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The Sleepless Reader
The search for the book that'll keep me awake at night
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The New and Improved Romie Futch by Julia Elliott
May 12, 2016 in book review | Tags: audiobook, books, fiction, review, sci-fi | Leave a comment
The enthusiasm in Mercedes's video was so contagious that I immediately got this in audio. It's a weird one.
I kept thinking about poetry slams, where aspiring poets declaim angry poetry in almost full darkness, with lots of anaphoras and hyper-realistic imagery (disclaimer: the narration might be to blame). There's humor and satire, but not enough for it all not to feel a tad pretentious.
I love the premise and can't put it better than Gavin: "What if the men of Duck Dynasty suddenly had two brain cells to rub together? What if they suddenly became filled with the immense, combined word-horde of all of Western Civilization?" Thinks Flowers for Algernon meets The Big Lebowski. Technically it's sci-fi, but it only in an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minds way.
I'm really attracted to the overall theme of how higher intelligence would affect our lives, personalities and choices (according to Elliott, not much). The problem is that she goes for language at the expense of believable characters and engaging plot. Even when we're shown their background stories, it's still the way they're described that's important, not the effect. Elliott focuses so much on hyper-reality (how many ways can you describe headaches and drug binges? Many!) that she ends up on the other side, where everything feels unreal. The way characters talk, especially after the brain enhancement, was so over the top, full of references to medieval literature and obscure philosophical theories (do genius really talk like that?), that everyone just becomes a caricature.
Also, the plot builds up a series of mysteries – evil company doing brain experiments! Hogzillas and other mutants roaming the forest! Mysterious woman in online group that knows too much! – but they all end up in lukewarm places. Don't get me wrong, I love good gimmicky literature, but think Romie Futch wanted to do it all and lost focus.
Still, I gave it 3-stars. Mostly because it kept me intrigued and I respect an effort to create something different. It would be a great bookclub choice!
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A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
February 7, 2016 in book review, sci-fi | Tags: fiction, review, sci-fi | 10 comments
When this one started making the rounds and seducing everyone it touched, it seemed so much up my alley I was afraid to start if for fear of disappointment.
In the end, although I'm not completely head-over-heals in love, I really liked it, and it leaves me with the warm, fuzzy feelings so many reviewers described. Also: that cover!
In the tradition of Firefly, the story follows a crew of space tunnelers (it's complicated) that accepts a commission in… a small angry planet far far away. Most of the team is human, but there are others as well, including a sentient AI and a doctor/cook that made me think of Alice's Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar.
There's not a lot of action in the book, which is refreshing for a sci-fi set mostly in starships. Its power comes from how Chambers introduces us to these characters and then let's us watch them interact. When two non-humans interact it especially brings out Chambers' amazing world-building where no detail is neglected: from biology to politics, from relationships with other species to matting habits, from language to family structures. Everything makes sense and I want to extend a big thank you to the people who backed her Kickstarter project and allowed her to spend 2 years just thinking about these things.
But the best scenes come when humans interact with other species. There's a lot of sci-fi out there about "what it means to be human", but right now I can't think of another one that does it so well and poignantly (edit 30m later: maybe the closest is Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow). It reminded me of the times people praised the sound of Portuguese and I wish I could hear it from the outside. Well, this book made me look at humans from the outside and gave me hope. There's this one conversation in particular that is genius, where two aliens have a hilarious rant about us.
Another unusual thing about this book is that the human race actually manages to evolve! This happens mostly because we 1) were forced to exodus after destroying Earth's environment, 2) only to be saved when we ran into another species by chance and 3) later joined the Galactic Commons, where humans are a minor and rather uninfluential species. You see, we evolved by eating a well deserved dose of humility pie!
In general, Chambers' universe is a good place to be and a welcome antidote to the dystopias and alien invasion stories that dominate sci-fi. This is a less sexist, racist, homophobic, and transphobic universe that actually feels realistic.
The only thing that felt not quite right was the captain's style of leadership. Doing what he does, under those conditions, I'd expect someone… stronger? He was born in the Exodus Fleet so is a pacifistic that hates guns, but that's not why I'm questioning his authority. At times he was just too unprepared. It also got me thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of having a boss that's your buddy, especially in potentially dangerous environments. Would have loved to discuss this in a bookclub!
I'm still amazed that Chambers manages to put so much in just 518 pages, and although I really welcome the sequel already in the making, part of me wishes that she'd made it a stand-alone: contained and strong. But I get it, it'd be a waste of good characters and world.
So, don't pick up A Long Way if you're looking for a science-focused space-opera with lots of laser guns and thingy-propellers, but go for it if you're in the mood for a character-driven novel with lots of food for thought. It's also the perfect book to recommend to sci-fi virgins or resistants.
Other thoughts: A Dribble of Ink, The Speculative Scotsman, Eve's Alexandria, Dear Author, Awesome Audiobooks, Boomerang Books, The Android's Conundrum, Rambling of an Elfpire, Common Touch of Fantasy, Kalanadi, Kitty G, Books and Pieces, Mercy's Bookish Musings (yours?)
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
June 11, 2015 in book review | Tags: books, sci-fi | 4 comments
The universe doesn't deviate too much from your typical steampunk novel, but (or because of it?) it's still good. There are airships, pirates, alchemy, a golem, daemons, high-society balls, political intrigue and other fun elements that could make it the perfect escapade read. I appreciated that Wooding tried to give a "scientific" explanation to the elements that would normally be considered magical. Maybe that's why there's a divide on Goodreads on whether this is fantasy or sci-fi. I'm on the sci-fi side.
The Firefly link. At points I could pin-point exactly the episode that inspired a particular scene. For instance, the opening, when Mal and Wash Frey and Crake are being held hostages, clearly came from War Stories. This worked for me and I was thankful for the nostalgic moments.
Also: that cover!
What disappointed me
Too much telling going on and not enough showing (you need to trust us more Mr. Wooding!). For instance, Frey, the ship's captain, goes through a dramatic change when it came to his loyalty towards his crew. Through heavy-handed inner monologues, we get all his feelings spelled out: what changed, why it changed, how does if feel to have changed, his regrets, his hopes, etc, etc, etc.
And then there are the female characters. *sigh* Where to start? First, I wish that in the crew of seven there was more than one woman (navigator Jey). As Dan put it so well (such a great review!):
… having one female character out of seven is the worst possible option. Zero out of seven, and you have a setting in which women don't fly airships, which is absolutely fine. Put in exactly one, and you suddenly have a society where women are apparently perfectly accepted on the setting equivalent of the Spanish Main, but never the less you've only got one in your crew. Zero is a better number than one in this situation is all I'm saying.
When I first read the book I underlined the scene where Jey is first introduced to the crew, explaining why Frey decided to hire her. Looking at it now, I'm disturbingly reminded of the recent debacle with scientist Tim Hunt. Take a look (Frey's inner monologue):
Her features were petite and appealing but she was rather plain, boyish and very pale. That was also good. An overly attractive woman was fatal on a craft full of men. They were distracting and tended to substitute charm and flirtatiousness for doing any actual work. Besides, Frey would feel obligated to sleep with her, and that never worked out well.
I also wish all other women weren't Frey's whinny or crazy exes. His relationship with Trinica was especially cringe-worthy. She's the captain of a much bigger ship than Frey's, a renowned pirate, feared and ruthless, "a dread queen of the skies", so it means she's just about ready to be brought down by her womanly feelings.
Once upon a time, before her pirateering begun, Trinica was just the daughter of a rich aristocrat and was engaged to Frey. But then she got too clingy and Frey abandoned her at the altar. Pregnant. In a conservative world that did not look kindly on single pregnant young women. Trinica tries to commit suicide and survives, but her unborn child doesn't.
Many years later she and Frey meet again and that scene made my eyes roll all the way to the back on my head. Frey accuses her of murdering their child (an accusation that neither the text nor Trinica contest) and calls her a coward for attempting suicide. Trinica's self-assured mask quickly crumbles and Fry admits to himself he's also partially to blame for the death, because after all, he allowed her to stifle him and make him a coward, leaving him no other option but to run away.
Look, I know it's often tricky to distinguish between the characters and the author's own assumptions, so I might be wrong here, but my experience with Retribution Falls is that Frey's douchebagness was something we should relate to, especially because we're told over and over that He Changes. This apparently means he no longer hates Trinica, but now forgives her for making him abandon her, and while we're told his attitudes towards his crew go from zero-cares to full-fledged charismatic leader, from the first to the last scene he continues to risk their lives unnecessarily.
When I first started this post I was on the fence about whether to continue the series, but the more I wrote the more I realized I had serious problems with the book. So I'm afraid the Ketty Jay series are not for me.
Other thoughts: Ferret Brain, The Book Smugglers, Asking the wrong questions, Eve's Alexandria, Sandstorm Reviews, The Lightning Tree, Fantasy Book Critic, SFF Book Reviews, The Wertzone, Graeme's Fantasy Reviews, Neth Space, The Mad Hatter's (yours?)
February in comics
March 11, 2015 in book review, comics | Tags: fiction, graphic novels, review, sci-fi | 4 comments
It was a hit & miss month:
Preacher, Volume 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon
Still not exactly sure how I feel about Preacher. I've the notion it's very clever and deep, but ended up feeling I didn't quite get it. Maybe because I'm not religious and the point is to ruffle believers' feathers? Maybe because, in a story so full of layers and questions about Good and Evil, the villains are 100% bad, no grey areas?
Glad I've read it, but will file it under "Good, but not for me".
Ms. Marvel, #1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona
Hurrah for books that live up to the hype! Both the story and art felt so refreshing, and unlike Preacher, it was written just for me. Most reviews focus on the fact that Kamala is the first Muslim super hero, but for me the innovation is that's not the most important thing. Ms. Marvel is still a classic story of a superhero's origins, where the superhero just happens to be a girl, and a person of colour and a Muslim. Like Peter Parker before her, Kamala also struggles with her costume and the "with great power…" thing, she's still trying to figure out who she is. The book is good because it has characters that are genuinely interesting, writing that's full of smart humor, a gripping plot gripping and attractive artwork.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier by Alan Moore
Oh Alan Moore, you're losing me. With every new League book I'm trying to regain the magic of the first two, without success. Were they also this trippy, full of naked women for no apparent reason, and I just didn't notice?!
Saga Vol. 2 and Vol.3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
The series just keeps getting better and better. I'm loving every new character, from Gwendolyn to Upsher and Doff, as well as all the backstories (Alana's love for that book!). I could have done without the implausible black-whole baby in Vol. 2, the "He's the man I love!" line in Vol. 3, and still not convinced about the opposite of war thing, but hey, who's counting?
Wool, Omnibus Edition by Hugh Howey
February 23, 2015 in book review | Tags: audiobook, books, dystopia, sci-fi | 11 comments
(NO SPOILERS)
A community lives in an underground silo for generations and its origins are lost in time. People are told the silo protects them from a toxic outside world, a world they can only see through a single TV screen. The air outside is unbreathable and far away the skyline of a destroyed city is visible.
This is the premise of Wool, the first of the Silo series. It's marketed as an adult dystopia, but apart from the characters' age, it's not much different from the Divergents and Maze Runners of this world: an unexplained post-apocalyptic world, human curiosity disrupting the system, an elite struggling to preserve the status quo.
In general I enjoyed the book. The first chapters triggered my need-to-know obsession and the ending was full of the promise of revelations to come. Jules was a strong and realistic female character and I cared for her right from the start. I understand the commercial success formula requires a romance (this was a self-published book, so likely Howey was more attuned to it), but Jules' interest, Lucas, was far less interesting and I could have done without that relationship altogether.
Howey clearly put a lot of thought into the world-building and that was the most interesting part of the whole story: the silo's different levels, nativity control, food production, disposal of human cadavers, electricity production – fascinating stuff.
If you've read the book, I'd be really curious to know your thoughts on (still no spoilers):
Why it's considered an adult book and not YA? Is it just the hero/heroine's age? There's no sexual content, and definitely less violence or social commentary than, for instance, The Hunger Games. Is it because it focuses less on romance?
Considering the need to preserve the situation in the silo, and that there's a mention of an organized religion, shouldn't religion play a much bigger role in the story? Wouldn't it be an obvious ally of IT?
I listened to it in audiobook and the narrator gave the villain a nasal voice that was the embodiment of the Evil Doer. (Seriously, I expected an evil laughter – MUAHAHAHAH! – at several moments). However, when I finished the book I wondered if this caricature was just due to the voice or if he could've been better developed. What say you?
So in summary, I had fun and at moments was completely engrossed in the story. I'm also looking forward to the future movie adaptation. On the other hand, I wished it pushed the boundaries of the genre, to become something I'd never read before. But the strongest feeling of all was the need to talk about it, and that's always a good sign!
Other thoughts: Rhapsody in Books, SF and Fantasy Book Reviews, Leeswammes, The Guilded Earlobe, Book Den, Collateral Bloggage, Stainless Steal Droppings, Speculative Book Review, Book Monkey, Don't be Afraid of the Dork, a book a week, A Garden Carried in the Pocket (yours?)
