destructive power unions wield over innovation and individual achievement. Once the domain of the states, our schools have been sucked asunder by federal programs, federal money and a system of organized labor that values administrative jobs over young minds.
There are many conscientious folks at the VA who strive to provide excellent services (I have nothing but praise for the center in Columbus, Ohio, and what they have done for my father). But 26 facilities are now under investigation and egregious practices have been chronicled for years. Perhaps the only silver lining in this tragedy is the sneak peek it gives of Obamacare as the single-payer insurance system many Democrats advocate.
The solution lies in moving in the opposite direction: Privatization. There is no convincing argument for our government to be running hospitals or outpatient clinics. Replace the cabinet-level secretary with a director that oversees coordination and the issuance of vouchers to our vets. While we're at it, let's dismantle the Department of Education and relegate the authority back to the states - where it rightfully belongs.
Can a big federal government deliver effective solutions to 300 million Americans? That's a notion disproved once again.
Columnist Michael Raymond can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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I can't stand bees. I'm highly allergic. Just thinking about them makes my throat more than a little itchy. ACK! But I can't think of a better parallel to how life has been in recent days. So, yes, dear readers, I will say I have been a busy, busy bee.
Amelia Earhart
My semi-mockery of a prayer for Librarians
Libraries and sustainable design
I can't really make that up. It's true as true can be. Maybe I just need to focus on an Amelia Earhart blog. If my cheese post becomes most popular, then I'm really going to question my career choice.


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Remi Rust Jumper
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By Theresa Pugh, Theresa Pugh Consulting, LLC
Before you toss this edition of American Coal against the wall or speed dial ACC, I ask you to read this article in its entirety.
There are many positive reasons to generate electricity with natural gas. However, there are some operational issues and future – perhaps short term – challenges in infrastructure that could affect localized natural gas-fired generation (combined cycle generation or NGCC) reliability. Let me be clear. I am not predicting any national grid reliability issues, black outs, or brown outs with natural gas generation. And if you are in Texas with its extraordinary natural gas abundance, scores of compressor stations, and pipelines, you can skip to the next article. This article is for the rest of the country.
The convergence of the two industries, electric and gas, should inspire utility managers, fuel managers, and system planners to carefully think about the transition from coal to gas. Operational factors and timing should be weighed when contemplating keeping a coal plant or retiring it.
These infrastructure factors are outside the power plant's fence line. As a result, for some regions of the country, decisions can look like three-dimensional chess. Weighing local infrastructure readiness against continued environmental compliance costs at coal plants is why I'm glad I'm not a power sector CEO.
In states that lack mature and robust natural gas infrastructure delivery (gas storage, pipelines and compressor stations), there might be a tipping point for over-reliance upon natural gas in the short term given the electric sector's special requirements for localized reliability. This is not an argument against natural gas—but for a focus on infrastructure readiness.
Without knowing enough about the infrastructure components, some regions might move too quickly from coal to gas. Perhaps areas could also move too fast from coal to intermittent renewables backed up by NGCC gas plants if public pressure minimizes natural gas usage. Too many intermittent renewables (wind and solar) means following wild (California) combined cycle ramping cycles. New NGCC units can ramp with agility but tighter ozone (smog) regulations on NOx might limit future NGCC approvals. While the NOx emissions may be less than from larger coal plants, they might be emitted at lower stack heights than coal plants. It seems counter-intuitive but permit approval might not be automatic to convert from coal to NGCC at some sites due to future ozone regulations. NOx regulations might also limit placement of new pipeline compressor stations serving the NGCC plant and other customers.
Power plants might face some unexpected and localized downtime for natural gas delivery at individual plants because either a gas storage facility or local compressor stations/pipelines are under repair. Again, this is NOT a prediction of electric grid instability or threats to the Bulk Electric System (BES). This is about individual units with localized impacts. Some regions might be wise to keep some diversity in generation if the gas storage, pipelines and compressor stations aren't ready.
There are two new regulatory drivers in the natural gas storage industry and the pipeline/compressor station sector that mean an unknown period of localized repair downtimes. The more significant is U.S. DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) natural gas storage regulation. The second is EPA's "OOOOa" methane leak detection and repair regulation for new pipelines and compressor stations commenced after September 18, 2015. The Trump administration says it will review EPA's 2016 methane regulation. And a very recent announcement suggests that PHMSA wants to give the pipeline and storage industry more time for PHMSA compliance. Regardless of whether the compliance time is two years or two months, electric utilities need to be savvy about the consequences.


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An Approved Panel of Suppliers to Rosedale House an Exclusive Wedding and Party Venue
Click on an arrow to see the choices available on the suppliers panel. When planning your party or event, please choose from our approved panel of suppliers. All suppliers have been vetted and approved by us and only those on our panel can be used for your party or event.
|Rachel Henderson
Rachel is a completely independent Celebrant, accredited and trained by the IIOC (Irish Institute of Celebrants) so, She can create fully customised ceremonies in accordance with the couple's wishes. She can only do the ceremony not the legal piece, unfortunately. Rachel is working on her new website, she can, however, be contacted on;
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|Joe Armstrong.
Joe Armstrong was accredited as a Humanist celebrant in July 2013. I'm really happy and privileged to be a Humanist celebrant. After spending time in a Catholic religious congregation, I went on to become an editor, journalist, teacher, author and publisher. I have lived a varied life that has given me insight into the lives of real people with real needs.
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An anti-establishment professor and his approval-seeking son enter into a heated competition against one another when their roles are suddenly reversed. Rising up through the ranks, Uriel always relied on recognition to fuel his sense of self-worth. His father, on the other hand, always shunned the spotlight. But when his father learns he is about to receive the highest honor rewarded in his field, the older man's vanity is revealed for all to see. Meanwhile, Uriel's intense jealousy drives him to...more
82 out of 100 Metascore®
Universal acclaim
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Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2020 FANDANGO MOVIES.


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The only thing left of the Earth is a space shuttle and a bombed-out looking car, in the first episode of Odyssey 5, a show about humans who travel back in time to prevent the destruction of Earth. The Canadian Odyssey 5 is a great example of the way a non-US show can compensate for its low budget. The actual destruction of the Earth isn't much to look at, but the floating car is an arresting image. (Is it an SUV? A PT Cruiser? Help us, car experts!)
