I wrote just a few days ago about my mother suffering from a Grade IV Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumor. She had been in a nursing home for a few weeks following a bad fall which likely was the result of a stroke and then she developed sepsis from a UTI infection as she already had poor-functioning kidneys.
My mom passed away in my arms this past Sunday, less than 24 hours after writing the initial post.
A glioblastoma (glee-oh-blast-oh-ma) multiforme belongs to the most common type of primary brain tumor in adults, the astrocytomas. A primary brain tumor is one that begins in the brain rather than having spread there from a different part of the body. Grade IV is the highest grade for an astrocytoma, indicating it grows aggressively and spreads the fastest. Glioblastoma, also called GBM, is a grade IV astrocytoma. These tumors invade surrounding tissues, spreading out irregularly in all directions.
She fought so hard. She was graceful about it from the beginning and did what she needed to do. We tried alternative therapies while she was doing regular treatment. She walked almost every day with her friend. She had an amazing outlook and spent as much time doing the things she loved, right up until God decided he needed her more than we did.
I do have a hard time with that. I thank God for my mother but I am angry at how she suffered. The environmental toxins in our world today are just so strong sometimes they cause a change in our destiny. I started using essential oils on my mom – first Frankicense during the summer after her second surgery. She was so good about rubbing it on her feet everyday.
While she was in the nursing home, I brought her some of Young Living's Brain Power and Humility because they contain lots of good things to help her immune system, sesquiterpenes to get past the blood brain barrier and help ease the growing tumor, and also just to calm and soother her when she was scared. I know she enjoyed it and I only wish I had started with essential oils when she was first diagnosed.
I am thankful I was with her in the end but I wish she didn't have to experience what she did.
I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my father to Alzheimer's in February. It is so hard to see your parent ravaged by these things. Knowing that other's care will hopefully help you as it has me.


text:
Soulcalibur 4
Soulcalibur IV Review Coming Soon
Keep your eyes peeled tonight.
By Ryan Clements
Updated: Jun 14, 2012 5:52 pm
Posted: Jul 28, 2008 11:58 pm
If you've been eagerly awaiting the release of the next big fighting game from Namco Bandai, you might be a bit curious as to when we're going to review it. After all, Soulcalibur IV promises to deliver a huge cast of characters, intense 3D combat and a wealth of different modes -- aren't you curious to find out if the folks over at Project Soul kept their promises? We're happy to say that the review for Soulcalibur IV will be available on the PS3 and 360 channels at midnight tonight (Pacific Standard Time). If you want to find out whether this hotly anticipated title lives up to its expectations, make sure to come back for our full written review.
I hate waiting.
And don't forget to check back tomorrow and download our video review for what could be a very intriguing title. Stay tuned!
Soulcalibur IV
PlayStation 3Xbox 360
Hogwarts Legacy: Here's How it Plays
4d ago - We've finally played the big-budget Harry Potter-verse game. Here's what we think.
Luke Winkie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Jason Aldean's Sister Is Engaged To Another Country Singer!
About last night….. I lOVE YOU @kasirosa ❤ We could hear a pin drop in that woods. Nothing but us and the snow falling. It was absolutely perfect. Even if the camera stand I got just for this moment was having some issues. Lol. I've waited forever for you and now I will forever be yours.
Kasi Williams is Jason Aldean's younger sister. The pair have been dating since at least last June, which is when they started sharing pictures of each other on social media.


A major study in the USA has shown that universal prostate cancer screening could save a 'significant' number of lives.
7th September 2017: major ELPCSG event at Murrayfield!
An amazing evening took place at the SRU stadium at BT Murrayfield on Thursday 7th September – nearly 140 support group members and friends learned about the importance of being 'Fit for Treatment, Fit for Life'.


Having truly appreciated the design and masterplan of Third Avenue, Rebecca tells us her story of why she chose to purchase her new home at Third Avenue.
"I guess the first thing that caught my eye were the visuals and the way that the geometry and the design was very well thought out. Basically, coupled with the effect that there some good 3D visuals of the property which, because I work a lot with technology, that really supported my decision to investigate further.


text:
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' marriage was 'irretrievably broken' six months before divorce
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pictured during their 2006 wedding
The 'Top Gun' star was said to have been "blindsided" when his spouse announced she wanted to end their five-year-marriage in June, but papers obtained by National Enquirer magazine show their union had been in trouble for some time.
In the legal documents - dated August 17, 2012 and signed by New York State Supreme Court Judge Matthew F. Cooper - which detail specifics of the divorce decree, they state that the "marital relationship" had "broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months immediately preceding".
The pair tied the knot in a lavish Scientology ceremony in Italy on November 18 2006, but the documents show they officially married "in a civil ceremony" in Los Angeles on November 11, 2006.
The documents reveal Tom was ordered to pay $400,000 a year in child support for the couple's six-year-old daughter Suri.
The staggering sum is to cover the youngster's "medical, dental, insurance, unreimbursed medical and dental, education, college, extracurricular and camp expenses".
The agreement ends when Suri turns 18.
In the unlikely event the actor misses a payment; he will be faced with a jail sentence "for a term not to exceed six months".


text:
Q: How do I get the caller's method name So, I'm looking for how to get the caller's method name. I never saw it and I don't know if it exists.
Example:
<?php
  class father {
    public function db_select(){
      echo method that call me;
    }
  }

  class plugin extends father {
    public function select_plugin(){
      $query = $this->db_select();
    }
   }

?>

All I want is to write the method's name that calls db_select() method, inside db_select().

A: I think debug_backtrace could do the trick.
It gives you a backtrace of a function call. Observe this result then you'll have to figure out how to grab the function name you want. But the information is there.
<?php
  class father {
    public function db_select(){
      echo debug_backtrace()[1]['function'];
      print_r(debug_backtrace());
    }
  }

  class plugin extends father {
    public function select_plugin(){
      $query = $this->db_select();
    }
   }

?>

A: Disclaimer:  i do not use PHP.
@Jean Victor -- it would help if you (a) explained in more detail WHY you want this and (b) shared some information about your PHP platform.
"Caller Information (C# and Visual Basic)"
"By using Caller Info attributes, you can obtain information about the caller to a method. You can obtain file path of the source code, the line number in the source code, and the member name of the caller. This information is helpful for tracing, debugging, and creating diagnostic tools."
Unfortunately, taking advantage of this feature may be a major challenge in PHP.
First, if you are using a .NET platform, you would have to discover whether the version of PHP that you are using takes advantage of the System.Runtime.CompilerServices Namespace because it "provides functionality for compiler writers who use managed code to specify attributes in metadata that affect the run-time behavior of the common language runtime".
ALTERNATIVE:  use an ugly kludge (works only for functions that you own or can modify).
ensure that the first argument of ALL of your functions is a GUID.
# id of  myFunctionABC f4f866c7728040a6bf22c7600c64a7ee
function myFunctionABC ($whoCalledMe) {

# Note:  myFunctionABC would use the value passed
#        via $whoCalledMe in error messages.

# BUT if from within myFuntionABC some other
# function is called, the above GUID would be used:
#
#     foo("f4f866c7728040a6bf22c7600c64a7ee")

