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Anne Bonny Book Reviews
Tag: Accent Press
Q&A with @rosiewilby #Author of, Is Monogamy Dead? @AccentPress
Is Monogamy Dead? by Rosie Wilby
Bittersweet, original, honest and so funny. Rosie Wilby nails the challenges of intimacy and romance in this depressing age of Tinder. Would it be wrong to end a life of monogamy and leave my husband for her? Viv Groskop "My favourite way to learn is when a funny, clever, honest person is teaching me- that's why I love Rosie Wilby!" Sara Pascoe
In early 2013, comedian Rosie Wilby found herself at a crossroads with everything she'd ever believed about romantic relationships. When people asked, 'who's the love of your life?' there was no simple answer. Did they mean her former flatmate who she'd experienced the most ecstatic, heady, yet ultimately doomed, fling with? Or did they mean the deep, lasting companionate partnerships that gave her a sense of belonging and family? Surely, most human beings need both.
Mixing humour, heartache and science, Is Monogamy Dead? details Rosie's very personal quest to find out why Western society is clinging to a concept that doesn't work that well for some of us and is laden with ambiguous assumptions.
Q&A:
Q) For the readers, can you talk us through your background and the synopsis of your new novel?
A) I'm a comedian and, over the last eight years, I've written and toured a trilogy of solo shows about love and relationships. The middle part was called Is Monogamy Dead? and centred around a survey I devised asking 'what counts as cheating?'
Q) Can you talk us through the journey from idea to writing to publication?
A) The comedy show spun off into a TEDx talk, numerous articles and a Radio 4 Four Thought piece as I realised that the topic had a more serious side. I thought that a book would give me the space to explore both the humour and deeper emotional and scientific aspects of how we behave in human relationships. So I set about getting an agent and a publisher. I'd entered a slightly different Memoir into a Mslexia competition and had been shortlisted. So, along with my comedy profile and broadcasting and social media platform etc, I guess I was lucky enough to have a tiny bit of a 'calling card'. But it was still a very difficult process. One or two of the big publishers called me in for meetings or showed interest. But, in the end, an indie publisher Accent expressed the most real excitement about it. They have the UK and Ireland rights and I'm currently looking to publish in other territories. There is also an audio book with Audible.
Q) What are your favourite authors and recommended reads?
A) I like nonfiction that has a strong element of personal narrative and humour. Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman was a bit of a template for how I approached my book.
Q) What were your childhood/teenage favourite reads?
A) I loved drawing cartoons as a child, so particularly enjoyed the Asterix books.
Q) What has been your favourite moment of being a published author?
A) I've really enjoyed the conversations I've had about the book on podcasts. The High Low show was a particularly fun one. Dolly and Pandora had both throughly read the book and made tons of notes.
Q) Who has been your source of support/encouragement, throughout the writing process?
A) I met my new partner Suzanne when I was right in the thick of writing. So that not only gave me a happy ending for the book, but also a companion to help me get through all of the difficult and stressful processes that come after you've submitted, such as proofing and then all the marketing. Being an author is a desperately lonely process compared to the hugely social aspect of being a comedian.
Rosie Wilby
Authors links:
Website: http://www.rosiewilbynews.blogspot.co.uk
Twitter: @rosiewilby
November 21, 2017 #Q&A, #QandA, @AcceentPress, @rosiewilby, Accent Press, authortalks, Is Monogamy Dead?, Relationships, Rosie WilbyLeave a comment
Q&A with @claidlawauthor #TheThingsWeLearnWhenWereDead @AccentPress
The Things We Learn When We're Dead by Charlie Laidlaw
On the way home from a dinner party she didn't want to attend, Lorna Love steps into the path of an oncoming car. When she wakes up she is in what appears to be a hospital – but a hospital in which her nurse looks like a young Sean Connery, she is served wine for supper, and everyone avoids her questions.
It soon transpires that she is in Heaven, or on HVN. Because HVN is a lost, dysfunctional spaceship, and God the aging hippy captain. She seems to be there by accident. Or does God have a higher purpose after all?
At first Lorna can remember nothing. As her memories return – some good, some bad – she realises that she has decisions to make and that she needs to find a way home…
A) I was born and brought up in the west of Scotland and am a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. After a number of temporary jobs, I started work as a newspaper reporter, which was all I ever really wanted to do. That journey took me from Glasgow to London.
However, put of the blue, I was approached by a government agency to work in intelligence and, stupidly, I accepted their kind offer. It took me away from what I loved – and was good at – and put me in a world that was badly paid and which I didn't much enjoy. In any case, it was dull and don't like vodka martini.
Craving excitement and adventure, I ended up as a PR consultant, which is the fate of all journalists who haven't won a Pulitzer Prize, and that's what I'm still doing. Of much greater importance, I am married with two grown-up children and live in East Lothian. And that's about it.
My current book, The Things We Learn When We're Dead, is a modern fairytale of love and loss. It's about the subtle ways in which we change, and how the small decisions that we make can have profound and unintended consequences.
On one level, the book is a simple story of a young woman's life. But, for those readers who want to make the connection, The Things We Learn is also a retelling of The Wizard of Oz: how a young woman in ultimately tragic circumstances comes to reassess her life and find a new beginning.
A) Your question suggests a journey and, for me, it started with a journey because the first inkling of the idea for the book came on a train from Edinburgh to London. It was an apt place to have a booky idea because Edinburgh, being a literary kind of place, is the only city in the world to have named its main railway station – Waverley – after a book.
When I got home I then wrote the first chapter and the last chapter and, while the first chapter has changed out of all recognition, the last chapter is much as I originally wrote it.
The next part of the journey was harder. On the back of the completed book, I obtained a glittering London agent who pitched it, without success, to the big publishers. Some were 50/50…so it could have gone either way. In the end, sadly, none pitched for it.
However, I knew that what I had written was good and, frankly, that it could be better. I therefore set about rewriting and rewriting it until it was the best that I could make it. Then in stepped those nice people at Accent Press…
A) Oh Lord! Growing up, my favourite authors were the likes of Hemingway and Greene. Then I morphed onto Fay Weldon and Paul Theroux. More recently, my favourite authors have to be the likes of Sebastian Faulks, Kate Atkinson, and the incomparable Joanna Harris. A special mention also to the late great Iain Banks.
Rather than recommend books that everyone has heard of, I would suggest A Visit From the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan), The Panopticon (Jenni Fagan) and Skippy Dies (Paul Murray).