Odyssey 5 is one of two shows which start with the total destruction of Earth. (Click through for the other one.)
The other one, of course, is Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The only lame part of the Odyssey 5 pilot is the kindly old man from outer space who rescues the last few humans, on the space shuttle. He sends their memories back in time, so their five-years-ago selves remember the destruction of Earth. It's a bit cheesy, but could be the set-up for a cool show. Too bad it only lasted one season.


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Hey all,
I've created a State of the Network page to summarize what we are doing and how we are doing it. I hope that this is a good compliment to the About page as well as the Get Involved page, though there may be some overlap for the time being.
We have received a lot of interest in Philly Mesh this week, and I hope this new page helps provide more information to newcomers.
As always, come chat with us if you have any questions or want to say hi!


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Author(s): Paulo Coelho
World-renowned author Paulo Coelho has inspired millions with bestselling classics like The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, and Manuscript Found in Accra, Adultery, and most recently, The Spy. Now, with this 2018 day planner, the same wisdom that draws readers to his books time and time again can serve as a source of daily inspiration year round. Available in English and Spanish, Freedom (Libertad) features moving and revealing quotes by internationally beloved author Paulo Coelho. More than your average planner, readers can begin each day with a word of wisdom, receive spiritual food-for-thought as they navigate through their everyday lives, and have Coelho be their guide as they plan and embark on their own travels and personal journeys.
Paulo Coelho is the author of many international best sellers, including The Pilgrimage, The Alchemist, The Fifth Mountain, Eleven Minutes, Aleph, and Manuscript Found in Accra. In 2007, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2009, he received the Guinness World Record for the Most Translated Author for The Alchemist.CATALINA ESTRADA marveled at the lush, vibrant nature of her native Colombia as a child. Now an internally renowned illustrator living in Barcelona, Catalina has not forgotten her roots. The same wide-eyed wonder is still evident in her world, with its elegant explosions of colour.


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In modern day world, one of the most popular technologies is known as Artificial Intelligence which is basically the theory and understanding of machines. Do you want to know what is AI course and what can you learn through it? Well, in Artificial Intelligence courses, you can study how to develop computer programs that makes machines smarter to perform the tasks that usually requires kind of human intelligence like language translation, visual perception, speech recognition, decision making etc.
How to Study Artificial Intelligence?
There are a number of ways to study Artificial Intelligence but the best of all is MOOCs which stands for massive open online courses. EdX, Coursera, Udemy and various other popular websites allow you to take MOOCs. You might also learn about it through articles as well as video tutorials but specifically designed courses would get you much deeper and clearer understanding of the subject. For example, if you are looking for essay writing service, you will not be ready to get just the random assistance from any writer but you would rather look for someone expert in writing essays.
Why to Learn AI Online?
If you are someone with a full time job or studying to get a regular degree at a college or university, you might prefer to take a regular course in Artificial Intelligence which requires you to spend simply few hours every week. It is possible but most of the courses that are tough at colleges or universities will cost you a lot especially when they are delivered by qualified and experienced AI Professionals. Therefore, if you really wish to study it, online AI Courses could be the best option for you. To help you find the best courses, we are giving details of some of the most courses available online:
Coursera's Artificial Intelligence Courses
On Coursera's website, you can easily find variety of courses which will allow you to choose the one that fits best in your available timeframe and budget. Some of the specialization courses that we found are:
- Deep Learning – 5 Courses Specialization
- Machine Learning – 4 Courses Specialization
- Structuring Machine Learning Projects
- Neutral Network for Machine Learning
- Control of Mobile Robots
Udacity – Intro to Artificial Intelligence
At Udacity, you can find a free course that will give you an introduction of Artificial Intelligence. In this particular course, you will be able to learn about the basic fundamentals of AI Technology. This course includes:
- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
- Fundamental of AI
- Applications of AI
- AI development
EdX – Artificial Intelligence Course
This is an exclusively designed course carried out by the Professor Ansaf Salleb-Aouissi, Department of Computer Science, Columbia University. The AI Artificial Intelligence Online Course includes the basic fundamentals of AI that will help you solve problems occurring in real world. In this course, you will be able to learn:
- Intro to Artificial Intelligence
- History of Artificial Intelligence
- Building Artificial Intelligence Agents
- AI Applications
- Solution to AI Related Problems
Udemy – Artificial Intelligence A-Z Course
At Udemy, various courses about Artificial Intelligence can be found and one of them is AI –A-Z course which as gained 4.4 ratings. In this course, you can learn
- Building of Artificial Intelligence
- Understanding of Theories
- Solution to Real World Problems
- Deep Q Learning
- Mastering the AI Models
Class Central – Artificial Intelligence | Free AI Online Courses
Class Central is another great place to find and study courses about Artificial Intelligence from top most colleges and universities. Some of the courses that you find at Class Central are:
- Principles of Machine Learning
- Machine Learning – Stanford University
- Neural Networks and Deep Learning
- Machine Learning for Musicians and Artists


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Da Vinci's Demons - Lara Pulver interview (exclusive)
Interview by Rob Carnevale
LARA Pulver talks exclusively about playing Clarice Orsini in Da Vinci's Demons and getting to work with its visionary creator David S Goyer.
She also reflects on her career to date, including roles in Sherlock and Spooks, and looks ahead to playing the role of Ann Fleming in Sky drama Fleming. Da Vinci's Demons airs on Fox from 10pm on Friday, April 19, 2013.
Q. What does landing the role of Clarice Orsini mean to you?
Lara Pulver: It has been a challenge and introduced me to the wonderful relationship of working with David S Goyer.
Q. What did you like about Clarice?
Lara Pulver: What's been brilliant about her is that I've never played before a woman who is so comfortable in her own skin. Normally, you're playing someone's dysfunctions or a very layered, complex person. That's not to say she's simple in any way. She's very layered but she is very confident in who she is, having been brought up by a noble family. She's just very secure with who she is. So, when she says things, or her actions… nothing's ever contrived and she's not manipulative in any way. She can be seen and not heard for three or four episodes, as we see in the first season, and yet when someone asks for her advice or she feels she needs to step up for the love and protection of her family or the city of Florence, she is bang on the nose. She is an astute, shrewd business woman and politician.
