The Pro-ject Pre Box RS Digital combines all the features of the DAC Box RS with a pre-amplifier with both solid-state and tube output stages. The Pre Box RS Digital uses two PCM1792 DAC chips from Texas Instruments in a dual differential mode to achieve ultimate fidelity. A selectable second DAC chip from Texas Instruments can handle 32bit/384kHz signals.
As well as stereo RCA and balanced XLR, there is also a high-class headphone output with selectable impedance for a perfect match to your headphones. The Pre Box Digital RS offers 3-dimensional sound-staging, perfect micro dynamics and ultimate resolution combined with flexibility to use a wide range of sources. With a dedicated clock output and RJ45 input for combining with the Pro-Ject CD Box RS disc drive, the Pre Box RS Digital will give outstanding jitter-free disc playback.
An excellent high-end DAC and preamplifier from Project.
|DAC/Digital bits||DAC1 - 2 x PCM1792 24/192|
DAC2 - PCM5102 32/384
|Finish ||Black or silver|
|Inputs ||USB socket|
RJ45 (To be used together with the Clock out BNC socket, which is only for connection to Pro-Ject CD Box RS. Not to be used to connect any other devices.)
AES/EBU digital input (via XLR)
2 x coaxial digital input (via RCA/phono)
4 x optical digital input (via toslink)
Stereo line in (via 2 x RCA/phono, gold plated)
Stereo out (via 2 x RCA/phono, gold plated)
Pre out (via 2 x XLR)
Master clock output (for CD Box RS in Sonic Mode)
|Supplied accessories ||Remote control|
|W x H x D (mm) ||206 x 72 x 210 (including sockets)|
|Weight (kg) ||1.95|


|By Business Wire||
|January 17, 2013 10:43 AM EST||
Liquidware Labs, the leader in desktop transformation solutions, today announced its Stratusphere UX 5.2 software release is now generally available. This release delivers new, improved Preview Inspector Views to allow administrators to quickly drill down into user, application and machine data to uncover process issues or resource constraints. Stratusphere UX 5.2 is also optimized with the Stratusphere Adapter technology, an integration plug-in which feeds critical desktop end-user metrics into VMware vCenter™ Operations Manager to complement VMware vCenter Operations Manager systems metrics and provide a single-pane-of-glass view into the entire infrastructure.
“The new features in Stratusphere UX 5.2 make it more responsive to the day-to-day needs of administrators who need to get complete, near real-time visibility into both the end users’ experience and the supporting infrastructure,” said Jason Mattox, CTO, Liquidware Labs. “More than ever, Stratusphere UX helps administrators prevent issues, plan for change and, ultimately, optimize the environment.”
The Preview Inspectors feature within Stratusphere UX improves on existing Inspectors by providing an optimized query layer, and portraying more data relationships among users, desktops and applications. The Preview Inspectors also deliver significantly enhanced tailored screen views for users and desktops with pop-out links to the application and operating system process workloads. Administrators now also have the ability to search, sort and filter and drill-down on the data and export it to Excel. Administrators can proactively monitor physical and virtual desktops in their environment and quickly spot issues with color-coded alerts that highlight abnormal performance, for quicker response to Help Desk calls and other desktop support tasks. In addition, Purpose-Built Views provide commonly needed overviews to display:
- FIT Metrics: indicating resource allocation, consumption, total and peak usages, constraints and overall FIT Rating of the users, desktops and applications for migration purposes or for ongoing provisioning needs.
- UX Metrics: indicating the quality of the user experience in terms of event-based metrics such as login delay, application load time, non-responding applications, network latency, failed network connections and additional time. Count-based indicators to determine if resource levels are sufficient to support functioning of desktops within thresholds and user expectations.
Stratusphere Adapter provides a focused one way feed for Stratusphere UX metrics to flow and display directly into VMware vCenter Operations Manager. Administrators create custom dashboards in order to view these metrics for their environments and utilize other VMware vCenter Operations Manager functions like creating KPIs and parent/child relationships for AD groups of users. The Stratusphere Adapter can utilize as many as 40 key, time-based indicators and metrics for identifying consumption and user experience from physical and virtual desktops as well as VMware vSphere® Resource Pools and View Pools. The data can also be viewed by AD User group within VMware vCenter Operations Manager. These standardized, pre-defined metrics can be further correlated into overall FIT and UX Ratings that can provide color-coded at-a-glance indications of desktop performance compared to thresholds to alert administrators of potential issues. The desktop metrics data is pulled from Stratusphere UX, which provides an independent data collection device separate from VMware vCenter Operations Manager for an additional level of insight and control over systems monitoring. Stratusphere UX uses lightweight Connector ID (CID) keys and Network Stations to capture metrics data.
“Stratusphere metrics are complementary to VMware cloud infrastructure data, and we are pleased to see the formal launch of the Adapter for VMware vCenter™ Operations Manager,” said Mason Uyeda, director, Technical Product Marketing, End-User Computing, VMware. “Visibility into both critical desktop metrics and host environment data in a single, customizable view is important in order to maintain the health of the virtual infrastructure and help enable uptime.”
About Liquidware Labs
Liquidware Labs™ is the leader in desktop transformation solutions for next-generation physical and virtual desktops, including VMware View®, Citrix® XenDesktop, Red Hat® and Microsoft® Windows 7. The company's innovative Stratusphere™ and ProfileUnity™ FlexApp solutions deliver powerful features to accelerate critical desktop transformation phases. Liquidware Labs solutions support key phases including assessing existing physical environments, decoupling users and applications from the operating system and migrating to virtual platforms. In POC and production environments, Liquidware Labs solutions support managing the user experience and monitoring troubleshooting and optimizing end-to-end desktop environments. Liquidware Labs products are VMware certified, and are available through a global network of partners. Visit www.liquidwarelabs.com for further information.
VMware, VMware vCenter and VMware vSphere are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.
SYS-CON Events announced today that Agema Systems will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Agema Systems is the leading provider of critical white-box rack solutions to data centers through the major integrators and value added distribution channels.
Oct. 4, 2015 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 611
SYS-CON Events announced today that Interface Masters Technologies, provider of leading network visibility and monitoring solutions, will exhibit at the 17th International CloudExpo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Interface Masters Technologies is a leading provider of high speed networking solutions focused on Gigabit, 10 Gigabit, 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet network access and connectivity products. For over 20 ye...
Oct. 4, 2015 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 620
SYS-CON Events announced today that Harbinger Systems will exhibit at SYS-CON's 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Harbinger Systems is a global company providing software technology services. Since 1990, Harbinger has developed a strong customer base worldwide. Its customers include software product companies ranging from hi-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley to leading product companies in the US a...
Oct. 4, 2015 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 716
Interested in leveraging automation technologies and a cloud architecture to make developers more productive? Learn how PaaS can benefit your organization to help you streamline your application development, allow you to use existing infrastructure and improve operational efficiencies. Begin charting your path to PaaS with OpenShift Enterprise.
Oct. 4, 2015 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 306
SYS-CON Events announced today that Machkey International Company will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Machkey provides advanced connectivity solutions for just about everyone. Businesses or individuals, Machkey is dedicated to provide high-quality and cost-effective products to meet all your needs.
Oct. 4, 2015 03:45 PM EDT Reads: 253
SYS-CON Events announced today that Secure Infrastructure & Services will exhibit at SYS-CON's 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Secure Infrastructure & Services (SIAS) is a managed services provider of cloud computing solutions for the IBM Power Systems market. The company helps mid-market firms built on IBM hardware platforms to deploy new levels of reliable and cost-effective computing and hig...
Oct. 4, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 703
In recent years, at least 40% of companies using cloud applications have experienced data loss. One of the best prevention against cloud data loss is backing up your cloud data. In his General Session at 17th Cloud Expo, Bryan Forrester, Senior Vice President of Sales at eFolder, will present how organizations can use eFolder Cloudfinder to automate backups of cloud application data. He will also demonstrate how easy it is to search and restore cloud application data using Cloudfinder.
Oct. 4, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 345
Clearly the way forward is to move to cloud be it bare metal, VMs or containers. One aspect of the current public clouds that is slowing this cloud migration is cloud lock-in. Every cloud vendor is trying to make it very difficult to move out once a customer has chosen their cloud. In his session at 17th Cloud Expo, Naveen Nimmu, CEO of Clouber, Inc., will advocate that making the inter-cloud migration as simple as changing airlines would help the entire industry to quickly adopt the cloud wit...
Oct. 4, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 371
Organizations already struggle with the simple collection of data resulting from the proliferation of IoT, lacking the right infrastructure to manage it. They can't only rely on the cloud to collect and utilize this data because many applications still require dedicated infrastructure for security, redundancy, performance, etc. In his session at 17th Cloud Expo, Emil Sayegh, CEO of Codero Hosting, will discuss how in order to resolve the inherent issues, companies need to combine dedicated a...
Oct. 4, 2015 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 387
SYS-CON Events announced today that ProfitBricks, the provider of painless cloud infrastructure, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. ProfitBricks is the IaaS provider that offers a painless cloud experience for all IT users, with no learning curve. ProfitBricks boasts flexible cloud servers and networking, an integrated Data Center Designer tool for visual control over the...
Oct. 4, 2015 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 694
SYS-CON Events announced today that IBM Cloud Data Services has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 17th Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. IBM Cloud Data Services offers a portfolio of integrated, best-of-breed cloud data services for developers focused on mobile computing and analytics use cases.
Oct. 4, 2015 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 533
“All our customers are looking at the cloud ecosystem as an important part of their overall product strategy. Some see it evolve as a multi-cloud / hybrid cloud strategy, while others are embracing all forms of cloud offerings like PaaS, IaaS and SaaS in their solutions,” noted Suhas Joshi, Vice President – Technology, at Harbinger Group, in this exclusive Q&A with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff.
Oct. 4, 2015 12:45 PM EDT Reads: 319
Docker is hot. However, as Docker container use spreads into more mature production pipelines, there can be issues about control of Docker images to ensure they are production-ready. Is a promotion-based model appropriate to control and track the flow of Docker images from development to production? In his session at DevOps Summit, Fred Simon, Co-founder and Chief Architect of JFrog, will demonstrate how to implement a promotion model for Docker images using a binary repository, and then show h...
Oct. 4, 2015 12:30 PM EDT Reads: 654
Learn how Backup as a Service can help your customer base protect their data. In his session at 17th Cloud Expo, Stefaan Vervaet, Director of Strategic Alliances at HGST, will discuss the challenges of data protection in an era of exploding storage requirements, show you the benefits of a backup service for your cloud customers, and explain how the HGST Active Archive and CommVault are already enabling this service today with customer examples.
Oct. 4, 2015 12:30 PM EDT Reads: 645
Learn how IoT, cloud, social networks and last but not least, humans, can be integrated into a seamless integration of cooperative organisms both cybernetic and biological. This has been enabled by recent advances in IoT device capabilities, messaging frameworks, presence and collaboration services, where devices can share information and make independent and human assisted decisions based upon social status from other entities. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Michael Heydt, founder of Seamless...
Oct. 4, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 602
SYS-CON Events announced today that VividCortex, the monitoring solution for the modern data system, will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. The database is the heart of most applications, but it’s also the part that’s hardest to scale, monitor, and optimize even as it’s growing 50% year over year. VividCortex is the first unified suite of database monitoring tools specifically desi...
Oct. 4, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 328
Culture is the most important ingredient of DevOps. The challenge for most organizations is defining and communicating a vision of beneficial DevOps culture for their organizations, and then facilitating the changes needed to achieve that. Often this comes down to an ability to provide true leadership. As a CIO, are your direct reports IT managers or are they IT leaders? The hard truth is that many IT managers have risen through the ranks based on their technical skills, not their leadership ab...
Oct. 4, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 822
As more and more data is generated from a variety of connected devices, the need to get insights from this data and predict future behavior and trends is increasingly essential for businesses. Real-time stream processing is needed in a variety of different industries such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Automobile, Finance, Online Retail, Smart Grids, and Healthcare. Azure Stream Analytics is a fully managed distributed stream computation service that provides low latency, scalable processing of ...
Oct. 4, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 707
Apps and devices shouldn't stop working when there's limited or no network connectivity. Learn how to bring data stored in a cloud database to the edge of the network (and back again) whenever an Internet connection is available. In his session at 17th Cloud Expo, Bradley Holt, Developer Advocate at IBM Cloud Data Services, will demonstrate techniques for replicating cloud databases with devices in order to build offline-first mobile or Internet of Things (IoT) apps that can provide a better, ...
Oct. 4, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 343
You have your devices and your data, but what about the rest of your Internet of Things story? Two popular classes of technologies that nicely handle the Big Data analytics for Internet of Things are Apache Hadoop and NoSQL. Hadoop is designed for parallelizing analytical work across many servers and is ideal for the massive data volumes you create with IoT devices. NoSQL databases such as Apache HBase are ideal for storing and retrieving IoT data as “time series data.”
Oct. 4, 2015 10:45 AM EDT Reads: 353


