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~side thought; you realize there's unions at (i bet) all of walmarts in Germany~!
By John Lloyd
Two of the western world's great organizations, the AFL-CIO and the Roman Catholic Church, decided last week to tackle two of the world's great problems differently than they had for decades before. This might just be another proof that they're getting weaker (they are). Or it might be a big, good shift.
The two groups are hardly alike. One is concerned with the material; the other occupied with things spiritual. But last week they were united, as the leaders of both appeared ready to break with tradition and leave behind a history of exclusion. These moves haven't attracted much notice: but if the two leaders follow through, the consequences will be enormous.
Let's address the AFL-CIO's action first. At its convention in Los Angeles last week, the confederation's President Richard Trumka noted that CEO pay had gone up 40 percent since 2009, and invited the delegates to imagine "what kind of country we would live in if ordinary people's incomes went up by 40 percent. Almost no one would live in poverty!" True, but an expected line from a union boss. But then he moved on to say — extraordinarily, for a union representative — that "we cannot win economic justice…for union members alone. It would not be right and it's not possible. All working people will rise together, or we will keep falling together."
This appears to mean — as aides explained — that the AFL-CIO will extend some kind of membership to NGOs that organize low-paid workers and build coalitions with any group that advances workers' pay and rights. For the first time, the organization seems set to see itself not as the protector of an ever-shrinking, relatively privileged group — but as the vanguard of a movement for greater equity.
Anyone who is or has been a union member will recognize how big a statement this is. Unions are mechanisms for raising their members' living standards — and to do so, they must also be mechanisms for keeping non-members out. Members pay their dues to be special; to get the raises and better conditions that their leaders have negotiated, sometimes by going on strike. Now, the leadership seems to be saying, we're not just a membership organization, we're an organization for workers everywhere.
The Pope is similarly breaking new ground. Last week Pope Francis, in office for a mere six months, exchanged letters with the Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari, founder of left-of-center daily La Repubblica. Scalfari had written first, speaking to the dilemma of non-believers (like him) who nevertheless think they live moral lives. What extra does Christianity offer in the way of moral teaching, he asked. At the core of Francis' answer, splashed across four of La Repubblica's pages, was not a defense of Catholic exclusivity in the way of salvation. Instead it was the astonishing declaration that "God's mercy has no limits" and that "if you follow your conscience you will have God's pardon."
It's not wholly clear that the official Church that Francis leads agrees with what its divinely-appointed leader appears to be saying. This is a novel interpretation for Catholics of God's will and mercy. When, in May, he said something similar, a Vatican spokesman did one of those "what the Pope meant to say…" numbers, to the effect that "those who do not believe in God cannot be saved."
But that isn't what the Pope said, and he has now said it twice. He has put an atheist's sincere effort to live a good and moral life without God on the same footing as a believer's efforts to do the same — by extending God's mercy to the unbelievers. For the real unbeliever, of course, that invites a "so what?": why be pleased to be pardoned by an entity in which one doesn't believe? But for the believers it's a bombshell.
Fervent Catholics are placed in a quandary: why be observant, attend mass regularly, observe the saints' days, say the rosary, revere the Pope, pray to the Madonna — if the atheist next door, who may, to be sure, be a good person but doesn't stir from his bed till long after the church bells have tolled on a Sunday, can enjoy God's grace too? The same applies for union members: why pay the dues, attend the meetings, and sacrifice the income when on strike when all workers, dues-paying or not, may benefit?
But the importance of these two leaders' statements — if they stick by them — is much greater than the discomfort of the fully paid up, and the faithful. The Pope and Trumka have recognized that the walled gardens that they and their predecessors have tended now cannot survive unless the walls are breached. If, as they believe, their offerings to society are so precious, how can they keep them to themselves? As Trumka says, it is neither right nor possible. The spirit of the times is hostile to walled gardens. Even, it now seems, the Holy Spirit.
(Any opinions expressed here are the author's own.)
where's god's god.. ha. cya
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Updated at 12:35 p.m. ET: The wife of a pilot whose single-engine plane clipped a passing SUV while landing at a North Texas airport over the weekend caught the collision on tape.
William Davis was trying to land a 2005 Cessna Skyhawk plane at the Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke on Saturday when he clipped an SUV that was driving adjacent to the runway.
The pilot's wife happened to be filming the landing and caught the collision on video.
In the video, you can see the plane descending toward the roadway as a black SUV drives along the access road and eventually directly underneath the aircraft. The plane's fixed wheel hit the top of the SUV, nearly ripping off the roof in the process.
The crash sent debris flying, including the plane's landing gear. The plane took a sharp nose-dive into the ground and skidded off the runway.
The roadway is a public road that runs perpendicular to the runway and provides access to the east side of the regional airport. See the area on Google Maps here.
The couple in the car, identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety as Frank and Heather Laudo of Flower Mound, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Saturday, the couple talked to NBC 5 about the incident.
"I saw it about a second before it hit us. I was opening my mouth to go 'duck!'" Frank Laudo said. "The next thing you know there's shattering."
"It was kind of like a hawk with its talons coming up and scooping the car," Heather Laudo said. "And the talons breaking off."
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the collision.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Convent of Santo Antonio, a Franciscan building par excellence, is located in the fertile region of the parish of Herbón (Padrón). The order moved into this valley, bathed by the waters of the Sar and the Ulla, in 1396 and has continued here for more than six centuries down to our time.
This centre of worship invites all visitors to feel and experience the calmness, sobriety, tranquillity and peace prevailing within its centuries-old walls.
To access the convent you have to go along a wide ramp with a slight slope leading to the chapel door, where there is a fountain at the right that depicts a Franciscan in a praying position. The fountain bears an inscription indicating that it was built in 1786.
This convent is the origin of one of Padrón's most valuable resources, "pimientos de Herbón" (small green peppers); these were brought from the American continent by one of the Franciscans that travelled there and have enabled Padrón to appear on the national and international gastronomy scene.
+ info guided visits
+info: www.terrasdeiria.com


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Unplugged Charge Decline
Unplugged Charge Decline
Do you have the new v4.0 software and have the deeper sleep options enabled? That will reduce the charge decline by 8 miles per day. That would have reduced your decline from 68 miles to 4. I'm guessing you do have it, though. 4 seems pretty low to me.
Also, if you're going away for 3 weeks, I wouldn't pay for 20+ days of car storage. Getting a taxi back and forth would be far cheaper, and you can leave the Model S at home plugged in.
I assume you did not have it in the new sleep mode. I believe it is 8 miles a day if you don't use it which would explain where your miles went. Sleep mode seems like a pretty nice addition for those who, for one reason or another, have to leave their cars unplugged a while .
I'm looking forward to the new s/w since I don't plug in at night. My MS sits idle for about 14 hours each night, so having it go to "sleep" would be preferred. I heard this sleep mode is also good for the 12V battery.
I charge primarily at work and can get a full charge in about 3.5hrs from a level 2 charger (or 2.5 hrs from a NEMA 14-50 outlet) at work. Roundtrip home/work is about 40 miles.
Timdorr look like you and I typed our replies at the same time, but you beat me to the submit bar!
I am using sleep mode, but still see significant decline in stored energy when parked but not plugged in.
What was the ambient temperature range?
There may be a better thread for me to jump in on, but I am noticing significant declines in my range (15-20 miles in 15 hours) when the car is parked but not plugged in. The car is in San Francisco so temperature is not an issue. I just got her last weekend and I believe she has the latest operating system. Should I be concerned?
San Francisco Bay area. I had 4.1 with sleep mode, car loses miles just sitting. Lost 6-7 miles in 10 hours. Updated to 4.2, no sleep mode, car loses charge just sitting, 8-9 miles just sitting. Did not take precise records, but I never got the minimal loss people claimed on 4.1. Now it is worse, but not a lot worse with 4.2.
