At Waste Adviser, we strive to bring you the best service at the best price available. We have a wide selection of dumpster sizes in stock in Dunkirk, OH, with flexible & timley pickup and delivery. Give us a call today for all your dumpster rental and roll off needs.
Guide in making the city, group and neighborhood more wonderful. When you engage a 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OHs assistance they offer anyone dumpsters wherein you may dump non-biodegradable wastes and other damaging waste products through in and around produced site. Like this, you house will also look more wonderful and attracting the observers and people who will probably walk previous your home.
Top quality! Your removal choice ought to have developed a excellent logo and coloration scheme for his or her business which is easily well-known and speaks to the level of professionalism and trust you get whenever you call. Logos is a way the good companies differentiate their selves from all different disposal along with 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OH businesses in your neighborhood.
One of the crucial sides of building a commercial customers are waste administration. It is important to have a place to dispose of throw away and have this transported absent. Many companies realize that 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OHs and other solid throw away services are very important to the day-to-day function of their own business. In such a case, 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OHs is a wonderful option that could solve the waste administration problems. Despite the fact these accommodations be important pertaining to businesses, however 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OHs is often an excellent choice for residents at the same time who might need some extra garbage services. Certainly, whether you are renting dumpsters pertaining to commercial or residential make use of, there are some essential facts you need to keep in mind.
Avoiding trouble make certain future dives, don't break your welcome. Above all, regard off-limits areas and private property. Don't leave a large number. Don't scream, play deafening music, as well as make an excessive amount of noise. Stay quiet along with efficient; as long as you leave little or no trace within your dive, of which fruitful dumpster would not get secured for your go back trip. Additionally, remember to break down the goods every bit as with your teammates.
Search for a dumpster in Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland or any other portion of the United States which includes wheels. The actual wheels can make moving the actual dumpster easy. You won't have to go walking back and forth whenever you move further away from the area the actual dumpster was first seated.
A dumpster is undoubtedly an American term meaning any garbage container. This junk bin is definitely mobile and may therefore be moved about. The main objective of a dumpster is definitely storing garbage for a short period of your time before it is emptied into a junk truck which comes around perhaps two times a full week depending on the agreement. Most of these dumpsters are used for getting rid of many kinds associated with waste material and in addition recycling functions. Apartments, colleges, businesses, office buildings and industrial sites get dumpsters to store throw away. Front loading-trucks, that contain large prongs are employed to empty these dumpsters. They have hydraulics used for lifting the actual dumpsters and then switch them to empty its items in the truck's hopper.
These industrial dumpsters usually have a full end opening up for dragging things into your big box, plus an opening within the top so that roof staff, for instance, can easily chuck shingles and older roof lumber directly into the dumpster, keeping labor. A number of are completely available on the top. if your rental costs will be determined after you proceed to the website, and can depend on the length of your garbage heap, what's in it, no matter if recyclables have to be segregated -- or even may be separated, the time you need the actual dumpster for, and exactly how big it truly is.
The western world like US will always be busy with handling a number of or other jobs like structure projects, household renovations, property cleanups or maybe commercial clean-ups. This yields huge tons of trash that requires to be got rid of immediately.
Hunt for speedy assistance when you are looking to rent a dumpster. You will discover dumpsters that can be delivered the following day to the house or employment site. That may be tip top support services if you need to find the job planning and accomplished quickly. All your family members, friends or perhaps the people a person hire might be in and out of the house in no time. You'll probably decide to to put your Alexandria, Veterans administration, home available for sale since you are transferring to a condo or another area. The particular quicker you will get your home available for sale, the speedier you can get your hard earned money and learn about the next section in your life.
Actuality: Again, in many cases with more substantial companies this could be true. You can find metal added wheels on the backed of the storage containers which can quickly scratch drive-ways, particularly more mature driveways. Nonetheless, if you proceed local this should not really be an issue. Find a small company that could take the time to set down protective wooden sheet on top of the areas in which the wheels may have made exposure to the roads. This is a not difficult procedure, but it can also be relatively time consuming. Although larger organizations may think about this an unnecessary further effort, smaller businesses that cherish their clients in addition to their reputation think about this well worth planning the extra mile. Discover sure if any 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk company will work this, merely ask them.
Nearly all dumpster collectors in this field are professional in what they generally do. They have a good record, numerous years of offering these services in a most prompt as well as professional technique. It is quite backed to get people and customers of these solutions in the area doing complaints regarding the services they get. The particular residents in this article have complete trust in the work made by the companies supplying these services.
Any dumpster service is therapeutic for many different kinds involving projects for example homeowners, organizations, churches, area effort jobs, and agents. These jobs are managed quickly and efficiently plus the debris as well as trash is disposed properly. This kind of business will make simpler, save you time and energy.
The benefits of any construction 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk are usually cleaner avenues, cleaner neighborhoods, and cleanser life styles mainly because dumpsters are a simple, simple and effective way of doing away with waste materials. It's simple because if we all do our portion by keeping your property neat and our next door neighbor does the similar and his next door neighbor does the similar and the method reciprocates then anyone will be performing their part to keep our villages clean inside an efficient technique.
30 property roll away containers are typically used on the bottom end on the industrial size. They can take care of a lot of bodyweight, which makes them just the thing for dealing with spend from landscaping design and heavy responsibility renovation jobs.
They are the optimal way to dispose of man wastes. Thanks to these spend management organizations for providing you dumpsters on rent when you can puts different types of man waste created at the structure site for example disposal food items packages holders made of cardstock etc.
You should also find out if there are any kind of environmental expenses and fees pertaining to distance covered to home the rubbish simply because this has an influence on how much this service prices.
Dumpster diving is an easy way to get more cash. It is like some sort of treasure hunt however you are surrounded by rubbish. You can easily discover valuable things and sell them without any price tag to you. Check your local laws and regulations and give that a shot.
Dumpster renting can services homeowners, corporations, churches, agents, and area effort tasks. The 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OH course of action is very simple and easy, and affordable. There are various measured Maryland dumpster renting available along with a medium sized dumpster along with wheels onto it. Next day shipping and delivery options help make cleanup simple and easy , efficient. Local trash pickup regulations restrict the amount of trash that is available pertaining to pickup by the city. Maintain home as neat and clean as you possibly can during your kitchen renovations if you use a development 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OH.
It is also important to find out how significantly the company charge you you as soon as you decide to employ a rubbish receptacle. Sometimes, there are added charges when you exceed a particular limit due to the rubbish you put in the receptacle. This is something that you really should find out even before you sign a contract with a local company. It is advisable to choose an organization that has a unique landfill. If your company won't have its own, many of them have to pay try using a landfill in your neighborhood and this prices will definitely possibly be passed to you personally.
Dealing with unwanted garbage, whether it's from cleaning an property or taking care of after development demolition, is usually an arduous undertaking. Historically, how people have gathered and gotten rid of debris in this way was to rent some sort of dumpster and have the trash picked up doing this. Today, however, there's a brand new option on the market: the Big Handbag. The Big Handbag is, since the name signifies, a large, stable bag which can be filled up with yet types of particles that would normally go in some sort of dumpster. The rubbish is then collected by a junk eradication service, causing your property cleanse of all that will trash forever. The Big Handbag junk eradication option is an ideal choice for almost each trash transporting job and beats out dumpster-style canisters in terms of price tag and benefit almost every time period.
Finding a trustworthy and affordable 8 Yard Dumpster in Dunkirk, OH company shouldn't be too hard to do. By following basic guidelines, you should be able to solicit the services of an organization that will tackle your needs promptly and provide you with some kind of satisfaction ensure policy. Keep in mind that going with a someone's place of business versus going with a national you are going to provide you with a larger chance of locating dependable services.
Next you can put your newly stained baseboards on top of the lower wall structure and floor. If you obtained new doors and you and the door company have stained them, it is now time to put them on their relies.


text:
Whitney Was Not A Fan Of Sleepovers; Many Things You Didn't Know About Reality Star Whitney Port!!
Whitney Port is likely no more of a relic of the early 2000s than dramatized reality television, and she is certainly no better than The Hills in this regard. If you're a fan of the cult classic show, you're probably aware of Whitney Port, but the television personality is much more than she appears on the surface. Port's career, which includes work in the fashion and entertainment industries, has advanced significantly in the last decade. Whitney Port is a reality television star who has interesting facts about her.
Whitney is a native of the Californian city of Los Angeles:
Whitney was not a fan of sleepovers:
Whitney has been in several different television shows, including:
She is authentic to herself in the following ways:
Whitney is a successful businesswoman who possesses the following qualities
Whitney Port is married and has two children:
Whitney takes pleasure in her solitude:
Whitney Port is a reality television star who has interesting facts about her.
On the 4th of March, 1985, Whitney was born in Los Angeles, California. She was reared in the city and attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, graduating with honors. Her father worked as a fashion designer, so she grew up heavily involved in the fashion industry.
Whitney said that when she was a child, she attempted to stay at her friends' houses on a couple of occasions, but she couldn't bring herself to do it for various reasons. She would even bring her pillow to the gatherings, but when it was time to retire to bed, she would contact her mother and father to come and pick her up from their home.
Port is best known for her performances on the reality television show The Hills, which aired in 2006 and 2010. However, The Hills was neither her first nor only television debut. Many of her followers are unaware that she was also the star of another reality television series, The City, which aired in the same period.
In her appearance on the reality television show The Hills, Whitney Port expressed concern about producers' push to make the episodes more dramatic than they otherwise would have been. She believes that when people are just themselves on stage, a show can be entertaining enough.
Even though The Hills had ended, Whitney Port was far from out of a job or retired. She has been appointed to a position of great importance for a well-known brand of household products and groceries. As a result of the company's acquisition, she was promoted to chief branding and strategy officer.
