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Version 2.3
- Theora video playback support
- Joystick support
- 3D engine improvements
- Thread support for map rendering
- Shader support
- Bumpmapping
- Deluxemapping
- Specular lighting
- Warping surfaces
- Glowmapping
- Dirtmap support
- Flare and corona support
- Image filters (contrast, brightness and so on)
- Initial merge of obj model support from q2w.
- non-ASCII characters can be used in base names and soldier names and such.
- Fixed problems with non-ASCII texts and strings.
- Widescreen support
- Savegames now XML based
- Skirmish game support
- More improvements of the in-game irc client.
- Changed image loading to SDL_image
- Several pathfinding optimizations
- Rewritten UI system:
- Support for popups, floating menus and tabs. Components system.
- We now have general support for multi-line tooltips.
- UFOpedia UI improvements.
- New localisations:
- Belarusian (bg_BG)
- Hungarian (hu)
- Korean (ko)
- Dutch (nl_NL)
- Norwegian (no)
- Portuguese (pt)
- Ukrainian (uk)
- Chinese (zh_CN)
Battlescape / HUD
- Terrain affects how much grenades and other bouncing particles bounce. See terrain definitions.
- New tactical mission radar [1]
- New RF and TU-reservation system
- The TUs used for Reaction Fire are now "reserved" on the current turn (and are not used from the next turn).
TUs will be reserved for exactly one shot in RF, but if "Multi RF" is enabled the game will shoot as many times as there are TUs left.
- There is now a button/checkbox to reserve TUs for Crouching/Standing-Up.
- There is also a new button that will bring up a popup to reserve TUs for shooting.
- All reservation settings will be carried over to the next round/mission (if possible).
- The default Reaction Fire setting (on first mission and in multiplayer) is now set correctly for all team members (and yet untested the aliens - the aliens may still need some attention).
- The TUs used for Reaction Fire are now "reserved" on the current turn (and are not used from the next turn).
- If one hovers over a crouch or reload button we now have tooltips that show the needed TUs for that action and the TU-bar in the HUD will show the remaining TUs after clicking (if it's possible).
- A new tooltip will pop up when moving the mouse over the TU-bar to show all information about TUs (includes e.g. reserved Tus). Enabled by multi-line tooltip support.
- Stun-attacks now do not result in blood-splatters and stunned bodies only have blood around them if they are heavily wounded.
- It is now possible to shoot over single crouched actor.
- Key-binding improvements
- Lots of pathfinding fixes and other fixes. Lots.
- Bumpmapping for meshes/models on the geoscape
- Post-processing effects (glow map support)
- Basic implementation of mouse-based pan/tilt for battlescape
- New LUA-based AI framework implemented, but not currently in use
- The tooltip of items in the inventory now have a background drawn as well.
- When manually dragging items to a soldier (i.e. his/her belt/backpack/etc...) the items are now auto-rotated to fit the available space.
This also is used by the game when auto-placing (via the right mouse button)
- Also if one drags an item there is now a "preview" drawn. This means you will see (while still dragging) the item in the location it'll end up when you release the mouse-button.
- Support for scrollable containers in the soldier equipment screen. Scroll with the mouse wheel MW , by clicking on the new previous/next buttons or by pressing O/P. Internally two types of scrollable container are supported:
- Vertical (default): one item per row (weapons have their ammo drawn next to them). All main items have their name&amount listed and ammo only its amount.
- Horizontal: The multiple items are listed in as many rows as have space in the container area.
- New category for heavy personal equipment was added (e.g. rocket launcher, flame thrower etc.. are now listed in an extra view)
- New display of radar coverage on geoscape
- New XVI overlay to show XVI progression
- Popups on the geoscape now prevents a gamer from speed up the time (you have to close them first).
- New geoscape HUD
- Added starfield, sun and moon behind earth on 3D geoscape, season changes.
- New view of nation borders
- Aircraft now anticipate target movement while intercepting, instead of flying straight to target location.
- Geoscape has higher frame rate
- Configurable notifications.
- New time control system
- Added ambient light control
- Improved XVI overlay rendering speed
- GLSL support for geoscape: screenshots
- New campaign system and a lot of balancing tweaks
- Alien activity (UFOs, missions, etc.) will change depending on the player's actions
- Removed predefined list of missions.
- Soldiers are now linked to a nation.
- Skill/Ability/Experience system overhaul
- Actors gain experience for performing certain actions such as walking and using their weapons, up to a maximum per mission.
- Actor stats are given by their initial stats, plus a power over their total experience for that particular stat.
- Detailed information can be found here.
- Support for sam sites and other installations
- Radar Tower - Provides additional radar coverage on the geoscape, but less than the standard base.
- SAM Site - These installations will attack UFOs in a small radius on the geoscape.
- UFO Yard - Off-site storage for recovered UFO's. This replaces UFO Hangars which have been removed. Proposals/Off-base_UFO_Yards
- UFOs are now detected every fixed time interval (game time) with a probability between 0 and 1. This means UFOs may stay hidden even within radar range.
- Added alien bases to game
- Fixed several bugs in capacity code (like number of aircraft per hangar)
- Crashed UFO recovery is now impacted by the severity of the crash.
- Research, production and geoscape related fixes, including improved installation handling and speedups
- Game mechanism updates - interceptors can no longer carry soldiers, base mission is lost if there are no soldiers, soldiers can be equipped before base attack without aircraft
- Support for crashed UFO missions
- Tweaks to alien equipment and UFO recovery
- Aircraft can be renamed
- Alien count in maps tuned according to UFO capacities
- New beam weapons for aircraft (laser, particle beam cannon)
- Medics removed. The hospital now works "automatically"
- Pilots added, but they do not yet have stats
- Updated base summary menu to show stats of the current base.
Map and map tool improvements
- GTKRadiant 1.5 was forked to UFORadiant and came under maintenance
- Pathfinding information can be viewed in editor
- Workflow optimizations for RMA and material files
- New (map) entities:
- Material subsystem (terrain support)
- Lightclip brush class added to block light in maps
- Phong shading for lightmap calculation (ufo2map map compiler)
- New view filters
- Added prefab support for easy pasting into a map
- Added model browser
- Field editing for entities to easily set properties
- Support for adding sounds via misc_sound entity
New Maps
- Lots of new tiles, adjustments and fixes to maps
- Random maps
- New tiles for farm theme
- alienbase map
- extended ufocrash theme
- forest theme
- industrial theme
- cemetery theme
- city theme
- converted to RMA and extended some maps:
- africa
- japan
- Static maps
- community_centre
- city_train
- laboratory
- fueldump
- wilderness
- england
- ferry
- Improvements to the map compiler, ufo2map, including statistics mode, performance improvements and automatic nodraw setting upon map compile. Lots of check/fix functions for ufo2map, do --help for more info
- map compiler no longer leaks memory
- changed footstep and fireaffected content flags to surface flags
- New tracing and pathing code implemented. New code allows for correct detection of floors, walls, and obstructions that prevent movement. Also allows for passages that may only be used while crouching.
- Updated pathfinding code to detect when crouching through a passage would be more time efficient.
- Fixed a bug where a soldier would still fire every single shot of e.g. the grenade launcher even if he died from the splash-damage in the middle of the shot-sequence
- Fixed pathfinding bugs related to inline brush models
- Nation flags in the nation funding stats.
- A lot of images/textures that had an unknown license/copyright were replaced with GPL (or CC) ones.
This is still a WIP, but you can see the progress here and here.
- New UFOpedia images and textures.
- Lots of new textures for mapping
- New aircraft models
- Death textures for aliens
New Weapons
- XAW95 (multiplayer only)
- Coilgun
- Needlergun
- Several new music and effect sounds added
- Fixes to sound subsystem (memory corruption, better ogg support, fix for sounds being played at volume 0).
- Improvements to multiplayer team creation, including alien teams and team saving.
- More weapons available in multiplayer
- Updates to built-in IRC client, including scrollable userlist.
- Extensions to multiplayer menu and invite feature
- Add support to the skirmish menu to select the amount of soldiers to start the mission with


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Tabby Freeman and Lora Froggett go to the same school, but they live in totally opposite worlds. Tabby is rich, pretty, and the most popular girl in her class. But behind closed doors, her 'perfect' life is rapidly coming apart at the seams.
On the other side, Lora is smart, timid, and the constant target of bullies. While struggling to survive the piranha-infested halls of her school, she becomes increasingly nervous that somebody might discover the unbearable truth about what's been happening to her family.
Despite their differences, Tabby and Lora have something in common - they're both harbouring dark secrets and a lot of pain. Although they've never been friends, a series of strange events causes their lives to crash together in ways neither could have ever imagined. And when the dust finally settles and all their secrets are forced out into the light, will the girls be saved . or destroyed?
Girl on the Other Side was an interesting and fast paced read about two not so unalike girls.
I liked how the characters in this were represented by two different types of girls. Lora being the social misfit who life constantly feels like a fight and Tabby the supposed it girl who doesn't feel nearly as good about herself as she thinks she should. While I did fell both feel into cliché roles at times, I did overall enjoy reading about them and their struggles with issues not present at the surface. Since, it brought for a decent read. Also, I also did like how Tabby developed into not being as self absorbed as she was before along with how Lora and she eventually became short of freinds, I guess you would say, because of the issues they were dealing with.
The plot was fast paced which I also liked and surprisingly enough the switching narratives worked quite well with the story. Though, I didn't particularly like how the story was so short (a mere 184 pages) because I felt that there was a lot more left to say especially with how rushed the ending was.
In all, Girl on the Other Side is a decent read but not something I would suggest you run out to buy, instead wait for a library copy. On the flip side of that, I am hoping to read Deborah's debut novel sometime soon because I've heard a lot of great things about it. So, maybe I'll be awed by that one instead.
Grade: B
Girl on the Other Side is now out!
Source: 1 ARC Tours
5 comments:
Thanks for the review :)ReplyDelete
Great review! I'll definitely have to check this book out--it sounds interesting :)ReplyDelete
Eh. It has a nice cover! Maybe I'll read it, but I'm not crazy about social outcast-befriends-social butterfly books. :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 21, 2009 at 4:30 AM
Thanks for the honest review.ReplyDelete
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text:
Pre-perceiving her nature, the beast, made aware
Of a comforting spirit, will flow to her lead.
For within the reflection two souls intertwine.
Consciousness is of caring wherein love will shine.
In the heat of compassion both spirits are freed
From the will to be separate and not a pair.
Gracefulness is The Charmer. Her delicate touch
Is the essence of masterful feminine reign.
Mighty forces are tamed not by brutal control
But by interconnection achieved through each soul.
What it takes is a Charmer to win a campaign
Not a white male Russianlican. We've had too much!
Can we stand resolution of our lethal flaws?
That will take much evolving. Perhaps centuries
Will have passed before humans have learned how to love
On a wide enough scale that no one is above
Any other. Until such time, honor's trustees,
In the form of fine women, shall tame that which was.


