text:
Floodgates
Log Archive » Logs for July 2009 » Floodgates
On a mission from Ghost, Huruma proceeds to make it a bad day for Logan. The first of more to come.
9: 34 am
There is something of the Rookery in Chinatown, if someone drained the poison from the former, wrapped it in the ambient sound of distant traffic, injected it with life. The markets are familiar, even if these ones boast jewelry and food rather than pilfered weaponry. It's a slower introduction into this side of the river, although if anyone asked Logan if he were unsettled by this adaptation, the culture shock of pirate town with its spotty electricity, occasional running water and lurking dark alleyways through to— a place only partway more decent, he'd deny, deny, deny.
He wants to belong here, after all.
It's something like mid-morning, Logan a slightly too elegantly dressed entity moving through the thinner streets of Chinatown, violet-tinted sunglasses reflecting the glare of sharply angled sunlight and disguising the slight hangover that only shows in tired eyes. Black velvet over a crisp, royal blue shirt, fitted slacks and pointed shoes aren't much of a departure for him, although the briefcase in hand is somewhat new.
He's seeing a man about a girl, the former of which is seated on a bench, arms sprawled along the edges and his own briefcase in hand. White, too, no glasses veiling his eyes that swivels over towards Logan, recognises him for what he is without so much as a signal or clue needed. A black portfolio is already being extracted from the confines of his over-heavy coat, getting to his feet.
He radiates boredom, whereas Logan is mostly made up of cagey interest, a trickle of nervousness he'd never admit to, and some curious anticipation, interest and hope, too, all those things better suited for someone about to undergo a job interview, not receive grainy photographs for some underhanded assignment. Then again, both are kinds of auditions.
Following someone within the confines of the city is a much more complex affair; there are always other people milling around, in some way or another, and so simply staking out in a single place may get you a visit for loitering. For Logan, it is not all too difficult for anyone to follow him. Just put your nose to the air and go whichever way that one smells the scent of slimeball. Figuratively. In Huruma's case, it is an active task. A taxi here, an alley there, a fire escape anywhere. The urban jungle is as much a playground.
She has followed him all the way to Chinatown, where she sticks out like a sore thumb if she were to stand amongst the locals. Luckily, her tailing of John Logan ends when he seems to find the man he has been coming for. Huruma tucks herself immediately away inside of a building, which becomes a restaurant once she winds out of the back hall- for all intensive purposes, anyone seated in the eatery will have assumed she was in the restroom rather than filing into the back exit. She seats herself behind the red curtain to one side of the front window, sitting at a table in the shade of the wall.
She has a view of the bench from here, a quite perfect one, nearabouts fifty feet from the spot. Dark glasses on her eyes, she simply responds with 'Tea' when one of the hostesses realize she's appeared apparently out of thin air. And for now, the Empath waits, just for the right time, the whiskers of her ability unfolded so that she may discern Logan's meeting from the rest.
"If you had an email, this would be way easier," the man on the bench is saying, holding up the portfolio although not completely within reach. Slick brown hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and there's grey in his stubble. "You realise that this is probably Zarek's version of a hazing, right? You're John?" No last name. Maybe he's not even aware of one.
Irritation only manifests to those who have the talents to recognise it. Otherwise, Logan's smile is easy, almost relaxed, and he holds out a hand for the portfolio. "None of your concern, I'm sure." There's a pause, the other man waiting in expectation, before Logan's hand retracts only to fish out a couple of crisp notes, these taken from his smoothly and replaced with the shining black book. "Thank you." It's flipped open, even as the former pimp asks, "How recent are these?"
"They're all dated, amigo. Look for yourself," the contractor dismisses, shoveling the money into his pocket before he's picking up his briefcase from the bench. "The wildcat comes up again, I'll be in touch with you."
Black and white, photographs of Jessica Sanders fall into view, a slight frown to Logan's mouth as he studies the woman, frozen in some moment or another on the street side, her face a mask of seriousness and blonde hair pulled back. Single mother, pretend widow, strong as ten men. She's hotter than Logan thought she might be.
Maybe this'll be fun.
Then again, maybe it won't? The first hints of doubt trickle down from Huruma's mental hourglass.
In the restaurant, she is looking out the window, fingers twined under her chin. She leaves that trickle hanging when the hostess brings her a small metal teapot and cup, nodding over once to her as she goes again. When Huruma peers back out of the shadow of the window, her eyes alight on John Logan from over the ceramic rim of her cup, practically dwarfed more than usual in her fingers.
It could be fun, but is it really? It has begun, as the nagging sensation in the pit of him; wariness, doubt, uneasiness.
It's not a twist of anxiety that he questions, preoccupied with the idea itself. It should be natural insight, to reflect, to question. Logan lingers more than he's meant to, scanning the pictures of the woman rather than the times and locations. Blonde, like so many previously. Abigail had been just another task, too. And where had that led him?
Pain, mostly. A burning brothel, ultimately.
Logan looks up as if to ask a question, but the contractor is already headed away from the bench, leaving the Brit alone with his pictures and nagging uncertainty. He'd never been the kind to delay pulling the trigger - always quick to fire, too much so sometimes but that's the price you pay. With a snort as if to dismiss these feelings, an attempt at dodging, Logan briskly closes the file, goes to slide it away into his briefcase, tries to ignore the struggling pip of doubt working its way through the accumulation of bloody muscle that is his morally deficient heart.
East of Central Park
Zeroing in on the same man throughout the day becomes much easier once Huruma realizes where to try and preempt his presence. She has narrowed his location down to a small area eastward of Central Park; a nice, choice few blocks of neighborhood, speckled with some fine dining and cafes.
Huruma has been inside of one of the latter for a short time, waiting and observing out of the window once more to see if John Logan rears his face from some door along the street. She is fairly certain that if he is not already here, he may be- a few of the buildings house familiar locations for him. While she waits, the tall dark woman ignores the curious peering of lunch-break businessfolk and students popping in for a cup of coffee, meanwhile nursing at her own cup of flavored sweet tea and watching the outside world through that pane of glass.
High-end without being high-end, Logan imagines he likes it here. The little restaurant across the street was serving scallops although neither of them ate much at all, just traded glasses of wine and chilly words. Eventually, Huruma's wandering gaze will land upon the now familiar man stepping out onto the sidewalk— the woman at his side less so. As tall as Logan, perhaps a fraction more on her heels, the woman has copper-red hair and a pinker shade around her eyes, as if she'd been crying.
Frustration, fear, these are the things that roil inside Viv, and she's not really looking at the other man - faint disgust and blame, too, are potent ingredients. Logan feels nothing like that - apathy, in some ways, boredom. Whatever doubts he had have been staved off for the time being, distracted in the need to diplomat his way back into his former madame's heart, for whatever reasons that may be. He kisses her on the cheek and she allows it, even offers a strained smile as he goes to hail her a cab.
Glaring daggers at his back, however, when he moves to open the car door for her.
When he turns- when he sees her face again as he opens the door- the pink eyes, the defiant manner- he will feel a bigger doubt, hinged on whatever he may have possibly done to make her this way. A bigger doubt, a bigger uneasiness, brimming on a dose of guilt, however not quite. There is something wrong with you, John, making a woman like this.
There is something wrong with you. Do you feel the that fault yet? Be still in the field of introspection.
As for Viv, Huruma has seen this as a moment of opportunity. Viv, despite her state of frustration and fear- she feels a sudden rush of courage. Boldness. Pride. Worth. Something that seems to gradually yank the manipulated little girl out of her and put in its place, a woman, grown with every step she takes.
He freezes a little in place as those emotions line up so neatly, like checkers on the board, when he sees her face, drawn as it is, both flushed and pale. This is— new. Surprise crosses symmetrical features, confusion bubbling up beneath those feelings of wrongness, blame directed inwards rather than at her for letting herself get like this. It steals away his final departing words, especially when Viv only gives him a stone cold look.
"Look— don't look at me like that," Logan says, defense making tremors through his voice, but gives up the argument when silence acts as the slap in the face that doesn't come, that's likely closer to coming than he'll ever know. "Christ. Here, let me pay— "
"Fuck you, John," the madame finally unleashes, that inner anger turning around and pointing towards him. Exhilarating, in some ways. Freeing. "Forget it. Forget everything. I am not doing this anymore." She steps forward, an authoritative click of her dagger heel against the concrete, placing a hand on the partially opened car door— and shoving.
Metal connects sharp enough against him to have Logan reeling back with a hissed curse, Viv barely glancing his way as she slides into the cab, chin tilted proudly.
Upper East Side — Orchid Lounge
It had been some hours ago, that Logan had been abandoned on the sidewalk with new and interesting bruises both inside and out. The Orchid Lounge of the Upper East Side is a place he's been to before, usually with company in the form of whoever he's intending to shmooze, or the shadows of his security, or a girl on his arm.
For now, Logan is alone, soothing recent injury with, right now, a thickly red glass of wine.
It's not as though Toru monitors when his employer comes and goes from the apartment they currently share, if only until Logan gets that lovely condo a part of him is still sure he deserves, but perhaps he'll be wondering about such a prolonged absence. Truth be told, the social creature that is Logan is looking to be alone. Alone in the midst of company, sure, bartenders and patrons, but alone in every way that counts.
It's been a strange day. Tipping back the rest of the wine, letting it glide smoothly down a welcoming throat, Logan shuts his eyes and allows the alcohol to warm him on its way to his stomach. It would be easy, if he could turn his own ability in on himself - he'd never get anything done, but it would be—
Easy. Things were just a moment ago, he could have sworn— but anxiety, doubt, has knotted itself amongst his gut, mind unable not to wander on back to where his mistake lie, the long road its taken for him to get here, and what on earth is here, anyway?
"Gin and tonic," he requests of the bartender, before resting his chin in his hand, a solitary figure still dressed in velvet.
John Logan has been here quite a time, sitting, when the front door to the lounge opens to admit someone. A tall someone, a someone that wafts past the barstools towards the tables on a pair of heels, breezy, unconcerned with the surroundings.
Or she would like very much for everyone to keep believing that. Huruma, dressed in a knee-length black dress that wraps around her like a cocoon, with only the caps of sleeves on her long arms. Dangling bits of gold on her ears, wrists, and neck glimmer lightly as she moves past, finding a table for two once she gestures to something on the host's reservation list. For all the world, she is here to meet someone. A someone that has not yet come to meet her. A someone that possibly may not exist.
Still a few minutes later the woman that drew some attention when she sat is now part of the ambiance. Some leave, some come in the door on those minutes after her. Enough of a wait. And then Logan, in all his introspection, begins to feel a similar spiral downward once his mind draws back to the earlier mood. Thinking about such things makes it worse, you see.
A more considerable measure of doubt, weighing on his shoulders like a pair of hands belonging to a large man leaning down onto him from behind.
Upon Huruma's entrance, her languid motion into the bar, she gets a glance, as most patrons might, just fleetingly. More important things to concentrate on. Himself.
Logan is no stranger to the fickle moods of alcoholism. The superficial highs and of course the sinking, irrational sadness. So even he's aware that this is different, bone deep, chemical deep— maybe more than that. Distracted, he slides across the money appropriate for the drink and drags is closer, fingers fidgeting with the slime slice on the rim of the glass before a fingertip delicately flicks it inwards.
Caliban had said it, that Linderman would look after its own more than Muldoon ever had, but Christ, isn't this more of the same? Blonde girls to be punished, money and promises, and prior nihilism doesn't seem so unimportant anymore.
What had Mu-Qian told him about escalation? What had Hokuto told him about change? A little desperately, Logan takes a quick sip of his dry tasting drink. Introspection is hard.
Huruma even goes through the trouble of ordering a drink. Though of course, it contains a lot of ice, and a rather weak drink in of itself. She is not here to get smashed, she is here to watch John Logan out of the corner of her vision.
The same old shit, right? More of the same old nonsense and trouble that has gotten him here in the first instance. The same thing that got his brothel burned to the ground, and the same thing that has made him an enemy of so many. As he sits, thinking, emotions in a small, crashing thrunderstorm above his head… another one comes. Not entirely new. Old. As if he has not felt it in some time, though all humans possess the capacity. Guilt. Dribbles of it, one- two- three. Maybe he shouldn't have done this, maybe he shouldn't have done that, maybe he shouldn't have done anything. Doubt turns into a feeling of wrongness, a foreign feeling, still, but not completely alien. A child-like feeling, depending on how long it has been.
Old is a good descriptor, on a couple of levels. One more ancient, prehistoric level, summoning up of the emotional write up of all humans everywhere, of what has been there all along. Kind of like the survival instinct that manifests in all of us at surprising, confusing moments.
And old in that it's been a while. Who could say when Logan hit a wall? When normal became abnormal, when the capacity to learn veered off into repeated mistakes and self-delusion? When everything that made up human relationships, the underlying social conventions, what made people like people— when all that seemed to just go away.
Guilt. What on earth do they put in the water, in these parts?
Another sip of gin and tonic like it's going out of style, or perhaps to douse that newish feeling, before the glass lands heavily back down upon the bar, and his hand travels up rub the bridge of his nose, to stave away a headache. Huruma can enjoy a show of spiking and dipping emotion, of veering away from it, of being pulled in again. Gravity. Abigail, and Viv, and hell, Cardinal, and Mu-Qian— maybe he could get the photograph back, maybe if he apologised—
Bebe. He doesn't even know where she is. Run away from him, like the rest of them, like Muldoon did, too, when there was nothing Logan could touch that didn't break. So much more wrong than it ever all had a right to be. And it might just be his fault.
The notion is enough to take his breath away. Off-balanced, Logan moves to get up from his seat at the bar, expression drawn into something suppressed, a mask, jaw tense.
As he stands, Huruma's claws sink into those spikes as they come. Nails dragging into the emotions he links with the people in and out of his lives. And she pulls, just like a mischievous kitten with a roll of paper towels, throwing it all over the place. Or in his case, throwing the mainstream guilt that he suddenly associates with figures- and tossing it like fifty-two-pickup all over his head.
Associations only drag more into the mix. Countless whores, and Eileen, and Deckard, and Teo. Connections confuse, fizzle, spark. It's almost a physical pain, something burning in his torso that refuses to be swallowed down or dim or worked out in some other way. Instead, it rises, tightens his lungs, sears his heart, fills his throat—
Snap.
He manages to muffle the choked out gasp against his sleeve as salt water seems to flood his eyes, other hand gripping onto the edge of the bar, white-knuckled, desperate. There's no real way to run away from it, unless he could magically become another person, someone who doesn't light fires everywhere he goes and brings things to boils as his only form of revenge. It's meant to be never too late to change, but it might just be.
What is he supposed to change in to? Who would care?
And— and he's crying in public. Uncomfortable. Neglecting the rest of his drink, Logan shakily pulls his jacket around him a little more and makes his hurried way for the door, trying to ignore people that have by now turned to look, finding freedom in the form of the street side.
Huruma does not follow. As it so happens, she has a date with a blond.
And really, who wants to watch a pimp cry into his sleeve? Not I, said the Empath.
_huruma_logan


