Here a beautiful shotgun to gauge 16, made in 1867 per the arms manufacturer and gunner of the emperor Napoleon III, Gastinne Renette.
Engravings are very delicate and the barrels of 74 cm are in Damas.
System of closing doubles bolt, opening by a key in front of the trigger guard, known as "levier à volute".
Locks steel ahead, embedded in the rocker, soaks marbled.
There is a lever or push rod of safety in lower part of the handle.
That resembles a rifle launches harpoon, for the boats, the barrel is short and the completion nickelled.
The track: I believe to remember that Gastinne Renette marketed lance harpoons on mechanisms Rolling Block….what would explain besides perfectly well the part under the longuess making it possible to fix the weapon at the free-board of a boat.
Otherwise gauge 45-60 goes back to 1879….and was well striped.
I "am not shoed enough" to affirm you that I am right but I believe nevertheless that the track is worth to be thorough!!!
The action (breech mechanism) of this gun came from a 12.7mm Swedish military rolling block rifle, made by Husqvarna in 1871.
Looks like a Harpoon Gun to me, but I am no expert on these. The fixture at bottom could be for a device for holding the string.
I would consider the possibility that this may have been a line throwing gun. A blank cartridge propels a long bolt with a line connected to the spool which was fastened to the firearm by the lug in question. This line being fired from ship to ship would then be used as a "messenger" to pull a heavier line to connect the two ships. I have used line throwing guns from ship to ship using the H&R tip up chambered for the 45/70 blank cartridge. This was standard practice when I served in the U.S. Navy.
In appendix the patent of Gastinne-Renette concerning the "Improvements with the apparatuses lance-harpoons", going back to 1932.
I think that one could attach this apparatus to each single-barrelled rifle, then also of Remington Rolling Block.
Unfortunately, on yours the apparatus patented itself misses, only the assembly under the forearm is present.
Here a pistol falling block of Gastinne Renette to Paris, approximately 1850, in 6 mm Flobert.
The double name Gastinne Renette is adopted by the store in 1840 to market weapons of prestige and luxury.
Great specialities: pistols of duel and living room. In 1847 it recorded its patent to protect its pistol to falling block under the action of the trigger guard (Sharps way).
In 1850 it opens its shooting range in Paris.
The 8/5/1793, Henri Renette is established in Paris.
In 1809, it appears among the best gunners of France.
In 1812, It leaves the Popincourt district for the "Champs-Elysées.
It joined Louis Gastinne (glorious soldier reformed because of its many wounds incurred at the time of the Napoleonean campaigns).
In 1834, the son of Louis, Louis-Julien Gastinne marries Joséphine-Adele Renette, the girl of Henri.
April 8, 1857, the couple buys a ground to the 39, Allée d'Antin (currently Avenue Franklin Roosevelt) and there establishes a store. Located very well because it comprises openings on the 3 sides of the triangle ranging between current Avenue F Roosevelt, the Montaigne Avenue and the roundabout of the Champs-Elysées.
In 1848 (after the de Louis-Philippe fall) the new leaders of the 2e République come to provide themselves at Gastinne-Renette.
Louis Gastinne confirms his fame after the advent of Prince Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte to the presidency of the Republic.
After the proclamation of the Empire in 1852, the Gastinne-Renette House becomes the regular supplier of the Emperor Napoleon III and the imperial court.
In April 1855 it receives one to let pass which specifies: "By order of the Emperor, Mr Gastinne Renette is authorized to enter to the Palate and to leave there with weapons...". This document proves confidence that one testifies to him. The headed notepapers from now on are made out "Gastinne Renette à Paris, 39 avenue d'Antin, Champs-Elysées, Canonnier arquebusier of the Emperor, Prince Impérial, the Queen and King d'Espagne".
Large specialist in the weapon of hunting and luxury, Gastinne Renette also included very quickly the revolver advantage of, and worked on models Tranter and Smith & Wesson. First of all it worked on the original models by "finishing them" and then created its own patented models inspired of these weapons.
Cal. 12mm rifled, single trigger for dueling purpose,outstanding case.
Photos friendly authorized by "HORST HELD"
Gastinne Renette Cased Breechloading Percussion Pistols Loading lever down, showing barrels sliding forward, opening obturating breech.
Photos of "HALLOWELLCO" with my grateful thanks.
Single Shot 27" tapered octagon-to-round barrel of Bohler Superblitz steel with hand-filed all-integral quarter rib, shallow full-length rib and raised front sight ramp.
Highly figured walnut stock with forend extending nearly to the muzzle.
Fine rose & scroll engraved by Xavier Goudin.


text:
EnvironmentOther
Thousands Of Animals Are Leaving the Yellowstone Supervolcano
By Debi Allison June 16, 2019 No Comments
Yellowstone has made the news time and time again for the past few years and for good reason. But, this time, the reason behind this is different, and perhaps even more important than ever.
Researchers at the University of Berkley in California say that the animals are moving from the area differently, and they believe the reason is largely in part to climate change. Gregory Rickbeil, who is postdoctoral explains by saying,
'We found that the immediate environment is a very effective predictor of when migration occurs.'
By use of GPS data along with satellite imagery, they track more than 400 animals from, 9 different herds. While during the springtime the elk climb to higher areas, it seems that this time is growing to be later and later each year.
Some were leaving as early as May one year, and then the next, choosing to leave around in July. For example, in 2015, the elk traveled to their winter grazing ranges 50 days later than they had back in 2001. Arthur Middleton, another professor of wildlife management says,
'The decision that these animals make about when to migrate are absolutely dependent on changes in the landscape changes that are ultimately governed by the climate."
"And in the future, with climate change, we should expect the timing of these mass movements to be altered, which will affect the other wildlife and the people who depend on them, including predators, scavengers and hunters across the ecosystem."
In the larger scheme of things, this could affect the overall ecosystem of the area, as the elk herds in Yellowstone are one of the most populous animals in the region. Not only are they responsible for consuming much of the vegetation in the region, but they are also a source of food for other predators. If this continues, we could see these other animals being affected as well.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Scientists Release Result from 'Astonishing' Feat of Creating and Testing Quantum Gas in Space
Ryan F. Mandelbaum
The Bose-Einstein condensate chip
Photo: MAIUS project team/J Matthias (DLR)
Last year, graduate student Dennis Becker watched from a safehouse as the MAIUS-1's sounding rocket took off from a launch facility in the Swedish Arctic. But even after repeated delays from snow and wind, he wouldn't know for a few days whether the rocket's payload survived. When the ambitious experiment dropped back to Earth after six spending six minutes in space, clouds made a helicopter retrieval impossible, and the project sat for days alone in the Swedish tundra, where the temperatures dropped to -30 degrees C (-22 F).
But despite the grueling conditions, the mission was a success. For six minutes, the MAIUS-1 team managed to create the first space-based Bose-Einstein condensate—a gas of ultra-cold atoms, so cold that they begin to demonstrate strange quantum effects on macroscopic scales. The team is now reporting the results of that launch, which allowed them to perform an incredible 110 experiments on the chip containing their Bose-Einstein condensate.
"This is a big step for us," Becker, a doctoral candidate at Leibniz University in Germany, told Gizmodo.
Bose-Einstein condensates are gases in which all the atoms together begin to act as a single matter wave. We write about them a ton because of the many mind-bending things that physicists do with them.
Becker and his team hope to use these space-based Bose-Einstein condensates as a new kind of ultra-precise sensor. When these atom waves interfere with one another, they form interference patterns that are very sensitive to things like changes in the force of gravity, as might be produced by a gravitational wave (or maybe a passing dark matter particle... who knows!). Obviously, this kind of sensor would be more useful in a place like space, where there isn't already a lot of gravity.
Past experiments have created zero-gravity conditions to test Bose-Einstein condensates by dropping them from high up. But drop towers offer only a few seconds of microgravity. This time around, the chip containing the Bose-Einstein condensate experienced six minutes of microgravity at 243 kilometers (151 miles) above the Earth's surface. The 110 automated measurements characterized the formation process of the condensate formed as well as its size, among plenty of other aspects, according to the paper published in Nature.
This isn't the only team attempting to make Bose-Einstein condensates in space. Scientists aboard the International Space Station are working on creating one for other physicists to experiment with. The scientists behind MAIUS-1 now offer expertise for the ISS's Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) team.
"Such a set-up represents a technical marvel in modern atomic physics," Liang Liu, from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, wrote in a Nature commentary. Liu called the 110 measurements carried out in six minutes "astonishing."
MAIUS-2 and 3 will follow, during which the scientists will use a Bose-Einstein condensate as a sensor to test one of general relativity's key principles, the equivalence principle. Expect these space-based quantum gases to one day serve as an important tool for exploring fundamental physics.
[Nature]
Former Gizmodo physics writer and founder of Birdmodo, now a science communicator specializing in quantum computing and birds
Sean Bond
Always appreciate your write-ups, Ryan. I don't follow scientific writing enough to have more than passing knowledge (at best) on most of this stuff, so it's cool to read things like this that 1) doesn't depend on having much of said background in science and 2) is about specific enough topics that it's not just going to pop up on CNN's website.