January 12, 2015 in book review | Tags: audiobook, fiction, review, sci-fi | 14 comments
This is one of the most uplifting books I've ever read, the perfect antidote to last week's events. Who knew that a book about an astronaut left for dead by his crew on Mars could be this fun?
It's basically an ode to human intelligence and ingenuity, to the power of science, courage and team work. After Charlie Hebdo, this book left me thinking "we'll be ok" and for that I'll be forever grateful to Weir.
I just wish my knowledge of chemistry and physics would do it more justice. Although the science parts were well explained and concise, I'm sure I'd have been even more impressed if I knew more about space exploration.
Don't have much more to say about it, really. It deserved to show up in so many bloggers' best-of-2014 lists. And a big thank you to who recommended the audiobook version.
Other thoughts: Dribble of Ink, The Guilded Earlobe, The Speculative Spaceman, That's What She Read, Stainless Steel Droppings, Speculative Book Review, The Book Cove, Cheap Thrills, the Little Red Reviewer, Love, Laughter and a touch of Insanity, Rinn Reads, Book Chatter, Collateral Bloggage, Don't be afraid of the Dork, Jenn's Bookshelves (yours?)
Read for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge:
"A sci-fi novel"
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
November 17, 2014 in book review | Tags: classics, sci-fi | 13 comments
I need your help understanding The Left Hand of Darkness. I was almost indifferent to it, but it has a huge GoodReads average: 4.02 from 42,943 ratings. As Shannon from Giraffe Days put it on her own review:
When you dislike a popular book, a canonised book – a "masterpiece" and an "instant classic", according to other reviewers – naturally part of you wonders whether you're just not getting it, whether you're not bright enough or clued-in enough, or whether you're placing unnecessary or unfair demands and expectations on it.
(I wish I could just copy/paste her entire review because that's also pretty much how I felt about the book.)
One of my biggest issues was not caring about any of the characters. Have the feeling characterization wasn't a priority for Le Guin (who was Genly Ai, our main character? What really motivated him? What was his life before arriving in Winter?), preferring instead to focus on world-building. Fair enough, but apart from describing the planet and their mostly asexual people, Le Guin is never though-provoking about the implications of that asexuality in their civilization or how someone like Genly, an audience-surrogate, faces it.
The whole topic of gender politics, for which the book is so acclaimed, ends up reduced to a few isolated comments by Genly ("I don't know. They [women] don't often seem to turn up mathematicians, or composers of music, or inventors, or abstract thinkers. But it isn't that they're stupid.") and one relevant conversation between him and the native Estraven. This lasts for a couple of pages and ends up not solving the obvious sexual tension between them. Was there something more I missed?
We often see the story from Estraven's point of view, which would be a great opportunity to see the world (and Genly) from a non-gendered mind, but apart from a couple of cultural misunderstandings you could also find on Earth, nothing more stands out. Also, although Genly has been on that planet for two years, we never get any real insight into his own sexual desires, which could have been really interesting and though-provoking.
It's almost as if Le Guin, having shocked everyone in 1969 by having penned a sci-fi novel set on a non-gendered world, felt it was enough to stir things up and decided not to risk going deeper. I felt the book dated, but the 4.02 rating is definitely not from the 60s and 70s, so I can't shake the feeling I'm missing something!
Another thing that I'd like your input on is the alliance that Genly represents. Chris called it a "perfectly anti-imperialist empire without any will to power at all". This also nagged at me. I swear that up to the last pages I was expecting a big twist, but nope, Genly did come in peace, cynical me!
Other thoughts: A Striped Armchair, Opinions of a Wolf, The Wertzone, Shelf Love, Neth Space, Books Under the Skin, Gasping for the Wind, James Reads Books, The Book Smugglers, conceptual fiction (yours?)
La Belle Mort by Mathieu Bablet
February 7, 2014 in book review | Tags: fiction, graphic novels, review, sci-fi | 4 comments
#comicsfebruary
I never could resist graphic novels with impressive urban architectural landscapes. That's why I love François Schuiten so much. I'd never heard of Mathieu Bablet (his blog here, in French) until I came across this cover at my local bookshop. It immediately caught my eye: the colors, the perspective, the visual impact of that giant worm!
The story is set in a nameless mega city, home to the (as far as we know) few human survivors of an insect-like alien invasion that all but exterminated the human race. The survivors' hopeless lives are spent hunting for food and trying to avoid the insects.
I was completely hooked on the first half of the story, about the survivors' day-to-day, the change of seasons, their squabbles and survival routines. But Bablet lost me once the action really started. Then things just got weird and went all mystical. I preferred the subtle and slow melancholy of the first part to the existentialist feel and chilling events of the second.
I wished the story had taken another turn, but I wouldn't change a thing in the illustration, which was amazing. I went back to the bookshop to buy another Babet book the next day just because of it. The spaces seem to be wide and claustrophobic at the same time. The geometry of the huge and repetitive buildings captures the eye and is the perfect scenario to show just how lonely these characters are. It's like they're insects themselves.
Certain angles almost caused me vertigo and I loved all the details in the scenery: the thread-bare couches in the abandoned apartments, the aging piping, the growing vegetation. Also, Bablet populated the story with several pop-culture Easter-aggs, that The Dork Review collected. The ones I noticed:
This was Bablet's first album and I'll report of his second – Adrastée Tome 1 – as soon as I finish it. By the way, I was looking around and found no concrete evidence that this was translated to English (I only found a cover with the translated title, but nothing else), so let me know if you know about it.
Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
October 8, 2012 in book review | Tags: fiction, review, sci-fi, young adult | 6 comments
No spoilers, but mostly written for those who've already read the books.
For some weeks around August/September my brain was working at half-steam. Nothing was processed, sentences we were read endless times. So I want to wholeheartedly thank Veronica Roth and audio narrator Emma Galvin for showing me that not all was lost and I could still appreciate a good story.
To be honest, I still don't know if I'd have enjoyed Divergent as much as I did if it wasn't in the worst stage of my first trimester and my dad hadn't died recently, but the fact remains that, as Carol says in As Good as It Gets, "What I needed, he gave me great".
It was fast paced, the world-building was intriguing, the heroine not too annoying, the hero had the right amount of caring and brooding, and there was enough tension to keep me completely submersed in the story. Lots of violence and gore, but the sex stops at the tension, which I guess it's the YA norm, but can often leave the reader a bit frustrated.
Be ready for a certain amount of YA clichés, but also expect to be thoroughly entertained. It's the perfect escapist book.
It's been many years since I've immediately picked up the next in the series after finishing with the previous one. No matter how much I love a book or how teasing the cliffhanger, I'm all about literary pleasure postponed. But it happened with Insurgent.
Unfortunately, we didn't connect as much as I was expecting. It was still enjoyable and fast-paced, but I often preferred watching yet another old episode of Project Runway.
So now I'm in doubt whether the second book wasn't really as good as the first, or if I was just getting out of the static brain zone I found myself and that, ironically, Divergent helped with.
The action was still there, as well as the world-building and knowing more about the other fractions was a real highlight, but some of the elements that were just right before went a bit overboard. I'm mostly referring to the romance. Oh the angst! Oh the same fumbling and kissing ad nauseam! And this time it's not only the readers that get frustrated. Clearly the characters are feeling the stress as well, as they become over-emotional and tense to a point where what made them so great before becomes secondary. As does their world crumbling around them.
I think a lot of readers appreciated this focus on their relationship (that seems on repeat in every.single.conversation.), but I just wanted them to get organized, develop a clever plan, and find out what's beyond the wall.
Also, while in Divergent Roth seemed to predict my doubts about the way her world works, in this one I found myself thinking "riiiiight" (skeptical eye rolling) at several stages. Mostly around the evil plan of the Erudite, who still haven't proven to me just how brilliant they are. I can think of an easier way or five to seize power, not to mention their unconvincing motives for wanting it.
I'm still invested enough in the series to look forward to the third, though. It's the least I can do for Veronica Roth. 🙂
Those Left Behind & Better Days and Other Stories (Serenity # 1, #2) by Josh Whedon et al.
July 30, 2012 in book review | Tags: fiction, graphic novels, sci-fi | 6 comments
After jumping on this summer's Buffy Watch bandwagon, and after four seasons, I think I can safely say that I'm a Firefly girl first. I know I still have three more Buffy seasons to go, but I have yet to see an episode that comes close to Out of Gas in drama, or that made me laugh half as much as Jaynestown.
To try to fill the emptiness of Firefly's early cancellation as I can, including a very used "Browncoats" saved search on Twitter and buying the continuation comics, also written by Joss Whedon.
Those Left Behind (Serenity #1)
If you've followed the series and then saw the movie you may have noticed there were some things left unexplained, mainly the fact that Inara and Shepherd weren't on Serenity. Those Left Behind was created as a transition story, to fill those gaps.
One of the best things about this volume (originally a 3-book comic) is the introduction by Nathan Fillion. It's a touching account of how he's loved comic books since he was a kid, how he always wanted to be a super hero and how the challenge to play Captain Malcolm Reynolds gave him the opportunity to fulfill that dream.
So, I guess the message I want to leave you with is this: What you hold in your hand is not just a comic. It is much more. It is a handbook. It is a guide. It is reference material for when you become a superhero. I found the secret, you see. To become a superhero, all you have to do is want it badly enough, and comics are the fuel to that fire.
The story revolves about a scavenger mission that turns out to be a trap orchestrated by old enemies. In between, fans are treated to great Whedon-style moments, like the growing doubts of Sheppard Book, stuck between his religious beliefs and the ship's shenanigans, and a rare glimpse at scenes from the Unification War (it's great not to be limited by budget restrictions!).
The story has glimpses of the brilliancy of the series but not exactly quite there, probably because it felt hurried and a bit crammed with information. Whedon managed to publish dozens of Buffy comic books, including a full 8th Season after the TV show ended, but I think he knew he wouldn't have that chance with Firefly.
I know there was a big chance I'd be a bit disappointed with the book. The artists did tried to make the characters recognizable but fell a bit short, especially with Mal and Inara. I really like the colors a lot though – they seemed to reflect the spirit of the series even better than the TV series. Overall, the book felt more like a really cool storyboard for a lost episode of Firefly.
It's still a great treat for fans, but it inevitably falls short of a full fledge episode.
Better Days and Other Stories (Serenity #2)
I liked Better Days And Other Stories a lot better than Those Left Behind. Instead of full a "episode", this volume has four short-stories, my favorite of which was written by comedian Patton Oswalt and works as an homage to Wash.
I can't quite put my finger on why I prefer this volume. I know that I laughed more, the action scenes felt more exciting and the artwork more realistic. Dialogues and the interaction between characters also rang true and there were some golden moments, like Simon treating Jayne for an STD, the bitter-sweet flashbacks of Wash's adventures and the moment when River really joins the crew.
There's a scene in the first story, Better Days, where we see each crew member fantasize about what they'd do if they became billionaire, and they were all spot on (oh Kylee, you're still my favorite!).
Also loved the three drawings between the stories, which together make up a shiny triptych.
Project Gutenberg Project
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← Strong west winds slowly diminishing across PEI today..
Rather quiet weather wise today across PEI..
Monday, November 5th 7:00am.. An area of high pressure centered centered over western NB this morning will continue to drift eastward today cresting over the island near noon. Sun/cloud and calm winds will accompany this feature. High clouds will begin to spread across the region later this morning as warm front approaches with rain developing mid morning tomorrow. Rain continuous Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as an occluded front moves across the island ending near noon on Wednesday. Skies then clear as high pressure builds in from the west but W-NW winds may result in onshore cloud across the eastern half of the island. This high pressure area will crest over the island Friday evening. Skies once again cloud over Friday afternoon as the next weatehr system approaches with rain developing near dawn on Saturday. This system responsible for this will be an area of low pressure develop off the coast near New York City Friday evening and move NE along the coast pushing into the Maritimes Saturday afternoon. Clearing skies expected Saturday evening as this system pulls away to the north over the Gaspe Penn. Much cooler weather will then invade the region for Sunday and continuing into the following week with high pressure approaching.
Precipitation.. Rain develops by mid morning tomorrow ending by noon on Wednesday giving 15-20 mms. Rain develops again between midnight Friday night and dawn Saturday morning ending by suppertime Saturday giving another 10 mms.
Temperatures.. Normal today warm-up tomorrow peaking between midnight tomorrow and dawn on Wednesday with temps near 14. Slow cool down through the day on Wednesday. Normal Thursday through Saturday. Much cooler beginning on Sunday.
Wind.. Winds continue to diminish dropping off to clam for a few hours this morning then shifting to light SE this afternoon further increasing to brisk SE on Tuesday. Brisk SW on Wednesday, westerly on Thursday dropping off to calm Friday late afternoon.
Remembrance Day service.. Right now looking cloudy with chance of flurries and brisk west winds. Will need to bundle up with hats and mittens. Will be quite cool for those on Parade..
Hazards.. Wet driving conditions in rain developing tomorrow morning and continuing into Wednesday afternoon.
Watches/warnings.. None for PEI at this time.
Tomorrow.. Rain developing early-mid morning, brisk SE winds, highs 10 by early evening then continue to climb overnight.
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text:
Q: Работа escaping и nonescaping в swift Правильно ли я понимаю, что эти параметры отличаются следующем:
объявленное замыкание с параметром escaping будет существовать после выхода из функции в которой оно объявлено (например при передаче замыкания в качестве параметра функции)?