text:
From the press release …
With smaller-framed shooters and those who like a lightweight compact rifle in mind, Winchester Repeating Arms has introduced the Model 70 Featherweight Compact. The new rifle features a 20-inch barrel, a 13-inch length of pull, an overall length of 39 ½ inches and weighs just 6 ½ pounds. The Model 70 Compact is the perfect rifle for ladies, young shooters and those looking for a light-weight mountain rifle.
The Compact Model 70 action has Pre-'64 Controlled Round Feeding, the easy-to-use three position safety and a jeweled bolt body with a knurled bolt handle. The rifle also uses the M.O.A.™ Trigger System that is easily adjusted. The stock is a satin-finished checkered walnut with a Packmayr® Decelerator Pad. The rifle action is bedded and the barrel free-floated for exceptional accuracy.
The Model 70 Featherweight Compact comes in for popular calibers for 2011, 22.250 Rem., 243 Win., 7mm-08 Rem., and 308 Win.. Suggested retail price is $899.99.


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Kukla's Korner Hockey
Emrick Will Remain Neutral
by Paul on 05/14/12 at 04:57 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Neil Best of Newsday,
Strange? Doc Emrick admitted that it is, at least a little.
How can it not be when you are the national voice of the NHL, but in your first season after leaving as the long-time voice of the Devils you find yourself calling their series against the Rangers, with a spot in the Stanley Cup finals at stake?
Still, Emrick insisted on two points: One, that there is nothing unique about this for him, having been involved in covering every previous Devils-Rangers series, including the epic 1994 conference final.
And two, that there will be no detectable bias in the way he calls the games on NBC and NBC Sports Network in the series, which begins Monday night.
Fine, but doesn't he still have positive feelings about the team whose games he worked for 21 years? "Yes,'' he said, "but it is at that point you have to absolutely turn the blinders on and be objective about what you're seeing.''
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The Gildong Report
In light of many a fan being bamboozled and ga-ga over Jason Gildong�s 11 sacks last season --- despite only 2 being anywhere near "earned sacks" --- I'm devoting some time this season to monitor the work of the exceptionally average Jason Gildon. It�ll be fun to track each of Gildong�s sacks this season. Gildong has been famous enough with his coverage sacks, flop sacks, QB-slipped-on-the-wet-turf sacks, the OT totally forgot his blocking assignment sacks, and so on, that the NFL has designated a new statistic, called the "Dong Sack", in honor of Jason Gildong. (Some fantasy football leagues are incorporating this into their point systems.)
Gildon got a sack of Smith at 3:00 in the 2d quarter, on a 1st & 10 play. At the snap, the Bengal RT immediately moved LEFT and helped the RG block Roye. This left a gaping path the size of the Fort Pitt tunnel for Gildon to run STRAIGHT at the QB. Corey Dillon was in the backfield on this play, but inexplicably just tip-toed with head DOWN toward the line of scrimmage --- near the butt of the right guard --- and was no more helpful to his QB than an orange PennDOT barrell. I reviewed this play several times on videotape.
It was readily apparent to anyone who knows football, that Dillon either:
a. totally forgot what the play was.
b. knew the play, but totally forgot his assignment of picking up the blitz
c. knew the play AND the assignment, but nonchalantly blew it off as though he didn't "feel like blocking" on this particular play.
Whether it was A, B, or C --- or all of the above --- this was a pathetically lazy, no-brained, reprehensible play by Dillon, who is a 3-year veteran who will get his young QB killed if he keeps making plays like this. Dillon NEVER made an attempt to even LOOK FOR a blitzer, much less make a move toward Gildon or anyone else in a white jersey. During the slow-mo replay of this particular play, the CBS color man stated, and I quote:
"Bruce Coslett told us he's not as worried about his offensive line�watch Jason Gildon right here (circling Gildon with Telestrator)�.he (Coslett) is not as worried about his offensive line picking up the blitz. You see Gildon coming through right now�.That was Corey Dillon's man�He got up too far in the line of scrimmage and he doesn't�he's not able to get back and get Gildon. You can see�.'Oops, I missed my guy'�.You just can't afford to have that happen."
Of course, the national TV guys are not always whizzes in their coverage of the game, so perhaps this man was off a bit. If you don't think that the CBS color man had a clue, then how about none other than Steeler radio man Myron Cope? After this play, Cope lambasted Dillon for his sh!t-laden half-hearted effort.
Had Dillon been a lesser-value player on a team coached by a Parcells or a Johnson, after the game he'd have been cut faster than the cake at a shotgun wedding. Dillon, of course, has such a great mental approach of the game, that after the game, in which the Bengals lost their 15th of their past 17 games, Dillon said, ""Hey, you can't win them all." Way to go, Corey! Great attitude! And, after the sack occurred, you can plainly see Dillon motioning toward one of the offensive lineman, in a gesture that without question indicated confusion on Dillon' part and a "Was I supposed to pick that man up?" mentality.
This was, without question, a Dong Sack. When NO ONE touches an on-rushing OLB, and NO ONE even makes an ATTEMPT to do so, and the OLB gets a clear, direct, untouched route to the QB, this is a DONG SACK. In fact, this play is the very EPITOME of a Dong Sack.
Other than this Dong Sack, Gildong did NOTHING all day. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. He never once harassed or hurried Smith, and he was a pedestrian non-factor.
Season to date totals for Jason:
Earned Sacks: 1
Dong Sacks: 3
Strips, Jars, fumbles caused, etc.: 0
The Still Mill


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Creating handmade products with love, committing to responsible manufacture, and tracing transparency.
Enabling people's stories. Making everyone part of the change with kindness by devoting time and value.


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Examine the head carefully before each use.
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Growing older, I'm learning that practical faith and Christian living doesn't mean I won't have serious doubts. God gives faith as a gift to yielded believers who like Simeon, yearn to see his glory! I've watched some youth act "old and grumpy" yet many a Simeon/Anna "growing old gracefully". Humans age and develop anxiety over the condition of their bodies, yet they've learnt the art of being not just happy, but full of hope amidst fears! Let me comment on some fears old folk have, then on the Hope Simeon had that 1st Christmas
1. Personal-Physical Fears: the one thing that happens to us all the moment we are born, that we can be 100% sure will happen in this life is decay and death. I've jokingly confessed, "I don't fear death; but I just don't want to be there when it happens!" Being elderly has disadvantages and even if you try doing things you once did, you don't quite enjoy them the same way! The Bible does tell us how old Simeon was; tradition says 113 years. Anna with him was a poor 84-year widow. As physical faculties fail, fears set in and health concerns are inevitable!
2. Social-Financial Fears: Coupled to inability to work/earn is the depleting or disappearing of one's finances. This creates an increasing dependence on others, especially family and loved ones. Godly, aging, grandparents usually don't want to be a burden to their children or others. This puts them in a precarious to-ask-or-not-to-ask situation. Older folk feel neglect, loneliness and withdraw, panic or lose the will to live! As in Bible times, our society takes advantage of and exploits widows, so the church is charged to care for them in their distress!
3. National-Spiritual Fears: For "righteous" Simeon and godly Anna the religious affairs of Israel bringing disgrace with it's pharisaic religion must have been painful. This disobedient nation had taken God out of their system and was under Rome's rule and oppression. Moreover God, their King, had not spoken to "His people" for 400 years! These old folk must have wondered with deep hurt, "Does our nation have a future and hope?!" Elderly believers, I meet in the USA, have such lurking fears. Simeon's response is instructive:
Old Simeon surely had "an evangelical theology of hope!' His earnest expectation was not in human wisdom or strength. It was in the Gospel – God's gracious gift revealed in Christ, the new born King! We can consider his missional vision later but note his hope amidst all his fears:
1. Perception: We who have eyes need Simeon's spiritual insight and vision of hope. Physically there wasn't much to differentiate the baby, the Spirit reveled truth and Simeon in faith obeyed so his eyes did see God's salvation in Christ. He recognized Mary was there for her purification, yet her presentation of the child was nothing else than God's offer of salvation for "all nations".
2. Reception: Simeon took this baby in his arms and saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus! This was his defining moment, Israel's red-letter day and the focal point of world history. At last God had spoken His final Word: Jesus – the believer's only hope of glory! Simeon's life-long quest now realized in receiving God's salvation, he asks to be dismissed from service in peace!
3. Adoration: Simeon had waited long enough now in worship he witnesses to so great a salvation. His prophetic song brought clarity and confirmation to Christ's earthly parents, Israel, the Gentiles and was joy to the world. Simeon's and our Lord takes away sin and one day all sufferings but importantly Christ came to bring salvation! It's Life and Health and Peace!
I'm eager to grow old gracefully. Simeon shows us how! We must be insightful: perceive how God has worked and receive his "great salvation" before death! As we age let's be graceful: full of gratitude for today, a gift and lease of life. We are not just getting older we are nearer home [whose afraid of going "home"? unless in trouble with Dad!] Finally like Simeon and Anna in the temple stay useful: serving God assured of strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!
I wonder what eulogies were said at Simeon's funeral service?! But his was in deed a life of faith "just and devout," with a living hope "waiting for the consolation of Israel," and amidst fears of aging he had a constant, loving companion: "the Holy Ghost was upon him." What an epitaph to have!