}

Yes, it's a very, very ugly kludge.
FWIW
edit:
when i wrote this, i was not aware of debug_backtrace.
debug_backtrace should also work on non-.NET platforms.
end edit.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
schoolScience (177)
University Of California (16)
National Institutes Of Health (13)
National Science Foundation (10)
Journal Of THE Royal Society Open Science (7)
languageWorld
Genomics tracks migration from lost empires to modern cities
sciencedaily.com 29 May 2017 at 09:48
New genomic tools are enabling researchers to overturn long-held beliefs about the origins of populations, a researcher will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday). Dr Eran Elhaik, Assistant Professor of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, will say that new technologies are enabling scientists to track the origins and migrations of populations with increasing accuracy.
Until recently, assumptions about origins were based on where people were buried. "However, this does not take into account the migrations which we now know took place thousands of years ago," says Dr Elhaik, who carried out the research with colleagues including Dr Umberto Esposito.
Using a recently-developed technology, the ancient Geographic Population Structure (aGPS) tool, the researchers were able to find the geographical origins of ancient DNA, with the only limitation being the availability of DNA data. This in turn enabled them to combine hundreds of snap shots from the past into a reconstruction of modern history from 12,000 BC to the modern era. "This is by far the most comprehensive reconstruction of our genetic history. Our work reveals the colonisation of Europe, step by step, and answers many questions concerning the origins and migrations of Europeans," says Dr Elhaik.
Applied to a dataset of over 300 ancient Eurasians and Near-Easterners during the Ice Age to Late Iron Age period, aGPS localised around 50% of the samples at up to 200km from their burial site, about 32% at between 200 and 1000km, and the remainder at between 1000 and 3,175km. "The migration patterns revealed by our work were remarkably complex and dynamic, and the difficulties in interpreting them correctly are significant.
"The challenge for us now is to understand why these migrations took place. What caused a particular group of people to make a journey of over 3000km at a time when travel was complicated and dangerous? When we combine our results with archaeological and climate data, we can begin to see why," says Dr Elhaik. "For example, we can identify areas where the land became exhausted from over-farming, and thus caused the movement of populations. We can also pinpoint the formation of city states and biodiversity centres , corresponding to ancient empires that drew immigrants from other countries."
The results allow the researchers to confirm the theory of the massive migration of populations from the steppes of the Caucasus (the Yamnaya) to Central Europe during the Late Neolithic period (3500 to 2300 BC). "We discovered that Central Europeans were always on the move, continuously mixing with other populations and forming ancient cities in Germany, Denmark and Hungary, for example close to modern-day Hamburg and Berlin, and Budapest. In contrast, Near Eastern peoples tended to stay close to home," says Dr Elhaik.
"Genetic data can answer many questions that archaeology alone cannot. For example, is a specific decoration indicative of an alien culture, or simply an import? These new insights are fascinating, not just in a historical context, but because they provide additional proof of the unlikelihood of a day zero of ethnic homogeneity, except perhaps in a very few isolated places. Even if it had existed, there must be practically no-one alive on earth who could trace all their ancestors to one ethnically homogenous population."
There are endless challenges in this research. "Imagine working with a very short DNA sequences with more holes than bases -- not only can we not align this with other ancient sequences, but we also do not know where it is from. And this is before we get to the question of "when?" which is, again, linked to "where?" because different regions entered developmental periods, like the Iron Age, at different times.
"However, our findings to date have already brought about a far greater understanding of the identity of Old World residents, and our goal is now to reconstruct the full "Human Atlas" showing ancient migration patterns worldwide," he will conclude.
Chair of the ESHG conference, Professor Joris Veltman, Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom, said: "This fascinating work illustrates the power of modern genetic approaches to study human history and migration. The scientists demonstrate that information in ancient DNA samples, even of low quality, can be used to provide a very precise geographical localisation of the origin of a person."
Materials provided by . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
European Society of Human Genetics. "Genomics tracks migration from lost empires to modern cities." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 May 2017. .
European Society of Human Genetics. "Genomics tracks migration from lost empires to modern cities." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170528192059.htm (accessed May 29, 2017).
Read more on sciencedaily.com
European Society of Human Genetics
Dr Eran Elhaik
Assistant Professor of Animal
Dr Elhaik
Dr Umberto Esposito
Geographic Population Structure
Easterners
Late Iron Age
Central Europeans
Human Atlas
Chair of the ESHG
Professor Joris Veltman
Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine
RELATED STORIES :
DNA tool allows you to trace your ancient ancestry
sciencedaily.com - 14 Jan 2019 at 09:15
Scientists at the University of Sheffield studying ancient DNA have created a tool allowing them to more accurately identify ancient Eurasian populations, which can be used to test an individual...
Ground breaking technique offers DNA GPS direct to your ancestor s home 1,000 years ago
sciencedaily.com - 30 Apr 2014 at 21:26
Tracing where your DNA was formed over 1, 000 years ago is now possible due to a revolutionary technique. The ground breaking Geographic Population Structure tool works similarly to a satellite...
Researchers lay out first genetic history of Rome
sciencedaily.com - 08 Nov 2019 at 11:59
Scholars have been studying Rome for hundreds of years, but it still holds some secrets for instance, relatively little is known about the ancestral origins of the city s...
Digging ancient signals out of modern human genomes
With new genome analysis tools, scientists have made significant advances in our understanding of modern humans origins and ancient migrations. advertisement But trying to find ancient DNA, let alone...
Genetic data show mainly men migrated from the Pontic steppe to Europe 5,000 years ago
sciencedaily.com - 21 Feb 2017 at 19:33
Close A new study, looking at the sex specifically inherited X chromosome of prehistoric human remains, shows that hardly any women took part in the extensive migration from the Pontic Caspian Steppe...
Latest News : Science▼
On the edge between science and art: Historical biodiversity data from Japanese gyotaku
Strongly handed squirrels less good at learning
Laser diode emits deep UV light
Malaysia returns 42 containers of illegal plastic waste to UK
India's academic community shaken by Hindu nationalist attack and police brutality
Moffitt Cancer Center details links of fired scientists to Chinese talent programs
Barometric pressure in London highest in 300 years at least
Human impact on nature dates back millions of years
United Kingdom to embark on 'agricultural revolution' in break from EU farm subsidies
Australia fires: Apocalypse comes to Kangaroo Island
Ingestible medical devices can be broken down with light
Scientists find way to make diphtheria treatment without injecting horses with toxin


text:
Harris: "It was everything you want in your first game of the season"
Boss talks after raising curtain on campaign with win and clean sheet
Neil Harris has praised his Millwall side after securing a 1-0 win in Saturday's season opener against Preston North End at The Den.
Jed Wallace's first-half volleyed effort proved the difference between the teams, and Harris has outlined a range of positives.
"It was a great start, the first few minutes were excellent," the manager says.
"Preston then got onto the front foot and forced us back, but it was everything you want in your first game of the season. We got a quality goal, a great finish from Jed, and some of the new boys got onto the pitch. We got a clean sheet, and Tom Bradshaw was able to get an important 20 minutes at the end.
"It was always going to be a tough start and a real challenge, because we can't forget the qualities Preston have as an experienced Championship side. I can talk all you want about the spirit in the dressing room, but you saw that today and you could sense a different feel at the end of the game that we would see it out."
Harris explains that patience is still required over the coming months to reach where the side want to be, but has highlighted key impacts from Wallace and goal-maker Mahoney, as well as the strong options at his disposal from the squad.
"We won't get too high when we win, or too low when we lose. We have a rebuilding project on the go here, and we have players committed who will put their bodies on the line.
"Today we saw the qualities of Connor [Mahoney] who can put those deliveries into the box, and a goal from Jed who is such a good player at this level. Because of how much he cares, he felt a bit of pressure in the second half of last season, but I'm glad for him to get off the mark early. His job is to score goals as well as assist them, and I'm delighted for him.
"Being able to look round to your bench and be able to bring on the players we had such as Bart [Bialkowski], Ryan Leonard and Tom Bradshaw – as well as the players who didn't get on the pitch – is brilliant. The starters are obviously important, because they're the ones going out and playing the majority of the game, but when you want to rely on the squad and the spirit we have to have here, the important players become the non-starters. The starters rally around the non-starters, who in turn support the starters whilst pushing to play. Anyone can be called upon at any time, which we saw here with Frank [Fielding] having to go off and Bart coming on."
On the downside for The Lions was the debut injury to goalkeeper Fielding, who was replaced late in the first-half by fellow debutant Bialkowski.
"It doesn't look like it will be good news with Frank – it's a quad injury," says the manager.
"We'll know more in the coming days on his condition."
Harris finally gives his dues to a near-15,000-strong crowd at The Den, whose rapturous support amazed several of the newcomers.
"I should never be amazed by Millwall fans, but the size of the crowd I was really pleasantly surprised by. It shows that the fans want to support the team, and they're pleased with the recruitment that we've made.
"It's not the finished article – we have a long way to go – there will be ups and downs, before we settle into a rhythm further into the season. But we've hit the ground running, and that's key to us.
"The new lads couldn't believe the atmosphere in the stadium. I told them to imagine what it's like when we play teams like Leeds, Charlton and play in other big games. When you get a feel and a taste for that, you just want more."
Millwall vs Preston North End on 03 Aug 19


text:
Q: Getting Array From Mysql database and get data from user in form of array ,how insert data array into fetched Array Php i'm geting data from user from form and storing that data in $data array ,1st time it insert array in to
main array Like [{sub array1} ] 2nd time get new data from user again and fetch data from database and
insert new data array into fetched array
Data should be upload like
[{sub array1} ,{sub array2}]

A: I don't know if this is what u are asking for but an easy way of storing/getting array from a database is just storing your array as a string separated by a character like "," or ";" (of course make sure you don't use it in your string)
like:
// code to upload array as string
$array = array("1","2","3");
$arraytostring = '';
$arraycounter = 1; // counter for check the last element
foreach($array as $element){
   $arraytostring .= $element;
   if($arraycounter != count($array)){ // don't print the char if this is the last
      $arraytostring .= ",";
   }
}
// now $arraytostring is your array as a text then you can upload with your db script
// the code to easily retrieve the array

$array = explode(',',$row['column']);


text:
Q: Recursive Grep with filename pattern specified Is it possible to both search recursively and with a given file pattern?
I am trying to do the equivalent of
find ./ -name "*.[c|h]" -exec grep -Hn PATTERN {} \;

Obviously you can use grep's  -r flag, but when I specify a filename pattern such as:
grep -Hn -r PATTERN *.c

It only looks for *.c files in the current directory, not recursively.
I found this, but it does not talk about specifying filenames: Recursive grep vs find / -type f -exec grep {} \; Which is more efficient/faster?

A: At least with recent versions of GNU grep, you can use glob patterns in a --include argument
grep -Hrn --include="*.[ch]" PATTERN .