Q. How much did you know of her before playing her?
Lara Pulver: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I knew of the Medici family. I obviously knew of Leonardo Da Vinci, the artist that painted the Mona Lisa, but it wasn't until the project kind of came my way that I started looking into the conflict between Rome and Florence and how that impacted on their marriage and everything else… and the church.
Q. From what I can gather, she was also viewed as a bit of an outsider as well. Florence didn't necessarily take to her…
Lara Pulver: No, they didn't greet her with open arms and I think it's because she was from a very religious background and she was coming in and taking a place of royalty, in a sense, within Florence. But her background conflicted with the free-thinking, Bohemian way of life that was being discovered and unearthed in Florence.
Q. A lot of people credit characters with being ahead of the time, whereas Clarice seems to have been very much of the moment… She was almost in conflict with those that were ahead of their time. Is that fair to say?
Lara Pulver: Possibly, yes. Like you say, she sits there like a solid rock or a pin… or like a compass in that sense.
Q. How historically accurate does the series remain? Or does it take certain liberties?
Lara Pulver: I'd say that we're about 70-75% historically accurate. David Goyer is an encyclopaedia of the Renaissance time and these characters that he's created, he's an artist and a scientist and a genius [laughs]. But we do have that kind of theatrical, dramatic licence to play with.
Q. Where did you look for your own research? And how closely did you work with David?
Lara Pulver: I met David originally in Los Angeles when the project was first casting. Originally, I was meeting him for the role of Lucrezia, played by Laura Haddock, and he was writing this character, which was a principal character that he was bringing in kind of midway through the season that would end up being very prominent in the show. At the time, when the offer came, there was nothing on the page really about her. David said to me: "I've done this once before with Jack Davenport on Flash/Forward. And I'm asking you to take a risk on signing up to do this job and trusting me that I will write for you!" I was like: "Oh my God! What a predicament!" David Goyer was asking me to come on board for what looks like a fantastic show and the first two episodes read really well, and yet I had no idea what was in store for me or my character! So, it was literally walking in blind.
Q. Is that the first time you've ever done anything like that?
Lara Pulver: Yeah.
Q. Is it in any way freeing, to a certain extent? How nervous were you?
Lara Pulver: It's lovely because you relinquish control and you work much more on instinct. Obviously, we get the scripts in advance. But I didn't have prep time on her specifically. It was more the culture, the politics, the period and working a lot with the costume designer, Annie Symons, and that side of things, which was really interesting. So, it wasn't until I could own her words that I could feel who this woman was, which was unnerving at times. But when you've got a great writing team it's there on the page for you to inhabit her.
Q. And does having a background in theatre help with that?
Lara Pulver: Um, I'd like to think that I'm quite a playful actress in that sense. I'm used to throwing the ball at people and being very spontaneous, having worked a lot in live theatre, which I think for episodic TV is sometimes very useful because I can give the team maybe four different takes that offer them a lot of variety, so that when they get to the edit if we've had that beat previously, we can play something else because I've given it to them. And that's a skill that I've learnt from Martin Freeman, to be honest, on Sherlock. He's brilliant at just playing extremes. You'll do 10 takes opposite him and he'll give you every colour in the rainbow of what you could possibly use. And then when we go in for the close-ups, Martin will just check in with the director to find out which one he was feeling to make sure he gives him that option. When you're learning from people like that, it's not a bad place to learn your craft.
Q. Were you able to adopt that approach when working with David?
Lara Pulver: What I loved about David, just in the audition, was that he'd say: "Look, I don't know if this is right but how about if we tried playing the scene like this…" And he'd give me a complete curveball and turn the scene completely on its head. That's really interesting for me as an actress. So, instantly I remember calling my agent after the meeting and saying: "If this project doesn't work out, let's definitely work with David in the future." Because what I loved is that he was brave enough and trusting enough in me to go, "here, do that with it", and let me just roll with it. Now often, with the nature of filming schedules, you don't have time to do that many takes, especially with episodic TV. So, it's nice to know that you're on the same page as your creator where he'll just throw you a word or something and you can kind of run with it.
Q. How was working with fellow Brit Tom Riley? And how gratifying is it that two British actors have such an awareness in the US from someone like David Goyer?
Lara Pulver: I can't wait to hopefully do a season two so that Tom and I have more to do. I'd say Tom and I work in a very similar way. We're good listeners and can, as I say, bounce off of each other. We had a lovely scene to do in episode three or four. You're just tasting what those two character's relationship could be and it was really electric and exciting. We did a chemistry test read together before I was offered the role and, again, the sparks were flying. It was really, really lovely to play off him. He's really instinctual and very spontaneous, and yet he is in every scene and has every bit of dialogue, in the same way Benedict [Cumberbatch] did in Sherlock. They're driving, they're leading the show, and it's wonderful not only to be able to support them in that task because it's exhausting, but also to kind of muck in and join them and be really playful with them.
As for the gravitas of someone like David, it just opens people's eyes as to where we're at with television. If you look at the last few years, you've had [Martin] Scorsese doing the pilot episode of Boardwalk Empire. Movie-makers are crossing the genres just as much as actors now. I just read that John Malkovich is going to be in a new TV show. It's so exciting because television is thriving right now. So, it's wonderful to kind of collaborate with people like David.
Q. How do you feel about the emphasis that's now being put on whether a show will be picked up for a second season? The reporting of it almost turns the whole renewal thing into a lottery, especially for freshman series. So, does that ever enter your mind when committing to something new?
Lara Pulver: Someone once said to me you're only as good as the last take you do. So, for us as actors, or my mind-set, is that you do a bloody good job when you're on set, you knock it out of the park, and just hope that good work will always breed more work, whether that's a second season or whether it's that the phone rings because someone watched Sherlock and someone wants to offer you a new Warner Bros movie. With this profession, as I'm sure it is for yourself sometimes being self-employed, it can turn on a dime. One phone call can just change your day and change your life. Who knows whether we'll go for a second season but I think we're all enormously proud of what we've achieved in this first season.