A: Согласно документации, вы обязаны пометить замыкание, передаваемое в функцию в качестве параметра, ключевым словом @escaping, если оно будет вызвано после возвращения из функции.

A closure is said to escape a function when the closure is passed as an argument to the function, but is called after the function returns

Иными словами, если замыкание (closure) будет вызвано асинхронно внутри (callback) или за пределами (delegate) функции, то вы должны его пометить как @escaping.
По сути @escaping позволяет вам отложить выполнение передаваемого в качестве параметра замыкания до нужного вам момента (например, по срабатыванию таймера или по завершению асинхронной операции).
Если вы попробуете присвоить non-escaping замыкание в свойство класса, структуры или перечисления вы получите compile-time ошибку:
class MainDispatcher {
    var work: (() -> Void)? = nil

    func async(_ block: () -> Void) {
        self.work = block
    }
}

error: assigning non-escaping parameter 'block' to an @escaping closure self.work = block

Если вы попробуете вызвать non-escaping замыкание асинхронно (то есть там где ожидается escaping замыкание), вы также получите compile-time ошибку:
class MainDispatcher {
    func async(_ block: () -> Void) {
        DispatchQueue.main.async {
            block()
        }
    }
}

Closure use of non-escaping parameter 'block' may allow it to escape

По умолчанию замыкание, передаваемое в качестве параметра, является non-escaping, поэтому там, где вам необходимо вы должны использовать ключевое слово @escaping.
class MainDispatcher {
    var work: (() -> Void)? = nil

    func async(_ block: @escaping () -> Void) {
        self.work = block
        DispatchQueue.main.async {
            self.work?()
        }
    }

    func sync(_ block: () -> Void) {
        DispatchQueue.main.sync {
            block()
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