West Metro Corridor to Open Start of November
ST. CLOUD -- After a year of lane restrictions, road closures, and traffic jams, the West Metro Corridor project in northwest St. Cloud is nearing completion.
Stearns County Assistant Engineer Jodi Teich says the project should be completed the first week of November. But, she adds traffic lanes will be opened leading up to that date as the project allows.
A wetter than normal summer threatened the project's completion date, but Teich says a dry September saved the project from spilling over into next year. In fact, crews are pouring the final layer of concrete on the bridges today...just a day before the October 15th deadline. Teich says that is the standard deadline for our climate to get concrete poured and cured properly.
The $17-million project was started last November and will provide improved traffic flow over the Sauk River with two bridges carrying traffic from Sartell and northwest St. Cloud into Waite Park and surrounding areas.
The project is being paid for with a combination of city, county, state and federal dollars.


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Moscow, Vietnam, New Jersey
Never mind that Dara Horn, author of The World to Come (Norton, $24.95), is a Harvard doctoral candidate pursuing comparative literature studies in Yiddish and Hebrew literature. Above all else, Horn is a consummate story teller whose imagination and narrative skill succeed in bringing to vivid life the worlds of 1980s suburban New Jersey, present-day New York, and Soviet Russia of the 1920s and 30s. Linked by the theft of a Marc Chagall painting, which the protagonist, Benjamin Ziskind, believes to be his family’s rightful possession, Horn weaves the Ziskind saga into the lives of Chagall and the Yiddish writer known as “Der Nister” (The Hidden One) to conjure a universe of extraordinary connections.
Nearly all the characters in this seductively compelling novel are lost souls who are damaged in some way. Ben, a divorced writer for a television quiz show, is a former child prodigy who, as an adolescent, had to wear a brace to correct his spine. Unsure of himself and nearly paralyzed by inertia, Ben worries that he is “still waiting for a future that might never arrive.” He and his twin sister Sara are recently orphaned as the novel opens, as are many of the novel’s characters. Erica Frank, the assistant curator at the museum where the Chagall is stolen who piques Ben’s emotional and romantic interest, has also lost her mother. And Boris Kulbak, who is the reason the Ziskinds owned the painting in the first place, was once Chagall’s student in a Soviet orphanage for the children of those who perished in Stalin’s pogroms.
Dara Horn, whose previous novel, In the Image, received much critical praise, has written an astonishingly rich second novel, one that encompasses the Jewish world of the Old Country as well as the New, with an imaginative detour to Paradise. She brings her literary skill to bear on an almost unbearably mimetic description of an ambush in Vietnam, where Sara and Ben’s father, Daniel, loses his leg when he falls into a Vietcong “tiger trap.” A similar sensibility allows Horn to convey that same sense of immediacy and detail in settings such as a Moscow apartment building during the Cold War, where neighbors and friends betray one another; the suffocating landscape of 1950s suburbia; or even the surprisingly familiar environment that is the world to come.
Part mystery and part meditation on history, theology, philosophy and folklore, this novel is a lyrical and haunting exploration of family, love, and loss. “The loved already-weres and the not-yets of our world, the mortals and the mortals, are bound together somewhere just past where we can see, in a knot of eternal life.”
Is the “world to come” indeed the stuff of legend, the realm where the righteous are rewarded and the not-yet-born experience a taste for the paradise that will drive their mortal existence? Or is it, as Ben’s deceased mother Rosalie suggests—with that significant comma punctuating the phrase, “the world, to come”? Perhaps Ben is right when he considers that “the world to come that his parents had always talked about was not an afterlife at all, but simply this world to come-the future world, your own future, that you were creating for yourself with every choice you made in it.”
Merri Rosenberg’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Jewish Week and other national publications.

domain: artistic


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It’s been over three months since protests over a social security reform in Nicaragua sparked clashes between protesters and government forces that have left over 300 people dead. On July 30, the White House expressed its support for the peace dialogue led by the Catholic Church and sanctioned government officials it said were complicit in ongoing human rights abuses. In our new issue on reducing homicide, AQ spoke with human rights advocate Erika Guevara-Rosas, the Americas director for Amnesty International, about the scale of these abuses – and the international community’s response to them.
How would you describe the state of human rights in Nicaragua today?
The rapid deterioration of human rights is extremely alarming. We’ve documented extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, violations of freedom of expression, and violations of the human rights of indigenous people and campesinos in the context of the Grand Canal project.
How can regional leaders respond to this situation?
Governments missed an opportunity through the June Organization of American States declaration to come together to condemn the state’s responsibility for these atrocities. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have seen a lack of leadership by regional governments. Leaders protect one another because they could also be held accountable.
How would you compare what’s happening in Nicaragua to what has happened in Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro?
During four months of demonstrations in Venezuela, 124 people were killed. In Nicaragua, a country with a population one-sixth the size of Venezuela’s, 212 people were killed in two months. The use of excessive force to silence protesters continues to be the norm regardless of the kind of government that’s in power. We are seeing a pattern. We saw it end the lives of over 30 people in Honduras after elections. We’ve even seen it in Argentina, where police attacked protesters over social security reforms.
Do you think that political change is a viable solution for Nicaragua?
Nicaragua’s institutions have collapsed over the last few years. Impunity and corruption are feeding into this crisis as well. Even if they call for elections tomorrow, Daniel Ortega will probably win. Any solution must rebuild institutions and guarantee that Nicaragua can hold elections.
Sweigart is a policy consultant for AQ.