[In GNU grep > 2.11 you may omit the explicit starting directory . when using -r]

A: The *.c is expanded by the shell before grep is even run. With a suitably fancy shell (e.g. zsh, or bash with globstar set), one can pre-expand recursively via something like
grep bla **/*.[ch]

But that is a shell solution. Other solutions would be to look at the file detection support in such tools as the silver searcher, codesearch, ripgrep.


text:
/*
   Pin assigments for Radio Sensors board revision 2.3
   using MCU AtMega128rfa1
 */

#define ISP_1        PB1 /* SCK */
#define ISP_2        PB2 /* MOSI */
#define ISP_3        PB3 /* MISO */

#define LED_YELLOW   PE3 /* 1k pullup to Vcc */
#define LED_RED      PE4 /* 1k pullup to Vcc */
#define USB_PWR      PB5 /* High if FTDI TTL-USB cable sources */
#define P0           PD2 /* Pulse count input. Pullup via jumper */
#define P1           PD3 /* Pulse count input via optional Comparator */
#define PWR_1        PE7 /* Programmable power pin Vcc via P-FET */

#define AV_IN        PF0 /* V_IN ADC input. 100k/1M volt. divider */
#define A1           PF1 /* A1 ADC input. 100k/300k volt. divider */
#define A2           PF2 /* A2 ADC input  100k/300k volt. divider */
#define A3           PF3 /* Light sensor A3 ADC input  100k/100k volt. divider */
#define A3_PWR       PF4 /* Light sensor power A3_PWR */

#define RX0          PE0 /* RX UART0 -- FTDI TTL-USB cable */
#define TX0          PE1 /* TX UART0 -- FTDI TTL-USB cable */

#define OW_BUS_0     PD7 /* One-Wire bus w temp/ID Pulled Up. Separate Vcc */
#define OW_BUS_1     PD6 /* One-Wire bus extra Pulled Up. Separate Vcc */

/* AVR ISP standard connected */
/* 16 MHz  xtal */
/* RTC 32.768 Hz  xtal */

/*Optional HIH610 connected on SPI */
#define HUM_PWR      PE2 /* Power pin for HIH6130 also to ena. HIH 6130 Alarm mode */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


We received a call the other day from a potential client; we'll call him Mike. Mike had been seriously injured in a car accident. He broke his leg and he needed to have surgery to repair it. Mike will need significant medical treatment to recover from his injury. His medical bills are likely to exceed $75,000. The other driver was 100% at fault for the accident. By all accounts, Mike should should be entitled to a substantial settlement from the other driver's insurance company.
Go after the at fault driver personally. There's nothing that precludes Mike from filing a lawsuit and getting a judgment against the other driver for the full amount of his losses. The problem is that it is highly unlikely that a driver with only $20,000 in insurance coverage has any substantial assets to collect. So Mike will be stuck with a large judgment on paper, but in the end will only be able to collect $20,000 - the amount of the insurance coverage. Getting a judgment would require a lot of work and offer no reward outside the $20,000 in insurance coverage.
Hire a lawyer. Typically lawyers will not go after judgments unless there is a good chance they will be collectible. So if Mike hires a lawyer to take his case, the lawyer will probably collect the $20,000 and call it a day. The problem is that after attorneys fees of 1/3, Mike is left with just $13,333 before paying for any of his medical expenses! It never hurts to talk to an attorney, just make sure the attorney is not taking 1/3 of your settlement for a 2 minute phone call you could have made on your own.
Settle the case on his own. If Mike demands settlement of the full amount of the insurance policy, $20,000, the insurance company will likely pay it ASAP. We suggested Mike use the free demand letter eCarCrash.com automatically generates when you sign up. This way, Mike does not have to hire a lawyer and can keep 100% of the settlement (minus any medical expenses he needs to pay). This is by far Mike's best option and it's what we suggested he do. Mike didn't need a lawyer to take away 1/3 of his settlement when he can easily collect it himself.
Conclusion: While most people are rightfully concerned with the details of how their accident happened and their injuries, few pay attention to the amount of insurance coverage the at fault driver has. By spending some time figuring out the amount of insurance coverage (just ask the other driver's insurance company), you can save yourself a lot of time and money in handling your car accident claim.


text:
More about SmartDreamers
Accelerate Talent Acquisition
With offices on 3 continents and clients across the globe, we are building the future of talent acquisition and employer branding.
Advertise across the web and engage with candidates where they spend time.
Easily generate stylish, conversion-centric career pages and landing pages.
Less time on repetitive tasks, more time for disruptive strategies.
Delight your audience with SmartDreamers Engage social media content management tool.
Better understand your employer branding with data-driven insights.
Inside Recruitment Marketing Podcast: Is Automation Recruitment's Major Trend for 2020?
SmartDreamers Team
Automation has become a hot topic this year, but will it stay hot in 2020? In this episode, our guest, Tom Haak, director of the HR Trend Institute, will speak about just that!
Put your headphones on for episode #2 of the Inside Recruitment Marketing podcast!
Listen on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts or Anchor.
How would you describe the state and the global HR community right now? What are their challenges?
It's an interesting community to wander around. Many things are happening, and there's some excitement that people know there are a lot of new things. But it's excitement connected to a kind of puzzlement. What do we do with all the new technology, the new solutions, the transformations we are in. So, excited, puzzled and intrigued.
And what's happening with you at the HR Trend Institute. How's your year going so far?
Quite good, I must say, but my work is kind of threefold I study, I write and I speak. And I do that in an international forum so I'm travelling around and I'm meeting lots of interesting people and providers. So, so far so good.
Let's talk a little more about technology, specifically automation and how people are using it in the recruitment field, especially for recruitment marketing strategies. Have you seen that as sort of an emerging trend for 2020?
No, I think in a sense it's an old trend. Because recruitment is always at the forefront of new developments in HR, I think recruitment gets a lot of attention and recruitment is an area that many people understand. Recruitment issues are most of the time urgent, we need people now and if you can help us to find people quicker, faster etc. people are interested in that.
So what kinds of recruitment activities are HR professionals already automating so they can focus on other things.
The question is, "What is automation?". I prefer to speak about using technology to do your job better. So it's no saying we automate and then we don't have to do our job. It's how can you do your job better because there's a lot of room for improvement in the whole chain of recruitment. In every aspect of the recruitment process, there is improvement possible by using technology.
For example, profiling. It often starts with profiling. What are we looking for? And there people analytics can help a lot. What are the real distinguishing characteristics of the top-performing people in a certain profession or a certain area? If you look at job profiles, still they are often based on a kind of a good feel, some type of experience, but not data-driven.
Sourcing. Where are the candidates? How can we find the candidate? That's typically an area where a lot of technology and automation is going on. That's an area where technology can help a lot to speed up the process and find candidates that fit whatever profile you may have. So, I won't go into all elements of the recruitment chain, but in every aspect, there's improvement possible by clever use of technology.
We often see that especially with more established companies there's a resistance to adopting new technologies. Do you see this as a risk?
Of course, there are risks related to technology. There is resistance to technology but that's often because people don't understand it, they don't know exactly how it's working, sometimes it's counterintuitive so they have to learn to use the new technology.
At the same time, we have to be very careful when introducing new technologies and using new technologies. There are famous examples of using artificial intelligence in selecting candidates, if you don't do that clever and if you don't do that in a combination of technology and common sense it can go in the wrong direction.
To reduce the risks, recruitment professionals and all HR professionals must be interested in the technology that they want to dig into and try to understand the technology and try to see what is possible and what is not possible so, that combination of men, women and technology can do a better job. The risks are there but there are also huge risks in the traditional processes. Bigger risks.
That's a good point. You want to talk about that for a minute?
The risk that you're hired the wrong people. If you look at many of the traditional recruitment and selection processes they rely heavily on humans and the interview as the major selection instrument of recruitment, while we know that interviews are generally not so good for selecting people. So the risk is that you hire lookalikes. The risk is that you base your judgment on your own unconscious biases and those risk can be very big.
Let's go back to the topic of trends for a minute. What are some of the biggest trends in recruitment you've seen this year?
You could say most of the trends are kind of long term trends. One longer-term trend is that there is a shift from only looking at the list of requirements for a candidate for a certain job. More and more organizations are looking at a combination of people with a certain skill set and people with a certain personality. They are looking at the cultural fit. More personality testing and more cultural fit testing in the recruitment process and looking for people with a good set of future proof type of skills. So that's one trend that's going on and it will go on.
Instead of hiring people for fixed jobs, saying we are looking for someone who fits exactly in a certain box, more and more organizations are hiring candidates for more fluid roles, broader profiles, people who can do different roles in the organization where they are hired because we don't know exactly what the future will look like.
We don't know exactly what type of skills we need in the future, so we need people who can come along with the organization for a long time.
So, more personality and culture fit testing, from fixed jobs to fluid roles and what is mainstream now, but there's still a lot of work to do, is more and more focus on the candidate experience.
Do we offer candidates in the recruitment process a real, full experience? And we know that in most organizations, there is a lot of room for improvement in that sense.
One older trend I've seen appearing and that is here to stay is the blending of employee branding and preselection. More and more you see that when people apply for a job, for example in retail, they are first introduced to the company online, they get some information about the organization, why are we good, what are we doing, what is our employee value proposition and then it's moving into pre-selection tests.
So diversity and inclusion are also pretty important topics right now for HR managers. Do you think that automation can help with that?
Absolutely. It has to do with several things. I already mentioned profiling. What are we looking for? And if organizations are becoming more creative in profiling, instead of saying we are looking for candidates who fit exactly in these boxes and they are moving towards looking for candidates who have skill A or skill B and then later on when they are in the organization we can build teams with people with the skills we need.
If they are doing it, that creates a lot more room for people with a more diverse background. We're not talking about necessarily gender diversity but all kinds of diversity. Also, people who are very strong in certain skills but don't have other skills. So diversity will also help if we introduce more unbiased selection processes. I already mentioned that humans tend to be biased, often unconscious. If you introduce more objective data-driven selection processes, your selection process can become more unbiased and that's a really big advantage for more diverse candidates.
An example, in a multinational where they revamped their traineeship hiring, in the past it was a recruiter just looking at the CV and favouring certain universities because they thought those were the best universities. In the new process they use certain tools, only looking at the skillset of people, the personality of people and comparing that to the profiles they have prepared in a very meticulous way. As a result, the pool of trainees of this multinational has become a lot more diverse than the pool of the usual suspects they had so far.
So, diversity and inclusion will be helped a lot by using technology and clever automation and recruiting.
So let's take a minute and imagine something. Let's think about that perfect kind of recruitment industry. What would that look like? Could you give me like maybe three characteristics?
If by the recruitment industry we mean the recruitment professionals or the people working in recruitment both on the organization side and on the supplier side I could mention a couple of things.
One important element is personalization. That will become more and more important. Are you willing and able to take the individual capabilities, wishes, references of candidates into account? And not many organizations are doing that today.
It's still too much one size fits all. So, in the ideal world the recruitment professionals would be a lot more focused on personalization. They will still be a lot faster than today. The speed has increased but still many recruitment processes take far too much time and by using technology, clever technology you can speed that a lot.
Three, I would say, a lot more focus on positive experiences. What type of experience do we give our candidates? And it's not only about speed but it's also about the interactions, it's about gamification and also making sure that the recruitment process in itself is a positive experience. So a lot more experience focus, a lot more candidates focus. Putting the candidates on number one. That's often not happening, but in the ideal world, this will be the case.
So and for the final part of our interview, do you have any general advice to recruiters or HR managers who are thinking about adopting automation? How should they go about doing this?
Sometimes there's too much focus on the tools. Sometimes people say we should use all the tools and I don't think that's necessary. Don't focus too much on the tools, focus on the aspects that you want to improve and think about how you can do that and how you can use technology to do that.
Secondly, I would say stay in control. It's about people, men, women and technology together who can do a better job. But if you want to stay in control and if you want to continue to add value, then you should be very much interested in technology. You should be interested in data analysis and you should be interested in the business you're working in. If you have the combination of that, then you can be a super recruiter and add value in the organizations where you work.
If you're interested in accelerating your talent acquisition efforts, but not sure where to get started, join the SmartDreamers Academy.
Our free eBooks
Instagram for Recruitment
The Employer Brand Playbook
Facebook for Recruitment
Google Ads for Recruitment
Video Killed the Job Board Star
The Employer Brand Playbook: An Actionable Guide for Smart Recruiters
Inside Recruitment Marketing Podcast: Learning and News Resources for Recruiters
As the CEO of Workshape.io and curator of Recruiting Brainfood, Hung Lee is a well-known influencer in the recruitment industry. Join us to learn more about the most powerful learning resources for recruiters and the best sources of industry news. Just hit play to get started!
How Recruitment Marketing Automation can help the Auto Industry
The automotive industry provides a fascinating canvas on which to experiment and test out different recruiting techniques and tactics. With its unique mix of blue-collar, white-collar, creative, and scientific all in one place, the automotive workforce is one of the most diverse out there. Additionally, there are some specific aspects of the automotive sector that make it especially ch...
Inside Recruitment Marketing Podcast: Why and How to Use Recruitment Marketing Data
Every day, you work hard to roll out a recruitment marketing strategy that will attract the top candidates on the market. But to successfully pull off your latest talent acquisition feat, you'll need to gather and measure recruitment data from a variety of sources. The question is: How and why do you do so? In the first episode of the Inside Recruitment Marketing Podcast, Tarina Pop, Head of Recruitment Marketing at SmartDreamers, will answer that question and more...
The Top 5 Recruitment Channels in Japan 2020
It's hardly a secret that the Japanese recruitment market is one of the toughest in the world. In Tokyo right now there are two job openings for every candidate, and cultural differences in thinking about work and career decisions can create a disconnect between foreign employers and top quality Japanese talent. That said, just because a task is daunting doesn't mean that it can't be accomplished.
How to Run a Recruitment Campaign with Google AdWords
It's a rare group of businesses that are so integral to the fabric of society that their names become commonly-used verbs. For a time, Xerox managed it. FedEx is still used as a verb from time to time. But since the dawn of the modern web, Google has been the most obvious example. It's not just a powerful web platform, it's an activity. Of course, Google is also an extremely integral part of the recruitment landscape. Nowadays, when businesses worry about SEO (search engine optimization), they're almost always worrying about Google in particular. Whe...
Employer Brand vs. EVP: What's the Difference?
Kurt Vonnegut once said, in response to the question of why one should write books when senators and generals and other important people won't read them, "you catch people before they become generals and presidents." As it is with the lessons of literature, so too is it with employer branding. More than 70% of candidates will take a business' employer brand into consideration before they even send out an application—meaning that if you haven't made a good impression on most candidates b...
Give your email. Get our newsletter
Download the book
Reach more, better candidates, faster.
SmartDreamers combines creative job marketing automation with outstanding customer service to help companies attract candidates faster and more efficiently.
2019 SMARTDREAMERS BLOG | ENJOY OUR HELPFUL RESOURCES & INDUSTRY INSIGHTS