text:
Suspend action against Bahria Town, SC orders NAB
The top judge directs the property tycoon to deposit Rs5 billion as surety within two weeks
by Usman Arshad | Published on June 27, 2018 (Edited June 27, 2018) 
ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) not to take any action against Bahria Town after its chairman, Malik Riaz , until it rules on a review petition. On Wednesday, a three-member apex court bench announced
ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) not to take any action against Bahria Town after its chairman, Malik Riaz , until it rules on a review petition.
On Wednesday, a three-member apex court bench announced the verdict in favour of Bahria Town and its owner Malik Riaz.
The real estate tycoon appeared before the court and submitted that he holds the apex court in high esteem.
Mr. Riaz agreed in writing to deposit 20 per cent of the amount in the court.
Chief Justice Saqib Nisar then allowed Malik Riaz to resume receiving payments from his members.
In addition, Bahria Town has been asked to file monthly audit report of its accounts.
Malik Riaz told the court that "nobody can raise a mega city in such a short span of time." To this, CJP Nisar assured Malik Riaz that justice would be done with him.
Malik assured the chief justice that he will obey the court orders; however, he requested him not to pass such an order that might affect his employees.
Yesterday, the chief justice had asked Malik Riaz to deposit Rs20 billion with the court. Malik, however, requested him to reduce the amount to Rs5 billion. The CJP then asked him to submit the amount within two weeks and come up with an affidavit and suggestions on Wednesday (today) and adjourned the hearing.
The review petition in question was filed by Bahria Town against three cases in which the apex court had found massive irregularities in land acquisition by the developer for its housing projects in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Murree.
Earlier, during the course of the hearing, Malik Riaz told the chief justice that he had planned projects in those areas where people were reluctant to invest owing to lack of adequate security measures. The 64-year-old said his housing projects included the world's third largest mosque as well as an old-age home, a zoo, schools, and other facilities.
The chief justice told him that life in the hereafter was better and more enduring and he should pay his attention in this regard.
Malik Riaz assured the chief justice that he will ensure his presence in the court whenever he was summoned.
Malik Riaz rekindles hope for distressed people through motivational message
Malik Riaz gifts home to rickshaw driver who 'authored 14 books'


Ready To Drink (RTD) Tea is gaining in popularity.
On a recent family outing, RTD teas were the only available teas.
Ok, I agree, they are convenient, no brewing on site, and easy to transport.
and the iced green tea was Austin's tea of choice.
Yes, Angela, I really said that.
I actually snorted when I read that! Thanks for the laugh!
Haha! Glad they were palatable.
Nice to know they are good if I am ever so inclined to buy RTD tea.


text:
Nina Zacher (* 26. März 1970 als Nina Mandl; † 21. Mai 2016) war eine Gastronomin aus München, die durch ihre öffentlichen Auftritte als Aktivistin zur ALS-Erkrankung bekannt wurde.

Leben
Nina Zacher war verheiratet und hatte vier Kinder. Sie betrieb gemeinsam mit ihrem Mann die Gastwirtschaft St. Emmeramsmühle im Münchener Stadtteil Oberföhring.  Die Krankheit ALS wurde bei ihr 2012 diagnostiziert. Sie trat nach der Diagnose ihrer Krankheit in Talkshows wie Markus Lanz und Radiosendungen auf. 2016 starb sie im Alter von 46 Jahren an ihrer Krankheit.

Nach ihrem Tod wurde die Stiftung faceALS ins Leben gerufen, um Menschen mit ALS besser zu helfen. Barbara Stamm (1944–2022), Präsidentin des Bayerischen Landtags, war Schirmherrin der Stiftung.

Posthume Buchveröffentlichung
Über ihr Leben mit der Krankheit wurde 2018 das Buch Such dir einen schönen Stern am Himmel veröffentlicht, das ihr Witwer und ihre Tochter am 26. April 2018 in der Talkshow Markus Lanz vorstellten. Außerdem wurde darüber in der Fernsehsendung Capriccio berichtet. Anfang Mai 2018 belegte das Buch Platz 1 der Spiegel-Bestsellerliste in der Rubrik Sachbuch Paperback.

Literatur
 Nina Zacher, Karl-Heinz Zacher, Dorothea Seitz: Such dir einen schönen Stern am Himmel. S. Fischer Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-596-70131-5

Weblinks
 Interview mit Nina Zacher in der Sendung Eins zu Eins

Einzelnachweise

Gastronom
Unternehmer (München)
Aktivist
Deutscher
Geboren 1970
Gestorben 2016
Frau

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


You will need the Federal School Code (also known as a Title IV Institution Code) for each college or university to which you are applying in order to complete the FAFSA. The Federal School Code is a six-character code. Be careful to use the correct Title IV code on the FAFSA, because some schools have several codes to designate different programs or campuses.
You can obtain a school's Federal School Code by calling the school's financial aid office or by using this search form. You can also use this form to look up a school's name based on their Federal School Code.


text:
Thank you, Carrie Fisher
Michael Salsbury 1:54 PM Carrie Fisher
Note: I actually started this post back in September, but somehow never got around to finishing it. In hindsight, I wish I had. Carrie might have seen it if I had.
Like most people reading this, I first became aware of Carrie Fisher when she appeared as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. I got a kick out of seeing her in The Blues Brothers, then in Postcards from the Edge (which she wrote), her one-woman show Wishful Drinking, the newer Star Wars movies, and the occasional interview or talk show appearance. She was always witting, charming, intelligent, and beautiful.
The Wishful Drinking show is where I really gained my greatest appreciation for Carrie. In it, she talks about the down-side to growing up the child of Hollywood royalty, relationship issues, substance abuse problems, mental health struggles, and dealing with the unflattering remarks from Star Wars fans who expected her to be as gorgeous and thin at age 60 as she did during Star Wars at age 19. Dealing with all that would probably drive most of us toward substance abuse and mental health problems. Carrie shared all this, not in a "woe is me" style but very matter-of-factly with insight and humor. It was really an impressive show.
As a writer, the thing that impresses me the most about Carrie is that she was regularly consulted to help improve movie scripts. She started doing this during the original Star Wars movies for George Lucas, and later for many other big names in Hollywood. Often she did the "script doctor" work without on-screen credit. It wouldn't surprise me if there are a number of films still in the pipeline with her "fingerprints" on them. I suppose she will live on for a while through that.
After her appearance in the recent Star Wars sequel and the release of her book The Princess Diarist, I felt really happy for Carrie. She was finally getting the recognition she deserved for her talent. I had hoped this would revitalize her career and looked forward to so much more from her in the future. Sadly, that will not be the case.
I had long wanted to meet Carrie, to thank her for all her hard work, to let her know I understood her struggle with bipolar disorder, and to tell her that even at age 60 she was still a beautiful woman. I also wanted to congratulate her for finding her way through all the trials and tribulations in her life, and coming out the other side smiling and laughing (rather than bitter and cynical). How she dealt with her problems is an excellent example for all of us.
I will miss you, Carrie. Thank you for your written and on-screen work. Thank you for being brave enough to shine a light on your troubles, and show the rest of us how to do it. You deserved every bit of success you had, and much more.


The royal wedding is coming together!
On Tuesday, Kensington Palace announced that pastry chef Claire Ptak will be baking Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's cake for their special day.
The dessert is perfect for spring as it will have a lemon elderflower flavor and be "covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers," according to the palace's press release.
While Ptak has been the owner of the Violet Bakery in London, England, since 2010, she is from California, just like Meghan! Ptak got her start as a pastry chef under Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.
Christmas cake slabs still available!
The bride to be has been a fan of the pastry chef for some time, and interviewed Ptak for her former lifestyle website, The Tig.
Based on Violet Bakery's Instagram, Ptak has a lot of experience with making special occasion cakes, many including real flowers just like the ones described for the royal wedding dessert.
A sneak peek at my newest #handpaintedcake with #gilded blue #thistles - see it for yourself tomorrow @bespoke_sf with @chantalevents !
In a post shared last April, Ptak talked about her love of wedding cakes. "Wedding cakes are where I started and I love that I am now going back to them again after many years turning them down," she wrote. "They are so fun to make (albeit stressful) and there is nothing like assembling them in situ and the wonderful reactions that you receive from onlookers."
Now that the cake is in place, it's time to talk wedding dresses!
Back in January, a source told ET that Meghan, 36, has found a designer for her gown and has had at least one fitting!
As for what she's looking for style-wise on her special day, the source added that fans should not expect anything too over the top, noting that Meghan is aiming for "simple and elegant."


As humans and their infernal rattletraps zip transverse the perimeters of quixotic subconscious inquiry, the Electric Music Collective offers virtual elopement with its transcendental would-be sonic pandemonium, interspersed with luminous rubicund sonorousness; an extrication and liberation from the vicissitudes of quotidian experience–one, however, that curls back to its very center of circumvention.
Just when the music of the Electric Music Collective has drawn you away—life's brutality and beauty are revealed anew.
What if one could have the whole world as an orchestra? What if every sound producing object could be potentially used as a musical instrument? Captured in a recording, sounds can be precisely manipulated, ordered, controlled with the utmost virtuosity to serve the most capricious concoctions. Imagine the possibilities of sound mixtures, from transparent chamber-like structures to massive amalgams of thousands of simultaneous sounds. The five composers featured here all propose different ways and views on this strange Art of collecting sounds, conjuring hordes of natural, real-world sounds as well as artificially synthesized sounds, organizing them musically, and projecting them back to a listener. These artists are sound sculptors, dealing with sound itself, frozen and preserved for all eternity inside a recording. Cinema-for-the-Ear.