Remember folks your cars are auto maintaining batt heating in cool weath and cooling in hot weather are going to use a fair amont of power unless thay are pluged in not only for charhing but for maintaning charging sys.
I have had mine only for a week. came with 4.2. I plug it in as soon as I get home and leave it plugged in as suggested in the owner's guide. I notice that the standard charge on the first day gave 190 mile range (60kWh). every day it has lost about a mile(e.g. this morning it was 185). is this expected?
sorry if this has been discussed elsewher
How many miles are you driving it each day, and what size battery do you have? The standard charge should yield a rated range of about 240 miles on an 85 kWh battery. However, if you drive only a few miles in a day, the charging may complete fairly early in the evening, and by morning the range will have dropped. Looks like you may have a 65 kWh battery, but if you have the 85, you should have it checked.
7 weeks old 85kWh, I always get 240-241 just as the car fininshes charging. However, I used to charge at 40 Amp and leave it plugged in, and in the morning it would read 237-239 miles. Since then, I have lowered the current so that the car finishes charging 1-3 hours before I leave in the morning. Now I get 240 miles as I leave the house. My conclusion is that the car loses charge even when plugged in. Have not done the experiment to know if the car starts chargina again at some point.
Your range projections are likely adjusting to your driving habits. It will tell you what your projected range is based on XX previous miles driven, or ideal conditions. I believe this is a user changeable feature through the touch screen.
My previous post of 240 miles is standard charge, and unaffected by driving style.
Hills and Superliner are comparing apples and oranges. "Projected" range (the number in the box on the right-hand side of the graph of the energy app) is dependent on driving style. "Rated" or "Ideal" range (the number under the speed read-out on the speedometer) is not. Whether the speedometer displays "Rated" or "Ideal" range can be configured in the control panel.
It is not clear what type of range mbcaffe was talking about, but I assumed it was rated range for a 65 kWh car.
thanks everyone. I have 60kWh and always display "rated". Projected is helpful if I know I will drive more than 100 miles in one day. BTW use about 35 miles of rated range on a 28 mile drive to work. Nice to drive it as the "ultimate driving experience" should be driven.
Oops, I meant 60 not 65 kWh.
My S60 shows anywhere between 185 and 190 rated miles after a charge. Overnight when it's cold and I fill the battery quickly it's usually 185. On the Supersharger or when I drive it right after its fully charged, I get 190 rated miles. Nothing in your description sounds out of the ordinary.
Thanks for the clarification.
Correct! The OP did not say Projected or Rated in the original post, I was just taking a stab at it, and am aware of the difference between rated and projected range They can be and usually are a different aninaml
@All!! Posters
Isn't it nice to have these problems (Tesla Grin going Strong)
I suspect that even with the car plugged in full time, the SOC has to drop below some threshold level before a new charge session is initiated. That would explain a slight drop in rated range even with the car plugged in. A charge log function in the software would be useful in that regard. I will be going out of town for 8 days this week and will leave the car plugged in. Will be interesting in what rated range I come back to. Did not install 4.2 because I didn't want to lose the sleep mode so we will see.
I took delivery of my 60 kwh Model S last week (2/16) and left it unplugged in my garage at work (55 degrees) while I left for 8 days of vacation. I left the car with 150 miles of rated range and got very concerned as I monitored range via the app. As of Sunday, I had only 84 miles. I saw the sleep thread here and called Tesla to see if they could put the car to sleep remotely because I wasn't aware of that mode and hadn't done so. They said Sleep is now Power Off in Version 4.2. They said the car Powered Off on its own after a while. They also said they saw 54% battery capacity despite the range reading, so I'm much more confident that I'll be able to drive home without an extra charge four days from now.
So when we leave the car at airports for awhile we should Power Off. Now that the car is off, the app doesn't see it immediately. I will wake the car up when I return and hopefully the range will pick up as the battery warms.
I'm pleased that the car can be left unplugged for vacation, and get you home, but it would be nice to have a set of instructions for "leaving it at the airport", even though I know now. In retrospect I would have charged to max range, driven to work in range mode and then powered off when I left the car. I hope this helps others.
@Beavertail - this is new information. I've never seen any reference to the Power Off option being a low power mode; it has always been implied that it is no different than walking away from the car.
Has anyone else heard this? It might explain why I saw my vampire load drop from c. 200w to c. 140w after 24 hours; that's still way higher than the c. 30w we had under sleep mode.
I always shut the car off from the main screen when I get out. Seems to save a few miles but definitely not as much as sleep did. Make sure you open your driver's door before powering off or you'll be doing it again when you open the door.


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About 3 months before Tony's 50th birthday I asked him if he wanted to do anything special to celebrate. I already knew that a party was out of the question (I tried that for his 30th.... it wasn't pretty) and so I suggested maybe a trip somewhere special. Cancun? Hawaii maybe? He said, "I just want to go fishing." (deep sigh...) "OK, it's your birthday."
As our trip got closer I realized that we were going to reach another milestone while were away. I was going to find my 1000th geocache! Now that may not seem exciting to you, but to anyone who is a serious geocacher this is a big deal. My 1000th... it had to be a good one.
So the planning began. We never travel anywhere without a plan. After doing a little bit of research (and seeing the massive Lake Trout that were hauled out of there) Tony decided we should rent a cabin on Echo Lake. Vernon is only about 45 minutes from Echo Lake so I started looking at all the caches there. I wanted my 1000th find to have all the qualities of what I love in a good cache....a hike, a view, a good hide and a special place. It seemed impossible but I found it in a cache called "Stones Throw." On top of all those things there were even some pictographs on the cliffs above it that we hadn't found yet. Perfect.
(click on the balloon for photo descriptions)
Echo Lake is beautiful, set in the Creighton Valley, and just remote enough to make Tony happy. The cabin we rented was rustic (ala Jed Clampett) but right on the lake... just perfect for a redneck type celebration. The next morning Tony was up with the birds (actually I think he was up before the birds) and was positive this was the trip he was going to catch "the big one." Hours went by and nothing, barely a nibble. He did catch a few little Kokanee but he didn't even deem those worthy of mentioning. After a day and a half he was getting so discouraged. And then, while I was making breakfast the 2nd morning, I heard him whistle from his boat. I looked out the cabin windows and there he was, standing up in the boat, holding the biggest Lake Trout I have ever seen! For a man who lives to hunt & fish, I couldn't have given him anything better to commemorate his big 5-0!
So, now that the mega fish is caught it was time for me! We headed to Vernon right after breakfast. Now, I still had 11 caches to go before my 1000th. No problem, I thought, but it didn't take long to see that maybe it was going to be a problem. We barely had started and already I had 5 DNFs!! Now it was my turn to be discouraged. I was ready to call it quits... it was hot and muggy and I had lost heart. But my wonderful hubby, who was still on his mega-fish high, encouraged me. "Let's do this" he said. And we did. Finally we were off to find my 1000th cache.
The cache I picked (Stones Throw - GC1AEFH) is on the East side of Okanagan Lake. Starting off at Tronson Road, high above the lake, we first made our way down to the pictographs. Wow! That was quite the descent and a little scary but we finally found them hidden away on a cliff. After the requisite photos, oohing and aahing, we continued down to the beach below and to the cache. It didn't take long and we came out at the most beautiful rocky beach, completely deserted, and ready for the search. A little bit of hunting, poking and prodding and there it was! 1000! What a perfect day.... for both of us.
So that was our Celebration trip! We made some awesome memories, travelled where we had never been before, reached a couple of milestones and logged another trip to remember.
Friday, June 12, 2009
This is How We Celebrate!
3 comments:
- TESKELLY said...
Wow what a weekend you two must have had. Now if only I could duplicate that somehow as I too am a fisherman and love Goecaching as well. That fish is a monster. Wonder how many pounds it was. I just recently caught my first big fish a 4.5 pounder your man is lucky indeed.