IVR Service , Interactive Voice Response is the process which enables the caller to connect with the automated machine, which guides the caller to obtain the precise information.
In the year 1962, an idea was projected at Seattle's World Fair, which gradually evolved over the years. It went through the various processes to bridge the gap between the caller and the telephonic agent. IVR Service has replaced the entire outlook of telecommunication technology with the help of software applications, database and supporting infrastructure.
Interactive Voice Response – IVR Services benefits have shown a new path to the organizations who are into customer services.
It saves time and money altogether: IVR service takes care of the callers need and route their call to specific agents. The agents help them with their desired information and address them without wasting their time and money.
Serve with proficiency: Many of the times it becomes difficult to answer the back to back calls for limited agents. IVR Service Provider helps to increase the productivity of the organization to serve better with proficiency.
It's all about professionalism: No matter how small or medium size of your organization is. IVR Service makes it easy for the organization to exhibit professionalism.
Cost-effective: Every business owners want to invest less and utilize more. IVR is the best way to cut down the extra labor and bring the maximum benefit from it.
Support anytime: A caller can inquire for any information in any time. The automated support system serves better to coordinate with the callers 24*7.
Customer satisfaction: If the caller gets the appropriate information related to their queries without getting aggravated, it gives the customer immense satisfaction. After all, no business can build without gratifying their customer.
Customer oriented services do not appear as easy as it shows. The customer retention or customer satisfaction is all a matter of trust.
IVR Service is the boon for service industry which is flourishing day by day with the advanced technology services.
This entry was posted in BLOG and tagged ivr service, IVR SERVICE PROVIDER, IVR SERVICES IN INDIA.