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These United States Interview — Self-Titled New Album
Fifty percent of my taste in music is about the music, and the other fifty percent is about an artist's personality. And Jesse Elliott of These United States has a great personality. I'm admittedly a new fan of his music, which I discovered when I noticed his joint tour with Trampled by Turtles — another great band. Once I found his music, I played every These United States album for about two weeks straight, an obsession that was solidified immediately after listening to Crimes. And because of my insatiable desire to pick the brain of artists I like, I reached out to his team for an interview. I knew it would be good, but I couldn't predict the extent of his openness. He's not just a good musician, he's an interesting guy. In fact, I might have a new crush. Enjoy the interview!
I know your band started with different members. Why the rotation?
In the beginning it was a matter of practicality. We had a lot of different sounds in our mind that we weren't capable of making ourselves, so we had to recruit other people. I think it mostly came out of liking different kinds of music and wanting to interpret songs in different ways.
What made you stick with your current band members?
It's still a little bit of a free flowing thing, because all the people I play with have always played in their own projects with other people. I think of it as a big extended family, and people are free to come and go as it makes sense for their own lives. That's been good and bad but mostly good, and in the long term it keeps most of us as relatively sane creative collaborators.
Are you the primary songwriter?
I write the simple skeleton of the songs and the lyrics and maybe what people think of the core message to it, but I like recruiting other people to flesh out the instrumentation. I've always treated it like we have these different skeletons that we dress up in different bodies or skin with all these other people.
I always wonder what defines a "band," because if you're the primary songwriter then even though there is a band name, it's really just you.
I think there's a whole range of how that works. I don't think that's true for us, because the people I've incorporated throughout the years and especially now, there's a real solid reason why we work together. We feel like we each have a different strength in a different part of the music.
Do they ever give you input on your music?
Definitely. They give me all kinds of sh*t. If by "input" you mean insults . . . [laughs]. Yeah — these guys are not shy. We hack these things apart all the time. I know that the stuff I'm doing is not perfect. The reason I like collaborating with these guys in particular is because everything is open for discussion.
Do you ever take their feedback personally?
Oh, I take it very personally, and I take it out on them in very subtle, passive-aggressive ways for weeks after they make a suggestion, but that doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge in retrospect that it was a good suggestion.
When you play music live, are you ever surprised by the audience's reaction to certain songs?
Definitely. You can't predict that stuff. There are songs that I am still surprised people like as much as they do, and there's certain songs where I think, "You people are crazy. How could you not realize what a great song this is?"
Why do you release your records so quickly? You have kind of an unusual pace.
We can't think of anything better to do with our lives [laughs]. None of us like day jobs. When your relationships fall apart and everything else goes to hell, you just write a bunch of songs and play a bunch of shows.
When you release the next record so quickly, are you starting from scratch?
Most of the time. There's a couple of songs that survive. The one that comes to mind is on the album we're releasing in June, and it's called, "So Sweet to Be Back". We tried using it on [three other albums] and it didn't work. It's come back with a vengeance on the newest album.
You toured a tremendous amount in the beginning. Did you do that because touring is the only source of income in today's music industry?
I keep hearing this idea about making money touring. But I've never made money anywhere, including touring [laughs]. But we like it. It's always fun to play a rock show whether it's for ten people or a thousand.
Do you ever have moments when you're on the road and touring this much where you think, "F*ck this sh*t. I can't do this anymore?"
Yeah, but they're really brief. I've had a really good life in the sense that I've tried out a lot of different things. Music was a very conscious choice. When I have those moments, I think back to the last twelve jobs I had before music and think, "It's okay, I'll survive."
Are you able to sustain a romantic relationship when you tour that extensively?
I've tried and failed more than I've tried and succeeded. It's definitely hard. You kind of choose one or the other — a real life or a life of constant movement. The hardest thing about it is how time moves in these situations. In some sense time moves slower, because it feels like you live three years in the space of a year. One of my favorite quotes is, "People change and forget to tell each other." People at home may be changing in an incompatible direction.
I imagine you'd have to really like the people you're touring with, too.
You'd have to really like them or have no other options [laughs]. But that's one of the first things we think about when [we ask people to join us on tour], almost more than their musical talents. It's a tricky, unnatural situation.
Do you ever look back on your song lyrics and discover new meanings?
That's a really good question. I almost never know where exactly something came from. Just the nature of how I write song lyrics down is very fragmentary. It's rare that I can tell where different parts of the song came from.
Tell me about your new album. I read that it's a concept album. What's the concept?
Well, we set out to make one of the ten greatest albums of all time and I think it's probably number three of all time [laughs]. It's just about different people and places. That's why we called it These United States. Our last album was very personal and about a near-death experience. But I feel like I got that out of me, and now I'm thinking more outside myself about all these people and places and things we were experiencing. It's a big, raucous, carnival celebration of life.
Whoa! What was the near-death experience?
That is what What Lasts was about. I almost drowned. It had me thinking a lot about death.
How did you almost drown?
I paddled too far in a kayak that wasn't Lake Michigan-worthy, and it filled up with water from the waves of an iron ore tanker that was far away. I swam for over an hour in very cold water to get back to shore. It ended up being more of a life-affirming thing than a death-affirming thing. The next three days I was wrapped up and shivering. My whole family was there. My poor dear mother was probably more scared about it than me in some sense. But then I had a few days to sit and write songs [about it].
Did your parents always support your pursuit of music?
Yes. My parents were always interested in music. My dad was a drummer in college, and my mom gave me my first nylon string guitar. They would be happy with whatever I did. I feel hugely lucky. That's not something I take for granted.
Who are you listening to right now? I like to discover artists through other artists.
We get to listen to so much music, which is kind of a blessing and curse because it all comes and goes very quickly. My bandmates recently produced a great album by Rebecca Marie Miller. She sings with a band called the Mynabirds that I've always really loved. Our good friend Laura Burhenn sings with them, and I've always really loved her music and our friend Matthew Houck from Phosphorescent joins her on a song [called "Two Gods" for our new album]. Our new album was an excuse to ask people we've been huge fans of for a long time to help us make music of our own. Also on our new album is Cotton Jones, Deer Tick, and Backwords. I've also gone back and listened to some old music from our buddy Josh Read who has a band called Revival and he sang on the album. Another person in our friend camp is Adam Arcuragi, who just put out a really great album. Is that enough?
It must be living a dream to collaborate with people that you're also huge fans of.
Yeah, that's the only reason you do this. You don't do it for the health insurance or the dental benefits. You do it because there's a lot of people in the world doing inspiring stuff, and you want to do inspiring stuff with them.
Author The DishmasterPosted on June 12, 2012 October 23, 2018 Categories Celebrity Interviews, General, MusicTags Band Interviews, Celebrity Interviews, Jesse Elliot, These United States
2 thoughts on "These United States Interview — Self-Titled New Album"
The Dishmaster says:
Thanks! Pass it around. I <3 Jesse. He's so great.
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text:
Q: Updating a password in firebase (Angular 5) I am building a settings component for accounts on an app im working on, and I want the user to have the ability to update their password from these account settings. I have created this firebase function:
 updateUserPassword(password) {
    this.currentUser.updatePassword(password).then(function() {
      console.log('succcess!')
    }).catch(function(error) {
      alert(error)
    });
  }

however each time I call it, I get the following error:

I understand that I need to re-authenticate in order to perform requests like this, however I can't seem to figure out how to do it! Any suggestions?

A: In order to re-authenticating the user with credential, you basically give an email and a password as parameters. Below I'll show you my account.ts page that has a button for the user to change his password. When the user clicks the button, an alert prompt with inputs appears:
account.ts
changePassword(){
    console.log('Change Password Button Clicked');
    //Creating the promt alert with inputs
    let alert = this.alertCtrl.create({
      title: 'Change Password',
      inputs: [
        {
          name: 'oldPassword',
          placeholder: 'Your old password..',
          type: 'password'
        },
        {
          name: 'newPassword',
          placeholder: 'Your new password..',
          type: 'password'
        },
        {
          name: 'newPasswordConfirm',
          placeholder: 'Confirm your new password..',
          type: 'password'
        }
      ],
      buttons: [
        {
          text: 'Cancel',
          role: 'cancel',
          handler: data => {
            console.log('Cancel clicked');
          }
        },
         {
          text: 'Update Password',
          handler: data => {
            //First you get the current logged in user
            const cpUser = firebase.auth().currentUser;

            /*Then you set credentials to be the current logged in user's email
            and the password the user typed in the input named "old password"
            where he is basically confirming his password just like facebook for example.*/

            const credentials = firebase.auth.EmailAuthProvider.credential(
              cpUser.email, data.oldPassword);

              //Reauthenticating here with the data above
              cpUser.reauthenticateWithCredential(credentials).then(
                success => {
                  if(data.newPassword != data.newPasswordConfirm){
                    let alert = this.alertCtrl.create({
                      title: 'Change Password Failed',
                      message: 'You did not confirm your password correctly.',
                      buttons: ['Try Again']
                    });
                    alert.present();
                  } else if(data.newPassword.length < 6){
                    let alert = this.alertCtrl.create({
                      title: 'Change Password Failed',
                      message: 'Your password should be at least 6 characters long',
                      buttons: ['Try Again']
                    });
                    alert.present();
                  } else {
                    let alert = this.alertCtrl.create({
                      title: 'Change Password Success',
                      message: 'Your password has been updated!',
                      buttons: ['OK']
                    });
                    alert.present();
                  /* Update the password to the password the user typed into the
                    new password input field */
                  cpUser.updatePassword(data.newPassword).then(function(){
                    //Success
                  }).catch(function(error){
                    //Failed
                  });
                  }
                },
                error => {
                  console.log(error);
                  if(error.code === "auth/wrong-password"){
                    let alert = this.alertCtrl.create({
                      title: 'Change Password Failed',
                      message: 'Your old password is invalid.',
                      buttons: ['Try Again']
                    });
                    alert.present();
                  }
                }
              )
              console.log(credentials);
            }
          }
      ]
    });
    alert.present();
  }