Her other accomplishments include starting and selling her own women's nutrition firm and accepting a parent company in 1908 after selling the company.
Port isn't your typical reality television star, according to some. Whitney is not like other celebrities, who like to hog the limelight and spend their time partying and hanging out with other celebs. It has been discovered that Whitney is the opposite of this.
She has a gorgeous family, a fantastic job, fantastic success in most of her television and business efforts, and enough money to live well on her earnings. As live proof that lovely people can also succeed in life, she demonstrates that you don't have to be dishonest to achieve your goals in life and the importance of being honest with yourself.
Is Kim Kardashian's Marriage Life Going To End for The Third Time? Kim's Comment About Their Divorce Was Revealed.
Are Joel Osteen And Victoria Osteen Going To Get Divorced? Is Their Marriage Life Over?
Is It True? Black New Yorkers Bitterly Smashed By Omicron As Compared To White New Yorkers
Related Items:CELEBRITY, Entertainment, Featured
Alan Jackson Sheds Light On His Fight With Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
The Famous Comedian And Social Media Star Leslie Jordan Died At 67
Carly Simon Is Mourning The Loss Of Two Sisters Who Died Of Cancer One Day Apart

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


White paper on how to identify & overturn underpayments & denials & the decision & caveats of DIY vs. outsourcing.
Your guide for best practices in payer contract management and modeling.
Information on how to simplify underpayments & denials via Revenue Masters contract modeling & management software.
Full service Revenue Masters underpayments and denials contingency payment recovery service.
Information about how other hospitals have improved their revenue cycle and increased NPR with Revenue Masters.
Information about Revenue Masters MS-DRG Pre-billing Risk Analysis to Uncover Coding Compliance and Revenue Integrity.
Information about how to receive a free payment variance report from Revenue Masters.
Utilizing contract modeling and contract management to achieve 100% claims collectability.
Brochure with information about Revenue Masters offers for reseller and integration partnership opportunities.


As a network of 33 community hospitals, each year HCA recruits for thousands of positions. In addition to the obvious challenge of sheer numbers, attracting candidates was was challenging on several levels. First, nurses and other high-need positions have many career choices not only within the network but also at other hospitals. Second, each HCA location had its own identity and messaging.
HCA realized it had to stand out from the crowd while also adopting a system-wide employer brand. But creating a cohesive brand wasn't an easy task. The differences between HCA locations and services forced us to rethink and reevaluate and rethink again how to best bring 33 divergent hospitals under one brand umbrella.
After extensive competitive and internal research, as well as interviews and focus groups, the answer came to us. We had to create a new Employer that represented HCA's network strength.
We designed a symbol that illustrated HCA's network strength and warmly expressed its community hospital personality. With a primary messaging pillar being 'more choices is better', our creative build-out reinforced this sentiment with simple, colorful exchanges to surprise at every turn. We also built-out an EVP architecture and messaging strategy that was flexible for localized messaging – and always heartwarming and compelling.
A dramatic improvement in the quality of applicants was realized faster than anticipated. Our targeted media approach created multiple budget-saving opportunities beginning from year one.


A 17th-century 'holy apostasy': like Christ's crucifixion, the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy?
On Sept. 17, 1666, Sabbatai Sevi (1626-1676), the founder of one of the most influential messianic movements in Jewish and world history, converted to Islam. An apostate messiah was a greater paradox for believers than that of a crucified messiah. Only a small group of dedicated believers overcame this cognitive dissonance and established a crypto-messianic sect, better known as the Sabbateans or Dönmes, which sustained their enigmatic identity throughout the centuries and left a deep imprint not only in Judaism but also in Islam, via the Dönmes in the Ottoman Empire, and among Christians, via the Frankists in Poland and Eastern European countries. To some observers, the Sabbatean movement and Sabbateans were the forerunners of Zionism and hence Jewish nationalism; to some others, they were the actors behind Jewish and Turkish modernity and secularism; yet to some others, they were the founder of a new form of Islamic Sufism and Jewish Kabbala.
While his followers were expecting the inauguration of the messianic age during the heyday of the movement, the messiah was arrested and brought in chains by the Ottoman authorities to the Edirne palace with the charge of sedition on Sept. 14, 1666. Visiting Edirne in those days, a French priest, Robert de Dreux, relates that he saw several Jews parading on the streets. Some of them were carrying shovels, spades, and other tools. When he asked them what those tools were for, they replied that they were going to fix the roads on which the messiah was going to walk.
Sevi surely had a hard time explaining himself in every sense. He knew some Turkish, but he was not fluent enough in that language to pursue a legal/religious argument during the trial. One of the palace physicians, Hayatizade Mustafa Efendi, a Jewish convert known as Moshe ben Abravanel, helped him to make his case. Similar to other sedition and heresy cases, the authorities were ready to punish with death. However, with the involvement of the sultan, who was fond of converting non-Muslims to Islam, the Jewish messianic figure was given another option: conversion.
Coming from a Sephardic background, steeped in the rabbinic tradition, and familiar with the Marrano experience, Sevi was no doubt well aware of the Jewish attitude to apostasy and martyrdom. When he had to choose between martyrdom and conversion, he chose life, for this act could be justified by the Sephardic tradition since the time of Maimonides. However, when some of the Dönmes wanted to return to Judaism in later centuries, the rabbis did not show the same positive attitude toward them, for, unlike the Marranos, they had in the meantime adopted several antinomian practices.
The conversion of the messiah was shocking to the majority of believers, who felt betrayed and returned to their previous lives with a feeling of profound disappointment and despair. His believers nevertheless strove hard to explain the paradox. Once the dust settled around the messiah's conversion, a few of his believers began to reinterpret his conversion as a sort of "holy apostasy," a "secret mission," deliberately undertaken with a particular mystical purpose in mind. According to them, even though the majority of Jews at the time believed that Sevi's conversion to Islam was a cowardly act of betrayal that almost annihilated Judaism, they interpreted it rather as a necessary step in the messiah's redemption of the world. The whole point of the Holy Apostasy was tiqqun, not conversion. In this sense, this "holy apostasy," like Christ's crucifixion, was seen as the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy.
The doctrine that argues that the redeemer has actually fulfilled his messianic mission by abandoning his or her faith was essentially nihilistic and anti-heroic. Yet for other believers, Sevi's conversion to Islam was undertaken in order to forestall a wrathful action by the sultan, who in his fury wished to destroy Ottoman Jewry in its entirety. This rumor, however, seems to have been fabricated by the Sabbatean believers who were desperately looking for an explanation for their Messiah's conversion. The claim that the sultan ordered all Jews to be killed would be entirely contradictory to any known Ottoman practice. Jews were often persecuted and even forced to convert in the neighboring Safavid Empire in the mid-17th century, but this communal threat had no effect on the Jews of the Ottoman Empire.
Almost all travelers, missionaries, and non-Ottoman Jews, however, were of the opinion that Sabbatai Sevi and the Sabbateans converted to Islam under duress, while secretly remaining loyal to their previous faith. A Dönme tradition buttresses this position, saying that when he was asked to embrace Islam on pain of death, he whispered to himself: "I convert as long as this soul (can) stays with me." As soon as he went out from the presence of the sultan, he freed the bird hidden under his garment, and said: "Now the soul is released from the body." Even today, this story is circulated among the Dönme believers. However, no existing Ottoman source written before the second half of the 19th century casts doubt on the authenticity of Sabbatai and his followers' conversion, as conversion to Islam was a widespread phenomenon in the Ottoman Empire from its inception.
After the conversion, Sabbatai Sevi's worldly and spiritual merit was acknowledged by the Ottomans. He was granted a prestigious name, Aziz Mehmed Efendi after his conversion. He was clothed in robes of honor and furs and presented with a few purses of silver; he was also granted the honorary position of a gatekeeper, kapıcıbaşı, with a royal pension of 150 aspers per day. According to a Dönme tradition, several more believers named "İbrahim, Murat, Suleiman, Mahmut, and Yusuf" followed closely in his footsteps. Their wives took the names Zehra, Ayşe, and Melike. Sabbatai Sevi's wife Sarah came to Edirne a week after the conversion episode and converted to Islam with the name of Fatima. We are not so sure how many believers followed in the footsteps of the messiah after the conversion event. Until Sabbatai resumed his missionary activity among his former believers two to three years later, the number of Sabbatean converts appears to have remained small.
Exhausted after an arduous conversion experience, Sabbatai Sevi found himself partaking in a new social and religious world. He lived another 10 years that were full of ambiguities and complexities stemming from his new identity as Aziz Mehmet Efendi, which began at the Edirne palace in 1666 and ended in Albania in 1676 as Sabbatai Mehmet Sevi. Interpretations around the conversion and his new identity were fashioned and refashioned during those years, by both himself and his believers. The dialectic between his self-perception and the perceptions of his believers, his opponents, and the Ottoman authorities caused his identity to oscillate between and across the traditional boundaries of Judaism and Islam, leading to the emergence of a crypto-messianic sect that came to be known as the Dönmes, who survived until the present day.
Cengiz Sisman teaches at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He is the author of The Burden of Silence: Sabbatai Sevi and the Evolution of the Ottoman-Turkish Donmes.