A brutal power struggle has broken out among the Five Families of La Cosa Nostra. The families, each eyeing the prize of dominance over the others, have shown themselves willing to go to extreme lengths to defeat their enemies. In order to gain an edge over their rivals, they have begun to reinforce their troops with members of other organisations.


text:
J.L. Lordan
Raised interleukin-17 is immunolocalised to neutrophils in cystic fibrosis lung disease
By M. Brodlie, M.C. McKean, G.E. Johnson, A.E. Anderson, C.M.U. Hilkens, A.J. Fisher, P.A. Corris, J.L. Lordan and C. Ward
Article | Published in 2011 in European Respiratory Journal 37 (6)
M. Brodlie
For correspondence: m.j.brodlie@ncl.ac.uk
M.C. McKean
G.E. Johnson
A.E. Anderson
C.M.U. Hilkens
A.J. Fisher
P.A. Corris
C. Ward
The effects of Mycobacterium vaccae on allergen-induced airway responses in atopic asthma
By L. Camporota, A. Corkhill, H. Long, J. Lordan, L. Stanciu, N. Tuckwell, A. Cross, J.L. Stanford, G.A.W. Rook, S.T. Holgate and R. Djukanovic
L. Camporota
A. Corkhill
H. Long
J. Lordan
L. Stanciu
N. Tuckwell
A. Cross
J.L. Stanford
G.A.W. Rook
S.T. Holgate
R. Djukanovic
Systemic cytokine levels in community-acquired pneumonia and their association with disease severity
By G. Antunes, S.A. Evans, J.L. Lordan and A.J. Frew
G. Antunes
S.A. Evans
A.J. Frew
Sitaxentan-related acute liver failure in a patient with pulmonary arterial hypertension
By W-T.N. Lee, N. Kirkham, M.K. Johnson, J.L. Lordan, A.J. Fisher and A.J. Peacock
W-T.N. Lee
N. Kirkham
M.K. Johnson
A.J. Peacock
For correspondence: apeacock@udcf.gla.ac.uk
Genetic association studies of IL13RA1 polymorphisms in asthma and atopy
By A.K. Konstantinidis, S.J. Barton, I. Sayers, I.A. Yang, J.L. Lordan, S. Rorke, J.B. Clough, S.T. Holgate and J.W. Holloway
Article | Published in 2007 in European Respiratory Journal
A.K. Konstantinidis
S.J. Barton
I. Sayers
I.A. Yang
S. Rorke
J.B. Clough
J.W. Holloway
Raised interleukin-17 is immuno-localised to neutrophils in cystic fibrosis lung disease