A) The book that stands out is Jennie by Paul Gallico, about a young boy who is knocked down by a car and wakes up as a cat. It was a revelation to me then and, thinking about it, it probably influenced The Things We Learn When We're Dead, because it's a book about love and loss and finding a new beginning…in the same way as the Wizard of Oz is.
A) There hasn't been any one special moment. Rather, it's the quiet satisfaction of knowing that I have outlived all those rejection letters! It's always nice, I suppose, to achieve something in life and, because writing has been so central in mine, I have an acute sense of real satisfaction.
A) I think that would have to be me. Other writers have support networks to read what they've written, make comment, and suggest changes. I haven't really had that luxury. It has, I suppose, made me the biggest critic of me.
It's a thick-skinned approach to writing that I would recommend every budding author to adopt. Read lots, write lots, tear it all up, start again…and slowly get better. If you have friends and family to do some of the heavy lifting, then great; if not, do it yourself, and be your own worst enemy!
Charlie Laidlaw
Web: https://www.charlielaidlawauthor.com/
Twitter: @claidlawauthor
July 18, 2017 #Q&A, #QandA, @AccentPress, @claidlawauthor, Accent Press, authortalks, Charlie Laidlaw, The Things We Learn When We're DeadLeave a comment
Anne Bonny #BlogTour #BookReview A Sinner's Prayer by @EllingtonWright M.P Wright 5*Genius #NewRelease #CrimeFiction #Series #JTEllington @bwpublishing #Bristol #ASinnersPrayer
Anne Bonny #BlogTour #BookReview and Q&A with @HeidiPerksBooks ~ Come Back For Me 5* #NewRelease #Psychological #Thriller #Suspense #CrimeFiction @arrowpublishing


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Measuring the performance of air filter media
Test methods and standards for evaluating the filter media for air filtration applications are now being formulated by the industry. Paolo Tronville of the Politecnico di Torino and Richard Rivers of EQS Inc. describe the current status of media testing in air filtration.
Test rig for filter media.
Flat-sheet filter media test system in the Politecnico laboratory. Left - 30 x 30 cm media holder; Centre - (in distance) laser particle counter/spectrometer; Right - controls for corona-discharge aerosol neutraliser, and electrometer for Faraday Cup aerosol charge detector.
Scanning-electron microscope image of typical air-laid filter medium, showing wide range of fibre diameters, random structure and binder bridges.
Transportable test system for on-site simultaneous comparisons of four air filter media. Ambient aerosol is being sampled here.
Generally accepted test methods exist for fabricated air filter cells in applications ranging from residential air conditioning to nuclear reactor safety systems. Some standards also exist for evaluating dust control equipment using cleanable fabrics and nonwovens in various forms. Test methods for the filtration media used in the filter elements of these systems have been slower to arrive. However, complete test methods for filtration media - analogous to ISO TS 21220 test for fabricated filter cells, for example - are now passing through the international consensus-standards process for both disposable and cleanable filter media.
There are valid reasons for the difference. Device manufacturers are reluctant to reveal the details of media used in their products. The exact mix of fibres, thickness, and other media physical properties are often crucial to the performance of a filtration product. The performance of a pleated filter is not easily predictable from the performance of flat sheet media. The performance of cleanable media is highly dependent on the geometric configuration of the separator device and its cleaning means.
Nevertheless, media test methods are needed for product quality control, and to assure design engineers and users that media will deliver promised performance under the environmental stresses of specific applications. Although some test results, required by government agencies for protecting public health, are openly available, other results can be kept under confidentiality agreements, to protect manufacturer trade secrets, while using rigorous, fully-defined test methods.
A survey of current standards relating to media testing shows that test methods for many media attributes have already been addressed by national and international standards-writing organisations. International standards for media could be built on this experience.
Test standards for filter media, like test standards for filtration devices, fall into two general categories - those intended for disposable filter cells, and those intended for devices having means for cleaning the filter media. The bulk of disposable filters are used in building HVAC systems, clean rooms and other applications having relatively benign environmental conditions. Cleanable media, however, are used in industrial processes, stack-gas cleaning and other applications which may require operation at high temperatures, wet or corrosive gas conditions, and much higher dust concentrations than the other group.
We identify a third category of gas filtration: specialty applications. We discuss these for a few categories: nuclear reactor and fuel-processing safety systems; grease arrestors; paint overspray capture; and mist eliminators and coalescers; metallic fiber media. Filter media for these applications may be identical with those used in the other two groups, but they require different test methods, and demonstration that the mechanical properties of the media can withstand the special environmental conditions of their applications.
Test standards for media in disposable air filters
Filter media in this group include those formed from fibrous materials, including natural or synthetic organic fibres and glass fibres. In their gross structures, these media have the form of nonwoven fabrics, wet-laid papers, or air-laid glass fibre mats spun from continuous fibres or blown from molten glass. Some membranes and open-cell foams also have fibrous structures. The solids content of these media is low, with the fibre volume typically less than 10 % of the volume of the media. These media range in thickness from a fraction of a millimetre to several centimetres.
Creating a test standard to cover such a variety of materials is not easy. Both national and international standards bodies, government agencies, technical societies and individual manufacturers have laboured to produce test standards for different attributes of this category of filters, and the media used in them. We discuss here only one standard, ISO/DIS 29463-3 'High efficiency filter and filter media for removing particles in air - Part 3: Testing flat sheet filter media'. This draft of a standard prepared for approval by the ISO (International Standards Organization) Technical Committee 142 ('Cleaning equipment for air and other gases') members defines a test method for flat sheet filter media used in the manufacture of high-efficiency filters. 'High efficiency' is defined here as 95% to 99.999995% at the Most Penetrating Particle Size (MPPS). The standard builds on earlier standards and method descriptions such as ASTM F778-88, IEST-RP-CC021.3, and EN 1822-3:2009.
Under ISO/DIS 29463-3, the test of particle penetration can be performed in either of two ways: using an aerosol having essentially a single particle diameter (a monodisperse aerosol) and condensation nucleus counters, or, using a polydisperse aerosol and light-scattering particle spectrometer/counters. Separate counters may be used, or a single counter may be switched from downstream to upstream. The table of contents of this draft standard shows the many details which such a standard must address. Every user will not agree with all the choices made by the standards writing committee. Indeed, we point out some weaknesses in the paragraphs below. Items covered in the draft include:
Procedures for obtaining test samples
Basically, the only requirement is that five samples be tested, and that they be 'representative'. More statistically valid procedures which could reveal media non-uniformity are available in several standards for nonwovens, especially TAPPI 1007, which deals with glass fibre papers.