A: If the Login of the User is too far in the past and you wanna Change important Information like the Password the User Needs to Reauthenticate in Order to do the process. There is a ton of Information regarding this in the offical Firebase Documentation.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Category: Ghosts
Halloween, Ghost Stories, and Weddings! What? Weddings?
Colorado, Contest, Folklore/Myths/Legends, Ghosts, Giveaways, HALLOWEEN, haunted towns, hotels, Uncategorized
Yup, you read that right. How do I get from the first two to the later? It's easy when the wedding is in Estes Park, Colorado, at The Stanley Hotel, the famed inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining.
First a little history. Freelan Oscar Stanley and his wife Flora, missing the east's grandeur, opened The Stanley Hotel complete with electric lights, telephones, en suite bathrooms, uniformed staff and a fleet of automobiles in 1909 among the Rocky Mountains in Estes Park, Colorado. However, by the 1970's the hotel's splendor had faded, and it might have been demolished if not for Stephen King.
The famed author stayed in Room 217 and a dream here inspired The Shining. The room is thought to be haunted by Elizabeth Wilson. Injured in 1911 in an explosion lighting lanterns in Room 217, when recovered, Mrs. Wilson became head chambermaid and worked at the hotel until her death. Since then, guests have reported luggage being unpacked (now this I'd appreciate ?) and lights being turned on and off. Mrs. Wilson, not a fan of unmarried couples sharing the room, has been known to show her displeasure by climbing into bed between them!
The Concert Hall is another room frequented by otherworldly inhabitants including Flora Stanley. When the hotel opened, F.O. presented Flora with a Steinway Grand Piano. Since her passing, guests and staff claim Flora can still be heard playing. Paul, a jack-of-all trades at the hotel, enjoys frequenting this room as well. Charged with enforcing the hotel's curfew during his tenure, guests and workers claim Paul can be heard saying "get out" after hours. He's also said to "nudge" construction workers and flicker flashlights for tour groups here.
On the hotel's fourth floor, originally a cavernous attic where female staff, nannies and children stayed, guests report hearing children running, laughing, giggling and playing. People also claim a certain closet opens and closes on its own. In room 428, guests report footsteps and furniture being moved above them. However, many claim this impossible due to the roof's slope. But the room's most frequent ghostly visitor is a "friendly cowboy" appearing by the bed. Now that's the room for me! What a great opportunity for hero research!
These are a small sample of the ghost stories associated with The Stanley Hotel. If you're interested in more tales, I recommend Ghost Stories of the Estes Valley Volumes 1 and 2 by Celeste Lasky. (I purchased mine at The Stanley but they're available on Amazon.)
If you visit Estes Park, maybe you'll be inspired as I was. That's where the idea for my first novel sold to Harlequin, Big City Cowboy, literally walked up to me. But that's a story for another blog…
If you stay at The Stanley Hotel, could you'll encounter F.O. Stanley hovering behind his staff at the reception desk. ? If you do, keep these tips from tripsavvy.com on how to capture ghosts on camera in mind. "Take five or six quick shots to capture a fleeting spirit. Oh, and bring up back-up batteries because paranormal experts will tell you if spirits are present, they'll have a draining effect on your batteries."
Now it's your turn. Leave a comment about a place where you've encountered a ghost or that's left you feeling a bit creepy to be entered in my give away. And oh, yes, Happy Halloween!
Gaviota Pass, California
Phyliss
California Missions, California Missions & El Camino Real, Folklore/Myths/Legends, Ghosts, History - General, Personal Glimpses
For the last few posts, I've been writing about El Camino Real and the haunted missions along the way. Today, I'm going to discuss one area of Highway 101 that I bet just about everybody has seen on television commericals … the Gaviota Pass one and a half miles west of Gaviota, near Santa Barbara, California.
It's a place where the road narrows to just a few feet. It's where El Camino Real moves away from the coast and into the interior of California. The long climb up the grade takes travelers to Mission Santa Inez and La Purisima, which I've previously blogged on. The land mark is a haunted one, also.
This bronze plaque commemorates where on Christmas day 1846 an ambush set up by Mexican loyalists to stop Lt. Col. John Fremont's U.S. troops from moving south forcing the Americans to take a more labored approach to capture Santa Barbara where it was captured without bloodshed.
The ghosts of Gaviota Pass date to an earlier time when a detachment of Spanish Lancers were set upon by the local inhabitants. The Spanish were forced to retreat down the road and through the pass toward to coast. For a while it looked like the Natives would win the day, but as the warriors prepared to mount a charge on the exhausted Spanish Troops a strong wind came up from the sea and inland. In desperation the Spanish set fire to the dry grass in the pass. The flames fueled by the ocean's wind roared up the pass. The native warriors trapped in the conflagration were burned to death.
Defeated spirits haunt the pass today. Some have reported seeing a figure who wanders alone. Local legend is that this is the chief who led his people into the fiery defeat. There is no doubt this is a spooky place, especially for those who visit the place at night. When the wind blows one may still hear the horrible wails of those warriors succumbing to fire.
Now my truth. I've gone through this pass hundreds of times, during all times of the night and day, and my daughter who lives in Santa Barbara County travels to LA regularly and neither of us have seen or heard anything. I certainly want to make it clear that I'm not discounting any of this as fact, because I just know that sole legendary chief will make sure I believe in him the next time I'm around the pass.
Those of you who have traveled the 101 and gone through this pass, have you ever had any weird sensations.
Okay, as I promised this is the month, I'm telling you all about my grandson's experience at the La Purisima Mission not far from his home. Last summer when I was out there for four months, he came out from college in Texas to one of his sister's graduation. A friend from Texas had moved out to Santa Barbara with her family, so they went ghost busting at the mission. They climbed over the gate, as others did, and after not finding anything that interested them, they returned to his folks home. When his friend started to leave, she couldn't find her keys. She was sure they were secured in her closed up shoulder bag. They looked everywhere and could find them, so as a last resort they went back to the La Purisima.
When they turned into the drive right outside the gate they saw a flash. Checking it out, they found not only her keys but a billfold, both which had been crushed. There was no way a car could have done it. They came home certain that this had to be an act of one of the Mission's ghosts.
There wasn't a driver's license in the billfold, but a card for a doctor's appointment and cash. They physician's clerk called the gentleman and told him where his billfold was but never mentioned where it was found. I answered the door when he showed up. He was pleasantly surprised we had his billfold but perplexed because he was sure it had been secure in his back pocket which was zipped up. "Where was it found?," he asked. When I told him, all he could say was "That dern ghost must have stolen it, crushed the dern thing to let us know not to go ghost busting out there again."
Now you tell me whether you think it was just a coincidence or a reminder from our La Purisima ghosts not to bother them at night?
To one lucky person who leaves a comment, I will give away an autographed copy of the award winning anthology A Texas Christmas by sister filly, Linda Broday, Jodi Thomas, the late DeWanna Pace, and me.
Updated: November 28, 2016 — 8:06 pm
Mission Santa Ines on the El Camino Real
California, California Missions & El Camino Real, Ghosts, Personal Glimpses
It seems like just last week I blogged with you all … well it was! But if you can stand me one more day, I'm going to continue along the El Camino Real and write about another Mission I visited not long ago.
My youngest granddaughter came home from school and said she had an end-of-the-year school project and needed my help. She had to select a mission and write about its history, as well as draw pictures. Of course the Mission La Purisima was the first one to come to mind, but as she reminded me, anybody could drive the two or three miles to get a bird's eye view. The next choice is where we went every Wednesday to the market in Solvang … Mission Santa Inez. It was a great choice, so we rounded up as many grands who wanted to go and my daughter and I headed towards Solvang. We could kill three birds with one stone, go to the market, go to our favorite winery while the kids went to the ice cream shop, and visit the Mission for Addison's project. What a wonderful outing!
But first some history. Mission Santa Inez was founded in September 1804, and was known for their excellency in saddle making. Today the Mission is fairly well dwarfed by the tourist town of Solvang. This is one of the most beautiful Missions I've visited, but like the others I've written about, it has folklore to match it's magnificence!
One story tells of a dark vampire that once inhabited the church when it was in ruin. The tale says that there is a creature that will suck the blood from the toes of any hapless stranger who sleeps the night in the chapel and has the bad luck to remove his shoes. Maybe the tale has its origin in the owls who once perched in the building long ago. Maybe not. Maybe it's just a myth!
Another legend caught my attention because it tells that the statue of San Antonio, that was brought by the Spanish padres, is somehow blessed and has the power to grant one prayer of an unselfish nature.
This quiet and beautiful place wasn't always so peaceful, for it was here in 1824 that the Great Revolt started. The Chumash native converts grew tired of the cruel treatment afforded them by the Spanish soldiers, and revolted in a bloody rampage which lasted a month. According to folklore, A Chumash woman warned the padres of the uprising saving many lives. As the legend goes, she was buried under the alter in a special site reserved for padres and political leaders. Maybe it is this woman who haunts the grounds of the old church. Some say they feel her presence near the old laundry basin. It is said that tape recordings made at the cemetery and laundry area always seems to pick up stray whispers and the mournful wail of a Native American flute.
The site is calm now, but if its memories do replay to the visitor, this should be a very haunted site indeed.
Now for where Addison and I worked. This is the backside of the Mission. We sat on the wishing well and I helped her vocalize the mission, without the ghosts, but it's history. She did a fantastically beautiful drawing from this view. She's like her PawPa, an artist at heart. I lost five dollars in coins to the wishing well.
I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my visit to California a few months ago. Stick with me because I'm still going to revisit the Mission La Purisima and tell you about my college grandson's real adventure with what could have been a ghost. I'll let you all decide.
And, yes we all had ice cream, got some beautiful vegetables along with strawberries, blueberries, and some wonderful mulberries, as well as a couple of bouquets of flowers and headed home … no Lucas and Lewellen Tasting Room for us that day.
To two readers who leave a comment, I'll put your names in one of my
lady Stetson hats direct from Solvang and you can select
your choice of one of my eBooks from Amazon.
Hugs from Texas to all you all, Phyliss
Updated: October 3, 2016 — 7:00 pm
Ortega Adobe
In my last blog I wrote about the Mission La Purisima on the Camino Real in California. I promised to write more about it and some personal things that have happened in the ol' haunted mission. Before I publish, what I think is an intriguing finish to my personal story about the La Purisima, I wanted to explore some more places along the King's Highway that I've visited or became intrigued with.
I'm gonna bet if you make any Tex-Mex or even Mexican dishes you've used Ortega brand products. Here's my story about Ortega Adobe, Ortega Chili Company, and a mysterious little girl.
The picture to the left is one of the middle class adobe homes and also one of the last houses of its type still standing in California. Built in 1857 by local rancher Emedigio Ortega, he raised nine of his children.
In 1897, one of his sons began the Ortega Chili Company that exists today. Obviously, the international company has outgrown the small three room house.
The building has been used as a Mexican restaurant, a Chinese laundry, a pottery shop, an employment agency, a VFW hall, a speakeasy, the Ventura police state, and lastly, a boy's and girl's club. In the 1960's it became an historic museum. The tiles on the roof were purchased from the Old Mission San Buenaventura after the earthquake of 1857.
Now for the more interesting part of this mission, as I promised.
Supernatural events have become a part of the adobe museum's crew's jobs. Staff have caught a glimpse of a man with a derby hat standing on the porch. A visitor who believes she has a psychic gift saw a ghostly little girl in the house standing in the doorway. She had a dark shawl over her head. The house also has a very cold spot in the largest of the rooms where some have heard voices! The story of soft music emanating from a phantom guitar remind us of the history and many different lives that have passed through this house and of some spirits that may have chosen to stick around.
The Ortega Adobe isn't a mission but I found its story very interesting. I love going to California and this year, as many of you all know, I spent over two months in central California in order to celebrate graduation and birthdays for my grandchildren. I'm eager to write more about my adventures.
Earlier this month when I wrote about the Mission La Pursima, which you haven't heard the last of, I received a lot of wonderful comments on missions, so I'll ask you the same question … please share with us any of your experiences on missions, the Camino Real, and ghosts.
To one lucky reader who comments, I'll give you a choice of one of my eBook's, including any anthology I'm in or one of my short stories. I'm looking forward to reading all of your comments.
Welcome Guest – Erin Johnson
Frontier Women, Ghost Towns, Ghosts, Guest Author, guns, Native American, Outlaws, Western Novels, Wild West Research
I've always been interested in history and did a lot of research on the West while I was writing the Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes (Cengage, 2012). I also spent time in Arizona after my father moved to a ghost town near the Mexican border, and I was fascinated by the area around Tombstone, where much of the WANTED series is set.
In the first book in the series, Grace and the Guiltless, Grace is the lone survivor after outlaws massacre her family. She risks her reputation by entering the notorious Bird Cage Theater to report the crime to the sheriff:
Clouds of smoke enveloped Grace. Like the black, acrid smoke from the burning cabin that still clung to her pores and clothes, the sweetish cigar smoke and the sharper scent of burning tobacco from hand-rolled cigarettes suffocated her. Raucous laughter, the tinkle of a piano, and the clink of glasses pulsed through the room. The infamous alcoves, or bird cages, some with their red velvet curtains drawn, perched overhead like rows of fancy packages.
Her eyes stinging from the haze, Grace squinted to find the sheriff. So many black frock coats blurred into an indistinguishable mass…
Disentangling herself from pawing hands as she crosses the room, Grace irritates the sheriff by separating him from the painted lady keeping him company.
The heavyset man frowned at her. "So, what can I do for you, Miss —"
"Grace Milton, sir. Yesterday my parents . . . my whole family . . ." Grace's tongue tripped over the words. If she said them aloud, it would make it real. But if she didn't, those killers would get away with what they had done. "Elijah Hale and his gang . . . they shot my pa, and-and…"
The sheriff's face paled at the mention of Hale's name, but he leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers, though his hands shook slightly. "Mr. Hale is well known in these parts as a respectable man."
Respectable man? A picture imprinted itself on Grace's mind – Hale smiling, his gun pointed straight at her father's heart.
The sheriff pulled a cigar from his vest pocket and rolled it between his fingers, avoiding her eyes.
"Did you hear me? Hale killed my pa. And my ma, and my—"
The sheriff chomped down on the cigar, twisted, and then spat the end into the nearby spittoon. The wad hit the brass with a wet ringing sound. "Any witnesses?"
"Me," Grace choked out.
Sheriff Behan lit his cigar and blew a puff of smoke in Grace's direction. "Not sure your word," he said, his gaze raking her disheveled appearance, "would stand up against Hale's." He waved his cigar in a dismissive circle. "You bring me some proof, and I'll consider looking into it."
A white-hot volcano of rage erupted in Grace's stomach. Did that badge glinting at her from across the table mean anything at all?
"My family's dead in the ground." She sucked in air to control the tremor in her voice. "I dug their graves myself." She held out her blistered and bloodied hands. "Is that proof enough for you?"
Something flickered in the sheriff's eyes. Pity maybe? But he quickly shuttered it. "That's a sad story Miss Milton, but people die every day." His voice loaded with fake sympathy, he continued, "Lots of Injuns 'round here. Renegade soldiers. Hermits. Even coyotes. Understandable you'd be a mite mixed up following such a tragedy. You being hysterical and all."
"I. Am. Not. Hysterical." Grace spat out each word. Furious, yes. Hysterical, no. Although he was rapidly pushing her in that direction. She'd get no help from this snake.
As Grace suspects, the sheriff is in cahoots with the gang, so she trains as a bounty hunter to singlehandedly track down the criminals. One reviewer calls her the "Katniss of the Wild West." But when Grace falls for Joe, a?rugged range rider, can she give up her independence to take on a partner?
In book 2, Her Cold Revenge, Grace must prove her skills and stop a train robbery masterminded by the outlaws who slaughtered her family. And as she slowly opens her heart to both Joe and the Ndeh tribe, who take her in, her heartache begins to heal. Yet she's still torn between revenge and love.
"Every second had me on the edge of my seat…"
"I've never been so moved by a book. You honesty made me cry…"
The books in the WANTED series came out in the UK first, and then in the U.S., with different covers.
Erin Johnson grew up watching classic western movies with her father, which fueled her lifelong love of horseback riding. She's always dreamed of being a fierce-talking cowgirl, but writing about one seemed like the next best thing. She loves traveling, painting, and teaching, and she writes under several pseudonyms for both children and adults.
Blog: http://lje1.wordpress.com/erin-johnson/
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/16791791-grace-and-the-guiltless
http://www.wattpad.com/story/38198225-her-cold-revenge
Buy links: G&G http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Guiltless-Wanted-Erin-Johnson/dp/163079001X/?tag=pettpist-20
HCR: http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Revenge-Wanted-Erin-Johnson/dp/1630790079/?tag=pettpist-20
Giveaway! : Erin has a great giveaway with two separate winners! For a chance to win, leave a comment for Erin and you'll be entered. One winner will receive a copy of Grace & the Guiltless and the second winner will receive a copy of the recipe book, Feast on Fiction!
Updated: August 2, 2016 — 11:57 am
The Ghosts of Galveston
Kathleen Rice Adams
Folklore/Myths/Legends, Galveston, Ghosts, Settings, Texas History, Texas Trivia, Towns
At only twenty-seven miles long and three miles across at the widest point, Galveston, Texas, is not a big place. Located about two miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico an hour south of Houston, the barrier island and tourist Mecca is home to 48,000 year-round residents.
At least, that's the number of residents the most recent U.S. Census counted. Those who call Galveston home know the population is much larger, because a goodly number of the island's dearly departed…well, never departed.
Bettie Brown
1859 Ashton Villa
courtesy Galveston Historical Foundation
Built in 1859 by a wealthy hardware merchant, Ashton Villa is one of Galveston's most striking museum houses. Miss Bettie Brown, the merchant's eldest daughter, was quite the character during her lifetime. She never married, drove her own carriage, and smoked in public, scandalizing the community. She lived to a ripe old age and died in 1920…but that doesn't mean she left the property. Today, she reportedly scandalizes tour groups by appearing in the Gold Room and her private dayroom, roaming the grand staircase, locking and unlocking one of her lavish trunks, stopping clocks, and playing the piano.
Clara Menard
1838 Michel B. Menard House
Also called "the Mardi Gras ghost," the spirit that inhabits Texas Declaration of Independence signatory Michel B. Menard's 1838 mansion is thought to be that of his daughter Clara, who died in her teens. According to legend, within the first few years after it was built, the house was the site of one of the first Mardi Gras balls in the country. During the festivities, a young woman slipped on the staircase, fell, and broke her neck. Ever since, the hazy figure of a young woman dressed in party regalia of the era has been seen standing at the foot of the stairs during Mardi Gras season.
Daniel Brister
1877 Smith Brothers Hardware Store
In 1920, twenty-five-year-old police officer Daniel Brister attempted to stop a robbery outside the 1877 Smith Brothers Hardware Store. He had just handcuffed one of the perpetrators when the second one shot him in the chest. Though bleeding, Brister chased down and cuffed the second robber, too…only to die of his wound moments later. Brister seems to have become less upstanding in the afterlife. These days, he pinches women's posteriors and breathes down their necks in the restaurant now located at the spot of his death. He also throws pots and pans in the kitchen.
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte, artist unknown
courtesy Rosenberg Library, Galveston
The pirate Jean Lafitte built the first permanent structure on the island. All that remains of the 1816 smuggler's refuge Maison Rouge, originally painted red and surrounded by a moat, is a crumbling foundation. The U.S. Navy chased the privateer off the island in May 1821, but Lafitte reportedly loved Galveston so much, he returned in 1823…after he was killed during a sea battle off the coast of Honduras. Legend holds the pirate buried a treasure beneath three oaks on the western end of the island. Treasure hunters never have found the loot, but several have reported encountering Lafitte—right about the time he chokes them.
Lovelorn Lady
1911 Hotel Galvez, courtesy Hotel Galvez
Because of its location overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, the 1911 Hotel Galvez once was a favorite getaway for Frank Sinatra and several U.S. Presidents. The most famous guest of the "Queen of the Gulf" never checked out of Room 501. According to generations of hotel staff members, the lovelorn lady awaited her fiancé in the room. When his ship went down off the coast of Florida and he was not listed among the survivors, she hanged herself. Sadly, the fiancé showed up about a week later. These days the Lovelorn lady doesn't confine herself to Room 501, although that seems to be her favorite haunt. She has been seen or felt throughout the hotel, wandering the halls, breaking dishes, turning on water faucets, slamming doors, and blowing out candles.
Capt. Marcus Fulton Mott
After serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Marcus Fulton Mott became a prominent lawyer and state senator. He built a grand Victorian mansion in Galveston's upscale East End in 1884. The home burned in 1925. Prominent businessman George Sealy Jr. subsequently built an 8,200-square-foot "summer retreat" on the site after acquiring the property in 1926. Although the existence of a cistern on the grounds has never been confirmed, Mott's son may have murdered three women and thrown their bodies into the well—or at least that's what Mott's ghost has told people. Reportedly, he vowed never to leave until the women's bodies are recovered. Reports of supernatural activity at the house have died down in the past two decades, but prior to the mid-1990s, the ghost at the Witwer-Mott House allegedly ordered people out of the home, threatened them, and threw mattresses across the room…while people were on them.
Point Bolivar Lighthouse Ghost
1872 Point Boliver Lighthouse
courtesy U.S. Coast Guard
The original Point Bolivar lighthouse, built in 1850, was pulled down during the Civil War so the Yankees couldn't capture the light and use it as a navigational aid. The new lighthouse, built in 1872, still stands, though it was decommissioned in 1933 and sold to a private individual in 1947. No one has been inside the 116-foot-tall structure for years, yet people—including Patty Duke and Al Freeman Jr., who filmed a movie there in 1970—have reported seeing a figure on the light deck at the very top. Some say the ghost may be that of a lighthouse keeper's son who killed his parents at the scene. Others believe Harry C. Claiborne, who began a twenty-four-year, two-hurricane tenure as lighthouse keeper in 1894, was so devoted to duty that he still mans his post.
Samuel May Williams
1838 Samuel May Williams House
Samuel May Williams served as Stephen F. Austin's secretary, became the first banker in Texas, and founded the Texas Navy. The home he built on Galveston in 1838 is the oldest standing residence on the island. Known as "the most hated man in Texas," Williams had a habit of pinching pennies and ruthlessly foreclosing on mortgages. Few are surprised he apparently hung around to terrorize the living. Fires have been lit in fireplaces when no one was in or near the home, there's a "cold spot" outside the children's rooms on the second floor, and a misty figure appears in the windows of the cupola atop the roof.
Tremont House Ghosts
courtesy Wyndham Grand Hotels
The Tremont House opened with great fanfare on April 19, 1839, in commemoration of the Battle of San Jacinto. By the 1860s, the Tremont had fallen on hard times—in more ways than one. In 1862, the Union Army commandeered the hotel to quarter soldiers. In 1865, the Tremont burned to the ground. Seven years later, the phoenix rose from the ashes even bigger and grander than before. The Tremont hosted guests including Buffalo Bill Cody, Clara Barton, Stephen Crane, and five U.S. Presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant. More hard times and several hurricanes later, the Tremont was demolished in the 1920s…only to be rebuilt once more in the 1980s. Somewhere along the line, a whole passel of ghosts moved in. A Confederate soldier marches up and down the lobby, where a little boy the staff calls Jimmy plays with bottles and glasses at the bar. Jimmy is thought to be the child who was run over in front of the hotel in the late 1880s. "Sam" was murdered on the fourth floor by a thief who wanted the haul Sam had made at one of the city's storied casinos. The spirit in Room 219, assumed to be a disgruntled former employee, scatters the contents of guests' luggage.
Unknown Schoolteacher
1895 Hutchings-Sealy Building
courtesy Mitchell Historic Properties
Among the many acts of bravery and selflessness recorded during the Great Storm of 1900, one stands out as especially poignant: That of a young schoolteacher who had taken refuge on the third floor of the Hutchings, Sealy and Company Bank on the Strand. As the seventeen-foot-storm surge submerged the island, sweeping property and lives from the face of the earth, the schoolteacher climbed through a window, perched on a ledge, and dragged people out of the flood and inside the building. She cared for the living for several days, until she succumbed to a fatal fever. To this day, no one knows her name, but she has a familiar face. Ever since the disaster, residents and visitors alike have seen a young woman dressed in the fashion of the day in various parts of the historic bank building. Before the restaurant that occupied the building for many years closed in 2008, some employees reported hearing her call their names.
(May disturb some readers.)
Galveston Railroad Museum
courtesy Nsaum75
Of all the ghost stories on Galveston, William Watson's may be the most gruesome. A bit of a daredevil, the thirty-two-year-old engineer was standing on the cowcatcher of a locomotive as it left the Santa Fe Union Train Station September 1, 1900—one week before the Great Storm destroyed the city. According to reports at the time of his death, Watson frequently pulled the stunt. Something went horribly wrong that day, though. He slipped from his perch, went under the train, and immediately was decapitated. His body stayed put; his head ended up one-quarter mile down the track, where the engine stopped. Watson reportedly haunts the former station (now the Galveston Railroad Museum), though not usually in visual form, thank goodness. Most of the time he merely makes strange noises and redecorates.
A second spirit hangs out at the museum, as well. For a time, part of the building served as a residential psychiatric treatment facility. In the 1980s, a female patient jumped to her death from a fourth-floor window. Since then, the gauzy form of a woman has been seen sitting on windowsills, one leg outside, before disappearing.
These are only a handful of the non-corporeal residents of Galveston. Sometimes called "a cemetery with a beach attached," the island is second only to New Orleans in the number of reported hauntings. In addition to the celebrity ghosts, other spirits with unknown names and less spectacular stories remain on the island, partly because of Galveston's dramatic history.
The island switched back and forth between Union and Confederate hands several times early in the Civil War (the Rebs finally managed to hang onto it from January 1863 on), and both sides left bodies behind in buildings along the Strand. After the Great Storm, the surviving buildings along the Strand became temporary hospitals and morgues. The Strand fell into disrepair for a number of years until late Galveston philanthropist George Mitchell stepped in to renew and revitalize the area in the mid-1980s. During renovations, a number of skeletons were discovered in the walls, left there by war or storm victims who literally "slipped through the cracks," evidently. That may explain why Galvestonians and visitors frequently notice vague forms in uniforms or period clothing floating near ceilings in some of the historic buildings.
Other reported hauntings include:
Orphans who drowned during the Great Storm have been spotted at the Walmart built on the site of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word's doomed orphanage.
The Flying Dutchman was reported in Galveston Bay twice in 1892.
Bishop's Palace may be haunted by the spirit of a former owner, who checks the building's structural integrity when hurricanes threaten.
An unknown man, possibly a Great Storm victim, sometimes runs along the sand at Stewart Beach.
A pack of twelve phantom dogs with glowing eyes allegedly appears as an omen of impending tragedy or disaster.
Two well-meaning ghosts bedevil Tombstone Hawkins and Pansy Gilchrist in "Family Tradition," one of two short novellas in Robbing Banks, Stealing Hearts. The book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple's iBookstore, Kobo, and Smashwords.
Updated: October 21, 2015 — 9:10 am
Tags: 1900 Storm, Bishop's Palace, Daniel Brister, Flying Dutchman, Galveston ghosts, Galveston Railroad Museum, Hotel Galvez, Jean Lafitte, Kathleen Rice Adams, Maison Rouge, Marcus Fulton Mott, Michel B. Menard, Miss Bettie Brown, Point Bolivar lighthouse, Samuel May Williams, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Stewart Beach, Tremont House
WINTER MAGIC NEW RELEASE AND GIVEAWAY BY CHERYL PIERSON
Ghosts, HALLOWEEN, New Releases, Oklahoma History, Uncategorized
Hi everyone! I wanted to talk a little bit about my brand new single-author western romance anthology, WINTER MAGIC.
This is a collection of three stories that appeared in some of Prairie Rose Publications' anthologies over the last year. Sometimes, it's hard to tie stories together with a logline, but I love this one we came up with: Three criminals who've lost everything…three women who have nothing to lose…is it love or magic that bring them together in these three romantic tales of the old west?
The first story, HEARTS AND DIAMONDS, was a part of the Cowboy Cravings anthology (June 2014). Hired gun Nick Diamond is determined to ruin the life of his nemesis, Carlton Ridgeway, by claiming Ridgeway's bride at the altar with a damning lie. He never gives a thought as to how his actions might affect the bride, Liberty Blankenship, who is ready to sacrifice herself for respectability—though she longs for love with all her heart. When Ridgeway comes looking for a fight, Nick obliges—and all hell breaks loose—but will Liberty get her heart's desire in the end?
Since I had brought the subject of brothers up in Nick and Libby's conversation, and since Jake, the youngest brother, made a short appearance in HEARTS AND DIAMONDS, I decided to introduce the middle brother, Brett, in SPELLBOUND, my contribution to the Cowboys, Creatures and Calico II (Oct. 2014) anthology. We had so many wonderful submissions for our Halloween anthologies in 2014 we had to make a second volume! My story appeared in this anthology because of the element of magic—and the fact that the heroine, Angie Colton, is a witch—but it actually takes place closer to Christmas. In fact, the Christmas tree is the entire reason the showdown happens like it does between safecracker Brett Diamond and the villain, Teller Magdon. Without a bit of magic, things might not have turned out as they do!
Finally, in LUCK OF THE DRAW, the youngest brother, gambler Jake Diamond gets his own story. This tale appeared in WILD TEXAS CHRISTMAS (Nov. 2014) and I love the fact that "family" is the theme—with it being so close to Christmas. Jake has a bit of a history with the heroine, Lainie Barrett. She's been held hostage with him for several days in Brett's story, SPELLBOUND. They've said some things to one another under duress that maybe shouldn't have been said. But when Jake accompanies Lainie back to visit her mother to let her know she's all right, they make an incredible "find" that shows them Lainie's odd "gift" and solidifies their relationship. Can a gambling man and a novice witch risk everything on each other?
Here's an excerpt from the first story in the collection, HEARTS AND DIAMONDS. Nick has just forced Libby to marry him. They're in the honeymoon suite having their first "heart to heart" talk…
"Be honest, Libby," Nick said softly. "You weren't any more in love with Carlton Ridgeway than you are with me. So what difference does it make you which one of us you marry?"
Libby was surprised at how quickly her little ladylike hand uncoiled from her proper stance and unerringly slapped his handsome face, only inches from hers. The noise it made was like a gunshot, and he flinched as he stepped back, his own hand going automatically to his cheek.
"You're right, Mr. Diamond. I'm not in love with Carlton Ridgeway. The most I had to look forward to was a scrap of respectability—if not for myself, then for my parents. Now, that, too, is gone. So, the only choice is to go forward from this point and—and make the best of things between us. But I will not be used, any more than I have been already, Mr. Diamond."
"Nick," he corrected unthinkingly. "And we—can get an annulment, if that's what you want."
Libby's smile held all the promise and danger that was stored in the reckless wildness of her spirit.
"I wouldn't dream of disappointing you so, Nick," she said sweetly. "No, we'll make our dreams come true together," she continued. "A home of our own, filled with children and, of course, true love."
His lips quirked at her words. "That sounds pretty damn good to me, Libby. Uh…you do know what makes babies, don't you?"
Though she only had a vague idea of how it was done, she wouldn't give him the upper hand. She nodded sagely. "Oh, yes. And I'm looking forward to it."
As if he knew her secret, Nick Diamond had the audacity to laugh aloud at that. Her face burned.
"I believe you'll enjoy it more with me than you would have with Ridgeway."
She moistened her lips and tried to settle the frantic pounding her heart had begun. "Well, then. Perhaps we should—start—immediately. With our family. Our baby."
Nick stood silent as she floundered. Finally, he said, "Let's have some dinner first, shall we? I'll have the bellboy lay a fire for us so we'll be comfortable when we come back from eating. You'll need your strength for tonight…when the 'baby making' begins. I have a hell of an appetite—for good food and…good sex," he added wickedly.
WINTER MAGIC BLURB:
The Diamond brothers are cast out into the world by a crooked business deal at a young age. They've lost everything—including their father. Although they are forced to make their own way, brotherly bonds remain unbreakable: It's all for one and one for all.
HEARTS AND DIAMONDS—Revenge sets hired gun Nick Diamond after a bride, and nothing will stand in his way. But when that bride happens to be outspoken firebrand Liberty Blankenship, all bets are off. Anything can happen when HEARTS AND DIAMONDS collide!
SPELLBOUND—Safecracker Brett Diamond and witch Angie Colton take on a border gang leader who is pure evil. Can Angie's supernatural powers save them? No matter what, Brett and Angie are hopelessly SPELLBOUND.
LUCK OF THE DRAW—Handsome gambler Jake Diamond and beautiful fledgling sorceress Lainie Barrett make a last-ditch effort to reunite Lainie and her mother for Christmas. Along the way, Jake and Lainie realize there's no escape from the powerful attraction they feel toward one another. But do they know each other well enough to become a family when they rescue an abandoned infant? With their own particular talents, they discover life is one big poker table—and love can be had if they are willing to risk it all!
Thanks so much to everyone who has stopped by today! I want to give away a digital copy of WINTER MAGIC to one lucky commenter, and also a digital copy of the boxed set of COWBOYS, CREATURES, and CALICO I and II–which is now available for only .99 at Amazon for a limited time, so please leave your contact info in your comment in case you win!
If you can't wait to see if you won, here are the buy links for each of these collections!
WINTER MAGIC:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015M5HZR8
COWBOYS, CREATURES AND CALICO BOXED SET–ONLY .99 CENTS!!: http://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Creatures-Calico-Boxed-Set-ebook/dp/B00OXAP3UA/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1445119268&sr=1-3&keywords=Cowboys+Creatures+and+Calico
Updated: October 18, 2015 — 11:53 pm
Tags: and Calico boxed set, cowboys, Creatures, Halloween, magic, paranormal collections, Prairie Rose Publications, short stories, western historical romance, Winter Magic
The Fake Ghost Who Started a Real Religion
Banks, Family, Ghosts, Giveaways, Gypsies, Modern Spiritualism, New Releases, New York, Outlaws, Professions, Religion, Spinsters, western romance
Once upon a time in a farmhouse in Hydesville, New York, there lived two sisters who loved to scare family and friends with their vivid imaginations. One day in late March 1848, the girls told a neighbor about spooky happenings in their bedroom. Eager to disprove the girls' claims that the ghost of a murdered traveling salesman inhabited their home — a tale with which they'd already terrified their mother — the neighbor accompanied fourteen-year-old Maggie Fox and her eleven-year-old sister Kate into their bedroom … where the neighbor, too, was dutifully terrified by the apparently sentient wall-rapping in response to the girls' questions.
Thus began a religion known as Modern Spiritualism, which is still practiced today.
After having their worst fears seemingly confirmed, the Fox family abandoned the farmhouse, sending Maggie and Kate to live with their older sister, Leah Fox Fish, in Rochester, New York. That may not have been the wisest decision. Rochester was a hotbed of religious activity. Mormonism and the movement that later became Seventh Day Adventism both saw their genesis in the Rochester area.
Upon hearing the tale of the murdered salesman and the unearthly sounds, a group of Rochester residents examined the Fox homestead and found strands of hair and bits of bone in the basement. At a subsequent community meeting, the girls were put to the test: Could they communicate with the dead in Rochester, too?
The Fox sisters: Left to right: Leah (1814–90), Kate (1838–92), and Maggie (1836–93)
The girls proved they could by summoning raps on the floor. In addition, Leah seemed to communicate with one community leader's deceased daughter. All three Foxes were escorted into a private room after the demonstration, where they disrobed and were examined for any hints of duplicity. None were found.
Word of the sisters' uncommon abilities reached Andrew Jackson Davis, later to become known as "John the Baptist of Modern Spiritualism." Davis claimed to have received a Divine message on the very day the Fox sisters first channeled spirits on the family farm. In response to the dreary Calvinist teachings of the day, people could not wait to adopt a new spiritualism that taught each individual was the master of his own salvation. The spirits of those who had passed on were there to guide them to their ultimate fate, as they, in turn, would guide those who came after them.
The Fox Sisters embarked on a tour of New England and the Midwest, demonstrating their abilities to notables including newspaperman Horace Greeley, author James Fennimore Cooper, and abolitionist William Cullen Bryant. Many accused the girls of perpetrating a hoax, but a growing number of people, convinced by the knocking and apparent communication with dead relatives, embraced the Spiritualist movement.
In 1857, Maggie married explorer Elisha Kent Kane, a man thirteen years her senior who, though he reportedly loved her to distraction, insisted she was a fraud. He died an untimely death shortly after the wedding. Maggie began drinking heavily and abandoned Spiritualism to honor his memory. Kate married a devout Spiritualist leader and continued to develop her skills as a medium, including the use of blank cards upon which messages from the Beyond seemed to appear magically. Among the hazy apparitions she allegedly summoned was Benjamin Franklin's.
The Fox sisters demonstrate their ability to levitate a table (1850).
By the end of the Civil War, more than two million believers had converted to Spiritualism; by 1880, adherents grew to more than eight million.
In 1888, Maggie received $1,500 to tell her story in front of a large audience at the New York Academy of Music. By then doing her best to live a life of sobriety, Maggie confessed to the hoax that started the mass hysteria.
"My sister Katie and myself were very young children when this horrible deception began," the New York World reported. "At night when we went to bed, we used to tie an apple on a string and move the string up and down, causing the apple to bump on the floor, or we would drop the apple on the floor, making a strange noise every time it would rebound."
The sisters soon discovered they could manipulate their knuckles, toes, and other joints to make a variety of unusual sounds. Maggie demonstrated by removing her shoe, placing her foot on a small stool, and producing "rapping" noises
"A great many people when they hear the rapping imagine at once that the spirits are touching them," Maggie said. "It is a very common delusion. Some very wealthy people came to see me some years ago when I lived in Forty-second Street, and I did some rappings for them. I made the spirit rap on the chair and one of the ladies cried out: 'I feel the spirit tapping me on the shoulder.' Of course that was pure imagination."
Spiritualists quickly split on the matter, one camp saying Maggie was a true medium who had been consumed by spirits intent on deceiving humanity, and the other claiming she had sold out her religion because, as a poor widow, she needed the money.
The Fox sisters conduct a seance in New York (ca. 1855)
Leah, a popular medium in New York City, disowned her younger sister. Kate hit the bottle with increasing frequency and enthusiasm. The sisters never reconciled, even after Maggie recanted her confession a scant year after she embarrassed the family.
Leah, embittered by her sister's betrayal, died in 1890. Kate died two years later while on a drinking binge. Maggie followed eight months later, in March 1893. Later that year, the diverse Spiritualist groups came together to found the National Spiritualist Association, the forerunner of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches, which exists today.
Postscript: In 1904, a group of children discovered what appeared to be a skeleton among the ruins of the abandoned and crumbling Fox homestead. A doctor who examined the bones estimated they had been in the basement for about fifty years. Although the find lent some credence to the Fox sisters' tale about the murdered salesman, the media and society at large continued to scoff at Spiritualists.
Five years later, another doctor examined the bones and pronounced them a clear attempt to defraud. The alleged skeleton was composed of bits and pieces from several bodies, including those belonging to chickens and other animals.
The Fox homestead burned to the ground in September 1955. A marker now stands on the spot where Modern Spiritualism was born:
Upon this site stood the Hydesville Cottage
The home of the Fox Sisters
Through whose mediumship communication
with the Spirit World was established
THERE ARE NO DEAD
The dearly departed who refuse to depart cause problems for the hero and heroine in "Family Tradition," one of two related stories that compose Robbing Banks, Stealing Hearts. The book releases Friday, but it's available for pre-order now at Amazon.com.
Everyone should have career at which they excel. At failing to commit crimes, nobody is better than Laredo and Tombstone Hawkins. Maybe they can bumble their way into love.
The Worst Outlaw in the West
Laredo Hawkins has one ambition: to redeem his family's honor by pulling the first successful bank robbery in the Hawkins clan's long, disappointing history. Spinster Prudence Barrett is desperate to save her family's bank from her brother's reckless investments. A chance encounter between the dime-novel bandit and the old maid may set the pair on a path to infamy…if either can find a map.
Haunted by his kin's tradition of spectacular failure, bank robber Tombstone Hawkins is honor-bound to prove his family tree produced at least one bad apple. When carnival fortuneteller Pansy Gilchrist tries to help, she accidentally summons a pair of dishonest-to-goodness ghosts. Getting into the spirit of a crime is one thing…but how do you get the spirits out?
Have you ever encountered a ghost? Tell us about it in the comments! I'll give an E-BOOK of Robbing Banks, Stealing Hearts to one of today's commenters.
Tags: Family Tradition, Fox sisters, Kathleen Rice Adams, Robbing Banks Stealing Hearts, The Worst Outlaw in the West