Q. What was the biggest lesson you learned from your experience on Da Vinci's Demons?
Lara Pulver: For me, personally, it's such an ensemble show and what was wonderful and also disconcerting at times was that you'd shoot maybe three or four scenes a day for three or four days and then you wouldn't work for a week. It was kind of like an all or nothing shoot where, you know, we've got so many wonderful lead characters and supporting characters on the show, and you would have no idea what they were doing. There are characters in the show that I never meet in season one. It's kind of disconcerting… are we all on the same page with the show? And it was so interesting to then see them at a cast dinner and go: "How have you been finding this? Have you been enjoying it?" But everyone was having such a whale of a time. You just had to be kind of confident that you were doing your bit and be okay that what you did was enough. Having come from a theatre background, you're used to being in every day and having that little bit of control and that little bit of the feeling that you've grafted. Sometimes when it comes to an ensemble TV show you'll come in and you'll do your 14-hour day and then you won't be needed for three or four days and you're like: "Oh what? The production can go on without me? And you don't need me to sweat blood and tears today?" [Laughs] And on other days they demand that and 10 times more. It's kind of odd that all or nothing thing. So, whether that's patience… I don't know what it is. But when you're needed, you're 'on' and when you're not, it's okay.
Q. How much of a game-changer was Sherlock for you?
Lara Pulver: It was the game changer so far I would say. I'd say I've had two kind of really lovely steps. One was being at the Donmar Warehouse in a production of Parade, which opened the door for me to transfer to America, and then Sherlock took me into the next field. I think as an actor you're just waiting for that vehicle that you can really flex your muscles with. It was just a gift. It was written so well. Paul McGuigan shoots that show with such finesse and style and Benedict and I just… it worked. Something worked. I remember even up until it airing I was a bit apprehensive because there were so many fans of the show who loved the fact that Sherlock was asexual or possibly gay and I thought: "God, coming in as the love interest, I might be the hated woman." Fortunately, it didn't turn out that way. Again, credit to the way it was written I think. And then, Akiva Goldsman, who has just made his directorial debut, an Oscar-winning writer, called and said: "Would Lara come and do this supporting role in my film?" It's just opened so many doors and I can't wait to have the time in the schedule to embrace those opportunities.
Q. Were you surprised by the controversy surrounding Sherlock?
Lara Pulver: With that 90-second scene? Yes, in a way because naively I remember reading the script and no flags came up when reading that scene because it was so brilliantly written that it was just a moment in her journey. Now, filming it was the most bizarre day of my life! But when I watched it on New Year's Day, and we all went round to Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue, my producer's house, not for a second did I think that would be the scene that everyone would want to discuss because you actually saw more of Benedict in the Buckingham Palace scene than you ever did of myself [laughs]. And yet… yeah, it became a bit of a phenomenon. I remember someone later telling me that that episode is the most downloaded episode of all-time on BBC iPlayer, by over 2-point something million. And I remember a journalist saying to me: "How many people have probably paused and played that scene?" And I was like [screams] because it didn't stand out for me. For me, the moment where he deciphers the code in her phone was more of a powerful scene for me. But I guess it's the bravery or the nudity that people wanted to…
Q. I think it was the nudity…
Lara Pulver: But Sherlock is such a well loved show internationally that I think the second you write an article on feminism or violence on television and mention anything to do with Sherlock, you're guaranteed a certain number of hits on the Internet. So, I think it was for about eight months that I was in the press every day in one form or another – that picture was in the press because they would use it tying in with any sort of article they could relate to Sherlock. But they have huge fans and a huge following on that show.
Q. So, how much fun was it getting into her mindset?
Lara Pulver: It was so much fun. I don't think I've ever had so much fun on a job. I think it was a combination of them not expecting season one to be such a hit, so they were all riding the crest of that wave, and going into what they felt was an even stronger season two. They had already filmed episodes two and three and were doing it out of sequence and finishing off with A Scandal in Belgravia. So, I was entering their final table read of season two and I think I was in a place, as well, where I was just up for the challenge and it was sheer joy. Sue Vertue and Beryl Vertue, the producers, are so wonderful at creating a very family-orientated, safe environment for you to just go and do your job. It was like being back at the playground and being able to get into the dress-up box and the world was your oyster [laughs].
Q. Did you have to audition? And was there a chemistry test involved?
Lara Pulver: I sent a soft tape across from Los Angeles, which they responded to, and I then flew back to London and did a chemistry test with Benedict and got the job the next day and two days later was doing the table read.
Q. Chemistry tests always sound daunting to me. Is there a technique for cracking them?
Lara Pulver: Yeah, David Goyer actually gave me a little bit of insight into this. I'm not sure if it was a movie or a project that he was doing but he auditioned the female lead and the male lead and he said they were both very sensual, sexy individuals. They cast them, they got them on set together, and they just as two people didn't get each other. And I think when you're building a show, especially if it's a new TV show or a movie, and you don't buy the core relationship you're doomed. And so these chemistry tests have recently become more and more popular. It's something that you can't necessarily control and I think you need to be okay if it doesn't work out because actually it would probably be hell on earth if you were with someone that you didn't really gel with for six months. I've been really lucky that I've worked with Tom Riley, Benedict Cumberbatch, I've just come off a shoot with Dominic Cooper, and every single one of them has been so easy to work with and be intimate with and do ridiculously uncomfortable, intimate, sensual scenes with! So, I've been really, really fortunate. But I think also as a person, without blowing my own trumpet, I'm very good at supporting my male counterpart. I understand there is an ego involved [laughs].
Q. How much did you take away from your scenes with Benedict? And are you looking forward to seeing him play the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness?
Lara Pulver: It's extraordinary. I saw him probably a month ago at the LA BAFTA tea party and he is the talk of that town right now. He is just on fire. And it's so wonderful for a guy who has worked, probably for about 12 years very steadily and quietly… he's having his time. And it's lovely to see. It was an absolute pleasure to work with him. He was a gentleman, he is a genius, he would come out with words that I'd have to stop him mid-sentence to explain what the hell he just said to me [laughs]! But what was lovely was the camaraderie between him and Martin, because Martin is just that one word, one quip comedian, and it would just bring Benedict slap bang to earth. The duo they've created on-screen… I remember seeing that Buckingham Palace scene where they're having tea and him not wearing underpants, it's glorious. That's them! So, the fact that they're both doing so incredibly well is brilliant.