text:
ModelPlanes.de
About ModelPlanes.de
Category Archives: Reconnaissance
Fairey 'Seafox' Mk.I, (Matchbox)
Gallery 27. January 2020 Gunther Arnold
TYPE: Reconnaissance floatplane
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two
POWER PLANT: One Napier Rapier air-cooled engine, rated at 395 hp
PERFORMANCE: 124 mph
COMMENT: The Fairey Seafox was a 1930s British reconnaissance floatplane designed and built by Fairey for the Royal Fleet Air Arm. It was designed to be catapulted from the deck of a light cruiser and served in the WW II. Of the 66 built, two were finished as landplanes.
The Fairey Seafox was built to satisfy Air Ministry Specifications S.11/32. The first of two prototypes appeared in 1936, first flying on May 1936, and the first of the 64 production aircraft were delivered in 1937. The flights were organized as 700 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm.
The fuselage was of all-metal monocoque construction, the wings being covered with metal on the leading edge, otherwise fabric. It was powered by a 16-cylinder 395 hp air-cooled Napier Rapier H engine. It cruised at 106 mph, and had a range of 440 mi.
Although the Seafox handled well, it was criticized for being underpowered, engine cooling was poor and landing speeds were higher than desired.
In 1939, a Seafox played a part in the Battle of River Plate against the German pocket battleship "Admiral Graf Spee", by spotting for the naval gunners. This ended with "Graf Spee's" scuttling and destruction.
Seafoxes operated during the early part of the war from the cruisers HMS "Emerald". "Neptune", "Orion", "Ajax", "Arethusa" and "Penelope" and the armed merchant cruisers HMS "Pretoria Castle", "Asturias" and "Alcantara". The floatplanes remained in service until 1943 (Ref.: 24).
Fairey 'Seafox' Mk.I
Medium Bomber, Torpedobomber, Reconnaissance
Blackburn B.20 (Unicraft, Resin)
Gallery 9. February 2017 Gunther Arnold
TYPE: Medium-range Maritime Reconnaissance Flying Boat
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of six
POWER PLANT: Two Rolls-Royce "Vulture" liquid-cooled engines, rated at 1,830 hp each
PERFORMANCE: 306 mph at 15.000 ft
COMMENT: One of the most interesting flying boats to be built and flown during the war years was the Blackburn B.20 medium-range reconnaissance aircraft. The B.20 represented an attempt to reconcile the conflicting requirements for angles of incidence and correct streamlining between the conditions of take-off and level flight, and simultaneously provide adequate clearance between airscrews and water. The novel feature of the B.20 was the use of a retractable planning bottom. The pontoon was attached to the main hull by means of links so designed that when the pontoon was extended the hull and wings automatically assumed the best attitude for take-off. When the pontoon was retracted it presented a good streamline form with the main hull. The B.20 was first flown early in 1940 and a number of flights were made, the aircraft performing well both on the water and in the air, and the retractable pontoon operating successfully. Unfortunately, the B.20 was lost during a test flight and further development of the flying boat was abandoned in favor of the Saro "Lerwick". However, during the war design work on a flying-boat fighter Blackburn B.44 employed the retractable pontoon principle, but this project never left the drawing-board (Ref.: 14).
Blackburn B.20
Blackburn B.20 and Blackburn B.44
Fighterbomber, Reconnaissance
Fairey Firefly F.R.Mk.I (Pawla Models)
Gallery 10. December 2015 Gunther Arnold
TYPE: Carrier-borne fighter-reconnaissance aircraft
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of two (pilot and radar-observer)
POWER PLANT: One Rolls-Royce Griffon XII inline engine, rated at 1,765 hp
PERFORMANCE: 316 mph at 14,000 ft
COMMENT: The Fairey Firefly brought versatility to a degree previously unapproached in a carrier-borne aircraft. Despite the fact that its wartime career was relatively brief, the Firefly not seeing action until mid-July 1944, it fought in practically every operational theatre, from the Arctic to the Tropics, emerging as perhaps the most successful of British wartime shipboard aeroplanes. In 1939 the admiralty issued specification N.8/39 and N.9/39, which respectively called for a fixed-gun fighter and a fighter possessing a power-driven turret in which all armament was concentrated. The Fairey Company submitted designs for both specifications, but concluded that a clean two-seat fighter with fixed-gun armament offered greater potentialities. A design on these lines was accepted in principle, specification was revised to N.5/40, and an initial contract for 200 machines was ordered. On December 1941 the first prototype – the name "Firefly" was selected – made its initial flight. The first production aircraft was delivered in March 1943 and quantity production began in autumn 1942. The contract called for 800 aircraft and the first operational unit received the Firefy F.I. on October 1943. A total of 430 F.Mk.I are built by Fairey and under sub-contract by General Aircraft. The Firefly F.I was succeeded by the F.R.Mk.I fighter-reconnaissance aircraft carrying ASH shipping detection radar, a total of 376 aircraft were produced (Ref.: 12).
Fairey Firefly F.R.Mk.I
Fighter-Torpedobomber, Reconnaissance
Fairey Albacore Mk.II, 145 Squadron, RCAF (MPM)
Gallery 3. December 2015 Gunther Arnold
TYPE: Carrier-borne torpedo bomber, reconnaissance
ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three
POWER PLANT: One Bristol Taurus XII radial engine, rated at 1,130 hp
COMMENT: The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as level bombing, dive bombing and as a torpedo bomber. The Albacore, popularly known as the "Applecore", was conceived as a replacement for the ageing Fairey Swordfish , which had entered service in 1936. The Albacore served with the Swordfish and was retired before it, being replaced by the Fairey Barracuda and Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers. A total of 800 Albacores were built (Ref.: 23).
Fairey Albacore Mk.II
Fairey Albacore Mk.II and Fairey Swordfish Mk.III
Fairey Albacore Mk II
Torpedobomber, Reconnaissance
Fairey Swordfish Mk.III (Matchbox)
Gallery 14. October 2015 Gunther Arnold
TYPE: Torpedo bomber, anti-submarine aircraft, trainer
POWER PLANT: One Bristol Pegasus III M3 radial engine, rated at 690 hp
PERFORMANCE: 143 mph at 5.000 ft
COMMENT: The Fairey Swordfish was a biplane torpedo bomber designed by the Fairey Aviation company, used by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm during World War II. Originating in the 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was an outdated design by the start of the war in 1939, but remained in front-line service until the end of the hostilities in Europe outliving several types intended to replace it, e.g. the Fairey Albacore. It was initially operated primarily as a fleet attack aircraft. During its later years the aircraft was equipped with racks under the lower wings to enable the mounting of rockets and a large centrimetric radar in a fairing under the fuselage. It was used as an anti-submarine and training aircraft. When the production was halted in August 1944 a total 2,391 have been built (Ref.:23).
Fairey Swordfish Mk.III
Scale 1:72 aircraft models of World War II
Armstrong-Whitworth A.W.52 (A+V Models, Resin)
4. January 2021 Gunther Arnold
Blohm & Voss Bv P.202 (Unicraft Models, Resin)
12. December 2020 Gunther Arnold
Mitsubishi Ki-46-III (Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 3), (DINAH), (Army Special Attack Unit "Sakura"), (LS-Models)
2. December 2020 Gunther Arnold
Messerschmitt Me 262B-2a (Frank/Airmodel, Vacu-formed, with parts from Revell)
7. November 2020 Gunther Arnold
Mitsubishi Ki-57-II (Topsy), (9th Air Division, H. Q. Flight), (A + V Models, Resin)
Flugmodelle online: 507


shower remodel plate remarkable decoration remodel plate chrome trim kits for delta valley and shower remodel cover plate bronze.
shower remodel plate design stunning remodel plate goth it yourself bathroom remodel shower faucet shower remodel plate brushed nickel.
shower remodel plate remodel plate for shower incredible repair cover plates tub and valves home ideas shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate shower faucet cover plate remodel trim terry love plumbing oversized shower faucet cover plate a delta shower remodel cover plate bronze.
shower remodel plate bathroom photos home improvement large tub shower remodel chrome tub shower remodeling cover plate shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate town square decorative screw cover plate decorative screw cover plate for town square shower faucet buy shower faucet plate shower remodel plate bronze.
shower remodel plate standing shower remodel agreeable living room delta plate cover nickel w pics stall images cost shower remodel tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate photo of proficient plumbing heating brick united states remodel tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate shower renovation tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate remodel plate for shower stunning faucet tub brushed nickel home interior 7 tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate lovely plain remodel plate get a grip on a new shower handle plumbing company shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate shower faucet plate handle sticking out too far terry love plumbing remodel valve shower faucet plate shower remodel plate brushed nickel.
shower remodel plate shower remodel plate remodel plate for shower dumbfound home ideas shower remodel plate bronze tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate remodel plate photo of shower remodel trim terry love creative delta shower remodel plate.
shower remodel plate shower faucet plate shower faucet plate delta faucet replacement plate b how to remove shower faucet shower faucet plate shower remodel cover plate bronze.
shower remodel plate shower remodel plate brushed nickel.
shower remodel plate shower remodel shower remodeling 5 shower remodel images shower remodel shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate bath shower designs bath shower remodeling tub shower remodel cover plate shower remodel plate bronze.
shower remodel plate white plastic remodel plate for tub spout or shower arm allows you to cover a larger hole than regular spouts or shower arm flanges shower remodel trim plate.
shower remodel plate remodel cover plate reviews shower remodel cover plate bronze.
shower remodel plate unbelievable design faucet cover plate shower remodel trim terry love plumbing oversized bathroom to holes shower remodel cover plate bronze.
shower remodel plate decorative tub spout ring in brushed nickel shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate living shower remodel cover plate nickel.
shower remodel plate home and interior tub shower remodel on bath st bathtub from awesome tub delta shower remodel plate.
shower remodel plate remodeling shower remodel cover plate bronze with tile bathroom stall tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate shower remodel cover plate bronze bathtub spout replacement home depot tub adapter removal faucet dripping hot shower cover plate delta shower remodel plate.
shower remodel plate tub spout remodeling cover in chrome tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate decorative tub spout remodeling cover in chrome shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate after renovation shower remodel plate brushed nickel.
shower remodel plate remodel plate for shower shock goth it yourself bathroom faucet home interior tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate shower remodel a guide to shower remodel shower faucet remodel plate shower remodel shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate shower faucet cover plate deluxe op series features our remodel which facilitates conversion from any bar shower faucet cover plate shower remodel plate brushed nickel.
shower remodel plate remodel plate delta monitor shower delta faucet parts home depot delta shower remodel plate bronze.
shower remodel plate shower remodel cover plate nickel.
shower remodel plate remodel plate for shower spectacular converting three handle into single tub and terry love home interior shower remodel plate brushed nickel.
shower remodel plate plate chrome tilers mistake square mitre plate chrome tilers mistake square shower remodel cover plate bronze shower remodel trim plate.
shower remodel plate shower renovation shower faucet remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate delta shower remodel plate.
shower remodel plate bathroom remodels with also a shower remodel with also a shower remodel kit with also tub shower remodel cover plate.
shower remodel plate install plates cover those existing holes in shower walls plates shower remodel cover plate bronze.
shower remodel plate exquisite fresh remodel plate replacing a three handle tub shower faucet with temp shower remodel trim plate.
shower remodel plate decorative tub spout ring in chrome shower remodel cover plate.


Contact – Ningbo Metrics Automotive components Co., Ltd.
NingBo Metrics Automotive Components Co.,Ltd.
Need a quote? Have questions? Want to know more about how we can save you money and reduce your manufacturing lead times?