text:
Synopses
Stories A-D
A Dream of Elegance
A Fairy Tale Romance
A Night of Terror and Self-discovery
A Path Less Travelled
AIDS (no not that sort)
Beyond Fury Road
Blood and Desire
Booted
Charlotte's Children
Crossmatched
Dress fitting
Stories E-L
Fortune Favours
Gloriously Linda
Gregory's Gift
In a World of Ordinary Mortals
Jigsaw Pieces
Lara Croft – The True Origin
Little Pink Mini
Stories M-S
Mind Rider
Miracle of Science
Nearnia
Schrödinger and me
Summerswitch
Switching Tracks
Stories T-W
The Bewitching of Charlie Thatcher
The Girl Inside
The Last of Magic
The Reluctant Quarterback
The Way Into Wonderland
The Way You See Me
Through the fire
Too Good to be True
To Embrace a Mermaid
Toymaker
Lifeswap – Chapters 1 – 3
Lifeswap – Chapters 7- 9
Lifeswap – Chapters 10 – 12
Trick of the Mind – Chapters 1 – 26
Trick of the Mind – Chapters 27 – 50
You Meant it For Evil – Chapters 1 – 6
You Meant it for Evil – Chapters 7 – 12
You Meant it for Evil – Chapters 13 – 18
Flip – 4 – Detained
Stacey was in the office with him when I arrived, which had me worried that she'd be in trouble too. She was still trying to change her image as well. Skirt very much at regulation length, and barely a trace of makeup. She looked stunning.
"Sir, Stacey had nothing to do with what happened at Crestwell. It was all on me," I said as soon as I entered.
"That's not what she's been telling me, Phillip."
I looked across at her, but she had her head bowed and wouldn't meet my gaze.
"She didn't do anything, sir," I insisted.
"I'm sure you're right, Phillip, but then she says the same about you, so we do have something to cover up here, don't we?"
I looked at Stacey, whose eyes had risen to find mine. She was smiling, but there was a definite glisten of tears there.
What could I say? Turns out I didn't have to.
"Both of you have something of a reputation in this school," Mr Leighton said. "In the past, Miss Owen has been reported almost daily for uniform infractions, and on top of that has been insufferably cheeky to her teachers, however this past week, I have not received one single complaint, either for her dress or her attitude.
"As for you, Mr Merrick, you have equally been sent to me almost daily for daydreaming in class, for lack of effort, for not trying, and yet, Miss Fallon tells me last week you put in an exceptional amount of work during your detentions and have made impressive progress in just one week. What's more, the teachers who set your assignments for last week tell me that at first glance the effort you have made is far beyond what they were expecting.
"Now, I don't know what was going on behind the bike sheds at Crestwell, but it doesn't seem to me that your recent endeavours are in keeping with someone who would do such an unpleasant thing as Mr Grimes tells me you were doing, neither does your past behaviour at other school sporting fixtures. Miss Owen tells me you said what you did in order to protect her, and I'm inclined to believe her. Since nothing actually happened, I'm going to mark down last week as an authorised absence for you to attend a sports training camp, which from the look of you can't be far from the truth. There will be nothing in your record to say that you were being disciplined.
"As for Miss Owen here, given her change of attitude and your defence of her in front of me now, I will take it on faith that she wasn't doing anything untoward either. Since it seems evident to me that you are both trying to improve your game, I believe you are owed a little faith on my part. You are free to go."
He stood, and we followed suit.
"Thank you," Stacey stammered, with me adding my own thanks.
"If you want to thank me, then make sure I continue to see less of you in my office."
We rushed out before our luck changed for the worse. We had five minutes before break was over and spent it together.
"I missed you," Stacey said. "Thanks for the texts though. I did get worried when you stopped sending."
"They warned me the phone would be confiscated if I had it when I shouldn't." I wasn't ready to admit that I'd forgotten all about my phone once the business with the fox hunt took off. "Why'd you go to Leighton over this?"
"I couldn't let you take the hit for my sake, especially since neither of us did anything wrong."
"Well, thanks. I appreciate your standing up for me. I'm glad it didn't get complicated."
"Leighton's a good sort. He had a long talk with Grimesy last Monday morning and ended up calling me in. I couldn't just sit there and say nothing, so I told them the truth."
"What truth?"
"That Grimesy was going to tell my parents what he thought we'd been about to do behind the bike sheds, and you'd come out with your thing to protect me. Grimesy wasn't too happy, but he admitted to it, which was when Leighton put everything on hold til you got back."
"What if he'd asked what we were doing?"
"Haven't you noticed? He doesn't ask questions when he thinks the answers might make the situation harder to explain. Anyway, if he had, I'd have said we were just having a snog.
"How was last week for you? I can see you picked up a few bruises."
Trust a girl to notice details like that. I'd have to spend some time as Philippa seeing if I could pick up on such little subtleties.
"It was okay. A bit rough at times, and the sergeant was a bit of a tool."
"Sergeant? It really was a military thing then?"
"Well, he said he was a sergeant, and we wore army uniforms and stuff. Whether it was really army, I don't know. I made some good friends though. They helped me with my homework."
"Don't tell anyone else that. They think you did it yourself."
"I did, after they'd explained what I needed to do. I didn't skive off or anything."
The bell rang.
"Gotta go," she said.
"Yeah," I replied. "Do you fancy meeting up at lunch?"
She smiled, and the world brightened. "How about round the bike sheds?"
"I'll see you there."
I hadn't caught up with any of my mates yet, but they could wait. I mean they'd been the first to stop texting me.
Miss Fallon's class, and we were giving algebra a break. Now it was all areas and perimeters. Simple stuff at first, which I finished ahead of the class, then some extension work which went into complex shapes.
"Miss, why are we doing this?" That was Jake Wallace. I mean this was pretty much the lowest set, and Jake was at the bottom end of it. "I mean when will I ever use this?"
"Well, let's see. Any ideas?"
A depressing lack of hands. After a few seconds I put mine up.
"Yes, Phillip."
"What if you're painting a fence, Miss? And the tin of paint says it covers five square metres. You need to know how big your fence is to know how many tins of paint you need."
"Excellent example. Thank you, Phillip. The same applies if you're laying carpet or putting up tiles, or if you're planning to build something. We'll be looking at some questions like that later in the week."
Miss Fallon gave me an encouraging smile. Jake gave me a filthy look.
History was a discussion, and the class was still on the topic I'd written about the previous week. With the in depth talks I'd had with Frank, I had a lot to contribute, very much to my teacher's and the rest of the class's surprise.
Lunch came, and I headed for the bike sheds in a buoyant mood, until Jake Wallace cornered me.
"You trying to make me look stupid?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Miss Fallon asked a question, I answered it. Listen mate, I'm trying is all."
"You're not my mate," he snarled, "and you carry on like this, you won't have any."
"What was that about?" Stacey asked when I reached her.
I looked back at Jake's retreating form. "Nothing," I said. "He wasn't happy about my answering questions in Fallon's class."
She pulled me gently out of sight and put her arms around my neck
"Are you ashamed to be seen with me?" I teased.
"No, just don't want anyone else to see you turn into a little girl when I do this."
She kissed me. I could feel Philippa responding inside me, but the previous week had taught me a lot of discipline and control.
We spent fifteen minutes in various states of lip lock until we were chased off by the groundsman. He gave me a particularly dirty look, which had me suspecting that Grimesy had been spreading stories.
Out in the open, it wasn't long til my mates caught up with us.
"Hey Merrick!" Slater called across at us. "What you doing slumming with that slapper, eh?"
Stacey gripped my arm. She looked hurt, but more worried.
"Well right now she's holding me back from giving you a right good kicking, so I'd be a bit more respectful."
"Are you serious?" He was incredulous. Always over the top was Jack Slater. "You and Stacey Owen?"
"Anyone can change, Slater. Even you, though I reckon it would take a massive effort for you to come back from git of the year."
Jack was a good foot taller than me and carried a lot of muscle. He was one of our team's prop forwards, and I didn't really want to fight him, but he didn't know when to let something go, so I needed to stand up to him now.
Fortunately, he was also pretty easy going. He shrugged and grinned. "Fair enough. Truce then. No hard feelings, Stace?"
"No," she smiled. "I've called you worse things to my mates."
He roared with laughter, then when he'd recovered a bit, he said, "You're alright, you are. Be good to him though, right?"
"I have every intention." She squeezed my arm. Crisis averted.
"So, what happened to you last week?"
So I told them. The expurgated version, of course. -oOo-
I started to enjoy school after that. I mean there was Stacey for one thing. For another, I kept doing a lot better in my lessons, and by the end of the term I had jumped from bottom set to second or third in most of my subjects. The one exception to this was maths where Miss Fallon bumped me from bottom set directly to the top. As head of maths she taught both top and bottom sets, and I wasn't sure if it was that she saw something in me, or if she just wanted to keep an eye on me. Either way, maths became a lot harder, and a lot more interesting.
The incident with Crestwell blew over, thanks largely to Mr Leighton's decision not to pursue it further, and I went back to being the sometime sporting hero of the school. Even the nickname that Slater came up with fizzled out, for which I was grateful. I didn't fancy being known as the Turdmeister for the rest of my school career.
Roughly every other weekend, Dr Wiesner took me away for a couple of days' training. Sometimes as Phillip, but mainly as Philippa in an effort to develop my underused muscles and to improve my suppleness. After the second, I suggested that ballet classes might help to achieve his ends, and with his agreement, Philippa enrolled for sessions every Thursday evening.
Every so often, Dad would take off with his friends and go fishing, as he had done for as long as I could recall. Those weekends usually turned into totally girly mother-daughter sessions, which both Mum and I thoroughly enjoyed.
When I wasn't being Philippa with Mum or Dr Wiesner, usually I was being Phillip with Stacey. One exception to this was when she invited me – as Philippa – to her younger sister's birthday party. Weirdly enough, Emma and I became good friends, and I ended up having to share my weekends between my girlfriend and her sister. It was complicated, especially when Emma had a sleepover, but we made it work somehow.
Eventually the end of term drew near, and Dr Wiesner arranged for Stacey to join me on a training weekend. I have no idea what he told her parents, but she was sitting in the car already when I left the house with my own weekend bag.
As usual, we drove in silence for a few hours before arriving at a remote location – a manor house this time – with its contingent of guards at the perimeter. The journey had been far more bearable than usual since Stacey and I had spent the trip snuggled together on the back seat.