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Dr. Perry's Pragmatic Priorities
Every adviser told me to cut the issues I discuss herein to three. Here's the problem, our students' success won't be guaranteed by minimizing solutions to fit political talking points. So, I ignored that advice.
Student Investment
DCPS sets per pupil expenditures for academic subjects. Principals should not have the authority to redirect funds to other needs.
Budget Transparency
With over a billion dollars annually, DC residents must be able to track every dollar, every day in real-time.
Shared Standards for Public Schools and Public Charter Schools
Every DC student matters. We are a community; not merely a collection of residents. I will work to ensure every school is held to the same rigorous standard.
Advanced Placement and English Language Learners
Every student in every school where grade-appropriate ought to have opportunities to enroll in AP courses. All students, especially ELL students, should be directly encouraged to enroll with targeted appeals that speak to their interests.
Parent Engagement Incentives
Studies show that parents of students in lower grade levels are more active in their children's student experience. Parents of upper level students need incentives to engage. If parents can't make physical parent/teacher conferences with their child's teacher, then teachers can inform parents of their student's progress in recorded messages with read receipts so we can track parent involvement.
High School Graduation Formula and Related Analytics
Currently, schools seem to be responsible for tracking students' matriculation through different schools. This responsibility should be left to OSSE. DC families deserve data that is accurate, not manipulated for political advantage. We should also ensure the dollar amount attached to the student 'travels' with them as they go from school to school. (We should also be minimizing student school transfers to the extent possible; studies show stability encourages improved learning outcomes).
Special Education and Disability Services
Equity is a value statement about the intrinsic worth of every human being. Without the full support needed to thrive, we are each complicit in leaving these students behind. My faith tells me that is unacceptable.
Resource Allocation and Distribution
I believe in educational equity with every fiber of my being. But, what does that even mean? Equality and Equity are not the same even though our students wholeheartedly deserve both each and every day at the minimum because every single student has intrinsic value. Indeed, budgetary resources must be targeted to the areas of most need; this means not every school will get the same amount. Equity does not mean financial parity. By equity, I mean each and every student and every teacher and staff member has the highest probability of upward mobility through the learning resources and professional development tools provided on a regular basis.


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by Pat Donachie, Education Dive
Distance learning continues to grow, with more than six million higher ed students taking at least one distance education course in 2015, according to a report from Digital Learning Compass. The report found growth at non-profit institutions occurred at a rate of 11.4%, while private for-profit institutions, on the other hand, saw their distance enrollment numbers decline at a rate of 9.4%. Year-over-year, the number of students enrolled in a distance education class grew by 3.9%, and more than one in four students enrolled in higher ed took at least one distance education class.
http://www.educationdive.com/news/distance-learning-enrollment-ticks-up-though-for-profits-see-declines/441754/Share on Facebook


text:
Samsung Galaxy S10 unveiled New Technology
The Samsung Galaxy S10 will have a Notch Display, and it will be a Notch Display not at all like some other in the corner. Support up news from productive Samsung insider Ice Universe a week ago, acclaimed leaker Evan Blass has multiplied down on this polarizing plan choice.
In a couple of tweets (1,2), Blass states the Samsung Galaxy S10 will have a "punch hole" pattern in the display on Samsung's new Infinity-O Display. In addition, Blass says the span of the pattern is with the end goal that it can't be covered up in the notice bar and it is outstanding that the Infinity-O show needs to position the pattern in the upper left corner of the display.
Samsung is gradually disclosing a portion of the Galaxy S10 specs well in front of the Mobile Phone entry. A week ago, Samsung presented five new sorts of Infinity display, including the Infinity Flex screen of the foldable handset yet in addition the Infinity-O show accepted to come to no less than two of the three Galaxy S10 mobile phone one year from now. After seven days, the organization simply declared a similarly imperative Galaxy S10 part, the cutting edge processor that should contend with Apple's A12 Bionic and the Kirin 980 that control Samsung's principle rivals.
Samsung fourteen days prior declared that it's prepared to make 7nm chips of its own using an unexpected technology in comparison to the one used to create the 7nm A12 Bionic processors of the iPhone XS and XR arrangement. In any case, the Exynos 9 Series 9820 chip isn't based on the 7nm procedure. That is something Samsung kept out of the official statement, in spite of the fact that the spec is unmistakably made reference to on the Exynos 9820 minisite. It's hazy why Samsung is going the 8nm course while its opponents are now on 7nm process with regards to portable chips.
In any case, don't give that 1nm difference a chance to trick you. The Exynos 9820 will in any case be much more ground-breaking than its forerunner, pressing a few enhancements contrasted with the chips Samsung utilized for the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 this year.


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Invisibility cloaks are designed to make objects look like they disappear to observers. Scientists have come a long way in developing a material that can actually do that in visible light. While the actual 3-D cloak might not be as fancy as what you saw in Harry Potter, the development of invisibility cloaks could improve technologies such as solar cells and chips.
Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology's Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) created a 3-D cloak that is smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The material must be structured in the nanometer range so it can guide light waves and make objects disappear to the naked eye.
KIT's researcher Tolga Ergin said in a statement:
"The invisibility cloak now developed is an attractive object demonstrating the fantastic possibilities of the rather new field of transformation optics and metamaterials. The design options that opened up during the last years had not been deemed possible before. We expect dramatic improvements of light-based technologies, such as lenses, solar cells, microscopes, objectives, chip production, and data communication."
Last year, the team presented the first 3-D invisibility cloak to the journal Science. Until then, researchers could only show off invisibility cloaks in wavequides and the cloaks were usually only two-dimensional.
Karlsruhe Invisibility Cloak: Disappearing Visibly
Related on SmartPlanet:
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com


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Do you know these people?
With or without their heads' 1'500 lion skeletons can now be exported annually from South Africa.
That is the quota Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa announced on Monday for this year and is effective retroactively from June 7.
The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) said the quota is based on new evidence from a research project by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the universities of Witwatersrand (Wits)' Oxford and Kent which analyse and monitor the lion bone trade in South Africa.
The research found: – There is a growing stockpile of lion bones due to restrictions. There has been no discernible increase in poaching of wild lions' but there appears to be an increase in the poaching of captive bred lions for body parts such as heads' faces' paws and claws; and – The captive breeding industry is in a state of flux as breeders respond in different ways to the United States' restrictions on trophies and the imposition of the skeleton export quota.
Originally published here


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In the spirit of the Flashbang holster for firearms, I present to you the Just In Case Bra by Booby Trap Bras. Whereas the Flashbang hides a handgun inside a brassiere, the Just in Case Bra conceals a knife. Here's a pic:
Female Characters
Tips for writing about weapons for female characters in fiction.
"Lady Guns" for Female Characters? Not So Fast
When it comes to handguns, it seems to me there's a tendency to assign fictional female characters smaller calibers than males. I'm here to tell you that's a mistake, and ironically I'll use one of the most famous womanizers of all time, James Bond, to explain why.
Bra Holsters for Female Characters
Choosing a handgun for a female character (or a knife) doesn't need to be entirely different from selecting one for a male. I think some writers get too caught up on how a female's firearm should look and not on the basics, such as the character's hand size and firearms experience. But there's one area where gender definitely draws a line in the sand: holsters.
Choosing a Knife for a Vigilante Detective Character
Thriller writer Jennifer Chase popped a note to me the other day. She was looking for a recommendation for a backup knife for her vigilante detective character, Emily Stone. It seems the protagonist sometimes can't access her sidearms, and needed something for last-ditch defense.
I enjoyed playing Q, and the resulting guest blog post is up now at Chase's blog. I'll spoil it a little bit and list the knives I chose for Stone, although I recommend you read the entire post for the step-by-step selection process. Continue reading
The Best Handgun for Female Detective Characters is Not Pink
Pink firearms and knives are marketing tools whose most practical use is gnawing out a discussion about gender in the sporting goods department. I'll save that for another day and let writer bud Laura Roberts explain how she settled on a handgun for her female detective character, Venus Delmar. Roberts took the time to research the perfect Glock – and it sure in the red hell ain't pink. Continue reading


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"Mahalo, Donna" is a Personal & Family Lifestyle Blog-Website and Fb group, for Latter-day Saint families working to create a Restored Gospel, Christ centered Environment in their Home.
Blog Categories: Freedom Factors, Provident Living, Family Traditions, Travel.
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In Exodus, the wise-hearted built and furnished the tabernacle in the wilderness. They were building the kingdom. Our children, likewise, are future builders of the kingdom. When we homeschool we have an opportunity to minister
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MahaloDonna Facebook Group sponsors daily WHOTDILSH? -What Happened on this Day in Latter-day Saint History?"