No need any faxing & bad credit ok for "Lends52 Com" If you need cash, you should look into getting for a payday loan. This type of loan will advance you the money you would have gotten on your next paycheck. If you get a loan like this, you won't have to wait to get your money. You'll have the kind of cash that you need now. Get fast loan today at Lends52 Com.
Looking for Lends52 Com. Next Day Pay day loans. Not necessarily Send Fax to be able to Us all. Home loan approvals by 50 % Minutes. Implement On the internet Nowadays.
Lends52 Com, Getting for these loans is very easy, particularly if do things online. Most importantly, these loans are quick. In many instances, you will be able to have access to the money out of your loan in only one day.
When you have a bad credit score, you might think that you won't be eligible for a loan. Thankfully, this isn't actually the case. Payday lenders have the ability to work with everyone, even though their credit is in very rough shape.
Providing you have got a steady job, then acquiring a cash loan shouldn't become a problem for yourself. A payday lender isn't going to look at your credit score once they decide whether or not to lend for your needs. Instead, they are going to look at the income you're attracting now.
Some people worry that dealing with an online lender is likely to make it harder for receive the money that they want. In reality, the contrary of this is correct. When you deal with the right lender, it will be easy to acquire each of the money that you require without a problem.
Online lenders usually don't provide you with a sign in the mail. Instead, they simply deposit your cash right into a bank account. You are able to go ahead and take money which they provide you with and you can make certain you input it to good use.
Obviously, you aren't going to want to take out financing which will be hard that you can repay. Different lenders have different repayment plans, and make sure that the plan you accept is sensible to you personally.
While you are offered a loan, it will be easy to look closely at the relation to that loan. One thing you'll are able to consider will be the repayment schedule. Should you be pleased with the schedule, then you can certainly accept the money and wait for the money to come.


We Carry Nature on our Shoulders!
We are delighted to announce our brand new collection for 2018! We have searched world wide to find exciting new designs that reflect the Palm Beach lifestyle. We can add more balance to your life with Palm Beach Purses. Owning a Palm Beach Purse can help you keep your items organized and safe. As your life becomes better, so do you! And guess what? Your Palm Beach Purse becomes your best go-to accessory.
"I love the purses. They are just gorgeous. That's just incredible the work you're doing. It's just awesome. I'm enjoying my purses".
"I took your purses with me to the Bahamas and I won $2400 while I was carrying one".
This gorgeous wonderful purse is the most beautiful purse I own and I use it everytime I go out. It also provided a great incentive for me to buy some fabulous green outfits to match it.


The phenomenal success of Apple iPod, iPhone and iPad provides a great lesson for pure-play BPM vendors. Here is a company which basically turned an industry upside-down in a matter of a few years by doing less rather than doing... Read More..
In the business process management (BPM)-related blogosphere one can often find posts by different observers lamenting that BPM does not seem to be catching on as fast as one would expect from its significant performance and profit improving potential. These observers... Read More..
I have been trying hard to understand Gartner's Pattern-Based Strategies (PBS) and how it may impact BPM vendors and users. According to Gartner, PBS is an overarching strategy that brings together some key technologies including BPM, BI, Complex Event Processing... Read More..
It is the end of the year and everyone is focused on what 2010 will bring. So I wanted to join the crowd and share my thoughts on the trends I see in Business Process Management (BPM). I don't think... Read More..
In this blog I cover high-level BPM issues of interest to organizational leaders with the goal of inculcating a process vision and thinking in the organizational culture. The blog is based on my 14-years or real-world BPM development and deployment experience in companies across industries.
Rashid N. Khan is the Founder of Chatty Solutions, a company that develops and markets Chatty Apps, a mobile application platform for smartphone-enabling SaaS applications and Web forms.. He was the Founder/CEO of Ultimus , a BPM pioneer established in 1994. Prior to Ultimus, Rashid was the Founder/CEO of Sintech, a leader in computerized mechanical testing. Rashid holds two BS degrees from MIT in Computer and Political Science, a MS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley, and an MBA from Harvard. He has published numerous articles and a book "Business Process Management: A Practical Guide�?.