Follow the step by step guide to safely install Ephone unite 5 Official Firmware (Flash File). Don't try to skip any step because every step has it's own importance in this guide if you don't follow the guide correctly you may end up bricking your device. We have collected more information about Ephone unite 5 Stock ROMs down if you want you can read it from down. The firmware file name is C5P_80L_WE_3GW_B15_EMMC_DDR2_32_8_QHD_TT_T53_C_Ephone_unite_5.zip. The firmware is based on Android 5.1 Lollipop Os. The firmware is for MediaTek MT6580 powered devices.


text:
The Hermit Librarian
From one corner of my library to the other, I read & review YA books, graphic novels, & more.
Review: The Butterfly Project by Emma Scott
September 15, 2017 September 5, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ 1 Comment
Amazon – Author's Website – Goodreads
Category: Romance/New Adult/Contemporary
"Where you are is home…"
At age fourteen, Zelda Rossi witnessed the unthinkable, and has spent the last ten years hardening her heart against the guilt and grief. She channels her pain into her art: a dystopian graphic novel where vigilantes travel back in time to stop heinous crimes—like child abduction—before they happen. Zelda pitches her graphic novel to several big-time comic book publishers in New York City, only to have her hopes crash and burn. Circumstances leave her stranded in an unfamiliar city, and in an embarrassing moment of weakness, she meets a guarded young man with a past he'd do anything to change…
Beckett Copeland spent two years in prison for armed robbery, and is now struggling to keep his head above water. A bike messenger by day, he speeds around New York City, riding fast and hard but going nowhere, his criminal record holding him back almost as much as the guilt of his crime.
Zelda and Beckett form a grudging alliance of survival, and in between their stubborn clash of wills, they slowly begin to provide each other with the warmth of forgiveness, healing, and maybe even love. But when Zelda and Beckett come face to face with their pasts, they must choose to hold on to the guilt and regret that bind them, or let go and open their hearts for a shot at happiness.
The Butterfly Project is a novel that reveals the power of forgiveness, and how even the smallest decisions of the heart can—like the flutter of a butterfly's wings—create currents that strengthen into gale winds, altering the course of a life forever.
#standalone
An emotionally intense novel, the story of a graphic novel artist and an ex-con, their interaction, and the past encroaching on the present made for a somewhat sad, definitely tense New Adult novel.
The pacing was a bit slow for my liking, though I don't think it would put off a lot of people. Fans of slow burn romances might even find a favorite book in this. As it was my first of this author's books, I can't verify whether the rest would be as nice as this one, but The Butterfly Project would have me entertaining the thought of reading more of her work.
If I had to choose which of the main characters I preferred, I would say Beckett. While Zelda had her graphic novel artistry going for her, something I admire because manga and comic books have been a big part of my life for a long time, Beckett's voice and his perspective chapters felt more real to me. I looked forward to the camera lens coming from his eyes, even when it was something as simple as looking at his neighborhood in Brooklyn, his walk-up apartment, the other people in his building.
Roy, Beckett's parole officer, was an awesome character that really warmed my heart. Usually in books I wouldn't have seen his character as someone to like, but Emma Scott crafted a caring individual who trusts and does his job in an effective manner.
The location of this story was something I liked in The Butterfly Project. I live close enough to NYC to visit a few times a year and while I'm not intimately familiar with all of its landscape, the way Emma Scott described it made it feel like I was right there on the street with Zelda and Beckett. It was easy to picture the hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant where they first meet, the streets they walked to get Zelda back to her hostel early on in the book. It wasn't a sanitized version of the city and I liked the atmosphere that was created.
The relationships formed, the ones that were broken and offered to the reader as insight into Zelda and Beckett's character, these all came together and formed an interesting story that had dips and turns, pain and attachment, as in life. New Adult needs more books at the forefront and this could be one of them.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.
Waiting on Wednesday: In Her Skin by Kim Savage
September 13, 2017 September 5, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ Leave a comment
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we highlight a title we're looking forward to reading. You can find their website here.
In Her Skin by Kim Savage
Amazon – Barnes & Noble
Category: Contemporary/Young Adult
Sixteen-year-old con artist Jo Chastain is about to take on the biggest heist of her life: impersonating a missing girl. Life on the streets of Boston these past few years hasn't been easy, and Jo is hoping to cash in on a little safety, a little security. She finds her opportunity in the Lovecrafts, a wealthy family with ties to the unsolved disappearance of Vivienne Weir, who vanished when she was nine.
When Jo takes on Vivi's identity and stages the girl's miraculous return, the Lovecrafts welcome her back with open arms. They give her everything she could want: love, money, and proximity to their intoxicating and unpredictable daughter, Temple. But nothing is as it seems in the Lovecraft household—and some secrets refuse to stay buried. As hidden crimes come to the surface, and lines of deception begin to blur, Jo must choose to either hold onto an illusion of safety, or escape the danger around her before it's too late.
Con artist stories are really fun to watch on television (hello Leverage fans!) and to read about. Jo, the main character in this book, is trying to con a wealthy family into believing she's their long lost daughter. Of course there are shenanigans afoot in the family, which would make it interesting enough, but the family is named Lovecraft. I have to wonder if that will mean some kind of supernatural element to the story, like a call back to one of H.P. Lovecraft's stories or something.
I never get tired of trying to figure out how characters like this pull off their cons, either. Are the people they're working on really that simple or are they really that good at lying? How do they even do that so convincingly? I have a hard time lying because I can't keep a straight face, never mind that a con is a high pressure situation. I'd have a tell, I'm sure.
I can't wait to see what secrets Jo uncovers next March. (No Little Women pun intended there. *lol*)
Review: Odd & True by Cat Winters
September 11, 2017 September 13, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ Leave a comment
Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Publisher: Amulet Books
Category: Historical/Young Adult/Fantasy
Trudchen grew up hearing Odette's stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician's curse. But now that Tru's older, she's starting to wonder if her older sister's tales were just comforting lies, especially because there's nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.
In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it's Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters' search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that's wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all.
Cat Winters has a way with words and in Odd & Tru she uses her skill to weave a story of loyalty, protection, and what the truth is depending upon the person telling the story.
The book is told in alternating chapters and time periods. The current day ones are told by Tru, the more reserved and younger of two sisters.
Tru was a brilliant character. While she started out a little dull, I think a lot of that had to do with her Aunt Vik trying to stuff as much "reality" and mundanity into her as possible as a methof protection against what Vik saw as familial madness. There was also the matter of Tru's disability and chronic pain: her right leg is two inches shorter than the left, causing constant pain and rendering her paralyzed for many years before allowing for limited mobility. For a long time she saw herself as a cripple, a word here she used to describe herself, but a word she begins to move beyond with the encouragement of her sister Od.
The other point of view is told from the past in voice of the elder sister, Od.
Od was fascinating and mysterious, easily that cool aunt type character that I'd have looked forward to seeing as a child with her wild stories. She's fearless and she doesn't let anyone or anything, especially the expectations of society and her Aunt Vik, get in the way of following the path she sees as the right one. Her determined selfworth is matched only by the enormous amount of energy she puts into making sure Tru doesn't languish away on a family in Oregon, similar to how their mother suffered for years on their father's California estate.
Of the two, I preferred the stories in Od's chapters, but I really liked seeing them come through in Tru's current life, such as when she begs for the story of her birth, which we hear in the present only to later hear a tidbit which reveals the truth about where Od got the information to weave the tale.
For the longest time it's difficult to say who is telling the truth and who is not lying, exactly, but perhaps coloring the truth rather more than one might expect in the every day. Are the monsters real as Od and the girls' Uncle Magnus say? Or are there members of this German immigrant family that dabble in debauchery far too often and are on their own, as Aunt Vik vehemently states when Od shows up at the Oregon farm?
To reveal the answer would be to ruin the journey and the adventures that Od & Tru have. Suffice it to say that I think you may find yourself questioning more than one person before the end. The answers come slowly, but worth the experience of the slow burn read.
DNF Review: White Fur by Jardine Libaire
September 8, 2017 September 7, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ 3 Comments
Publisher: Hogarth Press
Category: Fiction/Romance/Contemporary
When Elise Perez meets Jamey Hyde on a desolate winter afternoon, fate implodes, and neither of their lives will ever be the same. Although they are next-door neighbors in New Haven, they come from different worlds. Elise grew up in a housing project without a father and didn't graduate from high school. Jamey is a junior at Yale, heir to a private investment bank fortune and beholden to high family expectations. The attraction is instant, and what starts out as sexual obsession turns into something greater, stranger, and impossible to ignore.
The unlikely couple moves to Manhattan in hopes of forging an adult life together, but Jamey's family intervenes in desperation, and the consequences of staying together are suddenly severe. And when a night out with old friends takes a shocking turn, Jamey and Elise find themselves fighting not just for their love but also for their lives.
Rating: 1 Star
It was difficult to like this book because I had a hard time connecting or even liking the characters. Elise and Jamey were next to dull and I think their position was made worse by a writing style I didn't care for. It felt overburdened with details, every movement or embellishment explained in detail, not to mention the telling feel of the story. While I got a lot of details, it felt like these were being thrown at me in a lecture rather than discovering them in a good book.
The way the narrative was split up also made it difficult for me to sink into the story. A single chapter would have dozens of cuts between action, like in a movie where the camera bounces back and forth between two or more people too fast to keep track. There wasn't time to enjoy anything; this style highlighted what I already didn't like and saved nothing.
Why did I keep reading this? I'm not sure, but I think I was hoping it would get better, that someone would do something or a new character would make an appearance that would give me a reason to care, to look behind the butchered mini-chapters.
As you can tell because this was a DNF, there came a point when it wasn't worth it anymore. I don't think White Fur has anything to offer in the way of entertainment or a thoughtful reading experience, so at 29% I finally gave it up as a bad job and moved on.
Cover Reveal: The Rebels of Gold (Loom Saga #3) by Elise Kova
September 8, 2017 September 7, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ Leave a comment
Elise Kova is a wonderful writer who has quite the literary publishing history. Not only is her Air Awakens series a highly popular indie series, but all five books were released in less than a year. That's an amazing treat for readers and an incredible feat for an author, due to all the hard work put into such an endeavor.
The Loom Saga, whose first book The Alchemists of Loom released in January of this year, is (sadly) wrapping up this December. You've still got two months to catch up with the first book and its sequel, The Dragons of Nova, but in the mean time…
…today is the cover reveal for the final book! YAH!! Artist Nick D. Grey has done a fantastic job at bringing another visually stunning piece of work to the Loom Saga.
Ready for it?
Title: The Rebels of Gold by Elise Kova
Series: The Loom Saga (Book Three) – Final book!
Pre-order THE REBELS OF GOLD from:
| AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY |
| BOOKS A MILLION |
(more pre-order locations to come)
If anyone wants to preorder, please know that there is a PRE-ORDER GIVEAWAY that you can enter your info for. The more people that enter, the more swag that will be included! Follow this link here to see more: http://elisekova.com/pre-order/
A new rebellion rises from the still-smoldering remnants of the five guilds of Loom to stand against Dragon tyranny. Meanwhile, on Nova, those same Dragons fight amongst themselves, as age-old power struggles shift the political landscape in fateful and unexpected ways. Unlikely leaders vie for the opportunity to shape a new world order from the perfect clockwork designs of one temperamental engineer.
This is the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Elise Kova's Loom Saga, THE REBELS OF GOLD will reveal the fate of Loom's brilliantly contrasting world and its beloved inhabitants.
Books in the Loom Saga:
THE ALCHEMISTS OF LOOM
THE DRAGONS OF NOVA
THE REBELS OF GOLD
Have you read any of the Loom Saga books so far? What are you most looking forward to seeing resolved in The Rebels of Gold? Let's discuss in the comment section below. 🙂
Review: Outcast by Lauren Hillman
September 6, 2017 August 28, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ Leave a comment
Publisher: Self Published
Category: Fantasy/Middle Grade
Merissa is a faerie with no magic, no memory… and no friends. Until a hummingbird arrives with an ominous message: The Queen wants her dead.
With the help of the hummingbird Chippen, Merissa sets out on a dangerous journey searching for the one faerie who may know the truth about her past. Instead she finds more questions when they meet Griff, a gypsy boy with pale grey eyes and one heart-melting dimple and Merissa discovers they have a strange connection. Soon her past will endanger them all.
But she is a faerie. And faeries are protectors. So if anything will help Merissa regain her lost powers it will be to save her friends.
Faeries were one of my favorite things to read about when I was in the middle grade age group. While I still read quite a bit of fantasy and there are faeries in those books, there's something special about the ones that inhabit the books of children. Going back to that kind of story in Outcast was immersive and fun.