Circular exposed area, 100 cm2. The holder illustration is obviously intended for tests on thin media with sufficient resistance to flatten the flow velocity profile over the exposed area. The straight cylinder sections at the media clamping flanges appear to be about 4 mm long. Longer straight sections would probably make the face velocity more uniform for low-resistance media, and would allow a reasonable space for static taps for resistance measurement. In addition, thicker media could be accommodated without distortion, using edge seals if necessary.
Aerosol sampling
An important feature of the standard is that the Most Penetrating Particle Size (MPPS) must be determined. MPPS is the particle diameter with the lowest measured efficiency. A detailed procedure to find it is given. The range of MPPS expected (approximately 0.01 μm to 0.8 μm) is small enough that isokinetic sampling was not deemed necessary. The only requirements for sampling lines are that they be conductive, grounded, clean, non-corrosive, and 'short'. Under ANSI/ASHRAE 52.2, upstream and downstream sampling lines must be alike, which makes particle diameter bias the same for both. Loose specifications for sampling limit the usefulness of this ISO system to fine particle diameters. It should be possible to incorporate isokinetic sampling and minimal sampling-line particle losses into the standard.
Aerosol generation
Specified by diameter range only. The suggestion that DOP is an acceptable aerosol should be removed, since it is a known potentially carcinogen. Charge 'neutralisation' is required, but no details of type or intensity are given.
Aerosol particle counters
ISO/DIS 29463-2 'High Efficiency Filters and Filter Media for Removing Particles from Air - Part 2: Aerosol production, measuring equipment, particle counting statistics' is referenced for specification of particle counters.
Statistical requirements are outlined, and ISO/DIS 29463-2 is referenced for detailed treatment of particle count statistics.
Requirements are given, and a sample report presented.
ISO/DIS 29463-3 is a distinct advancement, but some sections illustrate the difficulties of creating complicated standards which require agreement by many people with individual experiences and interests.
Test standards for cleanable media in dust separation devices
Media used here include forms similar in geometry to disposable media, but with characteristics which make them suitable for harsher environmental conditions and the stresses of cleaning. These include organic, metallic and ceramic fibre media with random structures, often fabricated into cylindrical canisters or pleated structures. Woven fabrics, both of polymers and glass, are used in bag-houses. Because both the gross geometry of filter elements and media cleaning are important factors in performance of this type of dust separation equipment, earlier test methods were applicable to complete cylinders, pleated cartridges, or bags. Notable among these standards are ISO 5011 and JIS B9910.
In the 1980s, the group at the University of Karlsruhe developed test procedures for flat sheets of cleanable media, from which came VDI 3926. This standard, which had been formalised by 1992, ignores the effects of gross dust collector geometry, dusts, and cleaning techniques (shaking, reversing-flow and compressed-air pulses) in favour of a strictly defined flat sheet procedure. It is, therefore, a comparative procedure for media, and cannot, and does not pretend to replace tests on complete dust control devices with the actual aerosols and gas conditions they face in industrial situations. There is, however, a high-temperature version of the test system. ASTM D6830 (published in 2002) is very similar to VDI 3926.
The experts, recognising the difficulties of writing a standard which recreates industrial conditions, have chosen to create ISO/DIS 11057 'Air quality - Test method for filtration characterisation of cleanable filter media', which is clearly derivative from VDI 3926. This draft standard was submitted to ISO member organisations for public enquiry in late 2009. Some test requirements (e.g. flow measurement) parallel ISO/DIS 29463-3; we describe here some which are unique to ISO/DIS 11057.
The test duct and instrumentation, including the holder for the test filter sample and the cleaning mechanism, are specified in great detail. Substantial automation is required for the instrumentation. Deviations from the specified system are allowed, but the user of non-conforming systems must show tests made on three filter media which compare with tests made on the specified system within specified error bounds.
Test dust
The dust required for testing is Pural NF, alumina monohydrate in powder form with an approximate mass mean diameter of 4.5 µm and an approximate diameter range provided by the manufacturer. This is a practical solution, but hazardous, since one cannot always rely on a single manufacturer, and the quality controls are only vaguely defined. The dust feeder is not defined, nor are particle diameter size distributions specified for the test dust as a bulk powder or dispersed in the airstream.
Upstream dust concentration
This is specified at 5 g/m3 ± 7%. The stability of the concentration is continuously monitored by a photometric system. Concentration and dust feeder conditions are set by a preliminary test measuring the weight gain of a filter sample in the media holder. There is also an implication that concentration can be determined by the weight change of the entire dust feeder during the test combined with the duct flow measurement, but this procedure is not detailed.
Downstream dust concentration
This is determined by weighing a filter located downstream of the test sample holder. The downstream filter filters the entire flow, and must have the MPPS efficiency of at least 99.95% when measured by EN 1822-3, ie: using a considerably finer aerosol than Pural NF.
Gas conditions and flow distribution
Temperature and humidity ranges are specified. The air face velocity distribution over the filter media sample is allowed to be whatever aerodynamics provides, and it is assumed that "… a uniform dust concentration is attained over the filter face". The assumption of uniform dust concentration seems unwarranted, but it is immaterial; the standard simply compares media performance under the defined conditions.
Cleaning means
A specific nozzle design and compressed-air pulse form are required for the reverse air flow cleaning pulse. The form and magnitude of the pulse must be demonstrated at least once a year, using a high-speed pressure transducer. This is perhaps the most precisely defined element of the standard, indicative of the importance of cleaning patterns on performance results.
Cleaning cycles and characterisation of residual dust cake
The compressed-air cleaning pulse is activated whenever the pressure drop across the media sample reaches 1000 Pa, or for one test set, 1800 Pa. A series of five test phases is required; the details of these are too extensive to present here. Residual conditions - the mass of dust remaining on the filter sample and the pressure drop across it after a set of cleaning cycles are measured during all five phases, and the downstream average dust concentration is measured at the ends of three phases.
Data recording and analysis
The automation of pressure drop measurement and the inclusion of a computer in the system means that the pattern of pressure drop over many cycles of each test phase can be recorded and included in a report. Residual dust mass data must be entered by hand. No special attention to statistics is required, because no particle counts are involved in this test method.
Requirements are given, and sample reports presented.
Test standards for media in speciality applications
Nuclear safety systems
Governments worldwide regulate the design and testing of nuclear safety systems. A loss-of-coolant accident will expose reactor safety systems to steam and free water; particulate filters in these systems are required to demonstrate their ability to survive such exposure. Examples of such test procedures, promulgated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, are available at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs.