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Oral Tracey | Bailey a welcome Reggae Boyz addition
It is with a sense of Déjá vu that we embrace the latest cycle of news relating to Jamaican footballer Leon Bailey, who, from all indications, will finally represent the national senior men's football team.
Having seen, heard, read and reported this particular storyline so many times before, my initial reaction was, here we go again. Within minutes, I was on the phone with Mr Phoenix himself, Craig Butler, and it was confirmed that the fences have been mended and the olive branch accepted, and Bailey and Kyle Butler have accepted invitations to the represent the national senior team and the national under-23 teams, respectively.
Even then, my guard was still up until the point in the conversation when Butler, in explaining the latest status of Bailey, referred to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts as 'Mike.' The unusually friendly familiarity of Butler's rhetoric was the tipping point that convinced me that all hatchets have indeed been buried.
Some local pundits and fans have been quick in asking the obvious questions, what has changed since the last public circus surrounding Bailey, Butler and the JFF; Did the JFF? finally meet Butler's conditions, including a place in the programme for his son Kyle?
Really and truly, it shouldn't matter who won or who lost in the battle of egos. The fact that one of the best, young football talents in the world will represent Jamaica is really the only relevant news. No single individual is a winner or loser. Instead, Jamaica's football is the largest beneficiary as good sense appears to be finally prevailing.
Aside from his significant technical skills and his professionalism, assets that should immediately and directly benefit the national team, Jamaican football has been crying out loud for a star player, and Bailey certainly fits that bill. He is a player around which the JFF can market the national team and the national programme. Because of his skill sets and his style of play, Bailey is the kind of player that will excite the fans with his deft skills and his offensive prowess. More football fans, and even neutrals, are now more likely to leave their homes and pay good money to watch Leon Bailey play for Jamaica.
It is indeed better late than never as far as the resolution of this issue is concerned, and for the parties involved to come to their senses, mend all the necessary fences and forge relentlessly into the future. The onus is now squarely on coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore to figure out the best role for Bailey within the Jamaican team, to maximise his assets as a player. It seems quite straightforward that Bailey should patrol the flanks to offer width, pace, and skill, with the freedom to venture into the opponent penalty area as often as possible, but coach Whitmore will make the final call.
There should also be a positive trickle-down effect from Bailey's presence in the Jamaica team. It should inspire and motivate other local players in and around, and even those outside of the immediate squad, to lift their individual and collective games, which can only be good for the nation's football.
I would be lying if I said I was not concerned that at some point within the next few days, the notorious volatility of Butler would resurface and derail the process for the umpteenth time, but it's all part of the risk that has to be taken. Despite the delay and the gush of water that has flowed under the bridge, as a fraternity, as fans, and as Jamaicans, we should all embrace and welcome Leon 'Chippy' Bailey to the senior Reggae Boyz fold. It is a development that is long overdue.


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We've got quite a few GREAT bookings already, and more are rolling in. So far, we have openings for all the weekends still. It's such a benefit having two booths!
Up coming events to check us out include May 12th, at Regner Park in West Bend for the Heart Walk for the American Heart Association, and coming up in June we have the Animal Awareness Day for Cedar Valley at their gorgeous Spa & Retreat. Come check us out, support a good cause and get another picture to add to your wall!


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Compared to US right-wingers, even our screechiest conservatives are a wimpy lot. American right-wingers, like their Canadian cousins, aren't happy with dissent, but they're not content to confine themselves to insults and clichés. They don't want to debate the people who disagree with their primitive politics: instead, they call for their literal extermination.
Yesterday two Unitarians were shot to death in their church by a man who had clearly been paying attention--the latest victims of the American Right's bloody crusade.
Ann Coulter and her merry band of lunatics have been joking about killing liberals for years now. "Joking?" That's the alibi they always trot out when someone calls them on their incitement to decapitate, poison, burn, hang, gas or otherwise dispatch their political opponents and reporters they dislike. It's time, says one popular wingnut, for a "godly fumigation." And somehow I don't think he was cracking wise.
But we leftists are just too earnest. We take things so literally. We can't take a joke. We don't get it. Right?
On the contrary, we get it all right, even without the fatal wounds. From the Oklahoma bombing (Ann Coulter's "only regret" was that it hadn't happened to the New York Times building) to the church murders by a devoted fan of deranged loudmouths Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Michael "kill 100 million of them" Savage, there is blood on the hands of America's conservatives, and it doesn't get washed off by bogus appeals to our sense of humour.
Far too many on the Right (with a few honourable exceptions) are pathologically obsessed with death, with hurting and killing other people. Whether it's capital punishment, endless wars, waterboarding, easy access to handguns, knee-jerk defences of police brutality and sadistic, racist southern sheriffs, or shooting abortion doctors, they lap it up and howl for more. And in the US they take it that extra mile: they would literally rather have their opponents tortured and/or killed than discuss the issues.
Sado-politics is the name of that game, and it's just claimed two more innocent lives. The knuckle-dragging yahoos whose words incited the killings are the folks who, in ages past, packed a lunch and went to watch the public floggings and executions. (Think I'm kidding?) Now, from the safe perch that the media and other bully pulpits afford them, they can communicate their insanity to the masses. And it's obviously working.
Killing those with whom you disagree is part of the American bumper-sticker culture now. "Warning: driver will shoot liberals." Here's Rush Limbaugh, playing the moderate: "I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood for." (Denver Post, 12/29/1995) Here's Senator Phil Gramm: "We're going to keep building the party until we're hunting Democrats with dogs." Even families of the targets aren't safe: the National Review's John Derbyshire has called aloud for Chelsea Clinton to be killed. (And the National Review, shall we say, attracts an interesting crowd.)
It's too bad these lynch-mob leaders can't be rounded up by folks in white suits with giant butterfly nets, certified and treated with sympathy and concern at a laughing academy where their fellow patients will get their jokes, guaranteed, and tell a few themselves. But in the Land of the Free they're still at large, popular and powerful, recruiting their legions of robotized killers, making their country, and the world, unsafe for democracy and civil discourse.
Here at home we do have our own jokers--but, for now at least, they're nowhere near the mainstream. Let's do what we can to keep it that way. Because our lives may quite literally depend upon it.


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Zatta, Antonio
Parte della Costa Orientale dell' Africa con l'Isola di Madagascar e le Carte particolari dell' Isole...
Prices incl. VAT plus shipping costs
On stock,
Delivery time appr. 1-3 workdays
- Published: Antonio Zatta. , Venice
- Published date: 1784
- Technique: Copper engraving / Original color.
- Type: Antique Map, map
- Issue date: 1784
- Category: Madacasgar
- Size: 308 by 402mm (12¼ by 15¾ inches).
- Stock number: 21218
- Condition: In excellent condition. 308 by 402mm (12¼ by 15¾ inches).
Article description
Article descriptionCopper engraving, in contemporary original color in outline. Published in Zatta's "Atlante Novissimo". The detailed map shows a part of the coast of of East Africa with Madagascar. Equipped with two inset maps of island in the Indian Ocean: Isle de Bourbon and Isle de France.
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However, Section 251 of R.A. No. 7160 provides:
Sec. 251. Tax Discount for Advanced Prompt Payment.- If the basic real property tax and the additional tax accruing to the Special Education Fund (SEF) are paid in advance in accordance with the prescribed schedule of payment as provided under Section 250, the sanggunian concerned may grant a discount not exceeding twenty percent (20%) of the annual tax due. (Emphasis supplied)With this in mind, I resolved to pay my RPT for 2012 last December 2011 to avail of the 20% discount.
I went to the Taguig City Hall and found that the Assessor's Office is at the ground floor, very near the main entrance. Prepared for the worst, I was pleasantly surprised by how fast the process took.
First, I went through Step 1, when a taxpayer's property is identified via a Tax Declaration.
And then, I proceeded to Step 2, where I was given the computation for the real property taxes I had to pay for 2012, with a 20% discount.
Step 3 was for payment. The cashier accepts cash and personal checks. If you pay using the latter, however, you will not get your receipt immediately. Instead, you will come back after a few days (presumably, after the check clears). There are at least 2 ATMs outside the Taguig City Hall, one of which (Land Bank), is right inside the compound.


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How Installment Loans Give You Flexible Borrowing
As a type of payday loan, online installment loans are easy to get, provide quick cash, and are safe and secure. Did you know that installment loans also give you flexibility? Most payday loans are pretty set in stone for repayment. You are expected to pay back the entirety of the loan with your next paycheck. You do get the option to roll the loan over to another pay period, but that will cost you a fee. When this arrangement seems too inflexible for you, it's time to try installment loans.
What Makes Installment Loans Different?
The difference between a standard payday loan and installment loans is all in the repayment. Both types of loan are based on your paycheck. They are both easy to qualify for and simple to get approval. Both come from professional, online lenders who you can trust, and both are offered through encrypted websites that keep your data safe. The real difference is that with installment loans you get a flexible repayment option. You get cash and then work with a schedule that allows you to repay the loan in small increments instead of in one lump sum. This option gives you a lot more flexibility because you don't have to make sure you have the total amount in your bank account on one particular day. When it's flexibility you're looking for, installment loans will work.
Are Installment Loans Affordable?
Installment loans and other types of payday loans are affordable for most people. The important factor is how much you earn from your job. Your lender will consider that before deciding how much you can afford to borrow. They don't want to lend people more than is reasonable and they don't try to get you caught in a cycle of debt that gets more and more expensive over time. Even though your repayments for installment loans are stretched out for a longer period of time than with a traditional payday loan, there is still an end in sight. You will not be encouraged to stay in debt and to pay off some minimum balance or just the interest rate. Your lender wants to work with you to create flexible installment loans so that you can borrow the money you need, use it, and repay it on your terms.