Merissa is introduced right away as a faerie that doesn't know what kind of Faerie she is. That's a problem in a society that separates the faeries into what they can do: Earth Faeries nurture the earth, Frost Faeries bring the frost, etc. It's self descriptive and when a faerie is born, they're meant to know who they are. Merissa, our main character, cannot recall her beginning and despite her best efforts cannot summon magic of any kind. Now an Outcast, she goes about her life with a niggling thought as to what she might be, something not talked about in Faerie society and forbidden: a changeling, a human that was altered to become Fae. Is this why the Queen wants her dead? It's that thought and that threat of death that sends her on a quest to discover who she is.
The venom that came from her fellow faeries in Reya, their town/village, was deep cutting and very harsh. I was feeling horrible for Merissa as well as anger at her "friends" for betraying her and turning their backs when she had questions. Rather than be supportive, they succumbed to fear and cast her out as much as they could. While this was hinted at in the summary, plus the obvious title, I was shocked to see how it was conveyed in a few simple actions and words.
Merissa's journey, once she leaves the little clearing and tiny home she's known for as long as she can remember, is an enormous one. Not just because she is a faerie that can hide beneath a daisy, but because she has to learn to trust after being shown a lot of unkindness over the course of two years. She learns truths, such as what she is exactly and the identity of the 'people' she comes across (Zara, for example); some of these I didn't even consider during my reading!
I was slightly disappointed in where the story ended because it felt a little abrupt, but overall I think it did make sense. There's still quite a lot of danger for Merissa and her party. There's more adventure to come as they search for a safe place, one that may very well lay outside of Faerieland.
I think that the book could have used another once over before publication because I found a couple of examples of errors in printing, things like words missing or extra words that were spelled correctly and so would be missed by a spell check. Also, some of the language was a bit clumsy when in conversation, giving me a bit of a struggle on occasion.
I don't know how long this series is going to be, but I am anticipating the next book because I need to know what happens. Will the Queen find and carry out what she promised at the end of the book? How will Merissa stay true to her Faerie identity when those she is supposed to protect are not always good? There's a lot of find out when Lauren Hillman's next book comes out.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I DNF'd or Were Hard to Get Through
September 5, 2017 September 14, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ 5 Comments
Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. You can find the prompts here.
There are some books that, no matter how good they sounded or how much others might love them, just weren't for me. I mean no disrespect to the people that like the books I'm about the list, but there was something about them that I didn't care for or couldn't get through (hence a DNF).
Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
Detention Land by Susan Orion
Perfect Ten by L. Philips
All of these were DNF books. In the case of Fly by Night, I had hoped I'd be able to finish it because I've loved the author's work in the past, but this one felt like one genre book trying too hard to be another and that got annoying quickly.
Detention Land and Perfect Ten were both terribly boring due to the writing style and the characters. I didn't feel anything for them other than a strong urge to shake them.
Other Breakable Things by Kelley York & Rowan Altwood
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
These books I finished but they were painful. Other Breakable Things had stupid characters that made foolish choices. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was okay until about halfway through and then it felt like the action plummeted. It is one of the few instances where I have to say that the movie is better than the book. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the worst of the bunch because NOTHING HAPPENS!
You Were Here by Cori McCarthy
Call Me, Maybe by Ellie Cahill
Movie Game by Michael Ebner
Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Sherman
You Were Here (DNF) was all about the imbalance between alternative points of few. Some were okay, others were bad in the tone of voice used. Each was told differently (verse, graphic novel style, etc.) and it got dreary.
Call Me, Maybe (DNF) I hated because the characters were so dense and couldn't make a good decision to save their lives.
Movie Game (DNF) = muddled plot, poor writing, again with idiotic characters.
Legacy of Kings (DNF) sounded like a great book, but I started out with the audiobook and couldn't stand it. I tried a physical copy…nope, same result. I think it was because the writing came across as stilted and there was one character's point of view that I couldn't stand. Dreading a good chunk of the book doesn't speak well for an overall good experience.
What books have you not finished? What's one thing that puts you off a book? Let me know in the comments down below.
Review: Jorie and the Magic Stones by A.H. Richardson
Publisher: Serano Press
Category: Fantasy/Middle Grade/Adventure
When Marjorie went to live with her frosty maiden aunt, she couldn't imagine the adventures she would have with dragons – good and bad – and all the strange creatures that live in a mysterious land beneath the Tarn. The spunky 9-year-old redhead forges an unlikely friendship with an insecure young boy named Rufus who lives with his crusty grandfather next door. When Jorie – for that is what she prefers to be called – finds a dusty ancient book about dragons, she learns four strange words that will send the two of them into a mysterious land beneath the Tarn, riddled with enchantment and danger. Hungry for adventure, the children take the plunge, quite literally, and find themselves in the magic land of Cabrynthius. Upon meeting the good dragon, the Great Grootmonya, Jorie and Rufus are given a quest to find the three Stones of Maalog – stones of enormous power – and return them to their rightful place in Cabrynthius. Their mission is neither easy nor safe, and is peppered with perils in the form of the evil black half-dragon who rules the shadowy side of the land. They have to deal with a wicked and greedy professor, the tragic daughter of the bad dragon, caves of fire, rocky mountainous climbs, and a deadly poisonous butterfly. Jorie must rely on her wits and courage to win the day? Can she do this? Can she find all three Stones? Can she save Rufus when disaster befalls him? Can she emerge victorious? She and Rufus have some hair-raising challenges, in which they learn valuable lessons about loyalty, bravery, and friendship.
If a book is about dragons, particularly one with such a lovely cover and in which the dragons are not constantly being hunted, then I'm going to pick it up!
What I liked about Jorie and the Magic Stones is that it reminded me a little bit of The Chronicles of Narnia. Jorie is sent to live with an aunt and while there discovers a pathway to magic and adventure, much like the Pevensies when they stumbled through the back of a wardrobe.
Jorie and Rufus, her new friend that lives next door to her aunt, must find the bravery within themselves to complete their mission. When they become a part of the world beneath the Tarn, a fantastical place with dragons of goodness and wickedness, they discover that Jorie must find three powerful stones in order to save the good guys (*cough*DRAGONS!*cough*).
Dragons are fun to read about, no doubt from this corner, and I appreciated how they weren't all the bad guys in this story. When they're all being slain, I get sad because dragons are amazing creatures and I for one would like more stories about them. A.H. Richardson wrote their story, combined with that of a little girl from another world, in an entertaining manner that made the book a good one for bedtime stories. A chapter or two a night and both my son and I were wanting to know what would happen to Jorie, to Rufus, and to the Three Stones.
Jorie and Rufus learn quite a bit in their journey, both what the world is capable of holding and what they themselves are capable of. Nine-year-olds being asked to save dragons sounds insane, but they follow their adventure with more intensity than I'd imagine possible for someone that's only a few years older than my son.
This book was, as I said, a good one for bedtime stories in my house, but I think that middle grade kids could read this on their own as well as anyone that enjoys middle grade stories. There's a touch of innocence and fantasy that appeals to the child in everyone, whether or not they're in Jorie's age group or not.
I received a copy of this book from the publicity agent in exchange for an honest review.
Review: How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days (The Tale of Bryant Adams #1) by Megan O'Russell
Amazon – Goodreads
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Category: Fantasy/Magic
Ever wanted to grow a five-story tall flower in central park? How about fight a deadly battle under the subway tunnels of Manhattan?
Don't worry. I never wanted to either. But if you're ever being chased by ladies made of mist and you have to save the girl with the sparkly eyes you've never had the guts to say actual words to, there's an app for that.
I found a magic cell phone, opened an app I shouldn't have, burned down the set shop for my high school's theatre, and it was all downhill from there. A drag queen seer who lives under a bridge is my only hope for keeping my mom alive, and I think the cops might be after me for destroying my dad's penthouse.
But it gets better! Now I'm stuck being the sidekick to the guy who got me into this mess in the first place. It'll be a miracle if I survive until Monday.
When I was sent this summary to decide whether or not to review it, I thought I'd go ahead because based on the description alone it sounds like the kind of book a fan of the Percy Jackson series would enjoy. It promises a lot of crazy accidents, fantastical elements in a modern setting, and characters that are just this side of unbelievable.
I like the collection of characters that were presented in the book, with a slight exception for the main one. Bryant's self-deprecation might have been a quirky character trait at first, but it wore down quickly and became too much. Constantly throwing out sarcastic references to how ugly his hair was or how unlucky he was to be uncool compared to his friend Devon…there's only so much I read before I started rolling my eyes.
Devon had a couple of funny lines, my favorite of which was after he and Bryant tried to destroy the magic phone:
"It's the Rasputin of phones," Devon murmured. "It can never die."
There was something that I thought was a bit off about the characters, though it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Everyone from Bryant to Devon to Elizabeth, the people that were supposed to be 17 or 18, read younger than that and it made imagining them dealing with the events of the story…sticky. If Bryant's age hadn't been explicitly stated, I would have pegged him for 13 or 14. It doesn't sound like a lot of difference, but it made the narrative feel a bit weird, reading a character as way younger than they're supposed to be.
The family relationship between Bryant and his mom felt very real. I think his mother may be the most normal mom I've read in a fantasy book. What I didn't get was some of her decisions, like the apparent family agreement that's 30 pages long and has Article 17:
"Article seventeen states that in a true emergency no questions will be asked and no punishment given if the son approaches the mother with a genuine fear."
While in theory this article sounds like something that might occur in a family, a trust exercise if you will, what does it say that there's a written out "contract" with something like this and who knows what else? Bryant explains it to Elizabeth that he had his mom sit down and hash it out after the first time he was grounded. To be honest, I don't get the sense that he's the kind of kid that think of that sort of thing either now or in the past when he was grounded.
The romance between Bryant and Elizabeth took up a lot of page time, which I suppose would've been alright if it didn't feel so forced. It doesn't have to do with my reading these kids as younger than stated, but the fact that their interactions felt stale.
Pace wise things moved along decently, something I was grateful for after having been stuck in a slump of slow books. The way the story moved and how the characters were presented to the reader made it a little hard to get invested overall; I'd liken it to watching an action movie: two hours of people and places and fights flying by and you enjoy the moment, even if you can't fully grasp what the individual motions are.
Overall, I would say that the book was okay for me, though I can see how it would appeal to a wider audience.
I'd recommend this book for fans of fantasy novels like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, Holly Black and Cassandra Clare's Magisterium series, and Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co. books.
The #BooksBindUs Giveaway
September 1, 2017 September 1, 2017 ~ Harker @ The Hermit Librarian	~ 1 Comment
Welcome to the #BooksBindUs Giveaway. The brain child of Sarah K. Vetter from @SKVetterWrites, this is a celebration of the books that bring us together. Across blogs and Twitter accounts, following the hashtag #BooksBindUS, you'll be able to find people representing books that they have loved, that mean something special to them, and that they want to share with the rest of us.
On The Hermit Librarian, I decided to highlight four books: Mask of Shadows, The Tiger's Watch, Symptoms of Being Human, and Brooklyn Burning.
Each of these books features a gender fluid character, something that has become more important to me lately. Trying to find who I am, coming to realize that it's okay to figure that out even though I'm older, has been really hard. With more books featuring transgender and gender fluid characters, I've been finding people that express feelings that are more similar to what I've been figuring out is who I am. Sal, Tashi, Riley, and Kid are just four of the many characters out there that I've found through reading and I'm grateful to Sarah for sponsoring this giveaway so that I can share one of these titles with a lucky winner!
In order to enter, I'll be setting up a simple Twitter giveaway and linking it below. In order to enter, follow me at @hermitlibrarian and Sarah at @SKVetterWrites. The giveaway is for one of the titles mentioned/pictured above, is open Internationally, and will end 9/15. All prizes will ship in the beginning on October. No giveaway accounts (I will check!).
🎉#BooksBindUS INT Giveaway🎉RT/F me & @SKVetterWrites for a chance to win one of the books pictured. (INT) ends 9/15. pic.twitter.com/unTKcxsttg
— 💜Herm💜♏ (@hermitlibrarian) September 1, 2017
Link to Tweet
[Spotlight] No Place to Hide by Opa Hysea Wise
[Blog Tour] Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo
[Review] Unfettered Journey by Gary F. Bengier
DC Blog Tour – Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia (author) & Gabriel Picolo (artist) – PREVIEW
[Review] Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
Follow The Hermit Librarian on WordPress.com
Buy Me a Ko-Fi
Harker's ReaderRank
Harker has reviewed 746 books with an average rating of 3.512 out of 5.
409 people have found Harker's written reviews to be helpful on Goodreads.
Top 10% in Friendship
Top 10% in books from large presses
Top 20% in Family
Top 20% in Humor
Top 20% in Young Adult