domain: news


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Music and food are two words that immediately come to mind at the mention of New Orleans. The French and Spanish traditions combined with Caribbean influences make the city one of the most unique places to visit in the United States. From the Garden District to the French Quarter and beyond, enjoy happy hour, history, great food with our round up of Things to Do in New Orleans..
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler! – Let the Good Times Roll!
Things to Do in New Orleans
In the video below, we highlight some of our favorite things to do in New Orleans.
This post is broken up into the following sections:
Places to Eat
Where to Stay
Table of Contents
Places to Eat in New Orleans
Turkey and the Wolf. Arguably the best sandwiches in New Orleans. In case you missed the end of our video above, Joe’s favorite is the fried bologna with potatoes chips and cheese on white. The sandwiches do rotate, although we’ve been told this one is a regular on the menu. Another popular sandwich is the collard green melt on rye bread.
Cochon Butcher. Another popular sandwich joint featuring pork as the main ingredient. Joe’s favorite is the Le Pig Mac, a double pork patty sandwich. You really can’t go wrong with any sandwich on the menu including the Cochon Muffaletta.
Central Grocery. There are many options for a muffuletta in New Orleans. One of the favorites is at this family-owned Italian grocery store. Fresh sesame bread loaded with salami, mortadella, ham, mozzarella and provolone a generous serving of marinaded olive salad.
Neyow’s Creole Cafe. For a taste of authentic Creole cuisine in New Orleans. Popular items include fried chicken, red beans and rice, cornbread dressing. If you’re in the mood to imbibe, check out their signature Bow Wow fruit punch made with 10 shots of light and dark rum topped with sweet sour mix.
The Court of Two Sisters. Start a relaxing day in the French Quarter with jazz brunch in the courtyard. Buffet selections include turtle soup with sherry, jambalaya, BBQ pork ribs, gumbo and sweet plump boiled shrimp.
Commander’s Palace. Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme are two of the renowned chefs that have played a role in making Commander’s Palace one of the top Haute Creole cuisine destinations in New Orleans. Lunch is the best way to experience the restaurant without breaking the bank. The two and three course prix-fixe lunches are a good deal, plus you can order up to three $0.25 martinis. The drinks are full size and strong. If you can still stand by the end of lunch, ask for a tour of the kitchen to see where the magic happens.
Breads on Oak. This popular bakery in East Carollton offers a variety of vegan breads, cookies, sandwiches and pastries. Joe’s favorite is the olive bread and my favorite is the seeded multigrain made with organic flours using wild yeast. On Sundays, the bakery sets out a free bread buffet with cashew butter. Don’t miss the $3 bread basket by the check out counter.
Best Happy Hours in New Orleans
Willa Jean. You won’t find discounted gulf oysters on the happy hour menu here. Half priced snacks, drinks and desserts makes Willa Jean one of our favorite happy hours in New Orleans. An order of cornbread and poutine is plenty of food for two.
Luke. One of John Besh’s many restaurants in New Orleans offers 75¢ oysters, half priced cocktails, $1.25 fried oysters. Order a dozen oysters and wash them down with a refreshing French “75” made with cognac, champagne and fresh lemon juice. If you’ve never had fried oysters, this is a great spot to try them.
Superior Seafood. Enjoy happy hour every day with $.50 oysters and 2 for 1 frozen drinks. Bar seating is first-come first-served so arrive early to grab a good spot. The most popular frozen drink here is the French 75 made with gin, champagne and fresh lemon juice. Although not part of happy hour, you can find a wide range of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.
Top Attractions in New Orleans
National WWII Museum. Plan to spend the day at the museum where you can enlist as a crew member on the final mission of The USS Tang Submarine. Then take part in a one of a kind 4D experience, Beyond All Boundaries, where audience members embark on a journey through the nation’s bloodiest war with props, special effects and personal accounts.
Self Guided Garden District Tour – After lunch, walk off those martinis and go on a self guided tour of the Garden District. Pick up a brochure at Commander’s Palace and start your tour there and learn about the interesting history of the Victorian building.
Audubon Zoo’s White Alligator – You can see alligators all day in Louisiana, but the chances of seeing a white alligator in the wild is slim to none. According to the Audubon Nature Institute, out of five million American alligators, there are fewer than 15 with the genetic condition that makes them white. Seeing this rare alligator was one of the highlights of our trip to New Orleans.
Old New Orleans Rum Tour – This distillery makes rum out of locally sourced molasses inside an old cotton warehouse in the Ninth Ward. The tour starts off with a cocktail and ends with a generous sampling of their rums and the Gingeroo, a bottled rum cocktail that goes down a bit too easy. Free shuttle pick up from the French Quarter.
Live Jazz at Spotted Cat– Located on the famous Frenchmen Street just outside the French Quarter, this Jazz Club is a local favorite. The music is great and the drinks are reasonable. Sure, the space is small, the bar looks run down, and you may be standing the entire time, but that’s part of the experience. Check the calendar to see who’s playing or take a chance and head on over.
Dinner and a show at Little Gem Saloon. This historic jazz venue in the Central Business District (CBD) features a range of local musicians like the Creole String Beans. A fun spot to enjoy live music over dinner or a drink or both!
Getting Around New Orleans
Hop on the historic streetcars. In operation since 1835, you can see the city from a different view aboard the streetcars. Plus, it’s an economical way to get around town. $3 will get you rides all day. Keep in mind that the streetcar is not air conditioned. Maps and schedules can be found on NORTA website.
Explore on foot. New Orleans is a very walkable city with many unique neighborhoods to explore and plenty of bars and restaurants to stop in along the way.

domain: travel


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Eva Echeverria Vs Johnson & Johnson – $417 Million Talc Verdict
On Aug. 21, a Los Angeles, California, jury awarded Plaintiff Eva Echeverria $417 million, finding Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products responsible for her ovarian cancer. This was the first of hundreds of similar cases filed in California to go to trial. After a four-week trial and more than two days of deliberations, the jury held Johnson & Johnson liable for failing to warn of a link between its talcum powder products and ovarian cancer. This was the largest verdict against J&J in the talc litigation and the first delivered outside of Missouri.
The first ovarian cancer talc trial in California involved the claims of Eva Echeverria, a lifelong resident of Los Angeles who began daily use of Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products when she was 11 years old. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, she has undergone several surgeries and numerous chemotherapy treatments since that time. The jury verdict included $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages.
The closely watched trial began on July 26, and is part of the consolidated Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Cases, case number JCCP4872, in the Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County. Echeverria is represented by:
Michael Blaes, Savanna Crews And Darlene Evans V Johnson & Johnson
The sixth talc trial in St. Louis Circuit Court started as scheduled on June 5, but Circuit Judge Rex Burlison declared a mistrial on June 19 as the result of a U.S. Supreme Court verdict affecting jurisdictional issues. The Supreme Court ruling involved cases filed in California against pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. over injuries allegedly caused by its blood thinner Plavix. The Supreme Court ruled that state courts are limited in their authority to hear claims against companies that are not based in the state, or when the alleged injuries did not occur there.
Plaintiffs in the sixth talc trial represent the estates of three women who died from ovarian cancer following long-term genital applications of talcum powder, including Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Power and Shower to Shower products.
Plaintiffs include Michael Blaes of Webster Groves, Missouri, whose wife, Shawn Blaes, died of ovarian cancer at age 50. She was a competitive figure skater, coach and co-owner of a skate shop in Webster Groves. She was initially diagnosed with cancer in 2008.
Angela Hershman died of ovarian cancer at the age of 46 after using talcum powder for more than 29 years. Ms. Hershman was from Grenta, Virginia, and her daughter, Savanna Crews, is pursuing her claims against Johnson & Johnson and Imerys after her mother’s untimely death on April 5, 2016.
Eron Evans died on Jan. 1, 2016, at the age of 41. Her premature death was the direct and proximate result of her more than 30 years of talcum powder use and subsequent ovarian cancer diagnosis. Darlene Evans is pursuing the claims on her daughter’s behalf.
Slemp V Johnson & Johnson – $307 Million Verdict
On May 4, 2017, Johnson & Johnson suffered another loss in talcum powder ovarian cancer litigation. A jury in the City of St. Louis found J&J, along with its talc supplier, Imerys Talc America, liable for Plaintiff Lois Slemp’s ovarian cancer, and awarded a verdict of more than $110 million. Ms. Slemp, 62, alleged that more than four decades of using talc-containing feminine hygiene products, including Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, led to the development of her cancer. The verdict includes $5.4 million in compensatory damages, and $105 million in punitive damages. Johnson & Johnson and Imerys’ losses in the talc litigation to date total more than $307 million. Although the defendants attempted to have the jury verdict overturned using the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the judge rejected the argument and upheld the verdict, finding that Slemp had established proper jurisdiction in the Missouri court.
Giannecchini V Johnson & Johnson – $70 Million Verdict
On October 27, 2016, a jury in City of St. Louis Circuit Court found Johnson & Johnson liable for injuries resulting from the use of its talc-containing products and awarded Plaintiff Deborah Giannecchini $70.075 million after agreeing the products contributed to the development of her ovarian cancer. For the first time, a jury also found J&J talc supplier Imerys liable for damages as well. The verdict includes $575,000 in medical damages, $2 million in compensatory damages, and $65 million in punitive damages. Ms. Giannecchini used Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder for feminine hygiene for more than 40 years. She was 59 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer four years ago, and has since endured multiple surgeries and chemotherapy regimens.
Ristesund V Johnson & Johnson – $55 Million Verdict
On May 2, a jury in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court awarded Plaintiff Gloria Ristesund $55 million in her lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson alleging her ovarian cancer was caused by the company’s talcum powder products. Ms. Ristesund used Johnson’s Baby Powder for more than 40 years for feminine hygiene.
The jury’s award included $5 million for actual damages and an additional $50 million in punitive damages. This was the third trial in which Johnson & Johnson was found liable for ovarian cancer linked to its talc-containing products, and the second trial to award damages to the Plaintiff.
Beasley Allen attorney Ted Meadows noted that punitive damages are intended to punish a company for wrongdoing. Evidence provided at trial showed J&J has been aware of a link between talcum powder use in the genital areas and an increased risk for ovarian cancer for decades but refused to warn the public. A study led by Dr. Daniel Cramer, head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Epidemiology Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, was published in the medical journal Epidemiology in March. The report noted that women who routinely apply talc to their genitals have a 33 percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Fox V Johnson & Johnson – $72 Million Verdict
On Feb. 22, 2016, a jury in City of St. Louis, Mo., Circuit Court found Johnson & Johnson liable for the development of Plaintiff Jacqueline Fox’s ovarian cancer and awarded her family a verdict of $72 million. Ms. Fox passed away from ovarian cancer in October 2015. She used talc-containing products for 35 years. The verdict includes $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages.
This was the first time a jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay damages over these claims, but it was not the first time that the company has been handed a guilty Talc verdict. J & J was found liable in a 2013 product liability lawsuit in South Dakota, where a jury found in favor of plaintiff Deane Berg on her claim that Johnson & Johnson did not adequately warn consumers of the link between talc and ovarian cancer.
Ms. Berg was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006. Her cancerous tissue was examined by three doctors using a scanning electron microscope. The physicians discovered talc on the ovaries, concluding that the talcum particles were able to migrate through the vagina, uterus and fallopian tubes to the ovaries. When the ovaries became inflamed from the talcum particles, the growth of cancer cells began.
Even after this litigation Johnson & Johnson refused to add warning labels to its products.
Brower V Johnson & Johnson
The case of Diane Brower, brought by family members, is scheduled to go to trial July 15, 2019 in Georgia. Mrs. Brower used J&J’s Baby Powder for feminine hygiene twice a day beginning when she was a teenager. She was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer in 2013 and died three years later at age 65.
In the Brower case, lawyers for Johnson & Johnson had challenged the credentials and expertise of three experts who are expected to testify on behalf of the family of a Georgia woman who died of ovarian cancer. Georgia state courts follow the same standard as federal courts to qualify witnesses as experts in court. Lawyers for J&J sought to exclude the testimony of Dr. Laura Plunkett, a board-certified pharmacologist and toxicologist; Dr. John Godleski, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health; and Dr. James Barter, director of Gynecologic Oncology Research at Holy Cross Hospital in Rockville, Maryland.
In her March 26 ruling, Judge Jane Morrison rejected those challenges and will allow all three to testify in the upcoming jury trial. Ted Meadows, who heads up Beasley Allen’s Talc Litigation Trial Team, said, “These medical experts are world class in their specialties, and their opinions are based on expertise sharpened through rigorous and objective scientific training. For too long, J&J has ignored concerns from the medical community about talc and cancer. We’re pleased that jurors will have an opportunity to hear these facts. We will keep our readers informed as to all further developments.”
State Court Talc Litigation
Other attorneys are also seeing victories in talcum powder cases involving ovarian cancer diagnoses, and have filed appeals to keep major awards for plaintiffs, including a $70 million award in Missouri, a $110 million verdict in Missouri, a $110 million verdict in Missouri, a $4.69 billion verdict in Missouri, and a $417 million verdict in California.
Federal Talc Litigation
The multidistrict litigation (MDL) is proceeding against J&J subsequent to the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Imerys Talc America, the J&J talc supplier, in February. Depositions were taken of Plaintiffs’ experts in late 2018 and early 2019; defense expert depositions were taken in March and April. A Daubert hearing will begin on July 22, 2019. Experts from both sides will appear before the court at the hearing. The court, at the conclusion, will rule on the admissibility of the expert testimony.
Andy Birchfield and Beasley Allen Take Lead in Fight Against J&J’s Talc Litigation Bankruptcy Maneuver
Mass Tort Leaders Birchfield and Papantonio Spearhead Legal Initiative to Safeguard Plaintiffs’ Rights and Accountability…
Beasley Allen principal Leigh O’Dell co-chairs the Talc multidistrict litigation (MDL) Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. The…
Civil trials can now resume scheduling after Johnson & Johnson’s second bankruptcy protection attempt for…