How to Fix iPhone Won't Charge Unless Turned Off – Imagine you're chatting or calling someone you love, like your crush or family. You're about to talk about something really important.
Because you're too excited about it, you don't realize that your iPhone's battery is below 10%. In the middle of the conversation, your iPhone is turned off. Completely dead.
You grab your charger cable as fast as you can. You plug it, and it's charging. But when you're trying to turn it on, it won't charge anymore and turned off again. What would you do?
According to FoxNews, there are some reasons causing your iPhone's battery is draining faster. Now, Writer River is going to discuss some effective ways to fix iPhone won't charge unless turned off.
These tips are also useful for iPhone won't charge unless restarted, unlocked, or plugged in at a certain angle.
The first step to fix iPhone won't charge unless turned off is by using the Apple Genuine Charger Cable. There are some differences between the real and fake charger cable.
Although it's not automatically turned on at the moment when you plug the cable to the phone, you don't need to panic. Because your iPhone takes a moment until the battery is charged enough to turn on itself automatically.
The important thing about fixing iPhone won't charge unless turned off is when you press the home button, the battery icon appears and it's being charged.
However, if the iPhone screen doesn't display the charging icon when you press the home button, then there is a possibility if there is damage to the charger or iPhone itself.
Therefore, you need to bring it to the nearest Service Center for further handling, or you can also try some of the tips I will explain below.
When your iPhone starts to be often problematic and doesn't want to be charged when it's on, try restarting your iPhone immediately.
This simple method is considered as an effective way to overcome the charging process issue.
Before you do this, make sure you have backed up all your important data, cause this action will lead to bulk data deletion. Here's how to backup your iPhone's data.
If your iPhone still doesn't charge unless turned off, maybe you should do the next way.
Whenever you charge your dead iPhone, use a stable power source without any unstable voltage interference.
The unstable power source will damage any electronic device. Damaged charge port or charge cable could possibly be the main reason why your iPhone won't charge unless turned off.
The iPhone charger cable (or any charger cable) is something that is easily damaged. Therefore, you should often check it in detail. Whether it's peeled or not, whether the cable is broken or not.
The initial sign of broken or damaged charger cable is when you use it to charge your iPhone, your phone won't be charged unless the charger is plugged in a certain position or in at a certain angle.
If it's damaged, then there is no way than buying a new one.
If your charge cable is okay, take a look at your charger adapter. Maybe your adapter is damaged, maybe your adapter is broken.
So, how do you know if your charger adapter is damaged or not precisely? By joining it with a new USB cable or another charger cable that is still functioning. Use it to charge your iPhone.
If your iPhone still doesn't want to be charged, it can be concluded that your adapter is damaged. Buy a new genuine charger adapter.
If your charger cable and adapter are not damaged at all, it's possible that the issue comes from the Charging Port.
Dusty dirty charging port could disrupt the charging process. Why? Simply because the dust in the charging port can block the electric current between the pins on the iPhone's charging port and the charger cable.
Therefore, clean your iPhone charging port regularly using a thin cloth or a small blower. If it's already clean, there will be no more charging issue on your iPhone.
Do you know that iPad charger is also compatible with your iPhone? Even though its output is larger than iPhone normal charger, but it's useful to fix iPhone charging issue, such as won't charge when it's turned off or turned on.
For a specific case like iPhone won't be turned on after you charge it using the iPhone's charger. Use the iPad's charger. If your phone is able to turn on, wait for a moment. Then switch the charger to the iPhone charger. Cause if you let it, it will damage your iPhone because of the large output.
If you have used the iPad charger but your iPhone is still not charging when it's turned on, then the last way to fix iPhone won't charge unless turned off is by connecting it to a laptop that has iTunes. In case you don't have it, you can download it here.
Why iTunes? iTunes will be able to detect the iPhone problem and it will advise you to restore your iOS.
Restoring iOS may be a perfect solution to fix the iPhone's charging issue. But one thing you need to know about it is the restore iOS process will take a while.
If the iPhone charging issue still persists, maybe you should bring it to the nearest Apple Service Center in your town, they will fix the problem as quick as possible. Hope this is helpful.


Four years after it started ferrying passengers across the border to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Southwest Airlines is taking its cargo business international as well.
The company officially began its international shipping program on Sunday to Mexico City, with plans to add the service to three other Mexican destinations. Eventually, the carrier plans to add cargo services to other destinations in its growing international network of more than a dozen destinations.
"Our teams have been hard at work getting ready for this historic milestone, and now we're set to take our award-winning cargo services to places we've never been able to reach before," Southwest's Vice President of Cargo and Charters Matt Buckley said in a statement.
The international service was enabled by a new back office and point of sale software system that was put in place this spring, the company said.
While it doesn't generate nearly as much money as carrying passengers, cargo service is a key tool for airlines to help bolster the economics of routes by making use of unused space in the belly of an aircraft.
Southwest reported freight revenues of $173 million in 2017, less than 1 percent of its overall revenue of $21 billion.
By comparison, American Airlines, which operates a global network of destinations, reported $800 million of cargo revenue in 2017, just under 2 percent of its total revenues for the year.


Kumbh Mela is one of the most spiritual, auspicious and mesmerizing events across the globe. It is a prime ancient northern Indian festival where millions of spiritual and mystic minds meet and be a part of the largest religious gathering. The devout and learned saints and sadhus gather at one place in order to discuss spirituality, religion and several divine aspects of human life.
The Ultimate Feel Of Spirituality, Religion And Mystic Powers"
Kumbha represents a 'pot' or a 'pitcher' which signifies the life of a human being or the human body. The physical body is made up of clay and is fragile in nature. It is believed that the human body must be heated in the divine flames of yoga and must be poured with nectar like devotion, spirituality, and love. In this way, the humans can be a true part of the Kumbh Mela and can attain a step closer to salvation.
The name Kumbh derived its existence from the mythological history and legend associated with the immortal pot (Kumbha) of Nectar. As per the Puranas or the Vedic scriptures, both the Demons and the Demigods were fighting for acquiring the immortal pot of Nectar. The Devtas (Demigods) became weak because of the strenuous curse and therefore in order to regain their powers, it was suggested by Lord Brahma to churn the ocean and get the nectar. But because of the malefic effects of the curse, the demigods were unable to churn the ocean alone. They formed a mutual agreement with the demons to complete the sturdy task and in return, they agreed to share half of the nectar with them. Both demigods and demons gathered at the shore to churn the ocean.
Several deities help in the process of churning the milk ocean (Samudra Manthan). Vasuki who was the king of all serpents took the form of a rope to accomplish the task of churning. The Mandara Mountain was used as the churning rod. The poison which came from the churning procedure was consumed by Lord Shiva to save the earth and all the species living on the planet. Lord Vishnu took the form of a giant tortoise who supported the mountain to stay firm. After great penance and efforts, Dhanwantari came out from the churning process with the pot of Nectar. The Demigods were fearful about the negative outcomes if demons drank the nectar. So, they seized the pot of nectar and kept it safely within the protective shield of Lord Chandra, Lord Shani, Lord Surya, and Lord Brihaspati.
When the demons get to know about it, they went behind all the demigods in search of nectar and the chase lasted for a period of 12 nights and 12 complete days. There were a number of fights that took place between both of them. As per the historical and ancient beliefs, during the chase, few drops of the nectar fell from the Kumbha (pot) at particularly four places that includes Nasik, Allahabad (Prayag), Ujjain, and Haridwar. Since that time, these four regions are believed to have some spiritual and mystical powers.
As the chase went for a period of 12 days which is regarded as 12 years in human life, the Kumbh Mela is supposed to take place once in a period of 12 years. But the festivity is celebrated 4 times in the total period of 12 years. The reason being that the drops were fell down at all those four places and thus the site of the grand observance keeps on rotating among the 4 pilgrimages on the shore of sacred rivers. The celebrations are held on the shore of Shipra Nadi in Ujjain, on the shore of Ganges river in Haridwar, on the shore of Godavari Nadi in Nasik and at the confluence of Saraswati, Ganga and Yamuna in Allahabad (Prayag). Millions of devotees took part in the celebration by participating in the rituals, bathing ceremony and other sacred acts to eliminate all their past and present sins.
A lot of rituals and ceremonies are held during the Kumbh festival which comprises one of the most sacred rituals i.e. the bathing ceremony (popularly known as 'Kumbh Snan'). It is regarded as the most vital and significant rituals in which millions of pilgrims partake. As per the legend and scriptures, Lord Brahma stated that by taking a holy dip in the sacred river one can get relieved from all his past and present sins as well as it can help in the individuals and their ancestors to attain salvation by getting free from the cycle of birth and death. It is believed that it takes one a step closer to the path of Moksha (salvation).
By submerging in the water on the sacred days of Kumbh starting from the eve of Makar Sankranti is regarded as an extremely beneficial and holy day for taking the bath. Similarly, for the Kumbh Snan, few days of the Kumbha festival are considered even more sacred and auspicious. The Kumbh Snan starts with the 'Rajyogi Snan' or 'Shahi Snan' which is the key feature of Kumbh Mela and entire celebrations. In the Shahi Snan, the saints, as well as all their disciples, take a holy bath at some specific time period in order to commence with the celebrations of the Kumbh Mela. In the Rajyogi Snan, the ascetics are offered priority and once these people initiate with the Snan, the common people are permitted to take a holy dip.
It is regarded as the biggest Kumbh Mela which is usually a once in a lifetime festivity for Hindus. Literally, the Maha Kumbh Mela takes places once in a total period of 144 years (after completing 12 Purna Kumbh Melas). This type of Kumbh Mela takes place only in Allahabad (Prayag). The last Maha Kumbh Mela that took place was in the year 2013 and now the next will take place after a period of 144 years.
It is regarded as the second largest and biggest Kumbh Mela which takes place after completing a period of twelve years. In the holy rituals and ceremonies, millions of people participate and take a dip in holy Sangam. The last Purna Kumbh Mela took place in the year 2013.
Literally, 'Ardh' signifies 'half and the term 'Mela' represents a fair. Hence, the Ardh Kumbh Mela denotes the type of Kumbh Ka Mela which is celebrated in a period of every six years. This type of Kumbh Mela takes place only in Haridwar and Allahabad.
The Kumbh Mela festival is celebrated at 4 specific places comprising Nasik, Ujjain, Haridwar, and Allahabad. The Kumbh Mela is organized on a higher level with great fervor. Devotees come and take a holy bath during the Kumbh Mela.
The Magh Kumbh Mela is also popular as Mini Kumbh Mela which is vital and significant for Hindus as it is regarded as the day when the Universe was created. The celebrations of Magh Mela is held every year on the banks of the confluence of Saraswati, Yamuna, and the Ganges usually called as Triveni Sangam. According to its name, it is celebrated in the Magh month of Hindu calendar.
The Kumbh Mela takes place in Nasik when the planetary positions show that the Jupiter and the Sun are in the Leo sign during the Bhadrapada month as per Hindu calendar.
The Kumbh Mela take place in Haridwar when the planetary positions show that planet Jupiter has its placement in Aquarius and the Sun is in Aries during the Chaitra month according to the Hindu calendar.
The Kumbh Mela take place in Ujjain when the planetary positions show that planet Jupiter has its placement in Leo and the Sun is in Aries or the Moon, the Sun and Jupiter, all of the three are in Libra during the Vaisakha month according to the Hindu calendar.
The Kumbh Mela take place in modern Allahabad (Prayag) when the planetary positions show that the Moon and the Sun have their placement in Capricorn and Jupiter is in Aries during the Magha month according to the Hindu calendar.
The first one are the 'Nagas' who are regarded as the naked saints who usually smear their complete body with ash and also have long and knotty hair. Because of the continuous exposure to the diverse weather conditions they develop themselves as resistant to the severe extremities of the temperature. Due to the regular smoking of weed, their eyes look bloodshot.
The second one is the 'Urdhwavahurs' who have a skinny appearance because of constant penance and spiritual practices.
The third one is 'Parivajakas' who remain silent as they practice the vow of silence.
The fourth one is 'Shirshasana', such sadhus remain standing, meditate by standing on the heads and even sleep with their heads in a vertical position.
The fifth and the last one is the 'Kalpvasis', such sadhus who usually stand and remain near the banks of the holy rivers to meditate and perform various rituals.
The most significant and important ritual of Kumbh Mela is the bathing ceremony or the Kumbh Snan. The ritual is performed to purify one's soul and body.
The pilgrims perform the ritual of taking a dip in the holy water right from the time of 3 o'clock in the morning. Huge lines of devotees and pilgrims are formed to perform the ritual.
Other rituals and ceremonies comprise singing of the devotional songs, having debates on the religious doctrines, mass feeding to the poor and needy and having religious assemblies.
In a fixed order, the pilgrims take the holy bath. The first one who enters the holy rivers is the 'Nagas' Sadhus as they are not inclined towards material possessions. Then they are followed by other Sadhus i.e. Urdhwavahurs, Parivajakas, Shirshasana, and Kalpvasis. After that other pilgrims can take the holy bath.
After concluding with the bathing ceremony, the pilgrims go to worship on the banks of the rivers in fresh clothes.
The pilgrims then focus on their spiritual enlightenment and thus listen to the several discourses from various learned Sadhus.
"World's Largest Congregation Of Religious Pilgrims"
The Maha Kumbha Mela has been billed as the "world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims". It is one of the most ancient and religious festivals which was attended by approximately 100 million pilgrims in the year 2013. It is a festivity which is deep-rooted in the religion, culture, and values of Hindus and is celebrated across India. The event was regarded as the largest peaceful gathering when it was held in Allahabad (Prayag).
Be a part of this divine and mystic event and attain a lifetime spiritual experience!