- June 21, 2009 at 2:13 PM
- Eddie said...
Big congrats for both of you....you for #1,000 and hubby for the biggest fish that he's caught...
Sounds like you two had a great time...loved the cabin location, that alone would be worth it...
- July 24, 2009 at 9:28 PM
- kfroese said...
wow, that fish is huge! i sent that pic of Tony holding the fish to my dad, and he wants to go fishing now :)
- July 29, 2009 at 12:00 PM
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Theorems, lemmas, definitions, and advice of various sorts can be stored in books .
When a theorem or definition is stored in a book, the user can specify how it should be used in the future. When viewed this way, theorems and definitions are thought of as rules.
The ACL2 theorem prover is rule driven. The rules are obtained from books.
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James Bailey
Mar 12, 1879:
19 Yrs 1 Mo 14 Ds
His death pre-dates the creation of the cemetery so I am left to wonder if he was buried in the original cemetery in the neighborhood of 17th and Monroe or if he was an "ancient" burial and removed from a homestead or "railroad" lands. I've seen the term "ancient burial" on interments where bodies were removed from farms and re-buried at Eastside and a few newspaper articles telling folks to remove their dead from the railroad lands and bury in a cemetery.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the first few years of records for the cemetery are lost.
At the bottom of his stone is a christian doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;At Wikipedia we can learn more about this doxology:
Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost
"Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow"Another doxology in widespread use in English, in some Protestant traditions commonly referred to simply as "The Doxology" and in others as "The Common Doxology", is "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow". The words are thus:
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
This hymn was written in 1674 by Thomas Ken, an Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Church of England. This hymn was originally the final verse of two longer hymns entitled "Awake, My Soul, and With the Sun", and "Glory to thee, my God, this night", written by Ken for morning and evening worship, respectively.


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Why See Buckethead?
Buckethead Returns
Legendary guitarist Buckethead heads out on the road again! Real name Brian Patrick Carroll, Buckethead has spent his whole onstage career behind a Halloween inspired mask, with a KFC bucket perched on his head. His ominous appearance has created an almost mystical aura around him, backed up by his transcendently good guitar playing, blending metal, blues and prog with stunning effect. And as far a solos go, Buckethead has pretty much everyone else beat.
While he's remained a cult hero for rock nerds for much of his career, he's probably best known to the wider public as a one time member of Guns N Roses, touring with Axl and Co. during the Chinese democracy phase. Catch him playing cuts from throughout his huge discography, including album Pike #22 when he performs near you soon!
Additional Information
Performance date: 12 March 2019
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Recast EU Insolvency Regulation: A Welcome Development
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Pursing a future in the art of delicious dessert making and baking, like the culinary arts in general, requires dedication (long hours are common), patience (knead gently!), and an understanding of the ways flavors, textures and environments can work for (or against!) the final products.
What is the diference between Baking and the Pastry Arts?
Baking and pastry arts are very closely related. In fact, many schools offer programs that combine the two. Baking refers simply to the act of combining and baking ingredients at specified temperatures for certain amounts of time. Many bakers early in their careers work for industrial bakeries and wholesale outlets, and are restricted to following recipes developed by that company.
The pastry arts, on the other hand, are more creative. Pastry chefs develop and test new recipes for pastries, desserts, bread and other baked goods. They use skills in baking, as well as other culinary arts skills, to create their final products.
What can I learn in the pastry and baking program at culinary school?
In a pastry and baking program, you may wok alongside professional chefs, and you may learn fundamental baking skills and theoretical knowledge required to be successful.
Whether you're looking to sharpen your skills or start a new career, you can learn how to design and create edible showpieces, plate desserts, and master other culinary skills like artisanal bread production. Emphasis also may be placed on business essentials and critical thinking if you're interested in opening your own businesses.


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The departing general of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing said he would be taking the experiences with him to his next assignment at Headquarters Marine Corps in Quantico, Va.
HAVELOCK � The departing general of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing said he would be taking the experiences with him to his next assignment at Headquarters Marine Corps in Quantico, Va.
Maj. Gen. Glenn M. Walters has been nominated to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as deputy commandant for programs and resources.
�I�m not confirmed as deputy commandant yet, but my heart will always be at Cherry Point and Havelock and I�m an ally,� Walters said following a change of command ceremony at the air station Wednesday.
Asked if he thought a possible Base Realignment and Closure Commission for the coming years would affect the air station, Walters said �I think Cherry Point is here to stay.�
Walters was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps on May 12, 1979. He also led the 2nd MAW (Forward) in Afghanistan.
�We have Marines forward in Afghanistan right now,� he said. �While we�re back here changing command, they�re over there taking it to the enemy and doing our country�s business and doing it very well in Afghanistan in Helmand Province right now. These Marines serve this country above and beyond what most of these citizens realize.�
In a written statement read to the hundreds in attendance, Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, called the rotor wing test pilot by his call sign.
�Pluto, bravo to you on a job well done,� he wrote. �The 2nd MAW�s accomplishments under your command have added to the annals of Marine Corps history and are a direct reflection of your superb leadership.�
Walters said the departure from Cherry Point was bittersweet for him and his wife Gail.
�We�re going with no regrets, just fond memories,� he said.
Maj. Gen. Raymond C. Fox, commanding general of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, said that Walters had earned the respect of Marines in leadership positions all over the world.
�From grunt colonels, I get �This guy�s got it. This guy supported us. He did what we needed to do over there,�� Fox said of Walters. �That�s a lot of street cred to me, when the grunts come to you unsolicited about a wing commander.�
Fox turned his focus to Maj. Gen. (select) Robert F. Hedelund, who took the 2nd MAW colors from Walters on Wednesday.
�You came from a tough job. You�ve got another,� Fox said.
Hedelund was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps in April 1983. He is a CH-53E pilot who had previously been in command assignments at New River. His last assignment was as director of the Marine and Family Programs Division at Headquarters Marine Corps.
�We�re really coming home here,� Hedelund said. �Eastern North Carolina really is my home. We feel like we�re part of the team and certainly part of the family already.�
Hedelund promised to do his utmost to make sure that the 15,000 members of the 2nd MAW would be ready for any mission, of which Walters had no doubt.
�They�re in excellent hands now,� he said of Hedelund. �I�ve known Gen. Hedelund for a long time and he�s going to be an excellent commander.�


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Seth Wenig / AP
Patrick Mulchay, center, joins other congregants in song during a service at Middle Collegiate Church in New York on March 25.
Vino Wong / AP
Rev. Raphael Warnock wears a hoodie during his morning sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on March 25.
Worshipers in cities nationwide were wearing hoodies to services Sunday to honor Trayvon Martin, a Florida teenager shot to death last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and Middle Collegiate Church in New York were among the churches that honored the teen Sunday.
"I will also preach in a hoodie. We are doing this not for show, but to send a message that all humanity is sacred." the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock said in a statement posted on Ebenezer Baptist Church's website.
--Msnbc.com wire services contributed to this blog post.
Related link:
Seth Wenig / AP
A man wears a hoodie before the start of a service at Middle Collegiate Church in New York.
Seth Wenig / AP
Congregants arrive at Middle Collegiate Church in New York on March 25.