If you like to kick-start your day with a really good cup of coffee, this book is for you!
Spilling the beans on how to to get the best cup of coffee from your equipment - whether you use a plunger, filter, stovetop or full-blown espresso machine.
This book can help you to taste the difference. For the professional Barista in all of us - learn from the professionals and enhance your enjoyment of coffee.
OK, now, I don't drink coffee... never acquired the taste for it. But having worked behind the counter at one of New Zealand's first Internet Cafes, and having to make Espresso coffee for zombie-faced patrons at all hours of the day and night, I soon learned a few tricks... and I was very gratified to find, after reading this book, that I hadn't been as far off the mark as I once thought.
Sure, there are some new tricks in here (I'd never even heard of a Affogato before, and frankly it worries me such a beverage exists!) but for anyone who has never really had the need to learn how to take a handful of beans and turn them into something wonderful, then this is a real eye-opener... one that should be right next to the coffee making gear in every kitchen that services a coffee drinker.
If you drink 'the dark gold', and haven't even read this book, you are sadly depriving yourself of one of the greatest opportunities available at the moment. There are rules to making this drink properly - and they exist for a reason. You are probably drinking coffee of a standard far below that your equipment is capable of making... and if you DARE say that you are fine with Instant, then you are not a *real* coffee drinker at all.
Overall, no matter what method you use, if you start with beans, or pre-ground coffee, then you *NEED* this book. Seriously. You'll know the reason why after your first cup.
Pierre Jnr has a mind more powerful than any the world has encountered before. He can make you forget, he can control you and he is only eight years old. Three months after his birth he escaped. An hour later he was lost to surveillance. No one knows where he has been for the last eight years ... Now Pierre Jnr is about to return.
THE HUNT FOR PIERRE JNR follows the activities of an elite group dedicated to tracking down the eight-year-old boy who is currently the greatest threat humanity has ever known.