text:
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Published by: Mira
ISBN13: 978-0778329541
In this, the first book of the Keeper of the Light trilogy,...
Dr. Olivia Simon is on duty in the emergency room of North Carolina's Outer Banks Hospital when a gunshot victim is brought in. Midway through the desperate effort to save the young woman's life, Olivia realizes who she is-Annie O'Neill. The woman Olivia's husband, Paul, is in love with.
When Annie dies on the operating table, she leaves behind three other victims. Alec O'Neill, who thought he had the perfect marriage. Paul, whose fixation on Annie is unshakable. And Olivia, who is desperate to understand the woman who destroyed her marriage.
Now they are left with unanswered questions about who Annie really was. And about the secrets she kept hidden so well.
"Chamberlain spins an absorbing tale of romantic obsession and betrayal. . . the novel's cache of dark secrets and hidden passions keeps the pages turning. An old lighthouse keeper's climactic revelation adds a final surprise."
"Chamberlain maintains a delicious tension in the Paul-or-Alec question and lifts this above the standard romance with well-rounded characters and deft plotting as she reveals the past, including secrets held by an aging lighthouse keeper. Engrossing, satisfying entertainment."
"(Keeper of the Light) engages the reader with its descriptive power and emotional intensity."
I'm so pleased that Keeper of the Light is once again available for you to enjoy. Originally published in 1992, Keeper quickly became one of my most popular books--so popular that readers pleaded with me to write a sequel. I finally did so--eleven years later--turning the story of the O'Neill family into a trilogy. The second book is Kiss River and the third, Her Mother's Shadow. As of October 2012, all three will be available in the US. Please check the printable booklist for other countries. I hope you'll enjoy all three of these stories about this intriguing family.
It rained the entire day. It rained with such force that the shrubs next to the emergency room parking lot lay flat to the ground and the new roof sprang a leak. One of the nurses set a bucket on the floor of the waiting room to catch the water, and within an hour the rain had filled it to the brim.
Olivia Simon watched the downpour through the broad windows of her office. The rain sapped her concentration, and the journal on her desk was still open to the article she'd started hours before. There was something unnatural about this rain. It sucked the oxygen from the air and made it hard to breathe, and it pounded above her head like marbles falling on a sheet of tin. Just when she thought she could no longer tolerate the noise, it stopped. In the silence, Olivia watched the sky turn light and shiny, like the inside of an eggshell. Then suddenly, it was snowing.
She walked into the reception area, where Kathy Brash and Lynn Wilkes had been playing pinochle for the last abysmally quiet two hours.
"It's snowing," Olivia said.
They lifted their rained-dazed eyes to hers, then turned their heads toward the windows.
"Unreal." Lynn stood for a better look, her white coat scraping a few cards from the table.
"It's beginning to be an annual tradition on the Outer Banks," Kathy said. "Last Christmas we actually got snowed in."
Olivia looked at her watch. Five-thirty. She couldn't afford to get stuck here tonight.
Lynn took her seat again. "Want us to deal you in, Olivia?"
Olivia declined, and returned to her office. She couldn't make herself join them tonight. She was too antsy, too preoccupied. She needed to get home.
She sat behind her desk and dialed her home number.
"It's snowing," she said when Paul answered.
"Yeah, I know." He sounded irritated. She was getting accustomed to the curt tone he used with her these days. "When are you getting out of there?"
"Soon. Just a half hour more." She'd had no choice but to work today. Of the four emergency room physicians, she had the least seniority. She wished she could tell Paul that it had been worth her while coming in today, worth their being apart when, God knows, they needed the time together. But all she had seen in eleven long hours was a scraped knee and a case of severe post-turkey indigestion. On days like this, she found herself missing the chaos of Washington General, where she'd worked for the past ten years, where her seniority had given her some control over her schedule. It scared her these days, being away from Paul. When she wasn't close enough to touch him, she was afraid he might disappear.
They'd spent last Christmas with his family in Philadelphia. Paul had written a poem about her and stitched it into a sampler sometime during the long hours she was at work and he was not. The sampler hung in the study, and now each time she looked at it she wondered how the warmth Paul had felt for her one short year ago could have disintegrated so quickly.
"Turkey's falling off the bone," he said now. "Should I take it out?"
Olivia started to answer, but just then the police radio in the hall outside her office coughed to life.
"Hold on, Paul." She held the receiver away from her ear and listened as Kathy sat down in front of the radio.
"Kill Devil Hills Emergency Room," Kathy said.
"We've got a gunshot wound to the chest." A male voice broke through the static. "Female. Mid to late thirties. Pulse one-fifty and thready. B.P. seventy-five over forty."
"What's your ETA?" Kathy asked.
"Fifteen minutes. Maybe twenty. It's fucking snowing out here."
Olivia stood up. "Paul, I've got to go." She hung up the phone and raced to the treatment room.
"Call Jonathan," she said as she passed Kathy. Jonathan Cramer was not Olivia's favorite physician to work with, but he was the back-up physician tonight and he lived closest. He could be here in seconds.
She was soaping her hands and wrists at the treatment room sink when Jonathan arrived. "Gunshot, huh?" he said as he rolled his shirt sleeves over his beefy forearms. "We'll stabilize her and fly her up to Emerson."
Olivia turned on the EKG monitor. "We haven't even seen her yet."
"She's going to need a trauma unit."
Olivia began setting up the intubation tray. Jonathan had last worked in a sleepy Louisiana hospital. Gunshot wounds were probably not his area of greatest confidence. He had been here a little over a year, the first physician hired by the new freestanding emergency room, the only emergency facility serving North Carolina's Outer Banks. She'd been told she'd be on an equal plane with him, with equal say in all decisions made. Yet she often wondered if someone had neglected to pass that information on to Jonathan.
"Let's see her first," she said.
They had the treatment room ready by the time the two paramedics wheeled the woman into the ER. Her shirt and bra had been cut off. The bullet hole in her left breast was deceptively small and bloodless. That could mean only one thing- the bullet had penetrated the heart. Olivia felt a rush of adrenaline. Surgery was the only possible course of action and they had no time to waste.
"Get the surgical tray," she said to Kathy.
"What?" Jonathan was helping one of the paramedics fit the inflatable MAST trousers on the woman's legs. "Forget it, Olivia. Let's get her out of here and up to Emerson."
"Get me two units of O-negative packed cells," she said to Lynn as she checked the woman's vital signs. It would take the helicopter forty minutes to fly her to Emerson, probably longer in the snow, and at least another fifteen minutes before she could get into surgery.
"She won't make it," she said.
Kathy produced the surgical tray. The instruments rattled against one another in her trembling hands. She had pinned her dark hair up, and Olivia wished she'd thought to do the same. Her fine brown hair was a little longer than chin-length, and each time she lowered her head it slipped forward, like blinders.
"You can't be serious," Jonathan said. "We're not set up for anything like this."
"Fifty over thirty," Lynn said. "I can't get a radial pulse."
"Hang normal saline wide open. And do a cutdown, please, Jonathan," Olivia said. This woman needed blood fast.
"Olivia, this isn't the goddamned District of Columbia. She needs a trauma unit."
"Start a bicarb bolus," she said to Lynn. "And epinephrine. And get that blood hung." Then she turned to Jonathan. "Look. We can ship her up to Emerson and you and I both know she'll die on the way. Working on her here might not be ideal, but it's the only chance she has." She turned back to the table and did the cut-down herself, slipping the scalpel into the blue vein in the woman's groin. She picked up the large bore needle.
"I can do it." Kathy took the needle from her and fit it into the vein. Her hands no longer trembled and Olivia admired her for getting her fear under control so quickly.
Jonathan glowered at her. "I won't be a part of this. I'm calling the helicopter." He turned on his heel and walked out of the room.
Olivia stared after him, dumbfounded. "I don't believe it." She turned to one of the paramedics. "Call Dr. Shelley," she said. "Tell him to get over here stat." She began swabbing Betadine on the woman's chest and side. Then she slipped her hands into the sterile gloves Lynn held out to her.
"Maybe we should send her up," Lynn said quietly. Perspiration glowed on her forehead.
"We're going to do our best for her, Lynn." Olivia picked up a second scalpel from the tray and noticed the tremor in her own hand. She was suddenly aware of being the only physician in the room. Steady, come on, steady. She set the scalpel between the woman's ribs and felt all her concentration flow into the task ahead of her. She bore down. No blood at all. She cut deeper, through the layers of muscle, until she reached the heart cavity. Blood suddenly gushed from the wound she'd created. It poured down the front of her scrubs and onto the floor, and the paramedic standing nearest her let out a moan.
"No BP," Lynn said. "And no pulse."
Olivia looked up at the flat green line on the monitor behind the patient's head. She felt a film of sweat break out across her own forehead. They were losing her. She had to widen the incision. She looked at the tray of instruments. "No rib spreader?"
Kathy shook her head.
Of course they had no rib spreader. Olivia set the scalpel again and forced it through the woman's fifth rib. Once the wound was wide enough, she slipped her hand inside. She cautiously curved her fingers around the woman's heart, then slid her thumb over the surface, hunting for the bullet hole. She found it quickly-a little dimple in the heart's smooth surface-and held her thumb over it to block the flow of blood. Then she found the exit wound in the back of the heart. She covered it with her middle finger and felt the heart contract in her palm. She looked at the monitor as a cheer went up in the room.
"We've got a pulse!" Kathy said.
Olivia smiled and let out her breath. There was little they could do now except wait for Mike Shelley, the director of the ER, to get over here. She wasn't sure how long she could hold her position. It was painfully awkward. She was nearly crouching, her spine twisted to keep her hand in the right position on the heart. If she moved her fingers, the woman would die. It was that simple. The muscles in her thighs began to quiver, and her shoulder ached.
She could hear the helicopter making its approach, the familiar thud as it landed on the roof. She hoped they would need it, hoped they could repair the damage to this woman's heart and stabilize her well enough to make the trip.
For the first time she looked at the woman's face. Her skin was white and lightly freckled. She wore no makeup. Her hair was cherry-wood red, long and full. It fell over the edge of the table in a mass of corkscrew curls. She looked like an advertisement for Ivory soap.
"Who shot her?" She raised her eyes to the younger of the two paramedics, trying to get her mind off her own discomfort.
The paramedic's face was as white as the patient's, his brown eyes wide. "She was a volunteer at the Battered Women's Shelter in Manteo," he said. "Some guy came in, threatening his wife and kid, and this lady got in the way."
The Battered Women's Shelter. Olivia felt a spasm of pain in her own chest. She had to force herself to ask the next question. "Does anyone know her name?"
"Annie somebody," said the paramedic. "O'Brien. O'Something."
"O'Neill," Olivia whispered, so quietly none of them heard her. She let her eyes run over the body in front of her, over the creamy white, freckled breasts, the softly sloping waistline. She closed her eyes. Her shoulder burned; the tips of her fingers were numb. She was no longer certain they were in exactly the right place. She lifted her eyes back to the monitor. She would be able to tell by any change in the heartbeat if her fingers were slipping.
Had it only been a month since Paul had written that article for Seascape Magazine? She remembered the pictures of the stained glass in Annie Chase O'Neill's studio. The women in silk, the sleek blue heron, the sunset on the sound. Paul had changed after that story. Everything had changed.
Mike Shelley arrived and she saw in his dark eyes his shock at the scene. But he scrubbed quickly and was at her side in seconds. "Where's Jonathan?" he asked.
"He thought she should go up and I thought she should stay. So he left to call the helicopter and he hasn't come back."
Mike threaded the curved needle with his gloved hands. "Maybe she should have gone up." He spoke very quietly, very softly, his lips close to her ear. "This way her blood's on your hands."
Olivia's eyes stung. Had she made the wrong decision? No, this woman would never have survived the trip. Never.
Mike had to work around her fingers. If she moved just a fraction of an inch, the blood poured from the bullet holes. The pain in Olivia's shoulder became a steady fire and the shaking in her legs spread to the rest of her body. Still she held her position while Mike slipped a tiny piece of felt beneath her thumb and stitched it into place. But the exit hole was not so easy to close. It was large and nearly impossible to reach without damaging the heart in the process.
She watched the lines deepen in Mike's forehead as he struggled with the needle.
"Please, Mike," she whispered.
He finally shook his head. The felt refused to hold, and the blood seeped, then poured from the back of the heart. Olivia felt the heat of it on her fingers as the green line of the monitor shivered and flattened, and the room grew hushed with failure.
For a moment on one moved. No one spoke. Olivia could hear Mike's breathing, rapid and deep, keeping time with her own. She straightened up slowly, gritting her teeth against the pain in her back, and looked at Kathy. "Is any of her family here?"
Kathy nodded. "Yes, and we called Kevin in. He's with them in the little waiting room."
"I'll tell them," Mike said.
Olivia shook her head. "I should do it. I was with her from the start." She turned and started walking toward the door.
"Whoa." Mike caught her arm. "Better change first."
She looked down at her blood-soaked scrubs and felt a ripple of doubt. She was not thinking clearly.
She changed in the lounge and then walked to the small, private waiting room. Through the high window in the hallway she caught a glimpse of snowflakes dancing in the darkness. She wished she could step outside for a second. Her muscles still burned. And she hated what lay ahead of her. She hoped Kevin Rickert, the social worker, had prepared them for what she had to say.
Kevin looked relieved to see her. "This is Dr. Simon," he said.
There were three of them-a girl about thirteen who looked strikingly like the woman she had just left on the table, a boy a few years older. And a man. Annie's husband, Alec O'Neill. He was dark-haired, tall and thin, with an athletic tightness to his body. He wore jeans and a blue sweater, and he held his hand toward her, tentatively, his pale blue eyes asking her what his future held.
She shook his hand quickly. "Mr. O'Neill." She would make the words come out very slowly. "I'm so sorry. The bullet went straight through her heart. The damage was too extensive."
There was still hope in his eyes. It was always that way. Until you said it clearly, until you stopped mincing words, that hope would be there. The son understood, though. He looked like a younger version of his father-the same black hair, striking pale blue eyes beneath dark brows. He turned to face the wall, his shoulders heaving, although he made no sound.
"Do you understand what Dr. Simon is saying?" Kevin asked.
The man stared at her. "Are you saying Annie's dead?"
Olivia nodded. "I'm sorry. We worked on her for over an hour but there was..."
"No!" The girl threw herself at Olivia, knocking her into the wooden arm of one of the chairs. She flailed at her with closed fists, but Kevin wrapped his arms around her from behind before she could cause any real harm. "She can't be dead!" the girl screamed. "There wasn't any blood."
Alec O'Neill extracted the girl from Kevin's grip and pulled her into a hug. "Shh, Lacey."
Olivia regained her balance and set a hand on the girl's back. How did she know about the blood? "She was bleeding inside, honey," Olivia said.
The girl pushed Olivia's arm away. "Don't call me honey."
Alec O'Neill pulled Lacey closer to him and she began to weep against his chest. Olivia looked at Kevin. She felt helpless.
"I'll stay with them," Kevin said.
Olivia walked to the door but turned back to face the family once more. "If you have any questions, please call me."
Alec O'Neill looked across the room at her and Olivia stood fast, forcing herself to face the hurt in his eyes. She'd taken something from him. She needed to give him something back.
"She was very beautiful," she said.
Jonathan and the helicopter pilot were standing in the hallway, and she had to pass them to get to her office.
"Nice job," Jonathan said, his tone mocking.
She ignored him and walked into her office, where she cranked open her windows to let in the cold air. The snow was still falling, so silently that when she held her breath she could hear the thunder of the ocean two blocks away.
After a while, Kevin poked his head in her door. "You okay, Olivia?"
She turned away from the window, sat down behind her desk. "Yes. How's her family?"
Kevin stepped into the room. "Dad and the son went in to see her," he said as he sat down across the desk from her. "Daughter didn't want to. I think they'll be okay. Pretty solid family. Mom was the hub, though, you know, so it's hard to say." He shook his head. "Life sucks sometimes, doesn't it?"
"Looks like this one was pretty rough on you."
She felt a tear hit her cheek and Kevin plucked a tissue from the box on her desk and handed it to her.
"Cramer's an asshole," he said.
"I'm all right." She sat up straight, blew her nose. "So, do you ever have to comfort Jonathan or Mike? Hand them tissues?"
Kevin smiled. "You think women have exclusive rights on feeling like shit?"
She thought of Alec O'Neill's eyes when she'd left the waiting room. Those eyes were going to haunt her for a long time. "No, I guess not," she said. "Thanks for stopping in, Kevin."
It was after seven. Her shift was long over. She could leave now, any time she wanted. She would drive to her house on the sound where she would have to tell Paul what had happened tonight, and for the second time that night she would watch a man crumble. What was it about Annie O'Neill?
Olivia looked down at her hand where it rested in her lap. She turned it palm side up and thought she could still feel it-the life, the warmth of Annie's heart.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Machines and equipment that were used at Britannia Beach, or similar industrial townsites like it, have now found a new home in the Museum's collection. However, some items are still hiding in plain sight waiting for the right person to find them so their story can be properly told.
The Britannia Mine Museum is proud to reveal the name of our latest attraction, a theatrical show inside the historic Mill, BOOM! Launching summer 2019, BOOM! is a live-action, multi-sensory special effects show that brings the historic 96-year-old Mill no.3 building back to life.
The following article was originally published in the Spring 2019 edition of What's Insight magazine.
The Sleeping Giant was produced as part of a revitalization project of a former iron-smelting blast furnace. It held a special place in the hearts of the local population, many who worked there when it was in operation, and it needed to find a new way to tell its story.
One of the oldest pieces of Mill no.3 is the skip—a 3-tonne rail car that transported equipment to and from the upper levels of the Mill.
Engage the whole family with discovery this Spring Break at Britannia Mine Museum. Family-friendly activities hosted daily starting at 12:30 and 2:30.
The Museum recently presented at the Gwangmyeong Cave City Conference in South Korea.
Scott Thomson, Finning International's President and CEO, visited the Britannia Mine Museum this week to provide a $100,000 donation for construction of the Terra Lab.
Stay up to date about our upcoming events!