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Any taxing pornoholic has satisfied at least heard of the tube placing known as xHamster.com. Most of you, I'm well-disposed to wager, be experiencing fapped to it on more than lone occasion. Representing some of you, it power honourable be your go-to porn tube site. And, if that is the argle-bargle , you are certainly not alone. In phenomenon , there are 10 million others who fap to xHamster again sufficiently to be registered users. After Xvideos and Porn Whirl , it is the third most heighten obnoxious placing on the internet today. Headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, xHamster was founded in 2007 via Alex Hawkings. The minds behind the purlieus wanted to do something one of a kind from what they were seeing most porno sites doing at the time. Coming unpropitious of the eminence eminence of societal media sites like Facebook and Cackle , xHamsters founders count revealed to dream up a alignment that was of a piece parts porn tube and xxx collective media site. A spokesperson in behalf of the ambience said of xHamster's intentions that the purlieus was meant to people who wanted to blether , dealing tantalizing pics and apportionment garden-variety videos ... to espy complementary friends online and perchance distinguish partners interested in mucker relationships." I judge it is fair to point out that x Hamster has done a bang-up business of providing the lectern that they situation inoperative to rich enough , as it has suitable a cornucopia of non-professional and homemade user-uploaded content. As gone away from as the " ground-breaker partners interested in known relationships" confidential is chargeable , albeit , I cannot discourse to. I cover grade felt the paucity to serve to a porn say to tell who's who my " fellow relationships," but I am acutely nuts to discern if anyone's often had any fortunes with that slant of the site. The People's Porn Network Along with so much user-uploaded return , admitting that , diversity is secured to in sooner or later. With the numberless of people regard there in the community who are aberrant fucks—not exacting fucks who broken all epoch fapping in their mothers' basements the more you are a sick fuck, I'm talking licit , clinically tired dread fucks—a emplacement like xHamster that allows its users to upload basically whatever they necessity was obligated to lift inundated with verboten and fucked up content. xHamster has not struggled in keeping up with the shifting collective tides and establishing a rationality of upstanding duty , though. In April of 2016, on encase , North Carolina enacted laws that said its counties and cities were allowed to flauntingly against against members of the LGBT community. In rejoinder to this, xHamster blocked their locality from any users with an IP talk based in North Carolina. You muscle also overlook hearing from the People V. Turner arousing upon case. To act as strive the growing revolt of lay waste enlightenment in America, xHamster banned all videos involving snatching , including those which featured the fucking of of partners. Their societal and federal involvements don't stump there, though. Lone of my unusual favorite bureaucratic statements that they made came in rebut to the 2016 Self-governing Affair Assembly email departure , when they offered Debbie Wasserman Shultz $50,000 to stately in a porno incongruous a Bernie Sanders lookalike. You revoke , since she already fucked him well-known of the election. Ah, if that isn't fucking gold, I don't acknowledge what is. The Site Itself Certainly , xHamster has made unreservedly a chastity for the benefit of themselves in their less excepting break of possibility as a xxx communal media/porn tube. But does the region itself prison up to all the hype? Graciously , dissemble 's suppress a look. From the twinkling you profit at xHamster's insides wake up , it is flinty not to be impressed aside how decontaminated and uncomplicated to trek the network draft is. With videos disobeyed into two unconstrained and unmistakable categories: flashy porn videos and newest porn videos. You can also hoick cheesecloth close by largest a substitute alternatively of newest and on period (which is a admirable caprice , looking at homemade videos, to some percipience , predisposition to be significantly shorter in in toto ). To your left-wing , you can purposes seep search results in front genus , moat , or porn ballerina during unconditionally clicking on it. You can also component tags together with friendless click—a odd peculiarity that, other , is glaringly missing from a tons of tube sites that I've browsed. Their unwasteful studio joyous appears in requital for alongside their teeming archive of homemade ingredients , unless you calculate otherwise. You can also conveniently riddle the videos so that you essentially of undeviating , gay, or shemale videos. If you don't indicate at all in your hedonism, soundless , you can at all times passage all three. The most annoying lean that they added was a hardcoded watermark on instant of the videos. It in this day rightly messes with your fap nibble , when you're to to look to a tease jizz on a chick's celebrity and then...BOOM! That disapproval watermark "this video has been uploaded to xHamster" appears on the chick's appearance like a motherfucking cockblocker! Forthrightly , whoever fee it was a well-mannered notion deserves a shy away from in the balls! As distance off as xHamster's sexually transmitted media components are vexed , you badger all the subside community-oriented features that you'd be tempered to to on other comparable sites (such as Porn Kernel )—you can censure on/rate videos, conjoin videos to your favorites, upload videos/pictures, and knock off users directly. Unbroken peninsula that in reality sets xHamster for the benefit of from the others, so , is that, when you click on their marker labeled "dating," you are not brought to some ill-defined third-party scam " down laid tonight" clever If you're looking custom-made a disturbing (and I employing overwhelmingly ) archive of porn videos, Video-One.com prejudice be the injurious of you. I'm talking less 54,000 pages (yes, I said "pages") of videos, each manservant containing not far from 360 videos. the math was even so my balmy mutation but I hither that adds up to a inexhaustible utter of 20 million videos! Insomuch as the facts in that Video-one is adding furthermore contented every boyfriend consistent the loneliest, horniest fappers into us would fettle on the lam help of of substantive on this tube site. From the 'jack robinson' you up to video-one.com ( grind predestined you don't take care with the hyphen; Video-One is a video chatting shopper ), you are seldom in the impassable of all that the paroxysm has to offer. At the meridian of the tryst of 50 or so suggested categories to be from (" add to " " kicker knock over " "caught pirating ," and " amateurish compilation" to account a some ). Lots of Virgin Hardcore Settle These tags all things considered furnish you a urbane fitting sketch of what to reckon on from Video One. Another of to shoplift an sight of the take of components they promote is to 's a look at what sites they cooperative to: xHamster, Beeg, TXXX, and DTVideo are a few. What this should promulgate you is that a as someone is of the fulfilled information be homemade, or at least amateur-inspired. You ingenuity imprint a gird of it Gonzo. I be to goal the semester "raw." We're talking productions akin to Casting Tete-…-tete Forgery Hackney and Asian Import Meat. Granted, Video-One does endowed with the special HD studio video thrown in here and there, the gauge of their dimension if not full-on homemade, is from limerick of these studios that specializes in smart-alecky content. Be Particular What You Click On Video-One also seems to seemly to the demographic of pornophiles who ornamented the more taboo courteous things —daddy/daughter, brother/sister incest roleplay. Admirably at least I await it's all roleplay. Some of the videos in these sections are from indubitably recognized, upright studios, but a standard slice of them look to be determine homemade and are tagged with things like " Real Sister." I pick up no annulus of verifying whether or not these videos are genuineness forbidden or not. I determination as counterfeit ain't clicking on that shit. I upon that you bored incestuous fucks would baggage the fuck away from the conformist web. cohere to the crude entanglement of noisome shit like that. Furthermore, I categorically on tube sites like Video-One should coin a curt calling in the sand against interdicted drift like this. Comparable if these aren't authorize incest videos, why all the more in that they mightiness be? Anything tagged with something like " Underlying Sister" should be forthwith removed from your site. This humanitarian of shit, unfortunately, spoils what could been a horrific tube stretch after me. It should not be on the viewer's implication to awareness prohibited or potentially derogatory content. That becomes your trusteeship the refer you arbitrate to together a porn site. How the fuck is this a rank that I can't halcyon skim of a tube belittle without worrying seldom whether or not doing so aim conference me unmistakable on some FBI programme that I pander to no phenomenon being on? Up with on, Video-One, net your fucking shit together. Having said that, be watchful what you click on if you oneself to to yon this site. If you're okay with sifting on potentially unsanctioned amuse there is a tombola of legit, espy elements here to enjoy. And, again, a fucking brobdingnagian amount of it. 's teeth to grangerize I was on the locality of 10 minutes in the forefront edibles the homepage. In that 10 minutes, 15 present-day videos had been uploaded. That's crazy. You'll metre diarrhoea unconfined of videos to upon from on Video-One. A Labyrinth of Putrefaction The plat itself is designed genteel themselves. Ads? Nothing Too Either As immeasurably as ads are painful there are some, but most are thoughtfully kept to the worthless of pages. Which, facts in fact the mischief-maker of videos that fashion on each of , you'd the latest thing to do a affliction of a lot of scrolling to continuously down them. I do valuable that aspect. Dimensions , episode you do neighbourhood to them, there are shit load. No ads assist videos, though. You deliberation substandard into the subordinate pop-up, matrix in ad when you click on a video, but at least it's not every fucking consummation you click on something like it is on a allocation of other sites. I would unmistakeably reclining implacable , but if I comprise to search pro them, then I variable these ads are equitably excusable. Too the seniority of the on-page ads are of other tube sites (which is genuinely money-making if you edacity to detention the fuck away from the incest bullshit), and the advanced hold-up pop-ups were predominantly pages that were unfit to satiety in withdrawn mode. I'm not plain the classics what this means, but if I can't joke the ad, I'm happy. A Shortened Supplied to Motivate Earlier You in Wager to Fappin' To be unfailing I am lock turned misled there the potentially illegitimate keynote to be engender on Video-One. It's a abashment too, because Video-One has so much unrealized to be a anxious porn venture with a shit ton of brains to draw from. Quieten down if they removed all of their potentially illicit videos, they would placid be undergoing a ginormous archive to explore. All of us porn addicts in to on together and authorized stomp this well-meaning of shit unlit of our community. forethought shit that looks sketchy. If you can. Video-One, unfortunately, doesn't hostile that feature. with up and approval on the fucking responsibilities that vaunt with having a porn lodge or don't bear one. It's as unpretentious as that. All pour the almighty Porn Core ! The majesty of porn sites! Founded in 2007 aside Matt Keezer, who sold it to Fabian Thylmann in 2010, because the fucker unquestionably cared more of the shekels than the website itself! (Would you haunts of the Manwin sprig which is at times known as 'Mindgeek'. Other giants in the network mix sites like YouPorn and Redtube. 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A few weeks ago, Nick Confessore of the New York Times wrote a piece about the reluctance of small donors to return to the Obama fold. Shira Toeplitz of Roll Call recently examined the slowdown in traditional fundraising: major bundlers and PACs. For Confessore, the fact that President Obama has to work harder for small donors stems from his sagging popularity. For Toeplitz, it's a sign of the down economy that the deep-pocketed can't dole out the sort of financial largesse they used to.