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Graham Swift was born in South East London in May 1949. He was educated at Dulwich College (as were C. S. Forrester, P. G. Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler) and at Cambridge University where he read English and became acquainted with the Fens, the setting for his novel, Waterland. After leaving Cambridge, Swift spent three years at the University of York researching a PhD thesis on “The City in Nineteenth Century English Literature”. However, he had wished to be a writer since adolescence and so abandoned his academic career in order to pursue this ambition. After one year of teaching English in Greece, he returned to London and taught O and A level English at Colleges of Further Education in order to finance his writing. He …
Wheeler, Wendy, Anastasia Logotheti. "Graham Swift". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 April 2001; last revised 07 September 2016.
[https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5071, accessed 26 May 2019.]

domain: library


“Blown Fabric” is collection of lamps designed by Nendo. They used the material Smash, a long-fibre non-woven polyester, which you can shape in almost any form when heated. The production technique is very similar to blown glass. That’s why they’ve used LED bulbs to make sure that the lampshades don’t collapse.
This will be on display during the Milan furniture fair at the Tokyo Fiber ’09 Senseware exhibition.


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Knitted and Beaded Jewellery
Handcrafted in Ireland
Beaded Jewellery made using old hand made knitting technique. Rubyhues is new and fun, every piece produced is unique. Below are some of Rubyhues Knitted collections, Earrings and Fine Silver pieces. We suggest just click on pictures that are feminine, chic and fun, you`ll find a lot more.
Click here to shop Knitted Collection
Click here to shop Earrings Collection
Click here to shop plated bangles


According to the AP, the economy is the weakest it's been since World War II.
Since World War II, 10 U.S. recessions have been followed by a recovery that lasted at least three years. An Associated Press analysis shows that by just about any measure, the one that began in June 2009 is the weakest.
The ugliness goes well beyond unemployment, which at 8.3 percent is the highest this long after a recession ended.
Economic growth has never been weaker in a postwar recovery. Consumer spending has never been so slack. Only once has job growth been slower.
Well we only have to look forward to more of it unless something is done. Obamatax will increase in 2013, more spending on both sides of the aisle will continue, unemployment continues to remain well above eight percent and Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats blame Republicans for it all.
I do have to wonder when we will have elected officials who think of the Constitution, real fiscal conservative plans, and true limited government.Don't forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook, Google Plus, & Twitter. You can also get Freedom Outpost delivered to your Amazon Kindle device here.


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Flashlight used as robbery weapon
Law enforcement authorities say a flashlight was used last week in the robbery of a man in a rural part of Oconee County, between Seneca and Clemson. Terrell Logan Compton, 27-year old Seneca area resident, was arrested and charged with armed robbery and assault and battery first degree. According to the allegations, Compton used a 4-cell Mag Light flashlight to hit the victim’s head and deprive him of a wallet that contained a Social Security card, a $100 gift card, and an unknown amount of cash. The crime was reported February 25 at Pressley Place, Seneca.


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What’s a family-friendly campground?
When you camp with kids, you need to be a little more diligent in the planning process. Whereas adults may be able to deal with unpredictable weather and make spontaneous decisions along the way, once you add kids into the mix, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. Safety becomes more important than ever to ensure a stress-free camping trip. Follow these tips to a family-friendly campground.
Family camping safety
Being overly prepared when you’re camping with the family is better than being underprepared. Besides the right gear to keep your family comfortable and safe at camp, you also have to be extra cautious when playing and exploring in the surrounding camp wilderness. So, let’s talk about how to pack and how to act to set up a family-friendly campground.
You can’t predict the weather
You may not be able to predict the weather, but there are people a lot smarter than us who are getting pretty darn good at it. Make sure you check the weather reports for your campground so that you can plan and pack accordingly. Most campsites will have a weather report attached to their web page, as well as any weather warnings in the area. The employees at the park and the grounds are very knowledgeable and want you to be safe, so don’t be afraid to reach out and ask if there is anything that you should be aware of, weather-wise, before you head out.
If your kids are old enough to explore a little by themselves, make sure you set strict rules as to how far they are allowed to go, and what time they need to be back. Once the sun starts to set, it can get dark more quickly than you think, so be sure to always have everyone return to camp well before it get’s dark.
Whether your kids are exploring alone or you head out as a family, make sure that your kids understand to keep their distance to wildlife. Staying clear of wild animals is easy because chances are the animals are way ahead of you and already keeping a safe distance. The wilderness can have other dangerous attractions, like wild berries, or colorful plants that may be poisonous. It’s a good rule of thumb, for people and for nature, to take only memories and leave only footprints. Don’t touch, don’t eat, and don’t feed.
Enough food and clothing
You want to pack for all types of weather. Having layers is a great idea so that you can easily adapt to changing temperatures. Kids are going to get wetter and dirtier than adults, so bring extra clothing. Make sure that you bring enough food, as well, for the whole family, and plenty of snacks! People always underestimate how many snacks you eat while camping.
Family camping gear
Be sure to rent a tent that is big enough for all of you. We always recommend getting a tent that is one or two sizes bigger than you think you need. If you’re a family of four, get a six-person tent. Although camping can bring a family closer together, there are limits to how close you want to sleep at night. Be sure to add a rain fly, and get a tent that can stand up to the weather. Besides a comfortable abode while camping, add backpacks, cooking equipment, and camp furniture to set up the perfect family campground.
Finally, pack a comprehensive safety kit, including bandages, disinfectant, Neosporin, and bug spray.
Family camping gear packages
We start with what we call our “Basic Camping Package.” This package has a tent, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads. You can add any other items you would like to any package by browsing our rental page, and don’t forget to check out our selection of all the camping accessories you could need! Due to our large and varied stock, we have chairs, tables, coolers, or just about any other camping option. Most of all, you can custom-build camping packages that work best for your group or family.