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- Home
- Community
- Festival of Lights
- Folepi's Winter Wonderland
Folepi's Winter Wonderland
Opens Thanksgiving night, Thursday, November 25, 2021, and runs nightly through Sunday, January 2, 2022.
For traffic updates, check our Festival of Lights Facebook page.
123 Par 3 Lane, East Peoria (in VFW Post 2078 Park off Springfield Road)
Admission is paid at the entrance booth. We accept cash, credit cards and debit cards. We do not sell online admission tickets.
- $10 for regular vehicles (cars, trucks and vans)
- $30 for a small bus (mini, party, shuttle, school, RV and limousine)
- $150 for a full-size charter motorcoach
- 5 - 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday (shorter lines)
- 5 - 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
- 5 - 9 p.m. December 24 through January 2
Note: Wait times on Friday and Saturday nights are extremely long this year, at times over three hours. We can get 250 cars an hour through the display, and traffic comes in from four directions. If you visit on Friday and Saturday, expect that you will be in a very long line and plan accordingly. If at all possible, come to the display Sunday through Thursday night.
The drive-through electric park is the Festival of Lights' signature event! Folepi's Winter Wonderland features the majority of the Parade of Lights floats and many other lighted displays including:
- Candy Cane Factory
- Lighted arches and circus animals
- Ski jumper display
- Prehistoric Land
- Space Land
- Western town
- And more!
It takes about 30 minutes to drive through the display. The Winter Wonderland entrance is off Springfield Road on Par 3 Lane.
Holiday Music
Tune your vehicle's radio to 88.1 FM for holiday music to accompany your drive.
Chick-fil-A Mondays
Come to Folepi's Winter Wonderland on Monday nights and get a sweet treat from Chick-fil-A East Peoria. Every vehicle through the drive-through display on Mondays from November 29 through December 27, while supplies last, will receive two free desserts at Chick-fil-A East Peoria.
Chick-fil-A East Peoria is located at:
250 East Washington Street, East Peoria


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President Donald Trump complained Monday that the U.S. national news media "is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand."
He said on Twitter, "They will have to work very hard to prove that one. So Ridiculous!"
Trump apparently was incensed that major U.S. news outlets reported that Brent Harris Tarrant, the Australian white supremacist accused in the massacre of 50 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, said in a manifesto he released Friday shortly before the attacks that he viewed Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose," even though he did not support his policies.
Asked Friday after the attacks whether he sees an increase in white nationalism, Trump said, "I don't really. I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess."
Trump said he had not seen the manifesto.
The president has condemned the attack and voiced support for New Zealand. But he has not commented on Tarrant's apparent motive for allegedly carrying out the attacks — his avowed racism and hatred for immigrants and Muslims.
The White House on Sunday rejected any attempt to link Trump to Tarrant.
"The president is not a white supremacist," acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told "Fox News Sunday." "I'm not sure how many times we have to say that. Let's take what happened in New Zealand for what it is: a terrible evil tragic act."
Trump's dismissal that white nationalism is on the rise renewed criticism that he has not voiced strong enough condemnation of white nationalists.
Trump was widely attacked in the aftermath of a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 when he equated white supremacists with counter-protesters, saying "both sides" were to blame and that there were "fine people" on both sides of the protest.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, one of numerous Democrats seeking the party's presidential nomination to oppose Trump in the 2020 election, said on Twitter after the New Zealand attack, "Time and time again, this president has embraced and emboldened white supremacists and instead of condemning racist terrorists, he covers for them. This isn't normal or acceptable."
Mulvaney, in the Fox News interview, said, "I don't think it's fair to cast this person (Tarrant) as a supporter of Donald Trump any more than it is to look at his eco-terrorist passages in that manifesto and align him with (Democratic House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi or Ms. Ocasio-Cortez."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a Democratic congresswoman from New York.
"This was a disturbed individual, an evil person," Mulvaney said.
Scott Brown, U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, told CNN that he gave no credence to Tarrant's comments about Trump in the manifesto, saying the accused gunman "is rotten to the core." Brown said he hopes Tarrant is convicted "as quickly as he can be," and "lock him up and throw away the key."


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A world beyond.
Hassle-free planning, regional Tour Directors & Local Guides, Handpicked hotels and inclusions, seamless transportation, VIP access, and rare Local Favourites that go beyond the guidebook.
Adventure is knocking.
Turn "never thought I would" into "glad I did" with a budget-friendly tour that includes all the essentials plus a great mix of included excursions and free time.
You're a lone ranger but don't want to be completely alone. We'll help plan your itinerary and set you up with our friends. Less hassles, more amazing, that's Monograms.
Cruising Elevated.
Cruise on Suite Ships with the widest stateroom views from your window-facing bed. Relaxed luxury flows throughout the ship in every detail plus personalise with Classic, Active, and Discovery excursions.
Spectacular scenery, medieval towns, fairy-tale castles, fascinating history, and world-class beer...now this is Germany! On a 2022 or 2023 Germany Tour with Cosmos, you'll see Germany's highlights and visit its most famous cities, like Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Hamburg, and more.
At Cosmos, we know why you travel. We're experts in 'thrillology' - the art of bringing you an experience, time and time again.
With over 50 years of 'wow' under our belts and no sign of slowing down. We'll help you turn your bucket list into a "better-than-I-dreamed" list. When adventure is knocking, Cosmos makes it easy to open the door!


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Raekwon Wants Wu-Tang 'In Harmony' Before Reunion
Raekwon is one of the most-decorated, well-respected members of the Wu-Tang Clan, but the Chef admits that, at times, he can be the most difficult.
The Clan's founder, RZA, has been vocal about his desire to bring the Wu together for one last reunion album this year to celebrate the iconic rap group's 20-year anniversary. RZA believes if the group allows him to take the reins and give him complete control, he can craft one hell of an album, but Raekwon for one isn't ready to just jump in blindly.
"The bottom line is: Of course I want to see a Wu-Tang reunion. Of course. Who wouldn't?" Rae said on Wednesday's (February 20) "RapFix Live." "I just want everything to be right, the business. When we made a lot of our great music, it was because we were in harmony. You cannot put guys together if there is no harmony, and on top of it, we're doing business. As a man with children, I have to always look at that. It's bigger than sometimes just the thought of it, the fact of it, it just gotta make sense."
Before 1993, the music industry had never seen a group quite like Wu-Tang. As a nine-man collective, they dropped the multiplatinum Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and after fans grew familiar with the likes of Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard and GZA, one by one, the entire crew began to drop solo LPs. Raekwon's 1995 solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ..., didn't only establish him as a Wu standout -- it made him a certified rap star who could exist on his own among guys like the Notorious B.I.G., Nas and Jay-Z. Since then, Rae has gone on to release four more solo LPs and a few mixtapes on his own.
"What RZA did for my life and my career, I can never repay him, but more importantly, I know what I've done: I've built my bones. I'm on over like two (thousand) or 3,000 records," he said. "I've created a brand for Raekwon, too. So, my thing is: I always just want to be fair about the business."
Raekwon and RZA have butted heads in the past -- most notably about the creative direction of the Clan's last group LP, [article id="1659394"]8 Diagrams[/article], back in 2007 -- but the Chef makes it very clear: He has no ill will toward the man who gave him his start, but he still won't settle, either.
"I'm not saying anything bad about RZA, but we've had problems in the past. That's with any crew; every crew go through this, every artist, but then, hey, enough is enough. It's like you just want things to be right and be fair," he said.
It's not just about money for the man who christened himself Lex Diamonds, helping to spur the mafia-inspired rap trend of the mid-1990s: The Chef doesn't want to short change the fans. "We got people running around with tattoos on their neck, their head, their face, their feet, their arms, they naming their babies after us," he said of the Wu's impact. "They're doing all of this and all of that, and when it's time to do business, we're grumpy? That's not fair to everybody."
Do you think Wu-Tang Clan will drop a reunion LP? Let us know in the comments!