We each had our own bedroom in the large and luxurious house. It was a far cry from the usual weekend away accommodation, which usually consisted of a cramped and uncomfortable camp bed under canvas, but I wasn't about to start complaining.
After a delicious meal in a large dining room that could have accommodated ten times our number, Dr Wiesner led us through to the other side of the building where what looked like a ballroom had been set out for making presentations. The doctor dimmed the lights and turned on a projector.
"Hey," Stacey said. "That's the place we're going next week, isn't it?"
"The Wexler Research Centre, yes, and the site of your next mission. But, Phillip, this time there must be no deviation from the plan."
"I don't know what you mean," I stammered, my guilty expression saying the exact opposite.
"I think you do." His voice was stern.
"How did you find out?"
"It became evident after Monday when the trade union voted to accept the deal they were offered. It was unexpected, even though the deal was a fair one, and especially with the machine present. Our friend definitely did not expect it as he lost a great deal of his wealth when the markets did not swing in the direction he had anticipated.
"Your mission was to take photographs of all the workings of the device and to copy the software, not to interfere with what they were doing."
"My original mission, as I recall, was to steal the device."
"Which we couldn't achieve because of its size. Making a copy of the device was a good alternative, and if we could do it without them knowing, we could start to influence their use of the machine also without them knowing."
"I thought that's what I did anyway."
"You took a risk. I imagine you changed the settings on the computer? What if they'd checked the journal?"
"I changed the settings in the journal as well. There were a lot of crossings out. I just added a few."
"And what if they'd noticed your changes?"
"They would have known we were investigating them. They would have gone into hiding. They would have suspected we took photographs and copies, and they may have found a way to modify the machine so we could not affect it, or perhaps detect it."
"Instead they tried to use it and it didn't work. They lost a lot of money and they think it's broken."
"Except now when they try to find out why it didn't work, there is a good possibility they will discover your alterations. And if they consider them to be sabotage, we will again have lost our advantage.
"Phillip, sometimes it is necessary to allow a battle to be lost in order for the war to be won."
"Even if that means innocent people get hurt?"
"Yes, even so."
"I don't like the way you think."
"No, neither do I sometimes, but you must obey my instructions, without deviating. When you are older and more experienced, perhaps you will make a better leader than me, but for now, if you cannot obey my instructions, I cannot use you."
Stacey's hand snaked out to take mine. She nodded her agreement with the doctor's words.
"Okay, but I don't like it."
"You don't have to. Just do it is all."
The rest of the weekend involved going over the plan for our school trip. It seemed straightforward enough, but then so had the hotel job. Stacey's part in it was mainly covering for me while I was out of sight, and she was coached in a number of ways of doing so. Meanwhile, parts of the mansion had been altered to mock up certain rooms and areas in the institute where I would be going. Stacey got to watch some of my exercises, I think to give her a better understanding of what I would be doing and why I wouldn't be able to respond to her communications at times.
Yeah we were given some really cool gadgets, like bone transduction communicators, at least that's what I think the doctor called them. They fit over our back teeth and picked up and transmitted sub-vocalizations, ignoring anything that wasn't. You heard what was sent to you through vibrations in your teeth and bones. It tingled a little and it was eerie hearing someone else's voice in our heads, but cool at the same time. Mine had the added feature of resizing itself automatically to fit when I shifted between me one and me two.
Most of the other stuff was extra gear for my utility belt. The thing was bulky when I was in Philippa mode, but quite well hidden under my school uniform as Phil.
It was a long weekend. What I was being asked to do was involved, tricky and likely to take every moment I had in the place. By comparison the job at the hotel was very much a kiddie wheels training exercise.
Late Sunday afternoon, Dr Wiesner declared us – referring to me mostly, I think – as ready as we were likely to be, and he drove us home. There was additional stuff we could do to prepare during the week, but essentially that was it. We were on our own. -oOo-
The Wexler Institute was truly impressive. A finger of steel, concrete and glass that stretched perhaps twenty floors above its nearest neighbour. It stood towards the edge of the built-up city centre, and somewhat arrogantly declared its presence to the world. It didn't help much that it sat in – or near – one of the most depressingly rundown city centres in our nation, but then again, we have so many depressing cities, the odds were pretty good that the Wexler Institute would end up as a diamond shining in the excrement.
Anyway, short version – long and depressing coach journey, pretty jaw dropping arrival. I mean they had a fountain out front, which thus far had not been noticeably tagged by the local graffitiatsi, and they had an immense sign in embossed stone over the entrance. Whoever ran this place was filthy rich, and into bold statements.
"You're up," Stacey's quiet murmur made its way into my head via my vibrating teeth.
"Sir," I called to Mr Hennessy. "I could use the loo, sir."
"Sounds like a good idea." Our head of science had warmed to me since my grades had started climbing. I was no longer a statistic in a long and depressing career, but had now been upgraded to a potential feather for his cap. "It was a long coach trip. Okay, everyone, toilet break before we get started. I don't want the route to be interrupted by a long succession of urinary crises. Go now or hold it in til lunchtime."
So instead of just a few of us breaking off to find the facilities, we had the entire year group milling about looking for them. Downside, I didn't get to make as quiet an exit as I'd planned. Upside, there was enough mayhem that I was still able to slip away. Double upside, I ended up with a ten-minute head start.
I founded a deserted copy room in which to change – not clothes, bodies. My uniform and abruptly oversized shoes went into my bag, and, left mini me wearing little more than the tight-fitting cat suit that had recently been a singlet.
The copy room had its own ventilation, which put me just four screws away from the inevitable ventilation shaft.
From there it was slow going. A pair of vision enhancement goggles showed up a grid of laser trip alarms every Twenty feet or so. The grids would have been impossible to pass for even a small adult, and they weren't that easy for my little girl self. The few weeks' ballet lessons had done wonders for my strength and flexibility though, and I made it through.
I needed to get to the building's atrium. It was a vast central space that extended all the way to the top of the structure and provided fresh air to its many floors. The lifts operated in the same space, which meant heading back toward the reception area where most of my schoolmates and teachers were still waiting
"Right, all done? All present and correct? Where's Merrick?" I heard Mr Hennessey ask.
"I think he went on ahead." Stacey's voice replied. On the coach, I persuaded a small group of keener students to talk one of the other teachers into breaking away from the masses and starting the tour early. It would mean they'd get more out of the trip as they wouldn't be with the inevitable troublemakers and foot draggers, and for my part it would offer plausible ambiguity as to my whereabouts.
"You think, or you're sure?" Mr Hennessey asked. "The way you two have been joined at the hip this term, I'm surprised he'd leave you."
"He was talking about going with them sir. He wanted me to go as well, but there was a long queue for the girls' loos, so I guess I missed them." She sounded suitably upset.
"Okay, well it can't be helped. If we run across them, feel free to join them, but tell me first, okay? I thought I had the names of everyone in Miss Langley's group."
"Yes sir." She really didn't sound like she was going to be enjoying the visit. Quite the accomplished actress, my girlfriend.
I suppressed the now familiar feeling of my male side trying to reassert itself and continued on my way to the atrium.
It was a truly immense space, yards across and extending up to a tiny patch of sky, hundreds of feet above. It was shaped like a square with one irregular wall where the steel enclosures of the elevator shafts broke up the straightness and gave me some shadows where I could hide from the building's control room, which had a window on the opposite side, overlooking the base of the atrium. Just ten feet above was an immense fan, perhaps thirty feet across, turning lazily and providing the building with its life's breath.
I needed to get to the fiftieth floor. Not quite at the top, but definitely not something I wanted to climb myself, not even if there were stairs. From my briefing, I knew there was only one lift that reached that high, and looking around the atrium, it was obvious which one. Most of the shafts ended at the fortieth floor, with only one continuing all the way to the top.
Each of the lift shafts had a maintenance door. Locked of course, but not for long thanks to the lock picking skills I'd learned on one of my weekend training sessions.
The inside of the shaft was dark, too dark even for my goggles. I activated the infra-red torch on the side of my headband, and my environment sprang into view.
No lift. It was somewhere in the darkness above. I'd have to call it, but then I had a way to do that. It was a small box of electronics, based on a Raspberry Pie minicomputer apparently, with a small set of wires coming out of it. I didn't understand exactly how it worked, but I'd trained on how to connect the wires. Once linked, the little box would recognise which controller it was attached to, after which I could direct the lift using a small remote control.
Two minutes to open the access panel and attach the device, then a single button press on my remote and I could hear winches starting up high above.
I pressed myself against the maintenance door. This was the bit I hated. In theory there should be easily enough room between the lift and where I was standing. In practice it always felt way too close. As with my training though, the lift arrived with room to spare.
It was difficult to turn into Phillip when I was scared, so it took a few seconds of deep breathing to get my emotions under control. I could hear the lift car filling with noisy school kids. Here was an opportunity. It gave me the focus I needed to change, then to jump and pull myself up onto the top of the lift.
I overrode the lift controls, cancelling the button press for the eighteenth floor, and choosing the fifty-second instead.
The lift shot up. As we passed the eighteenth floor, I heard Mr Hennessey's muffled voice a few feet beneath me. "Slater, what did you do?", and Jack's reply, "Nothing sir, honest."
We reached the top floor and I quickly slipped into a harness and found a place to attach a carabiner while a short conversation unfolded below.
"What are you doing up here?"
"I'm sorry, one of my students must have pressed a wrong button or something."
"You shouldn't even be able to get up here without a key."
"What can I say? Some kids have a knack for this sort of thing. Please, rest assured I'll deal with the culprit. We should be on the eighteenth floor though, so if you'll excuse us."
There was a ding as the lift door closed and the lift disappeared into the darkness beneath me.