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The design of a high pressure solvent extraction process using liquid ammonia as solvent
Biray, S. (1979). The design of a high pressure solvent extraction process using liquid ammonia as solvent. PHD thesis, Aston University.
The literature on the potential use of liquid ammonia as a solvent for the extraction of aromatic hydrocarbons from mixtures with paraffins, and the application of reflux, has been reviewed. Reference is made to extractors suited to this application. A pilot scale extraction plant was designed comprising a Scm. diameter by 12Scm. high, 50 stage Rotating Disc Contactor with 2 external settlers. Provision was made for operation with, or without, reflux at a pressure of 10 bar and ambient temperature. The solvent recovery unit consisted of an evaporator, compressor and condenser in a refrigeration cycle. Two systems were selected for study, Cumene-n-Heptane-Ammonia and Toluene-Methylcyclohexane-Ammonia. Equlibrium data for the first system was determined experimentally in a specially-designed, equilibrium bomb. A technique was developed to withdraw samples under pressure for analysis by chromatography and titration. The extraction plant was commissioned with a kerosine-water system; detailed operating procedures were developed based on a Hazard and Operability Study. Experimental runs were carried out with both ternary ammonia systems. With the system Toluene-Methylcyclohexane-Ammonia the extraction plant and the solvent recovery facility, operated satisfactorily, and safely,in accordance with the operating procedures. Experimental data gave reasonable agreement with theory. Recommendations are made for further work with plant.
Engineering & Applied Sciences > Chemical engineering & applied chemistry
Department: Chemical Engineering If you have discovered material in AURA which is unlawful e.g. breaches copyright, (either theirs or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please read our Takedown Policy and contact the service immediately.
ammonia,rotating disc contactor,solvent extraction
Completed Date:
Biray, S.