Grease arrestors for kitchen hoods
These systems face a heavy concentration of an aerosol which easily plugs filters, and is also highly flammable and odourous. Control of the aerosol usually requires a combination of a louvre-type aerodynamic collector and downstream fibrous (expanded metal) filters. One particle-efficiency testing standard is described by Schrock et al. 'A New Standard Method of Test for Determining the Grease Particulate Removal Efficiency of Filter Systems for Kitchen Ventilation' (ASHRAE Transactions, vol. 112, p. 583-590, 2006); both efficiency and flammability tests are given, for example, in Underwriters' Laboratories UL 1046, obtainable at http://ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com.
Paint overspray collectors
Like grease, paint sprays plug filter media rapidly, and are flammable. They cannot be removed from media, however, and generation and detection of test aerosols is quite different in the two cases. One test standard for paint overspray filters is available at www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/proposed/m-319.pdf. It does not use actual paint spray aerosols, which would wreak havoc with users' test ducts, but uses what is essentially EN 1822-5 with a (dry) KCl aerosol and then with a (liquid) oleic acid aerosol.
Demisters and mist coalescers
Fibrous droplet capture filters (demisters) are a necessary part of some chemical processes. Similar filters are often incorporated in compressed air supplies, capturing condensed water vapour. Test procedures have been developed by manufacturers and organisations such as the American Petroleum Institute [search API 1581, Pall GAS-4300b for discussions]. Because of the importance of the diameter and surface properties of liquid droplets and the fibres used to capture them, actual process streams are often tested.
High-temperature metallic fibre cartridge filters
Metallic fibrous filter media are available with fibre diameters as small as 0.5 µm, and in metals like stainless steel, capable of withstanding high temperatures and some corrosive atmospheres. Even at HEPA filter efficiencies, these media can be cleaned. Developing standard methods for testing these under service conditions might be desirable. It would be difficult, but not impossible.
Prospects for international standards
ISO has only begun its task of establishing media test standards. All sections of ISO/DIS 29463 and ISO/DIS 11057 remain to be finalised. At this time, ISO TC 142 Working Group 3 'General ventilation filters' has initiated the new project NP 14086, which will seek to produce a standard to test performance of media used in general-ventilation filters. It would therefore be intended for media less efficient than the EPA/HEPA/ULPA media evaluated by ISO/DIS 29463-3. Whether the scope of the standard would include a dust holding capacity test, and what media physical attributes to include, has not been decided.
Air conditioning systems: Testing air cleaning devices
Automotive air quality: Adsorption performance of a cabin air filter during a life cycle
Automotive: Air intake filtration media tackles soot challenge
Setting standards for HEPA filter efficiency
Changes to air filter testing standards
Air conditioning systems: Testing air cleaning devices in air conditioning units

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Modify the requirements for public dissemination of transaction-level derivatives data to address certain anonymity concerns.
The OSC has issued the amendment for comment. The comment period expires February 3, 2016.
Similar amendments were proposed by the securities regulators in Quebec and Manitoba to their derivatives data reporting rules.
For further updates on derivatives data reporting, please see our bulletin Update on Derivatives Data Reporting.


In addition to technical or network restrictions on accessible content for Cubans, the 2013 survey cites crackdowns on bloggers and citizen journalists in late 2012, high prices, and extensive government regulation as major factors contributing to Cuba's unenviable position (p.21, PDF).
Hopes were high that freedom of ideas would spread in Cuba this year following the installation of a high-speed fiber optic cable from politically sympathetic Venezuela. Unfortunately, this did not lead to more access for Cubans, as it became clear that select government agencies and offices were the real beneficiaries of the upgrade. This means that most Cubans continue to be limited to the national intranet, which consists of an in-country e-mail system, a Cuban encyclopedia, and websites that tend to be supportive of the government.
Internet access in Cuba has traditionally been limited by both a lack of funding on the island and fear from the regime regarding the implications of a public with unbridled access to information and online networking. Access in the tightly controlled communist nation also remains expensive where available — four times the average salary.
Even if one does have the funds, Cuba's surveillance and restrictions come with teeth. They have resulted in fines, confiscations of internet-connected equipment, and detentions of dissident bloggers.
The survey also notes that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is blocked in Cuba, and extremely popular social media services like Facebook and Twitter are largely unavailable to the islanders. Ironically, Freedom House's website is accessible in Cuba; however, slow connection speeds impede access to their website, which is typical for many foreign news outlets, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Le Monde, and El Nuevo Herald (a Miami-based, Spanish-language newspaper).
While this year's survey lacks coverage for many countries in Latin America — including Chile, Peru, and Colombia — the study does highlight Argentina, perhaps unexpectedly, with a designation of "free." Argentina is home to one of the largest populations of internet users within South America, and despite its fragile political environment, the study cites rapid growth of internet access since 2009 due to public policies aimed at improving both internet access and service.
Get the full report here (888 pages, PDF).


The real fix is actually simpler than that. The real, simple fix is to supplement your regular diet with a food enzyme.
Let me tell what I did with my burger and fries while you were poisoning yourself. I took half of my burger and fries, split it in half again and put it into two bowls with about an inch of water. Then I took one of my Elite-zyme Pro by Thropp's Nutrition capsules, opened it up and dumped the contents directly onto one of the burger quarters and fries. I made sure that both burger quarters were mixed only slightly with the water. So we've got one set up with an enzyme, and one without. We'll get to check on those in about 50 minutes to see if there are any differences.
Next, I swallow one of my Elite-zyme Pro by Thropp's Nutrition capsules with a glass of water and enjoy eating the other half of my burger and fries. Again, the food goes down to my upper stomach and sits there, only this time there is a ton enzymatic activity. There is amylase to break down the bread; protease to break down the meat; lipase to break down the fat; lactase to break down the cheese; cellulase to break down any fiber; and even sucrase to break down the various sugars.
OK, by the time the food slides into the lower stomach, it is already broken down so that stomach chemicals can completely take it apart. And when it enters the small intestine, the food is completely broken down, easily absorbed into the bloodstream as minerals and nutrients, and easily delivered to and assimilated by the cells of the body.
And the body is happy! My metabolic enzymes are happy. They didn't have to put their important jobs on pause to take care of an emergency. My pancreas and other enzyme producing organs are happy because they didn't have to kick into overdrive to produce more metabolic enzymes. My immune system is happy because it's not stuck with the duty of cleaning up my blood; it can keep its focus on the real criminals - bacteria and viruses.