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Ladakh is situated in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges. Ladakh is a rugged arid and cold desert yet panoramic. Its majesty and beauty are pristine. Being the highest plateau of state of Kashmir, it has an elevation over 9,800 ft. It is also known as 'Little Tibet' because of cultural and topographical similarities with Tibet.
The spectacular lakes at high altitudes, mighty mountains, picturesque meadows, and peaceful monasteries attract tourists. The adventurous trekkers are fascinated towards the tricky trekking in sweeping remote locations.
So, if you too are absorbed in this divine beauty, here are a few major places which are a must visit when you plan to travel this Land of Passes.
Pangong Tso Lake
Pangong derived its name from the Tibetan word Banggong Co which means long, narrow, enchanted lake. It is one of the largest endorheic lakes. It is situated at a high altitude of 14,256 feet above sea level and this stretch of water is 5 kilometers wide and 134 kilometers long which extends from eastern Ladakh to Tibet.
This place is popular for its ever-changing hues. Its one-third parts are situated in India, while the majority of the part which is two third part is in Tibet and is controlled by China.
This lake completely freezes in winter despite its brackish nature and a gala festival of ice skating is also organized every year. In the remaining year of time, bright tranquil blue waters and rocky lakeshore gives a serene view. This lake is filled by a large chunk of streams, located in the Tibetan. Tourists and photographers are attracted to this place and click some great pictures on a ramp-like land formation that runs into the lake.
This lake has very low micro-vegetation and has no fish or any aquatic life, except crustaceans. This lake is a paradise for bird watchers. This lake acts as an important breeding point for several migratory birds such as Brahmini ducks, sea gulls and rare black necked cranes. Ladakhi marmots are also spotted.
Facts about Leh-Ladakh
How to Reach
Nearest Railway Station: Kalka
Nearest Airport: Leh
By Road: Best route with good road conditions: Leh-Karu-Sakti-Chang La-Durbuk-Tangste-Lukung-Spangmik.
Best Season: June to September is the best season to visit. In winters the climate becomes very harsh.
Climatic Conditions
Summer: Around 8-21 oC.
Winter: below -5 o C to 10 o C.
Permits: For Indian tourists, no permits are needed. At the ITBP/Army check-posts, your valid Photo ID Nationality Proof like Driving License, Indian Passport, Aadhar Card, PAN Card, etc. can be shown.
Attractions: Thicksey, Hemis and Shey monasteries and spectacular views of the Chang-Chenmo range mountains from the Spangmik village.
Unknown Facts about Leh-Ladakh
- The Lake is a borderline terrain The Line of Actual Control passes through the lake.
- This lake has a 20 km stretch from the Line of Actual Control which is controlled by China but claimed by India. Its Eastern end is in Tibet and not claimed by India, while the western end is disputed between India and Pakistan.
- The Khurnak Fort is located midway of Pangong Tso.
- Under the Ramsar Convention, this lake is in the process of being identified as an internationally acclaimed wetland and then, it will be a first trans-boundary wetland in South Asia.
Stay: Homestays are available. One can enjoy camps/tents as well to experience the magical changes and glory of lake with the sunrise and sunset.
Tips: Carry your own food, the eateries around this area are few and too costly. Locals can be approached for homestays and good quality food. Modern facilities like western toilet, LCDs are rarely available. You will not find phone signals and ATMs in this area. Carry a medical aid as well.
Magnetic Hill: 'Gravity Hill'
The 'magnetic hill' is located on the Leh-Kargil-Baltik national highway. It is nestled at a height of 14,000 feet above sea level. Indus flows on its south side, which originates in Tibet and goes to Pakistan. The alignment of the road with the slope of the background gives the optical illusion that cars are able to drift upwards.
Changla Pass: 'Pass towards the South'
Ladakh is known as land of passes, Changla pass is one of them. It is situated at an altitude of 17,590 ft. This pass was named after the Sadhu Changla Baba, who had built the pass temple. It is the third highest motorable mountain pass in the world. It is the main entry place for the Changthang plateau situated in the Himalayas.
Changla pass is a way to reach the scenic Pangong Tso Lake. Tangste is the nearest settlement from Chang La. Indian Army serves hot tea to the tourists who pass through Chang La at the tea-point! The breathtaking views from Chang La will be etched in your memories forever. Yak rides are also available.
Best Season: May-October
Khardung La Pass: 'Pass of Lower Castle'
Khardung La pass is en route to Shyok and Nubra valley. It is the world's topmost motorable pass according to BRO (Border Road Organization). It is situated at an altitude of 18,379 ft. It lies on a caravan road from Leh to Kashgar.
Tibetan prayer flags add magical colors to charming views. This pass is important to Indian army situated near the Siachen Glacier. Landslides occur in this part. So, one has to be careful. This pass attracts motorbikers from all over the world.
Best Season: May-October
Taglang La Pass
It is situated at an altitude of 17582 ft and is the second highest mountain pass in Ladakh. The lush green vegetation and spectacular views are outstanding. Tanglang la is the gateway to Leh on the Manali – Leh route.
Whenever you plan to visit the Himalayan region, give time to your body for acclimatization to thin air and high altitudes. So, two days of stay is recommended for this in Leh. Later you can proceed to high altitude regions.
Leh-Ladakh Video Series
Watch Leh Ladakh Exploration | Series | Teaser – https://youtu.be/mRQc0gnC0lg
Watch Leh-Ladakh Complete Series – https://footloosetribe.com/ladakh-exploration/


text: Topic: Sambar Server all versions password decoding Author: 3APA3A <[email protected]> SECURITY.NNOV advisories: http://www.security.nnov.ru/advisories Vulnerable: All Sambar versions up to 5.0 beta Impact: passwords can be decoded back to cleartext Vendor URL: http://www.sambar.com Released: 24 July 2001 Credits: mam0nt[GiN], [email protected] Background: Sambar is widely used Web/Proxy/Mail server for Windows (there are both free and commercial "Pro" versions). Problem: Sambar documentation states there is no way to repair forgotten password. It's not true, because by default server uses blowfish with statically compiled key to encrypt all password. Blowfish uses symmetric key, it means with the same key passwords can be easily decrypted. I don't believe authors didn't knew that because they coded decryption function too. Sambar authors are aware about this problem (in fact it's known since at least 1999 according to mam0nt page http://www.secure.f2s.com/texts/found_bug.php - in Russian). I wonder why authors do not document this behavior. Exploitation: I was too lazy to discover blowfish key. I didn't even checked is it blowfish or DES (in fact I didn't even started debugger. I did everything in text editor :)). Instead I wrote small program which "cracks" sacrypt.exe to load decryption function of blowfish instead of encryption one from DLL by changing string argument of GetProcAddress(). For more details see sadecrypt.c from sadecrypt.zip Workaround: --(quoting "Sambar Server Support" <[email protected]>) Many thanks. Several folks have pointed out this vulnerability recently. I used the two-way encryption algorithm intentionally to allow the password to be viewed/modified. I have the option (config.ini) of substituting UNIX crypt() for the two way hash I use (blowfish) and will recommend folks switch to that. appreciate it. tod --(quoting "Sambar Server Support" <[email protected]>)--