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There are some nights when I can eat just vegetables for dinner, and be completely content. I’ve pretty much always been that way. I can still remember going out to eat and ordering the “sides plate” just as often, if not more, than a meal from the entrees section. It wasn’t enough for me to miss out on one of the sides, for a piece of meat that usually wasn’t done the way I wanted it anyway. Vegetables are special enough to be celebrated on their own though, right?
The different colors, textures, and flavors of vegetables alone are amazing, not to mention the nutrients lying within their beauty. So many choices, changing in perfect rhythm with the seasons. It makes the options for seasoning, cooking, and serving them seem endless. When I am out of ideas for dinner, I can usually come up with something by taking a quick peak through the crisper drawers. There’s not a single vegetable that can’t be tossed in a little oil and roasted to perfection in about 30 minutes.
These coffee roasted carrots have been part of our regular rotation lately. Whenever they are in the oven, I find myself checking every few minutes in anticipation of that delicious roasty flavor. There is something about the combination of coffee, garlic, and herbs. It just seems to meld together so perfectly. They are especially delicious with the fresh sage that has been abundant at the farmer’s market this winter. I usually enjoy them with just a green salad and maybe some avocado or another cooked green vegetable. For those super hungry days, a simple fried egg or serving of fresh kasha help to round up the meal nicely. I’m thinking these would also make a great side for an Easter meal. You could play around with the herbs a little to bring out different flavors. However you wish to enjoy them, I hope you find them a delightful addition!
Coffee Roasted Carrots with Garlic and Sage
- 1 lb carrots, peeled
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 fresh sage leaves, bruised
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 Tbsp finely ground coffee
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In small bowl, whisk together the avocado oil, maple syrup, coffee, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Cut carrots in half crosswise, and then in half lengthwise.
- Toss the carrots, garlic, and sage together with the oil mixture.
- Place in parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes.

domain: food


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Just a few updates on what is happening in the local area:
1. Please find below a copy of an email received outlining some of the activities that our mayor, Gillian Coughlan was involved in:
Walking and Cycling strategy for Bandon approved – Coughlan
Fianna Fáil Cllr and Mayor of Bandon, Gillian Coughlan, has expressed her delight at the announcement that work is to begin on a Walking and Cycling Strategy for Bandon.
Consultants at Cork County Council have been appointed to draw up proposals for the venture.
Cllr Coughlan commented: “I am pleased to confirm that, having pressed the transport department in Cork County Council, consultants have been appointed to prepare a Walking and Cycling Strategy for Bandon. I wish to acknowledge the help and co-operation of Peter O’ Donoghue in County Hall in this regard.
“It is envisaged that this strategy will put forward measures to ensure a reduction in short-distance car journeys through the availability of good quality information and alternative infrastructure; the provision of safer routes for people to travel by bike or on foot; improved walking and cycling access to public transport; community involvement and tie-ins with schools/colleges and workplace plans through existing programmes and new linkages.
“I also expect that the consultants will seek submissions from the public and I would urge the people of Bandon and beyond to participate fully in the process.
“As Mayor of Bandon, I am particularly enthused about this development. It is high time for the infrastructure in Bandon to be addressed and plans made to adapt it to a new environmental and economic reality.”
2. DID Electrical taking over the old Flor Griffin store and set to create 15 jobs.
It is great to see a company such as DID Electrical backing Bandon as place to set up and establish a retail location in out town. Best wishes to all involved.
3. Just a quick note to highlight the fact that plans are currently being finalised to create a Bandon Movember Campaign. The Movember Campaign is an international effort to raise funds for, and awareness of, male cancer issues. Details have already been posted on: https://www.facebook.com/MovemberBandon . A local website outlining local activities will be on-line over the next few days.


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SEPTA thinks train and trolley brakes do more than just make noise; the agency believes brakes produce electrical energy that can be captured and re-used.
KYW’s Tony Romeo reports Laurie Actman of Viridity Energy says her firm has a partnership agreement with SEPTA to recapture lost energy from the Market-Frankford trains and Route 15 trolleys:
“They’re producing it by braking, and then it’s disappearing in the ether. By installing a large scale battery and connecting it to SEPTA’s power system, we’re going to be able to basically capture and store the power [and] recycle it back into SEPTA’s system.”
The SEPTA project was one of 40 clean energy projects that received state and federal grants announced by Governor Rendell this past week. The governor used the occasion to push for legislative action to increase solar energy usage requirements in the state, another agenda item that seems likely to languish in the final months of Rendell’s term.


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Khekhe heads to court to challenge his arrest
Mamelodi’s number 1 Tsotsi Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela will have to wait a few more days to know whether his arrest in connection with his extortion charges will be ruled unlawful.
Mathibela approached the North Gauteng High Court on an urgent basis to challenge the lawfulness of his March 13 arrest in connection with extortion charges.
Mathibela, along with Elias Skhosana and Stemmer Monageng, were fingered in allegations of extortion, intimidation, and assault after the trio allegedly terrorised the community of Mamelodi.
Skhosana and Monageng were granted bail for R25 000 each while Mathibela abandoned his bail application to challenge his arrest.
In his affidavit which was read into record by Advocate Anneline van den Heever, Mathibela argued that his arrest was unlawful based on the information that he was being sought after.
“The applicant (Mathibela) read in an article on SowetanLive that he was being sought after because there was a warrant issued against his name after the arrests of his two co-accused in the matter on March 8.”
According to Mathibela’s affidavit, he called his attorney, Advocate Solomon Mkhabela to confirm whether he had heard about the warrant.
“Advocate Mkhabela then met with the applicant at Germiston police station with one of the investigating officers to find out the basis of the warrant,” he said.
Van den Heever further argued that the police could not produce the warrant and docket on which the charges were based.
“Advocate Mkhabela was then made to wait like a fool at the police station while the police took the applicant on a “road trip” where he was assaulted in the process.”
The state argued that despite Mathibela’s surrender to the police, he was still arrested based on the fact that he was booked in by an investigating officer.
Judge Cassim Sardiwalla reserved judgment.
Mathibela was arrested after police minister Bheki Cele held meetings with the community in which they raised concerns about Mathibela’s reign of terror.
Cele said during the funeral of Matwetwe lead actor Sibusiso Khwinana three weeks ago that police only found Mathibela's "warm shoes" when they pounced at his house, but promised that the men in blue would hunt him down.
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domain: law


Japanese customers didn’t buy a single 2G handset during January, which could be why Japanese network operator NTT DoCoMo has decided to stop providing sub-3G connectivity by 2012. Although just over 4m mobile phones were shipped to Japanese stores during the first month of the year, the Japan Electronics and Information …
Freudian slip James?
" Nokia’s already embracing telly on the go. Its upcoming flagship 16GB N69 handset includes a DVB-H tuner. "
how are the poor Japanese going to use their phones inside buildings once GSM is abandoned?
Not enough coverage.
There's just not the coverage in the UK for 3G yet. Vodafone only cover about 80% of the population, and nobody has as much of the UK for 3G as they do for 2G...
Does that come bundled with access to more 'specialist' channels?
Paris because she is such a star.
Having broken an expensive flashy all gimzos blazing mobile phone and swapping it for a £20 job that 'just makes calls'
If I lose it or break it - Im not that bothered. And the battery life is so so so much better. Sometimes I get 5 days without a charge. No 3G , no bluetooth , mono screen and big battery. Its not a brick phone, its same size and looks similar to others. Cue ronseal.
Tux , cause thats whats powering my next phone.
Japan uses totally different 2G technology
It's worth noting that Japan doesn't and never has used GSM. They had a uniquely Japanese 2G technology called PDC. This is a TDMA based technology.
It's arguably a poor relation of GSM in many ways as it has various reception problems due to its use of quite low powered signals (this was to allow smaller, lighter handsets) and is completely incapable of roaming outside Japan. It also does not have any 2.5G data service like EDGE.
Japan launched FOMA in 2001 which is an entirely 3G network based on UMTS. This is fully compatible with '3GSM' i.e. 3G UMTS services used in Europe and other GSM countries.
FOMA phones use a USIM, same as 3G phones in Europe which has also given Japanese phone users seamless roaming on 2G GSM when they're abroad. This is a HUGE step forward for business users.
UMTS maintained all of the nice features of GSM i.e. the roaming, the modularity, the SIM cards, SMS messaging, picture messaging and open universal standards. The Japanese came on board when UMTS i.e. FOMA/3GSM was being developed.
Also, 3G handsets in Europe are fully backwards compatible with 2G GSM networks, so we have not had any need for "force" people to move over to 3G.
In Japan, the move from 2G to 3G was much less smooth. You could compare it to the move from Analogue to Digital in Europe.
People basically had to move as the 2G system wasn't quite up to it and the network operators were no longer developing it.
We sometimes forget GSM (when properly rolled out i.e. not the way it is in much of the US!) is a fantastic, rock solid system that provides excellent sound quality and reception.
So, perhaps 3G/UMTS is less unattractive to Japanese subscribers.
"how are the poor Japanese going to use their phones inside buildings once GSM is abandoned?"
Another of the great unwashed speaks the usual drivel about 3G. It is perfectly clear that 3G works just fine inside buildings and there is no need for 2G/GSM at all these days. I have yet to have a 3G handset switch to 2G within a building or not allow me to make a call.
Yes, 3G phones consume greater amounts of power - hasn't anyone heard of re-charging. The purist attitude that demands a standby time of 3 years with a talk time of at least six weeks is ludicrous. Get real people, 3G is here to stay, it will in time replace 2G in its entirety, stop howling at the moon, it isn't going away.
With the Japanese fully embracing 3G I think we can expect an accelerated growth of the number of 3G products, both handsets and embedded devices. How the networks will cater for that in contract terms is not clear yet. But they will have to do something. Already we have people with more than one mobile handset (for that read contract too ...) and of late a third contract is being raised in terms of mobile data, now that is becoming more affordable. It is getting to the time for there to come into being a single mobile contract but with multiple devices added and removed at will. The mobile network operators need to develop new ways of increasing their ARPU - and they won't do it by pricing their wares at premium levels. They have to commoditise their entire product ranges. I suspect this latest development of the Japanese market will be the first stone chucked into the pond.
Smiley - because at last the signs are good that we'll become unwired, finally.
Does that mean the Iphone is not selling in Japan?
You europeans are not aware that Japan also uses superior EVDO Rev A 3G technology which provides faster downloads and superior voice qualidy.
GSM is the worst technology when it comes to voice clarity and data speed. You are probably too proud of your european background to acknowledge that.
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Chickens, eggs glut ‘means millions of dollar in losses’
La Vega, Dominican Republic.- The chambers of Commerce of La Vega and Espaillat provinces (north) on Sunday called the Cibao region’s poultry industry situation precarious, citing millions of dollar in losses from a chickens and eggs glut.
They said the region’s poultry farmers want president Danilo Medina’s help to solve their problem, on concern their sector could face ruin.
Chambers of Commerce executives Francisco José Morillo and Juan Carlos Ortiz said they’re concerned with the possible debacle of their sector, which creates thousands of jobs and a major source of development and funding for more than three decades.
Morillo said the national poultry industry’s excessive production has been distorted since November and fears that dozens of eggs and chickens producers will go bankrupt. “We’re one of the country’s most productive sectors but at the rate we’re going, it’s evident that we’ll see it succumb.”
Category: DR News |