text:
Kerber, Nishikori win in Brisbane
AP, BRISBANE, Australia
Fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber and fellow German Andrea Petkovic advanced to the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International with straight-set wins yesterday.
Kerber beat Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-0 to set up a meeting with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Petkovic had a 7-5, 6-4 win over Ekaterina Makarova to move into a quarter-final against US qualifier Samantha Crawford, who had an upset 7-5, 7-5 win over seventh-seeded Belinda Bencic.
The two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ysaline Bonaventure.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after beating Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium in their women's singles second-round match at the Brisbane International yesterday.
Bonaventure, a lucky loser from qualifying, was cast into the second round yesterday as a replacement for top-seeded Simona Halep, who had a bye before withdrawing from a scheduled second-round match with Azarenka because of an Achilles tendon problem.
The No. 2-ranked Halep announced her withdrawal within an hour of defending champion Maria Sharapova pulling out of the tournament with a left forearm injury.
On the men's side, second-seeded Kei Nishikori advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Mikhail Kukushkin in his first competitive outing of the season in Australia.
Angelique Kerber of Germany returns to Madison Brengle of the US in their women's singles second-round match at the Brisbane International yesterday
He is aiming to reach the semifinals in Brisbane for the fourth straight year with a win over Bernard Tomic, who defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4).
Eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Denis Kudla.
Kei Nishikori of Japan returns to Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in their men's singles second-round match at the Brisbane International yesterday.