Continue to page 11 - And What About the Two Samples?


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Anderson N, Shneiderman B. 1977. Use of peer ratings in evaluating computer program quality. Proceedings of the fifteenth annual SIGCPR conference. :218-226.
Shneiderman B. 1977. Evaluating introductory programming textbooks: A guide for students, instructors, authors and publishers. SIGCSE '77 Proceedings of the eighth SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education. 9:56-58.
Shneiderman B. 1977. Design, development and utilization perspectives on database management systems. Information Processing & Management. 13(1):23-33.
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Aside from being one of four major tennis events held each year the Australian Open Tennis is also the curtain raiser. Thus, fans are always so eager to find ways to watch the matches. However, owing to the tight budgets that most people find themselves dealing with in January, few fans can afford to take the trip to Australia to enjoy the games in person. Therefore, the option for most people is to watch the games via cable or online. Unfortunately, watching the Australian Open via cable is not a viable option for many people, which leaves watching it online, which also poses its challenges.
Like most other sports events, the greatest challenge to streaming Australian Open Tennis is geo-restriction. Geo-restriction is where access to online content is restricted to within a certain range, usually within a country or specific region in a country. Therefore, accessing the content online while outside the set range is impossible, which is an issue that traveling fans and those outside designated states such as Australia, US, and the UK, must handle.
The solution is to find ways to bypass geo-restrictions. All you need to do is install a VPN in your device, which is a network security tool that allows you to connect to servers in different locations around the world. Essentially, you should link to a server located within one of the designated countries.
The next challenge fans have to deal with is how to watch the Australian Open or more precisely, where to watch the games. Considering the risk of logging into the wrong website and having your information stolen, most people have grown skeptical and cautious of a lot of streaming sites out there. So, where should fans go to stream the Australian Open?
Currently, Nine Network, an Australian broadcasting company, holds the broadcasting rights for the Australian Open. You don't need to subscribe since the content is free-to-air within Australia. More importantly, you can stream the games through their website or by downloading their app. As you may have surmised, the content is only accessible within Australia, so those outside the country will have to rely on their VPN.
ESPN is a television network based out of the U.S., where you can stream the Australian Open. The content is accessible in other countries aside from the U.S. including the UK and Australia. However, for countries without access, you have to connect your VPN server location to one of the countries with access to ESPN.
Sling TV is a streaming service where a single subscription buys you access to multiple television networks. After subscribing to Sling TV, you can then easily access content on networks such as ESPN and Fox. The benefit is that you don't have to rely on a single network and can change channels according to preference without inconvenience.
YouTube TV operates on the same principle as Sling TV and is among the best streaming services. The significant differences between the two are the number of channels accessible on a basic subscription and the number of simultaneous streams you can access. YouTube TV offers a broader range of accessible networks so it might be a better choice for when you're unsure where to stream the Australian Open Tennis.
As mentioned before, hackers tend to create fake streaming websites where they can lure fans and steal their information. Therefore, you should exercise caution when connecting to streaming sites, especially those that offer free streaming services. Fortunately, having a VPN is not only useful for bypassing geo-restriction since it also doubles as a network security tool, protecting your information and guaranteeing your privacy online.
Internet Tools: How Can They Lead To Your Vehicle Buying Journey?


text:
■ Steven's Amazing Adventures, and the Future of the World ■ (PART 36) - "Angelic Encounter" - (A STORY about the END TIMES, with Messages from God) (PART 36)
(Go to previous part. ⬅ ➡ Go to the next part.)
Steven's Amazing Adventures,
and the Future of the World
(A Story about the End Times
with Messages from God)
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(This story chronicles the adventures of Steven O'Neill, his wife Sarah, and their friends during the End Times. Judgment has already struck the U.S., and Steve and his friends have reached the vast continent of Asia. Witness the amazing things God will reveal about the coming kingdom of the Beast (or the Antichrist), the Mark of the Beast, and the Tribulation period. This story should keep you fascinated, as a realistic account of the future unfolds in the form of a fictional story.
(Click here to read this story in a PDF format.)
But, this story is not just a story. It contains messages from God and prophecies that actually shall happen. It is written as fiction with fictional characters, but the message of the story is very real, and the cataclysmic events, touched on in this story, will actually impact this earth as God's Holy Bible and its prophecies unfold. The world will soon enter a time much like that portrayed in this story. I encourage you to seek God about this to see what He will show you.)
Miracles will abound and awesome sights will astonish people in these last days.
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(Click here to see The Table of Contents.)
Chapter Thirty-Six
PART 36: ◼ "Angelic Encounter" // ◼ "Novosibirsk"
"Angelic Encounter"
- Russia -
(CHETRA TM-140. Click for source.)
Like a lion slowly stalking its prey, the Russian army CHETRA TM-140 tracked truck rolled toward the group of six Christians who stood around a tracked UTV and a snowmobile. Fumes and vapor rose into the air from its exhaust pipes like smoke from a dragon's nostrils as the mechanical beast snapped its way through fallen branches and twigs.
Having just been delivered by God from a pack of hungry, vicious wolves, the Christians were now faced with a new and equally deadly foe: communist soldiers who were determined to either kill or capture the Christians. And, the TM-140 was full of them.
Steve O'Neill stared at the approaching truck with concern and a sense of feeling overwhelmed. But, he quickly began giving it to God as he watched the TM-140 pull up to a stop just forty feet from him. Its headlights mercifully were aimed to the side and illuminated the forest beyond the small group. The rear doors in the troop compartment swung open and communist soldiers poured out. Each soldier wore snow camouflage and helmet-mounted infrared optics which took the form of a black device lowered over the right eye.
(Forest at night. From Pixabay.com. Free images.)
The infrared optics allowed the soldiers to see wavelengths of light given off by warm objects. Human shapes were no longer cable of being hid in the dark due to this technology. Armed with grenades and AK-74M automatic rifles, the soldiers were a threat which was a test to the Christian's faith. Would God allow them to be captured or killed? That was a thought rushing through Steve and his friend's minds as they saw the enemy soldiers drop into the snow and quickly take up positions.
They took aim at the small group of Christians and some cycled their bolts to load fresh bullets into their gun chambers while falling snow gracefully fluttered to toward the ground and slowly coated their helmets with a dusting of powder.
"Raise your hands!" a soldier shouted at them as he pointed his gun at Sergey.
Sarah, Ivan, and Alexei quickly raised their hands. But, the three others didn't.