text:
half-life of gaming lust
By James Nostack 10 Comments
After flirting with several different game systems lately, I am now conducting a scientific experiment: how long will it take for me to get sick of Vampire: the Requiem, and by implication, other games that I get momentarily infatuated with? (The answer: I was fed up with the presentation and authorial voice instantly. But maaaaaaybe there's a game worth playing hidden in between the schlocky writing?) I ask this because I was recently enamored of Star Frontiers and then Gamma World, only to have those feelings quickly dissolve within a few days.
star frontiers: what am I doing here, captain
Our group has been wrestling with science-fiction games for quite some time. By New York State Law I am forbidden from playing Traveller, but it doesn't quite seem to get a critical mass of interest from the other Red Boxers. I know the Alternity system pretty well, but its spaceship combat rules are awful, character design takes forever, and I'm a perfectionist about designing a scenario in these types of system-is-everything games. A friend wrote a beautiful hack of Starships & Spacemen that some of us used to play a joyous Star Trek rip-off, but he doesn't want to run it any more.
Anyway, what with one thing and another, I figured I'd check out Star Frontiers, given its TSR pedigree and remembering incomprehensible adds in Marvel Comics. Frankly, I am not sure what Star Frontiers is about. Apparently you're like, the Away Team sent down to hex-crawl across alien worlds and zap things. Several of the modules take this approach, and the game's tagline, "Exciting adventures on alien worlds!" seems to bear that out.
Somewhat awesomely, all of human knowledge has collapsed into thirteen fields of study, of which a full seven (54%) directly involve killing things. (This amazes me mainly because in Alternity, the sci-fi game I've played most, there are like 109 skills, of which like 25 directly involve killing things.) Also, the aliens aren't described in much detail, but they're fairly non-human, which is a plus in my mind.
Part of the problem with Star Frontiers, maybe, is that it is deliberately non-political science-fiction: that is, science-fiction that's designed to be bland. Star Trek's original series is infused with mid-1950's techno-utopian thinking, Cold War tension, and late-60's cultural concerns; the later iterations of the show tended to veer toward the police procedural genre, albeit ones where the police get trapped in caves a lot or date women who are actually disguised space-monsters. Star Wars (the watchable movies, at least) is an admixture of Zen platitudes, anti-fascism, and perhaps a qualified rejection of the Industrial Revolution. But those two are only the big sci-fi franchises in hindsight. In the early 1980's, there was also Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica and many other things besides, and it feels like Star Frontiers was just trying to fit in with the crowd rather than stake out new territory.
Certainly some people love the hell out of this game, enough to create a deluxe, high-quality remix of the rules with better art. I do find it curious, though, that a company like TSR / Wizards has never tried to squeeze more juice out of this game. Maybe the Williamses wanted the company to start fresh with Buck Rogers XXVc or something.
gamma world: that'll do, pig
After quickly growing bored with Star Frontiers, I got into Gamma World very briefly after Tavis was kind enough to run me through a goofy little half-scenario in which my twice-super-intelligent pig, Boss Hogg, who I imagine is the Samuel L. Delany of post-apocalyptic Hazzard County, helped some benighted villagers understand the mystery of witch-fruit ("it's really a tuber"), found them a robot-obstetrician to help with their appalling infant mortality rate, and fed pig-slops to a smelly toothless hobo, just like the real Samuel L. Delany would.
Gamma World 2e (which is kinda the Moldvay equivalent of the 1e rules) looks like a lot of fun, precisely because it's what disappointed me about Star Frontiers: you're some weird freak rollin' around in an "alien" world. Why this appeals to me in Gamma World but disappoints me in Star Frontiers is a mystery, and probably unfair.
I mainly fell out of love with Gamma World when I realized it seemed to be D&D with a facelift: modern-day ruins instead of medieval ones, tons more hit points, and an unchanging list of magic spells mutations. To whatever extent D&D is a game about managing your resources wisely, this seems less true Gamma World in the main (though I guess you'd have to ration your D batteries pretty carefully).
I still wanna play that pig, though. Boss Hogg, Edible Consultant, has a lot more adventures left in him.
i hope vampires are not too stupid
Over the weekend I got hopped up on old Tomb of Dracula comics, and took down my old unplayed copy of Vampire: the Requiem down from the shelf. So my experiment started on Sunday night and I'm waiting to see when I get tired of this thing. That way, whenever I fall into the grip of some new gaming passion, I will know to wait _____ days before taking it seriously.
I am not, and probably never was, part of the target audience for Vampire: the Requiem. I don't like horror movies, LARPing, or freeform role-play twiddle-twaddle. I hate the book's padding and fake-ass lingo. I strongly doubt that whoever called it "Modern Gothic role-playing" had read The Castle of Otranto. This book is not meant for me.
On the other hand, I really, really dig the idea of what a pain in the ass it would be to only be active at night. I can barely get my shit done in 18 hours; now I've only got 12? Man, what if I want to check out some Isaac Asimov book from the library and it closes at 5 p.m.? Can't see no animals at the zoo. Can't see no kids on the playground while strolling around. Can't renew my drivers license at the DMV; can't pick up Amazon boxes at the post office. Plus, every night you gotta drink blood instead of having a toasted cheese sandwich or whatever. This is not enough to make me all emo and mopey, but it would be an interesting problem to have for few sessions.
Stripping down the game to the basics, it seems that what you've got is a game about extremely territorial cannibal-folks with magic blood-powers, who more or less hate each other but any big move would set off a gang war apocalypse. There's also some stuff about enslavement and addiction, and a risk of growing insanity, which has to be carefully managed to avoid being disabled for years or decades. It looks like there's a playable game lurking in there, if you can avoid the pretentious nonsense.
I expect my interest will fade by the end of the Memorial Day, but we'll see.
10 Responses to "half-life of gaming lust"
1 fadedearth
You never know with RPG bloggers, so I ask: Do you mean Samuel L. Jackson, Samuel R. Delany, Jr., or some ass- kicking author/actor/critic mash-up?
2 James N.
I meant the author, but my brain must have slipped a gear. Except I like the portmanteau: Boss Hogg just got 1000% bosser. "Get these mother-frelking Jewels off this mother-frelking Aptor!"
3 James C. Bennett
Getting a spaceship and taking part in interstellar politics/space war is the end game for Star Frontiers. Unfortunately, it's only addressed (poorly) in the Knight Hawks supplement, so there is no sense of that in the basic game. With just the basic game, you don't know that you should be building your skill set to meet the steep requirements for the spaceship skills. Star Frontiers doesn't have starfighter pilots; it has astronauts.
But, yeah, it's a crap system. Rather than deal with Star Frontiers, I threw together an E6-based system to run some friends through SFKH2 Muntiny on the Eleanor Moraes a while back. Because there just aren't that many other good whitewater-rafting-race-against-the-clock adventure modules.
4 Scott LaMeanmuthafucka
I think you might like the game much more if you have your Pendragon set.
Which game?
You might like the vampire game if you play it with your gamers from Pendragon.
7 skidoo
In 6th grade, my group played SF as a pulpy "Space Rangers" sort of game, foiling dastardly space-bank robberies, getting in space-car chases, and whooping it up at the space-saloon.
8 Owen
If you do play Vampire, ditch or heavily modify the Predator's Taint rule since it makes vampire societies completely nonviable.
Really? How so? VTR does not seem to set a particular number of necessary successes to overcome the resulting frenzy, so maybe one success suffices? I think the rule also suggests (a) that you don't use it often, and (b) assume that in most cases PC's have already met a lot of vampires in their town. (Why you would still use the rule given that it's being so heavily watered-down is a open question, I guess.). But even with those qualifications you still think it's a problem? I have zero experience with this game so I would be curious to know more.
Gaming Notes: May 26, 2013… with guest Ken Burnside | Jeffro's Space Gaming Blog Pingback on May 26th, 2013 at 10:39 am
« Playing Domains at War and Papers & Paychecks
you must be this lucky to play, part 2 »

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Any way you use it, this Open Center Therapeutic Foam Cushion takes the pressure off. With its high-density foam construction and ring shape, it supports you as you sit and helps relieve painful pressure points. The ring cushion is perfect for post-surgery recovery or anyone with back, hip, tailbone or perineal discomfort.