text:
Biografia
Originario di Pringy e attivo in gare FIS dal dicembre del 2001, in Coppa Europa Durand esordì il 4 febbraio 2004 a Les Orres in discesa libera (56º) e conquistò l'unica vittoria, nonché primo podio, il 24 gennaio 2008 a Sarentino in supercombinata. Nel mese seguente esordì in Coppa del Mondo, il 29 febbraio 2008 a Kvitfjell in discesa libera (56º) e il giorno dopo ottenne, nelle medesime località e specialità, il miglior piazzamento nel massimo circuito internazionale (39º). Sempre nel 2008, il 14 marzo, conquistò l'ultimo podio in Coppa Europa, a Les Orres in discesa libera (3º). Prese per l'ultima volta il via in Coppa del Mondo il 29 dicembre 2009 a Bormio in discesa libera (46º) e si ritirò al termine di quella stessa stagione 2009-2010; la sua ultima gara fu il supergigante dei Campionati francesi 2010, disputato il 19 marzo a Les Menuires e chiuso da Durand al 109º posto. In carriera non prese parte a rassegne olimpiche o iridate.

Palmarès

Coppa Europa
 Miglior piazzamento in classifica generale: 16º nel 2008
 3 podi:
 1 vittoria
 2 terzi posti

Coppa Europa - vittorie

Legenda:
SC = supercombinata

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The location of Hoyos de Bandama Winery has its origin in one of the wineries of the De la Coba family, which is now more than 300 years old. The Hoyos de Bandama Winery is currently experiencing a new phase in our long history, where everything is new since the winemaking technology has come a very long over the years, and where the ancient means only have an archaeological, ethnographic or historical value. We have invested in a new winery with a capacity for 100,000 kilos of grapes, where we can produce different proportions depending on the grape that enters the winery.
In addition to the facilities housing the fermentation equipment, this winery also has American, French and European oak barrels for the ageing of the wines that are deemed suitable. The cold, the fermentation and the ageing, essential in every winery, are very well endowed in these facilities.
The new facilities of the old winery have all the modern equipment to produce quality musts and wines, starting with a cold storage room with a capacity for 20,000 kilos of grapes -thus avoiding the daily destemming processes, reducing them to a once a week- followed by a destemmer, a 500-kilogram grape exchanger, tanks of various capacities from 10,000 kilos to 1,000 kilos, isotherms, oxygen injections, etc.
We have high expectations on our oak barrel room with a storage capacity of 300 m2 because there is no good wine without oak.
To finish, we have a semi-automatic bottling machine with a capacity for 1,000 bottles/hour. We no longer have to wait so long to savour our delicious wines.
(Tasting with three different options to choose from).
The products can be purchased at the winery.


text:
Ashville és una població dels Estats Units a l'estat d'Ohio. Segons el cens del 2000 tenia una població de 3.174 habitants.

Demografia
Segons el cens del 2000, Ashville tenia 3.174 habitants, 1.243 habitatges, i 872 famílies. La densitat de població era de 785,6 habitants per km².

Dels 1.243 habitatges en un 40,4% hi vivien nens de menys de 18 anys, en un 52,5% hi vivien parelles casades, en un 13,4% dones solteres, i en un 29,8% no eren unitats familiars. En el 24,9% dels habitatges hi vivien persones soles el 9,9% de les quals corresponia a persones de 65 anys o més que vivien soles. El nombre mitjà de persones vivint en cada habitatge era de 2,55 i el nombre mitjà de persones que vivien en cada família era de 3,03.

Per edats la població es repartia de la següent manera: un 29,6% tenia menys de 18 anys, un 9,6% entre 18 i 24, un 33,8% entre 25 i 44, un 17,7% de 45 a 60 i un 9,3% 65 anys o més.

L'edat mediana era de 31 anys. Per cada 100 dones de 18 o més anys hi havia 85,3 homes.

La renda mediana per habitatge era de 40.778 $ i la renda mediana per família de 47.092 $. Els homes tenien una renda mediana de 35.236 $ mentre que les dones 22.231 $. La renda per capita de la població era de 16.645 $. Aproximadament el 6,3% de les famílies i el 9,5% de la població estaven per davall del llindar de pobresa.

Poblacions més properes
El següent diagrama mostra les poblacions més properes.