"Dear God, come through for your children and deliver us like you did all those times before. We trust you," Sergey, a burly, bearded, middle-aged Russian, said. As he spoke, he felt his heart beating fast, but peace began to fill his chest where fear had once been strong.
"Raise your hands!" another soldier shouted louder than the first as he glared at Steve, Sergey, and Jason.
"I command blindness to fall on your eyes in the matchless Name of Jesus," Steve said calmly and with confidence that God was giving him.
The words were loud enough to be heard by the soldiers, but gentle, having no bitterness behind them.
The soldier took aim and Steve and said, "Shut up and obey my orders, or you will die!"
"Steve," Ivan said quietly, "why don't you just do what he says? He has a gun."
Just as he finished his sentence, a burst of gunfire erupted from an AK-74M and a stream of bullets shot toward the group of Christians. A trigger-happy soldier had determined that he was going to make an example of the Christians. There was now no time to think. In milliseconds, the lethal projectiles would reach their targets.
Just as the closest bullets were ten feet from Steve, a supernatural event occurred which would forever remain in Steve's mind. In that tiny fraction of time, an angelic being dressed in shining, golden-like armor appeared. The bullets struck his giant, round shield and ricocheted off with a series of rapid "pings". From head to foot, he was 12 feet tall and muscular. He wore a white robe that went to his ankles. Underneath his robe he wore trousers which were covered with leg armor plates. He wore metal-plated boots over his feet and these created large impressions in the snow. On his head was a stately helmet resembling the Corinthian-style helmet of ancient Greece.
From his back, large, white wings were tucked up behind him like the wings of a resting eagle. On his left arm was fastened a large round shield that had a golden luster. In his right hand he carried a giant broadsword which was five feet from the pointy tip to the pommel.*
[* The pommel is a weighted knob at the end of a sword hilt (handle).]
Light emanated from his skin, face, and armor, causing the trees, falling snowflakes, and bushes nearby to be lit up in its brilliance. The Russian soldiers' jaws dropped as they beheld this miraculous spectacle. Guns began plopping into the snow as the soldiers dropped them, one after another. They had not been trained to fight a supernatural warrior from God's angelic armies.
The angelic warrior lifted up his sword and jammed it's sharp point into the ground. As he did that, the shocked men turned and ran for their lives, fleeing into the dense woodland undergrowth. Some threw off their helmets and combat belts to help them run faster. The men in the CHETRA TM-140 tracked vehicle popped the cab doors open and leaped to the ground. Once their feet connected with the crunchy layer under the fluffy top layer of snow, they sprinted off into the darkness beyond the angel's light, leaving trails of footprints behind them.
The AK-74M guns were scattered all around, partially hidden in the deep snow where they were dropped. Some abandoned helmets, scattered here and there, resembled fallen acorns, in Steve's mind.
Just as Steve was returning his attention to the angelic warrior, the supernatural visitor vanished from sight, taking the light with him. But, Steve knew that the angel's presence was still there among the group, even though he was invisible. And, most of all, Steve knew that God's Presence was in his heart and that God was fulfilling His Scripture from Psalm 91 to divinely protect His children who trusted in Him.
While Steve pondered what had just happened, he heard a still, small voice speak to him. It was the familiar voice of God that he knew.
"My son, Steve, I love you very much," God said to his spirit and soul. "I have protected you from the onslaught of the enemy and I will continue to keep you and to protect you. I will now have you and your friends leave this place, and go where I send you. You will head over to the village I told you about earlier, where I will guide you in ministering. I will keep you safe and protected.
"These Russian soldiers will not present a threat to you because they have witnessed a great miracle, and they will be changed forever. Some of them will become hardened against Me because they are turning their hearts further away from Me as I call out to them. But, others will be more open to the Gospel message. I will now have you drive this machine away from the main road and have your friends and you rest for a few hours before you move on, on your journey. And, I the Lord your God and Abba Father have spoken."
"Thank you for protecting us, Father God! Thank you so much," Steve said with awe and thankfulness.
Then, he walked toward the large rig, which was still rumbling, since its diesel engine had not been shut off.
"What are you doing, Steve?" Sarah said as she saw her husband leave the group.
"Honey," Steve said, "I am going to drive this rig away from our vehicles and I will come back on foot. Then, we all can get some needed rest. That is what God showed me to do."
"Okay, Steve," Sarah said, smiling. "Isn't it awesome how God protected us?"
"It is wonderful who our great, awesome God is. Yes," Steve said, looking up toward the winter sky, which appeared in patches through the tree tops.
Then, he quickly walked up to the vehicle and climbed up into the cab and shut the door. It thumped dully and something clicked as the door closed. Shifting into drive, he turned the vehicle around and drove it 120 feet from the group until he found a dense cluster of pine trees with an opening among them where the vehicle would fit.
Seeing he had found the perfect place to hide it for the night, Steve shut the engine off and left the key in the ignition. Making sure the door was not locked, he slipped out of the cab and shut it. Then, he pushed his way through the prickly pine branches and headed back toward the group of five, which surrounded two winter vehicles Sergey owned.
(Learn more about the characters in this story here.)
Steve was tempted to take the truck and use it instead of the Sergey's snowmobile and UTV, but he knew this was wrong. The UTV had quit working after the fuel display had suddenly indicated that the vehicle was critically low on fuel. He hadn't been able to tell Sergey about it yet and was baffled why it would suddenly be so low on fuel. A bullet might have put a hole in the gas tank to cause it to leak. Or, it could be an electrical problem. But, Steve had resolved that he was not going to steal anything, knowing that God's Word said in Exodus 20:15: 'Thou shalt not steal.'
As he walked back toward the group, Steve thought back to all the miracles God had done in his life. As he thought about them, great joy and peace overwhelmed his soul, and he felt like singing praises to his Abba Father God for who He is and for all He had done. Even though the UTV had either run out of fuel or encountered some system failure, Steve determined that he would trust God to provide for him and his friends and get them safely to the Siberian village of Gryaznov.
We will now leave Siberia and turn our attention to a time a few years earlier, before Steve, Sarah, and their friends were faced with a communist army at their heels. Steve and Jason were talking with each other after both heard gunshots coming from some nearby houses in Jason's residential neighborhood. Steven and his wife Sarah had been staying in a spare bedroom at Jason's house when the shots were fired. It was shortly after 3:00 AM and chaos was starting to reign in Jason's part of Cincinnati, Ohio as gangsters broke into homes and rifled them, stealing anything valuable they could. We will pick up the story from where we last left off.
Jason moved the drapes back over his bedroom window and sighed. "Lord," he said, looking up, "I need you to work a miracle and put an end to this violence."