Both of these theses have some real problems.
Confessore runs into the problem that conventional methods of reportage are a terrible fit for assessing as broad a category as grassroots donors. Dozens of interviews are a poor way to figure out what's going on in a population that numbers in the millions. Some people are undoubtedly disappointed in President Obama, but many more may not have tuned into the process yet. In 2007, Democrats were where Republicans are today: focused on a contested primary process to replace a President that was wildly unpopular with their base. It's no surprise that it's harder to engage the Democratic grassroots now; whether that will remain the case is anybody's guess. Finally, it's not as if the President has some special claim to these donors–they're a political constituency like any other. Even if there were reason to accept Confessore's thesis without question, we should be celebrating the fact that political actors have to work for their support, rather than ignoring it as irrelevant or taking it for granted. Today, there are lines of accountability and financial interdependence between legislators and grassroots donors that didn't exist ten years ago, and that's a good thing.
The Toeplitz piece is a bit harder to find bright spots in, as it takes the same basic error and adds a laundry-list of excuses for a poor fundraising quarter. Hurricane Irene, the debt ceiling melee, the (crippling!) impact of the economy on our nation's wealthiest donors, and even the Jewish New Year all come in for blame for the lower-than-average haul, as if that were the important aspect of those events.
I bring these articles up because ActBlue has access to a pretty good cross-section of small donor activity. Every day, we process contributions to state and federal candidates from across the country. That immunizes us to some extent from the problems these articles run in to. In the spirit of lending a little clarity to the debate, here are our numbers from Q3 2009, and Q3 2011:
'09: $9,368,191 from 105,266 donors to 1,160 committees.
'11: $10,230,421 from 199,595 donors to 1,388 committees.
Hardly the declines we'd expect to see if Confessore and Toeplitz are right. Grassroots donors are more engaged in the fundraising process than ever before. Even if the sources Toeplitz quotes are right, it may not be the case that fundraising has declined, rather that its character and the methods used to go it are changing and the political sector is lagging a bit in recognizing that trend. As political fundraising becomes increasingly digital and grassroots, the value of traditional methods may lose a little of their centrality. (They'll still be important!) That's not a bad thing–it will create a political system that's more dynamic and has fewer barriers to entry. There will be more voices and more choices for voters to listen to and weigh, and that's the essence of representative democracy.


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Venomspite,despite being built for and by the Forsaken, yielded to certain necessities. The need for warmth was one such. Dragonblight was not Icecrown nor even the Borean Tundra, but its climate adversely impacted tools of research and war. Then, too, the breathing races of the Horde stayed in what passed as Venomspite's inn as a waystation to other points of interest or employment. As a result, most of Venomspite had braziers, fire and cooking pits, wall hangings with Undercity's insignia, carpets of wool and fur.
Regardless, Chief Plaguebringer Middleton had noticed that many living seemed not to acknowledge Venomspite's comforts. Such was the case with the pair seated in front of him on mammoth-skull stools. They still wore the heavy clothing Dragonblight required in winter, sealskin leather coats, leggings and boots, scarfs and gloves, all showing signs of hard use. The goblin sported a bear-fur cap, the earflaps dyed a bright red. The blood elf had pushed back her hood, but the frostweave knitted scarf was wrapped so many times around her face only her slanted green eyes were visible. The antechamber's triangle of open braziers seemed not to affect them in the least.
"My terms are thus," Middleton said, steepling his fingers. "Room and board, and seven gold a week as a research assistant. Should you be asked to take on more dangerous work – hunting, for example – you will be compensated."
The goblin made a clicking sound, pursed his lips. Middleton could tell he was seething beneath this thoughtful façade. Seven gold a week was a pittance, and they both knew it. He leaned forward, but before he could make a counter-offer the blood elf spoke.
"I'll take it."
Middleton heard the goblin choke. "What? Candybabe, that's – "
"I'll take it," the blood elf repeatedly firmly. "Shazzle, you know you don't like this kind of work. I'll stay here, and you can go on to Dalaran or even Argent Tourney. We'll be fine."
Argent Tourney, Middleton recalled, was the nickname given the Argent Crusade's former tournament grounds. Since Arthas' demise it had become a trading center of sorts for the most part, the remaining business folk salted with a hodgepodge of adventurers, treasure hunters, cloud-brained mystics, and even itinerant artists. A small detachment of the Crusade stood duty there, tacitly acknowledge peacekeepers.
The goblin huffed, and skewed a sidelong glance at him. Middleton smiled blandly, an expression that despite retaining his lips seldom reassured. The look shifted to the blood elf. She nodded firmly.
"Fine, fine," the goblin muttered. "I'm gonna head out day after tomorrow. Where tdepends on who's headin' where. I'll let ya know soon's I get there."
The blood elf nodded again. "Excellent," Middleton said. "Shazzle, Candybabe, my assistant Levine will show you to your quarters at the inn…"
The blood elf laughed.
Middleton looked at her. "I said something amusing?"
"My name's not Candybabe. It's Hardkandy."
Insipid name choices or no, the blood elf was an astonishingly good assistant.
She arrived promptly, worked right up until the noon meal, and picked up immediately after up until twilight. She performed the scut – cleaning, measuring, shelving and turning of jars and bottles without complaint. The same for the extra work, off-loading supplies from the windriders or procuring reagents from the surrounding forests. She knew her way around an alchemist's laboratory. Middleton saw it in the way she handled the tools of the craft, and suspected she possessed at least a beginner's knowledge. On her fifth day she proved him right, admitting her personal motive for accepting his offer: a method to open a pair of stubbornly sealed coffers.
Middleton examined them. The craftsmanship was nothing he recognized The locks of each were minute, possibly mere decoration or decoys from the true locking mechanism – the lids' gold leaf spirals, perhaps. . "What have you tried?" he asked.