I unwound enough thin rope to reach down two floors. It really was thin and didn't look strong enough to support me, but I'd trained with it and I knew it was. There was a small access panel that opened into the atrium here as well. I'd need to get to the roof, so it made sense to open it now when I had time. A couple of bayonet fit screws and the panel moved to one side.
Bright sunlight poured in through a wide grate just a few feet above me and illuminated the four-hundred-foot drop to the bottom of the atrium.
Very abruptly, I was six years old and hanging in a very loose harness. -oOo-
I muttered something very unladylike under my breath.
"What's up?" Stacey's voice sounded in my head.
"Oh, nothing much. Just swinging over several hundred feet of empty space in a harness that's too big for me. The view down into the atrium is kind of breath-taking."
"What on Earth are you doing as Philippa? Change back you idiot!"
"Can't. Kind of terrified out of my wits right now."
"Close your eyes," she said, her voice deliberately calm.
"Done," I squeaked.
"Do you remember at Emma's sleepover a couple of months back, when you came into my room and we had a cuddle."
"You mean when I tore my way out of my dress?"
"That's the one. Imagine you're back there now, and I have my arms around you, telling you how much you mean to me."
I felt the harness tighten and strain as my size and weight more than doubled.
"Thanks, I'm back." Very much in Phillip's voice.
"Okay, so try not to look down again."
It was advice worth taking. I turned away from the panel and concentrated on my two-level descent to the fiftieth floor. It didn't bother me looking down from in the lift shaft as there was only light enough to see down about twenty feet.
With my nerves calming and my emotions back in control, I rappelled down, then eased my way round to the lift door. One of my new gadgets allowed me to listen through to the other side, where I could hear sounds of movement. I waited for silence, then set my remote to open the doors on my level.
I'd changed into Philippa before the doors slid open. For one thing, I felt a bit awkward wandering around where people might see me dressed as a WWF wrestler. For another, if anyone had caught sight of me, they might later be able to identify me as one of the visiting school kids. For yet another, it was easier to hide with Philippa's small size. For still yet another, I figured there was more shock value in coming across a six-year-old girl in your secret lab, than if they'd met a sixteen-year-old boy, especially during a school visit. Mainly though, it was because it felt right.
The corridor was clear, so I scurried down the memorised route to the lab where the thing I'd come for sat waiting to be stolen.
There was the lab. Key card entry as predicted. Yet another of my gizmos went in the slot. No flashing lights or whizzing numbers like in the movies; just a plain white card that seemed to do nothing for nearly a minute, then the door clicked open. Wiesner had said my gizmo would remember any codes it cracked, so next time access should be instantaneous.
There were people in the lab. They turned my way when the door opened, but I managed to duck in and out of sight before they spotted me. One of them came to check the door, shrugged at his companion and went back to work.
"Should we report it?" He asked.
"Add it to the snag sheet. I mean it's not as if we're being attacked, is it? They say you know you're using cutting edge tech…"
"… because it never works properly," the first one finished. He started writing something in a book.
It had always been a possibility that I'd find myself sharing the lab with people who worked here and gave me an opportunity to try out my weapon. It really didn't look like much – just a cheap plastic pen and a cheap plastic cigarette lighter – but they joined together to make a pistol of sorts with a small trigger springing out of the lighter part.
The fuel in the lighter provided the propellant and the pen contained a small compartment with small needle shaped crystal projectiles. The range was less than ten feet — three metres Dr Wiesner had said — and the needles would only go through thin material like cotton or nylon, but if only a third of the crystal dissolved into the target's bloodstream, he or she would be out cold within seconds. I'd have to take out my two targets more or less simultaneously, which would require some careful positioning, but first I needed to knock out the surveillance.
That required a different piece of technology. From one of my belt pouches I dug out a mini catapult consisting of two rubber bands that fit over my fingers and a small plastic cup into which I could drop any of a number of paper spit balls. The cup helped improve my aim, but more importantly protected me from whatever was impregnated into the paper, some of which was decidedly nasty stuff.
There were two cameras I could see in the room. One over the door – which I hoped hadn't caught sight of me – and the other in the centre of the main lab's ceiling. I chose a pellet impregnated with hydrofluoric acid, dropped it into the cup and squeezed it to release the acid.
My first shot went wild, and I bit back on an expletive. I didn't have a lot of ammunition. Philippa me wasn't the best shot with the catapult, which had been designed more for Phillip's hands. I made sure I was well hidden and changed into my bigger self.
My second shot landed squarely in the middle of the camera dome in the centre of the room. The acid laden pellet sunk into the smoked glass and spread outwards, crazing the surface as it went. A third shot took out the camera over the door.
My next two shots were with my little gun in Philippa mode. Smaller hands fit the makeshift pistol much better, and the girly me seemed to be more coordinated as well as small enough to sneak closer. I put one needle in the ankle of the nearest lab tech and another into the neck of his companion when he came to investigate.
Check the refrigerated units, looking for a glass vial with a particular label on it. There it was. It also had a bio-hazard symbol on it.
Which was why I had what looked like a cigar tube. Aluminium, screw lid, padded interior. I used tongs to transfer the test tube into the case, then screwed it shut. For good measure, I wrapped bio-hazard tape around the lid.
Time to get back to the lift. A little ducking and dodging to avoid prowlers in the corridor, use my fancy remote control to opened the door, careful not to fall into the gaping hole, grab the rope, door closed.
Harness on. Back into Phillip mode. Manual climbing out to haul myself back to the top floor. Don't look down this time.
Yet another pocket in the utility belt, yet another new piece of equipment. It looked like a long sock made of material so thin it might tear if you looked at it wrong, and a small cylinder of helium.
A squirt in the open end and the balloon partly inflated and rose to squeeze through the access grill above the atrium. Tie off the bottom of the balloon to the cylinder with the test tube. Add more helium until it starts to rise, activate the homing beacon and let it fly.
With the difficult achieved, now it was time for the impossible. Whatever was in the test tube, they couldn't be allowed to make it again. That meant finding and destroying specific pieces of equipment and corrupting the relevant part of their data storage, including backups, then removing all traces of my having been there and rejoining the advanced group.
"How's it going?" Stacey's murmured question reverberated in my head.
"So far so good," I responded. "Part one complete, just working on two. You found the advanced party yet?"
"Not yet. Beginning to wonder if we'll ever catch up to them."
"Don't need to catch up. Just find them and join them."
"Have you seen the size of this place? They could be anywhere."
"Do what you can. If you can't find the other group, I'll come up with something."
"Okay. Phil?"
"Be careful."
"Absolutely." -oOo-
Back in Philippa mode, I headed back to the lab with the two dozing technicians. One had been working on a computer, which meant I already had access to the network.
The computer had timed out, so needed unlocking. There was a fingerprint scanner though. I switched to Phil and used his strength to hold the unconscious man up while I swiped his digit across the scanner. One long-standing weakness of biometric security. If you had access to the relevant body part, you didn't need anything else.
Corrupting the data was easy. Having logged on, I simply inserted a USB drive which uploaded a worm to seek and overwrite all relevant information. It was designed to copy itself into any offline storage and do the same there, so part of the job was done. The other part involved finding and destroying the machine that had made the substance in the first place.
Part of my weekend training had involved familiarising myself with different computer systems. I already knew Windows pretty well, and a friend at school had given me a brief tour of his Mac, but there were a lot of others to look at. Unix, Linux, OS2, MSDOS, and a ton of others I'd never heard of. They all did pretty much the same thing though, so it hadn't been hard once I'd grasped the basic concept.
It didn't take me long to hunt out building schematics and run a few searches. The machine I was looking for was large, and as far as I could make out, only one lab was big enough to contain it, and that was up on level fifty-one.
And so to the trickiest part of the mission. A lab the size of that one would have quite a few people in it, and I didn't have needles enough to take them all out. I'd just have to figure out a way of sneaking about in broad daylight and setting half a dozen charges on the machine in question.
What came after would be straightforward by comparison. Call the lift and ride it to the eighteenth floor, use my control to detonate both the remote override and the charges on the machine. Stacey could tell me where her group was, and I'd join them, saying I'd lost contact with the advanced lot. It wasn't elegant, but it should work.
Level fifty-one was busier than I'd anticipated. Waiting for a clear corridor took longer than I liked, but I found enough of a window to dash unchallenged to a nearby room. From there, I climbed up into the narrow space above the false ceiling and turned into my smaller, lighter, alter-ego. It was all taking way longer than planned, but I found my way into the larger lab and, by occasionally lifting ceiling tiles and peeking through, I manoeuvred my way over the contraption.
I had four charges to place. I'd been trained on where they should go, but at this stage I figured that dropping them as close as I could would at least damage it, and delicate as it was, it would take a long time to repair.
"Where are you?" Stacey's murmured question almost had me losing my balance.
"Nearly finished," I replied.
"Well, so are we," she said. "I reckon we have another ten minutes before we head back to the ground floor."
I dropped the last of my charges and made for the lift, but I rushed it.
"What was that?"
"There's someone up in the ceiling."
"Call security."
It was all over. The whole mission had relied upon me remaining unobserved. They'd lock the building down, part of which would mean shutting down the lifts. Eventually I'd be trapped, so I might as well give in early.
So pretty much the shortest career in industrial espionage ever, which was disappointing given my abilities. All I could do now was decide if it would be better to be captured as Phillip or Philippa.
There were obvious advantages to letting them capture Philippa. It would be totally unexpected and should be impossible to link with the school, so Stacey would get clear at least. They wouldn't be able to arrest me, being as young as I was, and I could say I was only doing what the 'bad man' had told me.
On the down side though, Philippa didn't officially exist. Without a birth certificate, my parents wouldn't be able to claim me as their own, and without any legal guardians, I would be lucky if I ended up in foster care. If I was unlucky, I'd simply disappear. After all, people who don't exist don't have rights.