What is another word for crack-up?
dramatic, usual, sad, normal, serious, traumatic, dull, tragic, boring, unamusing, standard, common, unfunny.
calculation, success, good fortune, decree, good luck, necessity, decision, intention, blessing, plan, intent, boon, provision.
creation, accomplishment, rise, wonder, attainment, construction, triumph, win, miracle, victory.
conformity, adjustment, balance, sameness, soundness, normality, sanity.
reprimand, reprehend, aplomb, groan, belittle, imperturbability, reprobate, reproach, coolness, reprove, pan, tranquillity, chide, pule, lambaste, sigh, self-possession, skewer, slag, snivel, calmness, whine, serenity, blubber, moan, admonish, bawl, excoriate, blame, sniffle, vilify, yowl, weep, slam, Discommend, bleat, howl, Sereneness, censure, whimper, knock, castigate, composure, disparage, Tranquilness, rebuke, scream, placidity, wail, criticize, squall.


Don't know what to do with your old PlayStation, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo, etc. games? Sell them to BADFX Games for cash!
We accept software and hardware for all of the formats available on this website.
Old action figures from 80's, 90s also considered.
All you have to do is fill in the contact information below listing all the items you wish to send us along with any pictures you have showing the condition of the goods.
The condition can make a huge difference to the value of your collection, we are paying more for items that are clean and complete, games with both the manual and box are worth more than cartridge only for example, but we will offer less for poor condition games or games missing manual or box.
The price offered depends on the condition and rarity, we will pay more for items in mint/pristine condition.
If you are unsure if we would be interested in your collection please email us at mail@badfxgames.com to check before you compile your list.
Please read the following guide lines.
Please tell us the condition and completeness of the items.
Tell us if the item is damaged, is missing manual or inlay or is missing the box, this information is important when considering value.
If you have a big collection and do not wish to write everything down please send us as many pictures of the games and consoles as possible so we can make you an offer.
When we have received the information we will make you a cash offer for the goods.
Once the total is agreed there are several options to get your collection to us.
Most common is to send the items in a parcel to us.
As soon as the parcel arrives we either pay by bank transfer or paypal, or can send a cheque back to you, whatever your prefer.
We pay towards the cost of sending parcels to us.
If we offer over £100 for your items we will pay the full cost of getting the parcel to us.
If it is less we still pay half the cost.
This will be added to the cash total.
Goods paid for via paypal will be paid for as goods and any payal charges will be for the seller.
We are interested in big collections, in fact the bigger the better, but we understand the problems in getting larger quantities to us.
It is possible to drop collections off with us in Co.Durham by prior arrangement.
We can also pay cash for items delivered personally.
If you have really large amounts of items and you're not too far away we can come to you and collect.
We are buying games and consoles almost daily and some customers sell to us on a regular basis, and some are just turning unwanted items into cash or are moving away from collecting.
We realise sending items to someone you have never dealt with before can be potentially a bad idea but we have been doing this for a long time.
We pay as soon as parcels arrive.
If you're still unsure we can pay you via paypal before the goods are sent, items will be paid for as goods and any paypal charges will be for the seller to pay.
Or alternatively you can bring them to us.
So, have you got a list of items you want to sell?
Please check the condition of your items prior to the sale.
Media with slight scratches, as long as it functions properly.
Games or software with packaging that shows slight signs of wear.
Copied media or pirated copies.
Media that is severely scratched, damaged and not in a perfectly playable condition.
Damaged, incomplete or uncleaned accessories.
I agree to the guidelines as shown on this page.


Do you have a sweet tooth and a knack for solving puzzles? Then try your hand at this fantastic candy themed matching game! Hurry up and meet the goal within the time limit to earn a high score and move on to the next level.