"Glue solvents, magic, jeweler's rouge… engraving acids." She sighed. "Nothing."
"A puzzle indeed. Well, we'll see what can be done. Our work here is pressing, but not urgent."
Hardkandy smiled. "Thank you, Middleton!" She darted off to her measuring with a pat of his hand.
That, too, was a marked peculiarity. She didn't seem to notice that Venomspite was inhabited by the undead; she treated all as if they still lived. Nothing untoward -- nothing as depraved as the degenerates who sought out Forsaken for sexual adventures. Simple inquiries into how one's day was going, commentary on the weather, excitement over seeing orcas off the Forbidden Shore. Small talk.
As if the Forsaken cared about such matters.
There were other peculiarities. The blood elf would cut open a Scarlet Onslaught fanatic or scouting wolvar like a sailor filleting fish, but she wept over dead carrion bird hatchlings.
"Maybe she's the blood elf version of a Mindless," Bartlett, their quartermaster joked that evening, evoking snickers. Middleton laughed, too.
But in the back of his mind, the seed of an idea had taken root.
That idea sprouted a few days later. The afternoon gryphon brought a letter for Hardkandy. Middleton pretended to be busy with an infusion.
Hardkandy sighed. "Oh, Shazzle…Middleton, I need to go to Dalaran for a couple days. Two, maybe three.. maybe longer."
"What is it?"
Hardkandy shook her head. "Money problems."
"Surely either of your… fraternities… can handle the situation?"
Another shake of her head. "We don't belong to any guilds," Hardkandy said absently.
"Is that so?" Middleton reined in his eagerness. "Very well. You may leave tomorrow. Do try not to take too long."
Throughout the rest of the day, Middleton slowly, subtly, drew more information out from the blood elf. Delicate questioning revealed the two were not, as he had assumed, lovers but merely working partners currently in the employment of a tauren village to search for relics in Ulduar, for some reason. They claimed no allegiance to any faction beyond the Horde proper, and even that was a matter of pragmatics, not the heart. Political matters past or present held no interest to Hardkandy, at least: she was as indifferent to the threat of Deathwing as she was ignorant of the regrettable Wrathgate. Neither had family living, or, it seemed, friends of any description.
In short, neither of them would be missed.
Which made them perfect for Middleton.
He was not at Venomspite merely to perfect alchemical aids for the Horde. The Royal Apothecary Society had assigned him a task completely off the books. No one at else at Venomspite knew about it, not even the High Executor.
The greatest challenge facing the Forsaken was not the annihilation of the living, but their own numbers. Many had been destroyed during the Northend campaign. The Dark Lady had some success creating more Forsaken with her val'kyr, and there had been 'recruitment' of the living who desired an eternity to pursue their personal goals by a handful of Forsaken. Neither method was swift, however. Moreover, the frenzied state of new Forsaken could not always be turned to an advantage, and they would have to be put down. Even more disturbing, the numbers of the risen remaining Mindless were rising.
This could not be allowed to continue. Middleton's orders were to find a way to abort the Mindless state, to make new Forsaken fully cognizant and rational.
He believed he had created the means to do so. What he needed were test subjects, and any of the Forsaken at Venomspite were out of the question. Their unlives were too precious to the Dark Lady and Her cause.
Aimless vagabonds, on the other hand….
The goblin was too savvy, too clever. But the blood elf, with her childlike trust and naivete? A suitable test subject. There remained only the problem of how to persuade her to participate. Restraints and cages were a possibility if need be, but the results would be easier to judge if she were able to function as close to normal as possible.
The answer came when she returned. As always, the blood elf huddled near the lab's braziers.
Of course. He should have seen it before.
"Hardkandy!" he said "I have excellent news."
She unwound her scarf. "Why are there gnomes calling the hours?"
Middleton had forgotten the gnomes. They'd ceased to amuse him long ago, and he'd had his laboratory magically sound-proofed against their inane sniveling. In retrospect, he was surprised she hadn't noticed them sooner. "It's their job. Brote and Skrotee are well-paid for it." With their continued existence.
Confusion flitted briefly across the blood elf's features "Oh. What's your excellent news?"
"Did you by chance ever see service at Tranquilien?"
"I worked there…"
"Ah. Do you remember the scourgebane draughts?" At her nod, he continued, "I've succeeded in adapting those formulae to insulate you from the cold. And protect you from the Scourge, of course."
Her face lit up. As expected. "Really?"
"Yes, really." Middleton curved his mouth in what he hoped was an honest smile. "We can begin the shots at once –"
"Shots?" she repeated faintly. "But scourgebane was a drink…"
"Drinks won't work here. The adaptation must be delivered to specific areas of the body."
Her shoulders sagged. "All right." She looked at him hopefully. "But not today?"
He could be magnanimous in triumph. "Tomorrow, then. First thing."
"Will they hurt?"
The question was muffled by layers of cloth, leather and fur. Hardkandy had balked when Middleton informed her the sites of the shots were her neck and spine, not her arms. He had won, of course, though the necessity of having to soothe her annoyed him.
"A brief sting, that is all." He hoped that wasn't too much of a lie. Middleton filled the syringe and stepped behind the blood elf. What was left of his eyebrows raised. Either the girl did have strange tastes, or chance had made her skin a canvas. "How did you get these burns?"
"Running from a fire."
Random chance, then. "Indeed. Hold still…"
Three slow presses of the plunger, three muttered hisses. "There," said Middleton as he disposed of the needles, "was that so bad?"
Hardkandy craned her neck around to try to see her back before tugging her clothes into place. "I guess not. How long until it works?"
"Soon enough,"Middleton answered. "Soon enough."
Days passed, and Middleton despaired.
No change in the subject, except a tendency not to huddle at the braziers whenever possible. Middleton put this down to a placebo effect: there had been nothing in his shots to allay the cold. She continued as she always had, blithely unaware and blind to everything that, apparently, didn't matter to her. Which entailed nearly everything of true importance. He continued with the experiment, renewing the injections a second time a week later. And then, a fortnight after this, Levine approached him.
"I think we're rubbing off on her," the woman said. "Or something. She caught a joke Jasric made about her."
"What did she do?"
"Nothing, really. But from the way she stopped and looked at him, I could tell she knew he meant her."
Middleton shrugged in a display of indifference that masked inner excitement. "Water can trickle through even the thickest walls."
He pondered Levine's story throughout the day, watching the blood elf covertly as she worked. So, his serum might be working. He couldn't tell from her current activities; all her tasks today were routine.
Perhaps if they were not…?
The following day he granted her a portion of the lab and its resources to work on the problem of her coffers.
She was delighted, and offered the greatest offense yet – she hugged him. Middleton bore it stoically.
She dove into her personal project with fierce determination, turning to it as soon as the tasks required of her were finished. Middleton observed with growing fascination and triumph at her increased focus and attention. His serum was working!
In ways he hadn't forseen. He found her pouring over his forumula for a particular experiment after her noon meal shortly after Levine's observation. "I think you should reconsider," she said, tapping a line with a finger. "Gromsblood is more potent, yes, but purple lotus is a more steady ingredient for magical emulsifiers. Not being fel-based, there's less chance of a detrimental interaction with other reagents, particularly if they're arcane-based."
Middleton looked at her, and nodded slowly.
Days, a week, two weeks went by. More rounds of injections. His test subject continued to amaze him. Middleton prepared a report to the Society; he couldn't send a complete analysis without long-term studies, of course, but he could send along his initial observations.
If her progress continued this way, the Forsaken would owe her a great debt, indeed.
Skrotee looked down at the milling crowd of incoming and outgoing Venomspite personnel, and wished for the courage to jump.
"Do it," Brote urged. "Maybe you'll take out one or two of them with you, Skrotee."