Referències

Comtat de Pickaway
Viles d'Ohio


text:
Day 1: What Zuma said at the state capture inquiry
Former president Jacob Zuma kicked off his testimony at the Zondo commission of inquiry looking into state capture on Monday by discussing some of the allegations against him and his relationship with the Gupta family.
Here are some of his top quotes:
The character assassination of Zuma
Zuma reiterated his long-held notion that the commission is in a fight against him.
"When this commission was proposed or a recommendation was made that I should establish a commission by the previous Public Protector, there were certain issues that I was not happy [with, and] the manner in which they were handled... Particularly because this commission, from my understanding, was really created to have me coming here and perhaps to find things on me."
Zuma positioned himself as the victim, saying there had been a battle to push him out that went as far back as his time as deputy president, when a decision had been taken to remove him.
"Around the same time, there was information that I'm going to be talked to so that I resign from the leadership and go to Nkandla, and I would be looked after. 'Just resign'. There was a rumour that I would be given something like 20 million [rand] and I will be maintained. If I resigned, we'd then have a way to resolve this case. And I was saying to myself, 'that plan is now being implemented'. These people don't know that I know something about the plan because myself and Joe Nhlanhla, we did not report it to the entire leadership, it remained in the corridors of intelligence. So the issue of 'Zuma must resign, Zuma must leave the leadership' started way back."
The judge in the Schabir Shaik case, according to Zuma, said there was "a generally corrupt relationship between the two". The judge, Zuma added, said he never said this, "but everybody had been saying this, where did they get it from?"
Zuma explained that this was done to enhance the nation-wide narrative that he was corrupt, and words were put in the mouth of the judge.
"I was investigated, there was a lot of hullaballoo, those who were investigating finally felt that they've reached a stage to charge [somebody]. They decided not to charge me, but charge Schabir Shaik. The accusation was that we committed crime with him... As I got to know later, they wanted Schabir to be convicted in order to charge me, and that's what happened."The issue of the family, the Guptas, came in and the ANC felt 'we need to look into this' and I think the secretary-general of the ANC was given a task by the NEC to investigate because there were these allegations."Somebody also said the Public Protector should investigate, in addition to whatever was done. The Public Protector said there was no money [to investigate] but the Treasury found money to give the Public Protector... That there should be a 'state capture' report, this was again, to use this phrase... Was the state captured? Why [must] the report say 'we are investigating the state capture' ... the matters that have been dealt with, for me, are general corruption matters... This commission, according to those who are implementing things, must be the grave of Zuma, he must be buried here."
Meeting the Guptas for the first time
Zuma spoke about the relentless effort to name him as the "kingpin" of state capture. Here, he named the Gupta family for the first time during his testimony on Monday.
"Members of this family were brought to my residence in Oliver Tambo when I was a deputy president where I saw them for the first time ... the person who introduced them was Essop Pahad. They were introduced as good business people, but they were also comrades of members of the ANC. That's how some of my family members got to know them..."That's how I got to know them and with time, because I now know them, I got to know even some of the things they do. For example, one of them was on an international council that was advising the president on economic things."I found them to be a very friendly family. With time, I got to know quite a number of them, if not all of them... I got to know that, in fact, when Mandela was president, they started being very close and they were friends of Mandela. When Mandela was gone, they were friends with Thabo [Mbeki]... I never did anything with them, unlawfully or whatever, they just remained friends."
The beginning of ANN7 and the New Age
Zuma described the point when the seed was planted for the Guptas to start the infamous New Age newspaper. Zuma went on to explain that the Guptas briefed senior ANC officials, top six and provincial structures on the move.
"Because of the fact that they are comrades, they are accepted, and I realized that they seem to be [not a small business but] quite substantial, there had been a problem that worried us. That in this country the media is very biased. At all material times, it's just critical - it criticised the country, etc. There is no alternative voice. If people could complain and say I abused them, that one I can plead guilty [to]... At that time, I was president of the ANC, I said to them, making a suggestion, 'can you try a business, a media business. We need an alternative voice ... is it possible that you could establish a newspaper'."
The unfolding of 'the plan' to discredit Zuma
"Some people, I know for a fact, might know that I know things about them and therefore they are not going to like it. But I've behaved for decades, I have not played around with intelligence information... But these comrades have provoked me and other people. Not only them, some other people have said things."
Zuma states he is ready to name and shame.
"I have survived attempts to kill me. People looking to poison me or being instructed by their handlers to do so. Finally poisoned, a very dangerous poison, all emanates from those people who made the plan at the beginning. At some point, they felt I'm not disappearing and therefore they must deal with me. Many attempts were made..."
'I cannot be certain'
Zuma appeared unable to give clarity around questions raised when Themba Maseko, the former head of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), testified. The GCIS is responsible for placing adverts in the media.
Responding to a statement by Maseko, which spoke of the ANC's internal inquiry into state capture, Zuma said: "I can't recall what happened to that inquiry."
Maseko also alleged that Zuma had called him to meet with the Guptas about their new media venture. Zuma could not recall this.
On allegations that Zuma had asked that the GCIS' entire R600m budget be allocated to the Gupta venture, he said he had no knowledge of this and would not like to comment.
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Great Bridge Furniture in Chesapeake, VA is an authorized dealer of Oak Design Corporation Products. Oak Design Corporation has established itself as an Oak and Alder furniture manufacturer with consistent quality and attention to detail to every item shipped from their facility. With a minimal return rate, all items are thouroughly inspected through-out the manufacturing process for wood flaws, defects, and furniture construction quality.
So if you are looking for Oak Design Corporation products in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Moyock, Newport New, Great Bridge, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills, or if you have any questions about Oak Design Corporation products, please feel free to call us at 757-482-6622 or simply stop by Great Bridge Furniture at any time and we would be glad to help you.


Hamburg News: Mrs Reichboth, you have been in charge of Hamburg Invest's Startup Unit and that of the City of Hamburg for a year now. Your mandate is to support the local start-up ecosystem. The expectations on your task are high as start-ups are regarded as THE drivers of innovation, par excellence. What have you been able to achieve so far and what will happen in 2019?
Veronika Reichboth: The focus in 2018 was mainly on establishing and expanding the unit and its activities as well as establishing networks and services such as start-up consultation hours. This also included making the start-up location known through worldwide activities. This spring, the focus will turn to our international start-up prize, the Future Hamburg Award. We already have very promising applicants including start-ups from South Africa, Korea and Australia. The deadline ends on January 31, 2019 so applications can still be submitted.
Hamburg News: What exactly is the Future Hamburg Award?
Reichboth: The Hanseatic city has plenty lot to offer, especially innovative technology companies. The ecosystem is seen as one of the best in Europe and several digital success stories such as myTaxi, Jimdo or Xing hail from Hamburg. The "Future Hamburg Award" is a ticket to Hamburg as a business location as well as to Germany and Europe. The winners of the award receive tailor-made support entering the market and developing their business model and can present their start-up at the Online Marketing Rockstars (OMR) Festival in Hamburg to more than 40,000 visitors and is a special, festival highlight. Ultimately, the award, like many other measures, serves as an occasion to communicate and to attract attention. The overriding objective is to stir up enthusiasm among start-ups about Hamburg. As a unit, we also have an impact on the Hamburg start-up scene itself and provide support and networking opportunities.
Hamburg News: What are your other priorities for 2019?
Reichboth: As a small team, we need to focus clearly. This year, the main focus will be on networking Hamburg's start-up ecosystem internationally and raising visibility. We want to make Hamburg better known nationally and, above all, internationally as an attractive location and as a stronghold of start-ups. Last year, we represented Hamburg's start-up system and the unit in seven countries. We want to build on that this year. We will be flying the flag in Tallinn and Tartu in Estonia and at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, in Budapest, Tel Aviv, Scandinavia and in Lisbon. The "Future Hamburg Award", launched by Hamburg Invest and Hamburg Marketing, also plays a role therein.
Hamburg News: What makes Hamburg special as a location for founders?
Reichboth: Hamburg has a broad-based economy and, as a city-state, the advantage of short distances. More B2B business models, for instance, are located here than in other German cities. Hamburg, as the world's third largest aviation location and Europe's third largest seaport also has an above-average number of start-ups in the logistics sector. The fintech industry and the entire blockchain sector is becoming increasingly important to us. There will also be some innovations during the year. And, of course, in a verdant city like Hamburg, the quality of life is particularly high, as surveys repeatedly confirm.
Hamburg News: What do you particularly like about your job as head of the Startup Unit?
Reichboth: The fact that you can achieve an awful lot. But, above all, the people I deal with every day. Institutions, private initiatives – everyone is highly professional, passionate and enthusiastic. And, of course, the founders themselves and the very special spirit in Hamburg's start-up scene, far more than the sum of these individual factors. It's hard to describe, but unique worldwide. Hanseatic, naturally, straight and purposeful, but at the same time incredibly experimental and creative.
Hamburg Invest offers information and support to founders with knowledge and technology business models. The recently created Startup-Unit is the first point of contact for all queries about start-up offers in Hamburg, financing as well as important events and networking in the city.


The FX docudrama would have centered around a New Orleans hospital during Hurricane Katrina.
According to Deadline, there will be future seasons of American Crime Story, but they are unlikely to center around Hurricane Katrina. FX CEO John Landgraf revealed that there are four ideas for the series in the works, but the order in which they will be made is unclear.
"However, you can nix the long-gestating Katrina version which was going to be Murphy's sociological and human rights study on how New Orleans went sideways at the hands of city corruption during the hurricane," reports the publication.
"We hear that Scott Rudin, who own the rights to the Five Days at Memorial book, on which the most recent version of the Katrina ACS installment was based, may shop the project elsewhere."
It Might Be a While Before the Show Premieres.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last March, Murphy hinted that his team still has a long way to go. "That's a show where we have a lot of things cooking. We literally just edited the [Versace] finale last week, so we haven't made that decision yet," he said. "We're never going to have a Crime Story unless we have the scripts down. I think the reason why Versace went next is because Tom Rob Smith had such a strong take on it. I am not in a rush to move forward with anything unless it's perfect."
It Will Be Set in New Orleans During Hurricane Katrina.
The story will specifically take place at Memorial Medical Center, the New Orleans hospital that was left without power for days and completely overwhelmed with casualties following the hurricane. It will also focus on the decisions of on-duty doctor Anna Pou, and the decisions she reportedly made when she felt the hospital didn't have the resources to save its patients.
Sarah Paulson Will Play Dr. Anna Pou.
Dr. Pou was later charged, alongside two ICU nurses, with the second-degree murder of those patients found with fatal amounts of morphine in their systems. A New Orleans grand jury declined to indict them on the charges.
"Doctors who started out trying to save lives, ended up euthanizing patients," executive producer Brad Simpson explained, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"It tracks everything that happened in Katrina. There's people of different classes and races, all in that hospital. There are people that feel like they've been abandoned by their government, and there are people who are making decisions about triage—who lives and who dies—that outside of that bubble look horrific."
It's Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Sheri Fink's Book 5 Days At Memorial: Life And Death In A Storm-Ravaged Hospital.
The original source material for the show came from The Great Deluge, by Douglas Brinkley. But Murphy chose to change the inspiration for the show this past August. Fink's book documents the decisions made by the doctors during the crisis, as the hospital was left without power or an evacuation plan. Dr. Pou reportedly decided to leave 23 patients whom she expected would not make it with lethal amounts of morphine in their systems. The hospital ended up being evacuated the following day.
"If O.J. was a courtroom drama, and [Versace] is a thriller … [Katrina] will, in a lot of ways, have aspects of medical thriller to it," Simpson said of the project, according to the Hollywood Reporter. His fellow EP, Nina Jacobson added, "As well as disaster."
The Series Was Supposed To Air In The Versace Slot.
Apparently, producers were having a difficult time wrapping up the plot, and FX Networks CEO John Landgraf told Deadline that the team had to make "a big creative pivot," part of which meant changing the source material. Because of this, production and the air date were pushed back, and major casting changes were made. The original cast included Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick, and Dennis Quaid, with Quaid portraying then-President George W. Bush, Bening the Louisiana governor, and Broderick as the director of FEMA. Some outlets have reported that the Katrina story might still to be switched with the 4th installment, which will chronicle the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal.
You can catch season 1 on Netflix and Amazon, season 2 on FX, and stay tuned for more information on the release and when and where to watch for the third installment.