For minor league teams, their seasons are filled with a number of promotional giveaways and theme nights.
There are always the usual theme nights like Star Wars but for many promotions it's typically the wackier and zanier the better. For instance, four years ago the Lehigh Valley IronPigs garnered national attention when they gave away a funeral. Anything that can really expand publicity.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms couldn't have been expecting to be thrust into the national spotlight this week for Saturday's Wrestling Night, but that's exactly what happened, specifically to their mascot MeLVin.
Late in the second period of Saturday night's 5-4 overtime win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (the NHL affiliate of the New York Islanders) MeLVin and someone wearing an Islanders jersey holding a "Go Sound Tigers" sign staged one of the more famous wrestling moves you'll see during a stoppage of play.
MeLVin began the stunt with knocking over the "Islanders/Sound Tigers fan" with a folding chair and finished it with putting him on a table and showing off his best impression of Randy Savage's flying elbow drop. The mascot climbed up on a ladder, jumped off and elbow dropped the Islanders jersey-clad man.
Not only did this get a rise out of the PPL Center faithful, it caught the attention of a number of major news outlets across the continent.
ESPN's SportsNation wrote about MeLVin's antics and the NHL Network made sure to mention the mascot's moves on NHL Now.
And MeLVin rocked TSN's BarDown Inaugural Mascot Power Rankings by taking the top spot. Despite being the first rankings, they noted MeLVin moved up 888 spots to claim the top overall position. MeLVin's friend the Phillie Phanatic took the second spot. Although hockey dominated the Canadian-based network's top 10 with the Nashville Predators' Gnash (No. 4), the New Jersey Devils' NJ Devil (No. 7) and the Vegas Golden Knights' Chance (No. 8) all ranked.
Up next in the promotional department for the Phantoms is Superhero Night on Friday with special appearances including Batman and Wonder Woman when the team hosts the Hershey Bears. On Saturday it's the annual Teddy Bear Toss along with Boy Scout Night as Lehigh Valley takes on the Laval Rocket.