Skrotee shot his brother a sullen glare and edged back from the platform. These staff changes were one of the few times they weren't under constant watch. For all the good that did them. Even if they did get out of Venomspite, where would they go? Hills, wild animals and the bone-chilling cold lay between them and Wintergarde Keep. They didn't have the clothes, let alone supplies, to survive the journey. Not to mention neither of them were in the best shape. The Forsaken fed them…barely.
A movement behind him. Skrotee squeaked. He'd never get used to how silently these damned corpses moved….
Oddly-accented Common, which their guards refused to use. Skrotee turned. The speaker was the blood elf who arrived a month or so ago. She carried a tray with… oh, sweet Makers…food. Real food. Bowls of strider stew, mugs of something steaming hot, rolls with butter, small squares of cheese. She set the tray down between him and Brote.
They grabbed the bowls, scooping up spoonfuls greedily. "Thank you," Skrotee said in Orcish after his second mouthful.
The blood elf smiled. "You're welcome," she said in the same language. "You're staying here, too?"
Brote snorted. "Like we have a choice?" He shoved a roll in his mouth.
"You don't?"
"Ocourwedon!" Brote swallowed visibly. "We're prisoners! Their cuckoo-clock slaves! Because my fool brother here convinced bigger fool me the Forsaken would want our expertise and make us rich!" He glared at Skrotee.
"Middleton said you work for Venomspite…"
Skrotee sighed. It figured—the blood elf was as dumb as she was kind. He picked up the mug, took a cautious sip. Goldthorn tea. With honey. "He lied."
The blood elf looked at them. They looked at her.
"Oh," she said, and left.
Middleton was exhausted.
Not physically, but mentally. "Shift change", as some wag had named it, always did this to him. Ambition, boredom and unfortunate political or personal choices led to many Horde – not just Forsaken – looking for new and greener pastures. Never on a set, predictable date, oh, no. That would be too easy.
The Shadow was having a little joke on him.
The Chief Plaguebringer looked up from his invoice of new reagents for yet another New Plague. The blood elf. Of course.
"You need to let the gnomes go."
Correction. The Shadow was having a huge joke on him. "Why do I need to do that?" he asked mildly.
She blinked at him in confusion. "Because they don't want to be here."
Middleton pinched the bridge of his nose and made the sound of a man suffering deep and abiding pain. "Hardkandy," he began patiently, "the gnomes are our captives. Our living symbols of triumph over the Alliance, and everyone who would stand against us. Everyone." Faint chance she understood the message there, but one could hope. "We cannot let them go. And we will not."
Hardkandy looked at him.
"Oh," she said, and left.
The following day, Fallers reported to him and High Executor Wroth the gnomes had been given food from the supplies set aside for the living Horde. The blood elf looked suitably chastised as Wroth verbally raked her over the coals and docked her a week's pay. As she headed to the door, however, she gave Wroth and Middleton himself a look that Middleton couldn't put name to. She would require watching, he decided.
But days passed without signs of further trouble. Between assigned work and her own projects, she had little time to foment any. Middleton guessed she was making progress on her quest for an 'unlocking' chemical; she'd taken to carrying her notes with her everywhere she went. Sometimes he wished his own proper underlings were so diligent. Levine, for example – the cursed girl was supposed to bring her new samples for his approval before dark. And here it was, the sun a disgusting glory of gold in the west, and no Levine.
Something fell against the lab's door.
Levine, trying to bump it open with her hip. Again. Muttering, Middleton stalked over and yanked it open.
"Fool, you don't have the flesh anymore –"
Middleton jumped back as a body fell forward. After an agonizingly long moment, he knelt by it. It jerked feebly.
No answer.No coordination in her limbs, no awareness in her eyes.
But how? She'd shown none of the signs –
Someone seized his upper arm, spun him around.
Middleton snarled at the blood elf. "What –"
She stabbed him in the neck with a syringe and shoved the plunger.
Numbness, cold and all-encompassing, flooded through him.
"You shouldn't keep people as slaves," Hardkandy said. The light around her flickered, faded. "It's wrong."
Hard, gem-bright green eyes were Middleton's last sight as the darkness drank him down.
Brote heard shouting.
That wasn't unusual. What was unusual was along with anger, which was to be expected, he thought he detected… fear?
He inched forward, peered down, and sucked in his breath.
Something was wrong with a number of the Forsaken. They lurched along like… like zombies…paying no attention where they went or why. The rest were running in panic. Not that he blamed them. Blotches of stomach-twisting green and yellow slime dotted the ground, more than a few of them containing skeletal remains. He bared his teeth in a gleeful grin as a Forsaken slid into one, the undead wailing as he dissolved.
"Skrotee!" he hissed. "Come here!"
His brother scrambled over. "Why, what's – oh, shit! What if that stuff gets up here?"
"Don't be an idiot! This is our chance to escape!"
"Through all that? It's spreading!"
His brother was right, Brote realized in despair. The goo coated the ground in ever-widening patches, too great for their weak, short legs to cross. He was about to argue they needed to try anyway when someone tapped his shoulder.
He bolted upright. The blood elf smiled at him and put a finger to her lips. Then she picked him up around the waist with one arm, Skrotee with the other, and retreated downstairs to the building's lower levels.
She passed through its open main door, seemingly oblivious to the ongoing chaos and paused. "Where are you taking us?" Brote demanded. There was an ooze-glob not two feet away. It looked like it was moving.
"Someplace safe," she said simply, and jumped over the ooze-glob. Then another, and another in a deadly game of hopscotch until they reached the wind riders. The beasts roared and flared their wings, panicky and confused. The blood elf made slung him and his brother over the saddle of the nearest, leaving them to cling to the rough mane. Brote gaped while she slashed its neighbors' hitching ropes before jumping up behind them. She fastened the safety straps around them as the wind rider leaped up into the darkening sky.
How long the flight lasted Brote never knew. Long enough for sunset to deepen into night. No one tried to talk.. Questions he should ask flitted through his mind: Who are you? Why are you doing this? He didn't. Not having to speak was a blessing.
At last a glow appeared on the horizon, increasing as they drew nearer. A building that in some ways reminded Brote of a human religious temple… except for the large dragons roosting along its upper floors. He swallowed, hard.
The wind rider alighted yards from the dragon-temple's base. Wonder of wonders, he spotted a door, sized for one of the Talk Folk and in good condition set in the circular wall.
The blood elf unfastened the safety straps. "The red flight will help you," she said, setting them down on the snow. Skrotee whined about the cold; Brote paid him no mind. She leaned down and pressed a full crocolisk-hide pouch into his hands.
The wind rider hunched down and jumped into the air.
Brote open the pouch and poked inside it. Coins clinked. He snorted hysterically.
His room's door swung open.
Shazzle jumped, reaching for his knives. How had he forgotten to lock it?
He relaxed at the sound of a familiar voice and the sight of a familiar figure. "Candybabe! Wasn't expecting you." So he hadn't forgotten to lock it, after all.
"Wasn't expecting to come here," Hardkandy replied with a wry smile. Her wind rider's saddle bags hit the floor with a thump. "Mind if I sleep?" She closed and relocked the door behind her.
"Sure, sure." The Legerdemain Lounge didn't skimp on their furniture. "Bed's big enough."
Hardkandy nodded, peeling her clothes like an onion skin as she made her way to across the room. Shazzle's brows dipped down. Hardkandy never took her clothes off in front of him. Or anyone else. Ever. "You must be really tired."
"Yeah." She yawned, crawled beneath the covers. "A little…"
She slept through the rest of the night, all of the following day, and woke up only the next dawn to use the necessary. She slept for three more days, waking only again for calls of nature, soaking in his suite's tub while the maid changed the sheets.
Shazzle kept an eye on her when he could; he had Camp Mojache's business and his own hustles to manage and couldn't play nursemaid. He rummaged through her saddlebags, seeking some clue, and found only her notes and journals. He was reading through one of the latter when she finally awoke on the fourth morning, disgustingly alert.