Q. Could you make a comeback in future seasons?
Lara Pulver: They did the table read yesterday for the first episode of season three and when Mark Tweeted it I got butterflies in my belly because it took me back to 18 months ago when I was doing my table read. I trust them that they'll either leave me as a one episode wonder or they'll bring her back in some form very slyly or cleverly. But I don't believe that she'll be in season three as far as I know.
Q. I wonder if they'll keep hold of them any longer than season three given how in-demand they are?
Lara Pulver: I think, to be honest, they both love playing those roles and love working together, so if they can keep it going for 10 years and they just keep coming back every 18 months or two years to do it, it'll be wonderful and I think it'll end up being one of those duos that we're very proud of within British television.
Q. How was being part of the final season of Spooks?
Lara Pulver: It was a bit bittersweet because I literally got my feet under the table and then we found out about two thirds of the way through that it was going to be the final season. It was lovely to go out with a bang and to be part of historical British television. And yet we'd barely got started. However, I think they were right to bring it to a close when they did. They'd had 10 brilliant seasons. And when I look over some of the cast like David Oyelowo, Anna Chancellor, Matthew Macfadyen… it's extraordinary… Rupert Penry-Jones and Richard Armitrage. All of them have gone on to extraordinary things. So, to be a part of that kind of family was really, really nice. And just to work with Peter Firth, who is a hoot. He's naughty and he's very, very funny.
Q. Did you enjoy doing the action scenes in that?
Lara Pulver: Yeah, very much. And some of the action stuff was really fun. Kind of being a part of that procedural-type spy world. You have to do all the character work yourself because what you're delivering is often expositional.
Q. Did you talk to any former spies?
Lara Pulver: Yeah and also because they'd done the show for so long, they were brilliant at saying: "Look, this is a good way to come in at this stuff." Or: "This is where we're heading with this." What was wonderful was they knew that I had a very physical theatre background. Chris Fry, the producer, was very keen on getting me doing lots of stunt stuff and getting me to hang out of reversing cars… all that stuff that you wouldn't normally get to do – firing Walther PPKs! It was being back in the playground type stuff.
Q. Talking of spies, you're now involved with the world's most famous spy [Fleming]…
Lara Pulver: I am! The ultimate spy. We've just wrapped on the Budapest leg of Fleming and, like Sherlock and Da Vinci's Demons, it's just a gift of a role… an absolute gift. The one thing that is so different from playing Clarice Orsini in Da Vinci's Demons is that Ann Fleming is so dysfunctional and so acts out of her kind of wounds. I remember reading the four parts of the script and thinking: Why is this woman putting herself in this situation again? Why is she setting herself up for this fall? And yet the second I did research on Ann Fleming and realised that she'd lost her mother when she was 18 and had been raised by quite a strict and sometimes, you could call it abusive nanny and passed around like an aristocratic waif, showed little love or affection, vomited the first time her boyfriend, at 16, kissed her because she hadn't been used to someone being in her physical space… I thought: "Oh, no wonder this woman ends up mistaking a very animalistic, sadistic relationship with love! No wonder!" And that's how I come to most of my characters. If I understand their choices, then anything goes.
Q. What was it like working with Dominic on some of the more intense stuff? I gather it's going to offer a darker look at the life of Ian Fleming?
Lara Pulver: Yeah. I think what was really interesting is that… I guess it would have been diagnosed as depressed or bi-polar now. Nowadays, if we were to analyse his personality… and what's brilliant is that this four-parter doesn't shy away from any of that behaviour. Dominic was wonderful. What's brilliant about Dom is that he's charming and a good looking chap and yet there's this danger about him. He was just so lovely to work with. Some of our stuff is very intimate and also emotionally gruelling. I've never, fortunately, been in an abusive relationship and, at times, I was throwing glasses at his head and going crazy at him, to the point where he was having to hold me down on the sofa and slap me across the face to get me out of that mindset, and then, within seconds, they're then making love to each other. They work at such kind of extremes. And then they would say 'cut' and I, Lara, would want to burst into tears because it was such… it was alien and also the adrenaline. It's so energy consuming and exhausting to live that type of a life. So, it was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. It's also a love story what we've created over those four parts, which is something that I think has not been portrayed before.
Q. So, how easy is it for you to let go of a character at the end of the day? Do you live with them 24/7 or are you good at flicking that switch?
Lara Pulver: [Laughs] I'm not Daniel Day-Lewis! I think I'm pretty good at taking the costume off and leaving the character at work. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that I don't come home and feel utterly exhausted or highly emotional some days because I invest a lot in my work. Also, I miss that character. I've been off of Fleming now for just under a week and I actually miss Ann Fleming because she's so much fun. And she gets away with so much. The cast and crew… it's bizarre, our job. We push pause on our lives, we fly to foreign countries, we invest so much and work so hard and get so intimate with a group of people, and then they say 'that's a wrap' and you push play on your life and there's a middle part of the sandwich, or a tunnel or bridge that you have to kind of walk back over before you can hit play. And sometimes that entails just literally taking a holiday or just having a day's breather. I think it's probably different for everyone. But it is bizarre what we do.
Q. As enjoyable as it is, especially being in-demand, it is more demanding on your personal life than perhaps a lot of people give you credit for? This seems to be your time when you probably don't dare say 'no' to anything. So, personally, do you have to put all other things on hold to be available when that phone rings?