text:
On a crisp, cold November night, under a blanket of stars,
we huddle by a fire. The steel border wall glows in the moonlight. Coyotes
howl, bark and yip. Some students don't sleep that night. They lie awake, their
nerves on edge. Before coming on this fieldtrip, we had read voluminously about
the border. Now, camping within sight of the wall, many feel anxious in this
unfamiliar environment.
We're here as part of a class I teach at Northern Arizona
University. Our plan is
to explore, from a multitude of angles and perspectives, the 2,000-mile border
that divides Mexico and the U.S.
Having read about the border, watched films, and discussed and analyzed
immigration policy in terms of cost and effectiveness, we're on a five-day
fieldtrip to explore both sides of the divide.
The next morning we walk across the border to Nogales, Sonora.
No official asks to see our passports. We realize we have entered Mexico from the
sign–Welcome to Mexico–and then visit an aid station for recently
deported people. I approach a group standing in the shade and ask if they will
share their experiences with us. An indigenous woman, her face scratched, her
clothes dirty and torn, declines to speak. Fighting back tears, she gestures
that, emotionally, she is not capable of talking. I invite a man in the group
to speak. He says that he wants to ask us a favor. "If any of you become Border
Patrol agents, please don't abuse migrants. We're not criminals, we just want
to work and support our families." On hearing this, Ruth*, the woman who
couldn't speak before, interjects that she does want to say something.
She had been apprehended after four terrifying days in the
desert. There was a sign in the cell: "If you are thirsty or hungry, or in need
of medical assistance, notify a Border Patrol agent and you will receive
assistance." She states that she did not receive help, only a cup of juice and
two packages of peanut butter crackers. Her feet were so blistered that she was
unable to walk until yesterday. Ruth has four children that she had left with a
neighbor in an impoverished village in Oaxaca,
nearly 1,500 miles to the south. She has no idea how, or if, she will get home.
Ruth's children don't know where she is or what has happened–she doesn't want
them to worry. I look up at my students and see tears streaming down their
faces. In the spring, Ruth will try to cross the border again to cut lettuce in
She says she has no choice. She has no money, nothing.
A student calls me over to talk. He almost didn't come on
the trip because he didn't have the money to apply for a passport. A big guy,
normally laughing and kidding, Corey feels he has been called to this place.
"My mother gave me $100, I have it in my pocket. I don't need this money. I
want to give it to this woman so that she can return to her kids in Oaxaca."
We meet other recently deported people at Grupos Beta, an
aid station run by the Mexican government. One man tells us that he has been
vomiting for four days, he cannot keep down any food or water. He doesn't know
what to do. A couple tells us, in perfect English, that they had lived in New York for 15 years.
They had returned to Mexico
to see a dying grandmother, and hired a coyote (guide) to get back into
the U.S.,
who told them that they would have to walk for only one hour. Border Patrol
apprehended them on their fourth day in the desert. They were deported to
separate cities, the wife to Nogales and the
husband to Matamoros.
To disorient migrants, and break their connections with smugglers, Border
Patrol divides groups (though supposedly not families) and deports them to a
different city than where they crossed. This couple, with children, had only
recently found one another.
Some tell us that Border Patrol treated them well, though
accounts of abuse are rampant. Another man told me that he saw a traveling
companion get tased while hiding in a ditch. In a 2011 report, "Culture of
Cruelty," the humanitarian group No More Deaths documents more than 30,000
incidents of abuse and mistreatment endured by individuals while in the custody
of U.S. Immigration authorities. As we leave the aid station one of my students
looks at me with tears in her eyes. "You didn't prepare us for this
emotionally," she says. In spite of all that we had read, nothing can prepare
you for an encounter with raw, wounded humanity.
The Roots of the Humanitarian Crisis
Back on the Arizona
side of the wall we meet "sound sculptor" Glenn Weyant. Glenn attaches
microphones to the steel wall and plays it as a musical instrument. Recording
the sound, he later mixes it on a laptop and then uploads the music to his
website, sonicanta.com. Unlike a traditional musical instrument, Weyant
explains, there is no correct or wrong technique–everyone can play a wall!
Glenn invites two students to choose implements (spoons, whisks,
chopsticks, a cello bow) and asks them to play the wall. They can play what
they want, however they want, but he encourages them to listen and to interact
with each other musically. He then adds
more students, two by two, until we are all playing. Two trucks idle on the
dirt road behind us, we have an audience of Border Patrol. On the hill above, a
contingent of National Guardsmen dressed in full combat gear, carrying M-16s,
stands beneath a camouflaged tent and observe our concert. One waves at me. The
music starts chaotically and as we continue to play we begin to communicate. We
start to play rhythmic clusters, calling and responding to each other's phrases.
We hit a samba-like groove. "I was beating my frustrations out," one student
tells me. "Everything I had seen today, all of that sadness, I took it out on
the wall." We drive away listening to a recording of Margaret Randall's poem,
"Offended Turf," blended with Weyant's wall music on Border Songs, an
album of immigration songs and poetry with proceeds going to No More Deaths:
"We are taking a chance our vibrations will change these molecules of hate,"
intones Randall. The wall growls and grinds and groans–the sound perfectly
matches the complex emotions we feel: frustration, anger, and profound sadness.
One cannot see this hard steel barrier without asking how we
have gotten to the point of walling people in and out of the country. The
so-called "invasion" of undocumented people began in 1994 after the U.S. and Mexico signed the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Subsequently, the U.S. flooded the Mexican economy
with cheap, government-subsidized corn. It became impossible for small and
mid-sized corn producers to make a profit and some 6 million people lost their
livelihood. Suspecting that legions of immigrant families would seek work in
the U.S., the government started building walls and implement border
militarization to seal off the easy-to-cross urban centers of El Paso, San
Diego, and Nogales. Recently, increased numbers of Central American people,
especially Hondurans, are attempting to cross the border to flee abject poverty
and violence.
Efforts to secure the border have increased over time.
Between 2007 and 2011 alone, the U.S. spent over $4.7 billion on the
border wall and the now abandoned "Virtual Fence." The Border Patrol, now the
largest law enforcement agency in the country, has doubled in size in the last
five years. The walls, and related strategies of "deterrence," intentionally
funnel border crossers into remote and dangerous desert. According to Doris
Meissner, former commissioner of the Immigration & Naturalization Service
(INS), they "thought the number of people crossing the border through Arizona would go down to
a trickle." Wrong. People are biologically driven to feed their children and
care for loved ones. They will risk everything.
Since 1994, according to Kat Rodriguez, the director of the
group Coalición de Derechos Humanos (the Human Rights Coalition), over 7,000
deceased human remains have been found in the borderlands. The number of total
deaths is, in fact, almost certainly much higher since many migrants who die in
the desert are never found. Many of those who die, furthermore, are never
identified. The morgue in Tucson
currently houses nearly 800 unidentified dead migrants.
Recently, due to the decline in the U.S. economy,
migration has dropped precipitously, though impoverished Mexicans and Central
Americans continue to die in the borderlands. Border militarization–walls,
helicopters, drones, high-tech monitoring devices, and Border Patrol agents–continue
to push migrants into the desert. Last year alone, 179 migrants were found dead
in the Arizona
desert. Comprehensive immigration reform is a step in the right direction, but
if it includes further border militarization, and virtually all of the current
proposals do, it will also result in more death and suffering on the border.
We camp at the No More Deaths base near the small town of Arivaca. Early the next
morning we hike through the desert, sidestepping cacti, chatting, laughing.
Some of these kids have never hiked before. I am enjoying the crunch of gravel
beneath my boots. Blue sky seems to bounce off of desert rocks. We curve around
a bend in the trail and suddenly encounter a shrine with a white cross. Steve,
a No More Deaths volunteer, points out the precise spot where a 14-year old
girl from El Salvador
died. Josseline Hernández Quinteros was attempting to join her mother in Los Angeles when she
became ill after drinking stock pond water. Steve shows us how her legs were
positioned, her feet had been soaking in a pothole of standing water.
This splendid desert wash suddenly takes on new meaning. We
stand in silence, staring at the shrine and contemplate the place where she
died. It's difficult to comprehend the magnitude of this tragedy. Students cry.
Many hug. Some pray. Standing in this paradoxically beautiful place, listening
to silence cut only by the occasional hum of insects, we mourn Josseline's
death. In class, before this trip, we had read The Death of Josseline:
Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Borderlands by Margaret Regan.
It feels as if we knew Josseline. The students express dismay that Josseline's
mother could not attend her daughter's funeral mass for fear of deportation.
Several gather wildflowers and place them on her shrine. Corey hangs a rosary
on the shrine. A student leaves a ring that she had worn for years. "I just
felt like I had to offer something," she tells me, "If Josseline had lived she
would have been our age." We hike away from this spot and accompany NMD while
they cache water on migrant trails in the desert. Students write messages of
encouragement on the jugs. They feel empowered. Then, later that day, we
discover slashed water bottles scattered in the desert. Clearly, some people do
not agree with No More Death's mission.
The next day, we are finishing breakfast and a group of four
migrants–wet and cold, dressed in black, their shoes shredded–walks into camp.
They have been out for ten days, have not eaten in three. They had been
drinking stock water until the day before when they encountered jugs of clean
water left by NMD. A rail thin 22-year-old migrant has a swollen knee that can
barely bend. No More Deaths volunteers assess their physical condition and then
cook and serve them breakfast. The guy with the injured knee, Israel, vomits
after eating; the sudden ingestion proves too much of a shock to his system. A
NMD medic administers small sips of electrolytes. Two students–Sol and
Julie–agree to spend the day helping NMD volunteers at camp. Everyone has been
jolted back to reality. After dinner we sit around a campfire. We play guitar
and sing and look up at the stars and shiver. "There are no Mexican stars or
American stars," says Charles Bowden on the Border Songs CD, "it's like
a great biological unity with a meat cleaver of law cutting it in half." We
imagine what it must be like for migrants who cross the desert with only the
clothes on their back. Many of the students say that they almost dropped the
class when they heard about the trip, now they thank me. One student, Rebecca,
admits that before the trip she "hated immigrants because they cross our
borders. But I don't think people should be dying out here," she adds. The
group stares across the fire at her, trying to figure out if she really said
what we think she said.
"Is everyone in here an American citizen?" asks an agent,
while another commands a German shepherd to sniff our van. We are driving
through a Border Patrol checkpoint. Two
students, Ángel and Reyna, are permanent residents. The officer matches their
Green Cards to their faces. We idle, and my Anglo students feel embarrassed by
the scrutiny applied to two of their peers. Meanwhile, to the side of our van,
a group of children and adults stand corralled under a brightly lit tent. It's
the kind of tent you might rent for shade at an outdoor wedding. These people
have been pulled from a vehicle–they are in the process of being detained.
In Tucson
we meet with an off-duty Border Patrol agent. He speaks to us as an individual,
clarifying that he is not authorized to speak for the agency. "Did you meet
people who said that they were abused by Border Patrol?" asks the agent whom
I'll call Wilson,
"Well, I got to tell you, illegals lie a lot." He talks about drug runners and
how he is trying to keep dope off of the streets. He feels sorry for migrants,
but he simply focuses on his job. One student asks him, accusingly, why they
don't feed people in detention. "Of course we feed them," Wilson, insists. "We give each adult two
packages of crackers and a cup of juice every eight hours." Remembering Ruth's
story, the students' faces contort with rage.
Another student remarks that people in Nogales complained of being roughed up by
Border Patrol. "At times we have to be a little rough, it's called 'officer
presence,'" says Wilson.
"Since there are often more of them than there are of us, sometimes we have to
throw some to the ground and handcuff them to make sure that the others don't
try to run away." "How often do you work?" asks a student. "I'm a junior agent,
so I don't get to go out to play as much. That's what we call going out on
patrol," explains Wilson.
We flash back to the stories deported people told us in Mexico. We
think about the migrants we met in the desert. These people are not playing.
The Cost of the Humanitarian Crisis
That afternoon, we enter the Tucson Federal Courthouse to
attend an Operation Streamline hearing. In the Tucson sector the federal government
prosecutes 70 detained people per day in a group hearing. Detainees sit, in the
ornate wood-paneled courtroom, restrained with chains linking their ankle
shackles, waists, and handcuffs. A line of 12 detained women sit in the middle
of the room, in front of the observation gallery. A group of men fill the area
to the left of the judge, and another group fills the entire left rear, an area
designed for observers. The judge calls up five detainees at a time–they stand
uncomfortably at microphones, each shadowed by a lawyer who waits just behind.
A student whispers to me that she must leave. She fears that she will be sick.
The judge asks each accused person to confirm his name,
country of citizenship and then reads a script including the details of where
and when they were detained after entering the United States illegally. Most
listen through headphones while a simultaneous interpreter translates to
Spanish. Many look confused as if they don't really understand the rapid-fire
legalese. The judge asks each detainee if he knows that he has the right to a
trial. "Sí." She asks them how they plead. Each person pleads culpable
(guilty). The judge then reads a sentence, assigning a period of incarceration.
A few receive time served, others 20 days, 30 days, 90 days, up to six months.
This was all determined, and agreed upon, during a 15-30 minute meeting with a
court-appointed lawyer the same morning.
Once convicted, they shuffle, their chains and shackles
jangling, towards a door. The lawyers follow, occasionally placing a hand on
their shoulder, sometimes hastily slipping a business card in the convicted
person's handcuffed hand. A glove-wearing Border Patrol agent leads them out of
the room and turns them over to guards for transport to prison. They shuffle
right in front of us. One fellow lifts his handcuffed hands and manages a
partial wave and smile as he passes by on his way to detention. We wonder why
he waved. Perhaps he was hungry for human contact. Perhaps he felt it the
polite thing to do.
Attorneys request special consideration for three cases. One
detainee's wife had recently lost a baby. She was again pregnant and called him
at work because she was bleeding. "He now knows," explains his lawyer, "that he
should have called an ambulance, but he drove his wife to the hospital
himself." The judge sentences him to 30 days. The last defendant of the day
also asks for special dispensation. He has five children and a diabetic father
that depend on him. Could the judge shorten his six-month sentence, so that he
can care for his family? The judge answers that she cannot. If he would like to
change his plea to innocent, she will allow him to do so. "You would not have
to prove your innocence, the burden is on the government to prove your guilt.
But you should be aware that if you go to trial and are convicted, you could
spend 2-3 years in a federal penitentiary. Do you want to change your plea?" He
declines and shuffles out of court. We leave the courthouse feeling stunned. It
is mind-numbing to watch 70 people plead guilty in less than two hours.
Since 2005, the federal government has spent an estimated
$5.5 billion incarcerating undocumented immigrants in the criminal justice
system for illegal entry and re-entry. In Tucson
alone, incarcerations, defense lawyers, and interpreters for Operation
Streamline cost nearly $96 million per year. Private for-profit prison
corporations such as GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)
reap enormous profits from this system that criminalizes what was formerly a
civil offense. The criminalization of undocumented immigration, then, provides
economic incentives to some, at a great cost to taxpayers.
Back in Flagstaff,
I am dropping off the students. I catch Rebecca's eye and mention the cold
weather. "At least you have a jacket"
she responds. I ask her what happened to
her coat. "I gave it to a migrant," she says with a smile.
The next week we debrief in class and students confide that
they are worried about the friends that they made, and left, in the medical
tent at the No More Deaths camp in the desert. They shake their heads and talk of living in different worlds. More than
one student cries while reflecting on what we experienced. "We come home to
warm showers and beds and we have no idea if these guys will make it, or die,
or get caught by Border Patrol and end up in chains in Operation Streamline,"
says Sol. Before the trip Sol was planning on becoming a Border Patrol agent.
Students tell me, again and again, that before this trip,
before they looked through and beyond the wall, that they had no idea the
extent to which people are suffering on the border. It's as if we had been
living behind a barrier that was blocking our view of a humanitarian crisis in
our own backyard. "Now that we know," they tell me, "we must act." They have
formed a student club on campus and are planning Immigration Awareness Week–a
series of speakers, films, and art about the border and undocumented
immigration. They want to share what they learned with their fellow students.
* Some names in this article have been changed to protect anonymity. All other details are accurate.
Robert Neustadt is Professor of Spanish and Director of Latin American Studies at Northern Arizona University. He co-produced, and performs on Border Songs, a 31-track double album, that features music and spoken word in English and Spanish about the border and immigration. All proceeds go to No More Deaths (No Más Muertes), a group that provides humanitarian aid to migrants and recently deported people.