"My son, Jason, I love you very much," God's tender, whisper of a voice spoke. "You are precious to Me, and all Christians are precious to Me. I want you to know that very, very soon, you and the O'Neills will be translated to Russia where I will start you on a new leg of your journey on this planet. You will see miracles take place like you couldn't imagine. You will see lost souls being saved and mighty works of My Spirit happening on a regular basis. Now, watch what I will do."
That moment, a miracle happened which would forever change Jason Harper's life and the lives of his friends.
______ ______ ______
Novosibirsk, Russia
(An apartment building hallway. Click for source.)
In a split second, the bedroom vanished from Jason Harper's view as he was translated from his room wearing a T-shirt and pajama trousers. The bedroom was instantly replaced by a tan-carpeted hallway, which was lined with numbered doors in a white hallway. Fluorescent lights quietly hummed overhead.
Jason was now wearing his blue carpenter jeans, a tan collared shirt, and his hiking boots. A backpack was resting at his feet. He picked it up and saw that it was a rucksack and it felt kind of heavy. It must be packed with items God saw that he would need.
Jason looked to the left and right and saw that the hallway stretched about one hundred feet in each direction before it reached stairwells on either end. 'How did I get here? Am I dreaming?' Jason wondered, somewhat dazed by the sudden change of scenery.
Just as he was wondering what to do, one of the numbered doors, number 53, swung open and a red-bearded man, wearing a brown backpack, stepped into the hallway. He appeared to be in his early thirties, fairly tall and of an average build, like Jason. The open door was just fourteen feet to Jason's left and the man who had just come from it seemed to be heading toward a specific destination because he was moving quickly.
"Excuse me, sir," Jason called out.
The red-haired man turned to face him, pausing in his tracks. "What did you say?" he said in Russian.
Jason didn't know Russian, so he didn't understand the Russian's question.
"I'm American. Do you speak English?" Jason said, indicating himself by placing a hand on his chest.
"American," the Russian said, chuckling. He said in Russian, "What are you doing in Russia if you can't speak Russian?"
"My son, speak to him in Russian," God's gentle voice said to Jason.
"Abba Father, I don't know Russian," Jason said quietly.
But, a thought came to his mind that the early Church did not know the languages of the Jews who came from Crete, Mesopotamia, Arabia, and other countries during Pentecost in the Biblical book of Acts. Nonetheless, the early Church spoke to the people in their languages by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit.
Finding courage, Jason looked to God to give him the words and spoke. The words that came from his mouth sounded strange to his ears, but he somehow understood what he was saying.
Speaking in fluent Russian, he said, "I am Jason Harper, a believer in the Messiah. I wonder if you are a follower of Jesus too."
The red-bearded Russian chuckled and shook his head with amazement. "What is this? You can speak perfect Russian? This is strange. You must have taken Russian in language classes."
"No, sir," Jason said, smiling, "I never learned any Russian except for words like 'vodka,' 'borsch,' and some place names."
"You aren't joking?" the Russian said, curious, as he stepped closer to Jason. "Where did you come from?"
"I came from Cincinnati, Ohio," Jason said.
"Oh, you're and American. I couldn't tell if you were Canadian or something," the Russian said.
The bearded Russian became serious and furtively glanced back and forth down the hall. Then, he said quietly, "Come into my apartment. It would be better to talk in there."
Jason followed him into the apartment and the Russian quietly shut the door and engaged a bolt to lock it tight. They were standing in a medium-sized apartment furnished with a small kitchen to the right, a somewhat spacious living room, and a hallway which was lined with a few doors. A large picture window revealed a breath-taking view of a large city spread out below. High-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings and office buildings formed a skyline of an unknown city and fluffy clouds floated overhead in a blue sky.
"What time is it, by the way?" Jason asked his host.
The man glanced at a wrist watch. "It is 3:34 PM," the man said.
"Wow," Jason said, astonished. It had been about 3:31 AM when he had been instantly transported from Cincinnati to somewhere in Russia. Now, it was 3:34 PM. But, Russia was on the opposite side of the world from America's perspective.
As he stood in the living room of his host's apartment, Jason began to remember the passages in the Bible about translation miracles where men of old were moved from one place to another by supernatural means. Philip in Acts chapter 8 was caught up by the Spirit of God and moved to another location after baptizing an Ethiopian leader. It was amazing to Jason that this miracle had happened to him. He was not anyone special, he thought.
"By the way, I apologize for not introducing myself. I am Alexei Khlebov," the Russian said, extending a hand to Jason.
Jason shook his hand firmly as he said, "I am Jason Harper, as you already know."
"I am also a believer in Jesus," the Russian said as he dusted a spec from a sleeve of his blue short-sleeve collared shirt. "I didn't want to talk in the hall about Jesus because my neighbors might open their doors at any moment and overhear our conversation. Speaking about Jesus is very dangerous under our new government, which is openly leaning toward communism."
Hearing Alexei explain that brought to Jason's mind articles he read in the news about Russia cracking down on Christian evangelism and witnessing. Some critics of the new laws were thrown in jail and others were also given heavy fines.
"There are rumors abounding in Russia that we will soon go to war with America," Alexei said quietly, "so I recommend that you don't tell anyone that you are an American. I don't understand fully how God can give you the ability to speak fluent Russian, but that will work to your advantage. I couldn't tell that you were an American if I were to just hear you speak how you do. So, it would be better to keep it that way."
Jason nodded.
(Novosibirsk, Russia. Click for source.)
"So, how did you get over to Novosibirsk, Russia in the first place?" Alexei said as he walked toward his kitchen and opened a cupboard door.
Before Jason could respond, Alexei said, "Do you want tea or coffee?"
"Water would be fine for now?" Jason said as he looked around the apartment.
Alexei reached in the cupboard and pulled out a glass cup and walked toward the kitchen sink.
Jason noticed that the two couches, the three lamp stands, and the kitchen table, which was located in a corner of the living room, were all orderly and uncluttered. Perforated notepads were neatly arranged on a lamp stand beside a green settee. A Bible was placed beside them with a blue ballpoint pen resting directly up against the stack of notepads. Everything looked orderly and unlike how Jason sometimes arranged his stuff.
"Here you go," Alexei said as he walked into the living room.
Just then, a loud knock came at the door, startling the men. Alexei dropped the glass before he could hand it to Jason and it shattered into sharp fragments. The water splashed across the carpet and speckles of it struck Jason's trouser legs.