Lara Pulver: I feel really lucky because I'm riding the wave, like you say right now, at a time where I don't have kids or a family or anything else to juggle. There's just my partner and I, and he's also an actor, and we just are hugely supportive of one another and know that a month apart is just part of the gig. I'm lucky that with my partner I've never felt so, with someone, connected with them and yet been 5,000 miles away from them. And I think that probably comes with age, experience, wisdom, a whole bunch of things. But then I see someone like my sister who works in a school as a maths teacher, who is having to come home and do coursework and she's got two children, and some days I think what she's doing is a damn sight more gruelling [laughs]. But I think we get it in these bursts, like you say, where it's so intense for, say, six weeks or three or four months and I think it's navigating and negotiating that so that it doesn't end up being massive highs and massive lows. I think what I've been able to do in the last year or two is kind of level out that adrenaline somewhat, where you can enjoy the highs but you can also enjoy the down-times without them feeling remotely depressing or lonely. But maybe that's because I'm doing well right now, so it's hard to be objective I guess in that sense. But I wouldn't change it for the world.
Q. What's the thing that you most love about this profession?
Lara Pulver: You get to meet some of the most interesting, quirky, extraordinary people because one day you're shaking hands with royalty, who are coming to see an opening night of a stage show you're involved in, and the next minute you are meeting Ed, the production designer on Da Vinci's Demons, who comes from Swansea, grew up in Swansea, is on the board of Swansea FC, and has for the first time had to go back to his home town to work and is therefore insistent on employing local craftsmen, local workmen, and integrating our industry into the community of Swansea, which has ploughed money back into a struggling city, which has allowed for work experience and internship placements for people to come and work with the props department for a few weeks or the costume department. It's so diverse the people that you get to meet and collaborate with in this job, from very eccentric actors to… and I love that because I think I genuinely love people and learn something from people every day.
Q. You started in theatre. Will you keep going back to theatre?
Lara Pulver: Absolutely! I was privileged to be asked to go and do a Chekhov play last year opposite Roger Allam, do go and do Uncle Vanya, and it kind of re-ignited the bug. There's a possibility hopefully of doing something in the West End next year. But you just never know.
Q. What do you love about theatre as opposed to TV and film work?
Lara Pulver: I love the fact that you get a rehearsal period so you get to come maybe knowing nothing or thinking you know everything. By week three, you think you have it; by week four, you're failing miserably and blaming everyone but yourself [laughs], by week five you're in tech, if you're so lucky to have a five-week period. And somehow it all comes together and it's what it's meant to be and that journey is just wonderful. It's also having that immediate response. It's wonderful when you have it on a TV set. I remember having the hydraulic bed, actually, in Sherlock and it's the first time I think I've ever been with a camera crew who couldn't help but give you an immediate response to the wonder that was us doing this scene in the middle of a field in Wales and this hydraulic bed coming up. I think it's that immediate response that's kind of thrilling and being able to be completely spontaneous every night. What I find difficult when it comes to theatre is that I would say that I'm much more of day bird than a night owl, so trying to put a lid on my energy and conserve it for 8pm is a skill that I need to learn. I wake up in the morning and I'm one of those people who can jump out of bed and off I go. So, therefore to be ready to go at 7pm/8pm, I'm like: "No, I'm done for the day! I've exerted all I have!"
Q. When did you first get the acting bug? You studied it at school…
Lara Pulver: I was always kind of creative. I was always play acting. I grew up watching Let's Pretend as a kid. My niece does the same. She wants to be Snow White and Rapunzel one second and then she wants to be sister with a dolly. My parents were sadly splitting up when I was probably about 10 or 11 and so my mum was kind of enrolling me in tennis club over the summer holidays, and netball club, and any kind of club that would keep my morale up when we were going through a tough time as a family. And one of the things that she saw was this amateur production of Annie at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford. We grew up in Kent. She said I'd be great at something like that. And I wasn't interested because actually I felt like I didn't really have the skills. I'm not one of those kids who had done ballet since the age of three. And I went along to this audition, kind of reluctantly, and there were all these girls dressed in matching unitards and their mums had done their hair pristinely, and I literally was the token orphan Annie! My hair was scruffy, I had the black plimsoles with the elastic on that I had worn at PE at school, the kind of knee-length socks on with shorts and a T-shirt, and rocked up and sang like Ethel Mergood and got the title role.
So, off the back of that I went to do National Youth Musical Theatre with the likes of Eddie Redmayne and Sheridan Smith and Tom Chambers. We were all in kind of the same… with people like Jude Law years ahead of us. I did it for about three or four years and got the best training experience ever. It was at a time where Andrew Lloyd Weber was the sponsor and we did the show at the end of the festival. I did a show called Pendragon based on the life of King Arthur. And we ended up going to Broadway, Taiwan, Tai Pei, Hong Kong. It was an extraordinary experience that I had with this youth theatre group and off the back of that I went to drama school. It's weird, I never really chose to be an actress and yet I've never pursued anything else.
Q. You sing as well…
Lara Pulver: Yes, yes.
Q. Any plans for more albums? You've been on one already?
Lara Pulver: We did the Parade cast album and I also did a song for a musical theatre composer. But I'm not really a vocalist. I'd say I'm an actress who can sing. So, I can't imagine me doing a Ronnie Scott's night or anything like that. For me, I can sing through character but I'm not like a 'singer' singer. So, to get back and do a musical or a film adaptation of a musical… something like an Edith Piaf-style biopic might be really interesting, where I'm kind of using my skill but it's very much character-led.
Q. What do you specifically look for in roles? Is it purely script or is sometimes the opportunity to work with a great cast or director?
Lara Pulver: I think it has to come down to script because if you take a job based on a director, when it comes to theatre they leave. You're the one doing it eight shows a week and they bugger off after rehearsals, and so it's got to be something that you're passionate about doing, either eight shows a week, or passionate about a character that you're going to shoot for five or six months. So, I think at the end of the day, as much as you might say 'oh Trevor Nunn's doing that project' or someone, it's got to come down to what's on the page.
Q. You mentioned dabbling in films. One of those was The Special Relationship. How great an experience was that?
Lara Pulver: It was interesting. It was maybe my first or second film and it went from being kind of like a 10-line character to a three-line part. It was a scene with Michael Sheen. But just to be on a set like that and to learn how everything worked was super interesting. Michael Sheen is definitely someone I'd like to work with again on camera or on stage.