text:
There are three types of inflation. The most common is demand-pull. The other two are cost-push.
Professor John T. Harvey likes to label these as cost-push/Act of God & cost-push/market power. Another name for these is supply side [shock] inflation.
Cost-push Inflation in both cases is when a product that is an input to another product increases in price due to its apparent scarcity.
A recent example in Australia would be the price of bananas due to Tropical Cyclone Yasi destroying the entire Queensland crop. The price of bananas are currently beginning to return to normal but I saw bananas as high as $18 kg. More recently I saw them at $15kg. This is an example of Cost-Push/Act of God Supply Side Inflation.
If environmental factors continue to be an issue in food production, this type of inflation will become commonplace rather than an event that seldom occurs. Whilst environmental devastation is not exactly uncommon, it is not exactly commonplace either. Most central banks attempt to ignore any cost-push inflation due to any acts of God as they are aware this creates price volatility and will usually pass as a temporary inflation. You can see this in the banana example as the price continues to fall as production returns to normal and the price begins to stabilise.
The other type of supply side inflation, cost-push/market power can be devastating. It usually consists what is known as a swing producer – a swing producer is a supplier or a close oligopoly of suppliers of any commodity, controlling its global deposits and possessing large spare manufacturing capacity – which have considerably influence on the world price of that commodity and is effectively the price setter of that commodity.
The two most common swing producers, that is price setters known in the world are De Beers for their control of diamonds and OPEC for its control of oil as demonstrated in the Oil Crisis of the 70s/Yom Kippur war. The biggest producer of oil in OPEC is Saudi Arabia which makes them the price setter.
This lead to ever increasing inflation due to the price of oil, a supply side shock, which the governments of the day treated as demand-pull inflation, so tried to deal it with tightening the labour market which lead to ever increasing unemployment. This is a stagnant economy with high inflation which has subsequently been named stagflation.
The stagflation occurred because first there was a huge external supply shock (oil price rise) to oil dependent economies. There was no shortage of oil – just a well organised cartel (OPEC) which could set the price at the level it desired. The reaction by Government was to contract demand while the reaction of organised labour and employers was to enter a slug-fest to determine which side of the workplace would sacrifice to make "real room" for the external cost shock. The latter generated a wage-price spiral while the former generated the first sharp rises in unemployment in years.
Most inflation pressures in the economy at present are driven by supply-side causes. The last thing you want to do is invoke demand deflation policies to address a supply-side originating cost squeeze. That policy approach just results in stagflation. Or in English, create unemployment so people can't afford anything and thus lowering demand and thus accelerating a decrease in prices.
The solution to any type of inflation is find alternatives to supply, which the US did during the era of stagflation by opening up their natural gas pipelines and Australia did likewise with the Moomba to Sydney pipeline and the eventual floating of the dollar along with other deregulations.
Speaking of Oil, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia said an oil price of $70 to $80 a barrel is likely and has said it twice recently. This means a drop in the price of related goods and petrol in the near future.
Supplemental Reading: Stagflation
Update 24/6/11: Seems the Saudis are now aiming for $80 to $90


text:
I hear the wine flowing and the glasses chink
as you miss the table and hit the sink.
Mother and daughter addictions together
thrown in the garden whatever the weather.
You talk above the same old songs, and I wonder
if you know that your behavouir is wrong
or that there's a rat in your kitchen running a mock
it's a matter of time, tick fucking tock.
As predictable as the sun that moves the dial
smeared face and blood shot eyes is your style.
Mother dearest your spirit is broke
I saw this in your face the moment we spoke.
Fuck this and fuck that 'cos the world is so screwed
but you never consider that the problem starts with you.
Ten green bottles sitting on the wall
every single night I hear them fall.
A knock at the door and the bed springs go
Daughter dearest, do you think we don't know?
You sing as it moves to cover the sound
to hide the white powder, another round?
Your a tight knit unit all full of love
broken souls that are fucked up and stuff.
Excited greetings and laughing galore
filling the glasses who wants more?
Voices go up voices go down
I can actually hear when you're wearing your frown.
The music begins and everyone sings
till the spiteful tongue brings out its sting.
Tears are falling and the mask no longer fits
true colours shining none of you give a shit.
The lamp is broke, the glasses shattered
not that any that truly mattered.
You scream you push, so much pressure
you lose the very thing you pretend to treasure.
Flashing lights and a friendly face
an easy call for them to trace,
again today, again tomorrow
mother and daughter full of so much sorrow.
Karen Hayward ©2015


text:
The beauty of yoga is it can be practiced anywhere, anytime, and on anything.
I love doing yoga in a highly energetic heated studio space, on the beach with my toes in the sand, high up on a mountain top overlooking the world...
But, I also regularly get in my yoga resting in corpse pose early am in between aggressively hitting the snooze button, deep breathing mental chatter (okay, road rage...) away while stuck in traffic on the 5, and occasionally striking a dancer's pose in the produce section of Whole Foods while I wait for my veggies to be juiced.
Point being, your yoga is always with you. Rad, right?
If you happen to find yourself practicing yoga on a mat however, I'm going to tell you right now about the best damn mat. Story time, readers.
Manduka was founded by architect turned yogi, Peter Sterios, who in the late 90's, designed a black mat that completely revolutionized his yoga practice. On the simple idea that a better yoga mat could make a world of difference, and the combination of firm grip and complete support, Manduka mats and yoga accessories are crafted using simple, enduring, natural, and whenever possible, renewable materials and a fine attention to detail. Built by and for yoga teachers and their students, Manduka is authentically "for your practice and for our world."
Badass, I know.
Also, Manduka is committed to eco-responsibility and is super mindful of every decision made in the manufacturing process. They support fair labor practices and toxic-free emission facilities, and minimize impact on the environment by designing mats to last a lifetime with biodegradable rubber sustainably harvested from rubber trees with no toxic glues. Which, and I can't stress enough, is so incredibly huge.
Who wants to be practicing on a mat built from bad karma and toxins? I certainly don't.
Manduka pledges to protect and honor our earth and its beings. Namaste, homie.
P.S. Right now Manduka is having a super killer sweepstakes going on every day until March 6, 2015, where you have the opportunity to enter once a day to win a free eKO Mat a day. I'm convinced at least one of my readers is going to win, so enter away to win the best damn mat.