'I sure hope that isn't the secret police,' Alexei thought as he eyed the door. Fear began to grip him and he felt a tightening in his chest. He had once been interrogated by the secret police and they had thankfully let him go, finding no incriminating thing on his person or in his responses.
But, a calm voice spoke to him and said, "Alexei, My son, I am the Lord your God and Abba Father. Answer the door. You will be safe. And, I the Lord your God have spoken."
"Yes, Abba Father. I choose to trust you," Alexei said as he headed toward the door.
He placed his hand on the doorknob but hesitated. There was no spy hole to view people on the other side of the door. Anyone could be standing there. It could be men working for the secret police or the regular police. Someone might have seen Alexei witnessing to a homeless man or placing a Gospel tract on a park bench.
But, Alexei decided he would open the door, trusting that God would keep him safe. As he opened the door, he saw, to his surprise, that no one was standing directly in front of it. He stepped out into the hallway and glanced to the left. When he turned to the right, he saw a couple--a man and a woman--standing in the hall and talking quietly with each other. Both had large backpacks beside them. The woman was wearing a modest blouse and a long jean dress, which went down to her ankles. The man, presumably her husband, was dressed in a brown Polo shirt and blue carpenter jeans.
"Excuse me," Alexei said to the couple as he walked into the hall, "did you knock at my door?"
Both turned toward him and the man said in English, "I don't understand what you're saying?"
Jason approached the door and peered out into the hallway. He instantly recognized the couple. It was Steve and Sarah. As he poked his head out the door, they noticed him.
"Jason, what are you doing here? And, where are we?" Steve said.
"God translated me and you to this apartment building," Jason said in English. "We are in Novosibirsk, Russia. I don't know where that is, exactly, but it is somewhere on the opposite side of the world from Cincinnati, in Russia."
"What are you telling him?" Alexei said in Russian as he turned toward Jason.
"He is a friend from America," Jason replied in Russian. "His name is Steven O'Neill and his wife is Sarah. I was just telling him about how we arrived here in Novosibirsk and that this place is on the opposite side of the world from Cincinnati, Ohio, where we came from."
"How did you arrive in Novosibirsk?" Alexei said, curious.
"Would you like to talk in your apartment?" Jason said.
"Oh, of course. What was I thinking," Alexei said before motioning to the couple in the hall to join them.
They followed him into his apartment and he shut and locked the door once they were in.
Steve was surprised to see that Jason had already arrived at the same building he and Sarah had been translated to just moments ago. Both Steve and Sarah had heard God tell them to get ready to be translated. Before Sarah had finished adjusting her hair and before Steve had brushed his teeth, they were translated from Jason's home, where they were staying at.
In spite of their appearance on leaving, the couple found that they were now fully ready for the day, being made ready by some miraculous action of God. When Steve was in Jason's bathroom brushing his teeth, he had been wearing socks on his feet, but no shoes. Now, he was wearing hiking boots, and the laces were tied.
"Would either of you care for coffee or tea?" Alexei asked Steve and Sarah (in Russian).
"What did he say?" Steve said, turning toward Jason, who somehow could understand Russian. How Jason knew Russian was a mystery to Steve. He knew that his friend had never studied Russian before.
"He asked if you and Sarah would like coffee or tea," Jason said.
"How do you know Russian, Jason?" Sarah said with curiosity in her voice.
"I only know that I didn't understand Alexei until God suddenly gave me a clear understanding of Russian along with an ability to speak it. Do you remember what happened in the book of Acts, chapter 2, after the disciples had received the Holy Spirit?"
"They were speaking in tongues and telling the multitudes in Jerusalem about Jesus," Sarah said promptly.
"The tongues is other languages, of course," Jason said. "And, we have the same ability to speak other languages fluently and understand them when God gives that ability to us."
"Then, dear Abba Father," Steve said suddenly, "I ask now that you would give Sarah and I the ability to speak and understand Russian. We need to understand the people in this country. I feel that comprehending other languages is a necessity for this part of Sarah's and my journey. And, we choose to trust you. In Jesus Christ's name, amen."
"Yes," Sarah agreed.
"Would any of you care for a desert to go with your coffee?" Alexei said in Russian as he stood in the kitchen preparing his coffee maker, which rested on a counter near the sink.
Steve cleared his throat and said, "That would be good. Thank you." Somehow, the words came out in fluent Russian. Then, he blinked a few times and shook his head. 'Did I just speak Russian?' Steve thought. Then, he excitedly exclaimed, "I actually can understand Russian! This is amazing!"
"Let's try to not be too noisy," Alexei said, as he glanced at the wall of the living room. "My neighbors might be home and they might hear us if we are too noisy."
"Oh, sorry," Steve said apologetically.
"No problem," Alexei said as he turned to open a cabinet door. He pulled out a box containing a moist desert bread and set it on the counter.
"So, where are we exactly?" Steve said.
"You are in Novosibirsk, Russia," Alexei said, "which is in southern Siberia, not too terribly far from Kazakhstan. It has a population of about 1.5 million and rests along the Ob River. And, it is the third most populous city in Russia."
"Do you hear much about the tension between Russia and NATO?" Sarah said.
Alexei set down a knife he was going to use to cut the desert bread.
"We are inundated with propaganda here in Russia about the NATO alliance preparing to invade Russia," Alexei said quietly, so that Sarah and Steve had to walk closer to hear better. "But, I can guarantee that America is filled with propaganda about Russia being a major threat to its survival. But, Russia is not the threat that your news media claims it is. Many of our leaders want peace and do not desire war to start in Europe or elsewhere. But, some of the war hawks in Russia and in your country of America want war to commence very soon."
"How close do you think America and Russia are to actually going to war with each other?" Sarah asked slowly.
"Very close, I feel," Alexei said as he sliced through the desert bread.
Suddenly, a loud knock came from the apartment door and everyone froze.
"I sure hope that isn't the secret police," Alexei whispered as he walked toward the door.
(Click to Read Part 37.)
[Footnote: The Chinese are not the enemy, neither are the Russians. Both are people just like you and me. But, God will use Russia and China to judge wicked nations, which will not repent from their rebellion against Him. And, the devil will seek to stir up men to persecute the Church. But, God will deliver all who seek Him and trust in Him.]
EXCERPT from Part 37 ("The Search in the Vietnamese Jungle" // "The Package in Novosibirsk"):
"... A loud knock had come from Alexei Klebov's apartment door in Novosibirsk, Russia. ...
Rap. Rap. Rap. The knocking continued. ..." (Click to Read Part 37.)
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