There would also be the problem of explaining what happened to Phillip. He was on record as having entered the building with the school visit. If he didn't reappear, they'd tear the building apart looking for him, and when they couldn't find him, there'd be hell to pay, and only my parents to pay it.
No, on second thoughts, Phillip was pretty much the best way. He was involved either way, whether he reappeared or no, and it would be easier if he did turn up, even as the culprit. It also meant I had Philippa in reserve, if the opportunity arose to make use of her abilities to help me escape.
"Intruder on the fifty-first floor," an amplified voice came from somewhere beneath me. "This building has been locked down, you have no means of escape. Surrender yourself now or we will use force."
I could hear boots running in every direction below me. These guys were serious.
"Mission's blown," I said to Stacey. "Get rid of your communicator, but don't let Hennessy leave without knowing what happened to me." However much trouble I was in, it'd be far worse if the bad guys were able to make me disappear.
I changed into Phillip and gingerly lifted a ceiling tile. The corridors were filled with jackbooted security types. The two closest had Tasers pointed at me.
"It's a kid," the closest yelled. "Come on down, you, and no sudden moves."
Clichés again. I wondered if he was a sporting type.
I lifted a ceiling tile out of the way and lowered myself through the gap.
"How d'you get up here, kid?" my captor asked.
"I used the lift. Am I in trouble?" Playing the innocent card wasn't likely to win the trick, but it was the best one I had for now.
Actually, I did have one more. I still had the remote control, which was currently linked to the explosives I'd dropped on the machine, as well as my lift override. Setting off the charges would give me a small distraction, but not enough with this many guys around.
Besides, I'd lose control of my only way off the floor, and between the damage and injury I'd most likely cause, I'd end up in a lot more trouble.
"You are in a lot of trouble, kid. Why are you dressed like that?"
"I didn't want to get my uniform dirty. Look I just wanted to see how far I could get before you guys caught me. Can you take me to see my teacher?"
"You aren't going to see anyone anytime soon, kid. What you got in your hand?"
"It's what I use to control the lift," I said. It would require a specific sequence of button presses to set off the charges. Chances were they wouldn't figure them out. Maybe Dr Wiesner could come by at a later time and finish the mission.
"And where d'you get it?"
"I made it. This is just a transmitter. The rest of it's connected to the control board on the bottom floor."
"And how would you know how to build something like this?"
"Electronics is a hobby," I shrugged. "I thought it would be a cool project, and I could try it out here."
"And what about the two guys you knocked out downstairs."
"I don't know anything about that," I said. If you're going to lie, keep it simple, keep it vague, keep it plausible. I'd probably overdone it with the home-made controller story, but it was the best I could come up with.
"Well, we'll see about that." He took the controller from my hand and led me towards the lifts. -oOo-
It took a while, but I outlasted them. They put me in a small room with a mirror – one way at a guess – a table and a few chairs.
They left me alone for what felt like hours. Every so often, a couple of them would come in and fire questions at me, trying to intimidate me.
Yet again, I was prepared for it. At least two of my weekend camps had been on resisting interrogation, and I'd learner well. Mind you it wasn't hard. They couldn't use force on me while I was a minor, and the yelling wasn't much worse than Sergeant Langham had dealt out at my first boot camp. All I needed to do was weather the decibels and the flying phlegm until they ran out of steam, then quietly ask for a lawyer.
They eventually complied when they realised I wasn't responding to their techniques. My mum and dad came as well, but the fourth person who entered the room came as a surprise.
He was tall, well built, and moved like a cat, and he was so handsome I almost flipped into Philippa mode at the sight of him. He dropped a photograph on the table.
It showed Dr Wiesner.
"Do you know this man?" he asked.
I glanced at Mum and Dad. Dad had his eyes down and wouldn't meet mine. Mum's eyes were brimming with tears, and she nodded at me gently.
"His name's Dr Wiesner. Henning Wiesner, I believe. He performed a medical procedure on me when I was young."
"I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Martin Keen, MI5." He dropped a thin leather wallet on the table with some very authentic looking paperwork in it.
I picked out up. "I don't understand."
"Phillip," the lawyer said. "I've checked Agent Keen's identity directly with the Security Service, and he is genuinely an agent with MI5."
"But Dr Wiesner works with NATO and Interpol. Surely you know him."
"Did you check his credentials?"
I looked at Dad, who still wouldn't return my gaze. "Well no, but they looked good."
"Like these, perhaps?" He placed a thin briefcase on the table and started removing identity cards. "It's astonishing what you can do with a decent laser printer and a laminator these days."
"Are you telling me…?"
"That your Dr Wiesner has never worked for anyone but himself."
"But the training…"
"It seems he considered you worth a significant investment, and from what you achieved today, I can see why."
"How much trouble am I in?"
"Well, that depends on how cooperative you are now. How did you meet Dr Wiesner?"
"I already told you. He treated me about ten years ago."
"And more recently?"
"I was having complications with my condition. My mum called him, and he showed me how to handle them."
"Handle what?"
"I'd rather not say. It's kind of embarrassing."
Somewhat to my relief he let that drop. "Tell me about your involvement with Dr Wiesner."
I described the training week and the weekend mission that followed it.
"That was you? We've been trying to figure out what went wrong."
"That was you?" I parroted. "Why would the British Secret Service want to incite a bunch of people to go on strike?"
"Suffice to say that we had our reasons. You'll have to tell us what you did to the machine."
"Rubbish. We haven't managed to get it working since."
"Who invented it? The mood machine thingy?"
"One of our scientists, not that it's any of your business."
"So why can't he figure out what's wrong with it?"
"You remember when I said how much trouble you're in depends on how cooperative you are now?"
"You're not doing particularly well so far."
"Well I'm not sure you're being particularly honest with me either."
"We'll come back to this. What about the rest?"
"Several weekends training over the last term, then this."
"What was your mission here?"
"Steal a vial of something, corrupt the data storage related to that substance, destroy the machine that made it."
"And how far did you get?"
"What's in the vial?"
"A bit late now to be acquiring a conscience."
"I thought I could trust Dr Wiesner. Now I don't know who I can trust."
"I represent the government, young man."
"If that's so, then how come the government wanted to influence the trade unions to strike? I thought they'd want to prevent something like that."
"That's not your business young man."
"Isn't it? I've already been tricked into doing something for one crook."
"Yes, and he's likely to get away with some very dangerous stuff if you don't start cooperating."
"How dangerous?"
"Phillip," Mum said quietly, "please don't make things worse than they are."
"I put the vial in a sealed, padded tube and released it, via helium balloon, through the vent at the top of the lift shaft, I uploaded a worm to destroy all files relating to the substance in the vial, and I dropped four thermite charges onto the big machine in the lab where I was caught."
He responded with a string of expletives. "How were the charges to be set of?"
"By remote control. The same remote that controls the lift."
"Five digit code on the remote."
"What's the code?"
"Why? Do you want to destroy the machine yourself?"
"Tell me why you want it. I decided not to blow it up when I was caught, and right now, I'm not sure whether I trust you."
"If we activate the controller in a shielded cage, we'll know which frequency to block, or do you think your Dr Wiesner might not have bothered putting together a backup plan to detonate the charges himself?"
"Oh. Seven, seven, nine, one, four."
Agent Keen pulled a slim phone out of his pocket and started dialling on his way out the door. As soon as it closed, my parents started speaking.
"Son, I messed up. I'm sorry, but you've got to cooperate," Dad said.
"Darling, please answer the man's questions," Mum said over the top of him. "This really is serious."
"Mum, Dad, I'm sorry, but I don't trust him. I've already apparently been tricked into doing something wrong by Wiesner, and it scares me how easily he fooled me. Whatever the consequences, I'm not going to do the same thing again."
"I have checked his credentials though," the lawyer weighed in. "I phoned MI5 myself and they confirmed Agent Keen's badge number."
"And yet they don't know enough about the first machine I sabotaged to fix it, and I really didn't do much."
"What did you do, dear?" Mum asked.
"Oh no, I'm not getting you involved. This is my responsibility, and I don't like that the government were already using that machine covertly against our own people."
Agent Keen returned, his face the same shade of grim it had been since we started. He looked around at us all before sitting down in front of me.
"Okay, that's the first sensible thing you've done today. Let's see if we can make it the first of many." He held up a USB drive. "Is this what you used to upload your worm?"
"Yes, but I don't know if it'll do you any good. As far as I'm aware, the worm erases itself from the dongle once it's uploaded."
"We'll see what we can find. Tell me more about the tube and the balloon."
I gave him approximate dimensions of the kit I'd used to launch the vial and asked him again what was in it.
"Didn't you look while you were in the computer."
"I remember seeing something about a viral vector in all the gobbledegook. Is it something to do with gene manipulation?"
"You're not daft, are you? Yes, it's just that. More easily adaptable to different gene codes than most. Wexler was developing it as a treatment for genetic illnesses, like cystic fibrosis and Downs Syndrome."
"What do you think Dr Wiesner wants it for?"
"A man like him? Heaven knows. Genetically targeted biological weapon, genetically enhanced super-soldiers, something most of us haven't even thought of yet."
"You're suddenly way more friendly," I said suspiciously.
"And you're way too astute for someone your age. What are you, fourteen?"
"Sixteen. And I'm not going to tell you how to fix that other machine. It's not something anyone should have."
"Your friend Dr Wiesner has it."
"There's not much I can do about that. He said he wanted it so he could figure out a way of detecting or blocking its effects. Can I suggest you work on doing the same, then no-one has the advantage?"
"Why don't you tell me how you made it past the laser detection in the ventilation shaft."
"What can I say? I'm pretty limber."
"Wrong answer." He was grim and angry again. "You may be a minor, but there are special accommodations for people who take deliberate action against the interests of the country, regardless of their age, and I can lock you up without trial for as long as I like if you continue not to cooperate."