Q. So, finally, what would you say is your favourite memory of being on a film set or on-stage so far?
Lara Pulver: I'll never forget the opening night of Parade at the Donmar. It was our first preview and we had staged it so that it didn't allow for any applause. It just ran continuously to the end of the interval. So, you could never really gauge whether the audience were with you and yet you could hear a pin drop, so you knew they were listening. And I'll never forget coming out for the curtain call on the Donmar stage, where it's so intimate and you can see into everyone's eyes, and we came out apprehensive and literally everyone on their feet… Helen Mirren in the third row. All of a sudden you could see Stephen Sondheim and all these people and you could just breathe. The response was deafening. It was extraordinary because it felt like you'd almost been on a TV set because it was so intimate and the response was overwhelming.
Q. How gratifying is it to look out and see someone like Helen Mirren sat in the third row watching you?
Lara Pulver: I remember when her and Taylor, her husband, came back-stage and I was just honoured that they had taken the time out to come back-stage… And Ian McKellen… he'd go 'oh you're sitting in my place… that's where I sat'. And I'd go: "Oh my God!" [Laughs] It's extraordinary when you go into the theatres in London in that sense, or you speak to someone like David Goyer abut working with Christopher Nolan. He'd say: "Oh, this is how Chris would shoot this…" And you'd be like: "Chris who? Christopher Nolan, oh right!" It's extraordinary and yet only the other day at the BAFTA tea party I was there with Benedict, who is the hottest ticket, talking to Ben Affleck. And you're talking to Ben Affleck! It's surreal and yet, of course you're talking to Ben Affleck. I was like: "Well, of course I am! He's just an actor who is doing really bloody well – and great on him!" But it's funny, isn't it… when you're amongst people doing well it's so gratifying and spurs you to just keep investing in this job.
Da Vinci's Demons airs on Friday nights on Fox from Friday, April 19, 2013 at 10pm.
Fantastic interview. Loved Sherlock. Love Lara. Can't wait for Da Vinci's Demons and FlemingSimon Apr 16 #


text:
February 2015
WITH the latest upgrade to its Quantm software, Trimble has further enhanced alignment planning capabilities for roads and railway designers.
Version Eight of Trimble's Quantm system continues to provide the most comprehensive planning and costing solution available for road and rail designers with enhancements that offer a more seamless transition from planning to design with greater data integrity, says a spokesman for the US-based company.
Easy data transfer between the Quantm Alignment Planning System and Bentley's OpenRoads software extends the design-to-construction workflow for alignments to include corridor planning in Quantm, he adds.
In addition, change management and tracking functionality preserve the design intent, and accelerate project delivery with a more seamless transfer of information from planning through design and construction.
"Trimble's collaboration with Bentley is delivering real-world solutions to transform the design to construction workflow," says Roz Buick, vice-president for Trimble's heavy civil construction division.
"By supporting enhanced rich data transfer with Bentley's OpenRoads software and i-Models, Quantm Version Eight brings new value to our alignment planning customers."
Now available worldwide, the new version produces accurate geometric alignments that can be used in the design and construction phases of a project. The geometric parameters and enhanced templates produce highly detailed alignments that result in a more realistic model of the route. Geometric alignments also deliver enhanced data fidelity and can result in more accurate costing at the early phases of a project for better communication between the designers and builders of new road and rail projects.
In addition, improved geometric optimisation functionality allows planners to produce data-rich, realistic graphics for client and public consultations. Satellite image overlays and Trimble SketchUp data warehouse models can be included to convey a real-world 3D representation of the design.
The Trimble Quantm system integrates engineering, environmental, social and economic factors into a simultaneous analysis of alternatives for rail and road planning. It allows infrastructure planners to thoroughly examine all alternatives and select the most appropriate corridors for roads and railways.
"The holistic approach to planning new linear infrastructure can result in reduced planning time and cost, faster decision-making and lower construction costs. Projects of all types and sizes – from regional, state and national transportation infrastructure planning to small bypasses and road realignments – can take advantage of the benefits of the Trimble Quantm system. In addition, the system can be used for mining, forestry and utility industry road and rail infrastructure," says the spokesman.
Trimble provides solutions that are focused on applications requiring position or location – including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilising positioning technologies, such as GPS (global positioning system), lasers and optics, these solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user.


text:
This is all KimBoo's fault. And by 'her fault', I obviously mean, 'she had a great idea and I suctioned on with my routine squadron of disaster tentacles and made a shriektastrophe of it'. And as I am also detrimentally obnoxious about my commitments (it is why I rarely make them), HERE I FUCKING AM. #364
But no definitely this was all KimBoo's idea. We started together and she went out of her way to support me and help me when I messaged her screaming, which I kind of remember doing on a daily basis for a while maybe. She's immediate with her support. Even if parts of you piss her off, she's deliberate and prompt with her bolstering.
KimBoo and a select band of ridiculously loyal 'IRL' friends followed me here and made sure to rawk over my every verbal splat while I floundered, so I didn't give up before I'd started. Which was a daunting task, given that my first few months sum totaled to a chunky collage of fail posts (I updated the archive with a section for fail posts so y'all can guffaw at them for ego boosts and morale upkeep whenever you like) and actual posts. I struggled with the writer's block. I tried the 'write about writer's block' trick like ninety-seven times and it worked approximately twice. Which is still twice more than any other method I tried, so.
The beginning months were scary, and my grip on daily writing was regularly tenuous at best. I lost sleep over trolls. I bent my mind eighty directions learning the nature of ignorance and fear and how it can make folks you love behave exactly like a troll. I eventually dragged myself into a necessary maze of strict boundaries for such behavior, regardless of origin. I worked through social stress and over-sensitization and waking up freshly irked at my feed of bullshit listicle inspiration. I had garbled days that occurred so frequently, they felt like routines. Days where I had so little to say, I wondered if my brain had finally done me a solid and turned into actual mashed potatoes. I vaguely remember panicking that I would fuck it up and forget a post and ruin the streak, which maybe wouldn't have mattered, except OMFG YOU RUINED THE STREAK. (See aforementioned relationship to commitments.)