Lesley says "I'm turning the big 50 this year and thought that it was time to get back in to my fitness. I'm thinking that there's no better way to start than with DRY JULY. To keep me on track and at the same time help others I have decided to raise money for Club Cares, and donate it all to Vernon.


For the best and freshest flowers in Streamwood, Streamwood Florist has exactly what you're looking for! Check out our wide selection of flower arrangements to make your next occasion memorable.
At Streamwood Florist, our professional and courteous staff is committed to creating beautiful flower arrangements and floral gifts to fit any occasion. As a trusted local florist, we offer flower delivery throughout Streamwood, IL and surrounding areas, as well as nationwide delivery through our network of reliable florists. Streamwood Florist also offers convenient, same-day floral delivery for all of your last minute gift needs!
Valentine's Day flowers, to sympathy funeral flowers and thoughtful get well flowers, Streamwood Florist offers the best arrangements and gifts for the ones you love.
Streamwood Florist in Streamwood makes sending fresh flowers easy! Browse our website and order online or call the shop to place your order. We can even create custom gift baskets which make the perfect gift your upcoming special occasion. Whether you want to send a gift to a friend in Streamwood or a relative across the country, trust Streamwood Florist in Streamwood for beautiful bouquets that fit your budget.
For the best flowers in Streamwood, Streamwood Florist has exactly what you're looking for. Check out our wide selection of gift baskets and plants to find the perfect present for your next special occasion. Flowers from Streamwood Florist are expertly arranged and hand-delivered to each recipient.
Don't settle for flowers that arrive in a box. With Streamwood Florist, your flowers will be hand-arranged and delivered to Streamwood or anywhere nationwide. Our fresh flowers are expertly arranged by our professional florists to give each gift that special, personal touch you're looking for. Trust Streamwood Florist in Streamwood for bouquets that will brighten anyone's day!


A life in black and white.
It's true, color is the distinctive feature of a specific look and style, like navy blue for nautical style or pastel pink for a romantic soul. But also monochrome can be very charming and the Fall-Winter 2018 runways offered interesting graphic elements and classic combinations suitable for various occasions. In other words: when in doubt, wear black and white.
A rigorous and impactful combination, where black and white alternate sharply: black and white becomes eclectic, multifaceted, the symbol of a classic woman who does not compromise (also on color).
Black and white are a symbol of masculine and feminine that coexist in women's outfits inspired by menswear.
Doesn't every closet need an off white boot?


A good quality brush plays a vital role in making excellent oil paintings. With their long handles, they enable the artist to paint at a distance. It goes a long way in helping them to achieve the desired results.
Brushes used in oil paintings are available in three main shapes i.e. round, flat and filbert in various sizes from 00 to 14 depending on the range and with their either long or short brushes.
The most useful brushes in oil paintings are made from bristle- usually hog's hair. The hair holds the paint well and is flexible enough to cope with the consistency of the paint.
Brushes made of synthetic hair or mixed bristle are also used in oil paintings. These brushes are easy to clean and come at relatively low cost.


text:
Q: How to count how many is dislike and how many is like? class ObjectRate(models.Model):
    user = models.ForeignKey(User)
    my_object = models.ForeignKey(Design)
    rate = models.DecimalField(max_digits=2,decimal_places=1)

rate can be set to -1(dislike) or 1(like). How to count how many is dislike and how many is like? (for single object)
views.py:
def my_views(request,id):
    my_object = Object.objects.get(id=id)
    votes = ObjectRate.objects.filter(..)

What "algorithm" to use?

A: You can filter ObjectRate by my_object and rate value (either -1 or 1) and get the counts separately:
dislikes = ObjectRate.objects.filter(my_object__id=my_object.id, rate=-1).count()
likes = ObjectRate.objects.filter(my_object__id=my_object.id, rate=1).count()

A: The @Aamir answer is good.
But i recommend you user "related_name"
class ObjectRate(models.Model):
    user = models.ForeignKey(User, related_name="rates")
    my_object = models.ForeignKey(Design)
    rate = models.DecimalField(max_digits=2,decimal_places=1)

then in Your view:
def my_views(request,id):
    my_object = User.objects.get(id=id)
    like_votes = my_object.rates.filter(rate=1).count()
    dislike_votes = my_object.rates.filter(rate=-1).count()

tip:
is not necessary use "object__id" in django filter, just use the object.
Example:
dislikes = ObjectRate.objects.filter(my_object=my_object, rate=-1).count()
likes = ObjectRate.objects.filter(my_object=my_object, rate=1).count()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A few words on the meaning of tea. They are occasioned by a recent commentary from Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. The commentary -- you can find it on YouTube -- scores the tea party movement as the outcry of people who haven't yet made peace with the fact that their president is black.
Everything else, said Olbermann, is euphemism. Taxes? Socialism? Budget deficit? No, he argued, when you strip away the pretenses and rationalizations, ``it's still racism,'' and they hate the president only because he is black.
One is reminded of the 2008 campaign in which many of Barack Obama's opponents insisted people only supported him because he's black.
It was an offensive claim, in that it assumed black was black was black and that people were so imbecilic that skin color -- alone and of itself -- was sufficient to win their votes. As if you could sub in rapper Flavor Flav and they would not care.
The truth, it always seemed to me, was more nuanced. People liked Obama's policies, his eloquence, and his fierce intelligence and the fact that he was black, that his election would turn history on its ear, was a desirable bonus, but only that -- icing on the cake, but not the cake itself.
I submit that a rough inverse of that dynamic now helps define the tea party movement.
Ask yourself: would we even be having this discussion if Condoleezza Rice were president? If Rice, Republican stalwart, conservative icon, and black woman were chief executive, would the first pot of tea ever have been brewed?
One suspects the average tea party participant would tell you emphatically, ``no,'' and that this ``no'' serves as his personal shield against charges of racism. How can I be racist, he would demand, when I know in my heart that I would've supported Condi to the max?
If you concede him that, then you have to ask yourself what it does to Olbermann's contention that racism is the whole raison d'etre of the movement.
The answer leads us back again to nuance, albeit in mirror image. The tea party people distrust Obama's policies, his eloquence, his fierce intelligence and the fact that he is black then becomes the final straw, the difference maker and deal breaker. To put that another way: I doubt most of the tea partiers hate Obama strictly because he is black, but it sure doesn't help.
My point is not that Olbermann's argument is wrong but, rather, that it is incomplete.
Yes, race is obviously a component, and a major component at that, of the reaction against the president. The recurring use of racist imagery and language, the attendance at tea party events of a racist group like the so-called Council of Conservative Citizens, settles that definitively.
But ultimately, people seem moved by something even bigger than race. This is race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, culture, and the fact that those who have always been on the right side, the power-wielding side, of one or more of those equations, now face the realization that their days of dominance are numbered.
There is a poignancy to their responsive fury because one senses that the nether side of it is a choking fear. We are witness to the birth cries of a new America and for every one of us who embraces and celebrates that, who looks forward to the opportunity and inclusiveness it promises, there is another who grapples with a crippling sense of dislocation and loss, who wonders who and what she will be in the nation now being born.
One hopes they will find answers that satisfy them because the change they fear will not be turned back. No one ever volunteers to return to the rear of the bus.
So for all the frustration the tea party movement engenders among the rest of us, one also feels a certain pity for people like the woman last year who cried, plaintively, that she wanted her country back.
As if she didn't realize that it is already, irrevocably, gone.