"Well, I guess that's what you're going to have to do then, because I don't trust you enough to tell you what you want to know. Once bitten and all that."
Which is pretty much where the interview ended. Keen stormed out of the interrogation room, and a few minutes later, a couple of burly soldier types came and frogmarched me out to an armoured prisoner transport. I was padlocked into the back with a guard on either side. I didn't have any chance of escape whatsoever, and a couple of hours later, I was stuck inside a prison cell on what looked a lot like an army base. Concrete walls, solid steel door, tiny barred window.
© 2022	Metamorph	| Powered by	Responsive Theme


Iowa's current Lieutenant Governor and her predecessor are both being inducted in the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame this month. Charlotte Nelson of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women says it seems appropriate that both are being recognized in the same year. Democrat Sally Pederson of Des Moines is Iowa's current Lieutenant Governor. Republican Joy Cole Corning was Lieutenant Governor, running in 1990 and 1994 as former Governor Terry Branstad's runningmate. Nelson says Corning has worked tirelessly on diversity issues during her public life. Nelson says Corning headed up the 75th Anniversary celebration marking the date when women earned the right to vote. Corning was a member of the Cedar Falls School Board for 11 years, then represented Cedar Falls in the State Senate before becoming Lieutenant Governor. Since she left office, Corning has worked on projects like raising money to build a chapel at the Iowa Women's Prison in Mitchellville. As for Sally Pederson, she never held elected office before 1998, but Nelson says Pederson has been quite active in non-profit groups. Nelson says Pederson has an autistic son, and helped found the Autism Society of Iowa and was a national leader on related issues. Iowa's last three Lieutenant Governors have been women. Former Lieutenant Governor Jo Ann Zimmerman was the last independently-elected to the post. A change in Iowa's constitution means all Lieutenant Governors since have been runningmates to a gubernatorial candidate. The Hall of Fame ceremony will be held Saturday, August 21st at the State Historical Building in Des Moines.


Our classic garden furniture set is made from the finest quality Scandinavian redwood which is Known for its high durability to withstand the UK unpredictable weather. The Classic set comes with 6 chairs and is ideal for all your garden events and needs, This set will sit up to 6 people comfortably as our seating dimensions are larger than standard. The seating area of the Chairs will be width 540mm depth 390mm.


text:
Research Article: From Tucson to Genomics and Transgenics: The Vector Biology Network and the Emergence of Modern Vector Biology
Date Published: March 31, 2009
Author(s): Barry J. Beaty, Denis J. Prager, Anthony A. James, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, Louis H. Miller, John H. Law, Frank H. Collins, Fotis C. Kafatos, Serap Aksoy
Abstract: None
Partial Text: The research enterprise is often charged with responding to emerging scientific needs and opportunities involving important public health issues. The establishment of the Vector Biology Network (VBN) by The MacArthur Foundation to address critical scientific, research, and human resource needs in vector biology is a model of how to respond to such a charge efficiently and effectively. When the Network was formed in 1989, the resurgence of vector-borne diseases, including malaria and dengue, had revealed critical research and training needs in vector biology. Major knowledge gaps in vector molecular biology and pathogen transmission limited development of new approaches for vector and disease control. The loss of vector biologists/medical entomologists complicated control of these diseases. Members of the VBN, an international consortium of research laboratories, collaborated in the development and application of modern molecular and genetic approaches in vector biology and in the training of a new cadre of scientists capable of developing and applying modern tools to combat these diseases. The VBN exploited the expertise and resources of the consortium institutions, and exceeded all of its milestones, including: development of molecular and genomic approaches in vector biology; genetic transformation of insect vectors; characterization of vector immune systems; identification of molecular and biological bases of vector competence; and exploitation of identified vulnerabilities to interfere with pathogen transmission. The VBN recruited many established scientists from other fields and trained a new generation of leaders in vector biology. Most importantly, the VBN participated in and helped catalyze a remarkable renaissance in vector biology/medical entomology.
Research on mosquitoes and other arthropod vectors of infectious diseases is of great importance for tackling neglected tropical diseases in the developing world. Vector biology is now a well-established and rapidly advancing field that is providing new understanding of vectors and vector pathogen interactions and creating new opportunities for vector-borne disease (VBD) control. Many key milestones and recruitment and training of new researchers in this field were made possible by the coalescence of several laboratories in the US and Europe into a collaborative research network focused on the biology of disease vectors. The Vector Biology Network (VBN) was established and funded for ten years (1990–2000) by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The VBN was reinforced through endorsement and, in some cases, coordinated funding by the World Health Organization (WHO) and national research agencies and foundations, which collectively contributed to a remarkable renaissance of vector biology. The history of the VBN provides a valuable case study of how effective strategies can be developed and deployed to address cost-effectively newly recognized scientific challenges related to important public health and social goals.
The stimulus for developing the VBN was the worldwide resurgence of VBDs. While extraordinary advances in antibiotics and vaccines have controlled many infectious diseases, VBDs continue to afflict hundreds of millions of humans annually, resulting in inestimable morbidity and misery and millions of deaths in disease-endemic countries [1]. These diseases are resurging in areas where they were previously controlled and are newly emerging in other locations. VBD resurgence is associated with multiple causes, including: biological factors such as the lack of efficacious vaccines and therapeutics, development of drug resistance in pathogens and pesticide resistance in arthropod vectors, and limitations on pesticide usage because of safety and environmental concerns; infrastructural factors such as the deterioration of public health systems for VBD surveillance and control, and attrition of scientists and public health practitioners trained in medical entomology or tropical medicine; and demographic and social factors such as rapid population growth, rampant unplanned urbanization in the tropics, and human migration into undeveloped areas containing new pathogens and reservoir hosts for known pathogens.
By the early 1980s, major conceptual and technological advances in molecular biology and genetics were reshaping biomedical research. The manipulation of DNA with recombinant techniques revolutionized the study of gene expression, development, evolution, and population biology. Genetic transformation of Drosophila emerged as a powerful approach to gene identification and characterization in a model arthropod [2]. Rapid progress in the development of inexpensive, widely applicable techniques for gene sequencing fostered genome-wide rather than gene-by-gene approaches in biomedicine. This explosion of molecular technology and knowledge created unparalleled opportunities for rapid advances even in neglected fields; indeed, new molecular studies of pathogens revealed exciting opportunities for development of diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines. However, the study of insect vectors of human disease progressed more slowly for several reasons: (i) the relatively small number of scientists working in the area; (ii) the strong focus of medical entomologists on fieldwork rather than on basic laboratory research; (iii) the historical dissociation in American academia of medical entomology (in schools of agriculture) and parasitology (in schools of medicine), which hindered integration of knowledge on the interaction of parasites with both their human and insect hosts; and (iv) the assumption that new more effective anti-parasite drugs and vaccines were imminent.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation was established in the late 1970s. Reflecting their personal interests, perspectives on societal needs, and the Foundation's location in Chicago, the Foundation's new Board of Directors selected mental health and urban issues for emphasis, and established the MacArthur Fellows Program to recognize and reward extraordinary creative potential in individuals.
Over the next two years, the ideas from that meeting germinated, and led the Foundation to create a new research network focused on vector molecular biology to complement the Parasite Biology Consortium. The Vector Biology Network would include vector laboratories within the Parasite Biology Consortium, and would also exploit newly emerged opportunities. These included the commitment of F. Kafatos to devote 50% of his laboratory to vector biology; the opportunity for A. James, then at Harvard, to start a new vector research program at the University of California Irvine; the convergence of pertinent expertise, infrastructure, and capacity at the NSF-funded Center for Insect Sciences at the University of Arizona; and the establishment of the Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory at CSU. The VBN laboratories and respective program leaders (PLs) were CWRU (A. Mahowald and M. Jacobs-Lorena), Yale (R. Tesh), Harvard and Crete (F. Kafatos), CSU (B. Beaty), University of Arizona (J. Hildebrand), University of California Irvine (A. James), and NIH (L. Miller). A VBN consortium laboratory was subsequently established at the Centers for Disease Control–Division of Parasitic Diseases, which later moved to the University of Notre Dame (F. Collins).
The VBN was supported by relatively modest funding from The MacArthur Foundation (USD 1.2 million total annually for eight laboratories over ten years) to catalyze and promote the field of molecular vector biology. Yet the impact on vector biology was extraordinary. Metrics of success in this goal include: recruitment of established scientists into the field, research productivity of VBN and its collaborators, training of new vector biologists, vector biology publications in high-quality journals, external funding (largely by NIH-NIAID), and vector biology presentations and sessions at the Annual Meeting of The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
Collaborative research networks were a relatively new phenomenon when the VBN was established in 1989, and represented an experiment in organizing science to tackle some of society's most significant challenges. For that reason, it is helpful to reflect on the work of the VBN, on how it was structured, and on how it operated. The following thirteen areas represent key lessons from the VBN's experience.
The VBN more than met the objectives of The MacArthur Foundation, and it validated the field-development concepts that motivated its creation. Through the separate and collaborative research and training activities of Network laboratories, the two-week summer course, and an ongoing set of strategic planning and convening activities, the VBN (i) led in the development of proof-of-concept demonstrations of genetic methods for interrupting the transmission of selected parasitic and viral VBDs; (ii) developed and applied the first methods for producing transgenic mosquitoes; (iii) helped to create the rationale, strategy, and collaborative approach for sequencing the genomes of the most significant mosquito vectors of human malaria and dengue; (iv) produced novel understanding concerning the functions and operation of the insect immune system, illuminated molecular events and vulnerabilities during blood feeding and digestion and the molecular basis of olfaction in host-seeking; (v) developed and offered the BDV course and published the landmark textbook The Biology of Disease Vectors; and (vi) trained more than 600 students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty from around the world, many of whom now fill leadership positions in vector biology or medical entomology; and (vii) recruited outstanding scientists from other fields to vector biology, many of whom transformed their entire laboratories to work on vectors and have become leaders in the field.