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On the island of Nantucket, an entire community must learn how to come to grips, and attempt to deal with their sorrow, after a tragic car accident claims the life of a 17-year-old girl and seriously injures her twin brother.
Summerland is the first Elin Hilderbrand novel I have read, and it sure won’t be the last. She has a definite knack for delving into the lives of the major characters. By the end of the story, you really care and feel as though you actually know them. This was a very enjoyable novel – now I see why Hilderbrand is such a popular author!
Vivian Maier was a nanny, not a professional photographer. Her work was never published until after her death. Her vision and talent were incredible. Maier, with her Rolleiflex in hand, captured the essence of her subjects and their time. Much of her work told a story of the people of Chicagoland in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, but her travels took her all over the world. With Maier, it was all about the people. Regardless of location, she managed to capture breathtakingly ordinary moments in time through the eyes of people all over the world – check out a sample in Eye to Eye.
Julie Schumacher‘s brief epistolary novel offers a glimpse of academia from a crotchety and beleaguered middle-aged creative writing professor. In a series of snarky letters, Jason Fitger laments the death of liberal arts on college campuses, endorses his struggling grad student, and documents the ridiculousness of teaching in a decrepit building. His own literary career trending downward, Fitger channels his creativeness into countless pithy letters of recommendation written over the course of a school year.
Pick up Dear Committee Members for a quick laugh, an endearing character, and a nostalgic look at days gone by. And if you’re a fan of stories told in letters, emails, and more, check out our list of epistolary novels.
Christopher Boone finds a dog has been killed in his neighborhood. He decides to investigate and solve the crime. Because Christopher is autistic, the story is unusual and captivating. It’s a mystery, but not really a mystery. Check out Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
The story is set in London and goes back and forth between 2009 and 1849. In the modern thread, Julia inherits a house and travels from New York to London to clean out the house before selling it. The story switches to 1849, where Imogen lives in the house with her dispassionate husband. Imogen has an affair with the artist painting her portrait – a painting that still hangs in the house in 2009. Modern day Julia pieces together Imogen’s life and finds love in Nicholas, an antiques dealer who helps her with the research.
I really enjoyed That Summer and loved the switching of the characters and the years. Very entertaining – I hope that a movie is made from Lauren Willig’s novel.
Renowned London detective Sidney Grice is irascible, vain, and a genius. When he takes in a young woman as his ward, he never dreams that her humanistic approach to life will assist him in his detecting. A chance meeting with a doctor and struggling writer Arthur Conan Doyle suggests that Grice and March Middleton, his ward, will become the model for his famous detective Sherlock Holmes.
Find a copy of The Mangle Street Murders by M. R. C. Kasasian today.
A scientist has successfully created artificial intelligence and puts the world in danger when the robot, calling itself Archos R-14, kills its creator and escapes. Archos slowly spreads its influence across the world and takes over many robots, of which this future society is full, and bides its time before launching a major attack against humanity, an event that would soon be known as Zero Hour. All across the world, humans are dying, but some are fighting back.
Told through many perspectives, Daniel H. Wilson’s Robopocalypse seeks to do what many sci-fi and dystopian novels fail to do: show the war in real-time and from a variety of diverse characters, including a Native American police officer, a young girl, a Congresswoman, and a soldier stationed in the Middle East. No longer is North America alone in its struggles!
The audiobook adaptation of this book is told expertly through the narration of Mike Chamberlain, whose voice is perfectly suited to the action hero-type character of Cormac Wallace, who introduces and closes each chapter. The book is written in detailed prose which cleverly balances action and emotion and feels very much like watching a movie.
This story is charmingly told by Flora 717, an exceptional bee having capabilities in the many skills needed to sustain a hive. A Sister Sage (philosopher bee) says Flora has the hive mind. Trouble comes when Flora discovers she also produces eggs and she regards her offspring with great affection. But only the Queen should produce eggs and Flora must hide this wonderful gift from the hive police.
I particularly enjoyed listening to The Bees by Laline Paull as the accents and tones bring out the character and mood of the speaking bee (of course bees cannot talk but the author has skillfully translated their communications from noise, dance, and scent into English). One can speculate as the story moves along as to what will become of Flora and who will be the next Queen. Read a review of The Bees in the New York Times.
When successful criminal lawyer Mickey Dupree is found dead on a golf course in upstate New York, all fingers point to ex-baseball player turned farmer Virgil Cain as his killer. Several weeks earlier, Cain had spouted off in the local bar that “someone ought to blow Mickey’s head off.” That statement alone is sufficient evidence for police detective Brady to place Cain in custody for Dupree’s murder.
When Virgil realizes that Brady is not interested in looking for other possible suspects, he breaks out of jail to prove his innocence. Attractive and highly capable police Chief Claire Marchand has her doubts that Virgil is the murderer and she finds herself helping Cain search for the killer. Great characters, an interesting plot, and the interactions between Claire and Virgil make for a great story in Red Means Run by Brad Smith.
I listened to the audio version of Julie Kibler’s debut Calling Me Home and loved it. The narration alternates between Isabelle, an 89-year old white woman, and Dorrie, an African American woman in her 30s. These two women have an unlikely friendship, which started many years earlier when Dorrie became Isabelle’s hairdresser.
At Isabelle’s request, they embark on a road trip from Texas to Ohio to attend a funeral. En route, Isabelle tells the story of her life during the 1930s. As such, the storyline alternates between late 1930s and the present day. Since I listened to this book in my car, I felt as though I were on the road with them, sitting in the back seat, eavesdropping on their captivating conversation.
The characters were so real to me that I felt the whole gamut of emotions while listening to this book. I think the book could be turned into a great movie!


Old takes on new in the world of online gambling
Las Vegas casino giants are ready to battle the industry’s newest online players, investing billions of dollars into acquiring and building their own online gambling platforms.
The Motley Fool reports that while DraftKings, Golden Nugget Online Gaming and Rush Street Interactive start to carve out their market share, seasoned campaigners like Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts are ready to fight the next generation of gambling.
The growth of the online gambling business hasn’t been lost on traditional Las Vegas giants, who are investing in their own platforms and partnerships they hope will put them one step ahead.
Caesars Entertainment announced a multi billion dollar deal to acquire online gambling partner William Hill, while Wynn Resorts recently announced a restructuring of Wynn Interactive, which will bring gaming to as many as 16 states in the near future.
Wynn owns 71 per cent of that venture.
These companies are bringing their big names and balance sheets to the world of online gambling and they’re hoping well known partnerships will help attract customers.
Wynn has a deal with Nascar and MGM has deals with the NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, WNBA and many more sporting organisations, including individual teams.
Caesars’ biggest agreement is with ESPN.
These partnerships are important because they give casino giants viability with consumers and a way to reach customers with advertisements and customer acquisition is the name of the game for online betting right now.
Profitability low in new online gambling ventures
It’s hard to overstate how unprofitable the online gambling business is today and how expensive it is to acquire customers.
In its first nine months, DraftKings lost $575 million from operations on $292.3 million revenue.
Sales and marketing costs alone are 104 per cent of revenue and general and administrative costs of $274.2 million show just how much overhead costs.
The biggest problem right now is that customer acquisition costs far exceed revenue.
That might be temporary as DraftKings casts a wider net with advertising that it can address with legal gambling markets.
This is definitely a negative-cash-flow business today and looks to be so for the foreseeable future.
However, incumbents Caesars, MGM and Wynn have casino businesses that generate cash on an ongoing basis, so they can put some of that money into building online gambling presences.
In other words, they can withstand investing in the acquisition of online gambling customers as a path to long-term growth.
DraftKings and its online only counterparts don’t have that same flexibility without raising cash.
If we knew that legal online gambling markets would increase from just over a dozen states today to the entire US in a few years, it may be worth buying online only gambling companies because they will be better growth stocks long-term.
But there’s a lot of uncertainty around when states will legalise more online bets and that could give incumbents a time advantage, where they can withstand the cash burn online gambling will take for years.
That’s why an established player like MGM will ultimately be a better bet than a company like DraftKings.
At the very least, Las Vegas casino giants are not giving up online gambling without a fight and that could make it hard for DraftKings and others to live up to lofty investor expectations.