text:
Онни Окконен (; , Корписелкя, Великое княжество Финляндское, Российская империя — , ) — финский искусствовед, историк искусства, доктор искусствоведения, Член Академии Финляндии с 1948 по 1956 год, профессор Хельсинкского университета.

Биография
Родился в Ладожской Карелии. В 1914 году получил степень доктора философии в области искусствоведения. В 1927 году был назначен профессором истории искусств Хельсинкского университета, должность, которую он занимал до 1945 года.

В 1956 году Онни Окконен совершил путешествие в Китай, во время которого он собрал внушительную коллекцию разных эпох китайской истории.

Основными направлениями исследований О. Окконена были искусство Финляндии и итальянское искусство эпохи Возрождения.

Онни Окконен — один из самых выдающихся деятелей финской культуры и искусства в 1920—1930-х годах. Им написано множество научно-популярных книг по всемирной истории искусств. О. Окконен много сделал для того, чтобы независимая Финляндия смогла определить своё место и идентичность на общеевропейском культурном пространстве.

Среди его основных трудов — обзор истории финского искусства «Suomen taiteen historia» (1945), переведенный на английский язык в 1946 году, а также монографии о Вяйнё Аалтонене, Юхо Риссанене и Аксели Галлен-Каллеле.

О. Окконен активно сотрудничал в вопросах искусствоведения с газетой Uusi Suomi.

В 1962 и 1974 годах бывший профессор искусствоведения Онни Окконен передал в дар музею изобразительных искусств в Йоэнсуу свою богатую коллекцию предметов искусств.

О. Окконен также был писателем-фантастом и художником.

с 1937 по 1942 год руководил работой Общества Калевала. Член Академии Финляндии с 1948 по 1956 год.

Похоронен на кладбище Хиетаниеми в Хельсинки.

Примечания

Ссылки
 Биография

Историки Финляндии
Историки искусства Финляндии
Доктора искусствоведения
искусствоведы Финляндии
Профессора Хельсинкского университета
Академики Финляндии (до 1970)
Похороненные на кладбище Хиетаниеми

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Alaska's #1 Hit Music Station
101.3 KGOT - Alaska's #1 Hit Music Station
Recently Played Top Songs
Contests Pop News Trending Entertainment Weird News iHeartRadio App FREE Half Price Club Events Calendar
Advertise With Us Prize Pickup Become a VIP Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Listen on iHeartRadio Employment Contact Job Openings
Advertise on 101.3 KGOT, Get Results
Fall Out Boy Announces Greatest Hits Album, Shares Track With Wyclef Jean
posted by Katrina Nattress - Sep 10, 2019
Fall Out Boy is gearing up to release its second Greatest Hits collection, Greatest Hits: Believers Never Die Volume Two, and to celebrate the band shared a brand new song called "Dear Future Self (Hands Up)" featuring Wyclef Jean. The new tune will be featured on the upcoming album.
"I think we've always been big fans of Fugees and Wyclef," Pete Wentz said in a recent interview. "He's got an incredible sense of melody that's kind of out there. It's like you can tell it's a mix from all over kind of the globe, which is cool, and super inspired by seeing my kids and that they just listen to song, to song, to song, to song and it's going from Queen to Lil Uzi to you know..."
Greatest Hits: Believers Never Die Volume Two is slated for a November 15 release and can be pre-ordered via Fall Out Boy's official website. Listen to "Dear Future Self (Hands Up)" below.
The new music announcement wasn't the only exciting surprise Fall Out Boy had for fans today (September 10). They also revealed dates for the upcoming Hella Mega Tour with Green Day and Weezer. Check out a full list of dates here.
KGOT Public Inspection File
KGOT Political File
Advertise with 101.3 KGOT, Get Results
101.3 KGOT is ALL THE HITS, ONE STATION featuring Chr/pop radio live from Anchorage, Ak at kgot.com


text:
Arthur Kroeber vs. The Conventional Wisdom
Play episode:
The author provides refreshing insight into China while discussing his new book, "China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know," and the challenges the country faces as growth slows.
Kaiser Kuo	 Published June 22, 2016
Sinica
Guangzhou, China. / Photo by Reuters/Bobby Yip
https://supchina.com/podcast/arthur-kroeber-vs-conventional-wisdom/
In this episode of Sinica, we present an in-depth interview with Arthur Kroeber, founding partner and head of research for Gavekal Dragonomics, an independent global economic research firm, and the editor-in-chief of its journal, China Economic Quarterly.
Arthur's new book, China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know, superbly explores China's astonishing expansion during the "reform and opening up" period and the challenges the country now faces as growth slows. He provides a clear-eyed take on a huge range of subjects, from the internationalization of the renminbi to local debt to the way China's state-owned enterprises function (or don't). The book is a refreshing antidote to much of the commentary in the media, where "The Conventional Wisdom" we discuss in the podcast consists of doomsayers predicting China's imminent collapse and Pollyannas who see the country as an unstoppable economic juggernaut.
We love feedback: Please write to sinica@supchina.com.
Jeremy: The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction by James A. Millward
Arthur: The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh
Kaiser: Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768 by Philip A. Kuhn
Kaiser Kuo is co-founder of the Sinica Podcast and editor-at-large of SupChina. Read more
China Corner Office
How the China tariffs are hurting U.S. businesses
Chris Marquis
The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief episode 191
Kaiser Kuo
[Podcast] Zunyi: The three-day meeting that pushed the CCP toward Mao
[Podcast] China looks to the Western classics
[Podcast] KFC faces regulatory heat after scalpers drive up price of limited-edition collectibles
Mental models for understanding complexity, with Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp
More from Sinica
The sociologist watching the China-watchers: A conversation with David McCourt
Damien Ma of MacroPolo on China's economic and political outlook
The investigative team from MIT Technology Review that found major flaws with the DoJ's China Initiative


Welcome to Pigeon Proofing Montrose for all Pigeon Problems at affordable prices with our fully trained and qualified Pest Controllers in Montrose.
Pigeon Proofing Montrose can help with all Pigeon problems throughout Montrose and surrounding areas and provide adequate deterrents.
Pigeon Proofing Montrose offers you affordable prices and all our Pest Controllers are fully trained and qualified and will talk you through each step of the way, they will also give you advise where needed to deter pigeons from returning to your property in the future.
Call Today for a Quote on your Pigeon Problems throughout Montrose.
Or Call Pigeon Proofing Montrose Today on: 0800 0258677.