Those first few months were dicey, but Medium was heavy on community support when I joined. SF was, of course, the first to spot me (I screamed all over Facebook when he liked a post of mine and then followed me), and David, BHD, and Tre were right behind him. You gotta know that I read what they wrote and assumed they were all famous. I definitely didn't secretly believe that one of them was Isaac Asimov's lovechild in disguise for three weeks straight. The four of them have been my guiding posts for how to find new writers and invite them into the fray here. *Tangential: they have been awesome at this since day 1, but it took me ten months to even figure it out and I am still struggle city with consistency in this arena. I'm working on it. #slow
Writers, whose command of articulation scared me pantsless enough times to worry the mailperson, would comment on my stuff and follow me back every so often. walkerjo, Meg, Lizella, Jules, ThunderPuff, and Zelda, to barely name a few, supported me out of the clear unwarranted blue and now I think I might be pompous enough to sit in this post and call them colleagues and friends. #lookitmyego y'all. They took a chance on someone with twelve followers and four listicles alphabetizing the contents of her left nostril. I had, at every step, a community that took the time to see me.
It is the reason I fell for Medium, and stuck it out while someone's 473 minute read about how to travel well got 978 recommends and all my new writer friends' exquisite insides rolled in scant handfuls of hearts.
It's how I knew I wanted to be here, even when I didn't.
I got lucky in a lot of ways. Evolution involves luck, right? That's totally a thing.
I found The Weekly Knob all over my feed one morning (David and Tre, largely– this was back when I followed like 20 people), and it was so aptly timed, because I'd latched onto the idea that writing prompts were the key to solving Writer's Block (spoiler: they're not). I may or may not have scream commented all over one of Tre's pieces about why are there rubber bands across my entire post-fetus life/why don't I have a rubber band story/who even am I. Aura jumped in and explained how they worked. Both she and S Lynn spent the next several months encouraging me and being receptive to my work.
David Smooke, a dude I have never spoken to, came out of nowhere and published the story of my diagnosis on my birthday. It was a damn sign, y'all. He didn't even know it was my birthday. I didn't even know what publications were. (I maybe still don't shhhh stop typing.) He has consistently appeared from the creases of stale air with any number of his amazing publications (they're all solid — check em out when you get a chance — there's Extra Newsfeed, Ps I Love You, Athena Talks, Fit Yourself Club, Student Voices, and I'm sure more that I'm missing like a sloppy pucker), and given me a much needed lift. I think he might be psychic.
This brings me to a large point about a lot of pubs — many of them prioritize boosting lesser-known writers. Shaun Gamboa (it's not letting me tag him!! Where is he? WTF?) absolutely did this with his pub, BullshitIst, and even before that, Danna came for my ass out of the grim nothing to show me how to submit my work and get more views. She helped me get a piece into Be Yourself, and has always pushed to get me read by more people.
In the midst of all this, Medium was besieged by a lot of outright predators. Medium is not great at banning predators. And by 'not great', I mean, actual predatory posts don't seem to raise any red flags or get folks banned. ? It's weird. Anyways, a couple of them were interacting with me before I even knew what the fuck was up, and people front and center stood up for me. They messaged me, were clear with their intentions and follow through, and watched my feed to make sure I was not targeted. alto and H. Nemesis led that, and I have kept that kindness at my side ever since. Alexainie, Jack, Sean, and Jason also showed up early on and were supportive and snarky all over my stuff with zero prompting. Little drops of their unhesitating humanity here and there meant absolute rivers to me, during that unwieldy chunk of murky testimony.
I spent much of that middle wad succumbing to ridiculous writing patterns (funny/serious/haiku, repeat) and embracing a whole bunch of nonsense as fact. For example, now I think run-ons are an art form (they're not). Listicles are only valid if they are both snarky and ridiculous. Fuck a Debra. It is totally fine to make up words and not even explain yourself. Verb tenses are mythical. Etc. I made up a completely arbitrary definition of 'cheating' where not posting at all before I went to bed that day counted as breach of contract, but everything else was fair game, including writing the occasional post ahead of time as long as I promised to edit the day of (this occurred when I went to Italy. It wasn't cheating. Your face is cheating). I started a list of topics that I would update the very second I had an idea, because waiting longer than the barest tick of time meant that nugget of palatable sight was lost forever. And even though my list is a secret masterpiece that reads
"1) shredded cheese vs. there aren't staples
2) story about girl who had toes",
I learned to dig deep into my day, and sometimes the disaster list, and find a whisper I could share.
Eventually, I had people. Too many dearly beloveds to tag without being utterly trifling to all of everyone (i.e. freaking out about how many people need to be tagged and how this post is already seventeen years long and also if I tag everyone I'll almost certainly forget someone so let's just stop now. The end). Facebook knows y'all as my Medium peeps, because any time anything amazing or hysterical happens in our world, I get on Facebook and brag about it. Yes I do. I'm not sorry. I spent a lot of my time here deliberately staying out of fights and heated discussions, and while I am not regretting that choice, I am aware that not engaging in that way was stressful for folks who wanted back up. I know what it cost to be here for me, while I chose not to fight trolls or be super thinky responsive in comments. In retrospect, maybe part of why I refused to engage in certain fights was because I cherished the healthy bits of the community to the detriment of its struggling bits. Maybe I loved too fondly the easiness of my people here.
I know that I'm lousy at following folks (I have a whole thing about it; it's not just because I'm an asshole. There are reasons that involve being a dillhole, too), easily overwhelmed, short tempered, impatient, and unwilling to compromise on a whole bunch of stuff. I know what it costs to embrace that. I know how critically luck has factored for me.
I meandered into the final stretch so quietly, y'all. I cried last week, mostly out of sheer surprise that it's here. I got scared about the end of things and the never of maybe and didn't sleep for a bunch of days. I have panicked about picking a new goal (short stories, one every week! Additional posts via Patreon! Starting in June! Fuck it's like a whole plan or something aaaaauuuugh who am I), fought through my frustration with certain developments in our haloed-or-not feeds, and fallen into anxiety pits because what if the folks I enjoy and cherish on here never know that that's how I feel. I have lost track of what I wanted to say during my last lap, not because I didn't have anything to say, but because suddenly there is too much and neither my heart nor my brain will shut up for long enough to get a sentence out.
Which is pretty close to full circle, if we're being science-esque about it. It's at least an oval. That counts as evolution, right? #splerp