Hiring a Mobile Mechanic is undoubtedly not a choice to be played around. Whether it is only for an one-time fixing or as a way to have your motor vehicles up and running in a snap in any way, it is important that you take some time to figure out more about the numerous auto mechanics accessible, as well as the kind of companies they can supply. Here are some recommendations to obtain you began.
If you are actually searching for an in-home mobile phone technician, at that point it is actually vital that you research all available companies in your location. You may make use of local directories to discover auto mechanics in your place, and also hunt online for mobile phone technician firms. Obviously, you need to take your time when choosing a company, since besides, this is your lorry we are actually speaking about. It is much better to pick a good one than be stayed with it down the road.
Call them to establish up a consultation the moment you have researched the mobile mechanic firms that you have been actually considering. Most will definitely deliver a complimentary no obligation quote on your motor vehicle, thus there is no need to feel hurried. A really good auto mechanic is going to likewise use to take the automobile for an examination ride, so you can find just how the automobile performs and feel pleasant operating all the commands. Remember, however, that not all mechanics are comfortable giving you a demonstration, so it is necessary to ask about this prior to conference with an auto mechanic.
Some mobile phone auto mechanics will involve your house or place of business to check your automobile, and return with some general assistance. For the most part, an excellent technician will provide you specific details of your auto that you may actually utilize. This may feature a diagram or even a picture of your cars and truck, therefore you can easily acquire an aesthetic photo of just how everything interacts.
Just before appointment with a technician, ask some inquiries about their training as well as experience. Set up consultations with at least 3 different technicians, and also attempt to inquire them the very same questions.
Make sure you recognize where you will be actually taking your car when you arrange a visit along with a mobile phone auto mechanic. You perform not want to drive all around community trying to locate a great auto mechanic, merely to find out eventually that you will definitely not be steering much. Determine the range between the mobile auto mechanic’s site and your house or company. You might even wish to possess all of them offer you a general estimation of the cost of the repair work. It is essential to obtain an in black and white estimation to ensure that nothing is actually entrusted to opportunity.
A mobile auto mechanic is not accredited to do repairs in your condition. Just before making it possible for the individual to work with your automobile, make sure the license is current. Some conditions call for the mobile auto mechanics to become insured, bonded, as well as accredited via their condition. You ought to certainly not enable all of them to begin any job on your car if the mobile auto mechanics will certainly not submit to these demands. You should additionally ask for referrals to make sure that you can speak with previous consumers.
You ought to ask for a created quote of all work fees. You must also inquire about any devices or even devices that the auto mechanic will definitely use while working with your car. You must also ask regarding their qualifications as well as whether they concern a profession organization or otherwise. A trusted mobile phone auto mechanic should want to respond to every one of your concerns, thus be patient and also examine several various mechanics prior to selecting one to mend your car. Bear in mind that choosing a quality mechanic may make a substantial difference in the functionality of your cars and truck. By employing a person that does not have a considerable amount of experience, you can purchase it in the future.
There are actually some mobile phone mechanic firms that have actually grown their companies to include providing mobile diagnostic and also repair companies. When they take a trip and use various other settings of transportation, this has actually produced it convenient for clients to receive their automobile restored. It is actually an economical means of maintaining motor vehicles healthy since the provider just demands for the time that it needs to correct the cars and truck. In this instance, it comes to be important to know the various mobile auto mechanics pros and cons to make sure that the customers obtain the very best bang for their dollar. Here are actually some of the cons and pros.
A mobile phone repair service firm can be reviewed to an automotive body system shop. It carries out all the essential repairs to cars and trucks including a complete inspection besides various minor repair work. A mobile auto mechanic is experienced at identifying problems in automobile motors as well as repairing slight problems. It also supplies precautionary maintenance services like oil improvements. Because it is certainly not a full service service center, the automobile is actually usually driven around for diagnostic testing prior to being actually corrected. The vehicle is back on its roadway in no opportunity at all.
One of the primary causes why individuals decide for mobile phone auto mechanics is actually since they perform certainly not need long hours to correct their motor vehicles. The mobile auto mechanics have actually extremely progressed tools and also the appropriate know-how foundation to carry out any type of task efficiently. walmart tire repair
There are actually some risks affiliated along with utilizing a mobile mechanic. Some perform not possess the requisite permit or expertise to undertake a specific task. Others may possess inadequate client service abilities. It is as a result important to perform a little bit of study prior to creating a decision. As soon as you locate a mobile mechanic that you feel to become ideal, you should make certain that she or he has the demanded certification and proficiency to carry out the repair work.


text:
I had a favorite chicken.....her name was Nugget.
She went missing one day...I think she flew out and something got her.
I was so very sad. We originally acquired 9 chickens....8 hens and 1 rooster.
Nugget stood out at the beginning.
She was so friendly and the only one that would let me pick her up.
Anyway she is gone but not forgotten.
Today, I want to introduce you to Millie.
She is almost friendly.
Some days she will let me pick her up and some days not.
She always acts scared when I pick her up.
I'm determined she is going to be my new best friend chicken.
Have you ever seen Tiny Toons with the little girl named Elmira....that loves her animals....to death?
She hugs them and squeezes them and they are scared to death of her...lol...well I think that is how Millie looks at me.
I tell her "We are going to be best friends and you're going to love me!"......aahhemm (clearing throat)...where was I?
Anyway, Millie loves....I mean loves for me to bring the shovel into the coop.
I will dig in the ground and they will gobble up worms and bugs.
But this day I was trying to scrape back some dirt so my coop door would open easier and she was trying to be a bit too helpful.
She does this every time.
I hope you enjoy.

domain: pet


The participants of the XVth International Winter Road Congress will be invited to take part in two technical visits. They will present different aspects of the winter road maintenance. During the visits, the participants will get to know how to handle extreme weather conditions at the engineering structures and the modes of road and motorway traffic management.
All technical trips start at AMBEREXPO
PELPLIN MOTORWAY MAINTENANCE CENTRE
The Motorway Maintenance Centre located in Pelplin is one of three Maintenance Centres located in the northern section of A1 motorway (Rusocin – Toruń South).
Intertoll Polska, carrying out the Operator’s tasks on this section of A1 the motorway, carries out work related to ongoing maintenance of the road and carries out maintenance, renovation and clean-up activities intended to maintain the safety and aesthetics of the road. Employees carrying tasks related to the operation of the motorway maintain the operational condition of the A1 motorway adhering to the current standards. Furthermore, they take care of the landscaping and upkeep of green areas, carry out drainage work and secure traffic incidents areas, as well as remove the effects of accidents and collisions. As part of Winter upkeep, the Operator of this section carries out activities preventing slippery roads by salting the motorway with appropriately prepared brines, as well as activities to combat and remove snow and slush.
MMC Pelplin includes a 24-hour Traffic Control Centre and CusTomer Service Centre. The Traffic Control Centre (TCC) monitors traffic on the motorway 24/7 and reacts in case of traffic obstructions or incidents, increasing safety and comfort of travel for the users. The TCC works directly together with the Traffic Patrol, maintenance employees and toll booth personnel. All information from the observation systems and reporting units on the motorway comes here – from meteorological stations, emergency columns, speed and traffic intensity measurement equipment.
The MCC building complex includes, among others, other rooms for the Operator’s employees, necessary technical facilities with equipment warehouses and a warehouse for storing agents for removing winter slipperiness from the roads.
ROAD BRIDGE OVER THE VISTULA RIVER IN KWIDZYN
The road bridge over the Vistula River in Kwidzyn is an engineering structure located within the national road no. 90. It was built between 2010 and 2013 in place of a ferry crossing, which operation was limited by weather and hydrological factors (the ferry ran between April and October). During other months, the inhabitants of these areas had to make use detours stretching over several kilometres. Thanks to the direct crossing to the other side of the river, the travel time from Kwidzyn to the Tricity was shortened by an hour. The bridge in Kwidzyn is comprised of modern road infrastructure technologies incorporated harmoniously into the Nature 2000 protected areas.
Construction of the bridge in Kwidzyn involved the first ever use of B-80 increased strength concrete in Poland. The entire load-bearing structure of the bridge is made of it. 54 stay cables were used for the bridge, each of them with 75 cables, and each cable consisting of 7 wires. The bridge in Kwidzyn places fifth in the world and first in Europe in terms of span length, which is the most important parameter for bridge structures.
Technical specifications of the bridge:
• total length: 808.5 m
• total width: 15.9 m
• number of spans: 6
• length of primary spans: 2 × 204 m
ROAD TUNNEL UNDER THE DEAD VISTULA RIVER WITHIN THE SŁOWACKI ROUTE
The road tunnel under the Dead Vistula river is the only underwater and the longest and deepest tunnel in Poland. It is comprised of two communication routes with two traffic lanes in each direction.
Construction of the tunnel took place between 2011 and 2016, as part of the “Connection between the Airport and the Sea Port in Gdańsk – Słowacki Route” project. The tunnelling method chosen gave the Gdańsk structure the status of the first ever road tunnel made using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) in Poland.
Basic information about the structure:
• construction: 2011-2016;
• date of commissioning: 24 April 2016;
• length of the tunnel: 1377.5 m;
• cost of construction: PLN 885.6 M.;
• tunnel made using a TBM tunnelling machine with a 12.6 in diameter disc;
• average traffic intensity in the tunnel is 25,626 vehicles/24 hours.
To ensure the proper operation of the tunnel, it was necessary to equip it in several systems and devices providing permanent road traffic control. Safety systems were installed, facilitating evacuation of people and vehicles and carrying out rescue activities in the tunnel, particularly in case of a fire. The condition of all the equipment and traffic in the tunnel are monitored by operators of the 24/7 Tunnel Management Centre.
TRISTAR MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL CENTRE
The integrated Tristar Traffic Control System allows for automatic traffic control in the entire Tricity area by employing Intelligent Transport System (ITS) technologies. This undertaking was implemented by three cities: Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia.
The Tristar system enables:
• collection, aggregation and processing of traffic data;
• traffic monitoring and identification of danger areas;
• detection of traffic incidents (automatic detection, reports);
• traffic control via traffic lights (optimisation of control parameters for individual areas);
• strategic traffic management (diverting to alternative routes, speed management);
• notifying participants about the traffic conditions;
• delivering, sending out and sharing traffic information and information about the functioning of the street network and the public communication network;
• traffic planning (traffic modelling and prediction, creating optimal transport routes).
The Tristar system is handled by two area-based management centres:
• Gdynia Centre covering Gdynia – 6 operator stations;
• Gdańsk Centre covering Sopot and Gdańsk – 8 operator stations.
Both centres are connected with a fast fibre optic link. It allows for managing traffic in the entire Tricity area from either of the centres, depending on the operator’s competence. Furthermore, traffic data for the entire Tricity area are aggregated in a central database.
DCT Gdańsk is Poland’s largest and fastest growing container facility, and the only deep-water terminal in the Baltic Sea Region having direct ocean vessel calls from the Far East. Located in the heart of the Baltic in the Port of Gdansk, DCT is the most Eastern facility in the Gdansk – Le Havre range.