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Sonia, Rahul laud Manmohan Singh's 'wise leadership
By Sambad English Bureau	 On Jan 18, 2014
New Delhi, Jan 18 :
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi Friday showered lavish praises on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the party adopting a resolution hailing his "wise leadership".
(Pic : IANS)
Manmohan Singh, who has been leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for almost 10 years, has said he will not seek another term in office.
Sonia Gandhi, in her speech at the All India Congress Committee meeting here, said the prime minister had led the government "with great dignity" and had stayed focused on his goals despite "the irresponsible attitude of the opposition".
Rahul Gandhi hailed the achievements of the government under the leadership of the prime minister.
The resolution adopted at the meeting lauded the performance of the UPA government under the "wise leadership" of Manmohan Singh.
"Under Dr. Singh's guidance over almost a decade, India successfully weathered a major global economic crisis, enjoyed the fastest economic growth in the history of independent India, made remarkable strides in fighting poverty and gained a new prestige in the world," the resolution said.
18 killed in Mumbai stampede
CPM to protest Khandadhar mining


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One Month to Go in the 2022 MN Legislative Session
Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) legislative rep Dave Renner, CAE, shares the latest health-care-related updates from the Minnesota Legislature.
There is about one month to go this legislative session. The Minnesota Legislature has passed just 17 laws this year, with over 8,000 total bills introduced between the House and Senate this biennium (note: the biennium includes legislative sessions from both 2021 and 2022).
Notably, two health care bills the legislature has passed are a compromise to fund $700 million for three more years of the state's reinsurance program and a bill to allocate $25 million for research into ALS. No compromise has been met on two priority issues: money to repay a federal loan for the unemployment insurance program or funding for frontline worker bonus pay.
MN Senate Health & Human Services Omnibus Bill Passed to the Floor
The Senate Health and Human Services bill was heard in the Senate Finance Committee on April 19, 2022. The health portion of the omnibus bill (SF4198) was merged with the human services omnibus bill (SF4410) and passed to the floor. The bill is much smaller than the House version, both in length and the amount of money it spends.
The human services portion of the bill includes most of the spending items, focused on addressing workforce and staffing challenges faced by long-term care facilities and agencies, including funding for personal care assistants, nursing home staff and assisted living staff.
The Senate bill includes adoption of the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact. The compact allows RNs and LPNs to practice in member states without having to obtain an additional license. There are currently 37 states participating in the Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact. This language is strongly opposed by the Minnesota Nurses Association and is not included in the House bill.
The bill also includes language to ensure patients who need ongoing opioids to treat chronic pain are not forced to inappropriately taper their medications. The bill states that prescribers cannot be disciplined solely for prescribing doses of opioids that exceed an arbitrary threshold for morphine milligram equivalent, IF it is not in the patient's best interest.
MN House to Hear Health & Human Services Bill
The House Health and Human Services bill will be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee on April 27, 2022.
This bill includes funding for initiatives strongly supported by the MAFP:
Prohibiting insurers from forcing patients who are on a certain medication to switch to a new medication during a contract year.
Updating the All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) to collect non-claims-based payments, such as value-based payments, with the goal of helping us to better understand how we pay for health care, including how much we pay for primary care services.
Funding to support rural primary care residency training, loan forgiveness and other clinical training grants.
Differences between the Senate and House bills will have to be agreed to before the end of session, if any of these initiatives are to pass.
MN House DFL Sets Spending Targets
On April 19, 2022, the House Ways and Means Committee adopted a spending resolution for a $7.36 billion increase to the 2022-23 biennial state budget. The new House budget targets were set based on the state's $9.25 billion budget surplus.
The resolution includes an additional $700 million for health and human services. That addition would bring the total 2022-23 health and human services spending to $16.88 billion.
Other major items in the spending resolution include $1.65 billion in tax aids and credits, $1.16 billion in new education spending and $1 billion for frontline worker pay. In total, the additional $7.36 in state spending would result in a total state budget of $59.11 billion.
Early Childhood Omnibus Bill Gets Split in Two & Receives Hearing
The omnibus early childhood and K-12 education bill (HF4300) was passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee on an 18-10 party vote and referred to the House floor.
Items funding school childcare assistance programs and early education programs make up the bulk of the early childhood items that were added to the K-12 omnibus bill. Specifically, funding for early learning scholarships, the Head Start program, the establishment of the brain builders bonus program, developmental screening program and Grow Your Own Early Childhood Educator programs are all included in the bill. In total, the bill appropriates $1.15 billion in fiscal year 2022 and $2.12 billion in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
The other portions of the early childhood omnibus bill will be heard in Ways and Means on April 27, 2022, where they will be added to the health and human services omnibus bill.
The Senate Finance Committee passed a much smaller K-12 omnibus bill (SF4113) on April 19, 2022, that focused almost exclusively on literacy programs. That bill has yet to be voted on in the Senate.
Tags: All-Payer Claims Database, ALS, Early Childhood, Family Medicine, frontline worker pay, Health and Human Services, health care spending, Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact, Loan Repayment, MAFP Advocacy, Minnesota Legislature, opioid crisis, primary care, Primary Care Funding, Primary Care Spending, Prior Authorization, reinsurance programCategories: Legislative
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