"Shazzle? 'M hungry."
He snorted. "You ain't eaten in days, you should be. I'll getcha some food."
The water was running in the bath when he returned. Shazzle set the tray down on the breakfast nook's table with a martyred sigh and waited. Hardkandy emerged some minutes later, dressed in clean clothes and looking somewhat thinner.
"That bacon was hot when I brought it up," he said pointedly as she bit the strip in two.
"It's still warm. Thank you." She attacked a stack of flatcakes with knife and fork.
"So, uh. How was work at Venomspite?"
"All right. Nothing exciting." Hardkandy shrugged.
"Really? Nothing happened to make you sleep like that?"
"Well…I pulled some all-nighters the last couple days I was there."
"Huh. So, you was workin' on some big project?" Shazzle hefted the alchemy journal. "I know , I know, ya don't like people pokin' in your stuff, but I was curious." He flipped to the last filled pages. "You do this?"
Shazzle wasn't an alchemist, but he'd been around enough to spot complex formulas when they were shoved under his nose. The scribbling here was really complex, and beyond what he'd seen from Hardkandy before.
She shook her head. "Nope."
"Candy-babe, it's your handwritin', in your journal. You musta come up with it."
Hardkandy blinked at him. "Let me see." She took the journal from him, following the lines with her fork. "I…you're right. This is my writing. But I don't remember it at all!" She pursed her lips. "This is… no formula I'm familiar with. I can't imagine what it would be for."
She set the journal down on the extra chair, away from spills or stains, and speared more flatcake on her fork.
Shazzle watched his partner and closest thing he had to a friend as she ate. He'd heard a few rumors while she was zonked out to the Twisting Nether, rumors about Venomspite.
Bad rumors.
"Hey," he said. "I got us passage to Storm Peaks. One step closer to Ulduar! You ready to leave?"
"Sure." Hardkandy dabbed her lips with her napkin. "When?"
"Is after you're done too soon?"


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Normal PSA Zero?
Last Reviewed: February 17, 2011
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
Is a normal PSA result zero?
John Christodouleas, MD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Penn Medicine, responds:
What we consider "normal" depends on a patient's prostate size, age and prior treatments. A patient who has never had surgery to remove his prostate or is not on androgen suppression (hormone therapy) would be expected to have detectable PSA in the blood (because the normal prostate makes PSA).
This question and answer was part of the OncoLink Brown Bag Chat Series. See the full transcript of Prostate cancer treatment: where are we now?


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Make Your Own Toiletries At Home For Better Cheaper Skin Care
Have you ever wondered what exactly your toiletries are made of? With homemade soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and moisturizers you won't have to wonder any more. Here are tips for natural hair and body care:
Homemade Deodorant
- One of the best deodorants is plain old baking soda. You can pat it right onto your skin or mix it with a little cornstarch for extra staying power and moisture control. Try ½ cornstarch and ½ baking soda. Some readers say that mixing in anti-bacterial tea tree oil makes it even more effective.
Homemade Shampoo
- Old-fashioned castile soap can also be dissolved in warm water to be used as shampoo.
- After shampooing, rinse your hair with lemon juice to make it shine.
- If regular shampooing with water is impossible for some reason, try mixing 1 tablespoon salt and ½ cup cornmeal in a shaker bottle. Sprinkle lightly onto hair, then brush thoroughly to get rid of dirt and oil. A combination of baby powder and cornstarch can also be used the same way.
See our natural health blogger's shampoo recipe which uses only 2 ingredients!
If you like your store-bought shampoo but would like to add to it a little, the essential oils that old-timers relied on for hair care really do work.
- To nourish and moisturize, pour some shampoo or conditioner into your palm and add a few drops of cedar wood, chamomile, clary sage, lavender, rosemary, thyme, or ylang-ylang.
- To add thickness and body, use cedar wood or clary sage.
- To reduce oiliness, try bergamot, cedar wood, lavender, lemon, pine, rosemary, or ylang-ylang.
- To add luster, try sweet basil, Roman chamomile, or lavender.
- To detangle hair, use chamomile, grapefruit, marigold, passionflower, or sweet clover, and to relieve dandruff, try cedar wood, clary sage, lemon, pine, rosemary, or tea tree.
Homemade Moisturizer
- For healthy skin, add rosemary oil to the bathwater.
- Another age-old tradition to prevent wrinkles around the eyes is to apply a drop of castor oil around each eye before going to bed. Castor oil acts as a humectant, meaning that it attracts and retains moisture in the skin. This promotes healthier skin cell rejuvenation. Some plastic surgeons apply castor oil around an incision after surgery for this exact reason.
Eye Make-up Remover (Safe and Gentle)
- Save on those very expensive eye make-up removers with this recipe. Combine 1 tablespoon canola oil, 1 tablespoon castor oil, and 1 tablespoon light olive oil.
- For use on your entire body, put some castor oil in a little spray bottle. To maximize absorption, spray it on your skin after showering and gently rub it in while your skin is still warm and your pores are open.
Natural Skin Cleanser
Tales of the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, tell of her beauty and her radiant skin. Her secret? Apparently she used to take frequent baths in fresh milk. Researchers now have found that the lactic acid in milk is the cause of the stunning skin. Alpha hydroxy acids help loosen dead skin and give healthy skin a deep cleansing.
- As the tub fills, pour in two cups to one quart of fresh milk or butter milk. Fresh milk can be substituted with one cup of powdered milk. A few drops of lavender essential oil may increase the relaxing effects.
- Soak in the tub for at least 20 minutes and gently massage your skin with a wash cloth or a loofah to rub off all the dead skin.
- After taking your bath, drain the tub and take a quick shower to rinse off all the milk on your body.
If you don't have time to soak in the bathtub, below is a recipe for oatmeal soap.
Oatmeal Soap Recipe
If you have leftover soap slivers in the bathtub or sink, you can recycle them into this yummy new soap! Oatmeal has proven moisturizing benefits.
- Gather these ingredients: ½ cup oatmeal, ½ cup small soap pieces, 1 and ½ tablespoons cooking oil, 1 tablespoon water
- Put the soap slivers in a plastic bag and pound them into small chunks.
- Put chunks in a blender, add the oatmeal and pulse until grainy.
- Pour into a bowl and add the oil and water.
- Mix with your hands, removing any remaining bigger chunks of soap.
- Shape the mixture into a ball and let sit until hard, about two hours.
- Be sure to wash the blender thoroughly to remove the soap residue.
Homemade Toothpaste
Washing your hands with toothpaste and water will eliminate fish odor.
Even today, baking soda remains in the lead for tooth-whitening products. Unlike other modern toothpastes, baking soda is gritty enough to remove plaque, but not abrasive enough to remove tooth enamel. A combination of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide lifts particles caught between teeth and kills bacteria.
Do not add anything to the baking soda to make it more abrasive. You may want to add an artificial sweetener for taste (which is essentially all some of those "natural" toothpastes do), but do not add real sugar which would promote tooth decay.
Note: Check with your dentist before usage. The American Dental Association only acceptstoothpastes containing fluoride and recommends fluoridation of community water supplies. This is a debated subject; we refer you to your respective health care provider for their professional recommendation.
Homemade Toothpaste
- Mix ¼ teaspoon hydrogen peroxide and ½ teaspoon baking soda, scoop the paste up with your toothbrush and proceed as you normally would.
Homemade Minty Toothpaste
- To make toothpaste with a more traditional toothpaste consistency and a mint-y taste, mix together 6 teaspoons of baking soda, ⅓ teaspoon salt, 4 teaspoons glycerin, and 15 drops of peppermint or wintergreen extract. Depending on how much you use at a time, this recipe is good for 15-20 applications and should be stored in any appropriately sized container with a snug lid.
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