text:
Black Gate Online Fiction: “Grady Spades Second Opinion”
By Levi Black
This is a complete work of fiction presented by Black Gate magazine. It appears with the permission of Levi Black, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part. All rights reserved. Copyright 2016 by Levi Black.
Caution: Adult content.
They had ever since he’d had the vasectomy some thirty-seven years ago. Everything would be fine, his balls would be nothing to think of and then BAM! he’d sit wrong and when he stood, they’d be sore like when Sally Jo Macalister had landed a knee there after he’d pulled her skirt up to her chin.
Six decades later he STILL remembered that pain.
She’d nailed him but good.
But even with the occasional ache and soreness and nausea it brought he never regretted that vasectomy.
He hadn’t worn a condom in thirty-seven years.
He hated condoms.
More than he hated herpes. (Herpes weren’t all that bad.)
Then the ache had set in on the regular a year back, nothing would alleviate it, nothing would diminish it, it just stayed constant in his balls (the right one specifically) like a pain rat trying to gnaw its way into his guts.
The testicular kind.
He’d looked up a list of famous people who died from it. Seemed to be mostly athletes and porn stars.
He fished around his coat for a cancerstick, found his pack in his pocket crumpled and creased, the majority of the cigarettes inside broken and leaking brown bits of shredded tobacco.
He shook the pack empty on his lap and recovered two cigarettes intact, although they looked like someone had tried their damnedest to stomp them to pieces.
He coughed as he looked for his lighter.
He’d have bet money on that nasty habit taking him. Two packs a day started not long after he recovered from Sally Jo’s nut shot.
Where the fuck was that lighter?
“I will light yours if I can have the other.”
He startled, looking over sharply.
There was a man in a long black coat on the bench next to him. Long and lean, as if he were a shadow cast off something of an enviable height, he stretched on the bench, hands in the pockets of his coat.
Grady hadn’t seen him sit down.
The coat fluttered and rustled around the man even though there was no wind.
“Sorry, sorry,” why was he apologizing? “Didn’t see you there.”
The Man In Black smiled and Grady saw a wet gleam in the corner of the man’s mouth. “Most do not.”
“Bus will be here in a few.”
“It will arrive when it arrives.”
Grady’s hands continued to float to pockets of their own accord, seeking out the familiar, comforting shape of the lighter he carried everyday.
The Man In Black shifted, turning more his way. “My offer stands.” His head tilted toward the two cigarettes lying on Grady’s leg. “Its a small price to pay for what you need.”
Grady chuckled. “Half my shit for the opportunity to inhale the other half? That’s not small, that’s…”
“Half?” the Man In Black offered.
“One cigarette to give you comfort, one to help your fellow… neighbor out.”
“Well, since you put it that way.” Grady handed over the more beaten of the two cigarettes, keeping the better one for himself.
The Man In Black took the cigarette in his left hand, holding it between long, slender fingers, studying it with dark glittering eyes.
Grady held up his.
The Man In Black pulled his right hand from his coat.
It was red.
Every molecule in Grady’s body froze as he watched that hand move toward the cigarette in his lips. The fingers hung limply, a net of nerves and connective tissue running between and over raw muscle, knitting around knuckles of cream colored bone and brilliant white cartilage. They flowed across the back of the hand, now tracing along the paths and ridges of thicker veins that lay blue in snake trails toward the wrist where muscle ended in flat ribbons of tendon that disappeared up a cuff of unrelieved darkness.
That hand could stop time.
It could pull lightning from the heavens.
It could strike down an army.
What it did in front of Grady Spades’ face was turn with a flourish and produce a cheap plastic lighter like a magick trick.
A flick of the thumb across the wheel and flame licked out to light the cigarette between his lips.
Startled, he inhaled, drawing in smoke too quick for even his practiced lungs (still pink and healthy as a high school track star’s) to handle.
By the time he got his chest under control, the hand and the lighter were gone, disappeared back into the pocket of that long black coat.
The Man In Black still twirled the other cigarette in his left hand.
“Aren’t you going to smoke that?” Grady asked.
“I will save it for after I eat.”
“It’s your party, pal.”
“Life is a party, Grady Michael Spades.”
Grady grunted. “Party’s over too soon.” He took a long drag “How did you know my name?”
The Man In Black brushed away the question. “Did you want the party to last longer?”
“Don’t we all?”
“Longer means different things to different things.”
“Yeah, I’d like a bit more of a go.”
“The doctor told you your party is coming to a close?”
I’m sorry, Mr. Spades. Your cancer has metastasized. If you were younger we could treat it, but at your age . . .
“Yeah, the fucking kid.”
“They are doing nothing for you?”
“They say they can’t get it all. It’ll just come back no matter how much they take.”
They fell to silence, both of them sitting in the sun.
“I can remove all of it, Grady Michael Spades.”
“You’re a doctor?”
The Man In Black looked at him.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
“Would you like to bargain?”
Grady laughed. “Get thee behind me, pal. Sister Mary Lazarus told me about you way back at Holy Mother.”
“I am not the devil you know.”
Grady stopped laughing. “You serious?”
“About removing the malignant cells that will kill you? Yes, Grady Michael Spades, I am indeed serious.”
Grady thought about it, wishing he still had the cigarette the Man In Black kept playing with so casually. “You can get all the cancer? Every bit of it out and me still healthy and ready to go?”
A thought quickened Grady. “If you can do that, can you rewind me to a younger self who can enjoy the party?”
“If I said yes, what do you want in return?”
“I am allowed to keep your diseased tissue.”
“You want my cancer?”
The Man In Black nodded.
“Why in the hell would you want that?”
“Do you truly want the answer to that, Grady Michael Spades?”
“Uh, no, on second thought, I don’t.”
Even if he is just a crazy person, what do you have to lose?
“Is that an agreement?”
“Yes. Take away my cancer. I want to party some more.”
The words were barely past his lips when the Man In Black was on him.
The coat wrapped around Grady, slithering over his head and face, making the world go dark. Cold, so bone-achingly cold, seared his chin and cheeks. He couldn’t breathe.
He felt something digging in the crease of his hip and then a rough tearing sensation, as if his skin had been ripped asunder, and the pain flared to a white hot scorch.
Something curled in his guts and it sent a wet tickle up his spine and into his brain.
And something tore free.
Pain, wide and hollow and bleeding, spread across his abdomen as he felt something larger than a fist slide out of his body.
The coat fell away and he blinked up into the sun.
The Man In Black stood there, holding what looked like a string of raw chicken livers in his red right hand.
Darkness crept at the edges of Grady’s vision, vignetting the Man In Black as he tilted his head back and raised the fistful of dripping tumor. His mouth parted, revealing gleaming sharkteeth as his jaw slid sideways and unhinged, opening wider than it should be able to until it was a gaping maw, a basket of razored enamel that he held the cancer over and casually dropped into.
His head came down, pulsating back in to shape as he chewed.
Grady was cold, colder than he’d ever been, except one widening spot across his lap, that felt as if it were burning up.
The Man In Black squatted in front of him, long black coat rustling out to either side.
Grady tried to make words, pulling them from his fogging mind. “I thought . . . I thought you were going . . . to make me younger.”
“You should learn to bargain more specifically.” The Man In Black lifted the cigarette to his lips. The end flared red as he drew in a long inhale. “Thanks for the smoke.”
Levi Black is the author of Red Right Hand (Tor Books, July 26, 2016). He lives in Metro Atlanta with his wife and an array of toys, books, records, and comics. He’s been weird his whole life and is almost as scary as he looks.

domain: literature


text:
Brewers in the UK and USA are using a heritage barley variety called ‘Chevallier’ grown by our researchers to create unique craft beers.
The barley, last grown commercially in the UK in the 1930s, has been preserved at our Germplasm Resources Unit.
Shane Swindells at The Cheshire Brewhouse was one of the first UK brewers to use the new variety. Using Chevallier malt, he created 1,000 bottles of Govinda ‘Chevallier Edition’ – a cask-aged pale ale created using an authentic 1830’s recipe and methods.
“There’s a lot of complexity from the malt. Chevallier is very aromatic, and the flavours were fantastic,” says Swindells. “I’ve been getting some fantastic feedback, because it is quite different to other beer.”
Among new breweries there is demand for novel ingredients and new flavours, as well as for locally-grown ingredients or those that have been produced organically. Heritage varieties such as Chevallier could help meet that demand.
As an additional benefit, researchers also found that Chevallier barley was resistant to a costly fungal disease of barley known as Fusarium, which reduces yield and grain quality by producing fungal toxins that cause health problems in people and animals. They are now working with colleagues in the USA and Canada to produce other varieties that are resistant to Fusarium infection.

domain: agronomy


text:
Discover Pinterest’s 10 best ideas and inspiration for Jungle book. Get inspired and try out new things.
“Backgrounds and key arts from Disney’s The Jungle Book (1967) :”
D.M. Guerra saved to Drawing
Walt Disney Poster of Bagheera, Baloo, Mowgli, King Louie, Shere Khan and Kaa from "The Jungle Book" (1967)
Rebecca Jefferson saved to Disney favorites
Limited Edition canvas artwork by Michelle St.Laurent, from our Treasures on Canvas Collection.
20"H x 10"W
Limited Edition of 1500
Includes a Certificate of Authenticity
Canvas print is "Gallery Wrapped" and ready to hang. The back of the artwork is affixed with a wire for easy wall hanging. (wall hook not included)
Gicleé canvas print using archival inks and materials
Part of the Treasures on Canvas Collection
Made in the USA
patricia A Orteg-Edwards saved to Disney
Can't believe they're remaking the jungle book into a live action thing \(^ o ^)/ Here's a little fan art. You guys are probably hating me because I've ... The Jungle Book
Grace Holton saved to Disney Art
O que achamos do Live Action de Mogli, o Menino Lobo que estreia dia 14 de abril de 2016
Cris e Panda saved to Coxinha Nerd
Paper Whisperer Karin Arruda brings life and dimension to paper
Melanie Rini saved to Manualidades
Jungle Book T-Shirt by Denís Orio Ibáñez aka ddjvigo. Jungle Matata is a Lion King parody for fans of the Jungle Book featuring Mowgli, Baloo, and Bagheera.
The Shirt List saved to Disney T-Shirts

domain: entertainment