text:
Jean Alesi arrested for firing a firecracker in his brother-in-law's study
The former pilot of French Formula 1 Jean Alesi was arrested on Monday in Avignon (southern France) for his alleged involvement in the throwing a
The former pilot of French Formula 1 Jean Alesi was arrested on Monday in Avignon (southern France) for his alleged involvement in the throwing a firecracker in his brother-in-law's architect studio, which caused significant material damage. According to the French media reported on Tuesday, Alesi, 57, voluntarily appeared at the police station and acknowledged his involvement in the events.
The former Ferrari driver threw the fire contraption at his brother-in-law's workplace, that she is in the process of separating from Alesi's sister.
The ex-athlete clarified that it was a "practical joke" and not a settling of accounts. The investigation commissioned by the Nîmes Prosecutor's Office will seek to find out the real motive of Alesi, who was accompanied by two other people, including his son – also arrested – at the time of the events.
Hamilton doubted Mercedes – Sport-Journal
Formula 1 surprise: does Mick Schumacher change teams?
F1 Briefing Up to Date: 2021 Turkish Grand Prix
Linares – Barcelona | Copa del Rey match result, live football
2022 will be a decisive year in the aspirations of a handful of Puerto Rican boxers
The NBA is 'wet' about the Djokovic case
The story of a 14-year-old Thai golf prodigy
NBA: Balkan NBA players show their support for Djokovic
Costa Cruises presents its new "Cruise & Golf" offer
On this date the Formula 1 of 2022 will be released


text:
You are here: Home » Education » Harsh School Discipline Challenged
Harsh School Discipline Challenged
Patty Ducey-Brooks | October 31, 2011	| 0 Comments
Common Sense Approach Proposed
The California Endowment announced events in support of the National Week of Action on school discipline, which occurred this past October, to shine a spotlight on the alarming overuse of suspension, expulsion and other harsh punishments in California schools.
In the 2010-11 academic year, California schools issued more than 720,000 suspensions and expulsions, with the majority unrelated to violence or drugs, according to state data. After the 1999 shootings at Colorado's Columbine High School, many schools adopted policies that required harsh penalties for even minor misconduct, hoping that schools would become safer.
In San Diego County, approximately 40,000 students are suspended each year. And, I ask, where do they go? What happens to them? And, what's the plan?
"After 20 years of this approach, the research is clear, harsh punishments don't create safer schools, improve test scores or increase graduation rates," said Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment. "These policies have gotten way off track. It's time to get back to common-sense discipline that holds kids accountable, keeps them in school and gives educators the training and support they need to keep classrooms safe and successful."
For San Diego County, we have to ask, what is proposed?
According to Ross, leadership and partnership is critical to this effort. That's why local schools are reaching out to partner with the universities that have "social service" related programs and services that can help with this effort. And, he says, "Non-traditional outreach is occurring, such as conversations in hair salons and barber shops to stimulate discussion on the topic."
After learning of this challenge, I also discussed meeting with local social, civic and religious leaders. I said I would help initiate discussions on this topic. In the next issue of the , we will provide more conversation on this extremely important issue.
In conclusion, The California Endowment is a private, statewide health foundation that was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, The Endowment has regional offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno and San Diego, with program staff working throughout the state. The Endowment challenges the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people's health. The Endowment believes that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention. For more information, visit The Endowment's homepage at www.calendow.org.
Tags: California Endowment, education, Patty Ducey-Brooks, Robert K. Ross
« Do You Know Simone Weil?
Guilty of being a local treasure »
Featured Articles (147)
Life Style (384)
Local News (1,455)
National News (106)
Please Read Our January 2020 ISSUU!
San Diego International Film Festival!
San Diego International Film Festival
FT Fitness Together
You Make The Promise
WE'LL HELP YOU KEEP IT
TRILLIONJEWELSSanDiego.com
The Presidio Sentinel
The Presidio Sentinel is a commentary-driven newspaper that provides coverage on local, regional and national issues that impact the lives of its readers and the community it serves.
The serious issues are politics, government, redevelopment, the environment, conservation and safety. The quality of life issues include health, community activities, fundraisers, social events, religious issues and activities, theatre, arts, science and educational programs and services.
Making a difference, providing the facts, the truth, and a variety of opinions so that its readers are provided up-to-date researched information.
The Presidio Sentinel strives to create dialogue, bringing topics to the forefront that need and deserve attention. Its writers, who share a variety of experiences and business backgrounds, write on topics that impact readers on a daily basis.
We have over 35,000 monthly readers! Highly-educated, community- and arts-oriented. Both young and mature members of society. Most enjoy entertainment and travel, fine dining, local coffee houses, book and garden clubs, and participate in church, school and neighborhood activities.
General Inquiry: info@presidiosentinel.com
Advertising: ads@presidiosentinel.com
Presidio Sentinel
© 2020 Presidio Sentinel. All rights reserved. Theme by Solostream.


text:
Chapter 9: Building a File Sharer
In the last chapter, you learned how to catalog peers and resources with a discovery web service. In this chapter, we'll develop a sophisticated file-sharing application that uses the discovery service.
The file-sharing client is a lengthy example, and it will take the entire chapter to dissect the code. This complexity is a result of the multiple roles that a peer-to-peer application must play. A peer-to-peer client needs to periodically submit registration information to a central web service, serve files to hordes of eager peers, and retrieve more files from a different set of peers on the network—potentially all at once. The only way to handle these issues is with careful, disciplined threading code.
An Overview of FileSwapper
The FileSwapper application is built around a single form (see Figure 9-1). This form uses multiple tables and allows users to initiate searches, configure settings, and monitor uploads and downloads.
Figure 9-1: The FileSwapper display
FileSwapper divides its functionality into a small army of classes, including the following:
SwapperClient, which is the main form class. It delegates as much work as possible to other classes and uses a timer to periodically update its login information with the discovery service.
Global, which includes the data that's required application-wide (for example, registry settings).
App, which includes shared methods for some of the core application tasks such as Login(), Logout(), and PublishFiles(), and also provides access to the various application threads.
KeywordUtil and MP3Util, which provide a few shared helper methods for analyzing MP3 files and parsing the keywords that describe them.
RegistrySettings, which provides access to the application's configuration settings, along with methods for saving and loading them.
ListViewItemWrapper, which performs thread-safe updating of a ListViewItem.
Search, which contacts the discovery service with a search request on a separate thread (allowing long-running searches to be easily interrupted).
FileServer and FileUpload, which manage the incoming connections and transfer shared files to interested peers.
FileDownloadQueue and FileDownloadClient, which manage in-progress downloads from other peers.
Messages, which defines constants used for peer-to-peer communication.
The file-transfer process is fairly easy. Once a peer locates another peer that has an interesting file, it opens a direct TCP/IP connection and sends a download request. Conceptually, this code is quite similar to some of the examples shown in Chapter 7. However, the application is still fairly complex because it needs to handle several tasks that require multithreading at once. Because every peer acts as both a client and a server, every application needs to simultaneously monitor for new incoming connections that are requesting files. In addition, the application must potentially initiate new outgoing connections to download other files. Not only does the client need to perform uploading and downloading at the same time, but it also needs to be able to perform multiple uploads or downloads at once (within reason). In order to accommodate this design, a separate thread needs to work continuously to schedule new uploads or downloads as required.
Figure 9-2 shows a simplified view of threads in the FileSwapper application. Note that for the most part, independent threads run code in separate objects to prevent confusion. However, this isn't a requirement, and a single object could be executed on multiple threads or a single thread could run the code from multiple objects.
Figure 9-2: Threads in FileSwapper
The full FileSwapper application can be downloaded with the code for this chapter. In this chapter, we'll walk through all the threading and networking code, but omit more trivial details such as namespace imports and the automatically generated Windows designer code. We'll begin by examining some of the building blocks such as the classes used to register the peer, to read configuration information, and to process MP3 files. Next, you'll look at the code for searching available peers. Finally, you'll see the multithreaded code for handling simultaneous uploads and downloads over the network.
The Discovery Service Web Reference
The FileSwapper requires a web reference to the discovery service in order to work. To add this, right-click the project name in the Solution Explorer, and choose Add Web Reference. Type the full path to the virtual directory and web service .asmx file in the Address field of the Add Web Reference window. When you press Enter, the list of web-service methods from the Internet Explorer test page will appear, as shown in Figure 9-3.
Figure 9-3: Adding a web reference
Click Add Reference to generate the proxy class and add it to your project. The proxy class should not be manually modified once it's created, and so it isn't shown in the Solution Explorer. However, you can examine it by choosing Project Show All Files from the Visual Studio .NET window. The proxy class is always named Reference.vb, as shown in Figure 9-4. We won't consider the proxy class code in this book, although it makes interesting study if you'd like to understand a little more about how web services convert .NET objects into SOAP messages and back.
Figure 9-4: The hidden proxy class
If you need to change a web service, you must recompile it and then update the client's web reference. To do so, right-click the web-service reference in the Solution Explorer, and choose Update Web Reference.
In the remainder of this chapter, we'll walk through the FileSwapper code class-by-class, and discuss the key design decisions.
If you click on a web reference in the Solution Explorer, you can find a property called Url Behavior in the Properties window. This property is set to static by default, in which case a fixed URL is set for the discovery service and added to the generated proxy class code. If you change the Url Behavior property to dynamic, an application setting will be added to the client application's configuration file with the web-service URL. This way, if you move the web service to another server you only need to change the configuration file, rather than recompile the client application.
↓ Bitcoin Gambling - The Original Crypto Dice Game