Spot the difference are Tom and Jerry puzzles. We have 2 pictures, placed side by side which seam completely identical, but they are not. There are some minor details which differentiate them but they are very hard to notice. There is time limit on this puzzle and you can see the running timer below the pictures. We have 12 levels in this game, which means 12 different pictures. Some are very easy to 'solve' and they take 20 seconds or less, but others are much more difficult. What kind of differences are we talking about? For example: picture 3 - spear is red in one picture and blue on another, Tom is missing one fish on his shorts, Jerry's eye colour doesn't match, Tom's dive mask is different etc... The rule is to click on the difference in the right picture. There are 5 differences on each level. To start the game click the first arrow on the left side (the writing is all in Japanese).
Similar games: 6 differences , Spot The Difference and other puzzles.


Entering the gallery space, the viewer may find nothing at all. On a clear day—rare for Beijing this time of year—one may notice a series of letters along the gallery floor. Lettering installed in the elevated windows of the Western wall spells out the advertising slogans of a number of international banks: Citi Bank's "Citi never sleeps," positioned next to HSBC's "The world's local bank," offers a certain type of accidental poetry. The afternoon sun casts the shadows of these and other slogans across the bare concrete floor.
The work attempt to elucidate the relationships between belief and capital. Riffing on the statement that "money is god," the very existence of these financial institutions in the gallery space relies on the fortuitous coincidence of time and weather. The large gallery may indeed appear completely empty—but, as Chen Shaoxiong would say, "it exists when you believe." As a response to global issues, art thus becomes an insubstantial shadow of the economic crisis.
Exposing the faith-based existence of concepts like globalization, the work's reliance on both nature and belief ties the concept of universal exchange to that of god itself. The English exhibition title, borrowed from inspirational greeting card rhetoric, takes on new meaning: whatever you believe, you're right. Money's lack of intrinsic value is mirrored by the artificially achieved stock prices of banks reduced to shadows.
The project additionally functions as a critique of dominant practices of contemporary art in Beijing, oriented towards filling the city's cavernous gallery spaces with ever-larger installation work. Here, the gallery remains empty, and the work never gains material existence.
Tags: . Cat: 文字/Text.Time: 2009.03.08.


text:
// --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// <copyright file="ApiObjectType.cs" company="KlusterKite">
//   All rights reserved
// </copyright>
// <summary>
//   The api provided type
// </summary>
// --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

namespace KlusterKite.API.Client
{
    using System.Collections.Generic;

    using JetBrains.Annotations;

    /// <summary>
    /// The api provided type of object with fields
    /// </summary>
    public class ApiObjectType : ApiType
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="ApiObjectType"/> class.
        /// </summary>
        public ApiObjectType()
        {
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="ApiObjectType"/> class.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="typeName">
        /// The type name.
        /// </param>
        /// <param name="fields">
        /// The fields.
        /// </param>
        public ApiObjectType(string typeName, IEnumerable<ApiField> fields = null)
        {
            this.TypeName = typeName;
            if (fields != null)
            {
                this.Fields.AddRange(fields);
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the list of fields
        /// </summary>
        [NotNull]
        [UsedImplicitly]
        public List<ApiField> Fields { get; set; } = new List<ApiField>();

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets or sets the list of direct mutations
        /// </summary>
        [CanBeNull]
        [UsedImplicitly]
        public List<ApiField> DirectMutations { get; set; }

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a field of this type
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="name">The field name</param>
        /// <param name="flags">The list of field flags</param>
        /// <param name="description">The field description</param>
        /// <returns>The api filed</returns>
        public ApiField CreateField(string name, EnFieldFlags flags = EnFieldFlags.Queryable, string description = null)
        {
            return ApiField.Object(name, this.TypeName, flags, description: description);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Saturday LCBO/Vintages release features some dynamic Niagara red wines, fresh whites, a superstar from the Okanagan Valley and a couple of good value wines from the rest of the world.
13th Street Cabernet Merlot 2012 ($20, 90 points) — The hot, near-perfect growing season of 2012 provided the backdrop for some very fine Bordeaux-style red blends in Ontario. 13th Street has done just that and they have done it an attractive price. The nose shows rich black currants, black cherry, ripe plums, bramble bush undertones and an array of spices. It possesses lovely texture on the palate with chewy tannins, rich, opulent fruit that's highly extracted to go with layers of spices, a hint of licorice and a fairly long finish. Can age this nicely for a few years.
Domaine Queylus Reserve Merlot Cabernet Franc 2010 ($40, 90 points) — This is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc that shows dark, ripe fruit, toasty barrel spices and a floral note on the nose. It's big, bold and structured on the palate with the stuffing to age for a few years in the cellar.
Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Franc 2013 ($22, 88 points) — From sourced organic fruit with a nose of crushed herbs, raspberry, bramble bush and spice in a lean style. The red fruits on the palate are joined by herbs, toasted spices and bright acidity.
Featherstone Sauvignon Blanc 2013 ($18, 91 points) — The star of the vintage at Featherstone, with a gorgeous and expressive nose of lime, grapefruit, kiwi, grass and sweet herbs. It is perfectly balanced on the palate with vibrant, ripe fruit and refreshing zesty notes on the finish.
13th Street White Palette 2012 ($16, 88 points) — This white blend consists of 53% Riesling, 18% Chardonnay, 17% Gewurztraminer, 9% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Pinot Gris. It's highly aromatic with notes of sweet citrus, white flowers, tropical fruit, peach and pineapple. It's honied on the palate with grapefruit and loaded with ripe orchard fruits. A tasty wine moderated by zesty acidity.
Calamus Steely Unoaked Chardonnay 2013 ($15, 87 points) — This is made with no oak but there is partial malo for added texture. It has lovely aromatics of fresh apple, pear, some melon and citrus. It's all about the fruit-forward flavours on the palate with a crisp, clean finish.
Culmina Hypothesis 2012, Okanagan ($40, 93 points) — This is only the second vintage of this top red blend from Donald Triggs' Okanagan project that combines Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. And what a beauty! Dark and rich in the glass with opulent aromas of black currants, concentrated blackberries, red plums, an array of oak-enriched spices and a touch of eucalypt. It's big and powerful on the palate and highlights persistent dark fruits, plush tannins, and spices all delivered on a long, lush finish. Such depth of flavour yet finessed and polished.
La Cadierenne Cuvée Grande Tradition Bandol Rosé 2012 ($20, 88 points) — An impressive, fairly dry Rosé with pretty aromas of violets, watermelon, raspberries and rhubarb-strawberry pie. Nicely balanced on the palate between sweet fruit and freshness with plenty of length through the finish.
Montebuena Cuvee KPF Rioja 2012 ($16, 90 points) — This 100% Tempranillo from Spain's Rioja region shows a lovely nose of plums, currants, cherries and toasted spices notes. It's juicy on the palate with a range of currants, cherries and plums with earthy-spicy-vanilla undertones all lifted by bright acidity. Good value wine.


text:
Home > News > Industry News > Jeweler expects gold prices wi.....
Jeweler expects gold prices will continue to fall
Author:Josephine wang
Source:Yadao
Stocks recently remarkable performance, the three major indexes rose again full, the S & P 500 index rose to 2000 points intraday integer off, indicating that the current market has been heating up in risk appetite, while gold and silver become the cause of weaker shocks one. Reuters quoted Fed officials said, because of the economy gradually revealed signs of improvement, the Fed worried about growing too long to maintain low interest rates, which makes the officials on the wording of the Fed's policy statement generated a heated debate. Fed fastest possible in September after the FOMC statement on the revised wording, the Fed had abandoned the policy wording has been used to maintain low interest rates in the key part.
The dollar index this week, breaking the highest level since September 2013, in the context of relatively stable employment situation, skyrocketing stocks, the dollar seemed to be ahead of overdraft strong economic vitality of the United States, Wall Street bigwigs Soros crazy buying 11,290,000 copies ETF SPDR S & P 500 index put option to hold the S & P 500 index of short positions, the end of the first quarter, compared with growth of more than six-fold, to $ 2.2 billion. Rising dollar, seems to have been close to the bottleneck.
U.S. economic data released this week showed stronger than the American investment bank raised its GDP forecast. Data show that in August the United States than-expected increase in consumer confidence index, rose to the highest since October 2007, because consumer confidence in the economic situation of the enhancement. In addition, the Commerce Department released data show that in July durable goods orders rose 22.6% from the previous month, an increase of record.
Russia and Ukraine, although once the two leaders to sit down and negotiate, but no signs of easing relations between the two countries. From both sides of the fundamental differences of view, with a strong desire to join the European Union in Ukraine, as soon as the trip to the Russian economy will be adversely affected by the euro zone more supplies to make Russia's foreign trade suffered large losses transit through Ukraine, so Russia and Ukraine contradictions began to rise from the political level to the economic dimension.
The United States, traders said gold prices lower in status to attract buying from jewelers in Asia, but the scale is limited. Data released on Monday showed net gold exports to Hong Kong, China Mainland in July fell to 22.107 tons, in June to 40.543 tons, the lowest for three years, mainly due to ample supply, and jewelers are still waiting for further decline after bargain buy the opportunity. 2013 China to overtake India as the largest gold consumer, but the import data in July showed slowing Chinese demand for gold.
Whether the Fed meeting minutes or Yellen's speech, all of the gold bear a significant positive, but the impact has been fully reflected in the price of being, which means gold may rebound. The disk, into a tangle of long and short gold, despite downward pressure after the break below support position not lifted, but the line back $ 1,285 or so the situation has become more complex. Given the demand for technical correction and the market sentiment driven by fundamentals, gold or expand a wave of short-term rally.


In our upcoming android game we are adding some box2d joints and in this post we would be creating a revolute joint. We are using Libgdx engine to make the game. Below is a screenshot of what it looks like in game.
At the end of the post, you can find the source files for this revolute joint example attached.
Okay, a small description about revolute joint. It works with two bodies with one acting as the pivot while around revolves around it. With box2d we get the option to limiting the angle range in which the body revolves and also set the torque (how fast the body rotates about its origin) and motor speed (how fast the body rotates around the pivot).
Here is a snippet of the respective joint.
Lets go through the above snippet. We first supply two box bodies which would form the revolute joint. Third argument (collideConnected) is to check if the two bodies associated with joint should be checked for collision.
SetAnchorA is to set the anchor point around which the revoluting body will rotate.
SetAnchorB is to set the other point where the second body will be positioned and will revolve around the pivot.
SetAngleLimit is to set the range in which the body should revolve around the pivot.
In SetMotor function we are setting the torque and motorSpeed for the joint. In our case we wanted the body to completely revolve around pivot every 1 second, so we give the speed of 360 (which is converted inside to radians as box2d expects the angles in radians).
Below is an image which (tries to) describes the revolute joint.
Below is a snippet to create a revolute joint using two bodies.
First a wrapper class to create box2d bodies.
In the above snippet we are creating a circle object. We are scaling the objects to ratio of 1:100. So if a world object is 50px wide then in box it would have a dimension of 0.5f. So while creating the body we convert the dimensions and location in box2d scale and in debugrenderer we scale the projection matrix by 100 to see the bodies in world dimensions.
Bodytype is to specify if a body is static, dynamic or kinematic. Our pivot will be static and other body will be dynamic.
Other properties are set to 1 or 0 but as for this example they were not that important.
Now the main code where we create the box2d bodies and revolute joint.
In the above snippet first we create the two box2d bodies which will form the revolute joint. Then we create the joint and set the pivot and other body apart by 100 px. Then we set the torque to 20 and motor speed to 360 degrees per second so it will complete one revolution per second.
Then all you need to do is call world.step in update function to update the box physics and the joint will work accordingly.
Here are the source files and the libgdx eclipse project. We have used debug renderer in the source provided.
If you have queries/suggestions, please post them in comments.


Eliot Bergman - 3D Illustration/Information Graphics » Blog Archive » Wow! Again.
Just published: graphics by Eliot Bergman, in The Adobe Illustrator CS4 Wow! Book by Sharon Steuer. The Wow! Book contains techniques from 100 top Illustrator artists.


Michigan has multiple pharmacies that currently employ 1,000 people. Unfortunately, generic drugs are more difficult to spot online simply because they come from more than one manufacturer. It can probably be said as the simplest way of buying medicine.
Limited awareness and deficiency of oversight among doctors, pharmacists and the patients may also contribute on the problem. If a pharmacist features a problem with providing a customer with any medication that's specifically prescribed with a Doctor or perhaps in general deemed safe for that general public from the FDA, chances are they'll are in the wrong field. It's no secret that healthcare costs are away from control.
Make sure prior to going the doctor's office you recognize all in the directions. Pay for Pharmacy School while using Help of Federal Student Aid. Phishers will likely send e-mails to free web-based email accounts like Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail.
The certification does play a huge role in making a rewarding career as being a PT since it helps for making one more qualified after they apply for promotion. You might additionally check out "Physician Assistant Is a Top Healthcare Career. However, by exercising with adequate practice pharmacy technician test questions we've better likelihood of being successful.
You could get website links below to find out more about both of such exams. Luckily, there are Rx discount cards, coupons, and savings programs which may save you a lot of money, and quite a few are easy to find and manage. If you sense like you would relatively go to a campus than get pharmacy instruction on the net, there are very a several choices.